#Climbing on this shipp hard

[bjorngr]

Heey🔊

[cowboyfromh3ll]

Took me a little longer to ask again, a request maybe.

Something about Kieran Duffy x Reader (gender is up to you). Kieran is just so sweet, poor boy is bulled at camp everytime by almost everyone, he deserves some love (or friendship, platonic shipps exist too!). Maybe something about helping him with his chores or simply by talking with him without antagonizing the poor not an O'Driscoll boy.

Saint Denis

(Kieran Duffy x GN!Reader Fluff)

Your requests are palette cleansers after writing back to back smut

Warnings: none

Kieran left the cold hard comfort of his tent, the sky over Clemens Point tinged lavender with traces of dawn. Seldom were any other people up this early, the occasional good morning exchanged between he and Arthur, Pearson, or Charles, or whoever else was an early riser. Kieran did not skimp out on breakfast, yet he was prone to taking less than his allotted share of stew. He poured himself coffee, staring at his own reflection in the black liquid. The sunken embers of his green eyes stared back at him, and he looked unfavorably upon the scant unshaven stubble on his face. He looked shamefully at the forlorn expression he had adopted as a resting face. He looked away from his reflection in disappointed reprieve, feeling the stubble on his face and wondering if it was too late to tidy himself or just make himself look better for his plans today.

And indeed, it was too late.

“Morning Kieran.” You greeted in that soothingly sweet voice of yours. His shoulders jumped when he realized it was you standing next to him, and oh so closely he might add. You always looked so put together, even in the mornings when everyone else looked as though the night had not been kind to them.

“Good morning, (Name).” He smiled at you bashfully, beginning to feel his stubble again subconsciously. He cursed himself for not cleaning his appearance up the previous day at least.

“How are you?” You asked, kneeling next to him to serve yourself some stew. The way you bent down so closely to his leg, frankly, had him blushing and clearing his throat.

“Uhm, I-I’m good. How about you?” He said hurriedly. You stood back up straight, eating a spoonful of stew before looking at him.

“I’m good! Excited for our fishing trip!” You shifted your feet where you stood. “I brought my journal for the boat.”

“Your journal? I thought we was gonna fish?” He trailed off, becoming scared that he misinterpreted something when the two of you first planned your hangout.

“Well, yeah, but I thought it’d be nice if I read to you a little from it.” You looked at him, standing far too close to him for comfort with those puppy eyes that made him bend to your will. “And y’know, maybe we can get to teaching ya to read.” You giggled, nudging him on the side, making him jerk. He laughed awkwardly, squeaking out a “yeah” in the midst of his fluster.

Kieran swore he felt like more of a bumbling fool than usual when he was around you, becoming suddenly more self conscious of how much space he took up, how he moved, how he looked. His fear of looking like an idiot in front of you subsequently forced him into a constant stiffness, crossing his arms over his chest. As fond as he was of you, he couldn’t help the way he closed up and became rigid.

“Lemme finish up my soup, I wanna get on the lake while it’s still quiet and early!” You exclaimed. He could only nod, noticing just how much he was shaking when he lifted his coffee to his lips and saw how the liquid trembled in the cup.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Both you and Kieran approached the end of the doc where the boat remained tied by a worn rope. In a simple gesture of help, Kieran held your hand as he helped you board the small boat; a gesture that would keep him up at night, giddy and excited. He untied the boat from the doc, pushing the boat off with his foot before hastily climbing on while it was still close.

The two of you looked across at each other, smiling silently to make up for the lack of conversation; you were both too shy and fiddly to start it off. Yet this moment of awkwardness allowed you two a moment to appreciate the serenity of the lake. The oars skated through tranquil water, the water rippling as it parted and made way for you both. Swarms of mosquitoes buzzed over the water, tall grass and reeds framed the shore, you even noticed waterbugs and dragonflies skidding over the surface of the water. The sky was painted orange as the sun began to rise, pushing away the darkness of night skies. Kieran kept rowing until you two reached far enough into the center of the lake.

The moment felt beautiful, on that fresh morning, and a part of you felt at once what it was like to be alive.

Kieran cleared his throat, picking his fishing rod up off of next to him.

“You, uh, ready?” He smiled, holding the rod up.

“Do you mind if I tell you a story while you fish for a bit? I thought it’d be nice. You fish and I read? Just for a bit. Promise.” Your suggestions sounded more like questions, unsure whether or not Kieran would like it. But Kieran was more than happy to have you read to him, he thought it was quite intimate. You had read to him before, and he loved watching the way you became so engrossed in whatever text you were reading. And he often found himself focusing more on you than what you were reading (yet he would always ask for a summary afterwards).

“Of course!” He felt embarrassed when he heard how enthusiastic he sounded. “Uh, yeah, that’d be great.”

He casted his rod out onto the lake as you pulled out a notebook. There was a moment of silence between you as you flipped through the pages.

“I went into Saint Denis the other day and I came across a nun, one thing led to another and I learned about who the city’s named after. It was real interesting and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to tell you about it.” You explained. Kieran had to turn his head to hide his blush, disguising it as a cough. He was touched you had thought of him, specifically saving a story for this little outing of yours.

“Please, go on.” He urged. You nodded and looked down at your notes.

“It was said that Saint Denis was the patron of France, aaand, he was revered as the first bishop of Paris.” You began. Kieran hummed in acknowledgement, feeling instantly lulled by your voice.

“It’s not the most riveting stuff…” You stopped suddenly, holding your journal to your chest. “Are you sure you’re okay listening to this?” You pouted. Kieran looked at you confused. Did he seem not interested? Was he not showing it enough?

“I’ll listen to anything you tell me, (Name). You make anything interesting, swear.” He reassured. Your cheeks dusted pink a little, celebrating in your head over the sweet sentiment.

“Okay.” You giggled, making Kieran’s heart jump.

You continued. “Anyways, apparently Saint Denis was martyred-”

“Martyred?!” He cut you off in surprise. “Like, killed?”

You laughed loudly, amused by his surprise. “Yeah, killed, killed for adhering to a certain set of beliefs, he was Christian.” You looked down your notes before continuing, tracing down the list of facts you wrote. “Saint Denis was heavily persecuted because he and his companions were so good at converting people to Christianity, that the Pagan priests were shocked by their loss of followers.”

“He was martyred on Montmartre, quite literally meaning martyr mountain. More specifically, he was beheaded. And it was said that his decapitated corpse picked his head up and walked several miles, all while preaching a sermon, to an area northeast of Paris, where the Benedictine abbey of Saint Denis was founded!” You explained.

Kieran shuddered. “Kinda morbid, especially for a peaceful morning on the lake.” He chuckled. “But real interesting. I would’ve never learned this if not for you.”

“Yeah, I agree.” You shrugged your shoulders and set the leatherback of your journal on your lap. “Saint Denis is bustling with people and industrialization, kinda scary. Makes me want to go back west, y’know.”

Kieran nodded as you spoke. “I ain’t really allowed to leave camp, but I just know it’s nothing but bad business out in Saint Denis.” You looked off in the general direction of the city. The air became awkward again as the both of you ran out of things to say. You sucked in a breath, feeling too stiff to grab your journal and flip through the pages to find a story. You fiddled with your thumbs, attempting to occupy yourself by looking at Kieran’s fishing.

“So, um, how have you felt since you’ve fallen in with us…?” You asked in an attempt to make conversation.

“I think it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.” He answered truthfully, and you found his sincerity touching. “Feels like a real family, like I’m not at the bottom of the ladder.”

“That’s really sweet Kieran, I’m glad you feel so at home here.” You smiled. “Even with everyone hounding you sometimes… I like how you see the positive side in things.”

“Some teasing definitely beats the way I was being treated by the O’Driscolls. I can put up with it. And, I’ve made some good friends here too.” He could not hide the blush that crept onto his face, nor could he look away, mortified that he had said something, indirect as it was, referencing your friendship.

“Hm, yeah.” You shifted in your seat a little, biting your lip to suppress your school girl giggles. Your foot tapped his as you moved, and you would not move it thereafter.

“I’ve got some real good friends here too. Some of ‘em are real special.”

There were moments that you and Kieran shared that demanded to be fulfilled. Perhaps by a confession of love, or giving yourself to him, completely and in every aspect.

But these tender moments that you shared spoke every word for you, all you two needed was to listen to each other more closely. To speak your feelings directly was not necessary. All you had to do was put your ears to each other's chests, and listen.

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If this is inaccurate spare me

[lilpuffyart]

You have any headcannons on the shipp kids? 👀

>Example: What are they like; did they get a habit from one of their parents; are they troublemakers or super chill?

I don't mind if your answer is long or short I'll take anything tbh- >:]

Oh yeah!!

Aubrey

They go by they/them pronouns and they came from a family that, while not straight abusive, had some weird tension going on that only go bigger till their father left them and their mother abandoned him in the Black Market

Aubrey's mother was a hebridean goat (and that's why he has 4 horns) and their father was a spectacled bear

Not my favorite art but it's the only art I have related to them atm rip I'll probably make a Christmas drawing with them tho C:

Personality and appearance wise, Aubrey looks a lot like they could be Riz and Pina's kid, given that they even has ice blue eyes that Pina's has. And, as a kid, Aubrey can act very similar to how Riz acted as a kid, being shy and scared of pretty much anything, but they also have a explosive personality like Tem when it comes to people that they disliked (like when they started to fight with a guy that was bothering them and Sophie for being hybrids)

In my ghost Tem AU (therefore only Riz x Pina), they adopt Aubrey when they're around 2 years old

Sophie

Sophie is Bill and Els' first born kid and given how they (aka mainly Bill) treats her, she's spoiled lol. She goes by she/her pronouns and she was born looking a lot like a goat, save for her long tail and paws; tiger stripes started to appear on her after she was 10 years old and eventually covered her whole body

She and Aubrey are very close, but given that they're related to hard headed animals, her first instinct was to headbutt them, therefore scaring them

Like her mom, she likes to climb mountains and cliffs C: what nearly kills Bill everytime he sees one of his kids up there with nearly nothing touching their feet

Nataniel and Michael

They are twins and Bill and Els' second (and third lol) kids. Both go by he/him pronouns. Since they're pretty much babies, there isn't really much to talk about lol ;;--;;

Bill developing a bad habit of not saying "no" to Sophie nearly gave him a heart attack (per usual) one day when he saw Nataniel and Michael climbing a mountain alongside Sophie and Aubrey

They also like to hear Tem's weirdly specific mythology stories (specially Egyptians) and anyone that knows a bit of them know how they can get pretty weird, so its weirdly specific mythology stories turned into somewhat family-friendly

As they grow old, horns eventually start to appear

[standingonborderline]

We have philosophy and theft

rating: teen and up audiences

shipps: janus + patton (moceit) 

word count: ~12.2k

summary: Soulmates share the same birthday. That is a fact. The hard part is finding the one who really is your match among so many others. Patton has never met anyone who has the same birthday as him, and when Virgil mentions that he knows someone, Patton insists that he set up a date. Except that things take a turn and crimes are commited.

warnings: there is a scene where a dog is locked inside a hot car but he turns out fine ok, i promise

author’s note: this is a general content submission for @moceit-appreciation-week . i originally wrote this in my native language, brazillian portuguese (that if you happen to know you can read it here) and then i translated it and made some adaptations, so... i don’t know, just keep that in mind

[Read it on AO3]

"When is your birthday again?'' Virgil asked calmly, raising his gaze from the computer screen before him. He was sloppy sitting on the padded bench near the cafeteria wall. Above him, hanging on a brick wall, was a huge blackboard displaying a weekly menu written in chalk.

"On the first day." Patton answered, leaning over the square table positioned between him and his friend. He placed his head in one hand, holding the cappuccino glass with the other near him.

"May?''

''Yeah.''

Virgil turned to the computer screen, and Patton could hear the press of keys amid the buzz of the other customers.

"Why is that?''

"So I can write it down." He clarified, and in front of him, there was a huge monthly calendar filled with all the things he needed to do and what was the deadline to accomplish them. Virgil struggled to keep his life organized as much as possible. He was also ignoring the fact that the day was April 13, which meant that the month had begun two weeks ago. The small floating arrow sailed to the bottom of the screen, and he selected the day in question, marked with a letter ''S'' above it. "It's on a Saturday.''

Patton sighed, staring at the marks of deterioration on the wooden table on which they were.

''Yes, it is.''

