#miscellaneous headcanons that are kinda all over the place

[thecoolerliauditore]

What are your thoughts on SL Gem? I’m genuinely interested to hear your take on her character.

So first off I haven't fully watched Gem's SL POV, nor do I feel totally confident talking about her in a traffic series sense since she's lacking screentime even more than Ren. So this one's gonna be less grain of salt and more. salt mines. do not take it seriously

Gem's character to me is defined by her bravado and natural affinity for leadership but also by her pseudo-crush on not Pearl, but Scarlet Pearl specifically.

I feel like I've made too many cynical jokes about gempearl being evil to me, I don't think they're like. Bad for eachother necessarily in fact incorporating HC into things they're one of the pairs in the series I personally headcanon as hanging out post-horrors (not necessarily in a fully fledged capital r Relationship just. they're hanging out).

But I do think there's something very fangirl-ish about the way Gem idolizes Scarlet Pearl and encourages Pearl to lean more into the character, when Scarlet Pearl has always been more of a coping mechanism. Like, whoa that thing you did to protect yourself and only made things worse is SO COOL. Which is both what is really genuinely awesome about gempearl and what is really scary about it. To me at least. Gem takes all the things Pearl hates about herself and thinks they're Awesome, Actually but doesn't understand why Pearl hates those things in the first place and how they hurt both her and the people around her.

It's all bookended really well too, since Gem despite all her efforts still ends up on the other end of Pearl's knife in the final episode and suddenly it's not so awesome anymore.

On the non-pearl-related side of things, Gem kinda lands in the same hunger games career-esque personality that I box people like Scott, Joel and Martyn into in that she's very much in her element in the death games (until she's not).

I've seen people say she reminds them of how the cast acted back in 3L and SL being her introductory season i.e. her having not quite yet experienced The Horrors would make that make a lot of sense. Especially when she takes death very lightly until her allies start permadying (e.g. her happily accepting Scott's sacrifice and even hitting him around for fun at one point and leading the zombie apocalypse task but being a mess when Scott asks her to kill him the last time). There's this great contrast with her being incredibly confident and capable yet very naive.

The misogynist in me wants to see her knocked down a few more pegs but at the same time she already kind of has. Idk I hope the asuka-coded behaviour rears full-blast next season instead of kind of being in the background. It would be awesome. character arcs and whatnot.

As for like. more miscellaneous headcanons. I think there's pretty much a bit of boy inside every girl but Gem especially I like to think over-performs aspects of femininity to "make up for" her uber-competitive personality. Everything she does is underlined with insecurity to me, apparently. She's also a lesbian.

[moonshineplaydate]

Well, as (sorta promised), here are some of my other Hazbin Hotel Age Regression headcanons! I say sort of as I most likely won’t include Sir Pentious, and I’ll just bunch him in with the other miscellaneous characters that I like! Sorry about that but regardless, let’s go on with the show!

Hazbin Hotel Age Regression Headcanons, Part 2.

Alastor, The Radio Demon

•No one really knows what his deal is, I mean, the dude’s from the 30’s, he’s like prehistoric. No one expected him to know what age regression was, let alone indulge it.

•That was until he was seen casually taking care of a regressed Niffty, playing with her in the living room of the hotel.

‘Why, of course I know what regression, how else would I be taking care of this little darling Niffty here?’

•He just left at that, he didn’t explain much, people just accepted it as a fact of life.

•From what people have seen, he’s entirely a caregiver, mostly for Niffty but sometimes watches over Charlie if he’s feeling up for it.

•He likes talking to littles, but not in the same way Charlie does, he mainly acts like he’s gossiping with her.

‘Abababababa!’

‘(Gasp), I cannot believe she said that, she really shouldn’t be talking, I wish I had her confidence.’

•Alastor doesn’t like being touched, and that stays true with littles. He has no problem grabbing them or holding them, but touching him is where the line is drawn.

•The most he’ll do is let them hold his hand if they’re scared.

•Has to be reminded not to accidentally spook the little with any of his…everything.

•Has no idea what to do if a little starts crying and just dumps them onto Husk. Or, he’ll use his microphone to play some soothing music for them, which sometimes works.

•Also, he makes the best food for his littles, I’ve always believed Alastor is an amazing cook and he can make practically anything a little wants!

•He calls littles, ‘Tiny Demons, Deerlings, Little Shadow, Princess (Charlie specific).

•Won’t really admit it but he likes taking care of littles. Even if it’s his ‘duty’ as manager of the hotel, he has a genuine liking to them.

•He’s not the safest with littles, he keeps them sheltered from most of Hell, because it’s Hell and that place sucks, but would honestly just watch if they climbed up some place high or played with a knife.

•Alastor keeps makes his shadows watch them at all times though, in case they seem like they’ll really hurt themself.

•He’ll also kill and or eat anyone who so much as makes one of his littles cry, not in front of them of course.

•No one knows if Alastor regresses or not, people are too scared to ask him, so they go to Husker but even he doesn’t know. Alastor is an enigma, after all.

Husker

•Husker is a caregiver! He never felt a need to be little, and really really took a long time to understand it.

•It took a while to wrap his head around the fact that people actually felt like a child when they were little, and weren’t just acting.

•He sort of understood it with Niffty, but really understood it with Angel. He always thought Angel was fake but could recognise that the way he acted when he was small but anything but.

•It was kinda like a moment where everything clicked for him.

•He wasn’t really interested in being a caregiver or looking after kids, by all accounts, he hates them.

•Still, Husk acts as a de facto babysitter of the hotel, especially if the littles just need some time to chill. Other people can be a liiittle hyper.

•So, Husker was stuck with a bunch of kids a lot of the time, he wasn’t exactly a fan but he didn’t hate it either.

•Once he learned how to take care of them mostly, keeping their little gear on hand (he has a bunch of bottles, juice and milk in the bar for them), giving them attention, he got the hang of it.

•He really cannot deal with tantrums though, and has to find someone else to before he ends up snapping at them which he wouldn’t want.

•He has the kind of vibe of a babysitter that’s just honest with the kids he babysits, and finds it amusing to lie to them about little things.

‘Hu-Husk, why are you a c-cat?’

‘It’s cause I ate a bunch of fur when I was alive.’

•It’s comedy gold to him.

•He never acts mean to littles, just a little blunt at times.

•Isn’t the best at handling crying but still tries, he doesn’t really do bottle feeding but he’ll do his best to calm a little down!

Niffty

•I imagine Niffty as a total regressor, I don’t think she’d be one for taking care of others!

•Her age range can be anywhere from 2-5!

•Her regression is mostly voluntary though sometimes she slips without even realising.

•She’s very hyper when she’s little, usually talking very fast and bouncing around the place!

•She loves piggy back rides, it makes her feel tall! Her favourite thing to do is get a piggy back ride off Husk and have him fly her around!

•She calls Husker ‘kitty’ when he’s regressed; Alastor’s her dada and Charlie’s her mama!

•Niffty finds Alastor more fun and prefers hanging out with him, but Charlie can be more comforting at times!

•Being taken care of by the two of them is like a dream for her, or when she gets to have play dates with a little Charlie.

•With Husker though, she finds him a bit boring but loves being able to blabber at him for hours and hours.

•She can talk fairly well when she’s a slightly bigger age but when she’s really tiny, it’s mostly babbles.

•Niffty doesn’t have that much little gear, she has this horrifying stitched together plushie that no one can really tell what it’s supposed to be, along with a red and black paci that Alastor got for her! She also has a pair of white PJ’s with light purple tints to them!

•She doesn’t really care for touch when she’s little, but she loves receiving gifts, usually sweets though; she goes absolutely insane for anything with sugar!

•Husker had to put a lock on one of cabinets as Niffty got in one time and ate half a bag of sugar.

•The one thing she hates about and gets fussy over is nap time, she always tries to weasel her way out of it and claim she’s not tired even if she’s actively fighting to stay awake.

•This usually goes on until Charlie says she’ll read her a story, or Alastor plays her some music that helps her fall asleep. After just a couple seconds of her head being on the pillow, she’ll be out like a light!

•Niffty does like nick names when regressed but she honestly couldn’t care what she’s called, even if it’s insulting she’ll think it’s a compliment!

•Still though, her caregivers stick to a couple! Alastor calls her ‘Little Darling’, Charlie calls her, ‘Sweetie’, and Husk calls her ‘Brat’.

————-

Whew, and that’s the main six done! It took a bit out of me, but I’m glad I got all this out of my system, it was fun to write! This doesn’t mean I’m done with Hazbin though, I still have other characters and I obviously want to write a fic at some point! Also I’m fine if you want to send in character requests for any headcanons, just keep in mind I may be busy! Thanks for reading starlights, I’ll hopefully be back soon with more cool stuff!

[down-the-rabbid-hole]

A collection of miscellaneous Rabbids Invasion headcanons

Because I'm sleep deprived and why the hell not

Mad is VERY hyperactive and cannot sit still to save his life, he's always fidgeting or moving a little. He often tends to speak really fast when he gets excited about something, much to Nerdy's annoyance

Nerdy is Mad's first assistant to actually stay around him for longer than a week, most of the others would've run off out of fear or because they didn't want to become a lab rat. Mad doesn't know whether Nerdy stuck around because he likes him or out of stupidity and this will never cease to fascinate him (in truth it's a mix of both)

Yes there besties and you cannot change my mind, I'm very normal about their dynamic (lying)

I've said this before but Non Binary Mini

Nerdy didn't need glasses before the Mole-Rabbid incident but now he does, and is practically blind without them

Yes, he can still transform into Mole Rabbid, but he doesn't do it as often (HE SHOULD'VE DONE IT IN THE SEASON FOUR FINALE)

Lapini likes tea, and Mad prefers coffee, they have and will fight over this

Season four took place before the movie, and the stupidity thing just...wore off or something

At some point I may rewrite the season four finale cuz it kinda sucked no offense

The Mars gang sticks together after the events of the movie, sort of all staying together in scribbles little lab thing on that one island, John and Olivia visit sometimes too!

Lapini villain arc would be cool though

Mad is a chronic insomniac and will refuse to sleep unless he passes out in the middle of doing something, Nerdy has and will drug his coffee with NyQuil so he actually sleeps for once

One of the first things Lapini did in the lab was uncover his old translator from the series so he could have a proper conversation with Olivia

Less a headcanon and more of a parallel, but concept art reveals Lapini's lab in the movie is made from a half-dismantled helicopter, and since Mad's lab is in a school bus they both have labs made in/from scrapped vehicles!

Cosmo still dreams of being an astronaut sometimes, if he ever gets a room or something he'd fill it with glow in the dark stars

Lapini is claustrophobic

Nerdy still gets Mole-Rabbid instincts sometimes, he becomes more alert if he were to ever go underground, and his eyes glow ever so slightly in the dark

He also has retractable mole claws now! He's accidentally scratched more countertops than he can count with them lmao

Mad has absolutely horrible social skills. Mf has no sense of boundaries and cannot pick up on any social cues, also isn't really good at reading others emotions, which is why he sometimes goes too far with teasing or other things

Speaking of teasing! Mad LOVES to tease Lapini, and the two have a sort of one sided rivalry, Lapini doesn't want anything to do with Mad and Mad is determined to one-up Lapini at every little thing he does

Mainly because Lapini is the only other Rabbid Mad has found that can match his own intelligence, Lapini also sees this but sees Mad as impulsive, reckless, and a general disgrace to science

Mad doesn't hate Lapini though, quite the opposite really! He does enjoy being around him but only knows how to do so through competition and teasing, which he doesn't know is bothering Lapini as much as it is lmao

If we ever get a season five or another movie I NEED to see an plot where Lapini and Mad are forced to work together and learn they're not actually so different, please that would be so cool

[nyhne]

Hey! Figured I'd make a pinned post since that seems to be the thing now and I know my 'about' page isn't as accessible these days :x

I'm Roshon! (row-shawn) No pronouns preferred, they/them second best. Adult, queer, sometimes I do art stuff, sometimes I write, mostly I lurk.

***

Me: I've been off and on tumblr since 2011, most recently off for a long time and just now back on so I'm still catching up. Kinda. I draw, sometimes, and post art under #roshon's art. I'm semi-furry, which is to say I mostly draw anthro art but am not super involved in the furry community. My fursona is a maned wolf! I also have some other OCs that maybe one day I'll flesh out more. I'm an adult, live in the PNW, and am kink and 'queer as inclusive rather than exclusive' positive. I work in landscape construction, keep a lot of houseplants, have gotten into fish keeping over the past couple of years, and have been lucky to live in a number of neat places throughout my life. c:

My tumblr: Being here always brings out my old fandom interests, which lately has been a lot of Hetalia (and by Hetalia I mostly mean PruAus or most stuff to do with Austria as a general), and the usual miscellaneous fandoms we all seem to have (Pokemon, Gravity Falls, Steven Universe? Warriors? Idk). I try and keep a pretty diligent tagging system for your blocking/seeking needs (and my satisfaction). Yes, my fandom headcanons are probably outdated. Yes, they probably contradict each other at times. No, I do not care.

