#also so he was fighting himself in the parking lot regularly and people joined in? why

[evilkaeya]

just watched fight club. what if ur gay halluciantionship was so fucked up you ended up starting a cult and causing the downfall of economy in the process.

[6okuto-moved]

Listen… you said we could ask for more hcs pt.2…………………….

RAAAAAAAAAAH

Ais? PLS? YOUR WRITIJG IS SO GOOD I THINK ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME

AIS HCS (2)

gn!reader | (part 1) anon you GET ME! BUAAAAHHH AND OMGG THANK U... that's so crazy actually i hope u guys think about me today i will b thinking about all of u😙🫶🧡 YIPPEE!

so stupid /affectionate. takes photos of you and says "now a silly one." or starts taking selfies without telling you

will do cheesy romantic things with you because you ask. he can tease you all he wants, and he wonders how he's found himself swaying to a song with you in the kitchen,, but then you hold him a little tighter and he's like ah. that's why

tells you to be careful with his horns. not in a they're sensitive way but in a please do not get in a position where he could poke your eye out way. rest your chin in between them if you want though

asks you to pay for lunch. when it's actually time to pay he's like "what the hell are they doing over there?" so he can pay first. you guys fight to pay semi-regularly. You are the people who made me want to scream and cry when i worked retail.

do his make-up. i dare you. what. you don't want to stand in between his legs with his hands on your hips while you try to do eyeliner Be serious. he'll be your test subject for new looks

or let him do your make-up. you can match w some red eyeliner :)

doesn't do any little video trends with you without being a little annoying/difficult but he Will do them and do them extremely well in the end. everyone's jealous of your relationship

if you're having trouble sleeping and try to not move around a lot in case you wake ais up,, it's too late. bro is awake. he sighs and nuzzles into you before being like,, "if you can't sleep, you can wake me up you know." or "how long were you going to go before waking me up?"

^ late night snack runs.. he'll stay up as long as you do. hanging out in a mcdonalds parking lot at 2am eating chicken nuggets who gets me

pulls your head to lay on his shoulder if he sees you getting sleepy. rests his head on top of yours

silently comes and lies down with you if he's in a bad mood. you don't have to talk or really do anything, just being around you helps him feel better. he won't complain if you coddle him a little though :) you offer to get him some snacks or cuddle him and he smiles against your skin. "i'm starting to think you have a crush on me or something." you roll your eyes and flick his forehead but he just lets out a breathy laugh. "yes please."

cannot fucking play horror games/movies around this guy like why are YOU jumpscaring me Where is my safe space. he relishes in you clinging onto him / holding you from behind, but he also respects you scaring him back if you're more immune to horror

don't start a prank war with this guy because that shit isn't ending. he excels in annoyingly inconvenient pranks Don't Do It.

tells you about the dogs(/animals) he saw while out during the day. modern au he sends you pics either wordlessly or guessing their names. "meet nacho cheese" "why would u say that" "that's obviously his name? have some respect"

ohh. people watching...this sounds silly. but like i'm thinking about how he doesn't like being lonely/isolated but Is and how he has to watch others enjoy themselves and stuff. so you hanging out together and talking and guessing random people's life stories is just like. a casual thing but reminds him He Has Somebody to do that with now

why'd i say that

you know how he was in the rafters at the beginning. yeah he's asking if you wanna join him up there. you're like You do that Regularly? not just trying to intimidate me? and he's like 🤷‍♂️ it's comfortable enough.

promises he won't let you fall and keeps a steady hold. See? it isn't so bad.

modern au tattoo artist ais who gets me. anyone. anybody. helloooo? guys please i'm gonna pee my pants

🏷 | @lost-lonnie @screaming-wea-sel @dreamtydraw @respitable @semifilms @hexcoeur

[mightyray]

Random Archie Sonic Character Headcanons. Pt. 1 Too Many Echidnas.

It's my birthday, so I thought I'd push the Ray headcanons to the side and focus on all the forgotten goobers of the Archie Comics left behind. Let's start with all those echidnas... Spectre the Echidna: The reluctant caretaker of Charmy, Saffron and Ray. Tends to talk with actions and not words. Surprisingly, more progressive than he looks as he accepted Julie-su's pleas for refuge after she defected despite his overwhelming hatred for the DL and allowed the Chaotix to set up base in Haven after many difficulties trying to find a place to stay without paying large amounts of rent.

Sojourner the Echidna: Excellent swimmer if he wasn't a guardian, he'd be an Olympian. Used to co-own a gym with another friend before he had to sell his stake and join the Brotherhood. Can be a racist stick in the mud, and is in agreement with Locke that Knuckles' friends and GF are a bad influence. Vector and him are swimming rivals.

Thunderhawk the Echidna: He is the weedman. Bro smokes weed and grows a lot of it and sells it to be made into medicine, much to the utter frustration of the other members. Gets on well with pretty much everyone except for Locke. He hasn't fully forgiven him for what he's done to Knuckles (and Lara-Le) when he was a wee babby and onwards. Regularly talks to the Sommersby's and asks about Elias often. Looks after the 'junior recruits' Benjy the Kangaroo and Trixie Bee (Charmy's sister). The least racist member of the Brotherhood by far.

Sabre the Echidna: Archivist and preserver of all knowledge of Angel Island. Tends to have his muzzle in a book or jabbering to everyone about manners and decorum. While very good at giving advice, he also can drone on for a bit too long. Somewhat racist as he unknowingly peppers everything with microaggressions to the annoyance of the non insect and non echidna people who interact with him.

Locke the Echidna: Incredibly strong, his fighting ability is second to none, to the point people like Shadow are wary around him. He's also a massive control freak, jeopardising many people's health and safety in the process, including his ex-wife and son in genetic experiments. He loathes Knuckles' friends and believes them to be leeches, even going so far to trust Dr Finitevus over the concerns of Vector and Espio due to his unchecked ego. Incredibly racist that even the other members of the Brotherhood have to tell him to reign it in when he suggests permanently booting every non echidna off the island by force. Despite his massive, massive flaws, he does truly care about his family and echidna kind. Time will tell if he can extend that to everyone else...

Jenna-Lu the Echidna: After one too many of her son's escapades nearly got her Grandson in trouble, Jenna became a 'watcher' over the Brotherhood. Fed up with her estranged husband's inability to get the elders to reign Locke in, she, Lara-Le, Wynmacher and a couple of others hired the Chaotix to find a way to stop Locke spying on everyone everywhere. The High Council would later appoint her and former EST chief inspector Holmes as official Brotherhood watchers to keep an eye on everyone there.

Knuckles: While being a loner at heart, Knuckles tends to attract oddballs like a magnet. He met Espio, Vector, Charmy and Mighty in a theme park. Ray during a riot in a wrestling show, Charmy's sister, butler and best friend during a siege and Julie-su while being held hostage (the last one being he fell for the very old 'what's that over there' trick) which got him held hostage after he captured Julie-su first. Knuckles seems to have inherited his father's ego but unlike his dad, reality tends to enjoy keeping Knuckles' in check but having his team blunder when ever he brags that they are the best. The most infamous example was Knuckles telling Sonic that his team was far better than the FF, only for Knuckles to witness Ray electrocuting himself by poking a live wire with a metal fork while Charmy watched on, chanting 'do it!'.

[heaven-s-black-box]

Notes- Teyvat Academy Anemo boys

Return to File

Recovery date: September 25th, 2024

Description: right third one for tdy ;-; so the anemo boys in tevyat adacamy!! basically its js high school with the genshin characters and if u could i'd rlly want all of the characters or js the anemo boys r fine :D tysmm

-⭐️ anon

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with researcher ⭐️, we thank them for their contributions. I'm starting with the anemo boys, but I'll probably go through and do more characters later. I also hope you don't mind that not everyone is a student.

Back to directory

Aether

Third years who just transferred in, how unlucky to change schools in their last year

Runs morning announcements with his sister Lumine

Somehow becomes his class president, seriously he just got here

His vice-president is Wanderer and at first he’s confused as to why

But then he gets to know him and realizes that he isn’t so bad

Has a problem with Ajax, another third year, solely because their first interaction was Ajax trying to pick a fight

Chief editor of the school newspaper, his sister is the Chief writer

They’re really good at recording stories and reporting them

Really popular with the student body, he’s just great at listening and giving  advice

Also really involved in other clubs events, the knitting club had a little workshop once and he made a hat that he gave to Albedo for his sister

Albedo had wanted to go but the art club had a field trip to a limited exhibit and as the president he had to go

For the school festival his class did a drama production with Aether as the prince looking for his sister

Lumine was busy with her class’ event though, so the play ended with him still on his journey but with a lot of new friends

He did manage to convince her to wear an exclamation mark above her head all day, and people could get a stamp from her to spin a wheel for a prize

Worst subjects are geography and math, best subject is history

Group projects with him are really easy, his work is always done first

Venti

The music teacher but he constantly gets mistaken for a student

Used to be a traveling musician but had kind of a Koro-sensei situation with the nameless bard

Controls the morning announcement music, the first month it’s always his music

After band auditions he has the students record for the announcements

Regularly pranks the other staff, once changed Mr.Zhongli’s desktop to a picture of [Venti]

Zhongli is too tech illiterate to change it back himself, Nahida has to help

Genuinely adores his students and is always happy to help/give advice

Actually helps run the Miss Hina advice column with Gorou since he needed and staff supervisor

Venti has no favorite student(s), he thinks they’re all amazing in their own ways and says so every graduation

It feels genuine every time because it is

Xiao

A student teacher, baffling I know

Why is this man in teaching, he seems to hate everyone

Once, his friends picked him up after school because they were going to a concert

Everyone was scared of the supposed biker gang parked out front

Then Xiao came out and started talking to them, he came back around a minute later on his bike

It was, of course, the Yaksha all dining jackets made by Menogias

He gets bombarded by questions the next day

Intimidating aura but he wants to be there for his students like his teachers were for him

It’s no surprise he was a troubled youth, it’s one of the first things you might guess about him, but you’ll remember not to judge a book by its cover once you speak with him

Also he plays the flute

Sometimes you can pass by one of the music practice rooms at lunch and here him playing, sometimes with Venti

He’s shadowing Mr. Venti because he wants to be a music teacher, though he’s also really good with history

Kazuha

Third year, so his last year

Not part of band, but sometimes he joins as a guest

He was a part of band for the first two years, but his friend died over the summer and he just can’t commit to it right now

Childhood friends with Wanderer, though they’ve only recently reconnected because Kazuha gets why Wanderer shut him out in the first place

He hangs out with the gym teacher Beidou, she encourages him to stop by the judo club

She understands he doesn’t want a club commitment right now, but she thinks he needs something to keep him busy

He stops by Friday practices after school

Almost became Lumine’s vice-president for their class but lost out to Gorou

Gorou wasn’t going to run, but he didn’t want Kazuha to have to back out of the position and get asked questions

Has lunch in one of the stairwells with Gorou, Kokomi, Ayato, and Ayaka

When they’re busy with club stuff he’ll wither sit in the music room or in Beidou’s office, depending on if there’s band practice or not

A very good student and absolutely someone you want in your group

Doesn’t have a worst subject but his best subject is language

Heizou

A second year

He’s president of a detective club, they talk about crime shows, podcasts, and novels

Also a bit of a prankster and very hard to catch

Like if you don’t watch him do it you won’t be able to get him in trouble

His co-president Sara Kujo hates this

Wants to be a detective because his childhood friend was killed in an unsolved crime

Last year his club ran a murder mystery scavenger hunt for the school festival

He has been asked no less than 20 times if they’re doing it again this year

His club supervisor is Mr. Neuvillette, he teaches the laws of Teyvat class

He is also not happy with Heizou’s pranks, the the drama teacher Ms. Furina finds them hilarious

Ms. Furina cast him as the detective in this years play, the first years were annoyed that there were no auditions but once they realized he was basically a real life detective they were on board

Speaking of being a real life detective, if you lose something ask him

There is literally a column in the school paper to report lost objects

It’s usually returned within 2 days

Science is his worst subject but he’s still really good at it

Group projects with him are terrifying because he doesn’t finish it until the day before, but he does always get it done

Best subject is literature, really good at analysis

Wanderer

A third year, is often mistaken as a first year

Attends with his sister Raiden who’s a second year

His mother, Ei, is a teacher

First years, including when he was a first year, always avoid him because he looks like a delinquent

He liked that fear because it meant no one would bother him

Ei was worried though, he never really got over the death of his best friend when he was younger

Childhood friends with Kazuha, Kazuha’s grandpa was their neighbor so they were close

Niwa, Kazuha’s grandpa, died around the same time as Wanderer’s first friend whom he’d met at daycare

And he never really coped with it, at first he was really clingy with Kazuha and then he seemed to want nothing to do with him

They’re starting to rekindle their friendship now, Kazuha actually gets him now, as grim as that sounds

Part of the debate club because Nahida, the history and technology teacher, thought his essays were always amazingly persuasive

He joined at first because it let him call people idiots without getting in trouble, eventually he realized he actually enjoyed it

Got into detention once with Ajax because he punched him, to be far Ajax did say “fight me”

The start of a begrudged friendship

Worst subject is gym because he doesn't really try, he only puts in enough effort to not fail

His second worst subject is bio, and his best subject is history

His group work skills are 50/50, on one hand he will not communicate unless something is really wrong but on the other he finishes his work quickly and neatly

[nateezfics]

I’ve been watching the anime Vampire Knight again and my mind is going insane. Like...I am absolutely crazy for spending so much time on this. Below the cut is me brainstorming and running away with an idea.

Imagine going to a private university where the student body is split in two parts. The day class and the night class. These two classes never cross as it is forbidden. The day class knows nothing more than that there is a night class, but the rest is a mystery. Not a single student of the light has seen a night time student. The daytime students do not know the the school’s dark secret. They do not know that the night class is full of vampires, vampires who wish to turn away from their evil natures. Though they are learning to keep their inner monsters at bay, they are still a potential danger to the day students, hence the separation.

You are the president of the women’s dormitories, and also part of the night watch. One night, after reprimanding two wandering students and sending them back to their dorm, you are confronted by two dashingly beautiful men. They wear uniforms with the school’s emblem, but you’ve never seen them before. It dawns on you that these must be students from the enigmatic night class. Their otherworldly beauty, their sharp fangs, their glowing eyes....everything about them seems...inhuman. Before you can blink, they close in on you, and then everything turns black.

When you awake, you realize much to your horror and confusion that you are not in your dorm. You’re in an unknown place. Soon you’re surrounded by a group of men, all who share the quality of dazzling beauty. As they gaze upon you with illuminated eyes, you realize that the night class is more than a class of students...it is a coven of vampires. You wonder what in the world you’ve been dragged into.

The Night Class

Hongjoong; Night class student president; president of the men’s dormitory (night class); level A/pure blood vampire

Hongjoong was the first student in Cross Academy’s night class

Befriended the Headmaster many years ago and the two shared a common interest: to see humans and vampires living harmoniously

Hongjoong originally fed on humans, but after meeting the Headmaster, decided to change his ways and fight against his own nature

Hongjoong helped give way to Headmaster’s dream of using Cross Academy as a way for vampires to better themselves

Hongjoong is several centuries old

He is a pure blood within level A, the top tier of the vampire class system, making him one of the most powerful and feared vampires around

The Kim family is one of the few remaining pure blood families

Saved the reader many years ago when she was only a small child from being killed by a vampire

Cared for her through the night and brought her to the Headmaster’s doorstep

Hongjoong follows the university’s strict rule of keeping himself and the night class hidden, despite wanting to check up on the reader who does not remember him

He is a kind vampire, but has a stained past which he tries to overcome

Is respected amongst both the school’s night class students and the vampire realm

Though he does get flack from the Vampire Council for trying to resist his vampire nature and being so friendly with humans

Seonghwa; Night class student secretary; right hand to the night class president; level A/pure blood vampire

Seonghwa is an old friend to Hongjoong, the two of them knowing each other for centuries

He is older than Hongjoong

Did not agree with Hongjoong’s theology at first, but eventually decided to join him at the academy

Seonghwa often acts as Hongjoong’s voice of reason, mostly because he helps keep the rest of the night class in check

If Hongjoong is away, Seonghwa acts as temporary president

Is a bit less ruthless than Hongjoong in terms of discipline, and he often gets called the “mother of the night class” due to his nurturing nature

He is a pure blooded vampire from the Park family, another powerful vampire line

He is not too fond of humans per se, but tries to follow along with Hongjoong, and tries to understand that their lives are precious

Him and Hongjoong both rely the least on blood pills (pills that act as a placebo to quench a vampire’s desire for actual blood from humans) due to having been in the academy the longest

Yunho; Day watcher/enforcer for the night class; hunter; level B/aristocratic vampire

Unlike the former two vampires, Yunho is not a pure blood

Meaning somewhere in his ancestry there are humans who’d been turned

Comes from a wealthy family, earning him the status of level B vampire

Has always been kind to humans somewhat, never preying on the innocent but instead preying on the evil, wrong doing humans like criminals

Befriends the Headmaster and joins the academy by his request

It doesn’t take long for Yunho to fall in line with the hope of one day living along side humans

Yunho watches over the night class section of campus and its dorms during the day to make sure no day students wander too close.

