#will be making more casey interactions with the rest of the gang too but for now its the sunshine duo

[gardensinnerdoodleblog]

Early risers 🌄🌟

(Do NOT tag as ship.

Tcesters, proshippers and rise april x turtle shippers DNI )

[cherrybombusa]

GROUP ONE  - THE BASEMENT. SUCCESS.

PLAYERS:

THE ROMANTIC - Mackenzie Walsh.  THE MANNEQUIN - Caria Yildiz.  THE WRITER - Noah Russell. 

PERKS: 

COME HERE, LOVER BOY!: With Mackenzie Walsh in the group, it’s harder to fail! Mac and the Candy Girl’s love affair gained the group an extra advantage during the Puzzle, and gained them a Last Ditch Effort to get out of the room - but only if Caria gave up trying.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS: 

-CARIA FRACTURED HER SHOULDER.  -THE GANG CHOSE LUCK AND FAILED.  -THE GANG USED ALL THREE TRIES IN THEIR PUZZLE AND FAILED - BUT MACKENZIE’S LOVERBOY PERK GAINED THEM AN EXTRA SHOT. THEY ENDED UP SUCCESSFUL, AND FOUND THE KEY TO SAVE THEIR FRIEND.  -THEY EVENTUALLY ESCAPED THE ROOM AFTER CARIA GAVE UP TRYING. 

The day hadn’t been busy-busy until Mac  began setting up with the rest of the band - the perfect time for a Boardwalk employee to approach him!  Everything seemed to be going smoothly - at least from Mac’s end - but the employee insists that as the frontman of the band, a cord from the basement must be grabbed for his microphone. Mac doesn’t argue much - there’s no time to argue - he just needs to get back as soon as he can. @romxnticss​

The sun has been fixing it’s way over the horizon for what felt like far too long, but somehow the Minute-Makeover booth was still a-buzzing. Curling irons here, Mascara there - but somewhere within the chaos, a Boardwalk worker managed to grab Caria by the shoulder. Her mother was busy with a client, but the Boardwalk worker insisted that paperwork must be retrieved from a clerk in the basement, and it must be retrieved now - lest they pack up the booth ASAP. Caria hardly gets a look at the person - they walk away before any questions can be asked, but apparently it’s important that Caria gets to the basement as soon as she can. @manncquin​

A boardwalk employee grabs Noah by the shoulder as he’s walking down Roller Coaster Row - a little shocking, to say the least, but all is explained when the employee mentions Ronnie Russell and his need for Noah’s assistance ASAP. Apparently, there’s some table in the boardwalk basement that he needed to fetch for the booth they were setting up outside of the Main Stage. Don’t know why they asked Noah when they could have asked Casey, but… he better hurry. @thewriter-noah​

THE NARRATOR: Reunions were supposed to be pleasant occasions, weren’t they? They were supposed to bring feelings of joy, and nostalgia; you were supposed to forget the awkward haze that had plagued your senior year of high school, and just… pretend like the good old days were actually just that. Good. Absence did make the heart grow fonder and all that, didn’t it? Though, maybe it’s silly to wonder why this little reunion, in the service basement of the Boardwalk, might not be so pleasant. It had only been a week ago that they were all huddled into another basement together, after all. Playing at the whims of a suspected lunatic, and baring their souls - and their tongues - to each other. Not even ‘a Day in Carousel Cove!’ could smooth over that awkward little blip, could it? Still, the three of them made their polite, familiar conversation. Mac laments about being late for his set, and Caria makes some excuse about having to get back to her mother… Noah may or may not be wondering why he’s there at all! But the unmistakable sound of a lock clicking from the far end of the room should be enough to cease all wonder. Jinkies, kiddos! Wonder what’s in store for you this time. NOAH: Noah would be lying if he said, having come down initially to find Mac and Caria in the basement alone hadn't set off some vibes that left him feeling sick to his stomach. While it didn't look like he'd walked in on anything especially scandalous, and their reasoning for being there all seemed legit, thoughts of what had happened between Caria and his brother crowded his mind as he began his search for the table. It wasn't like he'd ever suspected anything between she and Mac but the mistrust had it's way of playing out all sorts of scenarios in his head. At the sound of the door closing he paused as he gave a quick glance up in it's general direction before looking back to see if by chance the other two had left without so much of a word. "Did either of you find what you were looking for?" He asked shortly when he noticed they were both still there, feigning certain his uneasiness was playing tricks on him. THE NARRATOR: Just as Noah speaks, a clock in the corner of the room strikes 7:30pm, as does the watch of a masked figure, just outside the door. It’s time! But for what, exactly?

A moment later,  Dean Hargrove’s voice fills the room like a ghostly echo from the stage - welcoming the citizens to the boardwalk, and more... but just as suddenly as his voice appeared, he’s cut off by a voice they don’t quite recognize. A voice that might just damn them all.

CANDY GIRL: “REST IN PEACE TO OUR DEAR OLD LUX, BUT I HAVE NEWS THAT THE CHERRY TIMES IS TOO SCARED TO TELL! THIS WAS NO SUICIDE. LUX WAS MURDERED. THE QUESTION IS - WHICH ONE OF HER FRIENDS DID IT?”

THE NARRATOR: It was hard to imagine a chill didn’t run down the whole of Cherry’s spine at the implication; hard to imagine that her friends weren’t disgusted by it… Or at least acting disgusted.

CANDY GIRL:  “AND TO THAT LITTLE GANG! MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST ISSUE. SOMEONE IS MISSING, AND YOU’RE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN FIND THEM BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE. GOOD LUCK!”

THE NARRATOR: It would have been impressive timing if it weren’t so fucking frightening, but at just that moment, their very own issue of the Cherry Bomb slides beneath the door. It skids to a stop, right at their feet. 

The cover is collaged with photos of Lux - the inside? Crime scene photos. There’s no pictures of her body, of course; that would be crude, even for the Candy Girl - kind of - but images of the blood soaked into her carpet. Still pictures of her bedroom, flaunting a life once lived: those are there. A shot of her suicide note, ‘I’m sorry, I love you,’ and all.

And right there, in the middle of the spread, like a centerfold? A note, written in Sharpie - just for our ragtag little slice of the gang.

CANDY GIRL: GET OUT,,, GET OUT, WHEREVER YOU’RE LOCKED!!!! NOT A FAN OF SMALL SPACES?? I’LL STICK YOU IN A BOX. SOMEONE IS MISSING, BUT I WON’T SAY WHO… FIND THE KEY, AND FIND OUT WHO. 

BUT WATCH OUT, WATCH OUT! YOU’RE ON THE CLOCK! LET IT RUN OUT, AND THEY’LL STAY IN THE BOX. WILL THE TIDE COME IN? HMM, MAYBE IT WON’T. OR BETTER YET? MAYBE YOUR FRIENDS WILL FLOAT.

THE NARRATOR: Oh...my. Now, that’s a predicament, isn’t it?

I suppose we’re at least lucky that the Candy Girl leaves the rules simple, right? Find a key. Get out of the room, and… Maybe she doesn’t kill one of your friends. Maybe

MAKE A CHOICE: YOU MUST ESCAPE THE ROOM, BUT HOW DO YOU IT? THERE HAS TO BE A KEY SOMEWHERE, SO HOW DO YOU FIND IT? BY LOOKING FOR CLUES [PROBLEM SOLVING] OR BY TEARING THE ROOM APART? [LUCK]

CARIA: Unquestioning dutifulness used to be chief among Caria's virtues, or at least it must have been, looking back. Not dutifulness out of any sort of filial affection but the point still stands: she's always done what's been asked of her. As it was, she barely blinked at the matter of paperwork. It checked out-- usually her mother has people to deal with the administrative side of things but a legal team for a day at the Boardwalk seemed overkill even to the unendingly ostentatious woman. And given the company Caria's ended up in the basement, she's all too happy to stay all the way adrift in her thoughts. Even the click of the door isn't enough to pull her back to reality. What is enough, however, is the unwelcome broadcast. 

She's never been good with these kinds of things. Maybe there's a way to look around at the small details and figure things out that way, but unfortunately how good she looked in tweed and faked a British accent had no real correlation to how closely her thinking could mirror Sherlock Holmes'. So, she does what she's only ever really let herself do in her imagination: She starts pulling the room apart haphazardly, hoping something helpful will happen upon her if she's desperate enough.

MAC: In twenty years, Mac had never exactly found himself in any high pressure situations. Perhaps it came from living with a self-proclaimed former hippie, or the fact that it was hard to build any real sort of stress in a record store, but regardless- he never saw himself stuck in the middle of this sort of thing. While his first reaction had been to head for the door the moment he heard Dean Hargrove's voice, still preoccupied with missing Mystic Cherry's set, the realization that they were trapped had slowly but surely sank into his brain. There's a pause as Caria starts tearing things apart, a moment to let his panic sink in, before he's starting on the other side of it, desperate for a way out and to the rest of their friends.

THE NARRATOR: In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t the best idea to just start tearing the room apart. Mac and Caria look for nearly fifteen minutes - maybe twenty - as the chaos of everyone else’s night unfolds on ground level above them. They’re losing time, and coming up empty - it’s time for a new plan. 

The Candy Girl is cunning, and cold, after all. Meticulous. She wouldn’t be the type to just leave something where anyone could find it… Maybe. Looks like they’re playing Mystery Gang on this one.

MAKE A CHOICE: FAILURE. THE GANG HAS SUFFERED A TIME PENALTY DUE TO THIS ACTION. IT WILL NOW BE HARDER TO GET OUT.

THE NARRATOR: Looks like they're going to need clues to get out. Noah  stays focused on the sharpie scribbled riddle in the ‘zine while Mac and Caria raid the room for something useful. Not so useful, but strange enough to take note of? A cherry red briefcase, shoved into one of the dusty, storage lockers. Not only that… but maybe there’s actually more to the note than they thought.

MAKE A CHOICE: TRY THE CODE. 

NOAH: This was it. The first interaction with the allusive Candy Girl since the night of Lux's funeral but instead of having them all making out with one another she was sending them on some wild goose chase. Noah could barely control the slight trembling in his fingers as he attempted to put the code into the briefcase they'd found. Normally such steady hands with a pen couldn't find peace as he recalled the box that had arrived at his door only a week before. MAKE A CHOICE: WRONG CODE. SORRY.

MAC: Mac wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to know what was inside the briefcase, though his fear of whats inside soon turns into a fear of not being able to get inside as he watches Noah struggle. Quietly he takes the briefcase into his own shaking hands, inputting 2-1-3-4. MAKE A CHOICE: WRONG CODE. SORRY.

CARIA: Caria frowns and puts in 3421.

MAKE A CHOICE: WRONG CODE. 

NOAH: Noah took the box again and worked the numbers until they read 3-1-4-2.

MAKE A CHOICE: SUCCESS.

THE NARRATOR: The briefcase pops open and reveals a coppery key. Someone should probably try it in the door!

NOAH: Hearing the sound of the briefcase pop open came with a strange sense of relief as Noah pulled the key from the briefcase. "Jesus.." He whispered mostly to himself as he glanced back at Mac and Caria and made a point of dad jogging over to the door. The adrenaline still racing through his veins as he tried the key in the door.

THE NARRATOR: The key doesn’t even turn, and just like that… defeat rings through the room all over again. Wait, unless -

MAKE A CHOICE: TURN THE KEY OVER AND TRY IT THE OTHER WAY? [LUCK - HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD]

NOAH: Noah paused, contemplating as he felt the key unwilling to move and made the decision to pull it back out of the door. "It's no fuckin good. They're toying with us. This isn't going to let us out." He said frustration thick in his voice as he shot a look to both Mac and Caria. "Any other hints we missed?"

THE NARRATOR: The sound of the clock ticking in the corner of the room is almost ominous as it continues on in it’s effort; keeping a steady beat to their struggle. They have to get out, or someone gets hurt… They have to beat the clock, but how long did they have exactly? And beyond that - how long would they be stuck down here until somebody found them? 

Maybe the door wasn’t so sturdy. It seemed old enough: they could try to break it down. There’s windows - high up, but windows nonetheless. They could climb it, if they needed to. 

And if desperation really struck? Well, they could always scream for help.

MAKE A CHOICE: HOW WILL YOU GET OUT? BREAK DOWN THE DOOR [STRENGTH], CLIMB THROUGH A WINDOW [FIGHTER], OR SCREAM FOR HELP [CHARISMA.]

CARIA: Caria gives a dubious look to her companions but seems to gather some kind of resolve. "If I could just get up through the window, I could get us out," she reasons with an uncommon amount of confidence to her voice, "Can you hoist me?" And then she tries to climb up with the others' help.

THE NARRATOR: If only Cherry High’s gym teacher could see Caria now! To coach her through the proper hand holding technique they had all learned during rock-climbing week. It’s a noble effort as she makes it halfway up the wall, but as a shelf tips forward, Caria topples backward. In the blink of an eye, she’s on her back in the middle of the room - a loud crack sounding from her shoulder.That’s definitely broken.

The other two crowd their Caria, trying to comfort her - promising they’d get her help as soon as they could. But it’s no use. Nobody knows where to find them; nobody can hear them. And nobody is coming for them.

MAKE A CHOICE: YOU'VE FAILED YOUR PLOT EVENT.

CANDY GIRL: But wait! Who is that handsome boy in the back? Mackenzie Walsh Looks like my favorite boy has another shot. Let’s go, Lover Boy!

THE NARRATOR: Seriously? Fine! They had only been in here for a half an hour - maybe a little more - but somehow it felt like centuries. They were beaten, and broken down… They had fallen right into the Candy Girl’s trap, and like mice in a lab, there was no escape. Maybe. They could always keep screaming for help - but then again, what was the use?

MAKE A CHOICE: LOOKS LIKE YOU GOOFED IT - BUT YOU HAVE A SECOND SHOT. DO YOU ADMIT DEFEAT [SELFISHNESS] OR DO YOU KEEP TRYING TO SCREAM? [LUCK HIGH RISK - HIGH REWARD]

CARIA: There was no point, was there? Some tiny part of Caria insisted it wasn't, and yet it had to be. Her shoulder wasn't even what bothered her most. Even if she could get out (but what reason did she have to have ever hoped she could pull off some heroics?) it was undeniable that whoever was in that box never knew or liked her to the level she hoped. Probably, they blamed her for her relationship with Harvey falling apart, for Casey feeling hurt, for Lux dying. They were not her friends. They were unlikely to even like her that much Caria, who had been unintentionally tearing down others left and right, fostering nothing but ill-will. She felt humiliated, which was bad enough on its own but doubly so heaped in a pile in front of Noah, who probably hated her, and Mac, who probably would shortly. 

Why was she even doing this? How could she go back to the group day after day and pretend she belonged? Even if she swallowed her pride and went through the motions for the sake of retaining her place among them, Candy Girl knew the truth, which meant maybe others knew the truth, which meant she would have to sit there as the villain pushing others to suicide. She's crying. Of course she is. Messy, gasping sobs, as though she's been held too long underwater. "I can't do this. Let's not do this. I can't-" she tries to utter while struggling to breath through her crying, "No more."

THE NARRATOR: Maybe it was wrong to just sit down and let it happen to them, but what were they supposed to do? They were beaten down and broken… they had tried so hard, and failed. Why not just say, fuck it?

Half an hour goes by that feels like an eternity. Their friend quietly crying in pain; anxiety on high. Mac trying not to cry, himself. 

But the sound of footsteps from down the hall piques their interest. The sound of their voices all mix in one as they call out for help, and only a minute later is someone turning a key into the door lock.

MAKE A CHOICE: SUCCESS. YOU'VE ESCAPED… BUT ONLY BECAUSE THE CANDY GIRL GAVE MAC A SECOND CHANCE. YOU WON’T BE SO LUCKY NEXT TIME.

[plush-anon]

SCOOB! Stream of Consciousness Review

Here we are folks - I finally review the originally cinematic, fully CGI animated Scooby Doo Movie (one year later... I did not queue this as I thought I had last June - damn you, Tumblr. I’m not changing much here, so enjoy as it was intended).

Created by a team who have professed their affection for this mystery team and their meddling dog too, will this be a lush experience fit to satisfy any Hanna-Barbera fan? Or will it be a hot garbage cash-grab, littered with Easter eggs and references that do nothing to hide a meatless mess of outdated memes and shallow character development?

LET’S

FIND

OUT

Below this cut is my entire stream-of-consciousness review on the SCOOB! Movie, as experienced. SPOILER warning here - I’m digging into everything, no plot points spared. 

Here we go~

And we start off with a decent shot of the California coastline (looks like the kids backstory is front and center), some 90s hip-hop synthwave song about California, and OH SWEET JESUS THESE MODELS LOOK TERRIBLE

Ahem

Yeah, this is a problem right off the bat - some of these people in the opening shots look remarkably unfinished - think three shades above “Rapsittie Kids: Believe in Santa” level - and the animation on them is less than stellar. 

On the plus side, we do see a fantastic variety of ages, sizes, and races - there’s a brief blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Sikh man on roller skates playing a sitar - but when the designs look rushed in the opening shots, it’s not a fantastic sign. At least they’re brief, but it’s hard to see if this is a lower level of the film’s style due to rushed animation, or if they didn’t care to polish it up as much, given that it’s maybe a 30 second scene. 

Still, kudos to actually going for variety in the crowd shots. Minus kudos to making most of the clothes look like Play-doh draped over a Barbie doll. I’m not even kidding on that one, the clothes are super basic and barely have any sign of texture or creasing or even fabric/cut variety. Almost reminds me of the first Toy Story movie’s design for human clothes, yeesh. 

----

Ahh, our first introduction to Scooby Doo at a Greek gyro food stand. That’s foreshadowing right there folks! 😉

Sadly, he is really weirdly animated in his run sequence - he looks out of proportion as he’s running on his hind legs, and the human animation has really bad consistency - some background characters are really janky, while others actually move really nicely. The characters we immediately focus on seem to be pretty smooth at least, but that’s still very strange.

On a side note: Ruby and Spears Sub Sandwich shop. Nice 😁

----

They are reaaaally pushing the super over-the-top dramatic music for a bike cop chasing a dog that stole gyro meat

Why

It’s not even interesting chase music, just generic super-hyped-up chase music

----

And now we finally get to see a young Shaggy, standing next to a tie-dye food stand called Casey’s Confections that… sells meat. Hm. Guess WB hasn’t learned after all these years 🙄

Unfortunately, I’m not a huge fan of the kid they got to play him, Iain Armitage. He’s not a bad voice actor by any means, but he just doesn’t sound right for Shaggy. I know that as a kid he’d be much less likely to have a cracking/squeaky voice, but he sounds… it’s hard to pin down a word, but - precocious? Darling? Either way it doesn’t quite match, especially given how Shaggy sounds when he grows up via Will Forte. Just… no connection there. 

I tie it down to the particular vocal twangs and nuances the gang usually has. I’ll touch base on that note later I think, once we hit the teenage versions of the gang, but for now I’m just not feeling it. 

----

On the one hand, I empathize deeply with Shaggy and his Spotify’s unsettling ability to pinpoint his insecurities with song choices, and also deeply enjoy that one small gesture where his fingers kind of shake & tighten around his phone while he takes a deep breath to calm himself- it’s a very nice, subtle sign of frustration

On the other hand we just passed two guys with no nipples and an unerring likeness to a Ken doll in those Barbie movies, so I’m distracted by that now

(between this and Fred’s no-nipples in Happy Halloween SD!, is WB just terrified of giving men nipples in animated movies now? what gives?)

Also distracted by the thrifty lesbians who bought those two shirts that come together to make a heart in the middle, on the store’s 2 for 1 day

happy pride y’all!

---

Finally got context for the two sand piles!

Very, very sad context, but still! Progress!

Basically Shaggy’s practicing talking to people in order to learn how to make friends, since he either has no idea how, or has never had a friend before. So he’s trying to learn the right way to do it since his own attempts have failed

And him talking to these sand piles not only counts as practice, but he’s using them so that his mom thinks he’s spending time with friends like he told her

Ow :)

---

So ketchup leather is apparently a thing that exists

I’m learning so much today!

---

Given that Shaggy has no friends at this stage, but he’s still called Shaggy, I’m kind of wondering if that was a mean nickname that everyone called him, but he was just grateful for the interaction/pretended it was from friends, so he kept it 🤔

Actually, take it back, his mother is calling him that. Family nickname, maybe…?

----

Shaggy has Blue Falcon (classic) and Dynomutt funko pops

noice

---

Oof, you can reaaaaally hear the age in Frank Welker’s Scooby voice. Can we get Scott Innes back? He sounds almost identical to his performance 20+ years ago :/

Also talking waaaay too much - even SDMI Scooby wasn’t this wordy, and he NEVER shut the hell up 

----

Okay wait

So Shaggy met Scooby on Halloween day - then met the rest of the gang hours later?

Huh. And here I was thinking it would have been a few weeks minimum 

Although I have to say there is a lot here to work with, if it paces out how I think it does

Shaggy meets Scooby. Bare hours later, he buys him a collar (instead of his mom? weird) and asks him to stay with him, despite not really knowing him. Then, only a couple hours after that, he finally makes some friends… but only when Scooby is with him. 

Given that it looks like the gang are all around the same age in the same neighborhood, there’s a solid chance that they’ve taken classes together at the same school. If none of them met/knew/made friends with Shaggy then, but only did so AFTER Scooby came into the picture, that might lead to the argument we know about later when they split up; afterwards, S&SD go to the bowling alley, then get abducted by the Blue Falcon, plot continues. This could make it seem like they were only friends with him at the start because he had a dog. 

And the brief scene earlier with the music device shows that he tries to tamp down on his anger/doesn’t really address it - could lead to something more later 

hmmmm 🤔

---

Wait what

These two kid bullies just came out of nowhere, stole Shaggy’s candy… and then started on about how Halloween is only a marketing ploy to get companies to rot your teeth and go to the dentist more, before throwing the bag through a window and telling the two that ‘your blood sugar will thank us for it!’

Are - are these the brainwashed children of a Karen? Is that what I’m seeing?

I mean we could have had a Red Herring cameo, but apparently informing children about candy conspiracy theories is more important :/

----

Daphne: It’s Halloween - no one should go home without their candy

FD&V: *none of them have candy/candy bags*

???????

(Wouldn’t it make more sense if the bullies had stolen their candy too? What the hey man)

----

I do find it neat that we actually get to SEE the wires the ‘ghost’ uses to fly in full effect - that’s actually pretty cool, and not really something we get to see up close in older Scooby shows. Most of those just have the bad guy randomly flying about, and the wires revealed after the fact 

---

Actually, given how FD&V react to this ghost almost immediately… have they already been solving mysteries? It seems like it, given how smoothly they move together to capture him

That’s kind of odd in kids. Like, even in PNSD they weren’t perfectly in-sync on stuff

This then leads to the gang solving mysteries together… in spite of the fact that all Shag and Scoob did was hide in the wardrobe that had the stolen goods, while FD&V captured the dude 

Granted, they do ask Shag and Scoob if they wanna join in and say yes, but that seems like an strange jump after what could have been a one-time deal

I just find that a touch odd - esp when they could have had a five minute scene or so of them wandering around the house, touching on some old SDWAY traits. Heck, show that they’re SCARED in some way, and don’t immediately move to tackle what looks like a murderous spirit at age 8-9 or so. Even just showing the kids learning about each other would be enough, but what do I know. I’ve only watched Scooby Doo everything since I was 4 🙄

---

Ahhhh, and now for the updated rendition of the theme song

Where they’re all still kids doing everything the teenage gang did in the theme song

It doesn’t look as good as the OG, though - kind of like a computer game simulating the SDWAY intro using the PNSD kids in CGI. It’s honestly strange to see, and a little jarring - especially when we then transition to the older teenage gang right in the middle

Like, we don’t get to see you guys age through the song as you’re chased by/catch different monsters? That could have been pretty neat honestly - shows how long they’ve been doing this

Tho I gotta admit, seeing the Spooky Space Kook with his OG sound effects is pretty awesome, brief as it waoH MY GOD FRED WHY ARE YOU HAVING A ROMANTIC BEACHSIDE DATE WITH THE MYSTERY MACHINE 

THAT WASN’T IN THE ORIGINAL AND NO ONE ELSE GETS A CHARACTER INSIGHT SHOT LIKE THIS

WHY

----

Huh, looks like Ruby & Spears gave up their subway sandwich shop for a coffee shop

That apparently the gang goes to in order to eat malt shop food

okay?

----

Ah, and here’s where we finally look at the voice acting of the older teenage gang. Buckle up folks, cause I gotta lot to say

We’ll start with Fred, bc honestly? I think Efron actually fits him pretty dang well. He’s got a different cadence from Welker, true, but as far as an update goes? I think he’s a solid fit. Very much in line with the all-American kid that Fred’s kind of been slated as for the past 50 years or so, but updated more for the modern perspective. I call it solid (and possibly a replacement for whenever Welker decides to retire). 

Next? Oof. Velma is, IMHO, the weakest casting. Velma, no matter her voice actress, has ALWAYS had some form of nasal twang to her voice - that’s part of what makes her Velma to begin with, and helps her stand out. Nicole Jaffe, Pat Stevens, BJ Ward, Christina Lange (PNSD), Mindy Cohn, Kate Micucci, Linda Cardellini -heck, even Haley Kiyoko from ‘The Mystery Begins’ and Sarah Gilman from the ‘Daphne and Velma’ movie understood this! They all had that nasal twang to their voice - differing between actresses, of course, but still recognizable as Velma. Gina Rodriguez though? Honestly, it just sounds like she’s acting it straight. Not bad acting at all, by any means - she just doesn’t sound like Velma, and doesn’t seem to be trying to. (Honestly wondering if she was only hired bc she voices Carmen Sandiego in the reboot cartoon for the lolz fun reference! type connection) 

Daphne is sort of similar in voices, but hers is more of a pitch her voice hits - Heather North, Mary Kay Bergman, and Grey Delisle Griffin all have that pitch they hit naturally when speaking. Amanda Seyfried? Does not - in fact, her voice is actually deeper than I was expecting - but it’s not quite as big a difference as it is for Velma. It fits her character type okay, and she does well with it overall.  

And finally, the most controversial one: Will Forte’s Shaggy. 

I’ll go ahead and say this: he’s not Scott Menville levels of bad Shaggy voice acting. If I were to place him on a list, I’d probably put him around Billy West level - kind of sounds similar via vocal tics (voice cracking, likes and zoinks, etc), but his own voice just overtakes the impression he’s seeking to hit. When I hear him speak, I don’t really hear Shaggy; I just hear Will Forte trying to do an impression of Shaggy. 

In comparison: when Scott Innes took over for Shaggy, it was like Casey Kasem’s, just a touch more of a twang to his voice and just a dash over-the-top - but it was still Shaggy, and you didn’t doubt that for a minute.