Virgil turned to him again, raising his head and watching him beneath the purple locks of hair. He stretched his fingers above the keyboard, causing the black nail polish to camouflage between the keys.

"What?"

''I'm going to be twenty-nine, and I haven't met my soulmate yet!" Patton was pitiful. He opened his arms cautiously on the table, lying on it and avoiding reaching the glass that was near him and his friend's computer.

Virgil sighed briefly. Every year the same thing happened, and by that time, he already had a mental list of arguments to offer Patton.

"Well... You know... sometimes people have to try more than once." He shrugged. "Everyone thinks that as soon as they meet someone who has a birthday on the same day they will be perfect. It's a great way to delude yourself. Like it's fate or something." He smiled ironically.

''Yes, I know, but I've never MET anyone who has a birthday on the same day as me!'' Patton stretched both hands, next to Virgil's computer, leaning his chin on the table. ''It's complicated.''

Virgil rolled his eyes and lowered the notebook screen, watching Patton and his honey-colored curls. He knew this was something that bothered Patton, though he couldn't say the same about himself. His expression turned into a grimace, and he lifted the computer screen again, placing it between him and Patton so that it would prevent eye contact.

"I may... know someone who has a birthday on the same day as you."

''What?" Patton rose from the surface immediately, unable to see Virgil's face due to the grayish plaque in front of him. ''Virgil?"

''Um?''

''Who is it?'' He rose from the seat, leaning part of his body over the table, and positioning his face above the screen. He pressed his fingertips next to the camera of the device.

"Who's what?'' Virgil asked, staring at the calendar to avoid Patton's supplicant gaze.

"The person you know who has a birthday on the same day as me.'' Patton clarified, and fought against his instincts that resembled that of a feline wanting attention: were it not for Virgil's fingers on the keyboard, he would have already closed the computer that created an obstacle between them. "I'm down for anyone. You know that."

''Yes, I know, it's not that, it's... is that... You know what, never mind, you're not going to like him." He spoke, denying with his head.

"No, I want to know!" Patton insisted. "Please?"

''Oh, it's just... he's kind of...'' Virgil began, seeking a justification, and finally looked at Patton, who kept all his concentration on him. I don't know, I don't trust him.''

"Why not?" Patton frowned delicately.

''I don't know. It's just... a feeling, I guess.''

''Okay... what do you know about him?"

''That he is a lawyer and that his name is Janus."

''Oh, cool!'' Patton leaned his head on the back of his hands, above the computer monitor. "What else?"

''That's all, actually."

''That's all?''

''Yeah. I told you, I don't trust him. Besides, I think he hides stuff.''

''What kind of stuff?''

Virgil grumbled, gesturing vaguely, and tried:

"About himself?''

Patton contemplated briefly and then shrugged.

"Maybe he's only reserved. Like you.''

Virgil made a face and returned his concentration to the computer.

"So... Are you going to give me his number?"

''Patton... "

''Please?" He smiled, and quickly added, "I'm the one who has to like him, not you. Pretty please?''

Virgil and Patton stared at each other and Virgil remembered why he wanted to avoid eye contact. No one could say no to Patton with bright brown eyes and wavy hair as adorable as a puppy asking for your food. Finally, he gave in.

"Ugh, all right. I'll talk to him. I'll see what I can do.''

''Yay!" Patton clapped his hands. "Thank you!''

''Of course. Whatever.''

With the online calendar still open in front of him, Virgil added a note to remember talking to Janus about the situation.

Outside the Museum of the Classical Age was a large, wide staircase made of whitish marble. At both ends, above the steps, were the handrails leading to the museum's small entrance platform. In the center of it, a third handrail was installed, standing out due to its contrast in relation to the rest of the façade. It had a smaller thickness, being made of iron in black color, and was used much more often by visitors of the daily.

Patton used the first of the steps as a seat, next to the entrance door and next to the left handrail. The shadow of the architecture spread to the pavement ahead, partially taking the path to the staircase and the outdoor parking lot, distributed on the sides of the entrance. The sun shone fervently, but that did not prevent the low temperature or the icy breeze that accompanied it. People would come in and leave the establishment, and Patton was waiting for a face that wasn't familiar to him. The high sound of a tire caught his eye, and he — like other visitors outside — turned to the right, in time to watch the driver of a red pickup truck suddenly stop, too close to a man crossing the parking lot. Immediately, the driver threw several offensive words at the man, who stopped where he was and stared at him for a moment, before walking again and heading to the museum's staircases. With this, the focus of the others also dispersed. Patton followed the man with his gaze as he approached and climbed the steps quickly. The print on his clothing became a blur, being possible to identify only the figure of two wavy things crossed one over the other. He went into the museum, while the driver had been lost sight of, and the situation that had barely begun had already been finished.

Patton waited a few more seconds, preventing his thoughts from focusing on the movement outside that dramatically diminished, and on how no one had addressed him. Hearing a delicate tinkling, he exuded, picking up the cell phone that had the screen facing down in his lap.

''date janus!!'' it read as the contact name at the top of the screen. It was from two minutes ago,  at 11:12 am.

''I'm here'', one of the messages said.

''I believe in a section just about the coliseum,'' said another message then.

Below these two, there was an attached photo that appeared to have been taken at a certain distance. It showed the end of a corridor that contained a passage to another room ahead, wider. The walls were of a clear beige tone, and instead of works referring to the time, they were decorated with documents extended and protected by glass. On the sides of the entrance to the next room were two chandeliers, each lifting a small transparent lamp. And among them... there was a woman who spoke and over-gesticulated, actions easy to detect due to the smudges that her face and arms had become. In front of her and with her back to the camera, was a group of teenage students, occupying fully the entrance. On the right, near one of the chandeliers, was a second woman who was also partially with her back to the camera.

Patton stretched his legs, rising from the smooth marble surface and turned around. With a few steps, he walked through the huge double door that was completely extended to the inside, as if with open arms awaiting the visitors.

To the left of the lobby was a large circular reception. From where he was, Patton could see at least three different employees serving people. He thought about joining them and the small line that formed — which he would do on other occasions — but this would probably take several minutes. He analyzed the rest of the environment, the gaze floating over other individuals who walked around the room, the most distant velvety benches leaning against the wall, the huge staircase that stood both to the left and to the right, by the large arches that indicated the entrance to other corridors near where he was. Uncertain, he crossed the room toward the corridor on the right, and came across the same beige walls with chandeliers and the class of students who occupied the passage. However, there did not seem to be anyone else present besides those who were previously in the photo. Patton glanced at his cell phone, which remained with the same three messages, and turned distractedly to look around.

"Boo!" In front of him, a man arose, leaning toward him.

Patton jumped back, giving a sharp scream and taking both hands to his chest reflexively.

The man laughed, and Patton did the same, embarrassed.

''I'm sorry." He said by mere formality, in a drawn tone of voice.

''Of course." Patton sighed, relaxing his shoulders and straightening his jacket with one hand, while the other held the phone. He laughed one more time. "Very... sneaky, aren't you?''

''Yes.'' The man agreed, and he analyzed the boy in front of him from head to toe.

The first thing to be noted in Patton was the huge colored jacket he wore. The colors of the piece alternated between red, blue, green and yellow, and its fabric was soft and comfortable, preventing the wind from passing through it. Underneath it, he wore a white shirt that contained two bottoms above the right side of the collarbone, both of which were composed of colored stripes. One of them had a pink stripe followed by a yellow and a blue one. The other, a little further down, had a black stripe followed by a gray, a white and a purple one. The shirt bar was placed inside the high-waisted style jeans, in a shade of grayish blue. He wore yellow all-star sneakers that covered his ankles, but even so, the man was almost certain that he wore different socks. One of Patton's hands still held one side of the jacket tightly, and he noticed his nails painted in different colors: dark blue, light blue, purple, and black. The hand that held the phone was partially hidden for him, so that it was only possible to see the fingernail of the thumb painted red.

He had brown eyes, protected by the glass and aluminum skeleton that was his rounded glasses and long eyelashes. Beside the nose, the upper part of the cheeks was decorated with small brown dots scattered horizontally. His skin was clear, his lips pink, and on his face fell wavy locks in a shade of faded brown. Apparently, the numerous decorative fruit hair clips were not enough to contain them in place.

The man blinked repeatedly, his face inexpressible. Patton seemed to have come straight from a children's show in which he was the host and had chosen his own costume, resulting, surprisingly, in a beautiful outfit being worn by an even more beautiful person. Lovely, perhaps, was the most appropriate word. ''Cute'' would also work.

But instead of saying any of these things, he remained silent, until finally asking:

"It's Patton, right?"

''Oh... Yes, it is." Patton gulped and held out his hand to him, looking at the other man before him.

His skin was clear, but not as much as his. This was obvious when one noticed the spots on the right side of his face, whose tone was closer to pink than beige. Above them, his hair was partially shaved on the side, and the dark brown locks were reserving on the left side, long enough to reach the length of the cheeks. At the height of the neck, it was possible to see the white collar of a shirt, hidden by the black sweater he wore on top. His hands were involved by the pockets of black pants with pleats, and he wore brown combat boots.

"Janus." He said, shaking Patton's hand and revealing the yellow glove he used.

Patton alternated glances between the three things that most intrigued him in the person in front of him: the eyes, the stains on his face and the gloves. Before he could decide which one to ask first, another detail stood out for looking familiar to him, and he meticulously observed the pattern of two dark green snakes crossing one over the other in Janus' sweater.

"Hey, weren't you in the parking lot earlier?"

''What?" He asked, slightly confused, before remembering. "Oh, yes, I was. I love the experience of almost getting hit first thing in the morning." He mocked, and Patton noticed it was the same lazy tone of voice he had used to apologize moments before.

"Yeah... there are people who get very angry in traffic anyway." Patton changed the subject and stood beside Janus, only to discover that he was reasonably short compared to the other man. In front of them, the student class was gone. ''Shall we?''

That said, the two walked down the rest of the corridor and entered the next room.

By the next thirty minutes, Patton had already made two puns about them being in a museum.

He maybe got confused during a third attempt that resulted in comparing Janus to a work of art. Maybe.

Either way, Janus tried his best to hide his laughter and apparent redness on his face. He failed miserably in both.

Janus had the impression that Patton was looking too much at him, specifically at his face. He decided to clarify that the spots on the right side were the main symptom of a skin disease called vitiligo.

Patton said he had freckles on his face, though this was evident.

Janus mentioned having a pet snake named Ophelia. Patton assumed he was joking. Two factors made him realize that he was not: Janus' expression and tone of voice remained the same throughout the conversation, and Patton's suspicion that he had a forked tongue.

Not that he was looking at Janus' mouth or anything.

Patton was a high school philosophy teacher.

He liked plants. He talked about the collection of succulents that stood on the window sill of his room, and their names: Angela, Ashley, Audrey, Alice, Amelia, Aurora, and a few others. The latter was in reference to the Disney princess.

Janus was pretty sure he'd mentioned an Ariel too.

Janus liked the Marvel movies.

Patton preferred DC movies. His favorite was Shazam.

They talked about how Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne were alike.

Patton told about how his students appeared with the so-called new ''memes'' every week, and that he didn't quite understand how they worked. This did not prevent him from using them the wrong way through his attempts. Sometimes these same students spent most of their class with their heads down, and Patton knew they were having a bad day. So he didn't bother them.

Janus told of the questionable things his colleagues in the legal field did. Among them, having love affairs with clients who were in divorce proceedings, and obtaining evidence by illegal means. He wouldn't admit it, but it was fun to be able to tell these things to someone who wasn't part of the business —and who therefore couldn't use them against someone he knew. Patton seemed shocked by the reports, but also interested.

An hour and a half later, the number of people visiting the historic facility decreased considerably as most went out to eat.

Patton stopped in the lobby, away from the doors. He had taken off his colorful jacket and now held it over his forearms, gathered near his body. He turned to Janus, not far from him. "There's a diner down the street." He remarked, drawing the attention of the other young man who looked up at him. "Do you want to go eat? We can get there by foot.''

''Yes." He said without thinking. But who could say no to Patton? Patton who had his nails painted in different colors, Patton who had chosen an outfit that seemed to have come out of an eighties themed movie, Patton who had named his plants, Patton who laughed at the very puns he made at any opportunity, Patton who cared for the wellbeing of his students, although it was not his responsibility. Patton.