Carries out punishments to night class students at Hongjoong’s judgement

Often aids the Vampire Council in hunting and eliminating rogue level D vampires

Will also follow Hongjoong along side his missions to recruit more vampires into the academy

Is slowly trying to become less reliant on blood pills

Yeosang; Night class’ top student; scholar; level B/aristocratic vampire

Yeosang was recruited by Hongjoong to join, but at first was unwilling to join

He only decided to go to Cross Academy because of his ages old friend, Wooyoung

He’s an extremely picky eater

Always preyed on humans with a certain blood type and humans that came from high society families

After coming to the academy, Yeosang struggled with denying his bloodlust

His dislike for the blood pills didn’t help

Learned to keep it under control when he decided to just hunt for animals around the university’s campus

Is indifferent about wanting to be harmonious with humans

Despite this, he is the top student of the night class, having shown the most growth and progress

He’s a man of knowledge, loves to spend time in the library

He’s very sharp tongued, and often makes condescending quips about the other night class vampires, especially San

Does not use blood pills, rather he just feeds straight from animals

San; Night class transporter/gatekeeper; level C/common vampire

He’s in charge of leading the night class from their dorms to the main building

He makes sure all the day students are out of the building and classrooms

Usually has to wait for an all clear from the Headmaster

San was the first commoner, level C vampire to enroll at Cross Academy

Commoner vampires are normal, every day people, usually they are the vampires that walk amongst humans the most

San is incredibly powerful for a level C, and this is why Hongjoong recruited him

Isn’t quite sure how he feels about denying his vampire nature, but his respect for Hongjoong and his close lineage to humans compels him to try

Wooyoung is his companion, whether romantically or platonically is something the night class is always trying to find out

The two are inseparable

San came before Wooyoung, and when the latter first started at the academy, the two vampires quickly bonded over both being level C’s

San requires many blood pills a day

Being a level C means there is a lot of humanity in his lineage which also makes him most likely to go berserk and turn into a level D vampire, a mindless feral being

Mingi; Night class bookkeeper; scribe; level A/pure blood vampire

Mingi is somewhat of a right hand to the right hand

He often aids Seonghwa in managing the more tedious side parts of the night class, like paperwork

Mingi keeps record of all complaints, new students, dorm inspections, punishments, and schedules for each day

He also tends to the library as well as the music/recreation hall

Yunho is responsible for his presence at the academy

Mingi quickly earns respect from Hongjoong, and becomes Hongjoong’s left hand man with Seonghwa as his right

Mingi is tender hearted, and always struggled with his vampire nature

Feeding on humans was something he never enjoyed, a strange trait for a being with not a single ounce of humanity in his bloodline

Mingi often acts the source of cheer amongst the night class

He likes to compose, and sometimes he will play for the other vampires to allow everyone to unwind

The Song family was always close with the Jeong family, and because of this Yunho and Mingi have known each for a very long time

Does not rely on blood pills all that much, but takes them as soon as he feels any amount thirst for blood because he does not like the feeling of bloodlust and the way it reminds him of how evil his kind is

Wooyoung; Class socialite; level C/common vampire

Wooyoung is a common vampire like San, but this does not keep him from befriending vampires of all classes

He is very extroverted, and Hongjoong believes his love for socializing will one day help bring humans and vampires together

Wooyoung has no official role within the night class, but helps where he can

He maintains an upbeat atmosphere within the class along with Mingi

He often gets on the other vampires’ nerves, especially Seonghwa

He loves to cause mischief and naturally Seonghwa is the victim more often than not

Yeosang is a common target as well, but he remains aloof to his friend’s shenanigans

Wooyoung learned very quickly on to never pull anything on Hongjoong, he was scolded by the elder vampire so bad that he refused to leave his dorm room for a week

He’s always with San, and secretly loves it when Yeosang makes jests about them being a “couple”

Wooyoung often attempts to sneak around the day class dorms, just to take a peek, but Jongho always catches him

He takes blood pills regularly

Jongho; Day watcher/enforcer for the night class; hunter; level B/aristocratic vampire

Jongho has a reputation amongst the vampire realm of being a champion hunter

His strength knows very few rivals despite him being a fairly young vampire

Was commissioned by the Council centuries ago to be a hunter

Jongho mainly hunts level D vampires now, especially after enrolling at the university

But he used to hunt vampire hunters - humans who specialize in eliminating vampires of all levels

Jongho’s strength is normally enough of a deterrent to keep night class students from pulling anything stupid

Though Wooyoung often pushes his luck

With Yunho, the night class section of the campus is secure

Isn’t exactly onboard with Hongjoong and Headmaster’s ideals

He sees humans as lesser than

But Hongjoong is working with him, and slowly Jongho is beginning to reform

He may be the youngest, but everyone (even Hongjoong) is somewhat intimidated by him

The Day Class

Reader; Night watcher/enforcer for the day class; president of the women’s dormitory; human

When you were young, you were out with your family one evening

You were attacked by a strange man

He killed your parents right before your eyes

Before he could harm you, someone rescued you

Your savior had the same glowing eyes as the man who killed your parents, but for some reason, you trusted him

He was so kind to you, and even brought you to someone who could take care of you

You don’t remember him in the years to come, save for his glowing eyes

But as the years pass, you dream of his eyes, wondering if you’ll ever find him one day

The academy’s Headmaster raises you as his own, and naturally when it came time for you to attend university, you chose to attend Cross Academy

You take your role as dorm president seriously

And you never miss a shift as night watcher

With all your responsibilities, you don’t have much free time

But late at night while you rest, you ponder about the night class

Your father never tells you anything when you ask

Something tells you there’s more to it all, more to the story

Fortunately, or maybe not so fortunately, you find out the mystery soon enough

[sluttbuttsstuff]

La Squadra Backstory Headcanons Part 1 (GHIACCHIO AND MELONE

Since we’re probably never going to get any straight answers on their backstory, i’m writing my own for them.  Obviously, none of this is canon and guesswork

WARNINGS: none really, aside from dark themes 

GHIACCHIO:  

Came from a very large and very poor family, the youngest of many children.  

As a result, he was the last to get anything-last to get fed, last to get clothed, last to get attention.

He didn’t get the proper care he truly needed, so he had to fight and take what he really needed, or he would have to make do without.

He’s always had awful eyesight, but it wasn’t until stealing a classmate’s glasses that happened to be exactly what Ghiacchio needed, he fought the kid for them and gave him a black eye

“There, now you can’t even use them, they’re better off with me!”

Despite getting into a lot of fights, School was actually something of a sanctuary for Ghiaccio.  

He got the attention he needed, he was able to get free food through the lunch program, and excelled in several sports activities and physical Ed.

During middle school, under encouragement of a favorite teacher of his, he dedicated himself to his studies, and enrolled in as many extra curricular activities as he could stomach.

With his impressive physical fitness, natural intelligence, and a little anger management, his teacher convinced him he could get into a good college with a full scholarship that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to get into

Ghiacchio wasn’t always as loud, angry and violent as he was in La Squadra, but he did have issues with anger management, an inferiority complex, and a self-sabotaging need to always be right.  

But his teacher, now his mentor, never gave up on him.  He took Ghiaccio to therapy, gave him a shoulder to lean on, and served as the support he never got from his parents or siblings.

His family had no interest or desire to get involved with his life, or offer any support or encouragement.

School was tough- it was extremely stressful and he was pushing himself to his limits.  He had very little sleep, had to maintain a 4.0 grade average, but despite it all, Ghiacchio was very happy.

His mentor was like a father figure to him, without him, Ghiacchio wouldn’t have been able to get as far as he did.

And then the worst happened.

His mentor died naturally, of a heart attack, he was an older gentleman with a history of heart disease in his family.

It still broke Ghiaccio.

He skipped school for the first time in years to attend his funeral, and ended up getting in a fight with one of his teachers at school the next day.

Ghiacchio and his teacher argued over the correct pronunciation of a word, but really Ghiacchio was angry at his teachers and school-hell, the WORLD- that no one else had been at his mentor’s funeral.  He felt like no one cared about his mentor, and that included him.  

He broke the teacher’s nose, as well as several other bruises and nearly gave him a concussion.

Obviously, he was expelled from school after that, and sent to a juvenile prison.  He was able to finish high school in juvie, but no university or sports team wanted to sponsor him or offer him a scholarship. 

 It is his greatest regret, not being able to get the scholarship he and his mentor worked so hard for

But at the same time, he doesn’t regret attacking his other teacher and leaving school; he couldn’t stand by and let his mentor’s memory be forgotten, besmirched.

He would be picked up by Passione through the juvie system, he kept getting into petty fights with others and managed to impress some soldatos into offering him initiation.

I like to think that his strict grammar pet peeve stems from his mentor, who taught italian grammar and literature studies, and as a result was especially strict with teaching Ghiacchio proper italian.

The ice theme for his stand?  Yeah, it’s funny because he’s a hot head, but i think it’s his stand, as an extension of his mentor’s teachings trying to literally “Cool” him down.  He has to use a lot of focus to use White Album properly, just like how his studies and athletics would distract him from his own mental health issues.

At least, this is just what I think lol

MELONE:

Hoo-boy, this kiddo has to have had some serious  family issues

His father was the head doctor at the most prestigious fertility clinic in Italy

(He was also secretly into eugenics, and lots of other nasty stuff, but let’s get into that later)

He was so successful, he had even cured his own wife’s infertility

At least, that’s what he had everyone believe

Secretly, Melone’s father had had an extramarital affair with his secretary, who became pregnant and had Melone.

Under extreme threats and blackmail, Melone’s father managed to take Melone away from his biological mother, and convince his wife to raise Melone as her own.

Needless to say, Melone’s father was a very bad, manipulative man

Despite this, his wife had always wanted a child, and actually loved him and cared for him deeply, and Melone became her child as much as his biological mother

Melone’s father was very strict and had high expectations of Melone from a young age.

Melone had private tutors, a personal chef and nutrition plan, and even a physical fitness teacher who would regularly exercise him.

Melone had no other siblings, surprisingly, despite his father’s obsession with eugenics and breeding.  

His father must have been afraid of the possible scandal that would arise from an affair or divorce (italy is still a heavily catholic country after all) and his wife, Melone’s “adoptive” mother was still barren,

Since Melone was an only child, home schooled and surrounded by paid lackeys of his father, he was very lonely.  

His mother was his one and only real friend in his life.  She would sneak him dessert snacks, read him fairytale stories if he got tired of his textbooks, and even played games like jump rope and hide and seek with him.

The entire reason his “Adoptive” mother had married his father in the first place was because it had been her lifelong dream to have children, and she was determined to give Melone all the love his father couldn’t and wouldn’t.

And that was life for a long time- it wasn’t the best childhood but Melone couldn’t really complain.  His father kind of scared him, but at the same time he earned Melone’s respect.  

Melone was interested in Biology, and learning about genetics like his father.

And when the stress of living up to his father, and his own, expectations became too hard, he could always run to his mother.

Then, Melone’s biological mother found him

Melone’s biological mother had never really gotten over losing her only child, and despite the monthly salary and isolated home she had received for her silence, she couldn’t forget about Melone.  

It started innocuously enough, clipping out pictures she saw of him and his father from the clinic’s advertisement brochures, watching him from afar play at the beach with his mother on vacation.  

But it wasn’t enough- she couldn’t just GIVE UP her child.

She started to stalk him, taking photos of him playing in his backyard, going through the garbage to find old school projects and tests in the trash can.  She would try to sneak into the house, bribing guards and getting in fights with the tutors trying to get into Melone’s home.  

Melone didn’t know the whole story between his parents and this “Surrogate” (he had been sworn to secrecy by his mother, knowing it was important to tell adopted children early on or risk causing severe trauma later in life)  but he knew his parents were becoming more and more stressed out.

One day, it came to a head, and Melone’s biological mother successfully was able to meet Melone.  

Melone was a little afraid at first, but his other mommy was so nice to him, and gave him lots of hugs and love like his other mom and played with him at the park.  

They actually had a really fun time together, and it had a lasting impact on Melone for the rest of his life.

But all good things have to end, and for the first time in his young life, Melone was confronted with death.  

Eventually, Melone’s bodyguards (his father had employed some after finding out about Melone's biological mother stalking him) caught up to them, and Melone and his mother tried to escape.  

Melone’s other mother was with the bodyguards,and when Melone saw her, he was unsure of what to do.

He loved both of his mothers, he wanted to stay with both of them, why were they making him choose?

Under His father’s orders The bodyguards, who Melone later found out were associated with passione, shot his biological mother.  Terrified Melone would be shot as well, his adoptive mother dove in front of him to protect him from the bullets.

Both of his mothers were shot, his father had ordered them to kill the bio mother no matter what, even if Melone got shot.  Apparently, MElone’s father would rather risk his son’s life than let his bio mother escape with them and risk the scandal.  Knowing this, his adoptive mother was shot and killed protecting him.  

On that day, Melone lost both of his mothers, the most important people in his life, all because of his father.  

It took a long time for Melone to process what happened-his father didn’t help things either.  He was just as cold and clinical with Melone as ever, and with no one who truly cared about him in his life, Melone withdrew more and more into himself and his studies.

He was civil with his father, and maintained his studies and health, until he officially turned 18.  

After years of planning, he poisoned his father in his sleep and killed him.

The Police were never able to press charges or find any evidence on him, but Passione noticed, and saw potential in him.  

They gave him an ultimatum, pass initiation and join their ranks, or get turned into the police by passione and get his inheritance stolen by the gang.

Without much of a choice, Melone agrees, and finds he actually likes life in la squadra

It goes without saying, his mothers were a huge influence in both his life and his stand.

Both of his mother’s lives were so sad and lonely because they couldn’t have a child.  

He desperately wishes he could have used Baby Face on his mothers, either not realizing or not caring about the implications.

Despite his mother’s best efforts, Melone never really had proper social interaction as a child, and it seriously screwed him over in life, even interacting with la squadra. 

 He’s read up on how to behave in public, social psychology, but it's not the same as learning as a child

It’s easier to learn those things as a child, which is why he makes sure to spend at least a little time with each Baby Face on how to behave and treat others; at least they can succeed where he couldn’t.

It’s also why he can’t control himself around women- he thinks he’s genuinely helping them by giving them children or getting them pregnant.

He’s giving them what his own mothers couldn’t

And you can BET he takes his role as father VERY seriously- you saw how he taught and trained Baby Face in canon.  He’s intense, but he’s also a lot more loving than his own dad was.

I’ll admit, this backstory is a little bit “Soap Opera” but I think it still fits him

[amphii-writes]

Random Haikyuu Head Canons I Have

these are all taken from my discord server cause i remember to write them there, if you want to request fanfics, my requests are W I D E open! there is also nO order! these are just all the headcanons i could find tbh

warnings: mentions of blood, and just overall wild times, swearing

Asahi loves knitting sweaters because his shoulders are broad and he also loves seeing the reactions from his teammates when they get a sweater from him! He says he buys them but he doesn’t

Aone likes knitting socks because he has big feet and he loves fluffy knee high socks but his team will never know

Asahi and Aone regularly hang out and knit together! (after asahi wasnt scared of him anyways)

Nishinoya gives you shiny rocks he finds because “your eyes shine like them!”

Yamaguchi likes to have your head rest on his chest while cuddling!

Aone likes to bake

Aone dressed like a polar bear because koganegawa told him to- halloween was amazing

daICHI HAS A KISS THE COOK APRON

Daichi secretly can make some kick ass steak and is amazing at grilling sorry

Okay but real talk, Kenma and Yaku swear like sailors and it scares everyone because they always whisper the most foul, insulting things under their breath. Hearing it is like seeing a cryptid

Speaking of cryptids, Fukunaga and Shibayama are THE most true crime, mythology, and mystery obsessed fanatics on the team and often fanboy about it together 

Fukunaga’s obsession with moth man has gotten to an unhealthy stage

Kenma absolutely had a vampire phase and has read twilight. Only Kuroo knows and has sworn to secrecy via blood pact

Kuroo’s a musical nerd. Knows all of the lyrics to Hamilton, BMC, DEH, Heathers, Rent, Beetlejuice, Etc. Kenma considered dropping him because of it

Iwaizumi tells the worst dad jokes and Kyotani, wanting to beat him, started doing it too and it drives everyone insane

Yahaba and Matsukawa get along surprisingly well. Both are true crime freaks and bond over their forensic files obsessions

Matsukawa didn’t really like his thick eyebrows so he got one of his female friends to pluck it for him, but almost cried and gave up after the first hair. Oikawa called him a pussy for the next year

Hanamaki jokingly flirts with everyone on the team so most of them just got used to it, but it still confuses Kindaichi to the point of mental breakdown

Makki called Kyotani ‘puppy’ as a joke once and now mad dog is truly terrified of him

Kyotani’s dog absolutely ADORES Oikawa and it’s the funniest shit to the rest of the team

Mattsun and Makki play DnD and once convinced Yahaba and Kyotani to join. Kyotani kept rolling to fight everyone and Yahaba was a bard that kept rolling to seduce everyone. They kept yelling across the board so they had to kick them out

Outside of his school uniform, Goshiki specifically wears only plaid

Tendou makes little chocolates for the whole team every once in a while so they don’t think he’s scary

Semi and Shirabu once had a fistfight in an abandoned McDonald’s parking lot while Tendou filmed and Goshiki cheered them on

Everybody makes fun of Shirabu’s haircut but nobody dares to say it to his face. its gotten to the point where they say he got it done by a blind old lady

There’s a running joke about Shirabu also getting his haircut from prison but Goshiki is starting to suspect that it may not be a joke

Yamagata and Tendou are good friends with the mutual goal of collecting as much blackmail on their team as possible

Tendou loves animals generally considered to be ‘ugly’ like rats, crows, reptiles, etc.

80% of Goshiki’s playlist is shit overplayed on the radio. Him, Shirabu, Tendou, Kawanishi and Ushijima have a permanent ban from the aux cord

Nobody watches YouTube with Ushijima because he never skips the damn ads (other than tendou)

Suna once said y’all’dn’t’ve unironically and made a first year cry

Akagi once said UwU unironically and had an identity crisis.

Osamu has one of those rainbow gaming keyboards and is constantly on a discord call. Atsumu always yells weird shit in the background to embarrass him and once pretended to be him

During Seijoh group chat arguments. Hanamaki and Mattsukawa like to drop facebook minion memes in just to piss everyone off even more

mattsun and maki both have separate photo albums in their phones labelled ‘minion memes to piss everyone off’

Hinata carries a pocket knife and no one has no fucking idea why

mattsun and maki both have matching rat fursuits that look like they actually where in a sewer- they chased oikawa around

For all his talk of plant analogies and metaphors, Ushijima cant grow shit

Goshiki’s Bangs are the way they are because his favorite character was Rock Lee from Naruto

Oikawa has watched Ouran High School Host Club front to back so many times and he can quote all of Tamaki’s lines by heart -He keeps bothering Iwaizumi to “be his Haruhi, since you’re shorter than me”

Koganegawa has definitely gone as an Angry Bird for Halloween

Fukunaga has those reflective cat eyes, and he has terrified Yamamoto on several occasion

Hanamaki and Matsukawa have a teddy bear that they pretend is their child and they share custody

Suga always sprays whipped cream straight into his mouth whenever he sees a can

Nishinoya definitely bit people as a kid

Nishinoya would be the guy to wear shorts all year round and even if it's snowing, he'll insist he's not cold

Tendou is still stuck in his emo phase and would fangirl over Creepypasta with me and I appreciate that (me too buddy, me fuckin too)

Kyoutani LOOKS like he’d listen to viking death metal, but in reality he listens to Mother Mother and knows all the words to Ghosting

Sugawara would definitely encourage me to dumb shit and not stop me, and you’re all dumb for thinking he wouldn’t 

KENMA IS NOT ‘uwu owo’ SHY, HE IS ‘your fucking gross’ SHY SO LITERALLY STFU

Bokuto listens to Nicki Manaj. And knows all the words. To every. Single. Song.

Ushijima for some reason knows an odd amount of 90′s-2000′s R&B and he will hum along to the songs if they come on the radio (he also loves Dolly Parton) ((he says he relates to her music))

Bokuto once ate instant ramen for an entire month

TERUSHIMA DID TRY TO FUCK A PLANT WHILE SHITFACED AND GOD I STAND BY WHAT I SAID

atsumu let’s you put makeup on him and pretends to eat the brushes (do yk what im talking about- like n o m)

tendou ran for school president as a joke but actually won

i 100% believe that all of karasuno’s third years apologize when they bump into inanimate objects, but when suga is really tired or stressed out, he’ll yell at them instead.

Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Taketora have a group chat called "Bros who want sum hoes" and they send each other hypebeast memes and shit

Sugawara knows how to do a bunch of flexible shit because he sometimes goes to yoga with daichi and asahi's moms, its fucking hilarious

tanaka and noya both breakdance- they work as a team and sometimes go to tokyo for underground competitions- saeko drives them

Daichi knows a little ballet- nobody other than Kiyoko knows because they saw each other at the ballet class and had to work together- dont tell tanaka and noya that he lifted her though

Osamu once put glitter on Atsumu's pillow- he still finds hot pink glitter on shit

kita knits and crochets with his grandma

Kita's grandma knows everyone's names because kita talks shit bout them, her favorite is Aran

Kuroo has burnt his eyebrows off doing an experiment. His goggles didn't cover all his brows,,, so he just showed up to practice like that. No eyebrows and a chemical burn

kenma has played all kinds of games, but he was dared to play corpse party by kuroo. He wasn't scared because of the gore, he was thinking about the trauma the characters went through. Punched kuroo the next day because that game was fucked up

Lev isn't a strong swimmer, so he often grabs people by the head to keep himself up. happened with kenma and lev couldn't walk due to the force of kenmas suprised water kicks

akaashi has those fancy pens that you have to dip in ink and they're so nice

Bokuto has and will eat pencil erasers again

Daichi once almost lost his shit at his team but instead he lost his shit at the door that decided to stub his toe on the way out of the gym. not the best thing to be found yelling to.

Yamaguchi for sure has been dragged to one of terushimas parties because he didnt wanna say no. oh and terushima has like frat boy level parties too. Yams has for sure had some wild nights and doubts anyone other than Tsukishima and the party-goers will ever know

Akaashi can actually flirt very well! He reads romance novels sometimes and has analyzed any and every book in his possession! so he's actually quite charming

Daihsou unironically posted on twitter after mika broke up with him "I still see her shadows in my room"

Mattsun and Maki run a fake oikawa account; its been going ever since twitter even started getting popular and they even started sending messages in spanish. The posts would range from "I love all my fans!" to flirting with them :) Oikawa is pissed cause the account got verified before he did and most of his fans also follow the fake oikawa. Tooru has no idea who runs it JUST IMAGINE OIKAWA JUST LIKE RANTING TO THE SEIJOH 3RD YEAR ALUMNI AND JUST "no Iwa-chan, you dont understand! they run a fake account and pretend to be me!" while makki and mattsun laugh their asses off

Oh, kenma for sure has pretended to be a girl on discord and has gotten someone to buy him stuff. after they do he says in his normal voice "fucking simp" and then hangs up and blocks the other persons discord

Yamamoto, despite his rough appearance, loves kids and has and will be a human jungle gym

suna in middle school had a game with his friends about who could make kids cry the fastest

The twins switched places back in middle school and nobody could tell because of how great they are at acting like eachother

Daichi once arrested coach ukai for public intoxication after a game :|

Daichi has arrested many people from his old volleyball team but the most memorable case was when he arrested tanaka and noya for reckless driving. poor idiots got so scared when they saw their old captains face in their mirror and started to pray

tanaka, while trying to intimidate someone, once said "You dont gotta tell me twice, i may be straight but these hands are bisexual" and he often cringes at night thinking about it

Kageyama, as a comeback to Tsukishima, said "one thing about us royalty is that we love to feast" and he also fuckin hates what he said

the third years made a cult for Kiyoko. they chant every wednesday "i'll do anything for kiyoko, she makes me go loco"

oikawas fangirls are known to be fucking rabid

yAMAMOTO AND KENMA AFTER THEIR FIGHT WERE FORCED BY KUROO TO MAKE IT UP: so they dyed their hair together

Makki and mattsun sang two trucks in front of the entire team. everyone was so confused. Makki: "twO TRUCKS HAVIN SEX!!" Mattsun: "oH yEs!"THEY'D SWITCH OFF AND HAVE LIKE CHOREOGRAPHY TOO LIKE THEY'D DO A TANGO WHILE THE SONG IS LIKE "two beer trucks, making love"

tendou once called Oikawa "mr. no-nationals" and got kicked in the shins before iwaizumi could save him

Tsukishima had a my little pony phase

you work with matsukawa at a morgue and he makes dead people jokes while you fix some dead guys face with wax and makeup he'd be like "so didnt he like,,, stick his head out of the sunroof of a moving fuckin car??" he'd be singing dumb ways to die the entire day

i feel like Kuroo has one crazy accident a year. like it might not be deadly but its fucking crazy like for example: Kuroo for sure has ridden in a shopping cart at past midnight with kenma (who pushed him down a hill) causing Kuroo to get scratched up hella well. he lied and said he spent the night with a girl and kenma fucking hated himself cause he would be the girl if that was true

Mattsun has flirted with the 4th years moms before (AS A JOKE), and because of this: he is known as “fuckin milf hunter” sometimes by the team

Warning, this next headcanon is talking about cannabis, weed, mary jane, the zoink root. so if your uncomfortable, please dont read below :)

dude i wanna get high as SHIT with Asahi 

i think Asahi would be one of those mfkers who takes one hit and is gone 

ASAHI ACCIDENTALLY GOING TO PRACTICE ZOINKED 

IMAGINE HIM SEEING TSUKISHIMA AND JUST "he looks so judgemental,,, im scared" 

OR LIKE A MAD DAICHI AND JUST "i'm gonna,,, im gonna go jump out the window now" 

Noya and Tanaka would know tho, i feel like they'd have a 6th sense when it comes to weed. they probably get some from Saeko cause she'd rather they do it in the house. they'd smell asahi like fucking dogs and just so,,, big guy had fun without us huh? 

DAICHI WOULD KNOW ABOUT ASAHI BEING ZOINKED, SMASH HIS FACE INTO THE WALL, TURN AROUND WITH A RED MARK ON HIS FOREHEAD AND WITH A BEAMING SMILE AND FEUX ENTHUSIASM SAY: "YOSH, LETS WARM UP!"

[f-ngrl]

Daytona Entertainment

... is growing so quickly, I have to take notes :D

2020. 11. 25. Establishment of the company (Co-CEOs : The Quiett, 염따) # 2020. 12. 03. Member Futuristic Swaver joins # 2021. 01. 02. Member MELOH joins # 2021. 01. 29. Member BRADYSTREET joins # 2021. 03. 12. Member Skinny Brown joins #

What distinguishes Daytona Ent from other labels is that they do not want to present themselves as a group or a team, but rather focus on each artist’s individual talents and colors. There will be no group activities like concerts or Dingo Freestyle contents. The reason for this is that artists in labels that do have joint activities, the artists might feel pressured to have to act they like are closer than they actually are.

(In my opinion, that’s a good thing, because the artists can just focus on their music and pick their collaborating artists more freely. I think for Ambition Musik members, it is/was a bit of a struggle how most of them are introverts who only meet few very close friends regularly, but fans expect them to present a happy family, and The Quiett wanted to avoid that pressure for his artists this time.)

The latest update was that two artists who joined the military together will be signed, and it was rumored to be either Skinny Brown and TOIL or Skinny Brown and Jayci yucca, but now only Skinny Brown was revealed, so there might be another artist revealed soon! So far, it’s been about one artist every month, so it might not be too long...

Some of my personal guesses for possible new artists with reasons (I might be wrong but guessing is fun). (As we can see, Daytona artists are all already well-established underground artists who have been making music on their own and not super young (25yo and older), they are not kids who still need to be raised/guided a lot, and that’s the main characteristic I’ll be going with):

TOIL or Jayci yucca, because the article said so :D But for TOIL I thought it’s not so likely because 1) The Q doesn’t like signing producers lol and 2) TOIL has been loving the money, and he won’t have to share that if he stays independent IF IT ISN’T (plot twist) money he got from getting signed haha. For Jayci I’m not sure, he seemed fine releasing tons of albums and MVs independently, but maybe he wouldn’t oppose to signing either. I haven’t seen him working or being in contact with either of the CEOs though.

GI$T/GIST - he’s been around for a while, The Quiett LOVES him and always masters his albums (like he used to for Leella wink wink; GIST is also known as one of The Q’s sons). Gist is very talented at singwriting, singing and rapping (even though he seems to prefer not to rap anymore lately). He’s young but he’s got it all. He has worked with some of the other members before, too. And for a long time, he was rumored most likely to be the next artist to get signed to Ambition.

JAEHA - same actually with the singing and talent, haha. He’s only 17 but a melody genius and people are starting to realize it. He released 2 albums all by himself already and expressed in an interview that all the attention is already too much for him to handle. Now that he’s on HSR, that attention and pressure will even increase, so it would be nice to see him in a label where people take care of things like selling and shipping physical albums, contacting distributors, managing promotions etc, so he can focus on music and school. He might be too young or early in his career, though - it might be a bit weird to get signed (and therefore being on the same level so quickly) to the same label as Futuristic Swaver who is like his role model and mentor, so they might opt against him.

Ourealgoat - what can I say, he’s been working his butt off in 2020 and 2021. He only started rapping in 2018 while he was in the military, then learned producing because beats are expensive, and has been releasing album after album since late 2019. His unique rap style and thoughtful lyrics got him recognized by The Quiett and Yumdda as well as Groovyroom and Jay Park, in my imagination they are fighting over him :D I think he is a candidate for AREA too, but I’d prefer seeing him in Daytona. Even though he fits the “clean”, “good boy” vibe that h1ghr is giving off to me, I think in Daytona he will have more freedom (for example in staying close with his crew, keeping on working primarily with them if the wants that).

Kid Wine. He, too, has been around for a LONG time, is close with Wayside (who have members in both Ambition and Daytona - just look at his album features: they’re almost all wysd members or ppl VERY close to them like D-Hack and Yongyong - and also The Q himself). He’s also known to be one of The Quiett’s “sons” and he’s a producer, rapper, and singer, one of those multi-talented people. He produced Fadeaway, one of last year’s top hits.

ChaMane. Actually, I don’t know him well, I only discovered him quite recently. I found him on a list for The Q’s sons so that’s why he’s here :D He was on Raphouse on Air recently and has worked with Kid Wine and GIST, and The Q too but that’s a while ago.

- I don’t really know where to look for KHH rumors in Korean, and there is nothing in English, so maybe I’m overseeing some obvious candidates. These are just some of my faves who I happened to have been following closely enough to make these kind of connections :D If anyone wants to discuss, please do!

(source)

[fascinatedhelix]

Some updates to the HK/NSR crossover AU, since the original was made pre-release (the following does contain spoilers!):

Ghost

Ran away from the Trankil Adoption Agency due to finding most humans too restrictive on their freedom; they’re accustomed to being able to come and go as they please, and the agency doesn’t really approve of trankil running around unattended. BBJ are more relaxed about it, leading to the little one being along the lines of a latchkey trankil.

Mayday and Zuke earn their trust by buying them food and helping them clean up in the restaurant’s bathroom, rather than just grabbing them and dragging them back to the agency. Aunty, for one, adores them, due to their sweet little face and how eagerly they eat her cooking.

Has pulled a knife on Kliff, multiple times, because he’s creepy as hell and sets off all their alarms, much to the exasperation of Zuke and Mayday. He tries bribing them with toys and snacks up until his betrayal, after which he almost gets stabbed again before BBJ drag Ghost with them to stop the fans.

Zuke doesn’t let them draw their blade in the sewer or on the streets, normally, but he doesn’t necessarily ban them from sharps entirely. He can tell they know how to use them, though he opts to let them use a kitchen knife instead of the haphazard scrap of metal they’ve been swinging around on the streets.

Zam has attempted to conduct interviews with Ghost before, but finds himself mostly just perplexed at their answers. "Okay, I’m looking at what appear to be, uh, hieroglyphics of some kind. I can see something that kind of looks like a rhinoceros beetle head... They’re shaking their head ‘no.’” The little section where he interviews them is nicknamed Ghost Tour.

Comet

They were sleeping in DJ Subatomic Supernova’s apartment at the time of the battle, since he didn’t think he’d need their help. They’re too small to be asked for a whole lot, anyway; he mostly has them around to keep himself company and have someone to talk to (or at, as the case may be).

Their sound energy absorbing powers would probably be enough to deactivate some of NSR’s robots; it comes in handy when the rogue robots are getting in the way of reinstating their guardian as charter.

Their favorite stuffed animal is a toy dolphin that DJSS calls Delphinus, though Comet calls them Splashy when they learn how to write.

As they grow older, their horns begin pointing backward and eventually curling into a similar shape to ram’s horns.

DJSS secretly relishes in the opportunity to have a legacy in the form of taking care of Comet, though he doesn’t know that they are probably more likely to carry his name farther into the future than any drones he sends up to space.

Bunny

They live with Remi, the artist and leader of the Sayu team. He treats them much like a little sibling, in the nice way, and gets them to watch some of the more family-friendly anime he watches; they’re particularly fond of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z, even if they keep dismantling the figures he gets them. They’re much gentler with the plushies, though.

It takes a few weeks of watching Dodo and Sofa work on machinery to get them learning how to build stuff as well as break it. They make it an entire thing when they grow older, working on machinery.

They eventually grow cheek spines, not unlike some depictions of the adult Ghost, and otherwise heavily resemble Hornet as an adult. Much taller than her, though.

Sayu’s kind of reluctant to attack Ghost because they resemble Bunny so much; “You’re too cute to fight!” Zuke doesn’t like the idea of Ghost acting like a trankil shield in fights, but it does help throw off her aim.

Thorn

Yinu’s mom specifically chose the former Broken Vessel because they were the only trankil that expressed any interest in Yinu’s infodumping about classical music. They even responded to questions with head shaking or nodding.

They come to Yinu’s side after her piano breaks, letting go of their fight with Ghost quickly enough; they don’t fault their sibling for doing what they thought was right, even if they don’t understand it, but they believed Yinu needed their support more.

They’re taking violin lessons, as it’s a touch easier to adjust to playing with four fingers on that then on piano. They get pretty good at it as an adult, though in the modern day their playing is a touch mediocre.

After their performance at Yinu’s concert, fighting in her defense with a stolen machete, Yinu’s mom at first grounds Thorn for stealing and playing with sharps, but concedes to put them in a fencing program to “get it out of their system.” They turn out a lot more competent than the instructors were expecting, and intimidate the crap out of their peers. When they’re older they take up a proper swordfighting class.

Yinu does wind up joining them in learning fencing, after her mother gets a recommendation to get her to get more exercise to avoid literally rooting herself to her piano (not an unusual issue for plant folks; they have to move pretty regularly or else they get stuck in one spot and have to be cut out). Her mom worries that she takes to it a touch too eagerly, perhaps because of her relative helplessness.

Thorn acts fairly stoic and polite most of the time, but they can be quite the handful when something piques their interest. They get banned from at least one Renaissance fair due to playing with the swords or poking the roasting pig. Yinu starts covering for them after they start bribing her with extra sweets.

Scotty

Neon J initially treated them like a trainee when he got them, but it quickly slipped into adopted child territory when he realized just how young they were. He did want kids back when he was human, so he took very quickly to the role of adoptive father.

Scotty is very good at learning language and patterns, so they wind up learning English writing pretty quickly for one of their kind. Because of this, Neon J becomes one of the few privy to the nature of the vessels, though he is uncharacteristically quiet about it.

1010 adores Scotty, occasionally posting about them on social media, making them a bit of a fandom darling, though the band does have to put out PSAs about not getting a trankil irresponsibly.

Scotty’s favorite food is cheese tarts and cheese danishes, which they tend to be awarded for good behavior.

Scotty is a very active child; they dance, they run around the mansion, they swim in the pool (and just about any fountain they run across, much to Neon J’s embarrassment), and they can’t be brought within 100 feet of a dog park without trying to pet every animal in the vicinity.

They try their best to comfort their adoptive dad when he’s suffering from phantom pains or flashbacks, though they don’t know the techniques very well. Their usual method is gently patting his hand or leaning against him (among vessels they’d be leaning against each other in large groups, leading to one big cuddle pile; they can’t do it here by themselves, but they’ll sure as hell try).

Much to Neon J’s embarrassment, they become quite the potty mouth (er, hands) when they get older. He’s a sailor, he slips up every now and then!

Riley

The former Greenpath Vessel is rather happy to leave behind the harsh life they lived back in Hallownest, though they find the most success in recounting their old life through art.

Eve tends to be a very dramatic teacher, but quite gentle with her little friend. She couldn’t have asked for a more enthusiastic student, though.

Eve’s quite protective of the little thing; she’s not quite as heartbroken about Zuke’s abandonment due to the company of her apprentice/adopted child, but the thought of them being taken away tends to scare her quite a bit. As such, she tends to spoil them rotten, though they’re still quite sweet.

Riley has a degree of PTSD from their experience in Hallownest; they’re very sensitive to sounds and movement in their peripheral, and have bitten and scratched people on more than one occasion for getting in their bubble without proper warning or consent. Eve’s pretty good about avoiding their blindspot and having her footsteps make noise they can track.

Eve’s among the first to learn about the Lord of Shades and the dream realm due to her teaching her magic painting to Riley. With her help, they created the Dark Mirror, which allows people to enter a sort of waking simulation of the dream realm, though it tends to seriously disorient people not accustomed to messing with reality (musicians tend to do fine, but normal folks? Not so much). It becomes a very useful communication tool when discussing Hallownest and how it functioned.

Sterling

The former Hollow Knight views themselves as deeply indebted to Tatiana, though also viewing her as a friend. She gave them a name, a new purpose, and an opportunity to live again without the constraints of their failed duty; of course they’re going to feel kind of guilty about it.

Only the NSR artists and a few select NSR personnel have seen them in person, and the first thing people tend to notice is their sheer size. Tatiana worries how much renovations will have to be done to accommodate the rest of their kin once they grow up, if they wind up matching their eldest sibling.

They tend to have a reasonably positive relationship with the artists, due to their kindness towards the vessels and generally respectful attitude towards the behemoth of a trankil.  DJSS tends to rant about space in their general direction as his idea of small talk, and they tolerate it. He also not so subtly squees when he sees Comet interacting with their elder sibling. Sayu’s team thinks they’re anime hero levels of cool, sword and all, and Bunny tends to agree, trying to challenge them to fight. Yinu’s mom tends to scrutinize them as reference for Thorn’s later growth, though Yinu herself and Thorn tend to climb the adult trankil like a tree for fun. Neon J respects them deeply as a knight and technical prince, though Scotty’s pretty content to try and get them to play when they visit. Eve appreciates their good manners and willingness to listen, and Riley rather likes showing them their drawings.

Tatiana tends to treat Sterling as something of a confidante, due to their quiet nature and strong sense of loyalty. She worries they idolize her a touch too much to be healthy, but knowing what she does about their past, she’s not sure if a human therapist would help.

The wings grew in a couple weeks before the Rock Revolution; evidently they hadn’t developed quite enough to develop them before they had been sealed, leading to serious back troubles during their fight before their rebirth. It was a pretty chaotic affair helping them through their last molt, considering the other trankil who’ve been molting had a lot less to shed.