Same thing for Lillard, but maybe moreso - he was pretty much the most perfect casting for a live-action Shaggy there could be at the time Scooby Doo (2002) was made. Him taking over for Kasem from there made perfect sense: he was honestly the best cast Mystery Inc member of the live-actions, and a lot more recognizable to the general public as Shaggy than Scott Innes was. He could also do different emotions with Shaggy that not a lot of the other voice actors had the chance to do (mainly bc script), so for future stuff they have that flexibility, if they wanted to play around a little more. 

With any luck Forte will get better over the course of the movie, but honestly the casting could have been so much better with Matt Lillard and Kate Micucci. 

----

Shaggy Rogers, evading taxes since 2020

----

siMON COWELL??!? 

WHAT THE

WHY?!?!?

ALSO HIS CHARACTER DESIGN STYLE IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FROM THE REST OF THE GANG WHAT IS EVEN GOING ON?!!?

IS HE SUPPOSED TO BE THE SD CELEBRITY CAMEO

LIKE

IF YOU WERE GOING TO DO A CAMEO FROM AMERICAN IDOL WHY NOT RYAN SEACREST 

HE TOOK OVER FOR CASEY KASEM ON THE AMERICAN TOP 40 WOULDN’T THAT MAKE MORE SENSE

aaauuuggghhh

---

Also he’s there as a potential investor in Mystery Inc as a detective agency

A music industry professional… is interested in funding a detective agency.

Like… did he miss out on Josie & the Pussycats? Is that why he’s here?

----

Wait a minute

Oh noooooo

I know why he’s here

I remember this spoiler

Shit

-----

And once again, here is your reminder to tell Simon Cowell a great big fcuk you

Only this time it’s for making Shaggy and Scooby feel worthless and saying that friendship is worthless and cannot be counted on for anything worthwhile

Simon Cowell: Professional Dickhead

---

Welp, at least this gives a solid reason why they leave: Simon Cowell was being a professional dickhead, and the gang didn’t really say anything against him or interrupt him on his whole ‘Shag and Scoob are worthless spiel’

Or, well... Daphne stepped up some, but more to say ‘they’re our friends!’ rather than ‘that’s entirely wrong, our friends aren’t worthless!’ Better than nothing, but yeesh

----

Ahhh, Takamoto Bowling - the emptiest bowling alley in the evenings this side of Coolsville 

(no seriously, the past few times my dad has taken my sister and me bowling pre-pandemic, no matter the day or time? it’s ALWAYS got more than 6 lanes of people there, what the heck)

Also Scooby wears three bowling shoes, which honestly makes more sense than I thought it would - that pup goes spinning and sliding every which way on a normal floor, bowling alley floors would be like ten times worse

----

here’s a nice little detail - when Scooby sees one of the bowling pins peek out with red eyes and he yells that to Shaggy, Shaggy actually squints and walks closer to see if it actually does have eyes

aww

----

Huh, okay 

Panicked Will Forte Shaggy actually sounds more like a good Shaggy voice than normal talking Will Forte Shaggy

I can dig it

---

Still kind of underwhelmed by the Shag and Scoob disguise scene - wouldn’t it make more sense to have them like, dish up hot sauce or something on a plate that nonsensically makes the robots overheat before they discover their ruse?

Idk, maybe they’re off their game after Simon ‘Dickhead’ Cowell

---

Carlton Way - must be named after Fred’s only other voice actor, Carlton Stevens of PNSD

Also Hanna’s Barber Shop is next to Barbera’s Pizza! Cute.

And… Pitstop’s Pink Perfume ad. Wait, who is that? *assorted googling noises*

...ahhh, Penelope Pitstop from Wacky Races! Who, according to Wikipedia, was revealed to have Greek ancestry in the 2016 Wacky Raceland comic book, having been born on the island of Aegina

Now I’m wondering if we’ll see her in this too, given Cerberus...

----

Honestly kind of fascinating to see the gang with a police radio in their van

Also fascinating to see that only main characters are allowed clothing variety and texture/creases/folds

---

it’s actually really sweet to see Fred, upon hearing that Shag and Scoob are likely in danger, immediately makes a 90 degree turn in traffic

---

It looks like they changes Dee Dee’s name a hair - now it’s Dee Dee Skyes, instead of Sykes

It works well for the Falcon aesthetic, so that’s cool

----

Shaggy, after Dee Dee tells them that Dastardly’s trying to kill them: Scoob, someone thinks we’re important enough to *mimes slitting throat*!

Scooby: It’s nice to be wanted.

Excellent! This movie has captured Shag and Scoob’s blasé attitude towards death! Now we’re onto a solid Scooby film :D

Dee Dee: Hmm, I hear that!

And they even have a friend to share in their attitude! Splendid!

----

Christ, I can work photoshop better than Blue Falcon can, and I don’t even know how to use photoshop

I will give major kudos on his costume tho - it maintains the important elements of the OG Falcon, while still updating it with more bird-related aesthetic, like the feathered appearance of parts of his costume, the split cape resembling the tail feathers, and the talon gauntlets & boots. neat!

---

Yooo, Dynomutt, I thought secret identities were still a thing with Superheroes, what the hey are you doing giving it out to a duo you literally just picked up behind a bowling alley

Ngl, I’m kinda hoping we get some scenes where Dynomutt messes up a little like in the OG cartoon - this one feels really serious, which is kind of strange

---

Okay now I want to see older!Blue Falcon come in for a cameo

Mainly bc I’m getting the feeling that this one is a major dumbass, and not in the fun and friendly himbo kind of way 😑

---

Wait, THAT’S our first look at Dastardly? That’s a bit abrupt, isn’t it?

Also his ship must be pumping thousands of gallons of toxins into the air, that smoke cloud looks hideous. Forget logging into his mom’s Netflix account like the trailer said, EPA should probably be hunting him for sport with a laser cannon, jesus fcuking christ

---

Honestly kinda want a plane you can pilot like a motorbike now

---

Welp, it looks like we have a fun, mustache-twirly, puns-aplenty, loves-to-be-bad kind of villain on our hands folks! This is gonna be FUN AS HECK

---

Eurgh, this scene - the super-stiff-but-stretched-out ‘yeeurgh’ faces really squick me for some reason, but I can’t really pinpoint why

---

I have decided I highly dislike the Brian Blue Falcon, or Brian Falcon for short, and would like to see Dastardly tie him to some railroad tracks

---

North St for Heather North, and… wait… Funland Carnival? Like where Charlie the Robot hung out?

Apparently that’s in Romania.

A very yellow-greenfilter Romania at that.

 Like, I’ve seen blue washes on movies trying to portray evening in the middle of the day so they don’t actually have to shoot at night, but yellow? That’s normally used for deserts and hot days and uhhh 

NOT for evenings in a country with landscape like THIS

odd

(I mean I guess they got the mountains and trees right, but still. Yellow filters make a place look arid, which Romania is Not, to my knowledge)

----

Dude, Brian Falcon is such an idiot even Shaggy and Scooby, commonly portrayed as the idiots of Mystery Inc, look at him like he’s a moron.

(They are Not Amused.)

Also Brian Falcon is an absolute coward. That’s new. Even Shaggy and Scooby face off against the robots directly in a Whack-a-Mole game and destroy some. Dude, get your head in the fcuking game already, yikes

--

Woah, Laff-a-Lympics, Wacky Races, Hex Girls, The Banana Splits, Penelope Pitstop, Space Stars, Posse Impossible, and Hong Kong Phooey easter eggs in one shot

Geezus

--- 

Another nice moment: when cornered by Dastardly, Shaggy moves to stand in front of Scooby to protect him

---

Dastardly (to Shaggy): I don’t care about YOU. You’re not REMOTELY important!

*proceeds to shoot Shaggy THROUGH the ceiling and up into the highest car on a Ferris Wheel where Brian Falcon is hiding like a man baby*

Welp, so much for a fun and zany villain. Time for this Plush Anon to kill a bitch *cocks shotgun*

I will, too - kudos to the animators for hurting me so badly with the face Shaggy made right before being shot because

OW

---

Ehehehhehe, yess, the infamous ‘Dick’ scene

Dastardly: No, I’m a DICK. With a D!

You sure are, you sack of dildos with a D!

This scene had to be put in on purpose - if this had been released in theaters, I just know the adults would be dying in laughter 🤣🤣🤣

----

Shaggy: Brian, do something! 

Brian Falcon: Like what?

Shaggy: Like, drop some F-Bombs!

love it 😂

---

Is it like movie law now, that if there’s an action scene with a Ferris Wheel in the background, it has to fall off and roll down a mild incline like a wheel? Because it kinda feels like it

---

Aha! Dastardly said his drats! Perfection.

Now to shoot him through a ceiling to make them matter even more :D

---

OOF. 

Well that hurt. 

Poor Shaggy - basically internalizing now that he’s the worthless one and weak link of the group now that Scooby is considered more important

---

Holy fcuk I’m crying

Shaggy just broke Brian Falcon down to his deepest insecurities without even trying while talking to him

He even used the words ‘imposter syndrome’ 

Shaggy hon, you’re the best

----

Oh hey, Fred, Daphne, and Velma! It’s been a while since we saw you guys again, what are you doing?

Arguing about the metric system and realizing that Shaggy and Scooby reminding them to eat periodically helped them keep a clearer head...

And using the word ‘hangry’.

But then looking through a ridiculously cute photo album of the two and a video the gang took together (the video is honestly really heckin’ cute, 10000/10 would recommend)...

And then getting pulled over so Fred can have a brief ‘oo-la-la’ montage about the pretty blonde cop who honest-to-gods looks like a Barbie doll.

Where Daphne then describes how ugly Dastardly is...

Right before the petite blonde cop who’s maybe like 5’7” at best rips off her outfit to reveal it was Dick Dastardly this entire time, all 7ish feet of him.

And then kidnaps them all along with the Mystery Machine while he makes terribly fun dorky puns

…

...SO BACK TO SCOOBY AND SHAGGY...

---

...where Scooby is making kissy faces in the mirror while wearing his Blue Falcon uniform

Hrm, that’s not really better is it

We actually see Shaggy reading (OG) Blue Falcon’s autobiography, and making hurt but snide comments about Scooby’s ego

Which are actually pretty clever tbh

-----

Cooooooongratulations, Fred Jones! You are now officially a full-on himbo!

----

Alas, poor Daphne. While your knowledge of the tropes of your show might have served you well in other places, this was to be a theatrical release once upon a time, and so such knowledge falls to ruin.

----

You know, I just realized - we’re never really told HOW the Cerberus skulls work, both in how each skull can be used to find the others,  and, presumably, in releasing Cerberus itself. We’re given a brief glance-over of Scooby’s ancestry (and I mean REALLY damn brief), and a quick mention that these are supposed to be Cerberus’ skulls being stolen, but… that’s it. Nothing else is given. 

Now, I read the first few chapters of my SCOOB! Junior Novelization, and it actually went into further detail about the skulls themselves and what Dastardly’s initial plan was early in the book - open the gates of Hades and obtain the seas of treasure therein. It acted as an introduction both to the climatic endgame we’ll face at the end of the movie, and to Dastardly, who uses the same disguise trick he used as the Barbie cop when he stole the first one in South America. 

(They actually DID plan to use this as Dastardly’s intro, but cut this… 3 minute scene for time. Yeah. See below video for the details - honestly think they should have kept it in. Saves time later and definitely more show than tell, compared to what we got)

I feel like that would be a better introduction to him than the one we got - hell, it would have fit in quite neatly after the revamped theme song montage. They could have the scene with Dastardly finding/stealing the first skull as an introduction (as above), then have him answer a call or something. Exposit openly “You found the key! Excellent! Now where are we going next?” 

THEN cut to the diner/coffee shop scene we had earlier. We still wouldn’t know exactly what the key was/entailed off the bat, and they could still have FD&V find out on their own - maybe by hacking the little robot instead? IDK.

---

The final skull is on Messick Mountain.

Cute.

On a side note, I do love how Dastardly’s ship interior looks - very dieselpunk

---

Velma just hacked into Dynomutt… somehow, and I finally get my wacky Dynomutt shenanigans!  Hazoo!

...sadly that was really dang brief. Realistic, yes, but still too brief. 

---

Eyyyy, we finally get the whys of why Scooby is needed! … really dang fast. 

Also Fred says Jinkies. 

----

Hey, Muttley popped up! In a shrine… to his demise… that we find out he reached when Dastardly pushed him forward into the Underworld to steal the treasure of Alexander the Great in a portal he rigged up… only for both of them to find out it was a one-way deal unless they used the key to be able to come back. The key, of course, being Scooby Doo, descendent of Peritas, Alexander’s dog. 

Eh, workable enough-ish. It’s interesting to see that Dastardly, despite how much he disliked Muttley in the older cartoons, still cares about him to a certain extent. 

---

Pfff, Fred’s a poor man’s Hemsworth XD

---

Sweet, we’re in ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’ now!

---

Um

O W W W

You guys really had to do the ‘me or them’ thing with Shaggy and Scooby… and tHeN hAvE sCoObY cHoOsE tHe FaLcONs?!? Just because they said he was important as “the key” and gave him a spandex costume.

Over at least 7 years of friendship. 

Booooooooooooo

---

actually no I’m Not Done Yet

This whole scene is a mess.

Like

Shaggy’s turn was really dang fast… but I can still see how he gets to it. It’s at least a day between Scooby being chosen as a pseudo-sidekick and the island arrival, during which Shaggy’s talk with the main adult (who has taken up the mantle of his favorite superhero) essentially confirms his feelings of worthlessness and leaves him to stew for HOURS on end (on top of another adult, Dastardly, who also calls him “not even REMOTELY important” at the carnival before freaKING SHOOTING HIM THROUGH THE CEILING NO I AM NOT OVER THIS). Tie that to a teenager who also believes his only friends have come to think he’s meaningless baggage, and suddenly his entire support system is vanishing underneath him to one of his former idols without ANY sign of hesitation from Scooby’s part (with the exception of the collar scene, but I don’t think that that means the same to Scooby, given how quickly he bounces back)

Scooby tho… hrm. It could be that he’s clinging to the good feelings Brian Falcon inspires in him (by choosing him as the next possible Dynomutt), as a way to overpower how FD&V hurt him, while also building on how he came to love the duo because SHAGGY loved them so much. But the movie doesn’t frame that up… at all?? At least compared to Shaggy. 

Idk, maybe I’m missing something, but this scene is a mess through and through

Boooooo

----

Scooby: *tries to leap into Brian Falcon’s arms like he did with Shaggy but falls*

Brian: Uh, what are you doing?

Scooby: Rhaggy never missed. 

Damn straight he didn’t

---

oh hey, it’s Captain Caveman

I was wondering when we’d see him.

---

AAAUUGGHH

It’s that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene from the trailers I sobbed over - the one with Shaggy holding Scooby’s collar

Fun fact it actuALLY FADES INTO THE FLASHBACK

THAT WAS NOT A TRAILER THING THAT’S ACTUALLY HERE IN THE MOVIE

OW

---

Oh No

Fred is here, alone, after that whole scene with Dastardly saying he had a use for Fred

...while that’s likely Dastardly in a Fred suit (that sounds creepy just typing it), I’m still going to enjoy this brief but absolutely lovely hug Shaggy and Fred share...

(seriously tho, look at this, it’s a genuinely close, squish-your-lungs-out kind of hug, I love it)

...as well as Shaggy, who's still hurt from his fight with Scooby, immediately gearing up to go help him after hearing Dastardly’s trying to kidnap him.

----

Brian Falcon and Scooby Doo now have to take on Captain Caveman in gladiatorial combat in order to claim the final skull of Cerberus

I love cartoons sometimes

----

Captain Caveman just put the smackdown on Brian Falcon and punched him into the ground up to his CHEST

Then smacked him so far into a wall he cracked the stone around him!

GodDAMN is this satisfying 😆 altho minor question here: how did he gain the rank of Captain? Do cavepeople have a naval force?

---

He just whirled Scooby around his head, then spun him so fast his costume broke off

I may have to look into some Captain Caveman stuff now, that’s fantastic

---

Shaggy and Fred - sorry, “Fred” -  just smashed through to the colosseum in the Mystery Machine

And Dynomutt just fired missiles at Captain Caveman to smash him into an Amigara-shaped hole of himself

I REALLY love cartoons sometimes

---

Oh No

Just as Shaggy starts trying to apologize, “Fred” kicks him in the back, rips off his disguise to normal Dastardly self, and kidnaps Scooby atop the skull, before revealing he destroyed the Falcon Fury jet

New tagline for this movie? Shaggy Rogers and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day

...at least the rest of the gang is back together?

---

Brian Falcon: *Immediately tries to blame Shaggy for inadvertently leading Dastardly to them, while storming up to get in his face*

Fred: *upon realizing BrianF is blaming Shaggy for everything, without a SINGLE moment’s hesitation, immediately leaps in to defend Shaggy and physically push back Brian Falcon several feet*

We stan one Himbo, theydies and gentlethem

Also?

Velma (sneering): What kind of hero blames other people for his problems? *Walks over to comfort Shaggy with Daphne, while Shaggy looks dumbfounded they’re defending him bc he also blames himself for Scooby’s kidnapping*

This. This right here, is the kind of Mystery gang content I wanna see.

I don’t care how the rest of this movie goes now, this scene right here is ambrosia to the Scooby fan’s soul, and therefore makes this entire movie worth it, outdated memes, lingo, and all

---

Cackling rn - Fred and Brian Falcon are in a point-off a la the Spiderman meme 😂

or, more specifically, the post-credits sequence of Spiderverse where they’re arguing about who started pointing first

It gets better when Velma and Daphne try to pull each other off of their pushing fight, and Velma grumbles “Toxic Masculinity” I’m crying

---

WOAH

More super Shaggy stuff here (apart from being flung through a building roof without a scratch) - he pushes apart both groups effortless, and even knocks them back several feet

If we estimate Dynomutt as… we’ll say 450 since he’s made of metal, Falcon at 220, Dee Dee at 160, that’s about 830 lbs on one side

Then Fred, Daphne and Velma on the other (hmm, 180, 150, 130?) would be around 460 lbs

Dang boi

---

Oh honey no, it’s not your fault

But dang if he didn’t get a good message from it, one I’ve done my best to transcribe here:

“I was afraid that... things were gonna change. And they did change. But like, that’s okay! People can grow. But it doesn’t mean that we’re growing apart. Because the one thing that will never change is that Scooby Doo is my best friend! Ten years ago, a little boy made a promise to a stray puppy that he’d never leave him no matter what. And I’m gonna keep that promise! Now it’s time we stopped that mustachioed menace from opening the gates to the {underworld} and letting loose that fearsome {Cerberus}. So what do you say we get out {of here}, and go get my always-snacking, never-lacking, often-napping dog back? Who’s with me?”

Honestly not a bad message for kids. Things will change, people will change, but that doesn’t mean you have to stop being friends. (Obvs real life exceptions apply, but that’s not a bad note honestly)

...shame that that conclusion comes right the FUCK outta nowhere

Like

How, exactly, did he come to this conclusion? WHEN? What inspired him to realize this, what was the impetus for this specific line of thought, that it’s okay for friends to change?

It kinda feels like this should have been either the happy ending speech given after they’ve saved the world, or one at the start of the third act, like if Shaggy arrives when Scooby thinks he’s chased him away and ruined everything, and Shaggy & the gang still save him. And Scooby asks him why he did that - when Scooby tried to change himself to fit what Brian Falcon wanted, instead of treasuring the friend he still had, or maybe why Shaggy reacted the way he did. THEN Shaggy gives the speech we hear, a la:

“I yelled at you because… like, because I was scared. I was scared that... things were gonna change. And they did change. But like, that’s okay! People can grow. But it doesn’t mean that we’re growing apart. Because the one thing that will never change is that YOU’RE my best friend! Ten years ago, a little boy made a promise to a stray puppy that he’d never leave him no matter what. And I mean to keep it!” 

At least that would make a little more sense to me. Again, not a bad speech, but a little rearranging would help to really hit home. 

---

Okay, now we’re back with Dastardly in Greece, and suddenly the background people all look MILES better than the ones at the start of the movie. Did they just forget to polish the first two minutes of film, what the heck?

Also, Dastardly’s ship is literally the entire length of the Greek ruins presented o_O

---

HOLY SHIT THE SKULLS TURNED BACK TIME AND MADE THE RUINS INTO AN ENTIRELY RESTORED PALACE WITH THE GATES OF THE UNDERWORLD BEFORE THEM

They’re also colored a very atmospheric neon arrangement that’s surprisingly quite tasteful ^.^

----

The Mystery Machine can fly now!!! eeheeheeeheeheeheeheeee

----

And so we finally see Cerberus, a massive, towering figure with sharp teeth and pffffffhahahhahaa why are all three heads wearing Spartan helmets

To its credit, they’re also wearing basic body armor, wrist guards, tail spikes, etc, but the helmets are killing me 🤣 who thought to stick that onto the dog? Did Hades forget to remove the armor after winning the Gods’ Pet Costume Contest, or was it like that horse in the ATV costume - it felt safer so it didn’t let anyone take it off?

Or was this a precaution against Herakles coming back? These are questions - hilarious, hilarious questions 😁

---

Awww. Scooby immediately runs to the battered Mystery Machine to rip the doors open for the gang!

And… wait. THIS is where that wonderful hug was in the trailers? I thought that was at the end of the movie when everyone was safe!

This now does not bode well. But we’ll worry about that later. Time to enjoy this gorgeous wonderful hug of the entire gang, and Shag and Scoob apologizing to each other for fighting 🥰

Yet another scene to make the rest of this movie worth the rest

(halfway wanna frame this shit and put it on the wall, it’s that lovely)

----

Fantastic! Dastardly is now in Hell, where I’ve been wishing him this entire movie! :D

And dang… he actually apologizes to what he believes is a dead Muttley. Who is, naturally, snickering at all of this. The two bicker predictably, but eventually hug and make up, too happy to see each other to resort to old habits. Honestly a nice little scene, all-in-all. 

---

Back to the gang and they’re doing the glowy eyes in the dark bit! I actually haven’t seen that in a Scooby movie forever, it’s neat.

Also Fred is now going full Liam Neeson over his van, war paint and all, using the tire cover as a shield and… holy shit. 

HOLY SHIT

THE ASCOT IS BAAAnnnnnd it’s gone. Boy, that was… short. 

Fred just ran full-tilt at Cerberus, screaming like a mad man, before getting flicked away by its big toe, and losing the ascot and makeshift shield. It punched so hard his facepaint came off

It was fun while it lasted y’all

---

Heyyy, Shag and Scoob just came up with the plan, and it’s actually solid! I’m so proud, and so is the rest of the gang! Also willingly going to distract Cerberus while the rest figure out how to close the gate and stuff Cerberus back in

I love my boys 😊

---

Annnnd there goes Brian Falcon like the coward he is

To… call his dad? And admit he isn’t a hero.

Only for Dynomutt to point out Shaggy and Scooby are taking him on and are terrified. 

This then cuts to Shaggy and Scooby running around in a chariot and gladiator wear, running back and forth a la the door gag from Cerberus to the OG SDWAY theme

I think I love this movie

(although they’re hinting at Dynomutt being resentful of OG Blue Falcon essentially abandoning him to his incompetent son, and I really wish it had been touched upon more

that’s actually rather heartbreaking, when you stop to think about it, and there’s a lot that could be done with an additional two minutes of screentime) 

---

Huh, another good message for kids: it’s okay to fail and be scared, so long as you keep going and try to do what’s right.

Two good messages for kids in one movie. Not too shabby, on the whole. 

---

Brian Falcon just flew in and punched the three-headed dog, then jumped into its mouth as it tried to eat Scooby, resisted the MASSIVE JAW STRENGTH, and got them out of there safe and sound

Finally, something heroic!

-- 

I was wondering where Dastardly and Muttley got off to - apparently they’re off to take a money bath.

Aight

---

Shag and Scoob have now convinced the Rotten Robots to turn into bowling balls to knock Cerberus off their feet a la the classic marbles pratfall back into the underworld

That is a sentence I just wrote

----

OH FCUK NO

NO

ABSOLUTELY NOT NO

YOU ARE TELLING US THAT AFTER ALL OF THIS - ALL OF THIS - ONE OF THEM HAS TO STAY IN THE UNDERWORLD TO LOCK THE GATE

THAT OCTOBER LEAKER WAS RIGHT WHAT THE HELL

LITERALLY SO

I mean i know its a kids film specifically Scooby Doo so happy ending but what the literal FUCK

---

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUGGHHH

SHAGGY NOOOO

“Buddy, back when we were kids, you saved me. Now, it’s my turn.”

and he dOES THIS WHILE HOLDING SCOOBY’S HEAD TENDERLY IN HIS HANDS

AND WHEN EVERYTHING REVERTS IT’S JUST RUBBLE AND RUIN AND SCOOBY’S LEFT SOBBING OPENLY AT NOTHING

AND THE GANG ALL COME TO CLING AT HIM AND CRY OVER THEIR FRIEND WHO THOUGHT HE WAS WORTHLESS MOST OF THE MOVIE AND THOUGH THAT THE GANG THOUGHT THE SAME ABOUT HIM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHH

---

WELP, TIME TO COPE WITH INAPPROPRIATE HUMOR

Shaggy: I yelled at my dog, got him kidnapped, and ended up helping the bad guy to open the gates to Hell. Guess I’ll die. 

Dee Dee: Well actually, this is more Dastardly’s fault because -

Shaggy, yelling as he slams his hand against the lock: GUESS I’LL DIE!!!

----

Ah, so the writers wrote themselves into a corner, and the only way out was a Deus Ex Machina (at least, I think I’m using that term correctly…) 

Because to get Shaggy back, a giant statue of Alexander the Great and Peritas appears out of nowhere - literally, since it definitely wasn’t there before - with an inscription Scooby has to read to get Shaggy back.

This would have been a lot more effective if we’d seen it when Dastardly arrived in Greece - maybe even as the marker for where the gate to the Underworld was. Have Alexander facing one way, and Peritas facing the other. You open the gate on Alexander’s side, and come home on Peritas’ side. Having this unfold into the gate gives it more purpose than “magically appears right the fcuk outta nowehere” and you could have a pun with the “backdoor” escape. Everybody wins!

And if that’s too good for ya, how about a brief lingering shot by it at some point as Dastardly flies into Greece, behind where the gate materializes, or directly across from it on the plaza? Maybe have one of the gang kick it after Shaggy leaves, and say ‘This is all your fault! Why would you make something like this?’

It’d still be a magical contrivance, but at least it would make some fcuking SENSE.

(Granted it DID lead to this hilariously ominous shot, so maybe I shouldn’t complain:)

---

Velma: I finally figured out what you guys are! You’re the heart of Mystery Inc.

Me: YEAH BABY! *flips over table* I’VE BEEN SAYING THAT SHIT FOR YEARS AND NOW, I’M FCUKING VALIDATED AT LAAAAAAAAST!

----

Shaggy: *rips off Dastardly’s face to reveal…*

ALL: SIMON COWELL??!?

Me, choking on food: I’m sorry WHAT?!?!?

