#Once again Elliot is completely and totally normal about music | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

welcometotheocverse · 4 years ago

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🌟 for Elliot pls?

:D aaaah! I’ve had him in the brain a lot lately okay sorry this got long And also im rewatching rn so its sorta season 1ish.

Elliot is Rory’s younger twin. He was given Christopher’s middle name. He’s mostly grateful it was the middle name.

He and Rory are super close. It was just the two of them ( and then Lane) The Twins That Read A Lot. Because they had each other they didn’t have much incentive to make friends outside of each other ( Elliot more than Rory) and extrapolating from the Pilot where Rory doesn’t seem like she has a lot of friends ( or any sans Lane) and is lowkey scoffed at for reading the assignment I’m gonna go with “other kids weren’t that keen on making friends with them either”

Rory’s the talkative one, he’s the quiet one. This is a bit of Rory also being protective of him/noticing when he looks overwhelmed and just...talking up a storm as is her wont and subtly getting attention away from Elliot. For a lot of the early season they’re not seen one without the other ( keeping in mind their arch is to learn it’s okay to have different dreams and even go different places )

Sorta shy and a bit more introverted than Rory. Once you become his friend however he pretty much would die for you and his face absolutely lights up when he sees you as opposed to his usual reserved nature and he talks to you albeit not as much as his twin ( unless hes super excited or talking about something he finds interesting then the resemblance kicks in lmao but thats the exception) its like a switch ( seen with Rory, Luke, and Lane in canon and Sophie/Paige in their xover)

Likes hanging out at Luke’s. They both sorta enjoy... being quiet around each other. Elliot thinks he has a really calming vibe …when Taylor’s not there.

Ms Kim doesn’t like him because he’s a boy so he’s not allowed at Lane’s like Rory is ( honestly the feeling’s mutual bc “I’m pretty sure locking you up for days and keeping you from school falls under child abuse also wtf” and lowkey the girls are like “lets just keep you not in the house” Lane might be closer to Rory but they still talk music together. She’s part of the reason his music taste actually started deviating from Lorelai’s and Rory’s.)

He doesn’t like unfair treatment of other people. It really gets to him. Examples are Ms. Kim to Lane and his grandparents and father to his mom. Later examples are Mitchum Huntzberger, and Marty. ( he’s pretty unimpressed with Marty and how his feelings for Rory make him act in general tbh but what he does with Lucy is just...it really bothers him he’s adamant that Rory should tell Lucy the truth.)

Highkey he has about zero patience for bad/toxic parents partly bc of his own feelings about Christopher and to an extent his grandparents that he keeps minimizing so they get projected on...everyone else with bad parents lol.

Logan’s still a bit amazed that this shy soft spoken kid he met in his junior year went off like “He’s not your fucking property” when Mitchum went on his “You’re available when i say you’re available” tirade ( Elliot was ngl intimidated/scared of Mitchum who pretty much went “Who the hell are you??!” but Logan’s his friend and that wasn’t okay and he kept eye contact with the asshole until Logan diverted his attention back to him/the fight they were having and made sure he at least told Logan afterwards because “but he shouldn’t..” and “he shouldn’t have” and “No! No..it’s not Okay. “)

But also like constantly “it’s not a big deal” when it comes to his aforementioned feelings about Christopher and pretty much anything he might be angry about.

Lowkey spends a lot of time Rory goes through relationship drama between “????” and “wowww dodged a bullet” Rory throws pillows at him for the latter because “If I’m gonna rant at you El, you could at least give me sympathy.”

He does have some insecurities about his orientation born out of just..f.eeling othered due to isolation and also some stuff he’s heard his dad say.

He figures out he’s asexual before he figures out he’s aromantic and has to deal with a lot of “Are you sure?” and “is that..is that normal?” from some townsfolks before he figures out Luke can scare them off and he lowkey spends a lot of time at the dinner during this time. Luke smiles at him and gives him muffins tho he’ll deny deny deny if you mention it.

A bit more sensitive than Rory like on the pilot episode when he notices Lorelai is worried about Chilton/having to ask her parents for money he stops at the base of the stairs and asks “is...everything okay mom?” and is kinda just in tune with how the people he cares about are feeling/picks up on things like that.

He...doesn’t super like his grandparents because of how they treat his mother. Emily already made him a bit anxious because of her passive aggressive nature ( he’s giving me some anxiety vibes tbh) and the fact that he thought the fact that his mom kept them away sorta ominous. A lot of season 1 is him looking down at his plate and tensing with every “your mother’s golf clubs are in the attic along with the rest of her potential” and Richard’s “he ( Christopher) always was a smart one that boy, you two must take after him” and “as a maid with all your brains and talents” and it sorta...yeah he spends a lot of time looking at his plate and swallowing resentment. There are times where it gets better but overall he’s never completely at ease around them. He’s very quiet but civil around them even as he grows some affection and builds bridges with them along Lorelai and Rory. And I haven’t even figured out the fallout with the thing they pull at the wedding.

Emily at least once asked off handedly why Elliot wasn’t seeing anyone and I’m still figuring out if she says something like “that’s not normal” before Lorelai or Rory intervene.

(( Full disclosure Emily reminds me a bit too much of my own relationship with my mom and its really hard to write her favorably though I at least try to be fair. So Elliot is sometimes a bit harsh on her and very in Lorelai’s corner when Emily and Richard are...less than nice. ))

Sort of a mamma’s boy. Rory and Lorelai have their special connection but so do Elliot and Lorelai. Rory was a bit more extroverted and would play/hang out with Lane while Elliot was perfectly content as a babie curling up with his mom and reading. It worried Lorelai a bit, how hard it was for him to reach out ( she never had that moment she had with Rory and Lane of “my kid has a friend” with him) but he always had Rory yknow so she calmed herself with that. Sometimes when Rory’s with Lane he’ll hang out at the Inn and work there. He somehow got in to Michel’s good graces ( “because you are quiet and unobtrusive” and got him to teach him French

Very tactile. When he’s getting nervous Rory will reach out and grab his hand or Lore will put her hands on his shoulder and he’ll calm down. He does the same when wanting to comfort friends or just wanting to show affection ( will lean on Finn and Colin a lot as he gets closer to them or accept that they’ll just throw an arm around him)

Meeting the LAD bridgade kids makes social events with his grandparents so much easier like ohmygod subparties with Logan Colin Finn and Rory become lifesavers. ( its not so much the drinking as having someone you can laugh with while dodging your grandparents friends and the girl they told to look for you yknow)

He has more resentment towards Christopher than his sister and doesn’t see him with the rose colored glasses Rory sees him in their younger years. His absence hurts him a lot. He hides it well and is nice enough towards him because he loves Lorelai and Rory and wants them to be happy/have a good time but if you catch him on a bad day you might get a rant about how little Christopher knows about them and how little he was there and “he just drops by, spends like a day with us and leaves yknow...it’s...and we’re supposed to be happy???” and the fact that he doesn’t wanna tell Rory or Lorelai bc he thinks it’ll upset them just sorta...makes it worse.

And then at some point Christopher pops off with “and how long are you gonna entertain this phase of his Lore, a boy his age should be dating” and while Rory’s making angry noises and Lorelai’s saying “Outside. Now” ( though they don’t know the twins are listening) he just gets...this thin unsurprised smile and...yeah it’s not great.

Very supportive of people he loves. He’s constantly telling Rory through the Chilton years that she’s smart enough, more than smart enough to get through this and helps her study. He makes sure he tells Lorelai he loves her or hugs her if he can tell the dinners are a bit hard on her. Honestly a total cream puff. The resentment for his grandparents and father is mostly buried and comes out like when he’s upset/they do something that provokes it. Mostly he’s a really soft boy and kinda soft spoken, loves reading about science and space ( he balances out Rory’s preference for literature and history though they both like poetry and Elliot occasionally reads prose as Rory lets him infodump sometimes about science journals) and loves his friends so so dearly. Will get angry a la Beware The Nice Ones if you hurt them though the first thing he’ll do is comfort them/try to cheer them up.

