imessage to: darcy

cordelia: um??? i can’t tell if this just has me paranoid or if this is actually rly scary um

cordelia: okay

cordelia: yeah jokes on me i still have to live under the same roof as him

cordelia: A BUTTERFLY KNIFE!??? u have butterfly knives on ur table regularly or is it only for a special occasion like having me over for dinner

darcy: idk i just... hope she comes back soon. or answers a text or something

darcy: you did that to yourself tbh i have no sympathy

darcy: no ma’am not on the table just in my possession at all times

darcy: ask the cops about it they were not very pleased

imessage to: darcy

cordelia: aurelia decided to what???

cordelia: like she’s gone?????

cordelia: i’ve been told that making things tolerable is one of my god given talents!

cordelia: i would have kept coming around if dick didn’t make me want o gouge my eyes out

cordelia: i can never rmr which fork is for the meal, which is for desserts, n which is for putting urself out of ur misery :/ can’t come around w that kind of poor etiquette

darcy: yeah she’s gone like i have no idea where she is

darcy: i’m kind of getting worried

darcy: i don’t blame you for that tbh. dick is fucking insufferable

darcy: i could’ve done it for you... all you had to do is ask 💗 a butterfly knife can be multipurpose, unlike those stupid ass forks

imessage to: darcy

cordelia: okay so like

cordelia: you can tell me to fuck right off if you want

cordelia: but everything is a lot and i’m worried about you?

cordelia: so if you need someone to talk to you know where to find me

cordelia: not that i’m entitled to know anything about you i get it

cordelia: just. yeah. that’s all

darcy: well normally i’d just talk to aurelia

darcy: but she seems to have decided to fuck off without telling me so ig it’s your lucky day

[5 minutes later]

darcy: you know, you always made family dinners tolerable

darcy: it sucked when you didn’t come around anymore

—      LOT .

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @skleton·

lot    took    every    chance    he    could    get    to    remove    himself    from    the    confines    of    his    bedroom    .    he    had    too    much    energy    to    stay    in    one    tiny    place    like    that    &    the    covington    campus    was    starting    to    feel    smaller    &    smaller    every    day    .    earlier    that    day    ,    lot    had    caught    a    glimpse    of    himself    in    the    mirror    &    decided    that    he    was    DONE    having    dark    hair    for    the    time    being    .    he    was    sure    he    had    an    extra    box    of    bleach    laying    around    somewhere    .    so    ,    he    went    deep    diving    through    his    closet    ,    backpack    ,    under    his    bed    ,    etc    .    eventually    ,    he    was    able    to    track    down    a    single    box    of    unused    hair    bleach    .    after    deciding    that    the    mirror    in    his    room    was    too    small    to    do    his    hair    in    ,    lot    shoved    the    box    into    his    backpack    &    took    off    to    the    BIGGEST    mirror    on    campus    .    which    is    exactly    how    the    boy    came    to    be    settled    criss    -    cross    applesauce    in    front    of    the    mirror    in    the    gym    ,    sectioning    off    pieces    of    hair    to    be    bleached    .    however    ,    someone    entering    the    gym    caught    lot’s    attention    .    “    oh    hey    .    don’t    mind    me    .    my    hair    was    just    getting    boring    &    my    dorm’s    mirror    is    tiny    .    i    can    turn    down    my    music    ,    if    you    want    .    you    probably    brought    your    own    headphones    .    i    can’t    afford    headphones    .    so    ,    i    just    have    to    -    "    rambling    ,    once    again    .    "    sorry    .    REALLY    .    i’ll    keep    quiet    .    ”

the gym, as odious as it was as a concept, was one of the few places the twenty-three were still permitted to frequent. their campus wasn’t exactly the largest in the world, and full of antsy energy from being cooped up, darcy had spontaneously decided to fit in a workout. this concept mainly consisted of selecting an outfit, prepping her water bottle, and walking there; the actual act of exercise beyond a half hour on the elliptical was... something she didn’t particularly feel like engaging in. thus, the distraction of a dye job in an unlikely place was more than enough to deter her from her already-weak plans. “ decided to join the club ? ” she asked, then pointed to the mess of icy blonde hair piled sloppily atop her head. “ i hate to break this to you, but blondes actually don’t have more fun. it’s a massive lie perpetuated by the state to fund hair dye corporations. ” she sighed, shaking her head as if this was a great travesty. “ i don’t give a  fuck about the music, by the way. i don’t own the gym; do what you want. ”

—      DICK .

dick almost felt sorry for darcy. it seemed like no matter what she did, who she was with, or where she was, she always had a stick up her ass. he could get down on both knees and call her beautiful a thousand times and she would still have a sour look on her face. his draw towards dramatics only worked against him in situations like this. dick could still remember awkward meals at the kovac-rivera dinner table, as he tried to make sure that darcy didn’t accidentally stab him in the eye with her fork while he wasn’t looking.

