#“as far as I can tell they've never even met” ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

[cy-guy1518]

Okay so Harlan wrote tmagp23 so this time I can say HARLAN. WHEN I CATCH YOU.

[alchemistc]

He's drunk when he sends it. Pissed because Buck won't just let this die. Tired of seeing his name flash across his screen, texts full of anger and sadness and hurt.

I suspect you've already met your last and it's not me he sends, and then turns off his phone and reaches for the bottle of whiskey on his top shelf.

---

If he'd been sober he would have known better. It's not even like it's been a pervasive thought - just an inkling at the start of things that seemed to be completely off base once he got to know everyone better, but looking back... He can see it. The built in life. The steadfast support. The knowledge that they'd always, always have each other's back. The kid who hero worshipped him.

The thing is he's fielding texts from Eddie, too, checking in and then circling around to being so goddamn judgmental that it's like they've coordinated their attacks to give Tommy no room to breathe.

He ended it to save himself from slipping so far under the surface he wouldn't make it back.

The fact that he's lost them both to his own fear is icing on the cake for the demon on his shoulder that keeps trying to remind him that once upon a time he'd fully thought Eddie and Buck were amicable exes.

---

He has to blink to figure out who's standing on his doorstep. The mustache is gone.

"If you meant who I think you mean, you're dumber than you look," Eddie says, and shoulders past Tommy before Tommy can even muster an affronted expression.

Tommy wanders after Eddie into his own kitchen, immediately annoyed that he looks more at home there than Tommy has felt in weeks. He'd gotten used to the loft - the space, the echoes, the lights of the city. The smell of his own aftershave on Buck's pillow.

They never spent much time here. The loft was closer - to Harbor, to the 118, to all the things in the city that tempted them out for a night. And staying at the loft meant he wouldn't have the echoes of Buck in every room, around every corner. (The echoes are in him, instead, and he still feels the absence like a lanced wound.) Tommy has always been good at making other people think he's good at putting distance between himself and them.

Eddie digs in a drawer, pulls out the bottle opener shaped like a cow and pops two tops. Holds one out for Tommy and scowls when Tommy wrinkles his nose at the Corona.

"Absolutely screw you if you think I'm driving halfway across town for you just to get the ones you like, right now."

Tommy can't argue that. He takes a drag and swallows. Stares. Is everyone else experiencing whiplash seeing him without the mustache? It looks fine but it'd taken so much fucking work to get used to it and now it's just gone. Clean shaven, an acre of skin he hasn't seen in months.

Tommy blinked and the entire world was different. Tommy freaked and the world changed.

"What are you doing here?"

Eddie's eyebrows both lift, a frank Are You Fucking Serious look on his face that makes Tommy want to take him to the mats and have it out in the garage instead of over beers.

"Buck may be spinning his wheels trying to figure out what the fuck you meant but I know damn well what you were implying."

That seems unlikely. Eddie always seems to be the last person to have a single clue what was going on, with Buck scraping in just before him. It's a tight race.

He used to find it charming.

(He absolutely does not still find it charming, he tells his heart, and wonders if he could hire some tiny asshole gnome to go stomp around in an atrium or two and get it to stop doing what it's doing. Fucking traitor.)

"Do you actually believe that, or is it some dumb excuse because you're terrified of being happy?"

Oh, that's fucking rich.

Tommy opens his mouth to tell him exactly that but Eddie just steamrolls right by him. "You don't have to point out the hypocrisy, jackass. I'm well aware of my own issues. Thing is - you're like, almost right. Buck does make me happy. Next to Chris there's no one else in the world I'd rather have by my side, rain or shine, good or bad. I love him. He's my person."

Tommy rolls his jaw. It's not a vindication to hear it.

"Except I'm not gay, Tommy. And I don't want that. I never have. And neither does Buck, just in case that argument was about to hit the airwaves."

"How do you know?"

Something sparks in the back of Eddie's eyes. Understanding. Triumph.

"You want an itemized list or a demonstration?"

Which is when Tommy knows he's stepped into an absolute minefield. No markers. Just free balling his way through a conversation that could explode with even the slightest pressure.

Eddie's got his phone out.

None of this is ideal.

When he looks up, his eyes land squarely on Tommy, who would like in this moment to be able to curl so far in on himself he gets sucked clean through the other side. "First of all, Buck may have just been improvising his entire journey of sexuality but for once I was trying to get ahead of the curve so that whole starry-eyed newly not straight vision you have of Buck is bullshit. You let him pull you along by the shirt strings for months without pressing pause and then you freak out when he thinks his speed and your speed are the same speed?"

This is feeling a whole lot like an ambush, now.

"Did you ever even try to slow him down?"

Tommy has some choice words that aren't remotely appropriate to say to someone who is at least tangentially still his friend, so he takes another swig of shitty beer. God, this shit is awful.

"You wanna know how I know I'm not his one? How I know he's not mine?"

Tommy really, really doesn't. Honestly he'd like to kick him out.

"Because he went at our friendship at the same warp speed pace he took your relationship and it never fucking scared me."

Proof in the pudding, for Tommy. He's not the sort of jackass who actually thinks he can make a different judgement call on someone else's sexuality than the one they've made themselves, but come on.

"Shannon's been dead for half a decade," Eddie says, voice dropping so suddenly Tommy feels it like an icy draft. "And maybe one day I'll make my peace with that. Maybe one day I'll get out from under it. The point is I've lost them both and the loss wasn't the goddamn same."

"Buck came back," Tommy argues.

Eddie scoffs. Wrinkles his nose. "Jeez, he wasn't kidding about how weird that sounds." His phone buzzes on the countertop, and Tommy wonders what the hell that look on his face means. "Don't change the subject. I'm not here to talk you into anything. I'm just here to drink a beer with you and tell you how goddamn stupid it is to think that an uncertain future with Evan Buckley isn't worth every second of terror it causes you."

"You don't know me as well as you think you do."

Eddie tips the bottle against his lips. Swallows. God, why hadn't Tommy just pursued the self-proclaimed straight guy for a couple weeks before he scratched the itch somewhere else and kept a friend, instead?

"Maybe." Eddie tips his head. "Maybe I do, though. Maybe in the months and months you were invited to all my mopey nights in with Buck and all the crazy crap we end up involved in at the station and all the times you couldn't shut up about him when he wasn't around and all the times I got to see you falling ass over teakettle for my best friend, I learned a fucking thing or two about Tommy Kinard." He wags his head back and forth. "Maybe."

"Is there a point to this?"

Eddie tips his eyes to his phone, and it's probably too late at this point for the suspicion to begin to creep in.

"I mostly just came to confront you about your completely off base bullshit excuses, but there's actually a pretty simple solution to at least one of your multitude of issues, so. Now we're waiting."

Tommy doesn't like the sound of that at all.

"Chris is mad at you, by the way."

It's a distraction. It's fully a - "Why is he mad at me?"

"I should actually thank you, because it's the first time he's actively talked to me in months," Eddie continues, like Tommy hadn't asked a question. "He's pissed because Buck is sad and there's literally nothing in the world that gets a rise out of the Diaz boys like sad Buck."

"You can just say you're pissed at me and go, Eddie."

"Oh I'm angry. Don't think I'm not. Mostly I'm just sad for you. You had six months to get to know Buck and never thought to yourself 'hes going to love me and it's going to hurt' until he skipped too far ahead in the program."

And that's - kind of the final straw. He's let Eddie get his licks in. He deserves it, he knows he does. Honestly it's a little cathartic to hear - to know exactly what Buck has spent his time dissecting post-Tommy. "That's all I ever thought about. Do you think I didn't know going in? I tried to put a stop to it before it even started and he just doubled down! Do you think for a second I wasn't viscously aware that I was setting myself up for -."

No. He's not gonna say it. He's not giving that to Eddie when he couldn't even give it to Ev-Buck. When he couldn't give it to Buck.

Eddie looks victorious anyway.

"And for six months you thought it was worth it."

"For six months I was too much of a coward to stop thinking about it."

Eddie drains the rest of his beer. "I'm not gonna lie. You screwed up pretty bad. Like. Astronomically bad. Giving up your location in a firefight bad."

Tommy does everything he can not to wince.

"It's salvageable, though. If you want it to be. If there's anything I know about Buck it's that second chances are his bread and butter." He's been dancing around saying anything of substance about Buck's feelings, in all of this, but the hints are there. As if the bouts of angry-depressive texts from Buck weren't clue enough.

"And what if it's not what I want?"

Eddie's eyes dart to his phone one more time. "Then you can make it a clean break in about ... three and a half minutes."

Tommy nearly tosses his beer across the room.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

What do you think Divus was like during his student years in NRC?

Personally I think he was a mixture of Ace, Cater, and Vil. A mischievous troublemaker who was also trendy and sociable with a good fashion sense. Since he is the potion and science teacher, I think he was in Pomefiore.

Also I don’t know if this is true or not, but I heard somewhere that Divus mentioned that he was always followed by two lackeys, who I have no doubt are the twisted versions of Jasper and Horace.

We actually already know some things about Crewel's student days from canon (mainly taken from his Unified Exams voice lines and/or from Happy Beans Day):

Trein was a teacher at NRC when Crewel was a student. They didn’t get along (Crewel was not enthusiastic to see Trein still teaching at NRC), but Trein is credited with teaching Crewel to respect his elders. They continue to bicker, usually passive aggressively and cheekily from Crewel’s end.

Trein says that Beansfest got out of hand during the time Crewel was studying there, which led to there being stricter rules imposed for the current iteration of Beansfest. (It is not known if Crewel himself contributed to that aforementioned chaotic run.)

There was an incident when student!Crewel accidentally overturned a pot of mandrakes. Their screams shattered all the glass in the Alchemy workshop.

Trein says that Crewel used to get into many fights.

Crewel tells us what he wasn’t as rowdy as the kids are nowadays.

