#if I wanna call myself a cissy I can

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Daily Planet Classifieds

Fandom: DC Comics, Superfam, Young Justice 98, Titans

Summary: Laney Hausler is currently attending classes at Metropolis University when he sees a boy with his face in the library. At first, he thinks he's seeing things. Later, he starts to realize something strange is going on.

Conner Kent lives off-campus with his friends, but he sees a boy who eerily resembles him, and he hires a private investigator to look into the life of his doppelganger.

Chapters: 12/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent, Conner Kent, Eddie Bloomberg, Rose Wilson, Bart Allen, Cassie Sandsmark, Cissie King-Jones, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Meloni Thawne, Vic Sage, Slade Wilson

Relationships: Past KonBart, Clois

Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, No Powers AU, Found Family, Family Secrets, No Powers AU, No Capes AU, Complicated Relationships, University AU, Roommates, Private Investigator, Twins, Multiple POV, First Person POV, Psychological Drama, Complicated Relationships, Unrequited Love, Platonic Relationships

Chapter Twelve: Home Sick (Conner's POV)

It might’ve been two days later when I woke up soaking wet, with Bart’s face pressed into my neck. Our legs stuck to each other, and I pulled away from him. “No… ‘S cold,” Bart mumbled. 

I felt dizzy and confused, so I lay there, letting him roll into me. We went back to sleep, but I woke up feeling much worse a little while later. I wasn’t sweating anymore, and Bart was practically on top of me. Usually, I wouldn’t mind that second part, but I couldn’t breathe at all. I had tunnel vision, shaking as I put a hand on Bart’s back to shake him awake. Bart groaned before sitting up, half-straddling me as he felt for my pulse. He rolled off of me. “Conner?” Bart whispered. “Conner, can you hear me?”

“Bart, call Cissie,” I panted. Bart looked me over. I held a hand over my forehead. It was agonizing. I couldn’t get enough air.

“Conner? Are you okay?” Bart asked. I shook my head. I hadn’t been that sick in years. 

“Call Cissie,” I whimpered. Everything hurt. Cissie was the most levelheaded friend we had next to Tim, but Tim wasn’t there. So, I wanted Cissie to take me to the ER. Bart climbed over me and walked to the girls’ room to wake Cissie up. I heard them talking. 

Bart returned with Cissie, and I rolled out of bed and put my sweatpants on. She touched my forehead. “Hey, you ready to go?” Cissie questioned. I nodded, leaning forward with my head between my knees. As weak as I felt, I was surprised I could sit up straight. “You should call your mom… Or do you want me to call her?” She knew better than to call Pop. He’d probably have a coronary if he knew something was wrong with me. I staggered past her to the bathroom and puked in the toilet. I felt like I’d pass out any second, so I wasn’t surprised when I hit the floor. 

**

I woke up in the ER, hooked up to an IV in the hallway. My mom pushed my bangs back and kissed my forehead. “Poor baby… How’s your head?” Mom asked. 

“How long have I been out?” I asked. 

“You came around for a minute when they admitted you, but you conked out when I got here. Bart’s worried sick. Well, he’s already sick… Do you wanna come home with me?” Mom questioned. 

“No, I’ll be okay. What happened?” I questioned. 

“Your fever hit over one-oh-six before you got here… You’re lucky Cissie and Bart got you to the hospital in time—.”

“Where’s Bart?” I mumbled. I was half out of my mind still, worried about Bart blaming himself. “Did he—? Did he leave me?” I pressed my palms against my eyelids as I started to cry. Mom kissed my temple. 

“Shhh… He didn’t go anywhere. He’s in the waiting room. Do you want me to get him?” Mom asked. I nodded, still crying as she left. A few minutes passed as I tried to pull myself together. Bart sat down in my mom’s seat, and he let me lay on his lap. 

“Please don’t cry anymore… I wouldn’t leave you. You know that,” Bart reassured me. He touched the hair that lay plastered to my forehead. I closed my eyes. “I’m so sorry—.” 

“You didn’t do anything to me… I missed you so much,” I mumbled. Bart’s fingers brushed my ear, and I clutched his leg. He froze. Neither of us said anything about it, but I knew we were thinking the same thing. I wanted to tell him so many things, but I couldn’t think straight. “Did Cissie say anything?” 

“I told her to go home… Your mom said she’d take us home once you’re okay—.” 

“Yeah, but what did she say?” I questioned. Bart danced around the question, and I knew why. 

“Are we too close?” Bart asked. I opened my eyes and immediately threw up on his shoes. “ Conner! ” My mom came around the hall as I threw up half of whatever fluids the hospital pumped into me. 

The mortifying reality of throwing up on your best friend in the whole world in a crowded hospital hallway. They gave Bart some paper hospital pants and grippy socks. We had to toss his shoes. I felt so bad. They said it had to be a bad reaction to the fever-reducing medication they gave me. They gave me a hospital bed because they wanted to keep me overnight, and Bart slept in it with me. Mom sat by my bedside, holding my hand as it hung off the side of the bed. 

Dad showed up, with a change of clothes for Bart and me in the morning. They took us to their house, and Bart and I stayed in my old room. Bart showered before me, and we sat on my bed, eating popsicles. “Bart? I’m sorry I threw up on you,” I apologized. 

“It’s okay. We’re even now,” Bart replied. I smiled, thinking about how he used to throw up on everyone all the time. 

“I can’t even tease you for it anymore,” I chuckled. I touched his forehead. “You feel better?” He nodded. 

“You?” Bart asked.

“My body hurts, but I’m—.” My phone rang. I wanted to ignore it, but Bart picked it up and gave it to me. 

“It’s Reed,” Bart grinned. 

I answered the call, rubbing my neck as I tried to think of something to say. “Hi, Reed,” I whispered. 

“Hey, are you mad at me? I haven’t heard from you in a few days,” Reed replied. 

“Oh, no! No, that’s not it at all. I’ve been sick for two or three days, then I went to the hospital last night and they kept me overnight because I had a bad reaction to medication and puked on Bart. Now, I’m at my parents’ place until we get better,” I explained. 

“You were in the hospital?” Reed questioned. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah… I’m okay,” I replied, “We’re just eating popsicles right now.” 

“Are you on speaker?” Reed asked. I made a soft noise in the negative. “You promise?”

“I promise,” I replied as I ate my second popsicle. 

“When you feel better maybe I’ll come over and you can put something in my mouth—.” I choked, and Bart went wide-eyed and started laughing. “Did you just—?”

“No, but—. I’d like that, Reed,” I chuckled. 

“And maybe I’ll sponge you down if you’re good,” Reed half-joked. I gave Bart my popsicle and covered my face with a pillow, half-screaming into it. “Did I say something wrong?” 

“No, I think you’re saying too much of the right thing. I might have to hang up before it becomes a problem,” I chuckled. 

Bart finished eating my popsicle which I thought was gross, but I didn’t say anything. “Okay. I’ll cool it,” Reed replied, “Get some rest, handsome.” 

We hung up and Bart screeched. “What’d he say?”Bart laughed. 

I leaned close to whisper in his ear, turning away to laugh. “He said something about sucking me off,” I whispered. Bart chuckled. “Are you gonna text Carol?” 

“Nuh uh… Not in that way,” Bart answered. “Maybe I should stop fucking my friends.” I know he was joking, but it stung. Especially because I was his first, and  he was mine. Half of what I liked I learned from being with him. And it wasn’t three times. It was five. It was five times. And every single time I— . My phone rang again. This time, I had to take the call outside of my room. So, I went to the bathroom and turned on the fan. “Hi, this isn’t really a good—.” 

“Were you at the corner store three blocks from the school yesterday?” Vic asked.

“No,” I replied. 

“Your brother’s alive… I don’t have clear photographic evidence yet, but I’ll get something for you soon,” Vic explained. He hung up without any warning. I left the bathroom and ran into Pop. I held onto him, reeling from the sudden news.

Pop looked into my eyes. “Hey… What’s the matter?” he asked. I shook my head. “Let’s get you to bed.” I wrapped my arms around him, holding on as if he were the only thing between me and the cold hard floor. Pop’s scent helped me get my bearings. 

“Don’t let me go yet… Hug me for a little while longer,” I mumbled. Just thinking about my brother being alive sent me into a spiral. I don’t know if that was a good or bad thing.

[fahbev]

okay i am greatly enjoying your live updates of fandom acquisition. It IS the most confusing hobby.

I drafted out a whole reply to this but i gave way too much advice and got a bit out of my depth. I’m just here to throw some breadcrumbs to lead you further into our rabbit hole. You’ll be drowning in opinions and takes so I’ll try to keep my own to myself.

Firstly, to answer your questions:

Q: Do we hate Batman or love him?

A: It’s complicated.

Q: Do all of the Robins even like one another?

A: It’s complicated.

Q: Do they even like Batman?

A: Most of them, yes! Jason? it’s complicated.

Q: Does Tim chug coffee or energy drinks?

A: Actually, he’s not a caffeine druggie much at all in canon (from what I can tell) , and he does prefer tea I believe? however, fanon is whatever you make of it.

Here’s a few handy tips to keep in mind!

Comics are so inconsistent— we’re all playing choose-your-own-adventure here

Don’t feel bad about enjoying fanon, or even unpopular canon. Enjoying something hurts no one.

Character dynamics vary wildly depending on who you ask, but it’s safe to assume that Dick has a pretty good relationship with any given person.

Talia Al Ghul is a mess of a character. The gist of it is that she was always pretty morally grey, but she got done dirty by canon and worse by fans. There’s a LOT of controversy. I’m not here to tell you which side is right, I’m here to tell you not to hit that wasp nest.

Out of context panels are NOT a good source of comic knowledge. I learned this the hard way. Example: there’s a panel circulating of Damian and Jason hugging. In context, the hug was an excuse for Damian to get close to taze him.

You will continue to be confused. If you’re here to stay, you learn to live with your confusion.

