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#should be back and gayer in the next few weeks
bluebeewings · 1 year
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I started Our Flag Means Death FURIOUS and bitter. I was still high on the Always Sunny train and feeling that no other type of humor would ever compare to sunny’s humor and as I watched the pilot I was seething with anger cause I was already feeling the show wouldn’t live up to what I thought it could be. Nobody was talking about it and there were a few episodes to come out, so I hadn’t even heard of it before (my friend told me it was a Taika pirate show and we should see what was it about). My first impression of Stede was that he was gay, but that the show wouldn’t possibly go there and that I’d eventually be disappointed when it’s not the case. Secondly, Jim. The moment I saw them I thought trans, but then again, how often it is that the trope of “dressing as a guy to blend in” leads to actual trans rep? I saw all the queer allegories, the queer undertones but honestly thought the show wouldn’t deliver. It’s a silly show about pirates, a workplace comedy with a new gimmick. I thought it was fine when I finished the last episode. Maybe a week later (if I recall correctly) I went back to it, giving it another chance. With each subsequent episode, I understood the series more and more. I saw that Jim’s actor was non binary and that gave me hope that the queer undertones was actually intended and thought of.
Then of course, Blackbeard. Episode four was an eye opener. Firstly I thought “people are gonna ship the hell out of these two” (me included) but I was still skeptical. But then… The parallels with Mary and Blackbeard? I thought I was loosing my mind. But it just got gayer and gayer (Taika’s heart eyes like, they’re impossible not to notice). But it was still in my mind that it couldn’t be the case, how can a show be this unapologetically queer without being marketed as such??? I’m always on the lookout for queer stuff so I’d certainly know. Episode 5 went on and we saw Lucious and Black Pete as an item and I took that as confirmation that nothing would happen between Stede and Ed (like, come on, we got a non binary character and a gay couple, if there’s more than it’s officially for the gays) but then!!! The moonlight scene! I legit thought I was going insane thinking to myself this is the most romantic shit I’ve seen I can’t believe this is happening is it really real or am I this delusional??? I was in it now and couldn’t stop my binging the show. With each subsequent episode I got more and more sure it was really a romantic comedy and let me tell you the rush and the serotonin I felt knowing more and more that for the first time I was getting what I hoped for? Scratch that, something better than what I had hoped for.
There were only 8 episodes available and when I got to Calico Jack everything happened again. I looked at him and though “lol ed’s ex” but thought I wouldn’t be so lucky… Well think again! I was still wondering if it was all some sort of next level queerbaiting but Jack went there and said “nope, we used to fuck” (and for that I’ll be forever grateful of Will Arnett). Then obviously the feet touch aka the most romantic thing to have ever happened in fiction. The first thing I did was to look up people here on tumblr to see if everyone was consuming it with the same eyes as I and let me tell you, watching the fandom start was so cool and I’ll remember those simpler times fondly. We were all wondering what would happen, if there would be a kiss (and people still debating if it was bait or not).
The last two episodes released like a week later and I waited as patiently as I could. The kiss and subsequent break up oh I was in heaven. If there’s something I like is drama and it peaked as Mary realized Stede had come back. Ohh and episode ten hm! Delicious. Anyways after the kiss everyone and their mom knew that it was not only canonically queer but an inherently queer show, the fandom grew in unprecedented ways. I lasted like four months before I quietly got away cause big fandoms intimidate me. Too much content for me to process and way too much discourse… But I’ll be here for this season because the brainrot is real and I’m exited to see the show being even more unapologetically queer and more explicitly than ever as a love story.
I’m just really happy to have stumbled upon this show without knowing a thing and finding out in real time that it’s one of the queerest shows in existence.
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disaster-j · 2 years
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TOL Rewatch Week One
Just rewatched episode one with beloved mutual @magicaldreamfox1 and AAAAAAAA this show really does so many things to me
I have like a million and one thoughts but two main ones-
I am still so fucking pissed about Khai being made into a genuine asshole for drama reasons in the show instead of just being a dumb slut (affectionate) who thought his feelings for Third were Extra Special Friendship Feelings as if all friends dream about building a life with their bestie and get anxiety over the idea of said bestie not being by their side always.... yeah Khai is so much gayer in the novel y'all don't understand I will never shut up about this particular change. Never ever. HE SHOULD'VE BEEN A SIMP FROM THE GET GO. I get that the drama was important to fill up eps but like they did Khai a grave injustice by erasing so many of the scenes that showed his good side, his scared side, his confused side, his deeply in love with Third side. I will never forgive them for making the show Third biased when the story is supposed to be about Khai's journey.
What would've happened if Two had never intervened. Like I've already written a fic about Third giving up on Khai after overhearing him in That Scene but even then he'd at least tried and like his crush had been acknowledged by people other than him. But what if Two had never found him that night he decided to give up. What if neither Two nor Bone had tried to intervene during that time and Third had pulled away from Khai???? WHY AM I MAKING MYSELF SAD THEY'RE MY FAVOURITE SHIP But like imagine KhaiThird having a friendship break-up imagine Khai losing his fucking mind bc Third was his everything and he just didn't realise it until he'd already lost him imagine them remeeting a few years after they've graduated and Khai desperately trying to get back in Third's good books and Third being his meanest self trying to hide how much he still loves Khai AAAAAAAAA someone write the fic pls i am on my knees begging
Other notable thoughts I had while watching the episode
We should talk more about the fact that Khai went and got his ass beat defending Milk's honour AFTER he found out she was messing with him. Like he just did that huh. And he had no reason to think it would help him get her back or anything he just did it bc he felt like it. My poor lil meow meow my favourite puppy boy I love him.
All the Khai is autistic/nd posts are correct
All the Khai is demiromantic posts (me im making all them posts) are soooo correct
Khai's not nearly as Straight in ep1 as he'd like to believe. To quote Dreamy, why are you as a man "riding" "charles". He's a bottom. I said what I said.
THE WAY KHAI SAYS LOVE YOU TO THIRD STILL KILLS ME APPARENTLY
Third is the og bl exploiter girlboss. He was capitalising on his sexuality and close male friendships before it was cool.
Two and Bone BOTH knew Third liked Khai in ep1. Two definitely noticed Third in the scene where they wrap up filming, tho he's obviously been eyeing him a while. And Bone absolutely Knew when Third walked away while they were teasing Khai about Milk. He literally frowned at Third walking off and then turned pensively to Khai. Maybe this is when he decided to confront Khai about Third's crush?
Fake Protagonist is still undefeated as best bl ost I said what I said.
Two and Bone are the best friends ever. This friend group is perfection like no other BL has executed a friend group this well, where everyone gets appropriate screentime and no one exists just for comic relief or to further the plot, they all have their story arcs, their own motivations and flaws and endearments, and they don't go off on their own after the show ends. And they ALL actually get along well. Not Me could've had this if the writers weren't Black antis.
It will be so fucking hard to watch one episode of tol per week literally itching to go watch more as I type AAAAAAAAA
And yet. We persevere. See y'all next week!
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maybeimamuppet · 3 years
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you happened
hey darlings!! happy wednesday!!!
let’s get right into it shall we?
tw for
discussion of canon events in mg (outing, etc)
discussion of canon events in the prom (homophobia, etc.)
this was requested by @spidy-nugget like forever ago so thank you for your patience and i hope you enjoy!
“Oh!” Cady says, interrupting herself in the middle of a sentence. “I just remembered! My cousin is coming to visit next week, do you guys want to meet her?”
“Emma?” Damian asks excitedly. Cady nods. “Yes! Is she bringing the-her… Broadway friends?”
“I dunno, she didn’t tell me,” Cady giggles. “But probably, she said they usually visit her at some point every summer.”
“I should probably be there to stop him from combusting if they do come,” Janis huffs. “But also, yes, I want to meet her too.”
“She’s an absolute icon,” Damian says happily. “God, her song. Still makes me cry.”
“You cried watching Finding Dory yesterday,” Janis retaliates.
“It’s a sad movie! Sometimes!” Damian defends. “Anyway, tell me all about Emma.”
“Okay,” Cady giggles again. “She’s a year older than us, and she’s my cousin on my mom’s side. Um… you know her whole… prom fiasco. I’ve only met her in person once when I was ten, for Rhys’ funeral. But we were pen pals when we were really little. And now we just text and stuff.”
“Cute,” Damian says. “And is her girlfriend coming?”
“Oh! Yeah,” Cady says around a mouthful of Janis’ milkshake. “Her name is Alyssa, she’s, like, super smart. Did every possible activity in high school, that kind of thing. But she’s been with Emma when we’ve Facetimed and stuff before and she’s super sweet.”
“Aww,” Damian coos. “I can’t wait!”
————-
Luckily for him, Damian doesn’t have to wait too long. Emma and Alyssa arrive the following week in Emma’s pickup. Damian has been pressed against the window all day, like a small child watching for the ice cream truck. He gasps dramatically when four people in matching sequined tracksuits also hop out of the backseat, grumbling about being cramped together for such a long trip.
Cady opens the door to let everyone in, and is quickly swamped by a crowd of people much taller than her. Janis pops up on her tippy toes to try and find her girlfriend to save her, but doesn’t succeed.
Everyone heads into the living room, and Janis laughs when she finds Cady being carried in like a sack of potatoes by one of the men that came with Emma.
“Emma, why didn’t you tell me your cousin was so adorable?” He demands. “Look at this, she’s so small.”
“Please put me down,” Cady squeaks. Janis heads over and reaches for her.
“Can I have my girlfriend back, please?”
“And she’s gay!” The man says happily, passing Cady over like she’s a small dog. Janis holds her close and smoothes her hair back to where it was.
“Bi, actually,” Cady grumbles.
“Well, aren’t you something. Oh, my name is Barry, by the way. As if you haven’t heard of me.”
“Barry, we talked about this,” Emma chides. “They haven’t. Except Damian.”
“And where is this Damian? I want to meet him,” one of the ladies says. “Oh, and my name is Dee Dee.”
Damian enters shyly and gives a little wave. Janis cackles, “Dude, you’re totally starstruck, look at you!”
“Uh-hi,” he stutters. “I’m Damian.”
“Aww!” The other lady says. “Look at your little cheeks, what a sweetheart! I’m Angie.”
Damian blushes violently as he’s cooed over by Angie. Barry hauls her off to get a good look at him.
“I like this,” he says. “It’s like a mini me.”
“Just don’t break him,” Emma pleads. “Damian, can I trust you to babysit for a while?”
That prompts a, ‘Hey!’ from all four adults, and an eager nod from Damian. “I can show them around town.”
“This is not a town, darling,” Dee Dee says gently. “But what is there to see?”
“We have… uh-“
“There’s an IHOP!” Cady chirps. “And the mall. That’s kind of it until you get to Chicago. Or the lake.”
“This is the most precious soul,” Barry says happily.
“Dame, we did it. I never thought I’d see the day we found someone gayer than you,” Janis laughs.
“Oh, I like this one too,” Barry says. “Funky little lesbian. She dresses like Emma but goth.”
“I do love the hair,” Emma agrees. “I’m dressed more like Cady today though.”
They both look down at their almost-matching flannels and jean shorts, then back at each other with a nod.
“Same boots though,” Janis cheers, lifting a foot. Emma laughs and nudges it with one of her own doc martens. “Nice.”
“Precious,” Angie says. “Okay, we’ll leave you gals alone now. Damian, show us the sights.”
“It would be my pleasure,” Damian says, leading the adults to the door.
“Yes, show us to the… hopping eyes,” Dee Dee says, sounding both bored and intrigued at the same time. Damian waves goodbye to Janis excitedly and closes the door after him.
“Well,” Emma chuckles. “Oh, I hope he’ll be okay.”
“I think he’ll be fine,” Alyssa soothes. “He’s in good company, and he’s a theatre kid, he gets their… vibes.”
“Theatre kid is an understatement for that boy,” Janis tuts affectionately.
“True,” Cady giggles. “Anyway, we can hang out in my room, if you want?”
Emma and Alyssa nod, so Cady leads everyone up to her bedroom. Janis flops onto the bed and Cady crawls in behind her, lifting her head onto her lap. Alyssa and Emma look around curiously for a second before joining them.
“Who did these?” Alyssa asks, pointing to the paintings and collages adorning the walls. “They’re incredible, especially this one. It looks just like you guys!”
Janis flushes as she points to the one she won her art contest with, of she and Damian and Cady all together. “I did.”
“Dang,” Emma breathes. “You have some serious talent, Janis.”
“Thanks,” Janis squeaks.
“No, seriously! Do you have stuff here?” Emma insists.
“A few things, yeah,” Janis says confusedly, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”
Emma lifts her guitar case onto the bed and flicks the latches open, pulling out her famous instrument. It’s covered in stickers and little doodles, much like Janis’ jackets.
“Will you do something on this for me?”
Janis’ eyes go wide. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, of course!” Emma chuckles. “There’s room down here if you want it visible, or on the back.”
Janis carefully takes the instrument and assesses the material, trying to put an idea together in her mind. She runs to Cady’s desk when one comes to her, where she keeps a supply of basic colors and brushes in case of emergency. Cady doesn’t mind keeping them, they remind her of her girlfriend.
Cady grins affectionately as Emma and Alyssa cuddle in together. “How did you two meet?”
Her cousin turns to smile at her girlfriend. “I kind of always knew of her from school and stuff, but we didn’t really get close until sophomore year.”
Alyssa nods in agreement. “My mom wanted me to be more creative and have another skill or whatever, so she signed me up for guitar classes. Just so happens she was my teacher.”
“You really sucked,” Emma teases. Alyssa scoffs, aghast, and shoves her so hard she nearly falls off the bed. “Ack! Hey, I was kidding!”
“I know,” Alyssa giggles. “I did suck, I’ve never been much good at artsy stuff.”
“I was never good at art either,” Cady chuckles at their antics. “Jay’s tried to teach me to paint a couple times and it hasn’t gone too well.”
She peeks around the other couple to where her own girlfriend is sitting cross-legged on the ground, tongue poked out to the side as she carefully brushes a stroke of paint onto Emma’s guitar. Janis looks up when she feels her gaze, and grins happily when she sees Cady.
“You have the right instincts, I keep telling you,” she says. “You just get cranky too fast and then start attacking me with it.”
Everyone else bursts out laughing. Emma says, “I don’t blame her, I hated art class. What were we talking about?”
“How we met, dummy,” Alyssa huffs, kissing behind Emma’s ear.
“Oh yeah! So, we started off with actual lessons, but then we started getting to know each other more,” Emma explains. “And then I came out and got kicked out, which… a lot of people heard about, so Lyss figured I was a safe person to tell that she was questioning.”
Cady nods, listening intently to the story.
“I came out to her that summer,” Alyssa says. “And she said she’d had a crush on me all along, and asked me out. So we went on a walk and then got coffee and the rest is history.”
“We forgot to mention the serious gay panic I had during our first lesson,” Emma chuckles. “But that’s the gist of it.”
“How cute,” Cady coos.
“What about you two, how long have you been together?” Alyssa asks kindly, flicking Emma’s ear gently as she aggressively plops down onto her lap.
“Four months,” Janis pipes up immediately.
“Man, you crushed on her for that long without saying anything, Cades?” Emma says, impressed. Janis pops her head up and listens in.
“Oh?”
“She never shut up about you for, like, almost a year,” Emma laughs. Cady flushes scarlet and looks down at her lap with a flustered squeak. “I’m assuming it was you, she never gave a name. But it was always a tall, hot artist with cool hair and nice muscles. And I think she mentioned your butt a few times, she thinks that’s cute.”
Janis cackles as Cady flops facedown onto her bed and groans into a pillow. “How cute, I didn’t know that. But I shouldn’t laugh, I definitely wasn’t any better.”
“How did you get together?” Alyssa asks, patting Cady’s shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. Janis snorts from the ground and Cady gives another groan into her pillow. “What?”
“You tell them,” Cady grumbles, poking her face out just long enough that it’s not muffled.
“Baby, it’s cute,” Janis coos.
“No it’s not!”
“Okay, fine, I’ll tell it in a way that makes me look just as dorky,” Janis compromises. “Caddy came to my school in September from Kenya, and she had these adorable little cargo shorts and socks with sandals on, and-“
“Hold on, what?” Alyssa insists. “Kenya?”
“Cady grew up there, her parents are zoologists,” Emma explains.
“How many conversations have we had with her? And you never thought to tell me she’s from Africa?”
“It never came up! We both had a lot going on the first year and then we just didn’t bring it up,” Emma defends. “And now you know.”
“Sorry,” Alyssa says. “Keep going.”
“It’s all good,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, I fell for her so bad the first day that I dragged Damian into the bathroom at lunch and made him let her join our group.”
Cady pops her head up and looks to her girlfriend. “You did?”
“Yeah, duh,” Janis says. “We’re not known for socializing with the new kids, I just thought you were cute.”
Cady blushes again, but doesn’t return to her pillow. “Keep going.”
Janis chuckles and continues telling the story as she finishes her small painting on Emma’s guitar. “So we became friends that day, and then had… an ordeal, through the rest of junior year and didn’t really reconnect until spring.”
Cady’s told Emma and Alyssa the whole story, so they both nod at Janis’ quick explanation.
“We got really close over the summer, and apparently we were both crushing on each other. But we didn’t notice, somehow. And then I sorta snapped on her birthday this year and decided to fess up, so I made that,” Janis points to the black and white collage hanging next to one of her paintings on the wall. “But before I could give it to her, this little firecracker got wasted and started crying in my lap about how much she loved me.”
“I wasn’t that drunk!” Cady huffs.
“I found you lying on the ground singing yourself to sleep,” Janis giggles. “And you didn’t recognize me, clearly. Just climbed into my lap and spilled your guts. I was lucky it wasn’t literal.”
“Janis Sarkisian,” Cady grumbles. “Behave.”
“Fine, fine,” Janis chuckles. “Anyway, once she sobered up a little bit we had a chat and realized we both had feelings for each other, so we started dating. And now we’re here.”
“That did not make you sound anywhere near as dorky as me,” Cady huffs. “But yeah, that’s… that’s it.”
Emma snorts once the story is done. “That does sound like Cady. But if that’s what it took, then I guess it was worth it.”
Cady turns to look at Janis again. “It was. But you guys went through a lot more than us, that must have been tough on both of you.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Emma chuckles, trying to sneak a peek at Janis’ work. The angle isn’t quite right, so she gives up before she falls off her girlfriend. “You guys went through a lot. But yeah, it was really tough. I’m so lucky.”
“I’m the lucky one,” Alyssa murmurs back. “You guys know the story?”
“I do,” Cady says. “I think Jay and Damian just know the bare bones. It’s your story to tell, I didn’t want to give too many details away.”
Alyssa gives her a grateful smile, and Cady grins back. “Do you want to hear it?”
“Of course,” Janis pipes up. “I finished, by the way. Um, here.”
“Hey, you stole my idea!” Cady jokingly whines when she sees what Janis has done.
“But it’s so perfect!” Janis defends. Emma takes her guitar to see, and smiles at the new lion with a rainbow mane in the spot they’d picked. “And it’s kind of for both of us.”
“This is awesome,” Emma says. “Oh! I get it, it’s a pride thing! Pride of lions, and then… oh. Clever!”
“It was actually Caddy’s idea, she made me a rock with it at pride last week,” Janis says. “I thought it fit.”
“It does, you’re really talented!” Alyssa says, leaning over her girlfriend’s shoulder to see it. Janis’ text tone goes off, so she pulls her phone out of the pocket of her shorts to check it. Cady peeks over to see what it is too as Janis bursts out laughing. It’s a picture of Damian surrounded by his new friends, now in a matching tracksuit all of his own.
jamian: Sent a picture: JAN LOOKIT
danis: nice outfit
jamian: Thank u it really suits me doesnt it
danis: honestly
danis: yeah kinda
jamian: Sent a picture: Thank u
jamian: Anyway we’re going to ihop next yall should meet us there
danis: kk love u
jamian: Love u too
“I think your little crew adopted Damian,” Janis chuckles at Emma and Alyssa, showing them the photo of a very excited Damian.
“Aww,” Emma chuckles. “I’m glad they didn’t kill him, they can be a lot to handle.”
“He seems fine,” Janis shrugs. “Whose truck are we taking?”
“Oh, is that one in the driveway yours?” Emma says excitedly. Janis nods. “It’s nice!”
“We’ve been in Em’s all day,” Alyssa chuckles. “Probably best to take yours.”
“I call shotgun!” Cady yells, already tugging on her shoes and running downstairs.
“As if I’d let anyone else,” Janis mumbles affectionately under her breath.
————-
The waitstaff at IHOP look more than a little frightened at the size of their group, and especially at the crew in tracksuits.
“Ey, yo!” One of them calls. “Guys, come here! It’s that guy from the thing! That show!”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Trent grumbles under his breath. “Why is it always that? I played Hamlet!”
They’re quickly escorted to a large table near the back, and Trent signs a few menus as a little gift to the now very excited waiters.
“Was Juilliard worth it?” He mutters to himself. Angie, who’s sat next to him, nudges him with an elbow to shut him up.
