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midnightsnyx · 5 years

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The Trouble With Faking It - Chapter 18

the trouble with faking it masterpost

my masterlist

*note: so. i did a thing. sorry lol*

Chapter 18: go ahead and break my heart

“telling lies to protect somebody, only destroys them in the end.”

Something that life taught me a long time ago, is that secrets have the ability to eat you alive. I have witnessed it first hand with my family and how it tore them apart. I made a promise with myself after things settled down to never keep secrets but recently, a lie I told a long time ago just came back to bite me in the butt. And boy, did it.

It went a little something like this.

August 5th

I knew that it was coming - the moment Clara would start questioning about her father. She is old enough to know that she should have one and she is not an idiot. Her first question when she met Tyler was if he was her dad and the look on Tyler’s face and how he nearly choked on his drink was hilarious. But her question wasn’t the least bit funny because it dug up strong questions and concerns I had been wondering lately.

First impressions are always memorable but when you’re expecting a person to look a certain way because of who they should remind you of - it’s easy to let that cloud your expectations.

Things changed the longer Clara was living with us. I began to notice things about her appearance that didn’t match up with what I thought I saw when I first met her. She immediately reminded me of Dylan the moment I saw her but the longer I watched her, the less I saw similarities to him in any way and that is when the red flags started raising.

I was never quite as careless with things as Jaxon and Axel had been way back when but my clear lack of caution was what caused the pregnancy. That said, a part of me always questioned whether or not there was an extremely teeny, tiny chance that Dylan wasn’t her father because my young, dumb self thought it was totally normal to be seeing somebody else while I wasn’t in California.

I thought it was no big deal to be seeing Jo while I was in Montreal. We were young and inexperienced - that much was clear but I never let myself even think of the chance that Jo could be her father because what were the chances, right?

The chances are very good I learned recently and it left me at crossroads.

I can very easily lie, and tell Clara that her father is somebody I met in high school and he isn’t in the picture but my fears are that she will one day go searching for answers and my lie will come in to the light.

I decided to consult with Maddie and that was definitely the wrong thing to do because she was livid.

“Are you kidding, Daisy?”

I wince, moving the phone away from my ear. I can clearly picture the disappointment on her face.

“Shh. I need you to keep it quiet, okay? I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“You don’t know what you’re going to do.” She says dryly and her tone makes me uncomfortable. “I might not be Jo’s biggest fan, but if you’re that unsure about who Clara’s father is, he deserves to know there is a chance it’s him.”

“Are you kidding?” I snap, throwing her words back. “Maddie, I’m finally in a good place with Tyler, Jo, and Clara. Do you know what that will do?”

“What will do?”

I jump out of my skin and look to see Tyler walking into the bedroom where I’m sitting on the bed.

“Nothing.” I say quickly, ending the call before Maddie can say anything. “What’s up?” I ask him and he raises an eyebrow but doesn’t push.

“Clara wants to go to the park. Did you want to come or are you still meeting Jax for lunch?” He asks.

“I would love to come but I really have to talk to Jax and sign some papers. I’ll pack you two a lunch though.”

His smile makes me weak in the knees and he kisses me before leaving the room. I take about 30 seconds (I’ve learned that is about all the time you get when you have a kid) to pull myself together before making my way to the kitchen.

Clara is sitting on an chair pulling a pair of sneakers on. She grins when she sees me and I still can’t believe how far we have come since she first came to live with us.

“Are you coming to the park, Daisy?”

But there’s still the part where she won’t call me mom, which I get - I really do - but it sucks.

“I have to meet Jax for lunch but maybe I’ll come afterwards, if you guys are still there.” I offer and she looks a little disappointed but smiles anyway which I take as a good sign.

“Now, what would you two like for lunch?”

***

“Look, all I am saying is that it’s something worth looking into.”

I drop the papers on the table and look at Jax. “A paternity test, really?”

My brain starts to worry that he knows and I wonder if it’s showing on my face.

“If Dylan finds out about Clara and for some insane reason, decides to fight you in court for her, it would be useful to be sure he’s the father.” He looks at me skeptically. “You are sure. Right?”

It must show on my face because he groans, dropping his face into his hands. When he speaks again, it’s muffled. “Please tell me you at least know who else it could be.”

I shift uncomfortably in my chair and prepare for the blowout that is about to happen.

“Jo.” I say quietly and to my shocked surprise, Jax starts to laugh. Hard.

“Of course.” He mutters. “Of, fucking, course. Why didn’t I expect this?”

His words aren’t exactly harsh, but he’s not happy.

“I know, I messed up but I thought-”

He cuts me off. “I don’t want to know. What I do need to know is whether you’ve told him yet.”

My silence answers his question because he groans.

“Are you kidding? Tell him and see if he will agree to a paternity test.” He gathers up his papers and shoves them in a briefcase. “Call me if you need anything.”

Well. At least he’s still offering his help.

He gives me one last look and sighs. “I’ll help out where I can but this is something you might be on your own for. Keep me updated,” he says before leaving.

I let myself wallow in some self pity for about five minutes before leaving for the park. I don’t want to let Clara down now when her life is about to turn upside down.

When I get to the park, I see Tyler and Clara right away. She’s feeding ducks and he is smiling while watching her. I plop down next to him and he grins, kissing me quickly and offers me some grapes.

“Thanks.” I say, leaning back and watching Clara laugh as the ducks peck at her feet.

“How was lunch?” Tyler asks and I consider for a split second telling him what is going on but squash it. Here and now are not the right place to have a conversation like this. So I smile and lie through my teeth.

“It was great. I actually need to fly to Montreal for a day so would I be able to leave Clara with you? I’d bring her with me but she would be bored out of her mind sitting around while I have meetings.”

If he senses my lie, he doesn’t let on because he just nods easily. “Yeah, of course.”

I force a smile, hoping it looks sincere because I hate lying to him. “Thanks.”

He just nods and then Clara runs over, jumping into my arms and nearly knocks me over because she is too old for that.

“You came!”

“Of course I did. I promised, didn’t I?”

Her oblivious smile makes my heart ache because I have no idea how things are going to turn out in the next few weeks and I don’t want to hurt her more than she has been.

But I force those feelings down and let her tell me about her day, soaking in what will probably be the last good day for awhile.

August 7th

I actually inform Jo that I am visiting this time so I know for sure that he will be home. By the time I land in Montreal, I have myself worked up and ready to tell him but when I knock on his front door and a girl answers, all confidence flies out the window and crashes on the ground.

Her smile is bright and a little on the fake side. “How can I help you?”

I immediately regret my outfit, realizing I look like a homeless person and she looks like she just walked off a runway.

“Yeah. Uh, is Jo here?”

She purses her lips and gives me a once over before nodding. “Yeah. What did you need?”

This girl is getting under my skin and I am about a minute from snapping when Jo’s face comes into view.

“Hey, Daisy.” He says and his smile relaxes me until I see the glare on hers.

I look up at the sky in regret and sigh.

***

The girl (Marie, I quickly learn) makes a fuss about leaving Jo and I alone to talk and when she finally leaves, she makes sure to give me a show of shoving her tongue down Jo’s throat like shes staking her claim and god I do not have time for this.

He looks embarrassed when she leaves and I start to realize how bad of an idea this is. I am about to literally ruin his life and it seems he might finally be getting things settled.