More, less important tips to help with batfam fic reading itself under the cut

Danny Phantom and Miraculous Ladybug are weirdly popular crossovers, and they’ll show up in your searches at some point. They’re fun.

However, despite the popularity of Danny Phantom in batfam fics, there is a dc character named Danny Temple who may show up. Be sure that it is tagged with the crossover before assuming. I made that mistake once and it’s pretty embarrassing.

Cassandra Cain and Cassie Sandsmark are different people. Heads up on that. While we’re at it, Cassie Sandsmark and Cissie King-Jones are also different people.

you probably won’t encounter this problem for awhile, but while we’re here I’m gonna warn you that Damian’s friend, Maya Ducard, and Damian’s cousin, Mara Al Ghul, are also different people. His other friend, Mia Mizoguchi aka Maps is also a different person.

Harper Row and Roy Harper do not appear to have any connection.

Damian calls everyone by their last names in fic. He doesn’t actually do that as much in canon, but in fic it makes it really hard to keep the names straight.

Here’s a list of names and aliases. I can’t give you ages or age differences, but these are roughly in age order. (Most well known alias in bold)

Alfred Pennyworth

Bruce Wayne | Batman

Barbara Gordon | Batgirl | Oracle

Dick Grayson | Robin 1 | Discowing | Nightwing

Cassandra Cain | Batgirl | Orphan | Black Bat (idk which to bold)

Jason Todd | Robin 2 | Red Hood

Tim Drake | Robin 3 | Red Robin | The Drake | Mister Sarcastic

Stephanie Brown | Spoiler | Robin 4 | Batgirl (she may be older than Tim I am not sure)

Duke Thomas | The Signal

Damian Wayne | Robin 5

There are more auxiliary batfam members like Huntress, Batwoman and Batwing, but you are unlikely to see them in fics. There are also more aliases for most everyone, but again, they are unlikely to appear in fic. The batgirls are not numbered because I asked two different people what their order was and I got two different answers.

So. Any questions? (My dms are also open if you wanna ask them privately)

okay, so nobody laugh but i recently learned that there was more than one robin??? like, as in batman’s sidekick??? looks a bit like a traffic light, THAT lil guy??? apparently there are many and i’ve just been living under a rock up until a couple of months ago and honestly idk what to do with this information because the deeper i dig the more i find. nothing is as it seems, and most pressingly of all none of them appear to be okay. one seems like he’s holding on by a thinning thread, another one apparently became a crime lord for a time, another one just gives off the same energy as that one kid at the back of the class who chugs energy drinks and never knows peace, and another knows how to use a sword. a SWORD, people. he’s, like, ten. he is an infant with a murder weapon. oh, and apparently there was a blond girl one for a second???? guys please i’m spiraling GUYS—

[rubysparx]

Hey to everyqueer out there feelin like they gotta confine themselves to some made up constraints of a label they felt and/or feel comfortable in. C’mere. I’m gonna kiss u so hard I pull all that bullshit outta ur brain. Literally do whatever u want. That’s what being queer is. There are no boxes humanity is a big circle and if u do it right we’re all having a party in it

[verymuchimmortalcat]

Maribat March Day 4: Internet Friends

ao3

@maribatmarch-2k21 

Marinette looked up from her phone as she heard a notification go off on her laptop. She had just finished posting the pictures from the photo shoot for her first official line. After years of making items for mainly Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale, she had released her first line under the pseudonym of MDC at the age of 17, a year after Hawkmoth’s defeat. One message from Arrow Girl, it was a message from Cissie, which given that she had just released a new line wasn’t that surprising it just meant that Cissie had stayed up past midnight again. It should be around 3 am for her right now. Opening the message, she laughs.

Arrow Girl: HAVE YOU SEEN THE NEW MDC LINE, M????????

ITS SOOO PRETTY

WHO AM I KIDDING YOU LIVE IN PARIS AND WANNA BE A DESIGNER YOU’VE DEFINITELY SEEN IT ALREADY

So, yeah Cissie didn’t know she was MDC and sue her, Marinette found it funny how Cissie ranted about her designs to her. It’s not like Cissie didn’t laugh when Marinette obsessed over the costumes on TV and the people wearing them.

Designs&Coffee: Ya, I did

Which one’s your favourite piece?

Arrow Girl: The second one

It’s a master piece

Designs&Coffee: I love that one the most too!!!!!

That was true, the only thing Cissie didn’t know was that she designed that piece.

“Marinette, Adrien’s here,” her mother called suddenly.

“Coming Maman,” she replied.

Designs&Coffee: I’ve got to go, my mom’s calling

Talk later. You should sleep.

Arrow Girl: Says the girl with Coffee in her username

Bye.

Closing her laptop, Marinette headed downstairs, grabbing the Black Cat miraculous on her way. Adrien visited from London once a month but he had left behind his miraculous saying that he’d rather put it all behind with everything his father did. But both him and Plagg missed each other so Plagg came along on their monthly visits. Marinette still wore her earrings and Tikki went with her everywhere but she was more of a pocket best friend at this point then a pocket goddess who gave her the ability to become a superhero. Both Cat Noir and Ladybug had retired after Hawkmoth, they dealt with a miraculous threat and if another arose, they’d be there to help, but for right now the two of them were focusing on their goals and dreams outside superheroing. That was actually how she had ended up talking to Cissie, some random person had started questioning young heroes retiring online, and Cissie and Marinette had both jumped to the defence and they had just continued talking. That had been about six months ago. Now, they spoke almost every day.

Marinette hugged Adrien as soon as she saw him, calling out a bye to her parents she dragged him out of the bakery and they headed to the park. They had a few hours to catch up before they had to meet Alya and Nino.

.oOo.

A week or so later, Cissie was stuck in the makeup chair when she heard the notification that she had set for M’s messages go off.

Designs&Coffee: DID YOU KNOW THERE’S A NEW CISSIE KING-JONES MOVIE COMING OUT IN A FEW MONTHS.

IM SO FREAKING EXCITED

Arrow Girl: I could tell.

Designs&Coffee: I feel like you should be more excited.

ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING ACTRESSESS WHO SHARES A NAME WITH YOU IS STARRING IN A MOVIE

Sometimes, Cissie wondered how M didn’t figure it out. Her username was Arrow girl, she knew her first name was Cissie and M knew that she was working in the movie industry. But then M treated her like a normal human being and not like those other fans and Cissie really didn’t want that to change that at first, she knew now that she would not treat her differently but Cissie had no idea how to go about telling her that I’m the actress you fangirl about.

However, before she could reply to M she was called so they could start shooting. Telling her that she had to go, she’d talk later and that she should take her own advice about sleep, she rushes out onto set.

.oOo.

A few months later, Cissie’s agent gets her an audition for a period drama set in the 1800s when women walked around with corsets and large skirts and Cissie for some reason agreed to audition. So, she auditioned and got the part. The first week on set was just them going over the beginning measurements for the costumes and other things like that. When she asked the director, who was going to be designing the costumes, he said that it was a rather high-profile designer who would be arriving in L.A. next week. That confused Cissie, this movie wasn’t that much of a big deal that they got a high-profile designer. She decided to ask the assistant director who seemed to be a boy around her age, so maybe seventeen or eighteen, who seemed to be always wearing a cap and headphones.

She went ahead and introduced herself to him, holding out her hand and saying, “Hi! I’m Cissie King-Jones.”

He laughed and shook her hand, “I know dudette, you’re the star in the movie. I’m Nino Lahiffe.”

He had an accent she thought was French but she wasn’t quite sure. “I was wondering about the designer, the director said it was a high-profile designer and that they would be arriving next week-“

“And then he asked you to talk to me?” he asked with a smile.

“No? Should he have?”

He chuckled, “The designer is one of my best friends, we’ve been friends since we were about five. She wanted to work on something different and when I suggested this she agreed immediately. Honestly, I think she only agreed because you’re on this movie but who knows with her.”

“Well then, I look forward to meeting her.”

.oOo.

Marinette had arrived in L.A. the day before and was now headed to set with Nino. She was nearly shaking with excitement; she was going to meet the Cissie King-Jones. Nino was laughing at her excitement, “you’re being mean,” she said.

“And you’re acting like a little child, when all of us know when you actually meet her, you’ll be too busy in your designing mode to actually say anything to her, so I took the liberty to do so for you.”

“You did what?” she screeched, earning weird looks from people around them.

“I told her that her being in the movie was probably the actual reason you agreed to work on it. Which is undeniably the truth. Feel free to thank me later.”

“I’m never going to thank you. She probably thinks I’m some crazy fan now.”

“You need to stop catastrophising, Mari. It’ll all be fine in the end.”

“Why am I friends with you?”

“We’ve been friends for too long and now you no longer know how to survive without me.”

She snorted at that, “keep telling yourself that, Nino. Keep telling yourself that.”

.oOo.

Cissie was talking to one of the other members in the cast, when she saw Nino walk in with a petite girl, with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes, who was carrying a few sketch books and a bag that looked really heavy to be carried by someone that small.

When the makeup artist told her she was done, Cissie headed in the direction of Nino and who was probably the designer. Joining the two of them, she held her hand out to the designer, “you must be the designer, I’m Cissie King-Jones.”

“Hi, it’s wonderful to meet you. I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

Cissie definitely didn’t know that name, her confusion must’ve been clear on her face because Marinette laughed, “I don’t go by that in the fashion industry, I’m MDC.”

Cissie took a bit to process that bit of information, she was meeting one of her favourite designers ever who was apparently a fan of hers. She was in heaven, she had to be.

“I love your work. Your new line was breath taking. I loved the second piece the most, the colours and design were amazing,” she blurted out, before she could think clearly.

Marinette just laughed, a clear sounding laugh, and said, “Thank you, I’m really glad to hear that. The second piece on the line happens to be my favourite too. And I think your work is amazing too.”

Cissie smiled, “Thank you.”

And then they proceeded to talk while Marinette showed her the designs and ideas she had.

.oOo.

