#and ivy being like. whats left of the two and the bros are kind of like turned away from her and shes not able to meet their gaze either

[skrs-cats]

still holding out hope for a jayfeather/Lionblaze se or novella... my one dream

[gebtoons]

my contribution to the bapo timeline discourse bc i’m just gonna propose a timeline and will not be taking criticism <3 (under the cut bc this is gonna be a long post probably) 

ok disclaimer I am quite stupid, however I’m gonna use my knowledge from my own 12 years in american public high school and what little info I have about american boarding schools/catholic schools that I have from my friends lol. so. idk. 

i’m also gonna date songs/major events and i’m gonna be taking some “just trust me bro” liberties bc y’all are right it does NOT make that much sense. 

January 6: Epiphany; this is like an actual holiday lol. like its always on the sixth. idk its good that this is the starting point bc its an actual date yknow? For the purposes of this timeline were going with that its early in the week, so lets go with Monday idk

January 6-13: You and I, Role of a Lifetime; so we’re all kinda in agreement that this timeline (at least the beginning) only really makes sense if you and i/role of a lifetime aren’t like. a singular moment and are instead multiple days. so yeah, of this first week, this is like. monday-next sunday ish yknow. 

January 14: Auditions, Plain Jane Fatass; ok so having auditions for a spring musical right after kids get back from break actually makes perfect sense to me, like i can see it being like “ok take break to prepare so as soon as you come back we can have auditions so we can jump right into rehersals” yknow? and since the rave is clearly on a friday (”we’ll meet in tanya’s room on friday night”) so i’m going with the monday before.  

as for pjf, i know it doesn’t make a ton of sense for them to get a two week late birthday package their first few weeks back from school, but hear me out it makes sense. the implication throughout this entire show is that the twins have decently shitty parents. from bits of dialogue (in this song in particular lol) i’m kinda inferring their the “only concerned with how their kids make them look to others” kind of neglectful. so I don’t think it’s too outside the realm of possibility that they went away for the holidays, didn’t bring the twins, and instead mailed them a birthday package and having it show up two weeks late. realistically the timing of this isnt that important and the explicit “two week” time frame could’ve been an exaggeration on nadia’s part to mock her shit parents (idk its in her character) basically ppl are a little two fixated on this imo but anyway. moving on. 

January 18: Wonderland, A Quiet Night At Home, Rolling, Best Kept Secret; a very agreed upon point in the timeline. its the friday following the auditions. moving on. 

January 21: Confession; also very agreed upon. the monday following the rave. moving on again 

January 23: Portrait of a Girl; the date here is kinda arbitrary, but bc sister chantelle says “ok lets try to put yesterday’s rehearsal behind us” and i for the life of me cannot think of a scene she could be referring to (there’s none in the script either) that implies it wasn’t the same monday as confession (bc even in a boarding school i think holding extracurriculars that aren’t sports over the weekend (especially when they are no where near crunch time lol) is weird and not common) so i just picked a random day during the week

January 25: Birthday Bitch!, One Kiss, Are You There?; from matt’s line in wonderland, ivy’s birthday is a week after the rave. in my timeline that’s january 25th (an aquarius queen). 

btw given all grown up’s “17, how will i manage?” ivy is 16 during 17 at her party, which is strange given shes a high school senior and seniors are typically 17 during 18. so either a) she skipped a grade, not an unheard of thing. or b) shes not a senior, shes just a junior who hangs out with a bunch of seniors, which is also pretty common. and looking through the script i can’t find any mention that she is also a senior, other than yknow she graduates with them, but she isn’t mentioned during the class ranking scene? so idk not that it really matters just a fun detail 

February 3 (at night): 911 Emergency!; ok controversial. i know i like the joke about how its funny that peter having a weird dream when he was high prompted him to want to come out and really ruined his relationship with jason. BUT. i think the dream (despite it’s weirdness) would have a lot more meaning if it wasn’t the result of being really high, but if it was a dream he had like a week later as a result of a building sense of guilt/anxiety bc he told matt. also it fits better given later timeline things. (this timeline literally only exists if there are weird jumps in time that don’t make a ton of sense) (EDIT: I forgot one line about Jason crashing at ivys but fuck it forget that bitchass line this makes for more drama its staying this way)

February 4: Reputation Stain’d, Ever After; the next day following peter’s dream, idk what else to say, moving on. 

February 25-28: Spring; another jump! i’m sorry but the only way for this to make sense logistically is for there to be quite a few time jumps! however, i also think this one works bc i think it gives time for everything from around ivy’s party and peter and jason’s break up to stew emotionally. like obviously a musical only has so much time to tell a story so the audience cannot see every realistic beat, but honestly i think it makes the whole thing a little more dramatic™ if there’s space for everything to settle, and for ivy to come and apologize and such. also, the reason it’s multiple days is bc in the script, ivy is trying to study (presumably for some sort of midterm) while nadia is playing, so that probably takes place a few days before they move out, so before finals. but in the script, jason and peter are packing and peter is leaving, so that part of the song/staging takes place on the 28th. yes, that’s weird, but we are clearly thinking more about the logistics of this school than the writers were so. 

March 1: One; assuming st. cecilia’s works kinda like boarding schools here, they probably do staggered move out/move in, just bc that would be a lot to have people coming and going at once so it makes sense that peter left the day before, while jason and ivy are leaving the next day. also, given that peter is trying to call jason while he and ivy are banging, it’s probably been a hot minute since the actual break up, since peter was clearly very hurt by the whole thing, it would make sense (at least to me) that peter would reach out a month ish later, rather than like a few days later (you have to make so many assumptions to make this timeline work granted they aren’t super out there assumptions but still this is annoying) 

March 1-25: Spring Break. the coworkers I have who are in boarding school work over their school breaks, which are longer than the public school breaks (which are only a week) so i put their spring break at 3 weeks. it makes sense, and it makes the later part of the timeline make sense. 

I know i’m already halfway through this, but to me it makes sense for their to be quite a few time jumps in the story bc its a musical. they cannot show every day. there are a lot of other shows (particularly shows set in high schools) that are set over a whole school year, but if you just look at the events of the story that doesn’t make sense, so you have to imply that obviously they are not showing every little detail. moving on. 

March 25: Wedding Bells, In The Hallway, Touch My Soul; peter wakes up from his nightmare in the church, so im assuming he fell asleep in church (like he almost did during epiphany). also it makes sense that class ranks are announced in late march-early april, I know my school announced ours in like, the first week or so of april? so yeah. moving on.

(from this point on i was giving myself a headache trying to make it make sense so its all weird from here!!)

April 4: See Me, Warning; the date doesn’t really matter here, I picked a random day in early april. the script said peter is calling from him and jason’s old dorm room, as he was picking up the last of his things, so he clearly made the roommate switch after school started (makes sense to me). 

April 15-20 (approximately): Ivy finds out she’s pregnant. look google tells me on average people find out they are pregnant around 5-7 weeks after conception. i went with around 7 just so this timeline makes a tiny bit more sense given the later stuff, so yeah here we go. 

May 4: Pilgrim’s Hands, God Don’t Make No Trash, All Grown Up, Promise, Once Upon A Time, Cross; a rough night for our heroes. so given sister chantelle saying “again? wonderful.” and nadia saying “i can’t believe you missed rehearsal again”, clearly ivy has been missing quite a few rehearsals, so for dramas sake maybe from when she found out she was pregnant? also i know i’ve been saying they wouldn’t have rehearsals on weekends, and given my weird timeline this would be a saturday, but its tech week so i’ll allow it. 

May 5: Two Households, Bare, Queen Mab, A Glooming Peace; pretty self explanatory, and it makes sense to have the spring play in early may. rip jason. 

May 11: Absolution; the day before graduation peter goes to confront the priest. gives him a small amount of time to start processing, and it makes sense it would be the night before, at least to me. 

May 12: No Voice; i fucking hate this. “peter, we graduate next sunday” i hate that stupid fucking line. do you know that this timeline literally would be fine if it weren’t for that stupid fucking line? bc then, the school play would be in early may and graduation could be in late may-early june (when most high schools hold graduation) but no. keeping with continuity, they have to graduate the sunday following the school play. “peter we graduate in a month, are you really never gonna talk to me again?” would have been fine. but no, now we have beef. literally everything else about the end of this timeline being kinda weird would work itself out, except for the fucking graduation. god damn. anyway, may 12th, the graduate on may 12th which is really fucking weird bc of that one fucking line. whatever. i didn’t write the damn thing bc if i did i wouldn’t have written that fucking line. (i’ve been at this for over an hour and a half, so i’m a tad annoyed, can you tell?) 

anyway, that’s it. that’s my long as hell proposed bare timeline. if there’s anything glaringly wrong with it i don’t care bc this timeline literally cannot make sense. but honestly, now that i think about the Popular Tween High Schooler Musicals (heathers, bmc, deh) the timelines of those (especially heathers and bmc) don’t make tons of sense either. that’s just the way it is, that’s the way its gonna be. and we have to live with it. 

this post is so long it is actually slowing down my laptop as i type it

[toukenramblings]

Dating Headcanons: Kuwana Gou, Murakumo Gou, Kotegiri Gou

Whaaa, Gou Bros! Bros Gou! I’m so excited to do dissss. Dedicated to darling Mei Mei who is orchestrating my downfall further into swordboi hell.

Warnings: Well we are talking about the pasts of these sword bois and some of them aren’t too...pretty? But it’s mostly SFW. Me, projecting.

Kuwana Gou

Kuwa’s feelings for you are...rather quiet, creeping up on him like the ivy vines that snake up structures. He will notice them at a slow rate, as he values his relationship with you. It’s languid and takes its time to flourish and bloom like the flowers he sometimes works with, and Gods forbid it ever being destroyed. It’s a relationship cultivated over time, and when Kuwana falls for you, it’s a sudden free fall when the ground crumbles under him.

Kuwana is terrified of his feelings for you, terrified of confessing. He does think that he doesn’t deserve you, but most of all, Kuwana is terrified of destroying a beautiful relationship you two have. Consider him like the boy next door, your childhood friend that you always talk to. Kuwana is that boy, your first love, your first crush, your first kiss - oh so terrified to cross that line between love and friendship. What if you don’t like him back? The foundation of respect and trust and camaraderie you have built together just shattered like that? Destroyed? Nope. Bye. He can’t handle the thought of it.

If anything, you need to confess to Kuwana first. When he realizes that he loves you, it’s kind of obvious. He flushes around you, always giving you flowers and checking up on you with food - it’s not that different from his normal self, but sometimes your hands will brush each other and he jerks his hand away, timid and shy, terrified of such a thing. He loves it when you two do hold hands though. If Kuwana ever confesses, it’s because he probably talked with Tonbokiri about it. He has to make a move, or else he’ll only stew in his feelings in such an unhealthy manner.

His confession is planned, one day he’ll come talk to you, asking for some time alone in your office later that night. He comes to you with a bouquet of roses from the garden, cheeks flushed, still somewhat dirty from working in the gardens, and shuffling his feet. “T-These are for you. I...I wanted to tell you this for a long time but, I’ve fallen for you.” it’s short, straight to the point, and he almost leaves the flowers there on your desk before running away. You catch him in time though, tripping over your feet which leads him to catch you. And then you return his feelings and Kuwana’s eyes light up brighter than the stars! no tonbo and the rest of the gou bros are totally not crying in the corner, proud of kuwana

Oh the kisses with Kuwana are so sweet. He will always cup your cheek or chin before leaning in, pressing your foreheads together before kissing you. It’s always a slow and sensual kiss, full of love that he has for you. Rarely do they become any deeper than sweet pecks or quick make outs. He is always busy in the fields and you are always busy as well. He doesn’t wanna take up too much of your time!

Kuwawa’s PDA is always oh so sweet. Whenever he has to wake up and work in the fields in the morning or cook, he always gives you a peck on your lips before dashing off to do whatever. If you visit him in those areas, expect a sweet cheek kiss as well! Kuwana’s hands are big and warm so when you hold them, you feel so damn sAFE. He also really really loves hand kisses, washes his hands first before doing so.

Kuwana will love it when you two have a private part of the garden just for you two! He does work in the fields a lot but will make sure to take extra extra care of the flowers you two grow together. Hell, he always brings flowers to you! Missions, working in the fields, whatever! He is going to bring you some flowers and make a lil vase of them for you! He’ll always tuck a flower behind your ear whenever he sees you as well. It’s so soft guys.Will also tuck a pressed flower into an omamori whenever he’s away from you.

Kuwana was never really meant for battle, and he knows it. But after entering a relationship with you, expect him to be training more. He knows he has to become stronger to protect history and all, but he wants to become much more stronger to protect you too! It doesn’t hurt to see him oh so determined either! “I want to protect you for as long as I can. To do that, I need to become stronger. I know that I’m not as much as a weapon as Tonbokiri-sama or my brothers, but I have to try!”

Then there are days when Kuwana works shirtless in the fields. It’s....a damn good sight to say the least. He won’t tease you about it, but if you tease him about it, he’ll flush and stutter over his words. ITS GREAT, TRUST ME.

Kuwana is also quite the chef. He’ll always keeps you healthy, ensuring you go to bed on time, eat the healthiest of foods, exercise enough, it’s like having a personal trainer beside you at all times! If you do not feel confident in your body, Kuwana will always be there for you, whispering how much he loves you and that you’re perfect to him.

Kuwana also loves it when you take baths/showers together! It’s a great way to clean himself up and he just loves the intimacy! If you two are sexually intimate by this time, he won’t mind that either but if anything he just loves the feeling of always holding you close! He loves it when you help scrub him down and he does the same to you!

This leads us into massages! Kuwana is really good hands for this kind of shit, big and strong. He’ll happily take away your pain if he must, if only he could purge it in its entirety and push it on to himself. But he’ll melt if you massage him int turn! His body is built and slightly tanned from working in the fields all of the time, sun kissed as they say! He works really hard, so pamper him in turn!

Speaking of pampering, oh Kuwana spoils you but you need to spoil him in return! Give him love! Headpats! Kuwana secretly loves it when you pat his head! He’ll flush and mumble that it doesn’t suit him but he’ll lean into your touch!

Kuwana is also pretty touch starved as well, he doesn’t realize it until you two begin dating. Kuwawa will always glance down at your hands whenever you two are in the same room but doing something different. Or even in the same vicinity. He loves it when you two hold hands, or when you two are just cuddling and pressing your foreheads together. He’s also quite the cuddlebear.

Kuwana will give you nicknames based on flowers and crops. It may sound strange at first but him calling you his ‘pumpkin’ or his ‘rosebud’ just flows off of the tongue right and makes you flush with happiness every time.

Murakumo Gou

Kumo kumo’s feelings for you are...not taken well. Whenever he thinks about you, his stomach begins to churn in the most terrible of ways and he almost wants to vomit with how fast his heart is beating. How you make him feel. Kumo kumo tends to run away with his tail between his legs whenever he’s even near you. His feelings for you surprise even him! It makes his heart hurt much more then his tum tum so when he goes to Yagen or Samidare, they try their best. Of course it’s Yagen who’s like, “You’re in love, dumbass” cue shook Murakumo.

Murakumo will begin to avoid the shit outta you for a while. He can’t handle being around you when you make his heart beat like this! It’s almost too much for him, and he’s oh so terrified about falling in love as well. What if you give him away? Falling in love means pain, right? Why else would be feeling like this? Like he wanted to crawl further into a hole and die.

It’s because of this that you will need to confess to Murakumo, and it will honestly...be a venture. He will not take it well at first, thinking that you are lying, just trying to get under his skin. He won’t lash out at you, oh no. In his heart, he’s oh so happy! He’s loved! You love him back! His stomach will be doing flip flops and it won’t hurt as bad as it normally does. But give him some time, patience is very key in a relationship with Kumo-san after all. Wait for him to come around to you, it’ll take his brothers help to do that too.

“I...I...I don’t know how to deal with these emotions. But, if possible, I want to be by your side. It hurts a lot when we were apart, so...if it’s okay, can...can I be yours? Forever?” Murakumo’s biggest fear, after all, is you leaving him, abandoning him, sold off like a prostitution ring im sorry hfuigsgdh and just almost left to rot. When you still love him and prove that you will want to be by his side, Kumo kumo will almost be over the moon! His tummy will hurt a bit but he pushes past the pain as you two hug, a soft and gentle embrace, as the TouDan inhales your scent and holds you close. It’s super warm in his arms, oh so comfy.

Like Kuwana, Murakumo adores hand kisses and general hand holding! Maybe it’s the dog in him but you holding out your hand to him makes him happy, and whenever he does take your hand into his, he always laces the fingers together! He is rather sparse on his PDA though? Prefers the privacy of just being alone with you though. He also adores forehead kisses, especially if you are giving them to him! You can almost see an imaginary tail wagging whenever you to do.

To say that Murakumo is clingy is an understatement. He has severe abandonment issues from being sold off so Kumo Kumo has a habit of making sure and ensuring that you love him. Yes he trusts you, but that fear will not leave him, always staying at the back of his mind, haunting him, taunting him. These manifest as nightmares whenever you two are cuddling, to the point his tum hurts beyond belief and he wakes up with a start. He won’t want to wake you, worried that you’ll come to hate him more. But when you do wake up to your lover in tears, you bring him into your arms and he melts. His sobs are quiet, reaching in pitch every now and then but he keeps them quiet, hidden in the cloth of your clothing.. Hug him please, tell him that it’ll be ok in the end. He needs it.

He’s that partner who tends to apologize for every lil thing he does. He just worries that you’ll come to hate him, and sell him off. It’ll take time for him to get his confidence up, as said before, patience is very key in a relationship with Kumo Kumo. Of course as he changes and gains a lil more confidence by your side, his stomach aches will begin to slowly cease. He does get loop-de-loops whenever he plans something special for you, and he does have his fair share of worries, but he’s trying his best!

Yes Murakumo is a slightly jealous person, pouty whenever he sees you with another person. He trusts his brothers (Samidare especially) around you but anyone else? No fam, you got a guard dog right here. THe thought of you leaving him almost makes him want to vomit and of course you love him the most! Verbal praise is what gets him going the most, so do nothing but tell him that you love him.

As he moves on from his shortcomings, Murakumo is slowly becoming a bit spontaneous with his affections with you. One of his favorite things to do is to hug you from behind, burying his face into your shoulder or something and just...exist in the same space. Lap pillows are also his favorite thing in the world! He loves it when he can rest on your lap, and will do the same for you. Prefers just straight up cuddling though, is a smol spoon. Loves resting his head on your chest most of all, he loves the sound of your heartbeat.

Like Samidare, Murakumo will love animals! He loves much more calm animals, and while he does love puppies, he slightly prefers cats as they are more chill. If you take him to a petting zoo or a zoo in general, Murakumo will be so happy! He may get excited and his tum may hurt but if you hold his hand and take it one step at a time, he’ll be okay! He loves holding hands anyway.

Samidare will honestly be very happy for you two! He’s just happy that Murakumo found another person to be comfortable and safe around. He isn’t the kinda guy who will give warnings but he’ll probably shed a tear or two at how proud he is of you two!

Murakumo also tends to pick up random things that he thinks you’ll like. He loves it when you two go out on a walk together, sometimes he’ll bring back wildflowers for you, and if you two go shopping together, watch him look at stores he knows you’ll like. He’s pretty attentive to the stuff you like and likes to surprise you when he can!

He’s also very much into sharing clothing. He doesn’t care if your clothes are bigger/smaller than he is, he just finds your scent very comforting. If he’s on long missions away from you, he’ll ask to take your jacket or sweater with him because he’ll miss you! Uh yeah, gods help the person who gets it dirty or rips it. He loves it when you wear his clothes too! IT’s a way for him to be there when he is not.

The first thing Murakumo does when he comes back though is to run to your side and hug you! He missed you so much, he has to give you a hug! He also loves it when you tend to his wounds, whining and whimpering, leaning into your touch. Spoil him while you can, give him forehead kisses and nose kisses. He adores those.

Murakumo isn’t much for nicknames that are based around titles, “honey, darling, etc” he prefers making lil nicknames based off of your name instead! It’s really sweet.

Kotegiri Gou

Giri Giri aiiii ikenaii borderliiiie the song slaps im so sorry is a person who is always around you. He tends to your needs like Hasebe does and he knows your schedule like the back of his hand. But when he does get his feelings, he won’t notice it. He’ll think of it just wanting to be close to you, to be a better tsukumogami for you, and to help you as best as he can! It has to be someone who tells him that he is in love. You compliment him on his singing when he doesn’t notice? He flushes bright red and promises to sing for you from now on. What are you, his muse? Maybe.

Yes Kotegiri, you’re in love if you start making love songs for them/making songs with them in mind. Someone looks at his damn drafts and calls his ass out and he freezes. Oh no, is that what love feels like? To always be your little songbird and make you smile? Oh no. Oh no. Panic time engaged. Outwardly he’s fine! He’ll still be your attendant but will almost have his head in the clouds? He’ll flush whenever you come closer, almost running away.

It takes some time for Kotegiri to confess, and it’s probably with a love song. He won’t make a big show of it, even though he would, but he wants this song to be yours and yours alone. Will he rope his brothers into this? Maybe. Is he gonna rope the AWT48 into this? Fuck yeah. Of course it all depends. If you’re a more private person then it’s a private concert for you and you alone. It’s a sweet song and when he finishes, he kneels at your side what is this a marriage proposal holding out his hand, “I...I wrote this song for you, master. I poured all of my love for you into it. It’s okay if you do not feel the same, but I want to tell this to you now. I love you, and I will say it no matter how many times it takes.” and then you save his confession song as your ringtone and probably cry.

Giri giri claims he doesn’t like his hands, but they are indeed beautiful. Slightly calloused and all but they are soft and gentle. He does love holding your hand and adores yours though - no matter how dry or cracked or smooth they are, he’ll kiss your fingers and your knuckles. It’s one of his favorite ways to display affection. Other than cheek pecks and full on lip pecks. He knows that you two are always busy so he’ll always drop off some kinda kiss and then skedaddle, leaving you both wanting more.

Kotegiri takes great care of his appearance and this extends to you! After a good cuddling session during your sleep, he’ll wake up early and get you prepared for the day. Your clothes checked, breakfast in bed, morning time kisses, the whole shebang! It’s lowkey a married relationship anyway.

Kotegiri becomes a lot more confident in singing after you two enter a relationship. He’ll start humming and composing songs meant for just you two! Kotegiri has the lungs of a singer after all, this also means he can kiss you for a long time as well. Giri giri may make an entire album dedicated of songs for you! He can’t help it! He loves you so so much! It’s always signed with some sort of lovey dovey poem or something.

Kotegiri does enjoy shopping as well! He loves it when you two can shop together and find cute clothes to wear, he’ll make sure the said clothing will compliment you! Speaking of clothing, he will also love it if you two match! He highkey adores matching clothing with you! He also adores it when you swap clothing. Sure they may not fit...per say, but whatever the hell. Kotegiri is just happy to be connected with you in another way!

Date nights with Kotegiri are also kinda work nights? He’ll notice that you work too hard and suddenly murmur softly that you deserve a break. It’s just sitting in the same office together, working together, feeding each other snacks. It’s just soft and quiet, some good shit to be honest. Especially if you two just like cuddle on the couch, doing nothing, papers thrown to the side and just...existing.

Whenever Kotegiri is away for long, he always gives you a kiss before he leaves. He will also have something special from you to remind him of you while he’s away. It ranges from what he’s feeling. Maybe it’s the first drafts of his love songs for you, folded neatly and tucked into the protection charm. Maybe you wrote a song for him in turn and he keeps it in there? Who knows! He just likes the feeling of being close to you, no matter how far you two are apart from each other.

