don't ever tell me what i can't do

“Me? No. Here?“, there were endless possibilities to get your information now. Belle often wondered if bookstores were truly a dying business and printed books would cease to exist soon. “The more visitors we have, the better. I was just trying to show a little bit of the story of Halloween, in this case, the evolution of the jack-o-lantern. I didn’t have a lot of time to go shopping so I opted for some DIY decorations”.

Two hours ago, Dash had decided very certainly that he definitely wasn’t going down to Oogie’s - his wariness around the host alone was good enough motivation to stay away, let alone the fact everyone else in town would be there, a group which included his direct relatives - but now, he was finding himself pushing through the crowd of costumed citizens, suddenly (and surprisingly) incredibly grateful for the fact that his family were in the building, all of his misgivings about the event seemingly vanished. For the past ten minutes, he’d been in a heated argument with some of his college friends about whether or not milkshakes counted as soups - and if there was anyone he trusted to back him up, it was JJ. Finding him on his own, however, wasn’t proving to be an easy feat - so when he spotted someone who he definitely recognised as part of the Parr clan, he quickly hurried over and tapped them on the shoulder, starting with a “hey, have you seen J-“ before immediately realising his mistake.

“Shit, sorry, I thought you were… somebody else,” he tried to quickly apologise with a somewhat sheepish grin, “could I ask you something, though, actually? Need help in a debate.”

“oh — hey!” she feigned some excitement because she still knew very few people in town. they’d all been so friendly in the beginning but that had waned and she was now part of the black sheep group, which suited her just fine. she’d just come round for some essentials for her new apartment, hadn’t expected anyone to engage in conversation with her, which might turn out to be a splendid surprise. except she didn’t remember their name.

“Did you know they used to carve faces on turnips?”. Belle was changing the bookstore display, the theme was the evolution of the Jack O’ Lantern, so there was a beet, a turnip and a pumpkin, all carved and illuminated with fake candles. “They’re meant to ward off unwanted visitors”.

@sunnysidestarters·

“weird question, but-” toulouse paused and bowed his head forward, “does my hair smell like pumpkin?” he took a step forward for good measure and shook his head so his curls moved around. “i had the kids carve pumpkins all day today and i showered but somehow i feel like i still smell like goddamn pumpkins.”

Calhoun wasn’t one who was much for celebrating anything, really. But she had always liked Halloween. Not the candy or the stupid costumes, but the creepy, horror-y aspect she’d enjoyed as long as she could remember. It was for this reason that she decided to decorate her house this year. However, nearly two hours into trying to create a creepy exterior, she realized she was failing miserably. She also realized someone had been watching. Turning around, a deadpan look on her face, she spoke dryly and somewhat threateningly. “How long have you been standing there for? And when were you planning to leave?” She huffed out, frustrated. “And think carefully about how you answer the second question.”

@sunnysidestarters

Closed starter for @parrtwo

“Now your mama didn’t give any specific instructions like back in the good old days so I’m assuming that means you didn’t grew any new food allergies, did ya?” Felix knew better than to seem worried from the getgo. All the Sunnyside kids were a delight to look after, he knew from experience. Even the ones that used to run laps around his living room whenever he tried to catch ‘em for bedtime - like the middle one from the Parr family who had brought him another visit today. 

“Anyhow, dinnertime isn’t until 7 anyways. But if you’re hungry, give me a shout or- well, you know where the cookies are at. Ya know, there’s a new pack in the top cupboard. Sugarfree but just as sweet!” Last thing he wanted was to charge the Duracell bunny in his living room. Maybe Felix could sit Dash down for the time being. “So what kind of fun you wanna get up to in the meantime? Oh, perhaps ya could pick a game from the digi-room?” And no, that wasn’t Felix’s best attempt at an Australian accent but what he’d called the most 'technologically advanced’ room in the house. It had more than a TV, at least.

“Not as far as I’m aware.” Dash shrugged simply with a half-smile, one he was trying his hardest to avoid letting looked forced. Was it somewhat condescending, not to mention demeaning, not being deemed responsible enough to not take care of himself for an afternoon when he was nineteen? Very much so. Was his mother’s reasoning for sending him over to Felix’s, that since he’d “quit” his job and applied for Walter Elias without telling them until the morning he was leaving for his first day they weren’t sure they could trust him with money for the moment, let alone the house, good enough for him? Absolutely not. Was he going to try and ignore that for the afternoon for Felix’s sake? Most certainly. Technically, he could have just not gone - say he took the wrong bus, got off at the wrong stop, felt stupid about asking for help, deal with the consequences when they realised it was bullshit when he got home - but now he was here, he did have to admit - if he was able to look past how stupid it felt being treated like a kid again, some part of him had actually missed the place, missed Felix. Not that he’d admit it, obviously, not to him, he barely could to himself. Just so long as he could tell himself he was there by his own choosing, maybe his time there would be bearable.

starter for @parrtwo 

    “Why—whyare you out here?!” Peter demanded, spotting Dash. Finally! When he asked around if anyone’s seen ‘Daniel Parr’ he waspointed to look at, maybe, the track field. Or the rec center (which ishuge-as), and Peter almost flipped. This is Walter Elias, it’s pretty much atown of its own (it’s actually cool, but). “You don’t even look like you’ve runor something.” He pointed out, dumping his equipment bag (he just concludedhockey practice) on the ground and sitting next to Dash. “Not that it matters,but they added tons of vending machines, did you notice?” He babbled, openinghis bag and producing a bottle of Gatorade. “How’s your sched for thissemester? Lightened up the workload or the usual?” He followed, after taking apull. “Drink?” Holding out the bottle to the side, offering it to Dash.

