#getting to work on a thing featuring Kurt would be my dream project

[captain-astors]

Redraw of that one variant cover for Uncanny X-Men #3. I love Nightcrawler dearly.

[xmen-continuity]

I’m sick and bored so here we go, featuring Marilyn Summers because she’s been my fixation the past month or so.

1. What does your character do when they think no one’s looking?

Marilyn talks to herself a lot as a way of self-soothing and to deal with intrusive thoughts. She’s been told repeatedly not to do that and it makes her look “crazy,” so she tries to suppress it around others.

2. What’s the one thing your character would save in a fire (beyond the necessities)?

The photo she has of her and her sisters.

3. Who’s on speed dial?

Her cousins, Alex and Scott, and her friends Hank and Kurt.

4. Your character gets turned down for their dream job. What’s their second choice?

Marilyn doesn’t really have a “dream job,” she just wants a career that she doesn’t hate that supports her lifestyle. That being said, after leaving the x-men she became a barista and mural artist, and had no regrets about that.

5. What would they tell their ten-year-old self?

Don’t listen to your parents when they tell you to keep things a secret. They’re trying to keep up appearances and what’s happening isn’t normal, and other people will be able to help keep you safe.

6. Where would they want to go on a first date?

Some kind of art or craft class, like ceramics, jewelry making, painting, anything like that. Then, if the date sucks, at least she got to make a craft project!

7. What’s the best advice they’ve ever received?

There are people out there who want to help you, but they can’t if you don’t tell them what’s happening.

Also don’t jump off a flaming asteroid (this advice was disregarded).

8. What’s the worst advice they’ve ever received?

Men and boys are naturally violent, you just have to wait it out when they’re angry because it’s totally normal.

9. What’s one physical detail they’d change about themselves?

Marilyn would want to be taller. She’s already tall but would love to be over six feet in height.

10. When was the last time they were held? By who?

A few days after she’d attempted suicide, she had a breakdown in her bedroom. Kurt had found her and held her through the entire night.

11. What’s their favorite thing about their favorite season?

Marilyn’s favorite season is autumn, she loves getting to wear cozy sweaters and sleeping under a pile of blankets. And stepping on crunchy leaves is a highlight as well.

12. Their wallet gets stolen. What do they do?

Given the fact that she’s an x-man and pretty much broke, she’d just kind of go “oh well, whatever.” She’d probably call Charles though just for good measure.

13. Prioritize: Love, money, power, knowledge?

Love, knowledge, money, power.

14. What’s something nobody knows about them?

Her entire life, Marilyn’s had the feeling she would die before she was twenty. After hitting the twenty -year mark, she realized she had no plans or idea what she wanted for her future, since she’d assumed she wouldn’t live that long. She’s still trying to figure out what to do with her life.

15. What’s in their fridge?

Insulin, fruit, leftover pasta, a stick of butter that she took a bite out of because she mistook it for cheese, milk and apple juice.

16. What (creature, object, substance) are they most disgusted by?

Fish. Dead or alive. (This is 100% self-projection).

17. What’s their second worst habit?

Pulling out strands of their hair when stressed or bored (trichotillomania).

18. What are the victory conditions for their life?

Get a cat, be able to afford to live and care for said cat, form genuine friendships, and be the cool aunt to whoever in her family has kids.

19. In the end, your character fails to save the day. Assuming they survive, what do they do?

Take like three minutes to make a haphazard (and probably much more reckless) plan, and try again.

20. Your character is charged with a crime they didn’t commit. What do they do?

Deny they didn’t do it, give their evidence in a levelheaded manner, and if that doesn’t work, get sarcastic and defensive.

21. Your character is charged with a crime they did commit. What was the crime?

Accidentally flattening a Walmart.

22. How would you describe your character’s life in one sentence?

Marilyn Summers does not know how she’s alive, nor does she care; what she does know is how to make a dramatic exit regardless of the situation.

23. What important statistic would they want displayed above them?

A chart of the different heights she’s jumped from and survived versus what would happen to the average person who tried to do so (she thinks it’d be funny to see).

24. What’s the first thing they would buy if they won the lottery?

She’d hire a lawyer and go to court to gain custody of her sisters.

25. What profession do they most respect?

Social workers, healthcare, and pretty much any profession that helps people who are at their lowest.

26. What childhood injustice did they never get over?

Her brother being allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted (including destroying their childhood house and trying to kill people), and her being punished for trying to do anything about it.

27. How would they handle having a panic attack?

Her panic attacks usually aren’t as obvious on the outside, she just kind of shuts down, won’t talk or react to anything. She often pulls out her hair or scratches herself without realizing it. She usually holes up in her room and takes a nap afterwards.

28. Your character is burdened with an inconvenient superpower. What is it?

Well, she already has gyrokinesis (gravity manipulation) which is very inconvenient when you don’t know how to use it (see question 21).

29. If they died and could come back as any person, animal, or object, what would they be?

She’d want to come back as a deer, frolic in the forest, and scare the daylights out of nighttime drivers by standing in the middle of the road and watching them swerve around her.

30. What’s the best meal they’ve ever had?

She once ate cereal for all three meals. She felt very accomplished.

31. Where would they stand at a dinner party?

Tbh I’m not sure if I really understand this question, but Marilyn would stand near the doorway so she could sneak out anytime she needed. Or she’d just follow the cat around if there was one.

32. Who would they invite to the dinner party?

The others living at the institute (aka the ones who’d be there anyway) and her sisters.

33. What makes a perfect day for your character?

Plenty of time outside, getting to be with those she loves but also having time to herself.

34. If given the opportunity, would they want to know how and when they died?

No, she’d rather not know because then she’d feel like she has to prepare everything beforehand. Also she’s expected herself to die young her entire life, so she doesn’t have many long term goals she plans on completing anyway.

35. What’s the one thing they’ve always wanted to do? Why haven’t they done it yet?

Dye her hair bright red (like, Ariel from the Little Mermaid red). She hasn’t because she’s expected to “keep up appearances” as the professor tends to keep the Summers family in the spotlight and wants them to present themselves in a specific way.

36. What do they tend to joke about?

She loves puns and word-play, and pretty much anything with an ironic element. Most of the times her jokes are just made to herself, and she doesn’t actually say them out loud.

After hearing about how her cousin Alex lost his arm, she thought to herself “Well, that’s disarming” except she accidentally said it out loud as well. She was mortified. Alex luckily just thought it was hilarious.

37. What’s off limits?

Anything at the expense of others, and anything sexual in nature. The former because she doesn’t want to be cruel, the latter because she just does not find it funny.

38. Whose wedding would they cross the world to attend? Whose funeral?

Her cousins (if they ever actually decide to bite the bullet and get hitched), her sisters, and Kurt. Same for the funerals.

39. What impossible choice did they make that turned out to be the right one? The wrong one?

The first choice wasn’t too impossible for her, though it horrified everyone else. She launched herself off an asteroid plummeting to earth to try and stop it from hitting the surface. It actually worked and she survived (despite being fully convinced she wouldn’t).

The wrong choice was returning to her hometown to try to make amends with her brother. She’d never wanted to give up on him but that only solidified that some people cannot be changed in the worst way possible.

40. Your character has someone to hype them up. What would they say to get everyone excited about your character?

She’s resilient, loyal, and is full of absolutely ridiculous sounding ideas that actually end up working really well.

41. What recurring dream does your character have?

She dreams a lot about her family, particularly her brother. Those dreams are always stressful—not full on nightmares, but she wakes up in a bad mood after them.

42. What is the meaning of life to your character?

She’s actually having a crisis of faith and trying to figure that out. Right now she thinks it’s being able to help others and experience the beauty of nature.

43. What book does your character pretend to have read?

Pride and Prejudice. She enjoys a lot of classics, but cannot make it through that one. Jean loves it, and Marilyn tries her best to pretend she knows what she’s talking about (Jean can tell she hasn’t read it but doesn’t call her out on it).

44. Someone takes undeserved credit for your character’s work. What do they do?

Probably nothing, she wouldn’t care too much about it. Unless it was Scott or Alex, in that case the entire world would know of their intellectual thievery and they’d never live it down as long as they lived.

45. What controversial belief or view does your character hold? Why? Do they hide it?

Some people cannot be changed for good no matter what you do. She tends to hide it, seeing as she lives under the roof of Charles “I can fix them” Xavier.

46. Your character is at a theme park. Where do they go first?

She’s off to find a map so she doesn’t get lost (she gets lost anyway).

47. What’s your character’s favorite name?

Masculine: Luke. Feminine: Abigail.

48. What’s the biggest compliment they’d give themselves?

She thinks she is absolutely hilarious and is perfectly happy telling herself that.

49. How does your character feel about bugs?

They’re a part of nature and should be left in peace. If you smack a spider with your shoe, rest assured she will hunt you down and smack you with her shoe.

50. If your character could hit a reset button on their life, would they?

Yes. She feels like she’s failed everyone she cares about and has many regrets. She’d absolutely take a chance to do better, at least in her eyes.

Character Development: 50 Questions

What does your character do when they think no one’s looking?

What’s the one thing your character would save in a fire (beyond the necessities)?

Who’s on speed dial?

Your character gets turned down for their dream job. What’s their second choice?

What would they tell their ten-year-old self?

Where would they want to go on a first date?

What’s the best advice they’ve ever received?

What’s the worst advice they’ve ever received?

What’s one physical detail they’d change about themselves?

When was the last time they were held? By who?

What’s their favorite thing about their favorite season?

Their wallet gets stolen. What do they do?

Prioritize: Love, money, power, knowledge?

What’s something nobody knows about them?

What’s in their fridge?

What (creature, object, substance) are they most disgusted by?

What’s their second worst habit?

What are the victory conditions for their life?

In the end, your character fails to save the day. Assuming they survive, what do they do?

Your character is charged with a crime they didn’t commit. What do they do?

Your character is charged with a crime they did commit. What was the crime?

How would you describe your character’s life in one sentence?

What important statistic would they want displayed above them?

What’s the first thing they would buy if they won the lottery?

What profession do they most respect?

What childhood injustice did they never get over?

How would they handle having a panic attack?

Your character is burdened with an inconvenient superpower. What is it?

If they died and could come back as any person, animal, or object, what would they be?

What’s the best meal they’ve ever had?

Where would they stand at a dinner party?

Who would they invite to the dinner party?

What makes a perfect day for your character?

If given the opportunity, would they want to know how and when they died?

What’s the one thing they’ve always wanted to do? Why haven’t they done it yet?

What do they tend to joke about?

What’s off limits?

Whose wedding would they cross the world to attend? Whose funeral?

What impossible choice did they make that turned out to be the right one? The wrong one?

Your character has someone to hype them up. What would they say to get everyone excited about your character?

What recurring dream does your character have?

What is the meaning of life to your character?

What book does your character pretend to have read?

Someone takes undeserved credit for your character’s work. What do they do?

What controversial belief or view does your character hold? Why? Do they hide it?

Your character is at a theme park. Where do they go first?

What’s your character’s favorite name?

What’s the biggest compliment they’d give themselves?

How does your character feel about bugs?

If your character could hit a reset button on their life, would they?

Source

[zerodayarchive]

INDYweek: FilmBeat, "Zero’s Heroes", March 17, 2004

Last month, 28-year-old filmmaker Ben Coccio sat in a tent in Hollywood for the little league Oscar-eve ceremony called the Independent Spirit Awards. He was up for a best newcomer award, which would go instead to a different young director. If Coccio, the writer and director of the remarkable, zero-budget Zero Day, was irritated by the awards cascading down on such questionable indie films as Lost in Translation, 21 Grams and Monster–not to mention a smarmy ode to the independent spirit delivered by that exemplar of guerrilla filmmaking, Tom Cruise–he didn’t show it.

“The wins need to go to the big indies,” the director said in a recent telephone interview from his home in New York City. “The point [for the sponsor, the Independent Feature Project] is to bridge the gap between the obscure films and the bigger films in order to remain a relevant institution in Hollywood.”

He’s a good sport, and a practical one. But Coccio has a lot to be proud of. Zero Day, his first feature, is an utterly audacious fictional rendering of the Columbine massacre that manages to equal its more celebrated rival, Gus Van Sant’s Palme d’Or-winning Elephant.

Using two high school actors, a video camera and a found-footage narrative technique borrowed from The Blair Witch Project, Coccio achieved the remarkable feat of making the incomprehensible somehow sensible, if not rational. (For a review of Zero Day, see p. 113).

“People said I was crazy to do a Blair Witch take on Columbine,” says Coccio. “But it made sense to apply [the Blair Witch technique] to a society fascinated with documenting its darkest, most terrifying moments. In my film, the killers are filmmakers.”

Coccio’s film wouldn’t have worked without an exceptional cast, and he found it in the duo of Andre Keuck and Calvin Robertson. “We really needed the right kids,” Coccio says. “The film had so many strikes against it that it would not work [if cast badly]. Andre and Cal were the last two we saw. They were very good actors, and they were very much like what I’d written.”

Andre Keuck, who spoke from Washington, D.C., where he attends George Washington University, recalled that Coccio asked actors to audition as duos, with both improv work and the traditional monologues. “Cal and I went to high school together, in Stratford [Conn.]. I saw Cal in school that morning, asked him if he wanted to come and he said ‘OK.’ ”

(Both actors are classically trained: Keuck performed a piece from Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, while Robertson went with A Midsummer Night’s Dream.)

Keuck ended up playing the strong, militaristic ringleader, while Robertson, with his blond, vulnerable, Kurt Cobain-like appearance, played the more passive and mysterious sidekick. (It’s not surprising that Van Sant, whose aesthetic taste for slackly attractive male delinquents goes as far back as his first feature, Mala Noche, has expressed interest in finding a role for Robertson, according to Coccio.)

Coccio, who received an undergraduate degree from the Rhode Island School of Design, was heavily influenced by the improvisational realism of such filmmakers as John Cassavetes and Italian Neorealist directors such as De Sica and Rossellini. “I didn’t want them to use exactly my words, but rather I wanted them to get to point A to point B [in their own words],” Coccio says. “Andre and Cal really made my script seem one-dimensional. They really brought it to life.”

Coccio also found that the conceit of having his characters perform for their own video camera opened up old-fashioned dramatic possibilities. “It allowed us to do really exciting things, like having Shakespearean monologues where the character is speaking directly to the audience–in conspiratorial tones, adversarial tones, threatening tones. You can have a really interesting relationship with the audience.”

Asked if he’d found inspiration for the role in his personal experience, Keuck demurred. “Everyone can draw on experience in middle and high school, names you were called and so on,” says Keuck, who has junior standing in his first year of college, thanks to the magic of AP credits, and is double majoring in international conflict and computer science. “But I didn’t really have problems in middle school and high school. Especially not high school–I loved high school.”

Keuck (pronounced koyk) avoided doing research for his role, save for a primer on guns that Coccio gave him. In the end, his performance is a small wonder of a tightly wound, privileged suburban kid who harbors a deep, ineffable reservoir of testosterone-fueled rage.

It’s the chemistry of Keuck and Robertson that ultimately carries the film, and indeed, Coccio was drawn to the project because of his interest in the relationship of Columbine’s Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris.

Herein lies the chief distinction between Zero Day and Van Sant’s Elephant, which was a macroscopic look at a group of kids interacting through a school lunch hour, just before the massacre.

“Looking at Elephant,” Coccio says, “what seemed to fascinate Gus Van Sant is randomness as a salient feature, not so much getting into character [study]. That was not the point of his movie, but it was the point of mine. I explore character but avoid motivation. His film is about the surface of the thing, while I’m going below surface of things.”

While such comments might suggest a certain antipathy toward Elephant, Coccio downplayed the idea. “The messages are very similar but the method is very different to get to a similar place, which I find kind of fascinating,” he says.

Coccio and Keuck agreed that Elephant‘s much ballyhooed kissing-in-the-shower scene that precedes the slaughter is dramatically suspect. On this point, Keuck was the more vehement of the two, although he acknowledged not having seen the film–apparently it has yet to open in Washington, D.C. Asked if his character in Zero Day could have kissed Robertson, in a shower or elsewhere, Keuck says firmly, “Most certainly not. No way.

“It seems more like the director’s hand, because from the story point of view [such an act] would seem absurd. I could not fathom that because it goes perpendicular to the narrative,” Keuck continues. “The story’s the most important thing.”

Zero Day‘s convincing rendering of a Columbine-like massacre is sometimes startling, no more so than during a sequence in which Keuck, Robertson and another character videotape themselves firing high-powered weapons at practice targets. According to Coccio, the videotape of Columbine killers Klebold and Harris firing their weapons was only released last October. “It looked so much like my film, people thought I’d seen that footage,” Coccio says. “It freaked me out.”

Zero Day is being distributed by Avatar Films, a tiny player in an independent scene dominated by such big dogs as Miramax, Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics. But even such modest success is a victory for Coccio. “Zero Day went further than I ever expected–I’ve gotten attention and distribution. It was what I was hoping for, but I didn’t expect it.”

Among those who’ve seen the film are survivors of the Columbine massacre. “Some have been supportive while others have found it completely reprehensible,” Coccio says. “Ultimately, I didn’t make it for the victims of Columbine. I made it for me–I wanted it to be a window into understanding the tragedy.”

[d-criss-news]

Darren Criss acts as playwright when he writes songs. He’s far more confident, and certainly more vulnerable, when he allows himself to play the part. In such a way, songwriting opens up a whole new world that pulses with untapped potential. So much of what he has accomplished in 15 years resides in his willingness to expose himself to what his imagination and intuition have in store. He steps into a playwright’s shoes with considerable ease (just look at his resume), and always one to put on plenty of bravado, especially during our Zoom face-to-face, it’s the natural order of things.

“As I get older and write more and more songs, I really recognize that I’ve always preferred to write for another context other than my own,” Criss tells American Songwriter. He speaks with a cool intensity, gesturing emphatically to accentuate a sentence, and when you let him go, he’s like the Energizer Bunny 一 “I can tell by just how quiet you already are that you’re fucked,” he jokes at the start of our video chat. But he remains just as engaged and focused when listening.

He soaks in the world, taking astute notes about behavior and emotional traits he can later use in song. His storytelling, though, arrives already in character, fully formed portraits he can then relay to the world. It’s not that he can’t be vulnerable, like such greats as Randy Newman, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright, who have all embroidered their work with deeply personal observations, it just doesn’t feel as comfortable. “I’ve always really admired the great songwriters of the world who are extremely introspective and can put their heart and soul on the chopping block,” he muses. “That’s a vulnerability that I think is so majestic. I’ve never had access to it. I’m not mad about it. It’s just good to know what your deal is.”

Criss’ strengths lie in his ability to braid his own experiences, as charmed as they might be, into wild, goofy fantasies. In the case of his new series “Royalties,” now streaming on Quibi, he walks a fine line between pointed commentary on the music industry, from menial songwriting sessions to constantly chasing down the next smash, and oddball comedy that is unequivocally fun. Plotted with long-standing friends and collaborators Matt and Nick Lang, co-founders of Team StarKid, created during their University of Michigan days (circa 2009), the show’s conceptual nucleus dates back more than a decade.

If “Royalties” (starring Criss and Kether Donohue) feels familiar, that’s because it is. The 10-episode show ─ boasting a smorgasbord of delightful guest stars, including Mark Hammill, Georgia King, Julianna Hough, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lil Rel Howery ─ captures the very essence of a little known web series called “Little White Lie.” Mid-summer 2009, Team StarKid uploaded the shoddy, low budget production onto YouTube, and its scrappy tale of amateur musicians seeking fame and fortune quickly found its audience, coming on the heels of “A Very Potter Musical,” co-written with and starring Criss. Little did the trio know, those initial endeavors laid the groundwork for a lifetime of creative genius.

“It’s a full circle moment,” says Criss, 33, zooming from his Los Angeles home, which he shares with his wife Mia. He’s fresh-faced and zestful in talking about the new project. 11 years separate the two series, but their connective thematic tissues remain striking. “Royalties” is far more polished, the obvious natural progression in so much time, and where “Little White Lie” soaked in soapy melodrama, the former analyzes the ins and outs of the music world through more thoughtful writing, better defined (and performed) characters, and hookier original tunes.

“Royalties” follows Sara (Donohue) and Pierce (Criss), two struggling songwriters in Los Angeles, through various career exploits and pursuits. The pilot, titled “Just That Good,” features an outlandish performance from Rufus Wainwright as a major player in dance-pop music, kickstarting the absurdity of Criss’ perfectly-heightened reality. As our two main characters stumble their way between songwriting sessions, finally uncovering hit single potential while eating a hot dog, Criss offers a glimpse into the oft-unappreciated art of songwriting.

In his own songwriting career ─ from 2010’s self-released Human EP and a deal with Columbia Records (with whom a project never materialized) to 2017’s Homework EP and Computer Games’ debut, Lost Boys Life, (a collaboration with his brother Chuck) ─ he’s learned a thing or two about the process. Something about sitting in a room with someone you’ve never met before always rang a little funny to him.

“You meet a stranger, and you have to be creative, vulnerable, and open. It’s speed-dating, essentially. It’s a different episode every time you pull it off or not. All the big songwriters will tell you all these crazy war stories. Everyone has a wacky story from songwriting,” he says. “I slowly realized I may ─ I can’t flatter myself, there are tons of creative people who are songwriters ─ have prerequisites to just put the two together [TV and music]. I’ve worked enough in television as an actor and creator. I can connect the dots. I had dual citizenship where I felt like it was really time for me to go forth with this show.”

But a packed professional life pushed the idea to the backburner.

Between six seasons of “Glee” (playing Blaine Anderson, a Warbler and lover to Chris Colfer’s Kurt Hummel), starring in “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” on Broadway, and creating Elsie Fest, a one-day outdoor festival celebrating songs of the stage and screen, he never had the time. “I was lucky enough to be busy,” he says. “As Team StarKid’s star was continuing to rise with me being separate from it, I was trying to think of a way to get involved again with songwriting.”

At one point, “Glee” had officially wrapped and his Broadway run was finished. It appeared “Royalties” may finally get its day in the sun. “I went to Chicago for a work pilgrimage with the Langs. We had a few days, and we put all our ideas on the map: every musical, feature film, show, graphic novel, and animated series we’ve ever thought of,” he says. “A lot of them were from the Langs; they were just things I was interested in as a producer or actor. We looked at all of them and made a top three.”

“Royalties” obviously made the cut.

Fast forward several years, Gail Berman’s SideCar, a production company under FOX Entertainment, was looking to produce a music show. Those early conversations, beginning at an otherwise random LA party, showed great promise in airlifting the concept from novel idea to discernible reality. Things quickly stalled, however, as they often do in Hollywood, but Criss had at least spoken his dreams into the universe.

“I finally had an outlet to put it into gear. It wasn’t until two to three years after that that things really locked in. We eventually made shorts and made a pilot presentation. We showed it to people, and it wasn’t until Quibi started making their presence known that making something seemed really appealing,” he says. “As a creator, they’re very creator-centric. They’re not a studio. They’re a platform. They are licensing IP much like when a label licenses an indie band’s album after the fact.”

Quibi has drawn severe ire over the last few months, perhaps because there is a “Wild Westness” to it, Criss says. “I think that makes some people nervous. Being my first foray into something of this kind, Quibi felt like a natural partner for us. If this had been a network or cable show, we would’ve molded it to be whatever it was.”

Format-wise, “Royalties” works best as bite-sized vignettes, charming hijinks through the boardroom and beyond, and serves as a direct response to a sea of music shows, from “Nashville” and “Empire” to “Smash.” “Those shows were bigger, more melodramatic looks at the inside base of our world. I’ve always been a goofball, and I just wanted to take the piss out of it,” he says. “This show isn’t about songwriting. It’s about songwriters… but a very wacky look at them.”

“30 Rock,” a scripted comedy loosely based around “Saturday Night Live,” in which the focus predominantly resides around the characters, rather than the business itself, was also on his mind. “It’s about the interconnectivity of the people and characters. As much of the insider knowledge that I wanted to put into our show, at the end of the day, you just want to make a fun, funny show that’s relatable to people who know nothing about songwriting and who shouldn’t have to know anything.”

Throughout 10 episodes, Criss culls the “musicality, fun, and humor” of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger and Max Martin, two of his biggest songwriting heroes, and covers as many genres as possible, from K-Pop to rap-caviar and classic country. While zip-lining between formats, the songs fully rely on a sturdy storytelling foundation ─ only then can Criss drape the music around the characters and their respective trajectories. “I wanted to do something where I could use all the muscles I like to flex at once, instead of compartmentalizing them,” he says. “I really love writing songs for a narrative, not necessarily for myself. I thrive a little more when I have parameters, characters, and a story to tell.”

Bonnie McKee, one of today’s greatest pop architects, takes centerstage, too, with an episode called “Kick Your Shoes Off,” in which she plays a bizarro version of herself. “She has her own story, and I’ve always been fascinated by it,” says Criss, who took her out to lunch one day to tell her about it. Initially, the singer-songwriter, known for penning hits for Katy Perry, Taio Cruz, and Britney Spears, would anchor the entire show, but it soon became apparent she would simply star in her own gloriously zany episode.

In one of the show’s standout scenes, Pierce and Sara sit in on a label meeting with McKee’s character and are tasked with writing a future hit. But they quickly learn how many cooks are in the kitchen at any given moment. Everyone from senior level executives to publicists and contracted consultants have an opinion about the artist’s music. One individual urges her to experiment, while another begs not to alienate her loyal fanbase, and then a third advises her to chronicle the entire history of music itself ─ all within three minutes or so. It’s absurd, and that’s the point. “Everyone’s been in that meeting, whether you’re in marketing or any creative discussion that has to be made on a corporate level by committee. It’s the inevitable, comedic contradictions and dissociations from not only rationality but feasibility.”

Criss also draws upon his own major label days, having signed with Sony/Columbia right off the set of “Glee,” as well as second-hand accounts from close friends. “There are so many artists, particularly young artists, who famously get chewed up and spat out by the label system,” he says. “There’s a lot of sour tastes in a lot of people’s mouths from being ‘mistreated’ by a label. I have a lot of friends who’ve had very unfortunate experiences.”

“I was really lucky. I didn’t have that. I have nothing but wonderful things to say,” he quickly adds.“It wasn’t a full-on drop or anything. I was acting, and I was spreading myself really thin. It’s a record label’s job to make product, and I was doing it piecemeal here and there. I would shoot a season [of ‘Glee’] and then do a play. I was doing too many things. I didn’t have it in me at the time to do music. I had written a few songs I thought were… fine.”

Both Criss and the label came to the same conclusion: perhaps this professional relationship just wasn’t a good fit. They parted ways, and he harbors no ill-will. In fact, he remains close friends with many folks from that time. So, it seems, a show like “Royalties” satisfies his deep hunger to make music and write songs ─ and do it totally on his own terms.

“I still say I want to put out music, and fans have been very vocal about that. I feel very fortunate they’re still interested at all,” he says. “That passion for making music really does come out in stuff like [this show].”

“Royalties” is Darren Criss at his most playful, daring, and offbeat. It’s the culmination of everything he has tirelessly worked toward over the last decade and a half. Under pressure with a limited filming schedule, he hits on all cylinders with a soundtrack, released on Republic Records, that sticks in the brain like all good pop music should do. And it would not have been the same had he, alongside Matt and Nick Lang, not formed Team StarKid 11 years ago.

Truth be told, it all began with a “Little White Lie.”

[bookishmbti-moved]

Extraverted Intuition is a perceiving function that primarily visualizes possibilities and is very keen to seeing the potential in situations/ideas. Because of the function’s patented versatility, Extraverted Intuition can be misidentified as Introverted Intuition and/or even Extraverted Sensing. As an example, I am an INFJ (this is Libbi, by the way, hi!) that mistyped as an ENTP for a while; even further, I have also thought I could be ESTP because of how much I related to the descriptions. This may sound ridiculous on the surface, but again, the nature of Extraverted Intuition can seem to mimic other functions, partly because of its adaptable and future-oriented nature. A further example of this is Tony Stark, also an ENTP, yet I have seen him typed as both ENTJ and ESxP, high Introverted Intuition/Extraverted Sensing types. So, in what ways are these functions similar, and what does Extraverted Intuition actually look like so that it is not confused with another function? Those are the questions I intend to answer as I write this description.

Firstly, Extraverted Intuition may look most similar to Extraverted Sensing; both functions act quite adaptable to new situations and allow us to relate ourselves to sensory data in our current environment. Both functions are also known for impulsivity; however, the difference in the two is that Extraverted Sensing draws attention to objects and the user immediately adapts to the surface features of these objects, while Extraverted Intuition draws attention to context and then sensory events are adapted in terms of these contexts. Extraverted Intuition carries a very big picture point of view, one that tends to grasp the gist of a situation based on a few pieces, filling in information intuitively. If you are familiar with psychology (or even if you’re not, because I’m going to explain it), I think of Extraverted Intuition to be similar to The Law of Similarity (the Gestalt Principles, particularly the Law of Closure). The central principle to the Gestalt theory may be put in adequate summation by this quote from psychologist Kurt Koffka: “The whole is other than the sum of its parts.” In essence, what this means is that the human eye (and brain) perceive a unified, whole shape differently than it does the individualized parts of this shape, and according to the Law of Closure, if there are gaps in the outline of a shape, our brain automatically fills in these gaps to complete the whole shape, even if they are not literally there. A great example of this is IBM’s logo; even just through the use of horizontal lines and spaces, we can look at it and see the letters I, B, and M. To me, this is similar to Extraverted Intuition; it is able to look at pieces of a situation and fill in the gaps, creating a whole picture understanding. This is part of what makes it so adaptable, and why high Extraverted Intuition users can seem to be naturally good at many different hobbies or activities -- however, this is also how it can make mistakes. Since it is an Intuitive function, it does not base these assumptions from concrete evidence, as a Sensing function would be more adept to do; it is more conceptual. I also happen to have a great example that illustrates this faulty-gap-filling-in: one time when I was playing Red Dead Redemption II, I needed to mount my horse, so I went to a horse that, at a glance, was the same color as my horse and in the same general location that I left it... but it was only when it bucked me off that I realized it wasn’t actually my horse at all (sorry, Arthur). Because of those pieces of information that I saw at a glance, I concluded that it was my horse; the color was right, the general location was right, but if I had taken notice of the exact details (saddle type, exact location), I would have seen that it wasn’t. We all do this detail-filling-in to an extent, but it is a core element of Extraverted Intuition, and with inferior Introverted Sensing, the ‘exact details’ piece of a puzzle is a particular blindspot to dominant Extraverted Intuition users.

Another key part of Extraverted Intuition is its tendency to visualize possibilities, and ‘possibilities’ here is certainly plural. In fact, those with high Extraverted Intuition (particularly dominant) have trouble ever picking to pursue any of the possibilities they visualize for the future, often getting caught up in potential and the fear of abandoning all of the possibilities in the world to stick with just one. Indeed, commitment can be a scary word for high Extraverted Intuition types, whether it be a subject to major in in college or an outfit to wear to an important event. Personally, I have issues with both of those things; I have changed my major three times and, after the excitement of choosing a new subject wears off, I often enter the questioning period once again. This brings me to another point: High Extraverted Intuition users (once again, particularly those who have it as a dominant function) require novelty in their life. Whereas dominant Extraverted Sensing individuals search for new experiences and tangible things, they seek these only in terms of a familiar framework, so they are much less likely to put themselves in totally unfamiliar situations. Extraverted Intuition users enjoy complete novelty in circumstances and get their rush from new ideas and new projects; we have the tendency to come up with these concepts and become very enthused about them only to abandon the idea after the excitement has worn off. Extraverted Sensors are doers; they often go for these experiences and find value in doing things, while those with Extraverted Intuition will have more trouble making their conceptual big ideas come to life and sticking with them, which brings me to yet another point: As I mentioned before, Extraverted Intuition is a future-oriented, conceptual function; people with high Extraverted Intuition are idea-generators, and these ideas are typically ones that alter a system in a way that would overall improve it, or it is a long-term project/conceptual idea. In this way, it can look like Introverted Intuition, which sees goals and potential for the future and works to achieve this future reality. The difference comes from the fact that Introverted Intuition is able to organize one structural/conceptual goal for the future and work to achieve this over time, not minding the wait that comes before the reward. Extraverted Intuition has trouble narrowing down one goal or idea to stick to in order to act it out, and even further, it does not enjoy doing the grunt work that comes with such projects/structural changes. With maturation of the secondary function, responsibility and dedication become much better in ENP types, and they are able to narrow down and follow through with their ideas.

So, to sum up this ridiculously long post, Extraverted Intuition is a future-oriented function based on piecing together big-picture concepts, generating ideas, and visualizing potential in people (Fi) and situations (Ti). It differs from Extraverted Sensing in the way that it is more conceptual and thrives more on ideas than experience and tangible reward, and it differs from Introverted Intuition in the way that it tends to see all possible variants of a situation, thus having trouble picking a goal to stick with and often juggling many goals or projects at once, whereas Introverted Intuition tends to see the goal they want to achieve as well as how they are actually going to achieve it. For dominant Extraverted Intuitives, responsibility and the ability to commit to an idea or goal come with the development of their secondary function (Fi or Ti), and with that, it can become easier for them to make their dreams happen (although having an ISJ around every once in a while is helpful for remembering reality).

Adapted from Lenore Thomson’s Personality Type: An Owner’s Manual, and mostly from opinions based on my personal experiences

[gleekto]

Summary: College AU/Famous!Blaine and Fanboy!Kurt - Kurt POV

Kurt really doesn’t have time to figure out the dating world between being a freshman at prestigious theatre school, LAADA,  and his active but secret blogging life in the Sing!Fandom. So what if Sing! ended last year? There are still fics to read and actors to follow. Especially the uber talented heartthrob lead, Blaine Anderson. He can act. He can sing. He can even dance. He’s gay. He’s out. And he’s only 24. Kurt is willing to twiddle his thumbs and click refresh until Blaine Anderson’s next project.

He just didn’t expect the next project to be on his roommate Rachel’s new TV show.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11

Even Better than the Real Thing (12/13)

“You’re here.”

In the last ten minutes, Kurt has gone from being sure Blaine was going to put a bounty on his head for that fan pic, to thinking that he maybe managed not to be totally cancelled as a friend, to suddenly having to process that Blaine is at his doorstep, casual and deliberately sexy, staring at him like they both have too many clothes on. And Kurt, not having expected any guests in the late morning, is still in his pyjamas. At least they’re silk.

“Looks like it.” Blaine steps inside and closes the door.  Kurt is in full surprise mode at seeing Blaine right here, right now, so open and obvious and hot. His heart thuds. It’s such a rush that he unconsciously scrunches his eyes shut under the electricity of it. 

“Don’t look too happy to see me,” Blaine laughs, gently reaching out to touch Kurt’s upper arm.