“So what’s up?” He asks and I had this big plan about slowly easing in to it but instead, I blurt it out right away.

“I think you’re Clara’s father.”

And his reaction is nothing like I expected because he starts laughing.

“You know it’s August, right? You’re a little late for April Fools.”

I start questioning his sanity when he laughs even harder when I don’t answer but soon it stops completely and his face drops.

“Wait a minute. Are you kidding?”

For the first time since this began, I get angry instead of embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“Will everybody quit asking me if I’m kidding?” I snap. “Why the Hell would I joke about this? Do you know what it’s going to do to my life?”

“Your life? What about mine?” he argues and I open my mouth to say something but a high pitch voices cuts in.

“What about mine?” Marie shrieks and I lose it.

“Are. You. Kidding?” I yell and her eyes widen. “Nobody cares about what’s going to happen to your life! Who even are you? Some side candy that you have now, Jo?” I say, directing my attention to him.

“Daisy.” He warns but I shake my head.

“No. No, no, no. I’m leaving, forget I told you any of this, okay?” I stomp out of the room and out the front door like a teenager, ignoring the argument happening between Jo and Marie.

I make a point to slam the door knowing how unnecessary it is but I can’t help it. Everything has gone to Hell.

I sit in my car for a minute before driving to the one place I know I won’t be judged.

***

“Oh, honey.” My grandma says, opening the door and letting me fall in her arms as if I’m 9 again and just scraped my knee. I’ve learned since then that there are things so much worse than scraping your knee.

“I made a mistake.” I sob, and she shushes me, leading me over to sit on the couch.

“We all make mistakes.” She says. “Now, take a deep breath and tell me what happened.”

Twenty minutes and a tissue box later, I sit in front of my grandma who hasn’t judged me yet but I’m still waiting for it. She opens her mouth to say something but a knock on the door cuts her off.

“Oh my,” she mummers to herself, standing up to answer the door. When it opens, I don’t see who is standing there but my grandma sighs.

“Come in, sweetheart.”

When Jo steps in the door my body goes still and I prepare myself for him to start yelling or something but he just stands awkwardly until my grandma pushes him towards me.

It’s like we’re teenagers again and she’s making us work out some silly argument we are having.

But we’re not and it’s so much worse.

“I guess we need to talk about it.” He says, watching my grandma leave the room quietly.

“Yeah.” I shouldn’t push but I raise an eyebrow. “Where’s Marie?”

His gaze darkens and I regret asking. “She left.” I watch him shrug and sit in the chair across from me. “Something about not wanting to help raise a child.”

“I’m sorry.” I tell him but he just shakes his head.

“I know it’s not going to be easy, but I want to be in her life. However you want me to be.”

“We have to get a paternity test first.” I tell him and he nods.

“Yes. Anything.” He says and my heart breaks thinking about how things could be but there’s no use in thinking that now. We have a huge mess to work out.

“I have a couple things to do and then I’ll set up the appointment.”

He looks at me curiously. “You haven’t told him.” he says and I shake my head, shamefaced.

“He deserves to know, Daisy. Especially how he’s taken such a role in stepping up to help with Clara.”

I nod, dreading the conversation.

“Did you want me to come?” Jo asks softly and I smile for the first time in a few days.

“I appreciate your offer but this is a conversation I’ve got to have alone with him.”

Jo only nods in understanding, letting me walk him to the door.

“I’m sorry again about Marie,” I say.

“Don’t worry about it.”

He hugs me before leaving and I stand in the door as he drives away, thinking about how big of a mess I’ve made.

August 9th

I take an extra day before heading back to Dallas. Tyler and Clara pick me up from the airport and I can tell that Tyler notices how exhausted I look because he keeps giving me worried glances as we drive home.

I listen to Clara babble about what she and Tyler have been doing the past couple days. It’s past her bedtime by the time we’re home and she’s drowsy enough that Tyler carries her inside and puts her in bed. I tuck her in before walking downstairs to find him sitting in the living room, reading.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” He asks quietly.

I take a deep breath and sit next to him. “I need you to promise you won’t be mad.”

“You know I can’t promise you that, Daisy.”

I do know but I can hope anyway. When I start explaining everything, starting from the beginning, his face slowly falls.

“You lied.” He says, cutting me off.

“I didn’t lie to you, I told you that-”

“You told me that you knew exactly who her father is and that he was out of the picture,”

“I only recently considered the fact that it might be Jo-”

“No, you don’t just randomly think something like that, you had to have considered that before.”

I try grasping for strings, realizing that this is going downhill faster than I can stop it.

“Tyler-”

“You lied, Daisy.” He says, and I get angry.

I scoff. “Yeah, because you’ve never lied to me about anything before.”

“Never about something this big!” He snaps and I glare at him.

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them. “You’re not her father, so why do you care this much?”

“You’re right. I’m not, but I would have liked to be.”

My heart drops to my stomach when I realize he means it. I should have known because he has been the father figure in her life since she’s stayed with us. I always knew he was good with kids but never considered that he might have wanted his own someday.

And now I do, but not the way I wanted to find out.

“I have to get out of here.” He mutters, getting up and walking to our bedroom.

“Tyler-”

“Stop.” He says, halting me in my tracks. I can only watch from the doorway of our room as he stuffs clothes and other necessities in a duffle bag. He tosses his passport on top of it.

I trail after him as he makes his way to the door until he swings around and glares at me.

“Wait, Tyler-”

“What?” He snaps.

“Don’t go. Please.” I whisper and he shakes his head and turns to leave. I grasp his wrist and for a split second, I think he might stay but he shakes my hand off and walks out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

“Mom?”

I spin around to see Clara standing at the bottom of the steps. She’s frowning and I wonder how much of that she heard.

“Hey jellybean.” I say, walking over to her.

“Is Tyler gone?” She asks, sounding confused and I force myself to hold it together.

“Yeah.”

She looks at me with wide eyes. “Will he be back?”

I should tell her the truth because she deserves it but I can’t.

So I break my promise again, smiling softly and hugging her.

“Yeah, he’ll be back.”

It’s all lies, my darling.

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a/n: not sure if anybody remembers but jellybean is what daisys dad called her so i thought id throw that in there to break all our hearts

also, there was NEVER a plan to have jo be claras dad but i thought it would be interesting to see how that would play out

let me know what you guys think! thanks for reading <3

- alex

#tyler seguin fanfiction #tyler seguin fanfic #the trouble with faking it #my imagines #dallas stars fanfiction #nhl fanfiction #hockey fanfiction

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pigstepmp3-moved · 5 years

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walk home

ship: dylan harvey/rollo fipps word count: 1709 warnings: none tag list: @annethecaptain

Dylan finds it incredibly endearing that Rollo always offers to walk him home from his classes. It’s completely unnecessary—all of his classes are fairly close by to his dorm room, and even if he were to get himself in danger like Rollo seems so worried about, he’d be perfectly fine. He’s more than capable of taking care of himself. Besides, him and Rollo don’t even have all that many classes together. Dylan’s convinced that Rollo has his schedule memorized, which is less creepy and far sweeter than he thought it would be. But he’s definitely not complaining about getting to spend the extra time with Rollo outside of the lab. He’d be kidding himself if he said he didn’t kind of sort of have a thing for the guy. It’s something Jaxon, Maddie, and Agnes have teased him over about a million times. At least they have the sense to not say anything about it when Rollo’s around.