He’s still in contact with two of his “henchmen” (ie his juniors) that he met back in school. Crewel says they aren’t clever, but that he can be himself around them; he also trusts them to dogsit for him. These two men are most likely twisted versions of Cruella’s hired help, Jasper and Horace.

From what we know of the canon, here are some conclusions I've personally drawn:

Knowing Trein and Crewel's current relationship (they disagree on trivial things like whether cats or dogs are better; it gets Trein riled up), I assume that they've never really gotten along. Perhaps Crewel was a constant sore spot for Trein or was frequently reprimanded for his behavior in spite of having excellent grades.

Crewel has a voice line in which he advises the player to not wholly devote their efforts to studying and keeping their head down, or else they will become inflexible as adults. He also advises them to “go wild once in a while”, but not so wild that professors will scold you. This makes me think that Crewel had a similar attitude when he was a student himself. That is to say, he was a good student, but also had his rebellious streaks and moments of acting out. Maybe he went too far sometimes, which is why he now informs the player to not cause trouble for their teachers in the pursuit of seeking thrills or a break from their studies.

As the sender has mentioned, Crewel has good fashion sense and currently teaches science courses, meaning he must be proficient in the area. These traits make him a suitable ex-Pomefiore student, as that dorm tends to have students that enjoy aesthetics and excel in potion-making. (This is also the popular headcanon within the fandom.

Crewel has what I would call “refined” tastes and interests, such as sports cars. I feel like he also had this discerning eye for quality and trends as a student.

Crewel is strong-headed and asserts himself well. He walks into a room and just commands it. Because of this, I see him easily being kind of a “leader of the pack” kind of guy—a cool, charismatic person that others can’t help but follow or admire, even if they hate his guts or find him pretentious. I don’t know if I would call him friendly (like, I don’t see him as outgoing), but rather he’s just got a magnetic presence that attracts people to him and definitely knew how to navigate a complex social web.

He gives me the impression that lots of his classmates looked up to him or called him “aniki” (as a sign of respect) 😂 (Twisted Jasper and Horace definitely do this www)

Sometimes I feel like Crewel’s leadership capabilities weren’t used for the… best purposes? Like I’m sure he had his spats of immaturity and led his boys to pull off some stupid pranks or fights or whatever. Maybe they put Lucius in a tree so they can all get out of an exam while Trein is looking for his familiar?? But then they all get an earful about it later… That’s just one example off the top of my head!

The student!Crewel I picture is a lot like Vil in many ways, but stands on his own due to his wild side. Someone who is cool, confident, fashionable… with his own set of rules and a slight edge to him that isn’t very Vil-like.

I hope that sufficiently explained my thoughts ^^

[scrumptiousstuffs]

As much as I love talking about how pretty First is (he's so pretty! And as far as anyone knows a total sweetheart which is even better), can we talk about how ridiculously talented he is? He just becomes his characters like sliding on a second skin, it's insane. And the microexpressions and subtle changes in his eyes...I feel like it's such an underappreciated form of acting but he does it so well I never want to stop watching him. And he just keeps getting better and better. I can't wait to see what he does with Kant. Everyone keeps saying that these characters are different from what they've done before so im so curious. And also I'm just ready to have a flirty First character on my screen again.

Well, anon - where do you want to start? I’m going to say upfront, I’m not the most eloquent writer in writing meta or analysing any actors acting capability or their characters on screen.

There are other blogs who write all these beautiful meta re: The Eclipse and Only Friends. @bird-inacage wrote many thoughtful analysis of them. Please feel free to read them. Other links: Link 1. But also, just search for “The Eclipse meta” or “Only Friends meta” and so many good commentary from various blogs will pop up. You may agree or disagree with them but I personally find it fun to read through what other people think of the series and the characters in general.

Anyway, back to your topic of the greatness of First Kanaphan as an actor. I agree with all your statements regarding his acting capabilities.

I am entranced whenever First is on screen - whether he played a suppressed queer teenager in high school or the broken, lonely banker to the gruff bar singer with the heart of gold.

His eyes are expressive and the control he has over his facial muscles…exquisite 👌. The way he shifts from one expression to another with us (the viewers) being able to tell them without that much of a change? - it’s definitely a wow everytime I see it. I mentioned previously in a different ask I find First fluid in his acting.

People will argue his character in Not Me (Yok) is the best out of his current projects. I will argue otherwise.

Yes, Yok allowed First to showcase his poweress in acting. First as Yok was able to show massive range from being loud, stubbornly opinionated, flirty (or slutty in First’s own words) etc. before we see him ultimately breakdown when he got betrayed. Definitely A-class acting 👍.

However as Akk, then Alan followed by Sand - these characters are more reserved at baseline and not as “colourful” of a character as Yok. And to some extent, these roles are more challenging (for any actors) to showcase “range” as they need to be able to internally express it without big emotive or gesture.

But the way First embodied them - with just a slight twitch of his jaw, tightness around his lips or when he allowed his eyes to darken with anger or lust (depending on the situation) - we as the viewers can always tell what the character is feeling, and that’s what make him an amazing actor to watch on screen.

And since this is my blog and I can do whatever I want, I’m putting up examples from each series post Not Me:

1) The Eclipse

When Akk first met Ayan in the teacher’s bathroom and saw Ayan’s tattoo - we (and Akk) all got distracted by Ayan’s sexy tattoo. But the quick flick of Akk’s eyes 👀 to that tattoo followed by the slight widening of his eyes and then shifting to hardening his glare while at the same time quick gulp of his throat? - all of that occurred within seconds….and I remember watching this scene thinking oh, Akk definitely has some unwanted thoughts on the new kid

Or when they were wrestling on the judo mat, and Akk pinned Ayan down - teasingly asked the latter to try and free himself. He was smiling down at Ayan but the minute Ayan slide those arms around his neck, the way his smile faded and you can see gay panic in those eyes….

They are of course so many more examples including Akk mini-conversation with his mom at night when he hesitantly tried to explain the pressure he was under at school but ultimately chickened out cause he didn’t want to burden him mom (and you could see this written all over his face).

2) Moonlight Chicken

There was a previous ask, where that anon said he found Alan the most pathetic character out of all of First’s projects. And I will again reiterate here, with the limited amount of screen time he had, First sparkled whenever he came on screen.

The way you can tell his frustration over his destroyed relationship while trying to cling on it cause he just doesn’t know what he did wrong for Wen was painful for us viewers to watch. And I don’t know about you, my heart breaks for him when he broke down after Wen finally screamed at him that he only slept with Alan cause he felt sorry for him - you can again see the flick/shift from anger in Alan’s face to shock disbelief and humiliation when Wen said that to him. You could see the self-loathing in his face after Wen left the living room. And as he silently cried on the floor of their apartment, I cried with him.

Or when Alan finally had his talk with Wen at the bbq restaurant, you could read the quiet resignation in Alan’s face as Wen finally break it off for good by sliding his promise ring back to him.

3. Only Friends

Even from the first episode, when he brought Ray back to his apartment - after Ray puked his guts out and as Ray snuggled on Sand’s shoulder - you could read the half amusement, half exasperation on his face while they both just sat on that bathroom floor.

Or when Ray finally got his chance with Mew, and Sand saw them dancing in the club. We see the wistful, sad boba eyes of his. And when Ray confronted him outside the bar, that cracked in his voice as he told Ray “you and I were never friends.” - yeah, my heart again breaks for him.

Or how about the angry-lust driven kiss in that music room (before Top interrupted them). You could see the mixture of anger, almost despair in Sand eyes, the tightness in his jaw and you could see the tremble in his lips. But even with all that, us as viewers clocked on how much he loves Ray (Ray knows that too…hence why he pounced and kiss Sand)

Plus when Sand confronted Top at the hospital - the narrowed eyes, the low, even tone of his voice where you know he is just barely holding on to his temper

I can go on and on…but I’ll stop here.

Anyway, like you, I’m looking forward to seeing more of him as Kant - I have no doubt we will see him nail it as a flirt (or as First keeps insisting, sugar daddy?). However, I’m also looking forward to see his interactions with Babe, Style and Fadel cause I’m sure we will be blessed with more masterclass in microexpression!

[twisted-tales-of-all]

My Universe Returns to Me

Summary: Missing your boyfriend, you surprise him by watching the final concert of his group's tour, followed by a wonderful night together for the first time in months. Pairing: Stray Kids' Bangchan x afab!Reader Genre: Smutty One-shot with loads of fluff AUs/Tropes: idol!AU, established relationship, temporary-ldr, first meeting after a while Word Count: 2.1k Warnings: description-heavy, slight tinge of jealousy, occasional teasing, body worship (f. receiving), praise, unprotected sex, slight begging, orgasm (m. and f. receiving), breast fondling/nipple play, creampie, slight overstim during aftercare, it's pretty fluffy sex because Chris is a so deeply in love A/N: a drabble request turned into a full piece oops, I still italicized the prompts like the drabbles. Special thanks to the spirit who came to help me write this (they want to stay anon), and I hope everyone enjoys! As always, feel free to point out any missed warnings, and please reblog with feedback/reactions<3

It'd been far too long since you'd last met your boyfriend since they're currently on tour, so you decide to surprise him at the last concert. Sitting in the company-designated seats towards the back of the crowd, you take a picture of the stage and send it to him while they're doing soundcheck. When they head backstage again, you get a slew of messages in response, some just keyboard smashes and others excitedly asking whether he'd be able to see you later. Finally, he pouts about having to put his phone away and wishes for you to enjoy the show.