Tatiana tends to scold Sterling for digging through her old rock cassettes, though she comes to regret it after the whole debacle with BBJ.

Sterling’s way more ruthless than Tatiana asks for or is fully aware of; they tend to take threats to their new life, siblings, and new companions very, very seriously, and god help the poor soul who convinces them to act. Kliff doesn’t last long after the Rock Revolution, because of this, not that anyone notices.

Misc

The vessels were united under the leadership of Ghost to create the Lord of Shades, and upon killing and absorbing the Radiance, they’ve essentially become the collective gods of the Dream Realm as well as the Void and probably Death too. The level of focus and cooperation needed to fully activate these powers is incredibly high, especially after the vessels begin developing individual personalities, so there won’t be any casual appearances of the Shade Lord any time soon.

Vessels don’t need to eat to grow for the first five or six years of their life, as they have a lot of soul energy stored in their bodies from birth to facilitate growth in the Abyss (their “yolk”), but once that’s expended they won’t grow any more until they gain a stable food source and a safe environment to molt, hence why Ghost spent such a long time being so small, despite being the same age as Sterling. While not eating won’t kill them, humans don’t know that.

The average height for an adult vessel is 8 feet, from the bottom of their feet to base of their horns, whereas a newly hatched vessel (like Comet) is about the size of a tennis ball curled up.

People who aren’t accustomed to the otherworldly presence of the trankil tend to freak out when they’re nearby; the sheer emptiness of their eyes, the expressionless faces, the inhuman size and proportions all give anybody not used to it the heebie-jeebies. Of course, Vinyl City locals stopped caring pretty shortly after they first got the trankil.

[etherealwaifgoddess]

A Quiet Normal Life

Main Characters: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: When Bucky comes out of cryo for the last time all he wants is a quiet, normal life.  

Warnings/ Content: Feels. Lots of feels. Typical sad then sweet fic.

Word Count: 2.2k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! I wanted to try my hand at a different writing style and so this fic was born. I’ve never tried a more narrative style before so it might be trash but I kinda like it. Hope you enjoy it on this dreary cold Sunday! XOXO - Ash

A Quiet Normal Life

After his final thaw from cryo Bucky has more bad days than good. He spends most of his time wandering around the new and unfamiliar world in a fog, caught between trying to forget the decades with HYDRA and to remember his fleetingly short life before the war. They promise him things will get better and he tries to believe them. It’s six months before the bad days balance with the good. 

Slowly his prewar memories return, breaking free from his mind like waves; some soft and gently breaking the surface, others wild and crashing threatening to drown him with their force. Eventually though when Steve gets that far off look in his eye and says “Remember that time, Buck...”, he really does remember. He remembers the taste of Missy Hanson’s sweet pink bubble gum that she always forgot to spit out before he kissed her. He remembers the wailing sound of their neighbors cat that woke them up almost every day during the scorching summer of ‘41. Bucky prays that as his memories return he will feel less like the Asset and more like Bucky Barnes. The end result is something entirely new and he is working to make peace with that. He slowly starts to think about what he wants his life to look like.

It’s a year before the good days outweigh the bad ones. Bucky finds he’s able to hold a conversation with strangers for more than thirty seconds without having a panic attack. He stops surviving on take out and Steve’s kindness, and starts going out to the store for groceries and things for his home. He collects little succulent plants, liking how easy they are to care for even if he hits a rough patch and forgets to water them for days at a time. Bucky finds reasons to linger in public places, no longer hurrying straight home after his errand. He’s surprised he doesn’t mind small talk with the girl who runs the cafe he favors, and some days he spends an hour at the park feeding ducks bits of bread and watching the world around him. 

The nightmares ease up and he’s getting sleep regularly again for the first time in seventy years. Everyone tells him he’s looking better, healthier, stronger. He looks for signs of these things in the mirror and tries to connect with what he’s seeing. It’s not just a hand, it’s his hand. The hair falling into his eyes is part of him, not an outside presence. Bucky thinks his body is nothing like The Asset’s and tries to take comfort in finding differences. His grey-blue eyes are clearer now, his skin is tanned from days spent outdoors tending his flock, a soft layer of fat now blurs his previously harsh, lean muscles. No one stops and stares at him anymore; the world seems to have forgotten he is an enemy, a danger. Or maybe, he thinks, he is so far from The Asset now he’s unrecognizable. Bucky starts feeling tentative hope that he’s going to have a normal life one day soon. 

A year and half after cryo he meets you. You’re new at the coffee shop and he thinks your smile is so bright it could blind him. The way you repeat his name as you write it on his paper to-go cup makes his cheeks heat and he almost bolts from the shop when your fingers collide with his as you pass him his drink. The second time he sees you he’s prepared, he steels his nerves and asks you about the muffins in the display case. He’s never bought food there before but it seems a plausible reason to make conversation. You’re friendly, helpful, and he thinks he would do just about anything to keep you talking. Bucky chooses to sit in a corner with his coffee instead of retreating the way he usually does. He picks at the blueberry muffin, having bought it out of politeness and not hunger. New memories bubble up as he sits and he wishes absently that he had the blind confidence of his youth. Back in his early twenties he would have planted himself at the end of the counter and chatted you up until he had you blushing, smiling that perfect smile of yours, and agreeing to see him Friday night. But he’s over 100 now, not that he looks it, and has too many scars, both inside and out, that hold him back. 

It’s two weeks of stopping in daily before Steve realizes something is going on. Bucky has tried a dozen new drinks and various pastries all at your suggestion. He doesn’t care what’s in his cup but listening to you describe the different drinks makes his chest feel warm in a way it hasn’t been since before the war. Steve finally asks about it one day when Bucky stops in to his office for their morning hello’s. Bucky’s blushes brightly and tells Steve all the quiet things he’s noticed about you that have him going back everyday. Steve hugs him tightly, assures him this is a good thing: progress. Steve tries helping Bucky build his confidence, reminding him everything he is feeling is normal and okay. 

It takes four more weeks before Bucky is brave enough to ask you on a date. Not that he calls it a date. No, he stumbles over his words with shaking hands and a blush that spreads all the way down to his chest. He asks you to join him on a walk around the park after your shift ends in a few hours. You agree with a quick smile, relieved he’s finally asked you out. You know who he is, who he was, and it doesn’t dissuade your interest in him. You look forward to his morning trips into the cafe, your heart stuttering in your chest when he dares to look up at your face through those impossibly long lashes of his. He’s nervous and you try to keep from adding to that. You’re always calm and patient when it’s his turn at the counter, you don’t make any sudden movements and keep your hands where he can see them the whole time. Subtle, small things that most people take for granted but are ingrained in your habits ever since your brother returned from Afghanistan with his own set of demons. You know the steps to the delicate dance around a land mine filled mind.

The walk around the park is quiet at first, you let him take his time adjusting and give him quiet smiles when he glances over at you. Bucky worries you can hear the pounding in his chest when you smile at him. His breathing is labored but not from exertion and he tries to make conversation though he knows he’s not good at it yet. But you don’t complain, you just go along with the flow of things. He’s relieved you don’t push him when he stops mid-thought and needs a moment to collect himself again. The outing lasts all of thirty minutes and at the end he gives you a stiff, forced hug before parting ways. He wants to wrap his arms around you so badly, but the physical contact is almost a little too much and he’s terrified of how strongly he craves the feeling of your body pressed against his. You’re surprised when he begins pulling you towards him and you force your body to be still, giving him a chance to go as far as he’s willing with no pressure from you. It’s an exquisite form of toruture having him so near, wanting the physical contact so badly, and yet reigning in your desires to not scare him off. Bucky pulls back after a few seconds and you can’t hide the wide smile that’s formed. He smiles back, forgetting his hesitation for a moment, and your breath catches in your throat at the sight. Bucky retreats then, scared to prolong what had been a perfect outing for fear of ruining it in some way.

Walks in the park become a daily occurance and Bucky enjoys the easy flow of his days. There is a simple kind of peace in knowing what the next day will hold and he cherishes it. He feeds his flock, gets coffee, visits Steve and sometimes Shur or T’Challa, works on his little farm, walks around the park with you, and then heads home to read or watch TV during the heat of the day. Steve stops over most nights to hang out and it’s two months after his first walk with you that Bucky asks Steve to not stop by the following day. Steve is concerned but Bucky explains he is expecting a different dinner guest: you. The pride that burns in Steve is bright and radiates from him brilliantly. Bucky shies away from the attention but appreciates it all the same. 

Two hours before you’re set to arrive Bucky throws up and then calls his therapist. He’s not ready to bring you into his home. He wants to be, but the fear that claws in his chest reminding him that he’s dirty, rotten, damaged, ruined, dangerous, keep him frozen in place. He’s shaking and cold against the bathroom tile as his therapist walks him through grounding techniques and affirmations. When the nausea rises again forty minutes before you arrive he’s able to fight it back and thinks that’s enough progress to keep on as planned. 

Bucky feels your presence in his home on a visceral level; the air feels different, the light a little brighter. He wonders what his little collection of rooms looks like to your eyes. He knows it’s not much but it’s his and he hopes desperately that it meets your approval. Bucky hangs on every little sigh and hum you make as you wander around his living room. The delicate way you hold onto a terracotta pot with both hands, carefully admiring his Roseum plant, makes him want to feel your hands entwined in his. Bucky can’t decide if he loves or hates the way you are so painfully careful around him, and now also his home. He can’t help but notice the way you hold yourself back when you start to get excited over something, how you slow your movements so as not to startle him, always announcing your intentions if you have to move around him or touch him in some way. It’s a kindness he never expected and helps him let his guard down just a fraction more around you. He wishes it wasn’t necessary though; he wants to see you unfiltered, unrestrained, happy, and free. A long buried part of him wants to see you fall apart completely for him.

It’s another month before he dares to kiss you. The voice in his head that rails against him reminding him of his faults does not go away, but it quiets long enough for the briefest brush of his lips to yours. Two more months and you’re stumbling into bed together, literally stumbling. Bucky’s heel catches on the cuff of his pant leg and he falls gracelessly onto his grey blanketed bed. You flop yourself down next to him giggling, glad that the mood is lightened a fraction. You’re both nervous; Bucky worried about disappointing you, and you worried about doing something to trigger him. It’s awkward and stumbling and he wouldn’t have it any other way, because it’s with you. Things get better the second time around and even better the time after that. You take your time learning each other’s bodies, unhurried and patient.

A year and a half later you’re living together, choosing to move your belongings into his home where he’s most comfortable. The nightmares slowly receded until they are just distant memories. He feels safe letting you share his bed and secretly thinks your presence helps keep the nightmares away. You are more worried than he is about the change of merging your lives. Bucky likes the way your things fit around his, making his home feel full and warm. It gives him another layer of peace he didn’t know his life was missing. Bucky loves the quiet, sleepy mornings laying in bed with you when nothing else matters but the way the light hits your hair against the pillows. You whisper words of love in the dark at night, promises to each other for always. Bucky starts to think of his future in a broader sense than what the next few days will bring. 

The future comes. The years blur together as time passes and Bucky is awestruck by how quickly a collection of days becomes a year and then years. Bucky proposes two years after you move in, it’s not a grand gesture, barely more than a hushed plea. Your wedding is equally subdued, exactly as you both wanted it to be. Life goes on whether you want to slow it down or not and you ride the wave of time together. From celebrations to mournings you face it all side by side and slowly Bucky comes to realize he got exactly what he wanted all along. A quiet, normal life. 

[hollerace]

Mrs. Wahlstrom--Feb 5, 2021

How do you get into a fight the first time you see someone? When you’re the ripe old age of six? That’s the way it happened with Lloyd Tichey and me. We had just moved in to Midfield Avenue. I saw a kid across the street, playing between the two garages that took up the block. I crossed the street to inspect and got pelted with a clod of dirt for my trouble. I found a hiding spot and armed myself. After a brief fusillade, I poked my head out; so did Lloyd, who said, “My mom’s got iced tea.” Within first sips, our friendship was cemented. Lloyd was younger than I, not by much. He was a bit taller (who wasn't?) and better at sports and games. The surrounding streets were our arena, with plenty of kids and fewer cars. Were moms really allowed to drive? Not in our neighborhood. It didn’t take us long to confront a common enemy. Mrs. Wahlstrom lived next to me and anointed herself the personal enemy of kids having fun. She appeared regularly in attempts to quelch our enjoyment. Some of the games could attain high volume levels, particularly kickball. The sport was similar to baseball. An inflated ball would be rolled to the “batter.” You can figure out the rest. Four bases, hits, runs, enjoyment. Wacky Wahlstrom, as we called her, used her porch as her pulpit. Fortunately for us, she was a native Swedish (we guessed) speaker. Diatribes, accompanied by boney, croney finger-points, began with, “You keeds,” followed by screechy, unintelligible syllables, accented with various avian screeches, hoots and gabbling. Since she was a grownup, we didn’t sass her back, nor did we listen to her admonitions. Occasionally, a ball would find its way onto her porch. The nearest kid would race up there to retrieve the precious piece before she could confiscate it. Lloyd Tichey (pronounced “Ticky”) feared her least. He would march right up to Mrs. Wahlstrom and face her down until she surrendered whatever she had just nicked from us. One time, during a game break, I opined, “I wonder if there was ever a Mister Wahlstrom?” Several theories ensued. Lloyd’s stance was, “There was a guy, once. He musta killed himself.” We howled. Lloyd had an older brother, Barry, who was in my grade. He was quiet, virtually tacit, forever riding his bike down to Birch Creek to fish. An even older brother (Jimmy, I think) lived elsewhere. He was wild-eyed with bushy uneven hair and given to loud forms of addressing anyone. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING, TIMMY?” he would shriek as he raced from his car to the house. I never knew how to answer him. Mr. Tichey was a dapper, tanned, mustachioed man who travelled for work. His wife always looked furrowed; she seemed to worry a weathered washcloth in her hands as she walked about the neighborhood. She was followed everywhere by Baby Myra, a rotund little girl whose face needed constant swipes by her mom’s accessory. Their house smelled of cabbage. All the kids looked to Lloyd for leadership. He was a skilled organizer of games--a natural arbiter. If there was ever a problem, Lloyd seemed to rule. For a time, Dark Mark Longuiel, who lived down by The Field, started hanging around our street. He readily disagreed with anyone, and always seemed champing for a dispute. He even got mad at Ellen Botsford, who was far and away the prettiest girl who played with us. (Yes, we needed no Title IX; we just naturally went co-ed.). Lloyd Tichey got in his face. Harsh words, no blows, no Mark. As we grew, street play lost its popularity. We rarely saw Mrs. Wahlstrom. Once, when she was inching her ancient DeSoto down the driveway at a glacier’s pace, little Martin Botsford yelled, “Hey, Wacky Wahlstrom!” Lloyd immediately shut him down. “Leave her be,” he said sharply. Little Martin was already growing into quite the pain. But the little old lady seemed to fade into her dun, once-burgundy house. “She must have eighty Wiffle Balls in there,” remarked Lloyd one time. He remained an untitled leader in the ‘hood, but I was his consigliere, so to speak. Lloyd would ask me Big Questions. Many of these were about the aforementioned Ellen Botsford.

We were approaching the age where kickball dimmed in intergender activities. Most summer evenings, we played a game of Chase. This was a sort of an offshoot of the classic pastime, but much more hiding was effected as opposed to any seeking. I was just emerging from one of my favorite lairs, behind Crabby Creiner’s shed. I just happened to spy Lloyd Tichey and Ellen Botsford sneaking out of Muldoon’s lot, which provided excellent leafy cover. They were holding hands.

Wait! What? Suddenly, the rules of every game changed. Such manual interlocking was a brave, new world to a pre-shaving Catholic boy, at once exciting and terrifying. But Lloyd and Ellen? No way! No wonder all the questions.

I guess I liked some girls. There was a brief crush on Lisa Longborg, who was our eighth-grade lunch monitor. A veritable amazon at five-seven, she would camp at Sister’s desk while we ate on days too wet for recess. I would invent reasons to approach the desk while she sat there, imperious over her bologna-on-Wonder (pencil-sharpening was a good one), managing to sneak glances at her ever-burgeoning mammarial development. I wasn’t the only boy to attempt this ruse.

There was also the exotic, raven-tressed Ann Marie Pandolfo, whose glamour faded for me when she ironed a Paul Anka image on the back of her coat. This also garnered the disapproval of The Good Sisters.

I barely had the chance to recover from this tectonic shift in my life-views when another tremor hit. Lloyd announced that his family was moving up to Northfield, a suburb some ten miles north of town.

It seems Mr. Tichey had earned some sort of promotion at work, enabling his brood to improve their lifestyles. I was forlorn at first, then resigned.

The school year was bearable (Lloyd went to the public school), but that first summer loomed dusty, empty and stifling. There was the LAG (Lark Avenue Gang) for fun, just a couple of blocks away. Games of Chase still took place. Again I hid alone, noticing that more and more couples were pairing off.

My father even drove me up to Northford once to visit. The streets had no sidewalks or phone poles, with names like Chipshot Road or Rolling Mews Lane.

The Ticheys had a big, split-level ranch, a bigger yard. As neat as it was to see Lloyd, the entire scenario loomed disjoint, foreign. Even Baby Myra seemed clean, and the  house didn’t smell of cabbage

.I didn’t realize our city was slowly draining. People, stores and services were migrating. And a friendship faded, tattered pages of memories from a book hidden away on a musty shelf.

Not long after, I went off to Campion Prep; Lloyd ended up at Northfield High. I found the drums and Lloyd did the same for basketball. Our teams never played each other, for my school kept  an urban schedule. But the Despatch would cover Lloyd’s games, where his star would shine brighter as we neared graduation.

No sports legend, I even took Ellen Botsford to the movies once. She later ditched me for a Campion U. guy who had a sleek Honda bike. Who could blame her?

When I returned home after my freshman year at Sacre Coeur College, I fielded an odd phone call. It was from Mrs. Tichey. Her voice trembled as she told me how Lloyd had joined the Marines right after graduation. This unnerved me. I had thought for sure that a hoops scholarship awaited him. I asked for a way to get in touch. She gave me an FPO address. I wrote to him in vain.

Two summers later, I was rehearsing nightly with a local band, awaiting our maiden visit to a recording studio. One evening, a long Cadillac convertible pulled up to the house. Inside was Lloyd Tichey, in civilian clothes, but looking every bit the cut-and-pressed Marine.

Surprised, I hopped in, and we drove down to Lady’s, the seawall where Park Terrace met the Sound. It was his father’s ride, but Lloyd produced some cold Schaefers.

“I’m sick of this Honor Guard, shit, Timmy,” he began. An influential state senator from Northfield had arranged for Lloyd to secure this light-duty post at the governor’s mansion in Hartford.

“But, Lloyd,” I said, “this keeps you out of the war. Easy going.”

“Bullshit. Anyone can carry a flag. I’m a Marine; I want to fight.” I saw this was no time to voice my concerns over the Viet mess we had gotten into. His anger blossomed: sharp eyes, tightened features. I felt the tension.