While he doesn’t mind lap pillows, he loves it more whenever you sit on his lap and fidget with your fingers. That being said, hugs from behind are also something he adores. He just loves being with you! Let him hug you!! Hugs are the besttttt.

Yes he’s going to be teased by the rest of the Gou bros, he’ll take it stride though. He’ll flush and mumble and fluster and stutter but dAMN IT HE’S SO PROUD OF BEING YOURS.

Oh dancing dates. Kotegiri adores aDORES dancing. Something about holding you close, hand in hand, as you lead each other through the steps, he may pull you closer on purpose with a sly smile but immediately flush when you do the same to him. I’m sorry but closely dancing with him like this, whether or not it’s a formal ballroom dance or just slowly waltzing to the music? It’s great, he just loves the closeness.

Most likely will know quite a bit about modern technology, computers, phones, so on and so forth. He has a phone himself and will take pictures of you two when he can! Most of the time the damn thing is used to download music and watch idols perform. Of course having a phone is mandatory whenever you two are out shopping together, getting lost is scary after all. His ringtone will be either his own love song for you, or just a recording of you humming his songs! He thinks of it as the biggest praise ever if you love his music.

Kotegiri calls you all kinds of sweet nicknames. His preferred one is muse tis because you are indeed his muse! You give him creativity and support and oh so much inspiration and he’s just....oh so happy that you approve of his love for idols.

Kotegiri may think that his hands aren’t good or anything, but to you, his hands and his everything is beautiful! His hands make the music he writes and they hold you with a sense of gentleness that no one could compare to. So really, a relationship with Kotegiri is just full of mutual support. He knows that you’re always busy but know when to give you a break. In the end, you tow start and end the day together and he’s ultimately happy.

[madamspeaker]

Ryan Grim (never has a name been more apt for a man who continues to prove that being White and male are get out of jail free passes for mediocre work) does it again. Yesterday he another mediocrity from The Intercept (mediocrity is the only qualifer to work there) published this gem of an article..

That is quite the bold capslock headline, and a pretty damning byline. The trouble is it’s all bullshit. Last week Nancy Pelosi, in a response to a question asked by Chad Pergram of Fox News, said that Joe Biden didn’t have the authority to use executIve action to cancel student loan debt, and that the power of the purse rests with Congress. That latter part is government 101 to be honest, but it is clearly not the message that the bros looking to have their Ivy League education fee loans wiped out with a scratch of a pen wanted to hear. Grim alledges (and it’s important to point out that this man elevated the Tara Reade horseshit into the mainstream) that two wealthy donors have turned Nancy’s head and made her change course on how students loans can be cancelled (worth noting that uber wealthy Tom Steyer couldn’t get her to get on the “impeach now” bandwagon until the Ukraine phonecall left her with no choice, so I very much doubt donors ever have much luck turning Nancy’s head on anything). The trouble with this whole premise is that until Pergram asked the question last week, no one actually knew what Nancy Pelosi’s position was on whether Biden could use executive action. Even Grim mentions this buried in the bowels of the article...

Now correct me if I am wrong here, but someone cannot be said to have “flipped” in their view about something when their previous position was “silence” on the matter. We just don’t know if Nancy has ever thought that a president can unilaterally cancel student loan debt, and it’s not that she doesn’t favour the idea of cancelling the debt, she supports the notion, but she does question the legality of one man being able to do it without an act of Congress.

Then Grim, who I genuinely believe to be a careless idiot and therefore dangerous, suggests that Biden should just do it anyway, to hell with any legal arguments, and that it would be just like the extending the eviction moratorium...

Except that it’s nothing like extending an eviction moratorium. The moratorium as it stands is probably on a dubious legal footing, but in issuing an executive action on it, Biden is essentially buying people more time to sort themselves out and to get access to the rental assistance programmes. Any challenge to it in court will likely coincide with the extension ending, and so if SCOTUS does strike it down, well it would be moot by then. That situation does not apply to cancelling student loan debt. You cannot just say “the debt is cancelled” only for months later the SCOTUS to declare “well actually, no, it’s not”. That is why Pelosi said that only Congress could do it - should it ever happen, the legal basis for it is much more sound.

Also, and this is just me voicing an opinion here, I am completely baffled as to why student loan debt should be forgiven. This is a loan that people knowingly enter into. It’s not like medical debt, whereby you wake up one morning fine, have an accident, and find yourself saddled with horrific medical costs that require you to mortgage the house. I have yet to hear a good argument for why student loan debt should be cancelled, and despite what Grim states (without an actual statistic), I very much doubt that cancelling student loan debt is that wildly popular anywhere outside of Twitter. It’s not going to encourage or help anyone heading into further and higher education - it will only help those who have already been there and done it. I have yet to hear any details of who would get their loan debt cancelled, who would it apply to? How many years back would it go? And as for those entering into further and higher eduction after the debt is cancelled, what happens to them? Everyone else got their debt cancelled, but they won’t? I’m mentioning this because I have student loan debt. The US is not the only country with this kind of loan system, but it bizarrely seems to be the only one with this oddball debate going on. Why should students get their debt cancelled? What makes that section of the population more deserving than say those stuck with horrific medical debt that they, unlike the students, probably had no say in accruing. And if this is about access to education and making sure everyone has the opportunuty, then surely the actual debate should be around tuition fees? Those are the real deterrent for some wanting to go into higher education but financially can’t. The loan debt is essentially a direct result of the crazy fee costs.

[ivyprism]

How they react to seeing ivy preform ;)

Ace: since his relationship with prism is fairly new, ace will be especially on his brothers case about being on their best behavior. He even hand picked butch and slims outfits with boss’s help lol. Those two are not fashionably inclined. He’ll have a single yellow rose ready for ivy after her performance. He thought she did great of course, but all his attention was on prism and how gorgeous she looked in that dress~

Slim: it’s rare that he gets to go out with all the brothers at once, and never because of one of their partners. So slim is pretty nervous. He really doesn’t want to embarrass ace at all. Formal events aren’t really his scene and he ends up trailing behind butch the whole time and getting tipsy. Slim thought ivys performance was great! The parts he can remember that is lol

Snipe: he’s experienced in formal events, parties, and entertaining people so snipe is in his element right now. Plus it’s his job to make friends with the willow family there. Normally that goes to ace, but he’s dating a member so he’s compromised this time lol. Snipe will be sure to compliment ivy on her stellar performance afterwards and strike up some conversation.

Bruiser: bro he is bored out of his mind. Poor man isn’t allowed to drink either because unlike slim who’s just a dizzy drunk, bruiser gets stupid. So he watches the singers and daydreams. He almost missed ivys performance but was warned by ace right before she came on stage lol

Butch: this man is playing guard for Madame for the night. Fun fact. Madame is just as alcohol resistant as butch. So Madame and butch are at the bar chatting people up left and right and drinking all the admirers under the table. When Madame goes up to praise ivy, butch will follow and of course flirt with her. It doesn’t go anywhere though

Boss: he enjoys formal events because it gives boss a chance to look at all the styles people have on. Boss actually really loves fashion. When ivy came on stage, the first thing he saw was her dress. But then she started singing. Boss swore he was listening to an angel. It’s rare that you can catch this man off guard, but there he was, a faint bush on his cheek, mouth wide open, and a sneaky bruiser snapping a picture of his reaction. Boss was thrown so off guard that he winds up forgetting his name when he meets ivy. Luckily butch is a great wing man and saved him.

Tempest: she’s Dons guard for the night. And tempest stays pretty focused on her task. This is her maybe second time meeting prism, so wholes she’s polite, she’s not all that friendly. Tempest does have to admit that prisms dress is great though. She doesn’t really notice ivy’s performance

Don: he spends most of his time meeting with a few “ acquaintances” but does make sure he steps away to say hi to prism. Don likes her. He can tell his son is happier when he’s with her. Plus prism keeps ace out of trouble. Don doesn’t take too much notice of ivy, but he definitely notices boss’s reaction ;)

Madame: rip boss. Madame saw instantly and took prism aside to get the tea about ivy. After a good interrogation where poor prism gets to see Madame’s scary side for a second, Madame decides that ivy is good enough and instantly starts mentally matchmaking lol. Over the next few days, boss is going to find himself running into ivy quite a bit

Prism would gladly tell Madame everything she knew about her sister. She isn't afraid or embarrassed about it. Ivy is worth mentioning. She would spill all the tea to Madame. Every. Last. Drop. Much to her sister's chagrin.

Ivy would appreciate their compliments. She'd be intrigued by Boss and would approach him. She'd definitely compliment him on his appearance while inadvertently stroking his ego. She'd also be courteous and kind to Madame. She'd tease her twin sister about Ace from time to time. She'd also mention that she takes requests.

Ian is keeping an eye on what's going on. He did, without a doubt, photograph Boss's reaction. He easily converses with everyone. When asked, he praises his sisters and shows how much he adores them. He'd wink at Boss, indicating that he knows but won't say anything.

Perseus is going to be grumpy the entire night. He is in charge of Ivy's bodyguarding. He'd be polite to the mafia boys and their families while also being a little passive aggressive. He'd be more hostile and irritable if they met in another way. He makes it clear that he will protect his family. But he wouldn't get in the way of the romance... But, for some reason, he breaks away from the group and cancels something.

Omari definitely was there tricking some idiot other mafia members into deals. She is so bold to do so.

Camari would be there to record it and then she'd definitely give it to Ian to give to them. She would wink at her friend when she's talking to Boss, but then wander off.

-H

[mor-beck-more-problems]

The Two Fingers of Death || Morgan & Gabriel

TIMING: Current

PARTIES: @bugbearnecessities & @mor-beck-more-problems

SUMMARY: Gabriel needs a snack and tries out a new scare in the English department offices, to unexpected results.

CONTAINS: slight zombie body horror

“I can't believe that bitch flunked me!”

Gabriel was not supposed to be in the ladies room, and he honestly felt bad about it. Normally he did his best to respect people's boundaries, especially those involving very intimate ceremonies like make-up fixing, gossip sharing and any other mysterious ritual that normally went on in the ladies' bathroom. But he had no choice, really: it'd been far too long since his last feeding, and between that and his natural instinct to just nap the winter away, his energy level was dangerously low, so he needed a little pick me up, ASAP.

And the ladies' room, he'd found, was the best place to get a quick fix: Gabriel only needed to hide in one of the stalls, conjure up the illusion of a giant spider and BAM. Instant snack, with high-pitched shrills on the side. But not this time, apparently. No, this time the two girls washing their faces were too focused on their angry rant against Professor Beck to pay his fake Charlotte any mind, not even when he made the spider dance. The girls sounded so genuinely pissed that for a moment Gabe forgot all about his hunger and just listened intently. Apparently Professor Beck hadn't been particularly impressed with Jessica's essay about The Tell-tale Heart, and frankly Gabriel hated the idea that Jessica could be turned off that masterpiece forever just because of a misunderstanding with her teacher. And truth be told, he was looking for a decent meal... Professor Beck was no murderer, but ruining Poe for young minds all over campus was two steps away from a federal offense, as far as he was concerned.

With that thought in mind, Gabriel waited for the two girls to go away and then he left the bathroom. A quick internet search later, he made his way to the professor's office, knowing that she'd probably be inside. He stood in the hallway in front of her door for a few minutes, waiting for the perfect moment and then, when no one else was in sight, he bent down to spy from the keyhole and focused intently, projecting his magic inside the professor's office.

Morgan cherished her office hours no matter what: if any of her students got over their anxiety enough to come visit, she had a chance to get to know them and put in enough help and suggestions to make whatever homework they turned in after more interesting; if they didn’t, she had some time alone to get her work done,  have fewer things to take home, and listen to some her playlists that didn’t get as much airtime around the house. Today was the latter, and Morgan’s only concern was making sure she didn’t write down the lyrics to “Ivy” while she was trying to respond to her students’ questionnaires. There’s no shame in liking Twilight, she wrote, Looking forward to seeing what your thoughts will be when we get to Carmilla! She got through a few more like this, singing along under her breath since the Medievalist Bros were out doing stars only knew what. Her timer went off. Morgan jolted from the switch between Taylor Swift to the X-Files theme, hard enough that one of her earbuds fell out and rattled to the far side of her desk. Morgan chased it with her hand, only then noticing the bright, bleeding heart on her desk.

She yelped with surprise and scanned the room. “Hello? Is this, uh...for me?” Morgan hadn’t seen anyone come in with a special delivery. But then again, whoever had been tasked with it might’ve been too grossed out to ask questions or stick around. Deirdre was usually more discreet than this when she sent presents over, but sometimes she used her promise binding powers to be a little dramatic. Morgan laughed fondly, remembering a small candy box of eyeballs. “Babe, you shouldn’t have…” she sighed, and reached for the snack, which called to her the same way chocolate cake had when she was alive. Morgan reached and--nothing.

Morgan couldn’t stifle her whine of disappointment, but now there were more pressing problems. “Okay,” she called, louder this time and mildly irritated. “Now I know you’re hiding. Come on out!”

Gabriel had to stifle a villainous chuckle (or, well, the closest thing to a villainous chuckle he could muster) as he waited impatiently for the screaming and the flood of energy that'd follow. Alright, maybe a still beating heart was a bit much, but hey, she was a Lit professor, she had to appreciate the poetic justice in that, right? In any case he'd make it up to her somehow, anyone who listened to the X-Files theme couldn't be so bad after all, and...

Gabriel frowned. There was no screaming, no delicious fear. Why was there no fear, the woman had a freaking human heart on her desk! Granted, hearts were fascinating, Gabriel couldn't wait for the embalming classes to start just so he could maybe see one up close, but most people were at least a little squeamish about them. Was Professor Beck actually... Something else? Blood-thirsty murderer? No, it couldn't be: she'd also been listening to TSwift, and most comments he'd read about her on ratemyprofessors.com actually depicted her as a sweet, caring person. Then again, wasn't that what neighbors always said about serial killers? I never thought he'd be capable of something like that, he was always so nice...

The theory was starting to look more promising as Gabriel watched through the keyhole. She was trying to grab the heart, holy crap! And when her hand just passed through the illusion she looked... Disappointed? Gabriel was so confused that it took him a few moments to realize she'd called out to someone, to him. He hesitated. Should he just go away? That would be the wisest course of action, for sure. But then again, if Professor Beck was a serial killer wasn't it his duty to expose her? He, unlike most people, had the means to defend himself against a crazy murderer, after all. And also he was still so hungry. His mind made up, Gabriel took a deep breath and opened her door, his steps far more boisterous than he actually felt.

“I wasn't hiding!” Gabriel mentally slapped himself. Of all the things he could have said, that was going to be his first line to the very first potential serial killer he'd ever met? Lame. And then he added “Dude, you do realize that's a human organ, right? Like, from an actual person. With a hole in their chest. And it's bleeding all over your papers. Doesn't that... Scare you? Please be a little scared, please.” Even just slightly grossed out. And then he realized what he'd just said. “Uh, I mean... That's a human heart, professor.” Hunger was no excuse to ignore someone's academic accomplishments, not even those of a serial killer.

The door opened and Morgan reached for her bag. Salt, knife, iron, they were all still in there, even if she didn’t want to use them. A dozen different possibilities flickered past her head. Was this a trap? A hunter trap? Some magic critter she’d never heard of? Morgan was alone, and if it hadn’t been for her earbud falling out, she might not have heard anyone come in. This world was cruel and bloody and maybe she was an idiot after all for setting aside her combat training---But then the door opened a little wider and there was just a kid. A college kid, twenty-one at most. Not one of hers, although he did have that awkward intellectual vibe that her more enthusiastic boys held. But he didn’t flaunt that archetype like them, he hadn’t finished growing into himself yet. He wore his presence like a suit that hadn’t been tailored yet, a little oversized in some places and a little too tight in others. But maybe he was just flustered, and she was reading too much to give her mind something to do while she came down from the surprise. Morgan looked from him to the phony heart and back again. Scared?

“Uhhh…”

Granted, most people probably would. The Medievalist Bros absolutely would, even though they loved to posture about how ‘sick’ some of their favorite comic books were when it came to gore. But this was White Crest, people were weird, everything was weird. Please be a little scared, please. And it was only then that Morgan remembered the last time she had been startled by illusion magic: in her family’s old haunted house, the day she’d met Nora.

“It’s...so gross. Nasty, ooey, gooey, gross...thing! Aaaah!” Morgan eyed the boy as she tried to scream. But her heart wasn’t in the charade, she was too focused on the idea of there being another Nora in White Crest and what it was about her that made her seem so yummy to them. Sighing, Morgan deflated. “I’m sorry. I actually kind of…like this stuff.” Especially for dessert. “And it’s actually pretty good looking! More true to life than most movies. Actually, I was too caught up in the visual to know it was pulsing, but that is a really great touch. And um….” Oh, stars, he didn’t think she was being patronizing, did he? He was so young, and she didn’t want to crush his confidence. “Look, it’s not you. Really. Anyone more a...well, anyone different from me in this office and you would’ve really had something. And I’m not just saying that! But, if we’re going to be coming clean about our respective supernatural secrets, you should probably come inside and close the door.”

Gabriel appreciated the effort, truly, but Professor Beck's fake groans were doing nothing to quench his thirst for some genuine shivers. And in truth her act could even get him in trouble: someone might pass by, hear a teacher scream (albeit unconvincingly) and think he was attacking her or something. Which he was, technically, but not in a 'this might get you expelled' sort of way. So even though he was still more than a little disappointed his illusion hadn't sorted the desired effect, Gabe let out a sigh of relief when she apologized. And then, listening to her following words, he actually perked up, a tiny smile tentatively making its way on his face. “You really thought it was realistic? It's kinda tricky to really shape them from behind the door, and I focused really hard to get the rhythm right, but I figured it'd be like, uh... Shakespeare! Mess up the beat and the Bard is just not the same, right? Rhythm's important, so...” Gabriel's voice waned as he looked past the warm fuzzy feeling only a straight-A student could get from a teacher's praise and he finally realized exactly what she had said.

Slowly Gabriel took a couple of steps into the office and closed the door behind him, one hand awkwardly flying to rub his neck. “Wait. Respective supernatural secrets?” Wait, not the right word to stress. “Err, I mean- Supernatural secrets? I don't know what you're...” He didn't finish the sentence, he realized no one, lest of all Professor Beck, would ever buy it. Note to self: learn to come up with a decent lie when put on the spot. “Nevermind.” Gabriel blinked, once twice, three times as he felt the awkwardness of that pause weight on him like a heavy blanket. He drew little circles on the floor with the tip of his foot, unable to meet Professor Beck's gaze as he quickly added “Sorry. About the heart. I know you said you liked it -which we're totally gonna go back to eventually by the way... But, uh... Sorry about the intention behind the heart, I guess. I just...” His stomach chose right that moment to rumble loudly. “I'm really hungry.”

Morgan waited until the boy had closed the door and they were well and truly alone. She ached for her magic and good old fashioned silencing charms. Whatever confusion and discomfort she’d had around his trick was gone. He was too clumsy and good-natured for his own hunt. If she had been a hunter or some kind of heartless caster, he might be in a lot more trouble, and he put so much thought into his magic, he was so...eager. Morgan couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a young supernatural so positively engaged with their power and identity. She struggled not to smile as she said, “First of all, you really need to have your cover story in place before you do anything that might make a normie ask questions. You never know who’s going to turn out to be a hunter or an alarmist. You and I are fine, and I know you didn’t mean anything by it, but that may not always be the case.” She gestured for him to sit and reached into her bag for her pyrex, which had her brain stash, and her knife.

“Secondly, yes. The animal hearts I’ve seen are a little more purple-y, than that but not by much, and your average normie is definitely not going to notice any difference. And the texture of the blood? Amazing. We can and will circle back and it probably won’t take long because thirdly…” She eyed him warily. If anyone was going to not be terrified of what she was, it would be this kid, right? Nora hadn’t minded any, and whoever this boy was, he had her kind of fear magic. He thought bleeding hearts were cool, so maybe a whole zombie body might be something to feel excited about. Or at least...not something to flee in panic over. “Thirdly, first rule of supernatural club is you don’t talk about other people’s powers or species or whatever else without asking them. So I’m keeping this snack attack between you and me--well, I’ll tell my girlfriend, but I’ll leave anything specific to you out of it--and you’ll do the same for me. I uh, can’t help your food front, yet, but I can show you something about me that you might find….” Cool? “...Interesting.”

Morgan couldn’t help it; she smiled, she hoped. “How are you with real-life body horror? And how much would you like to see a real zombie…?”

Gabriel's fingers had a little spasm, desperate for a pen and a notepad. It was an automatic response, atavistic almost: when a teacher spoke, you took notes, and you listened and you learned. And man, was class fascinating today! Gabriel nodded, although part of him was so desperate to tell Professor Beck she didn't need to worry: he could become a 10 feet bundle of muscles and claws, he could defend himself. Then he remembered all those times his roommate had managed to draw penises on his face while he was snoring, and he realized that even an 800 lbs monster, when asleep, could easily be poisoned, suffocated, paralyzed... “Cover story is important, got it.”

As Professor Beck described the ideal heart, Gabriel tried to summon up a good image of it, but the result was somehow worse than the first one: less tangible, the heart illusion floated behind the professor, ghastly and practically see-through, such a pathetic attempt that he made it disappear without even showing the Professor. Gabriel frowned: why couldn't he do it anymore? Was it because he was running out of energy and needed a good scare? Or maybe it was because now he knew the Professor wasn't afraid of hearts, so his illusions would no longer be able to summon a heart for her? He would ask mami later, Gabe promised to himself: she was no bugbear, but with his father still doing his disappearing act she was the only one that had been able to give him any sort of info about those things. Until now.

“So basically supernatural powers or species is sort of like...” Gabriel paused, looked for the right metaphor, and then he perked up again. “S&M! Nothing inherently wrong with it, but some people don't really get or understand it so you gotta respect someone's choice to keep it on the DL.” Immediately he paled. Had he really just said that? To a professor? “Not that I know anything about S&M! I mean, that's not the point, the point is... Respect people's privacy, got it. I won't tell anyone about you, I swear.” Once again, Gabriel nodded solemnly, hoping that his awkwardness wouldn't make her doubt his sincerity as he raised his right hand up and made that promise, an oath he fully intended to keep.

Luckily for Gabriel, Professor Beck's next question brought the conversation back to a topic that was far more comfortable to him. “Body horror? Puh-lease! I'm majoring in Mortuary Science and yesterday I fell asleep watching The Hills Have Eyes... think I can handle some gor- Woah, wait, back up...” While during the rest of the conversation Gabriel's eyes had darted around the room, dancing between captive attention and awkward embarrassment , now they landed solely on the Professor, rudely staring. Normally Gabriel would have apologized about that, but all he could focus on right then was...“Did you just say... Zombie?” If the giant grin and wide-eyed excitement on his face didn't answer her doubts, the excited twitching probably would.

Morgan snorted with laughter at the boy’s comparison. More people knew about her species than the particulars of how she and her girlfriend frequently enjoyed sex together, and she didn’t know of anyone who was maimed for having a ball gag in their purse, but he was on the right track. “Oh, of course you don’t, totally just stuff you’ve heard around the dorms, strictly abstract, intellectual curiosity.” Her smile was knowing as she waved away the subject. There were a lot of things she was willing to speak to that other professors weren’t, but this wasn’t one of them.

The boy had put her so much at ease with his enthusiasm, she almost forgot to warn him. “What’s your name, by the way? This feels like a weird thing to demonstrate to just some kid in my office. But, anyway, brace yourself.” Morgan’s words were for herself too. It had been a while since she’d shown anyone this particular part of herself on purpose. She reached for the knife on her desk and raised it over her hand. She closed her eyes and imagined she was chopping carrots as she brought it down swiftly over her fingers.

