#breifly mentioned

[waytooobsessedwithmcyt]

Following @strawberri-animates's emptober idea, day one is normal but I didn't feel like writing an entire fanfic since I only remembered at 8:30 at night so just have some rambling about nature wives headcanons

Witches aren't allowed to marry humans because they're isolationist, but they took one look at Shelby and Katherine and went "these bitches gay, we can't stop them"

Katherine and Shelby's first kiss was in the Evermoore and the ghosts were just yelling "finally!" And bets were being cashed in

The witches are pretty "anything that isn't "normal" is bad" and so when Shelby looked through the library at Katherine's castle and found a book about the Emperors, she was absolutely thrilled to find a picture of High Wizard Gemini with a bi and a trans flag, she pretty much squealed about it excitedly the entire day

Katherine is naturally flirty, Shelby tries to flirt back but just devolves into incoherent muttering and blushing

Gem has literally sprayed Katherine with a water bottle because she wouldn't stop talking about how pretty Shelby was

How is any of this related to normal? This was originally meant to be domestic hcs but I'm ADHD and got sidetracked, also, no idea if I should tag the og creator of the Emptober calendar I'm following, don't know proper Tumblr protocol yet, sorry

[diabolicallydeadbeat]

Art for my pal @pepperoni-chips !

Lol hope u enjoy the bg

(No clue why the last image is sideways)

[sonadow4life]

Ok so I'm working on a little fic thing (first one ever yippee!). Heads up I'm really bad at wrighting ESPECIALLY when it comes to complex characters like Shadow. Anyways I would love some feed back. Don't go expecting too much when you read it. It's supposed to be set after Sonic 3. I also don't have a name for it yet. Or a plan. I just started wrighting and was like "yep, this is ok, I'm totally gonna finish this" so I have no clue where it's going. I'll get there when I get there I guess. It follows the storyline of SA2 but also I haven't finished that game so I don't know much about it lol. I think I might just make this story all about Shadows life after what I imagine Sonic 3 to be. Just think of the story line of SA2 but he doesn’t fall and die. He does fall. Doesn’t die. Also imagine it being a bunch of 15 yr olds. Just typical Sonic movie stuff. Tom and Maddie thrown in there where you can. I really can’t explain how I imagine it. It can’t be translated into words lol.

It was dead silent in the house aside from the annoyingly loud tik…tik…tik coming from the clock. Shadow lays wide awake on the Wachowskis couch. Mr and Mrs Wachowski had insisted he stay with them, just until he could find some place to stay. He had tried to refuse, especially after all the trouble he’d caused trying to destroy the planet, and while they seemed a bit hesitant, they persisted and continued to insist he stay with them for a while. Shadow looks over to the clock on the wall, the time reading 3:45 am. Shadow never tends to get much sleep, plagued with foggy memories of the ARK. The image of his sister's pale body lying lifelessly in a pool of her own blood replaying every time he closed his eyes, probably the only thing he could remember in full detail unfortunately. He runs his ungloved hands down his face, letting out a small, quiet whine and trying not to think about it much. Trying not to think at all. 

Tails and Sonic were upstairs in their shared room, Knuckles having been moved down to the basement for everyone’s sake, his footsteps being far too heavy to be walking around at 2:00 am. Sonic and Shadow didn't exactly get along well. They could tolerate each other at best and get it a full blown fist fight at worst. Shadow didn’t necessarily dislike Sonic, as much as he tried to pretend he did at least, but he definitely didn't like him. Totally. Shadow was soon pulled out of his thoughts by a loud creak from the steps, followed by a quiet mumble that he recognised as his rival's voice. Shadow peaked over the back of the couch, making eye contact with a very drowsy looking Sonic. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean ta’ wake ya’..” Sonic slurs lowly, walking the rest of the way down the stairs towards the kitchen.

“You didn’t.” Shadow says simply, laying back down on his side and staring aimlessly at the turned off TV. It was silent for a while before Shadow heard a glass clacking against the counter and a sink turning on, presumably Sonic getting a drink. Shadow shifted a bit, trying to find a comfortable enough position to attempt sleeping. 