You choose not to answer most of his messages, simply telling him to have fun and that you can't wait to see him. The concert goes as smoothly as any last stop does, with plenty of tears and sappy moments sprinkled amongst the singing, dancing, and rehearsed skits. You take plenty of pictures of the screens that project the members to their fans, especially when your boyfriend is plastered on screen for all to see. After the concert ends, the VIP event begins. You watch all the lucky VIPs line up for their high fives and quick chats with the members, but you know better than to join that line - even if the company tickets come with the option to. The boys would all be too excited to see you, and you're not trying to get jumped by hundreds of fans for befriending the group. You walk out of the venue and make your way to the hotel, silently thanking Felix for telling you where they were staying so you could get a room in the same hotel.

Lounging in your room for an hour or so, your mind wanders to the VIP event. A pang in your chest alerts you of your slight jealousy of the fans who see your boyfriend before you, but you shove the thought away by remembering Chris' words from the last time you felt undeserving of him.

"No matter how well I treat the fans, I'm always thinking of you, y'know. You never leave my mind, and even all the stars are by your side. You're perfect in my eyes, and I'm always going to be by your side."

Taking yourself out of your head, you hear your phone ring. Answering without even checking the name, you don't get a word out before the chaos erupts from the other end.

"Where are youuuu? I want to see you and hug you and kiss you and hold you already." Chris whines, making you smile but roll your eyes.

The disgusted screams in the background prompt you to ask him whether they've returned to the hotel yet, but Felix's screams answer before Chris can, "Tell 'im to wait until he's alone to do this! We don't wanna hear him gush!"

Despite his pouts, you tell your boyfriend to call you back when he reaches the hotel, knowing he'll call the moment the van pulls up to the building. When you get the call, you give him the room number and tell him that he can come straight up if he wants or wait until he washes up. Within minutes, you hear someone knock on your door. He has a bag with his change of clothes and insists that it's easier to wash up in your room instead of waiting his turn for the showers in their four rooms. You roll your eyes, but he hugs you so tightly the moment the door closes that you can't help but smile. When the boys say he's whipped for you, these moments prove that for you.

After the initial hellos, filled with long hugs and dozens of kisses of varying intensities, he asks how you enjoyed the concert. His eyes fill with worry and anticipation, but they soften again as you tell him about all of the new pictures you have to tease everyone with. At the end of your ramble, you mention the event and pout about how he's STAY's boyfriend. He tilts his head as his face twists into a sad apologetic gaze, so you finish with a half-joke.

"Call me selfish, but I don't ever want anyone else to touch you."

He cups your cheeks as he teases you for being possessive, "Awh, my love feels like they aren't getting enough attention? Is that why you came all this way? You missed me that much?"

Even though he's eating it up, you point out that he's even more possessive, "You'd miss me just as bad if you didn't beg me for pictures every single day!"

"Shh, don't worry, I'll take very good care of you. You came all this way, after all."He deflects, turning on his deeper, more sultry voice as he leans in to kiss you again, trying to distract you from the topic of his own neediness.

The kiss holds more longing than those from earlier, as it's somehow softer but more sexually charged than before. Deepening the kiss, Chris puts a hand on the small of your back, guiding you to lean back and lie flat on the bed. As he holds himself above you, he relishes the moment - you're finally here with him after months of being apart for the tour, your lips soft and your hands safely resting on the back of his neck. You were right, after all; he'd lose his mind if he wasn't getting your daily selfies and updates. It showed in his movements now, as he melted into you, verifying to himself that it's not too good to be true - that the love of his life was in his grasp again.

He pulls away slightly, brushing a stray hair from your beautiful face as he gazes at you with love-filled eyes, getting himself lost in the sparkles in your eyes, shining as brightly as the stars in the night sky.

"Chris, stop staring at me. I'm getting shy."

"But you're so beautiful, I want to admire you some more." The distant smile on his face tells you more than his words do; how happy he must be and how unreal it must feel.

"It's not a dream. I can't lie here for you to stare at forever."

Taking that as his cue, he starts kissing your body, worshipping your very existence. Careful not to move your clothes much yet, he takes his time to kiss every knuckle on your hands and each mole on your exposed skin. You squirm, giving him another sign to move forward, and he obliges by slowly sliding his hands under your shirt. He hooks his thumbs under the hem as he glides his hands up your torso, leaving goosebumps from how softly he touches you. As he reaches your chest, his fingers graze over the lacy fabric of your bra, and you notice his jaw tighten as he resists the urge to pull your shirt off faster. Already committed to his worshipping today, he resists where he otherwise wouldn't.

Fully removing your shirt, his fingers gloss over your shoulders and make their way to your beautifully decorated breasts. Tracing the edges of the fabric, he muses about how beautiful you look in between kisses to your collarbones and upper chest. Careful not to focus on your breasts too much, he lowers himself, leaving a trail of soft kisses from the bottom of the bra down to the hem of your pants. He isn't as slow removing your pants, undoing them and pulling them down quickly to see you in your adorably delectable matching set. A deep growl forms in the back of his throat, prompting praise after praise of how wonderful you look and how glad he is knowing that you're all his.

Your face and core heat up even more at the praises thrown at your exposed body despite him praising you endlessly throughout the relationship. No matter what he says nor however many times he says similar things, they always feel so deeply genuine that you can't help the knot in your stomach or the blush forming on your face. As he lowers his face between your thighs, the knot in your stomach tightens. Alternating his kisses between your thighs, you continuously feel his warm breath, especially when he hovers over your covered entrance to admire the soaked-through fabric.

Getting desperate for him to touch the places he's actively avoiding, you whine, "Chris, please. I need you. Stop teasing."

Although he insists that he wasn't teasing, your begs kick him enough to stop fighting his urges. Quickly removing his clothes, you notice his cock throbbing already. Not one to waste time teasing himself, he quickly works to pull your panties down, groaning as a string of your wetness follows the movement. Too tempted by seeing you exposed to him like this, he doesn't bother to remove your bra. As he settles between your legs, you quickly remove it yourself, letting your breasts free of the cage you chose to show them off to your boyfriend in.

Before lining himself up, he drags two of his fingers between your lower lips, gathering up your pre-cum. Rubbing it on the tip of his dick, he counts that as enough lube as he's too eager to feel your walls engulf him to do more preparation. As he lines himself, he looks to you for approval, sliding in slowly after your nod.

The noise leaving his lips as he bottoms out sounds heavenly and feral mixed perfectly together. And you can't even blame him; he feels so good inside you, filling you up perfectly with his thickness pressing against your walls and fighting against your tightness. He pulls back slowly until he's only half inside before thrusting in again sharply. You love it when he does this, feeling like he's trying to connect the two of you together so eagerly, wanting to feel you always.

He picks up the pace, rocking his hips to continue hitting your best spots. You try to cover your mouth to muffle the inhuman noises he's pushing out of you, but when he lifts your legs over his shoulders, you can't contain yourself anymore. The sly one-sided smile painting his face tells you that he's enjoying himself, earning those kinds of sounds from you.

Between thrusts, he teases, "You, you missed me, a lot, huh?"

Moving one hand from your hips to your breast, he cups it to display your nipple to him. Keeping pace, he leans forward and takes your nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and sucking gently. As you tighten from the sensation, he groans against you, sending vibrating chills from your perky nipple to the rest of your body. All of the combined sensations work you up, and you feel your orgasm building as he continues thrusting deep inside you.

"Don't stop... Please, I'm close." You warn him.

He focuses on his thrusts, keeping a steady rhythm as he feels you clenching tighter around him again. A deep, guttural moan against your breast brings you over the edge, your orgasm rippling through your whole body as you shake and moan uncontrollably. Riding it out, Chris lifts his head to watch your face contort from the pleasure, praising you for not hiding yourself this time.

"There you go, my love. Feel it out. Let everything out. Good job."

When you come down from your high, you notice his thrusts getting sloppy. With both hands back on your hips, his grip tightens as he nears his own climax. As his grunts become more animalistic, he finishes inside you with one final deep thrust. The warm liquid fills you as his fingertips dig into your skin, only to release seconds later as his high comes to an end.

You watch his face writhe as he slowly pulls out of you. He quickly grabs one of the washcloths from the bathroom, wetting it slightly with warm water, and rubs your opening lightly with it. Wincing from the stimulation, you grab at the sheets. You know he's just trying to clean you off, but you're so sensitive from your orgasm that you can't help your reaction.

"Shh, I know. I'm sorry. I just want to help love." He places the cloth over your throbbing core and adds, "I'll draw you a bath, too. I'll hold you in there so you can rest properly."

Quietly, your voice hoarse from your screams, you call to him as he walks to the bathroom again, "Thank you, Chris. You're the best."

"Only because it's you. I love you, Y/N."

[midnight1nk]

(gonna take a break from theories since the last episode didn't give much for me to add on and would have to wait until the next one. instead, i'm gonna give random episode concepts that i came up with.)

EPISODE CONCEPT #1

What if... the SMG4 kids switched parents for a day?

For context, I would love to see a Parent Trap-inspired episode centered around the SMG4 kids. (If you haven't seen the Disney movie, go ahead and check it out if you can). BTW, I edited this OG post to one I've rewritten which pretty much follows the same outline. Hope you all enjoy this new version!

Oh dear...

SMG4 and SMG3, they were always rivals since the start. Despite starting to be friends not so long ago, they would clash with their banter and their kitty-fighting. To the SMG4 Crew, it's become the norm and usually, they don't mean any real harm in the end. After all, it's hard to change habits.

This, though, may have gotten too far.

Eggdog and Beeg4 saw it themselves, peeking out the cafe and the Castle windows, respectively. They were standing in the middle of the Showgrounds, angry. They couldn't exactly hear what their dads were saying, but from what they could tell, they were shouting at each other. It even got physical as the two started shoving. Four shouted something, and Three was completely stunned by it until Three retaliated in return, silencing the Showgrounds for once.

The two stormed off separately, their faces reflecting hurt. But they can't show their partner that now, can they? 

Unknownst to them, Eggdog and Beeg saw it all. The two met outside and discussed about what happened. Anyone could tell they didn't mean the things they said, their escalating emotions clouded with reason. The kids knew they didn't hate each other. Even if they don't know exactly why their dads fought, they need to talk. The thing was: they were absolutely horrible at communicating.