And speaking of fandom, I do write fanfiction on occasion.

Ao3: Nyhne

FF: Nyhne

***

Anyway not much else to say. I'm pretty open about my social media and try to keep an open door if you ever wanna chat. c: Chickensmoothie | Instagram | TikTok

I have a few side blogs you might get notifications from: @thatothernyhne is my shits and giggles reblog blog. @thesimpleleaf is my all plants all the time blog.

I don't really have any DNI's, but know that I don't like terfs and I have a pretty mean right punch because I move several tons of material every week ccc':

[poisonhemloc]

ignore me im putting outer wilds headcanons together rather than write

this is a couple paragraphs of text cause its thoughts and not. edited well for comprehension sorry also spoilers

Hearthians first

It seems like the trend is a handful of kids born at about the same time then no new kids for a while? Oldest are Spinel, Gneiss and Tektite, then the middle agedish group which is Rutile and Esker are oldest, Hornfels, Slate, Gossan and Feldspar all seem about the same age, I’d put Porphy and Gabbro next, then maybe Moraine and Chert, Riebeck and Marl, Hal and the Hatchling, then Galena, Arkose, Tephra and Mica. It is just how I ordered it but. Now I’m wondering if one of the older Hearthians recently passed away so (it’s august i posted this in march) I forgot Tuff. None of y’all noticed and neither did I, but they’re probably either Porphy&Gabbro’s or Gossan&Hornfels’ age. That does ruin the nice neat ‘pairs are born around the same time’ but eh, it was too good to be true or someone from that age range died recently too

The pilot order is Feldspar then Gabbro then Chert then Riebeck. We know Feldspar was first (Gossan stopped traveling they don’t count here), and I feel like Gabbro is the logical second choice because 1) low energy, you know where they are, they aren’t pinballing around the solar system and if you get them to listen they’ll actually go check on equipment if you need someone to vs Feldspar is Exploring, 2) Spacesuits. Gabbro looks like they have a full body suit like Feldspar and Gossan; it’s harder to tell with Riebeck, but I think Chert does have a full body suit but it’s two different materials, top and bottom, and that’s when Outer Wilds Ventures started moving towards keeping the torso/head pressurized and hope your pants are okay. unrelated checking the images again Chert has constellations on their bandana it’s cute. Which leads into Chert probably being third, since similar suit design but also Hornfels and Gossan realizing the overcorrected for Feldspar being Feldspar with Gabbro being Gabbro and luckily the next Hearthian who wanted to go wanted to do actual work, too, with the stars. Then Riebeck, when the Hatchling first gets to them they say something along the lines of “Oh you launched, I guess that means I’ve been out here a while!” And that (...and their suit, their pants look separate from the top bit) makes me think they were the last ones out. With all that, Feldspar is the oldest (Probably a bit past middle aged honestly), then Gabbro is like, equivalent of late thirties early forties, Chert’s early thirties, Riebeck’s late twenties, and our Hatchling is like. Late teens early twenties.

Hal is writing fluent with the Nomai language, since they translated it? Despite some of the Nomai’s stuff saying it’s a recording I think everything is written down as well including on their recorders, but none of the Hearthians are fluent with spoken Nomai. Riebeck is writing fluent too, they were on Timber Hearth when Hal and I think Hornfels and whoever else was free started combing through everything Feldspar brought back and pictures and started figuring the language out.

Nomai stuff-

So there’s a big emphasis on the written word for the Nomai? To the point where they leave writing from the crash near writing from building the ATP. I get the vibe it’s all preserved, somewhere- like, everything is scaled down to make the game manageable (time, planets, writing, etc) and if you tried to make it “realistic” there’d be shelves and shelves full of writing they’ve preserved.

So the point I’m leaning towards, I don’t think deafness is a huge cultural disability for the Nomai? Because everything is written down, and with Solanum we see one of the tools they carry can just project writing wherever. Vs vision issues might be a bigger problem especially until they can get facilities up to make some kind of glasses.

Owl people stuff-

Since it was the entire moon’s worth of Owl people who went to the Eye, I feel like there were several different groups? And that’s represented by the three main areas- the River Lowlands tribe lived more in a swampy type area, the Cinder Isles tribe were islanders, the Hidden Gorge tribe were cliff dwellers.

They were cooperative on the trip, finding out and blocking the Eye, and then making the simulation. Once they went into the simulation, I feel like they rarely travel to the other group’s areas? Everyone reverted back to “my tribe my place I might come check on you but not really” and that’s partially because the simulation is of where each group prefers to live and partially because of the Prisoner from the Cinder Isles group releasing the signal and partially because I think the Owl person who found the signal in the first place and led the charge to build the Stranger was from River Lowlands? And most of the Owls who built the Simulation were from the Hidden Gorge. A couple of them go to check, once the simulation is in daylight, after the night the dam breaks but no one’s really torn up that the other tribes are gone. The Hidden Gorge tower was built explicitly to stay safe in case of dam issues.

The Lowlands tribe tends to have more greenish coloration, the Isles tribe are more blue, and the Gorge tribe is more grey and tend to have more streamlined horns. Lowlands and Isles Owl people generally know how to swim but the Gorge tribe doesn’t- part of why jumping into water was coded put out the artifact because c’mon they did not have to code that in.

[moemoemammon]

May I request a crack headcanon of a MC being playful when bored like straight up annoying them and having different days to mess with them but get angry when the brothers do the same? Please

Annoying the Brothers!

(Feat. GN!MC and the Demon Bros)

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Lucifer

He's doing his best to ignore you, but they way you INSIST on touching the back of his neck with your cold hands is making him 🔫🔫🔫🔫

He's WORKING MC PLEASE. Can't you find someone else to harass??? It's not like there's any reason for what you're doing other than you just wanting??to bother him??????

Lucifer doesn't know whether he finds it endearing or annoying, so his tight-lipped smirk is showing both emotions. Or maybe it's a grimace? He always looks constipated so who knows

He lets out a looooooong sigh, grabbing your hands with one of his, removing a glove with his teeth, and finally placing his ICY FROZEN CORPSE HANDS ON YOUR NECK. You freeze instantly and die.

"Why are you flinching away? I thought you might've wanted attention, so I took time away from my work to give it to you. Odd. I would've thought you liked the cold."

Mammon

Isn't being annoying Mammon's thing? You're kinda stepping on his toes here, MC. He's not used to being on the receiving end of affectionate harassment...

You know how ticklish he is, so you keep poking and prodding at his sides while you watch him try out his new gaming system. You're making him die, damn it!!

Grrr... that's it!! He's had enough! Mammon pauses his game, tosses the controller aside, and now he's wrestling you into his arms.

You wanna be annoying??? Well he's the KING of annoying and he's not giving up his throne! Since you want some attention, he's gonna give you your fill, and then-! Wait, what're you looking so grumpy for??

"Huh? Whatdya mean I can't do it back? Bah, you're talkin' nonsense, so I'm ignorin' it! I'm gonna poke ya until you're begging for mercy! Wait, don't call Lucifer, you snitch!"

Levi

Levi is busy writing out this month's otaku schedule (he's got three Ruri-chan events to attend, some pesky tests at RAD, and a TSL convention he has to prep a cosplay for!)

Yet instead of helping him, you've opted for seeing how many miscellaneous things you can fit in his hood. He refuses to acknowledge you while he's in the zone, but he notices his hood is getting heavier and heavier...

And then you tilt the hood and everything falls down the back of his hoodie. Levi shivers around the avalanche of ?????? and when it's all over, the angry glint in his eyes tells you that he's planning on getting revenge.

But as soon as he grabs you with the intention of shoving an entire pillow down the back of your hoodie, you start protesting angrily. What kind of hypocritical logic is this???

"No way am I letting you escape! The Henry I know would never back down from a challenge, so stop running away! Come back! Accept your punishment, coward!!!"

Satan

If there's anyone with a low tolerance for being harassed, it's Satan. Fortunately he cares deeply about you and doesn't want to hurt you, so you should be fine!

Even though you keep tickling his ears with a feather duster when he least expects it.

In the library. In the hall. While he's looking into the fridge. When he's prepping dinner. No circumstance is safe because you're always there with that duster in hand.

Bet you're not expecting it when you try sneaking up on Satan while he's reading, only for the bastard to turn around and take your trusty duster from you! And now he's ready to enact his revenge... until you start acting like a cornered animal.

"..Huh? You don't want me to? Hm..." "...Sorry, but I think I must've been cursed because I can't understand you all of a sudden! It's a shame, isn't it? Oh well...!"

Asmo

MC. WHY DO YOU INSIST ON BEING A GREMLIN TODAY.

He DEMANDS to know who gave you a comically small squirt gun, and WHY you keep shooting him with it! Asmo knows he looks better when he's wetter, but STILL!!!

STOP SPRAYING HIM WHEN HES TALKING ITS COMEDICALLY TIMED AND SORT OF FUNNY BUT DAMN IT YOU'RE RUINING HIS SEXY VISAGE.

That's IT! He's got a misting bottle he normally used in his beauty routine, but it's become his weapon to fight back! So when you approach him with that gun in hand, you get a face full of water and toner.

"Huuuh??? You don't want me to do it back??? I may prefer receiving, but even I believe in paying it forward! Now hold still for me, will you? Your skin's been looking a little dry, so I'll give you another spray. You can thank me later~!"

Beel

Teasing Beel is illegal.... but you still do it. Like right now, with how you've made it a game to stop talking mid sentence every time you speak to him. You hit him with a "Hey Beel! Did you want the rest of this black cho-"

Then silence. You won't finish what you were saying no matter how many times he asks, AND you're playing dumb, as if you don't know what he's talking about.

Is he going crazy??? No way, you definitely just mentioned black chocolate cheesecake. What about it?? MC???? Onegai????????

He's not one to get annoyed very often, but you're getting on his nerves a little. So he asks Belphie for advice, and that's when he starts playing your game.

"MC. Lucifer told me to tell you that there's something for you in the kitchen. It's a-" "............Why are you looking at me like that? Are you mad? I'm doing what you were doing... pfft-"

Belphie

Hey. You remember how grippable your neck is, right? Jk... unless?

Your idea of a joke is thumping your leg every time he almost dozes off. You know how your lap is his favorite pillow, yet once you hear the tiniest snore, you JERK YOUR LEG.

His head bounces every time and he slowly looks back at you, eyes narrowed while you do your best not to laugh. You blame it on an itch, and Belphie calls bullshit.

And as the king of petty revenge, he's decided to return the favor by inviting you to nap with him.. and tugging your pillow every time you nearly fall asleep. And now you're beating him with it???

"Sorry, were you sleeping? Wh- hey..! Ow- MC, calm down..! Stop hitting me so much, ahaha! Okay okay.. I'm sorry.. I won't- oof."

[dooodle-bug]

Headcanons for the lm3 Boss Ghosts!

Aight soo the heading kinda says it all! Note that, I'm not doing the main characters, not bc I don't like em, but because there's already a TON of info and I just love me some boss characters. Also, this is just gonna be a miscellaneous list of my silly thoughts, and if you got any questions, feel free to ask! Without further ado... (long af, of course-)

Steward

-His real name is actually "Stewart", the thing is, everyone kept mixing up his name with his profession (even him) so now that's his name-

-He's a hardworking fellow, despite not really liking his job much...I mean, he's FINE with it, it's just a LOT of physical labor that. Probably isn't so easy with someone his size-

-Speaking of which, he is a Pathetic little meow meow. He's very Weak n stuff. But hey, at least he tries..

-He's actually quite shy and anxious, trying to mask this with a lil smile. He also tends to panic a lot, even over lil things. He still nice tho

-He died by fucking falling down the stairs with some heavy luggage that couldn't be held up by his weight any longer, said luggage falling and crushing him.

-Coffee adict

Chambrea

-finds cleaning to actually be really relaxing and a good way to destress. She tends to clean when stressed

-Maybe that's why she likes her job

-Dont get me wrong, she's quite a nice person, the thing is, Chambrea just REALLY likes digging through and examining people's stuff. She doesn't actually steal it or course (unless she's panicking in the moment). She's a curious person.

-But then again maybe if she wasn't so curious maybe she wouldn't have fucking died

-She also, surprisingly, likes listening to gossip.

Kruller

-Without those shades he's a huge fucking scardy cat bc the shades basically give him Confidence-

-He's actually a pretty nice guy once you get to know him, he just. Always trying to hide behind that Tough Guy facade-

-Despite being a security guard, he's actually deathly terrified of hurting someone ever. That's his absolute worst fear, even if said person is a shit person, he just can't bring himself to hurt someone-

-unfortunately that passive would be his tragic flaw and kill him

-He tends to stress eat

Chef Souffle

-He's french.

-A very grouchy and irritable guy. While he finds joy and passion in the culinary arts, he's not the biggest fan of people. Or people walking in when he's so peacefully tryna cook-

-hes actually a quite skilled cook! The ghosts like all the stuff he cooks, but perhaps his favorite, and most iconic, meal would be fish.

-He usually just hides away in the kitchen and cooks all the time. It's relaxing and also he hates interacting with people.

