#is it because we gave up trying to turn bob nonbinary

[asurrogateblog]

it really is so cute that george harrison eventually got to be in a band with bob dylan. he was really like "some day we're going to be boy best friends <3 <3 <3". and then they were

[golden--doodler]

if you ever wanted to share genderfluid gene headcanons i would like to hear them 👀👀

Oh my gosh thank you 😭

I would absolutely love to share some Genderfluid headcanons about my baby boy!

--I like to think that when he's older and figured out his identity, his pronouns might be He/She/They :3 (idk, I just get that kind of vibe from him).

--This is basically canon already, but he adores dresses, way more than suits. He only ever tolerates wearing men's formal wear. Really, the only time he actually enjoyed wearing one was when he was playing Hans Gruber in Work Hard Or Die Trying, Girl. He definitely believes that dresses make women look more powerful than suits make men look more powerful. And he thinks they have so much more variety. He threw a fit once when Bob and Linda tried to make him wear a suit to a fancy event, and he didn't feel like tolerating masculinity/gender norms that night. So, they compromised, and he wore a fancy black shirt with a bowtie on top and a long black skirt. People stared, and most likely made fun in secret, but he was very happy.

--I stole this from your Genderfluid Gene fic, but whenever he's feeling dysphoric, Tina and Louise like to tell him he's a secret agent and has to go undercover and pretend to be a boy. It sounds silly, but it really helps him.

--This is honestly kind of ridiculous and silly, but I like to think that one of the earliest memories he had of questioning his gender was when he watched Dora the Explorer when he was really young and he just remembers wanting to be Dora so bad and solving them mysteries 😭 He begged Bob and Linda to let him be Dora that Halloween.

--The way he first figured out the label Genderfluid applied to him was he ended up reading one of Tina's erotic friend fictions that she left on her desk unsupervised one afternoon. She made one of the characters Genderfluid, and the gears just started turning in his brain, and he came to the sudden realization that he felt Genderfluid himself.

--His ultimate dream is to be cast in a female role for a musical. One of his dream roles is Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. Another one is, of course, Anna of Cleves in Six.

--Whenever he feels Nonbinary, he likes to joke around and say that restrooms are a scam. But no matter what, he absolutely does not enjoy the men's restroom. He always says it's a warzone in there. He's probably never used a urinal in his life, and doesn't plan to. He enjoys stall privacy.

--He's definitely going to want to wear a wedding dress if/when he gets married, and he will look incredible that day. He also always begs to be a bridesmaid/maid of honor whenever he gets invited to someone else's wedding.

--One of the only traditionally masculine things he enjoys is maybe baseball if you could even call that traditionally masculine. He hates playing catch with the ball itself (we all know how playing catch with Bob went) but he really enjoys playing the actual game. He can get quite competitive, especially if he's playing with Tina and Louise.

--Another small, silly thing, but he switches things with Louise all of the time. A canon example is when they switched the bowler hat and flapper feather with each other (very adorable moment). Whenever anyone hands Gene a traditional "boy" thing and Louise a traditional "girl" thing, like colored balloons or anything else of the sort, they always swap, because screw gender norms. It always makes them feel very affirmed. After a while, certain people they know began catching on and giving them gifts they'd prefer more, but most of the time people still get it wrong.

--Building on the above headcanon, one time, an ice cream shop worker accidentally gave him bright pink, cotton candy ice cream, and he deemed it the best dessert moment he's ever had. He even convinced the worker to top it with pink M&Ms.

--Another thing I stole from your Genderfluid Gene fic, but he definitely goes to Tammy for fashion advice after she's warmed up to him somewhat. She even agreed to braid a strand of his hair once, and in return, he helped her paint her nails (he picked up the skill by helping Tina do hers on occasion).

--His favorite show when he was really young was Sofia the First, because of that one episode where they challenged gender roles and gender norms.

[phoebe-delia]

Song number 79, please and thank you!

I'm really looking forward to reading all your stories because Taylor Swift is the best, as are song prompts!

Hey nonnie!! Thanks so much. Your song is "New Romantics" by Taylor Swift, of course. For this fic I have chosen to continue my little series called Androgynous, which features Draco, who generally uses he/him pronouns but has a nonbinary drag persona, named Tarasque, who uses they/them pronouns. Draco has a found family consisting of Pansy, Blaise, and a few drag queens (Claire, Cori and Silver), and they're all very close. Of course, he also has Harry, who is supportive and wonderful.

This will be a prequel, so Harry and Draco aren't together yet. This story--this series--is a love letter to the people who love us, support us and help us become who we are: our family. No matter where your family comes from or what it looks like, it isn't defined by blood, but by the ties you knot between you.

This series is, as always, dedicated to my own found family @moonstruckwytch @starlitsilvereyes and @apr1cots. Love you guys. <3

CW: homophobia

Generations ago, in ancient Galatia, there was born a dragon. Bred from Onachus and Leviathan, the creature lurked in treacherous waters, waiting for the right moment to leap out and strike, claiming men to feed its insatiable stomach. With sword-sharp teeth, poisonous breath, and a constellation of spikes across its back, this fearsome beast was the fright of man and the envy of demons.

They call it Tarasque.

Draco wiped the tears that spilled down his cheeks, his suitcase levitating behind him. The angry snarls from his father still rang in his ears, cruel and sharp.

"I'll not have a disgraceful poof for a son." Lucius hadn't looked at Draco when he spoke, the distinguished, aristocratic features facing the ancient walls of the Manor. "You have five minutes to collect your possessions and then you will leave this house."

So there Draco was, trudging through Knockturn Alley and avoiding the curious stares of those passing by him. It was getting dark, the western sun setting in the distance. He shivered against the biting, frigid air. He felt a rush of gratitude toward Pansy for letting him stay in her flat while he got back on his feet. He knew his mother, who'd come to her senses and left his father for a townhouse in France, would gladly take him in, but he knew if he left London he'd never gather the strength to return.

As he walked, he saw a neon sign out of the corner of his eye. "Deliquesce" shone in bright letters like a beacon in the darkening alleyway, beckoning Draco inside.

He sighed. He deserved a firewhiskey to calm his nerves.

He ended the levitation charm on his trunk and then shrunk it to fit into his pocket. He then walked along the cobblestone street and entered the bar.

A man wearing a tight red t-shirt and leather trousers looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"ID?"

Draco sputtered, searching his pockets until he found his identification card and handed it to the man for his scrutiny. The man pursed his lips as he looked over the card and then handed it to Draco with a grunt and a nod. Draco took that as permission and walked the rest of the way in.

The bar was dimly lit. A few tables surrounded a small dance floor and a stage. It was relatively quiet since the night was still young, but a few people were sitting and talking in hushed conversations. One person danced by himself to the upbeat song, uncaring of the world around him as he undulated his hips to the music.

Draco stood, stunned, until he felt someone bump his shoulder.

"Hey! Watch it--wait, you okay, hon?" Someone with long purple hair and a kind, open face looked at Draco in concern.

"I'm fine," Draco's voice was rough from crying, and he was sure his tear-stained cheeks and red eyes undermined his attempt at nonchalance.

The person's worried frown deepened. "Aren't you that Draco Malfoy kid?"

Draco flushed and turned away. "Not anymore," he croaked.

The person shook their head. "You're not who they wanted you to be, are you?"

Draco let out a shuddering breath. "No," he said, his voice tight. "I'm not who he wants me to be. I'm not his son."

Suddenly, he felt a warm hand gently take his own. "Come with me, kid, I think I can help."

They lead Draco into a back room. A row of mirrors and chairs lined the wall, as people chattered and sipped cocktails and ran around with wigs, half-done makeup, clothes, and heels. Draco blinked, stunned.

"What is this place?"

His guide smiled. "This is the dressing room. Not many people get a backstage pass like this but--well--you seem like you need some help."

Draco nodded dumbly and let himself be led to the person's station as a thought struck him.

"What's your name? Er, what do I call you?" He flushed at his own lack of manners.

The person smiled as they sat in their chair, patting the one next to them for Draco to sit. "My drag name is Nex Doughty, but my friends call me Cori."

Sitting down slowly, Draco nodded. "And um, I don't mean to be rude, but are you a man or a woman?"

The person chuckled a little. "Neither. I'm nonbinary. I use they/them pronouns."

"What does that mean?"

Cori shook their head with a small, amused smile. "I'll send you a few websites. For now, just use my pronouns right and we'll be fine."

Draco nodded dumbly. "O-okay."

"Don't be nervous, kid, you'll be fine. We're a family," they gestured to the other people in the room.

Draco's eyes widened. "This--this is your family?"

Cori laughed. "We're not related, but yes, they're all my family."

"But--aren't they your friends then?"

"Don't you have friends you'd consider to be your family? That you might even like better than your blood relatives?"

Draco let the thought linger for a moment. He considered Pansy and Blaise the siblings he never had, and it wasn't as if his Father had really raised him.

After a moment, he nodded. "Yeah, I do."

Cori smiled. "Then there you are." They leaned back in their chair and looked past Draco. "Silver! Claire! C'mere, I wanna introduce you to someone."

Two people came up to them, both with friendly smiles and expectant looks at Cori.

"Draco, this is Silver and Claire. Guys, this is Draco."

"Hi Draco, I'm Silver." said someone with red lipstick and short black hair cut in a bob that reminded him of Pansy.

The other person, who had short blonde hair and blue eyes smiled at him. "Good to meet you, I'm Claire."

Draco nodded. "Likewise. And are you no--nonbinary too?"

Silver smiled. "Cori's been a good teacher, I see. And I use any pronouns. Claire uses she/her."

"So--are you...what is this place?"

Cori smiled. "This is a drag bar. We're drag queens."

Draco's eyes widened in understanding. He'd only heard his father grumble about drag queens when he'd had to go to Knockturn on business ventures, and he'd been taught that they were "freaks."

With a pang, he remembered that, to his father, he was a freak too.

"Draco? Everything alright?"

He shook himself and looked back at Cori, whose face was set in concern again.

"I'm fine. Just..." he trailed off, taking in the sight of the three queens in front of him with more clarity. "Gods, you three are gorgeous," he breathed.

They all chucked. "Thank you, dear," Cori gave him a knowing look before tilting their head in thought. "You know," they said with pursed lips. "You'd look just darling in drag."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

Silver nodded. "Totally. You have the bone structure for it."

"I can definitely see it," Claire added with a smile.

Excitement bubbled up in Draco's chest. "Er, do you think you could help me?"

Cori looked at the other two queens, who grinned and nodded in agreement. Then they turned to Draco and gave him a soft smile. "Sure thing kid. Stick around after the show and we'll try it out."

Draco watched as the queens performed one by one over the course of the night, his leg bouncing in anticipation. He was mesmerized as they captured the crowd's attention, dancing and lipsynching to the songs with practiced ease.

When the show ended, Draco and Cori sat at their mirror while Cori applied powders and liquids he'd looked at with curiosity on his mother's vanity. While Cori didn't let him look in the mirror until they were finished, he loved the sensation of the brush against his skin and felt himself transform into something new, yet familiar. As if something had been living dormant in his skin, just waiting to be revealed.

Finally, Cori looked at him with a satisfied smile. "There. Are you ready?"

Draco nodded, no trusting himself to speak.

Cori nodded and turned him around in the chair toward the mirror. Draco gasped.

He hardly recognized himself. His gray eyes were enhanced by thick eyelashes and his face looked thinner, more feminine. A dark wig framed his face and brushed his shoulders. The red lipstick was bright and striking with his features. It felt like meeting a different part of himself he'd never known could exist.

Draco started to understand what Cori meant, earlier. The connection to masculinity had faded with the makeup and wig, and yet he didn't quite feel female, either.

Draco felt fierce, strong. They felt invincible.

Draco recalled Narcissa reading him bedtime stories of dashing knights and magical creatures, but his favorite had been of a powerful dragon that had defended against attackers with sharp teeth and poisonous breath. Saint Martha calmed the beast into submission, and then villagers had stoned the dragon to death.

He'd lie in bed after she'd gone, wondering if perhaps the dragon had reasons to attack. Maybe the villagers meant to kill it. Maybe it wanted to be left alone. Or maybe that's all it knew.

When Lucius had kicked Draco out, he'd felt helpless and terrified of his own shadow, much like he had during the war. Now, the fear still lingered in the back of his mind, but Draco knew there was more to the world than he'd once known.

And maybe Draco could learn to be fierce, too.

Suddenly, Cori put calming hands on Draco's shoulders. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it," Draco said breathily. "Thank you."

"Anytime," Cori said with a smile. "I can teach you how to do this yourself if you want."

Draco nodded quickly. "I'd like that, please, thank you."