There was a bite of pain, enough to make her whimper, but there were no tears, and by the time she opened her eyes and scooped up the two severed fingers to give to the boy, fresh white bone had sprouted from the sockets and red muscle and purple sinew were braiding themselves over it. The severed fingers did not bleed, per se, but dripped a few globs of black blood where they had been cut, but only when squeezed, like tube of toothpaste. “These’ll keep for about a day or two, if you want to stick them somewhere for somebody to find,” she said. “After that, they turn to goo.”

“Gabriel Rivera. Swear on mami's snake, I usually introduce myself before sharing secrets, but in my defense... Zombie.” There was still a hint of amazed incredulity in that last word, but any lingering doubt he may still have was quickly cut down with that swing of the Professor's knife. No matter how comfortable as Gabriel was watching gory movies or even studying the theory of preserving corpses, he still flinched out of concern for Professor Beck more than squeamishness. It was just a moment, and then he was back to enthusiastic curiosity. Without hesitation he grabbed the fingers and held them close to his face, squeezing a little and even sniffing them. He stopped short of tasting the dark blood and, after a few moments of enraptured studying, he looked up at the Professor again. “Did it hurt? Are you okay? Will they grow back?” She seemed pretty unfazed by the fact someone else was holding bits and pieces of her, though, so the questions continued rapidly, before she could answer. “Have you ever tried preserving them? I could stea- Borrow some embalming fluid from the lab and... Wait, is that offensive? Asking if I can keep your finger in a jar must be rude, I'm sorry. But just... Look at 'em!”

Gabriel traced the tip of her fingers with morbid fascination before closing his whole hand around them, like protecting some precious treasure. The Professor's words registered a second later. “Stick them somewhere for somebody? Wait, so you're saying you're not going to tell me I shouldn't scare people?” Not that he wanted to scare anyone, really, he just had to, as the waves of exhaustion made themselves known again. “Because I get it, it's not exactly nice. And, uh, I'd totally understand if you were upset about the heart or if, at the very least, you wanted me to just... Not scare people on campus. And I can totally do that, no feeding on school grounds is a reasonable rule! But since we're being so open I'll be honest.” Gabriel paused, a hint of guilt tinging his next words. “If you let me keep these I definitely will hide them somewhere. Pretty soon, too. And then I'll feed from whoever finds them. Kinda hoping it'll be Baker, since he's kind of an assh- A jerk. And then, after he runs away terrified and I'm no longer hungry I'll swoop in and retrieve them because I don't want the cops to close down the school to investigate your fingers. No need for a cover story if no one is the wisest, right?” Truth be told, Gabriel was proud of himself: between the pangs of hunger and the excitement of the Professor's revelations he thought it quite impressive that he'd managed to think ahead like that. Apparently moms with babies under cars had adrenaline bursts, teacher's pets trying to impress their new favorite Professor had bright ideas. “So, uh, if you want Baker to not see a severed finger maybe just...” It visibly pained him to finish that sentence and offer the fingers back, but he still did. “...Take 'em.”

“Yes, Gabriel, it hurt,” Morgan admitted, “But not to the same degree it would hurt you. And--” She waggled her hand in front of him. All the muscle had regrown on her once severed fingers and fresh skin was slowly growing from the knuckles upwards. “I’m fine. No need or interest in preservation. I can regrow anything but my head, which is great, because I can’t begin to tell you how many times my feet have been eaten by hungry critters here.” She determinedly kept up her blasé attitude, because at least this time she was in charge of what happened to her body. She didn’t need to feel like food or remember that to some creatures, even some people, she was only a thing. This was different. At least she and Gabriel were the same, and he understood the distinction between who she was and what she could do.

Satisfied, Morgan opened her pyrex and popped a brain meatball into her mouth, swirling it in some eyeball puree first. It would speed the re-growing process along and get the taste of fresh heart out of her head. “I should probably mention, the reason I wasn’t scared was because I kind of eat dead organs for dessert. Not really nutritious, but neither are candy bars, and that’s never stopped humans before. It’s like that.” She waved away Gabriel’s hand as he ate, insisting he keep the rather unconventional gift she’d handed him. “Oh, stars, what do you think I am? You’re, what, nineteen, maybe twenty? You’re a college kid, you need to eat! Granted, on campus is a big risk. But I understand that you need this.” And this gave her an idea. She scarfed down the rest of her food and ducked her head out of the office door. No one around, but there were some murmurs from the lower floors. Another class period had ended, and the Medievalist Bros’ lunch break was probably ending soon.

Morgan turned back to Gabriel, brow arched with a friendly challenge. “How do you feel about sticking a zombie finger inside a candy bar wrapper and telling a TA who still needs to respect women more that it came from a secret admirer?” She asked. “This will be easier if you have cash, but I don’t think my snack was so big that I can’t bust through some glass for a good cause. You can still save the other one for Baker. Also, side note, I really respect how fast you learn. But whatever you’re comfortable with, you should decide quickly, because my guess is we’ve got about five minutes to pull this off.”

Zombies were fascinating. Gabriel briefly wondered if there were any zombies working on movie sets, donating their limbs to get that perfect decomposing tint on the thousands of severed hands flying around during movies with a chainsaw-wielding maniac as the main character. Gabriel tried to listen to all the cool facts Professor Beck was spouting, but honestly it was hard for him not to get sidetracked by the gross, slopping noise of brains and smushed eyeballs being chewed. Not that it grossed Gabe out: he was actually memorizing it for his Scare Bank. “I'm 20,” He answered almost distractedly, with a small chuckle. “I only look younger thanks to my healthy diet.” Part of him was dying to ask about her diet: if organ snacks didn't cut it then what? Was the brain myth accurate? How come she was so present, so alert and aware? She moved like a living person, talked like one as well... Had she not claimed the title for herself Gabriel would have never guessed she was a zombie, not even after seeing her gulp down raw mashed livers. But something told him that was not a first meeting question, and the last thing he wanted was to upset the professor, so he kept those questions to himself. For now.

Gabriel's grin grew into a mischievous smirk as he listened to the Professor's plan. “Say no more, misogynistic dic- douchebags are my favorite meal! And it'll be the best two bucks I ever spent!” Acquiring the snack was easy, just a quick trip to the closest vending machine and back to her office, bless consumerism. Unwrapping the snack without tearing the plastic apart was a little bit trickier, but Gabriel was not going to ask the Professor to help, not after what she'd already done for him. Gabriel had finally managed to put one of the fingers inside the colorful wrapping. Not perfect, but hopefully the TA wouldn't notice. “Ready to go, just point me in that guy's direction and watch the magic happen.” He sounded more confident than he actually felt, but this time Gabriel's usual self-doubting and insecurities weren't enough to sully his excitement. “Also, do you want the candy? I'm not sure if you even can eat it. For all I know it's poisonous for you, like chocolate for dogs, and I definitely don't want to poison you.” The wrapped fingers almost fell as Gabe flailed and rushedly added “Not that I'm comparing you to a dog!!! And even if I did, hello, bear here! But, uh, what I mean is... You've been great, and I kinda feel like I owe you, so if you want candy it's all yours.” Another long pause. “Speaking of how great you've been, is this... Common for you? The whole reveal thing? Because it's a skill that might come in handy one day, really so I was wondering if I could maybe... Ask for your advice every now and then. Office hours only, of course!”

Morgan grinned, ducked her head out of the office door to listen. “Even better than that,” she whispered. She grabbed one of the spare chairs and tucked it near her own. “Have a seat here, and uh…” She grabbed one of the books stacked around her work and put it in front of Gabriel. “Look busy, or borrow it to read, if you want, I’ve got way more copies than I should really have.” She huddled near him. “The guy in question might be one of the people I share this office space with, so you can probably watch your handiwork play out if you really want. But, this is your scare, so you can do all the talking. Also, you can keep the candy. It’s not toxic, but it also doesn’t taste like much of anything to me.” She shrugged.

The TAs had made it to the hallway, making plans on how they were going to humiliate the competition on their next co-op game and how they were going to bribe the Anthro Babe into going out with Jeryn.

Morgan rushed herself, whispering rapid-fire, “And uh, about the reveals, I’ve only been dead nine months and I was a little depressed and graceless when I talked to my friends about it. I’ve been trying to work on it more recently, but you’re the first person I’ve told this month who didn’t feel the need to immediately run away. And I only made them check for my non-existent pulse.” She shrugged haplessly. “But, hey! Being dead is really different than eating fear. Maybe--”

Jeryn and his tweed wearing bros burst through the door.

“Maybe you should spend a little more time developing this post-colonial theory you’ve got!” Morgan turned to the TA’s, smiling sweetly. “Gentlemen. Nice to see you back.”

The shyest of the bunch flinched back, still traumatized from the time Morgan had threatened him with bloody murder. But Jeryn, the newest recruit to the program, was unphased. “Good day to you too, my lady. No girlfriend today? I came back early just to see you two.”

Morgan bit back her retort. Whatever she had to say wasn’t going to be nearly as satisfying as what Gabriel was going to do.

Gabriel sat down with his eyes glued to the book, but his mind was busy wrapping around Professor Beck's words. I've only been dead nine months. What do you say to something like that? The Grief Counseling classes included in his major often discussed how to talk to the family members of the deceased, the proper way to offer your condolences while keeping the professional detachment needed to help them through the trying process of accepting a loss, and yet Gabe had no clue regarding the proper etiquette to adress someone who had died. Luckily the door opened and spared him the awkwardness of replying.

When the TAs entered Gabriel was reminded of his high school's football team, only with tweed instead of letter jackets. Any hint of guilt he might have had at the fact he was about to scare, maybe even traumatize a young man was dissipated the moment Jeryn opened his mouth. Gabriel didn't need to look at the professor to recognize the target.

“Wait, it's you!” Gabriel did his best to sound surprised and annoyed at the same time as he stood up and approached Jaryn. “I thought Linda was making stuff up, but man you are something! Linda Blair, you know her?” Jaryn blinked. “The name sounds familiar, but I can't quite pla-” Gabe interrupted him. “She's been auditing your classes and just won't shut up about you, says her fingers literally fell off from refreshing your Facebook page.” As he spoke, Gabriel pretended to dig through his pocket for something, and after a few moments he produced the fake snack. “When I told her I had an appointment with Professor Beck she basically begged me to give you this. Think she wrote her number on it or something. Apparently the way you treated her made her feel things she just can't ignore, and she just has to meet you... Women, am I right?” The wink he offered Jaryn made him feel dirty inside, but it was for a good cause.

Everything on Jaryn's face seemed to scream 'Is she hot?' and sensing his reluctance Gabriel retreated his hand and started to tear the wrapper, raising it to his mouth as if to take a bite. It took all his effort not to gag as putrescine and cadaverine (They were decomposing already? So cool) assaulted his nose, but somehow Gabriel managed to keep his poker face on as he said “Hey, don't worry, you don't have to accept! I mean, honestly I was thinking about asking her out myself, so I was kinda hoping you wouldn't be here, I can tell her I-” Jaryn basically ripped the 'candybar' away from Gabe. “No need, kid. It'd be rude to refuse a thoughtful gift from... What was her name again?”

“Look inside...”

The female voice echoed through the office, repeating the name over and over, punctuating it with the occasional forlorn sigh. Gabriel's eyes were closed as he channeled his energy into the magic. “What the...?!” Jaryn and the other TAs looked around, tense. The more their panic grew, the easier it was for him to add whistles and bells to the trick. “Look what you did to me...” Jaryn turned to stare at the Professor, confusion and nervousness painted all over his pale face. “What's the meaning of this, Profe-” The door slammed shut. Or rather, the door sounded like it had been slammed shut, though it was all part of the illusion.

“LOOK!”

When a ghastly, disembodied voice barks an order at you, you obey. Or at least that seemed to be Jaryn's thought process. He went above and beyond the call of duty and clumsily tore the wrapper, revealing the two fingers inside. Gabriel had to hide a smirk. The smell of decomposition assaulted everyone in the room, magically enhanced by Gabe's illusions, and the sticky dark ooze coming out from the fingers added a layer of realism to the image of copious amounts of blood running down from the severed extremity. Gabe's magic couldn't give it weight or make Jaryn's hands actually wet, but Professor Beck's impeccable prop did the work for him. Jaryn's face paled and his terror... Man, his terror was prime. Gabe even let out a satisfied hum, almost a cat-like purr as he absorbed their fear, sharp and vibrant and oh-so-filling. After a few long moments Jaryn dropped the fingers inside a sizable pool of fake, intangible blood that had collected at his feet. Almost as if that were the signal they were all waiting for, the TAs snapped out of their petrified terror and trampled each other in a clumsy race to the door, their screams echoing across the hallways as they ran from the office.

With a satisfied sigh, Gabriel picked up the fingers, rubbed his belly and turned to the Professor, finally breaking down into a laughter that took a while to die down. Normally he would never be so informal around a teacher, but man he always felt ready to take on the world after an all-you-can-eat buffet like that. “So... Was it as good for you as it was for me?”

Morgan did her best to keep her face straight, even disinterested, as Gabriel summoned the disembodied voice of a young woman into the room. She opened her laptop, watching Jeryn’s reflection through the screen. When he called out to her she looked at him confused. “What?”

The voice cried for everyone in the room to look, and Morgan, her face still bland and innocent as before, did. She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself steady. His scream, shrill, throaty, and desperate, must have echoed through the entire hall.

“Aw, guys! What happened?” She called. “Come back, are you okay?”

When she could only hear their footsteps thundering to the bathroom, Morgan finally let out all the laughter she’d been holding in, tipping in her seat and covering her mouth to stop from getting any louder. “Are you kidding me? Gabe! That was amazing! I mean, the way his eyes looked like they wanted to melt! He sounded like a little kid when he screamed too! I’d be surprised if one of them didn’t piss themselves! Oh, stars, I can’t wait to tell him he screamed over a plastic toy when he comes back. This is way better than anything I could’ve done on my own. Seriously, you were--” She shook her head, speechless, and offered her hand up for a high five.

“Hang onto those so you can grab dinner tonight, or dessert,” she said, pointing to the fingers. “They won’t be any good after tomorrow, and I’d rather them go to a good cause than Besides, I can trust a fellow supernatural to look after them, right?” She smiled fondly at Gabriel, already certain that she could. “And, in case it wasn’t clear, I’m really glad you showed up to my office. I think you’d also like my lit seminar, but I hope this isn’t the last time I see you either way.”

Gabriel shook his head vehemently. He wasn't going to take all the credit, he was raised better than that. “Listen, you're the only reason it worked so well, it had weight! Lots of people can take the sight of horrible stuff because, well... TV, I think. But the feel of holding a severed piece of a human bo--teacher?! CSI can't prepare you for that.” Gabe nodded solemnly at his own words, as if he was the teacher and she the student. And then he finally realized her position. Was that a... Holy crap, it was. An actual high five! From a professor! It was almost surreal, but he'd promised to himself long ago he'd never leave anyone hanging. The high-five echoed through the office, to his ears even louder than his own illusions, and his huge grin threatened to split his face in half.

“I'm glad I showed up, too! Though now I better go, I kinda don't want them to come back and find me still here...” Truth be told, part of Gabriel was dying to just stay and ask her all sort of questions about herself, but he still wasn't sure he could trust himself not to put his foot in his mouth and ruin what felt like the luckiest meal of his life. “Oh, and by all means, mail me the deets on the seminar because I am so there...” It was only then that he realized, once more, that this was not one of his peers, this was a teacher, he shouldn't be so casual with her. Yet something about her demeanor had managed to put him at ease from the first moment, to the point where it was hard not to file the Professor under the Potential Friends category in his mind. Maybe, just maybe, that's exactly where she belonged.

[dolanssunshine]

𝗨𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. | 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗜𝗜

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: None.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ: 1732

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

   IT'S DAY TWO of the guys, and I taking a road trip up to Lake Tahoe. Ethan and a couple of friends, and I will go on a hike on the house's hiking trail. After I got dressed, I waited for Ethan, who takes at least an hour to get dressed every morning. Finally, when he came out of his room, we left for the woods.

  We walked up and down hills, and I had to hear Ethan complain the entire time.

"Honestly, Grayson, was this necessary?" Ethan asked as we walked up a hill.

"Yes, it was." I answered him making our friends laugh.

"No, it wasn't. This is ridiculous; my legs hurt, and I think I have poison ivy," Ethan complained.

"Stop being a little bitch, and come on." I accused jokingly, walking ahead of him.

  The further we walked, the more I enjoyed being in the wild. Ethan and I, along with two of our friends, continued to walk on the trail when I look up to see the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. She had a gorgeous face, dark hair tied into a high ponytail, yoga pants that hugged her curves, and a nice size pair of boobs on her. I couldn't help but stare as the girl smiles at what her friends were saying. As we got closer, she looks up, and our eyes meet. I realized she's the girl that's staying in the house across the lake.

   I didn't even realize Ethan or my friends were calling me until Ethan snaps his fingers in my face. "What?"

"Why are you staring at that girl so hard?" He wondered bemusedly. If he followed my line of vision, he would see who I'm averting my eyes at her.

"Do you not see her? How can I not stare at her? She's gorgeous, bro." I crooned. This girl is a sight to see.

"Go talk to her." One of my friends urges me.

"Nah." I shook my head.

"Bro, she's right there; just go say hey." Ethan chuckled, patting me on the shoulder.

  Letting out a heavy sigh, I nodded. As I was about to walk over to the girl, she beat me to it.

"Well, look who we have here." Her angelic voice beams.

"It's the Dolan Twins." The girl with long dark hair next to her smiles.

"We are such fans of you guys. You two are funny." My angel from above laughs.

"Uh, thanks." I hear Ethan stutter out.

"Well, I'll let you guys go on. You probably want to explore nature and things like that, so I'll let you guys be." My angel smiles and walks away.

  Before she got too far, I stopped her. "Hey, wait."

   She stops and turns around. "Yea?"

"Aren't you the girl who moved into the big house across the lake?" I inquired, unsure.

"Yes, why?" She questions, nodding.

"We're staying in the smaller cabin across the lake from you." I hesitated nervously.

"No way." One of her friends laughs.

"Yea." I nodded.

"Well, since we're neighbors of somewhat...how would you guys like to come to hang out with us. The guys are barbecuing; we're going to try out the jet skis; it'll be fun." My angel explains to me.

  I turned to look back at Ethan and our friends, and they all nodded in agreement. "Sure, we'll be there."

"Awesome." She smiles before walking away.

   As I watched her walk away, I wanted her to stay to hear her voice. I turned to walk with Ethan and our friends, who patted my back, cheering. Finally, we made it back to the cabin and showered before we got in the car and drove to the house across the lake. There were a couple of guys riding on the jet skis as the girls watched. From where I stood, I can see the girl I ran into laying in the sun.

   The sun made her skin look faultless. It seems like she's lustrous, in my opinion. So many thoughts were running in my head at how good she looks.

"Snap out of it." Ethan laughs, snapping his fingers in my face.

"Asswipe," I grumbled, shaking my head.

𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

 I laid with Rachael and Nyeli, sun tanning on the dock, when Rachael taps my arm, pointing behind us. Sitting straight up, I turn to see none other than the Dolan Twins and their friends talking with the guys. Boy, does Grayson look good with the way the sun made his skin look? So many dirty things are run him through my head right now. How is it possible to look that godly?

"Holy greek god, he looks good." I gasped, looking him up and down.

"So does Ethan." Rachael attracted, biting her bottom lip.

"You girls are something else." I hear Nyeli laugh as she shakes her head.

"Let us lust in peace." Rachael jokes, rolling her eyes.

"Yea, let us lust in peace," I said to Nyeli in a chiding tone.

  As the guys continue to talk to the twins, my eyes never left Grayson; I couldn't take my eyes off Grayson Bailey Dolan. The things I could do to him if given a chance, I'd run my tongue all down his sculpted body down to his - okay, let me stop. Tearing my eyes away from him, I placed my sunglasses on my face and laid down in the sun. Thirty minutes passed, and some of the guys were in the water with the girls on the jet skis.

"Hey, Mandy, come join me on the jetski," Rachael says, waving me over.

  Rolling my eyes, I stood up and walked into the water, and hopped on the jetski behind Rachael. One of the guys pushed us into the water further, and Rachael turns on the jetski then takes off. I held onto my best friend's waist as she makes left and right turns. As the wind blew in my face, I could see on the dock Grayson and his brother staring at us. We laughed, going around on the jetski racing against Summer and Nyeli.

  The four of us laughed while getting off the jetskis as we walked on land.

"That's was so fun." Summer giggles.

"Hell yea." Rachael agreed.

  We sat on the balcony on the back of the house, looking over the beautiful scenery.

"You know he was staring at you," Rachael commented, nudging my with her arm.

"Who? Grayson?" I questioned.

"Yea, I saw that too." Nyeli nods.

"Oh, I guess," I spoke sheepishly, shrugging my shoulders.

"Now, you know you felt something when you noticed that." My best friend tells me.

"I'm not gonna say I did, but I don't even know him," I answer her honestly as I shrugged.

"So, just because you don't know him, it doesn't mean you can't feel anything for him," Rachael states shaking her head.

  Rolling my eyes, we continue talking until the guys called us down to roast some marshmallows. As we sat around the fire, everyone talked with each other.

"I'm so glad we can get away from school," Adam groans, head titled back.

"For real, I was so exhausted with all the essays," I agree, nodding my head, biting into my s’more.

𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

   Even when she speaks, it sounds like music to my ears. Her voice is sweet and velvety smooth. I watched her talk with her friends smiling. Man, her smile is even beautiful. The way her cheeks look chubby made her look even cuter.

  Wait, Grayson, you don't even know her name. I can still admire her beauty.

"Hey, what's that girl's name?" I asked one of the guys.

"Who?" Joel, whose name I found out earlier, asked.

"The one in the white shirt," I answered, trying not to stare.

"That's Amanda. Why you like her?" Another boy named Adam smirks.

"What? N-No, she's the one who invited us." I replied as my cheeks turned red.

"Oh, when they went hiking this morning?" Joel's friend Gabriel questions.

"Yea," I answer, nodding.

"Well, yea, her name is Amanda, and the girl to her right is Rachael." Joel nods.

"Is she single?" My friend Jace inquires.

"Why don't you ask her," Adam replies, laughing.

"You think I should?" Jace asked my brother and me.

"You don't want to seem...desperate or thirsty." Our other friend Heath tells him.

"You're right." Jace nods.

  As we're talking, I notice Amanda glancing at me up and down before talking with her friends. The things this girl does to me, and I barely know her. She might be the one for me.

"So, are all of you in college?" Heath wondered, looking at Joel.

"Yea, we are." Gabriel nods.

"What classes are they taking?" Ethan questions referring to Amanda and Rachael.

"Business management." Adam answers.

"They want to open a business together," Joel replies, nodding.

"That's cool," I commented.

"Yea, that is." My brother agrees.

"What kind of business do they want to open together?" I asked him curiously.

"I think a restaurant because Amanda's grandma is a fantastic cook, and she wants to et her food out there," Gabriel explains.

  I nodded my head understanding what he explained. Not only is she beautiful she's smart and knows what she wants in life.

𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

   The campfire is going well. Grayson kept sending me glances which made me feel nervous inside. I had to admit it, though. He's so gorgeous, with the shadow from the fire illuminated his chiseled, handsome face. Anais and Rachael look at me and wiggle their eyebrows.

"Stop," I whisper in their ear.

"Girl, you know he looks fine." Rachael mischievously grins.

