#kyle thread: red and green

[dramatisperscnae]

@hubrisse

truth be told, jason had never expected to be given a ring. no one does, he figures, but it still happens. the one that latched onto his finger is red and felt like death for a good second; if he had to guess, he'd say it killed him briefly in the most excruciating way, blood turning into acid, until the pain in itself made him pass out. for a man with his pain tolerance, that definitely spells out a bad fate. when he comes to, jason finds himself on top of a burned out body, which by the items left behind by its bearer would likely be either a goon of the clown or the clown itself. the murder doesn't really faze him as much as the lack of clarity or recollection on how it happened. he doesn't like not knowing. he doesn't like feeling like a stranger in his own mind, but just like the fog settled, it vanished like magic. staring at the brilliant red band on his finger, he considers removing it as he gathers his bearings. his mind races through options as he distances himself from the crime, not quite digesting the sudden load of information thrown his way easily. by the time he's near his closest safehouse, he feels the bond tug. looking upwards, he sees a shock of green. it makes sense, in jason's head. lanterns must have a sensor or an alarm system for this sort of thing. it barely registers then that the bond itself had been the alarm in question. "hey, picasso. this is the bad part of the neighborhood. should be careful." speaking hurts a little, throat raw in a way he can't quite explain and, truthfully, isn't sure if he wants to.

Death is an eerie feeling no matter how it comes. Kyle wishes he didn't know that first-hand, but he does.

It's even worse when it's not yours.

There are few things that can break Kyle's concentration without effort, but feeling the sudden death of his soulmate has the young Lantern quite literally falling out of the sky for the handful of seconds it takes him to refocus his will and make a beeline for Gotham out of sheer desperation. As rocky as their relationship has always been, Kyle's grown far fonder of his soulmate than he's dared actually voice, and if something's happened to Jason…

Hs jaw tightens, his ring sending him moving even faster. The bond isn't broken, so Jason is still alive, but something major has still happened and for all Kyle knows his soulmate is now lying at the bottom of a sewer somewhere bleeding out, or worse.

It's only once he gets closer that he realizes it's or worse.

There's another Lantern here. His ring pings with the information. A Red Lantern, though why any of them would be here on Earth Kyle has no idea. The Reds usually don't go actively causing trouble, and it's pretty well known that Sector 2814 has a constant Green presence of at least one in-sector - and usually actively on Earth - which has been enough to keep most other Lanterns away. Maybe this one got lost, or doesn't care, or got bored enough, and oh god if this has something to do with whatever's happened to Jason…

Kyle's scanning, both with the ring and the bond, and quickly zeroes in on his soulmate's presence. Diving out of the sky he all but tackles Jason in a tight hug, relief pouring off him.

Prematurely, as it turns out.

"Oh thank god, the bond, I felt-," Kyle starts, knowing he's bordering on babbling but unable to fully help himself as he pulls back to take a better look at Jason. At Jason's new look. At the information his ring is currently screaming about. He's found Jason, right enough. But he's also found the Red Lantern. Kyle's eyes widen, face paling a shade or two.

"Oh no…"

[midnight-shadow-cafe]

GUYS HELP! i wanna find a book so bad but idk if anyone has written one like this 😭 so like i wanna find a why choose romance (or dark) with a f!mc that’s a pirate captain or the daughter or a pirate and really badass and the m!mc’s that are like princes or like dukes or something like that. it just seems like a really good idea to me but idk 😭😭

(or maybe if someone does a fic abt this idea with f!reader x poly!141 where they’re royalty and all in a poly relationship and she’s the badass pirate captain, so kinda like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies 👀)

The Crimson Tempest

Chapter One: The Princes and The Pirate

Pairing: f!Reader x Poly!141

AU: Royalty 141 x Pirate Captain Reader

Warnings: Violence, mentions of war, pirates, flirting, tension, power dynamics, strong language

Author's Note: I’m genuinely so excited for this series!!

Summary: Four royal men sail into pirate waters to make a deal with the most dangerous woman on the seas — the Crimson Tempest. You don’t trust royals. They don’t trust pirates. But the storm is only just beginning.

Masterlist

MDNI18+MDNI18+MDNI18+MDNI18+MDNI18+

——

The sky bled crimson over the horizon.

Sunset painted fire across the waves, reflecting on the rippling surface like the flicker of a thousand torches. Gulls cried overhead as the wind sang through the rigging of The King’s Ransom, the royal vessel cutting across the sea like a blade through silk.

On the upper deck, John Price stood at the helm, eyes narrowed beneath the brim of his weatherworn naval hat. The scent of brine and gunpowder clung to the air — a familiar warning.

“She’s close,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if she’s watching already,” said Kyle — Gaz — from beside him, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His regal sash, green and gold, had already begun to dampen from the sea mist.

From the quarterdeck stairs, Johnny MacTavish — Soap — strolled up with the easy swagger of someone raised for war but hungry for mischief. He glanced at the horizon, then back at John.

“This is madness,” he said with a grin. “A pirate? As an ally?”

John’s jaw ticked. “Not just a pirate.”

A heavy silence fell between them, broken only by the rhythmic slap of the waves against the hull.

“She’s the pirate.”

At that moment, the shadows shifted.

A massive, black-hulled ship emerged from behind a rising swell like a phantom — sleek, predatory, armed to the teeth. Dark red sails unfurled like blood-soaked wings, marked with the sigil of a siren with daggers for claws.

The Siren’s Mercy.

Simon Riley — Ghost — appeared without a word, his tall form silent as a wraith at John’s shoulder. The wind tugged at his black cloak, mask shadowing his eyes.

“We’re being boarded,” he said quietly.

No alarm bells. No cannon fire. No war cries.

Just the soft, echoing thump of grappling hooks and the creak of pirate boots touching royal wood.

You were the last to cross.

Boots hitting the deck with confidence, you stood tall — silhouetted by the dying light like some goddess of the abyss. You wore a long coat of midnight black, stitched with red thread at the seams, and a wide belt that held two pistols, a dagger, and the curved hilt of a sword that had once belonged to the Pirate King — your father.

Your hair was tied back with a crimson ribbon that matched the sash around your waist, a symbol of your rank — a captain’s color.

You walked past the royal guards without so much as a glance, stopping just shy of the four men watching you.

Your eyes, a tempest of cunning and heat, roamed over them like a blade.

John was the first you spoke to.

“You’re older than I expected, Prince John,” you said, tone mocking but smooth. “But you carry command well.”

He didn’t rise to the bait. “Captain.”

You shifted your gaze to Kyle. “And you must be Prince Kyle. I hear you’re the diplomat. Did they send you to sweet-talk me into surrendering?”

Kyle smiled, one brow lifted. “Not unless you’d consider it.”

You turned to Johnny, head tilting. “Prince Jonathan. The swordsman. They say you took down eight men at the siege of Black Vale.”

He flashed a grin, playful. “Nine, actually. But who’s counting?”

“And you,” you said, finally facing Simon. “The silent prince. The shadow. You’ve killed more men than the others combined, and yet you’re the only one not reaching for a weapon.”

Simon’s eyes were unreadable. “If I needed it, you’d already be dead.”

A beat.

Then you smiled — slow and wicked. “Careful. You’ll make me blush.”

The crew behind you chuckled quietly. The tension was thick, but it had shifted — from danger to something else. Something sharper. Charged.

“I didn’t come here to kill you, princes,” you said, circling them like a wolf. “But don’t mistake this meeting for peace.”

“Then why are you here?” John asked.

You stopped, dead center between them, coat whipping in the wind.

“Because you want a war,” you said softly. “And I want revenge.”

The air snapped tight like a drawn bowstring.

“I’ll give you what you want — ships, men, blood — but on my terms. And if I find out this is some royal trap to shackle me or tame me, I’ll burn your kingdom to the sea.”

The silence stretched.

Then John stepped forward, expression iron.

“We don’t want to tame you,” he said. “We want to fight beside you.”

Your smile turned dangerous.

“Then come aboard the Siren’s Mercy. Let’s see if you’re men or myths.”

And just like that, you turned your back to them — daring, commanding — and strode back to your ship, leaving the four princes reeling in your wake.

Soap let out a long, low whistle. “Bloody hell.”

Kyle nodded slowly. “We’re in trouble.”

Ghost’s voice was quiet. “She’s dangerous.”

John’s gaze was still locked on you as you stepped onto your ship’s deck, already barking orders to your crew in a language none of them recognized.

“She’s perfect.”

——

End of Chapter One

Next

Hope you enjoyed! Please consider liking and reposting! -Midnight💜

[greenxprof]

Green thought he'd need to force a smile at Red, but (not surprisingly) he didn't. It came naturally when he saw his friend's face. It's good to be around Red. Specially when he's making an effort to stay in good spirits like this.

Green entered with a quiet 'excuse me'. He sat on the couch, visibly stiff.

"I got you Pecha Berry Tea." because he knew Red would like it. "It's best when cold."

He sat there, waiting for Red to get his food and sit next to him. He's not really hungry.

Red is quick to open the door as soon as Green knocks, greeting his friend with a smile.

His heart skips a beat as their eyes meet, but the champion makes the smart decision to set aside his feelings. Whatever Green was worried about, it was much more important.

"Hi." Scooping the takeout from Green's arms--Red has to stop himself from licking his lips--despite everything, he's managed to stay in good spirits.

Just last night, he'd been staring at the floor, fidgeting feet at a loss for the state of the situation.

"Come in."

[hunnysnoops]

˗ˋ𝕎𝕙𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕋𝕖𝕖𝕥𝕙 𝕋𝕖𝕖𝕟𝕤ˊ˗

Chapter One: Undone

Kylie Broflovski x fem Reader

If you want to destroy my sweater, pull this thread as I walk away.

Also available on Ao3 and Wattpad!

Premise: Despite having almost inseparable families, you and Kyle couldn't hate each other anymore than you already. The second you saw him you had your claws out and we would be ready to hold a knife to your throat, like wolves you devoured each other until a bump in the road sent you tumbling into a new dynamic. Maybe you two can find new ways to fall apart.

Warnings: Vulgar language+humour / mentions of smoking and drugs / Cartman gets called fat

MASTERLIST

Kyle was the only one who knew how truly competitive you were. He couldn't figure out how no one else saw especially during your sports matches, you always had to be forward, had to score the last point, had to win, and you craved it as compulsively as the nicotine you sucked from your fingernails when you ran out of cigarettes to burn through.

Your parents had always been close to Kyle's since high school allegedly; being constantly forced to jump back and forth between each other's houses for family dinners and game nights didn't aid in the fact that you wanted to tear each other's throats out with razor-sharp teeth. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder and this absurd proximity made the both of you sick with a frothing rage.

You couldn't pinpoint exactly where this hatred started, it was likely back in middle school where it was taboo for boys and girls to hang out, and those kids acted like it breached scripture if you did. Truthfully you didn't remember being friends but there was photo evidence of you playing as children so you couldn't deny it.

He has seen every inch of your life inside and out from the seventeen years that you were cursed to spend side by side. He knew that you had some fun habits such as swallowing back a little bit of synthetic sunshine in the form of little tabs of acid and how you would take a joint for a stroll in the dead of night.

For every secret he held over your head, you dangled one of his right before his green eyes. This is the only thing that kept all hell from breaking loose.

"Good practice girls, I'll see all of you on Thursday," Coach Jackson said, with no indication of pride for the team's gruelling efforts on her tanned face, not even a dribble of sweat on her brow since all she did was stand in place and yell at you.

As soccer practice finally came to a close the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting an orange glow on the team where you all lay on the ground of the pitch next to your bags, trying to catch your breath. Nichole chugged down her water so fast that it was dribbling down her chin and droplets had soaked into her tee shirt.

You were the most composed of all of them despite being a little short of breath, you wiped the sweat from the bow of your lip and began to peel off your sweaty shin guards.

"How are you so okay?" Annie asked, red-faced, strands of her curly blonde hair sticking out and flying loose in the wind while she sipped on a Gatorade.

You shrug "I run a lot," It was the truth, you liked the feeling of burning in your lungs along with the fact that you built up good stamina and in turn were able to withstand your coach's harsh practices.

"I should start running with you," Annie says, panting heavily before she throws herself flat against the cool grass.

"I don't know if you could keep up," There's something of a smile playing on Red's face while she shoves her gross gear into her duffle bag. "I see her run by my house every night." She had a bit of trouble keeping her shag cut tied back in a ponytail, any attempt to get the layers to stay in a braid or bun was futile so she settled on a black headband to at least keep it out of her face.

Off in the distance, Bebe honked her car horn, she had shown up early to pick up her friends and due to this in the last fifteen minutes of practice you could hear classic Justin Bieber blasting faintly from her car. "Annie, we gotta go," Nichole says.

"Ugh," Annie draws out in her dazey state. Nichole paid her friend the service of grabbing her bag and trying to drag her up to her feet.

"C'mon," Nichole mutters, hooking an arm around Annie and yanking her up to her feet. Annie finds her own footing and detaches herself from Nichole, she's still in her shin guards and cleats. "Are you coming to Wendy's later?" Nichole looks at you, sweat shimmering on her ebony skin beneath the setting sun.

You think about it for a moment before ultimately shaking your head "I gotta pick my brother up."

"What about after?"

"Too crammed with homework," You were lying through your teeth, your social battery was just running a little low and things with your dad weren't going too great. You made the decision that you needed to lock yourself in the bathroom run the shower over your skin and scrub until the water washed away the stress of your week or get high with Kenny until you felt your face go numb. Just something along those lines.

"Too bad," Annie frowns, eyes half-lidded and breathes shallow.

"See you tomorrow then," Red waves at you before heading to her car, bright hair sticking out in the green landscape.

“Love ya, Red,” You look around at the rest of your team, all cooling down and conversing "Anyone need a ride home?" Everyone looks around and shakes their heads "Isla?"

"No," She says "I'm going with Kelly."

"Alright," You sling your bag over your shoulder, clutching your carabiner in hand, it has a little keychain of a Volkswagon bus on it, a cowboy hat knick-knack and of course your actual keys. "Bye guys, see you on Thursday."

Your words are met with collective 'goodbyes' from the girls. You walk off the pitch, and despite your legs feeling like jello you manage to step off of the grassy field and land on concrete, lazy steps leading you back to your car.

Tossing your bag into the backseat, you tap around on your phone to connect to the speaker, turn it up as loud as it goes and roll down your windows. You liked your music so loud that you couldn't even hear your own thoughts, just your playlist on shuffle as you absentmindedly sang along to it. You grabbed some body spray and doused the car in it to cover up the subtle linger of cigarettes from your late-night drive the previous evening.

The air was warm and carried the scent of fresh-cut grass as you drove through the familiar suburban streets. With the windows down, you felt the gentle breeze tousle your hair, a welcome relief from the day's heat. You hummed along to the music, mind drifting as you navigated the familiar route.

As you turned the corner onto the neighbour's street, the sun painted the sky in a breathtaking array of colours - hues of orange, pink, and purple blending seamlessly against the evening sky. You couldn't help but steal a moment to admire the beauty of the sunset, the vibrant colours reflecting in your eyes. It was nearing six pm when you finally pulled into the Broflovski driveway.

You step out, looking a little worse for wear. You had taken off your shin guards and cleats but left the knee-high socks on as well as a tee shirt with the Park County cows logo on it and a pair of athletic shorts. It was one of the warmer days since it was nearing summer though South Park had a way with erratic weather that couldn't make up its mind, you were sure there would be a storm tomorrow to cancel out the nice weather.

Knocking on the door, you put on a smile, expecting to see Gerald or Sheila though you were unpleasantly met with their oldest son, Kyle. Your smile drops immediately and it's easy to see that he isn't too excited to see you either. "Oh." You push passed Kyle and into his house "Weston," You call out "Time to go!"

Kyle wrinkles his nose "You smell like hand sanitizer," He says, speaking on all of the body mist you had sprayed in the car.

"And you look like orphan Annie," You turn quickly to face him before calling up the stairs "Weston, let's go!"

"Did you leave your windows down at the car wash?" His eyes rake up your body at your sweaty form, little strands of hair sticking to your neck. 

"Go on Accutane, matchstick," You retort. This nickname came about when Kyle began to outgrow his friends, with a lanky body and a mop of curly red hair, the nickname struck you in a moment of genius. As of now, he was wearing his hat, he hardly ever took it off, especially out in public. You'd only seen it come off his head when he was swimming or when his mom forced it off.

Something about the Broflovski house was always comforting even if you hated one-fourth of the family, you loved the other three. The scent of whatever Sheila was cooking always lingered in the air, right now the smell was sweet and faint. You assumed she hadn't been home but caught a glimpse of a cookie rack set out on the kitchen counter. 

His eyebrows furrow "My acne isn't even that bad," He was right, you just knew that it got under his skin "Crash," He says, a little less creative than your nickname for him, born from the time you did acid and woke up in his backyard, luckily before his parents noticed you but not after Kyle took pictures of you passed out on the grassy lawn as well as a few rumours that had been spread about you.