"Well, you'll have to think of a name for your drag persona. Of course, you can use your real name if you want, some people do that."

"I've got a name."

"Oh? What is it?"

Draco looked in the mirror, gray eyes sharp with a newly ignited fire.

"Tarasque," Draco said, not glancing away. "Call me Tarasque."

Send me an ask about Harry Potter, broadway/musicals, The West Wing, and/or Taylor Swift! Or just about life in general :).

Also, I have a playlist of my 99 most listened-to songs of the year so far. Pick a number 1--99 and send me an ask and I'll write you a fic based on it!

[mischiefandspirits]

Doppelgänger (17/19)

Previously on Doppelgänger ~ Masterlist ~ Next time on Doppelgänger

Danny, Sam, and Tucker were just 14 when they took a look inside the portal Danny’s parents had built. From there, everything changed. They woke up with white hair, green skin, and powers they could learn to control. They were hybrids, halfas.

They were the hero Doppelgänger.

{Reign Storm, Part 3}

“It’s like shooting skeleton fish in a barrel,” Doppelgänger chuckled as they flew up to Valerie’s side, blasting one of the skeleton’s harrowing her as their own crowd rushed into the football stadium after them.

“They don’t put up much of a fight, but there’s a lot of them,” she argued. “You going to duplicate?”

“Already did. We've got our own crowds.”

“It’d be nice if you could make yourself a crowd in return.”

“Sorry, we’re still working on making more than three of us.”

“Hello, son.”

Doppelgänger gave a long, drawn-out groan as Plasmius flew up to the two despite still firing on the skeletons. The older ghost tried to speak when they’d finished, only for the ghost kid to start right back up.

“Are you quite done?” Plasmius asked over the groaning.

Valerie turned to fire at him, but he dodged to the side. He stopped with Doppelgänger between her and him.

The younger ghost stopped their groaning to say, “You know, a human shield only works if the shield’s both bigger than you and someone that the person you’re hiding from won’t shoot. We are neither of those.”

“You’re also not human,” Valerie pointed out.

“I think that’s debatable, but we’ll add it to the list,” they said and fired a blast at Plasmius.

“Calm down, son! I didn't come here to fight you! You have other things to worry about!”

“Okay, even if we were your kid -- which we aren’t because gross -- we’re nonbinary, so still not your son. So get lost. We have this under control!”

A blur of black barreled into them and rose up to reveal a knight in black armor atop a pegasus. The knight had Doppelgänger by the throat and pointed his sword at them. “You are the one who destroyed the King’s ring.”

“We’re not one, but we have destroyed a ring recently. Not sure if it was a king’s, though. Can we get a description?” Doppelgänger said before a swirl of comets wrapped around them and they disappeared.

Another swirl appeared behind the knight, leaving behind the ghost kid. They cheered and shot a blast that unseated the knight. “Yes, it worked. Still not as far as we’d meant to go, but we’ll take it.”

“If you would allow me to trai-” Plasmius started.

“Not interested. Now make yourself useful.” Doppelgänger pointed at the knight, who was pulling himself to his feet.

The knight’s eyes locked onto Valerie and narrowed. “You also carry the ring’s mark.”

She leveled her rifle at him, but a pair of blasts knocked him away before she could fire.

“Right on time,” Doppelgänger said as their two copies flew into the stadium. “Wait a second, is that the Fright Knight? Who? He’s the age-old spirit of Halloween.” The trio began to casually blast the knight back and forth across the field as they spoke together. “Legend has it that if his sword The Soul Shredder cuts through you, you get teleported to a dimension where you live out your worst fear. We read about him in the book we got for Halloween. Did the book have any way to defeat him? We think there was something about a pumpkin, but we can’t remember. We’ll go check.”

One of the ghost kids shot off, giving the knight a chance to finally dodge a blast. “Fools! All I wanted to do was retrieve those who destroyed the ring and return to Pariah's Keep, but now, you give me no choice.” He knelt and held up his sword, point down. “By the authority vested in me by my Lord and Liege…” The sword began to glow and he drove it into the ground, causing a wave of energy to roll outwards across the ground. “I claim this town now and forever under the banner of Lord Pariah, the King of All Ghosts!”

Energy shot up from the sword high into the air before rolling outwards to form a green dome across the city.

Both remaining Doppelgängers fired at the knight, but he ducked away. “The sword has sunk, your die now cast, The sword removed shall signal fast. Surrender your-”

He was cut off as a blast knocked him rolling across the ground.

“We hate rhymes. Did we find a pumpkin?”

The third Doppelgänger flew up with a smirk and pulled a fake jack-o'-lantern out of thin air.

“Found it in the boxes of old Halloween decorations like we said.”

They landed next to the sword and dropped the decoration at their feet.

“Gotta move fast. Cover us. Red, Plasmius, keep the skeleton’s back. We’ll handle tall, dark, and fashionable. Fashionable? Really? Yes, we love that aesthetic.”

Val nodded and pulled out her grenade launcher as the other two placed themselves between their third and the knight, but Plasmius’s attention was on the ghost kid.

“What are you planning?”

The ghost kid smirked and wrapped their hand around the sword’s grip.

“To cease the storm…”

“No,” the knight yelled, but the ghost kid’s copies kept him back.

“To end the fear…”

“Wait!” Plasmius yelled as the ghost kid began to draw the sword from the ground.

“The sword must sheathe…”

As soon as the blade left the ground, the energy feeding into the dome cut off and it began to crack. Instead of the sky being behind it, Valerie saw the endless green of the ghost zone.

“In pumpkin near!”

Doppelgänger sank the sword into the fake pumpkin and everything froze. Then the sky returned.

White and green light began to pour from the decoration as the dome shuddered then began to rise up and flow back into the sword in a reverse of how it had just formed.

“No, NO!” the knight shouted as a vortex formed above the sword and began to draw him in.

Valerie only had a second to feel victorious before the vortex began to pull at her as well. She lost her footing on her board, but the ghost kid flew in to help her. Two of them grabbed her and the last grabbed her board before they all flew to the bleachers and grabbed hold. Once she was sure she was safe, she looked over the field.

Plasmius had taken refuge on a goal post, but many of the skeletons were being sucked up. The knight was clawing at the ground, but soon lost his grip and disappeared into the swirling green. Once he was gone, the vortex slowed and dissipated while the pumpkin holding the sword -- now looking like an actual jack-o'-lantern, if purple with a green glow -- vanished in a flash.

“Well, that’s one down,” Doppelgänger said.

“You idiot! The sword was a signal!” Plasmius yelled, brushing himself off.

“Yeah, we heard. That’s why we got rid of it!”

“Not soon enough.”

The teens looked up to see a large ghost floating over them.

After a second, one of the ghost kids pointed at him.

“You know, we expected more from the King of All Ghosts. He’s just a guy. A tall guy, but still.”

Another nodded, looking disappointed.

“Yeah, what is this Odin wannabe nonsense? We thought we’d be facing some beautiful Lovecraftian horror. We feel ripped off.”

The third tilted their head.

“He’s not even that big. Like ten feet, maybe. The dragon made a more impressive sight, and she was literally just a fairytale princess. You’d think a king could do better.”

“Are you done ticking him off?” Valerie asked, watching Dark get angrier and angrier.

They shrugged. “We’re just saying. He doesn’t even have a crown.”

Then the one who’d tilted their head shot to the side, the one who’d nodded stepped in front of Valerie and raised a shield, and the one who’d pointed braced for impact as Dark sent a massive blast towards them.

The shield held, but the ghost kid was forced to a knee as they poured their strength into it and it shattered apart as soon as it wasn’t needed. Once it was down, Valerie could see that the one who’d taken the blast head-on had created a crater in the bleachers that they were pulling themself out of. Meanwhile, the one who’d avoided it was zipping around the field, keeping Dark’s attention. They fired upon the king while bobbing and weaving around the return fire.

It didn’t look like the attacks were doing much damage.

“That hurt,” they said as the one limped towards her and their kneeling copy turned to her. “You should get clear.”

“We should all fall back,” Plasmius said, appearing next to them.

“Even if we could, he’d destroy the town trying to chase us down. You can run if you want to,” they said then they shot towards the field.

One landed and held their hands out. Thick wires shot out of the ground and grabbed Dark’s legs, electrocuting him in the process. At the same time, the other ghost kid shot towards the fight. They engaged the king as the one that had been fighting him backed off. They reached to the side and plucked a pot holding a glowing spider-like plant out of nowhere. They chucked the plant at Dark’s head then re-engaged him as their copy pulled back to command the plant to wrap around the king’s eyes and neck.

“The boy has Chlorokinesis?” Plasmius said.

“You didn’t know that?” Valerie said, checking her rifle and calling her board to her.

“He’s never used it against me. He’s only even used the Technokinesis recently.”

“They’ve had both for as long as I’ve known them. They’ve tried to use it on me, but I’m usually too high for the plants and my gear’s protected against their control.”

“ENOUGH!”

The two looked up to see Dark snatch the plant-controlling ghost kid from the air and throw them. The other flying one tried to catch them, but they both ended up crashing to the ground. The third flew over to them as the king tore off the wires and burned away the plant.

“Our baby,” the ghost kid whined, one staring at the plant’s burning remains with fury.

“Surrender, children! You can't possibly win!”

“Surrender isn’t in our vocabulary. And we can’t possibly let you loose on our city.” The one that had been controlling the wires helped the one that had been thrown to their feet, letting them lean against them, as the other placed themself in front of the two. “Besides, we don't have to win. we just have to make sure that you lose.”

Dark scowled and shot a blast at them. The one in front summoned a shield, but it shattered almost immediately and the three took most of the blast.

Valerie leveled her rifle at Dark, but Plasmius yanked it away.

“Don’t be foolish, girl. He will kill you.”

“Like you care.

“Considering you’re my only help, I do. We need a plan.”

“Face it, children, it's over.”

Valerie turned back to the field to see Dark walking towards the trio as they slowly got up onto their knees.

“No,” they growled. “No!”

Shaking with pain, the trio looked up. 

Their goggles glowed with black energy and then three things happened at once.

The one on the left threw their head back and screamed. Black sonic waves tore through the field and slammed into the king.

The one in the middle doubled over, hands clawing at the ground as they keened. Thick black vines wove in and out of the ground in front of them until they could latch onto the king, wrapping around his arms and legs to tear deep gashes into his skin with their thorns.

The one on the right wrapped their arms around themselves and sobbed. Black tears flowed down their face and formed a void beneath them that stretched out underneath the king.

The vines held him still, the rings drained his power, and the void drew him in.

Dark thrashed against his bindings, but they held and he was soon consumed by the darkness.

The trio collapsed.

The field went silent, the vines shriveled into nothing, and the darkness faded.

Consciousness clearly fading, the trio latched hands and fell through the ground.

Oddly though, they didn’t seem to go intangible and Valerie swore she saw the faintest hint of a white-blue-purple light just before they completely disappeared.

Slowly, she turned to Plasmius to see him gaping at the now empty field. “Did you know they had that kind of power?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Danny stared out at the stars as Blobena nuzzled up against his cheek.

“My everything hurts,” Tucker croaked, the first sound any of them had made since Danny had dropped them into the Space Fold then promptly passed out. He’s not sure how long they’ve been in there now, but he’s been awake for at least an hour and he knew the others woke before him.

“Sh!” Sam moaned.

It was quiet for a few moments, then Sam asked, “Danny. Why are your blobs in here? More importantly, why is one trying to eat my hair?”

With a sigh, Danny turned to see Sam and the blob in question. “I think Blobson likes the taste of your shampoo. He did the same thing to me two weeks ago when you let me shower at your place after the fight with Garbage Manster.”

“Wait, you seriously named them all? And with blob puns?” Tucker said, pinwheeling slowly near Sam’s feet. “I thought that was just a joke you and Valerie were telling.”

“We had a lot of time in that cage, okay?”

“Danny, get this thing off my hair or I’m smashing it.”

The boy pouted, but reached over to scoop up the blob. He set him on his shoulder next to Bloberick.

“Now again, what are they doing here?”

“In my defense, I just meant to hide them in here for a second because my mom was coming down the stairs and I didn’t have time to get them all back through the portal. I’ve tried to get them to leave, but they won’t.”

“You keep my ghost plants in here!” she huffed, gesturing to the quartet of pots holding plants she’d gathered from the ghost zone.

“They don’t bother them, promise!”

“Speaking of which, how dare you throw Arachne at that jerk!”

“Our ecto-beams weren’t doing much! I thought the poison on her fronds would help!”

“We can get you a new one, Sam,” Tucker said. “It’s not like it was sentient like Audrey II.”

