hypnosholtz-blog

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ofcarefreeness

although ever so slightly startled, isaac hadn’t been surprised per se when liam came bursting into his room. he couldn’t remember the last time he’d sent a word the other’s way, but it didn’t matter for now. what did was to find portal, and he’d be willing to work with whomever he had to if it meant a successful quest.

  “why, that just about narrows it down, don’tcha think?” he half-grinned. admittedly, he didn’t know what to make of their clue. he was one for games and puzzles, but so far, no matter how much he tried, it seemed like he was just going in circles. his only guess struck him as being somewhat weak. “lucky for you, the city’s streets are old friends of mine.” then, he nodded in agreement. his eyes flashed with determination as he straightened his back.

  “i think it’s a good idea,” he patted the other on the back, perhaps not as gently as one would expect. the smile that tugged at the corners of his mouth showed his ever-growing excitement, and he could already feel the adrenaline pumping through his body. “c’mon, stop barging into people’s rooms and go get your jacket and metrocard. we’re goin’ to be on the move for a while.” as he spoke, he walked up to his closet and took his own. he threw the jacket over his shoulder with an air of nonchalance and headed for the door, then to the house’s nearest exit. “so, tell me about these seven ideas of yours. what have you thought in respect to the clue?”

While Liam startled at the harsher gesture, he was glad that Isaac didn’t seem at all perturbed by his excitement. In fact, the younger boy seemed to be just as ready to solve the puzzle as he was. His own jacket was easy enough to find, though it took him more than a second to figure out where the hell his wallet had gone, eventually finding it buried beneath his socks of all places.

Stepping outside was something of a shock. He was still adjusting to the temperature difference. But the cold was a good wake up call, and Liam shook himself to keep his mind focused. “Idea 1,” he began, figuring that he may as well go down his thought process to keep Isaac in the loop. “It’s a no talking sign so Emery’s somewhere that people shouldn’t talk. Idea two: It’s gotta be somewhere in the city because we only have till the end of the day to find her, and Emery might be crazy, but I don’t think she’s a sadist.” Hopefully, he tacked on inside his head. He kicked at a rock, sending it flying down the sidewalk and wincing when it stopped with a loud clang against a metal post.

“Idea three,” Liam continued, hoping to draw attention away. “It’s entirely possible it’s not a place open to the public. Something tells me that Emery’s the type to say fuck the law.” Which could be a problem for them if they had to break in somewhere. “Idea four, five, and six are actual locations; namely a movie theatre, a library, and the town hall. And Idea seven is that it’s entirely possible that we should be asking for clues from the other teams to narrow the places down.”

He took a breath after his little rant and turned to Isaac, hoping that he hadn’t overwhelmed the kid. “Thoughts?”

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ana-datla

A small smile rested on her face at this person’s words. She had felt it, in their small time in the new home, they all had no clue how to even begin. It wasn’t like in elementary school where everyone was innocent and wanting friends, here they all had their own demons they were keeping hidden.

This person though, he seemed genuinely unsure how to handle it, but also awake in the eerily quiet home just like her. “Yea, just… meditating?” she said, haphazardly. She couldn’t really call her hallucinating meditating, but it did provide that same calming effect. “I’m not a huge fan of sleeping, tends to end in nightmares.” she said with a grimace and shrug to exaggerate her point.

“Why are you always awake, then?”

He tilted his head in curiosity. Meditating hadn’t been the answer that he’d been expecting, but he supposed that each person had their own way of keeping themselves sane. It wouldn’t be long till he would have to find a way of his own, he knew.

But Liam understood nightmares, and the curiosity fell away to sympathy. He took the returning conversation as permission to stay, hoping that he wasn’t mistaken, and sat down in front of the chair, looking down at the ground. “Same as you, kind of,” he answered. “Nightmares, just other peoples.”

It wasn’t an answer that he could just leave at that, and he took a breath to explain. “My ability is dream walking, so when if fall asleep I end up in someone else’s dream,” he explained, wringing his hands nervously. “I don’t want to invade someone’s privacy like that.”

His head shot up, an idea flickering through his mind. “If you want, I could wake you up if it looks like you’re having a nightmare?” he offered, figuring that it was the least he could do. “I mean, it would give me a reason to stay awake.”