[can0fwworms]

I Google Translated WinHero's Lionheart Painters Story

I want to preface, I used Google Translate, i will miss things. i tried to make it make sense with very minor edits and some notes here and there. feel free to point out mistakes, add context, add stage direction or emotions that might be needed. i tried to note everything down but im sure ive missed things.

ill be doing something similar with the shishitoren side story !! it will take me longer to get it out- ive been working on this every day for like 3 days And i have to add the screenshots to the folder (will update when i get it done !) ><

[little-estrellita]

Inlove with the headcanon that Winx Club has dabbled in time travel BEFORE later seasons.

Spoilers up ahead. For ALL seasons.

Back in season one, we find out the truth about Bloom. Well, pieces of it, at least. But, this is about the theory that Daphne not only sent her through a portal to earth... BUT also centuries into the future. It lives rent-free in my mind. Like, of course she did?

The witches already were on a genocide run, a portal to earth would be easy for them. Especially considering that in season 3, it's revealed that they CREATED a whole person. A creature that could make decisions even with them locked away and their powers restrained.

And OF COURSE Daphne, one of the nine beloved nymphs, would have just enough energy to manipulate time and space during her final hours. I like to think that, beyond being killed, its the reason she is in her ghostly form when we meet her. A punishment for messing with time. NOT what they try to pull in season 5 with the whole CURSE situation.

It also explains why NONE of the centuries old adults had red flags flying when Bloom started to get too interested in Domino. Why Palladium didnt have anything to say when he found the dead planet on his database for her test. It would explain why Fairygonda and the rest of the members of the Company of Light are OLD after "16 years". When they were young when they joined. Griffin was young when she backstabbed Valtor. All while Bloom's parents remain young, despite creating the group years back.

Being trapped in ice would explain why they stayed the same. It also makes Domino's downfall even more tragic. For those who escaped before the witches took over. For those who had friends, family,.. loved ones on the planet. They could be dead now. They could have spent the past few centuries mourning and accepting the deaths. Those people will wake up from their frozen states to see that the people they love...have grown older. They had missed years of living.. I wonder if they, like Valtor, were fully conscious during that time.

It explains why everyone seemingly forgot about Domino. The three witches were treated as if they were a distance past. WHY no one suspected Bloom to be the lost princess.. because she should have appeared years ago.. perhaps 16 years after the fall. It's too late now. Domino is frozen over with no sign of life. No hope. No matter what anyone tried, it was dead and buried. Or at least, should have been. It gives reason as to why Fairygonda had to talk to higher-ups to be completely sure. Why no one saw the Trix's suspicious behavior as trying to summon ancient evil. Like a volcano, when it doesn't cause trouble for so long, people seem to forget what it can do. Why they let it slide for this long... why they didn't instantly went to check up on Valtor. For..he must also be long dead..

Which brings me to season.. 7. Time traveling. The butterfly effect motifs.. They wanted to revive Daphne so badly and yet have forgotten she existed here. This season could have been everyone realizing that Daphne had used this type of magic before. None of that Sirenix none sense they tried to pull back in season 5. Daphne could have had a stone and revealed it when Roxy got her's stolen. She could have been their guide and warning them constantly on what messing with time could do. Showing Roxy's and Bloom's bond paralleling Bloom's and Daphne's. Bloom, too, had an older sister who guided her through a magical realm she had no idea existed till she was 16... Why Bloom pressed on and on about being that figure for Roxy back in season 4.

Time travel could have explained so much about all these events and why it's a suprise they are only now resurfacing. The Trix set it forth. But it was the return of the dragon when Stella took Bloom back to the magic dimension.. that set it all off. The rise in magic energy over all. Bloom graduating causes the dragon fire to be more powerful. She's a full-fledged fairy with full control over it. It could be why, walking past the portrait of the wizards of the black circle... they awakened and went on the hunt. They saw what she did. She revived an entire planet. Who's to say she wouldn't return magic to earth?

[calico-strawberry]

After her existing for like, over a year, I've finally drawn Anya's sister, Genny.

Genny, Anya, and their family lived in Reborn 15 years prior to the events of Rejuvenation. Soon after Anya died in a tragic accident, when Genny was 5, was when Meteor started trying to drive people out, so Genny had a hard time growing up especially while also having to deal with the loss of her sister.

Now, after seeing news online about happenings in Aevium region, seeing someone who looks suspiciously like her dead sister, Genny departs Reborn for the first time in her life.

[skettchyartendevours]

Have y'all heard of a show called "Spheriks"

I had no idea it existed, until about two weeks ago when I found this guy at a thrift store

Soon as I saw him, I thought he looked like he could be a character from some early 2000's kids show. Upon looking it up, I was very much correct!

