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aueua · 2 years

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stress, anger, and food for sweetums, my favorite stack of cubes?

your favorite stack of [THX sound effect: THREE DIMENSIONAL] squares is also My favorite stack of shapes stuck together so of course, of course (≧∇≦)ﾉ !!

5.) STRESS. What gets to them? How do they act under pressure? Is stress something they can manage well? What do they normally try to do for relief, if at all?

overthinker-extraordinaire. sweet needs things to be well-understood and thought out; otherwise, it will have to wonder and fret over if they are done well enough, resulting in miscellaneous thoughts. (do we have enough scrap? do we need to relocate? the band needs something new; I'll have to do another check-up on them later, too.)

sweet's stress levels have always been a matter of everything else snowballing like a crescendo. the surge/rebellion period was particularly the worst for it (given the werewires both in field and city among other nonsense)...

so when things are getting to it, they'll lash out a lot more easily than it means to. quick to apologize right after an outburst, too. there's a mix of fight and breaking down in them when the pressure ramps up. forgets to eat. etcetera.

sweet manages all of that pretty well nonetheless! almost always get it settled before the peak of it all. they like to roar it out or bang out some harsh tunes to get it out ('cause they've a lot of energy). punches/stabs some dough. swings around scrap... other times, they'll go to a bandmate. (k_k'll know what to do. cap'n might have a smooth track to ease it out or be a decent distraction.)

3.) ANGER. Are they easy to rile? How do they express it, and how long does it normally last?

sweet's a little too easy to anger if you press on the wrong circuits. it'll lose its balance, stomp and shout. even so, it's all short-lived: they can brush off things with a halfhearted punch, some chastising, and an exasperated release of exhaust, systems smoldering.

in a more expressed form of its frustration-stress, it might resort to fighting—recoil and swing, push-shove a little too roughly. that sort of matter is very rare for sweet however, and it's usually if it's something that they've taken great offense to.

it'll usually be the first to apologize depending on what it is, though. if it's something that sweet truly thinks they're in the right for, it'll take a bit longer—might try to talk things out, but only after they've reorganized themself.

they also tend to get a little mad when people like, say, their bandmates, try to keep their own matters to themselves when it happens to be serious. in turn, sweet'll also probably want to deck someone (fists-clenched at the sides) that talks bad about its bandmates 'cause... hey. shuddup! do you even KNOW 'em?!

17.) FOOD. How are they in the kitchen? What are their preferences, tolerances, and absolute no-go's? Do they follow a meal schedule? Would they rather eat in private or with others when given the opportunity?

...ah-ha. well, sweet's fine. (in the kitchen.) it can follow a recipe detail by detail without getting distracted at all, adjusting when need be. it's good about that stuff and will often help out when they can.

they will also, without hesitation, take both a salt and pepper shaker (or a bizarre combination of sauces) and chuck disgusting amounts into their meal. this is done after they at least taste how it's supposed to be originally out of respect (and to see if it's close enough to their tastes), but... it doesn't have a mouth.

sure, food can pixelate away and they'll be able to enjoy it in some magical way, but they find it extremely fun to kind of just. amp up the flavor all stupid-like. (cap'n is always horrified by this, and k_k always tries a little bit of what it's got and then immediately takes a sip (or a suck, if you will) of milk to wash it away with a smothered grimace-smile.)

despite enjoying strong flavors, it doesn't like when things are too sugary-sweet. it is more fond of bitter and savory foods. if they have to eat something bland, they'll hope it's accompanied with a strange... sensation? like hot-pain or cold-pain in foods. texture's not something they can really grasp, after all.

as far as a schedule goes, sweet normally tries to stick to one if only because it typically forgets due to becoming engrossed in work, albeit that's if sweet's eating alone. it doesn't mind either way if it's eating with others, but it's always been more fun to do so with pleasant company. meals just taste better that way! isn't that a given?

gestures vaguely... does this make sense... I've various things I'd wanted to write relating to all of this stuff actually but I never find the time or will to ever whittle it out :sob: :thumbsup:. sweet's sweet!

