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themoomoorn · 1 year

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LA SAGA DE BAGUETTE PART TROIS: JE SUIS UNE PETITE FILLE TRES TRISTE

...Sigh...

...when we last left our little ingenue, he stumbled across a bizarre bracelet that was spit out of a nebulous void called the "Dee-Ell-Cee," and apparently it had three entire Emblems inside of it. These three Emblems are quite infamous in the sense that one of them doesn't really qualify as what FEE defines as an "Emblem."

The definition in this case is a "Hero of Yore."

─.─||

Emblème, engager...whoo...Dieu aide moi...

We get off the wrong foot immediately, because even when the Fodlan games and spinoffs asserted that these three would be great together, they show the exact opposite...sort of. The two guys are distant at worst and get along well enough at best, while the five-head elephant in the room looks down on both of them and ignores them. So in that sense, Edelgard is correct in her statement involving appearances.

Case in point: "Claude, you have the intelligence of a cockroach." Seriously, other than their bogus alliance in Hopes, when has she ever spoken politely to him?

And what's more, while 3H's graphics are pretty bad, the models for these Emblems, even compared to the others, are downright ugly.

Koei: "We would've done another soft reboot for Fodlan to make you like Edelgard more, but IntSys didn't want us in the developer's room this time ლಠ益ಠ)ლ"

The Engaged color palettes for all of the DLC units bar Tiki are much darker compared to the canon Emblems, and no matter which of the House Lords is up front, the Engaged unit will be wearing an Officer's Academy uniform. While this Emblem bracelet is probably better in terms of utility compared to a few of the ring Emblems, I've found the 3H bracelet to be pretty poor in the mid-to late game - for one, the swap gimmick doesn't even pan out since you need to fully upgrade the Bond ranking in order to even access Areadbhar and Failnaught (even if Dimitri or Claude are leading, you're stuck with Aymr as the Emblem's main weapon until you reach said ranks, and this version of Aymr operates like a Great weapon, which are very piddling weapons overall unless an Armored unit is using it), and you can just freely pick one of their Gambits no matter who's leading anyway. Their combined attack is okay, but it's otherwise a basic super attack that doesn't even move you elsewhere (Sigurd, Celica) and it can't be done at a distance (Lyn).

As far as their actual inheritable skills...other than Lineage (it's extremely cheap to inherit - 200 SP - and accelerated EXP growth is always welcome in a game that encourages early promotion/reclassing), they suck.

Man ;_;

In one of several instances of Fodlan's canon being wibbly, Alear-Baguette calls Claude by a title he doesn't obtain until Part II.

Everything about Fodlan is very malleable...except, ironically, with Byleth, who has a very meshed out personality not only like they do in Heroes, but it's consistent!

Le sigh...

With some Skirmishes, grinding, and smithing out of the way, we make our way across the border and into Brodia, the austere, autumnal kingdom that sure does love its strength. The economy boons in the face of strength! Not in a darwinistic kinda way, but more in a Spartan kinda way. They're ambishus and want to expand dong territory...

and yet they're somehow remarkably less shitty about it than Almyra.

...I either am going to like you enough, or not like you at all.

This is Alcryst, the second prince of Brodia. After threatening Al and Baggy with self-defense-mediated murder for broaching the border, Baggy flashes his divine creds, leading to the events of the image above this statement. I am honestly shocked that Alcryst doesn't have a crop to self-flagellate himself with at all times.

Alcryst giving off A-1 off model vibes in this image.

The two ladies are his retainers (Citrinne and Lapis). They're among the game's better characters, but also wind up as victims of its very weird balancing system.

The weird "system" in question is that in Engage, the majority of units you recruit in succession will almost always be objectively better than the ones you began with, with very few exceptions. Even factoring in the low growths across the board, multiple units that come after Chapter 10 or so not only maintain higher bases with good EXP scaling, but the Personal Skills they come with are, again, objectively better than those who came before you.

For example, Clanne and Framme's synchronicity of their personal skills works well in the early game (they get specific buffs if they're adjacent to Alear), but they ultimately pale in comparison to the likes of the free range debuffing abilities that the retainers of the Elusian princesses carry with them. Clanne and Framme also have very odd growths that require reclassing in order to tinker with (Clanne makes for a poor mage despite starting off as one, but also has a poor Strength growth).

As we cross the bridge to meet with the king, we discover that the vaguely "Satanic" winter kingdom of Elusia is mounting an invasion - excuse me, a counter-invasion, as Brodia had attempted to invade Elusia in the past due to their "barbarism" of...worshipping the Fell Dragon.

I have some issues with this little nugget besides the fact that it goes about thirty feet before stopping, but that's for another post.

This little cotton candy clown with all the model clipping is Hortensia, the second princess of Elusia, and the childish and bratty one amongst the nobles in this game. She scores some points for A.) Actually acknowledging how odd Alear's looks are, and 2.) Having a little spat with Alcryst that actually bothers to go steps beyond the tepid "ideals" spiel that 3H forces at us (Dimitri's actual logic on CF 17 notwithstanding).

Yes, the spat is "Brodia invaded us and is hurting civvies" vs. "You're barbarians who worship a giant snake that destroys everything and little more," but it goes a step beyond if we consider that the Jesus figure in this world is an actual, living person walking among them! Alear is the child of God slated to become God, you know!

After a fairly okay map of gunning down fliers galore, we see Hortensia call a retreat to...her retainers, and no one else. I will give 3H credit in that the addition of battalions and larger armies does add meat in terms of battle scaling.

Veyle-Waif is here again, seemingly unable to remember how she got here. How Very Mysterious(tm). In any case, here's her casually dropping a plot twist.

Alear is her brother, in case you haven't played an FE game ever.

And now's the moment we've all been waiting for!

DIAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANT I LOVE HIM

If Alear weren't our main character, I'd love for Diamant to have been our Lord! He fits the classic archetype with a few fun twists wedged in. He's handsome, he's an adult, he's perfectly simple and complex, both language voices fit him beautifully, and his design is fantastic (all of the Brodians have decent designs, actually, although Alcryst's random barrette is dumb). His combat utility is decent enough - it has some issues, but further into the game he doesn't drop off like a boulder the way the Firene units (bar Alfred) do. Speaking of Alfred, these two are fun to see together too.

Diamant, being Brodia's responsible Crown Prince, isn't 100% on board with razing Elusia and their not-Satanists, but Elusia's invading and since their king wants the Fell Snek back in action and the Fell Snek eats babies, they're kind of in a corner. What's more, our very own Jesus-Bagel is explicitly on a holy mission to collect all the nations' Emblem Rings because they're the key to stopping Snekky, and that unfortunately includes Elusia's. As Brodia is allied, albeit distantly, with Firene, they opt into helping Baguetty-Spaghetti on his quest.

Despite being responsible for causing a lot of trouble for Elusia, King Morion is actually a good father to his two sons, which is why Alcryst's self-esteem problems can come off as...uh...well. As we will see later on, he is unfortunately not the sharpest tool in the shed, and this lovely little interaction combined with that fact points to all signs that he's a goner.

Brodia seems to only have one Emblem Ring, and it's Roy's. He throws it to his son like a dog playing fetch.

"I bet you don't wanna watch Cocomelon with me later, huh?"

With our objective at hand, Elusia rears its head once again. While the next map's primary objective is to defeat a boss, it's also a defense map, which is a nice change of pace. It is also here that we are introduced to...

...the sensual woobie of the cast (and Crown Princess of Elusia), Ivy. She's a stone cold, magic-casting wyvern flier who's dutiful and driven to server her father, King Hyacinth. It's nothing personnell, kid, she just wants the Emblem Rings.

She also somehow hasn't stabbed herself in the neck with the kind of jewelry she wears, is somehow able to see past the giant fascinator on her head, has no thigh chafing despite her concept art clearly emphasizing that she's going commando underneath that dress, and is able to ride sidesaddle on a wyvern without falling off. The suspension of disbelief set by Claude being able to pull a Parthian shot/stand upright on the saddle/do backflips on his white wyvern has some serious competition.

(I actually do like Ivy as a character...but her design is silly even by this game's standards. Same for Hortensia. I'm also just tired of the specific trope Ivy falls under in FE as a whole).

One of Diamant's retainers, Amber, talking like a toddler for some reason (his other retainer, Jade, will be introduced in the following Chapter). One of the funny things about Amber is that his English voice sounds like...

V*c Mog*ana

But in a slightly lower pitch.

ANYWAY -

-Ow, now that's the edge!

With the castle successfully protected and rings/bracelets in hand, we prepare to march on Elusia. Despite the foreshadowing striking us with the force of someone being flung out of the windshield after a car crash, this moment is surprisingly touching. It's something more FE parents ought to think about, ya know.

Unfortunately, King Morion hears none of it, and is anticipating Alear going all manakete once they succeed in wiping out the Snekkists.

...man. And I'm actually enjoying this guy's vibe. Shame it's gonna end soon ;_;

(This moment is also another underrated one, because Alear has a mini-crisis where he asks himself, "wait, can I turn into a dragon??? Help???")

Next time on ManaketeBall Grand Tour, we march on Elusia, where bad things will definitely, absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt, happen. But first, some odds and ends!

Alfred is the first character I got a gold wax seal on. These share hobbies, talents and backgrounds, and comes with a very soft picture of the unit in elegant costume.

This is also the first hint about his health.

ಥ﹏ಥ

Brodia's favored edible fare include meats and starch. The princes both like haggis, which is a dish originating in Scotland whose real life equivalent closely matches the description shown above.

This is more me being salty towards my IRL coworkers in regards to cuisine.

Out of all the inexplicable traits that doesn't seem to really show through, Citrinne having Resting Bitch Face is in the Top 5 for this game.

Damn, Diamant doesn't like horse manure either.

'Till next time.

#fire emblem engage #fe disengage #alear fire emblem #moomoorn plays viddie games #moomoo's dumb opinions #long post #diamant fire emblem

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rosesisupposes · 5 years

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What I’ve Been Looking For

Part 4 of Breakin’ Free, a High School Musical Sanders Sides AU

Chapter Pairings: Prinxiety

Chapter Warnings: Roman Is A Disaster Gay (If Only He Was Out Enough to Know That)

Reader tags: @residentanchor @royally-anxious @bewarethegrammarpolice @jemthebookworm @arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt @astral-eclipse @thelowlysatsuma

<<3. Get’cha Head In The Game | 5. The Status Quo>>

read on ao3

SCENE: Homeroom and Hallways of East High

A particular air was flowing in the Ms. Darbus’ classroom the next morning. There was a humming undercurrent of excitement that didn’t quite spread to every occupant, but filled those it touched.

Dee Evans was in full form, glowing in gold accents, from the line on his sneakers to his eyeshadow and lip liner. His head was out of his phone for once as he smiled at every student he walked past on his way to homeroom. Cee was in an equally good mood, in complementary shades of silvery blue with a matching hat in navy. He carried a small gift bag with artfully arranged tissue paper. Cee handed the bag to Dee, who placed it on Ms. Darbus’ desk with a flourish. “Just a little something for you in honor of today!” he said with another bright smile.

As he returned to his desk, the rest of the class filtered in. Virgil and Roman made eye contact as they found their desks, sharing a small smile before Remy called Roman’s attention away. Patton Baylor chatted happily from his spot at the center of a small crowd of students, all of whom looked up at him with slightly starry eyes. Logan McKessie brushed past the crowd, his face buried in a book on theoretical physics. Murmurs of chatter slowly quieted as Ms. Darbus stepped on the stage at the front of the room.

“I expect we all learned our homeroom manners yesterday, correct? If not, we have some dressing rooms that need painting,” she said imperiously. Remy rolled his eyes at Roman as he leaned on his basketball as a pillow.

“Now, a few announcements,” she continued, brightening. “This morning during free period will be your chance for the musicale auditions, both singles and pairs.” Dee sat up even straighter in his seat, clapping in excitement. “I will be in the theater until noon for those of you bold enough to extend the wingspan of your creative spirit.”

Remy snorted. “When you’ve got auditions at 11 but have to be back on the mothership by noon,” he snarked under his breath. Roman had to cover his mouth with his hand to keep from catching the teacher’s attention with his laughter.

Unaware of her students’ commentary, Ms. Darbus began to instruct. “Today, we are going to discuss the importance of William Shakespeare and his works. Can anyone tell me of a phrase or word we use in everyday language that was originally coined by the Bard?”

