#c: Nick

[hqlourd]

I'm simultaneously jealous of you for working with Anne Hathaway and jealous of Anne Hathaway for working with you. Just thought you should know, @itsnickgalitzine.

[themeixhuang]

closed - @nick-keane

where - the boardwalk

While Luna was spending the afternoon with a Sterling and Sunny, Mei decided to take advantage of her free time- something she had so little of as a single mother. And after getting herself a light breakfast, she found herself walking along the boardwalk, enjoying the sound of the waves crashing on the shoreline, the people walking by talking and laughing. Four years in, and she still loved the juxtaposition of life in this little beach town compared to how things were her entire life in London. It was the type of peace she'd always wanted for herself and it's now all she wanted to give to her daughter...

As her thoughts trailed off, Mei Lian just kept on walking, people-watching as she did, and as she walked, Mei's eyes fell on someone up ahead- and it took her so off guard she stumbled over herself, nearly bumping into someone nearby. Because.....because she was pretty sure she was looking at ghost. She must be, because one of the last things she'd been told before fleeing London was that he was dead...

Like a magnet, Mei found herself walking faster, her heart pounding and lodging itself into her throat with each step, and the closer she got the more she was sure it was him. But how...

"....Nick?"

[wmustaceevans]

@nickduval-wmu

I went out in my jammies to get this for you. They didn't have any other blue options so you get indigo. I have one, I expect to see you wearing it!!!!!!

[kazxraval]

The Low Farm ~ Forge Closed ~ @nickalphonsus​

The forge sat cold. No one around. Except Luis, who chose to glare at Kaz with big beefy arms crossed in a safe distance. Kaz rolled his eyes and refocused on a making a pair of bamboo tongs. A minute ticked by and Kaz found himself surrounded by high green stems. A cage of bamboo he had to push out of. And no tongs. 

Fantastical and pointless. Two states that co-existed on Meridium. 

He saw Nick cut across the farm. Not a usual sight. “Hey, if you see your man, tell him I left a wedding present here.” Currently, an overgrowth of bamboo. But maybe by the time Mik turned up, the scene would shift again. 

[doc-hudson]

Tit for tat || Nick

@wilde-fun

​

Paul’s current situation was a bizarre version of the tired cliché -the Swynlake version of it.

There’d always been a sense of normalcy in going over to the neighbour’s and asking for something you lacked, be it sugar, or salt or...whatever, really; It was rather rom-commy of a thing, but it was also something that actually happened, specially when one generally didn’t need sugar to begin with (like Doc).

If this were a typical case, a play-for-play of the cliché, Paul would knock, ask for a cup of sugar from a always-ready-to-be-chaotic Seamus, thank the man, maybe have some small talk and then go about his day.

But this was Swynlake and nothing was as simple as that.

Sure, Paul was missing some sugar, that much was true; But he was also missing a whole Advil box, one that he had just purchased a couple of days ago and very much needed right now-

-and, look, he didn’t want to point any fingers, but the only person that came and went and they pleased and knew where the medicine cabinet was and also dealt with some form of chronic panic was Seamus.

So, naturally, Doc felt well within his rights to walk into the other’s home (as the menace himself did all the time), greet Maeve and Nova, get himself some sugar and look for at least one surviving pill.

Two could play that game, you see. He could also make himself at home!

The main difference was that when Seamus walked into his kitchen or looked around the cabinets...well, he only had Paul to worry about-

-while Paul was suddenly faced by an amused-looking young (?) man whose existence he hadn’t known of until a second ago.

“He owes me” he tried to explain to this other person, sugar still in hands, ever the master of first impressions.

[turkishdclights]

closed starter: @sympathyforawolf

He had gotten to meet Maite several times now as she had asked questions to try to see what could have possibly happened to his older sister, Maria. She had been gone for a year now, and there was no conclusive evidence as to where exactly she went. Her apartment showed no signs of struggle. What he and no one else knew was there was a few things missing: a suitcase and her favorite clothes that would fit. Everything else had been left behind, and she had so many clothes that no one could tell that she had taken enough clothes to get away and just left. 