He was so sweet. So lovely. Optimistic. Polite. That wouldn't work. Janus had to make something about that. He just didn't know what yet.

They went down the street, heading for the establishment. The silver clouds hid the sun, and the winds remained sharp enough to cause chills. They walked side by side, most of the time in silence, and Patton pointed to some birds that were landed on the electric wire across the street. They arrived at the site and outside the gravel floor formed an outdoor parking lot, similar to what the museum also had. Further away from the entrance, Janus noticed a red pickup truck, too much like the one he had seen earlier when he arrived at the museum. Ahead of him, Patton entered and held the door for him, and the two took slow steps as they entered the venue, searching for an empty table amid the crowd of customers. Quietly, they went to the service desk to place their orders, infiltrating amid the lines that were mixing due to being side by side. Patton raised his arm to fix the sleeve of his shirt, but in doing so, he accidentally hit someone next to him who was coming in the opposite direction.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He spoke immediately, gathering his arm close to him and placing his hand on his opposite shoulder.

''Yeah, yeah, whatever." The man in the plaid shirt grumbled. Getting as close as he could to the service desk, he sneaked through the thick line. Still, he wasn't far from the couple. "Lady! Hey, lady!''

Patton took a step to the left, approaching Janus who now stared at the intruder with his eyes half-closed.

The man began to call out for the attendant at the counter a little further from him, saying something about having received the wrong order. The attendant politely asked him to go to the end of the line, but the same could not be said of the other people around who were waiting to place their orders. Unidentified voices were startled in the buzz, complaining about the man and also asking — demanding — that he go to the end of the line. The man ignored the claims, insisting that he was paying for an order he had not made, while the attendant reiterated that they had delivered exactly what he had requested. Janus and Patton watched the situation unfold attentively.

Looking at the man, Janus recognized him as the same one he had seen earlier, the same driver of the truck who had almost run him over in the morning. And with that, he had an idea.

"I can make a new order for you. " He volunteered, and the man finally turned to him, analyzing him from head to toe.

"Aren't you that guy who was at the museum?''

Janus blinked repeatedly, giving a fake smile.

"I was... Oh, my God, you were the guy in the pickup truck, weren't you? I'm so sorry, I wasn't seeing where I was going!" He explained, taking one hand to his chest dramatically.

Patton looked at the two, confused, but paying more attention to janus' tone of voice, which had suddenly changed. It was completely different from the dragged tone he had used during the time they were in the museum, as if he were an actor playing a role.

"Yeah... you should pay more attention anyway."

''Oh, I will for sure, sir...?'' Janus asked, offering his hand to him.

''John." He greeted.

"Is that short for Jonathan?''

''No. Just John. And you're...?"

''Oh... I'm...'' Janus kept his forced smile, and looked away. Through the big window in the back, on the other side of the room, you could see the street outside. A large bus stopped at a traffic light, the ad on the side displaying Louis Vuitton's new fall-winter collection. Quickly, he added: ''Louis."

''Um. " John made a grimace and examined him again. ''Such a cocky name, huh?''

Janus' smile was slowly becoming terrifying.

"What's wrong with your order?" He asked, changing the subject, and felt Patton gently pulling the sleeve of his sweater.

"I had ordered a large burger and a medium Coke, and they gave me the opposite.'' John offered the receipt to Janus, who checked it superficially.

''Do you know what? I'll make this order for you again, and then it's all settled. You don't have to pay anything else.

"Um. Alright." John agreed with the same angry expression that Janus had seen all day, and walked away, ending the conflict in line.

Janus watched as he disappeared into the crowd, and his fake smile turned into an expression of repulsion. He disguised it before turning to Patton, who called him:

"What are you doing?" He had furrowed eyebrows, looking between Janus and the path John had taken before he disappeared. "Your name's not Louis."

''Well... Maybe he's just having a bad day." Janus shrugged, turning his eyes. "Maybe he just needs... a good deed.''

Patton made a grimace, uncomfortable, and the two moved forward as the line progressed.

"I didn't like him. He almost ran you over."

''Pff, don't worry.'' Janus guided, gesticulating vaguely. "We're not going to be in his company for long anyway.''

Arriving at the service desk, Janus only made John's order. Patton barely paid attention to his, ordering quickly. Leaving the line with the orders, the two met the man at a table. Janus and Patton sat side by side, while John stood at the opposite end. When he began to eat, his manners towards the two changed, and he magically became more polite. He began to chatter, for the most part, complaining about his work that neither Patton nor Janus had paid enough attention to know what it was. Janus stayed as far away from the table as possible, strategically holding one of the menus raised in front of him. Patton ate only half of his order, looking out the window most of the time. About half an hour passed with Janus presenting a friendly personality.

"Well, the chat is fine, but if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom.'' John informed as he rested his hands on the table and stood up.

"Oh, is it?" Janus looked up at him, as did Patton. "Don't you want to leave your stuff here? I'll take care of it.''

John frowned and looked at Janus and Patton.

"My stuff?''

"Yes," Janus shrugged. "It's going to be quick anyways.''

John hesitated, but gave in. Sticking his hands in his pockets, he left his wallet, cell phone and car keys on the table. Janus glanced at the belongings.

"Five minutes." John said, moving away from the table.

"Five minutes." Janus echoed, following him with his gaze.

John went to the back of the diner and walked through a door, disappearing from view.

Janus turned to the table and, with one hand, took the cell phone and keys. With the other one, he held Patton's.

''Let's go.'' Janus stood up quickly from the table, taking with him a Patton who intertwined his own legs due to the rush.

"What?! Where?!

''Let's go!'' Janus insisted as they passed through the cafeteria's front door, practically running.

They crossed part of the parking lot until they stopped near a red pickup truck. Up close, it  was brighter, cleaner. Janus placed the keys into the lock and turned them, unlocking the car with a muffled sound. He opened the door and walked in, and Patton, on the passenger side, did the same without thinking. With the two inside the car and with their respective doors closed, Janus put the key in the ignition and turned on the car, immediately backing up and leaving the cafeteria parking lot. In a matter of seconds, the establishment was left behind.

The road followed mostly straight, with both Janus and Patton silent. As they stopped at a traffic light, Janus turned to Patton, who analyzed the inside of the car. He could practically see the gears spinning on his head as he absorbed what had just happened. Janus put on his seat belt, and they started walking again. Patton blinked repeatedly, lowering his head.

''Janus?'

''Um?''

''Did you stole a car?'' Patton asked slowly, turning to the man next to him.

''Huh... it's not stealing, actually. Robbery committed without violence is theft.'' He glanced at Patton, and he looked both angry and confused.

''This is no time for word games!'' Patton protested, and fixed his glasses in place. ''Stealing is a crime!''

Janus rolled his eyes.

''Yes, I know.''

''Then why did you do it?''

''Why not do it?'' Janus asked, smiling.

Patton stammered.

''Because it's wrong!''

''Well, 'John' kinda deserved it.'' He sneered, throwing the man's cell phone on the dashboard in front of Patton.

''What? No!''

''We both saw how he almost ran me over. Honestly, we are doing society a favor by taking this car away from him. Who knows who else he might hit?''

''No! This isn't - we shouldn't - he - you can't just go around stealing people's stuff!''

''I just did.'' Janus shrugged, and glared at Patton. ''Put on your seat belt.''

Patton huffed and did as requested, frustrated. He wanted to protest, to get out of the car. But of the many thoughts swirling around in his mind, none of them could turn into a coherent verbal sentence. And the car was moving, and he had just put on his seat belt.  Janus' reassurance that he had just committed a crime did not improve the feeling he had of anger and shock.  Janus smiled, opening the window on his side, realizing how his plan to push Patton away was working. Patton crossed his arms, turning his attention to his window.

''I don't like this.'' He grumbled, and Janus didn't answer.

A few minutes passed, and they continued their journey in silence, as Janus pondered where they were going now.

Slowly, Patton turned to the center of the car and took a closer look. Next to the steering wheel was a small glass display accompanied by several buttons and a few square holes below. He blinked repeatedly, bringing his hand to one of the round buttons. He carefully turned it and a low noise sounded.

''There's a radio.'' He pointed distractedly.

Janus alternated glances between the road and Patton who was playing with the buttons on the device. Patton turned one of them, and a man began to talk about how the city government used the money it received from the citizens. He turned the same knob one more time. A female voice sang a song that, from the instruments, seemed to be from the 1950s. He switched to another button, and a host announced that the guest about to give an interview was a female singer he had never heard of. He did this with the other three buttons, until the stations ended and the radio returned to its initial silence. Patton held up a long white cable that was plugged into one of the radio's inputs near the buttons. It had electrical tape on the end that was loose. Patton leaned back in his seat again, holding the cable close to him.

''I wonder if it's supposed to connect to the cell phone.''

''You can try it if you like.'' Janus said, not caring much.

With some difficulty Patton took his cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans and plugged in the long cable. Immediately, the small squared-shaped radio display showed the words "music library". Patton glided his fingers across the screen, searching for something. He gently touched the surface with his index finger, and seconds later the sounds of a drum and a guitar began to sound from the radio. Janus frowned as another guitar solo followed and a man began to sing.

Life's like the road that you travel on,

when there's one day here and the next day gone

Sometimes you bend and sometimes you stand

sometimes you turn your back to the wind

He looked at the radio display, which named the song as 'Life is a Highway' by Rascal Flatts. Next to him, Patton began to do what he deduced was a dance from the unusual movements. A few more seconds passed, and more and more of the music seemed familiar, until Janus ventured to ask:

''Isn't that the music from Cars? The Disney movie?''

''Yes, it is!''

''Oh, my goodness.'' Janus rolled his eyes and then turned his attention back to the road.

''Do you like it?'' Patton asked, smiling broadly and leaning back in his seat.

''Not exactly. But it doesn't bother me either.''

''It's pretty good!'' Patton said, doing random dance steps, as far as his belt would allow.

Janus sighed, choosing to let Patton have some fun.

The song ended, and before it could start again, Patton picked up his cell phone and selected a different one. It started with a soft piano and a female voice singing, until the rhythm changed drastically, becoming more agile.

''What is that?''

''Holding Out For a Hero!'' Patton replied, smiling.

''But that's not Bonnie Tyler's voice.'' Janus pointed out.

''Oh, no, it's Shrek's version.'' Patton explained, looking at his cell phone and at Janus.

''Oh...''

Patton watched Janus as he exhibited no reaction to the music. Instead, he kept his attention on the cars passing in front of him, trying to join them.  When the song ended, Patton selected a different song. And another. And another. And another. And in none of them did Janus show any interest. Nor did Janus mention the fact that they were all part of the soundtrack, themes, or created specifically for film or television animation work. At one point, Patton sank down on the bench he was on, his knees pressed against each other.

''What kind of music do you like?'' He asked, brushing a strand of hair out of his face and with anticipation, since it was a topic that had not been discussed during their date at the museum.

Janus turned towards him and watched Patton with his cell phone on one leg, still connected to the car radio.

''Oh, you're not going to like it.''

''Oh, c'mon, I wanna know!'' Patton insisted, and bowing his head he muttered: ''I didn't like that you stole a car either, but we're here.''

Janus sighed, and as they approached a traffic light, he held out his hand toward Patton, who handed him his cell phone. He tapped the screen a few times, and without saying anything, handed the phone back to Patton as the melody started to play and the car started moving again.

The music started with a piano and violin, and soon a woman's voice began to sound, singing lazily. Patton glanced at the radio display, which read "Black Hole Sun" by Haley Reinhart. The drive went on, with the music being the only noise between them, and Patton turned his attention to the man next to him.

The sun swayed distantly behind him as they passed different buildings and residences. The open window gave way to a strong breeze, which made the long strands of his brown hair frame his well-defined face. He kept only one hand wrapped tightly around the black leather steering wheel, while his left elbow rested above the window sill and the white sleeves of his shirt swung gently in the wind. The elastic band ran across his chest, sinking down and camouflaging itself to the black sweater, cutting through the snake print. He had a look of serenity, fixed on the road ahead. He was not bothered by the fact that he had stolen a car, Patton noticed. Not only that, but he was confident. And that was enough to create a charm. Patton mentally listed the things he knew Janus was, for sure, by now. Lawyer. Thief. Charming. He smiled softly, and Janus turned to him, somewhat embarrassed to catch Patton studying him.

''What?'' he asked, frowning.

''You have one eye of each color.'' Patton pointed calmly.