-He does that flambe technique all the time. Not only is it a very cool sight to see, but it also causes an extremely hazardous amount of smoke in the kitchen

-One time he fucked up the flambe, started a fire, and died from smoke inhalation

Amedus Wolfgeist

-Much to his dismay, a common nickname people give him is Ammy or Wolfie.

-Like Souffle, he's an incredibly irritable and pissy guy. He'd rather work on his music n stuff all day than interact with anyone.

-He's technically a composer, but also does stuff like conducting or playing piano.

-Very Refined and Intelligent. Of course, he sees himself as better that everyone else and enjoys an audience.

-He also puts on a bunch of concerts for the Resort! The ghosts actually really like his work-

-Austrian

King MacFrights

-Short and filled with Rage.

-Hes actually a king from the middle ages or so. He's a pretty decent one at that.

-He's actually insecure as hell about his size. Like, to compensate for it he wears super big armor, acts all big n pompous n powerful, and also sits in high places so nobody notices-

-He used to have a horse in his life and would often duel and joust. Speaking of which, he died when heroically springing into battle and fucking tripping and falling off his horse-

-He still, even in afterlife, demands being treated like royalty.

-hes Scottish and his first name is Rory I know I stole this

Dr. Potter

-has the title Dr in his name due to having a PhD in science. He's a botanist. A very good one at that. He's quite educated and experienced in his field.

-Hes quite nice and easy going. Very relaxed and sweet.

-Has a big obsession with caring for plants. He takes care of em like pets and also sometimes talks to em.

-Hes a reverse vegetation. He eats everything except for plant products bc they are his Friends.

-He was originally a guest that volunteered for growing plants n stuff to beutify the place a bit. Long story short he took it a bit too far in his suites, forced everyone to evacuate, and now it's his space. Of course, nobody really wanted to stop him bc they lowkey felt bad for telling off this nice old guy-

-He died peacefully and from natural causes. And by inhalation toxic spores from being around plants all the time too I guess-

-Smokes weed. /hj

Morty

-Also very friendly n nice! Hes quite sweet to everyone he comes into contact with. Of course, he never seems to get angry. Only Sad-

-gay for Luigi and I'm pretty sure that's canon ok-

-his movies are. Actually not the best. Sure the special effects n stuff are really well done, but like. The films themselves are terrible. But nobody's told him bc he's so sweet and happy and nobody wants to break the news to him-

-He can be incredibly Dramatic. Hell, it's pretty normal for his mood to go from super duper happy to super duper sad and vise versa in a matter of moments-

-Despite this, he'd much rather prefer to be the director and work in stage crew rather than actually act. He finds it to be more fun.

-idk how he died yet, but I think from an electrical studio accident that he caused-

Ug

-A common misconception about him is that he's stupid. He's actually pretty smart the thing is, he just died so fucking long ago he looks primitive at and doesn't know what to do in this modern world-

-He also craves violence. No reason other than he's just generally pissy and irritable

-i imagine he probably came from a tribe of hunter-gatherers

-mf got fucking killed by a t Rex. Idk how or why, but he did and he's pissed off about it

-He hangs in the museum bc 1 he doesn't know how, or wants, to communicate with the other ghosts and 2 he seems to resonate with looking at all the historic stuff that was seen as normal back in his day.

-I bet that if you did a dna test you'd realize that mf's genetics were distantly carried down to at least one other ghost-

Clem

-Dirty little rat mechanic. He scams people. Also, even though he's a pretty good mechanic, he purposefully does a shit job bc he's lazy-

-He swims in sewer water. He also has an obsession with floaties and rubber ducks. Speaking of which, he probably talks to them duckies when lonely

-Mf got banished to the boiler room bc it was SUPPOSED to be his job to keep it in order, but now it's just his hideout-

-Never showers or cleans. Biggest slob there is. Also probably acted as one of the factors to his death, but actually died from drowning in fucking sewer water-

-Has a thick ass southern us accent.

-Has a pet possum bc he thought it was a cat.

Serpci

-Fucking took over the suite she was staying in. Nobody bothered to stop her so now the entire level is hers now-

-was a Queen but lowkey, a shitty one who didn't really care much about her people-

-She also seems to have a strong symbiotic relationship with snakes. How or why this is, nobody knows.

-I assume she died from "natural" causes that were probably normal during her time period. But hey, at least she got a good burial

-Actually kinda a snooty bitch-

Captain Fishhook

-Deadass an actual shark. Like he wasn't a human in his life. He was always Shark Pirate.

-Like a true pirate, he swam throughout the ocean with his *smirks* salty sea dogs where they wrecked and attacked ships and looted em once they sunk. He was an excellent pirate.

-The Spectral Catch is a pirate themed restaurant so idk what he makes of it. Probably still acts like everything is Real and continues his pirate act just bc he misses those days-

-Was probably hunted and killed by, ironically, other pirates.

Nikki, Lindsey, and Ginny

-Deadass nobody really knows who's who. Also doesn't help that they keep swapping hairstyles for the funsies-

-Theyre quite mean and enjoying pulling practical jokes onto people bc it's funny. Also annoying people. That's fun too.

-are also skilled in Actual Magic and can do some pretty cool stuff. They host shows in their suite for quick cash and the Entertain the other ghosts

-One day they actually seriously fucked up their magic trick and ended with their collective death-

-They also seem to have an interest in astrology and surreal shit.

-Johnny Deepend

-Jock, gym bro.

-Incredibly obnoxious and loud. Mf likes to show off and also work out. Nobody likes him.

-Pretty fucking strong and buff n all from constantly body building, mostly for the show-

-Mf tried being slick one day in the pool and threw a volleyball that bounced off the wall and hit him back and he fell in the pool and died.

-Has very long flowing locks underneath that swimming cap.

DJ Phantasmagloria

-the kinda guy who pulls all nighters and just parties all the time.

-Actually insecure as hell about her real hair she thinks it looks dumb-

-Full time DJ and party-er. She's actually pretty good at both and was definitely a riot at all the parties she went to-

-definitely a 70s-80s disco era kid.

-oh apparently partying all the time and never doing any actual self care is bad for your health and probably killed her. But hey, at least she can party even more in the afterlife!

Annndd that's all I have for you bc this is destroying my phone as I type and it's getting super long. Thank you to whomever took the time to read it, I appreciate it! And as always, feel free to ask qudrowning,,estions if ya got any!

[spiderman616]

I wanna hear about why you love Zonic so much

@stillafanofsonic @lunasilverpelt 1. He is cool as fuck okay /j Cut bc this is LONG

No but in all seriousness. I only JUST started liking him recently. I don't care much for his pre-reveal characterization or design, because he kinda just looked like a shitty megaman oc with some generic mumbo jumbo about protecting the multiverse or whatever. And I guess it was a pretty cool moment when he DID take his helmet off, but it kinda just missed the mark for me. Idk why it just did The writers mostly used him, along with Naugus, Mammoth Mogul, echidnas, and racism to give Sonic and the gang (mostly sonic) shit to do while Eggman was being set up. While the others were more serious villains, the zones Zonic took Sonic (OR THE READERS!!!) to were mostly just silly, one-off parody zones. After Eggman's return, Sonic had his hands full, and I assume Zonic and the zone cops did too. But while we're here, can we talk about the very CONCEPT of zones?? In the games, they were just areas to go in. Which is completely fine. But the inclusion of the special zone and the Zone of Silence in SatAM indicated that zones could also be seperate dimensions or realities. Sonic had a few fun times in zones before any Zonic shit was revealed, like in Super Sonic vs. Hyper Knuckles, when he met Anti Sonic, or in that trippy zone with Al and Cal or whoever the fuck. And it's either been established or was common knowledge that those zones are either parallel universes such as Moebius/The Anti Zone, or pocket dimensions, like the Special Zone or Zone of Silence. The "COSMIC INTERSTATE" was just a gateway to Anti Sonic, but the IDEA that those zones are connected somehow was set up. Funnily enough, Zonic didn't even THINK to rear his ugly head (affectionate) during the Giant-Borg Crisis, so the Sonics solved the problem on their own. Although later down the line, he'd say he knew about all that and partook in some shenanigans with the Sonic Underground crew. The Cosmic Interstate would later be expanded into the concept of the No Zone, a zone that runs perpendicular to all other parallel ones, thereby intersecting and connecting all of them. This leads to the fact that every inhabitant of this zone is dedicated to preserving the multiverse, a group known as the Zone Cops. These motherfuckers never even took their sorry asses outside of their zone, however, leaving Zonic to do all their dirty work for them. How rude. He was involved with a lot of other miscellaneous shit over the years, which isn't really important, but I'll give a quick overview. He arrested Evil Sonic who then escaped jail after beating him up but then was promptly put back in jail. Mammoth Mogul tried to destroy every zone ever because he's cringe, so Zonic and Sonic teamed up to create the monstrosity known as Titan Tails. And then Anti/Evil Sonic was a little bitch and turned into Scourge, caused some mayhem, and was then beaten up by Sonic, who called Zonic out on his bullcrap, because the Eggman they have is not from their zone. Zonic comes and takes away Scourge, and says some vague ass shit about how he's "needed for the stability of your zone" or some shit. Which is why a lot of people dislike him actually, rather than just calling him mid. However, and this is encroaching headcanon territory, I think there's just enough clues to interpret for yourself. Chaos energy is extremely important in both the games AND in the comics, although in a more subtle way. So when Zonic says there "HAS to be a Sonic and an Eggman," he most likely means how the perpetual conflict that takes place between Sonic and Eggman sustains the natural chaos affinity of that specific zone, and when things get TOO chaotic, that's when the Zone Cops step in. He also says how the Zone Cops are fighting against Eggman N. so need to do a little bit of some zonal social distancing. He then calls Scourge a fucking loser or something and peaces out. Then the funny little jailbreak happens, and then reboot. Boom. A lot of character things here, but I won't go too into detail because I can't. I'm too dumb. Sorry :(

But now we need to go into personality, and a lot of VERY interesting concepts relating to zones imo. Zonic's usual personality is, like @burningdepths said, a lot more serious and focused than Sonic, due to the responsibility he has. It's also interesting to note that he rarely uses his super speed, if EVER, or if he even has it at all. (I like to think he does, just because. Well. He's a fucking sonic.) Sonic's speed obviously representing his freedom, contrasts with how Zonic is not free and can not be free. He's bound to his duty by some inexplicable rule, which creates conflict with the character of Sonic- ANY Sonic. Which are two very important things. (Also important- he DOES have Sonic's attitude and personality, just buried down a lot. IT does surface very rarely though.)

Starting with contrast: I always believed that every alternate zone version of a character starts the same, and is shaped into the person we see them as. This also means that nobody is BORN "good" or "evil". A bit of nature vs. nurture. A prime example of this is Scourge. What are common personality traits of a Sonic? Specifically in Archie, Sonic is a lot more of a dick. He has an ego and he's a little impatient. But he's still a hero at the end of the day, kind and respectful and fun and all that jazz, even though he does half the things he does just for the thrill of it. Archie's Sonic is a bit more grounded, although not by a lot, since he lives in a house with a family and friends and a team. He is also confirmed to be the embodiment of chaos, adding to the thing I said earlier about Eggman and him. Sonic is the way he is because the people he loved were taken away from him by Robotnik, and he wants to fight to get them back, and then keep them, as well as doing the same for others. The person he is today is a result of his character traits being molded by his situations.

Scourge, on the other hand, has been presented as what Sonic COULD be, if everything had went wrong. Unlike Sonic, Scourge had massive daddy issues, like all good villains do. The Great Peace also meant Moebius was weak and ripe for takeover. Since Kintobor is a big softie (I have no time nor energy to start on HIM), Scourge just waltzed in and took over. Good for him. He also committed murder. Now, WHY is he like this? Remember what I said about Sonic's character?? In for the thrill, has an ego?? (None of which are inherently bad, mind you) Well, so does Scourge. Sonic has mentioned that he used to be a bully, meaning that being a hero isn't a part of who he is. It's a product of who he came to be. Those character traits are present in Scourge as well. He came to find Sonic multiple times, because he was fucking bored. Even after powering up, he wanted to go test his powers against Sonic and Shadow. He is very obviously egotistical, and when taking over Moebius, referred to himself as a king. Not very humble. But in this case, he's a massive fucking dickwad, since there was no big bad to put him in his place, whether that be war or a mad scientist, and teach him to fight for the right cause with his friends.