He loves Stars Hollow but being the only aroace person he knows of there ( and fielding well intentioned “are you sures?” and “oh honey you’ll find someone someday”s and just..alot of early 2000s Star Hollow-ness ( “Hey kiddo you gonna bid on a basket this year?” “oh you’re getting handsome, gonna find yourself a girl for the starlight festival?” “is he..youknow?” is just...a lot? He wants to spread his wings and find his place/people like him/feel less isolated.

He still loves his town though as its his home and raised him his sister and in a way his mother. He visits while he’s at Yale ( the distance helps tremendously as does the ability to just...leave again) like Rory and says hi to Miss Patty and Gypsy and Andrew ( he loves Andrew omg. One of the few people who didn’t just assume he and Rory were always reading the same books) He helps the 30-Something gang find jobs/fine tune resumes though im not including anything else form ayit and checks in how they’re doing bc..its still his town. They’re his family. “my nuts-o, extended...well meaning but sometimes overly invested and too-pushy-and-slightly-overbearing family.” even as he dreams of getting out a lot and once he does he...really likes it. He loves them

He goes to Yale because Rory goes to Yale (because again the whole Learning To Be Independent From Your Twin...kind of a slow process for him) and gets sibling-adopted by Finn and Colin in a turn of events he’s pretty much confused over like im p sure they were like “hes ours now” and Elliot was like “im ...you’re...w..what?” and Logan who Knows Finn and Colin is like “don’t fight it” and lowkey adopted him too.

Im cutting myself off bc this got Long and im sorry lol

Thank you so much for the ask <3

send me a ✨ and i’ll tell you about a random OC

#my ocs #Elliot Gilmore #about Elliot

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xmxisxforxmaybe · 5 years ago

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Okay

Summary: Rami needs his brother to make him feel okay after the intensity of filming Mr. Robot, Episode 407.

A/N: Well, this is a bit of a grey area for me because Sami isn’t a celeb; however, the muse bit and she would NOT let go. Also, if you haven’t read @bohemian-napsodyy‘s HC about the Reader x Rami on set during Ep 407, do it. Their Anon beat my own muse by a few hours 😉

Warning: Spoiler-ish for Mr. Robot, Episode 407

When Sami stepped off the plane, he grimaced.

The air inside LaGuardia was stifling, almost putrid compared to the air of his west coast home. Sami hated coming to New York City in the summer, but when Rami had called and asked him to hang out for a few days on the Robot set, there was something in his twin’s voice that Sami couldn’t ignore.

“I’m supposed to come in July, Ram. School just let out. I’m exhausted. Are you sure it can’t wait?”

“Uh, well, uh, I don’t know. I guess so,” Rami had stammered.

Sami knew there was something his brother wasn’t telling him, but why he wasn’t telling him was what concerned him.

“Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rami said immediately, and Sami knew that the vulnerability Rami had just let slip was being hurriedly caged away. He could practically hear the door slamming shut as Rami changed both the subject of conversation and the tone of his voice. Sami knew his brother better than he knew his own self.

And that was the thing with being an identical twin; they were quite literally your other half, and even though at times Sami wanted nothing more than to knock his brother senseless, he loved him with a depth that few could ever understand.

When they had hung up, Sami was still uncommitted to visiting the Robot set early, but an unease settled in the pit of his stomach and didn’t let go until he texted his brother later that night to say he’d catch the first flight out in the morning.

Rami’s reply was short, a simple “OK,” but Sami could feel his brother’s relief and knew it was mirrored in the way his own body had relaxed when he finally sent the text. It didn’t matter that they were literally on opposite ends of the country, 2,800 miles apart; Sami always knew exactly what Rami was feeling.

Despite having worn sunglasses, a hat, and earbuds, Sami was approached three times as he navigated his way through the crowded airport, remembering another reason why he hated New York City. In LA, people just didn’t approach celebrities like they did on the east coast, and they especially did not give a shit about the brother of a celebrity.

The first person to approach was someone who recognized him as “the other one” once they got close enough, and then comically turned on their heel and tried to walk away as if they hadn’t just made a beeline for the wrong twin.

Next, it was by someone who knew exactly who he was and asked for a picture anyway.

And finally, it was by someone who, despite his protests, insisted that Sami was Rami, clearly preparing for a new role. Sami shook his head and smiled for the camera, thinking Rami’s people would have fun with that one if it picked up any traction online.

The taxi ride to Rami’s apartment in Soho was too long, but Sami caught up on his texts, first making sure to tell his mom he had a safe flight.

Sami paid for his taxi and made his way into the building that housed Rami and a few of the other cast members, including Carly. Sami liked Carly and hoped to run into her even though his visit was going to be a short one. She never failed to tell some sort of embarrassing story about Rami, which Sami mentally tucked away for the times when Rami would get his head stuck too far up his own ass.

Rami was still on set, so when he knocked, the door to the apartment was opened by one of his brother’s assistants. It was still strange to think about the level of fame his brother had achieved. Rami had always done too much, had always been totally in control of his career, but that way of life was now forgotten, rather it had to be forgotten because way too many people wanted a piece of him now.

Sami honestly didn’t know how his more introverted brother handled it—the press, the fans, the relationships he had to build and maintain, and then the work itself. Being a teacher was hard, thankless, and often emotionally draining. But at the end of the day, Sami got to stop, got to be himself free from most societal expectations and got to hide himself away able to function in unnoticeable ways, unlike Rami.

And it bothered Sami to know that his twin was struggling to adjust to his new life, too. He felt even more guilty for hesitating to come for a visit when it had been so long since he’d even seen Rami.

Sami had seen more of Rami inadvertently than intentionally since winter. He’d walk by magazines in the grocery store or pop online and see images of his brother, exhausted and unhappy.

“Rami has a bit of a long shoot in Central Park today, but he should be home around 7. I know he’s going to be glad you’re here,” this woman Sami barely knew said.

Fuck. A stranger knows more than I do, Sami thought as he gave her a smile. He didn’t miss the way she looked at him—the same way most people who knew his brother first did. They see the resemblance and wonder just how alike the twins are.

As Sami settled in and walked through his brother’s somewhat sparse, definitely lonely apartment, he worked to stifle his guilt. It wasn’t like he could just take a few days off and follow his brother around the world. When a teacher took a day off, it was usually more work than it was worth.

Sami flipped through Rami’s mail before opening the fridge and finding next to nothing inside. He rolled his eyes, and despite his distaste for New York, Sami was glad he came. Clearly, his brother needed him, even if he wasn’t able to say those words.

* * * * *

Sami had visited the Robot set quite a few times over the years, but he had never been to set on a day like this. The entire atmosphere was tense; it felt like something dirty had slid under his skin and stuck there, and after awhile it began to pulsate until its presence couldn’t be ignored.

Rami had explained that this was it; today’s shoot was the culmination of all of Elliot’s suffering, and Sami could clearly see just how invested everyone who worked on the show was.

When Rami emerged from his dressing room, no longer his familiar twin, but as Elliot Alderson, Sami gave him a small smile which Rami returned before he wiped his features clean again, fully Elliot in an instant.

From his perch behind one of the cameras, the assistant director was watching the screen with their eyes glued to it. Sami had the luxury of looking between the screen and the set, and the luxury of letting his mind wonder. It was so strange to hear the scene delivered with the scuffle and echo of noises that would be removed during post-production. And even eerier to watch without the carefully scored background music.

Sam said, “Cut,” for the umteenth time that day, which gave Sami time to stretch, moving around to observe the other actors.

Rami had kept himself isolated today, talking only to Sam between takes. There was no joviality. Normally, Rami would be watching the playback or offering a critique, and on easier days, playing a joke on someone, or laughing about some awkward quirk of his that belonged to him and not to Elliot that he needed to erase for the next take.

Sami watched as the makeup crew rushed in to touch up the character of Vera, making his brow even more sweaty than before.

Sami found this amusing because the same effect could be produced for next to nothing by simply opening a window and having the actor stick his head into the New York humidity for two minutes.

