The Toon of your Dreams

Reggie looked up from the sheet music he was looking at, peering up at Kalani with raised eyebrow and a shocked crooked smile.

“O-Oh well, I’m sort of new, been here a few weeks.” He smiles, turning his ring around his finger absently, a habit he commonly did when faced with head on, sudden social interaction.

Kalani had no idea what he meant by ‘twenties’ sound. But instead of questioning it she brushed it off and decided to find out later. Thankfully she had been introduced to jazz music,“That sounds beautiful! I’m sure it sounds very lovely when you play it!”

“Oh?” She spun around to look at the wall then turned back to Reggie just as quickly, “So if you get homesick you just throw a hole thing onto the wall and you can just…be home for the weekend? Lucky! If I wanted to go back home I would have to sail there! Do you just get the holes or do you have to go and buy them at a store or something?”

She laughed a little at the idea of picking up a black hole in one of Auradon’s stores. It sounded fun, even if she didn’t get the whole jist of how it worked, throwing something onto a wall and immediately being where you wanted to go.

Reggie understood her laughter, honestly; the more he said it, the weirder and more nonsensical his world sounded, right down to mentioning the black holes. He laughed along with her.

“No, my dad kinda gave me a box full of them; I’m not exactly sure where he gets them from, but he gave them to me as a parting gift,” He explains. “Well that, and so I wouldn’t have an excuse not to come visit.”

“They can cut through stuff sometimes, too, though I don’t really know all of their functions.” Reggie chuckles.

“And thanks! I’m not too confident in my music, actually, but I’ll have to play it for you sometime.” He pacifies, though he wasn’t sure if she’d actually like his music much less call it beautiful once she actually heard it. Personally he thought it was garbage, but to each their own.

Reggie blushed, laughing in embarrassment at the compliments.

“H-Hehe,” He stammers. “Um…thanks for the welcome! I-It’s great to be here.” The brunette lets out a small, hoarse laugh.

He wasn’t used to being called cute (except for by his mom and aunt Dolores), or a dreamboat…or being complimented much at all on his looks, really, so to have it happen to him was both uncomfortable and flattering at the same time.

Still, he was raised to be polite and to accept a compliment, so he just gave the girl his signature crooked, unsure beam of a smile.

“You’re very welcome, Reggie. It’s lovely to meet you. You finding everything alright so far?” she asks, taking his hand and giving it a soft shake rather than her signature firm one, not wanting to make the boy any more uncomfortable than he already seems.

“So, miss, how long have you been coming to Auradon?” Reggie asks politely once they let loose of each other’s hands, voice lilting with a hint of curiosity.

From what he could tell, Quilla seemed top know her way around the school like the back of her hand, which was a harsh contrast to his confused and awed expression that his facial features seemed glued into.

“I’ve only been here for...almost 2 weeks...?” He hums, eyebrows knitting together as he tries to recall the day he came to Auradon and how many days have passed until today.

“Plus; I think they can smell my new-kid fear. It’s a strong scent.” The taller boy quipped, chuckling softly at his own joke.

“Oh um…of course I’ll play?” He stated, though it came out like a question. This girl hit him with so much energy so fast, but it was kind of…flattering for her to be so interested in his music.

At the mention of Erika, a smile spread onto his face, a bright beam of exuberance.

“Oh, Erika! Yeah, she was a lovely dame.” He grins. “We talked a bit the other day, and I from what I recall of our she seems nice! Interesting and nice.”

Aw, Peggy kinda wanted to be the only one who had cool, spooky ghost friends. Oh well, this boy seemed kind of cool as far as Peggy could tell. He played her music when she asked and used funny words like ‘dame’. Peggy hadn’t heard anyone call ladies that except in old movies.

“You’re new here, aren’t you? You’ll meet lotsa cool people like her here, everyone’s got something special,” Peggy said wistfully, wishing she had something special, “Although I wouldn’t wanna be a ghost though, I don’t wanna die. We’ve got aliens, or monsters, or gods here, though!”