“I am.” Kurt opens his eyes wide again. “I really am. I just was not expecting you. At all. Two days ago, I was sure you would never speak to me again after you discovered my alter ego. And then okay, we talked - like the mature adults we are -” Kurt emphasizes and Blaine chuckles, “And I was not going to have to hide in a corner should we ever meet again. But then tumblr haunted me yet again and suddenly I’m either your public fake boyfriend while you secretly have an affair with Rachel or your new younger fanboy toy and-”

“An accurate summary,” Blaine interrupts, hand still gently on his arm.

“So I mean this sincerely, but also with maybe a sprinkle of my usual sass,” Kurt huffs and closes his eyes, trying not to just melt under Blaine’s gaze like the Wicked Witch under a drop of rain, “Why are you here? And looking at me like that?”

“Well, I do care.” Blaine’s eyes are big and sincere and boring into him. Kurt backs up against the wall for support, Blaine close to his face, hand now rubbing his arm.  “About your alter ego, I mean. There is no way I would have gone after you like I did if I had known. But the problem was that  by the time I found out about LimaBlaineFan, I liked you already - the guy who goes to LAADA, and can handle Rachel Berry-”

“No small feat,” Kurt interjects. 

“No. And despite all the guys and dates and Mr. Pinks, no one has been able to keep up with my more nerdy musical theatre side-”

“Who are you calling nerdy?”

"Oh I’m calling myself nerdy,” Blaine steps further into his space making it actually pretty difficult to concentrate on the nice things he seems to be saying, though Kurt isn’t quite sure because Blaine keeps looking from his eyes to his lips to his eyes and it’s very distracting. “And I’m rationalizing all this to myself because you did stop posting and it doesn’t actually seem like you were stalking me or trying to trick me into dating you-”

“I’m not clever enough to pull that off, I’m afraid.”

“So apparently, for you, my golden rule is made to be broken.” Kurt is pretty sure he hears that correctly. “And about the fan photo - I can’t care about stuff like that. I mean, I can go to coffee with Rachel tomorrow - suddenly I’ll be a conflicted bisexual falling for my co-star.”

“You think you’re being sarcastic but actually, there is definitely a segment of tumblr that firmly believes you’re gay for pay.”

“Oh I know,” Blaine sighs, exhaling into Kurt’s breath. “I admit I don’t really understand the theory, but I know they’re out there. And they’re wrong.” Blaine’s less than subtle roaming eyes become too much so Kurt closes his own under the scrutiny. “As for why I’m looking at you like that,” Blaine is an inch from his face. “I’d rather show you.”

“God,” Kurt breathes out while Blaine’s mouth lands on his, his body pressing Kurt up against the wall of his living room. Finally kissing him. Blaine’s mouth and tongue move slowly and deliberately, making the kiss long and dirty.  

After minutes of tasting and slow drags of Blaine’s tongue on his neck and behind his ear and on his throat, Kurt looks down and shakes his head, a giggle slipping out.

“Are you ticklish?” Blaine asks, taking his earlobe between his teeth.

“No,” Kurt shivers. “I’m laughing because when I saw that picture on tumblr, I really had no idea what you were going to do to me.”

“I can show you if you’d like.” Kurt supposes he asked for that one. Blaine grabs his ass, pushing their bodies together. He’s getting hard and he knows Blaine can feel it - silk pyjamas not leaving much to the imagination. “I’d like to start by getting you out of these,” Blaine pulls at his pyjamas, puts his hands up inside the shirt, and lets his hands explore. Kurt lifts Blaine’s t-shirt slightly, tentatively mirroring him. “And you,” Blaine pauses. “Can finally see me shirtless.” His blog will forever haunt him, he’s sure. 

Kurt looks up at the ceiling, exasperated. “You don’t even feel like that guy, you know. The Blaine Anderson on my blog who I wished had a shirtless scene. You just kind of look like him.” 

When Kurt looks back down, Blaine is shirtless, having made quick work of his loose t-shirt, and the top button of his jeans is undone. He’s like a Chippendale’s dancer live in his living room. And Kurt is trying very hard not to be too overwhelmed by the show.  “You wouldn’t know,” Blaine says as he saunters towards Kurt’s bedroom. “You never saw him shirtless.”

Kurt follows, sitting down on the edge of his bed, trying to catch his breath. It’s a lot this shirtless, sexual Blaine openly wanting him and he wants it to last. Blaine walks up to him, takes his hands and places them on his chest, and starts to massage Kurt’s chest again under his shirt, before lifting it over his head. 

“I still don’t know what I’m doing, by the way.”  The confession just tumbles out and he can’t take it back. Like maybe he could just try to figure things out without routinely making himself seem so innocent.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten,” Blaine says, leaning down and kissing his neck, while running his thumbs deliberately over Kurt’s nipples. Blaine is such a playful flirt and it’s completely unnerving. “Though my little stroll through your former tumblr does give me a hint of what you might like.”

He really is never going to forgive himself for leaving his laptop open. “Just to clarify, I do not want a threesome. I just liked that author. So don’t get any ideas.”

Blaine laughs and crawls on to Kurt’s bed, pulling Kurt to lie down beside him as he takes out his phone. “Oh I have lots of ideas.” Kurt sees more screen caps. Great. Blaine shows him an ask he vaguely remembers from maybe three years ago -  

Anonymous asks:

Do you think Blaine has had sex? I mean, he���s only 21 and was from a small town and he’s gay. 

LimaBlaineFan: Yeah. He’s an adult and is a heartthrob TV star living out in LA. Lots of sex to be found, I’m sure.

“Well, you were right about that,” Blaine shrugs. “My first time was with a guy I hooked up with right before Sing! started airing. It may sound stupid but I wanted to be with someone before fame might hit  - and you never know why someone might want you.” 

“It’s not stupid,” Kurt says quickly. “Not at all.”

“Well, we didn’t do everything,” Blaine adds. “But I did give my first blowjob, so it counts.”   

Blaine is very open - with language, with emotions, with sex. It’s a little intimidating. A lot sexy. Kurt curls up to him and starts kissing his neck. “Lucky guy.”

“You’re about to be just as lucky,” Blaine says easily. “Maybe luckier. I’ve honed my skills.” Okay, Blaine plans to give him a blowjob. “And by the way, this next one is the last screen cap I have. Maybe it’s poetic justice but this one is kind of hot.” Oh god. Blaine scrolls to another old ask:

Anonymous asks: 

Hey LBF - I know you said you’re not a one night stand kind of guy but if you could have one night with Blaine, what would you do?

LimaBlaineFan: Well this isn’t going to happen so might as well give you my wildest dream - which would be everything, I guess? I have no experience so who knows what I like but pretty sure his amazing ass would have to feature.

“We can stop reading these now, right?” Blaine laughs and nods. “And we can delete them forever? Because  I’m really not talking about the same you and I really don’t feel like that horny fanboy right now.”

“Oh I hope you are at least the horny part.” Blaine turns on to his side, slipping his hand into Kurt’s pyjama pants and on to his ass. 

“Oh my god, shut up.”

“I will,” Blaine says, kneading his ass and kissing along his chest while Kurt tries to breathe. “But first, I would like to propose to you that unlike your alter ego, you will not only get one night with “Blaine”. And also unlike your alter ego, I don’t think we should do everything,” Blaine looks up at his eyes, “Yet. But I would like to suck you-” Blaine moves his hand to Kurt’s front and squeezes. Okay, he did just say that. “And whatever you want to do, I am sure my ass could definitely feature. I hope it lives up to the hype.”

They’re kissing again before Kurt can respond and Blaine is making quick work of getting him very hard, very fast. “I want to go first,” Kurt says, reluctantly pulling his body away from Blaine. “It’s too fast otherwise. I want to try.” Kurt tugs at Blaine’s jeans and hopes his meaning is clear.

“Okay,” Blaine nods, looking sexy and excited and very willing. “Okay.” Blaine gets up and quickly and pulls off his pants and briefs. He’s standing in front of Kurt, still lying on the bed, naked and bold and not shy at all. “How would you like to-” Kurt’s contemplating. “I have an idea,” Blaine says before Kurt has a chance to decide. He looks mischievious. “If you’re serious about wanting my ass involved.”

“Of course,” Kurt says and sits up, going for false confidence. He’s watched enough porn to know that this can’t be that difficult. And there is something so easy about being with Blaine. 

“If you want, which is cool either way,” Blaine starts. “You can go on you knees in front of me-”

“My knees?”

“Yeah,” Blaine looks sheepish. “I admit it’s hot to me. Should we forget it?”

Kurt drops a pillow on the floor and drops to his knees. It’s worth it just to see Blaine’s jaw drop slightly. “Go on.”

“Wow,” Blaine holds Kurt’s face. “You’re amazing.” Blaine breathes in. “Okay, so go ahead and open for me.” Blaine holds his hard cock in his hands and traces it on Kurt’s lips as he opens his mouth. Kurt concentrates on what he knows for the first few minutes, lick under the head, cover his teeth, good suction. Blaine moves in and out slowly, and Blaine’s little moans encourage him. He’s doing it. “Now grab my ass, Kurt,” Blaine says. “Don’t be shy - grab it. Use your fingers. I like it.” Blaine’s hands move to Kurt’s head, pushing him gently further, while Kurt holds firmly on to Blaine’s ass. “Stick in a finger, Kurt. I can take one without lube. Yeah, that’s it. You’re so hot. Amazing.” The image is overwhelming  - Blaine pushing into his mouth, his finger pushing into Blaine. Blaine’s movements get faster. “I don’t want to choke you,” Blaine pants. “I’m going to pull out and come on both of us. Then I’m going to suck you until you scream.” Kurt is groaning around his cock as he pulls out, and comes on Kurt’s chest and his own legs. Kurt gently pulls his finger out.

Without cleaning anything, Blaine pushes Kurt down on to the bed, pulls off his pyjama bottoms, and sinks down on him. He plays with his own come on Kurt’s chest as he encourages Kurt up and into his mouth. “Fuck my mouth, Kurt. I can take it,” He says before sinking down again. Kurt feels the build up, lets himself moan loudly in the empty apartment. “Let me hear it, Kurt.” Kurt’s sound is guttural as he comes down Blaine’s throat.  

Wow -  if that isn’t the best sex he’s ever had. Which it obviously is but wow.

“Kurt, you are fucking amazing,” Blaine pants as he sits up and catches his own breath. “So open and sexy and hot.” Maybe the newest thing about all this is those labels being given to him. By Blaine Anderson. Definitely not the guy on television.

“You’re alright,” Kurt says back. Sarcasm is safer as he cuddles into Blaine’s side, letting Blaine clean them both up as he catches his breath. He is feeling pretty good about his first performance. “Your ass is definitely better than that TV star’s.”

...

As they lie in bed, practicing Blaine’s upcoming scene with Kurt playing Rachel, Kurt’s phone buzzes.

Mercedes: It’s official. The first RPF is out - Kurt and Blaine.

Kurt quickly texts back: Do not send that to me. 

“Do they know your real name?” Blaine looks scandalized.

“Only my first name.” 

Mercedes: Well, you may be more interested in this one. That faux entertainment ‘zine guy, JustJay, thinks he has the scoop from the coffee shop.

Kurt: You mean the top secret news that Blaine Anderson dips biscotti while chatting with a friend? 

Blaine laughs as he reads the text over Kurt’s shoulder and then the link at JustJay. Kurt sees the melodramatic headline of Who is the pretty face having coffee with Sing!’s favorite heartthrob?  and he’s pretty sure that he is more scandalized than Blaine. Here it is Sing! fans, the photo everyone is talking about...

“Ha!” Kurt laughs out loud as he shuts the computer. “JustJay has a very skewed view of who exactly is everyone.”

“I can handle this, no problem. My publicist has probably already left me four messages.” Blaine checks his phone. “Only two - JustJay isn’t the big time yet. Only question then is whether there is something to talk about here.” Blaine looks at him sincerely, almost vulnerable.

“What do you mean? Like I don’t want to be the front cover of TMZ, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“No. I’m asking if this is happening?”

“I think it just did.” Kurt bites at Blaine’s shoulder, too nervous to answer.

“You’re really making me pull teeth now? So should it happen again, Kurt?”

“You’re asking as if the answer could be anything other than yes.”

“Never meet your idols. They might disappoint.”

Kurt stares at the ceiling and laughs, shaking his head. “Or they could be you.”

[the-resurrection-3d]

so heathers eps 2-3

it's a few days late but I just woke up from a dream about my TomTord Roommate and I don't want to be actually productive. I had to go back and copy-paste this from Word because Tumblr’s new text post editor has a woefully small character limit. Gotta love how Wordpress of all fucking places is going out of their way to make their new pet project hostile to writers. 

Anyway.

Good things:

the pacing feels like an actual show now

it took them three whole episodes but they finally managed to make JD/Veronica interesting and actually dark. Think the ending of Gone Girl if both characters viewed it as a happy ending.

I love Heather Duke's peacock motif. It's very fitting with her personality and is incorporated tastefully.

Changing “Teenage Suicide (Don’t Do It)” by Big Fun into a musical produced in-universe is a fun idea... I think? It gives me a lot of similar vibes to Riverdale having to justify performing Heathers the Musical in-universe , though that only lasted an episode, whereas this looks like it’s going to be an overarching plot. I honestly think they should just pull a Riverdale and have a full-on musical episode -- at least that would give musical fans something to enjoy. I guess this isn’t a good thing so much as a thing that didn’t annoy me. It’s not conceptually poisoned like a lot of other things here. 

Anything else? No...? Well then, moving on. 

Several new problems have emerged:

Veronica's bug motif is absolutely heinous and I don't have any clue what it's supposed to represent, especially when they keep changing what exact bug she's wearing.

Also you don’t have to vomit blue all over every Veronica scene. It’s very weird because they don’t usually throw red or green or yellow lighting all over everyone’s else scenes. Sure, it’ll feature prominently, such as the shot of Heather M sitting on her bed surrounded by yellow stuffed animals, but that’s at least a characterization detail. I’m talking solely about lightning choices here.

Removing the death of Heather Chandler has destroyed any sense of direction the show could have had. I asked TTR what the characters wanted and what goals they were working towards and she just said, "I have no idea." They had Heather Chandler blackmailing JDonica and Heather M. getting gaslit and victim-blamed by everyone around her, but both of these things were done by the end of the episode.

This is a problem a lot of teen dramas have, but I think it’s worth noting that the pop music choices rang from “okay” to “.... but why though.” Like in the scene where Heather C. reveals she’s still alive, it plays “Halo” by Beyoncé, get it, because they thought she was dead! Except it doesn’t fit the tone of the scene nor Heather C’s intentionality, and there’s nothing funny about the contrast, either. What? 

 Heathers looked at the controversy around 13 Reasons Why's suicide scene and said "bet." Except it's not even done well because the entire point of 13RW s1 was getting to know Hannah and understand why she kermited. We always know she's killed herself, sure, but the series utilizes the tapes and frequent flashbacks to characterize Hannah, especially by the time we actually see the suicide. This episode just dumps trauma on Heather M. and has her kill herself at the end. Of episode 2.

After the funeral scene, the rest of ep3 is just pointless generic teen drama, only half of which was made interesting by that Gone Girl twist at the end (where JD kills Ram because Veronica is going out with him and Veronica finds this thrilling and romantic).

The other plot, about Heathers D and C fighting for power, culminates in Heather C forcing D to break-up with Kurt and then bouncing D off the stage during play auditions. Problem one: this is all drama I could get in any teen show. Problem two: you could have easily set up Duke/Kurt in episode one by having a scene where Kurt asks why Duke just she let Chandler humiliate him in front of everyone, allowing us to see that Duke's subservience to Chandler has actual personal costs to her (since the eating disorder angle is out). Problem three: having Duke constantly just back down whenever Chandler challenges her is boring and lame. Why not have a sing-off between the two Heathers? Why not have Heather D. gain the self-confidence her movie self did after C's "death" and then not be fully willing to play nice anymore, especially after Chandler forced Duke to publicly break up with and denounce Kurt for no real reason?

But we can't have the sing-off, because it's getting pretty clear that this show has the same problem RWBY does, where the writers/directors care more about the characters they made than the actual main characters. Characters like the teachers, Betty Finn, and whoever tf this new black girl is get to be major players because their personalities were not as previously well-defined as JD's, Veronica's, or any of the Heathers'. This is also pretty apparent in how Kurt and Ram have both been rewritten to not be douchebros at all (racism aside, because remember, the show doesn't think racism is that bad), despite the episode's title, “Date Rape and AIDS Jokes,” referencing their movie characterization. The show is so obviously uninterested in its supposed main characters that JD and Veronica have only had two real romantic moments together in over two hours of content. Heather M. has gotten the most development... only because the show realized it hadn't given any reason for anyone to care about her before she killed herself off.

JD’s dialogue is fucking horrendous. Imagine if every single word out of Jughead’s mouth was the “I’m a weirdo” speech but five times as long. And you know what, in defense of Jughead, at least Lean Jesus has things going on in his life outside of plowing Betty and wallowing in his own melodrama. He has hobbies, goals, and complicated relationships with other characters. The only things JD has are Veronica and bitching at his dad/his dad’s new girlfriend about how love is a wound and all this other nihilistic shit he got off r/im14andthisisdeep. I’m honestly surprised he didn’t counter Veronica talking about how she wanted to be normal with “Normal is just a setting on the washing machine.” Another missed characterization moment: JD bringing a sword from his katana collection (that’s only seen once in episode three) to school and threatening Kurt and Ram with that instead of the gun. I think that would have been fun.

The show also hates black women. And Native Americans. In such a way that it actively contradicts itself (the pilot established that Heather C. actually isn't just a keyboard warrior and goes to irl protests, so why would Heather C. not say a word about Westerburg's school statue being a Confederate soldier holding an Indigenous person's decapitated head?)

[pixiealtaira]

Into The Woods

Here it is... day 15 of Kurtoberfest...2016

It is not Blaine friendly, it is a break-up fic.  It features the Warblers and Elliot.

Rated M...but probably doesn’t need that high a rating.

Kurt centric

Summary: Kurt is Lost In The Woods.

 In to The Woods (not posted)

Kurt Hummel was lost in the woods.  At least that is what his Facebook page was shouting. He’d already called his dad and informed him he wasn’t ‘lost’ lost in the woods, but he was…in a manner of speaking…lost in the woods.

Kurt Hummel was lost in the woods with a tent and air mattress, three sleeping bags, several blankets and two pillows, plenty of clothing, a cook stove so he didn’t have to build a fire, a cooler full of food, a cooler which was filled with bottled water, a generator that he peddled on which he could make enough power with to charge his laptop, cell phone and the lantern he used as his main light source at night.  He had a very comfy camp chair and a portable table.  He had his digital camera and several novels he’d been waiting to read until he’d had enough of a school break to do so.  He had notebooks and pencils and even a sketchpad and watercolors, watercolor paper, tape and a great selection of paintbrushes. He had his laptop and several days’ worth of downloaded movies, his old IPod classic which held music and only music and enough music to listen to all week almost without repeating a single song.

He had a working cellphone, cell phone service and he even had internet since he’d set his phone up as a Wi-Fi hotspot.

He was perfectly content to remain lost in the woods for the rest of the godawful ‘camping’ vacation…which was three more days.

It started with a magazine article and a desire to try to ‘fix’ his relationship with Blaine.

He and Blaine could not live together. It seriously was as simple as that.  The evening Blaine had moved back in, within hours of sending Rachel off, Blaine started fussing about the loft. He wanted to redo the book shelves, he wanted the bathroom reorganized. Heck, in the bathroom he wanted to come up with the money needed to have the bathroom renovated so the toilet and sink were in ‘better’ spots for Blaine’s use, regardless of Kurt’s insistence he would have to ask the landlord about that in the first place and they were never going to come up with the money considering a certain someone had no steady job.  Blaine needed things done his way in the kitchen, even though he used it less than Kurt. It only got worse when Kurt spoke about school.  Kurt understood that’s June’s showcase took a lot of time and that just because it happened didn’t mean it was completely over and Blaine could just start ignoring her.  Kurt pointed out that Blaine still had classes to attend and that he hadn’t thought Blaine skipping them when preparing for the showcase was a good idea to start off with and Blaine certainly should not keep skipping them when he wasn’t working towards an actual event.

Kurt was reminded that he wasn’t the boss of Blaine and that Blaine could do what he wanted.  Fine and dandy, however, the tantrum tossed when Kurt refused to skip class and meet up for an afternoon of gaming with Sam while Sam was in town finishing up paperwork at the model agency was uncalled for and ridiculous.  The semi silent treatment…Blaine refused to speak to Kurt when Kurt spoke but Blaine was happy to tell Kurt about how mean Kurt was acting and how much he had hurt Sam’s feelings (Kurt hadn’t, he’d texted an apology to Sam with the explanation that Kurt could not miss his dance class and that he’d buy Sam dinner when he was in Lima next and Sam said he was fine with it) so long as Kurt just sat and took it and didn’t dare speak back…was annoying and irritating.

Then there was the wedding crap.  Kurt told Blaine the hour after they got engaged that he was NOT getting married until he had finished university...and maybe even landed a full time serious job in his fields of choice.  It was NOT happening.  Kurt heard nothing different from Blaine about it either.  Until it passed a year of being engaged and all of a sudden Blaine kept coming and telling him about potential sites and potential caters and asking for him to make a firm decision on colors and a guest list.  Kurt had never even mentioned colors or a guest list, ever…not to even make a non-firm comment. Kurt’s reminder that he still had two more years at least and maybe more before even THINKING about a wedding seemed to not be heard…at all…not any of the 500 or more times he said it. (Neither did Kurt’s reminder that KURT had his wedding planned down to the number of filler flowers in the table displays, thank you very much…so Blaine needed to back off and chill out because so far nothing Blaine had brought forward would ever work even in whatever dream reality Blaine was working under. When Kurt decided that it was time for a wedding, Kurt would then present his fiancé with five choices and after that make five calls and they would be ready to go.  That had been yelled the fourteenth time Blaine asked Kurt if he thought Forest Green and Peach would be good for wedding colors. )

All that added with the fights about shoes and clothing and picking up after one’s self and TV choices and movies and gaming and food choices and washing dishes and chores and jobs and rugs and towels and bathroom timing and personal hygiene and good lord everything…Kurt and Blaine were not at a good spot coming up towards the end of the semester.

NYADA’s last day for underclassman was the 16th of May.  NYADA’s seniors walked the 10th, with all that week before dedicated to the seniors presenting their final projects and stuff and the seniors taking all their finals for non-presentation classes.  It was a dead week for the rest of the campus…it was supposed to be used to study for finals and any presentations they might have during their finals week…unless you were involved in a seniors project.  Kurt was not during the end of his second year…or rather his job had already been done and he wasn’t needed on campus. Furthermore, he had already presented for three classes, finished and turned in his huge paper for one class, was complete and ready to present in two classes and didn’t need much more studying for his finals in the rest. To top it all off, he’d taken off the whole of dead week from all jobs, because the year before during dead week Kurt had been buried under so much work it had not been funny. He had just neglected (or blocked) to remember why he’d been so far behind and working so hard to catch up.

When Kurt came home on the last day of April, Blaine was already home.  He was sprawled out on the couch and had his face buried in some sort of magazine.  Kurt hung up his bag and coat, pulled off his boots, and went to sit by him and turn on some TV until he had to move again…or make dinner, even though it was Blaine’s night to feed them.

“Hey Kurt,” Blaine said as he noticed the TV go on. “You should read this article.  I bet we could get some ideas on how you could fix our relationship.”

“We could certainly use some help, but I’m sure a therapist would be a better option than a magazine article.”  Kurt replied.

“I told you, I’m not going to therapy.  It is a waste of time. My mother says it has not helped one single bit for either her or my dad, so I doubt it would help us.”

“Well, you do have to sort of show up for it to help…” Kurt said under his breath. Louder Kurt said, “So what does the article say?”

“It talks about activities couples can do together to reconnect and get back into tune with each other.  We should go camping!  It says camping allows couples to rely on each other and talk to each other without distractions.  We could go before finals.  We should totally do the full week!”

“Don’t you need to study and finish up projects?”  Kurt asked.

“Ok…we’ll come home late Friday.  I’ll have the whole weekend.  We can leave this Friday, right after your morning class.”

“I have a presentation to give at my 1pm class.”

“Ok…right after that.” Blaine said bouncing on the couch.

“Is it even all the way thawed out anywhere?”  Kurt asked.

“Thawed? I guess.  It’ll be great!  I know the perfect place to head off to! You get everything together and I’ll get the place set up.  Oh…we’ll need to rent a car.”

Blaine’s confusion at the word thawed should have been the first clue that he and Kurt didn’t have the same idea of camping.  That and the word car.

“Leave that to me as well, Dad gave me the number to some of his friends.” Kurt said.

Had Kurt thought about things for much longer, instead of simply going into planning mode, he probably should have figured out that Blaine’s idea of camping and Kurt’s idea of camping were very much two different things. Except, Kurt rather liked the idea of camping, of peace and nature and relaxing, so he didn’t think about it long and just jumped into planning mode.

Kurt called one of his dad’s friends the next day, who rented him a SUV since he wasn’t sure where they were going camping and he might need a 4wheel drive. Kurt also called NYADA’s student recreation center and found out that they did rent out tents and camping gear, also if he chose to buy they gave him the name of three sporting goods shops who gave tremendous students discounts.  Kurt rented the tent and camp stove with a full propane tank, but when they showed him the pedal powered generator and external batteries to be charged and used with laptops and other larger items, Kurt went to the sporting goods shop and bought that (he’d already bought sleeping bags after their snowed in day). He bought the type of camp food that was like military MREs, but which he hoped tasted a bit better…although some of the MREs his dad forced down him when he was younger weren’t too bad. He bought other food too…hot dogs(which were only edible outside cooked over an open fire) and potatoes for a fry-up, marshmallows and eggs, some good fish that was frozen, onions and peppers and other things to make tinfoil dinners. He even gave into nostalgia and bought spaghetti circles and meatballs and canned raviolis and hot chocolate packets and instant oatmeal. He broke down and bought sodas, not just his Diet Coke, but fun root beers and other fruity sodas in bottles and regular cans of Cokes and Pepsis and Sprites. He found a good deep pot for Dutch-oven cooking and bought the makings for peach cobbler and a good outdoor fry pan that could sit over open flames or on a camp stove, he added a smaller pot and camping utensils and camping dishes for himself and Blaine that he could wash but he wouldn’t have to risk his matching place settings at home. He bought two coolers and four of the reusable ice packs to keep frozen food frozen for a decent amount of time. He bought enough bottled water to cook with and drink and even wash their hands and face with for a whole week. And, since Kurt did not trust the weather, he also bought long-johns, silk and thermal and two pairs of fleece lined jeans.  He bought two cable knit sweaters...one wool and one cotton, two fleece pull overs, a good multi-layer hooded waterproof coat which wasn’t too bulky to be comfortable, good gloves which included fingertips with which he could use his phone, nice lined boots and lots of good thick socks…oh, and a few hats.  He bought a hiking pack which he could put all his clothing and some food in, a compass and a good fire starting kit, a first aid kit that was geared towards outdoor recreation use but would be wonderful to add to the loft, and a wonderful water bottle/canteen which he couldn’t wait to take jogging with him when the whole camping thing was done.  He had never been so glad a store stayed open till 9pm in all his life.   When he got back to the loft, Blaine wasn’t there…he’d left a note saying he was out with some friends and that he’d be ready for Kurt to pick him up at three and could Kurt have the car gassed up and ready to go at the time as well.

Kurt spent the night washing clothes and getting everything ready for the next day. He charged all his devices; he loaded movies and games on the laptop.  He pulled out board games and card games and books to read. He pulled out his travel art box, and filled it with pencils, watercolor paints, brushes, and his watercolor paper pad and his sketch pad.  He found the extra SD cards for his camera and the extra battery pack and made sure it was charged.  He packed extra notebooks.  He packed a ‘goody bag’, just in case Blaine’s bonding activity ideas were more on the physical side.  He pulled out the three sleeping bags he’d bought after they were snowed in, the extra blankets and the pillows that could travel and their air mattress (bought when Sam was living there at the loft).  He packed everything into the SUV except the stuff he wanted to move to the SUV last minute.  

He finished packing as soon as he got done with his dance class, where everyone presented their pieces so that Miss July could go somewhere right after she sat through graduation. Kurt was exhausted but he thought he nailed it, which was good.  Blaine wasn’t home yet and so Kurt finished packing and had everything in the car ready. Blaine was dropped off by someone at 2:45 and ran up to the loft just in time to meet Kurt who was bringing down his art box and the last sack of groceries (seasonings and stuff from their own kitchen).

“Kurt as soon as you put that in come help me bring my stuff down and then we can be off!” Blaine yelled.

When Kurt got back up to the loft, Blaine handed Kurt a large duffel bag. Kurt locked up as Blaine carried down a large paper sack full of some sort of bottles and his travel cosmetics case. Blaine took those two items with him into the front of the SUV and Kurt packed his bag into the back.

“God, this car is huge! I don’t see why you thought we needed something so big.” Blaine complained as Kurt got into the driver’s seat. Once again, Kurt should have considered that Blaine’s surprise should have been a clue to his idea of camping.

“I didn’t know where we were going so Dad’s friend thought we might need 4wheel drive.” Kurt said.

Blaine nodded. “We might, I didn’t ask.  It’ll take about five hours to get there once we get out of the city, so we’d better head now.  Take I-80 until you get to almost Watkin’s Glen.  There might be tolls. Wake me at Binghamton if I’m not awake by then…or if you stop for food.”

Then Blaine popped his head phones in and leaned his head against the window.  He was snoring before they were even out of the neighborhood. Kurt popped his music in and settled in for the drive, singing along as he drove north.  Kurt stopped for food without waking Blaine.

He woke Blaine up when he was supposed to, and they stopped for dinner at a fast food drive-thru.  Blaine then spent the next half hour chattering about presentations and how annoying it was they were all needing to be done the week of finals.

“Why didn’t you take the option of presenting early?” Kurt asked.

“Why would I do that?” Blaine asked back.

“Because it allows you to space yourself better?”

“But it makes it so you don’t get as much time as everyone else to complete stuff.” Blaine said.

“Well, you do…I mean I know in three of those six classes you share with me the paper or presentation project is in the syllabus and so you’ve had since the start of the semester to work on it if you wanted to.  If I chose to work on it early and have it down and ready to present early I don’t see how I’ve lost time.  I just used it to my advantage.”

“But you could have done more or added more or changed things over the next week or so!” Blaine exclaimed.

“Why would I need to if I already have it done?” Kurt asked back.

Blaine just grumbled and glared at him.

“When you get to the turn off to go to the state park, take it and drive along the road you’d take to get to the back way into the camp grounds.”

“I’ve never been up here Blaine, I don’t understand where you want me to go.” Kurt said.

“There is a sign for a bed and breakfast and an inn…take that exit and follow along.  We aren’t going that far though.”

Kurt sighed. “Just tell me when to turn Blaine.”

Blaine snorted and played on his phone and Kurt drove until Blaine told him to turn.  Then Blaine started paying close attention to the road.

“See that turn right up there…the big open gate.  Turn there.” Blaine said.

Kurt turned, frowning.  

He followed the paved road up and around a bend and to the front of a large lodge thing.  He should have known. Blaine reached over and blasted the horn and guys spilled out the front.

Wes and David led the wave of boys who spilled out. Kurt noticed Jeff and Nick as well, and thought he might have seen a few others around somewhere…school, callbacks, or maybe even Dalton.

Blaine jumped out of the SUV and Kurt let his head fall forward against the steering wheel.  He sighed and got out of the car, watching as Blaine was passed from group to group for hugs and high fives and chest bumps and the whole nine yards.

“Kurt! I’m so glad Blaine talked you into camping with us!” Wes shouted, so Kurt could hear him over the noise the other guys were making.  “There is a fire out back and we’ve already set out drinks.  There is still some chowder on the stove if you haven’t eaten yet. Richards will be up later to clear it away, but he’ll leave snacks out, so don’t worry if you’re not hungry now. Would you like to take your bags up before you head out back?”

Kurt watched as Blaine draped his arm around a guy Kurt wasn’t familiar with and moved with the group of boys towards they backyard.

“I guess I’d better.” Kurt said.  He reached in and grabbed Blaine’s duffel bag and his backpack, giving the rest of the gear in the back a longing look. David was waiting for him instead of Wes.

David showed Kurt a room with double bed. “Wes got called to see if Richards would leave out stuff to make s’mores with. You lucked out; Blaine won the flip for this guest room.  Jeff was put out because he and Nick are one of the bunk rooms and he has to share with Lenny.”    

Kurt smiled.  He dropped off the bags and followed David out towards the back through the house, taking note of where everything was.

Half an hour later he went back into the kitchen for some soup.  Blaine hadn’t even acknowledged Kurt since they pulled up other than to get the keys so he could get his stuff from the front seats where he’d left it and then bring the keys back to Kurt.

Jeff wandered in a bit later, to see Kurt rinsing out his bowl.

“You don’t have to do that.  Richards is here.  He’ll come wash up later.”  Jeff said.

“I feel better if I do.” Kurt said.  

He listened to Jeff talk about his classes and clubs he was involved in.  He hadn’t realized Jeff and Nick were both at NYU and that several others they went to school with were at Columbia.

“Are you going to shoot with us tomorrow?” Jeff finally asked.

“Shoot?” Kurt asked.

“Wes has set up the archery range, but he’s also got trap shooting set up.”

“I haven’t ever done that.” Kurt said.

Jeff looked at him oddly. “Have you ever shot a gun?”

Kurt snorted.

“We go hunting.” Kurt simply said.

“Oh. I bet you could come shooting with us then. Of course if you don’t want to the hot tubs are both filled and the courts are set up and there is always gaming and TV in the house.  The pool isn’t filled though. This is the week the official pool cleaners come out and scrub it so it needed to be empty for that.”

Kurt just nodded.

“We should go see if they’ve started telling scary stories yet!” Jeff said, dragging Kurt back out to the yard.

Kurt watched as the guys told stories and drank and Blaine talked and chatted with everyone but him, leaning in and snuggling in to random guys all night. Blaine spent a good amount of time with two blonds in particular, both darker blonds than either Sam or Adam, but blonds none the less. Kurt mostly hung with Jeff, while Nick seemed to be having it out with a red headed man about the amount of alcohol he was consuming.

Kurt went up to bed at 1am.

He was one of four out of 25 up before 10am.  Wes was up working on some school work and two guys Kurt didn’t know, who ended up friends of David’s from Yale, were out in one of the hot tubs.

Richards was a very nice man in his early 50s who took care of the lodge throughout the year and stayed to do all the work needed when people were at the lodge.  He made a mean coffee cake and had no problem with Kurt making himself an omelet.