“We can get you a new phone, Tucker,” she shot back. “It’s not like it’s sentient like Audrey II.”

“She’s as good as!” Tucker gasped, pulling his phone out to clutch it to his chest. “Talk to me, baby.”

“Hello, Tuck-man. The time is 9:34 p.m.”

Danny snickered. “Tuck-man.”

“Shut it, Danny Blobton,” Tucker said, grabbing one of the blobs floating near him and tossing it at Danny.

If anything, the blob seemed to be pleased by the action, even as it squished against his forehead. It gave a singing buzz and nuzzled further against him.

“Great, now Blobnessa is never going to let go.”

“Dude, you’ve got issues.”

“Wait, did your phone say it was after nine at night?” Sam asked, turning to Tucker.

“Yeah, it said… Oh man, how long have we been gone for?”

“My parents are probably tearing the town apart looking for me,” Danny groaned.

“Not to mention your girlfriend. I’m sure my parents are already blaming you. Crud, I’m going to have to wear their stupid dresses for a week if they’re ever going to let me see you again,” Sam said, grabbing Danny’s arm and tugging him to her.

“I swear, if my parents try to take me on one of those tech-free relaxation getaways because of this, I’m moving into the fold. Blobs or not,” Tucker muttered, hooking his ankle around Sam’s.

Danny gently shooed and brushed all the blobs off himself then turned all three of them invisible and dropped them onto the football field.

Thankfully no one was around so they turned visible and climbed to their feet.

“We’re going to need alibis,” Sam said.

“Got cornered by some skeletons in an abandoned building?” Tucker offered. “Only came out when we were sure it was safe, but then didn’t recognize where we were and stumbled about until we found somewhere familiar.”

“Sounds good enough for me,” Danny yawned. “Can either of you transform?”

They shook their heads.

“Guess we’re walking.”

They only made it a block before the Fenton RV came roaring up and a hysterical Maddie Fenton tackled Danny to the ground.

[mimssides]

One Spade for five Hearts: Chapter 1

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Warning: Talk about transition, periods and dysphoria.

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A usual Tuesday.

 ■ Waking up 07:30.

□ Leaving the house on 08:30.

□ Math from 08:30 to 10:00.

□ Break from 10:00 to 10:30.

□ Spades History from 10:30 to 12:00.

□ Lunch break from 12:00 to 13:15.

□ Chemistry from 13:15 to 14:45.

□ Break from 14:45 to 15:00.

□ Fencing from 15:00 to 16:30.

□ Arrival at home 17:00.

□ Doing homework until dinner at 18:30.

□ Finishing homework until 21:00.

□ Getting ready for bed 22:00.

□ Going to sleep 22:30.

Logan Ward was as organized as ever. He had to be. He was a Ward after all. Which was why he looked over his list again before crossed off the second checkpoint.

 ■ Leaving the house on 08:30.

He called his mother goodbye over his shoulder and left the house. Quickly, he walked down the driveway, waving to Virgil who was already waiting with his bike for him. As usual he looked tired, was slightly bobbing along the music of his headphones, music Logan couldn’t hear, and only after a few seconds returned the wave of his oldest friend.

As usual Logan joined Virgil and they silently walked to school. As usual Logan thought that Virgil was ridiculous for taking his bike with him even though he wouldn’t drive it. As usual Logan didn’t mention these thoughts because, despite it being illogical, he was happy to walk alongside Virgil.

 ■ Math from 08:30 to 10:00.

His first class in the day. Virgil was in a different course than him, so they parted before the class started and Logan found himself in the company of Remus Butkus. A terribly smart Club, who had no sense of decency and tact. And while he liked algorithms and geometry well enough, he had to admit that with kæm they were expansionally more interesting with the freckled redhead by his side.

 ■ Break from 10:00 to 10:30.

Meeting up with Virgil again and telling Remus goodbye until lunch.

 ■ Spades History from 10:30 to 12:00.

Usual class. They were to do a group project about the history of Spades before the equality treat had been signed 600 years ago. Virgil was his partner, as usual, and they would meet up in Thursday after class to talk about the details, as they usually did when they had a group project.

 ■ Lunch break from 12:00 to 13:15.

At lunch Logan and Virgil re-joined with Remus. Kæ had brought kæs boyfriend Patton along. They smiled at the two Spades before they kissed Remus and started talking about their day. As usual they asked Virgil how his day went and Logan greeted N (apparently going by Janus today judging by the bowler hat on their head) and Roman, Remus’s twin.

As usual Janus made a snarky remark about Patton’s all too positive attitude and Remus laughed at kæs boyfriend’s pout but helped them defend themself against Janus’s bickering. As usual Roman –

No, Roman did not get involved into the quarrel for once. He was uncharacteristically quiet and Logan shot him a look. The otherwise always boisterous boy looked figuratively down and almost seemed to have waited for Logan to acknowledge him. Confused Logan was about to ask what was going on, when Roman pointed to Logan’s phone. Logan looked down to it and unlocked the screen. On the lock screen a message from Roman was showing and Logan silently read:

Roman Butkus:

you have pads? frogt mine at home

Logan looked back up to Roman. Gave him a short nod and stood up from the table. Virgil shot him a funny look and Logan simply said, as he took out his little necessity bag from his satchel: “I need to go to the bathroom.”

“I’m coming too!” Roman announced immediately and was already on his feet following Logan leaving the cafeteria.

Logan walked quick and did not look back, knowing perfectly well that Roman could keep up with him. And not a moment later, the shorter boy walked next to him, arms folded over his chest. He looked uncomfortable and Logan suspected that he might have been wearing his binder too long or that he felt more sensitive during his period or in the worst-case scenario both.

Finally, they made it to the bathroom and entered. Logan quickly walked along the stalls and checked if they were alone, which was the case, and then took out a pad of his little necessity bag and handed it to Roman. Grateful Roman took it and disappeared in one of the stalls, as Logan leaned back against the wall waiting for Roman to finish.

They didn’t need to be secretive about having periods. Everybody knew and they were generally accepted. But Logan understood quickly after getting to know Roman that he tended to struggle with some parts of his body when he didn’t feel like he was a woman. For himself that was not the case but he understood that gender was different for everybody and he would do anything to support Roman in the way he could and needed to.

“Fuck.”

Logan’s train of thought was broken. Roman’s tone sounded watery and Logan got alarmed.

“What is it?” Logan asked not quite certain if he was approaching this the right way.

“I – I uh, fuck.”

Roman was definitely crying and Logan walked up to the closed stall door. He just stood there and waited, not knowing if there was anything he could even say.

“Blood got onto my jeans. I – I -”

Roman broke off and Logan heard some small sobs. He sighed and opened the little necessity bag again. Silently, he crouched down and slid a little package through the slit close the stall door.

“It is okay, Roman,” Logan said trying to sound soothing. “It happens. It happens to me too sometimes. If you open the package, you’ll find a cleaning cloth. It’s enhanced to get blood out of the fabric, so no one will notice.”

Logan listened to the movement inside the stall, heard the package being opened and how Roman apparently cleaned his jeans. There were still some sniffles but Logan felt himself relax.

A minute went by and you could hear Roman flush. Logan awaited him coming out but Roman let him wait.

“Thank you so much… I’m sorry for making you wait here with me,” Roman finally said.

Logan frowned and looked at the door as if he could send a look through the wall. But knowing that he could not do that he instead said: “It is quite alright, Roman. Periods are not the most comfortable topic among our peers, even if they are cis girls. It is okay to struggle with it. Just try to remember that is normal and that you do not have to be ashamed of having the parts you have.”

A sniffle.

“I’m trying. But dysphoria is mean… You don’t have to answer but do you have it sometimes? Do you sometimes think your body is wrong a little? Not really you?”

Logan looked up to the ceiling and mused for a moment.

“I don’t think so. I am fine with how I look. But that might also be because I never had to wear things I did not want to. That my parents didn’t had me have long hair or anything. It does have its perks to have an older sibling who came out as nonbinary when they were twelve, I guess.”

“You wear a binder, though?”

“I do sometimes, yes. I do so today and I probably should change out if it now, but I do not do so because of dysphoria. I just like how I look with a flat chest. Which is not that hard to accomplish with my cup size, I presume.”

A little snort.

“You’re quite lucky, Ward. Quite lucky indeed.”

The stall door was opened and Roman washed his hands. Looking at Logan through the mirror he continued: “Not that I’m jealous of you. It’s not like we could influence it. And quite honestly, some days I have the feeling that I am way more into being trans than you are. Like, it’s so fun to tell teachers that they are actually wrong and I use she/her or he/him today. Still, I’m stoked for when I finally evoke my powers and get to transition. It will be awesome!”

Logan grinned a little and shrugged his shoulders before Roman fully turned around, leaning against the sink and asked: “Do you wanna transition once your powers show? Like top surgery and stuff?”

“I don’t think that I want top surgery, but I am thinking about hormone magic, so my voice gets deeper. I think, that would be the one thing that sometimes puts me off a little. Also, I might grow a beard and that sounds pretty appealing to me.”

Roman laughed and the tiny gap between his front teeth was showing just in the way Logan liked it. It suited Roman far more than the sad expression from before. And then he suddenly stepped closer to Logan, his heart skipping a beat, and he tapped on Logan’s shirt with a grin.

“And don’t you think, I didn’t notice you trying to manipulate me to take off my binder, smart cookie!” Roman teased with a grin. “I will change out of it after the next period and you don’t have to change out of yours just to make me do it. I feel fine. Promise.”

Logan cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. A little flustered he looked to the side and mumbled: “That is reassuring. Thank you.”

And then Roman gave him a hug, took him by the hand and led them back into the cafeteria, talking about some nice outfits he had seen the last time he had been in the mall. It all went down a little too quickly for Logan but in the end he didn’t care. Roman was in good spirits again and that was all what mattered to Logan. When they joined back at the table Janus asked Roman if he was alright, which Roman confirmed and gave Logan a little wink.

“Flirting with the shovel knight? That will work out perfectly fine, won’t it?” Janus teased and Roman laughed but hit them on his upper arm.

“Since when are you playing video games, Mx. Technology-Has-Its-Limits-And-No-Flair?” Virgil inquired deadpanned and a series of mocking insults got exchanged between Janus and Virgil until their lunch break neared its end.

 ■ Chemistry from 13:15 to 14:45.

Virgil, Remus and Logan left the lunch table together and got into one of the few classes they all shared together. Nothing unusual came to be, expect for Remus somehow enhancing one of the mixtures they made so it sparkled and smelled terrible. At least it did not explode this time.

 ■ Break from 14:45 to 15:00.

Virgil broke off the group to get to track training, while Logan and Remus went to change for fencing practice.

 ■ Fencing from 15:00 to 16:30.

The usual training. Remus got closer beating him today. But not yet.

 ■ Arrival at home 17:00.

Virgil had met up with Logan after training and the two said goodbye to Remus and leisurely walked towards their respective homes. They arrived at 16:52 in front of Logan’s house, as usual and talked for a few minutes before Logan needed to get inside and wished Virgil a pleasant evening despite knowing fully well, they would text later tonight.

 ■ Doing homework until dinner at 18:30.

Taking a shower after fencing practice. Then homework. Finishing up an essay for Common tomorrow.

 ■ Finishing homework until 21:00.

Dinner was fine. They had noodles and green salad. Father wasn’t coming home today and Grey was staying out later due to a trainings exam he had. Logan didn’t mind. He managed to finish his homework around 20:34 and began to prepare for the night.

 ■ Getting ready for bed 22:00.

Logan had sent the last text to Virgil for the night and laid out his clothes for tomorrow. Comfortably, he packed his backpack and then went to brush his teeth, and clean whatever had been stuck in his braces before heading to bed.

 ■ Going to sleep 22:30.

Finally, Logan took of his glasses and turned the light off. It wasn’t entirely dark in his room though. There were stars glowing at his ceilings, playful little gadgets, his father had hung up there for his seventh birthday. Logan didn’t feel like taking them off yet and closed his eyes.

A usual day, he thought. Well, maybe not, he corrected himself. Since the twins, Patton and N had bullied their ways into his routine, had become part of his routine, he was never as sure as he used to be that his days would follow a certain pattern. A clearly laid-out path that he had thoughtfully created for himself over the years.

But maybe unusual, was not so bad after all, Logan Ward thought as he fell asleep.