Except when they realize they were in the wrong, Eggdog points out. He remembered when his Papa opened the cafe the first time and got upset when Four teased him for not being ready to run it. The two indeed reconciled afterward, Four admitting what he'd done.

Beeg agreed, he saw it himself. 

Back in... the 'perfect' incident, his Dad was obsessed with creating the perfect video, eventually getting possessed by the keyboard. Beeg stayed with him the whole time. He could never admit that he "loves" his dad out in the open like Eggdog, but Beeg still cared for Dad. He felt helpless getting Four away from the keyboard, the goo was terrifying. Then, Three came along and rescued Four, in more ways than one.

Beeg turned to Eggdog, who had a sparkle in his puppy eyes. What? N-no! Don't give me that face, my dad's annoying. That's it.

Eggdog didn't push it, his brother is just like his Papa when it comes to emotions. But Beeg agreed, their dads needed to talk. The kids just need some help. That's how they ended up on the front step of Uncle Mario's house.

Mario listened to the kids, the fight that transpired and their thoughts. After they finished, Mario agreed. Four and Three have their moments, just another Tuesday really, but this had to be fixed. After some thought, Mario has an idea. 

Mario: "Well, that's rare."

Anyway, this idea may just work but Mario would need the kids to stall for time. Beeg and Eggdog walked back home, when Eggdog proposed another idea. What if we switch places?

Beeg looked at him, confused.

Eggdog explains that they may be able to calm their own dads, but who knows how much their previous emotions will rise again just by catching sight of the other man. Think about it this way: they know their dads' schedules and habits, they can help avoid the other dad until the kids believe they've calmed down. There might even be a small chance that their presence could ease the tension. Besides, it would be a great opportunity to bond with their future "other dad".

Beeg admits that it's a good idea, and so it's decided.

Eggdog walked into the Castle, finding Four editing a video. From the looks of it, he looks slightly calmed down but still looks tense. Four turns around, surprised to see Eggdog walking in.

"Oh! Hey, Eggdog. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in the café with..." Four's words trailed off, the name of a particular man came to mind. How can he not be bitter about what happened? "...him."

Eggdog simply lets out a happy bark, Just wanted to hang out with you.

As a meme guardian, Four understood what Eggdog said. It still left him confused for a second, Eggdog was usually close to Three. But Four shrugged.

SMG4: "Well... I guess you're welcome to stay if you want. I won't be doing much though."

Eggdog lets out another bark, this time of affirmation. He decided to sit on Four's bed, swaying his body side to side to the calm music that played on Four's record player.

Meanwhile, at a busy hour at the café, Three was running around giving out orders. Beeg comes in and hops onto the counter. After setting a customer's order down, Three finally notices Beeg.

SMG3: "Oi, Beeg SMG4, aren't you supposed to be with that idiot?"

Beeg lets out a neutral pufferfish noise, hmph. By all the memes, who knows what he meant by that. But it doesn't seem like he's going anywhere.

SMG3: "Ok, just... don't try to do anything stupid, you hear me?"

Beeg gets off the counter, pulling out a beach chair and sunglasses in the corner of the shop. This might take a while. Hey, Eggdog said to "keep an eye" on Three, not that he actually had to work. It was getting boring though.

Hours passed by and back in the castle, Eggdog was playing tea party with the plushies Four had in his chest. He notices how Four hasn't moved from his chair ever since Eggdog got here. He goes up to Four and nudges his head on Four's leg.

SMG4: [*snaps out of his bubble of work*] "Huh? Oh, do you need something?"

Eggdog barks, You should take a break.

Four looks back at his computer screen and back to Eggdog.

SMG4: "A little break wouldn't hurt."

He went ahead and saved his progress. Eggdog jumps in glee and leads the two of them to the kitchen. Four opened up the can of baked beans Eggdog asked for while he got himself a sandwich and a cup of coffee.

After taking a sip of his coffee, he looked down at his drink, swirling the caffeine as well as his thoughts. The fight he had with Three earlier, it was a mess. A stupid one. Four called Three selfish. And that Three didn't change. Four knew that wasn't true, but the words came out of his mouth. It was too late to take it back.

"Hey, man. You're in there... still? Alright, I'm just gonna leave this coffee by the door, if you want I guess."

His coffee made him remember something else.

IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT, IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT, İ̸͎T̶͜͠'̴͈̉S̵͎̋ ̵̪̎Ĝ̷͇O̴̪̿T̸̤͒T̷̘̾A̴̔͜ ̴̼̐B̶͍̄E̴̟͝ ̴͈̽P̴̼͆Ḛ̸͘R̸̲̓F̶͚̐E̴̡͘C̴̢̑T̶͈̀

He couldn't exactly remember much when he was possessed by the keyboard, especially this supposed livestream he had. Not even how he started one in the first place. Regardless, he heard all the people who came to check up on him outside the door. Including Three. Now that he thought about it, Three was the one who checked on him the most. It got to the point that Three sounded genuine. Worried.

Four took another sip. Three really did care about him, huh...

Finishing up, Four asked Eggdog if he wanted to join Four to the city downtown to check some things off from Four's to-do list for the day. Eggdog happily accepts. Things seem to start looking up.

The same couldn't be said for Three's state of mind right now. Going from the counter to the coffee machine to each table, he keeps getting distracted and messing orders up. Sure, he could tell a rude customer to stick it. But he really misses having Eggdog around. He did force Beeg to serve people. Though Beeg was reluctant, he strangely did what he was told. Not that Three complained or anything. And even then, it wasn't enough.

Three accidentally dropped a couple of dishes, causing a whole domino effect of complete chaos. Coffee spilled on every surface imaginable, plates were thrown into a thousand pieces. Due to the chaos, all the customers left the café, leaving Three and Beeg alone in deafening silence. 

Exhausted, Beeg lets out a pufferfish noise, Good riddance. That was when he noticed Three. Beeg couldn't see his face but the purple meme guardian was silent, slowly picking up one of the fallen chairs. Three slips out a shaking inhale. It clicks for Beeg.

Now, Beeg usually picks up a fight, especially with the other kids. 

Baths? Oh, hell no!!! 

Ice cream? You better give it to him or you will never see the light of day again. 

Other than that, he couldn't be bothered by anything. That doesn't mean he isn't aware of what's going on. Three was acted awfully similar to his Dad, having to put up a front to hold themselves together. Beeg supposed he understood Three, in one way or another.

Beeg isn't sure how to handle the situation so he tries picking up the cup that laid before Three. He was finally able to Three's face, his expression a mix of frustration and sadness. Mostly directed towards himself. It changed once he saw Beeg helping out. Three quickly wipes away a tear from the corner of his eye, the two share a nod, and clean the rest of the shop up.

On their way back from the city, Four was feeling a lot better than what happened earlier that day. Eggdog was truly a charming little fellow, Four could see how much Three loved his son. Still, there was one thing occupying his mind.

SMG4: "Um, Eggdog?" [*Eggdog turns in his direction, listening patiently*] "Your dad, well, SMG3 and I had a fight this morning. I've pushed it too far and I know I shouldn't have said those things to him. I just feel... awful. For everything. If your dad could let me, can I apologize?"

Eggdog does a happy jump, feeling so glad that Four would like to make amends and knowing Papa, he would forgive Four.

SMG4: "Thank you, Eggdog" [*kneels to give a quick hug to Eggdog before they head towards the cafe*]

Speaking of the café, Three and Beeg already finished up. Completely wiped out, the two sat at one of the tables.

SMG3: "Are you finally gonna tell me why you're here instead of Eggdog?"

Beeg shook his head, he promised Eggdog he wouldn't say anything.

SMG3: "Why did this have to happen?" [*pinches the bridge of his nose*] "Eggdog isn't here, my customers are gone. Well, unlike some people, I manage my cafe, my streaming schedule. My life. And you had the audacity to pull an all-nighter for a shitpost? Goddammit, Four, why couldn't you just..."

He stopped himself, realizing he was talking to Beeg and not Four.

SMG3: "Sorry."

Beeg gave a small nod, It's okay.

SMG3: "SMG4 drives me crazy sometimes. He has no sense of style. Zero humor. Maybe a bit of a pathetic mess. Obviously, what he can do, I can do better. But..." [*lets out a small chuckle*] "Four's different from the rest of the Crew. I guess he is good-looking and maybe some of his jokes fall flat, he somehow makes me laugh. He says he can't fight, but is he aware that his determination shines through?"

His fingers tap on the table, he hums.

SMG3: "They were truly things I admired about him."

A beat. What Three said earlier, he didn't mean it. Sure, Four can be so annoying, but he could never hate him. Beeg turned towards the viewer, with the same energy of the "live reaction" meme. [Yes, you, behind the screen.] Oh, spaghetti gods, Three's getting all mushy over Dad. 

Beeg doesn't want to think about how lovey-dovey Four and Three will be towards each other once they actually start dating. 

SMG3, snapped out of his thoughts: [*clears throat*] "Ok, that's it. I admit, I take it back. I need to set things..."

The bell of the cafe door opens. Four and Three met eyes.

SMG3, finishes: "...right."

The two stood awkwardly, unsure what to say to each other. The kids rolled their eyes and proceeded to push their dads closer together. Four rubbed the back of his neck while Three clutched his arm.

SMG4 and SMG3: "Listen, I... Oh, sorry." SMG3: "You go first." SMG4: "SMG3, I just wanted to say sorry about earlier. I've been slacking off lately and I had to put something out there for the channel. My subscribers... y'know how they are. They always expect more. To be on time. I still shouldn't have taken all out on you." SMG3, his gaze softens: "You know you don't need to prove anything." SMG4:"I know." SMG3: "You could've asked me for help. I would've been there as soon as I could." SMG4: [*shrugs*] "It was a stupid video anyway. Like you said, you have a life." SMG3, slowly reached for Four's hand, leaving Four stunned: "Forget what I said. All of it. Maybe. Look, the point is: what I said in the pit, I meant it. It was never to save my own skin. We're friends. I'm not going to let you face all of your battles alone. If you need me, ask and I'll be there. Just... I'm sorry."