Today, as usual, they’re taking their sweet time in walking back to Dylan’s place. Dylan’s usually a pretty fast paced guy, but he doesn’t want to rush through what free time he’s got with Rollo. Who knows when he’ll get to see him next in something other than a lab coat (though he definitely appreciates what he looks like in a lab coat, don’t get him wrong). He’s honestly not quite sure what Rollo’s talking about this time, as he’s talking a little faster than usual, and the accent always does leave Dylan’s mind a little too fuzzy to be able to comprehend much of anything. But he looks excited as he speaks, which leaves Dylan’s chest feeling warm and an unintentional grin spreading across his face.

Before either of them knows it, they’re stopped in front of the dorm Dylan shares with Jaxon. As per usual, Dylan’s not quite ready to say goodbye, and if the look on Rollo’s face is any indication, then he’s not quite ready to say goodbye either. So they stand there in front of the front door, quietly observing each other. Dylan feels like a dumb schoolgirl with the way he holds his textbooks close to his chest and with the way he can feel even his ears turning red as Rollo looks at him. He can’t help the smug feeling in his chest when he sees a blush cross Rollo’s face as well.

“I guess I’ll see you later?” Rollo finally says after a while, smiling crookedly in the way that always leaves Dylan’s mind reeling a little.

“Yeah. I’ll see you later,” Dylan replies once he’s found his voice, grateful that it didn’t crack as he spoke. “Uh, stay safe when you’re walking home, yeah?”

“Of course,” Rollo says, his smile only widening. Dylan nearly swoons on the spot. Neither of them moves or says anything further after that for a while. Then, the most wonderful thing happens. Rollo takes a step forward and gently brushes the loose strands of hair out of Dylan’s face, hand resting on his cheek carefully. “Should get you something to tie your hair back,” he whispers, and wow, does his voice sound good like this. Dylan feels himself blush even more.

“Yeah, maybe,” Dylan says, voice barely above a whisper, almost afraid to break whatever moment they’re creating right here and right now.

cont. reading on ao3!

#mindgamers #mindgamers 2015 #dylan harvey #rollo fipps #dylan harvey/rollo fipps #otp: spark it up #kendall writes #*

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avocado-frog · 5 months

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Anyways ghosts in my wip since I'm thinkin about them (@steh-lar-uh-nuhs since you asked to be tagged lol)

ghost post time:

(cw for a lot of death mention. parent death)

Dylan's magic was kinda vague in forget me not (book one not series) but the general gist was something along the lines of they can control dreams to a certain extent and can sense when somebody is going to die (foreshadowed elliot) (and leo apparently???) but also when I reread it, Dylan is actually BARELY in any of the chapters at all. They don't have a line until well after halfway through even though they showed up in like chapter six

SO dahlia (book two) has a lot more Dylan in it which is great stunning showstopping i love them. Unrelated but looking back the lack of Dylan was definitely why I didn't know what I was doing with characterizing them. <3 DYLAN <3

Before this becomes a dylan appreciation post, the stuff Dylan can do is more expanded on in Dahlia, and includes: -A sort of healing magic that Cass can't do, which is why Elliot is okay even without Cass -That healing magic is that they can handle more advanced injuries (elliot's stab wound, life threatening injuries) while Cass can only do sprains and cuts and bruises -Possession -Necromancy apparently -Possession is what Dylan says is why they could hypothetically raise the dead, if they could wake up Elliot. A post for another time

I've said that Elliot's dream world thing is based on Omori, and in Omori, Mari is like. may or may not be a ghost who is real but you'll never know because Sunny hallucinates often. Same thing for Elliot. Same mechanics

In forget me not Elliot claims to see his mother in the graveyard, right by where her grave would be. There's no realistic way for him to KNOW where that was, unless he is aware that that is where dead people go. So like Mari omori it's ambiguous whether Elliot was actually seeing her or if he was just hallucinating. And in the dream world, Olivia is noted by Dylan to have a scar across her neck, even though Elliot would not want any reminders of her death in what is supposed to be a safe area, hence why the reminders of his two Big Traumas are upstairs in separate rooms. And Olivia is the most sentient of the dream world characters aside from Lucas (who is btw dream world Leo) and Cass. Everyone else is scripted by Elliot. Olivia seems to be knowing what's going on

So what I'm saying is that dream world Olivia like headspace Mari MIGHT just be a ghost. hypothetically

Also in forget me not, I think that at one point Leo claims to feel a hand on her shoulder

ALSO ABOUT LEO: she gets her own little dream section in rosemary where she sees Olivia, despite having not known her

It's still left pretty ambiguous in what I have of rosemary so far. But Jaxon witnesses several deaths, Leo's, who isn't really dead, but he doesn't know that, Maria's, a woman who he accidentally got killed in chapter four and a boy who he sees the execution of. He sees all of them, as well as a boy who he doesn't know but who IS in fact his brother. Again, whether or not they're real is vague because Leo is not dead, but he does see one that he doesn't know

My OTHER dead character is Jasmine, Logan's sister who has Not made an appearance yet but she should be allowed to. She haunts Logan's character arc at the very least. Also maybe Dylan's

tldr if ghosts were real and canon, they are in people's dreams. Dylan and Elliot might be able to raise the dead but I'm not going to dwell on that because that is a whole other plot

This post was brought to you by me wondering how Olivia would interact with the other kids, and me being sad about her death again

#i'm not sure how coherent this is. hopefully readable #isaac says things related to his writing again #wip: rosemary #wip: forget me not #wip: dahlia #writeblr

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avocado-frog · 1 year

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Dahlia. 6

Chapter rating: T Chapter warnings: None Chapter title: 6/9/2020 Word count: 2,000 Summary: With one final glance at the living room, Dylan pushed the front door open as quietly as they possibly could, tightening their grip on the box. They would have to find a way to poke holes in the lid. Or, just get rid of the lid altogether.

...This was up there on the list of the worst things Dylan had ever done.

Dylan stood over the bed in the attic, staring down at Elliot. The heart monitor was still steady, though it was starting to slow, which scared them. No one else had noticed.

Elliot had a nosebleed and the blood was black. It was on Dylan's hand, and after a moment of experimentation, they realized that it wasn't blood at all, instead the weird, inky substance that Elliot could control. So, something was wrong.

Since Dylan and Elliot had the same type of magic, that led them to the conclusion that whatever was going on, Dylan was the only one who could fix it.

Yet, the longer they stood over him, the worse the idea sounded in their head. They were going to take Elliot, straight-up kidnap him, preform some weird, spooky voodoo shit, and hope for the best.

If they had a solid plan, that would be much better for everyone involved. So far, all they had was either kidnap Elliot, or fake their deaths. Neither of those were preferable.

They couldn't stay at home, that was for sure. They could accidentally kill someone- kill all of them- and Dylan wasn't willing to risk it.

And they definitely weren't going to tell anyone about their plan.

Logan came home the night before, and Dylan hadn't spoken to him yet. They couldn't trust that Logan wouldn't try to stop them. They couldn't trust that Jaxon or Lily would, either. And if they told Sam, it would definitely get passed to one of their siblings. Sam couldn't keep a secret to save his own life.

Dylan couldn't tell them, if they tried to stop them, Elliot might die, and Dylan was not going to let that happen. Just the idea of that was enough to make them unreasonably upset.