___

@varthandi

@sammy-is-obsessed / @exhaustedfander

@alexisrealgay

@softie-sushi

@wolfs-feder

@just-a-neoclassical-painting

@winter-jay-official

@a-ghostlight-for-roman

[home-is-where-beels-tiddies-are]

i lost the post i had that gave all of caragan’s info, so i’ll just post it again here. first pic is caragan after they die, because only obey me could drive me to design a character post-death 

i did design the sigils myself. then i added the sin marks from the cards, put that little pact symbol on it, and i took the original symbols from the actual demons and simplified/altered them. because i didn’t think it was a good idea to use the actual symbols. don’t wanna manifest something ya know lmao 

very long info dump under the cut. (info dump is copied from the post i lost) and yeah, caragan is a generic super powerful protagonist. so prepare for cheese 

likes: drawing, reading, gaming, and staying at home. they are drawn to dark things; horror, dark colours, literally most things dark.

home/family: they live alone, but near their parents, and they visit almost daily. they have a cat and three snakes (while caragan is away, the fur and scale babies are taken care of, don’t worry) 

age: 27 yrs old, born Jan 7th 

gender: nonbinary, they/them 

height: 4′10 / 147 cm

occupation: part time job, they also make bits and bobs to sell; art, crochet, etc. they went back to college too (and how they signed up for a certain exchange program; in my headcanon, they signed up for it and expected something mundane) then, after their first visit to the devildom, they start learning about the peace that diavolo proposed in their own time, and volunteer for the human organizations involved 

the design after they die: neither angel or demon, appearance shows physical attributes of both. (i also have a lot of post-death info, but… this is already so much, so i will leave it out) the ref i made is below: (worth noting that before their “fall,” using the term very, very loosely, everything on them that is red was white)

appearence: 

they wear all black with small, brightly coloured accessories 

brightly coloured accessories are normally bracelets, scarves, or pins. socks are also always nauseatingly bright 

casual outside attire: black hoodie, black t shirts, black ripped jeans, and converse 

casual around the house attire: grey sweatpants, obnoxious socks, a tank top, and sometimes a sweater or jacket they’ve stolen from the brothers 

formal attire: usually a suit, but asmo can convince them to wear a dress by finding amazing ones and wearing a dress too 

school uniform: jacket sleeves rolled up, or while in classrooms, off completely. no tie, ever. dress pants, wears black flats instead of dress shoes. during their first year, they kept their hair in a ponytail in class 

always wearing their favourite necklace 

first year piercings:

left ear - bar piercing in top, three normal piercings on bottom

right ear - three normal piercings on bottom 

second visit piercings:

left ear - same

right ear - three normal piercings on bottom, and two new normal piercings on top 

they wear binders to their classes and almost always when they go out for less active shenanigans 

rarely wears a binder in the house of lamentation; the first thing they take off when they get home 

hair is greying on both sides of their head, also some greys on top

always, always has dark circles and bags under their eyes 

brothers + romance: they are absolutely smitten with all of them, and they are very blunt and obvious about it. their favourite, though, is beel. this is kept as plainly obvious as their feelings for the others. since they love all of the brothers, they don’t hide their attraction to anyone. for the most part, it works out. 

pact mark locations:  (see first ref pic) 

lucifer - throat 

mammon - upper back 

leviathan - lower back 

satan - left inner thigh 

asmo - right inner thigh 

beel - right inner wrist 

belphie - left inner wrist 

overall, they’re very shy and awkward, and they like to joke around to cover it up. generally quiet, even around those they’re comfortable with. (they don’t talk a lot unless they’re having a ‘moment’ - a day where they’re hyperactive) they have crippling anxiety and depression, but the medication they take eases it. gets irritable around loud noises/people. they make an attempt in having a decent sleep schedule, but most nights they’re awake for hours longer than they intend to be. sleep schedule is more erratic when in the devildom. (probably belphie’s fault.) 

everything below is uh… like, how they act/react to the other characters.  

lucifer:  they mirror what lucifer offers them; if he’s being soft, they will be soft in turn. if he is upset with them, they will apologize and attempt to do better, and they expect the same if the roles are reversed. stuff like that. they don’t openly flirt with lucifer the same way they do some others, instead they focus on gentle interactions. they kept close to lucifer when they first arrived in the devildom (when mammon ditched them) because they deemed him more trustworthy than anyone else. 

mammon:  when with mammon, every filter caragan has is demolished instantly. given mammon never tried to kill or charm them, they grew to respect him very quickly. they also don’t treat mammon like an idiot; they���ve dealt with that themselves enough. yes, they tell him off for doing things that will very clearly come back to bite him in the ass, but they never target his intelligence because they know he’s smarter than he lets on. they openly flirt with mammon because they like to make him blush. they both get into trouble often, but they have each others’ backs throughout. 

leviathan:  they don’t spend as much time with leviathan, but they do enjoy his company. they usually lock away their info dumping and interests, but not with leviathan. he gets to gush about the things he loves, and they match his energy. he tries to offer the same courtesy. they also like to flirt with leviathan to make him blush, but they don’t do it as heavily or as often because his rejections/self deprecating comments make them feel bad. they are also thankful that they can talk to him about their anxiety and he understands it. they rarely call him “levi.” 

satan:  they also don’t spend as much time with satan, but less so than leviathan. they can’t help but feel stupid when they’re with him, so they don’t socialize with him often. buuut any time he offers to socialize, they don’t turn him down. in fact, caragan gets excited. he’s also where they turn to when they’re struggling with their studies or curious about something demon related. they do attempt to joke around and flirt with him, but it’s like a game of chicken, and caragan always ducks out. fairly quickly, too. 

asmodeus:  caragan adores asmo, but they can’t really place why. they also consider him as much a work of art as he does himself. they are very soft with asmo and they rarely flirt with him in a conventional way. even though they reject most sexual advances, they are as handsy as asmo is. asmo is their official cuddle buddy and they love to shower him in gentle affection. if asmo is in sight, they can often be caught staring. at first, they’re very embarrassed by this, and the brothers poke fun. eventually, though, they’re utterly shameless and just widen their smile if asmo catches them. 

beelzebub:  they love beel more than life itself, and that is absolutely not an exaggeration. at first, they were very avoidant and anxious when it came to beel, but when they started to hang out with him, they found him very easy to be around. the attraction started then, but then became way too strong when beel went into full demon mode over his custard. (mood) they started following him around everywhere. they continued that trend well into the year and the following visit. they’re very affectionate and clingy, sitting his lap and hugging him constantly. they carry around as many snacks as their pockets can hold for beel and beel only. 

belphegor:  they knew from the start that belphie was lying to them in the attic and probably meant them harm, but they never held it against him. they never really held their death against him either. they’re quiet around belphie for the most part, even when they started to like him. they often nap with him (against their better judgement) too. the two of them talk a lot about their ideal “me and you and beel” future. more than is healthy. their conversations outside of that are often filled with snark and a weird tension that caragan doesn’t understand. it usually melts away after a cuddle and a nap, though. 

diavolo:  they instantly liked diavolo. they’re very cautious and anxious around him, but they try to be warm in their interactions with him. they do call him “lord diavolo,” and treat him with due respect. he usually throws them for a loop with most things he does, but they try to keep up and be understanding. they have a strong need to get closer to him, for reasons that they don’t understand or even try to understand. they don’t do much about it either. his demon form causes them to become flustered. very flustered. the not-oblivious brothers tease them for it. they have such a huge crush on him. 

barbatos:  they don’t interact with him that much, or try to interact with him outside of things that are necessary. they have nothing against him, they just don’t feel the need to. they’re very polite to him, as polite as they are to diavolo. while they’re curious about him, they don’t go out of their way to interact with him. there’s really not much there besides mild curiosity. 

solomon:  they think he gives off a copious amount of mischievous vibes and it puts them off. at first. they are kind and polite towards him, and they would consider him a friend. the friendship is essentially that “we have no friends in this class so we will become friends to fill the void. but only in this class. we will never speak to each other outside of this place.” it’s not nearly as specific, but that’s the flavour of friendship they have in the beginning. eventually, he grows on caragan and they end up looking forward to seeing him. they just find him very fun. 

simeon:  they think simeon is beautiful and has been caught staring almost as much as when they stare at asmo. with simeon though, they will never be shameless about their staring. they continue to be embarrassed about it forever. forever. they’re polite and kind to simeon, but they feel he keeps himself closed off from them. during their second visit to the devildom, with the play and all, they become a little scared of simeon. it doesn’t change the way they interact with him, but it does put them off for a bit. and after some overthinking, they end up being more drawn to him. 

luke:  they were very anxious around luke, at first. they don’t like kids, and generally become twice as awkward around them. eventually, they found him adorable. when they speak to him, they will focus on child logic, but they do speak to him the way they would speak to anyone. never patronising. happily helps him with studies if they can, gives him affirmation and reassurances whenever needed, and is protective. they have even been known to stand up to lesser demons when they target luke. (when simeon isn’t around; it’s rare) even though caragan is scared shitless the whole time, they try anyway. seeing as they’re only 4′10, they never make short jokes or anything of the like. when the brothers make short jokes, they shoot disapproving looks and will express disappointment if it drags on too long. 

the end of their life time:  they go on to live for a while, dedicating themselves entirely to diavolo on the human side of things, even becoming a public speaker for it. sharing their experiences n all that. which is something they’d never do for anything else. 

at a certain point though, about 50 yrs old or so, they do stop visiting the demon brothers because they’re getting old. they die shortly after in an accident. brothers don’t find out because caragan was already avoiding them. (though, there is general unease because of the bonds they have with caragan. they know something’s very, very wrong but not what. they fear the worst, and they’re right to.) 

but for all the things they did for “the cause,” they were to be judged in the celestial realm. (and… i see it as… in a horrible, horrible way, the big guy upstairs knew everything that would happen with lilith, and deemed her and her brothers an acceptable loss in exchange for peace. it was all orchestrated. i also think that diavolo knew the plan, for the most part. he has his own reasons for wanting the peace, but he does know what the plan was.) 

but they’re escorted to The Big Guy by simeon and luke (a cute reunion with hugs) and he straight up asks caragan what they want. like they can stay here, go to the devildom, or remain in the human realm. 

in any case, they’ll be given all the attributes needed to thrive in all three realms, but only if they continue in their trying to maintain peace. obviously, caragan is all for continuing. and of course, they choose to make their home with the brothers. god’s all like, “you will retain your angelic status, but you do have to fall to achieve the status of demon. are you sure?” they have to have demon attributes to ensure survival and comfort living among demons, so that’s why. 

and caragan straight up says, without missing a beat, “even heaven is hell without them.” everybody knows who they’re talking about. simeon is torn between “that’s so rude” and “that’s so sweet” and luke is horrified. god just laughs. 

they all talk a bit longer so caragan knows exactly what they’re getting into. they will have a lot of power as both angel and demon, but they have to keep their humanity in exchange for that power. which means, inevitably, their long life will become a curse. no human is built to live for a millennia, so it’ll take a toll on their mind and at the end of it all, they won’t be themselves anymore. 

caragan basically says, “yah, worth it. lezgo.” god hands them paperwork, some explaining what caragan is and why, as well as a peace treaty thing to give to diavolo when they get home. i was thinking it’d be something cheesy like “the treaty of the last fallen angel.” no more fallen angels after caragan, they fell so no one else has to again. idk, symbolism or something. but even the future angel/demon hybrids won’t have to fall. 

cue caragan yeeting themselves from the celestial realm. 

diavolo knows caragan’s about to fall (barbatos n all that) and gathers the brothers to the place it’ll be. caragan is just a ball of blue flames, then a crater, the brothers are baffled. 

falling hurts a shit ton (even without losing wings and all that), so caragan ends up crying, but they cry blood. (for angel reasons. i dunno why i think angels cry blood.) which drips from their face and onto the white fabric of the thing they’re wearing, and then everything white fades into a red, even the white of their eyes. (i want to try very roughly animating that one day.) 

then there’s another heart warming reunion, but also with a shit ton of heart break because not only did caragan die, they also just fell. the brothers are angy.

before the brothers can get all “let’s fight god,” caragan hands diavolo the paperwork, all of which he reads out loud for the brothers. 

uh. roll credits. 

just tidbits:

caragan is an angel of perseverance and a demon of despair. 

they have six wings and six eyes on each wing. 

their halo was a tangible ring of golden light, but when they fell, it became horns. but like… still in a ring shape. still a halo. just different. 

they are barefoot in their angel/demon form because they have talons and also just… hate shoes. 

when all the white turned red, all the gold turned silver. 

they look as they did during their second visit to the devildom when they enter their “afterlife.”  

their human form is also just… them. hoodie, ripped jeans, everything, they’re just themselves. 

[koriand]

Three Rascals (Asra x MC x Muriel)

Summary: In which you, the MC, are childhood friends with Muriel and Asra. A story from the past.

