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blackwolfstabs · 7 months

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30 Day Writing Challenge: Day 16

LAUGHTER

Sam has been in a bad mood all day, and Tara handles it. She's not mean, she's just a younger sister.

a.n. mentions tickling (if you don't like it, i don't need to hear about it. i respectfully ask that you kindly move on.)

“Alright, T, the chicken’s in the oven!” Mindy announced down the hall and pulled out her phone to set a timer. “It’ll be about 25 minutes.”

From inside her room, Tara hollered back, “‘Kay! I’ll be in there to start the rice in a minute!”

It was Friday night again, that one night of the week when the Carpenter sisters, Meeks-Martin twins, and Danny got together to do dinner and a movie night. They started that “tradition” a couple weeks after Mindy and Chad had gotten home from the hospital. It was held in celebration of making it to the weekend. The college students didn’t have to worry about waking up early, or homework, or due dates for two whole days, and that was something worth kicking-off with a chill night.

It usually went something like this: the night was held at the Carpenters’ apartment every week. It typically started at 5:00 PM, because that was when Mindy and Chad tended to show up. Then, a couple, few, or more would make dinner, and they’d sit down at the table and eat, while talking about anything and everything—venting about the week, celebrating the highs and lows, or just nonsense—until everybody was done. Lastly, came the movie. Usually, the decision on what to watch was rotated between Tara, Mindy, and Chad, because Sam and Danny couldn’t care less—and of course, they were teased for being older, so they were probably too tired to care.

However, they enjoyed it, nonetheless, and always managed to make it happen, no matter what. Tonight, dinner was on Mindy and Tara, and they agreed to make orange chicken.

Tara weaved her way from her bedroom and into the kitchen, where she pulled a pot out from the cabinet and took it to the sink. As she turned the handle to begin filling it up, there was a knock at the door.

From one of the living room chairs, Chad yelled, “It’s open!” And once the newcomer entered, he dropped back down to casual. “How’s it going, Danny?”

“Fine,” Danny replied, then was greeted by the other two in the room.

“What’s up?” Mindy called from the table, while Tara’s voice came from the sink.

“You’re late!” But then she stuck her head out from behind the wall, “No, I’m just playing, you’re good.” She went back to the sink, voice following as she did so, “It’s orange chicken tonight! We have to keep it fancy on Fridays.”

“We love to keep it fancy!” Mindy emphasized.

“Fancy Fridays!” the other put a name on it.

“Fancy Fridays!” she repeated.

And then Chad had to add, “Fancy Fridays with the Core Four Plus More!”

As the three cheered in agreement, Danny glanced around. They were missing one member of the said Core Four. “Where’s Sam?” he asked, while taking a seat in the chair that wasn’t occupied.

“She’s in the shower,” the younger male answered. And before he could explain any further, Tara took over.

“Yeah, and, full disclosure, she’s been in a bad mood all day long.” She set the now-full pot on the stove and left it to boil, while she made her way out of the kitchen to continue her warning. “I don’t know if you’ve talked to her, but…”

Danny shook his head, turning himself so he could look at her. “No, I haven’t. Is something going on with her?”

But Tara just shrugged, “Just tired. She overslept this morning, and I had to wake her up, which she did not like. And then, because she overslept, she had a bad headache. I texted her in class, later on, and she said her head had stopped hurting, but her attitude hasn’t changed. Usually, she’s just very quiet when she’s tired, but she’s been really irritable today.” She gestured to both of the twins, “And it’s not just me. She snapped at Chad and Mindy, too, before she went to take a shower.”

The other glanced from Tara to Mindy. “Is it that time? You know… of the month?” He was sure Chad was used to the subject, given his considered family was primarily made up of girls, but he always felt out of place mentioning it.

“No, that’s not for another two weeks,” the younger Carpenter replied casually, unfazed to exploit that kind of information that may or may not be sensitive.

