#red jacket jamboree

[starstruckodysseys]

baby, don’t you like this beat? (i made it so you’d sleep with me) —

>> reese’s oc insert jamboree

complete; wc is officially like 8.5k but most of those are not Actual Words if ykwim

in which lanie girlbosses too close to the sun, fucks up her flirting game entirely, and accidentally makes the video store go viral. everything kind of spirals from there.

(or: the kind-of-still-nsbu social media au no one asked for. like, literally no one)

notes for context bc truly this entire thing exists within the vacuum of my mind:

-post nsbu (movie and canon)!

-lanie woodward: 19 year old college dropout, social media manager for russell’s video world after the store’s revamp, blatantly pan and incredibly obvious about her crushes on her best friends

-jenna woodward: 23 year old model in LA, lives just outside of lake elsinore. had a falling out with lanie months ago but they’re over it now. she regrets it now that she has to deal with this

-trans liv trans liv trans liv (truly the least important thing here but it does exist)

-wendell + lanie have the weirdest combatant friendship ever. no one can figure it out (they’re both fucking terrified of each other for Very Specific reasons but that’s a whole other piece)

—

russellsvideoworld just posted to their story!

image description: an instagram story from user russellsvideoworld. a female figure in a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans holds up a peace sign. split dyed green and black hair can be seen in the top left corner, as well as the girl’s chin. the caption, in bright green serif font with a paler green background, reads “put hot to go on our insta note bc our vhs tapes and dvds are always hot to go and certainly not bc the social media manager was trying to flirt with her crushes and forgot which account she was on. certainly not.” HOT TO GO! by chappell roan is playing in the background.

image description: a screenshot of the previous instagram story from user wendellmorris. the caption, in blue arial font, reads “i think we should let lanie rationalize putting more chappell roan songs on our store’s ig. for marketing purposes”

—

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

bowling alley carpet:

imagine not being the most oblivious fucking idiot alive

couldn’t be wendell !!!!!!!

…do you guys think maybe neither of them like me and they’re just trying to be nice about it

everything is you:

wendell is the least subtle person on this planet and it still took an entire movie dimension for steven to realize he liked him

i think ur doing fine

unless you wanna figure out how to make out with one of them in the amazon again

bowling alley carpet:

don’t say AGAIN like i was involved the first time??

everything is you:

close enough if you ask me

hollywood(ward):

I think you could choose literally any other way to flirt with them!

But no, I don’t think that’s the issue

bowling alley carpet:

jen i cannot stress enough how much a) that does not help and b) your capitals are fucking terrifying

hollywood(ward):

I’m an adult!

bowling alley carpet:

girl we’re having a discussion about my dumbass flirting via chappell roan songs on the video store insta

there are no adults here. only idiots

—

video description: a tiktok from user del.lanie. lanie, a nineteen year old girl with split dyed green/black hair and slightly tan skin, in a red leather jacket and black ripped jeans, does the hot to go dance with possibly the least amount of energy anyone has ever done it. she gives up by the end, laughing with her mouth covered and talking to someone off screen as she moves to turn the camera off. the caption, in the classic tiktok font, reads “when you fuck up your flirting game severely but at least your video store is going viral”

—

image description: an instagram post from some news site i don’t have the energy to come up with a name for rn. or the post itself actually. the caption reads “In a world where physical media seems to be moving away from public consumption, Russell’s Video World stands out like a sore thumb — for more reasons than one. The video store, located in Lake Elsinore, California, has taken over the spotlight after an Instagram story from its social media manager, Lanie Woodward. link to the rest of the story in our bio!”

comments:

del.lanie: WHY AM I ON INSTAGRAM NEWS HELLO???

↳ del.lanie: girl why are they full naming me… help…

del.lanie: also leave wendell + steven out of this?? this is my dumbassery what the hell did they do

↳ skysthelimit: shared sorrow is half sorrow or whatever !!

↳ del.lanie: yeah but this isn’t even sorrow this is just like. stupid

j.enna: if you told me twenty minutes ago i was going to see lanie frantically clarifying she *is* queer i would’ve laughed in your face

↳ del.lanie: *the most obviously pansexual girl you’ve seen in your life* “but is she gay though?????”

wendellmorris: bold of them to assume i was joking about lanie’s marketing techniques

↳ skysthelimit: “““““marketing”””””

—

Order Up: These Video Tapes are Hot to Go!

July 26, 2024

written by Marie Vienna

With streaming services constantly on the rise and the internet at our fingertips, stores like Blockbuster have more or less fallen to the wayside. One of these video stores, however, has recently come into the spotlight — and not for the reason you might expect.

Russell’s Video World, located in Lake Elsinore, California, is one of the few video stores remaining in the United States. It briefly blew up on the news after its management switch last month, its previous owner now in jail after being arrested for embezzling funds from the company and blaming it on his own employee. This landed the company a small cult following on the internet, with people deeply invested in the follow up, and their newfound social media presence was surely an added bonus. However, the store has found itself going viral once more for an entirely different reason.

On July 21st, 2024, a few eagle eyed fans noticed the store’s Instagram account posting a song on their notes. While this might not traditionally be much of an upset — brands always like to keep up with the trends, after all — they noted that Chappell Roan’s hit HOT TO GO! is not… usually the kind of thing a company might post. Hours later, social media manager Lanie Woodward posted on the store’s Instagram story, clarifying that posting the song was a mistake — and, incidentally, it was meant for her main account as a flirting technique.

[ screenshot of the story post ]

Woodward’s revival of the video store’s social media pages has been revolutionary for the company, her snark and humor mixed with her obvious, though reluctant, care for her job drawing fans in even from outside the city. She’s mostly known for her humorous interactions with commenters, especially her own coworkers. And, as a matter of fact, commenters have speculated about the nature of Woodward’s relationships with her coworkers — namely Wendell Morris and Steven Skyler, both of whom Woodward has posted with multiple times. Morris even added onto the initial post, joking that Woodward should “rationalize” posting more of Roan’s music on the store’s Instagram.

Most of this speculation has centered around which of Woodward’s friends she was referring to in her initial post, but, as some commenters have pointed out, she’d used the word crushes, as in plural. Perhaps there’s something going on behind the scenes we’re not privy to.

While the true nature of the post is, really, none of our business, it has created quite a stir on social media — a TikTok posted by Woodward on July 23rd about the matter gained five million views in no time at all. We just hope that, if nothing else, all ends well for the couple — or, possibly, the trio.

Have something to say? Our comment section is always open!

—

[ muscle man gender envy ]

sky’s the limit:

so

wendell thee morris:

so

sky’s the limit:

what’s it like being famous?

everything you’d dreamed of?

wendell thee morris:

shouldn’t you be asking lanie??

sky’s the limit:

…okay so i might be afraid of doing that

and i don’t know how to bring it up without being like “oh btw i know i already have a bf but i’m also desperately in love with you!!!”

yknow

like i don’t think she’d hate me? but i don’t want things to be weird

wendell thee morris:

okay. good news i think she’s incapable of hating you

unless something changed in the past month

which. a lot of things did actually

but you know what i mean

sky’s the limit:

yeah

but also wdym she’s incapable??

wendell thee morris:

well. uh

okay so you didn’t hear it from me

but um. pre-nsbu we used to… commiserate about our crushes

crush. i guess

on you

um. so idk if that’s changed for her but i don’t think so

sky’s the limit:

oh

well. that’s

hm

cute!

but also deeply confusing now

wendell thee morris:

yeah. sorry

❤️ ?

sky’s the limit:

💕 !!

—

russellsvideoworld just posted!

video description: lanie sits at the checkout counter of the store. she grins, saying “I hope she plays HOT TO GO!” as the words show up on the screen as well. the camera cuts to steven, an eighteen year old boy with medium length black hair and pale skin, wearing a white zip up jacket. he tries to fight off a laugh as he says “This is the grand reopening of Russell’s Video Word.” the camera then cuts to the front doors of the video store, where a line of people can be seen. hot to go does, in fact, play faintly in the background. the caption of the post itself reads “reposting for. uh. reasons!”

comments:

stxrfrxit: hot to go always at the scene of the crime… i know what you are

↳ del.lanie: i don’t even know you but you are the only person i trust around here

skysthelimit: untranses my gender so people stop calling lanie straight

↳ del.lanie: LMAO NO

↳ j.enna: when will the rumors end…

—

[ very serious work chat ]

bowling alley carpet:

gang how do i get the world to stop assuming i’m straight

like i *would* be incredibly passive aggressive and post a photo of me like. idk making out with a girl or something

but i don’t have one of those

so

sky’s the limit:

a girl?

wendell thee morris:

the photo?

everything is you:

the ability to make out with a girl?

bowling alley carpet:

all of the above

WAIT NO HANG ON

i have so much game you don’t even know

you’re just jealous you don’t understand my ways

everything is you:

the ways of posting chappell roan songs on the video store’s instagram by accident?

wendell thee morris:

okay genuine question

was it actually an accident

or was it some publicity stunt

bowling alley carpet:

no unfortunately i am actually that much of a dumbass

i’ve been trying to sort out the algorithm on the store’s explore page and apparently i did not switch off after i last did that

and then i was like “oh boy 1pm time for my daily really bad flirting!!”

but it went worse than even i could’ve anticipated

rust:

At least we’re getting business out of it!

bowling alley carpet:

yeah and they’re getting in MY business

do you guys think they’d count it as self defense if i stabbed someone after being asked for the five thousandth time if im straight

i think it’d be warranted atp

sky’s the limit:

i’ll help you hide the body!

bowling alley carpet:

love the enthusiasm!

mildly concerned but i still appreciate it!

[ muscle man gender envy ]

sky’s the limit:

that was too eager wasn’t it

wendell thee morris:

possibly

i think she’s also seen you murder several people before

so. not a dealbreaker necessarily

yknow. speaking from experience and all that

sky’s the limit:

yeah?

i’ll uh. keep that in mind

wendell thee morris:

yeah

good idea

[ how to lose a guy in ten days ]

wendell thee morris:

okay so i realize you are the worst person to ask

but also. what the fuck

[ IMG.098 ]

bowling alley carpet:

i feel like i should be offended but truly i don’t have the energy

?? am i allowed to ask what isn’t a dealbreaker or

wendell thee morris:

um. no…?

i didn’t realize that was there honestly

bowling alley carpet:

bro you cropped the image…

anyway idk what you want my advice on

or why you want my advice actually

like i know i was the only person to watch you guys kiss. or not kiss. several times actually

but y’all are dating??

i do not have special insider information here

wendell thee morris:

anyone ever tell you you’re the most obnoxious texter ever

bowling alley carpet:

why is THAT what you’re taking away from this conversation

anyway idk man just make out or whatever?? ur allowed to do that

wendell thee morris:

…honestly i don’t know what i expected

bowling alley carpet:

look man i've never actually been in a relationship

wendell thee morris:

what

bowling alley carpet:

so like. ur already multiple steps ahead of me

yeah?? this is like. common knowledge i fear

tbf i've also never done anything to change that fact so. that’s on me tbh!

wendell thee morris:

yet

bowling alley carpet:

??

what

wendell thee morris:

what

anyway uh thanks lanie!

bowling alley carpet:

…anytime?

[ california girls ]

bowling alley carpet:

jen

jenna

jennifer woodward

hollywood(ward):

did you just make a nickname of my name that’s longer than my actual name

bowling alley carpet:

yeah

i think i'm having an aneurysm???

[ IMG.284 ]

please tell me i’m not making up this conversation

hollywood(ward):

…dang was right you do just need to make out with one of them

bowling alley carpet:

i’m never speaking to any of you ever again

[ muscle man gender envy ]

wendell thee morris:

i am the dumbest person alive

[ IMG.078 ]

sky’s the limit:

…i’ll be over in ten

—

del.lanie just posted to their story!

image description: a close up shot of lanie’s face as she stares deadpan at the camera. the caption, in bright green serif font, reads “why are we so focused on me being straight or not bc i posted chappell roan one (1) time. i posted joyride by kesha once and no one called me a car so like??”

—

skysthelimit just posted!

image description: steven holds the camera, presumably, wearing a dark red t-shirt over a striped long sleeve shirt. his other arm is looped through lanie’s, and he smiles softly. lanie, in a blue zip up hoodie and a black t-shirt, grins at the camera, her free arm slung over wendell’s shoulders as she makes a peace sign. wendell, an eighteen year old boy with dark skin and glasses, wears a black sweatshirt with an indiscernible logo on it, making a matching peace sign and smiling. other assorted photos follow, including one of three cups of frozen yogurt, and one of wendell and lanie fake sword fighting with those inflatable things at the trampoline park, over a foam block pit. the caption reads “my favs 💕”

comments:

del.lanie: do you need a third

↳ del.lanie: wheel! third wheel

del.lanie: i literally love u guys <3

↳ skysthelimit: we will have a beautiful spring wedding

↳ wendellmorris: am i just roadkill in this situation??

↳ skysthelimit: no we’re going to have the first poly wedding in history

↳ del.lanie: i’m like 80% sure that’s not legal but honestly let’s do it baby i know the law

j.enna: god i love seeing lanie wearing shit i have never once seen in her closet

↳ del.lanie: jenna stop being a hater challenge!!!

↳ j.enna: dress for the weather then dork

↳ del.lanie: IT’S FUCKING JULY

wendellmorris: love you <3

↳ skysthelimit: <3

—

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

bowling alley carpet:

i think i’m going to lose my mind

like not willingly but it has already started happening

hollywood(ward):

don’t make me tap the sign (the chat name)

everything is you:

i think i need to study your brain

understand what the hell is going on up there

bowling alley carpet:

that’s my secret it’s just fucking hollow

lights on no one’s home

hollywood(ward):

okay but whose jacket is that. genuinely

i have never seen it in my life

bowling alley carpet:

sometimes i do things without you knowing

everything is you:

it’s wendell’s

bowling alley carpet:

i am going to throw myself into the sea

hollywood(ward):

LMFAO

that’s what i figured though. just wanted to check <3

bowling alley carpet:

okay but fr what do we think “we’re going to have the first poly wedding in history” means

hollywood(ward):

that you’re a moron

bowling alley carpet:

WHAT THE HELL

everything is you:

i think it’s a valid follow up to “do you need a third”

which was fucking wild btw. what are you smoking

bowling alley carpet:

unfortunately nothing

i would say that sometimes i just say shit but i did actually debate commenting that for like three minutes

and for some reason i landed on doing so

[ it’s all love now ]

everything is you:

look i’m not one to get involved

sky’s the limit:

you’re literally the one who set wendell n i up at lord’s but go on

everything is you:

…k so i forgot about that

but srsly. one of you needs to talk to lanie for the love of god

and also my sanity. and maybe jenna’s sanity

and lanie’s sanity also tbh i think she’s losing it a little

sky’s the limit:

am i allowed to ask what that means

or…?

everything is you:

yknow?

for some reason i think you already know

sky’s the limit:

ominous!

unfortunately true also

—

@ del.lanie

7 posts • 5298 followers • 34 following

lanie! she/her

social media rep @ russellsvideoworld

now playing: are you bored yet? (feat. clairo) • wallows

—

[ full of BPA ]

wendell thee morris:

lanie

what’s your deal

bowling alley carpet:

hello???

what the hell does that mean

sky’s the limit:

that ur posting sad songs on ur instagram again and it’s concerning

bowling alley carpet:

okay i’m honored you guys are concerned

but truly can a girl not yearn in peace

also wdym again it’s been vaguely horny for the past like. week

sky’s the limit:

yeah and that’s more concerning!!

what did they do!!

wendell thee morris:

i mean it's not really our business

like if you don’t want to talk about it that’s fine

but. if you do…

bowling alley carpet:

…

you guys know i’m demi right?

sky’s the limit:

…yeah?

bowling alley carpet:

cool

just making sure

wendell thee morris:

lanie you gotta start using your words

that means nothing

bowling alley carpet:

you’re both smart

you can figure it out

i believe in you <3

[ muscle man gender envy ]

wendell thee morris:

i’m going to commit a hate crime

i know that’s a bold move but sometimes lanie instills the rage of god in me

sky’s the limit:

…yeah okay

have fun!

—

wendellmorris just posted to their story!

image description: a black iphone covers up part of the shot, but two people are at least partially visible — the side of a pale neck and shoulder, with a few bruises visible, and a dark chin hooked over the shoulder. their faces are cropped out, but we can all use context clues.

—

sorry, this post has been deleted!

—

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

hollywood(ward):

just heard lanie scream violently from upstairs which cannot mean anything good for us

y'know del you could make a killing in horror movies

bowling alley carpet:

IM GOIGN TO LOSE MY SHIT JEN

USE YOUR WORDS THIS MOTHERFUCKER SAYS

AND THEN TURNS AROUND AND

FUCKING HELL DUDE

everything is you:

did we miss something

bowling alley carpet:

hey so you can’t see if people screenshot your insta story right

it’s not like snapchat

hollywood(ward):

…jesus christ lanie

i mean no. they can’t see it. but like

lanie

what the hell

bowling alley carpet:

WHY AM I THE WEIRD ONE HERE

should i be petty and post casual

hollywood(ward):

no you should have an actual goddamn conversation with them for once in your life

everything is you:

^^

i still have no fuckin clue what’s going on but like

agreed

bowling alley carpet:

i won’t post it for the sake of u guys and the fact that i am the down bad one here

and also that weirdly feels like an HR violation even though we aren’t at work rn

but just know. wendell is a fucking menace. never let anyone tell you otherwise

and i’m going to kill him

i like him too much he has to die

hollywood(ward):

i think that might be the first time you’ve ever actually admitted your crush on him!

usually you just send minor threats

…oh my god he deleted the story

bowling alley carpet:

i’m

it’s been five minutes????

hollywood(ward):

del

be honest with me

do you have their post notifications on

bowling alley carpet:

no actually i’m just chronically online

i’m not that bad yet

also like… girl what were YOU doing at the devil’s sacrament 👀

hollywood(ward):

right place right time i guess

i did not want to see the post. i have a whole husband lanie

bowling alley carpet:

you cannot start preaching to ME of all people abt monogamy

hollywood(ward):

okay fair

anyway. how did we get from “lanie posts hot to go on the wrong instagram account” to… whatever that story post was

in the span of like… a week and a half

i don’t think i can look either of them in the eye for the next week

bowling alley carpet:

LMFAO that’s my line i think

anyway idk earlier they were questioning my song choices again

which. idk why NOW is when we’re choosing to worry about that. but anyway

like this is not my wildest song choice

hollywood(ward):

…what was the rest of the conversation?

bowling alley carpet:

uh

[ IMG.244 ]

hollywood(ward):

okay yeah

this has nothing to do with your song choices del

everything is you:

dang dude

i didn’t realize they were THAT bad

bowling alley carpet:

YEAH DUDE

i mean. okay yes i could actually say what i mean more often. i am aware of my own flaws

but they’re not stupid!! and i know this!!

they could put the pieces together if they tried!!

AND YET!!!!

everything is you:

okay

so you aren’t gonna like this

i really do think you need to talk to them

and i get it. that shit’s hard

but you’re kinda just making it worse for everyone involved

unless you enjoy whatever psychological warfare bullshit you’ve got goin on rn

bowling alley carpet:

i don’t *enjoy* it it’s just. easier

i’m just

i don’t want to lose them

and i don’t want to be like “hey btw i know you’ve had a thing going on for like months now but i’m deeply in love with both of you if you even care!! which you shouldn’t!!”

hollywood(ward):

you made a whole joke about being their third

steven LITERALLY said you guys would have the first poly wedding in history

del. i love you. you’re my favorite sister in the world

but you’re also a fucking idiot sometimes

bowling alley carpet:

…i’ll think about it

and i’m your only sister dumbass

—

stella! @ stcrfruit

deeply obsessed with the love triangle happening at this video store rn

stella! @ stcrfruit

like i can’t stress enough i have nothing to do w this store. i’m not even in the us. i’m also deeply invested in the outcome of this

monabus @ monaslisas

LITERALLY i’m obsessed w their social media manager

kat :3 @ kittiekatarina

no fr like i didn’t have “random video store going viral bc their employees are in love or whatever” on my 2024 bingo card but honestly?? loving it

holding out for a hero @ kizunamusicz

i cannot tell if it’s a publicity stunt or not but god i hope not bc this is the most fun i've had on the internet in a while

monabus @ monaslisas

nah have you seen her personal acc? i think homegirl is genuinely going through it

kat :3 @ kittiekatarina

im p sure the two guys are dating so like. yeah i’d also be going through it tbh!

monabus @ monaslisas

NOOOOO WHAT

monabus @ monaslisas

I MEAN GOOD FOR THEM LMFAO i just feel bad for her ://

gorgeous girls drink gasoline @ delanie

yeah me too girl. me too

—

del.lanie just posted!

image description: a selfie taken from a higher angle, but not unflattering. lanie, in a cropped black tank top and denim shorts, looks up at the camera with the slightest of smirks. the caption reads “call me hot not pretty”

comments:

wendellmorris: okay bet

↳ del.lanie: do it you won’t!!

skysthelimit: pick me!! choose me!!