A/N: I had a burst of inspiration for some scenarios between MC, Asra and Muriel. This is the first one so far and I hope y'all like it! I haven't written in a looong time, so you'll have to forgive my crappy writing.

Edit: My dumbass wrote Asra with male pronouns when they're nonbinary, so I fixed that! Thanks to tumblr user voidelsspussyblr for mentioning it in the replies! 💕

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

Two children walked the streets of Vesuvia, hand in hand. One had a small, frail frame; their skin was the color of sand, dipped with rays of a gold sunset, and their hair was pure white, with beautiful curls to frame their face. The boy next to them was taller, and bulky; he had a more olive hue to his skin, though. The bags under his eyes were prominent, and his dark hair was long, with noticeable split ends. They both came trotting towards your father's bakery, and you couldn't help but smile, feeling your younger self filled to the brim with excitement. Asra and Muriel. But, that excitement slowly died down as you remembered how long the line for bread and pastries was.

The bakery was almost never full at this hour, but the seasons were shifting-bringing in cold air-which meant customers coming at random times of the day; all to get some freshly baked pumpkin bread. Asra and Muriel stopped outside of the bakery, perfectly within your eyesight. Asra waved at you with a warm smile, while Muriel raised his hand and then lowered it. You waved back, and gestured for them to wait. You turned to your father, Selasi, while he spoke with a customer. You stood there for a minute, impatiently waiting for the conversation to end.

"I hope Ashanti is able to carry the baby full term."

"Thank you, Selasi, it means a lot to us."

"Dad," You interjected. Your father gave his last thank you's to the customer, and turned towards you.

"Sweetie, you know you shouldn't interrupt my conversations!" He scolded you, but then the corner of his lips gave way, and he laughed. He leaned into you, whispering. "Thank you, though, otherwise he would have dragged the conversation further." You giggled, knowing exactly what he meant. You quickly change subjects, desperate to go out with Asra and Muriel.

"So, dad, is it okay for me to leave now? I've been helping most of the day, and I'm pretty sure it should be Kehlani's shift by now." You said, eager for him to dismiss you. Kehlani was your older sister, though, not the most responsible one at that. Your father smiled.

"Are your friends here?" He asked, one eyebrow raised. You nodded, noticeably excited. He shook your hair. "You can go out now, but on one condition: do not get into trouble. It was hard enough explaining to Mrs. Holloway why her garden didn't have any of her favorite flowers without getting the three of you involved." You rolled your eyes at him.

"Dad, you know that Asra needed ingredients for a spell! Muriel was sick with a fever that wasn't coming down! I had to help!" Your father laughed a hearty laugh. His chest filled with pride in the knowledge that he's raised a kind child. He extended his hand expectantly, and you untied your apron, handing it over quickly. You went to the back of the bakery, snatched two loafs of pumpkin bread, and ran out to the streets to meet your friends.

"Hey," Asra called out, as you felt yourself be swallowed by too many faces, customers, and vendors. You turned to your right, and gave them the most sincere smile you could muster, but walked sheepishly towards them. You presented the bread and Asra gasped. It was still warm as they felt it; they leaned into you and gave you a peck on your cheek. "Thank you." Blush creeped into your face, and your smile became small. Muriel looked at you and offered a smirk as an expression of gratitude.

"What do you guys want to do today? We could go to the underground theatre, and watch the new play." You suggested, but it already seems Asra had something else in mind.

"We want to show you our home, and also, Muriel has something he wants you to see." Asra says, already pulling Muriel behind them. Muriel extends his hand for you to hold, and you do. His hands are dry, calloused, even for a young boy. You thought about the fact that they both pick up odd jobs for sustenance; Muriel does hard labor, meanwhile Asra has taken up a spot where he performs with his snake familiar, Faust. Muriel's work must be hardening his palms. You wish they didn't need to do these things.

You walked around the outskirts of Vesuvia, among trees, and chattering birds. The trees surrounding you were tall, and the forest was not devoid of color, because you saw many, beautiful, wild flowers during your journey to the boys house. You felt your grip on Muriel's hand tighten when you heard a wolf howl. Muriel let out a low laugh, and Asra snickered.

"It's alright, the wolves are harmless." Muriel speaks, looking back at you with a closed lipped smile. You nod, wishing you could relax, but not being able to. You stop in front of a big tree, with a door at its center. You stare at it for a bit, while Asra and Muriel pick up random branches to start a fire with. A chicken comes gawking, and you nearly jumped out of your skin, letting out a scream. The chicken screeched back, and, immediately, you begin to laugh, and the boys do too.

"I didn't think you were so jumpy!" Asra says through their laugh. You keep laughing, and the chicken just bobs its head. Muriel comes over, scooping up the chicken in his arms, and presenting it to you.

"You have to relax and pet it gently." Muriel instructs. You wipe your tears from laughing, and take a deep breath. You extend your hand to pet it, but it gawks at you again, and you pull your hand back just as quickly.

"I don't think he likes me, Muriel." You say, giving him an embarrassed smile. Muriel nods.

"Maybe you're right." He says, giving the chicken a worried look. "It could be because he's never seen you before." You shrug, opening your moth to say something, but are quickly cut off.

"Hey, you two, come inside." Asra says, already kicking the door open, because their arms are filled with branches and twigs. Muriel places the chicken down, going inside the house as you follow pursuit. You notice it's a small hut, just enough space for one or two adults, but three children can comfortably fit here.

"I like your house, it's very cozy." You say, noticing one bed in the far right corner, a fireplace in the center, and small table to the left. Asra throws the branches in the fire place, and they're about whisper a spell, when Muriel interrupts them by lighting a match and throwing it in. Asra gives him an annoyed glance.

"You still don't know how to handle fire magic well, Asra. Remember last time?" Muriel asked. You snort, remembering how they almost burned your hands by trying to warm up bread. Asra pouted, but didn't respond. Asra sits on the bed, Muriel sits next to his legs and you sit next to Asra. You spend the rest of the day braiding Muriel's hair, and learning how to make flower crowns with Asra.

It's night time now, and Muriel wakes up from his nap. He notices both you and Asra sleeping soundly on the bed. Asra has their face buried against your neck, and you have your leg under theirs. Muriel smiles, remembering how you both beckoned him to come nap on the bed. He refused, worried he would somehow crush you both, even though, he wasn't that big; just taller, and with a bit more muscle than both of you. He stood up, and lightly shook Asra awake. You were a heavy sleeper, so Asra found themself giggling when they noticed your lips slightly parted, and drool sliding from it. He quietly asked Muriel to bring over a cloth, and gently wiped away the saliva they could get. Asra leaned into your forehead and gave you a kiss.

"Hey, wake up." They whispered into your ear. You woke up abruptly, shaken, and even slightly irritated. Your mind began to settle, and you looked around the hut. Oh no, you thought.

"What time is it?" You asked, scared. You hoped it wasn't too late into the night, knowing your father would definitely ground you if you got home late.

"It's night time, and I know you have to go home, but before that, Muriel and I want to show you something." Asra said, while standing up from the bed. You rubbed your eyes, and stretched. You remember that Asra had mentioned this earlier.

Asra grabbed Muriel's hand, and he offered his to you again. The three of you set off in the darkness of the forest. Asra managed to conjure a small ball of light with their free hand, sending shivers down your spine. You'd seen Asra perform different types of magic tricks plenty of times, but this time it felt different. This was pure energy flowing through them, and they were in full control of it. You gazed in awe. The three of you stop on a spot in the forest, like a small clearing, with yellow, blue, and glowing flowers. Muriel and Asra sit down, and place you between them both.

"What are we doing?" You asked. Asra shushed you, asking you to lower your voice.

"The Heart of the Forest comes here sometimes, and Asra thinks tonight will be one of the nights we get to see it close. We've only seen her from far away, but maybe tonight will be different." Muriel whispered, green eyes looking in your direction. Muriel wasn't one to be overly expressive, but right now, under the moonlight, and with the help of the glowing flowers, you could see excitement in his eyes for the first time. You felt yourself smile. You wish you could somehow keep him this way forever; if you were an artist, you would have found a way to commit his green eyes into paper or canvas.

"I thought The Heart was a myth?" You asked too soon, as you heard twigs snap under heavy hooves. The beautiful creature came from between the trees, glowing like an ethereal being only can; the deer-bird hybrid had feathers of iridescent colors all through her body, she was tall, and with antlers twice the normal size of any deer; her antlers were pure white, with shiny spiderwebs intertwining them, and crystal beads of water on the webs. You stared at her in complete astonishment, but something was wrong. Her breathing seemed ragged, and her eyes darted from every corner of the clearing. Your brows furrowed in worry. Your instincts tugged at you, wanting to go near her.

You stood up slowly, moving your gaze to the ground. A sacred creature deserves respect. You thought. All the myths of The Heart spoke of people's care for her.

Muriel lifted his hand to stop you, but it only got mid-way, not wanting to scare The Heart away. Asra and Muriel exchanged puzzled looks behind you. The Heart stood still when she noticed your movement. You kept your head down, and walked cautiously. Once you were five feet apart from her, you stopped; she kept her place.

Maybe I should bow. You thought. You bent your posture, bowing to the creature before you. The Heart snorted, and closed the gap between you both by placing her snout against your forehead. You prudently lifted your gaze, and looked at her eyes. Your hand slowly made it's way to pet her head, and immediately, a surge of energy overcame you. Magic flowed through your arms, and in the air; Asra stood up promptly after noticing this, because their hands were glowing, while your entire being glowed too; The Hearts eyes lit up, and so did her feathers. You felt your pulse pick up, and a far off voice came reverberating through your mind. It sounded like a woman's.

"Help. Hide." She said. "Hunters." You gasped.

"Muriel, Asra, she says she needs help hiding! People are hunting her!" The Heart looks directly at both boys, and you can feel her fear. Muriel and Asra nod fervently, and Muriel immediately springs to hist feet. The sound of galloping comes near, and The Heart begins to tense.

"Follow me, my lady, I'll take you somewhere safe." Muriel whispers as he begins to run into the woods. You look at the deer, and give her a reassuring expression. She runs off behind Muriel, as you and Asra stay behind.

"We need to cast a spell to cover The Heart's tracks!" Asra spoke to you. You looked back at them, desperation in your face. "Just repeat after me." They said, walking towards you, and holding your hands in theirs.

"Winds of South, come strong to us, erase this path, and make it visible no more!" Asra whispered; you spoke behind him, your voice trembling. One of his hands let go of yours, and he directed it towards the path Muriel and The Heart took. You mimic his gesture, and the wind picks up, howling in its sudden awakening. Dirt, leaves and everything in between begins to move, effectively covering the tracks. Once you're both satisfied, you stop, and the wind dissipates with you.

Soon enough, a man with a golden arm, blonde hair, and luxurious clothing comes into view. This must be Count Lucio, you realized. Everyone spoke about his lost arm, replaced by a mechanical one made of gold.

"You two!" The man shouts, and points a finger at you both. Your grip on Asra's hand tightens. "Have you seen the deer? I need it." Two guards come galloping behind him.

"No, sir, I don't think I've seen any deer in this forest." Asra replies quickly, and sounding very convincing at it. The man scowls, but doesn't look away from either of you.

"What are two children doing in a forest, during the night anyways?" Asked one of the guards. Asra offered a smile.

"We go lost on our way home." Asra replied, with complete ease.

"Count, what should we do?" He asked. The Count thought for a long moment, and began moving away.

"Let's go back to the palace."

"But, Count, the children."

"They'll find their way out eventually." He said with finality as he kicked his horse, and sped off. The guards followed close behind him. You and Asra sighed in relief, relaxation washing over you.

"We should go back to the hut." Asra spoke. You agreed, and walked hand in hand with them.

Near the hut, you spot Muriel; he's sitting next to the door, holding and iridescent feather. He sees you both and smiles a genuine smile. You run to him, and wrap your arms around him tightly; Asra follows behind you, and throws themself ontop of you both. The three of you are laughing, and all the worries of your father grounding you go out of you mind. All you can think about is this moment.

"We did it, Muriel, we saved The Heart of the Forest!" You say loudly and cheerfully. You lean in and kiss his cheek, and Muriel's face goes red. Asra kisses his other cheek, and the three of you hug again. It's an amazing night, and neither of you want it to end.

[grigsby-writes]

I Didn’t Sign Up For This

Who knew that kissing one angel would get me into this load of trouble. I slump against the wall beside the door to Lucifer’s office. Then again, perhaps it was kicking an angel that made him call me to his office. Maybe they should just stop letting angels down here in the first place! Yeah... yeah, that’s a good argument. I cross my arms and turn my mouth into a scowl in preparation for the door opening.

The door opens.