Stars sparkled in Four's eyes as Three rubbed a thumb across his knuckles. His face grew warm, he hoped Three wouldn't notice. Four raised a brow, amused.

SMG4: "Hmm, going soft on me, SMG3?" SMG3, lets out a small laugh: "In your dreams."

The kids looked at each other, we did it! They were so happy that they leaped to each their own dad for a hug, which they hugged back. Three and Four share a tender smile. They were all together once again.

SMG4: "Hey, why don't we all go for some ice cream?"

The kids jumped in excitement, especially Beeg who was the most excited. Suddenly, a loud beeping noise was coming from outside the cafe. They all walked out of the door, only to be face to face with the back of a truck, fully loaded with chewed gum. Mario pokes his head out of the driver's seat window.

Mario: "Who's ready for round two? :D"

Mario presses a button to dump the gum over the group, leaving them to their demise.

Y'know, same old shenanigans.

That is it, my dear fellows!

I'm a big fan of the 'SMG4 Kids' episode and I would've loved to see more of Eggdog and Beeg4's dynamic. WE👏NEED👏MORE👏BEEG4👏AND👏EGGDOG👏BROTHERLY👏MOMENTS👏

(I do have another concept that is similar to this one but it mainly focuses on Eggdog, so stay tuned for that...)

Overall, I just want a wholesome episode that could also expand dynamics and future moments. Like Beeg4 being a guest on Three's live streams, Three and Beeg being really passionate about weapons. Don't worry about that explosion that just happened. Or maybe Four taking Eggdog to the mall, Four helping Eggdog dress up, Eggdog giving Four some compliments on his video progress. Or even the whole family going out together and having a picnic/day at the beach. My god, the possibilities...

[rosie-kairi]

I'm thinking so many thoughts about a post KH III reformed Lauriam and Elrena specifically our fave prickily girl.

So we all know even after getting her heart back Elrena isn't about to lose her bite and can still be pretty sarcastic and snippy with most of the cast. Lauriam is the only person she interacts with in a real sense since they've been together through thick and thin.

Except for Ven he's the only one she's remotely nice to.

Now at first it was purely out of respect for Lauriam, she remembers the end of the world and how he carried a smaller unconscious Ven close to his chest and held him protectively in his arms. Elrena never got to properly meet Ven she never had any animosity towards him.

But Ven is just so earnest and sweet that he genuinely worms his way into her heart and now she has a soft spot for the kid and likes him of his own merit. It probably helps that Ven never met her as Larexene and doesn't have any bad memories of her, and he isn't weighed down by their shared trauma of losing Daybreak Town even when Ven gets his memories back. He treats her like a person and it's so refreshing even though she knows why most of the cast do still see her as an enemy.

So while Elrena snarks at the sea salt trio, the destiny trio, and especially Terra and Aqua for being insufferable she's all smiles and hugs to Ven and he and Lauriam are just so sweet together it reminds Elrena of simple days she wishes she could go back too.

THIS IS SO SWEET I'm in love.... they've always been a fun little possible trio to me (the "we lived, bitch" trio) and I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees it lol.

I think the reason she was so nice to Lauriam when they first met was like, mostly just respect for Strelitzia, y'know? Imagine, you know someone -you wouldn't call yourselves friends exactly, more like acquaintances- who you see from time to time, enough that they significantly stand out in your memory, and then one day that person's sibling approaches you and tells you that they're missing. Of course you're gonna be respectful- that's a horrible thing to happen to someone. But, if it was me, I'd also be a bit flattered?? like "this person talked about me enough that their sibling thought I was a significant enough part of their life to Know Things he possibly wouldn't." And then the respect for Strelitzia grows into a bonus "okay this guy's kinda cool, actually." and before you know it you're stuck in a cult together. C'est la vie

I feel like there would also be a respect towards Ventus. Lauriam cares about this kid more than Elrena can really understand (only child vs person with siblings dichtomy) so she kinda has to respect the kid. She doesn't know anything about him other than Lauriam cares about him, so he's alright in her book. Post-3 Elrena finds herself in a weird in-between with Ventus, where she recognizes him as someone from Daybreak Town but he has never seen her in his life, but that's also good because he doesn't have the Larxene association. It's a weird grey area that she doesn't really know how to approach- but it is something that she wouldn't be against approaching. "Same Traumatic Past/Cult Partner" buddy can only take you so far in the relationship department.

[bunbeeplays]

Today's episode of The Lemon Legacy is Lemon-less!

Trent has taken the last day of spring break to tour Foxbury Institute with Paisley, and the recruitment team must have heard two Espositos are touring campus and pull out all the stops! Look at those fireworks!

Paisley: Sheesh, kinda overkill. There's not even any games going on today.

Trent: You're not really used to being an Esposito yet, huh? We're kinda famous.

Paisley: We're no better than anyone else here.

Trent: Try telling Dad that.

Their tour has gone great so far! The professors they've met seem amazing, and the campus is impressive.

Trent and Paisley have decided Foxbury's the place for them! These unconventional besties are ready to take over campus, but they still need to check out Larry's Lagoon.

Paisley: We can commute together! And I know you're going to make a lot of friends and also date a lot of boys but maybe we could have lunch sometimes and-

Trent: Paisley, calm yourself. You're not a regular stepmom, you're a cool stepmom. We can definitely get lunch.

Paisley: Now I can use schoolwork as an excuse not to go to those boring business dinners with your dad. His collegues act like I can't count to 7 without using both hands, now he'll have to tell them I'm in school to be a surgeon!

That'll show 'em! Trent hates those snobs too.

Trent: Good for you, Pais. I'm just excited I'll know someone on campus.

Most of Trent's friends are taking a gap year or getting right to work, so having a familiar face on campus will be nice. Explaining to people this 20-something is his dad's wife might be awkward, though.

Paisley drags Trent into the student union and immediately challenges him to some ping pong. Trent's played at a bunch of parties, so he figures he'll have the advantage over Paisley.

He does get her out the first round, but Paisley gets him right back next time around!

Looks like Trent had beginner's luck. Paisley smokes him two more times.

Paisley: Ha! You need work, kid!

Trent: Kid? You're like 5 years older than me!

Paisley: Respect your elders!

Trent: Good game. Where'd you learn to pong like that?

Paisley: The break room at the Stargazer Lounge had a ping pong table. It was a good way to blow off steam when rich plumholes would yell at you for their juice not being "juicy" enough. I'll give you some tips!

Paisley's got all kinds of stories from her time working as a cocktail waitress at the Stargazer. As they kick the soccer ball around, she tells Trent that she was going to try out for Foxbury's soccer team to get a full ride when she was 18.

Trent: Why didn't you?

Paisley: My boss scheduled me for a shift the night of tryouts. He said he'd fire me if I called out, and I couldn't risk losing my job if the scholarship wasn't a sure thing…

Sounds like she had it rough before marrying his dad. Trent's never had to worry about money.

Time for a coffee break! Look at these two, already getting into the swing of campus life.

Trent musters up the courage to tell Paisley something he's wanted to tell her for a while.

Trent: Look, when you and Dad first got married, I was a total plumhole to you. I shouldn't have been so mean. I'm sorry.

Paisley: Oh, Trent, thank you for saying that. You love your dad, and you didn't want anyone to take advantage of him and his money, but I promise, I do really care about your father. And I'd never try to replace your mom, but I care about you and the girls too.

Trent: I should have given you more of a chance… But for what it's worth, I'm glad I finally did. You're really cool, Pais.

Juan has his faults, but everything she loves about him, Paisley sees in Trent. He's grown into a fine young man, and she's proud he's accepted her.

Paisley: Well, I think you're pretty cool too. Oh, I meant to tell you, the guy who does my nails, his husband runs the LGBTQ Center on campus. He said he'd be more than happy to talk to you today, help you meet some people. That way you'll know people on campus other than me!

Trent: Look at you, Miss Queer Ally. I should get you one of those "I Love My Gay Stepson" shirts for Pride Month.

Paisley: I'd wear it all month long!

Trent: Well, your gay stepson loves you too.

Look how far these two have come! 🥹

That matcha tea went right through her, so while Paisley goes to the bathroom, Trent scrolls through Social Bunny when a call from his dad pops up. He doesn't usually call.

Trent: Hey Dad, what's-

All Trent hears is muffled talking. Must be a butt dial.

Before Trent hangs up, he hears the sound of a woman laughing. He doesn't really recognize the woman's voice, but he hears his dad laughing.

Weird. Dad isn't a fan of jokes. Or fun.

He's not… No. Juan Esposito is a lot of things, but an adulterer isn't one of those things.

When Paisley comes back, the two try out some of the cafeteria food. Not the greatest, but it's not like these two are slumming it in the dorms. They can pack better food from home.

Paisley goes on about how excited she is, but Trent keeps thinking about the butt dial.

His dad has plenty of female employees, he was probably just talking to one of them. He really likes Paisley now, and things seem to be better between her and Dad. His dad is a piece of work, but Trent knows he would never do that to Paisley.

…Right?

[brucewaynehater101]

How do you think the Batkids react/relate to the song "The Milk Carton" by Madilyn Mei?

Especially the lyrics "I really thought that life was one big race, But now I know it's one big chase"

Hi! Imma be honest that some of the symbolism goes right over my head. However, assign lyrics to each batkid based on what I think they should have (and yes, some of them can have multiple or each others' ones as well)

For Jason, imma give him these lyrics:

I think I really miss my bed. Oh when, oh when will the nightmare end? I had it good, I had it good. And yet I left and can't retrace my steps

Something something about him missing his bedroom at Wayne Manor, the one he left and never came back home to. Even if he did return to it, he can't retrace his steps. He's different. His feet wouldn't fit the mould his fifteen year old self left.

