#maybe I'm just not taking be gay do crime seriously enough

[dgcatanisiri]

So yeah, there's The Quarry finished.

In retrospect, me thinking that there might be a cure, an alternative to killing, probably got more characters killed than anything. Note for next run.

Aside from the mandatory heterosexual bullshit, which, let's be real, it's pretty much the price of admission for any media not 100% made for a queer audience, I'm exhausted but I'm used to this, I did greatly enjoy it, like I have all of the Supermassive catalog. Let me get my replays of Cyberpunk and Andromeda, and maybe a play of another game, I'll easily go back in and try again.

Though I DID make a quality of life choice and disabled the "Don't Move" checks. Those screwed me over enough in Until Dawn for me to not want to deal with their bullshit again. And next time through, I'll probably turn down some of the other choices as well - The idea for first time is to do it with no takebacks or particular foreknowledge. Now that I know how things will play out with only my intuition guiding me, it'll be time to go with guides.

On a character level, though, I will say that Emma was easily my least favorite character of the group. Like her whole thing is saying that she doesn't want anything more with Jacob, but... She not only actively tries to make him jealous, she also is actively and intentionally flirting with him as well, so it's just... Clearly you want different things here, he wants a steady relationship and you want things to just be fun and casual, and this can't be justified as "getting the point across."

On the flip side, I feel like the narrative is basically out to make Jacob a designated whipping boy, considering the way that he is both easily killed AND quickly forgotten about by the others (like no one even MENTIONS him after he leaves the group, when no one even really knows that werewolves are involved). Like, I know he's responsible for the group being stranded there in the first place, but the karmic kicking he takes throughout the rest of the game...

Okay, yes, full disclosure, I do think he's cute and I have a tendency to forgive things for attractive characters, but still. It seems excessive to me. Like, it feels like the game, in knowing that it's a send up of like campy (pun intended, by both me and the developers) eighties slashers, stories where a character like Jacob would be defaulted as the hero, so here he's not just responsible for the problems by the narrative, but he's also both punished for it AND shoved out of that hero position by the characters more likely to be the hero in a modern story, but I feel like the writing goes so far in flipping that script on its head that it turns around to abusing him for the crime of... being a dumb teenager with no way of knowing that he's been put in the middle of a horror movie.

Seriously, I want him to just embrace the fact that he's clearly a himbo and needs a nice boy to get over the girl with.

And... the gay content. What there is of it. Like, on the one hand, it's handled in a way where no one ever comments on it, and while this IS a horror game sending up slasher movies, so the characters CAN end up dead, that's true up and down for the straights, too, so that's fine. But it's WEIRD how, once Laura appears in the group, she's thrown together with Ryan and even other characters comment on their interactions being "sparks," especially factoring in that Laura's primary motivation is her BOYFRIEND. Like, I can't even say that it's trying to make him seem not-queer, because it doesn't even make sense for either character. It's just a bunch of weirdness, like the writers couldn't give these characters interactions without trying to add that spark (which, given that I'm gonna go out of a pretty firm feeling limb and guess that the writers were all cishet, could easily just be the case).

Like, going back to the feeling of Jacob being written as the eighties version of the protagonist thrown into the modern setting and getting taken to task for his behavior, this feels like the characters' interactions being pulled from another story where they're totally meant to be together.

I mean, y'all know me, I'll call out forced heterosexuality in video games all the time, but this one is just WEIRD because it doesn't even make justifiable sense in universe that these two would be flirting, and I can see TV Tropes has an entry on it, which means even THE STRAIGHTS noticed.

Anyway. On the queer scale, this is probably no higher than a four. Taking that scale and applying the standard "media is so frustratingly heterosexual" curve, I'd still put it in a solid 8 to 8.5 range. If you have played and enjoyed other Supermassive titles, you'll enjoy this one.

[noah-fens]

I decided to befriend the one other person in class who seemed as quiet and introverted as me, which was in hindsight a mistake because they've turned out to be the most obnoxious person I've ever met:

yapping my ears off all day

usually starts the day with "i'm tired so i might not talk too much today", yet never does shut up

such a loud talker too

complains about everyone else being too loud

does never ever take a hint, will insist on asking if there's something wrong five times a day if i happen to be a little quieter than usual

constantly says they've stopped drinking only to talk every monday about how they went for drinks during the weekend

says they've stopped going out because they hate it, still constantly talks about that time they went to this or that party or club like it's their only hobby

will ask things solely as a segway to talk about themselves

thinks their experiences are, in fact, universal

if i add anything to a conversation, they will be quiet for like half a second before continuing like i didn't say anything - really just one ear in, the other ear out

i don't want to hear about your bunny or see pictures of your bunny!! i've had enough

truly i know their whole life's story, against my fucking will

what do you mean, your ex you haven't seen in two years showed up to propose last week? and you're complaining? i know it's just a way to brag that you have a love life

"yeah yeah i know, i've experienced a lot" sure yes you're the most interesting person in the room at any time, bravo

has complained about someone acting like they're the most special person ever by telling a lot of stories, more than once

said last month they've given up on dating, won't ever try tinder again, now they're constantly telling me about their numerous matches and asking me for input on what to send and like, no. i don't care and i don't understand how people are attracted to you

does in fact think they're the most interesting person alive

one time interrupted me to laugh at me for saying something wrong while i was explaining the mistake i'd made; idk it felt kinda really unkind and hurtful, the way they talked over me, at the moment, i think that is what cemented my dislike (seriously nothing worse to a quiet and reserved person like me to be talked over like that; i don't think i said another word to them that day)

one time kept going on and on about how we should hang out but framed it as me being in need of friends and terribly lonely, like they'd be doing me a favour

does not respect the fact that a quiet weekend at home is in fact a fun time for me

again, sooo loud. always yelling at me. maybe i'm just feeling more sensitive to loud talkers lately

the ultimate irony, told me this week they 'are able to tolerate me'; what? I mean sure but what? who the fuck says that to someone's face when you barely know each other

tells me every day they might not talk too much, gets offended if i say i don't mind

told me i can be very rude, for this precise reason

what do you want me to say??

said about someone "he's alright but he seems gay ... not that there's anything wrong with that of course" okay then why say it like it's relevant or in that tone? can straight people stop doing that?

told me they're into cops and lawyers

because they're a true crime fan

one time kept shoving bread into my hands even though i said i didn't want it, then laughed cause they thought it was just so funny the way they were feeding me

no matter how little response they get from me and how much i must look like i'd rather be anywhere else, they will keep on fucking yapping; will there ever be peace again? i miss when i could spend all my breaks quietly scrolling, but it's gone too far now and there's no way to tell them off cause i just know they'll take so much offense and then i have to deal with that for the rest of the year

is a 24 year old whose mother still makes their lunch and who does not eat the crust of their sandwiches

makes a mandatory weekly comment about how men suck sooo much and are so childish, like can we just get rid of them already, all of them indiscriminately (always the weirdest conversation to have as a closeted trans guy)

made fun of a guy for being shocked by the nude art in their parents' house yet kept going on about how it's very much frontal and detailed etc. like yes, that is generally a thing i might expect from nude art and in fact you seem more affected by it than me, why else are you repeating it over and over in the hopes of getting more of a reaction

has never heard of volume control, seriously stop fucking yelling at me, use your inside voice

might actually just be a me thing, tbh

[seeingteacupsindragons]

OK so you mentionned wanting your inbox filled so here I am, asking what you think would happen in a world where William never met Sherlock. (Au the second)

When we first start the manga, the plan is underway. It's happening and everything seems accounted for. Yet William hadn't met his "main character", the guiding light in the darkness created by the Lord of Crime yet, so. What do you think would happen if they never did ?