Mindy made her way to the right end of the couch, “If she was upset about something serious, we’d be the first to know.” Then she shrugged, “She’s just grumpy, because it’s America, and she can be. 1st Amendment people!”

“1st Amendment, my ass,” Tara retorted, “This is the day of the week we always celebrate for surviving another fucking week!” She put one finger up to make a point, throwing it towards Sam’s shut bedroom door. “And she’s gonna be happy about it, whether she likes it or not. I’m calling it.” She went on to vow, “I’m gonna get her. I don’t know how, but she’s gonna get it.”

Chad scoffed, “Yeah, good luck with that. I’m staying out of it. Sam’s kinda scary when she’s mad, and I’m trying to live to see tomorrow.”

But his girlfriend rolled her eyes. “Come on, Chad. She’s not mad, she’s annoyed. And for someone who’s a sibling, you should know there’s nothing sweeter and more satisfying than annoying your sibling.” A mischievous smile pulled at her lips, and her eyebrows raised in unison to hint at some sort of younger-sibling antic that she had yet to figure out.

However, Danny, being the gentleman he was, tried to veer that plan of action off its train of formulation. “I don’t know, maybe she’ll feel better after having taken a shower.”

“Bet!” Chad nodded in agreement. “We’re gonna hope for that.”

His sister gave them a look and clicked her tongue, “Y’all are no fun…”

Tara had already gone back to the kitchen, leaving the rest to the passing time as she checked on the water. And it wasn’t long at all before the door at the end of the hallway opened.

Sam came out into the living room without saying a word. The only person she acknowledged was Danny, who got up to greet her. She stopped in front of him when he came up, managing a slight smile that was more of a failed attempt at one.

However, he took it anyway and leaned over to kiss her cheek, the scent of shampoo strong off her hair. When he met her eyes again, he asked, “Are you okay?”

She nodded but looked away as if it had been the thousandth time she had been asked that today. “Yeah, fine.” She looked back at him with a quick shrug, “I’m just tired.”

“Okay.” He backed away so she could continue on to where she was going, instantly detecting the irritability in her voice. It didn’t offend him, but as he watched her make way to the left end of the sofa, he found Mindy giving him an I-told-you-so look.

Meanwhile, Sam bent one leg beneath her as she sat down and brought the other one up off the floor, centering her focus on her phone.

“Feel better after your shower, Sam?” the girl to her left quizzed.

She didn’t look up from the screen. “Mm. More or less.”

The dryness in her voice was so neon against the laid-back behavior of the others, it made Mindy roll her eyes. “Oh, come on, Sam! Tonight’s supposed to be fun. Lighten up,” she told her.

This made her look up and shrug. “I said, I was fine,” she insisted. She had tried to make her voice sound lighter, but it didn’t come across that well.

“I know, but like… just relax! Smile. Have some fun,” Mindy encouraged. “I know you’re tired, but the night is here! It’s just us having a good time.” But when Sam unleashed a sigh and looked back down, she took it a step further. “Your boyfriend would like to see you smile, right, Danny?” she put her hand out towards the appointed being. “He hasn’t seen you all day. He shouldn’t be punished by his girlfriend’s bad attitude.”

“I don’t have a bad attitude!” Samantha snapped. “I’m just tired. I told him that, and I told all of you that.”

“Okay, so? We’re tired too. College ain’t easy, sister,” her friend countered with her smart mouth. “But the Core-Fuckin’-Four Plus One-Fuckin’-More wants to have a good night, and for that, we need smiles all around.” When she was answered with a wry scoff and a roll of the other’s eyes, she pressed, “Come on! Even if you have to fake-it ‘til you make it, I’ll let it slide tonight.”

The older Carpenter just sighed and stared at her, which made her bring Danny into it again. “Please? For him?” Her tone fluctuated in a sing-song voice, “He thinks it’s beautiful~”

“You know, trying to force me is only making me not want to, even more,” she retorted.

Now, Brackett jumped in, “Mindy, just leave her be.”