Marinette and Nino returned to the hotel late in the evening and were hanging out in his room.

“I told you that you need to stop catastrophising and everything turned out fine.”

“Why yes, thank you Nino,” she drawled sarcastically.

“I thought you were never going to thank me?”

“Sarcasm, my dear friend. Sarcasm.”

“So, you were being sarcastic when you said you would never thank me ‘cause it sure didn’t sound like it.”

Throwing a pillow at his face and calling out a Good night Marinette ran to her room. She opened her laptop to check if she had missed any messages. There were 10 messages from Arrow Girl. Opening their chat Marinette wondered what Cissie had sent. What she saw left her feeling shocked and incredibly stupid. In hindsight it was extremely obvious but then again she didn’t know Adrien was Cat Noir until he detransformed in front of her.

Arrow Girl: M!!!!!!!!!!!

I MET MDC TODAY AND MADE A COMPLETE FOOL OF MYSELF

SHE’S DOING THE COSTUMES IN THE NEW MOVIE IM DOING

AND LIKE HER FRIEND TOLD ME YESTERDAY THAT SHE LIKES MY WORK

AND THAT WAS PROBABLY WHY SHE HAD AGREED TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT

AND THEN I GO UP TO HER AND INTRODUCE MYSELF AND SHE INTRODUCES HERSELF WITH HER REAL NAME AND I MUSTVE HAD A BLANK EXPRESSION CUZ THEN SHE SAID I GO BY MDC

AND THEN I BLANKED OUT

AND IF THAT WASN’T BAD ENOUGH I BLURTED OUT I LOVE YOUR WORK YOUR NEW LINE WAS BREATH TAKING AND I LOVED THE SECOND PIECE THE MOST AND THAT THE COLOURS AND DESIGNS WERE AMAZING

AND THEN SHE WAS SO SWEET AND NICE TO ME AND THANKED ME AND SAID THE SECOND PIECE WAS HER FAVOURITE TOO AND THAT SHE THOUGHT MY WORK WAS AMAZING

M!!!!!!! ANSWER ME PLEASE IM DYING OF HUMILIATION.

She thought about her reply for about a minute and the sent it off.

Designs&Coffee: I’m sure she didn’t think you were awkward.

She was probably concentrating more on the fact that she was talking to CISSIE KING-JONES

Her response was instantaneous.

Arrow Girl: How can you be so sure?

Also how did you finally figure out that I’m that Cissie

Designs&Coffee: I’m so sure because I’m that M

As in the M in MDC. Also how I figured you were that Cissie

Hi again! I’m Marinette. I’m 17 and sorta run a fashion empire

Arrow Girl: Cissie King-Jones. I’m seventeen too and currently an actress.

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief, she was worried that this might’ve ended badly

Arrow Girl: Wanna actually hang out tomorrow?

Designs&Coffee: sure!

.oOo.

Cissie woke up two mornings later to nearly a hundred notifications on her phone. About twenty of the notifications were from news channels, which was strange she was supposed to get those only when her name was mentioned in an article and 20 articles in a day were strange. There were another fifty from Bart, which happened occasionally. Ten each from Cassie and Marinette. And a few messages each from Tim, Kon, Greta and Anita.

Checking the news articles first because they would probably give some insight on the dozens of messages, she saw that someone had seen her out with Marinette yesterday and taken a photo which the tabloids had eaten up like starved wolves.

Bart had clearly lost patience fast, his messages were getting more and more pleading as she scrolled through all fifty. Laughing she told him that she had just woken up and would answer all his questions, and she and Marinette weren’t together it was just a misunderstanding, like the one Tim deals with all the time. Kon, Anita and Greta used to the several articles that came with Tim had picked out articles that had the most ridiculous theories and had sent it to her. Cassie had done the same along with several other questions. Choosing to answer Cassie first, she calls Cassie and spends nearly an hour talking to her even though it took Cissie only five minutes to explain the whole tabloid mess. Tim had sent a message saying “welcome to the world where if you’re seen outside your house with someone, everyone is going to believe you’re in a relationship.” Cissie just responded with a laughing face emoji.

Marinette had apologised for her friends’ behaviour, strange as that was. Saying that if she gets e-mails from Adrien Agreste, Luka Couffaine, Alya Césaire or Kagami Tsurugi it would be best to ignore them. They were just over protective and annoying. Cissie pointedly ignored how Marinette had casually brought up four very prominent people in the world. Apparently Marinette’s friends not used to the whole invasiveness of paparazzi had decided to deliver Cissie a shovel talk over e-mail before Marinette could clear up the confusion with her friends. She had also added that they were supposed to apologise and to please tell her if they didn’t.

And that was when she remembered her own friends’ highly similar behaviour and sent a text in the Young Justice group chat that she’d use them as moving target practice if they decide to induct her into their group with threats, and then sent another message to Tim to stop whatever extensive background check he was doing. She groaned as she got a smiley face in reply. Then the notification she had set for Marinette went off.

Designs&Coffee: I’ve been meaning to ask you about why you had all the points you had for young heroes retiring???? so, uh, why did you?

Groaning she flopped back onto the bed, this was going to be one hell of a day.

So my thoughts on how it would go ahead:

Marinette and Cissie meet up to talk about her text but Cissie doesn't really tell her about Arrowette. She changes the topic, after all Marinette was also ready with several points on the same topic. Maybe they eventually tell each other maybe they don't, i don't exactly know.

Marinette's friends calm down pretty soon after, Alya takes some more time but eventually calms down too.

When Cissie says, 'Marinette had casually brought up four very prominent people in the world', Its because at this point Adrien's run as a model still hasn't died out with it being only a year after Hawkmoth's defeat. Kagami is a world famous fencer, Luka joins Jagged Stone on tour and becomes pretty famous too and Alya listened to Marinette, (It ends up being Marinette and Adrien after the reveal who get through to her), she ends up making a name for herself in the year after Hawmoth's defeat, though her work still focuses around heroes/vigilantes which is why Cissie knows her, she's not really that prominent outside France.

Sometime after Cissie finishes talking to Cassie and sees Marinette's text Bart shows up demanding answers. They don't actually know it's Marinette, as in they don't know her name. Marinette Dupain-Cheng isn't really well known, MDC is, and no one knows who MDC is. Tim would probably do a facial recognition scan find out who she is and continue on with his extensive background check and probably figures out she's MDC somewhere along the way. Traya asks about Marinette the next time she sees Cissie

[miss-choco-chips]

Young Just us college au

Rent a room, Dick said. It’ll be a nice experience. Don’t just buy a flat, that’s boring and lonely.

Tim had tried to tell his brother that maybe he prefered lonely to crazy, but Dick had insisted. And everyone knew just how difficult dealing with that could be, so he knew better than to resist.

At least, he had tried to comfort himself, he knew the people he’d be rooming with. They were all his friends, an odd assortment of assholes he’d picked up on school, summer camps, vacation trips, scientific events, even comic cons, and just… fell platonically in love with them.

Maybe, as Dick said, it would be fine.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

No, it wasn’t fine.

-Jay -he whispered into the phone, hoping he wouldn't be heard by the others on the other side of the door- Jay, they are crazy. I need extraction asap. We could fake my death and I can go to University somewhere else.

The older man laughed in the other end of the receiver, the sound of pages rustling indicating Tim had caught him during his daily grading paper sesion. That was the sound of crying students dying over carefully demolished arguments.

-They are all your friends, Timbo. If you fake your death, you’ll need to start over again and meet new people.

Tim hissed.

-Exactly, babybird. Also, this is day one of sharing a house, how bad can it possibly be?

-Jay, they left the kitchen lights on. It’s daytime! Why the hell do they need the lights on? Aren’t they aware of how big the bill is gonna be if they are like this?

-...Timmy, you… you are a billionaire. I think that should be the last of your concerns.

-That’s not the only thing. It’s so noisy, Jay. I choose the attic room hoping it’ll be nice and quiet. It’s not. I can hear everything. What do I do if some of them pair up? I’ll be stuck here listening to them having sex forever!

-...I don’t know where to begin.

-You can start by contacting B for me. He was right when he said it wasn’t a good idea for me to live with other people. But I can’t call him to help me out of this, because I think Dick blocked my number in his phone, and my emails don’t seem to be reaching him.

-He said it because you are the purest of his children, and he knew college was corruptive enough without adding dorm sharing to it; that was his version of helicopter parenting. But Timbo, it’s moving day. You’ve been there for less than five hours. And you already emailed B?

-The first thing Slobo did when he came in was to fart. In the middle of the living room. I can’t live with them, they are animals!

-They are your best friends, you’ve known them forever.

-But I never had to deal with them in a closed space for an unlimited amount of time!!! I’m trapped here.

-...

-...!

-...Are you hiding in a closet?

-...no. That would be stupid, in a three story house where I have my own/

-You are, ain’tcha?

-I am. Please help me?

Long sigh- I’ll meet you for coffee on the place near the Economics building so you have an excuse to be out for the evening while the others finish their moving. You’re done with your part, right?

-Yes! Thank you!

-You owe me.

-Next time Dick wants bonding time, I’ll sacrifice myself volunteering so you can run.

-And this is why you’re my favorite. Be there in ten.

-.-.-.-.-.-

-Tim? Tim! Here you are!

Blinking was a thing Tim suddenly remembered he needed to do, and he did it a few times as his eyes were dragged away from his book by a pair of hands on his cheeks.

-Kon? What are you doing in the library?

The other boy was panting slightly, flushed from what Tim guessed was a desperate run there.

-I was looking for you! You never came back after classes were done for the day, and you didn’t pick up your phone. We were very worried, dude. 

-I was just studying, chill.

-It’s almost midnight.

No, it couldn’t be.

-No, it isn’t.  I haven’t been here that long.

Serious and slightly worried, Conner thrusted his own phone in Tim’s face and… uh. Look at that. It was nearly midnight.

-Oh. Got distracted with research, sorry.

-It’s been barely two weeks, how much can you possibly need to study?

