SMASH YOUR TELEVISION.

mavis laughed instantly at that, bright and sharp as she bumped her shoulder against mandy’s. “exactly! see, you get it. in ten years we’re either gonna look back at this and think we were iconic or completely insane.” a beat. “probably both.”

she leaned in closer to the flash sheet, her hair slipping over one shoulder as she studied the designs mandy pointed out. “oh, wait, i actually love those.” her finger tapped lightly beside one of them before she glanced back up at her with a grin already forming. “okay wait!! what if you got the moon and i got the sun?” the idea came out fast, impulsive and excited in the way mavis always was when she found something she loved. “like matching, but not exactly matching.” her eyes flicked toward the spine design again and she visibly lit up. “and that one down your spine would look so hot, by the way. devastating, honestly.”

there was something about her friendship with mavis that fueled mandy to some degree - there was just something a bit uplifting (and new) about having a girl around that operated at similar frequencies. mandy matched her friend's excitement in a way her old friends might deem unrecognizable, with a vigorous nod of her head and a smirk on her face. "definitely both," she agreed. "that's why it's the perfect idea."

the perfect idea, to mandy, was really an excuse to feel both spontaneous and in control. she was thankful that all this fanfare allowed her to move under the radar, but she knew this decision was part of something much bigger for her. harmless fun on it's own, but potentially alarming when lumped with the hair, the clothes, the increased activity on twin flame. it all added up to something, but mandy was having too much fun to worry about what it all meant.

"yes, absolutely," she said with another nod. "you would look incredible with this one." her finger trailed down the sun design before she took mavis' hand and stepped toward the entrance. "let's fucking do it."

📍 the entrance of hatchaway cemetery

it was the quiet hours of midnight when grim stood outside of the cemetary. it had become a habit of sorts since he arrived in elias. he never hovered around cemeteries before this, call him sentimental he didn't want to risk meeting any grieving family members or friends of the deceased.

but right now? he felt the pull to go here... maybe to atone for what he had been doing for hades.

the path was illuminated by the light from his scythe, which he set down for a moment to surveil the area. "alright," he warned sharply when he felt the presence of another. "step back from the scythe. it's not your property."

in the months that mandy had found home somewhere amidst the fog between old elias and the underland, she had really been chasing something that was not there. the second she left endsville, the second their trio splintered somewhere down the middle and had been sitting in limbo ever since, mandy had been chasing a feeling they couldn't return to. this wasn't fucking minnesota anymore and they weren't an unlikely clan going on sideshow adventures out of boredom. here they were in the depths of hell, way too far from home (where only billy was smart enough to stay), and mandy was realizing she followed her friend here prematurely. before she recognized the consequences or understood his decisions or before she even knew if he wanted her to.

the hours after work, for mandy, looked different every night. one would think after getting picked up by a winter storm that she would avoid lingering in the dark for too long, but every inch of both old elias and the underland had been explored by her now. tonight, she found herself in the cemetery - not because she thought she'd find anything interesting, but because she thought it would be quiet.

she saw the scythe first. the world around her froze in a new way.

instead of doing what she was told, mandy snatched the mechanism up by the handle and let her gaze follow the curve of the blade. it felt foreign in her hand, something she wouldn't normally touch - but she and grim were not sitting on a field of normal right now, not with this new arrangement in their way. to think, there were days when this scythe did her bidding, innocent as it were from a child's mind.

looking to the direction of the voice, eyes locking on his for the first time since the day they said goodbye, mandy frowned. a beat of silence passed between them.

"you're too late, anyway. these ones are already dead."

king  blinked once as she sat before he could answer, gaze dropping to the offered pizza box like she’d just presented him with an ancient artifact.. a cheesy ancient artifact.. his favorite. 

