#11. I find out my dad’s middle name is Manuel.

[folskydope]

there ain’t no way bro. i think moon knight inadvertently caused me to uncover my family history

[gldensvns]

henlo, everyone! i’m bonnie & i’m a mess and procrastinating my hw. anyways, i’m very happy to be back ( i played oli, my lil awkward tom holland ) and meet all of u again ! i’m here with rafael who is a new muse of mine and i just want to say i’m already very sorry for anything he does/says :/

⌠ MIGUEL BERNARDEAU, 22, CISMALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, RAFAEL DELGADO! according to their records, they’re a THIRD year, specializing in THREAT ELIMINATION + MACGYVER SURVIVAL SKILLS & NAVIGATION; and they DID go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (an old rusted compass, running until you can’t anymore, constantly feeling like you need to prove something). when it’s the (leo)’s birthday on 8/1/1997, they always request their COD & CELERIAC from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. ⌿ bonnie, twenty, she/her, est ⍀  

tw: death of a parent ( mention )

OVERVIEW ;

name: rafael manuel delgado-velez

nickname(s): raf, rafa ( please just don’t...call him rafael )

birthdate: august 1st, 1998

age: twenty-two

occupation: student

major(s): threat elimination + macgyver survival skills & navigation

gender: cisgender male

pronouns: he/him

sexuality: heterosexual , heteromantic 😔

IN DEPTH ;

birth place: washington d.c., usa

zodiac: leo

current location: gallagher academy

known langauges: english, spanish, italian, french ( conversational )

family: rafael delgado ( father ) , esperanza velez delgado ( mother - deceased )

PHYSICAL ;

face claim: miguel bernardeau

height: 5′11″

hair color: light brown

eye color: blue

distinguishing aspects: dimples

PERSONALITY ;

positive: clever, diligent, disciplined

negative: reserved, cynical, temperamental

hobbies: running, working out, cooking

aesthetics: an old rusted compass, running until you can’t anymore, constantly feeling like you need to prove something, expensive matching suits, the crunch of boots on the dry autumn ground, the feeling you get when the seasons are just starting to change, idolizing and resenting your father at the same time

INFORMATION ;

so rafa’s parents worked in washington dc in the government, super top secret stuff

and because of this, he was never really able to see his parents. always being raised by nannies

so for a good portion of his important years, rafa learned how to do things on his own. he made up games and obstacles for himself. he succeeded in school because ofc his parents spent a good portion of their income on the best of the best to raise their child

tw: death of a parent mention ; but then when he was about 8/9, his mother ended up going on a ~mission~ and his dad stayed home at the office and unfortunately, his mother ended up dying in the field

and this broke rafael’s father. in the years that he had seen his father, he had never once seen him cry. but after his mom’s funeral, his dad cried all the way home. 

rafa tried to console him but he didn’t really know how. he tried hugging him and holding his hand but his father just seemed to...shut down

but about a month or so after, his father changed. his father had never been touchy feely, but then it was like something clicked on inside of him. he no longer went to practice drills & shooting with his coworkers, but instead, he took young rafa with him

as he grew older, he started teaching him how to load/unload guns, clean them, and then shoot them. he started having rafa go out into the middle of the forest with nothing but his grandfather’s compass to find his way back home

and rafa did it. the first couple times it was scary, but after that, he was able to figure it out

when it came time for him to go to high school, his father told him that he wasn’t going to go to the private school like the rest of his friends. instead he was enrolled in a spy high school. 

and when it came to college, rafa had no choice about where he was going. his father enrolled him in blackthorne, the school for spies

it was here where rafa turned harsh and cold towards everyone. blackthorne was rough, competitive, and soon enough, rafa ended up thriving in that type of environment

his father always told him failure wasn’t an option for the delgados, so he had to succeed. 

he didn’t want to let down his father, so he did just that. he did well in all of his classes, never really kept anyone close ( very afraid of commitment & losing people big sad )

and now he’s at gallagher, and his outlook on life hasn’t really changed much. at all. and i’m sorry

CONNECTIONS ;

tbh i’m rly down for everything

anything in his tag ( which has slim pickings lol )

probably ppl from blackthorne that like him? and those that hate him

people in his classes that ??? idk they practice together uwu

a brotp...i beg of you

exes !!!

and ofc i’ve been watching elite so uhhh give me guzman/nadia vibes alright

people that work out with him? ig idk

mayb an alumni that’s..kind of a parental figure for him pls

literally just give me anything u want to

[sydrave]

I’m gonna have to do a few of these but here y’go Charlie

1.) URL meaning

Sydrave was just my first ever social media username and it stuck. I don’t really remember why, but I do know it has nothing to do with raves. I was 12.

