#george and harold would hate school even more

[random-dragon-exe]

OK but like an au where George and Harold don't make a comic with Professor Poopypants in it and he actually stays as a teacher at Jerome Horowitz and now they have to put up with not only Krupp and Melvin, but him too.

(I was thinking this au would be interesting to apply to the movie, but the books can work too)

I'm sorry, it's just an entertaining concept to me.

[unbindingisaac]

Pre-Transition

The Beginning

I've felt uncomfortable in my body and in the world my entire life. I had a traumatic birth and was born with my eyes swollen shut, a dislocated shoulder, and jaundice. Within a year, I became very ill and had to take a medication that wiped both the bad and good bacteria out of my body. I dealt with pain, illness, and discomfort and didn't like being held or touched. I hated how clothes felt on my body, and one time my dad even duct-taped a diaper onto me because I kept escaping them (I ended up escaping that one too).

Childhood

My discomfort went beyond physical pain and illness. I have always struggled with my gender identity and fitting into society. Growing up with two sisters, it felt clear to me that I was different from "other girls". When I was potty trained, my parents let me pick out my own underwear as a reward. I chose the boys Ninja Turtle underwear. I still hated wearing clothes, so I could often be found naked or just in my underwear. Whenever my family and I did go clothes shopping, I always picked out "boy" clothes (usually basketball shorts and t-shirts).

(note my Ninja Turtle undies)

Elementary School

When I entered elementary school, I did get bullied for being "weird" and wearing Spider-Man clothes because Spider-Man "isn't for girls". I loved Captain Underpants and wanted to make comics just like George and Harold--I even sent in a letter to Dav Pilkey.

I don't think the adults around me were worried too much about my gender presentation--I was always just constantly told that I was a "late bloomer". As time passed, the girls around me became more and more feminine, but I stayed the same. In my mind, I thought that everybody was born androgynous/gender-less and that becoming a girl/woman is something that one grows into. I figured that this "late bloomer" thing was taking effect and that I would grow into a girl, but I didn't.

Middle School

Then puberty began setting in. I cried when I had my first period and my sister said, "you're a woman now!" One of the most upsetting moments was when my chest grew too big for all of my t-shirts to fit comfortably. My body was blooming into girl/womanhood, but my mind and spirit weren't blooming with it. The bullying got worse and worse as I entered upper elementary and middle school, and I was so miserable that I ended up switching schools in 7th grade. I felt so uncomfortable all the time.

While I had more friends at my new school, I was still unhappy. After discussing options with my parents, we decided that maybe a more stimulating and mature environment would improve my life, so we talked to my school about skipping a grade.

High School

I skipped 8th grade and started high school as a 13-year-old. This change just led to feeling more isolated, uncomfortable, and behind my peers. My family encouraged me to present more femininely. My mom took me shopping for more "girly" clothes and had my older sister show me how to put on foundation and mascara. My mom told me that I had to try wearing makeup for 6 months before I decided it wasn't for me--she thought that I would get used to it and become more comfortable if I just gave it a try. Really, I felt strange and embarrassed, and I still remember when someone laughed at me for how my makeup looked--makeup that I didn't even want to be wearing. But I kept trying. I wore my hair long and sometimes styled it, and I experimented with more feminine versions of my usual outfits (like wearing t-shirts with a lower neck and tighter cut and wearing shorter jean shorts instead of basketball shorts).

Despite my efforts, things weren't going well for me. At lunch, I sat alone in the hallway, hidden next to a stairwell. I started being sexually harassed at school by a couple of older girls and began having panic attacks. More and more, I felt imprisoned by my body and the world around me. But that's when I got an idea....what if I cut my hair? For so long, I had hidden behind long hair and side-swept bangs that covered my face, but what if I let that all go? I told myself and my family that I wouldn't be sexually harassed if I looked less like a girl, and I got really excited about looking up short hairstyles. Finally, I scheduled an appointment at a hair salon and got my long hair cut into a truly terrible pixie-style haircut.

(okay, so it didn't always look like this, but you get the idea XD)

Although the haircut was objectively not good, I felt really free. One of the first things I did was post pictures of myself on an alternate Facebook account where I pretended to be a boy.

Still, I was scared and confused by my feelings, so I occasionally tried to make the "girl-with-short-hair" thing work, but that never really lasted long.

(notice that I'm wearing a Finn hat--I wanted to be him so bad)

Most of the time, though, I looked like this:

When I went out in public, people started calling me "young man" and "bud", and I was surprised that being perceived as male didn't particularly bother me. I kept thinking to myself, "I can't be transgender, there's no way." I would look at myself in the mirror and struggle to connect with the person I was seeing and to figure out what it all meant. I'm not exactly sure how I ended up on LGBTQ+ Tumblr blogs, but I did. That's where I first learned about different gender identities, saw people who looked like me, and heard stories from people who had similar experiences. I wasn't fully ready to accept the idea of being a transgender man, but I felt really excited when I learned of the term "gender fluid". That's when I started having.....

The Realization

[tstain-is-an-idiot]

The Fine Line Between Hate and Love

Melvin Sneedley had never been thought of as a “creative” kid, despite being known as “that nerdy kid who invents things” by the rest of his classmates and teachers. Apparently, inventing things didn't count as “art”. It didn't mean he didn't enjoy art. In fact, he somewhat appreciated it, even reading the comics created by George and Harold. Though he barely understood most of the jokes written by George, it was a different story for Harold's illustrations. At first dismissing them as nothing more than childish slop he was too grown-up for, he found himself growing to admire the talent and effort put into them as the drawings slowly started improving. The anatomy and linework got better and cleaner, and the colouring went from hastily scribbled (in order to push out a new issue of whichever character the boys had fixated on that week), to carefully inked between the lines with markers, leaving no white gaps in sight.

Of course, he'd never let the two boys know he had taken an interest in their comics (particularly the artwork), instead opting to read them whenever he felt there was nobody around to judge him, mostly in his room after school. That was exactly where he was headed as soon as he'd finished up the last of his extra homework (which he'd stay after school to do in an empty classroom, occasionally peeking under the desk at the cover of the latest issue of Captain Underpants that he'd managed to snag earlier), until he heard something coming from across the hall. Melvin quickly buried the comic deep into the back of his schoolbag. Someone else was still there. He listened. It appeared to be coming from the music room. He discarded his pencil with an annoyed sigh and got up from his desk before making his way across the hall to where those horrible sounds were coming from. Closer now, he started to make out the sounds as some people messing around with the instruments that had been gathering dust for years, in particular the sounds of someone attempting to play the piano. Key word being “attempting”.

The door to the recently re-opened music room had a window, but the thick layer of dust it had accumulated over the years it had been locked shut made it difficult for Melvin to make out the figures darting about inside at a first glance. There were two of them, probably fourth-graders the same as he was, and they were darting around the room, messing around with the various instruments and laughing like hyenas at the noises they were making. Well, at least one of them was trying out seemingly every instrument. The other appeared to be sitting at the old piano, trying to figure out the notes, only stopping to giggles at the antics of their crazy friend. Melvin soon recognised the giggles as coming from Harold, meaning that the other kid in the room was probably George, Harold's partner in crime (at least, that's how he'd describe the two of them together).

He thought about going in there and telling them to shut up (because unlike some people he was trying to do his homework in peace, like they should be doing after school), but he decided he'd rather live with the cacophony they were causing than them finding him and figuring out that he read their comics. He slowly slunk back to his desk in defeat and continued his work, gritting his teeth in frustration. He waited until he heard them leaving the school grounds about an hour later (they sprinted down the hallway, as usual disobeying the many ‘’no running' signs that were plastered everywhere) before he, too, made an effort to leave school for the day.

The next week, it was the same story. George and Harold took to the music room the second the bell rang to signal the end of the school day. And then between them they would play ALL of the instruments in the room (at times sounding like they were attempting to play them all at once) for an hour or so before heading home afterwards. This would become a weekly routine for them, much to the annoyance of Melvin. Instead of engaging with the troublemakers (dealing of them for six hours of the day was bad enough as it is), he opted for bringing in earplugs and wearing them during his after-school homework sessions. They weren't the most comfortable things in the world, but anything was better than putting up with George and Harold for an extra hour every week.

A few weeks later, as Melvin had gotten accustomed to his new homework routine, it all changed. To the surprise of everyone, Harold had shown up at school George-less. Apparently George was off sick or something. Melvin scoffed. He wouldn't dream of skipping school just because he was sick. He was the type of kid who, unless he dropped down dead right at that very second, would not miss school due to something as trivial as a cold. He smirked in Harold's direction. The blonde was moping at his desk, clearly upset that his best friend wasn't there with him to joke around in whatever classes they had that day. Melvin breathed a huge sigh of relief. Today was going to be a doozy.

The bell rang at the end of an uneventful school day (thanks to half of the class' comedic duo being absent), and the kids all grabbed their stuff and left the classroom as fast as they could, because anywhere was better than school (unless of course, your name happened to be Melvin Sneedley). He took a relaxed breath as he pulled out his extra worksheets. He figured he wouldn't need the earplugs, as he assumed Harold would have bolted out of school the minute it ended so he could visit his sick friend. The first few minutes of Melvin working on his homework were the most peaceful few minutes the kid had experienced since George and Harold had discovered the art of pranking. That was how he liked it, just him and his work in complete silence. He could already taste the extra credit.

About ten minutes in, as per previous weeks, he once again picked up a sound coming from the music room, but this time it was different. Yes, it was the familiar sound of the keys of the old piano being pressed, but it was like the person playing the notes was genuinely trying to learn how to play a coherent tune. Aside from the odd wrong note and the slam of discordant keys whenever the player obviously felt that they had screwed up, whoever this mystery pianist was was actually sounding pretty good.

Curiosity got the better of him, and he once again abandoned his work to go and see exactly who was playing the piano. Aside from the few teachers who stayed behind after the school day to grade papers and host extra-curricular activities, he couldn't think of anyone else (besides himself) who would willingly stay in school after the day was done.

The door to the music room had slowly but surely began to lose it's coating of dust in those previous few weeks, due to being in constant use once again. This time, Melvin was actually able to clearly see into the room. There, sitting at the piano, trying his best to play a simple melody was none other than Harold Hutchins. The bespectacled fourth-grader let out a quick gasp before ducking out of sight and comprehending the scene he had just witnessed.

Harold playing the piano? He had no idea Harold even had the attention span to learn the piano, but no, there he was, gently pressing the keys in order to play a short but sweet little tune. Melvin let his breath catch up with him before slowly resuming his position of staring through the glass window of the door. He could see Harold's determined face as he tried over and over again to get his song just right. Melvin caught his reflection in the glass pane as he was staring at the other boy. His usually pale cheeks were gaining a little bit of colour, and he got a weird sort-of feeling in his chest. He quickly dismissed any thoughts he had in that moment and dashed back into the classroom across the hall, vowing that no matter what he would bring his earplugs in and not let some silly music distract him from the more important things he was supposed to be doing.

Unfortunately the next week, he ‘accidentally’ left them at home, meaning he once again had to be subjected to the mayhem of the music room after school. George had returned to school that week, but fortunately he had ditched his assault of the instruments in favour of brainstorming new comic ideas, so Melvin could hear the beautiful sounds of Harold's piano playing. Scratch that. They weren't beautiful. He kept telling himself that he only listened to his piano playing because it was impossible to block out the sound of it, it certainly wasn't because he enjoyed it. He'd already decided to never go near the music room after school again, but for some reason he found himself returning again. And again. The same time every week, just to hear the (mostly) delicate sounds of the piano that stood in the old music room. Was he more drawn to the melodies, or the boy playing them?

With every passing visit, that line slowly became more blurred until eventually it ceased to even exist at all. Harold really was improving each time he played, and for some reason even in class Melvin couldn't help but direct his gaze towards him when he thought no-one else was looking. It's as if the blonde had unintentionally put some sort of spell on him, causing him to gradually notice (and eventually admire) his many quirks, both physical or otherwise.

The way he'd stash coloured pencils in the curls of the absolute mess of golden hair he had. Or how when the light hit them just right, you could see that his eyes were in fact two different colours, one green and one blue, resembling the colours of the globe that sat across the class from them at the teacher's desk. How his face would light up whenever you brought up marine biology, and how he would always end up shifting the conversation towards being about dolphins. What the rest of the class failed to notice, was that just as one face sparked with joy when marine life got brought up, so did another. A freckled face, usually covered up by a book and a mildly unamused expression would light up in almost the exact same way as his vastly more popular classmate's did.

A warm feeling tickled Melvin's cheeks once again, dusting them a soft shade of pink as he recalled the smile of the boy who had somehow stolen his heart… wait, no! He didn't have a crush on Harold Hutchins of all people, did he? One of the boys who was responsible for countless pranks directed at himself and most of the school faculty, and a constant target of his tattling? That would honestly be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to him, possibly even more so than the possibility of being found reading Captain Underpants comics, and yet there he was, blushing like an idiot over him and possibly missing out on some extra credit, just to stand in the doorway of the music room listening to him repeat the same set of notes over and over again on the piano.

George was usually blocking the way to Harold, lying down and furiously scribbling what Melvin presumed to be new ideas for their latest issue, but the ginger didn’t mind. After all, it wasn’t as if Melvin wanted to be closer to the piano.

Although, when George decided to move his usual spot, Melvin couldn’t help but notice that if he wanted to he could enter unseen. Despite their excessive use of the room, they never turned on any lights but one, possibly to not attract the principal’s attention, and he was a rather small fellow to begin with.

Without realizing it, he took a step inside, just barely across the threshold. Just like expected, the darkness engulfed him and the two remained unbothered, too busy in their heads as always. Harold was still covered in more shadows than Melvin liked, but now he was only half hidden.

As his fingers danced across the keys he softly hummed along to the tune, so quietly you would miss it if not actively searching. His singing was soft and melodic, a sharp contrast from his loud and bombastic voice Melvin was used to. It was fragile and delicate, almost as much as glass. The melody itself was upbeat and gorgeous in its own way, which fit Harold in that aspect, he mused.

Heaven knew that he had the attention span of a goldfish, yet he hadn’t taken his eyes off his hands, focusing on it more than he’d ever focused for a test. It felt almost wrong, for the boy to not glance around the room and fiddle with whatever he had on him constantly. Furthermore, his smile was small and gentle, nothing like his infuriating smirk he wore when setting a prank or successfully annoying Melvin.

Before, Melvin would believe it didn't fit on such a person, but recently he observed the same expression when talking about what he liked, sketching, or seeing a friend. Unnoteworthy, but certainly there once you looked for it (in fact, that seemed to be true with a lot of his quirks.)