Behind him, Roman could hear Remy sliding dark glasses over his eyes as he settled in to nap.

~~~

Later that day, Roman was sorting through the books in his locker when Remy came up, spinning his basketball on a finger.

“Sup, gurl.”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“So the whole team's hitting the gym during free period. What do you want to have us run?”

Roman looked directly at the books and binders in his locker as he answered. “Uh, my dude, you know what, I can't make it. I gotta catch up on some homework.”

Remy snorted. “Bitch, it's only the second day back. I'm not even behind on homework yet. And you know I've been behind on homework since preschool.”

Roman forced a laugh. “Oh, Rem, you’re so funny! I’ll catch up with you later, okay?” He closed his locker and walked off before his friend could offer another objection.

Remy pulled his sunglasses down his nose to stare at his friend’s retreating back. “Homework? Girl, nah.”

He followed Roman down the hallway as the team captain turned into a classroom to chat with another student. Remy slid up to the door as he tried to see where he was going, listening to their idle chatter. Then someone bumped him. He turned to see Patton and a small handful of admirers.

“Remy! How are you today?”

“Hi Pat - I’m good, thanks, just busy…”

“Not too busy to miss the GSA meeting this afternoon, right?”

“Never too busy for my little minions, you know that,” Remy said with a fond smile.

“Oh good,” Patton said, his bright teeth a contrast to his brown face and browner freckles. “See you later, gay-ter!”

He turned and walked off with his friends as they giggled and Remy rolled his eyes. Turning back to the classroom, he realized it was empty. Roman has escaped him. “Boo, you whore,” he muttered to himself. “What could possibly be more important than basketball?”

Roman slipped down the southern stairwell of the school, checking behind him to make sure Remy was off his tail. He wasn’t sure he say why he felt so compelled to at least watch the auditions, but he knew that for some reason, he needed to be there. That need wasn’t quite enough to admit to even his best friend in the whole world what he was doing, though. He strolled through one of the lower courtyards, alert for any team members who might see him and ask why he wasn’t heading to the gym. He turned a corner and immediately turned back. Here he’d been worried about teammates when Coach himself was in the next courtyard, clearly looking for him. Had he seen him? Were those his footsteps walking in his direction?

Crapcrapcrap gottahide gottahide

Roman ducked into the closest door, the auto body and mechanics shop. He put on an air of nonchalance as he leaned behind a car, seeing his dad glance into the shop from the corner of his eye. Coach didn’t spot him, though, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned his head to see the shop teacher staring at him oddly.

“Uhh, shortcut,” he said lamely. “I’m… late for class. Gotta go, thanks, bye!”

He walked quickly out, from the auto shop to the woodshop. He could hear snatches of a tune played on the piano from here, where the woodshop connected to the backstage and green room areas of the auditorium. He took a deep breath. This was it - the auditions. He could as least get up the courage to watch, right? He walked into the backstage, trying to summon more confidence. Then he heard another person walking towards him and immediately ducked behind a janitor’s cart, hunching over to hide his face behind the mop.

SCENE: Auditorium

The auditorium and backstage were buzzing with chatter as multiple auditioners filed into the audience seats. Ms. Darbus strode to the stage to welcome them all, a small person in her wake. They seemed to be trying to hide from the crowd behind their bright orange beanie and also behind Ms. Darbus herself. The drama teacher took center stage and addresses the crowd.

“This is where the true expression of the artist is realized. Where inner truth is revealed through the actor's journey…”

She was interrupted by a loud ringing, and immediately glared at the crowd in front of her. “Was that a cell phone?”

“That was the warning bell, Ms. Darbus,” the student at her elbow whispered.

“Ah, I see,” she said, clearing her throat. “Those wishing to audition must understand that time is of the essence. We have many roles to cast and final callbacks will be next week.”

Roman slowly made his way to the back of the auditorium, still hiding behind the janitor’s cart as he listened. Callbacks, next week? In the same week as the big game? Luckily, even if he somehow got the nerve to audition, there’s no way he’d get called back. That was a thing that only happened to real actors, right?

Ms. Darbus was still reviewing the audition process. “Please come to the stage on your turn. Once you’ve introduced yourself, you will sing a few bars and I will give you a sense of whether or not the theater is your calling. Better to hear it from me now than from your friends later.” From his hiding spot, Roman gulped. Maybe this whole ‘audition’ thing was a mistake. “Our composer, Joan Stokes, will accompany you and be available for rehearsals prior to callbacks. Shall we?”

Joan took their seat at the piano bench as the first singer came to the stage.

“Hi, I’m Derionna!” she said with enthusiasm. She dove into singing, with plenty of energy but perhaps not a lot of rhythm.

“It’s hard to believe that I couldn’t see that you were always right beside me. Thought I was alone, with no one to hold, but you were always right beside me”

Joan played well, trying to get her to match their beat, but she was snapping to her own beat and seemed unaware.

“Thing feeling’s like no other, I want you to know…” she paused, seeming to have forgotten the rest of the song. Ms. Darbus took the opportunity to jump in.

“Uh-huh, thank you, next!”

A nervous-looking, gangly boy came to the stage. He seemed to be speaking rhythmically more than singing, and kept checking his hand for the words he’d written there.

“It’s hard to believe that I couldn’t sneeze - see! That you were always right there next to beside me!”

“Camden, I admire your pluck. As to your singing... That's a wonderful tie you're wearing. Next!” Camden smiled and smoothed his tie as Ms. Darbus’ words sank in. His face fell as he shuffled off the stage.

Roman winced through the next singer. Even he could tell she was badly off-key and trying to conceal it by winking frequently, directly at Ms. Darbus. Joan mouthed the words along with her, trying to get her back on rhythm, but it was to no avail.

“Please, stop,” Ms. Darbus finally interjected. “Thank you, Brittney. Next!”

Another auditioner. She was clearly talented, but was also singing as if in an opera, not a musical.

“So lonely befooorrrre I finally fooooo-hooounnddd what I’d been lookiiiiing fooooooooooooooooooor!” She held her last ear-piercing note as Joan stopped playing in shock and audience members tried to subtly cover their ears.

“Ah... Valerie,” Ms. Darbus said with forced cheer. “What... courage to pursue a note that has not been accessed in the natural world. Bravo! Brava! Perhaps the... spring musicale?”

Valerie frowned and looked over at Joan. They forced a smile as Valerie hmphed in affront and left the stage. She was almost knocked over by the next auditioner, a tall, graceful man who leaped onto the stage to the opening bars of the audition song. Joan stopped playing once again, confused. The auditorium was silent as the dancer pirouetted and jetéd before elegantly leaving the stage. The effect might have been perfect, had not he crashed into an unseen obstacle backstage that was audible to everyone. Joan looked over in concern as Ms. Darbus coughed politely. “Thank you, Leo. Next!”

Up came a pair of auditioners, one very short student with brightly-colored hair, the other a man with a headband and bangs swept to one side. The shorter of the two started delivering a dramatic reading of the song as the other whispered echoes of their words.

“It’s hard to believe that I could not see”

“See”

“That you were always right beside me”

“Beside me”

The pair accompanied their words with strange motions that appeared to be attempting interpretive dance

“Thought I was alone!”

“Alone”

“With no one to hold!”

“Hold”

“But you were right beside me”

“Beside me”

They both began to roll and crawl on the floor as Joan backed up their piano bench as far away as possible.

Ms. Darbus had been stunned into silence, but finally found her voice again.

“Talyn, Dominic, that was… that was just... very disturbing, go see a counselor. Next!”

A hand suddenly tapped Roman on the shoulder, and he jumped so high he almost hit his head on the doorway. Virgil had come up behind him, smiling wryly.

“Hey there - did you decide to sign up for something?”

Roman ducked his head. “Uh, no. I was just… watching. Did you?”

Virgil shook his head, his purple bangs falling into his face. “So, uh, do you often hide behind mops, or do your friends just not know you’re here?”

Roman flushed lightly and shook his head in response as another auditioner came to the stage. She stood tall and adjusted her glasses as Joan began the opening bars. She took a breath to sing as she looked out at the audience, and froze.

“Thank you, Dahlia. NEXT!”

Roman winced. “Ms. Darbus seems a little… harsh,” he observed quietly to Virgil.

Virgil smirked. “Roman Bolton, Wildcat superstar, afraid?”

“Not afraid,” he protested. “Just… a little, uh… scared.”

“Me too, usually,” Virgil said, rubbing his neck. “But, um. I was thinking of actually auditioning, if someone could sing onstage next to me?”

Roman blanched with fright. “Um, uh, I could-- I mean, possibly, uh--”

“And for the lead roles of Arnold and Minnie we only have one couple signed up,” Ms. Darbus said happily. Virgil pushed Roman slightly as he hurried to hide behind the janitor’s cart with him. “Diego and Cedric, I think it might be useful for you to give us a sense of why we gather in this hallowed hall.”

Cee and Dee walked from the audience to the stage, flashing smiles at the remaining audience. As Cee started up the stairs, Dee stopped him so that he could go first.

Joan caught Cee as the twins picked up their microphones. “What key did you want?”

“Don’t worry about it, we had our rehearsal pianist do an arrangement,” Cee said with a smile.

Joan deflated. “Oh. Okay.”

The curtain closed as Dee & Cee prepared to sing. Virgil tugged on Roman’s arm to follow him as he found a seat in the last row of the auditorium.

The music started, jazzy and far more upbeat than the previous auditions. Two pairs of hands stuck through the curtain and snapped to the beat, before the curtain opened to reveal Cee & Dee with matching bedazzled microphones in silver and gold, respectively.

“It’s hard to believe that I couldn’t see,” Cee sang. He had an unarguably nice voice, and his perpetual smile matched the bouncy drumbeat the accompanied them.

“That you were always there beside me” Dee joined in, singing in harmony with his twin. Virgil wrinkled his nose as he watched. The pair were both excellent singers, but they kept adding in a lot of over acting, pretending to be surprised by each other on “beside me.” Even for a musical, this felt corny. But Ms. Darbus was clearly enjoying it, bopping along from her spot in the audience.

Roman physically recoiled as Dee handed off his mic to perform a peppy tapdance solo in the middle. “Is this normal?” he whispered to Virgil, who grimaced.

“I don’t think so,” he responded, nodding a head at Joan. The pianist watched from their bench, looking vaguely horrified at the spectacle in front of him.

The pair continued on through the song, adding full choreography. Cee even broke in the middle to do a highly energetic jazz square with accompanying jazz hands before accidentally bumping into Dee. His twin scowled and pushed him, but both recovered and smiled as they continued to sing.

They finally came to a close, Ms. Darbus and the sprinkling of audience members applauding enthusiastically. Dee shot Joan a glare until they clapped too.

Holding their final pose, Dee hissed in Cee’s ear. “I told you not to do the jazz squares.”

“It's a crowd favorite. Everybody loves a good jazz square,” his twin shot back, grinning hugely.

As the applause quieted, Ms. Darbus stood. “Are there any last minute sign-ups?”

Roman stood and tried to edge out of the theater without being spotted as Cee appealed to the dispersing crowd. “Don't be discouraged. The theater club needs more than just singers. It needs fans, too! Buy tickets!”

Joan caught Dee’s attention as he strode backstage. “Oh, actually, if you do the part with that particular song, I imagined it much slower…”

“If we do the part? Joan, Joan, my sawed-off Sondheim, I have been in 17 school productions. And how many times have your compositions been selected?”

“This would be the first,” Joan admitted.

“Which tells us what?” Dee asked with a tight smile.

Joan flinched and offered, “That I need to write you more solos?”

“No,” Dee snapped, his smile dropping. “It tells us that you do not offer direction, suggestion, or commentary.” He advanced on Joan, who backed up nervously into their piano. “And you should be thankful that Cee and I are here to lift your music out of its current obscurity. Are we clear?”

“Yessir! I mean, Diego.”

Dee backed down, then smiled brightly, lifting his mic closer to his mouth again. “Nice talking to you!” He followed his twin backstage with a tiny wave.

“Any last minute sign-ups?” Ms. Darbus called again.

“We should go,” Roman whispered at Virgil, reaching out to grab his hand.

“No?” The theater teacher said, looking around. “Good. Done.”

Suddenly, Virgil was pulling away from Roman’s hold and speaking up. “I'd like to audition, Ms. Darbus!”

Roman’s mind went into overdrive. What is he doing? What? How!? Why?! He gestured wildly at the smaller man, willing him to somehow take back his words and for them both to disappear.

Ms. Darbus looked up, surprised, but her surprise quickly morphed to disapproval. “Timeliness means something in the world of theater, Mr. Montez. The individual auditions are long, long over and there are simply no other pairs.”

Roman stuffed his fear into a tiny corner and emerged from his hiding place behind the theater door. “I’ll sing with him.”

The drama teacher pursed her lips. “Mr. Bolton? Where is your sports posse or whatever it's called?”

Roman stared. “Team”

“Ah.”

“But I’m, uh. I’m here alone,” Roman stuttered out. He felt as nervous as he ever did right before a game. “I’m actually here to sing with him.”

Ms. Darbus was unimpressed. “Yes, well, we take these shows very seriously here at East High. I called for the pairs audition, and you didn't respond. Free period is now over.”

“He has an amazing voice,” Roman protested, gesturing towards Virgil. Virgil looked vaguely queasy over the confrontation, and appeared to be attempting to will himself out of sight or out of existence, whichever came first.

“Perhaps the next musicale, then,” Ms. Darbus said, and left the auditorium.

Just then, Joan tripped as they turned away from the piano, spilling sheet music in every direction. Roman and Virgil hurried to the stage to help them.

“So, you’re a composer?” Roman asked, smiling at the piano player. “You wrote the song Dee and Cee just sang? And the entire show?”

Joan seemed unable to speak, but nodded weakly, staring at Roman like an alien had just landed in the middle of theater.

“Well, that's really cool. I, uh, can't wait to hear the rest of the show,” he offered, helping them up. “So, uh, why are you so afraid of Cee and Dee? Or, Dee, at least. It’s your show, isn’t it?”

“Um, it is?” Joan asked, confused.

