#Idk makes me think of how in big cities they have light pollution that covers up the night sky and stars | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

zerozeroren · 1 year

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OC Asks for Sophie Part 1 -

🌪🌟🌠☄️❤💚🎀🎵✂️🎭

#i know you said 10 #but you didn't say I couldn't ask twice #im sorry #i really tried #but i couldn't help myself #i just love Sophie as a character so much #please don't hate me

🌪️ TORNADO - what is the biggest change you've ever made to them? how have they changed from their original version?

She started off as a repurposed Princess Tutu OC (back when we've started writing Attitudes the entire premise was simply "what if all our favourite ocs from different fandoms attended a dance class together", so we dumped our 4 ocs into a modern au as they were). I completely overhauled her for Attitudes: made her older, curly, more down to Earth, and made her a total basket case with a lot of issues to work through. Gave her an arc, finally. Basically rebuilt her from ground up. All that's left of her past self is "funny"(i exaggerated that) and "short" (made her even smaller).

🌟 GLOWING STAR - what do they think about when they look at the night sky? is there someone they want to star gaze with?

She grew up in a small town far away from big cities, and the night skies were filled with stars to gaze at. Especially when her and her family would go camping to the lakeside. She fondly remembers the nights where she would stargaze with her two brothers lying on the shore wrapped in a sleeping bag. But now she lives in a bigger city, and the light pollution obscures all the stars. Sometimes, when she looks up at night and sees nothing, she misses the camping with her brothers. (But not too much: her current life makes her happy all the time, not only for a few short weeks in the summer)

🌠 SHOOTING STAR - if they could make any wish with no repercussions, what wish would they make?

Never vagabond again

☄️ COMET - what do people assume about them? are they right?

Oh that one's difficult. She tends to split people up into two camps: the "lol she funny" camp and "god she's annoying" camp. Generally people assume she's stupider than she really is.

❤️ RED HEART - their love language(s)?

Giving: touch

Recieving: acts of service

💚 GREEN HEART - what things make your oc feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food?

Most definitely hugs (hot showers when hugs are unavailable)

🎀 RIBBON - how would they fit into other worlds / aus? what aus would you like to try out? what fictional world would they fit / not fit into?

Idk i had my Turgenev AU, but it quickly became it's own thing, and Sonya who was once Sophie now stands alone as her own distinct character XD

generally i think I can fit Sophie anywhere I want if i so choose, just nothing comes to mind immediately.

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

Oh baby... She's a singer, and a musical theatre performer (and nerd), her playlists are too many to even count, ditto her favourite artists.

As for me... Here's a cover for my Sophie playlist XD idk how to choose a single song for association, i need at least 200

✂️ SCISSORS - what is the "last straw" for them to cut someone out of their life? how easily do they let go of people?

After all she's been through, Sophie became cautious and picky when it comes to her immediate surroundings. So she only let herself get attached to trustworthy people who proved themselves in action towards her. And for these people? Sophie's ride or die. It would take something absolutely extreme for her to cut ties with any of them. And at that, she won't let go easily, she'll be heartbroken over loosing a dear person for a very long time.

🎭 MASKS - do they act differently around certain people? what's different between the way they act around friends, family, strangers, etc.?

Well... Sophie tends to adapt to different groups of people, trying to fit in. Sometimes even creates a persona catered to one group specifically XD Generally speaking, she's more "normal" around strangers, less eccentric (unless she's nervous: when she's under a lot of stress, she starts overcompensating for it with humour, which often looks forsed, weird and clown-esque). But when she is around people close to her she lets loose and becomes way more opinionated, affectionate, silly and most of all playful. She likes to play.

#my art stuff #attitudes #sophie brannt #sophie #oh nooooo somebody likes my oc enough to have a lot of question about them! not that! my only weakness! validation! /s #thanks for sending asks sweetie I really appreciate it:D #I'll do the second one later

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credens-justitiam · 6 years

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@max-armentas-random-ramblings HERE YOU GO MY DUDE

Do you prefer writing with black or Blue pens?

Black, though it doesn’t matter what color it is as long as it writes well. I don’t like pens that are too bright to see on paper though

Would you prefer to live in the country or the city?

I love city/downtown areas, because I love walking around in places with lots of activity but also places where I could retreat and have a bite. Though with every passing day I feel an insatiable desire to go off into a cottage in the woods and never speak to another human again

If you could learn a new skill, what would it be?

