#Trevor told me I could make money doing this. i hope it works
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hymen-restoration-project · 17 days ago
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nevergonnasimpyoumikey · 4 months ago
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Offer Don't offer
You're quiet for a moment, thinking about the few 50-dollar bills you have in your wallet. You could give him the money and take him to a city nearby and hope that he wouldn't spend it all on drugs. You could offer him a way out if he actually doesn't want to work with you anymore.
But you don't really believe he'd make it on his own, and... you have been alone for the past couple of months, and you're tired of it. You want him around even if he hates your guts at the moment.
You start the car and keep driving in silence, giving him time — and fine, maybe you're testing to see if he starts a conversation. He doesn't, and it feels like hours but must be only 30 minutes before you see signs for a diner, and since you've gotten up early and haven't eaten yet, you don't exactly care for his opinion on whether you should stop or not.
And yet, since you figure out he's not going to talk first, you ask, "You hungry?"
"Yeah," he grunts after a while, still not looking at you.
"You didn't get breakfast, right?" you huff. "When I got out, they told me I didn't have time to eat but then made me wait for the processing for a fucking hour."
"Yep."
It's just as awkward when you park the car, make your way to the diner, and take a seat at the last table. You read the menu for only a while before deciding, but Trevor's eyes keep flicking over the rows again and again.
"Trev," you mutter softly, and he looks up at you, gaze so intense that you can't continue right away. You have to swallow heavily first. "I'm paying, obviously. So pick whatever you want."
You can tell he doesn't like it, being so dependent on you, but he nods and puts away the menu, and when the waitress comes to your table, he orders enough food to feed a small village. You can't blame him; he's been living on prison food for... you don't even know how long, exactly.
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delopsia · 2 years ago
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I have lost count of how many times I've seen this darn show, and I'm still forgetting/misremembering things 😭 I hope season two makes a little more sense because I'm having an awful time as it is
They go to such lengths to prove to us that Perry and Royal have this thing in common (Example: the flashback to young Perry beating up Trevor and admitting he doesn't know what that "feeling" is, and Royal's just all, "yeah I get that too.") But you're right Rhett does seem to freeze and think a little, after Royal says that.
I really, truly cannot figure out WHY Royal says, "You're more like me," either 😭 It can apply to so many things, him being able to open holes, or even like, "You're just tougher than Perry is."
Rhett Abbott. The Hole Master. Someone get him into golf.
I think you're onto something with that afterthought! I think Amy is around nine, which would mean Rhett was around 14/15 when she was born. Regardless she came around once Rhett could be a little more "independent." Perry being around means they get to see their granddaughter. I also partially wonder if Cecelia is the type that has always wanted a daughter but never got to have one? So she's just...living vicariously as Amy's mom, in a sense.
Cecelia is absolutely on Rhett's case all the time, lmao. She makes so many odd remarks in reference to Rhett that she doesn't make toward Perry. Episode one is just, "Alright, here is everyone. Royal, the dad with secrets; Cecelia, the stay-at-home mom; Perry, the son with anger issues; Amy, the granddaughter; Rebecca, the missing wife; and Rhett...household whore. Oh, and the Tillersons. Fuck the Tillersons."
I'm betting my left foot that the OR writers don't even know what the concept of being touch-starved is. I don't even know why they include the sleeping-around trope because it never...affects...a damn thing in the plot? 😭I do love the idea of something keeping him from ‘going all the way,' though.
"You told me the first thing you were gonna do is escape." And then later, she pulls the, "You said you were leaving when you were seventeen 🙄 you haven't done it, so clearly you won't." As if...plans you make when you're seventeen are absolute. It's so exhausting how they market Rhett and Maria as high school besties, then flip around and act like they're just acquaintances. Like which? Is it? 😭
It's like she's on a high horse during that second bar scene! Like, okay,, cool, you were privileged enough to go to college; that doesn't make you better than everyone else? 😭 Someone has to work those blue-collar jobs.
Royal's so shocked when Rhett says he's leaving (and Rhett sounded a little emotional when he delivered that? His voice does this little wavering thing exclusively for that line...or maybe I'm just losing it). As if Rhett isn't at the age where moving out is very likely.
Emotional distress and rage absolutely could have opened that hole. I almost wonder if it's just...intense emotion that opens it? I hope S2 explains more, that damn thing confuses the hell out of me, and we're not even addressing the hole Luke and his shovel open...and what are they gonna do with all those buffalo anyway...is a buffalo gonna run for Sherrif? 🐂
Oof, Rhett finding the hole after all? 💃I wonder what things would have been like if he reached into it and had a vision like Royal did. I find it so hard to believe that Royal was able to hide it so well and that nobody was...suspicious about him moving the cattle back to the east pasture? Maybe I'm biased since I already knew why he was moving them, but to me, that screams, "There's something out there I don't want you seeing."
I can't imagine what kind of character Rhett would be if anyone else played him. On paper, he sounds so...flat, until you see Lew running around on camera giving it his all. He's such an after-thought of a character compared to everyone else
I'm assuming they're getting paid whatever scrap of money is left over for the week, but I can't imagine they're getting a whole lot. Admittedly they don't have any bills, aside from maybe phone payments, since they live at home, but alas.
The gas station snacks 😭
Ughh and the little headcanon that Rhett had trouble reading?😭It could have very well been that Rhett and Perry were true opposites. Perry loved books and school but hated ranch work. Meanwhile, Rhett couldn't read to save his life and faked sick, hoping to skip school and work on the ranch instead. Royal absolutely strikes me as someone who believes the whole "boys need to suck it up and learn to work hard in order to be real men" mentality, and he's gonna do anything he can to make that happen. Has a fit the day Rhett comes home from a friend's birthday party with a pink bow in his hair...
Sidebar 💃 just because they're fun I keep catching myself wondering if Rhett hates cities because there's just so much going on. Every time he's just thrust into them with no help on how to navigate them, and the poor guy gets so overwhelmed because he's used to vast open fields and silent breezes, not narrow sidewalks and a symphony of noises. But if you're really slow and gentle about introducing him to big cities, letting him stop when he needs it, and distracting him with his favorite things, he learns to love it. Actually asks to tag along whenever you head up into the city for something because there's always something new there.
I, too, was deceived by the Tumblr girlies (gn)...💃had me thinking he was the main character and that OR was a normal cowboy show. God, the poor guy looks up first to see Cecelia and Amy aren't even paying attention, dislocates his shoulder, climbs back on another bull for his final ride, looks over, and they're GONE. But I can't help wondering if his stance will change when he finds out Amy literally went missing lmao. Omg, S2 Rhett dropping everything to hunt down Amy?
I think Royal was trying to tell Rhett about his past and the hole? He says something roughly along the lines of, "I need you to know something about me that I haven't told you. I may not see you again. There's something on the land, and I need you to find it." But it's giving "too little too late," and now his one key to reopening the hole is...off chasing a different hole.
Yes! I can't remember where, but I swear we have! Royal sees himself in Perry, and it's so strange to me how he doesn't also see it in Rhett.
And they absolutely seem worried about everything but Rhett. "Omg, Amy could lose her dad! " Y'all can lose BOTH OF YOUR SONS. And then Royal wants to get onto Rhett for getting upset 😒
The fact that Rebecca disappeared after a big fight, too đŸ˜©I swear he thought he killed her and tried to dispose of her somewhere, not realizing she was still alive. I mean, she's clearly scared of SOMETHING when she comes back. Maybe Perry fucks up the timeline when he takes something that was meant for Rhett and not him...
They had that whole ride out there, and Royal STILL didn't figure out a plan 😭
Every time we think we know everything about Royal, he turns around and reveals another secret that we literally could have never guessed. He knows something. Maybe he had a bunch of visions while in the hole? And he just knows something bad will happen if they both leave? 😒Perry literally knowing she was going back to California after college and then TRAPPING her there. IN THE FAMILY HOME.
Secondary sidebar...could Amy have been the result of Perry's selfish ass trying to trap Rebecca in Wyoming with him... Because I am suspicious of that mans every action
TUMBLR VOICE NOTES WHEN!
It is so odd to think that future!Amy/Autumn is getting together with Present!Billy. Makes my head hurt to think about. Autumn and Bily are such similar characters; now that I think about it, Autumn tells Perry she thinks people find her strange, and Billy is immediately marketed to the viewer as a little strange. And thus...they are strange together, and I like to think their bank stunt (gagging as I write this) made Maria lose her mind a little (because I lost mine).
The parallel at the end is so wild to me. Billy and Rhett both worship the ground Autumn and Maria walk on (respectively) and give up everything, Rhett gives up his family, and Billy gives up his life. Both get run off the road. Meanwhile, Perry is in the hole, and Luke is digging into the earth and discovering a new hole. I wonder if Perry is currently encountering a herd of buffalo as well...
I get the feeling that S2 might wrap around to Rhett and Maria not working out like they thought, if at all. Because what happens when Rhett's pulled back to his family when his niece has gone missing? He's gotta find out somehow. And if Maria gets all hot and cold with Rhett over it? They're cute, but they ain't cute together your honor.
This show feels like it's littered with so much symbolism that we can no longer tell what's symbolism and what isn't... is Cecelia killing off her momma bear instinct, or is it relating to the Bible study where they mentioned something about bears? 😭
I wish it was a welcome to Wabang sign. It's whatever this is
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The Rhett and Bob food headcanons đŸ˜­đŸ“đŸŒ· OR writers need to start hiring; we could change this whole damn show within an hour lmao. I (unfortunately) have Instagram, and I got jump scared by Josh Brolin's clothes-less photo for an OR S2 scene...last time I open that app in public. However...I'd be lying if I said I wasn't selfishly hoping for Rhett to have a similar scene...
And this is why the series is questionably written đŸ’ƒđŸ’ƒđŸ»đŸ’ƒđŸŒđŸ’ƒđŸœđŸ’ƒđŸŸđŸ’ƒđŸż THEY CANT AFFORD EVEN ONE OF US
del, this is a jumbled mess!! but i hope it makes sense and i hope you enjoy because your post about rhett controlling the west pasture hole got me thinking!! đŸ«ąđŸ’­
the hole did open the first time when someone in distress had an intense desire to run away... so, maybe the same thing happened again?
because who screams emotionally distressed man who’s desperate to leave more than rhett abbott?
it’s obvious that he’s is unappreciated in his house where he should be loved. he doesn’t seem to have have any friends; there isn’t anyone who wholeheartedly cares for him where he’s at.
we can only assume the previous months had been particularly bad with rebecca’s disappearance, and then during the show he: gets wrongfully accused of murdering trevor, nearly thrown under the bus by the man who actually murdered trevor, and then assaulted by the man who murdered trevor not long after that.
rhett didn’t get much from his father—other than being trapped by him (a headcanon of mine that i have yet to finish), but he is still his son, and maybe? he gave him the power to...just up and leave too?
quick interjection: it’d also explain why royal was so jarred and affected by that hole appearing, like, “i know this, but i didn’t do this...”
anyways, it’s almost like a parallel in itself? rhett didn’t kill anyone (like everyone assumed he did), but he kind of killed his father, too, in a way when he finally got the guts to tell him up he didn’t “didn’t give a fuck about the goddam ranch!” and that he was finally leaving.
[omg like? royal was selfish when he left his mother and sister? but rhett had never been selfish? your honor, she’s reaching]
which we all saw did not happen! and it’s interesting to think that maybe this happened before at the hand of royal abbott.
maybe rhett had always wanted to leave? *rumblings of my headcanon in the distance* but he just became too important to how the ranch was run? *my headcanon stampeding toward us like those buffalo* and then perry got the chance to go and didn’t really care all that much, but royal made him take it? *a hole opens and my unfinished headcanon falls in*
we all saw royal help perry escape by literally bringing him to the hole and telling him everything.
[didn’t he give an incredibly abridged version to rhett in the car? as in, no mention of the hole? maybe that’s why rhett looked at him like that, equal parts “you’re insane” and also, maybe, “i know you’re lying”? your honor, please reel this woman in]
anyway, royal knew what was going to happen in that moment because the situation they were in was worse than than what it was before. but in the same way, royal figured they’d just deal with the aftermath like last time.
👀 *looks at the ending of outer range season one* 😬
but what a theory, del!! because honestly what if once again royal was keeping rhett from leaving again? what if that hole was meant for rhett to jump into, to finally get away and be free of all this?
but rhett was scared and unsure, but then he finally feels like “yeah, okay, i really have nothing. i can go.” but then maria’s intervening extreme an sudden interest at the rodeo and it throws a wrench in his plan that was both heartbreakingly spontaneous as well as years in the making—and, how the hell was he going to explain why they were jumping into a hole in the ground?
what would be on the other side?
for rhett, anything was better than here, but would it be for her? he’d already been selfish once tonight.
[your honor!]
so instead he just had them hop in his truck to try to leave that way but whatever powers that were said a firm and upsetting, “no.” this wasn’t how this was supposed to go, and the wrong abbott son had gotten out again, just like before.
*judge furiously bangs gavel*
the way in which I was writing a full-fledged theory post about Rhett being the reason the hole opened, saw this roll into my inbox and YELLED đŸŒ·đŸ’ƒ
Off to theory-land we go!
I wonder if the 'control' over the hole is something (genetic, maybe) that Royal carries and has passed down to his sons?
Rhett absolutely screams, emotionally distressed; hell, he's the only member of the family not explicitly mentioned in the first two minutes. We see Royal and Cecelia, who talks about her dream about Perry, Rebecca, and Amy, and we watch Royal check on the latter two, but Rhett? We don't know he exists until he stumbles in, and they're forced to acknowledge him. Immediately, Perry's teasing him about who he's slept with, and Cecelia gets all, "Well, make it yourself, Rhett!" when all he did was ask if...there's more coffee.
Sidebar. I've never gotten why she said that. Because he never asked her to make more? 😭 He was just asking if there's any left, probably because he's trying to figure out if he needs to make more or not. Additional sidebar. I have this fun little theory that Rhett seeks out so many one-night stands because he craves intimacy. It's the only place he can really get it, so of course, he's going to go seeking it out. I have now run out of sidebars 💃
Maria even clearly recalls him saying that he wants to escape this place, but here he is, all these years later. Stuck with a family that seems to view him as just another ranch hand more than anything else. There's no way Royal isn't intentionally keeping him around, too *cough* I'm somewhat convinced that Perry was born out of love, and Rhett was born because they needed extra hands on the ranch *cough*
He's got a whole list of reasons to want to leave, so it would make perfect sense for the hole to open for him. He probably would have found it had Royal not kept everyone away from it. Omg but I never even considered that it could explain why Royal was so jarred.
Royal did give a very short explanation, but he followed up that confession by putting the belt buckle he stole from Joy's office onto the dash 😭
The first photo is Rhett as Royal tells the story, and the second is after the stolen buckle arrives.
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The face of a man who could probably use another beer ^
I wonder if Rhett wound up having to make up for the slack when Perry went off to college, and that temporary extra work slowly became permanent? Because Rhett clearly never got that opportunity, he's yet to even leave Wabang. But I agree he's absolutely become too important for the ranch to function without him.
He definitely 'killed' his relationship with Royal! He snapped, and Royal damn near lost the ability to speak 😭I can't imagine what Rhett felt when he looked up to see his entire family gone after. Because without context as to why they left, it sure does feel like they left because he said he didn't give a fuck about the ranch.
Omg I just thought of this as I was writing, but what if Royal was asking Rhett to find the hole because he knew Rhett could somehow reopen it? Because clearly, Royal couldn't reopen the darn thing by himself...
I'm so torn on Royal because, on one hand, I can absolutely see Royal helping Perry escape, but on the other, I think Royal trusts Perry more than he should.
Autumn straight-up outs Royal's secret to Perry. And Perry, upon seeing the hole and hearing Royal's truth, says, "It saved you (Royal). It brought you here!" And hops in and takes his dumb little hat with him 😒 Completely forgetting that they'll lose the deed to the ranch if...he doesn't appear in court...
Even if he didn't intend to help him escape, he sure didn't try hard to keep Perry from hopping right on in. As if he couldn't see that coming a mile away. I can't pinpoint why, but he seems very, very... 'My sons must stay on this ranch whether they like it or not' I can't tell if he's enjoying the free labor, if he just doesn't want the adult birds leaving the nest, or if he knows something we don't.
For example, if he knows that opening the hole is genetic, could he be worried about Rhett and Perry's safety? The boys being taken advantage of for their ability? Put on your tin foil hats, folks, because maybe the mastodons have a secret evil plan.
Aaaa! Another sidebar. There seems to be a big push to get both the Abbott sons off the land. - Autumn deliberately tells Perry about the hole to get him to hop into it, using Rebecca as a motivator. - Maria just happens to roll up out of the blue and play a weird game of cat and mouse with Rhett's feelings until he finally says he wants to leave with her. (First time we see her, she's asking if he ever left! Dear Maria, I can't tell if you're playing games, involved in something darker, or your noggin ain't screwed on all the way!) The judge will kick me out of court if I have another sidebar
I'd like to think that if Rhett hopped in the hole instead of Perry, he would wind up somewhere that appreciated him. Because right now, that is the one thing he does not get. I don't even know where to start with Maria...maybe the air there would help her get a firm grip on what the hell she wants 💃
This show...could go so many directions...I ain't even discussing Cecelia's side-quest with the family of bears...or that weird as fuck beep at the very end (is the slow cooker alive?)... All that push just to finally break Rhett into wanting to leave his family for good, just for him to be run off the road by a freak appearance of road-hogging bison...like what do you even do after that situation 😭 talk about a big ol' "no!" from the powers that be.
Lord have mercy, we do more heavy lifting for the plot than the OR writers do, and we ain't even getting paid 💃but this theory is so much fun to play around with 😭💐I hope I didn't miss anything ❀
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gmbencompetence · 3 years ago
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there is a reason why nix hydra has low ratings on glassdoor, and theyve been known to be scumming for nearly five years now i have no idea why the fandom expects so much and thinks so highly of that shitty company and then get surprised when they do shitty things against what they think they should do. and its funny how people keep fighting on and on for fictif/the arcana even now, like when are yall going to wake up. good on you for leaving when you could!
I should clarify two things:
1) I wrote a very long Glassdoor review of Nix Hydra that was so angry, a loved one convinced me to take it down so that it didn’t cause problems for me or people still working there. I saved a draft somewhere

2) My anger is entirely at very, very specific people at the company. By and large, the people who made The Arcana and Fictif were not only deeply passionate about making games for women and the LGBT community. They fought tooth and nail for this. Even as Community Manager, I would have long talks with some of the writers and artists about how they made sure to write [Female Character] in a way that validated and welcome queer femme players, or discussions of how characters like [Name] came from a place of empathy and compassion for mental health that was meant to provide comfort. I remember long meetings about very small plot points and not whether they would “make sense canonically”, but what effect they would have on the types of readers we want to provide games for.