↳ del.lanie: always 💛

j.enna: i love that you know one song ever

↳ del.lanie: look i accidentally cultivated the brand the least i can do is stick to it

—

[ muscle man gender envy ]

sky’s the limit:

i think ,, i’m dead?

i think i died?

i think maybe this is heaven?

wendell thee morris:

i’m glad one of us can make words rn

bc i think im dissociating

sky’s the limit:

i mean. barely

i think,, maybe we should talk

oh wait nvm you have that family thing today right?

wendell thee morris:

yeah ://

i can try to get out of it though

you and lanie should definitely talk. at least

i don’t necessarily have to be there

sky’s the limit:

you sure?

i feel like that kind of defeats the purpose lol

wendell thee morris:

i mean. one of us has to do something eventually

well. i guess we don’t?? historically speaking

but we should

probably

sky’s the limit:

lol you don’t think the passive aggressive photos you guys have been posting back and forth are the best way to go about this?

…you are sure about this right

like i know this has kind of always been A Thing but also you’re my boyfriend

which i think is a little more important in this scenario

wendell thee morris:

hey

steven

sky’s the limit:

hi :)

wendell thee morris:

i love you

go kiss a pretty girl

sky’s the limit:

LMAO okay

love u too <3

[ royal flush ]

sky’s the limit:

lanie

bowling alley carpet:

hi

sky’s the limit:

do you want to come over?

it’s been a while since we hung out :(

bowling alley carpet:

it’s been like four days lol

miss me that much?

sky’s the limit:

always :)

bowling alley carpet:

oh

yeah i can be there in

uh

so i don’t have a car

or a license actually

sky’s the limit:

lol i’ll be over in ten

bowling alley carpet:

mkay!!

[ lanie’s mental breakdown liveblog (not clickbait!) ]

bowling alley carpet:

i am so stupid

i should win dumbest bitch alive award

hollywood(ward):

okay slow down hon

what happened

bowling alley carpet:

[ IMG.296 ]

how the fuck am i supposed to function normally

like he’s like “let’s hang out!! :)” and i'm like “okay!! i’ll just ignore the overwhelming urge to kiss you the entire time i guess!!!!”

everything is you:

or don’t

just go for it

bowling alley carpet:

so are we just ignoring the part where he has a bf already or…

everything is you:

yeah dude

a bf who is also painfully into u

hollywood(ward):

look i spend about ten minutes a week with either of them

and that’s when i feel like it

so maybe i’m not immensely qualified to talk on this

but they’re pretty damn obvious

everything is you:

steven doesn’t even work @ the store anymore and he still splits his time there between you n wendell

yknow. his actual boyfriend

bowling alley carpet:

okay okay i get it

i will. maybe not ignore the urge to kiss him?

hollywood(ward):

good enough!

bowling alley carpet:

if this goes horribly wrong i’m blaming you

hollywood(ward):

yeah yeah i'll take you for the good ice cream downtown

bowling alley carpet:

oh FUCK yeah dude

wait. but i don’t want it to go bad

hollywood(ward):

well

we’ll see

bowling alley carpet:

okay anyway he’s in the driveway so i will update you all later!!

no news is good news though

probably

—

[ california girls ]

bowling alley carpet:

hey

jen

what it mean when cute boy lay on you and play with ur hair

hollywood(ward):

jesus fucking christ lanie just kiss him already

bowling alley carpet:

OKAY GODDAMN

—

Lanie sets her phone on the armrest with a groan, even though she isn’t really that upset with Jenna, just upholding her brand of being unnecessarily dramatic in the least important situations. She’ll save her energy for the serious conversations.

Steven picks his head up off her shoulder, gives her an amused yet concerned look. “You okay?”

“Jenna wants me dead,” she says, throwing her head back against the couch and grinning when she hears him laugh.

It’s a good laugh. She wasn’t lying in Lord’s when she said he was pretty.

God, she needs to get a grip before she starts ruining her closest friendships.

When she looks back, there’s still a ghost of a smile on Steven’s face, but he looks anxious, and she realizes he’s tense where their shoulders are pressed together. She means to ask him if he’s okay, but he bites his lip and she suddenly forgets how to form coherent thoughts.

“Hey, Lanie?” he says eventually, not meeting her eye. She hums in acknowledgment. “You remember the Amazon, right?”

She does, in fact, remember the Amazon. Very clearly, actually, despite the absolute insanity that followed, which she’s tried and failed to pick apart and make any sense of. But the Amazon itself — yeah, it’s in there clear as day. She remembers Steven running, and wanting to follow but knowing she might be one of the worst people to do so, and trying to talk Wendell out of his self depreciation and immediately failing, and watching the two of them kiss for real this time, and singing jaguars and old men maybe sort of coming back to life and eating dirt and suiting up.

She remembers overhearing I meant it with you and trying to swallow her jealousy before it burst.

“Unfortunately,” she says, because that’s easier, and the smile on her face does not match how she feels. “Which part?”

Steven swallows, and Lanie is suddenly hyper aware of the fact that this is not going to be a normal conversation. He looks up at her, dark eyes wide, and she forces herself not to reach out for him. It’s one of the more difficult things she’s done.

“I— I know I kissed Wendell,” he says, which is not what she’s expecting. “And, like, obviously I don’t regret that. That would be weird. But…”

He turns so he’s sitting sideways on the couch, and Lanie follows because she doesn’t know what else to do, because she’s a planet in his orbit and she’s never been able to pull away. Her heart is in her throat and it’s threatening to burst out. He grabs her hand and she thinks she might combust.

“I regret not kissing you,” he says, and it comes out in a rush she’s only barely able to understand. “And I know you’d said not right now, and that’s—“

“It was stupid,” Lanie interrupts, because it was, and she wants to hit her head against the wall every time she thinks about it. “The— I wanted to. But it was a whole… thing.”

It sounds like an excuse, and in many ways it is one. She didn’t want to undo the entire conversation she’d just had with Wendell. She didn’t want to test how much control their action movie personas had over them. She wanted to kill her fucking boss.

She looks away, which is impressive because she’s never been able to before, picks at a loose thread on her jacket sleeve. “I didn’t want to kiss you for the first time in the body of a lesbian in the middle of the jungle,” she says, which is also the truth.

No response. She looks up to find Steven staring at her, wide eyed and flushed, lips forming an o shape she can’t possibly be normal about. She’s used to getting a reaction out of people — some might say that’s her entire brand. She’s decidedly less used to wanting that reaction to mean something.

“Oh,” he says, barely above a whisper. “Um. Okay. So you—”

Lanie takes a breath, cannonballs into the deep end. “I’ve been a little bit in love with you since you started at the video store.”

Lanie Woodward is many things. A flirt. A walking HR nightmare, according to her coworkers (which is fucking bold, by the way, she’s seen them). The lowkey viral social media manager for her job. Deeply, incredibly obvious about her crushes on her best friends.

Genuine is not one of them. Not usually, at least. Honesty fucking terrifies her, because she’s been lonely her entire life and she doesn’t think she can stand rejection from the people who looked right through her and chose to stay with her anyway.

She takes in the look on Steven’s face and realizes she’s never said any of that out loud before. Right. Okay. That’s cool, she’s just got to pick up the pieces now, put them back together with hot glue and sheer willpower.

“You don’t have to, like, do anything about that,” she clarifies. “I just… you should know. At this point. I can back off, if you want—”

She doesn’t get to finish, because Steven apparently has one move for getting people to stop talking, and she wasn’t really expecting that to ever be an issue for her, but there’s a hand on her face and lips on hers and she’s suddenly incredibly aware of the fact she’s never kissed anyone before.

He pulls away all too soon, and she presses her tongue to the roof of her mouth to prevent any sort of sound she might make at that. “Sorry,” he apologizes, for some fucking reason, like Lanie hasn’t dreamed of this since sometime in high school. “That was— I really like you, too. But I never knew how much of what you said was real, and I didn’t want to assume, so…”

Lanie reaches up, brushes his hair out of his face like she’s always wanted to. “With you?” she asks, and her voice comes out hoarser than she expects. “All of it.”

Steven blinks, grins. “Okay,” he says, somewhere between hopeful and eager and something she can’t quite place. “Okay. Well.”

This is stupid, Lanie decides, and grabs the collar of his shirt to pull him down to her again.

The first kiss was pretty much nothing, in all honesty. Just the pressing of lips against lips — which is, if you’re to get technical, the legal definition of a kiss. Lanie does not have time for definitions, though, and this is immediately not just that, anyway. She falls back against the couch, hands tangled in Steven’s hair as he follows her down, his arms resting on either side of her head as he props himself up. She feels like she should be overwhelmed. Her brain kind of isn’t in her body enough to worry about that.

His teeth graze her bottom lip, tongue poking out hesitantly, and she immediately, hungrily lets him in, because she doesn’t know what she’s doing, because she wants. And it’s selfish, and stupid, and a million other things she’s tried and failed not to be over the span of the past few months fading into years, but here and now she can’t find a single reason to stop herself.

It takes most of her willpower to keep from making a sound, even though she doesn’t know why she’s so worried about that, not when she’s never had to worry about him making fun of her, not for real. It’s a pride thing, mostly, she thinks — she’s used to being the suave one, the cool and collected one even when she doesn’t really feel it. She’s a little tired of it.

Lanie’s always run warm, which is convenient when everyone around her always seems to be freezing. This isn’t necessarily an issue, but it does mean she jolts when Steven’s alarmingly cold hands slip under her shirt, and he pulls back for a second to whisper out an apology before moving down to kiss her neck. She gives up on any pretense of being cool, even if the whine she lets out is still deeply embarrassing. He doesn’t comment on it, just grins against what’s surely going to be a bruise later, and she can’t even be upset.

Or, well, she could, but most of her brain cells aren’t really working right now, so. Maybe later. Probably not, though.

He tugs at her shirt, and she pushes the both of them upright, miraculously, to give him better access. It takes some fumbling — which might be her own fault, but they’ll deal with that later — but eventually her shirt ends up… somewhere. They can deal with that later, too.

“Is this okay?” Steven asks, scanning her face.

Lanie bites back the urge to mention that it might be a little late for that, because she knows if she even hinted that she was uncomfortable they’d stop. “Yeah,” she says instead, and it comes out breathless but she doesn’t care because she’s wanted this for months. “Your parents are, like, out out, right?”

He stares at her. “That’s your issue?”

“I mean, I don’t really want their first impression of me to be that girl their son’s making out with on their couch even though he currently has a boyfriend,” she says, face flushing impossibly redder. “So. A little?”

He still just… looks at her, and she might be uncomfortable if it were anyone else, but all she can think is that she hopes he finds something in there he likes. It’s very dramatic, all things considered. Things such as her being shirtless on his couch and him being half in her lap.

“You really are pretty,” he says eventually, like this is a normal thing to say out of nowhere.

She’s so unprepared for it that she can’t quite stop the strangled cough that makes its way out of her mouth. He laughs, soft and gorgeous, and she melts.

This is also a deeply unbalanced situation, so she leans forward to kiss him again, twists her fingers in the hem of his shirt. Her tongue presses against his mouth, and he makes a surprised sound that turns into something satisfied, and she drinks it in with a grin. It’s intoxicating.

She’s in the middle of pulling his shirt off when someone’s phone buzzes. It’s too far away to be hers, but it can’t be anything important, so they ignore it. Except it buzzes again, and Steven reluctantly pulls away — though not out of Lanie’s grip, she notices with a giddy spark in her chest — to pat around the couch for it. She assumes, perhaps wrongly, that he’s going to turn it off, and while it looks like it for a second, he just laughs and shakes his head.

“It’s just Wendell,” he says, and he doesn’t sound concerned, but something electric and terrifying shoots up her spine.

“Right,” she says carefully. “And he’s, like… cool with this? I’m not the mistress here?”

It might be the wrong thing to say, if only for the immediately concerned look Steven gives her. “What? Holy shit, Lanie, no, this is— he has a family thing later, otherwise he’d have been here.”

Relief spreads through her, cool and soothing, and she relaxes even though she didn’t know she was tense. “Okay. Cool. Just… checking.” They sit there for a moment. “You planning on texting him back?”

“Oh! I, uh.” Steven flushes. “I didn’t know— you’re right here— I mean—”

Lanie leans forward, kisses the corner of his mouth. “Text your boyfriend back, dork. I’m here as long as you want me.”

She hooks her chin over his shoulder and pretends not to hear the way he mumbles forever.

—

[ muscle man gender envy ]

wendell thee morris:

so uh

how’s it going

sky’s the limit:

well

i’m with lanie rn so. pretty good!

wendell thee morris:

yeah i know?

…wait

OH FUCK WAIT IM SORRY

GO DO YOUR THING

sky’s the limit:

well lanie says you’ve already ruined the moment

so

[ IMG.092 ]

> image description: a selfie, cropped just enough. steven grins at the camera, white t-shirt rumpled. lanie leans against his shoulder, a lazy grin on her face. there are faint, scattered bruises on her neck.

wendell thee morris:

holy shit

brb changing my lock screen

sky’s the limit:

lanie just shouted no

i think my eardrum exploded

DUDE OH MY GOD sorry just. don’t be that guy

wendell thee morris:

hi lanie

what could that possibly mean

sky’s the limit is calling…

—

At least Steven waits for the call to connect before he gets up, Lanie thinks. It isn’t enough to stop her glare, but her glare isn’t worth much right now anyway, bright and giddy as she feels. He just kisses her cheek, grins, and walks off across the room. She feels like she should be offended. She doesn’t think she physically can right now.

The call connects with a click, but she’s pretty sure the real sound that signifies it is Wendell choking to death on absolutely nothing.

“Holy shit,” he says, and then looks embarrassed enough she thinks it’s a reflex. “I mean— oh God, hang on—”

While she would usually love to watch him flounder, she can’t help but laugh, loud enough that it ends up stopping him anyway as he stares at her in wonder. “You’re fine, Wen. I’m flattered, really.”

“Yeah, but you’re, like…” he flaps his hand vaguely, which tells her nothing, “a person. And I don’t— I don’t want to be… weird.”

Secretly, she thinks most of their situation could be labelled weird. She doesn’t say that, though, instead tilting her head with a smirk. “Romance is alive.”

—

[ very serious work chat ]

bowling alley carpet:

scale of one to ten how offended would you be if someone told you “i know you’re like… a person”

wendell thee morris:

scale of one to ten how much would you care if i killed lanie

bowling alley carpet:

wowwwww double standard

wendell thee morris:

we are actively on facetime rn

everything is you:

like a solid 3 and 8

what the hell are you two talking about

wendell thee morris:

lanie’s a goddamn menace

bowling alley carpet:

oh yeah I’M the menace in this situation

(“What happened to ‘use your words’?” she mutters.

The camera’s pointed at the ceiling now as she clicks out her messages on her own phone. Wendell just laughs.)

everything is you:

…hang on

holy shit

rust:

Am I missing something??

everything is you:

i mean nothing that isn’t already obvious

bowling alley carpet:

yeah

it’s called steven’s looking for my shirt while wendell acts like he’s never seen a girl in his life

everything is you:

…dang

jenna’s gonna be pissed you didn’t tell her first

rust:

Lanie this is why you’re our HR’s nightmare

bowling alley carpet:

there are five of us in this chat and one of them doesn’t even work here anymore

i think we crossed the coworkers line about the time we all got sucked into an action movie via alien tech

wendell thee morris:

there are definitely more than five of us in this chat

bowling alley carpet:

ugh fine

there are five of us in this chat who actually know how to USE said chat

is that better?

wendell thee morris:

yeah :)

—

“You are so fucking lucky I love you,” Lanie threatens, picking Steven’s phone back up to glare uselessly at Wendell.

He makes another strangled sort of sound, which is kind of strange because she was fairly certain he’d become more confident after the whole movie thing, but it’s cute even if she’s a little afraid to admit that aloud, so she doesn’t say anything about it. She smiles, a little more genuine than her usual smirk, because she’s kind of tired and doesn’t really have the energy to pretend like she doesn’t care. Which sounds counterintuitive, but she’s put work into this facade. It just… doesn’t mean much anymore.

“You…” Wendell starts and doesn’t finish, like he’s afraid of the answer.

Lanie laughs, and it would sound mocking to anyone else, but there’s a fondness only she could muster. “I’ve told you that before, dork.” He deflates, and she sighs. “I’m not confessing to you over fucking FaceTime, Wendell.”

His gaze snaps up, shocked and maybe a little flustered. ”Right,” he says like he’s trying to convince himself. “Okay. Yeah. That’s… smart.”

It truly might be the only intelligent thing any of them have done regarding each other — between Lord’s and the Amazon and whatever the hell happened at their not-actually-closing work party, they’ve all gone about this very stupidly. It’s so deeply on brand, though, that she can’t really be upset.

She starts to tell her story, once she finally remembers there was a point to this conversation, and doesn’t consider how long Steven’s been out of the room compared to how long it should take to find a shirt. It can’t have gone that far. The house really isn’t that big. She only gets a sliver of the way through, though, before she looks back at the camera and realizes Wendell has not been paying attention to a single word she’s said.

“Wen,” she says, not quite accusatory, because that would imply she’s upset about part of this, but definitely sharper than usual. He looks up at her like a startled cat, and she softens. “You there, bud?”

“I— fuck.” He buries his face in his hands with a groan. “I’m sorry, really, I don’t mean to… be a creep or whatever, I just— you’re… there, and that’s not an excuse but—”

“I saved your story yesterday,” she blurts out, and she doesn’t mean to say it, and she regrets it immediately, but it shuts him up all the same. “The, uh. The one of you and Steven. I assume. That you deleted after, like, five minutes.”

Great. Someone get her a shovel so she can just keep digging her own goddamn grave. This was so much easier when she was drunk and didn’t know what the hell she was saying.

She watches the cogs turn in his brain as he processes that, hoping he doesn’t think she’s a freak.

“Oh,” he eventually says, which is maybe the least helpful response. “Okay. Like— okay. Just… because?”

“Because I’m stupid and I panicked and also am deeply attracted to both of you, yeah,” she says, dry as possible in hopes it’ll hide the weight of her feelings.

Something hits the side of her face, and she’s never been more grateful for someone throwing a shirt at her before now. Steven sits down beside her, plucks his phone out of her hand as she slips on the shirt. It gives her time to sort out her feelings, at least somewhat, because she thinks she might start hyperventilating soon.

It’s not until she has the shirt fully on that she realizes it is not, in fact, hers. She stares at the fabric for a moment, then up at Steven.

“This isn’t my shirt,” she says, perhaps redundantly. “I don’t even think this is your shirt.”

He grins, and it’s almost enough to take her attention away from the fact she does recognize the shirt he’s wearing — because she’d taken it from her own closet hours ago. There’s something slightly possessive about the whole thing. It lights a spark in her chest, bright and burning.

“Is that where that went?” Wendell asks. “God. You’re all terrible.”

“You love us,” Steven chirps, and Lanie leans back against his shoulder.

Wendell looks literally everywhere except the two of them. “That’s… not important.”

There’s something layered in there, something too heavy for three in the afternoon, so Lanie watches Steven laugh and shifts against him. “Okay,” she says, “can I actually tell my story now?”

They settle in, and they listen, and she tells her story, because junior year she’d found a phone in her APUSH class, went to check the lock screen for any indication of whose it was, and came face to face with a shirtless Cassie Langstrom, who she wasn’t aware even had a boyfriend. And then Ms. Garcia had made her figure out whose phone it actually was, which meant she had to puzzle out who in the entirety of their high school could have been the girl’s boyfriend.

It was some senior, by the way. He was a fucking creep.

At the moment, though, Lanie doesn’t think about the implications of the story. She focuses on her boys, and their laughter, and the softness in Wendell’s eyes and the way Steven’s arm wraps around her waist without any sort of expectation. She lets herself be, allows herself to love, and basks in the knowledge that she’s loved in return.

—

wendellmorris just posted to their story!

image description: wendell, on the right side of the image, holds the camera, grinning. lanie is asleep on his shoulder, and steven is asleep on her chest, her arm wrapped around him. the caption, in blue arial font, reads “worst movie night ever”

skysthelimit just posted to their story!

image description: a screenshot of the previous story, shrunken down. an added caption, in pink arial font, reads “love u 💕”

del.lanie just posted to their story!

image description: a screenshot of the original story, shrunken down. an added caption, in green serif font, reads “love does win guys!”

—

russellsvideoworld just posted!

image description: a photo of the employees of russell’s video world… and steven, in front of the store. russell, on the leftmost side of the image, stands like he’s trying and failing to strike a trendy pose. it shouldn’t be working for him like it is. wendell stands next to him, a little awkward, holding hands with steven, who looks as casual as if he never left. lanie has an arm around his shoulders and her other around dang’s, who holds up a peace sign. paula and usha, on the far right side, stand like they’re in a family photo. everyone is, to an extent, smiling.

video description: someone shakily holds the camera, bringing it up to see lanie’s face. she grins as usual, flashes a peace sign as if on instinct. it drops as she realizes what’s playing — HOT TO GO!, because of course it is. “can i have one day to myself?!” she shouts, stomping off to presumably find the source of the music. steven’s laughter can be heard behind the camera.

the caption of the post reads “thank you everyone for all the support recently! remember, we’re always hot to go here at russell’s video world ;)”

comments:

del.lanie: the caption wasn’t endorsed by russell but tbh what is here

j.enna: WE BROUGHT IT BACK FOLKS

↳ del.lanie: and the world had no faith in me smh

stxrfrxit: i feel like a proud parent??

↳ kittykatarina: so real those are my parents (i am the same age as them)

↳ monaabus: yall see the stories the other day??

↳ stxrfrxit: dms !!

russellfeeld2: Thanks for all your work, Lanie!