We drank in silence. We both knew an argument was futile. As he dropped me off, we shared a brief hug, something we had never done as kids.

Our lives, like two opposing streams, changed courses, each divining its own path, surging forward in separate worlds.The ne

xt May, I read in the paper about Operation Georgia in Viet Nam. What made me notice was that the 9th Marines were involved. Lloyd’s unit.

I didn’t get a phone call. Reading the article in the Despatch galvanized my spine. I didn’t care about the heroes in Quang Nam province. But the article did include that a Lloyd Tichey of Northford wouldn’t be returning home. His remains, however, would.

I gleaned that there would be full military honors at Quantico, but not until a viewing was scheduled here in the city.My mom had sold the house by then, but on the day of the wake, I drove down Midfield Avenue. Why? An unseen force directed me down our old street. Maybe I wasn’t that surprised to see a cab pulled up next door to my old house.

I parked and walked over to the cabbie. “What’s the fare?”

“Some Mrs. Wallstorm. Goin’ ta Wolke’s funeral parlor. Sposta wait.”

I tipped him and told him to grab a better fare. Soon, she appeared on her porch. Hunched over like a question mark, she made for the stairs. I hustled over to help her. How old could she be? She seemed ancient when we were kids. I cradled her elbow as she descended.

“I gotcha, Mrs. Wahlstrom,” I said. She finally looked up, peering at me through veiled, powdery crinkles. I was afraid her arm, impossibly frail, would collapse under my grip.

“Oh,” she said, “leetle Teemy. We go see Lloyd, no?”

We drove the mile or so in silence. Every other time I had listened to her, she was yelling at me. This, somehow, seemed more appropriate.

My buddy, Juice Staley, worked at Wolke’s, so he procured a wheelchair for my passenger, who seemed grateful. We briefly stood beside the closed casket, bedecked with Old Glory. We were greeted by a forlorn Mrs. Tichey, looking uncomfortable in a dress. No husband in sight. She was propped up by Myra, now a young woman. I could see Mrs. Tichey’s washcloth lingering on a nearby chair. Jimmy, no longer wild-eyed, comforted Barry. The scene was fraught with an uncomfortable confusion.

 No one seemed to recognize Mrs. Whalstrom, and I saw no fruit in explaining who she was. Some folks, obviously from the suburbs, entered to pay respects. This eased my tautness. Mrs. Wahlstrom gave me a look that said, “Enough,” and we made our way out.

We passed a Marine officer, all gussied up in his dress blues. He said, “Folks, you might want to stay. We are having a color guard, and an armed salute…”

Mrs. Wahlstrom, still in her wheelchair, was having none of this. “YOU GO TO HELL, MEESTER! ALL YOU KNOW IS FIGHT! FOR WHAT? TO KEEL YOUNG BOYS LIKE LLOYD!”

The man bristled and said, “You best get her out of here, you damned hippie,” he said. I answered with a mock, left-handed salute.

All Mrs. W. could manage on the drive home was, “I guess I told heem!”

At her house, she said, “You come in for tea, Teemy. You must.” How could I refuse this?I had never dared to venture through the door before this moment. I was a bit frightened as I did so. “You seet, Teemy,” she said, leading me into a living room. I rested, cradled in comfy cushions bedecked with lace antimacassars. I could smell the furniture polish and soak in the patina of age that seemed to settle on everything.

Then, I shot out of my seat, drawn to an opposite wall. It was covered with decorations, almost a shrine. There were dreamed newspaper clippings (“Tichey Scores 38 in Tourney Win”); pictures of Lloyd as an All-Stater. Handshakes, trophies: a celebration of Lloyd’s career. Looking further, I could see clips from my Who’s Who in American Colleges honors. Even that shot from an old Billboard when they handed out those Sesame Street gold records.

I stood there, in awe (was it joy? terror?) as she brought in the tea. She sensed my questions as we sat.“

I had no keeds, Teemy. You and Lloyd--good boys. Noisy but good. So I follow you, like you was my own boys.”

As the murky, late-afternoon sun slithered through the blinds, I could hear the thump of a ball and the shouts of youth. I fought tears mightily.

Somehow, it all made sense.

[ramheavenandhell]

Rick and Morty Forever and One Hundred Years – Chapter 9: A new learning experience

AN: Finally, a (long-awaited) new chapter for this story. Luckily, I had most of this written already so it wasn't that hard to finish this chapter. Next chapter will take longer though since I've only written about half of it and my muse is still not back in working order. Anyways, this'll be a slightly longer chapter and top of that is also contains some smutty goodness, which hopefully makes up for it. Warnings: light Rick/Morty smut

Rick and Morty Forever and One Hundred Years – Chapter 9: A new learning experience It was dinnertime in the Smith household and everyone was quite focused on eating their spaghetti carbonara when Summer was the one, who suddenly decided to break the silence. "So, Morty. How you're holding up with your boyfriend?" This instantly got their parents' attention while Morty choked on his food. "Summer!" He hissed angrily. He hadn't actually told his parents about his relationship yet because he honestly had no idea how to approach the subject. Even though the entire school already knew about it after the whole talk with Jessica, this information hadn't reached his home…until now. However, thankfully – and also quite surprisingly – no one had actually bothered to tease Morty about being gay or whatever despite him worrying that people would make fun of Rick and (especially) of him for this. At the dinner table, the news were met with confusion though. "Boyfriend, huh?" Jerry was the first to comment on it. "I always thought you were a lady's man, Morty?" "Jerry! It doesn't matter if our son likes girls or boys. Just be proud that he finally found someone!" Beth instantly scolded her husband. The tall brunet was quick to defend himself, lifting his hands in a surrendering motion. "I don't have a problem with my son being gay. Just wondering…" Was this discussion really necessary? Morty felt so embarrassed right now that he wanted to be anywhere than here. His appetite at least was completely gone, so maybe he could excuse himself from the table now? He didn't get the chance though. His mom had turned towards him now and obviously had to ask, "So, who is the lucky guy?" Even if he had no food in his mouth right now, the teen had to swallow heavily. "…um…it's Rick…" he admittedly quietly. Beth was clearly surprised while his dad was outright shocked. "Now, I don't have a problem with you liking boys, but I have a problem with you liking that boy!" "Shut up, Jerry!" The blond elbowed him in the side before she turned with a smile towards Morty again. "It's nice that your relationship had developed in that direction and Rick is a really good boy." "Ouch!" The family father complained about the jab into his side. "How is that little punk and hooligan a good boy, Beth?! He's been nothing but a bad influence on our son and now he made him gay, too! That's not okay!!" "Can I leave the table? I'm full and I have to do some homework still." The smaller brunet took the chance to excuse himself before a full-fledged fight between his parents would break out again. "Of course, Sweetie." His mother allowed him to leave before she turned back to his father again to make a counter argument. Morty quickly got up, brought his plate in the kitchen before he scaled the stairs to his room, all the while trying to ignore the shouts of the two adults – though he couldn't help but overhear that his mother pointed out that Rick at least won't accidentally impregnate him, which made him cringe a little. As he closed the door to his room behind himself, he leaned with his back against it and took a deep breath. His heart was still racing from coming out of the closet and confessing to his parents. "By the way, Morty. It had been pretty obvious even before you and Rick got together." Summer's voice, dulled by the wooden barrier, reached his ears. Seems like his sister had also decided to flee the argument at the dinner table and went to her room. A light blush was on Morty's face, but a small smile joined it soon. It felt like a heavy weight was lifted from him and he was so relieved that his family mostly accepted his new relationship. Well, obviously his dad didn't, but that was actually to be expected and the boy decided that his opinion wasn't really that important to him. Having his mom and sister stand behind him, meant a lot though. However, his sister's comment made him think. 'Jeez, had it really been that obvious…?'

Things were as usual again. Rick kept dragging him out of school to have him assist with his science projects and aside from an occasional making out session here and there, nothing had changed from how things were before their relationship had started. Unfortunately, this also meant for Morty that his grades were still as horrible as ever. Even when Rick had shut him out and he had attended his classes again, the brunet had been so helplessly lost on his subjects that he hadn't managed to catch up at all. Not only that, but also because he had been constantly worried and wondering what Rick was doing the entire time. So, he was still stuck being grounded and when he came home with his failed math test and showed it to his mother, it was obvious that that status wouldn't change for a long time to come. The blond frowned down at the test, probably wondering how anyone could get this many answers wrong. Then she sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Morty… I really had hoped now that you're attending your classes regularly again-" He tried to keep a straight face and not give himself away at the mention of his attendance record. "-and since you're still grounded that your grades would improve. But apparently that's not the solution here, so tell me what we need to do to make it better." With guilt written all over his face, Morty could only shrug. What did she expect him to answer? Was there even something that anyone could do to help him…? Oh! Maybe there was! "Um…maybe it would help if I would study with someone together?" He suggested. Another sigh. "Last time your father helped with your homework, you complained that it was all wrong and you would have done better without his help…" "Well, I wasn't talking about Dad!" Morty cut in. "It doesn't really help me when someone tries to explain something to me when they know even less about it." The blond nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's true. But, Morty, I'm not sure if we can afford a private tutor for you…" "Well, I was actually thinking…about asking Rick to tutor me…" As his mother only blinked at him, he quickly added, "I-I mean, he's a genius and a-a-at the top of all of his classes a-and we have almost all the same courses together, too, so there's no-no better choice than him and I'm sure if-if I a-ask him he'll say yes and do it for free, too!" Morty was panting a little from rushing the explanation while Beth still looked at him with an unchanging face. It was honestly unnerving. Then, she finally responded. "That's actually a very good idea, Morty!" Maybe he just imagined it, but pride seemed to swing in her voice – or maybe it was just relieve that she wouldn't have to look for a cheap tutor. "Yes? You think so?" He almost couldn't believe that she agreed. "So, does that mean that Rick can come over?" He didn't entirely forget that his parents were reluctant of having him hang out with Rick outside of school – even though there had been a lot of exceptions like school prom and his double date, but his mother had such a hard time believing that her son even had a social life that she didn't have the heart to ruin it for him. "Of course, he can, Morty. Just remember that it's for tutoring and not something else." While she sounded stern, there was a smile on her face. Morty's face instantly heated up at the suggestion behind those words. "G-geez! O-of course, Mom!" "Well, this better works out, Morty." Beth looked serious again. "If this doesn't do it, we might have to send you to a special school because I don't see another solution here…" The brunet gulped, but nodded in understanding. He could only hope that his best friend slash boyfriend would cooperate, too.

With things established and a follow-up math test coming next Monday, Morty was also able to convince Rick to come over on the weekend to help him study for it. The spiky-haired teen actually accepted the invitation quickly and without any complaints, which surprised the brunet a little since he didn't expect the other to be excited about the prospect of "wasting" their time cramming together. Pretty much like last time that Rick came over, Morty was waiting for him. Instead of pacing in the living room, he hung out in the hallway though, constantly checking the windows if he could spot the other as if he was afraid that he'd somehow overhear the roaring sound of his motorcycle and the doorbell. Summer only rolled her eyes and didn't even bother to comment on her brother's antics this time. Though, it was probably cute that he was acting like a loyal puppy that waited for its owner to come home. The moment, that the loud sound of an engine nearing could be heard, Morty flung open the front door and in typical fashion, Rick parked his motor bike, dismounted it and took off his helmet. Running a hand through his spikes, he walked with a grin over to his waiting boyfriend. "Hey, Morty! Missed me?" He asked cockily. A blush rose to Morty's cheeks and he smiled shyly. "Hey, Rick. I-I'm sure you know the answer already." He readily accepted the small kiss that Rick gave him in greeting. "Well, apparently not enough to throw on some fancy clothes for me this time." The blue-haired teen commented as he eyed the brunet. Somehow, the blush intensified. Sure enough, he just wore his typical yellow t-shirt and dark-blue denim pants. "We do-don't have dinner like last time you were over." Morty tried to defend himself. "A-and you didn't bother wearing something nice either." Truth be told, Rick just wore his standard attire of blue shirt and khakis. "Touché!" The spiky-haired boy replied. Finally, Morty remembered his manners and gestured for the other to come inside, who followed his invitation. He just wanted to lead him upstairs to his room when his mother showed up in the hallway. "Hello, Rick." The teen nodded in greeting. "Hi, Beth." "I hope you remember to do some actual studying and not just make out the entire time." She commented. Morty's cooling cheeks quickly heated up again. "Mom!" "Don't worry about that, Beth." Rick replied and didn't protest when the brunet grabbed his wrist and pulled him upstairs to avoid further embarrassment. As soon as he closed the door after them and noticed how the other teen was looking around, Morty realized that this was actually the first time that Rick was in his bedroom. "Nice room you have, Morty." His friend commented as he eyed his shelf, which was stacked with comic books and collectable figurines. "Th-thanks, Rick." He didn't know why, but for some reason, Morty felt nervous. It wasn't even as if it's the first time that the two were alone together. They were alone together all the time at Rick's workshop. Somehow, this still felt different from that though. He watched how Rick took the freedom to sit down on his bed, testing out a little how bouncy the mattress was. Then the other looked at him and patted the spot beside him. "C'mon, Morty. No need to be so uptight." A sly grin appeared on his face. "If you come over here, I can help you relax." His face seemed to be permanently stuck at looking like a cherry. "N-no, Rick!" He protested. "I was serious when I said that I need your help. I really only asked you to come over to cram." Rick only sighed and rolled his eyes. Apparently, he had had other plans when he agreed to come over to help with studying. Morty continued. "My mom is really upset with my grades and if I don't improve then it won't be "Rick and Morty forever and 100 years" anymore. There won't be any "Rick and Morty" at all." Another sigh. "Fine, let's just get to it then." Rick stood up from the bed and walked over to the desk now, looking at what Morty had already picked out in preparation. "Math, huh?" He already sounded bored out of his mind. "Yeah, we have the test on Monday, remember?" Rick sat down in the only available chair. "Of course, I remember that, Morty…" Then he looked expectantly at the brunet and patted his lap. "What are you waiting for? Hop on already so we can start." "Wha-what?" It was official now that he wasn't going to stop blushing today anymore. "No, Rick. I said we need to cram." "I know. That's why I want you to sit down so we can finally start." The other said matter-of-factly. Morty wanted to protest and say that he would get a second chair, but found himself obediently sitting down in Rick's lap. It was a little weird to be so close to the other. To be able to feel his body heat through their clothes. "…a-are you sure about this, Rick?" He asked quietly. The other's long arms reached around him and settled on top of the desk, caging him in. "Don't worry, Morty. Just trust in my methods. I'll guarantee that you'll learn this in a wink." Still feeling flutters in his stomach, Morty turned towards the desk and the sheet with arithmetical problems for practice. His heart raced when Rick leaned forward and he also looked at the paper over his shoulder, feeling the other at his back, neck and cheek. "Okay, so what do you have trouble with?" The other asked him and Morty tried not to focus on the vibrations he felt coming from Rick's body when he spoke. He swallowed nervously. "Um…all of it?" "Fine, then let's do the first one together." Morty was actually a little surprised that Rick did take it seriously now. With big eyes, he watched how Rick wrote down the solution process for him while explaining every step slowly. The way, he explained it was different from the way that Mr. Goldenfold had taught them and for some odd reason, it began to make much more sense to him now. "Oh, I-I think, I got it now." The brunet slowly calmed down again, focusing on the exercise and noticing that he actually felt really comfortable sitting in the other's lap – feeling safe and protected. "Good. Then try the next one on your own now." Trying to follow exactly the solution path that the other provided to him, he slowly solved the next problem. "Is-is this right?" He asked uncertainly. Rick hummed and Morty shuddered as he felt his boyfriend's hot breath against his ear. "Got it right, Morty. Good job. You deserve a little reward for that." The brunet squeaked softly as a cheeky tongue suddenly liked over his earlobe and teeth gently nibbled on it moments after. A small whimper escaped him as that hot mouth suckled on the lobe for another minute. "For every problem you get right, you're gonna get a little reward." Rick murmured after he stopped his ministrations again, sounding definitely sexy. "And you get something really nice when we're done. How does that sound, Morty?" "S-sounds good." A little out of breath, Morty winced at the high pitch that his voice had right now. Honestly, he couldn't deny that it was a great incentive. "Okay, then solve the next one now." The other teen's voice was still a low rumble that was making Morty's knees weak – good thing that he was already seated. Trying his best to focus on the next math problem, he solved it again. This time a little quicker than before. He smiled broadly when his conclusion was correct once more and keened when Rick rewarded him with small licks and kisses along the sensitive side of his neck. One after the other, he went through the problems, although he did find it increasingly harder to focus properly on them. A certain growing pressure that he could feel in his lower body didn't exactly help his case. And then he suddenly got an answer wrong, being stumped and feeling disappointed in himself. "Oh geez…" "Don't swat it, Morty. Just try again and let's go over your solution path together." The brunet went slowly over the process again, saying aloud all the steps that he went through in his head before. Rick suddenly interrupted him. "Hold on! See, that's where you made the mistake." Now that the other mentioned it, Morty noticed it, too, and corrected it. This time he reached the right solution. "Good. See, you didn't even need my help at the end there." The other teen praised him. His face was turned by a gentle hand and warm lips placed themselves on his own. Rick had given him a few kisses before, but this time an eager and wet muscle begged him for entrance, which Morty quickly granted. The brunet moaned into the kiss and as their tongues played with each other and he started to forget everything around him. "C'mon, Morty. There's still a few problems to solve." After they had separated again, Morty had stared at his friend in a daze and only after being reminded, slowly regained his thought process again. "Don't worry, there not that many left. And as soon as you're done with them, you're going to get that big reward that I promised you." Of course, this kept Morty motivated and even though he felt a little distracted by all of these ministrations, he was really looking forward to what Rick would give him. In no time, he was done and completed the math exercise. Now that he looked over the paper, it actually hadn't been that hard… "Good job, Morty." Again, the spiky-haired teen praised him. "Now for your price…" Rick's hands that had been formerly resting on his hips, suddenly began to wander towards his crotch. Barely avoiding the more than obvious bulge, deft fingers instantly began to work his pants open. The sudden motions caused Morty to sharply suck in a breath of air. "R-Rick? Wh-wha…?" Feeling overwhelmed by the turn of events, the brunet sat frozen in shock and could only stare down at what his boyfriend did to him. The spiky-haired teen didn't stop, but tried to calm him down verbally. "Don't worry, Morty. Just relax. You're gonna like this." Despite the words, Morty still tensed up as his erection was freed, his face feeling hot enough that you could fry eggs on it right now. With baited breath, he watched how long and slim fingers wrapped around his stiff flesh, a moan escaping him on contact and reflexively, he put a hand over his mouth to stifle the embarrassing sounds. While he lost some of his sensitivity due to masturbating very regularly, being touched there by someone else was a completely new and extremely arousing sensation. That it was the first time that it was happening to him, didn't really help either. Clamping the hand tighter over his mouth, Morty found himself unable to tear his eyes away as Rick's hand began to move. Slowly but confidently, it kneaded along the shaft, wandering to the tip and then back down again, gripping a bit tighter and pulling down the foreskin to reveal the already glistening head. Not knowing what to do with himself, Morty gripped his boyfriend's arm with his free hand – not to stop the movements. Only because he needed to hold onto something. He whimpered and moaned with each motion, feeling more than just overwhelmed by the current situation. Honestly, what Rick was dishing out today was already more than what he was used to. They hadn't really went past kissing before and the other was the one, who said that he would take it slow with him. How this was considered slow was beyond Morty. Rick's other hand meanwhile had snuck under his t-shirt, briefly caressing over the soft skin of his stomach until it rested on his chest, holding him securely since Morty had started to squirm around a bit in his lap. He was sure that the other could clearly feel the rapid beat of his heart right now. Following the light pressure, he obediently leaned back against Rick, yet he still watched what that skillful hand was doing to him. The grip had become a bit firmer now as those fingers moved rhythmically up and down. Stopping at the head, a lone fingertip glided over the slit a few times, slowly spreading the pre that had gathered there all over the sensitive glans. It made Morty's body tremble. The precum slicked fingers focused back on his heated shaft again, the pace slowly picking up and with each descend, Rick twisted his wrist in a certain way that had the brunet moaning loudly into his sweaty palm. Inadvertently his hips began to rock into his boyfriend's hand, trying to match the rhythm. Somehow, Rick was doing this exactly how he loved it the most and it astounded Morty. Sure, he knew that the blue-haired teen was no virgin and sexually far more experienced than he was. The talk around school about Rick's flings with the many, many girls was speaking for itself and no one made a secret out of him being a good lay. And while he had heard about Rick also having dated a few boys, Morty really had no idea that he was also this good with "taking care" of his male partners. Then again, he should have expected no less from the genius. The pressure in Morty's lower body had built up so much that he didn't know how much longer he would be able to last. Rick's hand was still insistently pumping his erection and when the fingers of the other one gently stroked over his chest and lips found his earlobe again, he became undone. Biting into his hand to avoid screaming aloud, he threw his head back, leaning it on Rick's shoulder. Only vaguely, he noticed that the other quickly moved to catch his cum with his hand – thankfully keeping him from staining the floor. While his mind was still pleasantly dazed from his relieve, soft kisses were peppered on his neck. "Tha…that was…wow!" Morty commented after he came down from his high again. A chuckle escaped the other and one last kiss was placed behind his ear. "You know, Morty, it's going to be even better when we do it for real." The promise sent another shiver through his body and Morty wondered how that was even possible. However, he wasn't going to question Rick on that. Suddenly remembering that his pants were still undone, he quickly tugged himself back inside and closed them. Still feeling a little embarrassed about the entire situation, Morty wasn't sure what Rick was expecting of him now. Did he want him to return the favor or something? What was the etiquette for after getting a handjob? His own inexperience with these matters made him feel only more self-conscious. He cleared his throat. "Um…do you—?" "Think this is enough studying or do you need some more practice?" Rick interrupted him. This wasn't what he had expected. "Oh…um…" Looking down at the solved sheet, he contemplated. "Maybe we could practice a little bit more, just to be sure? B-but I-I'm fine with doing it without any rewards." Not that he didn't like it, but Morty wasn't entirely sure if he could handle more of that for now. His poor heart was still racing like crazy. His suggestion wasn't met with protest and they continued to cram innocently, yet he still get to sit in Rick's lap the entire time. Come Monday, Morty passed the math test with flying colors.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