It seems relevant to say that I co-led the initiative for sell Arcana posters to raise funds for The Trevor Project. This came from a place of real sincerity from my coworkers and I to leverage the rise in merch sales to do direct Good for the communities that meant so much to us. When I drafted the proposal, the percentage of profits I said we should donate was very low. This wasn’t out of selfishness but out of a fear that “The Boss Folk” would torpedo the project if I asked for too much. The person co-leading the project with me strongly insisted I ask for something significantly higher. Something like 80-90% (do NOT quote me on exact numbers). This felt audacious to my cynical mind, but I pitched it and the management approved it without hesitation. We barely covered costs on the Arcana posters, but it was done because we wanted to make sure we were giving money directly to people that needed support.
My point with this anecdote isn’t to say the company is all saints. I was very sincere that a lot of what happened there left me damaged and upset and hurt. But it is to say that the vast majority of people I got to work with chose to work at Nix Hydra instead of other places because they genuinely believed in the work and getting to make games for communities that don’t often get games made for them. That this was populated by people who cared, who fought for their art, and who wanted to make it for the people they cared about.
It’s been stated that our female-led routes didn’t sell as well. What hasn’t been explicitly said before is that we kept doing them because so much of the company fought with tooth, nail, and blood to make sure that wlw stories were being told.
Also, I was confused about my sexuality all my life, and Muriel’s route is what made me finally accept my bisexuality.
—
What I’m saying is that there are things that I disliked about Nix Hydra in the strongest possible terms. There are things for which I will always, always be grateful.
So I’m always down to complain about what messed me up there. And I’ll always be a little damaged about it. But I’m never going to write off the whole thing as entirely awful. I hope that makes sense and appreciate your reaching out. :)
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the-fourth-knower · 4 years ago
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Diary of a lost doe, part 1
A short fic where my character Annabelle writes in diaries
Fresh off losing her parents, Annabelle Flaches must contend with trying to fend for herself and her baby sister Angelica. And with Angelica talking to a mysterious green orb when she thinks Annabelle isn’t watching, things are only at the tip of the iceberg.
This is for me and Aquillis’s “half and half” AU, our ‘main’ AU. not to be confused with Aqui’s pack universe which is her underground re-write.
Due to the length I'm splitting this into two parts. This is part 1, part 2 is here!
Diary Enry 1, Day I dunno.
Okay here it is. First diary entry I guess. Gotta keep it brief, writing instruements are hard.
Been a few months since that day. We’re doing fine. Angie started another garden. Moved to a new spot.
Got some new things for the house. Old car door and a tire. Not sure what I’ll do with the tire gonna use the door as part of wall.
Finished roof this morning. Good thing 2, might rain.
Angie still sleps bad if not next to me. Writing while she’s curled up. Wasn’t for scars on ear and having to sleep in same clothes she’d look like we’re still home.
Gotta sleep now.
Diary Entry 2
Maybe got a job. Illegal probs but $ is $
Angelica talked more today. Good sign? Maybe she relapses back into not talking but progress.
I never thought i’d miss her annoying stupid “hey lets go explore a cave and not tell anyone bout what we’ll do” self. Never thought about losing mum and pa ei
Shit crying. Bye.
Diary entry 3
Diary didn’t get too wet yesterday.Don’t think bout mom and pa it ends badly.
I can’t afford to break down even if Angie’s sleeping
If I break down then Angie will get upset
I won’t put her through it
I won’t


Diary entry 54
Had to leave town but am 600 $ richer
Angie’s quiet again. But she didn’t complain bout us leavin
gonna go for a city maybe. more risk but more money and places to live.
Jadetown’s the city. Dunno too much bout it but mum liked it.
Should get there in maybe a cuple weeks or so
Angie’s sound asleep. No kicking or anything so that’s good
Hope the city’s okay. Angie hates crowds.
Need somewhere with not a lot of crowds to live at


Diary Entry 63
Been a hot second. Settling in Jadetown’s pretty hard.
Find a quiet spot in the slums. Pretty shitty now, but the two of us can make it work
Angie still isn’t talking, but she kept close to me while we made our way through the crowds. She seemed fine as long as she held my hand
Lost her a couple times, but not for long. She seemed upset bout it.
Sorry Angie.
I’ll do better. I promise.
...
Diary Entry 169 (it’s the morning but fuck it)
The nightmare happened again.
Angelica having her ear scared by those monsters. mum and pa being taken away in exchange for us being set loose
Only it loops around and around before it’s just cries and blood and knives and screams and crying and they’re all surrounding me judging me for just failing everyone because you’re a fucking failure
Haven’t had it a while. Don’t upset yourself, Angie needs you.
Diary entry 169? Night
Angelica almost killed some street thugs.
we caught some dumbass looking punks bullying some sort of chao. I think it’s a chao
I ran up to one like an idiot and gout in their face to know what they’re doin, and the things went dark. I got knocked out on my ass, apparenlty the big brute that led them butted me in the head. Asshole didn’t even let me get ready
I came to to Angie trying to shake me awake. When I looked around the punks were gone, there were plant vines all over, and the other kids that had gathered were a mix of crapped their pants and mouths on the floor
I asked angie bout it and she just said she took care of them and that the punks had run off
What the hell did she do? Usually I’m the one saving her? But she was having none of it today.
Oh the chao’s fine, weirdass chao though. Never seen chao that just cause flowers to grow around them or in their footsteps.
Made 30 $
Rib’s hurting and headache, Angie fast asleep. Time for bed.
Diary Entry 170
Chao’s bak.
Visited Angie’s garden for a while watchin me watchin it. It waved and left right around Angie gettin up.
Showed up again when we got back home. Angie hasn’t seen it yet. Good thing, she wanted to bring it with us. We can’t afford three mouths.
I don’t like it. We save its ass and now its stalking us.
Made nothin.
Ribs hurt less. Still a bitch.
Diary entry 171
Angie’s found the “chao”
She talked to it all morning when she thought i was napping. Couldn’t sleep, too afraid of bad dreams.
It doesn’t make chao sounds. Or it does but really weird ones.
Then it turned a green light ball for a bit and back into a chao
Angie liked that.
I don’t trust it. Even less.
Need to watch it.
Angie’s relaxed.
Made 5$.
Diary Entry 172 morn
Nightmare again
Diary Entry 172 night
Angie got excited, claimed that she “found Trevor”
he lived near us back in our old home
Had to tell her no, every red mouse we see is not Trevor.
She says that Trevor and his family were gonna move here, pretty inistent too.
Man she gets caught up on the smallest things
Made 20$
Diary Entry 173
Chao returned while i was working. Left Angie on her own
Shes seemed like she was having a fun time being able to talk with someone
She’s not made friends much. Maybe i’m being too hard on the ‘chao’
Still gotta watch it. It could be manipulating her
Haven’t told her I know bout the chao yet.
Should i?
Not now. Angelica is sleeping.
Made 5$
Diary Entry 174
‘Trevor’ spotting 2. Angie wanted to go bug the person. So we went and sure enough as we got closer Angie changed her mind. It was a rat, not a mouse she said.
How can she tell the difference?
No Angie and chao visit. Unless it was while i slept in. but why would she be secretive bout it?
Saw the punk bitch again today. Looked like he crapped his pants when he saw Angie and she glared at him. That’s my sister.
Made 60$


Diary Entry 364
Got a new diary. Last entry for this one. Things going well. Got a good thing going for myself.
Angie found a new plant today, and now she’s got it in her garden.
Loved the look on her face when I got it for her.
Made 50$
Angelica’s chatted with the Chao again. Sort of like, is her guardian I think. Or is that its name
Guess good bye diary 1. Really weird to do but it feels right.
Angie’s sleeping well enough on her own. She mumbles but that seems it.
Do I do a good job keeping her safe
Diary 2 Entry 1
Managed to find a new diary. Keeping the old one just cause, and because I have the storage. For a couple of street bum does, we’ve got a decent enough house going. Been able to put it together from bits and bobs lying around, Angie even threw in her hat and added her own touches.
Looks ugly as hell with the plants holding things together and it’s all a mish mash of junk and crap I found, but it’s our mishmash of junk and crap.
Also saved up enough and am making enough to afford more than one pen and even some pencils. So I can write more often. Just felt like writing
Angie’s started to get more vocal again. I think she’s catching onto the fact the way I’ve been making money is less than honest a lot of the time.
I’m not going to sell myself for it though. I’m not degrading myself with that and nayone who fucking tries is going to a hospital.
And if any of those freaks dare go near Angie there won’t be enough left for a morgue to pick up.
Oh, and the chao’s still around. I can feel it. Angelica loves it, I think. I don’t trust it entirely, yet. But, it hasn't been a danger for the past months. So I think it’s actually a good thing.. Angie calls it Guardian. Maybe it's our own Guardian Angel.
Made 65$ today.
Good journal entry me. You got talkative. Writative? Whatever.
...
Diary 2 Entry 23
Got into a fight today, that was fun. The punks from when I helped save Guardian decided to jump me when Angelica was at the house. Guess they figured they could jump me without little sis to back me up. Too bad for them, when I don’t get suckered I’m damn good at defending myself. Sent them packing. Got a bit bruised. Why is it always the ribs with those guys.
Admittedly. I didn’t have to beat the crap out of them. But talk shit get hit, I say. They shouldn’t have been trash talking me when I was walking by.
-
Angelica was upset when I got back. Should’ve expected that, really. Don’t know why I didn’t think she would notice me being hurt, she’s got a sixth sense for that sort of thing. Always has. Kinda weird.
But, she did try and heal me a bit. Somehow, she’s gotten better at it -Ever since she's met Guardian, she’s gotten more control over that healing ability she has. I just need to make sure she doesn’t overdo herself again.
I don’t know anything much bout healing magic or whatever it is, but I don’t think what Angie has is normal. I think she uses herself for it. Whatever healing she tries to do just eats away at her. And whatever it was was enough to frighten Pa to move us in the first place
-
I think part of me might blame ANgie for it. For getting us out of the safety of where we lived near Agateton and moving.
But if we didn’t move would we really have been safe still. And it wasn’t Angie’s fault she did what she did, it was Pa who pushed for it and Mum who went with it.
So do I blame them? I don’t want to. The monsters that took them and hurt Angie are the ones to blame.
But they wouldn’t have found us if we didn’t move near that forest. But Mum and Pa couldn’t have seen it coming.
Ugh. brain hurts. Fuck this mind screw bullshite
Spent 123.54$ today. Groceries and supplies. Tampons are stupid expensive but I want to have a decent supply for when we need them. Also some food.
Made 13$. Gonna need to work more to recoup.
No idea if Angie talked with Guardian. She still thinks I don’t know anythin bout it.
At least, I think she doesn’t. She gets defensive and acts like she doesn’t know what I’m talking about.
I wonder why she does that. Wonder if it’s tied with how I react to her saying she’s found Trevor for the umpteenth time.
Maybe I should press her bout it. But I don’t want to get her worked up over nothin.
Okay that’s enough, my mind’s getting wandering now and I stay up if I do that.
...
Diary 2 Entry 54
Someone showed up with a bunch of robots earlier. Cause quite the commotion, sent people running, the usual.
Apparently he set up shop in the rich quarter and is causing all sorts of troubles. People have been coming to and fro a lot the past few days.
Angie got worried over explosions. Had to calm her down, explain that whatever it was probably wasn’t coming here. She asked me bout the people there and if they needed help - told her that someone would take care of the rich fops. That’s what they do after all. Who gives a shit about two practically orphaned kids.
Not sure if she bought it. Gotta keep an eye on her. Might need to pull an all nighter.
And we don’t have any energy drinks or coffee. I could go grab one, no one is gonna give a shit if I do, not in this current environment.
Gotta stop for now. Gotta focus on Angie not some stupid book.
Entry 55
Angie’s missin
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fiddlepickdouglas · 4 years ago
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Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 2 - Desert Oasis
Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, was it coincidence or was it meant to be?, 2.3k
@trevor-wilson-covington is my bestie who makes me these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends
Part 1
The boys entered the empty theater from backstage, all gazing at the splendor of it. Luke leapt onto the stage with a stomp, smiling at the echo. Alex just took in the high ceiling, the lights, and the private boxes that made it feel less like a concert venue and more like a mini operahouse. Reggie seemed to think something similar, and by extension made some wobbly ballerina spins across the stage. Not to miss an opportunity to show good form, Alex pirouetted and ended with a jeté, unable to resist feeling smug.
“Now that Alex has christened the stage,” Bobby said. “When do we do a sound check?”
“The stage manager guy said not till about five,” Luke mentioned. “So we can do whatever we need until then.”
“Then why’d we get here so early?”
Both Alex and Reggie gave Bobby funny looks. They knew why. Bobby’s face went from confusion to understanding as he added things together. Luke was already heading back toward the green room. Julie Molina hadn’t arrived yet, but he was clearly excited for when she did. He was probably compiling lyrics to show her.
“Met her once and he’s twitterpated,” Bobby joked, Reggie chuckling after him. “Bet you know what that’s all about, though, right Alex?”
“Well...” Alex said in a high-pitched voice. He wasn’t entirely sure if it was the same thing. Willie was nice, and seemed to accept his invitation, but he didn’t dare assume.
“Come on, that waiter couldn’t keep his eyes off you,” Bobby insisted.
“Waiter?” Reggie puzzled. “What waiter?”
Alex looked at him, sticking his tongue in his cheek. “Really?”
Reggie shook his head, still clueless. Bobby stuck his hands in his pockets.
“Your friend, Smooth McDuck, here practically asked him out right in front of us,” he said. “How many pancakes did you eat anyway?”
“Ooooh that waiter!” Reggie said, finally.
“Okay,” Alex muttered to himself as they continued toward the green room. He didn’t want to get his hopes too high, especially with Bobby being so encouraging. Part of him was almost afraid of seeing Willie actually show up at the show tonight. It was more from the uncertainty of what Alex would do if he saw him again because he didn’t trust himself to keep his cool. How he’d managed it back in the diner he attributed to either his upset stomach or mild shock. 
As they reached the green room, Luke was on the phone, a concentrated look on his face. A crew member sat with his arms folded next to him.
“Uh huh...okay, thank you.” He sighed. “Yeah, sure thing. Thanks, bye.” He hung up and ran his hands over his face.
“What was that about?” Alex asked.
“Just called the motel to see when we could check in and they’re flooded, plus their other rooms are full,” Luke told them. “But they’re gonna give us our money back and hopefully we can find somewhere soon.”
Everyone groaned at the inconvenience. Finding somewhere in Vegas that they could afford within a handful of hours sounded practically impossible.
“Who wants to go hotel hunting?” Bobby said solemnly, looking around for more volunteers.
“I’ll do it,” Reggie responded.
“Me too,” Alex followed. “Is there a phone book?”
“I got you,” the crew member said, going back to a closet and pulling one out. He handed it to Alex, who proceeded to flip through the yellow pages.
“Anyone got a notepad so we can write numbers down?” he asked.
After a bit of scrambling between the rest of them, a pen and notepad were provided.
“I’m gonna go get the cash back,” Luke said, heading out to the van and disappearing.
In a combination of checking their map and collecting a list of numbers and locations, the other three looked at their options.
“Okay, I say we take turns making calls,” he said.
For the next hour Bobby, Reggie and Alex rotated between contacting numerous hotels and writing down prices and seeing where reservations were open. Most places were too expensive, the rest were booked. They were down to the last two numbers, and Reggie was on the second to last call.
“We need two rooms. Or one with room for four, if you have that,” he was saying for the umpteenth time. The silence thickened with anticipation, and then thinned out again. “No problem. Thanks anyway, bye.”
Hanging the receiver, Reggie sighed heavily.
“Man, if this last one doesn’t work, I am gonna hate driving back overnight,” Bobby stated.
“Me too, I can’t fall asleep in the car,” Reggie said. “I don’t know how Luke does it.”
“Well, let’s try this last one and hope for the best,” Alex told them.
He picked up the receiver again and dialed the last number, listening to it connect to the operator and then start ringing.
“Thanks for calling the Desert Oasis, my name is William, how can I help you?” A familiar voice said on the other line.
Alex dropped his jaw.
“Willie?” he breathed. Bobby and Reggie perked up in interest. Luke reentered the green room as he returned from collecting their money.
“Um...yes?” Willie answered in confusion. “Who am I speaking to?”
Alex chuckled nervously, avoiding the looks on all his friends’ faces.
“It’s, uh...it’s Alex. You work at a hotel too?” One of the guys playfully socked him in the shoulder and he swatted them away.
“Yeah, I do.” He could hear the slight happy tone in his voice and had to make himself focus on the task at hand.
“Cool, well, me and the guys are actually kinda desperate. Do you have any open rooms?”
“We should.” Alex pumped his fist excitedly at those words. He could see the rest of the guys’ faces light up.
“Do you want one with four beds or two with two beds?” Willie continued.
“What’s cheaper?”
“The one room. How many nights do you need?”
“Just tonight,” Alex told him.
There was a short pause on the other line.
“Okay, I’ve got you in.”
“Yes!” Alex exclaimed, to which the boys started celebrating. Luke and Bobby hollered while Reggie gave everyone high-fives. Honestly, if Willie had been in the room, Alex might have nearly choked him with a tight hug. “Thank you, Willie, thank you, thank you!”
WIllie giggled on the other line.
“Of course! You guys should check in soon though.”
“Yes, right,” Alex calmed from his euphoria. “We’ll be there as soon as we can. Thank you, again!”
“Yeah man, I’ll see you soon!”
Alex hung up and ran his hands through his hair in relief.
Luke wrapped an arm around Alex and thumped his chest, and Alex in turn messed up his hair.
“Okay boys, let’s get checked in!” Luke cried as they all ran to clamber into the van again.
Alex was still wonderstruck at the idea of seeing Willie again. It had been only a couple of hours; maybe he’d been nervous at the thought of him appearing later that evening but now he was too excited for that. Even though it was a short drive, he made sure to ride shotgun this time. The last thing he wanted was for the nausea to resurface.
As they arrived, Alex grabbed his backpack and headed straight for the front desk. It was empty, but soon a man with dark curly hair came around the corner and stepped behind it.
“Sunset Curve, I presume?” he asked. He had a slight accent that Alex couldn’t place. Maybe it was French? Either way, he was disappointed not to see Willie there. The rest of the guys had piled in behind him.
“Yeah, man, that’s us!” Luke said, stepping forward.
“Tell your friends!” Reggie quipped habitually. The concierge gave him a stiff but polite smile. Luke quickly handed him the cash to pay for their stay and he was handed a room key.
“Your room will be on the second floor and then all the way down the hall to your right. Have a wonderful stay.”
Alex sat in disbelief while Luke had handled everything, so Reggie had to nudge him. Returning to the present, he shouldered his backpack and followed the boys to the elevator. He didn’t like the unsettling feeling descending on him like a shadow. It was more than just not seeing Willie upon arrival, but he couldn’t explain it just yet. A small pat to his shoulder diverted his attention.
“He’ll be around here somewhere,” Bobby assured him.
Alex nodded back to him, glad for the support. This was a newer side he was seeing from Bobby, and it was a change that strangely didn’t make him completely freak out.
As they got into their room, Reggie sprawled onto the main bed as though he were landing on a cloud. Luke claimed the couch, which Bobby insisted was a pullout bed as well. They all got to argue over which territory they claimed, and found out that the couch was just a couch, but there was a bed that came down off the wall in the closet. Reggie had brought his stuffed bear and placed it on the main bed, saying it was now being “reserved”. In retaliation, Bobby threatened to be the big spoon, to which Reggie replied “I’ll just be the bigger spoon!” in a very flustered manner. Alex sat on the bed from the wall with his legs crossed, enjoying the insanity.