He really did. Patton had already noticed that Janus had different eyes when they were at the museum, but he couldn't say specifically how. Now he had found out: one of them was brown, while the other was green.

''Oh... yes, I do.'' Janus touched his hair, making a failed attempt to get it out of his face. ''It's called heterochromia. It's the only hetero thing about me.''

Patton's smile widened twice as much, and he leaned toward Janus.

''You made a pun.'' he said, holding back his happiness.

''What? No, I didn't.'' Janus staggered, alternating his attention between the road and Patton beside him.

''Yes, you did.''

''No, I didn't.''

''Yes, you did!'' Patton started to laugh, grabbing Janus' arm with both hands and squeezing gently.

Oh, no, Janus thought, watching Patton with wide eyes. He had made a mistake.

Patton kept laughing for the next five minutes, and slowly calmed down. When he stopped completely, he was leaning against the window beside him, which remained closed. He sniffled, taking a deep breath as he pulled himself together and some random song played at a low volume on the radio. There was a brief silence. Suddenly something caught both boys' attention: from the cell phone lying on the dashboard of the car, which previously belonged to John, came an alarm. Except that it was no ordinary alarm clock alarm, whose purpose was to wake people up, but the sound was more like radar. Patton reached out and grabbed the device, and with it closer, the two of them could see the blinking red dot in the center of the screen. Around it, circular waves were forming, and at the top of the screen, there was the phrase ''Find my phone''.

''Oh my God! Oh my God, it's tracking us! Now what?'' Patton asked, looking around frantically for a solution.

''Give it to me.'' Janus asked, switching hands on the steering wheel and extending one of them to Patton. He handed him the cell phone and Janus glanced at the screen.

''Dammit. I thought it would take him longer to do something about it.'' He spoke before tossing the device out the open window without hesitation.

In shock, Patton looked at Janus and the outside of the car, which had turned into a straight deserted road. He gulped.

''You threw the phone out of the window.''

''I did. Problem solved.'' He smiled sarcastically, looking at Patton. Patton sighed and leaned back in his seat.

''Right.''

The drive went on without any major problems.

About fifteen minutes later, Patton turned to Janus after spending most of the time looking out the window.

''Are we going somewhere?''

Janus stammered, being taken aback.

''Why?''

''Because... there is a mall nearby.'' Patton said, pressing his index finger against the glass of the window.

''You want to go to the mall?''

''Oh... yes.''

''With a stolen car?''

''But-it's just-there's-'' Patton sighed. ''I planned on doing more after the date, I didn't know it was going to last all day. And I didn't know you were going to steal a car!''

Janus looked at Patton and outside the window behind him. Not far away was a large building that was expanding horizontally.

''Fine, whatever.'' Janus turned his attention back to the road and turned on the right turn signal.

As they drove out of the parking lot, inside the building, and towards the stores, Patton told that he had gardening as a hobby — something that Janus had already noticed when he mentioned all the succulent plants that had names beginning with A. He wanted to plant a vegetable garden, but didn't know much about how to do that yet. And for that, he would need the proper tools and clothes. The first place they went was a clothing store. Once there, they eventually drifted off as Patton looked for something specific and Janus just didn't care to keep up.

He wandered distractedly around the store, looking at the clothes on display. There was a wall filled only with women's suits, starting with neutral colors of gray and dark blue. Then a red one appeared. A pink one. After that followed several that had their lapels and pockets printed for some reason. On the other side of the store, a large table displayed themed shirts with Star Wars character prints. Next to it was a second table that was almost identical, but this one contained Harry Potter themed clothes. A long rack had colorful bomber jackets, alternating between one color until it got to the jeans jackets with kitten prints and pieces of pizza on the back. Hanging high above it was a section of long trench coats in solid colors. Most were beige or gray, and investigating to the back of the rack, Janus came across a yellow one. Not a neon, vibrant, strong yellow, but a more subdued, darker, a shade of ''mustard yellow,'' as some palettes named it, considering that the color was closer to brown. Stretching out his arm, he removed the hanger and examined the overcoat. Its fabric was dense, warm, and it had small strips to be buttoned on each sleeve. At waist height there was also a long belt in the same color, which was tied at the back with a bow. He pulled it over his forearm and walked back through the store to a section that contained several long-sleeved blouses. Some had a high collar, others had zippers on the back. Apart from these details, they didn't vary much. He looked through the pieces, and finally decided on a light gray one with a turtleneck. He held both the jacket and the blouse together, stretching them out in front of him, observing how they would look together.

''Boo!'' said a voice behind him, at the same time as a pair of hands grabbed his shoulders and immediately released them.

Janus hissed, making a sort of high-pitched animal-like sound, and gathered his arms closer to himself. Beside him, Patton appeared, laughing with one hand in front of his mouth and holding clothes with the other arm.

''What was that? It sounded like...'' Patton sniffled, catching his breath. ''One of those little snakes! With a rattle!''

''Oh, it's you.'' Janus sighed and rolled his eyes, ignoring Patton's comment and the fact that he felt his cheeks warming up.

''That was payback for the museum.'' Patton said, and crossed his arms over his chest. ''Listen, I'm going to try on these clothes, so...''

They looked at each other in silence.

''...You're staying here, right? In the store?''

''No, Patton, I'm strategically waiting that you're busy so that I can run off and leave you alone like I did with a stranger in the diner.'' Janus spoke ironically, and in silence, Patton watched him with big eyes, worthy of a Japanese animation. ''I'm not leaving without you, okay? If that's what you want to know.''

Janus looked at the small set of clothes he had in hand and at Patton beside him, before stretching out his arm and offering them to him.

''Try these on too.''

Slowly, Patton took both pieces and examined them.

''Why?''

''Just try them on.'' Janus shrugged.

''Okay...'' Patton added them to the clothes he already had with him. ''But then I'll choose an outfit for you too!''

''What? No.'' He grimaced.

''Yes! It'll be fun, come on!''

''We're not going to play dress-up.''

''Why not?''

''Because!''

''You picked out a little outfit for me.''

Janus grumbled, stuffing both hands in his pockets.

''Fine.''

''Yay! Come on, come on!'' Patton jumped up and down and gestured for the young man to follow him. Grudgingly, Janus did so.

The two of them walked through the different sections of the store, as Patton analyzed the most diverse items. A light green shirt with buttons down the front and a pineapple print caught his eye, but after one more look at Janus, he returned it to the rack. It was so easy to find something Patton liked; as long as it looked colorful or fun it was more than enough. He also resisted the temptation to pick up a salmon colored t-shirt, whose right side pocket had a flamingo design, so that it looked like the animal was stored in the small compartment.

''Oh, what do you like to do?'' Patton asked suddenly.

''What do you mean?'' Janus frowned, intrigued.

''Sort of like a hobby. I like gardening," he exemplified what he had said before. ''What's your hobby?''

''Oh... uh...''

Patton stopped by another booth where long-sleeved shirts were spread out.

''I play the piano.'' Janus finally answered. Not that it wasn't true, but it was more of a... half-truth.

''Really?'' Patton turned to him, smiling and holding one of the shirts from the exhibit close to him.

''Yes, really.''

Yes, he could play the piano. And yes, in terms of personal interests, he was busier producing an outfit identical to that of Marvel's Doctor Stephen Strange. His fingers had seen more needle points than piano keys in recent years, but that was not relevant.

''Oh, that's so cool! I kind of started to learn how to play the ukulele, but...''

''...But?'' -He arched one eyebrow.

''I don't know, I'm not very good at it. I guess it's just lack of practice.'' Patton remarked as he watched a mannequin a little taller than he, wearing a scarf and unfurl the cloth from around his neck.

Janus squinted his eyes and made a mental note of the fact.

They walked around the store for a few more minutes until Patton chose a hat. He held up three of the pieces he had with him and held them out to Janus.

''There! Oh, we can play catwalk too!''

''No, no... no...'' Janus shook his head, holding the clothes that Patton had handed him, and the two of them headed for the fitting rooms. ''No, we'll see about that after we've tried them on, okay?''

''Okay!'' Patton agreed, and, getting out in front of them, took the first fitting room he saw with the door open, closing it behind him.

Janus stopped where he was and sighed, coming to the conclusion that living with Patton was like living with a child. He didn't know exactly what opinion to form of this, but he chose to put the thought aside and walked into one of the fitting rooms.

A few minutes passed before Janus heard Patton coming out of his fitting room, sounding surprised. Wearing the clothes Patton had chosen for him, he opened the door and stepped out of the booth. With his back to him, Patton stood in front of a large mirror that took up the wall at the end of the fitting room aisle. His new light gray turtleneck blouse was tucked into his jeans, and over that, he wore a large dark yellow trench coat, the length of which extended just below the knee. The pants left a small part of his legs showing, so that the yellow all-star sneakers that went down to his ankles drew attention.

''I look like someone...'' Patton thought to himself, moving from side to side and letting the bar of his jacket swing. With a jump, he turned to Janus behind him. ''The tenth Doctor! From Doctor Who!''

Janus looked him up and down, and the only similarities to the character in question were the coat and the sneakers. Even though part of the outfit had been chosen by someone else, Patton still looked like the host of a children's show.

Patton also looked at him, bringing both hands to his chest, below the collarbone.

''You look so pretty! And stylish!''

Janus didn't answer, and instead crossed his arms, cutting off eye contact. His clothes still had dark shades. Like Patton, he was still wearing the same pants and shoes that he had chosen for the date at the museum — a black pair of pleated pants and brown boots - and like Patton, he had also tucked the dark gray long-sleeved shirt into his pants. The difference was that Janus had two extra accessories: a plaid scarf, in beige and black, and a black straight-brimmed hat, large enough to partially cover his face. Janus hoped that it was doing its job, and he put it on, pretending that his face was not getting a blush.

Excitedly, Patton stood next to him, and then the two of them were standing facing the mirror, where the critical difference in height was noticeable.

''It's such a serious outfit... but I like it!'' Patton spoke up, with both hands in his jacket pockets. ''Why did you choose this?''

''I thought it was something you could wear to class.''

''Oh!'' Patton wiggled again, smiling. ''I hadn't even thought of that, but it's a good idea.''

Patton turned to him.

''How about you? Do you like your outfit?''

''No, it's hideous.'' Janus answered lazily, rolling his eyes.

''Oh, really?'' Fearful, Patton leaned back, analyzing his choices. ''I thought it was nice... I tried to pick something that would go with you. I can try again if you like.''

Next to him, Patton looked genuinely upset, and a wave of panic rose in his throat.

''It was irony.'' Janus clarified. ''I liked it.''

''You liked it?'' Patton asked again, and he nodded. ''Yay! I'm going to go change, and then we can go, okay?''

''Sure.'' Janus agreed as Patton returned to the fitting room.

But when Patton left the booth for the last time, wearing his normal clothes — the ones he had chosen for the date at the museum — Janus was still wearing the clothes he had chosen. He was leaning close to the door of his fitting room, now open, looking distractedly at the yellow gloves he was wearing. Patton stopped next to him, in silence, until he asked:

''Aren't you going to change your clothes?''

''Oh, no, not really.'' Janus said, picking up the shirt and sweater he had been wearing. Before Patton could say anything, he added while smiling charmingly: ''Shall we?''

Patton frowned, but agreed, and they walked back to the store. Janus was further ahead, while Patton looked for the cashier, and he almost bumped into Janus when he stopped abruptly.

''Excuse me, sir," a young man started to say, approaching Janus and looking at him. He wore a badge hanging around his neck. ''Are these the clothes from the store?''

Janus turned his face slowly in the opposite direction. Next to him was a stand of sunglasses, and he looked at them closely.

''Look, sir, it is against store policy to wear the clothes outside the fitting room without paying first.''

Silently, Patton looked between Janus and the store employee. Janus took a pair of white, black and gray sunglasses, whose lenses prevented others from seeing his eyes, and put them on.

''I'm going to need you to go back to the fitting room and change, otherwise it will be characterized as theft, and I'll have to call security.'' The boy explained calmly, and Patton's eyes widened.

Janus wove the plaid scarf around his neck and adjusted his hat, so that it hid the part of his face that was closest to the employee.

''Is that so?'' Janus asked, with a heavy foreign accent.

''Yes.'' The boy confirmed, holding both hands in front of his body.

Janus grumbled, turning his attention back to the sunglasses stand.

''If I had known that I would be treated like this I wouldn't even have come here. But please, call security.''