"Sure, ginger, sorry you have a hard knock life," You had run out of insults to call him after seventeen years. In middle school, you ripped on him constantly for how scrawny he was along with voice cracks and his acne, though in recent years, he had passed puberty, had a deeper voice, sorted out his pimple issue, and taken to running, basketball, lacrosse, and going to the gym to tone up. You could still rag on him for it but it has less impact when it wasn't true and god knows you wouldn't go mocking his religion, you may have hated him but you had morals. All you had left to make fun of was his hair colour.

It was similar to the way he couldn't make fun of you for being ugly, unpopular, or stupid like he used to since puberty hit you like a bus and you were almost unrecognizable from the brace-faced awkward kid you used to be. You were also a little too confident and erratic for his liking. 

You were going to make your way upstairs to Ike's room where you assumed the two boys had been until you heard the familiar sound of upbeat electric rhythms and horribly overacted lines of Fury Fighters, a classic 1v1 fighting game. You move away from Kyle and turn in to the living room where you see your little brother and Ike on the couch, hyper-focused on the game ahead of them. "Did you go deaf suddenly or were you just ignoring me?"

"I was ignoring you," Weston says, bluntly. His hair is an untamed mess and the collar of his wrinkled tee is stretched out. He doesn't even look back at you but Kyle cracks a smile at his words.

"C'mon shrimp, we gotta go," You say, crossing your arms.

He lets out a groan "Can I stay like thirty more minutes?"

You shake your head "Nah, Kyle's cologne is giving me a headache."

Ike snorts a laugh and glances back at his brother, his smile falls when he looks at you; he's putting on his tough guy persona. He clears his throat and deepens his voice in the slightest "What's up?" It was clear that the little brother had a crush on you though no one brought it up, you could tell it bothered Weston.

"Hey, Ike," You give him a tight-lipped smile, watching as he turns back to the TV, fingers clicking over the controller aggressively. "You can finish this round and we're out."

"Yes!" Weston says "Thanks, love you," He says with haste, thinking that it'll butter you up.

You plop yourself on the carpeted floor in front of the couch to watch the match play out. Ike was playing as Tempest, a mage who was wise and old, a long white beard yet he somehow had an absolutely shredded pixel body. Weston was playing Sable, a pink-haired woman in a short nurse's uniform who used surgical tools as weapons, she was your go-to back when you still played Fury Fighters with your friends. You would refuse to play as a man because it breached your pre-teen code of feminism.  Watching them play made you feel nostalgic. 

Kyle leans his elbows on the back of the couch, hands clasped together to watch the game, the same as you. "Kick his ass, Weston," Kyle says, rooting for your brother, purely to annoy his.

"Hey!" Ike exclaims though he doesn't move his unwavering gaze from the game "Whose side are you on?"

"Smoke him, Ike!" You say, a little louder than intended to balance out the cheering section. 

Sheila always kept the household neat which was a miracle with Ike and Weston always running around, recently she had taken to a love of houseplants and had at least one in every corner of the home. There were framed pictures strung up on every single wall without fail, lots of the family, Sheila's wedding day, and a collection of you and Kyle actually getting along when you were kids. There's one of the two of you playing under a sprinkler in rain boots, another of you standing and smiling brightly by a snowman you made, and a picture of Kyle covering all of your little scrapes in Spider-Man band-aids. In every photo of you after the age of seven, you were with the rest of your families on opposite ends, as far away from each other as you could get.

You look back to the TV where Ike's character, Tempest summons the dead with his staff, grey decaying hands rise from the 2D ground and drag Sable down. "Fuck!" Weston yells, panic quickly spreading across his face, his eyes shoot back and forth frantically from the controller to the TV. 

Sable jumps back up and readies herself into a fighting stance, Tempest moves his staff, a green diamond on the end, horizontally and jabs Sable in the stomach over and over until she rolls back to the ground. Ike has a huge grin on his face, shaggy black hair framing his pale features, he desperately needed a haircut but for now, he was relishing in watching Sable's health bar move down.

"By the elements, I shall prevail!" Calls out Tempest, his voice actor had really put his all into making him sound deep and gruff. Ike randomly spams the buttons, sending out an erratic combo. The characters were fighting in the center of a dark alley, blue and red lights flashing every few minutes.

Sable pulls a long scalpel out of her thigh-high socks and charges towards Tempest, slashing him. When Tempest's health bar falls, Sable speaks out a voice line "Every wound has a remedy," Her sultry voice makes you cringe just the slightest, you hadn't remembered her to sound so sensual.

Tempest rises back up, jumps toward Sable and greets the character with a heavy uppercut, sending her flying through the air. You find your fingers digging into the carpet, you had hoped that Sable would win just from the fact that you used to play as her. You almost wanted to grab the remote from your brother's hand and show him how to play as her, you had memorized all of her combos and moves, and they became muscle memory to you. "You're demise is written in the stars!" The buff wizard raises his hands to the sky, gearing up to cast one final blow.

In the midst of this, Sable jumps up, pulls a bone saw out from behind her back and slices Tempest's head clean off before he can finish casting his spell. Ike drops his controller, moving his hand to grab his hair, eyes wide and mouth agape in shock while he watches his character's health bar plummet to zero. The wizard's head rolls around on the pixel ground before Sable picks it up and kisses it "Nurse's orders: Stay down," She says before drop-kicking the head out of frame. A title card covers up the scene that reads 'It's a wrap!’

"Fuck yeah!" Weston says, giving Kyle a firm high five. He looked happier than you had seen him all week, middle school was kicking his ass and you had to pull some time aside almost every night to help him with algebra. You would've scolded him for playing video games instead of studying for his social studies test if you hadn't been doing the same at his age. 

"How the hell did you do that?" Ike's head whips to look at his friend who just shrugs.

You push yourself off the floor, giving your brother's hair a little tussle "Let's go, shrimp." 

With a groan Weston up to slip his shoes on at the rack, "See you tomorrow, Ike," He grabs his bag where it sits by the coat stand. Kyle hurdles himself over the couch, taking Weston's place on the sofa and picking up the free controller to play "Bye Kyle!" He says, lacing up his sneakers.

Kyle looks over the couch and at him with a smile "See you later buddy."

The second you think Weston is looking away you stick up the middle finger to the red-headed boy across from you but it surely didn't go unnoticed "Why are you flipping Kyle off?" Weston asks, furrowing his eyebrows as he looks up at you.

You drop your hand "I'm not, I was waving at him." You lie, trying to form a cover-up. You place a hand between his shoulder blades to guide him out the door.

"You're sweaty," He comments.

"Thanks, I had no idea," You open the door and close it behind you before Kyle can say anything to your brother's remark. It's already colder than when you entered the house and you race to get to the car before you get a chill.

Weston hops into the passenger seat, scrunching up his nose at the music you're playing "Can you put on Lil Shovel?" He asks. It was one of the many rappers he had attempted to imitate. He thought they were cool for decking themselves out in designer brands and sticking dollar bills into women's thongs in music videos.

"I'm not playing that shit," You start the car and turn out of the driveway.

"Why?"

"Because it makes me want to hammer nails into my ears," You answer, eyes focused in the road while you glide through the suburban street. "Listen to Eminem or something."

"Dad doesn't like Eminem."

You wrinkle your nose "Why?"

"Because he said that thing about the gerbil."

Recognition hits you and you nod "Yeah, that checks out," Your dad was a pretty modest guy, he didn't care about anything overly vulgar. He basically mandated your life, he was the reason you were in so many extracurriculars and were the last person in your grade to get a phone, something Kyle would've teased you for if your parents weren't so similar.

"Can you drive me and Ike to the quarry on Friday?" Weston has one hand sticking out of the window moving it up and down like it was a plane, it was something you used to do before you were the one driving, a little mannerism he picked up off you.

"I have track practice and then I gotta help Heidi and Wendy with their fundraiser, sorry, shrimp," You take note of every house you pass, swearing you could put a name to every single one. You felt the fatigue hit you all at once, you knew that night your bed would become a casket and you would have to be pried from it like a floorboard. "Ask Kyle." 

"We did, he has basketball practice."

"Bummer," You say. It had slipped your mind completely that he was on the team and you hated it and how your friends gushed about Kyle before catching themselves and sending you apologetic glances. "Guess you gotta bike then."

You remember when you were your brother's age, twelve years old and you came home every night at sunset with a new scrape to show for the adventure you set out on. You gave bruises out like gifts and collected them like stickers, some sort of pride when parents would silently judge you for having purple busted-up knees.

"Mhm," He nods "Hey, can we go to Burger King?"

"No," You say almost immediately "Mom's making dinner right now."

Weston scrunched up his nose "Yeah but she had the crock pot out on the counter when I left for school today," Nothing good came from your mother's crock pot. "Can we please get Burger King?"

"First of all, Mom will kill me if I load you up with more fast food, second of all, she's gonna make you eat her dinner anyways, so just be nice and tell her it's good."

"Ugh," He grumbles watching wistfully into the distance, his thoughts stuck on the combo he was craving. "I should've stayed at Ike's for dinner."

"Yeah, me too," News of the dreaded crock pot had only worsened your day. Sheila on the other hand was an incredible cook, as much as you loved your mom and the effort she put into her meals, nothing would compare to Sheila's brisket. The thought of it almost made your stomach grumble. If you lived with Broflovski's you would've weighed three hundred pounds more. 

Your mind ricochets back and forth between going home or heading to Wendy's with the rest of your friends though the thought of being alone with tobacco burning your throat soothed you.

The drive from the Broflovski's to yours wasn't too long, truthfully, your brother was perfectly capable of walking. The sky transformed into a canvas of deepening shades, the last traces of sunlight giving way to the embrace of twilight. You stole glances at your brother, his animated chatter filling the car with warmth.

You park the car in the driveway behind your dad's car, he would surely yell at you to move it in the morning but that was a problem for future you and a decision you would regret making. You pull up on the street right in front of your house. Weston was quick to hop out of the car, he rushed across the lawn and waited by the front door for you to turn off the car, but you didn't, you just watched and waited for him to go inside.

"Are you coming?" Weston asked.

You stick your head out of the window "Tell Mom I'm stopping by Red's, I'll be back before dinner," Weston rolls his eyes at this, he didn't care for Red, since you started being friends with her you had even less time to spend with your brother. Nights of staying up late with Weston and playing Stardew Valley turned into you hanging out with your friend and getting high. 

"Tell Rebecca to eat a dick!" Weston cups his hands around his mouth.

"I won't do that but good suggestion," You call back before stepping on the peddle and moving back down the familiar streets. It was just past six and there hadn't been anyone outside, everyone was tucked away in their respective home, warm lights from windows spilling into the darkening sky. 

You didn't go to Red's, you just kept driving until you ended up at a gas station on the outskirts of town. It had long passed the dinner you promised to be home for, instead of eating the crock pot monstrosity, you opt for something with a sweeter taste, a cigarette and a bag of teriyaki beef jerky. You sat on the curb watching cars roll past, their headlights framing you like you were on stage. You just craved the aloneness you so rarely got.

You shuffle through the cafeteria line, undecided on what you want to eat but settling on one of those sugar-free drinks that are worse for you than just grabbing a regular soda for a drink. "Keep it moving, Junkie," Cartman says from beside you. God how he irked you, it was in his nature to be unbearable.

"What? Not like it's going anywhere, I'm more worried for the people in line behind you who have to eat crumbs."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He asks adding a paper plate of ribs to his tray and then another.

"It means you're fat."

He shrugs "Doesn't bother me," Cartman had grown to be a little more self-aware, by a little I mean a very small smidgen.

"You're a fat-fat fatty, keep eating fatty," your voice was unwavering. You hadn't had too much of a problem with Cartman throughout school, sure he had been a dick but you never interacted enough for him to be on your radar until he started a rumour about you shooting up heroin in the janitors closet which led to him telling everyone you were a drug dealer. This cursed you with the nicknames of crash, popper, and of course, junkie. When it first happened you weren't even aware, you just sat confused about why everyone was adding your Snapchat and asking about buying stuff from you. Eventually, staff caught wind of this and it only got worse from there.

"Fuck you, crash," He sticks up a middle finger at you "You're a dyke."

You return the gesture "At least I get pussy, lard ass."

"I have tons of sex, you faggot."

"Your hand doesn't count," You say examining the food in the chafing dishes which looked surprisingly good for school food.

"I don't care if you're a girl, I will kick your ass," He starts to get in your face but you don't bother to acknowledge it, still looking through the food options. 

"I bet if I pushed you over you would just keep rolling."

"Whatever bitch."

"Hurry up, butterball," Bebe cuts in front of Eric who has a look of pure seething rage on his face. She looks beautiful as always, blonde curly hair falling in perfect ringlets and framing her dainty face. She's wearing a red off-the-shoulders sweater and low-waisted jeans, it's such a simple outfit but Bebe manages to make it look unique and expensive.

"Fuck you, Bebe," he turns a middle finger to her, "Go shoot up with your little lezzy girlfriend." That was another rumour that he successfully sparked, that you and Bebe were secretly dating. The two of you found it funnier than the heroin thing and played into it on occasion. 

"You're so fucking stupid," Bebe wrinkles her nose in distaste of the chubby kid in front of her "Don't crack the floor when you waddle over to your table, fat ass," She adds a yogurt parfait onto her tray and keeps moving down the line, you follow in suit.

The two of you hand the lunch lady your cafeteria card but your eye snags on something else entirely "Where's Wendy?"

Bebe looks in the same direction as you where your entire friend group sits, minus Wendy who you could've sworn was there only moments ago. Her tray still sat in front of her spot on the table "She's talking with Stan I think."

"What?" You look at the blonde text to you while you find your table "Are they getting back together or something?"

"She was saying she wanted to work things out with him last night, you'd know if you were there."

"Why didn't she tell me?" You furrow your eyebrows as you glance at Stan's regular table where he was also absent from. The second thing you noticed was how irritated Kyle seemed, likely because his best friend would be opting to spend time with Wendy again instead of him. Cartman plops himself down next to the ginger, only making Kyle more agitated. When Kyle looks away for a split second, Kenny steals food off his plate and blames it on Eric. “I would never steal food from a dirty Jew!” He says, voice carrying over every other conversation in the room.

"She might not have told because you can be a little-" Bebe searches around for a word that'll soften the message "Abrasive?"

"I'm not abrasive," You say as you sit yourself down at the cafeteria table, immediately met by curious glances from the rest of your friends. This made you question yourself. Had you been so blunt that your best friend didn't want to tell you what was going on in her life? Yes. You didn't know how else to be, it was wired into your system; born from the way you were raised, like a wild animal who fought for scraps, if you didn't kill, you wouldn’t eat. Your family wasn’t really complete, it was more like something like a mom who worked herself to rust and a dad who popped in and out like some kind of disappearing act.

No one bothers to dig deeper into your sentence, already enraptured in their conversation. "I wonder how Tolkien feels about it," Lola asks, leaning in a little to where Nelly sits on the other side of the table, seemingly hanging onto every word.

"I know!" Nelly says, unable to fight the smile that formed on her face every time she gossiped "Did you notice how he isn't sitting where he usually is." At this, everyone turns their heads to Tolkien's regular table, where he’s MIA from.

Halfway through sucking the meat off of his ribs, Cartman notices everyone at your table staring them down. He glances around the table before deciding that you are looking at him, barbeque sauce smeared over his mouth and down his fingers. "What the fuck are you looking at?" He calls out, now drawing the attention of the cafeteria to you and your friends who quickly avert their gazes back to their food.

You meet Kyles's eyes for just a moment, you can read loud and clear that he's annoyed Wendy's back in the picture and she'll be poaching his best friend from him. Despite the act he's trying to portray of being indifferent, you can tell there's a storm brewing beneath his green eyes.

In your pocket, your phone buzzes and you look at it.

McWhoremick: what was that about?

You: Cartman looking rancid

McWhoremick: fair

McWhoremick: wanna hang later?

You: fo sho

You: junkyard?

McWhoremick: yup

McWhoremick: see ya :P

"What's that?" Red peaks down at your phone from next to you, her chin resting on your shoulder "Is it Wendy?"

"She's been weird lately," Jenny says, she doesn't look up from her mac and cheese, just pushes it around absentmindedly with her fork.

"Probably because all of you are talking about her like she's not our friend," Heidi peeps up for the first time in the conversation. You're a little surprised that she's eating lunch with you, in recent days she's been so busy with sustainability club that it's taken up all of her lunch breaks.

Heidi was right as usual. It didn't feel right to be talking about Wendy when she was twenty metres away, it didn't feel right to talk about her at all. The group fell quiet at this, trying to search for another topic that didn't involve speaking poorly of your friend.

"So," Red starts "Who's excited for the basketball game?"

You really weren't, you had no intentions of going though you were sure your parents would make you go to support Kyle. "I think I'll go to watch Kyle," Nichole comments. Your head whips to look at her immediately, it only made sense that she was over Tolkien after what happened with Wendy but you hadn't expected her to go for Kyle.

