Souls & Spirits | ONC 2024

Music & Mind Control

Both of them had been bullied at some point; Aster was ridiculed for his clumsy class clown persona and vocabulary, give or take a few lisps while Allen had been bullied for his avoidant personality and lack of social etiquette. Allen took every word in a literal sense since he had no notion of what sarcasm meant schaudenfrade. Aster had defended Allen from bullies, even if he was the one who wound up becoming the punching bag.

Aster had been there for him throughout his childhood and he took the fall because of an accident Allen caused. It was one of his impulses that got Aster kicked out of the house. Aster might've been a 16-year-old back then but he was still a minor. Allen still kept the letters Aster sent despite that there were other alternatives available like texting or social media.

At least the correspondence letters were tangible and he could tell what kind of person Aster was based on his handwriting. Allen preferred to have something tangible than to search through applications to read a text and he didn't like social media, he still doesn't. He only had those applications in order to finish his courses.

He found Duncan and Richard exchanging notes as they worked on a side project of their own. Most likely related to the investigation of the Bookkeeper. The only clues they had was the suspect's physical description: dark raven hair, green eyes, light skin, approximately weighing around 122 pounds and the estimated stature of 176 centimeters.

The bookkeeper had to keep a low profile, which he had no problem in doing so as long as their wasn't much noise. Unfortunately, he could hear the band's acoustics echoing all the way to the speakeasy. He preferred to stay isolated in his office but he had the obligation to chaperone the birthday girl in Ender's stead. After the Dandy Cafe was closed for the evening, Ivy chose to spend the night dancing with the flapper dress Daisy gave her as a birthday gift.

It wasn't exactly a quinceañera dress that Ivy wanted though it certainly compensated for her first day on the job given that she had an odious chaperone who refused to give her a dance.

After the Daisy Dukes have performed a couple of songs, Aster had decided to make his own violin solo to dedicate a poem for the birthday girl.

These flowers are for you, my dear

Don't be so blue, be of good cheer

If your heart breaks,

I'll give you a mandrake

Who would make such a foolish mistake?

What I would give to have you for goodness sake

To heal the heart of a maiden

In return I'll give you a snapdragon

If you feel so glum,

I'll give you a chrysanthemum

If you felt silly,

I'll give you a tiger lily

If you feel happy,

I'll give you a poppy

For a touch of your lips,

I'll give you a tulip