Richards showed Kurt the ATVs, all with keys ready so that they could be used, the dirt bikes and gear and the trails and explained how far back they could go before running into other people’s property or into the state forest.  There were a lot of woods out back and to the north of the house that Wes’ family owned.  He was warned not to get lost.

Blaine was finally awake around noon and Kurt joined him for lunch, along with most the rest of the guys.

Jeff bounded up to Kurt and Blaine (and the two blonds and a dark haired man whose hair was actually a mess of ringlets).

“We are going to the range this afternoon to shoot.  Wes decided he wanted to do skeet shooting and we don’t have the proper set up here for that.  Do you still want to come?” Jeff asked.

“Sure,” Kurt said.

Blaine looked at the two blonds who shook their heads and then answered. “I think I’ll stay here. I’m not big on shooting.”

Jeff looked at Blaine weird. “You love shooting with us.”

“I just think I’ll stay, but Kurt should definitely go if he wants.”

Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes.  “I’ll follow you guys. When are we leaving?”

“We are heading out at 2.” Jeff answered and then waved as he bounded off to the next bunch of guys to see who was going.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay, Blaine?” Kurt asked.

“I’ll be fine.  I’ll hang with Ricky and Edwin. I doubt you knew them; they both graduated my first year at Dalton.  Ricky was the head of the Warblers council before Wes, he served with Wes and Wes’ cousin Lance,” the blond wearing the man bun waved, “and Edwin was fencing champion.  That’s why I knew all about fencing when we got to stage fighting class…I use to watch Edwin fence all the time.”

Kurt smiled while struggling to keep his snort in.  Blaine had been called out over and over and over for improper fencing during class, and ignored the teacher every time…insisting he knew the real rules. Kurt hadn’t interfered with that mess. Blaine and the professor’s animosity towards each other had become legendary and Kurt wanted no part in it. He and Blaine had not been paired since the fiasco that occurred the week he’d been able to participate again in class after being bashed in the head, so it was just easier to stay out of the fuss and focus on class and not upsetting Blaine by paying too much attention to any specific other people in class.

“I’m sure you’ll have fun, then.” Kurt said.

“Are you sure you’ll be ok, Kurt?” Edwin asked. “Don’t let Jeff bully you into shooting if you don’t want to.  Blaine has told us all about how you aren’t into things like sports and horror movies and such and prefer clothes and fashion and musicals.”

“Really now?” Kurt asked, smiling the type of smile that would have warned Santana and Rachel he wasn’t happy.  Blaine seemed not to notice.

“I’m sure we could find you some of the movies you’d like,” Ricky said. “Wes has girl cousins who come up here to the cabin every summer.  Most the movies pulled out for the week are horror or action movies, you know…guys films…though, sorry.  I’m sure you’ll have time to watch other things though when we are doing the tournament video games later today and tomorrow.  There is a TV in the back room past the gym equipment since we use the TV room, the theater and the gaming room for tournaments, but it’s hooked up to a DVD player and the satellite.  Patrick and Felix are really the only ones who don’t participate in the tourney. Felix totally would but his brain won’t let him be in the room with video games for long.”

“I’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Kurt said.

“Felix is the boy who looks like a clone of David.” Blaine said.  “Patrick is the red head without the huge mass of freckles.  Neil has the freckles.”

“Thanks, Blaine. Did I see Conner last night?” Kurt asked.  Conner was one of the non-warblers Kurt had been friendly with when at Dalton.  Blaine had hated him since.  Kurt had always thought it hilarious that Blaine hadn’t wanted to date him or notice Kurt’s crush on him but had bristled up like a dog protecting its bone whenever Kurt spoke with Conner.

Blaine growled. “Yes, he’s here with his boyfriend, Jake.”

“Cool, I’ll have to find him and catch up later.” Kurt said.

“Kurt, he is very serious about Jake.”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Yes, Blaine. I’m sure he is.”  Kurt fiddled with the ring on his finger.   He and Conner had never been like that anyway…Conner wasn’t even out at the time to anyone and Kurt was who he’d approached about things. Kurt had once asked why he didn’t talk to Blaine and Conner had answered that he knew Blaine couldn’t keep a secret. Kurt had just nodded. “Who was the guy Nick was tal…”

“Come on, Blaine. Let’s go see if they’ve started the after lunch movie!” the dark haired guy said as he pulled Blaine towards the huge theater room that Kurt had seen on the way to the kitchen.

“Have fun later, Kurt!” Blaine yelled as he bounced after the others.

Kurt sighed at his questioning being interrupted. He went out to check out the trails in the woods to the north of the house.  He’d at least get hiking into his foiled camping trip.

Ten minutes of slow wandering into the woods on the largest trail and he could no longer hear the boys screaming and yelling at each other outside where they were playing basketball and tennis.  Five minutes after that several game trails broke off the path and Kurt decided to take one of those to see where it led.

It was a short trail, not more than about 100 to 200 steps. It led to a lovely clearing with a brook running through the back of it and wildflowers peeking through the carpet of old fallen leaves.  There were some great trees surrounding the clearing, huge green leaves making the light coming through dapple over the few evergreens.  Kurt brushed the leaves away, finding the ground mostly dirt under a copse of evergreens and birch and giving away to green grass which was trying to fight the dead leaves.

He made plans to come out the next day with his sketch book and pencils and possibly the camera before heading back to the house so he didn’t miss the trip to the shooting range.

It wasn’t all that late when Kurt got back, so he joined Jeff and Nick at the archery set up at the far end of the lawn.  He didn’t see Blaine anywhere.

Using the bows Wes had for everyone’s use was fun, but Kurt missed his own. When he complained Nick teased him.

“What,” Kurt said. “My dad’s cousin was ecstatic when he learned of my interest in bows.  Granted it started because I watched Robin Hood, but it was something he could work with in making a connection, you know. So when I outgrew my first bow, he took me and had a friend make me a longbow I could hunt with but would also look cool and be useful as a prop.  I also have a hand crafted recurve and he is trying to convince me to come to the dark-side and join his love of cross-bows.”

“You’ve hunted with a bow?” Nick asked.

“I’ve gone bow hunting.” Kurt said. “I try not to actually hit anything and my dad and his cousin’s family all promise not to tease me too much when I cry as they field dress Bambi.”

Jeff had to sit down because he was laughing so hard.

“You should have joined the archery team at Dalton.” Jeff said.

Kurt snorted. “Do you remember what happened when Drew’s tire went flat?”

Nick snorted.

“The day at the Lima Bean?” Jeff said.

“Yeah.  I offered to fix it and Blaine got all ‘You can’t do that. You don’t even like sports. You’ll mess up your hands. You’ll mess up Drew’s car. You’ll mess up your uniform. What makes you think you could actually fix a car?’ condescending about it, so I just called someone because Drew didn’t even know who usually looked after his car.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Nick said.

“I decided there that if Blaine wanted this fairy prince idea of me then who was I to ruin it?  He wasn’t listening to anything contrary to it anyway, why force the issue? I joined badminton as my sport, although I admit if the ballroom dance team had had an opening I might have considered that. I steered clear of those sports that Blaine considered too much for my delicate little self and just let it be.”

“So, you could have changed the tire?” Jeff asked.

“Jeff, my dad is a mechanic. We own Hummel’s Tires and Lube. I’ve known how to change a tire since I was 8…by myself for the most part.”

Nick laughed.

“But, Blaine says you work as a singing waiter.” Jeff said.

“I like that job.  I also work at Vogue.com.   My choice of jobs is one of those just because I can do it doesn’t mean I always want to do it things.” Kurt said.

Wes called them to head off before anyone could say anything more.

To Kurt’s surprise, there were 18 guys heading to the shooting range and two of the others had headed into town to pick up something for Wes.  Wes said the others were staying behind to work on projects and stuff for school.

Kurt worried Blaine would be bored, but decided to stick it out for a while.  He stayed about an hour, hitting about 2/3s of the clay discs during his turns.  He couldn’t call the time spent at the range a loss though; he’d spoken to Conner and met his Jake, who could not have been a better match for Conner if Kurt had been able to manufacture a boy for him.  He made plans to see them during the summer.  They were both at Yale.  He spoke and joked with Jeff and Nick some more.  He got to hang with David a bit, who oddly enough was not hanging with Wes as much as Kurt expected. It was great but he was still worried. He told Wes he was heading back to the house and waved goodbye to Nick and Jeff and David.

Kurt parked off to the side so others could get in and out easier when he got to the house and then headed in.   He pulled the SUV up off to the side of the trail he’d hiked down earlier.  He waved to Richards, who looked like he was starting dinner, as he entered into the kitchen and then went hunting to find Blaine.

Blaine wasn’t in the theater room.  Some horror film was playing, but Kurt didn’t see anyone in the room watching it.  He found one of the guys who’d been hanging around Jeff the night before in what Kurt had declared the library, surrounded by books and typing as fast as his fingers could fly.

The dark haired kid and Ricky were located in one of the Hot Tubs. Kurt saw them as he passed by and headed towards the game room.

The game room was empty, the inside gym was empty, the music room was empty. The laundry room was empty as was the formal dining room, the mud room, and the Kitchen…except for Richards. Kurt sighed and went to their room to get his IPod and go relax in the library with the guy working on his school work.

Their room wasn’t empty. The door wasn’t even shut.

Blaine was on the bed riding Edwin with more gusto than he’d ever shown while having sex with Kurt, and Edwin was calling him all sort of pettish type names that Blaine was simply eating up.  The kind Blaine got upset at Kurt for using.

Kurt turned and headed down the stairs to the kitchen and Richards’ peaceful presence.

“So,” Kurt said after watching the man for a while. “Are there any actual rules about doing actual camping on the property?”

“As far as I know, no one has ever considered it,” Richards said.

Kurt nodded.

“But you know of no rules against it?” Kurt asked.

“There are no tents or anything around.”

Kurt nodded. He headed outside to the trail he took earlier.  It was big enough for the ATV until the game trail.  Kurt pulled the ATV to the back of the SUV and went to the garage to swipe a few bungie cords.  He loaded the two coolers and the propane tank first and drove them to the game trail, unloading them and dragging them down the game trail until he reached the clearing. He drove back to the SUV and loaded the camp stove, the tent and a normal camp chair and the camp table. He drove those out to the game trail and took them one by one into the clearing.  He headed back to the house and wandered into the Kitchen again, asking Richards if he knew when the other boys would be back.

Wes had called and told Richards they’d be back in about an hour and to have snacks ready.  Kurt nodded and stayed to help make snacks, grabbing a few mini quiches before heading back out the door when Richards turned his attention towards dinner again.

Kurt loaded a tarp from the garage onto the ATV and sat the air mattress, the generator, the sleeping bags, blankets and pillows onto the tarp. He added the camp chair that reclined somewhat and had a foot rest to his pile. He loaded his art box and the bag of stuff from the kitchen, and finally the box with all the cooking and camping stuff he’d packed. He tossed the messenger bag with his laptop and camera in it over his shoulder and took off one more time down the trail.

After he moved everything into the clearing he’d tucked the messenger bag into the tarp bundle, secured with the bungee cords, and road back to the house.  He headed into the theater room and started a new movie, fast forwarding it to about 40 minutes into the movie.  He’d seen Men In Black enough to not have to worry about missing out on anything.

Jeff and Nick’s voices carried and Kurt hopped up and headed out to see the guys who’d just got back. Nick was once again having an animated discussion with a red head, but not either mentioned by Blaine. Jeff was looking a bit worried, but noticed Kurt and waved. Blaine and Edwin and Ricky and the dark haired guy were all in the Hot Tubs and Kurt made sure to wave as he went around back with the group coming in from shooting.

“Wes,” Kurt said siding up to him, “I’m going to go in and lay down.  I forgot to wear the earplugs while out at the range and have given myself a headache.”

Wes waved and nodded. “If you miss dinner, there is always food in the fridge.”

Kurt smiled and nodded to him.  Then he went up to the room and packed the few things he’d taken out back into the backpack and took the backpack downstairs, tucking it into the garage against the wall.

He went into the kitchen and grabbed more snacks and stuffed them into a baggie and grabbed some pain meds and a bottle of water. He waved to Richards. He went down the hall towards the stairs and the rooms, then turned back and ducked out a side door.

He fetched the backpack from the garage and ran to the trail, then happily and cheerfully hiked his way into the woods, to the game trail and into the clearing.  He sang as he went.

“Into the woods, It's time to go, It may be all In vain, I know. Into the woods- But even so, I have to take the journey.”

Kurt felt lyrics had never so rightly expressed his feelings.

Kurt spent the next two hours setting up camp to his liking, listening to the Into the Woods soundtrack as he worked. It seemed appropriate. The music made his task seem quicker and less lonely.  Singing made everything feel less tight.  It hadn’t been that way in a while. Kurt tried not to think about why.

Kurt counted his blessing as he set up as well. He had the tent to himself.  He had the air mattress to himself.  He had his pillows.  Everything would stay hair gel free.

He realized he was missing a few items, but by the time he’d decided he wanted those it was nearly dark. Kurt made himself an omelet again and a list of what he needed to get from the house.  He took stock of what he had food wise and what he’d need to make and eat first. He decided to deposit what he didn’t want into the fridge of the house the next day, but without feeding two he would still have plenty to go around.  Besides, first he had to see if he could make it through the night.  It would be the first night camping alone he’d ever done.

Kurt put on warm clothes and kicked back in his deluxe camp chair with one of the books until it got too dark.  Then he curled himself up in the sleeping bag nest he’d created with his laptop and watched one of the movies he’d put on it. When it finished, Kurt curled into his sleeping bag and bawled about everything until he fell asleep.

He slept through the night but woke early the next morning, which was fine by him.  He wanted in and out again with minimal contact.  He located the plastic wrap and wrapped all the meat he’d brought, except the frozen fish and a package of bacon, and tucked it into his emptied messenger bag.

Even hiking back to the house had him up and in the kitchen before anyone else. He tucked the food into the fridge and swiped one of the sleep masks that had been sitting in the cabinet that held the pain meds that Kurt had seen the night before.  Kurt headed into the garage, where he borrowed a pair of hedge clippers which he could also use to cut rope, rope and another tarp and an empty box that wasn’t too large.  He headed back into the kitchen and nicked a pack of frozen imitation crab, some butter cubes, and some fresh green onions and tomatoes and a bunch of fruit…bananas, oranges, grapes, pears, kiwis, berries.  He tucked into his bag some fancy cheese spreads and a box of fancy crackers and a small loaf of French bread.

He noticed a note on the fridge door that mentioned the showers in the pool house were open and people should shower out there as well so there wouldn’t be too much wait.

Kurt skipped back to his camp and then skipped back to the pool house shower with a change of clothes and his personal care items in tow.  The pool house not only had showers, but sinks and toilets as well. It was empty still, although he could now see movement up at the house.

Kurt was showered and back out towards his camp in fifteen minutes.

His day was blissful. He took photos of the brook and trees and flowers and all sorts of stuff, lovely detailed ones.  He was sort of planning out part of Carole’s Christmas gift if he could locate someplace to turn the photos into a calendar.

Kurt also spent time sketching.  He was taking set design over the summer and recalled from listening to those Apples who’d been in the class that those in the class were encouraged to get practice in sketching as many different environments as possible.  He drew flowers and mushrooms and trees and rocks, focusing on details in some pictures and the big picture in others.  He went on small hikes, following little trails here and there around his camp site.  He kept his ears open for anyone yelling his name.

He wrote and he practiced his vocal piece and his drama piece. He let his anger out at a spot on one of his mini hikes where a stream ran through what seemed to be rock walls and that had a lovey echo.  Kurt screamed and yelled and called Blaine all sorts of foul names and shouted curses upon him and his future generations, which was oddly satisfying.

Kurt went back to his camp for lunch, where he ate some of the pilfered cheese and fruit and drank specialty root beers. He packed into the small box all the food items that he couldn’t really use without a campfire…the makings for the Dutch oven peach cobbler, the marshmallows and s’mores ingredients, half the potatoes, the other items he’d bought for tinfoil dinners, and more than half the sodas.  He figured he’d just take those things back to the SUV, and then he wouldn’t have to deal with them at camp.

He settled down to read some more and then checked his email and Facebook and played around on the internet for  a while, plugging the external battery in to the generator and pedaling as it charged so he could watch movies again that night while he used the computer.  He decided to charge his phone while he read in the evening and his IPod while he read the next morning.

He fixed himself a fry-up for dinner, using half the bacon and some potatoes, cheese, onions, eggs and peppers.  He used a grocery bag he’d left stuff in to put the trash in and determined to take it to the house after it got dark.

Kurt dug out the flashlight he’d packed and took the trash, his personal care items, and the box to be taken to the SUV back to the house a bit after dark.  He went to the SUV first and put the box in the back.  Then he ditched the bag of trash in the outside dumpster. He saw a few people milling about, a few guys in the Hot Tubs and a few more by the fire pit.  He spoke to one of the guys he didn’t know who said most were in the house playing a video game tournament.  Kurt nodded. He headed to the pool house to shower and use the bathroom.  There were some things he was not doing in the woods unless he absolutely had to.

On the way out, he nicked several smaller trash bags from the box of the under the sink.

The night was spent peacefully curled up in his tent, without the crying of the night before. He’d put on the sleep mask, as well, so he actually slept a bit late.  Kurt wasn’t too upset about it.  During the night he decided he really wanted to play on one of the dirt bikes, so he figured he’d stick around for a bit and being seen wouldn’t be bad, unless it was Blaine…besides he hadn’t slept in that much.  It wasn’t even 8am yet.

Kurt skipped off to the pool house to do his morning routine…messenger bag in tow with clean clothes and his phone to take selfies on the dirt bike.

He slipped into the kitchen and found breakfast laid out, waffle batter to be put in the waffle makers and the goodies to top waffles with and decided to eat. Two waffles later, and a bowl of sugared peaches in cream later, Kurt skipped out the door to the dirt bikes. He was just barely hearing movement.  He wandered around the bikes and decided on a yellow one that was good height and engine size.  He fetched a helmet and jacket and took off on the bike to the area Richards had said was a bike course.

He was out on the bike for over an hour, going over the trails on the course three times a piece. He decided one of the first things he was doing when he got home was calling his dad and spending a whole lot of time apologizing for not letting him buy him one when he was younger.  He might need to send apology gift baskets to the guys his dad worked with as well.  He might not have become the racer they wanted but he would have loved one of these bikes.

He headed back to the house and met another of those guys he didn’t actually know as he was parking the bike.  After a quick exchange where Kurt gave directions to the bike course and the guy informed Kurt that no one was down at the pool house anymore, Kurt went off and quickly took another shower to remove the dust and sweat.  There were a few guys out down by the archery course, but Kurt didn’t see anyone else as he skipped on back to his camp.  There were three bikes gone and he could hear them somewhere off a ways though, so he figured the guy he spoke with went and dragged out some friends.

The rest of Monday consisted of pedaling to charge Kurt’s IPod while he sketched an absolute brilliant Robin Hood costuming idea making Robin Hood and his Merry Men not people who went to archery tournaments but people who competed on the Motocross circuit…ok, maybe not so brilliant but fun none-the-less, and as he was sketching for fun it didn’t matter. He decided to charge the external battery again since he was still sketching when the IPod was fully changed, and then the other battery for the lantern.

He made an imitation crab omelet with onions and tomato and peppers and mushrooms and cheese.  He was almost down to a dozen eggs from two dozen, but his cold foods were still cold, so he wasn’t all that worried.  He might have to go up and sneak some milk out in a day or so, but he’d worry about that when he got there.

After lunch and clean up, he settled into his chair for some more reading.  He’d finished the first novel and was starting the second.  With any luck he could get at least four of the five books he brought read.   By about four in the afternoon, with still no one calling for him, Kurt was starting to wonder about Jeff and Nick at the very least and why they hadn’t been asking after him.  Of course he hadn’t seen Jeff’s car that morning either, so maybe that had something to do with it.

By late evening, after Kurt had made himself some soup with chicken stock and potatoes, adding the rest of the bacon and the rest of the onion and pepper and mushrooms, he settled down to check his social media and watch a movie before sneaking back to the house.  Everything was fine. He hadn’t missed any calls or anything.

The trip to the house at just after 10pm was uneventful.  No one was outside at all, even though there was a fire in the fire pit. Kurt was washed and ready to head back to his camp, trash tossed, without having seen anyone.

He slept the night through without any problems, but forgot the eye mask so was up way early.  That was fine; he wanted to nick some milk anyway. Kurt picked up the empty water bottle he’d set aside for the purpose and tucked it in to his messenger bag.  The house was silent when he got there, however once again breakfast was waiting.  This time there was a huge pot of oatmeal and some absolutely heavenly looking scrambled eggs being kept warm in one of those containers used at like restaurant brunches.  

Kurt ate eggs, which were divine, and a small bowl of oatmeal with fruit and cream mixed in and honey for sweetener. He nicked a water bottle full of milk and a partially used block of Colby Jack and several little balls of mozzarella. He still had some of the spreads left.  He nicked a few bagels and a partially used tub of cream cheese and another small loaf of French bread.  He picked up a lemon from the basket of fruit, as well as a banana, some grapes, an apple, and the rest of three berry baskets from the fridge.  He also swiped more mushrooms, an onion, two bell peppers and a mostly used bag of spinach leaves.

His shower was quick and he was done before anyone else seemed to be up.  He decided to go hiking again after lunch and to bring his paints.

He spent the morning on his computer, looking at his classes needed and what he could take over the summer.  He planned on set design already, in fact was signed up for it.  There was a dialect course he thought would be fun and if he took it during summer, if wouldn’t interfere with his singing course, which he heard it could.  He decided to also do his vocal projection course, make-up arts, and one of the other history of theater courses.  That would give him a full load for summer, but an easier load than was carried for normal semesters.   He checked to see if he could register them yet…and he could, so he got that done. He emailed Carole, to let her know what days he wouldn’t be going to school over the summer…which included every Friday oddly enough.

Kurt fixed himself the left over soup for lunch, finishing it off with the bread and some of the Colby Jack.  He washed what needed washing and put together a small kit to take hiking…watercolor papers taped down onto cardboard rectangles that were small enough to easily carry, about six, his watercolor cake set…small but containing 12 colors, a water bottle for drinking and one for using with the watercolors, a plastic cup and a plastic palette. He tucked his IPod into his pocket and let the ear buds dangle and turned the music loud enough that he could hear.

He left his phone on the table where he’d packed.

He had a grand time. He found the most delightful mushrooms to paint and a set of wildflowers that were peeking above leaves that were still bright red and yellow.  He painted the little waterfall that cascaded between the rocks where he’d yelled earlier. He tried a little blue bird but he wasn’t sure he’d go so far as to call what came out a bird. Finally he painted a rock with moss all over it like a carpet.

He hopped and skipped back to the camp.  It had been ages since he felt so content.

His phone was shrilly ringing when he got back.  He looked at who was calling and saw Rachel’s number so ignored it.

He set out the paintings so they could dry even more and pulled out the fish so it could thaw enough to cook for his dinner. Then Kurt opened his laptop to Facebook.  He called his Dad right then.

Because apparently, Kurt was Lost In The Woods. He couldn’t hear anyone calling for him, but there it was spattered all over his Facebook page…he’d been lost in the woods for three days or maybe two…or maybe just one.  No one could recall seeing him…but some people said they had. But those people all said ridiculous things so obviously they were just saying stuff to make themselves feel important. Blaine noticed he was gone first…no Nick and Jeff did and Blaine was surprised…no Nick and Jeff are wrong, Blaine DID notice Kurt was gone first…if Blaine noticed then why was he surprised when Jeff asked about Kurt…on and on and on.

Rachel was in hysterics and said this was going to ‘ruin her big chance’ she was so upset.

Santana suggested they look for a trail of glitter dust.

Mercedes was wondering if she needed to head out to New York and cancel a show to do so and help look.

Mike asked if they had checked nearby camp grounds and was promptly told how silly he was and asked if he remember who was ‘lost in the woods’.  Mike responded that maybe they should all think about that same question a bit.

Puck asked if anyone had asked his dad or Carole if they had heard from him.  No one answered Puck.

Kurt sighed and turned off his computer. He plugged it into the external battery to charge.  He plugged his IPod into the pedal generator and his little external speaker and started to pedal. He called his dad again…who asked if he was safe and then said he really didn’t care as long as no authorities were called in.  Then asked why none had yet been.

Kurt said he didn’t know and that he was close enough to hear if anyone was actually looking for him or calling for him...and no one was.

“I mean seriously, Dad, I am a 10 minute brisk walk away from the house everyone is staying at. I was at the house this morning and there was no one even up. I spent the morning in my camp registering for school, sent Carole an email, and then spent the afternoon till I called the first time wandering around the woods, and not always deeper into the woods, stopping in places long enough to PAINT! No one has been out here looking.” Kurt nearly yelled.

“And you’re sure you’re warm enough?”

“I got hiking clothing, Dad. I could model for some catalogue like LLBean.” Kurt said with a sneer. “Granted there are a few pieces I might consider moving into my normal wardrobe…but most are too lumberjack chic for my tastes. I got lined jeans, Dad and they do nothing to enhance any sort of figure what-so-ever!”

Kurt smiled as he heard his dad’s laughed.

“What are you doing up there anyway?” his dad asked.

Kurt explained the magazine and how he totally misunderstood the word ‘camping’ in Blaine’s world.

“I’m not kidding; these guys seem to think staying in the house is camping…because they have a fire in the fire pit out back and do things like archery or go shooting and have dirt bikes and ATVs out for use.  It is ridiculous. I swear I made Jeff loose his capacity for speech when I said I had been shooting before, but never trap or skeet shooting…I went hunting. Luckily I did that while chatting the first night we got here and not while out shooting the bows at targets the next morning.  It would have been a shame to have shocked him so badly he took his bow shot when I mentioned hunting while at the bows; Jeff was so not being safe and would have probably hit one of the guys running about the yard at that time.”

“Anything good come about with this?”  Burt asked.

“I have reconnected with Jeff and Nick; I didn’t even know they were in New York.  I have reconnected with a few other of the Warblers. I have learned you can rent equipment from the Student Recreation Center and that NYADA has a Student Recreation Center, and it has this awesome climbing wall and a pool that is just open to students and staff and they do extra dance, fencing, stage combat, tumbling and classes like that for a low fee. I bought this absolutely awesome generator which had these pedals and you pedal on it to charge stuff, but it is easy to pedal, so you can just sit there and pedal as you read or such at the camp and you can charge things like your phone or IPod or tablets or charge external batteries which you can use to charge things like laptops…or a lantern.  I also bought a very nice lantern.  I figured both could be useful for emergencies, like if we lost power again, so I dipped into the emergency fund at the sporting goods shop…which did include clothing purchases but I’ll refund that money back into the emergency fund. Anyway, the sporting goods shop had this awesome first time student buyer discount of 50% and then another 20% discount for a single item. And their student discount is usually 30% off anyway, which is really good.  I have decided that Blaine is a cheating and lying piece of crap and not worth my time or effort.  Oh, and I would like to officially apologize for telling you ‘no’ when you offered me a dirt bike…I was a fool, those things are awesome.  I took out a 250cc four stroke and it was so fun. I didn’t even care the helmet messed my hair up.  I seriously should have let you talk me into that when little.”

“Back-up kiddo.  What was that about Blaine?” Burt asked.

Kurt sighed.

“I was willing to go ‘camping’ Blaine style when we got here, but he spared NO attention to me at all, except once to warn me off talking to an old friend…making it sound like I was the one who cheated and was after guys even though we are engaged…which I don’t think anyone there knows or pays attention to, even though the blasted engagement happened at Dalton.  So I came back from skeet shooting early and walked in on Blaine being screwed by someone else! So…I am done.  We have been fighting about everything since he moved back in, he gets mad at me every time I try to tell him anything like…oh, you should study, we have a huge test next week or we do need to go to class, it is kind of one of those things you do when you go to school, and he never listens to me, not about what I like to eat, not about what I’d like to watch, and not about not wanting to get married until after I have graduated! Then he is hanging with these guys and not telling me, lying about where he’s been or what he’s been doing, and now he’s fucking around and I’m done.”

“Oh, Kurt.  So that’s why you ended out on your own?” his dad asked.

“Yep.”

“And are you going to go tell them you aren’t lost?” his dad asked.

“Nope.  Not until someone comes yelling for me.  I’m not exactly hiding.  Or if the authorities come yelling for me, or in with the sirens…I’d be able to hear them I’m sure. We’re supposed to leave Friday afternoon so we’ll be back Friday night so Blaine can do some studying for finals week and get together his presentations and such. So if no one comes yelling before then I’ll break camp and then go borrow the ATV to move everything back to the SUV so we can go.”

“You telling Blaine you’re done then?” Burt asked.

“Not planning on it. I’m planning on right after finals week. That way his schooling disaster can’t be blamed on me…although it probably will anyway.”

“You are sure he’s going to fail?” Burt asked.

“Dad, we share 6 classes…he pulled strings to get into them.  I have done half my finals stuff already.  I spent weeks putting together presentations, picking and working on pieces, writing papers, practicing my dance stuff…although we don’t share that class.   I don’t think he has given any serious thought to any of it.”

“It’s ok, Kiddo. It is not your responsibility to make him do his work.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Well, I’m going to go make sure Carole doesn’t think you’re lost in the woods.  You take care and find something relaxing to do.”

Kurt leaned back in his camp chair, his feet stilling after his dad hung up. He really didn’t want to become ‘unlost’ until someone tried to find him, however he wasn’t sure he wanted to sacrifice his evening shower and tending to business either.  He also sort of wanted to see if he could figure out how come, if he was lost enough to shout about it all over Facebook, no one was looking for him and how come it took this long for anyone to notice he wasn’t around.

The first answer, of course was to see if he could figure out a more detailed timeline from Facebook.

Kurt popped open his laptop and got on Facebook.  He ignored the message box for the time being and just started looking at the feed.

At a bit after noon, Blaine posted on his wall about Kurt not being around and to stop calling him to talk to Kurt.  Jeff answered with ‘where the hell is he, since that was what you said last night as well’ and ‘if you don’t want me to call you to talk to Kurt, give me his damn phone number’. Jeff, who has check-ins at food places and such, was in NYC with Nick and Lenny… who was apparently Nick’s brother and who they had to rush back to NYC because he didn’t feel well and then who ended up having his appendix out. They had left right after Kurt had headed to the bedroom according to the posts on Nick’s Facebook page, which was oddly enough how he seemed to be communicating with his mother. Anyway, apparently Nick had wanted to ask Kurt something and was trying to get hold of him, but was busy and almost constantly on the phone with other family members and didn’t have his current phone number. So, Nick had Jeff calling Blaine…starting Monday afternoon. Jeff was apparently told consistently that Kurt was probably off in the bathroom and Blaine would have him call as soon as he got out, or outside and Blaine would have him call as soon as he got in, or sleeping and Blaine would have him call in the morning…or just not around that Blaine could see and Blaine would have him call as soon as he came around. The phones calls never last long because Blaine would then tell Jeff he was in the middle of something and then hang up on Jeff…no offer to take a message or anything.

Also a bit after noon, Jeff called Wes and asked if he could find Kurt and give him Nick’s number so he could call Nick since Blaine wouldn’t.  He also called David, to ask him to look for Kurt but David was in NYC as well, picking up one of their friends from the airport…whose flight had been delayed for 12 hours and so ended up in at 11am on Tuesday not 11pm on Monday, in fact when Jeff called they were still in the airport as even that time was late and they were still waiting for the luggage to be able to be picked up. David couldn’t remember seeing Kurt past the shooting range.  However, Blaine had also told David each time he asked that Kurt was hanging with Conner or with Jeff and Nick…because he didn’t like video games.  Jeff pointed out that he and Nick had been gone since right after they got back from the shooting range, Kurt wasn’t hanging out with them.

Wes called Nick, since Jeff was on the phone with David, and told him he couldn’t find Kurt.  And that Blaine couldn’t actually seem to remember the last time he’d seen him.

Nick posted up a note on Kurt’s Facebook page asking Blaine how he could treat his fiancé like he was. Jeff posted a note asking any of Kurt’s friends if he’d been in touch. Wes asked why Nick thought Kurt and Blaine were engaged…and found out about Blaine’s proposal at Dalton and that they hadn’t even been dating again for two full days and about how many people were there and then started questioning Blaine…still over Kurt’s page…about that situation. Blaine had said nothing other than hadn’t he done a fabulous job at making such a grand display.

Wes posted that supposedly some people had seen Kurt, with the dirt bikes or walking around by the pool house showers…but Blaine posted that the dirt bike story was obviously stupid…didn’t they know Kurt? Of course he refused to answer when asked when he’d seen Kurt last.

Then Wes posted that no one could find Kurt and did that mean he was lost?  And when did he get lost?  And how could no one notice Kurt was missing?

And Kurt’s Facebook page exploded into chaos when his Lima friends all started commenting…none except maybe Mike and Puck in any manner that helped.

Kurt rolled his eyes and sighed. David posted that he and Ravi, the friend he was picking up, would be on their way and some people had a whole lot of explaining to do. Jeff and Nick posted that they would be up in the morning, however they still couldn’t leave until Nick’s mom got back to look after Lenny, who was apparently hopeless and didn’t even have a single friend who could be trusted not to screw up his recovery.

Still, no one at the house right now was looking for him. He figured that he’d walk down and decide then if he was going to risk the shower and toilet or not.  However, dinner was calling and he deserved something good.

The fish had thawed enough to be fried up and Kurt seasoned it with the lemon and some butter.  He ate some fruit and the bagel and cream cheese. He broke out another of the fancy sodas. He washed up.  He gathered the used water bottles and tucked them into a bag he was using for recycling. He gathered the trash and put it in another. He plugged the external battery into the generator yet again and peddled while reading his novel until it was too dark to read anymore. He switched out items to be charged half way through and charged his IPod.  His phone was still fine.

At nearly midnight, Kurt took his bag with his stuff in it and walked down to the house. He’d probably hit things just right, David had just pulled in when Kurt hit the tree line. Kurt leaned against a tree to watch and gather information which he hoped would shed some light on his ‘disappearance’ and the lack of hunting for him.

“Would you like to explain what the Fuck is going on?” David yelled  at Wes who had exited the house as David stood from behind the driver’s seat.

“I don’t know.” Wes said. “All I know is that when Jeff called at about one-ish, and I went to ask Blaine where Kurt was, Chez got all huffy and yelled at me because Blaine was getting grouchy and not being as fun since Jeff kept calling.  He and Ricky were hanging in the exercise room and said Blaine wasn’t with them, so I left to look for him, however Blaine and Edwin were there when I walked back by like two minutes later. I asked Blaine where Kurt was…he said he was probably with Conner.  I found Conner, who hadn’t seen Kurt since the shooting range...nor had Jake. Conner said he thought Kurt and Blaine had been together tucked up in their room enjoying their time together, since that was what Kurt thought the week was for and since he hadn’t seen either.”

