#(jay's asks)

I just couldn’t resist toying with their tragic backstories. Which is why the entire ordeal I’m about to ramble about follows the HC that Logico and Irratino purposely pushed Indigo off the mountain, covering it up as an accident. But to really amp up the angst, I felt it necessary to also include my thoughts on the idea of Irratino and Logico taking in Olivia after she’s left orphaned. So grab a snack and suffer with me.

First things first, I have it in my head that Irratino (and by extension, Logico) did not know that Olivia was without an active mother in her life by the time case 99 rolls around. Why? Because I like to believe that if Irratino knew that Indigo was Olivia’s only remaining parent, then he wouldn’t have gone through with the plan of pushing Indigo off the mountain. Even if he thought Indigo would (somehow) live, I don’t think he would’ve risked killing Olivia’s only parent because that would leave her orphaned. Even if Indigo was a bad guy, even if Indigo was intending to kill him and Logico, I don’t think he could’ve gone through with it.

Irratino knows Olivia. She’s a smart and truly gifted girl who’s good friends with his nephew. And despite her relation to Indigo, she’s still a good-hearted kid who did absolutely nothing wrong. In his head, any kid, but especially Olivia, does not deserve to be orphaned. He knows exactly what it feels like to lose both parents; he lost his in the worst way possible. So the thought of Olivia, of all people, feeling that pain and having to live with it like he still does would be agonizing. Irratino would only orphan a child accidentally. Growing up without your parents is something he wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy, never mind a kid, and certainly not Olivia. 

With that being said, you can imagine the pure devastation upon him learning she doesn’t have a mother. Since I live for drama, I like the idea of him learning about it through someone else, while overhearing a passing conversation. Like, a now ex-Tekco employee says something quick like “I can’t believe Indigo’s dead. I feel for his kid. Now she’s also without a father.” Irratino would just stop in his tracks and grab this employee because “What do you mean, also?”  Then bam, “her mother left a couple of years after she was born.” And yikes, the breakdown is ruthless. 

Logico would be going through a whirlwind of emotions, too, but it pales in comparison to the thoughts threatening Irratino’s head. Oh my god. Oh my god, what did I do? If Irratino himself holds such hatred for the person who took his parents from him, Olivia would never forgive them for what they’ve done. That night, Irratino would become the type of person he holds no respect for, only hate. The type of person who steals parents away from their kids. How could he possibly hurt someone the same way he’s been hurt? How would his mothers react if they could see him now? He was now partly to blame for ruining this girl’s life. He had to fix this, but there was no bringing the dead back to life. 

Which is why he and Logico take Olivia in. From both their standpoints, they’d feel guilt and remorse. But additionally, from Irratino’s standpoint, he would also know what she’s going to go through. It would be his way of apologizing without blatantly explaining what they’ve done. Obviously, he could never tell her the truth, so from that point forward, he instead vows to try and make her life as easy as he can make it. Doing things he would’ve appreciated if they were done for him after his parents died. Technically, Olivia wouldn’t be without guardians if she’s taken in by Irratino and Logico, but she’s still going to mourn her biological father. 

Now (finally) focusing more on Olivia, I take it that it would be a long time before things start feeling ok. Grief is torturous, and I can even see her feeling guilty about her grief because Indigo wasn’t the best guy. You aren’t supposed to cry when villains fall, but he was never a villain to her. It’s a mixed bag, but I think she’ll slowly navigate through. Eventually, in her new arrangement with Irratino and Logico, she comes around to her new family. And she could finally feel comfortable letting them officially adopt her. Life first becomes manageable, and eventually, even good. Until the happy ends lmao. Your first mistake was asking me, the girl who runs on angst, about my thoughts-

Things inevitably fall apart when she’s sixteen because I HC that Irratino lost his parents when he was sixteen and I don’t skip opportunities to make parallels. It’s no question Olivia’s smart, and now with two prolific detectives as her adoptive parents, she’s set to be one of the greatest sleuths of her time. She’s a part of the detective club, and now, one of those said parents runs the entire thing. In her search for learning how to better her skills, she lets curiosity take over and sifts through Logico’s notes, studying his techniques. It’s perfect. Logico documents every case he can and keeps his notebooks like a hoarder. But then she accidentally stumbles upon something she shouldn’t have. Evidence that not only tells her that Irratino and Logico were on that mountain, but also evidence that points to them being the reason for her dad’s death. Like Irratino, whom I HC as being the one who not only picked up on the cover-up, but also solved who killed his parents, Olivia would do the same. They may not be biologically related, but the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, am I right?

Poor Liv, she’s now found herself in a horrible position. She loved her father, she always did, she always will. But her grief was still always going to be different than Irratino’s since her dad was a shady guy. She knows he had bad moments, she knows he screwed over his fair amount of people. But he was still her dad. Meanwhile, Irratino lost two parents who definitely didn’t deserve their fates. 

Olivia lost her dad, but in the years when she didn’t know the truth, she gained two new father figures. Yet, she'd also lose them too (at least, momentarily) the day she found out because she’d rightfully feel betrayed. And if they were lying about this, how much else was a lie? The girl would be going through it, and once she learns that their reason mainly had to do with Indigo plotting to kill Irratino and Logico first, she’d be stuck between these two groups. 