“What you should really be fighting over is who gets to shower first,” he said, knowing the seeds of chaos he was sowing.
“Dibs! I call dibs!” Reggie yelled, raising a hand.
“Not if you can’t get in there first,” Luke said as he passed him on the way to the bathroom. This caused a comical fight to enter the bathroom, which Reggie ultimately lost.
“They know there’s showers at the venue, right?” Bobby muttered over to Alex.
“Not if we don’t tell ‘em,” Alex murmured back, giving him a fist bump. He preferred not to wait for all three of them at either location to finish getting cleaned up after the show.
Bobby picked up Luke’s acoustic and started playing around, and quickly Reggie sat on the floor to listen. Alex didn’t feel up to jamming and decided he needed to get out.
“I’m gonna take a walk,” he announced, to which the other boys only nodded. He caught Reggie’s hypnotized expression as he looked up at Bobby and chuckled as he made his way out the door. He wondered if they would ever figure it out.
Alex pulled a drumstick out of his fanny pack and dragged it along the wall of the hotel, tapping a simple rhythm. This place was across the street from the diner, he’d noticed on their way in. The temptation to search for Willie grew, but he questioned it for a moment. Was he really going to get feelings for a guy he’d barely met and likely wouldn’t see after this trip? It seemed a little crazy.
He came to the end of the hallway and peered through the window overlooking the street. It was kind of a pretty view of the Red Rock Canyon, and would have been even better if the window had been wider. The sun was bright, inviting him to go outside. It isn’t searching for Willie, it’s just getting fresh air, he told himself. He took the stairs down to the main floor and waved at the concierge as he pushed his way out the door.
The wind had picked up a little, and Alex breathed in as the breeze swept over him. The heat was a little more intense than back home, but he liked the change. Heading toward the sidewalk, he chose to try just walking around the block before going back up to the room. Being on the outskirts of the city was thankfully much quieter.
Quiet enough to hear the gentle click-rooolllllll of small wheels behind him.
Before he could fully turn around, Alex was hit full force with someone’s entire body weight and they both landed together on the concrete. Grunting in pain, he looked to see Willie on the ground beside him, hand on top of a cracked helmet.
“There are better ways of getting my attention,” he said hoarsely, standing up.
“Sorry, I was meaning to stop before I got to you,” Willie said, chuckling through his own pain and holding onto his skateboard. Alex offered him a hand and Willie took it to help himself up. The closeness already had Alex catching his breath and he mentally begged to hold himself together repeatedly.
“So I don’t get it, do you just run back and forth between the hotel and the diner as you’re needed?” Alex asked.
Willie’s eyes went side to side and he shrugged.
“Sort of,” he told him. “It makes every day different.”
Alex caught a glimpse at his other hand and saw the newly opened sore that wasn’t being mentioned.
“Willie, your hand!” He cried, carefully taking hold of it so the palm faced up.
“It’s no big deal,” Willie said while trying to pull it away. Alex kept a firm grip on his wrist so he couldn’t hide it. “I’ve had worse.”
“Well, you shouldn’t stay cut open,” Alex scolded gently. He dug into his fanny pack and pulled out an alcohol cotton pad and some bandaids.
“Do you seriously carry those with you everywhere?” Willie wondered as Alex opened the packet.
“You’ve seen my friends, right?” was his only response. He continued to clean Willie’s hand, ignoring his winces, gasps and reflexive jerking, and then covered it the best he could with the bandaids. Willie just bit his lip and sighed.
“You used to play doctor with your teddy bear as a kid, huh?”
Alex looked at him and the adorable expression on his face was too much. He smirked.
“Right, hah. Not gonna be a problem, will it?”
Retaining his smile, Willie sat backward and raised his eyebrows.
“Problem? I don’t think so.”
He dropped his board and kicked off.
“Hey, where are you going?” Alex said, running after him.
Willie simply nodded for him to follow, and it was all too compelling. Holding the strap on his fanny pack, he ran to catch up, unsure where they were headed.
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mldrgrl · 4 years ago
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Broken Things 11/24
by: mldrgrl Rating: varies by chapter, rated R overall See Chapter 1 for summary and notes
Jack Willis is buried in the boneyard outside of town a week to the day after Mulder and Katherine meet.  Mulder attends the burial, but Katherine does not.  Aside from the gravedigger and the undertaker, no one is there to pay their respects.  Mulder is only there to pay the two men for their time.    
Time has an interesting way of moving.  When Mulder met Katherine, those first few days felt like the longest of his life.  And now weeks slip by and it feels like he needs to slow things down.  He remembers telling her his priority and focus is on the ranch, nothing more, yet now that she’s here, the ranch feels secondary to him in a time where he can’t afford to be distracted.
It’s coming up on October before he knows it and he’s got to get the horses ready to ride out to Fort Worth for the postal service.  If the team he’s built up is satisfactory, there’s more work to be had and a government contract just may be forthcoming.  If that’s not enough to occupy his time, with the new land he has thanks to his wife, he hopes to start in on the expansion before winter sets in.
Katherine fits in so well it’s like he can’t remember a time when she wasn’t there.  He notices that she seems to fill a role with each of the ranch hands.  For Trevor, it’s like the mother he never had.  She darns his socks and patches the holes in his pants and reminds him to wash up for supper.  He ‘yes, ma’am’s’ her more in a day than he’s ever ‘yes, sir’d’ Mulder in five months.
Jesse and Jimmy are often good-naturedly teasing Katherine like a little sister.  They challenge her into imaginary competitions like they bet she can’t drive the carriage in a circle around the barn or they bet she can’t make as good of an apple pie as Melvin or they bet she can’t catch all the suckling pigs in under a minute.  For her part, she seems to enjoy proving them wrong.
Melvin treats Katherine almost reverently, like a father would a daughter.  He speaks of her with pride when he tells Mulder of how she handles the carriage or how she’s put logical sense into the kitchen and the cellar shelves or how she read some beautiful verses from the bible to him.  He notices that Katherine also worries over him like a devoted child as well, telling him to rest more, to sit down, not to overtax himself.
It’s been harder for Mulder to pinpoint the relationship Richard has with Katherine.  Richard keeps to himself most of the time, but he has had the occasion to observe them speaking.  One particular time, they were both crouched low and Katherine was scratching at the dirt with a stick.  Richard was nodding thoughtfully and he moved away looking as though he was in deep contemplation.  Mulder asked Katherine what they were conversing about.
“I asked him to make me a washing line on a pulley,” she said.  “I was explaining where I wanted it, the type of pulley I would need and where the loosener should be fitted.”
“I’m sure he’ll build you a very fine washing line.”
“Oh, I have no doubt.  We were trying to determine which space might maximize efficiency.  There’s a lot to think about; which way the wind is likely to blow, the position of the sun, where to keep the wash basin and ringer, for example.  He’s going to think on it.”
So, Mulder determines that Richard thinks of Katherine like a colleague or an equal.  She’s the one person he’s ever asked for advice from.  If he runs into an obstacle, he seeks her out to talk it through instead of wallowing in self-loathing.  Perhaps if the army had been populated by Katherines, Richard would still be there.
He’s been too busy to take Katherine out on another picnic, but they spend almost every evening sitting on the porch together.  She is usually sewing and he tells her stories about the constellations or reads to her from his favorite book, Gulliver’s Travels.  It’s a good thing she seems to enjoy listening because he’s never met a silence he can’t fill.
He’s packing for the trek to Fort Worth and remembers that Katherine still has his valise.  It’s late, he wonders if she might be asleep, but he can see light coming from under the door, so he knocks quietly.
“Katherine?” he calls, as soft as he can in case he might disturb her.
“You may come in,” she answers.
He opens the door and then cuts his eyes away for a moment when he sees she’s in her nightdress and a robe, sitting at the edge of the bedstead.  “Oh, uh
”
“Yes?”
He looks at her and she’s combing her hair.  He’s never seen it loose before and it’s wildly curled, like endless fiery waves over her shoulders and down her back.  She always keeps it braided and he’s surprised she’s able to tame it so well.  
“I’ll be needing my valise.”
“Oh!”  She sets the comb down on the bed and goes to the wardrobe.  “I should have returned it to you weeks ago.”
“I’ll get you one of your own in Fort Worth.”
“What would I need with a valise?”
“For traveling.”
She hands him the valise and their hands meet on the handle.  She doesn’t let go.  “Traveling?” she asks.  “Am I going somewhere?”
“Maybe one day you might like to take a trip somewhere.  We could take a trip.  A honeymoon, perhaps.”
Her brow shoots up and she releases the valise into his grip.  He feels foolish for saying such a thing and bites his lip for a moment and shakes his head.
“I’m sorry,” he says.  “I only meant that maybe you’d like to accompany me when I need to return east some time.  We could stop in New York City.  See the electric bulbs in the park.”
“You would...you would take me east with you?  To New York City?”
“I’m needed in Boston from time to time and I would love to bring you along.”
“I would like that very much.”
“I wish I could take you with us to Fort Worth.”
“I wouldn’t be able to go anyway.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t have my own valise yet.”  She smiles at him rather coquettishly and he chuckles.
“I will remedy that soon enough.  Do you think you might miss me when I’m gone?”
“I may not have time to miss you.  With half of you gone, I was planning to give the floors a good scrubbing.  Not to mention, Richard is installing my washing line and I hope to get all the bedclothes washed.  And of course there’s-”
“Alright, you can’t wait to see me gone and have me out from underfoot.”
“No, I
”  She pauses, drops her chin and cocks her head to the side just a bit.  “Keeping busy helps take my mind off things like missing people.”
He tries not to smile too broadly, but he knows the grin on his face must look foolish.  He bites his lip and nods.  “I’ll say good night, then,” he says.  “And I’ll let you get back to...your bedtime rituals.”
“Good night.  I will see you in the morning.”
He hesitates and then gestures a sort of farewell with the valise.  As he starts to close the door, he can’t help himself and he stops.  “I will miss you, in case you were wondering.”
“I suggest you try to keep yourself busy, then.”
He chuckles and closes the door behind him.
↭
Katherine is up early in the morning to make breakfast and to pack a nice noon dinner for Mulder, Jesse and Jimmy.  Richard, Trevor and Melvin will be staying behind at the ranch.  Even though she’s up before sunrise, the wagon is already packed and the horses have been saddled and hitched.  The men eat quickly, eager to set out on their journey.  Before they leave, Mulder pulls Katherine aside and gives her a bankroll.
“Don’t think I didn’t remember the first of the month is just a few days away,” he says.  “I assume you’ll want to head into town and see Mr. Skinner about the mortgage due.”
“This looks like more than we agreed to.”
“Well, call it an advance.  There’s a nice little cafe in town.  See if you can’t treat your lady friends to a noon dinner while you’re there.”
She crushes the bankroll in her fist and tries to think of a place she can keep the money safe.  He puts his hat on and then winks at her.
“Keep yourself busy,” he says, and then heads out into the morning light.  She follows to the porch to watch him go.
Jesse is driving the team of horses pulling the wagon and Jimmy rides next to him on the horse they call Faithful Jenny.  Mulder mounts Blondie and turns to give her a wave before he takes the lead on the small party and then they are off and she already feels a pang of longing for him to return.
The first two days, she keeps busy with the scrubbing she’d told him she wanted to do and prepares for a day of heavy laundry.  She helps Richard with the hanging of the washing line and with a few adjustments and tightening of the rope and pulley, it works as smoothly as she’d hoped.
On Friday, she dons the new calico skirt she’s only just finished sewing, a fresh blouse, a pair of black gloves she purchased at the mercantile but has not yet had occasion to wear, and ties on the hat that Mulder gave her the day they married.  She asks Melvin if he could hitch up the carriage for her and though she’s terribly nervous about her first foray into town by herself, she knows she can do it.  She’s put in a good amount of training with Melvin learning how to drive these last few weeks and there has to be a first time for everything.
Lady is ready and waiting with the carriage when she comes outside after having secured her money into a hidden pocket she’s sewn into her skirt.  She’s more afraid of losing the money or having it stolen off of her than she is for problems driving the carriage.
“You sure you don’t want me to ride with you?” Melvin asks.  “I can saddle up George and follow you even, if’n you’d like me to do that.”
“I’ll be fine,” she says.  “I’m just going to go to the bank and drop in on Mrs. Byers and Mrs. Doggett.  I’ve boiled some eggs and took out some canned pears.  There’s enough salt pork left to fry up.”
“Don’t worry about the kitchen today, go have yourself a nice time in town.  But, if’n you’re not back here before the sun drops west, I’m comin’ out there after you.”
“Lady, walk on now.  I’ll be back soon!”
She can scarcely believe she’s driving a carriage on her own, making her way into town, and yet she is.  Even Lady seems to sense her excitement and prances down the road in a nice, quick trot.  Katherine smiles when she passes the trees she recognizes from her picnic with Mulder.  Her arms are tired by the time she makes it into town, but she feels exhilarated by her accomplishment.
“Well done,” she tells Lady after tying her to the post and rubbing her cheek.  Lady nods and shakes her head.
The bank is busier than when she was there before.  The teller is assisting a man at the window and two others wait behind him.  One of them nods and tips his hat to her when she walks in.  She waits as well and looks past the line to see if she can spot Mr. Skinner, but his office door is closed.  She becomes a little anxious when she waits, not sure of what she is to say to the teller.  She thought she might just walk in and be able to speak with Mr. Skinner.  Soon, it’s her turn and she steps up to the window and then fumbles for the money concealed in her pocket.
“I am here to pay my mortgage due,” she says.
“Name on the account,” the teller asks.
“Um, Jack Willis, I believe.”
“One moment.”
The teller turns away and then opens a box.  He takes out a stack of small cards which he quickly shuffles through and removes one.  He returns to the window and takes up a pen that he dips in ink.
“Ten dollars and sixty cents,” he says as he’s writing on the card.
Katherine carefully counts out eleven dollars and then slides it into the tray at the window.  The teller counts it as quickly as he shuffled the cards and he puts it into another tray below the counter.  He slides forty cents change back to her and the card as well.
“Sign, please,” he says.
She hesitates with the pen in her hand.  She does not know what name to write.  Should she sign Katherine Willis, or Katherine Mulder?
“You can mark an ‘x’ if you are illiterate,” he says.
“No, I am not illiterate,” she answers.  “I was recently remarried, I am unsure if I should sign with that name.”
“Who’s your husband?”
“William Mulder.”
“Wait here.”
She begins to feel nervous all over again.  Another man has come into the bank as she’s been at the window and is now waiting for her to finish.  She doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know if she should leave and come back, but the teller told her to wait and so she waits.  She starts to perspire and she loosens the tie on her hat.  She whirls around when someone says her name.
“Mrs. Mulder,” Walter Skinner says.  “I’m glad you’ve come by.”
“You are?”
“I’ll take it from here, Mr. Crawford.”  He takes the card from the counter and gestures for Katherine to go ahead of him to his office.  She returns the pen and then goes with Mr. Skinner.  He makes an imposing figure and rather reminds her of her father, which makes her all the more nervous.
“Is something the matter?” she asks, taking a seat in front of his desk.
“Not at all.  Mr. Mulder was in earlier this week before his trip out to Fort Worth.  I just have a paper here for you to sign adding you to his account.”
“Adding me to his account?  What does that mean?”
“It means you are able to make deposits or withdrawals on your husband’s account, provided we have your signature on file.”
She stares at him, incredulous.  She doesn’t even know what name she should sign with to pay her mortgage and now she’s expected to have access to a bank account?
“I have my own money here,” she says.  “I don’t think I need Mulder’s account.  Do I?”
“He added your name on Monday and asked that when you came in to make the mortgage payment that I have you sign the paperwork.”
“I must confess this is all very new to me, Mr. Skinner.  I’m not even sure if I’m supposed to sign this card as Katherine Willis or Katherine Mulder.”
“That card just keeps a record of the payments.  My teller signs it saying he received the money and you sign it saying you paid it.  You don’t have anything to worry about there, but I think that you should go ahead and sign as Katherine Mulder from now on.”
She nods and he gives her a pen to sign the card.  It’s the first time she’s written her married name on anything and it feels strange.  She never did get accustomed to being Mrs. Willis, but when Skinner had called her Mrs. Mulder earlier, she answered without hesitation.  She hands him the card and he passes her the paper she’s to sign for Mulder’s account.
“And just so you’re aware,” he says.  “I expect the transfer of your lease to be returned by next week.  It will be filed under your joint account, so be sure to request the mortgage under your own name next time.”
“I will remember.  Thank you for helping me, Mr. Skinner.”
“It’s my pleasure, Mrs. Mulder.”
She leaves the bank with much less of a triumphant feeling than she felt in successfully driving the carriage.  In fact, she feels as though she has hardly taken a breath in that whole time.  She steps down to Lady and rests her forehead against the horse’s neck and strokes her mane.
“We’ve done it,” she whispers to the horse.
“Katherine?”
Katherine steps back from the horse and turns towards the voice that called her name.  She sees Monica Doggett hurrying towards her across the dirt road, waving to her.  She waves back.
“I thought that was you,” Monica says, greeting Katherine with a warm embrace.  “It’s so good to see you.”
“Yes, you as well, Mrs. Doggett.”
“Ach, Monica, please.  Mrs. Doggett is my mother-in-law and trust me, there’s only room enough in this world for one Mrs. Doggett.”  Monica laughs and squeezes Katherine’s hands.  “What brings you to town?”
“I had a banking matter to attend to.”
“Are you here long?”
“Actually, I’m glad I ran into you.  I wasn’t sure how to find you, but I was just on my way to drop in on Susannah Byers and I thought she might know.”
“We’re down on this road if you keep going over the bridge ahead.  Can’t miss it.  If I’m not there, it’s probably because I’m running something over to John.”
“I’ll remember that.  Mulder told me there was a cafe in town and I should invite you and Susannah for a noon dinner.  I’d understand if you’re busy with chores or errands though.”
“Are you kidding?  I would love nothing more.  And if I know Susannah, she will be absolutely delighted by the offer.  Is this your carriage?  Did you drive in all on your own?”
“I did.  Though Lady did most of the work.”
“How thrilling.  Shall we?”
Katherine climbs up into the carriage and Monica hops up next to her in the passenger seat.  It takes nothing but a few minutes to end up at the mercantile and Monica steps down first and waits at the foot of the porch steps for Katherine.
John Byers is standing before a display table with a clipboard and pencil, taking notes.  He smiles when the ladies come in and puts the pencil behind his ear.
“Good morning, ladies,” he says.
“Mr. Byers,” Katherine answers.
“We’ve come to collect your wife,” Monica says.  “You won’t mind if we borrow her for a bit to have dinner at the cafe, do you?”
“Not at all.  Let me go and get her.”
“Oh, how darling.”  Monica holds up a knitted pair of baby booties that she picks up from a table.  “Sometimes I sure can’t believe my little ones used to fit into socks this small.”
“You have children?”