Velma: *takes off mask again to reveal*

ALL: DICK DASTARDLY?!?

Dastardly: Drat! No one ever goes for the double unmasking. 

So I was right all along - Simon Cowell truly was a Dick this entire time.

-----

And so we close on the gang unveiling a Mystery Machine paint job on their official detective agency building, Brian Falcon living the good life as the DJ at their party, the Falcon team gifting a sleek new Mystery Machine to the gang (which honestly looks pretty unique - it’s not the classic, but it is something new that isn’t awful, so kudos there), and the gang on their way to another mystery.

So, at the end of the day is this a good Scooby movie? 

Meh? *waves hand in meh motion* But it definitely had its moments. 

This Scooby film is flawed as heck, no doubt about it - the plot has a MAJOR problem with telling instead of showing, some parts feeling out of order or WAY too short, and of course the deus ex machina ending. I honestly would have loved some more time for their first mystery as kids, where we actually got more character moments/bonding from Fred, Daphne, and Velma as they solved it the more traditional route, as well as not framing FD&V as super duper mystery solvers right off the bat??? 

The stuff with Blue Falcon isn’t AWFUL, per se, but it is ridiculously satisfying to see him get smacked around. Captain Caveman was honestly one of the funniest bits in the movie, same with Dynomutt. 

As far as the character stuff? It all felt fairly natural, progression-wise. Shag and Scoob don’t have this big break-up with the gang - they’re hurt by the literal Dickhead’s comments the gang don’t speak up against, and go to blow off some steam together. Shag and Scoob don’t have this giant blow-up argument - it builds over the film into a hurt spat they both recognize they overreacted to almost immediately. The gang (FDV) go looking for them almost as soon as they leave, and, upon hearing they’re in danger, turn and head towards them to save them, realizing how important the two are to Mystery Inc along the way. They defend each other, help each other, have some of the Best Dang Animated Mystery Inc hugs I ever did see - THIS feels more like the Gang I’ve been waiting for forever to come back to DTV (and in a rough sense, did). While I do wish we’d gotten more screen time of FD&V, what we got wasn’t too bad. 

Weirdly enough, at the end of the day, I’ve actually grown more accustomed to Forte’s Shaggy - it feels like it fits this different style a touch more than I originally thought, and holy hell if I didn’t come close to tears at that ending gate scene, he knocked that one out of the park.  Velma still doesn’t feel much like Velma, but I did get used to it by the end. I kept cracking up at Efron’s Fred, and no complaints on Seyfried’s Daphne.

Jason Isaacs as Dick Dastardly absolutely killed it. Blue Falcon Crew was okay (excepting Mark “The Racist” Wahlburg - it was just him talking, no real effort. You could recognize Wahlburg right off the bat, acting as a goofy douche) and freaking Captain Caveman was awesome. Apparently they combined both Billy West and Don Messick’s recordings for Muttley (awesome!!!), so this may very well be Don Messick’s final role in a Scooby Doo film. 

It got off to a rough start, but ended well enough. The animation was solid, the writing has some unexpectedly clever and funny moments sprinkled throughout, with some pretty fun action sequences on the side. Watching this, I really do believe that the people working on it love Scooby Doo and all things Hanna-Barbera… at least in their own way. 

I ended up buying this instead of just renting it ($5 more, why not) and I am honestly glad I did so. Despite its flaws, it has some great moments with the gang as friends, and I have been Craving That Shit for DECADES

And if these writers/directors ever did another Scooby film? I think I’d be up for giving them a chance - at least so long as we got some more absolutely BEAUTIFUL hugs with the gang

I hope you enjoyed this stream-of-consciousness reaction to SCOOB! (2020)... a whole ass year LATER, admittedly (I didn’t switch my Save Post to Queue, curse my hubris), but hopefully y’all’ve been entertained. Good night everybody!

[elliotxwindsor]

what are three interactions/dynamics that stand out to you for each of your characters?

Ahh, idk if I can do just three but I’m picking the ones that have stood out to me as really dynamic and interesting to see unfold!

Elliot

@cwindsr – Family dynamics make me weak. I love that Cecelia sometimes still views Elliot as he was when they were children in a way. It makes me sad at the same time, though, because he’s not who he was and she knows it but can’t do anything to really help him besides be there for him, which she is. Ily tayyy ty for letting me bring in this trash can of a brother for Cece. 

@rosalinewx – This dynamic is everything. They are both misfits in their own way within their family and I love that Rosaline and him have a rapport with each other where they can poke fun but also be serious. He loves his sister but, of their family, he feels most comfortable with Rose.

@valeriastjames – We love a good bean trying to keep an on-fire trash can out of trouble! He has a mask on and I like that she sort of lets him keep it? But it’s kinda in a knowing “i see u fakin” way, which I love because Elliot is super bombastic and charismatic and people usually don’t notice/let it slide because he’s (usually) entertaining to be around but Val is like “ur a mess” and he’s like oh…i guess….i am? which is always fun to write since it’s not something he realizes often. 

honorable mention: @hvandenbrg – I love how much they don’t like each other. It’s almost more fun to write characters hating each other than getting along and their threads give me life.

Emma

@hvandenbrg – Big bro/baby sis dynamics are always fun, especially since they are so similar and yet so different. It’s always fun and easy to write their threads and has been since day 1. THANK YOU for letting me bring Emms in as his sis.

@italiamira – Already I’m loving how different they are and yet how they compliment each other so well. Friendships like theirs are always enjoyable to write because at first glance, they don’t look like they’d get along at all but then you see them together and realize they’ll fight anyone who comes @ either of them. (tho lbr Emma would be less likely to fight than Italia haha).

@larisms – These. Two. Give. Me. Life. I don’t know what it is about their threads/dynamic but they kind of just flow so easily? And I love that Lara’s so intentional about reaching out to Emma and making her feel part of the gang, it’s really sweet and they just have a back and forth that’s so easy to write ilyyyy.

Amelia

@paxbaldini – The first connection I made with her, G! We love a best friendship that’s over a decade strong and the fact that they give each other shit but have each other’s backs too. Also she loves Mia to pieces so the fact he has a cute kid helps. They’re super easy to write even if I’m a snail in my replies on her lately.

@ethan-grant – We love bad blood breakups. Their dynamic has been one of the most fun to play out, especially because of how it drives home a lot of Amelia’s character and why she’s had trust issues her entire life. It’s also fun to write painful replies so I’ve loved writing these two with you, Rute Rute!

@lawlikecaseywells – Strong female friendships are my shit and I love that Casey and her have known each other for so long. Auntie Amelia would do anything for the bbs and I really like how, in their current thread, Amelia is just with Casey and trying to meet her where she’s at. Sometimes you just need a friend by your side when you’re going through shit and I like that Amelia can be that for Casey, and I’m sure Casey’s been that for Amelia in the past too.

Kit

@andersns & @claudeandrsn – Again. Bad. Blood. It’s so much fun to write and the fact that both of Kate’s sibling hate him is amazing. I am excited to see where these dynamics go and the fact that they are all still grieving, even if they don’t really realize it, is just like * knife in chest * love, love, love it. 

@kngofhell – Brooooos. I love that Elias knew him before everything happened with his wife and kids and that he’s one of the few people who knows what Kit is still going through. I also like how he and the rest of their friends try to get him out of his comfort zone. Everyone needs friends like that and it’s convenient that his happens to own a club hehe.

@aperlman – We’ve gotten approximately like four replies haha but I love seeing awkward Kit trying to be cool on a blind date. I love it when there are dynamics that make your characters uncomfortable but are also so much fun to write because of that!

THIS WAS LONG I’m SO SORRy

[thecomicsnexus]

TMNT #1-4 DECEMBER 2001 - JUNE 2002 BY PETER LAIRD, JIM LAWSON AND ERIC TALBOT

SYNOPSIS (FROM TURTLEPEDIA AND COMIC VINE)

A Fugitoid makes its way across the moon in leaps, passing by Tranquility Base and marveling at how it has stood the test of time. It meets up with an Utrom, and the two discuss their plans to finish completing a large craft and bring these "guests" that they have with them.

In a New York City alley, the Ninja Turtles face an all too familiar scene - carapaces against an alley wall while a street gang - this time, the Madhattan Maulitia - have them cornered. While the four of them are more of a match for the fifteen dullards in the Maulitia, the Turtles decide to take the rooftops as soon as possible to gain some distance between them and their foes. After a moment of reflection, they head on their way, only to find they are less safe than they had hoped, as the Maulitia has somehow followed them up with snowmobiles. After trouncing the Maulitia up on the rooftops and heading back down, Donatello comes across a snowmobile all on its lonesome and steals it. Michelangelo tries to get Don's attention for a ride in the treacherous snow, but his brother doesn't hear him and Mike slips and falls in the street. Moments later, he's hit by a bus, and a costumed character named Magnrok finds him, carrying him into an alley calling someone in to pick him up.

Meanwhile, Don rides the snowmobile into a subway and loses control, crashing it through a wall, where he finds an old, abandoned armored truck.

April and Casey head out to a fertility doctor, while Shadow trains with Metal Head. After their sparring session, Shadow worries about the outcome of the appointment. Splinter dismisses it as the impatience of a teenager, but Shadow has a premonition that big things are in store for the entire world.

Michelangelo wakes up in an ambulance to find paramedics working on him. He freaks out and tries to escape, but the paramedics warn him not to open the door. Mike pays no heed to them and does so anyway, instantly falling out and finding that the ambulance is flying. Michelangelo holds on to a handle to prevent himself from falling, but he is still dizzy and injured and loses his grip. Fortunately, a flying superhero, Raptarr, happens to be in the area and catches Mikey as he passes back out. Raptarr returns him to the ambulance.

Leonardo and Raphael return to the lair, with Raph complaining about how cold he is. Leo turns up the heat and offers to make Raph some hot chocolate, and discuss The Jones' decision to try for a child of their own. Leo then asks if they should look for their brothers, they haven't seen since the scuffle with the Madhattan Maulitia. Raph declines due to the weather and suggests Mikey's having the time of his life in the snow anyway.

Mikey wakes up again, this time strapped to a hospital bed. A woman on a video screen insists he stay put, but Mike just wants to get out of there. The woman says he's free to leave as long as he checks out at the front desk, and that his effects are in a nearby closet. He wonders aloud why the staff hasn't freaked out due to him being a mutant turtle. It is at this moment that Mikey sees that the patients at this hospital are a little out of the ordinary, consisting of various costumed adventurers and non-humans.

A Doctor Singh approaches Michelangelo with some orderlies and tells him he needs to return to his room. Mikey refuses and begins to fight with the orderlies, before they are interrupted by a man approaching in a wheelchair - the Turtles' old friend Pat, aka Zippy Lad of the Justice Force. Pat takes charge of Mikey and lets Singh and the orderlies be on their way, explaining to the turtle that he is in Kurtzburg Memorial Hospital, a special hospital for aliens, heroes, mutants, and other oddities, and one of only three places like it in the world. Pat happens to be on the hospital's board of directors and saw Mike come in while he was at a budget meeting, and vouched for him. Pat convinces Mike to get back in bed and rest up.

Back at the lair, Donatello rushes in, excited, and coaxes Casey and Raph to follow him to a discovery he's made. Leo stays behind so he can watch Junkyard Wars in peace. Don leads Raph and Casey to the abandoned armored truck he'd found, and the three of them examine the vehicle, taking notes of what would need to be cleaned and fixed to get it running again, and finding the moldy corpses of some apparent robbers inside, including a skeleton in the back wearing 1970s garb and still holding onto a gun. Don and Casey leave to get some batteries and cleaning supplies, leaving Raph to bemoan being stuck there with the "dead guys".

Shadow leaves for a clandestine rendezvous with her boyfriend Jay, while Splinter worries for her safety in the snow. When she meets up with Jay, she suggests that they go to the Jones Farm and warm up by the fireplace, but he reminds her that it's supposed to be abandoned and the last time they were there, someone called the police on them. Instead, he pesters her about going back to her place and meeting her "famously reclusive grandfather", which she turns down.

Meanwhile, on the moon, the Utroms accomplish another phase on their mysterious plan.

In the jungles of Venezuela, a research team discovers a strange life form. Meanwhile, in the Big Apple, Casey, Raph and Don get the abandoned armored car running, much to the dismay of the local New Yorkers. Master Splinter and Shadow are enraptured by the television coverage of an invasion of Unidentified Flying Objects.

The Utroms finally reveal themselves to the word in a very public display. Karai fantasizes facing the turtles in battle while her aid keeps her updated on the news about the alien arrival. After watching the tv coverage of the Utroms Michelangelo and Raphael decide to get a closer look when the stumble on a mysterious robot in the sewers.

REVIEW

As I mentioned before, the Archie TMNT comic was my gateway to the world of comic-books. But because of the indie nature of the Turtles, their comics were really hard to get from outside of the US.

As a result, collecting them was frustrating, and in any case, getting all of them was futile. It wasn’t until around 2005, that I started getting TMNT comics for real.

At the time I started with colored collected editions (First), and eventually this and Tales came up, as those were being published at the time. As a result, I got almost all of the issues for both series. I was really impressed, not only by the story, but also by the interaction of Peter Laird with the fans, and how he would keep us up to date with his life. Eventually I started watching the 2003 cartoon (also, not something I had access to at the time it was broadcasted) which was heavily influenced by Peter Laird, and some of its concepts would appear in Tales.

This is a very long story, that as far as I know, it’s incomplete and there is little hope for it to be ever finished. I do hope at some point Peter Laird takes advantage of that “18 issues a year” deal he made with Viacom and make it happen.

While both, Eastman and Laird were fans of Jack Kirby, it is very obvious in this run that Laird may have been even more. Case in point, the “Kurtzberg” hospital sequence. It’s not gonna be the last time we see Kirby inspired things in the book.

When the book starts, we get the idea that there was a time jump since the last time we saw these characters (1995), but when I saw Shadow so grown up, I realized how much time really passed. I mean, the turtles are technically still teenagers, compared to how much turtles live. But they are kind... 30 now?

Perhaps the most significant thing about this run is the Utrom non-invasion of Earth. Whenever I think of Laird’s writing, my mind goes back to this story. The way he looks at sci-fi is very positive (especially considering that the Alien visit happens right after 9-11). In a way, his writing is very similar to that of Jack Kirby, who would often dedicate pages to concepts and ideas that would make life cooler.

Jim Lawson is back, and luck us, he is being inked (and toned) by Laird and Talbot.

Perhaps the main problem with this title is the pacing of the story. As the book is bi-monthly, it takes forever for a ship to land on Earth (7 months). This is not unusual in indie comics, but it makes the first issue a bit uneventful.

I give these issues a score of 8.

[royalbloodedbastards]

chatzy // weed closet pj party

DATE: Friday, March 27, 2020 CHARACTERS: Chase, Jesse, Malia, Alec, Casey, Blue, L, Parker, Jack ABOUT: The Morpheus cabin hosts a PJ Party. Mammals smoke marijuana and Twister ends with a twist.

Chase made sure that all the lights were placed well and all the blanket walls were secure. He picked up a cat from the twister mat and flipped it onto its back so he could hold it like a baby. He unlocked the door and stood to the side, wondering if he should wait there and be a fake psychic that was standing there the whole time or step back so he wouldn’t be weird. He swayed a bit and then walked over to take his cookies from the oven.(edited)

Malia held her mug of hot chocolate in both her hands as she shooed Killer # 1 from pulling at the blanket fort. She followed Chase into the kitchen and smiled. "Any pronoun preference tonight? I don't want you to like, explain yourself if you don't want to."

Jesse was finishing washing the few dishes that had piled up over the day and didn't hear Malia's question to Chase between the sound of the water running and some vague daydreams. As he put the last plate on the drying rack, he turned around and absently pet Killer # 2 on the head, still in his own world.

Chase set the cat down on the counter, pulled the cookies from the oven, and then picked the cat up again as he turned the oven off. He grinned widely at Malia, heart full. “No, no preference. Thanks for asking. Say whatever feels right.” He leaned against the counter. “Did either of you want a cookie? They’re vegan and don’t have nuts, but they do have weed.” 

Malia considered it, then glanced at Jesse. "Want to split one?" 

Jesse tuned in to catch the last part of Chase's offer, once he realized he was being addressed. He smiled at Malia, shrugging one shoulder. "Sure, okay." 

“I’m actually gonna put a note on them to only take half, so y’all might wanna take a quarter.” 

"Oh shit, okay." Malia pulled off half a cookie and then held that half out for Jesse. 

Jesse took it from her. "Thanks. Who're you expecting to come?" he asked Chase. 

Alec let themself into the Morpheus cabin and wandered over to where the three were standing in the kitchen, looking around as they go. "Hey gang! Are there new sheets up in here? It looks swanky. Do those have weed in them?" 

Jack doubted his decision up until the moment he knocked on the door, but he was determined to push himself. "Let yourself blow, Jack," he whispered. After waiting half a minute and hearing voices from the inside, Jack decided to let himself in. "Is this..." The room was much emptier than he expected. "Oh my actual gods," he muttered. "Why am I always so fucking early."

Malia brightened at the sight of Alec and waved her quarter of the weed cookie at them. "Hey! Yes they do." She walked over to Alec to give them a quick cheek kiss and noticed Jack in her peripheral vision. "Hey! You came!" She walked over to him. "I gotta say I wasn't sure if you'd come." 

"Uh, yeah," Jack smiled. "Me neither, TBFH," he chuckled. "It smells like the inside of Martha Stewart's purse in here."

"Oh yeah, Chase made weed cookies." She held out her quarter for him. "Take this, I'll go get another piece for me." 

Chase shrugged. “Um, it was more of a general invite? Alec said they were co–“ As if summoned, they were there. “Hey!” Chase turned his attention to them. “Sure do! But don’t have any eggs, dairy, or nuts.” He turned to Jesse again. “Uh, I dunno who else. Blue, maybe?” 

"Uh," Jack took the quarter cookie in his hand, eyes wide. He hadn't been high before and had no idea this is how the night was going to go. But at the same time, the cooke did smell great... 

Malia noticed his hesitation. "You okay?" she asked. "Oh my gods, did I just peer pressure you? I totally did, didn't I? I'm sorry, you don't have to eat this." 

Jack laughed. "No, I mean, that's fine. I've just never... Done this before? I've always been curious but, like... Just have not." 

Alec beamed at Malia, then bounded over to Chase and Jesse. They scooped up a cookie and broke it in half. "Oh holy mackerel, awesome! You're the fucking best." As they happily chewed away at it, they started petting the cat in Chase's arms. "Can I hold him?" 

"Oh, okay." Jesse closed his eyes for a half second and exhaled when Alec came over, and then put on what he hoped was a polite smile.

"Ah." Malia tapped her lips. "Okay, eat like, half of that and check in with me in like, 20 minutes. We'll just pace you." 

"Okay," Jack brought the cookie up to take a bite. His first was cautious and amounted to nothing more than a nibble. Swallowing the crumb down, Jack thought to himself, It's already quartered, it's probably not that much, and ate the rest of the piece in one bite. "Ugh. Butter makes everything taste so good." 

Chase opened his mouth when Alec took the cookie and then closed it when they only took half. He smiled and held the cat out to drop into Alec’s arms. “I’m gonna go make a sign for the cookies. Can y’all stay here and make sure people don’t take more than half?” 

Casey pushed the Morpheus cabin door ajar and poked his head inside. "Knock, knock! It's your friendly neighborhood drug peddler—I mean girl scout!" Casey held his arm through the door, showing off two boxes of Girl Scout cookies in a little plastic bag.

Alec gave Chase two thumbs up and hopped up to sit on the counter beside the tray of cookies. "You got it! I'll guard them with my life." They hugged Killer # 2 close to their chest. "If anyone tries to take more I'll sic Killer here on them." Jesse looked between Chase and Alec, then rubbed his temple and nodded. 

Malia blinked as he watched the whole quarter go into Jack's mouth. "Or, you can do that, too." She laughed and sipped her hot chocolate, finding it finally warm enough to drink. "It'll be fun! Here, uh, I dunno if you know everyone here?" She walked back into the kitchen. "That's Chase," she said, kissing their cheek as she walked past. "And that's Alec, and that's Jesse." 

Alec waves at Casey from the kitchen with the arm they aren't using to hold Killer. 

Jack rubbed his hands together to get off the crumbs. "I don't know anyone," Jack half-laughed. He waved along as Malia pointed people out, being careful not to make contact. "Uh, hey. I'm Jack. Thanks for inviting me." 

"Oh my gods, kitty!" Casey launched into the room, setting the girl scout cookies on some surface along the way. "Hi kitty," he sang. "You're such a beautiful little mammal!" Casey smiled up at Alec. "And you're a beautiful mammal too, of course." 

Chase smiled at Malia and waved at Jack, then waved at Casey. “Hey Case!” He smiled at Jack. “Ah, Chase.” He shoved a thumb into his chest. “Make yourself at home. It’s real cosy here.” 

Jesse has only ever had one interaction with Jack before, and he isn't too keen to remember it. Still, he smiles at him– this is a better place to meet than on a frozen lake. "Uh, hi. I'm Jesse." He rubbed the back of his neck. "But Mal just said that, sorry." 

Alec held Killer out to Casey so he can pet him, and then they reach out a hand to pat the top of Casey's head too. "Aw! We should make a club. Founding three members right here. There's vegan weed cookies!" They wave at Jack as well. "Hi Jack!" 

Malia moved back into the kitchen to pick up another quarter of a cookie. She popped it into her mouth and kissed Jesse's cheek, too. She wanted to tell Jack that she also invited her brother, but wasn't sure how either person would take the news at the moment, so she refrained. "Should we put on some music?" 

Jack waved and smiled at all the greetings, not sure if he was supposed to respond or if everybody else had just convened before Jack arrived and agreed to be nice to the weird guy. "Uh, yeah. Let's put some music on please." 

Chase sprinted upstairs to grab a pen and paper and wrote “STRONG: TAKE HALF” on it so that people would get the message. He took a moment to rummage around his room and then ran back downstairs so that he could put the sign next to the cookies and hold allergy medication out to Alec. “Thought you might need this.” He leaned against the counter and looked around. He raised his eyebrows and pulled out his phone. “Does anyone have any requests?” He put on Toxic by Brittany Spears. 

"Oh my god," Casey crooned as he stroked the cat. "Cute mammals and vegan weed cookies," he repeated under his breath. His active listening turned off at first contact with the cat and the verbal response was just his way of saving the memory in case it came up again later. 

Jack narrowed his eyes at Chase when Toxic came on. He whispered to Malia, "Is Chase... Gay?" 

"Ooh, yes, put on—" But the music started playing before she could finish her sentence. Malia laughed, slapping a hand over her mouth. "What would make you think that?" she replied quietly, giggling again. 

"Two of the best parts of life," Alec replied cheerfully, breaking off a small piece of one of the cookies and popping it into their mouth. They almost spit it out in their excitement when Toxic comes on and they immediately hop off the counter. "Chase, I would die for you!" 

"Um, do you not hear and see what is happening in front of you?" Jack gestured vaguely in Chase's direction. "I mean, like, it's great. But..." Jack laughed. 

Jesse exhaled a laugh at Chase and leaned back against the counter, crossing his arms over the pastel pyjama shirt he's borrowing from his brother.

Malia laughed again. "Oh don't worry, I see it. Jack, I think me and Jesse are the only straight people at this party right now." 

Chase laughed at Alec and blew them a kiss before looking at Malia. “I can queue up a song that you want!” 

Jack looked around the room, brows furrowed. "Um... Since when?" If what Mal was saying was true, then Jack had to fight the urge not to kick himself for coming out to these events sooner. 

Alec picked up one of Killer's paws in each hands and made him dance along to the song with them.

Casey pulled a pen from his pocket and took a deep hit, watching Alec dance with Killer. "So debonair!"

Alec cracked up and let Killer jump down once he started to struggle. They sneezed three times in quick succession and picked up the allergy medication Chase had given to them a minute earlier. "That's what they call me!" @spexile

Malia laughed. "I mean... since always? But since we've all been aware? A few years." @spexile

"Oh my gods, are you allergic to the kitty?" Casey sat down to let the cat brush by him as he walked away. 

Jack widened his eyes and laughed. "Ugh. Of course. So are there, like, no straight boys at this camp at all because..." Jack's sentence trailed off as he remembered who he was talking to. 

"Nope!" Alec replied as they took one of the  pills. "I'm allergic to all kitties! And everything else with fur. Do horses have fur, or is it hair? Maybe I'm not allergic to horses. I haven't really tested it out, I think they're some creepy." 

Malia raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What do you mean?"

Chase took half of a cookie and nudged Jesse. “What’s up? You look like you’re leaving your body.”

"Huh?" Jesse blinked a few times and turned to Chase, breaking into a smile. "Sorry, zoning out. Everyone looks really nice, yeah? Especially for a pajama party." He ran a hand through his hair, watching Malia as he said this. @caitlin

"Oh my gods," Casey gasped, pushing Killer away. "That's so tragic, I'm so sorry for your loss. I mean, I don't have any cats or pets or anything, but I love being a pet uncle." 

Chase smiled and leaned against the counter. “Yeah, not everyone just wears sweatpants to bed.” He looked at Malia as well. “I really like her robe.” 

"Nothing!" Jack quickly covered up. His eyes scanned the room, looking for something to change topics to, but he came up short. "So, pajamas..." 

"It's horrible," Alec sighed dramatically, their expression giving away how much they were exaggerating their distress. By the time Killer was out of sight, a grin had spread back across their face and they waved their hand. "I used to work in a pet store, I can handle a couple cats." 

Malia gave him a knowing smirk. "Were you going to say something about my brother?" 

"What? Why!" Casey laughed. "That's so masochistic of you but also feels so correct for your vibe and I love that for you." 

"Um, what?" Jack turned red, unable to help the smile forming on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about, shut up." 

Chase sings along to Womanizer under his breath.

Chase also looked around. “Uh, if we don’t all want to stand, we can move to the couches?” 

"Working around animals all the time's a dream come true, eh? But they fired me after four days." Alec laughed. "'Cause I was allergic to everything in the store except the fish." They turned to Chase. "I love couches, let's go!" 

"Okay, I'm pretty sure you'd be super obvious to anyone, but I literally have a superpower about this stuff so don't play dumb."

"Oh my gods, you're incredible," Casey laughed, getting up to join everyone on the couches. "I want the side seat!" 

"Ugh." Jack flushed. "Wait, what do you mean you have a superpower?" 

Chase grabbed the tray of cookies to take with him so that the cats wouldn’t be able to get at them while he wasn’t looking. “Case, I put up the shamrock stained glass.” He smiled and pointed it out to him as they sat down. 

Malia shrugged and finished her hot chocolate. "I have a superpower. I like, know who everyone likes, who everyone is fucking. All that good stuff. I used to think I was just really observant? But I'm pretty sure it's because of my mom. Oh my gods, but my brothers don't have it, before you like explode with embarrassment. Parker is so clueless and if Kieran did have the same thing I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care enough to do anything about it." 