Janis and Emma both order for their girlfriends, and also order themselves the same meal of chicken and waffles. Dee Dee gets french toast, Angie gets an omelet, Trent gets some crepes, and Barry gets the most horrifically sweet looking pancakes anyone’s ever seen. Apparently they’re cupcake flavored.
Alyssa looks very content with her large Belgian waffle, and Cady seems delighted with her chocolate chip pancakes decorated with whipped cream to look like a face. It’s definitely from the children’s menu, but nobody says anything.
“So tell us about you guys,” Dee Dee says once their food gets delivered. She looks eagerly to her friends, as if to say, ‘Look how nice I can be when I want to.’ Barry claps quietly for her.
“What do you want to know?” Damian asks. Dee Dee puts her head in her hands, clearly not knowing how to continue. Trent takes over for her.
“How do you guys know each other?”
“Oh!” Damian says excitedly. “Janis and I have been friends, like, forever. We met in tap dance class when we were three.”
“And you knocked my fucking teeth out in that class when we were five,” Janis grumbles.
“By accident!” Damian defends amidst the giggles of their whole group. “I got really into it. Anyway, so we’ve been friends forever. And then little Caddy happened along in junior year, and we kind of kidnapped her for a while.”
“No, I needed to be kidnapped,” Cady laughs. “I was a total wreck. They actually sort of rescued me from the school bathroom at lunch.”
“You were eating in the bathroom?” Barry asks, sounding both empathetic and disgusted. “Oh, you poor sweet thing.”
“I was the new kid, y’know?” Cady shrugs. “Nobody wanted to eat with the dork from Africa.”
Angie chokes on a bite of her food, and Trent thumps her on the back. “From what now?”
“I’m from Kenya,” Cady giggles. “Well, technically I was born in Oregon. But I lived in Kenya for thirteen years.”
“Just, like, in the wilderness?” Barry asks in shock. “With the lions and tigers and… bears and stuff?”
Cady laughs out loud. “Pretty much. But there’s no tigers or bears.”
“But there were lions?” Trent insists.
“Oh, yeah,” Cady says like it’s entirely normal. “That’s mostly what we were studying. They were kind of my only friends.”
“And they never showed any interest in… consuming you?” Dee Dee asks worriedly. Cady laughs again.
“Lions are just big cats, you know, guys? As long as you’re careful and respect their boundaries they won’t hurt you,” she chuckles. “I got swiped at a few times when I was little, but I never needed more than fifteen stitches.”
“Fifteen?” Angie yelps.
“That is kind of a lot, Cades,” Emma chuckles. “I never had to get more than three as a kid.”
“Oh. Well, I was kind of asking for it, I was playing too rough,” Cady hums.
“With a lion,” Alyssa insists. “Do you have pictures?” Cady nods and passes over her phone for them to scroll through her camera roll.
“Anyway, please keep going,” Angie says, leaning across the table to try to see.
“That’s basically it,” Janis shrugs. “Until you get into the whole mess that happened junior year.”
Cady and Damian nod in agreement. The adults all look very excited at the prospect of some new drama. “Do tell.”
The art freaks all look to one another warily, wondering who should begin. Cady decides to after a second of back and forth.
“Well, um… I sat with these two on my first day,” she begins. “But then just before lunch ended I met these three girls. We called them the Plastics.”
“Why?” Angie asks curiously. Damian shows them all a photo. “Oh. I already don’t like this one.” Janis snorts quietly as she points to Regina.
“Anyway, they said I should sit with them, and Janis and Damian wanted me to so I could spy on them,” Cady says sheepishly. “They have some… personal history.”
“Oh?” Trent asks. Cady looks to Janis, this bit is her story to tell.
“Regina, the one in the middle, outed me in eighth grade,” Janis says. “Carved slurs into my locker, that kinda thing.”
“Oh, honey,” Barry says sadly. “That bitch.”
Janis chuckles weakly. “Yeah. The other two just kind of went along with it. They were just generally bitchy to everyone. But I didn’t have many friends because of her, and I went through a lot of counseling and stuff because of it. Spent some time in the hospital for… reasons, but that’s not… something we need to discuss right now.”
Everyone nods, respecting her privacy. Cady continues telling the story. “So, I pretended to join them and would kind of report back to Janis and Damian. I learned that they had this book, called the Burn Book, where they would write mean things about people from the yearbook and stuff. And at the same time I was crushing for a long time on this boy named Aaron, but he was Regina’s ex. She had dumped him earlier for another guy. And she was actually cheating on him with the other one.”
“Oh, can I tell this bit?” Janis asks. Cady nods and gestures for her to keep going. “So, around Halloween, Cady went to Aaron’s party, and I don’t know exactly what happened, but he basically got back together with Regina.”
“What kind of idiot-“ Trent begins, getting cut off by a stomp on the foot from Dee Dee.
“So poor Caddy came to my house,” Janis says, trying to keep down giggles at the memory. “Fucking slams my basement door open, but Dame and I were watching horror movies. Caddy was dressed as some corpse bride with a knife in her back and everything, and Damian screamed so loud, like, higher than I’ve ever heard. But she was crying, so we helped her and then came up with a revenge plot.”
Dee Dee suddenly looks very interested, leaning forwards slightly and resting her head on her folded hands.
“Caddy had these snack bars from Kenya, they’re… Swedish, I think?” Damian says. Cady nods. “They make you gain weight, like, really quickly. Regina was kind of obsessed with her weight and image and stuff, so we got Caddy to tell her they were actually a diet bar to help lose weight.”
“No,” Angie gasps. Everyone laughs at her reaction.
“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “I don’t think anything major happened until around Christmas. The Plastics did this dance every year at the winter talent show, and we had to wear these skimpy little Santa outfits. But Regina had already gained a fair bit of weight, so her skirt didn’t fit…”
“It fell off in the middle of the routine in front of everyone,” Janis cackles. Emma and Alyssa both look slightly scared of her. “Sorry. Personal vindication. But yeah, that was kind of the beginning of the end for her. Cady kind of… got lost in it, by that point. It was hard to tell if she was pretending or not.”
Cady looks down at her lap in shame, so Janis takes her hand under the table and kisses the side of her head a few times to comfort her. Damian keeps going with the story.
“So, Caddy basically overthrew Regina as Queen Bee of the school. She threw a little party and didn’t invite us or Regina, so she kind of was attacking both fronts. We got pretty mad and stopped associating with her, and Regina was obviously furious,” he says. “And so as revenge for that, Regina photocopied the Burn Book and spread all the pages around the school. I saw, like, seven fights before first period even started that day.”
“But didn’t they know that she had written it?” Trent asks.
“That’s the thing, she put herself in it,” Janis adds, now holding Cady on her lap. “So nobody suspected her. She went to the principal and blamed Gretchen and Karen, they’re the other two, and Cady.”
“I don’t like this story,” Barry whines. “Tell me something good happens.”
“Oh, just wait,” Janis chuckles darkly. “There was an assembly called that day, and they tried to make us apologize to each other and do trust exercises or something like that. I kind of went rogue and only apologized to myself and rallied the rest of the girls in our grade.”
“Go Janis,” Angie says, sounding impressed. “Stick it to the man.”
“Thanks,” Janis laughs. “But it only lasted a few minutes.”
“Damn it,” Barry groans. “What happened?”
“Regina got hit by a bus,” Cady says. Angie spits her mouthful of lemonade over Trent.
“She what?”
“Yeah,” Cady laughs. “So, that time kind of sucked for both of us. She was in the hospital recovering, and everyone was saying that I pushed her in front of it or that she jumped in front of it on purpose because of me.”
“She didn’t die?” Dee Dee clarifies. Everyone is more than a little concerned at the disappointment in her voice.
“No,” Cady chuckles. “Well, she died for, like, fifteen seconds, but she was resuscitated and she’s fine now.”
“And did you push her?” Barry asks. “We’re all friends here, you can tell us.”
“No!” Cady huffs. “I may have been a raging bitch, but I’m not an attempted murderer.”
“You didn’t feed anyone to a lion back in Kenya?” Janis teases gently.
“I’ll do it to you if you’re not careful,” Cady retaliates with a laugh. “Where did we leave off?”
“Regina got hit by a bus and you didn’t push her,” Trent says helpfully, still dabbing some lemonade out of his sweater with a wad of napkins.
“Oh,” Damian says. “Okay, so, I don’t… totally remember what happened in between that and Spring Fling, but it’s really not important.”
“I was suspended for the Book, that’s kind of it,” Cady says, gesturing for him to continue.
“Oh, yeah! Anyway, Spring Fling at our school is basically prom but for underclassmen, prom is just for the seniors. Jan and I were each other’s dates, she decorated our outfits and stuff, we looked killer if I do say so myself.”
Janis rolls her eyes lovingly and whacks him with an elbow.
“And Caddy was banned, so she wasn’t supposed to be there, but she showed up towards the end with the Mathletes,” Damian continues. “And she had been nominated for queen, and she won. So she went up on stage and gave the most beautiful speech I’ve ever heard and broke her crown, and we all got a piece. So now we’re all friends and life is good.”
“Nice ending, Dame,” Janis laughs. “Hasty conclusions. But that it is basically how it happened.”
Everyone blinks at them. Trent says, “That was like being in a war zone. Just one bombshell after another.”
“It kinda was, our math teacher got stabbed in the leg at one point,” Cady hums. “Anyway, what’s your guys’ story? If you want to share.”
“Oh, yeah, I’d like to know more,” Damian says. “Jan and I really only know the bare bones. What was in the news, and stuff.”
“You guys can start,” Emma says, pulling a face as Alyssa gently dabs some syrup off her lip. Alyssa giggles when Emma tries to bite her hand and kisses Emma’s cheek.
“Ooh, okay!” Barry says eagerly. “We were in a show. Well, Dee Dee and I. We were in a delightful little show called Eleanor.”
“As in…” Janis says confusedly.
“Eleanor Roosevelt,” Dee Dee explains. She seems surprised when the kids all nod in understanding. “You’ve heard of her?”
“Yeah?” Cady says, tilting her head. “She’s one of the most famous first ladies of all time, we learned about her in our history class.”
“Not nearly enough,” Janis grumbles. “Gotta make time for the men.”
“Amen sister,” Angie huffs.
“Really…” Dee Dee hums interestedly. “Anyway, it was… not a success. Poor advance sales, and then…”
“We bombed opening night,” Barry grumbles. “Apparently. But it wasn’t the show, it was… it was us. The media panned us as aging narcissists and we had to close.”
“On opening night?” Damian gasps in horror. Dee Dee and Barry both nod sadly.
“Regretfully, yes. So, we had to try to change the narrative,” Dee Dee says. “We decided to find a good cause and do something. So we were going to build houses for Habitat for Humanity.”
“But Barry has a bad back,” Trent pipes up. “So then we thought about, like, recycling or fixing poverty or world hunger.”
“But that was all too much for us to handle,” Angie says. “So I went on Twitter and found-”
“Me!” Emma says. “Apparently that all happened on the same night as the first assembly where the PTA cancelled prom in the first place. I guess we were trending.”
“And they only cancelled it because you two wanted to go together?” Janis asks sadly.
“Yep. Well, nobody knew about Alyssa, but they cancelled it because they knew I wanted to bring my girlfriend,” Emma explains.
“Those bitches,” Janis grumbles. “Sorry.”
“Believe me, we get it,” Emma laughs. “But my bit of the story isn’t quite here yet.”
“Oh, yes!” Dee Dee realizes. “So, we decided to help Emma, but we were completely out of funds and had no way to get all the way to Indiana from New York.”
“But I had just booked a non-equity tour of Godspell,” Trent half-brags. The other half seems rather depressed at that statement. “So we came on the tour bus.”
“Can I start our part?” Alyssa asks. Emma nods and squeezes her hand under the table. “So, they obviously gave no indication that they were coming. Emma and Principal Hawkins had gone to the State’s Attorney by that point and put some legal pressure on the PTA, so we had another assembly to discuss options.”
“We?” Damian asks.
“Oh, my mom was the head of the PTA,” Alyssa says casually. Damian chokes on his drink and Janis nearly drops Cady on the ground.
“Your mom cancelled your prom?” Janis asks in shock. Alyssa nods sadly. “Oh, because you… she didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
“It was what it was. She knows now,” Alyssa hums. “Anyway, I was there to speak for student council. I was mid-sentence, and then they come barreling into the gym with signs and yelling at everyone.”
“Educating everyone,” Barry corrects. “Loudly and with signs.”
“Right, educating. Sorry,” Alyssa laughs. “So my mom totally loses her shit. It’s chaos. I think Trent had a cowbell at some point?”
Trent reaches into a messenger bag next to him and pulls out a cowbell, resting it on the table with a quiet thunk.
“You just keep that with you?” Janis chuckles.
“For emergencies,” Trent explains. “You’d be surprised.”
Janis tries to think of what emergencies she’s faced that would either be helped or solved with the addition of a cowbell, and surprisingly, she can think of a few.
“Of course he keeps it all the time,” Emma chuckles. “I don’t remember… most of what happened that time. But after a few days they announced that the prom was back on.”
“Because of you?” Damian asks, looking to the stars.
“No,” they all say at the same time Emma says, “I think so.”
Everyone looks her way. “I told you this at the time, but you guys really scared people! I think you at least had a part.”
“How sweet,” Dee Dee says. “Let’s say we had an ensemble part in getting it back on.”
That gets a chuckle from everyone at the table, before Barry continues with the story.
“I, obviously, had to take Emma shopping,” he says. “She only had one dress and it was… a travesty would be an understatement.”
“I’m honestly not sure where it came from,” Emma chuckles. “Just think Little House on the Prarie but somehow so much worse.”
“So we went to the mall, and found this lovely blue dress and some good shoes,” Barry says. Emma looks like she would disagree with his choice of adjectives, but nods. “Did her hair and makeup all fancy, and bought her a corsage.”
“Aww,” Cady coos. “How sweet.”
“That part was fun,” Emma agrees fondly. “But…”
“When we got there,” Barry says. “Poor thing was so excited, but it was-it was just-“
Dee Dee continues for him, as Barry gets too emotional to keep going. “It was totally empty. Barry took Emma into the gym, and it was just horrific. There were barely any decorations, and they were just thrown up. I would be stunned if they spent more than ten dollars on the whole thing.”
“Oh god,” Damian says sadly. “I heard it was a fake, but I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“It sucked,” Emma chuckles sardonically, trying not to get too heavy in the middle of an IHOP. “More than anything. I didn’t care about the decorations, I just… it was so lonely, you know? I realized then that so many people I thought cared about me just didn’t. So many people I thought were my friends, weren’t. I had never felt more alone.”
“It sounds awful,” Janis says.
“It was,” Emma mumbles. Alyssa takes her hand under the table and gives it a gentle squeeze. Emma looks up and gives her a sad but grateful grin.
“I was at the… other prom. The real one,” Alyssa continues, seeming ashamed. “I had no idea what they had done, everyone on student council and the PTA hid it from me too. Some of my friends had seen us together and realized I was the ‘secret girlfriend’ and were trying to break us up.”
“Which worked,” Emma admits sadly. “I called her to try to get her to come to my own personal prom so I could at least have her there, but her mom was at the real one with her and she couldn’t leave. And I just sort of… lost it. I hung up and we didn’t talk again for a week.”
“I never blamed you for that,” Alyssa murmurs gently. “You were still trying to process everything and I just added to it.”
“No, you didn’t,” Emma insists. “We can talk more later. Anyway. I ran out, obviously. And Angie actually came after me, which was nice. She just let me cry and didn’t make me do anything. Helped me get my makeup off and stuff. She even slept on my bedroom floor in case I needed something. It was kind of like having a mom there, which I really needed.”
“How fucking old-“ Angie begins, but Trent claps a hand over her mouth. Emma laughs and continues.
“And then the rest of them came by the next day even though I yelled at them,” she says.
“With ice cream!” Barry butts in. “That’s an important detail.”
“Oh yeah, they brought me Häagen Dazs,” Emma laughs. “It was cute. Especially because they thought I wouldn’t know what it was.”
“Can you blame us? You live in the most yeehaw hick town in Indiana,” Trent says. “And that’s saying something.”
“It’s not that bad,” Emma tuts. “Anyway, they brought ice cream and were trying to convince me to do something to bring more attention to what was happening. Dee Dee actually got me on a talk show at one point, but I knew I would never be able to do something like that.”
“You still owe me a house,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath. “But what she wound up doing was much better anyway.”
“The song?” Damian asks. Emma nods.
“I had it sort of in my head for a while, and I managed to piece it together in about a week,” she replies. “I was terrified, but it was just an overnight thing. I woke up the next day and it already had two million views.”
Alyssa squeezes her hand with a proud smile. “Half of them were me.”
“The other half were Damian,” Janis chuckles. “He made me watch it at lunch one day and we both watched it so many times we knew all the words by the next day.”
“Aww,” Emma says. “You guys are so sweet.”
“We try,” Janis and Damian say at the same time, locking eyes and glaring at each other once they notice. Cady giggles at their antics.
“Anyway,” Emma laughs. “I wasn’t expecting even that many, but people just kept watching, and then I started getting all these comments on it that were so precious. All these other queer kids all over the world sharing their stories too. Eventually it got back to Principal Hawkins and all of them, and they helped figure out how to set up an inclusive prom. And funded it, which was very helpful.”
“Yeah, helpful,” Dee Dee grumbles under her breath.
“Once we saw where the money was going it was so worth it,” Barry says, gently kicking Dee Dee under the table. “It was beautiful.”
“It really was,” Emma agrees. “But god, it took forever to set up.”
“God, yeah,” Alyssa says. “Oh, and we got back together, like, as we were setting everything up, we forgot to mention that.”
“Oh yeah,” Emma says. “Her mom came when she heard what we were doing in the gym because we never got PTA approval-“
“So she was mad,” Alyssa butts in.
“Very mad,” Emma chuckles. “But you came with her and told her to stop talking, which was both hilarious and terrifying. And then you told me you loved me in front of everyone. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.”
“Me either,” Alyssa says quietly.
“Aww,” Cady says, even though she’s heard the whole story before. It’s always a good one to repeat. “How sweet.”
“So after that whole thing we finished setting everything up,” Emma continues, smiling at her girlfriend. “And it was beautiful, even I was impressed.”
“You looked so happy when everyone started showing up,” Alyssa says fondly. “I was so proud of you. I still am. You gave so many people an incredible night they wouldn’t have had without you.”
Emma flushes slightly and looks down at her lap. Alyssa squishes her cheeks in her hand to get her to look back up.
“It really was an incredible night,” she says. “And we finally got to dance together, I think that was my favorite part.”
“That was good,” Alyssa nods. “But you’re a terrible dancer.”
“Hey! Just because I didn’t take dance classes for years,” Emma pouts.
“Oh, hush, I’m joking,” Alyssa says, kissing Emma’s cheek.
“You missed,” Emma continues pouting. Alyssa frowns in confusion and kisses her cheek again, but in a different spot. “You missed.”
Alyssa gives her a chaste kiss on the lips this time, and Emma finally smiles. Alyssa rolls her eyes lovingly. “You’re such a dork, goodness gracious.”
“You guys are almost as cute as Caddy and Janis,” Damian says, trying to snap them out of it and get them to remember the presence of the group.
“Almost?” Alyssa says, her competitive side making a slight appearance. “I think you’re biased.”
“Oh, definitely,” Damian agrees. “We don’t really have any unbiased judges though.”
“True. We’ll say it’s a truce for now,” Alyssa says. “Are we all done? I need to get up for a bit. I’m stuffed.”
“I think so,” Cady says, looking around at all the empty plates around. “We could go to the beach for the sunset, if you guys want. It’s not too far a drive.”
“Ooh, yes please,” Emma says excitedly. The adults play rock paper scissors to work out payment, and Dee Dee grumbles under her breath when she loses.
“Hungry kids. Why are pancakes so expensive?”
————-
“Oh, guys, look!” Damian says, pointing to a window of a thrift shop nearby. “We could go try on dresses!”
“We?” Janis chuckles, carrying Cady on her back. “You gonna get into a ballgown, D?”
“Why not?” Damian asks. “I have the figure for it, shut up.”
“I thought we were going to the beach,” Angie says.
“We can do both,” Barry says, seeming strangely excited. “Wear dresses to the beach.”
“Yeah, yeah!” Cady says eagerly, squeezing her legs together a bit to get Janis to go in, as if she’s riding a pony. “Please?”
“I am not paying,” Dee Dee says immediately. Everyone else nods, that’s only fair.
“Fine, fine. Come along,” Trent says, leading them into the shop as their gaggle of children follow like ducklings.
—-
The employees look a bit concerned as all nine of them parade to the discounted gown section and start looking for ones in their sizes. Damian finds his first, a royal purple gown with a high neck and a slit that would reach about to his knee. He takes it off the rack and heads over to the changing room, rapidly followed by Barry with his silver gown.
“How did-“ Emma stutters. “I guess they knew what they were looking for.”
Angie helps Trent find one that would fit him, an emerald green dress with long sleeves and a nice v-neck collar. He shrugs and follows Barry and Damian. Angie then moves on to find one of her own, and picks out a sleek black dress made of lace and with a shorter skirt, about to the knee. Dee Dee follows with one she seems to have grabbed at random, a nice yellow gown complete with a cape.