For Dick, imma give him these ones:

Say, is that the kid from the milk cartoon? Can I do anything when I'm also missing? Something tells me kid never learned to swim, but can I do anything when I'm also drowning?

This would be about Dick leaving to become Nightwing and the kids that become Robin afterwards.

For Duke, let's give him:

Think I forgot a couple things. My brain is still at home. Home's far away. I really thought that life was one big race, but now I know it's one big chase

I feel like this fits his story of trying to find his parents, bouncing between foster homes, and then the path from We Are Robins to Signal

For Damian, he shall have:

You can still win, just gotta be faster You can, you can, you can, you can win You can still win, just gotta be faster You can, you can, you can, you can win

Something something about him trying to live up the standards and ideals the adults around him have placed on his shoulders. The effort he undergoes to be what they want him to be.

For Cass, she should have:

Oh, the air is thick. Kinda makes me sick. Can I give CPR when I'm suffocating?

This reminds me of how she always strives to help and save people to a point where it's almost detrimental to herself.

For Steph, let's give her:

Cotton tail, gonna end up in jail. Wrong place, wrong time. Bad tune but it rhymed. And lined up perfectly to blame the one who is far too tame

I feel like the characterizes how the batfam treated her in the beginning (mainly Tim and Bruce). Her time as Robin too.

For Tim, he shall have:

And the birds don't talk likе the ones on screen. Have they really domesticated me?

This is kind of a commentary on how his heroes wouldn't quite match up to how he thought they were once he met them. Despite this, he becomes ones of them.

Finally, we'll give Barbara:

Run for the yard. They've barred up the gutter. That was our route. Better find another. Was that a rabbit? Really not like the one I'vе seen on a cereal box

Idk... This just seems like maybe something Oracle would say? Not deep or anything

[softpine]

Gez Louise I'm glad you changed up the story! My boy Finn has hurt enough! It's sweet that in most of the lives we've seen he finds love. I just thought of something Asa and Finn are soul mates right? For the most part they always find eachother? Does the Griffin we saw that's married with a wife and kid does he ever feel like something is missing? Wait a minute! If there's alt Finns there has to be alt Asas right? Do they fall in love in their universe too?

in my mind they're as close to soulmates as anyone can be... the timing is almost never right, and in some universes their lives never even cross paths, but somehow they keep finding their way towards each other under the most impossible circumstances 🥺 and i think baby finn actually answered your question about whether the other griffins feel like they're missing something:

"I get the feeling that my life is missing something. Maybe when I was born, God carved something out of my chest. Maybe he hid it in some corner of the universe and I'm supposed to find it somehow." // "I started thinking maybe God likes to laugh at me. Maybe he hid my missing piece at the bottom of Atlantis, on another planet, or somewhere else I'll never find it. I got the message - I'll stop looking."

at that point, he'd never met or heard of asa, but somehow he still missed him :( so i think the same can be said for any iteration of finn/griffin. we've seen that they're still capable of living their lives and even finding love, but there's always going to be this piece of them that feels just a little too hollow. any version of griffin that marries a woman is a little different because well. finn is gay. and although his sexuality never changes, his circumstances vary widely, which changes everything about how he acts on that.

for example, in the 90s verse, where we see newlyweds griffin and jules and their soon to be daughter, we find out that after griffin nearly died as a child, his parents became evangelical christians and were much more heavily involved in griffin's life. they had to support him physically and emotionally after his attack and even after he became an adult, he chose not to move far away from them, so they had a much stronger influence on him. although he loudly disagrees with their views, he still shows up to church every weekend when his mom tells him to. to me, jules is the most interesting part of this because we find out later (from our finn) that she was one of his neighbors, her family were strict jehovah's witnesses, and that she grew up even more rough than he did. so even though in this universe griffin is married to someone he's not exactly attracted to, who he probably wouldn't have married if it weren't for his parents' watchful eyes, it's clear that they do have a deep connection and they've both been through similar struggles. i wanted to make sure i portrayed jules in a positive light, as she's not an obstacle in the way of griffin's true wishes, she's a person who cares about him and who he cares about. still, that doesn't change the fact that he does feel like he's missing something and he always will. i think jules knew that too on some level...

i can't really say what happens to them after asa leaves them. it feels like it's not even for me to know. but i do know they're both proud of the family they've built, especially since they were both dealt a bad hand in life, and i hope they'd continue to be a safe space for their kids to land, no matter where their personal relationship ends up!

and..... you're right, if there are alt finns, it follows that there should be alt asas :D :D :D that's all i can say about that for now fjksjds

[deadend-if]

Okay look,, this was a lot longer than I planned it to be,, it was supposed to be half the length it is now, but oh well 💪😔

Anyway, I said I would post it today so here it is, the first of (possibly) many short stories. 💥💥

Santi's apprenticeship short story (under the cut)

There's nothing wrong with being a little early. Making a good impression on their mentor is more important than any discomfort from the blazing sun and honking cars. June Ko was someone Santi had been following for years, this is a dream come true. Her art style was something they always admired. The tattoos she creates move flawlessly with every curve and ridge of the body. They're bold, sharp, and elegant in a way Santi can only hope to recreate one day. The only reason they're not as nervous as they probably should be is, well, they've met her before. Evidence of their meeting is permanently etched on their body. They instinctively trace the dancing swirl of black and grey smoke that wraps around their body from shoulder blade to forearm. It weaves around a wilting bouquet of butterfly jasmine on their bicep. It cost them a pretty penny, but they don't regret a single cent.

This meeting was their first step into finally doing what they've been wanting to do for years. Even during their college years, art was the only thing on their mind. Now, after too long, they can finally prove that their fine arts minor wasn't pointless.

Santi checks their watch, sleek with brown leather and black accents. It was a graduation gift from their grandfather and about the same price as one month's rent. Santi pulled at the earrings on their left earlobe. Guilt prickles down their shoulders as they picture his disappointment, ceaseless in its haunting. He expected more, but what else was there to give?

A shout breaks their train of thought, whipping their head around at the sound of a slamming car door.

“Is that you, Vega? You're way early, dude.”

Oh, shit. Was that not right? Santi blanked for a second, thinking up a response as June leisurely made her way over. Strike one. They didn't think 10:45 was that early.

“Nothin’ better to do. Just thought I'd get a head start,” they finally respond after what feels like an eternity of June twirling her keys on her finger. They check their watch again as their new mentor unlocks the door. It's only been a minute. This day is far from over.

A bell jingles on their way in, and the first thing June does is flip on the lights. They flicker before settling into a bright, sterile white, illuminating the concrete floor and exposed brick walls. The shop is sectioned off with half-walls just past the front desk. Checkered tiles cause Santi’s boots to echo in the open space and they stand for a moment, taking it all in. They’ve been to a handful of different tattoo shops. It never gets old to see frames upon frames of art and knick-knacks stacked over the walls. The old-fashioned feel of Velvet Ink has got to be one of their favorites.

“Did you bring your portfolio? Tell me what you've been up to since we last talked.” June doesn't waste any time weaving through the lounge, grabbing a single folding chair leaning on the side of the wall beside the red leather couch. She doesn't need to look back to see if Santi is following, they trail after her like a lost puppy.

“I got it right here-” they lift their shoulder bag in emphasis, “I've been practicing on fake skin since we spoke, I have a few I wanted to show you, but they're nothing huge.”

“Wow, you're on that shit, huh? Sounds about right, knowing you.” June chuckles as she sifts through her desk. She swipes a few things into a drawer, making space for Santi's portfolio.

“Okay, hand it over. Let's see what you've added.”

“It's not that much-”

“I didn't ask how much it was, kid, I asked you to hand it over,” she retorts, tapping the table. Santi sits down in the folding chair June dragged over and begins to sift through their bag. They feel a twinge of annoyance, smothered by embarrassment. They haven't been called kid in a long time, but seeing the peppering of grey in her long black hair makes them feel a little less patronized.

Instead of responding, Santi dropped the binder on June's desk. They dug around for a few of the fake skin sheets. When they pulled it out, June took it, her thumb tracing a circle to feel the texture. She huffed in amusement but didn’t comment. It's not like they bought the expensive stuff, just a cheap machine kit, black ink, and a few sheets of fake skin. They learned only to buy the nice stuff once they could actually draw a line without ripping through the material. Having a heavy hand while sketching never bothered them, but it's a nightmare when tattooing.

“Looks good for a first attempt,” she said, breaking the silence of the empty shop. June traced a finger down some of the darker portions. She admires the piece depicting an animal skull, a bear, being carefully cracked down the middle by human fingers on either side.

“You need to be lighter in some places, but your art is beautiful. You have a real understanding of technique, but it won't transfer to the body the way you're thinking it will.”

That's high praise coming from someone as skilled as June, Santi gives her a weak smile as they tug their tongue piercing with their teeth. They spend another half an hour discussing their art with June and getting a very short lesson on how to use the transfer paper printers in the shop.

The bell rings in the front as two people walk in, nudging each other and laughing up a storm. Santi sits up straighter to get a better look. It then clicks that they both work here, their profiles are on Velvet Ink's website. The both of them have unique styles from what they can remember.

The taller one with short, choppy blonde bangs, known as Sawyer, has a neo-traditional style. They use a lot of bright colors and bold lines, their style is something Santi has never considered having a tattoo of, but they couldn't help but attempt a few neo-traditional artworks after they spent almost an hour scrolling through their social media.

The other artist dabbles in many styles, but they're popular for their watercolor tattoos. Santi thinks idly that her multicolored pastel hair makes her look exactly as her art does. What was her name again? It was a flower, that's for sure. Lily, maybe? They can't remember.

