#ricky was so hard to draw I made him look cool at first and then I was like wait this guy wants to fuck alien catgirls

[spaceagebachelorbutch]

okay okay I did the thing where I listen to a musical for the first time and design the characters without looking them up and I really like them!!! I like to imagine that thanks to the nature of theater they could look like this at some point :))

[daphnebowen]

@rinacentral event one: favorites!!

this will basically be a mess of things I've found on Pinterest including comparisons, tweets, drawings, etc so bear with me! (bear? bare? idk anymore English is hard)

image 1: I just think it's funny that rina and rini are compared so much when in my humble opinion rina was MADE for each other. everything in the first three seasons was set up. rini walked so rina could fly.

image 2: imo, the rini and rina comparisons are 🙅🏼‍♀️ not valid because two completely different people, completely different times, completely different relationships yet there are similarities but who lasted longer? who's more intentional and more pure and more everything? rina. thank you.

image 3: tangled is one of my absolute favorite Disney movies ever and flynn rider is my dream guy and comparing them to rina just makes my heart happy. both of their love is so pure and so wholesome it just 😍😍

image 4: this image is 😘 because the way Ricky looks at Gina doesn't change. no matter what she's wearing, what circumstances they're in, his love is so big for her nothing can hide it. fake dating, not dating at all, madly in love, doesn't matter; he's so puppy eyed and over the moon for his girl. and I just love that for him.

image 5: okay I love this one because a) rina chemistry is ON POINT like the soulful stares I'm sorry but b) ASHLYN. she is Gina's sister. her best friend, dare I say it? ash has probably heard so much pining and complaining from Gina about Ricky being dumb, being ignorant, not realizing his feelings or how he was ignoring and hurting her at the time. Ashlyn is Gina's number one confidant, in my mind. and so to have her recognize their look and know, immediately, what is going on is so special to me. so shout out to Ashlyn too!! 💕

image 6: forever. FOREVER. FOR FREAKING EVER. I'm sorry, thirty seconds into meeting each other and one walks away with a lasting impression of unremarkable dam that girl was cool and the other walks away with a gut instinct of maybe this is where I find where I belong. and the way they pulled each other closer UNINTENTIONALLY pulls my heartstrings 💗 and also, the way Gina entered the theater program looking for a home. for a family. and got so much more than she bargained for, and while she did find her friends in Ashlyn and Kourtney and Carlos she also found her home (a sacred kind of home 😌) in Ricky. and while Ricky walked into theater for ulterior motives he ended up finding that home and that family too. and to get all that and more from a minute and a half conversation with someone you've never met before is pure romance to me. watch out Romeo and Juliet 😜

image 7: I loved how Ricky and Gina got closer over season three. because while they started out awkward and near strangers because of ej and everything Ricky had/hadn't done over the course of the last semester you could tell. both of them wanted it back, badly. and they fought for it because you can't deny the incredible chemistry and the incredibly feelings and friendship they have for each other. season 3 was so special in the way you can see them grow closer all the while dealing with their own drama. because even in the darkness of each others problems Ricky and Gina have always managed to find their way back to each other - their light. 💡

image 8: for the longest time I didn't understand the point of "say yes to something that scares you." and really, it was Gina all along! Ricky was absolutely terrified of what his feelings for Gina truly meant (doesn't he say this at some point) and also terrified of losing her if she didn't feel the same. he knew it was going to be hard and he knew he was going to have to fight for it and he knew it was going to be the biggest change, the biggest curveball, life was possibly going to throw at him. but he said YES. he said yes to all that, to taking risks, to exploring something unknown and unexplored before, and that is so so special because while Gina didn't scare Ricky, the idea of her - of rina - did. of what they could be. of what they could become. and after their journey of the ups and downs and lefts and rights and all that life had to throw their way, he said yes. Gina said yes. and I love the way they conquered everything in season four together.

anyways, this was really long and the images really don't mean anything, they just give me an excuse to ramble, so thanks for reading! made event one just in time 🤪 RINA FOREVER! ♾️ ❤️🤍

[wrestlezon]

dynamite 3/22/23 (live)blog containment zone

we started late again...

omg… hospital for the bucks… theyre doing it. theyre progressing the elite story hangman… in the ambulance… omega gets left behind… OOOOO theyre DOIN IT….

[orange + sting & darby vs kip + butcher and the blade]

sheesh lol orange's facepaint :)c kip periwinkle'd his hair kip is cool because i look at him and know exactly what his deal is. he is a my chemical romance tumblrman when i can look at a wrestler and understand what their deal is? thats good mcr tumblrman is not even my thing but i appreciate him having style. and panache i also like his goofy sinister mindgames at orange. i also like that they WORK on orange. he got under his skin! he made orange of all people snap! such a good rivalry kip: yes! the crowd: BOOOOOOO the crowd: yaaaaaay kip: yeah thats more like it!!! sting: 🧍‍♂️ kip: 😰 that was a cute ending! i liked that lmao orange is knighting sting

[video for the pillars 4way]

ooooo theyre finally pulling the trigger on the pillars 4way…

[video for kenny vs vikingo]

whoops i missed this because i was getting a snack. despite whatever the hell is going on on twitter i dont need a video package to enjoy a good match tho

[gunn club vs top flight]

the gunns outfit today? insane unbelievably im having a hard time concentrating on this match because im lost in the bliss of chips + yogurt

oh no… ftr leaves aew if they lose… well. i wont get mad

[backstage with jade & mark sterling]

so fucking funny that mark sterling's letterhead logo is 1) GIANT and 2) FULL BLACK. the printer ink!!!!

[stokely vs hook]

soooo excited for this lmfao stokely pulling the not medically cleared card. AND retiring again just to seal the deal "HE IS SICK!!!" love how the security guard action jumped into the chair stokely screaming quoting 2pac? god. killing him with that chair just holding up stokely!! hook is so strong dead. killed him

oh my god matt hardy encouraging ethan page to avenge stokely This Is How Matt Hardy Can Get Revenge

[adam cole!]

yay adam cole what a face. hes not going to do a heelturn, right? at least not anytime soon i wonder who he is fighting LMAO DANIEL GARCIA… oh my god. his entire capital L Look ok cole is def not gonna do a heelturn if hes up against garcia

[backstage with kenny and don callis]

ooooo theyre doing ittttttt… theres strife… oooo

[moxley vs stu]

uno's mask is soooo shiny get him stu!!!!!!! cool pose on the ropes, moxley lmfao claudio yawning?? whoa what a loose slam by moxley. big flip off the corner by stu!! very cool oooh moxley's counter into bulldog was also cool backpack moxley huh, whats going on with moxley's ear? oh its bandage

lmao yuta "we're off the clock! 🙄"

[backstage with ricky starks]

mad about beefin with juice? yea oh theyre finally gonna fight? on rampage!

[QTV?]

little baby drawing on the cubicle lmao this footage is rj city in the background of this bit too? i thought it was funny he was in the first one like they just took over his office and started being really cringe in there and hes just like 🙄 well ok then

[toni storm vs skye blue]

booo outcasts. yay skye blue whoa that was a swift and snappy suplex thing by toni. that crowd person is loud, whoever they are

nooo dont spraypaint her ! the women's facesquad has appeared riho!! wlilow!!

rampage being on saturday… when i was in 3rd grade i got into an argument with the neighbor boy about wwe not being on whatever day it was supposed to be on and bet him 5 dollars about it. i won and didnt get 5 dollars because thats an astronomical amount in like 90s dollars

[backstage with stu]

oh no stu's arm moxley LMAO i love how the BCC are just backstage rascals now like if you wander around backstage you better watch out because you might get into a lv50 random encounter with the BCC

[kenny vs vikingo]

SON OF KING VIKING lmfao kenny's intro having so much shade in it. that's don callis' doing, right omg that dude's superkick party sign is so extreme kenny oooooooooomegaaaaaaaaaa!!! his theme is sooooooo good. god we havent heard it in so long right? because theyve been coming out to journey this whole time? is this kenny's first solo match back omg! vikingo tope whoa??? implosion hurricarana?? dude has been doing nothing but the sickest of flips no! kenny, no! drop it…. drop it!!! no table! cmon theres no need for this!! lmao he is being so badguy. hair pulling!! this rules. we get to see all the top-tier precision moves because these are insane toptier wrestlers these guys are doing SO MANY apron/off the ring moves right now omg balance: unparalleled ??????????? phoenix splash "you can see it in his eyes! ill intent" now hes just killing a ragdoll "swan-diving reverse hurricanrana!!" my friend is yelling about how we've never seen any of these moves in our lives and yet they have names according to excalibur holy shit a 630 what?? vikingo did like a million rotations lmfao vikingo rolling up and all the way around kenny omega to get him into a pin??? omg you straight up cannot blink in this match kenny won!

OH MY GOSH ITS THE BCC sirens?? HANGMAN STOLE AN AMBULANCE???? what is that. what is his weapon oh its a plank with nails in it. why is it spraypainted black !!!! CALLIS he is such a LIAR!!!!!!!! SNAKE!!!!!!!!! OUGHH!!!! im making an angry wojak face right now

[27emailsicantsend]

Christmas Eve: A Rina Fic

Author’s Note: Literally no one asked for this, I just wanted to write it. 😂 I’m also in the process of making a part two to this fic for New Year’s Eve, so I’ll link it when I’m finished!

“Both of my parents are working...” Ej sighed.

“Ok, well- moving on!” Miss Jenn said awkwardly as she looked over at Carlos. “What will you be doing for Christmas?”

Carlos smiled at Seb and placed a hand on his desk. “We’ll be singing Christmas Carols door to door”.

“Oh how wonderful! Please make sure to send me copies,” Miss Jenn requested.

Carlos gave her a look of disbelief, “what kind of co-captain would I be if I didn’t send my leading lady a copy? Of course, you will get one”.

Miss Jenn gave an amused giggle. She brought her composure back. “Ricky? How about you? And your dad? Right? You’ll be with your dad Christmas Eve? He shouldn’t have to be alone”.

Ricky grimaced uncomfortably. He didn’t mind Miss Jenn liking his dad, or even them dating, but she asks about him... a LOT. And the last time she asked, she asked if he wore the skinny jeans she bought him for Christmas. Apparently it “outlined” his figure nicely.

“Yes, Miss Jenn,” Ricky said, slightly through his teeth. “It’ll just be my dad and I”. She looked hopeful- Ricky crushed that quickly. “But we were probably going over to Nini’s to help her, her mom’s, Kourtney and her family bake cookies. They give them to the homeless shelter every year”. Ricky hesitated over every part of his remark, especially the part about Nini.

He had spent all of his time with Gina before she moved, then when he thought she wasn’t coming back, he kissed Nini. He liked Nini, right? And they dated and now she finally liked him, so what was the problem? Well... it’s Gina. She moved back and ever since things have been... weird between them. They smile awkwardly at each other in the hallway, almost hugged opening night during the last scene but decided against it, and one time they almost had a conversation more than five sentences when Gina asked Ricky about the missed science homework. But then Big Red came in and saved the day himself. Gina gave a gracious thank you and eye roll and walked away.

Gina’s head was eyeing the marks on her desk, so Ricky couldn’t tell if she was upset or not at the mention of Nini. She traced the writings on the wood with her finger as Miss Jenn asked everyone else in the cast circle about their holiday plans.

Big Red was going to play video games and seemed saltier than usual that Ricky was bailing on their annual video game plans to spend time with Nini, Ashlyn invited EJ to fly down with her family since her sister was in college and ended up not being able to make the family trip in time. EJ had the money to cover the costs and gave a delighted, “yes!”

All eyes shifted to Gina, who was last to be asked. “Oh, you know, we’ll be doing all sorts of fun plans. Decorating the tree, making treats, watching movies... Christmas is... great”. Ricky knew Gina was lying.

The bell gave a sharp ring. Carlos was in the background yelling, “ok everyone! Pre-order for mine and Seb’s Christmas CD is on the piano! 40% off if you order now!... Red! Phone numbers ONLY please. Stop drawing that!...”

Ricky tried to run up and stop Gina, but she was about two steps ahead of him. Just as he began to speak, Gina bolted out and he felt an arm on his shoulder. Miss Jenn.

“Rickyyy!!!”

“H-h-hey, Miss Jenn,” Ricky said, avoiding eye contact.

She placed a firm arm around his shoulders as she walked him to the door, speaking without taking a breath. “Listen, I know you’re going to be busy with Nini and I’m sure your dad doesn’t have any plans, so if your dad wants I won’t be doing anything. I would love to have some company that night. My mom got me this ham, but I don’t really want to eat it all by myself- oh! And then you two can have leftovers and I’m sure you guys needs ham leftovers, right? Well, if he wants to hang out with me or something like I said I won’t be busy so he can just let me know,” Miss Jenn pushed Ricky out the auditorium door. “Ok bye now!” She shut it enthusiastically as Ricky shook his head trying to make sense of what happened.

Ricky looked around the semi-crowded hallway as students made their way to their classes. Gina was long gone.

***********

Miss Jenn breathed a quick sigh from behind the door, perked up, flattened her skirt, and swiftly made her way to the piano to pick up some extra sheet music.

“Miss Jenn?” She heard a soft voice come from opposite stage.

“Gina?” Miss Jenn’s face crumpled as she double checked the closed door. “I thought? I saw?... you leave that way?...”

“There’s a door on that side of the stage too”.

“Oh, yeah, right.”

“Anyway...” Gina gritted her teeth awkwardly, “want some help?”

“Umm... sure, Gina”. Miss Jenn smiled delightfully. “There’s some chairs that need to be stacked”.

Gina made her way over to the chairs. She stacked two in silence and began the third by asking, “so you don’t have plans for Christmas Eve?”

Miss Jenn froze. “What?! No! I have tons of them. Family, friends... so many wonderful people-“

Gina cut her off. “I heard you tell Ricky you didn’t”.

Miss Jenn lowered her head while she meekly straightened her papers on the piano top.

“It’s ok, Miss Jenn. I don’t have any either”.

“Well, that’s interesting Gina, considering you told the entire class you did,” Miss Jenn shot back defensively.

Gina threw her hands up, surrendering, “ok, ok, I’m caught. I just didn’t want anyone worrying about me. My mom is my only family around, but she’s working. So yeah, it’s just me. But... I was planning on just watching YouTube tutorials on how to make eclairs and build puzzles that day anyway... and I think those are activities you can do with two people”.

Miss Jenn finally made eye contact with Gina, “...do you like ham?”

Gina grinned, “love it”.

*************************************************

Christmas Eve

Nini was pulling the last batch of sugar cookies out of the oven while Ricky and Kourtney were slapping on globs of green, blue and red frosting on the cooled ones.

“Oh no...” Dana, Nini’s mom, said scrolling through her phone.

“What?” Nini asked as she started sliding cookies onto the cooling rack.

“The weather... it looks like a bad storm is rolling in tonight. The homeless shelter will be incredibly hard to get to with traffic and this storm. I don’t know, Nini, I don’t think we should go”.

“But mom, we do this every year!” Nini protested. “And what would we do with all of these?!”

Ricky used his finger to take some frosting off of his chin and eat it. Nini glared at him as if her eyes were to say “not the time”.

“Oh. Sorry,” Ricky set down his currently half frosted cookie and knife.

Kourtney got up and gave Nini a side hug as she rested her head on Nini’s shoulder.

“There’s got to be something we can do”. Ricky’s dad, Mike, interjected.

“Well, It’s not the exact same, but we could give them to some people around the area. And we can always make cookies again for New Years or something and bring them then,” Carol suggested.

“That works,” Nini looked disappointed, but accepting considering the circumstance.

**************

Gina was adjusting the fork next to the paper plate at her small table. It wasn’t much, but Gina really tried to make the place nice for her special guest. She turned on her fireplace, hung up two socks with duct tape, set out some holiday paper plates and plastic ware, and even cut and taped a bunch of paper snowflakes all over the house. She had strung some lights and put up the few Christmas decorations she found in a small box in her attic. She didn’t have a tree, so she put up a faux one on her tv screen from a channel that showed it with Christmas music playing in the background. It wasn’t much, but it made Gina giddy.

Gina heard her doorbell ring. She swung the door open fast and immediately her eyes fixated on Miss Jenn’s arms. In one she was carrying her cooked ham and the other had a small gift bag and her purse. Gina couldn’t afford to get Miss Jenn anything and immediately felt horrible.

“Uh... um... come on in,” Gina stammered.

Miss Jenn looked around as she placed the items on the kitchen counter. “Gina, it’s beautiful”.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” Gina said sheepishly.

Miss Jenn set a gentle hand on Gina’s shoulder. “Really, it looks great”.

Gina bit her lip thoughtfully. “Well, how about that ham?”

“Oh yes! I have just the thing for it!” Miss Jenn zipped open her purse and pulled out a plastic handle with a cover. When she slid the cover off it revealed a giant knife- to which Gina’s eyes widened with surprise.

“Uhm... you don’t carry that around with you... all the time... do you miss Jenn?”

“Oh no, of course not silly,” Miss Jenn said as she made the first carve into the ham. “I can’t carry it at airports,” she said as she winked playfully at Gina.

Right when Gina was about to say Christmas was cancelled, she heard the doorbell ring again.

“Weird. I didn’t invite anyone else,” Gina thought outloud.

“Nini? Ricky?” Gina said, her face puzzled. She heard the knife clud! in the background and Miss Jenn scurry to the front door. “Mike?!” She said, enthusiastically.

Nini, Ricky, Mike, and Kourtney were all standing in the doorway holding a giant plate of cookies.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We brought cookies!” Ricky said as he tried to present them with a fancy hand gesture.

Kourtney, unable to keep her mouth shut, piped in, “No offense, but Miss Jenn what are you doing here?”

Nini shot Kourtney a look.

“Celebrating Christmas?” Miss Jenn said with a strained smile.

“Come on in”. Gina has to force the words out of her mouth. As soon as she turned around, she rolled her eyes and mouthed “whyyyyy”.

The gang let themselves in. The teens put the cookies on one of them empty counters in the kitchen and Mike made his way over to the ham. “Hey, Jenn, did you carve this?”

Jenn perked up, “yes, why?” She said with a confident smile.

“Well... uh... it’s great... it’s just you carved into the bone and that might break the knife”. Jenn’s eyes widened in embarrassment.

“It’s ok! You did great”. Mike tried to save himself.

“No, I actually don’t know how to carve a ham”. Miss Jenn got a calculated look in her eyes. “But maybe you could teach me?”

Mike looked at the kids, knowing they had more stops to go. “Would you guys be alright if I helped Miss Jenn with this ham?”

Everyone said yes, minus Nini who said no, but when she realized she was the only one, quickly changed her answer to yes.

Gina heard the doorbell ring again.

“What the-?” She asked outloud. She opened up her door and “The First Day of Christmas” was belted in her face by none other than Carlos and Seb. They barely got through the first day before Gina hushed them and stepped onto her small porch.

“What are you guys doing here?!”

“Caroling!” Carlos chimed, before noticing everyone else in the window. “What are they doing here?!” He asked offended. “Are you having an official cast party without me?! Gina! How could you? I thought we were frie-“.

Gina cut him off, slightly annoyed. “Will you be quiet? It’s not! I lied. Ok? I didn’t have anyone coming over for Christmas so I invited Miss Jenn and then the Three Musketeers and their father randomly showed up and they’re the last people I want here”.

“Gina, the more the merrier. Seb and I’s families can wait. Let’s make sure you get a Christmas to remember”.

Carlos then pushed past Gina and went into her house. “Hellooooo everyone!” He greeted. The other three ran over and gave him and Seb enthusiastic hugs.

Gina accepted her fate and walked back inside.

About fifteen minutes later, she was showing Kourtney how she found her “tree channel” on the TV when another knock came on the door.

Gina opened it up, now officially confused. “Red? What on Earth could you be doing here?”

He was carrying a small Christmas bag. “Well, I heard there was a party here-“

“Carlos?”

“Yeah,” Gina perched her lips, “anyway, Ricky also left this at my house and I heard he was here so I made sure to bring it with me. I also brought video games!”

Red let himself in and that was when Gina noticed the giant black backpack stuffed to the brim hanging from his back.

Gina yelled out to the empty street, “anyone else want to join? Apparently there’s a party at my house!”

And as if, on cue, Gina saw two more figures appear. Ashlyn and EJ. “Hellloooo! We heard there was a party here!” Ashlyn hollered carrying a giant pack of soda’s and EJ with chips and other treats in his arms.