Once she was done, he took his turn to speak with a little smile.

“Hehe yeah, I’m the new guy, only been here about a week for two. Seems everyone here can sniff out the scent of new blood, huh? Kinda like sharks.” He jokes a bit.

“And so I see; so far you and Erika have been cool, and everyone seems pretty nice. Haven’t ran into any bullies.” Reggie answers, though the unspoken yet part of his sentence remains in the air.

“And uh, about the nonhuman thing,” He chuckles again, this time more nervously. “I’m um...I’m sort of a toon? Like...a cartoon?”

Reggie jumped, turning to the boy with raised eyebrows and a slow blink, as if he just realized someone was talking to him. To not be rude, he lowered his headphones and hooked them around his neck. His music still quietly floated through the air through them.

“Um…Auradon? Though originally it’s Toon Town.” He scratches the back of his head with a crooked smile.

June had never heard of this Toon Town, but the silly name basically guaranteed it was from Auradon origin. He also stared at the boy’s headphones a moment; June had only ever seen broken ones, he had no idea they were made to play music into your head. Shaking his head to regain his train of thought, “June pointed down the hallway, “The ceiling’s gonna collapse on you if you go further down that way. They’ve been saying they’ll fix it for forever but…” They definitely hadn’t. Lakhi apparently thought arts and crafts was more important that a completed school building, “You really can’t be around here, man. Things are falling apart everywhere.”

As he explained himself, he looked up at the collapsing ceiling with a look of sorrow on his face.

“...That really sucks. They really make you guys go to school with a building like this...?” His voice is sympathetic and a bit sad as his finger twirled his headphone cords. He’s staring up at the punctured and cracked ceiling with a forlorn expression, an expression one on the Isle could disdainfully call ‘pity’.

Reggie looked up from the sheet music he was looking at, peering up at Kalani with raised eyebrow and a shocked crooked smile.

“O-Oh well, I’m sort of new, been here a few weeks.” He smiles, turning his ring around his finger absently, a habit he commonly did when faced with head on, sudden social interaction.

“Yes!“ She thre her arms out in an excited motion,“Anchored! Especially since I am away from home…it helps with homesickness.”

Kalani wasn’t even sure what a portable black hole would be. Did her mean like the ones her Star friends talked about? Of course not! Then again…

“What do the portable holes look like? Do they swirl around all crazy like-” She made spinning motions with her hands,“Or is it different?”

“Yeah! The same! How cool is that! What’s music like where you’re from?”  

“Oh, it’s kind of jazzy and smooth, y’know? A real 20′s sound.” He chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest with a fond yet exasperated expression at the thought of his music back home.

“And no no no, they don’t swirl around; they’re just kind of black, and ya throw ‘em at a wall,” Reggie explains, gesturing to a wall near them for emphasis. “And they stick there. Ya gotta walk through them, and they take ya where ya wanna go.”

“Yeah, I get the homesick part. Auradon Prep’s nice and all, it really is, but sometimes I really miss my home back in Hollywood.” He sighs, fingers caressing one of his many rings that his parents had given him. They weren’t jewelry, per say, more like paint molded into a shape on his fingers, but they were familiar and reminded him of home and his family. They anchored him almost as much as his music did.

Reggie looked up from the sheet music he was looking at, peering up at Kalani with raised eyebrow and a shocked crooked smile.

“O-Oh well, I’m sort of new, been here a few weeks.” He smiles, turning his ring around his finger absently, a habit he commonly did when faced with head on, sudden social interaction.

Kalani let her shoulders relax again and gasped shortly,“Really? I had no idea we were in text books or in fables! That sounds so cool! Of course we have our own fables we tell about our ancestors but I didn’t know the stories were spread! And…wait…portable what to get here?”

In all honesty Kalani was just excited to be talking to someone else about the things she liked! There was a bonus to that: she was maybe making a new friend! Which was always amazing! Even she didn’t understand something he’d mentioned.