“Enter,” Lucifer waves me into his office and I take a seat in one of the crappy swivel chairs. It surprises me that his tone isn’t angry, just sort of… quiet. My knee bounces up and down nervously, I place a hand on it to cover up the movement.

“Satan…” I say his formal name, hoping to get on my boss’s good side.

“I go by Lucifer with my colleagues, as you know. Lore, what you did wasn’t acceptable. You know that demons- any beings of the underworld for that matter -cannot… interact with angels in any way.”

“Sir, at the time we were working together, and technically I didn’t attempt to bring her over to our side, nor did I do anything to publically soil the name of Light, so I didn’t do anything agains-”

“This was not the first time you’ve gone against your contract!” Lucifer’s voice raises, eyes flashing with cold aggression, then he settles back down. He laces his fingers together and lays them on the desk, “I’m afraid you’ll no longer be a demon.”

“You’re firing me?” My voice breaks, despite my facade of calm.

“Not quite, I’ve talked it over with the Light, and thought it’s not very common, we’re making an exception for you.” He pauses, pondering his next words. “If we simply fired you from your position, you’d go die with the other hell-residents. You could still cause trouble; violate your housing regulations, try to escape punishment, etc. Another thing we took into consideration is that our murderer section is very overpopulated and, unfortunately, you wouldn't get a spot there for a while. But more than those two things, you just don’t fit here.”

I cock my head to the side in disbelief, “I’m going to be transferred to Heaven?”

“No,” He lets out a short, relieved laugh, “No, you’d never make your way up there.”

“Then what do you mean by I ‘don’t fit here’. There isn’t exactly another place to fit, and considering what I did to get here, I think I fit just fine!” My tail whips back and forth angrily.

“You aren’t supposed to be here, or there. Lore, you died younger than most do. You didn’t die how you were supposed to, you instead took it into your own hands and changed fate. That makes your entire story muddy. It ruined the way Fate foresaw the future. You aren’t supposed to be dead, not really.” The Devil leans back in his chair casually, “You decided to change it all, making our jobs harder.”

My mouth opens and closes silently, brows furrowing, “So what you’re saying is…”

“You’re being reincarnated.” He finishes with a small smirk.

“I’d like to opt out.”

“Not an option, sorry.”

“I’ll file a complaint then.”

“Also not an option, this decision is final,” His gaze is stony.

I let my mouth hang open, not caring that I look stupid. I can’t go back there. I push away from the desk, jumping to my feet. My leathery wings spread behind me in anger. “You can’t do that!”

“Ah, but I can.”

I take a harsh breath in and kick the desk. “Don’t send me back there!” I slam my hand against the wall, cracking the drywall. “If I go back there it’ll only mean trouble. If I’m sent there the same thing will happen. I hate it. I hate the mortal realm. I hate people. I hate the Light.” I hate the Devil and how he’s just sitting there with his legs crossed and an amused look on his face. My body shakes with emotion, what emotion it is, I can’t tell for sure. Fear, anger, excitement, it doesn’t matter. “If you-if you send me there, I’ll just come right back! You can’t twist the system that much, not even a fallen angel like yourself can.”

“Sit down, for fuck’s sake. And believe me, it’s much harder to kill yourself now. Times have changed, it’s no longer as simple as jumping from a bridge as an angry mob chases after you. You can’t just disappear, humans have finally figured out how to keep track of kids.”

“Why me? Why do you have to send me? You know that I hate humans and the mortal world!” My voice raises, trying to hide the growl building in my throat.

Lucifer fixes the papers that I messed up in my outburst, “Consider it probation. A temporary punishment.” He stifles a laugh, “It’s like old times again, when we gave everyone a personal punishment. This is yours.”

I stare at him incredulously, he’s actually going to go through with it. “Please, no,” I whisper.

“Please, yes. I’m giving you a second chance at life! Most dead people would jump at that. You’d get to live out your life, die, and then come back here. Because let’s be honest, even with a second life you’ll never get yourself to Heaven.”

I stare at him longer, trying to let my thoughts settle. “But,” I say slowly, “But I’ve been dead for ages, I’ll never fit in with the new society. And what about my physical form, what’ll I even look like?” My mind flashes with fear again, bright, hot fear. I cannot deal with a human body. “Not to mention the fact that if they do keep track of people as much as you say they do, there’s no way a new one turning up won’t alert everyone!”

“Don’t worry too much, it’ll work out. And as for your form, we’re just going to get rid of the bright hair, wings, horns, tail, and grey skin. I’m not that cruel.” He chuckles, “If you’re good, we could even give you a certain guardian angel.”

“Wait, really?” I don’t sit down, but I do relax a bit at the idea of having someone watching my back.

Lucifer nods and turns his chair around, facing away from me. “Yes, really. Go, do whatever you have to do before you’re reincarnated. Life will be here to collect you shortly.”

I stand there in silence for a moment. Breathing hard despite not much physical exertion. Finally, I turn on my heel and let my feet carry me out of the office. The door slams behind me.

I gulp, leaning against the wall once more. I can feel my heart thud against my chest, a single sound that I focus in on. I bite my lip, sliding down the wall and burying my face in my knees. I’m going to be alive again. I’m going to have to leave the underworld. I just lost everything.

╳∴∗∵✕✦♡✦✕∵∗∴╳

Life doesn’t ‘collect me’ per say. Instead, she plucks me from the underworld, teleporting me with no warning into her own office. Within the blink of an eye, I’m out of the heat and darkness of Hell and into a cozy office. There are cream colored couches and a white desk to match the white walls. Life herself has dark hair and caramel skin, her eyes are a bright green. She is dressed in a sky blue skirt, a floral patterned shawl draped over her thin shoulders. Sort of elegant and natural.

I realize that I’ve been staring and look away quickly. Life doesn’t seem to notice, she simply stares out her window into what looks like a very bright light. “Heaven’s very pretty, isn’t it?”

“Oh, uh,” I look out the window more carefully, “I guess it is.”

“Hmm,” Life finally turns to me, I stand a bit straighter. Her bright eyes tear into my own. “Are you ready to be alive?” I’m not sure if the question is rhetorical or not, but the truth is I’m not ready. Still, I brighten my eyes a bit and tell that I am, in fact, ready. Her face remains neutral. Life stands from the chair where she was seated and walks over to her desk. She flicks through a couple of manila folders, frowning twice. I fidget uncomfortably, anxiety bobbing in my stomach. Finally, she looks up at me. “Okay, you’re all good to go! Everything seems to be in order, here,” She holds out one of the files. “That’s the information you’ll need, your mortal identity. Memorize the information as best as you can.”

I take the folder, opening it in my lap. There are two papers, one appears to be my current file.

Hell Being

Name: Lore

Age(at death): 15

Cause of Death: Suicide

Reason For Placement in Hell: Small Genocide (4 deaths, multiple injuries), Suicide, Resistance, Pride

Status: Demon

Resides: In The Demon Sector

Punishment: N/A

Comments:

~Unsettling number of defiances, but I expect nothing less from my demons.

~Preference for they/them pronouns, nonbinary.

~Offers diversity to our group of demons, which is good for how the public view my work environment.

The second paper, my new mortal identity, doesn’t have just the handwriting from before, which I believe to be my boss, Lucifer’s. This new handwriting is clearer, from obvious practice. The form seems to be a collaboration.

Mortal Identity (Reincarnation)

Afterlife Name: Lore

Mortal Name(current, not former): James Holston

Mortal Age: 15

Sex: Unspecified

Life(up to this point): Orphan being driven to their foster home in Charlotte, North Carolina. Will be attending Mallard Creek High school. Traumatizing past, prefers not to talk about it. Family died in car crash. Moving from the countryside.

I look up uncertainly at Life, she gives me a small smile in return, “Sorry, we had to rush to place you somewhere, so your backstory is pretty boring.”

“Could I, uh, keep my name?” I dig my nails into the paper, in crinkles and dents.

“The one you’ve down here?”

“Yeah,” I nod, release the paper.

“It’s not a common name in the mortal realm, you do know that, don’t you?” Life quirks her eyebrows, leaning forward on the desk, still standing. It makes me uncomfortable how she towers over me, like a mother scolding her child.

“I’m aware, you can keep the last name if you want.” I hold out the folder, Life grudgingly takes it and quickly changes the name to Lore Holston.

“Well then, any other questions?” I shake my head in response. Life sets down my files and approaches me. She places one hand on each of my temples. “It’ll be like waking up, but when you do, you’ll be alive.” I nod, breathless. “We’ve assigned you a guardian angel to help you adjust to the new world. However, you still must be careful, the next time you die… you won’t be coming back.”

“Got it,” My voice is just above a whisper, anticipation and anxiousness mixing in my stomach. Life closes her eyes and concentrates. I find my own eyes drooping closed, then black.

╳∴∗∵✕✦♡✦✕∵∗∴╳

Life wasn’t lying. When my eyes open I feel as if I’ve been asleep all my life and only just woken up.  I take in a deep, gasping breath, once I do that I can feel my heartbeat. I can feel hot and cold. I can feel my brain buzz in the groggy just-woke-up kind of way. My eyes go wide, adjusting to the bright light. I start to make out the voice of a man in front of me.

“Hello?” I call out quietly, mostly just testing if my voice functions.

“Well, look who woke up!” The man sits in a leather chair in from of me, he holds on to what looks like a wheel. “You’ve been asleep for most of the ride. I was surprised, most people have trouble sleeping in cars when they go over gravel.”

That’s when I start to panic. I’m moving, fast, across a large, grey, stone road in a cushioned box. The man continues to chatter, spitting out strange terms, words I’ve never heard before. I’m strapped in my seat by a cloth belt. I try to rip it off me. If I can escape, then I can fly away from this place and- I don’t have wings. Or a tail. My head is free of horns and my hair lies flat. I pull harder on my restraints, but they only tighten.

“Hey, you doing alright? You’re kinda quiet.” The man asks calmly from his seat. I don’t respond, just pull harder. “Lore, what are you doing?” I grunt, tears brimming my eyes. Why am I here? I should be dead, not alive! I don’t belong, and I’m trapped and I can’t do anything. “Stop that! You’re going to break your seat belt!”

“I’m going to vomit,” I mutter, still panicked. The man’s eyes go wide, and he turns the wheel rapidly. The box swerves to the side of the road and the wall opens up. I fight against my ‘seat belt’ and lean out of the box. Somehow, despite not having eaten anything real in ages, I vomit. And then I’m breathing hard, bile still stinging the back of my throat. Tears stream down my face, clouding my vision.

Suddenly, there’s a new voice.

“I can’t say that I envy you.” It’s familiar, and looking up, I see the translucent face of that angel. That angel who I was assigned to show the underworld. That angel who I worked with for over a mortal year. That angel who I risked everything for and loved.

“Anael?” I croak. She touches my shoulder lightly.

“You okay?” The man is turned in his seat, concern just surfacing in his eyes.

I stare at Anael. Her hair is shoulder length, auburn and curly. Freckles are splattered over her nose, the kind that only spring up during the summer months. She just how I remember her, almost. Her eyes are no longer a rich brown, but have turned solid black, even the whites. It’s a common style among demons in the underworld. I decide not to ask her about it.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper.

The man must see my mouth move, “What did you say?”

“Think your words, he’ll hear you otherwise.” Anael pulls me back into the box. “Tell him you didn’t say anything.”

“Nothing,” I tell him, wiping my mouth. The door closes and the box begins to move once more. “Wha-” Anael looks at me with frustration, putting a finger to her lips. Oh, right, thinking.

What is this thing? Who is he? Where am I going? I ask Anael frantically, Why are you here?

“Honestly, did you read anything they told you to?” She sighs, settling in the seat next to my own. “This is a car, like a carriage that moves on it’s own, only the man is controlling it. If someone asks you anything else about cars, tell them you don’t know much about them. The man is a child’s service worker. They make sure kids are okay and being treated right. His name is Horus Helmigan, he’s driving you to your foster home, where you’ll live until adopted, or you’re too old to stay.”

Why are you here? I repeat myself, hoping my thinking-tone isn’t too harsh. I’m truly very glad to have her here. My heart swells at the thought of having her around.

Anael smiles, “I’m your guardian angel.”

My mouth opens in a silent ‘oh’. I turn and face the front of the ‘car’. This is a seat belt? I I gesture to the fabric strapping me back.

“Yes, it makes cars safer.” Anael explain, I nod in response.

We ride in silence for the most part. Occasionally, Helmigan pierces my quiet with a comment on how beautiful the roadside is, or if I’m ‘doing okay back there’. Finally, after what could be minutes, could be hours, I’m not quite sure, we pull up into a what Anael tells me is a ‘driveway’. In front of the driveway is a good sized house made of a red brick. It’s at least two levels, lights are one in every window.

