#What is marijuana

[sonalj]

Cannabis – Exploring the Fascinating World of Marijuana Have you ever been intrigued by the captivating realm of marijuana? To provide you with a guide that combines knowledge with a touch of human curiosity we conducted research on cannabis definition, historical significance, and diverse applications for this article.

Cannabis, commonly referred to as the marijuana plant or ganja tree has caught the attention of individuals due, to its qualities and potential benefits.

What is marijuana? Cannabis is a species of plant that has been cultivated and utilized for years. Over time it has acquired names because of its leaves and fragrant properties including the well-known “marijuana plant” and the historically significant “ganja tree.” There are species of cannabis with Cannabis sativa and Cannabis indica being the most renowned. These species contain cannabinoids that interact with the body’s system and potentially contribute to the effects produced by this plant.

[afewproblems]

Season 2 Halloween AU Part Four

Part One, Part Two, Part Three

A very big thank you to @strangersteddierthings for chatting with me today and being such a great sounding board for the next update!

Synopsis: What if Eddie had been at Tina's Halloween Party in Season Two? Featuring Steve!Whump, Stancy Breakup, and Eddie just trying to keep up with all these new revelations about who King-Steve actually is...

***

"So…I have to ask," Eddie blurts out, cutting through the awkward silence that has fallen between them, "how were you gonna pick up your car before you ran into me?"

"I don't think it counts as running into you, if you were waiting for me Munson," Steve side steps the question expertly, flashing him a strange smirk that seems out of place. It falls after a second and twists into something pained.

"I was hoping Nance would take me," Steve says eventually, his voice soft, "which was pretty stupid in hindsight, 'specially cuz she was counting on me to drive her this morning, which--"

Steve cuts himself, snapping his mouth shut with a harsh click of teeth, he shakes his head and lifts his hand to run roughly through his hair.

"Doesn't matter anymore".

Eddie holds his breath, feeling the conversation begin to shift. It's as though he's stepped onto a tightrope and any wrong move could potentially send him over the edge.

He settles for nodding once, turning the key in the ignition.

Steve sighs and lets himself fall back into his seat, "I know you know already, the whole fucking school does, Billy saw to that," Steve gestures to his face, "say what you really want to ask". 

Eddie's fingers tighten around the wheel as he turns them out of the parking lot, fighting the immediate urge to say, 'why did Miss Priss throw it all away?' 

"You think I believe the rumours that come out of that shithole?" Eddie lies, keeping his eyes on the road this time.

He can feel Steve's unimpressed stare as they continue down mainstreet.

"Right, so you had no clue I was in detention?"

Eddie chews the inside of his cheek to fight the sly grin that begins to creep over his face, "Alright smart ass".

He hazards another glance at Steve as they begin to hit the residential area, he looks so different from the night before.

His limbs are loose, tension free, if it weren't for the heavy bags under Steve's eyes and the nervous tap of his fingers on the passenger door, Eddie would think he was finally relaxed.

"I knew a fight definitely happened, it's Hargrove," Eddie says slowly, carefully weighing his words, "but I typically prefer to hear the whole sordid story from the source before I pass any judgements, ya know?" 

Steve doesn't say anything as they continue driving through residential  the houses getting progressively bigger as they go.

"Did you," Steve pauses and breathes out slowly before shaking his head and lifting his face to meet Eddie's gaze, "is that offer for something stronger still open?" 

Eddie smiles, "I think that can be arranged". 

***

Eddie pulls over beside Tina Cline's house, wincing as the right front tire rolls over the curb and bounces the van as it lands on the street once more, startling a snort out of Steve. 

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up Harrington," Eddie huffs as Steve shoots him a grin.

"Didn't say a word," Steve hums, unbuckling himself from the seat. Eddie watches as he opens the door and hops out. For a moment Eddie worries Steve will pull the same disappearing act from last night but he simply stops beside his car door and motions for Eddie to roll down his window. 

Eddie cracks his door open instead, "window's broken, what?" 

Steve rolls his eyes, "whatever Munson, you know the way? It's north on 5th and--"

"Then two more rights, yeah man," Eddie says with a laugh in his voice, "I dropped you off remember?" 

"Fuck off," Steve huffs out, he's grinning though.

Steve swings the Beemer’s door open and slides in. He turns on the ignition and flinches at the loud burst of music from the stereo, the volume obviously set from the mood of the previous night. 

'I want to know what love is, I want you to show me--'

Steve slams his hand against the console, cutting off the song with a harsh crack. 

The van is parked just behind the Beemer so Eddie can't see Steve's face, but his head drops down onto the wheel for just the briefest moment before he slowly lifts it, turns on his signal and pulls away from the curb. 

***

Steve beats him to the house.