Hollywood was weird.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his twin begin to bounce back and forth, heel to tow, before he broke out into his signature jog in place.

Rami settled in and sat down on the sofa across from Elliot’s captured therapist.

This was it.

Sami watched with wide eyes, not even realizing he was holding his breath as Krista peppered Elliot with questions—the questions that were leading him to his monster.

As Elliot began to remember, Sami forgot he was watching his brother, his mirror since birth, and felt himself completely lost in Elliot’s revelation, and Sami even stuffed his fist into his mouth to tamper down the groan of horror that threatened to disturb the entire scene.

Sami felt like he had experienced something transcendent, and instead of calling cut, Sam just walked up to his Elliot and put his hands on his shoulders; it took a few moments, but then Rami melted into his director and rested his forehead on Sam’s shoulder as he talked softly to him.

Sami swiped at the tears he hadn’t even realized had fallen, unable to take his eyes off his brother, wanting nothing more than to comfort him and bring him back to just being Rami.

But there was another take. And another.

“I can do it better. I can do it better,” Rami repeated, pouring drops into his eyes to clear the redness from crying to restart the scene.

By the fifth take, Sami was uncomfortable. His brother was pushing himself too hard, taking longer and longer to collect himself between takes.

Sam was behind the camera, his face serious, and he had his assistant get Sami.

“We’ve got the take, but he wants to do it again. He won’t listen to me.”

Sami glanced at the screen and watched the tears fill his brother’s eyes and knew that Rami had nailed it on that very first take. But he also knew that his brother had been carrying around the character of Elliot for years—he owed everything in his life to Elliot because if it wasn’t for this show, Rami would still be the weird kid who was in The Pacific and the funky little pharaoh who was in Night at the Museum, recognizable, yet still struggling for success.

Rami came out of the dressing room, once again looking like he hadn’t just performed the most gut-wrenching scene television had ever seen.

“I’m ready,” he said in a voice that said the exact opposite.

Sam said, “We’ve got it Rami. No more.”

“I can do it better.”

“Rami, it’s done. You’re done,” Sami said stepping toward his brother, grasping his shoulders and forcing him to look at him, really look at him.

Rami turned his eyes on his twin and blinked slowly.

“Done?”

“Done, Rami. You fucking nailed it.”

Rami took a shuddering breath and swayed on his feet. His eyes filled with tears so quickly it took Sami and Sam both by surprise.

Sam reached over and grasped Rami’s shoulder.

“You’ve done Elliot justice. We can see every thought. Feel every feeling. It’s brilliant—you were brilliant.”

Rami swallowed and gave Sam a heartfelt nod before Sami walked his brother back into the dressing room.

As soon as the door shut, Rami broke.

Sami was there to catch him, to hold onto him as he purged the emotions he had built up during Elliot’s revelation.

Neither of the twins moved for a long time, stuck together like they had been their whole lives, drawing comfort from the other’s warm presence.

Sami finally spoke in his mirror voice that was just a bit higher than Rami’s.

“You realize once this airs you can tell everyone who said you won an Oscar for lip syncing and wearing fake teeth to eat a dick?”

Sami felt his brother suck in a laugh, his shoulders shaking slightly under his hands.

Rami pulled away to look into Sami’s eyes, mirror eyes of the same undefinable hue as his own, eyes that never looked at him as some sort of other, a celebrity, an actor, a movie star. Sami only ever looked at him as Rami.

“Thanks for being here.”

Sami sighed, a soft smile on his lips as he pulled his scrawny brother in for one last tight hug, the unspoken you’re welcome settling over Rami, letting him know he was going to be okay.

#rami malek #rami malek imagine #Elliot Alderson #mr robot #mr robot season 4 #guest starring sami #we love our twins

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secondchancesfic · 5 years ago

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S.C: Chapter III

Superhero!AU

Fandom: Sanders’ Sides

Pairings: Parental Analogical, Platonical Anxceit, Platonical SleepxDeceit.

Tags/Warnings: Cursing, one sided crush (DeceitxLogan), nightmares. Violence (shocked, kicked) Hypnosis/Induce hallucinations. Hallucinations. (If I missed something, please tell me)

Words: 6842

TOGETHER BREAKFAST:

It was morning already, 5:30 to be precise. Monday.

Logan woke up turning around in his bed, he felt tired and heavy like usual. He searched for his glasses in the bureau, touching his book, a glass of water and the clock before setting his hand on the pair. He places them under his eyes and stretches while yawning, gets out of bed and goes straight to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth. All part of his normal routine. His clothes were already in a chair, ready to be wore.

He finished fixing his hair and tying his tie when he heard the shouts of Virgil and Gregory fighting again over something he couldn’t comprehend, he check his wrist clock. 5:46 am. Odd… their antics usually start 6 minutes later. He finishes fixing his outfit and turns to grab his brown bag that was hanging from the chair, once he checked for his books, pens and markers to make sure they were there, he exists the bedroom.

-Are we seriously having this conversation?- Gregory said amused by Virgil’s reaction when he pour mustard on his eggs. Virgil gagged dramatically, getting an eye roll from the other hero.

-You are so fucking gross, man! - Virgil said looking away, Gregory flip him off while eating his eggs cover in a heavy layer of the yellow condiment.

-Good morning- Logan said as he entered the kitchen, both young heroes greeted him.

-There are some eggs in the pan- Virgil said with the mouth full.

-And you call me gross …- Gregory remarked as he raise his cup of coffee and looked with disgust at Virgil.

Virgil open his mouth to show the chew food, Gregory sneered very gross out. The purple eyed hero smirk and continue eating his breakfast. Logan looked at both of them while eating his eggs standing up.

-So, what’s for today? - Logan asked. –Is anyone staying late today?-

-Nah, after class I’m coming here- Virgil said almost relief.

He hated to be in the medicine career, finishing it was more of a challenge than a desire of his. Virgil wanted to prove he was able to be responsible, and what is more responsible than a career that involves saving lives.

Of course, it doesn’t make any sense. It’s not like he wasn’t doing so already by being a freaking hero, but might as well study something related to his powers if he isn’t able to be a solo hero right? Suffice to say, being in the career is a mistake and Virgil is a mess.

-Gregory? - Logan turn to the other hero.

Gregory choked a bit in his coffee, but composed himself quickly. –Well I don’t think I have practice today, so I guess I’ll be here too after class-

Virgil snorted.

-What? – Gregory looked directly at Virgil.

Virgil finished up his breakfast with a fade smile. Gregory would get startled when someone used his name, Virgil usually cuts it short to Greg or calls him Dee while Logan calls him by his hero name since they spend more time at the association. He hated his name with a burning passion but what was he supposed to do?

-Alright, then. Do call if any of you need assistance of sorts- Logan finished his breakfast and placed the empty plate in the sink.

-It won’t be necessary, Logan. I appreciated it though- Gregory said getting the cup of coffee to his lips.

Logan smiled and nodded, Gregory’s heart skipped a beat. The older hero turn to clean up his plate, Gregory looked at Virgil who was scrolling through his phone.

“The date” Gregory remembered.

-Hey Virgil, can you lend me your phone? - Gregory suddenly asked.

-No- Virgil said deadpan with his eyes glued to the screen.

-Wha- Why not??- He was genuinely thrown aback.

-Because last time I lend it to you, you made my phone glitch and throw jumpscares every time I tried to open my apps- Virgil throw daggers with a stare at Gregory, his voice was annoyed but amused.

Oh. Right. Gregory chuckled to himself. Virgil wasn’t angry anymore about that prank, he was rather impressed and amused but hell knows he was really freak out the first 5 times the jumpscares pop out.

Anyway, Gregory won’t be able to get that phone asking nicely, so maybe he could try to search through Virgil’s computer for some information like where would it be and who is the date and the time…

“Ok…That’s a really creepy thing to do…” Gregory thought to himself.