Helmigan exits the car and my door opens automatically. However, I can’t see how I’m supposed to get out of this seat belt. I struggle for a moment before Anael instructs me to click the little button in the seat. I step out of the car, stumbling until I find my balance. I feel dizzy, the edges of my vision going black before clearing. Helmigan is taking what I assume to be my bag from the back compartment. Anael appears behind me, I jump, startled.

He leads us up the front path to the door, dragging my bag behind him. He knocks twice on the door, it opens to the round face of a middle-aged woman. She smiles at us.

“Hello! Are you Mr. Helmigan?”

“I am, I am!” He steps back so that I’m the only thing in front of the door. “This is Lore Holston, you’ll be fostering him- er- them.”

“Pleasure to meet you, please, come in.” The woman steps back to let us in. The front room has a carpet leading up stairs and a door to my left. To my right is the living room, it has leather couches and worn coffee tables. The women gestures for us to sit on the couch and we obey.

Helmigan and the woman discuss a few final things about my arrangement, then Mr. Helmigan leaves. I sit awkwardly for a few seconds before the woman stands. I don’t pay attention as she walks away from the couches. I lean my elbows on my knees, twiddling my thumbs. This house is where’ll live, these people I will have to talk to regularly. What I’m I going to say?

“Are you coming?” She interrupts.

“Oh, y-yeah,” I stand quickly and walk over to her, unsure of what we’re doing exactly.

“I don’t think I ever introduced myself to you properly,” She holds out her hand, “My name’s Patricia Walter, though our previous foster kids call me Patty.”

“Lore, but you should already know that.” I shake her hand, gripping tightly. “They/them, not he or she.”

“Yes, yes, I was told that.” Patty starts up the stairs. “Come, I can show you your room.”

I glance behind me, Anael has disappeared again. I’m not surprised, Angels and Demon flicker between the mortal realm and the afterlife. Jumping in when needed and then leaving. However, a small part of me wishes for someone else at my shoulder, then at least I wouldn’t be alone with this stranger. I walk up the stairs, holding onto the railing this my bag slung over my shoulder. Three doors downs on the right, Patty opens the door. Light spills into the dark hallway. I step into the room, Patty standing behind me. There’s a bed against the far wall, covered in a plain blue quilt. The walls are a cream, bare but for a few photos of flowers. There is a birch dresser and matching desk with a swivel chair much like those found in the offices in hell.

I look back at Patty, she smiles again and says, “Okay, well, you get settled. My husband will be home soon, we’ll eat then.”

“I’m not hungry,” I snap, though I don’t mean to.

“Oh,” Patty’s face flashes with anger, before relaxing. She looks like she understood something just said, like she’s analysing me. “I’ll call you down later, just in case you’re hungry then.”

She turns on her heel and leaves, closing the door behind her softly. I stare at the plain door for a moment. It’s not fair. I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t be in this human house, in some kid’s old bedroom. I shouldn’t Be without my guardian angel. I should be in Hell. I should be torturing some cruel soul. “Agh!” I yell in frustration, hitting my fist against the wall. It hurts. A feeling demons can’t feel, pain. There is a hole in the wall from my hand, but my hand is in worse shape. It comes back slightly bloodied and with my knuckles starting to bruise. I exhale, annoyed. I punch the wall again.

Patty yells something from downstairs, I don’t respond to whatever she says. I shake my hand, ignoring the pain like I learned to do all those years ago. To the right of the door, there is a mirror. I look at myself, a bit surprised that I actually appear. My skin is no longer grey and dead, but a tanned white. My eyes are very dark brown, almost black, but you can’t see them very well through the mop of dark red hair on my head. Lucifer could’ve done better, I’m sure if it were up to him, he’d give me my demon form just to mess with people. I smile, but it quickly disappears. I walk to the bed, laying down. I just hope that sleep takes me quickly.

╳∴∗∵✕✦♡✦✕∵∗∴╳

“Dinner!” Patty hollers upstairs. I jolt awake, forgetting for a moment that I’m mortal now. Demons sleep, sure, but we don’t do it for anything but to pass the time. When we wake, we jump right up, no trouble. I’m not used to this groggy feeling of consciousness. Slowly, I make my way downstairs, stomach aching despite not feeling hungry earlier.

Patty meets me at the bottom of the stairs and leads me through the kitchen into the dining room. She has a smile on her face, but instead of being warm, this one is sickeningly sweet. I take a seat at the table, uncomfortable with how formal it seems. Patty clears her throat, taking a seat next to the head. I look up quickly. Sitting at the head of the table is a dark looking man. He has as defined jaw, and cheekbones that cast shadows on his face.

“Oh, hey,” I glance at him a second longer before looking down at my plate. It has carrots and potatoes to one side, a porkchop on the other. There is so smell, but perhap I simply don’t remember food well enough to know it.

“My name is Matthew Walter, you shall address me as ‘Sir’.” When I don’t look up, he repeats himself.  I still don’t look up. I want to, but I can’t. Something is keeping my head down. My eyes dart around, nervously searching for something, but I don’t know what. Then the table is upturned, food spilling down the side. Patty yelps, leaping from her seat. Finally, I can move again. Mr.Walter stands, seething with anger. He shouts something, I don’t know what exactly, but he’s mad. He lunges at me, going for the throat. Patty charges into him, pushing him away from me. He grabs her arm and throws her against the wall. I hear her neck snap, blood dribbles from her mouth as she goes limp.

A scream escapes my lips as I scramble away from him. He chases me out of the dining room, into the kitchen, and up the stairs. I take a picture from the wall and throw it at him as he storms up the stairs. My mind is slow and foggy, but a searing memory of fear and pain immobilizes me. Mr. Walter’s image becomes larger, morphing into the familiar face of my father. I yell for help, begging that whatever God there is saves me from this fate. But it does nothing. His hands wrap around my neck, lifting my into the air. I struggle for breath as he crushes my windpipe.

“That’ll teach you,” He slams me against the wall, “To disrespect me.” My vision is getting fuzzy around the edges. “You useless,” Slam, “Idiotic,” Slam, “Freak.”

He releases me, dropping me body to the ground. I don’t have the strength to get up. Mr. Walter hits me, he kicks me again and again and again.

Again and again and again.

Again! And again! And again!

Because that’s what I deserve and what does it matter if-

╳∴∗∵✕✦♡✦✕∵∗∴╳

I wake up screaming. I jump off of my bed like it’s on fire. My chest rises and falls quickly as I take in short, scared breaths. I can’t find my rhythm. I can’t move, but this time it’s because of panic, not because of a stupid dream. I didn’t realize I was in a dream, I should’ve. I’ve haunted so many dreams, but for the first time in centuries, I have my own and figure that it’s real. And now look where I am. Useless, weak, insane.

I run my hands through my hair, pulling the strands bit, hoping to find solace in the pain, but I don’t. I have to get out of here. I have to leave, right now.

I scramble for the window, try to pry it open. Nothing, it’s stuck. I hit it with my fist, but it only shudders. I find a book and hit it, nothing but a loud noise. Patty and her husband must hear it by now, they’re going to come looking for me, fuck.

I hit the window harder, finally, it cracks. Just a bit, but I know that it won’t be long until it’s shattered now. I raise the book, but a hand holds me back.

“Let go,” I growl, not quite knowing who it is. I only know that they’re stopping me. The person’s hands only grip tighter. “Let go!”

I can’t move the book, this is not a human. No mortal could hold me back. I stop trying to hurl it towards the window and slam it back into their face. The person yelps in surprise, letting go of the book. I twist around to see Anael.

“Nice of you to show up,” I spit. She could’ve stopped the dream. Or had me not sleep. She could’ve done something. But she didn’t.

“Don’t.”

One word, that’s what I get? One word?

I pick up the book and quickly smash the window. The web of cracks expands, nearly covering the whole window now. Anael rushes to stop  me, but not before I can deliver one more blow. The glass shatters. She grasps my arm, turning me to face her. I peer into to her jet black eyes.

“Please, don’t.”

“Let me go,” I beg, tears falling from my eyes.

“No,” Anael pulls me closer, preventing me from reaching the window. “No, Lore you can’t.”

“I need to!”

“It won’t help, I promise you that.”

“Let go of me! You don’t understand, I have to go back.” I claw at her arms, but, of course, she isn’t affected by it. “Why are you doing this?”

“I’m your guardian angel, I have-I have to protect you!”

“I’m not safe here!” I break through her grip and run towards the window. I climb onto the edge, looking out into the night sky.

“Just tell me why. What happened?” I know she’s stalling, but I give in regardless.

“You know what happened!” I turn to face her, back to the sky. “You could see it, I know you could!”

“I didn-”

“Don’t lie to me Anael.” I cut her off before she can even start.

“I couldn’t stop it, I’m sorry.”

“Why couldn’t you? You’re supposed to protect me!” I scream, not caring the someone could hear me.

“Someone could hear you…”

“He was so much like him, Anael. That man in my dreams was so much like him.” Anael looks like she’s about to comment, but I quickly continue. “Do you understand what that’s like? I can’t even remember my name in my past life, but I remember him. I remember the fear, and pain, and suffering, and sadness that he caused me. I remember how it felt to hold the knife above his heart, as he had threatened to do to me so many times before!”

“This isn’t the solution, you don’t want to go back there.”

“But I do! I want to because that happened last time. Last time when I died I was so happy. I was excited to stop feeling pain.” I take a deep breath, “I just don’t want to feel pain.”

“I understand that, but Lore, this won’t work. Trust me, please.”

“You don’t understand, though! This is a punishment for me!”

“Oh, so getting to live again is a punishment?” She retorts.

“How would you know, you didn’t get punished!”

“I didn't get punished?” She takes a shuddering breath, almost a laugh. Anael points to her eyes, “I got punished alright.”

“Practically every demon chooses eyes like those, it’s no punishment.”

“Every demon, I’m not a demon, I’m an angel!”

Oh.

“No one will even talk to me! Do you understand that? I’m completely alone and dead.” Tears brim her eyes, “At least you’re not alone.”

I step down from the window sill.

“It won’t be any better here, so I might as well be there.”

“It’ll get better.”

“But what if it doesn’t?” I ask quietly. Anael hugs my tightly.

“It will,” She pulls me closer, “It will because I’m here and you’re here. And we’re not alone.”

[brownstonearmy]

2021-07-18: Careful What You Wish For (Part 2)

Wednesday September 9 (morning)

Before the day begins in earnest, it's time for a brief montage of how what our heroes are up to before beginning the work day!

When Norm checked in with Silas after his literal graveyard shift, Norm was handed a letter that stated his order of antiques was now on its way. Norm didn't remember ordering any antiques, and upon closer inspection of the letter, notices a little-known thieve's cipher that reveals an ominous message: "I know it was you." Unfortunately the handwriting of the letter was inconclusive for analysis, and the letter's author could potentially be anyone.

Let's shift over to Lucky and Hilaria now! After the murderous events of the harvest festival, Hilaria is getting a little worried about Lucky's safety because of this whole demon-trying-to-destroy-the-world-with-a-douchebag-wizard questline. Things have been getting noticeably more deadly lately. However, according to Lucky's math, an approximately equal amount of good things and bad things happen so statistically speaking, Lucky will probably be fine. Lucky does make a promise to Hilaria that she won't do anything to get herself killed, and that eases Hilaria's mind.

In a converted barn on the west side of town, Spleenifer has been listening to the tone-deaf serenades of Trashpit as he hangs out underneath her window at night. He has recently discovered a stinky river that is running underground through the bank vault and was hoping Spleenifer might accompany him down the tunnel of love for a little canoodling. Spleenifer does not understand why Trashpit is wanting to have pasta so badly on a river outing.

Lastly, we get to Q, who is going as Dazzle today. Last night and this morning, a translucent faceless figure has been haunting the outside of Dazzle's hostel. When Dazzle attempts to communicate with the spectre, it just responds with fart noises. Dazzle responds by casting Tongues and is able to comprehend the spirits words.

This particular spirit is A. Brownstone, the individual responsible for building Brownstone's sewer system and making sure that Norozogaan was disposed of 400 years ago. In order to do that, though, A. Brownstone had to make a bargain with a devil. The terms of that deal meant that A. Brownstone's true name would be lost to history, no one would remember their face, and no one could truly converse with Brownstone's spirit on the Material Plane because their responses would just sound like fart noises. Until recently, A. Brownstone's spirit was forced to manifest as a toilet paper ghost, but now the spirit is able to assume a vaguely dwarven form.

Dazzle makes plans to speak with A. Brownstone's spirit in the future because who knows what sort of advice they might be able to give. Good thinking!