Now Zonic, you can argue, is neither good nor bad. He is leaning a bit to the good side, seeing as most Sonics ARE good, but he's not a pure hero like the regular Sonic is. (credit to @id-f87 for some of these ideas too) Just like how the No Zone is perpendicular to the Prime and Anti Zones, Zonic's moral compass is perpendicular as well. He is technically a "good guy" at the end of the day, but not in the way Sonic is. That ego and thrill-seeking hasn't been toned down, rather redirected by the establishment that he was raised in. He's an Elite Cop, meaning he probably puts a lot of time and effort into all of that, and the multiverse is most likely no stranger to adventures. There's a lot to be said about the Zone Cops being a corrupt establishment and everything, but that's another discussion for another day. Zonic's brief conversation with Warden Zobotnik shows that he doesn't really care too much for minor rules, and if convinced that something is the right thing to do, would probably do it, regardless of what his orders are. Unlike Sonic, who isn't willing to cut any of his losses, Zonic seems more willing to make sacrifices for the "greater good," meaning that it is possible for him to end up against Sonic Prime. Like Sonic and Scourge, he seems prone to making rash decisions sometimes, and definitely has his fair share of mistakes, such as when he forgor to call Underground Sonic to fight Giant Borg. It does feel like he doesn't WANT to be a Zone Cop at times, but genuinely does not know any other option for himself. He pretty much represents the Zone Cops to other zones, (specifically the Prime zone, which might have to do with the fact he's a Sonic) and it's very hard to separate his personal identity to the identity of his bosses. Which is something I think can be explored, especially when his Zone Cop need to maintain order clashes with his own chaotic nature, outside of a workplace.

[astronomical-bagel]

give headcanons. grabby hands. just infodump all of em

eeeeeee okey I’m gonna dump all the miscellaneous ones on ya, but if you wanna see my others, check my ‘headcannons for nerds’ tag!

— As time passes, dreams mask becomes bigger and more and more sealed to his face, until he has the classic floating orb head. Kinda terrifying.

— Charlie can see out of any part of his body, since slimes don’t have eyes. He just shifts his consciousness in one direction and perceives. If he gooped his arm and pushed it through cracks in a building or something, he could see the other side using that goop

— in a similar vein, Charlie can leave a bit of himself and it keeps his consciousness and stuff. Hivemind, if you will. Leaving too much of himself in different places doesn’t have any negative effects per se, but it gets hard to keep track of everything if there’s a lot of pieces separated from him

— Charlie glows (shaken or cracked optional)

— Jeb (yes, the upside down rainbow sheep) is a distant relative to the Schlatts, just like Shitass is related to Quackity (which is cannon, btw)

— Rat is Bad’s hellhound. He carries her around like one of those rich ppl and their tiny dogs, except she’s like the size of a Doberman and he’s like over nine feet tall so no one even dares make fun of her.

— Micheal calls Tubbo and Ranboo ‘Bee’ and ‘Boo’ respectively, and he calls Philza ‘Crow’ because he can’t pronounce ‘f’s well (being a piglin) and Phil always has crows around him

— The entire _Beloved family bonkedy-bonks each other as a sign of affection. Tommy picked it up from them. Usually it’s forehead to forehead, but the shoulder, stomach, or (in Micheal’s case), the shins work just as well.

— Even though the zombie virus affects piglins differently (without the insane killing rage), Micheal’s Sounder kicked him out because he was zombified

— Jack smells vaguely like burnt toast after sauntering upwards out of hell (that’s a joke, he clawed his way up out of sheer spite, screaming in rage the whole time), which freaks Glatt OUT (/funny) bc that’s what he smelled right before he died (you know that feeling you get when your alarm sound rings when it’s not the time it usually goes off? Like if ‘Roar’ is what you wake to and then someone plays it in the car and you get a whiplash/deja vu/ extreme panic combination? It’s like that)

— foolish can grow and shrink to his will

— there is a small chance sam will explode when flustered

— fundy made (or will make, idk) a prosthetic for ponk, because 1. He’s a coder and I’m pretty sure that translates to him being a rlly good redstoner or smth and 2. Cogchamp smp will never die you fuckers

and on that note, I will go to bed. I’ll put more hc up when I wake up tho, so send me more asks abt a specific person you want to know about!

[idontblushsrry]

Got the Aux hcs||Jujutsu Kaisen

A/N:  These hcs are prolly gonna vary from general artists/genres to general chaos towards the end :D also gonna do some for the kyoto school...eventually. Didn’t incl. Yuuta because he’s not here yet but tbh he prolly listens to MCR or smthng let’s be real. I apologize for Maki’s being so short, I know her fanbase is starving for content and I’m sorry I was unable to provide it this time.

Word Count: 1123

Plot Synopsis: Some dumb music taste headcanons for the tokyo school. ((I only included characters that have appeared in the anime like fully, onscreen w lines not just mentioned, and I also only did the main ppl from the Tokyo school so that’s why there’s no Yuta or Nanami.))

Itadori

First and foremost

The man is a barb (Nicki Minaj fans) and a hottie (Megan thee stallion fans)

No I don’t take criticism

Aside from that, Yuji listens to pop and some rap (mostly megan thee stallion)

His pop taste is also not limited by generation, he definitely listens to artists like Anri and Miki Matsubara

Other artists he listens to are probably; Rihanna, Post Malone(he just does, idk why), Doja Cat, Brittany Spears, Shakira, Kesha, Lizzo, Ariana Grande

Fushiguro

Fushiguro unironically listened to wake me up inside in middle school, again, I do not take criticism

He also listens to artists like Mother Mother

Fushiguro is kinda embarrassed of his music tastes though so he’ll lie about what he’s listening to

“Fushiguro what are you listening to?”

*cue panicked Fushiguro struggling to put his phone away* “N-Nothing why”

Also this man listens to Lady Gaga and probably some Panic at the Disco

But for sure panic at the disco

Also he makes playlist named after his friends and what not

Now one might say aww, how sweet

Which, yes it is, but also, Fushiguro refuses to let anyone know his true music tastes so adaptation is necessary for survival

If Fushiguro has the aux, it’s a good day, he knows everyone’s music tastes and probably already has a playlist tailored specifically to everyone’s taste, there’s never a single song that everyone hates

Kugisaki

She listens to Avril Lavigne and Kesha

Her and Yuuji have pretty similar music tastes (himbo/lesbian solidarity)

She also listens to songs like Jenny(by the studio killers) and Youth(Troye Sivan) and just stares at the ceiling pining

Her playlist reflects this

From pop to pining and then back again

Also she hasn’t stopped streaming Driver’s License(Olivia Rodrigo), her and Yuuji listen to it and every time she just falls out (when it first came out, she got so invested in the drama of it all)

Genres she listens to are rock ballads, pop, and any playlist with words including but not limited to ‘wlw’, ‘girls are pretty’, ‘how to not have a crush on Maki-senpai’

Artists she listens to incl. Kali Uchis (stumbled upon Dead To Me and hasn’t ben the same since), Queen, pop girlies like Brittany Spears, and Troye Sivan

Maki

Maki mainly listens to workout music or indie/chill beats

 Like her playlists are lowkey dry

And she refuses to use spotify premium, even though Gojo’s paying fo it

I can also see her listening to an occasional orchestral/instrumental piece like Ushiwakamaru

Inumaki also kind of put her onto listening to video game soundtracks, she probably listens to the soundtracks of games like Persona tbh

She does allow herself the small pleasure of listening to Hozier from time to time

Inumaki

Inumaki is a menace

His music taste, while there are bangers, mainly consists of music found in memes/tiktoks/etc.

((He also listens to video game music, but more of the Mario Kart sort))

I’m thinking like Vengaboys, Aqua, etc.

He does listen to other artists like Junko Ohashi and Rina Sawayama on occasion, the majority of his music taste exists to make him laugh as he thinks of all the random jokes made to the songs

Whenever, Inumaki has the aux cord, everyone in the car just mentally prepares themselves

With Inumaki, they feel bad telling him to stop because he’s really sweet and nice, and, maybe he just doesn’t know 

But he does know, he just doesn’t care

Panda

Panda listens to 80/90s rap

Tbh he’s got the best music taste out of everyone sorry not sorry

He mainly listened to whatever Yaga put on growing up so that’s why his taste is older than he is

Artists for Panda include Biggie, Pac, Outkast, etc.

Principal Yaga is black I just know Panda grew up listening to Ice Cube and the like while he was training I just knowwww

Panda’s playlist choices though usually aren’t too egregious

While Panda’s no Fushiguro in terms of adaptability, who’s really gonna be opposed to listening to bangers from the 90′s

Gojo

Gojo’s taste in music exists solely to torture Fushiguro

Now does he necessarily like any of these songs he plays? No

But does his desire to antagonize out rule his dislike? Yesyesyesyesyes

Gojo, unlike Inumaki, does not get the same sympathy

When Gojo syncs up his Bluetooth (bcus let’s be real that man does not have a car with a physical aux cord) everyone in the car just lets out the loudest groan

Just for that he’s gonna make 3 extra unnecessary turns

In actuality though, when he’s not bothering his students or Nanami, I imagine Gojo is a fan of 90′s rap as well as classical music

I think he also likes rock too, he discovered it back in his student days and it never really went away

He also definitely has a playlist called something like ‘my main character music’

General car shenanigans(imagine this as a class trip to some place that’s about 2 hours away)

Gojo and Inumaki team up to antagonize everyone

Like they will play 10 hour loops of caramelldansen with absolutely ZERO remorse

Fushiguro and Kugisaki slowly just go insane during the course of this

Although, Kugisaki will be a lot more vocal about it, cussing up a storm by the 4th loop.

This will then lead to Gojo and Inumaki being overthrown; Gojo being replaced with Ichiji at the wheel and Inumaki on thin fuckin ice

When the inevitable silence becomes too much to handle, Yuuji will tentatively offer to play his music

It’s all good, California Girls and Toxic instant hits

Yujji’s reign will end in one of two ways; 1) eventually, a Megan Thee Stallion song comes on a Gojo’s like “whoa kid, that’s not very family friendly” or 2)The sound of Kugisaki, Gojo, and Itadori singing poorly on purpose pushes Maki to take over out of frustration

Either way Maki takes over and they all kinda doze off because of how chill and soothing Maki’s music is

This ends when Ichiji gets a little too relaxed by the music and almost swerves, causing them to abruptly cut the music off

Panda just puts his paws up non-defensively like, “Don’t ask me, my music isn’t family-friendly either

At which point they all look to Fushiguro to save the day

And he does... until his phone battery dies

(Bonus) Sukuna

Sukuna probably tunes out all the miscellaneous stuff that Yuuji listens to

But one day he was minding his business till he heard Yuuji playing a Nicki Minaj song

Now, whenever Yuuji falls asleep, Sukuna will pop out every once in a while just to turn on Nicki.

[nectar-cellar]

the lovely @honeyviesims sent me all the emojis for arjun in a headcanon post that was going around a while ago. i figured i would attach my answers to this photo dump! i’m sorry i’m so slow at these LMAO 

this was a really fun character development exercise 😋 i hope you like finding out more about him! and if not just enjoy the pictures 💗

☾ - sleep headcanon

arjun sleeps shirtless or naked, and snores loudly. he’s one of those human radiators who are always warm. :3  

★ - sad headcanon

he would talk to a close friend, partner, or therapist about his feelings if they were available. he might eat his feelings, or listen to sad music and go for a walk/jog. he would let himself cry. he’s a big softie.

☆ - happy headcanon

arjun is a happy-go-lucky kinda guy, so having a cheerful disposition is part of his normal personality ☀️ he’s always smiling and cracking jokes, especially around friends.

☠ - angry/violent headcanon

i think it would take a lot to make him furious. he would be the type to not sweat the small stuff, or he would initiate a calm conversation if something was really bothering him. he’s patient and good-natured. being physically violent towards any object or person just isn’t him! i think the most he would do is raise his voice and pace around. i could see him being more stubborn and quick-to-anger with his family since they’d know how to push his buttons.

✿ - Sex headcanon

he has a high libido and is definitely a pleaser. he would have no problem being loud and vocal. i can see him being the adventurous type... but only with the right person!!!

■ -  Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon

i can see him having a modest apartment that’s always slightly messy in a cozy, homey way. he would have a fully stocked kitchen because the man loves eating and cooking for himself and loved ones. (hence the camo print apron.) i can see him having a tv and video game console he plays on the weekends and after work. he would watch sports games and movies on it too. his bookshelves would be filled with books on exercise, nutrition, and self-improvement. he definitely has some yoga mats, weights, kettlebells, and other miscellaneous home workout equipment tucked away somewhere. he would love to have a home gym one day.

♡ - romantic headcanon

he’s definitely not interested in hookups or friends-with-benefits type relationships. he’s a hopeless romantic at heart. he’s the kind of person who would only date or get into a relationship with someone if he saw serious, long-term potential with them. like, getting a pet together, marriage, kids, the whole nine yards. anything less just isn’t worth it to him.

♥ - family headcanon

he grew up with a big, warm, and loving family. he has a few sisters he is close to. arjun is a family-oriented guy for sure.

☮ - friendship headcanon

he is a good listener. the type of friend who will give honest advice but in a gentle and considerate way. he always looks out for his friends. when making plans, he’s not fussy about the activity or place, what matters to him is getting to spend time with the other people and having fun. he would definitely be the designated driver on a night out.

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

hobbies: i think i covered these in the other prompts :3 bodybuilding is his main hobby. see: the stringer and short shorts.

quirks: he’s a bit of a slob. he loves spicy food. he sings in the shower and will unapologetically belt out songs off-key at karaoke. he blushes when he’s embarrassed. he tends to get loud when he’s excited.  