"I know that." I pointed out.

   It would be embarrassing if he found out I have a slight — no, a massive crush on him when he doesn't even know who I am, besides my name. I'd probably die if he finds out and confronts me.

[benevadeca]

finally finished carmen!! thoughts abt it

player saying his "mom and dad" and me and my friend collectively groaning like! he has two moms!! sorry you're just wrong about this. his little gay laptop sticker tho :)c and he is. how old he is remains a mystery that shall never be discovered

boys night!!! ivy impersonating a very serious german lady uncannily. and i love them.

they sure did put a bit abt malstrom almost letting coach brunt get murdered for real and abandoning her and ADMITTING to it and then never followed up huh. i get they were rushed to wrap everything up within the season and were just kinda flinging plot elements into a wall but GOD

i got spoiled that the ending was disappointing and yeah :( carmen u rly left ur found family w a NOTE to find yr absent biological family like. girl i know you have issues but the moral you are sending to children. carmen what about zack and ivy who worried abt you for MONTHS

ok but the 6 MONTH time skip?? like every season happens and im like its been at least a few months right and its always like no everything happened This Week and im like bro.....also the whole condensing carmen's motivations into "she's an empath :)" what the fuck was that about. like i know children's shows rly go hard on the black and white morality and have never heard of nuance but.

actually i have more on that. the scene w malstrom milking his coffee when gray is like "yr evil" "i prefer to see the world in shades of grey" you LITERALLY call yrselves the evil villain league.

and again, carmen!! her motivations are so much more nuanced than "she's an empath" like it's because she was raised in a caring environment, however fucked up she later realized it it was, and grew to have genine connections with others. she grew up in a stable and caring environment, however misguided, and she learnt from a young age about care and value and about even the VILE-mindset of taking what you want from the world, even of privledge. but she made all of those things her own! and always had interest and care and openness to the world around her! i mean she didn't just turn against her original found family for completely do-good reasons, she as a scared resentful kid who was lied to for the majority of her life, and she's reckless and stubborn and wants to do everything on her own, and also even when she was stopping VILE (esp s1 era) she still like. had mixed feelings bc she rly did think of them as her family! it was kind of her own way of both rebelling and trying almost to? steer them into something better? like a "if you won't change for me i won't change for you" but she DOES want them to change! anyway again, nuance! her moral compass yes directed her to becoming carmen sandiego, but it wasn't the driving force really. there were layers!

oh how very little i care about gray. he really said "the only thing i've ever regretted was hurting you" YOU ALMOST KILLED A GUY!!!! like i'm glad you have one redeeming emotion or something but oh how you are just boring

also his VILE interview "opera is boring" BITCH! if he was a theater kid let's just say this never would've happened and he would've been a lot more interesting but as is he is really is just some guy

CHASE. i gotta say while a lot of the early scenes w chase during the first few seasons dragged on he really has become mr. i believe in female supremacy. he really is the most dynamic character of the show. we love one man with a character arc. also it really is just the Chase Devineux show like every time he appears it's rly HIS show that's happening. we were joking abt it but him meeting not-catra in egypt and her being like "remember me?" and him like ??? until he's >:0 !!! is so funny. this is HIS dramatic confrontation to save julia.

also wow. zari :) this is the zari show actually

that one fucking?? scene with shadowsan doing martial arts and it slows down and the music and everything else changes genres for a moment. wtf was that. i joked that actually everyone is living in a different genre and then immediately coach bulldozed through the boat into the ice wall and THEN got slingshotted into the air by a teeter-totter move like a fucking looney tune character. she is wiley e coyote is what i'm saying.

every scene w/ cleo and/or bellum :) gay people

[anothertimdrakestan]

Set In Stone - Losing It All

The big finale! 

If this is the first of this series you’re seeing click HEREI put a read more so these don’t eat up my entire blog! Enjoy <3

“I’ll do it! I’m a hero I have powers doesn’t that count! Plus it would ruin Tim and Bart for the rest of their lives, pick me.” You sat up straight as Azores stopped for a moment to think. “Ah, it would be just too good for you to know you tried, can’t have you conscious free can we! So, I suppose you can have a swig, but let’s make the boys watch shall we?” In seconds Tim and Bart were trapped by a multitude of plants but were coming out of their daze. Azores waltzed up to you, handing you the vial. “Anything you don’t drink goes to one of your precious boys” you nodded, looking at Tim one last time. Your ears were ringing so you couldn’t hear Bart screaming apologies or Tim begging for Azores to let him drink the poison.

Before you could lift the drink to your lips a blinding flash of light interrupted you, and two figures appeared next to you, one of which smacked the vial to the ground. “Ooh girl we are too pretty to die so young!” one squealed and the other had Azores crumpling to the ground just with her stare. You looked up to meet the one who had just saved you in the eyes and a mirror imagine of you stared back. “Dude I am so proud! Dad’s gonna be wowed that we still found a way to be a hero even in this shitshow!” she bet down, mumbling something about rewriting the future then everything holding you down disappeared into thin air. 

The other carbon copy of you was chastising Azores, “I cannot believe you would use your abilities for evil! Do you not know that you’re gonna lead heroes against the mode someday? Not with these nasty ass vines and shit, but I can help you with that!” You watched in awe as she placed her hands on her temple, just like you do when you’re using your powers, and she said “Azores Ivy I’m rewriting your future, taking away your abilities until you learn their true purpose. Now leave” Azores shakily stood up, clenching her fists trying to summon her powers but there truly was nothing there. 

“Holy shit am I high?” Bart squeaked at one of your look alikes. “No babe- I mean Bart, you’re just fine!” The other Y/N shot her a dirty look, “no flirting with this world’s Bart do you see me going after Tim? No ma’am!” they laughed a little while your head spun. 

Freed from your restraints you sprung up, rushing to Tim and Bart while your twins followed you. “Y/N why would you try to sacrifice yourself for us! What were you thinking?!” Tim cupped your cheek trying to scold you through the happy tears cascading down his cheeks. “She did it because she’s a hero. She knew the future was more important than her own life, that’s what makes her one of us” A Y/N came up beside you and began explaiining, “you know this subconsciously so I’m only here to unlock it but just let me explain then it will all make sense” she placed a hand on the side of your head, and images flashed before your eyes as she narrated. 

“Fate, our lovely father gave his gifts to his three children, Past, Present, and Future, I’m sure it’s easy to guess who is who. Each verson of his three children take care of their earth, securing it’s place in the multiverse using the powers he has given each of us. For the future it’s a power that should only be in the hands of a selfless hero, a person willing to give it all for the best of world. So, Fate set up a test, a series of decisions that would weed out the deserving Future’s from the one’s who were too selfish to be able to change the world around them. You heard me right, change the future. We work with Past and Present to determine the parts of life that have to happen then it is our jobs to make the tweaks happen, thus fufilling Fate’s wishes. This world was set up in a way that Fate deemed unfair, he felt he didn’t give you enough choice but you found a selfless way out, so we’re here to unlock the rest of your abilities.”

The information hit you like a bus. Tim and Bart were asking a million questions but the other Y/N stopped them. “The future is never set in stone, you have to be willing to risk your life to change it though, which means it’s time you tweak your future girl!” You dove into the future, noticing how what once seemed stuck forever now seemed maluable and fixable. You moved to the future that promised the death of one of your best friends. To undo the future felt like pulling apart knots and leaving the string ready to be weaved with new decisions. As you unraveled the last knot you watched the two imagines of your weddings fade slowly until they were gone, the only thing truly set in stone was the ability to choose and change, it was far more comfoting than the impending doom. 

“I think I did it” you whispered, pulling yourself back to reality realizing your head didn’t pound with pain like it used to. “Welcome to the future, Future” the multiverse Y/N smiled at you. Tim and Bart were safe at your side, each being flirted with by one of your multiverse copies. “Well, we did it! Can I go back to my Bart now?” the two turned to you, preparing to leave. “Remember you can come hang anytime! This was fun, you free next month? I heard there’s an Earth where everyone is dressed in the 90s and Conner Kent is supposed to be really hot and Fate can’t come after three of us right!” you agreed to coffee, your mind barely comprehending that there was a multidide of you’s running around defending their Barts and Tims, but you finally felt at peace, like the final puzzle piece had been slid into place. 

“Dude that Y/N was totally into me!” Bart exclaimed after they’d left, it was just you, Tim, and Bart. “Bro you have the worst taste in girls, Azores literally almost killed us” Tim groaned. “Yeah but now if I die Y/N can just fix the future up!” Bart grinned, “that’s not how it works B, I make little tweaks to smooth out the timeline, pretty sure I can’t just rewrite in an entire human!” you laughed, imagining the kind of tying and untying you’d have to do. “At least we’re all here!” Tim squeezed your hand. “Don’t run off and fall in love with aanother hero okay? Fate or not I want you with me” you blushed as Tim stared at you with nothing but love as Bart faked a gag. “Nothing is set in stone” you teased Tim as he pouted, “kidding love bird, you know you’re my future!” you poked Tim. “Oh my god Y/N tell me who I’m gonna marry!” Bart interrupted your moment with Tim. “Again Bart, not really the purpose of my powers.”

“So then what do you even do with them?!?”

“I don’t think I fully know yet, but I’ve finally got a hell of a lot of time to find out”

~and that’s the end! I loved making this I really hope you enjoyed! Be sure if this was your first time to give it another go! If it was your first time you made some damn good choices! Go watch Bart die or something you deserve it you selfless wonder! Anyways, thank you for giving this series a go, it means a lot to me. If you have any feedback be sure to send me a message anon or not idc! <333 ~

[mysamcedesmadness]

So, What Are We Doing This Summer?

It was called to my attention that Henry's age was confirmed as 17 in either the Frittle episode or his birthday episode (I've not repeatedly watched those, so I didn't remember), which would either put them in their senior year or put Henry as a graduating 18 year old next year, which does happen, so I'll go with that.

Also, for some reason, all of the italics and bolds and such disappear whenever I paste to Tumblr. I honestly don’t feel like redoing tonight, but the ffnet post has them, for various emphasis on words and stuff, if that’s a better read for you.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13274210/7/So

So, What Are We Doing This Summer?

There was no Sweet Sixteen thing that she wanted to do. To be fair, her parents wanted to throw her something and invite her friends over, but she just wanted a nice dinner, some cake, maybe a museum trip and to look over college packets. Last birthday, she went to a show that she wanted to see with her friends, but it was such a hectic night that she almost didn't get to see it.

That's how plans with the friends tended to go. Unexpected and hectic. So, Sweet Sixteen, she was doing things with her parents! And that was all that there was to it!

"But, what about the time WE want to spend with you?" Jasper asked.

She furrowed her eyebrows and handed him a pamphlet. "Here. Underline cons in red, highlight pros in pink."

"What is this?"

"College brochures."

"Why are you looking at college brochures, we still have more than a year of high school left?"

She laughed, "And I very well can't figure out what schools to apply to after graduation. Senior year student council has so much to do for all of those senior ceremonies, I want to make sure I've given myself time to think about where I'm going."

"Why not Swellview University?" He wondered.

"It's on my list, but not my top choice. I want an HBCU or an Ivy League school."

"I'm gonna go right there to Swellview U. It's a good school!"

"I'm sure it's great. It's just not exactly what I want," she said and they heard the sound of Captain Man and Kid Danger coming down the tubes.

She smiled at them as they approached, resuming some kind of debate. "Dude, there's no way that a giant pancake could best a giant waffle. The waffle has ridges!" Henry fussed, then kissed her on the cheek.

"What are you two even TALKING about?"

"Animated and animatronic breakfast foods," Ray said, popping gum into his mouth. "Henry thinks that sausage would be more of a romantic than bacon and that a giant waffle could defeat a giant pancake in a fight to the death, covered in butter and syrup!"

"HOW do these subjects get started?" Charlotte wondered as they changed back.

"What about a crepe?" Jasper wondered.

Henry and Ray both laughed and repeated, "Crepe?"

"Oh yeah, a giant CREPE can fight!" Ray taunted.

Henry added, "Guess it's gonna just roll up to the scene, since he's gonna lose his innards if he steps up." The duo fell on each other laughing. Jasper sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not sure why you entered their weird little world."

"Third Wheel Syndrome has me sensitive, I think."

Henry took a seat next to Charlotte and asked Jasper, "What do you mean?"

"Since the two of you got together, I'm feeling left out," Jasper admitted.

"How? I just spent four hours stuck in a vat of scrambled eggs and country gravy. You and Char have been here going through…" he picked one up from in front of Charlotte and she sucked her teeth. "College brochures." He set it down, "Jasp you're leaving for college too?"

"No. I'm marking pros and cons for Charlotte. I'm going to Swellview University. We talked about this."

"I know! I was gonna be super upset if you were gonna run off on me. Bad enough she will be." He pointed a thumb to Charlotte.

"What happens when that happens?" Jasper wondered.

"It's at least a year in the future. We haven't even discussed what we're doing this summer," Charlotte said. The three were quiet for a moment. Ray and Schwoz were talking among themselves a few feet away.

Henry broke the collective silence between their trio by asking, "So, what are we going to do this summer"

"There's my birthday.." Jasper said then squinched his face and shook his head, "You weren't talking to me, were you?"

"I was talking to you both. Anybody have plans already?"

"I never have plans," Jasper said, almost certain that Henry was definitely only talking to Charlotte.

She said, "Same old same old for me. Summer Youth Program in June. Beginning of July trip with my parents. The only thing different this year is I'm going to add three or four campus tours of whichever colleges have the least cons and most pros."

"Need company?" Henry wondered. She furrowed her eyebrows and actually looked up at him. "Just to you know, make sure that you enjoy yourself despite the work."

"I love college tours. I'll enjoy myself," she said.

Henry pouted, "Fine." She looked questioningly at the sky about his salty tone, but left it alone. Henry sighed, "Jasper, do you think you'll want to spend any time with me this summer?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Jasper cheered. Charlotte rolled her eyes. She hadn't said that she wasn't going to spend any time with him.

In fact, her visits would be four weekends from the entire summer. Her Youth Program was on Thursdays. Her trip was two weeks. Aside from that, she was pretty sure she'd see both of these clowns every other summer moment. She'd tuned out the boys making plans without her whenever she heard Jasper declare, "It's gonna be super hard for us to do these things whenever you and Charlotte are married and stuff."

Henry shook his head and Charlotte chimed in, "Whenever what?"

Jasper reminded her, "Remember that whole hashtag Henlotte thing?"

"That was a joke, Bro," Henry said, laughing a little uncomfortably. "Nobody actually thought that I was proposing or that we were gonna be kissing. That's why it was so hilarious."

"Yeah, but you are kissing. You kiss a lot. You're together. Charlotte's thinking about her upcoming colleges before junior year end. Do we really believe she's not thinking beyond that?" Henry's head turned sharply and quickly to Charlotte.

She scoffed and said, "Don't look so panicked. As it turns out, I've been focused enough on my educational future that I haven't been circling anything in bridal books on the off chance that my boyfriend ever wants to me to participate in the antiquated institution of marriage."

Henry sighed, relieved, "Oh thank God. Wait. So… You never wanna get married, at all? To anybody?"

"Honestly, it's never crossed my mind. I've had one stupid boyfriend and I'm only 16. Why I would daydream about becoming someone's less respected partner is beyond me."

"Less respected?" Jasper repeated.

But Henry was stuck on "Stupid boyfriend?"

Charlotte snatched her brochures from Jasper and explained, "Married women are taken less seriously than their married male counterparts in the corporate world. Whether I go into STEM, academia, politics, business, or even if my degree proves useless and I wind up regretting decisions in retail - women are already valued less and when you add a wedding ring, they're expected to be full time workers and full time homemakers while Daddy retreats into his little solo space to unwind after his hard day's work. And don't let her become a mom! She doesn't get the necessary time off to be the kind of mother that everyone expects. Simultaneously, whatever kind of mother she is, the workplace thinks is too much." She was stuffing her bag and then looked at Henry, "And for the record, just because I haven't thought about it doesn't mean that I need your graphic depictions of relief about it!" She snatched her bag and headed for the elevator.

Jasper called out, "Okay, but that explanation of the workplace tells that you've definitely thought about it."

She glared at him and snapped, "That information is common knowledge to women!"

As the elevator door shut, Henry looked confused. "So.. Am I supposed to be thinking about marriage, or not?"

"I think that you shouldn't be, because Charlotte doesn't have marriage plans, but maybe if it crosses your mind, try to not seem repulsed by Charlotte being your wife? Her execution of the subject was all over the place."

"The place of lies," Ray said. "Women wanna get married. It's their reward for being good girlfriends!"

"That's a gross oversimplification of like everything involved in what you said," Henry commented. "Honestly, now that I think about it, Charlotte has literally never mentioned anything about weddings or marriage or anything like it. Not even so much as a "I'll play this song someday at my wedding."

Ray commented, taking a seat by Henry, "That's probably because she's been resigned to the fact that nobody's ever gonna marry her. I mean, she's the worst, amirite?"

"You're not," Jasper said, at the same time Henry said, "No."

"So, either of you can picture having Charlotte there, every single day, nagging you, telling you what to do, why this is unsafe or that's unwise?"

"That sounds like every day of my life since 5th grade," Jasper said.

"Yeah! Char is the smart one. We all know that. We need someone like that everyday!"

Ray muttered, "Still the worst."

"What is your problem with Charlotte?" Henry asked, exasperated."I mean, what if this does go different for us than my other relationships and it winds up being something real and lasting. Do I always have to worry that you're gonna be a butt to her?"

Ray laughed, "Yeah. I've known this was coming for a long time. I'm not treating her any differently no matter what status you have. Because as far as I'm concerned you've always been endgame… Also, she's the worst."

"Because she forces you to have to be better?" Jasper wondered.

Ray groaned and mumbled, "For your information, yes."

.

Charlotte came home and her uncle was on the couch, watching TV. What else was new? "Hey, Uncle Roscoe.

"Hey, Niece! You wanna watch the Kids Danger cartoon with me?"

"No. I've gotta look over college info so Mom and Dad will be able to plan my visits in between their orchestras and excavations. Speaking of, are they out tonight?"

"The Swellview Opera House. Your mom says there's a casserole just for you in the oven. Don't worry, I don't want whatever that is. I'm ordering a pizza." She nodded, disappointed that she wouldn't be able to discuss her college choices with them tonight. "You wanna watch one of your wedding dress shows?" Uncle Roscoe wondered.

"No."

"Not even Say Yasss, This is Your Drass?" He turned off the TV and wondered, "What's wrong, Tiny?"

"Sometimes, I feel like an outsider. Even in my own home and even with my only friends. Like, we're all sharing this one life, but nobody's on the journey with me and those that are on the journey, we're not on the same page."

"You know, I was an outsider like that too. Shoot, still to this day, as a starving artist."

"How can you be starving when you live here and eat everything we have?"

“I ain’t eat that grass casserole your mom made you.”

“I’m sure you mean bean sprouts,” she said, “And that’s not the whole casserole…” The doorbell rang and she looked at him. He reached for the remote control and she gave him a look. “I’ll get it.” She went to the door and by the time she peeked out of the peephole to see Henry nervously bouncing, Uncle Roscoe was laughing at something on the television. She called, “I’m gonna step outside and talk to my friend, Unc.”

“Girl, I’m watching my shows,” he said. Basically, he didn’t care.

She opened the door and stepped outside. Henry laughed, “Your friend? Something you need to tell me?” He joked, awkwardly. “What do you need, Henry?” She asked, sounding irritated.

“I need to explain what happened earlier.”

“Okay.”

“So… Jasper was talking about marriage and we’ve never spoken about that, because neither of us are thinking that far ahead into us. But, whenever I seemed relieved, it wasn’t because I think I’d never wanna marry you or something. I just thought that we were both in the same space - a space where that’s not even a conversation yet. So, I’m sorry if I sounded insulting to you.”

She shrugged her shoulders, “We rushed really fast into the entire boyfriend-girlfriend thing. There’s no need for us to rush anything into anything else. So, it’s fine.”

“But, you seemed upset.”

“Yeah. For the reason that I told you, but it’s not a big deal. Honestly, I have other things to be upset about. Maybe it just landed on you. So, I’m sorry.”

"You wanna talk about your things?" He asked.

She sighed and leaned against the front door. "You know how my parents and I go on a trip every summer together?"

"Yeah?"

"This year is the last one. Next year, they're sending me on a solo trip after graduation to see the world myself before college."

"That sounds awesome."

"But, I hardly see them now and I just want them to go over the pros and cons of these colleges with me. I know that sounds silly to other people, but it's a huge decision to make and I wish sometimes that they'd be more involved instead of just trusting my judgement. They raised me to be independent and they don't realize that sometimes, I could use just a little dependency, you know?"  

Henry nodded, "Yeah, I get that. I haven't been able to depend on my parents in quite a while. But… I've always been able to depend on my friends. So, if you just need someone to lean on, I literally have nothing better to do than here for you." Henry offered her a hug and she smiled a small smile and accepted it. When she was hugging him, he said, "And it'd be excellent, I think… some time in the far future… you know?" She looked up at him. "IF we were thinking about that."

She nodded, "If I was gonna sell myself out in that way, it'd be with my best friend." He laughed. "I meant everything that I said about marriage! The only way that I'd be on board is if it was handled like a business arrangement with someone I trust."

"You trust like two people," he chuckled.

"Yep. And they'd both be IN the marriage."

"Me and???"

She stared at him and suggested, "Think it through."

"OH, YOU!"

"I already regret this unofficial contract."

"Fortunately, we've got a long time to even think about that. We haven't even discussed..  the physical evolution of our relationship." Her eyes widened and she wondered if he was talking about what she thought he was. He noticed and quickly changed the subject, "Or what you and me are doing this summer!"

She relaxed and nodded, "Aside from the few weeks, four weekends and Thursdays, I'm all yours…"  He raised an eyebrow. "I mean, I'm open! I mean my time is free! I have a casserole to check on. I gotta get inside!" She rushed back in, shut the door and Henry shook his head and left. "Why would bring that up, Henry? She was already having a day. I mean, sure.. you wanna discuss it. But, you haven't been together that long and it was a FLUKE that you even got her. This happened kinda haphazardly. You're gonna screw it up if you keep being weird!"

Charlotte leaned against the door, breathing hard. Are… we THERE yet??? She glanced out of the window and saw Henry look back at the house before walking away with his head down. A few minutes later, she got a text: Hey. Sorry if I scared you bringing up THAT. I won't mention it again. I don't want stuff weird between us. Call me when you don't feel awkward.

She sighed with relief and replied instantly: Thanks, Hen. You're a great friend and honestly the best boyfriend.

Henry: Not stupid boyfriend?

Charlotte: Not at all. ILU

Henry: SAME.

[shamrock96]

So I’ve been thinking about Polyamory lately...

I started watching this show called Siren where this couple meets a mermaid and all three of them slowly start falling in love with each other and this is my first exposure to polyamorous representation and I think it’s a great triad relationship the writers have going here to explain the more complex emotions involved in a polyamorous relationship.

If anyone gets bored gong through this or knows you’re in for a long post as least know that this is the main idea of this post before scrolling past it: The best kind of love is a healthy tender relationship to people you can trust and who love you unconditionally. 

Now I’m not poly myself, I don’t know what I am to be honest, so I don’t know what’s all involved. I’ve done research and I know that there are many different types of polyamory for it to just be whittled down to one example but what really strikes me and fascinates me about the polyamorous relationship depicted in Siren is the deep love and commitment each of the partners have with each other. 

In the past I’ve joked about polyamory in the sense “haha let’s just forget this bogus love triangle and have everyone just get together” and after hearing other people’s stories and learning about their relationships I know there’s a lot more to it than just saying “screw it, let everyone just have sex!”