╰ · ☾ › “ WAIT, HOLD THAT thought, ” stan held a finger up to the person who was speaking to him. on his back there was a crocheted drawstring bag he’d gotten from a garage sale, and he took it off to search for something that must have been very important - important enough to pause a whole conversation for. he dug around until his hand landed on what he was searching for… a baseball cap. “ okay, all good now. what were you saying again ?? i’ll be honest with you, i wasn’t paying attention. i kept thinking something was missing, ya know ?? it was throwing off the whole v i b e of our interaction. but don’t worry, i figured it out, ” he reassured as he put the hat on.

@sunnysidestarters

                   TIGGER DIDN’T VISIT the mall very often – there were some bad memories tied to that place from when he was a child and his mother literally d r a g g e d him along to go clothes shopping. he absolutely hated it – it was so boring ! and back then, he didn’t really care what he wore. and while his sense of style has evolved over time and he did care, the mall still wasn’t his favorite place to be. but, sometimes he had no choice – and today was one of those days. skipping from one level to the next, tigger tried to figure out exactly where he needed to be when a guy addressed him. with a frown, he halted and looked around before he realised the guy had been talking to him. “ erm – “, he started, until he realised what he was supposed to do. “ oh ! right ! erm… well, it’s my mom’s birthday in a couple days and i need a present. “.

When he’d been given the all clear to do his laps of the mall on his own earlier that week, Dash had been elated - but what he had thought would be a gift, being allowed to properly look at all the shopfronts just incase there was somehow something new without anyone telling him to pay attention, had ended up being something of a burden, as now it was his responsibility to not only monitor his own focus, but actually stay on the lookout like he was supposed to - neither of which he was succeeding at as he stood scanning a rack of new shirts from a window. It was only in its reflection that he spotted one of his older coworkers across the walkway who, if they saw him, wouldn’t hesitate to report his lack of effort - so he had to act fast. He only glanced around for a moment before finally settling on someone, and in a flash, he was stood in front of them, a smile plastered on his face. “Hi! Need help with anything?” he asked, fake cheery for a moment before quickly glancing over his shoulder. Still there. “Please act like you need help with something,” he quickly whispered before he had a chance to speak, “I can’t get fired today.”

“Listen, listen - I’m not necessarily saying I’d be able to outrun it - ” Technically, Dash was supposed to be at work, but he’d woken that morning with an overwhelming feeling that he just couldn’t be bothered - so, after hurrying to scribble the day out from his calendar before anyone else got up, lying to his parents about having a shift that day, and resolving to not pick up his phone just in case, he’d managed to get a hold of one of his friends to see where they were - and now, he was trying his hardest to stay at a walking pace as he and Vanellope headed down the pier towards the cart track. “- but we won’t know unless we actually try it. Like, it wouldn’t even be dangerous if you don’t try run me over - come on, please!” he leaned his head back as he tried to convince her to agree to the race, stepping in front of her to make his way around to walk on her other side, “Just one lap.”

Dash hadn’t forgotten that he was meant to be picking up dinner that night - not thought about it for a little while, maybe, forgotten that was what the money had been for and accidentally spent most of it at the mall once his shift was done, definitely, but forgotten the duty itself? Not at all. Hence why now, he was recounting the amount he had left in his wallet for the eighth time to be sure he hadn’t missed anything as he made his way along a familiar street, peering into the windows of everything that even vaguely looked like it’d sell food and trying his best to make a judgement of which ones would be able to feed five people for the lowest price possible. As the sun began make its first move towards setting above, he was starting to think it was hopeless - he was just going to have to return home empty handed, get cast out of the family for not contributing, and spend the rest of his days with nothing but another pair of shoes bought on impulse to his name. At least, he thought it was hopeless until he spotted someone seated at a table outside the place he was about to pass - and immediately, he found himself filling the empty space across from him. “Ron,” he announced, not bothering with the formality of a greeting - it was serious business, after all, “You know food. You know food places. I need your help.”

freddie: tell us about someone who has changed your life positively. 

“I don't know? I mean, my gym teachers, my old coaches, maybe? They were like, the only ones who didn't think I was shit at school, 'n they gave me chances and stuff, but... I don't know if they really changed my life. Actually, maybe the one that messed up my name did. Sure. That one.”

maracas: what’s your prized possession?

“First sprint trophy I won in middle school. It’s the only one that gets to go on my desk instead of the shelf.”

clean machine: what’s your dream car?

misfire: do you want any kids? if so, how many?

“…Maybe one day? I don’t know, if I did I’d just want one, or maybe twins, but I… I think I’d just prefer to be an uncle, parenting, it’s… I don’t think it’d be for me.”

mercury: if you could change your name, would you?

“Basically have already, haven’t I?”

drowse: how do you spend your lazy days?

“Last time I had a one was when I broke my arm and got stuck in hospital all day. I don’t do lazy days.”

smile: when you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

radio gaga: top five favorite songs?

(answered here!)

roger: what’s a common misconception about you?

“A lot of people thought I wanted to be like, an athlete or something when I was in school. I mean, maybe I do? But I don’t know if it’s ever been like, something I’ve tried to pursue. I just like running.”

hot space: what’s an unpopular opinion you have?