Unprompted, Kon started to help him pack his books and papers. He seemed utterly amazed by the almost illegible graphs and charts.

-No, this isn’t homework. I’m working on a thing for WE…

The rest of the way home was spent with Tim talking Conner’s ear off about shit he had absolutely no idea about, but didn’t complain, just holding Tim’s backpack with one hand while steering his sleep deprived friend back home with the other.

-.-.-.-.-.

-Bart? -Tim yawned, getting into the kitchen and raising a confused eyebrow at his friend- It’s… three am. What are you doing awake?

-Stress baking -the smaller boy replied, never stopping stirring the bowl- You?

-Papers and presentations.

-Classes or WE?

-Bit of both. What are you making?

-Cupcakes. Want some?

-They’ll go great with coffee, thanks.

They spent the next half hour waiting for the oven to do its magic talking about video games, classes and evil teachers.

-Your brother is the worst. TA. Ever. He always grades my papers and he’s a bitch about them.

-He relishes in the pain. It’s what keeps him young. I swear he never grew  past fifteen.

-It’s scary, and honestly so annoying. Like, I get pointing out mistakes, but he doesn’t need to be a passive aggressive ass about it.

-I’ll let him know what you think.

-Please don’t. I’m afraid of him, and the power he holds in his hands. The power to make me fail Creative Writing.

-Why are you even taking that class? Actually, what even is your major?

A shrug, and before Bart could open his mouth to reply, the timer let them know the cupcakes where done.

-You can have one before bedtime, dude. The circles under your eyes look like make up at this point. 

-You are one to talk, mister Stress Baking at Three in the Morning.

-But unlike you, I don’t have to be up at the ass of dawn. C’mon, have one of these and back up you go.

-Bite me.

-I’d rather bite this peanut butter miracle, but if you insist…

-No! Bart, get away from me!

-Then go to bed!

-Go to hell!

-I AM in hell! I have Jason Fucking Todd as my TA!

-IF YOU DON’T GO BACK TO BED RIGHT NOW, I’LL KICK YOU BOTH ALL THE WAY THERE! -Cassie’s voice echoed in the walls, and they both blanched at the reminder that her room was, in fact, in ground floor.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A part of college Tim had never considered, let alone readied himself for, was the… party bit. 

-What do you mean, of course you’re coming -laughed Anita, clutches firm on Tim’s sleeve as she dragged him into hers and Cassie’s room.

-No, I have to study for…

-You don’t have any midterm or final this week. I know, because I checked. No papers due either. This is literally the perfect time for you to party. 

-I can’t, I…

-Suck at socializing? Yeah, cher, I’m aware. That’s why awesome me is taking you as my plus one for this party. No need to thank me, glad to be your social buffer whenever you need me.

Tim started to resist in earnest when they got into the room and he caught a glimpse of the clothing Anita had apparently chosen for him.

-There’s no way I’m fitting into those pants! Let me go!

-I’ve seen you squeezing your butt into the vent that one time when Kon threw the key to the coffee maker cabinet inside it. If you could get in there, these pants are a piece of cake.

-No!

-Don’t make me hurt you, Drake.

-Anita…!

-Ugh! -she stopped, dropping Tim on her bed and crossing her arms. She averted her eyes- My ex is gonna be at the party. I might have been exaggerating a bit when I said I was over him, but I already promised my friends I was gonna be there. I… could really use your help here. I know it’s not your scene, but Kon and Bart have midterms, Slobo would straight up punch my ex with his astounding lack of subtlety, Miguel is away dealing with family stuff, and the girls are awesome but not really what I need right now.

A pause.

-Okay, but I’m absolutely not putting on that crop top. And we better not end up wasted, I have a reputation to uphold.

Spoiler alert: he did put on the crop top. And they had to call Conner to walk them home after the third time Tim walked into a lamp post and Anita fell into the campus’ pond.

-.-.-.-.-

They were walking back home late on a Friday when they were approached by a group of stupid, drunk dudebros. Tim was already dreading the moments to come before they even spoke, just by the way they kept eyeing Cassie’s legs and Anita’s rack. Cissie herself was wearing loose pants and a sweater, so she was safe from their disgusting examination. Not that it kept her from crossing her arms and looking down at the assholes.

-Heyyyyy, ladies. Wanna go clubbing with us?

Tim shrugged- He’s talking to you, girls. I’m out. Have fun.

Cassie caught him by his hoodie before he could take a single step. He heard her warning clear as day and sighed, defeated.

-Yess, you can go -slurred Dudebro number two, waving him away- There’ three of us, and three of those pretty things. You can get lost. 

-See, Cass? Hear the gentlemen. You don’t need me here.

Anita kicked him in the shin.

-No. We just got our nails done. You either solve this peacefully, or take care of it if it turns dirty. Why do you even walk us home if not to protect us from creepers like these?

A loud ‘hey’ came from the dudebros, but Tim ignored them. Silently, he pointed at Cassie’s legs (he had seen her crushing a watermelon between them once), Cissie’s arms (a thing of beauty that made multiple lesbians all around campus cry) and Anita’s katana (that she wasn’t supposed to keep on her person around other students, but who was gonna enforce any rules on the girl with the giant knife?).

-Excuse me? You three should be protecting me. I’m a rich, sheltered boy.

Apparently done being ignored, the three idiots decided this was a good time to throw the first punch. Which Tim dodged, without breaking eye contact with Cassie. She raised her eyebrow, not moving an inch. Cissie was examining her nails. Anita’s eyes promised hell.

He sighed, turned around, caught the second coming punch, and used the hand under his palm to force the dudebro to his knees. A knee to the face and then he turned to the other two. 

Next time, Slobo was walking with them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Flip side:  the attic room had its own bathroom. Significantly smaller than the ones on the other two floors, but hey, no sharing. 

The downside: apparently, the bathroom vents all connected with one another, and because of their aligning schedules, he often took showers at the same time Miguel did.

Flip side: Miguel had the singing voice of an angel, and the acoustic was fantastic. Showers were rarely boring now.

Downside again: Tim often forgot himself and sang along, but his voice… wasn’t as pretty.

Flip side again: at least, judging by Miguel’s smile, he found it adorable rather than pathetic.

Downside number three: Greta and Cissie’s room, by some unsolved mystery, also had connecting vents to the bathroom, and the archer girl was… less charitable about Tim’s inability to sing.

Flip side: Greta liked him better than most of their house mates, and she had more than enough dirt on Cissie to keep her from sharing the secret of Tim’s awful voice. 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

-Hey, baby bird. Sorry I’m calling just now, it’s been a while.

-Hey Jay. Don’t worry, you’re busy grading papers.

-How do you know?

-Bart was crying in the tub this morning. Completely clothed and eating nachos with whipped cream, I might add.

-What is that boy even studying? I know he has Chem classes, Roy is his TA, and Kory saw him in the designer’s building. 

-That is an unsolved mystery for the ages. 

-Hey, speaking of your housemates, how’s it going?

Tim stopped on his way out of the kitchen, eyes growing fond as he examined the group on the living room. They were fighting over that night’s movie choice. He didn’t know why they tried, Greta was gonna win. Nobody could resist her and Miguel’s puppy eyes. 

-It’s… it’s been great, actually.

-Uh huh.

-But don’t tell Dick. He’ll be unbearably smug.

-Of course I won’t. You still have that time I crashed B’s favorite car on me.

-Oh, Oh fuck! -came Slobo’s voice- TIM, BRING THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER!

A loud crash. Tim winced, eyes leaving his friend in favor of the wall. If he didn’t see it, it wasn’t happening.

-TIM, BUD, WE NEED SOME HELP HERE!

-...what was that, Timbo?

-Nothing.

-TIM, TIM, THE TV IS ON FIRE!!! COME QUICKLY BEFORE IT REACHES THE XBOX OR SO HELP ME GOD I’M MURDERING EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM!

-...Tim?

-Don’t tell B.

-Gotcha. Going to save their lives?

-More like hiding in my room until they sort themselves out or die. Good luck on those papers.

-Good luck on surviving.

[sunflowerhae]

Okay👁👄👁

I’m not the mom of the group, I’m just the annoying loud one that gives too much affection to her wife, but it’s our one month anniversary of being a gc and I have literally S O MUCH affection to give🥺🥺✋

Abi

Emoji set that reminds me of her: 😊👉👈💘✨😩🤢(this one bc shes h*t, she knows what that says)

-> @earth-to-that-asian

Abi ur my favorite momma literally ever. You’re super shy, which is so cute, and u seem like,,,like? Kinda have ur life? Together? I mean who does really but youre a really good example of where one should probably be at your age. You say “I-“ literally all the time and are always secretly encouraging our bad behavior so all in all ur a great mom. You are also always sending me asks that are just you giving me love and affection and tbh they make me so happy I love you sm and I’m so glad you accepted me into this amazing gc a whole ass month ago

Grace

Emoji set that reminds me of her: 🥺✋💖✨🏳️‍🌈☁️😭💛😍💍

-> @nct127grass

Grace. Grace. GRACE. Idk when we go married, but I think it’s been like a good two weeks? You are my favorite favorite person ever and definitely my favorite Australian (don’t worry luv we don’t hold it against u). Literally I love flirting on main w you and definitely being the best example of a healthy married relationship to the youngies (and abi bc she’s the only one older than us but she’s L O N E L Y and that’s what she gets for being a he-🤢 I can’t even say it). You’re the Jeno to my Jaemin, and I love ur vibe and ur energy sm idk what the gc would be like without u. Maybe I would have left idk we ALL know how I am in gc’s (you’ve all seen the many many screenshots😔) n e ways MY WIFE I LOVE UUUU😍😍😚😍🥰😘😘🥰

