Establishing the Sakamaki 🧬

Where I try to make some assumptions about the vampire boys and why they all look so different( ignoring the big fact that its an anime and anime brothers have genetics pools made of skittles):

Ever since consuming this anime/franchise, i got annoyed with the brothers looking nothing like each other.Hell even Yui asks Shu why they’re all coordinated worse than a clowns colour palette.

Using the small memory etched in me brain abt the boys I will try to draw a line on who In the Sakamaki household looks more like their mum and more like their dad - and hopefully understand whether Karlheinz has the ability to shapeshift or if there’s something else.Little disclaimer, im probably reading too much into it lmao.(diagrams drawn by me hastily)

Subaru:

Appearance wise hes got white hair with pink tips and red eyes.Easily we can say he matches both his parents since his baby pics in the game show Karl, and Christa sporting the same colours and therefore the same colour genes (have I mentioned they’re related, yikes) would be passed onto Subaru .

I believe Subaru got his hair and eye colour from his mother, not his dad.My mans got a very strong level of self hatred and views himself as a dirty individual due to his parents.There are segments in his route where Christa during her psychotic episodes confuses Subaru for Karl and does some traumatising shit to him.

I therefore headcanon that Subaru has his mothers hair and eyes but his fathers face and perhaps body built.Karlheinz may be depicted with golden eyes and white pinkish hair but I don’t think its a genetic match timeline wise, he may simply have aged.BUT, there is also clear evidence in the Sakamaki family tree of white hair and red eyes genes - this could be a form of albinism and/or an indicator of a vampires age.

Shu and Reiji:

Ill start off Shu.Hes probably the easiest one to pin point because hes a spitting image of Beatrix, blonde/orangey hair with blue eyes.Only difference is his height and gender, those he got from his dad.

Reiji is more interesting to decipher. Cordelia was kind enough to tell us bluntly that he resembles Karl when he was younger, which means, Karl is sporting red eyes and purple hair right???

Well not quite, whilst the hair MIGHT be a match in some ways (one of the cgs in his route shows Reiji with long locks similar to his dad, the only difference being his hair is straight) his eyes are a different story; unlike Subaru, Reiji’s peepers are more raspberry purple and pink in hue.What does that mean?? There must be purple genes in the family tree guaranteed, at least eye wise.

So overall, Reiji could be the closest match to his dad, except the triplets may tell a different story.

Ayato, Laito and Kanato:

Lets adress the elephant in the room, the triplets aren’t identical, laito and ayato could fit the “identical twins” because of their eyes and hair whilst Kanato fits more fraternally in the picture.Kanato has big round eyes and a softer face shape, Laito has a more refined jawline and sharp eyes, and ayato fits dabsmack in the middle of the two, with big but sharp eyes and a half soft half refined face shape.

Looking at Cordelia, her face is as feminine as can be, yet not as youthful as Yui.Kanato probably takes after her in that regard and so does Ayato.

Time to look at the boys separately.Kanato has purple eyes and hair, and it is stated that hes rather narcissistic because his hair matches Cordelia.Im assuming Kanato got Cordelia’s hair and face but his Father’s eyes.His eyes are very misleading tho because they are more lavender than raspberry purple like Reiji.Heres the kicker- Kanato and Reiji have the same eye design, only Kanato’s are enlarged and lavender.Does this mean his dad has raspberry purple, or lavender eyes??

Hear me out- theres three factors to do with eye colour according to google:

Age: As you get older, your eyes darken so this factor can head-canon that the reason Reiji has a different colour shade is because hes older than Kanato, by how much we dont know.But this means his eyes should be dark lavender not raspberry purple.

Colouring coordination: simply put colours can enhance their tones when matched right.Kanato’s design is drenched in lavenders, lilacs and pinks which would fit his hair and make his eyes appear more lavender too right? Reiji also does colour match his casual wear, mostly similar purple coloured vests to his hair,complimenting his eyes and making them stand out.However, colour matching doesn’t fully change the colour that much, rather its used to compliment it, and make it stand out.Kanato stands out because he’s all lavender not because his eyes stand out from the rest of his outfit.Its made even more evident how purple he really is whenever he sports a ribbon that, funnily enough is closer in shade to Reiji’s eye colour.

Light exposure :fun fact within the first three days after your birth, the colour of your eye sets in.What does this mean for Kanato?? Well if you’ve ever left something colorfull outside in the sun for a couple of days, you’ll notice it become lighter, yes im referring to that one toy in your back-garden that went from red to pink.Knowing the kind of parenting skills Cordelia had, I wouldn’t be shocked if she neglected the boys as newborns.Idk how resistant baby vampires are on their own but they sure as hell are not strong enough to fend on their own.So, it IS possible that Kanato as a baby got exposed to sunlight, causing for his eyes to lighten up to lavender, or rather a light raspberry purple which when in contrast with his outfit appears more LAVENDER.This also might be why he sometimes wears glasses, sunlight exposure can fuck up your eyes.

Lets go back to the other brothers.Ayato got his mothers eye colour and shape plus Red hair combo and so did Laito, the eye shapes may be different but alas its her green. So, what is up with the red hair?? This would mean they got the hair from the dad, but so did Reiji and his hair is purple, not red.

Looking better at the two, Laito’s is orange red whilst Ayato sports strawberry red, so wtf???Well, Karlheinz doesnt have white hair fully, his ends are actually a muted pink, which when colour dropped gives us….the same range as Ayato’s hair tone.So then, where the hell is the purple coming from for Reiji???

The purple maybe comes from his grandparents not his father.Kanato has his purple hair from his mother,but Reiji is still considered a spitting image of his father by Cordelia so what gives? Now this would mean that one of Karlheinz’s parents would have the same strawberry hair and purple in the mix.I know what you’re thinking, that cant be true because Karlheinz’s younger brother has green hair, so one of the parents had green whilst the other had strawberry red, that doesn’t give purple.Unless of course, his father had several wife’s just like him,which explains the red, green and purple ensemble better ( and why he himself is not monogamous, clearly he learned it from someone yay generations worth of trauma)

Why is Laito’s hair more orange then???The anime decided so-I colour-dropped his hair from his game sprites and surprise surprise, its the same muted strawberry red like his dads hair ends.Why isnt it the same as Ayato??? Just like Kanato, light exposure!! Laito is probably more extroverted than he lets on, causing for his hair to change, even as a kid he was out and about more than his other brothers, especially Ayato who was forced indoors to study most of his childhood.This super fun fact is so tell tale about the triplets coping mechanisms too, Laito still goes out, hence his hair is still lighter than his brothers, which means that even now Ayato keeps to the indoors after all these years.Only proves to show that trauma can shape your lifestyle doesn’t it, cant even phantom how worse its for someone who lives as long as they do 😔.

But Karlheinz’s eyes are yellow??? Yeah, i think i might know why.I believe hes got shitty eyesight, which would explain why Kanato and Reiji wear glasses.In the beginning of the anime, it is established by Reiji that vampires are immune to sunlight unlike in stories.Maybe it doesn’t directly kill them, but then why remain nocturnal?Karlheinz’s entire persona is human, he lives like one and has for hundreds of years, who’s to say that the reason why vampires remain nocturnal is due to light sensitivity. If you can hear really well, you’re gonna have a bad time with loud noises, so if you can see really well in the dark, too much light can hurt the same way.Heres my proposition: he uses magic to see, his sight must be so bad that even with magic he still wears glasses.Carla and shin are pureblood, their eyes are golden, and they can use magic, perhaps theres a indication in the colour of their eyes?Its just a theory tho.

In conclusion:

-Shu is a carbon copy of his mother.

-Reiji has his fathers eyes, face and his grandparents hair colour

-Laito has his father’s eye shape, face and hair colour but the colour of his eyes are from his mother

-Ayato has the hair colour from his dad but his eyes are from his mother

Ayato also suffers from long term trauma causing for his prolonged lifestyle to remain stagnant

-Kanato has purple hair just like his mother,face shape and big eyes just like her too but light raspberry purple eyes like his dad

-Kanato also was exposed to sunlight as a newborn causing for his irises to change in colour and probably damaged his eyesight too

Subaru has the hair and eye colour of his mother but his fathers face.

Karlheinz’s got shitty eyesight due to being an old fart.Hes got a predisposed poor eyesight gene leading two of children who inherited his eyes to have to wear glasses.

Wednesday headcanons: Reader as Wednesday's twin.

Warnings: None. There is also no pairing and pretty much gender neutral.

Requested: No

A/N: I have not seen many headcanons that are like this, so here we go. I thought it was a cute idea, especially since I already wrote an Addams reader, that you can see here.

Masterlist

▪️Okay, first thing, your powers. I think you could be a physic, just like Wednesday and Morticia, but you could also end up with electrokinesis, from your dad's side. We don't know if Gomez has powers, but Uncle Fester definitely does. The same goes for Pugsley, so who knows what you and him could end up with. It seems plausible it would be one of those things because the series shows that certain powers run in a family. (Bianca and her mother are both sirens, Xavier and his father are psychics, Enid, and her parents and so on.)

▪️I don't think they would name you something like Thursday because I have seen the entire rhyme and it seems unlikely. Maybe Wednesday calls you Monday (Fair of face) or Tuesday (Full of grace) as a way to tease you, but your parents would find any of the others names repulsing.

▪️Your mother thinks every girl needs her twin, and so, you go to Nevermore with Wednesday because she can't bear to part you two. Wednesday rolls her eyes, but she loves you just as she loves Pugsley, so she is secretly glad.

▪️You aren't the dominant twin and it shows. Really. It would be very hard for you to be able to rein Wednesday in, she has one of those personalities. Besides, her attitude screams oldest daughter to me, so even being twins, she would assume that role.

▪️You would be fraternal twins, not identical, but I think you would look like an Addams, so the dark clothes are a must. You could also end up as the black sheep of the family, wearing normal clothes, but I don't think after growing up with them, you would dress like Enid.

▪️Weems still would put Wednesday with Enid and you would end up in some other dorm. The idea is for Wednesday to open herself to the world, so it's unlikely she would room you together. You could end up with Yoko or Divina as a roomie, or if you are a boy, with Ajax or Kent. It wouldn't matter, Wednesday would drop by when trying to escape from her roomie or just to check on you.

▪️Oh man, imagine you get asked on a date. Wednesday would have kittens.

“You touch a hair on Monday's head and I will cut your hands and feed them to you.” She glowers, while your poor date looks ready to piss themselves. “I will not hesitate.” And then, turning to you, fixing your clothes. “Have fun.”

▪️Going after her every time she ends up in danger, forcing her to be more careful because she doesn't want you in danger.

▪️Everyone knows not to mess with you because they know you have a scary older sister.

▪️You would end up knowing how to defend yourself because the Addams would not let any of their kids defenseless.

▪️Having their backing to pursue any kind of lifestyle or passion that you wanted. They are open-minded, and they would love you no matter what, that's evident.

▪️Bonus:

Holidays with the Addams: If you are Latinx, like me, you know Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are a big thing here. I can bet it is like that for the Addams. You guys would dress up, partake in some darker traditions (Burning something definitely comes to mind) and have a nice horrid dinner. I bet they are the kind of parents that say that on New Year's Eve, you have to stay in until 12 and then, maybe, you can go partying. They seem specially tight-knit, so they could also be the ones that say you have to spend it with the family.

Morticia and Gomez definitely take the traditional hug or kissing to an embarrassing point.

They are good gift givers, so I think they would get you exactly what you want in the most unexpected way.

What Is Autism?

Several various genes seem associated with autism spectrum disorder. For some children, autism spectrum disorder can be associated with a congenital disease, such as Rett syndrome or delicate X syndrome. For other children, hereditary changes (mutations) may increase the threat of autism spectrum condition. Still other genes may impact brain advancement or the manner in which brain cells communicate, or they might identify the intensity of symptoms.

A common question after an autism medical diagnosis is what is the cause of autism. We know that there's no one cause of autism.

Nevertheless, it is very important to remember that increased danger is not the exact same as cause. For example, some gene changes associated with autism can also be found in people who don't have the disorder. Similarly, not everybody exposed to an ecological risk factor for autism will develop the condition.

Research study informs us that autism tends to run in families. Changes in specific genes increase the danger that a child will establish autism. If a moms and dad brings several of these gene changes, they might get passed to a child (even if the parent does not have autism). Other times, these genetic modifications occur spontaneously in an early embryo or the sperm and/or egg that integrate to produce the embryo.

Autism And Genes

Research study continues to check out these distinctions with an eye to establishing treatments and supports that can improve lifestyle.

One of the excellent and enduring secrets of autism is what causes the brain to establish so in a different way. The behavioural differences of lots of individuals with autism are so apparent that it appears instinctive that the causes would likewise be obvious.

Into this knowledge gap have come all sorts of odd and wacky ideas about the causes of autism: television, power lines, vaccines and sex position throughout conception. None have any credence, however have actually fuelled the secret surrounding what may cause autism.

This has actually found very plainly there is no one cause of autism. A variety of hereditary aspects are likely to be the ultimate cause of most cases of autism.

What Causes Autism? Genetics, Environment And More Factors

To value how these studies work, it's initially essential to comprehend there are 2 kinds of twins. Twins share all of their DNA and, assuming they mature in the exact same home, they will likewise share all of their environment. Fraternal twins also share all of their environment, however only around half of their DNA, similar to non-twin siblings.

Scientists then take a look at the "concurrence" of that characteristic that is, the portion chance that if one twin has autism, the other twin will also have autism. If the concurrence is higher for similar twins than fraternal twins, then we can state the difference is due to the increased quantity of genetic product shared by the similar twins, which autism is influenced by genes.

Concurrence for identical twins was 36%, compared to 0% for the fraternal twins. While the study was just small in size, it offered the very first evidence that autism may be hereditary in origin.

The very best existing quote is that there is a 50-80% concordance for similar twins and a 5-20% concordance for fraternal twins. This shows a strong genetic part to the condition. The figure for fraternal twins 5-20% likewise represents the chance of a couple who already have a kid with autism having a second kid with autism (described as the "reoccurrence risk").

What Are The Possible Causes Of Autism?

After several decades of extensive research, researchers could find no one hereditary anomaly that all people diagnosed with autism shared. (or absence of findings) that led researchers to stop thinking of autism as one condition with one cause.

Build-A-Bear

Part Three

Featuring: Bucky x Stark!reader, dad!Tony, Pepper, Rhodey, Happy, Morgan, various characters in other chapters

Warnings: language, sexual innuendos and implications

Chapter Summary: Reader has dinner with her family and gets grilled even harder than her food. But she’s turned to a light simmer when Bucky takes her out for their first date.

Author’s Note: This chapter is fucking monstrous lol. I did not expect it to be this long so it might be a couple extra days before the next chapter so I can catch up! I’m also not sure if my Italian is accurate so I apologize in advance. I used to work for a man named Gennaro from Naples and he called me “bella” so hopefully I’m sort of right? If you like the story so far, feel free to buy me a coffee!

Part One • Part Two

Tags: @kennedywxlsh

Dinner that night was tense, to say the least. It was nice to have your dad, step-mom, sister, and uncles Happy and Rhodey over again, but your dad wasn’t quick to forget what he saw earlier.

“What was that with Barnes today?” Tony asked as you all sat around the dining room table in your midtown flat, poking away at the remnants of your meals.

“What do you mean?” you asked innocently.

Your dad just gave you an incredulous look. “You know what I mean.”

You sighed and avoided meeting his eyes. “I was just working on his arm, dad. I didn’t wanna make him lie down on a hard lab table while I poked around to do what you wanted and quiet his arm,” you explained.

“Wait, Barnes as in Bucky Barnes?” Uncle Rhodey clarified.

“Yeah,” your dad confirmed, not taking his eyes off of you. “I found her kneeling between his legs while he sat shirtless on the couch.”

“You’re sleeping with Bucky?!” Rhodey asked.

“I’m not sleeping with anyone!” you defended, dropping your fork onto your plate. “I’ve known him for a month.”

“That’s never stopped your father,” Pepper mumbled under her breath, making you huff out a laugh despite your current grilling.

“Listen, when I said ‘no fraternizing with coworkers,’ I meant it,” your dad said.

“Please stop saying ‘fraternizing.’ It’s weird.”

Tony sighed and crossed his arms. “No ‘slumber parties’ with coworkers,” he rephrased.

This made Morgan perk up in her seat, having spent the past couple minutes confusedly watching you and your dad bicker.

“Can we have a slumber party, [Y/N]?” she asked.

“Yes, honey, we can have a slumber party,” you responded.

“Tonight?” she continued.

At this, you pointedly looked at your dad and raised your eyebrows as a way of saying ‘are we done now?’ You could tell he didn’t want to end the conversation, but you were grateful for the sudden change of topic. Tony uncrossed his arms and leaned against the table as he replied to your sister.

“If your big sister says it’s okay, you can have a slumber party tonight.”

Morgan lit up like the Fourth of July, quickly listing off all the movies she wanted to watch even though you knew she’d fall asleep halfway through the first movie.

As your family packed up to leave, leaving Morgan since she had a drawer of clothes for the impromptu sleepovers you’ve had before, you calmed your racing heart before saying the words that would either make your father more suspicious or completely quash his suspicions.

“You’ll have to pick her up by four tomorrow. I have a date.”

All of the adults turned to face you. Pepper had a huge smile on her face, clearly excited for you, but your dad and Rhodey looked ready to fight. Happy looked curious, maybe even worried, but he played a big role in raising you so while Tony was the overprotective parent, Happy was the comforting parent (not that he’d ever let anyone know that).

“A date?” The tone of your dad’s voice made you roll your eyes at him.

“I’m a grown woman. I’m allowed to go on dates.”

Your dad let out a quiet harumph at that, but understood where you were coming from. “I know, sweetheart. Forgive me for being a bit overprotective of my little girl.”

“I get it. I appreciate your concern,” you said with a smile, “but this is good for me. You want grandkids eventually, right?”

“Oh god,” your dad groaned, pressing a hand to his chest. “I’m not old enough to be a grandpa but I’m old enough to have a heart attack at the mention of it.”

You rolled your eyes. “You’re so dramatic.”

“So what’s this person’s name?” Pepper piped up. You visibly tensed and internally panicked. You couldn’t just admit it was Bucky after denying anything there. But his name was technically pretty common...

“His name is James.”

Rhodey snapped his fingers and pointed at you as he said, “I like him already.”

‘Yeah, sure you do,’ you thought. The sight of your dad narrowing his eyes at you and crossing his arms as he stood in the entryway of your apartment made you nervous. Maybe James wasn’t good enough to get him off your trail (probably because he was right).

“How did you meet this guy?” Tony asked.

If anyone else had asked, you would’ve said ‘work,’ but that’s the last place you could say to your dad — with whom you worked.

“Uhh, at the grocery store. We accidentally followed each other and got a lot of the same food so he jokingly accused me of stalking him and we just hit it off,” you rattled off. It’s a good thing he didn’t know how your friend Monique met her girlfriend or he’d know you were lying.

“That’s so cute,” Pepper cooed. She was definitely the more relaxed of your parents, possibly because she wasn’t your biological mom. She had been raising you since you were ten though, so she played a big part in your upbringing.

“Text me his last name so I can run a background check,” your dad said. You’d love to think he was joking, but you knew he was serious.

And as much as you knew you’d regret it, you had to make a joke…

“His last name is Barnes,” you said, keeping your face as serious as possible. “James Barnes. I actually know his middle name too: Buchanan.”

“[Y/N] [Y/M/N] [Y/L/N], you better be joking right now,” Tony said. He was already getting red in the face, clearly unenthused at the prospect of you dating the man who, admittedly, killed his parents — your grandparents. Yeah, understandable.

“I’m obviously kidding,” you said, forcing a laugh. “It’s just funny that they have the same first name and you’re so anti-Bucky.”

“You’re gonna send me to an early grave,” he muttered. “I’m going home before I actually have a heart attack.”

You said your goodbyes and ‘I love you’s before you and Morgan put on your pajamas and set up a pillow fort in the middle of your living room to watch her favorite sleepover movie: “Shrek.”

As the movie went on, you leaned back in the fort to take a photo of Morgan with the movie in the background. Well, the back of Morgan’s head as she was engrossed in the movie she’d seen a million times.

[Image attached] She’s got her teddy bear but where’s my Bucky Bear? 🥺

Across the city, Bucky’s phone buzzed from its spot on the kitchen counter as he made himself a late dinner. He didn’t recognize the number, but smiled when he saw the picture of who he assumed was your sister or niece.

I never got an invite. Looks like more fun than my night.

You smiled to yourself when you saw his reply, rolling your eyes at the lack of exclamation points and emojis. Typical man.

What does your night look like?

Eating a late dinner and talking to you.

Talking to me isn’t fun?! I’m hurt 😢

Not as fun as actually being with you.

Even though he wasn’t there and didn’t say it verbally, you could feel your cheeks get hot at his words.

There’s no way sweet talk like that didn’t get you in more than four beds.

You’re still on that? I swear doll, I have the same number as you.

Whatever you say! 🙄

There was a lull in conversation after that, giving you time to move your sister to lie on her back with pillows and blankets in the fort so she could sleep more comfortably.

Are we still going out tomorrow?

You let the next Shrek movie start automatically, but you didn’t pay any attention as you texted Bucky.

I’m still down if you are 👀

You sent him your address and let him know you’d wait on the front steps for him so he didn’t have to come all the way up. With the exchange of ‘good night’ messages, you drifted asleep to the sounds of Shrek 2.

•

The next morning, you somehow managed to wake up before your sister, then brought her back to the land of the living with the smell of French toast.

You spent your day watching another movie with Morgan before fixing lunch and taking her to a park down the road. Morgan’s childhood was definitely different from yours. Happy was the one who took you to parks and shopping, but Tony parented at home. Morgan would have the same early experiences, but the world knew Tony and Pepper had a daughter. They kept her identity hidden for now, waiting until she could decide if she wanted to reveal herself later in life. The world never knew about you.

And you had to be somewhat grateful for that. You still got all the perks of being a Stark — the money, the Tower, meeting the Avengers (and having James Rhodes as your godfather) — without the stress of fame. But part of you still wished you could talk about your father without keeping his occupation vague and referring to him as “Anthony” when telling stories instead of Tony.

Morgan also got to know her mom. You only spent the first seven years of your life with your mom before she was killed in a drive-by shooting. The police investigated it like crazy because everyone thought since it was Tony Stark’s wife, it had to be a targeted hit. But since she never took the same jogging route twice, all they came up with was an unplanned drive-by. You cherished the memories you had with her, but still openly welcomed Pepper when she came into the picture. She may not have played the same type of role in your life, but she helped shape your middle and high school years.

By the time you and Morgan got back to your place, she was exhausted, climbing back into the still-intact blanket fort to take a nap. When your dad and Pepper stopped by to pick her up, she was still knocked out.

“We’ll get out of your hair so you can get ready for your date,” your dad said with Morgan in his arms. “Send me this James guy’s last name. I still want to run a background check.”

“Dad,” you grumbled. “I already did my research. He’s clear.” Kind of. He technically has murdered hundreds of people, including your grandparents, but he’s reformed and fighting for the good guys now. Not that your dad would let it slide if you told him that.

“That’s my girl,” he grinned. “Let me know if you need to hide any bodies, okay?”

“You got it,” you said with a laugh as they headed out. You had two hours to get ready for Bucky, giving you plenty of time to look extra cute.

By the time six rolled around, you were all dolled up and ready to go. The autumn weather had you in a jacket and boots, but that just pulled your outfit together.

Your doorman Matt was standing inside the lobby when you ran downstairs, tossing him a small wave as you left.

“Have a good night, Miss [Y/L/N],” he said with a nod.

“See you later, Matt!”