Alyssa picks a pink dress with a longer train, since she wore a short dress to both of her real proms and wants to experiment a little. Cady picks a yellow one, with longer sleeves and a bow in the back. The skirt is short, which makes her a little nervous, but she decides to give it a go.
Janis and Emma both look a bit lost, staring aimlessly at the racks and flicking through them weakly.
“Jayjay, try this one,” Cady says, offering a long, red, short-sleeved gown that looks like it would have a rather tight fit. Maybe Cady has some selfish motivations here, but she’ll never admit it. Janis raises a slightly suspicious eyebrow, but takes the dress and hauls her girlfriend off to the changing rooms.
“They all look so itchy,” Emma shudders slightly. Alyssa laughs and takes one of her hands.
“If you got one made of something like this it wouldn’t be too bad,” she says, showing Emma one made of an almost satin-like material. “And it’ll only be a couple hours at most. We’re going to the beach, sand is itchy anyway.”
“True,” Emma agrees with a little nod. “I like this one.”
“So try it,” Alyssa chuckles as Emma grabs an amethyst colored ballgown with a big poofy skirt. “Come on.”
Most of their group is waiting outside the rooms, clad in their ill fitting gowns. Trent’s is a bit too big, Barry’s is missing some sequins, and Angie’s has a small hole in the sleeve, but none of them complain.
Cady and Janis open the curtains to their respective rooms, revealing their dresses to one another. Janis is somehow not tall enough to fill her dress out, which makes her look a bit like Morticia Addams, but she doesn’t mind. Cady’s is almost perfect, but the skirt clings to her legs in an odd way.
“You look nice!” Cady says, gently adjusting Janis’ sleeve as Janis tugs at her collar.
“It’s a bit tight,” Janis says, sounding rather choked.
“I can fix that once we buy it,” Barry says, looking at himself in the mirror. Everyone looks at him in concern. “What? I have a stitch kit, I’ll just cut the collar off it.”
“Oh,” everyone says. Alyssa and Emma exit the changing rooms then, prompting coos from everyone.
“Emmy, you look beautiful!” Alyssa says, pulling her girlfriend into a hug. “The color really suits you.”
“Does it?” Emma says, sarcastically striking a pose. “It feels very… purple.”
“I like purple,” Alyssa hums, adjusting Emma’s skirt.
“You look really nice,” Emma replies, looking at Alyssa’s long dress. Hers is the closest to fitting correctly out of everyone’s.
“Thanks!” Alyssa says, putting her hands on her hips and popping out a knee. Emma laughs and kisses her gently.
“Okay, let’s go!” Angie says happily, having been taking pictures of everyone like a proud mom taking photos for her Facebook. Angie, Trent, and Barry split the cost among them, and they unleash their prom-ready selves onto the public.
—————-
“So you guys just graduated, right?” Alyssa asks, strolling down the shore holding hands with Emma. Cady and Janis are also hand in hand walking next to them.
“Yep!” Cady chirps.
“So you must’ve just had your senior prom too, what was yours like?”
“It was so fun! Damian took me shopping and I had the most beautiful dress,” Cady replies eagerly. “And Janis had a suit to match and it was… she looked… so hot.”
“Ooh,” Emma teases. “Scandalous.”
“Hey,” Cady says. “I’m allowed to think she’s hot.”
“Fair enough,” Emma shrugs.
“What about you guys, how are you handling your post-prom fame?” Janis jokes.
“Pretty well,” Emma chuckles. “Or at least I think we are.”
“You certainly are,” Alyssa murmurs.
“Oh yeah, aren’t you starting a nonprofit or something?” Cady asks.
“Wait, what?” Janis asks.
“I’m trying,” Emma laughs again. “Lyss’ mom is actually helping me. And trying to start a charity looks, like, super good on college applications, so that’s nice.”
“I thought your mom started this whole fiasco,” Janis says confusedly.
“Oh, she did,” Alyssa confirms. “But she’s cool with the gays now. She had a lot of questions and stuff, and she’s still having to work pretty hard at it. Changing opinions and thought patterns that were instilled in you from
childhood is tough. But she’s trying.”
“Yeah, she came to pride with us this year,” Emma says. “It was cute, she had a rainbow pantsuit and everything.”
“Go mom,” Janis chuckles. “I’m glad she turned things around.”
“Me too,” Alyssa murmurs quietly.
“Me three,” Emma says, squeezing her hand.
“So what’s this charity you’re getting going?” Cady asks.
“It’s called the Unruly Hearts Foundation,” Emma explains. “It’s a nonprofit that takes donations and stuff to throw other inclusive events around the country. Create safe spaces. And we also donate a fair bit to LGBTQ+ shelters and stuff, too.”
“That’s awesome,” Janis says. “I’m broke but I’ll donate a bit once I get my commissions business going.”
“Thanks, Janis,” Emma chuckles. “You know, we could use some branding. A logo, stuff for our website. If you’re interest-“
“Yes,” Janis interrupts. “I’m interested. Please.”
“Groovy,” Emma laughs. “I’ll be in touch, get Cady to give you my number.”
“You say groovy too?!” Damian asks eagerly as he makes an appearance. “These two always make fun of me for it.”
“Hell yeah I say groovy,” Emma says, giving Damian a fist bump. “Sometimes it’s the only word that fits the vibes, you know?”
“Yes!” Damian says. “See? Emma gets it.”
“I think ‘tits’ is pretty versatile,” Janis says. “You kind of look like Ursula, by the way, Dame.”
“Thanks,” Damian says, swishing his purple skirt around. “I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”
“It was,” Janis huffs. “As if I’d ever insult you.”
“You called me a ‘fucking deplorable kneecap’ on the way here,” Damian retaliates. Emma and Alyssa rode separately and burst out laughing.
“And now I have grown as a person. Developed myself.”
“It was ten minutes ago!”
“And? I’m not the same me I was two minutes ago, let alone ten,” Janis defends.
“Thank god,” Damian grumbles jokingly.
“Hey!” Janis says, breaking away from Cady and running after him. Damian shrieks and holds up his skirts to run away.
“Do we need to intervene here, Cades?” Emma asks with a slight chuckle as Damian and Janis sprint up and down the shoreline in a sort of oval.
“Nah,” Cady shrugs. “They do stuff like this about once a week. Janis knows she needs him, she won’t actually do anything.”
Just as she says that, Damian takes a hard left and runs full tilt into the lake. Janis pauses for a second before shrugging and running after him.
“Or maybe she will.”
“That water must be cold,” Alyssa chuckles in concern.
“Let’s find out!” Emma says boldly, tightening her grip on Alyssa’s hand and running them towards the water as well. Alyssa shrieks as they leap into the lake with a splash. Cady realizes she’s alone and also runs in, managing a cannonball into the water.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Barry yells, walking up on a sort of puddle of teenagers in soaking wet dresses.
“They’re being kids, let them live,” Dee Dee says. “Unrelated, can you swim?”
“Yeah, wh- don’t you dare,” Barry says, turning to face her.
“Oh, I would never,” Dee Dee says, aghast at the mere suggestion. Trent then comes sprinting up and tackles Barry into the lake. “But he would.”
Angie cackles and high fives her. Dee Dee crosses her arms over her chest and smiles down as Barry pops back up with a splutter.
“Dee Dee Allen!” Barry demands. “Get your ass in here.”
“No, I don’t think I will, thank you,” Dee Dee says casually, rocking slightly on the balls of her feet.
“Oh come on,” Angie coaxes. “It’s only fair.”
“I didn’t push him!”
“You had a role.”
Dee Dee ponders this for a moment before she begrudgingly reaches to take Angie’s hand, and they leap in together.
“Yay!” Emma cheers, delighted that all her friends made it into the lake one way or another. Some of them are significantly less happy about this, but everyone is laughing eventually.
“Hey, Caddy,” Janis says. She swims over to her girlfriend and kisses her gently, before booping her nose. “Tag. You’re it.”
Cady laughs as Janis swims away as fast as she can, rapidly followed by the rest of the group. Cady swims around for a second while she ponders her options to decide who to go after. Emma is a strong swimmer, being on her high school swim team and all. Alyssa is okay, but a bit weaker.
Barry seems to be the slowest, and gives her the best chance of success. He looks very anxious as Cady stares him down before lunging for him. He shrieks as Cady manages to snag his skirt and tap his arm under the water before she backstrokes away.
“Damn it,” he puffs. “I’m having elementary school flashbacks.”
“Better than middle school flashbacks,” Angie calls.
“Amen,” Janis says. She screams as Barry goes for her and swims away, huddling behind Damian for protection.
“Hey!” Damian whines, swimming away from her and creating a sort of three-way chase. Janis quickly gives up on Damian’s protection and swims to Cady instead.
“Protect me,” she pleads. Cady smiles as Janis hides behind her, peeking over her shoulder to check where the threat is.
“You’re so cute.”
“No I’m not,” Janis pouts. “I’m being stealthy.”
“Uhhuh,” Cady says as Janis clings to her like a precious little octopus. “If you get me tagged again I’m breaking up with you.”
“That’s fair,” Janis agrees with a shrug. Alyssa suddenly gives a shriek as Barry taps her leg under the water. “Uh oh.”
————-
After an hour or so of tag, the sun begins to set for the day. The water temperature plummets and everyone swims to shore to watch the sky be painted beautiful shades of pink and orange and purple. The adults and Damian head back to the car to go hunt for towels and dry clothes somewhere.
But Cady, Janis, Emma and Alyssa stay behind, deciding they don’t mind so much if they’re in heavy, cold dresses and getting covered in itchy sand. Cady holds Janis on her lap and Alyssa has Emma in hers, all of them staring out over the expanse of the water before them together.
“You guys should visit more often,” Cady says quietly as the first stars begin to make an appearance.
“Absolutely,” Alyssa says, looking down at her girlfriend. “This was an awesome day.”
“And we��ll have more,” Emma says.
Together.
—-
thank you so much for reading! hope you enjoyed!
lots of love,
ezzy
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Text
Goodnight
Prompts: TODAY IS LESBIAN DAY WE NEED WLW SIDES - anon (who is correct)
Hi, I just wanna say I love how you writing is a perfect blend of angst and fluff.
If you want, could you write a story of Remus (or Janus) comforting Logan after a nightmare. No pressure.💚 - anon (who is also correct)
I mean we gotta appreciate the lesbians
Read on Ao3
Warnings: literally this thing is so fluffy imma use it as a pillow
Pairings: introloceit, implied background dlampr
Word Count: 1437
 Just because she’s Logic doesn’t mean she doesn’t get nightmares.
Logan’s footsteps are silent save for the few creaks in the floorboards. Despite the fact that they are decidedly not physical, it seems the laws of physics have no trouble extending to a metaphysical level. She keeps her eyes out for anyone who might be awake. She has to keep them safe, they have to—
 They’ve just got to be safe.
 She rounds the corner into the Dark Sides’ living room and pauses. Remus—Remus isn’t here. Remus is always here. She doesn’t sleep, not like the rest of them do.
 Logan feels her blood run cold.
 Remus. Where is Remus?
 She breaks into a run, looking for the one light under her door, under Virgil’s door, under anyone’s door. She rounds the corner and—
 Janus’s door is cracked, a soft glow spilling into the hallway. As she edges closer, she hears a faint tapping coming from inside.
 She hesitates, then reaches out and knocks twice.
 The tapping stops.
 “Come in.”
 Breathing a sigh of relief, Logan pushes the door open to see Janus sitting at her desk. She looks up and smiles softly. 
 “Hi, sweetie,” she murmurs, “what’re you doing awake?”
 “I could ask you the same question.” She glances at the door. “May I come in?”
 “Of course, sweetie, come in. Sit down.”
 Logan glances one more time at the hallway. Janus catches it and frowns.
 “What’s wrong, sweetie, did you hear something?”
 “No, I’m alright, I just—“ she swallows— “haven’t seen Remus.”
 “I’m in here too, Pocket Protector.”
 Logan’s head jerks around. Janus gestures to the bed and sure enough, there’s Remus, her legs kicked up behind her. She waves.
 “Get over here, Lolo,” she calls, “sit down. Jan-Jan’s gonna be protective since you’re up so late.”
 “You’re both up late too,” Logan mumbles as she does as bid, closing the door with a soft click and perching awkwardly on the end of the bed. Janus frowns, turning around.
 “Did you want something?”
 “Huh? Oh no, I’m perfectly alright.”
 Janus hisses gently.
 Logan pushes her glasses further up her nose. “May I ask what you’re working on?”
 Janus and Remus exchange a glance before Janus sighs. “A plan for a new test Remus wants to do. Hopefully, it should increase effectiveness and control the reverse-osmosis-torque factor.” She frowns at Logan when there’s no response. She waits for a second before standing and coming to crouch in front of her “Alright, what’s happened?”
 “What?” Logan blinks. “Nothing, nothing, everything’s fine.”
 Janus raises an eyebrow.
 “Mmm, what the hell is reverse-osmosis-torque factor?”
 Logan’s mouth opens and closes soundlessly. Remus huffs and scoots a little closer.
 Janus softens, reaching up to fix Logan’s glasses. “Why did you come in the middle of the night?”
 “You’re still awake too!”
 “Insomniacs, sweetie. Why did you close the door?”
 Logan stutters into silence, mouth trying to form words. Janus stands, reaching to gently cup Logan’s cheek. “Sweetie, what happened?”
 “…you won’t believe me.”
 Before she can blink, Remus is sprawled across her lap, toying idly with the hem of her nightshirt. Janus sits on the bed next to her, still cupping her face, another hand stretching out to turn off the computer.
 “Lies are my job, Logan,” she murmurs, “I’ll believe you.”
 “I had a nightmare.”
 She waits for her to laugh. Nothing except an encouraging tap under her chin.
 “It was…bad.”
 “What happened,” Remus asks quietly, “can you tell us, Lolo?”
 She swallows heavily. “I couldn’t remember who you, or Patton, or Roman, or Virgil, or—or Remus were. You—I didn’t know what to do, you—”
 Janus lets out a soft noise as she swallows again.
 “…you didn’t remember me either.”
 “Oh, sweetie,” Janus murmurs, pulling Logan’s head into the crook of her neck, “shh, we remember you, of course we remember you, you’re so important, sweetie.”
 “You’re not going anywhere, Lolo.” Remus turns over to plant her face in her tummy. “You’re ours. You’re never getting away.”
 Despite everything, the corner of Logan’s mouth quirks up. “What did I do to deserve this?”
 “You’re you,” Remus says simply, “that’s enough.”
 Before Logan can respond to that—or even work out how—Remus rolls off and starts tugging her hand. “Come on.”
 “Where are we going?”
 “You’re gonna sleep, Lolo, and we’re gonna take care of you.”
 “What about—“ she gestures toward the computer.
 “Mindless scrolling, Logan,” Janus says softly, “now come on.”
 Logan lets Remus tug her up, only to squeak in surprise when she suddenly has an armful of green.
 “What are you doing?”
 “I’m hugging you, you big doof.” She looks up at her, placing her chin flat on her chest. “You look like you need a hug.”
 “What are you gonna do, just cuddle me all night?” Remus nods. “N-no, you don’t have to, I’ll be alright—“
 “You don’t have to do that, baby girl,” Remus says, still trying to get Logan to lie down.
 “Let us take care of you, sweetie.” Janus does up behind her to wrap more arms around the two of them.
 Logan knows when she’s outnumbered. As Janus goes to turn the light off, she lets Remus pull back the covers and snuggle into bed near the wall. She lies down next to her, trying to get comfortable in the darkness.
 Only for Janus to try to lie down on top of her.
 “Janus, I—ah! You’re squishing me!” She’s met with a chuckle as Janus’s weight settles atop her. “Get off me!”
 “You’re in my spot, sweetie.” She slings one leg over hers so they’re flush. “You move.”
 “I cannot move with you on top of me!” She pushes lightly at her chest to demonstrate. In the dim light, she sees her grin turned wicked.
 “Really?” Her hands begin to slowly trail up and down her sides. “You can’t move? At all? Mind if I test that?”
 Her eyes widened. “Don’t.”
 “Too late.” She smirks and starts tickling her, smiling as she starts to giggle and squirm, trying to get away. “Seems like you can move fairly well to me.”
 “St-stop! Pl-please stop—no!”
 “But your laugh is so cute, giggle bug,” Remus says, the traitor. As her giggles turn silent, Janus kneads her sides one last time before stopping, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.
 “You okay, sweetie?”
 “No…more. Please?”
 Janus chuckles and runs her hand over her stomach. “Want to move out of my spot?”
 She pushes herself up, giving Logan room to roll out of the way before collapsing back down. The second she lies down, she wraps her arms around Logan’s waist, pushes her legs between her, laying her head on her chest.
 “Are you certain this is not an excuse to cuddle me?”
 Janus lifts her head up, running a hand through Logan’s hair. “Why did you come to me, sweetie?”
 At Logan’s silence, Remus chuckles and snuggles against Logan’s shoulder. “She gotcha. Now she’s not gonna let you go for a week.”
 That…doesn’t sound like the worst possible outcome.
 Remus smirks. “You know you’ve just given me the green light to protectively cuddle you at any time, right?”
 Janus plants an exaggerated kiss on her forehead, hushing her whine of protest. “You love it, sweetie. Don’t pretend you don’t.”
 “So do you.”
 “Of course.” Janus winks. “Just don’t ruin my reputation.”
 The room quiets. Remus drifts off first, whistling snores in Logan’s ear. The noise itself isn’t enough to keep her awake, but she stays doggedly alert, her eyes opening every few seconds.
 Will the nightmare come back? What if they realize that it’s true, that they don’t need me? What if this makes them decide they don’t want me anymore?
 “Sweetie,” Janus whispers, moving up to tuck Logan’s head under her chin, “shh. That’s not true, you know it isn’t. We love you, sweetie, you’re important to us.”
 In her sleep, Remus grabs onto her, turning her face into her shoulder.
 Oh.
 Oh.
 “Go to sleep, sweetie,” Janus soothes, running her hand through Logan’s hair, “we’ll be here when you wake up.”
 The hand in her hair is doing wonders to send her right to sleep. She opens her mouth to clumsily mumble: “thank you.”
 “Of course, sweetie. Now goodnight.”
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Text
WIP Wednesday
Untitled Fic (Correspondence) 
Summary/Story So Far: HotchReid, slow burn, AU where Reid never joined the FBI, but got roped into consulting for the LA field office while working and teaching at CalTech. Hotch gets an email from a fellow agent, and they start to work on cases together - until they start talking on a regular basis. Regular becomes frequent, frequent becomes constant. 
They have been dating for some time now, and while they had evolved from written correspondence to phone conversations, they still haven’t crossed those last few barriers. They still haven’t met. They still don’t know what they look like. But at this point it doesn’t matter, because they are already in love. They know they will meet, one day, and that's enough. But then the next step in their relationship is taken right out of their hands... once again, thanks to a case.
Official Posting Date: 04/03/2021
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (NSFW) (Part 5)
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(Set in season 6/7, unbeta’d, first draft)
(sometimes I’m worried I’m giving too much of the good stuff away, but I’m also just too excited about it so here you go. Big milestone scene, or half of one anyway. Don’t worry about timelines yet, this takes place about halfway through the fic. It’s going to be a LONG story. This is a very, VERY rough draft just fyi)
-
The day Spencer sees Hotch the first time, is a complete accident.
He walks into the CalTech physics labs for his students, expecting to do the usual Monday rounds of checking on projects and thesis statements and arguments prepared for the Ph.D. board of directors -- and instead finds all of his doctorate students gathered around the projector screen where the news is being played twelve feet high.
“What’s going on?” 
“There was another terrorist bombing in Dallas this morning,” Kimmy Li, his direct office assistant and teacher’s aide, tells him. Sitting cross-legged on top of her desk and holding tea that looks like it’s stone cold now. “They brought in homeland security and the FBI, and it’s all over national news now.”
“That’s where you’re from, isn’t it?” he asks, gentle and wary. When she nods worriedly, he leans against her desk with her and looks to the screen where the news reporter is summarizing the attacks once more. 
Hotch is probably there. If they called in the FBI. He pulls out his phone to text him, ask him when he’s landing in Dallas, when Kimmy nudges his arm with her elbow and points to the screen. “Isn’t that your friend?”
He looks up and sure enough, there’s JJ. Her long blonde hair straight and professional, looking sharp in a dark brown pant suit and standing in front of about a dozen different outlet microphones. Her words are clear and concise, explaining a prepared press release he’s sure she wrote out in its entirety just on the flight from Quantico. Behind her is the Dallas police chief, and a few more agents all looking stern and very professional as well. He can only see an intimidating, dark-haired woman, a bald African-American man, and someone who he’s fairly certain is David Rossi. 
“Yep, that’s JJ.”
“And is that David Rossi?”