He hadn’t noticed, but he slowly inched his way closer to the piano, now only a few yards away. Snapping out of his trance, he tightened his hold on the books now against his chest, turning around to leave. His homework wasn’t going to do itself, and he wouldn’t dream of letting some stupid music drag his GPA down.

He tip-toed away, cringing when a book slipped out of his grasp and clattered to the floor.

Frozen like a deer in headlights, he didn't even get to turn around before his fears were confirmed.

“Hey.”

[n4talia-chaparro]

• << 1st part || prev || 3 || next >>

ও₊˚╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴╴

Ladies and Gentlemen....I present you....woman. ok ok I'll stop LOL

Contains: toxic relationship (?), mention of eating disorder (BED/ binge eating disorder?), etc

💧|| ꒷꒦︶✨️︶︶꒷꒦︶∪∪︶꒷꒦︶︶✨️︶꒷꒦ ||💧

₊˚꒰🦋⸝⸝︰𝐄𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐡 ┆ ⤿ 💙 ⌗

✧ ┊• Also known as Krupp's first ex. She's an ex-worker who used to work as a lunch lady at Jerome Horwitz. Although she isn't that good at focusing on her job, she is a sweet angel.

✧ ┊• Her favorite color is blue! Always spends more time with the flowers and watching the sun fade away on afternoon all by herself.

✧ ┊• She loves butterflies- especially if it's blue or any color that match her eyes or interests.

✧ ┊• According to Ms. Anthrope, Edith retired or was forced to leave the job after a big fight and argument in the office.

- Half of the staff members have seen her packing her stuff before leaving the job. They asked her what happened but they didn't get any response from her. The only thing they noticed is the way she hides the bruises inside her gloves and watery eyes. Yet no response or any info about Edith.

- 3/5 months or weeks later after the event (which of course she was not involved in those terrible situations), she met the Toilette in the supermarket. They haven't seen each other since the last time she worked in the school. The janitor explained a few stuff and asked her if she wanted to help the others, to which she agreed and returned to her job later on.

✧ ┊• Some students see Edith as a single mom. Well, I mean. Maybe a kind lady but a mom figure??? Um silly and funny not gonna lie.

୨୧ ₊˚๑︶꒥︶꒷︶︶꒥꒷︶꒥︶︶꒷₊ ✦

✧ ┊• Edith is sensitive to yelling and insults. Well, loud noises/sounds, especially sensitive and unexpected topics, if you get what I mean.

✧ ┊•  She loves sweets and soft marshmallows but she's scared to gain weight. Sweets can easily distract her soo..

✧ ┊• Doesn't like showing too much skin or wearing something that makes her uncomfortable such as pants, shorts, sleeveless shirts, tank top t-shirts, swimsuits, etc. Edith would always feel uncomfortable and always insecure about her appearance and weight.

✧ ┊• Speaking of insecurities, sweets, and stuff, she suffers from a binge eating disorder due to anxiety, low self-esteem, dieting, and stuff.

- feels guilty for not being good enough. Krupp would constantly body-shame her and tell her how gross and fat she looks with the stretch marks on her thighs and stomach. Judging her appearance, blaming her because of her weight and telling her that she isn't good enough and no man will love her if she doesn't lose weight.

- And because of that, she doesn't feel comfortable around everyone. She hates feeling like she was being watched or might see being gossiping about her appearance. No matter where she goes (work, camping, beaches, pools, probably mall or any place) people will always look at her with disgust. After all, since she's helping Toilette and the other staff, she had to face her fear and wear something for the summer camp. She isn't a fan of summer or camping but it's fun when it comes to doing activities with the children.

୨୧ ₊˚๑︶꒥︶꒷︶︶꒥꒷︶꒥︶︶꒷₊ ✦

✧ ┊• I'm not sure if she is an alien in this AU or not but possibly. I mean having an alien in the middle of a murder scene caused by her human ex who's principal?? I don't know. An Alien in a cringy and horror au doesn't fit well.

✧ ┊• Edith doesn't mind keeping her eyes on the kids. Some of them are hard for her to supervise, while half of them are calm. George on the other hand is hard to deal with sometimes. Edith doesn't have any against George but oh boy the kid weird

Meanwhile, Harold is just damn. Idk. Edith is too kind to the kids alright idk what to type here.

✧ ┊• ehhh Edith sometimes prefers to be alone for a bit. However, she did miss her job a lot but being a lunch lady can be difficult.

Edith would always stay in the kitchen for a few minutes to have some time. Even tho the kitchen seems fucked up she didn't care. It makes her a little bored whenever she has to wait for the kids to come out of their class. She always had fo heat up the food in case. (????)

୨୧ ₊˚๑︶꒥︶꒷︶︶꒥꒷︶꒥︶︶꒷₊ ✦

✧ ┊• Her relationship with people is just new to her. After being kicked out of her job for months she has met new people so far after meeting Toilette.

- Jerry: oh boy that's gotta be silly. A normal person would help her out with the stuff. But she isn't good at talking to him, knowing she never met someone this clumsy and too protective to the kids.

- Toilette: well I mean they did meet each other and had a normal talk so obviously they are friends. (?)

- Other staff members: HMMMM...sure they are chill around her.

- Mr. Krupp: fuck. Uh how do I explain this, of course, that's her damn ex but look hear me out it was very obvious Krupp would be a terrible person to her so idk. Uhhh maybe they will meet again and idk. Will Edith ever like forgive him? Yeah no fuck that maybe Krupp will murder her.

- Cap: DAAAAMMN...UHH LOOK I MEAN. After Toilette explains that Cap and Krupp don't share the same body and don't need to bring Cap with a single snap. Edith kinda....look you won, she has a little TOO MUCH feeling for him, and uh idk they are both dating or not.

-Cash Networth: I know he's supposed to be in the sequel (2nd part of the AU) but screw it. Her relationship with Cash is so chill. He doesn't mind being around her as long things don't get too freaky.

- Lavatore: uh- (look I know he's supposed to be in the sequel too like Cash but uhhh. He is part of the sequel and he was shown half of the 1st part of the au) they don't really talk to each other or anything so. No rivals no anything just chilled.

୨୧ ₊˚๑︶꒥︶꒷︶︶꒥꒷︶꒥︶︶꒷₊ ✦

✧ ┊• Despite Edith struggling with an eating disorder, she was also showing some sign of well...

How about a hint:

mood swings, nausea, food craving and aversion, fatigue, weight gain, feeling tired, ETC (NO CHEATING Y'ALL IT'S A SILLY GUESSING GAME, SHHH.💀-)

Some people like Cash or Meaner don't have any idea why Edith acts the way she is, although they can't judge her for that, they would notice her appearance is slowly changing and becoming a little bigger compared to her normal weight. (Edith is around 132 IBS or something im not good at guessing weight.)

୨୧ ₊˚๑︶꒥︶꒷︶︶꒥꒷︶꒥︶︶꒷₊ ✦

✧ ┊• Like I said her relationship with her ex was never that good in the first place. However, her thoughts on Krupp are different. For her is that he's a complete sicko. Well, also an asshole. Her ex always talks smack behind her back and gives her unwanted criticism for her weight, always comparing her to a cow or pig. (NAH MOTHERFUCKER LOOK WHO'S TALKING TO WITH YOUR HUMPY DUMPY LOOKING ASS)

The amount of hypocrisy that she's seeing is just goofy. She would hit him with a pan if he ever touch her or idfk. Like I said and I'll repeat this for the 157539th fucking time. Their relationship is unhealthy and stupid just because Krupp finds her heavy. Edith felt jealous and scared to have another relationship with someone after finding out her ex is with Ms. Yewn, she did get jealous because of her, sure maybe that's why she's always insecure cuz she's not skinny enough like HER. But oh well. Edith would fucking kick him out of her house whenever he enters it-

୨୧ ₊˚๑︶꒥︶꒷︶︶꒥꒷︶꒥︶︶꒷₊ ✦

✧ ┊• Her favorite song to listen to is Lofi, well also listening to the sounds of the ocean at the beach. Even tho eating the amount of food is the new way to comfort herself (a horrible coping mechanism I suppose), the music can sometimes make her feel better.

- and she loves signing during the camp event, I guess uhhhh.

✧ ┊• She loves yogurt and cake- (mostly cheesecake 👁👁). Sometimes she makes them for the children during the activities- I suppose she likes sharing stuff. 🏃‍♀️💨 let's be honest, Edith just wanted to see the kids happy, unlike her ex 🧍‍♀️

✧ ┊• what the dog d- I MEAN *AGGRESSIVE COUGHING* Edith might be Bi or straight idfk uhh idk. Maybe she's bi.....*vine boom* wo-woman kisser too..? 😟😟 *vine boom 2x*

✧ ┊• Would constantly try a different type of haircut to see which one suits her but uh idk. She's not good at making haircuts. She's scared to cut half of her hair and make it ugly so she prefer not to change that style.

✧ ┊• Her favorite aesthetic are: cottagecore, peach, art hor (yeah those two are "aesthetic" according to "Aesthetic list" on wiki i-), carnivalcore, cutecore, and angelcore-

✧ ┊• She loves pastel colors :00

[wooglebear]

So, how is tetocu23 handling this little boy?

Yes, that's right. since the legacy movie characters are going to be in this theoretical reboot, Tommy (AKA the locker kid from the film) is here. He's going to be slightly much happier here.

Emphasis on slightly.

- let's say Tommy is smart, determined and ruthless. He's rude to people she doesn’t trust. He's brash and stubborn. And he has a bit of claustrophobia.

- He has a passion for drawing and helping those around him, sometimes even worrying more about helping others than helping himself

- He sometimes has acts responsible, but not in a bossy way.

- To Krupp tho, he's seen as kind of a weirdo, for you see, he spends almost every time of the day drawing in his sketchbook

- He practices everyday to become a better artist, and he's been bullied because of it.

- Tommy doesn’t mind these comments, although they have made him less willing to share his drawings with others that aren’t named George and Harold or Dante (yes, he and Dante are friends in this one)

His design is showing the contrast between what he likes/his personal taste vs his mother's expectations/what he knows is the best choice.

What is this mother like? Well…

This is Miss Bluebell Clark. She's a single mother (yes, her wife is nowhere in the picture) and Jerome Horwitz Elementary's new drama teacher.

- basically the adult version of a theatre kid.

- has the middle name "Belinda".

- Really darn smart and conniving. Befitting her job as drama teacher, she's a very good actress. She has a knack for lying, twisting words and exploiting weaknesses. If you're Tommy, it’s very hard to know when she’s being genuine.

- When she first shows up, and around Alice, Bluebell acts all calm and collected, sweet, and innocent. Of course, that’s just a facade. Underneath that, there is a downright manipulative, cruel, calculating and self absorbed young lady who's willing to use and trample on anyone, even her own son. And remember when I said she acts innocent as her facade? No, on the inside, she is not. She's the reason why Tommy has a bit of claustrophobia (she hides him in lockers). Tommy even tries going to tetocu23!“Grace Wain” to try to get his mother fired. But Grace tells him that the only reason that she hasn't booted her out of there yet is because she has a feeling she's planning something, and also Bluebell's an 'asset' to the school.

- As vain as the peacock and refuses to get dirty.

- Near constantly tells Tommy 'dress exactly as I tell you'. As a result, Tommy suffers for it, as his mother sets the theme for his outfit each day, and he would rather wear something a little more plausible for a ten year old boy than the clothes of a theatre kid. Something local theatre kid Dante notices.

- Uses emotional abuse on Tommy. But when she's mad at Tommy, it can get a little hairy.

- Her personality can change from nasty to sweet on a dime. If she wrote one poem as a nice person and one poem as a bad person, you would not think the same person wrote both poems. That's how two sided she is.

- The only thing that she makes known of her real self is her treatment of Tommy. As a result, everyone feels bad for Tommy and hates Bluebell.

- She thinks most teachers (and Edith) as her subjects, blissfully unaware of what everyone thinks of her. Mr. Ree, however, makes her blood boil, to the point she has a sign on the staff room saying "Janitors do not count as teachers. They are not allowed."

- I think Bluebell would make everyone hate Tommy. This hatred of him would eventually bubble over and Tommy gets monster-fied. as a result, the boys and captain have to fight him as a monster of the week. Eventually, Tommy gets turned back to normal, and now everyone loves the boy :)

- Bluebell sees it differently. When Cash shows up, she INSTANTLY hates him and works in secret with Krupp, despite our principal not treating Cash as horribly as canon, to turn almost everyone against the man. Poor Cash is just confused as to why everyone but Javi and Alice hates him.

Alice: I love playing the Sims. It's basic. You build a house, make people who live in it, done.

Cash: I'm quite fond of The Sims 4: Get Famous.

Javi: I love making my sims get jobs.

Bluebell: I did things like removing all the doors to a room and making my neighbor pee themself or watching people drown in ladderless pools!

Javi: ...

Cash: You disgusting psychopath

Alice: (sarcastic) Bluebell, what would we do without you?

- When Cash and Javi confront Bluebell, Javi's like "So it was all you! You made everyone hate my boyfriend!" and Cash's like "How will you kill us? Will it be the classic beheading ooooor burn us at the stake like witches? Please, do get creative, I wouldn't want my death to be something generic." Bluebell's like "Nah, I won't kill either of you."

- Desperately wants to get rid of Cash and goes to great lengths to try and set up the parameters for his downfall, but it goes sideways in some way.

Bluebell: Do you want to be friends with me?

cash networth: of course! The more friends the merrier, so you join us!

Bluebell: I'm sure I won't backstab you in the end... (shows she had her fingers crossed) Or will I?

-Despite being a lesbian, Bluebell used to be dating Lavatore Ree. Then thanks to Lavatore playing it fast and loose, they drifted apart.

-When she reconciles with her ex-lover, Bluebell is very open about their relationship, while Lavatore keeps it a secret.

- Used to be Cara's right-hand-woman, until she quit.

- Has a rivalry with Alice. There was no reason for giving her this rivalry if I recall. But I think it's really funny that, while the blonde art teacher becomes the most popular teacher at a school of fun hating adults (thanks to treating her pupils nicely), the brunette drama teacher has a son who she treats horribly and makes herself public enemy number one.

(tetocu23 au: @infini-tree / @cartchytuns)

[whereareroo]

THERE IS HOPE FOR US ALL

WF THOUGHTS (9/19/24).

Do you know somebody who has “average intelligence”? Of course you do. Most people have average intelligence. Isn’t that the definition of average?

George Carlin, the brilliant comedian, had a funny line about intelligence: “Think of how stupid the average person is, then realize that half of the population is stupider than that.”

It’s easy to understand the intelligence spectrum. Some people are very, very smart. Some people fall at the other end of the spectrum. Most people are somewhere in the middle.