“clearly, no. people love the sound of my voice, so much so that it sells out whole theaters.” he boasted apathetically, leaning forward in his seat. “ah, yes, the scottish play. i’m amazed you know of its curse. you’ve been doing your research.” he replied, smiling sweetly at the girl. the most annoying thing about talking to dick was that nothing fazed him. “just some company, honestly. the ghosts in the theater just aren’t cutting it as of late. and i enjoy your sick sense of humor, if we’re being honest.”

“ after dealing with melanie’s revolving door of significant others involved in theater, ” she paused, raising a significant eyebrow at dick for emphasis, “ present company included, i know far more than i ever wanted or needed. your scottish play, that one that’s the old, boring version of she’s the man, et cetera. it’s embarrassing that i’ve retained any of it, much less this amount. ” 

in response to his charming smile, dick received nothing more than a withering glare; it was almost admirable, darcy thought, that he kept trying. almost, but not quite. she was still far too annoyed by him to give him any sort of credit. “ didn’t you know ? i am one of the ghosts in the theater, ” she told him, crossing one leg over the other. “ but i have a feeling that’ll just make you want to talk to me more. what do i have to do to get you to fuck off, dick ? you’re annoyingly persistent. ”

—      PEYTON .

status: closed for @skleton· date: december 17th location: somewhere around the dorm/living areas inspiration: x 

cause them summer days … .                                    … never fade away

    for someone who already didn’t like being at covington during the semester, having to stay behind for even a day was infuriating and beyond disappointing. in any other circumstances, peyton may have been in a full-blown rage, cursing the school and the grounds, and most of all, melanie. however… since no one really knew what was going on, and since peyton had been dealing with a knot of nerves in her stomach since seeing melanie before leaving the party — she was abnormally quiet about her annoyance. 

   after all. some of the other students held back at covington had much more to be upset about. and no matter where pey went, it all felt… depressing. a familiar flash of recognizable hair caught peyton’s attention, and she quickened her step to catch up with darcy. “— hey, jesus, runnin’ a fucking marathon? fuck sake. listen, are you busy?” 

it was strange, being stuck on campus. though she didn’t usually enjoy going home ( also known as the melanie rivera fan club ), there was always the familiar notion that she could, theoretically, drive the few streets away from school to see her family. being barred from making that few minute journey was odd, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. she didn’t have any particular desire to go, anyway.  

now, instead, she walked across campus, making her way back to her apartment only to be interrupted by a voice. “ i got long legs, sue me, ” she said by way of greeting, glancing over at peyton as she walked. they were both tall; peyton could certainly keep up with her pace, long legs and all. “ m’not busy. why, what’s up ? ”

—      DONATELLA .

✦ * · ˚ 001. with darcy → @skleton· .

location: covington’s dining hall

that aura was unmistakable. as she stood there glancing at darcy, donatella realized there was no one scarier to her - and the only logical reason for it was the secret they shared… the exchange the girl saw back at the party. it also wasn’t difficult for her to know she wanted nothing to do with her after everything that had happened. in fact, as soon as she saw darcy staring back at her, a strange glint in her eyes daring her to approach, donnie had the sudden urge to turn around and hide under her blankets. her father did, indeed, raise a coward. but, for the first time in a long time, she did what her brain was telling her and, steeling herself, made her way towards darcy. ❝ i just want to make sure that whatever happened at the party stays there. ❞ donnie said, a fake smile plastered on her face. she didn’t want to explicitly tell darcy about what she was talking about, her paranoia making her think that either everyone knew about it or that it was all a fever dream and, if she talked about it aloud, she would be giving the other girl information about her life that she didn’t need. so she persisted, ❝ i’m sure you know exactly what i’m talking about. ❞ she finished, surreptitiously looking around to make sure no one else was paying attention to them, and then quickly pointing with her head at a worker drinking a diet coke before sniffing slightly. 