#[tag later]#[hearth]#wow my son you are here to humor me <3 #i feel as if i've rehashed all of this some way or another before or i've just imagined that #but thanks for the prompt!! catapulting you food. catch it with your mouth

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zippityzero · 2 years

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☕

oooo, a new change with hc's! haven't done AU Team hc's in a while, this is enjoyable if they have a hc shared with the Normal and/or chaotic, it'll have their symobls aka these symbols:

if you need an explanation of it again, here's a quick wrap up: if you see the (!) or (@) symbols at a hc in this list, then it means that hc is also apart of those other hc's. (example: -Eteled pretty much get's high on gummy worms. <- (!) (@) something like that) but anyways, your AU Team hc's are here! (update's: -Henry and Austin (normal) are added to the team. -Since Minus Sam and Minus Kyle exist, they will be included to these hc series now, including Minus Nathan and Minus Will despite the fact they don't exist.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ -Minus Eteled can't REALLY go through portals, he'd end up having a malfunction, or glitch out, or virus, something like that. His codes aren't stable so that's why it would happen. He is able to code himself to other AU's safely, and able to go through AU door's that Minus CM made which are safe and stable enough for Minus Eteled's codes to handle. -Minus CM ended up making some door's, which he made sure of them to contain proper codes that are stable and safe enough with Minus Eteled's codes. -Unlike Minus Eteled, everyone else is able to go through portal's perfectly fine. -Eteled and Minus Eteled actually got along pretty well, and it did give Eteled sometime to figure out Minus Eteled's system and all for when he malfunctions or something to repair 'em when the rest are gone. -CM and Minus CM also did get along pretty well, CM does help Minus CM with some code stuff to make it quicker for them and most of the rest to head to other AU's. Minus Eteled surely does not approve of it, due to over worrying about incomes and outcomes of the AU's and all, yet he does try to keep a hold of it. -Austin and Minus Austin also got along surprisingly well, since they both pretty much do manage to help the other with some basic stuff and all. -Henry and Minus Henry? Well, you could say those two are mad lad's from time to time. But they did get along despite the fact Henry is not that calm and Minus Henry is much more calmer then him. -Minus CM and Minus Eteled pretty much still have some fights here and there about the AU's + incomes and out comes. Minus Eteled honestly doesn't want the AU's to be messed up and all for when the Eteled's 'n CM's don't join along. It does cause an issue with the outcome after a while or something. -When those two fight, Austin 'n Minus Austin would just be in a far distance from 'em to avoid the fight. Minus Henry and Henry would be with the two Austin's too, as for Eteled and CM? Eteled and CM try to stop the fight at the least, but don't manage to do much of a good job with it. Mainly why Eteled or CM have to power off Minus Eteled to end the fight quicker. -With the fact that Henry, Minus Henry, Eteled, and Minus Eteled having axes, CM 'n Austin have to keep axes away from two people: Henry and Eteled. Minus Henry and Minus Eteled are calm, so they won't use their axes that much unless needed. Henry is calm too yet once mans is high or something he'd resort to axe. Same goes with Eteled. -Their not in the Minus nor Original AU Wii's, or any other AU Wii. Minus CM and CM managed to code up a place for them and the rest of the team to stay at, basically a world with a house and all. -Minus Eteled spends most of his time at other worlds he managed to code up or CM coded up for 'em knowing Minus CM wouldn't do it at some point. He'd mainly be seen spending his time at a space themed world, which has a mountain and all for him to sit at and observe everything. It's sort of now known as Minus Eteled's world for peace and all, y'know? A place for him to spend time away from everything and everyone to settle down with himself in peace. And a way for him to avoid some of his worries (example is incomes and outcomes of AU's) and a spot for him to chill at. <- (!) -Eteled and Henry just spend their time at another world, which basically is a grass field night time world. They really enjoy that theme since it's some what more relaxing, and because they USED to do that before chaos of death with Eteled and before

family chaos with Henry. <- (!) (@) (chaotic house hold (aka the (@) symbol) has Eteled 'n CM be able to transfer into the Wii and out of the Wii to the real world- so Eteled does have his own world in the Wii for that alone time) -Minus Sam, Minus Will and Minus Kyle are in peace at this rate. Minus Nathan is just there, pretty much glad their all at least in peace. -Minus Will would prank anyone, mainly Minus Nathan due to him knowing most of Minus Nathan's fear's. Minus Kyle would just end up resorting to violence and/or fight with Minus Will as Minus Sam and Minus Nathan have to stop those two from having a fight. -Minus Will and Minus Kyle don't have much of a good bond, to say the least. So you'd see them have constant fights randomly out of the blue. -Minus Sam and Minus Nathan actually got along surprisingly good, and they mostly spend their time playing Wii Sports and all. Sometimes they'd play it with Minus Will and Minus Kyle. You could say they all have a sort of sibling bond. -They all don't get to see Minus CM and Minus Eteled that often at all, but they manage to talk to them from time to time. They also are aware of the entire AU chaos their doing, so they are chill about it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ that is all the AU Team hc's i got so far, and apologizes this is like so god dam long and took an hour to finish, broski

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shyrose57 · 3 years

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2nd part.