↳ del.lanie: yeah ofc! i’ll try to get the entirety of instagram deeply invested in my love life more often

skysthelimit: <3

↳ wendellmorris: <3

↳ del.lanie: <3

—

@ del.lanie

8 posts • 5437 followers • 34 following

lanie! she/her

social media rep @ russellsvideoworld

now playing: love song �� beach bunny

[annieandro]

Gwendolyn The Miracle Hen

Stevie

Look At Me

At Night

Sam

One, Two, Where's My Shoe

Swimmy Track Picture Book

My Little Brother

Goggles

ABC Of Cars and Trucks

Peter's Chair

Maybe A Monster

Cluck The Captain's Chicken

Moving Day For Manuel

Who Will Wake Up Spring

Welcome Roberto, Bienvenido Roberto

I Am A Hunter

Mommies At Work

Tom In The Middle

Play With Me

What Do You Say, Dear

Where Are The Mothers

Will I Have A Friend

I Have A Tree

The Story Grandmother Told

Dandelion

5A and 7B

The Circus Baby

Clyde Of Africa If I Had

Tony and The Toll Collector

I'll Fix Anthony

Ask Mr.Bear

Go Away Dog

Chicken Little Count To Ten

The Snowy Day

Birthday Presents

Whistle For Willie

My Friend John

Katie Goes To Camp

What Is Your Favorite Thing To Touch

What Do I Do

City In The Summer

Dear Uncle Carlos The Cat Who Thought He Was A Tiger

Six Foolish Fishermen

A Kiss For Little Bear

Corduroy Some Of The Days Of Everett Anderson

Chicken Soup With Rice

Where The Wild Things Are

The Lorax

Clifford The Big Red Dog

Mr.Uppity

Thomas Snowsuit

My Funny Animal Alphabet

Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Hideout

Insects and other small creatures

Clifford The Big Red Dog: Tummy Trouble

The Animal Alphabet Book

My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle's Magical Journey

Horton Hears A Who

Oh The Places You'll Go

Old MacDonald Had A Farm

My Little People School Bus

Socks

Are You My Mother

Fluffy Bunnies

Chicka Chicka 123

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

Barefoot Bear and The Ice Cream Factory

Green Eggs and Ham

The Berenstain Bears and The Attic Treasure

Goodnight Moon

In A People House

The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog

It's Not Easy Being A Bunny

Parachuting Hamsters and Andy Russell

Mr.Brown Can Moo Can You

Care Bears: Meet The Care Bears

Little Monster At School

Rugrats: The Rugrats Versus The Monkeys

The Pigeon Loves Things That Go

My Little Pony: The Perfect Pumpkin

Pink Panther and Sons: Pinky Saves The Beach Bullies

Monchichi's ABC

Curious George and The Dump Truck

Bad Kitty

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Big Bird's New New Nest and Other Goodnight Stories

Little Critter: I'm Sorry

The Foot Book

The Cat In The Hat

Alphapets: Bradley and The Great Swamp Mystery

Curious George At The Parade

The Jacket I Wear In The Snow

The Gingerbread Bear

Blast Off Barefoot Bear

Can I Have A Stegosaurus Mom Can I Please

Sprout's Valley Adventure

Blue Skidoos To The Beach

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Richard Scarry's Find Your ABC's

Ernie's Big Mess

Bad Kitty Does Not Like Dogs

Spongebob Squarepants: Spongebob Goes To The Doctor

The Backyardians: The Mystery Of The Jeweled Eggs

Shopkins: Lights Camera Shopkins

Llama Llama and The Bully Goat

Posie The Kitten In Pink

Goodnight Sweet Butterflies a Color Dreamland

A Boy, A Dog and A Frog

Disney's Aladdin ABC Animal Jamboree

Please Mr.Panda

Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book

Max and Ruby: Bunny Cakes

Skeleton Hiccups

W Is For Woof A Dog Alphabet

Barefoot Bear and The Dragon

Splat and The School Trip

Blue's Clues: Blue's Bedtime

Scooter Computer and Mr.Chips: The Computer In The Candy Store

How Do You Say It Today, Jesse Bear

A Big Ball Of String

The Cat In The Hat Comes Back

Blue's Cool Idea

[animatronictism]

Today's mechanic friend is Barney Bear

Barney Bear was created by Advanced Animatronics. He was part of the band Circus World Jamboree at Circus World Pizza. He played a single marching band snare drum on a stand. As far as I know, only 8 Circus World Jamboree sets were created. I'm unsure of how many complete sets are still around.

Here is a set performing on stage!

Fortunately, we have all the music played by the band which I will link below

Spotify YTMusic Apple Music

Here is some example of their showtape, posted by BullFrogs Banjo

Thank you so much for reading! Ask any questions you may have and come back tomorrow for another animatronic friend!

ALL IMAGE IDS:

[An image of an animatronic bear in a red marching band jacket with gold tassles on each shoulder. He wears a red marching hat with a white plume and a gold medal on the front. His head is turned slightly to the side. His arms are bent up and forward. He is holding drumsticks and stands in front of a silver snare drum on a black stand. He is standing on a stage with purple curtains behind him.] END IMAGE ID ONE

[A cropped image of the same animatronic bear holding a white banner on a yellow background. He is looking towards the viewer with an open-mouth smile. His eyelids come down slightly over his eyes giving him a relaxed expression. The character next to him has their hand on his shoulder.] END IMAGE ID TWO

[An image of the same animatronic bear in a back storeroom. His head is tilted to the side. His red jacket is dusty and the tassles on his shoulders are falling off. His hat is still intact but the plume is slumped over looking bent or broken. His arms are bent out in front of him with one higher than the other. He is holding drumsticks. There is no snare drum in front of him and a sculpted belly button can be seen] END IMAGE ID THREE

[An image of an animatronic band on stage. There is a lioness in a red marching band jacket, white button down shirt, black bow tie, white leggings, and a mini black top hat sat on a swing hanging from the ceiling. To her left is a lion holding an animal crop wearing a red tail coat with black accents, a white shirt, and a black top hat with a white ribbon. Next to him and slightly behind him is a penguin sitting on a block of ice. His body is facing the wall but his head is turned to look at the audience. He is playing an anthropomorphic organ with a purple body and brass pipes. Further to the left is a bear facing the audience in a red marching band jacket with golden tassles and a marching hat with a white plume. He is holding drumsticks and playing a snare drum on a stand. Directly next to him is a red, white, and blue performance cannon. It is facing towards the audience. Though not clearly visible, a clown wearing green goggles with his arms out in front of him is inside. Behind both the bear and the cannon is a small bear-like animatronic hanging on to a gold bar that hangs from the ceiling. He is in a blue acrobatic outfit with a red and yellow belt. Sitting on the stage in front of the band is an adult with long brown hair surrounded by various small children. They are all posing for a picture.] END IMAGE IDs

[scoutandvioletfan]

Gwendolyn The Miracle Hen

Stevie Look At Me

At Night

Sam

One, Two, Where's My Shoe

Swimmy

Track Picture Book

My Little Brother

Goggles

ABC Of Cars and Trucks Peter's Chair

Maybe A Monster

Cluck The Captain's Chicken Moving Day For Manuel

Who Will Wake Up Spring

Welcome Roberto, Bienvenido Roberto

I Am A Hunter

Mommies At Work

Tom In The Middle

Play With Me

What Do You Say, Dear

Where Are The Mothers

Will I Have A Friend

I Have A Tree

The Story Grandmother Told

Dandelion

5A and 7B

The Circus Baby

Clyde Of Africa If I Had

Tony and The Toll Collector

I'll Fix Anthony

Ask Mr.Bear

Go Away Dog

Chicken Little Count To Ten

The Snowy Day

Birthday Presents

Whistle For Willie

My Friend John

Katie Goes To Camp

What Is Your Favorite Thing To Touch

What Do I Do

City In The Summer

Dear Uncle Carlos

The Cat Who Thought He Was A Tiger

Six Foolish Fishermen

A Kiss For Little Bear

Corduroy

Some Of The Days Of Everett Anderson

Chicken Soup With Rice

Where The Wild Things Are

The Lorax

Clifford The Big Red Dog

Mr.Uppity

Thomas Snowsuit

My Funny Animal Alphabet

Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Hideout

Insects and other small creatures

Clifford The Big Red Dog: Tummy Trouble

The Animal Alphabet Book

My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle's Magical Journey

Horton Hears A Who

Oh The Places You'll Go

Old MacDonald Had A Farm

My Little People School Bus

Socks

Are You My Mother

Fluffy Bunnies

Chicka Chicka 123

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

Barefoot Bear and The Ice Cream Factory

Green Eggs and Ham

The Berenstain Bears and The Attic Treasure

Goodnight Moon

In A People House

The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog

It's Not Easy Being A Bunny

Parachuting Hamsters and Andy Russell

Mr.Brown Can Moo Can You

Care Bears: Meet The Care Bears

Little Monster At School

Rugrats: The Rugrats Versus The Monkeys

The Pigeon Loves Things That Go

My Little Pony: The Perfect Pumpkin

Pink Panther and Sons: Pinky Saves The Beach Bullies

Monchichi's ABC

Curious George and The Dump Truck

Bad Kitty

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Big Bird's New New Nest and Other Goodnight Stories

Little Critter: I'm Sorry

The Foot Book

The Cat In The Hat

Alphapets: Bradley and The Great Swamp Mystery

Curious George At The Parade

The Jacket I Wear In The Snow

The Gingerbread Bear

Blast Off Barefoot Bear

Can I Have A Stegosaurus Mom Can I Please

Sprout's Valley Adventure

Blue Skidoos To The Beach

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Richard Scarry's Find Your ABC's

Ernie's Big Mess

Bad Kitty Does Not Like Dogs

Spongebob Squarepants: Spongebob Goes To The Doctor

The Backyardians: The Mystery Of The Jeweled Eggs

Shopkins: Lights Camera Shopkins

Llama Llama and The Bully Goat

Posie The Kitten In Pink

Goodnight Sweet Butterflies a Color Dreamland

A Boy, A Dog and A Frog

Disney's Aladdin

ABC Animal Jamboree

Please Mr.Panda

Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book

Max and Ruby: Bunny Cakes

Skeleton Hiccups

W Is For Woof A Dog Alphabet

Barefoot Bear and The Dragon

Splat and The School Trip

Blue's Clues: Blue's Bedtime

Scooter Computer and Mr.Chips: The Computer In The Candy Store

How Do You Say It Today, Jesse Bear

A Big Ball Of String

The Cat In The Hat Comes Back

Blue's Cool Idea

Little Bear

The Gruffalo

Q Is For Duck

Sesame Street: A My Name Is Alice An Alphabet Book

Pink Panther and Sons: Fun At The Picnic

Spongebob Squarepants: Ice Cream Time

Alpha Bugs

How Many Bugs In A Box

More Bugs In Boxes

The Day It Rained Hearts

Peppa Pig Class Trip

Socks For Stan

The Three Bears ABC An Alphabet Book

Harry The Dirty Dog

Gummi Bears: Zumi's Magic Spells

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends: Sidekick Showdown

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends: Go Goo Go

Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends: Eduardo Goes Extreme

Rainbow Brite: The Risky Rescue

The Care Bears Picnic

The Care Bears: The Mystery Of The Missing Dreams

Fox In Socks

Hop On Pop

Ronald McDonald Alphabet

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Wuzzles: Bumblelion's Funny Money

Wuzzles: Butterbear's Surprise Guest

Wuzzles: Hippopotamus Goes To Hollywuz

Wuzzles: Eleroo and The Brahma Bullfinch

Thomas and Friends: Thomas and The Treasure and Other Stories

Thomas and Friends: Track Stars 3 Thomas and Friends Stories

Thomas and Friends: Hooray For Thomas and Other Thomas and Friends Stories

The Bernstain Bears: Go Green

The Bernstain Bears: No Girls Allowed

The Bernstain Bears: Computer Trouble

The Bernstain Bears: and Baby Makes Five

Riddles Riddles From A To Z

3 Little Witches Trick Or Treat Halloween The Berenstain Bears and The Tooth Fairy

Spot's Halloween Spot's Halloween Party

Barbie: The Big Splash

Biscuit and Friends A Day At The Aquarium

Biscuit's Birthday

Schoolhouse Rock: 3 Ring Government Sesame Street: Oscar's Rotten Birthday

The Taxi That Hurried

The Wonderful School

You're A Good Sport Charlie Brown

Sesame Street: Grover Goes To School

Master Of The Universe: Castle Grayskull

Master Of The Universe: He Man and Battle Cat

Masters Of The Universe: The Revenge Of Skeletor

Rocky Versus Clubber Lang

Scooby Doo: Scooby Doo and The Mystery Of The Strange Paw Prints

Strawberry Shortcake and Her Friends

Pound Puppies: Fun From A To Z

Barbie: Camping Adventure Barbie: Barbie Goes To The City

Benji Goes Camping

My Little Pony: Lost In The Clouds

Halloween Cats

On The Night You Were Born

The Berenstain Bears: New Baby

Barbie: Soccer Coach

Barbie: The Missing Wedding Dress

Jim Henson Muppets: Trouble With Twins

Jim Henson Muppets: The Wonderful Wagon

Jim Henson Muppets: What A Mess

Spot Loves His Daddy

The Berenstain Bears and The Ghost Of The Forest

The Berenstain Bears and The Spooky Old Tree

Sesame Street: Big Bird Follows The Signs

Alphaoops The Day Z Went First

Sesame Street: How To Be A Grouch

Alphaoops H Is For Halloween

Sesame Street: Cookie Monster and The Cookie Tree

It's A Mystery Charlie Brown

The Berenstain Bears: Go On A Ghost Walk

Fraggle Rock: The Legends Of The Doozer Who Didn't

Muppet Babies: Gonzo Saves London

Pucasso The Cat Who Wanted To Be A Artist

Muppet Babies: Animal Go Bye-Bye

How The Alphabet Came To Be

Muppet Babies: Baby Gonzo's Treasure Hunt

Heathcliff: Pigs Out

Little Critter: Being Thankful

Spot's Birthday Party

Robo Machine Challenge Of The Gobots: Collision Course Comet

Gobots: Battle For Gobotron

The Transformers: Battle For Cybertron

Gobots: Battle Target Earth

Fraggle Rock: What Do Doozers Do

Gerry The Giraffe

Alf: This Place Is A Zoo

Clifford The Big Red Dog: Thanksgiving Parade

Alf: A Day At The Fair

Corduroy's Thanksgiving Muppet Babies: Baby Piggy's Mermaid Tales

Little Critter: Just A Special Thanksgiving

Fraggle Rock: No One Know Where Gobo Goes

Muppet Babies: Gonzo and the Great Race

Fraggle Rock: What's A Fraggle

Muppet Babies: What Is A Gonzo

Spot Love His Mommy

Muppet Babies: Kermit The Hermit

Corduroy Goes To The Doctor

Winnie The Pooh: Pooh Can, Can You

Fantastic Four: The Island Of Dragon

Corduroy's Busy Street

Thomas and Friends: Christmas In Wellsworth

Corduroy's Day

Corduroy's Halloween Hooray For Halloween

Goldilocks and The 3 Bears

Curious George Sonny Says Sorry

The Little Sparrow

Why Anansi Has Eight Thin Legs

The Story Of Rama and Sita

Donald Duck's Christmas Tree

Biscuit's and Friends: A Day At The Aquarium

The Little Red Hen

The 12 Days Of Christmas

Little Owl: ABC and Counting

The 3 Billy Goats Gruff

The Princess and The Pea

Tredicino

Schaefer and The Raccoons: The Mystery Of The Disappearing Forest

The Berenstain Bears: Meet Santa Bear

Care Bears: Where Are You

Care Bears: Caring Contest

Care Bears: What Makes You Happy

Sleepy Kittens

Don't Put Mustard In The Custard

Richard Scarry's Christmas Mice

Corduroy's 4th Of July

Merry Christmas Uncle Scrooge McDuck

Spot's First Christmas The Christmas Helpers

The Poky Little Puppy's First Christmas

Thomas and Friends: Thomas and The Missing Christmas Tree

Once A Mouse

The Little Engine Could

Little Christmas Star

Winnie The Pooh: The Merry Christmas Mystery

The Little Engine That Could and The Snowy Blowy Christmas Merry

Christmas Curious George

Dreams

Two Ducks and a Turtle

Shangool and Mangool

The Hare and The Hedgehog

Please Baby Please

Dinosaur Vs Bedtime

Blue's Starry Night

[bravesung]

( burnxngslash. ) : "Merry christmas my darling." He gives her the biggest smooch whilst holding Ryuu in his arms. With the ton of overtime under his belt he's finally saved enough to get his wife something she'd love and that's in the form of a myriad of video games for her nintendo switch: Princess Peach showtime, Stray, Sonic x shadow generations, Monster high skultimate secrets, Pikmin 4 and mario party jamboree. / unprompted.

❛  merry  christmas,  my  love.  ❜  with  a  giggle,  you  return  the  kiss  and  nuzzle  your  nose  against  ryuujin’s,  finding  yourself  laughing  when  he  mistook  it  for  a  pacifier  and  temporarily  suckled  on  it.  ❛  okay,  rocky.  you  did  not  go  through any trouble  getting  my  gifts,  did  you?  ❜  you  looked  over  at  the  beautifully  wrapped  gifts,  then  knelt  to  grab  the  ones  that  were  labeled  with  your  name.  fingers  tentatively  pull  and  tear  at  the  wrapping,  siennas  widening  when  various  white  and  red  switch  game  cases  were  looking  back  at  you.  excessively  gasping  and  squealing,  you  spring  back  up  to  your  feet,  embracing  rock  and  ryuujin  tightly,  eventually  peppering  rock’s  face  with  kisses.  ❛  rocky! you  got  all  the  games  I  wanted!  thank  you  so  much,  sweetheart!  I  love  you  so,  so  much!  now,  I  want  to  show  you  your  gifts.  ❜  you  had  bought  him  a  switch,  customized  with  his  jacket’s  decal,  the  second  gift  being  a  large,  framed  artwork  of  his  mother.

[annieandropinkpawsfan]

Annieandro Pinkpaws Stories Part 1

Gwendolyn The Miracle Hen

Stevie

Look At Me

At Night

Sam

One, Two, Where's My Shoe

Swimmy

Track Picture Book

My Little Brother

Goggles

ABC Of Cars and Trucks Peter's Chair

Maybe A Monster

Cluck The Captain's Chicken

Moving Day For Manuel

Who Will Wake Up Spring

Welcome Roberto, Bienvenido Roberto

I Am A Hunter

Mommies At Work

Tom In The Middle Play With Me

What Do You Say, Dear

Where Are The Mothers

Will I Have A Friend

I Have A Tree

The Story Grandmother Told

Dandelion

5A and 7B

The Circus Baby

Clyde Of Africa If I HadTony and The Toll Collector

I'll Fix Anthony

Ask Mr.Bear

Go Away Dog

Chicken Little Count To Ten

The Snowy Day

Birthday Presents

Whistle For Willie

My Friend John

Katie Goes To Camp

What Is Your Favorite Thing To Touch

What Do I Do

City In The Summer

Dear Uncle Carlos

The Cat Who Thought He Was A Tiger

Six Foolish Fishermen

A Kiss For Little Bear

Corduroy

Some Of The Days Of Everett Anderson

Chicken Soup With Rice

Where The Wild Things Are

The Lorax

Clifford The Big Red Dog

Mr.Uppity

Thomas Snowsuit

My Funny Animal Alphabet

Alexander and The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Hideout

Insects and other small creatures

Clifford The Big Red Dog: Tummy Trouble

The Animal Alphabet Book

My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle's Magical Journey

Horton Hears A Who

Oh The Places You'll Go

Old MacDonald Had A Farm

My Little People School Bus

Socks

Are You My Mother

Fluffy Bunnies

Chicka Chicka 123

I Can Read With My Eyes Shut

Barefoot Bear and The Ice Cream Factory

Green Eggs and Ham

The Berenstain Bears and The Attic Treasure

Goodnight Moon

In A People House

The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog

It's Not Easy Being A Bunny

Parachuting Hamsters and Andy Russell

Mr.Brown Can Moo Can You

Care Bears: Meet The Care Bears

Little Monster At School

Rugrats: The Rugrats Versus The Monkeys

The Pigeon Loves Things That Go

My Little Pony: The Perfect Pumpkin

Pink Panther and Sons: Pinky Saves The Beach Bullies

Monchichi's ABC

Curious George and The Dump Truck

Bad Kitty

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Big Bird's New New Nest and Other Goodnight Stories

Little Critter: I'm Sorry

The Foot Book

The Cat In The Hat

Alphapets: Bradley and The Great Swamp Mystery

Curious George At The Parade

The Jacket I Wear In The Snow

The Gingerbread Bear

Blast Off Barefoot Bear

Can I Have A Stegosaurus Mom Can I Please

Sprout's Valley Adventure

Blue Skidoos To The Beach

One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

Richard Scarry's Find Your ABC's

Ernie's Big Mess

Bad Kitty Does Not Like Dogs

Spongebob Squarepants: Spongebob Goes To The Doctor

The Backyardians: The Mystery Of The Jeweled Eggs

Shopkins: Lights Camera Shopkins

Llama Llama and The Bully Goat

Posie The Kitten In Pink

Goodnight Sweet Butterflies a Color Dreamland

A Boy, A Dog and A Frog

Disney's Aladdin

ABC Animal Jamboree

Please Mr.Panda

Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book

Z Is For Moose

Max and Ruby: Bunny Cakes

Skeleton Hiccups

W Is For Woof A Dog Alphabet

Barefoot Bear and The Dragon

Splat and The School Trip

Blue's Clues: Blue's Bedtime

Scooter Computer and Mr.Chips: The Computer In The Candy Store

How Do You Say It Today, Jesse Bear

A Big Ball Of String

The Cat In The Hat Comes Back

Blue's Cool Idea

[davidastbury]

History Of The World In Three Jackets And A Raincoat

Celebrating a windfall of cash I went to Simpsons in Piccadilly and treated myself to a sports coat. The salesman was delighted with my choice and said that with the exception of loud stripes this was the only true summer coat in their entire range; a gorgeous pale biscuit brown, sort of straw coloured, tight weave with a faint speckle of red; pocket flaps, narrow lapels. It was fabulous; a perfect look for a regatta or the cricket ground.