So I’ve put together a list of other possible areas where other writers could have gone this way. Because representation is important and love triangles have become an extremely cliché and toxic trope in television and movies to the point I don’t think writers really know what a healthy relationship between partners looks like anymore. 

I got a lot of these from Triad of the Day but I just wanted to explain more in depth why I think these characters would be so good together

1. Veronica Lodge and Cheryl Blossom and Betty Cooper

So I’ve got to admit, I don’t actually watch Riverdale and this is probably a bad example to start with because my reasoning for these three being a triad is: just look at them. They’re obviously in love. And they can all still have their men on the side if that’s what they want but from what I’ve seen of gifs and on other people’s blogs, there is a strong feminine power here that transcends just being friends/frenemies/whatever. 

2. Harley Quinn and Catwoman and Poison Ivy a.k.a The Gotham City Sirens

Harley and Poison Ivy are already renown for their amazing sapphic relationship but I feel like Catwoman is a good addition to their love because of how often she gets snubbed by Batman (a man she clearly has feelings for a who has feelings for her) for embracing her darker side. Harley, more than anyone, understands being sidelined and downright abused by someone you care about and I think Poison Ivy would praise Selina for embracing the side of her that come more naturally. Harley and Poison Ivy already have a great and more or less healthy (as healthy as trauma inflicted villains can be) and Selina could really use some of that love in her life. 

This is also probably my inspiration for the whole Veronica/Cheryl/Betty triad I have above. 

3.  Kathy and Don and Cosmo

Again, so I haven’t really seen this movie in its entirety yet (just bits and pieces) but I’ve seen enough to know they were all just meant to be together. Especially in the “Good Morning” number where they talk about “danced the whole night through”. Like what is better than one person finding two other people they can laugh and have fun together until dawn? This just seems super figured out to me.

4. Miles O'brien and Keiko O'brien and Kira Nerys

This is one where I think things get a little complicated for so many reasons. For starters it’s a great example how a polytriad relationship works when children are involved. For those who aren’t familiar with Star Trek: Deep Space 9, the story between these three are that Miles and Keiko have been married ever since they were on Star Trek: The Next Generation. They even have a daughter who is about four when the couple are expecting their next baby. Due to a transporter malfunction Kira is accidentally impregnated with Keiko’s baby. This was the writers’ way of explaining Kira’s actress, Nana Visitor’s, own pregnancy (coincidently with other co-star, Alexander Siddig, but that’s a whole other story). 

Anyways, once Kira is unexpectedly carrying the O’Brien’s child she moves in with them so that they can still experience the pregnancy and become closer to their new surrogate. As a result Kira also becomes closer to the O’Brien’s and their daughter Molly. The birth of Kirayoshi is a really touching episode and it’s obvious that Kira has become extremely attached to the baby. After the birth the O’Briens make Kira Kirayoshi’s godmother (and also kind of name him after her) and she becomes a part of the family, like an aunt.

The only reason this gets complicated is because of Kira’s work relationship with Miles. While Kira and Keiko become super close and it could easily have turned into something romantic there’s not a lot of that bonding going on with Miles. And I know there are relationships where person A (Kieko) has a strong relationship with persons B (Miles) and C (Kira) but persons B and C aren’t as close, but my main objective in putting these characters together is to form a perfect triad where everyone loves and is loved equally. The writers could have also easily done this by having Kira and Miles bond more emotionally rather than professionally but they didn’t so we don’t get to see what that would have looked like except in fanfiction. 

5. Elphaba and Galinda and Fiyero

Like I think a majority of the fans of Wicked agree that these three were all in love one way or the other. Some ship Glinda and Elphaba, Glinda shipped herself with Fiyero, and the mainstream is that Elphaba and Fiyero utlimately belonged together. And while the musical puts a heavy emphasis on the “friendship” between Glinda and Elphaba, anyone who ever watches “For Good” can tell you that their relationship was way deeper than your average best friends or sisters for that matter. Not to mention in “One Short Day” the two fo them make a point of saying “we’re just two friends” “two good friends” “two best friends”. The whole “just friends” has been used to keep LGBT+ couples in the closet since forever. 

We also know Fiyero and Elphaba were given a wonderfully laid out relationship which has a very important role in the musical. Fiyero’s relationship with Glinda can be analyzed as what society wants to see vs. Fiyero and Elphaba’s relationship which is something society doesn’t want to see. Perfect vs. Unconventional. HOWEVER, Fiyero and Glinda did have a connection, so much so that Glinda did mourn losing him (to her “best friend” nonetheless). The reverse could also be argued that Glinda was mourning losing Elphaba to Fiyero. OR it could be argued that the two people she loved most ran off into the sunset (albeit, as fugitives) without her and she was left behind. In a polyamorous relationship nobody would be left behind singing a reprise of “I’m Not That Girl”. I haven’t seen the full musical in a while but I think Elphaba gave Glinda the chance to come with her and Fiyero and Glinda opted to stay behind in the public figure position she was given. I could be wrong about that, like I said I haven’t seen the musical in a while, but if I’m not wrong the that decision to stay behind could have all sorts of different analyses for the relationship between the three. 

Let’s not forget to mention that Glinda and Elphaba were ROOMMATES! Ok, memes aside, these three had a lot of chemistry and history together that bonded them. For me, one of the saddest parts of the ending wasn’t the “For Good” scene where Elphaba “sacrifices” herself because Glinda knew full well what Elphaba had planned with Fiyero, leaving Glinda as the last one standing and being the one left behind to fix the corrupt government in the land of Oz. She was sad because she knew Elphaba had to stay dead in the eyes of the people if she was ever going to live a normal life after all that had happened. The actual ending of the book is way sadder so I’ll take the canon ending of the musical any day but I can’t help but feel like the life Elphaba and Fiyero started after running off into their official sunset probably felt a little incomplete without Glinda. 

6. DJ Fuller and Steve Hale and Matt Harmon

THIS ONE. Never has an audience ever been given the run around about a heteronormative live triangle than they have been with Fuller House. As soon as I saw this on Triad of the Day’s list of polyamorous couples I was just like YES! When DJ chose Steve I was a little skeptical and torn. Both of these men seemed really great and had great chemistry with DJ. I stan the whole decision for DJ to choose herself the first time around and take some time to figure out who she was (especially so soon after the death of her husband). But immediately after that decision the writers went and gave Steve and Matt a great bro relationship. THEY EVEN HAD STEVE AND MATT KISS!!!! Although that was before they became friends. And they were SO into that kiss and we ALL loved it! The fact that it was used for laughs is such a pity. Fuller House could have pulled a Modern Family by creating a positive social commentary on polyamorous families and play off the title of the show (Fuller House) more than they already do by adding both men to the family. Instead one of them got pushed away and to be honest I stopped watching after season 2. I love the wholesome family vibes Fuller House gives out and even the ones given out by Hallmark (which Candace Cameron Bure and Lori Laughlin are major actresses in) but something these wholesome shows and tv networks forget is that you can represent LGBT+ relationships without the emphasis of sex. It’s like if someone were to pitch a gay Christmas romance movie to Hallmark the board would immediately say, “Nice idea, but this is a family friendly program.” My definition of family friendly is a group of adults who are in loving and healthy relationships with each other who all love and take care of the children in their lives. And my definition of wholesome is lack of profanity and vulgar humor and displays honest values (just for the record). 

Fuller House really missed out on taking a step forward into the modern age by not making these three a polyamorous triad. 

7.Victor Van Dort and Emily and Victoria Everglot

So I’m not sure about this one because I REALLY love how it ended (with Emily getting justice for her murder and then being emotionally liberated to the point she burst into a kaleidoscope of butterflies). Not to mention Emily and Victoria didn’t exactly get much bonding time throughout the movie though I think Emily can heavily relate to Victoria’s overly sheltered life and especially to getting screwed over in the marriage department (although Victoria luckily dodged that bullet). But I feel like that would make Emily (and Victor) all the more protective of Victoria when it comes to those who would abuse her. And maybe Emily could have taught both Victor and Victoria more about standing up for themselves. I know Emily can seem naive and like she doesn’t have much life experience (for obvious reasons) but we’ve seen how strong, powerful, and dedicated she is. I don’t think anybody would be surprised if Emily scorched the earth for Victor and Victoria. Also Victor needs some strong women in his life. I feel like the implications of what these three would have been like in a polyamorous relationship is pretty obvious and has no doubt been written about a thousand times in fanfiction. As much as I love Emily being released from what was tying her down to earth, this would have been a good alternative ending as well. 

8.  Tulio is dating Miguel and Chel

These guys. Need I say more?

I think I might because while we see the obvious attraction between Tulio and Chel and the fanmade art and fanfiction of Tulio and Miguel, that still leaves out the question of what Chel and Miguel’s relationship would be like. Obviously in the movie Miguel wasn’t a big fan of Chel moving in on his and Tulio’s “bromance” and while jealousy doesn’t have much place in an ideal triad relationship (from what I understand anyway), I think they could make good partners in crime. 

9. Flora and Fauna and Merryweather a.k.a the Three Good Fairies

Now these hoes. I’ve heard some dispute somewhere that they may or may not be sisters but I distinctly remember them only being referred to as “the three good fairies”. Older women (fairies) who have known each other for a very long time. But they dead ass raised a daughter together as mortals, in the same cottage for 16 years. We’ve seen said cottage and we’ve seen Aurora’s bedroom but anyone can see that there’s no way there was enough from in that cottage for 3 individual bedrooms or even one room for three twin beds (maybe bunk beds if they had existed in the 14th century). They’re depicted as incompetent characters in Malificent but they aren’t that way in the 1959 Sleeping Beauty. In fact, they’re portrayed as willing to do anything for their daughter. Not to mention the constant bickering of Flora and Merryweather being pacified by Fauna. That is typical married old couple behavior right there. Being 1959 there’s no way anyone was ready for a polyamorous triad of fairies in a children’s animated feature but that’s basically what they gave us. 

10. Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington and Jonathan Byers

This is also a hard one. Because similar to Glinda and Fiyero’s relationship Steve and Nancy were together for high school politics. In this scenario Steve is Glinda because he gets left behind to ponder on his life as a shallow popular high school king. But protecting Jonathan and Nancy with that homemade nail bat from that demagorgan is what any good partner would do for his other partners. 

The reason this one is tricky is not only because Steve got left behind but also because the relationship dynamic is pretty unequal. Because while Nancy and Steve are together at the beginning of Season 2, it’s clear they’re still putting on a facade that things can go back to normal for them during their senior year of high school. By the end of Season 2 Nancy is officially with Jonathan and Steve is not only left behind but he’s left behind to take care of the kids. 

Not to mention Steve and Jonathan don’t necessarily have a good relationship with each other. Although I think Steve has been humbled down in Season 3 after realizing his glory days are more or less behind him. But we don’t get a lot of interaction between these three anymore. 

I’m not really sure where I’m going with this one besides the fact that I think there’s some potential somewhere here. Especially with the introduction of Robin. I feel like she could be a great sexual awakening for a lot of the characters in this show. 

BONUS:  Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin and just about anyone

It doesn’t have to be Raven. Honestly it could be any character who has a good relationship with both Clark and Bellamy. I think it’s safe to say a majority of the fandom is holding out for Bellark to ride off into their sunset but I think they’d be pretty inclusive to someone else they have a strong relationship with. I haven’t watched the series in a really long time so I don’t know if there is a character left alive who fits that description but the characters have definitely formed a pack mentality of survival and sticking close. I imagine if they (Clark, Bellamy, and their third partner) would have kids they’d have the same protective circle. 

[violetsmoak]

maybe this is how it starts [2/?]

Cover & Disclaimer 

Author’s Note: Sorry it took so long since the last update. I ended up deciding not to pants this thing and just do whatever with the chapters, but I went and found an honest-to-goodness plot. Go me! So, to further said plot, have some Jason and Roy Bromance. Because as far as I’m concerned, the best jaytim fics I’ve read always have Roy and Jason doing their girl-talk thing.

The Red Hood’s base of operations is in a bomb shelter beneath the One Police Plaza in Gotham. It’s chilly inside, which doesn’t bother Jason under normal circumstances, but then everything is pissing him off today.

There are a lot of things Jason has learned to endure over the years—torture, death, total mental and physical exhaustion, unending moral dilemmas…

All of them are just more of what life has to throw at him and what he responds to with a smirk and the middle finger. Physical limitations are something for lesser men—men who were never trained by Batman or the League of Assassins.

And yet…

If there’s anything that might drive him almost to the point of Lazarus-Pit-crazy, it’s itching.

“It’s decided. I’m going to kill Ivy,” he growls, slopping another handful of aloe vera over the expanse of his arm, leaning back so as not to drip the green gel onto his keyboard.

Whatever was in the venom from the vampire-plant hybrids, the rash has lingered for the whole week without a sign of improving. He has a peevish hope that Tim is having a worse time of it, since it’s his fault Jason is even in this situation to begin with.

Can’t even fucking go on patrol without wanting to tear my skin off every goddamn minute.

He’s been trying to fill the time doing the whole research schtick for a few of his ongoing cases but has barely even been able to focus on that. It’s irritating and leaves him alone with his thoughts much more than he’s comfortable with.

It’s been three months of pushing down any acknowledgement of what happened. That for the first time in his life, Dick Grayson is dead. Not somewhere being Nightwing or filling in as Batman, but dead. His predecessor-mentor-not-brother-but-yeah-sorta-brother got himself unmasked and killed.

Jason is not entirely sure how to deal with the new reality, and it’s possible he’s been more adrift than he would ever admit. But the cure to that is denial and distraction, which is why when the giant screen in front of him fills up with a picture of Roy making finger guns, he accepts the vid call.

“I swear to God, Roy, if you’re calling to tell me you’ve been evicted again and need money,” he trails off, feigning annoyance despite being glad for the interruption.

“Hello to you too, sweetheart,” his best friend replies dryly, fiddling with something metallic and sprouting wires. He squints at Jason. “Dude, what’s with your arm? That rash is fugly.”

“Compliments of a soon-to-be-dead Poison Ivy and an idiot in a cape.”

“Heh. Which idiot?”

“The one who’s supposed to be the smart one.”

Roy raises an eyebrow, but doesn’t ask for clarification, either because he knows who Jason is talking about or because he knows he won’t get an answer. “That’s more polite than you’d usually put it. You feelin’ okay?”

“No, I’m not feeling okay, I’ve spent the last week scratching my nuts off!”

“Man, come on! TMI!”

“You know what I mean.” Jason rubs his back against his chair, seeking relief from a spot he can’t reach to scratch. “Fuck Ivy…”

“I thought you liked Ivy.”

“Respect. I respect Ivy. I don’t like her.”

“How did you even end up running into her? I mean, greenspaces aren’t exactly your thing.”

“I told you already, I was saving the moron in the cape. Who’s damn lucky I did, because I wasn’t even going to take that route last night.”

All because he’d (not that he’d admit it) been thinking about Dick. Which he had been for months now, a fact which he’s pretty sure influenced him to help Bruce and the rest of them go on that suicide mission to get back Damian Wayne’s body. He’s still a little in shock that the whole thing ended in the kid’s resurrection and not a second explosive and painful death. But then, he’s living proof that it’s possible, so maybe he shouldn’t be.

Roy must sense the direction of his thoughts, because he changes the subject. “So, have you given anymore thought to that idea I had?”

Jason gives himself a mental shake.

“No. Because going after Kori reeks of desperation, and you’re better than that.”

“Am I? Am I really?” Jason exchanges looks with Roy, who then sighs. “Fine. So how long are you hanging around Gotham? Because, by my count, this is the longest consecutive amount of time you’ve spent there since before you died. Family hasn’t grounded you, have they?”

Jason scowls. “They’re not my family.”

“Right, okay, sure. That’s why whenever there’s a fart jammed out that way, you go running—shit!” One of the devices he’s working on emits a minor explosion.

“I go back because it’s my city and I have stuff to take care of.”

Rapists and human traffickers won’t break their own kneecaps.

“And because the Bats are your family.”

“I’m going to shoot you.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“That was an accident, and you know it. This time it would be on purpose,” Jason grunts, using the heel of his hand against his arm. He winces when the action brings on equal parts of relief and pain, since his skin’s already been clawed almost raw.

Roy snorts in disbelief.

Jason pauses for another moment, considering his best friend, and then decides what the hell, they aren’t the type to keep secrets from each other.

“Demon brat’s alive,” he says at last.

Roy startles, dropping his soldering iron. “Whoa. No shit?”

He was the one who showed up to drag Jason out of the bars he’d practically destroyed in the days directly following the kid’s death. He knows the exact depths to which Jason was or wasn’t affected.

“No shit. It was this whole…thing. Ninjas and boom tubes and a Chaos Shard.” He doesn’t mention the overly-sentimental team-up with the Bats, or the surreal “birthday” dinner afterward. Damian and Tim had been almost pleasant to each other, and Jason had caught Bruce watching him with such overwhelming gratitude in his eyes he’d had to duck out early.

It’s still weird to him when he sees anything other than judgement in the older man’s eyes.

Roy whistles. “Damn. He okay?”

“I didn’t really stick around for the group therapy session. I’d say so—the little shit got superpowers when he woke up. I figured I should make myself scarce before he took it into his head to throw me like a javelin.”

“Didn’t we do that once with Kori?”

“Kori’s end goal wouldn’t be for me to go splat.” 

“Not unless you left the toilet seat up again.” 

“That was you.” 

“Can’t prove it.” 

“Of the two of us, who was practically raised by a British butler that wields guilt and disapproval like the Lasso of Truth? You think I will ever in my life dare to leave a toilet seat up?”

Roy sniggers and Jason smirks, and the tension hanging in the wake of their conversation fades somewhat. Humor is how they have always dealt with this kind of stuff.

“Still, that’s pretty heavy,” Roy says after a beat, reaching for a pair of wire strippers and electric tape. “I get why you’ve been hanging around there. I mean, what is this, three out of four now? Four out of five?”

“Huh?”

“Dead Robins. You should start a club.”

“Who says we haven’t?” Jason grumbles. “I’m the goddamn president.”

“I’m just saying, I see why you’re staying. Going by the balance of probability, the moron in the cape is probably next. It’s, like, his turn or something. So I get it—you want to keep an eye out.”

Jason narrows his eyes. “Drake’s not going to die if I have anything to say about it. No one gets to kill my replacement except me. When I feel like it.”

If I feel like it.

He and Tim have sort of come to an understanding of sorts in the past few years, if only in a professional sort of way. Exchanging information or giving the heads-up on a rogue showing up in each other’s territory. Occasionally sharing a bite to eat.

And saving each other’s lives, apparently.

The idea that a grisly death awaits Tim just because he had the misfortune of being a Robin bothers Jason more than he likes.

“When you feel like it?” Roy prompts. “You’re just trying to sound tough to cover up the other thing.”

“What other thing?”

“The thing where you feel like you have to step into big brother’s shoes now,” Roy informs him. “With Dick gone, that’s you, man.”

Jason physically jerks away from the screen, staring at Roy. “Fuck no. That’s not my deal.”

“If you say so.”

And just…no.

He jokes about it, sure. Calls them ‘bro’ or makes pointed remarks related to family or siblings, but it’s always tongue-in-cheek and more mocking than serious. It’s just to get a rise out of them, to remind them how he really doesn’t fit in with Bruce’s messed up idea of a ‘family’.

Besides, he’s pretty sure even if he wanted it, he’d be a shit older brother—he doesn’t have any of Dick’s likeability or sense of responsibility or general concern for everyone’s welfare. And Bruce’s kids all have their own level of fucked-up that, coupled with his own many and varied list of issues, could very well land them all in Arkham.

No way he’s going back there.

“Sorry, you’re breaking up,” Jason says flatly, and terminates the call before Roy can get too smug or think he’s actually on to something. He glares at the blank screen for a few minutes, and then queues up all the overseas cases he’s been flagging the past week.

Time to get the hell out of dodge. Before I get called to babysit or something…

֍

Tim is not keeping tabs on anyone.

At least, no more than usual.

The myriad of windows open on his workplace computer screen, showing several different sources of surveillance footage, is simply his method for remaining prepared for whatever crisis is inevitably coming.

(There’s always a crisis coming.)

And he’s definitely not watching out for Jason, even if his eyes keep drifting toward the grainy image of the Red Hood followed by traffic cams in Montreal, where he’s infiltrated a human-trafficking operation.

Tim justifies it as pre-emptive damage control, in case he needs to send someone to save Jason from himself.

(Never mind that Tim never did this before three months ago, never mind that Jason’s mellowed out a lot in the past two years and has developed something almost in the realm of good judgement, never mind that—)

As if to make the point to himself, Tim focusses his attention on the other windows. Damian at Wayne Manor, singlehandedly lifting the roof onto what appears to be a new pet enclosure while Alfred watches, bemused. The kid still has superpowers, which is another mark against the existence of a higher power—what kind of benevolent force would give the brat heat vision?

Bruce isn’t in Gotham; last Tim heard, he’s gone to the Hall of Justice, probably to figure out how to drain off Damian’s powers. There are no camera there (and if there were, Bruce would probably have disabled them by now), but the tracer Tim slipped into the cowl the last time they met is still going strong.

Tim pretends he doesn’t know that Bruce knows he put it there; he hates feeling like he’s being humored.

Steph is in class, Cass is out of the country, Barbara is at a information management conference in Metropolis.

They’re all fine.

And he’s not keeping tabs.

He just has to be ready. In case he needs to shut down the power for a city block or remotely cut camera feed, if it looks like someone is about to die or be unmasked.

Not again. Never again. Not like Dick, won’t let it happen—

The speaker on his office phone trills. “Mr. Wayne? Your eight o’clock is here.”

Tim shakes off his disjointed thoughts and reaches for the intercom button. “Send him in.”

Warrick Powers has a face Tim would very much like to punch.

Maybe if he was in uniform, he would find an excuse, but at the moment, he is fully immersed in his Timothy Drake-Wayne persona. Any attack on the CEO of Powers Technology would not only bring a few dozen lawyers down on him and Wayne Enterprises, but it would also wreak havoc on Tim’s image as a feeble, recovering cripple.

Which would be a waste, since he’s been cultivating that image for over two years.

His crutches are long gone, but he still carries a cane with him everywhere for ‘bad days’. It’s not even really a lie, since there are mornings after he hasn’t slept in thirty-six hours where he needs something to fidget with. Some kind of prop to offer a believable reason for his pauses. It’s better if people think he’s reliving the shooting that supposedly injured him, rather than pay attention to the obvious sleep deprivation or concealed injuries. 

“Tim! Great to see you again,” Powers declares in a false voice that would do even Brucie Wayne proud. “Glad you could fit me in this morning.”

“It just so happened I needed to speak to you about something,” Tim replies with an insubstantial smile.

“Excellent, excellent,” Powers says vaguely, by-passing the usual polite handshake and sprawling in one of the chairs across from Tim. He hasn’t said so out loud, but it clearly bothers him having to do business with a teenager. “I just wanted to come by and tell you that our little project is right on schedule. Ahead of it, in fact…”

Out of the corner of his eye he watches the footage of Jason outside a restaurant in Chinatown and he suppresses the urge to swear.

The idiot had better not be messing with the Ghost Dragons, because I cannot deal with that right now.

Though, the older man is in civvies, so it’s entirely possible he’s just grabbing lunch.

And…nope. Wishful thinking. Damn it, Jason.

If his suspicions about what’s about to happen onscreen are correct, Tim’s going to have to put an end to this meeting faster than he expected.

Powers is still rambling.