The employee blinked repeatedly and leaned toward Janus.

''Excuse me?''

''It's just that where I come from it is very normal for customers to wear the clothes they are going to buy while they are in the store.'' Janus continued sarcastically and with his accent. ''I personally think it is absurd to be called a thief when I have done nothing wrong!''

Behind him, Patton was starting to make faces due to his confusion. From the stand, Janus picked up a pair of sunglasses whose lenses were blue hearts, and offered them to Patton.

''Try this one on, honey, it suits you.''

Hesitantly, Patton took the glasses and held them out in front of him.

''You’re still violating store policy.'' The employee repeated.

''Are you really going to call security on me?''

''I'm sorry, and you would be...?''

''Alfred Hitchcoppolucas," Janus announced, sliding his index finger and thumb along the brim of his hat. ''Director of Psycho Godfather Wars.''

In shock, Patton approached Janus and the clerk.

''Excuse me...'' He started to say, but Janus purposely put himself between him and the other boy.

''Please, do call security. So this could end up in a lawsuit against your store, it will be so much fun!'' Janus, Alfred said, gesturing and smiling exaggeratedly, pretending.

''Oh... oh.'' The employee was flabbergasted and started stammering, trying to fix the situation. ''No, no, that won't be necessary, sir. I am so sorry for the inconvenience, actually, you know what? You don't have to pay for anything. I'll turn off the alarms in the store, so you can go, okay?''

Patton watched as the scene unfolded before him, and of all the absurd things to question, he wondered if Alfred Hitchcoppolucas was a real person.

''Oh, really?'' Alfred asked with a strong accent and a drawling tone of voice.

''Yes, really. I'm very serious.'' The employee started to walk away, almost tripping over his own feet. ''I'll do it now, okay?'' He said, and with that, disappeared from sight.

Immediately, Janus broke off his fake smile and turned to Patton. With one hand he lowered his sunglasses minimally, looking Patton over them.

''You were saying?''

For the second time that day, Patton had more than one thought swirling around in his head, and there was a certain difficulty in turning them into comprehensible sentences.

''Who is Alfred Hitchcoppolucas?''

''A director.''

''No, no, you're not Alfred something, you're Janus...'' Patton interrupted himself when he realized that he didn't know his last name. ''Why did you lie to him?''

Janus shrugged and smiled.

''Because I can.''

''No! No, you can't just go around tricking people!''

''Why not?''

''Because it's wrong!'' Patton justified, and at the same time Janus repeated the exact same thing, but as if it were a question in a debauched tone.

''Think through the bright side,'' One by one, Janus removed the paper labels from the pieces he was using. ''You're saving money.''

With a few steps, he stepped aside and picked up two ecobags that were displayed on a low hanger. He put the tags and his original clothes in one of them, and offered the other to Patton.

''Shall we go?''

Hesitant and a little upset, Patton held up the bag and put all the products he was holding into it. He considered heading to the cashier and paying for them anyway, but before he could find his location in the place, Janus started walking again, heading toward the store doors. Patton followed him a reasonable distance, and as they walked through the silent detectors, Patton updated the list he had in mind.

Lawyer.

Thief.

Charming.

Liar.

And despite the questionable attributes, his indecision about what opinion to form of Janus remained haunting him.

Hours later, they left the mall, and the sun had given way to the moon and the stars that kept it company.

The outside was cold enough to give it goose bumps, and as they made their way to the pickup truck, Patton gripped the ends of his windbreaker jacket, ready to zip it up. But before he could do that, something else caught his eye. He stopped where he was, noticing how on the other side of the outdoor parking lot, a little way off, there was an enclosed car with a large dog inside. He stood there for a few seconds, watching the scene and walked hurriedly towards the car, not even noticing that Janus was walking steps ahead of him.

''... And that is why carrots are the worst vegetables.'' He concluded a monologue, and immediately looked both ways, noticing Patton's absence. Janus spun around in time to see him walking away toward an unfamiliar car. ''Patton?''

The young man continued walking.

''Patton!'' he called, and walked quickly in the same direction.

''Hi.'' Patton greeted the animal in as calm a voice as he could while resting his hands against the closed windows of the car. The dog inside, a golden retriever, turned to him, panting and blinking. ''Are you stuck in there?''

Patton touched different places on the car door, as if it would magically open for him. He reached for the handle and pulled, but nothing happened. It was locked. Of course it was locked.

Janus caught up with him and stopped beside him.

''What are you doing?'' he asked exasperated.

''There's a dog in here.'' Patton said, turning briefly to him, his eyebrows raised together. ''He's hot.''

Janus looked over to the side of the car, seeing the dog sitting in the back seats.

''And?''

''We have to get him out of here!'' Patton again touched random parts of the door. ''But there's no way, it's locked!''

Patton considered his options. He could try to go back to the mall and find the owner of the car — and the dog. But how could he do this? The person could be anywhere, in any store. What if it was an employee? He could have been working by now. There was no personal information on the outside of the car, and trying to find the owner by blindly searching for him could take hours.

Janus frowned and looked at Patton and the golden retriever inside, his pink tongue falling out of his mouth.

''It's not our dog,'' He thought about saying, which meant it wasn't their problem. But neither was the red pickup truck parked a short distance away, and that hadn't stopped him.

Besides, Patton remained with the same expression of sadness and concern on his face, touching the car door.

Janus bowed his head and thought about what they had. The keys to the pickup truck. Cell phones. Eyeglasses. A hat. Some gardening tools, small but firm, just like the car keys. A jacket. An overcoat, long and dense. Belts. Sneakers... Sneakers. His gaze hovered over Patton's pair of all-star sneakers at ankle height, the yellow glowing against the darkness of the concrete floor at night.

''Take off the shoelace.''

''What?'' Patton turned to him, confused.

''Take off your shoelace.'' Janus ordered, raising his head and looking at him.

Patton hesitated briefly before leaning against the car door, bending forward and raising one of his legs to chest height. After a few seconds of struggling, he pulled out the long line and held it out in front of Janus.

''Keep an eye out for anyone coming.'' He said casually, taking the shoelace.

''What do you mean?'' Patton muttered, standing on tiptoe and looking around, not knowing exactly how to warn him if anyone approached.

Janus glanced down at Patton's feet, interlacing the shoelace, noticing how one of his socks was green, and the other, red.

The thread now had a small knot with an opening in the center, which could be closed by pulling on one side. He slipped the shoelace through the doorway, and luckily the rubber didn't stop it. The dog, noticing the narrow line above him, raised his long nose and sniffed it briefly, not caring about it. Janus crouched down, facing the door and moving his arms carefully as he lowered the wire. Standing next to him, Patton alternated glances between what Janus was doing — which Patton didn't understand anyways — and his surroundings, nervously. He couldn't see any people outside, but entering the parking lot, a car sped up the path behind them, and Patton's eyes widened.

''A car just drove by.''

''Was it a police car?''

''No.''

''Then it doesn't matter.''

Janus kept his gaze fixed on the inside of the car. The dog sniffed the shoelace once more as it hovered over the door latch pin between them. He closed the knot around the latch tightly and pulled both ends up, causing the small latch to lift.

The door was open.

He exhaled and stood, and Patton smiled at him, hopefully. Janus pulled the handle and the door opened, and immediately, the golden retriever jumped out of the car, but he couldn't get very far: strapped to the headrest of the seat, a leash held him down. Janus leaned forward, looking for the clasp on the dog's collar, but before he could find it, Patton moved in front of him and rested one knee on the car seat.

''Patton!''

''Wait!'' He brought both hands to the piece of steel supporting the headrest. It took a few seconds for his vision to adjust to the pitch inside the vehicle, and meanwhile he was digging his nails into the leash, pulling it in different directions. Eventually, it began to loosen, and written in blue on the red fabric was a name: Steve.

With the leash in one hand, Patton got out of the car and took a few steps back. Once he had moved far away enough, Janus took the shoelace and lowered the pin again, closing the door and locking it. The two, now three, crossed the parking lot quickly, avoiding running. They opened the back of the truck, and with a few finger snaps above the compartment, the dog jumped in. Now almost at his height and with better lighting, Patton noticed that the collar around his neck also had the colors blue and red. Its pendant consisted of circles in those colors with the addition of white, and in the center, there was the silhouette of a dog's paw.

Steve, he thought. Blue, red and white. The yellowish fur. Steve in reference to Steve Rogers. Captain America.

They turned around, getting into the cab of the car, and with the same agility they had left the diner hours earlier, they were now leaving the parking lot behind.

Janus drove in silence, without a destination in mind.

Patton bowed his head, looking at his white shirt that now contained gray stains that he didn't know how he had gotten.

The drive went on for a few minutes, until, looking out the window, Patton recognized the road they were passing by.

''There's a bridge up ahead.'' he pointed out. ''We could stop and let Steve drink some water.''

Janus frowned, glancing at the back of the car.

''Steve?''

Patton nodded.

''It's on his leash.''

They arrived at the mostly deserted spot. Janus stopped the pickup truck above the bridge, and Patton was the first to get out, pushing his sneakers against the cold, polished stone floor. He went to the back of the car, opening the cargo bed and letting the dog out. With the leash in hand, they went around the bridge and down a small slope beside the architectural support that consisted of sand and brush, approaching the river of running water below. Steve immediately went towards the water and, as expected, began to drink. Patton let go of his leash and sat down on the ground, putting the laces back on his sneakers, listening to the engine of the truck still running.

The wind echoed in his ears, and he regretted not having zipped up his jacket when he first thought of it. The bridge, as well as its edges, were lit only by the weak grayish light of the moon above them. In the navy blue sky, tiny dots flickered and a few clouds were lurking. Patton watched the surrounding flora, high enough to be at his knee height, and hoped that no animals would appear. Most people would worry about snakes in an environment like this, maybe frogs because it was near water, but Patton's biggest concern was spiders. To his right, at a higher level, the rocky bridge cast a shadow over him.

The roar of the engine stopped and footsteps approached.

''Partners in crime?'' he asked in a drawling tone of voice.

Patton let out a sharp cry and turned back, seeing Janus standing a little above him, arms crossed. He stood erect, and his plaid scarf swayed gently in the wind, which in the poor lighting made him look more like a mysterious silhouette than a human being.

''What?''

''Partners in crime. '' He repeated and shrugged. ''You stole a dog.''

''I didn't steal a dog.'' Patton defended himself, standing up and brushing the sand out of his pants. ''I just... took it for a walk.''

''Without asking the owner or even knowing him?'' Janus squinted his eyes.

''I just...'' he stammered. ''Yes!''

''No, you stole a dog.''

''You stole a dog!''

''I stole a car, that's different.'' Janus waved one hand. ''It was your idea.''

''You opened the car.''

''Okay, we did it together, whatever. It's still a crime just the same.''

''No, it was for a good reason! He was in the heat, I just wanted to get him out of there!'' Patton slurred his words, pointing at Steve behind him.

''I never said it wasn't for a good reason. That's not my point.'' Janus looked at Patton and smiled briefly. ''We're alike. Isn't that what you wanted?''

Patton looked at him and remembered the two questionable attributes that were on his mental list of things he knew for sure about Janus. Thief. Liar.

''No, we're not. We have nothing in common!''

''Wrong. We have philosophy and theft.'' Janus went down the small sand hill, stopping in front of Patton.

''No, only bad people steal!''

Janus brought one hand to his chest, pretending to be offended.

''Patton! What about the people who live on the street and steal to survive?''

He opened his mouth, ready to retort, but no words came. After a moment, he resumed, denying with his head:

''No. No, that's not what I meant. No, that's enough.'' Patton moved his arms from side to side in front of him. ''We'll come back, we'll return the dog, and we'll return the car, okay?''

''Oh, please...'' Janus started, but Patton turned his back on him, approaching the riverbank and stopping near Steve.

Patton's idea of going back and returning the collected belongings without permission was ridiculous, to say the least. Especially considering that they had managed to leave the situations behind without major consequences. There was no point in denying the obvious — that crimes had been committed — and Janus didn't really understand why Patton insisted on doing that. With his eyes half-closed, he watched Patton and thought. Patton also insisted on the statement that stealing made you a bad person; committing crimes made you a bad person. Janus knew that things were not that easy, as black and white. And it suddenly occurred to him that maybe Patton didn't know that.

The icy evening wind ruffled their ears and crickets began to echo around them, and Janus let the room be filled with the sounds of nature as he thought.