His crush was getting in the way of thinking objectively. Objectively speaking, Logan can be really cold and talk and talk about subjects that no everyone can comprehend, maybe Logan would annoyed the date so much they end the date sooner. That way Gregory wouldn’t have to move a finger and his conscience would be clean. Sure, hoping for the worst on someone he cares isn’t nice but he really didn’t want Logan to be with someone else. If Gregory couldn’t have him no one else can…

“I should really stop thinking about this….” He thought to himself again.

Once everyone finished their breakfast and clean up the dishes, they left the home together.

MORNING:

They get to their location; the university. Logan works as a calculus teacher, while the other two younger heroes go to class but not in the career Logan usually teaches. It is a matter of walking for a couple minutes for each to get to their respective classes, to either attend or teach.

The older hero was always excited to teach his class something new, but this time he was feeling rather nervous. After questioning Crimson and the information about their preferable pronouns, Logan kept thinking about the possibilities of who they might be. Certain mannerisms and physical characteristics seem to match someone he knows from one of his classes, as well as the pronouns. However, there’s no way to prove that at all. It might be just a coincidence, a very, very, very huge coincidence. There are plenty people with black hair, there is a low percentage of people being non binary but it’s still a remarkable percentage. Crimson couldn’t be a 19 year old, they were doing so much wrong, so much destruction and at such young age.

No, Logan was just overthinking that probability. It was just a coincidence.

He walked towards the classroom, once inside he went towards his desk. Students were taking to each other, sleeping or listening to music. Some of them notice their teacher getting the markers out and went to sit in their own desks. Logan greeted everyone in a kind and energetic way, only to get a monotone greeting and groan.

-You could at least pretend to have energy. What, the coffee machine stopped working? - Logan said with a smile

Some students giggled. He can understand their not very passionate greet, it was 7:30 am; class should had started 30 minutes ago but Logan lets his students have those extra minutes to try to wake up. It doesn’t always work though. No class should start this early, but what can he do?

-Alright. I’ll check your attendance, so pay attention- He called out.

Name after name, each student said either a “Here” or a groan. Whatever sound coming from the very tired and sleep deprived students would count to Logan and he would place a mark next to their names.

-Liberato, Elliot- Logan called out the name. He didn’t get an answer, which wasn’t unusual, Elliot was often asleep or listening to music while resting their head in the desk. Logan look up from his list and looked at the empty desk.

Students looked at the desk, some of them who are closed to Elliot mumbled, sharing looks and shrugs. “Odd…” Logan thought. Elliot has never missed a class. Sure, they had few absences due to not paying attention when they got called, but other than that, they would always be there.

Logan continued calling out all the names until he finished, then told his students to read the copies he got for them last class and excuse himself from the classroom. He went towards the office, sometimes students would leave a constancy or a message for the teacher so the absence wouldn’t hurt their final grade.

Most of the teachers wouldn’t even care about the constancies, thinking it is only an excuse for being lazy and miss class. Logan did care about his students, and knew certain circumstances could and would affect them outside of their control, so he makes sure to give a little extra help if anything of the sorts occurred, but the students needed to present something that made sure it was completely necessary to miss a class.

Once he got to the office, he asked for any message or constancy from Elliot. The secretary didn’t had any of those things, Logan thanked the secretary and left towards his class. He stopped in the corridor and took out his phone to check if he got any email from the student, his mail box was empty. He got to his class, several students were talking instead of reading. Typical.

-Alright, go back to your desks and continue reading- Logan said as he pointed at a couple students who were sat over their desks. Everyone returned and continue reading.

Logan sat down at his desk and organize his notes. He glance at the empty desk. What were the odds of capturing Crimson and suddenly one of Logan’s best students wasn’t there? Odd. And, if true, heartbreaking.

NOON:

Last class of the day was dismissed; Virgil was more than happy, it was one he hated after all.

Instead of telling Logan or Gregory, since they probably were in class, he decided to walk home. It was common for Virgil to do so, he knew all the streets pretty well and frequently used the public transportation. And it’s totally not because he goes at night fighting minor criminals and leaving the crime scene as fast as possible.

Virgil walked out of the campus and across the street towards a café. He didn’t exactly like it there, the coffee really sucked and the ambience was shit, but since his favorite place was down for the moment he didn’t had other options. The only good thing from that place were the pastries, for some reason pastries were not the specialty there. The person owning the place was very dumb or had too much faith in the horrible and poor excuse of coffee. Virgil could say that place made him very bitter.

He got the establishment and order a chocolate muffin. It looked grey, literally. As if someone stole very grey clouds and paste them to the walls. The first time Virgil got there he thought it was in renovations, but in reality, that was the aesthetic they decided to get.

Once he got his muffin and left. Virgil started walking while eating his chocolate muffin, he took out his phone and started scrolling through his social media. There were some pictures and artwork of several heroes, he always thought it was cute how some people show appreciation through art. Sometimes he even finds artwork for Mender, which makes him feel good and flustered. He closes the app to open Tumblr and starts scrolling down his dash; talking about fanart, Virgil has been looking through some pictures about an angel and a demon. He doesn’t know which show are those characters from but he finds them pretty awesome and the art is always amazing and really, really, really gay.

-Wow, this is gay- he chuckles between bites.

Virgil continue walking when a sudden explosion caught his attention, making him drop the rest of his muffin and cover his ears. He look up and looked around, in the other side of the street there was a bank with smoke and panicked people coming out of it. Virgil frown and ran towards an alley, hiding behind a dumpster, he took off his hoodie and put it in his backpack, leaving it in the ground. Then he looked at the black belt he was wearing and with a push of a button in the center, tiny particles started to cover him up until his superhero uniform was complete.

He ran out of the alley and towards the bank, people were still running and screaming in terror, whatever or whoever was there it sure terrified everyone. Virgil, now Mender, enter the bank looking around in a cautious manner. He saw people on the floor, their eyes were glowing with a green spiral and wouldn’t move at all. Mender got close to one of them and pressed his fingers in their forehead, physically they were fine but they wouldn’t snap out of whatever trance they were in.

A sudden fit of laughter drag his attention towards the vaults, Mender stood up and walked carefully towards the cackles. The few people who weren’t in trance were still curled up, hiding under the counters. He got close to them and made them leave as quietly as possible, the people mouth a thank you when they passed beside him. Mender made sure they were out before getting closer.

He had a clear view of the vault. In the middle of the vault there was a man laughing, his attire looked like something a pompous prince would use. His garb and pants were completely black, he was also wearing…high heels?

Several ornaments were silver, except for a big almost transparent image of an octopus in his garb, which was a dark green, the tentacles surrounded the arms of the villain; it also seem he had… glitter all over his attire, as if a child throw a big bag of the finest glitter over him. A masquerade was covering his face, it was black with silver painting, with a couple feathers and a broken crown glued to it.

- Isn’t this a huge BOOTY?!- The man laughed while holding 2 bags together.

Mender moved his hand towards his belt to grab one of the gadgets, but suddenly felt a hand over his shoulder and a strong shock all over his body. It was a painful feeling, he thought he was going to die from it. He dropped to the ground hugging himself.

-Is this the best hero they got!? – Another man groan –How are we supposed to be well known and feared when they don’t even send the best of the best?- He then kick Mender in his side, making him lay in the ground.

Mender’s view was blurry, but he could see the other man walk over him. He wore black pants, boots with also high heels (what was wrong with this two?), his garb was white with golden ornaments, he wore red gloves and he was also wearing a masquerade but it was red with golden trimmings and a crown. It looked cleaner than the other man’s mask.

-Come on, brother! Cheer up! We can go buy whatever you want with this pair!- He hold the bags closer and moved his shoulders in a suggestive way. Mender was healing himself discreetly.

-Could you act more mature for once?- The other man said

-You want mature? Sure! DICKS! BALLS! CU- The man with both bags is cut off by a tiny shock from the other man. –OUCH!-

-Let’s just leave already, shall we?-

Mender manage to stood up and block their way out, to the surprise of both villains.

-Are you two new or what? - Mender said in a pissed off manner.

-Shit!! Didn’t you shock him? - Asked the man with the green attire, taken aback.

-I did!- The other man said, almost offended. –How are you standing up?!- He yelled.