Juju

Emoji set that remind me of her: 😌✋😳👀🤑🤰🏼🌞🌼🌹

-> @nanajaems0308

Juju my forever fav memory of u is the first video call we all had when u came a bit late and I accidentally called u abi and elie had to correct me and I wanted to leave the call and the gc and never show my face then and there. You had the cutest lil voice too omg 🥺🥺 I was like “juju protection squad: assembled” although I never said anything hahaha. Ok I think realistically you’re someone who I don’t interact with TOo much. Like ofc we’re friends but we’ve never had like close close talks before, that being said I think you are still literally amazing. YEp! U heard me! A M A Z I N G! I hope no one lets ur cute lil self fool them bc when u get into fights w zainoo I get ScAred like oh my god zainoo is BRAVE brave. I think ur adorable also tho and u definitely are a good friend that cares for the people u love😩🥺🥺🥺😘

Cissy

Emoji set that reminds me of her: ☁️💘🥵👁👅👁🧚🏻‍♀️👑

-> @bbjisungg

cissy you haven’t been in the gc for long, and I kinda forced you to be in it after u were my accomplice, but tbh I couldn’t have asked for a better person to commit crimes w. You were so wildling and open to everything I roped u into, and then when I forced u to join my gc full of cRaCkhEAds, u were just like “sure fam” and then boom u were in. You had to change ur pfp On Instagram and EVERYTHING. I hope u don’t regret joking our mess of a gc, bc I definitely don’t regret making u join. Idk what gc we originally knew each other from, I just remembered knowing who you were, which is why I messaged u to spy for me (bc u were the only other person who I knew in that messy messy gc that I don’t wanna talk abt) and you just like,,I’ve said it befor I’ll say it again THANK U for going w the flow if you had said you wouldn’t do it I would have cried into the gc ur NOW APART OF and elie and abi would have offered to beat ur ass and it would have been a THING but now they’re willing to beat someone’s ass for u so see it’s the cycle of life🤩 I’m drowning on and boring even myself so I wanted to say I hope we all become much much more closer w each other and that ily vv much😩✋💖✨

Zainoo

Emoji set that reminds me of her: 💅🏻🐙🍃✨🍡🔪💌💛

-> @http-stan-nct

Zainoo Imma lay it all out on the line here and say u scare me sometimes 😳✋ you have this strong personality that can sometimes be intimidating but once someone gets to know you, ur actually just a huge softy that hates bugs and wears lemon socks. And Ik it might not seem that way to you, but idk that’s just how you come off to me,,, u are married to another person named gwen, so ofc you’re already ahead in the game - you and grace seem to have it all figured out correctly - and you are just adorable when u get excited abt something and just have to let everyone know ~lemon socks~ u fighting w juju in the chat is genuinely hilarious to watch it’s free entertainment I don’t think I need Netflix anymore , and ur a comedy legend although if me saying that inflates ur ego even a lil bit then I’m out. I LOVE U😩😩😭 oh and ps STOP USING CLOWN EMOJIS TO REACT TO EVEEYTHING I SAY

Elie

Emoji set that reminds me of her: 🔪👁👄👁😭✋😳😩🔪🖤

-> @ciaojunnie

Elie ur the youngest. And yet,? U have the soul of an 80 yr old murderer😌✨ you are literally the toughest person I’ve ever met, and u genuinely scare me sometimes buT I would pay to watch u beat the ppl at ur school up. You’re the queen of the 🏳️‍🌈 scene and I wish I wish We could all protect u from all the ASSHOLES in ur life but just know that even though we’re not there irl, we are always here to listen to you and we’re all older so we can give 10/10 advice (lmao sure) (see even I laughed at that) (6.5/10 maybe!) also I love ur notes (u were making them on the call I think) ALSO the amount of times u CURSE should be ILLEGAL everytime u say s*x or *ss I literally am like “NOOOOooooOOOOO” and grace and abi encourage it which makes me 👊👊👊🤬🤬😡😡😡 at them but not for long bc they’re literally my mom and my wife so- N E WAYS I’m rambling but you I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted a knife set for ur birthday or something which is iconic and u remind me of a younger me so keep doing u🥺🥺🥺i🥺L🥺y🥺💖

All in all you guys are the best gc I’ve ever been in and I hope we stay friends for a long time guys🥺🥺🥺🥺 I will never forget that my journey into the center of this hell pit of a gc started w a fanfiction abt jaehyuns belly button but it really set the scene for the next coming month so I’m thankful for it. I love u all, ur all eggcellent, and ur my favorite nctzens ever 😩😩😩✋✋✋💌🍃💘😳😳🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈 HAPPY 1 MONTH!

[littlejeanniebean]

Ep. 1 | The Marauders: Chase Her

A/N: I’m back, witches! ;) With the long-teased BAND AU!! Also @inakindofdaydream​ here’s your tag as promised, hope you enjoy :)) More Marauders in my masterlist! Read on AO3! - J xx

“Oh, Lily, darling, isn’t it a bit…” Narcissa Black appraised the outfit with a derisive sniff, “childish?”

It was a floor-length gown, trimmed to flow with the model’s figure exactly, thanks to Dorcas’ design skills. The highlight was the hot pink lava-lamp-like mixture oozing between the solid pale pink inner layer and the clear exterior material; Lily, a chemistry undergraduate who’d founded the Evans brand on Etsy as a hobby, had made it from scratch. Underneath it all was a complicated circulation system of refrigerant to keep the wearer cool, courtesy of Marlene, who was studying to be a mechanical engineer. Lily had tested it on herself and had the light burns on her legs to prove it, but it was worth it for the 60s-themed Met Gala. That is, if she could convince her client to wear it.

“Hardly,” she responded, “The design says you're playful, but the slinky cut and deep-V neckline say you’re a woman ready to conquer the carpet.”

Narcissa rolled her eyes, “Serves me right for selecting a designer last minute. All the professionals are booked.” 

Lily tried to think of a popsicle or winter, anything to cool the angry flush she could feel burning in her cheeks.

The tall blonde was unbothered as she strutted around the mannequin, inspecting the low back and the spaghetti straps, before extending her arms out to Dorcas and Marlene, who were standing by, “Fine, fit me.”

“I got it,” Lily said quickly when she saw Dorcas’ jaw drop in indignance at being treated like a maid. 

Marlene successfully occupied the deeply offended designer until Mary, the brand's publicist, announced that it was time. 

Lily and their client left the hotel for the iconic New York museum in a chartered limousine among an entire fleet of them. Although dressed plainly in a black sweater and pencil skirt, Lily’s bright red hair made her stand out among the Black family’s monochrome entourage. 

“Sirius, who’s that?” James pushed his thick-rimmed glasses up his nose and tiptoed to get a better look through the sea of celebrities and their teams spilling onto the carpet. 

“I don’t know, but she must be nice because I’m not related to her,” said the dark-haired man, who’d been essentially coerced into attending this event with the rest of his crazy reality television family. 

“Starting to not regret letting you drag me along,” while his friend walked the carpet, James followed the lady with the designer access credentials who looked at everything around her in unabashed wonder.

“James Potter!” someone called out.

He turned around and noticed too late that it was a reporter.

“How does it feel to win a record deal after your performance in the Highland Music Festival?” 

“Will you be performing on The House of Black?” 

“When is your debut album coming out?”

James held up a finger for silence the way he’d seen his mum do plenty-a-time, “I’m so grateful - especially to my music teacher, Minerva McGonagall. I don’t think my best friend will even be on that show anymore and we do everything together. We’re in writing sessions now, just having fun and seeing what we can do, but we’re very excited to share our music with everyone soon, especially our amazing fans.”

“Who are you wearing?”

“Who are you most excited to meet tonight?”

“Are you excited for The Weird Sisters’ performance?”

It went on this way until James could politely extricate himself with the boyish excuse of needing to use the bathroom. He practically sprinted to the tents at the end of the carpet. 

“My armpits are sweating, Lily!”

There she was. A picture of calm amidst the commotion. And her name was Lily.

“Cissy, calm down -”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Siri!”

“See, this is why I can’t work with you lot anymore! You’re bat-shit crazy! Of course, your pits sweat, you’re a human being - not a fucking Barbie doll!”

“You haven’t the faintest idea of the impossible standards I hold myself to because I actually strive to be my best self unlike you, you lazy dog!”

“Are you getting this?” Bella Black, whispered with a toothy smile to the camera that was filming the entire exchange.

"How's it going, Molly?" James addressed the short videographer with auburn space buns. 

She made a funny face at him and he laughed. Molly smiled just a bit in spite of the tensions she worked around daily. 

"Narcissa," a clear voice pulled his attention back towards the girl named Lily, "I believe you've just nicked the wire that runs the cooling system with your heel," she crouched down and hooked it back up, "There you are."

James took this as his cue to pull Sirius away before another argument began. Also, he may or may not have wanted to get even closer to the red-head, "C'mon, mate, let it go, yeah? It's not worth it."

Narcissa huffed and strutted away. Lily had no choice but to follow at her heels, but to her admirer, she made it look like a power move. 

"Ugh, remind me never to do that again!" Sirius collapsed onto the couch in the recording studio they rented next door to their label, Castle Records. 

"James?" Remus asked his less distraught friend.

"Narcissa."

"Ah. At least it wasn't Bella."

The bespectacled boy sat at his drum kit and began to play a couple of mid-tempo rounds on the snare, cymbals, and base, creating the mood of a pursuit. 

"Ooh, I like that," Peter switched the settings on his electronic keyboard to an eighties synth and joined in the jam.

Remus added the bass while Sirius plugged in his electric guitar. 

It was three the next afternoon when Remus finished mixing the track and Sirius had no more unorthodox but cool ideas like, "Record the tires squealing while I  do donuts in the parking lot on my motorbike and add it to the chorus!"

However, James, being ever the perfectionist when it came to music, kept wanting to re-record the drums and the others couldn't even talk him out of it because truthfully, it sounded better every time he did it. 

When they reached the one-week mark, though, Sirius had to take action. "I called Molly. She's going to record our music video today and you know she's quick in post-production so whatever you've got is what we're running."

"Ugh, I hate you!" said James. He didn't. 