“JJ is going to be doing a lot of explaining the next time we chat on the phone,” he says with a slight smirk. He didn’t even know the man was out of retirement, nor that he was now working with his long time friend. Spencer didn’t like to pry at her about her work or her team. She’d been bounced all over the past year or two, stolen by the pentagon and the State Department, only to be snatched right back by the FBI once more. He didn’t even know anything about her team, and hadn’t bothered to ask --
If he had, he would have asked her if she worked with Hotch a long time ago. But the BAU itself had grown exponentially the past few years. They had multiple teams all over the country, now, and more than one stationed in Quantico at the FBI federal headquarters. The odds were slim to none. 
“We ask everyone here in the metropolitan area to remain vigilant, this team is very organized and we believe them to be a home-grown terrorist group. These kinds of groups blur racial and socio-economic lines. It could be anyone. We ask people to stay in their homes, avoid crowded areas, and to divert all traffic around the city instead of through it.”
“She looks good,” Kimmy smiles, a little red in her cheeks.
“She’s taken,” he stage-whispers to her. “Sorry to disappoint.”
“All the good ones are,” Kimmy mumbles, just as JJ looks to her left off screen.
“We will take questions in just a moment, but first our Unit Chief has a few words for the press and the group we are trying to find.” She steps aside, giving a small quirk of her mouth (not a smile, not after everyone that has died today) and makes room for a broad-shouldered, black haired man in a polished professional suit to take the podium. Smoothing his tie, mouth set in a thin line in his stern, authoritative face. Dark eyes, dark hair, dark lashes, the man commanded authority, and even Kimmy (who was gayer than a maypole) made a hum of appreciation. 
Spencer smirked and couldn’t help but agree. Unfortunately, he was also taken.
Then, the man begins to speak.
“My name is Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, and I’m addressing the leader of the terrorist group that attacked the Capitol building this morning.” 
Spencer’s stomach drops to his shoes.
His mouth parts on a sharp, pained gasp. 
And his ears ring like an air raid siren, but it doesn’t drown out the deep, familiar tones of the man on the screen. 
The man who had whispered huskily into his ear two nights ago, who had wished him good morning last week when he’d just gotten back from a Florida case, who had told Spencer he loved him exactly nineteen days ago and rocked his world to his core.
Now Spencer was staring him in the face, twelve feet high, on a projector screen in front of all his students, and if he hadn’t been leaning against Kimmy’s desk he knows he would have fallen over. 
Hotch.
“We have your demands. We know what you want. And you’re not getting them.” 
There’s a collective gasp around the lab, and Spencer feels his jaw tighten because this was either a ploy that was going to try and draw the unsubs out into the open, or part of the demand to get the public against the FBI presence. Risky, either way, and he swallows hard as he listens to Hotch lay down the fucking law. Back straight, head high, unblinking and not showing an inch of emotion on his face.
And it’s so… very hot.
And he’s so… extremely handsome. 
Spencer is fucked.
He watches the whole press conference, scared to blink and miss one millisecond, soaks up every word and facial tick and nuance he knows by heart in Hotch’s voice. But now he has facial expressions, dark eyes and a strong jaw, to match to it. 
“Are you okay, Dr. Reid?” Kimmy asks him, when he finally blinks and realizes his eyes sting from staring so hard, and she looks distraught at her hometown being targeted so viciously. He should be comforting her, not the other way around.
“Y-Yeah, I’m fine, I just… I know that team. Not just JJ. Could you,” he pauses, and can’t believe the words that are about to come out of his mouth. “Would you mind finding me a copy of that press conference and emailing it to me? I have some phone calls to make this morning, but I need to watch it again.” 
Kimmy stares at him. Because Spencer never needs to rewatch or reread anything. He has an eidetic memory. 
But he doesn’t explain himself, just awaits an answer and gives her a grimace of a smile when she nods still a little stunned. “Thanks, Kimmy. Let me know if you need anything.” And with an awkward pat on her shoulder, he bee-lines straight for his office and sits behind his desk. Head in his hands. Hotch’s eyes burned into his memory. His voice and his mouth and his jaw and his…everything. 
He still has a half typed message in the text box. And he can’t even bring himself to complete it.
(tbc...)
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kookie-doughs · 4 years
Text
BETA TESTER
Kozume Kenma X Reader
-Y/N L/N is a popular mangaka.
CHAPTER 6: Meeting
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Sitting in the middle of the room due to another meeting. Everyone involved in the game was here.
Today, you and your team finally finished the demo game. What was Kenma playing? I don't know but it wasn't a demo for sure.
Right now the big guys of Enix and Jump were conversing over should they milk the release of the demo or just release it normally.
Guess which won.
"A party?" Akiteru asked.
"Technically is a part fundraising thing." Fukumoto, Enix's big guy's name, corrected.
Suzumiya, Jump's big guy, cleared his throat. "The plan is, we would throw a release party. If you aren't actually invited you'll have to pay XXX to come in. In the party we will release the official trailer of the game and sometime during the party we would open the donations, if you donate at least 1K we would give them a demo, signed copy of the manga and some merch."
"1/4 of the entrance and the entire donation would go to 'kookie-doughs is a broke bitch foundation'. While the other 3/4 of the entrance would stay with us." Fukumoto continued.
"Why?" Akaashi looked at them confused.
"Because, milk." Fukumoto laughed.
"PPM is the biggest game of the year and possibly decade. And all that was released is some clips of Mr. Kozume's beta testing."
"Why are we only releasing the Demo?" Tenma asked.
"Well, we've only fixed the once that'll be part of the Demo. We removed all possible exploits and glitches that Kozume-san pointed out." Sakujo explained. "He found a lot. Speed runners are a great choice of beta tester."
"I doubt, people won't find other glitches." Kenma whispered.
Giving a hearty laugh, Suzumiya repeatedly 'pat' Kenma's back. "Young man! don't sell yourself short!"
"Suzumiya-Sama," Tsunomori, Suzumiya's assistant called. "Give your reminders. You have another meeting soon."
"Same goes to you Fukumoto-Sama."
The two big guys sighed and looked at each other.
"The party will be in a few weeks. Announce it in your socials."
"You all are invited. Each can only bring one person with you. Our venue can accommodate XXXXX. You'll need to tell us if you're bringing someone so we know how many tickets to sell."
"There will be media as well. And expect your fans joining us."
"Do we have a uniform hashtag or do we just post about it and stuff?" Tenma asked.
"Say whatever you want as long as you have a uniform hashtag."
"Which is..."
The two looked at their assistants. "Uhm..."
"PPM Release Party?" The Enix big guy looked at the other one.
Giving a grin they laughed. "Perfect!"
"How original..." I heard one of the coder whisper.
"Meeting adjourned! Have fun! don't forget to email if you're brining someone!" With that the meeting ended. Everyone went back to their places.
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Previous | Masterlist | Next
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Haha
The party explanation UwU
Kinda confusing ryt?
I'm switching The chapter 6 and 7
I couldn't do a written chapter back then so yeah...
I'm sorry I hope you guys wont get confused
-kookie-doughs
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Taglist?
@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @synx-ed @normalisthenewnorm @0majuh0 @leachann @nikanikabitch @almondeupeach @immxnty @mer-majesty @yamayoomi @simpingoveranime-men
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mercuryonparklane · 3 years
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I seriously debated keeping this one in the drafts...
Okay, I felt compelled to analyze the timeline of all of Taylor’s rumored/alleged boyfriends (barring any that she supposedly dated pre-fame) and why I believe they could have been fake/pr setups...
Disclaimer: this is all speculative and is just my opinion. No one has to agree... we don’t all have to agree because really the only people who know the truth are Taylor and those she has shared it with. I do have a very skeptical view of the entertainment industry and pr, so that is a bias I will own up to. I especially think Taylor, for a very long time, was willing to play along with the pr side of things, but eventually reached a breaking point (as any normal human under that amount of pressure and scrutiny likely would). Whether that means she has faked all of her public relationships or some of them or just aspects of them... I can’t really, truly know that. So, just keep in mind that this is one little, insignificant person’s view of Taylor’s public relationships and that I do not personally know any of the people involved...
Don’t take this too seriously, peeps... I’ll even tag it as crack theory...
Joe J.: June/July-September/October 2008
If nothing else this feels like a typical pr setup of two young stars. He had Camp Rock, a Jonas Bros’ album and a tour and concert film to promote. Camp Rock came out on 6/20/2008. The Jonas Bros’ third album, A Little Bit Longer, was released on 8/12/2008. In August, Taylor joined the band on stage during the filming for a concert movie that would be released in February 2009. 
Taylor had an album that was released just weeks after their alleged breakup. An album which contained a few songs that would be attributed to Joe J. due to the publicity surrounding their relationship. Hmm... what a great way to drum up interest in an album that includes quite a few heartbreak songs. Not saying I know that is the case, but they both had a lot to promote between June and November 2008.
Lucas T.: March-April/May 2009
He was in the Hannah Montana movie, which was released 4/10/2009. Taylor had a cameo in that movie and also wrote a song for the soundtrack. Lucas also played Taylor’s love interest in the mv for YBWM, which premiered 5/2/2009 on CMT. He was in one of her Myspace vlogs in April 2009. IMO, this was a setup to promote the Hannah Montana movie and the YBWM mv, but it didn’t really take off. Lucas later said they dated briefly, but he realized that he just saw her as a friend...
Taylor L.: August-December 2009
 They played a couple in Valentine’s Day. In September, just days after the VMAs where KW interrupted Taylor on stage as Taylor L. stood a few feet away, Taylor went to an Owl City concert at the Bowery Ballroom where she met the man who would supposedly inspire “Enchanted”. Umm... “please don’t be in love with someone else”... even though I am currently dating Taylor L. and he is my forever crush, but like, I am totally crushing on you actually. I have no clue if any Swifties have ever picked up on that discrepancy.  
Oh, and Taylor L. also “dated” Selena in early 2009 and I doubt Taylor would go there, even if they ended on good terms. I mean, it’s possible, but idk it seems unlikely to me. 
John M.: December 2009-February 2010
I think Taylor admired him as a musician (this seems to have been mutual with John praising her talent multiple times) and she may have seen him as a mentor at first. I do not believe that anything happened between them beyond that. I think he was so thrown off by “Dear John” because of that. He was already tweeting in the spring of 2009, hinting at wanting to collaborate with Taylor. The album their duet was on came out in November 2009, right before they started “dating”. Although it wasn’t released as a single until June 2010.
Besides, Liz (friend or otherwise) has remained a fan of John and even went to his concert a few years back. So, either she didn’t care that he screwed one of her supposed good friends over or it didn’t go down how people were led to believe it did.
Jake G.: October 2010-December/January 2011
Unless this relationship started much earlier than everyone has been led to believe, it is very unlikely that ATW is about him. It certainly seems to have been written prior to the maple latte/scarf/sister’s house articles that were abundant after that pap walk. Either Taylor used him as a scapegoat for a song that wasn’t about him or he was a willing participant in a pr scheme to make sure people thought the song was about him. 
He couldn’t have been setup with his costar, Anne H., because she was already in a long term, committed relationship. At the time Taylor was still good pr since she was still known as a kind of girl next door, all American type with genuine talent. 
I’m not saying I know for a fact it was fake. I’m saying there are plenty of reasons why I think it was. Everyone has different perspectives... mine is that this was purely a pr setup.
Will A.: sometime in 2010 and/or mid or fall 2011-January 2012 or May (?) 2012
They were likely just friends, but people did think they were dating back then. The songs that people think he wrote about Taylor (”White Dress” and “Kiss Me Slowly”) were recorded in 2010. So, if she started dating him in September 2011, which people think because the dress she wore to his May 2012 birthday party was the one she is wearing on the “Begin Again” cover art, then those songs aren’t about her. About the party dress...  Sarah B., who took the picture, was also friends with the Parchute guys, so maybe the photoshoot that the picture on that cover art came from happened earlier that day. 
He was friends with Liz’s ex Jason and one of his best friends is still to this day very close friends with Liz, so that’s probably how he met Taylor. I think Taylor hung out with that crew a bit back then. AND those times Will and Taylor were seen hanging out in late fall/early winter 2011, Jason and/or the other friend were there. Yes, I am saying that Taylor was hanging out with Jason in November/December 2011, just a few months after he and Liz supposedly broke up. She was also still hanging out with Liz a lot at that time and after, though, so I think it was all good.
Conor K.: July 2012-September/October 2012
This was Taylor’s worst pr. If it was a real relationship... it is borderline predatory. If it is fake... still a big yikes... I don’t have much to say about this one. I think it was fake and an attempt at making him the muse for “Starlight” (how cute, this song she wrote about his grandparents sort of became about them), “Begin Again” (nevermind that the copyright record say the song was written in 2011), and EHC (nevermind that the song was written in May 2012). It would have been great pr, though, if he was a couple years older. Taylor should have fired Paula after this one... (because the public should have never known about it, real or fake).
Harry S.: November 2012-January 2013
Similar to all the others before (and after), there were “random” sightings, including a birthday trip to “the lakes” and blatant pr (go on and wear that fox sweater and paper airplane necklace, Taylor...). That NYE kiss, though...
Calvin: February 2015-May/June 2016
Taylor finally dropped her old publicist and brought on Tree. First step, was to erase the “boy crazy”/“man eater” label (and possibly the “professional beard” label) and become an independent woman who just wants to have fun with her gal pals. It got a bit gayer than expected (whether Kaylor was really a thing to some degree or not is irrelevant to the point). The gay rumors were actually catching on even faster and people were like “oh, that’s why she couldn’t keep a man” (sexist/homophobic as all of this is/was, ofc). 
Enter Calvin... a playboy DJ who some might deem “tall and handsome as hell” (peeps, I am not really the best judge of a man’s attractiveness, so this is just how I think people see him). He seems sooo straight. I don’t know how else to say it. All of her other supposed boyfriends had gay rumors, whether or not those rumors were just people gossiping or had some basis in reality... I think he is the only one that doesn’t have them, that I know of anyway. 
I know a lot of people think they were really together, but I think this was an attempt to have her in a more serious, long term relationship to counteract both the gay rumors (not necessarily as a cover for a woman because I don’t think all of the guys have been or need to have been covers for a secret relationship with a woman, it’s about appearing straight) and the “can’t keep a man” narrative that had followed her around. Even if they were in some sort of situationship (not what I think, just theorizing here), it wouldn’t have been a steady thing and they seemed to not like each other very much when all was said and done.
I still laugh that he said Taylor was the opposite of his type (and specified that he likes brunettes) in November 2014 and then he allegedly dated her for almost a year and a half, starting literally a few months after he made that comment. If that was a real relationship, he was either playing it cool when he said that or he misjudged her or Taylor was determined to date him because it was a challenge.
Either way, it seems like her team controlled the public narrative and maybe Calvin was okay with that at first, but over time it seemed like he wasn’t a big fan of that. Maybe that visit to the strip mall massage parlor was a bit of a rebellion... 
At least they both got some royalties out of it...
Joe A.: September 2016-Present
Taylor’s team absolutely has control of the public narrative and he seems okay with that. He is a literal mirrorball. He is whatever Taylor supposedly says he is in her songs/whatever Swifties want him to be.
He likes to drop fun facts like how his family jumps into a freezing pond at Christmas or that he worked at a yogurt shop as a teenager. Whether they are real or not... he seems to be playing into the pr. Dropping little bits of information that will tie him to her songs... it is very “maple latte”/“paper airplane necklace”/dark jeans and Nikes... OR Taylor is just taking the few facts people know about him and using it to pin songs on him.
If he is a beard (which imo he likely is), I think he gets along with Taylor and doesn’t mind the minimal pr of it all.
I don’t think he is WB, either way...
Again this is just my view of things. This has no bearing on which women Taylor may have dated. I could do a separate post on what I think that timeline might look like.
One point I will reiterate is that I do not think that a beard would always be a cover for a secret relationship with a woman. I think it sometimes is, but it can be more of a general cover for someone who is gay. So many people think Taylor is the straightest person who has ever lived simply because of her public dating record. I mean, heteronormativity and homophobia also play a big part in that...
Edit: I completely skipped Tom lol. I just don’t buy that one either. Maybe he thought it would be good publicity or maybe he was led on to think it was more real than it was or maybe he was just having fun. Idk. All kinds of articles written about them at the time included some caveat about how they seemed fake or were maybe filming something...
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ship-enthusiast · 4 years
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Prompt: Modern Destiel AU
Teacher!Castiel x Youtuber!Dean
3.2k words
TW: mild swearing
Castiel Novak was a socially inept introvert to those who personally knew him and just a quiet guy to those who didn’t. He never knew his mother and had an absent father throughout his childhood. Despite the terrible credentials, his father had adopted a boy before Castiel was born from Africa named Uriel. He also had an older half-sister named Anna whom he was closest to throughout his childhood.
Castiel and Uriel were terrible step-siblings with Uriel always bullying Cas into submission during their childhood. Since his home wasn’t a safe place, he would often find sanctuary at the local library and immersed himself in history and literature. He had a short-term girlfriend named Hester whom he dated for a few months as a teenager when he was under the pressure of his father to date girls. Not wanting to disappoint him further, Cas tried to court his dad’s business friend’s daughter but it ended up a mess since Cas was, well, gayer than a rainbow unicorn.
Due to his excellent grades, he was offered a full-ride scholarship to the University of Kansas. He accepted the offer because he wanted to get as far away from home as he could and got his bachelor’s degree in education before interning at a public school. Because he loved working at the high school so much, he decided to become a substitute teacher for the district.
While subbing for a variety of teachers, he worked for his master’s degree in American history and was offered a permanent teacher’s position when one of them retired. On the side of subbing for teachers, Castiel worked at a coffee shop in a neighboring city. Although he was still shy and reserved, he managed to make a friend named Meg who was a regular at the coffee shop. At that time he met a downcast Dean Winchester who had just lost his father. He would usually meet up with his brother, Sam, at Cas’s coffee shop since Sam attended the nearby university. Sometimes Dean would stay behind when his brother left and that’s when Castiel introduced himself and the two bonded over their love-hate relationships with their parental figures.
Dean always expressed how he felt like he was a failure for never going to college when Castiel encourages him to go for a job or start something he wants to do. Dean had a side hobby of making videos as a kid because his family would move around a lot so he liked to film entertaining short videos of him and Sam to stay in touch with old friends. The friendships never lasted and the hobby was discarded until he decided to take Castiel’s advice and began filming little videos and posting them on youtube under the name ‘Wayward Winchester.’
The two would introduce each other to their interests and new things like movies and/or music. One time Dean brought over his friend, Charlie Bradbury, and Castiel thought the two were dating. He was immediately confused because although the two hadn’t explicitly come out to each other, they knew in the short yet meaningful duration of their relationship. His worries were for nothing, though, when Charlie noticed the tension and just casually mentioned she was a lesbian.
Castiel was over the moon when Dean’s videos started gaining traction a few months later. He was scared at the same time because he didn’t know what Dean would do with the newfound fame but he wasn’t ready for him to leave his life forever, and neither was Dean. After one of Castiel’s midterm exams, Dean asked Cas to hang out with him at the coffee shop where they had met. By this time Castiel had almost graduated and had a position waiting for him at the public high school so things were finally going well for the two. Castiel was scared for the meeting, thinking it was goodbye, and almost had a panic attack before Dean asked him to be his boyfriend. Of course, Castiel then felt stupid, said yes, and Dean declared that day to be their first date. Two years later on the exact same date at the exact same spot, Dean Winchester got down on one knee and asked Castiel to marry him.
Dean was a bit surprised and flattered when his fans were thirsting over him in the comments of his newer youtube videos so he explicitly stated he was in a stable relationship with his fiancee. He never specified the gender or his sexuality which was a big topic about him because gay marriage was still only legalized the year before.
They were married in the summer of next year by Dean’s father figure, Bobby Singer. Uriel and Anna were both invited but only Anna came. Sam attended as the best man with his wife, Jessica, and their one-year-old daughter Mary. Cas had asked Charlie to be his maid of honor since the two had bonded immensely after their first initial meeting. The two’s dynamic was convenient since Charlie would talk to whoever approached them and since she was with a guy, she wouldn’t be harassed and sometimes he’d be her wingman when hooking up with other chicks.
As a teacher, he was everything a student could ask for. He assigned homework three times a week and one essay a month. He was also a bit lenient on the due dates because he knew life could get in the way and tried his best to accommodate all of his students’ needs into his lesson plans. Despite his awkward demeanor, new high schoolers feared him but they were easily quelled when they met him. It was cringy whenever an older teacher would try to talk in their generation slang but when Castiel did it it felt extra out of place since he was so awkward. He still continued to surprise students whenever he quoted or understood a popular meme to which he’d reply with a Mean Girls reference of “I’m not like other teachers, I’m a cool teacher.”
His students didn’t question his sexuality much because they were adamant he wasn’t straight. The man was stylish and had a million different sweater vests. His trenchcoat became his trademark since he always came to school wearing it and it was rarely seen not nearby him. His students liked to do their own gestures to let him know they were okay with his sexuality, whether it was speaking about social issues in class or wearing pride clothing.
Castiel would also incorporate a lot of modern issues into his lessons and made sure his students were all self-aware of the situations in the world in hopes that they could help those he could not. There was absolutely no Mr. Novak slander in the hallways—literally, every student loved him; even if they’ve never had him as a teacher. Sometimes he acted like a counselor to those who felt uncomfortable talking to their parents or guardians at home. Overall, he was the best teacher a student could ask for.