"Uh oh," Annie says, a small smile playing on her face. Lately, she had taken good care of her curls, a stark difference from the frizzy mess that was stuck on her head all through middle school.

"Nichole," You say, staring her down "Are you okay?"

"Sorry to say this," Bebe pipes up, not one hundred percent tuned into the conversation "He actually isn't the piece of shit that you make him out to be."

"You don't-

"Know him like I do?" Heidi finishes your sentence for you. Something you had repeated over and over again when trying to get your point across that he was evil and no one could see it but you.

"I'd do it," Lola shrugs and your face contorts in disgust.

"Ew," You say with haste, fighting the urge to gag on your food. "Do you guys realize that he's ginger under that hat?"

Everyone is unsurprised at your disdain for him, even though you tried not to talk about him so you didn't seem obsessed, every now and then, the start of a rant would slip out and that would turn into you rambling on and on about every little annoying detail about him. You wondered for a brief moment if he did the same when walking about you.

"What is it that you hate about him anyway?" Red asks.

You rack your brain for a truly solid reason you can't say that it irritated you how Kyle ran the opposite way of you on the trail on your nightly run, it was the most dreaded part of the day, brushing past him and pretending not to notice. You also couldn't delve into the fact that he always had a bored, unimpressed expression on his face when he talked to you. "Everything." You answer "I hate everything about him."

"Okay gang," Mr Waterman claps his hands together once everyone is finally seated. "I know we're getting close to the end of the year and it's exciting but there is always work to be done." He was in his thirties, a little on the shorter side, with brown hair, glasses, and lean for a teacher though it made sense since he doubled as the basketball coach. He had tried his best to be funny though his jokes usually fell flat but you found yourself laughing out of pity like it was second nature.

Wendy sat next to you, you hadn't pressed her about Stan (despite wanting to) and she hadn't brought it up. Kyle sits next to a guy whose name slipped through the cracks of your mind and stays completely silent while the teacher gives his spiel about hard work and effort.

"This will be our final seating change for the year, so if you're next to someone you don't like know it'll be over by the end of June," Mr Waterman sits himself at his desk dead in front of every lab table, shares his computer screen to the projector, showing the new seating arrangments "Alright, here are your lab partners until semester end."

You scan the whiteboard for your name and your breath hitches in your throat when you see it next to Kyles. Kyle whips his head to look at you, your gazes matching in utter terror. You had relished in the fact that You had gone the entire semester without talking to Kyle a single time in biology class.

There weren’t desks in the science labs but black tables built for two people since they worked out better for experiments, there you were stuck at the back of the class with the ginger demon spawn.

"Mr Waterman?" You raise your hand but speak before he even calls on you "You need to move me or I'll kill myself."

"Woah," He puts both of his hands out "Let's not joke about that-

"I'm not joking," You cut him off, tone dead serious. Wendy tugs at the hem of your shirt, trying to get you to sit back down, you just cast her a glance before looking back to the short teacher. "I will kill myself." 

"Can you and Kyle please come up here so I can talk to you," At Mr. Waterman's words, Kyle shoots you a malicious glare. 

"When you cause a scene about not wanting to sit next to someone it can be hurtful," Mr Waterman addresses you, his tanned hands grasped together. Bless his heart, Kyle thought he was getting in trouble and it would put a dent into his perfect record, the kid never even missed a day of school. You and Kyle stand side by side, in front of Mr Waterman's desk, careful to keep a distance between you.  "Think about how Kyle feels right now-

"I feel like I wanna slit my wrists." He deadpans, face unreadable as ever.

"Do you guys need someone to talk to?" Mr Waterman furrows his eyebrows, lowering his voice.

"No," You say, crossing your arms “Not unless it's to get a gun so I can blow my brains out."

"Okay," He repositions himself to sit taller "Can you please tell me why you don't want to sit next to each other, I'm sure we could work this out." You waste no time trying to get yourself away from Kyle, listing off all of his little habits that annoy you. Kyle, on the other hand, bites his tongue. He didn't want his teacher to think poorly of him, not when there was still a little over a month left of the worst year of school he'd ever put himself through.

"Kyle?" You furrow your eyebrows, waiting expectantly for him to go off on how you were disruptive and rude but he sort of just stood there. For a brief moment, you thought he was having a stroke.

"It's fine," At his words, your mouth goes ajar and your eyes widen. You had thought that the two of you stood in solidarity for one thing, you wanted to get away from each other. 

"Is it really?" You say through gritted teeth. 

"Yeah," He looks at you then back to Mr Waterman "It's just a childhood rivalry, we're just being immature," It took a lot for him to swallow his pride. Kyle just knew he had to get through June and then senior year would be smooth sailing. 

"Well," Mr Waterman says and you can tell he's prepping himself for a speech "It seems to me like the two of you could benefit from this seating arrangement. When you get jobs you won't get along with everyone you work with-

"We both have jobs already," You cut him off and Kyle shuffles awkwardly where he stands while the rest of the class chats idly and waits for the lesson to start.

Mr Waterman casts you a look and clears his throat before picking up where he left off "And I understand that sometimes, personalities clash, but we're a team here, and teamwork requires cooperation and understanding. You both have so much potential, but that potential can only be realized when you learn to work together, to support each other, and to lift each other up, rather than tear each other down."

Kyle's mind must've been somewhere else completely, it was like he was in airplane mode, nodding along to everything Mr Waterman was saying. Though you could feel boredom creeping up, fighting yourself to pay attention to the genuinely useless pep talk.

"I want you to take a moment and think about what it means to be part of a team," Mr Waterman urged, his voice gentle yet persuasive. "Think about the strength that comes from unity, the power that comes from collaboration, and the joy that comes from shared success. Both of you are strong students and I can see you doing very well working together on labs and assignments, okay?"

"Yup," You nod your head, giving a thumbs up so he would excuse you and this would blow over.

"Okay," Kyle says.

A smile forms on Mr Waterman's face, he leans further back into his desk chair. "I think I can sense a friendship forming here, now go take your seats."

You laugh awkwardly, quickly brushing past Kyle to sit in your new spot at the back of the class. You were stuck sitting next to Kyle and behind Eric Cartman, how did he get into AP biology? You weren't one hundred percent sure though you heard Isla say that it was a misplacement that never got corrected.

Once again, Mr Waterman calls the class to capture their attention. Writing about the new unit on the whiteboard in a red dry-erase pen that was squeaky and running out of ink. You ruffle through your backpack, trying to find your binder while everyone else is rapidly taking notes. You pull out a stack of textbooks and some personal reading for English, finally finding your science binder. 

"Why are you reading Mein Kampf?" He looks at the book that rests on top of the stack, it's old and beaten up and smells a bit like stale orange juice, the cover holds the jarring image of Adolf Hitler.

"Because I'm racist," You say, sarcastically but Kyle doesn't pick up on this and seems a little taken aback "Joking, obviously, it's for history."

He averts his eyes back to the whiteboard. Mr. Waterman speaks briefly on physiology, before wiping the board clean and unfreezing the projector where he set up a slide show. As most science teachers do, he clicks through the slide show and waits for his students to take notes, answering the few questions that the kids have.

"Shit," You mutter as the teacher skips to the next slide before you could finish copying what was on it. You glance at Kyle "Uh, did you write all of that down?”

Wordlessly, he pushes his paper towards you to copy it, he keeps his eyes trained on the board. His writing was neat, it looked like it could've been a font, each word spaced out almost precisely from the next. Cartman snakes his head around and then moves his entire body when he sees the two of relatively civil. 

"Jews got a boner for the junkie," Cartman says, a little louder than intended. Next to him, David looks beyond annoyed, he’s gripping his pencil so tightly that you wouldn’t be surprised if he broke it.

"Shut up, fatass," You and Kyle manage to say in sync before you look at each other in disgust that your thoughts matched up.

"I fucking hate high school." You say under your breath, turning to look back at your notes and pushing his back toward him.

"Me too," Kyle says and you're actually on the same page for a change, you're not sure if you like it.

A/N: I hate this but here it is anyway 😔 I promise it gets more interesting. Open to head cannons and requests rn. Thanks for reading!

[rovasdiary]

Can u do an imagine during Eurovision time with Kyle? 😊 (girlfriend reader)

love eurovision kyle!!!

kyle alessandro x fem!reader . ✧.*

warnings: not gf reader mb, thought this fit better because otherwise it would mean they met before eurovision and im too lazy to write a backstory n shit

𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐄𝐑

꩜ there’s a kind of silence that exists backstage at eurovision—not truly quiet, but muffled, like the world knows it’s standing on the edge of something loud. lights flicker through velvet curtains. footsteps echo from across the arena. someone’s laughing in the dressing room hallway, high-pitched and nervous, but it doesn’t reach where you’re sitting. not really. not here, tucked away in a dim corner of the green room, knees pulled up to your chest, watching the lights dance on the ceiling like stars trying to find a pattern.

you’re still in stage makeup. shimmer clinging to your temples, lashes curled, lips painted in the kind of red that smudges on water bottles and skin alike. your team’s scattered somewhere, half prepping for the next round, half trying to get you to eat something. but you’re not hungry—not for food, anyway. your nerves come in waves. not the loud kind. more like a tide, pulling in and out, leaving behind a sheen of adrenaline on your skin.

you hear him before you see him. sneakers dragging, breath a little too loud, like he’s just jogged in from somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be. you don’t turn your head. you don’t need to. you know kyle by his rhythm now. by the way he enters a room like the sun slipping in through a half-open window. not with force, just warmth. casual. natural. and once he’s there, it’s impossible to ignore.

he drops onto the floor beside you, sprawling like he doesn’t have a performance in less than an hour. his hoodie is oversized and wrinkled, pulled over the mesh shirt he wore for rehearsal. one of the rhinestones is missing from the collar, probably left behind on someone’s mic or scarf or neck. he smells faintly like hairspray and citrus and something a little sweeter. maybe yours. maybe his. it doesn’t really matter anymore.

you glance at him without speaking. he looks up at you like he was already waiting for your eyes. his lashes are dark. his mouth is soft in the corners. and for once, he doesn’t say anything either.

it’s strange, how the world keeps spinning at full speed and yet here, with him, everything stills. you should be stretching. warming up. thinking about camera angles, crowd engagement, breath control. but all you can think about is how close his knee is to yours. how his fingers tap on the floor in a quiet, erratic rhythm. how his whole body leans toward you like it doesn’t know how not to.

you’d met him during the first rehearsal week. he was all light and charm and silver jewelry, walking around like he belonged on every stage in the building. but it was the quiet things that got to you—the way he helped someone carry their costume racks without needing to be asked. the way he lingered after your soundcheck just to say, that was so good, and didn’t follow it up with a joke. the way he looks at you now, like there’s no one else in the entire arena, even though you’re sure every camera in europe is about to turn your way.

someone calls your name in the distance, clipped and rushed. he doesn’t look away from you. not even for a second. your name in someone else’s voice doesn’t matter to him. you think that should scare you. instead, it settles you.

his hand brushes yours. it’s not intentional—probably. but he doesn’t pull away. his pinky hooks around yours, barely there, like a secret. like a thread between two lives that aren’t supposed to intertwine. and still do.

you turn your head, just enough for your hair to fall away from your cheek, and for a moment, you study him. really study him. the line of his jaw. the curve of his mouth. the tension in his shoulders that doesn’t match the way he smiles for the public. he’s quieter now. not performing. not flirting. just here. just with you.

the intimacy of it all is overwhelming.

because here you are—two people from different countries, different lives, both caught up in something massive, something once-in-a-lifetime. and instead of chasing the spotlight or the scoreboard, you’re sitting on the floor beside the boy who sings like he bleeds melody, and all you can think about is how his fingers feel curled around your own.

you breathe in slowly. he matches it. not on purpose. just because your bodies have started syncing in ways you don’t talk about. he’s humming something now—soft, under his breath. maybe it’s your song. maybe his. maybe something new, half-written in the spaces between performances and green room glances.

you rest your head on his shoulder. he doesn’t flinch. doesn’t shift. just leans into it, like he’s been waiting for you to do it all night.

the moment is fragile. not because it might break, but because it’s so honest. and honesty is rare in this world. in any world, really.

you don’t know what happens after this. what happens after the final votes are tallied, after the confetti falls, after the flight back to your real lives. but right now, none of that matters. not the placement. not the press. not the questions people might ask if they notice how you look at each other when you think no one’s watching.

what matters is this.

his heartbeat. your breath. the way your hands are still touching. the way his thumb has started tracing gentle circles on your knuckle. not rushed. not shy. just steady. present. true.

you think you’ll remember this forever.

not the arena.

not the lights.

but this.

him.

divider by strangergraphics!

rova’s notes ౨ৎ

hope you enjoyed!! pls comment im so alone jeee

[bookgeekgrrl]

My media this week (15-21 Jun 2025)

ngl lads (gn) i wish packing a flat you've lived in for 27 years was this easy. i am going thru it. 😤

📚 STUFF I READ 📚

😊 🎧The Beast of Littleton Woods (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #12) (T.E. Kinsey, author; Elizabeth Knowelden, narrator) - more low-key adventures with Emily & Florence - the cozy mystery comfort read I really fucking needed this week

😊 War & Peace and the Redemption of Bucky Barnes (ThePirateStorm) - 51K, stucky modern no-powers AU - bucky's a writer, steve's a single dad with a teenage daughter, they have a meet ugly that quickly turns around - enjoyable read, I was quite chuffed I correctly identified the IRL book series that Bucky's is based on

😊 🎧Murder at the English Manor (A Miss Underhay Mystery #20) (Helena Dixon, author; Karen Cass, narrator) - Kitty & Matt get roped in to investigating the disappearance (murder) of a maid from a local estate (whose folks are trying to facilitate a 'Dollar Duchess' marriage and would prefer no unpleasantness)

😊 Fall Into You (Dylan Morrison) - very enjoyable contemp queer romance with a really great meet-ugly, explored a lot about how messy and contradictory and complex people are and also about how fucked up family dynamics are. -

💖💖 +39K of shorter fic so shout out to these I really loved 💖💖

Favorite Things (ann_anotherthing) - Stranger Things: Steddie, 17K - more adventures of middle-aged men 😂🥰 I just fucking love this universe/these versions of them (most of it a reread due to a new chapter being added)

Fates (E_Greer) - Justified: Boyd/Raylan, 22K - a wibbly wobbly timey wimey trip - AN starts "buckle in we’re doing six alternate universes" with a super cool guide on how to read each section (I am making it sound way more complicated than it is! Also it's just a banger fic, so enjoyable. I love these two)

📺 STUFF I WATCHED 📺

WIRED | Tech Support - Film Historian Answers Old Hollywood Questions

Murderbot - s1, e6-7

Game Changer - s7, e6

Parlor Room - s1, e5

Um, Actually - s10, e11

D20: Neverafter - "The Trials of Baba Yaga" (s16, e18)

D20: Adventuring Party - "It Happened" (s11, e18)

D20: Neverafter - "The Ending Of All Things (Part 1)" (s16, e19)

D20: Adventuring Party - "The Orange Fairy in the Top Hat" (s11, e19)

D20: Neverafter - "The Ending Of All Things (Part 2)" (s16, e20)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Three Cheers for Jesse Harron" (s11, e20)

D20: Cloudward, Ho! - "The Path Out of Gath" (s26, e2)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Meaty, Meaty Combat " (s21, e2)

D20: Cloudward, Ho! - "Secrets at the South Pole Station" (s26, e3)

D20: Adventuring Party - "Wonder Awaits" (s21, e3)

🎧 PODCASTS 🎧

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Materialists

Short Wave - Why Weed's Signature Scent Has Changed Over Time

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - Dylan’s Mailbag: Trips We’d Never Go On, the First Places in the Atlas, and Worst Bathroom Experiences

Short History Of… - The Spanish Flu

Welcome to Night Vale - Deeper Than Purpose, Older Than Thought

No One Saw It Coming - Where freestyle swimming really comes from

The Sam Sanders Show - Can Faith and Queerness Coexist? (ft. Jeff Hiller)

Pop Culture Happy Hour - The Life of Chuck

Code Switch - The administration's fight against antisemitism is dividing Jews

⭐ Vibe Check - Everything Comes Back to Love featuring Danez Smith

Switched on Pop - "Manchild" and other songs about male incompetence

Decoder Ring - The Boston Cinematic Universe

Decoder Ring - Decoder Ring Plus | The Boston Accent Is Wicked Complicated

Wild Card - Kyle MacLachlan daydreams about the future

⭐ Song Exploder - Key Change: Shirley Manson on Siouxsie and the Banshees

Shedunnit - Book Club Fact File: Lady Molly of Scotland Yard by Baroness Orczy

99% Invisible - The Red, the Black, and the Green

Pop Culture Happy Hour - Watch This: Pee-Wee As Himself

Short Wave - Why Emotions Run High For Sports Fans

⭐ Endless Thread - Pics or this episode didn't happen

Pop Culture Happy Hour - 28 Years Later And What's Making Us Happy

Short Wave - What Makes South Korea's 'Super Divers' Special?