-Why would I tell you, prep? - Mender sneered.

The man with black attire chuckled while the man in white gasped. – I AM A PRINCE, YOU EMO NIGHTMARE!- He charge his hand with electricity while Mender grabbed the yellow gadget from his belt. He throw it in the villains’ direction, the man with white attire hold back the attack and pushed his brother out of away. The man closed his eyes and covered himself waiting for that thing to explode or something, but nothing happened. He looked at Mender and laughed.

-Is that the best you have?! You’re pathetic- He raised his hand towards Mender and tried to summon electricity, he notices nothing coming from his hands. Mender crossed his arms and smirk.

-What’s the matter, princey? - Mender asked mischievous.

The man looked at his brother in bewilderment, they were confused and slightly afraid. The green attire man let go of the bags he was holding and ran towards Mender. Mender was thrown aback and quickly tried to hold on one of his gadgets, the villain was closed and he was waiting for a punch that never came. The green attire man placed a hand over his eyes and a green light was the only thing Mender saw.

Suddenly it was completely dark, Mender was walking in a dark street, and a fade light above him was the only source he had to see around. He felt several hands all over him, dragging him away from someone who was screaming his name and trying to get him. Then he saw how the man was being kicked and punch severely by other man. Mender was screaming horrified while still being dragged until everything was consumed by darkness.

Mender fell to his knees, he was sitting in the floor crying and panicking. The green attired villain sigh in relief while his brother was still confused.

-Ro?- The man asked the white attired man.

-Let’s go before he gets up again-

Both man grabbed 2 bags each of money and ran out of there, only the white attire man looking behind him for a few seconds before leaving the crime scene. Some minutes passed and 2 heroes got there, one chased the villains while the other walked inside the bank to make sure people were alright and to look for damages. She went towards each and every person and tried to wake them up from their stupor without avail. She then opt for throwing a bit of water in their faces which seem to work well, getting some very confused looks and a scream of horror before calming down.

She then walked towards the vault cautiously, finding Mender sat down without responding.

-Mender? - she said surprised, recognizing the young hero. She walked towards him. –Are you alright? Mender?- She crouch besides him and saw he was in the same state like the others victims so she splash a bit of water in his face and he was thrown aback, looking around in a complete panic.

-Wh-What??- His eyes were full of tears. Besides him, he saw the young hero from the other day, the girl with hydrokinesis?

-Are you ok, Mender? - She asked worried.

-I…I think so… Uh…- He tried to stand up but his legs were wobbling, she stood up and let her hand out so he could hold it, Mender hold it. –I’m… Sorry… I-I didn’t catch your… name- he said embarrassed.

-Real one or hero one? - She smiled

- Non … - He said rubbing his head, trying to get rid of the nightmarish sensation.

-Well, hero Flow at your service, Mr. Mender- She said cheerfully while extending her hand.

-Don’t call me Mr…I’m not that old…-He said with a half chuckle taking her hand. She smiled warmly.

Both heard the voices of the other victims so Flow ran out of the vault to attend to them. Mender stayed for a moment, looking around. They didn’t steal as much as he thought but that didn’t impede the guilt to crawl in his chest.

The villains got away, and it was his fault.

Flow made sure everyone was fine before starting with the questions, Mender walked towards her and the other people. The victims were confused and shaken, some were saying how they were feeling fear and paralyzed, others said it was like a never ending nightmare.

The other hero, named Bright Raven, flew over the bank. His body was covered in with light until he landed in the entrance. He went towards Flow and told her something before going towards Mender, who was attending a guard that was shocked by the villain in the white attire. Once the young hero finished, she walked away after saying “thank you”. Bright Raven got closer and placed a hand on Mender’s back making him jolt in surprise.

-Chill, M. It’s just me- said the hero.

Mender let out an exhale -Hey…-

Bright Raven sit down next to the young hero. The both looked at Flow while she was doing her job.

-She is very social…- Said Mender. –Did Dot assign her to you?-

-Yeah, she is very quirky but nice- Bright Raven said with a kind smile. He then looked at Mender while the other hero looked at the group of people. –She told me you were in trance-

Mender flinched. And look down embarrassed.

-Vee, are you ok? - The other hero asked, concern showing in his voice.

-Yeah- He said standing up.

-Hey- Bright Raven stood up and hold his arm. –It’s ok if you aren’t-

-I’m fine, N. - Mender said numbly –Let me go-

-You know I need to tell L about this, right? - He said in a serious manner.

-Don’t- Mender looked directly at his eyes.

-You know you shouldn’t be doing this alone, you didn’t call for back up- the older hero said without letting go.

Mender manages to pull his arm out of his grip. –Since when did you turn into a pain in the ass? – He groan and mumbled –First dad, then Dee, now you?-

-Vee- the other hero gets interrupted

-Not a word about this- Mender said pointing a finger at the other. He lower his face and looked down –Please-

Nate sighed. –Fine, but don’t do it again. You could have hurt yourself…Those two villains… they are a royal pain in the ass-

The older hero walked towards the group of people, Flow was already finishing up the questioning, all written down in a notebook she had.

“She came prepared for this? How cute.” Mender thought.

He walked out of the building and ran quickly, trying to avoid being looked by other people and the press. He went to the alley and got his backpack, he press the button in his belt and his suit was put away. Virgil rest his back in the wall and tried to take deep breaths, he was aghast. He didn’t expect this two villains to be so dangerous, he could have seriously been hurt way worse than any other time he tried to fight other villains.

However, the nightmare he has had for a while was clearer. Virgil felt he was close to knowing who was the man screaming his name. Now he knew it wasn’t Logan, he didn’t looked like Logan at all. If it was his “real” father, maybe he could search for him. It’s not that he doesn’t love Logan or that he wasn’t enough, but Virgil was and is curious to know where he came from. The story he was told about how he was found was weird, it was as if he came out of nowhere. He wanted to know more about his past and who his real father was.

Maybe if he fights this villains again and lets the green attire villain to trance him, he could get a clearer image of the man’s face… That’s the worst idea he has had ever… He should head home now, before any other shocking surprise happens…

NIGHT:

At sundown, the heroes were at home. Logan was grading his students’ homework from last week in his office, while Virgil was in his bedroom decompressing from that day. He didn’t tell anyone what had happened and hope he wasn’t taken any photo. By now, they all ate and went on with their normal routines.

At 8, Logan would head out to the association and be back at 11 pm if there was nothing to be done or was forced by Dot to go home. Virgil would stay at least at 12 am trying to sleep and failing in the process, grabbing his phone and scrolling through tumblr. Now, the only one missing was Gregory, he usually would sleep the rest of the day away right after school or he would do any kind of chore around the department to avoid doing homework. He wasn’t very consistent on certain things, the only predictable thing he does is walking in the park at night.

Gregory grabbed his backpack and got out of the department, taking his keys with him. Most of the time he would walk around with no direction, just to decompress, other times he would bring his homework or a book and sit down in a bench. At midnight people would usually be at home, but not him. For some reason, he loved being in the darkness and reading with the help of the fade street light.

It was very dark except for the street lights that were glowing. Some had the distinctive orange hue of old age while others seem to be replaced by the white light. The night was the perfect temperature and no person was in sight, he went and sat down in a bench and took out one of Logan’s favorite books. He was ready to finish up the rest of “The Murder of Roger Ackroyd” when suddenly his phone buzzed. Thinking it was one of the other heroes or the association he picked it up, frowning at the name that appeared over the text. Gregory left it by his side and tried to concentrate in the book, but the phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. Several messages took for Gregory to pick it up again and send an “Alright” before putting the book back in his bag and walking away from the park.

It wasn’t that late, at least around 9 or 10 pm, so taxis should still be around. Gregory waited in the sidewalk next to a taxi’s stops. He extended his arm when he saw one car approaching, the taxi slow down and stopped completely in front of him. The doors were unlocked and Gregory got inside.

-To where?- The driver asked.

-A bar call ¨The Others¨- Gregory said politely.