Main point is, I developed a fixation on this show practically that same day which now has me in a chokehold (I have decided to illustrate my brain's current state)

The Gobots and Transformers haven't fully left my brain space yet, but I would very much like to yap about these new guys for a bit

[which I will do under the cut, because this is going to get a bit long-winded]

So! A bit of background for the show itself: Spheriks was a show commissioned by FIFA to promote their new mascots for the 2002 World Cup, which took place in South Korea and Japan. It was the only show its' animation studio (Slave Studios, based in the UK) ever produced due to how badly it flopped, likely suffering from a short run time in both broadcasting and home video releases.

The overarching plot of the show consists of two alien races, the Atmospheriks and the Nulmospheriks, competing against each other in a football-like sport known as "Spherikball" in order to see who gets to control the atmosphere at the FIFA World Cup. The Atmospheriks represent positive energy, The Nulmospheriks represent negative energy, we have a very clear theme of "Good vs Evil."

In terms of characters, the show mainly focuses on four main characters from each team: The Atmospheriks have Ato, Kaz (the guy I found at the thrift store), Nik and Rhea. The Nulmospheriks have Roth, Viro, Null and Void. There are also a handful of non-Atmo/Nulmo side characters that regularly appear, such as the two announcers. I guess the rest of the teams as well, but they don't really seem to have dialogue or much of a stake in the plot.

Finally, here are a handful off messy sketches I did while trying to figure out how to draw a few of the characters!

So far I've really only tried drawing the Nulmos (villain fixation bias goes brrrr) but I'll probably attempt some of the Atmos soon

Their head shapes are proving to be very tricky to to translate from 3D models to 2D drawings, especially after a decent period of almost exclusively drawing blocky robots from the 80's

Well Uhhh..

Thank you if you made it this far! I don't usually do big rambling posts like this very often, so hopefully it wasn't too unbearable ^^"

[morally-earl-gray]

thinking a lot about this recently

its amazing how michael crichton (one of my favorite authors) died over 16 years ago, and to this day he is still being credited for new works.

theres new books at the bookstore with his name on them: unfinished manuscripts that got published after he died

theres tv shows being made with his name in the credits: the jurassic world show still say "based off the book by michael crichton"

theres movies coming out-- not just random, obscure movies, but blockbusters-- based off of the characters he created: twisters is based off of the movie twister, which he wrote

even though he died, his creations continue to live on through the spinoffs and sequels and unpublished manuscripts

i think its incredible to have that kind of legacy

[akutagawamydear]

I’ve seen a lot of, Keith being angry about the whole Voltron mission thing– and I agree!! That he’s angry about it.. but let me give you

Angry LANCE!! Lance who, didn’t want to be on the mission in the first place and was just going with the flow so he could get home to his FAMILY faster, Lance who didn’t think the mission would take as long as it has, Lance who burns in hatred for Voltron and Allura/Coran and the Lions because. Why? They keep prolonging the mission to save the universe by making STUPID decisions one after another after another, Lance, who seethes inwardly everytime Lotor or another Galra rescue mission comes up, because these STUPID aliens who don’t know their place and should sit down back at their weak little planet are keeping him from his family. Lance, who misses his family so much, who worries and misses them as much as they do him, Lance who’s heart squeezes with a sickness and guilt when he thinks about his family not knowing where he went. Lance who, undoubtedly has Undealt with violent thoughts, Lance who wants to ram his gun into Lotor’s face and pull the trigger at LEAST, 7 times, who wants to wrap his hands around Allura’s neck as he spits insult after insult. Lance who feels an unexplainable itching in his hands to pull on the controls inside Blue (or any Lion) until they snap and the wires are exposed, so he can pull and cut and yank them until she hopefully shuts down (no matter if he gets electrocuted in the process). And, I dunno about ya’ll but, I headcanon that the Voltron mission caused Lance to miss one of his nephew’s birthdays (which he has NEVER done, always being early because he loves his family So so sososoSoSO much that he can’t help but follow them everywhere they go so h can shield them from the world and shower them with his overwhelming love), and that, that SINGLE fact, IRRITATES him to his CORE, because– some stupid mission, caused by some no-good, weak alien princess and her dumb mechanical lions kidnapped him and decided he, a cadet who wanted to fly CARGO ships, was a perfect candidate to SAVE THE FUCKING UNIVERSE, to “save” and avenge the princesses kingdom, which was GONE, is GONE, and will FOREVER *be* GONE, because why? Her and her weakass kingdom could protect themselves from the way life worked? A prince who’s dad and mom don’t care about him and could care less if he lived or died (only really caring because he’s the only kid they have) and he let his issues get to his head and convince him that he needs to use violence to feel powerful.