Would William have another puppet to play the part ? Maybe condition someone to take the role ? Maybe one of his clients that owe their life to him, he'd tell them what to do and how to act. They'd have to be intelligent enough to be able to improvise in case of problems, as the Moriarty gang don't really do "mindless minions" but still. Intriguing.

Say Sherlock wasn't there on the Noahtic. Why would he anyway, it's not really the type of thing he'd enjoy and no misteries to be found there, right ? What then ?

If William and Sherlock never met, I doubt that William would entertain the idea of using the brother of his brother's boss for the Macabre Play, you know ?

So I'm curious on what your thoughts are ! What do you think would happen to the plan ? Who do you think William would chose in the end ? What do you think the end would look like ? What do you think would happen to Sherlock in this world ?

Just. Food for thoughts. I am curious about your input. Sorry if it's a bother.

I gotta be honest, Anon, I'm not convinced that William had any intentions of dragging a Hero into his plot before Sherlock showed up all pretty and brilliant and annoying. William is very stupid and very gay.

Now, YuuMori wouldn't work as a story without Sherlock. But did any of William's plans actually...need him? Like, seriously, did they?

Enders exposed himself, no help from Sherlock really needed

Drebbers was arranged specifically to test Sherlock because Sherlock showed up, and wouldn't have been staged that way if Sherlock hadn't shown up. It's impossible to see how that would have gone without Sherlock involved. Let's set that aside.

The Great Game with Moran: Sherlock's not even in that arc.

A Scandal in the British Empire: So, Adler actually dragged Sherlock into this one...first. Again, difficult to say how they would have proceeded had Sherlock not have gotten himself involved, but he perhaps would have appeared anyway thanks to the fame from John's writing (and he would have met John regardless and been roommates with John regardless and John finds Sherlock fascinating and writes about him and his mysteries without William's nudge, so that all still easily could've happened) and William would have met him then. Or perhaps Adler would have gone to William directly. Tricky to say, again.

The Phantom of Whitechapel: Sherlock doesn't do much in this. He just lies to Lestrade to help William out a bit, but it's not like Lestrade likely would've figured out the truth anyway.

The Riot in New Scotland Yard: William dumped the evidence in Sherlock's hands because Convenience, but it's possible they could give it to Lestrade and let Lestrade figure out what to do with it. Sherlock was sort of convenient, but not directly necessary. Maybe a little necessary. This one is maybe the trickiest to how William would've resolved that without a Sherlock.

The White Knight of London: Again, Sherlock doesn't really do anything.

The Two Criminals: William just shoots Milverton himself. Cool. Done deal.

The Final Problem: It is, of course, easiest to have staged an opponent for himself up to this point, but it's not like William was actually relying on Sherlock's cooperation at this point. He could've staged his death another way easily.

Anyway, Moriarty's main crew is expected to act under their own initiative, but he does involve people in his plots without telling them a goddamn thing, which he mentions in The Valley of Fellows. Who are conveniently useful to him, but not really relevant enough that he's going to keep them involved in his conspiracies.

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

seeing people react to Taylor swift addressing the “weird rumors surrounding her relationship” presumably about the fact that she’s potentially queer makes me wonder about what the bts shipping community would do should one of the members address the speculation on their sexuality. Gaylor’s aren’t very happy right now and say Taylor queerbaites and misled them.

I love Taylor I really love what she does, but I don't keep up with her personal life (or any celebrity's tbh) and much less with the fandom, so I'm just finding out about this thanks to you.

I guess this article is about what she said

Gaylors sad? Deserved. You think some people are knees deep in delusional conspiracy theories and then gaylors show up and they're like hold my purse.

She really really didn't say anything homophobic... There is no reason for anyone to read what she said and go "this is a hate crime". How do you go from "weird rumours about my relationship" to "she absolutely hates lesbians she doesn't want to he associated with lesbians and also wants all gay people to die".

Why do gay people on the internet want to feel oppressed so bad, like why are they looking for hate everywhere, as if the real world with real violence wasn't enough. Are the theories about her being gay really that big or are they just internet theories? Because they're just assuming she knows all of that. The truth is that she's always had weird rumours about her, especially about her relationships, and it's never been about her being a lesbian. It's always literally been about her actual relationship at the time.

Thinking a celebrity is gay and holding on to that idea forever is actually very easy. I've seen it all my life and I still see it with armys regarding BTS members. It's "easy" because they don't even have to think that much to come up with theories why he/she might say something homophobic or something heterosexual. It's easy because "they're queer in a homophobic society, they can't come out. Military service. IU is my ideal type -but that's heteronormativity and he loves her as a gay man loves Beyonce. My dream is to have a wife and five kids, my life goal is to be a father and take care of my wife -sounds like the guy just wants to be married to a woman -SO YOU'RE HOMOPHOBIC?? YOU BELIEVE GAY MEN SHOULDN'T ADOPT CHILDREN?"

I mean, they're not wrong 😭 any BTS member coming out is completely off the table. It would just never happen. Korean idols would not come out, it would most likely make their lives a hell and I have no idea what goes on during active military duties, maybe it's as bad as the movies make it seem, and by no means I'm making fun of closeted people or anything, but that's precisely why it's a well that almost never runs dry. There's always an excuse for why that celebrity (in this case Taylor or BTS) might've done or said something that pointed to them possibly being straight.

Maybe they even had girlfriends, or they are dating a woman, or they will end up marrying one. And then people are like, well bisexuals exist?!?! Yeah, they exist. But you don't know if he's bisexual or he's just interested in women. Straight men also exist.

A gay celebrity and even more, a gay celebrity couple are seriously the perfect ground for conspiracy theories and fantasy. It's like the perfect alibi to let yourself believe whatever you want, because you will probably never know the truth anyways.

[everyhowlmarksthedead]

❛ DOUBLE DATE? ❜

with Ezekiel ‘EZ’ Reyes.

Request: This isn’t a Nestor one but how about one where I am friends with the guys in the MC I like EZ but I know he is hung up on Emily. I get a new best friend from work and talk about him all the time (he is gay) and EZ starts getting jealous and flips when I bring him with me to a club party. Ez gets angrier and angrier because we are hanging out dancing etc until bff husband comes to pick him up back early from a business trip.

BY @cherieann-2001

Warnings: none.

Word count: about 1.3k

Aurora says: this writing hasn't been edited, you may find some grammar mistakes, I'm sorry about that!

Gif credits: to the author

Masterlist.

You can subscribe to my broadcast list, to be notified whenever I post a writing!

“Why don't you have a date with him?”

The question makes you drown with a sip from your beer, frowning at EZ in front of you, inside the Mayans bar.

“Bring him tonight to the party”.

Narrowing your eyes, you notice the jealousy in his voice, raising your chin with a proud gesture. Nodding then, you take your phone to write to your partner in crime. He will be delighted to help you to make EZ's jealous stay at float.

You have chosen your best dress. A short one, over your knees, with fine stripes and a squared but pronounced neckline. Black, like your chunky heels. You're stunning, with your hair falling behind your shoulders and a light make up on point. Spreading on your neck the Hugo Boss perfume, you have a last look in the mirror. Simply perfect. Hearing the claxons sounding outside, you know that your best friend is already there.

Reaching the crowded yard, with a high five before joining the party, you walk through it holding his right arms with yours. Ezekiel didn't think that you could be capable of bringing him, but at least he knows how to behave, narrowing his hand as soon as your co-worker offers to him. And then, after introducing him to the crew, you walk to the bar to grab some beers. The mischief has begun.