“You two are supposed to be in Denver!”

“We were,” stated Ashlyn, “but my flight was with my sister- which EJ took- and it ended up being cancelled because of the storm. My whole family is there so we’re stuck here”.

“Storm? What storm?” Gina asked puzzled.

“Dude, you didn’t hear?” EJ asked.

“No, dude,” Gina retorted in a salty tone, “I didn’t”.

“Well, it’s massive. People are being told that after 6- so like fifteen minutes from now- we need to stay indoors. It’s supposed to be icy and snow like fifteen inches. It’s crazy. So we decided to come here, hopefully beating the storm. Besides, when Carlos declares a party, we have to be there”.

Gina sighed as she gave up. She should have expected a Carlos-party at her house sometime, might as well be now. She let the two, now shivering, in.

She called her mom and explained the situation. Her mom was surprisingly ok with all of the people there, mostly because there was adult supervision. Unfortunately, because of the storm, her mom wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. The office was requesting people stay to be safe, so the entire city was basically on lockdown at this point.

Gina made her way back to the kitchen. Everyone was scattered and chatting throughout her house. She found Miss Jenn and Mike finishing up the ham. She gently tapped Miss Jenn on the shoulder. “Um... Miss Jenn... some more people showed up”.

Miss Jenn must have really been in her own thoughts because she jumped back into Mike’s arms when she noticed all the new people that had arrived since Mike. They awkwardly pushed away from each other and brushed their clothes off.

“Oh... I’m going to need more ham”.

Gina saw Ricky approaching her and tried to push past Red and Ashlyn having a rousing conversation about dinosaurs.

“Hey, Gina!” She heard him call. She pretended not to hear him as she pushed through Red and Ashlyn. Ricky shook his head in frustration and returned back to Nini.

“Everything ok?” Nini asked cautiously.

“Yup. Just fine. Can we please just get back to... whatever we were doing?”

“We were just talking Ricky”.

“Yeah um, never mind. I’m going to get a drink,” Ricky said as he made his way to a canned Dr. Pepper.

About twenty minutes later, Carlos saw Gina sitting alone in her home office. She was sitting in a giant, faded swivel chair- her back to the doorframe, staring somberly out the window.

Carlos sighed dramatically. “OOOhhhh”. This caused Gina to jump, swivel around quickly, and glare at him.

He sighed even more dramatically as he fell against the doorway, palm to his forward, “OOOOHHHHHHH”.

“Yes, Carlos?” Gina asked, unamused.

“Well,” Carlos said, sauntering to a chair, his antics still high. He fell dramatically in the chair as he whimpered, “I’m just so. bored. at this amazing party you threw”.

Nothing.

“So I was thinking we should play a game”.

“Carlos, I own like, no board games”.

“Oh that’s fine!” Carlos perked up. “Charades doesn’t need board games,” he said with a wink. He popped up and held out his hand fashionably toward her.

Gina smiled and shook her head as she took his hand and they ran out to the living room. She noticed they were all already sitting around, a bag with paper strips sat neatly in the center of her coffee table. “Attention! Attention! We are ALL playing charades. No one gets a choice. Pick a teammate,” Carlos demanded royally.

Carlos ran over and grabbed Seb’s hand. Ashlyn and Red looked at each other and shrugged. Jenn scooted closer to Mike in the kitchen. Which left Nini, EJ, Ricky, and Kourtney sitting on the couches and Gina awkwardly standing in the corner.

“I call Gina,” Ricky said without hesitation. Both Nini and Gina gave him weird looks.

“Well then...” Carlos said apparently discomfited, “ I guess that leaves Nini, EJ, and Kourtney on the other team. That’s fine. Throuples are fun!” Carlos didn’t even hesitate with his last statement, but it made the entire room incredibly tense.

“Well go on!” Carlos pushed Gina in Ricky’s direction. “Go sit by your teammate”. Gina sat down next to Ricky, who was now perfectly settled in between her and Nini on the two seater couch.

“We’ll go first!” Miss Jenn volunteered. The game was fun, but Jenn was incredibly competitive and rubbed the fact she and Mike were winning in everyone’s face. Red and Ashlyn cheated the entire time which made Carlos annoyed. And Nini was barely giving any spirit to her team. Gina and Ricky cooperatively played together- at first it was awkward, but about two turns in they were already high-fiving and celebrating their victories and secretly celebrating their opponents losses.

It was the fourth round and it became Gina and Ricky’s turn again. She reached in the grocery bag and pulled out a little white paper with Seb’s handwriting poorly written on it. It read “Gabriella”. She got horrible flashbacks of seeing Ricky and Gina kiss during the show and after the show. Behind stage. Where they still don’t know she saw them.

“Uhh... umm...” she made an elephant trunk draping her arm from her nose and flailing her hand.

“Elephant!” Ricky yelled gleefully.

“Yeah, sure,” Gina said and then swiftly exited the room.

“That’s weird...,”Seb said under his breath. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t put elephant in there...”

Ashlyn chimed in, “let’s keep going,” which was perfect, because it broke the tension. Red ran over to Gina who was walking quickly to her bedroom. “Are you still playing?”

“Umm... no... I’m gonna take a break. Games wear me out,” she said as she let out a half-hearted laugh. “Just have Nini be Ricky’s partner or something”.

“Ok...” Red said as he awkwardly exited the room, slightly tripping on her bedroom frame.

Gina grabbed the small box filled with thick string and began braiding an intricate design on a bracelet she had been working on the past week.

She heard a small tap on the door and looked up from her bracelet.

“Hey Nini, what’s up?”

“Are you alright?” Nini asked, approaching and slowly sitting on the edge of Gina’s bed.

Gina sat up from laying on her stomach and let her back fall into her pillows. She began fumbling with her bracelet again.

“I’m good. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well... you left the game kind of... abruptly?”

Gina shrugged.

“Alright, I’m just going to ask. I don’t want to beat around the bush. Is this about Ricky and me?”

Gina scoffed. “Hah! No. Why would it be? Why would I care if the guy I got close to and hung out with for weeks turned around and found someone else right after I left? We were just friends. No big. It’s chill or whatever..”

This stung Nini a little- because it’s what she did to Ricky.

Nini let out a breath. She couldn’t believe what she was about to say next.

“Ricky liked you too”.

Gina dropped the bracelet.

“What?! I- I- mean... what?!! I never said I liked him”.

“It’s ok, Gina. It was obvious you did. I couldn’t blame you. I was pretty jealous. And yes, Ricky and I are together, but things haven’t been the same since. He never said he liked you, but he talks about you non-stop. And he’s the one who suggested we bring you cookies tonight- honestly, I tried to stop him. I don’t think he ever stopped liking you”.

Gina didn’t understand.

“W-why are you telling me this? You said you’re together with him”.

“Because I think I’m realizing what I realized before I got back with him the second time. I don’t want someone who’s only half-in. I deserve to have someone who wants me completely and so do you”.

“Are... you saying you want me to be with Ricky?”

“I’m saying, let’s see where things go”. Nini gently touched Gina’s hand. “But please don’t let some boy come in between our friendship and this party. I thought we were starting to become friends again before you moved”.

Gina laughed thinking of Thanksgiving and almost getting to have a sleepover. “We were, weren’t we?”

“So come just enjoy Christmas with your friends, ok? No matter what happens, we’re all family and that’s what matters”.

Gina smiled. Nini grabbed her hand and they walked downstairs. Everyone was eating ham and smiling and joking around. Gina was glad Nini came when she did. She would have been bummed to miss out on everything.

“Hey Gina! Glad to see you join us again!” Jenn said with a big grin.

“There’s some ham left on the stove!” Mike piped in, standing next to her.

Gina made herself a plate and walked quietly around the room. She saw an empty seat next to Ricky.

“May I sit here?” She said with a soft smile.

Ricky’s face beamed. “All yours”.

Nini glanced over at them and smiled. She went and sat at the small table with Kourtney and Ashlyn.

Red, Carlos, Seb, Gina, and Ricky sat and laughed and cracked jokes about the play and things that went wrong that none of the audience would have noticed. Gina couldn’t help but feel right at home with them. She and Ricky exchanged a small glance and she blushed as she looked away.

“Hey, do you want to play the switch, Ricky?” Red asked.

“It wouldn’t be a normal Christmas Eve without it”.

The night passed with video games, the girls doing each other’s hair, a lot of snacks, a small living room karaoke session, and a wild game of sardines. People had began to fall asleep in random places throughout Gina’s house. Some on the floor, couches, her mom’s bed and even Jenn had an emergency blow up mattress in her car she brought in.

Red and Ricky were the only other two up still playing video games at about 3 am. Gina decided to turn in and go to sleep.

Ricky jumped up and ran over to her while Red pretended not to listen.

“Hey Gina?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for letting us stay here. It was really nice of you guys.”

“Well, we didn’t really have a choice,” Gina giggled. “It was over -45 outside. You would’ve frozen immediately”.

“True,” Ricky smiled.

They stood in silence for a moment.

“Good night, Ricky”.

“Good night, Gina. Merry Christmas”.

Gina began to walk to the staircase, laid her hand on it, turned around and gave a soft smile to Ricky, and then walked back up the stairs.

The next morning, Gina went into her hall closet and got out the emergency stash of tooth brushes her mom keeps. Because they have times when they frequently run low on money, her mom keeps a large collection of necessaries handy (when she does get paid), for emergencies. Things like soap, shampoo, tooth paste, and tooth brushes that are long lasting are among the stored parts.

She placed a tooth brush and mini tooth paste from previous dentist visits next to each person, so when they woke up at least they could brush their teeth.

She then went into the kitchen and got out a frozen loaf of toast to thaw and the filled carton of eggs. It wasn’t much, but hopefully it could tide everyone over until the city was cleared to be on the roads again. Nini and Mike were among the first to wake up, with Jenn and Red the last. (Red also woke up in his own drool puddle, but no one was surprised. Ricky was just thankful he didn’t bring any of his “sleeping gear”).

Everyone sat around and ate breakfast, called families, and watched Elf. During Elf, Gina noticed Nini lay her head on Ricky’s shoulder, feeling like their conversation last night was too good to be true. But she could have sworn she caught Ricky giving her a couple glances...

The morning was quickly dissembling when Gina watched Nini and Ricky walk off to another room after the movie finished while everyone else helped clean up decorations and garbage from the day before.

Seb was on his phone when he screeched, “FINALLY. WE CAN GO HOME”.

Carlos looked at him, concerned. “Seb, honey, you ok?”

“I WAS GOING CRAZY. I WAS TRYING TO BE NICE BUT I HATE ENCLOSED SPACES. I CANT BREATHE AND I WANT TO GO HOME. THIS STORM IS OVER- thanks again, Gina- BUT LET’S GOOOO”.

Carlos just shook his head and giggled. They were definitely the first to leave. Red, Ashlyn and EJ were next. Mike walked Miss Jenn to her car, while Nini and Kourtney were in Gina’s room talking. Gina was watching Mike give Jenn a hug when she heard Ricky’s voice behind her.

“You think she’s going to be my new mom?”

“I don’t know. Would you be upset if she was?”

Ricky smiled. “I don’t know”.

Gina watched them talk a few more seconds and then turned around. “Listen, Ricky, about last night...”

“It’s no worries. I get it’s been a little weird between us...”

“A little?!-“

“-ok a lot-”

“-We’ve hardly talked! I mean I get you’re in a relationship and all-“

“What relationship?”

“... with Nini?” Gina asked confused.

“Yeah... I think we decided during Elf to put the breaks on that”.

“Is that why you left?”

“Yeah... Nini feels like she needs to find herself without someone.... whatever that means”.

Gina felt a little tingle swirl in her stomach. She repressed the smile that was beginning to take over her face.

“Well... that’s just a big bummer then”. The statement came out a lot more sarcastic than Gina intended, but luckily Ricky didn’t notice because he giggled back.

“Yeah, a real bummer”.

Nini and Kourtney came down the stairs.

“Ready to go?” She smiled at Ricky.

“Sure,” he smiled back politely.

“Thank you so much,” said Kourtney to Gina.

“Yes, thank you. We owe you. You sure you’re going to be ok? I don’t want to leave you alone on Christmas,” echoed Nini.

“I promise, I’m good. My mom will be home in like, an hour, tops. You guys go enjoy your missed time with your families. They need it too,” Gina reassures them.

“Ok, well, Merry Christmas,” Nini said.

The others copied this sentiment with some goodbye’s and a giant group hug before they headed out the door.

Nini smiled as she locked the door behind them and went over to the kitchen counter. The gifts! They had been so wrapped up in the fun, they never opened the gifts. Gina hurried and look at the tags to see who they belonged to so she could return the presents to their rightful owners.

The one from Miss Jenn was definitely for her so she decided not to make that call... but who’s was Red’s for? Gina looked at the tag.

To: Gina

From: Ricky

Gina set both presents down at the table and slowly pulled the paper maché from the gift bag from Miss Jenn. She had given Gina a handmade ornament that looked like a little cartoon version of herself with a small name plaque that read “Taylor”. Gina smiled as she stared at the detailing on the little figurine. It was so thoughtful and she appreciated Miss Jenn coming over in the first place. Regardless of what actually happened last night, Gina couldn’t help but appreciate how much fun she would have had with Miss Jenn alone. She really was an amazing teacher.

Then she pulled the other little bag towards her and carefully pulled the paper out of it. Inside was a knitted scarf. There were multiple colors in no particular pattern and parts of it had looser seams than others. Gina wrapped the scarf around her neck- it smelt like Ricky. It smelt like home.

Just then she heard the door bell ring. She stood up to answer it, but then realized her scarf was still on. She fought it like a snake wrapped around her neck. When it was finally done suffocating her, she ran to the door.

She swung it open and Ricky bolted in, slamming the door behind him.

“I forgot to give you your present!!!”

Gina giggled, “no you didn’t.” She nodded toward her table.

Ricky giggled. “It’s so bad. I’m so sorry. I was just trying to do this really nice thing-“

“Ricky, stop,” Gina said as she laid a hand on his shoulder. “I love it”.

Ricky blushed as he hung his for a second.

He began to walk back towards the door but as he reached for the handle, he dropped his hand. “Oh and Gina?”

“Yeah?”

“I meant what I said about how nice it was that you let us stay here. I don’t even think I realized how much I appreciated it when I said it”.

He then leaned over and gave Gina a soft peck on the cheek, making her entire body relax with this one small moment.

“Merry Christmas, Gina”.

She smiled and said, “Merry Christmas,” softly as he closed the door behind him.

Gina then walked over, wrapped her colorful scarf around her neck, put her little ornament up to her cheek, and did a small happy dance. This happy dance broke into full on spins. And as she moved and hummed throughout the bottom half of her house, she promised to herself that she would not forget about her best Christmas ever.

[danetobelieve]

Coffee’s For Closers || Winn and Winston

When: brunchtime on Saturday 27/06/2020 Who: @packsbeforesnacks & @danetobelieve Where: Coffee Plus Summary: Winn and Winston have coffee and Winston recommends a memory magician Warnings: none

Winn was an interesting dude. Winston knew that he was a werewolf, despite the fact that they weren’t sure that they had ever had the pleasure of meeting Winn in person. However, both Rio and Ricky seemed to have relatively high opinions of Winn and Winston knew that wasn’t all Ricky had of him. So when they’d asked about the coffee date, Winston hadn’t been opposed to it. Getting to know someone who was important to their friends, no, their family, was a meaningful enough goal. Pulling their car up in front of Coffee Plus, Winston heard it shudder to a halt and wondered how long it was before it fell apart entirely. Their main method of transportation was hardly their priority right now. Spotting Winn easily, they waved. “I need like a triple shot or something,” it had been a late night, “but it’s good to see you and finally meet in person.”

Winn had more than enough energy to go around — coffee was little more than a bitter drink to him, his joe of choice sweet, flavorful, cloying, and somethings… a little bit chocolate-y. As a treat. But it was neutral territory, and Winn, worried he’d offended Winston somehow, wanted neutral. Winston was important to Ricky and Rio and Blanche. It was wild that they hadn’t met yet, if Winn was bein’ honest with himself, but that was, probably, more on Winn than anything else. Before he’d left town, he’d been… a hermit. Hell, only a couple of folks had known where he’d even lived. He nodded at Winston as they approached, smile bright and sunny in the already-hazy June afternoon. “Nice to see you, bro. Let’s get you caffeinated. For all I care, you can get twenty shots. My treat, let’s make those baristas work.” If it hadn’t been slow, Winn never would’ve suggested that, but he wanted to make a good impression. Money could do some talkin’.

“Twenty shots would be excessive,” Winston replied absentmindedly. Slipping their hands into their jacket pocket they followed Winn into the coffee shop. There weren’t lots of people in here and as things went for a weekend Winston was surprised to see that. Perhaps people had decided to enjoy the delights of the carnival over the attractions of caffeine. “Can I get a triple shot latte please?” Winston had to admit that they should probably just get more sleep than drink more coffee but it was always hard to prioritise sleep when there was so much going on constantly. They were constantly trying to work out so much about the world that they had only just discovered. But now they had to take a break, but hopefully it would be worth it. “You gone to the carnival yet?” 

“Ha, maybe!” Winn said, following them into the shop and smiling at the plain order. Winn wasn’t playin’ around, though, especially not if he was payin’. “Can I get the largest latte, with an extra doppio, double pump vanilla if y’all have it. oat milk if y’all have it, and… hm, do y’all have those little chocolate shavings? Only a little, but those would be great. Ah, and whatever food my friend here wants. Y’all got bagels? Plain bagel and cream cheese.” Winn slid two twenties across the counter at the barista. “And I know that’s a pain, so keep the change, okay?” He scanned Coffee Plus for a corner table and, finding one, slung his jacket over one of the chairs before returning to the bar. “No, actually! Haven’t had a chance. But, uh, was thinkin’ about askin’ someone there, actually. You been?”

Stood there silently, Winston glanced at the menu briefly before shaking their head. “I’m good, thanks for the offer, the latte is fine.” It was always the same coffee order for Winston. The strength usually varied but a straight latte was what they’d been drinking since high school and they didn’t plan to make any changes in the near future. Waiting patiently for their coffee, Winston glanced around the shop looking for any familiar faces. You never knew with coffee plus. Not noticing anyone though, Winston turned their attention back to Winn as he returned. “Got someone specific in mind?” Winston couldn’t help being nosey. “Yeah, a couple of times with various friends. Though this is the first year I’ve ever actually gone. I don’t know why but I just never got around to it before. But it’s cool. Weird. But aren’t all carnivals? Definitely not entirely mundane either.” 

“Suit yourself!” Winn said happily, taking a big bite out of the bagel one of the baristas handed him. “I have kinda… a big appetite. You live with Ricks, though, so you’re probably used to it.” He tilted his head at that, not really having considered that they had lived there while Winn had been… around, briefly. “Did you— I mean, did you know we were casual? Ricky and I?” Their drinks came, and Winn took a tentative sip of his, not willing to burn his overly sensitive tongue on anything. Never knew when you’d need to lick somethin’. Or someone. Winn made his way over to the table, chatting as he slid out his chair. “I do,” he said, evenly. “But he’s not, like, out, really. Just… figured the whole thing out, so you’ll understand if I’m gonna pass on droppin’ names. It would be our first date. Wanted to go on the Fourth. Still have to ask ‘m, ‘course, but we’re basically just dancin’ around each other at this point. Not that,” he paused, taking a sip out of his concoction, “you’d know anythin’ about dancin’ around someone?” There was a teasing edge to his voice, but it was gentle — Winn had learned a lesson about prying, even if he’d still say he hadn’t been tryin’ to pry. “By not mundane, do you mean…”

Taking a long sip of their coffee, Winston sighed contentedly at the familiar buzz of sugar and caffeine pumping through their body. There wasn’t anything quite like the first coffee of the day. Even if it was the middle of the afternoon and Winston had spent far too much time asleep this morning. But it was the weekend right? So it wasn’t really like it mattered. “Yeah, I always wondered if that was because of your hobby or because you guys are gym nuts.” Winston hoped that Winn caught their drift when they said hobby. “I guessed, it's cool, if you guys can make it work then good for you, I definitely could not make the friends with benefits casual situation work.” Winston wasn’t sure that anyone could make it work, but they were ready to be proved wrong. Slipping opposite Winn, Winston tucked their conversed feet beneath their chair and leaned back in it. “Of course, good for both of you, I hope that you have a good time. My advice would be not to get drunk and take them to your friends opening night at a rave, but then again it worked out okay for me so...” Winston wasn’t so prideful that they couldn’t enjoy some good natured ribbing. Glancing around to make sure there wasn’t anyone in ear shot, Winston dropped their voice. “I mean about as mundane as three leprechauns in a trench coat trying to take out a bank loan.” 