 “…we could move up the launch by a month or two without sacrificing quality. Maybe even release it as a limited-edition prototype. For a higher price, of course, but people have been waiting on this model for five years now, they’d pay for it.”

The older man chuckles; it doesn’t reach his eyes, which remain cold and calculating as a snake’s. The overall effect makes Tim’s skin crawl, in a different way from the lingering phantom itch of Ivy’s toxin.

(Stupid mistake. Shouldn’t have been anywhere near Robinson Park without backup, even if it was recon. Another stupid mistake—)

“Thank you for the progress report, Mr. Powers,” Tim says, cutting his thoughts off before they can become too rambling, “but that was not the reason I agreed to see you today.”

“Oh?” Powers looks politely interested.

“I received a tip two weeks ago from a concerned individual that Powers Tech has been dumping toxic waste,” Tim tells him, careful to keep his inflection mild. The term ‘concerned individual’ is loose, but it was Ivy that mentioned it to him and told him to fix it or she would. He doesn’t remember if that was before or after she let her plants have their fun, though. “We take that kind of accusation very seriously. The entire reason Wayne Enterprises agreed to collaborate with your company was because you’ve boasted about your eco-friendly containment practices.”

Powers expression doesn’t betray anything; in fact, the way his eyebrows raise, and his mouth turns downward in confusion, anyone else might consider him legitimately affronted.

“And you believed it? Come on, Tim, I’m sure WE gets half a dozen similar accusations a week. It’s just the granola movement trying to shut down our operations. They’d be happy if we still did things the Amish way.”

“Maybe. But those accusations don’t usually come with evidence to back them up.” Tim slides several folders across the desk. “Only a percentage of your industrial waste is being disposed of responsibly, I imagine for publicity’s sake; the rest, you’re burying in the sublevels of your main facility.”

Powers lips thin ever so slightly. “Hearsay.”

“We do our due diligence in these matters. Some of your employees were willing to confirm the report—anonymous now, but willing to come forward in the event of a formal investigation,” Tim says. “There was also an undercover investigation commissioned by…outside parties.”

No need to admit he was the outside party.

“The results indicate that not only are your containment measures insufficient, but the run-off from that waste is close to entering the groundwater, which could jeopardize Gotham’s entire water supply. Possibly even on a global scale if it gets to the ocean and reacts with the salt water.” He holds his hands in front of him. “I’ve held back on having this released to the public as a curtesy to you to get your affairs in order today.”

“What?” Powers growls and there’s not even an attempt to keep his charming mask on.

“I’ve asked you here so that we can finalize the dissolution of Wayne Enterprises partnership with Powers Tech,” Tim continues. “It’s a fairly cut and dried situation, so there was no need to call in the board.”

“That isn’t going to happen—”

“In exchange for an uncontested dissolution of our agreement and a clear plan to fix the problem, I continue to keep this information from going public—along with several other discrepancies I’ve discovered in your company, many of which are such blatant health-code violations that if they’re made public, you’ll be declaring bankruptcy by nine o’clock tonight. Personally, that isn’t the path I’d choose; your recent indiscretions aside, Powers Tech has the potential to do great things—if it’s being run by someone with half a conscience.”

Which you clearly don’t possess.

“You’d do well to watch your tone, boy,” Powers growls. “Does your father know the career suicide you’re committing right now?”

“He trusts my judgement or I wouldn’t be sitting at this desk,” Tim shrugs, unconcerned, and slides two more folders across. “These are to dissolve our partnership. Feel free to have your lawyers look it over, but I am serious about the nine o’clock deadline. If you intend to keep your company operating for the foreseeable future, you will sign it and send it over before then. You’ll also make an announcement that you intend to step down from your position as CEO, since you are taking full blame for your company’s blatant disrespect for environmental laws.”

“I will do no such thing! That’s tantamount to an admission of guilt—and I have no intention of going to jail over these…these fabricated accusations.”

“The choice is yours, of course. And you are pretty well-off, so even though this is an open-shut case, I’m sure you’ll land in a white-collar institution that’s nicer than most of Gotham’s criminals enjoy. But make no mistake—either you come forward on your own, which will be helpful in negotiating a lesser sentence, or you wait for the evening edition of the Gotham Gazette, which I know won’t paint you in a very favorable light.”

“This is blackmail.”

“Actually, it’s extortion,” Tim corrects him, reaching for his half-filled coffee cup. As Powers eyes gleam at him, a small smirk forming, Tim continues, “Oh, and just so you know, anything we’ve said in this meeting is completely confidential. I took the liberty of installing a scrambler in this office, which knocks out all mechanical devices. Your phone and the recorder in your pocket won’t have caught any of our conversation. To ensure neither of us chooses to play any unfortunate quotes out of context, of course.”

“Of course,” Power grunts tightly.

“I would go with the first option,” Tim says, switching back to the previous conversation with ease. “This way your company’s stocks won’t fall too badly. And this way your son has a chance of being a better man and better CEO than you. I look forward to discussing the changes with Derek at the Green Energy Expo in Hong Kong next week.”

Powers looks as if he’s about to jump across the table and throttle Tim, who casually reaches for his intercom, “Mr. Powers will be leaving early, please ensure someone can escort him down to the lobby.”

“I can find my own way,” Powers snaps, shoving his chair back and grabbing the folders Tim gave him. “And this isn’t over, you jumped-up little brat. You’re going to regret this.”

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that before,” Tim replies, adopting the cold, distant smile of Janet Drake. “Have a nice day, Mr. Powers.”

As soon as the older man has stormed from the office, Tim lets out a breath he hadn’t even noticed he was holding. It only occurs to him when the tight feeling in his chest dissipates. He leans back heavily in his chair, feeling like he’s run a marathon, which makes no sense. It’s not the first time he’s had to strongarm a partner or competitor.

He notices he has been bouncing his knee up and down under the desk, and scowls. Good thing Powers didn’t notice that, or he might have taken it as a weakness.

He’s hungry, but the effort involved in procuring food is too much. The stupid cane is not worth it, and despite his stomach complaining, he has no appetite. Not worth it.

On screen, Jason flips a table through the restaurant window. 

Damage control, Tim decides, relegating his hunger to the back of his mind and preparing to scrub any footage of Jason’s activities. It’s not keeping tabs.

So, yeah, Tim’s in denial and Jason doesn’t do warm and fuzzy family feelings. And Roy is way more observant than he would like heehee.

Sorry there was a lack of direct jaytim interaction this chapter, but I’d kind of like this fic to be more than boy-broods-about-other-boy-every-chapter. I find it makes for a more authentic slow-build relationship if they also have other stuff going on in their lives. But next chapter, we shall have dialogue once more!

TBC

NEXT CHAPTER ( in progress)

[kenjiro-s]

What goes well with tea ?, a TeruYama story

Of ink and ivy

Tattooing, Yuuji thought, was one of those jobs that looked way more complicated than they actually were. While the ivy leaves wrapping around the girl’s upper arm were taking most of his attention, he spared some part of his mind to just observe his own hand. It was steady, the movements controlled and smooth. Nothing too choppy, just lovely lines and colours. Amazing what one’s body could be taught to do. Another line, down and up. One more, dip and pull. Carefully. Just a touch here and a bigger spot there. Gently. Just a little more pressure…Perfect.

Sitting up, he wiped the girl’s skin and helped her stand. A minute later she was twirling in front of the huge mirror, a huge smile on her face.

- This is amazing ! Loot at the colours ! And the swirly lines ! And the details…! – The man with her, identified as her father a few sessions ago, dropped the resigned face and smiled a little.

- It is beautiful.

- Thanks, dad, you’re the best ! – And then she proceeded to throw herself at him. What a cute picture.

- My colleague will give you the final instructions on care and we should be all settled.

The man turned to him while his client bounced towards the front to talk to Tsuchiyu, her giggles ringing through the studio.

- You really are an artist. – That was a bit unexpected but Yuuji didn’t let it show. The man had been adamant from the very beginning that he didn’t approve of his daughter getting a tattoo the moment she’d passed the legal age. But, for what he’d gathered, there had been promises made and daddy’s little princess had called all the favours owed at the same time. So, ivy leaves it was. Her father had been polite but nothing more, displeasure on his features more often than not, and the few times she’s twitched from the pain at the beginning, Yuuji had been sure he was about to get his face smashed with how tight the man’s fists had been.

But now, he seemed honest in his praise.

- Thank you, sir. – It never hurt to go to the extra mile. Yuuji might be loud and appear flighty but he knew when to behave. – Your daughter’s a fighter. She didn’t even twitch. – That was a big fat lie, of course. Teenaged girls usually freaked out from sheer nerves. True, this one hadn’t lost it as much as some others, but he’d been extra careful. One wrong movement and she might be force to wear the outcome on her skin for the rest of her life. He was a professional and knew how to handle shifting and moving clients, but it was still tough.

The man laughed softly, rubbing his face.

- That’s kind of you but I think we both know the truth. Either way, it doesn’t matter. She’s happy and that’s what’s important.

- She will care for it well, I can see from the previous sessions. So you have no reason to worry.

- Yeah. – The man looked around a little, obviously awkward, and then reached to shake Yuuji’s hand. – Thank you again.

A few minutes after they’d left, Yuuji was trying to keep his eyes open while laying on one of the tables. It had been a long session, lots of colours and small details, and his neck hurt. His spine felt like it was bent in the middle and any effort to sit straight sent shards of pain through his skull. He was way too young for that.

After stretching a little, popping his spine with a bit too much glee, he rose and pulled out the thick notebook with his appointments. He was sure, but it never hurt to check…Ah. Perfect. Nothing in the next three hours. Just enough time for lunch and rest.

Yuuji stepped carefully around the large column, covered in art, and listened. A sharp scream, almost high enough to be heard only by canines, pierced the air. He couldn’t help it, he jumped, knocking a large frame off the wall. What started as a startle ended up with him using all the reflexes he’d built through his high school volleyball career to catch one frame, knock two more off, lean on them to keep them from shattering and still manage to drop the pack of collectible cards they kept on a shelf. And this was just the beginning. Whoever had made the glass-shattering sound just kept wailing and wailing like a banshee, and Yuuji felt like his ears were about to start bleeding.

- Need help ? – He barely heard the voice over the screeching. Tsuchiyu slinked around and pulled the two heavy frames from behind his back, tiptoeing around the spilled cards on the floor. – And what’s tha sound ? Did Bobata agree to pierce someone’s pet ?

- You tell me, you’re the guy with the schedules. – It really did sound like an animal, Yuuji thought. Though through the wails he could hear incoherent mumbling which could pass for words, maybe, so it was probably a human being. He hoped. Though, on the other hand, a human who made that sound…And just kept going… - Should we call an ambulance or something ? This can’t be healthy.

Just as he was about only half-jokingly to reach for his phone, the sound cut off as suddenly as it had started. Yuuji could hear his own heartbeat in his ears with the deafening silence that blanketed the studio. Tsuchiyu stared with wide eyes and they both turned, slowly, to the curtain that hid Bobata’s space when said artist pulled it open. Wow, he really looked like he’d aged at least a decade since the morning. With a heavy sigh, he dragged his feet towards the back, leaving the scene for them to see.

Yuuji was almost afraid to look inside. He took a deep breath, prepared himself for blood and maybe flesh hanging out, and opened his eyes. And blinked in confusion. The woman on the chair blinked back, just as surprised. There was…nothing. No blood, no discarded needles or instruments on the floor, and the client’s cream top was pristine. What, the…

- Miss, are you okay ? – Apparently, that was her cue. He had to admit he hadn’t seen such acting skills for a long time, American film actors could learn from this woman. The tears, the sniffling, even her eyes were red and she sounded like she was choking. Even threw some hiccups in there for good measure. He’d be entertained if his confusion hadn’t just reached astronomic levels. – Miss…?

- It hurt so much ! – Okay, if he hadn’t been sure before that she’d been making the noise, now he knew. His first instinct was to close his eyes and cover his ears, but he was the boss and it was up to him to keep it all under control. – He just kept it in and pushing, and pushing, and…

- Madam, your… - Yuuji glanced at Tsuchiyu, who tapped his ear. – your ears are not pierced. There is no mark, not even the beginning of a hole. The needle never touched you, you’ll be okay…

As suddenly as she’d started, the tears cut off. She jumped to her feet, raised her chin and bared her teeth. She actually showed her teeth. He was honestly impressed. He was also used to people trying to appear taller than him all things considered and she didn’t even come close. Still.

- Is this how you treat a client, huh ? Calling me a liar ?

- Um, miss…

- Trying to tell me I don’t know how it feels someone to jab a huge needle in my skin? What now, are you going to tell me I imagined that man, that…that monster trying to rip my ear off ?

- Actually…

- You know what ? I was going to come here and get my lip pierced, maybe bring my friends but now ? Now, I will tell everyone what a lousy job you all do here ! Yes, and how terrible you treat your clients, and how nobody here knows what he’s doing ! You’ll be sorry !

And before he could get even a word in, she flew past him in flurry of flowy curls and scarves, made sure to kick the pile of cards on the floor and then to slam the door so hard the chime fell off and hit the wood floor with a sad tinkle. Yuuji, still holding one of the frames, slid his phone back in his pocket and seriously considered locking the doors and sleeping on the sofa in the employee lounge. It wouldn’t fix his pounding headache but he would feel better, he just knew it.

- No closing. – Sparing an angry glance at Tsuchiyu, or at least as angry as he could fake, he went to find Bobata. The man in question looked like he’d just dunked his entire head in a basin of cold water and was currently dripping all over one of the carpets with a towel hiding his face.

- Heeeey, my man, my friend, buddy, bro… - A snort told him he’d achieved his goal. – What, the Hell, was that ? What happened ?

- Nothing. – Bobata slid the wet towel from his eyes down to his neck where it kept dripping and ran his fingers through his wet hair. – I was just about to do it and she started screaming. I just touched it to her ear to check the place, it never went in. Because I didn’t…

- I know, trust me. Still, the sound she could make ! Did you hear that ? Incredible ! It sounded like dying record.

- You think that’s bad ? Her face was an actual nightmare, I’m telling you. – Bobata shuddered. – Terrible.

And since Yuuji was a man who cared for his friends he went for hot drinks. Tsuchiyu had confirmed they had no bookings for the next two hours so he, as the owner, had volunteered to get tea while they ordered pizza. Now, looking at the fancy purple letters on the window, he considered that maybe picking the first place that popped up when he searched for a teashop was not the best idea. From the bell on the door to the fireplace (An actual fireplace ! Why did it have that ? And in a teashop ? ) the atmosphere looked cherry picked and hand painted. Someone had taken great care into every tiny detail to create an experience. Yuuji was impressed. And hot. He’d practically ran to the place, not sure if they had a break at noon that wasn’t announced or if they’d be swarmed with customers over lunch. And the inside was just as warm as the fireplace suggested. Taking his heavy jacket off, he let the breeze from the closing door hit his bare arms. Ah, much better. Now, the reason he was there…

Before he managed to leave hand prints and probably drool over the shiny glass that separated him from rows upon rows of magnificently looking chocolate…things, the door behind the counter opened and a young man hurried inside. Well, hello there.

He had messy chestnut hair and dark eyes, and, as he got closer, Yuuji saw he had freckles. Damn. Forget the chocolate, he was a moment away from drooling over the cashier. Shifting his jacket in his other hand, he glanced back to see if he’d been caught staring. And, for half a second, he caught the cashier staring instead. Not at his face, though it would have been nice, but at his tattoos. Second best, still perfect. He smiled a little. His new friend was impressed, he just didn’t know it yet. Wow, creepy much ?

- Hi, what would you like ? – He even had a soft voice. Adorable. True, the man was a touch taller than him, but Yuuji was kind of used to it. He was a realist when it came to his height. Of course, now he’d been asked a question and had no idea what to answer. He knew he liked one of the types of black, he knew Bobata got close to indecent when in company of flavoured green tea and that Tsuchiyu, for such a short and soft-looking guy, drank an unhealthy amount of black coffee, but right now his brain went blank. The cashier was blinking at him with the most innocent and adorable face Yuuji had seen and that definitely didn’t help with his brain activity.

- I’ll take… - He touched his face, a nervous habit he thought had been dead and buried, trying to buy time. What did he like ? Well, that was easy. He liked all the directions the cashier’s messy hair was flying to but that was probably not the right answer. Okay, how about… - Say, what kind of tea would you recommend for this weather ? – Nice one, this sounded almost natural. And then he just had to go and ruin it. - It’s all cold and wet outside ?

“It’s cold and wet outside ?”. What was that ? Why had he tried to turn it into a suggestion ? It didn’t make any sense ! There was nothing sensual in cold and wet weather ! It was…awkward. Awkward and weird, and the cute man would definitely not like it. Though he hadn’t run away or backed off so maybe the situation was salvageable. The silence definitely didn’t make the picture look better and his eyes were just as shifty as the cashier’s but he still had to try, once more.

- …and your phone number…? – He grit his teeth and tried for a charming smile. He knew he could do it, he was hot enough but the long pauses in the conversation were staring to get to him. His confidence, shaken from the wails still echoing in his ears, was definitely going under. And the cashier knew it.

- We have a nice almond, apple and cinnamon tea ? Really suitable for the winter ? If you like spiced… That sounded nice. Like something with a strong scent and flavor that even Tsuchiyu with his weird tastes could like.

- Oh, I love spicy things. I looove hot and spicy…things. – Yuuji suddenly wondered how fast he could run back to the studio, pack a small bag and move to a different continent. Sure, control was tight but he had some savings and wasn’t chased by the Government. It couldn’t be that hard. Because right now, changing his name and inventing a tragic backstory involving a horse, a black field and several cats seemed like a much better option that standing there in the warm shop with the prettiest face he’d seen in a long time carefully backing off from him. It wasn’t fair that the one terrible morning that would traumatize him for, probably, weeks to go, would happen the same day he met his soulmate. Life was unfair. He gave up and picked the most interesting spot on the floor to stare at. It was better than anything he’d done today after his client had left.

- Is it going to be for here ? – Well, that was unexpected. Almost jumping out of his skin, Yuuji couldn’t help but look up at the cashier. He was holding a large jar with his head tilted like a confused bird and Yuuji was in love. Also, that man had, again, asked a question. He was on a roll, all right.

- Um, to go…? Yes, I am taking it with me. Can I have three ? – Good, good, that was good. A full sentence, nothing weird, just regular human interaction. He could do it, he was an adult. He had his own business, damn it ! After a few more tense minutes with only the machine making a single sound and then, silence, the cashier handed him a cardboard tray with three large paper cups. This was pleasant. It was nice. Which was why, of course, he had to go and mess it up again.

- And your phone number ? Maybe ? – The counter looked like real marble. Strong, sturdy, easy to clean. If he slammed his face onto it out of pure mortification, it wouldn’t take the cute guy forever to get it nice and clean and useful again. And it would solve his current problem of not being able to shut up or be charming. Yeah, it sounded like a good plan. Cute guy opened his mouth, either to tell him off or to call for help, but at that exact moment the back door opened again and a tall blond came in.

If the cashier was cute, the new man was intimidating. Yuuji could swear his life went before his eyes like a film reel. Unlike the cashier, he had more than a couple centimetres on Yuuji, and what was worse, he had a blank face that gave off boredom and slight displeasure. Though considering how calm his eyes were, he either was heavily into whips and spikes, or had a basement full of mutilated bodies. Or both. How could someone project such apathy and murderous intent at the same time, Yuuji wasn’t sure, but the man in front of him was succeeding. And it was his cue to leave. Run away. Never show up in that neighbourhood again. Yeah, that sounded like a good plan.

- Thank you for the recommendation. See you ! – At least he still had his good manners. And all his limbs. Which was a win, all things considered. Running almost all the way back, he almost went in with the door, leaving it to slam behind him. From the doorway, Tsuchiyu glanced at him suriously, but Yuuji couldn’t even take a breath.

- You okay, boss ?

- N… - He tried again. And again. – No. I think – He coughed. – I think I barely escaped with my life. And also, I am in love.

Bobata called something from the staff room and Tsuchiyu hushed him.

- How about you come in, sit down and tell us all about it. And, what’s that ? Look at those cups, you’ve really outdone yourself this time.

[maliciouslycreative]

Written For: @spnpolybingo Square Filled: free space Title: Curry Up And Get Those Mangoes Away From Me Ship: Castiel/Jimmy Novak/Dean Winchester Characters: Castiel, Jimmy Novak, Dean Winchester Rating: T Word Count: 2734 Tags: Established Relationship, Polyamory, Twincest, Allergies, Dean Has Allergies, Minor Character Injury, Hurt/Comfort, Jimmy Is A Dumbass AO3 link 

It is inevitably Castiel that chose to tackle taming the back yard after they move into their new house. They are in a corner lot that borders onto the forest on two sides and hasn’t been fenced in yet. The previous owners had obviously left it completely untended for the summer while they were selling the house seeing as it is now overgrown with weeds.

After only about 10 minutes Castiel storms into the house, throws his gloves on the kitchen counter and turns on the sink, vigorously washing his arm.

Dean sets down the instruction manual for the desk from hell that he is attempting to build and moves to stand in the doorway of the kitchen. “Everything alright, babe?”

Castiel casts a scathing look at Dean then goes back to washing his arm. “Everything’s full of poison ivy. At this point I am considering just calling a landscaping company to deal with it.”

“Nah, just point me in the direction of the pesky plants and I’ll get it.”

After shutting off the water Castiel turns and frowns. “No, it’s alright, Dean. It’s a mess out there and I don’t want to risk you getting covered in hives as well.”

Grinning Dean moves to stand in front of Castiel and slides his hands to both of Castiel’s hips. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I got this weird-ass gene that makes me immune to poison ivy but as a trade off I’m allergic to mangos. If I just touch the skin of a mango I break out like most people do when they touch poison ivy.”

Quirking his head to the side Castiel eyes Dean suspiciously. “That is perhaps the strangest thing anyone has ever told me.”

“Seriously, man, I could go roll around naked in a field of poison ivy and it would be like a normal person rolling around in the grass.”

“Well, I would not recommend rolling around in the foliage out there as I also spotted some wild roses.”

“Got it, keep my pants on and wear the gloves.” Dean winks at Castiel before giving him a quick peck on the lips. He grabs the gloves off the table and heads out the back door. Less than a minute later he comes back in and grins sheepishly at Castiel. “Uhh maybe you should show me what the weeds are otherwise I’ll just wind up pulling everything.”

“Sure thing, just let me change out of these clothes since they’re probably covered in poison ivy.”

----

Castiel is lounging in one of the rickety deck chairs sipping a beer when Jimmy finally gets home. He gives Castiel a quick peck on the lips before flopping into the other deck chair. “Nice view.” He points to Dean who is bent over the flower bed, hem of his pink panties poking out the top of his jeans.

“The best” Castiel offers Jimmy his beer which he happily accepts.

“So what’s up with the supervisor position? I thought you’d be the one out there on your knees.”

“Poison ivy.” Castiel holds up his arm, an angry red rash now running down it.

“Jesus,” Jimmy leans forward to inspect the damage. “Need me to kiss it better?”

“Please don’t touch it, I already want to cut off my arm.”

Rolling his eyes Jimmy gently takes Castile’s hand and pulls his arm over so he can lay a gentle kiss on Castiel’s wrist. “Of course I’m going to be careful, I’m not a total dumbass.”

The smile that blooms on Castiel’s face is soft and brilliant. “Thanks, Jimmy”

“Anything for you, bro.” He gives Castiel’s wrist another gentle kiss before he releases his hand. “He gestures to Dean “I’m gonna go say hi to the stud muffin over there.” He saunters over to Dean and gives him a firm slap on the ass.

