Darwin and Carrie. The two were quite a pair. Despite everything being stacked against the couple's success, the two still managed to prevail, proving to be a stable couple with a deep relationship. Whether it be the long discussions at night or their peaceful walks in silence, it was apparent that the two were one with each other.
Of course, this is not too out of the ordinary with most successful couples. The ability to connect with each other on an emotional level is essential to a lasting relationship. What made the two stand out was their physical differences and how they overcame them. There was no denying it: Darwin was mortal. A being of the physical world. Carrie, a ghost. A supernatural being deriving from a world of the intangible.
Under normal circumstances, this pair should not work; a mortal cannot physically interact with the spirits; to attempt to do so in any fashion is pure insanity. However, these two tweens were different; their relationship spat in the face of logic as they hugged each other, embracing each other's warmth; as they locked hands (fins? Whatever Carrie's stubs are?) with each other, allowing each other to become the counterpart's other half while still remaining separate from one another; as they joined lips, letting the cosmos stop for them as they cherish the moment.
They were an unstoppable couple; Darwin's parents had nothing but love for Carrie, taking pride in their son's choice to choose such a passionate companion. The students cheered them on, offering nothing but praise. The amount of support for the couple was immense to the point it rivaled Gumball's and Penny's relationship and even Alan's and Carmen's in popularity.
Although slow to get attached to the cartoonishly mutant fish, the old and hardened Vladus espoused their relationship, giddy that Darwin was able to expose his daughter's more sensitive and vulnerable side to show. Vladus was able to sleep at night knowing that his one and only descendant was in good fins.
Once again, Darwin and Carrie were dwelling in Carrie's bedroom, both situating themselves on top of the inviting softness that was Carrie's mattress. As per usual, the two began to fill the room with conversation, not paying much mind to the darkening of the night sky; the quarters echoed with laughter as the two continued to engross themselves into the nightly conversation .
Darwin's grin grew wider. "I kind of feel bad for finding the video funny, but Gumball's reaction to the jumpscare is priceless!"
Carrie couldn't help but imitate the young fish's goofy grin. "Oh man! The best part of that thing was when his face was plastered all over the internet!"
They both continued to giggle, taking delight on how the internet effectively and efficiently trolled Gumball. Something about Darwin's joy was contagious, especially when Carrie was involved.
The snickering between the kids continued, making a slow descent into silence. Void of sound, the duo's eyes met each other, locking into a prolonged gaze until the embarrassment had reached its limit, and the pair were forced to cease the intense moment.
It just so happened that the old man Vladus was pacing around the house, making his rounds. During his stroll across the second floor, he took notice to the small opening to his daughter's room left by a poorly shut wooden door. With a piqued curiosity, Vladus positioned his head so that one of his irises could receive a glimpse of the antics within the room.
His eye laid upon the couple and their intense stare-off; taking in the adorable scene, As he watched Darwin's and Carrie's faces ripen to a crimson shade of red, he felt a tingling sensation in his stomach (ghosts have stomachs, right…?) as the beam on his pale ghostly face lengthened.
Determining that he has invaded their privacy for long enough, Vladus languidly pulled the door closed, making sure to keep all noise to a minimum. He stared at the coarse brown door one final time before phasing through the floor, returning to his plum-colored chair situated on the ground floor.
As Vladus started to slouch in the sizable chair, he took a moment of silence to reflect on what he had just witnessed. There, he sat, with his face scrunched up, exposing all his wrinkles while he entered a deep state of thought. Placing his head on his transparent forehead, the spirit began a massive brainstorm.
How is that a mortal and a ghost are so happy together? More thoughts began to swarm his mind.
It doesn't add up.
Relationships of this nature simply don't last
Something always goes wrong!
Why are they so happ-
"Uh, Mr. Vlad, I'll be heading out for the night. It's near curfew." Vlad's thoughts were penetrated by the soft vocals of an eighth grader.
"Oh, you carry on, kid. Stay safe."
With that, Darwin opened the door and made his way out, but not before configuring his face into another dorky expression toward his girlfriend, who was right behind him. Carrie soon followed suit, returning an equally ridiculous countenance.
