#angi is a happy gal

[cry-ptidd]

Ooooooh my gods oh my gods 😭😭 look at her with a bow,, Savannah is so delightful and cute,,, they’re both so pretty 😭😭💕

I got a lil bored and doodled

Savannah put a pretty bow on an pretty gal

I was a lil down and I wanted to doodle my oc with werewolf Laura because I love them

@cry-ptidd

[sammylbir]

Redoing my Intro (DMS are always open)

Ok so...since I think I need to be a lot more transparent bout myself and this blog, I think its time to redo my intro ya see. Soo..let's do it.

Hey, boys/girls/nbies/whateva! :D

I am Sammy, an artist/writer/voice actress and someone who has a passion for all things that make me feel happy :D. I am 22 Years old and I am german, going by She/Her pronouns.

This blog will feature mainly stuff bout Danganronpa and also bout my love for buff people. I especially like it when fictional chars get buffed up through a variety of means heh...But don't worry, I will do my best to keep it all appropriate heh. Don't wanna make anyone uncomfortable here.

I selfship myself with Miu Iruma and Angie Yonaga, buuut I am not opposed to anyone sharing my love for those two.

Now then, what will this blog feature in general? Simple! It will feature:

-Fanart

-Fanfiction

-Headcanons

-Analysis

-Me rambiing bout stuff I love (Especially buff characters)

-Queer Topics :D

-Selfshipping :D

And here are some things that I am into:

-Danganronpa

-Monster Prom

-Coraline

-Pokemon

-Welcome Home

-Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

-My OCS

BYF:

-I will ramble about buff people a lot and I like the thought of chars that are buff that are not in canon. I understand that this isn't everyone's cup of tea and I respect that.

-The blog will feature tons of queer stuff, so if you don't like that....well, why are ya here?

-The blog will sometimes mention dark topics, especially in my analysis posts. I will add TWs sometimes, but still. Stay safe.

-While you can ask me anything, don't ask me sensitive info. Okay?

-I am an adult and while I am fine with minors interacting with me, do know that I am 22. Because I understand that minors can be put-off, by me being much older.

-If I make you uncomfortable in the chat, PLEASE say it. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

-Regarding proshippers or antishippers, both can come here. But in case of the former, please don't just ramble to me bout proships. Because some seriously rub me the wrong way.

-While the topics I write about can be dark in general, I am not glorifying these actions. Because even if it's fiction, it still feels real.

DNI:

-If you are here to flirt with me or hit on me. I am not looking for relationships.

-If you want to do NSFW rps with me. I will not do any of that, ESPECIALLY NOT WITH MINORS. Because I am not attracted to kids.

-If you come to harass me in the DMs. You will be blocked.

-If you wanna start discourse about political topics.

-If you wanna harass me over my hcs. I get that not all of my hcs have to be liked by everyone, but I am not forcing you to agree with them.

-If you are just a sh*tty person in general.

So yeah, that's all there is to it. My DMs are always open, so if you wanna chat, feel free to say hi. This gal will be happy to see you ^^

[hopeful-sluts]

Hey Chihiro, which person from each Hope's Peak class is your favorite to have sex with? Boy gals and guys!

“Well from my own class it’s probably Mondo and Celeste, both are really nice to me during it but also well… you know~!” He said with a heavy blush before moving on.

“Next I think it’s Chiaki and then Ryota, both of them have similar interests as me and Chiaki is almost too doting~” He said with a happy expression clearly reminiscing on times with them.

“And finally I’ll have to go with Shuichi for a guy and for a girl that’s… I’ll go with Angie! The others girls in that class are all way to scary for me to handle and drain me… Shuichi I-I really like teasing him~”

[artsybug0]

What are some facts about Millie? (Can also be for any AU!)

❤️Fun Facts About Millie!❤️

Original:

She’s afraid of the dark so she uses a nigh-light when she sleeps

She likes foods with strawberries in them more then just eating strawberries

Her entire home is lovecore decorated

She has three adopted parents who are in a poly relationship

She has seven adopted brothers

She’s the oldest sibling but third to be adopted

Millie can do many tricks on her roller skates. She even puts on a show for her neighbors with Barnaby

She caught feelings for Wally first

She compliments people a lot about how they look like characters from books she’s read

She gushes often about romance stories

You can often find her sitting on Howdys counter reading out loud to him as he works

She stims a lot (she’s just a happy gal!)

She word stims Wally’s name often

She’s afraid of fire (like big fires)

Actor:

She moved to the big city to go to a good college to become an author.

She graduated with a BA (Bachelors of Arts)

She’s worked a lot of jobs and has been almost all over Hollywood for work, but as you can imagine for a puppet. That didn’t get her anywhere

She gained her kinda violent tendencies while living alone in Hollywood (learned behavior for her own survival)

She became extremely depressed and had thoughts (and one attempt) at 💀 herself

She was literally dragged into the studio to be a replacement Actor for Welcome Home Puppet Show by Janet

She knew how to act because at that time she’s been pretending to be a “damsel in distress” to manipulate men into using their money on her so she can have a comfortable life for years.

She’s a big fan of Eddie’s

Millie only worked so hard to be Wally’s friend so she can hopefully get him to meet up with her youngest brothers who she used to watch WH with all the time

Millie originally planned to use Wally’s feelings to manipulate him into giving her everything she wants, but she caught the feelings before she could do anything (Wally was rude and cold towards her at the beginning so she saw this as revenge)

She at first declined Wally’s gifts for her because she was nervous she was accidentally manipulating him to think that’s what he wants to do (she wasn’t, he just loves spoiling her)

She has a list of “reasons why I love Wally” on her phone that she occasionally adds to

Egg was a gift from Wally, he’s their baby

Millie was engaged to a human once

Gothic/Punk

Doesn’t have a friend group

She roller derby’s

Everytime you see her she has a new bruise or scratch

She often gets into fights

She thrives in annoying people

Refuses to acknowledge that she has valid feelings

Her wings flap when she’s angy

She didn’t get as much as a height boost as the rest so she’s pretty small compared to everyone 😂

She teases a lot

She hates being teased though

She’s used to being described as hot or sexy but as soon as someone calls her cute she’s embarrassed and red faced

She’s actually pretty lonely, and despite how she acts, she really does care about what people say or do to her.

She’s very attached to her partners Susanna( @yami-xd character) and Wally. But mostly Susanna because she doesn’t call her mean names and is pretty nice to her

Is the most likely Millie to have 🔞 with you (if you’re around her age, 23-27)(she’s a ho)

Rainbow Factory

She’s by far, the loneliest Millie

Her parents death were later in life so she would of been at least 13 when it happened

She was never adopted

Her scars were caused by a chemical explosion she was too close to

Only Wally visited her in the hospital (that’s how she developed strong feelings for him)

She soon changed job titles and became his assistant

Even though she’s his assistant she does a LOT more then what is required of her. But she doesn’t mind.

She mixes coffee and energy drinks in a cup and chugs it down at once before working

She had extremely jealously over those who have things she doesn’t (friends, family, beauty)

She really despises Julie in this Au but doesn’t do anything about it. She only hates her because she’s Wally’s ex

She has a soft spot of kids, they remind her of herself before everything happened so she wants to protect them

She’s made fun of for her scars so often she doesn’t believe anyone if they compliment her for being “pretty”

She keeps trying to ask Wally out but backs out last second

She passes out often from overworking herself and starving her body

All the other Au’s I don’t have much put together to make fun facts about them yet so this is all I can give for now!

❤️

[zombeesknees]

currently in the life of the angie bee:

my sense of time is strangely broken, because it's almost 6pm but my brain is all, "gosh, it's not even noon yet!" and i have no fuckin idea why.

i've been deodorizing and washing and cleaning the house all day because i feel like there's a particularly sour smell throughout it, but now i'm wondering if it's me, and i don't know why i'm suddenly smelling so sour??? like, it's not a sweat smell, it's a sour, musty smell, and i'm still using the same shampoo and body washes i always do, and it's not as if my diet's changed significantly, so wth is going on??? IS IT A SIGN THAT I'M DYING OF SOME WEIRD DISEASE??? i know folks with diabetes sometimes smell strangely sweet, but i've never heard of something that makes you smell sour. OR IS IT ALL IN MY HEAD AND PSYCHOSOMATIC??? i'm not just gonna go up to someone and be like, "do you think i smell weird?"

quint remains one of the Characters of All-Time (and a Happy Jaws Day to all who celebrate it).

(yeah, i don't celebrate the 4th, what a bullshit holiday, we have nothing to be proud of as a country, especially these days.)

dropped $288 this morning on two and a half weeks-worth of groceries for one person. and that was buying basic, off-brand shit. how the fuck did we get to this.

slight silver lining: i have today, tomorrow, and the full weekend off, and i get to spend time with joel tomorrow AND see shara and nichole on sunday.

i set my reading goal for the year at 50 books (something i didn't come close to achieving last year, thanks to a reading block that set in in march and didn't let up for the rest of the year). and in the last two weeks i hit 54 books (almost all of them new-to-me, which is ALSO amazing). my unmedicated ADHD bullshit may still be preventing me from watching new shows and movies, but at least it's eased off on the reading front.

a new dude joined our book club this week and he's CUTE and likes fantasy and is a high school social studies/history teacher, and we discussed character archetypes for like ten minutes. maybe next club meeting i'll actually give him my number and ask him out.

wimsey has spent a full week in the flower donut collar thanks to scratching his chin raw and bloody. vet recced treating him with revolution in case it's because of mites, washing the wound with a special antibiotic flush, and keeping him in the collar until everything's fully healed/his fur grows back in. makes for a hella grompy flower:

god, leverage really is just the best show. doesn't matter how many times i watch it; i'm forever delighted and impressed with just how well written/constructed/everything it is. that's my emotional support family of thieves, your honor.

i'm getting SO CLOSE to filling out the final gaps in the current sections of my hazeldine WIP, and i really do think i'm gonna have to split it into two volumes instead of making it all vol. 6 as i had originally planned. but IF i do that, that means vol. 6 is gonna HAVE to end on a significant cliffhanger, which i typically try to avoid. (yes, technically all of the previous vols have ended on cliffhangers, since this is a continuing story spread over several volumes. but they haven't been LITERAL cliffhangers, with someone on the verge of death or something.) i don't like when books in a series i'm reading do that, so i try not to inflict that on my own readers. but perhaps i can mitigate it slightly by making sure both vols 6 AND 7 are fully polished/ready for printing, and release them like a month apart or something, so there isn't a huge wait in between...

FINALLY finished the replacement cross-stitch sampler of lighthouses for a gal from work (the first one got lost in the mail beginning of last month). now i can continue working on the Yee Dudes series for my bud jordan <3

but also i'm gonna try to design a pattern for myself re: a dracula joke that keeps popping into my head: descending the castle, lizard-fashion. i'm probably the only person who is THIS delighted/amused by that joke, but i'll enjoy stitching something for myself for a change, lol.

[smolwritingchick]

Hi Val ! just a little note to thank you for creating Nini because it's super rare to have a black oc with a lot of updates so I hope you will continue like that🫶🏼I've been following you since before you deleted your account🫡 so when I saw that you had taken it back I was super happy ✨️ I just wanted to know if you knew when you were going to post or if you had to rewrite everything. big kisses to you and Nini 🫶🏼

Hi Angie!!! Omggg you are sooo sweet! Thank you thank you thank youuuu! I appreciate you sticking with me after all this time! I still get shooked when readers tell me they've been here before I deleted everything. I should also apologize to you and the old readers. I deleted everything abruptly with no explanation and I never realized just how happy my writing made so many people until I started getting messages on my personal Tumblr blog. And I'm like damn.