[hypnosholtz-blog]

@ofcarefreeness

Liam could barely hold together his excitement as he burst into Isaac’s room. Sure, he barely knew the younger boy, but seriously, it’s not like they had much time to spare. He could forgo knocking for the moment.

“So! I have a good seven ideas of where Emery could be but I also have absolutely zero ideas on what is actually in this city,” he declared the second he entered. “I think this is the perfect time to actually get out of the house and look around.”

The grin slowly faded from his face and the excitement fled from his body when he realized how rude it had just been to just barge in without any form of propriety. “I mean, uh, you know,” he continued. “If you think that’s a good idea.”

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😏🎺

😏 Lying

Liam sucks at lying. Ask him a question and if he tries to lie you’ll be able to tell by the amount of obvious bullshit that he spouts out. He stammers and he’s physically incapable of hiding the fear from his face. Like keeping a secret, he can lie by just not saying anything at all, but actual words to protect that secret? Terrible.

🎺 Playing an Instrument  

He knows like, three chords on the piano. He also knows how to play chopsticks and that one song where you play the black keys with your knuckles. Again, notoriously average. He’s gotten pretty good at the recorder though.

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👼 and 👗

👼 Babysitting

It’s funny, because this might be the one thing he’s actually genuinely good at. His natural tendency to care and want to help others makes him a good caregiver, if not a bit of a pushover. He’s pretty good at entertaining small children, and does fairly well with elder kids. Teens and that weird in-between the small and the elder doesn’t work out so well.

👗  Dressing With Style

Answered

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👗🔮

👗Dressing With Style

Bold of you to assume that Liam has ever or will ever care about style. What’s the point of style if you don’t want to stand out? He’s lived a life of being a wallflower and he’d be remiss if he were ever to change that.

🔮 Magic

He’s attempted some card tricks and he’s pretty damn good at that one shuffle where you do the bridge thing. Otherwise, like every other aspect of his life, he’s notoriously average. As for actually seeing/believing in magic, Liam is of the opinion that there are far too many things that humans haven’t discovered for magic not to exist.

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isabellexthomas

The door opened pretty quickly after Isabelle had knocked on it. At first she had wanted to start about her book right away but then her eye caught the mess in the room behind the younger person. A nagging feeling started to build in the back of her mind, knowing very well what that meant; That mess had to be cleaned…

“I had been hoping that you could help me with finding my book that I left in the living room.” Isabelle motioned at the mess behind Liam before she continued talking. “But I have a feeling that you can use some help first before I ask you to help me.” A friendly smile was on her lips. It wasn’t even her own room but it was simply a trait of the woman that always seemed to pop up whenever she saw a messy room.

“That is if you want my help of course. If not, that’s fine as well.”

He really needed to work on keeping his embarrassment away from his face. With an awkward cough, he opened the door a little wider to let Isabelle in. “I was uh... searching for something and it just kind of. Happened.” He rubbed the back of his neck as he looked over everything.

Glancing behind him, he considered her answer to why she’d come to him in the first place. “Yeah, I can definitely help you look for your book, and well...” he made a small gesture at his room. “You don’t have to help, you know?” Though it would be much appreciated, he didn’t say. Everything just seemed to be so overwhelming. Even the simple act of cleaning his room was daunting. He almost felt scolded by a mother.

And wasn’t that a thought, besides the offer to help. Liam couldn’t help the unease in his throat, observing the other Novum member. There was something unnervingly motherly about her, a trait that he wasn’t sure how to process. He shook his head to clear the thought, looking up with a grin. “If you want to look for you book now, that’s fine!”

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🙊📝

How good is Liam at

🙊 Keeping Secrets

Not so good. He grew up never needing to keep secrets save for the whole becoming Metállaxi thing. If someone doesn’t ask about said secret, then Liam is pretty good about just. Not mentioning it. But if he gets questioned, then it’s all downhill from there.

📝 Planning and Following Their Plan

He’s not much of a planner in the first place. Having said that, if there is a plan that he has to follow, Liam will follow that goddamn thing to the letter if he can. He’s not good at improvisation, and combine that with the first part and what you get is a mess. It’s why he’s more of a follower than a leader. 