He wasn’t as broken anymore. It was still heartbreaking, but it had been several months. Life had continued on - was back at work, which luckily was mostly from home anyway. And now he was actually getting out again, in the city with two friends, losing track of them when he got out of the bar for some fresh air. He went into a new bar, seeing the familiar stature of one of the women sitting there at a stool, approaching her and putting a hand on her shoulder for her attention. “I thought that was you,” he smiled. “It’s good to see you. Are you here alone?” 

[ncvelty]

“You might be new, but you’re looking at the top dog around here.” | x | @camerica

The eye roll that came from him was absolutely involuntary– he tries to at least keep a professional appearance when he can, no one gains trust with a flippant attitude. Arrogance can make itself known after you make a deal, not before. But– top dog. Really? It sounded so ridiculously tacky, like this guy thought he was some movie villain. All tough guy bravado and bad facial hair choices. “Nick.” His head tilts to the left less than an inch, then straightens again, along with his shoulders. “I prefer to be on a first name basis. Do you have a name, or did you want me to call you a dog?”

[harrykane-hwh]

I thought I would come and say hi. I was at the theatre and was walking past my stage-daughter’s dressing room when I heard a song of yours playing. I couldn’t have named it but I knew the voice. How are you doing? I’m Mazz.

@nickjcnas​

[jkrasinski]

@njcns, The Last Five Years! One of my favorites. How are you feeling about the whole thing? It was a million years ago, now, but I remember my first and only Broadway experience bringing about the most overwhelming range of feelings in the best possible way. Wishing you so much luck with it, man, I hope we get to see it.

[hinamie]

congrats on your recovery n all yuuji but unfortunately for you I thought the scars were cool >:/

[adri-monahan]

WHO: @nicksancheez​ WHERE: Skyline Shopping Center

She’d been sent to the mall by her brothers to pick up some last minute gifts for their sisters, a duty she’d been tasked with since she’d been old enough to drive them all to the mall but throughout the years the boys had stopped coming and instead sent her with half written lists in their stead. And even though she much preferred the atmosphere of the open air markets she’d visited overseas, she didn’t mind the busy mall or the shopping, but she wasn’t going to be the one to wrap all these gifts. So after a quick trip to the toy store to ensure she bought enough toys to donate to cover the amount of gifts she was about to request be wrapped, she carried her handful of shopping bags towards the chief of police and his volunteers at the wrapping station.

She’d only been standing in line for a few minutes when she spotted a familiar face nearby, abandoning the queue to make her way over to him and gently nudge his arm with her elbow to get his attention. “You think if I brought you up there they’d wrap you up so I could put you under my tree?” She teased with a smirk. “Or are we not allowed to take cops home as gifts to ourselves?”

[wintcrstcrfall]

for @goodbyess​ continued from here

Addie’s lips parted into a smile at his words; even for her it was almost impossible to find a way to battle the desire to beam a little more than she usually did. Granted, the redhead was terrible at taking compliments and she knew it was about to be seen by Nick too. Still, if it hadn’t been for him, she wasn’t sure if she had anyone else to ask about such a bold thing - an idea that still felt unreal and a lot crazier than what Adelinne usually did in her normal life. “Aw, thank you. I tried my best.” Which did mean a lot coming from a woman who rarely dressed up and mostly lived for her work. “I am nervous, I won’t lie... but I’m ready as I can be”, she said with a laugh over her shoulder while he fixed the problematic zipper. “I don’t really like having to lie to people but sometimes it is a necessity rather than anything else. And having you being the one next to me means a lot too. A simple ‘thank you’ would never be enough but still...”, Addie turned her head, sweet expression on her features. “Thank you. I know what this means for your personal life too.”

[imwetforyourmom]

❝ To be a star, ❞

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[wmustaceevans]

Share one pic in your camera roll from our trip to Mexico and the story behind it (optional). 📸

Nicky-poo took this when I was being a gracious goddess and helped him cook a magnificent feast!

@nickduval-wmu

[kazxraval]

Club Rapture ~ With ~ @nickambrose

It was quiet inside the club other than a few scrapes of moved chairs and clinks of glasses being washed. Too early to be hopping, but Kaz arrived on business and not to have a good time. He didn't bring much-- a half dozen bottles of whiskey. Not the best, but not from plastic gallon jugs either. And not watered down, as Kaz occasionally did. Hey, had to make supplies stretch. He asked one of Nick's minions (er, staff ) to say was there and then waited the obligatory time for the grand entrance.