Casey gasped. "Oh my gods!" He went up to the glass to admire the details. "Oh my gods, wait, Chase, now that I'm not drunk, this is actually so good!" 

Jesse waited for Chase to leave the kitchen before he followed. He paused to smile and shake his head at the twister mat in the middle of the room before taking a seat on one of the couches.  

Alec veered away from the couches to go over to the glass as well. "Aw, shit, it is really good!" They looked over their shoulder to smile at Chase. "You have a new calling!" 

"Wait, so, like... Can you tell if someone, like..." Jack didn't know how to phrase the question without sounding pathetic. "What do you think you sense with me and your brother, then?" 

Chase set down the cookies and then turned to lean over the back of the couch to look at where his art was hanging near the window. “Aw, guys, you’ll make me blush!” He nodded sagely. “Drunk art is a talent of mine.” 

L knocked at the door and smiled at Blue and Parker. “This was a good idea for a party!” Parker shrugged. 

Malia hummed and turned toward the sink to start washing her mug. She had a huge grin on her face. "Well, I don't think you need a superpower to tell?" She glanced at Jack. "Let's just say there's a reason I left you two alone on St. Patrick's day."

Jesse got back up from the couch to get the door when the knock came. He opened the door and looked at Parker, then Blue, then L. "Oh, hey. Come in." 

Blue nodded, taking L's hand in hers. She slapped Parker lightly on the back. "It is! I don't know why Parker is being so grumpy about it." When Jesse opened the door, she grinned at him. "Sup." She pushed Parker in ahead of her and followed after him. 

L stepped in and gave Jesse a hug in greeting. “Hi! I hope we’re not too late!” She pulled away and took Blue’s hand again. Parker sighed and stepped in. “I’m not grumpy, I just don’t see the point in buying clothes specifically to sleep in.” He smiled awkwardly and looked at Jesse. “Um, hi.” 

Jesse nodded at Blue and gave L a one-armed hug back before stepping away to give them room to enter. "No, no, not at all." He rubbed the back of his neck and smiled back at Parker. "Hey," he repeated. "What's up?" 

Jack's sheepish grin fell off very quickly as Parker, L, and Blue all walked into the cabin. Breathing deeply, Jack pressed his lips together. After the jacuzzis he had mentally prepared himself for a moment like this, but now in person, his heart and brain still felt like they were operating miles apart. 

Blue wandered into the living room and, of course, Jack was there. She immediately Did Not look at him and instead put her focus on Casey. She rushed over to him. "Fuck yes, we look so good!" 

"Oh my god, trash babies!" Casey squealed and ran over to celebrate with Blue. "What is this recurring mammal theme tonight?" He turned to Alec and called out, "Watch out, we've got some allergens coming through!" 

L followed after Blue and waved goodbye to Jesse. “Oh, Alec, do you need any antihistamines? I don’t have any on me but it’s probably not a far run to my cabin.” She teased. 

His reaction was not quite what she expected, but looking at what he was staring at told her why. She took a deep breath and dried off her hands quickly. "Want me to go get Parker?"

Alec moved to sit on the back of the couch and pretended they were trying to lean even further away from Casey and Blue. "No! Keep them away! Also you guys are cute as all hell, aw." They shook their head at L. "I'm good, I'm good! Chase got me some already." 

Parker shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged. “Um, nothing. Cool idea for a party.” He hoped Jesse hadn’t heard him bitching about it to Blue a moment ago. 

"Oh, yeah, it was Chase's." Jesse cleared his throat and glanced back at the couches. "Yeah."

"Um, no, I mean, he can live his life. it's cool." Jack tried to sound casual but wasn't convinced that he did. 

Blue gasped, clutching Casey as if in need of support to stand. "You're allergic, to mammals?" 

“Oh.” Parker frowned but didn’t know how to retract his statement without sounding like a hypocrite. “Um, Mal said she was here?” 

Jesse relaxed. "Yeah, yeah, just over there. Talking to Jack." 

"I know, right?" Casey confirmed. "It pains my heart and I'm not even involved." Casey shook his head piteously toward Alec.

"I am," Alec responded mournfully. "Like, all of them. Wait." They scrunched their eyebrows together. "Not humans. Humans are mammals? Yes." 

Parker felt the blood drain from his face. He looked over at Jack and made sure that was far away from where Blue was. “Um, did your brother choose the guest list?” 

"I guess?" Jesse shrugged– he's not sure what Parker's really asking, and he has no desire to find out. "I think it was open invite, kind of." 

Malia watched Jack carefully, then checked the time on her phone. "Well, okay, that edible is probably going to hit you in a hot sec. We can just chill in here for now?"

L nodded. “Humans are mammals because we make milk! I’m pretty sure you’re just allergic to, like, fur an dander though. But, actually, going back to the milk thing...” she squinted. “I guess you are... allergic to all mammals.” 

"That was a gross sentence!" Alec said to L, brightly.Casey fiddled with the ears of his onesie. "Dude... That's so rough," he laughed. 

Blue laughed and kissed her girlfriend's head. "You're so fucking cute." She turned back to Casey. "So, I was told there was weed? Where's that?" Jack nodded. "Uh yeah. I mean," Jack looked for a place to sit on the floor. "How do I know when it happens?"

“Ugh, okay.” He frowned again and looked at the two groups of people, and then made his way over to Jack and Malia when he made his decision. “Hey. Hi.” He smiled at them a bit. 

"Oh, you'll know." She looked to Parker when he walked over and smiled. "You came! Hi." 

L laughed. “I know! I regretted it as it was coming out of my mouth!” She smiled at Blue and tugged at one of her raccoon ears. “Says you in this.” 

Jack smiled at Parker as he walked over. "Hey!" Jack noticed that the question he had just posed Malia was echoing now in his brain. How do I know when it happens? 

Parker took a seat near Jack. “Hey,” he repeated and shrugged at Malia. “Yeah, Blue invited me.” 

"That's cool," Jack mentioned a little too quickly. "Mal invited me." Jack felt a tingle slowly rise up his spine and a smile started forming on his face. "Yeah," he chuckled. 

"And so did I! Jerk." She crouched down so she could look at the both of them more easily, smiling despite the weirdness between her and her brother right now. She watched Jack's smile slowly travel across his face and then looked back to Parker. "I was just telling Jack that he might start to feel this edible soon. He took a quarter of one so it should be fine, though." 

"Ah, c'est la vie," Alec responded to Casey (on time) and stroked an imaginary beard to give the impression of wisdom. "You can quote me on that." 

Blue giggled and pressed her mouth to L's neck briefly. She came back upright and slung her arm across her girlfriend's shoulders. "Very wise," she said to Alec. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that before." 

Casey scampered away from Blue and L to give them space, taking a seat beside Alec on the couch instead. "Is this distance okay? You'll let me know if you get allergic to me?" 

“Oh. Yeah.” Parker flushed. He’d mentioned Blue inviting him to get at Malia and hadn’t even thought of Jack in the moment. He frowned at her. “You gave him an edible?” He tried not to sound too judgemental. 

"Thanks! I should put it on a t-shirt." Alec grinned at Blue. They slung an arm around Casey's shoulder and leaned against him. "I'll let you know by sneezing on you, does that work?" 

Jack shrugged. "I took it, she didn't peer pressure me." With each wave of static rising up his back, Jack felt his smile grow wider and wider. "This is... Great." He laughed. 

Malia sighed. "I gave him a quarter of an edible, and told him to eat half of that to take it slow. Jack," she smiled at him, more teasing this time, "decided to eat the whole thing. But I promise, it's fine. You look very chill, Jack." 

"Yes, that's wonderful, right into my hand." Casey cupped a hand under Alec's chin, pinching their nose twice in the process. 

"Ugh, shut up, I literally look the same." Jack grinned goofily. 

L blushed and nodded at Alec, though she hadn’t really been paying attention to what they were saying. She took a seat on the couch. “Were you asking about something, babe?” 

Parker squinted and then hummed in acknowledgement at Malia and then looked back at Jack, and then at the floor. “You do. I’m actually surprised you’re not wearing a power ranger’s suit, since it’s a pajama party.” 

Alec scrunched their nose up after Casey pinched it and shook their head like a wet dog. "Gross!" they laughed. "Is there enough like, DNA in that to clone me if I do? I feel like I talk about cloning a lot. Maybe I just talk about everything a lot." 

"Um, you told me that we were never gonna talk about that again." Jack pointed at the ground in front of Parker. 

Malia tucked her hair behind her ear and stood. "I'm gonna go say hi to everyone else. I like, barely spoke to Alec since they got here." She winked at Jack and then lightly squeezed Parker's shoulder, even though he wasn't looking at her. She walked away from them and wandered over to Jesse, grabbing his hand as she moved to his side. "Hey."

"Yes you do, but so do I." Casey leaned into Alec's embrace and kicked his feet up onto the couch. He pulled his pen out of his pocket and took another hit before holding it out to Alec. "Do you want some of this? It's CBD." 

Jesse had been caught between heading back to the kitchen or sitting by Chase on the couch, so he relaxed when Malia approached and gave him something to do besides examining the shamrock stained glass. "Hey," he replied, squeezing her hand with a smile and turning to face her fully. 

Parker laughed and ducked his head. He looked back at Malia, smiling a bit as she walked over to Jesse, then shook his head at Jack. “No, no. I promise, my lips are sealed. It was just too perfect to not bring up right now.” 

Blue dropped onto the couch and pulled L a little closer to her. "Oh, I was gonna ask about the edibles, but I think they're in the kitchen and uh, someone is in there." She looked around, frowning when she didn't see Parker. "I don't want to make it weird so I'll just— Oh! Casey," she rolled her head over so she was looking at him, now. "Can I have some too? Pleaaaaase?" 

"Okay, but actually," Jack leaned it. "If I got like, not a morphsuit, but a headless one? Like a turtleneck with gloves? Would that be weird? Because I feel like it could be like, a thing?" Jack cackled. "Oh my gods. Wow. No sorry, I heard it as I was saying it." 

Alec was beginning to feel the edible kick in. "Yell heah," they sighed happily and took the pen, settling against Casey more. "You are an angel and also so comfortable I never want to move again. But hat could also be the, uh," they waved a hand around. "–decor? Yeah, the decor speaking. It's so cozy in here!" Alec passed the pen to Blue. 

Chase blinked out of his momentary suspended animation and looked at the people around him on the couch. “Oh, uh, Blue, the edibles are here.” He smiled and pointed at the coffee table. “Didn’t want the cats to be able to get at them.” He blinked again. “Also, hi!”

Malia could feel the edible hitting her slowly, and she smiled up at Jesse easily. "I," she said a little smugly, "stopped a potential disaster. Jack is safe and stoned in the kitchen." 

L nodded approvingly at Chase not wanting the cats to consume drugs. She backtracked when she thought of who she might have seen in the kitchen. “Ah, good idea.” 

"Yeah, Blue, just take it," Casey waved a hand nonchalantly. "Um, don't take my comfiness away and credit it to inanimate objects! I'd like full recognition for everything you're feeling right now, thank you." Casey pulled his feet onto Alec's lap and nuzzled his raccoon hooded head into Alec's neck. "If they're gonna be cute on that side of the couch, then so are we!" 

Parker tilted his head to the side, a smile spreading across his face. “No, no, please let me hear about this thing.” 

"Oh shit, I'm blind," she said, laughing. "Okay wait, I don't want your pen." She grabbed a half of a cookie and started to eat, then snuggled back into L's side. "It is a good idea. I have a lot of them, surprisingly."

Jesse didn't bother glancing at the kitchen to check, too busy smiling at Malia. He rested his free hand on the side of her arm. "I guess that makes you the resident peacekeeper." 

Chase picked up the nearest cat since everyone seemed to be pairing off. He looked at Casey and then at Blue. “Are you guys matching on purpose, or was this a coincidence?” 

"Ugh!" Jack cackled again. He wasn't sure if he could feel his face turning red or if that was just the high. "I was thinking like it'll be like a turtleneck but with the morphsuit hands. And I could just wear it under what I normally wear and it would just look like gloves, but then I could like, poke your face or hold your hand or something stupid like that, blah, blah. Ugh," Jack pulled his face down with his hands, half laughing, half whining. "What am I right now?" 

Alec wrapped both of their arms around Casey fully now. "I take it back! You can have 110% of the credit." They rubbed their cheek against the top of his head. "You're saying we're not always cute? I'm betrayed!" 

L moved so she could put her arm around Blue. “That’s not surprising! You had the idea about the solar panels!” 

"Literally just a coincidence, I don't even know this woman," Casey called out to Chase, scowling at Blue. "And nooo, we are! Sh, shh." Casey gave Alec a reassuring stroke on the back of their head. 

"Oh shit, you're right!" Blue laughed as she swallowed the rest of the edible. At Chase's question, she leaned over and flicked Casey's head. "Don't lie because I look better than you!" 

Malia flicked her hair over her shoulder. "Oh, me? What an honor! Glad to be of service." She leaned a little closer to him as she laughed, lifting her hand to pull at his shirt. She thought better of it at the last second and lowered it again. "Everyone is on the couch, should we like, actually use the blanket fort?" 

Parker felt his chest swell and pressed his face into the cupboard next to him to try to cool his cheeks down at least slightly. He pressed his palm into his mouth to keep from smiling too much and to keep down a small, strangled sound at how cute Jack was. He covered it up as a cough and nodded at Jack, face still against the cupboard. “Wanna hear something lame?” 

Alec flopped backwards when Blue leaned over so they were half twisted and lying over the arm of the couch now, still somewhat entangled with Casey. "I hate it when you fight!" they said with a laugh to the two of them. "Not in front of the children!"

Jack sighed, smiling at Parker. "Please. Let me be the not lame one for like, two seconds," he laughed.

Chase laughed and put his hands up. “Woah, woah, calm down everyone, didn’t mean to start anything. This is actually a zero violence household, so I’m gonna have to ask y’all to cool it, you both look great in your fursuits.” 

"Aye!" Casey flinched in exaggerated offense when Blue flicked him. "Don't you flick me!" Casey swatted Blue away, his other hand grabbing Alec's shoulder to keep himself steady. "I'm the good parent!" Casey protested to Alec and Chase. "She literally started it." 

L pressed her hands to her cheeks and fake-sobbed. 

Parker spoke quickly so he couldn’t stop himself. “I brought plastic gloves with me from work so that maybe we could hold hands on Saint Patrick’s day, but I didn’t know how to bring it up.” He leaned back on his hands. 

"Sure." Before letting go of Malia's hand so they could move, Jesse ducked his head to lean closer to her so he could still be heard. "You really look amazing tonight." 

Jack closed his eyes. His body was frozen still, but a huge smile grew on his face. "Wait... Are you... Being serious?" 

Alec pretended to wipe tears away. "This is the way the world ends, this is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with raccoon fisticuffs on a chesterfield." 

“Ugh.” The cabinet wasn’t even cool anymore. Parker sighed. “Yeah.” 

“Yeah, and I’m finishing it.” Chase did his best to sound serious and not to laugh, but utterly failed when Alec spoke. “Not with a bang, but with the most Canadian sentence I’ve ever heard in my life.” 

"Yo, I have no fuckin clue what you just said, but yes." Blue turned a exaggeratedly mean face to Casey. "You're going down, Casey." 

Casey threw his head back laughing at Alec's lament and wrapped his arms around Alec's shoulders again. "Raccoons are very vicious, I can't help it. We fight to the death, we eat trash, and we loan out money for desert island real estate." Casey stuck a tongue out at Blue. "Try me, Nook." 

"Do not insult me like that! Nook? The evil capitalist scum? You're really dead for that." She disentangled from L just to get close enough to flick Casey between the eyes, then moved back to her spot. "Try me again." 

Jack felt like simultaneously melting and fizzing up like a bottle rocket. "You don't like..." He drew a circle on the floor between them with his finger. "Have them right now... Do you?" 

Malia's face uncharacteristically flushed, and she turned her head a bit into his so the rest of the room wouldn't see. "So do you, and I mean it. You look sexy in stripes." 

Casey gasped and sat frozen, mouth agape. "You just—Chase!" Casey turned his head toward Chase and yelled out. "Blue is bullying me again!" 

"You brought that on yourself!" Blue shouted back, trying to hold in a laugh and keep up the bit. 

Parker had never regretted not taking plastic gloves with him to a party more. In all honesty, he considered it, coming to the Morpheus cabin. He pulled his face from the cupboard and buried it in his hands. “No. I didn’t know you’d be here.”

Alec lifted their head more to look at L past the ruckus on the couch. "Did you know koalas have smooth brains?" 

Chase tutted and wagged a finger at Blue. “Hey, hey. What did I just say? Raccoon or not, you gotta keep your paws off each other.” 

L tilted her head at Alec. “What does that mean?” 

Jesse touched her cheek , then remembered where they were and dropped his hand. His ears were warm, and the flush was quickly spreading to his cheeks. "Should we sit down?" 

"Their brains are smooth," Alec repeated to clarify. 

“What does that mean!” L laughed.

Jack pressed his hands into his face then laughed and shook them away. "That's okay! I'm like—I feel so good right now and I'm just really happy that you're here." Jack scooted closer and touched his index finger to Parker's knee. 

Casey stuck out his tongue at Blue again, but he was smiling. He gave Alec's shoulder a squeeze before standing up and walking over to Chase. "Hey! Are we gonna play Twister?" 

Malia glanced around the room. "I think I actually left something upstairs," she said quietly, brushing her hand lightly over his chest. "I should go get it now before a game starts or something."

Parker smiled so hard that his cheeks hurt. He touched Jack’s knee, careful not to make contact with his skin. “Me too.”

Alec held their hands out until Casey was fully out of reach, at which point they wrapped their arms around themself instead and turned their attention back to L. "You know how our brains are wrinkly, like coral? Koalas don't have wrinkles, their brains are right smooth! That's why they're bad at crosswords."

Chase tilted his head and then perked up a bit. “We should!” He stood and looked around. “Does everyone wanna play Twister?” He addressed the party. 

Jesse didn't get the chance to agree before Chase spoke. He closed his eyes for a moment, then laughed and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Spoke too soon, I guess."

Jack savored the moment for only a second before hearing Chase's announcement. He dropped his head and laughed. "Ugh. Of course it's Twister." He smirked up at Parker. "That's like, a total disaster if I play, right?" 

Malia's eyes closed in frustration. "Okay, well, maybe we can go get it later?" she asked him quietly. 

L tilted her head, blinked, and then laughed. “Are you serious? About the smoothness, not about the crosswords.” 

"Twister!" Casey yelled in repetition, throwing his arms up in the air. 

"Fuck yes, Twister!" Blue clapped. 

Jesse tucked a piece of hair behind Malia's ear and gave her a half-smile. "Of course." 

Parker exhaled a laugh and shrugged. “I bet you could do really well, actually.” He shook his head. “Ugh, nevermind, I didn’t say that.” 

Chase picked up the spinner and put it on the floor. “Okay, so, either if someone doesn’t want to play or if someone’s closest, they can spin the wheel for everyone else?” 

"Deadly serious!" Alec exclaimed. Without sitting up they slowly slid off the couch, head first, so they could lie on the ground by the twister mat. "Sounds good, Chase!" 

Jack laughed and rose to his feet. He pulled the sleeves of his sweaters down past his fingers and held his covered hands out to help Parker up. 

It was physically painful to rejoin the party and sit at the Twister mat, but Malia managed, somehow. She pulled Jesse along with her so they were sitting beside each other. 

Casey bounded across the floor to sit beside the mat. "Has anyone ever played this in underwear covered in oil?" He asked nobody in particular. 

"Only you, weirdo," Blue said as she moved, pulling L along with her. "But that does sound fun." 

"I've played it in a swimsuit covered in oil, does that count?" Alec asked, sitting up so there was more room. 

“That’s very Greek.” L nodded as she followed after Blue. 

"Um, I've never done it," Casey clarified. "I just think it sounds fun! Did you have a good time?" he asked Alec. 

Jesse followed Malia easily and nodded his head towards the blanket fort before he sat. "Want a pillow?"

Parker took Jack’s hands through his sleeves despite not needing any help up. He stood there for a moment, the  dropped his hands, heart pounding in his chest. “Um, were you gonna be spinner?” 

"It was crazy hard, but fun!" Alec moved to sit up on their knees. "We did it on the beach with way too much spray on sunscreen. Slip-sliding everywhere." 

"Uh, I guess." Jack's heart sank a little bit. A naive part of him was hoping he'd be able to play, but he wasn't sure how. "Do you think—" Jack turned to Parker. "If they have gloves, maybe I could play? I could just, like... Wear a scarf and gloves?" 

"Oh," Malia didn't want to be not at his side for ever a few seconds. But, her ass would start to hurt, sitting here, so she nodded. "Sure, yes, thank you." 

Parker blinked and then nodded quickly. “Uh, yeah, I don’t see why not!” He looked around. “Do you want me to ask?” 

"Oh my gods, sunscreen, that's genius!" Casey clapped his hands in recognition. "I bet tanning oil would work too. Except for the radiation but whatever, beauty is pain, right?" 

"Yeah, please. I like, just officially met half the people here and I'm afraid I won't remember their names," Jack laughed. 

Chase crouched to pick a cat off the mat again. “Should I change?” He asked Malia and Jesse, since they seemed least likely to make fun of him and most likely to tell him the truth. 

"Well," Malia looked over to Chase. "I love the shorts, but if you're in a compromising position it might be... a bit of a show, for us?" She giggled. "Up to you." 

Jesse disappeared into the blanket fort and came back out with a pillow in time to hear Chase's question. He glanced between Chase's shorts and the twister mat. "Maybe, yeah, you might want to." He held out the pillow for Malia, then sat down next to her.  

Parker smiled and reached out to touch Jack’s sleeve again. “Cool, I know...” He looked between Chase and Jesse and frowned. “I can ask Jesse.” He dropped his hand and walked over to Jesse and Malia as Chase left, figuring Jack would follow. 

Chase bobbed his head and scampered up the stairs.

Alec laughed and leaned against Casey again. "But the tanning oil would rub off some places and stay on the other! Your skin would look right fucked up." 

Jack followed Parker. The sensation of walking was very interesting to say the least. Jack found his mind drifting to several different places in the short span of distance between where they were sitting and where Jesse stood. Casey put an arm around Alec. "Okay, good point, good point. So then maybe the beauty is in the fun and laughter you share with your friends and then you just wear long sleeves the next day!" 

Blue was leaning on her hands, her eyes mostly closed and lazily leaning in and out, lightly pecking L's lips every time she was close to their face. She wasn't paying attention to the rest of the room. "What did you learn about koalas?" she asked.

Jesse blinked when Parker came over and looked to Malia, remembering now something about a fight between them. He assumed Parker had come to speak to his sister, so he waited for one of them to speak with hopes that it wouldn't turn into an argument.

Malia accepted the pillow from Jesse and moved so they were practically touching while sitting next to each other. She looked up at her brother from her place on the floor and gave him a little smile. "What's up?" 

“Um.” Parker cleared his throat and looked at Jesse mainly. “Do you have, like, gloves and scarves and stuff?” 

Alec smushed their face into Casey's shoulder. "You're a genius. We could do that in my loft! Except I don't have tanning oil or money to buy it. I have vegetable oil?" 

L was in and out of conversations. She smiled. “They have smooth brains! No wrinkles, and can’t solves puzzles because of it.” She nodded a bit, then looked at Casey and Alec. “If vegetable oil comes from vegetables and olive oil comes from olives, where does baby oil come from?” 

Jesse rested one hand on the ground behind Malia so that even though his arm wasn't around her, there was still a semblance of it. He drew his eyebrows together. "Winter clothes? Uh, yeah, some. Why?"

"Vegetable oil is probably so bad for your pores but maybe, like, olive oil? Is that expensive?" Casey laughed. "Or bubble bath! Oh my gods, this Twister idea is getting steamier and steamier."

Blue laughed at L's joke, resting her head on her shoulder. She glanced around the room finally, not sure how much time had passed since she sat down. She saw Jack standing in the middle of the living room and stared maybe a little too long, then turned her head in the opposite direction, staring at the floor.

Parker shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Because Jack wants to play Twister?” 

Jack smiled and waved awkwardly at Jesse from past Parker. "I'm a freak, I'm sorry." 

"Oooooooh," Malia turned to look at Jesse. "Do you have rubber gloves? They might have more traction than fabric." 

Alec laughed at L. "Olive oil is so expensive," they lamented to Casey. "But I have bubble bath! Oh! Oh! I have bath oil. Or, Ime did, but they left it behind so it's fair game!"

Jesse fully noticed Jack behind Parker now. "Oh. Right." He realized how that sounded and flushed again. "Yeah, yes, we have rubber gloves in the kitchen. And you said a scarf, too? I can grab that."

L tucked a piece of hair behind Blue’s ear when Jack walked into the room and cuddled up next to her more. “Are we waiting for Chase to get back?” 

"Wow, this is like, the most intimate game of Twister I've ever heard of and I am so in." Casey squeezed Alec's shoulder. "I'll bring the scented candles and red wine."

"Cool," Jack nodded at Jesse. "Good thinking with the rubber," Jack mentioned to Malia. 

Parker nodded and resisted the urge to take Jack’s sleeve again. “Thanks.” He felt weird being the only people in the room standing and took a seat next to Malia. “Hey, what’s up?” 

"I'll get the gloves?" Malia offered to Jesse, then turned to Parker with a smile. She wasn't sure if Chase would want to sit there, but her brother was talking to her so she didn't say anything about it. "I'm great, how are you? Actually, hang on, let me go get the gloves." 

"That'd be great," Jesse replied to Malia. He smiled at Jack but was careful to keep a decent bit of distance between them as he got up and moved past to go get a scarf from the closet behind the door. 

Alec heaved a sigh and pressed the back of their hand to their forehead. "You can't say things like that and not expect me to fall head over heels in love with you!"

Jack glanced around the room while waiting for the scarf and gloves. For a moment, his eyes found Blue and he pressed his lips together in a terse smile before quickly looking elsewhere. 

Malia stood and walked over the mat and into the kitchen. She found the gloves in the cabinet underneath the sink and brought them back to Jack with a smile. "How are you feeling?" 

Parker opened his mouth to speak to Malia and then closed it again. He folded his hands in his lap and pretended not to notice Blue. 

Jack's attention fell back to Malia and he smiled, taking the gloves. "Honestly, so good. Like... Great." He pulled the rubber gloves on with a loud snap. 

Blue didn't know what to make of that facial expression, but she was more focused on Parker sitting next to him, clearly with him. She turned her head back to L. "He just gave me the weirdest smile ever? What the hell?" 

L frowned and tilted her head “Maybe that’s how he smiles?” 

Jesse returned with two scarves, one large and one small. "Uh. I didn't know if you wanted a big one or not." He held them out, carefully. 

Malia nodded, briefly squeezing his hand once the gloves were on. "Great." She returned to her spot at Parker's other side and bumped shoulders with him. "Okay, hi, I'm good. How are you?" 