But—with Mindy being Mindy—leaving shit be without proper intervention wasn’t acceptable. She completely understood how Sam being tired and having headaches would leave her in a bad mood all day. That happened to everyone all the time, but this wasn’t just about that night… She wanted to see how far she could push her. She knew when enough was enough, but she and Tara both had a thing about persistence, and damn, did that give them a sterling charm. “Nope!” And that’s exactly who she’d bring into it. “Tara! Sam’s being a major drip!”

“Mindy…” Sam groaned. “Seriously?”

“You asked for it.”

“Snitch,” Chad accused his sister.

“Shut up,” was her reply.

Tara came out of the kitchen, immediately going behind her sister and leaning over the couch to rest her chin on top of her head. “Why are you being such a loser, Sammy?”

“I’m not! All I said was that I was tired! Why is that such a problem?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest to hold her there. “All we’re asking is for you to actually try and enjoy the night. We just want you to be happy.” She was quiet for a brief moment before she jumped to statistics. “You know, my professor said that smiling is proven to decrease stress and release endorphins. So, Mindy’s got a point.”

“And if smiling sounds even more tiring?” Sam countered as she looked to her right, where Tara leaned over, so they could look at each other.

“Hmm…” her younger sister pondered for a moment, then came back with, “Well, I’m tired and yet—” She cut herself off to give a big smile that reminded them both of when they were little—how she would always smile like that to make her older sister do the same on a bad day. Then she relaxed. “Smiling isn’t that hard? Remember when I used to be able to make you smile just by doing it, myself?”

This actually made the other feel the starting upturn of her lips, but she looked away, feeling awkward about it.

But Tara caught it. “Perfect,” she enthused, “More of that, okay?” But she didn’t get any sign of a reply. “Okaaay?” Still nothing as her sister kept staring at her phone, but she knew she was getting somewhere just by noticing her avoiding eye contact. “Sam? Sammy?” She nudged her a little, still clinging to her.

Sam just shook her head in a ‘you’re ridiculous’ way.

Then, she took it to a more playful level, pulling her close and whispering into her ear. “You can’t ignore me.” She knew she couldn’t stand it when she’d whisper directly into her ear like that.

And that still showed to be true as her big sister cringed immediately, jerking her shoulder up and tilting her head as she tried to pull away. However, it had managed to prompt a smile from her as she shook her head like a dog in trying to get rid of the feeling of Tara’s breath teasing her ear.

That made a light bulb go off in Tara’s head, and she kept her hold on her captive as she looked up to Danny. “Hey, Danny,” she grabbed his attention with a spark of mischief in her eye, “If you didn’t know, your girlfriend’s ticklish.” She didn’t spare a second as she went on to prove the statement, the current placement of her arms allowing her fingers easy access to the older’s torso.

Samantha bit back the spontaneous urge to laugh, instinctively moving to block her. “T-Tara!”

“What?” Her sister didn’t let up as she took the upper hand. She dodged the defensive arms by removing her own from draping over her shoulders and slipping behind her. “I thought you were ignoring me,” she teased, now targeting her open sides.

The victim yelped, losing her balance in her uneven sitting position and faltering to lean into the arm of the sofa. Doing so had the feathering on her corresponding flank disappear and travel to her neck instead.

“You can’t ignore me, Sammy!” Tara crowed, hearing her sibling’s snickers start to turn into giggles. Every move Sam made, she made her own better, moving her small hands faster than she could react. But she was winning, nevertheless. Well… technically she’d already won.

The other was well aware that everyone was watching a weakness become an advantage, and that made her entire body run hot with embarrassment. She and Tara grew up driving each other mad—the way siblings typically did—so they knew the exact places to hit. But it felt childish and made her feel very vulnerable in this moment, especially under a reputation as strict as her own. By now, she had been forced into an awkward lying position, pulling her knees up and hugging her torso to keep from being assaulted any more. But it was to no avail. “Sta-haah—” was all she could get out before she broke off into a silent laugh. Tara was targeting her neck with one hand, while the other went from her ribs to the slip of exposed skin that had been revealed from her cropped tank top, and then to wherever else she could harness. Her voice only came out as a wheeze as she managed, “Stop!”