He's getting out of the car, which is parked on the long driveway as Eddie pulls up to the street. 

Eddie hops out of the van, hiking his backpack higher up on his shoulders, not bothering to lock it. Who would even want his shitty van among the BMWs and Mercedes parked down this street --hell, Eddie could have sworn he saw a Jag three houses down.

Eddie stops short of the lawn. The Harrington house is so different in the light of day, the strange emptiness that seemed to ooze out of the dark windows the night before has disappeared, leaving an ordinary house in its wake. 

"Well?" Steve calls out as he pulls a pair of keys from his back pocket and spins them once on his finger, "you coming or what Munson?" 

Eddie rolls his eyes and jogs to catch up to Steve who turns on his heel to stride up the walk. He stuffs the key into the deadbolt and swings one of the double doors inwards before shucking off his sneakers.

No shoes? Fucking rich people man.

Steve must notice Eddie's expression because he blushes and shrugs, "I know, I know, but my parents will be home for Thanksgiving this year so…may as well…"

He gestures around the sterile foyer with a tight smile, as though it explains everything. 

If anything, Eddie has more questions. 

Steve cuts off the thought by clearing his throat, "we should smoke outside, last thing I need is for you to burn a hole in the couch or something".

Eddie steps over the threshold and has to stop himself from whistling, were the ceilings always this high in this place?

He lifts his foot to unlace his left chuck, snorting at the strange little table in the middle of the foyer. A giant vase sits atop it filled with a mixture of what have to be silk flowers --no way they were real. He pulls the shoe off and tosses it to the side before lifting his right foot. 

Eddie never had the greatest balance so he hops back and forth with his right foot in the air before hopping as close as he can to the wall of the foyer and leaning back against it.

He finally gets the knot in his laces undone and throws the sneaker to the floor, dropping his right foot to the hardwood.

Eddie looks up to find Steve staring with a bemused expression on his face, he ignores the wide hazel eyes and removes the backpack from his shoulders -which can't have been helping the balance issue. 

Eddie unzips the top and yanks out the trusty metal lunchbox, sliding a wicked grin into place.

"You said something about outside?"

***

By the time they've settled, facing one another on a couple of pool loungers, the sun has begun to dip low, painting the patio and empty pool a warm glowing copper. It catches Steve's hair, which shines like gold in the dying sunlight, like some Autumnal Fae King--

Eddie wants to slap himself, suddenly thankful for the November wind that cuts through the backyard, forcing him to chillout.

He picks up the grinder from his lunchbox, unscrewing the cap to open it.

"You good with a joint this evening my good King?" 

He pours a handful of a new strain Rick let him try the other day into the grinder and starts twisting. It's not something he would typically share with anyone other than Jeff, but Steve seemed like he could use something a little more special tonight.

Eddie looks up after a beat of silence, "yo, Major Tom, you with me?" 

Steve's face is pinched, tilted towards the empty pool, "please don't call me that," he says quietly.

"Major Tom?"

Steve raises his eyes to meet Eddie's gaze, his mouth cuts a hard line across his face, the typical easy grin it usually houses is gone. 

"King-Steve," he runs a hand through his hair, letting the fingers linger to grip and pull, "I just, that's not who I am anymore, I don't--"

Steve swallows harshly, "that's all anyone could talk about this morning".

He drops his voice and octave, "oh, King Steve is so pussy whipped he let his girl fuck Jonathan Byers before she dumped him".

"Is that what Hargrove said?" Eddie asks quietly as he pours out a portion of weed onto a paper.

Steve shakes his head, "that was Tommy, but that wasn't why I hit him". 

Eddie nods, and lifts the joint to his mouth to run his tongue along the edge of the paper. Steve watches him from the lounger, his eyes follow the movement before he blinks and continues.

"Tommy and I had been best friends since we were five, he uh, he knows a lot about me," Steve lifts his hand to his mouth and chews the nail of his thumb briefly before dropping it back into his lap.

"Stuff I don't tell anyone, stuff he knows will hurt". 

Eddie nods, twisting the joint closed, he can kind of understand that, although the only person in his life that knew him like that was Wayne.  

And Wayne would never hurt him. 

Did Steve really not have anyone else like that in his life, someone he could tell anything to that wouldn't look at him weird or judge him. Someone safe.

"Anyway, Hargrove started in on me after that, but he's been fucking with me for awhile so," Steve shrugs again, "he saw his big opportunity here".

"Hargrove's been messing with you?" Eddie asks sharply as he pours more weed onto another paper. He lifts it and runs his tongue along the edge of the paper before twisting it into shape. When he looks up, Steve's ears have gone slightly pink and he's sitting strangely, slightly hunched and twisted.