If it worked, if Dylan saved Elliot, there was the obvious benefit of Elliot being okay. Then, Logan would stay, and Lily and Jaxon wouldn't leave, Cass and Leo and Ryan would come back, Leo and Jaxon wouldn't fight, everything would be okay.

With their mind made up, they took one of the plastic bins from the other side of the room. They used to hold the triplet's old toys from when they were younger kids. Dylan, Lily, and Jaxon had gone through the toys when they were younger to see what they wanted, and then later, Ryan and Sam had gone through the boxes. Elliot never got around to it.

So, the boxes were mostly empty now, as the kids took most of it, and what was left were old drawings that nobody threw away. Dylan dragged one of the plastic bins towards Elliot's bed.

Carefully, slowly, Dylan lifted Elliot off of the bed and gently laid him down on the floor. Dylan glanced at the open door, hoping that no one would come in. Unlikely, as it was the middle of the night, but still. If Lily came in while he was packing a coma patient into a box, Dylan would just give up on the spot. There was no explaining their way out of that. They couldn't think of a single reasonable excuse.

Though, if it was Lily, she might just shrug and leave. They worried about whether it would be Sam who would choose to stop by the attic at eleven at night. That would be even harder to explain.

When it was all finished and Elliot was okay and everything was fixed, they would thank them then.

A sudden sense of resolve at that thought, as they took one of the blankets from the bed, and folded it into the bin. They weren't just going to put Elliot in an empty box, although the mental image of it was, admittedly, quite funny. Being put into a box was obviously not going to be very comfortable, and Elliot was going to have some words for Dylan later, but it was going to be worth it in the end.

Alongside the blanket, they lined three pillows on each side except for one of the shorter ends, but that side was filled up by Elliot's stuffed rabbit. That was quickly discarded, just in case, because if something went wrong, and that toy rabbit got lost or damaged, Dylan was dead.

Now was the tricky part, getting Elliot into the box. That sounded weird and unpleasant. Dylan was going to stop thinking that.

Elliot wasn't going into a box, he was just... being transported. And sure, it was in a box, but it wasn't like Dylan was going to carry him. Elliot was light, but not much smaller than Dylan was, it would be too difficult and horribly suspicious if Dylan was wandering around with an unconscious kid.

They unplugged the heart monitor, worried that if they took it off of Elliot, it would flatline, which would definitely wake the others up. They'd all grown used to the steady beeping that filled the second floor of the house, but Dylan doubted it would be noticed if it stopped.

It was difficult to... fit Elliot into the box. And it still sounded weird to think something like that. They cringed to themself. They had to do some weird maneuvering things with limbs and overall, Dylan wasn't having a good time. Kidnapping wasn't nearly as fun as they thought.

Not that they expected to have fun. It was just worse than they thought it would be.

Dylan stared into the box, giving Elliot a stern look. "Don't suffocate."

Dylan liked to think that if Elliot was conscious, he'd be totally on board with their bullshit. He always was.

Dylan picked up the backpack they brought, and locked the lid over the box, and picked it up, wincing as they had to carry it down the narrow, attic staircase, holding their hand on the wall, hoping that they were being quiet.

Don't wake up, don't wake up, don't wake up.

For a brief moment, Dylan thought about the slim chance that right at that moment, Elliot would wake up, and if Dylan thought it would be hard to explain to their siblings or Sam, it would be harder to explain to Elliot himself.

At seeing the kitchen light on, Dylan froze, and left the box by the doorway. Logan likely already knew that they were there, so they might as well commit to it.

Logan was standing over the kitchen sink, and Dylan felt suddenly sick. Maybe guilt, for taking Elliot and leaving, because they knew that Logan would have a heart attack in the morning, and that Jaxon and Lily might actually commit a crime, and Sam would cry. As angry as Dylan was at their siblings, they didn't want to scare them like that.

They were hesitating. Dylan's expression turned flat again, as they stood in the doorway, waiting.

Logan turned around, screamed when he saw them, and splashed his water on his face. Dylan snickered.

Once Logan recovered from the initial shock, pressing a handful of paper towels on his face, and when Dylan recovered from the pure joy that came from the experience on their end, they thought of an excuse.

"What are you doing up?" Logan signed, and threw away the paper towels.

Dylan glanced down. "...Eating. Can't sleep. Pop-Tart."

Dylan hated Pop-Tarts, but Logan didn't need to know that. Even though he might already. They only recently started buying them. Dylan couldn't remember Logan ever getting them Pop-Tarts when they were younger.

"Okay." Logan nodded slowly. He looked behind Dylan and at the box, and Dylan was grateful that it wasn't a clear one. "What's with the box?"

Dylan didn't expect Logan to see the box. "I cleaned out my room, this is garbage."

Logan looked baffled for a moment, but recovered fast. "In a box? No bag?"

"Out of garbage bags."

Dylan hoped that Logan wouldn't check, and hoped that they were actually out of garbage bags if he did check.

Logan's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Alright. You had that much garbage in your room?"

That wasn't even a joke. Theirs and Jaxon's room was essentially a dumpster with beds, and eventually Dylan would clean it. Just, Jaxon had to help. It was mostly his.

"Jax."

Logan looked like he understood. "Okay. Just be quiet. Try to go to sleep."

Dylan smiled, and nodded, and Logan patted them on the head as he walked past, and back to his room.

Dylan waited for a minute or two, before entering the kitchen. They managed to find a grocery bag from the recycling bin, and went through the kitchen, gathering plastic water bottles and snacks, opening the bin with a glance in the direction of Logan's room. They put the bag in the small space between the wall of the bin and Elliot's foot, and slung their backpack over their shoulders.

Dylan was known for random bouts of insomnia, so they supposed that was why Logan believed that they were cleaning their room at eleven at night. Dylan once learned how to knit because they couldn't sleep for two days straight.

With one final glance at the living room, Dylan pushed the front door open as quietly as they possibly could, tightening their grip on the box. They would have to find a way to poke holes in the lid. Or, just get rid of the lid altogether.

...This was up there on the list of the worst things Dylan had ever done.

They pulled their hood over their head to protect from the cold air (it wasn't that bad) and worried about whether they packed enough for Elliot, as they adjusted the lid slightly to allow air in.

Dylan had spent two days preparing, they had their backpack of clothes and extra food, a few crumpled-up dollar bills that they stole from Jaxon- they would lie and say that they'd pay him back, but that wasn't ever going to happen. Jaxon would live without five dollars- and a steel water bottle.

In all honesty, Dylan didn't know how Elliot ate, so they didn't bother to bring food for him. If all went well, they'd be home in two days. Best case scenario, Dylan wasn't yelled at (signed angrily at?) because Elliot was okay. Worst case scenario, they aged Logan by fifty years out of stress and literally killed him.

Dylan couldn't bring themself to feel bad about Logan all that much. Leo left and took Ryan with her, Cass left to stay in Maine, Elliot left and it was almost permanent, and out of everyone, Dylan thought that Logan was the one who would stay. Then he didn't, and Dylan was still convinced that when Sam finally accepted that his siblings weren't coming back, he'd go with Cass to Maine, and Jaxon would go with them because that was where Kai was, and Lily would go because where Jaxon went, Lily usually followed. And then, Dylan would be alone.

But that wasn't going to happen, because Dylan was going to fix it.

Another glance at the box trapped under shaking hands, best friend half-dead inside, and a last one at their house, and Dylan finally started to leave.

