#the amount of work I put into this instead of…Yknow…school is a little concerning

[whisper-my-serenade]

every day I walk around school like my brain isn’t constantly stuck on the 70+ years of dead poets society canon I’ve been making up for the past year and a half

[gebtoons]

my contribution to the bapo timeline discourse bc i’m just gonna propose a timeline and will not be taking criticism <3 (under the cut bc this is gonna be a long post probably) 

ok disclaimer I am quite stupid, however I’m gonna use my knowledge from my own 12 years in american public high school and what little info I have about american boarding schools/catholic schools that I have from my friends lol. so. idk. 

i’m also gonna date songs/major events and i’m gonna be taking some “just trust me bro” liberties bc y’all are right it does NOT make that much sense. 

January 6: Epiphany; this is like an actual holiday lol. like its always on the sixth. idk its good that this is the starting point bc its an actual date yknow? For the purposes of this timeline were going with that its early in the week, so lets go with Monday idk

January 6-13: You and I, Role of a Lifetime; so we’re all kinda in agreement that this timeline (at least the beginning) only really makes sense if you and i/role of a lifetime aren’t like. a singular moment and are instead multiple days. so yeah, of this first week, this is like. monday-next sunday ish yknow. 

January 14: Auditions, Plain Jane Fatass; ok so having auditions for a spring musical right after kids get back from break actually makes perfect sense to me, like i can see it being like “ok take break to prepare so as soon as you come back we can have auditions so we can jump right into rehersals” yknow? and since the rave is clearly on a friday (”we’ll meet in tanya’s room on friday night”) so i’m going with the monday before.  

as for pjf, i know it doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to get a two week late birthday package their first few weeks back from school, but hear me out it makes sense. the implication throughout this entire show is that the twins have decently shitty parents. from bits of dialogue (in this song in particular lol) i’m kinda inferring their the “only concerned with how their kids make them look to others” kind of neglectful. so I don’t think it’s too outside the realm of possibility that they went away for the holidays, didn’t bring the twins, and instead mailed them a birthday package and having it show up two weeks late. realistically the timing of this isnt that important and the explicit “two week” time frame could’ve been an exaggeration on nadia’s part to mock her shit parents (idk its in her character) basically ppl are a little two fixated on this imo but anyway. moving on. 

January 18: Wonderland, A Quiet Night At Home, Rolling, Best Kept Secret; a very agreed upon point in the timeline. its the friday following the auditions. moving on. 

January 21: Confession; also very agreed upon. the monday following the rave. moving on again 

January 23: Portrait of a Girl; the date here is kinda arbitrary, but bc sister chantelle says “ok lets try to put yesterday’s rehearsal behind us” and i for the life of me cannot think of a scene she could be referring to (there’s none in the script either) that implies it wasn’t the same monday as confession (bc even in a boarding school i think holding extracurriculars that aren’t sports over the weekend (especially when they are no where near crunch time lol) is weird and not common) so i just picked a random day during the week

January 25: Birthday Bitch!, One Kiss, Are You There?; from matt’s line in wonderland, ivy’s birthday is a week after the rave. in my timeline that’s january 25th (an aquarius queen). 

btw given all grown up’s “17, how will i manage?” ivy is 16 during 17 at her party, which is strange given shes a high school senior and seniors are typically 17 during 18. so either a) she skipped a grade, not an unheard of thing. or b) shes not a senior, shes just a junior who hangs out with a bunch of seniors, which is also pretty common. and looking through the script i can’t find any mention that she is also a senior, other than yknow she graduates with them, but she isn’t mentioned during the class ranking scene? so idk not that it really matters just a fun detail 

February 3 (at night): 911 Emergency!; ok controversial. i know i like the joke about how its funny that peter having a weird dream when he was high prompted him to want to come out and really ruined his relationship with jason. BUT. i think the dream (despite it’s weirdness) would have a lot more meaning if it wasn’t the result of being really high, but if it was a dream he had like a week later as a result of a building sense of guilt/anxiety bc he told matt. also it fits better given later timeline things. (this timeline literally only exists if there are weird jumps in time that don’t make a ton of sense) (EDIT: I forgot one line about Jason crashing at ivys but fuck it forget that bitchass line this makes for more drama its staying this way)

February 4: Reputation Stain’d, Ever After; the next day following peter’s dream, idk what else to say, moving on. 

February 25-28: Spring; another jump! i’m sorry but the only way for this to make sense logistically is for there to be quite a few time jumps! however, i also think this one works bc i think it gives time for everything from around ivy’s party and peter and jason’s break up to stew emotionally. like obviously a musical only has so much time to tell a story so the audience cannot see every realistic beat, but honestly i think it makes the whole thing a little more dramatic™ if there’s space for everything to settle, and for ivy to come and apologize and such. also, the reason it’s multiple days is bc in the script, ivy is trying to study (presumably for some sort of midterm) while nadia is playing, so that probably takes place a few days before they move out, so before finals. but in the script, jason and peter are packing and peter is leaving, so that part of the song/staging takes place on the 28th. yes, that’s weird, but we are clearly thinking more about the logistics of this school than the writers were so. 