"Uh," Jack opted for the smaller one. "This is probably good. So it doesn't, like, drag or anything. Thanks." He wrapped the scarf around his neck, tucking the excess into his sweater. He sat down beside Parker, his face wrapped in a hand-knit neck brace. "This is great." 

Parker moved his hand to the space between himself and Jack and looked at the Twister mat. He shrugged at Malia. “Um, I’m fine.” 

Casey let his head rest on Alec's and brought up the hand that was wrapped around Alec's shoulder to cradle their face. "Fall in love with me, baby. That's all I've ever wanted." 

Jesse nodded at Jack and wrapped the end of the other scarf around his wrist absentmindedly. "Should I check if Chase remembers the game?" he asked Malia. 

Malia was debating trying to press for more conversation from her brother when Jesse spoke to her. "Oh, yeah," she frowned. "He's been gone for a while?" 

Jack's gaze fell to Parker's hand. He shifted his weight to sit more comfortably before letting his hand settle beside Parker's, so their pinky fingers stacked. 

"Hmph," Blue sighed, looking ahead and not at Parker again. "Maybe." 

Alec could feel a blush spread across their face despite themself and they grinned at Casey. "I see now! You orchestrated this whole thing to seduce me! Keep going, it's working– flattery is accepted 24/7 in this town. By 'this town' I mean my brain." 

Jesse shrugged one shoulder, but he glanced at the staircase. "He might've fallen asleep. I'll go check." 

Malia's frown deepened. "Fallen asleep?" 

Casey laughed. "Yes, good, then my plan is working beautifully." He let his hand move up to the side of Alec's head, gently scratching his hair. Casey suddenly remembered that he had brought cookies, but couldn't recall where had placed them. He pouted slightly as he wracked his brain for the memory. 

Jesse glanced at Parker and Jack before deciding how much to say. “Yeah. He hasn’t been sleeping well. I’ll be right back.” 

Malia nodded as Jesse walked away. She knew Chase hadn't been sleeping well but it was concerning to realize that he was this tired. She eyed the mat, brow furrowed in thought.

Parker stifled a smile at touching Jack’s hand and moved so the tips of his other fingers touched Jack’s. He tried to make it so that the line of sight between Blue and his hand was blocked and acted Fully Natural. He looked at Malia and tilted his head at her. “Are you okay?” 

L frowned a bit at the mat and extended her legs in front of her. “Have you guys played Twister with paint? It’s awful.” She smiled. 

“I’m high as all hell right now,” Alec sighed happily, feeling as though Casey was slowly pulling their soul from their body through their hair. “L! That sounds like a dream come true.” 

Jesse headed upstairs and knocked on the wall beside Chase’s door, even though the door was ajar. “You okay in there?” 

Jack relished in the sensation of having Parker's hand on his, as strange as the method was. Both physically and mentally, he was buzzing. 

Chase was curled up on his carpet, pajama pants cuddled to his chest when Jesse knocked on the door. He sat up with a start and looked down at himself, shook his head, and sighed. He pulled the pants on and ran over to the door. “Ha, yeah, sorry.” He smiled and started back towards the stairs. 

Casey laughed at Alec's declaration. He didn't have as much of a head high as he figured everyone else did, but the sensation of playing with Alec's hair was really satisfying multiplied with the CBD tingle. "Oh my god, wait, paint twister actually sounds so fun. Or like pigment powder twister, like they do in Holi?" 

Malia looked over and Parker and smiled. "All good." 

Jesse put an arm out to stop Chase before he reached the staircase. He was going to say something about how Chase didn’t have to go back down, or how he could stay with him upstairs if he wanted, but neither seemed quite right. He sighed and patted Chase’s shoulder instead. “Want me to make some coffee to get you through the party?” 

Parker wanted to take Jack’s hand fully, but was somewhere between not brave enough and not stupid enough to do so in front of Blue. He frowned slightly at Malia. “Okay.” 

Blue was trying very hard to ignore Parker sitting next to Jack but was only halfway succeeding. She turned to L and raised an eyebrow. "With paint? That sounds terrible, I kinda love it." 

L bobbed her head at her friends. “It’s super messy, but I think it’d be fun. I’ve never done it, by the way.” She tilted her head at Casey. “Is that a thing? Do people end up inhaling it?” 

“Pigment powder. I love the alliteration. And that sounds amazing! But less slippery than paint? So lower stakes.” Alec looked around at everyone. “All of the hosts have fled the circle. Oh, hey Parker!” They waved at him considering he was the only one they had yet to greet. 

Chase stopped and frowned slightly, then shook his head. “Nah, man, I can make it though a party.” He exhaled a laugh as though this was obvious and started down the stairs. “Were y’all waitin’ for me?” He asked once he was down. “Y’should’ve started!” 

"Oh good points," Casey conceded. "Okay, yeah, paint is probably better. And if the colors are all good, probably more aesthetic too?" Casey followed Alec's focus and waved at Parker and Jack. 

Parker looked somewhat less than pleased to have Alec bringing attention to him and flushed, glad Jack wouldn’t feel how sweaty his hand was. He coughed. “Um, hey.” 

L nodded. “I think I wouldn’t do all the colours on the board! Because then you’d just get brown, right? I’d pick nice pastels or something.” She looked over at Parker when Alec and Casey waved, but thought she probably shouldn’t wave. 

“How’s it going?” Alec asked Parker since it was clear Parker didn’t want a conversation. They laughed at Chase when he returned. “Howdy,” they replied in a poor imitation of his accent. “Yeah, w’all were waitin’!” 

Jesse returned to his seat beside Malia, watching Chase carefully. 

"Yeah, that's a good point. Wow, look at you, Apollo kid over here with the color consciousness," Casey snapped for L with his free hand. 

Malia bumped Jesse's shoulder with her own and waved at Chase. "We were! Ready to start?" 

Blue is pointedly not looking at Parker. "Who's spinning?" she asked the group. 

"Well, we probably can't all play at the same time right? Maybe we could do teams and spin for our teammates," Casey suggested. 

“Um, I’m fine.” Parker’s fingertips started to tingle, but he brushed it off as anxiety. “I hear you’re well? High as a kite, was it?” 

"Ooooh, good idea." Blue nods. "Okay...." she scans the room. "Teams of three?"

"Close enough," Alec replied cheerfully. "I'm glad you pay attention!" They counted the number of people in room, then nodded. "So like, teams of three where one person spins and the other two duel to the death?" 

Chase shook his head and mussed up Alec’s hair as he passed them to take a seat next to Jesse. “Sorry! Killer was bein’ real cute.” He looked around and bobbed his head. “That sounds like a good idea.” 

"Don't even joke about death matches, Alec, because I will make it happen," Casey replied seriously. 

L looked around. “Should the teams be random?” She suddenly felt like that could turn out terribly. “No!” She replied to herself. “I wanna be on Blue’s team!” 

Also she was totally like “omg Casey I AM a color conscious Apollo kid!!!” on time

Blue laughed and pulled L closer. "Okay! And..... Chase, come join us!" 

"In.... in Twister? How would that even work?" Alec glanced around the circle again. Their eyes settled on Jack and Parker's hands for a second and they smiled to themself, but it quickly faded and they drew their eyebrows together and pulled their phone out to text Parker.

arent u allergic to latex???

Chase scooted closer to Blue and waved goodbye to Jesse and Malia. “Godspeed without me, guys.” 

Malia glanced between the two clearly forming couples on either side of her and Jesse. She put her chin on his shoulder. "We might have to split up," she pouted. 

Jesse smiled at her and rested a hand on her back. "Did you want to play? Because I really just want to spin." 

Malia laughed. "I also really just want to spin."

Parker checked his phone and made a weird face at Alec when he saw it was them that texted him. He checked the message and the color drained from his face as he realized his fingertips were not pounding in time with his heart but because they were starting to swell. He pulled his hand away and shoved it in his pocket. “Um, where’s the bathroom?” 

"Seems it's for the best, then." Jesse blinked and looked over at Parker. "Uh, just over there." He pointed to a door under the staircase. 

Feeling Parker's hand pull away, Jack looked down at his own. At took a second longer than it normally would to register the question being posed. "Uh..." Jack turned to Jesse for an answer. 

Parker nodded and rushed to the bathroom so he could run his fingers under cold water. 

Casey, ever eavesdropping, cupped a hand beside his mouth and called across the room to Malia and Jesse. "Give us your boyfriend!" 

Malia sighed. At Casey's suggestion, she closed her eyes and smiled. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that!" she said to Casey. She ran a hand down Jesse's back. "Good luck," she said to him before scooting closer to Jack. "Where'd Parker go?" 

Alec laughed at Casey and hopped to their feet. "I'll BRB!" They grabbed the allergy medicine Chase had given them earlier and put it on the ground outside the bathroom. "There's Reactine right outside," they said to Parker through the door ."Don't die!" With that, they hopped back over to Casey. 

Chase looked at Blue and L and kept his voice low. “Who’s spinning? Also, should I use my powers to cheat?” L shook her head. 

"Same to you," Jesse replied, also choosing to pretend not to have heard Casey. He moved over to sit by Casey and Alec. "Are you guys okay if I spin?" 

Blue shook her head. "It's too obvious if you cheat in such a small room." 

Jack nodded his head toward the bathroom. "To the bathroom." He folded his hands in his lap and smiled idly at the Twister mat. "This is great." 

Malia giggled. "Still feeling good? I think you should be plateauing by now. I'm gonna spin, okay?" 

"Yeah! Spin away," Casey chirped, scooting a bit to give Jesse room. As Alec came hopping back, Casey looked up at them. "Everything cool?" 

Parker groaned quietly when he heard Alec outside the door and grabbed the allergy medication on the way out. He took a few and downed them with tap water before returning, hand still in his pocket. He sat between Jack and Malia. “We’re a team? Can I spin?” 

Alec gave two thumbs up, one for Jesse and one for Casey. "Yep!" they replied to both. "We should get the Killers in on this." 

"I just feel so calm. This is what Linda always talks about in my podcast. I just... Ugh." Jack sighed. His hands came up to the scarf to play with the knitting. "Your sister is spinning too," Jack mentioned to Parker as he came back.

Chase sighed and shrugged. “Pretend people are just really high.” L shook her head again. “No way!” 

"Yes we are and absolutely not, I can't play twister in this outfit," Malia said to her brother. She grinned at him. "Sorry, deal with it." 

Blue cackled. "Nah, we'll play fair." She wrapped her arms around L. "Okay but, who is spinning?"

Parker sighed. “Fine.” He smiled as Jack brought up his podcast. “The uterus one?” He pulled out his phone to text Alec quickly.

Pls dont mention it to anyone?

"The Power of U," Jack smiled. "Hosted by Linda Ballerini, expert in hollistic healing and women's health, thank you for joining us today." 

L rubbed her cheek against Blue and smiled. “I can spin if you guys really want to play!” Chase hummed. “I am tall but not bendy. I have trouble touching my toes.” 

Malia's mouth opened a little and she smiled. "Why do you listen to a women's health podcast?" 

Alec winked at Parker, then realized that could be misinterpreted so they texted him back as well.

u got it!! u should also get new gloves for him tho if u guys are playing tweester together??

They laughed at how 'tweester' sounds for a couple seconds then put their phone away. "Are we against each other Casey? 'Teams' is misleading, eh?" 

Parker smiled at Jack more and shook his head at Malia. “It sounds calming!” He checked his messages again and shrugged before putting his phone away. 

"She's just so affirming and understanding and empowering. And her voice is like honey." Jack shrugged. "Helps me relax." 

Jesse was getting more confused by each addition to the rules. "Wait, I thought we were playing as a team? Is it against each other?”

"Oh my gods, are we?" Casey thought about the logistics for a second. "I mean I guess if it's like every person for themself on the board then that makes sense," Casey shrugged. 

"I was thinking like, the two non-spinners face off and whoever wins goes against the winner from another team! But we can also try and cram six people on the mat. That sounds hectic, in a great way." Alec nodded. 

"Six people on the mat could be chaotic but also I love chaos," Casey suggested. "Or we could try to tie teammates back to back and have them play as a conjoined unit!" 

Alec snapped their fingers. “I love that! Let’s do that.” 

Jesse frowned slightly. “Or one from each team at a time?” 

Malia still looked a little confused but nodded. "Okay, okay, fair enough." She overheard Alec and Casey's scheming and leaned over the mat. "Um, friends," she sing-songed. "How about, one from each team, when the first person falls the second person swaps in. Last person standing wins for the team?" 

L smiled. “Hey, that way nobody has to just spin!” She nodded at Blue like this was the perfect solution. 

Casey rolled his eyes. "I mean, Alec and my idea sounds way more fun but sure we can go with the rational thing." Casey leaned towards Alec to whisper, "Okay, so our game is gonna have bath oils, scented candles, and hand cuffs." 

Malia shook her head. "Nope, no, I'm just spinning. Two people per team so it doesn't take too long?" She smiled sheepishly between Chase and Jesse. "Please?" 

Alec grinned at Casey. “I have two of the three! Do you have scented candles?” 

Casey shook his head quickly and put his hands up. "How is scented candles the thing that you don't have?" 

Chase gave Malia a thumbs up. “I love not bending and stretching!”

“That’s a good idea,” Jesse answered quickly to Malia, then nodded and laughed at Chase. 

Alec cocked their head to one side. “Huh, is that surprising? My cabin used to be full of explosives so I steered clear from candles.”

Satisfied, Malia moved back to her side of the mat. "Okay, Parker and or Jack, one of you get out there." 

Casey blinked. "Wow. Amazing. Okay, no, yeah, I have scented candles." 

Blue realized too late that Jack was not the spinner for his team and frowned. "Um," she scooted closer to Chase and spoke very quietly to him. "Hey, do you think this is a good idea?" 

Parker looked from Malia to Jack and tilted his head. “Should I start? Not to brag, but I’m pretty flexible.” 

"I," Jack slapped the floor in front of him, "would love to see that." 

"Ew, Parker," Malia shook her head. "Go for it." She addressed the rest of the room. "Who has the spinner?"

“So now I’m thinking about it and being covered in oil with reduced mobility in a loft that has no railing and surrounded by fire is kinda fucking bananas?” Alec laughed. “Sounds thrilling! I’m glad I’m lucky!” 

Chase chewed on the inside of his cheek, only now noticing Jack’s Lewk™️. “Um...” He looked at Jesse. “Probably not? Should... uh.” He tried to message Jesse through telepathy and looking at him. 

L frisbee’d the spinner over to Malia. 

Jesse glanced over at Chase and raised his eyebrows in question when he noticed his look. “Huh?” 

Parker laughed and stood. Then, when he noticed nobody else was standing, he squatted so he seemed more ~casual~.

"You... Are incredible." Casey was at a total loss for words. "And also your cabin needs a visit from the fire marshall." 

Chase looked at Jack, then at the mat, and then raised his eyebrows at Jesse in question. 

Blue saw that Parker was up first and pressed her lips together. "Whatever," she muttered, and moved to stand on the mat. "Casey," she said to her friend. "Come on. Parker versus the raccoons."

Casey clapped, hearing Blue's challenge. "Yes! Let's go!" He stood up and moved to the edge of the mat. "Three competitors! Two species! One victor!" 

Alec just laughed at Casey and waved a hand. “Go Casey! You got this!”

Jesse frowned slightly and shrugged one shoulder. “I think it’s okay,” he answered Chase. 

Chase bobbed his head. “Alrighty. Spin, Malia. Raccoons should team up and get the human out for now! Then deal with each other.” He smiled. “No alliances!” L protested.

Malia laughed and spun the arrow. "Okay, left hand green."

Parker takes his hand out of his pocket and puts it on the mat, apparently Extremely skillfully.

Chase leaned over and spun the arrow. "Right foot red!"

Blue yawned as she put her hand down, a little off balance.

Casey feeling cocky, turned to face away from the mat, stretched his arms up overhead and leaned back, falling into a backbend with his left hand on green.

Alec whistles at Casey. "Holy shit!" 

Parker put his foot on red.

Blue also whistles at Casey and stretches her foot out to hit a red circle. "Don't get too cocky, Case." she teased.

Casey, grinning cockily, slid his right foot over to land on a red circle. "I will be as cocky as I deserve, thank you."

Jesse spun the wheel now. "Uh, right hand green now."

Parker slid his hand over fairly easily to the green circle.

"Already there, baby!" Casey nudged his right hand over an inch to reach another green circle.

Parker put his hand exactly where Blue was reaching and it knocked her off balance. "Uuuugh," she groaned as she slipped out of place. "You screwed me over, Valentine!" 

Parker blew Blue a kiss and smiled, hoping that this was a joking anger rather than a threatening one.

Casey tried to angle his head up so all the blood wouldn't rush into his brain.

L jumped up and took Blue's place. "I'll knock 'em dead, baby!" She was secretly glad that Blue was out before Parker.

Malia took the spinner back and twirled it around. "Okay... Left foot yellow."

Parker skillfully moves his foot to yellow.

L moves a leg next to Parker's.

Casey steps his left foot yellow, crossing his legs so that he's holding himself up sideways.

Chase took the wheel from Malia and flicked the spinner. "Left hand red!"

Parker moved his hand and leaned on his blisters. He inhaled sharply but managed to save it.

Casey calculated his next move in his head. With a quick switch, Casey managed to flip himself into an upright position on all fours, with his limbs in the appropriate places.

L moved one arm around but simply wasn't tall enough to reach the other colour. "Oof." She fell and sighed. "Sorry guys." She stuck out her lip as she crawled back to Chase and Blue.

"All good!" Chase patted L on the back. "You did better than I could've." He smiled. "It's all about having fun, anyway. Now we can watch them and mix up all the colors on the mat."

Blue booed. "This is rigged!" she protested, then pulled L close to her to kiss her cheek. "You were the cutest one out there." 

Parker is also going After everyone to see which row he's supposed to do because I forgot that he was colorblind ok

L wrapped her arms around Blue and smiled. "Only because you weren't there!" 

Jesse spun the wheel next. "Left foot red, now."

Casey deftly brings his left foot over to a red circle. "We're killing this, baby!"

Parker laughed at Casey. "Are you saying that to yourself?" He slipped as he twisted and hit his back. "Ugh." He rolled. "Jack, get in there." He smiled up at him.

"I'm saying it to my beautiful teammate and supporter over there," Casey nodded his head toward Alec.

Malia smirked at her brother. "Now that you're out you can spin," she teased him. 

Alec cheered as Parker fell. "Whoo! Twister master Casey!"

It took Jack a solid moment to bring himself up to a standing position. "Oh my gods, okay. Ready to watch me fail?" He went over to the side of the mat and tried to visualize how he was going to take Parker's place.

Parker held up his hand to Malia. "I can't. Out on disability." 

"Ugh," Malia swatted his hand away. "Fine, whatever. You ready, Jack?" 

Chase whistled at Casey as well. "I believe in you, Nook!"

"Yep!" Jack called out from the mat. He crouched slowly and carefully placed each limb on a circle. "Oh my gods. Oh my gods. Ohhh my gods." Somehow, he managed to get into the correct position. "Oh my fucking gods, wait, am I doing it?" Casey laughed beside him. "Yeah man, that's it."

Blue took great interest in playing with L's hair now that Jack was on the mat.

Parker pulled his hand away, in fear of it actually hurting, and then grinned at Jack. "Oh, you're a natural!"

"Can you braid my hair?" L asked. 

Malia spun. "Left hand yellow!"

Both Jack and Casey reached for the same yellow circle and for a moment, their bodies wobbled together on the mat. With clutch reflexes, both of them caught their balance, planting their hands on adjacent yellow circles. "Fuck," Jack hissed, chuckling all the while.

Chase bungled the colours up to throw them off, but did it too late

Blue couldn't help but watch as Jack got way too close to her friend's hand. She eyed the shared circle with suspicion then, finally, turned back to L. "Oh yeah, no problem." She ran her fingers through L's hair and started putting it into sections. 

Chase leaned over to flick the spinner, then tossed it in Jesse's direction. "Uh, left foot green, I think it was?"

Casey saw that the easiest green circle was the one caught between them. Trying to move quickly, he launched his foot toward the circle. However, in his haste, he overshot the distance and accidentally kicked Jack's leg out from under him, sending them both toppling to the floor. 

"Ow, fuck," laughed Jack. 

"Sorry! My bad. Here—" As Casey brought himself up to sitting position, he offered a helping hand out to Jack. Jack reached out in response and before his high mind could perceive what was happening, Casey had grabbed onto his exposed wrists and pulled them both up to a standing position. Casey gave Jack a congratulatory pat on the back and turned to Alec, cheering, "Ay! Who's your man!" Behind him, Jack stood open mouthed, frozen.

Alec pointed at Casey and jumped to their feet. "You are! Wow, that was amazing! Did we win?" 

Parker watched the interaction, opened his mouth to say something, and closed his mouth before anything could come out. He tilted his head at Jack and opened his mouth again, but didn't know what exactly he was supposed to say. He pushed himself up and raised his eyebrows at Malia. "Did you see that?" 

"Hell yeah we did!" Casey ran over to Alec with his hands up for a celebratory high five. "Mammal power, baby!" 

Chase smiled at Jesse, seeing nothing wrong with the interaction. "Good job! You won." 

Blue watched them both wipe out with trepidation, and almost stood to interfere when Casey grabbed Jack's arm. But, nothing happened. Blue blinked and sat back.

Malia looked up from readjusting her robe. "What?" 

Jack wasn't sure if he was having trouble processing what just happened or just having trouble processing. He looked back at Parker and Malia and stepped off the mat, his brain struggling to form a continuous thought. "Uh, sorry guys. I guess we lost."

Jesse smiled back. "I guess so. I got lucky with my team." He looked up at Casey. "That was really impressive."

Before Parker could say anything to Malia, Jack was back, so he just shook his head at her. "Nevermind." His heart pounded in his ears. "Oh, well. That doesn't matter, the teams were stacked. Alec, like, never loses games."

[bobasheebaby]

Making Memories- Lucky Number 7?: Crimson Rain chapter 10

Pairing: Bastien x Liza; Olivia Nevrakis; Hope Casey (Lykel); Buttons

Word count: 1,450

Warnings: fluff, Liza’s nerves

Summary: Commemorating the pregnancy,

A/N: thanks @sirbeepsalot for being a sounding board and putting up with me.

Series warnings: talks of pregnancy loss, fear of pregnancy loss, anxiety, depression. Set within Crimson Rain but pulling the major pregnancy drama from the main series. All the fluff and angst with minimal mobster drama.

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist.

Disclaimer: I own my OC’s, the rest I’m simply borrowing from PB for a bit.

Bastien smiled, quietly slipping his phone from his pocket as he watched Liza with Buttons. The ever patient dog, seated, looking up at her, as he awaited her command. Liv outdid herself with the training. Liza gently patted her thigh, Buttons let out a happy bark as he sat back on his haunches, placing it one paw at the base of her large bump.

“What are you doing?” Liza laughed, turning just as Bastien lined up the shot.

“I was trying to take a cute picture of you three. Look back at Butt.”

Liza shook her head as she turned her face back toward, tilting her face back down to Buttons. “Didn’t you get enough pictures of us down the beach?”

“Nope.” He snapped the picture. “Besides look at this.” He crossed the room showing her the picture. They were mere silhouettes, completely backlit by the sun streaming in the window, but you could see the love.

“Okay that’s pretty cute.” She handed him back the phone.

“I was thinking we should do a maternity shoot.”

“Bas—”

“She’s fine, you know she’s fine. And if you pass this up you’ll be upset later.”

“Bas, I’m doing better but I’m just not sure I can.” She blinked back welling tears. Fucking hormones.

Bastien led her to the bed, sitting with her at the edge, Buttons plopped at their feet, resting his head on Liza’s. “I understand, I do.” He brushed her black hair back behind her ear. “I’m just worried if we don’t you’ll regret it. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Liza bit her lip in thought. She felt conflicted, fear trying to ensnare her heart once more, but at the same time she knew he was right. When Sage made it safely she’d regret not having the photos. She slowly nodded.  “Okay. We can do it, but I want to include Liv and Hope too.”

Bastien smiled as he squeezed her hand. “Anything you want.”

“Well if that’s so, can you please stop making sense all the time?”

*

“You can’t seriously expect me to wear this damn shirt!” Olivia grumbled holding the red ‘big sister’ shirt.

“Just for one picture, please?” Liza said pleading with her eyes. “For your baby sister?”

Olivia rolled her emerald eyes as her resolve crumbled. Cheap shot!  “Fine. One picture.” She pulled the tee on over her tank. “You don’t play fair, you know that right?”

Liza shrugged. “I have to play whatever works.”

“Uh huh. I’ll remember that. Can we get this ridiculous picture over with so I can take this stupid shirt back off?”

“Aww Livvy, you know you’re a proud big sister.” Bastien said with a teasing laugh.

“Doesn’t mean I have to announce it with my shirt.”

“It’s a cute shirt!” Hope said flopping on the couch proudly wearing her purple ‘middle sister’ shirt.

“Whatever you say Hope.” Olivia said with a roll of her eyes. “Can we get this picture over with?” She sat on the other side of Liza.

The petite photographer nodded in response, a fleeting look of question flickering over her face as she took in the shirts.

Liza knew that look, recognizing it from previous interactions when Olivia was younger, she knew it was coming. And it starts. Next they won’t know who the mother is. “Adopted, long lost daughter, rainbow baby.” She pointed to Olivia, Hope and her bump in turn. “And this is the bestest brother in the world she cooed to Buttons as he jumped up on Bastien’s other side sitting between him and Hope.

Buttons barked happily then licked Bastien’s cheek.

“Really? Why is he licking me when you’re the one talking to him?” He asked as he unsuccessfully tried to push Buttons off.

“Because he loves his papa. Don’t you Buttons?” She cooed, Buttons unleashing a new torrent of kisses on Bastien’s face. “Plus you’re closer.”

“Yeah.” He replied unconvinced, turning his head, Buttons tongue narrowly missing his mouth.

“Please tell me you got that!” Liza exclaimed through a fit of laughter.

The photographer shook her head, camera still held at waist level.

“I did!” Hope proclaimed triumphantly holding her phone out for Liza to see.

“That one is a keeper.” Olivia said with a smirk. “Maybe we can use it on our Christmas cards.”

“Okay. Okay, can we move on?” Bastien mock pouted.

“Yup.” Hope said tucking her phone back in her pocket as she reclaimed her seat next to Bastien. She silently commanded Buttons to sit between them.

Bastien shook his head in awe. “Why is he better behaved for all of you when I’m the one who sneaks him treats?”

“We smell better.” Olivia quipped, causing everyone to erupt into laughter. The flash went off capturing the lively family moment.

“Can I take off the shirt now?” Olivia asked impatiently as the laughter died down.

“Let me take a few of you a little less relaxed.” The photographer replied.

“Fine.” Olivia grumbled, leaning closer to Liza, hand resting on her shoulder. “You’re lucky I love you.”