“Aw, man, I mean, even before my hobby, I really ate a lot, yeah. But now I have, y’know, a wolf of an appetite.” Winn winked, that joke never failing to make him laugh. “We, uh… couldn’t. It’s chill, we’re fine, but we called it off, sort of, and then there was a one-off when Ricky’s… cold let up?” Winston would understand, right? No way they didn’t know about the chest, especially if they were involved whatsoever in the almost-apocalypse. Winn should ask about that, sometime. He’d been, blissfully, ignorant. But now that, he hoped, there was no chance of it going wrong again… “But, uh, Ricky and I wouldn’t have been good for each other, long term. We both want… different things, I think. I’m not sure what Ricky actually wants, but I know what I do. Or, at least, I do most of the time? Ricky’s great, it’s all good!” He laughed, eager to move on from this subject — didn’t want it gettin’ back to Ricky, or for Winston to think Winn wasn’t mindin’ his business. And things were fine, between them. Noah was in the picture, now, and Winn — like, look, the sex was great, but Winn needed more. No one would guess it, but he was… a romantic, at heart. Past the weed and innuendo and werewolf bullshit. “Ha, thanks,” Winn said, trying to slip around the mention of the rave entirely. He said he would stay out, so he would, but, well. “You’re good, right? With all of that?” Winn cocked his head. “I know it’s none of my business! Just… askin’. And,” he dropped his voice to match Winston’s, “was it… literally three leprechauns in a trench coat? ‘Cause I can take demons, but I draw the fuckin’ line at leprechauns.”

At least Winn seemed to have caught onto the game of charades that they were all but playing as they discussed Ricky. Winston was well aware of exactly what the cold was. “Ah, yes, the cold that lasted for nearly a month, I’m sure he was glad for the … reprieve.” Winston knew that Ricky wasn’t really … didn’t really … they weren’t sure how to put it but they knew that dating wasn’t currently on the table. Ricky felt that there was too much else to work on and Winston could understand and truly respect that sentiment. “I get it, sometimes you meet someone who you like but you know it doesn’t work and so you make the good and mature decision to take some separation over devastating each other emotionally and stunting your growth for however many years. Seems like a smart move.” Winston took another sip of their coffee, the bitter drink rolling over them as they considered what to say next. “We’re good, we’ve talked, we’re making it work our way. It’s just going to take time and be slow, but that’s good for us, it’s good to take this slow especially considering Rio’s … situation.” Winston didn’t know how read into it all Winn was and wasn’t about to out their friend, boyfriend? They weren’t sure what to call Rio. Raising an eyebrow as the conversation continued, Winston shrugged. “No fae that I was aware of, the last time I ran into leprechauns they tried to beat me to death for stealing some of their gold whilst sleepwalking, but yeah, I’d take demons over them any day.” 

Winn laughed a little at Winston’s description of, what, emotional maturity? “Yeah, uh, that about sums it up? Though, seems a little real, bro.” He cocked his head. “Bro, like, okay? I can swap to… buddy?” The last thing Winn wanted to do was to offend Winston, even unintentionally. Stayin’ in their good graces was goin’ to make his life waaaaaaay easier in the long term, especially assumin’ all of their friends were, like, the same as Winn’s. “I’m glad that y’all made the decision that’s right for y’all. Rootin’ for you crazy kids.” Winn winked, trying to let Winston know that he was mostly kiddin’ about the kid quip. No real telling how hold they were, far as Winn was concerned, twenty to thirty was a blur of bad decisions and folks only really changed their hair, not their entire… everything. But, y’know, maybe he was lettin’ personal experience get in the way. Then Winston mentioned leprechauns, and Winn barely resisted bangin’ his head on the table. “Is there anything that exists and doesn’t immediately want to kick ass?” ‘Course, Winn remembered the yeth hound he’d encountered with Rio, but the rest of the supernatural world seemed dicedly… murdery. That was why hunters existed, after all. Protectin’ the Average Joe Coffee from, like, a shark with razor blade fins. Or somethin’. “How are you, uh, otherwise?” he hedged, trying to break some of the (imagined?) tension.

“Sometimes it’s better to be honest then act like something isn’t something that it is,” Winston replied. They’d learned the hard way that denial got people hurt. Maybe not always physically. “Bro, buddy, dude, dudebro, guy,” Winston shrugged gently, “gendered nicknames like that don’t really worry me too much, I use them for a lot of people anyway, but if it ever bothers me then you’ll be the first to know.” Winston stopped themselves from saying promise or something along those lines, even if Winn wasn’t fae it was probably a good idea to get into practice of not making unnecessary promises. Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston smiled a little at the thought of what they were actually doing with Rio. It was crazy, a rollercoaster that they were really not ready for, but you couldn’t stop Winston from riding this ride. It was worth it for Rio. Laughing, Winston shrugged. “Baku, Veggie Lambs are two that come to mind, otherwise it does kind of feel like everything wants to take a piece out of you.” Taking another mouthful of coffee, Winston glanced at Winn for a moment. “I’m doing well, honestly it’s nice to know the world isn’t ending because of a demon squid monster.” Lying wasn’t a strong suit for Winston, but they’d been in denial about their wellbeing for a while now. Bea’s death, Celeste’s death, the amount of overtime work was demanding with all these missing people’s cases, the resurrection and murder. Not to mention all of the more normal (and that wasn’t saying much) parts of everyday life that were stressful. “Kind of hoping things calm down a bit…” they shrugged, running a thumb along the edge of the table. “How about you? Keeping well in White Crest?”

“Honesty can be hard,” Winn said, “but worth it, more often than not.” He wasn’t about to sit here and pretend that honesty hadn’t helped him heal his wounded heart more in the past month than in the almost five years before. “Alright, bro. Just let me know. And if you and Rio ever need anything… well, just call me up. You know I’ve got the cash to burn.” He shrugged, amicably. It wasn’t that he enjoyed showing off — or being a sugar daddy, as Ariana so often hearin’ more about, ugh, Squidward (right?), but he wasn’t a former-future-counselor for nothin’. And it seemed rude to shut down an entire avenue of conversation. “That must have been hard; you deserve a break to relax and enjoy yourself.” Winn chugged the rest of his cooling, sugary put it — but there was really nothin’ Winn wanted more than to redistribute his granpa’s ‘legacy’ into folks that might actually use it for somethin’ good. Winn had bought a fuckin’ house and still had more paper than he knew what to do with. He decided to let the conversation of harmless creatures drop entirely. Maybe it was hangin’ around Adam too much, but Winn could hold the danger with the beauty, now. Sure, some things didn’t want to kill him. Some things were just scared. But that didn’t mean he had to rollover and bear his belly at ‘em. “So… You were involved with the whole… apocalypse thing?” Winn would be lyin’ if he said he was interested in drink, savoring the tingle of sugar as it coated his throat. Maybe the caffeine would kick in; maybe Winn wouldn’t think about how much sleep he had lost lately. “I am and I’m not,” he said, honestly. “I don’t know if Rio has told you — wouldn’t blame him if he’d told you everything — but I’m goin’ through some supernatural shit of my own, right now.” A chomp of the bagel, regret that he didn’t have any water. Why had he finished his drink so early? Oh, right, because: “I can’t... remember everything, anymore.” He gave a half-laugh, willing to leave it, awkwardly, there, if Winston didn’t want to broach the subject.

“My parents had a cheesy saying, ‘honesty is the best policy’”, Winston smirked gently at the thought, “like I said, cheesy as fuck, but usually right.” Winston swallowed at the offer of cash. The thought of the money that Lydia had given them literally sitting gaining value in a savings account. “Thanks for the offer, if there’s ever a need then I’ll come calling but really we both live rent free with Ricky, so it’s not like we’re ever really in that much need. Yeah, I was involved, me and Rio met through… the way me and Rio became really good friends allows us to get a lot of research done too and we’ve been working on a lot of it for a while, fortunately I was only involved in the theoretical side of it, the actual practical applications were much more… tricky I hear.” Shrugging gently, Winston wondered if Winn had an inkling of just how badly Winston really needed a break to relax and enjoy themselves, but more than that they would just like to be able to leave White Crest to its own devices for a week without worrying that one of their friends might be dead when they got back. But as the conversation turned to Winn, Winston found themselves back in a position that they couldn’t help but savour. Being able to help someone. “Really?” Winston paused, “Honestly, Rio and I don’t really talk about you, no offence but I don’t really know you so you don’t come up in conversation so no— I mean I didn’t know, but… I could try and help, maybe?” Winston paused, adjusting their glasses. “You can’t remember everything anymore, do you think it’s supernatural or is this like Winston get me to a fucking doctor sorta situation?” 

“Nothing that a doctor can fix, unfortunately,” Winn said with a sad smile. His nightmare from a few nights ago had slipped to the back of his mind, but he found himself thinking about it. About waking up in a cold sweat, knowing that he hadn’t left his bed, but thinking… thinking that the wolf had gotten out, somehow, that Winn wouldn’t know if the wolf could get out. His decision-making was all out of whack. For every good thing in his life, like telling Noah, there was something… bad. Something stupid. That man, the one who’d reminded him a little of Noah, the way that Winn had tried to let himself forget, but had shouted at him to leave after it all. Winn was no stranger to bad decisions, but this was the first time in his life where it felt like those bad decisions were comin’ from hidin’ from somethin’ he couldn’t explain. The Full Moon comin’ up… Well, Winn was worried about what he might do. His dad had already offered his services on wolf-sitting duty, keeping Winn chained up in the cellar, but… “I, uh, two years.” He held up two fingers, immediately feeling a bit silly. “I can’t remember them. Thought it was, y’know, hobby-related, but think it might be more… mystical? Magical? I don’t know jack shit about all that, though. Two of the, uh, mages,” his voice went up, unused to the word outside of bad movies, “I know aren’t my biggest fans, and the other one… Well, it doesn’t seem like memory is somethin’ she has a ton of experience with. And I’d like to keep my brain in my skull, if you catch my drift.” He stood, stretching for a second. “I’m going to go get some water, let you process all of that, real quick?” When he returned, after chugging an entire cup at the counter (sorry, barista), he searched Winston’s eyes for any sort of answer.

The news that Winn dropped onto Winston’s lap was the kind of news that you sometimes get when you’re getting a check up at the doctor’s. Completely unexpected, really not good in any way, and completely changes your perception of something or someone or anything along those lines. “Okay, so I guess I’ve got questions. You said hobby related; I know what that means and first of all are you absolutely certain that can’t account for that? Two years of your life just gone is a long time and if someone has taken that from you… well I’m really not an expert in…” Winston glanced over their shoulder, the coffee shop had been emptying out for a little while now as the day dragged on and Winston was pleased to discover that they were relatively alone, “… mental magic isn’t my forte. Honestly, traditional magic I’m incredibly mediocre and inexperienced at, where I excel in is like tech and stuff like that, thinking on my feet I can do fine, but I don’t have the experience to be a true expert on this.” Winston chewed on their bottom lip and pulled their glasses off of their face, vigorously scrubbing a finger smudge from one of the lenses they returned them to their face before they spoke once more. “First of all what are you trying to achieve here, do you want the memories back? Do you want to find out what happened and why they took them? Is it an all of the above situation?” Winston sat back in their chair. “I guess the other thing is that you should know the risks that this can have. I can show you what fucking with mental magic gets you if you want, because it’s risky, when we did it… it was worth it, but there was a cost that I paid. There always is with magic. Even when you don’t expect one it is still there. It’s not that the magic is insidious, it's just that the brain is very… complicated and magic is infinitely more complicated, if everything isn’t perfect then things can go wrong and even when they are perfect there can be unforeseen consequences…” Winston looked at the cold dregs of their drink. “If you decide that despite all of that you still want to look into a magical solution, then I… and this is a big might, but I might have a guy who could help.”

Winn took a sip of the water, considering. “Rio has been workin’ his ass off on tryin’ to make sure that it isn’t hobby-related. Given his… bein’ a fan, of the hobby, he’s tryin’ to learn the rules of the game on the fly. But we’re both pretty sure that this isn’t a hobby… accident.” This metaphor was gettin’ complicated. He cocked his head when Winston mentioned that mental magic wasn’t their forte, and then when they implied — well, outright said — that they had some knowledge of ‘traditional’ magic. “I wonder if there’s a way to bridge the two,” Winn said finally. “I mean, what’s that line in Thor? Magic is just technology we don’t understand? Don’t know how applicable it is, but…” Winn shrugged, an easy smile. He listened patiently as Winston worked through the situation, foot tapping gently on the floor towards the end. “I have to know. I, uh— Look, I’m worried that if I don’t figure it out, I might… lose control of my love for the hobby. I almost did, once. Blanche,” he paused, trying to figure out how to phrase this, “threw me into a tree?” Time to cut the metaphor. He spoke in hushed tones, even though no one was hearin’ this. “I shifted, we were sparrin’, a misunderstandin’ went down, and thwing. Tree. I… don’t remember anything after that, ‘cept comin’ to and stoppin’ the big guy from hurting her. I won’t let that happen again, Winston. I owe it to her, to all of them, to figure this out. And if that… if the consequences hurt me, at least… at least they won’t be hurt, you know?” He leaned back in his chair, musin’ aloud. “I’ll pay the tab,” he said, obviously not talkin’ about the coffee bill. “Whatever it takes. Whatever the cost. So… Hit me.”

“Okay, we can assume it is magically related for now,” Winston conceded now that they were satisfied that there wasn’t anything else going on there. Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston shrugged. “I think the line in Thor is inspired by Arthur C. Clarke’s first law, which is that if we are to sufficiently advanced technology it will be indistinguishable from magic, which is already kind of true, look at light bulbs. Take that back a thousand years and it would seem like magic to a rando…” Winston shrugged again, “... either way unless there’s a technological application here, I wouldn’t want to get involved, recent events have meant that I’m not as sure of my magic as I once was and until I get that under control I don’t want to be messing around in your head either, I’d probably make it worse.” Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston nodded. “I know, I got your cheque when you ran, but you’ve got to try and cut yourself some slack, you were bitten not born right? From what I’ve heard it takes a bit more work to maintain control for someone like you. Either way, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee you control. Two years back might help or who knows maybe it’ll make it worse. I don’t think you should pin your hopes on your memory being fixed unless you have guarantees and with this sort of magic you can’t have guarantees.” Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston shrugged. “I don’t charge for helping…” they took a deep breath before continuing perhaps a little optimistically, “... friends, I can’t speak for my contact, but you can take up the matter of invoicing for services rendered with him.” 

“Arthur C. Clarke,” Winn said, absolutely not knowing who that was. “But I get whatcha mean? I mean, hell, way back when, bein’ biracial, or gay, would’ve seemed like magic too. Or worse. Thank fuck most folks are over that shit.” He smiled, knowing — well, assumin’ — maybe Winston understood one or both of those things. He wasn’t in the practice of assumin’, ‘course, but it was nice to have folks in his… friend circle (?), who got that on some level. “Thing is,” he started, “I do have control. Great control. I’ve been like this for almost a decade, now and, bro, I’m mellow.” He winked, wondering if they would understand his… heights of mellowness. “I know it could make things worse, but…” Winn sighed, running a hand through his ungelled hair. “It’s a part of me. If someone did it to me, I want to know why. If I did it to myself…” He trailed off. “I appreciate you warnin’ me, Winston. That’s what a good, y’know, friend,” he smiled brightly, “does. If there’s anything I can do for you, y’know, don’t hesitate to ask?” Winn stood up, stretching again, and held out his arms. “Uh, I’m kind of a hugger, and you’re doin’ me a big favor, so… bring it in. If you’re comfortable with that. If we’re friends now, you get hugs. So… c’mere.”

“Uh, sure, something like that.” Winston hadn’t really given any of it all that much thought. It was a while since they’d really considered anything outside of White Crest and honestly sometimes it was easy to forget that there was a whole world out there. “Okay, sure, I get it. I’ll make the connection and let you know, if they can’t help you then I expect they’ll either know someone who can or have some suggestion about the next steps.” Darwin was resourceful, that much had always been clear. “Fingers crossed that this helps then…” Winston couldn’t imagine what Winn was experiencing. Losing their name to Regan had been enough to convince them to help though, as soon as they realised it was to do with losing something like that, it was a no brainer. “Of course, if I ever need someone of your particular skill set then you’ll be the first to know. Probably.” Rising, Winston nodded. “I can do a hug.” 

[let-me-make-you-proud]

Tangled: The Series Q&A with Kait.

This is a recapitulation from today’s (September 14, 2019) Questions and Answers session with Kait on the Tangled Discord Server.

Q: Which Disney princesses outside of Tangled the series can you see Varian being friends with? Nonfranchise ones included.

A: I think Belle is the first one who comes to mind!! She’s super studious and goes against the grain…not to mention her father is an inventor who’s a little off-base! 🙂 I think he’d be super comfortable experimenting with Belle and her dad and reading awesome stories! (Maybe even sharing the Tales of Flynn Rider with her! …Assuming she hasn’t read it! Haha. ) He could also eat ham sandwiches with Anna. Sorry. Second thought. Lol!!

Q: So Kait, as a storyboard artist on the show what kind of little details, quirks or creative touches did you or any other artists put into Varian scenes you or others storyboarded?

A: Ha!! Any acting scene with Varian I had…I pretty much based off of Anna Lencioni (my best friend/ another board artist on the show.) Anna makes these very specific expressions and she gestures to herself a lot and closes her eyes and creases her brows and says things like “A-huh! Actually…” or “Um!!” Before making a point and it’s always reminded me of him.

She kept a “flynnolium” prop from Halloween with green goo in a vial in her cubicle at work so long it grew mold. She said she was studying it. She found scrap metal in her boot one day. She has a basement lab for her experiments and crafts. She befriended two raccoons at her last apartment. She is the most accident-prone person with freckles I’ve ever met…she’s pretty much him.

Jeremy Jordan’s reads give you so much to work with…and I love that character so much I feel a natural sort of understanding of how he might say something or do something…but Anna would always do these specifically Anna things that I had to use for Varian.

Q: Do you have any specific advice for aspiring storyboard artists or people who aspire to work in animation?

A: Gestural drawings help you learn to draw fast…which is a very important part of storyboarding. I would say storyboarding‘ s biggest requirements are clarity and speed. Lots of productions have different requirements in terms of what they look for from story artists. Tangled‘s leadership cared a lot about drawing skill, animation, layout, etc. because it more strongly informed the animation studio to have those things. The show I’m working on now (Monsters at Work) is a 3D show…so for our production, the emphasis is more on story and speed. We pitch ideas more than we pitch drawings…so clarity is important and acting is too, but we’re far less precious about tying down drawings and animating since we shift into the 3D production pipeline after story. The boards are still very important…but the more technical aspects are a *little* less so. The focus is just more on story and character and what the board artists can bring to their scenes.

So I’d say just practice drawing…maybe try and give someone a prompt or ask a friend for one. Choose a theme! Maybe vampires? What’s the worst thing that could happen to a vampire? What’s the best thing? What’s the funniest thing? What if they were also an alien? Or fused with a werewolf? Or chained to one? What would happen? Giving yourself a starting point for an idea will inspire you to explore all the possibilities for humor, drama, etc. in that idea. If you’re struggling to give yourself a prompt, try looking online…or maybe choosing a song you like or a passage from a book for inspiration.

There’s also this really fun thing you can do to study cinematography and shot composition called a “three tone” exercise. Basically…put on your favorite (live action) film, grab a sketchbook, grab a black and grey marker, and use the white of the page for your third tone. What you wanna do is (as you’re watching or while pausing) sketch a small thumbnail using only three grey tones of what you see on the screen. Draw the shot- where the characters are, try and duplicate the lighting…it teaches you a lot! 🙂 (Phew!)

Q: Do you have any fun non-spoiler head canons about Varian?

A: I think his favorite dessert is apple pie and I think he bakes recreationally very often! He’s probably a good cook. (Though he may have one or two minor accidents……a burnt thing here and there. Minor oil splatters….haha!!)

Q: What’ve been your favorite episodes, both to storyboard and in general? Of course, no specifics if it’s S3

A: Haha! Well…What The Hair and Queen for A Day have special places in my heart because they were such big moments for my favorite character…(Varian, haha.) But I’d say the episodes I had the most fun boarding are all in season 3!!! Which is exciting! I have to start compiling some work to post! 🙂 I think the episode I had the most fun with is one you guys will really enjoy.