You stood at the bottom of your building’s front steps, checking your phone and looking up and down the block for Bucky. It was six on the dot, so you figured he’d be there soon.

“Hey!” You looked up from your phone to see Bucky jogging toward you, a black leather jacket covering his arms and a black glove hiding his left hand. “Sorry I’m late. I couldn’t get away from Sam. Had to tell him I was gonna check out my old stomping grounds in Brooklyn.”

“You’re, like, 30 seconds late. I’m just glad you’re here,” you said with a smile. “So what are we doing tonight?”

Bucky’s smile faltered as he looked down at you. Your boots gave you a bit of a height bump, but Bucky still stood taller than you.

“I, uh, I kinda thought you had something planned,” he said softly.

“Oh, oops,” you laughed. “Well… what about those Brooklyn stomping grounds of yours? Care to show me around?”

Bucky lit up at the recommendation and started leading the way to the nearest subway stop. Before you started down the stairs, he paused and turned to you with a sour expression.

“I probably should’ve asked if you’d rather get a cab,” he said.

“Bucky, I take the subway to work every day. It’s fine.”

“Why do you take the train? You don’t live too far away.” You two made your way down the steps to the bustling station.

“It’s just easier. Less work for me,” you explained. “I didn’t take the train much as a kid so I like taking the opportunity now that I can.”

“Most people don’t willingly take the subway,” he laughed. “Steve and I always used to talk about how we’d be rich enough to have a car someday. But now that I could get any car I wanted, I don’t think I want one. I like the subway.”

“Even though it’s smelly and dirty?” you joked.

“Yeah,” he laughed. “It’s one of the things that still reminds me of home.”

The gentleness in his voice nearly brought you to tears. This man had been through so much and was still the sweetest soul you’d ever met. Forced into a war he didn’t want to join, experimented on, tortured and brainwashed, hunted by every government in the world, captured, frozen, and forced into another war and more battles he shouldn’t have to join. He just couldn’t catch a break.

“Well I’m excited to see what else reminds you of home,” you replied.

The trains to and through Brooklyn were relatively busy so you and Bucky couldn’t really talk much, but it was a Saturday night so you couldn’t blame people for getting out. It was tough to find seats, but Bucky was willing to stand to make sure you could have a seat. Ever the gentleman.

When you made it to Bucky’s Brooklyn stop of choice, he started telling you more stories from the ‘40s, like when Steve couldn’t get off the train in time and accidentally went down another stop so Bucky ran to the next stop and found Steve heading his way anyway. And how he and Steve followed his sister Rebecca on a date “to watch out for her,” he said, and her date thought they were stalking her and tried to beat them up. And all the fights he pulled Steve out of.

“Punk was a chihuahua who thought he was a Rottweiler.”

For a while, you two walked around the streets of Brooklyn just telling each other stories. You were careful about names you used, often just calling Happy “Uncle Harry” and Rhodey “Uncle James.”

Bucky showed you the movie theater he and Steve used to go to, which was surprisingly still in business. You walked past what used to be a diner Bucky frequented but was converted into a bridal shop.

“This used to be a magic store Steve loved,” he said, looking up at the bank on the corner of the street. “Things have changed a lot.”

You heard the nostalgia in his voice, clearly missing the New York he grew up to love. He had a soft smile on his lips as he reminisced, though.

“What about where you lived?” you asked. “Do you remember where that is?”

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “I could never forget that.”

Everything was within a fifteen minute walk of where you got off the subway so even though your feet were getting tired, you followed alongside Bucky as he led the way up and down the streets. Before too long, you strode up to a large brick building that had clearly been remodeled recently, if the fresh windows and front doors were any indication.

“It’s… a lot nicer than when I lived here,” Bucky said with a sigh. “But it’s been nearly 100 years so I can’t blame them for updating things.”

“Brooklyn is kind of booming now, too,” you added. “More people to appeal to, ya know?”

You stared up at him again, seeing that same lost look as before, like he wished to turn back time and show you the Brooklyn he knew. So you decided since he couldn’t do that, you’d show him the Brooklyn you knew.

“Come here. My turn to show you around,” you said, holding your hand out to him. He gave you a small smile before grabbing your hand in his and letting you pull him back to the subway.

Ten minutes later, you hopped off the train with Bucky in tow and headed to the little Italian restaurant you found while exploring the city a couple years before. It wasn’t anything elaborate; it was honestly more of a little hole-in-the-wall, but you liked the quiet atmosphere.

“Bella!” the owner shouted as you walked in.

“Hey Genny,” you smiled at him.

“Who’s this?” he asked as he approached you, raising his eyebrows when he saw Bucky.

“This is James,” you said. You opted against using his more common nickname to avoid any recognition.

“James, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Gennaro, but you can call me Genny. Welcome to my restaurant.” The two men shook hands before Genny ushered you two to a table and handed you menus. “Would you like to start with focaccia?”

“Yes please!”

“Con formaggi?”

“Si! Grazie!”

Gennaro left you and Bucky while he started your appetizer.

“You speak Italian?” Bucky asked.

“Definitely not,” you laughed. “I’ve just been coming here for a while and have picked up on some things Genny says. Like ‘bella’ means ‘beautiful,’ this pizza,” you pointed to your favorite pizza on the menu, “‘cinque formaggi’ means ‘five cheese.’ But I could never hold a conversation.”

“Un peccato,” Bucky sighed before flashing a smile at you.

“You speak Italian?!” you nearly shrieked. “No way! Don’t talk shit with Gennaro behind my back.” You pouted at Bucky, but knew he wouldn’t say anything bad about you. Maybe an embarrassing moment or two — like your dad walking in on you between his knees — but nothing negative.

“I picked it up pretty quickly back in the day,” Bucky explained. “Before I was sent to Germany, I was stationed in a small town in Italy for a while. The locals didn’t mind having us there because we kept the Nazis out, so they taught us some Italian when we were in town.”

“Maybe I should take Gennaro up on his offer to learn Italian,” you mused.

“Or you could learn from me,” Bucky was quick to offer. “I’ll teach you some stuff when you’re working on my arm.”

Your server arrived with the focaccia and water for both of you, before giving you more time to actually look at the menus instead of talking. You decided to split a bottle of red wine and two pizzas, one of your choice and one of Bucky’s. As the night went on, you and Bucky both opened up to each other even more than before. You could easily blame the buzz from a couple glasses of wine, but Bucky’s super soldier serum made you confused. His cheeks were flushed and he had more than half the bottle, so you wondered if maybe...

“Can you still get drunk?”

“Unlike Steve, yes. It takes more than this,” he said, lifting the nearly empty bottle of wine, “but since Steve and I received different serums, they work a little differently. I can definitely get drunk. Marijuana admittedly hits harder.”

You paused as you stared back at him, his elbows perched on the table and his clasped hands propped under his chin.

“Are you drunk now?”

“No,” he laughed quietly. “A little tipsy, sure, but not drunk by a long shot.”

You narrowed your eyes at him playfully, reluctantly accepting that he was just as buzzed as you but not quite drunk.

Before long, your server brought over your tab and you realized how empty the restaurant had gotten. Then you noticed the broom and mop the server had brought out to the floor, then the dark ‘open’ sign, and finally the clock on the wall.

“You closed 20 minutes ago and didn’t kick us out?” you shouted at Gennaro. “Genny, you can always kick me out! I feel bad!”

Gennaro walked over to your table as you scrambled for your wallet and handed the server your card to run.

“I can’t kick you out, bella. You and your moroso are welcome any time.”

“I think this poor girl would beg to differ,” you said as the server handed your card and signature slip back. She just laughed at your comment, agreeing without saying it outright.

You left a hefty tip and hugged Genny before you and Bucky, both still a bit tipsy, shuffled outside.

“Thanks for buying dinner,” Bucky said. “This means I get to pay next time, though.”

He said it so casually and you already planned on another date, but it still kind of caught you off guard.

“Next time?” You smiled up at him and took a step closer until you were almost toe-to-toe. “There’s gonna be a ‘next time’?”

“I sure hope there is,” he said quietly, his smirk sending a rush up your spine.

“If you insist,” you sighed. He knew better than to believe you weren’t excited for your future plans. “I’m cold. Care to get an Uber with me?”

He gently grabbed your shoulders and spun you around, pulling the loose opening of his jacket over your arms and wrapping his arms around you to help keep you warm.

“Well, yeah. I need to make sure you get home safe so ‘next time’ can happen,” Bucky said as he nuzzled his face into the crook of your neck.

“You know, I don’t usually let men spoon me on the first date,” you joked as you tapped away to order an Uber.

“I can stop, if you want,” he teased.

You gripped his arm as he started to pull away. “I never said that.”

Bucky rode back to your place with you, keeping conversation casual as you both avoided the controversy you were about to face: to kiss on the first date or not. You never really had any issues with it before, but you already really liked Bucky. You didn’t want to risk messing it up by moving too fast. But what grown man would think a kiss on a first date was too fast? Well… maybe one born in the early 1900s…

Before your thoughts could throw you into a downward spiral, the driver pulled up outside your apartment complex. Bucky stepped out first and held the door open for you to scoot out after him. As you stood at the bottom of the stairs to your building, you felt those nerves creeping up on you again. God, you hadn’t felt this nervous about a date since high school.

“I had fun tonight,” Bucky said first, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Me too,” you smiled back. “I’m excited for what you plan for next time.”

Bucky laughed at this, the crinkle of his nose making your own smile grow. God, you wanted to invite him inside already. In your defense, you’ve known him for a full month and spent even longer getting heart-eyes over him in college.

But you reined in your hormones and just took a step closer to him to rest your hands on his chest. His right hand came up to rest on your waist, but he kept the metal hand in his pocket. With your hand placement, you could feel the thrum of his heartbeat and judging by the pace, you knew you were both on the same page. As you were trying to shove your nerves aside, Bucky asked the one question you were hoping for.

“Can I kiss you?”

Knowing he wanted this as much as you did relieved some of your nerves, but also made the moment that much more real. You smiled up at him and nodded your head.

“Yes, please do.”

You perched up on your toes to meet him halfway, letting his lips mold to yours. His hold on your waist tightened as he pulled you closer; you gripped the lapel of his jacket in your fists. Suddenly the cold of the night no longer existed. All you could feel was the warmth radiating off of him as he held you close. He pulled back for a second before diving right back in, this time nipping at your bottom lip. You giggled against him, but didn’t stop him from taking the innocent kiss a step further. Your hands slid from his chest to the nape of his neck before tangling into his long hair. The vibration from his moan as you tugged on his hair ran straight down your spine, making it even harder to leave the date alone.

Reluctantly, you both pulled apart just enough for your noses to brush against each other, the stubble of his beard still tickling your nose. You opened your eyes enough to see the smile on his lips as he pulled back a bit more to see your face.

“I’ll see you Monday?” you said quietly, as if speaking any louder would break you two out of your bubble.

“See you Monday, [Y/N],” Bucky replied just as quietly. His hand slipped from your waist as you backed away, biting your lip at him before you turned and scurried up the steps. Bucky stood on the sidewalk until he could see the light in your apartment flick on, just to make sure you were safe.

Ouran High School Host Club AU (Inspired by this post)

Yes, I used everybody they offered as the characters (and more!), it’s just a really big club. 

(It will 200% get bigger if I keep writing this, don’t test me)

Ship Tags: MiyaHina, AtsuHina, OsaHina, OiHina, KurooHina, BokuHina, AkaaHina, TsukiHina, UshiHina, AoHina, HyakuHina, NishiHina/NoyaHina, Hinata Harem aka Hinata/Everyone. 

Loosely follows plot, but a few things have been changed to match Haikyuu more, such as:

•Hinata isn’t an honor-student, he’s on an athletics scholarship (and while there are plenty of decent athletes there, they’re all rich enough to not need a scholarship)

•Hinata wears blue-light glasses often. He has good vision but having the glasses framing his vision helps him focus in class instead of getting (as) distracted.

•Yachi and Hinata switch off on some Haruhi stuff but Yachi isn’t the one the guys are all simping for.

•Yachi is an actual honor student but she’s not on the kinda full-ride scholarship Hinata is on. She’s like, partially rich, but not enough for Ouran (so she gets bullied or at least teased.)

•Hinata and Yachi got to be really good friends at orientation since she can sympathize with him better than all the actual rich people, and she helps him with his studies so he doesn’t completely flunk his classes. 

•The Twins, like Hikaru and Kaoru, have the same color hair (brunette) atm

•Hinata’s mom is a drag king to parallel Haruhi’s dad’s sitch

•Oikawa doesn’t let Iwaizumi into the club because he kills his eccentricity and egotism. None of the others can vibe check him the way Iwa-Chan does so that’s why he seems even more unbearable and thus more Tamaki-like.

••

Hinata tried to figure out where Yachi disappeared to, peering down halls and into classrooms through small openings of the doors. “Yachi-saaaan...”

He barely registered the vague scent of roses and sweets saturating the air as he pushed the door softly. 

The wood swung open as though pulled, Hinata stumbling through with a shout. A breeze and rose petals drifted by his face as he opened his eyes, head whipping up to view the silhouettes of the boys not too far from the door.

“Welcome to the Harukou Host Club!”

“Th-The... --What’s a host club?”

Hinata watched as all of the boys’ faces fell into befuddlement. 

“W-What a funny joke,” a brunet, sat upon a throne-like chair, commented, his fingers interlocked beneath his chin. “Isn’t that cute? Trying to win our hearts with humor.”

“But--”

“So, what kind of guys do you like? We’ve got plenty of types to spare, and I don’t think any of them have any problem attending to a male--ah, sorry, what’re your pronouns? That was rude of me to assume.”

Hinata’s instinctive, “He/him,” came out before he could attach his protests at the services offered, his stress elevating as the brunet hopped out of his chair and sauntered over to him, hands extended in shows of eccentricity.

“We haven’t gotten a boy, yet, huh, ‘Tsumu?” one of the guys still in the group commented, his arm draped over the shoulder of his exact copy (sans the parting of the brown locks). 

“No, but that’s because the only boys we’re involved with are each other,” the copy, ‘Tsumu(?), said, grabbing the other’s chin to hold his gaze. They stared into each other’s eyes for a second before their faces got a little green, the two of them separating to mime vomiting whilst laughing.

Hinata had to tune back into the brunet approaching him, who seemed to be going off on a tirade about beauty and elegance. He tuned back out almost immediately, finding even schoolwork to be more interesting.

“’Tsumu and ‘Samu are awful at the twincest-schtick, don’tcha think?”

“Right? I thought so, too. We’d be ten bajillion times better at it if we were identical twins!”

The ravenette rolled his eyes, although he drew in the other smugly. “Identical or not, the reason we work is because I’m a good actor.” Then, placatingly, he amended, “And you’re not hard to tease and smother with affection.”

His silver companion’s eyes lit up. “Man, you’re so cool, Kuroo.”

“Make sure to call me Tetsu when there are girls here.”

“Oooh do I get a nickname? Like, Kouta instead of Koutaro?”

Kuroo grinned, “Don’t give me an offer like that. I’ll call you Honey or Beloved, and while we’re raking in the cash, Akaashi’ll sell a bunch of merchandise with it.”

Another ravenette, probably Akaashi, nodded calmly as he penciled into his notebook. Beside him, a tall blonde smirked, his glasses flashing menacingly as he tapped away into a calculator. Kuroo and the silveret both paled and protested at him, which he seemed to ignore.

Speaking of ignoring things...

“You’ve been talking a long time, haven’t you?”

The brunet, knelt on the floor near a table, glanced over at him like he forgot who he was talking at. “Is that praise of my oratory skills? I’ve always been told that people get lost in my speeches, and it’s no surprise that you’ve gotten so enthralled with one!”

Seems like I wasn’t the only one who got lost, Hinata thought, noting the despondent, glazed eyes of some of the occupants. A short guy with a patch of blonde hair jumped up into a handstand on the shoulders of one of the taller guys in the back with white hair, and it was made evident that, no, some of them just always appeared completely detached from reality.

“So, anyway, what kind of guy is your type, Mr. Athlete? Maybe you like the cool type? The boy lolita?”

“—I AM NOT THAT SHORT—”

“You are quite that short,” the brunette continued, “Or maybe you like the strong silent type? —We have three of those. We also have twins—identical and fraternal— if you’re into the taboo kinda stuff. We don’t kinkshame here.”

“Maybe we should,” muttered the blonde guy with the calculator. His mouth was covered by a silver-haired guy with black ends, whose face betrayed no emotion even as the blonde fought against his palm irately.

“I’m not into this kind of thing,” Hinata said quickly, “Besides, doesn’t it cost money? I don’t think I’d be able to afford something like this, anyway.”

“Speaking of not being able to afford things... Shouldn’t we check up on her?” Probably-Akaashi motioned to a corner of the room with a piano and a familiar blonde girl hiding beneath its bench, sobbing meekly into her knees.

“Yachi-san!”

Hinata raced over to her, her head whipping up at his call. Her teary eyes let loose some sparkling droplets as she leapt at him, although the rope binding her ankles to the bench prevented her from fully reaching him. He thankfully was close enough that he saved her from a tumble to the floor.

“Hinataaaa,” she whined into his shoulder, “I’m going to have to sell my organs!!!”

“What!?”

“She came into our clubroom earlier and broke the vase we were supposed to sell at an auction,” explained one of the twins.

“It was worth eight million yen, and she told us she doesn’t have enough money but that she’ll sell her organs in order to pay us back, which is impressive in the dedication but very concerning.”

“We had Wakatoshi-kun put her on the bench to calm down, but she tied herself to it because she thought she would be our prisoner as a punishment.”

Yachi clearly tuned them out, too busy crying and hiding in Hinata’s arms. The redhead patted her on the head, wondering how things could get this weird in less than twenty minutes of her being out of his sight.

“Yachi-san.”

No response. Her blubbers were even less coherent now.

“Yachi-san!” He shook her by the shoulders until she blinked up at him. “I’ll help you, okay? Just promise me you’ll be more careful. And help me with my homework again!”

“Hinata...”

He grinned at her and patted her head. When he turned back to the group of boys, he could see they parted somewhat to allow the brunet to be visible whilst lounging on his throne that was turned to face them.

“I’ll be taking on Yachi-san’s debt,” he declared. The brunet rested his cheek on his fist and peered down his nose at him, smirk drawing his lips.

‘Kuroo’ spoke up, “Hoh? All eight million? Are you sure you can make it up, Chibi-chan?”

“You couldn’t even afford a school uniform; how do you plan to pay us back?” said the blonde guy, eyeing his white-and-pink tracksuit with no lack of judgment.

“I’ll...” Hinata glanced back at Yachi, her eyes glistening, and steeled his resolve, “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Then, Chibi-chan, from here on,” the brunet guy’s voice, initially dropped, lilted upward as his amusement mounted, "You’ll be our bitch.”

“What.”

•

Hinata frowned at the smudges all over his lenses, ignoring the twins (both sets) measured him for his uniform. 

He almost didn’t notice when Kuroo bent down to meet his eye-level and gently grasped the frames of his blue-light glasses. “Alright, Chibi-chan, we’ll be taking these. Though it doesn’t even seem like you need them, huh, since these lenses don’t really have any magnification?”

“Well, no, but since we have a lot of work on laptops here I thought they’d be better to have.”

Kuroo hummed and slipped them off his ears and nose, and all of the twins gawked at him as he blinked up at them.

“What?”

Osamu kicked Atsumu’s calf, and the Miyas dragged Bokuto away with them.

“Nothing,” said Kuroo, “Maybe they just forgot you’d have a face behind these.”

“Oh, I’ve done that before! Like when people are sick for a long time and they wear a mask, I kinda forget they have mouths!”

“Yeah, just like that.” 

•

“What kind of coffee is this?” The brunet, now known to be Oikawa Tooru, asked, beckoning Hinata over with the most obnoxious “come-hither” motion to ever exist.

“Instant. I don’t really understand coffee, but this is what my mom buys. It’s just cheap enough that I still have money for lunch.”

Oikawa sputtered at Hinata’s lackluster funding for his nutrition, although his mind finished processing what was said about the coffee itself before he could really express any amount of disbelief at the former.

“What do you mean ‘instant’? Are the beans already ground or something?”

Hinata blinked. “Coffee’s made of beans?”

Oikawa sighed heavily and drew up to his full height, holding the coffee container skyward as a few girls approached for their hosting appointment.

“Alright, you know what? I’m up for a challenge! I’m going to try some commoner’s coffee!”

The girls in the clubroom gave shrieks of surprise, Oikawa’s announcement drawing the attention of the entire room. Hinata longingly and despondently stared outside at the people running around the track and beginning practices for their various sports, allowing himself to be dragged away by the club president.

“Darn rich people,” he mumbled.

•

Oikawa was very clingy, Hinata found. Every spare second he had at the club was spent with the other nearby, coddling him and encouraging him to learn up close. It was so draining that the Miya Twins and the Fraternals dragging him into their games was infinitely more appealing, but that could also be his bias for Bokuto coming into play. 

Kuroo was cool, too, yes, and the Miya Twins gave him food, but Bokuto’s energy was so perfectly aligned with his that Kuroo whined about his brother being snatched away on multiple occasions.

This time, with Oikawa monologuing as dramatically as ever, Hinata had no sets of twins to free him from the absolutely boring speech. He spaced out so hard, he didn’t notice Oikawa coming closer and hugging him to his chest excitedly. 

He shouted, the fright sending tears into his eyes, and he reached desperately at the tall trio nearby. “Help!”

All three of them instinctively drew closer, but it was the white-haired eyebrowless one who pulled him out of Oikawa’s grasp by the armpits, Hinata’s legs dangling in the air while the brunette sat stupefied. 

“A-Aone-kun, you didn’t have to go so far...” Oikawa tried.

Hinata smiled at Aone in thanks and patted his head gently to express further gratitude. Whence he was placed down, Aone bowed to him, and he bowed back.

•

Nishinoya was a very fun person to be around, although their interactions were sparse. He shone under the attention from the girls, and if Hinata didn’t know the girls were paying for his time, he’d have assumed the reverse was true. But it made sense, you know, since Noya-san was just such a cool dude.

The girls cooed at him and giggled at his jokes, and his dorky personality coupled with his small-but-wild looks made him a charmer. He also offered Hinata cake on a frequent basis, and often accosted the others to make sure they ate up--especially Tsukishima, who seemed prickly enough that Hinata didn’t want to get near him with a ten foot pole. 

Unfortunately, Tsukishima was also the one mostly in charge of handling his debt, so he could not actually be avoided. Hinata was assured by Akaashi that he’d remove any undue charges Tsukishima would add to the debt, although Hinata would’ve preferred he hadn’t said anything about those undue charges and just did the removals with Hinata none-the-wiser, as then he wouldn’t be paranoid about the things Tsukishima would charge him for.

•

Hinata hadn’t meant to attract the attention of one of Oikawa’s most attached clients. She gave off a weird vibe and when he mentioned her to Yachi, the blonde girl went a little paler than usual (which, while a frequent occurrence, didn’t fail to raise alarm bells in the redhead’s mind). 

“She’s territorial,” Yachi managed, eventually, and Hinata had to go through all of the lessons the girl kindly drilled into his head in order to remember what that word meant. 

“Oh. So why would she be interested in a guy at a host club? Isn’t he, like, one step from prostitution?” Yachi choked at that, shaking her head to fight down any amusement.

“I don’t think she thinks those other girls are a threat.” 

Hinata hummed, “Well, she keeps glaring at me, so maybe she’s just a little dumb and confused.”

Yachi pursed her lips, barely able to keep her laughter contained.

•

Hinata wondered why Yachi’s schoolbag was tossed into the pond. Alongside it sat his, and as he began running through the halls to go attend to the issue, he spotted that client. 