It's Been a Minute - Welcome to midlife, Millennials. Are you in crisis?

The Sporkful - The Hidden History of Regional Burgers (Reheat)

Sherlock Holmes Short Stories - The Adventure of the Second Stain

Ologies - Aquaculture Ecology (SUSTAINABLE OCEAN FOODS) with Ben Halpern

Handsome - Pretty Little Episode #44

The Atlas Obscura Podcast - AO Mailbag: Is It Normal to Share a Checked Bag With Your Boyfriend?

🎶 MUSIC 🎶

my 'Liked Music' playlist

[rebelliousstories]

Poinsettia

25 Days of Ficmas

Relationship: Selina Kyle x Reader

Fandom: The Batman (2022)

Request: No

Warnings: Fluff, Brief Mentions of Death and Angst

Word Count: 1,627

Masterlist: Here

Summary: A little Christmas cheer in their dreadful New York apartment.

“Selina! Sel? Where you at girl?” A voice called out as the door to the shabby New York apartment opened and shut behind the figure. She carried something in her gloved hands, but hid it behind her back when the young woman she shared her home with came through. Her cropped hair was wet, indicating it had been freshly washed. Along with that, the smell of soap crept through the apartment from the shower that had happened before she arrived home.

“Hey baby. I’m here. Sorry, I needed a shower. I felt gross after the club.” Selina came over and pressed a small kiss to her lover’s lips. Her hands wrapped around her waist and felt something behind her back.

“What’s behind your back?” She asked directly. Her girlfriend looked away impishly but refused to offer a response.

“It’s nothing.” She drawled out. Selina leveled a look at her partner and soon retracted her hands to look her more directly in the face.

“Babe?” Selina asked yet again, staring her dead in the eye.

“It’s your Christmas present, okay? Just, let’s go to bed and promise me you won’t look under the tree?” She pleaded and stepped closer to her girlfriend yet again. Selina did not move away, but did cross her arms as her lover tried to be sweet on her. It took several minutes of big eyes, and a smile before Selina relented.

“Fine. I won’t look. But you better hurry up.” She pressed a loving kiss to her girlfriend’s lips, and walked away. The woman, still standing with her hands behind her back, watched her girlfriend’s hips sway as she walked away. She brought her hands back around the front of her body as she walked over to their tree. There were only a few gifts underneath the tree, but that was okay. They did not need much, just each other. She set the big box down behind the other gifts almost out of view, before she stood back up. Her outer layer was shed before she left the living room; her scarf, gloves, and coat were placed on the couch before making her way to the bedroom.

When she got in there, Selina was already reclining on the bed beneath the covers. She held something in her hands, something that her partner recognized immediately. The only remaining picture of her and her mother that Selina held in her possession. Often times, their nights would end with her pulling the picture out of Selina’s hands after she had fallen asleep to keep it from getting lost or damaged. It comforted the woman to hold it; the last remaining thread of innocence she had left. No words were spoken as the other woman got ready for bed. Cleaning her face, brushing her teeth, covering her hair, all of it was done with speed and accuracy you only get from doing the same routine for years and years. Eventually, she climbed into bed with her lover and pulled her into her chest. Selina’s hands still held the photo as she laid her head down on her girlfriend’s chest.

“Your mom would be proud of the woman you have become.” She whispered and pressed a kiss to her head. Selina continued to stroke over her mother’s face in the photo, but her eyes were drawn to something in the corner. A brilliant splotch of red and green were in the corner.

“Did I ever tell you about this photo?” Selina asked, sounding very far away in her own head. She had, in fact, told her lover the story behind this particular photo. But that was not going to stop her from encouraging Selina to tell it again.

“Tell me.” She whispered, pressing another kiss to the head on her chest.

“When I was a kid, my mom couldn’t afford to do a big Christmas. But she would take me to the heart of the city to look at the lights. The one thing we got every year, from the same vendor, was a poinsettia plant. They would sell it to us for a fraction of what they were originally selling it for because they knew my mom. After she died, I never went back. I couldn’t without her.” Her voice trailed off, still lost in her own world as she remembered the snow filled nights where she went into the city to get those plants. Selina felt another kiss placed to her hair, and her lover’s hands rubbing up and down on her arms to soothe her.

Her lover stared at little Selina in the photo and smiled to herself. But her lover’s breathing slowed and eventually Selina was fast asleep. Her body went limp, and the photo dropped on her girlfriend’s stomach. She picked it up and stared for a moment longer, before placing it on her nightstand to protect the picture, turned out the lights, and went to sleep.

Snow filled the air when the couple awoke Christmas Day. They stretched and laid in the warm bed as they tried to wake up. However, with the day off, neither one cared too much about getting started on their day at a reasonable time.

“Merry Christmas, Sel.” She whispered to the woman that was now face to face with her on their sides in bed.

“Merry Christmas, baby.” She replied, laying a kiss upon her lover’s lips. Selina laid there for a moment more before she pulled away, and got out of the bed to head into the bathroom. She began to brush her teeth when her girlfriend came and hugged her from behind.

“My morning breath really that bad, huh?” She joked as she began to brush her own teeth. Selina chuckled lightly, trying desperately not to choke on the toothpaste in her mouth at her lover’s comment.

Once they were both done, a quick breakfast was had of a couple sandwiches. Nothing fancy, but it was enough for the couple on their budget. They made their way to the couch, where she had to move her outerwear from the previous night, and laid down on the couch. The radio in the corner of the room was on a station that played Christmas songs non-stop, which provided some noise for the couple to have in the background. They watched out the window for a while, just enjoying their time together. But eventually, Selina got curious about the large box that was tucked near the wall behind the tree with the rest of the presents.

“Can we open them now?” She asked her girlfriend, turning in her arms to look her in the eyes. When she nodded, Selina excitedly got up and immediately went to the large box behind the tree.

“Wait!” Selina stopped at her lover’s exclamation. She looked like a little kid with their hand in the cookie jar.

“Just, save that one till the end? Please. Trust me.” She explained, and while Selina was upset to not find out what her lover brought home last night, she relented. They spent a considerable time opening the gifts from one another. Their gifts were usually practical, but there were a couple that were pure wants rather than needs. A new wig, a refill on Selina’s favorite perfume, and a beautiful leather skirt graced Selina’s hands but she was itching to go look at the present behind the tree. Seeing her lover’s eyes drift over, she gave Selina a nod to go to the mystery present.

She got excited and ran over to grab the present. Placing it in front of her on the floor, Selina tore into it like a little kid. This was much bigger than their usual presents to each other, which got her curious. She tore off the wrapping paper and used a nearby knife to open the tape that closed the box before her. When she opened the flaps, however, she stopped. The smile fell off of her face, and her hands froze. Her lover sat on the couch, watching her from a distance with a tense stance. She was no sure how she would react, but this was making her nervous. Selina reached her shaky hands into the box and pulled out what was inside. A poinsettia plant with a very specific tag attached to it. The tag of the business she used to get it from as a child. She was at a loss for words as she looked towards her girlfriend on the couch with watery eyes. Without saying anything, her lover took over.

“I thought it might make you happy. It wasn’t difficult to find the business. And when I mentioned the Kyle girl was who I was getting it for, they were really excited to hand it off. Said they wanted me to bring you by at some point.” She explained gently. Selina wept as her hands traced the petals delicately, but she still said nothing. In a flash, the plant was set gently on the ground, and she had found a place in her girlfriend’s lap. She kept pressing kiss after kiss to her, cradling her face in her hands. Finally, coming up for air, Selina spoke for the first time since she opened the box.

“Thank you.” She whispered. Repeating her thanks, she kissed every inch of exposed skin in between her words. Her lover rested her hands on Selina’s waist and allowed her to do what she needed without impediment.

“You’re welcome.” Her girlfriend finally replied.

And there they sat. Selina perched in her girlfriend’s lap, pressing kisses and sweet words of endearment and thanks to her. And her girlfriend, happy to be able to bring just a little bit of happiness and light to their gloomy apartment in an equally gloomy city.

[greenxprof]

NAME: Leo

PRONOUNS : he/him or woof/woofs

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION : tumblr messages at first, discord after we're close enough

NAME OF MUSE(s) : Green Oak, Leowes(@wesnatcher) are the active ones rn

BEST EXPERIENCE : Talking about tumblr specifically, I had sooo much fun during the Halloween Events we had here. I had an absolute blast seeing everyone costumes, the ball, fighting the gmax gorgeist...

Back in twt it was the Reguri Wedding with Kyle Red, which believe it or not TWO arceus attended, Spectrier Event in 2022 Halloween, and a thread with my bestie about Green asking their oc's hand in marriage while in a cute romantic boat date.

Maybe I should also mention that I got to play my first dnd campaign with friends I made here in tumblr and that was certainly one of if not the best experience of my life heehee

RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS : Hard question because I operate on auto for most of my life but forcing anything onto my muse. Sexual or violent. And, this never happened, but acting weird or saying weird things about Green's gender.

As for things I dislike even before writing with someone are simply not properly crediting the art you use if it's not yours. Or having a bunch of rules that are basically telling me I need to write a 20k words every reply for us to be mutuals and be extremely serious about roleplaying. Aside from the chronic brain fog I have, this is a hobby and supposed to be fun, not work!

Besides, English is not my first language and that means reading pages and pages of it certainly gives me a headache.

MUSE PREFERENCES: snarky sassy and gay. or cute creature.

PLOTS OR MEMES : Both!! I'll admit though I'm often not in the mental state for elaborate plots. I'm happy with memes and small spontaneous interactions until we're both comfortable with each other and can plot easy and nice :)

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES : Depends on the thread of course. Plot-heavy and serious threads require long replies but it's not like I ask you to match. Specially when Green speaks way too many paragraphs.

I feel like it's important to say that I have only had very introductory english classes in middle school. Everything else I learnt through rping and playing games in english. So it's possible sometimes my grammar is all over the place or I might not properly understand what you wrote.

I'd love if you explained to me if I wrote something wrong, kindly of course :3

BEST TIME TO WRITE : everyday at night! once autumn and winter comes to brazil I'll write the whole day, it's because it's so hot in the afternoon I cannot think HAHA

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S) : Like Green? Oh absolutely. Except for the smart part, I am pretty much him. Like Leowes? Not really. I wish I was a handsome rogue though.

[assemb1e]

assemb1e: indie comic multi muse featuring characters from dc and marvel. crossover and oc friendly. paneled by molly (25). you can also find me over at @svpe. temp rules and muse list under the cut:

muse list:

artemis of bana-mighdall / prime earth / pre n52 and red hood and the outlaws (2016) influences

emma frost / earth 616 / generation x (1994-2001), new x-men (2001), marauders (2019-2022) & wolverine and the x-men (tv show) influences

jessica cruz / prime earth / n52 and rebirth influences @greenlanthern

jennifer walters / earth 616 / slott and rowell influences

jim gordon / prime earth / batman: year one and batman: turning points influences

kyle rayner / prime earth / green lantern (1990 - 2004) influences

miles morales / earth 1048 / insomniac influences

peter parker / earth 6160 / ultimate spider man (2024) influences

stephanie brown / prime earth / batgirl (2009-2011) influences

yara flor / prime earth / wonder girl (2021-2022) influences

if you're interested in writing with any of them, please read the rules below 😌

rules:

hi,i'm molly, 25, she/her, gmt, and this is my comic multi muse. i'm very familiar with dc comics and pretty competent when it comes to marvel comics. i have also watched most live action superhero films, but will be keeping all of my muses comic based. however, i am happy to interact with live action based muses.

i am always up for plotting and starting threads, so don't be afraid to just slip into my IM's if there is a plot that you would like to try between our muses. my writing style is extremely flexible and will adapt to that of the writing partner. replies can get lengthy, especially when it comes to plotted things, but matching length is never mandatory. as long as there is something that i can reply to, i'm good.

this is not a 'shipping first blog', and most romantic ships should be natural and discussed beforehand. if nsfw appears, it will be tagged #nsft. i will obviously not write this with anyone under the age of 18 or with muses under the age of 18. if you try, you will be blocked.

if we already have a thread and you would like to start another, let's do it! there is no limit to the amount of threads i have with one partner at the same time. please note that sometimes i'm super fast when it comes to replying, and other times i an take up to a week or more. it all depends on muse and time i have to come online during a week.

my default for format is small text, normal spacing, and icons. want bigger text? want to go iconless? done. i don't mind how you format as long as it's legible. also, never be afraid to turn an ask meme into a thread!

i don't do follow for follow, so if i hit that follow button, it means that i want our characters to interact! if you follow me and i don't follow back within a week of myself being active on tumblr, it probably means that i won't follow back, sorry. ocs, multi-muse blogs and characters from other fandoms are always welcome. the only blogs i won't ever consider following are personal blogs. if you don't follow me back within a week, i will unfollow as i assume you don't want to interact (and that's perfectly okay!) when it comes to unfollowing, i may do that if you post more ooc than ic. i will definitely unfollow if you fill the dash with negativity and drama. i prefer to keep my dash a friendly and safe space. this is, after all, a hobby that we're supposed to enjoy.

[1moreoffkeyanthem]

For the ask game!

11 - Share one of your favorite whumpy scenes that you have written.

13 - What is the most recent thing you have researched for use in your whumpy writing?

23 - Do you write whump for OCs or just canon characters?

Ayyy rock on these are some good ones!!! Gonna try to make this organized lmao so

11- probably one of my favorites recently is from In Poison Places, day 5 of my Style Week collection, with Knight Stan having to stitch up his beloved Elf King in the Dark Forest. I’ll put it and the other questions below the cut!

“I… I think it’s- can you check?”

Wiping the moisture from his eyes and not caring that he was probably smearing blood on his cheeks, Stan nodded, understanding. He pulled away the king’s coat, untucking his shirt to expose the pale skin beneath, something he’d done many times under different, much more pleasant circumstances.

The hole in his side was gruesome, gushing an alarming amount of blood, but the black veins of venom branching from the wound were retreating, fading. He breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s working, my love.”

Kyle nodded, the movement drawing a small whimper from him. “Okay. Okay. Now we just- *shsss* -need to worry about blood loss. How deep?”

Stan cringed. “Deep.”

Kyle tried to crane his head up to look, but he wasn’t exactly in the best angle, or condition, to really see it. “I need you to stitch it up, then. You know where the medical kit is.”

“WHAT?!”

“You’ve done sutures before, Stanley-“ Kyle was cut off by an involuntary groan as a fresh wave of agony hit.

“On MYSELF, Kyle! I’ve done emergency sutures on myself, with my dominant hand, ONE TIME!”

The elf’s green eyes hardened and he clenched his jaw. “I trust you, beloved,” he said softly.

With a newfound determination not to let his fear win, Stan rose to gather up their supplies, collecting their packs and weapons, making a point not to let his eyes fall on the monster’s stinking corpse. He pulled out the surgical thread and curved needle that he’d hoped they wouldn’t need but was glad they’d brought along.

“Good thing it’s pre-threaded,” he managed.

“Mhm,” Kyle hummed in agreement. “Fate must be looking out for us in some regard.”

Stan poured some water from his canteen over the wound, washing away enough of the blood to see what he was working with and wincing when Kyle sucked in a pained breath. “I’m sorry, dearest.”

Kyle squeezed his eyes shut. “It’s okay. Just- please do it quickly.”

Trying to still his trembling, Stan hovered close with the needle. “It won’t be neat,” he warned. “This isn’t really a one handed job.”

“I don’t care how pretty it is, my love, as long as I don’t bleed to death before we get the kingdom the help it needs. Just do it.”

Stan ignored the way his shoulder throbbed when he positioned himself to get started. He could worry about his own hurts later. “Okay. Scream if you need to.”

Kyle did, indeed, need to, cursing and shaking, ripping at the dry grass to anchor himself with the first pass the needle made through the tender skin. As for Stan, he blinked away the tears at his beloved in such pain, attempting to steady his own tremors.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, darling, just hold on.”

Kyle hissed and whimpered with each stitch, but stayed mostly still to the end, eyes red from crying and body wracked with intermittent sobs. Stan talked him through it the whole time through sobs of his own, clumsily closing the wound with his left hand and feeling his heart clench more with every passing second.

He fumbled to cut the thread and press a folded cloth to the stitches, grimacing when he realized he’d have to somehow sit Kyle up to secure the gauze.

“I- my lord, I’m sorry, you’re going to have to sit up now.”

“Don’t you “my lord” me!” Kyle snapped, then sighed. “Sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just… this is a lot. I’m frustrated.”

“I know, it’s alright.” Stan supported him as best he could, and they were able to bandage Kyle’s torso between the two of them. The king eased back down, his head in his knight’s lap this time, breathing hard but still wonderfully, miraculously alive.

Stan leaned down to kiss him gently. “You need rest, my dearest.”

“So do you,” Kyle choked out, spent from pain and poison. “You’re hurt too. But this isn’t the place for it.”