2). A picture of me

3.) Tattoos

Don’t have any (yet). Will probably get some at some point.

4.) Last time I cried and why

A professor sent a very affirming email and it made me so happy 💛

5.) Piercings I have

Absolutely none. I didn’t “like the idea of a hole in my body” when I was 10. Still don’t.

6.) Favorite Band

I don’t super obsess over bands, but I’ll put my best friend Saddoc here even though he’s a solo artist.

7.) Biggest turn offs

Cishets

8.) Top 5 songs that represent your life right now

1. Dream — Priscilla Ahn

2. The Village — Wrabel

3. 14 Year Old Me — K Anderson

4. The Greatest — Sia

5. Non-Stop — Lin-Manuel Miranda

9.) Tattoos I want

I want the forte “f” for my pup and also as a recognition of my progress health wise.

I really like the rainbow dots — maybe as the trans flag?

Probably will want more as I think about it more.

10.) Biggest turn ons

Respect for personal boundaries. Asexuality(?)+trauma=not a lot of turn ons.

11.) Age? 19

12.) Idea of a perfect date

Oh my GOD literally anything. I’m such a romantic. Nice walk? Super. Dinner? Awesome. Movies and pjs? AMAZINg Blanket fort? Bet. Studying? Sure thing. Just as long as there’s quality time spent together I’m down for whatever.

Also though, I am a big fan of being outside. Adventuring. Going new places.

13.) Life goal

I want to make sure middle schoolers are doing alright. Tbh people don’t check up on them enough. I want to be the support I needed when I was a kid.

14.) Piercings I want

None at the moment.

15.) Relationship status

Single and happy about it, but also would be happy not being single.

16.) Favorite movie

Finding Nemo

17.) A fact about my life

I’m an ordained minister

18.) Phobia

Bees. Actually. Will cry.

19.) Middle name

This is rigged next question

20.) Height? 5’3

21.) Virgin?

Virginity is a social construct and it depends on who you ask 🤷🏼‍♂️

22.) Shoe size

8-9 women’s 6-7 men’s

23.) What’s your sexual orientation?

Panromantic, a(?)sexual. I usually just say queer though.

24.) Smoke, drink, or take any drugs?

Hell yeah. I pregame HARD w/ ibuprofen.

25.) Someone you miss

Alex in Seattle

26.) One thing you regret

Letting a relationship last as long as it did.

27.) First celebrity you think of when someone says attractive

Can we TALK about Amandla Stenberg

28.) Favorite ice cream

Chocolate is rad. Blue moon if I’m feeling fancy.

If I really need it, B&J Chunky Monkey or Karamel Sutra

29.) One insecurity:

My voice

30.) what my last text message says

“You’re not pregnant I promise” (my friend was craving salt she’s not pregnant I promise)

31.) Have you never taken a picture naked?

Not all the way

32.) Have you ever painted your room?

Yes but not since I’ve transitioned :/

33.) Have you ever kissed a member of the same sex?

*screams in non-binary*

34.) Have you ever slept naked?

Again, not all the way. Boxers are good though.

35.) Have you ever danced in front of your mirror?

Not well.

36.) Have you ever had a crush?

Have I ever not?

37.) Have you ever been dumped?

“Dumped” is a strong word, but technically yes

38.) Have you ever stole money from a friend?

Nah my dad and I aren’t friends

39.) Have you ever gotten in a car with people you just met?

Yeah. Senior year was rough.

40.) Have you ever been in a fist fight?

Yeah. Eighth grade was rough.

41.) Have you ever snuck out of your house?

It wasn’t “sneaking”; I’ve walked out.

42.) Have you ever had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back?

Yep. I wasn’t a “real boy.”

43.) Have you ever been arrested? Nope

44.) Have you ever made out with a stranger?

Not even the people I know would make out with me

45.) Have you ever met up with a member of the opposite sex somewhere?

*screams again in non-binary*

[hgfstreamchats]

Vivo

thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 9:58 PM Hello! highglossfinish — Yesterday at 9:58 PM Hello there! How's life? thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:01 PM Well, I can't complain How are things with you? highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:02 PM Hectic. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:02 PM nodnods highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:02 PM But I can't complain. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:04 PM Shall we use watchparty again, or should I fire up the discord app and hope? highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:04 PM No harm in hoping. If not, watchparty exists. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:05 PM Honestly, these problems have been going on since at least The Terror; they'd just gotten worse recently. highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:06 PM That's...bizarre. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:08 PM I assume it's some update/updates, or something to do with it being routed through different servers, or something Mimic — Yesterday at 10:09 PM Hello! highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:09 PM Hello! thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:09 PM Once, trying to play Jackbox, it was so bad that it would literally never load the host's screen, just stay stuck on the loading thing. Mimic — Yesterday at 10:10 PM Also sometimes a security update just breaks shit and they have to fix it, slowing the whole thing down to uselessness. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:10 PM Here, uh... it sort of works, in that I only have to click "stop watching" and then click the stream again when it freezes... every minute or two. Wazkalia — Yesterday at 10:17 PM Hello! I'd join, but uhhh...I got hard mode college work to finish up tonight. Enjoy your movie night!! thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:14 PM Oooooo, this looks cool highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:15 PM Breakdown got very emotional over this.

thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:16 PM It's extremely good highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:18 PM This is going to be one of those "I have absolutely zero knowledge of whether this is good" nights. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:19 PM Those can be fun! We'll just have to see. :slight_smile: First question: can the humans understand the monkey highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:21 PM This would be beyond intolerable if it were anyone else voicing the kinkajou. Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:22 PM Yeah he has mild boss baby vibes Mimic — Yesterday at 10:23 PM This feels like a Madagascar spinoff that couldn’t get the rights to the name through legal nonsense thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:24 PM ...Maybe. highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:27 PM The monkey has a foul little personality and I don't like it. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:27 PM I'm a little weirded out by the jealousy vibe highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:28 PM "We fell in love due to our shared trait of having tiny, tiny faces." thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:28 PM I wasn't going to say anything But yes. highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:29 PM "Marta can't compare to what my monkey hands can do!" thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:29 PM nooooooooo Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:29 PM Why have you said this thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:29 PM I still can't tell if he can understand the monkey.  Like, that could have been a conversation, or the guy could have been doing the "talking to a pet" thing.  It's bugging me highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:30 PM It did say earlier that their only shared language is music. Possibly a little bestiality. Mostly music. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:30 PM You stop that. Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:31 PM Ech Music is very good highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:31 PM I've said my piece. Now we can all spend the rest of the movie thinking about it. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:31 PM Or we could spend the rest of the movie NOT thinking about it And now it has him making little monkey noises. Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:32 PM Why is the monkey like this highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:32 PM "No, I take an uncomfortable amount of issue with this!" Smokescreen — Yesterday at 10:33 PM Monkey...... How much have I missed? thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:34 PM Hi, Smokescreen!  This dude is going to travel to see an old musical partner and sing with her, and his pet trained monkey partner is very against it For uh reasons ...Oh no. Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:35 PM OH Smokescreen — Yesterday at 10:35 PM I didn't know humans could train monkeys yet! Mimic — Yesterday at 10:35 PM Long standing practice. Normally can’t make them sing tho thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:35 PM The monkey is a funny talking animal but the human characters don't seem to understand him. highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:36 PM

Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:37 PM wheeze Smokescreen — Yesterday at 10:37 PM That That's the most positive way I've EVER heard someone talk about Florida I think! thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:37 PM :frowning: highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:41 PM He gets to Florida and immediately regrets it. Smokescreen — Yesterday at 10:41 PM He goes to Florida, sings a musical number, and immediately leaves Mimic — Yesterday at 10:44 PM when anyone gets to florida, they either regret it, or become floridian. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:45 PM "let" her have the hairstyle she wants on her own head, how "generous" highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:46 PM The monkey's had no shots but it's Florida so it's fine. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:47 PM ...wow Smokescreen — Yesterday at 10:47 PM Petting zoo............................................ thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:47 PM I really dislike that mom The kid is kind of annoying but she's also like 10 Hopolites — Yesterday at 10:49 PM I think the monkey lives between dimensions and thats why he reacts to all the songs like theyre really happening Smokescreen — Yesterday at 10:49 PM Wait, she's even younger than Raf? She really is a newspark!! thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:51 PM Rude. Mimic — Yesterday at 10:52 PM also this is florida. how is a well-behaved monkey the weirdest thing tehy've seen on a bus thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:53 PM ewwwwwww Pfff highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:56 PM All of these characters are unpleasant. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:56 PM Gee, I wonder why she doesn't want to be in their troop Personal space! highglossfinish — Yesterday at 10:57 PM Again. Florida. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 10:57 PM "Oh yeah I'm on the way to the vet right now" that's all you have to say ...they don't even know where he was going well. I mean, it wasn't the weight, there was just something sharp that punctured the lifeboat :wave: highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:03 PM At least when she gets hopelessly lost in the middle of the Everglades she'll have plenty of monkey to eat. Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:03 PM What if the monkey eats first Mimic — Yesterday at 11:03 PM and so will the alligators thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:03 PM This is why you lock your computer when you leave .... highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:05 PM "My dad used to say that immediately before he was eaten by alligators." You hated her four minutes ago. Mimic — Yesterday at 11:06 PM musical numbers fix everything thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:06 PM They're bonding over this very dangerous situation! pffffffff Lady it's a bus, it's gonna stop sometime highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:11 PM Unless the monkey interfaces with the bird I fail to see how this character is needed. Mimic — Yesterday at 11:11 PM so this is what's happening now thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:11 PM wow Mimic — Yesterday at 11:12 PM was that a fuckin' pun highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:13 PM Well, that was pointless! thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:13 PM Hey, I'm sure they'll be back sometime Feels a little weird that she set this up and advertised it on the assumption he'd come highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:14 PM It would be hilarious if they didn't. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:14 PM Okay how the fuck did they find her in the middle of the everglades How did they get that >how big is the everglades 7,800 mi² Do any snakes anywhere have teeth like that Sharpwing — Yesterday at 11:18 PM Hey, I'm afraid I can't drop in tonight (or maybe any night from now on... got a new job), but what's the movie? Mimic — Yesterday at 11:18 PM Vivo, on Netflix Sharpwing — Yesterday at 11:18 PM And why is Lin-Manuel Miranda a kinkajou WHY IS A KINKAJOU IN FLORIDA Mimic — Yesterday at 11:18 PM because for some reason he took the contract with netflix Sharpwing — Yesterday at 11:18 PM Fair. Mimic — Yesterday at 11:18 PM and that's the plot of the movie! Sharpwing — Yesterday at 11:19 PM Oh, ok! Fish out of water thing. highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:21 PM His singing voice is the only good thing about the movie. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:22 PM "they're weak to that type!" Sharpwing — Yesterday at 11:22 PM I'll have to take a look at The Disaster later XD Mimic — Yesterday at 11:23 PM and there's some Lin Manuel Miranda flow. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:23 PM Hehehehehe yesss. Mimic — Yesterday at 11:23 PM ONLY THE BEST LESSONS IN THIS MOVIE thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:24 PM aw nooooo highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:24 PM None of this would have happened if you hadn't gone through the Everglades. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:24 PM very true. They could have caught a later bus.  Missed the show, maybe, but they could have found her after Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:25 PM Whoa, that goose looks weird thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:26 PM Prediction: Gabby remembers the lyrics, at least Mimic — Yesterday at 11:26 PM it's a spoonbill. basically, it's a flamingo-goose hybrid that is designed to look a lot stupider. Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:27 PM Ohhhh. How big ARE they? Like. They look like they could gnaw on my whole head. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:28 PM awww ...they had NO plan just slip it under the door highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:32 PM All of this could have been prevented by showing her mother the paper with the song her dead uncle wrote for this specific person. thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:33 PM To be fair her mom hasn't exactly been a "listener" highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:34 PM Not to her daughter. To an old dead man, maybe. "We could have spent our entire lives together...oh well!" thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:37 PM ...she asked YOU to take her highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:38 PM Who needs tickets? thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:38 PM I'm SURE there were some seats left in this farewell concert for a very famous and popular singer! highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:38 PM And no one guarding the doors! Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:39 PM The true fantasy is getting everyone to learn the song in like, an hour highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:39 PM Was there any reason why he couldn't have just...gone with her? And is that the name of the venue they're plugging into this very poignant song? Oh no you don't! Well! That was stupid. Mimic — Yesterday at 11:44 PM extremely so thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:44 PM Good songs.  Dubious everything else. Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:45 PM this video is basically my thoughts on that movie! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeSBvMdJF6U YouTube Fargield Monkey kung fu panda

Mimic — Yesterday at 11:45 PM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5kUWn3HqXw also I've been holding onto this. YouTube Screen Rant Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Pitch Meeting

highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:46 PM Glorious. Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:46 PM Woojit, you have shown me monkey highglossfinish — Yesterday at 11:47 PM I do like how they're charming in real life, but no, disgusting little monkey.

thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:48 PM Nice. Smokescreen — Yesterday at 11:50 PM Aw, they are cute! thenightetc2 — Yesterday at 11:50 PM Well then. And this doesn't cause... problems. Well! :smile: Amazing. thenightetc2 — Today at 12:02 AM I love the logic here. Oh my god highglossfinish — Today at 12:06 AM Dear Unicron. thenightetc2 — Today at 12:06 AM There's no way for me to check that! Mimic — Today at 12:07 AM it's just not possible thenightetc2 — Today at 12:08 AM What is it with Decepticons and trying to harvest the sun. highglossfinish — Today at 12:09 AM It's not even a good sun. thenightetc2 — Today at 12:09 AM There are lots of suns!  Galaxy's full of 'em!  Just take one nobody's living near. Memorable's one word for it! Mimic — Today at 12:11 AM right??? thenightetc2 — Today at 12:12 AM ..."Venom pitch meeting" highglossfinish — Today at 12:12 AM There are some words for it and that sure is one of them. thenightetc2 — Today at 12:12 AM I mean, it is certainly a thing that people remember. highglossfinish — Today at 12:13 AM Rom-com. thenightetc2 — Today at 12:13 AM And other times a romance! One of the best rom-coms I've ever seen! He's Elon Musk; THAT'S his deal. Excellent. highglossfinish — Today at 12:17 AM Well, that was more fun than Vivo! Mimic — Today at 12:18 AM to be fair, it's a little easy to clear that bar thenightetc2 — Today at 12:18 AM Fewer musical numbers, and yet Well.  That was fun!  Thank you for the stream. highglossfinish — Today at 12:19 AM Thank you for being here! Mimic — Today at 12:19 AM thanks again! highglossfinish — Today at 12:20 AM Of course! Good night! thenightetc2 — Today at 12:20 AM Goodnight! Mimic — Today at 12:20 AM good night! thenightetc2 — Today at 12:24 AM Vivo like, "You know what's stupid and annoying?  When people care about the environment and think you shouldn't import exotic animals and set them loose in sensitive ecosystems!  And you know what's the WORST?  When people like peace and quiet!  They probably want to murder you" Hopolites — Today at 12:25 AM Florida's ecosystem is already fucked, it doesnt need a monkey Mimic — Today at 12:26 AM Agreed. but clearly, we're sympathizing too hard with the... weak excuses for antagonists thenightetc2 — Today at 12:32 AM But I have to admit I'm genuinely glad that apparently her mom let her quit the troop. highglossfinish — Today at 12:45 AM "You know what's especially fun? Not paying for tickets to things." thenightetc2 — Today at 12:53 AM And really, why should you.

[hellacluttered]

Strays - Chapter 6 (Mag7 Boarding School AU)

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5

    “So, what’ve you got for us, Josh?” Sam asked as the group finished settling in around the largest table in the corner of the café, packed in shoulder to shoulder.

    “Well,” Joshua said. “I started thinking about that the school might have some breakdown of their spending somewhere, right?”

    “Yeah,” Goodnight said. “Good thinking. You find something?”

    “Yeah,” Joshua said. “They had a graph of spending on different parts of the school- books and teaching resources, sports, salaries, all that stuff. All of it kind of made sense except that the sports budget seemed way bigger than it should be considering everyone knows how bad our teams are and all the equipment seems really old and everything. So I talked to Emma, since she knows computers and all that and she figured out a way to access a more detailed breakdown of the budget. She said their site is out of date and it was really easy to get to the PDF she found all the stuff in. I think she just guessed the URL or something. Anyway-” he paused, unlocking his phone and opening something before reading off it. “They spent $10,000 on new sports uniforms and equipment last year.”

    “New uniforms?” Red repeated. “But all our uniforms are old. At least in track, they are.”

    “Exactly,” Joshua said. “I looked into some of the other teams too. Football uniforms are old, volleyball too. And none of the equipment I’ve seen around seems new. Anyway, I didn’t have time to look into the rest of the breakdown real closely but that part seems pretty weird.”

    “Yeah, it does,” Sam said. “Good work, Josh. I can keep looking through it if you want.”

    “Sure,” Joshua said. “I got a few papers I gotta write, so that’d be great.”

    “I can help too,” Manuel offered.

    “Have at it,” Joshua said.

    “Damn, so we’re really onto something?” Goodnight said. “Honestly I thought this might just end up being a dead end, but…”

    “Doesn’t seem like it,” Sam said. “We’ll see what we can find in that budget stuff and if it’s substantial enough, maybe we can take it to the school board.”

    “Sounds like a good plan to me,” Joshua said. “Let’s take this bastard down!”

    That gained some cheers of approval from around the table, and they chatted about it a little while longer before finally settling down to focus on their work.

    “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen Joshua care about something this much,” Goodnight muttered to Manuel as Joshua began to bob his head to the music now playing through his headphones.

    “Really?” Manuel asked.

    “Yeah,” Goodnight said. “It’s good to see. He’s less apathetic than he seems.”

    “He just… needed something worthwhile to care about?” Manuel asked.

    Goodnight nodded slowly. “Exactly.”

    When Manuel entered his dorm room late that night after studying in the lounge at the end of the hall for several hours, Joshua’s angry voice immediately met his ears, but this time it wasn’t directed at him. “-not gonna go there anyway, so why does it matter what grades I get?” He paused and Manuel took a step back, feeling that he was intruding on something very personal. “You never listen to me, Dad! I don’t-” Joshua paused, obviously having been interrupted. “I don’t care!” he bellowed suddenly. “I don’t want to be a doctor! I don’t fucking care where I get into school.” Manuel was about to close the door and head back to the lounge to take a nap when Joshua shouted, “You know what, fuck it, you leave me the Hell alone!” and hung up the phone before hurling it to the ground; the back broke off on impact and skittered across the floor, but Joshua ignored it, pressing the heels of his hands against his eyes, his shoulders slumped.