#will the link work on the pinned post?? maybe #idk it's been fucky recently #but here's some dylan content #they rolled a -2 in planning skills #dylan just doesnt wanna be left alone #really they just want elliot back a lot #writing #original work #writeblr #chapter 6/21 #wip: dahlia

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avocado-frog · 2 years

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How I named characters part four (except not really)

I don't really have a story for Jaxon and Lily and how they came to be on this earth, but what I will tell you instead, is how the other four got to be main characters.

I have a list on my phone of the plot of each draft so that's how I'm remembering. This was draft six, and in a third book in which I had gotten three chapters into before quitting.

In the fourth draft, Leo went to prison (goddamn finally) and I will not inform you of why but it definitely had something to do with my tangled the series hyperfixation.

Anyways, there was where she met Logan originally (who had a different name and it was ~edgy~ according to 13 year old Isaac) and there was some whole fight or something, and then I don't remember what else happened. Logan was the only named character, and he didn't make his return until the sequel to draft four. Originally, he was sixteen, and an absolute asshole. (Which is WILD to me because of his current character being the friendliest person ever)

Anyways, in the sequel to draft four, my ace/aro ass tried to write a romantic relationship. And I failed hilariously. So, my solution was to give the three characters who I had never even named third book status. Lily was the next one to exist, and this time I made the relationship *snaps* *fingerguns* Gay.

Leo and Lily were a couple in the third book of draft four. Do with that information what you will, when the two meet in the newer story. I say "new story" like it hasn't been in my head for six months.

Dylan was made, named after my brother, changed after the funky little dude stole my cereal, and then I made them non binary because I had recently learned what that was and I thought it was cool

Jaxon was also made, and not much has changed about him, other than that now he is not twelve and he's actually idk nice now. All four of those characters were assholes originally and it's still really funny because of how nice I've made them now.

Jaxon and Dylan ended up only being in one chapter but I got really attached to the concept of their characters, so during rewrite number five, they ended up becoming main characters.

If you ask me to send ANYTHING about the original drafts I will say no because they are embarrassing.

#writing #isaac says things related to his writing again #original character

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avocado-frog · 2 years

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Forget-me-not. 16

Chapter rating: T Chapter title: 1/17/2019 Chapter warnings: Brief dissociation (?) Summary: The triplets start school at the beginning of the second semester. Elliot has a harder time than the other two

"Call if you want to come home early," Logan gave Elliot's head a small pat. Elliot fidgeted with the space-themed phone case. Jaxon had convinced Logan to buy them phones for emergencies. "I don't have work today, so I'll be home. If you get overwhelmed, just ask to go home, okay?"

Elliot nodded, repeating Logan's speech in his head, as Logan smiled, told them to have a good day, and shut the door, sealing Elliot's fate. Call to go home, don't show anyone the tattoos, because most people knew what they meant and wouldn't be pleasant about it, keep gloves on, wait for Dylan after school.

Elliot followed Dylan down the sidewalk, watching his shoelaces drag in the ice. He was careful not to slip, and definitely didn't laugh when Sam inevitably did. Dylan promised it was a short walk, but anywhere longer than two minutes felt like an eternity to Elliot and his small, dying lungs.

It was, in all honesty, not that far away. Elliot was a little surprised he'd never seen it. It was different than the way he would normally go; where the area was less of a city and more of a small town, or so Leo had described. It was the opposite direction of the park. That was the point.

The older kids left an entire hour earlier, which Elliot thought was stupid, because he still had to get up at seven. Even Leo had left. Leo. At a school.

The brick building Dylan led them to was a lot smaller than the high school Leo showed them the day before. He almost worried that the older kids would get lost there.

"I go somewhere else,"Dylan signed, and gestured vaguely with their hand. "You're allowed to come down if you need me. Teacher is nice."

Dylan left after that, and told them to wait by the playground equipment (a small, yellow slide, and a swing set) until their teacher got there. Logan had tried pretty hard to keep them in the same class. He was officially mostly by himself, except his brothers, but they didn't count, because Elliot didn't like them.

(He was starting to get along with Ryan, and he was on neutral grounds with Sam)

He had started to notice that Ryan always stood on the side where he couldn't see, and Sam remained in front of him most of the time. The other two were where they were supposed to be, providing a small comfort.

They had gotten there relatively early, so there weren't many kids yet, aside from a few kids that weren't much smaller than he was. They were staring at him, watching, his heart raced, he glared back, a girl in a hot pink jacket cried. His hand gripped the phone in his pocket. Everything was going to go wrong, he could feel it.

He flinched when Sam tugged on his hand, pointing at a yellow bus that parked in front of the gates. Elliot watched warily, he had no idea how this was supposed to work. If the others started going towards the bus, he would follow. Or, he would call Leo, because he wasn't getting in anyone's bus by himself.

To his surprise, people started getting off the bus, as opposed to getting on. He guessed they must have had to get a ride. How odd.

Three identical buses parked behind it, fifty kids emerging from each. The kids clamored and screamed as they ran towards the entrance to the school. Elliot stiffened, gripping his phone even tighter, eye squeezed shut as the sounds got louder. He let Ryan hang on to his sleeve, as people crashed into him, nearly knocked him into the ice, and he hoped one of them would slip and get hurt.

He opened his eye a sliver, and saw kids hugging each other, saying that they missed each other, (Elliot was a bit concerned. Where did they live? Didn't they see each other every day like he did with his friends?) screaming at each other about what they did over their break as if they weren't right next to each other. Ryan was covering one ear with his hand, cringing, but Sam seemed to love it, bouncing where he stood, and practically becoming a person-magnet.

"I'm going to go talk to someone," Sam announced to the other two, earning a thumbs up from Elliot, and a nod from Ryan. "You two will be okay by yourselves, right?"

They nodded again, and Sam grinned, hugged Ryan, gave Elliot a pat on the shoulder, and ran off. Elliot shuffled closer to Ryan, both anxious with the crowd. He pulled out his phone as a distraction, turned it on and off again, watching the lock screen flicker as he did. He had a few messages. He would rather talk to his friends than be here.

He clicked his phone off, glancing up as Ryan tugged on his hand again, and the bell rung, and Elliot nearly screeched, slamming his hands over his ears, seeing Ryan do the same. Ryan led him to a line behind a traffic cone with a piece of laminated paper stapled to it, with his teacher's name printed on it.

"That's her, isn't it?" Ryan whispered, pointing at the sign. "We met her the other day, remember?"

He did. She tried to shake his hand. He frowned.

Their teacher's name was Ms. Scott, and she seemed nice enough. She wouldn't make them introduce themselves if they didn't want, though she would be saying that they had, what she called, surprise new students. Logan had tried to find a teacher that would be accepting of their past situations, instead of calling the police and having them sent back to where they came from.

She appeared behind the traffic cone with her name on it, holding a clipboard and wearing a bright, unnerving smile on her face. It was a bit off-putting. She wore a t-shirt with colorful birds on it, a red jacket, and a black skirt.

She led the class of about twenty (Elliot counted while she was doing attendance) into the hallway, and he took a moment to take in the surroundings. The floors were tiled (he decidedly didn't like that at all) but weren't black-and-white, so he was okay with it. Instead, they were beige, with squares of red, blue, and green thrown in. (Avoid the red squares; they're lava. Blue squares are water. Green is grass. Beige is sand. Green and beige are safe. Don't step on red or blue)

The classroom itself, Elliot recognized from meeting the teacher the week before with the twins and Logan, a large room with beige walls and black carpeting, an art easel in the middle by the whiteboard, and a couch across from it. There was a row of 'cubbies' as the teacher called them, though Leo said that they were smaller versions of high-school lockers. They were small, had a plastic tub on the inside with their names on it, and coat racks below. They would have to share with someone.