“Two.  Luke and Sarah.  Sarah just turned nine and Luke will be fifteen in just a couple weeks.  Do you have any children?”
“No.”
“Well, there’s plenty of time.  And when that time does come, I promise I’m the best midwife all of Texas has to offer.”
Katherine gives Monica a polite smile.  “I’m certain you are.”
“Oh my word, is it true?”  Susannah comes bustling into the storefront, throwing off an apron that she carelesses flings in her husband’s direction.  John catches it with one hand.  “We’re going to go out to dinner?  Is that right?  Oh, let me get my hat.  John, how could you let me walk out without my hat!  I’ll hurry back.  Don’t go nowhere you two!”
Monica laughs and then winks at Katherine.  “I told you Susannah would be delighted.”
When Susannah returns, the three ladies head out of the store and Susannah leads the way down the boardwalk to the cafe.  Katherine worries a little about leaving the horse and carriage, but Susannah tells her not to fret that it’ll be fine where it is.  They’re seated next to a window at a table for four and after ordering some cold cut sandwiches and lemonades, Susannah and Monica start to gossipping about people Katherine has never heard of.  She’s content to listen to the conversation and doesn’t mind that she isn’t required to participate.
“Oh, but listen to us,” Susannah says.  “We’re being rude.  Katherine, I haven’t even asked after your husband or how you’re faring out on the ranch.”
“Mulder is well.  He’s in Fort Worth right now to take a team of horses to the United States post office.”
“You didn’t join him?” Monica asks.  “When John and I were first married, I’m telling you he couldn’t hardly walk down the road without pulling me along.”
“I’d much rather stay behind anyway.  There’s so much to tend to at the ranch and...well, the truth of it is, I would just like to stay put for awhile.  That was one of the reasons I married Mulder in the first place.  To just...to just stay still.”
“You did a lot of traveling around with your first husband, didn’t you?” Susannah asks.
“Too much.  In four years I don’t think we were ever in the same place for more than a few weeks.  And then we ended up here and it was like there was nowhere left to go.”  
Monica nods and then she reaches across the table and puts her hands over Katherine’s. “I did have the occasion to meet Jack Willis once,” she says, petting Katherine’s hand lightly.  “He had the blackest aura I’ve ever seen.  You must have been miserable.”
“It wasn’t a very happy marriage.  I don’t know what an aura has to do with that.  I don’t even know what an aura is.”
“Oh, Lord, Monica, not the auras!”  Susannah throws her hands up, but chuckles.
“There’s a belief that all people put off energy,” Monica says.  “Like a candle putting off heat.”
“Monica is an enthusiast of alternative ideas.”
Monica laughs.  “John was posted in San Francisco for a few years and I met the most fascinating people there that believe in some of the most extraordinary things.”
“We had a preacher come through here once that called her a heretic,” Susannah adds.  “In the middle of a sermon.”
“Well, he shouldn’t have become a preacher if he didn’t want to answer questions.”
Katherine looks between the two women and shakes her head.  “Energy is the quantitative property that must be transferred to an object in order to perform work on the object,” she says.  “Like measuring the temperature required to boil water.”
Monica glances at Susannah and she shrugs.  “I don’t know what any of that means,” Susannah says.  “I just turn the stove on and wait for the bubbles.”
“Have you ever gotten a bad feeling when you meet someone for the first time?” Monica asks.  “Or even a really good feeling?”
“Yes.”
“You’re feeling their energy.  Auras are like...I suppose they’re like a way of measuring a person’s disposition.”
“I don’t know how you would measure a feeling.”
“Auras are the colors of the energy that people put off.  Some people are lucky enough to see them.”
“And you’re one of those people?”
“I am.  Anyone can see them though if they want to.  It’s about opening yourself up to possibilities.”
“How does one open oneself up to possibilities?”
“I think it starts with inner peace.  Really letting go of fear and doubt and not worrying so much about the past or the future and being extremely present in the moment.”
“I see.”
“Your husband is mostly blue, but there is some red there too.  He’s very compassionate, loyal, trustworthy, and nurturing, but also driven and hard-working.”
“I don’t really think you need an aura to tell you that.  Just as I don’t think you need an aura to tell you that Jack was surly and unpleasant.”
“No, but I could tell right away, even without knowing you, that you and Mulder belong together.  You can’t tell me you weren’t drawn to him immediately, even if you didn’t know why.”
“I was intrigued by him, I will admit that.”
“And you knew he was someone you could marry even though you’d only known him for a day.”
“But, she didn’t really have much of a choice in that,” Susannah interjects.
“I did though,” Katherine confesses.  “He offered me money for my land, land I didn’t even own, and he said he would help me start out somewhere if I wanted.”
“And you chose to marry him.”  Monica smiles.
“He was kind to me when he didn’t have to be.  I know I didn’t know hardly anything about him, but still I felt...very fond of him.”
Monica nods knowingly.  “Your auras.”
“I’m a yellow,” Susannah says.  “But, Monica, you haven’t said what Katherine is.”
“Would you like to know?”
“You might as well tell me.”
“You are almost equally tan and crystal.  Which means you’re very private, cautious and practical.  And you’re a healer.”
All of those things are true, but Monica could come by those conclusions without more than a few minutes conversation with her.  The part about being a healer though, that is a little disturbing.  The waiter comes over with their tray of sandwiches and lemonades and the conversation falls to the wayside.  Katherine wonders what color Monica is, but doesn’t want to ask, lest Monica think she somehow believes in that kind of foolishness.  People emitting colors?  How absurd.
62 notes · View notes
omegangrins · 4 years ago
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Universal took Tremors from its creators after 30 years of work.
TL;DR After 25-30 years making the series, Brent Maddock, Michael Gross, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood and S.S. Wilson were kicked out so Universal Studios could make more money off the merchandising before the Tremors copyright expires in 2025.
*****MAJOR SPOILERS**** This will make you sad, angry and frustrated. But there is hope. #StampedeTremors
Soooooo, ever since I blew up and sidetracked a post about David Fincher's Queen Biopic with Sacha Baron Cohen as Freddie Mercury discussing the Tremors 7 ending, I've done some more research on the whole thing. The Graboid hole for this goes deep.
Michael Gross didn't want it.
“There’s a part of me that feels that Universal Home Entertainment might’ve had enough of Tremors. The suggestions that were made in the course of this [movie] made me think maybe they’ve had enough. They came to me and said, ‘What if we ended it at 7?’ and I said, ‘Whatever you choose to do, I’m good with that.'” “That being said, The door is still open for an eighth Tremors. It may seem unlikely by what people see on the screen, but it is possible. There could be an eighth. And if there were, and if it were an interesting story, I would be up for it because Burt is always a great deal of fun. It would depend on his physicality. How much they want me to do. If it’s in another two years, I’ll be 75 years old. So I will continue to hope and pray that I stay in shape, to do what is asked of me – if it is asked of me.”
AND Universal even killed off any ambiguity that he fought for.
"We shot it both ways, where everybody's mourning Burt, and he climbs up over the cliff and looks at all of them in mourning and goes, 'Jesus, God, I'm not dead. And he's really pissed off at them. It's like, 'How would you possibly think...?' But he's bloodied, just he's a mess. He looks like he's been through an earthquake, crushed by a house, but he's alive. And he says, 'You idiots. Of course, I'm alive.'" "They decided it just had this punch. Frankly, I thought to myself -- I didn't express it to them, but I thought to myself -- 'Maybe Universal's getting a little tired of this franchise.' Because this wasn't my idea." "I said, 'I can live with this. Because they came to me. They said, 'Look, you've been doing this so long. What do you think?' And I said, 'Well, as long as we kind of leave the door open.' I mean, I can kind of see an eighth film where it opens with Burt in a hospital bed, in a full body cast and saying, 'I survived.' He could hardly move a muscle. And maybe eight is...if I had a concept for eight, it would be Burt horribly injured, but in a motorized, weaponized wheelchair that has rocket mounts on the side and can leave an oil slick behind like James Bond's car. So nobody can chase him." "I always said, if Kevin Bacon or Fred [Ward] or Reba [McIntire] or anybody [wanted to return], I'd be there in a minute. Just because one, I love Burt, but I always thought of him as this guy kind of on the fringes, and I just came to the fore because everybody else walked away."
https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3637682/michael-gross-says-door-still-open-potential-eighth-tremors-movie/
https://comicbook.com/movies/news/tremors-shrieker-island-michael-gross-on-burt-gummer-death/
While Universal ignored how Michael Gross was setting up his son Travis Welker to pick up his torch (Which I'm give or take on Jamie Kennedy yet he brought a Grady-like optimism to the shittier of the series.)
"My reaction was disappointment, as I had planned an entire storyline around his participation."
Even Jamie Kennedy tried to but they wouldn't let him.
"Lot of people have been asking me, so I might as well spill it. I will NOT be in the upcoming TREMORS 7. I had a great time making the last two. But no TRAVIS this time around. But hey you neva’ know what can happen in the future.... have a great time boys! Tdawg out!!!"
https://mobile.twitter.com/JamieKennedy/status/1188981479973347329
After 7 movies and a TV show, nothing more than a spit in the face for the man who carried a franchise. Then when they do the montage at the end, we get clips of Hiram Gummer but NOTHING of Burt Gummer from the TV show. It's 13 episodes of Burt in Tremors that's longer than all the movies combined but yet they don't even include it in the ending montage while including his dead grandpa.
Same with the original creators. Did you know Stampede Entertainment (Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, Ron Underwood, and S.S. Wilson) were working on Tremors for 25 years and even had the 5th one written, "Thunder/Gummer Down Under".
Then were told to sit on it for 10 years before Universal eventually told them to eat dirt? That's gotta hurt. It hurts me and I'm not even connected to these movies. All that work down the drain just because of someone's say so. And for no reason. Well not exactly....
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Universal knows fans want Tremors merch. I mean, look at how they took #BurtGummerDay from @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. And they want ALLLLLL of that merchandising money. With none of it going to Stampede because it would give them leverage. Not to mention they don't want anyone else getting the idea to make cute monster toys before they can roll out their own line.
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Don't believe me? See Universal pull some Hollywood Accounting with Tremors already.
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http://imgur.com/gallery/mFNIHV3
Half a billion dollars... completely untraceable. I've tried. Emailed the numbers people and they can't tell me anything unless you pay $50 a film to see the numbers. Which makes me ask, who paid for the numbers on 1,5, 6, & 7? And why only what they made? Not their cost. Same for the numbers on 2, 3, & 4. Why numbers on the cost, but nothing on what it made? It seems weirdly targeted to make it look like the Stampede Entertainment ones only cost money but made nothing.
Then when you find out that the copyright to Tremors will revert to its creators after the 35 year mark, which makes that date 2024-2025 since Tremors was filmed in '88-'89 but released in '90.....
Wellllllll some things start to add up. Especially when you consider it's Universal. They already know about owning copyrights for things long out of due. Ask Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolfman. Or Nintendo when Universal tried to sue them because Donkey Kong was too similar to King Kong.
Ask Stampede (S.S. Wilson) yourself. They have a Question and Answer page right on their site.
Like did you know you can't find ANY official Tremors merch? But you CAN find tons of fan-made creations. Give it a Google. They don't even list Tremors on the Universal website. Go ahead. Ask them. I try weekly. No responses ever.
https://www.universalpictures.com/about
Even with a longer history, more money made, and amount of sequel potential in comparison to their other films?
http://imgur.com/gallery/ZnXEsI3
Fans are clamoring for more but Universal says no?
Hell, you can watch the TV show for free on the NBC site.
But before my investigating, the episodes were so jumbled and missing it would ruin people's enjoyment.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/m0wvwu/tremors_episode_9_graboid_rights_is_back_on_nbc/
What about how they made a Tremors series pilot with Kevin Bacon? The only bad thing about it is that they need to pull a Sonic redo on the Graboid at the end but who knows, I suspect it's like that for plot reasons after reading the unaired script.
https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw
That Universal/NBC/SyFy has proceeded to hide deeper than a Graboid burrows. https://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/tremors-star-kevin-bacon-confused-sequel-series-picked/
Despite no one knowing why. http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ
Read the script for yourself if you don't believe me. They've already hidden it for two years. Andrew Miller worked too hard for it to be hidden. And it plays. It works and plays with what's already there while being new and old. Quite good.
Have you seen the Kevin Bacon/Michael Gross commercial featuring them in Perfection Valley? The whole commercial is a sly way to use Tremors WITHOUT actually saying anything Universal would have claim to call copyright on. "Sandworms" "My old co-star" "Trevors". It's a great big middle finger to Universal.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E_O0K9hmlrw
How about the original script for Tremors 2: Aftershocks. The creators have wanted it seen for 20 years but it took a crazy Larry like me to get it out there. It's got Val, Earl, Burt and Heather in it too. Pretty good too. So good they reused the ending in the TV show episode "Shriek and Destroy".
All these things swirl together and make me wonder more and more. For the plethora of Tremors fandom goes deeper than even me... Like Imgur user @BabyFarkMcGeeZax. They created Burt Gummer Day five years ago through sweat and love alone.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/comments/mb2rtz/babyfarkmcgeezax_created_burt_gummer_day_and/
Yet what does Universal do? Take the day, plaster it over the end of their hero's death, and not even give a line credit or thank you to @BabyFarkMcGeeZax or a mention on Twitter as they blurb it everywhere.
Ever seen the gif battles about Tremors at r/HighQualityGifs?
https://www.reddit.com/r/GifTournament/comments/luvt39/giftournament_battle_13_round_3/
https://www.reddit.com/r/HighQualityGifs/comments/dtz11k/battle_178_tremors/
How about The Everything Sequel podcast where they discuss how amazing all of The Tremors Saga is after discovering it for the first time. Even going so far as to pitch their own sequels.
https://share.transistor.fm/s/e24901de https://share.transistor.fm/s/bdea7b5e https://share.transistor.fm/s/cf79bbc1 https://share.transistor.fm/s/fac66438 https://share.transistor.fm/s/a90415cd https://share.transistor.fm/s/c0e8153e https://share.transistor.fm/s/6b6572f9
There's so much fan content and people screaming for more Tremors! Like "Perfection, NV", a fan film.
youtube
Or this collection of alt Tremors posters.
http://imgur.com/gallery/MgkhnfE
Including the thousands of pieces of fanart.
http://imgur.com/gallery/6f7Txh0
http://imgur.com/gallery/nXG1ph1
The story behind Tremors comics. http://www.enemyofpeanuts.com/2013/03/09/the-short-story-behind-tremors-comics/
Even the new Tremors game. OR games.
https://youtu.be/G6PX1QY2oIc
https://stefanocagnani90.itch.io/tremors-thegame
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tremors:_The_Game
https://www.playfg.com/dirt-dragons-game.html
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Look at all this love.
And this isn't even an officially licensed game.
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"A fortune", you say? Interesting....
So let's make Tremors 8 Ouroboros with the OG creators back on board.
https://imgur.com/gallery/o2kCFLu
We restart the TV show and end the movies for a while. Just like The Librarians. If Marvel can switch between movies and TV, Tremors can too.
If you think I'm crazy too, just see and know how I've been in this position before. I'm well aware of how this "story" plays out.
I mean, Tremors *does* foreshadows its ending with a sleeping bag. https://imgur.com/gallery/5HexQ
Notice too how you can find little Behind the Scenes for Tremors 5-7 despite a smorgasbord of material for 1-4 and both TV shows.
http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl
And it's not like Universal isn't known for shady business practices. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Pictures
What about how they own the rights to damn near every monster except for Godzilla. And not just the classics like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Wolfman, Mummy and Invisible Man. They have Kong, Hulk, Jaws, Michael Myers, The Thing, all the Jurassic Park dinos, all the Romero zombies, Chucky, Casper, Riddick beasts, Hellboy, and Jaegers/Kaiju. These dudes know merchandising rights and they're looking to score the next Poke'Mon franchise.
https://www.plagiarismtoday.com/2011/10/24/how-universal-re-copyrighted-frankensteins-monster/
Take a gander at all these articles gushing with love for Tremors:
Why the 'Tremors' Franchise Is Better Than the 'Alien' Movies https://collider.com/why-the-tremors-franchise-is-better-than-the-alien-movies/
As Kevin Bacon's Tremors returns to TV, we explain the entire franchise ​It's way more complicated than you think. https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a807140/tremors-franchise-series-guide-kevin-bacon/
20 Fun Facts About Tremors https://ew.com/article/1990/07/13/tremors/
Thirty Years After Tremors, Reba McEntire Tells Us Why She's Absolutely Down to Return For a Reboot https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/a30457996/tremors-30-anniversary-reba-mcentire-interview/
30 years ago, Tremors became perhaps the most perfect bad movie https://www.thv11.com/mobile/article/entertainment/movies/film-on-11/getting-reel/30-years-ago-tremors-became-perhaps-the-most-perfect-bad-movie/91-8f6854df-9dcc-4870-ab3a-4f91a658ac3f
How Tremors 7 Succeeds Where Other Horror Movie Franchises Failhttps://screenrant.com/tremors-7-movie-succeeds-better-horror-movie-franchises-reason/
A Complete Rundown of the Entire Tremors Saga https://www.dreadcentral.com/editorials/363290/beneath-perfection-thoughts-on-the-entire-tremors-franchise/
Kevin Bacon Wants to Revisit His Only Film He Ever Re-Watched https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/kevin-bacon-tremors-1234956657/
Look at all this #BurtGummerDay love. That adds up to thousands of people watching Tremors for the first or fiftieth time. And this is only the first "official" year. It'll only grow.
http://imgur.com/t/burt_gummer_day
https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638257772282/?ref=m_notifÂŹif_t=group_comment
https://m.facebook.com/groups/2215552755347508/permalink/3124638397772268/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Tremors/about
Can you see the Tremors? Can you feel them? Fans want Tremors and they want it from Stampede. http://imgur.com/gallery/ZaVL7Mc http://imgur.com/gallery/f37bEV7 http://imgur.com/gallery/De6DlqQ
After all this time, and all this love, and all this greed, it's time we break Hollywood tradition and give power back to the people. When people can #RestoreTheSnyderVerse or #SaveTheVentureBros, we can #StampedeTremors for #BurtGummerDay.
Take this hope and fly!