Molly arrived at nine sharp and set up the lighting, did their hair and makeup, helped them pick coordinating but not matching outfits, and at ten exactly, called, "Action!"

Don't let her doe eyes fool you

She's been winning since the day she was born

Darlin' don't wanna lose you 

Je ne parle pas français, mais j'adore

So I'm done playing hard to get

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

 You're running circles in my head

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

And every word you ever said

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

Is calling my soul outta my body, must be in heav'n

Whoo!

"LilyLilyLily!" Mary squealed, barging into her friend's hotel room and clambering onto the bed, "We made it!"

Narcissa's lava dress had been trending all week and the Evans brand online store had finally crashed with the volume of orders they were trying to process at once for clothes, accessories, make up, and fragrances.

Her name is bloomin' in my heart

And every beat I beat is hers alone

Darlin' think of what we could start 

Jamais seul ou triste, jamais pas en mode

"Jimbo! Jumbo! Jambo!" Sirius woke up his roommate with their first single blasting from his phone, "We made it!"

Their Chase Her music video had over a million views and the song was number one on Spotify. 

And if our paths cross just this once

Could you be mine and I'll be yours

Tonight, darlin', we dance, we dance

Nous pourrions vivre pour toujours

Sirius guffawed at the comment section, "James: I don't speak French; Also James: Nous pourrions vivre pour toujours."

"Co-written by Google Translate," the singer quipped, putting on his glasses so he could see it all for himself, his smile coming close to breaking his pretty face.

Done being someone you'll forget

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

 Cuz you're all I got gon' through my head

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

Yeah every word you ever said

(You gotta chase her, chase her, gotta gotta chase her)

Is calling my soul outta my body, must be in heav'n

Whoo!

[thattimdrakeguy]

I used to like Stephanie Brown very much but honestly lately her fandom ruined the character for me. They want EVERYTHING to be about her, even when we are talking about a mlm ship they are like "pls don't erase Steph" and I am like??? And literally saying character flaws are not hating on a character, or most people just hating on her because seriously she is so different in comics and fandom, they need to chill the fuck out and not say everyone is misogynistic just because they don't like her

+ and everytime someone says "Cissie and Steph are best friends" just because the new cover of YJ... y'all forgetting Bart and Cassie were Cissie's best friends!!! Sorry I just hate when people force her into everything and then blame timkon fans for being misogynistic just because people don't want her to be on the team because she has no good relationships with the team, that's not misogyny everyone!!! I hate this fandom sometimes

I just want to ask why TimSteph stans are hating on Tim but still shipping him with their fav character? Literally every single TimSteph stan on their tag are posting anti Tim Drake posts, and talking shit about him, but when someone says something bad about Stephanie they are getting mad and acting like everyone is hating women because of other ships??? Can someone pls explain this to me I really want to know the reason

That’s the part of the fandom that I see sometimes and really brings my mood down a lot of the time, because they’re so caught up in their own world sometimes that it drives me nuts.

Before I disliked Damian because his writing is just freaking awful, I began to not like him just from the connotation of his fandom being so obsessed trying to make him something he’s not based off of just a few moments that aren’t even in-character.

With the toxic part of Steph’s fanbase they’re just so obsessed with trying to make her seem like more of this astonishing character. Not to even say she’s a bad character. I still think she’s a good character, but it’s just the limit the obsessive part of her fandom goes to, just to convince people she’s so great. Sometimes they just exaggerate stuff or just lie so much because they seem to be under the belief that if she’s not incredible as a person that she’s unlikable, but then, why do they like her.

I think that part of her fandom comes from people projecting on her so much that they begin to become defensive of everything she does to the point it feels obsessive.

“OH SHE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH BRUCE BECAUSE *says a very simple thing that they say in way too many words that give the complete wrong connotation of the actual events to make Stephanie seem more impressive*”

“SHE HAS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL RELATIONSHIP WITH DAMIAN THAT NEEDS TO BE ADMIRED MORE BECAUSE completely ignores how Damian was a total pervert and a body shamer to ridicule her. Which isn’t a relationship to admire at all. Along with people constantly taking out of context some of the things she did with him, and how it was another case of a writer ignoring Damian’s problem to woobify him. Which makes the issue poorly written. But we must exaggerate it to make Steph seem like a saint apparently.”

This type of fandom stuff bugs me no matter the character.

I remember not that long ago I kept seeing posts that were exaggerating Tim so much, and it bugged the ever-living crap out of me.

Because sorry, but, I don’t care what Red Robin says. Tim could not beat up all those assassins.

I don’t even honestly believe Tim’s a master tactitian. He’s just smart and clever, he isn’t this war general figure.

I don’t care that a comic says that Tim could trick Bruce with a fake Uncle.

Given the way he was built up as a character, that stuff just doesn’t work. That wasn’t anything that was actually developed for his character. It was something they tacked on in what I assume was attempts to make Tim “cool”, because DC doesn’t like relatable characters.

Which is a bit rich because Sideways, a character written by Didio himself, just feels like a knock-off Ultimate Spider-Man with the tone and character-style.

So I don’t want to give the impression that I think everyone in the Stephanie Brown fandom is an obsessive loon, or toxic as could be, because I don’t believe that to be the case. The toxic part of her fandom is just something that has arisen. Something that happens in all fandoms at one point or another. Now is just Stephanie’s go at it I guess. Even if it seems to be from just a few over vocal people, that people gave too much attention because I guess they liked having their fav be overly praised.

The people that say you’re misogynistic if you don’t ship TimSteph are just stupid honestly. At least about that.

If you ship TimKon, it makes no sense to include Steph in posts about it. Unless it’s like, just mentioning how Tim used to date her. Which I don’t feel is a big enough reason to act like people are misogynistic, because, even if say I shipped Tim with another girl. Id be awkward to talk about Steph. We don’t need to shove Steph into everything.

I don’t say the word stupid like I think they’re stupid at everything.

I call myself stupid when it comes to a lot of stuff for an example, but the argument that you’re misogynistic if you think of Tim as gay is stupid, because there’s enough of Tim for so long were it’s easy to interrupt him as gay, and it’s not misogynistic.

You don’t hate women if you’re gay, or anything like that.

That’s homophobic.

If you still think Tim is straight, congrats, I’m not upset. I’m not upset people ship TimSteph. One of my best friends ships TimSteph and she’s writing a wonderful fic.

I’m not even against TimSteph at all.

Just that stupid part of that fandom.

Like Stephanie Brown has flaws right? She flirted with Tim when she knew he had a girlfriend, even kissing him. Reckless as could be. Took things the wrong way. Made Tim straight up uncomfortable with her flirting sometimes. Had a problem with listening even when it was beneficial to her safety. She also had a trust problem when her and Tim’s relationship got into it.

Some of you are probably thinking “Well Tim has flaws too. She had her reasons.”

And you know what?

I agree.

Because that’s how freaking characters work.

Tim’s sheltered childhood made him insensitive to certain situations. He was immature to the point of detriment to his relationship with Ariana in some situations. Too naive to understand some things. Even too bossy because he’s a cruddy leader and didn’t know how to communicate enough for that job.

He’s not a perfect human.

Characters can have flaws, and it’s okay, because that’s how we get interesting stories and dynamics between stuff. Just because Tim has flaws, doesn’t mean he’s not a good person. He’s kind, caring, heroic, despite his immaturity. Just because Tim couldn’t handle the topic of cheating and became immature doesn’t mean he didn’t step up to the plate and try to help Ariana when she was close to being sexually assaulted and she was a bit mentally unstable (that might be strong wordage, but I use those words for myself when a situation hits. So it’s not me talking down about her situation) for a bit.

When you were raised in a mad house, it’s understandable she’d grow up to be reckless. She grew up so independent at a young age, because her parents certainly weren’t taking care of her. It’s also understandable that she has trust issues, because if you’re dating someone with a second life, you would worry that they’re cheating on you.

This is just how characters work

So these posts that wanna pretend she doesn’t have flaws, bugs me, because they want to deny her character sometimes.

Then acting like she’d just be best friends with everyone is freaking delusional. It’s the kind of stuff where it’s done in the vein of “peppy fangirl”, but it just becomes a bit obsessive. I think that’s stuff were my theory on some of those types of fans projecting on her for their own good come in.

I can get, being like “I wonder if these characters would get along”, but getting so hyper and exaggatory is just wack.

I think Tim and Jon would get along and could be good friends now that Jon’s older, but if they were in a comic together I’m not gonna get myself worked up and pretend things are were they clearly aren’t.

Even in the case of Cissie and Steph, I actually feel like they would be pretty good friends together. I can easily see that. But just cuz they’re on a cover together doesn’t mean they’re best friends

And if somehow Steph brought Cissie out to be Arrowette, that’d just be stupid. I don’t know how Steph would even know who Cissie is, because I don’t know if she even knows Arrowettes name is Cissie, let alone in this timeline. Plus Cissie last seen wasn’t a hero. So that’d just be some super cheap and forced writing.

But given the write circumstances, that actually work and make sense, I wouldn’t be against that. If they became friends, I’d be totally cool with it.

It’s that weird obsessive “THEY’RE BEST FRIENDS OH MY GOSH” that’s just a bit unnerving. Like settle down.

Write some fan fics, I really don’t care, but it gives me the vibes of those boyband fandoms that wanna act like their fav is dating some hot chick cuz he looked at her.

It’s less worse than that, cuz those are real people, but it’s that obsessive vibe that I get from it.

I don’t like it.

As for TimSteph shippers that hate Tim. I think it’s because it’s for a similar reason some people make all those posts overexaggerating or lying about so much stuff about Steph.

It’s to get her attention.

They know that Steph’s almost always only gonna show up because writers attach her with Tim almost exclusively, and that may be the only way she’ll show up. So I think they’re doing that, to get some kind of attention so Steph will show up at least with Tim, cuz something is better than nothing.

Although personally, I root for Steph finally hanging out with other characters, because seeing her relegated to just “Tim’s girlfriend” is very annoying, cuz even in the 90s she was more than that. She wasn’t created just to date Tim. She was created to be her own dang character.