“I went back to ask Blaine why Conner thought he and Kurt would be tucked up together and who else might Kurt be hanging with, but I couldn’t find any of the four, so I just started asking about Kurt.  Rocko was certain Kurt was the one who told him about the dirt bike trails. Lex thought he’d talked to Kurt Sunday night about how everyone was up playing video tournaments still so the shower was free. No one else can recall seeing him around. So, I asked Blaine if he knew if Kurt’s stuff was in the bedroom or not…after hunting him and Edwin and Ricky and Chez back down…this time to the hot tubs. He said he didn’t know … he hadn’t looked. I asked when he saw Kurt last.  He shrugged and said he hadn’t been to their room since Sunday afternoon really, just long enough to get some clothes so he could bunk down with Edwin and Ricky and catch up with them. So I asked if he realized no one had seen Kurt since Saturday afternoon, did he see Kurt after he’d gone up to bed with his headache? Blaine said he hadn’t even known Kurt had gone up with a headache, he’d slept on the floor of the movie room after watching movies all night long with Edwin and then didn’t look for Kurt because Kurt is always up early so of course he wasn’t in the room when Blaine went and got his clothing and such on Sunday.”

“So Kurt’s been missing since Saturday Night?” David yelled.

“Well, maybe?” Wes said.

“Where have you looked?” David shouted again.

“Umm….”

“Wes?” David’s voice dropped very low and dark.  Ravi, or at least that was who Kurt assumed had also climbed out of the car was, laughed.

“The house?” Wes said. “Look, It’s not my fault.  I kept asking around if people had seen Kurt and Conner found out I was asking around about Kurt so he took off to find Blaine and then all of a sudden it was like world war three! I don’t know if anyone but Felix doesn’t have blood on them somewhere! You had been calling and everyone was antsy and so when Conner found Blaine and started screaming at him everyone just joined in….then Chez threw a punch at Jake when Jake said something about boyfriends and then others started throwing punches and when Richards finally blew the blow horn and everyone stopped, you had a bunch of guys who were just caught in the middle and then one side who said Blaine was engaged to Kurt and were screaming about that and one side who kept insisting the other was delusional, after all Blaine was with Edwin, didn’t we all know that? It was insane.  People even ended up going to the ER. So we had to spend hours patching people up and stopping the little fights that keep breaking out here and there and our friends from college are all stressed at being caught in the middle. Most of the guys have calmed somewhat, since Jake took Conner off to the ER and Brent went with them, he thinks he might have fracture his foot. Except Rocko, who seems to still want to tear Blaine limb from limb.”

“Blaine isn’t with Edwin.” David said.

“Yes he is.” Wes said. “They’ve been an item since Edwin saw Blaine perform at the old lady’s showcase….the one we left early.”

“The one you left early. The rest of us stayed, remember? We wanted to talk to Kurt but Blaine took Kurt off someplace before we could, well…I wanted to talk to Kurt. And Felix wanted to meet Kurt.  Blaine announced Kurt as his fiancé there.”

“Don’t be silly, David. I was with Blaine and Edwin the next day and they decided to see each other then.”

“Like it would matter at all to Edwin if Blaine was engaged or not.” David said “I am not kidding, Wes. Kurt and Blaine are engaged.”

“No, Blaine is with Edwin. They go out about three times a week in the evening. They hang out on weekends during the day.  And Edwin’s not as wild as he used to be, he promised he’d stopped the behavior that got him suspended way back then.”

“And you believed him. He never changed, Wes. He just stopped screwing with kids with enough clout to do anything about him. When did Blaine and Kurt break up?” David asked, throwing his hands in the air.

“I don’t know.”

“And where does Blaine live?” David asked.

“He lives with Kurt, remember?  He moved in when Kurt’s roommates left…” Wes said.

“Ok.  So…you know Kurt…do you think Kurt would have Blaine move in with him after they broke-up recently?” David asked, very slowly.

“Well, no.” Wes said. “but maybe it wasn’t recent?”

“Ok…Let’s play with that idea.  So…we all know and accept that Kurt and Blaine broke up early October of Blaine’s senior year, right?” David asked, still drawing out the sentence like he was talking to a very small child.  Kurt had his bag up to his face to stifle any laughter.  The guy David had brought with him wasn’t even trying.

“Yes.  Trent said Blaine was devastated.” Wes said.

“Did he? Huh, Sebastian said Blaine was only upset when he wasn’t chasing that blond kid Sam around and if people mentioned Kurt.”

“Well, Sebastian is an ass, besides, how would he know?” Wes said.

“Yes, well Blaine spent months and months with Sebastian the year before on the phone and at coffee shops and skyping and texting and going to Country Club gatherings together, so I figure he probably knows Blaine’s behavior well.”

“He drugged them!” Wes shouted.

“Hunter, the guy YOUR godfather brought into the school, drugged them.  Sebastian was one of TEN who were completely clean, and it was Sebastian who brought forth the evidence after Blaine and Sam took their story to the board and nearly got all of them expelled and jailed. Including the blackmailing and threats Hunter was using against half the kids he was drugging. The other half…the ones not being blackmailed or threatened… were your godfathers minions brought in to prop up Hunter.  Besides, the reason Sebastian knew how Blaine was acting is because Sebastian’s role in Hunter’s regime was to keep tabs on Blaine, so they could either get him back like YOU wanted or nullify the threat that several saw Blaine as, for some reason.”

Wes growled. “I thought you said you agreed with me about everything that went down.”

“Again, you weren’t listening. I have argued with you about this since we graduated and I met older Warblers, ones who weren’t under your Godfather’s reign of terror. I argued with you THEN that you needed to go to the school and replace YOUR council choice when Blaine left, which you refused to do because if you couldn’t have Blaine replace you, you didn’t want anyone else to take his spot.  I agreed we should have set up the council more solidly before we left…I should have listened to others and picked a choice truly my own instead of following your advice… and we should have drilled Blaine on his intentions before summer.  He was talking about leaving before he left to his summer job, he wanted a Nationals title.”

“He went for Kurt.” Wes said. “Thad said so.”

“And the Warblers who weren’t so enthralled with him to let him push and shove them around said he spoke about Kurt’s old Glee Club and nationals and the opportunities that Kurt’s school would provide him with, including being top of his class without much work and main lead vocal of a winning choir that was not acapella and thus would allow him to shine more.”

“Because they were jealous.”

David rolled his eyes and his whole head.  “I forgot how much of a Blaine worshiper you were and how all your brains leak out your skull when he comes up or is nearby.  Is he good, Wes?  There has to be some reason you are so up his ass!” David asked.

Wes nearly flew at him with the intent to hit him when the guy with David grabbed his arm.

Kurt watched the whole bit with wide eyes.  Suddenly a lot of Warbler things made a whole lot more sense, like why the talk always seemed to not quite match the actions. And why although a great deal of the school worshiped the ground the boys walked on, there was a substantial subsection that did not and who Blaine kept Kurt away from very aggressively.

“Don’t forget, Wes,” the other guy said in an accented voice that Kurt couldn’t quite place. “I learned a lot the year I spent working for the headmaster while we figured out finances for my third year of University. I watched you let that boy cheat off you his full first year. You handed him papers you had done and walked him through changing them just enough. You gave him solos over everyone else every time he hinted he wanted one.  You let him pick the music, even though his choices took us out of competition. David might have guessed you favored the boy…but I know and have proof.”

“How dare you Ravi!” Wes yelled. “Besides the reason you had financial issues was because your family was caught laundering money.”

“An uncle through my great great great grandfather was laundering money. It just took a year to prove we had nothing to do with him and hadn’t for decades.”

“So, it soiled your name. You have no room to speak or nothing to say!”

“You forget, Wes.  The Warblers existed before you and our gatherings and traditions existed before you and even with the taint that has befallen them…taint attached to YOU and YOUR family…they will exist long after you die!”

“We were going to make them great!” Wes said.  “Bring glory to Dalton again.”

“They are no longer on the show choir circuit. And we were great.  MY sophomore year we took nationals at acapella, when it was a true acapella group. They will be again.  We have instructors taking over who will not let the chaos you and your kin introduced during your years on the council remain. When things have been restored, the council will be brought back.”

“Yes, well….none of this has anything to do with right now. And I don’t see why we are arguing about this again David.” Wes said, leaning back into a sullen stance with his arms crossed over his chest.

David sighed. “We will argue this every time it comes up until you acknowledge what you have done, Wes. I understand the whole ‘legacy’ issue, but your family abused it and used your godfather’s appointment as Head of Student Activities to run rampant over everyone else.  You cost other members their legacy appointments to the council, Wes.  You all obstructed the traditions of the council and the Warblers.”

“My Godfather promised my Grandfather that all of us would hold our rightful places for a long as we wanted.  Father and Uncle Lawrence just made sure of it.  They all resented that they could only claim one year of council. Grandfather doesn’t care if other legacy children lost out.  None are as important as we are.” Wes said.

Ravi chuckled. “Your godfather has lost his position as head and is now coordinator of intermural sports. Your younger cousins and younger brother will not be on a Warbler council, either.  Your junior year, a young man came and requested a council voice, do you recall? The first year Blaine was there?”

“Yes, blond kid. Didn’t want to claim his spot yet, which he insisted he should have without anything to back that insistence up, but wanted a council voice on song choice.” Wes said.

“Yes.  Edgar Dalton.  You refused and instead gave Blaine input.  Blaine bragged about it.  Edgar stopped attending meetings and then moved schools during winter break. Your insult was excused, as Edgar believed the tradition of a single year of council membership was being observed and as he hadn’t forcefully explained who he was.  The next year, when you were still on the council, his father brought up issues and started a search to find other insults and aggravations. Your godfather’s introduction and backing of Hunter was his last mistake. Dalton wanted him roasted, but the Headmaster and Board decided quiet removal of power was better. Your family was important due to funding and legacy, but no more really than many others. They should have remembered that.”

Wes growled. David snorted.

“I can’t believe you would support those people over me, David. Your best friend!” Wes shouted.

“Yes, best friend…who didn’t speak with me after I told you to make a new council appointment when Blaine skipped out for over a year.  I connected with Ravi and others at Yale, like I was told to when I graduated from Dalton and found out a lot that we had lost.  Much of which I was sad we had missed out on.”

“We thought it unnecessary for our goals, David.” Wes said.

“Goals never shared with the rest of the Warblers or your fellow council members. Shall we get back to the topic? Are we agreed that Blaine and Kurt got engaged in March at Dalton, before Blaine graduated?”  David asked.

Wes huffed. “Since it seems half the guys knew about it, then I guess. But I didn’t know about it and am still not sure it really happened.  They could have misinterpreted it.”

“But something happened and Blaine and Kurt were together again?” David said.

“Fine, Sure.”

“So…When did they break-up again? And if they are broken-up…why does Blaine live with Kurt and how in the world do you think KURT would ALLOW that?” David asked.

Wes just looked at him.

“Yeah, I thought so.” David said.

“I didn’t say you were right!” Wes said.

“But you can provide no logical answer.” David said.

“I still think there is some logical explanation and that Blaine wouldn’t do that.” Wes said.

“Well, I suggest you do the logical thing then and march on into the house and ASK Blaine the status of his and Kurt’s relationship and then figure out where Kurt is…because I don’t know about you, but Kurt’s dad will not be happy if he has to come out here to find his son and YOU have done nothing and I for one want to have some sort of answers for him.” David said.

“Kurt’s dad isn’t very wealthy and is in Ohio. Why should it matter?” Wes said.

Ravi started to laugh and David took a huge breath and sighed.

“Kurt’s last name is Hummel. Like…Burt Hummel?” David said.

“And?” Wes said.

“And you are fucking flunking all your courses, aren’t you?  Or did you switch majors?” David yelled.

“I don’t see why you are yelling again, David.” Wes snapped.

“Congressman Burt Hummel?” David said.

“Don’t be silly,” Wes said. “That is not Kurt’s dad.  He was something like a plumber or electrician or something.”

Kurt smothered another laugh as David started to slowly slam his head against the top of his car.

“Like a mechanic, possibly?” Ravi asked.

“Yeah!”

“Like Congressman Burt Hummel is?” Ravi asked.

“Is he?” Wes asked.

“Yes.” Ravi said.

“Oh. Ok…fine. Let’s go inside and figure out what is up and see what we need to do and like maybe talk to people more and like build a time line?  But stop picking on me!  You can’t treat me like this in front of the others.  It is just not right and it’s not fair.”

“Fine.” David said.

“We’ll see.” Ravi added.

David popped the trunk and Ravi went and grabbed a large duffle bag from within.  Then they all headed to the house.  Kurt moved forward a little bit farther and could see that most people still up seemed to be in the large dining area that was off the kitchen. He figured the others were probably asleep.  He moved across the yard to the side of the house and then snuck towards the back.  No one was out at the hot tubs. Kurt ducked into the pool house, which was also blissfully empty. He showered and did his night routine.

He made it back to his camp without notice.  His sleep was not nearly as restful as it had been the nights before, but he finally settled into a deep sleep.

It was late when he got up.   It was nearly 10am.  Kurt grumbled, but went about getting ready for the day at the camp.  There was no way he could get to the pool house for a shower without being noticed that late in the morning. He ate breakfast; fruit and yogurt and a granola bar he crushed up on top.  Kurt pulled out his laptop and checked his email. He had a note from the school saying his registration was official and a note from Carole saying she’d marked his days off and would figure out a time for them to visit and for him to visit and to have fun being lost. No one else had emailed him. He decided not to deal with Facebook or any other social media site.

He gathered the last of the cheeses and the last of the breads and bagels, some fruit and trail mixes and two bottles of water for his lunch and then set out into the woods with the camera to take more pictures.  If a great deal of his late morning adventure took place near the edge by the yard of Wes’ place, it was surely a coincidence. Really.

He found wildflowers he hadn’t seen yet that he got pictures of and some cool close up of trees and bark and strange knots and light filtering through leaves.  He took close-ups of as many different mushrooms as he could find, thinking of trying to use photo shop to make himself a woodland elf…or maybe a fairy.  He took photos of the few moths he saw; surprised any were out yet at all. Finally he found a little tiny clearing where he could see and hear what was going on in Wes’ yard and settled down to eat …and spy.

Again his luck held. Jeff drove up as he was eating his banana.

“Where’s Kurt?” He yelled as he got out of the car.

David came out of the garage, holding a clipboard.  “Where’s Nick? What time did Nick first call?”

“Nick left about an hour and half before I did, but he had errands to run.  He’ll probably be about another half hour. Nick called Blaine Sunday night about 8pm.  Kurt had said something about a place he works that has singing waiters and Nick’s mom said since her vacation was being cut short, she was bringing some of her girlfriends back with her and wanted fun things to do that were not the usual. Nick wanted more info about that place.  Where’s Kurt?”

“I am trying to format a timeline.  It is nearly impossible.  Would Kurt ever ride a dirt bike?” David asked.

“I don’t see why not.” Jeff said.

David nodded as he marked something down.

“I think he left when he said he was going to go lay down.  You guys left right after that. Someone might have talked to him Sunday night, but they aren’t certain.  It doesn’t help that it was one of Wes’ friends from university and it was dark and everyone is stupid because when he described the boy he talked to they all insisted it couldn’t be Kurt because the guy’s hair wasn’t all fancy. If Kurt had hidden somewhere I doubt he was doing his hair all that much.” David said.

“He left Saturday?”

“However if Wes’ friend saw him and if it was indeed Kurt Rocko talked to, then he was seen Sunday night and Monday morning.”

“Still,” Jeff said. “That is a whole two days without contact!”

“Wes thinks Blaine and Edwin are dating.” David said.

“Kurt and Blaine are engaged.” Jeff said.

David nodded.

“Blaine didn’t go to the shooting range with us.  He stayed here with Edwin and Ricky and their shadow.  Kurt left the range early to come back and check on him.  Blaine cheated on Kurt less than a month after Kurt left for New York.  That was the reason they broke up.  If Kurt walked in on something, he’ll be devastated.” Jeff said.

David nodded.  “I spent the evening and morning watching Blaine. He is doing something with Edwin and maybe even with Ricky and Chez.”

“Shit.” Jeff said. “Have you asked Richards if he saw anything unusual?”

David’s head snapped towards Jeff. “No….and Kurt would be someone who would speak to him.  Let’s go.  We haven’t really searched the house either.  Ravi and I got in past midnight and have had a hard time getting anyone even moving this morning.  Lunch is breakfast.  Seriously no one was even awake other than Ravi and I until half past 10 and Wes said we couldn’t fuss around and look about until everyone was up.”

“What do you expect, they are all camping.” Jeff said. “Hmm…has anyone asked Blaine what he explained about camping here to Kurt?”

“No.” David said. “Wes wouldn’t let us disturb him and he did not come out of the room he was in with Ricky and Edwin and Chaz until about 10 minutes before you got here. He was ‘too upset’ over the big fight last night.”

Jeff rolled his eyes. “Let’s go do those two things. Nick is going to want some solid answers when he gets here and as stressed as he has been the last week, I suggest we have something.”

Jeff and David walked back to the house and Kurt moved back to his camp.  He left his electronics tucked away and pulled out his book.  He sat in his deluxe camp chair and put his feet up. If his peace was going to crumble, he was going to get the most use of it he could.  He did start timing.  It took another 40 minutes before Nick got to the house, and Kurt, even as far into the woods as he was, heard the ruckus.  He couldn’t hear the words but he could hear the sound and tell it was an angry sound.   The wall of noise lasted only about five minutes. Kurt walked over to his drink cooler and pulled out one of the specialty sodas and settled back into his chair to wait on being found.  He just hadn’t decided if he was going to answer when he first heard voices or wait till they came pretty much to him.

In the end the calling of his name didn’t start until he could hear voices.  He heard the arguing first, in fact.

“I can’t believe it took you all so long to ask the butler dude.” A voice that sounded familiar but Kurt couldn’t quite place said.  “I’m pretty sure Kurt said he met Blaine at a posh private school with great academics.”

Kurt was trying to figure out who he knew that he wasn’t expecting to be around here that he’d talked about Dalton who might possibly bother to show up to find him.

“Well, we never claimed what Kurt would call street smarts,” Jeff said.

“Mostly Kurt would say we all lacked logic as well.” Nick added dryly.

“Yes, well I would have to agree, at least for half the guys I’ve met so far.” The voice Kurt hadn’t placed quite yet said.  Then the voice shouted and Kurt could hear it more clearly.

“Kurt!  Kurt!”

“It’s Elliot!” Kurt said out loud, jumping up from his chair and putting his book on the table as he passed it on the way to the game trail leading out of the clearing and to the main trails.

“Kurt!” Jeff and Nick joined with Elliot in shouting.  Kurt could see them coming around the bend to the section of the trail where the game trails branched off.  

“Elliot!” Kurt shouted back, waving his arms so the guys could see him at the edge of the trail where his path broke off at.  

Elliot broke into a run and swept Kurt into a hug, while Nick hurried over as well. Jeff followed a bit more slowly, on his cell phone.

“David said he’s glad you’re located and he’ll tell Richards.  He hadn’t decided if he’s telling Wes yet.  I think he is starting to enjoy the panic Wes is getting in as Richards reminded him that if you aren’t found by tonight they’ll have to call his parents and inform them a kid went missing on the property.”

Kurt chuckled. “Come on back.”

Kurt led them down his little path into his campsite.

Nick started laughing.

Elliot joined in.

“What’s funny?” Kurt asked.

“I told them that you’d have no problem camping, but that you’d also have it set up as nice as a hotel room.” Elliot said.

“Your camp chair has the ability to be a recliner!” Jeff said.

“You’ve been cooking out here?” Nick asked, poking around the edge of the table by the camp stove and peeking into coolers.  

“Yes.”

“Haven’t you got bored?” Jeff asked.

Kurt shrugged. “Not really. I have been reading some novels I’d hoped to read during dead week, I’ve been out hiking and taking photos and making sketches. I have my IPod, and cell phone with games, and my laptop with movies and internet. I have been up to the house every day except today, twice a day pretty much. I would not have been good company.”

“So, I’ve got to know,” Nick asked.  “Did you take out the dirt bike?”

“Yes!  That was so much fun.  When I called my dad yesterday I apologized to him.  He wanted to buy me one when little and I always said no.” Kurt said.

“Wes owes us 20 bucks a piece.” Jeff said.

“Why wouldn’t you have been good company?” Elliot asked.  He’d been looking around the camp site, peeking into the tent and flipping through the sketch book Kurt had had sitting on the table.

“I walked in on Blaine being fucked by one of his pals.” Kurt said.  “I know if I have to look at him, I will not be able to keep the scathing lecture I desire to unleash upon his being to myself and I have decided that it is best delivered a bit more private than in front of several dozen other guys whom Blaine desires to maintain a good image with.”

“Oh, Kurt.” Elliot said softly. Elliot held out his arms and Kurt rushed into them.

Jeff and Nick wandered around the campsite pretending to look at things in detail while Kurt cried in Elliot’s arms.

Kurt’s tears weren’t as long lasting as any of the other expected.  He removed himself from Elliot’s hug and wiped his face with his sleeve, before apologizing to everyone.

Jeff and Nick just shrugged.

“So,” Kurt said. “I suppose I have to be found.”

Jeff looked at Nick who tilted his head in thought. “Found yes, but I don’t know if that means you have to come back to the house…” Nick started.

“I mean,” Jeff continued. “At least not to stay.  I know David would be really glad to see you and he really wants you to meet some of the other’s up there.  Ravi, in particular seems to be highly interested in you.  And I think Rocko would like to formally meet you as well.”

“Rocko?” Kurt asked.

“Yeah, the guy you apparently talked to about the dirt bikes.” Nick said.

“But Rocko?”  Kurt asked.  ‘That just so does not sound like a name from Dalton.”

Jeff laughed. “Oh my God, I forgot you missed Rocko’s years there.  He graduated the year before you got there. But you are right.  We were actually penalized for use of Rocko’s first name.  Everyone was commanded to call him Mr. Rochester.”

“His name is Rocko Rochester?”

“Rocko Rude Rochester. The headmaster couldn’t handle people calling him by his middle name either.” Nick added.

Kurt shook his head. “What were his parents thinking?”

“His folks are rich, not smart.” Nick said.  “They named his sister Bunny Muffin.”

“Anyway, as long as you came up to the house a few times a day and maybe sleep up at the house and were seen you could maybe be allowed to stay out here for the most part.” Jeff said.

“I’m fine out here for sleeping.” Kurt said.  “It’s actually quite comfortable.”

Kurt walked the three over to the tent and unzipped the door.

“The air mattress in the one Sam slept on at the loft, so Blaine has slept on it several nights when he opted to stay out with Sam instead of with me. Blaine is not one to forgo his creature comforts, as I’m sure you all know.  I have plenty of covers and pillows.  I have plenty of food, in fact I haven’t even broke out the camp food yet.  I have books and my laptop has movies and games uploaded to it.  I even had card and board games to bring, but I left those in the SUV when I realized it was going to be just me out here.”

“I could stay out here, too.” Elliot added. “I mean I will need a ride back to the City at some point and I didn’t plan on making anyone take me back until the weekend.  I know Blaine would be much happier if I were not up at the house.  So, Kurt wouldn’t be alone.”

“And we could bring camp chairs out here from the house.  There were tons more tucked in the garage and I have three more in the SUV, another one like the one out here and then two basic ones like the one by the table in case we had to hike to the camp spot too far. They are lighter. People who wanted to could come out here and hang.” Kurt added.  “I mean, we could certainly bring anyone actually worried out here to see the set up.  They could make certain themselves.  I just….I don’t really want to be up at the house around Blaine for long periods.”

Nick and Jeff nodded. “At least come to the house and talk to David.  I would say talk to Wes, but he’s being an ass.  I’d think David would probably see your point.” Jeff said.

“I bet no one would argue with you staying out here if you can convince Richards you are safe and well.” Nick added.  “If he knew exactly where you were at, any legal type issues would probably be covered as well, you know, in case any of the other guys like called their folks or something.”

Kurt sighed and rubbed his forehead. He really didn’t want to spend too much time anywhere where Blaine might be. “Fine. Let’s go now.”

Elliot walked over to Kurt and draped his arm over his shoulder. “Isn’t there anyone up there you’d like to see?”

“I guess Conner is still there, and I did want to spend more time with Nick and Jeff.” Kurt said. “Let me grab my phone and put things away.”

Kurt put his book and all his art materials away in the tent.  He grabbed his phone and his soda.

“So, I heard there is an epic music room up at the house.” Elliot said as the guys all headed back to the main trail. “We could give them all a little show.”

Kurt chuckled. “Elliot, pretty much every guy in that house sung with the Warblers at some point.  We could try to give them a show but they would join in.  Seriously…these guys…they could just stop a whole school for performances.  No one fussed!  It was magical to me.”

“Those were the ones who sang A Capella, right?” Elliot asked.

“Yes.”

“Yes!  We need to find the beatbox…I have something I’ve always wanted to try.”

“You have your pick,” Nick said.  “There should be three at the house.  There are some non-warblers at the house though, like Conner and Felix. And a few friends from different universities that aren’t even associated with Dalton. Not everyone will butt in on your jam session.”

“But enough will.” Kurt said. “Although, not many will try to take lead…so we are more likely to end up with background music than fighting for the front and center spots, especially if it is obvious we are just trying things out and not practicing for something that lots of people will be watching. Hmm…remind me to call my dad when we get back to the house.”

“So, I know you know Nick and Jeff here, and from what they have said you know the Wes kid whose family owns this place and David…who I think was one of the guys who we met out front?”  Elliot said, looking to Jeff.  “And of course Blaine.  Who else do you know?”

“Yes, David was the African- American who met us out front.  He was with Ravi, who Kurt doesn’t know.  Ravi graduated a few years before Kurt was there. Wes hasn’t ever liked him because Ravi made it into the Warblers as a first semester freshman and was front man for two years. Wes didn’t make it in until the end of his freshman year and all he heard was about how Ravi made it as a first semester freshman and his making it as a freshman wasn’t that big of a deal.  Of course Wes made it in just to be immediately put on the council and started putting in a dozen or so freshman a year so we wouldn’t have such a hard time keeping numbers and training singers so…” Jeff trailed off and Kurt answered.

“Hmm…I know Conner and I’d seen his boyfriend at the school, but never met him.  He was the same year as Blaine and not into music much. I think that one dark haired baritone that Blaine would not let me speak to at all who was in David’s and Wes’s year was there.”

“Braydon.  Blaine didn’t like him.  He thought Blaine was given too much leeway and too much focus. He also thought Wes was an idiot for not taking advantage of having a countertenor in the group. There were about four of the older guys like that.”  Nick said.

“That explains a lot.” Kurt said. “I always wondered why Blaine would not let me near some of the guys. Heck, Thad was seriously the only one my age I was ever introduced to and he did a good job of making sure I didn’t meet too many other kids my age while there.  I hung around with Blaine and his crew and was handed into Wes’s care when Blaine couldn’t be with me.”

Jeff nodded. “Wes and Blaine were very proprietary about song options and so wanted to keep you and what you could do away from the others who didn’t think they should be so controlling and then there were a few who wanted to get to know you well enough to date you and Blaine hated that idea too.” Jeff added.

“Even though he didn’t want to date me?” Kurt asked.

“Oh, yes.  Blaine couched it in terms of not wanting you scared or harassed or bothered after your horrifying trials in McKinley, but most of us knew Blaine long enough that was understood it was also one of those ‘this is mine and not yours’ things.  Blaine is very possessive of his people…friends or relationships.”

“It was horrid the year before you came when he was a freshman, because he decided that Jeff was HIS friend and would not let me or Trent talk to him for about half a year, even though we’d known Jeff for years before that.” Nick said.  “I had to sneak Jeff into my room while Blaine was supposed to be doing his homework to spend any time with him!”

“We resorted to weekends at either mine or Nick’s.  In the end it worked out for the best though…Blaine was soooo mad when we got together before Valentine’s day that year and I kept answering his ‘Jeff is MY friend’ statements with ‘but I’m Nick’s lover boy’.” Jeff said.

“So his ridiculous tantrum at me wasn’t an oddity.” Elliot said.  “I don’t know if I feel better or worse knowing that.”

“No,” Kurt said. “I probably ought to have told you that long ago.”

Kurt sighed as he could see the edge of the tree line up ahead.  Elliot reached over and grabbed his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“It will be fine.” Elliot said.  “I’ll stick by you and if Blaine tries to start anything, I won’t let him.”

Jeff snorted. “I bet Blaine doesn’t even show.”

“He was holed up in the bedroom you two were supposed to have with Ricky, Edwin and Chez when we started out looking for you.” Nick added.

“So Chez is the dark haired one who whines?” Kurt asked.

“Oh yes.” Nick said. “He is actually your age, but he was tossed out of Dalton at the end of Blaine’s freshman year, so he wasn’t around during the time you were there.  He had a fondness for destruction…the cupboard that held half our sheet music and the loss of tons of sheet music was the final straw for him. And what got him tossed.  He was mad because some girl told him no when he asked for a date.”

“Huh.” Kurt said. “I always thought you all didn’t have to deal with that kind of thing.”

Nick shrugged. “Oh we didn’t have to deal with bullying in the physical or blatantly vocal sense, but other stuff we still had to deal with. You were actually there at a good time. We’d had a mass amount of kids thrown out the year before when they cracked down on the rules and regulations and kids refused to deal with that.  Those left knew we were being watched closely.  But the professors keeping the tight watch went off on sabbatical during that next year and so kids like Sebastian weren’t reined in so much and then you get the Hunter debacle…but the teachers keeping standards up were back and willing to do something.”

“I’m glad I was.  It was what I needed right then.  Somewhere physically safe for me to regroup.  I just ended up with way too much baggage coming out.” Kurt said. “And I really liked the classes and the school.  We just couldn’t really afford it and I missed being able to be me.  I was going NUTS in the uniform. Although I would have waited till the end of the year if we could have afforded the last quarter.”

“Blaine always said you left because you wanted to sing with your choir at nationals.” Jeff said.

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Part of Blaine‘s problem all together is that Blaine doesn’t listen and can’t comprehend anything outside his immediate experiences. Blaine’s family never had money problems…never had to make hard choices or  make ends meet or even just put anything on hold till the next paycheck.  We got a six month emergency scholarship because my life was considered in danger and there was enough physical proof on my body when Dad called Dalton to ask about it. It does not cover six full months of school…it covered the few weeks in November and the few weeks of December. It covered the few weeks of January, February, March and we switched the first week in April because that was when the quarter there was over and I’d not have to start a few new classes and then be pulled out when the emergency scholarship was up.  That scholarship waived two thirds of Dalton’s fee.  With having to buy a new house and my dad’s medical fees and him not being able to work as much in the garage as he had before his heart attack earlier in that fall…we just could not afford it.  I wasn’t even sure I’d be allowed to sing with the New Directions at Nationals since I hadn’t sung in any of the qualifiers, but I was hoping to be able to. I said I hoped to be able to sing with my friends again and join the club again, yes. But I said all that after telling him over and over about the financial worries and my doubt we’d be able to pull off fees till the end of the school year.  That bit about hoping to sing with the New Directions again was all Blaine heard.”

 Nick nodded. “He does have issues with hearing what is really being said and comprehending past what he wants to have been said.”

 “And it doesn’t help that for the two years he was at Dalton, he was never expected to have to do anything other than that.” Jeff said.

 Kurt snorted. “McKinley really didn’t make him have to listen to others either.  He was still able to just do what he wanted and hear what he wanted and pretty much get everything handed to him on a silver platter.”

 Kurt stopped as they hit the start of the trail into the woods and just stared for a few minutes at the house before sighing so hard that Elliot felt it and Jeff and Nick heard it from the few steps they were ahead.  Elliot reached over and grabbed the soda from Kurt’s hand and grabbed the hand that had held the soda.

 “Have I mentioned how ridiculous I find you all’s definition of camping?” Kurt said.

 “No and I advise not doing so to the masses…they get cranky.” Nick said.  

 Kurt laughed and the tension eased out of him a bit. Jeff smiled and turned to Elliot.

 “So what song did you want a beat-box for?”  Jeff asked.

 “Beatle’s Come Together…right now.  I’ve been thinking about it for ages.”

Kurt smiled. “Oh…that would be good.  If we get the band back together we should consider theme nights.  Beatles would be great…avoiding certain songs of course.  I used to sing a mean Blackbird.”

 “What songs would we avoid?” Elliot asked.

 “All You Need is Love is Forever Ruined.” Kurt said. “Got To Get You Into My Life might be as well, although I still have an insane desire to sing it in public ALL BY MYSELF!”

 “Is that what he serenaded you with at that proposal?” Elliot asked.

 “ All You Need Is Love? Yes.”

 “That is too bad…but there are plenty of other Beatles songs which I think would fit us better anyway,” Elliot replied. “I would love to hear you sing Imagine and Hey Jude and we could have fun with Yellow Submarine.”

 Kurt beamed. “And we have never done a real Madonna night. We’ll have to make some lists.”

 David was waiting for them as the cleared the woods.

 Kurt was pulled into a hug and patted down before he could say anything, even ‘Hi’.

 “God, I am so sorry I didn’t even realize you were missing. I was fighting with Felix all Sunday and that always distracts me and at odds with Wes and then I left on Monday to pick up Ravi and I was just a horrid friend and…” David babbled as he patted Kurt down.

 “David, I am fine.” Kurt said. ”No bumps or bruises or anything…all body parts accounted for. Who is Felix and why were you fighting?”

 “Oh, God.  I forgot to introduce you to Felix.  And I’ve got to introduce you to Ravi…but word of warning now, he like worships your dad. You will be drilled.”

 Elliot chuckled.

 David looked at Elliot. “Who are you?”

 Nick and Jeff laughed.

 “This is Elliot Gilbert. He messaged Nick the moment he saw Kurt was lost with a phone number to call and demanded one of us drive him up here.” Jeff said.

 Kurt smiled.

 “I’m surprised you didn’t have to bring Dani as well.” Kurt said.

 “Dani is in Minneapolis at a roller derby exposition or she would have been tagging along. I was at a Yoga training retreat but made it to the city before these guys left.” Elliot said.

 “Dani?” David asked.

 “She is the other member of my band.” Kurt said. “By the way, where are our beat boxers this weekend? Elliot wants to try something.”

 “You have a band? We so need to talk.  I’m David.  I knew Kurt when he was a wee little junior who’d been chased from his school by bullying.”

 “He started it a little over a year ago…right after he started work at the diner.” Elliot said.

 “About three weeks after I got engaged to Blaine and two after Finn died.” Kurt said.

 “Finn died?” David nearly shouted.

 “I thought you knew that?” Kurt said. “Blaine was in contact with the Warblers at that time. He set up the engagement just the week before.”