I’d want to learn how to socialize like a normal person tbh

Do you drink your tea or coffee with sugar?

Me me big hate coffee but when I do drink tea, usually I take it unsweetened

What was your favourite book as a child?

PJO!!! I remember my sister borrowed the first two from the library and I think I read them in the span of a day

Do you prefer baths or showers?

Showers, bc I always feel like I waste water/energy with hot baths whoops. And I can’t stand just laying there with nothing to do but sit in my own tub water and besides you have to clean the tub

I would really like to try a bath bomb though bc they look so nice

If you could be a mythical creature, which would you choose?

Siren, kitsune, just any kind of fae or demon that can mess with people

Do you prefer reading paper or electronic books?

dude i havent read anything in such a long time that wasnt an assignment but if I had to choose, probably paper. Fanfics are good too though

What is your favourite item of clothing?

My fave outfit NGNL shirt that I wear with dark red pants and flowery vans

Do you like your name? Would you ever change it?

It’s okay, sometimes I don’t feel like it suits me but idk what would. My pseud wouldn’t feel right as a real name either

this kind of reminds me of a NGNL character that bet her name away in a game, so now she exclusively goes by “Shrine Priestess” (bc that’s what she is)((tbh it had nothing to do with the question but well now you know)

Who is a mentor to you?

idk I don’t think I really have a singular mentor figure that I try to emulate, just a few people that I admire and try to replicate the things about them I like

Would you ever want to be famous? If so, what for?

I’d want to be that lady down the block that bakes and lets you pet her cats and offers safe places for the local teens

Are you a restless sleeper?

I wake up to other people’s alarms a room over, so I’m a decently light sleeper

Do you consider yourself a romantic?

I’d say more of an idealist? Because even though I can get discouraged by things easily I still try to hold out for better things to come

Which element best represents you?

I remember answering this at one point, and I said then a mixture of water and earth. So mud. I’m mud

Who do you want to be closer to?

The people I’ve chatted with during the summer

Do you miss someone at the moment?

^^^those people

Tell us about an early childhood memory.

I cried at everything does that count

What is the strangest thing you have eaten?

Roast duck from asian bbq is pretty good. Not weird, just that I know many people have eaten it

What can you see outside your bedroom window?

Patio, grass, fences, the occasional bunny

What are you most thankful for?

My friends

Do you like spicy food?

I hate it so much but yet I like eating spicy kimchi ramen just because I like the texture of instant ramen noodles for some godforsaken reason

Have you ever met someone famous?

Nope, people like hollywood stars/people you usually think of when you hear ‘celebrity’ don’t really interest me? not to be a hipster LOL but I find them hard to keep track of so I just haven't

Do you keep a diary or journal?

Somehow I’m just very bad at maintaining a set routine for everything, this includes keeping personal logs (or logs of anything)

Do you prefer to use pen or pencil?

Mechanical pencil, but not the kind that squeaks when it writes. I tend to write very fast and messily so while I like the way pen looks, it gets a little chaotic

What is your star sign?

Taurus

Do you like your cereal crunchy or soggy?

On the soggier side, because I hate it when things are too crunchy and scrapes the inside of my mouth

What would you want your legacy to be?

I just want to be a kind person that’s important to my little circle of people

Do you like reading? What was the last thing you read?

I do but I don’t ever read fdsadfjk I used to be such a bookworm

Last time I read was last night, trying to stop procrastinating on my summer AP lit reading (fences and kite runner0

How do you show someone you love them?

you could just be hanging around and minding your own business and suddenly I’m there, and I try to gift you things. but I struggle between wanting all your attention and wanting you to be able to interact with whom you please

Do you like ice in your drinks?

it can be winter and I will still drink ice water

What are you afraid of?

anything with an exoskeleton

What is your favourite scent?

I just love fresh and clean scents, especially fruit ones

Do you address older people by their first or last name?

tbh I don’t really... talk with older people often? i dont get out much ahaha

If money was not a factor, how would you live your life?

Just enough for me, pets, maybe another close person

Do you prefer swimming in pools or in the ocean?

I don’t think I’ve swam in an ocean, but I have in a lake and while it’s pretty I just prefer pools

What would you do if you found $50 on the ground?

If it’s in a building, then I’d probably hand it to a receptionist,some equivalent, but if it’s outside then I’d probably just take it

Have you ever seen a shooting star? Did you make a wish?

I haven’t, stupid urban light pollution

If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it?