“Isn't the composer of a show kinda like the playmaker in basketball?” Roman asked with a smile. Both Virgil and Joan stared at him in incomprehension.

“Playmaker?”

“You know, the one who makes everyone else look good. I mean, without you there is no show. You're the playmaker here, Joan.”

“I am?” they responded, smiling tentatively. “Do… do you want to hear how the duet’s supposed to sound?”

Virgil nodded, and tossed a small grin Roman’s way. The taller man covered his face with a hand to hide what felt like another blush and followed the composer back to the piano, standing behind them to read the sheet music over their shoulder.

Joan tapped a foot to the proper timing, a much slower, sweeter tune than the one the twins had performed, and prompted Roman to begin at the right moment.

It was like New Year’s Eve all over again, and yet nothing like it. The fluttery nervousness was still there, but without the surprise or fear of the crowd. And this time, he wasn’t standing with a mysterious stranger who might run away. It was Virgil, smiling up at him as he came in for the second line. He no longer felt the same electrifying urge to grab the other boy’s attention at any cost - he just wanted that smile to keep being directed his way.

“I've never had someone that knows me like you do,” they sang in harmony, eyes meeting. Was Virgil blushing? Roman couldn’t be sure, especially as the shorter man turned back to the sheet music.

They finished in harmony and paused, all three appreciating the sweetness of the tune.

“Wow,” Roman finally said. “That’s really nice, Joan.”

Suddenly, a voice sounded from the rear of the theater. “Bolton, Montez, you have a callback.” Ms. Darbus stood at the entrance, looking less severe with her glasses removed. “Joan, give them the duet from the second act. Work on it with them.”

Joan gasped in delight, then started bubbling over with plans. “All right. If you guys wanna rehearse, I'm usually here during free period and after school, and even sometimes during biology class. You can come and rehearse anytime. Or you can come to my house for breakfast. I have a piano, we can rehearse there. After school, before school - whatever works. After basketball class… do you have basketball class? Is that a thing?”

Virgil listened to the pianist, smiling a bit bemusedly, as Roman stared after Ms. Darbus’ retreating back in shock.

“We- she- what?”

a/n: Look who's able to write fluff again! Trust me, no one's as surprised as I am

(I know all of Thomas' friends are incredibly talented and would never be awkward/bad auditioners, but I feel like they'd have fun acting it out anyway :])

#breakin' free #hsm au #high school musical au #sanders sides fanfic #sandes sides fanfiction #hey look it's fluff #dcom #i love this movie #i also love dee & cee so much #//deceit #ts deceit #ts roman #ts virgil #ts remy #ts patton #my smol drama son #my smol dark son #prinxiety #roman is so far in the closet he came out onstage

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howl-fantasies · 2 years

Text

A/N - Be aware of idiots, sometimes they are too dumb to really be stupid.

------------ 1 New Message -----------

Jim Gordon

Oswald and Zsasz are at GCPD, they told me to contact you as their lawyer.

Y/N

Good morning to you too Gordon. Not GeE CeE PaY DeEing me first today? How disappointing.

Jim Gordon

Thought two criminal asking for a third to be their lawyer would be a good enough joke to entertain you.

Y/N

Prefer the one when they ask the fourth criminal to contact the third for the task. Oh wait. Here it is.

Jim Gordon

Stfu. Are you gonna try to defend them? For real?!

Y/N

What are the charges, Inspector.

Jim Gordon

First degree murder, mafia association, corruption, torture, extortion, murder attempts of the GCPD forces.

Y/N

Sounds terrible.

Jim Gordon

It is. They are not going to get out Y/N, we have witnesses, evidences, and people ready to complain.

Y/N

I suppose you were the one who took them down, detective. Congrats, you must be proud of you and Harvey must be too.

Jim Gordon

You're too chill. What's the catch?

Y/N

None. I'm reading your report, that's very precise Gordon. High level of details.

Jim Gordon

Excuse me?

Y/N

Don't lock your drawer next time, it's useless mate. Anyway, would you please be a dear and let the boys go.

Jim Gordon

EXCUSE ME?! How in hell are you at the GCPD, sitting at my desk without anyone arresting YOU?!

Y/N

Why would they arrest a lawyer, detective? That wouldn't make sense, worse, it would be a total abuse of power.

Jim Gordon

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! Where is Harvey he's not answering. What did you do to him?!

Y/N

Relax Jimbo, he's fine. Currently with the Commissioner. Talking about your super achievement: catching bossbirdpot and Zscarysz. Where are you now?

Jim Gordon

On my way to the GCPD.

Y/N

Oh, we'll miss each other I think. Too bad, I really wanted to congratulate you for your extraordinary work here...

Jim Gordon

You're making fun of me.

Y/N

... and your cleverness.

Jim Gordon

What's the catch, Y/N? You're gonna help them to escape! Stay where you are.

Y/N

I'm not gonna blow the building up, breathe Jimini. In fact there is no need.

Jim Gordon

Because?

Y/N

Because in your extremely detailed report your miss to mention the part where you were reading their rights to my clients.

...

You also brutalized them and try to make them confess their non existant crimes without the presence of their lawyer (👋) when they decided to remain silent after indicating you they wanted a lawyer the first time. Which Harvey and you ignored.

Jim Gordon

No you're not doing this Y/N!

Y/N

Procedural defect.

Your witnesses are an alcoholic cop stinking whiskey, and a few cops beeing known for false testimones.

Your evidences weren't properly sealed and registered.

Oh and nobody wants to complain btw. Everyone loves our good mayor. And everyone is neutral about his bodyguard. Poor man is often misjudged because of his, pardon my French, bitch resting face. Seems like you're like many and had some prejudices detective.

Jim Gordon

It's a FARCE! You messed with the evidences! You bought people who were ready to complain! YOUR WERE FUCKING DISTRACTING ME WHILE DOING ALL OF THIS! Pretty sure you plotted the shooting at the opposite side of the city knowing I'll go!

Y/N

Who would be evil enough to do something like this, detective?! More importantly, who would have so much power and be able to predict everything like this? They would be terrifying psychopaths and manipulative scums AND pretty clever.

Jim Gordon

You're the worst.

Y/N

That's not what my clients say. Actually they are pretty happy about my work. If you would excuse us, we're going now, good detective.

Jim Gordon

I swear I'll send you rotting at Black Gates.

Y/N

Don't be that way Jimbo. You're many things but not a sore loser now.

Jim Gordon

We'll see who's the sore loser. Ask Ed, he'll tell you how patient I am. I'll take you down Y/N that's a promise.

Y/N

Can't wait to play the game Jimbo. 🤍 Oswald and Vic say hi~ and GRMBLFCKGMF!

Bye bye 👋

#gotham imagine #gotham x reader #gotham #gotham fox #victor zsasz #victor zsasz imagine #victor zsasz x reader #gotham fandom #jim gordon #jim gordon x reader #oswald cobblepot #gotham villains #Gotham villains x Reader #harvey bullock

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marastriker · 2 years

Note

I legit cannot remember if I already asked this, but just in case: as many of the OTP questions for Dinahboose and Electraboose? 🥺👉👈

DINAHBOOSE

Who is more sentimental?

They both are, in different ways. CB makes little gifts and cards and drawings for Dee but Dinah will be the sappy, verbal one

Who is more more relaxed/carefree?

CB, just in general.

Who is always cold?

Ceeeeb, he's cold and Dinah crochets him blankets.

What are some non-sexual activities they do together?

Baking baking baking, Cee loves learning how to make cookies and cakes with Dinah. They also like going to the beach and making sand castles, or playing in the snow. Walking hand in hand. Movie nights are usually their favorite thing though.

Who would be able to talk their way out of a speeding ticket?

CB, he knows how to get people on his side.

Who is the better cook?

No contest, Dinah. Of course.

How does each member feel about PDA?

Blatant PDA makes Dinah a bit uncomfy, but she's okay holding hands, cuddling, and lightly kissing in public <3

Which member steals borrows the other ones clothing?

CB likes wearing skirts sometimes, don't judge him

Who is the cuddle initiator?

Dinah <3

Who is the big/little spoon?

They switch off a lot actually, even if CB usually bottoms

Who is more likely to make an impulsive decision and who is the voice of reason?

CB is very much impulsive but Dinah knows how to keep it in check

Who’s more likely to laugh at their own jokes?

CB, of course.

Who is more likely to get jealous?

They both do :(

Who stays up way too late and who tries to drag them to bed?

CB just forgets that sleep is a ThingTM and Dinah has to gently (or not so gently) remind him

Who’s messier?

CB. He forgets where he throws things.

Which member is more likely to accidentally spend $300 at Target?

Dinah, don't @ me. She sees all the cookware and appliances and just goes nuts.

ELECTRABOOSE

What is each member’s love language?

Electra is shows his love through words and flirting and physical contact

CB makes little homemade gifts and trinkets for Electra

Who made the first move?

Neither of them made any sort of "move" it just kind of happened

Who is more more relaxed/carefree?

CB, Electra doesn't show it, but he's a worrier

What’s one way their personalities compliment one another? (Is it opposites attract or are they pretty similar?)

Mostly opposites attract, at least superficially. But on the inside, they both know what it's like to be an outcast and they bond over that

Which member is always trying to bring home stray animals and which member always has to say no?

You know the answer. CB just wants a pet raccoon, okay?

What are some non-sexual activities they do together?

Cooking and baking, even if neither of them are particularly good at it. Electra likes quiet strolls but CB likes going to dive bars and shit. They do both cause they love each other <3

How does each member feel about PDA?

Lmao neither of them care and probably have made people uncomfortable before

What’s each member flirting style?

Electra is very....Electra, flirts with everyone subtly, little gestures and comments that make anyone's heart swoon. CB is...more like...

Which member steals borrows the other ones clothing?

CB takes some of Electra's old clothes to sleep in. they are very much too big for him

Who is the big/little spoon?

Electra kinda has to be the big spoon at first, cause he so toll. BUT He likes when CB is the big spoon cause Ceeb pretends he's a little jetpack and it's cute

Who is more likely to make an impulsive decision and who is the voice of reason?

CB is the definition of impulsive, and Electra has to hold him back from getting in trouble however Electra is also not great and will drop so much money on something so useless and CB needs to be like no one needs that

Who’s more likely to laugh at their own jokes?

CB, and let's be real. They're good jokes. If no one else is going to laugh, Ceeb will just have to

Who takes longer showers?

Electra, bougie icon

Who is more likely to get jealous?

CB :( leetol insecure

Who stays up way too late and who tries to drag them to bed?

CB is a night owl and Electra is just like okay, but bedtime

Who’s messier?

CB, by a landslide - but to be fair, if Electra didn't have his components, he'd be messy too.

Who gives piggy back rides to the other?

Electra can very easily pick up CB cause he so smol. Sometimes he just prefers to sit on top of Electra to see what tall people see

#starlight express #ship asks #otp questions #electraboose #dinahboose #cb the red caboose #electra the electric engine #dinah the dining car

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neacle · 3 years

Note

also all of the ship asks for Dinahboose because themmmmmm ;-;

PRE-RELATIONSHIP

How did they first meet? Well, they've known each other the longest, and they met when C.B arrived to Apollo Victoria. Dinah has lived there her whole life.

What was their first impression of each other? Dinah thought C.B was funny and sweet, and C.B thought Dinah was sweet and caring, they got along quickly, and complimented each other well

Did any of their friends or family want them to get together? A few months after the race, Ashley and Buffy started to sense some tension between them and kinda tried to spur Dinah on. Meanwhile, Dustin is quick to spot feelings blooming and tried to encourage C.B.

Who felt romantic feelings first? Hard to say, both started to feel them gradually and over time pretty much at the same time.

Did either of them try to resist their feelings? Yes lmao, Dinah because she didn't want to jump into another thing after being so long with Greaseball, and also because C.B has never expressed any sort of interests in girls before, so she tried to keep it to herself. And C.B was unsure about his feelings and wanted to work out why and how he suddenly felt this way about his best friend, that happened to be a girl. And it's not like she'd ever go for a scrawny little guy like him after she's been with a big engine like Greaseball....

If you had told one of them that the other would be their soulmate, what would they think? "What? That's silly, he's my best friend and he likes guys" "What? That's silly, she's my best friend and I like guys"

What would their lives be like if they had never met? I think Dinah would be even more unsure of herself than if she didn't have C.B in her life, and Greaseball and a lot f other guys would have walked over her even more. And C.B would still continue with his crashes and sabotaging, and maybe it'd go so bad that he'd just get worse and worse (even if i personally HC him as only crashing trains in races to help GB win, otherwise he's mostly full of shit and lies lmao)

GENERAL

Who initiated the relationship, and how did it go? Dinah did I guess, she got caught in a moment and went in for a kiss 😌 It went surprisingly well

Did they have an official first date? If so, what was it like? I guess so! Damn I haven't thought about a date yet hmmmm But yes ofc they'd go on a official date, and it would be a little awkward but very sweet

What was their first kiss like? Sweet and unsure, and then hungry and passionate. They're both very greedy lol

Were they each other’s first anything (kiss, relationship, etc.)? Well, I guess this is C.B's first real relationship, with any person, and specifically with a girl. Before that he just fucked around like a horny little gremlin

What’s their height difference? Age difference? Dinah is 160 cm, and C.B is 162 cm (so 5,2 and 5,3 ft) And Dinah is 30 years old, and C.B 29

What’s their relationship with each other’s families? Well, Ashley and Buffy are supportive, even if they're a little careful with his history with sabotaging. Pearl is still on the offense, but wants to be a good sport for Dinah. Greaseball was shocked at first, he didn't see it coming, and it takes a while for him to warm up to the idea. The freight all like Dinah, so they're on board, and Dustin and Ashley are besties so

Who takes the lead in social situations? Both? They're very socially adept and likes to mingle, tho Dinah is shy when she doesn't know the person, so then C.B steps in

Who gets jealous easier? Dinah I think, once she's in a relationship she tends to get clingy. But C.B isn't far behind, tho he tends to show it in more quiet and self concious ways

Who whispers inappropriate things in the other’s ear? C.B lmao, he loves to make Dinah blush