I firmly believe that we’re all children of God. Some of the Saints were intellectual powerhouses. I’m thinking of Saints like Thomas Aquinas, Augustine, Catherine of Sienna, Thomas More, and Ignatius of Loyola. Most of the Saints had “average intelligence.”

Yesterday was the feast day of Saint Joesph of Cupertino. You can blame this post on him. He got me thinking about intelligence.

Cupertino lived, in Italy, from 1603 until 1663. He wasn’t very smart. In those days, before political correctness, the term “dunce” was used to describe people at the low end of the intelligence spectrum. For his whole life Cupertino was called a dunce. That didn’t change with his ascension to sainthood. Even today, some folks call him Saint Dunce.

George Carlin would probably ask: “How stupid was he?” Well, he was such a dunce that his mother hated him. He was ridiculed by everyone at his school and in his village. As soon as she could, his mother kicked him out of the house and told him to find a seminary that would take him. Because he was a dunce, the first seminary wouldn’t take him. The second seminary rejected him too. Trying to be charitable, a third seminary at a monastery accepted him for a “probationary year.” They sent him home as soon as they could.

Cupertino’s mother was furious when the dunce returned to her doorstep. She dragged him back to the monastery and begged the Friars to take him as a manual laborer. The Friars put him in the barn and gave him work in the stables.

The years went by. The Friars would chat with Cupertino when they visited the stables. Over time, the Friars were amazed at Cupertino’s ability to talk to them about their spiritual problems. They learned that he had an extensive prayer life and an extremely close relationship with God. Word leaked out, and before long villagers were going to the stables to visit with Cupertino for spiritual guidance.

At some point, the Friars decided that Cupertino should be given the opportunity to become a priest. They all thought that he would fail his exams. They thought that he could only pass with assistance from God. Cupertino passed. It was a miracle.

As a priest, Cupertino tended to the poor. He had a knack for responding to their spiritual needs. He also responded to their physical needs, including their infirmities. He performed many miracles. He gave sight to the blind. He cured sick children. The dunce performed wonders despite his lack of intelligence. He was recognized as a Saint in 1767.

The Cupertino saga reminds me of a funny story from the Nixon years. To fill a vacancy, Nixon nominated a judge named Harold Carswell to the Supreme Court. Carswell was widely known to be one of the dumbest judges in America. One of Nixon’s extremely conservative cronies in the Senate, Roman Hruska, tied to defend the nomination. Hruska said: “Even if he were mediocre, there are a lot of mediocre judges and people and lawyers. They are entitled to a little representation, aren’t they, and a little chance? We can’t have all Brandeises, Frankfurters, and Cardozo.” In other words: “Don’t the dumb folks deserve a voice on the Supreme Court too?” Ultimately, the Senate rejected the nomination of Carswell.

Well, the congregation of Saints isn’t the Supreme Court. Saint Joseph of Cupertino is the patron saint of people with mental challenges. There is hope for all of us. Even dunces can become Saints.

[magmagpie]

College George! 19 years old

wears a button up instead of the polo thing he wears as a child

i draw his fade shave thing harsher bc he's older

became lowkey obsessed with fun ties and has a blast choosing which one in his vast collection he wants to wear each day

still the type to go bouncing off the walls in excitement

studying Creative Writing

recently started dating Lisa

College Harold! 20 years old

paints his nails

pierced ears, owns the funkiest earrings

still hates confrontation and is considered shy and timid, but has noticeably opened up since childhood

has evolved from striped t-shirts to quirky, smartassy, witty, stupid t-shirts

studying Fine Arts

sometimes has to wear wrist braces bc of how he dealt with carpal tunnel in high school(i would've drawn it but y'know)

currently crushing on Billy

Both!

they share a dorm and have a bunk bed

they got one of those BFF heart necklaces, George put his on a bracelet bc it was uncomfortable to wear with a tie

they made matching bracelets with each other's favorite color scheme and wear them on the hand each of them use to write/draw their comics(i headcannon Harold as ambidextrous)

please ignore that neither of them are wearing shoes, they don't go well with my style and I'm bad at drawing them anyway. i think George would wear convers, and Harold would wear either checkered vans or boots

they both make sure to keep multiple fidget toys on them at all times

after a few years of experimenting, they came to the conclusion that ADHD meds weren't for them and they refuse to take any ever

finally caught a break with teachers and have professors that let them work together on a lot of their assignments and actually enjoy having them in their classes bc of their creativity and spirit

//SH WARNING UNDER CUT//

when they were in high school, Harold really started having a rough time. he was separated from George for most of his classes, he was being picked on again, his mom was becoming more strict, the teachers just seemed to hate him and always told him to be better even when it was clear he was trying his best on his own and still failing. he hid it for as long as he could, but each day just weighed heavier and heavier on his back, and he couldn't bring himself to ask for help. not even when his report cards came back with nothing but red marks and his mother stopped letting him go to the treehouse after school. George could feel him slowly pushing him away every time he tried to get him to tell him what was up, but he didn't know what to do. on top of it all, Harold started realizing why he didn't think of girls the same way the other guys did, and he didn't know it was okay to prefer oogling at the cute boy in his science class than the hot girl in gym. after months of trying to repress it and lying to himself about who he liked, and battling his own mind in many other ways, he went and got baptized as a desperate attempt to 'fix' himself. when it didn't work and he only felt himself sinking even more, he made the attempt to take his own life. George found him on the floor of his bathroom one weekend, and managed to call the ambulance to get him to hospital just in time. Harold finally got the help he needed, accepted it, and was off the anti-depressants by the time they went into college. the scars from his attempt are still very much there, and it overwhelms him some days to see them, but they fade and are gone completely by the time the events of the last books have happened. he has a semicolon tattoo on both of his wrists, i just didn't think about it before i finished the drawing.

[tornrose24]

You should rank the TETOCU episodes

I’ve actually been meaning to do that for quite awhile. I was waiting for the potential 5th season... but seeing as THAT’S not going to happen, I’ll go ahead. Starting with my least favorite episodes (also, I don’t know the exact full name of the episodes, so I’ll refer to them as something else)

My LEAST favorite episodes of the Epic Tales of Captain Underpants

4. The teacher-tron episode (AKA the one where Meaner is the replacement superhero)

I felt like Harold and George getting expelled was fixed way too easily. Also, the fact that CU himself doesn’t properly appear in this episode is bad enough but then he gets temporarily replaced by the same guy who was responsible for his death in the books. (Also, while Meaner is more likable in the show, you can tell he was a bit of a creator’s pet if you notice how he is used so often).

But on the other hand we DID get Grace Wang, who was pretty awesome.... except I think we ALL saw that twist involving her a mile away after the reveal in the first season finale.

3. -The one where the boys (and Krupp) end up at the better school in season 2.

I remember reading the synopsis for this one on Netflix and I thought ‘well this is going to be predictable as hell’ and I was even tempted to skip it. So not only do we have an easily guessable plot, but its basically what should have been book 8 in animated form. And oh joy, Meaner is the ‘monster/bad guy of the day.’ AGAIN.

I admit that I did like the interactions between the boys and Krupp, and that it seemed Krupp was trying to do better... but after season three, I have my serious doubts as to how sincere he was.

2. -The one where we see Krupp’s childhood.

I loved the idea of seeing Krupp as a child, and it was sweet to see a scenario where that version of him interacts with George and Harold (and it had serious ‘what if’ potential). And also we get hints that not only did he used to be a sweet kid, but we see a little bit of CU in that child. And yeah, I get that the boys were going to risk making things a LOT worse and that the moral was ‘Not everyone can be changed into a better person.’

But the moral falls so horribly flat when you see that Krupp was stuck with an abusive mother and that he virtually had no support of any kind outside his home. Hell, the show more than hints that Bernice herself made things worse when Krupp DID succeed at the talent show thanks to George and Harold’s involvement. Also, wording the moral as ‘some people are just born bad’ does NOT work for someone like Krupp in this case.

The rest of the episode was either ‘eh’ or ‘wait, he undid the child labor laws?!’

1. -The blue people planet episode. (screw this episode I hate it so much).

I’ve only seen this episode once and have no desire to see it again.

This was basically a repeat of the ‘better school’ episode, but worse. This was clearly book 8, down to the evil versions of the boys and CU.

You had so much potential for a space season, kept it to six episodes, and wasted it on a poor imitation of a book that you refuse to properly adapt.

Also everything about that planet is baffling when you give yourself time to think on the issues. If the kids are more powerful and oppressive than the adults, then the adults would have to sterilize themselves or limit how often they’d have children, but they clearly need their race to continue on and.... yeah it’s pretty messed up fridge horror when you get down to it.

So yeah, I freaking hate this episode so much. Actually most of season 4 was such a let down and everyone has been in agreement over it.

Ok, now for the episodes I loved.

4. The Rome episode

This truly felt it a book Dav would have written himself. Not only was it a creative concept of a time-travel school trip, but George and Harold manage to have the same levels of manipulation and stupidity (AKA not thinking things through) that they tend to have in the books. Hell even Melvin is at his best here. I feel like this was the best time traveling episode out of all the episodes that use that gimmick.

Even better–someone FINALLY had enough of Krupp’s BS and punched him in the gut, which is basically what we ALL wanted to do. I actually could not stop laughing when it happened and had to rewind that bit. I know he suffers a lot in season 2, but that moment was pure catharsis or myself as well as the ten year old reader in me.

3. The clay episode with Bo.

This was one of the most creative episodes and I love the use of stop motion when Claylossus turns the world into clay (and the ‘decreasing value’ gag is chuckle worthy). I felt like this best explored the creative potential this show had to offer.

Also, I loved that this episode best displayed the boys’ compassionate nature by befriending Bo and warming him up to making even more friends. Its not often we see George and Harold showing compassion towards others. Also Bo is one of the best original characters the show gave us and his ‘bad guy of the day’ form suited his character and worked as a twisted interpretation to how others saw him.

2. The Splotch episode

This one broke the episode’s usual format when the concept was ‘Captain Underpants is framed for a crime he didn’t commit.’ Which meant that we get CU for a lot longer in this episode AND he doesn’t revert back to Krupp at the end! ^_^ But the idea of him getting sent to jail and put on trial is pretty damn hilarious.

I also love that this was a continuation of a previous episode and that the villain was an evil mutated alien robe–who also doubled as a Venom shout out by possessing Mr. Ree (another great OC character).

1. The soctopus episode

Again, this feels like something Dav would have written himself and I am impressed with how creative this episode went in capturing the silly spirit of his books. The ‘bad guy of the day’ being made of gross socks feels like a true CU villain and the fact that he’s voiced by John DiMaggio made him even better. Also I love how hilarious the initial set up is–that George and Harold think suspension is awesome and try to get Krupp to suspend them, while he actively avoids doing so as he understandably suspects they are up to something.

But what I love best about this episode is one short, yet important shot–as the monster is being defeated and lets go of the boys, CU freaks out and immediately goes in to grab them, followed by a moment where he is holding them both and all three are smiling. Everything about this moment sums up the best part of CU’s character–he may not be the brightest bulb in the drawer, but he is actively concerned about the boys’ safety and he WILL be there if they get in trouble. In a world filled with cruel or idiotic adults, how fitting is it that the good side of the boys’ least favorite person is the one who will always listen and be there for them? And unlike in the books, the boys care very much about their hero and do appreciate him. Everything about that moment sums up why the fandom adores the intergenerational friendship the boys have with CU.

As a bonus, let’s rank the specials

3. The Halloween episode

-I felt like they could have done more with a Halloween episode and it lacked some badly needed creativity. Also I really hated the adults here, wanted to throttle Krupp personally, and was baffled at how Ree and George and Harold’s parents wee all anti-Halloween. Also I’m pissed that apparently Heidi does NOT exist in the series, especially that the books literally show her later on.

On the other hand, we get to see CU being a bit more of a competent bad ass.

2. The Christmas episode.

Well at least it wasn’t another ‘Christmas Carol/It’s a Wonderful life’ re-telling and managed to tap into George and Harold’s flawed side. Jacked!Santa was terrifying though. But what I HATED was that apparently the staff–who clearly knew the source material up to this point–forgot that Krupp is Jewish and had him celebrate Christmas like the others. WTF?! Why would you do that? It was FREAKING SHOWN in book 5!

But on the plus side–EDITH FINALLY SHOWS UP AS A CAMEO! Hallelujah finally our girl showed up on the show! And since the show isn’t continuing any time soon, I can pretend that Krupp/CU eventually ran into her.

1. The interactive episode

I had a lot of fun on this one and seeing the different outcomes. Even when I took the path I thought would be the safest, it turned out I needed to take a different one. But it does make you feel like you are in George and Harold’s shoes as you try to figure out the best way to save the tree house. (Also, I once again wanted to throttle/punch Krupp, but thankfully this special gives you multiple ways to make him suffer.)

Also, given the nature of the episode, we get a lot of scenes out of this one that require you to take as many routes as possible. (And I love that there’s one where you can ensure CU single handedly saves the tree house through sheer stubbornness and luck, while also doing what Krupp completely failed to do by getting the one million dollars needed.)

[peepeepotter]

New Girl Hogwarts AU Chapter 5: Merry Christmas, Georgie.

Pairing: George Weasley x fem!reader; Harry Potter x Ginny Weasley

Warnings: Cursing? I think?

Word Count: 3.2 K

Series Masterlist

“It was just so weird.” Y/N shuddered, using her rolling pin on a sheet of cookies in the Hogwarts kitchens.

“I mean, yeah, that sounds uncomfortable as fuck. What are you guys, teenagers?” Fred asked her, his head in his hand, watching her closely. He had told George before, Y/N is totally George’s type. Fred couldn’t help but think that it was a surprise it took this long for them to have an uncomfortable sexually tense encounter. “What did Terry say?”

“What do you mean? Terry didn’t see. I don’t want Terry to know. I’m trying to date casually right now.” Y/N said, suddenly remembering the reason she moved into the loft.

“Casually? With TERRY? Have you met that guy? He looks like he cries during sex.” This made Y/N laugh loudly.

“It’s so weird to talk about this with you. You’re his twin, maybe I shouldn’t be talking to his dead brother about this.”

“Hey, I’m basically alive. I’m just a ghost. And stuck in this stupid castle.” Fred pouted, reaching to grab cookie dough and put it in his mouth. “Although I really can’t taste much. But from what I remember, this tastes a lot like some cookies mum used to make.” Fred smiled.

“Fred, I love you, but please don’t talk about your mom when I just told you about a sexual encounter with your brother.”

“Sexually tense encounter at best, don’t get ahead of yourself, love. Anyway, how could you be attracted to him? I’m so much better looking than him.” Fred scoffed, fake-offended. In actuality, Fred was quite happy that George was moving on from Angelina. Fred was especially happy George was moving on with one of Fred’s most consistent friends at Hogwarts. Plus she baked like Molly.