"Yeah," Steve says after a moment, he clears his throat and straightens his back, "yeah, it's just been at practice so far, and I thought it was just because he wanted to one up me for my spot but," he shakes his head, "it's getting worse". 

"You know, I have a bit of a reputation around school," Eddie says slowly, carefully, watching as Steve freezes and looks at Eddie with wide eyes.

"The Hellfire club is more than just the game we're playing, it's also kind of a sanctuary for kids that don't have anyone to lean on, we look after each other," Eddie continues, ignoring the way Steve relaxes slightly, "you wouldn't need to play or anything but if you need somewhere to sit at lunch now…" 

Steve looks at Eddie for a long time, his expression blank, guarded, "really? Just like that?" 

"Yeah man, besides I get to use my 'Mean and Scary Guy' persona on these fuckers so it's a win-win for me".

Steve grins, raising one skeptical eyebrow, "mean and scary?"

Eddie bristles a little bit at the questioning tone in Steve's voice and can't quite swallow the urge to snarl, "yeah I mean you looked plenty scared of the town freak yesterday". 

Steve winces and immediately starts to shake his head, inching forward in his seat so he's even closer to Eddie, their knees are almost touching.

"That's not, I wasn't," he stops and takes a deep breath, "I was upset about Nancy and it was so dark outside, the trees--"

"You afraid of the dark Harrington?" Eddie cuts him off, the lingering irritation still simmers in his voice as he coos. 

Steve just looks at him, there's something strange about the haunted expression on his face that makes the hair on the back of Eddie's arms stand on end. 

"Things happen in the dark, in the woods," Steve says softly, his eyes drift to the empty pool again. 

Eddie opens his mouth to ask Steve what the hell he means by that, when a voice shouts across the yard.

"Steve? STEVE?!" 

The sound of someone running through the grass has them both of their feet, the joints forgotten on the pool loungers. 

"Dustin?" 

A kid, he can't be more than twelve or thirteen, skids into the porchlight that has replaced the last copper rays of evening light, the sun fully set by now. The kid's blue eyes are wide underneath a mop of curly hair and hat, he's breathing hard.

"I need your help".

Tag List: @eriquin @luvinthefreaks @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @goodolefashionedloverboi @ellietheasexylibrarian @bambibiest @sadboislovebeans @howincrediblysapphicofyou @coleys-a-nerd @whycantiuseunderscore @airconditioning123 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @corrodedbisexual @starman-jpg @ilovecupcakesandtea @yoriposts @clumsiluni @pelinelin @phantomcat94 @lololol-1234 @anaibis @airconditioning123 @steveshairspray @hellfireone @sunswathe @eddielives1986 @tentativeghost @robin-not-batman @estrellami-1 @manda-panda-monium @tinyplanet95 @perseus-notjackson

Part Five

and for some peeps that I think may be interested! @steddierthings @steddie-there @steves-strapcollection @outpastthebrakers @henderdads @stevesbipanic

[sanjiaftersex]

watching whole cake really puts so much into perspective like if i was in sanji's place i wouldn't just be smoking, I'd be snorting cocaine

[pinkd3mon]

can I just mention. That I was talking to my friend about taranza. And we came to the conclusions that-

A.) He's always high and nobody notices it.

And

B.) He's spiderman.

Do with this what you will.

Youre so right about the high thing and you should say it

[stop-talking]

My favorite Future Man interview moments (pt. 1)

Youtube links:

(in order)

NYCC 2018: Josh Hutcherson Talks Future Man Season 2

NYCC 2018: Josh Hutcherson Interview for Future Man

Future Man - Josh Hutcherson Interview (Comic Con)

Josh Hutcherson, Eliza Coupe & Derek Wilson on the New Series ‘Future Man’ | Comic-Con 2017 | MTV

Enjoy pookies <3

[jazzy-art-time]

if you insist

[tightjeansjavi]

Y’all I am so blitzed right now that I started typing in the Amazon search bar I—💀

[lookwhatyoudidithasanxiety]

//Warning for marijuana use. I don't condone underage use, nor do I condone using irresponsibly. Sun, Moon, and Solar are all adults!

I'm so sorry for this ^^'

Edit: Please ignore the fact that I forgot that all of the animatronics do have teeth canonically in my own story... So just read it as them all forgetting that they do have teeth? Maybe?//

[afewproblems]

Season 2 Halloween AU Part Three

Part One, Part Two

Eddie waits till the end of the day to strike.

It's after four, and almost everyone has left for the day with the exception of the teachers and the janitor --who has already given Eddie the stink eye for remaining after hours for 'no reason'.

But Eddie does have a reason, a pretty decent one too.

He's waiting for King-Steve to get out of detention.