[bloo-jae]

Naedis' Playlist

1. Billie Eilish - bury a friend

"What do you want from me? / Why don't you run from me? / What are you wondering? / What do you know? / Why aren't you scared of me? / Why do you care for me? / When we all fall asleep, where do we go?"

2. SIAMÉS - The Wolf

"I'm out of my head, of my heart, and my mind / 'Cause you can run but you can't hide / I'm gonna make you mine"

3. Billie Eilish - all the good girls go to hell

"Hills burn in California / My turn to ignore ya / Don't say I didn't warn ya"

"All the good girls go to hell / 'Cause even god herself has enemies / And once the water starts to rise / and heaven's out of sight / She'll want the devil on her team"

4. Billie Eilish - ilomilo

"Told you not to worry / But maybe that's a lie / Honey, what's your hurry? / Won't you stay inside? / Remember not to get too close to stars / They're never gonna give you love like ours"

"I tried not to upset you, let you rescue me / The day I met you I just wanted to protect you / But now I'll never get to"

"So, where did you go? I should know, but it's cold / And I don't wanna be lonely / Was hoping you'd come home / I don't care if it's a lie"

5. Vicetone ft. Kat Nestels - Angels

"Oh God, I'm going insane / Chasing after you, please don't leave me / I see your heart washing away / And that's how you left me in the cold"

"It's pitiful how you let me lose / You better run, better run / Your time is up, nothing you can do / Better run, better run"

"I can remember when you hurt me so bad / But now the table's turned, apocalypse is coming / I can remember when you left me so sad / But in the end I learned it rains in hell and angels could be bad"

6. Maria Mena - It Took Me By Surprise

"It took me by surprise / The hatred in his eyes / I pushed this man as far as he could go / And he lacked the words to let me know"

7. Dear Evan Hansen - Words Fail

"I never meant to make it such a mess / I never thought that it would go this far / So I just stand here, sorry, searching for something to say / Something to say"

"Words fail, words fail / There's nothing I can say / Except sometimes, you see everything you wanted / And sometimes you see everything you wish you had / And it's right there, right there, right there in front of you / And you want to believe it's true / So you make it true"

8. Glass Animals - Agnes

"Guess life is long / When soaked in sadness / On borrowed time / From Mr. Madness / And so it goes / A choking rose back / To be reborn / I wanna hold you like you're mine"

"You're gone but you're on my mind / I'm lost but I don't know why"

9. My Chemical Romance - The Ghost of You

"I never said I'd lie and wait forever / If I died, we'd be together now / I can't always just forget her / But she could try"

"At the end of the world / Or the last thing I see / You are never coming home, never coming home / Could I? Should I? / And all the things that you never ever told me / And all the smiles that are never ever, ever"

10. atlas - defeated

"You make me complete / You made me complete / And now I feel defeated"

11. Mother Mother - Little Pistol

"I think I might be scared / of the world and the way it makes you feel afraid / And how it gets in the way"

"I want brimstone in my garden / I want roses set on fire / And I want what's best for me / And I think I know just what that means"

"Today I coo / Today I caw / I have a pistol party and I kill 'em all / I think I might be scared / Of the man and the men with their hands inside / And the women, oh the women, all they do is cry / And I lose my mind"

"I found Jesus / What a liar / So I trade licks / With the muddy water"

12. Mother Mother - Burning Pile

"All my troubles on a burning pile / All lit up and I start to smile / If I catch fire then I'll change my aim / Throw my troubles at the pearly gates"

13. Mother Mother - The Stand

"Everyone's fucked and they don't even know"

14. Spaces - Undone

"And I don't know what became of me / I closed you out and I lost the key"

"I know that I can get a little shy / I'm sorry that I keep it all inside / And I can't open up to you / It's everything I have to lose"

15. Jack Stauber - Al Dente

"Life made you bitter, I can make you tender"

16. Jack Conte - Yeah Yeah Yeah

"I bought you a gift / It's a picture frame for my face / When you decide to place me in the past / 'Cause nothing lasts"

"And you're always on my mind / But I never mind the space / That you take up in my brain / I'll take you any way I can / 'Cause day by day will fade away"

17. Jack Stauber - The End

"There is no happy end / It's only just the end / There is no happy end / It's only just the end / There may be happy later, happy now, and happy then / But there is no happy end"

18. The Neighbourhood - Everybody's Watching Me

"I told you I would tell you everything yu want to know / You want me to tell you now / You pressure me to shout it / Need to hear about it / I think that I will count you out"

"I let you find it on your own / Then I found myself alone"

"I go through all the trouble / Keeping it within my walls / I try to be as subtle as I can / Soon enough it eats me / All I've done defeats me / Looks like you were right again / And again"

19. Cissie Redgewick - Gimme That Swing!

"Now that I'm fine, you better believe I won't wait around for your call / Honey, I see you were easy to shade, I'm gonna shoot you down"

20. Doja Cat - 4 Morant

"I can't handle rejection / Stare at my reflection / Damn, no one gets it"

21. of Montreal - Spiteful Intervention

"It's fucking sad that we need a tragedy to occur to gain a fresh perspective in our lives / Nothing happens for a reason, there's no point even pretending, you know the sad truth as well as I"

"I spend my waking hours / Haunting my own life / I made the one I love start crying tonight / And it felt good"

"That really should fill me with shame / But all I have is this manic energy"

22. The Scary Jokes - Catabolic Seed

"Oh, what's a devil to do / When those old delusions so tried and true don't come through / Like they used to"

"I'll retreat back into me / Like a catabolic seed / I want to destroy everything that's mine"

23. AwkwardMarina - Crushed Creations

Battle-ready I stumble / Crushed creations I crumble / Take my pencil out of my hands / I'll be free of this"

24. Jack Conte - Eat

"What a game we play in this arena / It's called haul your ass or you'll be eaten"

"I'll keep me calm with a slew of convictions / Nothing sings like a good distraction / I wish my head was a page in a printer / Trash bad thoughts with the click of a finger"

"With the crack of a gun / And the smash of a bone / We will fall to our knees / And we're gone / And we won't come back / Now I'm alive / And my soul is on fire / And I breathe / And I love / And I sing / And you can't stop me"

25. The Himalayas - Thank God I'm Not You

"I'm a coward, I'm a freak / The scum of the Earth / A liar and a cheat / But I could be so much worse"

26. Lincoln - Saint Bernard

"Hung pictures of patron saints up on my walls / To remind me that I am a fool / Tell me where I came from, what I will always be / Just a spoiled little kid who went to Catholic school"

"When I am dead I won't join their ranks / 'Cause they are both holy and free"

"Make me love myself so that I might love you / Don't make me a liar, 'cause I swear to God / When I said it, I thought it was true"

"Saint Calvin told me not to worry about you / But he's got his own things to deal with / There's really just one thing that we have in common / Neither of us will be missed"

27. Mr. Kitty - Resurrection

"She fell to the floor / It wasn't the end / She left so soon / My only dear friend"

"I picked up the gun / Barrel rests on my head / Let this be a reminder / For everything left unsaid"

"I couldn't speak / I couldn't move / My eyes were shut / And everything went black"

28. Mr. Kitty - I Did It All For You

"I wouldn't be here / If it wasn't for you / I couldn't be there / To save yourself from you / Now my wings feel heavy / But I have to prove / This was all for you / I did it all for you"

29. Mr. Kitty - Bloodletting

"I'll avenge / Your pain to me / Without a voice / Don't try to scream / Destroying me / Is not a choice / A thousand times / Is not enough"

"You burned my eyes / Now I can see / I've seen a god / But Hell is you / What do you mean / You're in distress / I thought you meant / To rest in peace"

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Billy Bat Thoughts

Ah finally got around to this post! Anyway just a bunch of my thoughts about Billy Bat. Since it’s spoilery I’ll put it under the cut.

Plot

To say this one was on the weird side would be putting it lightly...I knew very little going in except that one panel of Smith over an uncooperative Kevin’s shoulder like “Draw!” so it was pretty wild the whole way through. I thought 20th Century Boys felt “bigger” at least so far as “this is a threat against the whole world” but lmao Billy Bat makes it seem much smaller by comparison. It was nice to see the story split between protagonists again, both Kevins were lovely people to follow. I did have a harder time keeping up on this one since there was so much more jumping around and I feel like I need to read it again to grasp the flow of time a little better.

Art, Manga & Media

Billy Bat went a lot further into the creative process than I thought it would! I knew there would be a lot of themes about art and the artist struggle since I’d seen a few posts about that, but I was happy to see that Billy Bat went into TV/film production too? And of course being more of a writerly type myself the struggles of falling into plot holes and not having any stories was very real for me. Definitely the whole coverage of the process of creating a manga story, from concepts to publication and even to TV serialization really gives a greater appreciation for what creators have to deal with. Getting to see different interpretations of the same character was very cool too.

Characters

I’ve mentioned already I liked both Kevins. Admittedly I found Kevin Goodman a little more relatable and engaging as a character; Kevin Yamagata was good, but Goodman like, upstaged him bigtime. Yamagata I really felt awful for given just how much he goes through but at the same time he pushes through and even at the very end he’s still drawing...that’s very incredible. One of the other things I liked about Yamagata was the concept that it’s okay to move on to different ideas. At the end he really doesn’t want anything to do with Billy Bat and has this new story he has so many ideas for. As a writer I sometimes feel guilty when I shift focus from the “current” project to something else I have ideas for, so the message that it’s okay to move on and do something different was good for me.