Q: Will we get some interesting surprises (In Season 3)?

A: Without any spoilers- absolutely!! The show is always full of those.

Q: So We’ve heard many fans express why they love Varian as a charcter before, I’d love to know what drew you and Anna to Varian as well and why you guys personally found him to be a great character.

A: When Shane Prigmore originally pitched the character to me, he was much younger. He was like 11 or so, I think? Maybe 12? He’s still pretty young…but what Shane said was that he wanted him to go from this wide-eyed kid to this dark, angry person whose bangs fell over those wide, bright eyes…just full of rage. That idea was super interesting to me…it just hit on something in character development that I felt like I’d never exactly seen before? He was so young and it was such an interesting idea to me to make a child the villain and to give that child a strong reason to be angry? It felt like it was taking this child very seriously, which I appreciate. It felt very real and very dark.

The thing that threw me through a loop but also evolved my fascination with the character was Jeremy Jordan’s casting. I listened to a lot of the auditions they had for various actors and I had seen a ton of Shane’s concept art of the character…a lot of them were VERY different than what we have now. One version Ricky Roxburgh (writer) contributed to had Varian cast as an adult in the story. But when I heard Jeremy I felt like I totally understood who Varian really was.

He was a well-intentioned disaster with unchecked emotions. That. Is me! Haha!! I see myself in his imperfections, his emotionality in spite of his creative and often intellectual thinking. He wants to ascend to these levels he may not be ready to ascend to…he feels this need to prove himself and seek validation. I don’t know, I guess I relate to that! And I’m just a sucker for good guys gone bad. The other half of this, of course, is that he’s very charming and cute and super reminds me of my best friend, Anna Lencioni.

Q: Which character do you most like seeing interacting with Varian?

A: It’s a little spoilery for me to reveal that……..but I think you guys are gonna know when it happens! Haha!

I can’t wait to post THOSE boards

That’s actually right out of the episode I think I liked boarding the most, haha.

Q: If there was one prop (furniture, object, the like) from the Tangled series that could be made real and you could keep, what would it be..?

A: I think it’d have to be those little alchemy orbs that Varian throws? They just suddenly clean the whole castle hallway somehow and like…could use me some of that. He also has the one that removes stains from tablecloths, so. I’m sloppy. That’d be a big help. Haha!

Also his staff is pretty cool 😉, I boarded/created that staff…David Lee (prop designer) did its final design…haha

Q: I have a question about a scene in season 1. When Varian got back the first part of the scroll he mentioned that it took him a while to translate it. Has he really been able to read it or has it been a bluff?

A: Varian can indeed translate what’s on the scroll. 😉

Q: Do you have any networking advice for those trying to get into the animation industry?

A: Post your work!! Make it easily accessible, tag it well, just show what you’ve got online! Upload boards, animatics, drawings, etc. Creating an online presence can really help put your name out there. Apply for internships, jobs. I know it’s hard to network because a lot of industry professionals don’t have time to answer specific questions or give portfolio reviews…so it’s sort of important to take some initiative on that and be self-motivated.

For me, I studied the portfolios of Disney feature story artists, CalArts students, etc. and tried to structure the presentation of my work based on that. Also, it helped me get a sense of what pieces of work would best showcase where I was trying to go and what I was trying to do. I’d ask yourself those questions as you develop a portfolio and artistic voice online! 🙂

My first feature job after a trainee program in New York at Blue Sky happened because Doug Sweetland (Pixar animator, feature director, awesome dude) found my work online and liked it. He just reached out based on that!

Shane Prigmore actually reached out to me for Tangled similarly.

Q: Besides Varian, do you have a favorite character that you’ve boarded?

A: I always love Eugene. He’s the second character I think I’m most like. His acting was really fun to play with and I felt like I could push his expressions a lot because he’s so funny. I loved boarding Lance too (I boarded a lot of Lance in S3!!) but MAN was he hard to draw, haha! His face shape is just really hard to draw at certain angles.

Q: With Varian cosplay that is going on, what Disney character would you like to see Varian dress up as next?

A: Jack Skellington! Halloween is afoot. Jack is another well-intentioned disaster. Guess I have a type!

Q: What’s Varian’s opinion on raccoons, are they his favourite animal?

A: I imagine it’s because Ruddiger is always finding interesting things in the trash and giving them to Varian to use in his experiments. Also, they’re fat and cute.

Q: There’s a bit of an argument going on over how many freckles Varian has. Can you confirm how many he has?

A: Ha!!! Yes…one second… 14!!

Q: How big do you think Corona is? Like Vatican City small or Arendelle big?

A: You know, with the wall and all, it actually feels a little on the smaller side to me? I’m sure there’s a little bit of discrepancy between the movie’s version of Corona and our version…but based on where we went within Corona on the show, I’d say it feels on the smaller side.

Q: Are there any non-spoiler Varian scenes or moments that didn’t make the cut that you can share?

A: MAN. Yes. There is one scene that changed after I rolled off the episode and I’m very sad about it. I’ll post it after the episode airs! There was also a line of Varian’s that I boarded to a specific read from Jeremy Jordan and that read was not chosen in editorial later so…I’ll post that one too, haha!

Q: What is your favourite song from the first two seasons so far?

A: All my favorite songs are in season threeeeee…hahahaha!! I think Let Me Make You Proud or the Buddy Song are my favorites. Buddy Song still gets stuck in my head now and then.

Q: What do you think Varian would order at a drive-thru? Specifically at chipotle 😂

A: Chipotle isn’t a drive thru!! Hahaha He’d get the kid’s quesadilla from chipotle. I think Varian is a fries/chips kind of person…something to snack on while he works! He probably also likes milkshakes.

Q: (Continuation from the question above) Chocolate or vanilla?

A: He’d revolutionize by combining them both. FOR SCIENCE!

Q: What is, in your opinion, the most challenging part of varian’s design to draw?

A: His goggles, hahaha. Or just his…hair in general.

Well it’s funny too because when you board these guys, you get used to doing a shorthand for them and then when you go to draw them FOR REAL you realize how complicated that actually is and how wrong your shorthand actually was? Hahahaha

Q: is Varian ticklish at all?

A: I feel like Varian, Eugene, and Lance are all equally ticklish. To the point of absurdity. Cass would fight it as long as she could…but when it finally got to her, she’d laugh uncontrollably. Rapunzel, she’s the TICKLER.

Q: What do you think Varian opinion and belief on magic is now that he’s seen it with his own eyes?

A: I imagine that he certainly believes in it now and no longer underestimates its powers…but I imagine he’s ultimately more comfortable staying in his own lane and working with worldly properties!

Q: If Varian would have been able to meet Demanitus…how would their conversation had looked like?

A: I feel like Varian would have had a TON of questions about his legendary device and whether or not he truly traveled dimensions.

Q: Did Varian have any other friends in old Corona before he met rapunzel?

A: Probably not many…he’s a bit of a hermit. I think Ruddiger is his best friend……. It’s sad but I also think that’s kind of why it hurt so bad when Rapunzel wasn’t able to help him. Also why he was SO excited to have Rapunzel, Cass, and Eugene come visit.

I think the village looked at Varian as a little unstable or worrisome. I’m sure everyone knew he was very nice…but they were likely very unnerved by his inventions.

Q: Do you think Varian ever tried to synthesise gold or the elixir of life like a real alchemist?

A: I’ve wondered that myself!! I think his alchemy has proven to be more about other people…helping others, making people proud. Maybe if someone he cared about was in need.

Q: If you were to meet Varian in real life, what would you say to him?

A: What elixir did you make to get THAT kind of volume? His hair’s so POOFY! Honestly, I’d probably just give him a hug.

Q: How much does Varian know or remember about his mom?

A: I’d say about as much as the photo of her on the wall.

Q: Is there spoiler about his hair streak? Or is it just by design?

A: It’s totally by design. I think it’s safe to assume it’s probably the result of some lab accident!

Q: In what ways is Jeremy Jordan like Varian?

A: I don’t know Jeremy Jordan personally, haha! But I think a lot of these inflections he adds to Varian sort of off the cuff probably come very naturally to him. I know he often wants to do his own pass at the musical arrangement Alan Menken writes…like he’ll want to do something a little different, in his own way, and it will change the song completely!! In an awesome way. That’s a little Varian-esque. In the “Let Me Make You Proud” reprise…Alan Menken had sung that “they are going to pay…they…will…pay” all in a low, downward tone. Jeremy wanted to scream it and make it powerful and angry and loud when he said “PAY” and you could just hear the spite in his voice for the “they will pay.” Genius!

Q: What was the most shocking moment/revelation of the series to you (minus anything season 3)?

A: It’s hard to say because I knew most of what was going to happen long, long ago. I think one of the things that made me go “oh dang!” was something Tom Canfield boarded. It’s that part in Destinies Collide where Lance slices the entire statue down the middle with a sword. What a BAMF!

Q: What were your thoughts on the early concept of Varian having an apple orchard and being a farm kid instead of a young alchemist?

A: He still kinda has those things! Quirin is a farmer as well as the village leader and there are apples on their little farm estate! 🙂 I think that makes Varian very unassuming as a mad little scientist. I’m sure that’s how (Ruddiger and Varian) met! Remember, he used his purple tacky goo stuff to catch raccoons so they wouldn’t eat the crops! And Ruddiger’s favorite snack is apples. 😉

Q: What is his official height and weight?

A: Smol.

Q: How did you guys come up with Varian’s name? And was there any other name suggestions for him before the name ‘Varian’ was chosen?

A: I’m not sure who came up with that name, actually! I’m sure it has something to do with the meaning of the word “variant” which means something that varies, changes in form.

Q: What’s his last name?

A: His last name!! I have NO idea and it bothers me!!! A Disney magazine referred to Varian, Ruddiger, and Quirin as “The Ruddiger Family” and I still haven’t stopped laughing about that.

Q: What sad Disney movie moments would make him cry?

A: Oof. Lion King.

Q: What musicals do think Varian would enjoy?

A: Little Shop of Horrors! I think he’d see himself in Seymour! Or Wicked…you know, that villain arc.

Q: How did Arianna and Fred meet?

A: I actually don’t know off the top of my head!

Q: Would Varian enjoy rollercoasters?

A: I think he’d enjoy how they’re MADE and then scream his head off while riding one, throw up his cotton candy and corndog, and go play carnival games instead. Then get mad that they’re rigged.

Q: So what comes next for you now that the series is almost over? Any big plans?

A: Well the series wrapped for production a while ago! I’ve been on another show for almost a year now! 🙂 I’m working on the new Disney+ show Monsters at Work as a director! It’s an awesome, awesome show…totally next-level…I’m shocked that I’m getting to be apart of something like this. It’s a direct sequel to the movie that serves as an office comedy (a la The Office, Parks and Rec) and has so many characters that fit immediately into the Monsters Inc world. Monsters Inc is my favorite Pixar movie…so I literally come to work and leave work on the same high! It’s an awesome, awesome show with a great crew! 🙂 It’s also just really exciting to be apart of the first original animated property for D+!

Q: How would you compare working as a director to working as a storyboard artist?

A: It’s hard work, just as hard, but in a different way! For me personally, I’m a little easily fatigued by drawing? I get a little creatively frustrated because my thoughts move quicker than my hand. Or because I don’t always feel like I can execute in a drawing what I’m thinking in the way that I want? Part of that is just being an artist…and it’s not ALL the time that I feel that way…but I think I have a certain stamina for drawing that I found challenging to increase.

Directing is just different! It has a lot more to do with managing a team, communication, coordinating, listening, speaking up, problem-solving, being very aware of story as it applies to ALL parts of a production. I don’t draw as often anymore. You have to consider a lot more…more people, more constraints, more difficulties, more opinions, more solutions…it’s just MORE. And you also still have to draw! 🙂 It’s very busy work, but it’s AMAZING and I love it. I feel like I’m contributing to animated storytelling a lot more in this role, actually. I love working with people, I love workshopping, and I love helping! I’m also just spoiled to be working with some great people right now. It’s a blast.

Q: Are any Tangled: The Series crew joining you on that show?

A: Yes!! Tom Caufield and Wendy Sullivan were on it for a minute, but they’ve both moved on to Dreamworks recently! James Suhr (board artist), Isabelle Gedigk (season 3 board artist), Naomi Hicks and Casey Coffey (revisionists), David Lee (props), Ricky Roxburgh (writer), and I are all working together again! It’s awesome.

Q: Does Varian, deep down, blame himself for the amber?

A: I believe he does.

Q: How do you deal with artist’s block?

A: I try to think about the intention behind what I’m doing. Why is the scene I’m working on very important to the story? If it feels unimportant or boring, how can I make it interesting? What can I do on my end to make it more inspiring or fun without going too far off the rails and still serving the scene’s purpose?

If it’s not work-related, I try and start with some fan art or something familiar for me to draw. I have a lot of scribbly Varians in the margins of a lot of my sketch documents. I use him as a warm-up a lot. It helps build my confidence to draw something familiar/ that I think I can draw pretty well.

Q: What’s the hardest scene you’ve ever had to board?

A: Oh God. ANYTHING with action. I’m not an action gal. Lots of stuff in S3. I was board partners with Wendy Sullivan and ended up getting a lot of action to board even though she’s WAY better at it than me!! It was an interesting challenge…but it was very, very challenging. Ben (Co-EP) was a great mentor to me in the scene I did for the mid season. He was very patient with me, despite my shortcomings as an action board artist, haha. I enjoy boarding for comedy much more.

Kait: Anyways, I should probably head off now! Thank you guys so much for all the questions!!!! You’re awesome! I hope you’re all super excited for S3! It’s a great one.

[exorciseyourspirit]

Hard To Hear|| Skylar and Rebecca

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @theskyeandsea and @exorciseyourspirit SUMMARY: Skylar comes looking for answers about selkies, and gets more than what she wanted to hear about herself. CONTENT: Depression, Self Harm, Abuse Mentions

After their rather… alarming talk online, Skylar had done a little digging about Rebecca. She knew that she was a professor, that she worked with Morgan at the University-- a slight jolt went through her at that thought. Was Morgan still teaching? She couldn’t imagine that she was, not with how she’d been lately. Which, she couldn’t blame her. She’d taken time off work herself… As Skylar walked through the halls of the anthropology building, the wound on her leg twinged just a bit. The pain had subsided over the past week and a half and it was healing well. Or, at least, it was as far as she could tell. She was following all the instructions that Dr. Lin-King had told her and was just hoping for the best. Which was all she could ask for, honestly. Skylar rounded the corner and saw “Dr. Rebecca Rothbard” on the placard of an office. Swallowing, she pushed back the memories from the last time she’d approached a professor for supernatural assistance. Anita had been… less than helpful. Knocking on the door, Skylar spoke up, “Dr. Rothbard? I was wondering if you had time to talk with me?”

Time was mostly spent at the university now, the only space Rebecca truly felt safe in, despite the fact that she knew he’d been here. It still felt...untouched by him. Unlike her home, where he slept. Or her car, or her room, or her anything. She smoothed her hands over the surface of her desk, letting the cool touch of the wood calm her for a moment, before setting to work on the stack of books she’d brought with her. The hours had ticked by unknowingly and Rebecca only thought to look up when a knock sounded at her door. A girl’s voice rang from the other side, one she didn’t recognize. A student, perhaps? “Yes, c’mon in,” she called back, closing the book she’d been reading and sliding it away as the door creaked open to reveal a rather timid looking girl, with big, bright blue eyes. “Hello there, how can I help you?”

Ears straining to hear, Skylar took a slight stab in the dark at when she assumed the other woman had told her to come inside and pushed open the door. She really wished that the doors here had a window or something for her to look through. Pushing open the door, Skylar took in the office-- it was bigger than she’d expected, with a small couch in one corner, along with a wall packed to the brim with books. Blinking, she turned her attention to the woman in front of her and tilted her head slightly, trying to parse together the words that had been muffled by the door. “Um, sorry for bothering you. I’m… not a student here, but I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit more about something you mentioned earlier? I-- I’m Skylar, by the way. I’m friends with Morgan-- Professor Beck.” She said with a nervous nod. She wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this conversation, she just hoped that Rebecca wasn’t… dangerous. 

Curious. “Well, any friend of Morgan’s is a friend of mine,” Rebecca said, motioning for the chair on the other side of her desk. “Please, have a seat.” What they’d mentioned earlier? She supposed she was talking about the market and how Rebecca had blatantly used the term supernatural in regard to it. Did that mean Skylar was a part of that world, or was she just discovering it? Either way, Rebecca felt that pull that she felt every time a student asked a new question about anthropology, or every time someone asked to know more about ghosts. Leaning forward, she smiled. “I’m all ears, Skylar. You’re not a bother at all.”

Shutting the door behind her, Skylar nodded before sinking into the chair that Rebecca offered her. If she was still friends with Morgan, even after everything that happened, that meant she couldn’t be dangerous, right? She wasn’t even entirely sure why she was here to begin with-- desperation, maybe? Or just a hope that Rebecca was as knowledgeable as she came off online. “I… You mentioned things about the town being supernatural. And-- and you’re an anthropology professor,” Wringing her hands slightly in her lap, Skylar paused, not entirely sure how to go about starting her questions. “Do-- are things like this everywhere? Or is it just a White Crest thing?” She asked. There. It got the subject out there, even if it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to ask.

Rebecca waited patiently for Skylar to gather her thoughts, watching her sit in the chair as if it were going to grow teeth and swallow her whole. It was a lot like how Blanche had looked the first time Rebecca had gotten her in her office, though with much less anger. “I did mention that stuff, yes,” she said after a moment, tilting her head in kind as Skylar paused. Ah, there was the question. She’d figured that was what the girl was here for. She was desperate for answers, desperate enough to trust someone she’d never met. Perhaps she’d have to warn her about that later. “No, it’s not just here. White Crest is what we refer to as a ‘hot spot’,” she explained simply, sitting neatly in her chair, “but these things exist all around the world. Is White Crest your first experience with the supernatural, then?”

“All over the world.” Skylar echoed, though that made sense. Hadn’t Ricky told her about how his mother was from a selkie clan overseas? And… she wasn’t from White Crest either, at least, not as far as she knew. That thought sent a mild wave of dread over her. She hadn’t thought much about the circumstances of her birth in a long time. But, whoever her birth parents were, they’d-- Swallowing, Skylar forced herself to focus on the woman in front of her. “That’s… That makes sense, I guess. It seems like people are just kind of drawn here. Is that because it’s a, a hotspot?” She asked. She wasn’t going to think about how she was among one of those exact people. “Mhm, it is. Before I moved here, I didn’t know about any of this.”

Something was clearly troubling Skylar, but Rebecca was unsure how to reach out to the girl in front of her. The situation wasn’t like hers and Blanche’s, where she knew and understood who she was and what she was going through. So if the only comfort she could offer her was words, then that’s what she’d do. “Yes, probably. Things here are...enhanced a little. Everything is a little louder here than in normal places. The magic, the energy,” she waved her hand in the air a little, “it has a certain draw, doesn’t it?” She liked to believe it didn’t influence her at all, but it wasn’t the truth. Even the Dybbuk had been drawn here. “That seems to be the case for many who come here. How long have you been in town, then, Skylar?”

As Rebecca spoke, Skylar’s fingers fidgeted nervously in her lap, partially fingerspelling words with quick twitching movements. Questions. Need. Help. Help, help, help. She needed answers, she needed to find out more about what was going on and what… what it meant to be like this. “Mhm. It seems like it. I’ve run into more… weird stuff here in the past four months than I’ve even seen in my entire life.” She said, her tone slightly hollow as she shifted her weight uncomfortably in the chair. The wound on her leg twinged a little bit, but Skylar did her best not to let the pain show on her face. “I moved here back in August, but I kept to myself for a while. I only started noticing the… supernatural things in January.” Back when she���d run into the ghoul with Winston. Back when she’d accidentally caught Ricky. Back when she’d stumbled upon Remmy in the alley. Things were so different then. “It’s only gotten worse since then and I just-- there’s a lot I don’t know.” And I need to know more.