In the end, his students were still teenagers and would be caught watching youtube or Netflix in class so he would have to confiscate their phones for the rest of class. He always felt guilty if he kept it any longer so he would pass the phones to his co-worker, Jo Harvelle. Jo also happened to be the daughter of the principal and an avid fan of Wayward Winchester. Castiel would sometimes listen to her rant about how much she liked or disliked something in his husband’s videos during their breaks with minimum comments. If he liked anything she said, he would go home and tell Dean and the two would laugh over it.
It wasn’t until Jo began continuously talking about the theories regarding who Dean’s mystery lover could be and comments regarding his sexuality did Dean finally feel like he was ready to open up to his fans with his husband’s encouragement. Castiel was the one who filmed that video and it trended pretty quickly since only a small handful of popular YouTubers were in the LGBTQ+ community. The video did garner some hate but the reception, for the most part, was very positive. This finally led to Castiel revealing to his students that he had a husband whom he had been married to for eight years. He was only met with positive responses and felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A year later, Castiel started an elective class that taught about historical LGBTQ+ figures, monuments, timelines, and etc. It also doubled as a “therapy group” as the students liked to call it since it was a safe space.
Even if Castiel dearly loved his job, he wanted nothing more than to go home to his husband, curl up on the couch and have a western movie marathon. Summer break was finally coming up and Cas was more than ready to take a break from grading tests and papers. He had a love-hate relationship with the end of the term because, on one hand, he had a lot of stressed-out students, high piles of ungraded homework, and barely any sleep. But on the other hand, he had the next three months just for him and Dean. Their 10th year anniversary was also coming up and he was fretting about what he should get his husband.
Castiel was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard faint giggling from the back of the classroom. He glances at the clock from the corner of his eye to see that there were still fifteen minutes left of class and students weren’t allowed on their phones until the last five minutes. Sighing, he stands up and walks to the back of the classroom where he sees a small group of girls huddled around a single phone. He walks behind them without any of them noticing, raising an eyebrow when he sees what they’re watching. Most of the time it’s that god-awful show called Riverdale but this time, it was one of Dean’s videos. His husband’s video.
He was a bit taken aback as he recognized the video being on Dean uploaded last week about this game he played with Sam and Jessica called “Never Have I Ever.” The part they were on was “never have I ever gotten a speeding ticket.” Castiel snorts to himself when Dean puts up the sign “I have.” On one of their dates, they were almost late to a musical Castiel had been waiting months to see so Dean was speeding and they were pulled over.
“I wonder what kind of car he drives,” the girl on the right whispers to the others.
“Do not ever get Dean Winchester started on his car,” Castiel finally spoke up, causing a few of the girls to jump in surprise. “He will never shut up.”
“I—” one of the girls blinks in confusion.
“Do you…?”
Before they could ask any questions, Castiel confiscates the phone and walks back to his desk with a smug smile. If only Dean could see him now. The two had decided on keeping Cas’s identity a secret because Dean was the one in the relationship who wanted attention and Cas was content in staying in the background. Dean had also progressively become even more famous throughout the years and Cas knew the fame was not for him. It also made it harder to go on dates without someone recognizing Dean.
There were a few times when they were grocery shopping where a fan spotted them and Cas introduced himself as Dean’s cousin. The two had spoken about whether or not to introduce Castiel to Dean’s channel except Cas was afraid if any of his students saw and began viewing him differently. That is if any of his students even watched Wayward Winchester which apparently, they did.
When the bell rang, Castiel promptly returned the student’s phone before joining Jo in the teacher’s lounge for lunch. After the video where Dean came out, Castiel felt it was time to tell Jo that he was Dean’s husband. Jo was extremely embarrassed and kept apologizing for talking about Dean that way but then was offended she wasn’t told sooner. She forgave him pretty quickly when Cas let her talk to him on the phone one day after school and gave her a signed t-shirt.
“You won’t believe what some students were watching in class today,” Castiel began as he sat down at their designated table.
“What?” Jo asks as she sets down her phone. “Also, I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?” Cas asks as he opens his lunch bag.
“I have a date later this week so I was hoping you could help me find an outfit…?”
“Why don’t you ask your mom for help?”
“Ugh, you know how she is,” Jo groans into her sandwich. “She’ll shoot down everything and suggest I go in a turtleneck or something.”
“Turtlenecks are fashionable.”
“Not for this type of weather.”
“All right, I’ll help. Do you mean shopping or raiding your closet?”
“Maybe both if you can’t find anything suitable in my mess of a wardrobe.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”
“Oh, it is. It looks like it belongs to a thirteen-year-old Amish girl.”
“Poor thirteen-year-old Amish girls.”
“Oh, shut up. Anyways, what were you talking about earlier?”
“Hm? Oh! I caught some girls watching Dean’s video in class today.”
“And?”
“What do you mean ‘and’?”
“You didn’t know students watched your husband’s videos?” Jo shoves her face into her sandwich to keep from laughing. “You do know...that kids have worn his merchandise to school before, right?”
“Really?!”
“Yeah,” Jo lets out a chuckle. “For a while now. He became really popular after his coming out video.”
“How did I not know this…” Castiel sighs and rests his face in his hands.
“Why? What’s wrong with them knowing?”
“It just makes everything so much more complicated.”
Jo decided not to press any further and continued to eat her sandwich.
“So, who’s the poor chap?”
School ended that day painfully and Castiel was more than happy to come home to hear the shower running, guessing Dean just got back from the gym. He set his bag down and took his coat off before face-planting onto his bed. He stayed in the position for a few minutes before turning his body around as he heard the bathroom door open.
“Hey, huggy bear,” Dean smiles as he leans down to kiss Cas’s forehead. “How was work?”
“Turns out the whole school watches your videos.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah,” Castiel says as he sits up. “But maybe I’m worrying over nothing. Maybe they won’t even care that I’m married to a famous YouTuber.”
“I wouldn’t say famous.”
“Dean.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”
Dean wraps an arm around Cas’s shoulder and pulls him close. “We’ll figure it out.”
Castiel snuggles further into his husband’s embrace. “You’re still wet.”
“Just the way you like me.”
“And the moment’s ruined,” Castiel playfully pushes Dean away and stands up. “I’ll go get dinner started.”
“I love you!” Dean calls out.
“Yeah, I know,” Cas replies as he closes the door.
Castiel’s alarm clock blared loudly as he hit the off button and rubbed his eyes open. He sighed as he tapped Dean’s hands around his waist, trying to loosen his arms. Dean protested by whining and holding him closer. Castiel sighs and stays in the position for a few moments, basking in the peaceful quietness as he traced shapes on Dean’s left arm. His eyes began drooping when he looked back at his alarm clock to check how much time he had when he suddenly bolted out of bed.
“Come back to bed,” Dean whines sleepily as he makes grabby motions towards Cas’s side of the bed.
“I can’t,” Castiel says breathlessly as he began pulling on a shirt and pants. “I’m going to be late!”
“Hm?” Dean groans as he finally opens his eyes and glares at the alarm clock as Castiel rushes out of their bedroom. “This is your fault.”
He slumps his head back onto the pillow when he hears the front door shut and lies there for a few more minutes before finally sitting up and stretching. He looks around sleepily to see a few of Castiel’s shirts lying carelessly on the floor. Dean picks them up and throws them on the bed so Cas can hang them up later before putting on pants and heading to the kitchen. He’s about to make his coffee when he notices Castiel’s lunch bag lying on the counter.
“Oh, Cas. What am I going to do with you?”
After his first three cups of coffee and an hour of sitting and staring at the wall, Dean looks into the bag to see it still empty and decides to make a sandwich and pack some of the stuff he’s seen Cas put in it before checking the time. Cas’s second period would start in fifteen minutes so he had some time to give him his lunch. Dean shrugs on a jacket and starts the impala, careful to make sure the water bottle is secured tightly in Cas’s bag.
When he makes it to the school parking lot, he puts on a cap and sunglasses to hide his face before grabbing Castiel’s lunch bag and heading to the front office. He signs in at the front office and walks through the hallways, thinking back to the time when he was in high school which felt like eons ago. He had no idea why Castiel wanted to make a career out of teaching high school students—they were usually the moodiest bunch of kids but Castiel loved them.
A student is walking past him when he stops and gasps when he looks up at Dean.
“Oh my God, are you Dean Winchester?!”
“Yes I am, kid,” Dean says, not wanting to disappoint him.
“Oh, wow!” The kid’s eyes widened. “I’m a huge fan of your videos. Can I...maybe get a photo?”
“Sure, why not?” Dean takes off his sunglasses and leans down for a quick selfie when the bell rings and streams of children begin pouring out of their classes.
“Ah, shit,” Dean groans to himself.
Sure enough, a crowd accumulates around Dean as multiple students ask for photos and for him to sign their folders or homework assignments with sharpies and mechanical pencils. Dean chuckles at the students enthusiastic response to his presence that he forgets the reason why he was there in the first place until he felt eyes drill into the back of his head.
Dean straightens his posture and turns around, making eye contact with Castiel over the crowd of students. He strides over to his husband with a bright smile before planting a little kiss on his cheek, causing their audience to gasp and some students begin to scream.
“What are you doing here?” Castiel asks in confusion.
It seemed like the whole school was holding its breath.
“You forgot your lunch,” Dean says as he hands the bag over.
A few girls collectively sigh in the background.
“MR. NOVAK IS DATING THE DEAN WINCHESTER?!”
The students begin screaming again.
“Actually,” Dean clears his throat as the screaming subsides. “Mr. Novak is married to Dean Winchester.”
Castiel covers his bright red face with his hand as Dean grins at the chaos he had created.
“See you at home, angel,” he plants a chaste kiss on Cas’s lips before doing a salute and exiting the school, grinning the whole way back to the impala.
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babygirlgalitzine · 4 years
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make me lose my mind (ao3)
Callum’s in the funeral parlour, sitting in his usual seat facing out into the front room. He knows he should really be sitting in there, in case anyone comes in, but it’s so much cooler in here, hidden away from the beaming sun of the middle of summer. It’s been so hot all week, so he’s grateful that he can just hide away in this room for a few hours at least. Everyone else is either off work sick with the twenty four hour bug that seems to be doing the rounds, or they’re doing the home visits of the day, visiting grieving relatives. If he’s honest, he’s enjoying the serenity of the peace and quiet being alone brings him. He doesn’t have to worry about anything other than work, especially not the headache he usually walks away from work with after being surrounded by men all day. It may be a funeral parlour, but that doesn’t stop his work colleagues from being loud when families aren’t around.
He puts the pen back down on his desk, watching as it rolls back and forth for a moment. Then he bunches up a wad of paper into his hands, tapping the bottom of it against the surface of the desk, making sure that they’re all even. 
Callum quickly looks around, trying to find a spare file to put the papers in, and when he can’t find one within distance of him, he decides to just get one out of the cabinet. He’s just about to stand up to find one when there’s a tapping noise at the door, rhythmic but somehow unrecognisable. He waits for a moment, mentally preparing himself for a grieving member of the public to walk in when a familiar voice calls out. “Anyone in?” 
Callum smiles to himself stupidly and tilts his head down to hide the blush that’s inevitably growing across his cheeks, although nobody is in the room to see. He doesn’t even move from his seat, because within seconds of his voice calling out, the door is opening and shutting again and Ben is leaning against the door frame, his arms crossing over his body and a beaming grin across his face, something that Callum sees a lot these days.
“Anyone could’ve been here.” Callum says, trying his hardest to be stern about this situation but honestly, one look at Ben and Callum knows he can’t stay mad.
Ben looks around cheekily, poking his head into the room his body is facing away from first, then bending his knee slightly to look under desks. “But nobody is here. Apart from you and me, obviously.” He pauses for a moment. “Unless there’s some dearly departed in a box in the back room.”
Callum narrows his eyes, tilting his head to the side. “Not the point, Ben.” He deadpans, leaning his body against the back of his seat.
Ben shakes his head, a devious looking smile on his face. “No.” He says, walking towards Callum. “The point is, I’ve been here for at least a minute now and we’re still wearing clothes.” He’s standing in front of Callum now, towering over him, but that only lasts for a few seconds more because Ben takes everything one step further, the tension building rapidly between them, when he sits down on Callum’s lap, brazen and not caring if anyone catches them.
Callum sighs for a moment, but he can’t help himself from looking at Ben’s face, noticing all the little things. From here, he can see the blue of his eyes and how they’re so much brighter today in the sun, brighter and happier. He notices the crinkles in the skin next to his eyes, a sure sign that he’s been smiling recently. There’s faint freckles all over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, some more visible than others and his lips look inviting, soft. “I’m trying to get my work done, Ben. It’s important.”
Ben cocks his head to the side, letting his thumb rise up and brush against Callum’s jawline, all the way across in one soft motion. He shrugs his shoulders smugly, not caring at all that Callum has honest work to be doing. He knows he’ll win in the end. 
There’s a pause for a moment or two, frozen in time. It’s like a stare down, the first one to blink loses. Or in this case, the sooner that Callum concedes that Ben is right here, sitting on his lap - with Callum’s own trousers getting tighter by the second - the better. 
Callum throws his head back and squeezes his eyes tightly shut, knowing that there’s no way he’s winning this argument. At this point, it’s proving impossible to win any argument that also includes Ben. He brings his face back to his normal position and looks Ben square in the eyes as he speaks. “I can’t think straight around you.”
A low chuckle grumbles out from Ben’s throat. He shifts in his sitting position, deliberately if the grin is anything to go by. He leans forward and forward until his chest is firmly against Callum’s and his lips are pressing to Callum’s neck, warm and hot and everything Callum has spent half of his life searching for but never finding. Ben feels Callum gulp under his touch and it just heightens everything all the more for him. He pulls back for a moment, letting his hand cradle the back of his head, fingers threading through short, prickly hair. “If I’m honest Cal, I don’t really want you to think straight around me. The gayer the better.” 
Callum’s breath hitches when Ben’s lips press against his neck once more, leaving open mouth kisses everywhere he can reach. He loves it when Ben’s like this. Ben’s fingers attach to Callum’s white shirt, fumbling to open up the first two buttons. Callum lets out a breathless chuckle, though he absolutely tightens his hold on Ben when the younger man cheekily nips at Callum’s skin, right on his collarbone. 
“We can’t do this.” Callum exhales, though his actions contradict his words when his fingers disappear underneath Ben’s shirt, skin against skin. “Not here.”
Ben doesn’t even part from Callum’s neck when he speaks, instead he just lets the vibrations bounce against Callum’s skin, making a shiver go down Callum’s spine. “I locked the door. Nobodies here. Nobody can get in. It’s fine.”
Instead of waiting for Callum’s response, he just carries on opening the buttons of Callum’s shirt, complementing every open button with a warm kiss to Callum’s chest, moving further and further down until he has no buttons left to open. Ben’s on the floor now, not quite on his knees just yet, but nearly. He looks up at Callum through fluttery eyelashes and sees a blush across his face, his eyes now a darker shade of blue, practically navy, and his mouth ajar. Ben grins to himself and pushes himself up just slightly, his own mouth now over Callum’s tight trousers. There’s a moment or two where they both find themselves looking at each other, hungry, the tension palpable. Then Ben’s pulling Callum’s trouser zip down with his teeth and Callum’s already gasping at the slight relief of pressure, even if just for a moment. 
Ben’s hidden by the desk, on his knees underneath it. But Callum’s not. If anyone does manage to walk in through a locked door, they’ll see him right away, with his shirt entirely open and his head stuck staring at the ceiling. He threads his fingers through Ben’s hair and neither of them care if it messes it up, because being in the moment, this moment, is so utterly perfect that neither of them have it in them to care about anything other than right here, right now. Ben’s head bobs up and down in a rhythmic motion, his tongue flat and warm and enticing. He can feel everything, every vein, every jutter of Callum’s body at the pressure. Callum’s moaning uncontrollably and that just urges Ben on even more, letting his nose press against Callum’s skin and he just stays there, trying to control his breathing. Callum’s hold on his hair gets even tighter now, his fingers curling and pulling and he’s sure that for a moment he just stops knowing how to breathe - until Ben pulls off of him with an almighty gag, drool and come escaping from the corners of his mouth. 
He wipes himself clean with a tissue and gets up, wobbly legs and all, and presses a salty kiss to Callum’s lips, long and far from perfect, but needed all the same. They both know this is a goodbye, until the next time, until Callum can be his true self and break away from the chains of his relationship with Whitney. 
Callum watches as Ben leaves, his hair still sticking up in all directions and Callum’s proud of himself, knowing that he was the one to do that to him. He chuckles to himself and fastens up his buttons, safe for the top two, letting his tie hang loose slightly. When Jay eventually walks in, he questions why Callum’s tie is like that, but Callum merely just explains it away with a comment about the weather whilst he takes out his phone and sends Ben a text.
I’ll repay the favour next time x
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urmomsstuntdouble · 3 years
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more skater au
Annelise peered out the window, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel. Skaters leaned against the chain link fence, clustered in small groups, with one doing a little trick every now and then. She scanned the skate park once more, and looked down at her crystal watch. Julchen was still absent from view. Annelise brought a hand to her head and massaged her temples, growling to herself- Fortunately no one was close enough to hear. But still! Where was that girl? She was going to be late to her own band practice! 
Annelise took another glance across the park, but once again, Julchen was nowhere. Annelise sent her a quick text. Julia. I’m here in the car. Where are you? She looked up in time to witness a tall-looking, muscular woman roll past her car. Annelise blinked, Julchen’s tardiness forgotten. God, she thought, as the woman stepped off her board. Perhaps the true religion was strong thighs. 
The woman hopped off her board, and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She approached a group of skaters, and another woman of a similar build pulled her into a headlock. The second woman nuzzled her fist into the strong legged, dreadfully attractive one, and laughed. If Annelise had any say in the matter- Which she didn't- she would’ve taken a comb that hair. It was unruly, and sort of cute, but needed to be better cared for. 
The women disentangled from each other, and went on talking. Annelise’s phone buzzed, though she didn't notice. She was too busy staring, and feeling gayer than she had in quite some time. Her mouth fell open as she watched the woman laugh, toss her head back and clutch her stomach with one hand. She looked like summer. 
Her phone buzzed again, and again, as if someone was calling her. She took one last glance at the stranger, drinking in her appearance, and looked down at her phone. Oh, it was Julchen. Hm. She’d anticipated a text, but any contact was good, Annelise supposed. She answered the phone. 
“Anna, baby!” Julchen crowed. Her voice was harsh on the ears. 
“Julchen. Where are you?” 
“I’m at the skatepark, what do you mean?” 
“Check the time, you cretin.” Silence. Annelise looked down at her watch once again, and rolled her eyes. Julchen’s band practice started in five minutes, and the location was a fifteen minute drive away. 
“Oh, yeah, I already told Kiku I wasn't gonna make it on time. He said it was cool.” Annelise rolled her eyes. 
“I don't care what Kiku thinks,” She growled, “I care that you wasted my time!” 
“Woah, way to speak your mind, Anna. I think you should care what Kiku thinks-” 
“Well, I don’t right now!” Annelise shouted. She was overreacting, but her car was in the sun, and she was sweating, and it was so hard not to peek out the window at that beautiful woman- 
“It’s okay,” Julchen said, voice melting like fondue. “You good, Anna?” 
“I’m fine,” Annelise said, pinching the bridge of her nose. God, Julchen was insufferable. Why she ever felt anything for that girl, she’d never know. “Can you please come here? Now? I’m next to the entrance.” 
“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Julchen said, “Kisses!” She made a loud smooching noise, and hung up. Annelise rolled her eyes again. Julchen would absolutely not be right there. Not for lack of trying, though- A few weeks ago, Julchen took a bad fall, destroying her right knee in the process. Torn ACL, patella shattered, the whole nine yards. Annelise held her hand through the reconstructive surgery. Now she relied on crutches to get around and pretended her knee brace didn't exist. The crutches, unfortunately, were a great impediment to Julchen’s speed. But whatever, she said she’d be right there. Annelise lasted three minutes before she got out of the car and stalked towards the nearest group of skaters. It happened to include that gorgeous woman she’d ogled earlier, but who was counting?  
“Do any of you happen to know where I could find Julia Beilshmidt?” Silence fell upon the group, and it took Annelise about five seconds to regret her choice. She was out of place, in terms of fashion and physical activity. There were five skaters before her, and they filled out their clothes, to say the least. Especially the woman she’d been looking at earlier. Her shorts hugged her thighs, tighter around her hips, and Annelise was fairly certain she had pierced nipples. There was a chain attached to her belt loops, for Christ’s sake! Annelise could never wear such a thing. 
“Julchen? Yeah, she’s here,” Said the Extremely Attractive Woman. “Why’d you need to know?” Annelise looked up, meeting her eyes. And what beautiful eyes they were…But she needed to find Julchen, not admire pretty girls.
“I’m her roommate,” She said, biting her lip. “I’m here to take her to band practice, since she can't drive right now.” 