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#StampedeTremors
BTS, gifs, and videos of The Tremors Saga. Tremors: The Lost Tapes from S.S. Wilson's personal collection https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1EA9246EF966DDA2
Monster Makers https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors/ https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tmm-tremors2/
ADI's creation documentaries https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLR9WUo3tIVnb4CyMR1SLVsxPyBwz1Met_ BTS gallery of Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/b4STAkl
The making of Tremors https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m-HUUt21tRA
Inside the Graboid workshop https://youtu.be/YgPuC2tNBpM
Stampede Entertainment's video archive for Tremors https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors/
Tremors opening https://youtu.be/gnqPYTOzc38
BTS gallery of Tremors 2: Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/gSlZ1fC
Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 2 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors2/
The making of Tremors 2 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fAlqzM0CyPI
Tremors 2 original script with Val, Earl, Burt and Heather. http://imgur.com/gallery/8QaHPRy
Tremors 2: Aftershocks opening https://youtu.be/pVi24Gc0KdQ)
BTS gallery of Tremors 3: Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/fnFt9MD Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors3/
On the set of Tremors 3 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZhrvkB5nKs
Stampede Entertainment's video archive of Tremors 3 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/category/videos/tremors3/
Tremors 3: Back to Perfection opening https://youtu.be/UXjdZitldB4
BTS gallery of Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/6mDHTtg
Stamede Entertainment's https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series/
Behind the scenes of Tremors the Series lost monsters. https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors-series-lost/
Cold opens for Tremors the Series https://youtu.be/srB6rZgv_Po https://youtu.be/v3ZkC08rKtg
BTS gallery of Tremors 4: The Legend Begins http://imgur.com/gallery/4M28quW Stampede Entertainment's behind the scenes of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/tremors4-2/
On the set of Tremors 4 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bppXVxldTqU The weapons of Tremors 4 https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/photos/weapons-of-tremors-4/
Tremors 4: The Legend Begins opening https://youtu.be/3gDlAEUBesg
BTS gallery of Tremors 5: Bloodlines http://imgur.com/gallery/6l0Dogl
Tremors 5: Bloodlines opening https://youtu.be/t8jrCVI676Y
BTS gallery of the unaired Kevin Bacon Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/w7rbUvZ
Script for the unaired Tremors pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/UbtTvyf
Trailer for the unreleased Tremors pilot https://youtu.be/hWU3GpKmIvw
Kevin Bacon talks Tremors. https://youtu.be/TAGOlEIR7mA
Interviews with Alec Gillis, Brent Maddock, Nancy Roberts, and Ron Underwood https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjmUAAK3guQ8t6dKzwH9V0RzerkdLr0d1
S.S. Wilson talks his Tremors career. https://youtu.be/ZJhZmty_dKs Making Perfection https://youtu.be/hpCSCQJEmnk
Have a question about Tremors? Find it here and if you can't find it, ask S.S. Wilson yourself! https://stampede-entertainment.com/site/fan-extras/tremors-faq/?include_category=general
And if you love Tremors enough to have made it this far, enjoy a collection of gifs for you to use at your pleasure.
Tremors http://imgur.com/gallery/kPiEe3d http://imgur.com/gallery/5Sb4Vpg http://imgur.com/gallery/1uZxiue http://imgur.com/gallery/NX5r2
Tremors 2 Aftershocks http://imgur.com/gallery/i1IZZf8 http://imgur.com/gallery/krcmrgQ http://imgur.com/gallery/GjTxAg1 http://imgur.com/gallery/DabFZTt http://imgur.com/gallery/QLTStyx http://imgur.com/gallery/P92e1ri http://imgur.com/gallery/IUAvd http://imgur.com/gallery/h8BZ0qN http://imgur.com/gallery/ZQi2KOb http://imgur.com/gallery/WDZdM
Tremors 3 Back to Perfection http://imgur.com/gallery/5ebddmR http://imgur.com/gallery/Rj9fqIy http://imgur.com/gallery/ikzXFbd
Tremors the Series http://imgur.com/gallery/cqSMk40
Tremors 4 The Legend Begins
http://imgur.com/gallery/ufV3of1 http://imgur.com/gallery/zPGBOW3 http://imgur.com/gallery/ri5jLRd http://imgur.com/gallery/y7A3l5D
Tremors 5 Bloodlines
http://imgur.com/gallery/Pmunxjo http://imgur.com/gallery/0yazNVG
Tremors 6 A Cold Day In Hell http://imgur.com/gallery/S4qlPCI http://imgur.com/gallery/Xa2mUsS
Tremors Pilot http://imgur.com/gallery/RXXjbKr http://imgur.com/gallery/kCErQyF
Tremors 7 Shrieker Island
http://imgur.com/gallery/FzpJllb http://imgur.com/gallery/JGweZjH
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kimmyiewrites · 3 years ago
Text
Finding Home ~ Chpt 8
Catch Up      Masterlist      AO3
A bang. A shriek. A pillow being thrown and missing its intended target completely. “Darcy, what the hell are you doing here?” Katherine clutched her sheet to her chest, still trying to get her breathing under control even if the look she gave her best friend could have easily killed him if looks did that sort of thing.
“I spent the night, but that’s besides the point.” He grabbed the pillow from a bewildered Jack and closed the door to Katherine’s room before sitting on his best friend’s bed. “Last night this Robin Hood character robbed me. $2,500 was donated to The Trevor Project in my name.”
“You don’t sound too upset despite your rude entrance.”
Darcy sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “How am I supposed to be upset about that? It’s a great organization.” He flopped over with a groan, resting his head in her lap. “It’s just that much money coming out of my dad’s account wouldn’t even do any damage. Mine on the other hand, that’s my rent. I’m an editor at a small magazine, far away from The Tribune, one that could have used the talented writer, Katherine Plumber when she moved back to New York but she wanted to do things her way. I don’t have my father’s salary.”
Katherine began running her fingers through his hair. “I’m gonna figure this out, Darcy. I promise and if you need any help around the time bills start needing to be paid, I’d be more than happy to help.”
“Thanks, Kath. You know you’re the best, right?” He smiled up at her.
She returned his smile with a smirk. “So I’ve been told.”
They both laughed as Darcy sat up. “Hey, Darce. Why do you think they would have chosen this particular organization?”
Darcy shrugged as he opened her bedroom door. “Maybe because they know I started dating Romeo? You think that could lead to something?”
She hummed in thought, nodding her head. “Yeah, I do. I mean it certainly narrows down the list. Could you write me a list of who knows?”
He nodded. “Yeah, sure. It’s kind of short though.”
Katherine just grinned. “Even better.”
“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Morris.” The portly man that had been following Katherine sneered one afternoon. “Who else is up there corrupting the heiress of The World? Besides Kelly?” He was leaning against the building, arms crossed and just as vile as the day Charlie had met him.
Charlie tried his best to stand as tall as he could in the presence of the man that had tormented he and his friends for most of their life. “A Pulitzer ain’t living with us. Being inside of the system you used to work for musta really done you in. A Pulitzer in lower Manhattan. Don’t make me laugh, Snyder.”
The older man chuckled. “That’s right, she’s going by Plumber now. You didn’t answer my question though, Morris.”
He was surprised his crutch didn’t fall. Katherine was a Pulitzer? He knew she was from the Upper East Side but a Pulitzer? There was no way. He couldn’t believe it. “I don’t have to anymore. Now leave before I call the cops.” Charlie threatened, trying so hard to remain brave in front of Snyder.
“Get Miss Pulitzer to go back where she belongs and you won’t ever have to see me again.” Snyder pushed off from the wall and began to walk across the street.
Charlie didn’t stick around to watch. He went as fast as he could inside. Oh he hoped that Jack was home. They had to get Katherine out of there and fast.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Charlie. What’re you talking about? We can’t kick Kath out. We can’t afford this place without her and I sure as hell ain’t gonna eat the breaking the lease fee.” Jack stared at his best friend, confused. He knew he had his apprehensions to their new roommate before but this was just a whole other level.
“You mean you’d rather live with a Pulitzer than pay a few hundred? I thought your show was doing well.” Charlie looked back at the man he had considered his brother for most of their lives together incredulously. Did he not remember what Pulitzer did?
“She’s not her father, Charlie. How’d you find out anyway? She finally tell you guys?”
Charlie’s eyes widened. “You knew?! You knew and you didn’t tell me?”
Jack shrugged. “That’s her story to tell. She’s changed her last name and made it very clear she wants nothing to do with him.”
“You are so far gone.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“It means that you are too blind to see that Katherine’s gonna hurt you just like Sarah. No, she’s gonna hurt you worse because at least Sarah didn’t bring around old demons.”
Jack groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What the hell are you talking about, Charlie? And enough with the riddles. Tell me plain.”
Charlie huffed. “Pulitzer hired Warden Snyder to follow Katherine around. He knows where we live now thanks to her. So we either send her back to her old man or we have to deal with whatever consequences those two cook up.”
That name caused Jack to freeze. He didn’t know how this made him feel. The rational side to him was telling him that Katherine didn’t know and that he just needed to talk to her. The emotional side was beginning to see Charlie’s logic and was already planning on how to pack her things before she got back from work.
“Anyone here?” Katherine called out as she locked the door behind her. “I brought cupcakes from that tasting I had to go to and let me tell you, I will eat all of them if no one is here.”
The boys looked at each other. What were they going to do now? They hadn’t had time to come up with a plan on how to approach her. The one time she didn’t stay at work late of course was the day they were questioning her legitimacy. Jack took a deep breath. They just had to play it cool through the length of eating a cupcake. If they didn’t, she’d go into investigator mode to try and figure out what was wrong and they certainly didn’t want to deal with her when she was like that.
Jack patted Charlie’s shoulder as he stood from his seat in front of his easel. “Save at least two cause me and Charlie are here!” He called out, trying not to laugh as she let out an over exaggerated disappointed groan.
The cupcakes were huge and looked too pretty to be eaten. Katherine already had a cupcake in her hand. The icing was a pastel orange with a gummy orange slice placed in the middle. The cake itself looked vanilla and she was certainly loving the bite she had just taken. “It tastes just like a creamsicle, oh my god.”
“Where are these from again?” Charlie asked as he looked over the rest of the cupcakes. The cookies and creme one was calling his name.
“This new bakery that just opened up a few blocks from us actually. Which is gonna be super dangerous. The owners are super nice and honestly these are the best cupcakes I think I’ve ever had.” She explained in between mouthfuls.
“Did they switch you over to the food section?” Jack asked, grabbing the s’mores cupcake.
She shook her head. “They’re giving me different things so I don’t grow bored. Which is nice and I appreciate it but it’s still not where I want to be.”
“They still not know you’re working on modern day Robin Hood?” Charlie asked, after his bite of cupcake. Jack hadn’t started choking and deep down he knew that Katherine wouldn’t poison their food. She was a bad enough cook as it was, there was no way she’d be able to do something like that even if she could potentially be working with Snyder. The voice inside his head said he was wrong about that too but that wouldn’t stop him from his plan for this evening.
Katherine shook her head. “No, the other reporters in crime have started running stories but I don’t have anything to really add to what’s already been published.” She did have her list though and later that evening she was going out to do some of her own investigating.
Once she was finished with her cupcake, she headed to her room, fully intending on taking a nap. That was when Jack made his move. He knocked on her open door before entering her room. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?” She turned around to face him after hanging her jacket back up in her closet.
“That the man following you was Snyder.”
The confusion she felt grew even more. “Who’s Snyder? How’d you figure that out? Is he following me again?” Her eyes widened. She hadn’t seen anyone this time, hadn’t even known. Was it the same man?
“I know you’re not dumb, Katherine.” He gave her a pleading look despite his tone being anything but.
“And I know you’re not dumb, yet here you are acting like an idiot.” Katherine waved her hands about. Her curiosity was growing into frustration. She didn’t know where this all was coming from and she certainly didn’t care for how he was speaking with her.
“You really expect me to believe that you don’t know the man your father worked so closely with in law enforcement?”
She let out a huff. “Contrary to popular belief I do not know all my father did. I was either too young, too busy trying to figure out how to get out from under his thumb, or in Chicago. So no, I do not know this Snyder person. How do you know him?”
“He’s the real reason why I didn’t stick around The World. He’s been after me ever since I was a kid and your father sold me out. I’d been out of the system for years but that didn’t stop Snyder, oh no. I was tossed in a containment cell for the rest of the day. I wasn’t let out until the next morning, with a letter saying I no longer had a job.” His voice was tight, arms were crossed and somewhere along the way his eyes were no longer warm. They were now cold and closed off just like how he had become towards her. She didn’t like it.
“I was in Chicago when that happened. Remember, I didn’t even know you worked there until you told me. I’m so sorry, Jack. My father had no right to do that and neither did this Snyder.”
“And you didn’t have the right to bring the man who nearly ruined my entire life back into it!” He was acting irrational now, fear starting to control his actions.
Katherine startled as he yelled at her. Now it seemed like she had two mysteries to get to the bottom of. Jack certainly wasn’t going to be of any help for after he yelled at her, he turned around and went straight to his room, slamming the door behind him.
She stared at the door, her own anger now beginning to boil over. She couldn’t believe that he would accuse her of such things. He didn’t even listen to her or even remember all that they had shared with each other before this moment.
Then it hit her. The underlying threat that wasn’t spoken. That’s what pushed her over the edge. There was no way her father’s idiocy was going to make her leave. Just the thought of leaving caused her heart to tighten. She had wasn’t going to leave her new home. She was going to get to the bottom of this. Wait, did she just? Her eyes glistened as she closed her bedroom door and started to get ready for her mission this evening. She had found a home. This loft she shared with three others was her home. Then she thought of Jack and her heart tightened more and she was not going to dwell on those feelings. Home was a place to come back to, not a person like those cheesy romantic comedies she loved so much would have her believe.
With that thought, she grabbed her bag and marched out the front door, slamming it in determination. The sound echoed throughout the loft. Jack growled a bit. What right did she have to be angry? He flung the freshly dipped paintbrush at the canvas creating a nice splatter pattern. Now to do this for the rest of the night instead of focusing in on how he felt betrayed.
In another room, keys were clacking away as Joseph Pulitzer’s bank account was being hacked into. The computer user’s eyes widened when he saw just how much money was in there. Moving, what he considered to be, a lofty $10,000 into a donation towards Graham Windham. That would show him. If Snyder kept coming around then that number would just go up and become more frequent. Now just to figure out what to do about Katherine.
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kkeidawrites · 4 years ago
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Her.
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Chapter 7
The long wait is over! Here’s chapter 7 for you lovies! Enjoy! Buckle up it’s going to be a long one!
Disclaimer: Please be aware that this chapter and the next chapter includes violence and lots and lots of murder that includes gore and blood. And language because of Trevor Belmont. If you do not like any of these things please feel free to leave this chapter, unfollow me, whatever you need to do to not want to read this anymore; I completely understand and will not have any hard feelings towards your decision. Thank you.
*******************************************************
The cold wind blew through the air and Alia shivered from the feeling. She was glad that the wire had finally stopped tightening around her middle and peaked an eye up through her curtain of black curls to see the sun was setting.
She has been in this place for a whole day. A whole day where she’d lost her niece and nephew. The only family she was supposed to be watching after when her brother and sister-in-law were away working. If she did get out of here, what was she to tell them? How could she tell them?
She was supposed to protect them and yet here she is, locked up in a cage, bound by a fairies weakness and probably will be joining her relatives in death soon.
Tears fell down her cheek and Alia jumped slightly when she felt her cage shake. Looking up, she saw the yellow teeth of her captor outside of the cage, leaning towards the bars with an evil smirk.
“Hey there little fairy,” he mused as Alia stared blankly at him.
“You got some good news. In two days time, you will be escorted to an auction for your wings. It’s very rare when creatures like you are sent straight to the auction and you want to know the best part about this news?” He asked as Alia glared at him.
“I have the pleasure of being your escort there and I can receive the reward for bringing you there!” He laughed as Alia turned away from him as the man walked away from her prison still laughing.
‘I hope that my death is quick. I don’t want to suffer.’ Her tears fell down her cheeks as she squeezed them in anger.
‘I should have done more for Desiana and Samuel and now they’re dead!’ Her silent sobbing wafted through the quiet forest and it suddenly grabbed the attention of someone nearby.
)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
With Alucard and co.
The golden haired man watched from two miles away of the camp and looked down at his current attire. Nobleman clothing and black hair fitted to his person as Sypha was able to conjure up a spell to change his appearance.
Alucard’s face had changed to a different one everyone is familiar with and his eyes were now a brown color. He prayed that with this spell that it will stay as long as Sypha said it would.
Flashback
The five all gathered in Dracula’s study and listened intently to Lisa’s idea to rescue Alia.
“A rich man who is ‘buying’ night creatures? Isn’t that a bit to coincidental?” Trevor asked.
“Actually, from what I have read about these people is that if you are willing to offer a high price to buy even the most valuable night creature, they won’t refuse a good sack of coin. Remember this is still considered the black market. Be very cautious on how you talk to them.” Lisa told him.
“One of you will be a rich merchant looking for service in your estate and you believe that using night creatures will keep people away and not have many people ask questions about why you have monsters in your care. If they ask why night creatures, tell them you are a very private person who thinks people shouldn’t be in your business and the night creatures are your ‘insurance’ to make sure people won’t say a word.” Lisa concluded and the four in front of her mulled over the idea.
“What if they don’t believe that story? How can you insure they will believe you are a ‘rich merchant’?” Alucard asked his mother who smiled and pulled a sack out of her pocket letting it drop on the desk below.
“This is a sack full of rare diamonds that I had found when I was still traveling from town to town. This should be enough to sway them if not, give them the whole thing. When that is done they will allow you to browse the area and during that time you will be able to find Alia and get her out of there. How you go about getting out is all on you three.” Lisa said and Sypha placed a hand under her chin, thinking.
“I can make a spell to change your appearance.” She tells her two companions and Trevor immediately raised his hands in defiance.
“No way am I changing my person, I can’t act for shit.” Trevor said and Sypha rolled her eyes.
“I wasn’t talking to you anyway.” Sypha said and Alucard looked at Sypha with a raised eyebrow.
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt to change my appearance, I have to play the part.” He nodded to Sypha and the woman took a step back to get some space for her spell.
Concentrating, Sypha’s hands began to glow red and a mist flowed around Alucard’s body, sheeting him where no one was able to see his person anymore.
Once the mist disappeared, everyone’s eyes widened and their mouth became agape as the man looked down at his new clothes he looked at his friends and parents shocked expressions. He raised an eyebrow at their peculiar behavior.
“What?” Lisa was the first to approach her son and looked over his appearance. Her son basically pictured the younger and human version of her husband and she raised a black loc off his shoulder.
“Oh Adrian, you look so much like your father when he was young! You are just as handsome with black hair than your blonde. How incredible!” Lisa squeals as Alucard felt flustered by his mother’s praise.
“Mother, please.” He tells her a blush coming onto his cheeks.
Lisa then turns to Sypha who was panting a bit. This spell takes a lot of her and Lisa moved back over to Sypha to help her sit down in a nearby chair.
“So this is what you would have looked like if you had black hair, extraordinary.” His father mused. It was as if he was looking at himself a whole century ago. Even in his younger years, Vlad had the same brown eyes and long black hair his son sported and felt a bit nostalgic. Although he had changed into a vampire, there were times where he kind of missed being human.
“I’m sorry, I forget that this particular spell is very taxing on my body.” Sypha tells Lisa, who shakes her head.
“It’s fine dear, you have an amazing talent of magic, you just rest a bit.” Lisa tells her motherly.
“We should get going, who knows when and where they will be moving next and we need to get moving in order to save your lady friend.” Trevor tells everyone, his tease targeted Alucard who glared at the hunter.
“He’s right, I can still fight.” Sypha stood from her place in her seat, feeling a bit dizzy as Lisa helped her steady herself.
“But, we must be quick, this spell can only last an hour or so before it wears off.” Sypha tells them and Dracula was quick to move to the mirror where the camp was located and moved it to see a different place that looked a good mile away from the camp.
“This should be close enough to the camp to sneak into. Be careful they may be henchmen but they are not idiots.” He tells the three.