Liza smiled, reaching up to squeeze her hand.  “Yes I am.” She placed her hand back onto her lap as she leaned in closer to Bastien.

Hope rested her left elbow on Bastien’s shoulder, right hand resting on Buttons side. Bastien turned his head kissing Liza’s temple just as the flash went off.

The photographer glanced down at her digital screen. “Okay one more with all of you smiling at the camera.”

They all turned their faces to the camera, smiling softly as she took the picture. “Now you can take it off.” She said inspecting the last photograph.

“Oh thank god!” Olivia proclaimed, reaching up to pull off the shirt, dropping it over the back of the couch.

“It’s not that bad Livvy.”

Olivia turned, her gaze burning Bastien. “The only good thing about it is it’s red.”

The others switched out of their shirts. They returned to their seats, posing for a few more pictures.

“How about a few with just the girls, and then we can do mom and dad.” The photographer suggested.

“I’d like a few of you and Buttons.” Bastien said kissing Liza’s temple.

“I think you got plenty of me and Buttons.”

“Never.”

Liza rolled her hazel eyes. “Mmmhmm. Now scooch.” She playfully pushed him.

Bastien vacated his seat. Hope moved in, leaning against Liza’s left side, Olivia adjusting slightly on her left. Buttons laid across Hope, his head resting on Liza’s bump.

The photographer opened her mouth to protest. “You’ll never get him to move, he’s become her shadow.” She nodded at Bastien’s words taking a few shots of the four, mostly serious, a few with Hope being free and playful, happiness exuding from her from finally finding her place.

Bastien soon switched places with the girls, taking pictures with Buttons included and a few where Hope managed to lure him away, even if just for a moment. Olivia quirked her brow in question as props were brought out. “Is that paint?”

“Body paint. Some rainbow mommy’s like to commentate it.”

“I can’t.” Olivia said rolling her eyes as she watched Liza’s light up. She chuckled as they held up a random pair of baby shoes and shook her head when Liza happily painted her belly with a rainbow of colors.

Once clean of the paint, and the final picture was taken, a close up of Buttons resting his head upon her round stomach at Bastien’s insistence, Liza collapsed onto the couch. “I’m beat.”

“All you did was take pictures all day.”

Liza narrowed her hazel eyes, glaring at Olivia. “I’m eight months pregnant, everything takes effort.”

“Uh huh.”

Liza rolled her eyes waving her off. “Okay Hope, let me see that picture!”

“Oh no! This isn’t going to become like the picture of the hair is it?” Bastien questioned.

“Oh yes it is!” Liza replied happily.

“Wait what hair picture?” Hope asked as she passed Liza her phone.

“Oh you have to see this.” Olivia said with a smirk.

“Oh no.” Bastien groaned, covering his face with his hands.

Liza pulled out her phone, quickly locating the picture in question in her favorites. “Here.” She passed Hope the phone.

“Ohmygod! It’s so floofy!” Hope exclaimed.

“Yup!” Liza popped the p. “And this one is so being saved!” She said sending the picture of Buttons licking a distressed Bastien to both her and Olivia.

“Oh I’m so putting that on the Christmas card.” Olivia said as she heard her phone chime.

“Why must you all gang up on me?”

“Girls have to stick together.” Liza rubbed her belly. “She’s gonna tease you too.”

“Nope. She’s papa’s little princess and she would never turn on me.”

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment reblog or send an ask. Feel free to scream, I promise I can take it.

Masterlist can be found in my bio.

Taglist will be reblogged.

[atamascolily]

Continuing with The Vein of Gold exercise, more films, more themes. I’m so predictable, y’all.

(Aka what Captain America has in common with Matilda)

9. Matilda

Nobody does montages like this film. There are at least three, and they’re all amazing.

10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (live action I, II, and III)

(I didn’t hallucinate these films, okay??)

11. The Shadow

12. Jurassic Park

13. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This particular gif looks like it ought to be Renaissance painting or something.

14. Night at the Museum

15. Hanna

Apparently, freeway fight scenes are a thing for me? They’re a staple of CA:TWS, along with Terminator and the Matrix films. Not to mention a lot of the Inception set pieces. Basically, if a film is set in modern times and has any action scenes whatsoever, I want one on a freeway, kthanx. Maybe because I hate being stuck in traffic? Or maybe just because it looks cool?

Identity issues: boy does CA:TWS have them in spades. From Bucky’s brainwashing--”Who’s Bucky?”--to Natasha’s “Who do you want me to be?” questions abound. Natasha is constantly changing her identities--literally in the climax--and her hacking saves the day. Her final scene is very reminiscent of Sarah Connor’s in Terminator, too. For the first time, Steve faces an opponent who’s literally his equal and opposite, so the doubling/duality motif is reminiscent. And the Winter Soldier is also a slightly-more-human version of the Terminator! He even has a metal arm and programming!

Also, the film as a whole is super-suspicious of technology, and there’s the ‘80s references of the old computers in the bunker and “Shall We Play A Game?” Not to mention HYDRA’s surveillance thing is kinda like Skynet, plus they intend to target people for what they might do in the future, and not stuff they’d already done...

(NB: Both Terminator and CA:TWS are thematically reminiscent of Three Days of the Condor--which I have not seen, but have read the novelization. I fucking hate Condor, because it is such an obvious Male Fantasy, with an obvious Male Gaze, Cardboard Cutout Female Characters and a Doormat Obligatory Love Interest. Maybe the movie is better?? God, I hope so. But aside from its initial premise, Condor  is thoroughly grounded in “the real world,” lacking super-soldiers or robots to make it engaging for me.)

What can I say about the three live-action TMNT films? Um, so they tap into the “underground” theme I have going, and also “nifty puppets/sfx”, “so much the ‘80s/early ‘90s,” and martial arts mastery. April and Casey are weird foils to Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, and the Shredder and Darth Vader have a lot in common, as do Splinter and Yoda. April is inducted into the weird alterworld of mutant turtles and yakuza gangs, and the turtles get mistaken for entertainers/performers at several key points across the three films. The first two films are set in New York, with a focus on sewers and urban squalor, but also a pastoral retreat to April’s family farm during the training montage/rest and recovery sequence. Leonardo--always my favorite--communicates telepathically with Master Splinter, and the turtles stage a rescue like Luke tries in ESB and succeeds (on several occasions) in ROTJ. There’s a constant tension between maintaining the masquerade and uncovering the truth. There’s even a time-travel plot to take them back to medieval Japan, thus melding all of the themes/motifs together!

Not to mention the radioactive ooze that creates the turtles in the first place as a comment on questionable tech--it also creates some of the antagonists in The Secret of the Ooze AND GIANT MUTANT DANDELIONS.And there’s a sequence where they break into a lab full of early ‘90s computers that could be straight out of Jurassic Park. So, um, yeah, about that....

Jurassic Park:  amazing sfx and puppetry. Human interactions with the other--usually but not always negatively. Badass botanist (wish Ellie were the main character instead of Grant but still!). Ominous jungle setting. Tension between science/tech and biology. Mutations as a plot point. “Life, uh, finds a way.” A corporate museum getting trashed by a T-rex in the climax--contrast with Night at the Museum, for a more docile take on the same motif! Tension between the truth and maintaining the masquerade. The perils of corporate power--see Ian Malcolm’s speech on the importance of moral responsibility and power. (Yes, he is an asshole and the author mouthpiece, but he’s also Jeff Goldblum, so he gets away with it.) Contrast this with Cyberdyne System in Terminator, and HYDRA’s surveillance system in CA:TWS. Also, shirtless Jeff Goldblum - contrast with the male nudity in Terminator, and Captain America’s and Luke Skywalker in tank tops and short sleeves. Also, “Dinosaur eats man / Woman inherits the earth” exchange. And GIANT REPTILES just like TMNT!

The Shadow: huge Asian/martial arts influence on the hero. Rigorous training with mystics in the wilderness. Psychic powers. Secret identity, keeping up appearances, and maintaining the masquerade. Self/shadow--it’s the hero’s superhero NAME; IT’S NOT SUBTLE. “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? THE SHADOW KNOWS! *ominous cackling* Fabulous fashion. Plot points involving a sarcophagus and busting into a museum (paging Night at the Museum). Amazing scenery, especially all of the hotel sequences. As always, I’m more interested in the female side character--in this case, Margo Lane--than anything else. Also, a scientist character played by Ian McKellen with questionable tech!

(I will never claim this film is good, and it has a TON of problematic elements, but even so, it made an impression on me, especially since I had been listening to a lot of vintage “The Shadow” radio dramas before I saw this, so I was familiar with The Shadow’s basic schtick. Also, even though it sounds like a cliche, The Shadow pretty much invented all the superhero tropes, so technically Batman and Dr. Strange owe him a debt and not the other way around... )

Hanna is very similar to Terminator, CA:TWS, and Matrix in that it features a protagonist being relentlessly hunted--in this case, by government agents very similar to those in the latter two films, only played by Cate Blanchett. Amazing underground lair/chase sequence, plus a fight in a German subway station; not to mention great desert sequences (hi, Star Wars!) and an abandoned theme park.

Matilda: the power of reading, a young girl saving the day because Adults Are Useless, classics references, newts, telekinesis. Like Steve Rogers, refuses to be cowed or lie, even when it would be in her own best interest to give in to tyranny. Interesting foil with Hanna, in that both are named after their super-powered protagonist, only Hanna’s powers are all based in incredible violence. Hanna is also wrestling with the question of who she is and what her purpose is in life, and she’s a survivor, just like Sarah Connor in Terminator. Also, a question of heritage and origins, as in Star Wars.

Night at the Museum: I usually don’t like Ben Stiller, and I think this movie would be stronger with a different lead actor, but Robin Williams is great as Teddy Roosevelt (mentor figure!) and it’s a natural history museum coming to life after hours with a giant T-Rex skeleton. Also, the miniatures are hysterical, and Akmenrah is great (contrast with The Shadow for their museum MacGuffin, too). Great sfx, too. Contrast with Jack Pumpkinhead and the Gump in Return to Oz, too. See also Steve stealing his uniform out of the Smithsonian in CA:TWS. It’s also a Found Family (or Family Reclaiming, depending on your point of view) along with The Secret Garden, and Matilda, and Star Wars and...

Anyway, I’m pretty sure a bot armed with this information could be used to generate stories tailor-made for me, which is both hilarious and frightening to think about.

Stories: I have a type.

[tonightinthewasteland]

(Almost) all my Fallout OCs

because I can

Casey Lee Loomis

Location: Appalachia, Vault 76, Forest Region

Age: 35

Casey is outgoing, hyperactive, a social butterfly and sexual liberated little minx. He entered Vault 76 with his parents at the age of 10. (Rumor had it that Casey had his way paid but Casey passed the examinations fairly and properly) However, he never performed exceptionally in the vault career programs and was remained childish in personality in the close-knit village environment. Life was comfortable in the vault and the outside it seemed a million years away. Romantically, he had multiple partners. Bordem, a perpetual need for attention, and raging hormones had him starting his exploration at 15 with the vaults library intern and he experimented from then thereon. He married the head physician, Robert Covington, at 29. They separated at Robert’s request one month before Reclamation Day and left Casey stunned and hurt.

The Vault doors opened in late October, Casey left alone and met Nate Cortez mid-November by sheer accident. Being his first human interaction outside the Vault, Casey sticks to this half-feral man like Wonderglue and regales him with cheerful word vomit day and night. One way or another, they spend the rest of their lives together. They rejoin the Brotherhood in the west and eventually abandon it for a life similar to what they had in Appalachia. Casey leaves behind his two children and their mother.

Canonically, Casey kills Robert early 2103 out of unexplored hurt and rage then conceals the crime in the nearby river. 

Senior Scribe Grise

Location: Commonwealth, Prydwen, Citadel

Age: 38 (yikes)

Grise is a cryptic, zealous, and eclectically perverse snake of a man whose sees both his existence and eventual death as plights of a martyr. He is a direct descendant of Casey Lee Loomis but, as with the entirety of his family line, has disowned his name. Grise is the last in a long line of scribes with little over 150 years of generational dedication to the cause. He has no children or spouse. 

He’d always been an outspoken fundamentalist and loyal Maxson-line supporter, earning him the chance to join the transport party that escorted the young Maxson to the highly-respected Lyons. At the Citadel, he faded int the background of a well-established hierarchy, slowly making a name for himself by fair means, waiting all the while the day the young Maxson might take control. 

His slow descent into madness began after Squire Maxson’s encounter with the Deathclaw. Feeding off the buzz over this seemingly impossible victory, he discreetly shared his views on the dynamic purity of the Maxson line and its necessity for a successful future. Under the cover of back-door think tanks turned sermons and coded radio chatter, the Cult of Maxson grew. Grise did not directly influence any political maneuvers but cultivated a volatile environment. 

His views of Arthur Maxson had gone from respected prince to indomitable diety, unable to see Arthur Maxson’s true moral code and regards the Elder’s distaste for him as a test of loyalty and passion. 

Anita Stallworth

Location: Appalachia, The Mire, Cranberry Bog, Watoga

Age: 39

Anita is confident, sharp-witted, hard-boiled by necessity, and hungry for control of her future. She was born in Maryland but moved with her family to West Virginia while she was still young. Appalachia was an up and coming area that attracted her family with its scenic landscape and lively political circle. The bombs dropped when she was fourteen and home alone. Her father was away on “business” and her mother was having spa treatments done at Whitesprings. Neither one was heard from again. 

While ransacking her mansion, members of the Free States found, took her in and raised her into young adulthood at Harpers Ferry. Despite her dispel of them, she grew to respect their tenacity but hated the isolationist life. She left them for an exhaustive journey to investigate Whitesprings for info about her mother and found the place clean and empty. After that, she spent a decade wandering in and out of Appalachia, mostly sticking to the Mire and Cranberry Bog, assisting the various groups for a quick cap and never committing to any one creed. She worked as a hired gun at Fort Defiance until orders got too expensive for their taste. 

Out to find the next bigger and better thing that might give her the edge, She finds her way into the Enclave after Robert(who is supposed to be dead but I can have AUs okay) has already established his position and quickly rises past him in rank to General. She remains in power with Enclave. 

Robert Covington

Location: Appalachia, Vault 76, Enclave Bunker, transient

Age: 47 

Robert is cold, analytical, immensely reserved about his predilections, and cares more for prestige and security than anything. He entered the vault at 21, not entirely finished with medical school but flash trained at the last minute by VTU for the role of Physician in Vault 76. His parents: Mother being an investment broker and father a steel mogel with a military contract, did not make the cut for entry. Leaving them behind, and their constant pressure for acceptance, was a small relief to Robert.

In the vault, he was private and kept to himself in downtime. Interacting briefly with others only at social events and holidays. An occasional drink and rare sweet were his small pleasures, along with old westerns and jazz music. Casey and he met by way of a routine eye exam with Casey complaining of poor vision. Casey’s impulsive energy, bold speech, and flash-bulb eyes attracted and excited him. Going against his limited morals and instead of recommending Casey’s to another doctor, he forged records to reflect necessary medical treatment to allow for extended private time and constant access to his patient, much to Casey’s enjoyment. At the peak of their secret affairs, he placed Casey on a homebound quarantine with access restricted only to himself. The Overseer caught wind of the quarantine by word of mouth and demanded an explanation as to why the quarantine was not reported. When she seemed unconvinced by his excuses and suspicious “records”, he attested that Casey and himself were in love and feared they’d be judged too harshly for their relationship. She believed him only after speaking with Casey directly but, only barely so. 

To keep up appearances, Robert remained with Casey as a husband for six years until a month before Reclamation Day, considering Casey a liability to his survival in the wasteland. Canonically, he is killed by Casey within a year. Nonconically, he joins the Enclave after failing to be a successful wasteland doctor with Nate as a hired bodyguard and becomes Anita Stallworths personal chew toy.  

Horace Beaufort

Age: 58

Horace is an ex-resident of vault 51. How he managed to escape the vault continues to be a matter of discussion and debate. I speculate that his role in the vault was to stir the pot or take advantage of chaos. He killed several of his fellow vault dwellers before leaving the said vault. 

His prewar life was not glamorous. He enlisted young and was dishonorably discharged for fighting a fellow soldier in a bar. He called it “working out their differences” and they called it misconduct. The whole thing became a monkey he let sit on his back his whole life and refused to come back from. He saw pockets of brief jail time for more public disturbances and drunken disorderly, “dabbled” in drugs and tried his hand at married life. He has two adult children he barely knows and an ex-wife that hates his guts.

A post-vault world led him into an equally unglamorous attempt at raider life. He fell in with the Gourmands for a brief period as a “hunter”. He abandoned them all as the gangs began feuding. Somewhere in there, he met his best friend, Duke. @avaleon

He now lives in the forest region in an old shack selling old armor and eating anyone that happens to come around when he is hungry. Did I forget to mention he is a cannibal? 

Milo Orson

Location: Commonwealth, Spectacle Island

Age: 36

Milo is career-minded (Elder Maxson’s favorite flavor of solider), a dry-humored freelance mercenary turned passionate Knight. His hobbies include killing undesirables on and off the clock and building secluded settlements for R&R.

While Paladin Danse had tank-like capabilities, Milo was more stealthy and the two complemented each other’s styles to make for a powerhouse two-man team. Sharing similar past times, the men enjoy each others company outside the battlefield at Milo’s personally designed Spectacle Island settlement for fishing, sparring, reading, and in-depth discussions. Milo designed and built a top floor suite for the Elder in the Airport, complete with its own shooting range and full bathroom. The Elder politely refused the gift and repurposed it for storage. 

Despite his odd and indirect advances, Milo was the mastermind and main supporter of a black-body-suited shadow squad that gained Elder Maxson’s approval. Unofficially consisting of Paladin Danse, Knight-Commander Alton, Elder Maxson himself, and Senior Scribe Grise, this squad was loosely inspired by and created to emulate the disbanded Lyons Pride. The mission remained constant: eliminating hostiles seemingly overnight when no other squad would prevail. The shadow squad was titled Purity Control.

Senior Scribe Grise was forcibly removed from the squad after being caught taking night watches on missions just to stare at the Elder while he slept. 

Vance Ainsley Alton

Location: Commonwealth, Citadel, Prydwen

Age: 38

Vance A. Alton is fiercely loyal, gentle in all things but war, cautiously private and confident in his skills as a soldier. He is a second generation Brother that has three constant loves: his Elder, his parents, and jogging. 

Full bio here.

Jacob or “Jay”

Location: Commonwealth, Prydwen, Sanctuary

Jacob is somewhere between a blown fuse and a Furby with dying batteries that cheerfully declares your impending death from the closet you tried to suffocate it in. He is immensely charismatic and flawlessly disarming with the best of intentions. Until you have something he wants, of course.

 After surviving the end of the world to wake up childless, spouseless, and alone, he became numb to consequence and moral choice. Joyfully, he played all factions against each other, bringing them together at the Battle of Bunker Hill at the cost of lives, intelligence, valuable resources, and relationships. He was commanded to choose his loyalties and he chose the Brotherhood for it’s unapologetic adherence to its duty to humanity. He attempted to continue relations with the Minutemen and lost their respect after participating in the killing of innocents in the attack on the Institute. He became Elder Maxson’s first Sentinal and drinks with Proctor Teagan in his downtime. As a side project, he oversaw the creation a tavern just outside the airport with the Brotherhood reaping benefits from the small economy that surrounds it.

“Jelly”

Location: Commonwealth, The Castle

Jelly is known only as thus and was previously married to Jacob. She is trusting and fair in her judgments and has a strong sense of justice for both the human and nonhuman. She survives the cryogenics unbeknownst to Jacob and joins the Minutemen after the fall of the Institute and the Brotherhood assumes control of the Commonwealth. Provoked to rage and hurt by their narrow-minded views, she attacks the Prydwen single-handedly, separate of any faction or companion. She massacres the entirety of the ship, sparing only children, and takes the Captain’s hat and Elder’ s Jacket as trophies. She is appointed the new general of the Minutemen and wears her trophies boldly as proof of her conquest. She finds new love and comfort with Preston and long-lasting friendship in Curie and MacCready. 

[crewhonk]

Papa Don’t Preach ii

Authors Note: I know i usually dont to these but you guys are the loves of my life! all 306 of you!!! MANY HUGS AND KISSES TO ALL. And see if yall can catch my Power Ranger references in this one!! :D

Words: 2,637

Summary: After a week of silence from Billy after the family dinner gone wrong, you confront him about it and talk it out like adults. He propses a crazy idea after a public fight with your dad, Chief Jim Hopper

Requested: HIGHLY REQUESTED GOD LOVE YOU ALL! If you want more, just lemme know!!!! 

Masterlist

Part One | Part Two

It had been an entire week since you had spoken to either Jim Hopper or Billy Hargrove. Jim had taken to grumbling around the cabin every night, and slamming doors and cracking a new beer every ten minutes. Eleven had been quiet, spending more time with the Party and up in your loft reading books and listening to you talk about your day at school and how Billy was. Eleven had developed quite the fascination with Billy, as they had similar experiences growing up. She and Max had spoken about him sparingly and without your friends true and undying support in your affections for Billy Hargrove, it had been nice growing closer to the younger girls who seemed to understand. You and Billy hadn’t been growing closer over the past week, however, and it had left you disgruntled (and almost offended) since you had been inseparable these past few months. It was a shock to your system not having him in your life as a constant, and it had been even more of a shock to you to have to ride in the backseat of Jonathan Byers car. The biggest shock, however, was watching Jonathan and Nancy interact with each other, and feeling nothing but resentment towards them for even the slightest actions (Nancy had brushed a piece of hair that was hanging in his face and you wanted to vomit, honestly) despite them being two of your closest friends.

So, here you were, staring at your locker at nothing but your thoughts and fiddling with the necklace Billy had given you one random day. He saw it on sale in some store downtown and when he had given it to you two weeks into your relationship he had mumbled something about ‘I don’t know. It reminded me of you— don’t make a big deal about it’. Since then you hadn’t taken it off- even when it left green marks around your neck, and even when the fake silver had made your chest break out in bumps. Your eyes flashed in sudden anger towards everything in your life, and your fist gripped your necklace before you slammed your locker door shut, calling the attention of a few passerby’s.

Including Carol and her gang.

“Trouble in paradise, Y/N?” She asked, smiling and brushing a piece of your hair over your shoulder and fiddling with your necklace.

“Last time I checked, it wasn’t any of your business.” You glared, and pushed past her. She grabbed your arm to spin you around and you ripped your arm out of her grasp.

“He’s beautiful in bed, Y/N, just in case you forgot.” Tina piped up from behind Carol, cackling before walking away. You shoved past Carol and Casey and wrapped your fist in her brown hair, pulling hard enough for Tina to spin and glare at you, raising her fist. Before she had a chance to hit you, you pulled your hand back and slapped her hard on the face.

“Did you just slap me?” She shrieked.

“Yeah, I guess I did.” You replied before shoving her back into the lockers behind her. She let out a high-pitched scream that you could barely hear because your pulse was racing in your ears and your rage blocked most of your senses. You drew back a fist before bringing it down hard on her face and splitting her lip with the ring you had stolen from Billy’s makeshift vanity.

“Dont— you— ever— speak— about him— that way!” You yelled, punctuating every syllable with a punch or a slap to the face. Before you could damage her face any more, you felt yourself being heaved over someone’s shoulder. “Let me go!” You screeched, hitting the denim-clad back that you were faced with.

You fought and wriggled until you were put down on the grass but the parking lot. You were face-to-face with the bare chest clad with a virgin mary pendant. You glared up into the blue eyes of your boyfriend and pushed past him.

“Y/N lets talk.” He said, grabbing the back of your shirt and pulling you into his chest. He wrapped his arms around your waist, not letting your run from him. You spun in his arms and slammed your palms against his chest.

“No! You don’t get to want to talk to me after avoiding me for a week. You don’t get to!” You yelled while hitting him over and over. He took his hands and wrapped them around your wrists. “You’re a dickhead, and I deserve better than someone who ignores me after one shitty date with my dad. My dad is mad at me too, thanks for asking. He’s not even speaking to me and all he does is drink and grumble and everything is shit right now. So, no. You don’t get to talk to me.” You cried, tears flowing from your eyes and running down your face. He removed his hands from your wrists and brushed them over your cheeks, wiping away the blush you had applied on your cheeks that morning. You slid your hands around his waist and under his denim jacket and cried into his chest. You cried for Billy, and your love for him and you cried for him because your dad didn’t see what you did.

What you saw in Billy was a beautiful star of a man. You saw someone who was filled with repressed potential, and you saw someone who compensated for their home life at school. You saw someone who loves chocolate milkshakes and Krispy Kreme coffee. He loved when you cooked your favorite greek chicken and was genuinely so excited the first time you made it. You saw someone who portrayed themselves as a dog person but melted whenever they saw a cat or kitten on the street. You saw someone who wanted to be a social worker. Someone who wanted to fight for children who showed up to school with bruises, or to fight for the women and men who had to put on makeup to hide the dark circles under their eyes. You saw someone who wanted to save people but hid that desire to be respected in their school community. You saw someone who was beaten and abused and manipulated by toxic masculinity and broken families. You saw an inherently flawed man who was the love of your life.

“Come on, Princess. Let’s go somewhere else.” He whispered in your ear. You felt his lips brush against your ear, and the closeness made you shiver.

“What about Max?” You mumbled, rubbing your nose into his shirt, and continuing to rest your head against his chest.

“She has Nerd Club tonight.”

“Be nice.” You warned. He laughed and grabbed your cheeks, bringing your face to his and pecking your lips softly and pulling you to his Camaro. His arm was wrapped around the back of your neck and you held the hand that was resting on your shoulder, fingers intertwining together. He opened the door for you to climb into his car and you curled up in the seat. He got into the car, started it and turned down the music until it was nearly inaudible. The crooning voice of Steven Tyler reached your ears and you wiped your eyes, blinking rapidly. He pulled out of the parking lot and tore down Main Street ignoring cars that honked and anyone who cursed his driving.

“Where do you wanna go?” He asked, resting his hand high on your thigh. You rested your hand on top of his and played with his fingers.

“I don’t care.” You sighed. He grunted lightly and drove down to a nearby lakeside. You both got out and you walked around to the front of the car to watch the small waves crash against the rocky shore. There was a small dock launch, and algae collecting around the pillars that held the dock up. You felt a tiny weight on your shoulders and looked down to see that Billy had draped his extra leather jacket around your shoulders. You hummed in thanks as he joined you on the hood of his car. He offered you a cigarette and you took it silently and leaned into the flame from his Zippo lighter.

“You can’t do that to me, you know. You can’t just stop talking to me.” You exhaled the smoke from your lungs and coughed at the scratchiness is left in your throat.

“I’m causing issues in your home life, baby. I can’t do that to you.” He replied, his voice strong.

“You don’t get to decide that shit alone anymore, Bill. We’re in a relationship that I know neither of us plans on leaving, so we need to start working as a team. There’s no ‘I’ anymore.” You replied, kicking rocks with the tip of your white (not really white. they were once upon a time) converse shoe. The wind blew both of your hair in your faces and you could smell the seaweed and fish living in the lake. The clouds were rolling in, promising a storm and despite knowing this, both of you had no intention of leaving this spot.