''Would you agree with Jean-Jacques Rousseau when he said that man is good and society corrupts him?'' He asked, pronouncing the words slowly and clearly.

Patton looked at him over his shoulder.

''I don't know. Maybe?''

After a moment, he continued:

''And would you agree with Thomas Hobbes when he said that man is essentially evil?''

''Would you?'' Patton asked him, his worried look gradually softening.

Janus took a few steps and stopped beside Patton, staring at Steve as he drank the water.

''No, not with either of them.'' Janus turned to him, his colorful eyes in a state of serenity. ''Psychology, philosophy, anthropology, all these fields have the human being and its existence as their focus of study. Ever since we existed, we have been trying to find the answers to these same questions. Are we good? Are we bad? Why are we here? And these areas are still relevant today because we don't have a yes or no answer. Because after centuries of investigation, we have come to the conclusion that humanity is complex. It is to be expected that these questions will have complicated answers, if such answers ever exist. No one is inherently good or bad entirely, Patton. You can steal and still be a good person. It just depends on how you see yourself.''

Patton nodded, muttering something incomprehensible. Quickly, Janus continued:

''But you know... if you really want to know if you're a ''bad'' person...'' Janus offered his hand to him, the yellow glove standing out in the darkness. ''We can find out together.''

Silently, Patton smiled softly and took Janus's hand.

On the floor, Steve turned toward them. He shook himself, causing water splashing from his beard to hit the two men next to him. Janus protested, complaining, but Patton didn't much care.

''Can we go now?''

Patton leaned forward, taking Steve's leash, and the trio returned to the bridge and the car above them.

''What is the next stop?'' Patton asked.

''I don't know," Janus shrugged. ''Do you want me to drive you home?''

''I'd like to, but...'' Patton glanced at the back of the car. Behind Janus, Steve's mouth was open and the wind was against his golden hair. ''I'm not sure how I'm going to get in with a dog that size.''

Of course, getting home was not exactly the problem. The problem would be how to justify to the neighbors why he had an adult golden retriever with him, in case someone saw him.

Janus remained silent, searching for a solution. Patton picked up his cell phone, pressed his fingers against the screen a few times, and moments later, announced:

''There is a hotel nearby that accepts dogs. The Sandman Inn.''

''Yes, but do they accept large dogs?''

Patton swiped at the cell phone screen.

''Yes, they do. It's not too far away.''

Janus agreed, ready to follow the GPS directions, when Patton grabbed his arm.

''Wait!''

''What?''

''There's a supermarket here!'' Patton pointed, and across the street, a large sign with its lights on indicated the store was open.  ''Let's stop here. It's gonna be just a minute.''

''What for?'' Janus asked, already turning the car around.

''To buy things!'' Patton simply said. When they pulled into the parking lot, Patton got out of the car, but Janus didn't move. ''Aren't you coming?''

''No. You can go.''

''Okay.'' Patton agreed and quickly drove away, approaching the doors that opened automatically for him.

Patton took a basket from the stack next to the door, and walked through the aisles occupied only by merchandise. The cleaning products section was the closest, and he walked through an aisle that contained fabric softeners and clothes nails.

Lawyer. Thief. Charming. Liar, it echoed through his mind, and Patton wondered what answer he would provide when Virgil asked him if he liked Janus.

He turned right, now passing through a corridor that contained brooms and insecticides.

Technically, their date had been extended for the rest of the day. Technically.

Patton glanced at the products in other aisles as he walked in front of them. Pasta. Canned goods and seasonings. Dairy products. Frozen foods.

Would he want a second date? Assuming they didn't get caught for the thefts, of course.

Patton entered an aisle of children's birthday party supplies.

But as Janus himself had said, not all people who did things that were considered bad were really bad. The case of the homeless people was a good example.

He took a card with colored candles and put it in the basket.

This line of reasoning would work for Janus as well as for him.

Patton took a few steps forward and picked up plastic plates and cutlery, adding them to the basket so that they would keep the candles company.

So... it was all relative, really. Janus had kind of explained that too.

Patton returned to the frozen food aisle. He ignored the large transparent doors that displayed ice cream of the most diverse brands and flavors. He stopped in front of a large booth displaying ready-made cakes, and chose one whose frosting consisted of granules and cherries, and placed it in the basket.

There was a decision to be made.

When Patton came out of the supermarket with a shopping bag in his hand, Janus was leaning outside the car, petting Steve.

''Ready?''

''Ready. We're good to go.'' Patton confirmed, smiling.

Once again, they returned to the cab of the truck and went on their way.

The Sandman Inn was open twenty-four hours a day.

It was a clean and quiet place, and the carpeting in the lobby was red and gold.

They checked in, and the employee handed them the key to Room 9E, with two beds.

Janus and Patton stepped into the elevator. Steve's leash in one hand, the keys to pickup the truck in the other, the shopping ecobags on their shoulders, and the grocery bag in the other hand.

Arriving in the bedroom, they left both bags with clothes on the bed. Janus removed Steve's leash, and Steve began sniffing around the room. Patton approached a small table that was in front of the beds and put his bag on top of it, removing the groceries one by one. He removed the plastic cover from the cake and placed it in the center of the table, opening the carton of colorful candles.

''Can you turn off the light?'' he asked, and a little hesitantly, Janus did so. Outside, the grayish moon produced a faint beam of light that invaded the room through the window, preventing them from being completely in the dark.

Patton sat down in one of the chairs, and Janus removed his hat and joined him on the other side. Steve also joined them, lying down at Patton's feet.

At the cashier, Patton had picked up a box of matches at the last minute. He had spread four of the colorful candles on the edge closest to Janus, and was now lighting them.

''So,'' Janus began, with a terrible posture in his seat. Strands of his dark brown hair fell over one of his eyes. ''I suppose we'll be saying goodbye to each other in the morning?''

Patton smiled quietly, placing the rest of the candles at the end closest to him.

''No, I don't think so.''

Janus squinted his eyes. He leaned forward and, with one breath, blew out the candles that were lit. Immediately, Patton began to light the ones he had positioned last.

''I'm down for a second date, actually.'' He explained, his gaze focused on the wax and the fire. ''I think there's more about you that I don't know.''

''I do cosplay, if that's what you want to know.'' Janus looked away, crossing one leg over the other.

Patton stopped where he was and laughed, making a mental note to return to this subject later.

''It was you who suggested that we find out if we are bad people together.'' he said, finishing lighting the candles.

They both stared at each other for a brief moment, before Janus asked, in his usual lazy tone:

''I'm stuck with you now, aren't I?''

Patton propped both elbows horizontally on the table. He looked at his cell phone beside him, and the 11:59 on the lock screen turned into 00:00, accompanied by the date May 1.

It was midnight.

It was his birthday.

It was their birthday.

''Happy birthday, Janus.''

Janus lifted the corners of his mouth minimally, just enough to go unnoticed.

''Happy birthday, Patton.''

And Patton blew out the candles, leaving them in the dark.

[ethanalter]

‘Orphan Black’ Recap: We All Fall Down

Tatiana Maslany as Krystal in BBC America’s ‘Orphan Black’ (Photo Credit: Ken Woroner/BBC America)

Warning: This post contains spoilers for the “Manacled Slim Wrists” episode of Orphan Black.

And another one gone, and another one gone — another one bites the dust. Orphan Black‘s final season body count continues to climb as Susan Duncan joins her clone children Januz and M.K. in the show’s graveyard. The elderly matriarch of the Leda line has stared the Grim Reaper in the face before, must notably following Rachel’s insurrection last season, but this time the hooded figure appears to have claimed his prize, aided and abetted by Virginia Coady and P.T. Westmoreland.

On second thought, strike that and reverse it: Virginia Coady and John. You see, there is no P.T. Westmoreland. The bombshell revelation at the heart of “Manacled Slim Wrists” is that the supposedly 170-year-old founder of Neolution is actually a collegiate contemporary of Susan’s. Not only that, but this has been her idea all along; John merely became the face (and myth) of the movement because of good old fashioned 1960s-era sexism. This twist essentially establishes Susan Duncan as the Peggy Olson of the show’s pre-history: She was always the smartest person in the room, but the men got all the credit. “With fortune and fiction — that’s how the patriarchy works,” Susan herself says, resignedly.

Rosemary Dunsmore as Susan in BBC America’s ‘Orphan Black’ (Photo Credit: Ken Woroner/BBC America)

Now, after 50 years of standing in the shadows, she sees what enabling John hath wrought. In an attempt to prolong his life in the way his alter ego supposedly did, the Westmoreland impersonator has been pumping the blood of the sick young children that inhabit Neolution Island’s shantytown into his own failing body. If Susan has turned a blind eye to John’s transgressions before — mainly because she’s been complicit in them — this is, at last, a bridge too far. So with the aid of Ira and Cosima, she sets about spiking his concoction with a fatal drug, enlisting the reluctant aid of John’s designated young helper, Mud, who still pledges blind allegiance to her master.

Tatiana Maslany as Cosima and Jenessa Grant as Mud in BBC America’s ‘Orphan Black’ (Photo Credit: Ken Woroner/BBC America)

Perhaps sensing something is amiss, the man picks that exact moment to bestow a rare compliment on his distraught servant. “You have been a great comfort,” he tells her, a kind word that causes an immediate change of heart in Mud. The girl goes directly to Virginia and tattles on Susan, thus signing the older woman’s death warrant. It’s Ira — who isn’t in the best of health either, as evidenced by his bleeding nose and glitchy mental state — who eventually discovers her sitting prone in a wheelchair, the spiked drug cocktail dripping into her arm. At least part of their plan worked: Cosima and Charlotte have made it off Neolution Island and are headed back for the mainland, leaving behind a population that’s learned the truth about the fake deity in their midst and are ready to burn the place to the ground.

While these seismic events are going down across the water, Sarah, Mrs. S, and Kira put their little con game into action, with Kira feigning illness to delay her next appointment at Dyad. But Sarah can’t be a homebody the entire episode, not when Krystal wiggles her well-manicured fingers and drags her into a side mission that turns out to have major consequences. See, the “beauty products truther” has inadvertently stumbled upon a Dyad plot to use mass-market creams and make-up as a delivery system for its all-important LIN28a gene, and the company is enlisting the help of industry leaders like Leonard Shipp, owner of Bluzone Cosmetics. Krystal and Len happen to share an intense physical attraction to each other, so a date is hastily arranged with the purpose of gathering intel.

Tatiana Maslany as Krystal in BBC America’s ‘Orphan Black’ (Photo Credit: Steve Wilkie/BBC America)

At first, the two can’t keep their hands off each other (by the way, Len is played by Tatiana Maslany’s real-life boyfriend, Tom Cullen, so all this making out couldn’t have been too much of a hardship for them), endangering the surveillance attempts of Sarah and Art. But Krystal’s no pushover; confronted with hard evidence of Len’s betrayal in the form of a highly experimental skin cream that causes hair to fall out, the beautician kicks the guy to the curb with a swift kick in the balls. It’s a move that even impresses Sarah, whose antipathy towards Krystal is well-documented. Who knows? Maybe Krystal will finally score an invite to the next Clone Dance Party.

Onto our clone power rankings, from which Alison will remain absent for the third week in a row. Based on next week’s teaser, though, the suburban warrior will finally be returning from her “me time” as a changed woman.

1. Krystal Krystal’s penchant for falling “ass backwards into something big” may frustrate Sarah to no end, but it’s a skill that reaps big narrative and comic rewards in this episode. Cullen’s cameo is as big a treat for audiences as it must have been for Maslany.

2. Cosima While Cosima’s jailbreak wasn’t a total success — with two of her accomplices left behind to die — at least she and Charlotte are temporarily free of Neolution’s clutches. And continuing the Frankenstein theme from last week, Neolution Island’s visitors are in the process of smoking out the monster in their midst from his castle.

3. Sarah “Is she necessary, because she’s so rude every single time,” Krystal initially complains of Sarah’s presence on her mission to entrap Len. While Sarah’s rudeness doesn’t exactly go away, she does prove her necessity to the operation, providing helpful pointers that her clone sister appreciates, even when she ignores them.

4. Rachel Perhaps out of overconfidence, Rachel completely falls one of the oldest tricks in the book: Kira’s “sick kid” routine. (For what it’s worth, Ferris Bueller would approve of Kira’s method performance, complete with well-timed vomit.) And while her suspicions are aroused by the end of the episode, she’s bought the rebel clone alliance some crucial time to continue their empire-overthrowing plotting.