But Tara wasn’t done playing her cards. “I’m sorry, what?” She acted innocent. “I can’t hear you.” She may seem a bit mean for doing this, considering she would pass the opportunity for it to be her on the wrong side of the gun, but it had been forever since she’d heard her sister laugh. Literally, she couldn’t remember the last time she genuinely laughed, and she had forgotten how it sounded. If she were honest, it was healing to see her get back in-touch with her youthful side. “Maybe stop laughing real quick so I can understand you?”

“Taraaa-ha-ha!”

“Listening!” she replied.

From the other end of the couch, Mindy decided to tag-team with the younger Carpenter. “Hang on, Tara, let me help you out.” She grabbed Sam’s ankle and pulled it to straighten her knee, allowing more access to the owner’s expense. “Now, get her.”

The underdog found her voice, giving a small whine as she was ganged-up on. “No-ho! Mindyyy!” This alteration left the majority of her lower abdomen exposed, which was gladly taken advantage of, drowning her into another laughing fit.

Over yonder, Chad and Danny exchanged glances, before Chad backed Sam up for both of them, “Come on, guys, now that’s just mean.”

Tara shrugged, retorting, “She was mean first.” Beneath her, Sam bucked and twisted to face the back of the sofa, trying to pull her ankle out of Mindy’s grip. “This is her problem.”

Finally, her sister got some air in her lungs. “Okay! Oka-ha-hay, stop!” she barked, “I got it!”

But she was ignored as Mindy took it upon herself to skitter her own sly nails up her leg. “Tickle, tickle!”

Samantha went deathly hot in embarrassment upon hearing this, but she couldn’t break her instinctive temptation as she yelped. “Mindy, stop it!”

“Can we get a ‘please’, Sammy?” her little sister above quizzed, snaking her fingertips beneath her arms.

But before the other could deliver that desire, Chad took matters into his own hands. “Okay, you know what? That’s it.” He got up from his chair and went straight to Tara, scooping her up in his arms. “You’re going in Air Jail!” He pulled her away from the sofa. “Hey, feel free to give Mindy a smack to the head,” he called to Danny.

“Hey!” Tara fidgeted in her boyfriend’s hold. “Chaaad… you ruined it!”

“No, I don’t wanna hear it. You leave Sam alone,” he scolded and carried her to the kitchen. “You get back to making the rice, you little ankle-biter.”

With the initial instigator having been taken away, Mindy backed off too without any intervention, releasing her friend’s ankle and going back to her business with a smirk. “Wow, Sam…” she began, crossing one leg over the other to view the owner of the name panting as she recovered from the onslaught. “I didn’t know you were that ticklish.”

The older Carpenter ignored her as she pushed herself up from her lying position, tugging the hem of her black top down and pulling her legs closer to her body. She sighed a recovering sigh and pulled her long hair back with her fingers, before glancing over her shoulder to Mindy. “Don’t ever do that again,” she warned.

“No, I know.”

“I’m serious.”

“I won’t.”

But the smile the female twin wore wasn’t convincing in the slightest. She was like a fox; she had a million things up her sleeve. But when it came to her family, she meant them in the best way.

From his place, Danny watched his girlfriend resituate herself to her former position, shaking her head to let her hair fall back into its natural placement. “Are you alright, baby?” He wouldn’t say it out loud, but he had to agree with Mindy about not expecting the reaction given to be given. There was a first time for everything, but it put pieces from other reactions together. He figured her secret sensitivity was probably why she flinched when he kissed her neck, or shifted when he stroked her side, or tensed when he squeezed her thigh. However, he couldn’t say he didn’t take pleasure in seeing her smile or hearing her laugh, even if it was at Tara’s unruly persistence.

