Chapter Text
It was another loud day for the Hooligans. There’s almost never a quiet moment for them, and this blisteringly hot July evening was no exception. They’ve used Gino’s as today’s escape from the heat. Well, that and a way to obtain pizza. Angel was rambling on about the events of the latest episode of Captain Spaceboy to Charlene at length, while Aubrey was gazing off into the distance, deep in thought. Meanwhile, Vance was watching Kim and Mikhael The Maverick get into another loud argument about things that really didn’t matter.
“LISTEN, Starstrike is a voice of a generation that will lead us to greatness! We could achieve world peace if we had everyone in congress watch it.” The Maverick said.
“Holy fucking shit, it’s a show about magical girls, not the Communist Manifesto.” Kim retorted.
“Of course, your unenlightened mind would never understand the political nuances of Sweetheart no Sekai Heiwa e no Dokidoki Kuesuto. Her arc of rising to the same level of power as her compatriots and helping defeat Roboheart is a metaphor for how the lower class can rise up and conquer the upper class!”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it’s just a kid's show and you’re a massive nerd.” Kim rolls her eyes.
“KID’S SHOW?! I’LL HAVE YOU KNOW IN JAPAN IT WAS INTENDED FOR MATURE AUDIENCES!!!”, The Maverick’s voice held a comical amount of conviction.
“Is that why it’s made by a company called 4Kids?”
“DUBBED, NOT CREATED!!!” He slams his fist into the table in a rage.
“I genuinely don’t care.” Kim laughs. She takes a sip of Orange Joe before continuing with her torrent of mostly lighthearted teasing. “Listen, Mikhael, the creators of the show are probably upper class too, so why would they spread a message about-”
“How many times must I remind you, I CAST AWAY THAT NAME A LONG TIME AGO! It’s THE MAVERICK.” The Maverick interrupted through his teeth.
Kim rolls her eyes a second time. “And how many times must I tell you, nobody is going to call you that.” She leans back in her chair and waves her soda cup for emphasis… Only to quickly lean forwards, as her face shifts from smug to confusion. “Y’know, why do you hate that name so much, anyway?”
“... Huh?”
“Why do you get so angry at being called Mikhael?” Kim asks. The Maverick pauses for a bit, as his mind slowly starts loading in. The dial up noises are almost audible.
“Because… I’m THE MAVERICK. Someone as powerful as me deserves a befitting moniker.”
“That just explains why you’re a loser. It doesn’t really answer the question. ” The Maverick opens his mouth, only for her to cut him off. “ And that explains why you like a name as dumb as that. I’m asking why you hate your given name so much?”
Once again, he freezes up while he scrapes his mind for a response. It takes him a bit longer this time around. “Because, well… It’s a peasant’s name! To refer to me as something as small as that would be nothing short of an insult!”.
“You were just rambling about how Sweetheart could start a communist revolution or whatever the fuck, and now your issue is being called a peasant’s name?”
“IT’S COMPLICATED, OK?”, The Maverick shouted.
“If it’s complicated, then explain it to me.”
He falls silent for an awkward amount of time. Looks like he can’t bullshit his way through this one, Kim thinks to herself. Eventually, he just turns away and finishes his food in a visibly annoyed silence.
As absolutely fucking hilarious as this whole situation was, Kim was still curious. After all, having a visceral reaction to hearing a name only means one thing to her.
I mean, there’s a lot of reasons someone would hate their name, Kim starts to wonder. He’s rebelling against a highly religious family, even if he’s chosen to be absolutely insufferable about it, maybe his name being chosen by his family has something to do with it. Or maybe it just genuinely doesn’t jive with him, Aubrey once mentioned that Kel wasn’t a big fan of his full name “Kelsey”. Or, of course, he could just be a massive loser.
But like, what if…?
…Eh, it’s not right to try and figure out someone’s identity for them. I’ll leave him to his own extremely weeb-ish devices.
As the boxes slowly became pizzaless, and the last of the ice either melted or was eaten, the group slowly disbanded. Kim ends up splitting off from Vance to walk with Aubrey, but not before she shoots one last glance at Mikhael. He responds with an exaggerated scowl.
The Maverick ended up retreating to his room for the rest of the day. Luckily, he’d already eaten, so he had no reason to leave and deal with talking with either his parents or his siblings. He’d felt a stronger evil force than usual in the house ever since he agreed to try a shift at the bakery, only to abscond at the last second. But instead of playing video games, tending to his wigs, or anything else productive, he was simply just… lying on his bed, wide awake.
“Why do you hate that name so much, anyway?”
He was never one to think too hard about his general existence. All he really knows is… that name started to really get on his nerves. It was part of the reason he created his way cooler and flashier persona to fall back on. But also because it was sick as fuck. Who would want to be some lame bread-baking guy named Mikhael anyway, when you could be The Maverick™ , the absolute raddest and most badass person in the world ?
The Maverick sits up and turns towards his mirror, flashing a super cool pose!
…Did. Did that always feel so… nothing?
Whatever. As long as it looks super cool, he should be fine. He falls back into his bed.
“Why do you hate that name so much, anyway?”
That damn question continues to echo in his mind. Frustrated, he buries his head into one of his pillows. Whatever the hell any of this means, it’s probably not important. He forced his mind to focus on anything else, until he tired himself out and fell asleep earlier than usual.