Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part I

[omgnochecksyet]

The fall semester was about to get into full swing, but summer wasn't about to let go of the island just yet. The sun was out, the temperature was holding steady at a comfortable 80F/27C, and most importantly, the tables were beglittered.

Speaking of tables, there were of course the ones that were filled with a vast array of food and drink, and also the ones with nametags and lists to facilitate the meeting of new roommates and siblings.

There was room to sit, room to sprawl, room to walk around and mingle... and it was a big lawn, so if you needed to get away from the crowd for a bit, room for that too.


[OCD Up! This is part one of the picnic, specifically for meeting siblings, roommates, and teachers. The rest of the picnic is happening here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

Comments

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"I was aiming for the 'yes, no, sort of' part more than the not burning something down part," Atton said, tilting his head. "If I thought there'd been fire I might've done more yelling."

Don't force him to spend another first class yelling about fire hazards at students, Sparks.

"Shitty stuff, huh."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle sighed, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. One of those rip off zippo deals.

"Kinda shitty. We made a house call."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"With who?"

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

"Are you asking who is 'we,' or whose house we visited?"

Sparkle. Sparkle, he probably wanted to know both at this point.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"I'd given up on the first part and now I'm just hoping to get an answer to the second part," Atton said. "Again, you can check out of this conversation any time, Sparks."

So either fess up or stop dancing around.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle chewed the inside of his cheek, and then flicked the lighter on an off a few times before sighing.

"Some other-reality version of my father," he settled on. "We paid some guy who doesn't even know me in a reality I never existed a visit so I could 'face my demons.'"

He was totally making airquotes with the hand not holding that lighter, yes.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"Seriously?" Atton said, pulling a face. "Sounds like some stupid Force poodoo right there. You should've clocked the other guy."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

"I should've," Sparkle agreed, sighing. "Instead I screamed in not-dad's face and stole his lighter and his hash pipe."

As you do.

He flicked the lighter open and shut a few more times, and then shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Maybe it was catharsis I actually needed, but it was a shitty way to go about it."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"Well, you didn't set anything in the house on fire," Atton said, after a brief pause. "So you know what, I'm going to count this one as a win for everyone."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle briefly considered telling Atton that he'd considered just flat-out killing the man.

...

Nah.

"I didn't set any fires at all," he confirmed. "I went through a few packs of smokes, though."

And ate a lot of vegan food out of spite.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"Eh, you only have to worry about that in another year or forty," Atton said easily.

He'd have slapped Sparkle over the head if he'd heard about the killing people thing, except he didn't really have a leg to stand on to give anyone crap over that. "So, then you got out of there and came back...?"

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

"After a day trip to the spa," Sparkle agreed, shrugging his shoulders. "Here safe and sound in one piece."

He paused for a long moment, before adding, with a sigh, "Dr. Lecter offered to adopt me. Like. Officially. On paper."

IT HAD BEEN CHEWING AT HIM FOR DAYS, OKAY?

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"What."

Atton was going to kill him.

Lecter, that was. Not Sparkle.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle was going to just... pocket his lighter again and maybe bury his face in his hands.

"I didn't say yes," he said quickly. "I mean, I didn't... say... no... either. But I didn't say yes. I just, like, it's too little too late anyway, you know? I don't know. What's it even do for me now?"

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"He's a creep, Sparkle," Atton said flatly. "He's a creep who dragged you across the city to teach you a 'lesson' by throwing you at your dad and then offered you the one thing you wanted all your life. You say no. You say no and you run in the other direction, real fast."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle sighed again and bunched up a bit at the shoulders.

"He offered first, then threw me at my dad," he said, as if that changed... basically anything. "I don't... I mean... I know he's..."

He bit the inside of his cheek, not willing to go there.

"He's a lot of things. But he's been there. Which doesn't excuse this, but it makes it harder to just... like... ignore."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"Look, people don't do things like this if they're not trying to mess with your head," Atton said. "Take it from someone who's had his head messed with. A lot. He knows you, knows you can be volatile or go bouncing off in all kinds of directions. Gives you an offer like that, then shoves you into a volatile situation."

He stuck his hands in his pocket. "You really want someone like that to be tied to you for the rest of your life?"

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle swallowed, hating just how tight his throat felt when he did so. Ugh. Ugh, feelings.

"I didn't say yes," he said again, a little lamely. "I just..."

Fuck. Fuuuuck, breathing was hard. He wasn't going to cry, damn it, but breathing was hard.

"I know there's a lot going on there. I know he offered me the one fucking thing I've almost died for a chance at in my life, and I know he did it too late to make any damn difference anyway. Like, that was it. I aged out. Time's up, there's no happy ending, I wasn't wanted until it wasn't going to mean anything anyway, but you know how hard it is to say no? To have someone give an offer like that when it's the one thing I spent my life chasing?"

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"Yeah, I know," Atton said. He eyed the picnic, sensing what Sparkle was holding back, unsure how hard he wanted to push on it. "I also know it ended with a lot of dead bodies when I said yes. Not that I know if that's what Lecter's creepy deal is, I just know he has one. Anyway, it's not like nobody's wanted you around these past couple of years, Sparks."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

Sparkle did know Lecter's creepy deal. Which kind of made him feel all the more conflicted about this.

He stared down at his toes.

"I know," he said, quietly. "Even he pointed out the whole... you know... found family thing. And the people I have are my whole fucking world, never thought I'd get this much. So it feels... I don't know. Fucking selfish to wish I'd been able to get both."

Which was a weird place to be coming from. Feeling selfish for wanting a family and friends.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

"It's not selfish, it's normal, probably," Atton said. "But like you said, it's too late, and we're what you've got. And I mean, you've got at least one manly, awesome, dashing friend, so you're doing a whole lot better than some people."

He fidgeted for a second, then drew his lighter out of his pocket.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

"I've got at least one manly, awesome, dashing shithead friend," Sparkle agreed, giving a soft laugh that wasn't entirely as heartfelt as he'd have liked. "But he's got my back. So... there's that."

He pulled his own lighter out. His not-quite-father's lighter out. Flicked it open and shut a few more times.

"It's funny," he said, idly. "There was a minute there, when I was staring down at the guy who looked like my dad but wasn't really, that I was... like, angry. Fucking furious that it wasn't actually him. There I was supposed to deal with my shit, and I had to make do with some cheap knock-off dad instead. I don't know what I would've done with the real thing, though. It wouldn't have been pretty, I'm sure."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

Atton reached for a cigarette in his inner pocket. "It's definitely more satisfying when it's the real thing," he said. "Nothing else is quite that sharp."

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[myownface]

"Nothing else left scars quite like he did," Sparkle said. He wasn't completely certain he'd ever actually talked so frankly about his father to Atton like this. Just then, it didn't seem to matter. "If it had really been him, I might've taken stupid to a fucking eleven, though. I don't think I could've held back, once I stopped freaking out."

There was an ugly piece of him deep down that was disappointed he couldn't have. He didn't know what to do with that piece. He wasn't sure he cared about it.

Re: Meet Your Teachers! [Fall 2017]

[suitably_heroic]

Atton let out a deep sigh. He popped the cigarette between his lips and lit it. "I don't think so either," he said, took a pull, and let out a breath; it was full of smoke this time.

"So it's a good thing he didn't manage to track down the real one," he said. "Sometimes it's better to just leave some scars for what they are."

Like the big one across Atton's shoulder.