“Fred, I hate to break it to you, but you died when you were a teenager, so you still look like one. As an adult, I’m not attracted to teenagers.”

“I’ll have you know I was twenty when I died. No longer a teenager, thank you very much.” Fred grinned. “Besides, mentally I’m like four years older than you.”

“You know what I mean.” She rolled her eyes, but maintained a smile on her face. Y/N always liked hanging out with Fred, he was actually her first friend at the school. He found her crying one day after the breakup with McLaggen and did everything in his power to make her feel better about it. Ever since then, Y/N spent the majority of her free time between classes with Fred. She supposed it didn’t help that he looked an awful lot like the guy she liked. No, shut up, I don’t like him. Don’t listen to her thoughts, I’m the narrator. I’m always right, just wait.

“Y/N, do you even like Terry?”

“Well, he’s nice. And I could see myself liking him.”

“So you don’t.”

“Not yet.”

“Y/N.” Fred had his head resting in his hand against the counter, giving Y/N a look of pure disappointment. He knew Y/N and George would wind up together the minute he met her. He’s the one that showed her the ad on the wizarding web for a new place to live. Although, Y/N wasn’t happy that he didn’t tell her that she would find a man identical to him when she went to the interview with the boys. Fred just shrugged, he knew George well enough to know that they’d let her move in. He also knew George well enough to know that George would find Y/N just as adorable as Fred did.

“I just, maybe I need to rebound, okay? I don’t want to end up with someone like Terry, but I don’t want to end up hurting someone I really like in case I’m not ready to date yet.” To Fred, this sounded like code for ‘I don’t want to fuck up with your brother.’

“So you’re using Terry.”

“Don’t say it like that.”

“Y/N!” Fred chuckled, knowing he was right.

“I mean, so what? We’ve only been on a few dates, what’s the worst that could happen?” Little did Y/N know, she’d just jinxed herself.

-

“I’m sorry, what?” George asked, throwing his head back on the couch.

“We’re going to a party. Together, all of us.” Draco asserted. “None of you have a choice, I need people to know I have friends.” At this, Harry and George started snickering. Draco might not have been as bad as he was when they were at Hogwarts, and it certainly helped that he switched sides at the battle of Hogwarts, but people still didn’t like him.

“You mean you need—” George started.

“Don’t finish that sentence.” Draco quickly interrupted.

“What are we doing?” Y/N asked upon leaving her bedroom. “I was on the phone with my mom, what’s going on?”

“You mean mum, you stupid American.” George said unwavering, taking a sip from his beer.

“Okay, ha-ha, it was funny at first, now it’s just sad.” Y/N scrunched her nose. “Also do you ever drink water? I don’t think I’ve seen you drink anything other than beer for the past few months.”

“No comment.”

“We’re going to a Christmas party on Christmas eve.” Draco answered. He was tired of the two bickering all the time, and wouldn’t entertain it anymore.

“Oh fun! Can we also go look at Christmas lights? There’s this no-maj neighborhood not far—”

“A what neighborhood?” George asked, teasing Y/N.

“Muggle. I hate it here.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “Anyway, it’s called Candy Cane Lane and it’s supposed to be super cute.” Y/N’s face lit up, her hands clapping lightly out of excitement. George felt that stupid feeling in his stomach again.

“No.” Draco said.

“Sure.” George shrugged. Draco turned and glared at him. “If we have time. I have to get to the Burrow that night. I’ve missed Christmas with my family for the past three years because of these idiots.” He gestured towards Neville and Harry chatting in the kitchen.

“You’re supposed to party on Christmas eve!” Harry interjected.

“Yeah, party, not get black out drunk and go to the hospital annually.” George muttered, causing Y/N to giggle quietly. She took a seat on the couch near him. To her it seems that they had gone back to normal after their interaction on Thanksgiving.

“We’ll go if we have time.” George whispered to her again. She nodded with a small smile on her face.

“So Y/N,” Harry started, walking towards the couch from the kitchen. 

“Harold.”

“It’s actually—”

“Just Harry, I know, it was a joke.”

“What are you getting your boyfriend for Christmas?”

“Oh god, I have to get him something? We're barely dating. What do you get someone you’re not that close to?”

“You don’t?” George offered.

“A plant?” Neville shouted from the kitchen.

“Hand soap. I have the feeling that man doesn’t have any in his bathroom.” Draco straight-faced. Y/N snorted.

“Let’s go to the shops and find something.” Harry smiled.

--

“Why? Why did I split up and go with you?” Y/N sighed, standing behind George who was distracted by some small robotic trinket. Y/N, a muggle-born, had seen them all the time as a teenager. George clearly had not.

“Because I’m the comic relief of the group. Also, I’m the hot one.” George smirked at her. She rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face she was hoping he wouldn’t see. He did.

“Whatever, help me pick something for this stupid man.”

“So you admit it?”

“What?”

“He’s stupid?”

“I mean, yeah, but I have a muggle doctorate and I’ve studied magical creatures forever. I’d say objectively most people are stupid to me.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you.” He pushed her arm lightly, she pushed back laughing.

“Just get him one of these. They’re cute. He’s simple.” George shrugged, handing the small robot that said “Merry Christmas,” over and over to her. She shrugged, figuring he’s right.

“What about you? What do you want for Christmas?” Y/N asked. She asked to be nice, but she had already gotten him a bunch of Friends merchandise. George had proved to be a real sucker for most muggle things.

“Don’t get me anything. Seriously.” He turned towards her quickly. He had a stern look on his face.

“Why?”

“Because I’m horrible at gift giving, and I always feel in-debted when someone gives me something really good.” He didn’t look at her when he spoke this time, walking towards more muggle items. She raised her eyebrows, noting that she might have to return his Christmas gift. Actually, no. He’s getting a gift. Idiot.

--

“Here, merry Christmas.” Y/N said to Terry. They sat at the foot of her bed the day before Christmas Eve, giving each other their gifts.

“You open yours first.” He smiled at her, handing her the envelope. She opened it with a shrug. Her heart dropped. In front of her were two passes to a portkey that would take them to New York City. At the bottom of the card that contained the tickets, Terry had written a sweet note, signed with love. Love? Oh Merlin.

“I-I—” She stuttered, not knowing what to say. “Thanks, Terry.” She suddenly felt very bad for her cheap muggle gift. When he opened it, though, he wasn’t disappointed, just amused by the toy.

“Thank you so much.” He grinned at her. “I love you so much.” Her heart dropped further, and she had to keep herself from cringing.

“T-thanks.”

--

“Oh no. You said THANKS? To a confession of love?” George asked, all of the guys holding back laughs as she sat on the couch with her head in her hands.

“What was I supposed to do? Lie?” Her words were muffled by her hands.

“Well, no, but thanks?” Harry chortled out. Draco was bent over, almost on the ground from laughter. Neville was flushed red from secondhand embarrassment.

“What do I do? Break up with him? I’m not ready for any of this.” Y/N felt nauseous.

“I mean, weren’t you just kind of using him anyway?” George lectured.

“Why do you guys keep saying that?”

“You guys?”

“You fucking Weasley’s, your brother said that too.” She rolled her eyes, storming into her room. She hated living with men. They were never helpful but always thought they were.

--

The next day, George opened her bedroom door without knocking. She glared at him.

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s fine, I overreacted. I’m just annoyed at the situation.”

“Well, we’re leaving soon, so get ready.” He offered, ducking back out of her room. Y/N put on black tights and a little black dress. She grabbed a red coat after putting on fake eyelashes. She grabbed her purse, and opened her door while slipping on her heels. Stumbling into the hall, she once again was faced with several men staring at her.

“Why do you guys do this every time I wear a dress?”

“You’re pretty.” Neville smiled, making Y/N almost tear up. They always did this, stare at her, but they almost never complimented her.

“Yeah, plus we only ever see you in sweatpants. So maybe we would stare less if you dressed less like a goblin every day.” Draco said, ruining the moment and heading towards the door.

“I don’t think you look like a goblin.” George whispered to her as they walked out of the loft. She smiled softly up at him.

Upon arriving at the party, Draco flocked towards his work wife. Harry headed towards Ginny, ready to give her the gift he got her. He was only slightly disappointed to find that she had brought a date to the party. 

“Here, Ginny.” He gave her the small box when her new boyfriend (boy toy, hopefully) walked away to get her a drink.

“Harry, you didn’t have to get me anything.” She said guiltily, not having gotten him anything. She opened it slowly as he shrugged in response. It was a small bottle. “What is it?” Her eyebrows scrunched. Harry laughed.

“It’s perfume. I’m not telling you that you stink, before you say that.” Ginny smiled, glad to know Harry knew her so well. “It’s a bunch of scents that remind me of you.” He shrugged, not wanting to admit that he had Draco make amortentia to see what she smelled like.

“Oh Merlin, if I smell like this I’m so sorry.” She coughed upon smelling it, making Harry laugh.

“Yeah, it’s a little all over the place. But it’s the thought, I guess?” She grinned at him, nodding.

Meanwhile George and Neville followed Y/N over to Terry. After a short, awkward conversation, Y/N excused herself to the bathroom. Neville walked away to find Luna. George stayed with Terry.

“So, quite a present you got her.” George said awkwardly, drinking from a plastic cup.

“Oh yeah, I think she really liked it.”

“Eh.”

“What? Did she tell you she didn’t like it?”

“I think it was just a lot really soon, buddy.”

“Oh no, do you think I should’ve toned it down?”

“Probably, Terry. You spent a small fortune and told her you loved her after like three weeks.”

“Oh no, what are you saying? Did she say she doesn’t love me? I was so stressed after she didn’t say it back, but I just assumed she was nervous.”

“I— you know I don’t actually think it’s my place to tell you that, Terry.”

Simultaneously, Y/N and Ginny convened in the bathroom.

“Did you like the present Harry got you?”

“It doesn’t smell very good, but it was really sweet.”

“Well, yeah, it’s Harry. He’s been in love with you for like, ever.” Y/N rolled her eyes.

“I mean, has he, though?”

“You absolute idiot.”

“Whatever, did you like what Terry got you?”

“I didn’t tell you, yet? He got me plane tickets to the states for him and I and told me he loved me. When I’m out here thinking about my roommate.”

“Oh Merlin, so a bad perfume is definitely the way to go.” Y/N nodded in agreement. “Why are men so difficult?” Ginny added.

“It’s like they’re so simple that it’s difficult.” Y/N hummed. “We should go back out there.” They fixed their appearances in the mirror slightly before returning to the party. Y/N found George and Terry out on the balcony.

“You really don’t love me?” Terry said, turning around to face her with tears in his eyes.

“What? Where did this come from?” Before anyone could answer, she turned to George who immediately cringed. “What did you do?”

“I just- sometimes I speak without thinking?”

“Terry, don’t listen to this idiot.” George put his hands up in defense and went to leave back to the party, but found the door locked. He went for his wand and realized he had forgotten it at the loft.

“Oh no.” George whispered

“You don’t like me, do you? Did I do too much too soon? Be honest, stop doing that thing where you make me feel better.” Terry looked like a puppy, making the whole situation a lot worse.

“Somebody please help!” George pleaded, banging against the glass.

“I-Terry. Yes, okay? You scared me. It was a lot really soon. I just got out of a relationship, and I really wanted to take it slow.” Y/N confessed.

“I’m stuck out here! This is so awkward, please help!” George kept banging on the door.

“I— what if I can’t do that?” Terry asked.

“LET ME OUT!!!” George shouted.

“You can’t take it slow?” Y/N scrunched her brow.

“Oh Merlin.” George sat on the ground against the door.

“Isn’t it obvious? If I already love you and you can’t say it back, maybe we shouldn’t be together.” Although Terry’s words kind of hurt, Y/N felt somewhat relieved. “I’ll see you at work, alright?” Terry approached the door and unlocked it wordlessly with his wand.

“Thanks Terry.” George went to follow behind Terry as he left, but stopped, looking back at Y/N. He sighed, realizing he needed to clean up the mess he had made. He walked back over to her, leaning against the balcony next to her.

“You know, I think maybe this was my fault.” He admitted, looking through the glass doors at the party.

“You think, George?” She snapped.

“Well, didn’t you want to break up with him anyway?”

“Yeah, I did, but I wanted to do it on my own terms.” She puffed a breath of air out of her lips.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to completely ruin your relationship. I was trying to help him tone it down.”

“Well, thanks I guess.” She pushed off of the balcony, heading back into the party to find Neville and Luna.

“Well, fuck.” George sighed. 

--

The group, Ginny included, left the party at three in the morning. Walking through town, George attempted to rush his sister and Harry.

“We’ve got to get to the burrow like, three hours ago.” 

“Who cares? Mum and dad are asleep. They won’t know we were late.”

“Because I still have to wrap all my gifts, Gin.” George sighed. Y/N was behind the group, attempting to peel her shoes off despite the snow. Harry and Ginny started talking, and George looked around for his best friend. Finding Y/N at the back of the group, he slowed his pace until he was walking with her. He looked at her shoeless feet, walking in only stockings in the deep snow. He sighed.

“Stop.” Y/N looked up at him, his voice startling her. “All of you, stop. We’ve gotta go somewhere.”

“I thought you needed to get home to wrap your gifts.”

“We’ll just be late. It’s fine.” George shrugged, he faced Y/N suddenly. “Jump on my back, alright?” He leaned down in front of her, offering a piggy-back ride. Y/N smiled a little and climbed up on his back. The group walked to Candy Cane Lane. Upon arriving, the magic-users were disappointed. The lights were all off.

“HEY!” George started shouting.

“Oh my god, George it’s not that important, it’s okay.” Y/N whispered into his ear. Goosebumps raised on his neck upon feeling her breath so close to him.

“It is important! It’s Christmas! COME ON! YOU ALL PUT SO MUCH EFFORT INTO THESE STUPID LIGHTS! TURN THEM ON!” He shouted. Ginny grinned.

“YEAH! TURN THEM ON!” Ginny shouted

“TURN THEM ON!!” Harry grinned.

“WAKE UP!!!” George added.

“TURN THEM ON!!” Neville shouted, although much more softly than the rest.

Suddenly, one at a time, each house’s lights turned on. Draco’s wand was lifted, turning on each house's Christmas lights.

“You all are so dumb. We are fortunate enough to have magic, there was a whole war. Remember?” Draco rolled his eyes.

Y/N grinned, feeling her heart swell upon seeing the bright Christmas lights. “Thanks, Georgie.” She whispered, nestling her cheek against his neck. This time his heart swelled.

“Merry Christmas, Y/N.” He said, squeezing her thighs as he held her up off the ground.