Memorable occasion wearing it … attending a Hertfordshire gymkhana and pretending to understand something about horses.

The raincoat was an Aquascutum, bought at roughly the same time. Cost nearly a month’s salary. Dark blue, belted, ‘Man From Uncle’ look.

Memorable occasion wearing it … being given a weird address by someone who might have been an actual spy, it was a code that would reach him instantly.

Then there was a fabulous blue jacket from Daks; it had a sublime elasticity - in this case a very loose weave, a mix of silk and something else.

Memorable occasion wearing it … job interview, having the nerve - once the great man had seen it - to take it off and toss it onto a spare chair. Got the job but sadly the jacket had a stitching defect and the retailer (House of Fraser) passed it to their tailoring department who promptly lost it. It was irreplaceable and I had to accept a simple apology and a refund.

The last jacket was a cashmere blazer by Canali. Very expensive even though ‘pre-loved’. I suppose it’s a memory of the posh old days; incredibly stylish, a joy to wear, must have cost a fortune when new.

Memorable occasion wearing it … Oilmen’s jamboree in Aberdeen; talking to the petrochem high rollers from Texas and Iran and Saudi Arabia, nudging them to the bar for single malts. And the woman reporter who felt the arm of the jacket when introduced - who was enchanted by the texture of the cashmere - and then came back to feel it again!

[jamboreeartsupplies]

i got them! tumblr shoelaces!

should i put them on my docs or on something else??? i wish the shoelaces were darkmode lol!

what's that Aesthetic Blog? My converse shoes? hmmm...

oh yeah, this looks great!! thanks!! i guess that's why your name is Aesthetic Blog!!

[mistsandshards]

What Would Magnus Bane Wear? — 1950s-90s Edition

Magnus Bane's fashion in the 20th century, between The Last Hours and The Mortal Instruments:

“Saving Raphael Santiago,” The Bane Chronicles (late summer, 1953)

On the covers of books and in films, most detectives looked like they were dressed up in Sunday suits for a small-town jamboree. Magnus wished to wash away the stain of his newly adopted profession and dress in a way that was both suitable to the profession, pleasing to the eye, and on the cutting edge of fashion. He ditched the trench coat and added some green velvet cuffs to his gray suit jacket, along with a curly-brimmed bowler hat.

The heat was so awful that he had to take off his jacket as soon as he set foot out of doors, but it was the thought that counted, and besides, he was wearing emerald-green suspenders.

He knew he looked extremely sharp. He was wearing an amazing brocade tie.

“What Really Happened In Peru,” The Bane Chronicles (1962)

Magnus was wearing more than a dozen scarves all in different colors and carefully arrayed to swirl about him like a fantastic rainbow.

“The Fall of the Hotel Dumort,” The Bane Chronicles (June 1977)

Magnus looked down at his red-plaid-and-black-vinyl oversize suit with a shredded T-shirt underneath. It was au courant for the London punk set, but New York wasn’t quite there yet.

For the occasion Magnus had decided to skip his new look. There would be no punk here—no vinyl or fishnet. Tonight was a Halston suit, black, with wide satin lapels. This passed the test, and he got a nod and a light smile.

“The Last Stand of the New York Institute,” The Bane Chronicles (1989)

Magnus was used to a certain amount of attention. His clothing invited it. He wore silver Doc Martens, artfully torn jeans so huge that only a narrow shining silver belt prevented them from slipping entirely off, and a pink T-shirt so big that it exposed collarbones and quite a slice of chest—the kind of clothing that made people think about nakedness. Small earrings rimmed one ear, ending in a larger one swinging from his earlobe, an earring shaped like a large silver cat wearing a crown and a smirk. A silver ankh necklace rested at the point over his heart, and he had shrugged on a tailored black jacket with jet bead trimming, more to complement the ensemble than to protect against the night air. The look was completed by a Mohawk boasting a deep pink stripe.

“The Last Stand of the New York Institute,” The Bane Chronicles (1993)

If he wished to forgo a shirt and wear scarlet drawstring pajamas patterned with black polar bears, and a black silk bed jacket, he could do so.

See also:

What Would Magnus Bane Wear? — 18th Century Edition

What Would Magnus Bane Wear? — 1878 Edition

What Would Magnus Bane Wear? — 1903 Edition

[qhostqizmo]

Thirty More Minutes

“You are very cute,” Essie mused. Her fingers wrapped through the lengthy strands of Amon’s hair; appreciating the silky texture and how long it had grown out. She rested her palms along the side of his head, and her fingernails buried deep through his locks to rake against his scalp.

“Cute enough to eat.”

The nobleman raised his brow, rasping a low and delicious laugh. “To eat?” he echoed uncertainly, resting the weight of his noggin in her grasp.

“Mmmhm~” She hummed her approval, leaning in to caress her lips against his. “Is that not an expression?”

His breathing hitched. “I believe the expression is: ‘good enough to eat’.”

She grinned wildly. “Yeah, you’re that too.”

He laughed once more, returning her kiss softly. Definitely good and cute enough to eat. She’d become attached to his shaggy mane; pulling it back, digging her digits in it, brushing it from his face. It was a good look on him. It was also a convenient place to hold when she really got into the kiss; groaning as the scrape of his whiskers rubbed against her chin.

Amon gasped against her lips. “We’re supposed to be getting ready,” he accused, making no attempt to stop himself either.

“Stop distracting me by looking so sexy then,” Essätha retorted, smothering his mouth with hers. He obliged her with a wonderful throaty sigh.

Her fingers and lips were pens, stroking a love letter against his face and through his hair; across his beard, his throat, the open collar of his shirt, anywhere she could touch. She memorized him in every language; in every alphabet, in every symbol and syllable. She knew him in words that were extinct, in words that didn’t exist, and those that never would. She knew him, and loved every corner, ebb, and flow of him more sincerely and profoundly than she thought possible to love anyone. He was her muse and her compass, and she adored him with every fiber of her being.

All the while, he swallowed air desperately, and tried to keep up. His hands cradled her face as hers carded through his hair, and those deep dark eyes devoured her; pupils blown, into a homey abyss. Shivers raced down her spine as she tried to catch her breath, and he kissed her tenderly; sweet and chaste, boldly endearing. He was gentle, and thoughtful, and terribly lovingly heartfelt with her. Warm careful hands, a giving mouth, and gods the way he asked permission without saying a thing as he tilted his head and nuzzled his nose to hers, his tongue tracing the seams of her mouth in an unspoken question, made her heart race.

Essie was far less dignified, and more blunt in her response. Her hands tugged him forward, tingles moving through her but more pronounced where his touch lingered. It was intense. He was a warm sun against her; radiating heat under her skin straight through her soul. It felt comforting, and reliable, and safe. She knew she could rely on the beckoning feeling of home of being in his hands.

“Mmm, love you,” she sang in a breathy mumble, smooching the corner of his mouth.

Amon hummed his approval, a goofy crooked smile on his face “I love you too.” He kissed her back, still achingly languid and filled with affection. “You look mesmerizing Essie. You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, inside and out.”

Her face felt flush under his hands and soft-spoken compliment. She kissed his cheek, his nose, all the way up to his eyelids.

“And I haven’t even done my hair yet,” the Yuan-Ti joked.

“You haven’t finished mine, either,” he reminded her.

“I’m getting there,” she teased, giggling as she bunched a handful of his locks towards the back of his neck. Her fingernails scrapped against the base of his hairline, down his neck, along his spine, and he shivered involuntarily.

Amon’s lashes brushed against her cheek as he kissed her jawline. His mouth trailed along it; skimming her skin so she broke out in goosebumps as he left open-mouth kisses against her chin, and the side of her neck. Laughter bubbled up in her chest as his beard tickled the sensitive skin of her throat, and she pushed herself lazily against his chest while stroking her fingers through his hair.

Planting her lips against cheek, Essätha appreciated the rounded shape of his features with his smile. Slowly, she skimmed her fingers along the back of his neck to circle around and rest against the stiff fabric of his coat. The shoulders had a little padding in them to give structure, and give the garment the snazzy professional look for their excursion. She plucked at the jacket, and flattened her hands to smooth out the wrinkles. Her eyelids fluttered slowly down to a half-mast, lost in the feeling of his lips on her delicate skin.

Lightly, her nobleman peppered kisses up to her mouth. She giggled, giving him trouble in bestowing her an actual kiss through her smile. It didn’t matter. He broke into a beaming smirk of his own, making it all that much harder for him to actually initiate canoodling.

Kissing his cheek, she sighed dreamily while stroking his dress-coat flat. “This color looks very regal on you, m’lord Amon.”

“You’ve seen me wear this shade of blue before,” he snorted with disbelief.

“Then you are always quite regal.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. Pressing a finger beneath her chin, he tilted her head back to kiss her once more.

Three solid thumps echoed from the doorway just as she parted her lips.

Muffling her gasp against Amon’s mouth, Essätha tore herself away from him as swiftly as she could. She turned to look at the threshold just as the door opened, her fingers running over the front of her gown to straighten it out.

“Good evening you two-”

Abernathy blinked, his sing-song voice stalling out.

The edges of his toothy grin turned up. “Am I interrupting?”

“No,” Amon responded a little too quickly, and a bit too gruffly.

Smooth, Essie thought to herself. It was bad enough they’d nearly been caught making out, but his guilty answer hadn’t done them any justice at all. Their lips were probably a bit swollen from kissing, and certainly the sorceress’ knew that she was still blushing as bright as her lipstain color…

Wait.

Her lipstick.

Daring herself, she looked sideways over to her nobleman.

Yes, he looked flushed pink. Yes, his pupils were still dilated. Yes, his mouth was a bit bright in color and puffy.

And yes, his face was covered in pale pink impressions of her lips. Her lipstick marks were on his mouth, on his cheeks, on his nose, his eyelids, his throat. She’d even left a few faded traces on the pure white collar of his undershirt, and along his hairline.

Essätha swallowed loudly, horrified to see her smudged makeup all over her Illiad. Her hand shook as she reached up to touch the corner of her mouth, where only a bit of residual pink still remained and came off on her fingertip.

Her blush deepened immensely.

She needed to buy a more expensive lipstick; one less likely to come off with such ease.

The half-orc’s gaze twinkled, and he puffed out his chest broadly. “I only came to say that we’ll be meeting within the next thirty minutes for the jamboree downstairs.”

“Fantastic, we’ll be there,” Amon wheezed. He appeared as sweaty and clammy as a kid caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

Dadbernathy nodded in response. He began to back out of the door again, his thousand-watt smile baring his tusks.

“Oh, and Amon? Wash up before you come downstairs.”

The door was shut gently, with the sound of stifled laughter on the other side.

“… Wash up?” the nobleman echoed, looking down at himself. “But I did, a few hours ago. What…”

Essie reached for him, trying to get his attention. As he stared into her eyes, baffled, she offered him a sideways sloppy smile, and reached for the handkerchief hanging from his pocket. Her other hand reached, pawing for her silver hand-mirror she kept with her cosmetics to offer to him silently as she began gently wiping at his face.

Accepting the mirror, Amon turned it on himself.

“Oh gods,” he groaned, immediately turning it away.

“Sorry,” she whispered sheepishly. Her cheeks began to burn a darker shade of red as she blotted the lipstick marks, trying desperately to remove them. “You’re going to need to change your button-up, too.”

Amon exhaled heavily, covering his eyes with his arm. Taking a breath back in slowly, he lowered it to peer back at her ashamed expression.

“… Thirty minutes?”

“What?”

“Abe said we had thirty minutes,” Amon verified.

“Yes, why?” Essie muttered, focusing on removing her cosmetics from his face.

Taking hold of her arms gently, he tugged her closer. “I can swap shirts in probably five.”

“M’lord, what are you-”

Her whole body trembled as his lips met hers. She succumbed to the bliss of the moment once more, folding her arms around his neck and sighing as they locked into an embrace.

Thirty minutes was plenty of time.

[atc74]

Indulgence

Warnings: Porn with Plot, fingering, nipple play

Summary: Y/N is anxiously waiting for Jensen’s hiatus when Gen calls her out for a girls day. 

Pairing: Jensen x Reader

Word Count: ~1600

Written for: Written for @leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid and her Still Dirty at 30 Birthday Challenge (2018).

*Thanks to Tumblr and the fact that they refuse to allow me to appeal the original post, here is the edited version.* Thanks in advance for reading again :)

Like Jensen’s scent? Buy it here!

As a reminder, this is a work of fiction and should be regarded as such. No harm is intended toward the actor(s) or their families.

The days leading up to a hiatus were always the longest. This one was no different and you struggled to find enough to keep your mind occupied. If you scrubbed the floors one more time, they would need to be refinished. Just as you were about to wash the windows in the kitchen for the second time, your phone buzzed.

Gen: Hey, I found a great new boutique! Let’s go find something to welcome the boys home. Be there in 10!

You: Ugh. Fine, but you’re buying lunch too!

You stowed your phone and went upstairs to freshen up. You quickly brushed your hair and pulled it back in a loose braid. You slipped on a pair of boots and grabbed a light jacket. By the time you made it back downstairs, your front door was opening and Gen peeked her head in.

“Ready?” she asked and you nodded, grabbing your purse and keys. You closed and locked the door before you followed Gen back to her truck.

“Where are we going, Gen?” you probed as you gazed out the window, the sights of your quiet neighborhood flying by.

“My girlfriend told me about this great little boutique that sells lingerie. I thought it would be fun if we picked out a welcome home gift for our men. You know…something a little sassy, maybe a little naughty. Give them an incentive to work harder and come home a little more often!” Genevieve laughed and you found it contagious.

“Jen and I talked about trying for a baby. Maybe this can kick start the trying part,” you thought out loud.

“That’s great, Y/N/N! I can’t wait to be an Auntie! Truth is, we are trying, too,” Gen revealed as she pulled into a parking spot.

“Then let’s do this. Let’s get some naughty lingerie and get pregnant!” you exclaimed, possibly a little too loud, as you got out of the vehicle, your cheeks heating up as you got some sideways glances. “Oops!”

You and Gen entered the little shop. It was clean and brightly lit. There was warm, natural wood flooring and shelving. There were some very conservative pieces toward the front of the store, but as you wandered farther inside, the choices were definitely a little racy, racier than you were used to. Sure, you owned lingerie, but it was sort of run of the mill. It isn’t like you and Jensen needed it to boost your sex life; you definitely didn’t need any help in that department…but maybe Genevieve was right.

Gen caught you daydreaming and brought you out of the trance you had been in. “So I rented out the store for an hour. Here,” she held out her hand handing you a few things to try.

“What? Who even does that? I didn’t even know that was an option!” you gasped, never able to fully embrace this lifestyle.

“Hon, it’s a Tuesday at eleven in the morning; it’s not like people are swarming the place! Besides, they have champagne! So let’s get our drink on and try on some sexy shit!” Gen whisper yelled at you and you gave in, taking the items she handed you.

As you made your way to the dressing room, an employee greeted you with a glass of bubbly and took the items from you, hanging them in a dressing room. “Please, make yourself comfortable, Mrs. Ackles. I have already spoken with Mrs. Padalecki and we have some things already in your dressing room for your convenience. Relax, take your time and have fun.”

You raised your eyebrows in surprise at Gen, who tried feigning innocence at your accusatory grin. “You totally planned this!”

“Yes. Yes, I did. Now sit down, drink and enjoy. You spend too much time cooped up in that house waiting for him to come home. Let’s have a girl’s day and have some fun,” Gen pleaded with you.

Within the hour, you had drank enough to make you loosen up. You tried on everything the salesperson had brought you, plus Gen’s selection. You had narrowed it down to seven and let Gen pick five. You honestly loved them all, but thought purchasing all of them would be overindulgent and that just wasn’t who you were. Gen made her choices, then showed you hers. Finally you checked out and were back in the vehicle, headed to lunch.

“Gen, this was a lot of fun. Thank you for taking my mind off everything for the day,” you thanked your friend as she pulled up in front of your house a few hours later. You weren’t sure what you would do without her.

“It was my profound pleasure. Let me know how he likes his presents,” she called as you walked through your front door. You took your bags up to the bedroom then returned to the kitchen for a glass of wine. It felt like a bath night, you decided. Taking your wine back upstairs to the master bathroom, you filled the tub, dumping in some of your favorite bath salts.

You stepped in the foamy water, setting in until you were neck deep. The aromatherapy scents cleared your mind and eased your tired mind. You sipped your wine until it was gone, then set about shaving and exfoliating until you were soft and smooth. You drained the water and toweled off before you wrapped your robe around you to retrieve the bottle of wine from the kitchen.

Pouring another glass of your favorite red, you stared at the bag on the bed as it silently dared you to put on one of your new purchases. Maybe just one, you thought. You searched through the bag and found one of the risque pieces you picked out. It was a pair of light pink and black high waist panties, almost like a corset, with a black lace ‘x’ up the front. The silky fabric felt amazing on your smooth and softened skin as you pulled them up your legs. You slipped the bra over your breasts and fastened it in the front.

You had never taken the time to look at yourself in lingerie before, because it was always for him, but as you stood in front of your full length mirror, you couldn’t help but feel sexy. It was a waste though, seeing as you had no one to show. Jensen wouldn’t home for a couple more days. You sighed and unclasped the bra, letting it fall open, revealing your full breasts, your nipples hardening as the cooler air hit them. You slowly ran your hands up your hips and stomach, before cupping them, a tit in each hand, and gently massaged them. A small moan left your lips as you continued, wishing it was your husband’s large hands on you. Just as you pinched your nipples, tugging slightly, you heard a growl behind you and whipped around, covering yourself as best you could.

“Jen! Jesus Christ! You scared the fuck out of me!” you shrieked, then reality hit you. “What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn’t be home until Thursday?”

“Well, if this is what I come home to, I should surprise you more often,” his husky voice rolled off his tongue and went through to your core, making you shudder.

“It’s new. You like it?” you crooned seductively as you returned your hands to your breasts.

“I like what’s under it better. You are a sight for sore eyes, Darlin’,” Jensen admitted as he stalked toward you, replacing your hands with his. His plush lips came crashing down to yours, the kiss hot and demanding. His tongue was warm and wet as it probed your lips and you sighed, opening to him without hesitation. Your hands smoothed up his back to his neck, playing with the opening of his henley.

He roughly turned you around in his arms, but continued his ministrations of your breasts, roughly squeezing the nipples between his fingers, as you arched against him. You felt yourself moving and found yourself seated on the corner of your bed, Jensen still held you firmly against his chest, one hand on your left tit, as the other trailed down your torso, landing between your legs.

Jensen’s feet wrapped around your ankles, pulling your knees apart, giving him easier access. Your moans filled the room as he massaged your mound, but not going further just yet, “Jen, please. It’s been too long and I need you.”

“Not just yet, Darlin’. Gonna make you work for it,” his breath hot on your neck. “Just let go for me and I will make you feel so good.”

You obeyed your husband’s command and let yourself go under his touch, leaning back into him. His right hand applied more pressure, rubbing your pussy through the fabric and it quickly dampened with your arousal. His lips attacked your neck, licking and sucking at the spots he knew made you weak with desire. His hand snaked inside your panties and picked up speed. Your orgasm approached in a flash as you came with a shout all over the silky material and his hand. Jensen continued to work you through your high until your breathing returned to normal.

“If this is the result of indulging myself, maybe I should do it more often,” you giggled, still wrapped in your husband’s arms.

“God, I missed you, Y/N/N,” Jensen murmured into your neck, placing sweet kisses along it’s length. “Let’s make a baby.”

Ready for the smuttier sequel…

Did you like it? The nicest thing you can do for a writer is reblog their work and tell them, and others, how much you like it!

Tags: @closetspngirl @emoryhemsworth @iwantthedean  @meganwinchester1999 @sis-tafics @wilde-abandon @wegoddessofhell @holyfuckloueh @horsegirly99 @smoothdogsgirl @dolphincliffs @thisismysecrethappyplace  @neeadinghugs @roxyspearing @theoriginalvicki @andkatiethings @mrswhozeewhatsis @just-another-busy-fangirl @linki-locks11​ @evansrogerskitten​ @hennessy0274-blog​ @hobby27​ @gh0stgurl @charliebradbury1104​ @blacktithe7​ @the--blackdahlia​ @fortisetgloriosusinarduis​ @roseblue373​ @hannahindie​ @pinknerdpanda​ @cherrycokegirls1​ @mogaruke​  @4llmywr1tings​

Jensen’s Jamboree: @supernatural-jackles​ @dean-winchesters-bacon​ @cameronbraswell @docharleythegeekqueen​ @maddiepants​ @squirrel-moose-winchester​ @amanda-teaches​ @thing-you-do-with-that-thing​ @adoptdontshoppets​  @akshi8278​ @kathaswings​ @deansgirl215​ @x-waywardaf-x​  @elara98azalea​ @jerkbitchidjitassbutt​ @pretty-fortune​ 

[johndavey]

Red Jacket Jamboree - Summer Solstice Show (6/21/2018)

I'm a little late in getting to this, but a couple weeks ago, Harry South and I drove up to Calumet, Michigan to perform at the Red Jacket Jamboree at the Historic Calumet Theater. Harry was part of the house band The Copper Cats which included Jerry Younce (guitar), Bill Carrothers (piano), Carrie Biolo (percussion), and Harry South (bass). These guys accompanied me on a few songs and it was a real thrill to hear jazz and classical players translate my songs.  Mean Mary graced the stage for the second part of the show and was a real doll.  Some highlights were standing on that beautiful old stage, watching the sunset in Copper Country with Carrie Biolo and Harry South, listening to Cole Porter songs with Harry late at night and sharing some of my favorite country songs with him. The Copper Cats did great renditions of "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", "Don't Fence Me In", and "Up a Lazy River".  We also had a nice visit to the new Keweenaw Coffee Works the day of the show. The weather was perfect and the whole thing was awfully fun.  Below is a video of me performing the Billy Hill song "There's a Cabin in the Pines" with Jerry Younce accompanying me on guitar.