Turns out it didn't take until lunch for the whole school to hear about Harrington and Wheeler. In fact, the way Eddie heard, Steve had been ambushed not two minutes after his conversation with Nancy by Hagan and Hargrove.

Now here was where the story differed depending on who you heard it from.

Tammy Thompson told her lunch table that Steve freaked out when Hargrove started talking shit about Nancy.

Mark Holmes told Jim Cutter that Hagan got punched in the face and Hargrove was simply defending his friend from Steve.

Sarah March told Jeff in their homeroom that Steve wound up with a black eye after gym class that morning and was almost suspended for the week.

Eddie knows there must be a thread of truth linking all of these stories together. And at this point, he'd much rather hear it straight from the source.

Plus with a black eye Harrington would be needing those glasses back.

Eddie snaps the gum in his mouth and stuffs his hands in his pockets as he leans against locker 109, certain that Steve will have to stop by before he leaves.

"Munson?"

Speak of the devil.

Eddie tilts slightly in the direction of the voice and blows out a low whistle at the sight of the shiner on Steve's face.

It's already a deep purple, though it isn't as swollen as Eddie would have thought. It matches the colour of the bags under Steve's good eye and is accentuated by how strangely pale he looks today. Steve's lip is also split down the middle, blood staining his polo collar.

Huh, so it didn't happen in gym.

"Looks like someone had an interesting day," Eddie smiles as he crosses one leg over the other and taps the tip of his chuck on the linoleum, Steve winces at the harsh squeak it makes.

"Look Munson, whatever you want, just get it over with," Steve manages to say through gritted teeth, his hands have clenched into loose fists but the same tremor from the night before has returned in full force.

Eddie pushes himself off of Steve's locker and watches as the other man tenses. Eddie rolls his eyes and reaches behind himself, grabbing the shades from where they are hanging off his back pocket. Steve's gaze follows Eddie's movements and barely halts a flinch as the sunglasses are tossed into his chest.

Steve only seems to catch them with his latent jock ability but still nearly drops them in surprise.

"You left these in my van last night," Eddie shrugs at the way Steve's head tilts slightly, he looks from the glasses in his hand to Eddie and back again with a frown.

"Oh," he breathes out, and the tension drops from Steve's frame like the strings holding him up are all at once severed.

"First a taxi service, now a courier," Eddie smirks, dropping his left hand to his hip, "how ever will you make it up to me Harrington?"

Steve grimaces, rubbing a hand down his face, he winces as it brushes the deepening bruise under his eye, "I'm sure you're about to tell me".

Eddie grins, pretending to consider his options as he lifts a ringed hand to his chin to hold it thoughtfully for a beat while Steve stands before him, looking more and more frustrated with every passing second.

"Where's the fun in that?" Eddie says with a sly smile as he steps closer, nearly into Steve's space, and leans in.

"Maybe you'll owe me one," Eddie winks as he says it before dropping his voice into a wheezing Italian affectation, "perhaps one day soon I'll call upon you for a favor--"

"What?" Steve sputters out in a strangled laugh, leaning away from Eddie's sudden proximity.

From this angle Eddie can see the slightest flush creeping down Steve's neck.

"The Godfather? You know?" Eddie raises an eyebrow at the blank expression on Steve's face, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse?"

Steve's brow pinches in confusion as he shakes his head.

"I mean," Eddie huffs, moving out of Steve's space again, "you'd probably like it, you have plenty of practice rejecting offers don't ya big boy?"

It takes a second for the words to register for both of them.

Steve's eyebrows cut creases across his forehead as they rise into his hair and Eddie immediately wants to fling himself off the gymnasium roof.

Of all the stupid, stupid things--

"Is this about the weed?" Steve asks slowly with a frown wrinkling his nose, it would be cute if Eddie wasn't beside himself with relief.

Focus.

"Yup," Eddie manages to say with a straight face despite the way his heart is racing. He clears his throat and leans backwards to drape himself against the lockers again, miscalculating how far he's moved away from them after Steve showed up.

Eddie loses his footing and slams into the metal with a loud bang, sliding down onto the floor in a leather clad heap.

"Jesus Christ," Eddie hears from above him, opening his eyes to find a pair of wide hazel ones staring into his own.

"Did you hit your head?"

Eddie ignores the question and the heat that rises in his face and ears. He wants nothing more at this moment than to tell Steve to fuck off, to leave him to crawl into a hole now and finally live the rest of his days as a Hobbit.

But King-Steve is persistent.

"Come on Munson, we should go before someone comes to see what happened, I'm not getting another detention for you," Steve huffs as he holds a hand out in front of Eddie.