Hinata quite pointedly ignored her, continuing down the halls and stairs. He felt a small flame of rage light up in his chest at seeing Yachi’s notebooks scattered across the surface of the water, covers just buoyant enough that the papers were only starting to soak in water, and he prioritized getting her items out and organized before he could even ponder grabbing his own. 

He’d been in the pond for twenty minutes, thankfully having managed to salvage most of her things, before a voice broke through the quiet of the grounds. “What are you doing?”

Hinata didn’t need to glance over his shoulder to know it was Oikawa, his voice light and airy, with a hint of playful exasperation. 

“I can’t find my wallet.”

“You’ll get sick with your clothes all wet. Can’t you just let it be?”

Oikawa didn’t seem to understand the necessity of what he’d likely consider pocket change. “I need the money for food. I’m not going to get paid for a couple days and I don’t want to starve in the meantime.”

There was a lengthy period of silence. He wondered if Oikawa left, trying desperately to make out the shape of his coin pouch amidst the colorful pebbles lining the bottom of the pond. He nearly growled in frustration as a series of ripples tore through surface, though as he heard the telltale sound of someone wading through water, he spotted the brunette with his pants rolled up and bare feet gingerly resting on the stone. 

“What are you doing?” Hinata quarried, eyebrows drawn up in confusion. 

Oikawa’s face was concentrated yet somewhat peaceful as he copied Hinata’s searching motions, fingers gliding across the smooth pebbles. A few strands of hair caught the water and were left with shimmering drips that occasionally fell back into the pond. 

“I’m helping.”

He never turned to look away from the bottom, focused mostly on the task at hand. Even his distant, deeper, and yet airier voice conveyed how little attention he was giving his words, and Hinata could only wonder if this was the most genuine he’d ever heard the other in their past week of interactions.

“Why?”

“Well, why not? I mean, everyone tells me I’m dripping with good looks,” he chuckled, the breathy quality sending something through Hinata that made him duck his head down and resume seeking his funds.

The two sought it out for over ten minutes before getting any results. The small coin purse, shaped like a small black crow, sat cradled in Oikawa’s palm. He proffered the item to Hinata with a wink, the redhead unclasping it and sighing in relief at the dryness of its interior.

“Thanks, Grand King.”

As Hinata beamed up at the other, the reflected light from the water seemed to hit Oikawa’s eyes harder, as though a flare traveled across the distance between the earth and the sun solely for this moment. He held up a peace sign and smiled back at the other, wondering if such luminance could ever be reproduced. 

(If it could, then he’d love to bottle some up and save it for a rainy day, but maybe there was a hint of greed in that thought.)

•

“Oh, dear, I can’t believe someone would do such a thing!” the client across from him cooed. Her face tilted down a bit, and shadows draped across her eyes and cheeks. “Still, I can’t believe you got Tooru to scrape through that filthy pond for you. He always has been excessively charitable.”

“Yeah,” Hinata mumbled, stuffing a bite of cake into his mouth. The sweetness was significantly dampened by the presence of the girl. What was her name, again? His focus shifted to trying to recall it.

“I couldn’t imagine having so little shame that I’d be a charity case, though. I mean, doesn’t it embarrass you to have Tooru waiting on you hand and foot?”

Yachi, who’d been standing just within earshot, turned to their conversation just then, a disgruntled look on her face. Despite the anxiety that spread quivers across her body from her sternum, she frowned heavily and managed to inquire, "Aren’t you just jealous?”

Something flashed across the clients face then: anger, most likely. Hinata was drawn out of his attempt at recollection by her hand shooting across the table to yank him over to her, a scream escaping her as they toppled to the ground. Teapots and cups burst apart upon contact with the pink tiles, some of the tea soaking into the knees of his gifted uniform pants as it puddled.

Hinata’s palms and wrists ached from the way they slammed against the floor, on either side of the client’s head. People were quick to crowd them, murmuring and gazing in horror. 

“Help!” she cried, “He attacked me! He just jumped across the table, I--” she scooted out from under him, and he slowly sat back on his haunches before accidentally falling onto his bottom. The discomfort of his soaked clothing did little to distract him from the confusion welling within. 

She crawled over to Oikawa whence the brunette stepped closer to the scene. He was the first one over, ever keen regarding the club’s new pet, but only after surveying the situation did he close the distance. 

Her fingers clutched at Oikawa’s pant leg, creasing the fabric as she shivered with tears in her eyes. Hinata’s jaw was slack. Did he do something? Did he try to do anything to her while he was spaced out? He was sure she pulled him, but should he have been expecting such a thing and made to avoid it?

He slowly turned his eyes over to Yachi, whose face was creased in an anger he’d never quite seen before. Her meekness took a sideline to the frustration and disbelief drawing together her brows and tugging her lips downwards. 

“Tooru, please, you have to do something. He was like an animal, I--”

Her desperate face fell into shock as warm water rushed across her face and scalp, soaking the top of her uniform dress. Her panting became a squeaking staccato, and she blinked as her brows drew up steadily. 

“Tooru?” she whispered, before whipping her head around to the Miya Twins, who glared down at her, unimpressed. “What are you doing? Didn’t you hear me?! I--”

“God, you pigs sure like to squeal, don’tcha.”

Osamu glanced down at the jug in his grasp. “I oughtta grab another one at this rate.”

“Why did you--” Hinata startled as Yachi stepped in front of him. 

“You pulled him to you! I saw it! You were envious that he got Oikawa-san’s attention and tried to frame him!” she blurted. 

More whispers and gasps spread across their audience easily. Oikawa’s face was steely and impassive as the client stared up at him with a cocktail of hurt and anger. “You can’t believe her, Tooru, I--”

“You really are beautiful,” Oikawa interrupted, his fingers gliding under her chin.  “But nothing more than that. It seems you’re not classy enough for our club, my dear, and so I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Tears streamed down her cheeks, Hinata’s heart clenching with a mild bit of sympathy, before she got to her feet and took off, her broken shout of, “Tooru, you idiot--!” echoing through the clubroom.

“I’m sorry, ladies; regrettably, we’ll have to cut our time short for today.” Tsukishima said with his paper-thin smile. It dropped as Akaashi continued for him,

“All of you will receive a full refund of the costs for today’s appointments. You can also use those same funds to reschedule, if you’d like to. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience.”

The girls cooed and cheered, and Tsukishima barely kept his frown from forming.

Eventually the clients filed out of the clubroom, exclaiming their farewells to the hosts. Hinata and Yachi silently stared after them, not wanting to look back to the hosts surrounding them.

“So, what should I do about you?” Oikawa said, drawing Hinata’s reluctant attention. The appraising look and grasp of his own chin were not reassuring at all; Hinata and Yachi glanced at each other and gulped. “Hmm, Tsukki-chan?”

“Don’t call me that,” the bespectacled blonde groused, before pushing up his glasses and smirking. “Since our guests had to leave and receive refunds, our profits for today are at a zero. And because of the drama earlier, we have a few broken teapots and cups from one of our specialty sets, as well as a table that needs to be repaired. To make up for all the damages and overall loss... Akaashi?”

The ravenette typed into a calculator quickly. Bokuto hid behind a sinisterly-grinning Kuroo with his fingers half-heartedly covering his eyes from fear of Akaashi. Akaashi presented the calculator screen within a second.

“Approximately one hundred thousand yen.”

“H-Hundred...”

“Thou...-sand...” Yachi’s eyes swam. Hinata caught her as she half-fainted, both of them shaking with tears welling in their eyes.

“That’ll be added onto your debt, you two. You’d better hope one of your descendents pays it off.” Tsukishima’s smirk shaved additional years off their lives, and Hinata had to pull Yachi’s soul back from the air to shove it back into her body. 

“Darn rich people,” he whined. Kuroo cackled.

••

That was fun ngl. Like, some things go slightly different than in OHSHC, but overall it has some of the same vibes I think

I feel like Bokuto and Akaashi as Honey and Mori respectively would be funnily fitting despite the roles I have them in here, but I think I’m gonna be fluid and loosey-goosey about who is which OHSHC character most of the time (since Noya isn’t entirely Honey-like and there are lots of people who can fit different roles). Kenma and/or Kuroo can fit Kyoya and Tamaki roles too, now that I think about it. Damn this show for having so many characters.

Also this is a nightmare to tag since a lot of characters have multiple spellings for their names and there are so many characters. Heck, that’s why I wrote all the ships at the top!

Anyway, I hope y’all liked it! Might write more if asked 

Also, should I cross-post some of this to Ao3? 

Character Testing

Finally doing some testing between Scott and Sara, and since TDOV is around the corner I wanted to play with a scene around that.  I like the general set up here, and I’m hoping I can develop it into something more substantial. 

"Hey Scotty?"

 She didn't need to see him to know her brother was awake. She could hear him, hear the somewhat muted beeping of whatever game he'd snuck into bed again, and it wasn't long before he replied.

 "…yeah?" 

 Guarded, hesitant, and she smiled a little. 

 "Can I come talk to you?"

 "Uh…"

 "Not gonna tell Mom and Dad."

 "Oh. Okay."

 She slipped out of her bottom bunk and, using the artificial light slipping through the blinds of their bedroom window found the ladder and clambered up to his. He was sitting up, hair sticking up every which way, a not-at-all guilty smile tugging at his lips with the handheld game in his lap. She considered him a moment, the way their faces were the same, but different -- eyes the same shape, but his were blue where hers were brown. Dark haired, dark-skinned like their mother. Everything else similar enough that many would have assumed they were identical and not fraternal if they weren't close enough to pick out the subtle differences. 

 It was the differences she was interested in, though, the contrast beyond the obvious she had been trying to grasp for some time now. Difficult to put into words, at first, but she thought maybe she'd found the right ones at last. 

 "What's up?" he prompted, cocking his head at her. She settled cross-legged, picking at her pajamas, suddenly shy. A glance up showed her his frown and he leaned over, prodding her cheek. -- a silent reminder that they were twins, that there were no secrets between them, a unified front against a world that saw them as freakish because of the nodes under their skin.

 "I was wondering," she began, soft, hesitant. She bit her lip, screwing up her courage. "Do you think… maybe you could try calling me… Sara?"

 Scott blinked. "Sara?"

 "Yeah," she said, swallowing. "Like…maybe I could be…your twin sister, instead?"

 Scott was quiet, cocking his head the other way, considering her long enough for her to squirm. 

 "…what is it?" she asked, a flare of nerves coiling through her. 

 "Just thinking," Scott said. He leaned forward, eyeing her, then nodded. "Yeah. You look like a Sara, alright."

 A huff of laughter, relief, and her smile came back, tremulous but there. 

 "Think so?"

 "Mhmm." He ruffled her hair, grinning. "Sara. Yeah, I like that for you! Good pick, sis."

 Her eyes were stinging and he started to frown again until she threw her arms around him. 

 "Oof. You're crushing me."

 "Don't care."

 "Haha, okay."

 She sniffled and eventually released him. "Think Mom and Dad will be okay with it?"

 "They better be," he said, matter of fact. "If they're not," he added, scooting to make room for her next to him. She settled beside him, watching as he drew his game back up. "I will scream."

 She laughed, feeling the weight she'd been carrying start to lighten at last.

 "Thanks."

For Want of a Switch

... A Nintendo Switch, amirite?

No, JK I’ve actually started a new fic because plot bunny/fandom pet peeves wouldn’t let me work.

An AU where things go a little more smoothly at the UFO crash site, Dipper doesn’t make any life-changing decisions without sleeping on it first, and Ford clarifies some earlier statements made while under emotional duress.

Many metaphors have been made about how changing course by just a couple of degrees can lead to a very different destination. How flipping a simple switch can make a difference between a train ending up in Paris or Munich. In this case, the metaphorical switch was as simple as Ford and Dipper not pressing a real switch inside a derelict spaceship. Because of this, no security droids showed up when Dipper found the adhesive, and they were free to continue their conversation about apprenticeship uninterrupted.

“I-I dunno.” Dipper stammered when Ford insisted that Mabel would be fine on her own in California. “We’ve never really been apart before.”

“And isn’t that suffocating?” Ford asked.

“...What do you mean?” Dipper asked for clarification. He was pretty sure he knew where his great uncle was coming from, but he had to be sure. Because if not… well, the boy wouldn’t let anyone talk about his sister like that and not stand up for her, not even The Author.

“I mean always living with the expectations that you have to go everywhere together, to do everything together! I mean when people act as though you’ve done something wrong if you ever try to follow your own path, even your own twin!”

Dipper nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. The teacher over our Quiz Bowl team is always asking me when Mabel’s gonna join, no matter how many times I tell him she’s not into that sort of thing. And every time Mabel gets a part in the school play, everyone else pesters me so much for not auditioning that I end up joining the stage crew, even though rehearsals are the same time as Game Club. Mabel always says I don’t have to, but… I just get so tired of all the other teachers and students getting on my case.”

There were even more instances like this that Dipper could list. Heck, just earlier this summer, Mabel had been upset because he wouldn’t go trick-or-treating with her. But no, Mabel was more upset that Dipper had tried to ditch her without explaining that he wanted to go to the dance with Wendy, and Robbie had made him feel embarrassed about being too old for it. She wouldn’t have been so mad if he’d just talked to her in the first place. Right?

When he stopped to think about it, Dipper realized it was probably even worse for Ford and Stan when they were growing up. They may have been fraternal twins, but they definitely looked identical. And while Dipper had never met his great-grandfather, the few stories he’d heard about the guy didn’t make him sound like a very supportive parent. 

“Dipper, can you honestly tell me you never felt like you were meant for something more?” Ford asked. “More than what people expect of you? More than just being half of an assumed pair?”

“I-I guess… maybe? I dunno. Staying here in Gravity Falls, working with you… it sounds like a dream come true, but I’m not sure I have what it takes. Bill tricked me, and I was wrong about Stan and the portal.…”

“Bill tricked me too, remember?” Ford assured him. “And you were right about Stan and the portal. It was too dangerous, and he shouldn’t have opened it.”

“But then you never would have--”

“I know. Believe me, I know. And I’m so glad I got to come back to Gravity Falls and meet you and Mabel, but… but it’s selfish of me to feel that way, because the event that brought me home put the rest of the universe in danger. Once we find the alien adhesive and seal the rift, maybe I can-- I can finally live without- well, with a little less guilt.” He sighed and muttered under his breath. “Sixty-three years old, and I’m still cleaning up after his messes.” Ford shifted through a few more containers, still looking for the adhesive. “What I’m trying to say is: I think you do have what it takes.”

“If you say so…” Dipper shrugged. “I mean, I can’t even work this magnet gun right!” He held it up to demonstrate and ended up zapping a hexagonal container right to him. It leaked a strange pink goop when he tried to pry it off. 

“That’s it!” Ford cried. “You did it, my boy, you found the adhesive!”

“I did?” 

“Yes! What did I tell you? You do have what it takes, kid, you’re brilliant!” Ford hugged him, and then carefully packed up the alien adhesive. “We can continue this discussion on the way back home. For now, we’ve got bigger things to worry about. I’ve been working on a specialized glue-gun back in the lab. We should be able to fill it with the alien adhesive and seal up the rift.”

Dipper got a few more tries with the magnet gun on their way back out of the crashed alien ship, and by the time he reached the ladder again, he’d actually gotten the hang of it.

“Great Uncle Ford?”

“Yes, my boy?” 

“If… if I do become your apprentice, could we come back here some time?”

Ford grinned warmly. “Absolutely.”

As they ascended the ladder, Dipper paused to take a few more selfies before they left the UFO, and he even got Ford to pose with him in one, but it was clear the old researcher wanted to get back to the lab and seal off the rift as soon as possible. Their climb up was otherwise uneventful. But while Dipper was exiting the ship, his foot caught on the lip of the opening, and tripped over the rock that had been covering the access hatch before. Luckily, his backpack took the brunt of the fall. Unluckily, they heard the loud crunch of something breaking.

Dipper and Ford shared a moment of wide-eyed terror as the boy hurriedly opened up his bag and pulled out the rift. They shared a sigh of relief when they found the crack in the containment unit hadn't expanded more than a millimeter, and was still stable. Dipper rummaged around in his bag and found the offending culprit.

“Phew, it was just my walkie-talkie.” The boy sighed with relief. The speaker had popped out and the Talk button was stuck down. “Oh well, we weren’t getting a signal anyway.”

“I can fix it for you, once the rift is taken care of.” Ford assured him, “But we need to seal it fast, before that crack finally breaks.”

Dipper nodded and gingerly held out the containment unit to his uncle. “I think you’d better carry it from here on out.”

Ford solemnly took the rift and placed it in one of his many coat pockets. “That was close. We can’t afford to have any accidents with this.”

“I’m sorry…” Dipper murmured.

“You don’t need to be sorry, my boy. Just more careful.”

“See, this is what I’m talking about when I say I don’t think I have what it takes! I just almost ended the universe!”

“Almost being the operative word. You almost destabilized the rift, but you didn’t.” Ford reassured him. “Meanwhile, look at all the things you have done! Defeated a swarm of gnomes, faced off against a character from a fighting game brought to life, outsmarted a shapeshifter! How many other twelve-year-olds could do that? This town is a magnet for things that are special. For people who are special, like you and me!” Ford hugged him. “So what do you say, will you be my apprentice?”

“Well… I… it’s a really big decision.” Dipper said slowly. “I’m gonna need time to think about it.”

“You’re right. It is a big decision.” Ford agreed. “And you’ve got the rest of the week to consider it. Of course, I hope you say yes.”

* * *

The sun was just starting to dip towards the horizon when they got back to the shack, the sunlight filtering in long slanting beams between the trees. The beautiful scenery added to Dipper's good mood as he ran up the stairs to the attic, eager to share the day's events with his sister.

"Mabel! I just had the greatest day of my life! Aliens are real, and I got to explore their ship with Grunkle Ford, and-" he halted in his rambling when he saw his sister curled up in a ball on her bed, her back to him. "Mabel, what's wrong?"

She slowly sat up and turned around, revealing her walkie-talkie, still receiving transmissions from Dipper's busted one.

"Tell me I heard wrong, Dipper!" She cried, "Tell me you're not going to stay here and be Ford's apprentice!"

"Well, I… I haven't really made a decision yet." Dipper replied. "I've still got all week to think about it."

"You just had the best day of your life? Well I just had the worst day of my life!" Mabel informed her brother with tears in her eyes. "I found out that everything I was looking forward to in the future, highschool, a birthday party with my friends, even saying goodbye to them at the bus stop before we leave, it's all going wrong! And now I find out you, the one constant in my life, might not be coming home with me!?"

"I-I don't know, I haven't decided yet…" Dipper stammered. "Just give me a couple of days to think about it, we'll figure this out!"

"Why can't you figure out right now that it's a terrible idea!?"

Dipper tried to remember how Ford had put it. He made it sound so clear and logical. "Come on, Mabel, we can't always do the same thing! We have to choose our own path!"

"What does that even mean!?" She threw her hands up. "I'm your sister and your friend, Dipper, whatever you do it's gonna affect me, especially if it's you leaving me!"

“Well, always staying with you is going to affect me and the opportunities I have!”

“I’m not saying you always have to stay with me!” Mabel retorted. “But moving away from home for good? Staying cooped up in a lab with Grunkle Ford all the time? Is that really what you want?”

“I don’t know what I really want!” Dipper steamed. “So far today nobody has given me time to stop and really think about this! You think I don’t have misgivings about moving away from Mom and Dad? But it’s not like I’d never come back, I’d come to visit for holidays and stuff. And I wouldn’t be cooped up in the lab with Grunkle Ford all the time. We’d go out exploring, and I’d hang out with Wendy when she’s done with school for the day, and Grunkle Stan would still be around to make me do chores… probably…”

Come to think of it, Dipper wasn’t quite sure what Stan was going to do once tourist season was over. It was clear Ford didn’t approve of the Mystery Shack, even less than Dipper had when the boy first arrived. Would Stan stay in Gravity Falls after the Shack was shut down? Did he have anywhere else to go?

“Fine!” Mabel huffed as she stormed out of the room. “Take you time thinking about how much fun you’re gonna have chasing fairies with Grunkle Ford, while I’m stuck in Piedmont doing math homework!”

Dipper waited quietly in their bedroom as he listened to Mabel thunder down the stairs. He figured it was probably best to give her some space to cool down for now. They’d talk more about it when she wasn’t so upset, when they could both think clearly. Once the front door slammed shut, he knew it was safe for him to go downstairs. He headed down to the basement to see if Ford needed any help sealing the rift.

* * *

It was early in the evening, but the gift shop was completely empty. Of course, the fact that it was the second-to-last Friday of August didn’t help. Tourist season was coming to a close. Normally the Mystery Shack would cut back to only being open on the weekends once September rolled around, going until Halloween, when Stan would throw together a haunted house and go out with a bang before closing down until the holiday season, when he’d open up for a couple of weeks before shutting down again until Spring Break of next year.

Not this year, though.

This year, Stan would be closing up the Mystery Shack for good.

“Alright, I ain’t payin’ ya to stand around when we’re not pulling in any cash.” Stan barked at Wendy. “Go home!”

“You don’t need to tell me twice.” Wendy shrugged, pulling off her name tag and grabbing her jacket.

“You too, Soos!” Stan turned to the handyman, who was busy pulling boxes out of a closet.

“You sure, Mr. Pines?” Soos asked, “I thought you wanted me to clear out all our old inventory.”

“It can wait ‘til tomorrow. I get the feeling it’s gonna be another slow day.”

“Oh. Well, I could help you clean out the kitchen instead!”

“Soos.”

“You don’t gotta pay me. Oh, or I could vacuum the living room!”

“Go home, Soos! If you’re so set on doin’ chores, do ‘em for your Abuelita!”

“Oh. Ok…”

Stan hadn’t told Soos about Ford’s mandate to close down the Mystery Shack after the kids left, and he worried the handyman would figure it out if he stuck around. Stan also hadn’t told the guy he’d be kicked out after the kids left. Maybe Stan was just trying to spare the kid’s feelings. Or maybe he was hoping Soos’ inevitable water works when he found out would persuade Ford to change his mind. Not likely, but hey, it was worth a shot, right?

The old conman was tallying up the day’s profits in the cash register (there weren’t any) when his hearing aide picked up the bang of the attic bedroom door slamming open, followed by the tromp-thump-clomp-thunk of someone stomping down the stairs, punctuated by the creeeeeeak-slam of the front door being thrown open and then kicked shut. 

“Oh boy.” He sighed, locking the till. He’d had to cheer Mabel up just an hour ago, and he didn’t think it was a coincidence that someone had stormed out of the house just a few minutes after Dipper and Ford got back from their latest nerd escapade. What were those kids fighting about now?

Stan peeked out the window at the front porch, and sure enough, there was Mabel, sobbing on the couch, her head pulled into her sweater. Earlier she’d just been sad and unsure of the future, but now Stan could see her mood had shifted, and not for the better. These were tears of anger and frustration.

“Hey Pumpkin, you alright?” Stan asked as he peeked out the front door.

“No!” 

Right, stupid question. “Well, wassamatter? I gotta punch some jerk for you?”

“No…” Mabel said more quietly this time. Stan figured that was all the invitation he needed to sit down next to her.

“You feelin’ up to tellin’ me what happened, or am I gonna have to play Ducktective?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it right now…” Mabel mumbled, her voice a bit muffled by the sweater over her face. “Can you just… can you just sit here with me for a little while?”

“Eh, sure, I got nothin’ better to do.” Stan played it off like he was indifferent, but he wrapped a gentle arm around her back. He could tell she appreciated it by the way she leaned into his side.

They sat there like that for maybe five minutes before Mabel finally began to talk on her own.