“I know. I’m scared of how much I love you, though. I want to take you away from that cabin, and from that asshole cop and I want to take you home to California where we can sit like this in front of an ocean instead of this shit pond.”

“He’s my dad, Billy. I can’t leave him. Not again— you know this. And Eleven would tear me a new one if I left her. She likes you by the way.” You tried to convince yourself. Truthfully, you had never felt welcome at Hoppers cabin and the only thing that chained you here was Eleven. You could feel Billy’s gaze on the side of your face, but you didn’t turn to get his gaze and instead, taking a long drag from your cig.

“Who? Jane?” You nodded in response. “What’s her deal, by the way?” He asked.

“Legally, I can’t tell you much, but she comes from a pretty bad place and was abused in every way imaginable. They didn’t teach her anything, so mentally she’s behind for her age. She’s smarter and stronger than everyone I know, though.” He only hummed in recognition of your statement and rubbed his cold nose with his sleeve.

The two of you stayed on the hood of his car until the sky darkened and thunder began rumbling in the distance. He drove you home soon after the first rain fell, and you two sat in the car, talking about nothing and letting conversations come and go naturally, comfortable silences lasting between each one. He drove back into Hawkins and pulled into the Benny’s Diner parking lot and you both laughed and ran into the building, using his jackets to avoid getting soaked by the March rain.

Your laughter died quickly, however when you saw Jim standing at the counter waiting for food to take home to you and Elle. He sent a hard glare towards Billy, before settling his eyes on you and motioning for you to come closer. You told Billy to go and find a booth before walking over to your dad and leaning on the fake marble countertop. He tapped his pack of cigarettes three times on the counter before turning to finally look at you. You saw the eyes of a genuinely worried father staring back at you and you just looked down at your fingernails in shame.

“Where’ve you been, Kid?” His voice had an underlying command that made you look up to meet his eyes.

“Down by the lake. I had a bad day today, and Billy was there to help me out.” You replied, trying to ignore the way your voice sounded a little too full of emotion. You expected many things when you would finally confront Jim about your situation, but being on the verge of tears after a two sentence conversation wasn’t on the list of things you had thought about.

“Eleven was wondering where you were. She’s worried.” He looked away from you and you watched his thick brow bone furrow in a little bit of frustration.

“Okay, so you weren’t worried? Good to know.” You rapped your knuckles twice on the counter and turned to walk away towards your boyfriend who was watching you and your dad protectively.

“Y/N, you know that’s not how I meant it.” He said sharply. You turned around to look at him slowly and clenched and unclenched your fists together.

“How did you mean it then?” You challenged.

“I meant it in the way that I’m not going to be around forever, and you are all Eleven has after I leave. You’re her family.”

“So what am I? Chopped liver, Dad? I’m your actual daughter! Or did you miss that wave when it washed over you? I get that Elev- Jane is your favorite, but I’m your actual skin and bones and blood and you’ve been treating me like the gum on the bottom of your shoe.” You growled at him, pointing at his feet and glaring hard.

“Y/N! Would you just listen to me!” He yelled. You were suddenly grateful that you, Billy, Jim and the chef were the only other ones in the diner. “You are a new thing to me! After Sarah died, your mom refused to let me talk to you and then all of a sudden, ten years later she throws you on my front doorstep without one word of explanation, and you’re suddenly expecting me to be a good father? I need time to deal with this too!”

“How do you think I feel, Jim?! My own mother abandoned me and made me move three states and expected me to live with an alcoholic of a father! I didn’t even get a chance to understand what was going on before it actually happened!” You said, angrily wiping away tears that had leaked from the corners of your eyes. “I get that shit’s hard for you right now, but you’re not the only one in this story!”

With this, you spun and fled the diner, not knowing where to go but knowing you needed to get out of that diner because suddenly the walls were closing in and the temperature was too hot for you. You ran out into the rain and stopped as the cold of the evening hit you. You tilted your head to the sky and took in a deep breath of fresh air. You jumped and were immediately pushed into fight mode when someone grabbed your hand and intertwined their fingers with yours. The scent of cheap cologne and cigarettes stopped you, and you squeezed your eyes shut.

“What do you expect me to say, Bill.” You whispered after a second. You were met by silence, and you let it draw out until you felt as if you were going to implode. You looked up at your boyfriend.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” He mumbled, stepping closer and making you turn to face him. He cupped your jaw with one hand and gripped your hand tighter with the other. He leaned down and brushed his lips lightly over yours. You could sense his hesitation.

“What is it?” You asked, stepping closer until your chest was pressed flat against his.

“I’m gonna say something crazy, and you’re not allowed to freak out.”

“After the day I’ve had, anything would be hard pressed to phase me,” You said, kissing his nose softly.

“Let’s go to California. Just for a trip. I mean, spring break is coming up soon, and we wouldn’t miss much school time, and I mean I’ve always wanted to bring you home and when we were at the beach I just wanted to see you in the sun and playing in the sand in a sexy little swim number and I know it’s a little too much to ask, but I’d really like for you to—“

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

[jacquelineshyde]

Michael & Brooke: A guide to a big ass family, part 1.

Next on the meta and headcanon posts about the character’s that aren’t Formans or Pinciottis family, we have the Kelsos. And with Kelsos, I mean the married-in-my-mind Michael Kelso and Brooke Rockwell Kelso.

This is part 1 of 2, in which we are going to talk about the long ass list of Kelsos and their relationship with both, Michael and Brooke. 

PS: For this one, I’ll be calling Kelso by his name, Michael, since I’m going to be using his lastname a lot.

We are told Michael has lots of siblings and this makes his parents put little attention to him. In season 1, we see him interact with his father who takes him to his job for Career Day, while in season 4 we get to see one of his older brothers, Casey who is a damn disaster.

Another thing we are told is that Kelso has only one (younger) sister who is chubby and who he seems to love enough to be angry at his friends for calling her a “cow”. He also shows anger at them talking about his mother, which makes me believe he has a good relationship with the two women.

He also didn’t seem to have a bad relationship with his father.

Now, what is intriguing is the fact that we are told having so many kids made their parents ignore them as they took care of the younger ones. When seeing separately, they doesn’t seem like bad parents, but once you get to see the great picture, one starts to understand from where Michael got to grow up to be selfish and jealous.

If their parents never got to control their children and find a way to put the deserving attention to all of them, one can only wish Michael would had grown in a better house. This also keeps the theme of absent parents so present in the show.

This was probably thought this way not for ddeper reasons but to having an excuse for the gang to be always with and at the Forman’s, having always permission to go out and do stupid shit without furter consequences. But it gave The Formans a compassion no other TV family has, and also hints of characterization to the rest of the characters, since their types of abandone are so different from the other’s, but abandone no less.

His relationship with Casey is weird. It’s very cliché sibling-like in the sense that they see each other and Casey immediatelly pulls his triggers and bothers him as much as he can, but other than that, we never see him bond in any ways.

This makes me believe Michael may not have a good relationship with most his older siblings, which also makes me believe he must be around the fourth kid, only having his sister and another baby brother behind him. Here is where we start with the headcanons.

I have chosen names and professions to all of Michael brothers and sister. I’ll list them for you before we start talking about Brooke’s entrance to the family.

John, is the older one. By the time Brooke comes along, he is already married and has a kid.

Tom who is married to Lily, and have a baby only a year older than Betsy. This is the brother Michael actually has a good relationship with, and he likes expending time with him and his wife Lily. He was excited when they announced Lily was pregnant, ad they were his major support from their family when Brooke got pregnant.

Casey, who we know is a damn disaster and a complete asshole. Michael will probably never be able to have a better relationship with him.

[Michael]

Kimberly, “Kim”. The only sister. She is chubby, a little bit dumb, but sort of cute and incredible spoiled.

Christopher, “Chris”. Super spoiled, pretty young still.

Brooke was pretty welcomed to the family, and so was Betsy. What she doesn’t know is that Michael’s parents rolled their eyes at him getting someone he isn’t even dating pregnant, while John had to pay Casey for a bet they did years ago, about if he [Casey] or Michael would get someone pregnant first. 

She [Brooke] felt a little awkward at the beginning because she comes from a smaller family and she heard from Michael how distant his parents can be, and how much crap John and Casey give him. But it went good since the beginning.

His mother was kind of excited once she met her, since Brooke is so different from her son and her daughter. She believes something good will have to come from this, that Betsy will be smarter or something. While his dad was fine with her, actually is nice to her and talks to her a lot. 

Yet, Mrs. Kelso is more present all the time, always calling to know how Brooke is feeling and then to know how Betsy is doing.

When she had to leave to Chicago, she was actually surprised at how the family reacted wanting her to stay. She was even offered to live with them, but as she talked with Michael before, going to Chicago was the best for her and Betsy, and so they left only to be followed by Kelso a few months after he finished his preparation as a cop.

For her wedding, she was given her somethig old from Mrs. Kelso and her something borrowed by Kim, who absolutely adores Brooke. She sees her as an older sister and admires her, wants to be with her, as pretty and cool, as she sees her. Michael gives her shit about it, but he is happy to have Kim over with them.

They also carry a lot with little Chris, since his parents usually can’t afford a babysitter and Brooke is terrified of the stories Michael has told her about Casey being his babysitter. So Chris and Kim are usually with them and are sent to Chicago to spend the summer with them, or at least a week with them.

Betsy grows up fond of her uncle Tom and Aunt Kim, and plays a lot with Uncle Chris. She has a good relationship with her cousins, too. Tom’s son, Marvin, is only a year and half older than Betsy, so they are very good friends.

Tom and Lily are always hanging out with Brooke and Michael. They are their plus couple when Hyde and Jackie can’t hang out, and they are always invated to couple’s gathering when Jackie does them at her place. They are almost always the older couple in the reunions, when Mr. and Mrs. Forman can’t attend, but it’s always fun.

Casey still enjoys bothering Michael, but after Brooke slapped him in front of everyone, he has learned to keep his shit away from her. Funny enough, he fell in love with little Betsy and she has him eating in the palm of her chubby, small, baby hand.

He’ll do anything for little Betsy, even when he is still shitty to Michael and his friends when they get reuinited during Betsy’s or her sibling’s birthdays.

[another-tmnt-writer]

Not the One

Raphael x Reader

Not the One

Prompt: It was hella long and hella good and basically, it’s a soulmate AU with a twist and aaaaaaaaaah I’m in love with this idea.

Note: AAAAAAAAAAAH I’M DYINGGGGG I’M SO EXCITED TO WRITE THISSSSSSS. Edit: this took so much longer than intended, but it came out a lot longer than I intended too, so...

@wumperin @brayden1616

“Yer kidding. A week. We have an entire week like this?” Raph looked at his very human fingers on his very human hands attached to his very (temporarily) human body. “An entire week?”

“Possibly longer.” Donatello scanned himself and his brothers. What had been a lab accident while handling the purple ooze had resulted in whatever this was. Raph had another concern. His soulmate timer was within hours now, and maybe being like this would help him meet the person he was meant to spend his entire life with.

“So…” Leo tried to come up with a plan. But if he was being honest, he had no idea how to handle this.

“We’ve gotta seize the opportunity, dudes. We’re only ever going to be normal once, we have to take advantage of it.”

“And?” Leo raised an eyebrow.

“We’re gonna go to school.”

***

“So these are your…” The counselor from the high school looked up to April and Casey, the boys standing in a line behind them.

“These are my nephews.” April said. “They’re kind of transfer students, but only for a week or so. It’s part of a program to let Queens students experience what school is like in the rest of New York City.”

“Sounds doable. Do you have their grades and records and such on hand, or do I need to contact their other school for the information?”

“It should all be here, but I can call Principal Mayweather if we’re missing anything.” April pushed her glasses up her nose and handed the counselor a flash drive Donnie had thrown together that morning.

“Great. Thank you so much.”

Raph glanced down at his timer. Minutes. Minutes now. The counselor gave them their schedules and sent them on their way. It was about ten minutes until class was supposed to start, and about ten until Raph was supposed to meet his soulmate. God, his heart was racing in his unusual human chest. He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

April and Casey said goodbye to the boys and told them they’d come pick them up after school. Next, they attempted to find their lockers. All the way up on the third floor above the art wing. Raph scanned the numbers for the four that belonged to himself and his brothers. It took a few minutes, but they found them. God, combination locks were confusing, but Donnie helped him figure it out with his clumsy human fingers. He wasn’t used to having so many. What were the extra two good for anyway?

He grabbed his math book and his notebook and calculator and dumped it into the red backpack that sort of made him feel like he had a shell again. It was a comforting weight, sort of. It gave an illusion that he was still who he had always been, despite looking and feeling so different now. Needing all of the same core classes meant that the boys were together for their first two hours, but they broke off in the afternoon to do the specials they had chosen.

So off they headed to Geometry, where they were sure Donnie would have to explain everything to them. When they got to the classroom, they were greeted by a group of fresh faces. Nerds, jocks, preps, goths, rockers, it seemed that everyone was represented. A few of the girls whispered to one another, subtly pointing to the group of attractive boys in front of them and giggling about the endless possibilities.

“Transfer students, huh? There are some seats over there in the back of the room. What are your names?”

“Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo.” Leo answered. Mrs. Russo’s skeptical face told them he should have given her their nicknames instead. “Our uh, parents are huge art geeks.” He offered.

“I can tell. Well, Renaissance gang, you can sit in the four seats to the left of Ms. (L/N). (Y/N), raise your hand please.”

You didn’t lower the book from your face when you raised your hand. Raph didn’t know what it was about you that was throwing him off, but there was something there. It felt like a wire had wrapped around his heart and was starting to squeeze. Great. A heart attack what- twenty seconds- before he met his soulmate. Wonderful.

He walked over and took the seat beside you, his brothers settling into the other seats. As the bell rang to signal class had started, you folded your bookmark into the center of the book and set it on the desk beside your math stuff. Finally, you glanced over at Raph just as his counter hit zero.

His green eyes widened as he took in everything about you. The cute black plastic frames that sat on your nose, the perfect bun of soft locks that sat atop your head, the music notes painted onto your fingernails and the piano key suspenders that held up your black skirt. You were so goddamned cute he could barely stand it. His heart hammered in his chest. And then he spotted the timer on your wrist.

You still had ten days left.

He looked around to see if anyone else had finished their timer, but there wasn’t anyone. Just him.

“You’re the new kids?” You asked. God, your voice was so sweet. It hurt. Maybe you weren’t meant to be with him, but he knew with all of his beating heart that he was meant to be with you.

“Y-yeah.” Raph replied. “I’m Raphael. Call me Raph.” He smiled at your unknowing gaze. You didn’t know how much you had crushed him in the instants he had known you.

“(Y/N) (L/N).” His eyes wandered to the book on your desk.

“What’cha reading?”

“Beastly.” You replied, handing him the worn book. “I’ve read it like seven thousand times. It’s honestly amazing. I’m in love with Beauty and the Beast, so this is just- ugh it’s so good.”

“Hmm.” He flipped through the pages before handing it back to you. “I’ll have ta check it out sometime. Never seen it.”

“You what?! We’ve gotta change that.” You smiled at the little interaction.

“Might just have to take ya up on that offer.” He grinned. You felt your heart melt a little.

Mrs. Russo started the lesson, and it didn’t take long for Raph to become completely and utterly confused. Donnie was busy helping Mikey and Leo seemed to understand what was happening, but Raph was so lost. And based on the notes on your page, you seemed to get it.

“Hey,” he whispered. “Can you uh, I don’t get it.”

“Sure!” you nodded. “What do you need help with?”

“How are ya supposed to use the whatever-it-is to find the side? I keep getting’ the wrong numbers.”

“Okay so this is the hypotenuse.”

“Mmhmm.”

“And so you just add the squares of the other sides to-”

“This is a triangle, what do squares have to do with it?” he asked. You giggled.

“You’ve never taken Geometry before, have you?”

“How’d ya guess?” he offered a sheepish chuckle and shook his head. “It may as well be written in Chinese.”

“Well, tell you what, I don’t have any plans after school. If you need a tutor, you could come to my apartment. We’ll watch Beauty and the Beast and do math. Two birds in one stone.”

“Sounds great.” He felt his heart start hammering again and wished it would stop. He couldn’t have you. You weren’t his to have. He wasn’t your soulmate. The universe didn’t care about his feelings. And yet, he accepted the invitation knowing full well that the more he built up momentum, the harder he’d fall when he lost you.

***

“I can’t believe you’ve never seen this movie.” You told him as you sat down with the popcorn on the couch of your apartment. The math was done, and now all that was left was to expose him to the movie you held nearest and dearest to your heart.

“Grew up with four boys, there’s not a whole lot of Disneying that goes on.”

“Well, I guess that’s what I’m around for, right?” You asked, tossing a few kernels of fluffy popcorn into your mouth. Raph grabbed a handful too.

“Guess so. That and math assistance.” He chuckled. You pressed play and draped a blanket over your legs and his. You had only met Raph that afternoon, but it felt like you had known him for years. Maybe he was just meant to be your best friend. Maybe there was a secret internal clock that had stopped ticking while the one counting down her true love was still running.

As the movie started, Raph watched every second. He loved every minute of it, but maybe only because he had you beside him, reciting every word right along with it. He was surprised the DVD even worked at all with how many times you had probably watched it. It was unhealthy, but this perfect little quirk was one of the many things he’d miss when he’d have to let you go.

***

After morning classes the next day, you found Raph and his brothers at lunch and took a seat with them instead of sitting with your other friends as you usually did. The other three smiled at you. They had talked to Raph the night before in a conversation that had basically consisted of Raph telling them about his soulmate that wasn’t his soulmate and the movie they had watched about loving people beyond their exterior. Donnie had called it beautifully tragic and pretty damn ironic. Raph agreed. But he was determined to be friends with you at least. He wanted to get to know you. He’d rather know you for a week and then never see you again than never know you for who you really were before it was too late.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey (Y/N),” Raph grinned.

“So, I figured, if this is your only week here, we’ve gotta make the best of it. Mall. Tonight. Do you have plans?”

“No.” Leo answered. “No plans.”

“Good. I have a car. Meet me by my locker after school.”

“All right, angelcakes.” Mikey winked. “We’ll be there.”

***

Here they were. The mall. It wasn’t what they had expected, but in a way, it was. There were pretzel stands and pop-up Chinese food places, a bunch of clothing stores that they could smell from the other end of the mall, and of course the movie theater. You and the boys nestled into the corner booth of the food court with giant pretzels, nachos, and giant red slushies. And they just watched.

“You guys act like you’ve never been to a mall before.” You chuckled, taking a sip of your slushy. They offered apologetic shrugs.

“Would it be bad if we told ya we haven’t?” Raph asked. You raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously?! This trip has taken on a new importance. After we finish these pretzels, we have a mission.”

“What are we gonna do?” Leo asked.

“Everything.”

You had promised everything, and you had pretty much delivered. Hollister? Check. Target? Check. The arcade? Check. Photo booth? Check. Movie? In progress. Raph as seated beside you with Mikey on his other side. Mikey kept making attempts at signaling his older brother to get him to make a move on you. Raph shook his head. The move wasn’t his to make. He couldn’t push himself on you. Not like this.

But when there was a huge jump scare, you clung to his bicep, causing both of your heart rates to soar. A slow smile crept across his lips.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry.” You apologized. Raph leaned into whisper a reply.

“No harm done. If ya need someone to protect ya from the monsters, I’m right here.”

“Oh hush, you.” You giggled as a timid blush settling across your cheeks and gave his shoulder a tiny shove, earning a deep chuckle. Another distorted creature jumped out of the shadows on the screen. Mikey spilled popcorn, and you pulled one of Raph’s large hands in front of your face. He laughed and smiled at you, a soft smile that his brothers had never seen before.

But it faded just as fast as it had formed with the realization that he only had a few more days with you before he’d have to say goodbye. Forever. He had been human for so long now that he had forgotten he’d have to go back. The clock was ticking. He had to take advantage of this while he could because before he knew it, he’d lose his soulmate just as fast as he had found her.

***

The week passed in a breeze. Your school days consisted of helping Raph with math and having lunch with him and his brothers. After school hours, all five of you would pile into your car and go back to your apartment for pizza and movies. But today…today was different. Today was goodbye. Raph wanted to make it special. If he was going to let you go, he certainly didn’t want you to forget him.

April had helped him pack a picnic basket and assisted him with his surprise present. So at noon on Saturday, he arrived at your apartment to pick you up and then you took the train to Central Park.

He had told you that the rest of the boys were busy packing up, but really they just wanted to give their brother space to say goodbye to you on his own. After all, he was the one losing the most when they became turtles again. He had hours.

You sat down on the red and white checkered blanket and helped him unpack the food and such. You popped a bright strawberry into your mouth. It was a few minutes before Raph brought up the topic of goodbye.

“So uh, we’re goin’ back to Queens tomorrow.” Raph said. You nodded. “So uh, I wanted to say goodbye.”

“It’s not like we can’t still hang out, right? We can still be friends.” You looked at him. He smiled sadly. “Can’t we?”

“I don’t know. I just…I’m not what you think I am…I’m not who you think I am. You’re meeting your soulmate in three days and-”

“How did you know about that?” you asked, heart racing at the thought of the future being so close. Too close.

“It’s on yer wrist.” Raph shrugged. A sad look formed in his green eyes and a sudden wave of realization washed over you. You grabbed Raph’s hand, pulling his wrist so you could see it. He tried to pull it back from you, but didn’t want to fight you, and he didn’t want to lie to you either. Well, more than he already was anyway.

“Your timer…” Your face scrunched up. “Who’s your soulmate?”

“That’s a…complicated question.” Raph answered. You looked at him slowly, hesitating to meet his gaze. As soon as your eyes fell on his, his hand tensed up.

“No.” your voice was quiet, eyes wide and heart trying to escape your chest. “It can’t…I can’t…Mine is still…” Your eyes locked onto the numbers as they ticked lower and lower. You denied it, and yet maybe you had known the moment you met him. Something was off. Something about the way h talked to you, the way he interacted with you.

“I know. It’s impossible. But uh, I never really expected to have a soulmate anyway, so…I guess at least I got to know ya before I gotta say goodbye.”

“But-”

“It’s all right.” Raph read the hurt on your face. The broken that came with the hand the universe had dealt the two of you. “I’ll be all right. So will you when you meet him.” He reached into the basket. “I got ya something to remember me by.”

Raph pulled out a little velvet box and opened it. Inside was a necklace: a silver turtle pendant on a leather cord. “I…I know it ain’t much, but-”

“I love it.” You told him. You wish you could tell him more. That you loved him, that you were his soulmate, but one of those statements wasn’t true. Raph did the clasp around your neck and pulled your hair over the cord. He smiled sadly. You took his hand in your own. “No matter what happens…no matter what the universe has in store for either of us…I will never forget you, Raphael. I promise. And I know it doesn’t matter much, but…I love you.” You stated quietly. He pulled you into his arms and held you as though you would disappear.

“It matters more that ya could ever know. I love you too.”

***

Raph woke up the next morning the way he grew up. A turtle. Big and bulky and covered in muscle. His scales and shell had reappeared as his extra fingers and hair had disappeared. He rolled over and stared at the wall. You were gone. He had lost you forever, and two nights from now, you would move on. You would forget about him.

He rolled onto his shell and stared at the ceiling, cursing the universe for everything. He wanted to punch something, so off to the dojo he went to punch the shit out of their punching bag. This went on for two days. Raph listened to his loud music and punched their bag until it fell off of its hook, only to pick it up and repeat the cycle. He barely ate, and every time he tried to sleep, all he could see was your face and the sadness in your eyes when you realized you were his but he couldn’t be yours. The heartbreak he had caused. The heartbreak he had received.

He should have just left you at the very beginning. Then he wouldn’t be like this.

When Leo announced a patrol on the night you were going to move on from him, he was ready to bust some heads. How else was the emotion supposed to get out of him? His anger, his sadness, his regret, he was going to get rid of all of it.

And so out they went, out of the sewers and onto the surface, hopping from building to building until finally, they found what they were looking for: crime. Some lowlife gang members were harassing some chick, and they were going to put a stop to it. Except, the chick wasn’t just any old girl. It was you. Raph stopped in his tracks, the anger bubbling up inside of him before diving in to pull the guys off of you. The guys were going to help him, but he didn’t need it. He was so powerful, zipping through the shadows like, well, a ninja. The guys left standing ran for the hills, terrified of the huge green creature that had beat up their friends.

You took a few shaky steps backwards. What if whatever had helped was coming for you next. You couldn’t see him in the dark, but Raph could see you. Even now, you were stunning. You took a few steps forward, causing him to step back.

“Hello?”

“I ain’t who ya think, (Y/N).” Raph said. Your breath hitched, eyes awash in realization.

“Raphael?” Your broken voice sliced through the silence. He didn’t answer. “Y-your voice sounds d-different.”

“Ya don’t gotta be afraid.” He tried to reassure you. His voice came from much higher than it had in the past. Had he always been this tall? Your heart hammered and your face reddened and you didn’t know why you were scared, but you were. “It’s okay.”

Tick…tick…tick…

“Raph, let me see you.”

“I uh…don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please.” You whispered. You glanced down at your wrist. There were seconds left. “Please.”

“I want ya tah remember me that way. Not like…this.”

“What do you mean?” You knew what he meant.

“Please, just go home, (Y/N)! Forget about me!”

“I…I can’t, Raph! I can’t just pretend you don’t exist!” You stared at the numbers before holding up your wrist to show him, if he could even see. “I think you’re my soulmate! And for some reason the wires got twisted somewhere, but…Please, Raphael. I love you.” You looked up at where he stood in the dark for a few more seconds before collapsing to your knees, tears rolling down your soft cheeks. Raph carefully, slowly knelt before you so quietly you hadn’t heard him.

He pressed his hand against your cheek, wiping away the tears with his large green fingers. Your eyes opened gradually, rising to look up at his tear-filled green eyes in time with the ding of your timer. The large, rough green face in front of you was a little more than a shock. Your eyes widened. He began to pull away, but you grabbed his huge green hand, keeping him there.

“I’m sorry. About all of this.” He didn’t dare to look at you. Not now that you knew what he truly was. Your small hand ventured up to his cheek, gently travelling across the scales there. Your tentative touches sent shivers up his spine.

“Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry yer stuck with-”

“Shhhhh…” You shushed him, wrapping your arms around him tightly. He held you against his chest, his arms moving slowly to embrace you. He had never imagined you could love him. Not like this. But here you were, hugging him as though he was human.

“But I’m a freak.” Were the only words he could manage to put together.

“You’re not a freak.” You pulled away so you could look at him. “You’re a hero. If it weren’t for you and your brothers, I would be dead three times over.” You paused, watching the slow smile that formed on his cheeks. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” His voice was muffled by the fabric of your sweatshirt as he buried his face in the crook of your neck. “I love you so freakin’ much.”