June greets the both of them as they walk in, and they cheer her name in sync.

“June! Is that your new apprentice?” Sawyer asks, B-lining it over to them.

“Yeah, Sawyer, Iris, meet Santi-” June gets quickly interrupted by who they now know as Iris.

“Woah! That’s sick, can I see that?” She leans over the half-wall, pointing to the many sheets of artwork on June’s desk.

“You alright with that, kid?”

“Yeah, go for it, some of them are kind of old though,” Santi gathers a few of their favorite pieces in their clammy hands and passes them over to Iris, they can only hope she didn’t notice them shaking. Sawyer peaks their head over her shoulder to make their own assessment at the same time, reaching over and pointing out a few details. Santi can’t see them from where they sit, so they wait (im)patiently for them to finish their appraisals.

“Huh, you took classes, didn’t you?” Sawyer has their eyebrows raised, seemingly impressed by what they see.

“I got a minor in fine art, yeah.”

“I can tell, this is some good stuff, let me know if you need a canvas-” their striking green gaze pans to the torn-up fake skin, “actually, on second thought, I’ll wait a bit longer on that.”

“Ah, I’ve got a heavy hand,” Santi responds, sheepishly tugging on their septum piercing with a wide grin.

“That's fine! You’ll just need tougher clients,” Iris jokes with a wink.

“Don’t give them any ideas, Iris. It’s their first day,” June cuts in, fondly exasperated with her coworkers.

“Just because they’re new, doesn’t mean they get any special treatment. Isn’t that right, Sawyer?” For a moment, Sawyer stares off into the distance as Iris pats their forearm with a cheeky grin. They grow quiet when June doesn’t respond right away. She looks at the practice design from earlier, something soft smooths the crow’s feet around her eyes. There’s a flutter in Santi’s stomach, making a home right below their ribcage as June traces the lines for a second time.

“You’ll get used to it, Santi. I have no doubt you’ll fit right in,” June says, and Santi can’t help but agree.

[jedusaur]

WIP amnesty: Jamie meets Phoebe

(this was going to be a longer fic, but now that they've met in canon I'm not feeling it anymore, so here's what I'd written so far)

Roy was expecting meeting his parents to be the hard part, because of all the daddy issues. It would have made sense, given Jamie's pathological need for approval and inability to relate to anyone more than six years older than him, not to mention the whole shirtless suit thing. Surely he'd be a disaster with parents. But no, it went fine, they had lasagne and mostly talked about football and made it through the evening with a minimum of awkward moments. And once that was over, Roy reckoned they were pretty much out of the woods family-wise. It wasn't like Jamie was ever going to set them up for a nice lasagne with his dad.

Apparently Roy miscalculated the intimidation factor of a ten-year-old girl.

"Take a fucking breath," he says, gingerly rubbing Jamie's shoulder. "What are you losing your shit for? Kids love you."

"Kids are impressed by me," Jamie corrects. "She won't be impressed, she's Roy Kent's niece." He's perched against the wheel well of the G-Wagon in the car park at Phoebe's school, bent over with his hands on his knees, having some kind of panic attack or something. Roy has no clue what to do.

"Take a fucking breath," he repeats, and waits until he hears Jamie drag some air into his lungs. "It's going to be fine. She's just a kid."

"What if she doesn't like me?" Jamie looks up at him, and Roy is horrified to see wetness in his eyes. "What if she hates me? You wouldn't be able to be with someone she hated."

That, Roy decides, is enough of that. There's only so much feelings bullshit he can tolerate. He grabs Jamie by the shoulders and roughly straightens him up, lifting his chin in hopes of tipping the tears back in where they belong. "My ten-year-old niece does not dictate where I put my dick," he says firmly, and presses a kiss to Jamie's quivering lips.

"Uncle Roy?"

Jamie tries to jerk away from the kiss and bashes his head against the car window. "Fuck!"

Roy groans and checks briefly to make sure Jamie hasn't damaged his skull or the window too badly before turning to look at Phoebe. She's standing there wearing her backpack, arms folded, taking in the scene.

"This," she muses, "feels like a situation I can get some ice cream out of."

Roy has never seen Jamie this uncomfortable, at least not openly. Usually he covers up discomfort with bravado, which actually would probably work better on Phoebe than it does in the dressing room. But here, sitting in a booth across from Roy and his niece at an ice cream shop, he's vibrating out of his skin.

Phoebe glances up at Roy, vaguely concerned. "What's wrong with him?" she asks, making no attempt to whisper.

Roy snorts. "Well, there's a question with a few hundred thousand answers."

She frowns. "Isn't he your boyfriend?"

"Yes." They've covered that part in advance.

"Then why are you being mean to him? You're never that mean to Keeley."

Roy considers trying to explain dressing room culture and their particular history, but he can imagine the series of increasingly specific questions that would follow, and in the end he would just have to admit that ultimately it's all stupid bullshit. "You're right," he says. "I shouldn't be mean to him. Sorry, Jamie."

Jamie's jaw fully drops, which is fucking unnecessary. Roy scowls.

Phoebe has already moved on. "Why aren't you having ice cream?" she asks Jamie.

He glances down at his coffee. "Uh, I'm not allowed ice cream during the season."

"Not allowed?" She shoots Roy a severe look. "Uncle Roy, you shouldn't have a boyfriend who isn't a grownup."

Oh fuck. Roy can just hear his sister's voice on the phone asking why Phoebe is telling all her classmates Roy Kent is a pedo. He jumps in to shut that shit down, talking over Jamie's frantic attempts to do the same thing, and Phoebe lets chaos reign for a moment before losing her straight face and busting into giggles. 

"Telling me off for being mean to him," Roy grumbles, trying not to let her see him fighting a proud grin. Jamie looks a bit like he's been hit by a bus. "That was fucking mean."

"He's not my boyfriend," she points out, tucking into her ice cream.

[bfwonho]

AITA but i dont wanna use reddit

ok you know what here is the situation. my (only recently) 20 yr old friend (i met them four years ago when we both worked at mcd) lived with their strict, emotionally abusive, overprotective parents until recently. their parents would confiscate tech for yrs at a time, wouldn't let them get vaccinated (i had to help them do that), guilt and shame them, etc. also obviously homophobic and my friend is transfem nb and queer. theyre also the eldest sibling of quite a few and had to handle the pressure of that responsibility and their parents never wanted them to do normal things like getting a car and moving out. i was always there encouraging them even when we stopped working together bc i was like fuck this naive gullible homeschooled kid has no one and they remind me of my younger sibling and im gonna be there for them as much as i can. the only reason they even got a car eventually is cus i kept telling them to so they cld move out

cut back to barely a year ago, they're still so naive and gullible they've lent like 1k+ to ppl who won't pay them back, but they still have like 10-20k in savings and now their own car. they also get into digital art with my help and get into furry porn or whatever. im like ok i guess ur an adult now do what u want. and then theyre like "ive got an online partner from CANADA!!! (we r australian) don't freak out i know it's bad but he's 30." i'm like oh god. they've been together 3 months ish and my friend RLY wants to visit their fuckass boyfriend and i'm like please be careful, please wait at least a year, i know u wont wanna listen to how i rly feel about this but at least just take these precautions. i'm also like when you do meet irl he should come here ur barely 19 and he's 30 like it only makes sense. and theyre like "thank u i promise i will do that"

and then maybe 10 or 11 months into their relationship i find out my friend is in canada with their bf, and has been for like a month, and i only know this bc they're asking if i can pick them up from sydney airport. im like errr that's pretty far away but take the train and i'll pick you up from the station and they're like ok sure! and i ask a bit more about it and find out they believe their parents have been hacking into their laptop because why else would they be suspicious that this canadian guy is their boyfriend, i'm like actually no offense but it's really fucking obvious i don't think they did that... and they're like "yeah anyway my parents are no longer picking me up which is why i need a lift, i admitted i have a boyfriend and they're calling him a pedo (and i almost agree but i just smile and nod) and so i'm not going back and taking their bs anymore, i'm gonna sleep in my car if i have to" so i offer for them to stay at my place for a few weeks.

they go get their stuff from their place, i buy them a pizza cus they havent had dinner, i help them get their stuff inside, set up a temporary bed. they tell me they plan to be out within a few days, i tell them they can stay longer if they need to, but currently their only job is doordash and they should focus on getting a real job so they can find a place and i'm more than happy to help them find somewhere. theyre the type of person to say sorry for everything and not let themselves ever feel comfortable, so i make sure they know they can use the kitchen and bathroom and everything while they're here and to not feel like a huge burden, im gonna be charging them a tiny bit of rent anyway so yeah.

now tell me why it's been over a month, they've applied to only a few places, i specifically put in a good word with them at my job and told them to call back and ask about the application and they just haven't, they've just been doordashing and filling my entire fridge and cupboard with their food, i tell them to use the laundromat cus we don't have enough space for their washing too and they end up asking if they can use our washing machine anyway (i reluctantly say yes), they destroy all my kitchen sponges on washing this one shitty pan i have cus they have to cook an entire grand meal from scratch for breakfast lunch and dinner, they wash up but i'm the only person who cleans the floors and the bathroom so now i'm feeling cramped and stressed out...

i ask my mum about what to do, she says give them 2 weeks to move out, my mum is a guarantor on my lease so in the group chat i explain the situation and say they have 2 weeks, they NEVER RESPOND and start not coming home until late at night... i'm considering moving into another place with a friend atp so i'm like yo maybe you can get on this lease and THEN they respond and start showing up again... and today i called and updated mum on the situation and her partner got on the phone, me and my sibling only got this place cus he apparently called in a favour cus we were rly struggling to find any fucking housing, and so he says "tell him i mean THEMMM if theyre not out tomorrow i will forcibly remove them" and so my sibling makes sure to tell them this face to face so they cant avoid actually responding. i also find out today that this whole time they've been flat broke (to the point they had to borrow my money just to get petrol despite doordashing like 40 hours a week) because they HAVE BEEN HELPING. PAY. THEIR GROWN ASS. SHITTY FUCKING USELESS. PARTNERS. RENT. THIS GROWN ASS MAN NOT ONLY HAD THEM PAY TO GO SEE HIM AND SUCK HIM OFF AND COOK FOR HIM. NOT ONLY WAS LETTING THEM GO BACK TO AUSTRALIA AND JUST BE HOMELESS. BUT HE IS ACTIVELY TAKING THEIR FUCKING MONEY. despite all of this i am deep down INCREDIBLY GLAD that my mum's partner put his foot down to get them out of my house and i feel guilty about it despite risking eviction cus im breaking my lease agreement by having them here loooll

tldr my 20 yr old friend has been living in my house illegally for over a month bc they refuse to go back to their shitty parents, they are however broke and don't have a stable job and their 30 yr old boyfriend is leeching off of them, and now i'm essentially kicking them out of my place within 2 days because my own housing security is at risk

[ninjagirlstar5]

Star, stop changing Tamami's design challenge (impossible).