“Merry Christmas, Georgie.” Y/N pressed a soft kiss against his cheek.

Taglist: @yllwtaxi @ememseay @droppingthegloves @wassup-peoples @dejayoon @astoriaplease @postsbyjenipeo @edmunds-torch @ummmlana @kennreid @charming-fan-girl @expelliarmusmyass @boxofbadaddiction @pillowjj @losers-club6 @concepcion @gaysludge @melizabethhack @n-dg-wm @when-thedarkness-comes @sarcasticallywitty15 @kinkycalamari @draco-and-tom @rangotangomango 

Permanent taglist: @amourtentiaa​

A/N: if anyone wants to be added please just comment or message me and ask! I’m also working on submissions and asks if anyone wants a one shot or something <3 -mj

[long-after-love]

Can you delve into why you do not think george is smart? I mean this with curiosity and not aggression!

Hello Anon, sorry for the delay!

This is only MY TAKE of George. I love The Beatles, you see, and George was initially my favorite. Now I still love him, just in a starkly different way. If you take notice, there are many details in various books quoting various Beatles people with strong insinuations about George being simple-minded and unintellectual. But keep in mind that this is NOT A BAD THING, not an attack on his artistic prowess.

Here I chose Hunter Davies’s The Beatles to quote from, since it was an official account approved by George himself as an example.

“Paul came round to my house one evening to look at the guitar manual I had, which I could never work out. It was still in the cupboard. We learned a couple of chords from it and managed to play "Don't You Rock Me Daddy O", with two chords. We just used to play on our own, not in any group, just listening to each other and pinching anything from any other lad who could do better.” - George, c/o Hunter Davies. (George was unable to understand the manual without Paul’s help)

And these quotes are also very telling:

“George, we never thought about George's intelligence one way and another when we were talking about them. We knew he wasn't stupid, but he was just such a young lovely boy.”

“He was just little George. We never judged him in any way, the way we used to work out how intelligent or clever Stu, John and Paul were. He didn't develop as quickly as the others had done.”

- Astrid on George, c/o Hunter Davies.

John was the class clown, but he was also an avid reader, he drew funny cartoons and wrote funny poems. Paul was good at art and Latin. John and Paul were remembered by their teachers and they were, indeed, stood out in their unique way.

George had only been an average boy who hated school and rebelled by growing his hair and wearing funny clothes before he was suddenly obsessed with his guitar. He barely had any intellectual interest, and hated school with a passion. According to his dad Harold: “He wanted to work with his hands. He decided with his mother he wanted to leave, unknown to me. He never took his school cert. He just left.”

'It became obvious I wasn't going to get any qualifications. The most I could have got, pushing it, would have been two O levels. But you need two O levels before they even let you dig shit. So what good would that have been?” – George, c/o Hunter Davies.

When Hunter Davies visited George, he was bored to death listening to George droning on and on about his spiritual discoveries, to quote from George:

“Your Samsara is the recurrence of all your lives and deaths. We've been here before. I don't know what as, though the friends you had in the previous life are likely to be the friends you have in this life. You hate all the people you hated last time. As long as you hate, there will be people to hate. You go on being reincarnated, till you reach the absolute truth. But heaven and hell are just a state of mind. Whatever it is, you create it.”

I don’t know where he got that idea of Samsara from, Buddhism or Hinduism, and what kind of actual spiritual practice he was involved with at the time, but as far as I know, there was no implication about hating the same people in your previous life, or being reincarnated until you reach the truth. If he was reading Buddhism script, Samsara means roughly the never-ending circle of suffering from life to death across all reincarnations of the same soul, and the liberation from Samsara is reaching Nirvana.

Have you ever had the kind of experience when, even if you are not quite knowledgeable about the subject, you still have the very strong feeling that the other person is spewing inconsistent bullshit? What George was talking about is exactly like that. Religion, in a way, is also a set of philosophical ideas. George was undoubtedly fervent and passionate about religious teachings, but due to his lack of intellectual competence, his interpretation was all over the place.

I can write more but this is quite a long post already, and I have other asks as well, so I hope you find my answer satisfactory!

[princeasimdiya12]

Random screencaps of the Captain Underpants Mega Blissmas Christmas Special with thoughts for each of those scenes Part 2.

The M.I.S.F.A.R.T.S.’ families and Piqua citizens who watched their performance without an open mind:

Me, alongside the rest of the CU fandom who watched their performance with open hearts:

Also I have to admit that I loved that group shot of the kids. It really shows off a sense of coolness, especially with the holiday outfits.

The second picture sounds like every die hard fan of a manga/book in the modern era. But I hate to admit it, but I did side with the parents on this one. The boys didn’t really understand the importance of Christmas and how it involves giving to others rather then just self-gratification. It makes that they wouldn’t get it now for story reasons (”What? And ruin the plot?”) and also because they’re just kids. Most at that age wouldn’t really think about the humanistic perspective of the holiday season and what it means to do good for your fellow man. For kids like them, they’re still interested in getting toys and indulging in the fun activities that the holidays usually offer. Eventually they’ll learn the meaning and come into a balance where they can both give and receive.

I was kinda bemused over the fact that Melvin was writing a letter to Santa. I was under the impression that he was one of the kids who didn’t believe in Santa or knew that he was a lie. But it would make sense that he would write to him considering that Santa is very much real and makes himself known to the world rather then doing his work in the shadows of Christmas Eve. But now I’m just shaking my head over the fact that Melvin believes he’s nice enough to get presents from the big man himself. Then again, he is demanding so niceness isn’t a factor he’s willing to work with. 

Also, I’m pretty amazed that Melvin prepared himself for George and Harold’s yearly gift with his latest gizmo. You’d think that he would just flat out refuse to accept their gifts considering all the pranks he endured the past three Christmases. But instead, he still accepts it but has taken precautions when opening them. A gift is a gift I suppose. Even if it’s from oblivious enemies.

And this moment was just plain heartwarming. I actually do love it when the boys do something special for Melvin which in turn softened the wicked nerd’s heart. It really gives a feeling of hope that these three could be friends if there was more of an effort done between them. Especially in the main series. 

Cowards! All of them! 

But let’s take a second to think about something. Excluding the idea that Meaner is setting himself up to be kissed, bringing in mistletoe means that everyone would be obliged to participate. And not just to kiss him in particular, but each other. And there’s alot to unpack there. It can mean that all of them have some complicated and painful feelings about affection that they don’t want to bring out with the mistletoe tradition. They are some of the most miserable adults in the show so they might have some unresolved issues they have to work on. Another reason could be that kissing fellow faculty members is a violation of formal regulations for school faculty which could lead to some serious legal trouble between those who participate. (I know this school in particular doesn’t care about the law but it’s still a possibility). I’m probably thinking too much into this one gag but it’s still fun to theorize. 

My boy. Look how they traumatized my boy...

And those are my thoughts for the first part of this special. What do you guys think of all this? Feel free to reblog this with your thoughts. And I’ll be sure to get the rest of the screencaps and thoughts later tonight.

[primitivejunketer]

I Want To Tell You- A George Harrison FanFiction

Chapter 1 // Chapter 2 // Chapter 3 // Chapter 4

Chapter 5- Amour Mon Cher Amour

Fic Summary: George and Rosemarie have been next door neighbors their entire lives. As they grow older, feelings grow stronger. Will they fall in love or fall apart? angst/fluff/slow burn

Chapter Summary: We introduce Paul, Rosemarie goes away on a trip and the unexpected happens upon her return...

Word Count: 2380

Rating: T

Warnings: explicit language/minor affection

Note from the author: Things are happening now!!! Get fired up and buckle in y’all, we’re going for a ride. Also I know the gif below is from Stranger Things, that’s just how cute and awkward I imagine baby Rose and George to be.

Listen while you read! xx

---

October 22, 1954

George sat on the school bus staring out the window at the gloomy Speke weather. He lightly tapped his toes to the beat of Tennessee by Carl Perkins. 

“Hi, is this seat taken?” George looked over at the voice towering above him. A tall, pale boy with round rosy cheeks was addressing him. 

George shook his head silently. 

“I’m Paul,” the boy put out his hand for George to shake. 

“George.” He replied. 

“You’re new, aren’t you?” Paul asked.

“Yeh, I came from Dovedale. My brother came here so my parents made me.” 

 “Oh! What's his name? I might know ‘em.” Paul was jaunty. He had a baby face and was rather tall. He had a very warm presence but George was still new to the school and used to bullies from Dovedale, so he kept his guard up around Paul. 

“Harold Harrison,” George sighed, annoyed. 

“Oh, nah doesn’t sound familiar. But is that your last name? Harrison? That’s a good name. Mine’s McCartney.” 

Paul did most of the talking the rest of the way to his stop. George replied with unenthusiastic “mhm”s. 

The bus finally made it to Paul’s stop after what seemed like years. He shook George’s hand again before retreating from the bus. 

“See you tomorrow, lad.” Paul waved. 

George waved back, wide eyed. 

-

Rose was waiting for George on his porch when he returned home. She was leaned back on the steps, reading a book. 

“Good afternoon, Georgie! How was school?” She asked him in an annoying singsong voice. 

“School wasn’t the bad part, the ride home was.” He groaned, sitting down next to her. 

“What happened? Was someone being mean?” Rose became very concerned. 

“Not at all, this bloke sat next to me and was chatting my ear off the whole way to his stop.” 

“Awww George be nice he was trying to be friendly!” Rose swat his arm playfully. 

“Maybe I don’t want any friends,” he scoffed. 

Rose rolled her eyes and got up, “Come to my house, mum is making stew.” She put out her hand for him to help himself up. Unexpectedly, though, he didn’t let go.

The two held hands for the few block walk to Rose’s house. Before opening the door she awkwardly shook his hand away from hers and opened the door. 

-

December 17, 1954

“She is taking FOREVER!” George complained, tugging his coat tighter around himself. 

“Girls always take forever,” Paul laughed, roughing up George’s hair. 

In the past months, George and Paul had become best friends in school. They rode the bus together every day after the first day they met. They even clung to each other during school. Paul was a year older and had access to the music room at the school and introduced George to a few of his new favorite artists. 

Paul watched George, waiting for this mystery girl’s arrival outside of Trinity Catholic Girls school. 

As per usual, Rosemarie’s parents followed the Harrison’s footsteps and decided Rose should go to private school for secondary school. She fought hard against the decision but eventually lost against her mother. 

Rose HATED school. She hated her stupid black and white school shoes, and her stupid long forest green plaid skirt, and her stupid white button up shirt. 

Suddenly, Paul watched as George’s face lit up. He began waving frantically. Paul’s eyes followed the direction George was looking and he was met for the first time by Rosemarie. 

George gently wrapped his arm around her and turned to Paul. 

“Paul, this is Rose, Rose this is Paul.” George laughed sort of awkwardly. 

“Rosemarie Winthrop, charmed.” Rose smiled, putting her hand out for Paul to shake. 

“Enchanté, Paul McCartney,” Paul, flashed a wink at George, bringing Rose’s hand up to his face to gently place a kiss upon. 

“Alright! That’s enough friendliness for today!” George stood between the two of them, flashing a look at Paul that could kill. 

The three began to walk back towards George’s house for dinner. Mrs. Harrison was having a dinner, celebrating that all of her children would be under one roof for the night. Harold and Louise we’re visiting. 

“I’ve heard so much about you, Miss Rosemarie,” Paul mentioned as they walked together. George stayed in the middle so Paul and Rose had to speak over him. He walked with his head down, kicking chunks of snow as they went. 

“I wish I could say the same about you, Paul. George rarely talks about anything but guitars anymore,” Rose laughed, nudging George slightly. 

“I wonder who’s fault that is,” George returned a stifled laugh and motioned at Paul. 

“I can’t help it, my dad’s a musician!” He had a warm and hearty laugh. 

“Really?!” Rose was enthused, “what does he play?” 

Paul went on to explain his father’s jazz background. At this point, the two were getting along all too well. 

When the three arrived at George’s house, Rose went to greet Mrs. Harrison in the kitchen. Paul mindlessly followed, looking around pictures on the walls. 

George cleared his throat from the top of the stairs. 

“A word, Paul.” He spat. 

Paul smiled, already knowing what he was in trouble for. 

George pulled Paul into his room. “FLIRTING!” He whisper-shouted. 

Paul had to hold back his laugh, “I’m sorry! She liked it,” he could barely speak between laughs. 

“Of course she liked it! You were FLIRTING!” 

Paul was amused at how upset George got, he had never seen him this way before. 

“Look, I know you like her a lot. Relax, mate. She likes you too,” Paul placed his hand on George’s shoulder, reassuringly. 

“What are you two talking about?” The door opened and Rose entered, making George jump. 

“Nothing!” He answered all too quickly, making Paul laugh. 

“That’s not suspicious…” Rose said, raising an eyebrow, “anyway, your mum sent me up here to tell you supper’s ready.” 

-

January 18, 1955

Christmas came and went faster than anyone would have desired. George was heartbroken that he’d have to spend a month away from Rose. 

The week after Christmas, Rosemarie and her mother took what her mother referred to as a “girls trip” to France. Mrs. Winthrop was born in France and had lots of family there. She was particularly keen on staying with her younger sister, Dominique. 

The two sisters hadn’t seen one another since before Rosemarie was born. 

Paul had to deal with George’s complaints for an entire week since he insisted distracting himself with Paul’s presence. 

The two sat in a small cafe near Paul’s house, drinking hot chocolates. 

“You’ve got to stop moping, mate. It’s not like she’s gone forever.” Paul consoled George. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been away from her this long in my life.” George groaned and looked out the window at the snowy scene before him. 

“What is it about her that gets you this way?” Paul was genuinely intrigued. He had never really even seen George look at another girl the way he looks at Rose. 

“I dunno. I’ve known her basically since we were born and just- I don’t know. She’s so-,” he stopped and his face scrunched up. He didn’t know how to answer Paul’s question. 

“She’s just my person. She’s unlike anyone else.” That was the only way George could figure to put it into words. 

Paul nodded knowingly. He wasn’t much older than George, but wise enough to know exactly what he meant. 

-

February 2, 1955

“Bonjour! How was your trip?” George was at Rosemarie’s house not even an hour after she arrived home from the train station. 

“I had an amazing time! My aunt Domonique is spectacular! She taught me how to speak some French while I was there!” The two sat in Rose’s bedroom with the record player on. She was playing all of the new music she got in France, showing George how lovely French music was. 

She particularly liked Yves Montand and wanted to show George his record. She turned up the record player when Amour Mon Cher Amour came on and started to dance by herself. She slowly stepped to the guitar and swung around the room following the smooth lyrics. 