[foxfyrez]

Chapter 5: Hanging Out

Today was one of Silent's off days that she got every month. It lasted for three days, and today was her last day. She spent the two first days relaxing in her room with Axel and exploring Motorcity (while also searching for the things she's been hunting). And now she just wanted to eat food at Antonio's. She tried to send Axel home for today so he could rest.

He had been out for two days without rest, but he tagged along anyway. He was a sturdy Houndbot. Maybe he didn't get as tired as normal dogs did considering he's part robot and part whatever the fuck the organic material was. He acted as her best friend and sort of transportation to places for Silent. Which currently Silent was on his back as they walked to Antonio's.

People started at them both, whispering to each other. Obviously people were frightened of the very large Houndbot that walked towards the entrance of Antonio's, but some of them were pointing at Silent in hushed voices. Probably worried about the rumors that had begun to spread about her.

Silent jumped off Axel's back, patting him as she was about to head inside when she heard someone call her name.

"Hey Silent!"

Silent turned around to see Skylar, Isabelle, and Brandon all waving at her from across the parking lot. She waved back at them as they came closer. "Hey guys."

"Are you on your break?" Skylar asked.

"It's my last day, yeah." Silent replied, resting against Axel. "Axel and I were gonna go eat something and relax. What're you doing?"

"Axel?" Brandon asked, finally noticing the Houndbot beside of Silent. He gasped and hid behind Skylar while Isabelle hid behind himself. "Is that Axel?"

Silent chuckled, "Axel is my dog buddy." She patted Axel's side. "He isn't gonna hurt you. Junior said he took care of Kane's nasty programming."

The kids inched closer to Axel; all of them wanting to pet the Houndbot but were too afraid to do so.

Axel leaned his head down to the kids, letting out a soft bark. His tail began to wag excitedly.

Silent watched the interaction closely in case Axel started to get uneasy with this many people around him. It seemed like more kids were crowding around them now due to how friendly Axel was acting.

Isabelle put out her to hand to touch the dog's nose and giggled when Axel licked her. "He's so nice!"

Skylar and Brandon looked at each other and nodded. They both went up to pet Axel too. They became less afraid of him and soon wanted to play with him.

Pretty much all the kids (except for the ones who's parents were overprotective) at Antonio's wanted to pet Axel, and Silent had to tell them that he might get rowdy with all the attention. Being kids they didn't understand what she meant, but they did back off.

Axel was thrilled with all the attention he was receiving from the children. He did his best not accidentally squash them. After a while they dispersed, and he was alone with Silent and the three original kids.

Silent patted Axel's side and started walking in with him behind her, but someone stopped her. "Uh.."

"I'm sorry, but no dogs allowed in here." Some snooty lady snapped at Silent. She was glaring at Axel. "Much less a foul beast from Deluxe."

Silent narrowed her eyes at the woman. She didn't look like she worked there so she had no say in the matter. "I'm sorry, do you work here? I don't see you wearing a uniform."

The woman scoffed, "I don't need to work here to tell you that you're not welcome here." She crossed her arms. "Look around! We've all heard the rumors about what you do. I'm sure everybody here doesn't want you to bring in bad luck. It'll probably get even worse since you brought that mutt."

Axel started growling at the lady, stopping when Silent patted his side.

"Look, say whatever you want about me but don't bring Axel into this. He did nothing wrong." Silent snapped at the woman. Silent knew people hated her. It wasn't a big deal, but going after someone she cared about? Oh, they were gonna get it.

"He's one of Kane's monsters that harass us daily! Why on earth would you bring him here?"

"He's been fixed so Kane no longer has control over him. Leave him alone! Actually, leave us all alone so we can get some food. You don't work here so move out of the way." Silent stepped closer to the woman.

"Or what?"

"Or I'll make you." Silent threatened.

It was a tense moment between Silent and this woman. The kids were with Axel, trying to make him feel better.

"Aight, break it up! Carol get out of the way! Silent's a paying customer, and Antonio adores her since she fought off some nasty gangs that threatened to tear this place down." Someone stood behind 'Carol', and it turns out it was Riley Woodler. Riley has brown hair that stopped at her shoulders. Her eyes were blue, and she had various freckles scattered on her face. She had a pale complexion and looked to be about 5'6''.

"But you've heard the rumors, and she brought a monster here!" She pointed at Axel.

"I don't give a shit about the rumors. She's an honored guest so move it!" Riley pushed her out of the way. Riley's eyes locked onto Silent's mask. "Come on in Silent."

Silent was relieved, but she remembered Axel. "Am I allowed to bring my dog?"

Riley looked over to the huge Houndbot chilling with some kids. She recognized the kids as regulars and smiled, "Sure, there was never a rule about bringing pets. Well at least not that I've seen, but I don't know where she got that from."

Axel's tail wagged as he let out a bark, leaning in to lick Riley's face.

"Easy boy! Easy!" Riley laughed, pushing the dog away from her. "I guess ya kids are hungry, right?" She looked down at Skylar, Isabelle, and Brandon.

"Yeah!" They all nodded.

Riley nodded, "Well go and pick out a booth. I'll be there shortly." She walked off to take other people's orders.

Silent, Axel, and the kids headed inside to pick a booth that could fit them all with enough room for Axel to sit beside of the booth.

————————————————————-

Silent could feel the stares directed at her, but she just ignored them. She focused on the kids who were waiting for their food to come out. She placed her head in her hands, humming a soft tune.

The kids were talking about their favorite gangs by the time Riley came back with their lunch in hand. The kids dug into their food, happily munching away while still talking up a storm.

Silent didn't understand the concept of gangs in Motorcity but guessed it was important enough to these kids, especially Skylar. "So who's everyone's fave gang?" She asked, munching on a french fry.

"I think the Amazon's are cool and the FoxFyre gang!" Isabella stated.

"FoxFyre doesn't count cuz they've never been seen out and about," Brandon replied.

"I've seen them though! I've seen their leader at the library a lot!" Isabelle argued.

"Take me next time then! I wanna see her." Brandon replied quickly before looking at Silent to give her his answer. "I like the Weekend Warriors."

"The Electroblades!" Skylar bounced in his seat.

Silent nearly choked on her french fry at the statement from Skylar.

Riley, who stuck around since her 45-minute break started, glanced at Silent in confusion. "You ok there Silent?"

Silent waved her off, swallowing the food quickly. "I'm fine." She gulped down her smoothie. "You like the Electroblades, Skylar?"

"Yep! I wanna join them one day. It's my dream!" He proudly stated, puffing out his chest. "They are so cool! You know how like all the gangs have cars? They use electric skates! They have cool masks like yours Silent!"

Silent looked away from Skylar for a moment to contain all her thoughts. She could feel Riley's stare on her. "What?"

"Is something wrong?" Riley whispered to Silent.

"I've had a lot of run-ins with the Electroblades, and it never ends well. I'm sure they want me dead, but I can't say anything to Skylar about it." She whispered back, returning her full attention to Skylar who was asking her a question.

"Do you know about them, Silent?"

"Yeah, I've heard of them." She didn't want to tell Skylar that she got into fights with them regularly because Crater was such a persistent prick. Skylar probably didn't even know about it. "You must really like them if you're so gung-ho about it."

Skylar smiled proudly.

"Well of course he does. His older brother is a part of them. Naturally, he's excited about it." Brandon stated.

Silent's mood died down as she swallowed her drink the wrong way, causing her to choke again. She coughed a little, thanking Riley for helping her out. "You don't say, hey what's his name? I might've run into him when I'm with the Duke." Hopefully, she hasn't accidentally hurt him.

"His name is Casey, but he goes by a nickname in the gang. I believe it was Wormy or something. I think it's because he dyed his hair red." Skylar began rattling off details about his brother.

Silent felt like she heard the name before but couldn't remember since there were a lot of people in the Electroblades. "I feel like I've heard the name, but I can't specifically recall. What's he look like?"

"He's got red hair that hangs over the right side of his mask. He's kinda skinny and tall too. He has a weird high pitched voice that he only uses in the gang, but his voice is pretty normal." Skylar explained.

"I might of run into him before, but I can't remember. There's a lot of Electroblades. I only remember Crater cuz he's really big and tall." Silent replied. She totally knew who Skylar was talking about because Wormy had a vendetta against her for some reason.

While the kids were talking amongst themselves, Riley nudged Silent's shoulder to get her attention. Riley began to ask her questions about her life and how's it been since the last time they spoke. "Alright spill the beans, who's your fave gang?"

"What?"

"You asked the kids, and now I gotta ask you since you never said what yours was. If you have one that is." Riley crossed her arms over her chest.

"Uh, I guess the Mama's Boys." Silent shrugged. To be honest, she only liked their cars. Well, she did think that Junior was ok. She did call him cute too, but that doesn't account for anything.

Riley choked on her drink, staring at Silent in shock. "Dude! The Mama's Boys are scary! Why them?" This caught the attention of the kids.

"Because I think their cars look cool, and Juniors not that bad once you get to know him. He's just got a horrible personality you gotta break through."

"You met Junior and lived?" Brandon asked.

"Yes? Why's everyone so shocked?"

"Dude, the Mama's Boys are cruel and shady as hell. Do you know what goes on at their base?" Riley asked.

"Yes, and I dislike it greatly. Where do you think I got Axel from? Junior gave him to me after I saved his ass from being eaten." Silent simply replied.

They all looked at her with eyes wide. "He gave you a gift? No strings attached?"

"He said I could have it after I saved him." She repeated.

"I've never known Junior to be so kind as to give someone a gift for free. He must like you." Riley thought out loud. She smirked, "he has the hots for you!"

Silent sputtered, "No! He fucking does not!"

"Oh? What's this?" Riley leaned in closer to Silent. "Do you feel the same? You did say that your fave gang was the Mama's Boys, and he did give you a gift so..?"

"No! I hardly even know him enough to catch feelings!" Her face was getting hot underneath her mask.

"You totally do! What made you fall for him? Don't tell me you like short people? Because it makes you feel taller? Or is it his accent? I know a lot of girls who love that kind of accent!" Riley pressed on and on. "Or when his voice drops low, and he no longer uses that accent of his?"

"I do not like him! Stop! You're going to give the kids the wrong idea!" Silent huddled in on herself. "Isn't your break up yet?"

Riley giggled mischievously. "Not in another 10 minutes or so!"

Silent squealed as Riley and the kids pestered her for more answers about Junior.

——————————————————-

After Riley had gone back to work, the kids were full and feeling like heading back home. All tuckered out and sleepy.

Silent stretched in her seat, stifling a yawn. "Ok, I'm tired now." She pets Axel on the top of his head. "You ready to head home, buddy?" She checked the time to see it was around 2 in the afternoon. "Wow, time does fly."

The kids were playing around in the booth. "Let's do this again next time, Silent!" Skylar said.

Silent nodded, moving out of the booth to stretch properly with Skyler copying her movements. "Well until next time kiddos. I've got things to do." She waved at them while turning around and walking headfirst into someone's chest. "My bad." She backed up to see the person she ran into only to stumble back on the ground.

Skylar turned around and smiled brightly, "Hey big bro!"

Silent's eyes widened, and she laughed nervously, "Oh hey there..."

There stood Wormy in all his Electroblade equipment. He stared down at Silent with his hockey blade in hand.

Silent could feel the hatred coming off of him in waves as she slowly started crawling backward. "Hey Wormy, how's it hanging?"

Wormy's eyes swept over Silent then to the kids then finally landing on Skylar. "Skylar!" His voice was deep and angry. "Go back home. Mom's worried sick about you."

Skylar didn't understand why his brother was being so mean, "But mom knows where I am. It's not even that late!"

Wormy turned to fully look at Skylar. He grabbed him by the arm and roughly pulled him away from the others. Apparently he hurt his brother, but he didn't even realize it because so was so angry.

"Casey! That hurts!" Skylar cried, trying to wrench his arm free.

"If you didn't want to get hurt, you should've listened to me!" He spat.

Silent grew hostile and swept Wormy's legs out from underneath him so he let go of Skylar. Once he was on the ground, Silent pulled out her scythe on him.

The atmosphere of the restaurant changed. People were now looking at them. Riley peered at them from the table she was working on. She looked worried and scared.

Axel was growling lowly at Wormy; about to pounce on him if need be. The kids hovered around him, except for Skylar who was sniffling because his brother hurt him.

Wormy narrowed his eyes at Silent, "Get the fuck off me!" Kicking his legs out, he shoved Silent back and lunged at her. He straddled her waist and quickly put his gloved hands around her neck in an attempt to choke her out. He leaned in close, both of their masks almost touching.

Silent grabbed Wormy's arms, attempting to wrench them away from her. He was surprisingly strong for such a lanky dude. She kicked out her legs in an attempt to knock him off her.

Wormy darkly laughed, "how's it feel to lose now?" He was faintly aware of his brother yelling at him to stop. "You've put me through so much hell! How about I pay it back tenfold?" He squeezed harder now.

Silent began to lose her vision. Her lungs were depleted of air. She could see Axel knock him off of her, and she could breathe again. She gulped in large amounts of air.

"Silent are you ok?"

She could faintly head the kids speak to her as she looked over to Skylar to see him having a panic attack. She struggled to get to him as she told him to breathe deeply. "It'll be ok, just calm down."

Skylar listened to Silent, but he was still shaken up. He pointed at his brother who was wrestling with Axel.

Silent nodded, "Axel, heel!" She ordered the Houndbot.

Axel stilled immediately and backed off of Wormy, awaiting further instructions. Although he was still growling at him, he made no move to attack him.

Silent could see that Wormy was still alive so she turned her attention back to Skylar once again, placing her hand on his back to try and comfort him.

Wormy caught his breath and picked his head up a little to see Silent touch his brother's back. He stood up slowly, grabbing his hockey blade and swung it at Silent's head since she wasn't looking. It struck her right in the side of the head, knocking her mask off onto the floor. "Stay away from my brother you monster!"

Silent looked at Wormy through her bangs and hissed. Her golden eyes sparkled, and blood dripped down her face.

Axel snarled, ready to kill the man but stopped when Silent patted his back. He remained quiet.

Skylar was still sniffling and holding his arm while looking between his brother and Silent. "Please stop! No more fighting! Why can't we be friends?" He pleaded.

Isabelle and Brandon had no idea what to do so they started crying as well. Now there were three crying children in the restaurant.

Silent looked back at them and sighed. She bent down and picked her mask back up, placing it around her neck and heading over to Wormy. She stared up at him. "Get your ass outside or I'll drag you there myself."

Wormy crossed his arms defiantly. "Make me."

Silent grabbed him by the front of his jersey and dragged him away outside of the diner. She spotted Axel chewing on his hockey stick, and Riley tending to the kids.

Once outside Silent shoved him against a wall that was away from the parking lot. She didn't bother putting her mask back on as she knew she could intimidate him without it. "Are you fucking stupid?!"

Wormy looked down at her. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me, you skinny bitch! Did you not realize you hurt your brother? You know, Skylar? You dipshit!" Silent snapped.

"What's it to you? Stay out of it!"

"He's my friend, you moron! Were you so blinded by petty revenge that you took it out on him?!"

"Don't you dare call him your friend! He'll no longer be seeing you."

"You can't order him around! I've done nothing wrong. You're just pissy because I keep kicking your ass! What, are you a child? Grow the fuck up!" Silent felt him shove her against the wall behind her.

"You don't understand a damn thing! Shut the fuck up or I'll make you!" Wormy reared his hand back, aiming for Silent's head. His hand had started to tremble.

"Go ahead and hit me," Silent spoke. "You think your brother would like you if you did this?"

"Shut up!" Wormy snapped.

"Your brother adores you." Silent whispered. "He won't stop talking about you when he was talking about who his favorite gang was. He looks up to you."

Wormy lowered his fist slowly. He knows his brother idolizes him, but he didn't know that he admired that much.

"Casey," Silent spoke carefully, noticing Wormy flinch at his real name being spoken. "Skylar wants to be like you, and I don't believe this isn't how you want him to act, is it?"

Wormy backed off, head hung low, and stood still as he took a deep breath. "No."

"Good. Now let's just act like we settled it. We may dislike each other but your brother's sanity is on the line because of our petty squabble." Silent walked back to where everyone was, looking over her shoulder. "You coming?"

Wormy followed her in slowly from behind. He noticed everyone was staring at him again. He was gonna get scolded by Crater for causing a scene, he just knew it. He eyed the large Houndbot who was currently chewing on his hockey stick. His gaze landed on his little brother, who was still softly crying.

Silent put her mask back on and pushed him over to Skylar. She tilted her head as if saying 'go, you idiot'. Once Wormy walked off to talk with his brother, Silent went to talk to Antonio who was standing beside Riley.

Eventually, everything was patched up and fixed with everyone. Silent and Wormy weren't exactly friends, but they got along for the sake of Skylar's happiness. Silent apologized to Antonio, Riley, and the kids.

She started to head back home with Axel when Skylar ran out to tackle Silent in a hug from behind. "Skylar?"

"My brother says he's very sorry for hurting you, he thinks you're kinda cool. But don't tell him I said that. I hope you two can become friends!" He ran back off to his brother who waved at her awkwardly.

Silent waved back while getting on top of Axel and riding off back home to sleep the rest of the day away.

[sumukhcomedy]

Rest in Peace, Drunk Sumukh

On April 25, 2015, I had a hard look at myself in the mirror. It sounds cliché but it was exactly what happened. I had experienced one too many hangovers. I had experienced too much of the rollercoaster ride that was my life, my emotions, and my interaction with alcohol. I knew I was on the cusp of self-destruction.

I realized I had to decide if I wanted to keep on drinking or not. It really was a coin flip at the time. The pros and cons seemed even. There was really a part of me that wanted to keep on drinking and saw no problem with it. I had kept up appearances with it for 9 years. It had become a part of my identity. Why would I leave it?

I decided to rank the most important things in my life. Here’s how that ranking broke down at the time:

1.       My family

2.       Comedy

3.       Alcohol

4.       My job

5.       My relationship

Let’s count down this list like Casey Kasem. At #5, my relationship. At this point, my relationship was on the mend but still in tatters. Three months earlier, I had given an ultimatum to my partner: she needed to stop drinking or our relationship was over. She clearly was an alcoholic. Whenever we would drink together, it wasn’t fun anymore. It would just lead to arguments. I didn’t enjoy being with her. I’m not sure she enjoyed being with me. But we did love each other. It’s just that the choices we were making in life and not addressing our personal issues was clouding that love. Of course, even after she made the decision to stop drinking, I kept on drinking. We didn’t think I was the one with the problem. I hid my drinking a lot better than she did. But, within 3 months, I had to ask myself if this was healthy and if this level of drinking was what I wanted for my life. And, at that point, I still was ranking alcohol above a relationship that felt unhappy and that seemed like it would inevitably break down.

At #4, my job. Sure, it’s rare that you can actually love your job. But, drinking had clouded my mind towards how I perceived my job. I have a good job and I’m good at it and work with people I like. But, because of alcohol and my pursuit of comedy, it made me believe that my job was somehow not as important in the grander scheme of things as alcohol or having fun or eventually having comedy be my full-time job. In hindsight, this is absurd. My job funds my life. It allowed me to fund the alcohol I was consuming. Yet, it ranked lower in importance than alcohol. That’s obviously a problem.

At #3 is alcohol. I don’t think I need to write more about its place in my life at the time. It’s all here from what I wrote 15 months in. I loved alcohol. It became a part of my identity and who I was which is how it could push aside both someone who loved me and my livelihood in level of importance.

At #2 is comedy. I loved doing stand-up comedy. I wanted it to be my full-time job. But as much as I loved comedy, I also mixed everything that came with it and made that a part of comedy. I loved the social aspects to comedy because it allowed me to escape who I actually was. Drinking allowed me to not be shy anymore. It allowed me to be more confident. It, in my mind, allowed me to make up for all the shortcomings I had when I was sober. It somehow made me feel like I was better at comedy and in the world of comedy because I was more social and because it felt as if everyone (from comedians to audience members to staff) were drinking. Drinking allowed me to feel like I belonged in the unique world of comedy that was the first place I felt like I ever fit in.

At #1 is my family. I love my parents and my brother more than anything in the world. Why wouldn’t I? They’ve known me for my entire life. They’ve loved me for my entire life. And that hit me the most. Would they love and be proud of this version of me? The version that hid an alcohol problem from them. The version that was ready to self-destruct. The version that was ready to throw away all that I had accomplished and all that education for alcohol. The version that basically insulted all that they had taught me.

That’s where my ultimate decision came from to stop drinking. It came from the realization that the top priorities on this list were stronger than alcohol and that the priorities below it needed to be pushed above it. At 30 years old, alcohol wasn’t worth it anymore. It was very close to destroying my relationship. It was on the path to destroying my job. It could destroy my love for comedy. At the absolute worst, it could destroy my connection with my family. It was time to push alcohol off this list. It was time to value the 4 most important things in my life all together.

                     A very intimate moment of being drunk at Surly Girl.

After I stopped drinking, I began to investigate sobriety and who I was as a drinker. I came to realize I was a high-functioning alcoholic. I was able to do my job, do comedy, be a son, be a brother, and be a partner while pounding beers. I was social and successful. I didn’t get in trouble with the law. I didn’t cause any permanent damage in my personal relationships. Because of that high-functioning nature, I was able to successfully weave my life with alcohol being a part of it. No one knew the extent of it except my partner who was dealing with her own alcohol issues and mental demons and our arguments were representative of that. But, I realized that the high-functioning could only go on for so long. At some point, I’d slip and all of the things that actually truly mattered to me could slowly disappear.

In January 2015, following what felt like the last straw for my relationship with my partner, I gave her an ultimatum: alcohol or me. She stopped drinking. In hindsight, I’m immensely proud of her. At the time, it seemed like nothing to me. I kept on drinking for 3 months at the same rate I always had or maybe even more. In hindsight, it wasn’t fair. I wasn’t the one seen as having the problem. This is the great danger of high-functioning alcoholism. All of the success and stability that you have elsewhere excuses the level of your drinking.

Internally, I knew I was ready to implode and self-destruct. So I decided to stop. I stopped for my family, my partner, my job, my comedy. I stopped for really every single person that encountered me and thought highly of me. I think I’ve garnered the respect of my peers whether it be in my personal life or in comedy or in my working life for the amount of self-discipline that I have. So, I poured all that self-discipline into stopping drinking. I’m an intelligent person and it was time to grow up. It was time to walk the walk that I had seemingly done in all other aspects of my life.

Stopping cold turkey is not easy. Going from 30 beers a week to 0 is not a walk in the park by any means. It isn’t helped by the fact that I went on tour just a few months after deciding to stop drinking. But that was the challenge. I put myself into the very environments where I drank the most and went head on with my self-discipline. When times got tough, I talked to the closest people in my life if I needed to.

I moved to L.A. 8 months after quitting drinking. In one way, it was a blessing. I was now out of the city where I drank so much and where life was so social. Now I was in a city where I knew fewer people, a comedy scene that was too big to be so social, and a city where plenty of people are going to AA meetings and in recovery. Of course, a move brings about a bunch of other issues that could trigger my drinking again including loneliness and detachment. There were many nights I definitely thought about drinking but I didn’t do it.

When things were at their lowest on two occasions, I went to AA meetings in L.A. I didn’t stop drinking with AA but I will say that when you feel like you have nothing else it’s a valuable place to go to. It provided me with perspective. Here I was doing well enough sitting next to a woman crying because her most recent drunken arrest would likely get her deported, a guy praising Jesus, or a guy who clearly either currently had or once had ties to a gang. Alcoholism and addiction know no divisions in humanity, race, class, etc.

I was already going to therapy when I came to the realization that I needed to stop drinking. But it wasn’t until L.A. after a particularly terrible, lonely night that I knew I had to talk to my doctor about getting medication. To give some context, I remember a time being so drunk and telling my friend I felt like pouring gasoline on myself and setting myself on fire. Needless to say, my friend was more concerned than finding any kind of humor or sense to that statement. Those kinds of ideas still creeped in even without alcohol. So, there was an issue with my mind, and if I really wanted to address it, I had to at least try it after decades of avoiding it to see if it could work for me.

My therapist ended up breaking up with me. Somehow I could keep a long-distance relationship going with my partner but I couldn’t with my therapist. It was for the best, though. She helped me to get to a better place and then it just felt repetitive. The anti-depressant has calmed me in a way that I hadn’t remotely felt before with how my mind functioned. It’s not perfect but it’s a whole lot better. I decided to replace alcohol and focus more on hobbies. I got a gym membership and finally started lifting weights regularly. I focused on running and signing up for races. I started reading more again. I cared more about educating myself than wasting my time away in bars and with booze. The whole reason for doing my “How To” videos was to combine that learning experience along with my creativity.

Now if I look back at those rankings, my partner and my family are on the same level because my partner is my family. We addressed our issues with alcohol, deal with our mental health together on a daily basis, and matured into an actual loving relationship. Comedy and my job are on the same level to me. I’m not so concerned with comedy becoming my full-time job because I’m happy with how my life is and the balance of having both of these jobs that I enjoy and do well in. And, obviously, alcohol is rightfully gone and far away, never to be near such a countdown ever again.

I’ve written before about the author A. Alvarez and his book, The Savage God. In it, he talks about how his suicide attempt felt like a death in his life. Then, he emerged from it as a new and better person. I look at life that way as well. I’ve had a series of deaths with who I am. I’ve emerged from those deaths better. On April 25, 2015, the Sumukh Torgalkar that many had known since he turned 21 had died. I wasn’t this same man anymore. I don’t know that person anymore. Sometimes I can look back on him and he can make me laugh. Sometimes I look back on him and he embarrasses me. I suppose that’s how life works. But, giving up drinking alcohol allowed me to no longer hide behind myself. It allowed me to find more of the real me.

Even to this day, sometimes people write blog posts or Facebook posts or Instagram posts after giving up drinking after 1 week or 1 month or whatever and they bask in the glory of how great they feel. Then, of course, they return back to drinking. I have no concept of what they learned. I don’t know that it really matters. I was pretty sensitive to that. I wrote my first post after 15 months of not drinking. I felt comfortable at that point with myself and that I wouldn’t slip back to drinking again. Still, it was frightening. I’d never opened up in that way, so publicly and identifying the greatest weakness of my life.

Now, after 5 years, I’m writing another essay on giving up drinking. But, unless I write a book, I don’t anticipate I’ll revisit writing about this specific topic again. I have no desire to drink again. Watching people take shots grosses me out. Seeing people drunk just brings back flashes of sadness more than it does good times. I don’t have any interest in slipping back because life has improved so drastically simply because I actually faced off against myself head on rather than avoiding it.

In retrospect, a lot of my 20s was spent in dark bars pounding beers. It seemed fun because I was young and I was doing comedy and that’s what that kind of lifestyle entails. But there’s a lot more to life than that. Only removing myself entirely from alcohol allowed me to find that. The old me’s dead and gone and has found so many other things in life are much more fulfilling.