On one hand, she’s angry that Logico and Irratino killed her dad; it’s their fault she doesn't have her father anymore; he could still be alive right now. But at the same time, if they didn’t do what they did, the world would have lost two pivotal detectives. She’d never be their kid. But she’s not supposed to want to be their kid, right? It’s so messy! She wouldn’t be able to help comparing parenting styles, too. Irratino and Logico have always cheered her on, encouraging her to do whatever she wanted. But she’s not supposed to choose the people who took her father away. She’s not supposed to love them more than Indigo. But she does love them. They’re good people, and they make good parents. Like Indigo, they were so good to her, and that’ll probably piss her off even more because their kindess is just making the whole situation more difficult. It would be so much easier to hate them without a care in the world if they didn’t treat her like their main priority. Like their kid.

And on top of all this, Olivia would also be angry with Indigo. She knows he’s a sketchy guy, which is why she doesn’t struggle believing that Indigo went for Logico and Irratino's necks first. And she resents that she easily believes accusations like that. His character is so telling, and she's realizing that the most here. Why did he have to act this way? Why couldn’t he just be a good person? If he were, none of this would be happening. 

Anyway, it’s rough out here. And in complete honesty, I’m still on the fence about whether I even HC this whole ordeal because of how deep it gets, but you can probably see why I have so many thoughts about this scenario. And yes, I’m talking to you specifically, Lily (and anyone else who reached the end lol- hi!!). Character analysis never fails to get a kick outta me, I put my beloved characters in messy situations just to think about how they’d react for funsies.

And fate is pullin' you miles away.” 

AND

“How do we rewrite the stars?

Say you were made to be mine?

Nothing can keep us apart,

'Cause you are the one I was meant to find.”

Like C’MON. So naturally, I had to build a mini world with them revolving around the movie's storyline. 

So, a quick recap: the movie follows P.T. Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman), who brings about a circus in the 1800s based on human “oddities” (the real P.T. Barnum was super shady, but I digress). Barnum partners with Philip Carlyle (Zac Efron) because his family is prestigious, so having him as a business partner makes the circus look credible. And Philip falls in love with one of the circus trapeze artists, Anne Wheeler (Zendaya). “Rewrite the Stars” is a duet between Philip and Anne, where Anne expresses how they can’t be together because interracial relationships in the 19th century were rare and sometimes illegal.

Alright, now hear me out. The circus set up still stands. And Irratino is a part of it, showcasing fortune-telling abilities. Maybe the dude runs away after his parents pass away and chooses to embrace the esoteric in a very esoteric place. Trust me, it was so tempting to also just write off Irratino as a trapeze artist because I can see him in that position, but fortune-telling is right up his alley. 

Logico in this AU would be the outsider, like Philip, who makes a business deal with whoever Barnum would be in this universe (maybe Chalk? Let’s just say Chalk). Instead of Logico having a prestigious family, he and his profession as a detective are what the public recognizes. Chalk decides to hire Logico to try and debunk the attractions at his circus because he figures that when Logico is unable to prove it as a hoax, the public skepticism will relax, too. Like the movie, the partnership would be to verify the circus’ credibility. Logico takes the deal because he’s also skeptical about the circus and because he’s poor in every universe lmao.

When deciding what attraction he wanted to tackle first, Logico determined that the easiest thing to disprove was the fortune-teller (Logico, you sweet summer child). So he meets Irratino, and wow, he’s pretty. And a total sweetheart. And what was the mission again? Oh, right, there’s no such thing as being able to read the future, especially with a couple of pieces of cardboard. So Logico gets a reading, and Irratino predicts his day with accuracy. So he gets another reading the next day, and it happens again. Consequently, the two end up spending a lot of time together because Logico is downright flabbergasted. Cue them getting closer. Maybe Irratino gets flirtier and reads his palm rather than the cards, and Logico knows that he’s goofed. Suddenly, he’s now genuinely spending time with Irratino because he likes keeping his company rather than trying to actively prove that he’s a fraud.

This is funny because if Logico had started his investigation somewhere else, he very well would’ve found evidence of a hoax somewhere. But instead, he just ended up falling in love.

For the grand confessions, I imagine Logico asking Irratino if he can predict his love life, and Irratino gives him the details of his future partner. “They’re a huge animal-lover, creative, but very different from you.” Then Logico jumps in with the “Do they also have the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen?” And bam, both of them know how they feel about each other. 

But getting into angst and back to the song that brought me here to begin with. Irratino’s hesitant to let them have this because same-sex relationships were taboo during this time, too. After all, he’s seen how difficult it was for his moms growing up. In public, Irratino didn’t have two moms; he only had one mother and her very close best friend.

So he tries to push Logico away with the claims of them not being in the cards, and the stars don’t say it’s meant to be. Logico knows he’s bluffing, but he still makes the argument that they can just re-write the stars because no one can stop him from deciding that Irratino is a part of his destiny. And y’know what? That absolutely destroys Irratino because you have this completely logical man who didn’t believe in fate before meeting him, claiming that the world could be theirs.