You two dance too close. So close that there isn't any distance between both, drinking from the same bottle, laughing and feigning that you are flirting. What EZ doesn't know is the fact that your best friend is gay, and married. And even if you only have one hour to make him feel jealous, until he recognizes his feelings for you, it's more than enough. After this time, your friend has to drive to the airport in San Diego to pick up his husband, from a plane from New York where he has been attending a seminar.

Sideways, you can see Ezekiel serving drinks to the other Mayans, but feeling the burn inside his veins believing he has lost the boat straight to you. And you feel somewhat bad, but you have been throwing him indirects about what you feel for too long. So, this is the last option you have. And when you think that the plan can't work better, your partner in crime has a new idea.

“Ezekiel, right?” He asks walking towards the bar, leaning over it, while you feign to be talking with Coco. He knows what you are doing. “Give one more beer, please”.

He nods in silence, not falling into his taunting.

“She is beautiful, don't you think? Like an angel”. Your friend says then, trying to tease him.

“Yeah, she is”.

“I hope she's not single for much longer, you know what I mean”.

“Yeah, and I hope you don't hurt her”.

“Me? I couldn't, big guy”. He laughs, grabbing the drink, to give him his back.

Your friend blinks you an eye, putting an arm over your shoulders.

“Job done, sweetheart. I have to go, but, call me tomorrow if you're still alive. Did you see the size of his arms?”

Kissing the tip of your nose, he pokes it before leaving you there with Coco.

“Mami, you're gonna burn into hell”.

“Yes, probably. Who knows?”

The next part of the plan, and the final one, is play the innocent card. Ezekiel is pretty smart, but so predictable. Putting your dress on well, you go into the clubhouse. Your heels lead the way to the bathroom, getting locked inside it to retouch your makeup, taking your time. You're not in a hurry. Checking some emails on your phone, you try to desperate the prospect at the other side of the door. Being conscious that he is already waiting for an explanation. Keeping your stuff in the small bag, to hang it from a shoulder, you are about to walk outside of the bathroom when you almost collide with him.

“Jesus Christ, Zeke… You scared me!” That was a bad line, but effective.

“Yeah, sorry 'bout that”.

“Need something, ah?”

“Why the hell you brought your fuck boy to the party?”

“Sorry…?”

He doesn't repeat it again. Crossing your arms over your chest, you frown.

“You told me to bring him”.

“I wasn't being serious”.

“Why you care?”

“Mayans business, maybe? Do you think this is a disco club?”

Rolling your eyes, you place a hand on his abdomen to push him away, not letting him see that you're winning the game.

“Don't be a dick, Zeke. That's your brother's shit”.

“You are being a dick, not me. Bringing… this fucking guy here. What were you pretending?”

“Have a date?”

“With that guy? Nah. You're fucking kidding me. That's not your type”.

“Oh, wait. I didn't know that you know my type more than I do. Surprise me, oh, voice of wisdom”.

He doesn't reply, frowning and placing his hands on the folds of his kutte.

“Yeah, that's what I thought”.

Giving him your back, you continue checking your mails on your phone, while crossing the hallway to the living room of the clubhouse.

“I like you”. His voice sounds like a shy whisper, but the fact is that he has his eyes fixed on you. “You're not like… these girls walking around here all the time. You… are intelligent, you have… ambitions, inquisitiveness. And shit… Shit, you smell so good. Is like I have your smell stuck in my fucking lungs the whole day, just with smelling it once”.

His puppy eyes are melting your heart, seeing how he feels so miserable thinking he has lost you because of his incapacity of talking about the feelings he has for you.

“He looks like a good guy, but… if one day you need someone to break his legs, just call me”.

That makes you laugh, even if he's talking seriously. Taking some steps next to him, with your hands tangled behind your back, you lean forward a little.

“Do you wanna know something?” Waiting him for a nod, you take another step. “He is gay. And he's also happily married to another of my best friends”.

“Tell me you didn't play the fucking game of pu—”.

“I did, Zeke. See? You're not the smartest in this clubhouse”.

“So you ar—”.

“No, he's just my friend. But I was serious with the part of having a date. But my date is still working, so I have to wait for him”.

He just chuckles, with that kind of smile that could stop a damn world war.

“We're not having a date”. He says then, coming closer to you.

“Aren't we?”

“Not tonight. I don't want our first date to happen here”.

“Aw, look at you… The romantic Reyes”.

“More than my brother? Yeah”. He laughs this time, surrounding you with both arms as you place your hands on his chest. “If I see you again dancing too close with anyone, I'm gonna burn down this place”.

“That doesn't sound too bad… You will finish working sooner, then”.

Before you can continue talking, his lips are already pressing your with a gentle and lovely gesture, that gives you some nice chills down to your backbone. Raising your fingers to the back of his head, you deep your tongue in his mouth, to fight his, but taking your time to enjoy a kiss that you have been desiring for too long.

“Hey, boy sco—OH, SHIT, FINALLY”.

Turning at Angel, you find him freaking out. Hands on top of his head, widened eyes and his mouth dropping to the floor.

“DAMN, I THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN”.

Now his hands go to cover his mouth, hiding a proud smile and making you laugh.

“Nah, whatever, I cover your ass at the bar”.

“Yeah, give me just two minutes more”.

He leaves you walking backwards, facing you and making some dirty gestures with his fingers, before pointing at his brother's arms to highlight their size.

“ANGEL!” You yell laughing, trying to hide against EZ's chest.

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[thevioletjones]

Congrats on the kudos, u deserve it! I did not undestand if I'm supposed to choose one of the lines for the prompt or if I have to combine two or more lines lol. But if it is to choose only one: number 5. If more than one: 5 and 45. *---*

Thank you! I used both. Great inspiration, actually. It spun out of control! 😀

Prompt 2: “How much of that did you hear?” + “Why are you helping me?”

Interloper

“Jesus, Iggy, I’m gonna fuckin’ murder you myself one of these days,” Mickey threatened in exasperation.

They were both leaning over, hands on knees, gasping for air, just having run full-speed for at least twelve blocks. The pillars beneath the L tracks were now providing the mild seclusion they needed to wait out a cursory police search of the area.

“Ain’t my fault!” Iggy exclaimed defensively.

Mickey’s face scrunched up to a degree that only his dumbest family members could make it reach. “Yes it fuckin’ was! Who else’s fault would it be?”

He’d always kind of wondered how he was the only one in his crap-ass family to be gifted with at least half a brain. Well, him and his younger sister, Mandy. She was alright. Skanky and crazy, but not a total idiot. He couldn’t say the same for his brothers, male cousins, father, uncle, etcetera. Mickey couldn’t even get his begrudgingly favorite brother to follow a simple goddamn plan that would’ve kept them out of trouble when they were out committing crimes. He was just gonna have to start doing everything himself. Safety in numbers didn’t apply when the other member of your team seemed to have been lobotomized when no one was paying attention. It was probably all the meth. Mickey was smart enough to stay away from that particular bullshit. Didn’t want to become a scabby, denture-wearing, toothpick skinny, low-life with no mind left to lose. He was content to stick to coke and weed like a normal person.

“That old bitch came outta nowhere! Self-defense!”

“It ain’t self-defense if you’re robbin’ the joint, numbnuts! We’re lucky you fuckin’ missed!”