It really wasn’t. They needed to move. Dark things, even more sinister than the daylight creatures, came out in the night. This forest was no place for two injured people to survive when the sun went down. Stan turned his face upward, barely able to catch the red sun through the mist and thick canopy of black leaves.

“We have a little time before sunset,” he said, trying to force a buoyancy that he didn’t feel into his tone. “And if I’m right, we’ll be out of the woods in a half hour, maybe more with how slow we’ll need to walk. We’ll rest when we’re safe.”

Kyle hummed and slowly stood, using Stan’s uninjured shoulder for support. “I should’ve brought my staff,” he muttered.

The path lay before them, twisted and shadowed. With any luck, they’d stay out of trouble until they reached the end. The king was pale and visibly unsteady, and Stan was down one arm and not at full strength to fight back whatever they might come across, but they were together. They were always stronger together, and always had been. Nothing, no matter how vile, poisonous, or vicious, really stood a chance between the two of them. Stan wrapped his good arm around Kyle to hold him up and fixed his eyes ahead.

“Lean on me. I’ll keep you steady.”

Dude I loved writing this scene lmao stick of truth style on top

13- I think the most recent thing I actually researched for a fic was symptoms of hypothermia when I wrote Stay Frosty, because it occurred to me that I had NO idea what tf happens when you’re hypothermic but ya know I just enjoy putting the SP boys Through It

23- just canon characters! I’m not big on ocs in general, and when I find a whump muse they’re gonna SUFFER so they can be taken care of lmfao

Thank you so much for asking!!! I love being the Whumpshot Wizard

[coolrahulsarin]

Atlanta Braves news: Update on Michael Harris, Allan Winans and more

New Post has been published on https://bestcustomjerseys.com/atlanta-braves-news-update-on-michael-harris-allan-winans-and-more/

Atlanta Braves news: Update on Michael Harris, Allan Winans and more

The Atlanta Braves ended their five-game winning streak on Sunday with a 4-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants. Despite the loss, Atlanta still took the series and will now look forward to the arrival of the New York Mets on Monday.

The Braves played Sunday’s game without center fielder Michael Harris, who was cut from the lineup with a bruised foot. Harris fouled his foot with a ball in Saturday’s game and woke up sore Sunday.

Harris said after the game that X-rays were negative and that he hopes to be back in the lineup for Monday’s opener against the Mets.

Given Atlanta’s huge lead, we’ll see if that happens, as they have no incentive to rush him back onto the field. Still, it is good news to see that the injury does not appear to be serious.

More Braves news

Charlie Morton will turn 40 in November. He has again posted big innings for the Braves, who have a $20 million option for next season. Morton recently told FanGraphs’ David Laurila that his goal is to try to win another World Series and he’ll decide this offseason if it’s time to end his career.

Brian Snitker confirmed Sunday that rookie right-hander Allan Winans will make his third career start in Monday’s opener against the Mets. Winans pitched seven scoreless innings against New York at Citi Field on the last road trip. No corresponding move has been announced, but at least starting Winans will allow them to give the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest.

MLB News

There was a lot of Giants news ahead of Sunday’s game in Atlanta. San Francisco placed shortstop Brandon Crawford on the 10-day disabled list with a forearm strain. Luis Matos took his place on the active roster and homered off Max Fried. Gabe Kapler also announced that San Francisco will call up top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison to start Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Reds got a big chunk of their rotation back on Sunday when they reinstated Hunter Greene from the 60-day disabled list.

The New York Yankees have lost eight straight and the pressure seems to be mounting on manager Aaron Boone. Boone recently met with general partner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman in a closed-door meeting.

The Cardinals and outfielder Dylan Carlson await test results before deciding whether or not to have season-ending ankle surgery.

Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left Sunday’s game with a sore left middle finger. The injury does not appear to be serious and the day off on Monday will give Guerrero another 24 hours to recover.

Major League Baseball announced Sunday that the Yankees and Detroit Tigers will participate in the 2024 Little League Classic.

The Philadelphia Phillies activated outfielder Brandon Marsh before Sunday’s game against the Nationals.

Mariners rookie Emerson Hancock left Sunday’s game against the Astros in the second inning with a strained right shoulder.

More of

battery power

Battery Power Podcast Episode 413: Beyond the Pole Quarter

Braves set to wrap up their homestand with a three-game series against the Mets

Offense can’t overcome shaky pitching in 4-3 loss

Allan Winans to start Monday against the Mets (UPDATED)

Braves vs Giants Game Thread: 8/20/23

Kevin Pillar replaces injured Harris in shuffled lineup

Read more

#Atlanta #Braves #news #Update #Michael #Harris #Allan #Winans

[yamithediaperdork]

My Little Brothers revenge Part 1

My little brothers revenge

The Hickman's were for the most part a average middle class family. both the parents worked and they had two children.

A 12 year old named Justin who had natural blond hair in a brush cut though he currently had it dyed indigo blue to go with his icy blue eyes. He had a jock's build (well as much as one could have at that age) and wasn't scared to use his physical power to his advantage.

his little brother Alex was short for his age and was always being mistaken for a 6 year old or worse when he was 9 and a half. He had red hair that went down to his shoulders and he kept in a pony tail and his checks were sprinkled with freckles.His slim body meant he was last to be picked for any sports though unlike his brother he was a strait A student and actually sometimes had to help his older brother with his homework, a fact that neither of them enjoyed.

It was their mother Anne (who Alex took after in appearance) who insisted that he help his big brother and it always ended with Justin pissed off and Alex hanging from a bed post by his sponge bob underoo's.

Their father who Justin took after in appearance refused to believe his little all star could be such a bully and so it was usually left to Alex to figure out a way to hold his own or go and whine to their mother, getting him labeled a mama's boy.

Still all brothers fight, it was just a fact of life and it might of all just gone this way with them being a semi happy family till the day the bully of a big brother took things a step too far and Alex decided that Justin had to be put in his place once and for all.

Alex had been hanging out with his friends Saturday afternoon, playing video games in the living room and having semi pissed off Justin who had wanted to watch a movie with HIS friends.

But mom and dad made sure that the TV time was shared and that both boys got a block of time and with their parents just down the block, Justin knew better then to try and strong arm them out.

Said friends were Kyle and Lyle, twins from down the block who had a semi creepy habit of finishing each others sentences and had light caramel skin and black hair in matching mushroom cuts. it was easy enough to tell them apart as by a semi quick of fate Lyle had brown eyes while Kyle had green.

Missing in action because he'd gone fishing with his dad was Max, anther shrimp who had dirty blond hair in a short Mohawk (his attempt to look cool which had backfired) and was so white he looked pale most of the time.

being shrimps themselves they had hit it off well with Alex and had formed a semi losers club of sorts, though Alex wasn't found of the name the twins who loved anything Steven king had insisted and he was out voted 2 to 1 since Max had joined the group after.

the boys were doing a retro gaming session of sorts, playing downloaded old games on a new machine and the game of choice for the moment was Ninja turtles two.

"Man, this game is so bad.." Lyle spoke up, playing as Leonardo.

"That it's almost good!" Kyle finished and was playing as Ralph.

"heh, that the fun part of these old games..you know they were giving it their all but just were limited." Alex said.

all three of them were seated on the hard wood floor of the living room though they had spread out a blanket since despite the chill of the October air his parents had refused to turn on the heat yet.

the twins nodded and Alex went to say something else when he hear the booming footsteps of his brother then a familiar stink hit his nose.

'No way, he wouldn't!' Alex thought.

"Hey Little Alexandra, Didn't mom tell you to toss out your pissy wet diapie when you got changed this morning? It's bad enough your a bed wetter, do you have to leave your soggy huggies around?" Justin asked.

and indeed Justin was holding out a totally soaked Spider-man print diaper in front of him, holding it with just a finger and his thumb and holding his nose.

Behind him were his friend Adam (Nicknamed grizz or grizzly because of his girth and wildly unkempt brown hair) and Rayne, actually a year younger then the other two but a head taller and so very, very much stupider. Rayne kept his head shaved because he thought it made him look more like the pro wrestlers that he so so loved.

"is that-" Lyle asked, pausing the game and turning to look.

"-A diaper?" Kyle finished, raising a eyebrow.

"JUSTIN! Mom told you not show people those! and I DID toss it out!" Alex huffed and whined, his cheeks going crimson then adding. "And DON'T call me Alexandra!"

"Whatever you say pamper pisser. Look, I went to go into our room to get something and was assaulted by the stink of your bed wetter pants." Justin said and then tossed the soggy thing at Alex, hitting him in the face and knocking him over.

the truth was Alex KNEW he'd tossed the diaper out this morning, he wasn't allowed to toss his very much needed bed time diapers out in the house trash because Dad and Justin would raise a fuss about it stinking up the house and he'd had to wait five minutes because the paper boy had stopped to talk to Mr. Johnson next door.

"JUSTIN GROSS!" Alex whined and sat up, whining and now smelling like stale pee.

"Whatever dork, go and toss your diaper out then take a shower..me and the guys are gonna start our movie early. Wonder twins, I'm sure you don't wanna stick around and hang out with a pamper packer like my little brother right?" Justin said.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Lyle huffed and went to put a supportive hand on Alex's shoulder, but then pulled it back.

he was with his friend but that didn't mean he wanted to get any of the ick on him.

"What he said! Everyone matures differently! Heck, Lyle only just stopped needing a night light this year!" Kyle said, then pout his hands over his mouth as his brother glared at him.

"...Pfffftt BWHAHAHAHAHA!" all three big bullies broke into gut busting laughter.

"I'm not the one who has to suck on a pacifier during thunder storms!" Lyle shot back and blew a raspberry at his twin who huffed and glared.

the bullies naturally were loving it as the twins only dug themselves in deeper and Alex just face palmed.

"Guys, you're NOT helping yourselves." He pointed out.

"Oh my god, it's a group of BABIES! No wonder they all get along!" Grizz laughed, slapping his leg.

"I bet their next sleep over is gonna have them in a crib." Rayne added.

"Alright pamper packers, out of the living room, this movie is PG 13 and I don't want you all blorting your pants when something scary happens. Wonder twins, get your asses home. Alexandra, go take a shower AFTER you toss out your pissy diaper." Justin said, unable to believe just how well all of this had worked out.

"Whatever jerk.." Alex huffed and got up.

he saw his friends off though the twins were still semi huffing and fighting, shoving each other as the walked away and Alex got his wet diaper tossed out without anyone seeing him.

as he went upstairs and got his shower ready one thing was on his mind.

'This means war. I'm gonna make him feel EXACTLY how embarrassing being seen in diapers around your fiends is.' Alex vowed to himself.

Ok, he had no idea HOW he was going to do so, but while Justin may of won the first battle, it was going to be Alex who won the war and prove his Brain's out did his brother brawn.

The movie was going about as well as could be expected since they had to keep pausing it to have anther laugh at just how dorky Alex and his friends were.

Of course Rayne and Grizz had known for awhile (even if Justin technically wasn't suppose to of told them) about Alex being a diaper filler. (and he might of exaggerated what all Alex used his diapers for)

Maybe a SMALL part of Justin had felt sorry for Alex being humiliated like that in front of his friends, but Grizz had actually come up with the idea and he didn't wanna look like a pussy in front of the guys.

Besides with it coming out that the twins were just as big of dorks as his little brother any real guilt had vanished and he toyed with the idea of dragging out Alex's old play pen out of the basement for the next time he had all his dorky friends over.

'heh, get some pacifiers to shut'em up..put them all in Alex's diapers and take lots of pictures. boom, homework and chore bitches till I graduate.' Justin thought with a smirk and chuckled.

"what's so funny? Oooo and I know that look. Someone's had a evil thought." Grizz asked.

"Heh.. How would you guys feel about making some diapered nerds do our homework for us?" Justin asked.

"well, could be funny, but where are we gonna find some?" Rayne asked.

"..." Grizz roiled his eyes

"...Rayne buddy just smile and listen." Justin said semi sweat dropping.

"I can do that!" Rayne said with a big toothy grin.

Shaking his head Justin started to explain his evil plan, and his friends laughed and chuckled, and were MORE then on board.

Getting out of the shower and drying off, Alex got dressed in a pair of black jogging pants and a t-shirt then sat on his bed with his laptop.

He tried different google searches trying to figure out just how to get his brother back in diapers but for the most part it ended up giving him story link's that he bookmarked to look over later and see if there was anything usable.

He did find a forum called little brothers revenge and it had some really wicked ideas for the most part, but only two threads popped up when he searched for diaper.

the first one was clearly bull with it talking about how this kid had pooped in a diaper and hide it in his big brothers room and gotten the big brother in trouble (and even if it wasn't, Alex would hold off crapping himself as a weapon of last resort.)

the other thread was old, and had been posted just before Christmas of last year and had a little brother talk about how he had set his brother up to look like he wanted diapers for Christmas and his dad had fallen for it, and so had the rest of the family.

Of course there was a lot of disbelief in the read over that and one guy commented 'pics or your full of shit!'

As Alex scrolled down, he pretty much thought the same but then his jaw dropped as there was a picture of a sleeping boy, in a t-shirt and thick diapers and sucking on a paci and a younger boy was in frame too, it was a semi selfie and was smirking and giving the peace sign. the caption under the picture read 'Believe me now bitches?'

"Hoooly shitttttt." Alex said, this guy was his hero!

he didn't seem to be activate on the forum anymore though, there were a bout a dozen replies and a few more comments from the guy but then he vanished.

his user profile did have a e-mail attached to it and so Alex snagged it and went to write the guy a e-mail.

From: Alexander_the_awesome@gmail.com

To: Ben_better@Hotmail.com

Subject: DUDE YOUR MY HERO!

Hey just wanted to say, I saw your post on Little brothers revenge and wanted to say how awesome that was and also I was wondering if you had any advice or tips on getting a big brother in padding. mine's being a total butt hole lately and just ugggghhh @_@

I had one idea about maybe like peeing on his bed after he gets up to frame him for bed wetting, what do you think? hope to hear from you soon!

E-mail written Alex clicked send and then went to kill some time play a few games online, never once suspecting that while he was trying to plot his big brother diaper doom, he was likewise plotting out Alex's downstairs.

It was a hour latter when Alex heard the ding that told him he'd gotten a reply and he switched tabs to go and take a look.

From: Ben_better@hotmail.com

To: Alexander_the_awesome@gmail.com

Subject: Re:DUDE YOUR MY HERO

Heh, thanks for the high praise though I gotta warn you, first of all this is something you've gotta be reallllly careful with. Diaper humiliation is a double edged sword, trust me. Had a friend named Ken who tried this and now he's in diapers.

Anyways just taking a leak on your big bro's bed is dumb, you'll get busted for sure! what I'd recommend is making use of laxatives and pee pills in increasing doses till he's wetting his pants all the time and blorting them too. It's a longer game but better results.

what made you wanna get his butt back in diapers anyways, and FYI i expect 'baby pictures' when your plan works.

Alex thought about that for a second and couldn't help but wonder if maybe this 'ken' was really Ben, but pushed that thought out of his head as he started to write his reply.

From: Alexander_the_awesome@gmail.com

To: Ben_better@Hotmail.com

Subject: Re:Re:DUDE YOUR MY HERO!

Oh well, I'm a bed wetter and the butt hole went and fished one of my soggy diapers out of the trash and threw it at me while I was hanging out with my friends, trying to say i never tossed it out. so trust me, he totes has this coming.

I really got nothing to lose if I get busted since I'm in huggies every night so I'll try out your plan. it works out because he likes to make me get him drinks and snacks.

as for the picture of him once he's back in huggies heh, sure. thanks for the advice and I'll let you know when the plan starts to work.

E-mail sent Alex closed his e-mail and his game tab then went searching online for the best med's to get to reduce his brother to a helpless pants wetting stinker, only to pause after a few minutes recalling that Max had gotten in trouble awhile back for causing a series of messy accidents around school.

'nggggh..no way he'll be back yet though. I'll go and talk to him tomorrow.' Alex thought and set his laptop aside and laid back on his bed, thinking about just how much fun he was gonna have and ended up conking out.

which was unfortunate as he hadn't put on one of his spider-man diapers and with in ten minutes a wet patch was starting to grow on the front of his jogging pants, which while the dark color would hide it, the tan covered blanket he was laying on wouldn't.

"So when do you think we can do this?" Grizz asked.

the movie was basically forgotten but had been kept on to cover up their voices on the off chance Alex came downstairs (Small chance of that) or if their parents came back early.

"Welll that's the tricky part. I have to have all four of the dweebs here AND have my parents gone. they're going on a weekend trip in about 2 weeks though so I'll try and convince the dweeb to get the loser's club all over here." Justin said.

Rayne, who had just shut his mouth like he'd been told to raised his hand like he was in class.

"heh, Yes Rayne?" Justin asked.

"Aren't they into that dice game, Dragons and prison or whatever?" he asked.

"..Dungeons and dragons, yeah." Justin chuckled.