Alucard adjusted his sword at his hip and moved to stand in front of the mirror with his two companions behind him.
“Let’s go.” Alucard says and he and the others stepped into the mirror leaving Lisa and Dracula to watch after them. Lisa worries for their safety but knows they will come out victorious in the end.
Flashback Ends
Trevor approaches Alucard and the dhampir turns to the man who had a concerned look on his face.
“Sypha can’t go for too long, she has returned to the castle to recover but, she will help us from there. Your father says to return to the area to go back through the mirror once we retrieve your friend.” Trevor tells Alucard who nods in understanding.
“Let’s get going. This spell can only last for an hour or so, that should give us enough time to get Alia out of there.” Alucard told him and the two made their way towards the camp.
Their identities were hidden as best as possible. Trevor had doned his fur cloak, hiding his Belmont crest on his shirt and Alucard made sure that the both of them walked as quick as possible in order to prolong the spell. If the spell broke, their plan would be ruined.
Trevor would play as Alucard’s head bodyguard and he would be playing backup just encase things don’t go as smoothly as possible.
As they approached the camp, two men with swords by their sides stood guard at the entrance and immediately their swords were drawn when Alucard and Trevor came closer.
“Who goes there?” One of the men asked as Alucard held his hands up to show he meant no harm.
“I am here to buy a couple night creatures to serve me.” He tells the man who stared at him.
“What you need night creatures for? You a business man?” He asked Alucard who nods. A smirk plays on his lips as the guard turns to his fellow guard.
“Tell the boss we have a buyer.” He says and the second guard nods giving an apprehensive look to Alucard and Trevor before quickly leaving the area.
A few minutes pass and the second guard returned with a burly man who was quite stout with red hair and matching mustache.
“I heard from my men that you are interested in the product we have here. What you interested in buying?” He asked.
“I wanted to browse around your camp to see if the creatures you have vacant here will be what I need for my estate.” Alucard tells him.
“Hmm, your estate huh?” The red head looks over Alucard’s attire and realized he was dressed like a rich nobleman but, anyone could do that.
“How can I know that you are a buyer? I see no large coin purse on you.” The man says and Alucard lifted his palm out to Trevor who reached his left side and grabbed the large pouch of diamonds.
Giving it to Alucard, the dhampir unlaced the strings of the pouch and the diamonds on top of the pile spilled over to shine. If you looked closely, you could see the money signs bling in the red haired man’s eyes.
“Well then! I guess I ought to show you what we have in our catalog, won’t I, Mr...?” He coaxed to Alucard who fluffed out his collar to keep up his act.
“Arikado. Genya Arikado.” Alucard says.
“Mr. Arikado,” he says and then nods moving over to place a hand on his shoulder to guide him into the camp.
“My name is Henrik and I am what I guess you could say is the manager of this camp. Feel free to ask me anything as we browse through the merchandise.” He says.
He notices that Trevor is following close behind and moves to whisper in Alucard’s ear.
“Do you need him to come as well?” Henrik asks.
“He is one of my bodyguards, the best I had hired. He stays with me at all times.” Alucard tells him as Henrik nods quickly seeing that his comment made his potential future client greatly offended.
“But of course sir, you seem to be a very important man and as such must have a lot of protection and money as well.” Henrik says with a smirk as they begin to pass cages with different creatures inside of them. Alucard’s eyes scanned the cages closely and so far there was no sign of Alia.
“Yes, my family has been quite wealthy for almost forty years and quite familiar with the church of my hometown.” Alucard fibs.
“What town, I dare ask?” Henrik asks.
“Aldra. Although we lack a lot of men, we are the most prosperous city on the countryside.” Alucard says.
Money signs played in Henrik’s eyes and he licked his lips in greed.
“Then I shall show you our most exclusive creatures we have on the market that you may be of interest.” He tells Alucard and guides him towards the back of the camp where a long chain cut off the other cages nearby.
Removing the chain, Henrik motioned to Alucard and Trevor to step in first then followed behind them. Again his eyes scanned the cages and then the sound of sobs reached his ears as he turned his head right to see a pair of familiar wings and curly black hair.
“Here we have a rare blue eyed werewolf, caught him a week ago. Had a hard time bagging this one, he’s been our most asked and most popular creature on the market. Bout to be on auction in the next two days.” He explains to Alucard who clearly wasn’t paying any mind to Henrik.
“What about that one?” Alucard points to Alia’s cage and Henrik looks to where he is pointing and raises his eyebrows.
“The fairy? What could you possibly want a fairy for, sir? They are actually the least valuable ones in the black market.” Henrik tells him. Alucard’s steely glare shifts to Henrik and the red head jumps back in fear.
“But, that doesn’t mean I won’t stop you from being interested in buying! Why don’t we check the fairy out and see if she is any of your liking.” Henrik says with a nervous chuckle as he moved to where Alia’s cage was. Alucard and Trevor followed and once they were by the bars of the cage Henrik banged the bars to get the fairy’s attention.
“Hey wake up! You have a potential buyer, make yourself presentable!” Henrik yells into the cage as Alia’s slumped form jumped from the sudden banging.
She slowly shifts her body to where she was sitting on her knees and looked at Alucard with sad, defeated eyes. Alucard’s eyes widened at the state Alia was in and his jaw clenched in anger.
Her vibrant and glowing brown skin was now a pale ashen brown color, her wings were down and fluttering every now and then and it looked like every time she did flutter her wings she would winch from the pain. Her head dropped to look down at her knees and her black curls curtained her face.
Something was holding her around the middle as her arms laid trapped by her sides.
“What is that around her middle? Rope?” Alucard asked, keeping his anger out of his tone.
“That is actually an iron wire that is around her. It’s their kinds weakness and it has what been keeping her in check. Came in last night and from my sources she is part water sprite and fairy. She raises in value in the market, if they are more than one creature their value increases-”
“How much for her?” Alucard asks interrupting his rant.
“My good sir, she’s unfortunately not for sale.”
“Excuse me?” Alucard turns to the man with murder in his eyes.
“I-I simply meant that she is not allowed to be purchased right now! She’s up for auction!” Henrik explains in fear.
“I have enough here to buy your whole camp. You would dare prevent me from purchasing just one fairy. What kind of business are you running?” Alucard asked Henrik who gulps.
“I’m sorry sir, but it has already been sent to other camps that this fairy is up for auction, I can however show you other fairies that are available-”
“I said I want her. I want her. NOW.” Alucard says darkly getting close to the man. Henrik gulps heavily and begins to nod profusely.
“Yes sir, right away sir! Right away!” Henrik says and calls for some men to open the cage.
It took three men to open the cage, one to unlock the chains and two to raise the bars leading inside the cage. Alucard moved to enter the cage and approached the hurt fairy.
Alia scrambled to the edge of her prison to get away from the black haired man that he knelt in front of her. His brown eyes softened and he reached his hand out to brush away her hair and look in her scared eyes.
His hand then fell down to her cheek and gently caressed it, he then smiled gently at her and Alia tilted her head in confusion. He looked familiar.
“She’s perfect.” Alucard says and Henrik nods with a rub to his head. He knew his higher ups would be upset with him but, when he shows them how much he had for letting someone else buy the fairy they would probably let him get a higher position.
“Shall we have her packaged for you, sir?” Henrik asked.
Alucard nods to Trevor who grabbed the back of Alia’s rope and tugged her roughly towards him. Alia yelps and grunts from the pain of the wire tightening around her.
“I believe my guard has a pretty good hold on her. Now, your payment.” Alucard says.
“Yes, her original price was 7,000 coins. But, with the extraction fee, and the storage fee-”
“13 diamonds to cover all the expenses should be enough, yes?” Alucard asks as he dug inside the pouch to grab them and then toss it to Henrik who greedily caught them and inspected them to see they were indeed real diamonds.
“Of course sir, she is all yours. Pleasure doing business with you.” He bows to Alucard and the dhampir nods to the man taking his leave.
“We shall be on our way now. I will be sure to return soon for more creatures.” Alucard tells the man as Henrik escorted them out his eyes twinkling at his the treasure he held in his hands.
“Please do return soon sir, we appreciate your service here.” Henrik says.
Alia begins to struggle in Trevor’s grip and the man pulls her closer to stop her and leans his head down to her ear.
“Be still and be quiet we are here to help you.” He tells her and Alia immediately stills at the new information.
Help her? Who the hell were they?
As they were approaching the entrance, the bottom of Alucard’s long brown cloak began to revert back to its original black and slowly the rest of his outfit followed suit. Trevor quickly noticed and cleared his throat to get the dhampir’s attention.
Alucard side eyed his companion and Trevor pointed his eyes down to his cloak and Alucard realizes the spell was fading away.
Henrik noticed that his client was suddenly tense and placed a hand on his sword, thinking nothing of it, Henrik continued to guide them back to the entrance of the camp.
As they approached the front Alucard’s whole outfit was different from the one he was in earlier. He prayed that Henrik didn’t notice but unfortunately the red head did as he turned and raised an eyebrow.
“Mr. Arikado if I may ask were you always wearing that outfit?” Henrik questions.
“My attire is able to change on its own, my hometown has made a thread that allows my attire to change its appearance depending on the time of day. It’s quite extraordinary, I have went from business attire to casual attire. Now, then I must take my leave-”
“Does that also include your hair changing from black to blonde as well?” Henrik asks and flicked his fingers in the air.
“Adrian?” Alia’s breathless voice called to the dhampir and he turns his head to her with a small smile.
Suddenly, men surrounded the four of them with weapons drawn as Henrik frowns and takes a step back to allow the men to circle the three.
“You see Mr. Arikado, I don’t like to be played the fool and though you have payed me handsomely for the fairy, it would seem that you have made my interest in what you are to take you to the auction than her.” Henrik says as he smirks.
Alucard’s grip on his sword tightens as he frowns.
“Get them!” Henrik yells and the men slowly approaches the three with sickening grins.
“Fuck.” Trevor curses as he looks around the men.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
End of Part 7
1// 2// 3// 4// 5// 6// 7// 8// Bonus!!
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where-theres-smoak-2 · 4 years ago
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10 JATP Headcanons
Yeah I’m bored so I figured I’d make a post about some of the headcanon’s I have for Julie and The Phantoms. Some of these are sad but some are fun and some are defo more realistic than others. 
1) When Luke put the bands name down for the finally free performance he didn’t just have terrible handwriting he also misspelt phantoms as fantoms. It wasn’t until later when they put their band name on Alex’s drums that he realised he had been spelling it wrong the whole time but he was too embarassed to tell the band so he just stuck with bad handwriting when the annoucer prenounced it as Julie and the Fat Ones. 
2) A large part of why Bobby stole the songs from the band was because of Carrie. He had recorded a few of them and was just gaining popularity when he met Carrie’s mum. Feeling guilty about using Luke’s songs he decided to stop but then Carrie’s mum told him she was pregnant. Everything in his world became about that baby and making sure he could provide for his child which is what lead to him continuing to record Luke’s songs because he wanted to make sure he could give his little girl the best. 
3) When Luke left home he ended up living in Bobby’s garage/ the studio, that’s why he exclaimed ‘my couch’ in episode 1, it’s where he slept. Bobby stepping up when Luke really needed him is what made his later betrayal so much more painful for Luke. 
4) The reason why Luke is so against country music is because his parents used to listen to it all the time at home and so it makes him sad because it reminds him of home. It’s exactly the same reason why Reggie loves country music his family also had a love for country and although his home life wasn’t good either he still misses home and so country music is a comfort for him. 
5) Luke was so hurt when Julie said ‘the only person you think about is yourself’ because those were the last words his mother said to him when he left home that’s why the boys were so concerned and why Alex told him Julie didn’t mean it because they knew how much that would hurt him.
6) Carlos really started getting into the ghost thing when his mum got sick as a coping mechanism, he wanted to believe that even once his mum was gone she would still be here in some way. 
7) The lines ‘shout shout, let it out out’ in edge of great where suggested by Alex and were a reference to Willie and him screaming in the museum and you will never convince me otherwise. 
8) Ray was at the venue where the Finally Free performance happened because its where he first met Rose and that night he just wanted to feel close to her. 
9) Carrie’s mum left when she was really young but she pops back into their lives every few years when she wants money from Bobby. Everytime she shows up Carrie can’t help but get her hopes up that maybe this time it’ll be different and she’ll saty only to be disappointed when she inevitably leaves again. This is what has made her colder and put up alot of her walls. It’s also why Bobby/ trevor always gives her whatever she wants, he’s over compensating for her mother being gone because he thinks its his fault for not being able to make it work with Carrie’s mum. 
10) Reggie loves dogs. He always begged his parents for a puppy but they always said no. He told the boys that when sunset curve made it big the first thing he was going to do was buy a puppy to be the band’s mascot.  
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simply-trash5 · 4 years ago
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PuppetBoy
Okay Kankuro simps, got some more juice for ya! Seriously this was so fun to write. It is a college AU about Kankuro and a reader. I am pretty proud of it. I would love to write some things for you so PLEASE request. Seriously. I’ll even try smut (I’ve never written it before so we’ll see how it goes). Drop them in the ask box and if you like what you read you should totally tell me because i am a self conscious bean.
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What the hell is that noise? You think to yourself as you look around. It sounded terrible. Whatever car was making that noise was definitely on it’s last leg. You nod your head realizing it was the same guy you see everyday parked across from the education building at your college. You could hear loud metal playing from the speakers and the windows shaking as he pulled into the lot. He jumped out,slammed the door and gave the tire a swift kick. Wow he’s kinda cute. He stood almost 6 ft. tall and had on a black hoodie that hung lightly over his brown hair. His black jeans had rips in the knees and you could see he was wearing scuffed black DocMartens. You continued to follow him with your eyes as he passed you walking toward the theatre building. He had an eyebrow ring and gauges. Oh shit, I think he caught me staring. He looked at you, scoffed and kept walking toward the theatre building. Is he a theatre major? You wondered to yourself. Maybe he just has to take a fine art credit. Letting your thoughts wander you pulled the straps on your bookbag tighter and walked to your class in the education building. 
The class seemed to drag on forever, and you knew after that you had to go to your nannying job which would take up most of the evening. You wished that you didn’t have to have a job, but unfortunately scholarships didn’t cover all of your tuition. You grabbed your keys from your pocket and headed toward the parking lot. Climbing into your car you started the engine and began making your way to your job. You loved kids, so nannying was a great gig for you. When you arrived at the home of a doctor in your area you were greeted by a small boy with a large grin. “Ms. Y/N, can we go to the children’s theater today? Mom said we could go if it was okay with you, she even left my booster seat so you can drive!” You giggled and shrunk down to his height. “Well if your mom says it's okay, it's fine by me. Let’s grab your jacket and booster seat and we will leave.” The small child ran into the house. His mother approached you. “Thank you so much for watching Trevor,I know he is a handful but i'm rather fond of him.” You gave her a huge smile and told her that it was no problem and explained that you were going to take him to the children's theatre. She said her goodbyes and you walked into the house to retrieve the boys booster seat so that you all could make the 4:00 production of the Three Little Pigs. 
The little boy sitting in front of you on the floor giggled wildly as a wolf puppet “ran” off stage. You smiled down at him. The curtains closed and the crowd gave them a round of applause. The stage hands and puppeteers began to disassemble the set so that they could get ready for the next show when you saw a familiar face. It's car boy. You smiled in his direction, and didn’t realize you may have looked at him a little too long. “Hey, take a picture, it will last longer.” The mysterious boy gave you an annoyed look and a blush began to creep up your face. He was wearing a tight black tshirt that showed off his muscular arms and his tattoo of a sandtimer on his forearm. “Come on Trevor, lets head home,” you said steering the young boy out of the theatre.
“Oh my god what did you say back?” your friend was screeching on the other side of the phone. “Well, see, I just kinda left.” you explained not wanting to relive the embarrassing moment. “Y/N, you have got to do something tomorrow. You’re going to see him in the parking lot and you don’t want it to be weird.” You were twirling your hair around your finger staring at your phone. “Y/N are you still there?” You snapped back to reality, “yeah, I think I will buy him a cup of coffee. I’m sure he never sleeps like the rest of us. He is a college student.” You both finished your conversation and you got ready for bed. You set your alarm early so that you could go to a coffee shop and grab him a coffee to make up for the awkward run-ins you had the last few days. 
“God its early” you whined to yourself but got ready anyway. You had to make a better impression on puppet boy. You gathered your things and headed out the door and made your way to a local coffee shop. You grabbed your latte and then decided it was best to just give him black coffee. You drove to your college thinking about the handsome stranger all the way there. His brown hair was shaggy and fell right into his eyes, which you melted at the thought of his hair being pushed out of his face. Your mind started to drift to what your next move would be as you pulled into the parking lot. Okay, it's 7:45 he should be here any minute. Shit what should I do? In a moment of extreme confidence you grabbed a pen out of your backpack and messily scribbled your phone number on the side of the paper cup. God I hope this works. You took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. You could hear him coming for at least a mile. Alright Y/N you cannot chicken out now. He rolled in and slammed his car door as he had every morning for the earlier part of the semester. It's now or never, you've got this shit. You beelined toward his car. He realized you were approaching and looked at you with a strange face. You immediately got nervous. You just sat the coffee cup on the hood of his car, turned on your heel, and quickly walked to the education building. “HEY! HEY COME BACK!” You heard him calling after you as you continued on your way to class cursing yourself the entire time.
Buzz
You grabbed your phone from your pocket. An unknown number had sent you a text. “How do I know you didn’t drug this coffee so you can turn my corpse into a puppet?” you laughed at the text and a blush spread over your cheeks. “Now why would I do that?” you replied. You typed “Also that is oddly specific” “What can I say, I like puppets?” The conversation continued for the next few days. You saw him a few times on campus but you never spoke in person. He would send you funny memes and videos at all hours of the night. Apparently puppetboy is a night owl. “Um btw, we’ve been talking for days and I still don’t know your name. What should I call you.” “My name is Kankuro.” “Well Kankuro, my name is Y/N. Its nice to put a name with a face.”
Shit I’m never gonna finish this run. You thought to yourself as you continued to run on the treadmill. You had your headphones in and music blaring. You loved to run and hadn’t been to the gym in a few days due to all of your nannying obligations. Okay, only a half mile more to go, you thought to yourself as you pushed your body to keep running. Out of nowhere you felt a large calloused hand on your shoulder. You snapped your head “Hey listen creep I-” before you knew it you were falling only to be caught by Kankuro. “Y/N you falling for me already?” Kankuro flirted giving you a tight smirk. You were shocked, not only by the fall, but by the arms around you. They were strong and helped steady you with ease. He was wearing a dark grey tank top which showed his muscles and tattoo off wonderfully. His legs were muscular too and looked amazing in the black shorts he was wearing. In his other hand he had a pair of boxing gloves. You began to blush and he realized you were staring at him, imagining what he looked like under that tank top. Your hand crept up to your neck where you fiddled with your necklace. He gave you a small chuckle. “I’ve got to go spar with my buddy, but if you want to you can meet me out front in an hour.” You smiled and shook your head and he turned and walked away. The shorts hugged his bottom perfectly and the tank top showed his shoulder muscles. You could see another tattoo on his back. Was it puppet strings? You pursed your lips and began to blush. I would love to see those strings up close. 