If he had it his way, Mickey wouldn’t be doing these petty robberies anymore. He much preferred bigger jobs, like gun and drug running. But times were tough, and he had to do what he had to do. He’d even considered getting a legit job for once in his life, but the skills he possessed weren’t exactly easily adaptable to the straight and narrow path. Being a criminal was how he was raised, and all he knew. It brought heat, but it was still a comfortable fit. Living without the constant presence of major risk would probably feel so foreign as to drive him crazier than a meth addiction in the long run.

The job Mickey’d lined up involved hitting up a few different borderline upmarket stores that’d opened up in their neck of the woods since the gentrifiers had set upon The Yards, then selling the goods to a guy he knew in the online black market trade. Not as lucrative as heavy metal and funny powder, but a decent payday nonetheless. Except fuckface over here who had to ruin everything by getting trigger-happy on Main while they were attempting to heist merchandise from location number two of three. If the pigs nabbed either one of them, they’d be going down for at least five to ten. Years. Mickey was done donating years to the prison industrial complex. The most he could afford was months at best.

“When’d you turn into such a giant asshole?” asked Iggy. “Oh, nevermind, probly when you started gettin’ it railed on the reg.”

A giant smile stretched across his perpetually dirty face, causing Mickey’s eyebrows to lift dangerously high on his forehead. Occasionally, his dumber-than-rocks older brother managed to think up some admittedly clever asides. Mickey didn’t know whether to punch him or give him daps.

Before he could decide, however, he heard a distinct little snicker from the other side of the large concrete column they were leaning on, raising his hackles to invisibly join his eyebrows in their heightened incredulity.

Mickey hastily rounded the pillar and grabbed the giggler by the shirt collar, hauling him to their side and pinning him next to Iggy with his forearm. He looked into the guy’s eyes, and finally registered who it was. He kinda sorta knew him from around town. Used to hang out with his sister back in high school. He was a lot scrawnier then. This version of the dude could probably hold his own with Mickey in a fight. He’d built some definite muscle.

“How much of that did you hear, asshole?” Mickey demanded, seeing Iggy flash the gun in his waistband in his periphery.

This idiot didn’t look as rattled as he should be, though. He just shrugged his shoulders.

“Considering I was here first, I guess… all of it?”

He was wearing an annoying little smirk, his green-blue eyes shining bright, and his red hair distracting Mickey as much as the light dusting of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He had a stupidly ultra-defined chin, and Mickey immediately hated it. His chin hadn’t looked like that when he was a 15-year-old pipsqueak.

“Wipe that smile off your face, bitch,” ordered Mickey, pressing his arm harder against the guy’s pale throat. “You think this is fuckin’ funny? You know who we are?”

The guy shrugged again, like this was all a casual conversation on the corner. “Mickey.” He glanced at his dumb, blonde, curlicue brother. “And Iggy, right? I used to hang out with Mandy all the time. Have a good memory.”

“Yeah? Well I remember your goofy ass too, Gallagher. I know where you live and I know who your family is, so if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your big mouth shut or I’ll pick ‘em off one by one and save you for last. Got it?”

The dude snorted, and Mickey wondered if he was some kind of crazy tweaker with no sense of propriety or self-preservation.

“You outta your goddamn mind or somethin’?” Mickey added. “I ain’t jokin’.”

“Look, Gallaghers don’t snitch, alright?” He held his hands up placatingly. “I promise not to say shit to anyone. It’s none of my business, and I really don’t care. That good enough for you?”

Mickey loosened his hold, but sized him up all the while. “Maybe. But it’s possible you need a little lesson to remember it good. Wouldn't want you to forget about the consequences of you breakin’ your word.”

The dude winced and shoved Mickey off. “I don’t need a fucking beatdown, Mickey. I get it.”

“Ohhhh,” Mickey singsonged derisively, meeting Iggy’s gaze. “He gets it.” He thumbed his eyebrow. “Guess I’m just s’posed to believe you, huh?”

“That would be ideal, yeah.”

Mickey had to give it to him; he almost cracked a smile. The kid had balls. Most people around their neighborhood cowered before a Milkovich like spring lambs. Still, he lived by a code, and letting some rando walk away unscathed when he had dirt on him just didn’t fit the rules.

He cocked his fist back to knock it into tall, pale, and red’s pearly white teeth, just as the stunted siren of a cop car rang out very close by. Their collective heads all snapped toward the sound, and after sharing a meaningful look between brothers, Iggy took off running once again, without a word.

Normally, Mickey would’ve followed hot on his heels, but some unknown force was keeping his useless feet stuck to the dirty ground, eyes watching as Gingerballs glanced around the column at the flashing lights, taking a very long look that wasn’t suspicious at all.

Before he could react outwardly, Mickey was pulled against a hard body, Gallagher’s warm breath sending a shiver down his spine as he whispered, “Be cool. I got you.”

Suddenly, big hands were caressing Mickey’s back, and despite a part of him not minding in the least, the rest of him stiffened considerably.

“What the fuck are you doing?” he rasped out, hearing the telltale slam of a car door, and attempting to pull away. But a strong grip held him close, spinning him around so that he was the one up against the concrete now.

“Saving your thug ass. I know this guy, okay? Just chill and follow my lead.”

Okay, what the hell was this surreal turn of events? Gallagher was bold as shit, cradling Mickey all gay like. Sure, Iggy had made a fag joke earlier, kicking off this whole… whatever it was, but still. This guy had no way of knowing it was based in reality. Did he?

And had Gallagher really been gay this whole time? How had Mickey never sniffed this scorching information out?

“What’s going on here, boys?”

The copper rounded the corner, genuinely swinging his nightstick like a cartoon character, and Mickey had to suppress a deep roll of his eyes.

“Milkovich?” Mr. CPD continued, extreme disbelief coloring his voice.

Mickey was abruptly reminded that he was currently stuck between a rock and a hard body, and nothing about their entanglement screamed anything other than gay, gay, super-fucking-gay. Not that Mickey hadn’t come to accept who he was and what he liked, but he didn’t go around spreading the truth all over town either. This could seriously damage his carefully crafted reputation.

“Tony!” Ian interjected, sparing him from having to invent some lame excuse, and the cop’s eyes snapped to him instead.

“Ian?” His tone was still dripping with astonishment.

“Yeah! What's up? How you been?”

Mickey shot him an ‘are you goddamn serious right now?’ look, and Ian just squeezed his hip in tacit reply.

“Uhhh… gooood? Care to explain whatever…” he waved his stick between them, “this is?”

Ian laughed and he figured the dude truly was a nutcase. Mickey was going to jail for sure.

“Um, well,” answered Ian, suddenly playing it very meek and demure, “Mickey and I were just… you know…”

“You and… Mickey?”

“Not fucking or anything! Just... hanging out?”

“Hanging out.”

“Yeah, you know how it is. I’m tryin’ to convince Mick here to come home with me, but he’s being squirrelly.” He shook his head and shrugged. “South Side guys.”

“What the fuck?” Mickey whispered harshly, completely taken aback.

Ian just squeezed him tightly again, which was not helping his whole brain scramble situation.

“Huh,” said Tony, a tone of acceptance seeping in. “Mickey Milkovich, eh? Wow.”

“Come on, Tony. I don’t have to tell you this is all a big secret, do I?” replied Ian.

“And blondie who ran away like there was a damn fire? Did he flee a threesome?”

Mickey frowned and fake-wretched, finally speaking up. “Fuck no, man. That was my dumbass brother. He don’t like cops.”

“Uh huh. And you and your brother didn’t happen to be getting into trouble about 15 minutes ago, did you?”

“No sir,” Mickey said with a mock salute.

Ian kicked at his foot in warning.

“He’s been with me since like 3 o’clock, Tone. Scout’s honor.”