Non-Clone MVP: Susan Duncan It may be a case of too little, too late, but at least Susan tried to make up for her past crimes by exposing the man she’s enabled for five decades as a fraud. Even if Westmoreland survived this encounter, the community he’s built is collapsing all around him.

Orphan Black airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. on BBC America.

Read more from Yahoo TV:

‘The Walking Dead’ Season 8: Everything We Know (and Want to Know)

‘Game of Thrones’: 15 Secrets and Details the Costumes Reveal About Season 7

Review: ‘Friends From College’ Has Big Stars, Small Laughs

[itsworn]

Giant Photo Gallery: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the NHRA Gatornationals

Over 270 Photos of Cars, Stars, and the Sights of 50 years worth of drag racing from Gainesville Raceway

Opened in 1969, Gainesville Raceway has long been a favorite on the NHRA Mello Yello tour, attracting fans from across the globe for a multitude of events, including popular Amalie Motor Oil Gatornationals. This year, NHRA and Gainesville Raceway teamed up to celebrate the Gatornationals Golden 50th Anniversary of the famed event.

Considered one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit, Gainesville Raceway has produced the first 260-, 270- and 300-mph Top Fuel runs. In 2019, the Gatornationals thrilled once again with record-setting performances and a host of specialty events.

T.J. Zizzo put on a great show, wheeling his Top Fuel Dragster to a best of 3.75 at 328 mph and scoring a semi-final finish.

The schedule was packed with Stock Eliminator, Super Stock, and the full list of sportsman classes, including Pro Stock Bike, Pro Stock, Funny Car and Top Fuel. Highlighted categories included the SAMTech.edu Factory Stock Showdown, E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod, Top Fuel Harley, and the “Unfinished Business” match race showcasing legendary drivers of the sport.

The Unfinished Business line up included Don “Big Daddy” Garlits, Warren “The Professor” Johnson, Joe Amato, Shirley Muldowny, Terry Vance, Ed “The Ace” McCulloch, Kenny Bernstein, and Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. The eight drivers battled in 14-second Toyota street cars and the racing was intense. In the end, “The Professor” took the Fuel drivers to the mat, dropping them one by one until he was crowned champion.

Craig Bourgeois climbed the mountain in Comp Eliminator, taking the title with his super-cool A/ND (A/Nostalgia Dragster). Bourgeois nailed a perfect light in the final and out ran Comp veteran Randy Daniels for the win.

Pro Stock bike saw the debut of 3-time time NHRA champion Angelle Sampey on a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and 200 mph runs from the two-wheelers. Sampey clocked a 6.81 and a top speed of 198.47 mph in qualifying to lock into the 6th slot, meanwhile, Matt Smith and Eddie Krawiec produced 200 mph runs. On Sunday it was an all-Vance & Hines final, with Andrew Hines beating Krawiec (6.75/199.17 mph to 6.75/198.90 mph) for the gold Wally.

Excitement continued in each and every class, but had our spotlight on the SAMTech.edu Factory Stock Showdown (you can read the fully FSS story on HotRod.com). This is the newest NHRA heads-up category showcasing Cobra Jet Mustangs, Chevy COPO Camaros and Dodge Drag Pak Challengers. These modern warriors go to battle with in a production-based supercharged steel cage match full of horsepower, burnouts, wheelies, and 7-second, near 180 mph performance—all from factory-built cars that run on 9-inch tires!

Jason Line readies his Summit Pro Stocker with a sweet burnout.

Former Pro Stock racer Drew Skillman was the class of the field in Gainesville, running a class record 7.71 at 176 mph and scoring his first FSS win. Skillman has previous wins in NHRA Stock, Super Stock, Pro Stock, and now he adds a FSS victory to his resume.

The action didn’t stop there. We witnessed insane Pro Mod runs, high flyers in Stock and Super Stock, and after four days, hard work paid off for teams who took home the commemorative Gold Wally trophies. It was great to watch former Car Craft magazine feature car owner Randi Lyn Shipp win Stock Eliminator in her ’67 Pontiac Firebird, then, her fiancé, Bo Butner took home gold in his Pro Stock Camaro. We could go on and on about the winners and hard chargers, but it’s way more fun to dig into the photo gallery. So kick back and check out the color, horsepower, and amazing action at the 50th Anniversary NHRA Gatornationals.

Funny Car is a fan favorite in Gainesville. Robert Hight scored the win with his AAA-backed Fuel Coupe running 3.86 at 331 mph to beat Tim Wilkerson in the final.

Scott Gove made the tow from Maine count, qualifying his wicked ’93 Dodge Daytona on the Super Stock pole. Gove ran an impressive 7.90 with his small-block, five-speed combination.

NHRA drag racing is all about horsepower, and the SAMTech.edu Factory Stockers make tons. This is the pole-setting ’plant of Bill Skillman, a Holbrook Racing Engines creation that propelled his 2014 Cobra Jet to a 7.74 and a top speed of 177.14 mph.

Former HotRod.com feature car owner, Randi Lyn Shipp outlasted the field in Stock Eliminator to take home the Gold 50th Anniversary NHRA Wally trophy. Her fiancée Bo Butner followed suit, winning Pro Stock.

Jeff Harrington was the top qualifier in Stock Eliminator with his all-motor 5.0L Cobra Jet. Harrington’s CJ wears a throwback Platt & Payne Ford Drag Team scheme.

Todd Tutterow qualified second in E3 Spark Plugs Pro Modified with a 5.67 at 250 mph. the pole was set by “Fast” Stevie Jackson (5.66/253 mph) and the bump was an amazing 5.75.

Drew Skillman made the move from Pro Stock to Factory Stock count, winning in his debut race.

Former Super Stock winner Anthony Bongiovanni lasted until the semi-final with his powerful Cobra Jet.

Nitro Harley has to be one of the wildest classes in all of drag racing. Here, Doug Vancil powers his Vance & Hines mount to a 6.18 at 237 mph in qualifying.

NHRA drag racing is an international sport with drivers from all around the globe. In fact, there were quite a few from Sweden, including Mikel Lind, who is a regular with his sharp ’71 Vette. Lind ran as quick as 10.52 and lasted a few round in Stock.

Adam Strang, of Jericho, Vermont, made the long tow down the east coast and qualified his ’68 Firebird in the 11th spot, running 10.45 in C/Stock. Strang lasted four rounds with his four-speed Bird before losing to Slate Cummings.

Former world champion Eddie Krawiec ran over 200 mph on his Vance & Hines Harley-Davidson Street Rod motorcycle.

Fan favorite Leah Pritchett competed in Factory Stock Showdown and Top Fuel.

John Gray competed with his retro-painted AA/SA ’69 Camaro. Gray ran 9s with the big-block Chevrolet.

You’ll see just about every type of muscle car at an NHRA event from old to new. In Gainesville we spotted Chuck and Steve Comella’s real-deal Hemi Dart. Yes, this is one of the originals and it’s still making trips down the quarter-mile. Driver Steve Comella nearly made it to final, but a -0.001 red light got him in the semis.

The Gatornationals is four days (and nights) of pure American muscle.

Another fun runner is Shelia and Stan Holt’s small-block, four-speed Chevy II. Stan handled the driving duties in Florida, running a best of 10.23 in GT/M.

The post Giant Photo Gallery: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the NHRA Gatornationals appeared first on Hot Rod Network.

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[jeremystrele]

Bill Henson’s Post-Industrial Walled Garden

Bill Henson’s Post-Industrial Walled Garden

Gardens

by Georgina Reid

Inside artist Bill Henson’s garden. Photo – Daniel Shipp.

The acclaimed Melbourne-based artist. Photo – Daniel Shipp.

Garden details. Photo – Daniel Shipp.

From the indoors to the outdoor.  Photo – Daniel Shipp.

Dry-stone wall feature. Photo – Daniel Shipp.

An inspiring spot for pondering. Photo – Daniel Shipp.

Questions of beauty, mystery, order and chaos abound in Australian artist Bill Henson’s garden. As well as being an internationally renowned photographer, Bill is also a passionate gardener. His home and photography studio are embraced by a lush and layered wilderness. It’s hard to know where the garden begins and ends, and that’s the way Bill likes it.

Bill Henson was a surprise. I had been told he had a good garden, but I had no idea of the depth of his obsession. I presumed art had a controlling hand over Bill’s heart, but I was wrong. He’s a very serious garden maker, garden lover and garden thinker. ‘Gardens, books and art are the three fixed points with which I move the world. They’re the trifecta.’

Bill’s garden is an entire universe. It’s an incredibly atmospheric space, imbued with a sense of mystery and beauty only he could create. Walls are invisible, movement in neighbouring buildings can be heard but not seen, and the sky is framed by a tumble of tree canopies. Pepper trees (Schinus molle), Canary Island date palms (Phoenix canariensis), figs, cypress trees and cordylines wriggle and shove, elbowing their way towards the light. Layers of underplanting fill the space, dripping down walls and climbing up tree trunks.

This garden is a wild and beautiful expression of Bill’s creative process – making, meandering and questioning. ‘Gardening is finding a form outside your body through which to articulate things which ultimately you don’t fully understand.’

‘You find out what things are about through trying to make them, create them. That’s how I am with my photographs. I’m never quite sure what it’s going to look like. You apply yourself intellectually, but it’s the process of trying to make the picture, or the garden, that leads you to understanding what it’s about.’

Bill is not just a gardener of the mind – he is as physical as he is cerebral. In 2006, he bought the mechanic’s workshop and carpark that was next to his warehouse home. He excavated the carpark and ordered sixty tonnes of Coldstream stone, which he used to build the tall, dry-stone retaining walls that are now almost completely hidden by foliage. ‘It took me a couple of weeks,’ he says, very casually. ‘Fitting rocks together is exciting. I could do it all day.’

The walls frame a sea of gravel that runs the length of the space. It’s the void to the garden’s mass, the order to nature’s exuberance. Bill rakes the gravel every morning. ‘In a way, the gravel is the known world. And then you climb up into the rocks and you find the wildness. For me, that tug between human control and nature constantly reclaiming the landscape is what I like. I’ve never found pure wilderness very interesting. Walking through Tasmania or the South Island of New Zealand is very beautiful but not actually interesting to me. But coming across a pair of old stone gates in an overgrown landscape on the outskirts of Rome, that’s kinda sexy.’

I find wilderness endlessly interesting, but I get his point. There’s something about the tension between order and chaos – the contrast of form and wildness in a landscape – that creates an attraction like no other. The beauty of Bill’s wild planting is made more pronounced, more dramatic and more mysterious by being constrained by walls, boundaries and gravel. ‘My ideal garden tends towards wilderness. You have the known world, which in my case is the gravel, and then it heads off into the hinterland, where you’re not sure where it begins or ends. Magic, mystery, darkness. That’s what animates the speculative capacity in people. It forces them to think.’

For Bill, gardening is a drug. It’s a form of meditation and ‘one of the most ancient and greatest pathways into contemplation’. Sometimes he’ll head down in the morning to rake the gravel or water his endless collection of pots and he won’t return for four hours. Constructive manual labour is important to him. He waters all his plants by hand every day (many of which are trees in huge terracotta pots), offhandedly mentioning how he can wrangle nearly any sized pot and plant with a crowbar ‘like the Egyptians’, and tells me about installing bird’s nest ferns (Asplenium australasicum) in the tops of the trees. ‘It’s a bit precarious.’

Many of the plants in Bill’s garden have been rescued. ‘I can’t stand the disappearance of the city’s gardens. Every time they pull down an old house they bulldoze the garden. It’s destroying the city. There are so many things that could be saved.’ So Bill saves them. He has rescued accidentally bonsaied radiata pines (Pinus radiata) that were growing in tin cans in a run-down nursery, an old cypress from a building site, and more. He tells me about a recent mission to a nursery he’d visited as a child. ‘When they bulldozed it, I went out with my friend who has a digger and a truck and saved a whole bunch of ferns. They would be hundreds of years old.’

There’s always room for more plants in Bill’s unruly garden. ‘A big, overgrown garden in the middle of the city is the ultimate luxury.’ He likes the country, but there’s something about the containment and humanity of the city that appeals to him. It’s like he needs structure to push against.