    Manuel hesitated, unsure if he should retreat and hope Joshua wouldn’t notice or if he should just come in and pretend he hadn’t heard anything. Eventually he opted for the latter, putting in his earbuds before he went to further his ruse that he was unaware of what was going on.

    Joshua didn’t acknowledge his presence when he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, crossing the room to set his books and laptop on his desk before changing into his pajamas and grabbing his toothbrush and toothpaste.

    When he returned from the bathroom, Joshua was still sitting slouched at his desk, looking utterly defeated.

    “Where are you going?” Manuel asked as Joshua rose suddenly and slipped on a jacket, stepping into his sneakers as he walked toward the door.

    “Not your business, Vasquez,” he said, his voice harsh, but tired.

    “Well, it’s past 11:00, you’ll get in trouble if you’re caught-”

    “I know what time it is,” he snapped, and then walked into the hall, slamming the door behind him. Manuel could hear his heavy footsteps for a few moments before they faded back to silence.

    He lay there on his back for a few minutes, wondering if he should do anything about Joshua’s situation, and if so, what, also weighing the option of texting Sam and asking for his advice. But in the end, it became fairly obvious- his roommate, who was also to some degree his friend, had stormed out in a rage at a time of night that would earn him detention if he was caught; he was clearly in more of a mood to cause trouble than be reasoned with, and someone would have to stop him. That someone could not be someone from the school, as Joshua was apparently convinced he would not be kicked out for virtually anything he did, and would therefore likely not listen to any employees. Also, Manuel had to take into account that he was the one to have heard the argument, or at least part of it, and he didn’t want to betray Joshua’s privacy by relaying what he had heard to anyone else in their friend group.

    And so the task of stopping Joshua fell to him.

    He rose, pulling on a hoodie over the ratty T-shirt he always wore to bed, and laced on the sneakers he’d tucked under his bed. Reaching the door that led out of the dorm and onto the path outside stopped him for a moment. Unlike Joshua, he had no get-out-of-jail free card, and he would be in big trouble if he were caught. But then he remembered how reckless Joshua had seemed when he left and it wouldn’t surprise Manuel one bit if he was feeling self-destructive at the moment. He opened the door and stepped outside, the chill air sending goosebumps up his arms, even under the relatively thick material of his hoodie.

    He started down the path, glancing around nervously for any faculty that his paranoia apparently expected to find crouched behind the bushes that lined the path. But the night was still and silent, revealing no clues to where Joshua could have gone. The only sounds were the hum of crickets and the rustle of rippling leaves as wind wove through the tree branches.

    Forty-five minutes of weaving through the paths yielded no results, and when he finally reached the gates after searching most of the campus, he realized he might have to cast a wider net to find Joshua.

    Getting caught after hours on campus was one thing, but getting caught leaving campus in the middle of the night was entirely another. The first probably meant detention and a maybe a letter to his parents. The second was much more serious, and he didn’t even know what the repercussions would be. So he hesitantly turned back, taking a circuitous route back to the dorm in hopes that he would find Joshua before he reached the building again.

    He was a few buildings away from his own when he heard a quiet clink to his left and turned to see a single form slouched against the wall in the narrow alley between two buildings, a bottle on the ground next to him, the bright full moon casting his shadow long across the cement.

    Manuel sighed, turning to walk down the alley, wincing when he saw that Joshua was sporting a black eye and a line of blood traced from his nose down to his upper lip. “What happened to you?” Manuel asked as he sat down across from Joshua.

    Joshua looked up blearily. “Got in a fight.”     “With who?”

    “McCann’s group,” Joshua spat, raising his bottle again to take a swig.

    Manuel gestured toward the bottle. “Where’d you get that?”

    “Does it matter?” Joshua asked.

    Manuel shrugged. “I guess not. What’s going on?”

    Joshua didn’t answer immediately, his gaze affixed on the ground. “I had an argument with my dad,” he said finally.

    “What about?” Manuel didn’t know if Joshua wanted to talk about it, or if it would do any good, but he figured it was worth a shot.

    “We… It’s sort of a long story,” Joshua said.

    “I don’t have anything I need to do,” Manuel replied.