Officer Tony eyed them both with a look of skepticism, but didn’t contradict Ian’s word. The CB sounded from the open window of the black and white, with some cop-speak crackling over the airwaves.

“Stay put,” said Tony, eyes lingering longer on Mickey’s than Ian’s. “Both of you.”

He retreated to answer the radio call, and Mickey let out a deep whoosh of air.

“Goddamn, Gallagher. You’re spinnin’ quite a yarn here.”

“Yep,” Ian agreed. “A big gay yarn.”

“How the fuck did you know—”

“That you’re gay? Well, I heard Iggy make that joke, obviously. Pretty specific bottom joke to make if you weren’t actually into it. Plus, I always had my suspicions.”

Mickey scoffed. “Yeah fuckin’ right!”

“I did!”

“Whatever. Why are you helping me?”

“Out of the kindness of my heart?”

“Try again.”

“I don’t know. Why not? Makes us even or something. Now you know I won’t rat you out. About any of it. I wouldn’t out someone like that, and I don’t give a shit about the illegal crap you’re wrapped up in. Tony Markovich is like turbo gay too. Used to bang my sister, I think, but he came out a couple years ago. He won’t let it slip about you. He’s not a total bastard just cuz he’s a cop, ya know?”

Mickey bit his lip in contemplation. Gallagher seemed pretty genuine. Still didn’t much make sense in his brain, but whatever.

“Fine. But you know what’s gonna happen if—”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, kick my ass, kill my family, got it.”

“You’re a cocky little shit, ain’t you?”

Ian smirked again, and it was pretty sexy, actually. “Maybe.”

He had the gall to push against Mickey more fully, pressing the bottom halves of their bodies closer together.

Mickey gasped. “Gonna have to ask you again… what the hell do you think you’re doin’?”

“You wanna go out sometime?”

Mickey cackled in his face. “You’re off your fuckin’ rocker for sure.”

“Am not! I can tell you want me.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ. Cocky little shit doesn’t even begin to cover it, does it?”

“Come onnnn,” Ian prodded.

“Do I look like I date, Gallagher?”

“A date can be whatever we want it to be, Milkovich. I’m easy.”

“Yeah, I bet you are.”

“Okay,” Tony interrupted, coming back into view. “Get the hell outta here. You wanna bang, do it indoors somewhere, or I’ll have to arrest you for public indecency or worse. And Milkovich… if I find any evidence of what I’m sure you know I’m talking about, I’ll be paying your ass a visit real soon.”

Mickey let the eyeroll loose then, withholding a flip of his middle finger, and deadpanning instead, “Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, officer.”

Tony sighed loudly. “Whatever.”

“Thanks, Tony!” Ian cried at his retreating back.

“You always kiss cop ass like that? Cuz that’s not the way to get into my pants, Red.”

Ian just grinned, finally pulling his body away as he looked around. “You gonna follow me home or what?”

Mickey wanted to tell him to go fuck himself and swagger away like a badass. But was he not a thirsty man being propositioned by a hot guy who just randomly saved his ass from a trip to the slammer?

He at least feigned protest, huffing and puffing as he kicked at the dirt. “Goddamn it, Gallagher, you drive a hard bargain.”

Ian’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, as Mickey added, “Lead the way, weirdo.”

[forkanna]

[AO3] [WATTPAD]

NOTE: Here we go. Little bit of a shift in this chapter... you'll see. Thanks for keeping up with this fic and all your comments!

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

Everything was rather quiet for a couple of days. Rise threw herself into practicing her vocals with every spare moment, meeting with her manager and conferencing with her record label over the phone. She needed the distraction. Without any clear course of action with Ai, she had decided to let that matter fade into the background. Maybe something would come to her eventually.

On Sunday, she and the gang decided to go fishing, since that was one of Narukami's favourite activities and they were all missing him lately. For most of them, it simply meant getting to wave around poles and wade into the water, splashing each other. Kanji and Naoto resented this because they were much more serious about the matter, but the others didn't pay them too much mind.

"Hey, why didn't you invite Ai?" Chie suddenly asked as they re-baited their hooks. "She too snobby to get down here in the river with us?"

Rise laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah," she responded, giggling right along. "No way would she be caught dead touching a fish that's not cooked."

"No… I meant that she wouldn't want to hang out with me anymore."

"Why not?" Yukiko asked. "I thought you were becoming sort of close with her."

Wow, how oblivious could they be? "Not anymore."

Once she had explained properly, which took the better part of half an hour, most of the joy had been sucked out of their springtime activity. Rise did feel a little bad about that, but it was as much their fault as hers, so she didn't spend too much mental energy on sympathy for her friends.

"Gosh, that is so sad," Teddie said with a pronounced pout. He really did seem genuinely disappointed not to have another friend. "I know you guys didn't really mean to hurt her feelings."

"Guess I thought he'd be over that by now," Chie confessed quietly.

"Yeah," Yosuke added. "Like, as long as he stays away from my butt, I don't really care what he does with his time. And man, he looks way better in drag than even Teddie did, so…"

While Teddie was harrumphing as if genuinely offended, Kanji chuckled harshly as he twitched his line in the water the tiniest bit. "What is it with you and that gay panic, bro? I'm surprised your Shadow didn't look more like mine."

"H-hey, I'm just a healthy, red-blooded Japanese male! I like girls who are actually girls! Is that a crime?"

"I'll buy you a butt-protector to keep all the dicks out," Chie cackled bemusedly. Yosuke just grimaced.

"I'm… starting to get why she didn't want this getting out," Rise sighed.

"Hm?" Yukiko said as she turned back in her direction. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"No, that sounded important. I wouldn't want to hurt anyone's feelings…"

Which she appreciated. Even if the others were a little oblivious sometimes, Yukiko genuinely meant well all the time. Every minute of every day. "It's just… I'm no big expert on this subject, but you guys can see how much work she put into being taken seriously as a woman. Because she looks like one! Nobody could tell! And I think I haven't paid much attention to how hard that must have been for her… I'm… wow. And I really did almost ruin her life."

Not that she had been unaware of that before. She thought she understood, and she did — better than her friends did, for sure. But listening to them casually treat her like a drag act, a joke, a source of anxiety for Yosuke's extra-fragile masculinity, peeled back just enough of the curtain. Now she knew that she really didn't know anything at all.

"Don't be so dramatic," Chie sighed. "Like you said, he was able to play it off, and he's giving you a lot more shit now than is necessary compared to what you did on accident. Like, scales balanced. If he wants to keep being a dick then that's on him."

Rise shrugged helplessly as she tossed her fishing pole back onto the shore. "You're not wrong about that part. I'm not saying her trying to get revenge on me is right. I'm just saying I understand why she feels so betrayed. Didn't really get it before, but…"

"I still don't get it now," Yosuke grunted. "The whole thing makes me super uncomfortable. But it sounds like he already had the surgery, so… doesn't that mean he's a girl anyway?"

"What? No, it's… nevermind that part." She had been about to insist that Ai did not have "The Surgery" yet, even though she had probably undergone several other minor procedures. But that was the kind of detail that would get her even deeper in trouble than she already was, so she cut herself off.

"Well, I'm with Chie," Yukiko said cautiously. "You have apologized for hurting her, you didn't intend to in the first place. If she were a true friend, she would accept your apology."

"I'm not sure it's that simple."

They all turned to look at Naoto, not having expected her to speak. The girl was wearing a very thoughtful expression underneath her newsboy-casquette cap. "What isn't?" Teddie finally prompted when everybody had been quiet for a little too long.