March 1: One; assuming st. cecilia’s works kinda like boarding schools here, they probably do staggered move out/move in, just bc that would be a lot to have people coming and going at once so it makes sense that peter left the day before, while jason and ivy are leaving the next day. also, given that peter is trying to call jason while he and ivy are banging, it’s probably been a hot minute since the actual break up, since peter was clearly very hurt by the whole thing, it would make sense (at least to me) that peter would reach out a month ish later, rather than like a few days later (you have to make so many assumptions to make this timeline work granted they aren’t super out there assumptions but still this is annoying) 

March 1-25: Spring Break. the coworkers I have who are in boarding school work over their school breaks, which are longer than the public school breaks (which are only a week) so i put their spring break at 3 weeks. it makes sense, and it makes the later part of the timeline make sense. 

I know i’m already halfway through this, but to me it makes sense for their to be quite a few time jumps in the story bc its a musical. they cannot show every day. there are a lot of other shows (particularly shows set in high schools) that are set over a whole school year, but if you just look at the events of the story that doesn’t make sense, so you have to imply that obviously they are not showing every little detail. moving on. 

March 25: Wedding Bells, In The Hallway, Touch My Soul; peter wakes up from his nightmare in the church, so im assuming he fell asleep in church (like he almost did during epiphany). also it makes sense that class ranks are announced in late march-early april, I know my school announced ours in like, the first week or so of april? so yeah. moving on.

(from this point on i was giving myself a headache trying to make it make sense so its all weird from here!!)

April 4: See Me, Warning; the date doesn’t really matter here, I picked a random day in early april. the script said peter is calling from him and jason’s old dorm room, as he was picking up the last of his things, so he clearly made the roommate switch after school started (makes sense to me). 

April 15-20 (approximately): Ivy finds out she’s pregnant. look google tells me on average people find out they are pregnant around 5-7 weeks after conception. i went with around 7 just so this timeline makes a tiny bit more sense given the later stuff, so yeah here we go. 

May 4: Pilgrim’s Hands, God Don’t Make No Trash, All Grown Up, Promise, Once Upon A Time, Cross; a rough night for our heroes. so given sister chantelle saying “again? wonderful.” and nadia saying “i can’t believe you missed rehearsal again”, clearly ivy has been missing quite a few rehearsals, so for dramas sake maybe from when she found out she was pregnant? also i know i’ve been saying they wouldn’t have rehearsals on weekends, and given my weird timeline this would be a saturday, but its tech week so i’ll allow it. 

May 5: Two Households, Bare, Queen Mab, A Glooming Peace; pretty self explanatory, and it makes sense to have the spring play in early may. rip jason. 

May 11: Absolution; the day before graduation peter goes to confront the priest. gives him a small amount of time to start processing, and it makes sense it would be the night before, at least to me. 

May 12: No Voice; i fucking hate this. “peter, we graduate next sunday” i hate that stupid fucking line. do you know that this timeline literally would be fine if it weren’t for that stupid fucking line? bc then, the school play would be in early may and graduation could be in late may-early june (when most high schools hold graduation) but no. keeping with continuity, they have to graduate the sunday following the school play. “peter we graduate in a month, are you really never gonna talk to me again?” would have been fine. but no, now we have beef. literally everything else about the end of this timeline being kinda weird would work itself out, except for the fucking graduation. god damn. anyway, may 12th, the graduate on may 12th which is really fucking weird bc of that one fucking line. whatever. i didn’t write the damn thing bc if i did i wouldn’t have written that fucking line. (i’ve been at this for over an hour and a half, so i’m a tad annoyed, can you tell?) 

anyway, that’s it. that’s my long as hell proposed bare timeline. if there’s anything glaringly wrong with it i don’t care bc this timeline literally cannot make sense. but honestly, now that i think about the Popular Tween High Schooler Musicals (heathers, bmc, deh) the timelines of those (especially heathers and bmc) don’t make tons of sense either. that’s just the way it is, that’s the way its gonna be. and we have to live with it. 

this post is so long it is actually slowing down my laptop as i type it

[silvrwore-blog]

---------- OOC.

hi im mitch : ) im a big f*king idiot, too. let me preface this by saying it is currently uhhhhhh 6 AM est and i still haven’t slept yet !!! i thunk i started this around 10 PM last night but im slow. really slow. everything about this ??? a hot mess ™ . it isn’t going to make a lick of sense !! but thanks for stopping by sdkjsadklsd. anywhomst im mitch, i’m twenty, in the est, and im ready to rock and roll buckaroo. my guy here? he’s an idiot. but he’s my idiot. therefore, i have to love him. the history is long ( i know because i started there first ) so ill make a little tl;dr with some simplified notes on him. i think that covers ??? everything ?? so far ? im always down to plot in the DMs or i have discord at oovoo javer #4855 mwuah !!

---------- APPLICATION.

( jack lowden, twenty-seven, cismale, he/him ) – have you seen bennett sharpe, the financial strategy student around oxford yet? i hear they can be conforming and convivial, but those who know them insist they’re reminded of beige turtlenecks and plaid blazers, eraser shavings on an old oak desk, and eagerly belting out the latest tunes when they’re around. rumor has it that due to stress, he had a breakdown in high school that put him a year behind his peers and his family has tried to cover it up. is it true? only time will tell… ( mitch, twenty, she/her, est )

---------- HISTORY.