The hour wait seemed like the longest hour of your life. You waited out in front of the gym as he came bounding out the door. He was sweating and his shaggy hair was sticking to his forehead. He walked over to his car and opened the door. It made a horrendous screech as it opened and you stifled a laugh. “Whats so funny princess? Just for that we gotta walk to get food.” You blushed. Did he just call me princess? Why was that so hot? “Come on, I’m starving,” he said and began walking down the sidewalk. You walked hurriedly to match his long strides. Damn my short legs. “So Kankuro, where are we going?” he gave you a crooked grin. “Its a surprise.” You giggled and retorted “well how do I know you’re not trying to get me alone and turn my corpse into a puppet?” He gave you a devilish grin, “Well sweetheart lets find out.” Another pet name. Your face turned bright red and you stared at the sidewalk. You approach a deli that you frequent with your friends. “I love this place,” you exclaimed. “Well don’t be weird and actually order some food. I like a girl with an appetite.” You laughed and smiled. You ordered your usual and he ordered grabbing your food and heading outside to a table. You both began eating and chatting casually about your lives. You found out he loves horror movies, especially ones that feature creepy dolls or puppets. You also learned that he has a lot of horror memorabilia in his apartment and that he rarely sleeps. He boxes to keep himself busy when hes not working as a children’s puppeteer. He is studying theatre with concentrations in stage management and special effects makeup. “Kankuro, thats really fucking cool,” you said and began to tell him about yourself. You were studying to be a teacher and nannying as a job to make money for college. You lived in an apartment around the corner from the deli with a friend. “So Kankuro I noticed the sand timer on your arm, do you have any other tattoos?” He gave you another devilish grin.”Yeah I have a back piece that is marionette strings. I’ve loved puppets since I was little so I thought it would be cool. Do you have any tattoos?” You blushed. You stood and pulled up your athletic top to show a tattoo of your family's crest on your hip. You had to pull your shorts down ever so slightly revealing your black lacy underwear. He looked at the tattoo and then back to your face. “Thats a nice one,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. The conversation continued and you all talked more about your semester and your family. You laughed and told him about how you liked to run and also about how you thought it was cool he was a boxer. “Maybe one day we can spar angel,” he flashed a smile in your direction and you smiled back at the thought. You both got up from the table and threw your trash away. It was dark and cool. You pulled your jacked tighter around your shoulders. “I guess I am going to walk home and let you get back to the gym.” Kankuro shook his head “absolutely not doll, its dark and I’m walking you home.” You blushed. Another pet name, this boy is gonna be the death of me. 
You began walking toward your apartment and your hands brushed several times by accident. “Damn Y/N if you wanted to hold my hand that bad all you had to do was ask. I aim to please.” You blushed and then punched Kankuro. “Still want to spar?” you said cheekily. You both walked in silence but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was as if you had known him your whole life. The comfort of him walking beside you felt so nice. “Well this is my apartment.” You sighed and reached for the door. 
BAM
The door slammed shut and you noticed a strong arm beside your face. Kankuro looked down at your lips and smirked. You began to blush. The tension was so thick. I swear im going to pass out. Your heart began racing as he leaned into you. Your back was pressed against the glass of the door with a strong arm beside your head. His other hand made its way to your tattooed hip, he drew circles over your ink with his calloused thumb. His hands were so large that you could feel his fingertips on your back. The heat rose to your cheeks. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against your lips. He pulled back, his hand still burning a hole into your hip bone. You opened your eyes to see a smirked Kankuro. You were in shock when he reached his other hand to brush a stray piece of hair out of your face. Your thoughts raced, you wanted nothing more to bring him up to your apartment and let him give you that devilish grin some more. 
“Guess I’m not a killer princess. Text me.” He chuckled, turned on his heel and walked back toward the gym. You watched him until he walked out of sight. You were ready to see him again and maybe see more of that back tattoo.
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sunset-bobby · 4 years ago
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Title: You Mean the Holograms
Summary: Julie invites Carrie over to tell her the truth about her band, and maybe her dad, but what if she already knows
Word Count: 1886
Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27822940
If there was one thing Carrie Wilson was good at, it was acting as if she was not aware of things. People often assume because she is the daughter of Trevor Wilson and shallow, which she is sometimes and is working on it, that she is not in tune with what’s going on in other people’s lives, but she is. So, when Julie texted her to come over saying she ‘needed to tell her something’. Carrie had a pretty good idea of what she was getting herself into. After all her dad is Trevor Wilson, and well he’s a terrible liar no matter how hard he tries. So that is how she found herself at Julie’s studio on a Saturday afternoon sitting on a chair, with Julie pacing in front of her nervously.
“Okay, so I called you here to introduce you to my band,” Julie stated and Carrie nodded along.
“The holograms?” she asked her in a false tone that made Julie believe she was clueless.
“That’s the thing. They aren’t actually holograms,” she paused and Carrie looked at her in anticipation., “ They’re ghosts.” Carrie gave her a look that was a mix of disbelief and confusion, but before she could say anything Julie cut her off.
“Before you say anything, let me show you,” and she heads off to the piano. Now Carrie can’t actually see the ghost, but she is already aware of their existence, so she sends a small smirk to the air and hopes one of them is catching on and finds this as amusing as she is. However if what she already knows about them is true the one most likely to catch on, is freaking out. Julie plays a piano riff that Carrie is familiar with before a faint whooshing sound comes in and before stands the face of 3 teenage boys that she is secretly very familiar with. Julie stops playing and the boys as well. Something new Carrie was not ready for. Point ghost.
“The new abilities are hard to explain as of right now, but they can now be seen after we play as well,” Julie explains and Carrie nods along once more.
“Okay, so Care this is-,” but Carrie takes the opportunity to expose her own secrets now.
“Luke, Reggie, and Alex. Formally of the early 90s rock band Sunset Curve, currently of the up and coming band Julie and the Phantoms,” she says and her tone is dripping with that false innocence she uses to really push certain statements over the edge, and from the looks on both the boys and Julie’s face it seems she has. The blonde one, Alex, is the first to speak.
“H-how does she know that?” he looks around at his shocked friends before looking back at her, “how do you know tha?” She smiles, not fully she doesn’t want it to seem like she’s finding amusement in his obvious sense of panic, but just enough to where they know she’s planned this.
“Did you ask your dad about it?” Reggie, the bassist, asked recovering next, and Carrie decided to add some more to the drama.
“My dad? Why would he be involved in this?” Her smile has dropped giving the illusion that she is serious about her confusion. The boys and Julie blubber out multiple excuses to each other trying to come up with the same story, and she lets them for a while, before cracking. A laugh escapes her lips drawing their attention back to her.
“I’m joking, no my dad told me everything,” she says in between laughs, but the others just continue to stare.
“So you already know everything?” Luke asks and there is a slight emphasis in his voice that makes her realize he is asking for something specific, and she knows what it is, but she isn’t going to let that out just yet.
“Oh do you mean how Alex likes to join me for Dirty Candi performances?”
“How did-”
“I’m pretty sure I’ve walked through you and that chill is pretty hard to miss,” she answers, interrupting Alex’s question. She looks over at Luke and his face is hard to read, but he’s definitely riled up.
“Or are you talking about if I know that you’re connected to Julie because of her mom, whom you met 20 mins prior to your, um
.” she trailed off, she didn’t know if their passings were a sensitive topic or not.
“Wait, really?” Julie asked, and Carrie was not aware that she did not know.
“Um, yeah it’s how our parents met. However they didn’t become friends until your mom picked my sobbing dad up off of the streets of Sunset Boulevard, or at least that what he said,” she said nonchalantly. This topic was something her dad discussed multiple times. He was very open with his experience with grief, although she thinks it’s because Dr.Crystal advises him too. She takes another look at Luke, and by now she thinks he can tell she’s avoided the topic purposely. She sighs as he opens his mouth to speak, and talks before him.
“Fine. I know you want know if I am aware that the songs on my dad’s first two albums are Sunset Curves, that he didn’t credit you, and is legally not allowed to discuss it with anyone who doesn’t already know, because somehow his dumb 21 year old self didn’t know how to read through a contract,” she told him exasperated, but was shocked when she did not get an immediate response from the boy in return. Then again none of the others said anything either.
“Oh, you didn’t know about that detail did you?”
“No,” Luke said quietly, “no we did not.”
“Carrie if you knew all of this why didn’t you tell me. At least about the music part when we were friends?” Julie asked, and Carrie did not realize how this would look to her.
“I didn’t know until middle school, and I thought you knew too. I figured your mom was going to tell you.”
“I didn’t know she knew.”
“I’m sorry Juls. Maybe it was for a good reason. I only found out on accident,” Carrie offered and Julie nodded.
“Is there anything else you might know?” Reggie asked her, but the answer was a little iffy. She knew a lot of things thanks to her dad’s shrine to them, which she still finds weird despite the fact he’s also in the pictures.
“Maybe you should just ask me questions, and I can see what I can answer,” she suggested and they nodded. Alex started.
“Do you know anything about our families?”
“Some things, yes. Uh how sensitive is this topic though?” she wanted to make sure she covered all of her bases before continuing.
“It’s relatively sensitive, but we wanna know,” was all she got in response.
“Um okay, well despite the fact he did not credit you guys, my dad still gave money to your families, or at least those who deserved it. I don’t know much about your family, I’m sorry Reggie.”
“It’s okay,” he said, but she had a feeling it wasn’t. She did not want to over step.
“What about me?” Luke asked, “I know Julie and I saw my parents a couple weeks ago, and I try to visit them often, but I-,”
“You know,” she started cutting him off, “Ms. Emily is always telling my dad it does not do well to keep replaying your mistakes.”
“You’ve met my mom?”
“Yeah I saw her earlier in the month with my dad. We were continuing a tradition he and Julie’s mom started,” she explained.
“What tradition?”
“They bring her flowers on special occasions. I think it was a birthday or something. He’s never gone alone before. If Rose couldn’t go, he’d send them by mail, but he says that anniversaries are hard. I think that’s why he took me too.”
“Oh.”
“ Hey, I don’t know your story, but I don’t believe you should keep blaming yourself.”
“I’m not.”
“You are, I am very familiar with that look.”
“What about my family?” Alex asked, however his situation was a little different, and Carrie was not sure when the right time would come again.
“My dad doesn’t really like to talk to all of them. Mainly just my mom, but-”
“Mom!” Alex exclaimed, cutting her off.
“Yeah, my mom is Alyssa Da-”
“LYSSA, she’s like 10 years younger than him. I can’t believe he
” The boys looked at one another in disgust, but Carrie and Julie, just bubbled with laughter, causing the disgusted looks to turn into confused ones.
“What’s happening. Why are you laughing at the fact that Bobby defiled Alex’s little sister?” Luke asked.
“Okay, can we not say it like that,” Alex grimaced.
“Alex, don’t worry, he didn’t do anything with your sister,” Julie stated.
“Yeah, despite the small resemblances, he isn’t my biological dad,” she added.
“Then why-”
“She had me when she was 16, but instead of putting me up for adoption, she gave me to my dad. I don’t really know everything, but my dad told me when I was 7.” Alex nodded.
“Okay, but earlier you were laughing?” he asked, and Julie giggled beside her.
“Because I’m pretty sure we both thought of the same response,” Julie answered, and looked at Carrie.
“He says it whenever anyone asks about his relationship status in interviews,” Carrie also added.
“ Honey, I haven’t touched a woman since 1999,” they both quoted in sync before breaking out in a fit of laughter once more.
“Bobby is gay?!” all three boys shouted.
“Bi actually,” Julie corrected.
“With a preference for men...guitar players specifically,” Carrie continued.
“Not that any of them last very long according to tabloids,” Julie said aimlessly.
“Yeah, well you know dad is always picky. Apparently he has this thing where they have to match his talent,” Carrie said and she and Julie looked at one another again silently confirming if they were thinking the same thing, before turning back to the boys who were flickering.
“I guess this is our goodbye,” Reggie joked and Carrie cracked a smile.
“For now,” she added.
“Do you think you can come back? Tell us more about your dad and what we missed?” Luke asked, and she shook her head yes.
“Yeah, or you guys could come to mine and I can show you my dad’s Sunset Curve room that he likes to cry in sometimes.” That didn’t really get the laughs she thought it would, and she scolded herself for not remembering that joking about trauma was a Wilson thing, but the boys were gone before she could even back track, so she turned to Julie.
“Well I know they’re still here, but I drove myself so if you wanna hang out I could stick around,” she suggested, and Julie smiled.
“Yeah, I’d like that. Besides I think we have some things to talk about.” She led her out of the studio and Carrie happily followed, knowing that there were most likely three teenage ghosts following her. So yes, sometimes she does pretend to be clueless, because she likes being underestimated, but sometimes it’s good to show all of her strengths, because you might be able to mend a couple of friendships.
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yikes-xander · 4 years ago
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self indulgent luke hc no one will care about
Note: this is kind of all over the place because I just spent like 2 hours this morning writing it (it’s not even 10 am yet) but I hope u enjoy!!
It’s canon that Luke is an only child
I have a feeling maybe he wished he had siblings growing up
Sunset Curve is literally like family for all of the boys, they’ve said it multiple times and they make it very obvious when they interact in the show
Also,, I was talking to @sunsetcxrve about this,, max said that he thinks the age order of the band is Luke/Bobby/Reggie/Alex,, I 100% agree
Luke and Bobby are pretty close in age, maybe like a month or two apart then Reggie and Alex are quite a bit younger (still all 17 though obviously)
He just wants to be a big brother! he loves the band so much and wants to protect them and offer them all the support he can đŸ„șđŸ„ș I love him
Trans Luke HC time baby!!
Even before he came out I think he still would’ve presented more masc (from personal experience, I knew I wasn’t cis from a pretty young age, I always felt Off yknow? I just didn’t have the words to explain it so I was a ‘tomboy’ or whatever because I felt comfortable in masc presenting clothes, etc.)
I think he would’ve told the band before anyone else, they would have multiple talks about it, just be there to listen to Luke and try to help him figure things out (also I feel like Alex isn’t cis either,, but Bobby/Reggie give me cis vibes, they gotta teach Alex/Luke the ways of ✹ Boy Things ✹ that was dumb, sorry anyway continuing now)
This is where ‘My Name Is Luke’ comes in
I said before that I think he would’ve written it when he was coming to terms with his identity (it’s always a struggle, but especially growing up in the 90s) he was afraid of how people would react, mostly his parents
I think Alex came out as gay first (IDK if in the show it was said he came out around 16 or if that’s just in my brain?? But I think it would’ve still been a fairly recent thing when they died), so Luke would’ve been so scared to tell his parents knowing what happened to Alex
He used the song as a way of coming out instead of having to face his parents directly. At first, I think they would be kind of confused and take a bit to come around but ultimately support him.
In the show they’re portrayed as very loving parents, they care about Luke so much, and even though he was mad at them for not supporting the band 100%, they just wanted him to have a sure way of supporting himself yknow? Music doesn’t always work out for everyone and they just want what’s best for him, the three of them just didn’t see it the same way
I think if his parents knew about the band playing with Julie and how successful they are currently? They would realize they were in the wrong and they would fully support his choice to do music because they love their son and everything he does!!
So that’s why they would be so supportive of him being trans (to me at least,, to each their own though I guess)
They just want him to be happy and comfortable in who he is
Emily would cut his hair for him (so he doesn’t have to keep tucking it into his beanies when he leaves the house)
His dad would give him some old clothes to wear (flannels baby!! He loves em) in the time before they go shopping to get some more things for Luke
Also just want to add in that I don’t think he’s told Julie that he’s trans
He just hasn’t felt the need to yet
But they’re getting closer and closer as time goes on so I think he would tell her sooner than later, he just wants to find the right time
But she would support him so much!!
I don’t know if she knows that Alex is gay? Because she wasn’t there when it was first mentioned, and she hasn’t met Willie
So maybe off camera they could’ve talked about it and she does know, or she might find out later (meeting Willie maybe?? That would be cool but IDK if she would be able to see him)
Anyway back on track sorry
I love the idea of Julie telling Luke and Alex about how much things have changed since ‘95, about how most people are more accepting now, gay marriage is legal, media representation for LGBT+ is more frequent, etc.
Obviously could still improve, but progress!!
They would be so happy too
Sorry I went off on a lil tangent back to the song
It means a lot to Luke, it’s probably one of the songs that have the most emotions poured into it (Unsaid Emily takes the cake of course), and that’s why he was so angry when he found out Bobby recorded it and made so much money off of stolen work
Bobby was his friend so Luke has every right to be mad
But also!! We don’t know the whole Bobby/Trevor story yet so no Bobby slander here!
That’s all I love trans Luke
No one in this show is cishet because I’m not and I said so thank u for listening goodbye
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spa-ghett0 · 4 years ago
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I'm jittery on coffee, lack of food, and I had a stressful day, so here’s some angst. 1700 words of pure angst. enjoy :)))
-------------
As a teenager, it was an alliance between friends. Brothers.
Protect Luke, they thought. Keep his location a secret. His parents are being unreasonable. This is what he’s born to do.
But in secret, they knew. They shared looks over his shoulders, silent concern that they never spoke on. Never discussed because they took an oath. They took Luke’s side, always.
Bobby thought he’d get over it. He thought they’d make up eventually; they just needed a few weeks to cool off.
But then weeks turned into months. 
Luke stopped going to school.
And the Missing Person posters began showing up.
And then a year had passed. Luke stopped talking about them. The guys didn’t bring it up.
Bobby’s own parents never caught on to the extra person living in the garage. Luke slept on the couch, but when Bobby’s parents came over, he hid in the loft. Bobby snuck food out to him. They spent long nights in the studio on the floor, backs against the couch as they listened to Bobby’s CD collection. So many almost-normal nights with his heart heavy with guilt eventually turned into a new normal. He shoved the guilt away and locked it up until it simmered into numbness he could ignore.
After they died, Bobby learned to block everything out. He liked to think he forgot; that’s what he told his therapist. His wife. His daughter. Maybe if he said it enough, it would actually happen.
The Pattersons invite him in with a smile. They’re warm, kind, exactly how he remembers. He wishes he could remember how to smile back at them.
Their house looks the same as it did when he was sixteen, celebrating Luke’s birthday in their living room. They didn’t stay long that day; Luke’s relationship with his parents was just beginning to crumble. He and the guys left quickly after cake because they had to practice. His parents weren’t happy. Luke didn’t care.
“How have you been, Bobby?” Mitch asks. He takes a seat next to Emily. She reaches for his hand; they smile at each other. Trevor’s heart hurts. “Sorry, you go by Trevor these days don’t you?”
Trevor nods stiffly. “I do. Yeah, um, I’ve been good. Things are good.”
“Working hard on your next album, I assume?” Emily says with a smile. “We have all of your CDs, you know.”
He swallows thickly. “That’s
 actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I have something for you.”
The envelope is numb in his fingers as he hands it over. Emily’s warm smile never falters, though her eyebrows scrunch together in confusion as she grabs it. While she tears it open, Mitch asks, “What’s this?”
“Compensation.” Twenty-five years too late.