Other than that, there were about five circular desks with name tags taped to each seat, able to fit four people each. The triplets had picked their seats the week before, and had been lucky enough to find a table together, though the teacher said that they switched seats every two weeks, so to get to know their classmates before then. Elliot had no intentions of doing such.

He shuffled awkwardly to the cubby with his name and a girl he didn't know, apparently named Annie, according to the name tag. They stared at each other for a moment, an expression of horror etched on her face. She slid her backpack into one side of the cubby, and quickly walked away. He watched her go, wondering why she was scared of him. It didn't matter. He shrugged, admired his own backpack (black, with an acrylic keychain of Saturn on one of the zippers) and slid it inside.

Elliot's seat was the green one in between Ryan (blue chair) and Sam (red chair), but across from a boy named Charlie (yellow chair), who had red hair and brown eyes, wearing a yellow sweater.

Sam sat down rather loudly, gaining the boy's attention, as Elliot had assumed was Sam's goal, otherwise he would have sat down like a normal person. He rocked in his chair, Jaxon told him to try to talk to someone today, so he watched, waited for Charlie to say something interesting. Sam had already, enthusiastically, introduced himself to the boy, and the two had been talking about whatever it was Sam was interested in. He knew Sam liked basketball ever since Lily had been watching it that one day. Elliot didn't know anything about it. Maybe the one person he talked to would be Ryan. He strongly doubted his brother would make any attempts to talk to the other kids, and no one liked Elliot.

A bell rung again. He tensed up, breath hitching in panic, until the sound went away, and he was able to relax, face burning with embarrassment as Charlie stared at him. He slammed his head on his desk. It would be over soon.

---

There was a part of the day that Elliot didn't really mind.

He would periodically check his phone from his pocket when the teacher wasn't looking, because Leo was the only one out of the older kids who didn't want to be there as much as he didn't, and would respond to text messages. Talking to Leo was a part he liked, as the rest of the kids from his class kept ignoring him.

After the math part of the day, which he wasn't that bad at, but he didn't have to like it, either, there was a part where they were given some paint. That was the part he didn't mind, as the teacher said that they could do whatever they wanted, as long as they didn't get it on the desk.

He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to paint, but he liked the feeling of the brush against the paper. He dipped the brush in bright red paint, brushing it back and forth on the paper until the paint ran out, and he repeated the process.

After painting his first sheet of paint with streaks of red and nothing else, he set it on the rack by the whiteboard to collect later, and got another piece of paper. This time, he had an idea of what he wanted to make.

From Dylan, he knew the basic rule was that he should draw it out before he even thought about painting, so he did.

It felt like he blacked out suddenly, though he could clearly see his hand moving in front of him, he couldn't feel it. He was watching himself from a short distance, though he knew that couldn't be right. The movements felt slow to process, fast if he paid attention, the corners of his vision blackened, faded, blurred, he saw a hand reaching out, shadowy, red claws, attached to a humanoid figure who he couldn't make out, rain slammed against his window. Sam stared at him from across the hall. A woman with red eyes glared at him. Ryan opened his door, looked down, slowly tilted his head up, silver eyes holding clear, wordless panic.

Elliot blinked, and his hand hurt. He stared at his hands for a minute, wondering why that would happen when he was just drawing. He glanced down, catching sight of a drawing he was definitely not capable of doing himself.

It looked like the inside of a tent, already having been painted in black and white stripes. The floor looked to be sand, though the paint had been shaded over to make it look a bit darker. There was a table in the middle, though he couldn't tell what was on it. Bars separated the main area from the seats, holding a few shadowy figures.

Elliot could barely draw anything other than glorified stick figures. This was detailed, and something he didn't think he was capable of doing.

...He would talk to Leo, later.

With luckily nothing else happening, he set the second painting on the rack, and watched Ryan, while Sam cheerfully talked to the other kid- Charlie. He was making friends with everyone in the class, just like he said he would.

Ryan was painting a white flower on a gray background. The green stem contrasted heavily against the black grass and gray sky, bright against the dullness of the rest of the scene. The flower itself was a white flower that represented a bell, drooping off the stem.

"What's that?" Elliot asked, startling his brother. Ryan flinched, gripping the paintbrush tightly, giving Elliot a dead stare when he calmed down.

"Lily of the valley." Ryan shrugged. "Cass showed me one the other day. They're poisonous." He gave Elliot a look that he was supposed to interpret as concern. "You looked really focused when you were painting your thing. You wouldn't respond to me or Sam. Are you okay?"

He couldn't remember either of them trying to talk to him. He nodded anyways. "Weird moment. I guess I sort of just unlocked art skills, though."

Ryan set his brush down, watching Sam talk to the other kid. Elliot did, too. They were talking about a game, now. Elliot heard Ryan sigh a bit.

"He's... really good at this," Ryan said after a minute, and Elliot nodded. "I don't understand why I'm not."

"It's okay." Elliot shrugged apathetically. "No one here likes me, either."

Ryan's eyebrows crossed in confusion. "People keep trying to talk to you. You've just sort of been staring at them until they go away."

Had be been? "Whoops. That's fine. I don't want to talk to them, anyway."

Ryan hummed flatly. "Lunch is next. Do you think Sam will stay with us, or with his friends?"

Elliot shrugged again. "It doesn't matter. He can do whatever he wants."

"I guess."

The bell rang again, causing both boys to flinch back, glancing at each other with a nervous look. The other kids knew what to do, running towards the door, forming a line. Ryan offered his hand out to Elliot, who took it, letting his brother take him to the end of the line with Sam.

Sam grinned at them, though it faltered when he saw Elliot. "Are you alright? You sort of zoned out for like, ten minutes."

Elliot nodded, scuffing his shoe on the carpet. "I'm fine."

"If you say so." Sam shrugged. "Remember to call Logan if it gets too bad."

"I'm fine, Sam."

The line moved out the door once the teacher did attendance again, and Elliot remembered to avoid the red and blue tiles, much to Ryan's confusion, until he explained that it was only a game.

Needless to say, the cafeteria was awful.

They didn't have to move through the lunch line, as Logan had made them lunches beforehand. He and Ryan picked an empty spot at a table near the doors, both at the edge. Sam promised to meet them there in a few minutes, because he wanted to finish talking to one of his friends beforehand.

The conversations of everyone in the cafeteria came together to create a symphony of sounds much resembling a violin being played with a knife instead of a bow. Elliot placed one hand over an ear, pretending to be unaffected, though Ryan could barely even look up from the table because of how bad it was.

True to his word, Sam came soon, with three of his other friends, and sat by Ryan, leaving Elliot to sit next to a kid he didn't know; a girl with blonde pigtails and a red turtleneck sweater with black spots. She looked like a ladybug, and Elliot told her as such when she introduced herself. Her name was Madison. And apparently he looked like a raccoon.

He looked down at his own sweater; he had been unable to wear his usual purple hoodie, as it was too cold and Logan said no. Instead, he settled for a gray sweater with a single black stripe in the middle. It came with pockets and everything. It was great.