Other: Both groups understand they have different ways of showing affection and closeness. Though Charles does hesitantly ask Jackie if Ran ever shows affection, to which Jackie answers that he does he just isn't a very physical person.

After Ran first attacks and injuries Ranbob, and once the groups get the two separate, they sit down and talk. The Gladiators go first, saying they've never seen Ran that aggressive and angry before and ask what Ranbob could've done. To which the Fishermen tell them (to an extent. Somethings they leave out as its best for Ranbob to tell them) and after sharing, ask what Ran's relationship with Ranbob was. Where Watson says Ran said before he had a brother, and they then connect the pieces. So in summary, the Gladiators know about Ranbob being controlled by Dream, what Ranbob as done, how it affected him, and what the Fishermen have done to help him out and the progress Ranbob has made. While the Fishermen know that Ran has said he had a brother (Ranbob said it too), Ran having to survive on his own for years, And Ran having nightmare's but don't know what they are about.

The Gladiators are skeptical of Ranbobs story, but after reading a bit of a dairy Ranbob recorded the experience in when able to, and both picture and multiple eye-witness accounts they eventually believe him.

He ran from the hunters for around 4 years, he also lived alone and learned to survive during his time, while being constantly on the move. Multiple times the brothers have said something concerning, either jokingly or very casually, but both ways the brothers groups have responded with utmost concern and basically interrogating them until they find out the events behind what they said. Where they then either leave it be, or there's more talking, comforting, and maybe even cuddle piles.

It happens once during the trip, when Ranbob just isnt having a good day at all, when he relapses he immediately tells the Fishermen (as he has grown to do), who then go to comfort him and do a sort of therapy. Ran immediately uses the relapse as evidence that he shouldn't be trusted and that he is still the same person he was before. While Watson, ignoring him, goes to see if he can do anything to help, while Grievous and Jackie try to lead Ran away to cause less stress for Ranbob.

It is confusing at first for them, and when their finally able to, they (both groups) ask eachother what different instincts their enderman friend has. And after exchanging it they just kinda leave it be then and accept it. Sometimes Cletus will laugh when he just randomly sees Ran carrying someone around and mocks them, but Ran tends to growl at him when he mocks the person he's carrying, so he doesn't mock em often.

He was only able to eat crackers, nuts and seeds, and dried out vegetables. So when he first goes to the Fishermen's house he's only able to keep down stuff like soup and again crackers. Though he's able to slowly work his way up to eating meat, which then he's able to keep most things down.

The gladiators are overwhelmingly happy about no longer following such a strict schedule and can spend their time doing whatever they want. The fishermen are at first a bit hesitant at adventuring, seeing as they never really adventured outside of their home to much before, but are still very excited to see new places and get new items. Cuddle piles are sometimes shared amongst the groups, but strictly when neither of the brothers are nearby, other habits like telling bed time stories and sharing supplies and food are shared amongst the groups. While a sort of therapy sessions type habit are only in the fishermen group. And making and testing weapons are only in the gladiator group. For nicknames, Ran- Tall man/Tall bastard, Jackie- Jack, Shorty(teasingly/jokingly), Watson- Dad, Grievous- Ugly, John, Gri, Ranbob- Bobby, Benjamin- Benny, Ben, Charles- (Just Charles), Cletus- Wildfire, Little shit (Isaac only calls him that, Benjamin doesn't like it though), Isaac- Saac (pronounced as Isaac without the I, or just Zack).

The fishermen live a calmer, more quite life. Where the most active they've gotten is going to Mizu and getting Ranbob and a few attempted robbing. While the gladiators live a very active and fighting filled life, with only a few breaks where they can do whatever they want too. The fishermen are more accepting of outsiders and willing to give them a chance in their group. While the gladiators, you need to prove you can earn a place and are more tight in their group (Which is partly why it means so much to Ran and shocks him when his haunting welcomes Ranbobs group into their group). The fishermen are more freewilled, not having to follow a schedule. While the gladiators do follow a schedule and typically don't get much freewill.