With Kevin Goodman what I liked was that despite him being the rich kid I honestly kept forgetting that fact....he really did just come across as your average guy, the way he behaved and the way he dressed and all that just seemed more “average”. Also his desire to just do his own thing and not be stuck anywhere with what other people are telling him...it’s very relatable

And lastly I just gotta say old man Kevin is so refined. He looks so respectable and warm and I love it and I want that life...when I get old I wanna just go live somewhere in the middle of nowhere and draw. That’d be great

Outside of the protagonists the characters that I particularly became fond of were Chuck Culkin (...the real one not Mr. Disney) and Smith on the men side, and then Audrey, Diane, Cissy (Devivie’s mother) and Monica (Kevin’s old gf). Chuck I love for similar reasons I love Yoshitsune...but man oh man his story just hurts me so bad. I’m glad that he got to give his apology to Kevin at the end but I really wished it was more like his hug to the other Kevin ;_;

I think that overall Audrey might actually be my favourite? Kevin Goodman is quite charming so there’s a little competition but Audrey really won me over a lot. As female characters go Urasawa did so much right with her. He let her be flawed but still a “good” influence, he let her fall and pick herself back up with grace, and she was also a top tier businesswoman which I cannot stress enough is so rare for female characters. I’m in love

As an aside, more than a couple times some scene would happen, I would say something out loud and then in the next few panels read exactly the thing I just said....which is cool in that the characters follow a fairly human line of thought but at the time it creeped me out lmao

Timmy....

Okay here is where I am a bit sad....I feel like Timmy had a lot of potential but we just didn’t see the development enough. He starts out quite kind and sweet and has good aspirations, but even early on (at least for me) you could tell he doesn’t see the Bat and....when everyone around him keeps asking him what Billy told him, and is calling him a prophet, you can see where he would start to degrade into what he becomes, but unfortunately the shift just feels a bit too drastic too quickly...I really would have liked to see the gradual shift because Timmy would have been an excellent tool to express what can happen when a creator is pressured into being something because people see them a certain way and they want to live up to that expectation.

Fave Moments

Literally everything to do with Diane is amazing and I can’t really pick just one...and of course the whole arc between her and Tony was great, particularly getting to see Tony stand up for himself and his wife for once.

This??? This is the cutest thing in the whole manga. Maybe topped by baby Kevin smiling at Kevin Yamagata but still incredibly cute

The entire arc between Shishou and Cissy really became a fond one for me...it had a bit of a more self-contained mystery feel to it, which was a nice breather from the whole rest of everything else. And it managed to still feel hopeful and warm despite how sad it is. Their dynamic really worked well to me

This isn’t really a “moment” but this particular set of panels left a very big impression for me. The idea that the towers represent a “fantasy” of peace is a very pointed message to send.

And that’s all of it...I feel like this is a big mess and kind of all over the place and there was definitely more I wanted to say....basically Billy Bat was quite a good read....very human-like characters, and some very very very good messages. I actually teared up at the very end with Kevin’s final speech with the bats....I know it was just the same old “people can be surprising and do good deeds” feel-good thing but boy does it feel good...

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Daily Planet Classifieds

Fandom: DC Comics, Superfam, Young Justice 98, Titans

Summary: Laney Hausler is currently attending classes at Metropolis University when he sees a boy with his face in the library. At first, he thinks he's seeing things. Later, he starts to realize something strange is going on.

Conner Kent lives off-campus with his friends, but he sees a boy who eerily resembles him, and he hires a private investigator to look into the life of his doppelganger.

Chapters: 6/?

Characters: Jonathan Lane Kent, Conner Kent, Eddie Bloomberg, Rose Wilson, Bart Allen, Cassie Sandsmark, Cissie King-Jones, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Meloni Thawne, Vic Sage, Slade Wilson

Relationships: Past KonBart, Clois

Additional Tags: Father-Son Relationship, Father-Daughter Relationship, No Powers AU, Found Family, Stalking, Family Secrets, No Powers AU, No Capes AU, Complicated Relationships, University AU, Roommates, Private Investigator, Twins, Multiple POV, First Person POV, Obsession, Psychological Drama, Complicated Relationships, Unrequited Love, Platonic Relationships

Chapter Six: The Hookup (Conner's POV)

I went to a party with Bart the following weekend to chill out. Bart smoked, but it wasn’t my thing. He sat with a few guys from our film class and a white-haired girl. I danced with some guy until we made out in the upstairs bedroom. We split a bottle of pricey Japanese whiskey and talked in between. “So, what’s your name?” I asked. He laughed and rested his forehead on my shoulder. We were a little messed up by then, but he seemed nice. 

“Reed,” he answered. 

“Cool… I’m Conner,” I replied as I chuckled, “Hey, you—. Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” I stepped out to find a bathroom. The one upstairs was occupied, so I went downstairs… And I swore I saw my twin. I pushed the crowd to get to him, but I couldn’t find him once I got to the corner of the room. 

“Hey… Hey, are you sick?” Bart asked. He touched my arm, and I ran a hand over my face. I panted as I scanned the room for him. “Conner, look at me. Are you—?”

I searched the downstairs bedrooms, ran upstairs, and started looking in all the rooms for him. “No… No, he was here—.” 

“Conner?” Reed questioned. I raked a hand through my hair. I locked myself in the room with Reed. I did it to take my mind off of my twin. I didn’t want to feel crazy, but there was no way my twin would turn up there after fourteen years. “You alright?” 

I nodded as I leaned in to kiss him. Reed had soft hands. I remember that. His fingertips gently grazed my neck and embedded themselves in my curls. I tossed my head back, he kissed my neck, and I craned into his touch. His hands distracted me. I found his lips and unbuttoned my shirt.  “Do you have something?” I asked. Reed nodded as he reached into his pocket. We touched foreheads, laughing at how weird that was. Reed was gentle but clumsy. I didn’t mind it, though. He stuck his fingers in my mouth, and I reached for his zipper. 

The sex was kind of crazy. I don’t know if it was because I was tipsy, but he was so… Good. Reed made me cum so hard that I let him spit in my mouth. I almost couldn’t remember why I was upset. Reed kissed my forehead and took a swig from the bottle. “You good?” Reed questioned. I stared at the ceiling and nodded. Reed gave me his number, let me keep the bottle, and called a friend to take him home. I went to the bathroom and hid from Bart upstairs until he called me. 

“Conner? Did you wanna go home?” Bart asked. By that time, I was so drunk I don’t remember what I said to him. “Yeah… Okay. Come on. Let’s get you some air.” I was surprised I made it home without throwing up. I spent half the night hunched over the toilet, crying while Bart sat with me, running me a bath. 

“I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong… I couldn’t find you for thirty minutes after you disappeared,” Bart replied. 

“You can go to bed… I’m fine,” I mumbled. 

“I don’t mind staying with you. Did—?” I dry heaved, and he waited until I was done to continue. “Did something happen at the party?” 

“I don’t know—.” 

“Conner, did somebody—?”

I looked up and made a soft noise. “No. No, that’s not—. I think I saw something that wasn’t there. Not something… Someone,” I replied. Bart nodded. I didn’t have to explain. He knew what I meant. 

One of the girls knocked on the door, and Bart let them in. “Hey… Here,” Cissie whispered as she gave me a bottle of something reddish pink. “You gotta stay hydrated.” I took a sip and waited before taking another. 

“I’ll get you another one tomorrow,” I replied. 

“Don’t worry. I’ve got six in my room… Are you alright?” Cissie asked. I nodded as I wiped my tears away and flushed the toilet. “Okay… Well, I’ll leave you to it.” 

Bart turned the water off, testing the bathwater to see if it was too hot, and shut the door after Cissie left. “Where’d you go?” Bart asked. 

“I hooked up with some guy upstairs… He was cute,” I replied. Bart smiled and shut his eyes. 

I thought he was asleep, but he asked, “Are you gonna see him again?” 

“Yeah, probably. Would it be dumb to text him tomorrow?” I asked. 

“Wait until after one to text him and invite him to the one restaurant with the hot pudding,” Bart replied. 

“Do you want me to get you some hot pudding tomorrow?” I asked. 

“Fuck yeah,” Bart mumbled. 

“Bart, I will take you for hot pudding anytime. I love you so much,” I replied. 

Bart laughed. “You’re so drunk,” Bart replied.

I chuckled and gagged. “Uggghhh, don’t make me laugh,” I replied, “Hey…” 

“What?” Bart asked.

“Why are your eyes closed? It isn’t like we haven’t—.”

“Yeah. Like three times…I couldn’t look at you straight for a month,” Bart replied. His cheeks went rosy as I got undressed and climbed in the tub. 

“Wait, do you remember when your mom came home early with dinner, and you panicked and told her everything,” I replied. 

“I’m pretty sure she thought we were smoking weed in my room,” Bart replied. “Yeah? Well, my dad made a slideshow… And then my mom was mad that I snuck across state lines when I was supposed to be at my grandparents’ house,” I replied, 

“You got a slideshow. My mom never gave me the talk… Max did. Jay did, too. I don’t know which was worse. Jay’s talk sounded more like a war story and then he forgot that you can’t get pregnant, so he gave me a whole different talk the next day. Max confused me more than anything. I’m glad we stopped doing that, though,” Bart replied. I got quiet. I knew my feelings for Bart were more intense than his feelings for me. We stopped sleeping together because he thought our friendship wouldn’t last long if we kept it up. He’s probably right, but thinking about it made me sad. I sank under the water for what felt like forever, and Bart pulled me up. “What is wrong with you tonight?” 

I choked and gasped for air, and he pulled the drain plug. Bart wrapped a towel around my waist as I stood up. I got dressed and waited for Bart to shower. I dozed off on the toilet while Bart got dressed. Then he carried me to bed. He turned to me and sighed. “You’re still thinking about it, aren’t you?” Bart whispered. 

“What if my brother—?” 

“You were drunk—.” I turned away from him. “Conner, I’ve always believed you and loved you… But, don’t—. Don’t do this.” Bart leaned over me and touched my hair. I didn’t move. “Don’t be mad… I know your heart is—.”

“Don’t finish that sentence. I saw what that did to your parents, and—."

"Bart, I saw him tonight—.”

“I’m tired… And my throat hurts,” I muttered. I knew what I saw, and I thought Bart would believe me. I was wrong… And it fucking sucked.