THEY’D ALMOST STRUCK GOLD with bennett sharpe. smart enough not to have to buy your way into college, but not smart enough for his peers to despise him. the gusto of an entertainer and the charm of a damn good politician ------------ but they’d never been quite able to buff out that chip on his shoulder.

the sharpe’s were an interesting case. too good to slum it with the poor folk but not rich enough to always be able to sit at the BIG table. a family who paved their way in law and then literature. blood in the supreme courts and in those scandelous little novels that housewives sipped a glass of wine over. at least that had been his mother’s contribution to the family fortune ----- a wonderful dinner conversation.

--------- “ oh mother, what raunchy debauchery are you slaving away at now ? “

bennett was the oldest of three ( followed by one girl and then another boy ). he was a good son. would have been a real golden child to anyone else --- well, with a little love, care & patience. normal family things. from a young age he had a memory unmatched and a love of strategy games. a youth who loved to test his brain. which was fine and dandy, however, it wasn’t quite leading up to being a judge. he wasn’t following in his family’s footsteps. he’d gotten a little... off track. he had just been better with numbers. money crunching. equations. it had been a tough pill for his family to swallow but swallow it they would. afterall, it hadn’t been their biggest concern when it came to their oldest son. 

it had always been there. carefully covered up with the occasional “ he’ll grow out of it “ or  “ stop it. nothing is wrong. “ maybe that had been the real giveaway to why he’d never amount to anything big. “ he’s FRAIL. no spine. “ a good and competent doctor would have had him diagnosed and taken care of. seventeen and he’s missing classes but not for normal rich kid things. the world’s bigger and scarier than it ever was. college and a future right around the corner, parental pressure, it snowballs until it is all too much. one day of important testing and bennett sharpe never shows. he had not been on campus at all. sometimes when the panic became too much, it did him well to distract his mind ---- go outside. count the blades of grass or the birds in the sky. breathe. it’s what he had done that afternoon. left and tried to sate his mind. but nothing had done it for him that day. nothing to cure him. the world? bleak. the future? uncertain. weapy and tore down. the little devil on his shoulder named ‘ desperation ‘. he needed out. his parents phone and the message becomes crystal clear... 

--------- “ i can’t do this. “

so he’d ‘” turned tail and ran “, branded some sort of listless coward. he didn’t know what was wrong with himself, nor did his parents. the only thing they were certain of was that they would not have a son coming apart at the seams. they’d grilled him. no one was going to take him seriously or he’d never find himself in any important position if he was always going to go chicken. a breakdown never looked good. it did not matter to the rich or the poor, one would still be ridiculed. but corporations wanted someone steely, confident, put-together. all the things bennett was not becoming. so they’d contacted his school - wrote it off as a vacation. save face. “ oh i got bored. decided to go to switzerland instead ! couldn’t miss it, you see a chance of a lifetime had just presented itself to me, so.... “. however, no donations or pleading on his parents part were going to make up lost time. bennett was held back a year for being unable to complete the necessary testing and exams. oh how he would have to sell that vacation. but it hadn’t quite been a vacation, had it? long days trying to put together the pieces. some days were easier than others. some time to try and buff out that chip. the chip remained.

years down the line and one enrolment to oxford and he’s a lot better than where he started. he’s found ways to cope. some good. some bad. he’s more indendent than ever which has led him to branch out and take care of himself. no watchful eye of mother and father needed. perhaps that’s why he now has therapy pamphlets tucked away inside untouched textbooks. away from prying eyes. just an idea, maybe one day he would water it and watch it grow. go see someone. anyone. now he’s cheery. lively. a staple at parties. heeds his father’s advice and brushes shoulders with the right people. finds himself in the right places. the future is looking bright. oxford may soon to be a closed chapter in his life, but the years had been good to him. until, well, they weren’t. 

the riot club had been for the best. extravagant. a little bit of chasing the finer things in life. that had worked out just well for him. death had never been a thought --- or at least it was always kept at a distance. never upclose or personal. a relative here or there, miles away, he’d barely given it a thought. a funeral and they were gone. parties and death were not supposed to intermingle. maybe that was why it was so jarring. the world is a little heavier, bearing down on him once more. he tries not to pay it any mind when he has to excuse himself twice more than usual for a smoke outside. brushes off clammy hands like they’re nothing. accidents happened. he’d find solace in that word --------- accident. 

---------- SPARKNOTES / TL;DR.

voted most likely to be that annoying fuck outside your dorm at 3 am who doesn’t know how to turn down the volume 

dumb enough to try anything once

despite some tough times he’s just ??? full of life ??? life is a PARTY. and he’s making the most of it now, thank you very much. 