[theonceoverthinker]

How do you think Kim and Ron’s relationship and eventual romance was handled in the show?

I think both worked pretty well! So I actually spoke a lot about their friendship in this post, so I’d recommend checking that out because I’m gonna focus more on their romantic relationship here as to not repeat myself.

The fact that Kim and Ron’s romance was never thrown in our faces was their relationship’s secret ace in the hole. At the start of the series and until about Season 3, Ron and Kim were friends, they never had crushes on one another, and they both liked other people, and they both regularly casually conversed about their crushes with each other. That allowed for two and a half seasons of organic intimacy to build up between them because there was no stress to their dynamic for a romance by the creators.There was no carrot on the end of the stick to make the audience feel impatient as we waited for them to get together because it wasn’t even close to being promised. Like, Star and Marco from Star vs. The Forces of Evil were in-universe ship teased from like the tenth episode. So people who wanted them together were now stuck in this waiting period until the penultimate episode of the series until they finally got together, lessening the broader importance of their other romantic relationships and making every tease for Star and Marco agonizing. 

But with Kim and Ron, there was no such issue and it not only allowed us to see them together, we got them together ALL the time with none of the stress and groans that came with waiting for them to become a couple. Because of that and their already established friendship, they and the audience got to know them as both individuals and a team and fall in love with their dynamic before anything else happened. They got to explore other romantic options and see why they didn’t work where theirs might. And when the time finally came for these feelings to emerge, it wasn’t out of nowhere and knocked it out of the park. The idea of Ron realizing his feelings for Kim when she finally gets what seem to be a long term boyfriend in “So The Drama” – something we had never seen before in the series – made us feel that same punch in the gut that Ron did. We saw those moments of bonding between Kim and Ron lessen so dramatically as Kim and Eric’s increased and that sense of not knowing what you wanted until you lost it (Or her) resonated so strongly. Kim and Ron are still friends, but she and Eric are connecting and bonding on a level that used to only be reserved for she and her friends and Ron’s no longer a part of that. Even when they are together, there’s this clear distance in the shots that are used and Ron’s not an active part of the scenes in the same vein that Kim is, making the moments where they collide feel intelligently awkward and heartbreaking.

This got long, so meet me under the cut for more!

I think Kim’s development also worked, but to a slightly smaller degree. The entire series thus far has had an almost subplot of Ron showing that he was more than he seemed, and no one got a front row seat to that better than Kim. Aside from “Transfer,” Kim was around for everything Ron did – the mystical monkey powers, Ron saving Kim from the embarrassment ninjas, Ron travelling across the world to give her a good Christmas and find her library book, them literally swapping bodies – Kim saw all of that. And the mood modulator scene definitely helped as well, giving her a setting (Albeit, a crazy one) where she could live out a what-if with being in love with Ron. That development was all great and when paired with being Ron’s date to his cousin’s wedding showed potential for a relationship that Kim would enjoy and get something out of just as much as Ron.

And then in “So The Drama,” when the feelings came out, I think it worked…mostly. Ron’s pep talk after being trapped by Drakken was a great scene and set up the basis for why Ron is great, Kim believing Ron about the “evil toys” despite Ron having no evidence is practically applause worthy, we still see so much of their great teamwork throughout the film, and I can see Kim’s hidden feelings for Ron coming out in a similar way it did for Ron, but it never quite reached that level. Ron felt Kim’s absence whereas Kim was so wrapped up in Eric that it never hit her how much they haven’t been seeing each other nearly as much as they regularly did. And I think for the most part, that was fine. I just think a moment where Kim asked about Ron at the prom or tried texting him before dancing with Eric would’ve gone a long way to show that his absence was felt (I don’t count the clubhouse scene because that was literally after Ron had a mini tantrum in front of her, not something on her end). That would’ve served as more of a means of feelings for Ron penetrating through her relationship with Eric because as it stood, the relationship was a bit projected onto Kim by her mom and Bonnie and not the culmination of her own romantic feelings coming to a head. The story is really more about Kim overcoming the embarrassment Ron sometimes makes her feel more than a realization of deeper romantic feelings and those are two different things that aren’t guaranteed to mesh well. I mean, I can see it as a final obstacle between them and their relationship, but I don’t think that was set up well enough to work like that. To do that, they’d need something like either a moment where Kim lists out all of Ron’s great qualities, Ron and Kim have one of those small romantic moments that ends with Kim blushing or seeing a change in her expression earlier in the film, and/or some flirting between them, but as it stood, that didn’t happen. Or if they wanted to have Kim realize those feelings all in one go, that moment needed to be bigger. 

...I get the feeling that I’ve VERY alone in that and I even rewatched the film to make sure that I knew what I was talking about because I didn’t want to reach that conclusion, but yeah, that’s how I feel. But even then, it’s not terrible by any means -- I still think the development was there. It just needed to be a bit tighter.

But enough about the negativity because I still have plenty of positive stuff to say! Once their relationship really started, it was fantastic! 

Once again, their relationship isn’t flung in our faces, but because they’re a couple, every moment that they are together gives us fans what we want! We see them working together, supporting one another, and all that good stuff, and the romantic moments we do get are the icing on the cake! And now, moments like Kim applying for colleges and Ron joining the football team have an added emotional weight that they didn’t before because of that relationship, but wasn’t done in a way that disrupted the comedic and absurd tone of the show.

And when we get episodes and stories focused on their romance, that’s doubly true! They’re a total unit during the hilarious double date with Shego and Barkin and they can practically read each other’s minds as they slip away from it. The whole matter of Ron worrying over KP’s safety and then his own because of statistics is just as absurd as it is heartwarming! He literally stuck himself in the equivalent of a nuke shelter! XD The matter of Ron being kissed by Bonnie has Kim letting Ron off the hook because it took years for him to kiss her, and the way Kim says that line is just hysterical!

Of course, we have to talk about “Clean Slate.” Kim knows Ron so well that she immediately gets him the perfect gift and her knowledge of how perfect that gift is was what reminded her about her feelings for Ron! That made for an adorable moment between them and probably one of my favorites in the entire series.

It’s kind of interesting that Kim and Ron’s relationship and its uncertain future is kind of a secondary running plot throughout the season. Between the aforementioned joining of the football team for Ron and college applications for Kim, the question of can Kim and Ron endure in high school and beyond is a topic that comes up a lot. Those are the big two, especially the latter two because Ron’s both never been portrayed as an excellent student nor are his contributions to saving the world highlighted nearly as much as Kim (if at all), and that’s what inevitably comes to a head in “Graduation,” but there are smaller bits. Ron’s inability to pay for fancier dates, Bonnie being a jealous homecoming queen to Ron’s king, and Kim getting amnesia all call into question aspects of their relationship, making it all the better when they’re overcome by Kim and Ron!

As I said before, “Graduation” is where it all comes to a head. The larger question of Kim and Ron’s future is directly addressed and both characters get to be afraid of what comes next, just like we might. We saw “A Stitch in Time” and how the long distance thing was tough when they were just friends! How are they gonna fare while in a relationship? However, by fighting the literal end of the world, both Kim and Ron prove on a meta level that they’re ready and completely able to fight for their relationship and themselves outside of high school. 

Kim and Ron have an incredible romance, one that was created with patience and care and because of that, paid off in such a satisfying way. While I took issue with a small part of it, where it mattered, their relationship didn’t just succeed, but THRIVED on our screens. I hope the new movies get a similar treatment if we get more and if we do, I have all the faith in the world that we will!

[crescentmoonrider]

so uh, i was telling @ishibooty about my daydreams and the fact that somehow in two of these scenarios, marcus ends up joining libra, and all of a sudden it was 5am and i had 3k words of summary of marcus’ arc for one of them

there are two parts to it. this was supposed to be a side-plot. why am i like this

anyway enjoy my ramblings i guess

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Mushroom arc

Marcus and Leo meet at the hospital (Daniel came to visit/interrogate/make fun of Steven and kicked Leo out of the room) and leave a good impression on each other. (“So uh, are you also a cop ?” “Why does everyone assume that ? Is it my name ??”)

Later, Libra investigates on a drug ring. Because the drug seems to incorporate magic in its fabrication, making it as potent on humans as well as all sorts of beyondians, Leo is sent alongside Zapp to get a sample and get a closer look and maybe identify the spellcaster or something. Marcus is in the club and makes himself known, and it turns out he is part of the gang. Zapp and Leo get invited to a private room and meet some of the higher-ups (Marcus included), buy their sample, and are then asked to breathe into a container, of which they are assured it is perfectly safe, just a security measure. Since murdering clients seems like a pretty bad business plan for a drug ring, the duo does what they’re asked. They pass out and wake up in the club, with no memory of the past 30 minutes.

Later, Leo is greeted by Marcus at Diane’s Diner and they have a chat, during which Leo feels like he met Marcus recently but can’t seem to place it ? Marcus makes fun of him, asks if Leo has been hanging with Mushroom beyondians and at Leo’s confusion, mentions the amnesic effects of their spores.

Leo comes back to Libra all “MOM HOLY FUCK”, and the team decide to investigate that memory-erasing spore thing. Also one of Steven’s “contacts” discouraged him from looking deeper into the drug ring geez I wonder why that might be.

In parallel to that whole investigating, Leo goes to eat out with Nej, accidentally bumps into Marcus, and they somehow become a trio of burger pals ? (“wait what do you mean you sold Nej burgers for profit” “it’s money my dude”) Hanging out together during lunch break regularly, all that jam. At some point, following Leo and Marcus complaining about their respective workplaces and co-workers (preluded by Marcus being all like “work ? like, part-time ? aren’t you in high school ?” “… I’m 21…” (quietly) “what the fuck”), Nej mentions having an actual job but can’t seem to remember it. Cue laugh track I guess.

Plot twist it’s not funny it’s actually tragic because the place Nej works at is the spore extraction factory that serves as the center of that Mushroom traffic. Chain, Zapp, and Leo storm the place, Leo gets beaten up, Nej is traumatized, the Mushroom beyondians are evacuated, the building is burned down and so are the spores. Meanwhile, Marcus is allowed for the first time into the laboratory, meets the spellcaster, looks around the place and asks non-suspicious questions, he’s just curious and enthusiastic and kind of dumb in his cleverness but that’s just how Marcus is haha look at him, such a good and loyal guy (we hope).

Someone caught Leo and Zapp on tape while they destroyed the factory and since Marcus is friends with Leo, it’s a bit uhhhhhhh suspicious ? Marcus is all “do I look like I have control over whatever every single one of my friends does ?”, the Chief goes “okay well, would you fucking mind getting that kid over here so we can know where he learned about the spore factory ?”, and so Marcus goes to do just that.

Except he doesn’t. What he does is go see Leo at the hospital, offers to go on a walk in the hospital park, covertly gives Leo a vial of his own blood, and tells him to act like they’re fighting and then run away and bring the vial to Daniel. He then makes as if to grab Leo to take him with him.

Leo knees him in the dick and books it. The gang guy dispatched to make sure Marcus actually did his job watches and comes to the conclusion that Marcus is on their side because, like, yeah.

When he gets the news and the blood, Daniel calls the narc brigade to start the tracking, grabs Leo, gets in the car, and starts driving. The “tracking” is actually blood magic, the vial of blood Marcus gave Leo reacting to sigils he left at the lab and even on the spellcaster and forming spikes in the direction of it all. Turns out Marcus was an undercover narc looking to get his hands on the spellcaster (drug labs are rather easy to make, having a magic user able to apply their knowledge to that kind of craft is a lot less common).

Of course when magic is activated, it risks being picked up on by other magic users, so any intervention needs to be swift, and also Marcus seems to have been under some suspicion (why else would he ask Leo to serve as a middle-man) so things need to move real fast. (“wait so you’re going on a drug busting operation with a civilian in your car ? I know I said I wanted to know what the hell is going on but that’s kind of, like, uhhh” “you’re holding the vial and giving me the directions, I can’t do that while driving”)

Anyway, most of the gang is arrested, Marcus ends up in the hospital because he saw some kids crossing the road without watching and jumped in to save them, ironically saving him from being exposed as a cop to the underworld, and Leo later apologizes for kneeing him in the dick. End of arc

 ------------------------------------

Boss arc

Marcus takes advantage of his old gang being disbanded, and of him still looking like a regular crime guy, to join another, bigger group. The Boss welcomes him with open arms because 1) Marcus sells himself really well (“yo my brother’s a lieutenant of police, I got some intel”) and 2) they actually knew each other before the Collapse, and while Marcus never worked for him, the Boss has a lot of respect for him.

The burger trio still hangs out together, and sometimes Marcus also hangs out with Leo alone. It’s a nice break from work for Marcus honestly, Leo is a chill guy, and it’s great to not have to pretend to be someone else, with someone who isn’t Daniel, for once. And for Leo it’s also a nice break from the usual Libra madness. They share wacky stories, some gossip, one time Marcus arrives like “LEO HOLY FUCK” because he spotted Steven at Daniel’s flat and they both lose their shit. They also get a little more real sometimes I mean, both of them have some heavy baggage, and Marcus doesn’t have a lot of emotional support outside of his brother (who is married to his work and not great at emotions himself). In short, they’re friends.

Anyway, Leo may or may not be developing a crush – whatever the truth is, Zapp has decided to go on Big Brother mode and drag Zed along to stalk Marcus and make sure he’s an okay guy. (“are you sure this is necessary ?” “this is HL, and this is Leo, he’s like, a trouble magnet ! and if things turn out badly, guess who will have to deal with the fallout ?” “… you actually care, don’t you” “shut up !”) Of course, Marcus publicly performs as a Crime Guy, so that’s a little… well…

Zapp and Zed follow Marcus to a shady pub where Marcus has a meeting with the Boss (“wait isn’t this guy like, a crime lord” “god fucking dammit”), get spotted, but since Marcus isn’t about to out them as Libra if he can avoid it, he just ironically buys them a drink. And that’s how a hot mess and a merman end up sharing a table with a Crime Guy and a Crime Lord. Zapp, always the diplomat, asks Marcus to break up with Leo. Marcus is obviously very confused because, like, they’re not ??? A thing ??? So Zapp instead tells him to not start a thing, while Zed sits there nervously and very obviously tries to not look at the Boss.

Marcus laughs it off, but he ends up a little shaken by the encounter honestly, not because Zapp said anything particularly clever, but because it echoes doubts he’s been holding about himself for a while now. He’s been doing his job for quite a long time, has done quite a lot of shitty things to keep his cover up, and he – he isn’t quite sure he’s really helping. Sure, he’s lead to the dismantling of some drug rings, but was it worth it ? If he looks at what he did for the past years, how exactly is he different from the people he targets ?

Also there’s like, Collapse trauma, which in his case is also closely related to that whole issue. For three days, Marcus walked around with a suitcase of “merchandise” from whatever his gang was at the time, doing his best to survive and get that thing where he was supposed to get it and not lose it and not act like a servant of the people who would actually help, or try to help at least. Marcus made it out of the Collapse with his cover intact, his gang mostly dead, and a suitcase full of shit he didn’t know what to do with because the people he was supposed to bring it to died and he did it all for nothing. He let people die for nothing.

And he does feel a kinship with some of his “co-workers”. He’s friend with some of them. He slept with one of them, at a time when he had just lost whatever purpose he’d had for the three days the Collapse lasted, at a time when he couldn’t get in touch with his family and make sure they were alive and he was just so desperate for someone he knew, for some human warmth, for whatever comfort he could get. And the Boss (at the time not his boss, but someone he knew and who made business with whoever he used to work for) was kind and praised his determination and good work and just held him with no judgement.