They originally wanted to live in Mizu. But after the discovery of the Dream Mask Benjamin stated that it was far too dangerous to stay, much less live there. So they instead just went and looted the area then left

As of now I do not plan to add anymore characters. Maybe they'll meet some while traveling but im not positive yet, if they do meet someone later on though it'll probably be either Wilburs decendent, or if I include other Tales I'll include them probably.

It is very hard to convince Ran for a good while that what happened to Ranbob was the truth, but when he does finally accept it he's horrified. He feels incredibly guilty about leaving his brother and doing nothing during this whole time other than making it harder for him to recover. And immediately does what he can to make it up and help him out. And to the relief of the others, the brothers start to grow closer again, although there's still some problems. It took multiple tales of Mizu and Dream from all around the world, some very old records about how manipulative Dream was and how it seemed he had supernatural powers, and even finding Ranbobs journal and deciding to read it for safety reasons (where its recorded Ranbobs deteriorating mental state and all of the events where Dream came in, and even Dream wrote in it sometimes, comparing it to Ranboos Memory Book.)

Personalities (More may be added later): Ran- Secretive, protective, quite, joking when gotten close too, patient, serious mostly. Watson- Kind, very approachable, the father figure, logical, has a very comforting presence. Jackie- Playful, joking, mean at times, teasing, loud, energetic. Grievous- Very kind, energetic at times, quite, prankster, hard to trust someone. Ranbob- Quite, shy, well-meaning, clumsy, hesitant in things, very eager to please someone. Benjamin- Truthworthy, comforting presence, kind, approachable. Cletus- Chaotic, mean at times, prankster, loud, confident, energetic. Isaac- Leader figure, kind, logical, playful. Charles- Quite, shy, anxious, smart, logical. And idk if you want him too but Porkius- Confident, arrogant, hard headed/stubborn, hard to talk with, but extremely willing to make changes and call off events if serious injury to anyone is threatened.

Sorry if some answers are dull, I had trouble coming up with answers and wording some of them. But as a bonus I thought of something that could happen while traveling (while they've been traveling for almost 5 months now). Maybe a thunderstorm is coming in and the group is trying to find shelter and they find it mostly in time, but the brothers start to really get into a verbal fight during the searching and so start to lag behind. And just as it starts to storm more Ran screams and yells "YOUR NOTHING MORE THAN AN MURDER! NOTHING YOU EVER DO WILL MAKE UP FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE!"(or something similar) Which just really breaks Ranbob, and the two stand across from eachother in the rain, before Ranbob chokes out a heartbroken agreement and runs off. Ran almost going to chase after him, but deciding not too, and going to meet up with the group. Also Ranbob having a nightmare about when he first saw Ran again and is terrified in the nightmare, as no one is there to actually stop Ran this time (this happens before the thunderstorm part). So he does actually begin to kill him, and during the dream he keeps seeing glimpses of he and Ran as kids, being so close and laughing and everything. Then just before he wakes up he sees a younger, tween Ran directly next to the Ran killing him, and the Vision Ran's face is frozen in a scream of terror and heartbroken look in his eyes, and his eyes are filled to the brim of tears (which is the exact moment a Ranbob controlled by Dream turns the blade on Ran suddenly). Which just completely breaks Ranbobs heart, and when he wakes up, with tears frozen on his face, he can't look at Ran for days without seeing the terrified face of his younger brother.

1: So they’re pretty chill about it. Alright.

2: Fairly skeptical, but still willing to help out, and eventually coming to agree. Interesting. Ranbob has a diary? From before? That must be quite the interesting read. How much did young Ranbob understand was going on? How did he feel about it? Just how much does his diary show of his mental decline? Does he still have it? Were the Gladiators supposed to be reading it, or is it more of a ‘I found this, let’s see what’s inside’ thing? And I know the eye-witness accounts are probably the fishermen, but what are the pictures? Of Ranbob before Dream, back in Mizu? Of Ranbob when the fishermen found him?

3: Casually drops trauma on them, huh? What kind of things have been said? How much of it do these two traumatized gremlins think is the norm? Does Ran have any particular enemies with the hunters? Was it hard for him to settle in one place again?

4: What do these relapse consist of, exactly? Ranbob becoming aggressive? Trying to run? Can’t imagine Ran’s too happy Watson ignored him about it. What was the aftermath of this event? Does Ran know what a relapse means, or does he just overhear and assume?