in conclusion. I want batshit angry Lance, I want Lance to go feral inwardly until it becomes too much for him to keep bottled up and he goes apeshit Outwardly

[legayfuck]

hey propoganda here duncan should've cheated on courtney with heather instead of gwen and here's why

it would prove trent and courtney wrong about duncan and gwen which would be great because they could've been just friends and GREAT

it wouldn't break gwen and duncan's friendship (which I loved)

heather has a track record for these types of things

um I had more reasons but forgot anyways it would be wonderful if heather didn't actually like duncan back. she did it because she hates courtney and duncan's guts. and because she knows that they need to break up and STAY broken up.

duncan would be mad that heather didn't like him back, courtney would be pissed at duncan for cheating and at heather and heather would say she did it to show courtney that duncan is an asshole. and then they can yuri out idk

gwen could then help duncan out of the mess he got himself in, redemption in all-stars later

anyways. that's all I remember from my shower rant about this

[glitchisbroken]

Grrrr Ashton Greymore grrrr!

Bonus ashrym

[jackpot-art-dude]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

i got one of those pens with a bajillion colors in one,, it may look a little ugly sometimes but i'm just glad that my art can have color without having to trace the entire drawing digitally just for the lineart to color under

also sorry for quitting on cringetober, apparently i was not dedicated enough 😔😔

anyway happy halloween and happy booping :)

[kaiya-player2]

I'm currently writing another fic (yes, it will be posted on ao3 when it's done. No I do not know when that will be) and I decided "why not post some of my headcanons?" So here you go. Can find some of these in my chat fic too probably lol.

MHA Headcanons: League of Villains

Toga will force other members of the League to give her piggy back rides (mostly Compress and Magne at first, but quickly spread to each member)

Toga pokes people as a sign of affection (she only breaks the skin of the people she has a crush on. Watch out Deku and Uraraka, you two are not safe.)

Dabi acts like a tsundere.

Spinner likes the cold, even he doesn't know why.

Shigaraki can, and will, walk in heels.

Spinner and Shigaraki constantly debate which Pokemons are better (this counts for Smash Bros or literally any game characters)

Shigaraki plays more RPGs (role-playing games) and survival/horror

Spinner plays more FPS (first person shooters) and dating simulators

Compress is a walking uno reverse meme. He'll have way too many uno game cards on hand that no one will be able to outplay him.

Shigaraki takes videos and pictures of his comrades being stupid. He calls them his "save files"

Kurogiri is like a dad to Shigaraki, while Compress is like a dad to Dabi. They both babysit the others.

Twice is way too impulsive for his own good, often lacking a filter

Magne puts him in time out when necessary

Magne is the mom friend/big sister

Spinner can juggle knives with his eyes closed (so can Toga)

Shigaraki is skilled in reading body language

Often times, Dabi has no clue what he feels

Compress is bilingual (Japanese and English)

Dabi knows some English, but isn't fluent

Magne knows some French, but also isn't fluent

Kurogiri is a fast reader

Shigaraki is also a fast reader

Dabi writes poetry (mostly for Shigaraki as I'm a hardcore shigadabi shipper, but more on the complete canon side; angsty and violent poetry with Endeavor dying.)

Twice is dislexic and a slow reader

Dabi is nearsighted

Shigaraki's scratching is mostly caused by anxiety or anger, but is also due to skin eczema

(if having survived Overhaul)- Magne would use her quirk on Overhaul every time she'd see him (probably to throw him into walls)

Shigaraki can drink anything alcoholic straight from the bottle without flinching. He also doesn't get drunk easily.

Compress is a lightwieght

Dabi prefers iced drinks, as it helps cool him down

If Toga wants to be fancy, she'll put blood into a wine glass with some ice cubes. (Mostly did so when the adults drank back when the bar was intact)

Toga and Magne are both hopeless romantics

Shigaraki does have excellent control with his quirk, thanks to finger dexterity

Dabi cracks his knuckles and literally every other bone in his body on a daily basis

Shigaraki also cracks his knuckles, but not frequently

After Shigaraki got more mature, he also got more sarcastic and a total meme lord (also abuses the FUCK out of video game terminology)

Dabi had RBF

Toga also has RBF

Shigaraki ALSO has RBF

Spinner will belp when concentrated

That's all I got for now. Might do more of these later, maybe with different characters.