    “All right,” Joshua picked up the bottle again and held it out to Manuel, who shook his head, pushing Joshua’s hand back. Joshua shrugged and took another sip before letting out a long sigh and beginning to talk. “My dad wants me to be a doctor. He already decided where he wants me to go to school, he’s got my whole life planned out. Only thing is-” he chuckled bitterly. “-I don’t want to do it. Tonight he said I got my laziness from my mom and that- that’s crossing a line. That bastard shouldn’t even be speaking her name, he just used her.” He broke off, his brow deeply furrowed, his face contorted with anger.

    “What happened?” Manuel asked, dearly hoping he wouldn’t anger Joshua further by asking.

    “She was a prostitute,” Joshua said. “He got her pregnant, they got married. There were people after her and he said he was gonna protect her. Then she had me and after a few years he got tired of her, talked her into a divorce when she was dealing with depression and he wasn’t doing shit to help. He’d kept her under wraps, he treated her like a dog. Obviously he got custody of me ‘cause she had nowhere to go, she was going back to the streets while he had a good job and a nice house. Police found her beaten to death a couple months later, they thought it was her dealer from before but they never caught him.” Manuel knew he saw tears gleaming in Joshua’s eyes but he didn’t know what to say or do to comfort him. Joshua took another sip from his bottle, roughly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. “Ever since then I lived with my dad dictating every fucking thing I did. He sent me here even though I hated it, he stopped me from doing pretty much anything I ever wanted to, I never got to be a kid because of him, I never-” his voice broke and he stopped, his shoulders drooping forward as he rested his face in his hands, his body curling in on itself. Manuel hesitated and then shifted across the alley to sit next to Joshua, resting a hand on his shoulder, unsure what to say.

    “I’m sorry, güero,” he said finally, giving Joshua’s shoulder a light squeeze.

    Joshua just nodded, not speaking for several long moments. “It’s why I hated you so much, you know,” he said, finally meeting Manuel’s eyes, his gaze surprisingly lucid for one who had drunk so much. “You had everything I wanted. I didn’t want all this fancy shit my dad gets me, I just wanted a real home, a family.” His voice grew so quiet, so broken, Manuel didn’t know what else to do except wrap an arm around Joshua’s shoulders, feeling his body shake as it was wracked with silent sobs. He felt helpless but strangely protective of the gruff but surprisingly vulnerable boy sitting next to him and when Joshua finally began to still and reached for the bottle again, Manuel pulled it out of his reach, setting it as far away as he could without moving. Joshua grunted in protest but made no move to reach for it again. A few moments later he began to push himself to his feet, but staggered, unsteady from the alcohol, and Manuel clambered upright, hurrying to wrap an arm around his shoulders so he wouldn’t fall over.

    “I’m fine,” Joshua muttered, but Manuel didn’t let go, saying,

    “No, you aren’t.” He only let go of Joshua briefly to pick up the bottle from the ground, not wanting to leave any evidence, and tossed it out in the first trash can they reached. Joshua’s footsteps were unsteady and he leaned more and more heavily on Manuel the farther they walked.

   By the time they got back to the dorm, Joshua was nearly asleep on his feet, and he gracelessly collapsed face-first on his bed as soon as he reached it. He was unconscious immediately, but Manuel could not sleep for hours.

[ensembleeding]

1 to 100, cause these are goood.