“You remember earlier, when you said at least whatever happens, I’ll still have Dipper with me?”

Yep, they were definitely fighting again. “Yeah?”

“I’m starting to worry I won’t always have him with me.”

“Alright, what’d that bundle of sweat and nerves do now?”

“It’s not something he did… not exactly.” Mabel was quiet for a moment, as if she wasn’t sure she should share the next bit. “Grunkle Ford asked Dipper if he wanted to stay here in Gravity Falls and be his apprentice.” 

“...Did he now?” Stan asked icily. He didn’t want to make this about him and his brother’s issues. This was Mabel’s problem. But oh boy, he was going to have words with his brother as soon as he had the chance. “Sixty-three years old and I’m still cleanin’ up after his messes…” he muttered under his breath.

“I overheard them talking about it on the walkie-talkies.” Mabel nodded, apparently not hearing that last bit. “And when Dipper got back, he said he needed time to think about it! I guess I’m mad because if it were me, I wouldn’t have to think about it. If I had to choose between staying in Gravity Falls without Dipper, or going home with him, I’d choose to go home with him every time!”

Stan gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I know you would, sweetie. But you gotta remember, your brother’s one of those over-thinking types. He’s gotta over-think everything! That big head of his will figure out it’s a bad idea.”

“But what if he doesn’t?”

“Then we’ll have to talk some sense into him.”

Mabel shifted inside her sweater and gave a little moan. She still wasn’t reassured.

Stan heaved a deep sigh. “Look, I’m gonna tell you somethin’ I wish I’d known when I was a kid. I don’t think this’ll happen, but… if Dipper does decide he wants to stay with Ford, or if when you two get older, he decides to do something you really don’t think he should do, you should try and talk some sense into him. But if he still won’t listen, all you can do is support him. Cuz if he ever feels like you’re tryin’ to hold him back, that’ll only push him away faster.”

Mabel finally poked her head out of her sweater and looked up at Stan with wide eyes. “I’m not trying to hold Dipper back… I just don’t want to be alone!”

He hugged her. “I know, sweetie. Nobody does.”

“And you weren’t trying to hold Grunkle Ford back when you two were teenagers! The thing with his science fair project was just an accident!”

Oh great. Here he’d been trying to not make this about himself and his issues with his brother. “Believe me, I know. But it doesn’t matter what I know. He still thinks it was sabotage.” The old conman shook his head. “But look, kid, you don’t gotta worry about my issues, even if they do seem pretty similar. I know right now with summer ending and your last year of middle school starting, it seems you’re growin’ up too fast, but the truth is, you’re still young. You an’ your brother’ve still got years an’ years to mess up and make up.”

Mabel squirmed the rest of the way out of her sweater and wrapped her arms around Stan’s waist. “Thanks Grunkle Stan. I guess I feel a little better now. I’m still worried about what Dipper will do, though.”

“Well, if he does decide to stay here with Ford, maybe I’ll come home with you.”

Mabel giggled and looked up at him again, but her smile faltered when she saw he wasn’t joking. “W-what are you talking about? You can’t just leave the Mystery Shack, this is your home!”

Yikes. Stan probably shouldn’t have said that out loud. He was pretty sure the whole reason Ford was letting him stay until the kids left was because the old nerd didn’t want them to know about it and make a fuss. Stan had just wanted to make Mabel feel better, but she’d just be more upset if she found out he’d been kicked out.

Luckily, something else caught their attention before that conversation could start. They heard something rustling through the underbrush. It was hard to see in the dimming light as the sun continued to sink towards the horizon, but a humanoid figure seemed to be making its way towards the clearing that housed the Mystery Shack. Stan reached behind the couch for his anti-creep bat, which he used to chase off Manotaurs, IRS agents, or the stray beautiful men that had started hanging around a couple of months ago. But an uneasy feeling he couldn’t place made him reach further down until his hand closed around the handle of a pistol. His thumb rested carefully against the safety switch, unsure if he should flip if off yet.

Before the figure came into full view, they heard its voice, high pitched and annoying, but probably male. “M-M-M-Mabel? M-Mable? Ugh, where is she? She should’ve come this way by now!”

Stan switched the safety off. He was about to order Mabel back inside when the stranger finally stumbled into the clearing. He was a tall, pudgy man with a hairstyle that looked straight out of the 1920’s, wearing weird little goggles and a gray jumpsuit. Wait, not gray, forest camo. Wait, no, brick pattern. No, a seascape. No, definitely gray. Wow, were Stan’s eyes really that bad?

“Wait, Blendin!?” Mabel exclaimed. She hopped up from the couch, but Stan immediately grabbed her shoulder and sat her back down. Every instinct in his body was telling him this was wrong.

This Blendin guy looked up with surprise when he heard her voice. “M-Mabel! I’ve been looking all over for you! I-I-I need your help!”

That just set off more alarm bells. Why would this creep be looking for Mabel in the woods instead of the home she’d been living in for the past two-and-a-half months?

“Mabel, who the heck is this weirdo?” Stan asked uneasily.

“That’s Blendin Blandin. He’s a time travel guy. Me and Dipper accidentally lost him his job, and then he challenged us to a time travelers’ gladitoral death match called Globnar, which we won, so we got him his job back, and now we’re cool!” She assured her uncle. “What’s wrong, Blendin?”

“S-something terrible is about to happen, and I-I-I need your help to stop it!”

Mabel tried to stand up again, but Stan kept a hand tightly clamped down on her shoulder.

“Whatever it is, you can tell her from where you’re at.” Stan growled.

“I-I-It’s top secret!” Blendin whined. “I-I-I could lose my job again i-if this gets out!”

“It’s OK Blendin! Grunkle Stan just wants to make sure I’m safe!” Mabel assured him. “But he’s really good at keeping secrets, you can trust him! Why don’t you just come up here and tell us what’s wrong?”

Blendin took a few steps forward, but stopped just a foot short of the porch. “Uuuuh… h-h-how about we meet h-half-way?” 

That was it. Stan whipped out the pistol he’d been hiding behind the couch. “How’s about you start talkin’ now?”

“Grunkle Stan!” Mabel gasped, scandalized.

“A-a-alright!” Blendin whimpered. “I-I-I need something from your brother’s lab! B-but you have to hurry!”

* * *

Ford noticed right away that Dipper’s mood had worsened in the ten minutes since they’d gotten home. His gaze was on the floor, and he shuffled his feet as he left the elevator.

“Let me guess, Mabel didn’t take it well?” 

Dipper just shook his head in reply. “I still need to talk to her about it when she’s not so upset, but… I’m starting to think I shouldn’t take your offer…”

The old researcher felt himself deflate at the boy’s words, but he hoped Dipper hadn’t noticed. Instead he changed the subject. “For now, we need to focus on sealing the rift. Everything else can wait.” He pulled the rift out of his pocket. The crack reached almost completely across the protective dome now. “Dipper, would you please get me the glue gun sitting on the console desk?”

The glue gun in question looked like a cross between one of Mabel’s crafting glue guns and a Nyarf Mega Soaker, complete with an empty tank built into the back end. It was big enough that Dipper needed both hands to lift it. The boy carried it over to Ford, who inserted the tip into the alien adhesive container and began to fill it like a syringe. 

“Alright, I need you to take that flathead screwdriver and very carefully unscrew the base of the containment unit.” Ford instructed.

Dipper did just that, holding his breath the whole time so his hands wouldn’t shake.

“OK, now turn it over, slow and steady, and detach one of the tubes from the dome.”

Dipper turned the dome in his hands, careful to keep the swirling blob of chaos energy inside from touching the glass, and then pulled one of the tiny tubes out. Ford knelt down beside him and inserted the tip of the glue gun into the little hole before the rift could leak out. He began to pump the alien adhesive into the rift, starting at the bottom and working his way up until what had once been a sparkling hole in space was now a glowing pink mass. He continued until the glue began to ooze out of the cracks in the dome.

“Alright, put it down. Careful not to get any of the adhesive on your hands. Step back.” Ford put himself between Dipper and the filled containment dome the moment the boy moved. The old researcher stared it down, as if daring it to do something, anything, to suggest it was destabilizing. He waited a minute. Two. Five. It just sat there, unmoving, unchanging.

Ford released a breath he hadn’t even noticed he’d been holding. Was that it? Was he… done?

The unmistakable sound of a gunshot went off from the vicinity of the porch above them.

Ford swore he jumped as high as the ceiling at the sound. Dipper screamed. The old researcher pressed himself and his nephew into the small space beneath the console desk, looking warilly up at the hole in the roof where Dipper had fallen through under the porch just a few weeks ago. If he concentrated, he could hear voices arguing up there. It sounded like Stan, and another voice he didn’t recognize, but it was hard to make out. He was going to have to go up there if he wanted to know what was happening.

“Stay down here where it’s safe. If Stan or your sister try to come in here without me, don’t trust them until you’ve checked their eyes. If anyone else tries to get in, barricade the door and hide.”

“W-what about the rift?”

Ford glanced down at the ball of glowing adhesive. It’d take at least another 24 hours for it to cure, but it seemed safe, for now. “Hide it, if you have to, but it should be fine.” With that, he darted to the elevator, checking his weapons as he waited for the lift to take him up.

He hoped everyone was ok. It would be the cruelest irony if after finally protecting the universe from the rift, he failed to protect his family.

* * *

“Grunkle Stan, don’t hurt him!” Mabel cried, trying to pull down his arm holding up the gun.

“Just a warning shot, sweetie.” Stan assured her through gritted teeth. “I don’t remember ever mentioning anything about havin’ a brother to you, much less anything about a lab.” He addressed the stranger standing in front of the porch.

“I-I-I’m from the future! I know these sorts of things!” Blendin insisted. Funny. He didn’t seem any more flustered than he had been before the gunshot.

“Sure.”

“Grunkle Stan, he’s telling the truth!”

“I don’t doubt that.” But Stan knew better than anyone that the best way to sell a big lie was with a bunch of technically true facts. And his instincts told him this joker was trying to pass a doozy of a lie. “Go wait inside, sweetie.” 

“No, you’ll shoot him!”

“Only if he gives me a good reason to.” 

“M-M-Mabel, wait!” Blendin implored pathetically.

“Go wait inside kid, or you’re grounded!”

“But Grunkle Stan--”

“Somethin’ about this is off, alright?” Stan muttered to her under his breath. “Pay attention to your instincts, you’ll feel it too. Just do me a favor and go inside where it’s safe, ok?”

After another moment of hesitation, Mabel finally listened to her Grunkle and went inside.

“So,” Stan turned his attention back to the stranger waiting just beyond the porch. “I got five more rounds. That gives you five more chances to tell me why you want something outta my brother’s lab.”

The guy’s posture shifted into something far more confident and inexplicably inhuman as he burst into a long, mocking fit of laughter. The creep’s voice had completely changed the next time he spoke. 

“OH, I SHOULDA KNOWN I COULDN’T PULL ONE OVER ON YOU, STANLEY PINES!” 

“What, am I supposed to be impressed you know my real name? We already established you’re from the future, and even if that wasn’t the case, I’m pretty sure Soos has spread that gossip through half the town by now.”

“WELL, WE BOTH KNOW YOU CAN’T KEEP ON GOING BY ‘STANFORD’ AFTER THE SUMMER ENDS. I’M JUST TRYING TO HELP YOU GET USED TO IT.”

“Yeah. Drop the small talk and cut to the chase, bucko. I really don’t wanna shoot you after my niece asked me not to.”

“OK, OK. IT’LL PROBABLY COME AS NO SURPRISE TO YOU THAT YOUR BROTHER’S IN OVER HIS HEAD WITH ONE OF HIS PROJECTS.” The creep pressed a button on his watch and a hologram of what Stan could only describe as massively over-designed snowglobe appeared. “IT’S A TEAR IN TIME AND SPACE. HE’S TRYING TO KEEP THE THING FROM GOING CRITICAL, BUT HE CAN’T DO IT ON HIS OWN. HE’S TRYING TO SEAL IT NOW, BUT IT’S GOING TO RUPTURE. HOWEVER, IF YOU CAN GET IT TO ME BEFORE HE SEALS IT…”

“Uh-huh. And what’re you gonna do with it?”

“TAKE IT TO THE FUTURE, WHERE WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO CONTAIN IT, OF COURSE!”

“So why don’t you just ask him for it yourself?”

“HAH! YOU OF ALL PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW HOW STUBBORN AND PARANOID HE IS! HE’D NEVER LET ANOTHER PERSON TOUCH IT, HE HAS TO BE THE HERO ALL ON HIS OWN!”

“Yeah, you got a good point there. But I meant why don’t you ask him for it yourself when he bursts out this door in about ten seconds.” 

* * * 

The elevator ascent took entirely too long. It had to be at least two minutes since he heard the gunshot go off, which, depending on whether or not anyone sustained an injury, and what kind of injury it was, was time he didn’t have to waste. 

As Ford rushed through the house to the front porch door, he was relieved to note that Mabel was perfectly safe, just peeking anxiously out the front window. But the observation did nothing to slow him down. Through the window he could see Stan on the porch, holding what appeared to be the offending firearm. The gun was pointed at an unfamiliar figure. What was familiar was the figure’s voice. Ford pushed past Mabel and threw the door open, one hand already on his own blaster.

“Bill!!” He cried as he lept dramatically onto the porch, drawing his blaster with a flourish. Stan was looking at him with a smug grin, obviously he’d heard his brother running through the house. Bill, for once, looked surprised. But he quickly regained his composure.

“WELL, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL! I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT I’M HERE FOR, SIXER!”

“You’re too late, Bill, I already sealed the rift!” 

Ford was satisfied to see that for the second time in under a minute, Bill looked shocked. “WHAT?!? WHAT--HOW DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING!? FIRST SHOOTING STAR DOESN’T SHOW IN THE WOODS WHEN SHE’S SUPPOSED TO, NOW THIS!? IS SOME LESSER TIME BEING MESSING WITH ME TODAY?” 

Bill removed his goggles, revealing the tell-tale glowing yellow eyes, which he rubbed with frustration before continuing, back in his usual mocking tone. “SO WHAT, DID YOU STEAL THE FATES’ SEWING KIT AND STITCH IT BACK TOGETHER YOURSELF? OR, OH DON’T TELL ME, YOU AND PINETREE WERE AT THE UFO EARLIER. YOU FILLED IT IN WITH SPACE GLUE, DIDN’T YOU? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG IT TAKES THAT STUFF TO SET? OF COURSE YOU DON’T, YOU NEVER TOOK THE TIME TO TEST IT! TYPICAL SIXER.”

Stanford blanched. No, he hadn’t tested it first. There hadn’t been time! “I-I know it will work! And it doesn’t matter how long it takes to set, you can’t reach it if it’s within the protection spell!”

“I SURE CAN’T!” Bill agreed with a smirk. “BUT I KNOW SOMEONE WHO HATES YOU AS MUCH AS I DO WHO CAN!” He turned to Stan “WHADDAYA SAY, MAC? CARE TO HELP ME STICK IT TO YOUR UNGRATEFUL BROTHER?”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Stan growled. “And only I get to call him Sixer!”

Bill’s confident grin set into a forced grimace. 

“HA.” 

“WELL.”

“YOU PROBABLY THINK YOU’VE WON, DON’T YOU? WELL, GUESS AGAIN, LOSER! THIS ISN’T OVER! EVEN IF I CAN’T CROSS THAT BARRIER, I’VE STILL GOT PLENTY OF PAWNS IN THIS HICK TOWN! AND EVEN IF YOU SOMEHOW MANAGE TO KEEP THE RIFT LONG ENOUGH FOR THAT GLUE TO SET? I’VE BEEN WAITING BILLIONS OF YEARS FOR THIS! YOU THINK I CAN’T WAIT ANOTHER DECADE FOR SOME OTHER SCHMUCK TO COME ALONG AND BUILD A PORTAL!? YOU CAN’T STOP ME! AND I’LL MAKE SURE THE ENTIRE PINES FAMILY REGRETS EVER CROSSING BILL CIPHER!”

Bill pulled out a time tape and disappeared in a flash.

The elder Pines twins stood there in silence for a moment, staring at the empty space Bill had just left as if they could still see the anger and hatred radiating from it. 

Stan, of course, was the first one to speak again. “We gotta talk.”

Ford just nodded solemnly, and followed him inside. 

* * *

After Stan finally convinced Mabel to go inside, she’d waited silently, peeking out the nearest window. Stan had probably wanted her to go someplace where she couldn’t hear or see what was happening, but she just had to know everyone was going to be ok. She didn’t want her Grunkle or Blendin to get hurt, even if the time traveler was acting weirder than usual. 

The air froze in her lungs when she heard Bill’s voice come out of Blendin’s mouth. She wanted to run back out there and warn Stan, but he’d asked her to go inside for her own safety, and Stan hadn’t trusted the time traveler from the beginning, so he would probably be fine… right?

Luckily she didn’t have to wait by the window worrying for long. Less than a minute later, Ford came crashing and banging down the hall. His serious glare lightened to relief for the split second he spared his niece a glance, but then snapped right back to blazing fury as he kicked the door open. Mabel heaved a sigh of relief. If anyone could handle Bill showing up at their front door, it was Grunkle Ford.

She peeked back out the window and watched as her Grunkles exchanged words with Bill. They both approached the problem very differently. Ford was yelling with a bravado that faltered the minute Bill pointed out a flaw in his plan. Stan was treating Bill much like he had Gideon. Outwardly, he seemed calm and unworried, but the fact that he’d sent Mabel inside and fired a gun showed he took the threat seriously. 

Bill’s last threat before he time traveled away sent a chill down Mabel’s spine. She remembered the last time she’d crossed paths with the demon. The note he’d left for her in Grunkle Stan’s car. She couldn’t let Dipper down like that again, couldn’t let him get hurt like that again. They needed each other now more than ever.

Of course, it was some reassurance to know that the barrier spell Grunkle Ford had created was obviously working. That was probably the only reason Bill hadn’t marched right up the porch steps and taken her himself. Mabel was doubly glad she’d been able to get that unicorn hair now.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Stan and Ford came back inside. Ford stopped like he’d just remembered something when he saw Mabel still sitting there. 

“I left Dipper hiding down in the lab! I need to go let him know what happened.”

Stan folded his arms impatiently. “Alright, but make it quick, and if you’re not back up here in ten minutes, I’m coming down after you. I’m serious about that talk.”

Mabel decided to follow Ford down to the secret lab. She was suddenly very concerned about Dipper and his whereabouts. Ford didn’t seem to mind; he just gave her a tired smile when they both stopped at the vending machine to input the code. As the two of them got into the elevator, Mabel wondered if this was a good time to confront her Grunkle about the apprenticeship he’d offered Dipper. But no, Mabel was pretty sure she’d just get mad again, and she didn’t want to feel mad right now. She just wanted to be sure her family was safe. So the elevator ride passed in an uncomfortable silence.

When they arrived in the lab, it appeared empty. Only after Ford stepped out of the elevator and past an oozing pink orb on the floor did Dipper emerge from his hiding spot. It was a pretty good hiding spot, behind what looked like a periscope designed to look like part of the totem pole outside. 

“Mabel!” The boy rushed to hug her immediately. “What happened? Wh-where’s Grunkle Stan, is he alright?”

“Stan is fine, he’s just waiting upstairs.” Ford assured him. “Bill came possessing a time travel agent.”

“He was pretending to be Blendin!” Mabel elaborated. “He wanted me and Grunkle Stan to get something out of the lab for him to stop something terrible from happening in the future!”

“Luckily, Stan recognized him as a threat.” Ford continued. “That was the gunshot we heard earlier.”

Dipper paled and pulled at his hair. “Ohmigosh, did Grunkle Stan kill Blendin!?”

Ford actually chuckled as he got down on one knee and placed a comforting hand on Dipper’s shoulder. “It was just a warning shot. Don’t worry, nobody got hurt. But Bill was furious when I told him I’d sealed the rift. I’m afraid we’re not done protecting it yet.”

“What’s this rift you keep talking about?” Mabel asked. “And what’s that sparkly pink ball of glitter-glue in the middle of the floor?”

“I’ll explain once we get back upstairs. Stan has made it quite clear he wants to talk about what’s going on.” Ford assured her.

* * *

They found Stan waiting in the gift shop, leaning against the checkout counter and tapping his foot in an agitated rhythm. 

“Finally. Now you two kids go to your room, the grown-ups have to have a talk.”

“Stanley, they deserve an explanation just as much as you do! Besides, Dipper already knows.”

“Of course he already knows, you asked the kid to stay here without ever botherin’ to talk to anybody else about it!”

“Who even told you… what does this have to do with the rift?”

“Rift? Wha-- I don’t care what you an’ pudgy out there were yellin’ about, I wanna know how come you’re askin’ your 12-year-old nephew to move in!”

Ford rolled his eyes and groaned with frustration. And here he thought they were finally on the same page for once. “That hardly matters right now! Stopping Bill and protecting the rift should be our top priority! Now, I’m sorry I kept this from the two of you up until now, but I honestly thought it would be safer if you knew as little as possible.Obviously, just the opposite was true.” He omitted the fact that he’d been reluctant to let Mabel know about the rift after seeing her break an entire shelf-full of snow globe souvenirs in the gift shop. 

“Don’t try an’ change the subject, Sixer!” Stan pointed an accusing finger at his brother.

“Grunkle Stan, this is more important!” Dipper interjected exasperatedly.

Mabel tugged at the old conman’s sleeve. “They’re right.” Mabel agreed gently. “Besides, I want to know what’s going on and why Bill was here.”

“Fine.” Stan hissed through gritted teeth. “But we’re havin’ this conversation later, no gettin’ out of it!”

They all had a seat around the card table in the den, and Ford began his explanation. “Bill Cipher is an extradimensional being trying to break his way into our world. Dipper and Mabel have already encountered him--”

“I read all your Journals, genius, I know who Bill Cipher is.” Stan snapped. “But I thought he was some annoying triangle guy who showed up in your dreams, not some pushy time traveler.”

“If you read my Journals thoroughly” Ford said testily, “You’d know he’s capable of tricking people into allowing him to possess them.”

Stan grimaced, probably remembering a few particular passages from Journal 3. “Oh.”

“Not long after I first came to Gravity Falls, I was stupid enough to let Bill trick me. He convinced me that building a portal to another dimension would give me the answers I sought, but what he really wanted was to bring his dimension, the Nightmare Realm, into ours.”

“Yeah, but… then Grunkle Stan got you out of there and the portal was super broken, so we don’t have to worry about him anymore, right?” Mabel asked uncertainly, holding vainly onto hope.

“No.” Ford replied with an icy glare at his brother. “Stanley’s reckless operation of the portal created a rift: an unstable hole in space and time that Bill could use to enter our dimension and plunge the world into a bizarre doomsday I call ‘Weirdmaggedon’.”

Stan snorted. “Still got a flair for names, huh?”

“Stanley, would you take this seriously!?”

“What? I heard you say earlier you sealed the rift, and then that jerk exploded. He wouldn’t’ve gotten mad like that unless what you did really screwed with his plans. From what he was sayin’ I’d guess we’ve got another decade at least until we have to deal with that guy.”

“If the rift is sealed properly, then yes, we’ll have bought some time while Bill searches for another pawn to manipulate, but after what he said earlier, I’m afraid the alien adhesive I used to seal it won’t set as quickly as I had hoped, leaving the rift vulnerable.”

“Eh, he was just sayin’ that to psych you out.” Stan waved his hand dismissively.

“Wait, alien adhesive? Is that what that glass ball of glitter-glue was?” Mabel asked.

“That was the containment unit I was using to keep the rift stable. Once it started cracking, I began searching for something to close it up for good. Just earlier today, Dipper and I were able to retrieve the adhesive without any trouble. I sealed up the rift with glue, then filled the containment dome, just to be safe.”