No, for real, I think this is the fifth redesign I've done of her character. I don't know why but the past designs I've made for her just weren't satisfying to me for some reason. Some of the designs I decided were just bad or didn't suit her while the others were similar but I just didn't like how it looked (tank top, large sweater, scarf, the rainbow bracelet and a long skirt). But I...think I've finally landed on a design that I liked the most out of all the ones I've made so far. (Please let it be the last. Please, my brain and heart. I would like to settle on a design and move on!)

ANYWAYS, I used Teruya's DRA sprite as a base for Tamami since, well, she is his mom and she's about as short as DRA!Teruya (or maybe shorter, I don't know, the wiki gave me two heights for his DRA self. I decided she's about 4'8'' to 5''). So it made sense to use this sprite for her, even when I made slight adjustments to her eyes and nose by making the eyes a little wider and bigger and the nose a bit more pronounced as DRA!Teruya's nose is very small. Out of three of the five designs I've made, I kept this short hairstyle of hers with a large ahoge as I loved this style the most and didn't want to change it. I based her bangs off of SDRA2!Teruya's length and style and the back of her hair like DRA!Teruya's, but I changed the way the strands looked so that it'd look more like her own hairstyle but you can still see the resemblance between the two of them. The ahoge, though, is very much real, unlike Kojiro's and Teruya's (they canonically style their hair like that on purpose), and she cannot fix it no matter how hard she tries. So she just gave up and let it be. Tamami got stuck with the protagonist trait, even though she died before the events of Danganronpa, lol. I've never been a fan of fictional kids looking like carbon copies of their parents. Like, you have the meta-power to design these kids anyway you like and you just make them look exactly like one of their parents? Unless their look-alike appearance is plot relevant, it's just weird for them to look so much like one parent that they can easily be mistaken as siblings and has zero resemblance to the other. And that's saying a lot coming from me who looks a lot more like my Irish dad from skin tone alone, but even then people can tell that I'm at least Asian because of my facial structure and even asked as such, tying my appearance to my Filipino mom. I don't know, I just like seeing a mix of traits for the kids to have inherited from their parents, you know? So, since Kojiro already has a design with green hair and green eyes, I decided to have Tamami have a different hair color, gray and green, but she also has green eyes, just a different shade. Teruya inherited his mother's eyes while getting his father's hair. Since I headcanon Teruya to have freckles, Tamami has freckles as well and as I mentioned before in this post, I adjusted her skin tone to be more obviously tanned instead of dusty from my older drawings of her. And then there's the outfit, which is a dark gray tank top, a long denim(?) skirt, dark reddish-brown boots, a blue handkerchief scarf to match with Kojiro, and a big fluffy yellow sweater with a checkerboard pattern that is tucked into her skirt, and long puffy sleeves that hangs off of her shoulders. The rainbow stripes on her skirt and the rainbow bracelet ties her design to Teruya's as he wears a rainbow as well, and I thought it'd be a neat idea for them to have a similar love for rainbows even though they've never met (cause she died via childbirth). The thought of Teruya still inheriting some of his mom's mannerisms and traits even though they never officially met scratches my brain in a good, angsty way. I wonder what Kojiro thinks whenever he recognizes parts of Tamami in Teruya...And that's it for Tamami's design! Hopefully it'll stay this way.

Tiny characters that can beat the shit out of an enemy that's much taller than them will always be peak character design, you can't change my mind on that.

[found-family-tournament]

Found Family Tournament Round 1 Part 13 Group 62

Propaganda and further pictures under the cut

Color Gang: The Second Coming, Red, Green, Yellow, Blue & Purple

Submissions are still open!

Jessica, Aaron & Erica Slaughter:

They've all been taken in by the House of Slaughter at some point and had to face their worst fears. Jessica was the one who found the young Erica when her parents was killed by a monster and initiated her to monster hunting. She looked after Aaron and her and trained them.

Color Gang:

They all have their own special subset of skills like Blue’s good with plants and Green is very creative and competitive and Red’s good with animals and Second is an all-rounder and Yellow is tech focused esp red stone and stuff and they get into all sorts of japes and I love them

oh boy. inhales

so red green blue and yellow are all stickfigures and they ALL come from a website sso its safe to assume theyve all known each other ever since theyve existed or atleast for a long time HOWEVER the second coming was DRAWN by an animator and wasnt generated from a website . so basically after second came to life they stumbled onto the website and met rgby ,, and I could tell they IMMEDIATELY started getting along together and like oh my god . so much found family energy they give off so much of it and i haven’t even gotten to PURPLE yet so purple’s my favorite btw and ikin tthem but please dont get concerned looks at you awkwardly. so purple actually had parents but his dad kept beating him up harshly in training sessions and after their mom stepped up and tried to stop their dad he literally LEFT i kid you not their dad LEFT and left purple and their mom and YOU KNOW WHAT FUCKING HAPPENED !!!!!! the mom DIED THATS RIGHT SO NOW PURPLE’S A FUCKING ORPHAN !!!!! and then thats where second and the others come in they helped purple with not one but TWO redemption arcs !!!!!!. and even though purple never canonically stayed with the color gang as far as i can tell theyre still found family to me and it was never said that they would NEVER see each other again they can literally still visit each other its still possible . sorry for ranting ijust think theyre neat but uhmmmm purple’s my favorit (really wish i had my other rant from another submission form to add onto tthjs but its late so💔💔)

[charaznablescanontoyota]

can i just. can i just throw "one of the infinity kids meets one of the oneshot kids" at you as a prompt. fake fic title "the ball pit car" cause why not.

hiiiii mk i am ignoring your title but listening to your prompt <3 sorry an idea overtook me

the first time mj takes her to the party house, it's too much. too loud, too crowded - the sense memory of a different house overtakes her. beer-smell heavy in the air, bile in her throat, the heavy pulse of music overtaking her own heartbeat. dear diary, i want to kill. and you have to believe it's for more than just selfish reasons...

veronica shoves her way through the kitchen and out the back door. she hears mj call her name from somewhere behind her and waves him off, slinking to a far corner of the yard to light a cigarette with shaking hands. she'll be fine in a minute. just needs to breathe fresh air for a bit. a couple of bad nights can't put her off parties forever; she needs to believe that, or they inevitably, absolutely will.

the yard is deserted for a while, until it's not. another girl comes outside, slamming the sliding-glass door shut in her wake, taking a long hit off of something in her hand that's more contraption than cigarette. she makes a beeline for the exit door in the center of the grass, then stops, eyes lingering on veronica.

"hi," she says.

"hey," veronica replies.

the girl's red lips curl into an expression veronica knows too well, a smile just barely masking condescension. "big fun, right?"

"sure," veronica says, and takes a drag of her cigarette. "weren't you just leaving?"

"are you with mirror boy in there?" the girl asks, talking straight past the question. "you can do so much better. he's not even the real deal."

"we're not together," veronica says. she likes mj just fine, but with the same remove as she likes her diary. they're conversation partners. sounding boards for each other. she needs to talk to someone, especially here, or there's a distinct chance she might go further off the deep end than she already has.

"i mean, another jason? with guns, even?" the girl twirls a lock of hair around her finger idly, like she hasn't just given voice to veronica's own intrusive thoughts. "jason todd, jason dean - wow, they've even both got the two-first-names thing going on. not a good rebound, girl."

veronica freezes with her cigarette halfway back to her mouth.

"how do you know that?" she asks. no way this girl is from sherwood. she doesn't dress like anyone veronica's ever met; she's almost goth, but not in the greasy, piercings-and-smeared-eyeliner way the goths at westerburg are. a more fashionable way. like a goth heather.

the girl's smug-cat grin widens, shows teeth. "dear diary, my teen angst bullshit has a body count."

it's like having a bucket of ice water thrown in her face. any retort veronica could hope to give scrambles itself in her throat, overtaken by sea-sick nausea. this girl has been reading her diary? how is that possible? and what else does she know?

the kitchen door opens and mj steps out, hands shoved in his hoodie pockets. he looks from veronica to the other girl, then back to veronica, and his expression settles into the angriest one veronica's seen on him yet.

"shoka," he says to the other girl. "leave her alone."

"scary, scary," the girl - shoka - says. "what are you gonna do, shoot me? right in front of veronica?"

mj glares at shoka. his hands don't leave his pockets, but veronica can see him make the calculation in his mind. she opens her own mouth to stop him, tell him she never wants anyone shot on her behalf again, but shoka cuts her off with a laugh.

"alright, alright. come find me if you want a real rebound, sweetie."

she slouches through the exit, whistling. as the door slams shut, mj joins veronica at her post against the backyard fence. she passes him her cigarette wordlessly; he takes a drag and breathes smoke out into the stagnant night air.

"you know that girl?" she asks.

"i wish i didn't," mj says, and hands the cigarette back to her.