The driver nodded, he started the record and drove away while Gregory scrolled through his phone, checking his twitter for any kind of news or to see a post from any of the people he follows.

The news of the bank robbery pop up in his phone, a lot of people were talking about it and retweeting it. Gregory looked one tweet that had a link to the news article, he press it and he went to the web page. He looked through the pictures taken of the crime scene, there were no casualties but there was a lot of damage that would need to be taken care of. After scrolling more he looked at the pictures of Bright Raven (Nate) and Flow (Oh, the new girl…Morgan was it?). They seem to have taken care of the problem, except that no villain was caught. Gregory frown, he started to read one of the paragraphs describing how the heroes were late to stop the pair of villains who assaulted several people and manage to escape with at least 4 bags of money.

He looked through more photos to see which villains were, there was only one picture of the criminals that was taken by an amateur, it only showed one of the villains but it was good enough. Gregory could see the black attire and the masquerade as well as a mustache, the villain looked like a bad guy from one of those old western movies where the villain wore a black hat and looked disheveled.

He continue scrolling and read one quote of one the victims. It said:

¨All this suppose heroes are useless!! The first hero couldn’t even fight back and the other 2 got late!! They have only one job and they can’t do it properly! ¨

Gregory raised an eyebrow in confusion. ¨3 heroes were at the bank?¨ he thought. He looked around the page to search if there was any picture of the other hero. In text, the first hero was mention a couple times but no name or picture was given. ¨That´s weird… I´d have to ask Nate tomorrow. ¨

The taxi parked in the front of the bar.

-That’d be 10.56- the driver said, looking at him through the mirror.

-Thanks- Gregory said while taking out 11 dollars, he gave it to the driver and he got off. The taxi drove away.

The street was really dark, the street light weren’t enough to light the whole place. The bar was a different story. It had a big bright neon sign and several white lamps illuminating the entrance. You could see this place from afar like it was a lighthouse. Music was so loud it could be heard from outside and several people were leaving the place very intoxicated.

Gregory sighed and walked towards the entrance where he was stopped by the security guard.

-ID?- the security guard asked.

Gregory took out his wallet to get his ID, he show it to the security guard who gave him a wary glare before letting him enter. The hero walked between the people who were dancing to the music playing in the background, it was very uncomfortable due to some being very intoxicated or sweaty or both.

He continue walking until he got the bar and sat down in one of the stools. Gregory looked around and saw the people dancing while screaming incoherent non sense, probably trying to sing the lyrics of the song. In the darkest parts of the establishment, some people were actually talking in individual tables.

-What can I get you?- Gregory jumped from the sudden sound. In the waves of loud noises, the server’s voice pierced through all.

-Just water- he said composing himself. The server went away and came back with a glass of cold water.

Before Gregory could sip the cold drink, a hand smacked his back and it was accompanied with a loud yell.

-GURL! What is this nonsense!?-

Gregory cough up the water that now was in his lungs and tried to look to his side. A man with a white ripped shirt and jeans, wearing a pair of sunglasses was sitting next to him, smiling mischievously. He was holding a jacket over his shoulder.

-4 shots! And a sex in the beach- said in a cheerful tone.

The server smiled and rolled their eyes and went ahead to do the order.

-Wow… You really don’t want to get home tonight…- Gregory said still coughing lightly, cleaning the water with a napkin.

-What are you talking ‘bout? The 4 shots are for you!- said the man, still smiling. His back was towards the server and was looking at the people dancing around.

-Thanks, but no- Gregory said while drinking water carefully, glancing over the guy for any kind of surprise.

-Come on!! You used to shove a whole bottle! What happened to the fun Deceit?- He almost yelled.

Gregory shoot a glare at him, placing the water down.

-I sometimes wonder how we’re even alive. A presume your identity is known by everyone in the city at this point- he glared seriously at the man.

-They wished! I change people’s lives for the best!- he said sitting to look at the server, who brought the drinks and placed them in front of both men.

-Here ya’ go, babe!- The man pushed the shots towards Gregory who kept glaring daggers. The other man started drinking his beverage as if it was the last. He placed his half empty glass down and looked at Gregory who was still glaring and not grabbing any shot.

-FINE! I guess I’ll drink by myself tonight! - He hold one of the shots and shove it down, coughing afterwards and laughing.

-Why did you wanted to see me, Remy?- Gregory asked unamused and annoyed.

Remy looked at him, taken aback by the tone. –Can’t I just call up my little old ex-partner in crime and hang out in our favorite spot?- He smiled cheerfully.

- No, this is way too risky - He said while looking at his water.

The other man gave an airy laugh. –If it was that risky, you wouldn’t have come Mr. Reformed- Remy laughed while mixing one of the shots in his beverage. Gregory pulled his drink away and gave Remy his cold water.

-Hey!- Remy yelled. –I was drinking that!!-

-Not anymore- Gregory hold the drink and took a sip, wincing at the taste, it was bitter and strong.

-Sheesh- Remy said while drinking the water slowly. They sit there, the sound of the music and chats surrounding them.

There was nothing much to talk about, they have known each other for a while. Always sticking up and taking care of each other; some friendships would end when one takes another path in life, but not this one.

Remy wasn’t happy at all to know his best friend was capture, practically stripped away from him, and hell knows he was not at all happy when Gregory was now playing for the good guys. Gregory did tried to convince Remy to turn around a new leaf but he wouldn’t budge. After several fights from both sides, they just gave up on fighting each other. They didn’t find any pleasure on doing so anyway.

Remy knew he was still his friend after Gregory let him, well Sleep, escape after one of his robbery plans went wrong. Some heroes were already suspicious of Gregory, they didn’t buy that the villain knock him out. His powers should have been enough to defeat the bad guy, but he didn’t. From that point on, Gregory and Remy had to find ways to see each other. They still maintain communication through calls and messages, but they couldn’t go anyplace together in fear of putting each other in danger. At least Gregory feared that, Remy didn’t give a fuck whether he was caught or not, he find tricky ways to slip out of the law’s grip. It wasn’t exactly a surprise Remy wanted to hang out or something of the sorts, but his insistence on the matter was what made Gregory accept to meet up.

Now, if something Gregory knows very well about the both of them is that they like their drinks. He had stopped drinking when Logan caught him in the act. He had to learn other ways to cope from his past situations, Gregory actually got better on that matter so it wasn’t that bad. Remy did had more control than him, however, when a difficult or really bad situation arrived, he would drink and drink until he was blackout drunk instead of talking about what was troubling him.

-What’s wrong? - Gregory said firmly.

-What? - Remy looked at his friend with a half-smile, a bit surprised by the question.

-What’s wrong? – Gregory asked again. -You wanted to see me all of the sudden and you tried to get alcohol poison a few minutes ago-

-It was just a drink and 2 shots!! By the way, mine!- Remy went to hold one of the shots but Gregory hit his hand. Remy rolled his eyes and went to grab the water instead.

-Remy- He hold his friend’s shoulder. –What’s wrong? - He looked at him in his eyes, his tone was serious and he had a concern look. Remy notice the expression in his friend’s face, he then looked away and to the glass of water. He was quiet for a moment. He gulped.

-Something is going to happen…- Remy said stumbling through his words.

-What?-

-I heard your friends capture Crimson- Remy stated, nonchalantly. His face reflect numbness.

-Yeah, they did- Gregory said. He wanted to tell him about the whole ordeal, but he couldn’t disclose any information due to Remy’s gossipy nature.

-You should have done so sooner…- Remy started to sip the water.

-What do you mean?- Gregory replied quickly, baffled by that respond. He waited for Remy to place the glass down.

-He hasn’t talked yet?- Remy kept his eyes on the glass.

-No… L- He paused. -Syllogism was supposed to question him tonight or tomorrow…- So close, even saying a name could be dangerous.

-Well… Let’s just say, the bad guy he was working for is really fucked up…- Remy said with a nervous chuckle.

-I need you to be clearer than that, Rem…-

-Look, I’d tell you more but I really don’t know much about this boss guy. One time one of his zombies got in my house, Greg. MY HOUSE! I don’t even know how they knew who I was or where I lived- He passed his hand through his hair, and shuffled it.