“…you know,” he said slowly, “most people wait for consent before invading a crypt.”  he teased lookinng mildly impressed as he tilted his head, dark waves slipping into his face as he considered the pepperoni slice she offered. “this is either generosity..” he mused, “or the world’s least threatening assassination attempt.”

mandy, in all honesty, had taken a gamble when she sat here. most of the surrounding tables were full of families, friends, and conversationalists that she didn't necessarily care to interrupt. but here, he had been sitting alone and staring off into space in a way that indicated that he might not even acknowledge her sitting down at all.

she was wrong, of course.

a beat of silence passed between them and the pizza box. she blinked. leaned in. squinted in a way that denoted challenge. "most people aren't taking up a whole table to neglect their tray." picking her own slice up, she took a bit that was a bit too big for her mouth and let a lull settle between them for a second as she chewed, swallowed, took a sip of her diet coke. "dude, if this shit is poisoned, we're going down together." she took another bite, not realizing how hungry she was until the first one went down. "i'm mandy, by the way. since we'll probably be roommates in the afterlife or whatever."

after his father was found, leo swore he was never going to see hopper's dumb face ever again. he could almost laugh at himself for ever thinking such a thought because here he was five years later now hopper's prized champion. it was all in the name of getting intel on the hell barons to figure out hades' schemes, but leo still never imagined his life would turn out like this.

now that he and eric were on better terms, leo had been able to avoid hopper's office as of late. it was the small wins in life that really kept him going. the second was the perks that came with being a champion (and the prettiest boy in the club, thank you) because men loved to him free drinks. he was nursing one when he felt a presence slide beside him.

"want me to talk to him or hold him down so you can handle business? in a second. how are you doing? it's been busy as hell tonight."

somehow, after the winter storm took whatever semblance of normalcy mandy had been holding on to, she was finally starting to feel at home in her own skin again. it was taking a strange amount of time and effort to get there, frustratingly so, but her place in this city - and furthermore her place in this club - were being solidified. her sense of belonging here was stronger than it had ever been back in endsville.

of course, that didn't stop the rowdiest of regulars from reminding her that most in here didn't take her seriously. while she could definitely hold her own in a verbal spat and while no one expected her to do anything but pour a fucking beer, her tiny frame and shock of blonde hair gave some of these men a level of confidence that didn't make sense. she smirked at leo's offering anyway. " i'll let you know if i need a security guard," she droned, tone stuck in its typical monotone cadence. hands, refusing to stay idle, reached for empty glasses, for napkins, for rags. "been busy enough to not think about anything else," she agreed. "halle-fucking-lujah."

it was slowing down now, though, which was why she was looking for something to do. in lieu of drinks, she poured a couple glasses of ice water and handed one over. "i hope you at least got something interesting to tell me. hate when this shit gets busy and boring."

she felt like eating her own words right after she said them — 'couples do that, right?'

"…not that i'd ever know," she mumbled, rolling her eyes at herself. violet gave the stranger a grateful smile. "yeah, i'm finding out i don't really have much show in me. maybe after food. i hope there isn't a social media testament thing. i cannot handle being filmed right now." she dragged her hands down her cheeks with a groan. as the line moved forward, violet kept a comfortably close (but hopefully not overbearing) distance, elbow to elbow. "i'll get a corndog and then…if it's not part of the deal, i'm getting that muffin too." she pointed at the muffin in the display.

the conversation had been easygoing enough but the mention of the storm caused a pang in her head. violet blinked away the feeling, focusing instead on what was said immediately before that. "i've seen her around a lot but i haven't said hi either…she looks friendly so she might not mind being approached…" she spoke, trying to keep her thoughts in track.

but now she had to ask.

"the storm, did you…were you okay?"

a lie, obviously. to think hopper made her sign a code of anything was laughable.

but violet's question threw her for a loop. was she okay? it felt profound, how resounding that no was. she couldn't openly admit that to this woman who was, at this point, an acquaintance at best. mandy shrugged.

"i'm okay now," she said, answering the question without really answering it at all. she hoped that would be enough. "were you?" the blonde swallowed, a forced pause. "were you okay, i mean?"

it felt like luz had been going non-stop the entire event. there were so many sights to see and things to do. she was doing her best to get every single thing done. she almost felt as though she had spread herself a little too thin but luz was determined as always.

her tank needed a recharge. pizza was always the perfect source of energy in her book. she was grateful that pizza planet had a stall. their pizza had quickly become her favorite. the space ambiance was an added bonus. she always loved seeing the green little men when she entered the place. the line had been long so luz took a seat while she waited for it to clear. the witch was scrolling through her phone when she noticed mandy coming her way. "yeah of course!" she smiled. "really? are you sure?" she asked, eyes wide. it's as if mandy had read her mind. "i mean, if you're offering i won't say no." luz took a slice without hesitation. "are you enjoying yourself?"