George was frozen. Sitting on the edge of her bed he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Something about her was different since she had returned. Of course she was wearing the popular French fashion, much more stylized than any British girl he had seen in the last month. It even appeared that she had rouge on her lips. George had never seen her wear makeup before. 

“Dance with me George” Rose smiled, putting out her hand for him to grab. 

He stood, somewhat shakily, grabbing her hand and dancing around the small room awkwardly.

“What does it mean?” He asked with a smile, showing off his pointed canine teeth. 

“Amour mon cher amour? Love, my dear, love,” Rose smiled and looked right into George’s brown eyes, causing his cheeks to redden. 

He stared at her face while they danced, he noticed everything about her. The way her chocolate colored eyes sparkled in her dimly lit room, the faint tint of red in her dark hair, perfectly tucked into curls that rested just right on her shoulders, and then did the unspeakable. 

He kissed her. 

And she did the unspeakable. 

She kissed him back. 

It only lasted a couple seconds but it felt like an eternity. 

Neither one of them knew what they were doing, there was a combination of George’s lips on Rose’s chin and teeth bumping into one another. But it didn’t matter. 

They pulled away both blushing, slightly out of breath. They couldn’t say anything, the two just sat there smiling goofily and staring into each other’s eyes. 

Then, footsteps were heard coming up the stairs, and before they could react, Mr. Winthrop was standing in the doorway. 

His initial reaction to seeing his daughter just barely an inch away from George was sweet, he knew it was bound to happen eventually and was happy for them. 

After a few seconds of everyone sitting frozen, George popped up, “Well, I best get going, told mum I was only going to be away for a few minutes.” 

“I’ll walk you out,” Rose quickly stepped behind him, walking past her father who had long since forgot what he went to go tell them in the first place. 

Rose followed George down the stairs and to the front porch where he had parked his bicycle. 

“So-“ Rose started. 

“We don’t have to talk about it.” George quickly interrupted. Rose nodded understandingly. 

“See you tomorrow?” She asked, sheepishly biting her lip. 

“Absolutely.” George hopped on his bike and leaned in once more, kissing her cheek. 

George sped down the street on his bike howling at the air.

“Whoooooohooooo!” He giggled as his bike tires skid along the frosty pavement.

-

Rose watched George until he turned a corner, out of sight. She stared dreamily at nothing at all, in a daze. 

She slowly turned back into her house, gently shutting the door behind her and leaning against it. She let out an audible sigh.

“Did someone just get her first kiss?” Mrs. Winthrop was cheekily peeking from behind the kitchen door.

“Mum!” Rose shouted, embarrassed. 

“He wasn’t being too bold, right? Kept his hands to himself?” Mr. Winthrop chimed in, peeking behind his wife. 

“Dad! It’s bad enough you interrupted!” Rose’s face was full red at this point. 

“Interrupted? It is my business who is kissing my eleven year old daughter in my house.” He retorted. 

Rose groaned, “Dad, it’s just George!” She tried to shake off the subject but her own face wouldn’t even let her. 

She couldn’t help the little smile that peeked up and the rosiness of her cheeks. 

She ran up the stairs to her bedroom and locked the door behind her. 

Before kicking off her shoes and lying down in her bed, she put the Yves Montand record on again. 

She grabbed her pillow and held it close to her chest, closing her eyes. All she could see was George.

She had every single part of him memorized. The way his shaggy brown hair laid on his head, the lines he’d get on his cheeks when he smiled big. She let out a sigh, accompanied by a little smile. 

There was a knock on the door. Rose opened it to welcome Mrs. Winthrop. 

“Hi darling, I made you a cuppa.” She held out her gorgeous silver tray with two China tea cups on it. 

Rose invited her mother to sit on her bed beside her. 

“So,” Mrs. Winthrop started, Rose already knew where this was going to go, “how was it?” 

“Mum!” Rose exclaimed, “I don’t think you’re supposed to ask me that.” 

Mrs. Winthrop laughed, “well, I’ll be the first to tell you, my first kiss was not at all ideal.” 

“How do you mean?” Rose asked, sipping her tea. 

“I was about your age, and I went to a public school, boys and girls mixed, you know.” She began, “and I wasn’t friendly with the boys, I had my sister and cousins, no desire to play with anyone else. And one day, this boy came up to me, oh what was his name?” She paused for a moment, but Rose continued to listen intently. “I think it was Jacques O’Hare, yes he was French Irish, anyway, he walked up to me, grabbed me by the arms and kissed me right on the mouth. I was DISGUSTED.” 

Rose burst into laughter. “Oh, mum I’m so sorry!” She tried to stifle her laughs but couldn’t help it. 

“Don’t worry about me, dear, my point is, how are you?” She asked her daughter. 

“Well,” Rose started, and then drifted off into thought. She had never felt this way before and didn’t know how to describe it. “I wouldn’t have wanted it to be with anyone else.” She smiled, satisfied with this answer. 

Mrs. Winthrop hugged Rose tightly, “so is he your boyfriend now?” She began to pry, with an eyebrow raised. 

“Mum! No, he’s not my boyfriend. I don’t know what he is. I don’t want anything ruined,” Rose was solemn. She felt something unexplainable for George but didn’t want it to ruin what they already had. 

-

[infini-tree]

Anonymous said: 16 w sticky notes au

drabble challenge 1 - 150  - (“cry me a river”)

Thirty or so odd years ago, the Biggest Prank That Had Ever Befell Jerome Horwitz went down. Playground myth says that the prank was single-handedly done by the Jammer of Jerome Horwitz, but only three kids would know otherwise. At first, it was funny-- hours of work paid off to create such a spectacle. But then there were multiple snags, one of which was in the shape of a giant garbage mech leaving a superhero incapacitated.

Two kids from the future stand at the edge of the rooftop, clutching a reinforced hanger each. Their gazes shift between the makeshift zipline behind them and the third member of their temporary party. George is the one with the tie and the flat top. Harold is the one with the striped shirt and bad haircut.

The third kid far away from them in the hand-me-downs and mop top is the Jammer of Jerome Horwitz, a legendary prankster before either of their time. Also known as Jim-Jam, also also known as Jim.

Also also also known as Benjamin Krupp. Remember that now.

The boys felt like the rooftop under them had turned to gum. They stood there and watched the Jammer-- no, Krupp, a younger version of him, no less-- stare down the employees only staircase. It was only a matter of time before the teachers would make their way up there.

“You guys need to go.” The Jammer who is also Krupp, no they are not going to gloss over that, ties the sleeves of his sweater around his neck. “There’s only two hooks and three of us. Take th’ zipline-- I’ll distract them so you can get outta here--”

George stretches out his hand. “Jammer-- Jim--” He stops himself from calling the other boy Krupp, and opts for, “Benjamin!”

“You’ll get…” Harold hesitates for a moment, unsure whether he should say it.

“Sent to the strictest school in Piqua for this?” Benjamin finishes and lets out a laugh. “It’s been a long time comin’. All the grown-up here were just waiting for the other shoe t’ drop.”

“Besides--” the smaller boy’s frame shakes and relaxes under the sweater-cape. “I’d rather that happen to me than my friends.”

And then he turns around in his best superhero pose-- chest puffed out, shoulders drawn back, hands squarely on his hips, and while the smile was a little off and out of practice, in that moment they are reminded of Captain.

And the boys want to believe it as they make their escape and meet up with the version of Krupp they were more familiar with. But they know how it ends.

“Do you have anything to say for yourselves?!”

George and Harold look at each other uneasily, backing into the plastic chairs. And then Harold nods.

“We’re sorry,” George said.

Krupp squinted, and his ire was nearly snuffed out in place of confusion. “What?”

“We should have come back for you,” Harold clarified. Clammy hands shifted awkwardly from clasping at his knees to the sides of his chair. “Back, uh-- back then. At the rooftop.”

To the boys it just happened, but to Benjamin Krupp that was decades-old memories that he barely remembered and half-convinced himself was misremembered into thinking there was no one else. And only now started piecing together only half a day ago in his point of view.

If he tried to remember the details of that day, the image came out fuzzy and indistinct despite the fact that the kids who helped him all those years ago were literally cowering in front of him.

“We probably could’ve done something to help! And--”

“And what?” the principal leaned over.

The boys’ gaze lowered. Clearly they haven’t thought that far.

“As far as I’m concerned, the Jammer of Jerome Horwitz had what’s coming to him. That idiot deserved what was coming to him.”

And that snaps their gaze up. Defiant at him. Defiant for him.

“The Jammer was you!” Harold blurted out.

“And you--” George pointed a finger at him. “Were just a kid.” 

“And no kid deserved that.”

A lump formed in the back of Krupp’s throat and he didn’t know why and he hated it. So he does what he does best and hides behind the snarl of bitterness, because the alternative was so much worse.

“Oh, go cry me a river.” He waved a dismissive hand. “If-- if this is an attempt to weasel out of your punishment, then it isn’t going to work.”

Silence.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, we’re not gonna recreate it,” George offered.

Harold shrugged. “Wouldn’t even be possible between just two people.”

“And without a garbage robot.”

“Can’t forget that.”

“Oh no.”

He ran a hand down his face. “Get out of my office,” he grumbled. 

The boys didn’t move. It was clear that they wanted to say something more, but he wasn’t giving them a word edgewise.

“Detention-- after school. You still stole from a student.” The fact that it was a hyper-advanced time machine notwithstanding. His tone didn’t even have the typical frustration that was more a formality at this point. “Just-- out.”

Finally, the boys left dejected with sad eyes and shoulders slumped, which at least was something he knew how to deal with. It was easier than whatever mess he got caught up in the middle of for the past few months.

[hatsampixie]

Melvinborg Snaps

-Warning! This story contains bloody stuff, readers beware..-

Yesterday had been quite rough for Melvinborg, and quite stressful. And unfortunately, all of the stress within him only got worse as the days went by, having to deal with the school's harsh book keeper, having to pay those bills and taxes, and worst of all, having to deal with all of those pesky annoying children.

That and a new broken locker, (courtesy of the cyborg losing his temper,) didn't help.

And on Friday.. That was the day when he was pushed over his mental limit, because there was one kid, named Steve, who found a liking to emotionally pushing the principal's buttons.

Melvinborg couldn't stand that damned kid following him around the halls yapping away, in fact, he hated that kid just as much as he didn't like George and Harold, maybe even more so.

The stress and the (barely) contained rage within him was now boiling over like a kettle as Steve continued saying things to him that were like needles to his nerves.

"And also.. I think DNA Day sucks!" And when that last comment reached his ears, Melvinborg couldn't take it anymore, everything became a scorching blur as his cybernetic eye's lens turned a bright blazing red, and his veins were now visible as he gritted his teeth, clenching his fists tightly.

After being taunted, tortured, humiliated and having most of his inventions destroyed by children, all in the 31 years of his life.. Something in Melvinborg finally snapped.

The tenseness in his chest was unleashed as an unearthly roar escaped him, he whipped his head around to look at the kid behind him, who now wished that he could take back everything that he said.

Melvinborg's robotic arm was raised, metal fist clenched in an attack position.

Steve couldn't find any more words to say, the kid could only whimper as that red robotic eye gazed through him.

And those whimpers served as his final words.

Melvinborg put all of his anger, hatred, and blurred instinct into the thrust, and finally his fist came at the kid, and it came at him with the speed of a bullet, but with the force of a wrecking ball.

The cyborg hadn't realized just how powerful this punch was, as he usually attempts to be a calm fellow.

CRACK!

There was a horrific crunch as the sound of the boy's skull shattering reverberated around the halls, the force of the blow knocked his teeth out, broke his jaw, and obliterated his frontal lobe, it even tore through the kid's flesh as splatters of blood spilled onto the tile floor.

There was a heavy thud as what was left of the boy flopped over, like a sack of potatoes, straight onto the floor, a puddle of blood beginning to flow; the boy's face now nothing but a gruesome mess.

There was complete silence as Melvinborg stood there, still as a statue, effected by the aftershock of what had just happened.

Melvin Richard Sneedly's gaze slowly went from empty space to his now glistening bloodstained robot arm; splotches of crimson were now staining his shirt, and even part of his robotic half.

His brain lingered on one thought, adrenaline still pumping through his throbbing veins: Oh my God, he had just murdered a kid, right there, in broad daylight.

He wasn't alone, a couple of other kids were now eyeing him, mouths agape with an expression of utter horror and fear upon their faces.

As the cyborg's eyes stared blankly at his fist dripping with red, something began to stir inside of him..

Slowly, a river of emotions he hadn't known filled him, and they thrilled him like nothing had ever done before.. Totally unaware that his robot eye began glowing the color of blood again.

What he was feeling.. To him, it felt.. Great.

His gaze shifted from his robot arm to a kid standing there, shaking in front of his locker.

'If doing that to one kid feels this good..' Melvinborg thought, a crazed evil grin spreading across his face. 'I wonder how it would feel, if I did it to every child in this poor excuse of a school.'

Melvinborg stood up straight, fists clenched again, and he walked over to the frightened child to test his theory..

[frappsundies]

DUMP OF ALL THREE (3) AUs

A whole lot of nonsense blease disregard

Bad Dolphin AU

Premise

After losing his ability to find humor in things and being forced to work for Professor Poopypants, Harold slowly drifts away from George. He believes that it’s better for the two of them to stop being friends, as they generally get in each other’s way. George, after an accident involving time-travel and dinosaurs, has somehow been turned into a reptilian hybrid, which usually does him more bad than good.

Differences in Attributes / Appearance

Harold: Missing an eye and has a scar on the right side of his face

George: Everything pertaining to his skin is green, and he has scales all over his body. He has pointed ears, and two particularly large canines on the left side of his mouth. He also has a tail that (sometimes) seems to have a mind of its own. Can become animalistic, whatever that means, since he’s never awake when that happens.

Melvin: Acquired superpowers similar to Captain Underpants’, with both additional powers and less strength. Unlike Krupp, he doesn’t get his powers from the sound of a snap, but instead from hearing a safe word. After a set period of time the powers go away, and the cooldown time varies. He can also see without his glasses when his powers are active, but he still prefers to keep his glasses on.

Captain Underpants/Krupp: Separate

Relationships

Harold/George:  

Both Harold and George have conflicting feelings about the other. Harold doesn’t want to stay friends with George, but he also tends to get a little jealous when George does things with other people. On the other hand, George wants to be friends with Harold, but is afraid that he’ll hurt him again, which is part of the reason Harold doesn’t like him in the first place.

Harold/Melvin:

Melvin had wanted to befriend Harold ever since kindergarten, but when he finally worked up the courage to ask, George had moved to Ohio and quickly became friends with Harold. This led him to dislike both of them. However, after he gets the opportunity to work alongside Harold, he uses it as a chance to both become friends with Harold and make George jealous. Harold likes Melvin, but he doesn’t consider him as a replacement for George, contrary to the other boys’ belief. Harold also tends to get upset with Melvin, since he thinks that because they’re friends, he has a green card to do whatever he wants.