"Hey," his chin lifted with the greeting. "Found a few extras for your party." A hand rested on the box of bottles. "I might be willing to offer a 5% customer loyalty discount on this, out of the kindness of my heart," he drawled dry. "Figure you'd next extras for the wedding, hm?"

[doc-hudson]

Meeting... at the Board Meeting

Alternative title: "Doc Hudson gets ‘ok boomer’ed and accidentally organizes a double date”

Date: 8 January, 2023

Doc Hudson:

Now, Paul had never been one to deal with politics (not even during his time as Radiator Springs’ Mayor), but this whole thing struck him as specially ridiculous.

A woman had been attacked a couple of nights ago, the Board had done absolutely nothing to help her (or anyone for that matter: the one person that had decided to do something had been a civilian) and now wanted to have a whole movie production roam around Swynlake as if it that hadn’t just happened.

They couldn’t look out for their own! How would they ever be able to house an entire Hollywood production without incident (see: lawsuits)?!

It was ridiculous! So much so that Paul had felt the need to actually sit down and debate with the Board about it-

-buuut as soon as he’d seen Simba sitting on the table his combative spirit had faded away and he’d decided to, instead, help himself to some coffee.

Buuut one Nick Wilde was right by the damn thing and he didn’t have the mental fortitude to deal with that right now, either.

So, ever the fearless man, Paul Leonard Hudson decided to backtrack and try to get lost in the crowd.

-

Nick Wilde

Of course Nick was by the coffee table. When in doubt, go for coffee especially when it's free. There was plenty of people circling, plenty of upset around, but it didn't really touch Nick in this moment.

Sure, the attack on the girl was sad, but she wasn't someone Nick knew personally so eh didn't care that much. These things happened. For all the complaints, Swynlake was a lot safer than many of the places he'd lived so he didn't really get what all the fuss was about. On the flip side, Al was over the moon about this movie idea and what it could mean, and that energy was infectious.

He was more concerned about Isaac, but he was holding up fine so far so Nick didn't feel the need to do anything. He was fine. They'd check in later anyway.

A much more entertaining possibility presented itself when he caught sight of Len. Especially when the man immediately turned tail and walked the other way.

"Aw, you aren't avoiding me are you? That hurts my feelings."

-

Doc Hudson

Fuck.

Ok, so...this was a thing that was happening, whether Paul wanted it or not; So he turned into the voice’s direction, pretending to be surprised by the caller.

“Why, if it isn’t the infamous Nick Wilde” the very same man whose gaze he’d spent all the Christmas dinner avoiding “fancy seein’ you here. Felt like sharin’ your opinions about the whole movie thing or are you here just for the free coffee?”

-

Nick Wilde

"In the flesh. I'd hate to deny the people what they want," Nick winked.

Now, they had met once before after that initial first meeting, which had been much more fun for Nick than for the other man he was fairly certain. But nothing saying he couldn't have a little more fun after all. He'd been very good so far.

"I mean, the free coffee is hard to resist. But it's interesting hearing what everyone has to say. Penny Forester is a big name to be coming to a little old town like ours after all."

-

Doc Hudson

The wink almost made Paul wince. Almost.

The last time he’d felt this way had probably been back when the pain-the-ass that was Lightning McQueen had tried the Kachow thing on him to try and shut him up but had, instead, made Paul cringe so hard that his immortal soul had almost abandoned his body out of pure cringe.

This kids were going to be end of him.

“The name doesn’t ring any bells for me” he shrugged as he moved closer to the other man in a somewhat defeated way “she a big deal? I can’t see how a movie about pigeons could ever be funded if not for the lead bein’ specially good”

-

Nick Wilde

"Yeah, you're probably a little old for her stuff." This was funny to Nick specifically because he could guarantee he was older than the other man. But more on that later.

Genre and intended age had never mattered to Nick when he watched movies. He liked to see what was new and popular, and he had a soft spot for anything involving Magicks. He also liked to watch the weird and obscure when he could get his hands on it.