Rebecca’s eyes immediately went to the fingers twitching in the girl’s lap. To most, it probably just looked like a nervous tick, but Rebecca had made it her business to learn many sign languages, and the movements she recognized in Skylar’s twitching fingers made her heart clench. “Yes, it does all seem to happen at once, doesn’t it?” she said, sighing softly. “Worse how so? Are you in trouble, Skylar? Has something happened?” she asked, concern tinging her voice. Though she held back the worry that was boiling in her chest. “Would it help you if we spoke in sign?” she asked, softer then. “We can do that if it’s easier.”

The moment Rebecca said the word “sign,” Skylar’s heart stopped. Sign. She knew sign-- she recognized-- No. No, no, no, no, no. Yes, she wanted her help, and yes, Rebecca clearly knew a lot about the world around them. But… the fact that she’d seen her fingerspelling and knew what she was saying? “I-- I’m--” Her words came out in a slightly stuttering cadence and she refused to look at the woman for a moment. She didn’t want to sign with her, not really. But, she needed answers. She needed help. Biting the inside of her cheek, Skylar lifted her gaze to meet Rebecca's eyes and began to sign, I’m not in trouble, not now at least. She was lying, of course. She had no idea if she was still in trouble. As long as that hunter was out there, she had a feeling that he wouldn’t stop trying to hunt her down. Do you know anything about selkies?

Rebecca worried, for a moment, that she might’ve scared the poor girl too much. But her relief came in the form of a question. Selkies. Rebecca knew about them, yes. She knew plenty about them, actually, one of the most docile and less secretive species, though it often cost selkie pods quite a bit to be open. Their skins were deeply sought after, after all. I do, she signed back simply, making sure her hands were in clear view for Skylar. You don’t need to be scared, she signed again, hoping the reassurance of the words matched the look on her face, you’re safe here. None of this leaves this room. What did you want to know?

Skylar felt her shoulders slump slightly as the tension eased from her body. Her secrets were safe. And… though she really had no reason to trust this woman, if she was friends with Morgan, if she was still there for her despite all that Morgan had been for-- that had to count for something, right? But, now that she was faced with the reality of asking Rebecca her questions, they all came rushing to her at once. Were there many of them? Did they tend to stay in groups? Were there any others around Maine, around White Crest?  Were they always in danger? Or were they as alone as she was? Did they usually… leave their children? But, the one question that returned to the forefront of her mind. It was one she’d been wondering since Ricky had first told her what she was and what she had to do. He’d told her that she would die, that it would be long and slow and awful. And… and maybe it was. But, a part of her wondered that, if she pushed through the pain, if she just held on a little bit longer… would she go back to normal? Swallowing, Skylar signed, Do you know what happens to a selkie if they don’t change? 

Rebecca’s heart simply broke at the question. There was no wondering about it now, Skylar was a selkie. And perhaps one who did not wish to be, by the way she spoke, by the taughtness of her body, even after she let go of the stress of being here. By the way her eyes misted ever so slightly as she found herself lost in thought. Rebecca could only wonder what had brought her to this moment in her life, who had left her to wonder and question who and what she was. Rebecca sighed, pressed her lips together in an attempt to give a reassuring glance, despite the seriousness of the answer as she signed, They will die. Painfully and slowly and tragically. It’s not a fate I’d wish on anyone.

Death. Skylar should have known that what he’d said was true. And, as the slow reality of it all crept over her, she realized that a part of her had known it. Every time she’d refused to turn, every time she’d thought that she could just… push through the pain, she had just put herself closer to dying. Dropping her gaze, Skylar rested her head in her hands and shook her head. Death and pain and tragedy. Was that all that awaited her? Was that all her life would ever be? Sitting there, her eyes closed and pressed against the palm of her hands, she attempted to gain some kind of control over herself. If Rebecca didn’t know that she was a selkie before, she probably knew now. Eventually, Skylar lifted her head and looked at the woman through watery eyes. I’m sorry. I just... She paused, unsure of what else to say. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in here and just… break down.

Rebecca could feel the girl falling to pieces, she didn’t even need to watch it. But she did. She stayed still while Skylar buried her face in her hands, waiting for her to look up again. And when she did, she simply said, It’s okay. She stood slowly, taking the box of tissues on her desk and coming around, crouching in front of Skylar like she had with Blanche, she held out the tissues, making sure to give Skylar eye contact to let her know that she was okay to cry here, she was okay to let go here. The door was closed and Rebecca was the only person around. She might not have known her well or at all, but Rebecca liked to hope that people could sense her calm. It’s okay if you’re not okay with it, either. Sometimes it’s hard, accepting what we don’t want to be.

Seeing the box of tissues that were offered, Skylar reached out and took a few with a grateful nod. She wiped her eyes, trying her best not to feel like a fool for… just coming into this woman’s office and having a meltdown in front of her. As she watched the woman sign, sign those words that she wished weren’t true, it took everything in her not to turn away. She didn’t want to see that. She didn’t want to know. But, trying to blind herself to the truth wouldn’t change it. “I didn’t know. That I was like this.” She said, her voice cracking slightly as she spoke. “I never knew, no one ever told me that I was like this. And I don’t-- I don’t want to be like this. All it’s ever done has hurt me.” Skylar said with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t-- you don’t need to hear this. I’m sorry.” 

Rebecca sighed. The sight of someone in pain had always brought her great grief. It was supposed to be a gift, Rabbi Emmanuel had thought as much. Sometimes she questioned the truth in that, but right now, she saw someone in such great pain, it made her heart ache. “Skylar,” she said quietly, “I may not know you well, or at all, but here’s the thing of it-- sometimes in life, we’re given hands that we don’t want. Grief isn’t always losing something, you know. It can be gaining something, as well. And with a gain can come a loss. But...we can either grieve this part of us and get stuck there, or...we can move on. Despite the pain.” She sat back a little, weary in her age, from kneeling on the floor. A strange metaphor to her words. “Do not apologize. This is a safe space. And i’m sorry if you never had something like this before. And I’m sorry for your loss, Skylar. That you never knew what you were. Let me ask you this, though-- would it have been easier, do you think? If you knew?”

As Skylar processed the woman’s words, she couldn’t help but wonder. Move on. How could she possibly move on? How could she move on and accept this part of her that had destroyed her life? Being what she was-- she could still remember the way her parents stared at her, how they had just… held out her skin to her and let her leave. Pushing the thoughts from her mind, she swallowed. I’m sorry for your loss. Fresh tears fell from her eyes and Skylar wrapped her arms tightly around herself, as though she could hold all the pieces together if she just held on hard enough. But, when had anyone ever told her that? That they were sorry for her-- not because of what she’d been through, or how she felt. But, an apology for the life she’d loss. But, at Rebecca’s question, a new train of thought entered her mind. Her eyes, heavy with tears, turned to look at the woman. “If I knew?” She asked, before letting out a watery, laughing sob. “If I’d known… Maybe I’d like what I am. Maybe I wouldn’t have hated everything that made me different.”

“But do you know that for sure?” Rebecca said quietly, looking up at Skylar with soft, but firm eyes. “Maybe you would have hated yourself more, for what you weren’t and could never be. You grew up with a human family, I’m assuming, yes? Would you not have wished, every day, to just be like them?” They were harsh questions, and harsh words, but they were ones that needed to be said, to be heard. “I’m not trying to dismiss your feelings at all here, Skylar, but the truth is that you can’t possibly know how you would have felt. And dwelling on that is what hurts the most.” She put a hand over her heart. “We all have parts of us that we despise. But here’s the thing-- we can change that. Not those parts, but how we feel about them. And sometimes it takes very little time, and sometimes it takes years, but the important part, is that we learn to forgive ourselves. For how we feel and what we’re not. Because that’s not your fault, Skylar. And it never will be. So, maybe, you start with that,” she sat up a little more, then, so that she was in even eye line with her and held out her hands. “Can you say this for me? ‘I forgive myself for not being human’.”

“My parents might have understood. They never knew what I was, they were only-- only trying to do what they could. They didn’t mean to hurt me. They didn’t mean to-- they couldn’t have meant to,” Skylar bit the words back with a choking sob before pressing the heels of her palms against her eyes. It could have been better. In a different world, a different time, a different place, she might have had the happy childhood, with parents who loved her unconditionally, with siblings who didn’t despise her. She might have had the life she’d always wanted. Rebecca’s words fell on unwilling, but not deaf, ears. Skylar heard her, loud and clear. But she didn’t want to listen. She didn’t want to take them to heart. Pulling her head from her hands, she looked at the woman with tears streaking down her face. “I can’t. I can’t say that.” Not when she hated every part of her that wasn’t human. Not when she hated the seal skin, hidden behind her bookshelf. Not when she hated the slime that slicked her palms. Not when she hated the teeth she’d once desperately tried to file down, in a painful attempt to be normal. The teeth that were, to this day, still capable of tearing through flesh. Not when she hated this mouth, that had tasted blood. “How can I forgive myself when my own family never could?”

Rebecca let out a long sigh. This was going to take more than just one conversation to help. “Alright,” she said, standing up again and going over to her desk. She picked up a card from her desk and turned back to Skylar. “I know this is difficult right now, but you need to understand that none of this is your fault, Skylar. And your family not forgiving you, that’s not on you,” she held the card, “that’s on them. And only them. Trust that, at least. Tell yourself that, in the very least. That none of this is your fault.” When the girl took the card, she leaned back against her desk, looking at her with those mournful eyes. “You can contact me anytime, with any question, okay? Or if you just want to talk. From what I’ve seen of you, Skylar, you’re a good person, with a big heart, and those are exactly the kinds of people we need in this world. So don’t lose that. It’s special,” she tried one last smile, a bit tired, a bit lopsided, “You’re special.”

None of this was her fault. The words rang in Skylar’s ears, reminding her of what she’d told Remmy. That they weren’t responsible for the actions of others, for people not choosing better. And, that didn’t make her feel any better. Turning the lens on herself, realizing that… maybe she should think about it from that perspective, it hurt. It was harder to accept, a harder pill to swallow. Because, for her entire life, she’d always been wrong. She’d always been the one weighed and found wanting. But, when the other woman didn’t push any further, when she instead held out a card, Skylar couldn’t help the sense of relief. She didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Not right now. Rising from the chair, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before offering a tight-lipped smile of her own. “Thank you… I, I appreciate that.” She mumbled before practically fleeing from the room. As soon as she was out in the hallway, Skylar unhooked her hearing aids and stuck them in her pocket. She didn’t want to hear anything else. She didn’t want to have to listen to hard truths and confront even harder lies. 

[miwromantics]

A New Song From Vinny

It was just another normal day in Scranton, the seasons were changing from summer to fall. This was your favorite time of year. Colors of red and orange took over the trees, cold crisp air made it perfect for wearing sweaters and skinny jeans. You woke up earlier than your boyfriend, Vinny, which was usually the other way around. You rolled over to see him with his arm over his chest and his hands reaching out. You smiled. He always looked so peaceful when he slept. Grabbing his hands, you snuggle up next to him which made Vinny take a deep breath in as he awoke.

“Mornin’ baby,” he said in a raspy voice.

“I didn’t mean to wake you, Vin. Go back to sleep I’ll make you some breakfast,” you said as you kissed his cheek.

He smiled, still with his eyes closed, and rolled on to his back.

You watched him as he laid over, his chest breathing in deeply as he fell back asleep. You thought about how you could wake him up another way, but he just looked too comfy in the sheets. Throwing on your favorite black velvet robe, you head out of the bedroom to the kitchen to start making breakfast.

You played some music on your phone while you cooked, humming and dancing around the kitchen. As you made a cute, little plate for Vinny you felt his arms wrap around your stomach.

“You’re the sweetest girlfriend ever, you know that right Y/N?” Vinny whispered in your ear.

You smiled and turned around to be face to face with him. His hair was all messy and curly from his slumber and you thought to yourself how that’s how his hair looks like after you’ve both had sex.

“I just wanted you to have a great start to your day hun!” and you kiss him. He chuckled and kissed you back, a little longer than you just did. He looked at you with his dark blue eyes, with a hint of passion behind them.

“Eat your breakfast babe, you’ve got a long day ahead of you,” you say after a few seconds. He sighed with a little disappointment but grabbed his plate you made him and walked over to the couch. You made yourself a plate, poured a cup of coffee and sat beside him. He turns on Netflix and puts an episode of The Office on. You’ve both seen the show a million times but it was good background noise to have on while you both ate your food.

Today, Vinny had band practice with the rest of Motionless In White at their little studio at Ricky’s home. They were working on recording some ideas that they had for another album. You were going to miss him while he was gone, but you were glad to have a day to yourself in your home.

“You’ve got any special plans today Y/N? You know that you could always come over and hang out while we record.” Vinny said to you with a mouthful of food.

“I’m thinking of working on some paintings, maybe go downtown and pick up some new brushes, who knows,” you answer.

“Doesn’t sound as fun as hanging out with a bunch of boys writing metal music!” he laughed.

“Oh hush Vin! I’ll be fine, maybe I’ll swing by after a few hours,” you reply.

His eyes light up. You could tell that what you just said made him happy.

“You really want me to come over, don’t you?” you asked.

He blushed a little and smiled down at his food. You sensed that something was up but couldn’t tell if he was just being gushy or he actually had something planned.

“You should just try and come over later, that’s all I’m going to say Y/N” he answered.

Your thoughts started racing. What could be going down at the studio? Was the rest of Motionless in on it too? He could tell by your silence that you were thinking about the hints he was dropping. He stood up, grabbed your plate from you and headed back to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

“C’mon Y/N, let's go sit outside for a bit,” he called to you.

You grabbed a blanket from the couch, filled your cup back up and followed him to the back porch. He held the door for you and touched your back as you walked past him. You both sit on the swing that overlooked the back yard. You thought of how perfect this moment is; sitting with Vinny in the cool weather, having coffee.

“This is great, isn’t it?” he said after you snuggled up to his chest, his arm wrapped around you.

“Couldn’t be better babe,” you said, “I could sit out here all day with you and be completely content.”

He smiled and took a sip of his coffee. “I could always bail on the boys!” he laughed.

“No! You gotta go Vin, plus you have to be there for my surprise or whatever you’ve got planned up your sleeve,” you answered.

He had a smug grin on his face. The more you picked at the idea of a surprise his grin got bigger and bigger. Something was definitely up.

After an hour or so, he gets up to get ready for the day. He kisses you on the forehead before heading back inside. You smile and think of how sweet and caring he can be. A few minutes later and you head back inside. He was pulling out some clothes and packing a backpack for the day. You walk past him and into the bathroom where you start the shower. Leaving the door open, you undo your robe and let your pajamas slide off your body. You turn around to see Vinny stopped packing his backpack and staring at you with lustful eyes. You smile at him and step into the shower. He walks over and opens the shower door.

“You’re so fucking sexy Y/N, do you even know what you’re doing to me right now?” Vinny asked.

“You’ve got time for a quick shower right?” you said.

Vinny checked his phone for the time.

“Babe I’ve got to be at Rick’s house in 15 minutes.”

You looked at him clearly disappointed. Why would he turn down a quickie in the shower with you?

“It’s alright, Vin. I’ll see you later today,” you said in a sad tone.

“I’m sorry Y/N, this recording session that we’re doing today is an important one for us. As much as I’d love to fuck you in the shower right now, I gotta go.” He looked you up and down one last time before heading out of the room.

Frustrated and a little hurt, you finished your shower and put on some clothes. You looked at yourself in the mirror and thought about how weird that shower situation was. But you just took his word and told yourself that the surprise would be worth missing sex in the shower.

You finished getting ready by putting on a black oversized knitted sweater, leggings, and some fuzzy socks. You headed to the spare bedroom where the space was half of your paintings and sketches while the other half was Vinny’s drum set and a computer station. You sighed and picked up a canvas. Staring at it for a few moments, you tried to come up with a concept to draw but couldn’t think of anything. All you could think about was Vin. Since he left the house, your phone was silent. No texts from him. No snapchats. Nothing. It was bumming you out even more.

You decided that being creative today was just not going to happen, so you decided to head downtown to pick up those new paintbrushes you needed. While you were out, you texted Vinny.

“Hey, babe. How’s it going?”

A few moments later Vinny replied.

“Missing you. You coming over soon??”

Your mood lightened that the sight of that.

“I’ll be done shopping soon, maybe 30 minutes?” you texted back.

He replied with three black heart emojis.

You headed back to your car and drove over to Ricky’s house. While you parked your car on the street and stepped out, you heard the front door open and close. Turning your head you see Vinny and Ryan walking down the driveway to greet you.

“What’s up Y/N! Good to see your goth ass again” Ryan joked as he bear-hugged you. You always liked Ryan. He was always so nice to you and got your sense of humor.

You turned to Vinny.

“Hey babe,” he said as he went to hug you. While holding you he whispered, “I haven’t gotten the image of you naked in the shower. It’s all I can think about.”

You blushed and he kissed you hard on the lips.

“Aw cut that shit out!” Ryan said, acting like he was about to throw up.

“Grow up loser!” you joked back at him, flicking him off in the process and kissing Vinny back.

You all laughed and walked back to the front door. Not even a few steps inside, you hear a collective shouting of your name. Ricky is the first to run up to you and give you a big hug.

“What took you so long getting here?? We’ve been waiting for you to hear this new song!” he said after he hugged you.

“Really? I didn’t think you guys had a song formed already? Vin didn’t say much about what you guys have been working on.” you said.

Chris stood up from the couch and walked over to greet you with a smile on his face.

“Oh, you have no idea how hard we’ve been working on this song, all of us!” Chris said as he hugged you.

Things were starting to get exciting. A new song from Motionless? And they wanted you to be the first person to hear it? You had butterflies in your stomach.

“Well enough chit-chatting, let’s hear it!” you exclaim.

Vinny takes your hand and you follow the guys to the studio. Ricky put a lot of work into his studio, it was probably the biggest room in his house. It had Vinny’s other drum set, Ricky and Ryan’s multiple guitars and amps, Justin’s basses and some microphones for Chris. The lighting was dim but cozy. Two couches lined the walls on looking at the band’s set up. The guys had taken seats on the couch, Ricky sat at his computer. Vinny sat down and pulled you down next to him. He held your hand tightly and his leg was bouncing up and down.

“You okay, Vin?” you whispered to him.

He just nodded his head.

You didn’t think much of it. Instead, you slapped your hand down on your thigh and yelled, “Alright! Let’s jam this!”

Ryan clapped and hooted with you.

Chris shot a look at him and Ryan piped down. Chris looked over at you.

“Y/N. Listen. This song is very different for us. It’s a love song. Now I know what you’re thinking! ‘Motionless doing a love song? The fuck?’ I promise you it’s still heavy and goth, but it’s very much a love song.”

You nodded your head and prepared to listen. Vinny’s hand tightened even more on yours. Ricky hit play and the studio was booming. Chris was right at describing the song for you. It was very heavy for them but the lyrics were chalked up with beautiful lines. After it played, all heads turned to you to get your opinion. Vinny’s leg was bouncing even more than it was before.

“Well Y/N… what do you think?” Justin asked you.

You took a deep breath and looked at all of them.

“You guys have really outdone yourself, I’ll say that now,” you answered, “the lyrics were something else though! Chris, what gave you all of this inspiration of love and beauty? Did you meet someone?” you joked.

Chris had a smirk on his face. “I didn’t write these lyrics Y/N.” You looked at Ricky.

“Alright Olsen, what made you write this?” you asked.

Ricky just shook his and pointed to Vinny, which made him let go of your hand and stand up. You leaned back on the couch and looked at him. His eyes were looking at the computer with his back toward you.

“Vin, you wrote that? All of that?” you said in shock.

All he did was nod his head. The room fell quiet. After a few moments, Ryan broke the silence saying “I bet you really like the song now Y/N!”

Vinny turned around and looked you dead in the eyes. You could’ve cut the tension with a knife. Your heart was beating out of your chest.

“I wrote that for you. I’ve been writing the lyrics for a while now. Ricky helped me write the music for it and -“ Vinny mumbled softly.  

You stood up from the couch and walked over to him. You took his face in your hands and kissed him passionately. It felt like you two were the only ones in the room, other than the fact that Ryan and Justin were making kissy noises at you both.

“Cut that shit out!”, Chris hissed at them, “I don’t see you writing love songs for your girlfriends, let them have this!” Ryan and Justin quieted down. Ricky had a huge smile on his face and fist-bumped Vinny. “I told you she’d love it dude!” he told Vinny. Vinny laughed and hugged you and pulled you back down to the couch.

“Now you see why I wanted you to be here today Y/N,” he said as he pulled you closer to him.

All you could do was smile and shake your head. The rest of the night all of you sat around the studio talking about other new music and ideas that Chris and Ricky were working on.