when it came to large crowds such as this one, mandy was always thankful when she can skirt by among the familiar. the fact that it was luz on the other side of the empty seat allowed the blonde to settle in right away without hesitation. she passed over some napkins. "yeah, dude. dig in. i owe you one, anyway."

was she enjoying herself? what was so funny about that question was that it was probably the first night in a while that she genuinely was. mandy chuckled at the realization. she thought about begging molt to cover her shift, about getting matching tattoos with mavis and raiding the record store. she was about to go get a new record player because of the new collection in her tote. "you know, i don't think we'll see anything like this down here ever again. but, i'm glad i called in to experience it."

as if on cue, she took a bite of her pizza - shockingly good, on top of everything else. "how about you? what have you been getting yourself into?"

mavis snorted softly, shaking her head as she leaned her hip against the stall. “oh, you’re bold tonight,” she teased, giving mandy a once-over before glancing at the flash again. “logan did say you were a bad influence, i just didn’t realize it came with permanent consequences.”

she hummed, pretending to weigh it out way harder than she needed to before tapping a design with her finger. “alright, but if i’m doing this, you’re not backing out on me.” her grin widened, playful and a little conspiratorial. “we go in together, we suffer together. that’s the deal. and maybe something matching?”

mandy offered mavis a smirk as she realized the other girl seemed to be right on her level. impulsive as it might have been, there was no one in this moment that she would rather get a random tattoo with that mavis. the blonde wasn't one for reflection by any means, but it was interesting how time allowed the roles of billy and grim to transfer to others as her circle expanded. she never really had a proper girl friend before. her old friends, that old life - it wasn't even a thought in her brain as they stood and conspired now in front of the flash sheet. "you call it a consequence - i call it a kickass memory."

she took a step closer and looked at the sheet, easily landing on a couple designs she loved. "absolutely matching. what do you think of these?" her finger circled the left page of two. "if they're not just doing arms and legs, i can see this one on the right down my spine."

option a: dungeons, dragons, and a vampire?

she hovered just outside the setup for the midnight dungeons and dragons one shot, arms crossed as she watched people gather around like it was some kind of ritual. mavis didn’t look like she belonged there... a bit too guarded, too shy, but she hadn’t walked away either. “so… we’re all just gonna sit around and pretend we’re pirates or something?” she asked, glancing at someone nearby with a faint smirk. her tone wasn’t mocking just curious, edged with something almost playful. “because i could be convinced.” a beat. “but if i’m doing this, i’m not playing anything lame.”

option b: a tattoo, maybe?

she stood just outside starlight tattoo + piercing, staring at the celestial flash sheet like she was trying to talk herself out of something she’d already decided on. the designs glimmered under soft light... stars, constellations, something that almost looked like it moved if you stared too long. mavis huffed a quiet breath, glancing sideways at whoever had stopped nearby. “don’t look at me like that,” she muttered, already defensive. “it’s just a tattoo.” her eyes flicked back to the sheet, lingering. “besides… could be worse decisions i’ve made down here tonight.”

note: this is a choose your own starter edition. reply to the thread of your choice. either state which starter in your reply or the tags!

option b: mark yourself before they do it for you.

mandy had somehow convinced molt to cover her shift as she made her way to the gloam market instead, curious to know what all the fuss was about. it didn't make any sense to her why anyone would throw some kind of festival here of all places, but she since realized it wasn't necessarily her role to understand. as a frequent traveler of the bridge between old elias and the underland, the push to make it more habitable left her with questions. what was next - deed theft?

now she stood in front of a stall designated for the tattoo parlor, which she had been meaning to visit anyway one of these days. since a few of the flash designs were right up her alley, mandy decided she was going to pop in when she noticed mavis directly next to her. "i'll support a woman in any decision she chooses to make," the blonde said with a smirk as an idea came to mind. "i'll get one if you get one."

[s o p h i e t h a t c h e r] — 4