Marcus enjoys the Boss’s company. What happened after the Collapse was a one-off thing, but they’ve been in touch ever since, drinking out sometimes, sharing some quiet comfort together. The Boss introduced Marcus to a new group in exchange for his merchandise. The Boss keeps on vouching for him, trusts him, and Marcus almost feels a little guilty.

He feels guilty a lot, he finds, whether that be when he enjoys drinking with his co-workers or when he works at home on a spell that would identify the caster in charge of their drug.

One time, Steven comes to the Boss with a deal, information for whatever price the Boss gives and Marcus sits there, at the Boss’ right, watches Steven and the apparent friendship between him and the Boss and thinks “ah”. Same fucked up hat, same dilemma, same constant walking a line you can barely see.

At Daniel’s place (Steven has been there a lot more often lately, and Marcus a lot less, but they still end up meeting at times), neither of them mention that moment of recognition. But Marcus mentions being a little tired, and Steven half-jokingly offers him a place in Libra, should he ever want a change of pace.

And Marcus thinks maybe, just maybe, this would be better. Maybe he could help, really help, the way he wants to. He just needs to finish this job. Just this one job.

It’s not that he means to isolate himself, he just really needs to figure this spell out, and anyway Zapp was exposed as Libra and that brought suspicion on Marcus because of the whole “don’t date my friend/colleague” incident and while the Boss trusts him, there’s this one guy who has some amazing instincts (and maybe holds a grudge for that time Marcus beat him up for trying to sell stuff to kids), and that means hanging out with Leo is probably a terrible idea. And he has work. And he is so, so tired. He has nightmares, too, a little more than usual. Maybe more than that.

It’s a good thing that there are spells offering protection against nightmares, really, a good thing there are spells that provide energy too. Marcus has a rule against ever consuming something he sells, but he’s been so tired lately that he gets close. But there are spells for sleep that work better than alcohol, and spells for energy that work better than cocaine, with none of the less appreciable side-effects, and it’s a shame the only magic he knows is blood magic because drawing blood to activate them is a pain, literally. But it’s a small trade-off for the ability to keep it together and finish his work.

Leo actually seeks him out once, and while the encounter is short because Marcus can’t afford to hang out with “most definitely Libra” and tells Leo that (and also mentions Zapp and Zed’s visit because he is petty), it’s also nice to have Leo be all “if it’s because you’re afraid of getting me into trouble, friendly reminder that this is HL and that I am Libra” at first and just. Miss him, apparently ? Marcus will have to treat him to lunch once he is done.

After that, after his eyes pick up on the weird magic going on over Marcus’ shoulder, Leo looks up spells by shape, and if he was worried about Marcus avoiding him before, he is now worried for an entire different set of reasons. Square-shaped spells are reinforced exponentially, and there’s no way anything stronger than a level-1 energy spell (the equivalent of an espresso) can be healthy. Also he is going to kill Zapp.

And finally, finally, Marcus gets his breakthrough. He finalizes his identification spell, drops a little blood on the powder in the middle of the circle, and gets a signature. He can track this caster. He grabs paper, a pencil, writes down the signature sigil, calls Daniel to tell him that he got it, and – and there was a defensive spell inside the drug because of course there was and Daniel needs to come here right now.

At the time, Daniel is wrapping up a case with Klaus and Gilbert nearby, and there is no question what the fastest vehicle here is. The others can manage without him. Daniel reaches Marcus’ flat in record time, Klaus on his heels, and they find Marcus unconscious on the floor, left arm injured, in a state that seems much worse than it should be.

Daniel grabs the paper Marcus is holding, Klaus compresses the injury and carries Marcus to the car, and Gilbert drives as fast as possible in these conditions. Calls are made – to the narc brigade, sending them the signature so they can do whatever it is they need to do with it and so they can prepare to start the tracking of what Marcus left for them to find, and to Steven, who is currently free and can absolutely help in the capture of the higher-ups of the gang (Leo definitely helps spot anyone who escapes).

Luciana welcomes them with the same determination she has at all times, and the slight annoyance she always expresses at seeing Daniel, and hurries Marcus inside. “What did he take ?” she asks, and Daniel could strangle her. Marcus doesn’t take anything, he is a professional, how dare she – but he is overdosing, Klaus was the only thing keeping his heart beating during the drive there, and the powder on the floor of his flat seemed weirdly crystallized, like it had solidified and broken. And there was no weapon that could explain Marcus’ injuries. And the conclusion Daniel and Luciana reach is. Bad.

He answers Luciana’s questions, asks for a small sample of Marcus’ blood, shouts at whoever he has on the phone at the time, and goes for the car. Luciana is baffled, Gilbert readies to drive, and Klaus says he will stay at the hospital and call if anything happens. It’s not a pretty arrangement, but the look on Daniel’s face was one that promised death to anything that tried to stop him, so.

I could go into length about the capture, about the way Daniel almost killed the Boss for his words, about the return to the hospital and the gruelling wait for news, about the way the Luciana on coffee break duty told Daniel off for criticizing her devotion to her work when he isn’t much better himself, about the relief Daniel felt at it being personal, a revenge of sorts, instead of something he’s heard much too often about his being heartless. He isn’t, if Marcus died it would break him, but he simply doesn’t know any other way to deal with these emotions than drowning them in work.

Later that night, after Steven has dragged him home to make him catch at least some sleep, he will tell Steven about the death of his grandfather, back when he was a kid, about Marcus crying for an hour, about himself not shedding a single tear, instead finishing the model boat the three of them had started because he needed to do something. It will be the first time they have that kind of discussion, the first time it feels like whatever they have going on is a serious relationship. But that is a story for another time.

When Marcus wakes up, a few days later, he asks Daniel to transmit his resignation letter. His recovery will take time, months even, to get back to a functioning state both physically and mentally, but that is the first step towards that. Another step will be to buy Leo and Nej lunch when he gets discharged, reconnecting with them. And another will be to ask Steven if the job offer was serious, and to accept it.

Marcus joins Libra as a blood mage with some background information on drug dealings, and he thinks, for the first time in forever, he can help.

(Also he hasn’t told Daniel anything about that last part and he is not looking forward to that conversation, at all.)

[bluraaven]

Smoke and Mirrors

Chapter 7

Dismas had seen plenty of blood in his lifetime.  And he had lost his fair share during raids gone wrong, and in the fighting rings behind bars such as Jubie's.  He had spilled some on cobblestone and asphalt, more on concrete and plain earth – but there was something wrong about seeing it here, in contrast to the clinically white walls and washed-out floor tiles.  

Next to Dismas, Guyot stood with his cup raised halfway up to his lips, open-mouthed and still as a statue.  Reynauld's brows had drawn together enough to almost form a single line as he took in the scene before them.  Dismas turned his head, following the other man's gaze until he saw red and then, a leg.  His eyes flittered away again.  He couldn't.  Couldn't look.  He-

He was breathing very fast.

The air felt very thick all of a sudden, and his own body very light.

 Why were they all standing around like calf-eyed dumbs?  

Dismas' tongue darted out to wet lips dry as parchment.  "We need to get outta here," he mumbled, no clue whom he was addressing, or who 'we' was, but the urge to move was becoming overwhelming, that age-old instinct to run and live.

The stale air of the corridor mixed with the aroma of cheap coffee and the warm, thick scent of flesh and Dismas' stomach cramped painfully enough to almost double him over.  He grabbed Reynauld by the forearm, because he needed something to hold on to stay upright, and because he still had not gotten a reaction.  "Reynauld!"  

The contact did what mere words couldn't, and Reynauld's head snapped around.  

"We need to get out," Dismas repeated, his own voice sounding curiously calm despite his rising panic.  He could see the refusal in Reynauld's closed expression, and desperately, he pressed on, "Who else's here?  Think." Dismas was sure Reynauld would be able to read his mind from the intensity with which he held the other man's gaze as he slowly said, "Who else has any dirt on yer big fish?"

Reynauld blinked and a split second later he understood, his eyes widening as realization struck him.  "Fuck."

Dismas watched as Reynauld punched the button that closed the doors to the interrogation room.  They slid shut almost soundlessly, hiding what lay behind, and Dismas felt only relief

 Thank fuck.  

He closed his eyes and swallowed.  He was still dizzy and his heart was beating so fast, he was terrified there was something wrong with it.  Was this what a heart attack felt like?  Wasn't he supposed to smell burned toast and have his left arm go numb, or some shit like that?

The radio cracked, and a distorted voice spoke up.  Reynauld answered, as more and more people joined the call.  

To Dismas it seemed like hours were passing while he shifted from one foot to the other, casting nervous looks around.  In reality though it could only be a minute or two before a pair of officers rounded the corner at a run.  Reynauld waved them off before either one could start reporting in, telling them to, "Stay with Guyot.  He can fill you in!"

Guyot, whom Dismas had almost forgotten about, snapped out of his own shock.  "Rey what are you – ?"

But Reynauld had already grabbed Dismas by the upper arm and was dragging him in the opposite direction.  His other hand was on his service weapon, Dismas noticed.  The police officers stared after them, but then Dismas had to tear his eyes away and pay attention to where they were going when they hurried down a corridor lined with doors, and another identical one, and,

 Was this entire fucking place like this?

Suddenly the deserted hallways seemed dangerous rather than merely empty.  Where had all the people disappeared to?  Dismas' heartbeat jumped before every corner, and he cursed out loud when one of the overhead lights flickered.

It was a relief when Reynauld pulled open the door to a room that looked a lot like the showers had. For a moment Dismas thought that's where Rey had taken them again, but no, this was a locker room.

"Wait here," Reynaud ordered, and let go of Dismas' arm.

Dismas nodded, looking around.  There was a bench, and he tried to sit down, but his legs folded under him halfway, his bottom connecting with the wood rather unpleasantly.  Dismas still felt like he was a leaf caught in a gale of wind; with no control over where he was going or what was happening to him.  He pressed both hands against his upper thighs, just above the knee, and he could feel the tremors become less.  A loud noise made his head snap up.

Reynauld had thrown open his locker, and pulled out two enormous chests.  They hit the floor with a thud, and Dismas did not have to guess as to their contents for long.  He caught sight of a variety of uniforms and other equipment, before Reynauld pulled out a suit that bore a striking resemblance to the military's combat gear, and began to dress.

Dismas could tell he was doing this regularly, as his every move was economical and practiced with no fumbling and no time wasted.  Once he was done, Reynauld pulled a rifle from the back of the locker, slapped in a magazine and loaded the weapon.

Dismas was pretty sure he had fired something similar on one of the raids.  It wasn't like he cared for the letters and numbers that were used to name the firearms.  As long as the trigger was where it belonged, they were all pretty much the same in his books.  

Dismas startled when the locker doors slammed shut again and Reynauld stood before him in full gear.  He was holding up a ballistic vest that was evidently meant for him.  Reynauld took the handcuffs off, but Dismas' hands and fingers still felt clumsy and useless.  Reynauld helped him with the straps, and while the vest was surprisingly light once he was wearing it, it was also tight – too tight.  Dismas was being choked, suffocated.  He slipped two fingers under the collar, tipped his head back, and gasped for air until the dizzy spell had passed.

Dismas blinked when a moment later a familiar, beaten-up bag appeared in his field of vision, dangling from Reynauld's hand.

"Are you a kleptomaniac, or what?" Dismas blurted out, before his brains caught up to his damned mouth.

"I'm thorough!" Reynauld replied, without a hint of amusement.  "Come on."

And he dropped the duffel bag in Dismas' arms.  Dismas clutched his bag to his chest, a million thoughts swirling in his head.   Why did Reynauld have his personal belongings in his locker?  Weren't they supposed to stay in prison?

Reynauld ushered them out of the room before Dismas could gather his thoughts enough to form a single question.  The corridors of the police department flew by, one by one, a crosshatch of hallways like the burrow of some beast.  Reynauld was leading them steadily down, until Dismas caught the familiar odour of damp and gasoline.

A moment later they passed a set of heavy, fireproof doors and stood in the garage, surrounded by rows of cars.  Reynauld picked an unremarkable brown station wagon that looked rather well maintained despite obviously being an older model.

Dismas got into the passenger seat while Reynauld sat down behind the wheel, sliding back the seat so he'd actually fit in with all the body armour on.  Dismas suspected that this was Reynauld's own car rather than an unmarked police vehicle.  It just wasn't neat enough.  There were crumpled gas recipes lying around along with a candy wrapper, and Dismas spotted a collection of Southern rock CDs in a pocket over the rear-view mirror.

Reynauld started the car and reversed out of the parking spot.  They left the garage via an automatic door, and Dismas had another look at the courtyard of the Riverside PD.

He pressed himself into the seat when they stopped by the guardhouse and Reynauld exchanged a few words with the police officer stationed there. Dismas resisted raising a hand to hide his face behind it but he also refused to turn and look, his eyes fixed on the road ahead.  It couldn't be that easy.  He'd been in an interrogation room just a little while ago; surely they wouldn't let him go.  Any time the guard would spot him, and–

–and then the bar lifted, and Reynauld shifted gears and they were through, and speeding past Riverside Park, the police department growing ever smaller in the distance.

Just like that.

He was out and–   He was–

He was shaking, Dismas realized.  His hand hurt from how hard it was clenched on the door's handle.  He tried to relax it, but that just made the tremors in his hands all the more evident.

Dismas' heart jumped when a couple of minutes after they had hit the highway the radio suddenly faded out to a continuous shrill ringing.

"Stop," Dismas pressed out through clenched teeth.  He swallowed convulsively when his stomach cramped and he could taste vomit.

"Stop the car."

Reynauld cast a quick glance to the side, then pushed the red triangle button and swerved over to the emergency lane at a speed that didn't help Dismas' already revolting stomach one bit, even though he appreciated the immediate action.

The car had barely drawn to a stop when Dismas fumbled for the door latch and cussed when the seat belt which he did not remember fastening kept him in place.  He managed to disentangle himself from it, and once out of the car, a hot summer afternoon crashed over him; humidity, hot blacktop, and exhaust fumes.

Dismas jumped the guardrail, staggering into the bushes on stiff, shaky legs. He didn't make it in far before he cashed into a tree and, with both hands braced against its trunk, retched until tears shot into his eyes. His last meal had been before Jubert's, and he couldn't even vomit properly.  Dismas instead suffering one bout after another of dry heaves until he hurt all over, like he'd just had a couple of rounds in the cage.

Bark flaked under his fingers, rough and tacky from tree sap.  He might be sick like a dog, drenched in cold sweat and coughing up stomach acid, but he was alive.

Dismas sucked up some saliva before he spit it out.  He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree, ignoring the scratch against his brow.  A spider fell out of one of the lower branches and he watched it descend on its silken string before losing sight of it entirely as he waited until the bout had passed.

Out here he could smell rotting foliage, rich earth and dry pine needles, and bit by bit his breathing became easier, and when the cramps subsided, Dismas slowly straightened.  His hands were unbound and Reynauld had not followed him out here.  Dismas was sure that the other man too was shaken up by what had happened back at the PD, or he wouldn't have let Dismas out of his sights.

Through the trees Dismas could not even make out their vehicle, although he heard other cars speeding by.  If he wanted to, he could get a solid head start.   His pack was still in the car but he could do without his effects, even if it hurt leaving them behind.  He'd run and grab the money he had stashed away, and then that'd be the last this city had ever seen of him.

Dismas wiped his arm over his face, sweat stinging his eyes.

If he wanted to get going, it was now or never.

But his legs remained rooted to the ground and the thought of being on the run again was a lead weight keeping him in place.  He couldn't run far or fast enough to ever escape El Abuelo's influence.  Hadn't he seen the proof of that today?  No matter where he was; free or behind bars, someday El Abuelo's goons would find him and then he would suffer the same fate Louet had.

And then who was going to take their revenge?

The thought hit him so suddenly that it felt like a physical blow.

Dismas had always known that the past would catch up to him, that one day he'd pay for his sins.  It was part of the reason why he had spent the last years of his life living the way he had.  Always on the move, never staying in one place for too long.  Why he rented cheap motel rooms where he could pay with cash and leave no trace.

He had grown tired of always having to look over his shoulder though, of the years he had spent in hiding, keeping his head down.  What good had it done him?  Somewhere under the fear and the pain, rage began to simmer.  It was the fuel he needed to make up his mind.

Reynauld was after El Abuelo.  Reynauld, who had a whole police department to back him up, and the resources necessary for such an undertaking.  His chances of finding and taking down the mobster on his own were still very slim, but if he wanted to succeed at all, he would need Dismas.

With newfound resolve, Dismas returned to the car.  Reynauld was on the radio again, but he looked up and handed Dismas an open bottle of water without asking.

Dismas nodded his thanks and took a sip, rolling the water around in his mouth, and spitting it out over the guardrail.   It helped to get the sour tang of vomit out of his mouth.  He drank the rest of it, before collapsing in the passenger seat.  His shirt stuck to his back, cold and clammy with sweat.  Dismas shivered, and crossed his arms, and waited.

"Are you good to go?" Reynauld asked in a business-like tone once he had finished his call.

"Yeah," Dismas rasped, his voice gone to hell after the acid had burned his throat.

The car vibrated as the engine ignited, and Dismas watched buildings and other vehicles pass him by without having an inkling where he was, or where they were headed to.  He was too exhausted to care and with the heating kicking in and them being on the move again, he was ready to lean his head against the passenger door and space out.

Reynauld seemed to know what he was doing, and Dismas startled awake as they pulled into a broad alley that was lined on both sides with plane trees.

The buildings here were mostly two-story, and an unappealing grey in colour, but the alley was real nice and he spotted the one or other well-kept garden, as well as some completely wild and overgrown ones.  Those usually belonged to the homes that were up for sale or rent.

On a plaque at the side of one of the houses, Dismas could read that this was a settlement originally built for the veterans of the Secession War, the revolt that had turned into four years of armed conflict, but had ultimately won the city and its lands freedom and independence from the South.

"Here we are," Reynauld announced. He reached over one of the gates and pushed down the handle from the other side in order to open it.

Dismas spotted that the letterbox next to him had the word Maurouard, R. engraved in a neat, cursive script.  They followed the gravel path through the front garden and up to the door which Reynauld unlocked with one of the keys from the inside of his jacket.

This wasn't just some place, chosen at random.

Dismas stepped over the threshold with a cold lump forming in the pit of his stomach.  His suspicions were confirmed as he took in all the details, the small plate that Reynauld used to put away his keys on, and the lived-in assortment of furniture that told him he was in somebody's home.

He found himself standing in a living room, with orange-tinted light streaming through a row of windows on the far end.   The sun was setting already, as a day that Dismas would not regret to put behind him, drew to an end.

He looked around and spotted a door to what he guessed was a kitchen.  Not far from it there was a big table with a bench and six chairs standing around it, on the other side of the room the space was dominated by a TV corner with a large and comfortable looking couch that showed signs of wear.