“Oh, yeah, the band. Are you in it?” The woman asked, and Annelise shook her head. She wasn't sure how that was a question. Her sleeves were frilled, and Julchens had been cut off long ago.
“No,” She said, finally. Instead of replying, the other woman nodded with a half smile on her face. How was one supposed to react in this situation? “Anyway,” Annelise cleared her throat, “Do you know where she is?” 
“Oh, right,” The woman said, “Yeah, she’s back here.” She slinked out of the circle, and motioned for Annelise to follow her. Annelise stepped back, exiting the circle, and stumbled as she followed the woman with laughter at her heels. Heat prickled at the back of her neck and down her spine. Maybe it was the slight incline, but Annelise was sweating more than usual. Or maybe it was that the woman held her board under one arm, at a position which highlighted her forearm. 
Her forearm was tan, a bit darker than her upper arm, and more freckled. Tiny hairs gave her skin a fluffy halo. Despite her muscular build, her body still looked soft. And her hair- Gorgeous, curly and dark, slipping from a low bun. Annelise could imagine running her fingers through it under the soft light of her bedside lamp. You don’t even know her name, said her rational side. But she’s built like Julchen, said another, And you know what Julchen can do. Annelise tried to push the thoughts out of her head. And failed. This woman was exactly her type, and had a cute face. A round nose, not quite button shaped, and deep, brown eyes…Oh wait no, those brown eyes were looking right back at her. Fuck. 
“Not to interrupt your staring, but I don't think you mentioned your name,” the woman said. Annelise set her eyes forward as her cheeks burned. What a- hm! 
“It’s Annelise.” 
“Hm. I think Julchen’s mentioned you before. I’m Isabela.” Isabela. That was a nice name. 
“Nice to meet you,” Annelise said out of politeness. She was more sidetracked with wondering what exactly Julchen had said about her. 
“You too, babe.” Babe- It had been quite a while since anyone called her babe. Annelise shivered, and chose to blame the heat behind her cheeks on the sun. 
“Babe, already?” Annelise chuckled, electing to flirt back. “Bit- Bit forward isn't it?” Isabela chucked back and God, Julchen was gonna be so late to band practice. Annelise wasn't paying attention to where they were going anywhere. They’d passed the main area of the skate park, and now followed a dilapidated chain link fence toward a Port-A-Potty. 
“I disagree,” Isabela sniffed, “I think babe suits you.” 
“Oh?” Annelise said, her breath catching in her throat. “I happen to like the way you say it.” Isabela gave a soft laugh, and cast Annelise a sideways look. 
“What are you trying to say there, Annelise?” Isabela asked, 
“Oh, just admiring your accent. Where might you be from?” That hadn't been at the top of her mind, but it never hurt to ask. Perhaps she could later make a pass about wishing to visit Isabela’s home. Isabela cast her a smirk, one eyebrow raised. Without warning, she came to a stop. Annelise swung herself around, grinding her pivot foot into the ground, in an effort to appear that she knew what she was doing. 
“Spain,” Isabela said, and turned towards the chain link fence. She looped her fingers into a hole near the top, and pulled towards herself. “What about you?”
“I was born in Vienna,” Annelise said, “What are you doing?” 
“Oh, uh,” She grunted, peeling back the fence from the frame. “This is the easiest way to get to where Julchen is.��� Oh, right. Julchen. Annelise had been a tad preoccupied as they walked. Not that she’d forgotten about Julchen. She was a wonderful friend, thank you very much. 
“And where might she be?” 
“Uh,” Isabela said, “Back there?” She gestured towards the dead shrubs behind the fence. Annelise wrinkled her nose- Isabela wanted her to walk through that? No thank you. 
“Oh.” 
“I promise it’s not that bad. There’s, like, a spot where people hang out. You can't see it from here, but it’s not far,” Isabela said, “Mind holding my board for a sec?” She thrust her board into Annelise’s hands before she could agree. “Thanks, babe.” 
“I didn't agree to this,” Annelise pointed out, clenching her fingers around the board. 
“Well, you’re holding it now, so. Yeah,” Isabela said. She shrugged, and pulled the fence back even further, then extended her left leg through the gap. God, her legs. How could one woman be such a distraction? Moreover, how could one woman have such good legs? Her quadriceps were defined, the separation between muscles showing as she transferred weight onto the outstretched leg. She ducked under the frame, and pulled herself through the hole, then released the chain links. They bounced back up, but did not meet the frame. Isabela turned away, and stepped towards the shrubs. 
Annelise glanced down at Isabela’s board. The bottom was visible to her, revealing several flowers painted in an impasto style- Quite beautifully, too. It must’ve required a strong hand- Had Isabela done them herself? She didn't seem the type. 
“Uh, Annelise?” She jerked her head up. Isabela leaned against the fence from the other side, using a foot to hold the gap open. 
“Yes?” 
“Are you coming?” 
“Oh, yes! Apologies, dear, I was admiring your board,” Annelise said, hurrying over to the fence.
“Thanks!” Isabela said, “You like the flowers? I did ‘em myself. They’re chunky, you see-” 
“I do see,” Annelise said, “Your technique is good, and the color palate is…interesting. Though I must say, it looks better than I would expect, had I known you painted.” 
“Thank you? I think?” Isabela said, “Are you trying to say I’m a bad painter?” Heat filled Annelise’s cheeks once again- Yes, she had been implying that, but only a little.
“N-No, dear, quite the opposite.” 
“Okay,” Isabela said, amused, “So are you coming or what?” Annelise sighed, and crouched down to crawl through the hole in the fence. Before she had to touch any dirt, however, she heard a raucous laugh. She and Isabela looked up to see Julchen emerging from the brush. She hobbled on one crutch, with one arm slung around another woman Annelise vaguely recognized- Catherine, perhaps?
“Oh, hey Julchen,” Isabela said, “What’s up?” 
“Hey Bela!” Julchen screeched, “I’m on my way out, gotta go to band practice- Oh, Anna, how ya doing?” 
“You’re five minutes late to your band practice, Julia!” Annelise shouted, raising her wristwatch. “And we haven’t even left yet!” 
“Okay, chill,” Julchen said, “Practice doesn't start til I walk in anyway.” Catherine rolled her eyes. 
“God, you’re insufferable,” She muttered, though she maintained a tight grip around Julchen’s waist. 
“You were singing a different tune when-” 
“Shut up!” Catherine shrieked, cheeks darkening, “Go- Go to your fucking band practice or whatever.” 
“Mmkay, babe,” Julchen said, and untangled herself from Catherine’s grip. She stumbled off to the side, but caught herself on her crutch. 
“Where’s your other crutch?” Annelise asked, “If you lost it and we have to buy another one-”
“I didn't lose it, it’s just- Look by the fence. On Isabela’s side- Yeah, near your feet-” Julchen guided Isabela as she bent down to search for the missing crutch. In doing so, the loose bit of fence she’d bent over bounced back into place. Annelise managed to jump back in time to avoid being hit. A yelp left her mouth, and she readied a scathing critique of Isabela, though her words died on her tongue. She clutched the board to her chest as Isabela bent down, searching for the crutch. The look of determination on her face was too much. After a few minutes of rummaging in dead leaves, Isabela came up with a crutch. 
“A ha!” She shouted, raising it in the air. “I have found your walking stick, m’lady!” 
“Thank you, m’lady!” Julchen crowed, and attempted a curtsey, but tipped over. And now Annelise could criticise them both again. 
“If you’re done,” She spoke up, “Our agenda does not have time for your hooligan behavior.” 
“Aww, you know you love me,” Julchen said, struggling to her feet. Annelise rolled her eyes, glaring, as Julchen crossed back to the right side of the fence. It was slow going, since she was still learning how to move without her knee, but she managed. 
“Come along now,” Annelise said, and they speedwalked back to her car. Isabela and Catherine argued behind them, though she didn't pay attention. 
“Wait, what if I used Isabela’s board,” Julchen panted, heaving herself forward. 
“Absolutely not,” Annelise said, “Skating is what put you on crutches in the first place, I’ll not allow it.” 
“I’m just saying,” Julchen said, as they approached the main area of the skate park. “If you, like, sat me down on the board, and I, like, crossed my legs or whatever, it would be way faster than if I-” 
“Explain how you plan on crossing your legs.” 
“Fair point, but you’ve gotta admit it would be faster,” Julchen said, and she was correct, though not looking at the full picture. Doing that sounded like an excellent way to further damage the rest of her leg, and Annelise told her so. Julchen rolled her eyes, and the argument would’ve continued further had they not reached the car. Annelise unlocked it, still holding Isabela’s board under her arm, and helped Julchen into the passenger seat. As she walked around to the driver’s side of the car, Isabela approached her once again. 
“Hey there,” She said, and fuck.
“Hello,” Annelise said, “I’d love to stay and speak with you, but we must be going.” 
“Oh, yeah, totally. Just, uh, you still have my board.” Annelise looked down, and yes, she did. She’d been so focussed on Julchen that she’d forgotten. 
“My apologies,” She said, and extended the board towards Isabela. 
“Don't worry about it,” Isabela said, taking it with both hands. Their fingers brushed as she handed it over. Annelise felt her eyes drawn to Isabela’s, and they held eye contact for a moment. Who knew brown eyes could be so deep and beautiful? 
“Uh, anyway,” Isabela said, “You- You had to go, didn't you?” Annelise nodded, gazing down. 
“Unfortunately, yes.” 
“Unfortunate? Why?” Isabela purred, raising an eyebrow. “Is it-”
“No reason,” Annelise shouted, overcorrecting, “I’ve gotta go. Nice meeting you!” She stumbled in her effort to make a speedy turn, and ran to the car. She got in, slamming the door after herself, and buckled in with clumsy fingers. 
“What was that?” Julchen asked, a note of amusement in her voice. 
“Shut up,” Annelise said. Before Julchen could retort, something tapped at the window behind Annelise, and she jumped at the surprise. Annelise swiveled her head around, and oh, it was Isabela, tapping at the glass. 
“Should I lower the window?” She asked, and Julchen only laughed. Annelise lowered the window. 
“Can I help you?” She asked, and Isabela smiled. She had dimples. Nice.
“Yeah, do you have a pen?” Annelise looked down at her purse, resting between the front seats, and rummaged around in it for a moment before withdrawing a pen. 
“Will this do?” She tapped her foot against the brake.
“That’s perfect, thank you,” Isabela said, and took not the pen, but Annelise’s hand. She drew it out from the car, holding tight. Annelise gasped at the contact, and squeezed a little tighter around the pen. Shit, when had she last held someone’s hand- Well, the hand of someone who was awake and sober. 
Isabela uncapped the pen with her teeth, and held onto it with her lips. Annelise tipped her head forward, eyes caught on those lips. Isabela rotated her forearm such that the soft, inner arm faced the sky. She began to write on Annelise's skin, the movement of the pen tickling slightly. Annelise kept her eyes on her face, watching her brow furrow in concentration. It took her a long moment to finish. Once she concluded her writing, Isabela capped the pen and pressed it back into Annelise's hand. 
“Hit me up,” She said with a wink, and pressed a kiss to Annelise’s knuckles before skipping away. Julchen cackled and Annelise groaned, putting the window back up. 
“What- What the fuck-” Julchen heaved, “I can't, you’re so awkward-” 
“I will stop driving you places if you keep going with that thought,” Annelise growled. Her entire body burned. She was not in the mood to be mocked- It was just attraction, albeit to one of Julchen’s friends. 
“No, please,” Julchen said, wiping a tear, “I’m- You’re so fucking funny, Anna- Isabela? She’s the one who floats your boat?” 
“Shut. Up,” Annelise growled again. She put her hands on the wheel, and sped away, cutting Julchen off. As they drove, she rolled her arm to peek at what Isabela had written. She couldn't help but grin at the little smiling flower drawn next to the number. Perhaps Julchen’s tardiness could be good for something after all.
art
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yuuana · 3 years
Video
youtube
Music May for May 4th: OnlyOneOf - libidO  release: April 2021 genre: Kpop
If you follow me on Twitter, you've already seen me do a short rant about this selection, but here I am with even more thoughts. Because this queer has nothing if not ever more thoughts. :p
It's not often I feel the need to warn for this, but ... do not attempt this choreography without appropriate supervision. On either yourself or someone else. These gentlemen are trained professionals who spent hours learning to get this choreo exactly right each time. With a song title of "libidO," it's probably no surprise to hear this song is about sex. Which should not have been the least bit controversial - whatever certain corners try to say, sex is as common a theme in Kpop as it is in any other modern pop music scene. The staging notes call it EDM beats over R&B melody with lyrics meant to "express the impulses a boy experiences with love" (their words) and with the usual heteronormative lyrics, if they'd left it at that, things might have been fine. But then the MV came out and between the narrative segments and the choreography, a very different story appeared and the antis soon had both their knickers and quite a few others in a twist. Because skinship is fine, but the MV was somehow queerbaiting and therefore wrong. Putting aside that the MV is pretty much the exact opposite of queerbaiting ... if you took the song off of the narrative film sections, you'd be left with scenes that could easily be waved off as Passionate Male Friendship. Like come on, when do we ever call a pickup game of Shirts vs Skins queerbaiting? That said, I have nothing but respect for a group and company that, in the middle of an industry that can be almost aggressively "zomg no homo!!" over their fanservice actions, took a look at what netizens were saying and basically said "fine, here, have an even sexier/hornier, gayer, and kinkier version" the next week: "libidO (Guilty Pleasure ver)". Was the dance-only version already in the can when "libidO" originally released? Almost definitely. And they could have chosen to let it die in there, to back down and tweak the choreography into something less instead of continuing as planned, but they didn't. Sometimes it's the little things, you know? And oh yeah, it's actually a good, fun song and OnlyOneOf is actually also a talented group of guys with a bunch of other good songs? That I'd hardly even heard of before this controversy started because fourth gen is huge and I am smol, so hey, the antis accidentally did something good. And they can just die mad about that. XD If you’ve been enjoying my selections and analyses, please consider buying me a Ko-fi! DW | Twitter | Ko-fi | Patreon | Discord | Twitch
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memxntomxri · 3 years
Text
one day
ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ | ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ | ʜᴏᴍᴇ
𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 - kuroo tetsurou x kozume kenma
𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦 - angst
𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤 -
dear tetsurou, i wish i had the courage to kiss you that night on the dorm roof, you know? or, kuroo wants to love kenma, but kenma won't let him because he knows he's leaving kuroo behind
written for kuroken week 2021 - day 1: domestic/college au/"sorry i didn't kiss you" - bubble gum by clairo
𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵 - 1.5k
𝘵𝘸 - su!cide, depression, anxiety attacks, generally horrible mental health, h0mophobia, one slightly gory scene (they’re watching horror), really bad anime references
𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 - straight up angst, also REALLY dark. DO NOT READ IF YOU CAN'T HANDLE STRAIGHT ANGST
。o°✥✤✣    ✣✤✥°o。
Dear Kuroo,
If you’re reading this, I’ll be gone, and I’ll be finally fulfilling your wish for me to use your first name
I wish I had kissed you that night on the dorm roof, you know?
The wind whipped around the two of them, biting into their coats and making Tetsurou’s hair even messier, if the bedhead gods would even allow that. Kenma wheezed like a broken record as he trudged up the last few steps, groaning as he collapsed next to Tetsurou on the ice-cold concrete, breath coming out in short, panting puffs.
“Why are we here, Kuroo?” he asked tiredly.
“Kenma, look! We can see the entire city from here! I come up here to think sometimes, or when I can’t sleep.” Tetsurou exclaimed.
As Kenma sat up from his prone position on the floor, he caught sight of the twinkling lights of Tokyo. It truly was beautiful, like jewels spilling out of a child’s toy box and catching on an ethereal light millions of kilometers away.
Tetsurou turned to look at Kenma, and the slight movement caused a bit of air to breeze through Kenma’s hair. He realized that they were oh-so-close, close enough that he thought he could count the individual eyelashes, as numerous as the stars, close enough that he could lean in and…
Kenma turned away, and for a moment, Tetsurou’s heart dropped. But then, Kenma’s soft voice filled the air.
“Not like this, Kuroo.”
Tetsurou backed up. For Kenma, he would wait forever.
He didn’t know how literal that would become.
I’m sorry I’m so selfish. I wish I could’ve let you go, let you move on, but I have so many things I wish I could’ve said to you.
Do you know that the day I knew I was in love with you,  it wasn’t anything special? I know that I always say that I want something “interesting” and that boring isn’t for me, but that day, we were doing the most mundane things.
It was the time we binged the horror movies and you were screaming the entire time. Do you remember? Do you remember how I held your hand, even though I was tired? Do you remember how I ignored my parent’s calls?
Do you remember how you smiled at me?
Tetsurou plopped down on the couch. “KYANMAAAAAA!” he called into the kitchen, where the bleached-hair male was making popcorn for their horror movie night. “It’s about to start, come on!”
From the other room, Kenma sighed. “Kuroo, you’re the one who insisted that we ‘had to have’ popcorn for horror movie night,” he said as he walked into the room carrying an overflowing bowl of said snack.
Without replying, Tetsurou grabbed an overflowing handful of popcorn and stuffed it into his mouth. Kenma sniffed. “Have some manners and stop eating like a 19th century barbarian, won’t you?”
Tetsurou rolled his eyes and patted the spot next to him. “Come on, Kenma! I even got your favorite blanket.” Kenma reluctantly sat down next to him, closer than he probably should have if he had wanted to keep his distance.
As the movie progressed, Tetsurou got increasingly louder and closer to Kenma, ending up clutching Kenma’s arm as a clown jumped out of nowhere and blood sprayed all over the screen. Suddenly, the suspenseful atmosphere was broken by the insistent ringing of Kenma’s phone. Kenma glanced at the screen, then put it on silent.
Tetsurou peeked at the device. “Hey, aren’t those your parents? Don’t you have to pick it up?”
“Nah.” Kenma replied shortly.
Tetsurou’s face broke out in a radiant smile, one that was genuine and looked like warm honey and bright days laying in sunflower fields.
“You know you looooove me, Kenma!”
He hoped there was some truth behind those words.
I’m grateful to the universe for pulling us together, even though sometimes I wish they hadn’t.
If we had never met that day in lab, I wouldn’t have stayed so long and let myself be broken more.
And you wouldn’t be hurting now.
I’m sorry, Tetsurou.
Tetsurou’s ears perked up as he heard an emphatic curse word filled his ears. Oya? What was this? He glanced over and caught sight of a boy with bleached hair and dark roots growing out shaking his hand. Oh wow, cute. Wait, what?
Tetsurou knew he was bisexual, but he’d never had this reaction so soon after just seeing someone for the first time. Whatever. The boy probably needed help anyways, and Tetsurou was just this kind.
He sidled up next to him. “Need some help?” he asked.
The boy glanced up at him in shock and actually hissed. “I’m doing fine just the way I am.”
Tetsurou put his hands up in a gesture of surrender, “Hey, just offering. Also, that isn't sodium. Kuroo Tetsurou, by the way.”
In the end, Tetsurou ended up helping Kenma the entire class, even through the smaller boy’s (half-hearted) protests.
He also figured out why Kenma intrigued him so much.
Hey, don’t beat yourself up for this, okay? It was inevitable.
You helped me so much, Tetsurou. Even though it hurt to stay for so long, I also saw so many beautiful things with you. Thanks to you, I was happy before I had to leave.
If you’re still not convinced, do you remember that day when Akane wouldn’t stop trying to touch me?
That was just one of so many times you saved me, Tetsurou.
Tetsurou ran after Kenma, calling his name (softly, he knew Kenma could be set off by noises sometimes). There was a girl in Kenma’s group in Business Management class, and she couldn’t seem to take a hint, always trying to toss an arm around his shoulders or tug him somewhere.
(Tetsurou did all that, but he knew that if Kenma actually didn’t want him to, he’d know by now.)
He found the smaller boy crouched in an empty classroom, arms over his head. “Hey, hey, Kenma. It’s okay. She’s gone now.” he said gently, kneeling down next to him.
“Can I touch you?” Tetsurou asked tentatively.
When he got no response, just a blank stare and tears running down Kenma’s face, Tetsurou sat down next to him, leaving a careful distance between the two of them.
“You know, I saw this new game at the electronics store the other day.” he said, trying to distract Kenma. “I think it’s the newest version of Mario Kart? If you want to, we can go pick it up this Friday then spend the entire Saturday playing.”
Still no response. Kuroo tried another tactic.
“I’ll buy you apple pie…” he attempted bribing.
“K-Kuroo?” came a muffled, broken voice next to him.
“Yes, kitten?” Kuroo asked, immediately attentive.
“Can you just… hold me?”
“Of course.”
That day, Tetsurou resolved to never let Kenma face anything alone again.
I told my parents about you. We both know how well that went. There’s a box of things from my childhood that I want you to have. They’ll mail it to your dorm.
There are so many things I wish that we could have done together that we never will. The first of those is that I wish I could have brought you home to my parents, but that’s not possible.
Did I ever tell you what they said that day?