Mabel slapped her forehead. “Grunkle Ford, haven’t you ever heard of ‘A Little Dab’ll Do Ya’?” 

“What?” Ford asked in confusion. 

“When you’re using glue, you only use just enough to get things to stick together!” Mabel explained. “If you use too much, it’ll take forever to dry! If I filled whole ball with Schmelmer’s glue like that, I don’t think it’d ever dry!”

“Can’t you just spray it with a setting agent?” Stan asked. Everyone stared at him in surprise. “What? I use a lot of crafting glue makin’ exhibits for the Shack!”

“I couldn’t use a two-part epoxy because the energy of the chemical reaction would destabilize the rift.” Ford shook his head. “It needs to crystalize naturally, or it will leave seams in time-space that Bill could use.”

“Well, how long will it take to crystalize naturally?” Dipper asked.

Ford hesitated. “I had hoped it would take a little over 24 hours, but…”

“Not if it’s trapped inside a ball like that.” Mabel shook her head. “Can you get it out?”

Ford pinched the bridge of his nose frustratedly. “I’d have to chip away the dome. It’s not just glass, it’s a special substance as strong as steel. But, it has already started cracking, I suppose if I can expand those cracks enough…”

“So, are we still in danger of the rift destabilizing?” Dipper asked.

“Not spontaneously, no.” Ford assured him. “I wouldn’t recommend using it as a football or anything, but even when wet, the adhesive will act as a binding agent and keep the hole in time-space closed. It would take a large burst of energy, or deliberately trying to pierce through the rift in order to open it.”

“And that’s probably what Bill’s gonna try to do.” Dipper said gravely.

“Well we’re not gonna let him!” Mabel declared, slamming her fist down on the table. 

“That’s the spirit!” Ford allowed himself a small smile. He pulled out Journal 3 and turned to a blank page. “Bill said he still had pawns in Gravity Falls. We need to make a list of potential threats to be on the look-out for. Who would be most likely to work with Bill?”

“Gideon!” Mabel answered immediately. “Me and Soos saw him summon Bill earlier this summer!”

“Soos and I.” Ford corrected automatically. He’d only heard about this Gideon from a couple of entries Dipper had added to Journal 3. All he knew about the kid was that he’d apparently had romantic interests in Mabel, hired McGucket to build a giant mech-bot of himself, and was now in jail. It was also clear from the entries that Dipper did not have a high opinion of him. 

“That little troll’s in jail, what’s he gonna do? Use his one phone call to prank us?” Stan rolled his eyes.

“With Bill’s help, there’s no telling what he could do from behind bars.” Ford warned. “But, Stanley does have a point. Are there any other possible pawns who would have easier access to the outside world?”

They all sat there thinking for a moment before Dipper offered his own answer. “I remember seeing a tapestry with Bill on it in the Northwest’s mansion. I don’t know if they realized what it is though, I think they just buy up any local Native American artefacts on principle. It makes them look like they care about the people, when really they’re just trying to keep how horrible Nathaniel Northwest was from getting out and ruining their image.”

“The Northwests have a lot of power over this town. If Bill is working with one of them, protecting the rift will be all the more difficult..” Ford said somberly.

“Luckily, we have an insider with the Northwests!” Mabel grinned. “I’ll call Pacifica tomorrow and ask her to come over and hang out! We can ask her if she’s noticed anything weird about her family then!”

“Good.” Ford nodded. “Anyone else?”

“Eh… pretty sure Toby Determined would sell his soul for a date with Shandra Jimenez.” Stan grunted.

“Noted.” Ford jotted down all their suggestions before continuing. “These are all people we should keep an eye on, but they’re also the most obvious answers… aside from this Toby fellow. Bill will undoubtedly know we suspect them. He doesn’t just work with dangerously unhinged people. Think, is there anyone you wouldn’t normally suspect, who Bill could trick into helping him? Someone with access to this house?”

The three other Pines around the tabel all shared a glance and shrugged.

“Soos is pretty impressionable, but he was there with us when we drove Bill out of Stan’s mind. He knows that triangle guy is bad news.” Mabel answered. “What about Wendy?”

“No way!” Dipper replied vehemently. “Wendy’s way too smart to fall for Bill’s tricks!”

“Unfortunately, being smart has very little to do with it.” Ford reminded him.

“Y-yeah, but…” Dipper stammered. “She’s a different kind of smart! She’s really skeptical and good at reading people. She could tell I had a crush on her, even though I never said anything!” 

Mabel giggled. “That’s because you were really obvious, bro-bro.”

The boy blushed. “Well, what about your friends?”

“You mean Candy and Grenda?” Mabel asked. “I don’t think so. I told them about Bill when we went to get the unicorn hair.”

“Then you would have told Wendy about him too!”

“Oh yeah!” Mabel remembered. “I’m not sure she believed me though. She definitely didn’t believe in unicorns before we found one.”

“Well, that’s everyone who comes here on a regular basis.” Stan leaned back in his chair. “Besides, y’know, the dozens of tourists who come through the gift shop every day.”

Ford paled. “All he would have to do is convince one tourist… Stanley why on Earth did you think it was a good idea to build a gift shop in the same room as the lab entrance!?”

“The best hiding spots are always in plain sight, genius!” Stan retorted. “You don’t gotta worry, tourist season is wrappin’ up, traffic’s gone down a lot. Shouldn’t be too hard to keep an eye on things.”

“You’re out giving your so-called ‘tours’ half the time.”

“Then I’ll ask Soos to keep an eye on the entrance.”

“No, he’s far too easily distracted. I’ll stay in the gift shop and guard the entrance.” Ford insisted.

Stan rolled his eyes. “That’s just gonna draw attention to it, knucklehead! Look, I got security cameras. If you really gotta watch the vending machine every minute, you can watch the video feed from my office.”

“Fine.”

“Welp, would you look at that! We’ve discussed who the heck Bill Cipher is, what he wants, and what we’re gonna do about it!” Stan stood up from his chair abruptly. “Guess this conversation’s over. And would you look at the time! Time to get you kids up to bed!”

“But it’s still light out!” Dipper protested.

“The sun sets really late out here in the summer. You don’t know what time it is!” Stan began to push the kids out of the room.

“I have a watch! It’s only like 7:30!”

Stan quickly swiped the watch off his nephew’s wrist. “What watch? I dunno what you’re talkin’ about. It’s bedtime!”

The young twins, seeing that trying to reason with Stan at this point was an exercise in futility, reluctantly allowed themselves to be shepherded upstairs. 

In the short amount of time while they were gone, Stanford found his mind wandering back to one particular thing Bill had said.

“I KNOW SOMEONE WHO HATES YOU AS MUCH AS I DO WHO CAN! WHADDAYA SAY, MAC? CARE TO HELP ME STICK IT TO YOUR UNGRATEFUL BROTHER?”

Bill was a liar. Of course this was a lie too, right? Stan didn’t hate him, right? Stan had immediately turned Bill down, after all. That might just be because he knew Bill was dangerous though… because he just wanted to protect the kids….

“Alright, you’d better have one heck of an explanation.” Stan returned and Ford was reminded of just why he was so mad at his brother.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware I needed your permission to invite someone to move into my own house!”

“It’s not my permission you need! Have you even talked to their parents yet?”

“Well, no…” Ford admitted. “But it’d be a waste of time to ask them if it turns out Dipper isn’t interested. And besides, I’m sure they’d be thrilled at the opportunity to accelerate their son’s education.”

Stan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “You don’t know their mom, Poindexter. She expects a letter from her kids every week.”

“Well, I’m sure we could keep up that tradition.”

“And every time she calls lately, she’s been goin’ on and on about how excited she is to see her ‘little lamby’ again. She’s not gonna be thrilled her son isn’t coming home.”

Ford rolled his eyes. “You make it sound as if he’s going to die! We’ll make time to go visit the family between projects, and I know communications technology has made huge advancements in the last 30 years. I saw your handyman communicating via a two-way video stream just last night.”

“That’s not the same as him actually being there!” Stan shouted. “He’s still just a kid, Stanford! He still needs his parents!”

“Alright, alright, I’ll call their parents and talk to them about it!” Ford relented. “Is that all?”

“No that’s not all!” Stan fumed, “It’s bad enough you’re offering Dipper an apprenticeship without gettin’ an OK from their parents first, but where do you get off excluding Mabel?”

Ford was taken aback. “I’m not excluding her.”

“You gave Dipper an opportunity to stay here with you, but not her. That’s pretty much the definition of excluding! Earlier today she was almost in tears about having to leave Gravity Falls and bein’ scared of the future. I had to give her a big ol’ pep-talk about how growin’ old is mandatory, but growin’ up is optional, and that even if her future ain’t so bright, at least she’s got her brother. Then, not even an hour later, you two come back from your science shenanigans and she goes wailing out to the front porch! All ‘cuz you want Dipper but not her!”

“It’s not like that at all!” Ford bristled. “Mabel has vastly different interests than Dipper. I couldn’t provide her with the same kind of quality education I could give him! At best I could give her a few tips about detailed pen sketching and blueprint drafting. The most I know about knitting is that I feel comfortable in a soft sweater, and she’d have to be the one to teach me about social structure and modern culture.”

“Oh, so that makes it ok to take her brother away?”

“I’m not ‘taking him away’! Dipper would be free to visit his family in California whenever he’s not busy!” Ford flushed with anger.  “And since I’ll be his only teacher, he’ll be able to request time off and breaks very easily. His schedule will be much more flexible than at a traditional university or college.”

“He’s freakin’ twelve Stanford! He hasn’t even finished Junior High yet! Why are you so eager to start him on grown-up school already?”

“Why wait? Dipper is intelligent, resourceful, and a fast learner. He’d already started following in my footsteps before we even met, I’m just helping him continue on that path. And it’s not ‘grown-up school’. We’d be studying and researching the weirdness of Gravity Falls together.”

“He’s not an adult, Ford, he still needs time to be a kid! He can’t be your new research assistant! Now answer my question: why can’t you just wait until he’s older?”

“Because I don’t want to be alone anymore!” 

Ford’s last statement hung in the air, reverberating like a pin dropped in an empty theater. The old researcher couldn’t believe his emotions had gotten the better of him like that. Just like that, a statement he wasn’t even comfortable admitting to himself had slipped out. He couldn’t even begin to defend or explain what he’d just said. 

Stan’s eyes widened at the unexpected outburst, but his face quickly morphed back into the scowl Stanford was all too familiar with.

“Oh, you don’t wanna be alone, huh? Well, maybe you shoulda thought of that before you kicked me out of the house come the end of Summer!”

“Wait, what?” Ford asked, perplexed.

“Oh, don’t play dumb!” Stan accused. “That first night after I brought you home, you said I could stay here the rest of the summer to watch the kids, then I gotta hit the road.”

“That’s not what I said!”  Ford objected. “I said you could stay upstairs and take care of the kids and run your ‘Mystery Shack’ until the end of the summer, so you can continue bringing in enough money to take care of them. But once the summer is over, I want-- no, I need my home and my identity back. And I’m not going to allow you to continue running a glorified freak show that goes against everything I’ve worked for!”

“And why would I stay, if you’re gonna make me shut down my livelihood?” 

Ford’s breath hitched as the memory of Bill’s words echoed in his head once again. I KNOW SOMEONE WHO HATES YOU AS MUCH AS I DO.

“Well, for one, I’m going to need your help undoing your identity theft.” The old researcher continued after pushing the thought to the back of his head. “And… I know you haven’t got anywhere else to go. I’m not going to just throw you out. I’m not Dad, Stanley.”

Stan stared at his brother with a mixture of surprise and some more complex emotions Ford couldn’t name. 

“Y-yeah, well…” The old conman seemed, for once, to be at a loss for words.

Ford just wished he knew what his brother was thinking. The old researcher had never been good at reading people, but as a child, Stan, at least, was someone he always understood. But now, his brother was even more of an enigma than the average stranger. Ford found himself on the verge of asking… do you really hate me?

“Dang it, this isn’t about us!” Stan snapped, “Stop making this about us! It’s about the kids!”

“I’m making it about us? You’re the one who started complaining about something I didn’t even say!” Ford huffed a frustrated sigh. He was tired. Tired from a long day and tired of fighting. “Look, if this whole apprenticeship thing is bothering Mabel so much, I’ll talk to her about staying here too. I can’t give her the kind of education she needs, but perhaps I can find someone who can.”

Stan threw his hands up in disbelief. “Seriously!? Unbelievable! Have you even listened to a word I’ve said, this whole conversation!?”

“Obviously I have, otherwise I wouldn’t have agreed with your demands to call the kids’ parents and include Mabel in the apprenticeship offer. Nor would I have caught your erroneous assumption that you have the leave at the end of the summer.”

“The whole point I’ve been tryin’ to make to you this whole time is that ya can’t just take these kids away from their home!”.

“I’m not taking them away from their home. You said the two of them have been here for over two months.”

“Yeah, and then they’re goin’ back home next weekend. To their parents. To their real lives.”

“Life is just as real here.” Ford said with finality. “I told you, I’ll talk to their parents tomorrow. That should settle it.”

Stan’s scowl deepened. “Yeah, yeah I guess it will.”

H two more asks before I slave away to work in things

(Btw to the anon that referred to Tim-Tam as she they’re canonically non-binary I’ve been told don’t make the same mistake I did)

🔥 Millie with a younger sibling 🔥

🔥 - She’d probably have a little....sister???

🔥 - Shes hard because I hc her in canon to be an only child.

🔥- Anyways if she were to have siblings I think she’d have a little sister most likely

🔥- Teaches her sister how to play golf and cause trouble I’d assume

🔥- Bruh what if they had like,,completely opposite personalities

🔥- Like the little sister is the calm and nonchaotic one and Millie is the one always getting into things

🔥- I’m gonna go with that.

🔥- Anyways not much else to say because at the end of the day I still think Millie is an only child.

🧄 Nat with a younger sibling 🧄

🧄- She’d have a baby brother I feel

🧄- And I mean a baby baby brother, like either an infant or small toddler

🧄- Hes really clingy to her

🧄- She pretends like she doesn’t care but deep down we all know she does

🧄- She protects him from things all the time

🧄- Hes given her the nickname “Na!” Since he cant pronounce the T

🧄- Overall really cute babey brother.

🧄- I don’t think I hc her as having any siblings tho,, but I’m not exactly against it yknow.

🥊 Putunia with a younger sibling 🥊

🥊- I hc her in cannon to not have any siblings and If she were to I’d think she’d be the younger one but I’ll roll with this

🥊- If she had a younger sibling she’d have a little brother I feel.

🥊- They’d talk a lot about superhero’s and stuff

🥊- Shed teach him all her fighting moves and stuff

🥊- The fight a lot but only because they’re really close in age and that’s just a pattern with siblings who are closer in age.

🥊- isnt putunia like 8?? If so I’d think her brother would be like,, 6.

🥊- Thats all I got on that.

🌕 Trevor with a younger sibling 🌕

🌕- He is the younger sibling duehshhshegegs

🌕- anyway but fr if he had a younger sibling he’d probably try to talk with them about his interest and try to get to know them.

🌕- I really think he’d have a little brother as well, just because he looks like the kind of kid where all the siblings are brothers.

🌕- didn’t someone already make a fan sibling for him or somethin??

🌕- Little sibling is probably too young to determine if he got the wolf genes yet but old enough to communicate so I’m thinking like,,, 4-5?

🌕- Once they find out tho Trevor is going to teach this child all he knows.

👁Tim Tam with a younger sibling👁

👁- Bold of you to assume they have to teach their siblings to steal.

👁- They have not one, but two siblings.

👁- They’re fraternal twins, ones a boy and ones a girl (I can see them having both a brother and a sister but I also wouldn’t be opposed to their genders being as ambiguous as their sibling)

👁- I’ve changed one hc of TimTam I think they might be a little older than they seem (more like 6) so I’m guessing the twins are relatively close in age

👁- These two came straight out of a horror movie I kid you not, stares and all.

👁- They,,,Dont look like they’d cause harm but uh?? Eerily quiet.

👁- Dont even talk as much as TimTam tbh

👁- When these three are altogether keep a watch out.

🥦 Gerry with a younger sibling 🥦

🥦- Guess what, another only child but imma roll with it anyways

🥦- Is he has a younger sibling I think that’d help him a lot??

🥦- The reason I think Gerry came to the habitat is because I don’t think his dad is around as much but a younger sibling could def help with that

🥦- They’d invent things together

🥦- If he had one Uh,,,, either a little brother or a twin.

🥦- Bonus points if they’re identical to him.

🥦- Bruh these two be like Timmy and Tommy selling you things Hdhdgsgsgsgsg

🥦- Con artists in the making.

🥦- That’s all I got for him

❛ jeon jungkook, demiboyflux, he/they ❜ was that kim moonsik? the twenty-two year old freelance photographer has been in town since birth. the witch has a reputation for being disorganized & affectionate. you know they’re around when you get flashes of ( mismatched socks, taking buzzfeed quizzes into the dead of night, dancing when no one is watching & believing in signs ). rumor has it, they are a member of the high coven. { samu, est, 25, she/they }

( OOC: TW: ANXIETY MENTION AT THE END OF THIS PARAGRAPH. hi! i’m samu, i’m 25 and i use she/they pronouns! i’m so so so so so excited for this rp and for you all to meet my babies!!!!! i wanted to make this lil ooc section just to let y’all know that i’ll be posting longer and more detailed intro-like posts for my charas eventually, but i wanted to be able to give lil summaries and connection ideas before then so!!!!! there it is!!!!! thank u sm for reading!!!!! also if i ever message you to plot, which i’d like to do with everyone if my social anxiety allows it, pls don’t feel obligated to plot with me at all!!!!! i love connecting with other writers and stuff but i’ll completely understand if you’re not up to plot with me and my charas <33 ) ← this is the same ooc paragraph in all of my first three intros, so pls feel free to skip it! <3

brief introduction.

moonsik’s parents moved from ulsan, south korea, to blackthorne about eight years before the boy was born. he grew up in blackthorne along with his two older siblings (they’re fraternal twins a couple of years older than moonsik), and had a pretty comfortable childhood! however, his mother left the family when he was only five years old, and he’s never seen or talked to her since. the reasoning behind her departure is still a mystery to moonsik, and he’s definitely still confused/sad about it, but!! i won’t delve too much into that yet!! i’ll def write about it in my longer bio/intro thingy later on, though!! 

his dad remarried, when moonsik was nine years old, to a woman who had lived in blackthorne all her life!! i’m not gonna develop the step-mother too much bc i’ll definitely send in some wanted connections soon (for her + moonsik’s dad, siblings and step-siblings! and maybe more?), but she actually has a really good relationship with moonsik!! he doesn’t see her as a mother tbh, but he really loves and respects her and!! even during his more rebellious phases in high school she was like the one (1) person in the family he always felt he could talk to!!

relationships with siblings and step-siblings are to be developed tm!! i’ll be sending in wanted connections for them soon as i said before so i might add a bit to it in there but tbh i’ll try to keep things vague so that they’re easier to fill!!

moonsik did NOT like school. like, at all. i think probably at least one of his siblings was like...... super strong academically, and it mayhaps played on moonsik’s confidence a bit to constantly see his sibling(s) get praised for their accomplishments?? and like..... his dad, siblings, step-mom and step-siblings have never put pressure on him?? he did so himself after seeing others succeed so much and wishing he could do so as well?? and don’t get me wrong; he’s skilled at plenty of things (especially visual arts)!! but having difficulties academically really did affect his self confidence :(

i said this was going to be short rip sdlfijsdlkfjsdlkfjsdklf i’M SO SORRY!!!!!

ok so!! outside of all the family stuff!! moonsik’s been exploring his gender identity for about three years now, and he finally feels like he has the right word/definition for it all!! demiboyflux is honestly a word he didn’t even know of until a couple of months ago, but as soon as he saw the definition for it (here’s a link to a simple definition!) he was so happy because it was him and it felt perfectly right??

he’s not exactly out to that many people concerning his gender identity bc as much as he loves who he is he just isn’t ever sure how to bring it up?? also, most of the time he’s fine with masculine nouns (boy, man, brother, son, boyfriend, husband, prince, etc.) AND he’s perfectly fine with both he and they as far as pronouns go, so...... he just doesn’t feel like it’s absolutely necessary for him to discuss it with EVERYONE, you know? but at the same time sometimes he kind of feels like just ranting and rambling and gushing about all of it, which is why he actually started an anonymous blog (eyes emoji tm) last month, and it’s been super helpful for him!!

he’s a freelance photographer rn, and he honestly really likes it!! however, since he’s not super well established yet (and doesn’t have an official diploma or anything like that - he quit university after two semesters), he isn’t making tons of money, and is therefore currently living with his dad and step-mother. it’s becoming a bit suffocating to him tbh?? and he’s highkey considering getting a part-time job too so that he can maybe make enough money to afford renting a lil apartment or room or something!!

super disorganized!! it’s probably one of the things he fights about the most with his family bc they kinda see his lack of organization as him being quite irresponsible (and they’re not completely wrong maybe, but still), and he’s never really done anything to change this part of him?? like, he’s always losing stuff, forgetting things behind, not remembering appointments, forgetting to send in important documents on time, never checking his voice mail and/or inbox, etc.

affectionate af!!!!! a sweetheart, tbh?? like, he’s kind of reserved so people tend to assume that he’s not the most friendly, but he’s actually rlly sweet!! he’s very openly affectionate with the people he’s close to, never hesitating to wrap himself around someone or plop down in someone’s lap or anything like that (though he is careful about who is and isn’t comfortable with that ofc! tbh in the past he didn’t take that into consideration all that much and he honestly feels really bad about it now, so he’s SUPER careful about other people’s boundaries now)!! also....... he will 110% deny it, but he LOVES attention. like he’ll wither away without attention i sdlfjslkdjfksldf

he’s bi and has known for a long time, and he’s actually been out as such since he was seventeen years old! 

( WARNING: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY ) he’s had two serious-ish relationships in his life so far, but outside of those he’s actually quite enjoyed doing more casual sexual things with people he finds attractive/interesting/etc!! he actually prefers fwbs to one night stands and i can DEF see that leading to some tension in the future with some of his friends.........

HE’S SO PROUD OF BEING A WITCH!!!!!! his entire family are witches (maybe not his step-mother and step-siblings, though? it’ll depend on whether or not they get taken up as wanted connections and, in the case they do, what the people playing them prefer!), and he’s so!!!!!! passionate about it!!!!! he hates learning in school and stuff but when it comes to learning about magic, especially healing magic, he’s so eager and passionate and !!!!!! he loves it :( idk if his father and siblings are in the high coven tbh but!!!!! he is definitely quite proud to be part of it!!!! also he’s probs definitely one of the most eye-roll-y judgemental ones when it comes to what he thinks of the bloodstone coven !! he deadass doesn’t get why they would practice the kind of magic they practice and he’s???? like he wouldn’t be straight up /rude/ to them without reason but he’s def not as friendly as usual around them i think (though ofc there might be exceptions!!)

connection ideas.