“His”? So it’s a man...

-What do you mean by zombie? What did he wanted?- Gregory asked, paying close attention to what his friend was saying.

- The zombie guy wasn’t talking. He had a loudspeaker stick to his chest. He looked really, really fucking pale, and his eyes were sky blue. Not like normal blue eyes, his eyes were glowing blue. It was fucking creepy, he was acting like a fucking zombie. GOD, IT WAS SO FUCKING WEIRD! - Remy shook his hands as if to get rid of the chills sensation.

-What did he wanted?-

-He wanted me to work for him, to use my powers to bring people somewhere. He didn’t say a location, I had to agree before he said anything else- He hold the glass of water closely.

-Did you accept?!- Gregory was confused and worried.

-FUCK NO! HE WAS BEING A CREEP! WHO IN THE FUCK GETS IN YOUR BEDROOM AT 2 IN THE MORNING!?- Remy shivered. –At least he didn’t insist and went away. Still! I had to move the fuck away from there, fuck that!!-

-I suppose you don’t know why he is kidnapping people…- Gregory asked almost disappointed to not know more information.

-From what I’ve heard from other… Comrades…- He said almost in a mumbled. –He wants to do like… An army of sorts… I mean, I could see it in his messenger but no one knows why he needs it- Remy then drink more water and put it in front of his friend.

-Alright…- Gregory said, it was a lot of information to process.

At least they got one villain out of the streets, but if what Remy is said was completely true, and not a very bad hallucination with a type of drug, then somewhere, out there in the city, was a very creepy, dangerous man planning to strike. Why, how, where and when were the questions that aren’t going to get a clear answer that night. They had to wait and see.

–I’m glad you text me for this… If you need protection or anything I could try to convince Logan to help you out…- Gregory stated and sip the mixed drink a bit.

Remy turned his head slowly and a wide smile started to form in his face -…Who’s Logan…?-

FUCK. –No one…- He said nonchalantly.

-Is it one of your hero friends?- He gasped – Is he hot?-

Gregory started to blush. –No! He’s just a friend!-

-Bitch, song as old as time! You can’t deceive your best friend, I know all your dirty secrets and can read you like an open book!- Remy laughed. As quick as the tension came, as quick as it dissipated.

Gregory was blushing profusely and banged his head in the counter, he covered himself with his arms while his friend was laughing. The sound of the bar was very alive; the lights were very shiny and people were still drinking and dancing, everyone was in their own business. Time was passing by, and both friends were now catching up in their usual lives, their normal lives. No hero duty, no villainy plots. Just life itself.

Gregory and Remy drank the two last shots in one quick swung before they had to part ways again, back to their work, studies, hero and villain lives. They should hang out more frequently, Gregory would be lying if he say he didn’t miss the old days. He was very happy where he was, Virgil and Logan were also his friends now too but Remy was his friend first and it did sting a bit to not see him as frequently as they used to. At least Remy knows when to step out of trouble, and that gave Gregory some sort of comfort.

Prologue/ CH 1/ CH 2 / CH 3 / CH 4

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picturebookmakers · 5 years ago

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ATAK

In this post, ATAK talks about his fascinating creation process and he shares illustrations and development work from some of his wonderful books – including sketchbook pages for his forthcoming picturebook ‘Piraten im Garten’, which is due to be published in 2020.

Visit ATAK’s website

ATAK: My process is like hip-hop. Mixing and sampling.

I have a big box where I put material that I’ve found on the street or in magazines. Then in the summer, when I’m sitting in the summer house, I stick everything into sketchbooks.

These are important books for me. I often use them when I’m looking for an idea. I like to make connections between this and that.

Sometimes I steal things. Here’s an example of where I used a painting by Caspar David Friedrich in one of my images. This is a very important painting for the German culture; it’s romantic. It’s the first painting that’s like a window. You see with him and you’re led into the picture.

‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’, Caspar David Friedrich, 1818.

When I take something to use in my own work, it’s more about the idea of composition and atmosphere. It’s not just a reference that people will know.

This is the sketchbook for my picturebook ‘Topsy Turvy World’. The publisher asked me for a book for children, and as I was tired of working with long texts, I thought this one should be a wordless book, where the images tell the whole story.

We have a German tradition from the 18th century of ‘bilderbogen’. This is like the origin of comics. They’re one-page stories. I was looking at some of these and I found some interesting ideas for ‘Topsy Turvy World’.

Here are some pages from the sketchbook.

Not everything made it into the final book; some of it was too heavy for my publisher, so he kicked it out. The smoking people had to go, otherwise we couldn’t have sold the rights in America.

Then there was a problem... My sketches had a lot of life and were fully-worked, so to transform them into the final artwork was very hard. After the rough version, I had this feeling that I was already finished with the book. Making the final ‘clean’ artwork felt like a kind of discipline.

My original paintings are always much bigger than they appear in the books. I never work to the correct size or format.

I often sell my paintings, but here is one I’ll never sell. It was done for the first children’s book I made, called ‘Comment la mort est revenue à la vie’ (How death came back to life), written by Muriel Bloch and published by Thierry Magnier.

It’s an important painting for me. I came from the comic world – black and white graphics – where I would draw out the whole scenes with all the details. In the middle of working on this painting, I had to go out to buy some food, and then I came back and thought, “Oh, it’s enough.” There’s a big difference when you work with colour. It’s like a sound, like a kind of music. This painting was very important for me in understanding colour.

Before I start working on an image, I often have a rough idea of what’s going to happen in the scene, but I leave a lot of space for other things to come in... And when I’ve started to work, I might see something in my studio or in a book, and it goes into the image.

I like this open process. And I like to be surprised. It’s very important for me that I don’t know in the beginning exactly what’s going to happen.

My way of painting is very old school. Traditional. Sometimes I paint over the top of something and you can see the trace of it behind. You can’t really fake things like this on the computer. For me, my original artwork is more important than the finished book. I once had an interesting discussion about this with Blexbolex. It’s completely the opposite for him: he sees his books as being the original artwork.

After ‘Topsy Turvy World’, I made a book called ‘The Garden’.

The original German edition was almost like a book for bourgeoise women... But for the French edition, they reimagined it for kids. It’s much bigger; you can really go inside. And the French publisher asked me to make some flaps to open up on the pages, which were not there in the original edition.

The sketches for ‘The Garden’ are almost nothing. It was very important that I didn’t repeat the process of ‘Topsy Turvy World’, where the sketches were very close to the finished artwork. I couldn’t work like this again. So the sketches here are very loose, but I knew exactly what was supposed to be in the pictures.

Working like this, you must have a very strong relationship with the publisher – one of absolute trust. I also have big problems with deadlines; I’m always late. With this book, my publisher Antje Kunstmann was so good. She phoned me every morning: “Hallo, here is Antje!” It was so important to know she was there, almost like a mother. It was a similar story with Wolf Erlbruch and his book ‘Duck, Death and the Tulip’. He was working for four years on this book. In the end, Antje came to his home and was waiting on his sofa for two days to take the last drawing!

The latest children’s book I made is called ‘Martha’.

I started working on it after reading an article in National Geographic about the passenger pigeon. I was fascinated. Because it’s a real story, it was not easy for me to make this book. It’s easier when I’m given a text because I have more distance.

Again, I worked very loosely in my sketchbook. These sketches are just indications – so I know something is here or somebody is there. It does help me that things are more open.

I don’t have sketchbooks where I draw from reality. I’m not good at this. You’ll never find me sitting in a crowd, making sketches. I watch and I observe instead. And I have books where I write ideas or note down interesting forms and shapes that I see.

Here are some pictures from ‘Martha’.

And here’s an idea for the dust jacket, where the kids could cut and draw on the paper, and make origami out of it to give a kind of rebirth. Martha is gone, but maybe she’s not gone if the kids could bring her back. The publisher didn’t go for this idea.