darcy preferred to be alone. this was just a fact of life; there was a very small pool of people that didn’t consistently get on her nerves, and donatella navarro simply did not fall into that category of people. to make this clear, darcy propped up a visibly fake smile, tilting her head at the sight of the dark-haired girl. “ donatella ! oh my god, so good to see you, ” darcy cooed, sugar-sweet falseness coating every word. “ wow, you don’t look so happy to see me, ” she added, pushing her lower lip out in a pout. she knew damn well why donnie didn’t look so happy to see her, but that didn’t make this any less fun. after all, one of darcy’s favorite pastimes was watching people squirm. letting out a melodramatic sigh, she examined her broken, chipped nails, as if admiring an expensive manicure. “ mhm. oh, yeah, i definitely know what you’re talking about, ” darcy said, lifting her gaze to meet donatella’s. “ i wasn’t planning on saying anything. ” she sniffed overdramatically, as if to reference the little white problem she’d caught sight of. “ swear on melanie’s life. ”

—      MAVERICK .

𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕖𝕣 ft. @skleton· !

                      MAVERICK WASN’T REALLY SURE HOW this was all going to go. he’d spent the entire first night lying in bed, laughing at how comically right he had been about staying close to his parents in the case that he’d need legal support for god-knows-what. and to his knowledge, THIS was it: and he had not the faintest clue to what was going on. vague comments and uncertain reactions had muddled the bits of clarity he’d been able to gather. it was entirely frustrating—but at least he FINALLY an excuse to miss out on the braxton holiday dinner party ( it had always been a shitfest … and a complete downer ). 

however, maverick braxton was never an optimist. that small silver lining would not drown out the glares of the other twenty-one students who had been forced to stay behind. it wasn’t exactly like he was in the BEST company anyway—evidenced, of course, by the fact that darcy kovac was walking towards him in the dining hall, and his hands were filled with nothing but a butter knife. “ fancy seeing you here, ” he says, words oozing with sarcastic glee. “ one a scale of one to ten, how much did you spit on our dear investigator friend? ”

for darcy, this whole interrogation bit was nothing more than an amusing speed bump on the pothole-filled wreck of her life. even if there was suspicion floating around her name in regards to the whereabouts of her stepsister, she didn’t care; she’d long since stopped paying attention to the opinions of people she didn’t consider to be important. speaking of that subsection of the hemlock population— darcy’s eyes caught on none other than maverick braxton, who she considered only marginally less annoying than the coworker he was always hanging around bean me up for. 

nevertheless, she was fueled by antagonism, and she’d always rise to a challenge. “ why, maverick, i’m a very well-behaved young woman. i would never do such a thing, ” she protested, crossing her arms over her chest. “ i was there for a whole thirty minutes, and i didn’t even threaten anyone. i’m kind of disappointed in myself, if i’m being honest. ” 

girls will see a chance to commit arson and be like “sorry, i have to take this”

—      CORDELIA .

✧ ° ⌀ ⋄  it was @skleton· in the 𝒸𝑜𝒻𝒻𝑒𝑒 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓅 !

cordelia’s feelings towards bean me up’s satellite location on campus have a tendency to FLUCTUATE. most of the time, she hates it. the space is too small & more often than not, filled with too many people. they run out of cold brew by noon every single day of the week. not to mention, as someone who had been sipping on hot chocolate from the real location for as long as she could remember, she’s inclined to say that the ambiance just isn’t right AT ALL. still, the satellite shop is good for two things: one, providing her coffee without forcing her off campus & two, allowing her to, however fleetingly, propel herself into darcy kovac’s orbit.

unlike bean me up’s satellite location, cordy’s feelings towards darcy kovac have yet to shift, despite what their tumultuous history might suggest. she has no idea what she’s going to say to her — in her defense, there’s no manual for what to say when your ex who also happens to be the step-sister of your other ex goes missing, especially when they didn’t like each other much to begin with. & ALSO, it doesn’t help that darcy’s presence consistently lowers the number of words that cordy knows to around fifty, give or take. “shop’s not so busy anymore,” she finally says as she approaches darcy, really just thankful that her words ring true & there’s nobody else in the shop to hear how terribly this is going. “um. how’s — how are you, really?”

there are few things darcy hates more than the total confinement of a shift at bean me up. not only is she stuck with her insufferable coworkers— worse, she’s stuck with the customers. and because she’s seemingly entered hell on earth as part of her eternal punishment, she’s recently been left with only a handful of other people, all of whom have some sort of connection to melanie. even when the girl herself has fucked off to some mystery location, darcy still can’t escape her. it feels like a curse. 