Tetsurou paused outside of Kenma’s dorm room, apple pie in hand. He hadn’t dropped by in a week - finals were a bitch - and had planned to surprise Kenma with some of his favorite dessert as an apology for flaking on their weekly horror movie night.
The sound of his name paused Tetsurou in his tracks.
“Mom, I swear, Kuroo-san isn’t like that - and even if it was, it’s got nothing to do with you.”
“M- Oh, Dad. Dad ! Uh-huh.”
“I’ve told you before, hanging out with a bisexual person who I might like will not turn me any gayer.”
“Mom, please, you’ll like him, he’s nice, has a great sense of humor - he’ll talk volleyball with Dad, Mom, can you please just try to listen?”
The sound of a phone hitting a wall.
Even though we never got to be together, thank you for the memories, Tetsu.
I hope you didn’t have to see me in the end.
Cold, so cold.
Why was his hand so cold?
Deft, agile, flying across a screen-
Alone.
Left alone, both searching for a way to pick the broken pieces up.
Why, why, why?
Why didn’t you tell me?
Why didn’t you let me help?
Why now?
Why, why, why?
Why wasn’t I enough?
Because I love you, so much that I know that you deserve someone who can give you all of themself, not the jagged edges and fragmented pieces that I would’ve handed over without a second thought if I had stayed.
One day, I hope we can meet again when I’m good enough for you.
I love you, Kuroo Tetsurou.
Kenma.
The two of them laid in a field of flowers, heads turned toward each other and bodies curled so that they looked like two sides of a heart, reaching for each other, yet with a gap that felt like a million light years separating them.
“Hey, Kuroo…”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing.”
I really tried.
。o°✥✤✣    ✣✤✥°o。
© ʙᴇᴛʜᴇʏᴅᴏᴄʀɪᴍᴇᴡʀɪᴛᴇꜱ 2021 - ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ᴏʀ ʀᴇᴘᴏꜱᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛ
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sanderssideswriting · 4 years
Text
Youtuber Life Chapter 4
Ships: familial sleepxiety and eventual Prinxiety
Words:???
triggers: attempted suicide mention
first  last  next
Summary: Remy Sanders is a famous beauty vlogger and just moved to LA with his teenage son Virgil after their location was leaked by fans. Remy AKA CoffeeAddiction has several million subscribers. Virgil also has a secret Drama channel, where he doesn’t show his face and uses a voice modifier. He just hit a million subs and grows more everyday because of the level of production his videos have, the mystery around who he is and the fact that he ALWAYS has the latest information regarding youtube drama.
“Welcome back to another episode of “the fuck did she say now? I have a DID drama update. I’ve been waiting awhile to gather information to do a long segment. Since she first came out about having DID which has been disproven time and time again she’s tried to make it more believable in the stupidest way possible. By reviewing Chick-Fil-A’s spicy chicken sandwich, five fucking times. I watched all those videos plus others to see if she’s trying to keep up the lie. She’s really not. I swear every time I have to give her my views to tell you all what’s going on I die a little inside.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“DAD! Read the fucking sign! I’m recording!”
“Are you talking about Trisha?”
“Yes dad, now let me tell them about her.”
“She’s a total bitch! I fucking hate her!”
“WE KNOW! Damn it, now I’m going to have to edit all this out.”
“I’ve been looking into DID. And it’s actually a very interesting topic, and I encourage everyone to learn more about it. There will be links to videos and article on DID in the description. DisociaDID has not been on social media very much since all of this. I know they attempted suicide. Not because of Trisha or atleast only partly. Nin the systems host was dating someone in another system called Team Piñata who was discovered to be doing some shit I will not mention because it’ll get demonetized. I actually feel really bad for they system, it seems like they have been going through a lot recently. Now for all the OTHER shit Trisha has said and done over the past few weeks.”
Virgil edited the video and posted it, making sure to edit out the bit where his dad interrupted him and called Trisha a bitch.
Roman texted him.
Roman: You’re a meme Virgil: I’m well aware, fucking Jake Paul Roman: I thought you hated the guy, why are you fucking him? Virgil: I’m so fucking done with you
“VIRGIL!”
Virgil rolled his eyes “What?”
“I have in idea for a video get your ass down here!”
Remy was in front of the camera “K, so what if I mixed all of my eyeshadow together into one?”
“First of all Cristine did that with nail powder and polish and Safiya did that already in one of her weird make up science videos. Second, scraping the eyeshadow would kill you to watch.”
“UGH! You’re right, what else could I do?”
“A Bob Ross painting on your face. you could use only drug store products for something,”
“Bob Ross painting with drugstore shit!”
Virgil shrugged “yeah sure, you could also get lip gloss mix it together and try to make something really fucking weird, or do that with gel polish”
“I refuse to touch lip gloss, it’s fucking gross.”
“Bob ross painting not on your faces with lip gloss and other lipsticks.”
Remy nodded “thanks Virgil, you’re helping my buy it later.”
“No, people at school could see me, you can order it,”
“that’s less fun though,”
Virgil rolled his eyes “fine dad, I just need to make sure that no one can recognize me.”
He was ready pretty fast, with a light brown wig and blue contacts he also had close that where black and purple reserved for the occasion.
“Hello everyone! We are in the car today at our local Walgreens because we’re going to be buying lipstick, lip gloss and lip liner to make a Bob Ross painting!” 
“Not on your face.”
“Not on my face, fuck lip gloss.”
“I wasn’t aware that was a kink or whatever.”
Remy glared at Virgil “smartass, you can walk home.”
“Gladly, I’ll be laughing when I see you trying to film and carry everything and talk and pay the cashier. You’ll be a meme.”
“You already got memed once this week, I’ll meme you myself if I have to. Or I could turn you into an E-Girl, you did lose that bet.”
“I absolutely despise you,”
Remy laughed “no you don’t.”
“I really do, and you can’t make me e an e-girl.”
“No, but the people can, there’ll be a poll right here, vote should my intern be an e-girl for the day?”
Virgil groaned “times like these make me wish I was aborted.”
Remy laughed.
The rest of the video went ok and no one recognized Virgil.
Raccoon: I hate life Dukey: I saw, I voted yes, you’d make a wonderful e-girl hiss hiss motherfucker: so did I, suffer bitch Raccoon: you’re both traitors  hiss hiss motherfucker: at least we’re not going to be an e-girl
Virgil was pissed the whole week. “What’s up with you Dr. Gloom?” Roman asked.
“Made a bet with Remus, and lost, I’m going to commit toaster bath.”
Roman made a face “why would you make a bet with my brother? nothing good comes out of it.”
“I thought I’d win, turns out he’s totally willing to eat deodorant if it means I’ll have to dress like an e-girl for a day and make a tiktok.”
Roman laughed “I cannot wait to see you dressed as an e-girl.”
“I can, I’ll be locking myself in my room all day.”
“I’m surprised Remus didn’t say you’d have to walk around in public like that.”
“He did, but he can’t see me, so I’ll be in my room.”
Remy was in front of the camera. “Time for you to become an e-girl!”
“I’d like to say a very special fuck you to everyone who voted yes and that after this I’m going to commit toaster bath,”
“It’s one day, you’ll be fine.”
“One day in my room with the door locked and curtains closed.”
Remy laughed “oh no gurl, you’ll be going out, I suggest you make plans.”
“WHAT? That wasn’t part of the deal!”
“I thought it would go without saying you’d have to go outside.”
Virgil just glared, happy his face wasn’t in frame.
The makeover took well over an hour. when it was over he looked almost unrecognizable, thankfully.
Virgil: Hey, anyone want to hang out, my dad’s kicking me out of the house for the day says I need to be “social” whatever the means Princey: So you do need to go out as an e-girl Virgil: unfortunately, anyone free? Logan: I have to study and Patton is out at the animal shelter volunteering, Roman? Princey: I’m free, meet you at the mall? Virgil: Sure
“Dad! I’m going to hang out with Roman see you later.”
“Have fun on your date!”
“dad! It’s not a date!” He slammed the door and left.
Virgil waited in a café for Roman. He got an iced coffee as always.
Someone shoved him while he was waiting in line.
“What are you? A boy or a girl make up your mind,”
Virgil didn’t look up from his phone “gender is a spectrum and gender norms are fake and I refuse to give into toxic musicality and if you have a problem with that you can leave because I already ordered and payed for my drink and am not leaving until I get it.”
“You can’t change your chromosomes, it’.” the guy said in a feeble attempt to get back at Virgil. basic biology
“How about you stop relying on basic biology and come back when you can argue the same statement with complex biology. If you really knew anything about biology more then the basics you’d know that scientifically there are at least three genders according to chromosomes. Male, female and intersex, and that once again biology isn’t fucking basic otherwise everyone would be a biologist. I can wear a skirt if I want to.”
He grabbed his coffee and left, Roman had arrived a few minutes prior.
“Damn emo nightmare I didn’t think you’d go all out on the E-girl look.”
Virgil shrugged “go big or go home, and I was kicked out for the day so I had to go big. Dad said I needed to go outside. For some reason, no idea why. I mean last time I left the house of my own free will not for school was only six months ago.”
Roman looked at him in doubt “I’m pretty sure you’ve been outside of your own free will sooner then six months ago.”
“Outside? Yes, of my own free will? not so much. Oooh hot tpic.”
Roman laughed.
“Shut up princey, they have cool stuff, including gay stuff.”
Roman shrugged “could be gayer.”
“You’ve been in hot topic?”
Roman shrugged “a few times with Remus, he makes me go, bribing me with Disney.”
Virgil smirked “why am I not surprised you can be bribed with Disney?”
He started looking around at My Chemical Romance t-shirts and other things. He also grabbed some purple hair dye.
“Where to next princey?”
Roman shrugged “Game stop?”
“Sure,”
They hung out at the mall for awhile longer before guess what another youtuber came.
It was Safiya doing a weird makeup science vlog.
“Virgil, planning on becoming a meme again?”
Virgil rolled his eyes “no, besides Safiya’s cool, I like her make up science videos. I just hate vloggers who do shitty content and make to much money through it.”
They left shortly after going their separate ways.
“How was your date?” Remy called from the basement.
“Not a date! You made me get out the house!”
“Come down here and finish filming!”
“So, how was your day of being an e-girl?”
“Got harassed about my gender and whatnot, I fucking destroyed the idiot, that was fun.”
“And who did you hang out with?”
“I told you and again, it wasn’t a date, everyone else was busy.”
Remy looked towards the camera in doubt.
“Well I’m never doing this again, I’m going to go change.”
The video went viral when it was posted several days later.
I saw a kid at the mall dressed like an e-girl a few days ago. They got harrassed at the Starbucks.
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tjkiahgb · 5 years
Text
TJ and the Gals - Episode 1.12
On the finale of TJ and the Gals:
“We're All Just Doing Asbestos We Can”
"...and all I got was a lunchtime detention," TJ says. He's wearing a suit.
"That's it?" says Dolores. The group stands around outside the city courthouse.
TJ nods. "Then I stole another one almost immediately after the trial just to do something fun with Cyrus and nothing happened again."
"Like I said," says Ethel. "Your actions don't have consequences. When are you going to start listening to us? We know what we’re talking about."
TJ tilts his head at that. She might have a point.
"Speak of the devil," says Barb. She nods behind TJ. Cyrus walks over towards the group, adjusting the tie on his suit.
"Cyrus! Thanks for coming," TJ says.
"Of course," says Cyrus, joining the group. "I wanted to be here to support you and the gals. Gals," he says, smiling at Barb, Dolores, and Ethel. They smile and nod back.
Cyrus turns back to TJ. "We really don't talk enough about how you're friends with a group of old ladies."
"Eh, it's a pretty strange concept. Most people don't seem to understand it and very few people actually care for it."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Well, good on you for sticking with it all these weeks."
"Thanks."
"You boys ready?" asks Barb, passing by them and heading up the steps of the courthouse towards the entrance.
"Hey, did you tell the gals I have legal experience?" asks Cyrus.
"Yeah, I told them the whole story. They say thanks but no thanks," says TJ.
"Yeah. That's fair."
TJ, Cyrus, and the gals all walk into the courthouse.
"We're here today to determine if Pearl's Pastries poses a significant enough public health threat that it must be shut down permanently," says the Judge.
The courtroom is empty except for the Judge, his bailiff, and a representative from the health department. The gals all sit up at the defendant's table. TJ and Cyrus sit in the audience seats behind them.
"Before we begin," says the Judge. "Who are these children?" He points at TJ and Cyrus.
"Those are our children," says Ethel.
"No," says Dolores.
"No, they are not. This is our landlord, TJ, and..." Barb swivels back to look at Cyrus sitting next to TJ. She swivels back. "His... good friend, Cyrus."
"Your landlord is a child?" asks the Judge.
"It's a pretty strange concept. Most people don't seem to understand it and very few people actually care for it," says Barb.
"Yeah, okay, I can see that," says the Judge. "Anyway, I believe I already have the facts of the matter, but you requested a public hearing and a chance to plead your case, so go ahead."
"Thank you, your honor."
Barb, Dolores, and Ethel stand up.
"First off," says Barb, "we would like to point out that our fine landlord has already contracted a company to come clean all the asbestos out of our building and scrub the place clean."
TJ nods at the Judge.
"But beyond just fixing the problem, we wanted to say why our bakery is so important, and why it shouldn't be shut down."
"When we first opened Pearl's Pastries, we struggled," says Dolores. "We spent two years losing money. But we stuck with it, you know why?"
"Because we were building a relationship," says Barb. "We realized it wasn't just about making money, it was about making connections. That it didn't matter that we weren’t getting rich, the real reward was friendship. It was getting to know the people who loved our bakery."
"Like George Inglaterra," says Dolores. "Who comes in every morning and buys a donut and a cup of coffee to help get his day started. He tells us all the time how he needs it so he can head down to the pier and spend ten hours making people happy as one of those silver-painted robot mime guys."
"Or Frank and Yvonne Tagliatelle," says Barb. "The old married couple who split an éclair every morning before they hold hands and walk out together. They say their marriage has never been stronger and it’s because they value these sweet little moments in life."
"Or Mikey Patate," says Ethel. "Who had his first and last kiss in our bakery."
"What does that even mean?" asks the Judge.
"Your honor," says Barb, "we could go on and on listing the names of our beloved customers and why they're important to us and why we're important to them, but we'll just get to the point. Since we’ve opened our doors, we’ve grown into something more than just a bakery and its customers. We've become a community. And we're asking you not to take that away from us. All of us."
The Judge nods.
"That's very nice, and I'm going to take that all into consideration as I deliberate on this case. I'll let you know my decision within the week," says the Judge. He slams his gavel down and stands up.
"Oh, am I not going to get to say anything?" asks the representative from the health department.
The Judge stops. "Oh. I forgot you were here. Eh... nah. I already pounded the gavel," he says, and exits the courtroom.
The representative from the health department throws his hands up and starts collecting his papers.
Outside the courthouse, TJ, Cyrus, and the gals regroup.
"I think that went well," says Cyrus.
"Yeah, surprisingly well," says TJ. "That was good, sharing all those stories about the customers, tugging at the heartstrings. Do I know any of those people?"
"Oh, TJ, those people don't exist," says Barb.
"Yeah, we made that whole thing up because we thought it sounded good," says Ethel.
"I don't know the names of any of our customers!" says Barb.
"Me neither," says Dolores. "They're walking in and out all day. I barely remember my own name!"
"Thank God he didn't call our bluff when I said I could keep on listing their names. I probably would've just started naming guys from 1978 Dallas Cowboys. Super Bowl champions. Went twelve and two that year. Beat the Broncos in the big game," says Barb. "God, what a team. What a year."
TJ sighs and puts his hand on his forehand. "I should've known."
"Eh, don't worry about it," says Ethel. "We're going to face exactly zero consequences for lying to a judge."
"Is that true?" asks Cyrus.
TJ just nods.
"Okay, well, I should go before I become an accomplice to all of this," says Cyrus.
“Sure, sure. Thanks for your support, hun," says Barb, patting him on the shoulder. "I think your sad doe eyes really helped sell our case."
“Oh, no problem! I didn’t know I was doing that but I’m happy I helped!” Cyrus smiles at the gals. He starts leaving.
"Hey, hold up," TJ says. He jogs after him.
Ethel, Barb, and Dolores watch from afar as TJ and Cyrus talk.
"So... what do you think?" asks Dolores.
TJ and Cyrus hug goodbye. Cyrus walks off. TJ watches him leave.
"Gayer than a rainbow flag caught in a twister in the middle of a disco," says Barb.
Ethel looks at her. "Are twisters gay?"
"Yeah, why'd you throw in a twister?" asks Dolores.
"I don't know, I felt like I needed a third thing for that to work."
"Anyway," says Dolores, "I agree with you, but I mean... is he going to do anything about it or what?"
"I guess he seems like he’s been in a weird place recently,” says Barb. “But, what, you want to give him a pep talk or something?"
"Sure. Impart some wisdom," says Dolores.
Ethel nods.
Barb shrugs. "Alright, but you two take the lead while I come up with my thing.”
TJ makes his way back to the gals.
"Hey, your friend's last name is Goodman, right?" asks Ethel.
"Yeah. Why?" asks TJ.
"Any relation to John?"
"You're asking if Cyrus is related to John Goodman? The actor?"
Ethel nods.
"No. No, I don't think so," says TJ.
"Okay, it was just on my mind," says Ethel. "Listen, Tyrus..."
"Wait, is that what you think the T in TJ stands for? What about the J?"
"No, I finally figured it out! There isn't one. It's silent," says Ethel.
"Okay."
"Listen," continues Ethel, "I'm just a three-term Florida congresswoman, an amateur ear, nose, and throat doctor, and Miss Teen USA 1997. I'm not a genius and I don't pretend to be."
"You tell people you're a genius all the time," says Dolores.
"Hush," says Ethel. "I'm not a genius, but I have learned one thing in this life, and that's the value of being true to yourself, no matter what. People have been trying to change me for decades, and I don't let them, you know why? Because I'm the one who has to live with myself. I have to wake up in this body. I have to look at myself in the mirror. Not them. Me. So you trust who you are, you believe in yourself, and you don't let anyone make you feel lesser for it because at the end of the day, only you get to be you."
Ethel steps back. Dolores steps towards him. "TJ..."
"What exactly is going on here?" TJ asks, looking around.
"TJ, here's what I know: Barb, Ethel, and I, we've been through a lot over the years. Ups and downs. Highs and lows."
"Those are the same thing," says Ethel.
"Hush," says Dolores. "The one thing that has always remained the same, no matter what, is us. We have each other's backs. I'd do anything for these gals and I know they'd do anything for me. And it's easy for people to hang around when things are good, but when things go bad, when you're at your worst, when you feel alone, pay attention to the people who stick around -- the people who lift you up, the people who help you out, the people who know you best. Those are your true friends. And when you figure out who your true friends are, hold on to them tight, because they are going to be the most important people in your life."
"Okay, my turn," says Barb.
"Man, are we like, wrapping something up here? Because this is feeling a lot like a wrap-up," says TJ.
Barb puts her hand on his shoulder.
"TJ. Don't be scared."
TJ lifts an eyebrow.
"What I mean is, fear has a way of messing with us. It can hold us back, and it can make us doubt, and it can cause us to not do the things we wish we could do. There are gonna be times in your life when you feel that fear. It starts in your stomach and rises up into your chest and fills your throat, and in less than the blink of an eye, your whole body feels paralyzed. And when that happens, TJ, I want you to remember the words I'm telling you right now: Don't. Be. Scared. You push the fear right back down and go for it. You open your eyes, you open your mind, you open your heart to things, and you go for it. Because the consequences of that fear, they're never gonna be worse than the regret you feel if you let fear win. And the things we regret the most, at the end of everything, are the things we wanted but never fought for. You remember that, okay?"
TJ stares at her, taking that all in. "Where did all that come from?" he finally asks.
"I worked the rodeo circuit around Texas for a handful of years to put myself through college. You learn a lot about yourself."
TJ nods.
“We’ve all been around the block a few times,” says Dolores. “You pick up some things here and there.”
TJ looks at the gals. "Thanks. All three of you."
"Oh, bring it in," says Barb.
They all do a big group hug. Cue audience going aww. After a few seconds--
“Alright, that’s enough,” says Barb. They break off the hug.
"Okay, well, I'm going to head home,” says TJ. “This has been... something, gals."
"It sure has, kid," says Barb.
TJ turns and heads out.
"Hey!" shouts Ethel. "You ever gonna tell me what TJ stands for?"
TJ stops and turns back.
"Tell you what, if Pearl's Pastries is still legally allowed to exist and we still have a bakery to run, I'll tell next time we're all back in there together."
"I'm gonna hold you to that!" says Ethel.
TJ nods and walks off.
"I mean that literally! I'm gonna hold you down until I get it out of you!" shouts Ethel.
TJ waves without turning back.
Dolores turns to Barb.
"You think he'll be okay?"
Barb watches him walk away. She looks at Dolores.
"I think we did the best we could."
"Think we'll see him again?"
Barb squints at Dolores.
"Yeah, I'm sure he'll be back next week," she says. "Right?"