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codename-caliban

As soon as it’s made clear that Liam’s fine, Edison backs off. But he doesn’t stay there – he rustles around in the freezer until he finds a bag of frozen peas, and hands them to Liam. It’ll work in a pinch as an icepack, he supposes.

As for the mugs: Edison’s not a short man, but whoever put them in the cupboard was clearly taller than him. And he has a solution that doesn’t involve climbing up on the bench, but… no, he can make it work. He just has to do one thing first.

“Yeah, let me just…” Edison reaches over to flick the lightswitch off, leaving the kitchen lit only by the dim glow of the oven clock and an outside light. It’s still just enough to see by, but it’ll have to do. The virus has seen fit to give him a tail today, which has its uses, even if he doesn’t like to use it – there’s a rustle of fabric, then a five-foot length of prehensile tail curving up, twisting neatly around two mugs to bring them down into Edison’s hands. It’s all patchwork, scales and fur in disjointed clumps, like it couldn’t quite settle.

He settles his cloak back down to cover everything, then switches the light back on. “There. Sorry.” Reaching for the coffee beans, Edison grabs for a topic that might prevent Liam from replying directly. Indelicately, he goes right for: “So why are you trying to stay awake?”

The peas make him laugh, and he presses them against the back of his head as he leans against the counter. Of all the things to use, and it’s the peas. A billion cliche movie quotes come to the forefront of his mind, a few of them on the tip of his tongue, but he bites his lip to stay silent.

When Edison turns out the lights, it startles Liam for a second, and his hands fly out instinctively. But the moment his eyes finally adjust, the lights are back on and he’s blinking with his hands stuck out in front of him like he’d been turned into a zombie within the past five seconds. When he finally refocuses on Edison, it is curiosity that reaches his expression. “Something to hide?” he asks, amusement running underneath his words. Too late does he realize how insensitive the question might be, and he ducks his head in embarrassment.

“Sorry,” he says. “You don’t have to answer that.” Clearing his throat to move away from the awkwardness, he grabs the cups from Edison, figuring that he may as well answer. “I uh, walk into people’s dreams when I sleep,” Liam explained. “generally the people nearby, and I don’t think anyone here wants to share their subconscious thoughts with a total stranger.” He made a gesture to the cups in his hands and the coffee that Edison was reaching for. “As such, no sleep.”

He shrugs nonchalantly, as if it weren’t any real burden. “What about you? What’s keeping you awake?”

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ana-datla

@hypnosholtz

Tucked away in the corner of a room, Ana sat curled up against the tall backed chair. Her cheek rest softly against the back as she hummed to herself, soothing her mind.

It was late, most of the house had quieted down already. Ana had been in bed, fast asleep when the nightmare jolted her awake, tears steaming down her face as she chose to instead go downstairs to evade sleep in the soft light, in safety.

If she was in a public area no one could get her, that was at least her thought.

Ana was in her mind, her vivid imagination causing the act of her father petting her head feel almost real. Sometimes she could fool herself like this, it was just the manifestation of her power but comforting none the less.

Footsteps could be heard from somewhere far in the quiet home, as the neared, Ana was forced awake out of her day dream. Still a little hazy, she looked at the man who greeted her confused, hands rubbing her eyes.

“What are you doing awake?” she asked in a low whisper.

He truly hadn’t meant to intrude, but sleep still evaded him even when he knew there was a dream he could hop into without being yelled at. It was an invasion of privacy, invited or not, and Liam was still hesitant to be privy to strangers subconscious thoughts.

Being awake, however, let him hear the shifting of someone else in their room, and curious to see who else was a fellow late night owl, he got up to investigate. Getting closer, he could hear soft humming coming from... oh what was her name... Anna? Naya? Something like that. He was still shaky on names. Her room.

Too late, he realized that he probably should have knocked. He cleared his throat awkwardly, unsure whether or not he should draw back. “I’m pretty much always awake,” he replied, his voice low. “You’re awake too.”

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hckuaonami

his tattoos glow like iridescent scales as he bends a sphere of fresh water out from the sink. one by one, the iron and metals fall from the wall and sprinkle down onto the kitchen tile. as hoku clenches his fingers, the ball of water begins to rotate furiously as the surface forms bubbles, steam rising. “careful, it’s scalding hot,” he says as he approaches liam and gazes at the carrots sprawled out on the cutting board. there is nothing like a good ol’ soup to clear his sinuses, perhaps remind him of Hawai’i… and for a second, he believes he is back in Mākaha, cooking with —— the thought is shoved deep into the depths of his brain as hoku finally releases a smile and massages his liam’s shoulder. “how are the vegetables coming along?”