“ are you not ENTERTAINED ? “

he’s not the worst,,, but he’s not the best. yknow?

nice enough to get drunk and talk to just about anyone but snobby enough that you bet he’s going to make some insensitive comments. it’s that -- not rich rich enough to be totally elite, but not hurting enough to be able to sympathize with people who aren’t bringing in a f*ck ton of money. 

his family ( on his dad’s side ) has always been involved in law. typically judges, and some who have made it to be top dog in their fields. his mother is a writer who does rather well. she’s published a handful of book and his father has also published law-related books which brings in money. his dad is pretty high up in the field but bennett’s got his suspicions that some of the income might just be payoffs. i wouldn’t envision his father as being someone hard to be bought. he might want to grill his son for being spineless or weakwilled but i’d imagine that’s just a family trait inherited. 

which uhh brings me to my next point. bennett can be a bit of a follower. there’s not a whole lot of “NO” in him. which may also hurt his relationships because he’s not going to stand against injustices or anything if it is going to put him in harm’s way. which may help perpetuate that rich or snobby idea surrounding him because he’s not about to stand up for the common folk if they’re being belittled for their threads or schooling.sure, he might talk to them here or there in the right occasion but he’s not going to stand for them. he’s sitting pretty. he’s not looking to ruin that. 

essentially he’s not going to have your back unless it benefits him. 

as far as his secret goes, i think he’s worried about the stigma around mental health and how he’d be perceived but i think a lot more has to do with his family. because he knows they won’t be happy if it gets out or if something further happens. they just ain’t supportive in that department, chief. but he doesn’t want to be cut off or anything and not just because he’d be worried about who was putting money in his pockets. he just doesn’t want to stir the pot any further, even though he should really seek help. i kind of vagued on it but i’d say he has gad ( generalized anxiety disorder ). 

---------- CONNECTIONS.

am i picky?? nah. if he can fill something, slot him in. we can chit chat. mwuah

i already know this section is gonna get so neglected because im too tired to think

uhh give me an under the wing sort of relationship ?? listen if bennett can’t repair himself maybe he can touch up someone else. someone he might see something in. buds ? who knows ? not me. but it could b cute. 

long time friends !!! doesn’t have to be since childhood but someone(s) he’s known for a while now and they click. 

anything angsty ? is good too. 

typical friends / enemies plots too !! spice things up. 

i need sleep : ) good night !!!!!!!!!!

[dice-and-die]

Cosmic Concupiscence (ZaDr feral au) (chapter 1)

Concupiscence- noun- (Con-cue-pes-ense) -a strong sexual desire/lust Origin: Middle English: via Old French from late Latin concupiscentia, from Latin concupiscent- ‘beginning to desire,’ from the verb concupiscere, from con- (expressing intensive force) + cupere ‘to desire.’

Alternate chapter title: In which Dib and Gaz work together (chapter 1)

Today was going to be a fantastic day. Dib Membrane was sure of it. The young boy was excitedly watching the unveiling of the new long distance traveling spaceship that Professor Membrane had built almost completely by himself. Dib and Gaz stood side by side in the crowd, watching their father in amazement, as he finally revealed the enormous blue and silver ship. Dib stared at it in awe, having to lean back to see the top of it. The ship looked so much more amazing than the concept sketches Dib had seen scattered about the lab downstairs at home. “I wonder how fast it can travel and how far it can go.” Dib wondered out loud. “Gaz, we could go out there and find aliens! Real actual space aliens! We could befriend other space faring races! Do you think that maybe... maybe they’re out there waiting for us?” He babbled on in excitement. “If they were out there waiting for us, then the least they could have done was abduct you!” Gaz mumbled in all her apathy.

“Ok I know your saying that to be mean and rude, but I mean, your not wrong.” Dib said, completely un-offended with a dismissive shrug. Gaz rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Professor Membrane, who was still talking. “This is the beginning of something great! With this ship, we can further explore the cosmos, go into the deepest darkest corners of space, and discover new things! It has a more advanced PEG system, so the ship has perpetual energy! Fuel is a problem of the past! We can come back to earth as heroes! I will be making an experimental expedition out into space! I plan on only being gone for a year at the most! Consider it like a test drive! We’ll be leaving tomorrow evening folks! Unfortunately, I will have to leave my son and daughter behind, just in case things don’t go well. Luckily, I have picked out an excellent guardian for them!” Professor Membrane continued on, but his voice and the rest of his speech, went unheard as Gaz and Dib both glared up at him in shock and indignation.

“Oh I don’t FUCKING think so!” Gaz said, her voice quavering with agitation and rage. “Geez, yeah! What the hell dad!? You can’t just leave us here on earth while you go explore space! That’s unfair!” Dib openly agreed with his sister. The two of them shared a concerned and angry look before quietly leaving the crowd together. Once they were out of earshot of other people, Dib and Gaz shared another look. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Dib asked with a mischievous grin upon his heavily freckled face. “We sneak onboard the ship?” Gaz said questioningly. “Absolutely!” Dib said, with wild excitement. Gaz gave a smug grin and followed her brother home as the two of them concocted a plan together. For once, the two of them were actually getting along and working together.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gaz and Dib sat at a Mac Meaties, sharing pork fries and meat shakes, while looking over the ship’s blueprints, which had been easy to acquire. “Ok so, let’s see, there’s the docking bay and the cargo bay. Maybe we can sneak in through one of those? Maybe not the docking bay though, it would have a lot more people supervising there.” Dib trailed off, trying to think of more to say. “Ok, Dib, it’s not that hard. We just go home, pack our shit, and hide away in a storage crate. They open from the inside incase people get trapped in them. Too easy.” Gaz said as she sipped her bacon and cheddar meat-shake. “I mean I guess but... I’m still kinda nervous I suppose. I mean this is space we’re talking about! We’re gonna go to space Gaz! SPACE!” Dib said excitedly, while pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. “Calm down and keep your voice low dumbass. Do you want people to find out?” Gaz grumbled.