Eddie looks from the outstretched hand in front of him, to Steve's face. His stupid, earnest, beautiful face, and takes his hand, grunting as he rises back to his feet.

A door opens down the hall, near the admin office and both men freeze as a pair of heels begin to click and clack their way down the hall.

"Shit," Eddie hisses at the same time Steve barks out a frantic, "Go, go, go!"

They scramble to get away from the lockers and make a beeline for the side exit, a mixture of laughter and curses echoing after them.

Eddie doesn't stop running until he reaches the driver's side door of his van.

He pants out a wild laugh and shakes his head as Steve bends at the waist with his hands braced on his knees. When Steve rights himself, there's a flush of exertion and a bright smile that is only slightly marred by the black eye and split lip.

"You're a trip Harrington," Eddie breathes out before clutching his throat, "I think I swallowed my gum back there".

Steve laughs loud and bright and Eddie can't help but watch the way his head tips back, exposing the long column of his neck. He looks up again, his eyes seem to search Eddie's face briefly before he shakes his head with an expression Eddie's never seen before.

"Yeah well," Steve huffs, his good eye crinkles at the corner from his smile, "you're not what I thought you'd be like either Munson".

And Eddie just doesn't know what to do with that.

Instead, he clears his throat and kicks at a piece of gravel that careens across the empty student parking lot.

"Where's your noble steed?" Eddie asks, his head on swivel. Harrington's car was fairly iconic around here, no way it would have been missed among the sea of beat up Ford's and Gremlins.

Steve tilts his head and frowns slightly, "I left it at Tina's remember?"

And yeah, shit, that makes sense, he must have caught the bus that morning and completely missed it with detention.

"...do you need a ride?"

"Okay".

Part four up!

Tag List: @eriquin @luvinthefreaks @cinnamon-mushroomabomination @goodolefashionedloverboi @ellietheasexylibrarian @bambibiest @sadboislovebeans @howincrediblysapphicofyou @coleys-a-nerd @whycantiuseunderscore @airconditioning123 @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @corrodedbisexual @starman-jpg @ilovecupcakesandtea @yoriposts @clumsiluni @pelinelin @phantomcat94 @lololol-1234 @anaibis @airconditioning123 @steveshairspray @hellfireone @sunswathe @eddielives1986

and for some peeps that I think may be interested! @strangersteddierthings @steddierthings @steddie-there @steves-strapcollection @outpastthebrakers @henderdads @stevesbipanic

[flufflecat]

bill found our home gardening project

[sea-jello]

trick or treat!

be careful out there tonight i heard they were putting things in the candy bars

[dlsau]

The funniest possible outcome is that this au is just solar on drugs

I don’t know what you’re—

O shit they’re using him again. Uhh… nobody panic I’ll think of something.

[longlegsnamjoon420]

Doc put me on a new med that is making me super dizzy and now I’m like freakin out lol. Hate this feeling 🤢

[oinonsana]

found out that Werewolf 5 is out and it looks rlly prtty and i want to run it eventually but the blurb is giving me pacified twitter advertisement... that is NOT what werewolf is about!!

werewolf is about how Gaia is fucking dead.

The icebergs are sliding into the sea. Coastal cities are ravaged by the strongest fucking typhoons and hurricanes humanity has ever experienced.

The forests are on fucking fire while your corpse of a politician is wondering how else they can justify sending soldiers to the Global South to cut down trees and steal oil.

What does this fucking look like to you, huh? The Apocalypse is here? The Apocalypse has BEEN here. The Wyrm is fucking feeding on the corpse of the Divine Mother.

And what are you doing about it? All sad, languishing in your fucking desks. 

Don’t you hear it? Your heartbeat? The only thing left of Gaia is wrath. Your heartbeat is her heartbeat now. Your heartbeat is her ANGER. Her MADNESS. Her FRENZY.

YOU GAROU, WARRIOR SHAPESHIFTERS, SO-CALLED CHAMPIONS OF THE EARTH! Choose: a fucking desk job, or your closest friend ripped apart by techgnomachinery? A normal family life or a huge fucking caern where your lover will mourn you potentially the next day? A little piddly gun or a huge fucking klave?

CHOOSE ANGER. CHOOSE FRENZY. CHOOSE DELIRIUM. LEAP AND FUCKING KISS THE MOON. DIE IN A HEAP OF SILVER BULLETS AND BLADES. TEAR DOWN THE GATES, SHATTER THE SKYSCRAPERS, BURN DOWN ESTABLISHMENTS, RIP APART WALL STREET, CHOOSE THE WORST FUCKING MARIJUANA, CHOOSE A SHITTY 10 YEAR OLD TSHIRT AND SOME DUSTY ASS COMBAT BOOTS

You’ll die either way. So,

will you choose to take this shit on your knees, or will you CHOOSE TO RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE RAGE

[reeferree]

Nothing in Eddie’s trailer serves the purpose it should serve and it’s baffling to Steve.