Mostly, he liked movies.

"But, she made history by being the first open Magick to lead a family-friendly film with the Bolt franchise. This movie is probably gonna keep using those skills, but it's looking like this is also her attempt to start finding herself as an adult actress. I can see why she'd want to work someone that's known for being Magick friendly."

-

Doc Hudson

Paul stared at Nick, blankly.

They hadn’t reached that particular moment on their...relationship when one would sit a person down and rant about their own Magick abilities or lack thereof, and his own nature as a Gifted prevented him from being able to perceive whether Nick was a Mundus or something else-

-so he had to think things twice when speaking to Nick. Mostly.

“Took ‘em folks at Hollywood long fuckin’ enough” he finally said, nose scrunched at the idea “but I’m still not interested. Takes helluva lot more that usin’ my people as an incentive to make me want to watch a movie, let alone for it to be a decent one, you know?”

Ah, yes, let the bitterness begin.

-

Nick Wilde

The thing was, Nick never hid that he was a Magick. It was just the particular flavor that was the secret. The handy thing about Gifted being such a flexible category was that he could get away with saying he was a Gifted illusionist and most people didn't look too much farther.

But it appeared his friend-o Len was a Magick as well. The particular type would be interesting.

"Sure, we could all spit at the moon and wish that people got their heads out of their asses faster. Doesn't change that Penny was the first," he said cheerfully.

As if he'd never done exactly that. ha.

"I, however, don't have your standards or your scruples. I've watched plenty of shitty movies cause they have Magicks in it. Although some of the ones on the Indie scene these days are pretty good even with their low budget since it's not like they had to build as much of an effects budget in. But this one seems like it'll be fun."

-

Doc Hudson

“ ‘s not the kid’s fault, don’t get me wrong” Paul said, rolling his eyes all the while “good for her. I’m just not to keen on havin’ a Media Empire danglin’ the bare minimum in front of my face and pretendin’ that’s so new, inclusive and wonderful that I oughta hand ‘em my money or else be called a bad ally or whatever”

He’d been spoiled far too much, too early, by the Magick Grand Prix, he figured: even during the 80’s and 90’s that had been considerably more progressive that whatever the fuck Sidney was doing. But had they received any recognition for it? No.

“ ‘sides, I don’t think the Town’s the best possible filmin’ location right now. You heard about that one girl that got attacked during New Years?”

-

Nick Wilde

Nick couldn't help it - he laughed at that.

"Wow, someone does think they're important. Not sure if I should 'okay hipster' that or 'okay boomer' it. Did you know you're allowed to just not like stuff? It's okay I promise."

Maybe it helped that Nick had spent so much of the last couple decades outside of English speaking countries. What Hollywood did was important and impactful, but it wasn't the only thing. Americans just usually thought of it as the only thing because it was all they saw, whereas for a lot of the world it was just one more thing. An exciting thing, sure. But just a part.

"Yeah, sure, I heard about it. Sympathies to the girl, of course. But animal attacks happen. They're pretty infrequent in Swynlake, but not unheard of." He shrugged.

-

Doc Hudson

Paul opened his mouth, ready to defend himself.

...but found that there was no coming back from Nick’s words.

Fucking...kids this days and their memes.

Wasn't that one meme too old to be valid, anyways!?

Whatever, Doc didn’t feel having that discussion.

“I dunno ‘bout that” he said, after fake-coughing his previous discomfort away “I don’t think the girl’s to blame for that one. Sure, shit happens and that sucks, but I think there should be a...you know, more solid way to navigate through this kinda situations? I mean, she's pretty darn lucky that the animal that attacked didn't have rabies. Shit like this has the potential to get very ugly, very fast”

He shrugged.

“I think we should focus more on that ‘nstead of a movie”

-

Nick Wilde

"I didn't say she was to blame. I said these things happen." Why did humans always think they could control the natural world and the events with in it? Here of all places, nature's unpredictability should be something people anticipated and accepted.

Death is only the end if you assume the story is about you, etc. etc.

"I don't see it as an either/or thing. The Sheriff's department and the police are looking into the animal attack. The Board are evaluating proposals brought to the town, including one about the movie, and they're looking to hear out people's concerns. If the Board didn't care what the town had to say about it, they could have voted and just announced it without bringing this up at the meeting."