 “Yeah, he promptly ignored everyone as soon as they sung to you except Trent and one of Hunter’s little friends who was close to Edwin.” Nick said.  “He even stopped talking to Sebastian and he called Sebastian every single day from the moment you left to the moment he convinced the Warblers to allow him back to Dalton to propose, even though he’d help ruin them. However, Sebastian heard from his dad. We sent flowers and put together a small fund which we sent to your dad at the end of the school year to help with whatever he thought it should.”

 Kurt smiled.  “I remember him saying something about that. I just wasn’t aware you Dalton boys were who he was talking about.  He called you the bird boys.  It makes sense now.  I suppose we ought to head in and at least reassure Richards I am fine.  Let him see it and not just hear it.”

 “He’ll be easy.” David said.  “I mean he was worried but not frantic. Conner…well, I’m sure the only reason he wasn’t out searching is because he got a concussion in the fight over you being missing and hasn’t been able to talk his boy into letting him off the couch until he stops throwing up if he moves to fast.”

 “Conner has a concussion?” Kurt asked.

 “Yes.  He was way furious because apparently Blaine told him you were too busy to talk to him and it was too dangerous for him to talk to you and besides you didn’t like him anymore and so he shouldn’t be potentially damaging his relationship trying to talk with you.”

 “Of course he did.” Kurt said. “Still, I’d like to apologize to Richards first.”

 “He’s been in the Kitchen since the fight.  I think he doesn’t trust us enough to go far anymore.”

 “Geez, I wonder why?” Nick commented.

 “This week has been way worse than spring break the year Kurt was at Dalton.” Jeff said.

 “Hmm, you think?  I mean six girls got pregnant and half the people here had to get tested for STDs for the next year, several needing treatment.”

 “What?!” Kurt shouted.

 “Wes didn’t check before we all headed out here and his cousin Juliette had also decided to use the lodge…anyway, we decided to share…more or less successfully.”  David said.  “That’s why Blaine couldn’t watch your Born This Way performance.  He was up here camping with us. We left pretty much right after we sang at your school.  Anyway, so Juliette was out here with like 20 girls from her boarding school and Wes pulled all us Warblers up and brought up several old Warblers and several guys from the soccer team and polo team and well…I think there were four babies that ended up born.  Luckily no warblers were the daddies.”

 “Ah.  I thought he went somewhere with his folks for Spring Break.” Kurt said.

 “He spent the last three days in New York with them…they went to a few shows and shopping.  He had Wes drive him down so they didn’t come up and find out we were with girls all week.”  

 Kurt rolled his eyes.

 “You guys are ruining my image of private school boys.” Elliot said.

 “You thought they were all sweet and innocent didn’t you?” Kurt asked.

 “Well, mostly.” Elliot admitted. “Especially like the prep school type and not the catholic or religious school type.”

 “Oh God.  I never even thought about that option.” Kurt said. “Hopefully my dad never did either. At that point of my life I would not have been able to cope.  I would have run away or killed myself.  I could NOT have done a religious school and my dad would not have been aware of that at that point because we had not yet discussed what had gone on while he was in a coma after his heart attack.”

 “Wait, I thought you were at Dalton due to bullying?” David asked as they entered into the kitchen.

 “I was.  The bullying changed during the summer…or near the end of the school year before, because they were some instances even then. Anyway, so instead of dumpster tosses, probably because I was too tall for them to be easy…I started being pushed more and pushed harder. Of course the slushies never stopped.  Then my dad had a heart attack right after Labor Day. And that same week the glee club went off on a religious rampage and spent most of the next little while telling me I was horrid and wrong for not believing in God…and no one DID anything to help. I stayed at home, with no one there, made all my own food and did all the chores, took over work at the garage so the others wouldn’t be too overwhelmed, went to school and did all my homework, and was the only one who really spent any time at the hospital…and was still bullied by the regular bullies every day. And the stupid glee club just harped on and on about praying fixing things and god fixing things…like prayer or god was going to make sure the paychecks got out on time or finish the rebuild on Martin Lewis’s 68 convertible that Dad was almost done with or fix dinner or do the dishes or patch up the gash where I caught the open locker while falling after Nelson pushed me, let alone be what actually helped with my dad.  Although I ended up at my friend Mercedes church, mostly so she would stop ignoring me and so people would stop telling me I wasn’t trying to work with them all, I came out of the whole experience even more jaded against religion than I started.  And in the weeks after my dad waking up, when I was the one caring for him all afternoon and evening and still keeping everything else going, the in school bullying shot up significantly, with Finn and others in glee club adding to it even though theirs wasn’t physical mostly.  And at home wasn’t better. Finn and Carole had dad’s ears then, even though they spent like NO TIME at the house helping out. Everything exploded that first week of November and the death threats started and my dad found out about some of it and I ended up at Dalton when the guy threatening me didn’t stay expelled.  I even was able to board for that first bit of time I was at Dalton, which ended up a godsend because My dad had just married Carole and so Finn moved in again but they hadn’t found a new house yet, so Finn and I were supposed to share a room but Finn couldn’t handle it any better than the first time we tried. With me in Dalton, Carole was able to get dad to have me just come home during Thanksgiving and Winter Break and stay at the dorms most the rest of the weekends. We couldn’t afford boarding after the semester started again though, so I drove to Dalton every day. But by then we had moved so Finn and I didn’t have to share.  Heck, our rooms weren’t even on the same level of the house.  Why is everyone staring at me?”

 Jeff wrapped an arm around Kurt. “We just didn’t realize everything you had going on.  I mean Wes and David knew a little about the bullying and I knew after that first PE class that the bullying had had a physical side because you were still all bruised. But I don’t think anyone knew about all the rest.”

 “In fact Blaine insisted it wasn’t really physical at all, but a sexual assault that you were getting away from.  That was why he wouldn’t let certain guys near you.” Nick said.

 Kurt tilted his head. “Hmm, I guess the inciting incident was. One of the Jock bullies kissed me after pushing me, and then he threatened to kill me if I told anyone.”

 Elliot wrapped Kurt in a hug and squeezed.

 “Elliot, I need to breathe.” Kurt squeaked.

 “Sorry, can’t let go.”

 “I’m fine now.  In fact, most everything surrounding that time is OK.  Things were hashed out in the family, with the main bully, even within glee club to a certain extent.  I just still am not big on religion.  Didn’t gain any more liking for it when my dad had cancer, or when Finn died, or when I was bashed.  Nor did it call for me when Blaine cheated the first time or at any point when living with Rachel. In fact, Rachel sort of put me off Judaism as well as Christianity. Elliot, don’t squeeze harder.”

 A deep chuckling came from behind the guys.

 “So YOU are the one missing?” Richards asked.

 Kurt detangled himself from Elliot’s arms. “I am so sorry. I didn’t think at all about the situation this would put you. I just could not be around a certain someone without losing it.  I should have at least like….told you what I was planning or something, though. I mean it’s like the first rule of going out someplace….let someone know where you are and when you should be back and how to be contacted. Like, seriously. I could have left a note or something.  So I am so sorry and I promise if you don’t make me stay up here, I’ll take you out and show you where I’m camped and you can even check for yourself that it is safe and fine and whatnot.”

 “You left the hotdogs and ground beef?” Richards asked.

 “Yes, but I swiped some stuff in exchange.” Kurt said.

 “You came in for breakfast and washed your dishes and left them in the drainer?”

 “Yes.  Except this morning.”

 “Yes, you probably should have left a note, but how old are you?” Richards asked.

 “20, almost 21.”

 “So in your third year of university?”

 “Second, I was held back in elementary the year my mom died, I missed too much school and my dad wasn’t willing to fight the decision.”

 “Still…you are an adult. The only reason you needed to let anyone know was because you were at someone else’s place and there could have been issues if something was really wrong.  But, I understand. I still don’t understand where you got the camping gear. We don’t have any here.”

 “I thought we were going camping.  I was put in charge of all the stuff and he said he’d set up the place. MY version of camping has a tent…I came with the camping gear.  The version these guys run off is NUTS, no offence.” Kurt said.

 Richards chuckled. “I would like to see everyone up at the house at least once a day…just write a note to let me know you stopped by.”

 Kurt nodded.  “So I can stay out at the camp?  It is in that little clearing about 10 minutes out.”

 Richards nodded. “It is still inside the property so I don’t think there will be a problem. However if you were out in a tent, I need to figure out who has been holed away up in the loft in the pool house.  I thought that was you.”

 “Oh, I know that one!” Jeff said.  “Caleb Andrews.  He came out with Felix but needed to finish some papers before he could have fun. Nick told him about the loft Friday night after he kept getting interrupted in the library. He was out with us for most the time Saturday, at least.”

 “So are we good?” Elliot asked. “Because I need to find some beat boxers.”

 Richards nodded. “Dinner will be ready in about an hour; it would be nice to be here for it so everyone can see you are found.”

 Kurt nodded. “Let’s go find you some beat boxers.  And go see Conner.  And who the hell is Felix!”

 David yelped. “I’ve got to introduce you to Felix!”

 Kurt waved as he was drug through the kitchen deeper into the house.  He settled next to Conner on the couch and told Conner all about his set up in the woods, which he and Jake wanted to see, as soon as Conner could stand without feeling sick. He brushed of Kurt’s worry, mostly because he assured Kurt he had been to the ER nearby and they assured him that he’d be fine in a day or two.

 David and a boy who looked very much his double came barreling in from one side of the room while Elliot and several guys came chasing in with Jeff and Nick from the other.

 “I’ve got Felix!” shouted David at the same time as Jeff shouted “We got beat boxers!”

 “Ok. First, Felix.” Kurt said.

 David smirked at the other guys and pulled his double next to him. “Kurt, this is Felix.  He’s my little brother and he went to Dalton with us, but he was in Europe on an exchange program for the whole time you were at Dalton, which wasn’t fair!  He’d have been in your grade!”

 “Felix, nice to meet you. Were you a Warbler?” Kurt asked.

 “I do not sing.  I like acting, though. I participated in academic decathlon and debate and speech competitions. And BPA and the young astronauts program.”

 “Oh, I wish you had been there when I was then, I know you could have helped with some of my classes that I had issues in.  I was generally behind in sciences, mostly because McKinley doesn’t teach science well, at all. I think I ended up talking to David and Trent.”

 “He was good once he understood what concepts he was missing and we liked helping Kurt because he caught on quick and never wanted us to DO the work for him, just explain what he was getting wrong.” David said.

 Felix smiled. “I would have been glad to help you then.  I am not fond of helping some people.  They think helping means doing it for them.  I do not approve.”

 Kurt nodded. “My step brother was that way. Nearly cause World War III at our house when that issue came up. He thought it unfair that I wouldn’t do his work for him.”

 Before the conversation could go farther, another guy came chasing into the room.

 Kurt recognized him from the night he spied on David.

 “Kurt Hummel?” the guy asked, his hand extended for a handshake. “I’m Ravi, Ravi Patil. I am a huge fan of your father’s.  I saw him speak once.  He was brilliant, so down to earth.”

 “It’s nice to meet you.” Kurt said, shaking Ravi’s hand. “I do rather adore him. OH! I had better call him and tell him I’m found!”

 Kurt pulled out his phone and dialed his dad.

 The call wasn’t long but long enough for Kurt to wish he’d done it while alone.   He thought Ravi was going to melt into a puddle of awe struck goo when his dad said to tell him hello and his was thrilled the young man had enjoyed his speech.

 Luckily Jeff and Nick thought it was as funny as Kurt did.  Elliot was confused and then swatted Kurt upside the head.

 “You could have mentioned your dad was a congressman.” Elliot said.

 “I’ve told you about my dad.” Kurt insisted.

 “Yeah, he owns and runs a garage in Lima, Ohio and is often away from home.” Elliot said. “He likes Melencamp and wears ball caps. And he was one of your biggest supporters in school, but you often didn’t let him know what was going on.”

 “Oh….umm sorry. I just don’t often remember it myself. I mean, he didn’t start doing a whole lot in Washington until January my senior year and so sometimes I forget.” Kurt said. “I just think of him at home in Lima.”

 “That makes sense.” One of the guys Kurt wasn’t sure he knew said. “My folks travel a lot and I usually only think of them at the home I grew up in, even though they are rarely there anymore.  Jonas, beatboxer.  Who wanted us?”

 “Elliot wants to try out some songs.” Kurt said.

 “Beatles. Come Together.” Elliot said. “To start with.”

 “Oh. Yes.” Jonas said. “Paul, do you have the Beatles version on your iPod?”

 “Of Course.” Paul answered.  “That will be easy, too.”

 “Kurt, front man or background vocals?” Elliot asked.

 “Backing in this. I know it. Go work up the vocals needed and then come get me when you need to add me.” Kurt said.  “I’m going to chat with some of the others for a bit. I would like to try Hey Jude or Imagine though.”

 “And we should totally have a reshow of Blackbird.” Jeff said.

 “I’ll consider it.” Kurt said. “I am on the edge of that being one of those ruined songs.  It was well done though, so…”

 “Take that one back.” Nick said. “You sang it stunningly. Don’t let Blaine lay claim to that.”

 Kurt smiled. “Fine. I’ll sing Blackbird as well, and decide then.”

 Elliot and about eight guys huddled in a corner of the music room, by the piano, and worked out music. Kurt could tell by the excited look on Elliot’s face that he was learning a lot from several of the guys.

 Kurt talked with Conner and Jake, David and Felix and Ravi.  Nick and Jeff wandered between the two groups, depending on what topics were being talked about in the group of boys surrounding Kurt. Other guys wandered in and joined with the two groups.  Kurt said hi to Braydon and met several others who he recognized from classes but never really interacted with.  They were talking clubs and sports differences in public and private school systems when Wes wandered in, followed by Blaine and his stooges.  Blaine, whose hand was encased in Edwin’s and who had bite marks covering his neck, was giggling and simpering as Ricky whispered something in his ear.

 “I thought you all were out looking for Kurt.” Wes said, glaring at David. Kurt nearly laughed as Wes’s gaze passed right over him, like he’d forgotten how Kurt looked.  

 Kurt snorted. “I’ve been located, Wes. I was camping.”

 “Camping?  Were you in the loft?  I haven’t seen you out in the hot tubs?” Wes said.

 “Camping.  You know…tent, sleeping bag, communing with nature? Hikes?” Kurt said.

 “Don’t be ridiculous.” Blaine said, looking at Kurt for the first time since entering the room.  “What would YOU know about any of that?”

 Conner growled. Kurt put his hand on his knee and Jake put his arm around him.  David kicked back, as if waiting for a show.

  Kurt turned his attention from Wes to Blaine.  He noted the hickeys on Blaine’s neck, he noted Ricky’s hands still on Blaine’s shoulder and Blaine’s hand still in Edwin’s, with his fingers running over the back of Edwin’s hand.

  “Blaine, how wonderful to see you…fully dressed and not in a compromising position, unlike last time I laid eyes on you for any length of time.” Kurt said with a sneer, that Blaine didn’t even seem to notice. “Why do you question what I know of camping?  I’m sure you remember my father. You know, the man that is supposed to be your future father-in-law. The guy you asked for my hand in marriage like I was some sort of simpering princess.  That guy.  You spent a great deal of time at my house hanging with the guys, even after I’d gone to New York. I figure you know him rather well.  Do you really think he didn’t take me camping and hunting and fishing every chance he got? I mean, sure…I worked full time at the garage most of high school, so he didn’t get me out as often as he would have liked, but you have got to be delusional if you think he didn’t take me out at least once or twice a year.”

 “You worked at the garage doing like…secretary stuff.” Blaine said.

 Kurt rolled his eyes.

 “How do you figure?” Kurt said.

 “Well, I know you SAID you worked on the cars there, but I never saw you working on cars there and you aren’t exactly…built to work on cars, you are more – you know…and whenever I saw you at the garage you were answering the phone and dressed nicely. What was I supposed to think?” Blaine said.

“You picked me up from work exactly twice, Blaine. Twice in the whole time we’ve known each other. You’ve been to the garage another three, maybe four times.  Once to tell my dad I had no idea about Sex…before you started dating me…after you basically told me I was unsexy and you had no interest. Which was very creepy mind you and which wasn’t even really true.  I probably knew more about SEX than you did at that point…just mine was more of the boy/girl nature and more of the book learning aspect and more of the view of sex from listening to girls…so lots about menstrual cycles and sore boobs and stretch marks and things like that.  Then you didn’t bother coming to the garage again until AFTER I had graduated.  Hanging with Finn and Sam was just peachy.  And then you went to ask my dad my hand in marriage.  Even after you went to McKinley for school, you couldn’t ever be bothered to come to work with me and hang out or anything, so we saw each other AFTER I was done and had gone home and showered and changed. I guess I expected you to take my word for it when I told you I worked at the garage. How would you actually KNOW anything? I certainly didn’t get receptionist pay, which you enjoyed the fruits of more often than not. I mean when it came to paying for dates and things, I certainly generally took the provider role even though I wasn’t the one from an ‘extremely wealthy’ family ---your words, not mine---with a never ending allowance. Therefore, I never expected that you thought I was LYING to you the whole time. It is utterly insane for one to assume someone is LYING about their job. Unless of course, that someone spends so much time himself lying that he assumes everyone else lies all the time…just like him.  What kinds of lies did you tell me, Blaine?  What lies have you told me that everything I know is based off of?”

Blaine just glared at Kurt and crossed his arms over his chest.  Kurt stood and walked towards Blaine and his pals.

“Shall we start with the big one right now, Blaine?  Why are we here at Wes’s place?” Kurt said.

At first Kurt wasn’t sure Blaine was going to answer.  Edwin whispered something in his ear and the Ricky leaned in and whispered something in his other ear.

“Because I wanted to come and I knew you would be awful if I just headed out for dead week without you.” Blaine said. “You would have said no just to spite me if I’d wanted to come on my own.  And the formal invite was to both of us since David sent them out.”

“See, the truth wasn’t so hard there was it.  Might have been nice to tell it to me before I spent the money I did for this week, but I’m sure you’ll find it in your oh so truthful heart to pay me back at least half, if not more.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Kurt.” Blaine said.

“I’m not kidding.” Kurt said.

Blaine rolled his eyes. “We’ll discuss this later at home.  You’ll see my point after we discuss it there.”

“You mean, I’ll drop the topic after you’ve screamed at me for hours on end just so I don’t have to hear you hollering any longer? My dad already agreed you need to pay back at least half the money I put out due to lack of communication, so it is not going away as easy as you generally manage to make issues disappear.” Kurt said.  “However, I guess we could discuss it at home.  Paying me back for what I put into a trip that you lied about will work in nicely with other topics, I’m sure. Of course, I suggest we do so after you’ve done your school work that you have been slacking off on and maybe even after finals. I would hate for you to actually flunk out because you chose to go camping instead of do your work…or rather I’d hate for you to blame me for your failure when you decided to choose camping over school work. And I will make sure your professors know what you have been up to this week, make no mistake about that.”

“I can’t believe you are being so mean to Blaine! What has he ever done to you?” Chaz sneered.

Jeff and Nick snorted as David held Conner down.

It was Elliot who laughed though. “Are you kidding me?”

“And just who are you?” Ricky asked, turning towards Elliot.

“God’s sakes, why are YOU here?  Kurt, are you cheating on me?  Did you sneak HIM here to have sex with him behind my back?  How dare you?  I KNEW you were cheating on me with him. I knew it. I didn’t for one moment believe he was just a friend and band mate.  How long have you been having sex with him, huh? I can’t believe you would do this to me!” Blaine started hollering.

“Has anyone ever had you tested for personality disorders?” Elliot shouted back.  “You are delusional and a hypocrite.”

“I am not! I know you’ve fucked him. I know it.  You wouldn’t accept my friend request on Facebook or any other social site and you were always calling. I can’t figure out why you want him more than me, but I know you’ve had sex with him and he is cheating with you.” Blaine continued. “And I’m NOT a hypocrite. I’m not wearing the ring; he is, so that makes him mine.  I can do whatever I like, he cannot. I asked for HIS hand in marriage, he didn’t ask for mine.  I’m the alpha male and so I can sow my seed.”

“You’re an idiot is what you are.” Elliot said. “A hypocrite and an Idiot. And delusional and an ass.”

“Blaine, I suggest you stop speaking before you further prove just how stupid you can be.” Kurt said. “And frankly, everyone here knows which of the two of us has been having sex this week so far…you haven’t taken any care to hide the proof.”

“But I can have sex.” Blaine said.

Kurt rolled his eyes. “Men in this room, how many are Gay or Bisexual, or any other identity on the spectrum?”

About half the room raised their hands and Kurt started to cough.

“You Ok there?” Elliot asked.

“Maybe Dalton was a gay school and I just never knew.” Kurt said.

David started to laugh.

“Anyway…” Kurt continued. “IF you are in a monogamous relationship, is it perfectly all right for your other half to have sex with other people?”

Most of those who had raised their hands shouted no.

“Straight men, if you are in a monogamous relationship with a girl….say engaged…is it all right to have sex with other people?”

Most of the straight guys said no.

“Those of you who did not say no to that…IF I asked your GIRLFRINDS the question would they say it was all right for you…the guy…to have sex with others while in a monogamous relationship?”

Only two tried to insist that their girls understood that men must be men and have sex with anyone their nether regions wanted.  Kurt asked for numbers of their girlfriends to ask.  Neither still had a girlfriend.

“There you go, Blaine.” Kurt said.  “The majority of the people here KNOW YOU ARE WRONG.  Not that it really matters. Do you know WHY it doesn’t really matter? Because I, the other half of this supposedly monogamous relationship, think you are WRONG!”

“So?” Blaine said.

The majority of the others in the room looked at Blaine in confusion.

“So?  So I think that BOTH people in a relationship that is monogamous only see each other…that is what monogamous means.  That means when one of those is NOT just seeing the other in the relationship, he is CHEATING.  I told you when I took you back…I would not be cheated on. I don’t give a flying rat’s ass if YOU don’t think you are cheating for whatever STUPID rationality you have concocted…I think you are cheating and I am THE ONLY ONE who matters in that.  I will not live in a world of double standards, Blaine.”

“Now, Kurt,” Blaine started, in a tone of voice that instantly grated on Kurt’s nerves even more. It was that condescending tone Blaine used when he thought Kurt was too naive or too poor to understand.

“We’ll speak of it at home.” Kurt said. “My dad might even join us. For now…I do believe Elliot has managed to work something out with his beatboxes. You are boring me, Blaine. You should go find something to do away from the rest of us….like you have all week, I’m sure.”

With that Kurt turned and stalked over to the piano. “Play me my part, boys.”

Paul smirked and started playing the notes he wanted Kurt to take on “come together”.   Most the guys who’d been sitting with Conner and Kurt by the couches moved over to the piano as well, Jake dragging an armchair over for Conner to sit in. Blaine just stared. No one was paying any attention to him, or Chaz or Ricky or Edwin…or even Wes.  Kurt smirked as Edwin and then Ricky whispered into Blaine’s ear again and Chaz pulled them all out to the hot tubs, Blaine frowning the whole way.

“I still don’t know who He is.” Wes stated, pointing at Elliot.

Kurt paused in his vocals. “Elliot Gilbert, my bandmate and friend.  Apparently there are people out there that care about me, Wes. So when he read the Facebook blow-up, he contacted Jeff and Nick and came out to help locate me…as in as soon as he read the Facebook blow–up he made efforts to come find me…he didn’t fuss about and ignore that I was ‘missing’. Your…nonchalant…manner of dealing with a missing person is, I hope, because it happens often enough with positive results that it wasn’t a real issue.  I shall have to ask Richards about that.”

Wes paled. “I’ve got…things…to do.” Wes said as he turned and headed towards the kitchens and Richards.

Kurt smirked and turned his attention back to singing.

They hadn’t got far in putting together the song before dinner was announced.

It was a much different experience than the first night, when Kurt felt like no one noticed him. All sorts of people came up to him and spoke to him.  He met the guys who’d taken out the motorbikes after he’d gone for his ride; he met several of Ravi’s friends, who spoke with him about his dad and politics. He met a few of the older Warblers, who had been working with Elliot on the songs right before dinner.

It wasn’t like Blaine was alone…he had his little harem and a small posse of pals who gathered around them like moths to a flame.  But Kurt was included in a group as well, and comments from said group made Kurt wonder how much of his being left alone at first was at Blaine’s suggestion.  He’d heard more than one person say they’d hoped to talk to him but that Blaine had told them Kurt would prefer they not.

After dinner they went and worked on the songs Elliot wanted to try, getting ‘Come Together’ to a level that Conner recorded it for Elliot. Then Jeff and Nick talked Kurt into doing Blackbird for them.  Like Kurt had predicted, more guys than they started with moved into the music room to participate.  Kurt could see about nine guys out in the hot tubs, where Blaine and his group were holding court, but the majority of guys were in with Kurt. Several of the guys who’d sung with Ravi and the older Warblers showed off some of the songs they’d done in the days…and won with.  Kurt was especially fond of the medley of John Denver songs they did and their ‘Ring of Fire’ arrangement.

When it started to get dark, Kurt and Elliot headed back to the camp. Jeff and Nick and Conner and Jake were to spend the next day at the Kurt’s campsite…or at least part of it. Elliot grabbed the knapsack of clothes from Jeff’s car as they headed out.

They chatted on the small hike back to the camp.  Kurt pulled out sodas to drink and they retired directly to the tent.  

“You’ll have to share the mattress.” Kurt said. “But you can have your own sleeping bag. I’m changing, I hope you don’t mind. I have extra blankets in the corner if you need some; it is still a bit chilly at night.  I haven’t been cold, but I bought extra thick fleece pajamas.”

“Can I brag to one and all tomorrow that I got to sleep with you?” Elliot asked. “I’ll be fine; I packed what I have been wearing at night at the retreat.”

Kurt shrugged.

“Kurt?”

“I was hoping to wait to actually break-up with Blaine until after finals….I know he is going to fail and blame it all on me as it is. With a break-up added to that?  I’ll be lucky if they don’t toss me out on me ear…for making the poor darling so stressed and broken hearted he couldn’t do his work. And the teachers will buy it….they always do for him and Rachel.”

“You are forgetting something.” Elliot said.  He made sure to hunt around his bag while Kurt changed his pants. “There is a whole day of you being lost broadcast all over social media and a whole day of Blaine not caring being broadcast just as loudly.  There are three dozen guys here who will mostly vouch for the activities that Blaine did here…while you were lost.  And also probably about how NOT heartbroken the brat is.  I’ll come with you and talk to the powers that be if need be. You know I will.”

“And yet, somehow I doubt it would make a difference.” Kurt said.

“Then make it make a difference.  Is it everyone who seems under their spell, or just certain people?  Go to other department heads if you need to. Had Rachel charmed them all? Are those under Blaine’s spell also those under who had been under Rachel’s?  Or did he do his own schmoozing?” Elliot asked.

Kurt tilted his head as he thought.  “You know…I don’t think she had.  She rather alienated the dean who oversees the drama classes…and who overseas most the non-practical courses like script analyses. She’s upset most the staff who teach on the tech side of the program and all the staff who deal with dance…all the staff, not just the instructors. She was rude to most the other vocal professors. Blaine is harder to gauge…there are people who praise and adore him who don’t seem to have ever met him or know much more about him than he has to be wonderful because he is in sophomore classes. Or maybe his folks put sooo much money into getting him in the classes he is in that they are enamored with that.  I don’t know how to prepare for that.”

“His folks gave money to the school to ensure his class choices?” Elliot asked, pulling out his pants and sleeping shirt now that Kurt was mostly changed.

Kurt shrugged and turned around to pull out the small speakers for his IPod so they could listen to music and Elliot could change pants. “His first semester he was in regular first year freshman classes and he just did OK…there were no As…but he passed the things he took with Bs and Cs.  He was like Rachel, though…he took voice and a private voice section, acting, dance and a lecture course on auditioning for different formats that he wasn’t supposed to be able to take but his brother knew the guest lecturer and got him into that one.  He carried just enough credits to be full time.  He dropped dance with Ms. July and changed into a lower level course within the first week taught by someone else…which he also skipped about ¼ of. He skipped out on his acting course half the time.  Then second semester starts up and he is in 6 of my 8 classes….all 6 of his classes are with me.  My classes are sophomore level…I spent the time attending everything I needed to move ahead with the amount of credits needed to be a sophomore.  He hadn’t even taken any of the first year of script analysis, or English 101, which were supposed to be the prerequisites for script writing.  He hadn’t taken the dance courses or the movement course which was supposed to be needed to take stage combat. The same for everything.  I asked how he was in my classes.  His first response was that he was just so good all his teachers recommended he skip ahead. Then I said I was going to ask around to see which teachers said that. He huffed and puffed and whined before saying that he just signed up and then pull strings to stay.  It was during a chat with Rachel I learned his dad was donating several good sized scholarships for the years he was in the school and that his mom was donating to help fund some instrument updates so he could have the best for accompanying his star performances. I simply concluded that was how he got himself into classes he wasn’t suited or prepared for.”

“Please tell me you are kidding?  That is absolutely horrible.”

“I only wish I were. And I suppose I could be wrong, but it is the only explanation that makes any sense…well, there is the people are hypnotized by his puppy dog eyes and hair gel theory, but generally I only indulge in that one when I am a bit tipsy on cough syrup and pain meds and still running a high fever…or concussed.” Kurt said.

Elliot snorted and tucked the clothing he’d changed out off into his knapsack, making sure he’d pulled out the thick socks he’d packed when he saw Kurt pull out his own. He handed Kurt the knapsack and Kurt passed it off to the side of the tent where his own was resting.  He flopped back onto the air mattress.  Kurt settled beside him.

“This is ridiculously comfortable for an air mattress.” Elliot said.

Kurt blushed. “I didn’t want Sam to be uncomfortable. My dad would have been upset.  He sees Sam as one of us most the time.”

“Do you ever wish to see what would happen if you had that kind of money to pour into things?” Elliot asked, staring at the top of the tent.

“No.” Kurt answered. “I decided once I started school that I wanted to gather as much experience as possible.  I never want a lack of knowledge or experience on my part to be the reason a production has issues. I didn’t get the parts that Blaine and Rachel always did. I didn’t get the summer jobs performing, or the summer voice lessons or fancier dance classes outside Lima, which both had even if they didn’t take as much advantage of what they were given as they could.  I have time and learning to catch up on.”

Elliot snorted. “Why is it always the ones who had everything who never appreciate it?”

Kurt smiled. “I don’t know, but seriously…there is one huge thing I learned at Dalton; Appreciate the things you have and don’t go looking for something better all the time. At first I was jealous of all those kids and their never ending cash, but then I realized that half couldn’t even make themselves a sandwich…let alone wash their clothing or fix their car or bike.  Lose a button?  Toss the shirt out and go buy a new one. However fine that was for a uniform shirt, I watched so many boys whine or get into a rage over loosing favorites because they lost a button.  Drop paint on your shoe?  Write home for a new pair to be sent and some extra cash for emotional turmoil, while whining that now you have to break in new shoes and your favorites are ruined forever and can’t be worn.  Miss lunch due to a meeting with a teacher?  Even with options of an open kitchen for student use after lunch was over and each dorm having a stocked kitchen, half of them would starve instead because they had no clue how to even find a snack.  Not all of them were that bad, but most were close. Our uniform shirts were 60 bucks, due to being so well made and tailored, supposedly. I actually made a killing off kids who would lose a button, bring their shirt to me to mend for 30 bucks, while writing home them needed money to buy a new shirt.  Their parents would send the money and they’d pocket the remainder for sneaking out clubbing or some other dumb thing.  I charged twenty to make grilled cheese, 10 for peanut butter and anything and 10 for meat sandwiches.  I charged three to peel oranges.  Often I made 60 bucks a day from just peeling oranges throughout the day. On the other hand…I realized that if needed, I could survive on my own even then.  I had the life skills needed, and had work experience that would have allowed me to be fine, even if I wasn’t happy.  I could have had full time work as a mechanic with little problem.”

Elliot laughed.  “Did any of them ever realize how much you were overcharging them?”

Kurt smirked. “The few who did were so desperate that they paid anyway.  I am hoping most of them NOW realize it, due to the fact they are all supposedly adults living in adult worlds.  It sounded like most the boys up at the house were managing Ok.”

Elliot laughed. “I suppose so.  What are you going to do about things?”

“I’m going to enjoy the rest of the time here with the guys…and take you out on those dirt bikes with me tomorrow.  I am going to then go home and study and take my finals and finish presentations and whatnot next week.  I am going to call my dad and have him help get back half the money I spent for this week from Blaine…and the rent and other expenses Blaine is supposed to be helping with but really hasn’t.  It’s only been a month since Rachel moved out and he moved in, so the expenses aren’t insurmountable if he doesn’t manage to get Blaine to pay up, but I’m going to try.  I am going to inform Blaine he has a month to be gone from the loft. I am going to have Chase come in with his buddy and help me create a spate space for someone else to live with me and find a roommate.  Not sure where I’m going from there…I’ll tell you after finals.”

Elliot reached over and grasped Kurt’s hand.  “I’ll keep you to it…and to your immediate plans.  Do you think you can make it through the next week?”

Kurt nodded. “As long as I focus on finals, yeah.”

“I can be done by next Friday, even with taking from now until Monday off.  So I can be around when you need backup when moving Blaine out or going to the school about his complaints if they happen.  Dani said she’d return next week if you need her. She got a bit extra in a paycheck and they don’t compete until next weekend after Sunday…she could use it to fly home and be there for you after Sunday.”

“No.  I’ll be good. I would feel so guilty if she used that money to fly to New York just because my world can’t stay stable for any length of time.” Kurt said.

“Yes, well….we both still feel guilty for not being around when you got bashed earlier this year.” Elliot said.

“I am sorry you didn’t know about it until weeks after.  Rachel and Blaine suck at telling people anything…My dad wouldn’t even have known if the hospital hadn’t called him, and he was the one to call the school.  Both were asked about me, but both just said I ‘was indisposed’ and couldn’t make it to classes. They never even turned in the notes I made for them to take.  If I hadn’t needed to reassure myself I could still present my performance assignment, I have no doubts I wouldn’t have any misses excused because my dad wouldn’t have called and got the doctors to talk to the teachers.  I should have tossed Blaine’s sorry ass to the side then. I still wouldn’t have gotten to do my performance if I hadn’t gotten out of the hospital the day before the last day of performances and my dad hadn’t marched into the school and demanded to see the written policy on medical emergencies and then taken it straight to Madame T.  He gave her a lovely lecture on not holding me responsible for Blaine’s behavior, which she forgot she heard before he’d even headed back to Washington DC.”

“I am not joking, Kurt. I want you to promise to go speak with the other deans and discuss Blaine and Rachel and Madame T’s response to them and you.  I swear you should transfer somewhere else.”