[flowrxchild]

🌼Get To Know Me Tag🌼

Thanks @satans-helper for tagging me!!! This is gonna be a long one so if anyone feels it’s necessary, please tell me to shut up! oke doke les do it❤️

1. What’s your middle name?

Olivia!

2. How old are you?

20, very cool and very funky years..

3. When’s your birthday?

January 8th

4. What’s your zodiac sign?

Capricorn 🐏 also an Aries rising, Libra moon if anyone cares lol

5. What’s your favourite colour?

Rn it’s yellow!

6. What’s your lucky number?

Ok I rlly gotta pick one soon cuz I just don’t have one lol

7. Do you have any pets?

Used to have a chubby brown lab but she was an old girl:( BUT recently I have fed a stray cat enough for him to come back everyday so he is now mine by Ricky Law™️

8. Where are you from?

Toronto, Canada baybee

9. How tall are you?

5’5

10. What shoe size are you?

7 and a half? I think?

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Not that many like 5 tops lol

12. What was your last dream about?

Last night I dreamt about going horse back riding?? I woke up like ...she’s a horse girl, I knew it..

13. What talents do you have?

I can draw/paint?? Also I’m a pretty snazzy photographer

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I’m definitely intuitive...I’ve experienced some very strange coincidences in my life...

15. Favourite song?

Jimi Hendrix’ Voodoo Chile

16. Favourite Movie?

Moonrise Kingdom

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

*stares in Josh Kiszka yearn*

18. Do you want children?

Erm not sure yet

19. Do you want a church wedding?

Lol I want whatever the opposite of a church wedding is..

20. Are you religious?

Nope.

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Yes. I’m so clumsy I am a danger to myself at this point...

22. Have you ever gotten in trouble with the law?

No I’m literally a baby chicken and will cry if u raise ur voice at me

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

Not formally? I’ve seen a lot of random celebrities just walking around tho cuz I live in a big city

24. Baths or showers?

Showers, practically but I love me a good bath now and again

25. What color socks are you wearing?

Im not wearing any ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ;-) Sam Kiszka tease ;-) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

26. Have you ever been famous?

One time my painting was put into a community art gallery and they took my photo for the local newspaper except they made the centre fold of the page fold into the picture around my face so it got all distorted and it was like when Mike Wazowski was in the Monsters Inc commercial...

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Not rlly..

28. What type of music do you like?

Rock, folk and indie but I will listen to anything

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Yes. Me and my friends do it every year as a cottage tradition!

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

3...I need to be snuggled AND supported

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

I don’t sleep unless I curl up into the smallest ball possible like a friggin cat

32. How big is your house?

She smol

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

Literally just coffee most days. I love anarchy

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Nope. Don’t have the desire to either.

35. Have you ever tried archery?

I have not but I’ve always wanted to!

36. Favourite clean word?

Cozzy

37. Favourite swear word?

Cunty but like as an adjective

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

Not rlly sure...probably only a day. I’m a very sleepy person

39. Do you have any scars?

Yep

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

If I told you, they wouldn’t be secret ;-)

41. Are you a good liar?

No not at all. My face gives it away so badly

42. Are you a good judge of character?

I like to think so. My first impressions of people tend to be true.

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Ya but not well ahsgag

44. Do you have a strong accent?

I don’t think I do, but my family from the states always says we have the stereotypical “Canadian accent”.

45. What is your favourite accent?

I loooove Irish accents. I find them very pleasing to hear!

46. What’s your personality type?

INFP-T to be precise

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

My prom dress I think? I got it a Free People for 90$ and at that store, that’s a steal...

48. Can your curl your tongue?

Yeth

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

If this is referring to my belly button then, innie

50. Left or right handed?

Right handed

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Ew ya

52. Favourite food?

Ok my fave food is also my fave foreign food and it’s Indian!

53. Favourite foreign food?

^

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

messy...ITS CAREFUL CHAOS OK?

55. Most used phrase?

I really am not sure...

56. Most used word?

probably ‘like’. Yes I’m gen Z, yes I have trouble articulating my thoughts. And what about it???

57. How long does it take you to get ready?

I need at least an hour...I like to plan

58. Do you have much of an ego?

I don’t think so??

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

If you bite lollipops, you’re in jail now, I don’t make the law.

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, I’m the funniest person I know.

61. Do you sing to yourself?

Yes, funny you ask, I’m not only the funniest person I know, but also North America’s greatest entertainer!

62. Are you a good singer?

No! But I will preform for myself and the spiders living in my room. Yes, we exist!

63. Biggest fear?

Losing the people I love, being trapped.

64. Are you a gossip?

No yuck i hate it.

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

this is too broad and difficult but The Witch. It’s spooky and dramatic.

66. Do you like long or short hair?

I don’t rlly have a preference...

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Probably if I try really really hard lol as a Canadian, this is a good road trip game

68. Favourite school subject?

Art or English!

69. Extrovert or introvert?

Introvert

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No but something about makes me anxious

71. What makes you nervous?

I would really love to find something that doesn’t make me anxious. Let’s start with that.

72. Are you scared of the dark?

No! I find it comforting sometimes actually

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Depends. I hate confrontation so I only do it if it really matters...

74. Are you ticklish?

Ok I wanna know who isn’t! Like whomst is not ticklish??

75. Have you ever started a rumour?

I hope not...I would feel very stinky

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

If by authority you mean telling my sister to get out of my unassigned-assigned spot on the couch even though my voice cracks a little as I do it causing her to laugh even harder, than yes.

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yes. *police sirens grow closer*

78. Have you ever done drugs?

I have done a weed or 2. Yes

79. Who was your first real crush?

My neighbour lol

80. How many piercings do you have?

3! My ears and also my cartilage! Used to have my septum, but it caused me too many problems so i let it grow over :(

81. Can you roll your R’s?

Ya!

82. How fast can you type?

So fast *spongebob voice* wanna see me do it again?

83. How fast can you run?

I would probably be the first to go in a horror movie

84. What colour is your hair?

Dark brown

85. What colour are your eyes?

Brown

86. What are you allergic to?

Nothing substantial.

87. Do you keep a journal?

Ya I do!

88. What do your parents do?

My mums a school secretary and my dads a fraud investigator

89. Do you like your age?

U know what, ya..I can’t complain.

90. What makes you angry?

Injustice and rudeness

91. Do you like your own name?

Ya I don’t mind it

92. Have you already thought of baby names if so what are they?

I mean I have names that I like but it’s not something I write down so I always forgot lol

93. Do you want a boy or a girl child?

I really couldn’t care less

94. What are your strengths?

Physically, I’m a sack of bones with the upper body strength of a new born baby but I like to think my sense of humour makes me tolerable *finger guns*

95. What are your weaknesses?

I am one frightened human bean.

96. How did you get your name?

Tru story: throughout my moms whole pregnancy, everyone including the doctors were convinced I was gonna be a boy because they could never get a clear look at me in the ultra sounds so my parents had only picked out boy names until I was born to which they changed their choice of “Eric” to Erika :))

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

Not at all lol

98. Do you have any scars?

Did I already answer this one? I think I did?

99. Colour of your bedspread?

White with pink floral pattern! (From ikea lol)

100. Colour of your room?

It’s an off-white

Ok I wanna tag these lovely beans @pe2chie @turntonightfirelight @camomillacatalina @witchgoddess @blackdressedtinyone 💗💗💗

[jashasedai]

Tame AU- Asking Questions and Getting Answers

Asking Questions and Getting Answers

Alternate Universe- Tame Racing Drivers

Fandom- MotoGP, Indycar

In an AU where a secret species is used as Racing Drivers, sometimes Racing Drivers and their human matches have conflicts that are too big for them to solve by themselves.

Colin goes to visit to a little Racing Driver who is having a BIG problem.

Tags: MotoGP, Indycar, Colin Edwards, AU Tame Racing Drivers, Alternate Universe, Mentions of Racism

Asking Questions and Getting Answers

Haas Motorsport Compound- Post Season 2014

In some ways, Valentino had power that made Colin afraid.  He could call Ferrari and tell them he was walking into their stable in an hour and would be walking out with as much of their prime stock as he wanted.  He could arrange for Honda to divert funds into building a state of the art medical center, or a test track.

In some ways, Colin had things that made Valentino sick with envy.

He could walk into any grocery store in the world, wearing regular clothing and sunglasses, and walk out without being recognized, hounded, or groped.

He could travel to races where ever he liked, and no one asked him why.

He could meet people Valentino would never be allowed to lay eyes on.

He drove down to Haas headquarters in North Carolina and asked to be taken on a private tour.  He had Jake with him, and Mike, but no cameras, no publicity.  Tony Stewart wasn’t onsite, which Colin didn’t feel sorry about, he’d gone head to head with Smoke twice when Ratchet had been driving NASCAR, but Danica Patrick happened to be there.  She met them and invited them to see the informal part of the facility.

“Colin just loves lawn mowers,” Mike commented, slapping Colin on the back so hard he staggered.

It made Colin happy when he saw Danica’s eyes narrow at the demeaning nickname for young Racing Drivers.  It was a little test Ricky had taught him for determining who believed in Racer’s rights and who didn’t.  Apparently, Danica was on the same side as the Riders.

She took them down to the newly matched wing, anyway.

America matched early these days, Valentino had said.

Jake grunted when they walked into the mess hall.

Haas didn’t own a stable, just a team, but in addition to their team Drivers, they owned several dozen prospective team members.  These lived at the GMC stable most of the time, but were sent to Haas for off season training.

It was easy to find the Racing Driver Colin had come here to see.

He had his mother’s smile.  The same wicked grin she leveled at the Riders who thought because she was a small class champion, she did not know how to be responsible for a herd.

No one made that mistake about Winter Spark twice.

[Hello, what is your name?] He sat down at a table next to a foal with fluffy brown hair.

[Ferret, what is yours?] The foal answered, one handed, pushing food onto his spoon at the edge of his tray.  He put the overcooked greens into his mouth and then looked up.

[My name is Colin, I work with deaf Racing Drivers.]

Danica must be onto him by now.  A glance told him she wasn’t going to interfere.

[That is cool,] Nodded Ferret.

[I do not just work with deaf Racing Drivers, sometimes I help Racing Drivers who are having a hard time making good times,] He said, watching the young stallion push another bite of food into his mouth.

Ferret turned and put his left elbow on the table, chewing and considering Colin.  [Can you help a Racing Driver if he is confused?]

[What are you confused about?]

His elbow dropped off the table and his turned, hanging his head over the tray, with a sad expression.  [I think there is something wrong with my match.]

That could mean almost anything.  Colin waited.

There was a long wait, and nothing more was said, so he asked, [What do you think is wrong?]

Ferret pinched his lips together in the Racer gesture for confusion and disgust.  It didn’t mean a word, it meant a feeling, the gesture equivalent of a human watching someone pick up and eat a live spider.

[Santino is not always kind to the other Racing Drivers.  He got very angry at Kembar, and said he should not be the color that he is.]

Colin had no idea who’s Racing Driver’s name was Kembar.  [Why, what color is Kembar?]  Red, probably, that color affinity tended to draw ire, sometimes on reputation alone.

Ferret made the confused face again.  [Brown.]

That was ridiculous, only baby Racing Drivers wore brown.  It wasn’t even a color affinity.

Colin’s stomach dropped.

Some idiot had matched Rasoio’s son with a racist.

And now Ferret hoped Colin was equipped to help him.

To change Santino’s mind.

Colin turned around.  Mike and Jake were wide eyed.  Danica looked like she’d run into this problem before.

“Do you think you can help?” She asked in a tired voice.

“Take on white supremacy single handed?” Colin said.  “I think if it were that easy it would be taken care of already.”

“Not everyone who is...like that...is a match.  Racing Drivers can have a big influence.”

“Bigger than society?” Colin asked.  “Why did you match him to someone like that in the first place?”

“It’s not alway apparent with 13 year olds.”  She put her hands on her hips.  “Besides,” She waved a hand to indicate Ferret.

He was fast.

Of course he was.

He had a career ahead of him.  The company wasn’t going to waste that profit.

“I can teach his boy how to ride, that’s hardly going to make him accept all mankind as equals.”  Colin threw up his hands.

[You cannot help,] Ferret said, lowering his eyes.  [There is something wrong with him, and you cannot help him.]

He looked so much like Rasoio when he was sad.  

[I will try,] Colin said.

Mike snorted.  “Anyway, this one’s a cake walk.”

The other humans looked at him in confusion.

[Hello, colt!] Mike gestured to get Ferret’s attention.  [Where is Kembar from?]

How was Ferret supposed to know the names of countries?

“Sean is Indonesian,” Danica started.

[Kembar was born at the Redbull stable,] Ferret answered promptly.  

Oh.

“See,” Mike said, “With Racers, it’s all a matter of perspective.”

[chaunceyandchumleysdad]

RIOT FEST, Day 3 Sunday September 15

My wife did not attend this day, but I still opted for driving as I couldn’t face taking the L after the ease of driving and parking the first two days. Weather was very similar to Friday. Some rain in the morning created a few muddy/wet areas, but the fields were mostly in good shape. A little humid with a cooling breeze and just a very light sprinkle for a few minutes later in the day.

·         Ultra Q (Rise stage) – The first band of the day. I didn’t have anyone in particular I wanted to see at this time, but Ultra Q was the choice simply because they were on the stage of the next band I wanted to see. They were a rockin’ Pop Punk band and a good opener for Day 3.

·         Save Ferris (Rise stage) - I have to admit this is one of the bands I most wanted to see this year. I love Ska Punk, I’m easily hooked on good Pop sounds and I’m a sucker for any band with a good front woman. Their 1997 debut It Means Everything is an album I cannot seem to get enough of. After their sophomore release Modified in 1997, they struggled through numerous personnel changes, breakups, lawsuits and eventually a revival where Monique Powell was able to obtain the rights to the band’s name. Deservedly so because she is the face of the band. And she was soooo entertaining. Her singing, humor and banter was outstanding. She held the crowd in sway in a manner that is comparable to Gwen Stefani. She started the show in a tight black dress and stripped off pieces of clothing until she was eventually down to a Vaudeville-type leotard. She strutted around the stage while teasing the crowd with sexual innuendos. Even the band members continuously laughed and smiled while watching her stage antics. The band covered the Dead Kennedys song Too Drunk To Fuck and of course, they finished the set with their great cover of Come On Eileen. Based on the energy Monique puts into singing on her records, I had high hopes for the show and she and Save Ferris did not disappoint.

·         White Reaper (Roots Stage) – This Louisville band that was not on my radar. However, as I was walking through the park that morning, a lady I was chatting with suggested I see White Reaper because her cousin is in the band. They were very good playing a brand of Hard Rock/Garage Punk. I stayed for about half their set before moving on to catch some of another band.

·         Frank Iero and The Future Violents (Rise Stage) – I caught the second half of this show. Frank Iero was one of the guitar players in My Chemical Romance. I was not familiar with this band but they had a nice Alternative sound and were very energetic on stage.

·         Less Than Jake – Well, I had to have more Ska Punk! I remember my older son David being into  this band when he was a young teenager. Although I’ve listened to this musical genre since the Ska Revival in the late 70’s, it was really David’s interest in bands like Reel Big Fish, Save Ferris, The Aquabats and Less Than Jake that got me to start listening to it on somewhat of a regular basis. Less Than Jake was awesome. I stood close to the stage and enjoyed their sound, energy and great humor. They put so much into their show and had a lot of fun with the audience. It was easy to tell by their laughter, smiles and jokes that they really enjoy what they are doing. This is a band I would definitely like to see again.

·         Sincere Engineer (Rebel stage) – This band is led by Chicagoan Deanna Belos. Their debut album was just two years ago. Very good hard driving Garage Punk. This was the only band I saw with my younger son Dylan, who had just arrived and then departed after the set to catch up with friends.

·         Streetlight Manifesto (Rise stage) – And more Ska! I did not see the first half of their set but Dylan and I could hear them while we sitting on the soccer field and eating some dinner. After Dylan left, I went to see the rest of their set. Like Less Than Jake, they were a fun, energetic Ska band.

·         B-52’s (Radicals stage) – For my taste, this was the beginning of a killer ending for Riot Fest with an incomparable Final Four musical artists. While I can’t say that I am a huge B-52’s fan, I did get into them from hanging out with my buddy Dean in the 1980’s. Their album Comic Thing, released in June 1989, was a summer classic that year. I still enjoy listening to it from beginning to end. They played their two big hits from that album, Love Shack and my favorite, Roam in addition to other hits such as Give Me Back My Man and Rock Lobster. What amazed me was that Kate Pierson (71) and Cindy Wilson (62) still sounded youthful and superb. Fred Schneider’s quirky voice still sounds the same too with his singing and talking voices being virtually indistinguishable. They also drew the largest crowd I had ever seen at the Radicals stage. There sound was rounded out with original member Keith Strickland on guitar and a host of touring musicians. While all still the original members, the death the Ricky Wilson in 1985 almost ended the band, but they forged ahead as a quartet and continuing to be a very entertaining band. After Riot Fest, I did read an article that suggested this was a farewell tour for the band. I haven’t seen or heard that anywhere else. Given their ages and longevity, I guess it would not be surprising, but I hope they stick around awhile longer.

·         Patti Smith and Her Band (Riot stage) – The second of the Final Four was the great Patti Smith. This was my second time seeing her as she was also at Riot Fest in 2014. One of the founders of Punk (before it was called Punk), she was way ahead of her time in terms of her music, attitude and feminism. While she has produced some great songs, I was surprised, though not disappointed, that she did several cover versions during her set including I’m Free (Rolling Stones), Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil), Are You Experienced? (Jimi Hendrix), Walk On The Wild Side (Lou Reed) and After The Goldrush (Neil Young). I particularly liked I’m Free and Beds Are Burning. She closed the set with Gloria, which is technically a cover song (Them). However, that was the opening track of her first album and she did such a unique version of the song that she has made it her own. Add in People Have The Power and Because The Night along with a couple of other originals and it made for a wonderfully enjoyable set.

·         The Raconteurs (Roots stage) – Earlier in the year, when I heard The Raconteurs were touring, I immediately went to their website to see when they would be in Chicago. While they were going to be playing in Midwest states during September, Chicago was noticeably absent from their schedule. That immediately led me to speculate that they would play Riot Fest. While I’m sure I wasn’t the only on to draw that conclusion, I was dead right for a change. (My Riot Fest prediction percentage does not have the best track record.) I just saw Jack White perform last year at Lollapalooza so it was great to see him again a little more than a year later. I would have to say for overall performance, this was, in my book, the best of the festival. The show was just so impactful in terms of being a tight band with great professional talent, tremendous production and a powerhouse of sound. They played six songs off the new album (Help Us Stranger), four from Broken Boy Soldiers and three form Consolers Of The Lonely. I like all three albums so I was happy with everything they played. Jack White also referenced Bikini Kill during the set and the band also played a snippet of Gloria which I interpreted as a nod to Patti Smith.Unlike last year at Lolla, Jack White did not offer much banter between songs, but I believe the bands stage time was much shorter at Riot Fest than it was at Lolla. As with last year at Lolla, I thoroughly enjoyed Jack White’s guitar playing. When you look at the span of his career, the various directions he has gone with his music, and the potential he still has, he is truly a treasure of American Rock music.

·         Bikini Kill (Riot stage) – This band was Riot Mike’s coup for the 2019 edition of Riot Fest. This year was the first time Bikini Kill officially reunited as a band since they broke up in 1997. The reunion included 3 of 4 original members (Kathleen Hanna, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox). I have twice seen Kathleen Hanna live with her band The Julie Ruin, but I never thought I would see Bikini Kill. It seemed like a bit of a strange transition from The Raconteurs big time Rock sound to Bikini Kill’s stripped-down Riot Grrrl sound. But Riot Fest is first and foremost a Punk Rock festival, so Bikini Kill deserved the top spot. Kathleen Hanna also commented on how difficult it is for a female band to get “this spot” (top headliner and a Rock music festival). Kathleen sang the bulk of the songs with Tobi Vail taking lead vocals for a few numbers. Kathleen talked quite a bit between songs, often addressing societal issues from a feminist point of view but also talking about the history behind some of the songs. Based on my experience seeing The Julie Ruin, I know she likes to chat on stage. However, when you are given a 75 minute time slot and you play Punk songs that are on average maybe two minutes long, I suppose you have to fill up the time with some banter. At any rate, it was fantastic to see this band and an awesome way to end Riot Fest 2019.