Kalani clapped her hands together excitedly and suddenly, thinking about music again, “Yay! I love to play music, even if I am not as great as the musicians back home I feel more connected to myself when I play. Make sense? Like how you said you write to get out your feelings, I play feel more…I guess?”

“Yes, you heard me right.” Reggie laughed. “Portable. Black. Hole.”

Reggie liked Kalani’s enthusiasm; she was so bright and exuberant, and seemed to genuinely be as excited about literally everything she came across as she seemed. It was refreshing in a sense.

He nodded as she talked about how playing music made her feel, and could relate. He listened with an understanding look and a smile, like how he looked at all of his friends.

“Yeah, I get that,” He assures, twirling his ring absently with a softer, fonder smile down at it. “It’s kinda the same for me; playing music helps me stay anchored and connected to who I am and where I came from.”

Reggie lets out a little giggle at that. “Guess we’re about the same in that sense, huh?”

Reggie looked up from the sheet music he was looking at, peering up at Kalani with raised eyebrow and a shocked crooked smile.

“O-Oh well, I’m sort of new, been here a few weeks.” He smiles, turning his ring around his finger absently, a habit he commonly did when faced with head on, sudden social interaction.

“Toon Town?“ She asks, pronouncing it carefully before grinning widely,“I have never heard of it! Is it from? I’m not from around here either, I’m from Motonui, it is a small island pretty far from here. You probably haven’t heard of it. Is Toon Town a fun place to live? It sounds like it!“

Kalani didn’t really get why he was stiffening up more, but maybe he just liked good posture or something, so she sat a little straighter herself and kept talking quickly.

“Does your town like outsiders visiting? I like going new places, maybe I’ll visit there one day! Oh, maybe we could play music together! My instruments are…different than the ones here. And I can not read sheet music, I play by ear. We don’t have sheet music back home, I think it’s fun like that though. Because even if you mess up it is part of the music, right?“

Reggie laughed a bit himself, the sight of Kalani giggling like a kid on Christmas with a stiff back that resembled a stereotypical displeased queen brought a smile to his face.

“I’ve heard of Motanui, actually. Well, in fables and history textbooks mostly.” He admits.

“And hehe yeah, it’s fun to live in Toon Town. Lots of craziness,” Reggie laughs fondly. “They do accept outsiders, sometimes even welcome them, but it’s a nightmare to get there.” He chuckles.

“I had to use portable black holes to get from there to here.” Reggie explains with a small laugh.

‘She looks more interested that scrutinizing,’ He thinks as he nods his head and agrees to play music with her sometime (without!! sheet music??!). That thought caused him to gradually relax in posture as she talked excitedly at him.

“Yeah. We’ll have to play together sometime.”

Reggie looked up from the sheet music he was looking at, peering up at Kalani with raised eyebrow and a shocked crooked smile.

“O-Oh well, I’m sort of new, been here a few weeks.” He smiles, turning his ring around his finger absently, a habit he commonly did when faced with head on, sudden social interaction.

He twirls his ring around his finger a bit more incessantly,

Reggie sighed a bit, squaring his shoulders and readying himself for the ridicule this girl was going to bestow upon him once she realized he was a freaky toon boy.

“Um, Toon Town. It was apart of some outreach program, I guess.” He shrugs, closing off physically a bit as he turns away from Kalani to rearrange his sheet music.

@askthestaroftoontown

Erika hadn’t been watching her back as much as she usually would have.

Recently, the ghost girl had become more open to risks, or at least- living a day to day unlife without fearing every little thing that went on around her. However, often times things would come and bite her in the back for being so sure of herself.

This was one of those days.

Erika was walking through the halls like normal, with it being the weekend, she was looking forward to the short two day break coming up. She already had a few plans to practice some of the new material she wrote as well as some new dance technique that she hadn’t been able to do for a long time. Really, things were looking up.

Giggles clapped along beside her, keeping her the usual company and fulfilling his duty as her support animal, the two were almost inseparable. But it seemed that not even Giggles could detect someone following her.