"Besides, what do you think they should be doing? What's your proposal for focusing on it?"

-

Doc Hudson

“You didn’t. But I’ve heard folks heavily implyin’ just that” he wasn’t naming any names but some people’s arguments were a second away from outright victim blaming the poor girl that had merely been walking home from a town-wide party and-

-fuck, had things been any different that could have been Evangeline. Hell, even King. Or Luca.

(But Evangeline was the one that came to mind -maybe because they’d met at night, not far that very same place and, as such, was the one that he figured was the most at risk and was too kind, too inocent, to even see it as potentially dangerous).

“It’s as if things existed only within a “a Magick did it” and a “well, it’s her fault for not bein’ careful” duality, and that’s what I don’t like” Paul said “And I dunno. I vaguely recall the Mayor sayin’ something ‘bout stickin’ to paths and not travelling alone late, but… where was the police durin' that whole ordeal, anyways? Were all the cops at the Acorn Drop? Like, wasn’t there even a single lone soul doin’ patrol?”

It just didn’t feel right.

“But I dunno. What would you propose, tiger?”

-

Nick Wilde

Oh sure, some people had been implying. But those were the ones desperate for the movie. Just like the ones against the movie were implying that the people who didn't prioritize the attack were monsters.

It's what happened when there were sides. The one that wasn't yours quickly became villains. He didn't take either one seriously until there was a weapon in hand or a law being pushed.

"You're forgetting the third 'we're living next to a magical forest and accidents happen' side who keeps getting talked over by everyone involved or getting called too callous. Sticking to the paths and not traveling alone is decent advice for people who are worried, whether or not that changes it. As for the lat point, I think that's a question for the Sheriff. I do my best not to pay cops too much attention."

Luckily, the department in town was pretty small, but that didn't change Nick's feeling about cops. He'd never had a good interaction with them and he didn't see that changing any time soon. It was an effective tool for this argument though.

But he did waggle his finger at Doc's question. "Nah ah, I'm not the one bitching, so I'm not the one who has to come up with the change."

-

Doc Hudson

*I do my best not to pay cops too much attention.*

Paul shouldn’t smile at that. He really shouldn’t.

But he did, because...yeah, that sounded just like something Nick Wilde would say and shouldn’t be something he encouraged but… well, he kind of was doing just that.

“Why, I didn’t know all the Town’s decisions now depended on my bitchin’! Lucky me” he shot back, still with a smile “ok, my first decree as de-facto old fart in charge shall be the implementation o’ extra-casual Friday, also, 2x1 snow cones durin' Thursdays. How ‘bout that?"

-

Nick Wilde

Ah, the return of the man's sense of humor! Nice to see it, it was welcome to stay for as long as it liked.

"So far, I'm not hearing anything I disagree with. I'd love to wear pajamas to work on Fridays and its hard to argue with a good snow cone. I'm seeing a good platform here oh benevolent ruler."

-

Doc Hudson

“Flattery will get you anywhere, Nick Wilde” Paul joked back, now considerably less tense than moments before “You’d make a good vice-president, I’ll keep that in mind”

Oh, that kind of reminded him…

“Speaking of, I heard your boyfriend ’s on the Board, that right?” he asked, partly out of legit curiosity, and partly to silently show the other that his previous trick wouldn’t take him far this time.

Not that he’d cared in any way, but getting that out of the way was the best way to go.

-

Nick Wilde

"Wow, I am honored. I swear to make you always appear less ridiculous than you are by being more ridiculous and meme-able."

The abrupt transition did have him grinning. He'd been wondering when that would come up, especially with Seamus calling him 'a right bastard' when they'd discussed this last. It was nice to know a plan worked out.

"I'll give you three guesses who."

-

Doc Hudson

“I’m sure The Spill would love that. You’ll be the pretty face and I’ll be, if not the brains, the perpetually unhappy old man that keeps people on the edge of their seats -we’ll get shit done” or, at least, they’d put enough of a show that people would ignore it and favour of whatever shenanigan Nick decided to cause.

...huh, so that was the real potential of the Bread and Circuses. Who would have known?! Well, maybe Triton had a point there.