☯ - likes/dislikes headcanon

he likes people who are genuine and down-to-earth. he likes most kinds of physical exercise, whether it’s indoors or outdoors. he likes leading a healthy and active lifestyle. he likes a glass of ice-cold beer. he likes animals and kids. he likes delicious food and he’ll indulge in junk food every once in a while.

he dislikes gossip, interpersonal conflicts, and people who look down on others. he prefers to avoid conflict whenever possible. he dislikes excessive materialism. he’s not a fan of the cold weather. he doesn’t “get” abstract art and films. he’s an innately good person and strongly dislikes immoral and/or selfish choices and actions.

▼ - childhood headcanon

he’s an extrovert because he grew up in a loud and lively household. he was always surrounded by his sisters, parents, and extended family members. they weren’t wealthy, but they were always comfortable. his childhood was a bit sheltered, but very loving and happy.

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon

in arjun’s ideal world, he’d eventually settle down with a partner, move into a bigger house (with a pool and home gym), have kids and/or pets, and grow old surrounded by family. he would probably age gracefully because he’s so passionate about health. he’ll definitely be traveling, staying active, and throwing frequent dinner parties well into his 60s and 70s. 🥳

♒ - cooking/food headcanon

at a certain point in his bodybuilding journey, he got bored of making chicken breast, kale, and rice for every meal, and picked up a cookbook. he enjoys savoury food, but either made with a healthy twist, or prepared with ingredients that align with his fitness goals. he is strongly against fad diets. he’ll pig out on junk food once in a while. you’ll never catch him eating a salad. he’s a big guy with a fast metabolism and a huge appetite.

☼ - appearance headcanon

hehe i think the pics i’ve posted are pretty self-explanatory. he’s very hairy, so he’s always sporting stubble or a full beard. he knows how to groom and dress himself because of his sisters’ advice and relentless teasing. he doesn’t have tattoos but is open to getting one in the future. in the game, all my sims are the same height for simplicity’s sake, but as a character he’s definitely tall. he’s a fan of athletic clothes, relaxed jeans, and keeps his outfits simple. he prefers comfort over style.  

ൠ - random headcanon

i made arjun and connor around the same time. i imagined the 2 of them were both personal trainers at the same gym. they were basically polar opposites. connor was the quiet, slightly anti-social one, and arjun was the warm and energetic one. connor is younger and less experienced, so eventually arjun would’ve extended a hand and been like hey kid, you’re new to this, let me help you with your customer service skills so you can get and retain more clients. lol random gym HC  💪😎

[ackermansupremacy]

More marley kids headcanons because i’m still distraught

The sheer amount of content that i could write for them is a s t r o n o m i c a l

Gabi

•An animal lover!

•Has a really big intimidating dog like a rottweiler or mastiff that her friends are lowkey scared of

•But it has some headass name like ‘Fluffy’ or ‘Princess’

•Or something oddly human like Joe or Robert LMAO

•She drinks a lot of energy drinks so shes up until like 3am blasting music

•I saw another post saying that they could see her being a kpop stan and i SEE IT

•She would be a boygroup stan and would stan NCT

•She would really like Gorillaz too Rhinestone eyes would be her JAM

•When shes not playing roblox shes plays things like overwatch and league of legends until the sun rises

•Yet somehow shes still full of energy the next morning??

•Her deepest secret is that she has a wattpad account and randomly publishes stories and never updates them

•She also reads like,,,1D fanfic and would never admit it

•Her walls are covered in doodles in the spaces between her miscellaneous band posters

•Shes the kind of angsty kid that acts like she doesn’t like you

•But honestly? You’re her role model

•She really admires you :)

•Especially if you’re a single parent

•Whenever someone asks she always says

•“I wanna be just like my mom/dad when i get older” :)

•She’ll never admit it to you, but she just wants you to be proud of her

Zofia

•She strikes me as the daintier type but like at the same time not really??

•Shes definitely no stranger to fun

•She loves amusement parks and its one of her favorite places to go

•Surprise her with tickets to disneyland and she’ll cry

•She enjoys fashion but dislikes makeup so shes never really bothered trying to get good at it

•I think she has like, two different types of music she listens to

•She likes classical music when shes trying to focus on things like her hobbies or homework but indie music is her go to

•Mozart, Bach, Beach Bunny and Melanie Martinez being some of her favorites

•I think shes artistic too

•Her room always smells slightly of acrylic paint

•Her room is always really clean

•Other than that one single moldy coffee cup... iykyk

•it has a black and white minimalistic aesthetic

•But her walls have her favorite pieces that shes hand painted framed

•Along with a Van Gogh tapestry next to her bed

•A simple girl, she has a pink betta fish

•It probably has some fancy long name

•Like Elizabeth or Charlotte

•The tanks is perfectly matched to the aesthetic of her room

•She would take such good care of it it would live way past the life expectancy

•She probably takes some sort of martial arts class as well

•Like judo or karate and shes REALLY good at it

•Trophies and medals are all over your house because shes so proud of them

•She just keeps making you proud huh

Falco

•Oh this sweet child

•Hes so gullible

•Hes really smart but he just...believes everything Colt tells him

•And he always finds out its not true the hard way

•It would be dumb stuff that would send him into a crisis too

•Like Colt once told him that if he wasn’t asleep by midnight he would die or something and he actually believed it

•So when he couldn’t sleep he started saying his goodbyes to everyone LMAO

•After a teary eyed conversation you had to convince him it wasn’t true and made Colt apologize

•That gave him trust issues

•As i said in a previous headcanon, I think he would play a lot of instruments

•Piano, guitar and the cello are among his favorites

•He has the most diverse music taste out of all of them

•Its mostly mainstream music though

•He would just hear a song on the radio or on tik tok and would add it to his playlist if he liked it

•Resulting in the most random music

•From bands like coldplay, to doja cat, to cardi b to occasional kpop...

•His dirty secret is that he really likes boybands

•He loves backstreet boys, one direction and 5sos

•Gabi found out and made fun of him for it so he never told anyone after that

•His room is pretty bare and empty other than mass amounts of instruments

•Most of them he never even plays anymore

•He def has empty water bottles everywhere

•But the little bit that he does have in his room is organized chaos

•“Do you have a paperclip?” “to the left of my keyboard pedal on the floor” “Bro...” 

Udo

•B-Babie...

•One of his favorite things is watching a good mystery show or movie, especially the classics like Agatha Christie’s mysteries

•He loves writing them too!

•He takes it very seriously and probably has a mystery novel in the works that he plans to publish when he gets older

•Hes really passionate about it if you ask him about it he could talk about it for hours!

•He has a chameleon or a snake or some other reptile

•Gives it a cute name like Henry or a fandom name like Dobby

•Or something unique nature related like petrichor

•Its his lil buddy it always rides around on his shoulder :)

•His music taste is also diverse

•Zofia introduced him to indie music and he loves it

•He loves bands like The 1975, The Neighbourhood and Jack Stauber

•But his all time favorite band is The Beatles

•His favorite song is Beautiful Boy by John Lennon because it reminds him of when you used to sing to him when he was a little kid :)

•He collects The Beatles posters and vinyls and displays them on the walls in his room

•His room is pretty cluttered with things like clothes, books and school supplies strewn about but his desk is always spotless and organized

•Notebooks with story ideas, his laptop and a gaming controller being the only things on it

•His deepest secret is that he struggles with anxiety which makes him pretty clingy to you :(

•And he doesn’t want to keep sleeping in your bed like he did when he was little so he has a playlist of all the lullabies you sang to him when he was younger

•And he can’t sleep without it :(

•Hes not the most athletic, but I could see him joining the soccer team Falco and Gabi are on just for fun and tries to convince Zofia to join too

•Kinda sad but i think he cries himself to sleep a lot and doesn’t really know why

•Sometimes when he feels really really sad he comes into your room and you watch tv together until he falls asleep

•And hes v tiny so hes easy to carry into his room

•Hes my precious boy I love him so much :,(((((((((((

******

I have two more things I wanna publish for these absolute jelly beans before i take a break from writing for them unless y’all wanna request more hahahahaplzrequestthingshahaha

[kaislittleheadliner]

Welcome!

I created this side blog for all my AHS + Evan Peters reblogs/content. I’m kinda new to AHS, so plz forgive me if I make a mistake regarding AHS canon. Thank you for your patience! This blog is also a safe space for LGBTQIA+!

My AO3: Here

Requests: OPEN

Since stuff I’ll be reblogging and posting might be NSFW:

18+ ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT.

💛 = SFW, ❤️ = NSFW (18+ ONLY), 👀 = WIP/Coming Soon

~*~

Fic Masterlist:

Colin Zabel:

~ Dark Roast (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Reader is a new Junior Detective working with Colin in Easttown. They bond over coffee, but will their relationship go further?

💛 Part One, 💛  Part Two, 💛 Part Three, 💛 Part Four, 💛 Part Five, ❤️ Bonus Smut

- - - -

~ Desk Meet Dress ❤️ (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Colin’s been working hard lately, so reader decides to help him de-stress using her sexiest dress.

- - - -

~ Flowers for My Girl 💛 (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Colin brings flowers to his girlfriend to cheer her up after a rough week.

- - - -

~ Hide With Me 💛 (GN!Reader):

Summary: Colin is there to comfort the reader after a bad day.

- - - - 

~ Little One 💛 (Fem!Reader):

Summary: A soft moment between Colin and his newborn daughter.

- - - -

~ Make It Better 💛 (GN!Reader):

Summary: Colin surprises the reader with a visit and tries to make things better.

- - - - 

~ Miscellaneous Headcanons 💛 (GN!Reader)

- - - -

~ Restless Euphoria ❤️ (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Colin and the reader are having trouble sleeping, and try a couple different things to tire them out.

- - - -

~ Safe with You 💛 (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Reader has been followed by a stalker, and she seeks out her boyfriend’s help.

- - - -

~ Virgin!Reader Request 👀

~ Kissing Request 👀

Jimmy Darling:

~C’mon Doll ❤️ (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Jimmy has a little fun with reader before his show.

Kai Anderson:

~ Trust Is Earned 💛 (Fem!Reader):

Summary: Kai’s discovered there’s a snitch in his cult, and he’s going to root them out.

Peter Maximoff:

~ Kissing Request 👀

~ Smut 4 Whip 👀

~*~

Other Writers’ Works That I Recommend: Here

If you are on mobile and the above link doesn't work, anything I have tagged with "#fic recs" is part of what I recommend!! I will place that tag on this post so you can easily utilize it.

**^^This^^ is not just for these specific fics. Any user that I’ve reblogged work from is a user whose work I recommend overall! These are super talented people so go give them some love too!!**

[kaaytea]

could I request Christmas date headcanons for miyuki and chris?

ABSOLUTELY!! Christmas is probably my favorite holiday and we're finally coming up to that magical time of year! Thank you for this little anon, my heart is singing in pure joy! Plus you requested Chris so how can I not, he's such a sweetheart

Christmas dates

⤷Includes: Miyuki, Chris

-------------------------------------------

Miyuki

I feel like Christmas is usually very family based so Miyuki's kinda meh about it

Like he doesn't mind it but his family life hasn't been ideal so he's never really gotten into the Christmas spirit

But you know what Miyuki Kazuya can get into?

Cooking~

You best bet the both of you bake cookies together 🥰

Was making gingerbread cookies at 12:30 a.m. the brightest idea the both of you have had?

No

Were you having fun?

Absolutely

Miyuki couldn't fall asleep and you were already awake so there wasn't much resistance one his end

You were currently measuring out the sugar and Miyuki was working on sifting the flour when you felt him wipe his index finger down your cheek

You looked up at him then down to his hand

Just as you thought there were remnants of flour on his fingers

"Kazuya! This is supposed to be a cute couple thingy, teasing doesn't fit with the word cute >:(("

"I beg to differ because you look adorable right now"

You bopped him on the head with a spatula for that

Thankfully you were able to get through the rest of mixing the dough without any other Miyuki interruptions

You rolled out the dough and let Miyuki cut out the little gingerbread men he was really good at visually calculating how much space he had and how to get the most cookies without having to re roll the dough

All the cookies got cut out and now the gingerbread were sitting in the oven

You had Christmas music on this entire time and your favorite song happened to come on

You happily bounced over to Kazuya and wrapped your arms around his neck, swaying around the kitchen to the song

He just smiled at your antics and placed his hands on your waist, he pulled you closer to him and placed a kiss on your lips

You were so special to him and he really cherished these moments with you, even if he didn't express it very often

"I love you"

"Oh, I didn't know sappy Miyuki was gonna make an appearance tonight"

"I thought we weren't allowed to tease each other because we're doing 'cute couple thingys', I should get to bop you on the head like you did to me"

"I get a pass because you teased me earlier..... I love you too by the way"

Chris

Chris loves Christmas

Its a gut feeling I have so trust me on this

Chris would be into the very cozy aspects of the holidays

Fluffy socks and sweaters, blankets and hot cocoa, pretty lights and soft Christmas songs, the list goes on and on

Cocoa + you + fluffy blankets = ultimate happy Chris

You were in the kitchen making hot cocoa while Chris gathered the fluffiest blankets the both of you owned and brought them into the living room

You carefully carried the steaming mugs of chocolatey goodness into the cozy room

You had the main lights turned off so the only source of light was the soft, golden glow coming from the tree tucked away in the corner of the room and the miscellaneous candles sitting around

You put the two mugs down on the coffee table and then plopped down on the couch

You felt a weight on you shoulders and looked behind you to see Chris adjusting a thick blanket around you

Chris joined you on the couch, pulling you so your back was against his chest and resting one of his arms on your stomach, he handed you your mug of cocoa and grabbed his own

You both sat there snuggled together basking in the warm ambiance created by the twinkling ornaments on the tree and the flickering of candles

You sipped idly on the cocoa, you had your free hand resting on top of Chris'

You leaned back to look at him and reached up to twirl a lock of his bangs around your finger

"You should wear your hair like this more often, you look so handsome when it's down"

"You tell me that every time I wear it down"

"I only speak the truth, Christopher"

He only chuckled at you and kissed your temple, his lips lingering a little longer than normal

You spent the rest on the night snuggling until you eventually fell asleep on the couch together

[ultimaid]

[holds out hands] Jimothan Thoughts Pretty Please ?