“Shit, your right.” Dib took a bite of his bbq chicken double mcmeatie burger, and looked around at the completely oblivious people around them. “Yeah I know.” Gaz said proudly. “Now let’s get out of this greasy joint and go home and start packing. And for chrissakes Dib, don’t let Dad or anyone else catch us packing because they might catch on!” Gaz said in an almost intimidating tone. “Right. Let’s not get caught.” Dib agreed.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Hours had passed at home, hours of packing and planning and then extra plans incase the original plan failed, and then a plan after that and then another one after that. Gaz rolled up the ship’s blueprints and stuffed them in her backpack, which was full of snacks, games, clothes, and plenty of other interesting things.... Dib had also packed snacks and drinks, and had also packed video cameras, flashlights, a pocket knife, pepper spray, clothes, his phone, and plenty of chargers, and other small and mostly meaningless things. “Do you have your phone Gaz?” Dib asked. “Yeah, but I’m pretty sure you don’t get any sort of service once you go beyond earth, so I think bringing my phone is kinda pointless.” Gaz said. “Yeah but hey, more pictures of space, right?” Dib said, with his beaming, dorky smile. Gaz simply rolled her eyes. “Ok. Well we have everything packed right? Let’s go to bed. Pretend like everything is normal.” She said, with a tone of caution in her voice.

Dib peeked our from around his bedroom door. “Hey yknow I find it funny that dad thinks we need a babysitter or some shit. Like seriously? I’m nineteen. Your seventeen. We’re not twelve year old little shits anymore. We don’t need someone to watch us.” He complained. “Ok, one, does it matter? Two, speak for yourself Mr. I brought a rabid werewolf home and it almost killed me.” Gaz grouched at him. “Ok that was an accident.” Dib sighed in exasperation. “Yes, one that almost destroyed the house. One that also ate the puppy.” Gaz said while squinting angrily at her brother. “Hey... if we’re supposed to have a babysitter then why aren’t they here yet?” Dib asked suspiciously, changing the question. “Don’t jinx it asshole. With our luck it could be someone awful and stupid like an old middle school teacher or some sleaze-bag who does drugs.” Gaz grumbled. “Now go to bed. Before I strap you to yours and leave you here. We have a lot to go through tomorrow.” She said, before leaving her brother’s room.

Dib closed the door after her and laid on his bed. There was no way he was going to sleep, he was too excited, and his gut was doing all these twists and turns. Space. He might actually be in space tomorrow. Just the thought of it sent chills down his spine. “I better not go out there and there not be any space aliens for me to meet.” He murmured. He was up until around one in the morning, contemplating all the possibilities, before his body gave in to sleep.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Gaz woke up early at around five. She got dressed, brushed her teeth, and went downstairs, reminding herself to wake Dib up in a little while. She marched into the kitchen to find a note on the table from Professor Membrane. She picked it up and curiously read it.

Dear Son and Daughter,

I love you both very much. I know you might be upset that I’m leaving without the both of you, but I couldn’t live with myself if I were to have risked your lives if something goes wrong. That’s why we’re leaving early this morning instead of later at night like we said, so you two don’t get any ideas about stowing away and being all sneaky. The babysitter will be here sometime at noon.

With Love, ~Your Father

P.S. don’t let your brother raise the dead again Gaz.

Gaz nearly had a brain aneurism, and was filled with sudden rage and panic. She could feel an angry scream, threatening to bubble it’s way out of her throat, like boiling lava from a volcano. “sssshhhHHHHIIIIIIIITT.” She charged up the stairs, and banged her brother’s door open, the doorknob slamming into the wall. “DIB WAKE UP!” She screeched at the top of her lungs, racing over and grabbing her brother, shaking him awake. “Huh? Wha? Gaz? What’s going on?” Dib asked groggily, after struggling to wake up. He grabbed his glasses and put them on, stunned by the agitated look upon his sister’s face.

“We need to go. Right. Now.” Gaz growled, gritting her teeth while trying to keep her cool. She was quivering with anticipation and panic. “What? Right now? But I thought-“ Gaz cut Dib off, growing ever more impatient for her brother to just get up and get going already. “Yeah? Well we were wrong! Here!” She shoved the note into his hands before racing off to her room to grab her stuff. She could hear Dib make an almost animalistic sound of extreme alarm and panic, and then a muffled “OH FUCK.” He grabbed his bag, opened it, and stuffed a bag of batteries and walkie-talkies into it before zipping it up and tossing it over his shoulders. The two of them charged down the stairs and out the door.