"Same difference. anyways, say you've been reading up on it and wanna try your hand at hosting a game, but just want them over before you embarrasses yourself in front of us.Most nerds I know love to play and will jump at the chance." Rayne said and smiled.

"Sweet fucking cthulhu. Rayne had a good idea." Grizz chuckled and to patted the bigger boys head. "good boy!"

Rayne beamed and was clearly proud of himself and Justin chuckled.

"Ok, I'll just have to learn enough about this nerd stuff to fake it and get them over. you guys will have to be ready to help though, I don't wanna risk one of the losers getting away." Justin said nodding.

"Hey, as long as I don't have to change any shitty asses I'm in." Grizz said.

"Wait, your gonna make them USE the diapers?" Rayne said and then laughed lots. "Gross!"

"Heh, well the best blackmail is a sobbing little brat in a stinky diaper blackmail. no way the dweeb will risk him in all his smelly glory ending up ALL over town."

"Man, I am glad your not MY big brother." Rayne said, never mind the fact Justin was pretty sure if he tried anything on the semi giant he'd be the one in huggies.

"Eh, No worries. you'd be a awesome little bro. Now all we need to do is go and pick the perfect pampers for them."

"Oh, I got it! There's this discount store my mom drags me to because they have her cream of wheat and other junk she likes cheap, but they got in a shipment of over night diapers for big kids, boys and girls. the boys has rockets and stars on them and are blue." Grizz said, setting up the best part.

"Oh, this is gonna be good." Justin smirked.

"the girls has unicorns and rainbows and are pink!" Grizz finished and cackled.

Plans set for his brother's diapered humiliation, the boys finally turned they're attention back to the movie.

After the movie it was getting late and so Justin sent the guys home as technically speaking they weren't suppose to be over, only him or Alex could have friends over for the most part if mom and dad weren't home. (Weekend vacations were the exception, though their folks made it clear the house had been be clean when they got back)

Whoever had their friends over was also suppose to clean up after them and after a chip fight in the living room Justin smirked, knowing he could get Alex to clean the mess up, since it would be Alex and his friend getting blamed for the mess.

Of course Justin usually made Alex clean up after him and his friends anyways but that always took a little bit more effort in the form of using the dorks undies to bounce him like a yo yo if he didn't listen.

He toyed with leaving Alex sulking in their room where he been since the shower and just letting the dweeb get in trouble but since it was Justin's turn to start dinner so it'd be ready and he didn't feel like cooking, he had to get Alex downstairs anyways to be a good little chore bitch.

"This will be SO much easier once I have the blackmail on him." Justin sighed to himself as he made his way up the stairs to the boys shared bedroom.

Opening the door he went to go and say something but was hit by the stench of piss and a quick look confirmed the little bed soaker had gone night night without a pamper on.

"Hey dork face! wake up! you pissed the bed!" Justin said in a loud voice.

"Ngggh a gigi boo..Five more minutes mommy.." the still mostly asleep dweeb said, trying to shoo Justin away.

"heh, baby talk? really? Wow, just when I think you can't lower the bar any more Little bro.. ALEXANDRA! WAKE UP!" Justin said then cupped a hand to his mouth and yelled.

Alex jumped sort in bed then sat up, eyes wide and panting, looking around.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" He growled once he locked eyes on Justin."ARE YOU TRYING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK?!"

"No, but you had a wetting attack dork." Justin said and pointed.

Alex went to say something then looked down and went from pissed off to blushing and tried to cover himself up.

"Ah crap crap crap crap!" Alex whined and got up off the bed.

this was NOT good. not good at ALL! Dad was already riding him on the bed wetting and if he found out Alex had soaked the bed from a little nap he would NOT hear the end of it, or worse, dad would make him wear ALL day tomorrow!

"Ah..ah..Justin big brother who I love ever so much.." Alex started, swallowing and trying to put on his best 'I'm so cute help me' faces.

"Save it dweeb. I'll keep my mouth shut about your little..well BIG accident as long as you go and be a good little chore bitch and get the living room cleaned up and start supper." Justin said and leaned on the door frame, a evil smirk on his face.

Considering his options Alex just hung is head and then did a small nod.

"Butttt to show you I'm not totally heartless..I got some clothes that need to be washed so you can do them and wash your sheet at the same time as a cover up. I know, my kindness knows no bounds. just be thankful mom got you that rubber sheet or you'd be going to sleep in a soggy bed tonight." Justin said and laughed.

'gee he's all heart. letting me do his landry and clean up AND cook.. ' Alex thought but it WAS better then trying to explain the sheet alone.

"Yeah ok.." He said finally and went to strip stripping the bed.

"ah ah ah, what do you say to your kind and wonderful brother for helping you out?" Justin said, milking this for all it was worth.

'He has to be..ok no, I know him better then that.. just keep digging your grave jerk.' Alex thought then took a deep calming breath.

"Thank you for letting me do your landry big brother." he said, clenching a fist.

"Anytime dork. not get to it, you don't have a whole lotta time. my clothes are in the hamper in the bathroom." Justin said and started to walk away, then poked his head back in. "Oh and dweeb? next time don't forget to put on your diapies when your going for your afternoon nap."

and with that he walked off laughing.

"...I'm SO going to enjoy getting him in diapers." Alex huffed.

Changing into a pair of clean spider-man shorts and a captain America t-shirt, Alex got the load of landry started and then went to work cleaning up the living room while keeping a eye on the time.

the chips were everywhere and every time he though he was done he'd spot some more and wondered how much the three bullies had actually managed to get in their stupid fat mouths.

Between the cleaning and getting landry switched over he didn't have time to make anything too special so he went with the old stand by of making macaroni and cheese with hot dogs as it was quick and simple and his parents never really expected Justin to go all out when he was cooking anyways.

Dinner was ready and the landry was finished by the time their parents got home, Alex just had to go and get it out of the dryer but he figured he'd have time to do it stealthy after eating.

"So, what did you boys do for fun today?" Dad asked as they were sitting at the dinner table, a small grimace on his face at the prospect of eating the old stand by.

"Oh well-" Alex started by Justin cut him off.

"It was pretty much same old same old for me, went out and played some football with the guys and had fun. Came back though and I think The twins brought over some super sugar loaded snacks or something because Alex and them where have a chip fight and trashed the living room. it was cute though." Justin said and smirked, winking at Alex who's jaw hung open.

"Alex, you didn't!" Mom signed and shook her head. "After supper you'll be cleaning up the living room!"

"Oh don't worry about it mom, I know little guys like him just need to get it out of their systems. after the twins went home he was super pooped though, think it was a sugar crash so let him go and take a nap and I cleaned up the living room." Justin lied.

"Well that was was nice of you Justin, but in the future leave the cleaning for Alex to do." Dad said and shook his head at Alex. "Alex, we've talked about this."

Alex for his part was stuttering now, trying to think of a way to prove his innocence without getting scolded but first shots had been fired by Justin and there was nothing he could do now.

"Alex did you say thank you to Justin for cleaning up after you?" Mom asked and her tone made it clear if he hadn't she expected him to now, but again Justin spoke up.

"Oh, he's already thanked me for something else. see somebody was just SO sleepy when he went for his nap that he forgot to get his bed wetter pants on and well, Let's just say it's a good thing I had to do a load of landry anyways." Justin said as Alex,'s jaw dropped.

"Y-You said..you.." Alex stammered.

"Alex! what have I told you about not going to sleep without one of your diapers on?" Dad asked in a sharp tone.

"N-Not to do it again or..or.." Alex whined, looking down and feeling ready to cry.

this wasn't fair! he'd done everything Justin had asked him too and he was still gonna get punished!

"Or you'll be spending the next day in your diapers all day. Now I was hoping NOT to have to use that punishment but clearly you've left me no choice. you can still use the potty of course, in fact I encourage it, but you WILL be in diapers all day tomorrow." Dad said.

His tone left no room for argument and feeling hot tears start to slid down his cheeks Alex looked down at his bowl of food and sniffled.

"Yes sir."

After supper Justin offered to do the dishes if Alex would go and get the landry out of the dryer, but mom said since Justin had already cleaned up after Alex, made supper and did the landry for the most part he could go and relax and watch TV with their dad while Alex got the landry out and folded it.

Justin smiled and kissed his mom's cheek and asked if she was sure, but she insisted and so he went and plopped down on the couch, ready to watch some hockey with his dad and giving Alex a shit eating grin as the huffy and tear stained cheek dork started to stomp his way up the steps till dad called for him to knock it off unless he wanted to go to bed early.

'Oh my god. this worked out even better then I could of hoped! Mom and Dad are just too easy!' Justin thought, having to bite his tongue every so often to keep from laughing.

the dweeb had done all the work and yet here he was sipping on pop and munching on chips with their dad while the dork was off folding his undies and was gonna be a crinkle butt the next day.

'It'll be a nice little preview of whats to come.' Justin thought and let out a little chuckle despite himself.

"what's so funny?" Dad asked.

"Oh, just thinking of how silly Alex and his friends looked this after noon. they were like sugar crazed toddlers." Justin lied.

"heh, Next time you should try and get a video of it, I bet it looked cute." Dad chuckled.

Upstairs Alex was mentally cursing up a storm, pissed off and fuming like crazy as he folded pair after pair of his brothers skid marked undies.

'Son of a bitch! son of a bisket eating bitch! I'm not just gonna get him in diapers, I'm gonna make him the biggest dumbest big baby loser of all time! I'm gonna have him in the halls of his school in nothing but huggies and a bib and bonnet!'

of course a small part of Alex knew that going that far likely wasn't gonna be possible, it was a warm thought that helped him keep from just having a melt down fit that would of gotten his bun's blistered and him put to bed before it was even 8 pm.

He should of know better then to think that Justin was gonna hold up his end of the deal, or he should of spoken up about getting the landry done but nope. He'd trusted his big brother and was paying the price for it now in spades.

'And now I have to wear a diaper all day tomorrow..Maybe I'll wait till Monday to go and talk with Max.' Alex thought.

it would mean putting his plans on hold for a bit but he really didn't wanna waddle the block and a half over to Max's with pampers on under his pants.

Finishing up the folding and putting the clothes away Alex checked to make sure that his rubber sheet was dry and tugged in his blanket he'd hung out the window to dry (as it would of taken up too much room in the machines to do Justin's landry too) and with it dry he started to make his bed.

'God, what did I ever do to deserve a asshole like him for a big brother.' Alex whined mentally and finished making his bed, looking it over and then jumping and letting out a girlish shriek as a hand came on his shoulder.

"heh, Relax sweetie, it's mommy." Came his mother voice, sounding a little amused.

"That's ok, I didn't need that heart." Alex huffed, blushing and turning around to face his smirking mother. "what's up mom?"

"Well I wanted to come up and check on how the folding was going and to help you get ready for bed." She said with a smile.

"...Mom it's not even 8 yet, and it's a Saturday night.." Alex said, not liking where this was going.

"Oh You can stay up and everything till 11 like normal, but I just wanna make sure you don't conk out with your 'special armor' on." she said, using finger quotes.

"Mom I think I'm quite capable of putting my own diaper on." Alex huffed, feeling a hot blush cover his face.

"And yet you soaked your bed earlier." She cheerfully pointed out.

"T-That was different, I was just all tired and didn't realize I'd be conking out!" Alex whined, sounding more like a fussy toddler the the big kid he was trying to be.

"I know sweetie, but it kinda goes with my point. what if you just conk out again tonight? do you really wanna have to go to school on Monday in a diaper?" She asked, and the ruffled his hair.

The mental image of it stopped Alex's whining in it's tracks, picturing himself in a bib and spider-man diaper and sucking on a paci in the halls.

"No way! I'd Dieeeee!" Alex whined and shook his head no A LOT.

"well then let mommy help you out. And also if your gonna keep being so tired maybe we'll lower your bedtime for awhile." She added, then smirked and winced at the glare Alex gave her. "Now now, no using your super pouty powers on family."

"Moooom!" Alex huffed but resigned himself to his fate, when she got like this there was no getting her to back down.

He reached under his bed and pulled out his pack of spider-man diapers and noted that he was running low, and started to tug down his shorts when mom spoke up.

"Oh Alex, before we get your in your bed time diaper, do you have to use the potty?"

"mom, I know I wet the bed but I THINK I would know if had to take a leak or a dump you kn-" Alex started and then there was a loud 10 second poot out of his bottom and his tummy was gurgling.

"You were saying?" Mom asked, holding her nose but smirking."

"I-I'll be back.." Alex said in a small voice, blushing SO bad as he went past her he was shocked his hair hadn't caught on fire.

As she watched him go and had to fight the urge laugh, the little guy's undies had a fresh skid mark appearing on the back.

'Maybe I should look into getting him some of those washable training pants.' She mused.

One trip to the potty later and with Alex realizing what's he'd almost done in his undies, and the fight was all out of the little guy at least for the moment.

Zero fight was put up as he let his mom take his shorts and briefs and then proceed to diaper him, numbly just going along with her requests of butt up and the like.

"Are you sure your feeling alright? Maybe I should of checked your temperature before getting the diaper on." Mom asked, putting a hand to Alex's forehead.

"N-No I'm fine..just I dunno, Tired." Alex said, wincing.

he had to be the only boy his age to still get his temperature checked via the back door and it's wasn't that fun of a experience.

"Hmmm I think somebody better lay off of the sweets for awhile if it leaves you JUST drained after." Mom said and then started to tug Alex's blanket up on him.

"M-Mom what are you doing?" Alex whined, looking at the clock, it was 7:51 PM!

"I think you've had a big day, and your just not feeling that good. it would explain all the huffing and whining too. if you be a good boy and go night night for me now I'll see what I can do to get your father to back off with the all day diaper punishment tomorrow. I have to take you shopping for more diapers anyways with you almost being out and you get embarrassed enough as is when your in your undies."

Alex whined and whimpered a little but after a few seconds just signed and nodded.

"Good boy." She said and leaned down, kissing his forehead and then went and got one of his stuffie style Avengers from their display shelf and handed him Thor.

Lacking the energy to fight back Alex just took the offered stuffie and snuggled into it as his mom turned off the lights in the room and paused at the doorway.

"Night night little guy. Mommy will leave the door open a crack for you so you don't get scared. Love you and see you in the morning." She coo'ed/

"..Love you too mommy." Alex said, blushing.

He hadn't been scared of the door in like ages but somehow mom had the impression he still was and the only reason he wouldn't accept a night light was Justin would complain.

She left the little guy to go to sleep and Alex listened to her footsteps.

'This is bull shit. I'm not some little baby! I bet I don't even fall asleep till 11 anyways.' He huffed, crinkling and squirming in his bed.

Five minutes later he was snoring softly around his thumb as he sucked it in his sleep.

"So did Alex give you much of a fight?" Justin asked as Mom came downstairs.

"Just a token one, he's already gone to bed. I don't think he's feeling well and I think that should excuse him for needing his punishment tomorrow." Anne said, though the last part was more directed at her husband.

"Look, rules are rules, and if we start g-" Jackson started but was cut off.

"Excuse me, but who's idea was the rule that a D or worse meant no TV or computer time, and yet Justin who got a D on his last English test is watching the game with you?" She asked sweetly.

Justin gulped now and turned to his dad.

"Uh..you know..I think mom's right, we can't punish Alex if he had his accident because he's sick!" Justin chimed in.

"Heh, Nice try buddy but your mother is right in a way. I can't really punish your brother and not punish you. "Jackson said

"Soooo Alex isn't wearing a diaper tomorrow?" Justin asked hopefully.

"try again buddy, but do it in anther room so I can finish watching the game." Jackson chuckled and ruffled his sons hair as the 12 year old pouted.

"Finnne, I'll just go to my room an-." he started to huff and went to get up.

"ahhh nope. First of all I know you well enough you'll just go on your laptop." Anne said. "and second of all your brother is sleeping. Don't worry though, we have LOTS of board games you can play with me."

"Geee, spending Saturday night playing board games with my mom. aren't I lucky." Justin groaned

One mind numbing night of games later and Justin went to bed, taking note of the fact that Alex had semi drenched his pillow in drool and was still sucking his thumb.

'Heh, He's kinda cute...Still gonna make him a big dumb diaper nerd chore boy..but he's cute.' Justin thought before going and climbing into his bed.

as he went to go to sleep he had the most wonderful evil idea that could at the same time be played off as just being a nice big brother and help get 'revenge' on Alex for making him miss the end of the game.

'Hehehehe damn I'm so smart!' Justin chuckled and dropped off to sleep.

[silentchamp]

RP GET TO KNOW YOU QUESTIONNAIRE.

NAME?: kyle :D

PRONOUNS?: he/him

MOST ACTIVE MUSES?: this one....

RPG CLASS I'D BE: wizard

FAVORITE COLOR: seafoam green

FAVORITE TYPE OF THREAD: slice of life, romance, and adventure

FAVORITE THING ABOUT MY MUSE: His brand of heroism. I like that he has an unstoppable urge to help, even if it doesn't benefit him. He's a genuine do-gooder, nothing more.