The owl cookie jar (that absolutely exists because it existed in every 70s-80s trailer) has weed in it (although Eddie’s Grandma Newt and Grandpa Tuffy would probably approve though).

All the drinking glasses are jelly jars and all the actual drinking glasses hold pens or toothbrushes.

They have a million coffee mugs but the majority aren’t used and one very confusing day Eddie gave Steve soup in one.

The bread sits on top of the bread box that Steve knows is a bread box because it says bread on it but it’s full of junk mail.

[the-dalseum-duet]

silly non-canon stuff

no prompt again today! :)

@svwhssftr fuck you. you get tagged. silly kohls content for today. also soft-launching a few concepts I’ve had floating around

Kai rubbed his short nails against the iridescent sequins of his fish tie. The eyeliner on his waterline had begun to stick to his eyelashes as he blinked, and his metallic dress shoes were just barely too small for him. His crystal glass of Prosecco was the only thing keeping him awake. 

His fellow new Council inductees seemed to share the same sentiment. Sonnet’s wide-legged dress pants fluttered against their heeled shoes as they took small steps, their head half-resting on Adam’s shoulder beside them. Adam rubbed his eye, the golden eyeshadow surrounding it rubbing off on his fingers. He swore under his breath as he wiped his hand on the sheer sleeve of his collared shirt. 

However, Sara and Noeul were perfectly awake. Sara rambled about all of the minuscule details that weren’t perfect at the initiation ceremony. She confirmed that she “had the best time, don’t get me wrong” after every sentence, but Noeul had evidently learned how to ignore her. He blankly stared at the endless, bleak sky outside the Palace. Gale trailed behind them, chiming in with an unrelated comment every few minutes. His words were not acknowledged by Sara nor Noeul. 

Sara snapped her fingers, her golden rings jingling. “We should meet up in a few minutes on the balcony of the top floor.” 

“We should what?” Sonnet murmured, linking arms with Adam. 

“Hot tub,” Noeul shortly explained. 

“Are you fucking serious?” Adam groaned. “I want to go to bed.”

“It’ll be relaxing,” Sara promised. “And it’s cold outside. I feel like we didn’t get enough one-on-one time tonight.” 

“We had plenty,” Sonnet said. 

“Maybe you and your touchy-feely little boyfriend did,” Kai spat. “Porter and I just rubbed elbows with random snooty-ass people all night.” 

“It’s fine,” Gale said. “I rubbed elbows with hundreds of ‘snooty-ass’ people to get here. I can stand a little more.”

“I’m with Belle,” Kai said. “I want to sleep.”

“But you could sit with me in the hot tub,” Noeul flatly said. 

“Damn,” Kai sighed. “That’s a hard argument to beat.” 

“I want to talk to you guys,” Sara said, fidgeting with the charm at the end of her necklace. “I’m going to spend the next few years with you. We might as well start getting comfortable tonight.” 

“Yeah, you guys should come,” Noeul said. 

“Do you ever give two shits about anything?” Adam said, pausing to turn and face Noeul. “I swear, every time you speak, you never say anything with substance.” 

“Adam, stop it,” Sonnet softly said, grabbing his hand. 

“I’m just tired,” Adam sighed. 

“I know you are.” Sonnet kissed his cheek. 

“Maybe you’d hear me say something with substance if you came out to the balcony tonight.” Noeul pursed his lips into a half-grin. 

“He got you there!” Gale said. The Council collectively side-eyed him, an awkward tension polluting the Palace halls. 

“His accent gives me a headache,” Adam whispered. Sonnet giggled. Adam wasn’t kidding. 

“I’m going up to the balcony,” Noeul said, grabbing the silver railing of the staircase with his gloved hands. Unlike the rest of the Council, Noeul’s room was in the royal quarters of the Palace. The rest of the Council stayed in the rooms beneath him. 

“I’ll be there,” Sara said, removing a few pieces of her fine golden jewelry. “I expect to see everyone else, too.” 

She shot a glittering, low-lidded glare to the rest of the Council before disappearing into her room. 

“Why is she such a bitch?” Kai asked, shaking his head. 

“Because she’s friends with Noeul,” Adam said, pressing his hand to his temples. “Everyone on this island is a bitch.”

“You can say that again,” Kai mumbled, carelessly kicking his door open and removing his various silver accessories. He hated how he looked with makeup, even when it was professionally done. He didn’t look like himself. He soaked a nearby towel in cold water before slapping it on his face. He couldn’t fall asleep yet. He had a chance at getting some good dick, at least. 