Thank youuuuuuu this was so fun1. Pandora!2. I would say clean but I don't want to lie, so MESSY3. Blue-grey4. I used to hate it because it's super common where I live, but I've grown to like it more because it can be found in so many cultures around the world, which is awesome, and is a palindrome, which is also awesome.5. Single6. Imaginative, serious, passionate7. Blonde8. I'm too young to drive, so I'll say that I walk and it's great. :)9. Depends on what I'm shopping for, but mostly Maurice's, Target, Charlotte Russe, and Levi's, because I can find stuff to fit my body type there (it is seriously impossible to find jeans for short legs)10. Simple with a dash of lumberjack (I wear a ton of plaid and jeans)11. I guess this one? Or my Wattpad, if that counts as social media.12. A double bed.13. Yep! A younger brother.14. New York City. I love the energy of it there, with the non-stop feeling, and I feel like a lot of interesting people live there because it's such a huge place. Also, I love the theatre, and NYC IS Broadway, and I am so here for that.15. (I don't have a Snapchat so non applicable, I guess?)16. I don't really wear a ton of makeup from a variety of brands, but I've been using Ulta and that seems to work pretty well.17. 6-7 times. 18. Ohhhhhh jeez, um, Downton Abbey, I guess? Even though it's over.19. 7.5 in US sizes20. 5"1.75. Which isn't totally short, but I've met a lot of people who are super, super tall recently, which makes me just feel shorter?21. Sneakers, hands down, or going barefoot because that's the most comfortable 22. I have gym class, so...I guess?23. Well. Um. Huh. I've actually never thought about this. Maybe meeting up in a coffeeshop and talking, and then going out to a museum or stargazing? I'd like a date that focuses on24. Eight dollars, plus around maybe one dollar in the change part?25. None, I'm barefoot! 26. One.27. Nope! But I hope to write, or get involved in media production.28. Ummmmmm okay. I'd say I have maybe seven friends who I'm super close to who stayed in touch with me when I moved recently, and then a squad of maybe 10 people where I currently live? Give or take. I'm not the closest to everyone in the squad but I have some friends outside of it so it still rounds out to about ten. But how close I am to these people is an uncertainty.... AND moving on.29. The worst thing I've ever done is probably in correlation to a huge project I once did. I went all *control freak* and got hysterical over stuff and disregarded other people's feelings and opinions.30. Pine, I think.31. Tom, Ivan, and Cody32. Caitlyn, Rowan (even though it's a gender neutral name), and *dice roll for a name*33. Aaron Tveit and Lin Manuel Miranda.34. I HAVE A LIST: Cynthia Erivo (when she performed on the Tonys I was so wildly impressed and amazed and was squealing the entire time after), Sutton Foster (I am obssesed with her tap dancing), Karen Olivo (It Won't be Long Now is my jam), Sam Barks (EPONINE), Patina Miller (my fave leading player in Pippin), Renee Elise Goldsberry (Satisfied. Just. Satisfied.), and Anna Kendrick because I love her voice.35. Do fictional characters count? Because Nina Zenik.36. Wadjda. 37. I read a lot, and my fave book is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.38. Brains39. My dad calls me Anna Banana.40. Once, when I was born. Twice, when I had tendonitis. Three times, when I had tendonitis again. And then there's all the times I visited family in the hospital, which is honestly too much for me to count.41. Oh. Um. Uh. Well.(In no particular order) The Witch (Big Fish the Musical), If I Were a Bell (Guys and Dolls), Candy Store (Heathers the Musical), Mamma Mia (Mamma Mia), Watch What Happens (Newsies), Live in Living Color (Catch Me If You Can), Right Hand Man (Something Rotten!), Girl in a Country Song (Maddie and Tae), Castle (Halsey), Mama Who Bore Me (Spring Awakening)42. Nope.43. Dry44. Rejection. Exclusion. Not being accepted. Oh, and buildings crashing on top of me.45. None.46. I honestly just leave it down and don't do anything with it because I keep it in an asymmetrical bob.47. It's a ranch style I think?48. My mother, Hermione Granger 49. I think I50. "Um where? Let's meet by the door" (me texting my dad in the bookstore as a lost child)51. OLD. Like, ten or eleven. 52. Living in NYC so I don't have to have one.53. Not a good thing, and incredibly unhealthy and dangerous. When I was younger, I was bold enough to tell my uncle to stop smoking. 54. I hope I will.55. Novelist! Which is super fantastically improbable. But I'd love to do something with the arts and/or media.56. Suburbs.57. Honestly I use them up and then there's nothing left to take but aside from that OF COURSE.58. One on my knee, one on my finger. Other than that, no.59. Yes.60. Too many to count.61. Nope.62. I never really got into cartoons, actually.63. McDonald's.64. Ranch or soy sauce.65. Pyjamas, or a big T-shirt and underwear.66. No.67. Writing, reading, analyzing, theatre in general, film editing, and karate (the last two I really miss because I haven't found a place to do either one of them68. Sort of? But not really 69. I play the button box accordion. Well, I'm learning. I only know three songs.70. I have no clue. And not because I go to a ton of concerts, but because I go to so few that my timeline is screwed up. I think I went to see Dvorak's new world symphony though?71. Tea72. Starbucks 73. No, not really.74. What crush? 75. When who does the what now? :P76. Pink and blue.77. Too many people, including myself.78. Closed79. I believe that there is another plane of existence on top of ours. But other than that, no clue.80. Blue Wind from Spring Awakening--all of the lyrics in that.81. My mom.82. Chocolate chip cookie dough.83. REGULAR84. Rainbow sprinkles!85. I'm wearing a show shirt from the first show I was in (in middle school) Fiddler on the Roof Jr. It's yellow.86. This is going to sound really weird, but once I was hiding under the covers and the light was coming through and making it glow and, well, I took a pic of it and now it's my background.87. Both. Somehow. Sort of?88. Only if I trust them.89. The one I know is very nice.90. When I shower, so usually at night.91 and 92. No and no.93. A piece of cheddar cheese.94. Blue Wind from Spring Awakening.95. Winter96. Night97. Dark98. May99. Taurus sun, Capricorn moon, Gemini Venus, Mars, and Mercury100. My dog.