Anyways-

“That’s easy, specially when Simba’s happily married” he continued to joke, now looking at the Board’s (and some kids taking photos) general direction “Isaac, the newly appointed one. Ol’ MacTunnag mentioned in passin’ that you started datin’ a second ago”

-

Nick Wilde

Nick nodded in acknowledgement of the correct guess. (To be fair, once it had already been narrowed down to 'boyfriend' instead of 'partner' that left a pretty limited pool to draw from in terms of guesses so it hadn't been hard. He'd just wanted the other man to work for it a little more.)

"Nice to know that you two were talking about me. But hey, it means your playing field is free and clear after all.

-

Doc Hudson

“Why, of course. What else are we supposed to do, if not talk about you while you’re away? -could you be a peach an’ hand me a cuppa joe? thank you dearly” he continued, know cup on hand “yeah, your name was inevitable, tiger, ol’ timer and me shared all kinda wonderful stories ‘bout you”

Except not really. There had been a lot of screaming and he’d weaponized a wooden spool, but he wasn’t about to say that.

“Spent Christmas with him? I was surprised by your absence at MacTunnag’s”

-

Nick Wilde

"Really, I don't know, I am the most fascinating topic of conversation." He poured coffee for Doc and refilled his own at the same time. It wasn't exactly the same careless grace he'd displayed in the kitchen, more human in his movements now that he was around the crowd.

Nick wasn't worried about the stories that were shared either, if any had been. If there was one thing Nick and Seamus could trust the other with, it was their secrets.

"I stopped briefly by Isaac's on Christmas, but he was doing the family thing for the most part. I spent the majority of the day with Seamus. We must have just missed each other."

-

Doc Hudson

“The highlight o’ our days, of course” Paul said before taking a sip of his cold-ish but-free-so-what-the-hell coffee “otherwise we would only have old folk shit to talk ‘bout. He’d probably complain ‘bout the economy and I’d go on and on ‘bout my achin’ bones, you make for a wonderful change of pace, sunshine”

...and...he kind of did, amusingly enough.

Sure, he’d caused some serious shenanigans (TM) last time, but Doc had been the one to blame for...well, not asking further questions about the whole thing and had been the one to throw the first figurative (but also literal) punch, so…

“I think so, a shame, that” he paused for a second, contemplating his next words “you missed the aftermatch o’ that little game o’ yours. It was a beautiful sight to see, you know? We laughed, cried, sang a romantic duet then discussed how the true Christmas spirit was the friends we’ve met along the way. Lifechangin' shit”

-

Nick Wilde

"Really, that's too tragic to think about. I'm going to have to assign you two excursions just so you'll have some new experiences to brighten your day. I'm sure there's a cute horse and buggy ride around that would remind you two of the good old days."

Nick hadn't seen the immediate results of it with the both of them, but he'd seen the impressive head wound Seamus had come back with and the lightness to his step which was enough. It wouldn't save Doc from teasing, but it would save him from anything much worse.

"I got to hear about it later, don't you worry."

-

Doc Hudson

“Yipee” Doc deadpanned at the idea of the horse and buggy ride (which was made extra-unbearable by virtue of the possibility of MacTunnag being there and once again going on and on about horses, his Colorado days or what-have-you) “can’t wait”

A beat.

“Let’s make it a double date, what ‘bout that?”

If Nick Wilde, magnificent bastard that he was, felt like causing that specific brand of trouble then they might as well drag him along for the ride, right?

-

Nick Wilde

If Doc thought that was going to be a threatening statement, he had entirely misjudged the situation. Or his willingness to put Seamus in ridiculous situations.

"That sounds like fun! Isaac and Seamus are great friends, so it'll be some good bonding time."

Not that he actually knew about any horse and buggy rides in the area, but there were stables so there had to be something. He would find something just to continue the bit because there was such a hilarious opportunity.

"Have you talked with Isaac yet?"

-

Doc Hudson

Well, joke was on Nick: Paul intended of making the most of the situation, if it ever came to be (because while he was sure there were horses around and surely someone, somewhere had a buggy to entertain tourist with...well, he hadn’t seen that kind of thing around just yet. Maybe it was a seasonal thing).