[the-canine-king]

i answered all 50 questions in that oc question post

note: i'm only talking about the ones i made lol i was gonna link them all the character’s names to their profiles but that shit’s way too much work so: https://toyhou.se/CanineKing/characters/folder:all/tags:1/tagged:Original

1. Your first OC ever? hmm, there's probably two answers 1) an unnamed character who was basically a fantasy dressed fox kemono boy. do you remember playing a game as a kid where you look out the window in a car and you imagine someone doing sick parkour beside your car? he was the character i imagined (there was also a whole other story i dreamt up where i was some long lost princess from other world and he was gonna save me from this one but that's a whole other thing) he's technically a character i thought of but never thought of anything beyond that, i don't think i ever drew him either 2) 4 (maybe 5) characters i made in middle school where it was about these characters that come from families that can bend one particular element, and they're all friends on school trying to get used to their passed down powers and also be basically kid superheroes. i drew them out and gave them names, but i never wrote anything beyond that, but they were definitely ones that i would call my first actual written ocs 2. Do you have a personal favourite among your OCs? -looks at ace, eliott, and mel- no 3. Have you ever adopted a character or gotten a character from someone else? yup! before i wasn't so big on the adopt thing, but i turned into a fan w/ collecting designs and writing a lil story for them! i adopted 38 characters, and one other that's currently still in the process of trade :P (and unfortunately trying to purge some away) 4. A character you rarely talk about? unfortunately that'd be a lot of characters bc i'm super focused on drawing ace/ mel smooching for the 548787th time 5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? i'd probably make it eliott bc who else doesn't love a cute, shy, goat boy on the internet 6. Two OCs of yours that look alike despite not being related? ...... i can't think of any lmao 7. Are your OCs part of any story or stories? i literally only make ocs to make stories so 8. Do you RP as any of your OCs? If you do, introduce one of your RP OCs here! nah i can't do rp stuff :'D 9. Would you ever be willing to give any of your OCs to someone else? honestly, not really if i made them lol but i guess i can if i'm not attatched to them and such, so if i just made a design and offered them up then yeah i can trade them (unless i love their design lol) 10. Introduce an OC with a complicated design? even thought i haven't fully drawn my plans for his outfit, azazel would be the most complicated in my standards 11. Is there any OC of yours you could describe as a “sunshine”? me personally, i'd say eliott bc that baby boy is trying his best story wise, either thorne or lucas (but totally lucas since thorne is a liar at heart) 12. Name an OC that isn’t yours but who you like a lot TOO MANY AUGH the very first oc i fell in love with but was forever homes was like a fantasy setting character that was an adventurer and had eagle legs/ other features w/ banging colours but other than that too many others 13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs? again, a lot, i guess. bc they mostly fall into that trope? aiden (even though he's trying to be a better person), damien, eve, hugh (in a way), jack, ollie, ricky, roman, and wyatt 14. Introduce an OC with a tragic backstory uhhhh, hard to choose, i don't have any more bc i haven't written their backstories yet lol - growing up as a theif his whole life to support him and his mother, accidentally kills someone after an awakening of powers and is had to run from his hometown - growing up being shadowed over and forced to be someone that they're not, only to get their hubris get to them, causing themselves and others get hurt and can't even remember the person they loved - growing up w/ betrayal after betrayal she closed herself off, but they met someone and slowly opened up and accidentally fell in love w/ them, only later getting caught and fell from grce, then only to find the person they trusted before not remember them - after being caught on what seemed to be a fatal accident, gets rescured from a miraculous surgery, but he's slowly forgetting what he looks like and who he was every passing second - two people close to each other, only to end up w/ betrayal and lies 15. Do you like to talk about your OCs with other people? absolutely but if they ask me something i haven't planned yet i'm just "UHHH" 16. Which one of your OCs would be the best at biology (school subject)? 17. Any OC OTPs? nah ace/ mel is my notp :/ anyways if it's couples in general then: - ace/ mel - lucas/ darla - kaiko/ caspian - + a bunch of the parents in the monster family story - damon/ ollie (okay i'm really not planning for them to be together, but they cute u.u) - jebediah/ demon boyfriend - gunther/ harem - nadiya/ her girlfriend which i still haven't decided if i want her to be like a princess or a traveling swordsman of sorts) - the chimera girl i designed/ her human girlfriend - the fallen god/ mercenary 18. Any OC crackships? uhh i actually don't know :V anyone of the people listed  being w/ someone else would be a crackship? idk every other pairing i know i wouldn't like lol 19. Introduce an OC that means a lot to you (and explain why) i guess eliott! i guess also catherine, ricky, comet, and/ or captain since they were my fist group of ocs i wrote a bit about, but i think eliott means a lot more bc he was the one that got me thinking more about ocs  :> 20. Do any of your OCs sing? If they sing, care to share more details (headcanon voice, what kind of songs they like etc)? for some reason i feel like rosa would be a singer? va hc would be someone w/ a strong husky voice and she would probably sing really well in kind of old slow songs you hear in old bars i also thought maybe lillie could sing too, but they’d usually be softer songs or lullabies to calm herself down it’d be nice/ cool to write for fallen god to be able to sing as well, and maybe the mercenary too so they can have nights signing together. maybe fallen god can sing songs that are in their own god language or whatever, and mercenary can watch in awe there may be others but i can’t think of them rn/ they might be charas i haven’t fully made yet 21. Your most artistic OC lmao it’s a bunch of ocs that i haven’t developed my ocs enough for me to know so let’s skip i guess 22. Is there any OC of yours people tend to mischaracterize? If yes, how? i mean, people get some stuff wrong about my ocs sometimes but they’re usually so small that i really don’t care about it lol 23. Introduce OC that has changed from your first idea concerning what the character would be like? hmm they relatively stayed the same personality wise but i assure you everyone’s changed from their initial drawing of them 24. If you could meet one OC of yours, who would it be and why? that's. a really hard choice actually lol bc i wanna be hugged by one of the parents in the monster family story i made, but i also wanna hang out w/ the characters that i can comfortably hang out w/ lol 25. The OC that resembles you the most (same hobby, height, shared like/dislike for something etc?) everyone’s got a bit of shared piece of themselves w/ their ocs don’t they? 26. Have you ever had to change your OC’s design or something else about them against your will? against my will? i can’t think of anything that i changed against my will so no :V 27. Any OCs that were inspired by a certain song? the only two i can come up rn are: alistair (devil wears a suit and tie) and rosa (o, raven) 28. Your most dangerous OC? i guess the chimera girl i made since she’s trying to fit in the modern life? i mean i still haven’t thought of her story yet but i know she Angery 29. Which one of your OCs would go investigate an abandoned house at night without telling anyone they’re going? ace, aiden, maybe keaton 30. Which one of your OCs would most likely have a secret stuffed animal collection? mel, eva, roy 31. Pick one OC of yours and explain what their tumblr blog would be like (what they reblog, layout, anything really) eliott: landscape stuff, muted colours, mystical content here and there ace: default theme, memes, probably has a side blog that’s more of an aesthetic blog mel: super aesthetic blog, romance themed 32. Which one of your OCs would be the most suitable horror game protagonist and why? literally anyone in the renegade group i could’ve said anyone in the hunters group but they’re all fucking idiots (lee would be more closer to the renegade’s level tho) 33. Your shyest OC? eliott, roy, audrey, fallen god 34. Do you have any twin characters? i literally want to design twin ocs just to have twin ocs jdshfkjsdf 35. Any sibling characters? audrey, dylan, and elle + eve and juno + ace and jack 36. Do you have OC pairs where the other part belongs to someone else (siblings, lovers, friends etc)? nah not really lol 37. Introduce an OC who is not quite human ?? i barely have human characters in the first place, unless this one means humanoid :V 38. Which one of your OCs would be the best dancer? iiiii can’t think of anyone other than the two parents i thought of that i’m planning to be dance teachers lmao 39. Introduce any character you want i haven’t drawn them yet but fallen god and mercenary are two unnamed characters that i recently started thinking of where fallen god falls from the heavens and looses their sight, and the merc runs from their past meet and they team up together w/ the merc being fallen god’s eyes and the fallen go being their protector 40. Any fond memories linked to your characters? Feel free to share! i guess it;s just sentimental ones like, first ocs, first compliments, first art/ fic of them, etc. 41. Has anyone drawn fanart of your OCs? If yes, maybe show a picture or two here (remember sources & permissions!) YEAH AND EVERYONE DRAWS THEM CUTER THAN I DO (well i mean these were from freebies, art trades/ games, and gifts but still) please check out ace’s other’s art gallery and eliott’s other’s art gallery, bc they have the most of them (bc i ask for them a lot lol) 42. Which one of your OCs would be the most interested in Greek gods? whoever in middle school age i guess 43. Do you have any certain type when you create your OCs? Do you tend to favour some certain traits or looks? It’s time to confess big n beefy, jokesters, heart of gold 44. Something you like about your OCs in general that i made them all (well of course not the adopted kids) 45. A character you no longer use? everyone every time i don’t focus on their story anymore than i used to ;;;; 46. Has anyone ever told you that you treat your OCs badly? fortunately no, and i hope no one does and it’d stop to others bc wow that’s rude as hell 47. Has anyone ever (friendly) claimed any of your OCs as their child? okay literally the first time i made eliott, everyone i knew wanted to adopt him as their kid lol 48. OC who is a perfect cinnamon roll, too good for this world, too pure eliott, parker, elle (i love all of them tho :’D) 49. Which one of your OCs would most likely enjoy memes ace, roman, ricky, aiden, dylan, eva, ollie 50. Give me the good ol’ OC talk here. Talk about anything you want i love all of my babes okay good night

[externally-upset]

1-100

Alright going all in I see. Let's do this

1. I mainly use Spotify

2. I try and keep it clean but somehow always winds up messy

3. I've got brown eyes

4. y'know I've got a really generic name but I do like it. Why, I have no idea

5. I'm currently single

6. Scatterbrained, happy, adventurous

7. I've got natural black hair

8. So I don't drive because it actually hurts my leg to drive. Also I can't sit still for longer than 5 minutes

9. I shop everywhere that has toys lmao. I'm a toy collector so I'll go anywhere that has em

10. I don't really have a style. I try and live my life as cozy as possible

11. I don't really have a favorite social media account

12. I have a full/queen size bed

13. I've got lots of siblings. In all, I've got 6 sisters and 2 brothers, but some are step family. I've got 1 bio sister and 1 bio brother, both younger than me.

14. I've been looking into moving to Washington recently, but I think I'd rather travel the world than settle down somewhere, for now at least

15. I don't use the filters myself so I can't speak on that

16. I don't use makeup so I don't have a fave brand to talk about

17. I shower everyday, I get really sweaty so I gotta

18. I don't have like a definite fave TV show. It varies from month to month. Although this summer it was Nisekoi, which is an excellent anime

19. I wear a size 11.5/12 shoe

20. I'm 5'11

21. I wear almost strictly sneakers

22. I don't go to the gym, I should though. I really should

23. Dream date would be to have one lol, um I guess to go up to the mountains together and star gaze or something to do with the mountains. I just enjoy being outside

24. Too much to count 💸💸 lmao jk I've got $60

25. Ain't wearing any but if someone came through right now, I'd put some black ones on

26. I had four, but my mom stole 2 of them

27. I was working in drywall for awhile but I hopped out of that and am currently applying to places. I specifically was a taper, so like when drywall is put up in the house, there are gaps between the pieces put up. I covered those gaps up, all over the house. It doesn't seem like a lot but when you've got 15-20 feet ceilings, it gets hard

28. I've got quite a lot of friends and I love them all

29. I've know I've done bad stuff that others remember me for but I can't think of anything

30. Oh man I loooooove lavender scented candles. Lavender scented anything is the best

31. I honestly can't think of any boy names that I like

32. 3 girl names: Sochi, Lavender, and Laurie, which is actually the name of one of my best friends

33. Anthony Hopkins is my favorite actor by far

34. Fave actress is definitely Meryl Streep, I fell in love with her when I first saw the Devil Wears Prada years ago and it just snowballed from there

35. My celeb crush is either Bonnie Wright or Jessica Keenan Wynn

36. Fave movie has gotta be The Great Mouse Detective

37. I used to read a lot, not so much anymore. Of everything I've read though, Christine by Stephen King has been my favorite read

38. Everyone wants to say brains are more important and they are, but unfortunately in the world we live in money rules over all

39. I used to be called Chancho but not any more

40. I've been to the hospital more times than I'd like to think. I had a heart condition that flared up in high school so I spent a lot of time at the hospital. I'm still not even sure what it was and am sure the doctors made it up to take my money

41. TOP TEN SONGS:

Beauty and the Beast - Angela Lansbury

Beauty and the Beast - Celine Dion, Peabo Bryson

Higher - Creed

Eres Mi Droga - Intocable

Crossing Field - LiSA

Don't Blink - Kenny Chesney

Junkhead - Alice In Chains

Your Decision - Alice In Chains

Losing A Whole Year - Third Eye Blind

Forever Halloween - The Maine

42. Nah, no meds for me

43. I think I have an oily skin type

44. Biggest fear is leaving those I love behind when I pass along to the next life

45. I don't know how many kids I want

46. I always have my hair either in a bun or braided

47. I live in a medium sized family home

48. My grandma has been and always will be my role model

49. It was being told how wise I am

50. Last text I sent was to my homeboy, telling him "this school shit is wack"

51. I was 6 years old when I found out Santa wasn't real

52. A nice Truck is my dream car or maybe a souped up Subaru, with an anime wrap for shits and gigs

53. I'm cool with smoking weed, but no cigarettes and only smoke outside, don't need my stuff to smell

54. Yeah, I'm here in college, but I don't like it

55. Rural areas by far. I've always wanted my own farm

56. I wanna be a high school history teacher and that requires a degree, so that's why I'm in college

57. I don't like the shampoo and conditioner from hotels, don't like the way they feel. That being said, yes I'll take them

58. I've got freckles but you can barely see them unless were face to face

59. Yes and no. It really depends on my mood. I try to take more smiling pictures now

60. I've got quite a few, mostly memes though

61. Of course I've peed in the woods, with the amount of times I've been hiking and camping with no bathroom in site, you gotta

62. I watch almost strictly cartoons, if we're being completely honest

63. Chicken nuggets smack, no matter where they're from

64. If it calls for it, honey. If not, then sweet and sour sauce

65. Alright, so it depends where I'm at. If I'm home alone, just my underwear. If there are people here, shorts. If I'm at someone else's house, I wear whatever I have on

66. Never participated in a spelling bee in my life

67. My hobby is collecting. I've been collecting things since I was a kid. I've switched between many things in my life. I've gone from Wrestling figures, to sports cards, to vinyl records, to Funko Pops. I actually collect a little of everything I've mentioned now

68. I can't draw for shit

69. I don't play any instruments, although I've tried learning how to play the Ukulele

70. Last concert was seeing Four Year Strong and Seaway like 2 years ago

71. I prefer tea over coffee

72. I guess Starbucks as I've never had Dunkin before

73. Marriage sounds nice, but I don't need to. Like if I'm dating someone and they said they don't wanna get married, I wouldn't have a problem with it. As long as we're in love, that's all that matters

74. Aha, I'm not answering this one

75. If ever I get married, I don't know what the last name situation is gonna be

76. Burgundy and blue look absolutely fantastic on me

77. Yeah there are a few people I miss

78. I always sleep with my door closed and my closets too

79. I belive in ghosts, although I prefer to call them spirits. Used to see them frequently as a child, still do sometimes

80. Biggest pet peeve is when people try to tell me what to do. Not like suggestions but actually tell me what to do. Irritates me to no end

81. Last person I called I think was my Dad, but that's because I couldn't find him in the store

82. Black Cherry Vanilla is the best but no one sells it anywhere

83. Golden Oreos are pretty damn good so I'll go with those

84. If I have to choose, probably rainbow sprinkles

85. Just a plain white tank top

86. My phone background is a picture of Ricky from Trailer Park Boys saying "Man, maybe I am gay."

87. I can be outgoing, it kinda takes a bit for me to open up though

88. I fucking love when people play with my hair

89. My neighbors across the street are very nice, but next door neighbor is a dick, always judging shit

90. I usually wash my face in the mornings

91. I used to get high a lot, not so much anymore, although I'd really like for that to change

92. I spent a good portion of this year drunk, so that's a problem. I actually only started drinking when I turned 21 last September. Never been hungover either, so I've been blessed

93. Last thing I ate was some chips

94. "Thank you to the miracle that we are able to meet in a dirty and ugly world, even like this" My Song - Girl Dead Monster. This is from Angel Beats and these are rough English translations

95. I prefer winter over summer, but spring is my fave season

96. I love night time, always will

97. I will always pick dark chocolate over all other chocolates

98. September is my favorite month, not because it's my birth month, but it's the one month where everything feels right

99. I'm a Virgo

100. Last person I cried in front of was my homeboy Mason, albeit I was drunk as fuck and don't remember it but he does. Says I scared him

Goddamn that took forever, but I did get over being bored, so bless you Anon

[blueymoons]

#2: It Reminded Me Of You

I’ve decided to continue the One Hundred Ways To Say ‘I Love You’ prompt list. I plan to do them randomly, but if there’s one you’d like to see soonish, leave me a message here or on AO3, where you can find me as RoseNoble9. 😊

“Nick? Can you take the apple crumble out of the oven for me please?”

“Right.” Nick Herbert muttered to himself as he searched in vain for the oven mitts. They were no where to be seen in the kitchen. “I can. Absolutely,” he responded to the shouted request from his wife, Ilsa, “Only…where are the mitts?”

He heard a muffled curse but wasn’t sure if it was a response meant for him and so, he was bent over, rummaging through a drawer full of tea towels when Ilsa came bustling into the kitchen, muttering curses under her breath and carrying the mitts with her. He guessed she must have carried them into the bedroom with her without realizing it.  

“I swear, I don’t know why I’m so nervous Nick.” She slid the mitts on and opened the oven, “We’ve had them over for dinner countless times before.”

As he watched her settle the desert on the hob to cool he smiled. His Ilsa had a heart of gold, a mind sharp as a knife and the soul of a complete romantic. He never looked at her without feeling fortunate that she’d fallen just as hard for him as he had for her when their mutual best friend Cormoran, had introduced them at his and Nick’s shared eighteenth birthday party. She completed him in ways he hadn’t fully understood, even then.

But at the moment she was brimming with nervous energy. Bubbling over with anxiety and worry. He reached out and took her hand as she removed the mitts and yanked her to him, cradling her lush curves against his lanky frame. He hummed along with James Morrison’s You Give Me as he guided her into a slow dance, pressing his cheek against her temple.

She relaxed into his arms immediately, laying her cheek against his shoulder and sighing. “I just want it to be perfect Nicky. It needs to be perfect.”

He squeezed her tightly before drawing her back so he could look into her eyes, “Ilsa, I know we want them to realize they’re perfect for each other, but we can only do so much.” She opened her mouth to protest but he cut across her gently, “No one loves Oggy more than me. He’s the only reason I have you. But he has to come to the decision to make a move on Robin on his own.”

“Robin is just as capable of making a move herself,” Ilsa insisted.

“Of course she is. But she may not feel comfortable doing so Ilsa. Remember, she’s only ever been with Twatthew and Cormoran is her senior partner.” He squeezed her hand and sent her into a delicate twirl under his arm, still swaying to the music drifting from the lounge. “She’s the second strongest woman I know, but she’d need more courage than Neville Longbottom to make a pass at Oggy. Especially if he’s so damnably closed off with her all the time as he is when he’s with us.”

Ilsa huffed in what he knew was aggravation but nodded her agreement.

The song ended, and Nick released her with a gentle kiss, “What can I do to help you now?”

She looked around the kitchen and with a small sigh said, “I think everything is set and ready. They just need to get here.”

“Great.” He opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle of chardonnay he’d picked up for this evening. He uncapped it and poured her a small glass and held out his hand to pass it to her. As she reached for it however, he pulled it out of her reach and teased, “You have to pay your tab first.”

He loved seeing her eyes sparkle at his mischief. “And what’s the price?” she asked with a knowing grin.

“For now, I’ll settle for a proper snog. But the prices go up the later it gets.” Her lips were still curved in a grin as they met his. They stood in their kitchen, kissing and murmuring to each other, sipping wine and laughing until finally the front doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” he whispered to her before kissing the tip of her nose, leaving her giggling behind him.