What made me start writing again and reposting my work was when I got a text message late last year from one of my elementary school mentors. I've kept in touch with her ever since and she had asked me if I was still writing. That question lit the fire again. I've been asked that question by so many people but when it came from her, something just sparked in me and I said to myself, "I fucking miss this shit. Let me start over,"

So, I set everything up. It's pretty cool to start back from the bottom and get rediscovered. I call myself a beautiful accident when people come across my stuff. I'm satisfied with reposting my work and being a smol part of the Black K-Pop community. I've become more of a casual fan of BTS and I don't follow too much K-Pop like I used to. I surely missed A LOT but it's exciting to watch and read over the things I missed in BTS from late 2020 to now.

I chose to finally write on Wattpad, too. I never used the site like that but I was like, I'm older now, let me at least try to write on it and I fell in love with it. I found the PDF of Bangtan Gal and then I began to reread and edit each chapter. Although lots of gifs and photos aren't there like before, I would rather have all the chapters I wrote for the story be here over some replaceable gifs and photos.

I rewrote a lot of things. Like the dialogue to make sure it would say "Jennie said" instead of "Says" and as I would reread certain chapters new ideas would come about and I would add to it which helped me get my groove back. A good example is the War of Hormone chapter when I thought of even more ideas of Jungkook helping Jennie get used to being in the presence of his stage persona when they perform together for the song. When he grabbed her back and asked her "Where you going?" when she started backing away was in the heat of the moment and I thought it was funny and pretty cute. And then him saying to himself that he hoped to be her boyfriend in his head at the end was another last minute idea when editing.

2+ years of writing the chapters and now I am back to where I stopped writing. It's surreal continuing the story. I hope you all bear with me for the slow updates. I missed how frequently I'd post the already prewritten/edited chapters lol. I was so excited to post this story again.

But anyway, I appreciate you all for taking the time to check out my creativity. I'll continue to work hard! :)

[pbnjparker]

get to know me!

ABOUT ME:

hi everyone! for those of you, who don’t already know who i am, my name is angel. although, i go by angi! (tyler gave me the nickname, angi) i’m a seventeen (almost eighteen) year old girl from apple valley, ca. i am a senior in highschool who just graduated this past weekend :)

FAVOURITE TV SHOWS AND MOVIES:

the flash. arrow. shameless. (US) the jurassic park series. jurassic world. spider-man:homecoming. the avengers series. iron man. doctor strange. enders game. gotg vol 1 & 2. aqua teen hunger force. bob’s burgers. the edge of seventeen. the house of tomorrow. lemonade mouth.

FAVOURITE CHARACTERS:

bartholomew west-allen. oliver queen. thea queen. francisco ‘cisco’ ramon. harrison wells (season 3&4). iris west-allen. wally west. jesse wells. (jesse quick) joe west. peter park. michelle jones. owen grady. andrew wiggin. louise belcher. and pretty much anyone hailee steinfeld portrays.

FACTS ABOUT ME:

i have two dogs and their names are jackson (golden retriever) and chupete (jack russel terrier mix)! jack is 2 months and chupete is 2 ½ years. (chupetes’ name is weasley but for the sake of my hispanic parents, his name is what it is)

i’m half mexican and half guatemalan! much love for my culture.

i live for and love kreation (thank u briana)

i have four amazing bestfriends <3 (you kno who u are)

i love making friends, if you ever need someone to talk to or want to be friends just pm me!

i also just hit 200 followers on this blog and i'll be doing a follower & birthday month celebration, that will last until the end of the month :-)

i just moved from los angeles, just last month!

TAGLIST: 

@hermionay, @webshooter-allen

[movedtodykedvonte]

Specific Father Ethan Au Character Stuff

There is like specific things that the characters do differently in the au or have to become accustomed to and I just thought I’d say some of the important things.

Alcina Dimitrescu

No more human blood for Alcina and her daughters, they can finish off what they have but now it’s just pigs blood or other live stock (Think Angel the vampire)

All the vampire wenches are purged, like the dungeon gals. Alcina is upset because those took time to make

Her castle is updated with tech and security systems. The systems are to insure they aren’t killing people anymore and  the tech is to slowly get her and her daughters used to the outside world

Starts to open up about her resentment of Mother Miranda and starts living a little more wildly (Miranda always told her to stay proper)

Now she wears dresses that come about her ankle and so do the girls (scandalous!!!) 

Donna and Angie

She can keep her garden but she has to put a limit on her hallucinogenic flowers. Like why do you have so many?

No more dolls with knives, Angie is most upset about this.

When they give her tech, she immediately falls in love with fashion blogs and toy review channels. Asks for more fabric to get into modern stuff

Shows her face more and tries to have more identity away from Angie. This is a mutual thing and Angie encourages Donna to be more head strong making friends

Invites a lot of Chris’s agents and task members over for tea parties along with the lords and the winters (so far only Moreau and Ethan/Rose have accepted)

least affected by Mother Miranda’s death and actively mentions that she was a horrible mom (never liked her dolls)

Salvatore Moreau

They start building canals that Moreau can swim through to get around the village and other lords homes. Walking in the cold climate has always been a struggle

When he gets tech, he immediately watches more movies, doesn’t really use it much other wise.

Starts to get a backbone and stand up for himself more. Will not hesitate to throw up on you (gross)

Chris and his crew try their hardest tp get him to a stable condition, because Chris can recognize an unstable umbrella virus any where

Doesn’t talk about Mother Miranda but he is still struggling to accept that she never cared (he went through a lot and he doesn’t want it to have been for nothing)

They fix up the reservoir and honestly Moreau is just happy people are willingly being around him for once.

Karl Heisenberg 

You can keep the lycans sir but be have to confiscate your franken-zombie-robot army

Doesn’t care, kinda happy he can just chill in his factory and no report to that bitch Miranda

He kinda just makes arbitrary death machines for funnies or helps Chris and his guys with renovations

Tries to leave the village often. He still wants to see the world and wishes the task force could get their tests over faster

Is glad Miranda is dead but feels a little hollow in the fact he didn’t get to finish the job like he planned (feels like he didn’t really get payback)

Kinda fucks around with his abilities even more (tries to fly on a sheet of metal, has been seen plummeting out of the sky)

Mia Winters

Technically she is allowed to leave but won’t leave Ethan or Rose behind

Has frequent nightmares of being held captive by Miranda and dreams of what life would be like if she just quit her job

She is aware of the bond of the mold and kinda feels left out seeing as everyone but her and the taskforce members have it. Also feels guilt over wanting what is effectively a dieses they are stuck with

Holds on to Rose more than Ethan, just because he constantly attracts the other lords and she can’t get use to them

Uses cooking to like destress, dives head first into the local cuisine again ( I know it was Miranda but I think it’s funny)

Rarely leaves their house as she is rightfully scared of the lycans (though they are relatively harmless to them... maybe... she should stay inside)

Ethan Winters

So goddamn tired of everything

He can feel and sense the mold and sometimes when he sleeps he slips into the hive mind. This kinda means he knows what the lords looked like before the transformation (the lords don’t necessarily realize it’s not a weird dream)

Pain tolerance is like up to max, he probably sticks his hand in fire to prove a point when Chris tells him to be careful.

Wishes Mia would give the lords a chance, seeing as they are going to be stuck together for a while

Senses the strength of the mold is Rose and is terrified about what that entails

Visits each lord frequently just because, they will come to his house and they will find every way in besides doors.

Just some character specific tidbits. Just getting thoughts out and down in case they become part of something bigger.

[sizhui]

hey angie!!!!!!!!!!! i was wondering if someone were to be muslim & be into gyaru specifically kogal what terms would they have to use to get the items they want or need to complete their look ?

Hello ^_^ I'm happy you came to me with a question about gyaru! I'm not Muslim nor am I able to consult my Muslim acquaintances at the moment, so I can only answer this from the gyaru side, and you can feel free to correct me if any of this advice doesn't work for you!

There are lots of gals these days spefically in online spaces who try to set very strict rules for what a gal needs to be (things like NO BRAND = NO GAL, NO MAKE EVERYDAY= NO GAL 💀) but I think people like that misunderstand the very nature of gyaru, which is about self-expression, rebellion against societal norms and enjoying being yourself. If you set strict rules for a style which is a rebellion against strict rules, isn't that just ironic? Everyone, and i mean everyone can be a gyaru, and incorporate gal into their lifestyle in some way.

A restriction that comes to mind is that a Muslim kogal wouldn't be able to wear a shortened skirt, but I honestly don't think it matters too much. I think, so long as you have a blouse and a cardigan, perhaps with a little bow around the neck, the outfit would look kogal even with a long skirt, especially if it has a checkered pattern, maybe? I don't know how loose socks would go with a long skirt, but even if you only wear ummm loafers maybe? It would be very nicen

Then theres makeup and accessories! For kogal, even slight basic gyaru makeup will do! As for accessories, the first thing that comes to mind is decorating your phone and school bag with keychains and maybe a small plushie!

I hope my clumsy answer was able to help at least a little. If any of my Muslim followers and mutuals have something to add or suggest, please do! And good luck!

[scottlivesaymusic]

Cincy’s Song of the Day (10.11.22)

Sondre Lerche- Let My Love Open The Door (Pete Townshend Cover)

Happy 14th Anniversary to my best gal, Angie. 

[redoqs]

I have a question

How would Donna flirt or try to pursue someone she likes? Asking for research

You think Donna would actually go for someone??? LMFAOOOO no I’m kidding, she would

Donna would be so ridiculously subtle with her affects like if you didn’t already know that she had feelings for you because of Angie you would’ve thought she was just being friendly, you know, gals being pals.

She’s so subtle, it starts off with her sitting closer to you than normal on the couch. She used to sit on the opposite end completely, if she was even in the same room as you at all. Now? It’s like everyday she sits just a smidge closer, like barely a centimeter. Eventually the day comes when the two of you sit so close that your shoulders are nearly touching and Donna’s inner dialogue is “ohmygodohmygodohmygod!!!!”

Next she’s gonna try to touch you, starting with hand holding. It’s so painful to watch just how slow she reaches over and she barely even touches you, she locks her pinky with yours and keeps it like that for a long time, a very long time. It takes forever for her to touch ring fingers, the middle and index. Then she lays her whole hand on top of yours and eventually she gains the courage to hold your hand, loosely at first and then tightly and Angie is cheering next to her like “yesssss finally!!!” The hand holding evolves to shoulder touching to her laying her head on your shoulder and you’re so happy that she’s comfortable enough to be that way with you

Now flirting…Donna’s horrible at it. She’s so bad at it it’s just as funny as it is cringey. She will stutter through a compliment. She’s trying to tell you that youre hair looks nice today but she’s stumbling over her words and blushing it’s so bad

“Your, um. Well, uh, your…your hair *incoherent sputtering*”

“Donna? Are you okay?”

“Y-yes! Yes, I’m fine. I just want to tell you that I think you’re…you’re very….uh…”

*angie from across the room* oh for FUCK’S sake!!!!