LOVE

Who said ��I love you” first? Dinah, she's more comfortable and vocal about things overall

What are their primary love languages? Cute nicknames, touches, handholding, stroking the hair, cuddling

Who uses cheesy pick-up lines? C.B, they're terrible, but they make Dinah laugh so

How often do they cuddle/engage in PDA? Very, very much. They hold hands like all the time, and cuddle whenever they sit together, and Dinah loves to kiss his red cheeks

Who initiates kisses? Both, they're like i mentioned very greedy lmao

Who’s the big and little spoon? Dinah has always been the little spoon, so she tends to cuddle up to C.B, but they sometimes switch or just sleep embracing eachother

What are their favorite things to do together? Sing, dance, bake, braid flowers. In the winter they switch their wheels to blades and go ice skating on the nearest lake, but they've always done that lol

Who’s better at comforting the other? C.B is better at comforting Dinah, he's done it for most of their friendship after all. But Dinah is slowly starting to see outside her own bubble too, and she's very good at comforting as soon as she leans into it

Who’s more protective? Dinah lmao She a moma bear

Do they prefer verbal or physical affection? Both? Or well, Dinah prefers both, while C.B is more physical

What are some songs that apply to their relationship, in-universe or otherwise? All Shook Up by Elvis Presley Ganz Allein, naturally lol (preferably with Kapa or Hans) Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye I will Always Love You by Dolly Parton

What kind of nicknames do they call each other? C.B calls Dinah "Dee, Dee-dee, babe" Dinah calls C.B "Cee, Ceeb, sugah, honey, my guy, my lil' man"

Who remembers the little things? Both, they're very good at remembering things lol

DOMESTIC LIFE

If they get married, who proposes? C.B would, tho i don't think they'll ever get officially coupled, but we'll see lol

What’s the wedding like? Who attends? Small and intimate, lots of flowers, their closest friends and family

How many kids do they have, if any? What are they like? No kids. I imagine Dinah would perhaps want some, but C.B is not parent-material, they'll take it when and if they get there

Do they have any pets? I imagine that they would love to have some small critters around, and no this is not only because it's you Jenny, but i can see them have chickens lol Dinah would use the eggs for baking and cooking

Who’s the stricter parent? Again, no kids prob But Dinah would be stricter

Who worries the most? Dinah, she's used to certain things going her way and she's used to being in control and wanting everything to look good and function. C.B goes more with the flow

Who kills the bugs in the house? Both? Or Dinah lets them out

How do they celebrate holidays? Huge dinners, and lovely desserts, with their close kin

Who’s more likely to convince the other to come back to sleep in the morning? Both of them lmao, but they also work the same hours so they pretty much get up at the same time anyway

Who’s the better cook? Again, they don't really *need* to eat, but Dinah, definitely. But C.B is very observant and likes to learn

Who likes to dance? Booooth, they dance a lot, and have for a long time

#starlight express #dinahboose #dinah x cb #stex dinah #stex cb #stex caboose #stex headcanons #my headcanons #ask game

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archived-brokentoys · 3 years

Text

@lostinyourfacade

You are totally right!! I wish they could like... give Harley OTHER villains other than just making the regular boys SEXIST against her. Because it ruins THEIR characters, and also ruins the potential they had with her. Not to talk about my own concepts. But if I ever do my fancomic... I actually AVOID that by making MANY of Eddie’s ‘villains’ completely original characters, or doing very obscure ones - like from the ‘66 series. ANYWAYS. Harley & Eddie have so much in common... it’s wonderful, and definitely wasted potential. Like??? I already explained oftentimes why their dynamics WORK SO WELL. But?? They’re both fun loving, they’re both victims of abuse, and the fact they were abused plays (or should play) a big part in their characters, and they both technically had careers that made them seem like they wanted to do good initially. (Harley being a therapist, and Eddie working for the GCPD.) Like, they have too much in common. And it’s very sad to see Dee Cee just... waste this because??? I dunno, they want Harley to beat up all the characters to prove how Awesome she is?? Ngl! It makes me sad!

#lostinyourfacade #GENERAL: OOC

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scalproie · 3 years

Note

dee em cee 5 anon here for my final report... i did it, i finished story! vergil is a bastard gold orb stealer and i feel like hes mocking me every time hes casually strolling around like he knows im toast as soon as he uses sdt. i almost cried when nero called kyrie im just,,, i care him so much. very rude and uncalled for to instantly take his newfound family away from him tho. i also have some emotions about how strong and persistent v was thru this entire thing. and the parallel of nero hating himself of not being strong enough to protect credo and vergil saying that thing about not being able to protect anything wo power that ive seen in gifsets and how despite that parallel they went completely different ways about it. (i only have impressions to base this on but thru this entire game nero felt like the most idk, 'human' character to me. like when everyone else is in full badass mode doing what needs to be done, nero is allowed to show his emotions even tho they arent always whats 'expected' of him.) and how nero physically helped v carry on when v couldnt do it by himself anymore and how incredibly important that makes nero. and- okay ill stop dumping every single thought i have here, also idk how postable this is w many spoilers...

LETS GO ANON GOOD JOB!!!!!

I hope you get to mess around with the technical aspect of the game now, if you want a challenge you can try the bloody palace

YESSSSSS NERO IS SUCH A GREAT CHARACTER I LOVE HIM!!! Emotionally I agree with you for the ending, but thinking back on it I also think its the best they couldve came up with because it closes enough doors but opens just as much. Like for exemple, theres the passing of the torch: after an entire game of Nero trying to prove to Dante (but mostly, to himself) that he isn't in fact, dead weight. Which Im willing to bet Dante only called him that because it was hard to focus on beating Vergil Urizen if he had to worry about Nero killing Vergil Urizen and Vergil Urizen killing Nero, its not that he doubted Nero, its just that he didnt want Nero to get involved because that would result in him killing his father, because "those of Sparda's blood are destined to fight" (which is a STUPID rule made up by Dante and Vergil. Well yeah maybe those of Sparda's blood do if the only ones in existance did nothing but fight. To kill each other. They didnt consider an alternative until a third player forcefully made them realize. And might I had, this is the only reason why Dante didnt tell Nero he was his uncle before). Anyway, even the meta kept implying that Nero was "lesser" than Dante: Dante is the "Legendary Devil Hunter" while Nero is just the "Devil Hunter". So Dante entrusting Nero with protecting the human world is like, what I believe the game was leading to.

Another exemple is the handling of Vergil: what satisfying ending do you give to a character that was both the problem and the solution? Urizen had to pay for what he did but after everything V went through, he absolutely deserves to live. So what do you do? You don't kill Vergil (Nero made a big point of that) but you also don't let him connect to his son, he has to go to a completely different realm to fix the mess hes made and get "stuck" there. BUT this time Dante come with him, and its also a good ending for Dante because after losing his brother a grand total of three time, this time he went with him, which Im pretty sure is something he beat himself up for not doing back in dmc3, and now the two are stuck in some sort of limbo in hell, fighting apparently forever, but its the one thing they love the most because the person theyre fighting is the only one capable of keeping up with them. Outside of Nero. And speaking of Nero, on top of Dante aknowledging his strength aka what he was basically after the whole game until the third act, and entrusting the human world to him, he is now the literal keepsake of his father's humanity (represented by the book, which he read at the end, so I take it as a hint of him wanting his father to be in his life in a way abd as a way to connect to him) as well as a promise to return, and even if we don't get another game, a promise of a future for this relationship. AND he gets to go home.

I have a lot to say on V as well, how do you develop a character thats too powerful to want or even need to change? You take the power from them and make then remember why they wanted that power in the first place: because of the fear of dying and for survival. And also make them witness the worst of who they are from an outside point of view.

Oh and yeah bro Nero and Vergil share some many similar lines, like, the one you speak about? "Might control everything. And without strength, you cannot protect anything, let alone yourself." ? Nero says some of this, almost word for word, unprompted, to no one, just before the artemis boss fight. Theres also any mention of the word "power", the "I can still fight." line, the "Where did you learn to [...]?!" line, some of the insults they say to demons, they even have both a line featuring marshmallows. Its so wonderfully unsubtle i love it so much. But even outside of lines they are very similar and I remember reading somewhere that Nero wouldve turned similar to Vergil if he didnt had the support of Kyrie et Credo.

And like you said yeah, out of the three people that have Sparda's blood, Nero is the most human one, genetically of course, he is 3/4 human after all, and he also have the most contact with other humans, but he also act much more genuinely and impulsively than either of the brothers. Hes also very nuanced as in, he is fundamentally a good person, but he also has an edge to him. I feel youve summed what is great and what I like about him pretty well.

Oh and btw did you see the animations in the garage menu? I think they shouldve unlocked once youre done with the story

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brokentoys · 2 years

Text

sooo... I think Harley and Eddie are gonna be in the same comic together soon? I really miss when they were friends. They had such a good fuckin dynamic, and SO MUCH POTENTIAL. Buuut... this is the Catw0man one, and seeing as the synopsis is asking if Sel can trust Eddie... bets are it’s gonna end with Eddie getting his ass kicked by the sirens, or at the very least, him fucking them over lol (sucks, ‘cos I REALLY loved Ed’s dynamic with the Sirens, too.) So I’m Scared and not looking forward to that. (Luckily! I can ignore comics!)

Also... I think catw0man was also the comic to have recently revealed Eddie is indeed addicted to meth? Are they... gonna do anything with that, I wonder. Or is it just gonna be something they Forget? And can we PLEASE make it a deeper reason (perhaps coping with SEVERE TRAUMA AND MENTAL ILLNESS? Like what I wrote a year before Dee Cee made this reveal) than “I took the drugs to become Smarter”????? Please.

#( 🧩 ✧ INFERIOR PUPPETEER ✧ | OOC )#// dee cee is a fucking mess #drugs //

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drasnianfrank · 3 years

Text

So to pick up from my previous post, on what the Toll by Cherie Priest, could’ve written instead of and start by focusing on the two cousins who raise a seventeen year old boy and eventual become ghosts that murder monster ghosts. (I wrote some more and I’m not sorry about how it got a little long

So let’s just start by outright changing it that Cee and Dee are lesbians, childhood sweethearts even! Sure the town can say they’re “cousins”, but everyone knows they’ve been married since they finished college and every year they do a “small party, just for a few friends” which is totally not celebrating their wedding. If the author is feeling particularly progressive, they both should be black, with long descriptions of their awesome hair and what kind of skin lotion they use (both have very different answers). Obviously, they would still be witches, voodoo practitioners, shamans, herbalists and the occasional exorcist or at least ghost rustlers. They’re known as the Aunties in the community.

And yeah, there’s still something weird about the bridges. Only, you have to cross them in the right order and there’s a toll. It’s usually not a life, though. Like a whole a person doesn’t just disappear after walking the seventh bridge. A whole life is usually too much, even for an insatiable, metaphysical maw of darkness. People lose other things, limbs, body parts, memories, the ability to smell roses, because, here’s the Key, there’s a reward for what’s taken. Equivalent Exchange You cross the seventh bridge and you lose something and you get something in return. Sometimes it’s money, a better position at work, an object that you always wanted, a person you’ve hated finally receives his just reward, the perfect slice of key lime pie, you know the usual. At least that’s what’s the rumors concerning the Toll.

Now the Aunties, they are gatekeepers, the protectors, the keepers of Lore. If you want to walk to the Toll, you gotta talk to to them. They know the walk and ways and the trades. But you know that doesn’t sit right with other families in the town. Doesn’t matter how pale one of them looks, doesn’t matter that the other has helped with love matches and births of nearly every family member, they’re too damn ‘uppity’ (now you begin to understand why it’s important to talk about skin color in the south). So they send the oldest boy to learn the secrets of the Toll, with the Lore the Family has gathered. He goes to bargain, goes down the right bridges during the right time, with a companion to help. His cousin, butter couldn’t melt in her mouth, sweet Jessie, follows. Only, when the dawn breaks the next day, he’s not back, only Jessie. Jessie doesn’t say what happened, cries in her family’s house and then, dry-eyed, goes to the Aunties, and demands pleads to be an apprentice.

Dee and Cee, they see that this wisp of a girl with blonde hair and cold eyes, is ambitious and mean and cruel and they should say no. But they can’t because they don’t own their house, or the land surrounding them, and their family and friends don’t own their houses or land. But you know who does? (Remember, racism is a theme in Southern Horror, its invasive in everything). And they agree, because what else can they do but agree? After all, any person who sacrifices their own cousin for ambition needs to be carefully dealt with. They also know they need an heir, and really, ambition is not a sin in their eyes for a girl. Ambition can be a good thing if used properly and they think, they hope, they can use it to help others. So they promise to teach her magic, the power of “voodoo”, and birth control, and herbs, and secrets of the swamp.

Years pass, as they do. Jessie goes off to college and spends breaks with the Aunties. She still keeps that sweet smile and that vicious ambitious streak seems to have entirely disappeared. Dee and Cee start to relax, teach her a bit more of the darker shades of magic, mild curses and love “potions”. Jessie leaves for a year abroad, a whirlwind affair in Paris, London, European hotspots.