Harold/Poopypants:

Despite the fact that initially they were in a villain-lackey relationship, Poopypants and Harold kind of develop a borderline father-son relationship. Poopypants hates Harold and Melvin less than most other kids since they don’t laugh at him, most likely because they can’t rather than them not wanting to. Harold warms up to the evil professor after a while, even agreeing with some of the things that he says. After Poopypants learns what happened to Harold’s biological father, he does become more lenient. Harold has a softening effect on Poopypant’s personality, while Harold becomes more and more annoyed with all the things the Professor hates.

Harold/Heidi Hutchins:

Harold loves his sister, but because of constant stress and being around her and their mother less often, he has a tendency to keep things hidden. He blames himself for her getting hospitalized.

Harold/Porkbelly:

Porkbelly is the most similar to a father figure for Harold. As uncommon as it is for Porkbelly to be around, he still treats Harold as if he were his own kid.

George/Melvin:

George doesn’t like Melvin, but he tolerates him. If forced to, they will work with each other. They argue a lot, and since they have the same class, they interact quite a bit as well.

George/Krupp:

At first, Mr. Krupp only gets along with George because he and Harold help him get a date with Edith. In spite of that, due to not being able to hang out with Harold, he turns to Captain Underpants instead. George tends to lounge around in Krupp’s office whenever he gets detention, and will stay over at Krupp’s place sometimes, with the permission of his parents. Similar to how Harold and Poopypants have opposite effects on each other, Krupp becomes slightly nicer and George is meaner and a bit more selfish.

George/Underpants:

George thinks Captain Underpants is annoying, but he has to deal with him because he’s a hero. Captain Underpants is very caring, even when George doesn’t want to be cared for.  

George/Kipper:

Kipper and George are friends, along with Kipper’s friends: Loogie, Finkstein, and Bugg. Kipper still doesn’t like Harold, and vice versa. Kipper and George hang out whenever time permits, and Kipper is willing to protect George if necessary. He was also one of the first to learn about George’s “freak-outs,” and he knows the specific things that make him uncomfortable.

George/Edith:

Edith is very motherly toward George, and lets him eat behind the counter in the cafeteria, since no one wants to sit next to him anyway.

Fancypants AU

Premise

When George and Harold were around 3 or 4, Professor Poopypants made a machine that malfunctioned and launched large masses of debris off in different directions. Two pieces hit each of the unsuspecting boys’ houses. By some miracle, they survived, though the parents did not. George is found by two lovely Spanish parents (who are planning to move to Ohio), and Harold is taken in by the professor who caused the whole event.

Differences in Attributes / Appearance

Harold: His hair is usually covering his right eye, and is often seen wearing a crown (no one knows if it is authentic or not, he won’t tell anyone.) Harold has cuts and burns from almost getting fried by the explosion. He writes things in his notebooks, both in class and when he’s alone. Rarely seen as discontent.

George: Speaks Spanish, as he grew up with a Hispanic adoptive family. He, like Harold, has burn marks and scratches, from the explosion he was caught in, on his arms and legs. George also has a mark on his face from the same incident. He tends to try to cover them up, while Harold makes no real effort to do so. He draws and paints when he’s by himself. Generally, he is either scowling or frowning.

Captain Underpants (Señor/Herr Fancypants): Has a sombrero and a royal cape in the comic, but will grab anything to use as a cape as long as it’s purple. George carries around a sombrero on his back, since Fancy seems to like wearing it.

Relationships

Harold/George:  

Harold doesn’t really like George, and is, in fact, upset that George doesn’t do whatever he tells him to do. He’s the butt of George’s jokes and pranks when it isn’t one of the teachers or Mr. Krupp. Harold constantly tries to make George be his ‘friend,’ which in reality equates to being a flunky, like Melvin. George doesn’t like anyone at the school, and Harold and Melvin are his least favorites besides the adults.

Harold/Melvin:

Melvin receives some form of validation and praise from Harold whenever he makes an invention, whatever the purpose of it is. Melvin was Harold’s first attempt at making a friend, so Melvin considers himself as Harold’s friend. That being the case, he doesn’t like George because Harold keeps trying to befriend him. With how Harold essentially rules the school, Melvin thinks he’s also above the rest of the students, despite being treated very similarly by Harold. In exchange for helping with his homework and doing mostly whatever he demands, Harold feigns friendship. Occasionally, Harold will actually be nice to Melvin.

Harold/Poopypants:

Poopypants more or less adopts Harold after accidentally almost killing him. He feels guilty about it, but he still hates kids and doesn’t know how to deal with them. Anytime Harold would complain or ask for something, Poopypants would get it for him just so he would stop bothering him, resulting in Harold becoming a spoiled brat. Harold doesn’t like for people to make fun of Poopypants’ name.

George/Harold/Fancypants:

Both George and Harold think Fancypants is extremely annoying. He also pushes them to work together, which neither of them are particularly willing to do.

George/Romero

When they were younger, the only people George would have to turn to were his parents because Romero made his life nearly unbearable. Romero didn’t like all the attention George would get, being the newest addition to the family of four, so he would do his best to bully George and make him feel like he didn’t belong there. Subsequently, George avoided other students because he thought they didn’t like him, and other students tend to avoid him, since he looks unwelcoming. Romero is nicer to George now, but George still doesn’t trust him, or anybody else.

Mythos AU

Premise

A vampire, a merman, and a shapeshifter are the three closest friends at Jerome Horrorwitz Elementary. They also experience some of the weirder parts of the community, like a werewolf who transforms in the day time, a dwarf who wants to take over the world, and various out-of-control monsters.  

Differences in Attributes / Appearance

Harold: All merfolk have sparkles on their face that match the color of their tails; Harold’s tail is blue. In his more human-like form, his feet are blue instead. All of his teeth are sharp, and he has a shell necklace that lets him stay on land for prolonged periods of time.

George: His eyes are red and his skin is lighter. He’s got four sharp teeth used for sucking the red out of things.

Melvin: Has pointed ears and a missing tooth (cause unknown). Does have a sense of humor, but it spans a smaller range than George and Harold’s.

Krupp/Underpants: A giant werewolf, that for some reason, changes in the day time rather than at night.

Relationships

Harold/George/Melvin:  

Harold, Melvin, and George are all friends. Melvin is known, however, to betray them for his own benefit at times. George and Melvin like to hang out with Harold, but they can’t get too close if he’s wet, as both of them get burned by sea-water. George is only able to be outside with them sometimes, due to the sun being extremely harmful.

George/Underpants/Harold/Melvin:

Underpants often carries the boys around since he’s so much bigger than them. None of them exactly know how he succeeds at anything, him being a mixture of clumsy and too big not to cause collateral damage (in regards to buildings). They understand his flaws and love him anyway.

Krupp/Edith:

They have a crush on each other, but their height difference is a bit restrictive on their relationship.

[akp-1327]

dear diary // chapter three

Hey! Long time, no see! I am so, so, so sorry that this chapter is late. I’ve been having a bit of a busy time recently and haven’t had many opportunities to write/edit like usual. But now I have a looser schedule so updates to the series should go back to normal! 😄 I hope you are all doing okay wherever you are! :)

Find the series masterlist here to catch up on the previous chapter!

Word count: 4.6k

(*) Warnings: mentions of bankruptcy and emotional abuse

All I could see was red. The anger that flowed through my veins was terrifyingly smooth, leaving my entire body shaking. The news that my mom just told me, well, sobbed to me, left me in awe. In terrible, heart-wrenching, shocking...awe.

Sweetie, my mom’s sweet and clear voice bellowed through my memory, I’m so sorry. So, so, so sorry, darling.

“Charlotte, you need to calm down. Seriously. I don’t know what’s--” Leila said softly, her hands firm on my shaking shoulders.

At a time like this, I didn’t need her soothing me. I needed her to slap me out of this impending doom that I thought would tear me apart. I needed to get a grip on reality, to comprehend that this entire nightmare was actually happening.

“Leila, do you know what my mom just told me?” I huffed, throwing my phone onto the tidy bed that I had just made. Our first night in New York had started off amazingly, as if it was taken straight out of a movie; we met new and amazing people, found Leila’s wayward bag, explored the dorm building...

Then, when called my mom once we got back to our dorm...everything came crashing down like a colossal, teetering tower of Jenga blocks.

Leila scowled at me then, squeezing my shoulders harder. Her eyes, usually a coffee bean brown, looked inky black when her entire demeanor changed from confused to quite ticked off. I immediately regretted the tone I used, though there was no going back now.

“Does it look like I do? God, you can be so dense sometimes!” Leila stated, glaring right into my eyes with a look that sent a chill down my spine. “Something’s up and you need to tell me immediately.”

This wasn’t something that I thought I could even have the guts to say. But, sooner than I though, words started forming on the tip of my tongue at the speed of light; but one stood out in particular, one chilling me to the bone.

“Bankrupt.”

This set her back, making her hands falter a bit on my shoulders.

“What? Charlotte, I need deta--”

“The diner, Leila.”

The words slowly tore my heart into microscopic pieces. Every notable memory I had from my childhood took place at the diner. I could distinctly remember the scent of buttermilk pancake batter being mixed and the sounds of plates being stacked. I could remember the outside, the bright yellow paint standing out against the lifeless gray colors of the neighborhood that it’s surrounded by.

“T-The Golden Griddle?” Leila asked, confusion consuming her features once more. The intense look in her eyes slowly fizzled out and turned into pure fret. As she’d always been, Leila was not well-composed in these types of situations.

“Yes. There’s just too many complications with the building, too many expenses and so little money...” I sighed sadly. Tears welled in my eyes, though I didn’t need to show Leila that. And so, with a deep breath, I sniffled and shook my head to clear the emotions away. “My dad spent what he could to fix the cheaper things like the light fixtures and seats, but then he got carried away with fixing the rest of the bigger issues. It all added up over time, Leila. Now the diner...the diner doesn’t have anything left.”

The diner had so, so many issues for such a long time. The interior, for as long as I could remember, was small. There were only ten tables, half of those being booths that lined the walls, in total. The kitchen was also considerably compact for the amount of business that the diner would face. My parents always wanted to get around to renovate properly, but could never keep up with the overwhelming amounts of money spent on necessities like ingredients, napkins, utensils, advertisements...so DIY projects and repairs it was.

“But your parents still own it, right? They can bounce back?”

My heart yearned to be at home with my family. Why would I leave? God, I really am dense. Forget school, forget dreams. Home is where I should’ve been when that news was unveiled, not thousands of miles away.

“No. I guess the health inspector said that there were so many things with the building that set off a lot of red flags. He condemned it right on the spot.”

Leila’s eyebrow’s furrowed in thought. It was never easy for me to talk about these things - the serious things - with her. Of course, though, she knew almost everything about me; she knew that I was never the “open book” type and would always need a bit of encouragement to work my way up to talking things through. I’d rather sit and wallow in my misery than get help. The whole mindset had definitely not been ideal for anyone, but that was always the least of my worries.

The moment Leila looked back into my eyes was the moment she started to speak, her voice soft like it was before; again, I didn’t need to be sympathized, I needed to be able to see reason. This whole thing caught me completely off-guard.

Leila whispered, shaking her head, “How did this even happen?”

In high school, a very wise teacher of mine once said that there is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people who ask questions. However, by the looks of it, this was definitely an exception. Even with her ingenious, Leila had just asked one of the stupidest questions known to man. 

She knew exactly how this happened, and has known for years. The Golden Griddle’s financial instability had never, ever been able to be kept secret in a town such as Ceder Cove, no matter how many times my parents tried.

“Oh, wait. Sorry.” Leila stammered, looking up at the ceiling to collect herself.

“It’s fine. I just can’t fathom what my parents are going through right now. Henry, too.” I sighed, stepping back from Leila and letting my shoulders deflate. I slowly sat on the edge of my bed and crossed my legs, my gaze trained on the aged wood floor. “Even if I should, I’m not calling my mom back with more details tonight. This...this is just too much for me to handle right now.”

Leila was silent and I looked up to see her scrolling through her phone. 

Seriously? I cleared my throat to get her attention...but she didn’t even flinch.

“Leila. Are you even listening to me? Or...are you texting Skye?”

Leila’s eyes immediately averted from her phone to look at me. The smallest hint of a blush crept into her cheeks, though she played it off and rolled her eyes.

“Actually, Erin wants to take us shopping for the party next week when we’re available. Check your phone.” Leila stated, a defensive edge in her tone. I was the one to roll my eyes this time.

Now, let’s get this straight; I am not fond of parties. Leila had dragged me to each homecoming, each winter formal, and the two prom nights that we had. My date to prom both years, a guy named Harold Longhorn (a total snob), would not shut up about politics or the “oh-so-stupid” stock market. I only went with him because he said he’d tutor me for free with my AP Euro and AP Chem homework in collateral. Oh, and did I mention that his dad is a major entrepreneur in the Portland area? Wait, that’s unimportant; just like every single party I’ve ever been to in my life. 

“Do I have to go? I’d rather stay here and reread Pride & Prejudice for the millionth time or something that I actually enjoy. Dancing the night away doesn’t sound as interesting to me as my daily dose of Mr. Darcy.”

Leila scoffed and looked over at me again, her eyebrow quirked in such a way that left me a bit uneasy.

“News flash, Charlotte Parker, but Mr. Darcy is fictitious and will not save you from this.” Leila scolded, though she was playful about it. “I’m not letting you stay here because you’re a college girl now and you need to socialize with people other than me!”

“Ughhhh,” I groaned, laying down onto my bed and turning away from her and burying my face into my pillow that sadly smelt like home, “you sound just like my mom!”

Leila burst out into laughter that sent a faint chill down my spine. Whatever her plans were, she knew I’d loathe them.

“I’m glad.”

*

*

August 10th, 2020

Dear Diary...

Okay. Sorry for the radio silence. Lots has happened over the course of a couple weeks that I need to get off my chest. As Scar would say, be prepared...

First off, NYU is amazing. I’ve already met lots of (!!) people, though 4 have become friends! Two girls, two guys: Skye, Erin, Rory, and Ajay. They’re all really down-to-earth and genuinely cool people that I’m getting along with! 

Rory and Leila are really like two peas in a pod, and so are Skye and Leila. Leila is just a social butterfly, so she honestly gets along with everyone. Erin and Ajay, though, are more mellow and easy-going. Erin is so...laid back? Like she’s the type of person that you could spill your life story to. She’s just so, I don’t know... nonchalant? - definitely in a good way.