I went to art school but never finished. Just after the Berlin Wall came down, I was studying visual communication. There wasn’t a good atmosphere at my art school. I wanted to find like-minded people and work as a team, but it felt like most of the students were only interested in being artists, but not in working together. Then my daughter was born, and I never finished art school.

I’m now teaching art as a professor. The other teachers have diplomas, and I feel like I’ve come from the working class. I do like intellectual work, but when I work with students, I want to see something. I can only talk about what I see. I need it very visual. It has to catch me.

From when I was nine years old, I wanted to be an illustrator. In east Germany, illustration was a part of publishing. All the novels had illustration. It’s still unique now to see this, but in east Germany it was normal... So my plan was always to be an illustrator. This way I could wake up when I wanted, have no boss, listen to my music all day, and make my own work.

Speaking of music... The type of music I listen to when I work depends on the specifics of the book. For example, I made a book for Nobrow called ‘Ada’ (from a word portrait by Gertrude Stein). The idea for the artwork was to make handmade pixels, so I listened to a lot of electronic music; ping–ping–ping! It’s about energies. And for me, the music is also very important because I travel a lot and it can be hard to come back to your work – but when I listen to the music, immediately I’m back in the project, in the zone. It’s all connected – the music with the book.

Here’s my playlist for ‘Martha’.

Distortions – Clinic Go – Sparklehorse & The Flaming Lips VCR – The XX Song For A Warrior – Swans Avril 14th – Aphex Twin Quiet Music – Nico Muhly First Song For B – Devendra Banhart Last Song For B – Devendra Banhart How Can You Mend A Broken Heart? – Al Green Ash Black Veil – Apparat I Know They Say – Spectrum Opus 55 – Dustin O’Halloran Lost Fur – Karen O & The Kids Unfinished Business – The Go-Betweens Sometimes – My Bloody Valentine Lies – Sin Fang Bous Debussy: Suite Bergamasque, L 75 - Clair De Lune – Alexis Weissenberg Nimrod (Adagio) – David Hirschfelder Atmosphere – Joy Division Still Life – Elliot Goldenthal The Lake – Antony & The Jonhsons Flying Birds – RZA

I used to make hardcore comics with friends. This was our first, which we made before the wall came down. My work has changed completely. I can’t understand this now; it’s like another man made it! And they are not funny. It’s a very small humour; you really have to look for it.

Then, after my daughter was born, I did my own comic series called ‘Wondertüte’. In the comic scene, everybody told me that this wasn’t a comic. But for me, it was totally a comic. I liked the comic medium, but I didn’t see why there had to be only one way. From all my old comics, this is the one I like the most.

The idea comes from the ‘learn English’ books we had in school. It’s a bit like a poem, but with a more open structure. I think my older work was very closed, and this comic is where it really started to open up. I made it for me, not for the mainstream. I got no money for it. But you could find it in kiosks. Somebody told me he saw it in a kiosk in a very small village. He said it was very important to see this comic displayed in-between all the nice, fancy stuff... My audience is not many people, but they are passionate.

I don’t really consider myself as a children’s book illustrator; it’s not like this. But it gives me a lot more freedom. Some of my friends find themselves working on one comic for years! I respect this, but for me that’s like a jail. With comics, you have to take such care with narration. You go from one panel to the next panel to the next... The comic medium is a question of time. In a children’s book, the reader looks at one page for perhaps two minutes or ten minutes. They go deep inside. It’s a completely different work. Also in a children’s book you have a stage; it’s really like theatre.

I also think it’s very important in children’s books that you read the book again and again. You read a comic maybe once and then you kick it out or you give it to somebody. But a children’s book is like a ritual between parents and kids.

This is a cover version of the German classic book ‘Der Struwwelpeter’.

The stories here are new and full of humour. I made this book with Fil (Philip Tägert). It was after ‘Topsy Turvy World’, and for me it was so important that I could be free with the pictures. The publisher said make what you want. And it felt so good.

There are hundreds of different versions of ‘Der Struwwelpeter’. As with the ‘bilderbogen’, this was like the beginning of comic stories.

I once found an old version of the book from Denmark with an extra chapter. They didn’t trust all that dark stuff and they made up new stories. So in our cover version, we had this idea to make one chapter where literally nothing happens! We tried to make it as boring as possible, with the pictures saying exactly the same thing as the words. It was so hard to make a boring illustration! It’s really not easy!

My new book will be published next year. It’s for my little son; he’s three years old. You could see it as a connection between ‘Topsy Turvy World’ and ‘The Garden’. It’s called ‘Pirates in the Garden’. The German title is ‘Piraten im Garten’, so the title is like a poem; you hear it and you don’t forget it. I like this title very much.

This book will will be very simple, a bit like Sesame Street. One word on each page, so you make associations between the word and the image, and the parents can talk about it with their kids.

I’m working in the sketchbook at the moment, and I want to make the sketches really good. For ‘The Garden’ and ‘Martha’, I kept the sketches really open. But for this one, no. I know this is going to be my last book for children. And it’s for my son, so I’m going to make it special. In the future, perhaps I’ll make art books in small editions, more paintings, stuff like this, but not books in a commercial way again.

When I made ‘Martha’, I was thinking, “who needs this?” It wasn’t mainstream and I was so confused. It’s different from when someone asks me to make a cover or a painting; I’m never thinking about who needs this. But this was different. Sometimes you just don’t know if what you’re doing is important or not. So I was kind of depressed working on that book. This is the main reason it took me such a long time.

I sometimes feel very alone working as a children’s book illustrator in Germany. My style is not at all mainstream and I always just made my books for fun. It was never a big passion of mine to make children’s books for my whole life. But I always liked the roots.

So for my final children’s book, ‘Piraten im Garten’, I will make it for myself and for my son.

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Verrueckte Welt / Topsy Turvy World

ATAK

Jacoby & Stuart, Germany, 2009

A fantastical picturebook where mice chase cats, penguins live in the jungle, and cars fly! There’s few things that children enjoy more than catching grown-ups telling fibs. Discarding what’s obviously wrong is how they find out what’s right.

It’s a time-honoured children’s game; ATAK’s just given it a new twist, using lots of classic tall stories, and adding a few new ones as well.

German: Jacoby & Stuart

English: Flying Eye Books

French: Editions Thierry Magnier

Spanish: Fulgencio Pimentel

Italian: Orecchio Acerbo

Norwegian: Magikon

Slovak & Czech: Baobab

Portuguese: Planeta Tangerina (Portugal)

Portuguese: Companhia das Letras (Brazil)

Dutch: Boycott Books

Chinese (Simplified): TB Publishing Ltd (Everafter Books)

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Der Struwwelpeter

FIL & ATAK

Kein & Aber, Switzerland, 2009

Like a rock band covering their favourite songs, ATAK and FIL tackle the classic stories of Zappelphilipp, Hans-guck-in-die-Luft & Co.

And just as a Heavy Metal cover might sound harder than the original, you’ll also find tighter morals, harsher imagery, politically incorrect humour, and that ever-so-subtle touch of evil that has been pervading this book for more than 160 years.

German: Kein & Aber

French: Fremok Editions

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Der Garten / The Garden

ATAK

Verlag Antje Kunstmann, Germany, 2013

In silence, the garden wakes up. Thus opens this picturebook by ATAK, as an invitation to walk in a garden with a thousand surprises – a haven of peace, populated with animals and strange characters.

You’ll discover with wonder, the treasures and the tranquility of the garden, and you’ll observe the seasons and the passing of time.

German: Verlag Antje Kunstmann

French: Editions Thierry Magnier

Spanish: Niño Editor

Portuguese: Companhia das Letras (Brazil)

Korean: Bear & Cat

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Martha

ATAK

Aladin Verlag, Germany, 2016

Martha tells the tale of the extinction of North America’s native Passenger Pigeon – its shockingly rapid decline caused directly by humans – and is told from the perspective of ‘Martha’, the last of the species who died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. The story begins with a feeling of greatness and awe, describing flocks of birds that were once so numerous that they would darken the skies for days, their beating wings as loud as motors.

German: Aladin Verlag

French: Les Fourmis Rouges

Korean: Sanha

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