Kurt chuckled “I have thought about it. But…I got into NYADA and I don’t want to quit because of Rachel or Blaine. I don’t want to give either the satisfaction. And they would both be quick to rub it in and make sure everyone we ever met knew I had failed…I had quit.”

“Then get the help to make it through that school that you need.  This past semester has been ridiculous.”

“To be fair, the June issue is mostly my fault.  I caved to Blaine’s need to be the focus of all around him and it was my apology for making him feel badly about himself.”

“It wouldn’t have been an issue if the lady had any taste.  Blaine was outlandish and annoying the whole song…and it wasn’t even a good performance because he was not working as a group with anyone.  He over sang and over acted everything.  And before you say anything the whole performance was posted to blogs…so yes I saw it.  AND people there said the video didn’t even do justice to Blaine’s over done attitude. As to the apology bit, I still don’t see anything YOU needed to apologize for.  YOU didn’t make him eat all the fattening food he ate, YOU didn’t prevent him from exercising, I doubt YOU ever even told him no except for the time you were under doctor’s orders to not do anything too strenuous. ”

“I didn’t.  In fact he was always telling me NO, even before I was bashed.  You are right. What makes it worse is the choreography that I stuck with was Blaine’s idea and how we practiced it.  He didn’t want me to ‘be too loud’ in my actions of motions and he wanted everything ‘subtle’ and yet ‘a bit comical’.  I should have done what I wanted as soon as he started his own thing. Or just taken off with my original song counter to him and left him story of our lives to sing on his own.”

“What did you have planned?” Elliot asked.

“Outlaw of Love…or Let Me Entertain You.”

“I would have paid to see either.” Elliot said.

Kurt laughed. “I considered a full Glam For Your Entertainment, but I decided against that after Madame T nearly had a coronary when I came into school with nail polish still of after a spa afternoon with Isabella when I was recovering from the bashing.  They weren’t even too out there…just deep blood red glitter with a high gloss shine. For the head of a theater school, she is very conservative.  I think that is why the Apples had such a hard time…and some of the other kids.  Kids that are her stars are those students that are great but also completely ‘normal’…the ones who would be leads without anything about them standing out in any way that could be negative.  I heard the Dean of Tech yell at her once that NYADA was a school for the arts, the kids were supposed to feel free to be artsy.”

Elliot snorted. “I heard the other vocal teachers actually put out students who have higher hiring rates.”

“Master Franko does. I finally looked those stats up. Madame T has pushed out more ‘stars’ from her classes, but Master Franko teaches students who are hired consistently. And has had a fair amount of stars come out of his classroom as well.  I am taking courses from him this summer and next fall. I haven’t looked into the other two yet.”

“You should take courses from those as well.  I seriously think that if given the option one should take courses from as many different teachers as one can. I mean, yes…classes from the head of the costume department at NYU were fantastic, but when I took construction techniques from Martin Mayers, who worked with the museum as well as working as one of the head costumers for NYU shows, I learned so much more.  Not because he was better, but because his focus wasn’t exactly the same and so he had a different perspective.”

“There was a class that was on writing music that I thought about taking…it dealt not only with creating original works but also transposing songs into different keys and mash-ups and legalities. I think I’ll fit that in next year somewhere. I did well enough in music theory to take it.”

“I think you be brilliant at it.” Elliot said. “Well get you through this, Kurt.  I think you’ll find so many more doors opening up once we’ve got this door with Blaine nailed shut.  I think you’ll find so many people just waiting to pounce in and take up space in your life as so as they knew they can…friends and lovers.”

Kurt squeezed Elliot’s hand. Images of Jeff and Nick and Conner and Jake and David flitted through his head.  They were chased by thoughts of Adam and his Apples, the guys from stage combat, and other in different classes who always were friendly but seem to hold back…and look around as if to see who was about.  Then Chase and Sal’s laughs passed through his mind. Kurt looked at Elliot’s smiling face and thought of what he had said about Dani…and about the other from the band.

“I think you might just be right.  We should turn off the lantern and watch a movie before trying to get some sleep.  I have got to take you out on those dirt bikes.  I think you will love it.  I am so kicking myself for telling my dad I didn’t want one when I was little.”

“Your dad offered you a dirt bike? I thought you just meant lessons or something.” Elliot asked.

Kurt laughed.

“I was entering JR. High and didn’t want to give into what I saw as pressure to be ‘normal’ and ‘fit in’ and be just like all the other rude horrid boys I knew.  And as much as I had enjoyed riding a 4wheeler the summer before, I wasn’t absolutely gaga over it, so I didn’t figure a dirt bike would live up to the hype my Father was giving it.  I’m pretty certain he wanted me to race them.”

Elliot laughed as well. “Blow that candle out, then.”

Kurt’s breath caught before he turned and turned off the light.

“Blow the candles out, looks like a solo tonight,” Kurt sang softly as he pulled open the laptop. “But I think I’ll be all right.”

[douxreviews]

Quantum Leap - Season Three Review

"I always do the right thing, Al. And where does it get me?"

Season three is when the formula started to wear thin a bit... and I got a little tired of "Oh, boy," even though Scott Bakula valiantly did his level best to make it sound different every single time. Al hitting his hand link also got a little old. It was also pretty obvious by this point that God has a sick sense of humor. The way Sam is dumped into ridiculous and/or dangerous situations with no knowledge of what is going on is like an ongoing practical joke. Why would God leap Sam into a magic box being pierced by swords, or just in time to sprinkle talc on a naked guy's underwear?

What works

Just like season two, the best episodes of season three are the premiere and the finale. In fact, the premiere is considered to be the best episode of the series, because Sam finally got to leap home. Sort of.

3.1 "The Leap Home, Part 1 (November 25, 1969)": How many of us would give nearly everything for a chance to go back in time and fix what went wrong in our own lives? It's tragic that when Sam leaped into himself at sixteen, he longed to save everyone in his family, but had to face the fact that it was not what God sent him there to do.

In a way, "The Leap Home" paralleled "M.I.A.", where Al refused to believe Ziggy's projections because he wanted the leap to be about saving his marriage to Beth. Here, Sam also refused to believe what Al was telling him because he was certain he was there to save his brother from dying in Vietnam, his father from dying of lung cancer, and even that he could keep his little sister Katie from ruining her life by marrying an abusive man. It's so easy for the audience to put themselves in Sam's shoes. I confess that I've often fantasized about going back in time somehow so that I could find a way to save my sister's life.

But no, you really can't go home again. With the possible exception of Al dancing with Beth in "M.I.A.," "The Leap Home" gave us the strongest scene in the series as Sam told his little sister Katie the truth about time travel and the bad stuff that was coming, and tried to prove it by singing his favorite song that hadn't been written yet. (A beautiful vocal by Scott Bakula, and by the way, "Imagine" is, coincidentally, my favorite song of all time, too.) Katie's face as she slowly realized that she'd never heard the song before and that it meant their brother Tom would die was genuinely heartbreaking, and Sam was forced to say that he was making it all up. This scene was made even more poignant, if that's possible, by Al almost wordlessly telling Sam not to share with Katie what happened to John Lennon. Honestly, I'm dripping tears just writing about it.

In the scenes that followed, Sam for the first time expressed his anger at what God was forcing him to do, to save other people but not the people that Sam himself loved. Al, who had also lost his chance to fix his life with time travel, was the one to remind Sam that God also gave him an amazing gift: the chance to spend Thanksgiving with his family one more time.

Scott Bakula played both Sam and Sam's father. That was okay, but it felt too much like a gimmick. I wonder if maybe some of the scenes might have worked better if I hadn't been distracted by Bakula playing two roles?

That's a nitpick, though. This is an excellent, emotionally resonant episode.

3.2 "The Leap Home, Part 2 (April 7, 1970)": Part two was also terrific. It felt like God was rewarding Sam for his sacrifice in part one by allowing him to save Tom's life. Andrea Thompson (Babylon 5) gave a good performance as dynamic reporter Maggie Dawson, who died for her Pulitzer. It made me think about whether or not it would be worth dying to create something that would live forever.

But I was unhappy that the unsuccessful mission was all about rescuing Al from his POW prison back in 1970. It felt like the writers were rubbing in the fact that Sam and Al couldn't use time travel to change their own lives... except that Sam actually could, this time. Why was Sam rewarded but Al punished? (Maybe I'm taking this too personally.)

3.6 "Miss Deep South (June 7, 1958)": I dislike pretty much everything about beauty pageants, but couldn't help loving this episode. Maybe I really liked the feminist slant, that Sam had to perform well in the pageant so that the young woman he'd leaped into could become a doctor and save a whole lot of lives — or maybe it was that he was also there to save another young woman from making an epically bad choice in life, like his sister Katie.

Okay, okay, it was probably Scott Bakula singing "Great Balls of Fire" while dressed like Carmen Miranda.

3.12 "8 1/2 Months (November 15, 1955)": Another excellent episode where Scott Bakula played a woman, this time an unmarried, pregnant sixteen-year-old girl. I particularly liked the emphasis on how helpless an underage pregnant girl was and how few choices she had back in the fifties. I also want to mention again what a strong actor Scott Bakula is. He's a masculine-looking guy, but he can wear women's clothing, even flowery maternity clothes, and I'm still focused on his performance instead of what he's wearing.

3.13 "Future Boy (October 6, 1957)": Sam leaped in to help Moe, the star of a children's TV show about time travel. Moe constructed a faux time machine in his own basement, and his adult daughter Irene believed that Moe was losing his marbles and wanted to have him committed. Touchingly, Moe built the machine because what he wanted more than anything was to go back in time and be a better husband and father. I don't know whether or not it was intentional, but there was some ambiguity in this Moe situation, since it was pretty clear to me that Moe really had lost touch with reality and should have been hospitalized. But it was still touching that Sam was able to bring Moe and Irene back together as family.

3.22 "Shock Theater (October 3, 1954)": As I've mentioned before, many Quantum Leap episodes feel like homages to specific movies. Here, it was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, as Sam was subjected to shock treatment against his will, which made him dissociate into various personalities. The best part was that all of those personalities were the real people that Sam leaped into, and that this time, Sam wasn't faking it -- he actually was his leapees: Tom Stratton, Jesse Tyler, Samantha Stormer, Jimmy, Kid Cody.

Nearly every episode of Quantum Leap puts Sam in some sort of danger, but we usually feel that he'll be okay in the end. In this one, it felt like things were spiraling out of control as Sam suffered abuse and was in genuine peril. In the end, Sam was forced to ask for the shock treatment that he dreaded, and he and Al somehow wound up leaping together, leaving us with a pretty serious and unusual cliffhanger.

Okay, there were a couple of problems with this one. Al rapping to teach Scott Lawrence's character to read made me uncomfortable. It was also hard not to wonder what happened to Sam's unfortunate leapee after the treatment, and how unfair that whole thing was to him.

Honorable mention

3.17 "Glitter Rock (April 12, 1974)": It's always fun when an episode features Scott Bakula singing, and for some reason, I absolutely loved the technicolor pseudo-Kiss makeup. But what the hell was Al wearing? A decorative stop sign? Wouldn't that be dangerous if he were walking down a road somewhere?

3.18 "A Hunting Will We Go (June 18, 1976)": It's hard to pull off this much slapstick in a single episode and do it well, but I thought they did: this episode was pretty darned funny. Good job by Scott Bakula as well as Jane Sibbett, who gave a vibrant performance; I always saw her as David Schwimmer's bland ex-wife on Friends, and didn't realize she was capable of stuff like this. I also appreciated the homage to the famous Clark Gable/Claudette Colbert hitchhiking scene from It Happened One Night.

What doesn't work

There are a few weak episodes, but this one's awfulness stood out from the crowd:

3.5 "The Boogieman (October 31, 1964)": This truly idiotic and poorly written episode is about a dream Sam had, while unconscious, of mysterious murders at a Halloween spook house. It included a replica of Al as the devil trying to stop Sam from fixing things while leaping — possibly Dean Stockwell's poorest performance of the series — and a teenage Stephen King with his dog Cujo.

Bits and pieces:

-- Famous people: Jack Kerouac, and as mentioned above, Stephen King.

-- Notable actors: C.C.H. Pounder, Kurt Fuller, and Peter Noone from Herman's Hermits. And Olivia Burnett, who did such a terrific job playing Sam's little sister Katie, also played another little girl named Susan in season two's "Another Mother."

-- Here's a question for those of you better at this online app stuff. Is Quantum Leap available for free at nbc.com (with commercials)? If it is, what did they do about the music replacement issue?

To conclude

I thought season three was good, but not quite as good as season two. And in fact, rewatching season three drove home for me that as a series, Quantum Leap was episodic, not serial. Honestly, I'd forgotten. But as my mother used to say, it is what it is.

On to season four.

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

[noiseartists]

Soviet X-Ray Record Club, Noise Pop from Brisbane, an interview

Formed in 2012, are a Brisbane based band who sound like an overdose of reverb influenced by post-punk & shoegaze. You can find a great biography written by the band at THIS LINK

Their musical work to date is:

Magnetic North, Single, August 2013

Good Things [I Only Think Of], Single, August 2014

Never Enough, Single, August 2014

W A K E, Album, May 2015

This Girl, Single, July 2016

Houses, Album, August 2017

Weekend , Single, March 2018

 The current line-up is:

Steven Appleton - Vox / Guitar

Leith Jacobs - Drums

Shaun Paton - Keys / Backup Vox

Kurt Pitman - Bass

What is your music about?

Mostly the music is about the dynamics of relationships, whether internal dialogue or external interactions, gone wrong. These things tend include obsession, love, drugs, sex, living conditions and money. We tend to focus more on our live shows, so what you hear on the album is just an introduction to how it actually might sound in reality.

Tell us about the artists you have worked with.

We’ve been pretty fortunate to work with some great people over the last 6 years. I guess some of the highlights would have supporting The Chameleons (most recent tour) Generally, all the bands we play alongside of are really cool people in the same boat as us. They’re all really helpful people.

What are your goals as an artist artistically/commercially?

I think I’d be happy if I could continue creating the music I want to play and be able to fill moderately sized rooms with people who enjoy what I do. I think winning a Grammy is out of the question , but just to be able do it as a full-time job would be nice.

Who would you want as a dream producer, and why?

We actually contacted The Raveonettes’ management about Sune Rose possibly producing an EP for us - that would have been pretty interesting. I guess I just like the way he puts his sounds together and his lack of doing things traditionally. There needs to be more of this.

What are you trying to avoid as a band?

Boredom. When music stops being fun, that’s when it’s time to quit.

Explain your songwriting process.

It varies from song to song, but the most common approach is that usually I have a lyric appear that appeals to me at the time, I might come up with one verse and chorus, then I’ll just start throwing chords around on a piano to capture the vibe I’m after and get a solid foundation and structure laid down. Then I usually record a cruddy demo and throw as many ideas down while I’m still feeling excited about the song.

Usually a lot of the original recordings off the cuff stuff ends up in the final mix - as is. There’s something about the fresh feeling of how you play when the song is new that can’t be recaptured.

Then it’s just a matter of experimenting with the structure of the song and getting it to progress and resolve itself, but by this point the song has a life of its own and it’s just a matter of joining the dots.

In 2017 there is no new or old music to a 17 year old with internet access. Discuss.

Meh. They might have it all, but they’re missing out. Music is not just about how much of it you can consume or how big your playlist is. That’s like Tourists Vs Backpackers. Sure it’s easier to access, but that’s just the day trip - there’s so much more.

The discovery of music whether socially or personally is a process in itself. I grew up in the Nineties where mixtapes were a way of sharing music, socialising and making new friends. Paying a fortune for records because the artwork looked cool, but still listening to it all the way through (because you didn’t want to waste your money).

Going to a friends house and sitting in silence in their room to listen to the latest album on the day it was released, like it was a feature movie. Having whole albums that were soundtracks for your summer. Lining up for tickets for a concert, for hours, and meeting people in the line that all like the same band you do then partying with them afterwards. And if you weren’t there, you just had to hear about it from those that were - which was cool in itself. It created very unique special moments and memories that can’t be captured again. That 17yo can have the internet with all their playlists. It’s not for me.

Why do you make the music you make?

Because that’s what I’m into and how I feel at the time I write it. I used to try to sound like this and that when I was younger, but it didn’t feel true. In the end I just let my brain do whatever it wants to do and usually I’m happy with the results.

You can’t run from who you are, so why not put it to good use. A good side-effect of this is that the music changes over the years with you and what I do now, is completely different to what I was doing in my teens. And in turn you don’t end up painting yourself into a corner musically. I’ve seen it happen many times with wannabe fad bands trying to appease the trend and not themselves and their art.

Describe your palette of sound.

For this project: Noisey fuzz, beats + bass - sprinkled with some electro goodness.

Which of your releases are you the most proud of? Why?

Probably the Houses EP. I wrote and recorded and mixed most of it fairly easily at home. Most of the stuff on there is the original lines I’d recorded from the demos. I couldn’t recreate any of the sounds later on, so I just kept it the way it was. And the lyrical content, I feel, is some of the best I’ve produced in a while. I don’t usually go back and listen to stuff I’ve recorded or written very often without cringing and turning it off, but this one I like.

You are from Australia. What are the advantages of disadvantages?

Having limits, whether geographical or musically can be used to inspire new ideas and directions.

Kind of like. You have to know the rules to break the rules. Isn’t that what art is all about?

On the downside, if you find that your audience is in, say, Europe or South America and not Australia then getting over there, or anywhere in the world, because of our geographical isolation, is a fair bit of a hassle.

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[onett199x]

Top 10 Albums of 2018 So Far

Halfway through 2018.  Time for a Top 10.  As usual for my midyear ones, it’s not ranked, just in alphabetical order.  Like last year, I picked 5 jazz and 5 that aren’t jazz.

Beach House | 7

The 7th album by Beach House features their signature dream pop sound refined to its most hazy, hypnotic elements, with classic California imagery, fuzzy guitar loops, and repetitive drums, all of which Victoria Legrand’s voice soars over like the best of the 90s trip-hop vocalists.  Albums like this are made for driving around with the windows rolled down.

Czarface & MF Doom | Czarface Meets Metal Face

I’ve listened to a number of MF Doom albums before this, but this is the first I’ve listened to by Czarface, which is a collaboration between underground battle rappers 7L & Esoteric and Wu-Tang member Inspectah Deck.  Their comic book superhero aesthetic combines so perfectly with MF Doom’s very direct take of Marvel’s Dr. Doom that it’s surprising it took them this long to get around to it.  Between the cartoonish beats, humorous skits, and excellent verses from four fantastic MCs, this is definitely my favorite hip-hop album of the year so far.

Kurt Elling | The Questions

Sometimes Kurt Elling’s shtick as a jazz poet works really well, and sometimes it doesn’t.  For a while, his most recent offerings hadn’t done a lot for me, but starting with last year’s collaboration with Branford Marsalis on Upward Spiral, I think he’s entered a strong new phase of his career.  This album is an excellent follow-up, maybe even better than that one, with a fantastic Bob Dylan cover, a fantastic Paul Simon cover, and even more by the likes of Peter Gabriel, Carla Bley, and Jaco Pastorius.  I don’t know if it’s the best album Elling has ever done but it’s definitely the best he’s done in recent memory.

Brad Mehldau | Seymour Reads The Constitution!

Brad Mehldau is absolutely a machine when it comes to recording, touring, and putting out new albums and creative projects.  His second album of the year came out before the year even reached its halfway point!  Of course, some of Mehldau’s different sounds work better for me than others - I liked his duo album with Joshua Redman a lot, but last year’s trio album and this year’s After Bach weren’t quite as much up my alley.  This album, though, takes all of the things that I like about Mehldau’s sound with his trio and distills them, presenting a great set list where I like the originals even more than the covers without making each song like, 15+ minutes.  

MGMT | Little Dark Age

I was fairly ready to write off MGMT after their self-titled album, which I always forgot about the moment I finished listening to it, but this new album has reinvigorated my appreciation for the band, even if I don’t think it’s quite their best album (that would still be Congratulations).  I’m not sure this one will still be on my list at the end of the year, but it made it to my midyear list on the strength of singles like TSLAMP and Hand It Over, as well as Me And Michael.  TSLAMP in particular is a favorite single of the year for me so far, even if it is ‘What If Phones But Too Much’ in song form.

Kacey Musgraves | Golden Hour

The latest from Texas country singer Kacey Musgraves feels like a breath of fresh air, bursting with the sincerity and straightforwardness of, say, The Avett Brothers.  There are a lot of great songs about relationships (both the beginning and the end) - Space Cowboy and Wonder Woman are two standouts in that category, and High Horse is frank and amusing in Musgraves’ politely snide way.  Beyond its wry social observations, the album also gives us two beautiful, heartfelt ballads in Mother and in Rainbow.  I don’t pretend to be an expert on country music, but I do like Kacey.

Natalie Prass | The Future And The Past

Natalie Prass’s second album is awash in the sounds of 80s funk and 90s r&b, including the treasured ‘ooh’ sound effect from songs like Dido’s Thank You on Short Court Style.  Prass comes to this album with an obvious chip on her shoulder, an attitude that says “I can’t see the injustices happening in the world right now and be complicit”, so many of her songs have a strong political or social bent to them, like Sisters, which actually calls to Nasty Women by name, and the closer, Ain’t Nobody, which is one of the better ‘Viva La Resistance’ songs I’ve heard this year.  

Dafnis Prieto Big Band | Back To The Sunset

MacArthur Scholar Dafnis Prieto has been making music for a while now, but this is the first I’ve listened to of his (and his first outing with a big band).  For his debut big band recording, Prieto brought together an all-star group of musicians, including Alex Sipiagin, the Rodriguez brothers, Alan Ferber, Chris Cheek, Joel Frahm, and Jacob Garchik, for a set of all Prieto originals that also features some special guests (Henry Threadgill, Brian Lynch, and Steve Coleman).  There aren’t a ton of big bands out there putting out new music in the Afro-Cuban style, but this one has a very, very promising debut.

Antonio Sanchez | Channels Of Energy

Antonio Sanchez is another artist who puts out new albums with a restless energy, jumping constantly between formats.  In the last few years, he has made an album with a piano trio, a guitar trio, and a saxophone trio; he made a fusion album with his Migration band; and, last year, he made a solo drums/electronics album in honor of a controversial comment from the president entitled Bad Hombre.  This year finds him with Europe’s WDR Big Band and a series of arrangements of Sanchez’s own originals by in-demand arranger Vince Mendoza, and the results are nothing short of stellar.  I would have never thought of Sanchez’s music as the sort of thing that would translate well to big band, but Mendoza’s arrangements make them sound like they were made for that context, and the WDR big band swings their asses off throughout this recording.  Highly recommended.

Walter Smith III | Twio

Saxophonist Walter Smith III’s fifth album pairs him with bassist Harish Raghavan and drummer Eric Harland for a raucous, spirited set of originals that swing with an infectious energy.  Christian McBride guest-stars on bass for four tines, and Joshua Redman joins on saxophone on two.  Smith’s elegant, efficient arrangements cut to the very most important part of each tune with the kind of ease that makes it sound like they were written to be played that way.  Monk’s Ask Me Now, Grofe’s On The Trail, and plenty of great standards all sound memorable on this album that is, in my view, an instant classic.

[serpent-jugheadjones]

RUN!

Pairing: Jughead Jones x Reader 

Description: Riverdale AU x Supernatural 

Warnings: It’s a Halloween fic, need I say more?

Word count: 3551

A/N: Happy Halloween! This is and will forever be the only holiday I acknowledge :) Since Reggie has a thing for Midge in the comics, I wrote her in as his girlfriend because I didn’t wanna have to deal with a love triangle between her, Moose and Kevin. Y/A/C = Your Activity of Choice. This will have another part, but only on next year’s Halloween...

Y/N’s in her room getting ready for the Drive-In’s double feature and Cheryl’s costume party afterwards. A folded Register newspaper lays on her bed with a large headline on display. ‘Series of murders terrify Riverdale.’. The article contains some details Alice Cooper probably bribed out of someone. ‘Four parents have been found dead by authorities. The only ones present in the crime scene are their offspring, with bloody hands and Ouija board with a blood-red planchette in their rooms. It goes deeper than that as the teens who’ve been aprehended swear to have no memory of the happening.’. The girl brushes that out of her mind and takes one last look at her reflection in the mirror, sliding the small strap from her bag, which is filled with add-ons to her costume, her wallet and mints, across her chest. Her belly feels as if a thousand butterflies were flying inside her. The girl finally leaves, after her parents sermon on staying safe inside the car and enjoying her time sober. She tries not to look too weirdly amused as she arrives at her best friend’s house.

She’s greeted by the spitting image of Sandy Olsson. “You look amazing!” Y/N looks at her friend head to toe, the sweet image fitting her personality. “As do you.”, Betty hugs Y/N tightly and their ride honks in the driveway. To no surprise, Archie is dressed as Danny Zuko, with a funny black wig he probably got from Amazon for $1, still looking good, though. “Why, this car is Auto-matic. It’s System-matic. It’s Hyyyyydro-matic. Why, it’s Greased Lightning! “, the fake dark-haired boy sings and dances getting out of the car to open the passenger door for them, making Betty giggle. “Come on.”, the blonde instructs and they get in the truck he borrowed from Fred. FP lent his truck to Jughead, but since he works at the Twilight, Arch was kind enough to offer to drive Y/N there.

They enter the Drive-In, pay for their tickets, and Archie parks on the first empty spot he can find. Y/n thanks him for the ride and leaves to give the couple their privacy, but also in order to find her company for tonight. She waves at FP arriving in his Honda CB 550 and parking near the other Serpents bikes. He waves back with a smirk. His son and her have been friends forever and she also gets along with the man quite well as she loves hearing him reminisce about his High School days. 

On her way to the projection booth, she spots Veronica as Holly Golightly and Kevin as Kurt Hummel in his Warblers uniform. Cheryl and Jason as Leia Organa and Luke Skywalker, inappropriate as usual. Passing by the concession stand, she hears arguing and stops to make sure everything is alright. Storming out of a car comes Reggie. “Hey, Y/N...”, he says embarrassed she saw him get yelled at. “Sup, Reg?”, the girl asks sympathetically. “Midge wanted me to dress as Bob. But come on, from That 70′s Show I’m definitely a Michael, not a Bob.” The tall football player points at himself in a tight turtle neck and a rainbow vest. “Bob and Midge didn't have a good relationship, so best to do you, Reggie.”, Y/N supports his choice. “Yeah, try telling her that.” He points at the car and rolls his eyes. “Who are you supposed to be?”, the confused boy asks. “Mia Wallace.” She turns so he can have a full look since he’s so oblivious. “Right, I get it.” She knows he still doesn't. “Anyways, I better go get popcorn before she freaks out.” Reggie walks away with the empty bucket. “Good luck. See ya at Cheryl’s.” Y/N says.

The girl climbs the steps to the familiar projection booth and knocks at the door. Jug opens it with a smile as he knew it could only be her. “I’m just finishing up, then we can head down.”, the weirdly cheerful boy explains and continues putting the film roll in the projector. Y/N’s speechless at the sight of Jughead’s costume choice, Vincent Vega. The fact that they didn't plan to match dumbstrike her unexpectedly more. He only asked her out the previous night, so even if they wanted to, there wouldn’t be enough time to agree on something like that. However, seeing the boy beanieless for the first time, and with straightened hair to fit the character, leads her back to the butterflies-in-the-stomach state. She can’t help but biting the inside of her lips so she won’t sigh. That doesn't go unnoticed by Juggie, who’s now sporting the signature Jones’ smirk. 

The first movie begins and they leave the projection booth to the concession stand. Jughead orders them popcorn, sodas and gummy warms. “Perks of coming with an employee.” He laughs, as for him everything is free. Y/N carries their drinks while he takes the large bucket and pack of candy to FP’s truck. Jughead parked in the best spot, away from the building’s lights, in the middle of the field and close to the good stereos. He set up an air mattress, some blankets and one large pillow in the back, making them have to sit real close.

Y/N is using all her will power not to whisper every line from the movie, for Rocky Horror is one of her favorites. It’s not like he hasn't seen her doing it all the previous times she made the group watch it - somehow just the two of them seems different. Once Time Warp starts playing, the whole field begins to sing along like a huge choir. The costumed girl stands up on the truck and starts following the choreography, pulling Jug by his hand so she’s not doing it alone. The raven-haired boy never laughed so much at something before. This is precisely the reason he chose this film.

Although people could think two Tim Curry’s movies is overkill, IT got picked to make everybody cuddle as they get scared. Anyhow, the couple is already as close as possible and, to be honest, none of them is afraid of the movie. In fact, her one fear is that Jug disappears if she makes a single move, turning it all into nothing more than a dream. Jughead is fidgeting with the hem of his blazer, trying to work up the courage to wrap his arm around the girl. He finally does, using the old yawn trick, really smooth. His heart is pounding and he’s terrified of rejection, but she’s more than worth the risk. She simply rests her head on his chest, relieving him of all his worries, making him relax his grip on the hems and loosely hold her arm. “Jug...”, she starts. “Yeah?”, he questions. “Was the matching costume a coincidence?”, Y/N asks. “No... You told Betty your costume, she told Archie, who told me.”, he confesses shyly. “I knew it!”, she exclaims proudly. “In my defense, Tarantino is my favorite director. I just figured you choosing Mia was a hint of interest.”, Jughead says. “You guessed right, Jug.” She raises her face from his chest, looking at his blueish eyes, scenes from the neglected movies visible on them. He brushes his thumb across her red cheeks, taking her in, brain and beauty. Juggie leans in, slowly closing the distance between them, opening his mouth to meet hers in a kiss they have been jonesing about for ages.

Their moment ends as credits start to roll and car engines roar. Archie, now back to his original ginger locks probably because he couldn't stand the itchiness from the cheap wig, and Betty, showing a ‘I know what you did last summer’ look, come by just after they finish picking up the trash from the back of the truck. “Hey, guys. We’re going to Pop’s before Cheryl’s. Wanna join?”, the boy also dressed as a John Travolta character asks. “Absolutely. Just gotta close and we’ll meet you there.” Jug grabs Y/N’s hand, making Betty turn around and wink at her as they leave. They pack the film rolls back in their metal cases and put them on the shelves. Jughead stares intently at Y/N looking up the names on the other tins. “What?”, the girl asks when she catches his eyes locked on her. “You’re beautiful.”, he affirms and her skin flushes. “We should go, they’re waiting for us.”, she tries to deny the steam raising in the small room as Jug walks closer to her. “Let ‘em wait.” He pulls her firmly by the waist, making a quiet moan escape her lips before he smashes them together once more, in a heated kiss this time.

They lose track of time in that room. A couple tins fall from the shelves which he pushed Y/N against. After getting that out of their system they are ready to leave. Jughead drives away from the field and stops outside the tall gates to shut them with the chains and padlocks, not that it’s actually needed as that is Serpents territory. The car passes by kids trick-or-treating and they remember when FP would take them in a face-covered costume earlier and then run by the same houses in another costume and they’d get double the candy. “FP would always get the Skittles as his cut for being the master mind of the whole thing.”, Y/N says. “Those were the best of times until tonight...”, Jughead confesses. “Agreed.” the girl can help but grin.

The Chock'lit Shoppe is full. Families with their kids in cute costumes counting the candy they got. Adults imagining when they’ll have babies to dress up for the holiday and teens just enjoying themselves. Betty waves at them entering the diner and they sit in their regular booth. Y/N next to her cheerleader friend and Jug makes his football player friend move so he can sit by the window and in front of his date. Pop comes by with a smile, as those are his favorite customers, no doubt, to take their orders. “I'll have the Douglas Sirk steak.”, Jughead quotes. “What?” Pop is looking at his own menu, confused. “I'll have the Durwood Kirby burger, bloody, and a five-dollar shake. Martin and Lewis style, please.”, Y/N continues Jug’s acting, making the old man even more disoriented and the boy in front of her in awe. “Don’t mind their nonsense. They’re just being A-class nerds.”, Archie teases. “We’ll just have the usual, Pop.”, Betty laughs at her friends matching so perfectly.

The couples eat their delicious meal and share milkshakes. Jughead even lets Y/N have the cherry. He tries to get the check but she’s faster. They've been friends forever. She knows he doesn't earn much working at the Drive-In and won’t have his “manhood” hurt by the girl paying. Betty asks for them to be excused to the bathroom before leaving. Once there, Y/N unbuttons her shirt, exposing her bandeau top, grabbing spirit gum, a needlessness seringue to glue on her chest and fake blood to splatter over her. Then it’s Betty’s turn to transform her costume. Her blonde curls get styled in an 80′s updo with lots of bobby pins and hairspray. She darkens her makeup and slips in a shoulderless leather top, changing from her long skirt into high waisted skinny pants. Y/N can’t help but admire the accuracy of her friend’s costume. She’s innocent and sweet, but also dark and dangerous. Sandy represents her perfectly. The finishing touch to her new outfit is heels. “Had to watch a video on how to walk in these.” Both girls laugh at that. “Ready?”, the blood covered girl asks. “It’s now or never.” They hold hands and leave the bathroom.

They walk out confidently, all eyes on them as they stride through the crowded diner. Both John Travolta costumed boy’s mouth agaped, perplexed as the girls reach the table. “DAMN, Y/N/N!”, the ginger thinks out loud. “Archie!” Betty slaps his strong biceps. “Oh, yeah. You look awesome, babe.” He stands up to kiss her. Jughead is too hypnotized to even hear his friend’s comment. The Greese couple starts leaving. Jug stands up from his spot and Y/N walks in front of him. The boy gently leans in close to her ear. “This is undoubtedly the best Halloween ever.”, Jughead whispers, making Y/N blush uncontrollably. The freckled boy has to discipline himself to keep his eyes on the road.

The first spooky thing so far is arriving at Thornhill’s gates. A place so spine-chilling that doesn’t need decorations for the holiday. Y/N grabs Jug’s arm as he drives in and the temperature drops 100 degrees. They join Archie and Betty who just rang the doorbell, which seems futile giving the blasting music playing. However, the giant wooden door falls open shortly after. “If it isn't the Sad Breakfast Club. Come in.” Cheryl stares at both girls coming in from head to toe. “Just in time for our game. Follow me.”, Jason instructs and the group does as told, walking the ghostly halls of the Blossom’s mansion, filled with drunk teenagers dancing. They arrive at a wide room, lit only by a couple of candles on each corner, with the strong scent of incense and a circle of pillows on the floor, some already occupied. Reggie and Midge are still bickering over something so trivial as a Halloween costume. Chuck with Ginger and Tina at each side of him and his arms around them, the girls sporting an annoying smirk. The newcomers take their reserved seats by Veronica and Kevin. The Star Wars twins take their place in the two large red pillows at the edge of the circle. 