"This situation with Ebihara-san. She's living her life as transgender, and you have jeopardized that life. Even if on accident, I can see how she would interpret that as an attack."

"Come on," Chie sighed. "Any idiot knows the difference between on accident and on purpose."

"Not necessarily. In law, there is such a thing as 'gross criminal negligence'. This means that even if it's an accident, even if you did nothing with the premeditated intent to do harm, you can still cause harm and be held accountable for it. At least, partially."

"So you're saying it's okay that this asshole is trying to frame our friend for cheating?!" Yosuke burst out.

"Hm? Oh, no, not at all," Naoto insisted, a slight crease in her brow. "But this is a matter of criminal pathology. Even if Ebihara-san is not a criminal, she is perpetrating criminal acts; understanding them requires the same skill set. Motive. Means. Opportunity. We already know the last two, more or less; security isn't especially tight at Yasogami High. I'm sure it was a simple matter for her to sneak into the classroom and pilfer the answer key, then sneak it into Rise's bag when no one was looking. So all that's left is… why?"

"Because he's a petty jerk," Chie provided immediately.

"It's not that simple."

"No, it really is. Maybe you guys get something about how serious us gossiping about him was that I don't, but I don't care. You don't treat a friend like that. Period! Even if he's really pissed at Rise, she did apologize, she's trying to make it right. He's not acting like a friend at all. So I say, screw him! Just let him self-destruct and be alone. And if he won't stop being a jerk to you, we will be jerks right back. I'm not going to sit around while he drags you down for something you didn't even do on purpose."

Rise felt a rush of affection toward Chie Satonaka. Even if she couldn't completely agree with everything she was saying, it was nice to know her friends had her back — that these were true blue friendships that had lasted beyond being part of the same Investigation Team. The passion with which she spoke, and the anger she clearly felt toward Ebihara because she was attacking her friend, made the existence of those bonds unmistakable.

However… she also couldn't ignore the way Naoto's brow furrowed further. Kanji also rested a hand on her shoulder. Was she simply upset about losing an argument, or was there more to that?

"I can't disagree with what you say. I was merely trying to point out that in Ebihara-san's estimation, Rise may deserve vengeance more than she does in any of our estimation. She is viewing the situation differently than we are."

"Well his 'estimation' sucks," Chie grumbled.

"Maybe," Rise finally cut in with a discomfited sigh. "But can you guys… can you promise me you won't do anything mean to her without asking me? At least that? I know she's being a jerk, but it's because I messed up. Huge. So this has to be between her and me."

None of them looked too thrilled with that. Yukiko nodded immediately, seemingly satisfied right away that she was doing what was asked of her by her friend. The others were a little slower to agree but they still all did at some point or another, dissatisfied as they were.

"Thanks. And I'm so happy you have my back, I can't express that enough. But I have to figure this out on my own."

"You got it," Kanji grunted as he started reeling in a fish. "Shit… it's a big one… but I'm not gonna forget how you looked when that old bag accused you of cheating. That ain't right. Ebihara better make it right eventually, or his ass is grass."

What an ominous threat. Well-meaning, but ominous. Rise knew she would have to sort this matter out post haste — before she had to find out just how far her friends were willing to go to come to her aid.

                                          ~ o ~

All of this gave birth to a very determined Rise Kujikawa, and this was the one who walked into school on a foggy Monday morning. Ai had done enough damage; she had to forge ahead as if everything was fine. Her new tactic had to be not to let the bullying get to her, because she better understood it was just her friend being hurt by her own actions. And if she wouldn't accept her apology… there was nothing more she could do.

But she didn't have it in her to give up. That option was stricken off the list. Rise was no quitter.

Everything was fine until her second-to-last class of the day. Rise had mostly focused on schoolwork and chatting with her other friends, taking her mind off more depressing matters. Gearing up for a promotional video she was supposed to shoot soon; that would be a first step toward reestablishing herself as an artist, even if she still didn't intend to go back to singing full-time until she graduated. And the class with Ms. Sofue was fine in and of itself… for the first ten minutes or so.

That was when she noticed the smell. At first, she was looking around the room to try and figure out who had lost control of their bowels in such close proximity to other students. Maybe it was something they had for lunch?

A brief investigation ten minutes later revealed the true culprit, once everyone was looking at her like she was being most unladylike. Deep in the recesses of her desk, which she never used to keep anything since she would just have to move it again after class, someone had stuffed an old sandwich. Unless she missed her guess, there was natto and egg on it, among other things. But there was too much mold growing inside the sandwich bag for her to be certain.

"Oh GOOD GOD!" cried one of the boys nearby, covering his face with his arm. "What's in that thing?!"

Waving at the air with her crooked heka, the teacher coughed and demanded, "Please dispose of your lunch in a proper manner from now on, Miss Kujikawa! Make no mistake, even I have no interest in mummified food!"

A few of them were able to wrap it in some paper and drag it to the trash can, amid Rise's protests that she had never seen it before. Nobody believed her, because the natto tended to make it seem obvious that it had come from Marukyu — even though their speciality was tofu, not other soybean offerings. A lot of bickering back and forth broke out until the teacher banged her cane on her desk.

"Enough! Miss Kujikawa has technically broken no rule, even if it was her sandwich. So we'll say no more about it. Please, open your books again and turn to page…"

But the entire class period, Rise couldn't stop thinking about the sandwich. She already knew who it was; only one person at that school was stupid enough to actively mess with a famous pop idol. The instant the bell rang, she pelted out of class so fast that quite a few students gasped. By now, she knew what class Ai was supposed to be in around this time… and where she could find her.

                                          ~ o ~

"Oh!" gasped one of the girls in the locker room when Rise barged past her. "Do you even have this class? What are you doing in the-"

"Ebihara?" she asked. Some girl with a towel wrapped around her hair pointed further into the room. Rise stormed over there to find a towel-clad Ai preening at the mirror hanging on the inside of her locker, running the brush through her hair over and over. "Thanks for your present."

Smirking a little, the girl didn't even glance over. "I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Yeah? You don't recognise it?"

Everyone gasped when she threw it onto the bench nearest Ebihara. That was nothing compared to the chorus of disgusted noises that followed once its foul stench began to pervade the air within the steamy room. Even still wrapped in the plastic bag, it was horrendous.

"Oh, GOD," Ai joined in, though she was chuckling just a little. "Why would you be carrying that thing around? Just to throw at me like that?"

"Why?" she demanded. "This has crossed the line from mean to just… weird! What's the point of stinking up the classroom?"

Full of false innocence, she pressed a hand to her chest as she said, "Why, I don't know. Sounds to me like someone just forgot to throw away her lunch. Maybe you should be a little less wasteful. Then again, as rich and famous as you are, I bet you don't care at all."

A ripple of murmurs spread throughout the room. Rise knew that they didn't really care about the sandwich, or about wastefulness, but they were highly concerned with this argument between two students playing out right in front of them. Gossip fodder. So she decided not to give them any more ammunition.

"Okay. We'll just throw it away." She snatched it off the bench and flashed Ai a poisonous smile. "Have a lovely day, Ebi-chan."

"Don't you mean Ebi-kun?"

Rise stopped dead in her tracks. She actually looked around for what assholes had said it, determined to give them a dressing down. Even if they were fighting, nobody got to talk about her friend like that. But she realized it had come from Ai herself. "What?"

"You were one of the people that started the rumour, right?" She looked so haughty, arms folded over her chest and hip cocked to one side. "So I'm surprised you let it go that easy."

Deciding to play along, she smirked and shot back, "I heard you showed off the goods to some other girls and it proved it was false."