Even after you two get together the flirting from Donna is so bad but it’s sweet that she tries and you always manage to know what she’s trying to say. Eventually, EVENTUALLY it gets better but only marginally. At least now she manages to make a complete sentence and awwwww did she just say she loved your smile? Now you gotta kiss her silly

Oh! Kissing! Yeahhhhh…she’s terrified of doing that. She wants to, lord she wants to, she cant go a day without thinking about imagining how your lips would feel on hers. She’s done everything thus far: held your hand, complimented you, essentially cuddles with you on the couch. She’s sure you know how she feels and she just…she really wants to kiss you but she makes no attempt to try. The most she will do is stare at your mouth when you talk and you notice. You’re the one who has to make the first move because she’s doing too much staring and not enough moving so one day while you’re cuddling, Donna on your chest, your arms wrapped around her, Donna sits up suddenly and she’s asking you something but nah you’re not paying attention and you just bring a hand to her face, stroke her cheek and slowly bring her down towards you and kiss her softly. It’s so sweet and perfect and nothing could ruin this moment

Getting off topic but to sum this all up…Donna’s way of flirting is ultra slow, soft and incredibly subtle but she wins in the end!

[fallin-4-ya]

when i think of you

when i think of you

fred weasley x reader

summary: as time passes y/n and fred find themselves completely in love with each other, but there just never seems to be a moment where they both have the courage to do so.

warnings: none! (gif is not mine, credit to owner!)

Out of all the people to love in the world I had to choose you.

Y/n loved Fred Weasley more than she cared to admit. She could not explain why or how, but rather all the wonderful and tragic things she felt around him. There was just something about the way he could always make her smile or how he had always known her better than she had known herself. It had been that way since childhood, so y/n tucked away her feelings in a small box in her heart in the hopes that no one would ever find them.

It wasn’t until their sixth year in which she found a crack in that box. After all of those years keeping the lid tightly on, the constant pains in her chest began becoming unbearable. Her, Fred and the rest of the Gryffindors were sat in study hall, fooling around when Fred turned to his brother Ron and hushed, ‘Watch this.’ He threw something towards Angelina Johnson’s direction, capturing her attention. Y/n turned to the scene happening besides her just in time to see Fred ask the beautiful girl in front of him to go to the Yule Ball together.

Y/n felt the color drain from her face. Of course, she had wanted Fred to ask her to the Yule Ball, and she and always known in the back of her mind that he wasn’t going to, but that didn’t stop it from hurting any less.

She got up from the table, leaving the Great Hall; she was desperate to leave and didn't want to look upset in front of her friends. She didn't need to draw attention towards her already complicated feelings. There was no doubt that she was happy for Angelina, she was a wonderful person and fierce friend whom she adored. And considering the fact that Angelina had always talked about Fred, and how handsome she thought he was. It was just so difficult seeing the person who she loved, in the company of someone else. Y/n felt stupid, believing that she could even have a chance with the Fred Weasley. He only saw her as a friend, a sister even. She knew his schemes, she knew that the possibility of him settling for a single girl was slim, but still she couldn’t help from hoping.

Later that evening in the common room she was joined by Hermione, one of her closest friends. Y/n tried her best to convince herself that no man was worth being upset for, but she found nothing but endless excuses for Fred. Hermione sighed sitting beside her, rubbing small circles onto her back.

‘I’m sorry, y/n.’ the younger Gryffindor exhaled. Y/n had never told Hermione her feelings for the eldest Weasley Twin, but somehow, she just knew. Perhaps it had something to do with her own unrequited love for Ron. ‘He’s so stupid. One day he’ll realize you’ve been the one for him all along.’

‘Thanks, Hermione,’ Y/n sighed. ‘I just wish he could see me now.’

Just then a pile of Gryffindors crowded into the common room, laughing about something and causing a commotion. Fred’s eyes immediately went to y/n’s, walking towards her. ‘What’s wrong, y/n?’ He asked.

‘Nothing, Freddie.’ She responded getting up, making her way up to her dorm.

‘Well, somethings clearly wrong, you hardly get like this.’ Fred said. Like this, she huffed to herself, angry that Fred knew her so well. Y/n shook her head.

‘Nothing’s wrong, Fred, so just drop it.’ She snapped at him, frustrated that the very person who made her upset was the one trying to comfort her.

‘Alright.’ Responded Fred, walking back to where his friends sat around the fire. The weeks leading up to the Yule Ball passed quickly; and y/n found herself a date, a very handsome Ravenclaw from her year.

Y/n put on her silky gown and gathered her hair into an angelic updo. For once she felt like the most beautiful woman in the world. She shyly made her way to the staircase leading down to the Great Hall, and took a deep breath before she descended into the corridor, dress falling graciously behind her. Y/n felt a pair of brown eyes fall on her. Fred. He was entranced by her being. He had always noticed her beauty, there was no doubt about that, but it was amplified to an extreme tonight. For the first time Fred could see the whole of her face, soft and smooth with rosy cheeks. Her eyes were lit and her lips looked luscious as ever.

Fred felt shell shocked because was this really one of his best friends standing in front of him, but before he got to question anymore, a boy with neat robes and a tie that matched her dress took her arm and they proceeded into the hall as one. Y/n was having the time of her life, no she wasn’t with Fred, but she made fun with what she was given. She dancing with her friends and chatted amongst her fellow students, forgetting about her broken heart.

On the dance floor with her friends, y/n felt a presence come close to her. She turned to see Fred, who took her hand and spun her around. She fell into him laughing when suddenly she caught herself, ‘Where’s Angie?’ She asked.

‘She went to go get some drinks with her friends, so I thought I come spend some tie with my favorite gal.’ he gave her a lopsided grin.

‘Ha-ha, very funny, Fred.’ She rolled her eyes, smirking sarcastic.

‘I wasn’t trying to be funny.’ Fred responded, taking her hand and look at her with pleading eyes. Y/n took a step back from Fred, walking off the dance floor saying something about needed air.

She left the ballroom, tears clouded her vision as she walked out to the courtyard. She only stopped when she heard the sound of footsteps on the pavement following her. Y/n breathed heavy and turned to see the man she had been running from, swallowing her next tear and forming her fists into balls at her side she hissed,

‘What do you want, Fred.’

‘What do I want? To not make you upset, y/n, that what I want.’ Fred raised his tone, ‘Now are you going to tell me what’s going on or am I just going to have to sit here and guess, like I have been for the past few weeks?’

‘You really are daft, aren’t you, Fred.’ She rolled her eyes, ‘You are so incredibly oblivious aren’t you, so up your own arse that you can’t even see what’s right in front of you!’

Fred took a step back, a puzzled look took over, ‘Y/n, what are you even going on about.’

‘Just never mind, Fred. Let’s just forget about it and move on.’ y/n hushed.

‘No! No, not again! You’re always doing this, maybe if you just tried to explain we can work this out.’ Fred pleaded.

Shaking her head, y/n began walking away; but before she could walk out of the courtyard Fred grabbed her hand. ‘Please,’ he started.

‘You really want to know what the problem is, Fred?’ y/n shook, ‘The problem is that whenever I think about you I get so- I get so angry because out of all the people to love in this world I had to choose you.’

Fred let go of her wrist, taken aback by the words the woman in front of him just spoke. She continued, ‘If I was your favorite girl why didn’t you ask me to the ball? Why am I constantly coming in second place for your heart? What is there, Fred, what can I change to have you notice me? I’m so tired of being heartbroken. I cannot do it anymore. There is so much weight in your words that I simply cannot unravel.’

He looked at her, perhaps for a sign that she was joking or for her to take it back because if Fred was being honest with himself, he wasn’t ready for this. Fred, the guy who had all the confidence in the world was suddenly speechless. ‘I-‘ Fred tried to get out.

y/n held her fingers up to his lips, stopping him from saying anymore. ‘Its okay, Freddie. I know you don’t feel the same way. If I’m being completely honest with myself I don’t even know what I’m feeling anymore, so let’s just forget about it, alright.’

Fred nodded his head, unable to find the words to say how he felt. His mind paced with thoughts that he was unable to bring to life. Rather than dotting on these thoughts, Fred headed back into the ballroom with y/n as if nothing at all had happened.

They went to sleep and awoke the next morning with no remembrance of the night before. The next morning y/n got up and ruffled his hair as he had always done and he greeted her by sticking out his tongue, which had always been his normal response.

The mornings followed mornings and weeks turned to months, a year had passes and the graduated Hogwarts together. They grew up besides one another, just the way they had always thought. Fred and George opened their joke shop, while y/n began her work in the Ministry, just as she’d hoped. Their twenties came fast, childhood was a distant thing of the past.

Y/n had lost her friends somewhere after the opening of the joke shop and her becoming busy at the Ministry. But Fred could never stop thinking of her. The words she spoke. They way she felt. The way he felt. He had finally understood Y/n’s heartbreak and he yearned for her. Fred had always loved her, but he told himself not to because he was stupid and scared. And now he only had himself to blame.

It was three years before they were finally reunited in person, at Bill and Fleur’s wedding. Y/n was nervous to say the least, having no idea what would come up. Yet, the day still arrived at promptly and as quickly as ever. Arriving at the Burrow she was welcomed as warmly as ever. Embraced by Molly and Ginny, she was asked no less than a hundred questions about her life. They chatted for what seemed like hours about her new job, new boyfriends, new adventures and everything in between.

But it wasn’t until Fred Weasley walked down the stairs when she felt that anxious energy arrive back up to the surface. At the sight of him, y/n suddenly forgot how to breathe and how to speak, she stood a bit awkwardly and waved at the man who stood in front of her, handsome as ever.

‘Hey, Freddie.’ She smiled sweetly at him, despite her anxiousness.

‘Y/n!’ Fred ran to her, embracing her in a giant hug. ‘How are you, my love?’

‘Better than you, I bet. Huh, Freddie.’ She laughed at him. And it was if no time at all had passed between the two. They staid joint at the hip the entire night; partying, dancing, talking and enjoying each other’s company. They were on the dance floor, later in the evening; mostly talking about Fred’s horrific dates that he endured and his failed attempts to swoon girls coming into the shop. He turned to you with a light air in his voice.

‘What about you, y/n? Anyone been striking your fancy?’ Fred chuckled.

‘Well, I been going on a few dates with this one guy. He’s pretty sweet, we always seem to have a good time together.’ y/n smiled back. ‘Who knows what’s going to happen? Life is so unpredictable.’

‘Do you love him?’ Fred spat out suddenly.

Y/n took aback by the comment, ‘What?’

‘Do you love him?’ Fred repeated slower and steadier.

Y/n let go of Fred’s hands, taking a step back from him. ‘Fred, I don’t know what you’re getting at.’

Fred looked at her in much seriousness, ‘You know what I’m getting at.’

‘No,’ y/n shook her head stepping farther back from him. ‘No, Fred.’ She turned on her heals and gathered herself out of the tent, walking briskly away from Fred and the festivities. Tears welled up in her eyes and she was unable to hold herself together.

‘Y/n, wait!’ Fred shouted, running after her. Y/n turned to face him, and he couldn’t tell if those were tears of sadness or anger in her eyes. ‘You need to let me tell you, before it’s too late.’

‘No, Fred. You have no right.’ y/n exhaled. ‘You have no right to do this to me now. I have been second to every girl my whole life and I refuse to be the person you settle for, just because I’m the only one left.’

‘Just listen, please.’ Fred fumed, anger building up. ‘You need to listen to me, because I don’t know if I can ever bring myself to say it again.’

‘Fred, stop.’

‘What?’

‘Fred, you’re being mean, stop it.’ y/n said, a silent tear falling. ‘You can’t, not when- not when I’ve been in love with you the whole of my life.’