[sirkkasnow]

11 When Opportunity Knocks, Answer

Ao3 link

07/20/13 Saturday

Activity around the Shack kicked into overdrive through the next few days. Mabel scheduled her slumber party for Saturday evening, cackling in delight all the while as she took over the shared attic room for a thorough redecoration.

Dipper accepted his exile to the upstairs study with at least a little grace - he set up his laptop and and settled in for hours of journal work and game planning. The abortive DD&MD session was definitely back on for sometime early the following week.

Stan found himself pulled in too many directions at once. He squeezed in one more full day with Ford up at McGucket’s place working on the Fairlane, trying half in vain to dampen their more harebrained schemes. Apparently letting those two share the same space for any length of time resulted in exponential nerdery, or whatever the hell it meant when you got nerdery squared - he wasn’t sure but they made each other worse.

Soos sidled up to him early the following morning. “Hey, Mr. Pines, business is awesome! We’re in great shape to host the dance next week! Here’s the thing, though, I’m really close to having the new Dreaming Denizens darklight exhibit done.” He clasped hands together in anticipatory delight. “We could do a grand opening that night but I can’t find time between tours to work on the critters. Can you maybe help out for a day or so?”

So he’d had to leave the two lunatics unsupervised while he assembled a batch of fierce, hissing, taxidermied flying minks. There was no way to turn down Soos or an opportunity to upsell the dance tickets.

He cornered Ford for a lecture before Tate swung by to pick him up, something like that thing had better still be street legal when I get up there or so help me. Ford made a bunch of almost-certainly-hollow promises that they’d respect the sanctity of Clary’s mom’s precious vintage touring vehicle and that was that.

Stan put the whole thing out of his head for most of the day, focused on patching together the little monsters they’d need for the exhibit, and was washing up in the kitchen when he heard Clary’s level voice spike in surprise.

He stuck his head out into the hallway and found her by the side door, staring in disbelief at her phone. Ford’s voice was just audible on the speaker. " - sure you still want to keep the old paint color? This is a fine opportunity to change it if you'd like!"

She had a hand pressed to one side of her face, fingertips pushing in hard at the temple. "Ford, that was mint-condition factory-original paint when I got here. Arcadian Blue. What happened to the rest of it? You were just supposed to fix the hood!"

"Well, Fiddleford and I thought we'd rechrome everything while we had the opportunity, since we had the windshield out. Then we saw a chance to improve the safety features while we were at it - did you know cars of this vintage are practically death traps? I'll have to take it up with Stanley - " A distant, hollow boom sounded on the phone. Clary's visible eye squeezed tightly closed. "Whoops! I'll get back to you shortly!"

The line went dead.

Clary slumped against the wall for several seconds. “I have made a terrible mistake.”

He bit his lip and patted her shoulder warily. “I’ll, uh. I’ll give him a call an’ make sure they behave themselves. It won’t end up any more of a death trap than it was when y’got here.”

She laughed at that, the same ragged laugh he’d heard when the piston blew up in the first place, then looked up to him with a pinched smile. “You sure you mean that? I get the impression that those two can get a bit out of hand.”

Stan ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah. About that. Maybe I shouldn’t’ve taken a day off, but we’re so close to havin’ the new display done...I’ll get up there an’ have it all under control before things get too weird.”

“Promise?”

“Trust me, sweetheart.”

She laughed at that, too, just a little cynical pfft, but her eyes softened in a way he very much liked and she hooked her index finger into his for a fleeting clasp. “I trust you,” Clary murmured. He damned near bent to kiss her right there before the racket of Dipper coming down the stairs set him rocking back two steps and clearing his throat.

Dipper paused before he made the left turn to the outside door, looking them over in scandalized confusion. Clary just smiled. “Good luck with the winged weasels, Stan. See you for dinner.”

By Saturday morning there was a menu tacked to the fridge. Clary’s tidy angular script promised things like ‘baking powder biscuits with honey butter’, ‘brown sugar bourbon baked beans’ and ‘deviled egg red potato salad’. She’d been running all over town with her little borrowed pickup to line up supplies.

At this point Stan was pretty sure anticipation might kill him if the stress of getting everything done on time and keeping the Fairlane project on track didn’t get him first.

He managed to swing by the manor to check on the station wagon - still blue, thank mercy, the hood now snapped back into its original shape and the cracked windshield replaced. Ford showed off the GPS they’d installed and McGucket chattered endlessly about the new frictionless coating they’d applied to the engine cylinders. Half of it went right over Stan’s head and at length he waved hands in frustration. “Just tell me it’s gonna run as well as it did before she got here!”

“Oh, much better!” they replied in tandem.

Stan stopped dead, squinted at their innocent faces in profound suspicion and groaned. “Y’know what. I don’t have time t’ double-check all this right now, you both know that, and so I’m leavin’ it to your tender care. I swear if anythin’ you two do harms a hair on her head, there’ll be hell t’pay. Got it?”

McGucket blinked in rheumy surprise. Ford had that faint thoughtful look Stan was getting really tired of, but he nodded in agreement. “You have my solemn word, nothing but some very minor improvements to safety features and performance. It’ll be more than safe enough to trust the kids in.”

“Fine. Fine. You’re both gonna sit down an’ explain everythin’ before she leaves, though.”

“Of course!” Ford’s most reassuring smile was in full force. Stan didn’t trust it for a second, but it would have to do for now.

There were a few more errands to run as the long afternoon wound down. Stan tacked up posters for ‘Mr. Mystery’s July Jamboree!’ around town as he went. By the time he finally pulled into Greasy’s he’d relaxed, humming an absent tune as he headed in to hang one last poster and pick up a coffee.

“Hey, Susan,” he called as he parked at the counter, swinging a look around the joint and its collection of regulars in for an early dinner. He was the center of attention, because of course he was and no one in this burg was any good at being subtle about it.

“Oh, Stan! It’s so nice to see you, sweetie,” she said in her usual tone of cheerful obliviousness. “How’s it been going this week? I hear the party’s going to be quite the thing!” Susan poured him a cup of familiar potent black sludge. “That tourist lady of yours has been through a couple of times. She’s really nice for an out-of-towner, good tipper and all. Was in the other day for breakfast, you know, wearing your jacket. Went pink as a petunia when I asked her about ya!” Her laugh was surprisingly sweet and she tugged her slack eyelid up, then down. “Wink!”

Stan busied himself with dumping too much sugar into his coffee. “Yeah, I mean, she’s all right I guess. Pretty good company for a hoity-toity type.”

“She came in yesterday asking about supplies.” Susan set her elbow on the counter and leaned in, conspiratorial. “Said she was gonna do a picnic at the Shack next Friday right before your big event.” Her voice dropped to a stage whisper. “Why, she asked if I could bake a couple cherry pies for her! What’re you up to, Stan?”

“Well. Y’know. An exclusive little gatherin’.” Stan settled himself, sat back and sipped slowly for effect. “Just friends an’ family.”

“I’m surprised she’s stuck around this long, nice city girl like that.” Blubs anchored the end of the counter, Durland seated one stool over and working his way through a ham-on-rye. “She has to have seen everything Gravity Falls has to offer by now. The Shack, the mall, the museum, the bottom of the lake….” Both of them chuckled over that one. “Maybe she should just hang up a shingle out there. We could use a lawyer.”

“Well, Stan could use a lawyer,” said Durland to a general rumble of laughter.

“You guys trashed her car, right?” came from one of the far corners. “That weird brother of yours made the brakes cut out or something so now she’s stuck here getting it fixed? We all know you’re too cheap to actually send it up to Portland.”

A prickle of annoyance nudged at the back of his eyeballs. “We offered and she decided she liked my face enough t’let us do the work. Should be done in a couple days. She’s just hangin’ around for the dance party.”

“Oh, I’m sure she likes ya, sugar.” Susan hid a giggle behind one hand.

Blubs tugged down his shades for a direct glance. “You did fish her out of the drink.”

Manly Dan scoffed from the far side of his mountain of meatloaf. “Stan Pines hasn’t managed to keep a lady around for more’n a couple days in all the years he’s been here. I’ll believe it when I see it!”

Stan slugged back a swallow of bitter, bitter coffee in an effort to not spout off, then did it anyway. “What, y’think we kidnapped her or somethin’? She’s here because she wants t’be!”

“Now calm down, all of ya.” Susan looked around the murmuring diner in reproach. “She’s been nothing but sweet to everyone in town. I’m sure it’s gonna be a real nice picnic.”

“Excuse me!” Mayor Cutebiker’s skinny arm went up from a few booths down. “Is that going to be included in the party ticket price? I need to know when I should show up!”

“What?” Stan’s shoulders twitched in surprise. “No, no, the party thing’s only for the dance, people.”

Dan bared teeth in one of his terrifying smiles. “I’d pay just to meet the woman willing to put up with Pines for three weeks.”

“What’s she serving, Stan?”

“Are you two going to dance?”

The whole place got the wrong idea in about three seconds. Stan could barely get a word in edgewise as conversation erupted, people pestering him about prices, about the new exhibit, about who’d be hosting the party that night.

Something snapped in the back of his brain.

“ALL RIGHT,” Stan roared, and the chattering crowd quieted in anticipation. “Listen up, because I’m only gonna say this once: Miz Merrick’s willin’ to make a very limited number of tickets for dinner available. Eighty-five a head. That’ll get you into the dance party and the Dreamin’ Denizens exhibit, too. This is a one-time engagement, folks, the lady’s a class act an’ I’ve seen the menu. It’s gonna be an event for the ages.”

He zeroed in on the nearest pretty face, hit her dead on with the full-headlights smile and the finger-guns, and was gratified to see her half-swoon against her companion. “Whaddaya say? First come, first serve!”

Fistfuls of money appeared as if by magic. Stan leaned over to whisper to Susan. “Sweetheart, lend me that ticket book, would’ja?” Starry-eyed, she handed over both the book and her pencil stub, and he started scribbling out tickets for Clary Merrick’s Chicken Picnic! on two-part carbonless guest checks as fast as he could.

Half an hour later he was driving back up towards the Shack. Almost eighteen hundred bucks was jammed into his back pocket along with a stack of IOUs. He was already puzzling out where to beg, borrow or steal enough chairs and tables to accommodate a crowd this large, and wondering just how much fried chicken Greasy’s could crank out on like four days’ notice.

He was also figuring out how the hell to survive through the end of the day, because Clary was going to kill him.

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The whole diner erupts in excited conversation, and everyone in here has got the wrong idea. They want to come to Clary’s picnic! And they’re willing to pay for the privilege!

Absolutely not!

Talk up the dance instead.

Sell tickets!

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 8: EGGMAN NEGA

There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don't like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That's where this comes in.

This is a series of mine in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I'll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don't bite. :>

Anyhow, for today's installment, we'll finally be tackling Sonic's beloved arch-nemesis, the rotund doctor himself, the scheming conquerer in the making, the forever determined mad scientist...

...'s clone.

Eggman Nega.

The Gist: It was just an ordinary handheld adventure for Sonic the Hedgehog, as he made his way through the opening act of Sonic Rush to foil the nefarious ambitions of Dr. Eggman yet again. The doctor hinted early on that there would be more than meets the eye this time around, to which Sonic initially disregarded as typical Eggman talk. However, he changed his tune when he met a purple cat who he had never seen before... and later, a mysterious fellow who looked rather derivative...

“Look, no disrespect, but I’d rather not stumble over my vowels and offend an entire section of the human race by accident.”

It's quickly established that this man, who went by the name of Dr. Eggman Nega, hailed from an alternate dimension. The same applied to the aforementioned feline, Blaze, who in turn was revealed to be the Sonic to this Eggman's... Eggman. So she was well-acquainted with Nega's dickery, and it didn't take long for her to conclude that he was responsible for the regular Eggman's presence regarding her side of affairs.

Eggman and Diet Eggman, in league with each other, planned to use the growing time-space rift between the two dimensions to, scientifically speaking, fuck shit up. But together - after having an unnecessary scuffle (because all new heroic characters in this franchise are obligated to fight Sonic for trivial reasons) - Sonic and Blaze went Super and Burning, kicked the Eggmen's Eggasses, and restored everything back to normal. And that was the end of that, right...?

Pfft, ANYONE who looks exactly like Eggman can say that.

Not necessarily. Nega made a surprise return in Sonic Rivals, where he was revealed to be the mastermind of attempting to turn the world into a card, a plan that even the actual Eggman would probably laugh at. This cemented him as the... by my estimation... sixth antagonist to screw the doctor over. And that's if we're not counting villains who were unaffiliated to begin with.

Somewhat more concerning however, his backstory was completely different. Rather than being Blaze's arch-enemy in an alternate dimension, he was now inexplicably Silver the Hedgehog's arch-enemy IN THE FUTURE!!!!!, having been revealed to be the descendant of Eggman. Nevermind that this would imply Eggman found someone worthy of his affection (himself notwithstanding). At least Blaze's backstory remained intact, right.........?

Not that it stopped Nega from reestablishing himself as Blaze's dimension foe in Sonic Rush Adventure.

That would explain the Eggman jamboree.

And then that didn't stop Nega from reestablishing himself as Silver's future fiend in Sonic Rivals 2.

YYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH

It's been said that the future interpretation is the true and honest one for Nega, because with a character like this, you clearly have nothing to lose by picking the more confusing option. Not that it matters too much nowadays, since he's been spending his decade long retirement at the Olympics. Best place for him, really.

The Design: Nega's appearance is a masterstroke of telling a story purely through the visuals. The grey-haired moustache establishes how Nega is older, and thus wiser, than the real Eggman. The red tracksuit confirms that Nega is always quick to call for action, unlike the defeatist outlook implied by Eggman's black pants. The use of the Classic yellow tusks on Nega's jacket, as well as the bumblebee shoes, make it apparent to the viewer that he is more Eggman than Eggman will ever be, as he encompasses the heart and soul of the character, of which the original simply cannot live up to.

Now you see, anything can sound deep when you talk a lot of shite.

He should really get that hip checked.

All sarcasm aside, Nega's design gets a solid place in the "not particularly great" tier, and that's putting it nicely. Whether it took five days or five minutes to come up with him, we are given no point of interest outside of the very thing that makes him unoriginal. After all, why should we care about the thought put into his look when they didn't...?

Even his poses are the fucking same.

Sonic got himself a counterpart in the form of a serious-minded cat with pyrokinesis. Tails got himself a counterpart in the form of an excitable raccoon with (implied) hydrokinesis. But all Eggman gets is a guy who looks just like him, right down to the name. I would say there's some injustice here. If you're going to make an alternative equivalent of the doctor, go wild with it. Think up as many physical contrasts as you can. Make the character their own being, rather than a halfhearted copy and paste of another, better villain. Especially when the latter is the villain of the series.

The Personality: Nega is set up to be an eccentric yet brilliant mastermind, even though Eggman is also such.

Nega is set up to provide a polite contrast to the often childish Eggman, even though Eggman is also capable of maintaining a polite facade when he feels like it.

Nega is set up to be capable of some truly evil things that can shock and disgust others, even though Eggman is capable of that too.

Noticing a pattern?

That said, there is one notable difference: Nega's lapses in logic are ten times more unintentionally hilarious.

“And I’ll have, you know that, my grammar has, always been, perfect!”

“...By removing myself as well in the process! On another note, what's 2 plus 2?"

There's really not much to add about Nega's personality. Whatever you can say about Nega, you can say about Eggman too. And I'd prefer not to be redundant when it's the turn of the real deal.

The Execution: If it wasn't obvious at this point, Nega falls flat as his own character and as a counterpart for Eggman. Either he's a repetitive second wheel (the Rush duology), or he's a straight up poor man's replacement (the Rivals duology). He has very little going for him that the original Eggman doesn't already have, which makes his shortcomings all the easier to spot.

Now you might be willing to think "But Nega is a darker mirror of Eggman! He shows a more vicious and sadistic side of the doctor! This type of character provides a fascinating insight into Eggman's character!"

Well here's the thing.

We already have a character who fulfills the role very well as a darker mirror of Dr. Eggman.

His name is Dr. Eggman.

Contrary to popular belief (which I'm sure has been influenced by certain adaptations), the real Eggman is still a massive bastard when you look past his outwardly silly demeanour, and as such, he's fully willing to commit surprisingly cruel acts of villainy that you wouldn't initially expect from him. This includes the enslavement and corruption of an innocent alien race, breaking the entire planet apart for the sake of waking up an ancient beast, and going full suicide bomber on Station Square when Chaos is seemingly defeated.

Part of the genius with Eggman's character is that he has two contrasting sides: the playful manchild, and the monster within. Giving the latter half to an uninspired recolour simplifies Eggman himself in the process, because by doing that, he's only one half of himself, and he's less effective as a villain in his own right because of it.

Well at least even the official cast don't seem to take Nega seriously.

“Oh no! He’s going to turn the planet into a card!” *smiles joyfully*

This review was a hard one for me, because there's only so many times I can point out that Nega is a complete ripoff, and aside from that elephant in the room (eggaphant in the room?), I don't have much else to work with. So I'll just reiterate that Nega has fortunately been reduced to Olympic fodder and call it a day.

Meanwhile, the real Eggman literally conquered the world. Just a reminder.

Crusher Gives Eggman Nega a: Thumbs Down!

[hemogobbler]

catradora game night: devil may cry

“Who’s your little dude?” Adora asked, pointing to the white-haired man that Catra was controlling and watching him run around some fleshy hellscape. 

“His name is Dante and he’s really cool,” Catra said with certainty.

“Oh, yeah, of course he is, with a name like that? Watch out Shadow Weaver! Dante’s come to take your seat at the annual villain’s jamboree!”

Adora laughed and rested her head on top of Catra’s to watch her play.

“For your information, Adora, he’s a good guy and would totally wreck her shit like no problem.”

While Catra spoke, the man in question was playing air guitar and making enthusiastic noises to himself, or possibly the demons that were surrounding him? Either way, he was clearly having fun.

“What are you doing?”

Adora struggled to understand the genre. Dante was clobbering a monstrosity with some shiny gauntlets, and then backflipped into an upside-down bullet-storm with a couple of oversized pistols, and was now suddenly dancing on the spot.

“IT’S CALLED BEING STYLISH, ADORA!” 

Distracted, Catra let Dante take a hit and watched the nice big 'S' disappear from the screen. She growled and let a frown take over her face.

"He seems kinda dumb," Adora noted, draping her arms around Catra's neck.

"He is!" Catra perked back up. "And that's not the only thing you guys have in common, watch."

Adora did so, and her eyes went wide as she saw Dante instantaneously switch from his fisty monster mashers to an elegant sword. Catra held down a button and they saw Dante charge up a strike, the blade crackling seductively with red electricity.

"Cool..." Adora was too caught up in watching it drive a bloody slice through the air to offer more of a response.

"AND, it's name is 'Rebellion.'" Catra realized, and peeked up at Adora through her loose hair, finding her utterly drawn in by the sword techniques on display. "No wonder I like this idiot so much! I'm just playing as you! Look, he's even got your Horde jacket!"

Sure enough, flowing wherever Dante ran was an eye-catching red coat.

"Next you'll be telling me he can transform into some warrior goddess."

"YEAH PRETTY MUCH!"

Another button and Dante turned into a devil: a beefy, sharper, more magical version of himself who did just about everything better. His hair wasn't anything special, though, so Adora chalked that up as a win for her.

"Weird..." Catra murmured, counting the similarities on one hand and racking her mind for more.

"Well, since this game knows so much, can it give us any hints on defeating the Horde? What would Dante do?"

"Uh, go to hell and fight your brother?"

"Mm-hm, oo-kay," Adora called it for the night, kissed Catra on the top of her head, and went to bed.

Adora had hoped for a second the game was some obscure, ancient First Ones tech; maybe a lost tutorial of sorts on fulfilling one's cosmic destiny. Shame she didn't have a brother.