CHILDHOOD BEST FRIENDS: probably around 2 to 4 of those?? i’m picturing this lil group to have been thick as thieves since they were little kids (although maybe one or more of them joined their lil friend group later on in their childhood and/or teenage years?), and i just really want a group of super close friends who know each other better than the backs of their own hands and who may tease each other mercilessly but who still love and adore each other (no matter whether or not they actually say those words aloud dlffkjsdkjfsdlkjfsdlkf)!! age-wise i was thinking they could all be between 21 and 25 years old?? ( 00 / 02-04 )

EXES: as mentioned earlier, moonsik has been in two romantic relationships in the past that were somewhat serious? one of them was probably a high school relationship that last for like 14 months and ended just because they did not click well together AT ALL but had gotten into a relationship bc high school and stuff, you know?? (i think that ex would have probs identified as a cis woman back then - whether they still do or not is up to you - since they probs started dating before moonsik came out as bi?) and i feel like mayhaps recently they’ve gotten in touch again and actually click quite well as friends nowadays, although there are zero (0) romantic feelings between them anymore (just saying, but..... mlm/wlw solidarity is rad tm!! it’s not a necessity ofc but!! yes!!) NOW THE OTHER EX!!!!!!! i feel like this one would have been a bit more recent?? and probably with a man or masc presenting person?? since it’d be more recent, and the relationship would have been quite important to moonsik, i’d like not to add too much to it here and instead work it out with whoever may end up being interested in that connection? ( 00 / 02 )

EMPLOYER(S): people who’ve hired moonsik for his photography skills!!!! maybe also a future/eventual employer for when he ends up finally looking for a part-time job?? mayhaps they could be friends of some of moonsik’s family members?? oooooh what about someone who knew his mother?? (although ig that’ll be easier to work out when i 100% decide why she left dslfjksdkjfsdkljf) ( 00 / ?? )

FRIEND AND/OR ENEMY WITH BENEFITS: ( WARNING: MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ACTS ) i’m thinking that moonsik probably doesn’t hook up with too many people at the same time unless he knows for sure that the other person doesn’t mind it? so the number for this connection will change depending on that!! also i reaaaaaaally love BOTH the idea of friends with benefits AND enemies with benefits since they can both bring in v interesting storylines!! also i’m not totally opposed to having moonsik hook up with his most recent ex (bc i love angst), but it’s definitely not a necessity! ( 00 / 01 )

DEALER: ( WARNING: DRUGS TW ) he did quite a few hard drugs in hs, which was 100% part of one of his rebellious phases, and although he doesn’t do anything too strong anymore, he does rlly like weed (prefers edibles to smoking tho bc no matter how often he does it he always coughs and it’s embarrassing!!!!!), and i’d love a connection with his dealer?? preferably one that’s kind of humorous?? ( 00 / 01 )

Castlevania Season 3 was disappointing

(Spoilers for Castlevania Season 3, if you haven’t seen it yet it’s out now on Netflix. I suggest watching that first before reading this review)

I won’t say it was an awful season by any stretch of the imagination but man was it a drag to get through.

Almost nothing of significance happens for the majority of the season and the things that did happen felt extremely off and weird. 10 episodes, 25 to 30 minutes each, and every single one except for the fucking TWO LAST EPISODES were spent dicking around with a mystery that had little to do with anything from season 2 beyond a really out there twist that I’m sort of iffy on. Top that off with a lackluster arguably stupid ending to leave us off on a needless cliffhanger, and that’s the magic remedy that will leave me feeling pretty damn frustrated.

The best parts, in my opinion, were with Isaac’s massive undead crusade he was waging throughout his journey for revenge, and Trevor and Syph’s interactions with each other as well as with the little villagers. Isaac’s arc going from a servant of Dracula to slowing evolving into the master of the damned felt genuine, intriguing, and badass! I really wish he was the next main villain instead as it makes sense thematically. He carries out Dracula’s nihilistic views of humanity in a similar but now more direct way and that can lead into something really intriguing. However, for some reason, this season left him and his whole journey on a back burner, and virtually everything else that is implemented into main villain role fell flat on its face execution wise.

For example; The new vampires of this season are Camilla’s three other empress sisters, and while they do have a plethora of personality at the very least, that kind of comes at a cost of the main threat being extremely diluted. We go from this hurting sympathetic undead overlord with the power of an anchent GOD, to a couple of wicked sassy sisters who just wanna eat people forever? It’s a bit lame of a progression from what we once had, we know Vampires like to eat people that’s nothing new or exciting. There’s no real twist to it besides it being “led by women in the dark ages” and granted that makes sense here since it IS the dark ages, but come on we literally just had arguably the BEST adaptation of friggin’ Dracula! This shouldn’t be all they got moving forward from that.

Now, I have ZERO issue with the main antagonists being female or even two of the four sisters (not by blood don’t worry) being a lesbian couple. I hate that I have to emphasize this, hell I often defend Cinder Fall in RWBY more than anyone in the fandom at all despite her issues as a complex and sometimes flat out badly written character. However, The four of them in this season have the most basic of plans that it seems arbitrary status quote fluff at best. It felt like just because it’s Castlevania, we HAVE to have the vampires as the villains. Even though in the games the Belmont’s were literally fighting werewolves, dragons, skeletons, and the GRIMM REAPER??

Therefore, the sense of urgency and tense calculating plans of ‘survival vs extinction’ is completely gone. And yknow in a way, I can kinda initially SEE that working in a sort of “Empire Strikes Back” esque plot. Yknow, with Alucard and the gang go around cleaning up Dracula’s leftover horde only for Isaac or even Camilla to have this huge vengeful comeback of dominance? But there’s no one exactly “striking back” or even taking any kind of immediate initiative after Dracula’s death. It’s been MONTHS after the whole event and no one seems like they really care about that world changing event from the last two season’s. Everything is fine and dandy, no one has a single worry in the world! How enthralling...I miss Godbrand 😑

Besides the plan the four empresses have as well as Issac’s revenge, which I hope will both be more explored in season 4, no one really has any goal to warrant THAT kind of length of a season. This is more of a Netflix problem that I have with most of their shows and it’s one of the reasons why I don’t like watching them. Almost every singe show Netflix produces now, feels the need to overstuff itself with needless filler that gets us really nowhere until the very end where it SUDDENLY all comes together. But because of the nature of binge watching and considering how Netflix wants to desperately keep their subscriptions in fear of intimidating competition, they make these shows 12 episodes long with HALF HOUR OR MORE amount of filler content that’s supposed to satisfy us cause it’s “cute”?! No, stop this shit! Granted, Castlevania wasn’t nearly AS bad as the live action shows, but honestly, what exactly was shown to us that couldn’t have been reduced to like 5 solidly paced episodes focused on one or two plot lines ONLY like before? It worked perfectly back then, why change what ain’t broke?

As much as I don’t like the immediate rush of Trevor and Syph’s out of nowhere sexual relationship, I didn’t overall mind it too much since they still somewhat felt consistent. Their characteristics play off very nicely with one another and it’s pretty easy to see the chemistry between the two....HOWEVER I’M STILL GONNA COMPLAIN ABOUT IT SO HERE WE GO!

I get that they were setting them up as an endgame ship of the series, there’s no denying that, but they start fucking for what feels like (to the audience) two days after and I think that’s a bit ridiculous! Even if Alucard states that it’s been at the very least a month worth of time since the events of Season 2, there’s no real physical signs showing that statement to be true. Hell, Trevor’s beard and hair remains the same despite a HUGE passage of time where it would naturally grow out to indicate said time passing by. But both him, Syph, Alucard, and damn near everyone else looks the exact same as last season. So for all I know it could have been like a week since Season 2 and that to me doesn’t feel exactly earned. The Season 2 finale didn’t explicitly leave off Trevor and Syph officially a couple, they felt more like partners in crime more than anything else. Not to say that there wasn’t any chemistry there to develope INTO a relationship GRADUALLY, but going from a little spark of interest to the immediate jump of them sleeping together naked all comfortably as if they’re a goddamn married couple is a STRETCH! Even Trevor himself thinks so too so don’t jump down my throat about not being immediately swooned by the shipping fanservice given to us. I don’t dislike them as a couple at all, in fact I think their dynamic is cute! However, I would have also liked to have this couple feel natural and earned. They most certainly do not feel earned this way, at least to me.

Oh god, then there’s this out of nowhere sexual tension between Alucard and his new two recruits from another region hinted at in the previous season? Mind you, Alucard was doing literally NOTHING throughout the entirety of Season 3. Yep, literally the ONE DUDE WHO BASICALLY KILLED DRACULA gets about fuck all story progression afterwards out of the three. But what they DO give him are these two new vampire hunting student’s who look identical to one another (no racial they just literally look like fraternal twins) so I assumed they were either siblings or a couple, which makes it REALLY WEIRD WHEN THEY BOTH FUCK ALUCARD OUT OF NOWHERE?! I’m NOT making this shit up I promise! What makes even less sense is that it was really just a ploy for them to steal the Belmont knowledge of killing vampires to show to their people who have been enslaved. Which of course ends with them being killed so it really makes this entire conflict in his character damn near pointless besides “sad vibes check”, but here’s the thing...why didn’t they just keep doing training with Alucard?? There were virtually no downsides to having him teach you how to kill Vampires to save your village from being enslaved, he was teaching you both very well and gave you like the eternal knowledge of how to kill literally EVERY MONSTER and even let you live in the castle FOR FREE, food and wine included! What was the turning point for them to want to kill him all of the sudden? Cause he’s a vampire?? THEY FUCKING KNEW THAT ALREADY!!! Why was is suddenly not a problem at first but then coincidentally a problem now? If they wanted to use this to somehow depict this notion of “Oh my dad/Dracula was right humans are the worst” mindset, trust me, it was better conveyed with Isaac. These twins side plot not only made no sense, but also felt unjustified for Alucard to be an emo boi. I get that it’s supposed to be symbolic of him going through the same issues that both of his parents went through, but none of that really showed how bad human’s are. Just that those two twins didn’t think things through apparently. So the point of Alucard having this odd character convenience shift feels by the numbers cliché, and most importantly CHEAP.

It really makes no sense to me why they’re adding so much of this filler for such a long time, especially with some of this filler being oddly sexual. I don’t mind honest depiction of sex between consenting adults of course, but it just felt so misplaced and awkward at parts where it showed itself. I felt like I was reading a mediocre fanfic of Castlevania instead of the actual show itself! Granted, Season 2 had somewhat of a similar dilemma but the lull in between was still showing the character specifically doing things to further the story along. Towards the end, it gave us a way more satisfactory closure of that saga with Dracula that felt natural and well earned. This season however, felt like they were scrambling with different ideas here and there and didn’t know which to go with. Alucard training new recruits in his castle, Trevor and Syph figuring out an estranged (and BORING/GENERIC) cult of Dracula’s plan, Camilla setting up an army with her fellow sisterhood of evil vampires to gain ultimate power, Hector surviving captivity by using his wit and charm, Isaac raising up the dead for revenge on his deceased master, a new character introducing an all new world to the lore of Castlevania as we know it, all of these interesting concepts and ideas that could easily make up for a good season alone! And instead of focusing on one or two ideas to develope into something natural, they ended up saying “FUCK IT! Fucking I dunno what to- WE’RE DOING ALL OF IT I DUNNO!” and mixed the whole thing in a blender of different flavors that don’t necessarily blend together well enough for a tasty satisfactory meal. It just ends up being a mesh of okay at best, and gross at worst.

IN CONCLUSION, Castlevania Season 3 had a rocky start, an okay middle, and a kind of cool end. There was definitely some cool and exciting ideas implemented in here, but not enough to warrant that lengthy amount of time that Netflix seems to love to give to most of their TV shows. Sometimes less is more, and all that shiny cool glitter isn’t necessarily going to turn out to be gold. I’ll give this season a 5/10. It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen but it certainly could’ve been a lot better.

P.S. “Who Do Ya Voodoo” from Dead Island is Isaac’s new theme song, you can’t convince me otherwise.

Complete Review - Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates

DISCLAIMER: This review will contain spoilers. If you plan to read the book, I will leave a mark for when I go more in-depth on the book, so continue at your own risk, I suppose. If you want to purchase Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates, you can get it here. Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates is the first book in the series, Tomorrow Girls. It’s written by Eva Gray and published by Scholastic. Scholastic is a fairly well-renowned publishing company in the United States, publishing children's books and hosting book fairs in most elementary schools. Scholastic also hosts the Scholastic Book Club that teachers can take part in, where they have their students take part, reading a book of the teacher and school’s choice, and then continuing with the lesson plan and question guide that Scholastic provides with the books.  Tomorrow Girls is a fairly child-friendly series, having been classified in the category of a teenager and young-adult novel. However, that doesn’t excuse poor writing or a poor story. That is not to say that Tomorrow Girls has a poor story, though the first book certainly isn’t amazing. The writing is definitely a problem, though I will discuss that point later.  Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates is a fast read at 211 (short) pages, and it’s easy to understand. Summary: In a terrifying new world, four girls must depend on one another if they want to survive.  Disaster and destruction are all thirteen-year-old Louisa has ever known. But now she and her best friend, Maddie, are among the lucky few being sent to boarding school, far from home. Finally, a taste of freedom! Country Manor School isn’t perfect: The girls’ roommates are tough to get along with, and the school is hard work. Still, Louisa loves CMSーthe survival skills classes, the fresh air. She doesn’t even miss not having TV, or the Internet, or any comfort with home. It’s for their own safety after all.  Or is it? The summary isn’t written the best, but it’s still understandable and arguably better than some other summaries that I have read before, it keeps things secretive and is a good set up for the actual story of the book, even if there isn’t a clear and well-defined plot or end goal at the very least. It’s clear, concise, and would get any child’s attention. It certainly grabbed my attention the first time that I read this book as a teenager.  I would like to mention now that yes, I have read this book before. I was fairly young when I read it and I can’t remember much from the series other than a few details here and there. However, I will be reviewing (and judging) this book from as impartial of an angle as I can. The book is written from the first-person perspective of Louisa Ballinger, the daughter of a neurosurgeon and the head surgeon at the hospital he works at. I’m still not quite sure if both of Louisa’s parents work at the same hospital or not, but from the way it was written, I can only assume they work at different hospitals. “Mom makes lots as a brain surgeon. Dad earns even more. He’s head of surgery at his hospital (pg 10).” A grip I do have with this book is that it’s written in such a choppy style it makes it hard to read at times, despite the book having been written for teenagers. Most of the ‘sentences’ in the first part of the book aren’t even fully formed thoughts, let alone sentences. It’s highly reminiscent of Donald Trump’s ‘Sad’ tweets.  We meet Maddie, Lousia’s best friend and the daughter of two soldiers, soon after this and the two of them are off to CMS, or as it’s referred to in less than a handful of times, Country Manor School.  I still can’t figure out the time period that this book takes place, though it’s fairly recently after 2018. From some brief googling, it seems that nobody is entirely sure when the series takes place, though we know it’s after 2018. The book itself was written in 2011, which makes some of the assumptions in the book absolutely egregious. For example, for some reason, Louisa doesn’t know what chalk is, but she knows what an ‘old school blackboard’ is. The characters have also apparently never written anything down since second grade, which is absolutely baffling to me and an absurd assumption. The story takes place during a dystopian mid-world war era. This acts as the basis for the entire book and for why things are happening, however, this idea grows increasingly frustrating as you read through the book. You learn absolutely nothing about the war aside from that is has caused a lot of destruction, inflated the economy massively, and changed the lives of many people. You also learn about one group in the war, called the Alliance. In fact, I wasn’t quite sure that they were the ‘bad guys’ until I was a good bit into the book.  Essentially, Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates works as the set up for the entire series. This wouldn’t be a terrible thing if it weren’t for the fact that the entire book suffers because of it. The book wasn’t terrible, however and warrants a review of 4/10 stars. SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT The Main Characters: Louisa Ballinger - The main character Madeleine “Maddie” Frye/Ballinger - Louisa’s best friend. She poses as Lousia’s fraternal twin in order to attend Country Manor School. Rosemary “Rosie” Chavez - The leader and one of the roommates. Evelyn Posner - The conspiracy theorist and another roommate.  Others: Alonso - A boy from the CMS Boys School across the lake. Ryan - A boy from the CMS Boys School across the lake.  Mrs. Brewster - The headmistress.  Devi - The outdoor survival teacher. Emmanuelle- The “nice” teacher. I believe she’s Mrs. Brewster’s right hand. Not really sure what she does.  The Review: This book isn’t terrible, I will state that right now. It isn’t terrible and is certainly better than some other books I’ve read. But, it isn’t great either. Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates has its problems, and they’re rather big. The first thing that you come across when reading it is the writing style. As mentioned before, it’s choppy and can be a pain to read at times. The sentences are rarely complete and are hardly fully-formed thoughts. This gets better towards the end of the book but it’s more than annoying in the beginning. “Not even Mom and Dad get to know exactly where the school really is. It’s for their own safety.  Like everything these days. Keeping us safe (pg 10).” The last two ‘sentences’ can hardly be considered sentences let alone complete thoughts. As I said, though, the writing does at least get better as it goes which is a mercy, I suppose. I’d suggest that perhaps it is written this way to show the development of Louisa’s character, but it doesn’t come off that way, as such, it’s more annoying than anything else.  The description of everything is the absolute minimum that Eva Gray could get away with, and when Louisa does describe something in more detail it’s utterly pointless and rather annoying, actually. Louisa is constantly described as a swimmer, opening stating that she absolutely loves swimming, however, when presented with a large lake that would just be begging for someone to swim in it, we get absolutely no description whatsoever other than that she was staring at it. When there is more description, it’s Louisa commenting on the color of someone’s eyes or their hair color, or Louisa is describing the pattern of the tiles on the wall and floor. It is absolutely ridiculous and rather frustrating most of the time. The descriptions are so surface level and shallow that it becomes difficult to immerse yourself into the book.  I want to know more about the war as well. As stated earlier, you learn literally nothing except a few surface-level details about it. Who is the war between? How long has it been going on? What else has it impacted? Is the United States still functioning as per usual? I have absolutely no idea what the answers to any of these questions are and the book just left me thirsting for those answers. I can’t say as to whether or not they are addressed in the other books, but considering this one is acting as a set-up for the rest of the series, it should have been addressed in this book.  However, the book isn’t terrible. There are problems, but it has its pros as well. I can commend Eva Gray because, at the very least, she does know how to tell a story that will push you to read the rest of the books in the series. The descriptions of the main characters and their development aren’t terrible either, and while first descriptions may be shallow at best you do get to know them a bit more. It is enough to give them more than just a two-dimensional appearance.  The book goes fast and at the very least, it is a good time killer if nothing else. It’s not painful to read and is arguably one of the better books that I’ve reviewed thus far.  The Story, In-Depth: The book starts off introducing us to the current situation, where Louisa and Maddie are being sent off to a boarding school (Country Manor School) by Louisa’s parents. Despite the fact that Maddie has been stated to be living with Louisa and her family since both of her parents were sent to fight, they don’t know where she is at first. It would make sense that Maddie would have arrived with them, considering that the cover story is that she and Louisa are twins, but I guess not.  Louisa’s mother gives her a locket with a photo of her and her father in it, apparently, it is a family heirloom handed down from mother to daughter with a photo of their parents in it. Maddie comes over and we learn that she’s a little scatterbrained when nervous, though this never comes up again in the story itself. Maddie’s parents weren’t rich, so Louisa’s parents paid for her tuition to the school. In order to do this, however, they had to get Maddie’s identity changed from Madeleine Frye to Madeleine Ballinger, as the school won’t let parents pay for someone else’s children to attend. The way that they did this is to have someone go in and wipe the information on Maddie’s identity bracelet and replace it with a different name and number. These identity bracelets are apparently “electronically attached to [their] wrists.” I don’t know how you electronically attach something to skin, but you know what, fuck it. I’ll just roll with it, I guess.  On the bus to CMS, we meet Evelyn and get possibly the best literary description of anyone ever known to man, “Her black eyes are intense and her delicate eyebrows V with concentration as she types furiously on a notebook (pg 19).” Her brows don’t furrow, no, they V. I find this odd because Gray clearly knows the word ‘furrow’ as she says it later on. So why, in the history of every novel ever written, did she say ‘V with concentration’? I still can’t figure it out, but god, if that line isn’t the best one ever written I don’t know what is. /s  Evelyn is tracking where they’re going on her laptop, which is constantly referred to as a notepad in the book. Her guess is that they’re on the Canadian border. This is worrying for the characters because I guess that Canada has been taken over by the Alliance. I still wasn’t sure if the Alliance were actually the ‘bad guys’ or not, though later on in the book it is confirmed that yes, they are the ‘bad guys’.  We don’t actually see Louisa’s name mentioned until page 23, which, if you haven’t read the summary of the book, is rather frustrating and confusing. I have absolutely no idea why her name wasn’t mentioned until page 23, but it wasn’t. I thought I was going crazy as I was reading through the book because I couldn’t remember her name until I looked at the summary. After flipping through the pages, I confirmed that the first time her name is mentioned isn’t until page 23. I seriously don’t think that the main character's name should be mentioned that far into the book.  Anyways, they arrive at the school and we meet Mrs. Brewster, the headmistress of the girls’ school. They have to put all of their electronics in a box with no promise of getting them back. Their identity bracelets are clipped off with a pair of special clippers (which supposedly was impossible up until this point) and she warns them that the woods are the natural habitat of some poisonous snakes. Mrs. Brewster also warns them not to swim in the lake because it’s highly polluted and would make them so sick they wouldn’t be able to swim back. We also meet Emmanuelle who cut the identity bracelets off of them.  Not even that long after Emmanuelle, the “nice” teacher, leads Louisa, Maddie, Evelyn, and a new character, Rosie, to their dorm room. Rosie comes off as a jerk to the other girls and begrudgingly agrees to share a room and bunkbed with Evelyn. After that we mostly see them moving through their classes, learning outdoor survival skills, eating in the cafeteria, and attending regular classes like Language Arts, Math, and Social Studies. The girls also have to do chores around the school, like prepare and serve breakfast, lunch, or dinner, clean up after one of those meals, or they can sign up for the Student League where they can take part in the patrol duties. Evelyn almost immediately jumps at the chance to be part of the Student League and gets in after an interview. She does this to gain both the special access to rooms and the special gear that members of the Student League get in order to make sure that the other students are sticking to the curfew and have their lights out by the designated time of 8 pm. The other two duties of meal-prep and clean up are rotated around, yet for some reason, Maddie gets all pissed off because she’s stuck on cleaning duty. She insists that it’s because she’s poor, despite the fact that she’s under the Ballinger name and the Ballinger’s are very rich. Not only that, but there are plenty of other people who are rich and on clean-up duty as well. This alone makes Maddie come off as a complete brat.  In general, most people in this story come off as rich brats, but they do develop to be at least a little bit more accepting of things that are going on later in the book, or at least, they become more accepting of what’s expected from them.  Rosemary, better known as Rosie, and Louisa grow closer over time and Louisa learns that while Rosie acts like a leader when in a group, she is rather easy and nice to get along with 1-on-1. They mostly bond over the survival classes, where we learn that Rosie is a really good sharpshooter and Louisa, while not great, picks up on skills quickly. Louisa starts to drift closer to Rosie’s group of friends, the athletes, and away from Maddie and Evelyn. Maddie and Evelyn grow closer as they develop more theories about the school and essentially plot a way to get out if things start to go wrong.  Then we get to essentially the ‘climax’ of the book. The outdoor trip where they have to spend a night surviving in the woods. They make a big deal out of starving despite the fact that they’re spending a single night out in the woods and part of two days. It’s absolutely ridiculous to me that they blow this so out of proportion but you know what, fuck it, I guess it’s ‘teenager logic’. When Evelyn, Maddie, and Louisa go to get some water from a stream they run into Ryan and Alonso, who have gotten lost from their own group. The five of them start to bond and they head back to the girls camp where Rosie gets more than pissed off because she believes that they’re going to get in trouble for bringing the boys back and eating the food that Alonso and Ryan had with them. After a bit, the two finally leave to try and find their way back to their own camp and everyone goes to bed. Come morning and the three girls find that Rosie and the rest of the camp have just completely deserted them, leaving them to try and find their way back out of the woods by themselves. The three girls run into the boys again, and with their help and some wandering, they find their way back out and split ways. During this time we find out that the lake isn’t actually polluted and the boys have been swimming in it. This is just the start in Louisa starting to lose whatever faith she has built up in CMS and what she has been told about it.  After this Maddie and Louisa are called to the headmistresses office, where it is revealed that Maddie’s bracelet has two codes on it, one for Madeleine Frye and the other for Madeleine Ballinger. In order to figure this out and to keep Maddie and Louisa from making a story, they separate the two of them, putting Maddie into isolation. This was a giant fucking mistake on their part because Louisa has a breakdown in her room about this, and despite Rosie and Louisa being pissed at each other, Rosie has a moment of softness and goes to comfort Louisa. Rosie admits that she knew that Maddie and Louisa weren't twins because they didn’t really act like sisters, and Louisa admits that no, they aren’t twins. They explain this to Evelyn when she comes back from her snooping or ‘investigating’, and Evelyn admits that she has keys and found out where they were probably keeping Maddie.  Louisa sneaks down to the basement and while going to get Maddie, stops, hearing a TV. Supposedly, there are absolutely no electronics on the grounds of CMS so she decides to listen to the TV and the teacher's discussion. This is where she learns that CMS is part of the Alliance and all of the students are basically being held for ransom, and that some of the students have parents who are agents for the Alliance. She freaks out, they break Maddie out and go to tell Rosie and Evelyn. Essentially they all freak the fuck out and gather up everything that they need to leave and to get out of Dodge. Louisa has a panic moment because she lost her locket but Rosie insists that they don’t have time to go back and find it, so they leave without it.  And that’s where the book ends.  Like I said, the story itself isn’t bad and is a good set up for the rest of the series, I just wish that there was more detail. If it’s a set up for the rest of the series, we need to know about the world and what’s going on. We know there’s a war, but we don’t know between who and why. We don’t know why the members of the Alliance are the ‘bad guys’ other than some very basic information. We don’t know what state the cities are in, how the people are reacting, or why everyone has identity bracelets. I know that this book is coming from the view of a thirteen-year-old, but I still don’t think that’s an excuse for poor exposition. The book isn’t terrible, but it isn’t great either. Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates could hardly stand as a stand-alone novel and doesn’t deserve the 4.5/5 stars rating it has on most websites. At best, it’s a 4/10.  It’s a fast read and good to pass time, but I wouldn’t read it as a stand-alone novel. I’ll probably end up reviewing the rest of the series later on as I work through finishing Empress Theresa. I’d recommend you read it if you’re looking for something to pass the time, but I wouldn’t recommend paying the $12 price tag for it. It’s definitely not a $12 book. Once more, if you’re looking to buy this book you can get it here. I recommend buying one of the used copies because you’re usually supporting a book store when you do it, or a thrift store, and you’re not going to end up paying the $12 price tag.