5: So Ran totes people around, and Cletus occasionally makes fun of them. How long before someone points out that Ranbob, as you put it, follows them around like a lost puppy, in retaliation?

6: The more I hear about Ranbob, the more I kind of want to wrap him in a warm blanket, give him cocoa, and go threaten Dream with bodily harm. That kind of food isn’t exactly great nourishment. If that’s the kind of thing he was eating, and only once every three days, I’m not shocked the Fishermen managed to force him into a room. Or that his house kept falling on him. Poor guy must be a malnourished noodle-stick. Honestly, he sounds light enough Cletus could probably carry him around. Or a breeze could. Hopefully he gets a little more weight on him, he needs it.

7: Sounds like the first few days of the trip are probably pretty chaotic, with everyone adjusting. But they sound like they’re having fun, so that’s good. What kind of things are the two brothers doing to be gone long enough for their groups to be able to cuddle pile for a bit? Gathering supplies? Do they just know, and do their own thing for a bit so their hauntings can chill together? And Bobby, huh? Sounds an awful lot like what Ran used to call Ranbob. Who exactly revived the nickname, and what was both Ranbob’s reaction to it being brought back, and Ran’s reactions to hearing it again?

8: The clash between lifestyles seems to be a pretty big one. The gladiators are a bit more willing to jump into things, and the fishermen are generally more open. Seems like they’ll contrast nicely once things settle down. So it’s kind of a big deal for the gladiators to just welcome the fishermen? You said they have to prove themselves. Do the fishermen ever end up doing something like that, or are they just an exception? Or is it that what they’ve already done proved themselves?

9: They just loot the place, huh? Do they keep what they find or sell it? What’s Ranbob’s feelings about that?

10: A Wilbur descendant? Interesting.

11: Oof. Well, at least they’re figuring it out. So there’s records about Dream and such? Do they just happen to find them, or are they led there? Who wrote those records? Does Ranbob notice when they find them, find some himself, or is that part of the trip he doesn’t know about? And Dream wrote in Ranbob’s journal too? Yikes. That must have been terrifying for Ranbob to experience. He compared it to Ranboo’s memory book, huh? Did that mean Ranbob figured out that something similar was happening to his ancestor? If so, how did he feel about it? And how does Ran feel about Dream’s part in all this? What does he do once he finally accepts it? Hug Ranbob? Apologize? Try to murder Dream?

12: Sounds like quite interesting group there. Charles and Ranbob both being shy sounds adorable honestly. Porkius sounds like he knows what he’s doing, and does it well.

13: They don’t seem particularly dull to me. But thank you for the heart-crushing scene, I’ll cherish it forever. Do the fishermen chase after Ranbob? How do the gladiators feel about that whole thing? Does Ran feel a bit guilty about it?

#Brothers AU #dream smp #dream smp au #ranbob #ran #jackie #watson #grievous #isaac #benjamin #cletus #ranboo #charles #tales from the smp

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mulletpeters · 3 years

Text

toothache of the mind

ship: peterpatter

rating: g

word count: 1938

tags: canon compliant, pre-canon, high school, 1990s, best friends, feelings realization, pining

Reggie gets braces for his sweet sixteen.

He doesn’t tell anyone―not even his best friends in the whole wide world. So when he walks into homeroom the Tuesday after his birthday, Luke nearly topples out of his chair at the sight of the metal wrapped around Reggie’s adorable little snaggletooth. Alex may or may not be hyperventilating, but Luke wouldn’t know. He’s distracted.

Reggie, for his part, is acting like Luke’s world hasn’t just been tilted on its axis in a dangerous way. “Hey, guys,” he says nonchalantly. “Sup?”

Alex recovers much quicker than Luke, though there’s still a glint of concern in his eyes. They both know how self-conscious Reggie can be, especially about his smile, so he treads carefully. “Hey, Reginald. Do anything fun for your birthday?”