Hell, chances were that Seamus would be into the idea, too -the gremlin of a man surely would relish the opportunity to (try and) make Nick uncomfortable.

Poor Isaac, though, he seemed like too good of a guy to be caught on the crossfire of that.

Oh, well, c’est la vie.

“Not quite yet. I’ve heard pretty nice things ‘bout him, though”

-

Nick Wilde

Paul's mistake was in thinking that it would be a situation of Seamus vs. Nick. They might not have dated, but they had been partners for a very long time. There was very little either of them could do to make the other uncomfortable.

He'd have to give Isaac the heads up, but he had a feeling the man would agree out of his eternal sense of optimism and his willingness to be friendly.

It looked like Nick was going to need to find a horse and buggy ride for four.

"You should be sure to do that. He's a friendly guy, and there's a reason he ran for Board and not me. Plus if we're going to be spending all this time together, you don't want to be the only strangers.

-

Doc Hudson

Absolutely.

Paul’s main mistake was that he expected Seamus to take his side on this whole thing, if only for the sake of chaos and the chance of getting back at Nick after the previous incident.

That was a common problem of his: Paul Leonard Hudson threw himself into situations, felt things too much, too deeply even when he barely knew shit about them; Getting the best and the worst of him was relatively easy and spite had become his fuel a long, long time ago, so much so that turning back, that slowing down or changing was no longer an option.

It had never been. That probably would never change -he’d remain the same idiot from decades ago, paler and broken, but the same idiot nonetheless.

“I’m a stranger” he said, matter-of-factly “we may banter helluva lot, but I’m still a stranger to y’all, sunshine. 's only natural”

That was said with a smile, even if the knowledge of it hurt, when the task of carving himself a small niche on other’s lives seemed so daunting, specially when it came to the pair that seemed to have known each other for a such good while.

-

Nick Wilde

Whereas for Nick, living in this town was the first time he'd been known in a long time. Normally, he did his best to slide chameleon-like into any situation, charm whoever would best serve him, collect the stories of the people around, and then slide out again. Everyone thought they knew him, but no one really did, and that was on purpose. He had connections more than he had friends.

But here in Swynlake, things had changed. It had started with Seamus and Riley, grounding him and tying him to this moment and this place in a way that was inescapable. But it had already spread to include the Lightfoots, and now Isaac, and there was every threat it would keep spreading farther.

So in this moment, he was known in a way that was more important than he could ever say. But it didn't mean he'd forgotten what it was to be the outsider.

Nick clapped his hand on Doc's shoulder. "Nonsense. We've had coffee together twice. At this point you're at least up to the level of acquaintance. Buy me dinner and we'll be the best of friends in no time." He winked to lighten the statement.

"Ah, and Isaac is pretty open about his color magic, but it is a form of empathy so if that's an issue, give him a head's up. He can suppress it when he needs to, but this is your fair warning."

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Doc Hudson

With all due respect-

-why was Nick touching him? What made him think that was acceptable?

Paul had just admitted to being a stranger, not only to him personally, but to Isaac and...hell, to MacTunnag, too. He was the odd-one-out on this continued comedy of errors and unknowns and was well aware of his part as such -was sure he'd eventually grow to find that comfortable enough, given enough time.

“Acquaintance, it ‘s” he echoed, purposely avoiding the olive branch Nick had just offered “ ‘m fine with that”

There was no use wishing for complicated things, not when he had nothing of real worth to offer them (and, hell, Nick was perfectly capable of stopping him dead on his tracks or flustering him away from actual debate without the need of knowing shit about him, there was no way in hell he’d let the other know that he was the kind of loser that had some comments coming, that hadn’t earned the kind of respect he usually demanded, that didn’t have any business talking big).

If things remained respectfully distant, well, there would be no need to go through anything too inconvenient: they could always remain vitriolic buds, banter a little here and there and know nothing about the other in the end, save both of them the effort as they put a show for everyone else to laugh at.

“Hjm, note taken. Jessica mentioned he’s a Magick but didn’t say what was special ‘bout him” he shrugged “I’ll try to behave, I guess”

For Isaac’s sake, even when he’d kind of dragged him into the chaos of this all without thinking about it twice.