A week later, Cee finds a baby in the swamp. The baby is almost hidden in a willow tree, almost as dark as the shadows she’s sleeping in. No boy but a little girl, barely a day or two old. These things happen in the swamp, people abandon trash and unwanted items. It even isn’t the first time Cee has found a baby, though usually they’re near dead, about to become part of the ghostly parade around the swamp. (Did I not mention the ghosts? No creepy dollhouse full of ghosts here, there’s ghosts in the Swamp, lynched men and drowned women, lost souls who never found their way out, you know the usual). This little baby though, whether luck or some kindness by the mother, was washed and swaddled and somehow still alive by the time Cee found her. The baby opens her big eyes and Cee gets the same feeling she had when she saw a long-limbed girl jump down from a tree and gave her the biggest, toothiest grin, like it’s love and destiny rolled into one.

So Cee and Dee raise their swamp baby, Cameron. And they love her but also, raising a baby is hard! There’s doctor’s appointments and diapers and toys and outfits. Family and friends bring food and advice (a mix of helpful, impractical and bizarre). Cameron grows up and things get a little easier. She’s regularly underfoot though, helping in her own way, and once she starts talking, is always asking questions. Ten years pass, then another five. Cameron is almost eighteen and Jessie returns.

And now, now, we get to heart of the plot. Jessie has spent almost twenty years in Europe, honing her spite and malice under a sweet disposition. She knows old magic, older than any the old Aunties that still stuck in a dying swamp have. But oh how she wants still. For all her searching, The Toll is the only on that will give the most for what she wants for the least, at least if she can finally find out it’s secret.

Cameron, though, does not want power. Okay, well yes, she does because really she’s almost an adult and curfew is for babies. She has been trailing her Aunties since she was able to carry stuff, watching them help people in the town, black and white, human and animal. Of course she’s a little odd too. Many of her friends were ghosts, she has an affinity to math, and has absolutely no belief in a higher Power. Sunday mornings before church become regular spectacles.

So Jessie Returns. She assumes she will resume her rightful place as apprentice and instead there’s this small, pudgy girl, running roughshod over the property, knowing more about voodoo and magic and curses than she does. This little tramp, with no family to her name, a trash baby that no one wanted. How could the Aunties pick her over Jessie?

But they do because Cameron has ambitions, personal, but also ambitions for her community, to make it better, healthier, happier, but Jessie has only had ambition for herself. And the Aunties care less about an heir and more about a guardian, someone who will tend their garden when they leave.

The Aunties refuse to let admit Jessie as their apprentice, after all she learned all this high falautin magic in Europe, what does she need for a pair of backwater hicks? There is some truth to that but Jessie does not care for someone else telling her no. And Jessie, who is not the leader of the Family (if she had married the boy who disappeared those oh so many years ago, she might have been), still uses her persuasion and her privilege to let loose a much personal, much more chilling, set of of horrors. Fiery crosses appear on lawns, debts are called to people who can’t afford, jobs are suddenly terminated without warning or payment. The Aunties’ community begins to fracture.

But, eventually, when it looks like the Aunties will have to give in or leave their home, something Changes. An operative from the The Family, not under Jessie’s orders, asks for a Deal. The Family’s business is suffering. A quiet boycott against the family has finally started to impact them and for every fired employee, five more have quit and no one else will work. Jobs aren’t getting done. Lawyers and officers and news people keep calling.

A deal is made and Jessie is told to back down, to wait and let people stop getting so riled up.

Jessie does not care for this decision and rages against. She begs, bargains, then threatens her own family, calling them cowards. They remain unmoving. Money is stronger than blood in this regard.

Jessie, full of rage, decides that damn the Aunties, she will call on the Toll herself. On rainy, dark night, the last night of Mardi Gras, she begins to cross the bridges. The Aunties sense Jessie going on The Walk but they have their own troubles. Magic eventually calls for it’s payment, as does age, and Dee has found a lump on her breast. She and Cee go to the hospital, leaving Cameron to take care of the Toll. Cameron knows how the Toll works, even before the Aunties told her. It’s just math after all. 2=2. 6x3=3x6. And so she too, walks the bridges.

Each sees a different type of nightmare as they walk. The monsters are the easiest, twisted monstrosities for all that they are. For Jessie, the worst is her the ghost of her cousin, looking at her with that same dumb, shocked expression when she bargained using his life. Cameron walks past fiery crosses, dead bodies, grieving families.

Both arrive before the Seventh Bridge at the same time. There is a conversation. It lasts three sentences. “What an interesting viewpoint” and “bless your heart” might have been said. Then they run.

Jessie knows she will win this. She’s tough and mean and stronger and older. But no matter how fast she races over the land, it is Cameron who is always ahead of her (with her dreadlocks flowing her behind). It is Cameron who crosses the bridge first.

Cameron feels the pull of the Toll, the tantalizing taste of power, of ambition, of taking what should be rightfully hers. There’s the offer. Have what your heart desires and loss only a small thing, an insignificant thing, you’ll barely notice that it’s gone. Cameron, though, her goal, her desire, is for her family to be safe. She wants the lump in her Auntie to not be cancerous, she wants her Aunties to feel safe at home, she wants her family not to be afraid anymore when a group walks by their houses. And oh, does she want too, she wants to be famous and be powerful and make sure nothing ever hurts her community again. But the price for such an ask is one she can’t take. She instead, she wants an answer to a question she had been reading about in one of the math books.

For her, the Toll is a gentle breeze, the sound of cicadas, the smell of sparklers and the taste of home made pecan pie.

Jessie enters and Wants And Wants And Wants. She craves the power and ambition. At seventeen, she only had the broad shape of what she wanted. As an adult, she can describe the form and material of her desire, down to perfect detail. She bargains that her childhood memories, her emotions, hell, even her right leg, one of those should cover her desires.

The Toll goes silent.

It is the silence before a storm, the inhaled breath. And for once, Jessie realizes that she has made A Mistake.

See, here is the trick about the Toll. It only gives what you didn’t have. Jessie wanted Power and Ambition and Everything. She already had it. So, the Toll took, and took, and took. Jessie asked and what she was given was a new body, a stone body. She became a solid rock. Helpless, powerless and part of nothing. She will the spend the rest of her days howling inside a rock that only she could hear.

Cameron went home, bruised and a little bloody because she slipped and fell on the road and scrapped her knees. She got an answer to a question but forgot what the question was.

Dee’s lump was benign. Cee declares it was a high Power, Cameron argues that most lumps are benign anyway. The community slowly rebuilds itself, though the power from the boycott remains. And eventually, Cameron faces the real choice. Become the next gatekeeper of the Toll or move to a different life, a different place. And that’s where you, dear reader, get to decide on what choice she should make.

Anyway, so that’s what’s The Toll should’ve been about.

#The Toll #Reimagined #This got a bit long #I haven't written this much for fiction #in ages #horror #Southern gothic horror #book criticism #it's long and wordy #now I want pecan pie

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jungshookz · 4 years

Note

I was wondering how the kids in ur different universes (emma, hwayoung, hope, lucas) will be in high school?? I feel that'd be interesting to know haha

strap urself into my time machine into the future let’s gO-

emma: you know that girl who seems to be friends with everyone and doesn’t really have a secure friend group?? i feel like that would be emma!! noT saying that she won’t have any close friends in high school but it’s just that she’s such a social butterfly that she likes to bounce from group to group and no one has a problem with it because she’s nice aND she’s hilarious!! she doesn’t really care that she doesn’t have a BFF because a) that sounds like a lot of commitment and b) she already has a bff and her name is mom (and also tae) plus she gets invited to literally everything because she is the life of the frickin PARTY also she gets along really well with all of the teachers (thank u tae) but she’s not an obnoxious teacher’s pet or anything (“um,,.,. you forgot to collect the homework for this week sir”) she’s just vEry charming (“is that a new tie?? it looks greAT! very trendy.”) but sometimes she takes advantage of her relationship with her teachers and tries to make them give her extensions on a project or an essay.,.,.,. she’s very sneaky.,.,. you have to be very alert around miss emma,,.

hwayoung: there’s always that one very popular girl who everyone wants to be or be friends with and in this case that would be miss min hwayoung (only her closest friends call her delilah and only her mama/appa call her dee)!! super duPer nice to everyone but can be a little ditzy at times to the point where it’s easy to manipulate her and she’ll just keep doing things for you because it’s veRy hard to say no!! because she doesn’t want to offend anyone!! and doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings!! please don’t take advantage of hwayoung because her dad will probably sue the socks off of you!! yES she’s rich but she doesn’t really like to show it because she’s not the type to flaunt what she has! if you point out her gucci bracelet she gets sheepish and discreetly takes it off!! she’s a natural-born leader (wonder who she gets that from) so of couRse she’s the class president! very responsible and sends out weekly newsletters to the entire grade aND she’s even head of the prom committee,.,. you would think that she’d try out to be head cheerleader but she’s as clumsy as her mother so that’s a hard pass lolz

hope: if the sun was a person then that person would be our little hopey!! unfortunately there is no high school dance team because apparently not a lot of people are into dancing?? which is lame?? so hope settled for trying out for the cheerleading team and you bet ur ass she got in! cheerleading is the closest thing she’ll get to dancing professionally in high school and she’s actually having a lot of fun with it and it’s even moRe fun when her dad comes and watches her during the football games! (he’s a little embarrassing sometimes tho like that one time he started filming her anD dancing along to the routine and hope will just pretend like she doesn’t know who that strange man twerking in the audience is) when she’s not cheerleading she actually likes to keep to herself! she likes to think of herself as an introvert and also her best friend is her dad so that’s probably another reason why she doesn’t go to all the after parties and stuff. still lovEs her peaches but she’s moved on to the actual fruit instead of the canned stuff because heLLO have you seen the insane amount of syrup from the canned peaches??

luke: ask anyone in the grade if they’ve ever had oR if they currently have a crush on luke y/l/n because i guarantee the answer is an astounding YEAH! are you kidding me?? look at that handsome face! the pierced ears! the pillowy lips! the big... BRAIN! prepare to roll your eyes because yes ladies and gents he is indeed the quarterback for the football team. he kinda grew out of soccer and also it’s fun to taCKLE people in football so >:-) veRy down to earth and sweet and surprisingly somewhat bashful?? okay look he knows he’s more than decent-looking which means he knows that some people might like him but if you talk to him about it he gets all blushy and all “me?? nah, i don’t think so...” idk!!! he’s very flattered by the romantic attention he gets but it makes him nervous!! his older sister works at the school sometimes as a substitute teacher and one time she subbed in for his english class and he got so excited because das his sissy!!!!!! he even stays in the classroom and eats lunch with her when she comes because he adores her so mucH and also she always brings outside drinks and snacks for him lol. hardworking, studious, diligent but let’s be real he’s only like that because y/n whiPped his butt into shape!! anyways if you took a soft boi and a little sprinkle of e-boy then you would end up with (1) luke.,.,. so what i’m saying is that yes i have a crush on luke so suE ME

let’s play!

games with cee tag

#games with cee #answered

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iwaverse · 4 years

Text

Future Us

Life has been hectic as ever.

Being a struggling law student does not make it any better. Taking law was not as easy as the 16 year old you had imagined. As a 16 year old, your thoughts of law was more to talking in court, defending the wrongly accused. Past you did not think of the hardships and the journey itself to become an actual attorney. Now entering a new semester, you have even more workload to hand in to your very tiresome lecturer.

You can feel the library’s cushioned chair now warming your bums as your mind goes haywire from all the typing you had to do for your next assignment. You would usually do your work in the library since free wifi was provided there even though the wifi would go down every once in a while.

You typed in a few more words in before you bring your arms over your head and stretched the life out of yourself.

“Give yourself a rest, man.” , says Sofea who was sitting across from you, a black pen in hand scribbling random notes in her mini notebook. You were so focused on trying to get your work done you completely forgot the existence of your other friend.

“I just wanna get this over with.” you replied now resting your head on your right hand, supporting it from your chin.

“You’ve been on it for hours now. Chill down a bit. Due date is in 2 weeks time anyway. You’re always pushing yourself like this.” Sofea says now rolling her eyes while giving you the dirtiest look.

You frowned, not knowing what to reply back. What Sofea said is true. You sometimes overwork so much until fever starts engulfing you. Last minute work is just not your thing, you were always the first one in your department to hand in your work.

You sighed as you bring your hands together and place it above the keypads once again to continue what you started. Your finger then hovered above the touchpad for a split second before you glided your finger across it to click on the 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘨𝘭𝘦 icon. You would need to search up a few informations on the internet for your next paragraph.

You typed out the words rather hastily on the google search section and clicked on the magnifying glass icon. The page refreshes itself but nothing loaded. You kept clicking on the refresh button hoping for the page to load. The page refreshes itself once again before directing you to the T-rex Dinosaur Game. Your eyes quickly glanced at the “wifi” icon, bottom right corner only to see a banned sign on it.