HOW YOU LIKE TO RP: I like to throw things at other people, like memes or other random stuff. It's an easy way to break the ice, and after that I tend to reach out to people to ask questions or to see about exploring a specific dynamic. Shoutouts to all my long term RP partners, you're awesome

FAVORITE PLOTS: Threads that explicitly explore world-building. It's why I'm a big fan of events like the Midnight Parade, I like the premise of building cultures exclusive to this universe. I also like explorations surrounding Mt. Silver. Love that mountain to death.

WHERE YOU GET YOUR INSPIRATION FROM: Everything. Lots of pointing at random things and going "that's Red!!!" whether it be media, objects or aesthetics, etc.

FACT ABOUT YOU: My favorite comfort food is chicken pot pie w/ mashed potatoes. I like it homemade or store-bought, but mrs. budds is the one I like because I grew up with it :)

tagging: anynyan that wants to participate :)

tagged by: cas

[epicofevil]

Series Illustrator Interview

Epic of Evil page 71-76

Meeting With AkunoP

.

--First, please introduce yourselves.

Yoshida Dondorian (hereon: Yoshida): I’m Yoshida. I started working on the series in “Wiegenlied of Green”!

you-ring@Kitano Tomotoshi (hereon: you-ring): I’m you-ring@Kitano Tomotoshi, who got to draw the cover art for “Praeludium of Red” and “Praefacio of Blue”.

You: I’m You. I did the cover for this book, “Epic of Evil”. This is my second interview after the one in Entr’acte of Evil, but I’m a bit nervous this time too.

--You-san answered this question in “Entr’acte of Evil”’s illustrator interview, but you-ring-san and Yoshida-san, what was your first AkunoP work?

Yoshida: I first started listening to VOCALOID around 2009 or so…So I got in around the time all those derivative fan videos of “Daughter of Evil” were coming out.

you-ring: My first AkunoP songs were “Daughter of Evil” and “Servant of Evil” of course. I think it was around the time “Servant of Evil” got uploaded, and I saw all these comments to watch it after watching “Daughter of Evil”, so I did…I remember bawling over it.

--There was a ton of uproar over “Daughter of Evil” and “Servant of Evil” at the time, wasn’t there. What was your impression of AkunoP-san himself?

Yoshida: Didn’t I hear that he completely transformed himself…!?

--Transformed (haha). That’s true, he did do an image change to wearing sunglasses and a beard.

Yoshida: My image of him wasn’t like that at all, so I think I might have been introduced to him pre-transformation at “VOC@LOiD M@STER” (colloquially “VoMas”)!

you-ring: I think I also saw him the first time at VoMas…But I can’t remember when that was lol

Yoshida: Rather than being surprised by him, I remember thinking, “Ah, so this is the guy who made the Of Evil series…!” That sort of thing.

you-ring: For an “Evil” person he seemed very good-natured. …That might count as malicious rumor, hey?

--I wouldn’t think so (haha)

you-ring: Sounds like I’m not getting scolded lol. In that sense, unlike Yoshida-san I was very surprised by him.

.

Celebrating Series Completion! Most Bittersweet

.

--Please tell us how you felt when the final and fourth installment of the series came out. you-ring-san, you were the one who worked on the cover for the fourth novel, Yoshida-san you worked on some of its artwork, and You-san you participated in the pinup art.

Yoshida: With all of the plot threads that were being revealed, from the first novel to the last I felt like it was all so very interesting…And also that I really wanted to read more of the “Of Evil” world just a little longer!

You: I had a lot of fun being able to draw art for each installment, and I remember feeling really desolate that we were at the last one. Even now I have the “Daughter of Evil” books piled up on my desk; you-ring-san’s Kyle, coupled with the book’s contents, are very striking, I think.

you-ring: While I felt very uplifted at being able to continue to do the cover art after the third book, at the same time the pressure at it being the finale was immeasurable. Still, in the end, since it was Kyle I muddled through it.

You: Also, it really felt like a collaborative effort, with Yoshida-san’s pictures really connecting the third and fourth books.

Yoshida: Aw, thank you so much!

you-ring: I would find myself going back to look at Yoshida-san’s artwork! I can’t help but sigh in admiration every time I see everyone’s artwork. You-san and Yoshida-san both have such tremendous ability for creating atmosphere in their pictures.

Yoshida: I’m truly honored…!

You: You’re much too kind! So many other illustrators contributed to the Of Evil novels, so it’s really fun in the sense that we get to see various worlds within that. Like, “Ah, that’s another way to go about it too”.

Yoshida: Yeah, I was always looking forward to it, and also every time I would get really nervous about if I’m redundant or not.

you-ring: Concepts and worldviews that I couldn’t put forward…I got a ton of motivation. I also had the same anxiety about being redundant lol, I was doing this work while constantly wondering if it was good enough.

Yoshida: And You-san and you-ring-san made such lovely art and covers from the very first installment, including “Entr’acte of Evil”. They really caught my eye when I saw them at the publisher’s!

--The illustrations for this book turned out pretty gorgeous too.

You: Wow!

Yoshida: Oh! I’m really excited to see it!

You: My heart’s all fluttery now…

you-ring: I’m gonna head over to the publisher’s in a bit! (I haven’t left yet)

You: Though everyone who’s reading this will have seen them already. Sounds great.

--On that topic, Elluka’s finally debuted on this cover.

Yoshida: I love her so much that I picked Elluka-san as my image for the illustrator comments in book four, so that makes me happy! I’m looking forward to that too! You-san’s Elluka is so pretty…

You: I was really happy to be able to draw Elluka-sama prominently, given her unique position. Her general image is really evocative of purple, which is a color you don’t see too much on book covers I think.

you-ring: I got really excited to see it as soon as I heard about it! I wanna see it already!

--On that note, all of the members here are people who’ve drawn a decent amount of characters. Please tell us of any you had fun drawing, or any you particularly like.

Yoshida: The sorceresses, of course! Naturally I love the other more human characters too, but with them having that unique position that got mentioned earlier, I’m just super drawn to these somewhat detached women… Although the frontispiece for this book is my first time drawing them.

You: In my afterwards comments I declared my favorites to be Allen-kun, Elluka, and Gumillia, but the person I get fired up about drawing is Yukina-chan from the third book. Since she’s a character that didn’t get featured in the songs originally, it was very refreshing to be able to draw her. After that, obviously Riliane and Allen.

you-ring: Yukina in the frontispiece for the third book was so beautiful, she was just too precious lol

Yoshida: Same for how you drew her!

you-ring: Out of all the things I’ve gotten to draw, I’ve drawn Yukina the most, and so I’ve become the most attached to her. In this story with so many different characters interwoven through it, I think she’s a girl with a really interesting and toothsome place in it. Also Prim too, actually—she’s comparatively more difficult in terms of time and labor to draw, but she was also pretty fun…

You: you-ring’s Prim is too beautiful, my eyes end up getting drawn to her chest…(haha)

Yoshida: Prim’s chest…and the wrinkling in her clothing under her chest.

you-ring: Wha—we’re talking about her chest now!? Shame on you lol. Yoshida-san, you really surprised me with how differently you were able to depict Yukina, despite her being the same character.

You: That illustration was so amazing, it really felt like it had that feeling of the pen telling the story. I also liked how the character silhouettes were put in with their motif colors.

you-ring: Yeah, the tracing line of the pen was great! I was just stunned at the concept put into such a picture.

Yoshida: Oh wow, thanks you guys! That kind of motif is one that’s very much inlaid into the story, and I just wanted to depict it myself…! The “Of Evil” world is full of setups and amazing motifs like that…So I just get…really excited…!

Yoshida: In that sense I also really look forward to the book binding, too! Like, “What kind of figure will be on the flap?” or “what’ll be the design on the pages this time?”…

You: I got you. The rose-->grape-->feather-->seashell designs were really cool.

--Thank you very much! I’d like you to observe the image of the cover under the dust jacket.

You: Ney-chan…

Yoshida: Praeludium and Praefacio…This is really…amazing! Anyone who hasn’t seen it should go look!

--There’s also a secret trick with Wiegenlied as well!

You: Everyone go look at the under-cover…!

Yoshida: Woah, I don’t think I ever noticed…! What is this…! *Rustle rustle* Aaah! Wow!!

you-ring: I guess everyone went to take off their dust jackets all at once, lol

Yoshida: Woooah! *rustlerustlerustle* …What a fantastic production…

You: Feels like everyone at the publisher’s made this really neatly~

Yoshida: I always get a kick out of seeing the maps and commentary! At the very beginning—if you’ll pardon my saying so—I was really dubious as to how it would turn out, since there weren’t any novelizations of VOCALOID songs at the time. But it was made with such love, and the story is naturally very interesting, I feel very strongly that this work makes for amazing books!

--When you put it like that, all the hard work was worth it!

.

Any Surprises? Results of the Character Popularity Poll.

.

--This time around we conducted a character popularity poll!

You: Kyle did very well!

you-ring: Allen had a real strong running!!

Yoshida: Woah…! I wasn’t expecting Clarith’s position…!

--There were a lot of comments from people empathizing with Clarith, it seems.

You: I see…(tears)

Yoshida: I also felt the most moved by Clarith. Congratulations, Clarith…!

--Michaela’s ranking was really surprising. And then there’s Ayn…

Yoshida: Ah, now that you mention it! That’s quite a feat. Surely you’ll put in something commemorative on the cover edges…?

You: Ah! I’ve already completed the cover, so…Everyone, please look at it with your mental eye instead…!

Yoshida: Wha…

you-ring: If I strain my eyes, I see there…

--Ayn has no character design, so you’ll all have to make sure to draw him when you get the chance (haha)

Yoshida: Well then, maybe we could slip him into an illustration… Though he doesn’t have a design…

You: That’s a good idea! Maybe I’ll upload an image to my blog then…lol

Yoshida: Ooh! I’d love to see your Ayn, You-san…! I’ll covertly look forward to it…

you-ring: You mean a festival for the Ayn I came up with!?

You: You’re gonna draw him too, aren’t you you-ring-san?

you-ring: Uh.

Yoshida: Yeah! Ayn’s gotta have this magnificent backstory, right? I feel like Akuno-san would make something like that…

--Various countries were featured throughout the story; are there any that you all would like to go to?

you-ring: It’s not a country, but I’d like to just go see the Millennium Tree at least once, soon. So in that sense, Elphegort?

Yoshida: Oh, me too! I want to go to the Millennium Tree Forest. Also, of course, the place where the story started: Lucifenia.

You: I also think I’d like to see the Millennium Tree. It’d feel like a world heritage spot, don’t you think? Also, I’d want to go to a banquet on the Freezis Estate (though I can’t).

--Held-sama is quite popular then! The Millennium Tree is meant to be a former pilgrimage site, though lately it sounds like not many people go there anymore.

you-ring: It’s an undiscovered gem! I’d just like to go there and take my time idling around, seeing everyting…

Yoshida: I’d love that! Frankly, all the countries sound dangerous…Even the Millennium Tree isn’t safe, but it has a peaceful image I think, so if I went to any of them physically…The Millennium Tree is good.

you-ring: Sorry that you asked us a question about countries and we all answered with a forest lol

.

And Now, To the “Seven Deadly Sins”

.

--Now that the “Daughter of Evil” series is complete, let’s hear some nice words for AkunoP-san, if you please.

Yoshida: Congratulations on finishing it. You did such good work! Although, as a reader, there’s still a lot more I want to see. I’m…really really excited to see the “Deadly Sins of Evil” series (chuckle)

You: I’m saying this a lot here, but I want to say thank you for all your hard work, it’s greatly appreciated. I’m very happy at just being able to depict your characters, Akuno-san. I’m also excited for the “Deadly Sins of Evil”. I’ll be in anticipation while listening to the songs on repeat.

you-ring: Always stay evil, yeah? I’m also looking forward to the Deadly Sins Series! And a sincere congratulations on finishing the Daughter of Evil series.

--Please tell us more how you’re all curious about and looking forward to the new “Deadly Sins” series.

you-ring: As a reader I’m very curious as to how the story will be told and how it’ll be released, like if each sin will be published one by one.

Yoshida: The Seven Deadly Sins have a strong impact in various different directions, so I’m really excited to see how it all ties together!

You: I’m looking forward to seeing how the various secrets woven into the work get brought to light. I feel like reading the “Deadly Sins” series will end up making me want to reread the “Daughter of Evil” series again.

--Thank you very much! Now then, please say one last thing here.

Yoshida: I am truly grateful for being able to assist in the “Daughter of Evil” series. It’s a wonderful thing to be involved in this enormous world. The songs, the books, I hope to see even more from here on out!

you-ring: I think this series has let me take part in a truly valuable experience, and it’s been a great honor to take part in it. Thank you very much for inviting me on here!

You: From the very first book to this “Epic of Evil”, thank you so much for having me draw for this series for such a long time. I’ve nothing but gratitude.

--Thank you all for your time.

directory

[imcryingbuckets]

My Whole Heart "Hates" You. chapter two!

Yay! It's here.

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31072760/chapters/76820876#workskin

tw: swearing, that's about it

word count: 2,069

summary: Violet and Bill get into quite the childish argument, and Violet can't seem to stop blushing around him. But it's probably the room temperature or something, right?

Chapter 2: Room Temperature

Thankfully, I make it through the rest of the pitch meeting without getting any further flustered and/or distracted by Bill staring at me (what is his problem with that? He’s clearly trying to get under my skin and it is definitely not working at all, not even a little bit). However he did snicker when I stumbled over a word at one point, which was a bit petty and reminded me of why I dislike him so much.

But the meeting eventually came to an end which leads me to where I am now, sitting in front of my computer screen staring at a blank document, trying to think of how to start one of the sketches I pitched (I didn’t intend to write it when I pitched it, but I think Bill saw this and decided that he was going to be oh so very enthusiastic about it and now I have to).

As I watch the cursor blink on and off the screen, I hear a knock at the door for the second time today. It was much slower and reluctant to how Aidy knocked earlier, so I knew it wasn’t her. Thinking that it was maybe Kyle or Pete, I shout my permission for them to enter, almost cheerfully (the fact that I can’t think of how to start this stupid sketch idea, which will probably be cut, is making me quite reasonably stressed).

The door glides open to a reveal a 6 foot tall man stepping into my office; a man that I really did not want to see again today, let alone speak to.

“Well if it isn’t Violet Fay!” He exclaims while shutting the door behind him. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen and tolerated you.”

He adds the last bit with a smile and crosses his arms, I’m assuming he was trying to be playful and funny but it just irritated me. Nothing out of the ordinary.

“You act surprised to see me? My name is on the door you just walked through, Bill.” My comment probably also irritated him in return, as he rolled his eyes at this.

He sat down on the couch in the corner of my office, without asking, by the way.

“Oh yes, have a seat why don’t you, make yourself at home.” I say whilst trying to act like I’m highly concentrated on an old script I opened so that he maybe doesn’t bother me as much.

He ignores my comment and instead says, “Lorne says we should work on that sketch together since I was so ‘enthusiastic’ about it in the meeting. Didn’t think that would come ‘round to bite me in the ass.” He says the word ‘enthusiastic’ whilst making air-quotations with his hands.

“Well seeing as you acted that way just to spite me and put me through hell with a shit sketch idea, I think this is adequate punishment for you.” I type a few random keys on my keyboard just to make it look like I’m doing something and add, “Although I would have preferred it if it didn’t include me, tolerating you isn’t my ideal Monday morning.”

He laughs at this. I was being genuine. “Why do you talk like that?” he giggles. The sound of him giggling I swear-

“Talk like what?” I reply as I’m honestly confused with what this man is hinting at.

“All posh with all these fancy words, like ‘adequate’ and ‘preferred’” He adds those last words in a British accent, which really pisses me off.

I glare at him as I turn away from my computer, “I don’t speak ‘posh’ at all. We’re not all from Oklahoma, Hader.” My anger towards him begins to flourish and my skin gets hot.

He scoffs at this, “Whatever Fay.” I think he ran out of things to say because he starts to restlessly fiddle with his shoelaces.

For a moment I watch his hands, carefully playing with loose green threads of his laces, but I pull my eyes away and look back at my screen.

“Look, if you’re not going to help me write this sketch, I suggest you piss off.” I comment, opening up the blank document I close earlier.

He stands up and shoves his hands in his pockets, “Fine then, I’ll go see what Kate’s writing. Not like I wanted to sit with here and write your shitty sketch idea anyways.”

He exits through the door and slams it, and for some reason, my blood boils at this. Why is he so childish? He’s 40 for fucks sake, grow up, Bill! I know the idea wasn’t that great, but why put it so harshly?

I yell, “Oh, fuck off, Bill!” after him, quite loud so he could hear me through the door. Not the cleverest comeback but I’m so worked up that I just needed to let it out as soon as possible. I don’t normally shout in the office either, except on the rare occasion where there's an incident with a spilled cup of hot coffee. But I feel like it’s excusable because of Bill.