Once Darwin was on the sidewalk, Carrie gently closed the gap between the door and the opening and flicked the lock 90o in one sudden motion. She then floated to her father and clamped him between her stubs before softly whispering "Good night." Vladus, of course, returned the favor, hugging her and repeating Carrie's words right back at her. Satisfied, Carrie ascended from her father's grasp, reaching the ceiling and phasing right through.
Alone once more, Vladus reverted back into his slouching position and allowed his thoughts to consume him once more.
It's not that the display he had observed earlier changed his opinion on Darwin; quite the contrary, actually. Darwin had done nothing to deserve his scorn; he was such a pleasant and polite kid, and Vladus was glad to have the little guy around.
Rather, his bafflement originated from the sheer absurdity of the relationship. His train of thought was speeding up at an exponentially fast rate; it eventually reached a point at which reality started to dissipate and memories of the past started to take their place.
Vladus saw a younger, more depressed version of himself curled up in front of a cabin situated in gray void; there was something different about this Vladus: he was more flesh-like. More humanoid. This Vladus was a reminder of his more youthful days; his more mortal days.
The youthful Vladus, still curled up on the ground, began to clutch a small-sized framed photo closer to his chest. Suddenly, the long drawn-out silence was punctured by the muttering of a broken man.
"...Is this what it means to live a "cursed life"..."
The muttering grew louder until it became a moan of sorts.
"'Too dead for mushiness', she says. 'Love is nothing more than a way to crush the already crushed,' she says."
The moan grows into a shrill scream.
"They were all right! A mortal and a ghost cannot get along! One night and she doesn't even want to connect because she's above it all"
As the young Vladus continued to scream, he felt an anger grow inside of him.
Before the young Vladus could do anything rash, the world around him began to disintegrate. He too found himself quickly evaporating.
Vladus was snapped out of his trance and regained awareness of his surroundings. There he was again, back in his armrest, slouching.
He hastily shot up from his reclined position. "I need to further...observe them...study them….research them…"
The silence became more intimidating.
"Aw, forget it! There's no way to word this without it sounding wrong. I'm gonna spy on my daughter and her boyfriend and end the relationship before one of them gets hurt."
The night was mum as Vladus sluggishly leaned himself to the side, leaving his head in an inverted position and allowing all sorts of ghostly fluids to rush into his head; Vladus allowed the drowsiness to take over as the night progressed, eventually falling into a deep slumber.
Vladus found himself lying in a void absent of color. Confused, Vladus picked himself up and began floating for what seemed like miles; it seemed as if there was no end to the darkness until he caught sight of what seemed to be a humanoid and a ghostly figure bickering. The curious Vladus advanced toward them, noticing that the once faint murmuring was becoming more and more rambunctious.
The ghostly figure seemed especially vigorous, attentively motioning her arms in time with her words as the energy in them increased. "Just leave, Vlad! I've had it up to 'here' with you. Can you not take a hint?"
The humanoid took a step back. "What's that supposed to mean? Does 'this' mean anything to you?"
Just as the argument was about to jump a level in intensity, a flash of static came over the foes, transforming the ghostly figure and the humanoid to Carrie and Darwin, respectively.
Vladus felt a cold sweat on his forehead as he watched the two continue to unleash all their frustrations on each other. Quickly, Vladus utilized all his energy into floating toward them, but before he could amidst in the conflict, reality started to dissipate once more.
"Dad?"
No response.
"Dad?"
Still nothing.
"Dad!"
At long last, there was a response: Vladus was flailing his arms around while growling some incoherent jumbiling mess.
Puzzled by her dad's peculiar behavior, Carrie's face grimaced into a semi-pout.
"Yeah, I'm gonna take 'cncnnhjfhhidgjbskfugfjsksjfsgkf' as 'yes, I can meet Darwin at the park'"
Once again, Vladus had nothing to offer but outlandish gestures and an eccentric palette of words...or mumbling.
"Right... you just keep 'jsjshshrnnthweqo3i5r8fjkgjgjzu-ing' and I'll ...just take my leave."
A sudden reverberation accompanied by a neon green flash convulsed the room and finally returned Vladus to life on his feet.
"Youhie...WHA-FRI-"
Vladus's disgorging of words was ended abruptly by a falling chandelier aimed toward his head. The area of impact was painful enough to cause Vladus to caress his sore spot with his hands.