[actingdeep]

Conrad Fair

There was a knock at the door, and Jackson turned the lock to meet cordial eyes with his buddy Maxxy, who was grinning maniacally and clutching a puffed backpack, a twenty-watt Fender practice amp and the accompanying electric guitar. He threw his hand on Maxxy's shoulder and brought him inside. The two had a full weekend of plans together and could not be more ready to welcome it due to the anticipative nature of the week. The small town of Conrad, Indiana was preparing for it's annual summer weekend of small-town festivities sponsored by the local high school that Maxxy, Jackson, and all of their mutual buddies attended. The two had not seen each other since that last day at the end of their Sophomore year the previous month. The weather was sultry and inviting, and a general town buzz could be detected murmuring around them in the toasting Friday morning country air. Maxxy shed his supplies as a mangy tabby rubbed against his calf, and the buddies settled in the couches to figure out what to do first.        "Is the library open yet?" inquired Maxxy.        "Yup, I was just there."        "Any computers open?"        "Probably, no one was there besides me and Zadra." Jackson let off his purposefully overly-hokey and sputtering mock laugh. "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk." "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk," Maxxy echoed. "Let me guess: Runescape?"        "Always," Jackson confirmed.        "Well, he's not going anywhere. Let's go get a Monster," suggested Max.        "Already good, bro!" returned Jackson, pulling up a half-empty Full Throttle from the floor beside him. He handed it over to Max, who threw back a swig. "But let's go get you somethin'."        Jackson slipped his unsocked feet into a pair of dirty tennis shoes, and with nothing more to collect, the two shut the door and headed off to the convenience store the next block down. The door did not fully close--but this matters little.        Once Maxxy purchased his fuel for the next couple of hours, the two sat in a small booth alongside the window within Mac's Convenience and Gas and deliberated upon which of their nearby buddies' houses they ought to gumshoe so as to wheedle out a familiar face that they might recruit into their, as of yet, ungerminated circle.        "Should we see if Lawson is awake?" Maxxy posited.        "Nah, he's never up right now. He will probably stop by the house on his bike after he does," Jackson informed him.        "Okay. Let's see what's going on at the park."        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk. I bet you twenty bucks we will see Kyndell," Jackson prophecised.        "...and Jessie??" Maxxy lit up.        "Oh, God."        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk."        The sunshine seemed to be emanating with considerably stronger muscle than it had been when they had entered Mac's ten minutes ago; the people of the town were beginning to materialize. There were scattered little clumps of adults all around: blocking off certain roads, painting and implanting signs, sweeping away sticks and glass, ripping around water hoses, erecting all the appropriate setups for the first day of the oncoming jamboree. Jackson flung off his left shoe high into the air above them and they watched it land with a thud ten feet before them as they were sauntering away from Mac's in the direction of the park that was three blocks away from them, Maxxy whooping to him with acclaiming fanfare; a bevy of humming motors, revving engines and crackling rocks forming the blood-pumping static surrounding them.        The last of the morning's dew was still clung to the bottoms of the wide and blue benches and railings of playground equipment when Max and Jackson arrived. Maxxy flung off a microscopic puddle of water from a narrow, black park swing and rest himself betwixt the chains, leaning back into it while still standing. Jackson approached him and deceived an intense hurl at his genitals with his lifted knee.        "Hey! Fuck off!" Max blushed, jerking the chains around.        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk." Jackson flung himself into the next swing to the left, looking at Maxxy and silently confirming with him their inclining states of adventure. "Welp--no one's here."        Less than a minute after Jackson observed this, he felt a hand whack him on the back of his shoulder. He turned to meet Kyndell's little brother Chandler, who had materialized between them. Chandler flung into the swing to Jackson's left, tore back the chains in the middle and pushed off into the atmosphere above them.        "Hey! Is Jessie at your house?" Maxxy hollered to Chandler, as the latter continued his pendular locomotion.        "Yeah!" Chandler exclaimed. "She stayed over all this week."        "Uh-oh," Jackson turned to Max, meeting his eyes obstreperously.        "What? Why?" Chandler grinded to a halt, forming two dark rips in the gravel below him.        "Maxxy's getting horny."        "What, and you aren't?" rejointed Max.        "Gross," Chandler flouted.        "Maxxy wants that cherry pie," Jackson provoked with glee.        "I will kill you right here, right now."        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk."        "I'm outta here." Chandler exited, pulling out an orange light-up Yo-Yo from his aerated athletic shorts.        "Wait! Is Kyndell coming to the fair later?" Jackson added.        "Probably. Jessie keeps bugging her about it." Chandler turned the corner, walking the dog.        At hearing this, Maxxy reared himself back in the swing for takeoff, with eyes beaming. As he launched, Jackson mentioned that he wished he had brought his basketball. When Maxxy yelled down to him as to whether they should go and get it, Jackson concluded that they had better not, and instead move on from the park over to the library. Max concurred, and after a couple minutes, descended his heels and grinded to a halt.        "I gotta piss. Let's go to the house first," Maxxy's Monster can left under a bench for him to possibly finish later.        When they returned, they found Jackson's mother traipsing around the small and (admittedly) unpleasant-smelling little household; the presence of the tabby could be ostensibly detected. She offered to make eggs for the boys after a warm welcome directed at Max. They declined and informed her they would rather save their appetites for the fair later in the afternoon. She accepted this, and handed them both five dollars to spend. Maxxy took his piss, inspecting his pocket for a guitar pick meanwhile. He flushed, checked himself in the mirror and soon found Jackson on the bottom-bunk in his bedroom, laying back in the shadow with one foot in the sun, playing something on a red GameBoy Advance SP. Max said nothing, and decided this would be his window to play a little guitar before they would commence their real adventure. He practiced "Heart-Shaped Box" without plugging in, and pictured what kind of tatty and heavenly singular outfit Jessie might be wearing today--and how he would feel when he would at last be lavishly gifted that prime look from out of her blue, crystalline and unearthly eyes.        After about twenty minutes of semi-silent leisure, Max set the guitar down, when he saw his friend appear from his bedroom doorway, stretching himself to the top of the door frame, and groaning overzealously. the two re-shoed themselves and headed out the front door and into the breezy light, this time leaning it open to air the house behind the janky screen door, a basketball under Jackson's arm. Not two steps down the stairway did they perceive coming down the road to their right an approaching bicycle operated by none other than Lawson Parker. Max signaled to him with an ironically dainty flit of finger-wagging, with forward-bent wrist. Lawson rushed up next to them, feigning destructive and injuring collision before steering around Max's left and harshly circling back around them to a rest.        "Hey, easy! Jesus!" Jackson yawped.        Lawson coughed loudly, and gave off a sardonic look to them, resting himself placidly on the faded purple mountain bike, faint light reflecting off his glasses and the silver handles of the bike into the couplet's eyes. Lawson attempting a swing at the basketball under Jackson's arm, successfully knocked it loose, and hopped off the bike to retrieve it, letting the bike fall on it's side in the yard beside the green oak that they were consorting beneath.        "Asshole, get back here!" yelled out Jackson playfully, chasing Lawson as he dashed off around the corner of the house and onto the back pavement where an adjustable hoop resided. Lawson pulled a layup through the netless ring, and haunched himself with daring eyes aimed at Jackson, and flew a rapid bounce pass around him to Maxxy, who was quickly following behind. Max tore off his thin, black and white Beatles jacket and began to dribble, peering into an approaching Jackson, making himself large. He saw Lawson's thin hand enticing him between Jackson's left leg and outstretched arm, and sent the ball through to him with success, after a deceptive pivot to Jackson's right. Lawson slammed the ball down through the ring with fervor, and walked away in satisfaction.        "Ah, too easy! Toooo easy!" let off Lawson, side-eyeing Jackson.        "Okay, okay. Calm down, now," he replied. "What are you doing?"        Lawson pulled out a cigarette and lit it. He shrugged his shoulders. He offered a smoke to Max, who politely declined. Lawson kept holding it out to him.        "He doesn't smoke," said Jackson between them, snatching the cigarette from his outstretched hand.        Lawson lit the smoke for Jackson.        "Let's walk; I don't need mom smelling this. She will start bitching like crazy," said Jackson. They all laughed.        "We're going to the library to cool down," decided Max.        "Yes, that's a good idea," added Jackson, who was breathing quite heavily (despite being rather lean), and he dropped the ball at their feet. "You coming?"        "Maybe," replied Lawson, who was replacing himself upon the mountain bike.        "If you don't, you'll see us around the fair pretty much all day!" Max threw in, politely inviting him along at any time.        "If I go," Lawson corrected him.        "Yes, if you go." Max turned around, pretended to cough, and rolled his eyes as much as they could go to Jackson.        Lawson looked unamused. The three began towards the library, the couplet walking with wheeling Lawson circling around them, as they went along.        The small Conrad Branch library only had a square of four computers that were persistently occupied and fought over. The three friends entered and could spot Jeffrey Zadra, adorned in big black plug-in headphones and fixated on his screen, clicking the mouse viciously. The computer beside him was unusually vacant. Max threw himself into it, stretching his legs. Jackson and Lawson stood behind the two sitting, placid and curious.        "Someone's mining for ore," said Jackson, directed at Zadra and his rapid clicking.        "Dude. I just found the fucking mithril ore goldmine!" Zadra confirmed. "Fuck off, Lawson." Lawson had wrapped his hands around Zadra's eyes, smiling devilishly. Zadra threw them off, and pulled down his headphones to his neck in a huff.        "Have you been here since this morning?" laughed Jackson.        "Uh-huh."        Max laughed, and Jackson smiled back to him. "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk."        Lawson went around the wall to the other two computers, also atypically unoccupied, and leaned over the cheap wooden partition, covering Zadra's screen with an outstretched hand, to Zadra's great annoyance.        "Ya'll going to the fair? Is it busy yet?" inquired Zadra, smacking away Lawson's hand.        "Not really. They're still setting up. And yes, we will most definitely be there," answered Maxxy.        "Most definitely," Zadra echoed, only half-listening. "I'm not. No one comes in here when that's going on. Get's me ahead on here," referring to the game. "Plus, it's quiet as fuck and nobody fucks with me!" he added wrathfully, once again knocking away Lawson's irksome hand from the screen.        "Maxxy most definitely wants to fuck Jessie," threw in Jackson, unneedingly.        Zadra and Lawson boomed with laughter. The lone librarian shooshed them. Max shook his head, smiling crookedly.        "I mean, I kinda don't blame you," said Zadra in a lowered tone, still clicking and slightly blushing from the admittance and the hard laughter.        "Yeah, yeah. So are we going or what?" Max was losing interest.        "I don't know, are we?" said Lawson wryly, giving Max a look.        "I think we are," he answered.        "If you guys see Mason, he'll be drinking vodka in his lemon shake-up. Took some from his dad's stash yesterday for it," said Zadra.        "Oh, God," Max and Jackson both said.        "Ha-ha-ha."        "That sounds like Mason," said Lawson.        It was, by this time, around 11:30, and the Conrad Fair had fully commenced. The small town affair stretched down three streets, six blocks each, with the adjacent parking lots of the local bank and chapel serving as a main hub. There consisted roughly ten food booths, an open-air stage at the far end of a lot for live music, and three mid-sized amusement rides: one flat, one gravity, and one vertical. Along the edges, individuals erected small open tents filled with the typical fair ware: handmade jewelry, bandannas, T-shirts, woven bracelets, hand-carved figurines, signs and ornaments, various mediums of artwork, wall posters, melee weapons, local paraphernalia. Lawson had split off from the trio as they exited the library for a transient return home for a reason that, upon the couplet's inquiries, he declined to specify. The friends decided to hit the rides first, to attain an efficacious rush of blood that they hoped would boost their energies. Maxxy was at the height of his excitement, as the day had brought nothing but pleasant expectations thus far; and he knew around some corner, at any possible moment, Jessie would appear to him.            The music from the stage could now be heard, and there was a healthy crowd all around. Maxxy looked around for familiar faces as Jackson was conversing with his older cousin Marcus, who was operating out of one of the merchandise tents along the sidewalk behind the chapel. He spotted Harper Fritchman, who was a grade below he and Jackson, walking with her new boyfriend, Silas. He signaled her and she immediately steered Silas over to him with a boisterous grin.        "Maxxy! Oh my gosh, it's been forever, it seems like! You know Silas, right?"        "I know! How's it going? [To Silas] How's it going, man?"        "Good, good. Silas just bought me this. [She points out a bright green snake-knot keychain]. Now, we're going to get an elephant ear," she declared, looking quite appeased. "Hi, Jackson! Hi, Marcus!"        "That's what's up. Have you seen..."        "...Jessie?" she finished, quite aware.        "No! I was gonna say...okay, yes, Jessie." (Jackson smacked his shoulder, and let off the laugh, in low tones).        "Oh my gosh, you guys and that stupid laugh," she sighed. Silas was very entertained. "No, I'm afraid not, buddy. Sorry. Do you guys want to hang with us for a while?"        "We were planning on hitting the rides first, is the sugar stand in that direction?" asked Max.         "Which sugar stand? There are a lot," Silas spoke for the first time.        "He means the elephant ears, dummy!" Harper taunted flaccidly, thudding him on the chest.        "Oh! I think it is, yeah."        "Alright, let's do it," concluded Max, gathering Jackson, who had just bought a large, customized fishing lure from his cousin.        Upon reaching the vendor, the quartet split, whereupon Max promised Harper she would see him again soon, to her delight. Jackson was urging Max to hurry up once he noticed a small line forming in front of the vertical ride. The two waited for ten minutes, then proceeded boarding. The two enjoyed a brief and conciliating whirl.        The streets bustled as the day grew ever more torrid and sparkling. Maxxy and Jackson made a brief split; the former to wait in line at the lemon shake-up stand while the latter returned to Mac's, so as to quench his yen on a budget.        Max, having obtained his mixture, was waiting nearby the mechanical bull for Jackson, as per their arrangement, when he spotted the person he considered his best friend, Niki, coming down the road aside her boyfriend Aleister and his best friend Riley Billingsley. Niki, Jackson and Maxxy are all members of the school's marching band program; herself, more specifically, in the color guard. When their eyes met, she gave off a very feminine squeal (really, more of a shriek) that jolted a nearby group of bodies; and for those types of efforts of enthusiasm that which, he distinguished, were typically winked at, he adored her. Her appearance that day was highly unexpected to Max due to her boyfriend Aleister's stringent and insulating nature in regard to Niki's conviviality; and, because of his genuine surprise at sighting her, despite the severity of that nature, Max was much too perky to restrain his amity, in great contrast to other, more regular days in whch he could skillfully downplay such a friendship. She ran up to Max while Riley and Aleister shuffled away behind the food stand tables.        "Can you believe I made it?"        "Yeah, you said it wasn't likely. I'm very glad you did! Where are they going?"        "Who cares, dude. You hangin' with Lawson?"        "No--Jackson. We were with Lawson earlier, though. We went to annoy Zadra at the library."        "Oh my God, I can't wait to see Jackson! Where is he?"        "Right here," said Jackson, who had snuck up behind Niki right at the moment of her inquiry, holding a half-empty Mountain Dew Code Red and an order of Bosco Stix.  Another squeal.        "Dude! I missed you guys so much!"        "Did you just get here?" asked Jackson, muffled through chewed up bread and cheese.        "Yes, like twenty minutes ago. Riley wanted to see Kyndell, and since she lives just right there, we figured she would be here. We haven't see her yet, though. Have you guys?"        "Not yet," answered Maxxy.        "Damn."        "But we saw Chandler. He said she would be here."        "That's her brother, right? Gotcha. Well, shit. So, what have you been up to?"        "Rode the Rocket," said Jackson, still chewing.        "We saw Harper and Silas."        "And Marcus."        "I love her," Niki claimed. "Are you both doing the parade on Sunday?"        They replied in the affirmative. Niki was elated. This year she had been assigned by the guard captain the premier position of anterior troop: one of four flag girls at the head of the parade. The couplet congratulated her as the trio began along toward the stage.        "Yeah. Only it better not fucking rain," warned Niki. "Oh my God, there's Lawson!"        Lawson was spotted by the three, leaning against a portable metal fence piece between the back of the stage and the gravity ride, spinning round on it's puck's edge. He threw his arm around five-foot-one Niki's neck and knuckled her blonde hair into oblivion. She unwrangled herself and was only slightly miffed.        "You son of a bitch, I fucking swear." She capitulated and smiled.        "Where you been?" Maxxy queried. Lawson smiled and shrugged his shoulders.        "Riveting."        "Max said you guys saw Zadra. How's he doing?"        "Same as always," Lawson spoke up.        "Runescape," Max specified.        "I don't blame him, that shit's addictive," said Niki. "Oh! Speaking of--I need to get me some funnel cake!"        "What's that?" Jackson asked.        "Elephant ears," Max clarified, shaking a laugh out.        "Precisely," she confirmed.        "We saw Harper and Silas getting..."        "We literally just said that."        "Oh, yeah."        Max was beginning to admit to himself that he was growing more and more distraught at not having come across Jessie yet. He remained largely absent-minded for the next hour as the four shifted their location from gravity ride to the funnel cake stand to the shaded spot beneath the red maples beside the chapel, Niki sneaking sips from his lemon shake-up all the while as she ate her fried dough with sugar.        Lawson was eager to move on to the outer edges of the festival, so as to smoke without worry. In a moment, they would all abide, and they headed in the direction of the park. Their surroundings had officially become bedlam; the town was at the apex of clamor and activity.        Maxxy was just about to announce his withdrawal to the library for a brief, solitary spell when Riley Billingsley and Kyndell Reed, with locked hands, coolly approached the four friends presently crossing into the mulch. Maxxy, upon seeing them, only dozily smiled at them, not making the connection at first. Then, in a flash, he turned wide-eyed to Jackson and was about to say something, when he felt a gentle tapping on his shoulder.