The cold November air bit at their faces as they ran out into the dark and lifeless five in the morning world. Gaz frantically called a taxi and demanded that they be extra speedy. Yes against the law speedy. No even faster than that! Yes this was an emergency! Five anxiety inducing minutes later, and a dark green taxi van pulled up. The driver rolled down the window and looked at Gaz and Dib I’m surprise, who were both equally surprised to find that their driver was Keef. “Hey Dib! Hey Gaz!” Keef said excitedly, and with an unnatural amount of cheer. “Where are you guys going?” He asked. Dib and Gaz hurried to get into the van. “Ok Keef, we need you to go as fast as you can! Ok? Like illegally fast. Ok? This is an emergency!” Dib said, his voice cracking with anxiety. “Whoa are you ok? Is one of you sick or something?” Keef asked with worry and concern. “Ok listen, we don’t have time for this! We need to go! Y’know where the giant new spaceship is? Take us there and make it faster than the speed of light! We need to say goodbye to our dad before he leaves!” Gaz looked him dead in the eyes, as she lied straight to his face.

“Oh ok! Gotcha!” Keef shifted the van into gear, and hit the gas. They jerked forward, slowly gaining momentum and speed. The speed gauge’s needle began to pull from 20-45-75 in mere minutes. Gaz eyed it nervously as the van began to shred by the neighborhood, now at 95 miles per hour. “Uh, I think that’s fast enough.” She mumbled nervously. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.” Dib groaned. “There’s a special bucket back there for that.” Keef said.

Surprisingly they went un-pursued and unnoticed by law enforcement, as they tore through the sleepy town and towards the launch feild, just on the outskirts of the city. “Oh my god we’re almost there! We’re gonna make it!” Dib was filled with hope. “Gaz look I can see the ship!” Dib then proceeded to vomit in the bucket, out of sheer stress and overexcitement. “Euuugh.” Gaz made a disgusted face before looking back to the horizon.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Professor Membrane overlooked the view from the observation dome on the very top of the ship. He could see the entire broad horizon, the rising sun, the outline of the city, all the twisting and winding roads that lead to nature and other towns, and a tiny green van in the distance, speeding down one of those roads. “Ah so the world awakens. This is truly a glorious dawn. I hope the kids won’t be mad that they’re staying home. I will have to make sure to promise to bring them on the next trip, that is if all goes well. I do hope the hyper speed will work.” Professor Membrane thought out loud to himself, as he enjoyed the view and a black coffee. He payed the van no mind as it began to slow down, and turned to go check on the water filtration and waste disposal system.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Keef pulled the van to a slow and eventual stop. “Ok this is as far as I can go guys.” He said. “Thank you.” Gaz grumbled before shoving two fifties into his hand and getting out of the vehicle. Dib grabbed his stuff and went to go after her. “Hey just call if you guys need a ride home or anything!” Keef said cheerily. “We’ll keep you in mind dude!” Dib said respectfully before racing after his sister.

“Ok. We have at least a little while before they take off. They’re still loading up the ship. We can make it.” Gaz said in complete confidence. “I’m glad I woke up when I did.” She said. “Are you ready? Cause Gaz, were going to fucking space. Space Gaz. SPACE. I almost can’t wrap my head around it. SPACE!” Dib began to get overexcited again. “Calm down before you vomit again!” Gaz said, eyeing her brother in mild disgust as she began jogging off the road and down the hill. “Hey! Wait for me!” He ran to catch up. They weaved through the trees and downed branches and a couple of logs before coming up to the electrified fence. “Shit. How do we get past that?” Dib complained. “Quiet. Let me think.” Gaz growled. “We don’t have time to think!” Dib said nervously. “I said be quiet!” Gaz snapped.

Gaz paced around for a few minutes before pulling her old skull necklace out of the back pocket of her backpack. She held it tight for a moment before tossing into the electric fence. It flashed like a bomb, shining pink rays of energy dancing about in the light, before sucking the energy out of the electric fence. It sat on the ground, sparking, humming with the newly trapped energy. “What. The. Hell.” Dib was shocked and confused. “Is that why... is that why you always wore that thing all the time? Is that why you can just do completely inexplicable shit that normal people can’t do? Gaz, what the hell?!” Dib could barley comprehend that all these years his sister had a supernatural talisman and he hadn’t even noticed. Gaz only smiled smugly at her brother, before picking it up, unharmed. She tossed her bag over the fence and began climbing.

Dib followed after her, clearly still struggling to grasp this newfound information, thus affecting his climbing skills. He attempted to jump down from the other side, but his leg got caught in the barbed wire. He hung there for a moment before falling down, his chest slamming into the hard earth, knocking the wind out of him. Gaz rolled her eyes and helped her brother up. “Now how about we stop dicking around and we get going? See look they’re almost done packing. We gotta go!” She raced off, quietly sneaking around every object. So far they’d gone unseen. Gaz peeked around the side of a cargo loader vehicle. There were some unsecured crates, that weren’t being very well guarded. She opened her bag, as Dib caught up, slightly out of breath, and pulled out a smoke bomb. “What the- why do you have that????” Dib asked in alarm. “Your just full of god damn surprises today aren’t you?” He asked, still clouded with alarm and confusion.