Liam does not know how to properly use this knife. The carrots are uneven and the celery is wonky and he’s pretty sure that he’d just barely finished the task with all of his fingers. But the vegetables are done and he glances up with a wry grin before gesturing to the fruits (vegetables) of his labor. “Well, they’re... cut,” he replies, his hands dropping down to his sides in defeat. It’s nice, the domesticity of it all, especially while everyone still seemed to be adjusting to the strangeness and displacement, wonky celery and all. With that thought in mind, Liam straightens up and turns around, excitement lighting up his face. “Can I throw them in?” he asks, eyes flicking back and forth between Hoku’s tattoos and the floating ball of water, as if any second the glow would disappear and the boiling water would unceremoniously crash to the ground.

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isabellexthomas

**Open to: **Everyone

Isabelle had searched her entire room, but she hadn’t been able to find back her lost property. She had been reading a book for the past days and had been unable to stop. The thick book had been a reliability on her nightstand for the past days but it had disappeared since the day before. Probably because she had brought it with her to read in the living room of the inn and she had accidentally left it there. It was not very smart, she knew that. It was unlike Isabelle as well to leave her stuff around. She was already growing annoyed with some of the people living here that did leave their stuff around. It was not her place to tell them off however.

A sigh left the woman before she knocked on the door of one of the bedrooms. Isabelle hadn’t wanted to do so but she simply did not know anymore how to find the book and she did want it back. So then this was a good last solution; asking the help of her housemates to get the book back.

Once the door opened, Isabelle smiled at the other person. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping I could ask you a question.”

Liam was not proud of how his room looked like someone had taken his luggage and thrown it across the room. He’d been searching for one of his pictures, a photograph that had been buried underneath a layer of sweatshirts , and in order to reach it, he’d haphazardly strewn the rest of the contents around the room in his search.

But now that all was well and found, he regretted the impulse. Liam had heard the knock, and he’d quickly looked up from the pile of clothes that he’d been sorting through, trying to make some semblance of order.

He quickly stood up, cracking the door open to peer through, hoping that the mess wasn’t too visible behind him. “Oh uh, no it’s fine,” he replied, a hesitant smile creeping up his face. “What can I help you with?”

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A River of Dreams - A playlist for Liam

For when the world seems far too large for a little soul, and the only thing that will ever solve this enormity is to accept the insignificance. Accept the insignificance and find the others who are nothing with you.

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A Window Between Worlds | simona_br_photography

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codename-caliban

“Edison,” is the answer given as he glances through the cupboard, hoping that there actuallyare coffee beans here somewhere. If he finds out there’s only instant, he’s going to be horrified. A household can’t run on shit coffee.

Distracted, his back is turned when he hears Liam clamber up on top of the counter, and–

Well. It’s good to know he might not be the only person in this place that could be classified as a living disaster.

Concern makes him hurry over, fabric rustling over tile, one hand in a woolen fingerless glove outstretched to try to stop any further falls. But it looks like Liam is firmly on the ground, at least, pulling himself up, and he doesn’t look injured. Other than his pride, perhaps, or maybe some bruises.

“Cavalo, che palle,” he utters, hovering worriedly. For the moment, all wariness about being close is forgotten. Instead, Edison holds out both hands, offering them to Liam for help up, if he needs it. “You’re not injured? I don’t see any blood.”

It takes him a moment but Liam manages to shake the lingering dizziness from his sight, and as his eyes refocus he grabs the offered hands, allowing Edison to help him up. “No, yeah... I’m fine, I think.” 

Nothing injured save his pride, he thinks to himself, cursing internally at how much of a ruckus he was causing. And all he’d wanted was a simple distraction. It was going to be a lot harder to not fall asleep now that there were spots dancing around his vision.

He looks up with an embarrassed grin, figuring that there’s no way this encounter could get any worse. “I guess that’s what I get for not sleeping,” he jokes, rubbing the back of his head and wincing when he brushes over a bruise. “Definitely gonna need that coffee now.”