Who will be the first Duggar to have multiples?

For a while I’ve been wondering who will be the first Duggar to have twins, so I researched that rather than spend time studying. Sorry for the terrible formatting, the Tumblr app sucks.

Factors that increase the risk of having twins:

A family history of twins: twins on the mother’s side of the family, “Genetics can definitely play a role in having fraternal twins. For example, a woman that has a sibling that is a fraternal twin is 2.5 times more likely to have twins than average!”

Being a fraternal twin yourself (female).

Age, specifically above 30 and even higher when above 35.

Height and weight: taller and heavier women are more likely to get twins than small women.

Race: white and black US women are more likely to conceive twins than those who are Hispanic or Asian.

Previous pregnancies. Having been pregnant before increases the risk slightly.

Fertility treatment. (Not taken into consideration due to the young age and high fertility of the family).

Let’s tally them point by point:

1. The first one is a family history of twins, specifically fraternal twins. Michelle has two sets of twins: John-David and Janna and Jedidiah and Jeremiah. Both sets are fraternal twins and if I recall correctly Jed and Jer are the result of a natural conception rather than IVF or any other type of fertility treatment. None of Michelle’s siblings are twins, and I don’t know if any of her aunts or uncles are twins or had any. According to a geneticist it doesn’t matter when it comes to the dad having fraternal twins run in his family, but when it comes to the mum: “Genetics can definitely play a role in having fraternal twins. For example, a woman that has a sibling that is a fraternal twin is 2.5 times more likely to have twins than average! However, for a given pregnancy, only the mother’s genetics matter. Fraternal twins happen when two eggs are simultaneously fertilized instead of just one. A father’s genes can’t make a woman release two eggs”. So it doesn’t matter that JD, Jed and Jer are male fraternal twins, but that they are does matter for their female siblings. Now, Abbie Burnett Duggar (added her maiden name for clarity) also has twin siblings, Carinna and Maggie but they appear to be identical twins and that isn’t a factor. It appears that Lauren Swanson Duggar, Kendra Caldwell Duggar and Anna Keller Duggar don’t have fraternal twin siblings. Jana, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joy-Anna, Johannah, Jennifer, Jordyn and Josie all get a point for having fraternal twins in the family.

2. Being a fraternal twin yourself, but it only counts if you’re a female. Jana rises to two points.

3. Age, specifically 30+, it’s even higher when 35+. Okay, so assuming everyone stays healthy and alive, all the female Duggars will eventually have an increased chance. However, my question is: who will be the first? At this time, Jana is the only one who is 30 but she isn’t married yet. So for now I’ll count every female Duggar who is 18+, assuming it’ll take at least 5 years for Johannah to get married. Jana 3 points; Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy-Anna 2 points; Anna (Keller), Abbie (Burnett), Kendra (Caldwell) and Lauren (Swanson) all get 1 point.

4. Height and weight: specifically taller and heavier. First of all, none of the Duggar daughters, nor the daughter-in-laws are ‘heavy’. Perhaps Anna is a bit bigger but that’s not fair considering she has had 6 kids in a short time span. The question is: could she be considered heavy? I think she’s still average, perhaps only a little bit overweight due to her pregnancy weight. I have no idea how tall the girls are, but their height seems rather average. I don’t think anyone gets a point here.

5. Race: in the US (and quite frankly, globally) white and black women are more likely to conceive multiples. Specifically black women have higher odds, but white women are still much more likely to get them than Hispanics or Asians. I think everyone gets a point here.Jana 4 points; Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy-Anna 3 points; Anna (Keller), Abbie (Burnett), Kendra (Caldwell) and Lauren (Swanson) 2 points.

6. Previous pregnancies are a great factor in whether or not you’ll get multiples. The more pregnancies you have had, the higher the odds that the next one is a multiple. Considering Anna has already had 6 kids (and one miscarriage) and the rate at which Kendra reproduces, I think they’re more likely to have this point as a factor. Of course, Anna is older so that helps too but Kendra seems likely to have a bunch of kids by the time she’s 30. Jinger still has 1, Jill is ‘stuck’ on 2 despite being 28 and Joy-Anna had a traumatic experience recently. However, Lauren (Swanson) and Josiah are going for an ABC-name theme so they might actually aim at 26 so for now I’ll include her too. Jana 4 points; Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joy-Anna, Anna (Keller), Kendra (Caldwell) and Lauren (Swanson) 3 points. Abbie (Burnett), 2 points.

The most likely Duggar to get (fraternal) twins is Jana, but only if she were to get married and have children. Although some of the girls are runner ups, I still don’t think it’s likely for them to have twins considering they have a significantly lower pace than Michelle had when it comes to conceive (whether by choice or not). From those who have 3 points, and are a Duggar by birth, I think it’s most likely that Jessa or Joy-Anna births a set of multiples since Jessa already has three kids and Joy-Anna is really deep into IBLP and has almost no chance to ‘escape’ thanks to her husband and her in-laws. I think Joy is the least likely to be on birth control, but I might be wrong. When it comes to the Duggar girls by marriage, I think Anna, Lauren and Kendra are the most likely to birth multiples. Anna because she seems very keen on getting a sports team of kids and she’s already at an age that increases her odds and Lauren and Kendra because they reproduce at a fast pace (and I genuinely think that Lauren might want to complete the entire alphabet). I also think that despite Abbie and JD’s fast pace, they won’t have a lot of kids. Not only because of having a late start, also because I think Abbie might sincerely miss working as a nurse.

Sources:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324455.php#how-to-increase-the-chance

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/having-fraternal-twins-your-genes-and-your-hormones

https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/chances-of-having-twins#natural-factors

https://genetics.thetech.org/ask-a-geneticist/twin-genetics

hi! i know u dont like the tyrion targaryen theory (understandably so), but how do you feel about tyrion having chimerism? (if u dont know what that is, it's when a person biologically has 2 fathers bc a woman had intercourse with 2 men within a short period of time, so the kid would have one mother and two fathers)

Hi! Thanks for asking me! This is a great question, and there are several things to unpack here:

the definition of chimerism and what you’re describing

the claim that Tyrion is a chimera

how this all relates to the Tyrion Targaryen theory

what this all means for Tyrion’s story as a whole

First, let’s define some terms, because what you have described is not my understanding of chimerism. I don’t claim to have extensive knowledge of biology – I’m basing my understanding on things I read in Scientific American, Time magazine, Wikipedia, etc – so if someone more knowledgable wants to correct me where I err or link me to some published scientific articles to help me learn more, it would be most appreciated. 

You seem to be describing superfecundation, not chimerism. Superfecundation results in two (or more) babies, not one. 

Superfecundation is the fertilization of two or more ova from the same cycle by sperm from separate acts of sexual intercourse, which can lead to two babies born at the same time from two separate biological fathers. While possible in humans, it is extremely rare, and most instances in humans occur from artificial insemination. (A technology which Westeros obviously does not have.) Superfecundation results in two babies born together who are half-siblings, meaning the two children have the same mother but two different fathers. I would like to stress that, while technically possible, superfecundity is rare in human reproduction outside of a laboratory. 

Superfecundation is more common in mammals with an estrus cycle (which humans do not experience). Superfecundity is often found in cats. “Superfecundation occurs when a female mates with two or more males. One litter can potentially have multiple fathers as long as they all mate with the female in the optimum time of conception. A single kitten cannot have multiple fathers; each individual kitten in a litter has only one father.” 

In cases of superfecundation, each individual has only one set of DNA. 

A chimera is a person who has more than one set of DNA. The term comes from the mythical Chimera, a mythological creature that is part lioness, part goat, and part snake. Chimerism occurs in humans when:

a twin dies in utero and the surviving twin “eats” / absorbs the other’s DNA. “Most human chimeras were, at one time, twins. Current theories posit that genetic chimeras develop spontaneously when fraternal twin embryos fuse or when one twin absorbs the other. The absorption process is called Vanishing Twin Syndrome, a haunting phrase to describe the ingestion process.“ [x] In natural pregnancies (achieved without the use of IVF), Vanishing Twin Syndrome is estimated to occur in less than 0.5% of pregnancies; it is rare. 

blood is exchanged by twins in utero

a person undergoes an organ transplant, such as a bone marrow transplant [x]

a woman becomes pregnant, and a small number of cells from the fetus migrate into her blood and travel to different organs [x]

the DNA of a child lost in utero is absorbed by the mother, turning her into a chimera “and invisibly altering her body into a kind of living memorial” [x]

From what I understand, you would have to combine superfecundation with Vanishing Twin syndrome to achieve the chimera situation you’re describing. 

Additional articles I found interesting:

“No, women do not absorb and retain DNA from every man they have sex with“

“Here’s why ‘two-dad’ babies aren’t yet a biological reality”

Perhaps I am not looking in the right place, but the only thing I was able to find (outside of reddit) about a woman having multiple partners resulting in a chimeric pregnancy, was a theoretical discussion on a Quora forum, in which it was hypothesized that a superfecund woman had sex with two men in a very short period of time, resulting in two fertilizations (very rare), and during the pregnancy one of the twins was absorbed by the other twin (also very rare), so that the resulting baby was a chimera with two fathers. 

No statistical probabilities were given, but this seems almost statistically impossible to me, even before considering this situation in a world without modern medical technology. 

In Tyrion’s case … If we were to assume both (1) superfecundity and (2) Vanishing Twin Syndrome to create a very, very rare two-father chimera … shouldn’t we see some evidence of Aerys’s DNA, as well as Tywin’s? 

If GRRM wanted us to figure this out, wouldn’t he make it more obvious for us? Aerys had purple eyes, while Tyrion has a black eye and a green eye. Tywin has green eyes. Aerys had silver/silver-gold hair, while Tyrion has white and black hair. Tywin doesn’t have white hair, but Tommen does. Aerys didn’t have dwarfism. Tyrion has dwarfism. Tywin has metaphorical dwarfism. To me, all this simply points to Tyrion having Tywin’s (”real” and literary) DNA. 

(I mean, we’re talking about the author who referenced Olenna’s broken betrothal and “queer” right on the page in ASOS, and we were all trying to figure out for years about Olenna, and it was right there in front of us. GRRM ain’t subtle.) 

So I don’t think that Tyrion is the product of superfecundity and Vanishing Twin Syndrome, both of with would need to occur in order for Tyrion to be a chimera with Aerys as one of his two fathers. Which is very unlikely. 

(More on why Tyrion is not a secret Targaryen and #A plus J does not equal T) 

I am not even 100% certain that Tyrion is a chimera (at least not the medical definition of a chimera). Don’t get me wrong, it’s an interesting theory: Tywin and Joanna conceive a second set of twins (and twins are common among House Lannister!), and one of those twins dies in the womb and Tyrion “eats” it (more cannibalism!) and absorbs his twin’s DNA. It puts an interesting spin on this quote:

Tyrion wondered what it would be like to have a twin, and decided that he would rather not know. Bad enough to face himself in a looking glass every day. Another him was a thought too dreadful to contemplate.

If this Vanishing Twin theory were true, it’s suggestive to me of Cain and Able, a good son and a bad one, and Tyrion has both of them inside him. But as far as ASOIAF theories go, I don’t think this is one that could ever be confirmed, save by word of God, and I’m not sure that GRRM would play into such a strict dichotomy. ASOIAF themes don’t support the idea that evil could be something (or someone) separate from oneself, something Tyrion needed to “absorb”. I think GRRM would be much more likely to say that the potential for evil is inside all of us (without the need of an evil twin) and it’s something we need to fight, constantly. 

So, I mean, it’s interesting to wonder if Tyrion is a chimera! 

But I don’t think he is. 

The only observable characteristic I see that could possibly point to chimerism in Tyrion is his heterochromia (the difference in coloration of the irises, hair, and/or skin). And heterochromia can be caused by many things other than chimerism. 

Heterochromia in infants may be caused by:

Horner’s syndrome

Sturge-Weber syndrome

Waardenburg syndrome

Hirschsprung disease

Bloch-Sulzberger syndrome

von Recklinghausen disease

Bourneville disease

Parry-Romberg syndrome

“Though multiple causes have been posited, the scientific consensus is that a lack of genetic diversity is the primary reason behind heterochromia. This is due to a mutation of the genes that determine melanin distribution at the 8-HTP pathway, which usually only become corrupted due to chromosomal homogeneity.“

Tyrion’s parents were first cousins. I mean, 

Fandom: Incest causes genetic mutations! It’s bad! Won’t someone please think of the children!GRRM: Here is my favorite character, Tyrion, son of Tywin the Incestuous Blood Purity Bigot. I gave Tyrion heterochromia. Fandom: That can’t possibly be due to incest. GRRM: Maybe – just maybe – Tywin’s obsession with blood purity has really fucked his children over in more ways than one. Fandom: …nah. Tyrion is a chimera. GRRM: …is this what you all do in the years between my books? 

When there are both genetic and thematic reasons to explain Tyrion’s heterochromia in the story … well, the idea that Tyrion is a chimera seems a bit overkill. It’s really not necessary to, well, other Tyrion any more than he already is. He doesn’t need all these weird and highly improbable explanations for why he is the way he is.  

(I mean, Euron has heterochromia, and no one is suggesting he is a chimera or a secret targ.) (And I don’t want to know if anyone is; leave me in my ignorance please.) 

In terms of how I feel about Tyrion have differently colored eyes and differently colored hair, I think it is thematic. Like his brother Jaime, caught in an identity crisis halfway down the page of the White Book, halfway between the Lannister shield and the white one … I think Tyrion is caught between the Lannister ideology of dehumanization, greed, lust etc (represented by the green eye, the white blonde hair) and his own humanity (shown to us in those moments when he designs a saddle for Bran, when he speaks up for Sansa, etc, represented by the black eye, the black hair). 

(The interesting thing to me is that unlike most authors, GRRM is using black here to represent heroism and humanity, when that is traditionally represented by the color white. But black is soft, black is enveloping, like a blanket to wrap around you to save you from the icy searing white cold. "By night all banners look black")

The heterochromia is a signpost representing Tyrion’s duality, his potential to go both ways, which I talk about in detail here. 

I hope that helps explain my views, and thank you again for asking!

If Haggar went by the name Honvera before the war, is it possible Lotor went by Sincline? If so, then it's possible Allura does know Lotor, but knew him as Sincline and just doesn't think they're the same person. Also she and Coran don't share information about the past unless it's immediately pressing, they didn't tell anyone about Zarkon, Haggar, or the original paladins until they had to. It's possible they wouldn't say anything about 'Sincline' if they thought he was dead and didn't matter.

I’ve considered the possibility Lotor wasn’t using the same name in the past.

I’ve also considered, if Lotor was around ten thousand years ago, given he’s mortal, that he has this reaction to the destruction of Daibazaal:

The look on his face cements for me that somehow Lotor was part of everything in s3e7- he was there to have an emotional attachment to this place. This is a very vulnerable expression for Lotor. And I think it’s significant in more ways than just the rift that thematically, Lotor is lingering here on this destroyed planet rather than Zarkon or Haggar.

Combined with Lotor’s use of “Honerva” and respectful tone there in contrast to the very hostile way he addresses Haggar, it suggests Lotor misses the past. Like Allura, he’s grieving a lost planet- and one he might have lost, from his perspective, very abruptly.

Because Lotor’s mortal. He’s not dead like his parents, and he’s not stagnant in his aging. Throk and his friend treat Lotor like a new development.

This suggests that Lotor, again, like Allura, missed some significant chunk of the last ten thousand years.

Which is significant because... the only people we’ve seen using cryogenics technology was Altea.

If Allura knew Lotor in the past, it’s fair to assume at this point she doesn’t recognize him. Because, as you say, if Allura and Coran thought it was pertinent, they’d bring him up in their recounting of ten thousand years ago. Because they went through that whole story looking for Lotor’s motives- if he was right there, they would have mentioned it.

An idea I tossed out as a wild speculative AU here seems to be gaining traction.

Roughly- if Lotor was a young child during the events of the rift- which would explain why Allura doesn’t recognize his voice- then it’s quite likely he was fairly lonely/isolated- Zarkon’s attitude about fraternizing with people “beneath” you vs. his own tight schedule as Black Paladin and Honerva’s fascination with the rift.

When Zarkon died, he wouldn’t be in a position to succeed the throne, he wouldn’t be of age- so it’s possible he may have been brought to Altea by the original paladins not wanting to leave a child alone with his parents’ corpses and a bunch of stiff proceedings that can be handled by whoever’s stepping up as regent of Daibazaal.

And then when Zarkon came back, with no warning... this guy’s returned from the dead and declared war on Altea. From Alfor’s perspective, Lotor is just as much in danger as everyone else- if a guy is suddenly showing up as a zombie and trying to annihilate his former allies you’re not going to exactly tell his son to pack his toothbrush and go home to dad.

Alfor might have tried to hide Lotor- possibly accompanied by some of his own people.

And I have some evidence for this besides pure spitballing: first, it’d be thematically consistent with the Black Lion also seeking shelter with Alfor.

Second: this nicely explains why Lotor knew about Trayling’s ship but Zarkon didn’t. Because Lotor might have been there when Alfor found the second comet and sent it away. He’d know to go looking for it.

Third: In the recently released clip, Lotor uses a tank of cyan energy. We know harvested quintessence pretty much universally comes in yellow, or, if it’s been refined by druid power, violet. But the raw form is yellow.

Cyan energy is associated with Altean machines and devices. But Alteans don’t refine quintessence- Coran and Allura prove they didn’t have technology for that, because they’re baffled and horrified by the setup in s1e10. 

But some Alteans have to have survived, learned this technology, and adapted it. And Lotor has to have access to those Alteans.

So with all of that together:

Imagine Alfor hides Lotor in a cryopod somewhere. Lotor is a child at the time, and likely going by a different name. The plan is, most likely, the same as Allura- if everything works out, they’ll all be reunited.

Everything does not work out. And Zarkon hunts for Lotor- because Zarkon saw Alfor destroying Daibazaal as taking the rift from him, and Alfor taking the Black Lion, and Lotor, would just anger him further. In Zarkon’s eyes, his own son, his rightful possession, has been stolen.

But it’s seemingly a very long time before Zarkon’s able to find Lotor- since earlier, and Lotor would have lived out his entire natural lifespan, even assuming that’s fairly long thanks to his Altean heritage. And Throk makes it clear by the less-prodigious galra standards, Lotor is not that old.

The exile? Makes perfect sense. Because Lotor’s moral standards, especially fresh out of the pod, would be what the empire used to be- part of an alliance upholding the protector of the universe. Lotor’s very Voltron-like standards, but tendency to operate more cutthroat when stressed, makes a lot of sense as someone from a more idyllic time who’s since been forced to try and engage with the reality of the empire now, and who would feel quite unsafe indeed because when he sought shelter with the other half of his heritage, those people were leveled to ruin.

Especially if Lotor had a positive enough relationship with Alfor- we might even see something like DDP’s take on Voltron that featured Lotor and Allura as childhood friends, but I’m uncertain of that because again, it’s quite likely Lotor was considerably younger than Allura and official sources do point out she’s not good with children.

But if Lotor was close to Alfor, and Altea, which, frankly, is likely to me considering that Lotor would probably be desperate to make friends that Zarkon’s sense of classism considers socially acceptable, and how Zarkon and Alfor were close enough allies once that Alfor presented an infant Allura to Zarkon- it’d basically mean that Lotor at this point in time is grieving two destroyed planets. And that one side of his heritage tried to destroy the other.

It’d also mean, give or take the assumption Lotor is somewhere near twenty like most of the paladins, he could well have experienced that loss something like ten years ago. And assuming Lotor used a different name- very likely Sincline, since both Zarkon and Haggar have their GoLion names represented in this backstory specifically, and it’d explain easily why Allura doesn’t make the jump between Sincline and Lotor, but nonetheless reacts with mixed feelings to Zarkon having a son that seems willing to carry on his empire- he clearly didn’t lose his memory of the past, so it was possible that change in identity or renaming was something pressured onto him.

For Kendell.

happy birthday @booyahkendell, welcome to the 20′s! as promised, a schmoopy kid fic.

Nora Liu loves her job. She loves it even more now that she switched out of teaching high school and went back to pre-school education.

(More like ran out, but no one needs to know that detail.)

There are still high stress situations; more responsibility being a pre-school teacher. Toddlers operate more like hazardous drunk people more than little human beings. Nora has gotten used to the spike in her blood pressure whenever she couldn’t locate one of them during head count for recess.

But she likes kids. Kids are easy. Feed them, entertain them, make sure they get their mandatory nap and keep a goddamn eye out. It’s not rocket science, as many (cough, her ex-boyfriend) think.

Oh, and make sure they don’t kill each other.

That, was easier said than done.

Typically, that’s the one rule that’s actually hard to regulate. Kids tend to use their hands more than their words. Which, well, she can’t exactly blame them because a solid third of them can barely even use words.

George and Ken for example, are almost impossible to separate since they are best friends. Best friends who like to beat each other up.

Zoe hates sharing, which is something both her parents and Nora are working on changing. Nora caught her swing at another kid for touching her building blocks once.