They didn't talk after that. Elliot made no attempt to keep the conversation going, and neither did Madison. He was fine just listening to Sam talk about something that had happened the week before. Ryan was right; he was very good at this.

The lunch he had came in a black lunchbox with stars on it, he'd gotten it from Leo, who was definitely becoming his favorite today. It was nothing extreme, a sandwich, a bag of chips, and a cookie. Though, if he had seen this much food at one time eight months ago, he probably would have cried.

"Why do you have gloves on?" Madison asked out of nowhere, startling Elliot, who cleared his throat.

"...My hands are cold."

"Really?" She actually looked surprised. "I always thought they kept it too warm in here."

It was true. The gloves made his hands uncomfortable, it really was too hot in there.

"It's a bit warm," Elliot agreed. "I just don't want to take them off. Scared I'll lose them."

It would be quite problematic when the weather warmed up, like Leo promised it would.

"Oh, that makes sense." Her eyes zeroed in on the cookie he had in his lunch box. His eyes narrowed, convinced she would steal it. "Is it homemade?"

Elliot nodded. "Logan."

"Who?"

Elliot faltered at the realization that not everyone knew his friends. "My friend. He pays taxes sometimes. He's really good at making food."

Without much thought, he broke the cookie in half, and handed it to Madison, as an offering. "Try it. It's really good, promise."

Madison hesitated, but took the cookie, biting into it. Her face lit up. "Hey, you're right, it is good."

"Of course it is." Did she think he was wrong?

"Oh, here-" she reached into her pocket, pulling out a handful of Skittles, and placed them in front of him. "A trade."

Elliot stared skeptically at the mysterious pocket candy, but stuffed them in his mouth anyway, taking any opportunity he could get to eat candy, even if it came out of the pocket of some girl's sweater.

Elliot hummed, after the girl asked if they were friends now (it could not have been that easy) and he shrugged in response, glancing up at Ryan. "Okay. Ryan too, though."

Madison agreed easily enough, and Ryan smiled at him from across the table. Madison reached over, introducing herself with a handshake and a small grin.

---

Elliot tapped his foot anxiously, waiting by Dylan's classroom after the bell had rang. It'd been three minutes, and he was starting to worry. Maybe they'd finally decided to get rid of him, and Dylan told them the wrong classroom on purpose, because they couldn't get home by themselves. His heart raced, anxiety spiked, breath quickened, his hands clenched at his sides. They wouldn't do that, they wouldn't do that. They were friends, weren't they?

The door opened, and Elliot exhaled quietly. Dylan was the first person- other than the teacher- to leave the classroom, eyes flicking around until they saw Elliot, and his brothers by extension, waiting for them. Dylan smiled.

"How was it?" Dylan signed, and waved at their teacher.

Elliot shrugged in response, while Sam answered in rapid sign language, Elliot wasn't even sure what he was saying, or if he was getting the signs right, because even Dylan looked confused, but nodded along anyways like they understood every word.

"Good?" Dylan signed, and added a little shrug at the end. They pointed to Ryan.

"Loud."

Dylan nodded sagely, a half-smile on their face, jokingly gesturing to their hearing aids. Ryan simply gave them a deadpan stare.

The walk home was relatively quiet, despite Sam's constant talking, like he had left Ryan and Elliot at any point during the day, like they hadn't been with him the whole time.

Dylan knocked on the door, and unlocked it, something that didn't make sense to Elliot. Why not just knock and wait for Logan? Or just unlock the door?

He was too exhausted to really question it, simply shuffling his backpack off, sliding his shoes into the shoe rack, and walking to the couch, where he collapsed in front of it, smacking his head on the coffee table.

"Fair enough." He could almost hear Leo's shrug from behind him. She left for school an hour earlier, but came home an hour earlier, too. "Not a good day?"

Elliot grumbled before answering. "Kind of bad, then kind of good, and then kind of bad again."

Leo hummed. "Yeah, I get that. I've never gone to school for any reason other than to steal from my classmates, but I don't have to worry about money anymore, so now I'm just kind of bored."

"Bored, yeah. The bells are loud. And a lot of people."

Another hum, and a pat on the head. "Well, Ryan went to his room to take a nap, Sam went to go outside with Jaxon. Want my weighted blanket before your brothers steal it?"

That sounded nice. He nodded. "Yes, please."

"Sure thing, kid. I'll be right back."

The sound of footsteps faded out, and Elliot grumbled again, headache pounding in his skull. He had to talk to Leo about the thing that happened during painting.

She came back sooner than he thought she would, though she was noticeably out of breath, as she draped the gray blanket over his shoulders, pushing him down towards the floor. He hummed. It was nice. Grounding.

"So, wanna tell me about today?" Leo asked, and sat down next to him. "You stopped texting me for three hours, was that good, or bad?"

He shrugged. "I didn't like the beginning with all the people. Some little kid cried when they saw me. The person I share the cubby thing with was scared of me, too. Sam made friends with the other kid at our table, but I don't like him. We did some writing, and some science stuff, and math. It was boring. I don't remember a lot of it. Ryan and Sam said I zoned out for ten minutes. Stopped responding and stuff. I painted something that looked more like Dylan's art skills than mine."

"That's weird," Leo commented. "Might've dissociated there for a minute. Any particular reason?"

"I don't think so? I don't know, I was just drawing." Elliot shrugged again. "Anyways, I met a girl named Madison at lunch. She gave me some candy from her pocket. Me, her, and Ryan hid under the slide and talked about cartoons until recess was over. I was hit in the head with a basketball during gym, thought I was literally going to die, by the way. Then we came home."

Leo patted him on the head. "Yeah, sounds like a typical school day. It'll either go great, or really shitty. For Sam, sounds like it was great, for Ryan, sounds like it was shit. For you, sounds like it was a bit of both. Don't worry about it, it'll get easier."

"No one liked me."

"That's not true," Leo responded quickly. "What about pocket candy kid?"

"She doesn't count." Elliot rolled his eyes, smacking his head against the table again. "I gave her part of my cookie, it was only fair I got pocket Skittles. Everyone else was scared of me."

"They just need some time to warm up," Leo reassured. "Besides, it doesn't matter if they don't like you. You have plenty of people who like you here."

Right. He did.

He didn't need anyone else.

#the school chapter again #writing #original work #original characters #writeblr #writers #original fiction #the triplets radiating neurodivergent energy this chapter #leo still won't tell them that they're related and this WILL cause problems #(for elliot specifically the other two take it just fine)#Leo and Elliot's sibling energy we love them

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avocado-frog · 6 days

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Happy STS! What are your characters' favorite songs? Bonus: Why that song?

Happy sts this one was GOING to be on time but SOMEONE had a birthday party (<- glaring at my stepbrother rn) and my computer died while i wasn't using it so everything i wrote out got erased.