*

She was already hugging him tightly around the neck, and he could smell that perfectly secretive fragrance that always emanated from her hair. To Maxxy, in this moment, that fragrance was much more likely to have been birthed straight out from her soul; he was, unquestionably and indefensibly, in love with her.        He knew he loved Jessie ever since they met in the late autumn of the previous year. At that time, Kyndell Reed was not dating RIley Billingsley, but rather, his best friend, Aleister. This was a very brief pairing: only lasting from around September to mid-November. They were both in agreement that they were much better suited as friends (which they did stay, to many of their mutual friends' great surprise). The two were infamous for their unbelievably clean separation, having been spotted conversing many times quite casually no more than a week after their division.        During their stint as a couple, however, Aleister was also much closer friends with Maxxy. It was only after Aleister and Niki began to date that he would slowly stave off communication with Maxxy, as he (Max) was the only one of Niki's male friends that did not stop staying over with her on weekends out of "respect" for Aleister. Maxxy was much too attached to Niki at this point--having met her through the marching program-- and had remained close friends with her for over a year now, with Jackson as their go-to third wheel. She had never even spoken to Aleister before until Max introduced the two a little after the new year.        It was amid that far-off era of Kyndell and Aleister when Maxxy would get invited to a rendezvous that evening at the local mall by Aleister to meet with Kyndell and her new friend that attended a school elsewhere for a casual turn of time-spending. No person in Maxxy's life had ever put forth such kindness and interest for him as Jessie did that night they first met: meandering the long hall of shops, rifling through merchandise with no intent of purchase, branching off from their coupled friends so as to deter their dull romance, and unconsciously, to develop a nascent one for their own--and no person has still not, since.        At the festival, Jessie was adorned in black high-top Chuck Taylors, the ends messily splattered with paint of every other color, black skinny jeans with rips along the thighs, revealing coyly the blood-red fishnets beneath, and a ruffled white off-shoulder top under a thin, black hooded jacket, with at least ten thin, elastic bracelets in the shapes of animals on each wrist, and a fringed, dark-blue window curtain tie back serving as neckwear. Her large eyes popped out to Max from thin black rings of makeup and once again sent out to him that incomparable rescue of affection. Their surroundings all disappeared whenever they were together; for she was also in love with him as well: a fact Maxxy was acutely and reluctantly aware of.          After a few minutes of the two talking very rapidly with giant grins, forgetting about everybody else nearby, Lawson crept up beside the two and placed an open hand to the back of each of their heads, attempting to push their faces together, smirking nefariously. Jessie squeezed her eyes shut and laughed vociferously as their heads struggled in counter-force, until Maxxy unwrangled out from his friend's playful constraints, with Jackson holding a look of keen encouragement the entire time as he watched them.        "Lawson, you're so rude, oh my gosh!" laughed Kyndell, smacking his arm in concealed approval.        "Ha-ha-ha!" Jessie laughed magnanimously.        "Just fuck, already," Jackson whispered to Niki, who tried to hold back, but could not, a wet raspberry laugh.        "Niki! Oh my God!" exclaimed Jessie, upon realizing her presence, and gave her a warm and genuine hug. Niki was quite fond of Jessie, despite an unconscious inclination that she might rather not be. She hugged her back. "This is so great! Everybody is here! Jackson! Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk!" Jessie continued with glee and excitement.        "I know, right?" Kyndell agreed.        Maxxy walked over to a bench and pulled out the half-empty Monster can he had left that morning and took a large gulp of the, at this point, very warm liquid, making sure Jessie was watching all the time. Of course, she was, and laughed in delightful confusion, Aleister and RIley forming adjudicative faces at each other.        The day was beginning to dwindle; sunset was coming on and a cool wind began to rise out from beyond the trees of the little park, in the little town. Aleister and Niki were seen off to their getaway car by Riley, Kyndell and Maxxy once Aliester, clad in nothing but a thin, extra-large KoRn T-shirt, perceived it would soon be dark clouds and cold showers. Niki gave Max her patented best-friend embrace, puppeteering his figure to and fro, and gently whispering into his ear the soft, nervous entreaty: "I don't want to leave"; and the couple drove off down into the loud, gravel paths lain upon the emptied acres of endless dirt fields surrounding, and in the distance, the faint opening note of thunder could be heard.        "Have you ever gone in that chapel? I'm curious what it's like," said Max, explicitly offering out a venture that would appeal to Jessie's marveling sensibility.        "No! I haven't!" she said. "Is it still open?"        "It's a chapel, it's always open," Kyndell clarified incredulously. "I have been many times, it isn't that interesting."        "But I want to see it," Jessie affirmed.        "Do you guys mind if Riley and I hang back? I have to go get a shake-up before they close! Oh, don't forget, Jessie, we have to be home by eight, so meet us back here by 7:30. If it starts to rain, I'll just meet you back at home. Bye-bye, Max! Are you coming back tomorrow? We won't be able to until after six. Mom is taking us and Riley to the lake."        "Oh my God, I almost forgot," Jessie jumped in. "Yeah, you have to come back tomorrow night and meet us here," she insisted, quickly turning to Max, looking giddy.        "If we're not too tired," Kyndell finished, as she staggered away, laughing, with Riley tugging at her sleeve mirthfully.        Within the chapel, Max and Jessie garrisoned the borders of the nave: running their fingers and hands aloof along the pews and buttresses, seemingly abandoned, with intermittent bursts of the thunder slowly advancing without. With the structure being momentarily all to themselves, the couplet relaxed themselves and made it their oyster: Maxxy creeping the dimmed aisles in solitary until finally settling himself into the pulpit, pulling out and fingering the tab from his since-discarded drink can and looking on to the apse, where Jessie was mounted, facing him, with her arms suspended above her, and personating a belly-dancer. Three blocks away, Jeffrey Zadra was spotted by Lawson and Jackson exiting the library, yawning overzealously with outstretched limbs. The trio met in the road and discussed the highlights of their respective enterprises of the day. After Zadra, a proud and decided contrarian, and detractor of fallible human kindliness, was apprised of the town's general conglomerate fraternization by Lawson and Jackson, he was firmly cemented in his opinion of the superiority of the qualities of his time-spending, indoors, facing the electric monitor. Lawson congratulated him ironically, and quickly jolted a claw at his genitals with a counterfeit attack, causing him to flinch with rage, and Jackson to laugh heartily. Eventually, after some continuance of this ill-disposed jesting, the three would make off to their respective houses, cued by the wet drops that were beginning to fall around them.        "I can hear the rain," said Jessie, herself now in the pulpit, stretching a leg over Max directly beside her.        "It's time to get going, guys," an adult voice could be heard, calling to them from the narthex. The couplet jumped to their feet, and could see the dark clouds bearing down upon Conrad from the lancet windows, as they made their sprightly exit from the sanctuary, with omniscient thunder enveloping the little chapel.        "Bye," said Jessie, stopping suddenly under the awning and turning to Max, wriggling her fingers between his, looking straight into his eyes with deep and heartfelt meaning.        "Wait! it's only seven. Can't I walk you back to meet Kyndell?"        "No, I'm going back to her place, now."        "We're going to hang again tomorrow, right?"        "I don't know, it might be too rainy. Plus, Kyndell might not want to, and I have to stay with her."        "But why?"        "I just do," she said, looking away, closing her eyes.        "Well I'm going to wait for you at the park starting at six, no matter how rainy it is."        "Ha-ha-ha! No! Do not do that."        "Not up to you," Max said.        "FIne--get all wet, and just stand there and look pathetic!" she laughed hysterically at this image, and threw his hand out from hers, turning away. Max pulled her back before she could retreat, anxious to never leave her with a goodbye anything less than perfect.        "Stop! It's really pouring, now. I have to go!" She peered at him, impatient, but quite amused.        "Alright. Bye." He let go.        "Bye."        Max remained unmoved, under the awning, for an indeterminate length, paying no notice to the emptying streets, when he noticed suddenly the muffled jingle of his cell phone playing the Dexter theme song from within his pocket. A text from Lawson's number:        "It's Jackson. Where are you? Come to the house."        Ascending the porch steps, and throwing off his soaked Beatles jacket, Maxxy entered the house to find a shirtless Jackson in the corner, lifting a barbell without any plates, to and from his chest, alongside Lawson, sitting on the edge of the scratchy sofa, picking arpeggios out from Maxxy's guitar. Upon his entrance, Lawson looked up, and stared coolly into Max's face, sending out to him a fellow guitarist's appreciation of playing on unfamiliar axes, still plucking away the same arpeggios.        "You break a string, I break your balls," said Max, plunging himself beside him, ripping off his shoes and tossing them at the door.        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk," Jackson cooed, still training.        Lawson turned his head, and continued to eyeball Max as he played, initiating his patented, glazed stare of false mystery. Max, becoming uncomfortable, just as Lawson had hoped, broke away from this trap, and reached into the back of his amplifier, revealing a long, black cable, plugging another, shorter one into the outlet, and handed one end of the lengthier cord to Lawson.        "Not too loud," said Jackson, having set down the barbell, now opening and closing his palms, looking down at his biceps with satisfaction.        Maxxy plugged his end of the cord into the amplifier, and flipped over the switch in the corner. Lawson turned the upper, skull-shaped knob of Max's guitar as far as it would go to the right, bringing out a loud, nervous buzzing from the amplifier. Max immediately threw the amp's volume knob down to zero, now growing quite tired of Lawson at this juncture.        "Oh my God, do you ever stop?" Jackson sighed, also growing agitated, easing himself onto the loose-legged Windsor chair outside the kitchen, now chewing on a freshly-opened Rice Krispies. Lawson threw his head back in sated delight and sighed malignantly, finally revealing a built up exhaustion within that he was indeed actively trying to conceal for the last hour since returning to Jackson's house. Max re-adjusted his volume knob, looking up to Lawson entreatingly, and, upon receiving a confirming look of trust, went to grab a Rice Krispies for himself.        "Oh, shit. This is the last one. Sorry."        "Ech-!" Maxxy groaned, returning to his spot beside Lawson, now playing a very reasonable chord structure on the clean channel. "I've literally had no food today."        "You want some ramen?"        "God, yes. Please and thank you."        "Mom! Maxxy wants some ramen!"        "And Lawson!" the current guitarist added.        "And Lawson! Shit, fuck, now I want some too."        "Jackson, watch your goddamn mouth! Good Lord! Fifteen minutes, fellas."        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk."

*

The evening downpour had loomed over the outskirts of the town long enough beforehand so that it did not become a hindrance whatsoever to the continuance of virtually any ingredient of the weekend festival. The rides, vendors and merchandise stands were all safely tarped or deconstructed with time to spare; and, with a plentiful staff of volunteers, along with a respectable volume of benevolent pedestrians also assisting, all of the folding tables and chairs were successfully stored, and every electric cord and motor triumphantly cloaked for the remainder of the night. Day two of the Conrad Fair commenced with grace, bright and early, undeterred, unswamped, pulsating with life, under the balmy summer sky.        It was half-past noon when Maxxy awoke, rising out from Jackson's bottom bunk in his bedroom, a mighty dearth of conditioned air having left his entire shirt back and forehead sopping in sweat. Upon searching the upper level of the bed, he found his friend absent, and was quickly informed by his mother, sitting in front of a box fan, that Jackson had only just left for Mac's, not ten minutes ago.        Thanking her, he extracted a fresh pair of socks and a clean T-shirt out from his puffed backpack, wiped himself down with a towel from the bottom of Jackson's dirty laundry hamper, and started off in that direction, inaugurating the humid, country afternoon and all that it might bring. The moment he stepped inside Mac's, Max was swarmed with a holy deliverance of crisp, bracing, conditioned air. Jackson was sitting in the booth the two presided the previous morning, chewing on a danish, across from a woman in her early twenties that Max did not know.        "Oh, damn, did you just wake up too?" asked Jackson.        "Yeah. Fucking hot in there, it is."        "No shit. I've been telling mom every day I need a new fan, I don't know what she's waiting for. Say hi to Kasey!"        "Hi! Are you..."        "This is my adopted cousin," Jackson informed him, tapping her on her hands, amiably.        "Oh yeah? How's that work?" asked Max, seating himself.        "Ha-ha-ha. I'm seeing his cousin Marcus. It is fuckin' hot, I swear! He's out in that booth over by the chapel sellin' his gear. I was out there too, but it was way cooler this mornin'. I told him, 'Marcus, I am sorry, babe, but I am 'bout to fuckin' die! 'Bout to have a damn heat stroke, or some'n!' I said, 'I have got to go inside somewhere cool for a while.' So, he said to come here for a minute. Then I ran into little Jackson here, just a minute ago! But, anyway. You two got big plans?"        "Nope," they both said, blithely.        "Yeah, we really don't either. Just gonna hang out and try n' make some money. Well, he is--I'm just try'na stay cool now, ha-ha!"        "You oughta ride that zero-gravity thing," Jackson suggested.        "Uh, hell to the no, m'dude! That janky thing? Are you tryin' to kill me?"        The trio remained there at Mac's, jabbering for another half an hour, Maxxy getting up to buy himself a mocha-flavored coffee drink from the cooler and an order of the cheese-filled Bosco Stix, a cup of cheese included, meanwhile, when the aforementioned Marcus sauntered inside, throwing himself into the booth beside Kasey, completing the four-seater, tearing off his ball cap and pulling up his shirt to mop up his dewy forehead.        "Wha'sup, ya'll," he said, exasperated.        "Who's watchin' the booth, babe?" Kasey asked, wrapping her arms around his, resting her head on his large shoulder.        "Jeremiah, next door, with the huntin' gear. He's a good dude. He's giving me half an hour now, and then I gotta head back and keep an eye on his gear so he can go and let his dogs out."        "Awh, poor puppies. That's sweet, babe."        "Jackson. Max. What'chy'all up to?" asked Marcus, flapping his shirt with his fingers, finally getting cool.        "Not much. Probably just gonna walk around, might go to Lawson's or the park," said Jackson.        "I walked by that park earlier, and I'll tell you what, if it wasn't the busiest I ever seen it. Little kids all over everythang," Marcus commented.        "Ha-ha-ha. Well, maybe the library, then. I don't know. It's always cool in there," replied Jackson.        "But later tonight, it will definitely be the park," said Max.        "Yeah? Why's that? Some'n goin' on? Fireworks, right?" asked Jackson's cousin.        "Wait, hold up! They're gon' have fireworks?" asked Kasey, lifting her head with sudden enthusiasm.        "Yup yup," Jackson confirmed, sipping on a chocolate milk, nodding assuredly.        "Damn, I didn't even know that," said Max. "There weren't any last year, were there? Or the year before!" He thought of Jessie--wondering if she knew about the fireworks.        "So why'd you say 'Definitely the park later?'" Marcus queried.        "He's got a little fuck buddy," said Jackson, prompting Max to thud him on the chest.        "Oh, well, there ya go!" said the cousins, laughing politely.        "Who is she?"        The four continued talking for a time, covering topics such as fishing, summer school, Marcus' new pickup truck, and the eccentric girl who is always running about with Kyndell Reed.        "Oh, shit, babe, I only got ten minutes left. We best get goin.' Alright, fellas. Sorry to cut it short. Jackson--as always. Max--good luck!"        "Nice to meet you, Max! Keep little Jackson out'a trouble, now, ya' hear? Maybe we'll catch y'all tonight at them fireworks."        Marcus slapped on his cap by the bill, and gathered his large ring of keys he had thrown in the middle of the table, as Kasey took both hands to Jackson's head, disheveling his dark hair, flaring it in all directions, before exiting the human cooler back into the dog day. The buddies rose from the booth less than a minute later, both of them quite ready to return once again out into the civil pandemonium that was sprawling the streets.        It was around by the roasted corn-on-the-cob stand near the entrance to the main drag of victual vendors leading up to the stage that Jackson and Max came across David, a long-haired musician, whom Niki had introduced to Max only a couple months ago, walking by himself rather aimlessly, looking a bit anxious, with both hands in his pockets. Niki had shared a study hall period with him, and his lurching, solitary disposition, with long locks perpetually draped over half of his face, piqued her interest and brought her to introduce herself, inquiring as to whether he was a musician (he was, in fact, a bass player)--the unconscious motive being her desire to find a person that would be a good match for her best friend Maxxy, another long-haired musician, who had, in fact, once or twice, mentioned aloud to her his noticing David's curious presence seen here and there along the edges of the school's hallways. During a lunch period, not a week after, she would introduce the two and meld them into fellowship with triumph. Maxxy asked if Jackson had ever talked to him, and he affirmed that he did, as he also shared with the loner third-period geometry in Mr. Miller's class. The couplet agreed on an attempt to recruit him.        David, being only a bit more open-minded and quite friendlier than his appearance would lead one to believe, agreed to join the buddies for a time, as he was indeed alone at the fair and had no specific arrangement made with anybody, or any detailed plan of action. He simply came because it was something to do--something rather, in his mind, adventurous for him to engage in--atypical from his usual disinterest in events or gatherings of any sort; but in reality, what with the meager populace of the town demanding nothing but semi-familiar faces all around, was a rather safe and conventional outing. The trio rummaged through the merchandise booths, pointing out interesting objects and gadgets to one another, kindly greeting the individual sellers, passing by Marcus and Kasey's booth near the end of the road, and planted themselves on the curb nearby them, Jackson talking with his cousins while Max and David continued catching each other up on their respective summers.        "I invited Niki, but she said she would have to come with Aleister. I told her 'never mind.' I offered her a ride, and she said she wanted to come, so I don't know what the deal is. Oh, well. It's not that important; I was going to come either way. I figured I would see you and Jessie sometime. Is she here?"        "I was with her last night, for like an hour. We went into that chapel and then it started raining, big time. Haven't seen her today. Yeah, Aleister's got her in a fucking strangle-hold, I really regret introducing them, ha-ha. Did you know they're having fireworks tonight?"        "Nope, but I probably won't stay that late. I just came to see if anything interesting was happening, and nothing really is."        "We got the parade tomorrow; Niki will be right up front waving a flag," Max informed him.        "Yeah, I'm not going to that--seems pointless. Aleister will probably be there. She'll have fun getting that attention, ha-ha--that's for sure," said David, tossing pebbles at an oak across the road. "So you'll be in that parade, too?"        "Yep, I will be with the drum line clapping the cymbals together--pretty much the easiest gig in the whole thing; otherwise, I would skip it."        "You guys talking about the parade?" Jackson could overhear David, his baseline register being slightly louder than most. "You coming, Davey?"        "Nope, seems totally pointless. You gonna be playing your tuba, or whatever?"        "Ha-ha, it's a trombone, retard."        "Fuck you--! How should I know, you two are the band geeks here, not me." After this jovial burst from David's squeaking voice, Marcus hollered:        "This one time at band camp!..."        Everyone laughed, and Jackson offered an open hand down to Max, suggesting they move along. Max grabbed it and pulled himself up, prompting David to rise also, and the three deliberated on their next move, finally choosing the library for a corporeal cool-down.        "Stay outta trouble!" Kasey called behind them.        Within the realm of books and quietude, another sanctuary of it's own kind, the three dropped into the cubed wooden chairs encircling the first table they spotted, flapping their shirts and twisting their backs. There were only about seven or eight others currently in the building, in which there were also only about seven or eight aisles, one of which was capped with a table slightly larger than the one Maxxy currently occupied with his buddies, that happened to be inhabited by Sarah Geller, Silas Browning, and Harper Fritchman talking over some open magazines and notebooks. Max carried himself over to them, and with a welcome greeting from all, and Harper especially, Max pulled out the open chair seating himself next to Sarah, across from SIlas.        "Maxxy! Oh my gosh, this is perfect! You're smart, you might know this. We're trying to figure out what's the difference between a seal and a sea lion."        "Oh my God, Harper, we've already figured this out," said Sarah Geller, a rather fit girl, with long, blonde curls and a very distinct, lightly freckled face, with thin, pitch black eyeliner that reminded Max of Jessie. "Seals are the fat, ugly ones in the water and sea lions are the cute ones with the ears that come on land."        "That sounds right," said Maxxy, not really knowing.        "No! I don't buy it! I could swear seals are the super cute ones with the ball bouncing on their nose! I have called them seals literally my entire life!" Harper countered.        "That doesn't mean it's right," said Silas, setting down a transparent purple GameBoy Advance he had been clicking in his lap onto the table, grateful to have another male presence. "Someone told you those were seals, but I believe Sarah, they could just as easily be sea lions."        "I don't like you right now," said Harper, in a petulant huff. "My mom has a picture of us from Florida when we went as kids, and the picture frame has a beach ball in the right corner, and a little seal on the left, and she always calls it a seal!"        "Well, your mom is wrong," said Sarah dryly, making Maxxy laugh much harder than he had so far that day.        "My mom is never wrong, you take that back right now!" said Harper, happily, turning red all over.        "I am the walrus," said Max.        "I am the egg-man!" returned Silas, on a dime, nodding impressed approval at Maxxy, who nodded back while indetectably readjusting himself to get a better angle of Sarah's body.        "You had that Beatles jacket yesterday. It looks nice on you," said Harper.        "Oh, thank you. It got soaked in the rain. Jessie and I were at the chapel when it started. Had to run three blocks in it."        "Woah, hold on a second. Pretty much everyone had left by then--what were you two doing?" asked Sarah, turning fully to Max, pushing her tongue in her cheek, with very glassy blue eyes under dark, lifted eyebrows.        "Nothing! I just had never seen the inside of that chapel, and neither had she."        "Uh-huh. Those places creep me out like nothing else."        "Sarah! How the heck could a church be creepy?" asked Harper, genuinely shocked at her friend's confession.        "Just trust me. You wouldn't get it. Let's just say they do not agree with me."        "They're not for everybody," Max agreed, subtly flirting with Sarah, as he spotted David walking over to the table.        "What are you doing?" he asked Max abruptly, not looking at anyone else, hovering above them.        "Just talking about seals and shit--you know, very sophisticated stuff," said Max, trying to ignore David's ostensibly uncouth sense of sociability for the benefit of the table.        "Oh. Well, are you coming? Me and Jackson want some food. Plus, I'm starting to get bored just watching them play Runescape."        "Sure, let's hit it."        "You're leaving?" asked Harper, querulously, sticking out her lip.        "We should go, too, ya'll. I gotta be back home soon-ish," said Sarah, putting on a pair of black glasses.        "But I'm not done coloring my fishies!"        "Harper, come on, she's right. My ass is starting to hurt," said Silas, back on his GameBoy, David still staring blankly above them.        "I'll be at the fireworks. You might catch me at the park later," said Max, now standing, tightening his belt. "Plus, at the parade, I shall see all of you again."        "Oh, yeah! That's right! You shall, indeed! Sarah's gonna be leading us! She's in that anterior, whatever it's called."        "Anterior troop," Sarah clarified.        "Oh, nice, so is Niki; she's up front, too."        "I hope she can handle it! You can not be dropping flags while you're up there," said Sarah, cautiously.        "Yeah, I bet. She'll be all right," said Max, with confidence. "Alright. Peace out, ya'll." Sarah still looked skeptical.        "Alright! Bye Maxxy! Peace out, m'dude! I'll miss you!"        Max and David continued down the aisle not fifteen feet, turned a corner, and hit the computer station where Jackson had logged into his own Runescape account, gaming alongside Zadra, back at his usual monitor, seemingly to have never left. Max asked Jackson if he was coming, and he said yes, but to give him a minute; with that, Maxxy asked the librarian for the key to the bathroom, went, and returned in a flash to find David and Jackson standing under the high-powered vent within the anteroom of the library. He opened the inner doors, took in a final waft with eyes closed, and the trio exited heading in the direction of the food vendors.        Now seated under an umbrellaed folding table, Maxxy and Jackson were eating messy fries out of a boat covered in cheese and bacon, David having the same, but plain, with no toppings as to avoid the mess, peeking around their surroundings for anything at all alluring or especially different from the day previous, finding nothing of the sort. Jackson suggested they walk over to Lawson's house, and both friends having agreed, Maxxy added he would like to pass by the park first on the way over, on the off-chance Kyndell, Riley, and Jessie had returned early, it now being around 4 p.m. Maxxy knew this would be unlikely, due to the perfect lake-going weather, but did not mention this unlikelihood aloud. Setting off in the direction of Lawson's, with the planned stop-over at the park and making also a quick stop at Jackson's for him to grab his basketball, so as to have something to busy his hands with, Maxxy and Jackson were discussing the idea of meeting up with Mason once the sun began to set, whom Zadra had made plans with for that night to drink vodka-spiked lemon shake-ups while gaiting the nighttime festivities, the plan of which Zadra had mentioned to Jackson at the library, followed by a casual invitation, so long as he did not bring or tell anyone else, except for Max--David having stated he would be gone by that time.