She briskly turned and began walking back to the party; but Fred caught her wrist and turned her towards her. He took her in. The way her hair still fell perfectly, even after dancing the night away. They way her mascara still sat perfectly among her eyelashes, despite the tars that fell. The way her breathing slowed when he took her hand. She looked as perfect as she did the night at the Yule Ball all of those years ago, except now she had no where to run, no way to silence Fred’s heart.

‘No, I won’t let you leave me like this again. I won’t let you leave me without allowing me a word in. Not again, not ever.’ Fred said, desperation in his voice. ‘I love you. I love you so much it hurts.’

He gazed into her beaded eyes, ‘Do you know how frustrating it is to look at everyone you have ever been with, wishing it was someone else?’ Fred continued, ‘I have loved you for so long I can’t pin point a moment or a day or a time, when I realized I had fallen for you. I loved you all those years ago when you confessed to me in the courtyard. I tried to tell you how I felt, but I just couldn’t. And I wish that I could go back in time and listened to myself, that way maybe I could have avoided heartbreak all together. I wanted to ask you, more than anything. But I was scared and to far up my own arse that I couldn’t realize what was right in front of me. If I could change things I would, I just hope it’s not too late. I’m sorry.’

‘Fred I-‘

‘You don’t have to say anything.’

Y/n looked down, unsure of how to process the information that had just presented itself. Her eyes lifted to meet his, a small tear falling down her cheek as she searched his gaze. ‘You mean it?’ she asked slowly.

‘Y/n, I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life. I love you, and if you will take me even though its late, I’ll be yours forever.’ Fred responded, with a reassurance in his voice. He wiped the tear from her face, cheeks growing rosy.

‘Oh, Freddie.’ y/n whispered, ‘Of course, I’ll be yours.’

He leaned in softly to her, pressing his lips gently against hers. They melted into one another as their lips danced against each other. The entire world could have ended at that moment, but none of that would have mattered to them. They were with each other, finally, after all the passed time. Fred was sure that he loved her more than he would love anything. More than jokes, more than his siblings, more than pranks, more than laughs. As long as he had her, the world was going to be alright.

(a/n: thank you all so much for reading!!! i appreciate you so much! sending love and positive vibes! xo- mari)

[ren1327]

Close to Me

A Huskerdust/Angelhusk tumblr exclusive fic based on Ellie Goulding's "Close to Me" feat. Diplo and Swae Lee.

Part of the Light up the Night storyline

CW: Lots of cussing, mentions of sex and bullying Moxxie

---------------

SLAM!

Charlie jumped when she heard a door upstairs slam, then a hard pounding on wood before a frustrated yell had her on her feet.

She nearly ran into Husk as he stalked to the bar, grabbing a bottle off the shelf and uncorking it, taking several large gulps.

“Um…Everything good, Husk?” She asked.

Niffty suddenly hopped past, whining softly to herself as she leapt into the kitchen, hearing pots and pans banging.

Charlie looked at Husk, who had started on a second bottle and quickly followed the cyclops girl.

“Hey, Niffty?” Charlie asked.

Niffty was quickly measuring out flour and muttering to herself as she grabbed some eggs.

“Sad brownies?” Charlie asked as Niffty grabbed a block of fudge, then turned a grabbed a second.

“Sad brownies.” She said and turned to tie her hair in two short pigtails and wash her hands.

“What happened?” Charlie asked when Niffty gave her a bowl and whisk.

“Oh, Miss Charlie…” Niffty sighed and started chopping nuts. “It was awful!”

*

EARLIER...

“Dance with me, Husk.” Angel teased as they walked past a club, Niffty peeking inside and grinning.

“We gotta get this stuff back to the hotel, Ang.” Husk said. “Some other time, okay?”

“Fiiiiine!” Angel huffed and reached for Husk’s hand.

Husk pulled his fingers away and crossed his arms.

Angel blinked. “The fuck?”

“Not here, Angel.” Husk said and looked at an old poster of Angel in drag.

Angel’s eyes followed his and he scoffed.

“Are ya serious?” He asked and stalked ahead, Niffty looking from Husk to Angel before hopping to the former’s side.

“Husky, what’s going on?” She asked.

“Nothin’, Niff.” He grumbled.

The walk back was tense and silent as they all made it back into the hotel.

Angel dropped his things on the counter and went up to his room, Husk cursing and following after his boyfriend once the groceries had been put away.

Niffty cocked her head and leapt up the stairs, hearing muffled shouting.

“…fuckin’ scared to be seen with me?”

“…know damn well I don’t give a shit!”

“Be honest Husk!” Angel yelled as Niffty placed her ear near the door. “Ya think I’m disgusting or somethin’? Think I’m too much of a slu—”

“Shut up!” Husk yelled. “I just…I don’t think…Ang…we’re…not good enough to been seen together…”

Niffty squinted her eye, Husk voice very low.

“Good en---Good enough?!” Angel yelled and there was the sound of glass breaking.

Niffty ran behind a plant as Husk ran out, a perfume bottle smashing behind his feet as he turned.

“Angel…I didn’t mean it like that…Angel!” Husk yelled as the door slammed. He pounded on the door before yelling in frustration and going down the stairs.

*

NOW...

Niffty sighed. “I think I get what Husk meant. I hear him talking with Mimzy when she’s over."

“Oh?” Charlie asked as they waited for the brownies to bake.

“It’s not Angel isn’t good enough.” She looked up at Charlie. “It’s Husk. He thinks he’s not good enough to be seen with Angel.”

“And so Angel…oooooh.” Charlie said. “What should we do?”

“Brownies and milk.”

“Right! Any alcohol will make Angel spiral!” Charlie said. “He’ll lose all his progress!”

“…No, milk just taste better with brownies….” Niffty said with a frown.

“Right, right, right…” Charlie laughed awkwardly. “Sorry.”

Niffty huffed and heard the oven ding, taking the brownies out and letting them cool as she set up a tray.

“Ya know, Miss Charlie, sometimes we just gotta do what’s best for people in their own way.”

“But Angel staying clean is best for him—”

“Angel, not the hotel.”

“I…I think I have an idea. But I might need some help.”

She grimaced as she took out her phone and shot a text.

“Okay, Niffty, we might need a few more batches of brownies…” Charlie said. “And some of the good liquor I know you stowed away for this kind of situation. Let’s move all this to the home theater. And make sure the front room is clear.”

“Why both rooms?”

*

“That’s such bull!” Loona said as she downed another shot.

“How can he imply he’s better than you?” Octavia added.

“Yeah, Angie, you’re like, the fucking best!” Cherri said and stuffed another brownie in her mouth.

“Thanks gals.” Angel said, sniffing and taking another tissue from Millie. Then another shot.

Niffty sat on one of the sofas, a weird cartoon playing on the screen no one was paying attention to. She quietly excused herself and hopped to the other side of the hotel where Husk was drinking from another bottle as Blitzo chattered away.

“Listen, they all throw fits, but just have really rough angry se—”

“Sir!” Moxxie interrupted. “The best response is proper communication. As a happily married man, I can say with confidence—”

“No one cares about your boring married life!” Blitzo said and pushed Moxxie off his stool.

“Blitzy Dear…” Stolas cooed. “Aren’t we in a committed relationship?”

“Well I mean, yes.” Blitz said with a blush. “But! Marriage makes it less…sexy.”

“I see. But being my consort is much more…enticing?” Stolas purred, leaning against his partner.

“Uh…”

“Fellas!” Mimzy chided. “This isn’t helping.”

Husk was sobbing now. “I fucked up again…”

“Oh, Husker…” Mimzy said and rubbed his shoulders. “Alastor! Can’t you help us?”

The Radio Demon looked up from his drink, cocking his head. “Oh, I’m trying, my Love.”

“Tryin—Alastor! What are you up to?” The shorter demon asked her lover.

Niffty chirped and gasped, running back to the theater.

She burst in to see the same scene she had just escaped from.

Husk blubbered.

“He’s so fuckin’ beautiful, Mimz!” He said. “Like, look at ‘im! Hic! ‘Den look at me! He’s too good fa’ me and I hate…”

Angel’s eyes were transfixed on the screen.

“Hate how people look at us. ‘Dis tall fuckin’ babe and his shlubby boyfriend!”

“You’re not shlubby—” Mimzy said.

“Yes, I am!” Husk said and hiccupped. “I’m an ugly old man and he’s just! Just!”

“Just what?” Mimzy asked, side eying Blitzo and Stolas escaping into the hall to a bedroom.

“He’s fuckin’ perfect! He’s pretty an’, an’ has a nice voice…His cute widdle snore an’ man! Can he shoot, Mimz! He’s so fuckin’ vicious when he wanna be!” Husk said, waving his bottle around. “He looks so happy when he’s mowing down fuckers! Yeah, I snap at ‘im. But he can always tell when I’m bullshitting ‘im. We get in our little back and forths an’…he does dis little pout that melt me, ya know?”

Angel chuckled.

“His laugh…” Husk continued Mimzy carefully took the bottle. He mixed his drink with a smile. “Fuckin’ infectious. An’ he always smells so fuckin’ good. He looks at me like…like I’m da best damn ting in da world, ya know?”

He smiled into his glass.

“When Angel is…well, if anyone makes it outta here…I hope it’s Angel…I want ‘im happy.” Husk said. “I love him—”

Angel tackled him on screen, and everyone was shocked to see Angel had sprinted down the halls to kiss Husk's face.

“Love ya too, Husky!” Angel yelled happily, kissing the cat demon's cheeks and lips over and over.

Husk clutched him tight in a hug. “I’m sorry, Baby.”

“I know, I know, Husky.” Angel whispered. “Let’s get ya sobered up, Baby. Then we can cuddle with Nuggs.”

“Love Nuggs.” Husk mumbled as Angel picked him up, his wings dragging behind them.

“Aw~” Millie cooed as the girls joined the rest of the group in the front.

“Well, it’s late.” Charlie said.

Vaggie placed her hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Feel free to stay the night.”

They suddenly heard pounding from Blitzo and Stolas’s room.

“Ew.” Loona and Octavia said.

“I just fixed that damn wall!” Vaggie huffed and shook her head.

Niffty offered her the last brownie, the taller demon smiling at her as they dispersed.

*

Angel rubbed the base of Husk’s ears as he purred into his chest fluff.

“Ya wrong, Baby.” Angel said.

Husk moaned sleepily.

“We good.” Angel said, pulling the other into a kiss. “Together.”

“But…”

“Shut up.” Angel chuckled. “Just stay close to me. And love me like ya do, okay?”

“Love ya, Angel...” Husk agreed.

“Love ya too, Husky~”

[maybeimamuppet]

you happened

hey darlings!! happy wednesday!!!

let’s get right into it shall we?

tw for

discussion of canon events in mg (outing, etc)

discussion of canon events in the prom (homophobia, etc.)

this was requested by @spidy-nugget like forever ago so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy!

—

“Oh!” Cady says, interrupting herself in the middle of a sentence. “I just remembered! My cousin is coming to visit next week, do you guys want to meet her?”

“Emma?” Damian asks excitedly. Cady nods. “Yes! Is she bringing the-her… Broadway friends?”

“I dunno, she didn’t tell me,” Cady giggles. “But probably, she said they usually visit her at some point every summer.”

“I should probably be there to stop him from combusting if they do come,” Janis huffs. “But also, yes, I want to meet her too.”

“She’s an absolute icon,” Damian says happily. “God, her song. Still makes me cry.”

“You cried watching Finding Dory yesterday,” Janis retaliates.

“It’s a sad movie! Sometimes!” Damian defends. “Anyway, tell me all about Emma.”