He opens the door again to show me his middle finger and exclaim, “Fuck you too, Violet!” before he slams the door shut again.

In the limited number of seconds that the door was open, I caught a glimpse of Pete standing behind Bill, looking severely confused and honestly a little scared. Seeing his face kind of made me realise how childish and petty we were being, but my anger still persisted nonetheless. All over one comment I made about Oklahoma, jeez.

I return back to my screen, and surprisingly the frustration inside of me managed to conjure up an idea for the sketch. At least two good things came out of that argument: 1. I finally figured out how to start this damn sketch, and 2. it feels really fucking good to shout at Bill.

******

I finally finish the sketch, and after checking the time I decide that it’s probably a good time to get lunch before I fall down a writing loophole again (next thing you know it’s been 6 hours and people are starting to head home).

As I’m walking into the breakroom, I see everyone crowding around a couple pizza boxes. Great timing on my behalf. Kate’s standing in the corner of the room holding a paper plate with a slice of greasy cheese pizza.

“You’re an angel, Kate.” I say before taking the plate from her hands and indulging.

“No problem, Bill bought some for the whole office.” She says this with a wink, suggesting that she’s hinting towards something.

“Ugh, why’d you give me tainted pizza?”

Before Kate could reply with anything, Bill shouts from across the room, “You’re welcome, Violet!”

Arrogant twat. I say this to myself as to not cause another screaming match, but flip him off with my middle finger and a roll of my eyes, just so he knows where I stand.

Unfortunately for me, he winks at my actions and I feel a wicked blush creep up on my cheeks. He thinks I’m joking.

Worse, Kate catches the redness growing across my face, and decides to delightfully point it out.

“Are you blushing? Oh my god, Vi, do you like him?”

I look around the room to see if anyone heard her, god forbid, quickly seeking out Bill’s face in the small crowd as him having heard her would have been the worst case scenario. I thank the heavens that no one did, seeing them continue their conversations without batting an eyelid.

“I absolutely do not like him, Kate.” I say with a heavy load of disgust laced in my voice. “I can barely stand him, and he feels the same.”

“Then why are you blushing?” She pokes my cheek with her finger to emphasise her point before I swat her hand away.

“I’m blushing from…annoyance, or something. I don’t know maybe it’s the room temperature. It’s definitely not Hader.”

Neither of us are completely convinced at my statement, but thankfully she drops the subject and continues to eat her pizza.

I obviously don’t like him. Clearly. He is loud and obnoxious and irritating and I think the thing he does with his hands when he’s nervous is utterly stupid.

For the rest of the day, I’m in a bit of a stale mood but I manage to get quite a lot of scripts done by 7 o’clock, which makes me pleased. But before I get the chance to switch off my computer, I hear a knock at my door. And, of course, enters Bill.

I mutter a Dear God as I distract myself from his face by looking at the pen lid that was dropped and never picked up.

“Hey, Violet.”

“Bill.” I continue to stare at the ground, reluctant to look up.

“So, Lorne mentioned that he wanted us to at least write one sketch together.” He sees my annoyance at this and says, “I know, I know, I’m unbearable, but boss’ orders.” He ends with a shrug and a raise of his palms as if to say ‘hey, don’t shoot the messenger’. He goes on, “I was thinking we could stay behind for a bit, try and write something without ripping each other’s heads off.”

I sigh and raise my head to finally meet his eyes, getting lost in them for a moment. This is exactly what I was trying to avoid.

“Um, yeah sure, okay. If Lorne says so I guess we have to.” I want nothing more than to go home, put on my comfy pyjamas, and snuggle with my sweet little ginger cat, but I figured it’s best to just agree seeing as it was ‘boss’ orders’.

“Rad,” Rad, radical, fuckin’ surf’s up dude “okay so I have to go do something real quick but I’ll be back in like…” He pauses to look at his watch, “45-ish minutes?”

“Yeah, sure.” I say with a nod of my head, not really interested in having a lasting conversation with him, and a little bit distracted by his eyes, that are still staring at mine, to do so.

He leaves, muttering something that resembles an ‘okay’ or a ‘goodbye’, I wasn’t paying too close attention. He shuts the door behind him, quietly this time.

Re-opening my word document on my laptop, I begin to make brief lists of new sketch ideas that could probably work at some point. I figured I might as well get some extra work in if I’m going to have ’45-ish minutes’ to spare in the studio.

I type and type and type and type, until suddenly its 8pm. Hm, he should’ve been back about 15 minutes ago now. I brush it off though, he probably just got caught up with whatever he was doing. As much as he is an annoying twat, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to stand someone up. Especially if it’s work related. Especially, especially if it’s Lorne related.

******

Well, I guess he is the kind of guy to stand someone up, even if it is work or Lorne related, as the clock just turned 10pm (three hours since he left). Either he has a terribly bad concept of time, or he’s just a dickhead. I’m going with the latter, regardless of what the actual reason is.

I decide I’m not going to stay a minute longer, not when I could be watching true crime with my cat at home, and so I switch off my computer and pack up my things to head back to my apartment.

I leave the office feeling a little foolish as I thought that he actually wanted to work on some scripts with me. When in reality he probably only wanted to play with my head and piss me off further.

As much as he annoys me, (and I mean he truly, truly annoys me) I was hoping that tonight would be a good opportunity to find out if he had any nice qualities about him, something that we could agree on. But instead, he successfully manages to do the opposite and make a fool out of me. And tomorrow, himself too, as I’m seriously going to lay into him with my pent up anger the next time I see him. (Within reason of course, I don’t want to lose my job any time soon).

[springtimebat]

Dragon-Smoke

The monster was born on an October morning. 

The mother lay on a makeshift bed, her legs in the air, her hands grasping the iron bars of the headboard. Three midwives, three fates cutting a golden thread, three phantoms, three pairs of pincers held her down and interfered with parts of her body she never let anyone touch. Not even the father. Her hair, once golden brown, had greyed. Her eyes were squeezed closed, her nose was snotty and her mouth yelled obscenities at the autumn air. She screamed at the looming circus tent, at the freaks, at the demon, at the father, at the husband and finally, at the cross. It lay there. Just...lay there. Golden, holier than thou, on the old steeple wall in the mother’s mind; it scoffed at her with an imaginary mouth and wicked eyes. She’d been a nurse years ago. She’d wanted to be a nun. 

“Bless you,” The cross snarled from another place not so far away.

The father stood outside the tent, his golden curls waving about his head as the wind danced. At every other birth he’d been in the operating room when the time came. The first few times holding this wife’s legs down with the rest of them, leaving sticky, silky marks all the way up her calves when he had a passionate turn. The last few times he’d sat in the back, smoking a pipe and yelling encouraging words over his wife’s curses. It had been in the afternoon then; that was no time for a man to lose himself to the throes of passion. His eyes were just slivers as he looked up at the warm morning skies, their golden reds and their dark golds twisting among the stars and the waxing moon. A waxing moon. All the others had been delivered on a full moon. The father took a puff of his cigarette (he had just moved on from pipes, at a companion’s request when the smoke became too thick to stand) and gave a smile that would make the devil shiver. This would be a special one.

The father, all alone, began to think of past times. He began to remember what it had been like to be Billy Young, over a lifetime ago. He’d never done that before. The name seemed so stifling then. Once it had chained him down, placed a giant padlock on his chest, directly over his heart. He’d not been a man of power. A man of importance. He’d just been Billy; the third son of Harold Young. After that, the fourth child out of a future nine. He was one of nine. That’s how he was seen. By his father. By his mother. By his older brothers and sisters. Nothing special. Nothing extraordinary. But he’d shown them. They were all gone now. He’d outlived them. Once, there had been a family of twelve, ruling the carnival freaks. Now, only Billy Young remained. The freaks answered to him and only him.

Lucy Albarn floated past him, a dove in the guise of a penguin. He’d noticed her one day. One ordinary day with a not-so ordinary outcome. Billy Young had been marching with his freaks; a top hat sat on his head, a smirk spread across his face, a clown and a blind girl held onto his sides, begging for scraps of his glory to devour. Billy Young was a king. The father sighed wistfully as he recalled his top hat; his crown. He’d seen all sorts that day, as usual, but no one stood out. A cold eight in the morning had turned into a boiling four in the afternoon and wearing his jacket hadn’t been such a grand idea. He tried to find a place where he could calm down, compose himself, as the heat threatened to strip him away. That was when he saw Lucy Albarn, her eyes like saucepans, staring. At him. At him! Not Harold Junior, not Allister Young two years his senior: him. She saw him gazing at her, taking notice, and her mouth opened slightly in a little gasp. He shifted a little, his stance grew askew. His hand flew up and gave a wave. Lucy Albarn waved back. He saw her now in the cigarette smoke, waving and grinning slyly. It was funny; he was there for a short time, always moving, always changing, always followed by a circus, always shadowed by the tent. She had been there, in that town (he couldn’t remember the name), probably all her life, and she stood there, looking him in the eye (and oh, how big her eyes were), smirking at him. Grinning. It was a secret smile, the one Lucy Albarn had given him that day, in the horrible heat, just before her other penguin friends whisked her away from him for a short while. It was a friend’s smile, it was a lover’s smile, it was a wife’s smile. It was a smile that he’d tried to get her to show him ever since. It was the smile that made Billy Young realise he liked Lucy Albarn. It was that secret, devious, evil little smirk that made him realise he wanted to marry her. 

The next few years were a giant blur, cut into ribbons by his addiction to cigars, rum and producing heirs. An incident in an alleyway may have happened, involving Billy Young, Lucy Albarn and three or four strongmen and a burlap sack. At least, Lucy Albarn had testified that it had happened. But, as everyone knew, she wasn’t quite… right anymore. She hadn’t been since the first baby, the clowns would occasionally mutter. Billy disagreed. He’d say she went wrong on their wedding day. He stood at the altar with the priest who’d kindly agreed to officiate (abruptly, suddenly, there was a flash of a gun cocking, a bat being drawn from the carnival folks mass of hands, claws and hooves), waiting proudly, patiently, as she walked down the aisle. Her hair was still a golden brown, hidden by his mother’s old veil, and she hunched over as she stumbled up to them, ashamed. And, as the priest began to recite his scripture, she looked up at Billy Young for the first time in weeks. She gazed at him, her owl eyes glazed over like glass. Then, she gave him a small smile. It was not the smirk he desired; no she’d never pull it again, not after the first one got her into so much trouble. It wasn’t really a smile, if he was being honest with himself. It was just a slight curve of the lips. It was a small cry of mercy. Billy Young realised, then and there, that this was Lucy Albarn’s final attempt to plead with him. After being taken from her home, being beaten by a group of strangers and being caged in a freak show for three never ending weeks, she was about to break. As she gazed at him with those glass eyes, she searched this man for any sign of Billy Young; the boy with the top hat, the boy with golden curls, the shade of the sun, the boy who noticed her in a crowd of thousands. The boy she had smirked at. He smirked instead, when she looked down and her shoulders slumped. Moments later, a priest declared that Lucy Albarn was now Lucy Young, her husband lifted her off the ground and strode towards his tent (their tent now) and to their bed. 

His wife’s silence finally brought Billy back to earth and he turned back towards the same tent, now threadbare and drenched of colour. The three midwives pushed their way outside, their mangled hands holding bloody towels. They began to bicker amongst themselves, about pay, about personal rights, but they saw their master out of the corner of their eyes and put on their brave faces. They were all simpering and sweet smiles. It made him feel sick. Lucy would do the same thing once he made his way to her. That was the worst part. 

Billy Young of Young’s Cabinet of Curiosities cleared his throat, “Everything in order?”

“Yes sir!” One midwife with a missing eye said.

“A normal birth sir!” one with a snout for a nose said.

“Here’s hoping it’s a healthy one sir!” the last with a stump instead of a leg said.

“One to live a long and happy life sir!” They all croaked together as a loansome chorus.

“Hmm cheers,” Billy grumbled, “How’s Lucy?”

“Fine. Fine. Could have another ten chillies, if you wish it sir.”

“Good,” Billy changed focus to the tent. Inside was silent. Unnaturally silent.

“I’d like to see my family. I won’t be at the big top for the rest of the day,” with that, Billy let his cigarette fall to the ground and crushed it under his rider’s boots, “Wilson is in charge ‘till I return. You three get back to work.”

The midwives raced away towards the shadowy hills, grumbling about promotions and the unfairness of it all. Billy watched them go, taking his time. He had all the time in the world. Lucy had all the time in the world. The baby had all the time in the world. Slowly, he lifted the flap of the tent up and stepped inside to greet his family.

How many was it now? Surely it had been about ten right? Ten babies. That meant it had been at least twelve years. Twelve years full of babies, travelling, Billy Young. In all of those years, Lucy had never given birth to a child that didn’t scream. Margot, Janie, Billy Junior, Kyle…. All the others that had gone before she could give them names. They’d all had a powerful set of lungs. 

“They all took after their father,” Lucy thought grimly as she pulled herself up out of bed. They’d left the tent in disarray; towels had been thrown onto the floor, a shelf had been pushed on the way out, leaving her books in disarray and a stained mattress growing strange, green fur out of its sides had been put next to Lucy’s bed. The monster lay on that mattress, wrapped in the threadbare blanket his brothers and sisters had been nursed in. Still, something else was wrong. 

“Something’s missing,” Lucy realised, scanning the room.

Then it hit her. She turned to the tent entrance. The cross that had taunted her was gone, stolen from the patchwork wall.

Lucy sighed,”Strange thing to take,” she thought to herself as she went to meet her new baby. Still, she shouldn't be surprised. She knew she was surrounded by strange folk. 

The baby was small and thin, which made Lucy worry. 

“I can’t have another one,” She whispered, picking the thing up, “I know I can’t.” 

Then, the baby’s hand, bright pink and chubby, grabbed onto her wrist and the mother’s fear faded away. It was a boy, which would please the demon once he decided to make himself known. He had hair; all his siblings had been bald. Not only that but it was a dark, dark brown, wild and curly as his little head swivelled around looking for food. Lucy pulled her dress down and put him to her chest, being rewarded with a clumsy slurp a few moments later. As he ate, his eyes went up to her face, startling her. He wasn’t squinting. No, he was staring at her, as if he were fully aware of everything. His eyes were blue. Forget me not blue. Lucy smiled. All the others had green eyes,their father’s eyes. These were her eyes. They were the one pair of friendly eyes she’d seen in a long, long time. It sounded crazy, but this baby looked almost...sad. It seemed to understand everything within minutes of its birth. Lucy relaxed and sat down carefully on the edge of the bed, listening to her son’s noises as if they were a lullaby.

“You’re gonna be ok, aren’t you?” she asked her baby quietly. The baby blinked in response.

The father strolled in from the morning light, his top hat on his head, his eyes tired and weary. Billy smiled proudly once he saw his wife feeding their newborn son on the bed. 

“You’re gonna be ok right?” He asked, with a voice like honey. Lucy grunted, trying to focus on her son, who’d stopped eating and was now nuzzling his head against her breast. Quickly, she hauled him over her shoulder and patted him on the back. The baby burped quietly soon afterwards.

Billy chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed. Lucy tucked their son back into his blanket and pretended to look at the wall. 

“Can I hold them?” Billy whispered. Lucy sighed. She hated when he begged her. He sounded so pathetic. She slowly handed the boy over to his father, taking extra care to support his head. Billy smiled at her then turned to his son. 

“It’s a boy,” Lucy whispered, lying back on the pillows. Her back made a terrible cracking sound, making Billy turn to her. 

“You just relax for a while. I’ll get the midwives to nurse him for you,” He stroked the baby, curling a few locks of his hair around his thin fingers. The boy gurgled and his father cooed in delight. Lucy furrowed her brow, suspicious. 

“No, I want to do it. He’s mine.”

Billy shook his head, “You need to rest. You can’t even take care of yourself, much less a baby,” He stood up and walked the baby around the tent, bouncing him in his arms. The boy squealed, “You got a name in mind yet, honey?”

“No,” Lucy closed her eyes. She never thought of the names. 

“Huh. Ok.” Billy stroked his son’s cheek, thinking. The baby began to gnaw at his nail.

“I like this one,” Billy chuckled. Lucy groaned, “How about Owen eh?”

“Sure that’s nice,” Lucy moaned. She just wanted to sleep. Billy bent down to sit next to his exhausted wife in bed.

“Look at that, you’re both out like lights,” He showed her Owen, who had begun to snore. Lucy rolled her eyes. Billy stroked her forehead with another hand, catching beads of sweat. 

“You two get some rest for now okay? I’ll be here if you need me.”

“Sure.”

“Love you honey.”

“Yeah, I love you too.” 

Billy handed Owen back to her and lay down on the bed, staring happily at the ceiling. Lucy glared at the sleeping baby in her arms; the son her husband seemed to adore almost immediately.

“I thought we had a deal,” she thought, “This is not how you stay okay.” 

The newborn answered with a snore.

Lucy kissed her son’s forehead and fell asleep with him her aching arms.