[cracks knuckles] ALL RIGHT

this is gonna be long so it’s going under a readmore but this is a short list of my jimothan headcanons. cw for alcoholism mention & religion mention

he was born and raised in southwest texas!

his ethnicity is mexican-italian on both sides

he has a large extended family, mostly on his mother’s side. his dad’s family isn’t really in contact with them as much but they still sometimes saw his dad’s family

his parents are ✨divorced✨ and split up soon after jimothan’s younger brother was born. jim was only like three at the time so it doesn’t bother him much to think about considering he has no memory of it, but he knows his older brothers were upset

jimothan has a relationship with his dad, but since he and his brothers grew up living with his mom, he’s much closer to her. he still calls her at least once every two weeks to check in on her and see how she’s doing

jimothan and his mom actually used to cook together a lot when he was younger!

he’s got three brothers! his older two brothers are twins, they’re 4 years older than jimothan. his younger brother is 3 years younger than jim. he’s close to all three of them

his younger brother is gay and didn’t tell anyone until they were all adults and he was celebrating his 5-year anniversary with his boyfriend. the response from the brothers was mostly “well you never had a girlfriend and you’re the prettiest of the four of us so we kinda figured. congrats we love you”

i’m not clear on jim’s brother’s names yet but i know they all have names that start with j. listen, mama botch has a theme and shes valid for it

jimothan’s dad is like... he isn’t a bad guy, he just has old-fashioned values that he instilled in his sons growing up even if they weren’t that close. jimothan has always been super loving and accepting of those around him but he also grew up with a very clear vision in his mind of what a man is, what a straight man is, what a gay man is, etc.

jimothan was also raised catholic! he doesn’t have a real attachment to religion, but he could tell it meant a lot to his mom. he stopped going to church after he moved out though

anyways. jim had a pretty decent childhood! got a big loving family, weird but not awful relationship with his father, pretty popular in school. he played football in high school and while he wasn’t very GOOD at it, he certainly enjoyed himself a great deal.

he met emiliana his junior year of high school and they started dating pretty soon after they met. emiliana was very sweet, very funny, and jimothan’s family liked her a lot. she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind and was very stubborn, which jimothan found endearing. they had fun together

so... they got married pretty much as soon as they graduated!

they lived in texas in a small place for a while longer. emi went to school to try and get a marketing degree while jimothan took up cooking and bartending

once emi got her degree, they moved to chicago (where emiliana was originally from) so she could work on her career. jimothan happily followed her and got really into the food industry. and while he couldn’t ever get a job as a cook (for some weird reason...), he did get steady work as a bartender.

yeah, jimothan’s vision started to go around the time he and emiliana got married. that man can’t see shit, but he refuses to get his eyes checked.

when they’d been married for about 5 years, jimothan and emiliana had parsley. jimothan was ELATED to be a dad and was so excited for parsley to join the botch family. emi had really high expectations of their kid academically, whereas jimothan really wanted a kid he could play sports and talk about girls with. he was a little disappointed to have had a “daughter”, but no matter—he adored the kid just the same, and anyone can play sports!

parsley grew up really intelligent and shy, and he never made friends very easily. he wasn’t very popular and preferred to spend his time holed up in his room reading books. jimothan obviously loved the kid, but they argued a lot because he didn’t understand parsley as a person at all.

when parsley was in middle school, jimothan and emiliana got a divorce. problems had been brewing for a long time, but they came to a head at last and neither jim nor emi could stay in the relationship any more. parsley was crushed, especially since his mother became increasingly cold to him afterwards since he reminded her so much of the things she couldn’t stand about jimothan.

jimothan got full custody (though emi had unlimited visitation rights), and he and parsley moved to new york state after the divorce was finalized.

soon after the divorce, parsley came out as trans. while jimothan had some trouble getting it at first, once he understood, he was VERY excited. he loved parsley just the same whether he was his son or his daughter, but hey, maybe now he could talk about sports or girls with him! maybe they’d start to get along better now that they could relate more!

but that... didn’t happen.

parsley stayed the same shy, nerdy kid, and no matter how much jimothan tried to connect to him, he couldn’t figure out how. he and parsley tried to have conversations, but they always devolved into arguments and miscommunications. as soon as parsley turned 18, he moved out and went to college.

and... for a long time they were estranged. jimothan was extremely lonely for years after that. it wasn’t until parsley was 28 that they reconnected again, this time at the habitat.

they’ve mended their relationship really well! they’re better at communicating now. while jimothan was a little hurt that parsley got married AND divorced over the decade he was gone and never told jimothan, he understood why parsley never said anything and promised to be a better and more present dad from now on.

parsley also helped him realize that he’s bisexual!

he and parsley are now very close! parsley is also close to his dad’s side of the family, especially his grandma, jimothan’s mom!

some miscellaneous jimothan hcs that i couldn’t fit in here:

he started developing arthritis around the age of 45, it mostly affects his knees and elbows

this man. has the THICKEST texan accent. jesus

he developed a mild dependence on alcohol during his estrangement from parsley as a way to cope with his depression. he’s now in recovery and doing very well! he is a connoisseur of virgin cocktails

parsley started to suspect his dad might be bisexual after the habitat closed and they started to hang out more. this man would not shut the fuck UP about “that weird vampire fella who used to come down to the lounge right when i was about to close”.

parsley was correct, and now jimothan has a vampire fiancé.

jimothan makes awful food because of his poor eyesight, but he still makes really good drinks because he can identify different kinds of beverages from the smell. why he can’t do the same with food, nobody knows.

he is the only one of his brothers who is capable of growing such an impressive mustache and he is IMMENSELY proud of it

tiff did his nails one night while jerafina and parsley did Very Drunk Bathroom Karaoke. he and tiff are now very good friends and he has her top three drink orders memorized

[aqua-murphys-law]

when it rains

Rating: K+ Warnings: panic attacks, breakdowns, self-depreciating thoughts Summary:

i’m only honest when it rains if i time it right, the thunder breaks when i open my mouth i wanna tell you but i don’t know how

~*~

With a life like Milo’s, it’s only a matter of time before he can’t just grin and bear it anymore. Some times are less convenient than others.

A/N: This started out as a purely self-indulgent “let Milo get angry and upset” whump fic, but hooooo boy there’s a lot to unpack now. My headcanons just will not give me a break. But hey, y’all get a +6k word fic out of the deal, so enjoy!

Check replies for a link to read on A03 for full tags, cause Tumblr hates links apparently! - Aqua

~*~

Of all the ways Milo Murphy has traveled to school, clinging to the top of a runaway ice cream stand that’s surfing a massive wave of pistachios is certainly one of the more palatable ones.

Hah, palatable- he almost makes the joke out loud, but between Zack’s screaming and Melissa’s shrieking laughter and the roar of wind and veering traffic in their ears, they probably won’t hear him. He files that pun away for later and turns his focus to their inevitable stopping; there’s a fountain up ahead that’s about the right height.

Adjusting his grip, Milo climbs over to the side of the stand, throwing its weight to the left. That changes its trajectory just enough to crash right into the fountain, tipping them and all the stand’s contents over into the small ocean of pistachios below. It’s like falling into a ball pit- if the balls in ball pits were tiny green nuts with miscellaneous ice cream sundae ingredients scattered about. Either way, it’s a soft enough landing, and the momentum carries them further down the road before the ground flattens out and they finally roll to a stop.

As fate would have it, the tidal wave of debris has carried them right to the school crosswalk, minutes before first bell. There’s a small group of their classmates waiting to cross, gaping at the wreckage. Milo picks himself out of the mess and dusts his knees off before helping Zack to his feet.

“Watch out for the banana peels,” Milo cautions. “They’re just as slippery in real life as they are in cartoons.”

Zack catches his breath. “Dude, that was kinda awesome.”

Milo’s heart swells happily, and he grins. “I’d say that’s one of our most palatable adventures yet.”

Zack’s eyes light up as he catches on, nudging Milo with his elbow. “It sherbet was!”

“No puns this early in the morning,” Melissa groans, picking pistachios out of her hair.

Milo digs a brush out of his backpack and hands it to her. “Sorry, Melissa,” he says good-naturedly.

“Yeah, sorry,” Zack says, “we know you don’t… cone-done that behavior.”

Milo hides a laugh behind his hand while Melissa lightly punches Zack’s arm before continuing to brush out the pistachios. Then he takes a second to look over the damage again, double-checking no one got caught in the crossfire. It’s a good thing the stand hadn’t been open yet when that freighter full of pistachios exploded-

“Stop! Milo.”

Milo looks over at the familiar voice, smiling. “Hi, Elliot.”

As always, the crossing guard is brandishing his stop sign at them. His attention seems to be split between staring at Milo and staring at the heap of food in the street.

Melissa rolls her eyes. “We’re already stopped,” she points out, passing the brush back to Milo. “You know, just a group of middle school kids, waiting for the crossing guard to help them cross the street?”

“Yeah,” Zack adds, “your job?”

Elliot makes a disbelieving sound. “What, the giant mountain of walnuts hasn’t stopped traffic enough as it is?”

“Actually, they’re pistachios,” Milo says helpfully, tucking the brush away. “And sure, but it’s really best to wait for authorized personnel to formally halt the flow of traffic using proper signage instead of taking your chances.”

“I know that!” Elliot protests, sounding irritable. He holds the stop sign out, gesturing with his other hand for them all to cross. “Alright, move it along, people…”

Milo is happy to do so, leaving Elliot’s grumbling behind. It’s always a good morning when he actually makes it to school, and on time. Walking beside him, Melissa’s already whipped her phone out to share the pictures she took during all the excitement, snickering at the way Zack’s eyes widen. Milo chuckles to himself; how she manages to get such incredible shots, he’ll never know.

They reach the sidewalk on the other side without incident. He can hear the echoes of sirens from responding emergency vehicles starting up across town and knows they’ll be at the scene in a couple minutes. That makes him feel better about heading inside before they arrive, though he laments the fact that he won’t get to thank them personally-

“You know, Murphy, these catastrophes would be a lot more bearable if you took them seriously.”

Milo pauses, tilting his head. Melissa and Zack are already frowning at Elliot, but he wants to make sure he’s accurately identified the disdain in Elliot’s voice and isn’t just missing sarcasm again.

“What do you mean?” he asks.

Elliot folds his arms with a huff, his stop sign sticking out at an angle. “I mean, you walk around with that grin on your face, brushing everything off like it’s no big deal.” He scowls at Milo over his glasses. “Do you even care about all the chaos you leave in your wake?”

Milo blinks, his smile faltering. Is that the impression people get from him?

Zack steps forward. “Hey man, back off,” he snaps at Elliot.

“Yeah,” Melissa chimes in, folding her arms, “you’re just bitter because people keep assuming you’re in your thirties.” She jerks her chin over at the doors. “Come on, Milo.”

Milo manages to smile again, but it feels strained. “Elliot, I can assure you that I understand the severity of Murphy’s Law,” he says carefully, moving to follow Melissa up the rest of the stairs.

“Well, you certainly don’t act like it,” Elliot gripes after them, a parting jab.

Milo should let it go, he knows he should. This is just how Elliot is; there’s no way somebody so pathologically obsessed with safety would ever see Milo as anything more than a hazard. But this is more than simply placing blame on him for Murphy’s Law. That, he’s used to. He can handle that.

What he can’t stand for is the implication that he doesn’t care when people get hurt. Not when he works so hard to avoid it- often at the expense of his own wellbeing. If he only worried about himself, Murphy’s Law would be exponentially easier to deal with. Most people don’t realize that.

He stops walking, turning to look Elliot dead in the eye. “What’s the alternative?” he asks, his face blank and voice held carefully neutral.

Elliot’s clearly surprised at the question. He hesitates, shooting a wary look at Melissa and Zack, before he manages a shrug. “I don’t know, just some indication that you’re actually sorry for everything going wrong all the time?”