Dean jumps up, flinging his trowel into the brush. “Son of a bitch!”

Jimmy can’t help the loud laugh, “Sorry, just couldn’t resist. You know how much I love your ass.”

“Yeah, I know.” With a sigh Dean bends down to retrieve his trowel. Just as he is about to grab it Jimmy notices the poison ivy near his arm, “Hey, watch out!” he yells as he bats Dean’s arm out of the way.

“Dude what the fuck?” Dean shoots him a bitch face.

“There was poison ivy!”

Dean looks at the poison ivy that is now resting against Jimmy’s arm. “So’s that, dumbass.”

Jimmy’s eyes widen. “Fuck tits.” He says as he gingerly extracts his arm from the brush and eyes it in bewilderment.

Dean gestures towards the house, “Let’s go get you washed up. And order some supper because you and Cas are honestly walking disasters.” The two of them start heading towards the house.

“At least I saved you from suffering.”

Dean stops and turns to Jimmy ‘Dude, I’m immune to poison ivy.”

Jimmy’s mouth drops open, “So I did that for nothing.”

“Fraid so,” Dean shrugs and starts heading towards the house.

-----

The three gathered around the kitchen table looking through various takeout menus. Jimmy holds up one for an Indian place that he’s never heard of. “I could go for some curry.”

Castiel wrinkles his nose at the suggestion. “I hate curry.”

“Dude, we have the same genes, I don’t know how you can hate curry. Curry is like one of my favourite things” Jimmy pouts at Castiel.

Putting down the pizza menu he’d been glancing over Castiel frowns at Jimmy. “Just because we’re twins doesn’t mean we have to like all the same things.  It’s not my fault that I have better taste than you.”

“You do not have better taste.”

“You like Vegimite and you’re not even Australian.” He levels Jimmy with a blank stare. “And dubstep.”

“He’s got you there.” Dean shrugs.

Jimmy pouts at his boyfriends. “You two are asses.”

“No, we just have better taste.” Castiel winks at Jimmy. “Despite your shortcomings I do still love you.”

“Aww, just lay the romance on me, Cassie.” Grinning Jimmy leans and gives Castiel a quick kiss. “So, what do you want then?”

Castiel tilts his head to the side as he thinks for a few seconds. “I could go for some butter chicken.”

Jimmy makes a big show of rolling his eyes and looking at Castiel in exasperation. “Really?” Castiel just shrugs at him in response. Jimmy turns to Dean who is still intently studying a Chinese menu. “How about you, hot stuff?”

“Man I’m just starving; I don’t care what we eat. Just nothing with mangos.” Dean levels Jimmy with a stern look “I’m serious Jimmy. No fucking mangos.”

Rolling his eyes Jimmy walks into the living room with the Indian places’ menu so he can have some quiet as he makes the order. “No fucking mangos, Jimmy” he mutters mockingly as he waits for the dial tone.

-----

For once the three of them are gathered around the kitchen table to eat. Usually they just grab their plates and park themselves on the couch to watch TV. Since they were sharing dishes they decided it was best to eat at the table.  

“What even is that?” Castiel frowns as he pokes at one of the dishes.

Jimmy shrugs and scoops some of it onto his plate. “I don’t even remember what I ordered. Just try it, I’m sure it’s good.”

Castiel wrinkles his nose at the dish and instead just grabs the whole container of butter chicken. Yah they’re supposed to be sharing but there’s no way he’s putting curry anywhere near his mouth.

Dean however has no qualms about eating mystery food so he enthusiastically heaps some of everything on his plate. He takes his first bite of what he assumes is curry and freezes after chewing once. His eyes gradually widen until after several seconds he spits the rice onto his plate.

“wow, gross.” Jimmy says.

“Dude, did you fucking order something with mangos?” Dean is now getting up from the table and heading out of the room.

“I Don’t know, maybe? What’s the big deal?” He yells after Dean who is making a hasty retreat.

“The deal,” Dean pauses in the doorway and scowls at Jimmy, “Is I am allergic to one fucking thing on this planet. Mangos.” He spins on his heal and storms off to the bedroom.

Jimmy gets up and follows Dean. “Shit, I didn’t know! Where are you going?”

“To fucking take some Benadryl and see if I even still have an epi pen.”

“I didn’t even know you had an epi pen!” Jimmy is now hot on Dean’s heels.

“Yah,” Dean spins around and jabs Jimmy in the chest with his index finger. “It’s for when my asshole boyfriend feeds me the one thing I am fucking deathly allergic to.” That being said he spins, stalks into the bedroom and slams the door in Jimmy’s face. After a moment the sound of Cream starts wafting through the house.

“I’m sorry!” Jimmy yells at the closed door. “I just thought you were being weird about mangoes. Like with the asparagus!” He stares forlornly at the door for a couple minutes before shuffling back into the kitchen. “You could have stepped in any time there, Cas.”

Castiel pauses, fork resting in his butter chicken, “No, I think you were doing a good enough job being an ass all on your own.”

Jimmy sighs and slumps further into his chair. “Did you even know he was allergic to mangoes?”

Castiel sets down his fork and then crosses his arms in front of himself on the table. “Yes. When we started dating he told us and has reminded us of this numerous times over the years. Most recently at the grocery store last week when you were holding up a bottle of mango juice and asking him if we should try something new.”

And yah, Jimmy sort of remembers that. Well he remembers Dean saying not to get the juice but he’d honestly forgotten what kind of juice he was even holding up in the first place. He picks up his fork and idly pushes the food around on his plate while he thinks back. Ok yah, maybe the whole mango thing had come up a lot. “I’m kind of an ass, aren’t I?” Castiel snorts and nods his head in the affirmative. Shoulders drooping Jimmy starts eating his dinner.

-----

Dean eventually comes out of the bedroom a couple hours later. His face is puffy and he’s talking with a bit of a lisp. He talks quietly to Cas for a couple minutes before grabbing a tub of lime yogurt from the fridge and retreating to the bedroom.

“Is he still pissed?” Jimmy asks. He’s sitting on the couch wringing his hands slightly and not paying attention to the movie playing on the TV.

“A little but mostly he’s just tired. I’m going to head out to the store to get a couple things, you need anything?”

“Nah,” Jimmy shakes his head. He tilts his head up so that Castiel can give him a quick kiss on the lips. Castiel has his shoes on and is reaching for the front door when Jimmy has the idea. “Cas!” He jumps up and rushes to the door. “Um, maybe you could get Dean that ice cream he likes. With the peanut butter cups and some Dr. Pepper. And maybe a pie. Oh and maybe I should just-”

“Jimmy,” At the sound of his name Jimmy jumps slightly. However, Castiel is grinning at him. “Don’t worry. Just let Dean sleep it off and you can dote on him and apologise 500 times tomorrow.”

“Yah, ok.” Jimmy deflates slightly.

Castiel lays a hand gently on Jimmy’s cheek. “He’s not going to hate you forever, even though you did try to kill him. Remember the first time he let you drive Baby and you backed up into that shopping cart? That was far worse and he forgave you for that.”

Jimmy groans and puts a hand over his face. “Jesus, Cas, I had blocked that from my memory.”

Chuckling Castiel pulls the hand away from Jimmy’s face and leans in to kiss him softly. They kiss gently for a couple moments, Jimmy wrapping his arms around Castiel’s waist and Castiel sliding his hands back to tangle in Jimmy’s hair.

Castiel eventually pulls away and sighs softly into Jimmy’s shoulder. “I need to get going before the grocery store closes and then I’d be forced to go to Walmart.”

Nodding Jimmy steps back and shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Yah, and, um, thanks for making sure he’s ok.”

“I’d do anything for you two. Which apparently means playing mediator from time to time when you two can’t control your mouths.”

Jimmy shrugs grinning sheepishly at Castiel. “What can I say, I gotta keep you on your toes.”

-----

Jimmy wakes to the sounds and smells of someone cooking in the kitchen. Considering the smoke alarm isn’t going off he’s going to bet that it’s Dean in the kitchen. Jimmy felt so guilty last night that he wound up sleeping on the couch. He gets up slowly, stretching his limbs and cringing at the pop his back makes. He slowly shuffles into the kitchen while trying to rub the last bits of sleep from his eyes.

“Mornin’ sunshine. Was just gonna go wake you.” Dean greets.

“So you’re not mad at me?”

“Not gonna lie, I’m a little pissed still but it was an accident. I’m sure you can find some way to make it up to me.” He sets a plate in front of Jimmy and winks at him.

Relief flooding through him Jimmy picks up his fork and looks over what Dean cooked for him. A huge smile spreads across his face as he realises it’s an omelette with cheese, green onions and sausage. “Anything for you, babe.” He stuffs a giant piece of omelette into his mouth and starts chewing blissfully. It’s about three seconds later when he stops mid chew his eyes going wide. For a moment he ponders the merits of finishing chewing what’s in his mouth or spitting it out.

“Something wrong, darlin’?” Dean grins and watches Jimmy struggle with the mouthful of food.

After a few more seconds he grimaces and valiantly chokes down the omelette. “Uhh, is there cilantro in this?”

“Oh, is there a problem with cilantro? I’m sorry I didn’t know.” Dean tries his best to make an innocent face but every second it morphs more and more into a grin.

“Umm yah. You know that Cas and me got that gene that makes cilantro taste like dirty ass soap.”

“Really now!” Dean tries to feign surprise. “I guess I just forgot or something.”

That’s when the realisation hits Jimmy. He totally deserved this. Yah his mouth tastes like someone took a bar of soap, rolled it around in the mud then shoved it in his mouth but damn did Dean play this well. It starts with his shoulders shaking slightly and slowly grows into his whole body trembling before the laugh bubbles out. He reaches up and grabs Dean by the collar of the shirt. “I love you, asshole.” He pulls Dean down and smashes their lips together. The kiss is awkward and sloppy but the two of them break apart grinning.

“Here, let me get you the omelette that isn’t full of cilantro.” Dean reaches for the plate but Jimmy bats his hand away.

“Nah, I gotta reap what I sew. I think I can manage to eat cilantro this once.” To his credit, Jimmy tries really hard. The first few bites he manages to swallow mostly out of determination. However by the time he gets to the fifth he’s starting to rethink his life. Yah he wants to prove to Dean he can do this but on the other hand he fucking wants to rip out his tongue. Who the fuck even likes cilantro?

After the sixth bite Dean reaches out and takes Jimmy’s plate. His smile is broad and his eyes twinkle with amusement. “Seriously, dude.” He places a fresh omelette in front of Jimmy. “I appreciate your effort but I think you’ve suffered enough.”

“Oh thank god,” Jimmy sighs and grins at Dean. “I love you.”

Dean rolls his eyes, “Yah, I know. Now eat your damn breakfast.”

[lucifers-trash-stash]

Runaways

A/N: I hope y’all are ready to feel some angst because I’ve finally finished my young Merle and Daryl Dixon fic! This fic takes place after Daryl was lost in the woods for nine days and his father didn’t even notice he was gone. After an argument with their father over this, Merle takes Daryl away with him to get away from their abusive father.

Word count: 4,471

Warnings: Language, mention of domestic abuse, mention of prostitution, sad brother angst feels

Without a word, Daryl Dixon shuffled through the rickety door of the trailer he lived in. It had been nine days since getting lost in the woods, and all he’d had were some berries he’d scrounged up. His hands, as well as a few other places, were uncomfortably itchy, as he’d accidentally used poison ivy leaves as toilet paper. He was starved, and the only thing on his mind was reaching the kitchen and walking past his father, who’d no doubt reprimand him for being gone for so long.

But that wasn’t what happened. Daryl’s father sat in his easy chair as he watched a wrestling match on TV. He barely glanced at Daryl when he came in. His father was more interested in the beer in his hand than his own missing son. It was better than being yelled at, Daryl supposed, and he walked into the kitchen to fix something to eat.

Without bothering to clean his hands of the muck caked on his palms, he grabbed the container of bologna and slapped a few pieces between slices of plain white bread. He was too hungry to add anything else. He just stood there in the kitchen, head down and swallowing his sandwich in big gulps like someone would take it away from him if he didn’t eat it fast enough.

As he turned to grab himself a glass of water, the screen door in the living room slammed open and Daryl flinched at the sound. The volume of the TV was turned down and Daryl heard his father chuckle to himself.

“Things didn’t work out with that slut, huh?” his father asked. “I’ll never get ya to fucking leave at this rate.”

“Fuck off old man,” the familiar raspy voice of Daryl’s older brother Merle carried into the kitchen. “I’m in between jobs right now and I need a place to crash.”

“Right, of course ya are. My good for nothin’ son can’t keep a fucking job to save his life.” A brief silence followed. “Why the fuck don’t you go over to Judy’s? She’ll let ya stay for cheap.”

“I don’t need to be sloppy seconds for that whore,” Merle grunted. “Especially if my limp dick daddy already put it to her first.”

“Didn’t know the princess was so goddamn picky,” his father sneered.

Daryl heard the heavy footfalls of boots as Merle walked into the kitchen. Merle was a lean young man in his twenties at the prime of his life. Life hadn’t been kind to him, especially with his numerous juvie records, but his posture still radiated a youthful cockiness that Daryl had never seen falter. Merle gave his younger brother one look and instantly knew something was wrong.

He walked over to the younger boy and gripped his forearms as he looked at the rash. Merle leaned down so that he could look his brother in the eye. “The fuck did ya do to yerself?”

Daryl looked down at his feet, avoiding his brother’s gaze. “Got lost out by the woods near the ravine. Nine days.”

Merle’s eyes widened as he looked at his brother head to toe. He shook his brother’s arms again and asked, “This anywhere else?”

Daryl nodded and looked off to the side to hide his shame. Merle released his brother and stormed into the living room. Daryl stared at the floor as he heard the slam of Merle's boot into the backside of their father’s chair.

“Why didn’t ya fucking call me?! My baby brother was missing and ya didn’t tell me!?” Merle shouted over the TV before it was turned down again.

“Missing? Ya got yer eyes open, boy? Daryl’s in the kitchen.”

“He told me he was gone for nine days! Ya telling me that ya didn’t notice him for nine fucking days!?”

“He's here now, ain't he? Don't matter where he's been if he's back now."

Merle snorted. "Ya said the exact same shit when Mama came back to yer sorry ass after leavin’ ya for months and taking me with her. Do ya even remember that?"

"It's cause I knew that bitch would come around again. She's lucky I took her ass back, that woman wasn't good enough for no one."

"Don't you talk about her that way!" Merle shouted. "She's dead cause you drove her to drink! I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did with the way you treated her-"

"And who was the one who didn't put the cigarette out when she fell asleep!?" his father yelled as Daryl heard him get up from the chair.

"I wasn’t even a teenager! Daryl could barely fucking walk! Ya were the only adult around and ya were too busy fucking some whore instead of taking care of yer kids!"

A loud thwack sounded through the trailer. Daryl knew that sound, though he'd never been subjected to it himself. He saw the scars that his brother hid underneath his clothes. Merle would pretend they didn't exist so that Daryl wouldn't have to worry. But he did.

Their father's voice dropped to a low hiss. "Ya watch yer tongue, boy. Yer lucky I let that bitch keep the both of ya. If it was up to me ya would've been better off aborted. That way I wouldn't have to waste the energy to smack the sense into ya when ya act out."

There were a lot of words that Merle and his father said that Daryl didn't understand. When he repeated them in school he was taken to the side by his teachers and told they weren't nice words. Abortion was a foreign concept to him, though he assumed it was just another bad word.

Daryl shifted nervously as the silence lingered in the air, its oppressive nature almost suffocating him as he held his breath in wait. He heard the boots again as Merle appeared in the door, a fresh gash on his lower lip. Without a word, he walked over and hooked his arm around Daryl’s skinny shoulders and guided him towards the living room. Daryl avoided the gaze of their father as they walked past him. Merle leaned down, picking up the duffel bag that sat next to the entryway and pushed through the front door.

Their father stood on the porch as Merle brought Daryl over to his rusty pickup truck. He tossed the duffel bag into the back and ushered Daryl into the passenger's seat.

As Merle walked in front of his truck to get over to the driver's seat, his father called out to him, "The fuck ya think yer going, boy?"

"Leaving yer life like the fucking abortion I am," Merle said as he flipped the bird and climbed in. The truck squealed as Merle peeled out and floored it.

The two drove in silence for awhile, every so often jumping a bit from the bumps in the dirt road that led out of the trailer park. Daryl grunted as he slammed back onto the seat in an uncomfortable position, the pain from his rash still ever present. Merle cursed under his breath and slowed the truck.

"Sorry little bro, forgot ya weren't doing so hot," Merle said, his foot fluttering the brakes until he went the speed limit. "Yer one tough little shit, ain't ya? Nine fucking days, damn. Yer a fucking pro-"

"What's an abortion?" Daryl asked.

Merle's mouth hung open slightly as he drove on, before giving his brother a quick pat on the knee and flashing him a wide grin. "Don't ya worry about that, little bro. Nothing ya need to think about."

Daryl looked out the window as they drove on. Merle never told him anything. He was almost a teenager, not some kid who wouldn't know any better. He admired his big brother and wanted to be seen as someone Merle could tell things to. Merle bottled everything up, and Daryl just wanted to be seen as someone he could rely on even with the large age gap.

"Where we going?" Daryl asked.

"Hospital."

"Thought ya said hospitals were for rich bastards who wouldn't give us the time of day?" Daryl said, repeating verbatim what his Merle told him when their dad left a long cut down the elder brother's back.

Merle chuckled and looked at his brother. "Yeah, but this is different. Cream ain't gonna solve all the mess you got going down below. You'll thank me once ya can take a shit without ripping yer hair out from the pain."

Daryl smiled and leaned his head against the glass, resting his eyes as he listened to the faint sound of rock music coming out of the stereo.

Daryl still felt a burn of embarrassment on his face after the nurse was finished up with him, but he was feeling much better than he had been. The nurse was a sweet young woman who assured him he'd be alright as long as he paid better attention next time he played in the woods. Her attention was now on Merle as she was focused on his cut lip.

"Oh sweetheart, ya don't need to worry about me," Merle said, smirking as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting on in the small room.

The nurse blushed slightly as she turned and grabbed the antiseptic and some cotton pads. "Oh hush up, you might as well get it taken care of while you're here. What did you do?"

Merle gave her a sly smile as he tilted his up to give her more room to work. "Just a little disagreement is all. Ya should see the other guy, I got off pretty good," he said. Daryl’s eyes fell to the floor, knowing full well what actually happened.

"Oh poor baby," the nurse cooed as she applied the antiseptic to his lip. Daryl watched how his brother didn't flinch from the pain and wondered if he'd be that tough when he got to be Merle’s age.

The nurse handed Merle a small bag of ice cubes wrapped in a paper towel once she was finished. "Now that'll help the swelling. You stay out of fights now, you hear? Wouldn't want to let that handsome face get roughed up any more."

Merle thanked her and gave her a quick wink before gesturing for his brother to follow him. The nurse smiled and wished the boys a good day as they made their way back to the waiting room.

As Merle made his way up to the receptionist, Daryl waited nervously for his older brother to say the words he dreaded hearing. That they were poor, had no money, and needed a payment plan. Daryl didn't want to burden his brother with the bill, but he knew Merle wouldn't listen to him. Daryl stared at his shoes as Merle dug out his wallet and put a card on the counter. "Our daddy's taking care of the bill today, ma'am," he said.

Daryl looked up at his brother with wide eyes. Merle gave his brother a quick wink as they finished up there, and the receptionist informed them that the pharmacy would have Daryl's ointment ready in a few hours. Merle thanked her and held the door open for his brother as they walked out.

"How'd ya get dad's card?" Daryl asked.

Merle shook his head as he looked down at his brother. "Daddy keeps his stuff just laying around the house. He should know better with the couple of troublemakers he raised. Once yer a little older I'll teach ya some good tricks so wherever ya are ya won't have to go too hungry."

Daryl squinted against the sun and gave his brother a grin. Merle was the only one who'd ever seen Daryl smile that wide in his life, as Merle was the only one who made him happy enough to do so.  

As they climbed into the truck, Merle took the ice off of his lips and opened the bag. He took an ice cube and bit into it with a crunch before offering some to his brother. Daryl looked at him curiously and asked, "Don't ya need those for yer lip?"

"I'll give ya a little tip baby brother," Merle started. "Chicks dig scars and cuts and shit. That nurse in there was real fucking interested in yer big brother. They do the whole "oh poor baby” thing, but it's like instinct that they go for the stronger dude with all the scrapes and bruises. Shows ya can defend yer lady."

Daryl frowned slightly. "And the scars on yer back?"

Merle sighed and put another ice cube in his mouth. "Those are different. Believe me, ya don't want the kind I got." He turned to Daryl and gave him a solemn look. "Ya don't got 'em, right?"

Daryl shook his head and Merle let out a small sigh of relief as he turned back towards the steering wheel. "That's good. He likes ya a lot more than me. Yer quiet and keep to yerself. He hates anyone that calls him out on his shit."

Daryl mulled over this revelation as his brother put the truck into gear and drove off.

The pickup truck drove up into a driveway that was unfamiliar to Daryl. He was tired from the long day they'd had. Merle had told him that it was Daryl's special day and that he was in charge of what they did that afternoon. Daryl had decided on things that he usually wasn't able to indulge in, such as ice cream, movies, and a few comic books. Merle didn't even mind taking him to get clothes that weren't old hand me downs, so he had a few new shirts and some pants as well. Merle didn't care as long as they were using their father's card, which he told Daryl that he wouldn't notice was gone until much later.

Merle opened the door for Daryl and he slid out with a yawn. It was pitch black out except for the glowing porch light in front of the small run down house. Merle's shoulders slumped as he looked back at his brother and knocked on the door.

It wasn't too long before a woman, looking to be around their father's age, opened up the door. Daryl was standing behind Merle and yet he could still see the garish leopard print nightgown over her body, her long flowing red hair pulled off to one side and her makeup done up in a way that Daryl thought looked like a clown.

"Merle Dixon, look how you've grown!" the woman drawled as she leaned her hand against the door-frame. "You're the spitting image of yer daddy, what with that handsome square jaw..."

"Yeah yeah, hey Judy," Merle said, shifting on his feet. "I need a favor."

"Anything for you baby," she purred before she noticed Daryl standing behind Merle. "Damn it honey, I don't get involved in this kind of shit."

"Fuck no! This is my baby brother, Daryl. We need a place to crash for the night," Merle explained.

"Baby, you know I have an established business here, I can't exactly let you hang around," she said before giving Daryl a wink. "It’s my office hours, sweetie," she explained. Daryl still furrowed his brows in confusion as Merle continued.

"I'll make it worth yer while," Merle said as he reached for his wallet and handed her a bill. "That's still the price, right?"

Judy rolled her eyes. "That's for a few hours, darling. If you're going to waste my entire night so I can't get any customers, you're going to need to do better than that."

Merle retrieved a few more crumpled bills and handed them to her. "Better?"

"Much," Judy said as she stepped back to let the boys inside.

Daryl took in the surroundings. It was only slightly bigger than their trailer, but it was much cleaner. The coffee table was free of clutter, except for a few cigarette containers. The floor and walls were free of stains. And most of all the couch looked comfortable. Daryl was starting to feel tired and wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep.

"My room's down this way, sugar," Judy said to Merle and he shook his head.

"I'm not doing that. Think of it as giving you the night off," Merle said.

"Well unless you want to sleep on the floor, there's nowhere else except for my bed," Judy said. She smiled and leaned into him. "Come on, we don't have to do nothing, just cuddle. It's not too often I get someone as young and handsome as you knocking on my door."