Cheryl pulls out a large thin-timber board with the alphabet, numbers from 1 to 0 and YES/NO written in. She enigmatically sets it in the center. “A Ouija board? Seriously? Have you not read the news?”, Kevin questions in panic. Everyone’s eyes fall on him, some mockingly, others in support. “If you’re scared, you’re welcome to leave.” Jason points at the exit. Midge looks like she wants to take the offer. “We just don’t believe in that crap.”, Veronica defends her GBF. “Then you’ll have no problem playing.”, Cheryl spits, even though secretly she’s hoping it works. The group remains seated. “Come one, what are we? Kids? Let’s play 7 minutes in heaven.”, Chuck suggests with an annoying smirk. “Can you even last 7 minutes, Clayton?”, Betty teases and the rest laugh. “Focus!”, red-haired cheerleader’s captain demands. “The rules are simple. Maintain contact at all times. Start on HELLO and wait for the planchette to move. Ask only yes or no questions. Don’t ask for physical signs. Don’t be disrespectful. And don’t move the planchette on purpose, Chuck... End connection on GOOD BYE.”, ginger Skywalker explains. “We need a mediator to ask the questions. I nominate moi. All in favor raise their hands.” Ginger Leia stares at the hands going up, too scared to disagree. “Shall we?” She pulls out a blood-red planchette and everyone's hands follow hers.

Soon the candlelight starts to flicker and the planchette moves frantically. Instinct makes Y/N want to take her hand off, but, almost as if Jug knew, he intertwines his pinky to hers, reassuring the girl everything will be OK, that this is just a distasteful joke. Everyone starts asking all kind of crap. “ENOUGH.”, Cheryl shouts. “Are you a good spirit?”, the ginger girl adds and the planchette finally moves - towards ‘NO’. Midge runs out of the room in tears. “This is fucked up, Cheryl.”, the blonde cheerleader curses, going after the girl with a fake-blonde wig. “I’m out of here too! Anyone wanna join me?”, Chuck says and both Ginger and Tina walk away behind him, making Cheryl death-stare at them all the way. “I have a question. Who’s rigging the game?”, Veronica challenges. “You’re not supposed to ask the questions, Lodge.”, Jason spits. The planchette moves again, spelling something slowly: Y. O. U. At that Ronnie stands up. “Let’s go, Kev. This is stupid.” The boy does as told, as he wished to do all along. “Laters.” Reggie is the next one to go. Y/N doesn't say anything. She just grabs Jughead’s hand and heads for the door. “Archie!”, Jug calls out for his friend, who’s apparently fine with the whole ordeal, also happy to follow them anyways. The ginger twins face is just as red as their hair now. 

The group is climbing down the stairs when there’s a blackout. Some unaware teens start screaming in joy of the new mood setting between them now that no eyes can fall on them. But the ones that were in that sinister room have a different reaction. Jughead pulls Y/N close to his chest. Archie and Reggie run down to find their girlfriends who left before them. “Should’ve played the game.”, both twins speak in a creepy voice. “Only those who play till the end survive.” They raise their hands in synchrony and all the doors in the house are closed shut. Both football players made it out in time, but the writer and the Y/A/C are locked in. 

It becomes obvious that those aren't Jason and Cheryl anymore. There’s something possessing them. Jug instinctively launches himself in front of Y/N, to shield her from harm. But, to their surprise, two men burst through the main door. One tall and moose-like, the other... not. Both with shotguns in hand. ”RUN!” They don’t even have to say twice before the crowd dissipates. Furniture’s flying everywhere, until the possessed twins remove their firearms from their grips. The not-moose one runs towards the Blossoms but he’s forcefully pulled against the wall by an invisible force before he can even reach the first steps. Y/N has to drag Jughead down the stairs as the boy’s most likely in shock and can’t move on his own. The taller one, with a longer dirty-blonde hair, uses their evac to his advantage as Jay-Jay and Cheryl are distracted with the running teens. He manages to slit their arms with an iron blade, and, as blood flows from the cuts, a transparent-white shape is forcefully released out of their bodies. The less tall one is released from something that was immobilizing him, running up the stairs to the room, salting the board and burning it along with the planchette, ending that once and for all. Y/N is flabbergasted, holding Jug’s hand, barely breathing, both trying to process everything that just happened. 

The twins are now back to their usual selves, which isn’t much different from the spirits as they angrily throw out their saviors. “Come on, Tarantino’s couple.” The men carry both the astound teens out with them, as they were the only witnesses. The one with shorter dark hair searches Jughead’s pocket, finding his car keys and tossing it to the taller one. “Ok, Sammy. You take the girl in the truck and I drive Travolta in the Impala.”, he instructs. “Where to, Dean?”, the moose asks, sitting the girl on the passengers seat. “That diner we passed by on the way here.”, the older one rapidly responds. “Of course.”, the hairy guy agrees with some cynicism.

The two Riverdale natives are led back to the Chock’lit Shoppe. They sit across from each other. Now that shock is almost completely worn off, the tallest man on Earth introduce themselves as Sam and Dean Winchester, hunters. “Wait, so you hunt... things, monsters?”, Y/N asks as Jughead chews his burger nervously. “Spirits, demons, vampires, werewolves... the list goes on. It’s a complex job.”, Sam explains while his brother is happily swallowing his milkshake. “Do you get dental with that?”, Y/N asks, as quoting 80′s movie lines is her way of coping with the world. “No.” Sammy laughs. “So, Cheryl and Jason were...”, Jug starts. “Possessed, yes. As those other kids who got arrested.”, Dean cuts him off, speaking with his mouth full. “We shouldn’t have played that stupid game.”, the girl says angrily. “Oh, no! The game is a hoax. In this case, it was because of a cursed object, casually the planchette.”, Sam explains. “All of the teens who were arrested were telling the truth then, when they said they didn’t do it.”, Jug concludes. “Unfortunately.”, Dean says in between chewing, like this is just another day for them. “This is the BEST burger ever!”, he now shouts to Pop, who smiles brightly. Juggie and him eat their burgers with side of fries and onion rings till the last crumble, downing every bite with a free round of milkshakes from Pop Tate for the compliment. Sam is just picking at a salad as Y/N simply watches, amazed at how much her date can eat, since they had dinner no more than an hour before. By the end of that meal, they all feel kinda glad for being alive, Jug and Y/N mostly, for the Winchesters give them their phone numbers in case something like that happens again.

Halloween is about to end for those involved with that particular planchette, teenagers who were too naive to understand the powers of natural and supernatural, twins who wished their parents were killed, two friends whose relationship just had a great development, and brothers whose job is to protect all of them. At the strike of twelve in a small town diner, a special couple starts to notice there’s way more to crime than what meets the eye. 

[canvasofthecosmos]

Neptune in the Houses

Ruler of Pisces, the last sign of the zodiac, Neptune contains a lot in its waters. It takes mutable sign complexity to the max. In a chart, it shows where you see infinite possibility and have difficulty forming boundaries. This can be very spiritual, of course, seeing the ether(Pisces) from which life is born(Aries). Neptune causes you to hear faint things nobody else can- it’s the most direct connection to whatever exists beyond this world. This inspires transcendental art, unconditional compassion, and reasons to continue living earthly life, but there can be too much of a good thing. What was once an occasional break from reality becomes a full-time gig, and a refusal to face anything head on. In my opinion, Neptune is the most difficult planet to channel into reality, because that’s exactly what it’s not. A bottomless well is tapped into.

**Also consider the signs! So if you’re a 3rd house Neptune in Sagittarius, you can look at the 9th house as well as the 3rd. Also include the sign that rules your 12th house(the sign before your ascendant.) You can also apply these descriptions to any pisces placement you have.**

1ST HOUSE– Unbridled neptunian traits. Here, the person morphs to every twitch of change in their surroundings, but doesn’t realize they’re doing so. Open martyrs. There is something mesmerizing about this person- they look at everyone as if a bit awestruck. Their eyes are wide-open, glossy, and unreadable. There’s a tendency towards rounded features and glisteny cheeks. Soft golds and shades of pink and orange suit them, as well as foamy green. Dissolving is their IDENTITY, which is a difficult thing to muster. Body dysmorphia is common. They tend towards escapism, pushing things a little too far(look at the sign of Neptune to see in what way. A Cancer Neptune would personify their home environment, whereas an Aquarius Neptune would morph to fit social groups.) They compulsively agree with people, and change their minds later. Losing themselves in their identity, they are the world’s dream.

Ex: Marilyn Monroe, Freddie Mercury, Paris Hilton, Jim Carrey, Bjork, Courtney Love, Andy Warhol

2ND HOUSE– The body is the outlet for Neptune. Self-image is incredibly fluid, with no sense of object permanence, often forgetting one’s own face until they look in the mirror. Their faces have a strange symmetry, as if the two halves are about to merge. The second house symbolizes self-worth, material belongings, and eating habits; all of these lack solidity with Neptune placed here. Very inconsistent eating patterns, judging the worth of objects based on sentimentality, and blending of self-worth with other people are common tendencies. Major identity merging, with a knack for drawing more rigid people out of their shells.

Ex: Donald Trump, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lawrence, Isaac Newton, Tom Hanks, Carl Jung, Marie Curie

3RD HOUSE– Childhood/early school life was likely very strange. They child had a habit for daydreaming and knew way more than they could verbalize. As a result, communication is now an enigmatic thing. This placement points to an excellent ability to visualize, and to freely move between realms within one’s thoughts. Very poetic. They can paint complex pictures with their words. However, clarity is not a strong point. Miscommunication is a frequent issue, with people just not -getting- what they’re saying. They’re way smarter than they often get credit for. Words come out backwards- and forwards- and seem to have a kaleidoscopic life of their own. This may point to someone who experimented with drugs at an early age, or was just subjected to heavy themes. They may be too surrendering to their friends or siblings, or have friends who are dreamy themselves.The dreamlife is chattery. Neptune is a mutable planet and the 3rd a mutable house, so these people are very changeable.

Ex: Leonardo DiCaprio, Beyoncé Knowles, Keanu Reeves, Kurt Cobain, 14th Dalai Lama, Friedrich Nietzsche

4TH HOUSE– ‘Home’ is illusive with this placement. They have a great sense of devotion to their family(whether this be flesh and blood or not), but they can never seem to get things just -right-. Their inner world is cavernous and ever changing- the sense of security that they long for evades them. A feeling of being left behind, a ghost in their own home. Childhood memories may be hazy and idealized. They’re hypersensitive to their own emotional currents, often getting swept away in the tides. They spend a lot of time feeling their inner world out, and the physical home is often an outlet to that. It’s halls can feel like a sanctuary or a tomb depending on their mood. They can be a martyr to their family, sacrificing themselves as the glue that holds it all together.

Ex: Johnny Depp, Uma Thurman, Emma Watson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marilyn Manson, Sigmund Freud, Cher

5TH HOUSE– Neptune expresses especially creatively here, with the planet of dissolvement  and art in the house of childlike creation. Love can take this person to a different world. This person can easily get swept up in dramatic love affairs. They can be very idealistic, expecting everything to work out without any effort- their intention is enough. Love is the end all be all viewed through hazy pink shades. Nothing feels more divine than to create life- whether it be through art, romance, or even children. Their relationship with children can be mystical, as they raise children who are dreamy themselves. This is someone who loses themselves in the everyday celebration of living.

Ex: Martin Luther King, Drake, Tyra Banks, Charles Manson, Fergie, RuPaul, Jack Black

6TH HOUSE– This is interesting! It’s Neptune placed in its opposite(virgo) house. The 6th house rules health, routines, taking care of other people/pets, and work. Neptune adds a whole other dimension to all of this. This could be someone who treats daily work like a spiritual task, purifying everything with Neptune’s dewy glow. They could also treat their sacrifice as the ultimate burden. The thing about water planets/signs/etc is that they can be the most healing OR the most destructive. Neptune can raise things to the highest dimension possible, or it can simply cause rot. 6th house Neptune unhinged can let daily details slip away. The house is rotting- there’s mold in the walls and the sink is crawling- the fish haven’t been fed in days, you can’t remember the last time you ate. Surrendering yourself to what -needs- to be done will overcome this.

Ex: Mahatma Gandhi, Kanye West, Alexander the Great, Billie Holiday, Gordon Ramsay, Sigourney Weaver, Malala Yousafzai, Jackie Chan

7TH HOUSE– A tricky one. This person may not notice Neptunian traits in themselves, but simply because they project them on others. They draw sirens to them like a sailor, wide-eyed and dressed in silky scales. Interacting with people is a direct outlet to divinity. Their romantic partners could be in the occult community, artists, or medical professionals. They could be unstable, bottling substance abuse and hysteria. Loved ones may be institutionalized, or lead the 7th House Neptunian to hysteria themselves! Wherever Neptune is placed, infinity is wide open, and as such static ‘reality’ is hard to cope with. Their partners are adaptable to the extreme. Relationships may appear out of nowhere, shockingly perfect, and then slink away just as quickly. This is someone who interacts with spirit in their daily exchanges.

Ex: Mother Teresa, Amy Winehouse, Charlie Chaplin, Paul McCartney, Cate Blanchett, Jean-Paul Sartre

8TH HOUSE– Suspended in the murky waters of the 8th house, Neptune seeks new depth. It scrapes the bottom of reality, a mere splash of its tail causing turmoil. This person surrenders themselves to touchy subjects, whether it be sex, crossing emotional boundaries, or the mere act of being openly intimate wherever they go. They keep themselves wide open to be explored, which can make some uncomfortable. Whereas 4th house planets swim in their own emotional well of ancestry/family, the 8th house subjects anything it contacts to its probing, pulling precious insights to anyone and anything. With Neptune here, there is no plug. The individual can resort to escapism and self-destructive behaviours to escape this flood of information. Periods of intense obsession are one way to purge and breathe freely again. They experience intense highs and lows, many all-encompassing ego deaths that spit them out as a stronger being than they could ever before imagine. It’s possible this could include real near-death experiences. Spirituality and self-sacrifice is an all or nothing affair.

Ex: Adolf Hitler, Shakira, David Bowie, Lana Del Rey, Kristen Stewart, Whitney Houston, J. K. Rowling, Snoop Dogg

9TH HOUSE– Neptune is always searching in this house. The 9th house is explorative, no longer in the mental way of the 3rd house, but physically. The planets in this house get your legs moving and your heart pounding. With Neptune here, one is wide open to new experiences. They absorb others’ viewpoints like a sponge, with a heart calling for adventure. They collect artifacts that bring them closer to their ideal spirituality- shells, crystals, tarot cards, quotes. They may seem a little stereotypical in their spirituality, but that’s just because they’re so eager to learn! Surrender is a great adventure to them, and they humbly accept every opportunity. The biggest problem comes from an overzealous zest for exploration, which results in not traveling down any single path long enough to truly absorb it. I could see religious fanatics falling in this category, over-excited students who preach half-information on street corners. Regardless, their pure enthusiasm is contagious. Neptune is especially boundless here.

Ex: Rihanna, Elvis Presley, Brigitte Bardot, Heath Ledger, Vincent Van Gogh, Bob Dylan, Carrie Fisher

10TH HOUSE– Neptunian traits are broadcasted here, as the 10th house is where you stand on the world’s stage. The public’s perception of you is always a little -off-. These folks can be viewed as more perfect than they actually are, because they serve as a reflection of the public’s desires. They morph to fit the structure they’re given. Being publicly known as a savior, a star. Publicly known substance abuse. An overly-empathetic boss.. A lazy boss. Long term goals that slip through the hands like sand. They dream of being in control, utterly in charge of their fate. They may create the illusion of having power over others, while feeling entirely helpless. Jobs in customer-service, cinema, body modification, the medical field, and spiritual work. Feeling pressured to be forgiving. Having an absent father. Hypersensitivity to criticism and nonexistent boundaries. Everyone views you as something different.

Ex: Princess Diana, Napoleon, Bruce Lee, Pablo Picasso, Bob Marley, Russell Brand, Patti Smith

11TH HOUSE– A feeling of confusion and mysticism surrounds friendship. The 11th house rules group associations and with Neptune they come and go freely, as if connected to one’s moods. An experimental spirituality, with robotic dreams. Dreams are discussed in group settings. Their inner world is electrifying and detached, morphing into crystalline images of the future. Losing your identity in groups. Sacrificing oneself to humanitarian causes. Dreams that never match up with reality. Using groups to escape mundane reality- role-playing, fantasy games, book clubs, night clubs, group drug usage. Using the internet to escape. Sharing art on the internet… only making art with others. Electric guitar/synthesizers. Space-age music. Shocking talents. Illusive friends. Having vague feelings of mistrust towards humanity. Sticking out like a sore thumb. Being quiet in groups, yet omnipresent. People have vague feelings of mistrust towards you. Getting walked all over. Having clear boundaries is important. Don’t feel uncaring for being direct– your security is important and most aren’t as open as you!

Ex: Albert Einstein, Hillary Clinton, Mozart, Nicki Minaj, Robin Williams, George Harrison, William Shakespeare, Frida Kahlo, Shia Labeouf

12TH HOUSE– This is Neptune in its home, so these people can accidentally be the most Neptunian of all. Whatever is in the 12th house is a “big secret”, subconsciously repressed, but the thing about secrets is that they seep into everything. Neptune in the 12th house is secretly hypersensitive. Part of them wants to slip away and never be seen again. The 12th house is everything- a reflection of every sign and then some- so EVERYTHING is a sacrifice with this placement. They’re easily absorbed into what’s going on around them, but nothing really compares to their inner world. The inner world is soft and warm and always morphing into some new kaleidoscopic shape. It’s never stagnant like reality, utterly predictable in its dull human colors and rigid shapes. It’s not surprising for these people to be shut-ins, allowing them a boundary for self-reflection. They feel guilty for how content they are entirely alone(the rest of the chart interferes ofc.) Hiding away from everything uncomfortable isn’t the answer, but neither is blind sacrifice. Finding a way to express this private sea of symbols in a way that is tangible to everyone around them and, most importantly, to themselves is important.

Ex: Prince, Salvador Dali, Nikola Tesla, Winona Ryder, Hillary Duff, Joan of Arc, Erykah Badu, Sid Vicious

[isrustandstardust]

Are you young at heart, or an old soul?

A very old soul.

What makes someone a best friend?

Complicity.

What Christmas present do you remember the most?

A huge crocodile plush.

Tell me about a movie/song/tv show/play/book that has changed your life.

Slaughterhouse n.5 - Kurt Vonnegut. I have it tattooed on me.

Name one physical feature that you like about yourself, and one you dislike.

I like my hands, skinny and long and my lips, are full and well shaped.

I don’t like my stomach because of my fucking protruding ribs.

Would you like to reconnect with any friends you’ve lost contact with?

I’d love to have a reunion with my uni classmates.

What’s more important in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection?

Both.

Name a movie that you knew would be terrible just from reading the title.

I don’t judge a movie by the title but I know for a fact that every Baz Luhrmann’s movie will suck.

What holiday do you most look forward to?

Christmas!

How is the relationship between you and your parents?

I don’t speak with my mother since the summer of 2018. I see my dad every two/three months.

You’ve got the TV on, but you’re not really watching. What channel is the TV on?

Top crime.

Name a song that never fails to make you happy.

Do you realize - The Flaming Lips.

You know at least one person named Michael. Tell me about him.

He was a childish fuck. Tried to hookup with me right in front of his gf.

If you could pick anywhere to live the rest of your life, where would it be?

Iceland.

Can money buy happiness?

It cannot make it worse.

Do you drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Why, or why not?

I almost don’t drink anymore because I don’t feel like it, I smoke because Ilike it, I don’t do drugs because it’s stupid.

Is there anyone close to you that you know you can’t trust? You don’t have to give names.

Sure is.

Where was your favorite place to go when you were a little kid?

My bedroom. XD

Have you ever spent a night in the hospital?

More than I’d like to remember.

Do you enjoy being with only one or two friends, or with a large group of people?

I hate large groups of people. Too tiring.

Do you like the type of music your parents listen to? Do your parents like the type of music you listen to?

No, not at all.

Have you ever been bullied? Have you ever bullied anyone else?

I’ve been bullied, a lot. Never bullied anyone tho.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Idk, I’m not that into food. Red meat maybe?

If your partner wanted to wait until marriage before having sex, would you stay in that relationship?

Hell no. Sexual intimacy is important in a relationship.

Do you believe in a god?

Lol no, I’m not stupid.

Of all the social networks in the world, why use Tumblr?

I’m a nostalgic person, what can I say.

What’s your favorite Tumblr tag to track?

Goth aesthetic.

Would you call yourself/your family “middle class?”

No, we were utterly broke XD

Name a TV series you didn’t enjoy until after it ended.

All of them, I watch them after all the hype is gone.

Have you ever bought a product from an infomercial?

Nope.

If you could give up your car and never have to drive again, would you?

No way.

If you go back to one point in time to give advice to yourself, when would you go and what would you say?

Run like hell.

What’s your “quirkiest” habit?

I only have quirk habits.

What is “normal?” Are you normal?

Normal is boring, I’m not normal luckily, never been.

Someone close to you is dying. You have the choice to let this person live for 10 more years, but if you do, you cause the death of 10 strangers. You don’t have to see them die. Do you take the offer?

In a skip second. Sorry guys.

What is one thing you could never forgive?

Lies.

Would you rather be in a relationship after the honeymoon period ends, or be single?

Real relationships start after the honeymoon period.

Is it possible for guys and girls to be just friends?

Of course.

Where do you and your friends go to hang out?

Each others homes, rock clubs.

Write the first paragraph of your obituary.

See you down there bitches.

What is the best TV theme song ever?

Hannibal’s.

When you were young, what would you dream you would be when you grew up?

A pathologist. I was morbid even as a child.

When you’re alone in your own home, do you walk around naked?

No, I have way too many windows.

What gets you out of bed in the morning?

My projects, my husband.

Do you want to have more friends than you have right now?

No, I’m actually ok.

What part of the past year sticks out in your mind?

The ‘one illustration a day’ I did during the lockdown.

You win a scratch-off lottery game that gives you $2000 a week (after taxes) for the rest of your life. Do you keep your job?

Yes, I love to make art. Illustrations, videos, photos and music alike.

Could you be in a long-distance relationship? If you’re in one, what makes yours work?

I’m not into LDR, I like to have my man with me and share the daily things.

What’s the best route to your heart?

My mind and my fantasy, it’s a twisted route.

Have you ever met someone through the internet, then met them in real life?

Yup, and dated them for 4 years.

What is your favorite sport?

Cycling.

What has been troubling you lately?

My body not reacting well the few times that I feed him.

What do you use more often: your intuition or logical reasoning?

Intuition first, logic after. Usually my intuitions are right.

Do you know what makes you happy?

A few, precise things. Art, love, freedom.

Tell me about the last book you read.

I read a criminology book. So fascinating!

What is the nicest compliment you’ve ever been given?

‘Nothing last in your hands’.

Who was your first crush?

A kid from my class back in kindergarten I think.

Do you believe that there is life on other planets?

Yes, I’d love to find Turians somewhere!

Predict what your life will look like a year from now.

Home renovated, my main and secret project on the run, a Rottweiler, a Sphynx and a bike!

Often, people will ask how your last relationship ended. I want to know how it began.

We just looked at each other and BAM. Thunderbolt.

Where is your favorite place to go out and eat?

The sushi place we own.

What is something you want to change about your current situation?

We are waiting for a decent sum of money to arrive.

Early bird or night owl?

Night snake :3

Are there any childhood possessions you still hold on to?

No, not a single one.

Give me an unpopular opinion you have.

Harry Potter is overrated and actually poorly written.

What was the last song that was stuck in your head?

A song from an old Baraofetida’s album a friend made me listen.

Where do you live? Be as general or specific as you want.

Somewhere between Pisa and Lucca, Tuscany.

Do you believe in giving kids medals and trophies for participation?

No, you raise a lot of unique special goddamn snowflakes that way. Yuck.

What was the longest car ride you’ve ever taken?

9 hrs straight.

Have you ever taken part in a protest?

No, not that I recall.

Would you ever use an online dating service?

Nope, lame!

What is your ethnic heritage?

I’m an Italian girl who doesn’t looks Italian at all.

Describe a person that inspires you.

An amazing woman, photographer, videomaker and musician.

Love her work.

If you earn minimum wage doing what you love, would you?

Sure.

Do you believe in luck?

Kinda, I believe in karma more.

Describe the last time you were very angry at someone.

It’s been a while, maybe it was last year when I was really mad at a colleague of mine.

Do you want to live until you’re 100?

Oh god, no.

Do people change? If so, how do you keep a relationship together when both of you start to change?

Will power and hard work.

Have you ever risked a friendship by telling someone you liked them?

I’ve never liked a friend.

Would you rather be alone doing something you enjoy, or doing something you don’t like with your best friends?

I’d rather be alone. In general XD

Do you practice what you preach?

I do my best.

What do you value more in a significant other: Attractiveness or intelligence?

Intelligence, I have no use for a pretty empty box.

Are you hard-headed?

A lot.

Have you ever laughed uncontrollably when it was socially inappropriate?

A couple of times, yeah.

When have you felt most alive?

When I almost died.

Would you prefer to live? A city? The suburbs? The countryside? The mountains?

By the lake.

Do you often skip breakfast?

I always skip breakfast.

How do you know what true love is?

You just know, it strucks you and leaves you almost dead.

Would you want to know the exact date and time you were going to die?

Yes, I don’t like surprises.

Where is “home” for you?

Nowhere, I don’t know what home feels like.

Do you want to be perfect?

I’d love to.

What have you never tried, but would really like to someday? What’s holding you back?

Doing underwater photography and money, of course.

How do you express your creativity?

I draw, I carve wood and bones, I decorate hats, do sculptures, I create and edit videos and do music.

Describe your neighborhood.

A little Tuscan town.

Name something you only liked because it was popular.

Never liked popular things.

Give me the story of your life in six words.

Then she knew she fucked up.

[themostrandomfandom]

hey jj! i'm incredibly late to the party but i recently rewatched seasons 2-3 (i've watched till the end once before) and i was wondering if you have any thoughts about where brittana stood both off screen in between those two seasons and in the first few episodes of season 3, till "pot o gold" when they become official. i feel like by season 3 a lot is different in comparison to the end of s2 and i'm really fascinated by their relationship in those first three episodes.

Hey, @deleteee!

So here is the thing: 

The hiatus between S2 and S3 is kind of a lost period in Brittana history. As S2 ended, fans had high hopes that we would see a lot of Brittana development play out in S3, but that’s not really what ended up happening. To be sure, things, as you say, were most definitely different for Brittana once S3 started. It’s just that we didn’t get a lot of answers as to how that difference came about. So much was left open to interpretation and introduced through insinuation.

The bad news is that because the show kind of glossed over this transition in canon, we can’t really say, “The Brittana relationship specifically underwent X, Y, and Z changes between S2 and S3.”

The good news is that we have a lot of room for imagination due to the lack of canon evidence—which means that this time period is open for a lot of headcanon.

If you’ll allow me a good jabber, I’ll do some recounting and offer my take after the cut, okay?

______

When episode 2x22 “NewYork” originally aired, spoilers per Brad Falchuk suggested that Brittana would end S2 “with abang.” 

Many fans hoped that this “bang” would take the form of a first onscreenBrittana kiss and/or Santana coming out of the closet and/or the girls finally decidingthat they were officially dating.

Instead, the “bang”played out as the Heart Locker, a scene which gave us a reaffirmation ofBrittana’s best friendship, a really sweet hug and a pinky-link, and Brittany tellingSantana that, for them, “anything is possible” because they love each othermore than anything else in the world.

Initially, therelative quietness of this “bang” left many fans feeling underwhelmed. For allthe ups and downs that last six episodes of S2 had provided, Brittana had neverthelessmade very little in the way of measurable progress towards dating. No one wasexactly sure where they stood or even if TPTB at Glee were going to continue topursue a romantic storyline for them come S3.

During the summerhiatus between S2 and S3, rumors and fears abounded. Some fans worried that thewriters might introduce a new love interest for one or both of the girls comeS3. Others worried that once S3 started, Brittana would once again be relegatedto background status and all forward development for them would cease.

As the summercontinued, hopeful spoilers started to leak out, and the fandom allowed itselfto imagine some more favorable scenarios: Maybe Brittana would kiss or startdating in the season premiere. Maybe Santana would begin S3 out. Maybe she andBrittany would already be dating by the time S3 started. Maybe we would seeflashbacks to what they did with their summer vacation or at least hear aboutit in a JBI retrospective.

But, again, thingsdidn’t unfold exactly as the fandom expected.

Episode 3x01 “ThePurple Piano Project” was not the Brittana watershed we were hoping for.

The S3 premiere sawBrittana back on the Cheerios for the first time since episode 2x11 “The SueSylvester Shuffle,” with Santana being awarded dual captaincy with Becky.

In Brittana’s firstscene together, Santana got a lunch tray for her and Brittany to share andwalked with her arm-in-arm to their seats. They did talk to JBI but not abouttheir love lives, only about Santana’s plan to rock her senior year andBrittany’s efforts to assemble a functional time machine.

There was no explicitconfirmation that Brittana were dating each other—but, then again, there wasalso nothing to say that they were dating anyone else, either.

They tried to re-recruitQuinn to the New Directions and Cheerios together, but it was unclear what, ifanything, Quinn knew about their relationship.

The girls were onceagain a two-shot, appearing in almost every scene together. They danced on thetables with each other during “We Got the Beat” and sat side-by-side followingthe food fight (“Those are your nipples”).

Later on, Sue seemedto intimate that she knew the truth about Santana’s sexuality and used thatknowledge to blackmail Santana into sabotaging Will’s piano project. Santanadid not appear to be out, but she and Brittany were being awfully chummy inpublic. When Santana got kicked out the glee club, Brittany appeared noticeablydistressed, to the point that even Finn seemed to notice.

Everything was,frankly, ambiguous.

There was nothing tosay that Brittana had made progress between S2 and S3. There was also nothingto say they had regressed.

After working throughsome initial feelings of disappointment, the fandom held its collective breath,waiting to learn more. 

Some fans, myself included, wondered if Brittana werealready secretly dating and suspected that maybe a big reveal would come about at somepoint later in the season. Other fans fretted that maybe we would never see anymore mainline development for romantic Brittana at all—that this “Are they oraren’t they?” ambiguity was all we were ever going to get.

True to form, Gleestrung us along. The next two episodes of S3 tiptoed around Brittana’srelationship, with each new episode offering tantalizing clues but never delivering anything definitive.

In episode 3x02 “I AmUnicorn,” Brittany seemed bound and determined to make WMHS a safe space forLGBTQ kids, and she attempted to use Kurt’s campaign for the senior classpresidency to achieve that end. When Kurt rejected Brittany’s designs,Santana made a point to compliment her genius and encourage her to believe inherself. Everything was very sweet and seemed significant, but, again, nothingwas explicitly explained.

In episode 3x03 “AsianF,” Brittany showed up the Booty Camp, seemingly in support of Santana. Later,she performed “Run the World (Girls)” with Santana singing backup. Theperformance was definitely sexy and suggested Santana’s devotion not only toBrittany’s cause but to Brittany herself. However, it was perhaps lessintriguing, from a Brittana perspective, than Mercedes’s dream sequence performanceof “It’s All Over,” in which Mercedes clearly identified Brittana as a powercouple and talked about Santana “knocking off that piece who thinks she’sbetter than everybody running for president”—i.e., Brittany. Once again, fanswere left wondering what, if anything, was the deal with Brittana. Were theydating or what? If so, did the whole school know about it? Or was Mercedes aspecial case?

Finally, episode 3x04 “PotO’ Gold” provided some answers—though, again, not the answers fans perhapsexpected.

It turned out thatBrittany and Santana had been going on dates—eating out at BreadStix, takingromantic baths together, etc.—only Santana wasn’t sure if that meant they were actuallydating. Brittany reassured her that they were, in fact, dating if she wantedthem to be dating (“I ordered shrimp”). And Santana did want them to be dating, just with the stipulation that their relationship remain private (“under thenapkin”), at least for the time being.

This developmentfilled in some blanks for the fandom:

Santana was not yetout.

Brittana had spent the summer and early school year going on dates but notdefining their relationship.

Brittany was fine with taking things at Santana’s pace.

Santana was ready to date Brittany and be in a committed relationship with herbut not yet ready to make their relationship public.

What it didn’t tell uswas how, exactly, Brittana had spent their summer vacation or to what degreethey had discussed Santana’s coming out process to date. Did they have a planfor how they were going to proceed or were they more playing things by ear?

To this point in showhistory, we, as the audience, still had yet to meet Santana’s family on screen, soquestions remained as to how accepting or unaccepting they might beconcerning her sexuality. 

There had been some hints to suggest that Santanafeared their potential reaction to her coming out but nothing had beenexplicitly stated. 

Fans wondered to what degree the Lopez family would figure into Brittana’sstoryline going forward. 

They also wondered how much or how little Brittana’sromantic development would feature in the show throughout the rest of theseason.

When spoilers startedto leak for Santana’s “coming out” arc, set to feature in episodes 3x06 “MashOff” and 3x07 “I Kissed a Girl,” the fandom hoped that maybe we would learnmore about the nature and history of Brittana’s relationship from the end of S2until present.

But that’s the thingabout Glee: The writers very rarely examined developments in retrospect. Thingshappened off screen, through insinuation, and in passing and were never againrevisited. No new details or developments were made, and the story clipped alongat its same heady pace, full steam ahead.

So was the case withBrittana’s relationship.

We got developmentsgoing forward in S3, but the narrative never looked back or provided any newinsight into what had happened to get Brittana from the Heart Locker in 2x22 to “Iwish you’d hold my hand” in 3x04.

That being the case,there just aren’t that many concrete answers to be had about the summer S2-S3 hiatus period in Brittana history. All we can dois make inferences and write fanfiction.

My personal inferencesabout that “lost summer” are these:

I believe that,following the Heart Locker conversation, Brittany and Santana’s relationshipachieved a state of new equilibrium.

Things weren’t thesame as they had been pre-Hurt Locker, where they were friends who slepttogether but never talked about feelings (even though feelings were obviouslythere). Things also weren’t the same as they had been throughout the Back Six ofS2, with so many stutter steps and hesitations and backslides andcomplications, each new week trading heartbreaks and triumphs.Neither one of the girls was dating anyone else, and they weren’t desperately tryingto maintain the image of heterosexuality, as they had in the past.

Instead, Brittana achieved a new normal.

They spent timetogether—probably lots of it in each other’s homes, as we can infer from thefact that they occasionally bathed together—and they gradually resumed theirphysical intimacy, only this time it was different, because the feelingsunderlying it weren’t being suppressed and secreted anymore.

Though fans hadoriginally inferred that Brittany wouldn’t be ready to date Santana untilSantana came out, the truth was that Brittany was ready to date Santana as longas they were exclusive with each other and there was no more obfuscationbetween them about the nature of their feelings.