“Okay,” Cady giggles again. “She’s a year older than us, and she’s my cousin on my mom’s side. Um… you know her whole… prom fiasco. I’ve only met her in person once when I was ten, for Rhys’ funeral. But we were pen pals when we were really little. And now we just text and stuff.”

“Cute,” Damian says. “And is her girlfriend coming?”

“Oh! Yeah,” Cady says around a mouthful of Janis’ milkshake. “Her name is Alyssa, she’s, like, super smart. Did every possible activity in high school, that kind of thing. But she’s been with Emma when we’ve Facetimed and stuff before and she’s super sweet.”

“Aww,” Damian coos. “I can’t wait!”

————-

Luckily for him, Damian doesn’t have to wait too long. Emma and Alyssa arrive the following week in Emma’s pickup. Damian has been pressed against the window all day, like a small child watching for the ice cream truck. He gasps dramatically when four people in matching sequined tracksuits also hop out of the backseat, grumbling about being cramped together for such a long trip.

Cady opens the door to let everyone in, and is quickly swamped by a crowd of people much taller than her. Janis pops up on her tippy toes to try and find her girlfriend to save her, but doesn’t succeed.

Everyone heads into the living room, and Janis laughs when she finds Cady being carried in like a sack of potatoes by one of the men that came with Emma.

“Emma, why didn’t you tell me your cousin was so adorable?” He demands. “Look at this, she’s so small.”

“Please put me down,” Cady squeaks. Janis heads over and reaches for her.

“Can I have my girlfriend back, please?”

“And she’s gay!” The man says happily, passing Cady over like she’s a small dog. Janis holds her close and smoothes her hair back to where it was.

“Bi, actually,” Cady grumbles.

“Well, aren’t you something. Oh, my name is Barry, by the way. As if you haven’t heard of me.”

“Barry, we talked about this,” Emma chides. “They haven’t. Except Damian.”

“And where is this Damian? I want to meet him,” one of the ladies says. “Oh, and my name is Dee Dee.”

Damian enters shyly and gives a little wave. Janis cackles, “Dude, you’re totally starstruck, look at you!”

“Uh-hi,” he stutters. “I’m Damian.”

“Aww!” The other lady says. “Look at your little cheeks, what a sweetheart! I’m Angie.”

Damian blushes violently as he’s cooed over by Angie. Barry hauls her off to get a good look at him.

“I like this,” he says. “It’s like a mini me.”

“Just don’t break him,” Emma pleads. “Damian, can I trust you to babysit for a while?”

That prompts a, ‘Hey!’ from all four adults, and an eager nod from Damian. “I can show them around town.”

“This is not a town, darling,” Dee Dee says gently. “But what is there to see?”

“We have… uh-“

“There’s an IHOP!” Cady chirps. “And the mall. That’s kind of it until you get to Chicago. Or the lake.”

“This is the most precious soul,” Barry says happily.

“Dame, we did it. I never thought I’d see the day we found someone gayer than you,” Janis laughs.

“Oh, I like this one too,” Barry says. “Funky little lesbian. She dresses like Emma but goth.”

“I do love the hair,” Emma agrees. “I’m dressed more like Cady today though.”

They both look down at their almost-matching flannels and jean shorts, then back at each other with a nod.

“Same boots though,” Janis cheers, lifting a foot. Emma laughs and nudges it with one of her own doc martens. “Nice.”

“Precious,” Angie says. “Okay, we’ll leave you gals alone now. Damian, show us the sights.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Damian says, leading the adults to the door.

“Yes, show us to the… hopping eyes,” Dee Dee says, sounding both bored and intrigued at the same time. Damian waves goodbye to Janis excitedly and closes the door after him.

“Well,” Emma chuckles. “Oh, I hope he’ll be okay.”

“I think he’ll be fine,” Alyssa soothes. “He’s in good company, and he’s a theatre kid, he gets their… vibes.”

“Theatre kid is an understatement for that boy,” Janis tuts affectionately.

“True,” Cady giggles. “Anyway, we can hang out in my room, if you want?”

Emma and Alyssa nod, so Cady leads everyone up to her bedroom. Janis flops onto the bed and Cady crawls in behind her, lifting her head onto her lap. Alyssa and Emma look around curiously for a second before joining them.

“Who did these?” Alyssa asks, pointing to the paintings and collages adorning the walls. “They’re incredible, especially this one. It looks just like you guys!”

Janis flushes as she points to the one she won her art contest with, of she and Damian and Cady all together. “I did.”

“Dang,” Emma breathes. “You have some serious talent, Janis.”

“Thanks,” Janis squeaks.

“No, seriously! Do you have stuff here?” Emma insists.

“A few things, yeah,” Janis says confusedly, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

Emma lifts her guitar case onto the bed and flicks the latches open, pulling out her famous instrument. It’s covered in stickers and little doodles, much like Janis’ jackets.

“Will you do something on this for me?”

Janis’ eyes go wide. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course!” Emma chuckles. “There’s room down here if you want it visible, or on the back.”

Janis carefully takes the instrument and assesses the material, trying to put an idea together in her mind. She runs to Cady’s desk when one comes to her, where she keeps a supply of basic colors and brushes in case of emergency. Cady doesn’t mind keeping them, they remind her of her girlfriend.

Cady grins affectionately as Emma and Alyssa cuddle in together. “How did you two meet?”

Her cousin turns to smile at her girlfriend. “I kind of always knew of her from school and stuff, but we didn’t really get close until sophomore year.”

Alyssa nods in agreement. “My mom wanted me to be more creative and have another skill or whatever, so she signed me up for guitar classes. Just so happens she was my teacher.”

“You really sucked,” Emma teases. Alyssa scoffs, aghast, and shoves her so hard she nearly falls off the bed. “Ack! Hey, I was kidding!”

“I know,” Alyssa giggles. “I did suck, I’ve never been much good at artsy stuff.”

“I was never good at art either,” Cady chuckles at their antics. “Jay’s tried to teach me to paint a couple times and it hasn’t gone too well.”

She peeks around the other couple to where her own girlfriend is sitting cross-legged on the ground, tongue poked out to the side as she carefully brushes a stroke of paint onto Emma’s guitar. Janis looks up when she feels her gaze, and grins happily when she sees Cady.

“You have the right instincts, I keep telling you,” she says. “You just get cranky too fast and then start attacking me with it.”

Everyone else bursts out laughing. Emma says, “I don’t blame her, I hated art class. What were we talking about?”

“How we met, dummy,” Alyssa huffs, kissing behind Emma’s ear.

“Oh yeah! So, we started off with actual lessons, but then we started getting to know each other more,” Emma explains. “And then I came out and got kicked out, which… a lot of people heard about, so Lyss figured I was a safe person to tell that she was questioning.”

Cady nods, listening intently to the story.

“I came out to her that summer,” Alyssa says. “And she said she’d had a crush on me all along, and asked me out. So we went on a walk and then got coffee and the rest is history.”

“We forgot to mention the serious gay panic I had during our first lesson,” Emma chuckles. “But that’s the gist of it.”

“How cute,” Cady coos.

“What about you two, how long have you been together?” Alyssa asks kindly, flicking Emma’s ear gently as she aggressively plops down onto her lap.

“Four months,” Janis pipes up immediately.

“Man, you crushed on her for that long without saying anything, Cades?” Emma says, impressed. Janis pops her head up and listens in.

“Oh?”

“She never shut up about you for, like, almost a year,” Emma laughs. Cady flushes scarlet and looks down at her lap with a flustered squeak. “I’m assuming it was you, she never gave a name. But it was always a tall, hot artist with cool hair and nice muscles. And I think she mentioned your butt a few times, she thinks that’s cute.”

Janis cackles as Cady flops facedown onto her bed and groans into a pillow. “How cute, I didn’t know that. But I shouldn’t laugh, I definitely wasn’t any better.”

“How did you get together?” Alyssa asks, patting Cady’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Janis snorts from the ground and Cady gives another groan into her pillow. “What?”

“You tell them,” Cady grumbles, poking her face out just long enough that it’s not muffled.

“Baby, it’s cute,” Janis coos.

“No it’s not!”

“Okay, fine, I’ll tell it in a way that makes me look just as dorky,” Janis compromises. “Caddy came to my school in September from Kenya, and she had these adorable little cargo shorts and socks with sandals on, and-“

“Hold on, what?” Alyssa insists. “Kenya?”

“Cady grew up there, her parents are zoologists,” Emma explains.

“How many conversations have we had with her? And you never thought to tell me she’s from Africa?”

“It never came up! We both had a lot going on the first year and then we just didn’t bring it up,” Emma defends. “And now you know.”

“Sorry,” Alyssa says. “Keep going.”

“It’s all good,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, I fell for her so bad the first day that I dragged Damian into the bathroom at lunch and made him let her join our group.”

Cady pops her head up and looks to her girlfriend. “You did?”

“Yeah, duh,” Janis says. “We’re not known for socializing with the new kids, I just thought you were cute.”

Cady blushes again, but doesn’t return to her pillow. “Keep going.”

Janis chuckles and continues telling the story as she finishes her small painting on Emma’s guitar. “So we became friends that day, and then had… an ordeal, through the rest of junior year and didn’t really reconnect until spring.”

Cady’s told Emma and Alyssa the whole story, so they both nod at Janis’ quick explanation.

“We got really close over the summer, and apparently we were both crushing on each other. But we didn’t notice, somehow. And then I sorta snapped on her birthday this year and decided to fess up, so I made that,” Janis points to the black and white collage hanging next to one of her paintings on the wall. “But before I could give it to her, this little firecracker got wasted and started crying in my lap about how much she loved me.”

“I wasn’t that drunk!” Cady huffs.

“I found you lying on the ground singing yourself to sleep,” Janis giggles. “And you didn’t recognize me, clearly. Just climbed into my lap and spilled your guts. I was lucky it wasn’t literal.”

“Janis Sarkisian,” Cady grumbles. “Behave.”

“Fine, fine,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, once she sobered up a little bit we had a chat and realized we both had feelings for each other, so we started dating. And now we’re here.”

“That did not make you sound anywhere near as dorky as me,” Cady huffs. “But yeah, that’s… that’s it.”

Emma snorts once the story is done. “That does sound like Cady. But if that’s what it took, then I guess it was worth it.”

Cady turns to look at Janis again. “It was. But you guys went through a lot more than us, that must have been tough on both of you.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Emma chuckles, trying to sneak a peek at Janis’ work. The angle isn’t quite right, so she gives up before she falls off her girlfriend. “You guys went through a lot. But yeah, it was really tough. I’m so lucky.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Alyssa murmurs back. “You guys know the story?”

“I do,” Cady says. “I think Jay and Damian just know the bare bones. It’s your story to tell, I didn’t want to give too many details away.”

Alyssa gives her a grateful smile, and Cady grins back. “Do you want to hear it?”

“Of course,” Janis pipes up. “I finished, by the way. Um, here.”

“Hey, you stole my idea!” Cady jokingly whines when she sees what Janis has done.

“But it’s so perfect!” Janis defends. Emma takes her guitar to see, and smiles at the new lion with a rainbow mane in the spot they’d picked. “And it’s kind of for both of us.”

“This is awesome,” Emma says. “Oh! I get it, it’s a pride thing! Pride of lions, and then… oh. Clever!”

“It was actually Caddy’s idea, she made me a rock with it at pride last week,” Janis says. “I thought it fit.”