“Ah, shit. The wifi is down again today.” you say as you lean back against your chair letting out yet another long sigh.

“Hm? Really?” Sofea replied while pulling her phone out of her left pocket to check whether the connection is really out. “Oh yeah…I didn’t even notice. Oh well, that’s a sign for you to give it a rest Rania.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” as you leaned towards your laptop again, a finger on your 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 button.

𝘔𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦, you thought silently to yourself.

A minute passed and the game only made your stress worst. The jumping dinosaur on the screen of your laptop is slowly annoying the shit out of you.

𝘑𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘳. The clicking of your space button becomes faster each second before you stopped when the dinosaur runs itself into a cactus.

𝘜𝘨𝘩 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘰.

A tinge of familiarity suddenly hits you.

𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵, 𝘋𝘪𝘯𝘰?

“Ah, Dino.”

The memory came rushing back.

7 years ago you made an anime fan account on twitter out of curiosity and boredom. Your first icon was a picture of Hanako-Kun from the anime Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun. You remember everything so well. The friends you’ve made there, the posts that blew up and the little fanfics you wrote of your favourite anime characters.

Dino was a friend you made on anime twitter. What a funny name now that you think about it. She was the first few friends you made along with someone named Elis. Elis on the other hand was someone you knew in real life and is still in touch with till this day. In fact, you were gonna go grab lunch with her right after this library session with Sofea.

The three of you were in a big group chat once too, where you met your closest friends on anime twitter. The group chat had the weirdest name, it was Foot Pic Store. FPS for short. The group chat consists of 30 members, 28 or 25? You don’t remember, but Dino was in it.

Dino was known as the angst writer on anime twitter along with another member named Jo. The both of them would always write heartbreaking stories that would leave you dumbfounded, hungry for more. Dino is probably somewhere out there, rich and still crying over kageyama. Meanwhile Jo was recently accepted to an animation company to work as one of the animators.

There was someone who was from Oklahoma too. Kiah. She played on the national’s team once for volleyball. However, she didn’t continue her life career as a volleyball player and is now studying somewhere in California. Kiah was known as Dee’s so-called-girlfriend in FPS, another member in FPS. Dee bullies the other members a lot but she’s actually the sweetest person you would ever meet. Dee has been travelling a lot lately, not that you know how and where she’s getting all the money from. Probably found herself a rich Arabic man, 𝑊𝘩𝑎𝑡 𝑎 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚 is what she would say.

Speaking of travelling, another member of FPS is currently studying to become a pilot, Ira. You would usually call them beansie or beans as a nickname because they had a baked beans icon for a few days due to losing a bet made between them and their other friends.

“Beans” was also a ship name for the second youngest members in FPS, Bea and Anne. The memory of them screaming of how big an anime character’s private part is in the group chat was still fresh in your mind, especially Anne. Back in the days, Anne would randomly send pictures of her eyes to get conjunctivitis with you. What a weirdo, but who would’ve thought that weirdo would be studying to become an ophthalmologist. On the contrary, despite the young age, Bea is already working as a manager in one of the biggest franchise in her country.

Speaking of which, you have a few other members who was the same age as you too, Raya and Teddy. Raya is currently studying in one of the most well known med school meanwhile Teddy is working her ass off to become a successful programmer of some sorts.

Most of the other members are still studying now too. Kaye is currently studying to become a chemist, Ren is studying to become better in cybersecurity to become an ethical hacker, Angi is continuing her studies in the economical field and Allie, just like you, is studying in the faculty of law.

The older generations of FPS are already working. Jade had just graduated and is now working as a new attorney, Ballan is a successful film maker by making films that would leave a big impact on the audience, Riv is working as a cardiothoracic surgeon and Cee has a job that that helps the ones in needs with her skills.

Sora and Ken on the other hand are living life to the fullest. Ken is currently living with her friends with a few pet animals to make it more lively and is now working as a zoologist. Sora is now living in Japan with the love of her life and is taking care of her grandparents while balancing her life with school counseling.

You’ve lost contact with a few other members like Cat and Arrielle, but according to Elis, they are doing well in life as well.

As for Hannah, she now has a job she’s happy with and is living with the best partner she could have asked for. Back then, all she wishes for was to find happiness and to be happy.You’re glad things are going well for her even though there are times where life gets rough, but you know she’s strong enough to go through it.

Remembering all the old events 8 years ago made you somewhat emotional. The late night calls, the online games, the skipping school to chat, the roleplaying, the rigging every poll ever made on anime twitter, the horny chats, the matching layouts…

𝑩𝒁𝒁𝒁𝑻

A vibration from your phone cuts you off from your daydream.

𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐬: 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦

“Ah, Sof I gotta go now” you say as you start packing up your notes and laptop into your lemon yellow tote bag.

“Elis is here?”

“Mhm.” You nod, still packing everything up.

“Oh by the way Rania, you made online friends before right?”

“Yeah, why?” you replied as you stood up pushing the chair under the table and slung your tote bag over your shoulder.

“Are you guys still in contact?” Sofea asked.

“Oh-“

𝑩𝒁𝒁𝒁𝑻

Another vibration from your phone cuts you off from finishing your sentence. You unlocked the screen of your phone and glided your hand in a downward motion on your screen, pulling the notification bar down.

𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞: *𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩*

𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞: 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬??

𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐚: 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘩, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘎𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦.

𝐠𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞: 𝘦𝘩 𝘰𝘬 𝘪𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘺 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯

𝐝𝐞𝐞: 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘧𝘧 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵

𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞: 𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘩

𝐛𝐞𝐚: 𝘭𝘰𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦

𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞: 𝘪 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘳

𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐝𝐲: 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘭𝘮𝘢𝘰𝘰 𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘳

𝐩𝐚𝐮: 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯

𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞: 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺𝘦

“Hello?” Sofea said while waving a hand in front of you, clearly wanting the attention from you.

“Oh, sorry. What was the question again?”

“I was wondering if you’re still in contact with them.”

You paused as a smile starts forming itself on your lips,

“Yeah,” you replied,

“we’re still in contact.”

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ceesdesk · 6 years

Note

hi cee, congrats again on over 1k i hope you’re doing well!! my favourite stationery item is probably the muji eraser, its literally the best eraser i’ve ever tried?? also i love the nyx matte liquid liner haha (my posts are under ‘plover posts’!) 💛

thanks dee! i just searched up that eyeliner and it’s q affordable wowowow

url: ♡♡♡♡♡

icon: ♡♡♡♡♡

desktop theme: ♡♡♡♡♡

original content: ♡♡♡♡♡

following?: no, sorry :-( / now i am! / already was :-) / oF COURSE!!

additional comments: dude… i love ur blog… fun fact, i used to have a studyblr around a year ago? and i remember following u haha. i love your og content so much teach me your ways??? also i love your theme and YOUR ABOUT PAGE ITS SO CUTE!! ur url is cute too esp w the matching icon!!

1k blogrates!!

#answered #ploverstudies #cees1k

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rosesisupposes · 5 years

Text

Going for the Glory

Part 8 of Breakin’ Free, a High School Musical Sanders Sides AU

Chapter Pairings: Prinxiety, Logicality, Slight Remceit

Chapter Warnings: Coming out, swearing

word count: 4,980

Reader tags: @residentanchor @royally-anxious@bewarethegrammarpolice @jemthebookworm@arandompasserby @sparkly-rainbow-salt@astral-eclipse @thelowlysatsuma @adorably-angsty

<<7. If We’re Tryin’ | Masterpost

read on ao3

SCENE: East High - Game Day, Scholastic Decathlon Day, Callbacks Day

Friday afternoon arrived like a swarm of honey bees. The whole school was buzzing in excitement with a large helping of sweetness. The cliques continued to mingle as ‘good lucks’ were exchanged between drama geeks, science nerds, jocks, and pep band geeks alike. As the basketball team found the scholastic decathlon team, the sweetness became slightly more literal.

Roman led the way into the lab where the decathletes were prepping, with teammates shielding their gift.

“Virge, Logan, we have a surprise for you!” he called happily. The two science students turned from where they were donning their East High lab coats.

Patton emerged from where he’d been ducking behind the team to place his creation on the lab bench, glowing with pride. He’d made a lemon meringue pie decorated with a huge “𝚷” in the meringue. “In your honor - a Pi Pie!” he announced, grinning hugely.

Logan looked up to thank him but suddenly went quiet, smiling just as widely. Virgil noticed and smirked, then nudged his friend in the ribs. Coming back to himself, Logan said “Thank you, Patton. In fact, we have a present for you as well.”

He and Virgil walked over to a white board and both gestured with open arms, chorusing, “Ta da!”

Remy, Patton, and Roman all stared at the board, heads tilted. It was covered in incomprehensible (to them) equations that seemed to be somehow explaining how to make the perfect free throw, accounting for drag, vertical draft, air pressure within and without the ball, and speed of the player shooting.

“Oh, it’s… equations!” Patton said with forced cheer. “Thanks, you two!”

Logan and Virgil made eye contact and snickered. Snickers turned into laughs as they flipped the board over, revealing a colorful drawing of a wildcat dunking a basketball and “Go Wildcats!” in huge letters. The basketball players all sighed in relief with “Oh!”s of understanding, as Logan, Virgil, and their decathlon teammates pelted them with stuffed basketballs they’d hidden around the lab. The team tried to retaliate, but they were outmatched and laughing too hard to care.

Remy suddenly caught sight of the clock and nudged Roman. They waved goodbye to the decathletes and jogged as a team down to Ms. Darbus’ classroom, where Dee & Cee were chatting with other students who had callbacks for the singles roles that day.

Remy strolled in and leaned over a desk to wink at Dee. “Hey, Not-So-Evil Twins, we’ve got something to show you. Follow me!”

The twins were slightly off put by the nickname but mostly intrigued. The rest of the auditioners and Ms. Darbus crowded behind them in the door of the classroom to watch. The entire varsity squad of the basketball team were arranged in rows in their red-and-white warm up suits. Remy re-joined the formation, telling Dee, “From our team, to yours!”

One by one they opened their jackets to reveal t-shirts painted in huge letters. “G - O - D - R - A - M - A - C - L - U - B” they spelled out, Roman bringing up the rear with “Exclamation Point!”

Ms. Darbus smiled. “Seems we Wildcats are in for an interesting afternoon.”

Dee smirked, enjoying the offering. Beside him, Cee stared in confusion. “Godra? Godray?” he read aloud. Dee rolled his eyes and pulled his twin behind him, heading towards the auditorium. The basketball team split off towards the gym, and the decathletes made their way to the amphitheater. It was 2:45 pm, less than an hour until the multiple events started.

Logan nudged Virgil with a small grin. “It looks like the game is afoot.”

“I never thought I’d be able to say this without seeming like a huge hypocrite, but you are a enormous nerd,” Virgil smirked back. “But also, yes it is. And we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”

SCENE: Locker Room

Roman was in the locker room suiting up, stretching out his pre-game jitters. He couldn’t wait to get out there with his team, but the amount riding on this game was nothing to sneeze at. He was in the middle of an arm stretch when his dad knocked on the wall, getting his attention.

“How you feeling, Ro?”

“Nervous,” the captain admitted.

“Me too. Wish I could suit up and play alongside you,” the coach said with a smile.

“Hey, you had your turn! Let the young guys show you how it’s done,” Roman shot back with a chuckle.

“You know what I want from you today?” Coach Bolton asked, sitting on a bench across from his son.

“The championship,” Roman said, feeling another butterfly burst out into his gut.

“Well, that'll come or it won't,” his father said. “What I want is for you to have fun. I know all about the pressure. And probably too much of it has come from me.” His face twisted a bit, betraying his guilt. But he made eye contact with the teen across from him as he continued. “What I really want is to see my son having the time of his life playing the game we both love. You give me that, and I will sleep with a smile on my face no matter how the score comes out.”

Roman could feel the butterflies melting away. His dad got it. He knew he’d been harsh, but ultimately, he just wanted his son to be successful and happy.

“Thanks, Coach - I mean, Dad.”

He stood up and hugged his dad firmly. Father and son both squeezed for a moment, then parted to finish getting ready for the game’s imminent start.

SCENE: All Over East High

Quiet chatter bounced around the amphitheater where the decathlon was soon to start. Virgil stood in the audience, chatting with his mom as she cooed over his lab coat.

“I’m so proud of you, mijo. I know you’re gonna do great today!”

“Mamá, you are not allowed to be embarrassing in any way.”

“When am I ever embarrassing?”

Virgil rolled his eyes as he held up a hand to list off his grievances. “The competition in Colorado, junior high graduation, the nationals in 2015, the science fair in seventh grade…”

Lisa laughed and hugged her son around the shoulders. “Okay, okay, I’ll be good. Can I at least meet your friends on the team?”