[whumble-beeee]

Hey bee!

I've been a loyal reader of the unofficial guide for a little while now. I was just curious if we'll get any insight into the author of the guide itself. Was it written by one of the characters we met? A well-kept secret in the villainous community, where the author is unknown? Or something else entirely?

-- Tip (@tippytappytyping)

Hey Tip! Yes, I always love seeing you around, I recognise you and I really appreciate your support! Thank you for the ask!

TL;DR The book was published anonymously, but everyone knows that it was one of the first and most famous supervillains, Destron, who appears in my story The Supervillain's Child, and he wrote it mainly for his sidekick and to encourage the next generations of villains.

Alright Tip, ya ready for a lore dump? Bc you've opened the floodgates :)

On a very technical level, The (Un)Official Guide to Hero-Keeping was published anonymously. This is mostly just bc publishing a book like that is basically a gigantic confession of guilt that could easily be admissible in court, and because of this, it's also one of the only books of its kind and is extremely famous among supers and non-supers alike. It's even been propositioned to be taught in schools a few times, but the idea was officially abandoned amongst the ongoing terrorist attacks by supervillain Aurelias Byrne (quoted in Chapter 10 of (un)official guide in lieu of the usual excerpt), which are bringing down the public opinion of supers immensely.

That being said, everyone knows who wrote the guide, and I've actually posted a couple things about him on this account in my story The Supervillain's Child which is currently on hiatus. It was written by one of the first ever and most feared supervillains, the gentleman supervillain Destron, well known for never (directly) killing anyone and for turning people to villainy using his 'mind control' power (he doesnt control minds exactly lol, that's just what the public thinks. His power is mainly to control people's emotions.)

How do people know that Destron wrote the guide, you ask? It's pretty obvious when you see the book dedication:

To my most beloved sidekick and successor. We've been through it all together, through torture and sorrow, through happiness and excitement, through heroes and villains, through life and through death. Here's to all the people who tried to keep us apart. I hope you never regret the decision to fight against them and for what you believe in. You saved me just as much as I saved you, and I hope this book can serve you and anyone who needs it well. Make me proud.

The reason this dedication is such a dead giveaway is because of who his sidekick is; the equally superpowered daughter of superhero Sunstrike, Destron's archnemesis. Them both having superpowers is extremely unlikely, I can go into why in another post if you ask bc it's a lot and this post is already getting super long, but suffice to say they're very famous for being a mother-daughter super-duo.

Long story short, the story of Destron and Jenna was basically this huge scandal because, to the public, it looked like Destron basically brainwashed the daughter in this very famous superhero pair over to the side of villainy, which is what is referenced when he says "from heroes to villains," and "Here's to all the people who tried to keep us apart. I hope you never regret the decision to fight against them and for what you believe in."

Destron also retired pretty much directly after the book was published, which makes the last line of the dedication much more significant and most people also use as proof of his authorship. He's passing on the torch to the future generation of villains, and this is his legacy (among the, yknow, many many villainous things that he's more famous for lol).

There are also other references in the dedication that point to Destron being the writer, but those are more spoiler-y so I shall refrain for now.

Hope this answers your question! There are rough plans for Destron to appear in the (Un)Official Guide story, and I am planning on continuing The Supervillain's Child as well, so you can get to know Destron better over there. And If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to ask! I could rant about this universe for literal hours, and believe it or not, I actually had to cut down my answer to your question quite a bit lmao.

(Also just a brief note, everything written above is subject to slight changes as I develop the story more, but the general idea will always stay the same)

[rantz-for-st0ry]

the body's dad is so fucking stuck up and entitled sometimes and it pissess me off sm.

keeping stuff under the cut today chat!! cw and tws in the tags.

he's driving home and he's ordering food on an app for us so I can hear him talk to himself as he orders. and, as he's checking out, he gets some kinda pop up about rounding his total up to help feed the homeless in America.

and this mother fucker goes "No. No, fuck that. You should be giving me free meals."