“It does, you’re really talented!” Alyssa says, leaning over her girlfriend’s shoulder to see it. Janis’ text tone goes off, so she pulls her phone out of the pocket of her shorts to check it. Cady peeks over to see what it is too as Janis bursts out laughing. It’s a picture of Damian surrounded by his new friends, now in a matching tracksuit all of his own.

jamian: Sent a picture: JAN LOOKIT

danis: nice outfit

jamian: Thank u it really suits me doesnt it

danis: honestly

danis: yeah kinda

jamian: Sent a picture: Thank u

jamian: Anyway we’re going to ihop next yall should meet us there

danis: kk love u

jamian: Love u too

“I think your little crew adopted Damian,” Janis chuckles at Emma and Alyssa, showing them the photo of a very excited Damian.

“Aww,” Emma chuckles. “I’m glad they didn’t kill him, they can be a lot to handle.”

“He seems fine,” Janis shrugs. “Whose truck are we taking?”

“Oh, is that one in the driveway yours?” Emma says excitedly. Janis nods. “It’s nice!”

“We’ve been in Em’s all day,” Alyssa chuckles. “Probably best to take yours.”

“I call shotgun!” Cady yells, already tugging on her shoes and running downstairs.

“As if I’d let anyone else,” Janis mumbles affectionately under her breath.

————-

The waitstaff at IHOP look more than a little frightened at the size of their group, and especially at the crew in tracksuits.

“Ey, yo!” One of them calls. “Guys, come here! It’s that guy from the thing! That show!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Trent grumbles under his breath. “Why is it always that? I played Hamlet!”

They’re quickly escorted to a large table near the back, and Trent signs a few menus as a little gift to the now very excited waiters.

“Was Juilliard worth it?” He mutters to himself. Angie, who’s sat next to him, nudges him with an elbow to shut him up.

Janis and Emma both order for their girlfriends, and also order themselves the same meal of chicken and waffles. Dee Dee gets french toast, Angie gets an omelet, Trent gets some crepes, and Barry gets the most horrifically sweet looking pancakes anyone’s ever seen. Apparently they’re cupcake flavored.

Alyssa looks very content with her large Belgian waffle, and Cady seems delighted with her chocolate chip pancakes decorated with whipped cream to look like a face. It’s definitely from the children’s menu, but nobody says anything.

“So tell us about you guys,” Dee Dee says once their food gets delivered. She looks eagerly to her friends, as if to say, ‘Look how nice I can be when I want to.’ Barry claps quietly for her.

“What do you want to know?” Damian asks. Dee Dee puts her head in her hands, clearly not knowing how to continue. Trent takes over for her.

“How do you guys know each other?”

“Oh!” Damian says excitedly. “Janis and I have been friends, like, forever. We met in tap dance class when we were three.”

“And you knocked my fucking teeth out in that class when we were five,” Janis grumbles.

“By accident!” Damian defends amidst the giggles of their whole group. “I got really into it. Anyway, so we’ve been friends forever. And then little Caddy happened along in junior year, and we kind of kidnapped her for a while.”

“No, I needed to be kidnapped,” Cady laughs. “I was a total wreck. They actually sort of rescued me from the school bathroom at lunch.”

“You were eating in the bathroom?” Barry asks, sounding both empathetic and disgusted. “Oh, you poor sweet thing.”

“I was the new kid, y’know?” Cady shrugs. “Nobody wanted to eat with the dork from Africa.”

Angie chokes on a bite of her food, and Trent thumps her on the back. “From what now?”

“I’m from Kenya,” Cady giggles. “Well, technically I was born in Oregon. But I lived in Kenya for thirteen years.”

“Just, like, in the wilderness?” Barry asks in shock. “With the lions and tigers and… bears and stuff?”

Cady laughs out loud. “Pretty much. But there’s no tigers or bears.”

“But there were lions?” Trent insists.

“Oh, yeah,” Cady says like it’s entirely normal. “That’s mostly what we were studying. They were kind of my only friends.”

“And they never showed any interest in… consuming you?” Dee Dee asks worriedly. Cady laughs again.

“Lions are just big cats, you know, guys? As long as you’re careful and respect their boundaries they won’t hurt you,” she chuckles. “I got swiped at a few times when I was little, but I never needed more than fifteen stitches.”

“Fifteen?” Angie yelps.

“That is kind of a lot, Cades,” Emma chuckles. “I never had to get more than three as a kid.”

“Oh. Well, I was kind of asking for it, I was playing too rough,” Cady hums.

“With a lion,” Alyssa insists. “Do you have pictures?” Cady nods and passes over her phone for them to scroll through her camera roll.

“Anyway, please keep going,” Angie says, leaning across the table to try to see.

“That’s basically it,” Janis shrugs. “Until you get into the whole mess that happened junior year.”

Cady and Damian nod in agreement. The adults all look very excited at the prospect of some new drama. “Do tell.”

The art freaks all look to one another warily, wondering who should begin. Cady decides to after a second of back and forth.

“Well, um… I sat with these two on my first day,” she begins. “But then just before lunch ended I met these three girls. We called them the Plastics.”

“Why?” Angie asks curiously. Damian shows them all a photo. “Oh. I already don’t like this one.” Janis snorts quietly as she points to Regina.

“Anyway, they said I should sit with them, and Janis and Damian wanted me to so I could spy on them,” Cady says sheepishly. “They have some… personal history.”

“Oh?” Trent asks. Cady looks to Janis, this bit is her story to tell.

“Regina, the one in the middle, outed me in eighth grade,” Janis says. “Carved slurs into my locker, that kinda thing.”

“Oh, honey,” Barry says sadly. “That bitch.”

Janis chuckles weakly. “Yeah. The other two just kind of went along with it. They were just generally bitchy to everyone. But I didn’t have many friends because of her, and I went through a lot of counseling and stuff because of it. Spent some time in the hospital for… reasons, but that’s not… something we need to discuss right now.”

Everyone nods, respecting her privacy. Cady continues telling the story. “So, I pretended to join them and would kind of report back to Janis and Damian. I learned that they had this book, called the Burn Book, where they would write mean things about people from the yearbook and stuff. And at the same time I was crushing for a long time on this boy named Aaron, but he was Regina’s ex. She had dumped him earlier for another guy. And she was actually cheating on him with the other one.”

“Oh, can I tell this bit?” Janis asks. Cady nods and gestures for her to keep going. “So, around Halloween, Cady went to Aaron’s party, and I don’t know exactly what happened, but he basically got back together with Regina.”

“What kind of idiot-“ Trent begins, getting cut off by a stomp on the foot from Dee Dee.

“So poor Caddy came to my house,” Janis says, trying to keep down giggles at the memory. “Fucking slams my basement door open, but Dame and I were watching horror movies. Caddy was dressed as some corpse bride with a knife in her back and everything, and Damian screamed so loud, like, higher than I’ve ever heard. But she was crying, so we helped her and then came up with a revenge plot.”

Dee Dee suddenly looks very interested, leaning forwards slightly and resting her head on her folded hands.

“Caddy had these snack bars from Kenya, they’re… Swedish, I think?” Damian says. Cady nods. “They make you gain weight, like, really quickly. Regina was kind of obsessed with her weight and image and stuff, so we got Caddy to tell her they were actually a diet bar to help lose weight.”

“No,” Angie gasps. Everyone laughs at her reaction.

“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “I don’t think anything major happened until around Christmas. The Plastics did this dance every year at the winter talent show, and we had to wear these skimpy little Santa outfits. But Regina had already gained a fair bit of weight, so her skirt didn’t fit…”

“It fell off in the middle of the routine in front of everyone,” Janis cackles. Emma and Alyssa both look slightly scared of her. “Sorry. Personal vindication. But yeah, that was kind of the beginning of the end for her. Cady kind of… got lost in it, by that point. It was hard to tell if she was pretending or not.”

Cady looks down at her lap in shame, so Janis takes her hand under the table and kisses the side of her head a few times to comfort her. Damian keeps going with the story.

“So, Caddy basically overthrew Regina as Queen Bee of the school. She threw a little party and didn’t invite us or Regina, so she kind of was attacking both fronts. We got pretty mad and stopped associating with her, and Regina was obviously furious,” he says. “And so as revenge for that, Regina photocopied the Burn Book and spread all the pages around the school. I saw, like, seven fights before first period even started that day.”

“But didn’t they know that she had written it?” Trent asks.

“That’s the thing, she put herself in it,” Janis adds, now holding Cady on her lap. “So nobody suspected her. She went to the principal and blamed Gretchen and Karen, they’re the other two, and Cady.”

“I don’t like this story,” Barry whines. “Tell me something good happens.”

“Oh, just wait,” Janis chuckles darkly. “There was an assembly called that day, and they tried to make us apologize to each other and do trust exercises or something like that. I kind of went rogue and only apologized to myself and rallied the rest of the girls in our grade.”

“Go Janis,” Angie says, sounding impressed. “Stick it to the man.”

“Thanks,” Janis laughs. “But it only lasted a few minutes.”

“Damn it,” Barry groans. “What happened?”

“Regina got hit by a bus,” Cady says. Angie spits her mouthful of lemonade over Trent.

“She what?”

“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “So, that time kind of sucked for both of us. She was in the hospital recovering, and everyone was saying that I pushed her in front of it or that she jumped in front of it on purpose because of me.”

“She didn’t die?” Dee Dee clarifies. Everyone is more than a little concerned at the disappointment in her voice.

“No,” Cady chuckles. “Well, she died for, like, fifteen seconds, but she was resuscitated and she’s fine now.”

“And did you push her?” Barry asks. “We’re all friends here, you can tell us.”

“No!” Cady huffs. “I may have been a raging bitch, but I’m not an attempted murderer.”

“You didn’t feed anyone to a lion back in Kenya?” Janis teases gently.

“I’ll do it to you if you’re not careful,” Cady retaliates with a laugh. “Where did we leave off?”

“Regina got hit by a bus and you didn’t push her,” Trent says helpfully, still dabbing some lemonade out of his sweater with a wad of napkins.

“Oh,” Damian says. “Okay, so, I don’t… totally remember what happened in between that and Spring Fling, but it’s really not important.”

“I was suspended for the Book, that’s kind of it,” Cady says, gesturing for him to continue.

“Oh, yeah! Anyway, Spring Fling at our school is basically prom but for underclassmen, prom is just for the seniors. Jan and I were each other’s dates, she decorated our outfits and stuff, we looked killer if I do say so myself.”

Janis rolls her eyes lovingly and whacks him with an elbow.

“And Caddy was banned, so she wasn’t supposed to be there, but she showed up towards the end with the Mathletes,” Damian continues. “And she had been nominated for queen, and she won. So she went up on stage and gave the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard and broke her crown, and we all got a piece. So now we’re all friends and life is good.”

“Nice ending, Dame,” Janis laughs. “Hasty conclusions. But that it is basically how it happened.”

Everyone blinks at them. Trent says, “That was like being in a war zone. Just one bombshell after another.”

“It kinda was, our math teacher got stabbed in the leg at one point,” Cady hums. “Anyway, what’s your guys’ story? If you want to share.”

“Oh, yeah, I’d like to know more,” Damian says. “Jan and I really only know the bare bones. What was in the news, and stuff.”

“You guys can start,” Emma says, pulling a face as Alyssa gently dabs some syrup off her lip. Alyssa giggles when Emma tries to bite her hand and kisses Emma’s cheek.

“Ooh, okay!” Barry says eagerly. “We were in a show. Well, Dee Dee and I. We were in a delightful little show called Eleanor.”

“As in…” Janis says confusedly.

“Eleanor Roosevelt,” Dee Dee explains. She seems surprised when the kids all nod in understanding. “You’ve heard of her?”