He gestures at the still out of reach mugs, a resigned expression flickering over his features. “Do you think you can grab two of those?” he asks, figuring that it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to have a second go at being an expert climber.

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quinncharn

The amount someone travels can tell an observer their whole life story. It paints their materialism, their ties to their home, and how much money they have. People go to the beach and bring Chanel and Armani with them as their poor underlings are forced to haul suitcases as large as a middle schooler after them. Quinn left her life with a backpack and a duffel.

Everything she had fit in those two bags.

Unpacking had taken minutes, at most, and the room she was now going to be living out of hardly reflected her. The only personal touches were wraps, stained in sweat and blood, and a partially burned photograph on her dresser.

When the person behind her cleared their throat, she turned, a sardonic smile already forming.

“Here to help me unpack?”

Liam was desperately trying to force down the embarrassed flush that was already coming up to his face. He had, in fact, been coming to see if anyone needed help unpacking, and while he hadn’t exactly checked everyone else’s rooms, it was still kind of awkward to know that his first attempt was going to be for naught.

It was also extremely weird to help strangers unpack, now that he thought about it, and maybe there was something good about finding the first person not in need.

“Um, I was, but I guess that’s kind of... useless. Now.” He stared at the sparse room, a stark contrast to his own. He’d had no trouble making himself at home. He carried far too many photographs with him not to decorate his room. His eyes blinked over to the wraps, and for some reason, the first thought that ran through his mind was the old abandoned gym back home. “Do you want a cool black and white photo of a boxing ring?” he asked, the question slipping out of his mouth before any filter could stop it. Instantly, he bit his lip, waiting for the backlash.

A half second later and Liam realized that he was still standing in her doorway. “I’m Liam!” he blurted out, figuring that if there was anyone that he should start introducing himself to, it might as well be the person that probably thinks he’s a complete fool. 

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codename-caliban

It was easy to tell when someone was exhausted just from the sound of their voice; it dragged at the edges, blurring around the sharper noises, a slower tempo. And Edison couldn’t help but speculate on exactly what was making the man try to stay awake. Bad dreams? Just trying to reset a bad sleep schedule? Didn’t want to miss a marathon on TV?

He wanted to ask, but he didn’t. Do unto others, that sort thing. He wouldn’t appreciate probing questions.

So, instead, he just made a soft noise of assent. “I prefer being awake at this time. It’s… quieter,” Edison replied, keeping his head down as he stirred a teaspoon through his tea. Quieter, less people, less eyes to hide from. Ironically, it seemed the kitchen was busier than anticipated.

He should leave, to reduce the risk of being in company. But he wound up making a gesture, a rustle of cloth, toward a coffee machine in the corner. “Would caffeine help? With your mission to stay awake? I can make you one, if you like. I can’t guarantee the beans are any good, unfortunately.”

Liam couldn’t help the hum of surprise at the offer, grateful nonetheless. “Caffeine sounds great, actually,” he replied, moving over to the cupboards in search of cups. The first one he opened seemed to contain a good stack of spices, but no cups. So he continued his search.

He glanced over his shoulder to the other figure, wondering who had brought him in, and why he enjoyed the quiet. “I’m Liam,” he introduced, figuring that it was a good start. No use in asking for information when he wasn’t willing to offer it himself. Questions bubbled up into his head and he was desperately trying to keep himself quiet. The stranger had said that he’d come her for the quiet, after all.

The next cupboard bore results, the mugs stowed away on a higher shelf. It took him a moment to consider his options. He was far too short to just reach up and grab two mugs necessary and his face screwed up in frustration. Without giving it too much thought, he hauled himself up onto the counter, kneeling on the marble top as he grabbed onto the cupboard door for support.

Unsurprisingly, his knee slipped on the edge, and for a heart stopping moment, Liam saw the counter rushing up to meet his face. He managed to get his arm in front of his face, blocking it from smashing his nose in, but his reaction time was unfortunately not fast enough to keep himself from falling backwards, and the dream walker landed back first on the hard floor with a loud thump.

Blinking away the spots and with his face red with embarrassment, he pushed himself up to sit against the side, eyes glancing up to the other occupant of the kitchen. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be so loud.”