speaking of curses: darcy raises an eyebrow, interjecting with a flat “ take your time ” as cordelia underhill stands before her, stumbling over her words. this is the girl she’d bared her soul to; this is the girl who’d hemmed and hawed her way into breaking the very same heart she’d been offered. it’d taken time, but darcy had learned to sew herself back up, shoving the dead, limp organ back inside her chest where it belonged. “ and yet i still have a customer, ” darcy says, unafraid as ever to make her displeasure known. “ i’m just dandy, cordelia. do you want a cold brew or what ? ” as always, darcy thinks, kicking herself for vocalizing cordelia’s usual. sure, it’s a pretty straightforward order, but it ruins her aloof act when she remembers shit like this.

—      DICK .

𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜: darcy kovac ( @skleton· ) 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩: a student lounge 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚: nine pm

“o, when she’s angry, she is keen and shrewd! she was a vixen when she went to school; and though she be but little, she is fierce.” dick bellowed, haphazardly propping himself up against the door frame. being bound to the covington campus seemed to be working against him, as he was running out of spots to anxiously pace around. upon entering the nearly empty student lounge closest to the forensics house, he had spotted a familiar bright head of hair occupying one of the many couches. dick would simply never pass up the opportunity to bother darcy–he hated to admit it, but it was one of his favorite pastimes.

today was different, though. melanie had disappeared. the rest of the covington student body had left for the holidays. darcy’s selection of people to bully was probably running low. dick had spent his entire night worrying about melanie’s whereabouts instead of sleeping. it was like they were both hollow shells of themselves. he still proudly walked towards her, shimmying his coat off and onto the couch opposite hers. “a midsummer night’s dream. the line reminds me of you.” he declared, slowly lowering himself onto the sofa. 

peace and quiet. that was all darcy asked for in this mortal life; yet, time and time again, she was denied the very thing she craved the most. whether it be her blended family waxing poetic about melanie’s greatest hits or the general student population taking too long to move out of her way, darcy’s life was very hard. enter stage left: dick braxton, as much a thorn in her side as all melanie-related concepts seemed to be. 

“ oh, shut the fuck up, billy shakes. don’t you ever get tired of the sound of your own voice ? ” darcy lamented. she was flipping idly through OK! magazine; compared to dick’s beloved playwright, her choice of literature ( in the loosest sense of the word ) was practically blasphemous. “ careful, if you keep bothering me, i’m gonna go say macbeth in your precious theater. that’s the thing that makes y’all quake in your boots, right ? ” she flipped another page, sighing as she closed the magazine completely. “ i can’t even enjoy OK! with your beady eyes staring at me. what do you want ? ”

—      AURELIA .

𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: december 17th

𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: darcy and aurelia’s apartment

𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: @skleton·

inspired by the garden by mirah !

your heart has hardened …

         ‘ so.’ the single word cuts through the silence of the living room the moment her best friend enters the space. only here, with no company other than darcy, aurelia allows herself to sprawl across the couch as long limbs dangle from the edge, and good posture is disregarded in favor of lazy comfort. a window’s been opened, letting in the cold, and allowing the odor of the cigarette she’s just put out to escape. it also means that aurelia’s draped herself in a blanket to keep warm. a hand pops out from under the covers as she shifts, moving her feet onto the floor and tapping the space next to her, and a brow quirks upwards as she looks at darcy. ‘ how do we really feel about melanie rivera going missing ? and would it be too inappropriate to throw a little celebratory get-together here ? ’

as she enters her apartment, darcy dumps her bean me up apron by the front door, glad to be rid of the thing after a long, hard shift of bossing ella around. “ i think you know me well enough to answer that question, ” darcy answers with a snort, amused by aurelia’s choice of greeting. no preamble needed, apparently; darcy’s odious stepsister is a topic that requires no introduction between them. she follows aurelia’s bidding as she plops down on the sofa next to her. as with most things she does, it’s rather inelegantly; her limbs sprawl across the free space, one ankle hooked over aurelia’s knee. “ a celebratory get-together sounds like a fantastic suggestion. i’ve still got that unopened bottle of champagne in the fridge — we could make toasts and everything. ”

—      ELLA .

location: bean me up on campus

time: eight fifty-eight pm, december seventeenth 

with: darcy ( @skleton ) 

ella took a few minutes to hide just outside of bean me up, she always had to work herself up before she knew she’d be running into darcy. and she thought the bullies in high school had been mean; darcy kovac was on a whole other level. but still, ella faced her every week, and she still survived. even if ella wasn’t entirely sure how that happened. 