“Yeah?” Cady says, tilting her head. “She’s one of the most famous first ladies of all time, we learned about her in our history class.”

“Not nearly enough,” Janis grumbles. “Gotta make time for the men.”

“Amen sister,” Angie huffs.

“Really…” Dee Dee hums interestedly. “Anyway, it was… not a success. Poor advance sales, and then…”

“We bombed opening night,” Barry grumbles. “Apparently. But it wasn’t the show, it was… it was us. The media panned us as aging narcissists and we had to close.”

“On opening night?” Damian gasps in horror. Dee Dee and Barry both nod sadly.

“Regretfully, yes. So, we had to try to change the narrative,” Dee Dee says. “We decided to find a good cause and do something. So we were going to build houses for Habitat for Humanity.”

“But Barry has a bad back,” Trent pipes up. “So then we thought about, like, recycling or fixing poverty or world hunger.”

“But that was all too much for us to handle,” Angie says. “So I went on Twitter and found-”

“Me!” Emma says. “Apparently that all happened on the same night as the first assembly where the PTA cancelled prom in the first place. I guess we were trending.”

“And they only cancelled it because you two wanted to go together?” Janis asks sadly.

“Yep. Well, nobody knew about Alyssa, but they cancelled it because they knew I wanted to bring my girlfriend,” Emma explains.

“Those bitches,” Janis grumbles. “Sorry.”

“Believe me, we get it,” Emma laughs. “But my bit of the story isn’t quite here yet.”

“Oh, yes!” Dee Dee realizes. “So, we decided to help Emma, but we were completely out of funds and had no way to get all the way to Indiana from New York.”

“But I had just booked a non-equity tour of Godspell,” Trent half-brags. The other half seems rather depressed at that statement. “So we came on the tour bus.”

“Can I start our part?” Alyssa asks. Emma nods and squeezes her hand under the table. “So, they obviously gave no indication that they were coming. Emma and Principal Hawkins had gone to the State’s Attorney by that point and put some legal pressure on the PTA, so we had another assembly to discuss options.”

“We?” Damian asks.

“Oh, my mom was the head of the PTA,” Alyssa says casually. Damian chokes on his drink and Janis nearly drops Cady on the ground.

“Your mom cancelled your prom?” Janis asks in shock. Alyssa nods sadly. “Oh, because you… she didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

“It was what it was. She knows now,” Alyssa hums. “Anyway, I was there to speak for student council. I was mid-sentence, and then they come barreling into the gym with signs and yelling at everyone.”

“Educating everyone,” Barry corrects. “Loudly and with signs.”

“Right, educating. Sorry,” Alyssa laughs. “So my mom totally loses her shit. It’s chaos. I think Trent had a cowbell at some point?”

Trent reaches into a messenger bag next to him and pulls out a cowbell, resting it on the table with a quiet thunk.

“You just keep that with you?” Janis chuckles.

“For emergencies,” Trent explains. “You’d be surprised.”

Janis tries to think of what emergencies she’s faced that would either be helped or solved with the addition of a cowbell, and surprisingly, she can think of a few.

“Of course he keeps it all the time,” Emma chuckles. “I don’t remember… most of what happened that time. But after a few days they announced that the prom was back on.”

“Because of you?” Damian asks, looking to the stars.

“No,” they all say at the same time Emma says, “I think so.”

Everyone looks her way. “I told you this at the time, but you guys really scared people! I think you at least had a part.”

“How sweet,” Dee Dee says. “Let’s say we had an ensemble part in getting it back on.”

That gets a chuckle from everyone at the table, before Barry continues with the story.

“I, obviously, had to take Emma shopping,” he says. “She only had one dress and it was… a travesty would be an understatement.”

“I’m honestly not sure where it came from,” Emma chuckles. “Just think Little House on the Prarie but somehow so much worse.”

“So we went to the mall, and found this lovely blue dress and some good shoes,” Barry says. Emma looks like she would disagree with his choice of adjectives, but nods. “Did her hair and makeup all fancy, and bought her a corsage.”

“Aww,” Cady coos. “How sweet.”

“That part was fun,” Emma agrees fondly. “But…”

“When we got there,” Barry says. “Poor thing was so excited, but it was-it was just-“

Dee Dee continues for him, as Barry gets too emotional to keep going. “It was totally empty. Barry took Emma into the gym, and it was just horrific. There were barely any decorations, and they were just thrown up. I would be stunned if they spent more than ten dollars on the whole thing.”

“Oh god,” Damian says sadly. “I heard it was a fake, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”

“It sucked,” Emma chuckles sardonically, trying not to get too heavy in the middle of an IHOP. “More than anything. I didn’t care about the decorations, I just… it was so lonely, you know? I realized then that so many people I thought cared about me just didn’t. So many people I thought were my friends, weren’t. I had never felt more alone.”

“It sounds awful,” Janis says.

“It was,” Emma mumbles. Alyssa takes her hand under the table and gives it a gentle squeeze. Emma looks up and gives her a sad but grateful grin.

“I was at the… other prom. The real one,” Alyssa continues, seeming ashamed. “I had no idea what they had done, everyone on student council and the PTA hid it from me too. Some of my friends had seen us together and realized I was the ‘secret girlfriend’ and were trying to break us up.”

“Which worked,” Emma admits sadly. “I called her to try to get her to come to my own personal prom so I could at least have her there, but her mom was at the real one with her and she couldn’t leave. And I just sort of… lost it. I hung up and we didn’t talk again for a week.”

“I never blamed you for that,” Alyssa murmurs gently. “You were still trying to process everything and I just added to it.”

“No, you didn’t,” Emma insists. “We can talk more later. Anyway. I ran out, obviously. And Angie actually came after me, which was nice. She just let me cry and didn’t make me do anything. Helped me get my makeup off and stuff. She even slept on my bedroom floor in case I needed something. It was kind of like having a mom there, which I really needed.”

“How fucking old-“ Angie begins, but Trent claps a hand over her mouth. Emma laughs and continues.

“And then the rest of them came by the next day even though I yelled at them,” she says.

“With ice cream!” Barry butts in. “That’s an important detail.”

“Oh yeah, they brought me Häagen Dazs,” Emma laughs. “It was cute. Especially because they thought I wouldn’t know what it was.”

“Can you blame us? You live in the most yeehaw hick town in Indiana,” Trent says. “And that’s saying something.”

“It’s not that bad,” Emma tuts. “Anyway, they brought ice cream and were trying to convince me to do something to bring more attention to what was happening. Dee Dee actually got me on a talk show at one point, but I knew I would never be able to do something like that.”

“You still owe me a house,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath. “But what she wound up doing was much better anyway.”

“The song?” Damian asks. Emma nods.

“I had it sort of in my head for a while, and I managed to piece it together in about a week,” she replies. “I was terrified, but it was just an overnight thing. I woke up the next day and it already had two million views.”

Alyssa squeezes her hand with a proud smile. “Half of them were me.”

“The other half were Damian,” Janis chuckles. “He made me watch it at lunch one day and we both watched it so many times we knew all the words by the next day.”

“Aww,” Emma says. “You guys are so sweet.”

“We try,” Janis and Damian say at the same time, locking eyes and glaring at each other once they notice. Cady giggles at their antics.

“Anyway,” Emma laughs. “I wasn’t expecting even that many, but people just kept watching, and then I started getting all these comments on it that were so precious. All these other queer kids all over the world sharing their stories too. Eventually it got back to Principal Hawkins and all of them, and they helped figure out how to set up an inclusive prom. And funded it, which was very helpful.”

“Yeah, helpful,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath.

“Once we saw where the money was going it was so worth it,” Barry says, gently kicking Dee Dee under the table. “It was beautiful.”

“It really was,” Emma agrees. “But god, it took forever to set up.”

“God, yeah,” Alyssa says. “Oh, and we got back together, like, as we were setting everything up, we forgot to mention that.”

“Oh yeah,” Emma says. “Her mom came when she heard what we were doing in the gym because we never got PTA approval-“

“So she was mad,” Alyssa butts in.

“Very mad,” Emma chuckles. “But you came with her and told her to stop talking, which was both hilarious and terrifying. And then you told me you loved me in front of everyone. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”

“Me either,” Alyssa says quietly.

“Aww,” Cady says, even though she’s heard the whole story before. It’s always a good one to repeat. “How sweet.”

“So after that whole thing we finished setting everything up,” Emma continues, smiling at her girlfriend. “And it was beautiful, even I was impressed.”

“You looked so happy when everyone started showing up,” Alyssa says fondly. “I was so proud of you. I still am. You gave so many people an incredible night they wouldn’t have had without you.”

Emma flushes slightly and looks down at her lap. Alyssa squishes her cheeks in her hand to get her to look back up.

“It really was an incredible night,” she says. “And we finally got to dance together, I think that was my favorite part.”

“That was good,” Alyssa nods. “But you’re a terrible dancer.”

“Hey! Just because I didn’t take dance classes for years,” Emma pouts.

“Oh, hush, I’m joking,” Alyssa says, kissing Emma’s cheek.

“You missed,” Emma continues pouting. Alyssa frowns in confusion and kisses her cheek again, but in a different spot. “You missed.”

Alyssa gives her a chaste kiss on the lips this time, and Emma finally smiles. Alyssa rolls her eyes lovingly. “You’re such a dork, goodness gracious.”

“You guys are almost as cute as Caddy and Janis,” Damian says, trying to snap them out of it and get them to remember the presence of the group.

“Almost?” Alyssa says, her competitive side making a slight appearance. “I think you’re biased.”

“Oh, definitely,” Damian agrees. “We don’t really have any unbiased judges though.”

“True. We’ll say it’s a truce for now,” Alyssa says. “Are we all done? I need to get up for a bit. I’m stuffed.”

“I think so,” Cady says, looking around at all the empty plates around. “We could go to the beach for the sunset, if you guys want. It’s not too far a drive.”

“Ooh, yes please,” Emma says excitedly. The adults play rock paper scissors to work out payment, and Dee Dee grumbles under her breath when she loses.

“Hungry kids. Why are pancakes so expensive?”

————-

“Oh, guys, look!” Damian says, pointing to a window of a thrift shop nearby. “We could go try on dresses!”

“We?” Janis chuckles, carrying Cady on her back. “You gonna get into a ballgown, D?”

“Why not?” Damian asks. “I have the figure for it, shut up.”

“I thought we were going to the beach,” Angie says.

“We can do both,” Barry says, seeming strangely excited. “Wear dresses to the beach.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Cady says eagerly, squeezing her legs together a bit to get Janis to go in, as if she’s riding a pony. “Please?”

“I am not paying,” Dee Dee says immediately. Everyone else nods, that’s only fair.

“Fine, fine. Come along,” Trent says, leading them into the shop as their gaggle of children follow like ducklings.

—-

The employees look a bit concerned as all nine of them parade to the discounted gown section and start looking for ones in their sizes. Damian finds his first, a royal purple gown with a high neck and a slit that would reach about to his knee. He takes it off the rack and heads over to the changing room, rapidly followed by Barry with his silver gown.

“How did-“ Emma stutters. “I guess they knew what they were looking for.”

Angie helps Trent find one that would fit him, an emerald green dress with long sleeves and a nice v-neck collar. He shrugs and follows Barry and Damian. Angie then moves on to find one of her own, and picks out a sleek black dress made of lace and with a shorter skirt, about to the knee. Dee Dee follows with one she seems to have grabbed at random, a nice yellow gown complete with a cape.