“Oh I have all sorts of things that a seventeen year old shouldn’t have. I have smokebombs, flashbangs, noisemakers, and a couple of spicy ghost bombs.” She said, puffing her chest up in pride. “I made them all myself.” Gaz smiled. “What’s a spicy ghost bomb?” Dib asked with morbid curiosity. “It’s a smoke bomb with pepper spray in it.” Gaz grinned maniacally. “What even...” Dib was too scared to take the conversation any further.

Gaz didn’t answer. Instead she simply tossed the smoke bomb as far as she could. It landed several feet away, down near a different collection of crates. She grabbed her brother’s arm as the smoke bomb went off and guards rushed to investigate. Gaz yanked Dib along, over to the stack of crates that she had her eye on. All the silver crates had “To storage complex 9” printed on them. She opened one and motioned for Dib to get inside it. Without hesitation, he wiggled in amongst the styrofoam packing peanuts and held onto his bag. “Wait... how am I gonna breathe?” He asked worriedly. “Don’t worry about it. They have ventilation in them. Remember the whole “designed just in case someone gets trapped in one” thing? We’ll be fine.” She said before shutting the top, leaving her brother in the suffocating and unbearable darkness.

Gaz hid behind the stack of the crates, peering around the corner again, and cursing in rage as the guards were heading back towards this stack. “Shit.” She swore under her breath, and ducked down as the two guards positioned themselves on either side of the crates. She wiggled in between a gap amongst the crates and hoped to Ultra Pigulon that she wouldn’t be seen. As luck would have it, that exact stack of crates was about to be lifted into the cargo bay. “Oh lucky fucking break, we made it.” She sighed in relief.

The stack was lifted and set down on a moving belt. She peered out from her hiding place and made sure no one was watching, before she hurriedly opened a crate and wriggled in, shutting it after her. The stack went through the belt system and came out in a storage room, with people who were moving everything into place and making sure all storage units were accounted for.

Dib got on his messenger and texted Gaz from his phone.

AgentMothman: ==> Forward to VØX3LRØT

AgentMothman: Did you make it? Are you hidden?

VØX3LRØT: Yes. I’m in a crate. Just make sure to be quiet. We’re not out of the woods yet.

AgentMothman: Right......

AgentMothman: Gaz I have to pee. Help what do I do?

VØX3LRØT: You should have went before we left.

AgentMothman: I DIDN’T HAVE TIME ASSHOLE.

VØX3LRØT: Oh well. Sit tight and hold it in. It’s gonna be awhile before we can get out.

AgentMothman: >:T

VØX3LRØT ==> switched to don’t disturb mode ==>

“Why you little-“ Dib scowled and furiously swiped the messaging app away. He sat in the darkness, curled up tight around his backpack. He grabbed his headphones and listened to music, muttering angrily to himself. It was going to be a long wait. He paused to think, imagining leaving earth behind. He already started to feel slightly homesick, but more excited and nervous than anything, to be in space. “I can’t wait.” His voice cracked into a excited squeak. “Your gonna be in space! Maybe you’ll finally find friends among the stars. I can’t wait to meet a whole bunch of space aliens. They’ve gotta be out there. They just gotta!” He murmured in excitement to himself. He laid back, trying to relax in the cramped space, as he listened to 80’s rock music, and thought about aliens.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A entire hour and a half had passed, before suddenly, in their hiding places, Gaz and Dib felt the a great thundering shudder run through the ship. Gaz opened her crate a sliver, and peered through it. The ship shuddered a second time and then, with the ferocity of an earthquake, it began to lift up off the ground. A message sounded blatantly throughout the entire ship “Departure in 10 minutes. Please ensure that you are in a secured area and buckled into a seat. Ensure that all luggage and cargo is properly sealed and buckled down.” The message repeated every minute. Dib could feel his guts twisting in excitement. This was it. He was actually going to space. “No turning back now.” He whispered in excitement. Gaz closed her crate and wiggled back down into the packing peanuts. “Here we go.” She murmured.

The final take off message sounded.

“Ship clear for take off. Ascension in-“

“10”

“9”

“8”

“7”

“6”

“5”

“4”

“3”

“2”

“1”

“High speed take off initiated!”

The ship rumbled and quaked and tilted up into the sky. Dib and Gaz were both shocked out of their minds as the ship gave a furious jerk forwards, blasting off into the sky at an unnatural speed. Within mere minutes, the ship had pierced the earth’s atmosphere and entered outer space. Dib could feel himself slamming into the walls of the crate, being knocked around until his head smashed into the top of the crate, knocking him out cold.

                                          * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dib woke sometime later, his crate open, and his sister peering inside, a look of genuine concern upon her face. His eyes fluttered open and he groaned in pain. Why did his head hurt? “Gaz?” He mumbled. “You got knocked out.” She explained quickly. “Come on! Get up. We have to hide.” She carefully helped her brother up, and he winced in pain, touching the top of his head gingerly. “Gaz. I still need to go to the bathroom.” Dib sighed. “Sheesh, I’m surprised you didn’t pee yourself or something.” His sister merely pointed to the end of the entire storage room. “I explored. The bathroom is to the left.” She said. Dib bolted in that direction while Gaz shook her head, sighing in exasperation. She turned and took her brother’s backpack out of the crate, and then closed it up to ensure that no one would be suspicious.