Once everyone gets to SHART HQ, Dave informs the party that the usual work orders are postponed for today because someone else needs the party's assistance. After Dave has a brief bout of casual racism directed at gnomish names, the party learns that Brother Clifton needs their help to track down Curtis Hanover, an important orphan who escaped after yesterday's hostage situation. Bob the Modron and that gnome who Dave can't remember (Side note: the gnome was Bostvick Humplebumple) will take on the work orders in the party's absence.

The party is dismissed and now faces a choice: look for Curtis, or try the lead on the gang warehouse looking for Dion. Consensus comes quickly, and the party sets off for the orphanage to get some more information about Curtis and where he might be heading.

A sweaty Brother Clifton returns from a horse-mounted patrol the same time the party members arrive at the orphanage. Brother Clifton struggles to dismount from Horf's saddle, but eventually his feet make it to the ground. This isn't going to be a standard missing persons case, Brother Clifton warns, because Curtis Hanover has a backup potion of Polymorph just in case his cover gets compromised.

Curtis might look like someone completely different by now, but Brother Clifton provides the party with a rough sketch of what Curtis looked like at the orphanage. That's enough for Lucky to formulate a plan, and casts Seeming to make the party (and Brother Clifton) look like Curtis.

Now that there are five Curtis Hanovers of varying height hanging out, the party spreads out over a two-block area while remaining roughly within line of sight of each other. All that's left to do in Lucky's plan is to get kidnapped, and Lucky lays claim to the nearest dark alley close to the orphanage and innocently plays jacks.

It takes a bit of time (four hours, to be precise), but eventually a pair of scary-looking grown ups approach Norm-Curtis. Norm recognizes these people from their attire as being affiliated with the Brownstone City Runners gang, and makes a quick survey of the scene to check for additional potential assailants. The only other suspicious person he sees is a tattooed woman leaning around a corner and discreetly watching him and the gang members.

Norm-Curtis attempts to lure the bad guys out toward the city's athletic field. It takes a ludicrous amount of luck for this to work (THANK YOU, LUCKY!), but Norm is able to wander in the direction of the athletic field and goad the gang members into a walking-speed foot chase.

Lucky-Curtis, with her eyes on Norm-Curtis, also ambles stealthily in the direction of the athletic fields. Dazzle-Curtis follows Lucky, and Spleenifer-Curtis brings up the caboose of this train of followers. Norm-Curtis is aware of everyone except dazzle following him.

Once Norm-Curtis reaches the athletic field, he plays with an oblong-shaped ball he found on the ground. A vendor is setting up a booth to get ready for the "Pecans In The Park Party" (Tourism Side Note: It's not as big as the Harvest Festival, but still worth checking out; it's nuts!) and demands that Norm pay a copper piece for the ball if he's going to play with it. Norm pays up, and is now the proud owner of a pecan-shaped ball the size and approximate shape of an American football.

The rest of the party hasn't made it all the way to the athletic field yet, but Dazzle notices the tattooed woman. She is maintaining her own stealth, but teleporting to a new location every few moments to keep tabs on her quarry. Dazzle has seen this woman before and recognizes her immediately.

It's Rooney, one of Brynnan's wizard companions from Wentenbocker! She puts hands together and there's a small flash of light from the ring she's wearing as she casts a spell.

Spleenifer-Curtis is the first to hear the results of the spell. It's a low whistle that is getting louder by the second, and it smells like a dairy farm. It's a tornado coming straight for her, and it's made of poop! A literal shitstorm, if you will. Each of the party members in the stealth train is able to narrowly avoid what we can politely call an "induction ceremony" for the whirlwind.

The tornado is barreling down on Norm-Curtis and the City Runners goons. Rooney makes herself known and yells "Get away from my brother, you creeps!" as the tornado slices between Norm-Curtis and the goons. Rooney keeps the tornado chasing the goons until they flee the scene.

By this point, everyone aboard the Curtis Hanover Sneaking Train makes it to the athletic field and Rooney emerges to ask which one of the four party members is her real brother. With four separate people come four separate answers:

Spleenifer-Curtis turns around, faces backwards and blows a raspberry.

Norm-Curtis says "Sorry, you got the wrong one."

Lucky-Curtis has the lengthiest response: "Two of us always lie and one of us always tells the truth.  I will give you one chance to rephrase your question to me."

And Dazzle-Curtis spouts off some harsh truths: "That orphanage shit SUCKED."

Rooney is aware that this is some kind of magical shenanigan afoot, but the responses are childish enough that she is convinced that this is really just some of Curtis's friends trying to help keep him safe. But Rooney still doesn't know which of these individuals is her real brother, so she asks again.

Lucky-Curtis points at Norm-Curtis, you know... like a liar. But this untruth is a stroke of genius, because Norm knows a bit more about the real person who turned into Curtis Hanover as a result of being on the city's crime beat.

The party already knows that Curtis Hanover is the polymorphed child of Hjalmar Magnusson, and that Hjalmar is likely the leader of the Brownville Devil Boys gang. But Norm knows that Curtis's real name is Alex Thistle Magnusson, and that Alex Thistle Magnusson is nonbinary. Norm also knows enough other random details to bluff his way through the security questions Rooney asked Norm in order to prove that he was actually Curtis Hanover.

Additionally, Norm-Curtis is approximately the same size and weight of a human child, so Rooney continues to believe that Norm-Curtis is indeed her sibling. This is enough confirmation for Rooney to begin spilling the details of her plan.

Hjalmar is mixed up with some bad people, and Rooney is going to stop those bad people from hurting their father with the help of a powerful ring a wizard friend gave her. She gives Norm-Curtis a list of addresses to stay away from, one of which is already crossed out. Norm realizes that this was the same address that was destroyed yesterday. If Rooney's plan stays on schedule, it'll probably take 5 or 6 days to complete and then they'll be safe and Alex won't have to live as Curtis anymore.

Norm-Curtis explains that he's staying with some friends to stay safe and avoid being alone. Rooney gives Norm-Curtis a pin to wear so she can keep tabs on him, before teleporting away to complete her master plan.

One Rooney is out of earshot, Norm suggests that the party scout around the area to see if the commotion would have attracted Curtis to see what was going on. Lucky slips on a patch of tornado poop, accidentally kicks a pecan ball that ricochets off the side of the vendor's booth and hits Lucky in the side of the face in just such a way that she sees a person matching Curtis Hanover's description fleeing on the far edge of the athletic field.

Lucky-Curtis teleports in front of the real Curtis, triggering a wild magic surge upon materializing at her destination. A large stag beetle appears on her shoulder (large for a stag beetle, I mean).

Real Curtis is terrified that there are several other people who look just like him, and tries to flee away from Lucky. Lucky tackles him to the ground, where he pleads for his life. Lucky drops her Seeming spell and tells Curtis that they were hired by Brother Clifton to keep him safe.

After a quick check-up at Mom's medical tent, Curtis has a clean bill of health and Lucky introduces Curtis to the party. Norm gives Curtis the pin from Rooney, and Lucky accompanies Curtis to the nearby fighters guild to meet the fighters. Hilaria's skill with a blade is particularly impressive, and Curtis is quite content with the care he is being afforded by the party.

But all adventures must come to an end, and with the party having completed their task of finding Curtis, the adventure concludes for the evening. Stay tuned next time for more!

[seti-fan]

I’ve been all over the place lately with work and family and stuff, but one of the pretty cool developments of all that is that as of this weekend, I am officially a Ghostbuster.

A while back, I worked on a really low-budget take on a proton pack for a convention and when I ran into our local chapter of the official GB costume club, they invited me to join. This weekend, I worked my first event at San Japan, an anime convention in San Antonio. We had a booth with a bunch of replica props and gear the team owns (a life-size Slimer to take pictures with, a Vigo poster, various packs and PKE meters). We had a raffle where you could win a bag with a shirt, a phone case, a Blu-Ray of the new movie, a printed script of the original, and Twinkies with green creme and some Hi-C Ecto Cooler. (Apparently they brought it back before the release of the new movie and they bought up a bunch.) We sold buttons and stuff to raise money for Meals on Wheels and just generally had a lot of fun taking pictures with other fans. A lot of parents who were there for their kids were so excited to see us because we were the only thing they actually recognized at the con.

Some stand out moments:

Some of the senior group members talked about getting to go to the LA premiere of the 2016 movie. Sony wanted an audience full of fans, so they told chapters of the club “If you can get here, we’ve got tickets for you.” A bunch of Texas fans found flights out and went together. They met tons of other fans and got to stand on the red carpet as the actresses were arriving. Their group was toward the end by the theatre door. They said Kristen was first so she got through with enough time that she was making an effort to sign something for everyone lining the carpet. But after that they were kind of being rushed through because interviews had taken longer than planned and they had to get started, so Leslie was in a hurry, but tried to sign things and when our chapter’s leader had a fanboy moment and just yelled, “Leslie, sign my shirt!” she actually backtracked to sign the shirt he was wearing. They said Kate and Melissa had to rush by and just waved because they had been waylaid longest, so they didn’t get to meet them, but it wasn’t the girls’ fault. And then they got to watch the movie at Mann’s Chinese Theatre with an audience of all fans, Paul Feig gave a little welcome at the beginning (they said he seemed so sweet and nervous about whether they would like it or not), and they went crazy loving the screening. If they ever do a sequel, I really hope they do that again. Lol

In the club it’s accepted not everyone is going to like every movie/show, but the members who weren’t crazy about the new movie (at least in our chapter) make an effort not to rain on the mood of those who do (and never let it show to fans coming up to the booth). The chapter leader only has two things he said he would change about it: 1. He would have it fit into the old universe somehow just so people would stop getting territorial about the two and it would end some of the griping they have to hear about. 2. He would re-edit Abby and Erin’s deleted scenes back in, because he felt their friendship was under-served by cutting all their “breakup” scenes. (Which, honestly, I agree with and I love that he was emotionally invested in them too.)

We had a couple of teenage/college-age fans come up (one trans, one nonbinary I learned as we chatted) and the girl who was trans was so excited about the new film. The nonbinary fan admitted sheepishly they hadn’t seen more than clips of the movie. The other turned to them, face serious, and said, “I have the movie on my phone. We’re watching it tonight.”

Got lots of love from fans. People wanted pictures with Slimer, yes, but lots of young women and little girls who had fallen in love with the new movie and wanted to get pictures. One really cool girl showed us pictures of her Holtzmann Halloween costume. She might be the first black Holtzmann I’ve seen (forgive me if I’ve just missed people’s pics) and she looked so awesome. I want her to come back in the costume at another con and get a pic with her.

Amazing group of friends did the Belcher family from Bob’s Burgers. The Linda was Spot. On. OMG that dude was perfect. Kept hearing that voice across the convention hall yelling, “Oh! Family photo! C’mere! Family photo!” and “Ah, my babies!” Hearing Linda’s voice say “Bustin’ makes me feel good” is a highlight of the con for me.

While overwhelmingly it was great, we did get one asshole who walked up to the booth (staffed at that point by me, one other woman, and one guy), turned directly to the male group member and started going into how he only liked the originals and hated the new one, how it was “girls trying to do what men do” and it was horrible and only got any attention because it was feminism and generally was being really misogynistic and insulting to the actresses. The other woman (who’s a veteran of these cons), just gestured me to kind of step away and not get involved because you don’t want to start a fight or anything where security has to step in, and let the guy at the booth steer the “fan” away. They said it’s not that common, but you do occasionally get people who want to start something or are a bit unstable themselves, and it’s better just to let it roll off. Though she did throw a middle finger and some nasty faces at him as he was leaving. :)

As if the world wanted to prove most fans aren’t like that, I had a Beautiful Con Moment afterward. In the vendor’s room later, I chatted with a couple of artists who were selling a cute drawing of the four girls (I’ll scan it and advertise their work later). They had a sign saying “Bring us Whataburger and you can have a free print” since they couldn’t leave their table. After debating my budget for a bit, I decided to go back and buy the drawing. A guy had apparently brought them their food by then and when I told them I’d decided to go ahead with it, the guy said, “Give it to her. I can’t pick, so that can be my free print.” And we all melted at the act of kindness and he said he had daughters and had mostly wanted to make sure the girls (well, possibly nonbinary individuals) at the booth had food more than score free art, and it was a sweet moment all around. (I then bought something else from their booth too because I wanted them to still make some money and support their art.)

The artist told me their girlfriend had actually drawn the piece and was going to do more art of the new team in the future. Later, they came running over and told me they texted the girlfriend and she was so psyched it went to a Ghostbuster.

Anyway, first official bust was a success! Looking forward to doing more in the future!