"Stupid ghost rules...don't work when they're convenient…"
Vladus finished patting his head down, allowing all his irritation to dissipate and his clarity of mind to return.
"I feel like I was supposed to do something important today…"
Vladus stood still for a moment, stroking his chin in hopes of remembering his plans. Unanticipatedly, his eyes shrank as he snapped his fingers in excitement.
"That's right! I was supposed to stop a relationship from shattering."
Promptly, Vladus harnessed all the energy within him, and in an instant, the man vanished, leaving nothing but a loud pop sound and a neon green light.
The howl of the wind rustled the the verdant leaves together on the colossal oak tree. Its strength was enough to bring one single leaf to a descent. The lone leaf eventually landed in Darwin's left fin, who happened to be parked underneath the tree alongside Carrie.
Darwin took a moment to examine the leaf, paying close attention the path it just followed.
"You know, the leaf and the tree are kinda like us. Separate, they're pretty, but together, they're even prettier. Dependent, yet independent at the same time."
Carrie paused for a moment to reflect on what the young fish had just said.
"Kinda, although, that metaphor really doesn't work because once a leaf is detached from a tree, it's sorta dead. That and the leaf can never be reattached. Leaves a lot of implications."
Darwin playfully sulked as he soaked in Carrie's words.
"Well, I was trying to be deep!"
Darwin's face was becoming overly goofy to the point that the duo couldn't contain their laughter anymore. At first, it was mere snickering, but it soon evolved into boisterous chortling that seemed to last for eons.
"Ah, Darwin. You always know how to lighten the mood."
While the children continued to cackle, Vladus zapped into existence in front of the bush in the near distance. Grasping on his new surroundings, Vladus was quick to take shelter in the bush itself. He hurriedly jabbed his head out of the bush so that his eyeline was on the same plane as the doublet. Extra prepared, Vladus hauled out his binoculars and commenced his "observing of two."
After what felt like an eternity, the laughter finally died down. The children returned to their formerly shy state as their mouths went from an enormous banana-like configuration to a small smirk. They both avoided eye contact with each other while their faces glowed a radiant red. The situation remained this tense until Carrie's voice chiseled the tension.
"You know, Darwin, you're a good guy to have around."
Darwin perked up, giving Carrie his undivided attention. Carrie continued, albeit a bit flustered, twiddling her stubs around.
"Up until, I've met you, I've never felt all too confident about opening up and being 'mushy.' With you, though, it feels different. I feel like I can truly express myself."
In return for her kind words, Darwin gave a sincere smile; in his eyes, one could see genuine glee. Still feeling as if his smile was inadequate to express his gratitude, Darwin slowly opened his mouth and allowed his heart to speak.
"I never knew how much I wanted a companion like you. The way we can talk and enjoy each other's presence is something I've grown to love. So, thanks for that…It's good to know that I have somebody to run to, even when they're mad"
Allowing their emotions to take control, the two latched onto each other in a warm hug.
Vladus gently placed his binoculars down as he had a moment to himself. He attempted to assimilate everything that just occurred into his head while simultaneously recalling the misfortunes of his relationship.
Vladus saw passion in their relationship.
Vladus saw communication in their relationship.
Vladus saw true connection and understanding in their relationship.
The expression on Vladus's face softened as he finally understood why Darwin and Carrie were able to stay afloat.
Look at them. They're only in the eighth grade, yet they have it all figured out.
They actually take the time to speak what's on their mind
There's more to it than just thinking with your hormones.
What they have is true love! Something sustainable! Something wholesome! Something worthy!
My relationship crashed the second there was any friction because there was
No...passion
...com passion…
Compassion!
The problem wasn't physiology
It was psychology
It was true love
Yup, my little girl has got it all figured out
She's found love
True love
A/N: First story on this website. Hopefully I didn't screw it up too bad.
Special thanks to Orlder, Villicus, and IsabellaGranger12 for helping with the story and just being really encouraging. Make sure to check out their stuff; they're awesome writers.
Also thanks to Taliats, who isn't a user here, but did provide input nonetheless.
With this out of the way, I can return to over-analyzing this show.
As always, any criticisms and compliments are appreciated.