I actually do want tattoos! I’d want minimalist designs of like flowers and stars and such and I’d want them behind my ears, on my stomach and thighs (places that are usually covered up)

What is one thing you would want to teach your children?

erm I don’t really wanna have young kids bc I feel like I’d screw up somehow but if I could be a mentor figure to older kids then I’d say not to be too hard on themselves, land to look out for themselves and others

Where do you feel the safest?

At home, preferably alone

What can you hear right now?

I’m listening to music but I can hear the occasional airplane flying over

What is one thing you want to overcome/conquer?

idk exactly but I hope I can be independent and self-sufficient in the future

What is your most used emoji?

A combo of the sparkles, the two hearts, stars

If you could travel back to any era, which would you choose?

I don’t like the idea of going into the past bc so many aspects/things that are important to me aren’t always well-received now, let alone in the past

What is your favourite season? Why?

Autumn, because I like cool weather and layering clothes, though I like when plants flourish in the spring. Also, the insects die in the cold so I’m cool with that

Invent your own word. What does it mean?

????? as much as I love linguistics I just can’t think of one

How would you spend your ideal day?

At the local downtown area, maybe alone or with a friend, just unhurriedly walking outside the shops. Then go home and just chill

Describe yourself using one word.

Ohworm?

What do you regret the most?

Spending my summer either working or doing nothing whoops

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clove-teasdale · 6 years

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tick tock newlyweds

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

A/N: not a challenge! NEW YEARS PART 1. FINALLY THE 30th OF DECEMBER ON FIC TIME. End of the year. this is it y’all. get ready for the first part of this three-part fic (or it might be two idk, we shall see tomorrow). Thanks @brooks-schreave for the rp. OKAY, THERE MIGHT BE ERRORS OR TYPOS ON THIS IDK. SORRY. have some fun with awkward crooks conspiring in 3,334 words <3

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

Columbia had always been a pretty sight at night, but it was very different from Angeles and it’s lively lights.

The only downside to such an active city was that the light pollution from it made the sky slightly less admirable, making the natural light a little duller. Standing next to Nate’s black Jeep, I watched the city and the sky to compare. This will be the set of stars when the New Year comes. I smiled at the thought but then my mind wondered if Nate’s car would be able to blend in for our purposes. My “date” arrived a few minutes after I’d started to consider how the night would go in general, carrying a bag in his hand and offering a small wave with the other.

“Ready?” I watched as Brooks shoved his things into the trunk. My dress was already on a hook inside the backseat alongside my other stuff.

“Yeah,” I ran a hand through my hair--the feel of it different, but not new. “I straightened it.” It hadn't taken too long with Eloise's help. She'd agreed to cover for us. Mostly me since I'd told Jacinda and the rest of my maids I'd be having a sleepover with her that night.

If anything went wrong, she'd have to handle it and she said she would as long as I explained later what the whole mystery outing was. I loved how she always agreed with my crazy plans without question. She deserved some baby carrots.

Brooks lifted both eyebrows at my new look as if impressed before walking over to open my door. “I like it.”

I smiled, getting in. “I brought a hairbrush for yours.” I would never repeat the hand incident.

Once he'd walked over to his side of the car and sat in the driver's seat, he took a cap from his back pocket and put it on. Some glasses and a grin were added as he said, “No need. I'll be covered.”

I smirked at the absurdity of his disguise, but honestly, there was only so much we could do to hide. “I hope you take it off when we arrive.”

“You don't like it?” His jaw dropped, eyes turning to the mirror as he mumbled, “I think it's cool.”

Laughing was inevitable on my part. “You don't use that for a party.”

“I’ll replace it with a party hat when we get there, promise.”

Silence settled for a while as the drive began. With it, the awkward feeling I’d been having around Brooks the day before returned. Ever since the Christmas Ball incident and our talk about it, my head had been unable to forget. We’d agreed on it being a mistake, and after yesterday at the roof it seemed like we could try going back to normal...but part of me became more and more aware of my wish for the 'mistake' part to be, well, a mistake in itself. I’d even started to ask myself how much I really liked him. Was it one of those simple crushes I got back in high school? Because I had always managed those before.

Brooks, I’d realized, had grown to become more awkward in the years I was gone. It was hard to notice on the first day of my arrival, as arguing was still the first language between us, but it became more and more obvious with time and since the kiss, it showed in volumes.

His hands tapped the steering wheel before he asked, “Music?”