Dismas felt more lost in here than he had back in the police department.  He wondered if he should toe off his boots, because standing on the clean floor made him feel like he was leaving invisible muddy footprints all over it.  In the end he decided to do as Reynauld did, and left them by the dresser that had the key-bowl on top of it.

"Make yourself comfortable, I need to make some more calls," Reynauld said and then pointed to another door around the corner.  "Bathroom's in here."  

Dismas nodded, and despite Reynauld's words he still snuck rather than walked across the room.  Something felt wrong, there was an uncomfortable weight and tightness around his chest, and his posture was stiff and unnatural.  He was still wearing the bulletproof vest, Dismas realized.

The raw, tearing noise that the velcro straps made had him clenching his jaw, but Dismas was glad to get the thing off.  He left the vest on the table, not sure what else to do with it.

The bathroom Reynauld had pointed out also had a shower to Dismas' delight, and he quickly fetched his duffel bag.  He left it right there on the floor as got rid of his disgusting, sweat-soaked shirt, pulling it over his head and dropping it to join the bag.  His pants soon followed, and then his underwear, and then Dismas stepped into the shower, his face turned up into the stream that was icy for a second or two before it turned hot.

For a brief, perfect moment, the world and all its worries ceased to be.

When Dismas turned the water off again, the walls of the shower stall were foggy and he shivered at the cold draft from outside.

There were towels hanging on a rack, but he didn't know how Rey would react to him just taking one, so he just used his old shirt to rub himself dry.

When Dismas returned to the living room, dressed only in sweats and an undershirt, he immediately noticed that there was bedding on the couch already.  He had a thick pillow, and an even thicker down blanket, and as if that wasn't enough, there was also an extra blanket.  

Dismas sat down slowly, for a moment wondering if he had ever gotten out of that holding ward.  Perhaps he was still in there, dumb and drooling, and all of this was just the conjuring of a feverish mind; from Louet's death to him actually sitting in officer Reynauld's living room.  But the couch felt very real, and so did the burning sensation in his chest and throat.

 The fuck was he gonna do now?  

Footsteps alerted Dismas that Reynauld was coming back, but he did not have the energy required to lift his head.  He already knew from one look at the bathroom-mirror that he looked like something that the cat had dragged in, his bruised eyes rimmed in red, his hair in complete disarray.  In other words, he looked exactly like he felt.  He might as well spare Reynauld the sight, and himself the look of pity.  

Dismas saw Reynauld's legs appear next to the coffee table, and a soft thud told him that Reynauld had just sat something down in front of him.  A moment of silence passed, and then Dismas could hear the click of Reynauld's throat as he swallowed, before going for a quiet,

"Here."  Reynauld nudged the object closer to Dismas.

"Thanks," Dismas rasped, blindly reaching out.  He wrapped his hands around something cylindrical, and hot, and held on.  When his he opened his eyes, a red firetruck was laughing at him.

Reynauld had actually made him a cup of cocoa.

"Feckin'... hell," Dismas muttered, his voice breaking halfway.

He'd never... Nobody had ever...

He bit the inside of his cheek, but the sting was nothing compared to the pain inside him.

Reynauld gently took the mug out of his shaking hands before he could spill its contents all over the rug.

Dismas slapped one hand over his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears.  You ran with the gangs, you quickly learned not to cry, or to do so where no one could see, but there was no hiding the sobs that wracked his body.

There was nothing to keep him from falling apart – until Dismas felt Reynauld shift and strong arms wrapped around him.

Reynauld didn't say a word, just held him close, and Dismas thought about how Reynauld had been in the military, wondered if he had done the same for him comrades.  He didn't deserve this kind of comfort, but he took it anyway, and buried his face in Reynauld's shoulder and cried until he was hollow, wrung out of tears and emotions.

When Dismas pulled back, Reynauld let him go without comment.

Dismas rubbed the back of his arm over his face, and then reached for the mug and raised it to his lips.  He didn't have much of a sweet tooth, but the chocolate was dark and bitter, and drinking it gave him something to do other than think on the dark tear stains on the collar of Reynauld's shirt, or the vacant, slack look on Louet's face.

For all these years Louet wanted – had wanted – excitement, while Dismas was looking for a way to grow old.  It had ultimately led to them breaking up, although neither one was above a quick hook-up now and then.

"I loved him, ya know?"  He didn't know why he was telling this to Reynauld, the words just spilling out of him.  "Buncha years ago, when I didn't think the son of a bitch had it in him to sell me out, but still."

Reynauld looked uncomfortable, and with what had happened between them, Dismas didn't even fault him.  The man had a dead prisoner on his hands, and another one was sitting on his couch, in his home, telling him sob stories he neither needed nor wanted to hear.  If he weren't so exhausted, Dismas would be disgusted with himself.

But despite the circumstances, Reynauld didn't brush him off, and he didn't leave either, though he developed a sudden interest in his hands.  "Try to get some rest," he suggested kindly.

Dismas snorted.  As if that was actually an option with the picture of his murdered ex-lover still vivid behind his eyelids.

"If you need something to help with that – ," Reynauld seemed reluctant to finish that thought, but he did retrieve a small plastic bag from somewhere.

"What's that?"  Dismas asked, looking at the two pills inside and not really willing to think too closely about why that would be something Reynauld carried on his person.

"Flunitrazepam," Reynauld replied.  "It'll knock you out for a few hours."

Dismas looked at the bag, then took it from a surprised looking Reynauld and shook out its contents into the palm of his hand.  Then, before he could reconsider, he swallowed both pills with some water from the glass.

"Thanks," Dismas mumbled, not sure if he should be thanking the other man just yet.  Reynauld nodded, and for a moment it looked like he wanted to say something, his jaw working.  But in the end, he settled for,

"I'll be upstairs.  We'll talk tomorrow."

Dismas sighed, not looking forward to that in the least.  Reynauld rose and turned off the lights before he disappeared up the stairs, leaving Dismas in the semi-dark.  There was enough light from the street lamps to see by, but it mattered little.

Dismas' thoughts were darker than the night around him.

He gave up on trying to hold the images at bay.  He let them resurface, take over, allowed for the damned cell door to slide open again and again to reveal the blood, splattered across the walls and pooling around Louet's legs, and his slumped figure.

Death wasn't romantic or anything like what movies made it look like.  It was fear and confusion, and pain.  He knew, because he'd seen plenty of it.  But it was one thing to be shot during a raid, when you were running with the gang, and it was another one to be murdered while chained up, unable to do so much as fight back.

It wasn't even fair that after being betrayed, it was still Dismas who would be hung-up on his ex when he had other problems knocking at his door.

If the Wolf was cleaning up, then Dismas was on that list too.  He had left the outfit years ago, not agreeing with how things were run, not wanting to spend his life lying in wait on the northern highways, robbing travellers and surviving by the skin of his teeth in between heists.

And if El Abuelo had killed the Wolf, and was now covering his tracks, well, that did not put Dismas in a better place.

The drug was kicking in fast, because already Dismas could tell how the world around him was soft and blurry and how every thought and sensation lost its clarity and edge.

He just couldn't bring himself to care about it.

The red light of the turned off TV was a bright spot in the darkness.   There was a clock ticking away in the darkness, and above him, footsteps.  Something hummed, perhaps the fridge, and the house creaked and groaned as if it too settled for the night.

Faintly, he recalled the echo of words he had not paid any heed to when he'd first heard them.

 "Of course, if he snitches on me, I'm going to have to kill him."  

Who'd said that?  Someone... someone... Audrey!  She... they'd talked about Louet.  She had told Dismas about his arrest.  She had known, because... because of her girlfriend.  Did Audrey actually work for somebody?  Were their nightly stints more than a bit of fun and a lucrative side-hustle?

She was of his closest friends, but then she had been married to a mobster.  One who had met his demise in prison, and now his widow was rich and living a life in the lap of luxury.

Dismas swallowed past the painful lump in his throat.   No, he couldn't trust Audrey.  Or Boudica, for the matter, or... or... anybody.  He really could not trust anyone anymore.

The light had gone out of focus and Dismas turned his face into the pillow.  It smelled like Rey, and like the stuff he used to wash his clothes with.   It was a comforting smell.  As was the thought of the other man's arms around him, having some of his strength to cling to, and while Dismas found that he had a hard time holding on to any thought there was one which stood out bright against the darkness of delirium.

 I can trust Rey.  

[pipermasters]

Hide and Seek- Phic Phight

Prompt: Start and end the fic with the same sentence, the first time it's positive and happy. The second time it's chilling and foreboding. 

@quishaphantom

Sam couldn’t find Danny, and she’d been looking for hours. He was unfairly good at hide and seek.

Sam couldn’t find Danny, and she’d been looking for hours. He was unfairly good at hide and seek.

“This is impossible,” She huffed to Tucker. “He has to be cheating!”

Tucker snickered. “It’s your fault for choosing to play in the park- I warned you he was good.”

“No one is this good!”

“Danny is,” Tucker smirked, reclining in the shade of a tree.

Sam scowled, hand on her hips. She turned in a circle, scanning the crowded park. Danny wasn’t hiding in the playground- she’d checked twice. He wasn’t by the fountain, the pond, or the amphitheater; She was seriously beginning to wonder if he had snuck into the bounce house that was set up for some kid’s birthday party.

“My offer still stands,” Tucker teased. “I’ll find him for you- you just have to admit he’s the king of hide and seek!”

“You swear he’s not cheating?”

“I swear,” Tucker stretched his arms above his head. “But I also swear that as soon as I show you, you’re gonna feel like an idiot.”

“I’ve looked everywhere!” Sam cried. “Twice! If anything, I’ll be impressed.”

“Nah,” he disagreed. “You’ll feel stupid.”

Grumbling, Sam followed Tucker towards the part of the park populated by trees. She’d already spent too long in there looking for her friend; She’d even climbed the trees to see if he was hiding in the branches.

“He’s not in here, Tuck,” She assured. “I checked.”

“You didn’t check everywhere.” Motioning for her to be quiet, Tucker crept over to a log, an evil grin on his face. He jumped on the log, stomping his feet. A shriek sounded from inside before none other than Danny Fenton was scrambling out.

“Not cool!” He shouted, shoving Tucker playfully.

Sam stared at him. “You were in a log?”

“Yup.” Danny brushed dead leaves out of his hair.

“Told you you’d feel dumb!” Tucker laughed.

“Three hours,” Sam couldn’t believe it. “You sat there for three hours? Didn’t you get bored?”

Danny shrugged. “Not really- I was texting Tucker.”

“Tucker!” She snapped in betrayal.

“To be fair, I had no proof of he was here,” he slung an arm over Danny’s shoulders. “But I had a good idea.”

“Sometimes I think you two share a brain,” Sam crossed her arms, smiling.

“That’s what happens when you’ve been friends for 12 years!”

“12?” Danny verified the math in his head. “My God we’re getting old.”

“You’re in 8th grade,” Sam rolled her eyes. “You aren’t old.”

“In a few months we’ll be in high school,” Tucker pointed out. “Can we consider ourselves old then?”

Sam just laughed as she and the boys left the park to get lunch at the Nasty Burger.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------           Tucker couldn’t find Danny, and he’d been looking for hours. His best friend was still mortified over losing his pants in front of Paulina.

         “Dude, come on,” Tucker called. “It’s not that big a deal!”

         Tucker and Sam had been searching the town since Danny had run out of school, going ghost behind a tree and taking off. Now, Tucker was in Danny’s house, checking every hiding spot he knew of.

         Frustrated, Tucker pulled out his phone, dialing Danny for the thousandth time. He smirked when he heard his ringtone.

         “Rookie mistake, Danny!” Tucker followed the sound to Danny’s room; there was a shuffling in the closet, presumably caused by Danny trying to silence his phone. Tucker threw open the door, sighing when he didn’t see his friend.

         “I know you’re here dude, being invisible won’t work,”

         With a sigh, Danny appeared, sitting on the top shelf in his closet. It had been his designated moping spot in middle school- not that anyone else knew that was where he hid. Tucker had thought Danny had given up on hiding there, but obviously he was wrong.

         Pocketing his cell, Tucker climbed up to join him, squishing himself into the remaining space.

         “I’m amazed we still fit up here,” Tucker said lightheartedly. Danny said nothing.

         “C’mon man, it wasn’t that bad.”

         Danny scoffed. “I beg to differ. I totally blew any chance I had with Paulina.”

         “That’s so not true! We all know you never had a chance,” Tucker chuckled weakly as Danny glared at him with glowing eyes.

         “Not helping.”

         “Sorry.”

         “I hate these powers,” Danny moaned, burying his head in his hands. “They’ve been nothing but a curse!”

         “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

         “Why wouldn’t I?”

         “What about all the awesome stuff you’ve been able to do?” Tucker asked. “Dude, you can fly! Do you know how many people wish they could do that?”

         “It’s not as great as you’d think. If I don’t keep my mouth closed, I get bugs in my teeth.”

         “Okay, gross. But what about your other powers? You can turn invisible!”

         “As if I wasn’t invisible before!” the ghost groaned, hitting his head back on the wall.

         Tucker rolled his eyes. “You’re so dramatic sometimes. You aren’t cursed dude. You were given a gift- just like any other superhero! Think of all the people you’ve helped- people you’ve saved? Do you think they see you as a curse?” Danny said nothing. “Exactly.”

         “I still totally embarrassed myself today. Paulina probably thinks I’m some perverted freak!”

         “Well, actually, before Sam showed up, I think she was impressed!”

         “Really?” Danny’s eyebrows drew together in confusion. “Why?”

         “Dunno,” Tucker shrugged. “But I did see her tell off Mikey for laughing at you. Maybe you didn’t blow it after all.”

         With a smile, Danny reverted back to human. “Thanks Tuck. What would I do without you?”

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

         Jazz couldn’t find Danny, and she’d been looking for hours. He’d come home that day with another failed science test and was trying every way possible to avoid telling their parents. Clutching the test in one hand, she scaled the ladder leading to the roof- since getting his ghost powers Danny had been spending more and more time up there.

         Sure enough, Danny was laying flat on his back, staring vacantly at the clouds.

         “Hey Dan- “

         “Jazz, don’t,” Danny draped his arm over his eyes. “I really don’t need you to lecture me right now.”

         “Lecture you?” Jazz sat next to her little brother, reclining on her hands. “What makes you think I’d lecture you?”

         “You’re my big sister- it’s what you do.”

         Jazz smiled, nudging him gently. “Well it’s not what I’m doing now. I just wanted to talk.”

         “About what?”

         “Mom and dad.”

         Danny removed his arm, looking at his sister suspiciously. “What about them?”

         “Well, maybe it’s time to tell them about… you know…” Jazz glanced around, making sure none of their parents’ equipment was around to hear her. “Your powers.”

         “No!” Danny shot up, eyes wide with panic. “Jazz I can’t!”

         “Why not?” she set a calming hand on her brother’s shoulder.

         “Are you crazy?” Danny snapped. “What do you think they’ll say Jazz? They’re entire life is dedicated to hunting ghosts; Dad can’t go one day without talking about new methods of dissecting things molecule by molecule! And mom,” Danny shuddered. “I don’t even want to imagine what she would think.”

         “They’ll love you no matter what, Danny,” Jazz assured. “They just want what’s best for you.”

         “And you expect them to think that being a ghost is the best thing for me?” Danny scoffed. “They’d never stop trying to ‘fix me’.”

         “You don’t know that!” Jazz argued. “They’re worried about you Danny- being a secret superhero doesn’t leave a lot of room for normal teenage things. You don’t eat or sleep regularly, you’re falling behind on your chores, and your grades are slipping!”

         “I know!” Danny shouted, frustrated. “But what am I supposed to do about it? I can’t be normal and save this town at the same time!”

         “They could help with that too! You already borrow their stuff all the time- imagine if you worked together to create new gear!”

         “No!”

         “You’re being unreasonable! Are you really that scared they’ll hate you?”

         “Yes! No! Kinda!” Danny seemed to deflate, all anger leaving him. “It’s complicated.”

         Jazz paused, feeling her frustration melt away. Her brother looked so tired and lost. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a soft hug. “Want to tell me why?”

         “Do you remember when the accident first happened?” Danny asked quietly. “When the portal exploded?”

         “Of course I do. Mom and dad were arguing all the time. Mom was so mad that- oh.” She trailed off as realization hit her. “You’re scared of them fighting again, aren’t you?”

         “It’s not like they don’t fight anyways,” Danny muttered. “But mom was so distressed, and she was so worried that there would be side effects, and knowing what I know now about Vlad and how he got his powers… I don’t know how they would handle it.” He groaned, glaring at the test in Jazz’s hands. “Of course, they might understand ghost powers more than another failed test.”

          Jazz glanced at her brother before shredding the test, the pieces blowing away with the wind. “What failed test? As far as I’m aware the teacher misplaced your test after putting in an incorrect grade.”

         Danny looked at her, shocked. “But… Jazz, that’s- “

         “Cheating?” She shrugged. “Given the circumstances I think it’s fair. C’mon, I’ll help you study for your retake.”

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

         Amity Park was in utter chaos. Buildings were in ruin, overturned cars burning in the streets. Civilians ran around in horror as emergency services did their best to calm the crowds. Parents and children cried out for one another, having been separated in the panic. In the midst of it all, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz were anxiously watching the road.

         The ghost attack had come out of nowhere, catching them all by surprise. Danny had been completely overwhelmed, even with support from his friends and sister. The ghost had dealt a particularly devastating blow, sending Danny through the pavement and into the sewers. The three had tried to follow, but police were already on the scene, keeping them away.

         The Fenton’s had appeared on the scene 10 minutes ago; they’d entered the sewer 30 seconds later. For 7 minutes the trio had heard muffed shouts and battle cries as various equipment sounded, smoke rising from the hole in the street.

         A minute later, Jack Fenton emerged, hoisting his wife after him; she proudly brandished a shaking thermos. Happily, they lead the crowd away, Jack making a point to brag in front of everyone who had ever doubted him. Determining there was no danger, the police marked off the area to be fixed as soon as the mayor sent a construction crew. They too left to celebrate with the Fenton’s.

         Tucker, Sam, and Jazz stayed, waiting for Danny to join them.

         At 5 minutes, Jazz got anxious; After 10, Tucker was starting to panic. When Danny still hadn’t appeared 15 minutes later, Sam jumped over the caution tape with a declaration of “Screw this, I’ll find him myself!”

         Sam didn’t find him after 15 minutes.

Tucker was still scouring the wreckage 30 minutes later.

         Jazz hadn’t found him after an hour.

         Twenty minutes later, Tucker had made himself hoarse calling for his best friend

         Twenty minutes later, Sam was searching by the light of her phone.

         Twenty minutes later, Jazz started to cry.

         Jazz couldn’t find her brother- he wasn’t laying on their roof.

         Tucker couldn’t find his best friend- he wasn’t hiding in his closet.

         Sam couldn’t find her hero- he wasn’t under a log in the park.

         He’s the king of hide and seek. He’s just hiding. He’s unfairly good at hide and seek.  

         Sam couldn’t find Danny, and she’d been looking for hours.