It was a bit of a challenge separating what I associate the character with vs what I think the characters would listen to but I think I got it

Starting with Logan, I think he'd like Little Moth by Chloe Moriondo. Not necessarily that he resonates with the lyrics but that he connects them to the other kids (particularly Dylan, Jaxon, Ryan, or Elliot)

In my head, Leo is a Mother Mother fan. I don't know why. Vibes alone. I think Burning Pile or Hayloft II she would especially listen to. Sort of related but she's got an mp3 player that she's downloaded a Lot of songs on lol

I had trouble with Cass since her playlist on my spotify is small and full of songs that are instrumental and I was trying not to answer with instrumental songs. Two Birds Regina Spektor gives very Leo and Cass energy though

Had trouble with Lily too. She has a very specific vibe so I was torn between a softer sounding one or something else. I think she'd like marina. I picked Anything Adrianne Lenker as a solid answer though

For Jaxon I did Race by Alex G but specifically timeskip Jaxon. The "You're starting to look really weird" line also really sounds like him and Leo and I think he would enjoy the energy the song has in general

Dylan lore time: Not to let Dylan hijack this post but about a year ago last summer when I was outlining forget me not, I was this close to cutting Dylan because in all the versions up until this point, they were essentially the same character as Elliot. Aside from design. They were literally made to be sort of a parallel to Elliot in the draft they first appeared in. like superman bizarro world sort of thing. So I wasn't going to keep them, but I was attached regardless so I decided to keep them in and see if they would develop over time on their own. In forget me not, Dylan gets maybe like. ten scenes total. And I remember about three chapters where they were the focus. Their debut chapter (chapter 6), the one they had with Elliot (chapter 12), and that one towards the end (chapter 24). They barely had any lines, I barely knew anything about them that I didn't also know about Elliot (I still struggle sometimes with what is an Elliot Thing and what is a Dylan Thing) Chapter 24 (out of THIRTY) was the only chapter where Dylan was the pov character the whole time, so I used that to really quickly bullshit a backstory for them, as well as a bit of magic development. I'm sort of retconning it right now because I made it up really quick and didn't think very hard about it (my bad tbh) BUT that little tiny bit of character development, the crumbs if u will, put Dyl as one of the focus characters for dahlia. Them and Elliot being so similar in development made them both naturally work as characters who got along really well, and their friendship in forget me not had a bit of an arc in the background, but since I hadn't done much with Dylan's character yet I didn't really have any ideas for how their arc in the second part of dahlia would go. I know I said I wasn't going to pick songs that I associate the characters with, but Overgrown Garden for them. I listened to the song when I was trying to find songs to add to Cass's playlist and I was just adding every song that had a flower name like a madman without listening to them. The only other thing I knew about Dylan was that they Like Gardening (that's where I had them in chapter six lol) so when I actually listened to the song itself, Dylan's arc sorta just. happened. Pleased to announce that Dylan has been upgraded to Major Character status and gets a lot of screentime now. When I go through and edit the first two stories I'm definitely going to add in a few more scenes for them since I've got them good and developed

Moving on to what the actual ask was about. The next character in the list would be Ryan. I am not a ten year old boy. Disclaimer. I have no idea what they listen to. So making them up for the triplets was a bit hard. As a solid answer I would say Ship in a Bottle for him. Water motif + veryyyy him and Elliot

For Sam, I am still not a ten year old boy. So I'm cheating and picking the one I associate him with. Things to Do Alex G in a way I can't quite explain. Canonically, I think that Sam genuinely unironically listens to the music gym teachers play during kickball. Fuckin. believer imagine dragons. the one song from the minions. You see my vision

Unlike the other two, I knew exactly what I was going to pick for Elliot. Meteor Shower Cavetown. It's perfect. It's space themed. He'd love it. He likes Jack Stauber also. I'm sure of it.

#yeah sorry dylan hijacked the post :/#no yeah i asked they won't give it back #i don't think i forgot any of them. i usually answer with all eleven of them but i decided not to answer for the side characters #i usually answer these in character age order but when i don't include the side characters it throws me off a little #this was a fun ask #wip: forget me not #ask game #also the reason dylan was going to be cut and not elliot was because elliot had a backstory while i was outlining and dylan didnt #like there wasnt a reason for pre canon dylan to be with sam and ryan but there WAS a reason for elliot to be with sam and ryan #dylan still has the post hijacked oops

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avocado-frog · 5 months

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Forget me not. 16

Word count: 2,500 Title: 1/16/2019 Warnings: Other than Leo really wanting to do violence and Elliot thinking he is the most hated child ever Summary: School Rating: T

"Call if you want to come home early," Logan looked more nervous than Elliot was. Elliot fidgeted with the corner of his space-themed phone case, Jaxon had convinced Logan to buy them phones for emergencies. "I don't have work today, so I'll be home. If you get overwhelmed, just ask to go home, okay?"

It was, in all honesty, not that far away. Elliot was a little surprised he'd never seen it before today, he'd been going outside, but it was different than the way he would normally go; where the area was less of a city and more of a small town, or so Leo had described. It was the opposite direction of the park.

The older kids left an entire hour earlier, which Elliot thought was stupid, because he still had to get up at seven. Even Leo had left. Leo. At a school.

The brick building Dylan led them to was a lot smaller than the high school Leo showed them the day before. He almost worried that the older kids would get lost there.

"I go somewhere else," Dylan signed, and gestured vaguely with their hand. "You're allowed to come down if you need me. Teacher is nice."

(He was starting to get along with Ryan, and he was on neutral grounds with Sam)

To his surprise, people started getting off the bus, as opposed to getting on. He guessed they must have had to get a ride. How odd.

"I'm going to go talk to someone," Sam announced to the other two, earning a thumbs up from Elliot, and a nod from Ryan. "You two will be okay by yourselves, right?"

"That's her, isn't it?" Ryan whispered, pointing at the sign. "We met her the other day, remember?"

He did. She tried to shake his hand. He frowned.

The classroom itself, Elliot recognized from meeting the teacher the week before with the twins and Logan, a large room with beige walls and black carpeting, an art easel in the middle by the whiteboard, and a couch across from it. There was a row of ...cubbies... as the teacher called them. Leo said that they were smaller versions of high-school lockers. They were small, had a plastic tub on the inside with their names on it, and coat racks below. They would have to share with someone.

Elliot's seat was the green one in between Ryan (blue chair) and Sam (red chair), but across from a boy named Charlie (yellow chair), who had red hair and brown eyes, wearing a yellow sweater.

Sam sat down rather loudly, gaining the boy's attention, as Elliot had assumed was Sam's goal, otherwise he would have sat down like a normal person. He rocked in his chair, Jaxon told him to try to talk to someone today, so he watched, waited for Charlie to say something interesting. Sam had already, enthusiastically, introduced himself to the boy, and the two had been talking about whatever it was Sam was interested in. He knew Sam liked basketball ever since Lily had been watching it that one day. Elliot didn't know anything about it. Maybe the one person he talked to would be Ryan. Or maybe Dylan. He strongly doubted his brother would make any attempts to talk to the other kids, and no one liked Elliot.

---

There was a part of the day that Elliot didn't really mind.

From Dylan, he knew the basic rule was that he should draw it out before he even thought about painting, so he did.

Elliot blinked, and his wrist hurt. He stared at his hands for a minute, catching sight of a drawing he was definitely not capable of doing himself.

Elliot could barely draw anything other than glorified stick figures. This was detailed, and something he didn't think he was capable of doing.

"What's that?" Elliot asked, startling his brother. Ryan flinched, gripping the paintbrush tightly, giving Elliot a dead stare when he calmed down.

"Kind of flower." Ryan shrugged. "Cass showed me one the other day. They're poisonous." He gave Elliot a look that he was supposed to interpret as concern. "You looked really focused when you were painting your thing. You wouldn't respond to me or Sam. Are you okay?"