(all you/yours/etc are towards the body's dad) YOU ARE PERFECTLY FUCKING CAPABLE OF BUYING MEALS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. THAT DONATION IS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS. WHO DON'T HAVE JOBS AND CANT GET THEM. YOU HAVE A JOB AND A HOME AND MAKE OVER 50 DOLLARS AN HOUR. IF YOU DIDN'T SPEND ALL OF YOUR FUCKING MONEY ON CIGARETTES AND MONSTERS AND 20 DOLLAR SIX PACKS OF ICE CREAM SANDWICHES AND GAMBLING AND SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES THAT WE DON'T NEED, THEN WE WOULDN'T HAVE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS. Y'KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE EXTRA MONEY TO DO FUN THINGS WITH YOUR KIDS OR HAVE SOME 'YOU TIME', OR HELP MY BROTHER BUY A CAR AND GO TO COLLEGE?? OR, I DUNNO, SAVE UP FOR A NEW HOUSE? SO THAT YOUR CHRONICALLY ILL CHILDREN DON'T HAVE TO LIVE IN A HOUSE INFESTED WITH SICKENING AMOUNTS OF BLACK MOLD AND LEAKING ROOFS AND SINKING FLOORS? SO THAT YOUR GRANDSON DOESN'T RISK FALLING THROUGH THE FUCKING FLOOR WHEN HE'S PLAYING IN YOUR LIVING ROOM? BUT INSTEAD YOU CHOOSE TO SPEND YOUR MONEY ON ALL THIS SHIT, NONE OF WHICH BENEFITS YOU, NONE OF WHICH BENEFITS YOUR CHILDREN, NONE OF WHICH BENEFITS YOUR DAUGHTER'S CHILDREN.

so fucking tired of this guy. it is, quite literally, his fault that we have financial issues.

at this rate I js hope the roof crushes me in my sleep when it inevitably falls in on itself. that would be mercy.

[so-am-smyme9540]

Little Talks (a Lackadaisy fanfiction)

Hey ya'll, this has been sitting in my drafts, half finished, so I decided to just bite the bullet and finish it. I call Freckle Calvin in this, because it feels kind of weird to calling him by a nickname only Rocky amd sometimes Ivy use. Anyways, enjoy the fic!

It was one of those rare, calm days at the Little Daisy Café, soon to open into the Lackadaisy speakeasy. Calvin was in the garage, elbow deep in the car’s engine, fiddling with this and that, trying to fix that awful raddle it’s had lately. His older cousin, Rocky, sat a few feet away atop a couple boxes, nose deep in his journal. Everyone who knew him knew of his penchant for poetry, but only few knew that he also liked to draw in the journal, occasionally. Calvin knew, because of the doodles all over the letters he used to receive.

He tightened a loose bolt inside the hood, despite knowing that wouldn’t fix it, nothing was ever that simple. He moved his attention to the radiator, next. With his hands occupied and his mind on the topic of his cousin’s letters, he realized one of the only ones without a drawing was the one asking if Calvin had heard from his father. He hadn’t, he’d never even met the man. Not that he could tell Rocky, of course, what with him travelling all over the states, hopping from one job to the next, trying so hard to outrun their shared family secret.

Calvin knew it was none of his business, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little curious about Rocky’s father. His cousin had never really mentioned him, he didn’t talk much about either of his parents, really, but Calvin supposed he had a good excuse for at least one of them. Although, then again, he’d never asked about them. He looked up from the car’s innards, and over at Rocky, who seemed to have gone back to writing. He didn’t really want to break the comfortable silence, it was such a rare commodity when it came Rocky, but he was curious.

“Hey Rocky?” His cousin looked up with a soft hum, pen still in hand. “What’s your dad like?” Rocky hesitated, which was odd for him, though he tried to pretend he has simply thinking over his answer. Calvin knew him better than that.

“Well, he used to work on the railroad. I’m not sure if he does anymore.” Rocky replied, though it didn’t really answer the question. Calvin knew he hadn’t seen his father in ages, but surely it couldn’t be that hard to remember him.

“Okay, but what was he like?” Calvin pressed, now wiping the grease on his hands from the engine on a rag. “Was he nice?”

Rocky actually seemed to think about that, as he fiddled with the pen in his hands. It was a nervous habit he’d had since childhood, though sometimes he himself didn’t seem to realize he was even doing it. “I think so. He was never mean, at least. I didn’t really see him much, he worked all the time and I was at your house a lot.” They both knew the reason why. Thick silence filled the air, making Calvin wish he had never broken it in the first place. Such as with most times, he should’ve stayed quiet. Rocky, on the other hand, was never opposed to disturbing the peace. “What was your dad like?”