Milo’s grip on his backpack goes white-knuckled. “You think I should feel sorry?” he asks quietly.

Elliot flounders for a second. “I, uh… well, yes?”

It’s one thing for Milo to impulsively feel responsible for any destruction caused by Murphy’s Law, before he can remind himself that it’s not his fault. But it’s another thing entirely for someone to tell him that he should feel that way, all the time.

“What would you like me to do?” he presses. “Walk around with my head hung low, overcome with guilt every time Murphy’s Law happens? Apologize constantly when the majority of the people in my life have been dealing with it for years? Or- or beat myself up over something I can’t change or control?”

Elliot’s eyes widen, his brows shooting up to his hairline. “Now listen, that’s not exactly what I said-”

“But it’s what you meant, right?” Milo asks in a voice he doesn’t recognize. It’s white-hot with anger, and he can feel the glare that’s drawing his eyebrows down into a point, the way it’s narrowing his eyes. It’s an unfamiliar expression.

Oh, this is dangerous territory. Anger isn’t safe; it clouds the mind and fosters rash decisions, preventing one from thinking clearly. He can’t afford to have his judgement skewed, his reaction time hampered by the distraction of wrestling emotions under control. Not here, when there’s so many people around who could get hurt by his inability to act if something were to happen.

Melissa tugs Milo by the arm, trying to pull him away. “Milo, come on, he’s not worth it,” she says, her voice low and urgent.

The concern in her voice pricks at him. He’s aware, to some degree, that they’ve attracted an audience; the other kids that crossed with them are lingering, whispering to each other. He’s aware that his heart is starting to race and his skin feels flushed, the unpleasant physical effects of anger. And he’s especially aware of Zack’s gaze on him, what he must be thinking of the whole situation.

But Milo abruptly finds that he doesn’t care. Maybe that should concern him, too.

Elliot holds up his hands, something akin to panic flashing across his face. “Hey, look, I didn’t-”

“If I let myself feel bad every time Murphy’s Law happened, I’d never stop,” Milo says sharply. “Do you realize that? You’re only exposed to Murphy’s Law in the brief moments I’m around you. But for me, it never ends. It doesn’t have a weekly schedule, it doesn’t take days off. It doesn’t even stop when I’m asleep. And I will be dealing with it for the rest of my life.”

A horrible silence follows, even Elliot seeming lost for words.

Chills erupt across Milo’s skin. The fiery anger inside him suddenly extinguishes, leaving him cold and hollow. He’s struck with the realization that in his lashing out, he’s only just upset himself more. Because he doesn’t like to think about the future, about how everything he’s experienced so far in his short life is just the tip of the iceberg, and there he goes, now he’s thinking about it-

Something wet runs down his cheek.

Instinctively, Milo looks up to find the source. But there aren’t any clouds in the sky threatening a sudden downpour, no leaky pipes or anything else to drip water on him. Brows knitting in confusion, he absently reaches a hand up to his face.

Then his eyes start to sting as his vision blurs, and it hits him.

He’s crying.

… he’s crying?

A sound gets choked in his throat, something that sounds suspiciously like a whimper. Horror sweeps through him but it’s rapidly being outdone by the overwhelming hysteria.

Oh no. No, no, no, he can’t be crying, not here. He stumbles away from Elliot, his backpack hitting the stair railing with a soft thud, and presses the heels of his palms against his burning eyes. Stop, stop, stop! Colors bloom behind his closed lids, intensifying as he increases the pressure until it’s almost painful, desperately willing the tears to go away.

He’s not supposed to be crying at school. If there’s anything more distracting than anger, it’s crying. There are too many people around him, something could go wrong at any second and he won’t be able to protect them like this- something could be going wrong right now and he won’t notice because he’s too busy falling to pieces.

Panic kicks in, and the harsh echo in his ears tells him he’s hyperventilating. That’s definitely not helping, but the part of him that realizes this is remarkably absent, like he’s become disconnected from his own body.

The rest of him is pretty sure he’s about to die. And not in the way he’s familiar with.

Two hands circle his wrists, pulling them down from his eyes in a grip that’s gentle yet firm. Melissa’s face swims into focus.

~*~

Melissa searches Milo’s face, her heart sinking.

“Milo?” she tries. “You okay?”

Milo doesn’t respond, but he squeezes his eyes shut, sending a few more tears streaking down his face. She can feel his pulse jumping under the scarred skin of his wrists. His heartbeat, normally so steady, is running fast and erratic.

Something is very wrong.

“Woah, uh, is he okay?” Elliot asks, alarmed.

“You don’t get to talk,” Melissa hisses at him before turning back to Milo. It’s incredibly hard to push her anger down, but she has to, for his sake. “Milo,” she says, softer, “it’s me. You’re alright. We’re gonna go somewhere else, okay?”

Milo still doesn’t respond, but he curls a little closer to her. Melissa takes a second to shoot a warning look at the other kids gathered around. “Give us some space,” she orders them. And then, “Zack, you’re with me.”

They must hear the barely restrained fury in her voice, because the doors are cleared in record time. Zack unfreezes and swiftly places himself on the other side of Milo, his hands fidgeting like he isn’t sure what to do with them.

Gently, Melissa starts leading Milo up the stairs, into the school. Thankfully, he follows. He seems to be in a daze, too focused on his internal panic to take notice of what’s going on around him. Melissa is suddenly very grateful that she and Zack are here, because if Milo were alone in such a state, he wouldn’t be able to protect himself from any Murphy’s Law incidents.

Speaking of Zack, the other boy has moved slightly in front of them, paving a way through the various students still lingering in the halls before class.

“Where to?” he asks over his shoulder, voice tight with worry.

“Somewhere quiet and out of the way.”

“Under the stairwell?”

Melissa follows Zack’s gaze to the stairwell before nodding swiftly. They make a beeline for it, swerving only to avoid a ceiling tile that drops out of its frame above them. She catches the edge of it with her shoe and sends it skidding along the floor, out of the way. Serves it right.

She ducks under the stairwell, careful to pull Milo down after her so he doesn’t hit his head. The little alcove is a bit dusty, but it’s quiet and away from prying eyes, so it’ll do. She shrugs her backpack off and sits against the wall, taking Milo’s weight.

He leans on her heavily, like he doesn’t have the energy to hold himself upright. She’s tempted to slip off his backpack as well, since that’s probably accounting for a third of his weight right now, but she knows that would only make him panic further.

He’s still breathing way too fast for her liking, blinking rapidly to try and fight back tears. The glassy look in his eyes is so unlike him, it makes her heart clench painfully.

Zack’s voice hovers anxiously somewhere above her. “Has this happened before?”

“Not in public,” Melissa answers shortly. Then she swallows hard and forces her voice to come out calm and gentle. “Hey Milo, you with me?”

It takes a second for Milo to find her eyes, trembling all the while.

Melissa holds his gaze, pouring as much reassurance into it as she can. “Good, that’s good. Zack’s here with us. Is that alright?”

Milo doesn’t look over at Zack, but he manages a nod.

“Okay,” Melissa murmurs. She takes a quick look to make sure no one’s wandering by the stairwell before turning back to Milo. “We’re alone now, just us three. We’re safe.” She takes a deep breath. “Go ahead.”

Milo’s face crumples. “Melissa-”

He finally breaks, burying his face in her shoulder. His sobs are partially muffled by her jacket- which is quickly becoming damp- but she can feel the force of each one, the way his chest heaves for breath. He holds her arms like his life depends on it, pressing close to her as if he’s trying to hide away from the world.

Even though she’s preparing herself for it, hearing him cry brings a fresh wave of tears to her own eyes. Stubbornly, she stares up at the ceiling until they recede. She can’t break down right now. Milo needs her.

Think about something else, something funny. Like how great it’s going to feel to get Elliot back for this. There’s a petting zoo service nearby that rents out ducks. If she places an order soon, she could probably get them before Monday. How many ducks is too many, she wonders?

“So hey, uh, what’s going on?” Zack’s low murmur brings her out of the daydream. He’s looking at Milo with a stricken expression. “Is he going to be okay?”

Melissa exhales, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her face. “He will be,” she says softly. “He’s just overwhelmed.”

Zack runs a hand through his hair. “Is- is there anything I can do?” he asks helplessly.

There isn’t much, but she can tell just from looking at him that his anxiety is skyrocketing right now, on the verge of his own panic attack. Giving him something, anything else to focus on might help.

“Keep people off us, and watch for any trouble,” Melissa decides.

It’s strange to think that she’s only known this boy for a few months, yet she’d trust him with hers and Milo’s wellbeing. But Zack’s proven he can handle Murphy’s Law, and she knows he’ll protect them with everything he’s got.

She’s proven right when Zack’s expression hardens, and he nods. Turning around, he goes to stand at the mouth of the alcove, blocking her and Milo from view of the hallway. His hands twitch at his sides, ready to act. Just like that.

Not for the first time, Melissa is thankful that Zack became their friend. Milo chose well.

And speaking of Milo, the panic seems to have finally ebbed. Now it’s just regular crying, without the hyperventilating and shaking. The knot in her stomach loosens, but only slightly- they aren’t out of the woods yet.

Gently, she drums her fingers along his spine, beating a soothing rhythm against the body armor he wears under his clothes. The muffled thuds are too light for him to feel; it’s really just so he has a sound to focus on. She’s found that helps, in the past.

But she doesn’t try to shush him. Now that he’s actually crying, he needs to get it all out. She tries to imagine that her arms around Milo are a safety net, allowing him to be vulnerable without fear. She hopes he can pick up on it.

The next several minutes pass in relative calm- if holding your friend while he has a breakdown can be considered calm. A couple times, Melissa catches wind of something going on in the hallway, some likely improbable object coming their way. But thanks to Zack’s vigilance, nothing comes close, letting her focus all her attention on Milo.

It’s not long after second bell when Milo starts to come back to himself. His grip on her arms tightens and then immediately slackens, and the next breath he takes is a deep one, though it shudders on the exhale.

There are a couple moments where Milo is still and quiet, just the occasional sniffle as his breathing evens out. Then he pulls back enough to look at Melissa, his eyes red and teary but no longer vacant.

“Melissa?” he breathes, his voice small.

Melissa lets out a sigh of relief, managing a tired smile. “There you are.”

“Hey, buddy.” As relieved as Melissa feels, Zack sounds about a hundred times more so. He kneels down next to them, his hand once again awkwardly hovering over Milo’s shoulder before retreating. “How you feeling?”

Milo glances around, taking in their surroundings. Melissa can almost see the moment realization hits; his mouth presses into a tight line before he looks away, wiping at his eyes. “Guys, I- I am so sorry-”

“Don’t you dare,” Melissa cuts him off sternly.

Milo swallows hard, tucking his knees to his chest. “But it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have lost my cool back there,” he mumbles guiltily. “It was just Elliot being, y- you know, Elliot, and I got-”

“Rightfully upset,” Melissa finishes for him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, dude, you’ve got nothing to apologize for,” Zack agrees.

Milo’s smile is thin, but his eyes are thoughtful. Melissa hopes they’ve gotten through to him. She isn’t going to push it any more, though, not right now.

“Now, c’mon, let’s get off the floor,” she says, straightening up. “My legs are falling asleep.”

Milo accepts the hand she offers him, letting her pull him up and out from under the stairwell. He looks a little shaky on his feet, his face still paler than normal, but he jolts when he notices the clock.

“Oh no, we’re late for first period. We’d better-”

“Nuh uh.” Melissa holds fast to his arm. “After a bout like that, you need to go home and rest.”

Milo hesitates. “I miss so much school already…”

Melissa shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter. Mental health days are included under excused absences, you know. We’ll let the teachers know and grab your homework for you.”

“Seriously, it’s alright,” Zack says softly.

Milo studies them both before nodding. “Okay,” he relents. “Thanks.”

Melissa whips out her phone to text his mom. As she does so, she notices Milo is starting to lean against Zack for support. The other boy doesn’t seem to mind, his arm automatically shifting around Milo’s shoulders. It seems his earlier reservations are gone, now that Milo’s sought out the contact. It’s a cute sight.

“Alright,” Melissa tucks her phone away, “your mom’s on her way over. I asked her to meet us in the back lot, just in case the jerk-who-shall-not-be-named is still skulking around.”

Milo nods slightly, giving her a grateful smile before his gaze lowers again.

Now that he’s given up on toughing out the day, he’s starting to withdraw. He doesn’t always go nonverbal after a crying spell, but the panic attack has to have done a number on him.

They aren’t common for Milo, panic attacks. Melissa knows his stress response is… highly abnormal. Even before she met him, he’d been living in a constant state of stress for years. She’s not sure if he’s learned to tune it out, or if his body has just stopped responding to common stressors by this point. But she knows he rarely gets a physical reaction to danger, that ‘fight or flight’ response that spikes you up with adrenaline.

This is clearly a different ball game. The only time she can recall anything remotely similar to this happening was the first time she got seriously hurt by Murphy’s Law. And it didn’t even happen on the spot; he hadn’t broken down until visiting her in the hospital after the fact.