Alyssa picks a pink dress with a longer train, since she wore a short dress to both of her real proms and wants to experiment a little. Cady picks a yellow one, with longer sleeves and a bow in the back. The skirt is short, which makes her a little nervous, but she decides to give it a go.

Janis and Emma both look a bit lost, staring aimlessly at the racks and flicking through them weakly.

“Jayjay, try this one,” Cady says, offering a long, red, short-sleeved gown that looks like it would have a rather tight fit. Maybe Cady has some selfish motivations here, but she’ll never admit it. Janis raises a slightly suspicious eyebrow, but takes the dress and hauls her girlfriend off to the changing rooms.

“They all look so itchy,” Emma shudders slightly. Alyssa laughs and takes one of her hands.

“If you got one made of something like this it wouldn’t be too bad,” she says, showing Emma one made of an almost satin-like material. “And it’ll only be a couple hours at most. We’re going to the beach, sand is itchy anyway.”

“True,” Emma agrees with a little nod. “I like this one.”

“So try it,” Alyssa chuckles as Emma grabs an amethyst colored ballgown with a big poofy skirt. “Come on.”

Most of their group is waiting outside the rooms, clad in their ill fitting gowns. Trent’s is a bit too big, Barry’s is missing some sequins, and Angie’s has a small hole in the sleeve, but none of them complain.

Cady and Janis open the curtains to their respective rooms, revealing their dresses to one another. Janis is somehow not tall enough to fill her dress out, which makes her look a bit like Morticia Addams, but she doesn’t mind. Cady’s is almost perfect, but the skirt clings to her legs in an odd way.

“You look nice!” Cady says, gently adjusting Janis’ sleeve as Janis tugs at her collar.

“It’s a bit tight,” Janis says, sounding rather choked.

“I can fix that once we buy it,” Barry says, looking at himself in the mirror. Everyone looks at him in concern. “What? I have a stitch kit, I’ll just cut the collar off it.”

“Oh,” everyone says. Alyssa and Emma exit the changing rooms then, prompting coos from everyone.

“Emmy, you look beautiful!” Alyssa says, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “The color really suits you.”

“Does it?” Emma says, sarcastically striking a pose. “It feels very… purple.”

“I like purple,” Alyssa hums, adjusting Emma’s skirt.

“You look really nice,” Emma replies, looking at Alyssa’s long dress. Hers is the closest to fitting correctly out of everyone’s.

“Thanks!” Alyssa says, putting her hands on her hips and popping out a knee. Emma laughs and kisses her gently.

“Okay, let’s go!” Angie says happily, having been taking pictures of everyone like a proud mom taking photos for her Facebook. Angie, Trent, and Barry split the cost among them, and they unleash their prom-ready selves onto the public.

—————-

“So you guys just graduated, right?” Alyssa asks, strolling down the shore holding hands with Emma. Cady and Janis are also hand in hand walking next to them.

“Yep!” Cady chirps.

“So you must’ve just had your senior prom too, what was yours like?”

“It was so fun! Damian took me shopping and I had the most beautiful dress,” Cady replies eagerly. “And Janis had a suit to match and it was… she looked… so hot.”

“Ooh,” Emma teases. “Scandalous.”

“Hey,” Cady says. “I’m allowed to think she’s hot.”

“Fair enough,” Emma shrugs.

“What about you guys, how are you handling your post-prom fame?” Janis jokes.

“Pretty well,” Emma chuckles. “Or at least I think we are.”

“You certainly are,” Alyssa murmurs.

“Oh yeah, aren’t you starting a nonprofit or something?” Cady asks.

“Wait, what?” Janis asks.

“I’m trying,” Emma laughs again. “Lyss’ mom is actually helping me. And trying to start a charity looks, like, super good on college applications, so that’s nice.”

“I thought your mom started this whole fiasco,” Janis says confusedly.

“Oh, she did,” Alyssa confirms. “But she’s cool with the gays now. She had a lot of questions and stuff, and she’s still having to work pretty hard at it. Changing opinions and thought patterns that were instilled in you from

childhood is tough. But she’s trying.”

“Yeah, she came to pride with us this year,” Emma says. “It was cute, she had a rainbow pantsuit and everything.”

“Go mom,” Janis chuckles. “I’m glad she turned things around.”

“Me too,” Alyssa murmurs quietly.

“Me three,” Emma says, squeezing her hand.

“So what’s this charity you’re getting going?” Cady asks.

“It’s called the Unruly Hearts Foundation,” Emma explains. “It’s a nonprofit that takes donations and stuff to throw other inclusive events around the country. Create safe spaces. And we also donate a fair bit to LGBTQ+ shelters and stuff, too.”

“That’s awesome,” Janis says. “I’m broke but I’ll donate a bit once I get my commissions business going.”

“Thanks, Janis,” Emma chuckles. “You know, we could use some branding. A logo, stuff for our website. If you’re interest-“

“Yes,” Janis interrupts. “I’m interested. Please.”

“Groovy,” Emma laughs. “I’ll be in touch, get Cady to give you my number.”

“You say groovy too?!” Damian asks eagerly as he makes an appearance. “These two always make fun of me for it.”

“Hell yeah I say groovy,” Emma says, giving Damian a fist bump. “Sometimes it’s the only word that fits the vibes, you know?”

“Yes!” Damian says. “See? Emma gets it.”

“I think ‘tits’ is pretty versatile,” Janis says. “You kind of look like Ursula, by the way, Dame.”

“Thanks,” Damian says, swishing his purple skirt around. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”

“It was,” Janis huffs. “As if I’d ever insult you.”

“You called me a ‘fucking deplorable kneecap’ on the way here,” Damian retaliates. Emma and Alyssa rode separately and burst out laughing.

“And now I have grown as a person. Developed myself.”

“It was ten minutes ago!”

“And? I’m not the same me I was two minutes ago, let alone ten,” Janis defends.

“Thank god,” Damian grumbles jokingly.

“Hey!” Janis says, breaking away from Cady and running after him. Damian shrieks and holds up his skirts to run away.

“Do we need to intervene here, Cades?” Emma asks with a slight chuckle as Damian and Janis sprint up and down the shoreline in a sort of oval.

“Nah,” Cady shrugs. “They do stuff like this about once a week. Janis knows she needs him, she won’t actually do anything.”

Just as she says that, Damian takes a hard left and runs full tilt into the lake. Janis pauses for a second before shrugging and running after him.

“Or maybe she will.”

“That water must be cold,” Alyssa chuckles in concern.

“Let’s find out!” Emma says boldly, tightening her grip on Alyssa’s hand and running them towards the water as well. Alyssa shrieks as they leap into the lake with a splash. Cady realizes she’s alone and also runs in, managing a cannonball into the water.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Barry yells, walking up on a sort of puddle of teenagers in soaking wet dresses.

“They’re being kids, let them live,” Dee Dee says. “Unrelated, can you swim?”

“Yeah, wh- don’t you dare,” Barry says, turning to face her.

“Oh, I would never,” Dee Dee says, aghast at the mere suggestion. Trent then comes sprinting up and tackles Barry into the lake. “But he would.”

Angie cackles and high fives her. Dee Dee crosses her arms over her chest and smiles down as Barry pops back up with a splutter.

“Dee Dee Allen!” Barry demands. “Get your ass in here.”

“No, I don’t think I will, thank you,” Dee Dee says casually, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet.

“Oh come on,” Angie coaxes. “It’s only fair.”

“I didn’t push him!”

“You had a role.”

Dee Dee ponders this for a moment before she begrudgingly reaches to take Angie’s hand, and they leap in together.

“Yay!” Emma cheers, delighted that all her friends made it into the lake one way or another. Some of them are significantly less happy about this, but everyone is laughing eventually.

“Hey, Caddy,” Janis says. She swims over to her girlfriend and kisses her gently, before booping her nose. “Tag. You’re it.”

Cady laughs as Janis swims away as fast as she can, rapidly followed by the rest of the group. Cady swims around for a second while she ponders her options to decide who to go after. Emma is a strong swimmer, being on her high school swim team and all. Alyssa is okay, but a bit weaker.

Barry seems to be the slowest, and gives her the best chance of success. He looks very anxious as Cady stares him down before lunging for him. He shrieks as Cady manages to snag his skirt and tap his arm under the water before she backstrokes away.

“Damn it,” he puffs. “I’m having elementary school flashbacks.”

“Better than middle school flashbacks,” Angie calls.

“Amen,” Janis says. She screams as Barry goes for her and swims away, huddling behind Damian for protection.

“Hey!” Damian whines, swimming away from her and creating a sort of three-way chase. Janis quickly gives up on Damian’s protection and swims to Cady instead.

“Protect me,” she pleads. Cady smiles as Janis hides behind her, peeking over her shoulder to check where the threat is.

“You’re so cute.”

“No I’m not,” Janis pouts. “I’m being stealthy.”

“Uhhuh,” Cady says as Janis clings to her like a precious little octopus. “If you get me tagged again I’m breaking up with you.”

“That’s fair,” Janis agrees with a shrug. Alyssa suddenly gives a shriek as Barry taps her leg under the water. “Uh oh.”

————-

After an hour or so of tag, the sun begins to set for the day. The water temperature plummets and everyone swims to shore to watch the sky be painted beautiful shades of pink and orange and purple. The adults and Damian head back to the car to go hunt for towels and dry clothes somewhere.

But Cady, Janis, Emma and Alyssa stay behind, deciding they don’t mind so much if they’re in heavy, cold dresses and getting covered in itchy sand. Cady holds Janis on her lap and Alyssa has Emma in hers, all of them staring out over the expanse of the water before them together.

“You guys should visit more often,” Cady says quietly as the first stars begin to make an appearance.

“Absolutely,” Alyssa says, looking down at her girlfriend. “This was an awesome day.”

“And we’ll have more,” Emma says.

Together.

—-

thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoyed!

lots of love,

ezzy

[pbnjparker]

10 of my current fav songs!

hi, here’s another tag lolz

i was tagged my salem (: aka @whatalovelynightmare

1. make it up to you by julia michaels 

2. por favor (spanish version) by pitbull (feat. fifth harmony)

3. thats so us by allie x 

4. single by the neighbourhood

5. ferrari by the neighbourhood

6. made for by why don't we

7. just to see you smile by why don't we

8. subterranean homesick alien (remastered) by radiohead

9. love by kendrick lamar (feat. zacari)

10. london by maty noyes

alSO i highly recommend you listen to maty noyes, her songs are such a bop (:

find the playlist on spotify here!

p.s. can we look at the artwork that i created for the playlist? 

also i tag my girls @hermionay & @alwaysaharrypotterfan

would guys want playlist from me for every month? like just a huge playlist of my favorite songs? lmk in my ask box, anon or non anon (:

[tumblingdowntheway2019]

Just had another funny thought to add onto my prior blog post.

Ethan and Lady Dimitriscu has the ultimate weapon that no Cadou could ever provide.

*Dimitriscu Daughters causing Havoc around the Castle with Angie joining them. Donna has no clue because of her low confidence until Ethan and Lady Dimitriscu say:*

"Girls, I'm not mad at you. I'm just disappointed." Along with the disappointed look on their faces to go with it.

I don't think they would know how to react to that, mainly the Dimitriscu Daughter because of their love for their mother and wanting to keep her happy.

Would work on Moreau and Heisenberg as well actually now that I think about it. Not Donna yet, poor gal needs help in her confidence and we don't want to go back to square one with that. 🤗

That's the sort of love they deserve really. Tough love, but still love and not whatever manipulation tactic Miranda done with them.