Calvin was caught a bit off guard, but he supposed it was only fair. His father was also somewhat of a sore subject, given their shared family secret, but the two of them had silently agreed somewhere along the way to pretend it didn’t exist. So that’s what Calvin would do. “Well, he was definitely nice, if a little distant. He made mom laugh.”

Rocky nodded, about to reply, when Calvin suddenly remembered a moment from his childhood, before Rocky was staying with them. “Oh, one time, he decided he would make dinner, to give Mom a break. He tried to make spaghetti, but he forgot to boil he water… so we ate sandwiches instead.”

Rocky laughed, setting his journal on the box beside him. “I bet he got an earful from Aunt Nina!”

Calvin laughed a little too, smiling at the memory. “Yeah, when she was done scolding him she gave him a pat on the head and thanked him for trying.”

They fell into another silence, but this time, it was much more comfortable. But there was still another question Calvin had wanted to ask for a while, but never knew how. Rocky seemed to be in a sharing mood, and he didn’t want to ruin that, but… Well, curiosity killed the cat, after all.

“…What was your mom like?”

At first, he didn’t think Rocky could answer. He almost hoped he wouldn’t, that he’d get mad at him, because staying quiet and taking it was always easier. But Rocky had other ideas. “Oh, Mama was an angel…” He said, a smile on his face despite what happened to her. “She would never say things like “Roark don’t do that,” or “Roark don’t you dare eat that.” He exaggerated an Irish accent, just to drive the point home. “No, she’d say stuff like “Eat this instead, Rocky! It tastes much better than dirt, and it won’t hurt your stomach.”

Calvin snickered a little at that, eating dirt was definitely something Rocky would do. “And,” he added, with a sort of side eye, “She didn’t get mad when I made her mudpies.”

“You have to admit, those were gross.” He tried to reason with his cousin.

“They were presents!”

“They got all over my bed!” Waking up covered in mud was… not pleasant, to say the least.

“Whatever. You’re just ungrateful.”

Calvin shook his head, letting another lull into the conversation. Ungrateful was a good word to describe him, even if he knew Rocky didn’t mean it seriously. At horrible as it was, he couldn’t help but feel jealousy creep into his thoughts. Definitely ungrateful, Rocky’s mom was dead, what did he have to be jealous for? If anyone, Rocky should’ve been jealous! But he wasn’t. He never was. Not even when-

“Freckle?” His eyes snapped up, meeting Rocky’s concerned blue ones. “You good?” He asked, climbing off the boxes, journal long forgotten.

“Yeah, yeah, I just…” He hesitated, looking back into the car’s engine to avoid his cousin’s concerned gaze. “Your mom sounds great.”

Rocky didn’t smile, he looked down at his hands, closing them into fists. “She was. It’s honestly kind of difficult to imagine her and Nina being sisters. Though I’m sort of- terrified, because I think I’m starting to forget her.” His fist tightened, ever so slightly. Calvin looked back at him, feeling it safe to do so. “Sometimes I… I really have to think, about what she looked like. I-I can’t even remember what she sounds like anymore!” His voiced raised in desperation, his fists opening back up. “…I don’t want to forget..”

Calvin frowned, and he opened his mouth to answer, when the trapdoor suddenly opened. “Hey Rocky?” Zib’s head pocked in, “we’re on stage in 30 minutes, the guys want to practice some.”

“Oh, right!” Rocky’s demeanor suddenly went right back to normal, as if he’d never said anything. Calvin knew him better than that. “Sorry, I’m coming!”

————————————————————————————————

Rocky walked through the now dark garage, violin case in hand, tired from a successful night at the Lackadaisy. Well, successful by their standards. He opened the car door, ready to put up his violin and collapse into the seat, when he spotted a note admits his belongings. Curious, he picked it up.

‘I know you won’t forget. But if it makes you feel better, Mom said she sounded like Mary Pickford. -Calvin’

Under the note, was a small picture of his mother, before she got sick and looked so tired all the time. Rocky smiled, not one of his too wide, faked smiles, but a genuine, grateful smile. He tucked the picture and note inside his violin case, and went to bed knowing he had the greatest cousin in St. Louis.