But Virgil was saved by the decathlon judge stepping up to the front of the room and gesturing for the teams to come meet one another. Virgil hugged his mom back quickly and hurried up to stand by Logan as they shook their opponents’ hands.

“Welcome to the tenth annual Scholastic Decathlon,” the judge announced. “Today we have the East High Wildcats versus the West High Knights.”

“Now presenting your Wildcats!” the announcer blared. Roman, Remy, Patton, and the rest of their team spilled into the gym in a wave of red and white, cheering and waving to the crowd. They grabbed basketballs and circled, warming up, dribbling, and shooting in turn.

“Welcome to the championship game between East High and West High!”

Remy dribbled past Roman, throwing him a grin. “You ready, man?”

“You know I am!”

“It’s go time!”

“It’s time!” sang Ms. Darbus, leading in the small crowd of actors to the auditorium. Joan sat at the piano, warming up and practicing. In the green room, Dee and Cee were performing their vocal warm ups, trills and scales and enunciation exercises.

“Ahhhh-ee-ee-ah-ee-ee-ahhhhhh,” Cee sang, traversing the entire octave up and down. Dee rolled sounds in his throat.

The sounds rolled around the dressing room before Dee held up a hand. Without looking, he fell backwards into Cee’s arms. Standing, he turned to his twin.

“I trust you.”

“Energy.”

Ms. Darbus checked the watch of the student assisting at her audition table. Standing, she took the stage.

“Casting a show is both a challenge and a responsibility. A joy and a burden,” she proclaimed, her voice booming through the mostly-empty auditorium. “I commend you and all other young artists to hold out for the moon, the sun, and the stars.” Her assistant took a picture of her and Joan as director and playwright. She smiled and asked, “Shall we soar together?”

Taking her seat in the audience, she called out “Diego and Cedric!”

As the music started, Cee appeared onstage first. His shirt was flowy and glittery, not quite a full Flamenco shirt, but definitely pushing in that direction. Silver threads interlaced with blue and sequins made him a bit difficult to look at directly as the stage lights caught him. Hitting his first pose, he sang out “¿Quieres bailar?”

Dee appeared on the opposite side of the stage in his own spotlight as he blew a kiss to the audience and sang in response to his twin “¡Mirame!” If Cee was sparkling, Dee was blinding. He was in full character as the musical’s heroine, Minnie. His dress hugged his slender chest and cascaded in tiers of waves in the skirt, all blue and silver and far too many sequins. Even his headset microphone matched, bedazzled in glittery blue rhinestones. He swirled to center stage in a flash of blue and dove into the first verse of the song, with Ms. Darbus grooving along from her spot in the audience.

The twins had a mix of choreography, switching from salsa to flamenco to rumba and sprinkling in more classic musical theater moves in between. In terms of pure talent, they’d never been in doubt.

“Yeah, we're gonna bop, bop, bop, bop to the top!” they sang in tandem, singing through plastered-on stage smiles as they made their way through complex steps and spins. Joan nervously checked the clock as they continued. Time was of the essence today, and the twins had once again adapted Joan’s song to be much faster than they’d pictured.

In the amphitheater, Virgil’s event had been drawn first, and he raced against a West High student to complete a full chain of reactions. He was a comfortable level of jittery as he wrote across his white board quickly. He reached the bottom as his opponent was completing only her fifth line, and quickly made his way to the game clock and stopped his timer.

The judge came forward and checked his word, before gesturing to the team table and announcing, “The point goes to East High!”

The team cheered and their supporters cheered with them, Lisa Montez the loudest of them all. Virgil rolled his eyes but smiled at her and gave a small wave. Logan clapped him on the shoulder, saying, “Excellently done, Virgil!”

Virgil glanced at the clock and nudged his friend. As the next event started, Logan brought out his laptop. “It seems it’s time that the Wildcats made an orderly exit from the gym, does it not?” he murmured as he worked. He sent off the code he’d created, then opened his other file. “You are quite sure this one will work to disrupt the room, Virge?” he asked quietly, typing away.

“Oh believe me, it works," Virgil whispered back, eyeing the Bunsen burner near the judge stand with trepidation.

“All right. Here goes,” Logan said, sending off the new code. The beaker on the burner started to heat up, causing the sac inside to burst. The room filled with the scent of rotten eggs as team members and audience members alike gagged and rushed to the exits.

“I assume it is working?” Logan whispered as he hurried Virgil to a side door closer to the auditorium.

“Uh, yeah, Lo, it smells terrible,” Virgil exclaimed.

“I would not know - I have anosmia. Why else did you think I agreed to this childish distraction?”

Virgil swore at him over his shoulder as he sprinted away, heading for the theater.

Joan was hiding behind their bowler hat as Dee & Cee’s routine neared its end. It’s not that the twins were bad, it was all just so extra. Every extra flourish, every break to throw in more unscripted Spanish just made the composer cringe more and more. They’d even worn a burgundy suit jacket and bow tie for the occasion, but now it was only serving as camouflage as they shrunk into the red audience seats.

“Bop, bop, bop, bop to the top, wipe away your inhibitions!” the twins sang, Dee always managing to be just a bit downstage and more center of his twin. His skirt flared as they neared the conclusion of their song. The lights raised on the back of the stage, revealing a ladder covered in gold tinsel. As Cee spun in front, Dee scaled the ladder into the spotlight.

“We'll keep stepping up and we just won't stop ‘till we reach the top!” the twins hit the final note together as Cee scaled the ladder, only to be push down a rung by his brother.

They held the final note, both breathing heavily from the exertion of the performance as the audience of drama students erupted into applause, Ms. Darbus enthusiastically clapping along.

“Do you see why we love the theater, people? Well done, Dee & Cee!” she cried happily. She picked up her clipboard and called out the next names on her list. “Roman Bolton and Virgil Montez. Roman? Virgil?” The auditorium was silent as Dee smirked triumphantly.

“They'll be here, Ms. Darbus,” Joan said, looking anxiously at their watch.

“The theater, as I have often pointed out, waits for no one. I'm sorry, Joan. Callbacks are over. Cast lists will be posted on Monday.”

Joan cursed under their breath and stormed off into the wings, scowling at the self-satisfied twins.

The first quarter was coming to a close and East and West High were still tied at only 8 points each. The team was moving well, their defense strong. There had been a slip early on, but they were holding West High still. Roman raced the length of the court, directing teammates and weaving between opponents. He watched the ball fly over his head into Patton’s arms when the scoreboard flickered. The voice of the announcer who’d been offering blow-by-blow commentary fizzled and faded. Suddenly, every light in the gym went off. Murmurs of confusion rolled around the crowd as the players stopped and stared at each other awkwardly. Remy nudged Roman with a grin.

“What are you waiting for, babes? Go!”

Roman smiled and ran out of the gym, dodging through the crowd and hurrying out.

He tore into the auditorium as Ms. Darbus picked up her purse and made to leave.

“Wait! Ms. Darbus, wait! We're ready, we can sing!” he cried, seeing Virgil running down another aisle.

“I called your names, twice,” Ms. Darbus said sharply.

“Ms. Darbus, please,” Virgil begged, running up the stairs to the stage.

“Rules are rules,” the director insisted. But as she spoke, crowds of students started filing into the auditorium from both the basketball game and the decathlon. Most wore East High red and white, but the West High teams were present too, all looking confused.

Dee leaned over, staring starry-eyed at the huge audience, and said, “We'll be happy to do it again for our fellow students, Ms. Darbus!”

“I don't know what's going on here,” the teacher began, uncertain, “but in any event, it's far too late and we have not got a pianist.”

“Aw well, that’s show biz,” Cee said sympathetically.

“We’ll sing without a piano!” Roman insisted, but was interrupted by a blur of burgundy and black.

“No you goddamn won’t!” Joan stepped in front of the Evans twins to speak directly to the director. “Pianist here, Ms. Darbus.”

“You really don’t want to do that,” Dee said dangerously, stepping into Joan’s space.

They stared back steadily as they replied, “Oh yeah I fucking do.” Dee’s eyes widened in shock as the composer ran to their piano, calling “Ready on stage!” behind them.

Ms. Darbus eyed the interaction. “Now that’s show biz,” she said with admiration.

A stage hand gave Roman two handheld microphones as the twins stormed off into the wings.

He walked over and handed Virgil one where he was still standing in the middle of the stage, staring at the huge number of people that was only continuing to grow as the last of the crowds filtered in. The stage lights came back on, illuminating his white lab coat and Roman’s white tracksuit as the basketball player signaled to Joan to start.

The familiar strains of the song began, but Virgil remained frozen, eyes wide as he stared straight ahead.

Roman gestured for Joan to pause and walked over to the shorter man, partially shielding from the crowd as he murmured, “You okay?”

“I can’t do it, Ro, not with all those people staring at me.” He started to turn away as Roman caught his free hand.

“Hey, hey, look at me, look at me, right at me. Right at me, okay? No one else is here. It's just like the first time we sang together. Like kindergarten,” he said with a reassuring smile. “I’m here. You can do this, I know you can.”

Without releasing his hand, Roman gestured to Joan to start again.

“We're soaring, flying. There's not a star in heaven that we can't reach,” he sang, staring directly into Virgil’s eyes.

Without breaking eye contact, Virgil lifted his mic and continued, “If we're trying, so we're breaking free.”

Roman spotted the tiniest hint of a smile. Virgil would be okay. He spun out to the audience. They needed to hear this too, see them up onstage and telling them what could be possible.

“You know the world can see us in a way that different than who we are.” He saw movement at the door and realized the last person from the gym had entered. It was his dad, leaning on the wall and listening hard.

Virgil let his hand drop, stepping away, “Creating space between us, 'til we're separate hearts.”

Joan grinned from their spot at the piano as the two built up to the chorus, signaling the rest of the band in the wings to join in.

Virgil suddenly realized that Roman was right. It was just like New Year’s Eve all over again, all familiar jitters and excitement and this beautiful man singing to him like no one else could hear. Roman’s red hair glowed in the stage lights, a sun rising in the dark of the auditorium. Dimly he was aware that the crowd was starting to clap along, but what did that matter when a freckled smile was harmonizing and dancing around him?

They hadn’t practiced any choreography, but danced together and apart, spinning around their lone set piece, a crescent moon they’d painted together. They danced over to Joan’s piano as the composer danced with them, still playing and bopping their head along to the beat.

“More than you, more than me,” Roman sang, spinning Virgil out onto the stage.

“Not a want, but a need,” he sang back, grinning like mad as Roman followed him.

"Both of us, breaking free!” they chorused, hands finding each other and interlocking like an old habit, newly formed. The basketball team whooped and cheered, Remy leading the crowd in a standing ovation. Logan found he couldn’t be self-conscious, watching his friend glow with happiness, and stood too, earning himself a huge grin from Patton, just a row behind him.

Virgil briefly caught sight of his mom in the crowd, her hands covering her face as he swayed to the music. Was she crying? Her hands moved to clap along, revealing tears and a huge smile as she cheered loud and long for her son.

Joan and their piano led the song to its conclusion, slowing down to the final note as Roman and Virgil sang to each other.

“You know the world can see us in a way that’s different than who we are…”

They hit the final notes in harmony. Roman was staring unashamedly into Virgil’s dark eyes, at his flushed cheeks, at the way the stage lights caught the purple highlights in his hair. Grabbing the shorter man’s hand, he felt the same urge as that moment on New Year’s, when the distance between himself and Virgil seemed to shrink and all he wanted was to breach that final, infinitesimal separation between their lips. He leaned in, and despite the loud applause of the crowd, they didn’t break away.

Virgil was positive that this was death. He’d freaked out so hard about singing that he’d died and gone into a weird afterlife dream where the most beautiful man serenaded him and then kissed him in front of the entire school. Because it was only in heaven and his daydreams that this could actually be happening, right? His lips were so soft, and it felt like sunshine spilling into his soul as he kissed back, holding his waist with the hand not occupied by a mic.

The only thing that could cut through the dull roar of the crowd’s applause was a familiar, drawling voice shouting “FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, FINALLY!”

They broke apart, blushes spreading on both of their cheeks.

“Ro, I have no idea how we get off this stage now,” Virgil whispered.

“Don’t worry, Panic! at the Musical,” Roman said, still blushing. “I think I know how.”

He stepped forward, closer to the stage, and spoke into the mic. “Thank you! To my teammates, to the drama club, to the science nerds, skaters, band geeks, and also both my parents, my name is Roman Bolton, and I am apparently gay. And I can’t ask my fabulous duet partner, Virgil Montez, to be my boyfriend with you all watching. To our West High guests, can’t wait to see y’all in the rematch, and to my East High friends, go Wildcats!” With that, he grabbed Vigil’s hand and dragged them both offstage, laughing like mad and still blushing furiously.

SCENE: Gymnasium

Roman was more than a little certain that he had yet to touch the ground since callbacks, floating on the countless wonderful emotions and memories that were the reality of dating Virgil. Somehow he had been able to drag himself away from walking down the street and the hallways introducing him to anyone and everyone who would listen as “my BOYFRIEND!” But at least there was the perk that he was constantly walking on air.

Or, in the case of the East-West rematch, flying down the court.

“...and West High pushin' the ball. Fast break. Looking for an open man. Oh, but it's stolen by number 14, Bolton, heading back the other way!” The commentator channeled the crowd’s energy as she called the action on the court. “East High has possession, one point down and only 15 seconds left on the clock! He’s looking for an open man. Fake! Swing to the outside, ball on the perimeter.”

Roman panted as he tossed the ball to Remy, getting closer to the net. He was acutely aware of how close they were to winning this thing, if they could just get an opening… there it was!