His smile was huge and genuine as he opened the door to find both Robin and Cormoran on the front step. “Good evening! How are you Robin?” He bent to peck her cheek as she answered with a smile and a quick “I’m great!” He stepped back to allow them through the door, before clapping Cormoran on the back with a mumbled, “Oggy.”

Cormoran instantly moved to help Robin remove her jacket, hanging it and the scarf she handed him on the pegs next to the front door beside his.

“Where’s Ilsa?” Robin asked.

“Go on through. She was in the kitchen drinking all the wine when I came to let you in.”

“I heard that,” came the droll response from his wife as she met Robin in the lounge and gathered her into a hug before swatting at Nick as he and Cormoran, who stooped to plant a kiss on her cheek, passed beside them on their way to the kitchen to obtain drinks. “Oh, I love this blouse Robin. Where did you get it?”

Robin brushed her hands down the front of her grey silk blouse and replied, “I’ve had this for ages. I can’t remember where I picked it up.” She shrugged. “But you’re welcome to borrow it if you like.”

“Hmmm.” Ilsa continued to eye the blouse, “I just might.”

Cormoran handed Robin a glass of the chardonnay as he took a deep swig of the beer Nick had poured him. He made a show of glancing around the room, “Where are the wee beasties?”

“Ricky and Ossie, if you must know, are at the vets this weekend,” Ilsa answered while making a face at her old friend.

Robin grabbed her arm, clearly worried, “Are they OK?”

“Oh yes, they’re fine…It was just time for their…well…” Ilsa trailed off with a significant raise of her eyebrows.

“Ahhhh!” Robin nodded before turning to Cormoran and grinning, “Looks like you’re safe.” She laughed heartily at his narrowed eyed glance and muttered, “Cheeky.”

Ilsa took Robin’s hand and tugged her toward the dining table, “I hope you two are hungry. I couldn’t stop myself from doing a roast and Corm, before you ask, yes, I made apple crumble.”

“You’re an angel Ils,” Cormoran replied. “I’d get down on my knees and bow to you if I could.”

“No need to worship at my feet.” Ilsa waved off his chicanery with a graceful wave of her hand. “Just continue to send me referrals and I’ll consider the debt paid.” The entire party dissolved into laughter as they took their seats at the table and started passing dishes.

They laughed and joked their way through dinner, with Nick and Cormoran ribbing each other about football, Robin and Cormoran sharing humorous encounters with clients and subjects they were tailing and Ilsa and Robin snickering over Ilsa’s stories about Nick’s attempts to train the cats.

As Ilsa brought the apple crumble to the table, passing it first to Cormoran, she said, “I have something for the two of you. It reminded me of you.”

She turned and lifted an envelope from the breakfront next to the dining table. “Nick agreed with me that it was the perfect thing for you both,” she said as she handed the envelope to Robin.

Robin opened the flap and pulled out two tickets to, “A murder mystery dinner play?” She glanced at Cormoran with raised eyebrows, obviously surprised.

“Yes. One of my paralegals is involved in community theater and they put on this show every year, with different mysteries of course, as a fundraiser. She asked me if Nick and I might be interested in going this year, but we already have plans for that day. But then I thought of you two and I thought you’d probably both enjoy it.”

“I don’t understand what it is though…is it a play?” Robin was genuinely confused.

“Well, from what I understand, you and the other attendees arrive, dressed for the theater,” she pointed to the dress code, listed as “black tie”, on the tickets and you’ll each be given an envelope with further instructions for how the evening will go. You’ll socialize and mingle with the other guests only none of you will know who the other guests are and who the actors are.” She paused as she noted that both Robin’s and Cormoran’s eyes were starting to light up.

“At some point in the evening, early I’d guess, someone will be ‘killed’,” she moved her fingers in air quotes. “And the investigation will ensue. Someone will turn out to be the murderer but everyone attending will help figure out the mystery.” Ilsa could barely contain her glee as Robin and Cormoran exchanged glances filled with excited curiosity. “What do you think? Does it sound fun?”

“Robin?” Cormoran asked, clearly willing to take a cue from his partner.

“It does. It actually sounds really fun.”

“What day is it? Do we have anything scheduled that evening?” Cormoran replied.

Robin glanced down at the tickets, flushed, and then glanced back up at him, “It’s on February 14th.”

He looked at her, nonplussed.

“Comoran, that’s Valentines Day. Don’t you have a date?” Robin laughed, but Nick could see that the laugh didn’t quite reach her eyes. Cormoran remained silent for a few moments, watching his partner, then glancing over at Nick, before responding.

“No. Actually. I don’t.” His voice was soft.

“You don’t?” Robin whispered.

“No. I’m not really seeing anyone right now. You?” Nick saw Cormoran’s hand tighten to a fist, where it rested on his leg under the table, out of Robin’s eyeline.

“I’m not. I haven’t really been interested in anyone. You know…Since the divorce.” Robin’s eyes went back to the tickets still grasped in her hand.

Ilsa was quieter than he’d ever seen her. Nick was almost certain she wasn’t even breathing. He knew he wasn’t interested in doing anything that would distract Cormoran and Robin from each other. Ilsa’s eyes found his and he could see her hope, excitement, and yearning in them. It was their fondest wish to see their friends become a couple and it felt as though the four of them were standing on a ledge, waiting to bungee jump, and Robin and Cormoran were taking forever to make the jump.

Nick winked at Ilsa as Cormoran reached over and laid his hand over Robin’s. “Do you want to go? To this?” He indicated the tickets. “With me?”

Robin grinned up at Cormoran, though her head was still tilted down, toward the tickets, “Sure. I really would.”

Cormoran squeezed her hand and with a nod replied, “It’s a date.”

Nick could see Ilsa struggling to keep her composure. He knew she was bursting with the need to scream with joy. So, he saved her by asking, “Great! Glad that’s settled. Robin? Do you want ice cream with your crumble?”

Robin chuckled at Nick’s deflection and nodded, while tucking the tickets back into their envelope and handing them to Cormoran to stow in his jacket pocket. “I’d love some. Thank you.”

 Later, after desert had been cleared away, coffee and after dinner cocktails had been had, hugs and kisses were exchanged and Cormoran and Robin left for the evening. As they turned to walk to the Tube station that would take them back to their individual homes, Cormoran nudged Robin’s arm. She glanced up at him and he nodded his head in the direction of the front windows of the Herbert’s house.

Through the window they could see, and hear, Ilsa scream, “FINALLY!!!! OH MY GOD!!! FUCKING FINALLY!!!” as she jumped into Nick’s arms, joyfully covering his face in exuberant kisses.

Robin turned back to Cormoran and started giggling. He shook his head and chuckled before tossing his arm around Robin’s shoulders and pulling her into his side as they continued the trek to their station.

[rndyounghowze]

Shaken Not Stirred Players are Not Getting Married Today with Company at Gateway by the Bay in Somers Point, NJ

By: Ricky and Dana Young-Howze

The Gateway by the Bay was the jewel of the shore last night with a production of Company staged by the Shaken Not Stirred Players. This musical with music by Stephen Sondheim and book by George Furth was directed by Sally Castle and gave us a great reason to be alive!

It's Bobby's thirty-fifth birthday. He's got a great apartment, lots of friends. You could say he's always in good...well company. But there's this nagging thing inside him. He's not married and even though he has so many friends he's still lacking... something. He hangs out with all of his married friends and some on again off again girlfriends but does he ever really have someone? Will he find it before he has to blow out another set of birthday candles?

I used to do a lot of theatre with a small theatre group just like this so I can appreciate something about the direction by Sally Castle. When you have a company (ha) of community stage veterans like this you're more directing traffic and channeling energy. You get a group of stage friends with great energy and all of a sudden you're on the same wavelength. I felt like there was a little bit of dragging energy up front but then the first bars of the opening number struck up and this show just took off! You can almost rev them up every night and get out of their way.

This cast gave me so many feels! I don't know where to begin!

When you first look at Robert (played by Mark Leggieri) you think "really, him"? And then he sings and you're like "oooh!" And then he acts and you're like "him!" It's not that he doesn't look the part but you almost can't see it with such a lovable looking guy! So yeah he's the biggest sleeper hit of the night. You gotta come see him. He really holds his audience and delivers a powerhouse performance. He bowled me over.

Sarah (played by Nina Meron) can rock bright patterns and knock a guy on his rump. That's a skill set not always called for but she delivers. Don't forget that she's also a great singer and dancer and mixes great against James Dalfonso as Harry. Speaking of him...

Harry (played by James Dalfonso) can now add punching bag to his resume! It's great to see a producer cutting a rug with the cast onstage. I know producers who work in the office or direct behind the scenes. I like the producers who act in the trenches with the rest of the battalion.

Susan (played by Sherry Mistler) gave her best southern drawl that she could muster and this Tennessee expat was kinda impressed. You can hear her splendid voice in the background all the time! I definitely would love to see her onstage again!

Peter (played by Timothy J. Cooper) should really be known for his wonderful two step in "Side by Side" but he also has some really great acting chops. She and Sherry really need to share the stage again.

Jenny (played by Deborah Jenkins) was just a laugh riot from the very beginning to the end. I really liked her voice the best. This Indiana native had the Jersey shore rolling in the aisles last night!

I won’t talk about how David (played by Keith D. Cooper) played high “a little too well”. And he can sure cut a rug. His work in the mail ensemble pieces really took the cake!

I definitely couldn't keep my eyes off of Amy (played by Chelsey Jean) she gets my second favorite song of the night and she literally made me put down my phone and laugh out loud! To be so cool and trained to be off your rocker so divinely is an amazing gift! Thanks for sharing it with us!

A great shout out to Paul (played by Eric Williams) for being in character all the dang time especially since he has to be right behind Bobby center stage most of the night. A great voice with a lot of promise in it!

Joanne (played by Karen Sutherland) Is my spirit animal with her sass and snark. It's just what you need in a musical like this. You have to listen to her rendition of "Ladies who Lunch". It's the topper on the wackadoodle cake of this musical.

Greg Dragon who played Larry is an anesthesiologist by day but leaves people feeling anything but numb in real life. His singing and dancing is sure to give tingles! You think he should dance like a Sherman tank but he's really quite nimble.

Marta (played by Katie Risko) gets to sing my favorite song and so loved the way that she rambled on and on and verbally flowed all over us. That's the best way I can describe her performance. It's a really great thing I promise.

Kathy (played by Kimberly Glenn Tunney) is normally one of my favorite high school directors and was so great to see her hit the stage for the first time in a long time. I really hope it isn't the last! She was really good!

April (played by Jacklyn Buckingham) just made me giggle. It takes a lot of skill and intelligence to be so ditzy. Great job!

A good shout-out to the choreography by Nancy Gibson. It's hard sometimes to adjust for a large mix of actors that aren't exactly chorus girls but aren't greenhorns either. She was able to coax a mind-blowing performance out of them.

Conductor and pianist Scott J. Breiner worked hard with percussionists Jason Koenig and Ed Shea to fill the house with the rich music of Sondheim's score. This is a good thing about your director also being your musical director. You can directly control the mixes of sound and voices. Actually I have to commend the whole cast for having great voices that carried very far into the house over all the music and noise and karate going on. Great job!

Set design and construction by James Dalfonso, Eric Peterson, and Tyler Hogg made such a dynamic and beautiful staging. I wish a little thought would be taken on the height of steps in future productions. The many stepped platforms ensured a lot of actors were more looking at their feet so as to not trip instead of being in the moment.

Lighting Design by Philip Pallitto made great work of using the cyclorama and bright colors to brighten the atmosphere. I adore the use of shadow and light to draw our focus to what we should be seeing when the stage is full of couples.

Costume Design by Karen Sutherland and Sarah MacArthur gave me characters that "printed" in my head. I could tell you exactly who was who if you asked me something as simple as their shirt color and that's important in huge ensemble numbers. Great job!

This is a show that I love no matter how dated it gets. You get a fun loving cast that loves the show and you can still have a lot of fun stepping inside of it. You can tell that they really loved this show and want you to love it by the end too! They have a matinee today and another weekend coming up. Go see them!

[frederator-studios]

Bryan Caselli: The Frederator Interview

Bryan Caselli is a Storyboard Artist, Writer and Renaissance Faire enthusiast. Following tenure on top-notch cartoons including Star vs. the Forces of Evil and Sanjay and Craig, ‘twas our good fortune when he set sail to Costume Quest as co-Executive Producer, with a treasure trove of story skillz in tow. Here, Bryan provides his advice to young artists, fav things about Costume Quest, and remarkably realistic take on a 17th century Swashbuckler and his Mer-Lassy.

When did you know that you wanted a career in animation?

My friends and family were alway super supportive of my drawing when I was little, but I got really focused on art in high school. I had an amazing teacher named Kevin McGovern who encouraged me to apply to the California State Summer School for the Arts. CSSSA was a four week residency arts summer program on CalArts’ campus featuring many different disciplines. I studied in the animation department, and it was like I finally found my people. After those four weeks, I knew I wanted to work in animation, and I wanted to go to school at CalArts. There was no turning back.

(Every day is Halloween for the CQ crew! But this day was actually Halloween.)

Where are you from, and how did you chart your path to CalArts?

I'm originally from Sacramento, California. It's a legitimately sized city, but it still has a small town vibe that's warm and welcoming. I applied to CalArts straight out of high school, but didn't get in on my first try. I actually didn't apply to any other schools. My plan was to just apply again the next year, but my mom secretly applied for me to CSU Sacramento as a somewhat, "What if he doesn't get into CalArts for ten years?" worst case scenario backup plan. After swallowing the tough pill of not getting into my dream school, I took a collection of figure drawing, portrait drawing, painting, and art history classes at both Sac State and Sac City college. I didn't stay long enough to earn a degree. Luckily, I was accepted into CalArts the following year.

How did you decide you wanted to storyboard and write?

I got into animation thinking I wanted to be a character designer. It seemed to be the most glamorous position at the time, but I found out quickly that you have to be an exceptional draftsman to do that job, which I'm not. I fell in love with the story department in my 3rd and 4th years at CalArts. I had some awesome teachers who really set me on the path that I'm on now.

What do you love most about the job?

I can't get enough of stuff like mythic structure, archetypal symbolism, and fable storytelling. I really get excited by just how universal storytelling is. It can connect you with anyone. That's easily my favorite part of my work.

What was your first job in animation or art, and how’d you land it?

I interned on Regular Show. I actually went in to interview for a different show, but on my way out, I ran into Ben Adams, the Regular Show character designer and my former classmate. He told me to blow those other guys off and come work with him. He introduced me to Regular Show's Producer, Janet Dimon, and we really hit it off. She offered me the position soon after that. At the end of my internship, I pitched the storyboards for my student film, Scout Wars. After the pitch, someone from development came up to me and said, "You need to pitch this upstairs." That's how I got my second gig.

The show was never produced, but getting paid to develop my original concept that early in my career really set in stone my desire to run a show of my own some day. I even got to work with our future Costume Quest Art Director, Ricky Cometa, on the development poster.  After that, I did about a year and a half of full-time freelance, which eventually lead me to work with the creators of Sanjay and Craig on some of their punk side projects. I really liked working with those guys, so when they asked me to come on Sanjay, it was an easy choice.

That’s awesome. Was Sanjay the first show you wrote and boarded for? How is it to work on a board driven show?

Yep, Sanjay was the first TV show that I got to write and storyboard on. Both writing and storyboarding is really demanding, but it's also really rewarding. Nick Bachman (Costume Quest's previously interviewed Supervising Producer) was my Storyboard Director on Sanjay, and we really clicked as a team. Sanjay and Craig was a perfect show to be board driven because it was super cartoony and there were very few rules. It was a great opportunity for board teams to have their specific voices heard. When you watch an episode of Sanjay and Craig you can pretty much spot which teams did which episodes from a mile away.

How was writing on Star vs the Forces of Evil - is it board driven too?

Writing on Star was an awesome change of pace coming off of Sanjay. Daron Nefcy was a great leader to work for, and I became really close with my fellow writers. It was board driven, which made the transition from storyboarding to outline writing a lot more of a doable task for me. I was comfortable in that kind of production pipeline and pretty much knew what would be expected of me as a writer. The coolest part about working on Star was that it was a seasonally arcing, somewhat mythic story. It was so cool to get to craft a large story over multiple episodes. I took a lot of lessons learned writing on Star and brought them with me to the writers' room on Costume Quest.

Is it odd being a bit of a ~star~ yourself, considering you have a whole fan page and everything?!

Oh boy, having a fan wiki page is a strange feeling. It's really cool to be apart of a show that has such a passionate fanbase, but honestly I don't want to be a star. Star Butterfly is the star of Star.  

You’re Costume Quest’s co-Executive Producer. What does the job entail? 

Being the co-EP on Costume Quest means I, along with the rest of our leadership team, am responsible to supervise just about every stage of production. From writing to storyboarding, animatics to art, voice acting and voice casting, logo design, score, sound effects, the list goes on and on. I got to script a handful of episodes. Nick and I storyboarded the first episode. Occasionally I do some (very rough) first pass character designs. I also draw story board punch-ups and animation redline revisions on the episodes I direct. I direct the first story of each of Costume Quest's two part episodes, and Nick directs the second story. Beyond that I mainly keep my eye on the larger narrative of the show, making sure everything is tonally consistent and the story threads line up. If every person that works on this show is making one tree, I try to make sure the forest is working as a whole. I do my best not to force any artist to execute their assignments exactly as I would have, but instead, encourage them to showcase their personal artistic voices.

How have you enjoyed working on Costume Quest, and what do you like most about the show?

Working on Costume Quest has been my favorite gig yet. I am really grateful to Will (McRobb), Kevin (Kolde), and Eric (Homan) for bringing me onboard. I'm super proud of how much the show grows across the first season. The scale, the emotional stakes, and the world building just get bigger and bigger with every episode. Beyond that, having the chance to lead a team has been incredibly rewarding. Our whole crew is so talented, and they are all so supportive of the show. It has really meant a lot to me to learn that these people, who I respect tremendously, are happy to come in to work every day and are proud to help tell this story. I can't overstate how good it feels to know I have a creatively and professionally satisfied crew.

Do you have a favorite character on CQ?

I love all four of the main kids, but my favorite character really is Norm. I always say that he's a cross between Fred Flintstone and Santa Clause. He's such an emotionally vulnerable character, and he's got some great reveals attached to his backstory. Fred Tatasciore also does some incredible voice acting as Norm, so if this show only gets one award ever, it should go to Fred's performance.

Since developing Scout Wars, have you gone out pitching other original ideas?

I’ve pitched Scout Wars and a handful of other show ideas around to the big studios, but when Costume Quest came about, I knew it was the perfect opportunity to learn everything I needed to about the responsibilities of a show runner—without the added emotional pressure of having the show be about my childhood, or my relationship with my father, or whatever. I have a handful of ideas in my back pocket that I'm eager to start pitching again whenever Costume Quest comes to a close.

What are your favorite cartoons?

Not including the shows I've worked on: original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Batman the Animated Series, Justice League/Justice League Unlimited, Doug, Hey Arnold!, SpongeBob, Simpsons, Bob's Burgers, Archer, Flintstones, the Peanuts specials, and the original Power Rangers gets a non-cartoon honorable mention because the the influence that show had on me and Costume Quest is pretty undeniable.

What is your advice to people who want to write and/or storyboard for animation? 

Study the craft as hard as you can. It's not about networking, or Internet likes, or whatever. If you get as good as you possibly can at the craft, you'll be golden. Take any job that will hire you. Once you get any position anywhere, if you show everyone you work with just how dedicated you are, people will take notice, and they'll want to help you.

What do you enjoy doing outside of work?

I really love hosting backyard BBQ's and parties at my place. My friends tease me that I'd rather they come to me than I go anywhere else pretty much 100% of the time. You can find me most Sunday mornings at any of the LA flea markets with my girlfriend, Madison, looking for more knick knacks to put up in our place. Also, I take my Renaissance Faire costuming pretty seriously. Yearly upgrades are planned months in advance. My mom always sewed my Halloween costumes growing up, so costumes somehow became a thing I really like to do. I guess it's fitting that Costume Quest came my way.

Have anything to say to future fans of Costume Quest?

Watch it again! We did our best to set up, pay off, and foreshadow as much as possible in the season so it would be fun to rewatch. There are a lot of little easter eggs in there. I hope fans enjoy it. ☆

No doubt, they will. Thank you for the interview Bryan, and for your fantastic work on Costume Quest!  Follow Bryan on Instagram.

- Cooper ☆