Samantha nodded but avoided making any eye contact. “Yeah, fine.” She leaned her head into her hand as she revisited her phone, her face still red from embarrassment. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at her 2nd tormentor. “Happy now?”

She gave an approving nod. “Yep. Now, cut the attitude, miss ma’am.”

The older just shook her head. “You give me a headache,” she accused, earning a chuckle from across the couch.

Chad’s voice came from the kitchen. “Mindy, come make yourself useful and check the chicken!”

And surprisingly, his sister obeyed, purposefully taking the long way around to give Sam’s head a good-dog-like pat on the head. “Love ya,” she promised as she rounded the sofa.

“Mm-hmm,” was the hummed reply. After she’d disappeared into the kitchen, Sam sighed, hesitant to raise her gaze to meet Danny’s, which she knew was on her. However, they were the only ones in the living room at the moment, so she did.

He smiled at her. “I guess it’s true that you learn something new every day, huh?”

“That depends on who you ask.”

“Maybe I should talk with your sister more often?” he teased, which made her roll her eyes and pull a smile.

“Don’t get any ideas,” she warned, “You can do your homework, but I bite more than I bark.”

He nodded with a chuckle, “Yeah, that’s true.”

Carpenter tilted her head in that gesturing way she was known for, before resuming focus. It was safe to say that she was even more tired than she had been a few minutes ago, thanks to Tara and Mindy’s shenanigans, but she had to admit, she didn’t feel as aggressive. Maybe it was from the adrenaline. Maybe it was the forced change in behavior, which was more like a punishment, if you asked her. Or maybe it was simply what her little sister had stated: smiling decreased stress and increased endorphins released by the brain.

Maybe the exact thing she wouldn’t spare was the exact thing she needed. Of course… there were different ways they could’ve done it.

reeeeeeee idk how i feel about this one, but i think that's just me being anxious af about being judged 🫣 i have reasons for writing everything i do, so this wasn't me regurgitating something thoughtless, i promise.

all i'm gonna say is that i've grown up with younger siblings and have witnessed the playful dynamics between other siblings as well.

All my love and my best! ♡ - parker

#scream #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #scream vi #scream v #carpenter sisters #chad meeks martin #mindy meeks martin #danny brackett #core four #the author rambles #ao3 author #ao3 #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #30 day writing challenge #laughter #AU: All My Heart

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birchbow · 8 months

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Your character designs are always so dang cool!!! Are the captain positions on other ships in the holy fleet challenged for like the position of GHB in a duel to the death, or are they appointed? (Some combination thereof?) The Orisoner looks so friendly, but I bet he’s brained somebody with that whimsical staff! I love that in the group shot Kurloz’s frame is almost a 2x scaled up version of Sister Waspclaw - his Gigantic Lankiness is just so fun. (Also LMAO at Kurloz being too prudish to claim his right to show tits! Honestly any time he mentions modesty standards being different a couple centuries ago it cracks me right up 😂)

Aw, thank you! :D Waspclaw is real small for a highblood, especially a relatively old and powerful one--smaller than pretty much all her pupated students, and a few of the pre-pupation ones! So next to Kurloz "Big Motherfucker" Makara, she's absolutely tiny. But does still manage to have more boobs than he does. Tragic.

RE: succession, it varies! It's pretty much always going to include some amount of combat--some of the variety where the loser is allowed to slink away and lick their wounds, and some where they definitely don't. Let's see. On a scale from most to least "Challenge To The Death"...

Definitely the Behemoth. It follows the same rules as the Grand Highblood challenge--if two trolls who want to be in charge walk into what passes for a captain's court on the Freakshow, only one is going to come out. Yozuna's not fast, and most trolls who ARE fast aren't nearly strong enough to make a dent in it even if they hit it--but the fact that Kurloz is big enough to really hit it hard and also came up specializing in speed and evasion is probably a real big part of the reason it hasn't made any attempt to challenge him for the throne, honestly.