I continued to fidget with the ring on my finger even as I spared him a glance. I hoped spinning the old golden band with a garnet would help release some of the anxiety I felt, but wasn’t too sure it was working. By this point, it was a sort of a personal tradition to wear that ring around this time a year. My dad had passed it down to me as a New Year's gift when I was twelve.

Apparently, it had belonged to my grandmother--her red birthstone encrusted on the old metal as a gift from my grandpa for their 50th wedding anniversary. Their official wedding had been big, a 27th of January once upon a time. It was everything you could dream of, as Twos loved to show off, but my grandparents always took it a step further. They also had a smaller ceremony beforehand. Just family.

According to what they had always retold, they kissed as the clock stroke midnight, commemorating a new year. That was the date they considered their anniversary. My grandparents had loved making things romantic but in the most dramatic of ways...meaning they loved one-upping people that much. The story had been crazy enough that it made me want to wear the ring at midnight every year after that.

Focusing back on the present, I tried offering Brooks a small smile. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

He didn't focus on it much, immediately averted his gaze and reaching to turn on the radio. I looked away as well, but as the first lyrics came out, I couldn’t help and drift my sight back to him to gauge his reaction.

...walls stood tall painted blue But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down and open up the door for you.

Flailing to reach for the button as our duet song rang out, he changed stations quickly.

--we've lost our minds I don't care, I don't care if they call us crazy Runaway to a world that we design.

I wished my seat would swallow me, focusing ahead and pressing my lips together as he changed it again with an “Ugh.” Then screamo music blasted and he just gave up. I did so too, closing my eyes with a sigh and leaning forward to turn it off. “Silence never hurt anyone.”

“Debatable.”

I let Brooks handle the brunette receptionist that welcomed us at the counter of the hotel. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“We need a room, please.”

“Aw, a romantic getaway?” Oh, for the love of...

My “romantic partner” did his best to get over the embarrassment as fast as possible. “Uh, yeah, sure.”

Nothing went past this one though and as she spotted the ring I couldn’t help but fidget with, she asked, “Newlyweds?”

“Yes?” was what Brooks decided to go with, but I could see the alarm written on his face. He was definitely screaming inside as I was.

“Adorable. Last name, please.”

We hadn’t considered what to say. A mistake on our part. Our plan had many flaws, but then again it was planned in one day. My mouth opened to say something, anything, but it became one of those moments when they ask you to say something and you suddenly blank out on the list of those you know. The conversation I’d had with Eloise as she straightened my hair was the only inspiration I could think of.

“Crooks,” I blurted out at the expectant lady. Brooks only gave me a confused look.

“Right. Mr. and Mrs. Crooks.”

This is embarrassing.

"You two are just the cutest. Here's your key.” She handed it over and, thankfully, Brooks took it without any weird looks in my direction. “Breakfast is at 7 to 9. Happy New Year!”

We wouldn't make it to breakfast, but Brooks quickly pushed me towards the elevator. After pressing the floor our card mentioned, he asked, “Crooks?”

I cleared my throat, focusing on the walls around me. “What? We needed a name.”

“Where did that even come from?” The elevator opened and I took my chance to flee.

“Um…” I lowered my voice. “Eloise..”

“Were you discussing criminals with her or something? I thought that was our thing.” His joking was as strained as my laugh when he followed.

“Yeah, obviously." He really didn’t need to worry about me replacing him.

Arriving at the room, he inserted the key and held the door open for me. I turned on the lights and froze at the sight “Shoot..”

He stepped in right after. “Wha-? Oh. Oh.”

We both blinked at the single bed in the room. Newlyweds. “Guess next time we should go with cousins.”

He gave me an alarmed look. It was back to internal screaming it seemed. With a sigh of resignation, he said he would take the floor. “It’s not carpeted,” I mumbled back.

“I'll deal with it.” He ran over to the closet and placed our bags away, taking a look at his watch. “We should change.”

5 hours until midnight.

“Ready?” Brooks called out, knocking on the bathroom door.

I stared at my reflexion in the mirror, the golden embroidery of my dress laughing at me--metaphorically speaking, of course. “Just a sec...”

The zipper was still on my lower back. Another one of the things I hadn’t considered in my hurry was that no matter how much of a pretzel my arms tried to be, I couldn’t reach up high enough to close this dress.

The silence was too long for Brooks. “Clove? I'm sure you look very nice, can you come out now? We've gotta go.”