They didn’tnecessarily have explicit conversations about the nature of their relationship,hence why Santana remained uncertain, even going into the new school year, asto whether or not Brittany was actually her girlfriend. Brittany, on the otherhand, knew that she and Santana were steady dating, but she wasn’t about toforce Santana into labeling their dynamic before she was ready, so she just playedthings cool, waiting for Santana to come to her.

In the meantime, thegirls decided—together—that they would rejoin Cheerios and attain leadershippositions in Sue’s organization.

They also decided thatthey would try to reform the Unholy Trinity and get Quinn to rejoincheerleading and glee club with them.

When the school yearbegan, they essentially hid their new and improved dynamic in plain sight.Santana didn’t come out to the school, and she and Brittany didn’t tell anyonethey’d been going on dates. However, the girls also made no efforts to hide theircloseness or to beard with boys, as per their m.o. in years past. If people sawthem together and made inferences, then so be it. They just weren’t going tomake any public announcements themselves—and especially not before they haddefined their relationship between the two of them.

There was perhaps somesense between them that they were gradually working towards “going public”—thatSantana was trying to become more comfortable with herself and that they werebuilding up the kind of social capital that would afford them the freedom to dowhat they wanted within the walls of WMHS—but I don’t think they had a stricttimeline on coming out or even a real plan as to how that process might unfold.

Things were still newbetween them, and they were still figuring out how to bridge the gap betweenwhat they had been in the past and what they were now—hence all the ambiguityduring the first few episodes of S3.

Honestly, this periodin Brittana history is one of my favorites to imagine, specifically because itis so open to interpretation, so I’ve written a lot of fic about it. If you are interested, you can find my main “summer between S2-S3″ stories here: 

AndEverything is August You

Can’tHelp but Fall Just to Land

Of course, these stories are just my take on this particular period in Brittana history, and other authors have imagined things in delightfully different ways.

As stated above, we don’t have many hard answers about how Brittana made the transition between S2 and S3. We just have the sense that things were keenly different between Brittana, starting their senior year.

In any case, I have jabbered a lot now.

Thanks for the question! If you continue with your rewatch, I hope you enjoy it.

[lady-divine-writes]

Klaine fic - “All the Beautiful Pieces” (Rated NC17)

Blaine Anderson is spending the summer after graduation flipping houses with his brother for Cooper’s total home renovation show. The show features the worst houses Cooper can buy, with Blaine playing the role of lackey so that Cooper can torture him in front of his viewers. The last house Blaine has to renovate is an original Victorian House in San Diego, CA, which is in terrible condition. But this house turns out to be more than just another job. It was once owned by a famous Vaudeville ventriloquist by the name of Andrew Smythe. It houses a very interesting collection of items - among them, two life-sized puppets. Blaine isn’t sure exactly why, but he’s drawn to them - especially to the one with the beautiful blue eyes. He convinces Cooper to give him the puppets, and Blaine starts to restore them. In the course of the restoration, Blaine finds out that neither puppet is simply a run-of-the-mill puppet, and Andrew Smythe was hiding a secret that will be the key to saving two lives.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4

Chapter 5 (6811 words)

Blaine pulls up to the house at a quarter after ten. It looks exactly the way he left it, horrendous paintjob and all, but with the addition of a U-Haul truck parked by the curb, and a grown man wearing a navy blue polo and retro 1980s acid wash jeans staring in at the window with his hands pressed to the glass. From the back, he looks like an oversized Cabbage Patch kid, but in the reflection of the window, he more closely resembles a young Karl Marx with the iconic frizzy beard.

“Blaine,” the man plaintively moans. “Blaine, where are you? Open the door…”

Blaine shakes his head when he sees him, chuckling at his woeful wail. Blaine parks in front of the house, but the man doesn’t notice, focused as intently as he is on the living room full of toys, visible through the curtains that Blaine neglected to pull closed the night before.

“Gary!” Blaine calls out as he steps out of his minivan. “Have some self-respect, man.”

“Blaine!” Gary exclaims. He spins around, face glowing with childlike excitement, but his voice tinged with exasperation at being kept waiting. “You can’t leave me out here with all those toys inside, begging for me to take them away from this awful house.” Gary presses his ear against the glass. “I can hear them, Blaine,” he says as Blaine approaches the door. “They’re saying Gary…come rescue us, Gary. We need you…”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine says, sorting through his key ring for the correct key. “I got held up.”

“Yeah” - Gary flashes a knowing grin and a wink - “your brother told me all about it. Getting into the puppet biz, huh, Blaine?”

Blaine makes a disgusted face and turns away from Gary to unlock the door. “Jesus Christmas! You, too?” Blaine pushes the door in as far as he can. He grabs a broken ottoman to prop it open.

Gary walks in behind Blaine, but stops inside the doorway, his eyes wide with awe, his jaw dropped, a hand raised to cover his heart.

“I can’t…I can’t believe it,” he says dramatically, staring at the heaps of toys and the stacks of boxes. “It’s…it’s amazing.”

“Yeah,” Blaine agrees, pulling his webcam out of his pocket and switching it on, “and this isn’t even half of it.”

Gary whimpers. Blaine trains the camera on his face.

“It’s like a dream come true,” Gary whispers, wiping an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye.

“Snap out of it, Gary.” Blaine snaps his fingers in the air above the webcam. “You have to do your spiel.”

Gary startles out of his trance at the unpleasant noise.

“Right, right…” He tugs down on the hem of his polo to straighten out the wrinkles (not that it does any good, or that they matter compared to the mustard stain on his collar) and looks into the camera. “When should I…”

“Now,” Blaine says, launching straight into the segment. “Hello, guys, gals, and Internet pals (Cooper’s tagline; Blaine had nothing to do with it). This is Blaine Anderson, coming to you from day 2 of our renovation. I’m here with our good friend Gary Shepton…” Gary gives the camera a timid wave, his eyes bouncing between Blaine and the webcam, unsure where to look even though they’ve done this several times before already “…and he’s going to be appraising the toys in the house. Gary, please tell our viewers what exactly it is you’re going to be doing while you’re here.”

“I’m going to start off by photographing and cataloging,” Gary explains. He pulls an iPad mini tablet out of his back pocket and holds it up. He accesses an empty Excel document and shows it to the camera. “When I’m done, I’ll load up the toys that I can sell immediately into my U-Haul and take them to my shop. In the interim, I’m going to send Cooper a detailed inventory of all the toys, their conditions, and their estimated values.”

“How will you get that information?” Blaine asks, again taping filler for Cooper to use in case he runs a few minutes short of his time slot.

“I use Google Goggles and other appraisal specific Internet surfing software to help me research the items I’m looking at fairly quickly. One photograph and I can bring up the information I need.” Gary switches to a program on his tablet and turns on a demo that illustrates the technique. “It makes researching a lot easier and more accurate. It can also put me in contact with other appraisers who have encountered the same items, who might have some insight that could be useful. Cuts down on the possibility of accidentally dealing in counterfeit merchandise.” Gary smirks. “I wish I had this five years ago, I’ll tell you what. Would have saved me a ton of money on my AT&T bill, tracking that information down one phone call at a time.”

“We have rooms and rooms full of toys in this house. How long do you think that’s going to take?” Blaine asks, his question a veiled way of finding out how long they’re going to be there.

“Most of the day, if I’m lucky,” Gary says with a dreamy sigh.

Great, Blaine thinks, hoping that Kurt and Sebastian don’t get too bored watching old movies all day long.

Yup, bored puppets. Because that’s a definite possibility.

“Okay,” Blaine says, switching off the webcam while trying not to sound too disappointed. “I have some things to do in the house and some phone calls to make. If you need me, just holler.”

“Will do,” Gary says, his attention already drawn to a stack of vintage Barbie dolls in the far corner.

Blaine watches him go, shaking his head at the odd man.

“Have fun,” he says, watching Gary put on a pair of white cotton gloves and get to work.

***

Unlike dealing with Cooper’s other project houses, which were a simple matter of calling in a clean-up crew to get rid of the garbage and occasionally coming across a gem or two that they could sell, this house is a complicated mishmash of treasures and antiques, coupled with the fairly typical, grotesque trash. Blaine needs to pull out his whole metaphorical Rolodex of contacts for this project. He needs to find someone to unload the heavy tools in the basement, someone else to appraise the sports memorabilia upstairs, and he needs to order a temporary storage unit for the furniture. Authentic Victorian furnishings are highly coveted, which makes them hard to locate, and ultimately expensive when you find someone willing to part with them. He intends on keeping anything he can salvage and repurposing it for the renovation.

The upstairs bedrooms are going to be the easiest rooms to renovate by far. It’s a given that Cooper is going to want to sell the baseball pennants and the bat, and probably the opera posters, too. There’s a huge market for those vintage posters, especially ones in mint condition with bright colors like these posters have. But the furniture will stay.

A pit blossoms in Blaine’s stomach at the thought of dismantling Kurt’s bedroom.

Blaine had originally thought that the workshop in the basement where the puppets were made was the heart of the house. After he saw the bedrooms, he realized he was wrong. The upstairs rooms, so well-tended, adorned with carefully chosen mementos – those rooms are the heart of the house.

Blaine feels sick at the idea of tearing that heart apart.

But he has Kurt, he reminds himself. He saved Kurt…and Sebastian…and that’s all that matters.

Yes, all that matters is my burgeoning insanity and a future on tabloid talk shows, he acknowledges ruefully.

Blaine heads down the hallway to the dining room, smiling to himself when he hears Gary chirp in triumph at some amazing doll-related discovery.

“They had the whole Bob Mackie for Barbie collection? Sweet!”

Blaine heads up the stairs to the next level, but bypasses the bedrooms, opting to start in the attic. They spent practically no time up there yesterday during the walkthrough. Blaine wants to get a better look at the neat stacks of boxes and the furnishings that were kept up there. He knows he’ll have to deal with those latent memories in the bedrooms eventually, plus the possibility of another fantasy involving Kurt, so for now, he’ll start with the easy-to-handle stuff.

Blaine switches the webcam to still-camera mode as he heads up the last flight of stairs. There doesn’t appear to be a light switch up here, but sunlight floods in through a large circular vent in the outer wall, making the whole room warm and bright.

Blaine puts on a pair of his own protective gloves and examines the furniture items stored up there closely – a stand-up lamp with what looks like a Tiffany shade; another table lamp with a pleated, cream-fabric shade, sitting on a squat, cherry wood end table that had most likely been in the living room at some point; four chairs that belonged to the dining room table downstairs; and a matching pair of Queen Victoria wing chairs, upholstered in a cream fabric imprinted with gold ivy leaves.

Blaine photographs each piece, mentally fixing where he wants to put them in the house. He wonders if Kurt would have liked one of those wing chairs in his room, or maybe the stand-up lamp next to his sewing machine while he worked. What kinds of clothes did he sew? Did he make outfits for himself, or did he maybe make clothes and sell them?

Or perhaps he worked in the theater, designing costumes. Those posters in his room could be from performances he worked on.

Blaine smiles, imagining Kurt as a student at McKinley, working on the costumes for the musical Blaine starred in his junior year – West Side Story. They could have chatted while Kurt took his measurements, discussed what outfits Kurt could see Tony wearing during certain scenes and why. What insights might he have had on Tony and Maria’s motivations, and how would he have portrayed that through their costumes? Blaine always felt that the people in charge of wardrobes on certain television shows understand the characters better than the writers do sometimes. What would Kurt have to say about that?

Blaine moves the standing lamp into better lighting while he daydreams of afternoons spent with Kurt after school, talking over fittings between rehearsals. Blaine could picture himself asking Kurt to help him run through his lines while he built up the nerve to ask Kurt out on a date…provided, of course, that Kurt liked guys that way. Blaine can’t shake the feeling he did. Blaine sighs. Didn’t he get on Cooper’s case for making assumptions about the sexual identity of the person who inhabited Kurt’s room? Blaine doesn’t want to be a hypocrite, but for some reason he can’t help doing the same thing. Everything he sees, everything he touches is a clue to who these people were, the same as in every house, but with Kurt…there’s an impression Blaine gets that has nothing to do with the posters or the sewing machine. It’s like he feels Kurt in this house. A part of him is there, telling Blaine about him; things that Blaine wouldn’t otherwise infer from the stuff lying around. But it’s not as simple as that, either. This impression of Kurt, it’s not passively hiding in individual objects, waiting to be uncovered. Blaine feels like it’s following him, guiding him, the same way he did when he first went down to the basement.

Whatever secret this house holds that has to do with Kurt, it wants to be revealed.

Blaine repositions the lamp shade so that the sunlight streams through the dark glass and takes a picture. He’s all set to take another picture when, out of the corner of his eye, he spots peculiar markings along one side of the boxes. Blaine pockets his webcam and walks over to take a look. He runs a gloved finger over one line of writing. It’s difficult to read because whatever marker had been used to write this has bled into the cardboard, but a skeleton of the words remains.

Blaine has seen this before. He wishes he had brought one of the photographs from the album at the beach house with him to compare against. He had thought about carrying Kurt’s picture in his pocket, but he didn’t want to ruin it. These nearly unreadable words, hastily scribbled by a hand that probably didn’t spend too much time writing, look identical to the writing on the backs of the photographs.

Blaine tears into the first box. The interlocking flaps, softened by age and dampness, pop up with little effort. The very top of the box is layered in newspaper, faded where the inch-wide seam between the loose flaps exposed it to sunlight but otherwise intact. Blaine digs through the pages, catching sight of conflicting dates. The newspaper on top is the most recent, albeit from about thirty years ago, but a few layers down the dates get older. Beneath them, Blaine finds a wealth of leather bound books. Blaine lifts the ones on top to peek underneath.

Yup, more books.

Blaine frowns.

A lot of people collect vintage books. That’s not unusual. It just seems too normal for this house. Blaine isn’t sure what he expected to find in this box, but it wasn’t boring books. Blaine picks one up anyway to examine it.

At least Cooper will be thrilled. He has a guy in L.A. who buys rare books, and considering all the other collectibles in the house, these books are probably first editions.

Blaine opens the cover and turns to a random page.

January 18th –

I’ll never get used to the weather in Seattle. Always so wet, always so dreary. I much prefer the California coast with its sunshine and warmth. And the ocean. God, I love the ocean. If only we could find a place to settle down there where we all can be happy. I miss you guys. Every day I miss you guys. I’ll never forgive myself for missing the most important day of our lives…and I did it again. But I’m trying to make a new life for us, doll, and when I break into the big time, it’s going to be the best of the best for the Smythe family.

Blaine stops reading. He looks at the black leather cover, the spine bare except for a gold embossed number – 1915.

These aren’t just books, Blaine realizes. They’re journals.

Blaine reaches into the box and looks at the books again, each one similar, each with a different year embossed along the spine – 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919…

It doesn’t seem like there’s an end to them. Blaine returns the book, pulls the box down from the stack, and goes for the next box. The flaps spring open as if they have been waiting years for someone to come along and find them, and a strong smell escapes.

A burnt smell, like coals left over after a barbecue.

No newspapers cover these. Blaine picks up the first journal on top. The date on the spine is worn flat and almost too difficult to read. He traces his finger over it, revealing an imprint of the number 1932. Blaine examines his glove covered digit. The cotton is stained black by a layer of fine ash. He raises the book to his nose and takes a tentative sniff.

It smells like a fireplace.

Blaine looks the journal over thoroughly. The gold rind on the pages is singed, and parts of the leather cover are burnt. Blaine opens the book to a page in the middle.

November 24 –

It’s Thanksgiving Day, but there’s nothing to be thankful for. Everything is gone. All of it, my entire life, gone. I would bring you all back if I could. I would trade everything that I said and did to make it all right again.

The paragraph cuts off there with a long, violent swipe of black ink cutting across the page, leaving an impression so deep that the tip of the pen sliced through the paper. Blaine turns the page to look for another entry but there’s nothing. No entry for November 25, none for November 26, no other entries for the rest of the month. Blaine keeps flipping the pages, but the book is blank until Christmas Day.

December 25 –

Merry Christmas to all those I love who are no longer here with me. I feel your presence every day, haunting me, but it’s not the same.

That’s the last entry for the remainder of the year.

Blaine stares at the blank page labeled December 31st.

It seems so empty, so final.

Blaine wishes there was something written there – anything. Something that tells him that despite it all, despite this obvious pain, life continued on and good things happened.

Blaine turns back to the beginning of the journal, to the earlier entries for the year.

February 14 –

It’s Valentine’s Day, and I miss you so much that I don’t think that I could even begin to tell you. I made your favorite dinner, bought a bottle of that God awful wine you loved so much, and ate alone. Well, not alone. Kurt was here with me. I love that boy and I appreciate his company, but it wasn’t the same as having you here. Meanwhile, Sebastian went out drinking…again. He takes a little too much after me, I’m afraid. He’s going to get some floozy knocked up, and then what? He’ll get chained down with a brood of simpering brats and no future. That’s not what you wanted for him, and it’s not what I want for him, but he doesn’t listen to me.

The sad thing is that I’m past the point where I think I care anymore.

Blaine feels his throat tighten as he reads on, blowing through a bunch of pages, letting the book lead him to where he should read next.

March 6 –

Everyone is telling me to pack it in. They tell me that it’s over, but I refuse to believe it. So maybe the work isn’t out there the way it was, but we’ve suffered dry patches before. The audiences will come back. Once they realize these talkies are just a gimmick, they’ll return. They always do. They’ll be begging us to perform for them, and we’ll be able to name our price. The money will flow in ten deep, I’m sure…but if they don’t, what will I tell my boys? How do I tell them it’s over? That the world thinks we’re finished?

“What?” Blaine asks the book, thumbing through the pages and hoping he’ll magically stumble on the answer. “What’s over?”

Blaine scans the pages, but he’s overwhelmed by the amount of entries and the nearly indecipherable script. He looks at the boxes stacked in front of him. There are six total. They can’t all be full of books, can they? Did whoever wrote in these journals write one for every year of his life?

There’s only one way to find out. Blaine would have to read through them all.

The boxes are going home with him.

Blaine repacks the box and hoists it into his arms.

It’s a treacherous trip down the narrow stairs with this box of books he’s carrying, but as with the puppets, there’s a compulsion within him to see this through. Whatever went on here, these books are a clue he’ll need to solve the mystery. He can’t leave them behind.

Blaine walks into the dining room and shuffles across the floor, down the hallway and into the living room, which has become emptier now that Gary has started loading the dolls into his U-Haul. Less clutter means more room for the house to breathe. The atmosphere in the downstairs level already seems lighter.

Blaine carries the box out to his minivan. He balances it between the door and his leg in order to fish his keys out of his pocket and open the back hatch. He puts the box in his trunk, shoving it over as far as he can to one side to make room for the others. He doesn’t shut the hatch completely before rushing back inside for another box.

“How’s it goin’, Gare?” Blaine asks as he blows past the man heading toward the front door, his arms laden with pink boxes. Blaine asks the question, but doesn’t stop to wait for an answer.

“I never want to leave,” Gary calls after him.

Blaine grumbles to himself, “Well, you’re gonna.”

One by one, Blaine carries the boxes of books down to his van, eager to go through each box and unlock whatever secret these journals may hold.

As he carries the last box through the living room, he remembers that he’s supposed to be filming Gary working, and to a lesser extent, himself.

“When I come back in, I need to film you, Gary,” Blaine yells to the man unloading the toys in the downstairs bathroom.

“Whatever floats your boat,” Gary replies. “By the way, I think your brother is going to be really happy with the numbers I’m going to send him.”

“That good?” Blaine asks, stopping for a moment out of curiosity.

“Oh, yeah,” Gary says. “Most of this stuff is going to be no problem to move. I have a guy who’s looking for half the stuff I’ve found already, and he’s willing to pay higher than market price. I think he’s reselling them in Japan or something. He’ll probably get ten times as much over there.”

“Wow,” Blaine says, genuinely impressed.

“Yeah. If I were you, I’d ask for a raise.”

Blaine swallows. Too late for that, he thinks. God knows he could have used the money, too. But he’s not about to unload on Gary – not about this.

“I’ll do that,” Blaine says instead and heads out to his van.

All six boxes fit, shoved against each other tight without a single centimeter of space between them. The rear of his minivan sinks about a foot beneath the weight.

He closes the trunk, intent on heading back into the house right as a silver Lexus pulls up to the curb. Blaine doesn’t recognize the car and waits to see who it is. Maybe a neighbor stopping by to see what the activity is about. Blaine hasn’t met anyone from the neighborhood yet, which seems peculiar. Not one lookie loo. Not a single nosy neighbor.

The Lexus parks in front of Blaine’s Honda, nearly bumper to bumper. The driver’s door opens and a woman steps out, but she doesn’t acknowledge Blaine. She may not even realize that he’s standing there with the way she has her gaze honed in on the house in front of her. When she stands completely, she’s an inch or two taller than Blaine. She’s dressed to intimidate in a tailored, aubergine suit. A billowy, white shirt underneath the jacket lends an air of femininity to her starched ensemble. She has sleek, auburn hair styled in a bob that falls an inch above her earlobes. Her tan looks artificial – too perfect, too even, and a touch too orange, but everything about her appearance has been meticulously thought out. She seems put together with exceptionally clean angles, from the razor cut of her hair, to the severe downturn of her mouth and her sharp, pointed chin.

“So, it finally sold,” she says, shaking her head with blatant disapproval. “I almost didn’t believe it when I heard.”

“Uh, may I help you?” Blaine asks. He walks toward her, reaching for his webcam, but the scowl on the woman’s face causes him to reconsider whether or not he should record this conversation for his brother’s show. She turns only her head and looks Blaine over from head to foot with an unamused half-smile/half-frown playing on her lips.

“I don’t know,” she says curtly. “Can you?”

Blaine jerks back at her impolite and, frankly, adolescent response. “I probably can if you tell me…”

“My name is Catherine Dorst,” she interrupts. “I’m a liaison for the San Diego Historical Society, and I’m curious to know what the new owners have planned for this house.”

“I’m Blaine Anderson.” Blaine offers the woman a cordial smile and his hand. She looks him over again and scoffs, turning back to the house.

“Okay,” Blaine starts, pulling his hand away, “well, we plan to bring the house back to its original design,” he says confidently. “We’re going to keep all the original structural details and…”

“We?” she interrupts again with a smirk, examining Blaine shrewdly. “You and who else? I mean, how old are you? Twelve?”

“Uh, no,” he says, ducking his head and adopting what tries to be a polite smile. He doesn’t take too much offense since looking younger than his age is a boon in his chosen profession. “Cooper Anderson bought the house for his home renovation show. I’m his brother. I’m in charge of the renovation.”

Her eyes pop open, still glaring at him, but with an excited expression on her face.

“Cooper Anderson?” she asks. “The Cooper Anderson?”

Blaine sighs. Oh boy. A fan.

“The one and only,” he says, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“I’ve seen him on TV,” she says, straightening her suit and fussing with her hair. “Is he here?” She starts up the walk as Gary walks out with another armload of dolls, humming to himself and laughing at odd intervals. She glances at him with a grimace but keeps on walking.

“No,” Blaine replies, tailing after her, “he’s not here. He’s in L.A.”

She stops short and stares at the open door, deciding whether or not it’s worth going inside and checking for herself. When she spots Gary walking back to the house, brushing grey dust off the legs of his jeans, she comes to the conclusion that risking similar damage to her $1200 suit isn’t worth it.

“Shame,” she says, turning back around and heading for her car. She crooks a finger over her shoulder, summoning Blaine to follow. “The Historical Society has been trying to buy this house for a while now, but I guess it just wasn’t in the stars.” She opens her passenger side door and pulls out a leather briefcase. Resting it on the roof of her Lexus, she dials the combination to the lock. When the lid snaps open, she pulls out a manila file full of paperwork. “Since this is a historical point of interest, we have some recommendations for the renovation, a list of materials we ask that you use, a request form to put the address of the house on our tour list…”

“What list?” Blaine asks, taking the papers that she thrusts in his direction.

“Our website lists the addresses of authentic Victorian houses in the county for people to drive by and look at. You’re not required to add the Smythe House to the list, of course, but that doesn’t mean people won’t find you and drop by anyway. At least if you are listed on our website, people will have to abide by the rules we lay down to protect your privacy.”

Blaine’s eyes flick up from the papers in front of him. “Smythe House?”

“Andrew Smythe,” Catherine says. “He bought this house back in the mid-30s.”

Smythe. The same name that’s on the Little League jersey in the bedroom upstairs.

“Who was Andrew Smythe?” Blaine asks, giving Catherine his undivided attention.

She rolls her eyes. “Did you even Google this house before you started tearing into it?” she asks bitterly.

“I only first saw it yesterday,” Blaine says, trying not to sound too defensive. “And I haven’t torn into it. We’re in the process of clearing it out. I intend on taking my time to get this renovation right. I was actually planning on dropping by your offices myself later on this week for some advice.”

Catherine stands up an inch straighter, visibly impressed. “Well then…Andrew Smythe was one of the last great Vaudevillians of his time,” she explains with a smidgen more respect, but for him or for Andrew, Blaine doesn’t venture a guess, “as well as one of Vaudeville’s staunchest supporters.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Catherine shuts her briefcase and puts it back in her car, closing the door to lean against it while she speaks. “He was one of those precious few who were holding on with both hands, waiting for Vaudeville to make a revival.” She crosses her arms, and her eyes go slightly unfocused, recalling a memory. “Vaudeville took a lot from Andrew, like it did from other performers.”

Blaine has a feeling he knows what she’s referring to, but he asks anyway. “What did it take?”

Catherine gazes over Blaine’s head at the house with a sorrowful look in her eyes before she answers. “His wife,” she says heavily, “and his sons.”

“He had sons?” It’s both a question and a declaration. Blaine is stitching up the clues he already knows, adding Catherine’s confirmation to the seams.

“Yes. Two. Though there was speculation that one of them wasn’t his son.”

Blaine narrows his eyelids at the woman staring past him at the house. “Were their names…Kurt and Sebastian?”

Those names seem to snap her out of her haze, her eyes shooting down to meet his. “Yes, they were.” She smiles. “It looks like you may have done some homework after all.”

Blaine is about to mention the puppets in the basement and the journals from the attic, but he holds his tongue. He doesn’t want Catherine asking to see them…or possibly to take them. This house was declared a historical landmark before Cooper bought it. According to the auction company he purchased the property from, everything inside the house belongs to him, but if it has historical significance, can Catherine claim it? Blaine is iffy on the legalities of their situation, so he says nothing. He’s not willing to part with his puppets – to part with Kurt - or these new clues that he’s found.

“Look,” Catherine says, her turn to break Blaine from his thoughts, “I apologize if I’m being a little touchy about this, but we were supposed to be the first ones contacted when the owner died. We were poised to buy this house, but the bank moved straight to auction and we were never informed…”

Catherine’s comment strikes a chord – something Blaine read in the paperwork his brother sent him that doesn’t match up to Catherine’s story about Andrew Smythe owning the house.

“Okay, but what I don’t understand is” - Blaine interrupts this time, feeling an ease to do so - “my brother bought the house at auction, but the owner prior to the bank is listed as…Terry? Tricia?”

Catherine shakes her head as a breeze picks its way through her auburn bob, blowing a few strands in her face. “Teresa,” she corrects, brushing the hair from her eyes. “Teresa Calhoun. She was named on the deed to the house as his niece.”

“So, Andrew had a sister?” Blaine asks hopefully, interested in finding a living relative who might know the story of Andrew and his sons.

“No, Andrew Smythe had no other family according to public record. I don’t think she was a blood relative. Vaudeville performers were a tight knit group. I think Teresa was dumped off on Andrew because there was no one else to care for the girl, and he couldn’t say no. But by that point, he didn’t quite have all his ducks in a row, if you catch my drift, and with good reason.” Catherine sighs. It’s a fretful sound. “I don’t think he sent her to school. I don’t think she even left the house.”

Catherine pauses, watching Gary emerge through the front door while Blaine stands by quietly, waiting for her to continue.

“Before Andrew died, he tried to make arrangements for Teresa, but she had no other relatives, and she couldn’t live on her own. Without a guardian, she would have been committed. So he contacted us, and we worked together to have the house declared a historical landmark.”

“I heard Victorian houses were a hot commodity out here,” Blaine interjects.

“They are, but being a historical landmark, she would be safe to live out the rest of her life here. There were some requirements with regard to the house’s upkeep that Andrew still had to fulfill. We had discussed plans for turning the house into a Vaudeville museum eventually, but Andrew died before we could finalize the paperwork. After that, Teresa wouldn’t answer the door when we came by, and she never picked up the phone.” A veil of longing clouds Catherine’s eyes. “You know, Andrew bought this place pretty much right after his sons died. I think it was a way for him to try and start over. Maybe he was considering starting another family. I don’t know. But I hope whoever buys this house knows what it’s worth.”

“I’ll make sure my brother finds someone worthy of it,” Blaine says. The moment the words come out of his mouth, he commits them as a vow. Usually Blaine doesn’t concern himself with who buys the renovated houses off of his brother once he’s done with them, but he can’t let just anyone buy this house…not now.

“See that you do,” Catherine says with a wink, extending a hand his way. “It was nice meeting you, Blaine.”

Blaine takes her hand and shakes it. “It was nice meeting you, too.”

She smiles at him, takes one last look at the house, and then climbs back into her Lexus. She starts the engine, but doesn’t pull away from the curb. She rolls down her passenger side window and leans across the seats.

“Oh, Blaine? One more thing.”

“Yes?”

“We still have an exhibit down at our main offices on the history of Vaudeville in San Diego, but we are desperately short on any actual artifacts. If you come across something in there that you think you can part with, would you give me a call?” Catherine reaches into her glove box, pulls out a business card, and hands it through the window to Blaine.

“Sure.” A spark of possessiveness lights in Blaine’s chest, almost as if she had asked for his puppets outright. “Anything in particular you’re looking for?”

“Anything really,” she says with a non-committal twist of her lips. “Posters, costumes…if you guys find Sammy, and your brother is willing to part with him, I’d be extra special grateful.” Her words sound oddly suggestive, but Blaine lets it go.

“Sammy?” Blaine scrunches his nose.

“Andrew’s puppet,” Catherine clarifies. “His main puppet, I should say. After Andrew left Vaudeville, no one saw Sammy again. I would love to see him resurface.”

“So, Andrew Smythe was a ventriloquist.” Blaine reads the words on the business card before sticking it in his back pocket. “Were Kurt and Sebastian ventriloquists, too?”

“Sebastian was” - Catherine sits up in her seat, preparing to drive - “or his dad was training him to be. People say he wasn’t all that good at it.”

“And Kurt?”

“He sang. He was a countertenor - a rare talent. He would have been a headliner, too, only…” Catherine glances down at her steering wheel. “Well, I think you can guess.”

“Yeah. I can guess.”

Catherine raises a hand and waves at Blaine. Then she turns her Lexus around in the cul-de-sac and drives away.

Blaine stares at the papers in his hands. Every day at this house is going to be a new adventure in pain and heart break; he can feel it. Now along with Andrew and his sons, he can add the mysterious Teresa to the mix. But even with this new information, he has more questions and less answers than he did before. He stows the paperwork Catherine gave him in the van and returns to work, eager to wrap things up for the day and go already.

“Hey! I uncovered the fireplace,” Gary says, gesturing to a space in the far corner of the living room when Blaine re-enters the house.

“Fireplace? Oh, yeah…” Blaine had seen the chimney from the outside, but for some reason the idea of the house having a fireplace hadn’t occurred to him. A working fireplace will definitely tack higher digits to Cooper’s asking price. But that hollow recess in the living room wall made of soot baked bricks, the corpses of dead birds piled where logs normally would be, immediately brings to mind the burnt journal currently sitting in his trunk, waiting to be read. And he’s dying to read it. He groans, knowing he can’t leave until Gary is done with his work.

There’s got to be a way to get him to move faster.

Blaine spends the rest of the afternoon slogging through the busywork that he didn’t get done the day before. He makes his phone calls, schedules more appraisers to come down to the house, and orders a storage unit for the furniture. Then he putters around with Gary, taping him for Cooper’s show. He gets the brilliant idea to help him move the dolls to the U-Haul so he doesn’t just sit around and count the hours before he can return to the beach house and Kurt.

It’s a little before seven in the evening before Gary has to call it quits for the day, his eyes crossing every time he tries to read the print on another pink box. He begs Blaine for the opportunity to come back tomorrow and finish with the lot.

Blaine needs Gary to sell the toys. Did Gary really think Blaine would say no?

Blaine waves to Gary, watching the box truck pull away with its haul. Blaine is glad that those toys will find new homes, but seeing them go feels like carving away at the spirit of the house. But without them littering the floor, Blaine gets a better idea of what the house looked like when it was new. It wasn’t a glorified storage unit or a junk pile. It was a home, and this one might have been more full of hope than any Blaine has ever seen. It was supposed to be a way to start over.

Blaine wonders how far Andrew Smythe really got with that goal.

He peeks over at his trunk, filled with boxes of journals that might answer that question, ready to travel to the beach house.

That’s a lot of reading he’s got ahead of him.

Blaine starts locking up, making sure that the curtains are drawn this time around before he leaves to deter any other curious eyes, but just as he’s about to throw the deadbolt, he has a thought. He unlocks the door and heads back in, jogging upstairs to the bedrooms. He goes into Kurt’s room and retrieves the suit from the bed.

This suit was made for Kurt, and Blaine is eager to see him in it.

It still astounds Blaine how this suit seems so brand new, like it could have been made yesterday.

Blaine brings the fabric to his nose and sniffs it.

It even smells new; not like it’s ever sat in mothballs, even once. Blaine’s mother had inherited dresses of her grandmother’s that had been stored improperly in mothballs after she passed away. His parents had those dresses professionally repaired, but no amount of dry cleaning could get that odor out. It adheres to the fibers, embeds itself there.

But this suit simply smells like fabric.

Blaine examines it. He admires the weave and the stitching. Then he turns his attention to the rest of the room – the bed, the sewing machine, the dress form, the posters… Everything in here was tailored for Kurt, the way the other room was decorated specifically for Sebastian.

Everything looking brand spanking new…new and unused.

Blaine thinks over his conversation with Catherine, and as her words repeat in his head, he pulls the suit close to him, hugging it tight to his chest.

If Andrew Smythe bought this house to start over after his sons died, that means Kurt and Sebastian were never in these rooms.

Sebastian likely never wore that jersey, never saw that signed baseball bat or those pennants hanging on the wall.

Kurt never used the dress form, nor the sewing machine, even though the bobbins are full and the needle threaded.

They never opened their wardrobes, never slept in their beds.

Blaine gulps down the pit that’s been bouncing around in his stomach all day.

Kurt and Sebastian never set foot in this house.

This isn’t a bedroom he’s standing in.

It’s a shrine.