Waspclaw. She's very lax with gutsy newbies getting fresh with each other and their superiors, thus the Joker's reputation for letting people get away with stuff, but stepping to her directly is SUPER dangerous. Make your gamble if you know you can get away with it!! But always know you aren't going to get away with it with her. :o) Plus, much like the Uderaks and Untoxxic, she works in poisons and venoms, and also she's heavily min-maxed into speed, so by the time you realize your challenge fight has officially been accepted, she's gone "well, they made their choice!" and you've been stung with something fatal.

The Abattoir. He isn't fucking around, although she also strikes me as very businesslike about it, and not inclined to be vindictive about the act of the challenge itself. I think the format is a little less "immediate fight to the death" and a little more "courtly duel" in keeping with both of his knightly sort of vibes. The exception being if you manage to draw blood on either of him, in which case shit flips very much into death-match mode. Also like. Hard-mode. You do have to challenge for both ships at once, and you will be fighting both of her. So like, considering authority over Elixir and Stardust features a lot of interfacing with the nonbelievers and doing Finance and shit, not a lot of people are jumping at THAT daunting prospect lol.

The Judgment. She wants to hear your argument for why the fuck you think you have what it takes to perform the physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually-taxing work of disciplining the wayward sinner-criminals of the church, and she's not getting any younger, here! If she feels like she's won her argument and the battle and you're inclined to back down in shame, she's not going to continue to press the point, but she will definitely openly think less of you for making a stupid and badly thought out attempt on her authority. She's as close as the church fleet gets to having a legislacerator taskforce, and she's just as stern and hard-assed as the Cruelest Bar, but also a large part of the Penitent's function is for flagellation and rehabilitation (???) of potentially-redeemable highbloods who've fucked up in ways that the church considers forgivable enough to give them a shot. She's down to clown (fatal) but also she's not an executioner necessarily.

Brother Libation. I drew inspiration from Il Dottore from the commedia del'arte, Bacchus, and the whole concept of drunken fist characters as an archetype, so if he's challenged he's got like... a 33% chance of just offering some kind of whimsical puzzle challenge that nobody ever manages to solve to his satisfaction, a 33% chance of just verbally convincing them to chill the fuck out by being a Cool Hang, and a 33% chance of bonking them heartily to the brink of death with his big spiky gourd.

The Orisoner wins for least deathmatchy. You can try to challenge, but you'll just get invited to come chill and vibe and just like. Really get into why you think your leadership will be hilarious and honoring to the messiahs, and what you think about art, and why you feel like you need captaincy to make the changes you want to see in the church and empire. If anybody attempts to escalate to violence, they'll mostly be met with a vaguely disappointed, surprisingly benevolent no-weapon-open-palms kind of rebuff, and if things continue to get more aggressive from there, the big spiky walloping staff will come out and be employed with startling effectiveness and skill lmao. But! If there were ever going to be highbloods inclined to take debate of best leadership policy over violence, it's the ones who decide they want to be theologians professionally. (Debate of best religious interpretation is a whole other ballgame, and gets aggressive here more than any other ship on the fleet lol). Orisoner in general though, would be one of the safer trolls you could be around as like, a human or a lowblood, if you had to pick a ship.

#ask time!#Gianna Yozuna #Vespul Astopa #The Orisoner #The Abattoir #Zhadie Deijou #Bachio Dotore #Yozuna is where it is because it just plain likes to fight. It likes to win and be on top and be challenged and fuck people up. So like.#do not recommend. as a troll to challenge lmao.#It's probably the only one who like. If you issued a serious challenge even if it just stood up and its killing intent convinced you-#-to back down and apologize. that bell is rung and you ARE now dead. Most of the others would be willing to let a challenger go #just demanding varying types and degrees of penance/grovelling/leaving and never coming back to their various ships #meanwhile Orisoner will kick somebody's ass up and down the deck with deadly intent if pushed and then be like #''anyway i hope this was like totally enlightening motherfucker. :o) Come on up for the service of laughter tonight! :o)''#or like. ''aw man bummer :o('' if they died

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