Merle sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Alright, alright." He turned to his brother and smiled at him. "Ya gonna be okay out here Daryl?"

Daryl was already making himself comfortable on the couch as he kicked his shoes off and curled up. He nodded and Merle smiled. Daryl turned over to face the couch as the two of them went into the other room. Daryl didn't think too much about Merle staying with this woman; he trusted his brother's decisions.

As he was lying there, he realized he was a bit cold. He couldn't find any blankets on the side of the couch so he picked himself up and silently walked to the bedroom door. As he was working up the courage to knock, he heard hushed whispers behind the door and held his hand to his side as he listened.

"Jesus, sugar, did your daddy do that to you? Why don't you get out of there?"

"And go where? I can't afford to keep paying ya to stay. I've got no fucking job. Not to mention my slut of a girlfriend was fucking some other prick on the side so I'm left with no fucking place to go other than the old man's."

"The longer you stay there the easier it'll be for him to decide to do more than hit you. You need to get a job and get back on your feet is all. Maybe sleep a few nights in your truck, but that's not too bad."

"Where? No one in town will hire me with my reputation, and no one outside of town will look at me twice with my juvie record. I'm just lucky I haven't been caught since I became an adult or else it'd be worse."

"Well shit honey, the military will let you in with a waiver. They pay pretty good."

Merle snorted. "Me, in the military? Does this lip look like I take orders well? Not to mention that I ain't leaving Daryl. I can't, not with our daddy."

"Sugar, I know you're not going to like to hear this. You can't keep running around with him. He needs to go to school, he needs food and a safe place to sleep. If you go to the military, you'll make enough to come back and give him a better place to live. Your father isn't the best man, but it's something for the time being."

There was a long silence. Daryl gulped down the lump in his throat and stared at his feet as he thought about what he'd heard. Merle wouldn't leave him again, right? He only saw him every once in a while as it was, he couldn't just go, and to the military no less. Merle had said that law enforcement were a bunch of "fascists," a word Daryl didn't know but sounded bad by the way his brother had spat it out like something venomous.

Not wanting to hear anything more, Daryl went back to the couch and curled back up. He tucked his head into his body as he counted the breaths he took before slowly drifting off to sleep.

Daryl tried his best to forget the conversation he’d heard last night, which was fairly easy because he was experiencing things that were typically reserved for special occasions. Judy had made them pancakes from scratch, and even let Daryl help when he asked. They were the best he’d ever tasted in his life, not that he had the opportunity to eat homemade anything very often.

They had to leave shortly after that. Judy had her day job and wouldn’t be back until late tonight. She told Merle that they were welcome to stay again if he had the money. Merle said he’d think about it before sliding into the driver’s seat next to Daryl and heading off.

Today was another day of Daryl deciding what they should do. After considering his options for a few minutes, he told Merle that he was fine with whatever he wanted to do. From a young age he learned not to expect anything extra aside from food and clothes, so he didn’t have many ideas. Merle had given him a sad smile, ruffled his hair, and took him to the city and went wherever the day took them.

By lunchtime Daryl was trying to decide what he would say to his brother. Whether he would ask about what Judy had told him, if he’d given it any more thought. By the time that Merle walked back to the table with their pizza, Daryl finally knew.

Merle had already taken a huge bite of his slice as Daryl asked, “You gonna to do it?” Merle cocked his eyebrow and chewed slowly, looking into his younger brother’s eyes for a moment before swallowing.

“I can’t hide jack from ya, huh?” Merle asked and gave his brother a small smile. Daryl didn’t laugh, so Merle sighed and continued. “I might.”

“You said the law ain’t good for nothin’,” Daryl muttered as he stared down at his pizza.

“Yeah, well, if they’d pay yer older brother to go and run around in a uniform, they got some use,” Merle said before stuffing another bite into his mouth.

“So yer just gonna leave me?” Daryl asked, barely registering above a whisper.

Merle furrowed his brow and looked sadly at his brother before swallowing. “I ain’t leavin’ ya. Nor permanently. Just until I can scrape enough together to get ya outta dad’s place.” Merle strummed his fingers on the table. He shook his head and looked back up at Daryl. “I shouldn’t have taken you away in the first place. Give ya all sorts of high hopes that we can just go rogue when I ain’t got enough to support myself, much less the both of us.”

Daryl wrung his hands underneath the table, trying to keep his mind occupied so he wouldn’t focus on the lump in his throat. Deep down Daryl knew that this wasn’t permanent, that the ride had to end soon. But he couldn’t go back to his father’s when Merle wouldn’t be with him. He’d be gone to the military for who knows how long, and while he trusted his brother he wasn’t sure how their father would treat them after running away with his wallet and going wild. And perhaps Merle knew this too, Daryl wasn’t sure.

Daryl nodded as he took his first bite, trying to savor the flavor when he knew he wouldn’t taste anything nearly as good in the distant future. Merle gave his brother a small smile, his eyes laced with a touch of guilt, though Daryl didn’t notice. The two suffered their own pain in silence, both too afraid to ruin the moment by mentioning anything more.

“We almost there yet?” Daryl asked as he ducked under another mess of low hanging branches. Merle was just slightly ahead of him, pushing the bramble bushes to the side and hoisting the backpack full of what he had bought for Daryl over the past two days higher on his shoulder.

Merle looked into the clearing and smiled. “Yeah yeah, don’t get yer knickers in a twist. We’re here.”

Daryl stepped out from behind his brother and stared at what sat in front of them. It was a small shack-like building, much like a clubhouse that some of the neighborhood kids’ parents made for them. Though this one looked a little more homemade, like someone his age had built it. Daryl looked up at Merle, who seemed to swell with pride looking at the clubhouse.

“Been a long time since I’ve seen this thing,” Merle said as he stepped closer. “Surprised the damn thing still holds up. Just shows ya how talented yer big brother is.”

Merle held the door open for Daryl as he ducked inside, the doorway just a head too short for him. The inside wasn’t incredibly fancy, though Daryl was curious to know how Merle managed to lug in a decent sized easy chair. There was also a small coffee table, and a few plastic storage boxes stacked in the corner with miscellaneous stuff. Merle tossed the backpack next to the boxes and sat down on the table.

“Built this place so I had somewhere quiet to get away from the old man when I was yer age,” Merle said as he dragged one of the boxes to his feet and opened it up. “Plus he ain’t so keen on letting his sons have fun, so I kept all the good stuff here so he wouldn’t toss it.”

Daryl flopped down in the chair just as Merle let out a low whistle at what he found in the box. He gave Daryl a wide grin as he lifted an issue of Playboy out and waved it back and forth. Daryl blushed slightly and shrugged his shoulders, making Merle laugh.

“Yeah, act like that. You’ll be thanking yer big brother in a few years for these puppies,” Merle said as he flipped quickly through the issue and set it back in the box with the rest. He moved to stand up and let himself out, with Daryl following close behind.

Merle sighed, looking back at Daryl before asking him, “So, ya think it’ll work out for ya?”

Without warning, Daryl took Merle by surprise and gave him a tight hug, nearly knocking the wind out of him in the process. Merle threw his head back and cackled, giving Daryl a solid clap on the back.

“Alright, alright, I get it. I am pretty great after all,” Merle said, ruffling his brother’s hair but not yet prying himself free from Daryl’s grip. Merle knew how much Daryl needed him, so he shifted slightly as the two stood there.

He couldn’t tell if Daryl was tearing up right now, but Merle felt himself holding back the lump in his chest. Once he went off to training, he wouldn’t be able to see Daryl for a long time. The least he could do was hug his brother goodbye until he came back home.

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[nickdelo]

Top 25 Films of the 21st Century

Nick’s List

1. Boyhood (Linklater, 2014) 2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry, 2004) 3. Before Sunset (Linklater, 2004) 4. In Bruges (McDonagh, 2008) 5. Children of Men (Cuaron, 2006) 6. There Will Be Blood (P.T. Anderson, 2007) 7. Inside Llewyn Davis (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2013) 8. Before Midnight (Linklater, 2013) 9. The Master (P.T. Anderson, 2012) 10. The Social Network (Fincher, 2010) 11. In the Mood for Love (Kar-wai, 2000) 12. Nightcrawler (Gilroy, 2014) 13. Ex Machina (Garland, 2015) 14. Hell or High Water (Mackenzie, 2016) 15. Moonlight (Barry Jenkins, 2016) 16. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin, 2012) 17. Catch Me If You Can (Spielberg, 2002) 18. The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2009) 19. The Departed (Scorses, 2006) 20. Short Term 12 (Cretton, 2013) 21. The Prestige (Nolan, 2006) 22. Mud (Nichols, 2013) 23. Y Tu Mama También (Cuaron, 2001) 24. Creed (Coogler, 2015) 25. Frances Ha (Baumbach, 2012)

John’s List 1. Gladiator (Scott, 2000) 2. Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007) 3. Inside Llewyn Davis (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2013) 4. Anchorman (McKay, 2004) 5. No Country for Old Men (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2007) 6. Training Day (Fuqua, 2001) 7. Django Unchained (Tarantino, 2012) 8. There Will Be Blood (P.T. Anderson, 2007) 9. John Wick 2 (Stahelski, 2017) 10. Inside man (Lee, 2006) 11. Burn After Reading (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2008) 12. American Psycho (Harron, 2000) 13. Gone Girl (Fincher, 2014) 14. Zoolander (Stiller, 2001) 15. Best in Show (Guest, 2000) 16. Nice Guys (Black, 2016) 17. Adaptation (Jonze, 2002) 18. Birdman (Inarritu, 2014) 19. Bernie (Linklater, 2011) 20. Sicario (Villeneuve, 2015) 21. The Master (P.T. Anderson, 2012) 22. The LEGO Movie (Lord and Miller, 2014) 23. Doubt (Shanley, 2008) 24. The Savages (Tamara Jenkins, 2008) 25. Silence (Scorsese, 2016)

ND: We've had this discussion a few times before: is there a difference between "best" and "favorite?" My initial reaction is no. We like what we like, for whatever reason you come to or criteria you choose, that's the grading scale, pure and simple.

The one glaring instance where the "best" and "favorite" line begins to blur is with the work of Richard Linklater, whose films are so emotionally vulnerable that they have effectively changed the way I see the world. In another filmmaker's hands, Boyhood would have been a showy gimmick, but Linklater understood what this project needed to be before shooting the first scene, allowing the deeply human nature of the film to unfold beautifully and organically. It deserves a spot on this list for innovation alone. Explain yourself, John!

JI: With a fear of being blocked from continuing this project, I must admit, I haven't seen Boyhood yet. That's is the plain and simple reason why it is not included on my list. Wish I had some lame, pretentious reason for its exclusion. 

ND: I am happy to see you've somewhat made up for this oversight with the selection of other outstanding Linklater film, Bernie. It's a rare feat to so perfectly utilize two very specific actors (Jack Black and Matthew McConaughey). Walk me through your process a bit before we get into detail. JI: My process was pretty simple and I think you outlined it pretty well, I picked what I like. I could tell you why I picked each and every one of these movies individually but on the whole, you have to go with your gut and pick the movies you feel are the best to you. Also, as we have discussed previously, going into being best is staying power. There are a few movies I've only seen maybe once or twice but I still think of them to this day. Movies like Doubt and Silence are like that for me. I feel if a movie has that kind of power it is impossible to not include it on a "best" list. Please feel free to eviscerate me for not seeing Boyhood, I deserve it.  ND: You have shamed me, son. Boyhood is on Netflix so you're running out of excuses. Though I am not without sin, having not seen Doubt.

JI: Huge misstep on my part, for many reasons but especially since I really enjoy Ethan Hawke. ND: My girlfriend will be relieved to know I am not the only one.

Anyway, film-going experiences that resonate with me long after I leave the theater always score the highest on my lists, as the director's ability to utilize all aspects of the medium plays a huge part in landing an emotional impact or gathering more information upon repeat viewings. So it's no surprise the Coen Bros., Paul Thomas Anderson, Alfonso Cauron, and David Fincher are prominently featured throughout our lists as masters of blending the cerebral with a cinematic spectacle. I should address the lack of comedies on my list (though In Bruges, Eternal Sunshine, Llewyn Davis, and Frances Ha are all loosely comedic). Don't get me wrong, there are few things better than laughing your ass off in a theater, but when applying the "re-watch" test to some of my all-time favorite comedies (Walk Hard, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, 21 Jump Street), the jokes, once tread, aren't good enough to lift the film to the highest class, considering the low bar for cinematography, acting and, most importantly, narrative. I may be in the minority here, but these movies are largely fleeting experiences as I grow older. What are your insights into your comedic selections? I wouldn't classify Hot Fuzz as a strict comedy considering the high-wire act Edgar Wright always pulls off, nor Best in Show, a borderline Shakespearean experience with levels of complexity to the jokes. Anchorman is clearly a classic, and you obviously believe it has aged well. Zoolander, though, I'll need some convincing. JI: I think I largely agree with your take on comedies in regards to putting them on a best list but in terms of rewatchability I'm not sure I agree as much. Of course there are comedies that don't stand the test of time, Borat chief among them, but for the most part I feel great comedies stay funny no matter how many times you've heard the jokes. Addressing your second point about the two straight up comedies, Anchorman and Zoolander, there is a level of comfort and familiarity with those two. I'm not confident they actually do still hold up but since I saw them at the time I did I think they still hold that spot for me, if that makes any sense. A perfect example of being weary of their relevance now is the fact I haven't and never plan on seeing either sequel. On Zoolander specifically, I saw it in theaters and hated it but every subsequent viewing I've enjoyed it more and more and no matter how many times I've seen it there are still lines that crack me up. Not sure if that does anything to convince you but it just strikes a cord for me and I can't really explain it but seeing it when it came out in 2001 rather than today is a big part of that.

About the other two, I just think they're great movies that happen to be really funny. Hot Fuzz is the perfect send up of the types of movies Nick Frost's character loves. The performances are great, I particularly love Timothy Dalton's character, there are impressive action sequences and I really relish all the cameos in the beginning between Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan and Cate Blanchett.  Not sure if this is a hot take, but it is the best movie from the Frost, Pegg, Wright trio. Best in Show gives such a realistic feeling to such absurd characters in an equally absurd premise. It is funny throughout without seeming cartoonish despite the cartoonish nature of the characters, like Eugene Levy's character and his two left feet. I haven't seen all of your films but one that I'm curious about and especially its place on the list is The Social Network. I liked it but my thoughts don't really seem to align with many people's on the quality of the movie. What standout so much for you with that movie that it is in your top 10?

ND: The Social Network opens with one of the most captivating scenes in recent memory. There's nothing to it -- two college kids are in a bar chatting across from one another, and eventually the girl breaks up with the guy. It's been done a thousand times before, but the way it's staged and written and performed is nothing short of memorizing. In five minutes of shot/reserve-shot dialogue we learn everything we need to know about Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg -- how he's wired and what his motivations are. The scene is jammed with more character development that most movies can manage in their entire run-times, and when the fervently escalating discussion culminates in Rooney Mara's Becca telling Mark, "you're going to go through life thinking that girls don't like you because you're a nerd, and I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because you're an asshole," it hits you like a freight train.

That scene sets the stage for the whole movie, a rudimentary premise turned thrilling through the artful design of David Fincher. There's a perfect cross-section of seedy Ivy League ritual and lure, the dangerous hubris of a brilliant, spiteful teenager, and the lustful excitement of an unknown frontier. Fincher made a movie about Facebook -- FACEBOOK! -- a pulse-pounding high-wire act, which is miraculous.

I'd like to hear more about your no. 1 selection, Gladiator. It's unlike any other movie on your list, both in terms of genre and style. What about it has made such a lasting impression? 

JI: Gladiator is definitely one that even I didn't expect to be number one when I started out doing this. The first thing that made such an impression is that my dad took my to see it in the theater, I was about two months away from turning eight, so seeing such a violent movie in the theater was a big deal. (Questionable parenting? The world may never know). Beyond that though it is insanely re-watchable for me. I watched it twice over memorial day weekend! In terms of the movie itself, the action scenes are incredible, the performances from Crowe and Phoenix are really solid. Crowe is a little one-note throughout but I think he fluctuates that one note just enough to create a sympathetic hero and somewhat rounded character and Phoenix is always great as the weirdo bad guy. Has he ever not been really good in anything? There are definitely flaws with the movie, so it isn't number one because it is a flawless piece of art, but I find it to be highly entertaining (yes, I was entertained Maximus) and something you can always watch. I feel like this hasn't be a very articulate breakdown as to why, but it is just kind of a gut call.

ND: Shame on you for spoiling my "Are you not entertained?" joke.

JI: Not including the comedies, is this the pick you have the biggest issue (if that's even the right word) with? Also, were there any movies for you that surprised you where you ended up slotting them, similar to my experience here with Gladiator?

ND: I don't want to be misunderstood. I don't have a problem with any of your picks; art is a very personal thing and who am I to judge how you or anyone else creates a criteria for greatness? I'm just trying to pick your brain a little bit. I will admit to having never seen Training Day. And I thought No Country for Old Men was underwhelming -- though I know I am in the vast minority and it might have been a case of the film being so hyped that I was predisposed to be disappointed.

JI: I wasn't trying to imply that you had a problem with any pick, that's why I hedged and said I don't think issue was the right word to use. No Country's ending falls a little flat but up until that point I find Javier Bardem too magnetic to be disappointed on the whole.

ND: In regards to the ordering, there were no surprises in the top 10. I'm sure on a different day Eternal Sunshine or Before Sunset or even In Bruges could have been no. 1, but I didn't overthink it with Boyhood (watched it again this weekend) and it's not worth splitting hairs over my best of the best.

I guess the biggest surprise is In the Mood for Love at no. 11, as I hadn't seen it until about a year ago. It's right up my ally in terms of a deeply melancholy romance story, chock full of utter beauty and heartbreak weaved together so seamlessly. It's a quiet film that speaks volumes in its slow, calculated moments. Recalling my The Social Network, Boyhood, et al picks, I am always impressed when filmmakers take a simple premise and do something inventive with it, and Wong Kar-wai brutally precise decisions are marvelous. 

Quick side bar: I learned about In the Mood for Love on CineFix, a YouTube channel that creates incredibly detailed and researched lists. It's a must-subscribe for any film buff.

The next biggest surprise is Catch Me If You Can. It's decidedly unlike all my other selections, and very Spielbergian (not always a good thing), but god damn, that movie is just so much fun. It's a perfect caper, plain and simple.

JI: I was curious about your inclusion of Catch Me if You Can, because as you said it is so unlike any other movie on your list. Spielberg has been a little hit or miss since the turn of the century, good thing he's producing Gremlins 3. ND: I didn't want us to devote any space for honorable mention selections in order to make the 25 mean something, but I'm changing my tune a little bit. Give me ONE movie that hurt the most to leave off. I really wanted to find a spot for Wall-E. That movie blows my mind. JI: My original number 25 was going to be the documentary Let the Fire Burn. Probably a way out there choice considering the rest of my list. It is about MOVE in Philadelphia and what ultimately transpired when Mayor Goode effectively bombed the house that MOVE was in. Not sure if you've seen it but I loved how they used all archival footage to tell the story. There is no narration and from I remember very little on-screen text. The documentary plays out telling the cohesive story of MOVE and then the aftermath and fallout following all the destruction. It also features councilman Ed Rendell, which might be a nice easter egg for some. It also does a great job of bringing to light a story that even in Philadelphia isn't really talked about or told anymore and gives full context to both the MOVE members and the city.

ND: I actually just watched Let the Fire Burn not too long ago. I took a deep dive into the MOVE bombing earlier this year, absorbing as much about it as I could, because you're right, it goes largely un-talked about considering what a bonkers story it was (though just this week the city commemorated the event and the lives lost with a monument). And I definitely appreciate a documentary that is driven by facts and not an agenda. I'm surprised to see we only have three overlapping selections -- The Master, Inside Llewyn Davis, and There Will Be Blood. The former two we talked about in depth during our last collaboration, but let's discuss TWBB for a second, especially now that Daniel Day-Lewis is "retired." Even for a career as illustrious as DDL's, his turn as Daniel Plainview by far his crowning achievement, and I'd put it toe-to-toe with any performance ever put on screen. He carries every frame with such menace, vigor, and even surprising vulnerability that makes the viewer sympathize with a terrible man. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.

JI: I haven't watched it all the way through in a while but I find myself often YouTubing scenes just to inject more DDL straight into my veins.  The only other character that has been so outright horrible, vindictive while retaining vulnerability and a likability to me was Gandolfini as Tony Soprano. However, that is comparing apples and oranges, with an 86 episode series compared to a single feature.

Back to DDL in TWBB. His Plainview is such a transformation that anytime I see the movie or see clips my brain doesn't even compute that DDL is Plainview. He truly takes on his characters and becomes them and it is incredible in the way he has been able to transform himself through his various roles. I can see why the say it takes him about three or so years to mentally prepare for a role. It is hard to imagine anyone ever topping his absolute mastery of the art.

Two questions about DDL I'd like to pose for you. 1) Do you think the retirement will stick? He has done this before where he took time off to be a cobble. Now he is supposedly retiring to become a dressmaker. I think he'll eventually make his way back to the screen. 2) This is more of a thought exercise than a black or white question but should we be grateful for the few performances he did produce and how outstanding those are or should we be disappointed we only got so little of him during his career? It is a little disappointing to me but the other side of the argument is that maybe his performances would have suffered if he took on more projects and didn't throw himself in fully as he did. ND: The answer to your first question is simple: no. Maybe at this very moment, DDL thinks that he's done all there is to do on screen, and considering he already-selective process, I bet this sabbatical lasts less than 7-8 years. But he will come back. DDL knows he's the best, and he will get that itch again once he reaches senior citizenry. And he's spent his entire adult life getting lost in other people that I'm not even sure he knows how to be himself. The more interesting question would be: what do you want his big comeback role to be? This is a hard question that I wasn't exactly prepared for, but we are so used to seeing him in these larger-than-life roles that I wouldn't his coming back in a simple, humanistic family drama. Mike Mills (Beginners, 20th Century Women) has the goods to write him a juicy role, but even more perfect would be Kenneth Lonergan (Manchester By the Sea). Holy shit, I want to see nothing more now. The second question is a bit more complex, because it was undoubtedly frustrating for DDL to take his good old time selecting only to leave us with Nine or The Ballad of Jake and Rose, but even in subpar movies (I didn't enjoy Lincoln, either), DDL always makes it worth watching, so his batting average, so to speak, is still remarkably high. If he were to have taken more roles along the way, could he have given us a few more classics? Probably, but more likely is he would have given us more disappointments. Look at De Niro and Pacino. The two have combined for dozens of duds in the past 20 years to only a handful of good roles. If the alternative to DDL's selectivity is Dirty Grandpa, Stand Up Guys, The Intern, Jack and Jill, etc., I'll take the former every time. JI: I think I'd like to see him comeback and do something totally unexpected. How fun would it be if he was in a comedy or a Tarantino movie? I'd love to see what he could do in something that is so very much outside his realm, without stepping into Jack and Jill territory like you mentioned previously. 

This is slightly (very) off topic, but since you mention De Niro and Pacino, you think they can turn their cold streaks around with Marty in The Irishman?

ND: I mean, if anyone's going to bring those two back from the dead, it's Scorsese. He has more than earned our trust at this point. I'd be lying if if wasn't a tiny bit worried about Marty going back to the gangster well -- and god forbid he ever cast a woman or a PoC -- but if it ain't broke, I guess.

Let’s leave it here since we’ve covered a lot. Though if you want to return with a deep dive on the John Wick 2 > John Wick decision, I’ll be here waiting.