In a sense, he envied Adam and Sonnet. They always casually held each other and gave each other fleeting kisses. It was gross, but at least they were happy. Kai would rather get shot point-blank in the forehead than give Noeul a dainty little kiss on the cheek, but he wished Noeul at least recognized the tension between them. Sure, they were a drunken one-night-stand. But Kai was in Dalseum now. He deserved more than the groupie treatment. 

He changed into a stray pair of black swim trunks. He looked an utter mess. He needed to get his bangs redone. At least he was hot when he looked messy. His roommate, Gale, wasn’t hot no matter what he did. Kai smiled. It was a blessing not to be a 5’5” British man. 

He left his room to explore the halls of the Palace, the crystal tile freezing cold beneath his bare feet. As he traversed up the stairs, Sonnet’s door opened. 

“Are you seriously going?” Adam complained. 

“I want to go talk to everyone,” Sonnet said. They wore a pink floral pair of short swim-trunks and a green crocheted bikini-esque top.

“Give me a minute to get ready, then,” Adam said. Sonnet shut the door. 

As Kai continued up the stairs, he heard Sara laugh alongside echoes of The Smiths. A glass door to an expansive balcony stood in front of him, and Gale, Sara, and Noeul sat together in a blue-lit hot tub. The balcony was multiple stories above the Cocktail Quarters, which was frankly terrifying. Kai joined them anyway. 

“Shirogane!” Sara exclaimed, waving him over. Her long braids were tied into a bun behind her head, and her deep red bikini revealed a snake tattoo crawling along her back. Kai blinked. Shirogane?

Shirogane. That was the name he said he had. Right? Shit, he didn’t remember. He awkwardly smiled as he sat beside Noeul. Noeul wrapped one of his arms around Kai’s shoulders entirely unprompted. Was he flustered, or was it just the heat from the hot tub rising to his face? 

“Noeul told me you were from Kyoto,” Sara said, mixing some sort of drink with a straw. “It’s a beautiful place. You know, I went a few years ago to visit the Shinto shrines. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live there.” 

“Oh, yeah,” Kai lied. “It’s really something.” 

“Your last name is really unique,” she said, tilting her head. “I’ve never heard of anyone with that name before. Do you know any of the history behind it?” 

Shit, shit, shit. “Ah, not really.” Kai shrugged. “I’ve never been told anything about it.” 

“I assumed so,” Sara said, stretching her arms over the edge of the tub. “It’s cool, either way.”

“Thanks,” Kai whispered. Noeul barely pulled him closer. God, was the hot tub supposed to be thatwarm?

“Do you see the cherry blossoms in Kyoto?” Gale asked. “I don’t know which parts of Japan they’re in, but I’ve heard that they’re beautiful.” 

“Yeah, there are some cherry blossoms in Kyoto,” Kai slowly said. “I guess I don’t think about them because I see them so often.” 

“That’s so cool,” Gale huffed. “There’s nothing interesting in Kent. Moving to London was the best decision I ever made.” 

“Do you really eat beans on toast?” Kai blurted. Sara sharply laughed.

“What?” Gale blinked. 

“I’m sorry,” Kai said. “I was just curious. I’ve heard about the beans on toast.”

“I’m not going to answer that question.” Gale shamefully looked into the neon-studded distance.

The glass door slid open, and Sonnet and Adam stepped out into the balcony. 

“It’s cold as balls out here,” Adam said, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“That’s why we’re in the hot tub,” Noeul responded. 

Sonnet took a short puff of the blunt between their fingers as they scanned the crowd. They pointed at Kai. “Your scars!” they gasped. They pointed at their own chest, then to his. 

“Oh, shit,” Kai said. “Yeah. I never really brought that up, did I?” 

“That’s badass,” Sonnet said. “I never would have guessed you were trans. I mean, it’s pretty obvious that I’ve got some sort of fucked gender, but you? You’re set.” 

Sonnet cautiously stepped into the hot tub, being careful as to not wet their blunt. Adam followed.  

“What’s your deal, exactly?” Kai asked, squinting through the steam. “I know you’re a they or whatever the fuck, but what are the specifics? It’s always interesting to hear about fucked genders.” 

“Oh, I have no clue,” Sonnet laughed. “I’m too high to even think about that right now. I can barely do it sober. You can call me whatever you want, honestly. Adam can probably explain it to you. He’s heard me ramble.” 

“You’re, like, entirely unlabeled, right?” Adam said. “That’s what I’ve concluded from your late-night rambles.” 

“Probably.” Sonnet took another hit. 

“To me, at least, Sonnet’s gender is like an angel. Do you know much about the Bible?” Adam asked. 

“Great question for the hot tub tonight,” Sara said, chuckling to herself. 