They had their own party on Friday after school―Luke gave Reggie a new studded strap for his bass because the one he’d found in Bobby’s garage had started to look pretty sad―but Reggie’s parents are the type to force family time onto him any chance they get. Luke has a sneaking suspicion they only do it so they can use Reggie against each other in whatever asinine argument comes up that day, but it’s not like he can really do anything about it. None of them can, so Reggie is unfortunately left to his own devices when it comes to compulsory dysfunctional family celebrations. “Not really,” he says in lieu of giving any actual details; he’ll tell them eventually, but a crowded classroom is not ideal for dishing out his personal drama. “Got braces.” He shrugs, like his mom hasn’t made him feel like shit about his less than perfect teeth for most of his childhood. Definitely since Luke’s known him, anyway, and they’ve been friends since they were ten.

“Oh, did you?” Alex asks, and it sounds borderline sarcastic but he holds back most of his usual bite. “Let’s see ‘em, then.” He holds an arm out in a grand gesture like he’s giving Reggie the floor, and Reggie flashes the most hesitant smile Luke’s ever seen on him.

Luke swears his heart stops, but Alex is once again carrying the conversation so he does his best to tune in. “Oh, nice,” Alex says, approving of the red brackets stuck to the front of Reggie’s teeth with a slight nod.

Reggie returns the gesture, and he looks considerably more relaxed now that he knows his friends won’t shun him for something this mundane. “Thanks,” he tells Alex before turning to face Luke, and he looks a little apprehensive, like maybe Luke should get his brain to reboot so he can offer some reassuring words instead of just staring like a total weirdo.

Luke wants to say something about how red looks good on him, or how it’s cool that it’ll match his favourite flannel, or maybe he’d settle for even just a supportive thumbs up. What actually comes out of his mouth is, “How long do you have to wear them?”

Reggie gives him a funny look, head tilted and brow furrowed. “Only like, a year,” he answers anyway, and Luke wants to scream.

Thankfully, the teacher chooses that moment to draw their attention to the front of the room, and Reggie turns around in his seat so Luke can only see the back of his head. Luke sighs in relief, sinking further into his chair till his limbs are sprawled out into the aisle, accepting his defeat. It’s gonna be a long year.

Luke decidedly does not address the issue after that day. The issue being that weird fluttery feeling he gets in his chest every time Reggie smiles at him, or laughs, or talks, or breathes. Basically any time he sees the glint of metal in Reggie’s mouth, really.

It’s not like this is a new development, exactly; Luke has always had a bit of a soft spot for Reggie, a little bit of weakness. In the six years they’ve known each other, he can’t recall a time that Reggie just existing didn’t make his brain static out. The braces just made him recognize what’s always been true, even if he still doesn’t know how to make sense of it.

Normally he’d talk to his best friends about whatever’s on his mind, but he can’t very well articulate a dilemma he can’t comprehend to begin with. Plus, he doubts Alex would be any help, considering he’s got his own set of issues to work through, and he’d rather die than bring it up with Reggie himself. And as for Bobby, well. Bobby’s got the emotional depth of a puddle. So, naturally, he does the only logical thing there is to do: he writes.

He figures if Reggie’s smile is stuck in his head like a song, he might as well make it one. It’s what he’s good at, and it gives him a false sense of separation from the issue that grants a certain clarity he can’t get any other way. He jots down pages and pages of lyrics, curled up in his bed late one night, fingers itching for his guitar even though he knows his mom would kill him if she caught him playing at 1am again. So he just sits cross-legged on his comforter, hunched over his ratty old notebook, scrawling cliche lines about green eyes and freckles and an endearingly crooked canine.

It’s the sappiest thing he’s ever written. When he reads over it before school the next morning, he knows he’s well and truly fucked.

Reggie plops down into the dip in the center of the studio couch, inadvertently leaning onto Luke’s shoulder. “You working on a new song?” he asks, tilting his chin at the notebook on Luke’s lap like the question needs clarification.

Luke nods even as he scrambles to shut the book, shuffling loose papers to stuff them between the creased cover. “Uh,” he stammers, biting his lip. “Yeah, I am.”

Reggie just nods back, averting his eyes to look up at the loft when he realizes that Luke doesn’t want him to see the song. “Rad. What's it called?” He glances at Luke, offering a comforting smile that says Luke can tell him as much or as little as he wants.

And well, that's the thing. Luke hasn't given it a name yet―the song, or the bewildering cocktail of feelings that inspired it to begin with. So he looks up from his scratchy handwriting to Reggie’s lopsided grin and says the first thing his useless brain can come up with. “Crooked Teeth.”

“Oh.” Reggie’s smile slides right off his face and Luke realizes what he's done half a second too late. Reggie bites his lip self-consciously, fidgeting with the sleeves of the flannel tied around his waist as Luke scrambles to backtrack into less sensitive territory.