       At the park, under the roofed common-area off to the side of the basketball court, the trio spotted Tanner Hitchens, a lanky, curly-haired weed dealer. David borrowed ten dollars from Max, and asked Tanner if he had any. He told them they would have to follow him to his house to retrieve it, and since Tanner lived in the same apartment buildings as Lawson did, they did so. Upon entering the court, consisting of two squat, brick buildings containing around six apartments each with a dead-end road between them, the quartet split apart, with David following Tanner to his doorstep as Max and Jackson continued on to Lawson's.        "What took you so long?" asked Lawson, opening the door, not specifically expecting them, but realizing their appearance to be likely. He led them through the small living room into his own room, threw himself into the dirty twin bed, and resumed watching an anime he had on DVD on his little television sitting on an end table, as he had been doing, as Maxxy surmised, all day long. There was an off-brand Warlock hanging down the wall above Lawson's own practice amp, and in the half-opened closet, a very new-looking, out-of-place pedal board was spotted by Max.        "What is that?" he asked, prompting Lawson to pull out the pedal board, hooking it up after a brief search for his connector cables.        "It's Brandon's dad's. He takes my laptop, I take this."        "What do you mean?" asked Jackson.        Lawson said nothing. He pointed out to Max, now adorned with the Warlock, sitting on the floor and searching his pocket for his pick, all of the pedal's presets--over one hundred of them, displayed on a smooth LED screen. Maxxy began whirligigging the knobs in delight, speedily changing the presets and testing out their unique tones, trying to ignore the fact of this wonderful piece of equipment having clearly been stolen.        "You mind if David comes by? He's gonna be knocking any second--bear in mind, he's coming from Tanner's," asked Maxxy, smiling at a particularly reverberated and warbly preset.        "I don't care," said Lawson, indolently, "as long as he shares."        "He just might!"        "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk."        Jackson, just about to sit himself, heard the knocking and went out to let David in. The two returned to the small room, officially crowding it, causing Max to have to lift high the guitar neck so as to let David cross by, stepping over the large pedal board and Maxxy's crossed legs. Lawson leaned up from the bed, threw up his window and patted a spot on the mattress beneath it, with an impartial smile directing David in a welcoming yet disenchanted way that only he could pull off.        "So, how are we doing this?" asked David, pulling out the fragrant bag of tea.        Lawson reached under the bed and brought out a thin, bendable rubber and metal pipe, at first, resembling a simple ink pen, out from an old sock he had wrapped it in, twisting onto it a small, metal bowl that he had Maxxy pull out from under the plastic set of drawers hiding in the closet.        "Are you guys, really?" asked Jackson, laughing, unable to control his nervous glee.        "Why not?" asked David, now holding the pipe that Lawson had quickly packed for him. "Lighter, please-and-thank-you."        "I'm good on that," said Max, nonchalantly, more interested in the guitar tones.        "What--why?" asked David, noticeably upset by this, as his social life was quite lacking in the department of mischief, and his impression of long-haired Maxxy being suddenly thrown into chaos.        "I never have before, and I have plans with Jessie. I have no idea what it would do to me. We will one day--don't you worry."        "Well, that's a bummer; I bought this specifically to smoke with you," David frowned, staring at Max with dark eyes.        "You mean Maxxy bought it," said Jackson, slightly disapproving of David's callow grumbling. "I'm good, as well. I ain't no pothead. You two enjoy that."

*

It was approaching 6 p.m., and Maxxy was growing eager--there were clouds hanging about, but none too foreboding, and still no wind; the heat unrelenting, if not imperceptibly subsiding. The trio left Lawson's after several attempts and subsequent failures to pry him away from the television and his bed, and stopped off once more at Jackson's, initially, only to return the basketball and to drink water; but, after David hinted that he planned on heading home himself for the night very soon, mostly due to a growing, insatiable craving for Taco Bell, one of which resided one street over from his house in the neighboring town, Jackson felt a sudden upsurge of sluggishness, and propounded to Maxxy that he might go to the park without him, while he stay home to take a shower, and possibly a quick nap, also. Maxxy approved, after clearly establishing that the night was far from over, and making Jackson assure him that he would soon return so that the two could search out Mason and Zadra; and inviting David along to the park with him for one final endeavor before he go, who agreed, the two went on their way, leaving Jackson to it.        It was not as crowded at the park as what Maxxy had pictured when he heard Marcus describing it earlier on, but it did appear to be at half-capacity, at least, in contrast to the typical quarter-or-less. There were only a handful of small children, the bulk belonging to younger teenagers around Chandler's age, and another handful of older teens Maxxy and David's age, two of which being Kyndell and Jessie, looking quite peppy and animated, sitting next to each other on the swings, twisting themselves in circles with their feet, winding the hanging chains tightly together, and lifting their feet up behind them, releasing the tension and sending them spinning like tops.        "Try not to vomit," said Maxxy to Kyndell, sneaking up on her side, David close behind, speaking quietly so that he might keep hidden from still-spinning Jessie, letting her announce his presence to Jessie, instead, so as to gauge whether she might have been talking about him while away at the lake.        "Blleeeghh!" Kyndell played along, throwing her head back and grinning placidly at him.        "Ha-ha--what the fuck? Oh!" Jessie halted her speedy whirling, spotting Maxxy and David after a couple seconds, orienting herself. "Yay! You made it! Well, who do we have here? it's David, right? Hi!" She looked back to Max, deep into his eyes, grinning like someone was taking a picture and shifting her head from shoulder to shoulder to entice. "What's the haps, paps?"        "It be bein' in the bein'," said Max.        "Pa-ha-ha! What was that, now?" asked Kyndell, as they both laughed loudly, initiating another round of twisting. David was also laughing, but quickly cut himself off and attempted to grab a fly that was circling him out from the air.        "Woah, we got us a ninja!" said Kyndell.        "It's not me who's a ninja; it's you guys, wearing all that black."        "We like black, indeed, indeed we do."        "Did you guys go to the lake like that? How did you not die?" asked Maxxy, now standing behind Jessie, lightly pushing her on the swing.        "Yes! Oh, we don't die--we're immortal," answered Kyndell, cryptically. Jessie stopped the swing with her feet, tilted her head far back and looked up at Max with an upside-down smile, inches away from him. At that moment, Maxxy thought he himself might like to die.        "Oh! So, what are you, vampires?" asked David (keeping up rather well, for him).        "Fairies," said Max dreamily, still having not broken eye contact with Jessie. "Blackened fairies."        "Oh, I like that," said Kyndell, poking Jessie in her belly after noticing the two staring at each other, seemingly having fallen out of time, drifting slowly away elsewhere, snapping her back into the present.        "Ow! Hey!" She stood up, and fell into Max with a hug, nestling in as if she were to try and fall asleep.        "Awh, you two; now I really am gonna vomit."        "Are you staying for the fireworks?" asked Max.        "What!" Jessie started, and grabbed him by the arms with wide eyes. "When!? Where!? What!? How!? What!? Who-!" Max covered her mouth with his hand, unable to take the joy he felt from such a perfect reaction--he did not deserve it. She licked his hand, and he pulled it away. "Please don't be lying! Who said there would be fireworks? Kyndell? Is he lying? Ooooh, oh, oh, oh, oh!"        David was beginning to fidget, looking like he did when Maxxy first saw him. After Kyndell confirmed she wasn't aware of the fireworks but suggesting Maxxy was likely not lying, her gaze started to drift disconsolately at the thought of Jessie and Maxxy lost in bliss together, under the enlarging, shimmering bursts setting off into the dimming heavens, with her beside them--alone--without Riley. She admitted to feeling enclosed and cramped at this moment, and decided for the friends that they ought to make an escape by heading over to the Subway that sat across the street from her house's back alley. This idea sparked a perfect appeal in David, who had parked his Jeep when he had first arrived in the parking lot in front of the restaurant, and informed Maxxy and the girls he we join them on the way over before making his exit. The girls gave him a sugary goodbye, Jessie giving him a forward-leaning hug, and David stuck his hand out to Maxxy for the two's recently-developed firm, parting hand shake. Max opened the door for the ladies, curtsying to him as they entered, and flashed the peace sign to David as he drove away.        Not including the two remaining employees, the restaurant was empty, it being less than an hour before closing. Max ordered a large drink cup for himself and two cookies for the girls, quickly changing it to only one as Kyndell politely declined the one offered to her. He asked the worker if she knew when the fireworks were going to start, her replying, unfortunately, in the negative. They settled into a booth along the right side under a substantial framed photograph of sandwich ingredients, with enormous tomatoes covered in exaggerating droplets of water looming above Jessie's blonde head, munching on her macadamia cookie while Kyndell held her chin in the cup of her hands, exhaling slowly and looking at Max, quite downcast.        "What is it?" he asked her.        "Awh, Kyndell! Do you miss Riley?"        "Well, I know he wants to be with Aleister before summer school starts Monday, so I'm happy he's happy. After all, he was very sweet at the lake all day--I know he was getting bored--only, if I knew there was going to be fireworks, I would have definitely told him to come back with us here to meet Aleister instead of going to his house. It's just a little depressing, is all."        "So go call him! Tell them to get their butts over here, now!" Jessie suggested.        "Oh, I don't know--they're probably in the middle of some game and won't want to."        "Doesn't hurt to ask," offered Max, warmly.        "Yeah! Go home and call him! How often do you get to watch surprise fireworks?"        "You two are perfect, I swear. Okay! I shall return. Will you guys wait here?" Kyndell gave in and hopped up from the booth, leaving behind the two, along with all of her confliction, while reflecting to herself in the most earnest gratitude on how such simple solutions are able to present themselves so easily from a mind not wholly confused, and achingly helpless.        "She's perfect. We're nasty," Jessie joked.        "Twenty minutes to closing, guys!" called the night manager.        "Anywhere we go, we immediately get kicked out," said Max, with pride.        "Ha-ha-ha! Because we're nasty!"        Maxxy's cell phone began to jingle, bringing out Jessie's index fingers to tick along like a metronome. A text from an unrecognized number:        "Come to the rocket. Hurry up."        After reading it aloud, he flipped the phone shut and stood up to stretch.        "Who was it?" asked Jessie, looking up and taking her last bite of cookie. "I don't know, it was a random number," said Max, "but I'm guessing Jackson."        "Oh! What's he doing?"        "We're meeting up with Mason and Zadra. Apparently, they have alcohol."        "What! Not fair," said Jessie, pounding a sleeve-wrapped fist on the table and sucking the last of Maxxy's Powerade, going aaahhh in quenched satisfaction.        "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but you should come any way since Mason's got the hots for you. I'm quite sure he won't mind."        "Ha-ha! Oh, Mason--of course he's drinking--what is it, vodka?"        She smacked the empty cup thrice upon the table, which was considerably rackety in the desolate little dining room, smiling proudly. Max swiped the cup and re-filled it with fruit punch Hi-C, and the couplet walked out to wait for Kyndell, who was just turning the corner of the building to their right.        "Oh! perfect timing!" said Kyndell, now looking quite placid, as she had when she first smiled at Max at the park. "Did they kick you out?"        "Ha-ha--kinda, yeah," said Jessie. "So, is he coming?" She could tell by Kyndell's improved disposition that he was.        "Yes! Him and Aleister will be here in thirty minutes, he said. I'm so hap-peee," she sang, turning round in a gypsy-like fashion, prompting a laugh from Jessie. "Shall we go back to the park to wait, my lovelies?"        "Yeah! Oh, well, wait. I don't know..." began Jessie, looking at Max for assistance.        "I got a text, I think it was from Jackson. He said to hurry up and come to the Rocket. We're meeting Mason and Zadra, I think he's probably with them already. You guys want to come along?"        "Mason has vodka," Jessie turned to Kyndell, effortfully extracting, with all of her might, a false sense of primness and constraint, as her friend was raised to be used to a much more conservative approach at leisure than Jessie had. Herself, plainly distinguishing Jessie's commendable restraint, added to her ability to appreciate the circumstances of the annual weekend seldom occurring, combined with just having been fortuitously pulled away into safety from the sights of an oncoming melancholy, Kyndell gladly agreed in joining along with Maxxy to his borderline rendezvous. Jessie was sent into a rapture most supreme, and bolted for their destination, snagging up Max's hand in stride, nearly causing him to spill fruit punch down his neck--Kyndell, noticing the avoidance of this well-nigh accident, let off a rejuvenating whoop as she stirdied herself and followed behind in excited speed. "Hurry! Hurry!" Jessie kept calling, between an unbroken line of serene humming, as Max struggled to suck down the fruity liquid to a more secure level. The trio passed the park, turning the corner onto the road of merchandise vendors, most of them now being deconstructed by their respective proprietors, down into the lane of food carts and tables preceding the vertical ride implanted into the grass that binded the left half of the community bank's parking lot. Upon spotting the trio of Mason, Zadra and Jackson, she let go of Max, to his great relief, looking back to Kyndell as he halted, holding out a friendly hand she might use for balance upon her own curtailment. She stuck out her hand a few feet away, grabbed the outstretched fingers and swung forward and around, back into Maxxy's chest, laughing and taking a large swig from his cup.        "Thank you, sir! You're very kind, and I am very sweaty." The two sauntered up and over the stout, yellow parking blocks into the grass beneath the Rocket, where Jessie was gesticulating at Jackson, who was blushing slightly, with crossed arms and a slight sway. Mason and Zadra stood beside, sharing a big cup of vodka lemonade, watching Jessie, wholly entranced, if not slightly bewildered, at her relentless energy and unyielding charm. "Thanks a lot, Jess, I'm sweating like a hog!"        Kyndell tossed her arm over his shoulder, waving herself gingerly with her free hand, prompting a mannered Max to slip his arm around her torso, picturing to himself with liberal fancy the two as looking rather genteel and sophisticated to the gang of friends before them, despite Kyndell's falling sweat bullets and shabby blackened garb alongside his own baggy, ripped jeans and fruit punch clenching hand, now having become slightly sticky. Upon his casual embrace, she feigned a deeper exhaustion for effect, making light of their already airy, albeit perspiry constitutions. The shoddy glitterati separated, establishing respective outposts within the circle, Kyndell sidling up to Jessie's right, now between her and Zadra, hanging upon her shoulder, with Maxxy throwing a reuniting hand on Jackson, placing himself between him and Zadra, laying hold of the southern-most position crosswise from Jessie's North pole, completing  the circle beneath the tarped and defeated-looking vertical ride. Jessie was now holding Mason's large plastic cup, sipping out the vodka lemonade and telling of her day at the lake, specifically noting Riley and Chandler's proficiency at wave-running, and the gripping heat during their picnic-lunch, despite settling beneath the largest and best-shaded sugar maple, Kyndell opening her mouth in wait for Jessie to angle in the straw, conceding herself to uncommon and decidedly deserved loosening. Jessie bent back her limb and the riveted straw fell into place.        "Don't you know goth girls are supposed to be allergic to sunlight?" Zadra said, making a break from the cirque's occupying discussion as the settled Max and Kyndell hearkened.        "We are not goth--we're blackened fairies. Right?" said Jessie, smiling to Maxxy.        "Exactly," he confirmed languidly.        The boys of the group, having been absent from the birth of the term, after a brief mocking, quickly remodeled their attitudes and determined the label quite fitting.        "I'm assuming David went home?" asked Jackson to Max.        "Yessir--about half an hour ago."        "M'dude got the munchies," said Mason with a savvy glance, having been told by Jackson of the trip to Lawson's, prior.        "Munchies? Was he high? Were you guys smokin' pot?" Jessie asked Max and Jackson, looking impressed at her not noticing any explicit signals of them having done so.        "We didn't have any, but yeah, David got some off Tanner earlier. He took two hits and just gave the rest to Lawson, ha-ha," answered Jackson.        "Fucking lightweight," said Mason, laughing in Zadra's direction. "You don't smoke, Max? I'm a little surprised."        "He smokes when he's alone, I guarantee you," said Zadra, looking at Max slyly. "No one with hair that long doesn't smoke the barley." Jessie kept her eyes on Max, curious herself of the truth of the matter.        "I really don't--I don't know what to tell ya," he announced. "I'm not against it, but I definitely didn't need it today." He shot a quick glance up at Jessie, hoping only she would notice, to inclusively reveal his reasoning, making her demure upon the failed attempt at being overlooked by the others.        "Keep it in your pants, Max," said Zadra, snapping the cup of vodka lemonade out from Jessie's hand,  removing the lid and jostling it's contents before a willful gulp. He passed it to Max, keeping his chin high and eyes facing straight forward to portray a smoothed apathy. Maxxy took a gulp himself, replacing the lid with a snap.        "Ah! There's that bite," said Max, wiping the corners of his mouth as he passed the drink off to Jackson, who, having had his fill for the time being, peacefully requited the mix with it's curly-haired keeper.        "So you won't do the ganja, but will do the vodka?" inquired Zadra, laughing. "That's ass-backwards, dawg! You don't deserve to wear that shirt!" He referred to Max, adorned in a white Sublime tee bearing the band's psychedelic Sun logo.        "The shirt literally says '40 Oz. to Freedom,' ha-ha-ha," Jackson pointed out.        "Okay, fair enough--but they're known better for being potheads," replied Zadra.        "This is true," added Kyndell, currently holding the community cup: she always considered Zadra, a general underdog in the department of gray matter, much quicker than he was accredited. Jessie gave a nod of agreement in Zadra's direction before looking back at Max as she began to sing, in low tones:

       Early in the mornin'        Risin' to the street

[Joining in: Kyndell, Zadra]

       Light me up a cigarette

[Joining in: Maxxy, Mason]

       And I strap shoes on my feet!

       "Uhuh-uhuh-uhyuk," cooed Jackson, being the only friend unfamiliar with the tune.        "Beautiful, guys--really." He reached a hand out to Kyndell for the cup, but was intercepted by Zadra upon her extending it to him, stating, nearly in duress:        "No! Don't you dare break rotation!"        The girls burst with a laugh, Jessie rolling her eyes at this rather disadvantageous rigidity and boomed in a low, mocking tone: "Oh, yeah! Super important!" They were laughing, when Max, eager for a chance to excite Jessie personally, and, remembering Jackson's intriguing foreknowledge of the festival's goings-on, turned to his buddy and asked if he knew what time the fireworks were to commence. "Marcus said someone told him 9 o'clock," he answered. "So, pretty soon, I'm guessing." "Yeah, it's 8:50 now," said Mason, who had had his cell phone in his hand, connected to a long black pair of wrap-around earphones that went up to only his left ear, since the trio arrived from the closing restaurant.

       "Oh, no! Kyndell, where are we supposed to meet Riley and them? The park? Should we go over there?" asked Jessie.        Kyndell, with a flash in her eyes, as if she had forgotten completely the awaiting solution to her recent bout with ennui, replied in a hesitant affirmative, insisting the sextet travel together in that direction. Zadra let off a little groan, he being quite peculiar about not engaging in too many social dalliances, this current one already pushing the limits of his taste when regarding his upholding a diligent consistency to remain within the bounds of this proud and affirmed conviction. "I don't know, I can't stand being around noisy kids. Plus, we will need a refill soon--Mason, you wanna head to your place? I don't really give a shit about fireworks."        "Nah, man--let's do the park. Riley owes me money, any way," Mason answered. (Despite this claim, Mason cared very little of this deal and it's required confrontation; rather, he would suggest they join along so that he might continue his casual glances at Jessie--as he had once called her in confidence, to Jeffrey Zadra, his "favorite piece of eye candy").        "Ah, shit. Fine! No more vodka for you two, though--girls are natural lightweights," Zadra pointed two fingers at Jessie and Kyndell, struggling to find some individuality so as to gloss over his acquiescing to his friend's suggestion.        "Wow, okay," laughed Jackson, happily absorbed in his vodka buzz.        "Excuse me! I could drink you under the table," said Jessie, smacking five-foot-five Zadra on the arm playfully, with attempted haughtiness, as the six began their collected migration.        "Excuse me, but exactly what does Riley owe you money for?" inquired Kyndell to Mason, mentally preparing an authoritative chiding for her boyfriend upon descrying him.        "I loaned him my bike, well--a bike--for a month, and he's had it for almost two, now. I told him it's a dollar a day every day he doesn't bring it back--he's at 21 bucks, now. I ought to just say nothing and let that shit stack up."        "For real! Don't mention it, dude, until the last day of summer school--or later, even; I guarantee you he will completely forget about it," said Zadra, wickedly, making another one of his usual, oft-unreliable guarantees.        "You two are bad," Jessie laughed.        "Riley is bad! He should know better than that! Well, you won't have to remind him, because I most definitely will! He's supposed to be saving up for when we go to Myrtle Beach,"  declared Kyndell, perturbed (but not really).        "Don't worry, Kyndell, I ain't gonna let Mason hustle your bae," said Jackson, placing a woozy hand to her back, drawing out from her a politic danke.        Mason stuck his dangling earphone on and turned up a bass-heavy rap track as the group continued along, with Zadra beside, high-chinned and pocket-handed, the two serving as anterior troop, followed by Kyndell and Jackson, with Max and Jessie in the rear, trading smiles, and surreptitiously locking hands. Jackson, noticing his pair of cousins not fifty feet before them, heading in the same direction, called out to them with a kindly smile and wave, the two turning their heads and returning equally kindly signals, to Jackson's great satisfaction.        Maxxy took this moment to fully appreciate, as he had not yet done that day, the complete absence of any trace of rain or cloud or storm that would have been wholly detrimental to his treasured time with Jessie that day, and, perhaps, the rest of the festival; he could see that she was also in a state of passive gratitude, or so as such, not necessarily, perhaps, for his presence personally, but for something much more expansive--much more; and as they were reaching the edge of the park, warm, behind trusting enough peers, the sun now all but fully set, he pondered upon everything that Jessie may have lacked, and had, perhaps, yearned for, through the entirety of her being, and upon what unconditionally generous and merciful ethereal force might be at play, hidden, off-screen, never evincing it's presence, had chosen upon graciously gifting to Max the knowledge that, despite all of those possible lackings and yearnings, it just might be that it was he--and he alone--at this moment, that set at perfect peace all of her delicate, prized and mysterious emotions. Aleister and Riley were spotted and Kyndell ran into her lover’s arms. At that moment, Maxxy saw Harper and Silas sitting on a bench nearby, and was exchanging smiles and waves with them when he suddenly heard from above a loud sonic boom, followed by a great light, with crackles and shimmers; and he felt the tight squeeze from Jessie's hand which rest within his, as she looked above, and gasped with excited wonder beneath the falling stars.