“Um…” Come on, come on... I let my hands fall to my sides with a sigh. “I should’ve gone for the purple strapless.” He didn’t say anything as I leaned on the door. “I... kind of need some help.”

“Did you fall?”

“What? No.. I need someone to zip up the rest of the dress.”

His pause made me want to stay in the bathroom the rest of the night. “I can help.”

“Okay…” I took a moment as well before reaching for the doorknob and opening the door. “It’s a nice dress, just not the easiest to zip alone.”

He made a spinning motion with his hand, saying, “Turn.”

I did as he asked and felt his hand take on the zipper as he set his other one on my back to pull it up. His voice was quieter as he added, “You're good.”

“Thanks.” I turned around with a quick nod, trying to smile as a sign of gratitude, but I could feel my nerves skyrocketing. “I guess we’re ready then.”

He avoided my gaze and checked his watch again. “Yeah, it's almost time.”

I gave him a once over. Now that his cap was off, I could see his hair was down, sweeping over his forehead. Kind of all over the place, so little messy if you will, yet being a guy that meant... “You look nice.” With the well-fitted maroon suit that had black lapels to match his tie, he was bound to catch some eyes tonight.

An awkward smile was all he offered as he opened the door for me. “Ditto.”

It was pretty early for the party to be that pumped, being only 8 pm, but the more people were excited for the New Year, the less they would care about a prince and a selected strolling next to them.

“Four hours until midnight. Remember, we're looking for Harrison Levi.”

I stepped out of the car with his help. “Excited?”

“No.”

How cheerful, I thought but pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying it out loud. “What do you mean “no”? It’ll be a New Year. Something to look forward to.”

“I don't know if you've noticed, but I've never been more stressed in my life.” He offered his arm and I took it with a nod when he asked, “Shall we?”

As we walked inside, hundreds of people surrounding us, I pointed out, “You seemed excited before.”

He didn’t look in my direction. “Keep walking Clove.”

“Fine.”

Three hours until midnight.

Our game plan ended up being to search for Levi first. Even though we had no idea of how he would be towards us, we hoped we could convince him of helping out in some way. We’d accept anything at this point.

Brooks had gotten a considerably recent picture of him as a reference point, and as we talked he agreed with me that the man was probably pushed to resign when his career was barely starting. That meant his annotations hadn’t been for safekeeping, but for research like ours; not something that would’ve been welcomed on the King’s cabinet.

It had taken us an hour of pacing around the party, pretending to be a couple talking about whatever, before I spotted Levi from afar and nudged Brooks. “Is that him?”

Brooks stopped looking around the room to focus on where I had pointed at, checking his picture for confirmation. “I think so. How do we approach him?”

I considering how the talk could go. “If he never agreed with the fixed raffle and all of that, maybe we’ll be able to ask him about it directly...or is that too risky?”

“How about we just try to make normal, honest conversation with him and then show him the journal to see how he reacts.”

“Fair enough. Do we wait until he’s a bit more caught up with the party or now?”

“No time like the present. Which one of us should go?”

“Shouldn’t we both go?”

“Right. Dynamic Duo.” He reached for my hand and walked us off to the white-haired man standing near the bar, calling out for him over the crowd, “Great party.”

The man took a swig of his beer. “It's alright.”

“Think you’ve done better before?” I grinned.

He shrugged. “It's too happy.”

Brooks spared the lively place a glance. “That's bad?”

“It's fake, son. Parties should be sad.”

What a jolly old man. He’d make a great Santa.

Brooks asked why he thought that only to get an even gloomier response after Levi finished his drink. “Then it would be reality. It's interesting to see people hide behind a holiday.”

I raised eyebrows at his view and exchanged glances with Brooks when he gave me a questioning look. “What a misfortune…” clearing my throat, I shifted, “Though I do agree what brings joy shouldn’t be a holiday, why bother hosting a party for something you consider unsatisfactory?”

“I don't consider it unsatisfactory, per se.”

“What do you consider it?” Brooks asked.

Levi stared at him before grabbing another drink from a tray. “None of your business.”

I tilted my head. “What would make it our business? It is merely the inquiry of an opinion.”

“You speak far too formally, young lady. Lighten up, will you.”

When Brooks laughed, I jabbed my elbow into his side, half-glaring as I muttered, “Sorry, it’s an old habit that comes and goes when I’m around people involved in politics.” It was a stupid habit I’d gotten when younger actually. Being around people that worked with my dad always put me on edge and I made dramatic word choices.