“It's about Bobby,” he blurts unwittingly. And technically speaking, it is a little bit about Bobby, mostly because it's a little bit about the whole band, seeing as they’re mentioned in one line of the second chorus. But Bobby’s not the point of the song, not by a long shot. Luke decides Reggie doesn't need to know that, though. Especially not when his face lights up at the revelation, conspiratorial eyebrow raised like Luke’s letting him in on some great secret.

“Oh, snap! Well, I won't tell him, but don't let him find those lyrics.” Reggie winks, and it's not like it’s an unfamiliar sight, but Luke’s heart stutters out of time all the same. He's just glad Reggie isn’t the type to ask to see a song before Luke’s ready to share it; Luke doubts he'll ever be ready to share this particular piece, but if he does show it to Reggie, it'll be his choice.

He laughs halfheartedly, more a forceful exhale than anything else, and lands a playful punch to Reggie’s bicep. “Sure, man.”

Reggie just smiles wider. It feels like a kick straight to Luke’s solar plexus.

“You told him it’s about Bobby?” Alex asks, but what Luke hears is, you’re an idiot. Luke looks down at his best friend―he used to consider Reggie his best friend too, but he thinks maybe Reggie is in a category all his own at this point―and frowns. “He got his braces off before we even met him.” Alex stands up, walking around his drum kit to pace the floor. “And you told Reggie it’s called Crooked Teeth before you said that? Dude, you know how insecure he is about―”

“Yeah, Al, I know,” Luke huffs, cutting him off. It’s not the title Luke would've consciously chosen, but it's weirdly fitting, in a sort of convoluted way. Like, maybe Reggie’s teeth weren’t the sole catalyst for this whole...whatever this is, but they definitely played a major part. Luke’s really gonna miss Reggie’s snaggletooth, okay? He resents Reggie’s parents for a lot of reasons, but forcing him to get braces instead of a real birthday present is pretty damn high on the list.

Alex, with all his anxiety-induced powers of perception, notices Luke’s internal struggle and momentarily stops wearing a hole in the floor. “You’re kinda wiggin’ out, man. Chill.” He holds his hands out in what’s meant to be a placating gesture, but the drumsticks in his fists sort of ruin the effect.

“You’re one to talk,” Luke mumbles, but he doesn’t mean it, and Alex knows that. He’s just confused, and stressed, and generally unsure what to do with his recent epiphany. “What should I do?” he asks louder, eyes pleading.

Alex goes back to nervously lapping the room, and Luke picks at a loose string on his guitar strap just to have something to do. “I dunno,” Alex says after what could very well be an eternity. “But I think you’d feel better if you told him.”

Luke’s eyes shoot up to meet Alex’s gaze, brow furrowing involuntarily. “You what?”

Alex walks over, planting his feet in front of Luke, clapping a hand on Luke’s shoulder that isn’t holding his guitar strap up. “You’re clearly upset about this, Lucas. Tell him.”

Luke is shaking his head before Alex has even finished his sentence. “Not happening.” He folds his arms like a petulant child, but it loses its effectiveness when his guitar gets in the way, a sad thump echoing through the room. “I wouldn’t know what to say, anyway.”

Alex cocks an eyebrow with a pointed look at the notebook sitting on top of Luke’s amp. “I think you already said it.”

Luke follows his line of sight, eyes landing on the folded corner of a piece of paper sticking out from all the others. He already knows what’s written on it―has the words memorized by now. They were written on his heart long before he put them to the page, anyway.

Bobby bursts into the studio then, Reggie in tow, and the moment is broken. They’re laughing about something Bobby said, and Reggie is as beautiful as ever as he throws his head back, and Luke thinks that maybe one day he’ll get the courage to tell him how he feels. He’ll ask Alex to work with him on the music to go with his lyrics, maybe even get Bobby to help with the melody. He’ll throw rocks at Reggie’s window and serenade him from his front lawn like they do in the movies, and his friends will back him up, and it’ll be perfect.

For now, he needs to focus on perfecting the songs they already have. They’ve got a show at the Orpheum next summer to prepare for.

#posted this a week ago but i finally got around to putting it here too lmao #i still don't know if i like the formatting but whatever #anyway! i'm writing willex next <3 #jatp #julie and the phantoms #peterpatter #luke #reggie #alex #mine #fic

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