“Well we made it. We’re actually in space.” Gaz said, somewhat in relief. “Now all we gotta do is explore it. And not get caught being here. I’ve only ever been grounded twice, it’s not happening again.” Gaz walked in the general direction of her brother, looking around at the never ending rows of crates. There were bound to be people coming back here soon, it was only a matter of time. After a few minutes she reached the bathroom and waited for her brother. “Uuuugh I threw up in there Gaz... I didn’t think I had anything left in me..” Dib groaned, coming out of the bathroom. “Ok? I didn’t need to know that. We need to find a new place to hide. Let’s get going.” Gaz handed Dib his backpack and started walking towards the nearby exit, that led up to the docking bay.

The Docking bay was just as enormous as the cargo storage room, and the hangar for small ships was filled to the brim with as many as could possibly fit. All of them were small one to four person starships. “We’re not gonna hide in one of these are we?” Dib asked. “Just for now we are. Nobody is coming back here I don’t think.” Gaz opened the hatch to a four person ship and hopped inside, waiting patiently for Dib, who seemed unsure of whether this was a good idea or not. He reluctantly hopped on board the ship and looked around. It was the size of the living room at home and had a singular pilot seat in the front. In the back were two large seats on either side that had a safety bar above it, like one they pull down over your head on a roller coaster ride, along with seatbelts for extra safety. Then further in the back there was an emergency escape hatch on the floor, and a strange computer nearby with a circular pad built into the floor. Gaz went over to the pilot seat and sat down. “Oh man I like the feeling of this, I think I might wanna fly this sometime.” She said, observing the controls with interest.

Dib closed the hatch and then walked over to the computer in the back and stood on the circular pad, after dropping his bag on the floor. The computer fired up without Dib having to touch it and a red light began to scan him up and down. “Whoa what’s going on?” He tensed up, confused and somewhat nervous. “Scan complete! Please customize your suit on the screen.” The computer beeped. Gaz turned to look at her brother. “What are you doing?” She asked. “Whoa. I think this thing makes space suits!” Dib said, leaning in to look at the computer screen with interest. “Space suits!? Well when your done being a cosmic dork, it’s my turn! Might as well be stylish in space, right?” Said Gaz.

Dib started looking at suit options with interest. “How about something that breathes? I don’t wanna be in a suit that’s going to make me sweat to death!” He said. A color wheel popped up after tapping the suit option. “Um obviously I want it to be dark blue. Wait a minute, there are pattern options? Ooooooh I like the jagged side stripes.... what?! You can customize the pattern color too? This is amazing.” Dib continued on until he stopped at something that almost made him cry tears of joy. “Oh my god... Gaz come over here and look at this!” He cried out. Gaz leapt off the pilot seat, concerned that something was wrong, her brother sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “What?! What is it?!” She asked in blatant alarm. “Gaz look!” Dib pointed to the computer screen. “The suits can have built in binders!” He said, obviously trying not to cry, and very much failing to do so. “Wow. That’s pretty inclusive.” Gaz said, letting a genuine smile break across her face.

Dib removed his glasses for a moment to wipe the tears away, and then tapped the option excitedly and completed his suit. “Processing... Processing... PROCESSING....” The computer let out a soft ding and a small tray opened with a fresh and neatly folded up spacesuit. Dib picked it up and looked it over appreciatively, running his hands across the smooth and soft material. A holographic curtain popped up while he changed. “Hey I didn’t notice, but this thing has built in boots too. Fucking sweet.” The curtain came down once he was done, leaving him behind with all his clothes on the floor. He collected his clothes up in a ball and stuffed them into his bag, before hopping off the floorpad and staring at himself in deep appreciation. “This thing is really comfy!” He said, happily.

“Okiedoke, my turn!” Gaz hopped onto the floor pad and the computer scanned her. She customized her suit to be black with magenta and purple stripes slanting up and down either way across the front and back, as well as two dark purple diamond shapes over her shoulders. Both her and Dib’s suits were fingerless and had a sealed zipper down the chest and belly, that stopped just above the lower abdomen. “Wow this IS comfy!” Gaz said, doing a twirl after changing and stepping off the pad. “Right?!” Dib said, while putting his black trench coat back over the top of his suit, because there’s no way he was gonna stop wearing it. No way in hell. It was his favorite thing ever. He still kept his old small one from when he was twelve, in a box underneath his bed. Not even Gaz knew about it.

“This is an adventure. I’m having fun right now.” Dib said, with his big dorky smile. “I think we might have a good time out here!” Gaz said. “I mean we won’t be able to talk to dad for awhile, but we’ll still have fun!” She continued on. “I’ve been ready for space adventures my whole life. I think I’ve just made a fantastic decision, to not go back to earth. Well ok maybe I’ll visit and stuff, but I am definitely going to spend the rest of my life in space, and I haven’t even seen it all yet!” Dib said with excitement and vigor. He felt ready for anything and everything!

[prompt-master]

Aftereffects