"Yeah. But since when do people like you care about facts? You would much rather be right than the truth prevail."

"People like- okay. Whatever this is, whatever you want from me, I'm done with it. I thought we could try to be adults and move on, but all you want to do is start a war — one I'm not interested in fighting. Just leave me alone if you really can't stand me this bad, okay?"

Ai laughed and took a step forward. "Rise-Risette, the gossip-monger. And now, the cheater! What terrible thing are you going to do next?"

"I didn't do anything in the first place!"

"You know you did." The smile disappeared for a second, leaving her friend's features full of cold fury. But it was so brief that most of the other girls probably wouldn't have noticed; then she was smiling like rainbows were shooting out of her ass again. "And hey, if you want to try to blame me for all of it, go ahead. You might as well."

"No, that's not necessary. Maybe it's just a series of tragic coincidences."

"Uh huh. Or maybe you're just a self-destructive pop idol, a little brat who couldn't hack it in the entertainment industry, and now that you're stuck in boring old Inaba, you want attention again. Don't you see you're going about it all the wrong ways?"

So that was her game. Now Rise could see this for what it was: it wasn't just any one incident meant to slander her and give her a bad name. All of them together were supposed to paint a picture of a celebrity spiraling out of control. Rise was going to turn into the Japanese Britney Spears if Ai Ebihara had anything to do with it.

"You really want to destroy me that badly?" she hissed now that they were so close their noses were almost touching. All the girls around them were whispering and chattering, watching the drama intently. The rub was, they were gossiping so much about what they were saying that they couldn't even actually hear what they were saying.

"You can bet on it. I told you I was going to, unless you destroy me first. And I think you will. I think you are exactly the kind of person who will shoot in self-defense."

"That isn't me," she breathed, glancing down at Ai's body. It was so close to her own… she couldn't help looking, couldn't help feeling flustered even though they were fighting right now. "We both know that. You're just mad I messed up, and you won't let me apologize, and you won't leave it alone. There's nothing else I can do."

"Yes there is." Then she hiked an eyebrow slightly, lowering her voice to barely a whisper. "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. Just… trying to figure out what to-"

"You were trying to figure out if you could see my dick. Weren't you?" As Rise felt her brow furrow, Ai chuckled and pressed on, "Do it. Go looking."

She could feel her temper flaring hotter. It was getting hard to control. "Stop being so gross. I wouldn't do that, I haven't done that, and I'm not going to do that."

"Why not? Come on… all you have to do is rip this towel off me. Show the world. Maybe I'm tucking again, maybe I'm not. But wouldn't that be great if you exposed a scandal in the women's locker room? Risette the Hero, saving all these poor girls from the freak."

"You know — you know I have never once in my life called you a freak, why do you want me to hurt you so badly? What do you get out of it? Are you some kind of psycho masochist?!"

"Sure! Go with that. Even more reason to save everyone. Do it." No movement. "Clock's ticking. The longer you wait, the weirder it's going to be that we're standing here whispering to each other."

But Rise's mind was racing. She still had no idea really why she was pushing so hard for her to attack, to be so vicious. She thought back to the revelation she had when walking home — about Ai, about what these attacks meant for their relationship. And when she thought of it that way…

Everything came together. Of course, nothing was for certain until she heard it straight from the horse's mouth, but now Rise thought she understood the reason her former friend was trying so hard to get her to treat her like vermin.

"No," she whispered with a small smile.

"No? Aww, I guess the games continue then," Ai said with a fake, exaggerated pout. "You're going to have to be a lot tougher than that to make it as a star."

"Actually… let's play a new game. Unless you want to give up now?" Her pleading face returned. "Please, please just stop. I'll leave you alone if that's what you want, or we can go back to being friends and… try to put this behind us. But I'm not giving up, not going away. So…? Maybe?"

Ai shook her head. "This isn't your game, you don't get to change the rules, princess. So nice try."

"Fine," she sighed… before sliding her arms tightly around Ai.

"H-hey!" she burst out. Then a little louder, "Oh my GOD, now Risette is trying to molest me!"

Before the gasps really had a chance to deepen, Rise sobbed, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you, I just… I just love you so much Ai, a-and when you… when you pulled away, I didn't know what to do! Can't you forgive me?"

Even the girls who weren't watching before were glued to this scene now. And even though she could tell Ai didn't like losing control of the situation — hated might have been more apropos — she still drew back to gape at her.

"What… did you just say?"

"I asked you to forgive-"

"Cut the bullSHIT!" she snapped loudly enough that one smaller girl yelped and fell back on her ass, scrabbling for the nearest bench. "You can't mean that. Not in front of all these people, you… they'll know you're- if you say how you feel, that's…"

"I don't care about them! I love you, Ai, I… I didn't mean for us to end up this way!" Her bottom lip wobbled hard as she took a shaky breath. "But if you really can't forgive me, I'll understand! I just… I can't go on with us hurting each other like this!"

"Oh, this is so not going to work," she scoffed… until she saw a few of the girls putting their hands on Rise's shoulders, comforting her as the big fat tears rolled down her cheeks. Offering tissues, petting her hair. "Are you- wow, you guys can't be buying this! It's an act!"

"Hey, don't be so mean!" said some girl with bobbed hair; Rise thought her name was Matsunaga, but she couldn't remember at the moment. The moment Ai's gaze was on her, she said much more quietly, "S-sorry."

"Oh my GOD. Fine. Whatever, I'm out of here."

But a wall of girls blocked her way. They were all glowering at her now, looking ready to throw down; they would never have challenged alone but there was safety in numbers. Ai's eyebrows shot up, unimpressed… but the more she looked at all of them, the more anxious she appeared. Not frightened, just uneasy from the attention. The constant attention, while wearing a towel… prospect of a fight… she backed into a corner and they started to advance on her. This would get seriously out of hand if someone didn't step in.

Someone stepped in.

"Please, just give me another chance," Rise provided smoothly as she slid forward through the throng of girls, taking up Ai's hand — which was immediately yanked out of reach. Her voice was taut with emotion as she pleaded, "That's all! I'll show you I can be a better friend, a-and those pranks? Forgotten! And I won't ever tell another lie about you again, I promise!"

Ai took another good look around at the student body standing in opposition against her. The wheels were turning behind her eyes. Then she glared down at Rise with a shake of her head. "You… conniving… snake," she muttered.

Some of the girls heard it, and looked more scandalised. And because now everyone else was behind her… Rise felt comfortable allowing a smug, triumphant smirk to take over her features. Just for an instant. She even mouthed a few choice words:

"You only have one way out."

Oh, she had never seen Ai look that angry before. This wasn't just annoyance or rage. She looked murderous. But it only lasted a second before she sighed, shut her eyes, took a breath.

"Rise… fine. I know… I went too far. Can you forgive me?"

"Wow, really sounds authentic," one of the others closest to the lockers scoffed.

"No, really." When Ai opened her eyes again, she was smiling weakly. "I have missed you. I just didn't know… I was so angry when you started that nasty rumour."

"I know. It was a stupid mistake! And I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you just… take me back! That's all you have to do." She took both of her hands, ignoring the way nails were digging into her own. Petty little revenges were par for the course now. "Just be with me."

One could hear a pin drop in that locker room. Ai pulled her close and whispered softly, "You want to play this game? We're playing it on a national level."

"Bring it on," she replied in kind, smirking again — even while her heart pounded in her throat from the closeness. "But c'mon, I beat you this round."

"Shut up."