For Bill, gardening and making art are one and the same. He has committed himself fully – mind and body – to both. Both are acts of construction. Both are about creating mood and stimulating emotion.  Both are about using beauty as a tool for discovery and speculation.

‘The best experience you can have with art is to go away with more questions than you came with, even though everything today is about certainty and exactitude and measuring. To encounter the great untidiness in good art is like going into a garden where you can’t see the beginning or the end of the space.’

Bill Henson’s garden, then, is the work of a great artist.

‘The Planthunter: Truth, Beauty, Chaos and Plants’ by Georgina Reid with photography by Daniel Shipp is published by Thames & Hudson. Released tomorrow October 30th, it is now available for pre-order online.

‘The Planthunter: Truth, Beauty, Chaos and Plants’ by Georgina Reid is now available for pre-order online. Photo – Daniel Shipp.

[365footballorg-blog]

Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy | 2018 MLS Match Preview

August 16, 20186:02PM EDT

Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy 2018 MLS Regular Season — Week 25 CenturyLink Field — Seattle August 18 – 4 pm ET WATCH: ESPN, MLS LIVE on DAZN (Canada)

With five consecutive wins and eight games without a loss, Seattle Sounders FC are one of the hottest teams in MLS and have made a remarkable climb up the Western Conference, one that can push them ahead of the playoff line with a win against an LA Galaxy side winless in their last three after a pair of disappointing draws.

The Sounders are coming off a 2-1 home win over FC Dallas to move within three points of sixth-place Real Salt Lake, while the Galaxy settled for a 2-2 home draw against the Colorado Rapids Tuesday night.

Seattle Sounders FC

Seattle (9-9-5) made it five straight victories with a 2-1 win over West-leading FC Dallas Sunday at CenturyLink Field.

Chad Marshall opened the scoring in the 41st minute, latching onto a Nico Lodeiro corner kick to give the Sounders the lead at the break. After Dominique Badji leveled in the 52nd minute, Lodeiro scored what proved to be the winner in the 63rd minute with a free kick that found its way through a maze of players.

“It will be a game by game, matchup by matchup decision by the coaching staff and there might be a change we make, a subtle one, home or away, some of those little nuances,” Brian Schmetzer said. “But I like the way the team has been playing so its hard to change when something’s working so well for you.”

Suspended: None

Suspended after next caution: D – Nouhou Tolo, D – Jordy Delem

International duty: None

Injury Report: OUT: F – Jordan Morris (torn ACL); QUESTIONABLE: M – Handwalla Bwana (right midfoot sprain), F – Clint Dempsey (low back pain), D – Brad Smith (groin injury)

Projected Starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left) GK: Stefan Frei — Kelvin Leerdam, Kim Kee-hee, Chad Marshall, Brad Smith — Gustav Svensson, Osvaldo Alonso — Cristian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro, Harry Shipp — Raul Ruidiaz

Notes: Clint Dempsey has scored five goals in 13 matches against the Galaxy, including postseason play. This is tied for the fourth-highest goal total for a Sounders player against a MLS team since the start of 2010. … The Sounders are unbeaten in their last eight league matches (6W-2D), allowing 0.6 goals per game. They had won once in their prior seven (5L-1D), allowing 1.6 goals per game.

LA Galaxy

The winless streak is now three games for the LA Galaxy (10-8-7) after conceding late for the third straight game and settling for a 2-2 draw against the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday night at StubHub Center.

Ashley Cole opened the scoring in the 59th minute before Edgar Castillo leveled in the 74th minute. Two minutes later, Sebastian Lletget put the Galaxy back in front, but Niki Jackson struck for the equalizer in the 82nd minute.

“We had the lead twice so we need to hold on the lead,” Sigi Schmid said. “We can talk tactics if we want, but when there’s one player forward and he’s playing against four defenders and he drops off and gets the ball in a pocket…I don’t know what the tactics are there. Do we need six back there? The tactics are that someone has to get up his rear end. It’s just that final thing for us. It hasn’t clicked.”

Suspended: None

Suspended after next caution: D – Michael Ciani

International duty: None

Injury Report: OUT: D – Rolf Feltscher (shoulder surgery), M – Romain Alessandrini (knee injury), F – Giovani dos Santos (leg injury); QUESTIONABLE: M – Jonathan dos Santos (groin injury), D – Michael Ciani (hamstring injury)

Projected Starting XI (3-4-1-2, right to left) GK: David Bingham — Dave Romney, Michael Ciani, Jorgen Skjelvik — Chris Pontius, Perry Kitchen, Servando Carrasco, Ashley Cole — Sebastian Lletget — Ola Kamara, Bradford Jamieson

Notes: Since the beginning of August, 2017, Gio dos Santos, Jonathan dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini have played in just 27.2 percent of minutes in MLS play (974:51 of 3,579:14). The Galaxy average 2.0 goals per 90 when the trio is on the field (1.3 when at least one is off). … LA have lost just once in their last 12 MLS matches (5W-6D), outscoring opponents 30-20. However, they have only one win in their last five (1L-3D).

All-Time Series

Overall: Seattle Sounders FC 6 wins, 27 goals … LA Galaxy 9 wins, 31 goals … 9 draws

At Seattle: Sounders FC 3 wins, 13 goals … Galaxy 4 wins, 14 goals … 5 draws

Last meeting at Seattle: Seattle Sounders FC 1, LA Galaxy 1 (Sept. 10, 2017)

Officials

Referee: Mark Geiger Assistant Referees: Frank Anderson, Mike Rotterdam 4th Official: Dave Gantar VAR: Younes Marrakchi

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Seattle Sounders FC vs. LA Galaxy | 2018 MLS Match Preview was originally published on 365 Football

[our-legacy-rp-blog]

MAV CASSEL SIXTH HALFBLOOD SLYTHERIN

HISTORY

For forty years, the Cassel family have lived and worked with centaurs in England’s north. A harmonious relationship, the Cassel’s have inherited a legacy, from generation to generation, of being the medium between wizarding kind and one of the country’s largest - and oldest - herds of centaur. Though once originally a pureblood family, the Cassel’s purity has wavered over the years as they drifted out of pureblood society and the traditions that are upheld. It became less important to them to remain pure, and more important to do their job - to be peacekeepers. Spearheaded by Gerard Cassel, the family live and work in the wilderness, with days spent maintaining the forest that the centaurs live in, mending the fences to keep wizards and muggles out, as well as campaigning for centaur rights to the Ministry. A full time occupation for very little money, the Cassel’s believe in their cause and have fought hard over the years for recognition and equality. While the herd is in favour of the Cassel’s and their work, many other centaur herds have strongly rejected the offer of help from the family, shunning the wizards and their way of life. The Cassel’s are the exception, and they don’t take their position for granted, but instead believe that they need to constantly maintain a good relationship with the centaurs they share the forest with.

Mav was born to a mother and father who believed passionately in continuing Gerard’s work. Their mother, Georgiana, had grown up in the city as a muggleborn witch, while their father, Lachlan, had only known the forest and Hogwarts. The mix of experiences from their parents made Mav into an adventurous and curious young child who was drawn to the forest and the centaurs. For much of their early years, Mav spent days running around with the centaur children, learning which fruits and plants were edible, learning to hunt and to respect nature. Though they understood that they were different - Mav had two legs and they four - the mindset that Mav was raised with saw only equality between humans and centaurs. Mav learned very quickly that centaurs were intelligent and proud creatures, and only ever showed respect for the herd’s elders, who endured the small child’s presence. For necessity’s sake, Mav was excluded from the herd’s sacred rituals and important events, but could often be found there on a day to day basis. They were protected and cared for by the herd like one of their own, and the Cassel’s saw in Mav a promising leader in their continuing cause.

A spirited and curious child, Mav was always getting into things they shouldn’t. Climbing trees - much to the other centaur children’s amazement - or crawling into caves and crevices, Mav was adventurous and reckless. But they realised that their daring came with a price: seeing things that they probably shouldn’t. Sometimes it was just two teenage centaurs sneaking off into the woods for a moment alone, and Mav thought nothing of it; they giggled and forgot about it. But when they saw their own mother, Georgiana, kissing one of the centaurs, there was nothing to laugh about. The liberal lifestyle that Mav had enjoyed seemed suddenly to have gone too far - even they knew, at such a young age, that what their mother doing was wrong. Mav kept the secret, and it weighed on them heavily - they couldn’t look their mother in the eye, and instead withdrew from playing with the centaurs entirely. When the secret affair came out, it rocked the entire herd - as well as the Cassel family. Georgiana’s shame was matched only by Hector’s, the centaur; everyone disapproved, and violently so. For the first time, Mav no longer idolised centaurs, but saw them for what they were - creatures that had the ability to destroy.

After the affair was exposed, the Cassel’s place among the herd was tenuous. Georgiana was no longer welcome among them, and Hector had been exiled for his relations with a human. With the marriage between Georgiana and Lachlan now in pieces, Georgiana left, returning to the city and her family where no one knew what had happened. Mav was angry, and it boiled within them, night and day. They blamed the centaurs for ruining everything - the peaceful way of life they’d all created in the forest was now shattered because of the creatures that had infested it. Pulling back from the Cassel’s line of work, Mav dedicated themselves to more “human” activities - they learned to read, to swim, to ride a bicycle. More frequently, they left the forest to spend time in the city with their mother, who showed Mav a different way of life - shops, books, food. And Mav decided that it was as far away from centaurs as they could get, and wanted to stay there. Lachlan, heartbroken, didn’t stop Mav.

Hogwarts wasn’t far away, and Mav went with the blessing of their mother who stood tearfully on the platform to watch the train leave. Mav was used to other children, but only centaur children - and they found that they were the ‘weird’ one by normality’s standards. Using grander words than normal kids did, Mav stuck out a bit - and didn’t know how to fit in. Smart, eloquent, and still somewhat spiritual, Mav was painfully obvious and strange in the Slytherin dorms, especially among the pureblood children who knew the Cassel’s backstory. When word broke that Mav’s mother had had an affair with a centaur, Mav never heard the end of it; the teasing was ceaseless, and they were accused of being the halfbreed offspring of the union between human and centaur. It was difficult for Mav, who had never been insulted so thoroughly when living with the herd - there, teasing was common, but always light-hearted. Here, people said what they thought, and often did so with their fists, no holds barred. Mav learned to rely on themselves and only themselves: no one else could be trusted, for at heart, they were all creatures.

Mav was a natural at herbology and astronomy, thanks to a childhood spent with centaurs and living by nature’s rules, but being in these classes reminded them of a home that they no longer wanted to be a part of. Instead, Mav pushed themselves to be better at that which did not come naturally: charms, transfiguration, defense. Wandwork was difficult, and Mav realised very quickly that they were not an expert duellist; in fact, they struggled with some of the more simple spells, and had to work twice as hard as the other children. But Mav had pride and anger that made them hide their struggles from everyone, lest it become more fuel for the fire. Enduring the scorn of the pureblood kids, Mav felt like an outcast from almost all social circles - very few people wanted to friends with someone who’s mother was dating a centaur, and who might be the halfbreed thing they produced. Over the years, Mav grew harder and more distant from people, forming an armour over their skin so that no one could touch them. Friends were few, and Mav learned not to trust after a few people betrayed them - and though it was lonely, Mav knew that it was better than the opposite.

Proud, determined, and often cruel, Mav is not someone who is likely to offer a helping hand to someone in need. They look out for themselves, and themselves only - they refuse to show any weakness to people, lest it be used back against them. Mav’s relationship with their family is rocky, especially since their mother is once more dating the centaur Hector. Refusing to go back to the forest where they grew up, and increasingly feeling uncomfortable at home with their mother, Mav spends as much time away as possible. Frustrated with their struggling abilities and the lack of opportunities for the future that it creates, Mav comes across as a troubled person to those around them - they have a sharp tongue, always ready with barbed words to keep people at bay. Their old habit of being and seeing things they shouldn’t hasn’t stopped, though - Mav tends to find themselves the holder of secrets, and isn’t above using them to establish their position over others. Power is something that Mav feels they lack, and will worm their way through people’s personal lives to make sure they have it. With a reputation that keeps people clear of them, Mav is someone who is more bite than bark.

NOW

Up to player

DETAILS

BIRTHDAY: up to player. FACECLAIM SUGGESTIONS: Alexandra Shipp, Serayah McNeill, Maestro Harrell. WAND: up to player. POSITION: up to player.

STATUS: OPEN