“I'm not in politics,” Levi argued.

Brooks raised an eyebrow. “Weren't you?”

Levi faced him. “Aren't you?”

What? “You think we’re politicians?”

“Not you, dear, but him,” he pointed his glass to Brooks, “Get a better disguise, princeling.”

We watched him walk away without another word.

“Well, I guess that was our mistake. I told you we should’ve waited until later tonight.”

He turned in my direction. “What difference would that have made?”

Ticking off fingers, I listed, “It might've been darker, he could've been more tired, more distracted and maybe even a little drunk.”

“He seemed pretty drunk already. We'll find him again, don't worry.”

I worried anyway. The best way to start the year would be by having another lead. Thankfully, he liked my suggestion of finding his office. We would need to take a look around to find it though.

“Hopefully, it won't be too crowded--” I began to say, eyes skimming over the space as I spoke. His office would be around a closed off area, a hallway further down the house that wouldn’t be too crowded during a party. As I scanned around, I made eye contact with a confused politician watching us with narrowed eyes. Sort of recognizing his face myself, I realized he could recognize us too if he got closer and kept staring, so I changed my sentence midway and pulled Brooks into the group of dancing people, “--on the dance floor!”

“Nice save, darling.”

Turns out you can cringe at yourself. “This was a horrible idea.”

I was not entirely unaware of Brooks’ hand playing with the back of my dress as we danced. Still, I told myself it must be a habit of his. Something he did whenever he danced with someone and didn’t notice. Part of me hoped that wasn’t true, however. “We'll be fine. But only if you let it.”

“I don’t have the best track record with parties…” Punched a guy once. Pushed someone into a plant when I noticed they were about to puke in another. There was also the time I threw a drink at Cooper when he was annoying. Brooks hadn’t been too wrong when he said I was kind of aggressive.

He held me relatively close as we danced, his head next to mine. “It's the afterparties for me.”

I laughed a bit at that, wondering if my breath brushed his ear as his own did mine. “You last all the way to the afterparties, do you?”

“I'm pretty successful at parties. No one bothers me and I can keep to myself. It's after then that things go wrong for me.”

“Hmm, why is that?”

“Don't mess with me.”

I frowned but clenched my jaw when I realized what he was talking about. The kiss had been after a party. “I see you were on a different page than me.” Not meeting his gaze, I found myself feeling upset. “You have no right to be mad at me.”

“I'm not mad at you, Clove.”

“Then?”

He hesitated. “We've already talked about this.”

“We did.” A mistake. I focused on his shoes. “But you're the one who brought it up right now. I thought you were joking.”

“I-I am,” he looked down too, “I always am.”

My voice turned small. “I hope not always.”

The look in his eyes was hard to read. I couldn't place what it was before he replaced the expression with a smile and joked, “Not always. I'm a pretty boring guy.”

I managed to smile back for a brief moment, but everything felt off. We were trying so hard to go back to normal. Time after time, we weren't succeeding... I didn’t plan on giving up if he didn’t either though, so I smiled again. “Hey, you're part of the British Scooby gang. That's worth something.”

“Right. Which part of the Scooby gang are you?”

I only thought about it for a moment, trying to remember the show. “Velma.”

“I'm shocked.”

“I want to be the one who figures out the mystery.” Maybe I will. “That was usually her.”

“No way, it was totally Fred.”

Cocking my head to the side, I considered it. “Well, actually, out of all the group, the two of them were the ones that usually put the clues together.”

“How fitting.”

My head unnecessarily pointed out Fred and Velma were only friends on the show. “Yeah...do you consider yourself to be Fred?”

“I think I'm more a Scrappy Doo,” he admitted with a laugh. “Shouldn't have been there in the first place.”

“How dare you say the talking dog wasn’t essential?” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Just don’t forget we already established you were needed for this to work, unlike the talking dog. There can’t be a Mrs. Crooks without a Mr…” I trailed off, regretting the sentence with a blush. “Anyway, how long till midnight?”

He checked his watch. “It's almost 10. Wanna try our luck with Levi?”

“Almost two hours away.” I nodded in approval. “Alright. Maybe we should start with showing the journal first this time.”

He nodded back. “Have you seen him?”

I searched the faces in the room. “I bet he’ll be wherever the dark cloud of pessimism is going.”

Brooks made a pretty good guess. “Where's the bar?”

#//fics #//not a challenge #//crooks #//new year's #brooks tag #eloise tag

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