Such a chorus of "WHOOOOO" went up when they kissed that it felt like they were shaking the foundation of Yasogami High. Probably because, metaphorically as well as literally, they were. Game-changer indeed.

                                          To Be Continued…

[charlesjosephwrites]

I'm quite (read: very) curious about The Magician and BGCD. Can I have some fun facts about those WIPs lol—

Oh howdy! I haven't actually spoken about my wips on here in a hot minute, so it's nice to have an excuse to talk about them. Thank you!

The Magician is currently my main wip! I built it around my superhero special interest, so it's the easiest one to get my brain to engage with consistently. I really need to redo the intro I have up for it because it's kind of outdated at this point, but I can still hit you with some fun facts!

This wip is kind of an homage to some classic superhero media like the 60s era Batman show or the old Superfriends cartoon. I just think modern superheroes tend to take themselves way too seriously. (And you can't tell me that this isn't peak supervillain behavior.)

It was originally going to be a more traditional superhero story with Ms. Psychic as the protagonist, but I wrote a couple scenes from April's pov to try to get to know her better, and she just totally stole the show.

I was apparently projecting some of my autistic traits onto April a couple of years before I even knew I that I'm autistic, which I think is pretty cool to be able to look back and see. April's autism diagnosis is technically a spoiler, but whatever. It actually plays a pretty big role in her character arc later on.

It's going to be a trilogy! Incredibly vague spoilers, but book one is about April trying to make it as a big name supervillain through a bunch of wacky antics, and books two and three are going to be all about her redemption arc after some things happen that make her realize that maybe becoming a supervillain wasn't such a great idea.

One of my favorite reoccurring jokes is that most of April's friends turn out to be some flavor of asexual. She's just like, "Yeah, I'm the Magician! Of course I'm great at finding aces!"

This wip has a huge cast and only like two cishets lmao.

April is just such a dramatic little shit, and I love her so much. This bitch really decided that the only real superhero in the whole city is Her Nemesis and spends like half of book one being mad at her for fighting other supervillains.

April is definitely a Dumbass Gay™. This causes So Many Problems while she's trying to hide her secret identity from her girlfriend because she's just so afraid that Claire wouldn't actually like her if she knew the truth. This spirals so far out of control (RIP).

BGDC has actually been on hiatus for a while because I was having major issues with some plot stuff, and it was stressing me out way too much. I think I have a solution to those issues, so I'll probably be working on it again as soon as ADHD brain is cooperative enough to let me fix my outline. If all goes well, it might be my wip for NaNoWriMo!

Anyways, I've got a few fun facts for you!

BGDC actually stands for Be Gay Do Crime because I've been too lazy to come up with a proper title for this wip. (The Magician technically isn't a proper title either rip)

This wip has a way smaller cast than a lot of my other stories. It's been a bit of a struggle for me, ngl, but I guess that's just something that happens with road trip stories.

Juliet's bastardization arc is a very Fun Time. She starts off as a relatively normal person who was just put in a very bad situation, but things just keep spiraling from there, especially as she gets closer to Irene, who is a Very Bad Influence™.

Irene has a metric fuckton of Backstory Trauma™. A lot of it kind of boils down to the fact that she grew up in a tiny religious farm town in Texas in the 70s, which was not a great time or place to be a queer woman.

Irene tries to keep up the gruff serial killer type persona she's got going on, but honestly she softens up a ton when Juliet's around. She's just,,,, Very Gay.

I've got some fun Crimes planned for this wip! There's some murder, some bank robbery, some good old fashioned running from the police, but I think my favorite would have to be that super gay jewelry store heist where steal engagement rings for each other. It's a weirdly sweet moment.

[tavoriel]

Yo Tavs, I'm curious, what are your thoughts on the whole Ardat-Yakshi shebang (including Morinth and her sisters)?

Oh hello!  Alrighty, here goes another episode of Salty Fandom Opinions with Tavs.  Disclaimer that I’m yelling to share what I think, & everybody’s gotta figure out their own answers for themselves P:

Ok so they made a whole Captain America movie about stopping SHIELD (which later turned out to be HYDRA, because it was such a bad idea that of course it was secretly the bad guys) from systematically taking drastic preemptive measures against people who might cause trouble (“I thought the punishment came after the crime,” Steve Rogers says, American-ly).  If asari society and the galaxy at large have rules about not murdering people, ardat-yakshi already have a reason to think twice about flirting with any murder addiction potential. 

Most importantly, though, I think it’s distasteful in terms of world-building to introduce a kind of person who has a genetic murder addiction in the first place.  It’s so oddly specific it really reads like someone invented it solely to stir up that complexity factor, of the choice between risking a bad thing vs. systematically locking down on innocent peoples’ personal freedom for their entire lives; maybe that complexity factor of whether someone’s natural behavior can get so deviant that they finally become Bad and you can react to them as Bad without the worry of how to react to them respectfully as different because well that’s hard (also they can be called some kind of slur that means demon and everyone’s okay with this for some reason).  So my question is, why is it tasteful or useful to cook up a situation just so you can ask the ethics question of whether abuse and having total control over another person could be made to be okay?  Whether some people are just inherently Bad compared to other people?  Like the question of what if there was a situation where genocide was okay; Mass Effect is fun and all but seriously legitimately What the Actual Hell with these questions, I’m yelling

(Like… what about using scifi to invent a situation where you start to wonder if it’s ethical to KICK a PUPPY?  Like what if… a space beetle crawled up its nose… and latched onto its brain and started mind-controlling it or who knows… but maybe blunt force can shake it loose!  Bam, instant ethics dilemma.  Should you kick the puppy?… How is this a tasteful or even remotely valuable question to ask?  Is the puppy-kicking scifi ethics question… just there to evoke emotions?  In a worst case scenario…is there actually an audience out there, for stories that touch on literal animal cruelty as something that, hmm, the reader should make up their mind about, there’s no wrong answer, rather than condemning it?  Regardless, the puppy kicking situation, with the space beetle or whatever we decided it was, is never going to apply to you or anyone else.  You could puzzle out an answer to it anyway, but why does it even matter?  And if the question ranges from an arbitrary shock factor, at best, to appealing to people who like animal cruelty, at worst…what’s it doing in the story?)

The way they introduced the ardat-yakshi through the conflict with Morinth and Samara was distasteful, too.   Samara was basically this vigilante justice mom who somehow convinced the justicars to give her a decorative badge.  She treated it as her personal responsibility to atone for having a child who turned out “wrong,” like Morinth was some kind of reject asari, and an extension of her mother.  In a real world situation?  If a child has heavily restricted freedoms, and is treated like a freak and a blot on the family name by their own parents, then grows up and leaves home to live their own life, and a parent takes to following them relentlessly, to stop them from living their own life?  That’s infinitely more likely to be an abuse situation than this intricate thing where well the kid is a mass murderer, because she’s addicted to it and arguably evil, and so the mom signed up to be a religious detective… etc.  Like; the whole thing borrows a lot of the structure of a terrible and sensitive real world situation, and then scifi’s it up so, well, maybe the one in the role of victim in real life is…brace yourselves…actually the villain.   Which, again, ranges in real-life relevance from arbitrary to… wouldn’t you look like a terrible parent if you decide your kid’s defective if they’re gay, if they’re trans, if they’re autistic, etc.?  But what if it’s a scifi setting and the kid is Morinth? (???)  I have no way of knowing what the actual reasoning was, but it’s close enough to something troubling to bother me.

I let Morinth kill Samara :\  Like; I don’t know what’s going on here, but I do know that in the Kansas version of this Wizard of Oz thing that’s happening, Morinth needs all the help she can get.