“Not really, no,” Kai admitted. 

“I was raised Christian and lived to tell the story. Let me have my moment,” Adam said, flipping his wrist at Sara. “Most people think angels are gendered, but they’re really not. I mean, archangels are, but that’s because they have to communicate with humans. Most of them are just divine beings. That’s what Sonnet is to me, y’know? Just some divine being who speaks to me sometimes. That’s their gender.”

“That was beautiful, man,” Kai said, nodding.

“Yeah, Adam, that was really nice,” Sonnet said, leaning to kiss Adam’s forehead. 

“You know, you two make me believe in love,” Gale said. “You’re so different, but you’re so similar. And every time I see you two, you’re always looking at each other all smitten. I hope someone loves me like that someday.” 

Gale hopefully looked at Noeul. Noeul rolled his eyes.

“That’s so sweet-“ Adam started. 

“You might need to lose some weight first,” Noeul whispered, mainly to Kai. Kai was unsure how to respond to this, so he didn’t. Maybe Gale was a little pudgy, but there was no reason to make a comment about it in a group setting.

“Man, what the fuck?” Sara said, narrowing her eyes. “Noeul, was that necessary?”

“I was kidding.” Noeul blinked. He clearly wasn’t.

“What happened?” Gale whispered, quickly glancing between the two. 

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it, Porter.” Sara sipped her drink. 

“There’s no way you’re still drinking, Sara,” Noeul said, crossing his arms.

“This is a raspberry lemonade from my fridge. I didn’t want my hangover to be as bad,” Sara explained. “Mind your damn business.” 

Something tugged at the waist of Kai’s swim trunks. His face flushed. The awkward silence of the Council only made him more uncomfortable as the sensation crept further down. One of Noeul’s arms rested on the ledge of the hot tub, but the other was beneath the water. Kai could connect the dots. 

“Are we good with The Smiths?” Noeul casually asked. “I can change if we want.” 

“No, I like this one,” Sonnet answered, nodding. 

“Noeul, is this really the right time?” Kai whispered, leaning closer to Noeul. 

“For The Smiths? When is it not-“

Noeul used both of his hands to slick back his bangs. Kai’s eyes widened.

“What the fuck?” he gasped, frantically sticking his hand down his swim trunks. Adam’s face dropped. Sara covered her mouth with her hand. Kai pulled a beetle a good inch and a half long from his waistband. Kai heard Noeul laugh for the first time. 

“What the fuck?” Kai repeated, throwing the beetle over the edge of the balcony as he heavily breathed. 

“What was that?” Gale asked, his hands crossed over his heart.

“Fuckin’ bug!” Kai responded, shivering. 

“You thought that was me?” Noeul laughed. 

“Yeah, I did!” Kai exclaimed. 

“I mean, I could do that if you wanted,” Noeul said.

Kai’s face flushed yet again. “What?”

“The beetle rizz,” Sonnet whispered. Adam curled over laughing. 

“Never say that word again,” Gale said, shaking his head.

“Are you, like, genuinely offering? Right now?” Kai asked. 

“I mean, I’d be willing to fuck you after this. Not in the hot tub though.” 

Kai stared at the rest of the Council, wide-eyed. “Am I allowed to accept this offer in front of you guys?” 

“Noeul can fuck whoever he wants. We don’t care,” Sara said. 

“Then sure. Yeah, that sounds good.” Kai awkwardly gave Noeul a thumbs-up.

“A thumbs-up is crazy,” Adam laughed. 

“What else am I supposed to do?” Kai exclaimed. “I just got molested by a damn beetle. I’m already off-kilter.” 

“Should we all go to bed before someone gets hurt?” Gale offered. The Council collectively murmured in agreement. Noeul reached over to turn off his speaker. Morrissey’s crooning was replaced by the distant lapping of ocean waves and the whirring of cars beneath them.

“Meet you in your room?” Kai asked. 

“No, my dad will hear us. I’ll meet you in yours,” Noeul said. 

“Then the rest of us have to hear you,” Adam groaned. 

“Who are you to be complaining?” Noeul said. “Your tongue is down the throat of your precious angel bitch twenty-four seven.”

“Damn,” Sara said, shaking her head. Adam had no response. 

“I’ll be extra loud just for you, Belle,” Kai promised. 

“Yeah, two can play that game, Shirogane,” Adam said, reaching for Sonnet’s hand. 

“What if all of us acted like the civil leaders we are and went to fucking sleep?” Sara proposed. 

“I can get behind that,” Gale agreed. 

“I’ll see you all in the morning,” Sara sighed, shutting off the lights of the hot tub. “Be responsible.”

“Trust me,” Noeul slid open the glass door. “We won’t.”