she took a deep breath, before finally walking in front of the store and in through the front door, the bell jingling with her entrance. “hi, darcy,” she said, voice quiet as she made her way behind the counter. “how has your shift been so far?” no matter what, ella always tried her best to be polite, conversational; you never knew if today was the day you got through to someone. 

all it took was a glance up at the new entry and a hypersecond for darcy’s brain to process her identifying features. “ UGH. ” was the first thing that left her mouth, and it wasn’t entirely clear whether the noise was a response to ella’s question or simply a reaction to the girl herself. perhaps a combination of both. 

“ a shit show. thanks for reminding me, ” darcy grumbled, shooting ella a glare as she wiped down one of the machines. for darcy, a shit show usually meant ella wasn’t there to pick up her slack; god forbid she have to actually make drinks or deign to take out the trash. “ by the way, i don’t remember how to change the filter for this thing, so you have to do it once you’re clocked in. ” 

𝙇𝙊𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉 — hemlock police station. 𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀 — december 16th, 2019. 𝙈𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙀𝘿 — @covingtonhqs, @gvldenfleece, @dcnatellas, @peakedpen.

can you tell me, to the best of your memory, what happened on the night of december 13, 2019?

darcy snaps her gum loudly, fingers already itching for a cigarette. she purses her lips for a moment, then leans forward and answers.

“ got there at 10 or so. shotgunned a beer to celebrate my entrance. did a couple lines. ” she stares at one of the officers, as if daring him to say something. she hadn’t even done any cocaine; she’d tried it once, hated the comedown, and hadn’t touched it since. “ bickered with dick after that. mingled for a while... i don’t fucking know, do you remember anything you did at a college party ? ”

after another moment, she continues. “ i saw donatella-chanel-whoever-the-fuck doing some shady shit sometime before quarter of 11. ” buying cocaine, which was amusing based entirely on donnie’s reaction to her stumbling upon the scene. darcy wondered, idly, if donnie had been in yet. she’d be in for some fun if she hadn’t. “ that’s all i got.” she shrugs. “ i was wasted. what do you want from me ? ”

did you see anything unusual that night? was anyone acting out of the ordinary?

she hums under her breath slightly, an annoying tune she’d picked up from a radio commercial on the way over. her mind tumbles over the building blocks of the night, haphazardly tossed across her memory bank as if strewn about by a child. between the amount of drinks she’d had that night and the excitement of a roaring fire, her memories were a bit hectic.

“ nah, ” she answers. “ next question. i have a shift at bean me up in 20. ” they didn’t need to know she was late most days anyway; ella usually covered for her in that time. unwillingly so, but she did.

can you tell me more about your relationship with melanie?

“ melanie rivera: GOD’S GIFT to hemlock, illinois, ” darcy drawls, eyes rolling skyward. “ she’s my stepsister. which i’m sure you know, if you took two fucking seconds to look into her family. ” the detectives, of course, have done so. she sighs, dragging a hand through knotted hair. “ she’s annoying. what do you want me to say ? she’s not as great as everyone seems to think. they’re probably too far up her ass to see that. ” 

she crosses her arms over her chest, realizing she hasn’t technically answered the question. “ you could say we don’t get along. ”

do you have any reason to believe that someone would want to hurt melanie?

darcy narrows her eyes, glancing between the cops. she’s long since forgotten their names; she definitely wasn’t even listening when they said them in the first place. “ what, you think she’s dead or somethin’ ? ” she asks, then lets out a snort. “ i dunno. like i said, she’s a pain in the ass. not enough to get killed over, but maybe someone else feels differently. who’s to say ? ”

one thing, though, stands out. she plucks it deftly from the pile of memories she’d consulted earlier, dangling it in front of the cops. 

“ actually... penelope, my stepsister — melanie’s blood sister, ” she clarifies. “ seemed to be pretty jealous of melanie’s relationship with... ” she snaps her fingers a few times, trying to recall the name. “ the one with the camera. fuck. oh ! toni. toni... something. doesn’t matter, penelope rivera’s the suspicious one. ” she points at the officer across from her. “ worth lookin’ into. ”

do you have any questions about how the case will proceed?

darcy doesn’t bother answering. she gets up, the interview interrogation clearly over, and purposefully bumps her shoulder against the officer closest to the door on her way out.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, PTSDee (S12E07)