However, I feel more drawn to Ajay; we share similar interests and outlooks on life. He even saw my performance at Spotlite! He’s also a student director here at NYU, so if I do somehow wind up in the show, I’d probably work with him. It even helps that he’s kinda cute, but you didn’t hear that from me.

Overall, though, the campus is absolutely stunning and the view from our dorm window takes my breath away each and every morning.

Second, The Golden Griddle is doomed right now due to both bankruptcy and condemnation. My parents are all torn up about it, and to be blatantly honest, so am I. The diner has always been a home away from home, and now that I may have to face losing it forever...

Third, I HATE PARTIES. With a deep, burning passion.

Leila, if you’re reading this, then you can call me George Eacker: piss off because I’m watching this show - also known as Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist - now...well..when you’re at the party! There’s no way in hell that I’m stepping foot into anything resembling a disco or a dance or even, god forbid, a hoedown like that one during our sophomore year. Nope, nope, nope. Over my dead body.

All in all, I’m having a wonderful time settling into my new life in New York. Of course I miss home, but I also feel like it was time for me to spread my wings and learn to fly!

Alright. I gotta run. I’m going shopping. And, yes, it’s regrettably for this pointless party that I’m being forced to go to against my will. 

Talk, er, write soon!

Charlotte :)

*

*

“Ooo, what’re you writing about?” Leila asked, barging back into our slightly messy dorm after finishing with her morning routine. I hastily closed my diary and forced a smile.

“Um, it’s just the address of my uncle’s new house! Mom said to write it down somewhere in case I lost my phone.”

Shoot. Thank God Leila wasn’t really paying much attention to catch how bad of an excuse that was; she just turned her back to me and scavenged through a pile of dirty clothes already heaped in the corner by her closet. It’s been six days since we’ve moved in. I still haven’t really organized nor have I gotten around to calling my parents or Henry with updates about the diner.

“Right, right. He moved a couple days ago. Though, with our plans today, are you ready to go? Erin and Skye are already waiting for us downstairs.” Leila said, grabbing her purse. I gave her a scowl and grabbed my own, sighing as I slung it on my shoulder.

“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. But I have one quick question,” I said, finally catching her attention, “why are you wearing those?”

My eyes went to the unscuffed black stilettos on her feet; they had to have been at least 5 inches tall. She laughed and instinctively brought one of her ankles up to rub it as if she’d been in pain. The stilettos were paired with a pair of skinny and holey whitewash jeans and a black Shinedown sweatshirt with a crow and a butterfly printed in white; from what I remember, that was one of the band’s songs.

“I’m wearing these to the party so I figured I’d break them in a little first. And I need to find a dress that looks good with them, so why not?”

“Fair warning, you might actually break something else before you walk a block in those death traps.” I teased, making her huff. This was obviously not something she wanted to hear, but let’s remember who was dragging me to this stupid party in the first place. My sarcasm comes with the territory!

“Jesus, you make it sound like I’m breaking a law! They’re just heels!” Leila laughed, shaking her head. Her hair had been in two Dutch braids, making her outfit even more unique. To each their own, I suppose.

“Just heels that might put you on crutches,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes as I slipped my (comfortable) light pink flip flops on. We headed down to the lobby and quickly spotted Erin, chatting with Rory and Ajay, and Skye standing a little off to the side.

“Ah, there you guys are!” Erin grinned, running over and leading us over to the group.

“I thought this was a girl trip?” I asked, playfully eyeing the guys. Ajay gave a tight-lipped smile and rolled his eyes.

“Oh, don’t worry, it is. We were just heading out to find Rory another outfit that he apparently needs because his six other ones aren’t enough.” Ajay explained, making direct eye contact with me. I could see the different blends of brown tinges in his eyes - the light from both the windows and the bulbs above hitting just the right angles - shimmer behind his glasses. I also noticed that he was wearing a simple green t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts with black Nike’s. 

Wait, what?

“I may have a slight obsession with shopping,” Rory said sheepishly, slowly creeping away from the group, “but I also need something fresh. I can’t be seen in the same maroon shirt that I wore to--”

Ajay’s groan interrupted him but he followed in Rory’s footsteps with a small shrug. “We’ll be going now. Have fun.”

I immediately felt myself missing his eyes. The brown sparkles that caught my own. Was it so wrong to find his eyes...gorgeous? Didn’t think so.

As they waved goodbye, Leila migrated from my side to Skye’s. The redhead looked particularly sad today, but let out the slightest trace of a smile when Leila started talking to her.

“So, where’re we going to go first, o’ wise Erin?” I asked, turning to her. She looked a bit lost in thought, a bit dazed when our eyes met, but I could tell she regained herself before she answered.

“Well, I thought we’d take a trip to The Shops today,” Erin said smugly, her hand resting on her hip, “we can take an Uber in case we want to make other stops along the way!”

Skye visibly revolted at the thought, her arms tightening around her chest and her glower intensifying. The way her blue eyes darkened was just a bit unsettling, too.

“Okay. Sounds good...” I sighed, gripping my leather purse strap a bit tighter.

“Sure,” Skye groaned, “good. Great. Grand. Just how I wanted to spend my day.”

*

*

The nearby mall, The Shops, had a wide array of stores that we buzzed in and out of, Erin and Leila eagerly leading the way.

“You know,” I said, looking over at Skye, “I really don’t understand why we need new clothes for this party.”

Skye shrugged. “Me neither. I never really had to get new clothes for the banquets that I went to as a kid with my parents.” 

I instantly noticed that her hands were in tight fists at her sides.

“What do your parents do?” I asked, trying to keep her talking. I really wanted to get to know her better; she was still such a mystery and I was destined to change that.

Though, the bitter grimace she gave at the question was all the hint that I needed to know that I’d said something wrong, maybe even crossed a line.

“They do nothing but make a lot of money and prioritize themselves over anything else, even their own kids.”

Oh, wow. I blinked rapidly, willing my brain to say, something, anything, to break the agonizing silence building between us.

“Oh. I’m sorry I brought it up.” I stammered, though she shook her head.

“It’s okay. It’s just...not something I really like to talk about.” Skye sighed, almost ruefully. Despite my pending curiosity, I left the topic be.

“What’re you here in New York to do, Skye?” I asked instead, hoping to lighten her spirits a little. When she looked back over at me, she gave me a neutral expression.

“Graphics,” Skye stated, her tone firm and assured, “I want to be a graphics designer.”

“That’s really interesting. Have you designed anything yourself?”

Sadly, before I could hear her answer, Erin and Leila gasped in unison and pointed to a store. A quick glance at the shop name was enough to make me roll my eyes.

“Windsor! Yes!” Leila squealed, bolting into the store without a second thought. Erin rushed after her, gesturing for Skye and I to follow.

Several racks of dresses filled the store and even lined the walls, some popping with bright color and some glittering with infinite sparkle. I watched Leila pluck several dresses off their racks and fold them over her arm, shaking my head.

“Wow, look at this abomination.” Skye murmured, plucking a dress made of plastic (well, not literally, but basically) off the rack. It was a flamingo pink and looked like something a Barbie doll would wear. A laugh escaped her as she sifted through and pulled out the other options, the colors ranging from a vibrant cobalt to a neon yellow.

“I’ve always wanted to be Barbie disguised as a highlighter! Skye, how’d you know?” I giggled, taking a resembling green one off the same rack. My poor eyes ached at the sight of all the vivid colors.

“Pure intuition, obviously.” Skye responded, putting the dresses back on the rack. “Jeez, I could never wear any of these.”

I could agree; I would never be able to pull any of these off. Also, it didn’t help that they were so effervescent and looked severely uncomfortable. (I mean, how do you even move in that kind of material?)

“Me neither,” I said wistfully, plucking another dress off a nearby rack. It was a black sweetheart-necklined dress that cut off at (what I’d say) the knee. It had some lace detailing on the straps and a few sparkles scattered across both the bodice and the skirt. It wasn’t over-the-top, nor was it boring...

I held it up to Skye, making her jump back a little with surprise. I giggled and closed an eye, coming to a conclusion about how this dress would look incredible on her.

“Whoa, what’re--” Skye asked, her eyes widening. I smiled warmly and laid it over her arm.

“I think this is a good option for you, and I’m guessing your a 4?” I smirked, watching her gape in both confusion and amusement.

“How’d you...know?”

“Pure intuition, obviously.” I playfully mocked, making her crack a tiny smile. As we continued throughout the store, we came across a few more ridiculously bright options, thankfully not made out of a faux plastic. 

About five minutes into our little exploration, I spotted a dress; it was a silvery mauve skater dress with a flowing skirt and spaghetti straps. By some sort of force, it spoke to me.

“That’s pretty,” Skye said, nodding in approval as I held it up, “ it definitely speaks ‘girl who can read minds’ to me.”

Oh jeez, she’s cool. She’s really cool.

“Perfect, it’s just what I’m looking for, then,” I joked, folding the dress over my arm and walking further into the store. Erin and Leila, practically having the time of their lives, had their arms brimming with dresses that ranged from super glittery to extremely bright. I could swear I could see a familiar highlighter yellow in Leila’s stack, but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me.

Speaking of Leila, I stifled a giggle as I watched her wobble around in her stilettos, grimacing whenever she walked too fast. Not to say I told you so, Leila, I thought, but...I told you so.

“Ladies!” Erin squealed, pointing back to the dressing room area with her free hand. “Let’s go try these on!”

*

*

“How about this masterpiece?” Leila giggled, sauntering out of the dressing room. Erin burst into laughter, Skye rolled her eyes, and I, well...

“Oh my God, Leila...” I playfully gagged, covering my eyes. Turns out that she really did pick out a highlighter dress to try on. After a few laughs, she turned around and changed into a royal blue dress with a deep V neckline. It was sparkly, sassy, and overall...very Leila.

*

*

“Wow, you look great, Skye!” I cheered, giving her two thumbs-up as she examined herself in the mirror. The dress was a perfect fit and she seemed to be comfortable in it. Her hands idly fiddled with the skirt, experimentally flicking it back and forth in thought.

“It seriously looks amazing on you!” Erin smiled, nodding with approval. Skye gave me a small, appreciative smile in the mirror.

I took a quick glance over at Leila and was met with her wide eyes and deep red cheeks.

*

*

“Charlotte, phew, you look hot!” Leila whistled, gesturing for me to spin around. I didn’t really gush over the “dream dress” as much as I had hoped. In fact, the more I looked at it, the more I disliked it.

“Maybe we can find a different color?” I said, looking back at Erin’s face; she definitely did not like it. She shot up out of her chair and came back a moment later with a similar option. It was the same style of dress but in a jade green shade instead. It was also not as shimmery, but more dull and had ruffles on the neckline.

I ducked back into the dressing room and quickly changed. With just a glance at myself now, I knew I found the one. I stepped back out and saw everyone’s face light up.

“Yup,” Erin said smugly as she crossed her legs, “that’s the one.”

*

*

Erin walked out in a tight-fitting midi white dress that popped against her flawless chocolate brown skin. It had a plunging V-neck and a small slit on the left side that climbed all the way up toward the middle of her thigh. Needless to say...she was killing it.

“Now I just need some hoops...” Erin mumbled as she examined herself. Leila looked over at me and just gaped.

“Stunning!” I said, and Erin gave me a warm and self-satisfied smile.

*

*

Finally, we were heading home in an Uber. But because of how long the shopping took, we decided to stop and get some ice cream from a local parlor; all after persuading the driver to wait for us with a hefty tip.

Erin munched on a mixture of raspberry and vanilla, Leila got creamsicle all over her face, Skye picked at her brownie swirl, and I delightfully ate two scoops of cake batter.

“So. Are you two excited about going to this party now?” Erin asked, eyeing Skye and I. At the same time, we both shook our heads.

“New dress, same feelings.” Skye sighed, looking down into her dish. I nodded in agreement only to hear a dramatic sigh from Leila.

“You two will have fun. We’ll find fun things for you guys!” Leila grinned, glancing at Erin. The two shared a look that, like all the times before, sent a chill down my spine.

“You guys can’t make us have fun.” Skye said, figuring her face was serious; but I looked over to see a teasing smirk on her face.

“Well, we can sure as hell try! Besides, what do you guys have against parties?” Erin said, her tone a bit more tame then it was before. My eyes averted from theirs, and without looking, I could tell Skye was doing the same.

Awkward silence wracked the table for what seemed like hours before Skye spoke up.

“You can thank my parents for being the pessimistic and narcissistic assholes that they are. My distaste originates from them.” Skye said, her teasing tone completely replaced with a hiss. She spoke in a mumbled tone, as if she wished she didn’t want to speak.

“I’ve just never been really...happy with the ones I’ve gone to in the past.” I added awkwardly. I thought about the one good party I went to...and of course it had to be from the diner. Emotions bubbled in my throat and were about to escape before Leila (thankfully) interjected with a disapproving groan.

Then, right after, all three of us got looks of unbridled hope and amusement from Erin.

“That’s going to change because, dearest freshmen, you’ve never experienced a party quite like a college party.”

And it can stay that way, I thought.

*

*

The rest of the ice cream was eaten alongside lighter conversation, and then, FINALLY, we were back in the dorms.

The afternoon flew as I decided to buckle down and unpack the remainder of my things. Leila went to hang out with Erin and Skye (without heels, if you were wondering) as I slaved away at stacking my t-shirts in my closet, that is until I got a knock at my door.

As soon as I opened it, I saw a familiar pair of gorgeous eyes lock onto mine.

“Hi, I know this is kinda weird,” Ajay said casually, “ but I have a question for you.”

I leaned against the door, praying I didn’t look like an uncoordinated mess. “It’s not weird at all, actually. Shoot.”

God, his eyes are just breathtaking in any and every way. Was it weird to be obsessing over an acquaintance’s eyes like this? Yes, I thought, yes it was.

“Well, since we really don’t want to go to the party, I was hoping we could try to get something out of it?”

What does he mean? If we didn’t want to go, what good would we be able to get out of it?

I tipped my head a bit to the side in curiosity and felt some of my blonde hair come loose from its bun.

“Let me escort you. To the party.”

Wait, was that an actual thing? An escort to a college party? No way. It sounded so childlike, almost like something an elementary kid would say.

“Hang on. Do you mean, like, as a date?” I asked, my tone packing more intensity than I had hoped. His eyes widened and he shook his head.

“No, no. I just want to get to know you better. I thought that this would be a better option than hunting you down in a huge mass of drunk people and ending up not being able to find you.” Ajay explained, a light smile tugging at his lips. “So...?”

Maybe spending the night with someone with the same ideals as me would make the night less dreadful, perhaps even fun. I barely gave the idea a thought before words left my mouth. 

“Sure, Ajay, I’ll be your escort.”