Some of them are just straight up nightmares.

Nora loves her job. She loves kids. And sometimes…

Sometimes, they surprise her.

Alex Carisi, for example. Four years old going on forty, in Nora’s opinion. She plays alone, not because other kids don’t like her or don’t want to include her but because she genuinely enjoys it. She can entertain herself and still put her toys away when playtime’s over. The kid barely kicks up a fuss and never makes a loud scene, which wouldn’t be so surprising if her twin brother wasn’t the polar fucking opposite.  

Julian Carisi is a firecracker and oddly articulate for his age. He talks a lot, asks even more questions and makes it his job to give Nora heart attacks for how nimble (and fearless…) he is once a tree is in his sights.

For twins, they don’t really look alike. Nora first assumed they were adopted, knowing that they have two fathers (not that she’s met them yet, green as she is.) But there are similar enough features that hint that they have some genetic connection, if not one hundred percent.

Alex’s light brown hair is long and always styled half up, half down with a different coloured bow. Her complexion is fair, as well as her eyes that are a bright blue. When she laughs and smiles, two dimples appear deep in her cheeks.

Julian also has brown hair, short and curly atop his head. He’s a barely a shade darker than his sister and instead of blue eyes, his are green.

Nora thinks they have the same nose. But that’s about it. She doesn’t know why she can’t stop trying to figure it out.

But then George throws sand in Lucas’ eyes and that train of thought dies.

-

It’s the end of the day and Nora is waiting for the parent pick up at the front of the school. Most of them have already been taken home. Nora checks her watch; it’s a little past two pm. She glances back up and does another head count. All accounted for.

Among all the boys left, Alex is the only girl. While the boys play together, she sits in the sandbox, making a castle. She looks focussed. Nora walks over to her and Alex doesn’t even look up to acknowledge her presence.

“That’s a pretty sandcastle Alex,” Nora says, squatting to reach her eye-level.

“Thanks,” Alex says, she’s not really listening. Instead, she’s looking at her miniature toys and takes the princess toy and places her on top of the castle.

“Is it a princess castle?” Nora presses. It’s weird; how much she normally would give anything for the kids to shut up some days and yet wants nothing more than for this one to open up.

Alex nods and pushes her hair out of her face. Nora unscrews her water bottle. It’s been a hot week. “Wanna see something cool?”

Alex nods again and shuffles back in the sand. Her tights and shirt are sandy. Nora smiles and digs around the castle with the tiny plastic shovel and pours her water in, making a moat. Alex’s face lights up and she claps.

“She can swim now!” Alex cries and drops her princess face down into the water. Nora bites back a laugh. Nora picks up the doll and shakes the water off.

“Yeah, she can swim now. This is called a m—”

But Alex isn’t listening to her anymore, her attention is over her head and Nora has never seen that expression on her face before. It’s like pure sunshine. “Daddy!”

Alex scrambles to her feet and runs. Nora hears a low voice from behind her make an exaggerated hurt sound and Alex giggles. She turns as she gets up, the wet doll in her hand and –

Wow.

The man is tall and lean, holding Alex comfortably at his hip. He’s dressed formally; a navy three pieced suit and expensive looking shoes. Nora would assume he works somewhere on Wall Street, if his police badge wasn’t on his hip, glinting in the sunlight. Alex’s tiny arms are wrapped around his neck and she’s talking a mile a minute into his ear. The man laughs and they’re close enough that she can make out identical dimples on his cheeks that match Alex’s.

This must be Alex and Julian’s father. He kisses her on the cheek and she starts to wriggle, wordlessly telling him she wants to be put down. He does so but Alex holds his hand, and starts to climb up his leg like he’s some sort of tree. Nora can’t really blame her. He’s tall as one and gorgeous as fu—

“Sorry I’m late,” her father says, snapping Nora out of her thoughts. He doesn’t seem to mind that his daughter is using him as a jungle gym, carrying on a conversation still. He’s bent over a little bit but keeps his eyes on Nora and damn, that’s where she gets those blues from. “Got here as fast as I can. How was she? Not too much trouble I hope?” He smiles, lips full and pink. Jesus Christ.

His accent is obviously Staten Island, and a thick one at that. He’s effortlessly handsome, his age only shown in the greys on the side of his light brown hair. Luckily, the absurdity of that question is enough to wake her up from drooling.

“Trouble? Alex?” Nora asks, unable to keep the laugh out of her voice and comes closer to hand Alex her toy back. “I don’t know what magic you’ve got going on at home but she’s the complete opposite of trouble. Believe me.”

Alex’s father laughs at that, eyes shining and looks down at his daughter who has given up trying to climb him and just holds his hand and hugs his leg. Daddy’s little girl. “Yeah, she is,” he says and then he seems to remember something. “Speaking of trouble, where’s your brother?”

Alex shrugs, the question and concern beneath her. Sonny rolls his eyes.

“Oh, he’s – “ Nora turns to point to the play structure in the middle of the yard.

“Julian!” Alex’s father shouts and like clockwork, Julian’s face pops out from inside the play castle, like he’s been caught red-handed. When he sees who it is, he leaves his friends behind and runs down the fort and into his dad’s other leg. Julian starts talking a mile a minute, tugging his dad towards the playground.

“I found a snail daddy,” Julian says, like he’s found buried treasure.

Alex tugs him the other way. “Is Papi home yet Daddy?”

“Oh yeah?” His dad says to Julian with something like genuine interest and then, “Papi’s on his way here sweetheart. Let your brother show daddy the snail while we wait.” Then to Nora, “I’m Sonny by the way, I’d shake your hand but,” he shrugs. Like this is his life now.

Nora blinks. “No problem.”

Sonny grins. Julian lets go of his hand and he picks up Alex, who now looks grumpy. As he lets his son lead him to the jungle gym, he presses another kiss to his daughter. “Hey, you mad at me?” Alex pouts and doesn’t say anything. “Aww, you mad at daddy?” He says, grinning wide now. Nora feels something die inside her at the sight of it. He nuzzles his nose to her face until she shoves him away with her little hand, giggling. Alex kisses him off centre on the lips, a forgiveness.

Nora’s pretty sure her standards have skyrocketed into the atmosphere just watching this.

-

Turns out Sonny is more than just a pretty face with an even prettier body and impressive father skills. He’s funny, he’s a good listener and can multi-task like nobody’s business.

They keep a on and off conversation, waiting for his husband to show up.

(“You grow up here?” He asked, keeping an eye on his kids as they went up and down the slide.

Nora shook her head. “California. Moved her about ten years ago.”

Sonny whistled. “Long way to teach.”)

(“So, you’re a cop,” Nora said, a little awkwardly.

“Yup,” Sonny responded, popping the ‘p’.

“That must be…fun.”

Sonny laughed, like there was some sort of inside joke she wasn’t privy to. “Well it sure isn’t boring. That their father’s job, not mine.” And when Nora just stared, Sonny was quick to fill her in. “He’s a lawyer.”

“Ah.”)

(“Not to cross any boundaries,” Nora asked later, “but they’re fraternal right?”

Sonny smiled at that. “They look identical to you?”

“Um – “

Sonny waved her off, “nah, I’m just screwing with you. Yeah, they are. They have the same mother, biologically, but everything else is,” he made a weird gesture that Nora figured meant to say: one part of me, one part of their other dad.

“Huh,” she said. “Cool.”

And Sonny glanced over at her, arms crossed with a soft smile on his lips. “Yeah. It is.”

-

It’s another ten minutes or so, when “Papi” appears.

All the children have been picked up and technically, Nora doesn’t have a reason to stick around any longer. She has a bottle of Pinot Noir calling her name at home, but she can’t help her curiosity to see who put a ring on Sonny. She’s looking up recipes for dinner on her phone (Sonny had suggested a great website) when she hears him shout loud and sarcastically, “well look who decided to show up!”

He’s still smiling despite the tone in his voice; sitting cross legged on the ground with his suit jacket to protect his pants from the wood chips. His sleeves are rolled up past his elbows and he somehow managed to get Alex and Julian both playing together. Nora turns around from her seat on the bench.

A man approaches, an expensive looking leather briefcase in one hand. If Sonny’s suit was impressive, his belongs on a runway. It probably costs more than what Nora gets paid. He’s about her height, maybe a bit taller and his hair is dark; dark like Julian’s. The closer he gets, the more she can see Julian in every aspect of him. Nora bets behind those shades, his eyes are green just like his.

“Look who it is,” Sonny whispers to Alex, who has her arms around his neck but doesn’t move to greet her dad.

Julian is already in his arms, heavy and exhausted from playing under the sun all day. ‘Papi’ brushes his unruly hair down, trying to get it flat when he pushes his glasses over his head. He’s unfairly handsome in an unobtainable type of way. All tanned skin and green eyes.

“Alexandra,” he says softly, “you can’t give Papi a kiss hello?”

This is all a little too private for a stranger. Nora watches as Alex grips onto Sonny harder and hides her face. Nora can tell that he’s being played with and played with well. Sonny seems to notice it too.

Sonny rolls his eyes and rubs her back. “Papi didn’t mean to be late honey,” he says sweetly. “He’s out there saving the world remember? Making the world a better place like daddy.”

Je-sus.

Alex pulls her head away from Sonny’s neck and looks to her dad, who reaches out to her with his free hand. “I’m sorry mi amor, forgive me?”

It looks like those words affect Sonny more than they affect Alex who seems to think this offer over, taking her time, before nodding and she throws herself into his open arm where he’s knelt. He kisses her cheek and hugs her tight.

If Nora feels emotional watching it, Sonny appears to be wrecked. Happy and proud all at once. Sonny gets to his feet, a little unsteady and takes Julian from him, who is dead asleep. Sonny kisses his husband chastely on the lips, easy as breathing and then nudges his shoulder.

“Raf, this is Nora, their teacher,” Sonny says with a not-so subtle tone in his voice that is reminiscent of “show your manners.”

“Rafael Barba,” Rafael says, shaking her hand. He scans her face, like he’s making sure he’ll never forget it if something happens. The shift from adoring, grovelling dad to intimidating father is scary.

And just like that, she’s beneath his attention again. “Papi, I’m hungry,” Alex says, rubbing at her eye. She tugs his hand and Rafael lets her lead him out of school grounds, talking about pizza for dinner. Jesus. Alex has got him wrapped around her finger.

“You need a ride home?” Sonny asks Nora, adjusting Julian in his grip. Julian nuzzles closer, but doesn’t wake. Nora shakes her head and gathers her bag.

“No, I’ll catch a quick ride.”

“You sure?” It’s so obvious he wants to leave. His eyes keep darting to his retreating husband and daughter.

“I’m sure,” she smiles to reassure him. “You have a beautiful family Mr. Carisi.”

Sonny looks over to where his husband is loading Alex into the back seat of a shiny black Mustang. Rafael closes the door and looks for Sonny. Sonny’s already heading over, pulled into his orbit. “Yeah, I do.” His grin brighter than the summer sun.

basically, angels are old as heck.

setting: gates of heaven funeral home & cemetery. characters: jess, matty, blue & adriel. tw: angel babies 

@matty-boy​, @charlottebluebryn​, @askwhleaders​

Adriel had been working on decorating the cemetery for the holidays, making sure to get every nook and cranny possible with lights, tinsel, garland, or other festive decorations. This year, they had gone with a more gold and white palette to match the rest of their decor, and were just setting up the lights around the entrance way to the parlor when they heard the footsteps behind them. Turning right after they finished plugging the string on, they looked the three over as they approached with a smile. They recongized these ones. Hopefully they weren't here to harass them about secrets or other such ventures. "Jessica, others," they bowed their head slightly in respect, "how can I help you good people?" they asked calmly.

Jess wasn't experienced with angels as a whole, but Adriel, she knew. Glancing to Matty and Blue beside her, she tried to instill confidence in them with just a single look. Taking her palms out of her pockets, she cleared her throat. "Uh, hey these are my friends Blue and Matty." She introduced, feeling totally out of place with how casual of a plane they lived on compared to a greater angel. Jess wondered what Adriel's nickname would be, if angels even did that sort of thing. "We just wanted to ask a few questions. Hopefully we're not interrupting." It looked like Christmas had exploded in here.

Matty couldn't help but smile at all of the holiday decorations as the three walked into the cemetery. Unsurprisingly, Matty loved the holidays.  When they reached Adriel, Matty couldn't help but stare in awe for a moment. This was the first time he had knowingly stood in front of an angel and it was exactly intimidating as he thought it would be. "It's nice to meet you. I love the decorations, by the way. It all looks wonderful."

Blue gave an awkward wave in Adriel's direction as Jess spoke. Their casual demeanor was surprising, and weird to see coming from such a powerful being. She busied herself with staring at the decorations, wandering away from the clump to inspect something particularly shiny.

Adriel hummed a large smile towards Matty, "Oh, I'm so pleased to hear that-- the holidays are so special to me." feeling in a lighter mood now with the boy's compliments. Adriel noted that the other on the end hadn't spoken, but they dismissed it once Jessica asked about speaking. "Not at all. Is something troubling you?"

Jess hesitated on how to pitch this, twisting her fingers around themselves, trying to pick the best words. Words weren't her specialty though. "We know that you helped my dad at the ball, we know that you had something to do with what happened that night and we want you to know... that we appreciate it. We want to help you help us and West Hollow, especially after what happened during the storm." Jess side-glanced at Matty, wishing maybe he'd written a speech for her to follow. Dang it, hindsight. "I overheard you talking about two angels the other day to my dad, twins actually."

Matty nodded at Jess when she looked over at him, trying to be encouraging.  We want you to know that we appreciate it He couldn't have said it better himself. It was important that Adriel know that they weren't some kids barging in there and demanding answers. Jess' statement would hopefully help Adriel see that Mystery Inc. had West Hollow's best interests at heart too. He remained silent but gave a soft smile and nod as Jess spoke, wanting to show that they all felt that way.

Blue returned to attention quickly, standing with her group and nodding along. She hoped they weren't coming across as demanding, or nosy. Jess seemed to know how to speak to the angel, though. She sounded polite enough, and Blue would probably end up sounding rude if she tried adding anything, so she didn't speak. She did, however, look directly at Adriel, hoping it added to their earnestness.

Adriel looked between the group as the woman told them all of what they knew, their head tilting as they tried to figure out how to best approach it. It seemed that they knew a lot, but, they specifically knew about the miracle of the heavens that was the new angels. They nodded, but then noted that the other two seemed to refuse to speak. They turned to Blue and Matty, "Do you two also feel as Jessica does? You seem hesitant. If you come as a group, you must also speak as one. I admire Jessica's questions, but I talk to all who come to me."

Color rose to Blue's face, and she cleared her throat. "I have the same questions as Jess," she said. "And I'm confused, or... uh, worried, actually, about what it means if it's true."

Matty nodded again. "I absolutely appreciate what you have done. I have a lot to thank Angels for in general. I worry a lot about speaking over people but I agree with Jess.  It's clear you love and care about West Hollow as much as we do. That's why we're here."

Jess gave both Blue and Matty an encouraging smile, feeling a pang of pride for Mystery Inc and how they could always depend on each other as a team.

Adriel noted that Matty was perhaps the boy that they had overheard an angel speaking about healing his mother, although they weren't positive. They would save that for a note later. "There is no need to worry, you are safe to speak freely here." Adriel's brows furrowed, "If what's true? If the town is in trouble? I would say that is a complicated issue." they breathed out a tense breath through their nose, "The twins, ah...." Adriel wasn't sure how exactly to approach any of this. "They aren't exactly twins in the sense you may know, but, they are special. They are here to help, like myself."

"Then what is it that makes them twins if it's not how we know it? Special how?" Questions flooded Matty's mind but he was careful not to let them go flying out all at once.(edited)

"And uh, how often do you make new angels?" Blue echoed Matty, her brow furrowing. "Because that would help us contextualize the significance."

Adriel took a breath in, fingers going to their lips to think for a moment. "In the sense that twins are a product of genetic division, these two were specially crafted and made, each with distinct personalities and faces, fully formed from the salt water of this great earth our gods provided for us. The gods had not done such a thing since I was created millions of years ago in the same fashion." they finally answered. They didn't name names, and therefore, figured the two were safer that way. "They were trained by Archangel Michael himself. Their creation can perhaps be a warning sign of a troubled world or a miracle, depending on how you interpret it."

"A miracle." Matty said softly, mostly to himself. Matty wondered if they still looked like twins and Mystery Inc. could find them that way.

"If that is how you feel, yes," Adriel nodded, picking up on the boy's words. "The heavens have celebrated it as such. I cannot, however, give out names or locations. They are what you may consider celebrities in the angelic and demon realms, and therefore, are in great danger to attack if I did. Just know they are helping out best they can." they gave a soft smile.

Blue sighed quietly, shoulders drooping a bit. She had a less optimistic view, but if the heavens were celebrating, she supposed she shouldn't worry too much. "Uh, maybe this is a stupid question, but won't they be kind of.... obvious? I mean, twins, and all."

Jess was uncharacteristically silent, but she knew by instinct that right now was a time to listen and observe rather than call any shots. Pondering of genetic devision, she wished Adriel was less of a cryptic and more of a realist, but Jess didn't want to piss off any higher beings today. "Well, Adriel said they're not twin twins...." Jess glanced at Blue curiously, as if Adriel wasn't standing right in front of them in that moment. Turning back to the angel, she hesitated. "Is it because of what happened the other night with the storm? Or what happened down at the beach? I mean, I assume there's been wars for centuries but... why now?"

Adriel gave a coy smile, slightly amused by the human's logic, then pleased when Jessica spoke up and corrected her. "Yes, they are not identical. Similar looking, beautiful, tender-- but sculpted each as so." However, Jessica's next question had the angel uneasy. Adriel pursed their lips, eyes flickering to the floor as they too pondered this. Archangel Michael had said many things about their creation, both from the realistic to the philosophical, and Adriel had yet to discern their true purpose. Finally, they looked up with a sigh, "There is no one event. Have you heard the saying that 'if you do it right, they won't know you did anything at all'? I think that is applicable here."

"I guess it's like.... fraternal twins, right? Same pumpkin patch, different physical traits..." Jess thought aloud, eyes rolling around the room to look at the crazy decorations again. At Adriel's prophecy of sorts, Jess groaned internally, wishing once more they could just give a straight answer. "Right. No offense, but if we know," She gestured to herself and co. "Then isn't it a pretty safe bet that other species know. What if they're rallying some kind of defense? Sorry, I don't know the politics of the supernatural world, but that'd make sense right?" She glanced to Blue and Matty beside her for backup.

"Yeah, I mean.... we know you did something..." Blue muttered, scratching the back of her neck. "And us humans are pretty like, stupid, and slow on the uptake."

Though it wasn't the wording Matty would have chosen, he agreed with both of his friends. "We want to help prevent things from happening to them too. Other species may have less good intentions. If you have more people working together, isn't that a good thing?"

Adriel looked over the bunch, eyebrow ticking up slowly with curiosity at their questions. Jessica was especially irritating the angel, but their face instead just displayed as if they were intenting listening. After a moment, Adriel shrugged, "Interspecies relations are complicated, to say the least. The alliance that other species have formed in this town I do not agree with, as it is corrupted with maliciousness. Demons have been mounting a defense for years, and we have been fighting for years. If you can comprehend this, I have been chasing evil for more than a million years. I have seen cities fall, empires crumble, and humans rise to every occasion imaginable. I do not find it surprising that you figured out our reality so quickly. Stories, fables, novels, sacred texts, art -- all have been created depicting one or many of the species.""If you worry about the angels being found out by the others, you needn't be, is what I mean."

Blue felt as if her brain was beginning to melt, so she just nodded along. She could barely remember how long it had been since she got into a fight, let alone picture chasing evil for a million years. "Okay...." she said slowly. "That's... Okay. So they don't mean there's going to be immediate doom or destruction? Immediate by, like, human standards?"

Jess felt like she was in a history lecture, though if she was she definitely would have sketched herself as something ridiculous in a notebook and tuned out about a solid forever ago. Being here on their own accord, she had to stop her eyes from rolling into the back of her head which all of this, went way over. Nodding at Blue's comment, Jess agreed. "Yeah, I don't know if any of the angels have heard but... one of our group gave out some pretty private information during the storm on some whim. So now, we're kind of worried about our safety. More than usual, anyway..."(edited)

Matty could not begin to fathom a million years.  The guilt that rested in his chest since the storm rose up again when Jess brought up the fact that Harper had given away Nolan's name. He should have done more to make sure that hadn't happened. He just didn't think that Harper would endanger anyone else's life, even with the little regard she apparently had for her safety. Matty's eyes looked to the ground as he stayed silent, hoping Adriel had already heard about it and did not want to discuss this topic at any length.

"No, but if it came to that, we would fight with all our might to protect you all." Adriel answered firmly to Blue. Upon hearing Jessica's words, Adriel frowned deeply and nodded. They had heard about this, and there had been rumbling about others names of their members getting out as well. They were right to come to Adriel if this is what was pressing them. "I did hear, yes, but you are aware that all of your names are in danger, yes? One of my angels found a list on a demon she killed, and I am sure your names were all on it. You are in danger, and I have sent out patrols more than usual to try and keep you all safe, but our numbers are staggered." They sighed heavily with guilt, hand going over their heart as they thought. "I...the twins are new, like babies. They resist some of my guidance in favor of exploring, and therefore, I haven't gotten a chance to tell them about this yet."

Jess opened her mouth and shut it immediately; all of their names? She looked at Matty then, demanding him with her expression to speak up now if he had missed out on telling them a detail that endangered all of them. But then Adriel mentioned a list, and Jess swung back to look at the angel. "Okay so... all of us are in danger... and there's not enough angels... Okay, that's not the news I was expecting to hear today..." Jess breathed, a little panicked.

"Oh, great!" Blue said, suddenly louder than she's been this entire meeting. "What happy news, our lives are in mortal danger!" She dragged her face down with her hands, making a frustrated sound. "This is going great, guys, don't you think?"

Matty bit his lip and shrugged at Jess as she glared at him trying to tell her that he knew nothing about that. He bit his lip, trying to process that they were all just as much in danger as Nolan was. He looked to Blue, "At least we know now, Blue. We know. We can warn everyone else." It was the only positive he could think to draw out of this.

"Yeah well for once the truth is a bit much to handle," Jess bit quietly, but knew there was no point throwing a real tantrum about it. Not when she should be on Ebay right this minute looking for coffins. Looking at the angel, Jess sighed. "What do you suppose we do to protect ourselves then? If the baby angels aren't ready to do their intended work and there's not enough angels in West Hollow... What are our options?"

"Pick out grave plots next to each other," she offered.

Jess fist bumped Blue for her good plan. 

Adriel let out a frustrated breath, "I understand this is tense for you all, but you must realize that not all hope is lost. Much of what you don't see if us angels fighting for your lives. I know several who had already saved or countered plots to kill one or all of you, and while that may not sound reassuring now, it means we are working hard for you. Ma-- The twins, I shall speak with them at once and try to give you both more coverage."

Matty frowned at Blue and Jess, not sure this was the time for sarcastic joking. The response was equally comforting and not. While it was nice to know the angels were ensuring their safety, the idea that there was so much hate aimed at them was not. What if the angels missed something or didn't get there in time? "We appreciate that you're doing so. Is there anything we can do for ourselves to help ensure our safety too?"

At the fist pump, Adriel gave another long sigh. Before they could speak and scold the two, however, the boy once more spoke up and they turned their attention towards him. Their brows furrowed, licking their lips in thought before shrugging, "I would say taking some lessons from that police man of yours. He is the only one who the demons have been wary of because of his training, but, of course, they will come for him as well. It's best you're all as prepared, though."