A high toss from Remy that only Patton could possibly reach, then a quick throw to Roman. He leapt, legs, core, and arms all in perfect harmony to get just the right angle and…

“And it's good! A 12-foot jump shot as time expires for the victory! East High has won the championship!”

Roman felt a thwump as Patton collided with him in a huge hug, followed shortly by the thwumpthwumpthwump of the rest of the team following suit. They all jumped up and down as one, cheering and celebrating without abandon. The cheerleaders and mascot were the first to get from the sidelines to the court to celebrate with them. But soon after, Coach Bolton, close to tears with happiness, came over to the team huddle of bodies to hand them the enormous championship trophy.

“Coming through! Proud coach coming through!” he yelled, and handed off the gleaming brass basketball on its heavy wooden base to Remy and Roman. Gripping his son’s shoulder, he managed to be heard as he told him, “I’m so proud of you Roman. For everything!”

Remy was the first to start the chant as the team swept Roman off his feet, hoisting him on their shoulders. “What team?”

“Wildcats!”

“What team?”

“Wildcats!”

“Get’cha head in the game!”

They finally released him as he passed the trophy on to the other teammates and grabbed his dad for a hug as the spectators flooded from the bleachers to the court. Even Ms. Darbus had caught the spirit, cheering “Bravo!” at Roman as she passed.

Coach Bolton was even happy enough to cheer back, “Brava!” at her. The assistant coach pulled Roman’s dad away as he paused for a moment, catching his breath for the first time since the game had begun. Arms suddenly wrapped around him as he turned to see Virgil, hair re-dyed a festive Wildcat red just for the occasion.

“Congratulations, you dork,” he said, grinning hugely. “You’re officially the school’s Prince Charming again.”

“I would never make you share this brilliance with the entire school,” Roman responded. “Did you get the scores back from the decathlon?”

“We won, too,” Virgil said, but was interrupted by Roman hugging him with both arms and swinging him around in the air.

“I bring the looks and the brawn, you bring the smarts and also the looks, we are clearly the best couple ever and I am so happy you’re my boyfriend.”

“Goddammit Ro, you’re gonna make me blush and then I’ll clash with my hair,” Virgil admonished as he wriggled out of Roman’s hold.

“Guess I’m forced to kiss the blush off your cheeks,” Roman proclaimed. Just as he leaned in, Remy pushed in between them with a basketball in his hands.

“Hey Ro! Team voted you the game ball! Congrats!” Remy said airily, barely pretending to not notice what he’d interrupted.

“Thanks, Rem. Really appreciate it.”

“Anytime,” his friend said with a bow, strolling off.

Virgil hugged Roman again, then suddenly hit his arm excitedly. Staring in the direction of his pointing arm, Roman saw Patton walking up to Logan and grinned.

“So, you’re coming with me to the after-party, right?” Patton asked, open face smiling.

Logan started. “Sorry, that was directed to me?”

“Of course, Lo! So will you?”

“I- uh. I was planning to attend because Virgil had asked me to…”

“Oh, sorry, I wasn’t being clear!” Patton realized. “Words are funny like that, aren’t they? I meant as a date!”

Logan stared for a moment, then two, then three without moving anything besides his eyes blinking.

Virgil nudged Roman and muttered in his ear, “Logan.exe has crashed.”

“Oh, also, these are for you! Fresh today!” Patton added, handing the shorter man a bag of cookies. “I heard you like jam thumbprints!”

Logan accepted the bag and managed to nod his agreement, to both the cookies and the date, as a huge smile spread across his face.

Virgil and Roman both punched the air in victory as Cee and Dee passed by, both in full East High spirit colors.

“Congrats again on your roles,” Dee said. “I guess we’re going to be the understudies in case you can't make one of the shows, so... break a leg.”

Roman stared in slight fear until Dee laughed and added, “It’s drama geek for ‘good luck’.”

Dee passed them and watched Cee dance off with a cheerleader, bopping to the music the pep band had struck up. He shouldered his way through pairs of students before coming up on Remy, leaning against the bleachers as he watched Roman and Virgil steal another kiss in the middle of the crowd.

Dee came up to lean next to him. “Can’t believe I crushed on Roman all these years only for him to actually be gay but still allo. I’m so disappointed.”

“That’s what everyone says when they what I’m ace. Like, I get it, I’m frustratingly hot and sassy as hell, why are you so obsessed with me?” Remy drawled back. He’d found his shades somewhere by the team bench and slipped them back on.

“You’re ace too?” Dee asked incredulously

“Of course I am. Hey, Dee, want to come to the afterparty and make fun of these gay disasters more?”

“Wait, really? You aren’t like ‘Dee’s a bitch and I hate him’?”

“Not at all, hun. You’re a bitch and I like it so much.”

“Well in that case, lead the way, Mr. Danforth.”

Somewhere in the crowd, Roman managed to find Joan. “Hey composer! Here’s your game ball. You deserve it, playmaker!”

Joan took the basketball, smiling. “Congrats again, you two!” they said with a wicked grin. “Can’t wait til rehearsals start and you’re at my mercy for eight weeks straight.”

Virgil laughed and pushed them. “Hey, this is all your fault. You can’t be mean to us now!”

“Oh so you’re saying you’d rather that you hadn’t met your boyfriend through the power of my beautiful song and lyrics?”

“Ya got me there,” Virgil shrugged. “But for real, thank you, Joan. We couldn’t have done any of this without you.”

Roman nodded emphatically. “And the rest of you, too,” he said, turning to his and Virgil’s teams. “All of this was a group effort. We made each other strong.”

“None of us are exactly alike,” Patton added. He and Logan were very subtly holding hands. “But the ways we’re different are all good and unique. And I’m grateful we arrived at where we are now.”

“Now let’s go celebrate!” Roman said.

“All of us?” a decathlon teammate asked.

“Absolutely!” Roman called. “This is a celebration for all of our victories. We’re all Wildcats, no matter what. And if there’s one thing this school has learned, it’s that we’re all in this together.”

a/n: Thank you for sticking with me through this weird little adventure, especially the cheesy-as-hell ending. Gotta get to those DCOM roots and end in the hamfisted moral.

In conclusion: I love my collection of disaster gays of various heights. I hope you've enjoyed them too <3

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taiblogcomics · 6 years

Text

I’m Dreaming of an Orange Christmas (Repost)

Originally published to Xanga on December 22, 2011

Hey there, Winnebagos. If you're here for the latest characterisation atrocity committed by Red Hood and the Outlaws, I'm afraid you're going to be a bit disappointed. While ripping into this comic will remain a regular feature here, like Suicide Squad, it's being delayed this week because I feel like it. I've got something slightly older but much better for you this week. And it's even seasonally appropriate. Today we're going to run a recap for the Green Lantern Larfleeze Christmas Special #1 from last year~ Here's the cover, as always:

Now, before we begin, let's do a little summary of this character, just in case you don't know who Larfleeze is. And shame on you for not knowing.

Larfleeze was created in the gap of issues between two of the finest Green Lantern events in comics history, Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night. Green Lanterns aren't the only lanterns, and Sinestro decided to make that absolutely true. Hence the Sinestro Corps War: Sinestro creates some yellow rings to offset the green and gathers together a bunch who can best use its fear powers. From there, more lantern colours kept popping up. Long-time rivals the Star Sapphires officially tapped the violet light of love, an old enemy stoked the red fires of rage, and the blue glow of hope was brought about to balance all the groups. And then came this one: the orange light of avarice, held in possession by the greediest, hungriest, most selfish being in the galaxy. His name is Larfleeze, AKA Agent Orange. You can read more of his origin in the collection Green Lantern: Agent Orange, which of course I highly recommend.

But why? Why do I recommend picking up every dang comic with Larfleeze in it that you can find? Well, because Larfleeze is frigging awesome, that's why. He's pretty much the greatest Green Lantern character since the book started in 1959. (Yes, I realise it actually started much earlier with Alan Scott's character, but since Larfleeze is part of the mythos that began with Hal Jordan, we're using Hal's debut as the starting point.) Larfleeze is quirky and weird and damn entertaining. He might be on the negative side of the emotional spectrum, but he's not explicitely evil. He's certainly no Joker or... Vandal Savage, let's say. He's largely hilarious, mostly since he acts like a greedy child most of the time. He's also unreasonably powerful (actual quote from Blackest Night: "Power levels 10,000%"), his ring commits literal identity theft of those slain by it, and he has some hidden depths. Which leads us into the comic we're about to look at now.

We open on Larfleeze's junkyard. Yep, Larfleeze has a junkyard and spends much time on Earth. This comes from an exchange he had with Lex Luthor (who briefly possessed a copy of Larfleeze's ring), who told Larfleeze that one of the most valuable things one can have on Earth is land. And frankly, he has a point. (He's Lex Luthor, he always does.) Larfleeze took this to heart, and obtained for himself a junkyard where he can store all his things and possessions and stuff. I don't think it's ever quite discussed how he obtained it, but my guess is "shenanigans". But I digress.

Also through shenanigans, Larfleeze has heard of the Earth's mighty and amazing guardian, the one they call Santa Claus. Sleeping restlessly in his bed, Larfleeze awakens to a large row of various clocks. Alas, not one cat clock among them, though. Realising the day he's awaited, Larfleeze goes tearassing out of bed, shouting delightedly. (Told you he's like a big child. A very destructive, competently-violent child with a rap sheet as long as your arm and more power than anyone could know what to do with.) Larfleeze gathers up his wishlist, which could put Calvin's to shame, and rushes down the stairs, anticipating what gifts Santa has left for him and how many hours it will take him to unwrap them all (by his estimate, 18. "Perhaps twenty if the ratwaffle cheese wheels are individually wrapped!"). But to his horror, there's nothing under the tree at all. The stockings hang empty.

Larfleeze at first thinks he's been robbed, but then he notices that the cookies and milk are untouched. And then comes one of the reasons why this is among the greatest comics of all time: a recipe. An actual recipe for making orange cookies just like the ones Larfleeze has prepared. When was the last time Batman ever included a recipe for making, I dunno, gingerbread batarangs? Never, that's when. Anyways, Larfleeze concludes that Santa has callously overlooked him in his deliveries, despite his adherence to the decorations and sweet-based offerings. Catching sight of a parade on TV, Larfleeze sees Santa coming down the street. He immediately vacates his house and attacks the parade with razor-fanged reindeer.

In the scuffle, Santa loses his beard, and Larfleeze discovers he is a decoy. He then catches sight of another Santa rushing into Dee Cee's Store of Stuff. He chases the Santa through the store, and discovers a whole group of men dressed in Santa costumes. Larfleeze snarls and threatens their lives until a brave little boy speaks up and tells Larfleeze where Santa is: the North Pole. We then get another brilliant page, this time of a maze made out of the Orange Lantern symbol. For extra awesome, Larfleeze is dressed as Indiana Jones on this page, and also stumbles across Superman's Fortress of Solitude before shrugging and leaving. Oh Larfleeze, if you only knew the rare treasures that lay within it, you would surely salivate at the chance to merely even see them.

After hours of searching, Larfleeze has enough and just begins blasting at the snow and ice. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, if you were wondering) shows up, and says the ice caps have enough problems with melting without Larfleeze contributing. That's right, Hal Jordan wants you all to go green! Larfleeze, again in petulant child mode, begins demanding that Hal bring out Santa from wherever he's hiding him. Hal insists Santa is just a story told for fun, which Larfleeze can stand even less. Hal then plays his trump card. Christmas, he says, isn't about presents or Santa or getting. It's about having Christmas spirit. Larfleeze, of course, latches on to the word "having", and asks, "How does one... attain this Christmas spirit?" And to help you out, the comic generously includes yet another crafty sort of activity: a Larfleeze Christmas tree ornament to cut out and glue. This thing is pretty boss, and the only reason I haven't done it is because it would ruin the comic.

Hal takes Larfleeze back to his junkyard, and begins searching through it, despite Larfleeze's protests. Hal sorts through Larfleeze's stuff, and gives a little lecture about how Christmas spirit isn't about making the pile of stuff in your backyard bigger (c'mon guys, we all have one). It's about the usual Christmas special mention of giving. Hal then proceeds to give Larfleeze's stuff away to various charities and donation places, all while talking about the spirit of generosity. Larfleeze looks around at his empty junkyard, with only a broken toilet and an empty septic tank left in it, and comments, "I don't think I like Christmas spirit very much." And that, my friends, is why Larfleeze is a delight to read.

Hal continues to try and explain to Larfleeze that Santa isn't real and he shouldn't put so much importance on having stuff, while Larfleeze continues to be Larfleeze. Finally Hal gives up, and drops Larfleeze's Christmas list in disgust before flying off. He turns to give Larfleeze one last piece of advice: "Do yourself a favour, Larfleeze. Look at that list. Look at it close. And ask yourself--Do I really need it?" Larfleeze appears stunned by this. The last page is silent. Larfleeze pores over his list inside his little cabin. Eventually he comes to the very last item at the bottom of the list: "My Family". Larfleeze stares at it, and then curls himself around a pillow and lies down. The end.

Boy, what did I say about hidden depths, huh? Now you see why I read everything that Larfleeze appears in. (Next thing he appears in: Green Lantern New Guardians #4, coming December 28th. Can't wait~ ) Also, the issue then includes a bonus 2-page comic about Orange Lantern member Glomulus, and his quest to find a gift for Larfleeze, and all done in the Tiny Titans style, so it's quite cute. And a full page holiday message picture of all the Earth Green Lanterns (save Kyle) wishing you a happy holidays from DC closes out the issue.

This is a pretty great comic, and I highly recommend picking it up should you stumble across it in the back issues of your local comic shop or some online dealer. DC used to put out Christmas and Halloween specials all the time, but they didn't this year, probably due to the accursed relaunch. Perhaps next year they'll get back on the ball.

Also, it just occurred to me that Larfleeze would be absolutely the greatest Grinch of all time.

#comics #reviews #Green Lantern Larfleeze Christmas Special #Taiblog

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