“Oh my,” she gasps, sliding the check out of the envelope. “Bobby—Trevor—”
“I couldn’t track down Alex and Reggie’s parents,” he explains quickly, wiping his palms against his pants. “So, you’re getting all of it.”
Emily shakes her head. “I don’t understand. Why would you—”
And—how do you tell a secret you’ve kept for twenty-five years? How do you rip a bandage off that you yourself cemented into place years ago?
He was only sixteen when Luke ran away from home. Couldn’t tell anyone: not his parents or Reggie’s or Alex’s. It weighed on him like lead. He resented Luke for a long time. How selfish could he be to ask his friends to lie to their parents? To the police when they questioned Luke’s disappearance? They were teenagers. Kids.
He was only seventeen when his best friends died. For a long time, he replayed that night in his head. He should’ve warned them about those street hotdogs. Should’ve tried harder to make them consider a diet change—he didn’t trust that street vendor; never did. But they loved that place, so maybe that’s where his first lie came from. His band was so supportive of everything, even his sudden decision to swear off meat. Maybe he should’ve gone with them, could’ve been the one to steer them away when the dogs tasted funny or called an ambulance to get them help faster. Maybe he could’ve saved them.
“I stole Luke’s music.”
He doesn’t hear himself speak. Did he finally say it?
Emily’s face crumbles. Mitch’s twists into anger.
Yeah, he said it.
“You what?” Mitch says. His voice is controlled; he’s never been the emotional one.
Trevor continues with a dry mouth because he has to; there’s no going back now: “My parents found his notebook in my garage after he died. I was afraid of what they’d do if they found out I’d been hiding Luke there, so I said it was mine. Then they read through the songs, and they thought I needed to share them. My dad knew a guy, they got me in a studio, and then—”
And then.
“—before I knew it
 They were my songs. At least, that’s what LA thought. Then the entire US. Then Canada, England
 It all happened so fast,” he added quickly, trying to explain better because they were getting angry.
“You never credited him,” Mitch accuses. “Any of them. They were your friends—!”
Emily’s seconds away from breaking. She’s quiet when she speaks, soft as ever: “Luke was with you.”
“I’m sorry,” he says. His own eyes are filled with tears. “I’m sorry. He told me—told us to keep quiet. We promised, made an oath—”
“We told the police,” she continues, as if she can’t even hear him. Maybe she can’t. Maybe she’s as numb as he is now. “We bothered them for months after Luke’s disappearance, called every other week for updates. We covered the city in posters with his face on it. I just wanted to know that he was okay. That he wasn’t on the street somewhere—” Tears spill over her cheeks. She doesn’t wipe them away; her gaze is fixed on the check. “I drove down dozens of streets, checked every corner I knew of that had street performers usually, hoping I’d see him. Hoping I could
 convince him to come home

“And he was just—” Her smile is watery, broken. She finally looks at him. He wants to puke. “He was safe.”
Trevor’s shoulders tremble with the dam that finally breaks. “I’m so sorry,” he sobs. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know any better. I was—we were kids. He was a kid. He missed you every day. Never stopped thinking about you, even if he never said anything. I wanted to say something. I know Alex and Reggie did too. I think we just
 we just
” He sniffs, wipes his eyes, rubs his hands over his face. “We thought you guys would make up. We thought everything would work out in the end. And it would’ve! I know it would’ve, if he hadn’t
”
For a long moment, they don’t talk. Nobody does; they can’t find enough strength between the sobs wrecking their bodies, making their throats raw. Emily cries into the safety of Mitch’s arms. Trevor’s fingers wrap around his own arms. He wipes his nose with the back of his hand, focuses on the window, on the bright sun pouring in. The curtain moves, he swears, but he doesn’t think anything of it. Even though he can’t feel the air, he tells himself that’s what it is.
“We were supposed to play the Orpheum,” he whispers, and his voice crumbles and gives on the last syllable. His head falls to his hands. The Orpheum. He was supposed to play the Orpheum with his best friends. They were about to make it.
Emily sniffs. She gently tears away from her husband, wipes her eyes, and stands. “Thank you for the offer, but we don’t want your money.” She leans over the coffee table to offer the check. “We don’t need it.”
It slips between one trembling hand to another. He stares at it: Five hundred thousand dollars. Should be more. Even if they don’t want it, it should be more. Five million. Ten. They deserve so much more.
“I’m sorry,” he says again, even though that carries no weight. No amount of apologies will bring Luke back. Or Reggie. Or Alex. He can’t fix anything. Actually, he’s probably done the most damage. Twenty-five years of lies.
The sun is too bright outside. He stumbles through the yard, check clenched so tightly in his hand that the edges are cutting into his skin. The lights on his car flash like he’s just unlocked it. Or, maybe he locked it again. Doesn’t know; can’t hear. Can’t focus on anything except his band. His best friends. His brothers. They left him, but what did he do?
He stole their lives. Their dream.
Trevor stumbles into the door. His crying is louder inside, clogs his eardrums and rattles through his body painfully. Everything is so painful. He clutches at his heart.
The air conditioning is on full blast—the coldest it can go—when he turns it on. His windows fog up; he doesn’t notice.
Not until—something squeaks in his ear. He jolts in surprise, head whipping around in a blur.
There are letters, but they’re backward. There are also voices—he swears he can hear voices. Arguing, critiquing that sounds too much like—and then a word. A backward word. And when his breath catches in his throat and his body freezes over all over again, he knows he’s not as numb as he thought because he can see it. And he knows—he knows. It’s them. They’re there. Were there. Still are? Whatever it is, he bursts into tears again. Happy tears. Sad tears. So many emotional tears that his head is spinning.
But his chest—his chest is loosening. There’s a weight disappearing. He feels like he can breathe for the first time in twenty-five years.
Bobby
As the letters begin to bleed, a new spot of fog forms on the window. He watches in amazement as someone spells three more words. It’s Alex, he thinks. Has to be. After all these years, he still recognizes that handwriting—Alex has always had the best handwriting out of their group.
Once the last word is finished, they’re gone. He doesn’t know how he knows, he just does. And in their place, they leave reassurance. They leave peace:
We forgive you
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fiddlepickdouglas · 4 years ago
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Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 3 - Bodega
Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, is it a date?, 2.7k
WARNINGS: cancer mention, lines in Spanish will have translations in the tags
@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes me these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends
Part 1, Part 2
Alex followed the gentle clack-clack-clack of the wheels eagerly, watching as Willie glided this way and that through the street. He shoved down the thought that his walk was only going to be a short one. After a few blocks, Willie slowed to a stop outside a bodega and waited for Alex to catch up before going inside.
“Hola, ese!” The guy behind the counter called as they entered.
Willie nodded and raised his eyebrows at him in greeting, lifting off his helmet and leaning his board against the wall of the counter. Immediately, an orange striped cat hopped up onto the surface with an excited little ‘prrrrp?’ and approached so Willie could pet him.
“Hey, Sheldon,” he said, massaging behind the cat’s ears as it rubbed its head aggressively against his shirt. Then, Sheldon sniffed Alex’s sleeve in curiosity as he stood timidly amid the unfamiliar.
“He’s friendly,” Willie assured. “Unless you’re allergic,” he added cautiously.
Alex smiled as he took the cat’s face in his hands, rubbing the sweet spots on his neck.
“No, good thing I’m not.” Sheldon was already purring, the sound soothing Alex’s slight shakiness. Willie smoothed the fur along his back.
“Have you been good today?” he asked in a baby voice.”You been treating Escobar right?” The cat meowed and rubbed against Willie’s chest.
“He caught two mice this morning,” The man, whom Alex assumed was Escobar, said. He was trying to wipe what looked like grease on his hands. “He’s happy because I gave him sardines.”
“Thanks, man,” Willie told him. “By the way, this is Alex.”
“Nice to meet you,” Alex said, realizing his hands had been gripping his fanny pack anxiously and loosening them.
“Good to meet you, Alex,” Escobar offered his wrist to shake, his hand being dirty. Alex shook it awkwardly and then Sheldon pushed his way in between and rubbed his head against his hand. Willie laughed.
“He seems to really like you,” he said.
“All I did was pet him,” Alex replied.
“Well, if Willie likes someone, the cat usually does, too,” Escobar informed him.
Alex smiled, unsure what to say to that.
“Que pasó con tu mano?” Escobar directed to Willie in concern, looking pointedly at his hand.
Willie only laughed and lifted the hand in question.
“Scrapes everyday,” was all he had to say.
The man only shook his head as he moved to put away the rag he’d been wiping his hands on.
“Te tienes que cuidarte mejor,” he said as he came back to the counter. “So what are we eating today?”
“We’ll see,” Willie said. He turned to Alex. “Do you want anything?”
He blinked, flustered.
“Are you - are you sure?” The words it’s not a date, it’s not a date, began repeating in his head incessantly. Right? A guy can buy another guy he just met food...after inviting him to follow him...on his way to get food
.
“Yeah, I’ve got you covered,” Willie told him, moving over to a part of the counter where a sandwich menu was posted on top of it. Alex felt a bass drum going in his chest and tapped his toe to mimic it, hoping he could play it off as just taking time to decide.
“Take your time, amigos, I gotta wash my hands real quick,” Escobar said before disappearing.
“I don’t understand most of what he says,” Willie murmured so only Alex could hear. “But I get the general idea.”
He could only smirk in response. Perusing the menu, Alex quickly made a selection, still hesitant about accepting Willie’s offer. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around the bodega. He’d been to a few around L.A. but they all had their differences. This one was rather spacious, with some tables set up outside, and of course the sandwiches were an uncommon feature.
“So,” Willie started, grabbing his attention. “Do you often follow strangers through the city?”
Alex exhaled nervously, only then realizing what he’d just done.
“No,” he shook his head. Willie leaned on the counter, smirking. “No, this is kind of a first. Why, do you get followed a lot?”
Willie only bit his lip and shook his head. They chuckled together for a moment.
“I just come here every day during my lunch break,” Willie explained. “To check on Sheldon. Figured if you were game, you’d come.”
Alex looked at him in confusion.
“You explained none of that back there; you just nodded.”
“And yet
.” Willie said, gesturing toward him. The unspoken truth hovered between them so potently Alex expected to receive a static shock.
“So...is Sheldon your cat?” he asked to diffuse the tension. Sheldon perked up at the sound of his name and pattered over to them.
“Yeah,” Willie responded as if he’d been distracted by his thoughts for a second. “I found him a few months ago and he was just really sick and weak and I couldn’t leave him like that, so Escobar was nice to let me keep him here since I can’t have him with me.”
“Why can’t you - ” Alex began before Escobar came back through, rubbing his newly cleaned hands.
“Okay, primos, we ready?” he asked.
“Yep!” Willie said, flashing a look to Alex that he’d answer him later. “Just the usual for me. You know what you want, Alex?”
“The, uh, chicken panini,” he said quickly. He glanced over at Willie again and got a tiny nod that yes, he was fine to get a sandwich. As Escobar got to work making them, they went over to the tables outside and sat down.
“I figured I could thank you a little bit, considering the generous tip I got this morning,” Willie said.
Alex swallowed, remembering how hard he had to convince the boys to leave a good deal of money so Willie could get into the show in the evening. It wasn’t until Bobby had made up something about getting more fans that got Luke and Reggie to agree. In retrospect, the count of bold decisions he was making that day was record-breaking.
“I wouldn’t have asked you to return a favor,” he said. “But I do appreciate the sandwich.” He felt Sheldon rub against his leg.and smiled as he looked down. “You weren’t kidding when you said he was friendly. This is the happiest cat I’ve ever met.”
Willie nodded. “He’s changed so much since we found him.”
He paused and just looked at Alex for a moment. 
“You don’t relax much, huh?” he wondered aloud in a soft manner.
Alex looked down at his hands once again keeping a death grip on the strap of his fanny pack, released them, and put them down in his lap.
“No better time to start than now, right?” he said, taking in a couple deep breaths. He couldn’t help it. One look at Willie made him feel like time fell from orbit - whatever that meant. His hands still needed something to do though, so he pulled out his drumsticks again and lightly tapped on the edge of the table. Willie bobbed his head to the rhythm, scrunching his nose.
After a few minutes, they heard Escobar call out and they went to collect their sandwiches. Willie glanced at the clock above them and grabbed his board.
“I don’t know how, but it’s already almost time to head back,” he said.
Alex hadn’t figured him to care about punctuality, but took his sandwich from Escobar, ready to follow Willie back toward the hotel. There was no chance he would find his way back alone. Escobar wagged a finger for him to come closer. Nervously, Alex leaned toward the counter.
“TĂș tienes cara de fresa,” he said, to which Alex only blinked cluelessly. “Pero me caes bien.” The man simply nodded, smiling slightly. Alex looked between him and Willie, neither of them offering a translation.
“Th...thanks,” he stuttered. He leaned down and scratched Sheldon’s head to bid adieu.
“I’ll be back later for Sheldon,” Willie told Escobar as they exited.
Before Willie mounted his board, he got a few good bites into his sandwich. They had gotten about half a block away before Alex dared to ask.
“Do you have any clue what he said to me?”
“I think it was a compliment,” Willie said, mouth slightly full of food.
They continued back toward the hotel, eating their sandwiches as Alex simply ruminated over everything that had just transpired. Willie glanced over occasionally, always with a smile, and clearly travelling slower than he had before so he didn’t leave Alex too far behind. As they finally approached their destination, Willie dismounted his board for a moment.
“Hey,” he said, the soft tone Alex had heard earlier coming back. “Thanks for going with me. It was nice.”
Alex smiled, momentarily losing his entire working vocabulary to giddiness.
“No problem,” he said finally. “See you around?”
Willie nodded.
“See you around.”
Back at the Pearl, the band was set up for their sound check. Luke was an uncontained mass of energy at this point - kissing his rabbit’s foot countless times, swinging his arm tie around to see how far a distance he could hit people from, and his hands rarely leaving his guitar. Alex had a feeling it was only going to get worse the second he saw Julie. They all assembled on the stage and took up their instruments, waiting for the sound tech to instruct them.
“Okay, Reggie, give us a line,” was heard from the booth. Reggie improvised a bass lick on the spot for about thirty seconds, which was far more than the sound guys needed. It was a wicked line, though, and Alex couldn’t blame him for riding it out. He could see Luke and Bobby raising their eyebrows, hoping they could play with it later.
The techs guided them through the instruments one by one, then microphones, and then prepared for them to play together. This was the first time they were all playing with earpieces to hear everything properly and it was certainly an exciting change. Alex could hear them almost as if he were listening to their own demo and he couldn’t describe the feeling.
On cue, Luke played the opening riff to Now or Never and the energy immediately flowed as they all joined him.
“Take off, last stop, count down till we blast open the top
”
Nothing like getting to play to take the edge off of everything. He’d started the day early and thought there would be nothing more nerve-wracking than getting on this stage. Sure, he knew he could do it, but the pressure to somehow gain the support of hundreds more people in one go had been mounting on him the last few days. Fans who came to him after shows and told him that he made a difference to them? That he was something more than just an awkward teen who was bullied for being gay and having nut allergies? It was surreal. Alex wanted to keep reality close most of the time. Making music was the exception where he was happy to escape.
They finished the song, and as Alex swept his hair out of his eyes he saw a figure stand up from sitting in the middle of the empty venue, clapping their hands.
“You guys, that was phenomenal!” Julie Molina was saying, making her way onto the stage.
“Julie!” all of the guys cried out, nearly in unison. Luke was already bounding over as she made her way up to the stage. Reggie and Bobby lifted the straps off their guitars and followed suit as Alex casually brought up the rear.
“Hey guys,” Julie said, returning all of their high-fives and fist bumps. “I’m so excited for tonight, we’re going to have a good show.”
“I’m ready for us to blow everybody away,” Luke said enthusiastically. Alex, Reggie and Bobby exchanged knowing looks but refrained from commenting. Julie probably thought he was talking about the band. Luke probably thought the same, funnily enough.
“I have my own sound check to do, but it’ll be good to hang with you guys until the show opens,” she told them.
“Can we stick around and watch?” Luke asked.
Julie shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, go ahead!”
“Sweet!” Reggie said, already taking a seat. Bobby settled down next to him while Alex took the seat behind them.
He remembered when they met her it was at some battle of the bands out in Bakersfield. She’d been part of the duo Double Trouble, and her friend Flynn had gotten sick shortly before they were supposed to go on. She took the stage anyway and had the audience at her feet, and Alex had never seen Luke so entranced. At the end, they invited her to jam until they were forced to shut down at about one in the morning. Everything that had transpired in those few hours was unforgettable, and the guys agreed they would all gladly do it again.
That was a year ago. Now, with her first album out, the guys had all been stoked to get the call to open for her. Alex was pretty sure Luke had been keeping tabs on her the whole time, and he likely didn’t realize how obvious it was. There was something about the way he got very defensive when the guys occasionally suggested going back to the songs they’d gotten started with her, and how he refused to do it without her.
The four of them sat mesmerized as Julie’s fingers elicited the most heartfelt and energizing melodies from the piano. A soft, swelling joy came over Alex, and he wanted to give Julie the strongest hug when she finished. Her music was touching and he couldn’t help but need to express that to her. Peeking at the two below him, he saw Reggie clearly shedding some tears and Bobby clenching his fist because it wasn’t the right moment to wipe them away.
Suddenly one of the crew members walked onto the stage, making Julie stop playing. He muttered something to her that the boys couldn't hear. She sat straight with fear in her eyes and hurried backstage without a word. Luke turned around to look at the rest of his band and they all mirrored his concern. Slowly, they rose and headed toward the green room where they found Julie on the phone.
“Dad, what happened?” she was saying, audibly shaking.
Alex held out a hand and they all stopped in their tracks. He looked at Luke and shook his head. Whatever they were hearing, he figured she didn’t want them listening in on. Luke knit his eyebrows, and Alex could see the internal fight going on in his mind as he considered staying to comfort her or giving her space. After a moment he nodded to Alex and they pulled back into one of the dressing rooms.
None of them said a word as they waited. Alex pulled out his drumsticks and tapped them on his knees to fight off the rising anxiety in his chest. Nobody bothered looking at the clock and nobody made eye contact. Those three words they’d heard repeated on a loop in Alex’s brain, and he was sure they were in the minds of the others. That hug he had thought about giving felt both highly necessary and very inadequate, and he didn’t even know what the phone call was about.
After some time, Julie appeared in the doorway. She looked around at all of them and breathed deeply.
“My mom is in the hospital right now,” she said soberly. “She’s been in cancer treatment for a few months now and it was in remission, but it’s coming back."
Her eyes remained cast toward the floor, and each of the guys hesitated to move.
"I can't cancel tonight, but
" she began saying. Luke raised a hand to cover his face, clearly afraid of the rest of that sentence.
"I'm sorry guys, but I need some time to myself." She left, but Alex saw her face twist with pain before she was completely out of sight and he thought he felt his heart snap in two. Everyone looked at Luke as he sat at a loss for words.
Finally, Luke straightened up and a calm fierceness took over his countenance.
"We gotta make tonight the best, you guys, you hear me?"
Each of them nodded solemnly.
"Alright. We aren't legends for ourselves, tonight. We're legends for Julie."
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