It seemed like this stranger had been following her through the halls for quite a while now, to a point she almost lost track of when they first got here. However, being afraid of confrontation, she didn’t know how to take care of the situation. Inside, she felt herself strategizing. Turn invisible? Float up through the ceiling? Float into the floor? All of it seemed so obvious but she couldn’t help but grow afraid of what would come of it. What would happen if the stranger caught her once more? So, she kept walking. Her form tense and the stress made evident by the increased volume and speed of her heart. The last time she felt this anxious was around..him.

Her bat was fretting and clasped against her side as she walked hurriedly, eyes glancing behind her nervously at this real creepy guy that was hovering behind her. The guy was just…staring at his friend, and it gave him the creeps.

He lowered his headphones from his ears, biting his lip as a surge of protectiveness went through him. No one should look at Erika like that, like she was prey to be devoured or a thing to be claimed.

Making up his mind on what to do to help, Reggie marched over to Erika, throwing an arm around her shoulder with practiced gusto and a chest smile as he descended down and pressed a small, shy kiss to her temple.

“Hey, babe!” He beamed down at her, making sure to look behind him swiftly to see the guy flinch slightly, as if offended.

She felt her cheeks heat up in a bright purple hue, her feelings were a mix of surprised and grateful for him being there at this time, especially when she finally caught on to what he was doing. The act was such a simple yet effective one, pretending to be in a relationship.

Immediately, she caught on, giving him a gentle smile. Though the fear was still visible in her eyes, alongside her quickened heart rate. Though, from the outside. She knew that the stranger hopefully couldn’t tell.

“He-Hello!” She said sweetly, gently resting her head against his shoulder to go along with the act. “I was lo-looking for you”

Was she doing this right? She couldn’t tell, she was afraid to look back..

"W-Well I found you. We can get outta here if you want." He responds, her close proximity (her close proximity that she initiated, no less) making his head spin and his heart hammer. Nevertheless, he continued the act and kept his arm around her protectively yet gently, so she could pull away if she really wanted to.

'Cold,' He thinks, her deathly pale and stone cold skin zapping his warmth in an oddly calming way. 'But nice. Cold and nice.'

@askthestaroftoontown

Erika hadn’t been watching her back as much as she usually would have.

Recently, the ghost girl had become more open to risks, or at least- living a day to day unlife without fearing every little thing that went on around her. However, often times things would come and bite her in the back for being so sure of herself.

This was one of those days.

Erika was walking through the halls like normal, with it being the weekend, she was looking forward to the short two day break coming up. She already had a few plans to practice some of the new material she wrote as well as some new dance technique that she hadn’t been able to do for a long time. Really, things were looking up.

Giggles clapped along beside her, keeping her the usual company and fulfilling his duty as her support animal, the two were almost inseparable. But it seemed that not even Giggles could detect someone following her.

It seemed like this stranger had been following her through the halls for quite a while now, to a point she almost lost track of when they first got here. However, being afraid of confrontation, she didn’t know how to take care of the situation. Inside, she felt herself strategizing. Turn invisible? Float up through the ceiling? Float into the floor? All of it seemed so obvious but she couldn’t help but grow afraid of what would come of it. What would happen if the stranger caught her once more? So, she kept walking. Her form tense and the stress made evident by the increased volume and speed of her heart. The last time she felt this anxious was around..him.

Her bat was fretting and clasped against her side as she walked hurriedly, eyes glancing behind her nervously at this real creepy guy that was hovering behind her. The guy was just...staring at his friend, and it gave him the creeps.

He lowered his headphones from his ears, biting his lip as a surge of protectiveness went through him. No one should look at Erika like that, like she was prey to be devoured or a thing to be claimed.

Making up his mind on what to do to help, Reggie marched over to Erika, throwing an arm around her shoulder with practiced gusto and a chest smile as he descended down and pressed a small, shy kiss to her temple.

"Hey, babe!" He beamed down at her, making sure to look behind him swiftly to see the guy flinch slightly, as if offended.