That was a long time ago, but it left quite the impression. The hyperventilating and shaking, she remembers. And that distant, glassy expression. It was something she hoped she’d never have to witness again, but of course, life has other plans.

Not that she blames Milo for it. After all, however difficult this is for her, it’s much, much worse for him. Losing control of his emotions hits him hard, because his life is already so out of control as it is. The one thing he should always have control over is himself, but he doesn’t.

And even though she’s long since made peace with the idea that life isn’t fair, this feels particularly, especially unfair. With all the danger Murphy’s Law brings, Milo shouldn’t have to deal with guilt, judgmental crossing guards, or a misplaced sense of responsibility so severe that he feels like he isn’t even allowed to cry.

Her expression must be troubled, because Milo lightly bumps against her arm. By the time she looks over, he’s already averted his gaze again- eye contact is probably a bit much for him right now- but she appreciates the gesture anyways.

‘Don’t worry,’ he seems to be saying.

Well… she can try not to, for his sake.

~*~

Zack can’t help stealing glances at Milo as they make their way down the hall.

He knows he shouldn’t be staring, because Milo doesn’t seem too keen on eye contact at the moment. It’s just hard to resist the urge to check up on him. Most of Zack’s focus was on keeping Murphy’s Law at bay, so he couldn’t really keep tabs on how the situation was going.

He can’t shake how jarring it was to see Milo like that. It’s a very good thing Melissa was there to snap him into action, because if she hadn’t, he probably would’ve just stood there frozen like a complete idiot, not helping the situation at all.

And how sad is that? Milo saves Zack over and over again, every time disaster strikes, but the one time Milo really needs him, Zack’s totally useless.

He should’ve seen that the conversation was going south and shut it down. He should’ve stood up for Milo more, or tried to get him out of the situation. He should’ve-

There’s a slight tug at the hem of his shirt. When he turns his head, he finds Milo’s hand gripping there. Not pulling, or trying to get his attention- Milo’s facing straight ahead, eyes downcast. Just, holding. Whether it’s an attempt to give comfort or receive it, Zack’s not sure.

But it does give him something else to focus on, aside from the spiraling thoughts in his head, and he smiles softly. Just in case Milo can see it out of the corner of his eye.

It’s a good reminder; there’s no point in dwelling on the past. He needs to keep moving forward, like Milo does.

They reach the back doors without issue, and are greeted by an empty parking lot. Fortunately, there aren’t any late stragglers- aside from them, of course. It’s a nice day, not too cold, so Zack doesn’t mind waiting a few minutes. Maybe the fresh air will help Milo. It’s certainly helping Zack.

He lets out a deep breath, feeling a little better for it. Milo settles further against his side while they wait, his cheek pressed against Zack’s shoulder. That steals the breath Zack just got back, but that’s the least of his concerns right now.

He’s not sure if he’s relieved or disappointed when Mrs. Murphy’s car pulls into the lot. Milo perks up a bit, though still remains silent as his mother exits the car. She takes in Milo’s current state with no comment, just a sad, knowing look in her eyes, and Zack wonders if this is more common than he realized.

“You ready to go, honey?” she asks kindly.

Milo hesitates for a second, then turns and abruptly gives a hug to the both of them. It’s a quick thing, but Zack feels his face heat up immediately; Milo’s never hugged him before. And that thought is followed by his heart swelling almost painfully, because Milo’s never hugged him before. With that context, it’s a deeply touching gesture.

After stepping away, Milo darts over to his mom, hiding his face in her side. She smooths a hand over his hair, murmuring something too low for Zack to hear, before smiling at them gratefully. “Thanks, you two.”

“No problem, Mrs. Murphy,” Melissa replies. “Feel better soon, Milo.”

“Yeah, take it easy,” Zack calls after them.

The car pulls away, and Zack can see Diogee clambering into Milo’s lap before they’re out of view. That makes him feel a little better. Still, he sends a quick prayer to the universe that the car ride goes smoothly, without any Murphy’s Law incidents. Milo really deserves a break.

Next to him, Melissa stands motionless, watching the car leave. Zack clears his throat. “Well, we should probably head back…”

Melissa shakes her head, sitting down on the steps. “First period’s already half-over by now, no point in going.” She shrugs. “Plus, we need to talk this out, or it’ll turn into one of those weird unspoken things.”

“Oh.” Hesitantly, Zack sits down next to her. If Melissa is willing to play hooky, it must be important. “Alright, then.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, listening to the sounds of distant traffic. He’d been expecting Melissa to start the conversation, but she seems to be waiting for him, instead. Waiting to see what his reaction is.

It hadn’t taken long for Melissa to go from ‘Milo’s only other friend’ to ‘Milo and Zack’s friend.’ Once she warmed up to him, she’d moved right along to acting like they’d known each other for years. But they certainly haven’t had any deep, serious discussions before. He’s not quite sure how to proceed.

Zack rubs the back of his neck, feeling awkward. “So, uh… that happened.”

“Yep.” Melissa exhales heavily, but her expression is sympathetic. “I’m sorry you weren’t more prepared, it’s just that he tries to handle these things privately.”

Zack frowns. “These things? What do you mean?”

Melissa stares out over the parking lot, her brows knit together. “Milo breaks bones on a monthly basis. He comes away with some kind of injury on a near-daily basis. And the constant threat of danger plus the massive amount of effort required to deal with it would be enough to drive anyone to tears.”

“And…?” Zack prompts, confused.

Melissa glances at him out of the side of her eye. “Before now, have you ever seen him cry?”

Zack opens his mouth to reply, ‘Of course I have!’ because surely it would’ve happened at some point. He knows Milo gets hurt frequently, he’s watched it happen. But as he thinks about it, he can’t actually recall a time when tears were involved. Not even for broken bones.

“I… woah, you’re right,” Zack realizes, his stomach dropping.

Melissa nods grimly. “He doesn’t like crying. Says it messes with his ability to react to Murphy’s Law. So he just… doesn’t let himself cry, most of the time, no matter how hurt he gets. It’s been like that for as long as I’ve known him.”

It takes a second for the full implications to hit Zack. “Wait, didn’t you guys meet when you were six?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.” Zack swallows. They might be old enough now that crying isn’t as common, but Milo’s been like this since he was six, possibly younger. Zack himself was a bit of a crybaby at that age, even a skinned knee sending him into hysterics.

And sure, maybe it’s embarrassing to look back on, but that’s normal for little kids.

Milo didn’t get to have that.

“That’s… kinda sad,” Zack murmurs.

“I know,” Melissa sighs. “Of course, he can’t bottle it up forever. And crying is an important chemical release, it’s healthy. So he just puts it off until he’s safe at home, usually on a weekend. That way, he’s got his family there to look out for him, and he doesn’t have to worry about anyone else getting caught up in Murphy’s Law. I’ve only been there for a handful of them, but he probably goes for months in between. It’s… a lot of buildup.”

The pieces are starting to fall into place. Zack inhales sharply. “So, when he does finally let himself cry…”

Melissa gives him a thin smile. “Well, you know what they say. When it rains, it pours.” She wraps her arms around herself. “But this time was worse than normal, because he was having a panic attack on top of it. He really didn’t want to break down at school.”

Zack nods slowly, brows furrowing. “Wow. I had no idea.”

Melissa makes a noncommittal noise. “It’s not your fault, he doesn’t like people to know.”

Alarm shoots through Zack. This is a deeply personal aspect of Milo’s life. What if he wasn’t ready for Zack to see it? What if Zack’s intruding?

Melissa must have noticed the panic on his face, because she waves him off. “Don’t worry, him letting you stay was giving permission for me to tell you this. Just, people, in general. He puts a lot of work into staying upbeat all the time, and he doesn’t want that ruined by something like this.”

Zack chews on his lip, only slightly relieved. Quite a few people saw the beginning of the whole thing. “Is he gonna be okay? I know it was just some kids from class, but…”

“I think he will be,” Melissa says thoughtfully. “He’s been branching out a lot more this year, in terms of making friends.” She smiles faintly at him. “We’ve got you to thank for that.”

The sudden diverge throws Zack for a loop. “What do you mean?”

Melissa leans back on her elbows, contemplative. “I mean, if Milo and I started a band last year, Mort wouldn’t have dreamed of joining. If we’d been crazy enough to have a birthday party, no one would’ve come. For as long as all of us here can remember, Milo’s just had me. But seeing you give him a chance… I don’t know, I think it’s helped them realize they don’t have to stay so far away.”

Zack’s stunned. “I… guess I hadn’t thought about it.”

That’s an understatement. Zack found his place so readily within this new school that he hadn’t stopped to consider what things had been like before. He knows Milo didn’t have any close friends aside from Melissa, but had the other kids in class always been nothing more than scant acquaintances? Was it new for them to engage Milo in conversation or willingly be around him?

Then Zack thinks back to the day they met, at the bus stop. The way the other kids there had immediately scrambled away from Milo, expressions full of fear. And he’s pretty sure he knows the answer.

Melissa hums. “Yep. You’re a trendsetter.”

Zack rubs his arm, embarrassed. He really doesn’t deserve accolades just for giving Milo a chance. “So… do you cry often?” he ventures, changing the subject.

Melissa rolls her eyes at him. “I’d say a normal amount, for someone in my circumstances. Whenever I’m seriously hurt, you can bet I’m crying about it. Not everyone can just block out that kind of pain.” Her expression sobers. “But even on the emotional side of things, if there’s ever a particularly rough day, then yeah, I’ll go home and cry it out. It’s a good release.”

“Huh.” Zack scratches his head. “Gotta say, I’m a little surprised. You seem to handle Murphy’s Law so well, you know?”

Melissa snorts. “Yeah, only because I let myself cry every now and them. No one can deal with all that disaster and destruction without it getting to them. Not even Milo.”

“Fair point,” Zack amends.

“So, what about you?” Melissa elbows him. “C’mon, don’t be a hypocrite.”

Zack flushes. “I mean, yeah, sometimes,” he admits. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to be friends with Milo, but Murphy’s Law can be… stressful.” Particularly on top of his normal anxiety, but she doesn’t need to know that.

Melissa nods approvingly. “Good. Own it. Being part of a Murphy’s life has its ups and down. It also has its own set of rules.”

“Like what?” Zack asks, tilting his head.

“You need to make sure you relieve stress on a regular basis, whether that’s through crying or something else. And you need to relax on a regular basis, too. Not necessarily in that order,” she adds, as an afterthought.

Zack raises his eyebrows. “Oh, okay. Anything else I should be aware of?”

Melissa counts them off on her fingers. “Stay hydrated, get regular sleep, have a good amount of protein in the diet…”

“That just sounds like normal self-care stuff,” Zack points out flatly.

Melissa squints at him. “Touché.” Then she snaps her fingers. “Gargling salt water can help your throat recover from over-screaming. Oh, and Murphys are legally protected from being discriminated against by an accord written in the early 1900’s, so don’t be afraid to cite it. Also, Milo craves physical affection from those he’s close to, but he doesn’t feel he has the right to ask for it.”

Zack blinks. “Figure all this out yourself?”

“Nah, Mrs. Murphy had some tips.” Melissa’s humor fades. “Seriously though, I noticed your hesitation back there. That’s a good instinct, since plenty of people don’t like to be touched during panic attacks. But you don’t need to worry about it with Milo, that’s one of the few times he actually seeks out comfort.”

Zack jolts with surprise. He hadn’t though Melissa would pick up on that- at the time, he was hardly aware of what he was doing, himself. “Oh, alright then.”

“And just for the record,” Melissa’s expression turns mischievous, “if you were a little more forthcoming with physical affection on a day-to-day basis, I don’t think Milo would mind.”

Zack jumps to his feet like he’s been electrocuted, choking on air. “O- oh, sure, of course. Being close to Milo, I don’t have a problem with that, why would I have a problem with that?” he babbles, feeling his face heat up. “I mean, I don’t not have a problem with it, I mean, not more than the normal amount for two friends-” Okay, Zack, time to shut up now.

Melissa just snickers at him, standing up and dusting off her skirt. “C’mon, it’s about time to head in. Ready for a completely average, boring, uneventful day?”

Zack sighs, shoving his hands in his pockets with a rueful grin. “If we must.”

Maybe it’s not so bad to have a little time to process things, considering how much he has to process.

~*~

Milo’s only been curled up on the couch for a couple hours when his phone buzzes.

It’s a selfie from Melissa, in science class. She’s angled the phone to get Zack in the background of the shot; he’s clearly dozing, eyelids drooping as he rests his chin in his hand. Melissa’s giving the camera a knowing look, and the caption reads, ‘Someone’s missing you!’

Milo’s heart skips a beat. He quickly attributes it to surprise that Melissa is actually texting in class- though he knows she’s just checking in with him. It’s a thoughtful gesture, and he sends a couple emojis back. Words, even in text form, are still hard right now. But he knows she’ll understand, because she and Zack are the best friends a Murphy could ask for.

He’s lucky like that, to not have to weather this storm alone.

~*~