81 notes · View notes
mwagneto · 5 years
Note
1, 30 & 36
1: Talk about the first time you watched your favorite movie.
oh god you're braver than any us marine ok so instead of what everyone expects I'll do a detour and start with the honourable mention that is rdj sherlock, i was super depressed (and I mean like. incredibly so) after sherlock s4 because it just sucked so bad, like i was deadass in ruins and i was trying to find ANYTHING to take my mind off it and by the end of February I watched and read pretty much all Sherlock media there is except for rdj because for some reason I thought it was bad?? but then I noticed the first movie was downloaded on my laptop so I went ok fuck it and watched it on the 26th of February and HOLY SHIT I fell in love with RDJude's dynamic literally immediately their chemistry was so fucking good and the plot and the script and the setting and the music and- point is I fucking loved it so I watched the second movie on the same day and Mother of FUCK it was somehow even better and gayer and sweet Jesus I've been obsessed with them since
NOW onto the real deal, light of my life and my reason for living....Rocketman
Jesus Christ I don't think I've ever been this hyped for a movie in my life
I saw the first trailer on November 11th but I wasn't into it at all mainly because I saw it in theaters and they played the censored version and made it look like some het movie about an imaginary person
But then I saw it trending when the second trailer came out and I scrolled through the trending tag and watched the trailer and boy I was HOOKED
And holy fuck the wait was Agonising especially since the fandom on here consisted of like. Me and 3 or 4 other people and then some ppl who didn't post but reblogged stuff - point is the fandom just. Didn't Exist
By the time carpool came out there were a bit more but still basically nothing, hell in my desperation I even looked at stan tw*tter a few times but I regretted it each time and thankfully I don't remember anything specific
But anywayS so the movie is supposed to come out on the 31st of May but for some reason they release it on the 18th in the UK and then turns out it won't come out until the 5th of June here???
I was so fucking mad my friend and I literally almost went to Wien to watch it
Worst of all, the big cinema chain that's in my city didn't even put the tickets out
And when they did they only put them out for Thursday and only the dubbed version
Which, ew, but I was like I don't care I'll take what I can get
But THEN I went into the city one Saturday and I was just riding the tram listening to the soundtrack when in passing I saw a theater that had a big ass Rocketman sign on the front
It was literally like a 0.1 second glimpse because the tram was going fast but I immediately went rabid and found it online and turns out not only were they showing Rocketman on the 5th of June, they also have the original English version
So I booked two tickets immediately and waited because I still wasn't sure the usual cinema wouldn't put their tickets out
So I stayed up every night until midnight to see if there were tickets but No
Finally they put them out on Tuesday midnight so a day before it's supposed to be released but only for Thursday so I was like ok fuck you I'm going to the other one
Oh yeah by this point I've been logged off Tumblr for weeks because i didn't want spoilers so I didn't have Any Rocketman content at all, I didn't even dare to look at YouTube videos or anything because I was scared the recommended section would spoil me
So yeah I was absolutely content deprived
Fucking FINALLY the 5th of June rolls around and we get to the theater and wait for it to start and jesus fukingn
I'm gonna be honest I literally don't even remember much because I was so high on "oh my fucking god I'm finally watching it" but holy SHIT IT WAS JUST. SO GOOD.
I do remember a few things
I know I screamed out loud when Richard first appeared during crocodile rock (even tho I knew he was gonna be there at some point but it was still so sudden I fuckin lost it)
Also I held my friend's hands during tiny dancer like my life depended on it skdnd
And I've told this story a million times but tmttp shocked the soul out of me coz I knew what it meant scene wise and I didn't think they'd play it so fuckign early skmfsk I had like a full body convulsion and drew my hands back and my calf muscle cramped so hard it hurt for a whole week afterwards
anyway I didn't cry
somehow
I thought I'd be sobbing like mad but I didn't and I still haven't
Idk for some reason I just can't cry over this even tho I SHOULD and I want to
my friend did sjsnfjd
we were fucking. spent dude I don't think I stopped smiling until I fell asleep
Anyway after she somewhat finished crying and we exchanged a few words we somehow got up from our seats and left
She had to print a few things so we walked to a photocopier and talked about the movie but it wasn't anything more coherent than just verbal keysmashes
Literally it was so smfjsjjdsjdn i felt high
I was so fucking HAPPY bro it was so fucking good and everything I expected and way more like we were over the fucking moon
I brought food coz I like to eat during movies but I didn't even dare to look away from the screen during this one
While she got her printing sorted I logged back into Tumblr and checked the tags (they were still disappointingly empty😔)
We then went to a park near the tram and ate the food I brought and talked abt the movie till it got dark at which point we headed for the train and talked there some more before she had to get off at her stop
I spent the rest of the ride smiling like an idiot listening to the soundtrack and texting her & other people
I went for a bit of a walk on the mountain I live on to clear my head but I was literally so happy and giddy I couldn't stop smiling hhh I'm losing it just thinking about all the stuff I felt
By that point I was super low and empty coz of school stuff and irl stuff so to feel so many emotions after months of feeling absolutely nothing was a LOT
Anyway I got home by...idk, late, and blasted the soundtrack on full volume for a while before booking her and myself tickets for Thursday so we could watch it again
And we did
And it was just as amazing as the first time
And then on impulse I watched it again on Friday
And then I went to watch it again on Saturday and as soon as it ended I ran to a nearby theater and watched it again immediately
Then again on Wednesday
After watching it on the 5th I lost my appetite both for food and for water, and also my need for sleep, so until I gained it back after watching it next Wednesday I basically didn't eat, drink or sleep for an entire week but it didn't take a toll on me, somehow
The Rocketman power
Anyway we watched it again on Saturday and Sunday (the girl I mentioned came with me both times then and on Saturday so did another girl)
And then I had exams, a class trip and a family vacation so I couldn't watch it for an agonizing two weeks
but then finally watched it again on the 3rd of July with another friend (a 3rd one)
And then on the 6th of July with the original girl
And then on the 7th and the 9th at home alone and them on the 12th with yet another friend (4th one)
Then I went to watch it in theaters alone again on the 18th
And then one more time with the first girl on the 24th
Then on the 3rd of August alone
And then the first girl came over on the 9th of August and we watched the deleted scenes and the extras and then the extended movie
Then I was once again busy so I couldn't watch it until the 25th
And I took my laptop to the hotel I'm staying at for two weeks rn so I watched it here on the 30th
And now here we are
Jesus fucking Christ I'm so sorry for making you read all this
This took me like an hour to type
Anyway! Peace and thanks for asking skdmsmcmsmmd
30: Talk about what turns you off.
I don't have any turnons or turnoffs tbh skdndn I'm. not about that sorta stuff
36: Talk about your guilty pleasures.
sometimes I hateread awful old fanfics on Wattpad because they make me wanna die but like in a good way
7 notes · View notes
forkanna · 5 years
Link
[AO3 LINK] [EF LINK]
CHAPTER TWELVE
                                            ~ x JUDGMENT x ~
"I thought you were leading up to something more."
Makoto smirked across the table as she sat back in her chair. "Why, whatever do you mean, Onee-sama?"
Clearly irritated by the formal tone her sister had taken, Sae crossed her legs in the opposite direction to abate the sudden discomfort. "You and Kawakami were kissing on your bed. That painted a very specific picture of the events that would unfold."
"So now you're mad that I didn't meet your expectations? That she didn't push me down and force me into anything? That's nice, Sis."
"Not 'mad'. But that was my hypothesis, and it's… I'll have to adjust my thinking." Then she smirked a little and sat back, unconsciously mirroring her little sister's movements. "I am curious about something else, though."
"Really? Is it the leftover duck? I was a little surprised you didn't ask about that."
"No, no. And I was just thankful that it was delicious." She noticed Makoto's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected praise, but pressed onward. "Why does her teasing about feet get to you so much?"
At that, her little sister looked like her little sister for the first time since she had walked in the door, deflating and scowling toward the corner. "Come on, do we have to talk about that? I swear, I just really liked giving her a massage; she enjoyed it so much! It has nothing to do with me being 'into' feet!"
"Sure it doesn't," she snorted. "Mostly, I'm surprised to be learning all these things about you. It's fascinating."
"Don't be fascinated by things that aren't real," she sighed.
"Maybe not. I suppose you should finish telling me what is real." But while she said as much, she turned the chair to the side and propped her heels up on the table, crossing her legs at the ankle.
And Makoto glanced. She didn't stare at her high heels openly, but her eyes definitely flicked in their direction. Police instinct told Sae that was a red flag that the girl might have a budding fetish, but that didn't necessarily mean she was lying to her; sometimes people weren't ready to admit things to themselves, which meant they were literally incapable of admitting them to someone else.
Or perhaps it was purely due to the teasing - both from her and from Kawakami. Sometimes, that could almost create a fixation against the target's wishes. Or it could have simply been an innocent glance due to the movement and nothing more.
"Y-yeah," she stuttered before clearing her throat. Another red flag. "What's real. I'm not sure you're ready for that, but I'll keep going."
                                            ~ x The Priestess x ~
We finished dinner without anything else happening to interrupt. And the conversation went back to school, and eventually to Ren. I found out that he had known for weeks, and she found out that I already had spoken to him about it a little. Plus, she reassured me very firmly that there was nothing romantic going on between them… despite the many, many visits to his little loft.
Then she helped me with the dishes. I tried to tell her to relax, but she said she couldn't since she was supposed to be my maid - despite the clothing change. It was oddly heartwarming, doing something so mundane and domestic next to her.
"So I guess there's no point trying to change your mind," she sighed as we set the last few in the drying rack.
"Maybe. I still don't really understand all this, but every time I ask myself if I like you… I have to say 'yes'. Even if it's inconvenient."
Sadayo laughed quietly as she picked up the towel to dry off her hands. "That's one word for it. Kind of 'inconvenient' for you to date your teacher."
"Yeah. But how can I let that stop me? Look at you… I mean, you're already so pretty in class, but now? In this dress? It's like you're a pop idol."
Finally, my little comments were starting to flatter her instead of making her distressed. Smiling and biting her lip, she took a few steps away. "What, this old thing?" Then she did a little spin for me, and covered her face when I hooped and hollered. "Stop!"
"Hey, you twirled! If you didn't want me to like it, why did you do that?"
"I don't know!" When she lowered her hands, she was still smiling. "By the way… I don't exactly know how to say it, but you look nice, too. I'm just not used to thinking of girls like that but I should have said it earlier."
"Oh, I don't care about that," I lied. I mean, I did care, but I also didn't… so it was half-lying. I guess.
"But it's important. You're a really beautiful young lady, and I don't want my, uh, straightness to keep you from knowing that."
"Like I'm that much gayer than you! Considering I have never looked at any other women!"
Pacing closer again, she took up my hands and squeezed them gently. "How can I be your first? That seems… I don't know. Unrealistic somehow."
"Well, you kind of tried to touch me somewhere nobody had before," I whispered, and she flinched. "Hey - it's alright. I should have been more clear that I didn't want you to; you just thought I was nervous, like a lot of your other clients probably are."
"They are," she admitted with a hesitant nod. "You sure seemed to enjoy taking my tights off, so I thought I might get to… 'upsell' you into a handjob. Isn't that terrible?"
"Not for most of them. I'm sure a lot of them are happy you're showing interest - and underneath my fear that you would find out my identity, maybe I was, too." In a whisper, I added, "I certainly enjoyed the feeling."
Flushing a little darker shade of red, she whispered back, "And I hated it. But only because it felt like… you know when you're walking up the subway steps, paying too much attention to your phone, and you think there's one more step but then there isn't?"
"Ohhhh. Yeah, I know that feeling - it was like that?"
"Definitely. I, um…" Letting out a deep breath, Sadayo announced, "I've never touched another snatch. What a weird thing I have to say out loud!"
That got me smiling and stepping a little closer. "Me, neither. So at least we both have a first that we can still enjoy together."
"That's true." And her eyes danced with something like hope.
"Anyway, what I meant was that you touching me, letting me take your tights off… flirting at me, giggling, all that stuff. At first it didn't do anything, but after a while, I could feel it…" I paused, gathering my thoughts. My teacher waited. "It drew something to the surface that was already hiding beneath it. I always thought you were beautiful, it was just… I had no reason to think it was anything besides… not quite 'hero worship', that's not it. But similar."
"Am I your senpaaaaaiiiiii?" she called out in a very Becky sing-song. When I rolled my eyes, she laughed and pulled me into a light, gentle hug. "Mmm… oh, Makoto, I'm sorry. This whole thing is my fault; I should have tried to find another part-time job. An educator shouldn't spend her off-hours going down on random guys in a French maid outfit."
"No, she shouldn't," I breathed against her skin, breathing in the light, clean scent. She clearly only used the perfume on her shoes and undergarments; it was so severely muted that I was mostly only enjoying pure Sadayo without obfuscation. "But that's not your fault, and you aren't doing anything wrong. It just… turned out this way because I'm so nosy. It's my fault you ended up servicing me, not yours; I made the call."
"Alright, alright. Maybe we should just quit blaming each other. I just can't believe I didn't see through your disguise!"
Grinning, I began to sway slightly to the piano music that was still playing, even an hour later. "Well, we worked pretty hard on it. My friend and I."
"Your… friend?"
"Yeah. She knew about this, but she didn't know which teacher I meant - and I told her I wouldn't tell."
The taller woman pulled back to blink down at me. "You told a friend? That's… why?"
"Because I'm so confused. Still am a little, but I just needed to talk through some things to figure out what to do."
"Well…" Sighing, she nodded before resting her head atop mine - and it felt so good. Why? I loved it and couldn't even quite put my finger on the reason. "I guess that's not really a big deal. You didn't even tell her who I was. Did you blame Ms. Chouno?"
"She did guess Chouno," I giggled, and she laughed as well. "And you, and Ms. Usami. I just didn't confirm anything at all and she told me she didn't care that I wouldn't tell her. Respected my choice."
"That's a good friend."
"But I trust her. And I did eventually have to tell her everything, because... I needed her help guessing your dress size. I'm sorry, but I promise she won't tell anyone."
"Oh, it's fine. Everybody else and their cousin is finding out, so why should I be mad at you for trusting your friend?" We were both quiet for a minute. Then she began, "This friend…"
"Hmm? You want to know who it is?"
"I do, but it's alright if you don't want to tell me. Cuts both ways, right? That wasn't what I was going to ask." After a brief hesitation, Sadayo went on, "Have you ever… with her?"
"Have I ever what? I'm not s- oh! Oh, no, no way!"
"Sorry, sorry." And she definitely sounded apologetic. More than that, she sounded mortified that she asked at all. "Just curious because, well, this whole thing is new to both of us. I thought maybe you and her…"
Leaning up to gently kiss her cheek, I whispered, "Told you that you're my first. Anything."
"God…" This close, I could actually hear her swallowing, and somehow that was the most exciting thing I had ever heard. "You're driving me crazy…"
"Good. And don't worry, my friend is not going to steal me away from you. I promise. We aren't like that."
After a weak whimper, she finally replied, "Maybe she should… I don't know. Why would you want some oba-san when you can have a girl your own age? Is she not prettier than me or something?"
That made me laugh out loud. "No way! You have no idea, she's practically perfect!" But when she drew back to raise an eyebrow at me, I realized my mistake. My stomach seemed to shoot straight down into the floor. "W-wait, that's not- I didn't mean it how it-"
"No, no, it's totally fine. I know I'm over the hill and shouldn't expect to be able to compete with girls in your class."
"I meant that the reason I like you and not her doesn't have anything to do with her being ugly or whatever! Not that you aren't beautiful, because you are! You're the most… come on, don't be mean to me, I'm new at this!"
Laughing at my expense, she reached up to cup my burning cheek tenderly. "That's kind of the whole problem, isn't it?" The mirth left her expression until she just looked like the exhausted teacher I had come to know over the years. "You have no idea what we're about to go through."
Her telling me that did make me take an extra second to contemplate my response. I already knew what I wanted to say, but I tried to take her feelings into account first. Then I shrugged and kissed her on the chin.
"You're right. I don't know. But I trust you to help me figure it out. I trust you completely."
"That's so dangerous," she warned me as we swayed in the space between the dining room and living room. "You already know my life is a mess, and you think I'm going to do any better of a job with yours? What if I screw this up, and I hurt you somehow? What if I ruin everything?"
One of my shoulders rose and fell as I laid my head on hers again. Letting her lead. "We'll fix it. Or we will figure out that we can't, and deal with that when the time comes."
"Wise little girl. Young woman," she corrected with a quiet laugh. I felt her hand slide down to push into the small of my back, and tried not to think about how badly my legs wanted to turn to jelly. "Too sweet and trusting for your own good. But I promise I'll try my best to take care of you. Really, even if I fail, it won't be because I didn't try."
"Yeah," I said as we slow danced. "And this feeling… I would chase it across the stars."
For a few more seconds, I thought Sadayo would not answer at all. Then she breathed, "So would I." Her fragile, frightened voice just barely loud enough for me to hear it.
"Are you really going to be okay? I keep trying to let you go, and you keep trying to let me go… but we're still here. I could kick you out if it will be easier."
"I… no. I think it's too late for that tonight. Maybe we'll both wake up tomorrow and come to our senses, realise we made a huge mistake. But tonight… oh… Makoto, I really don't think I should be saying these things to my own student. But do you wanna hear them, anyway?"
"Sure. No… let me rephrase. I need to hear them, but will also understand if you can't."
Drawing back to look me dead in the eyes, she swallowed hard - and I saw for the first time that she was crying. But she had kept it out of her voice completely. Maybe that's what being an adult was all about: learning how to cry without crying. Her hands moved up to rest on either side of my neck, holding me steady.
"I think you're strong. And beautiful, and… noble. Nosy." At the last one, I laughed shyly, and she smiled a little wider. "But now I know it's because you just… really need to do the right thing. That's very rare to find. And you're also sweet, and steadfast and a million other things. But more than all that? You make me scared because never in my life have I felt more like losing someone would hurt than I do when I look at you."
The raw emotion in that statement bowled me over, and I had already been floating on a cloud at the rest. Now I felt like I might ascend to a higher plane of existence. "Lose me…?"
"Yeah." As my hands moved up to wipe away her tears, she half-flinched away from them but forced herself to stay put. "I just found you in my life - losing you now… isn't that even worse? When we barely got to…"
"I understand," I breathed as I leaned closer. "It's why I keep coming back for more. Just need you, and I'm scared if I don't take what I can get now, that I'll miss my chance. That's a terrible outcome."
Her head shook from side to side as her lips ghosted over mine. "Terrible… but I still don't understand this." We kissed again, still hesitant but less so. "Don't understand… why me…?"
"Because I'm not an idiot," I whispered back, pursing my lips on her bottom one and tugging gently. That shiver along her spine was real and visible.
"Maybe we both are."
"Maybe… I just can't seem to care."
The next kiss lasted a lot longer, and took us to the wall, then over to the counter. Sadayo's lips were so sweet and inviting, her body warm and soft, that I couldn't imagine ever getting enough - and if her reaction was any indication, mine must not have been so bad, either. We seemed to unconsciously take turns pursuing and being pursued. Oddly enough, even though I hummed a lot and felt my entire body tingling in anticipation, she was the one who more often squeaked in surprise, who took breaks to gasp and mention again how crazy this all was. Wasn't I supposed to be the virgin?
Finally, I had her pinned to the couch as we devoured each other's mouths. We had both felt flashes of tongue but never dared explore that deeper. One particularly loud moan broke us apart to catch our breaths, eyes locked in a blistering gaze of warring intentions.
"This… I really-"
"Holy shit," she finished for both of us, and I laughed a little. "That was incredible! Where have you been all my life?! Wait… wait, don't answer that."
Smirking, I shifted my hips atop hers from side to side. "Why? Don't like to think about where I was when you were my age?"
"Makoto, do you actually want me to keep going or to die of embarrassment?" Still, she bit her lip to weather the heat as I ground against her - a totally subconscious act. "Stop, I don't think I'm… ready for all… that…"
"Neither am I. Honestly, I only know how this is supposed to work from what I've read."
"You read about this?!" she gasped out. "Lesbian sex?"
"No! What?! I mean, mostly in class for sex ed. But then… after all this with you, I started to wonder… how… to do it? And I still can't quite picture it in my head."
My teacher's expression grew even more bashful as she looked away. "You were that serious about me? Before tonight, I mean. That is… I don't really get it, but I can't deny it feels wonderful. Being yours like this."
"You're mine for as long as you want to be," I purred. But it didn't take her long after that to push me back slightly. "What?"
"Listen. I, um… I need a little more time to think about this. Before we go any further, I mean." The shame was etched into every inch of her face, so I had no trouble believing her.
"Okay." My hips came to a stop despite how much I wanted to continue. "Seriously, don't be afraid to tell me to slow down at any time. I know it seems like I'm… only interested in pushing this as far as I can, but I swear that's not what's happening. I'm just really awkward."
Sadayo thought about that for a moment before she snorted. "Yeah right. You're working me so easy! But… I know, it's all new for you. Awkwardness plus inexperience equals… well, a lot of what's happened tonight." With a helpless laugh, she added, "This is insane, I can't believe it feels so natural with a woman! I thought it would disgust me!"
"Me, too! But… at least you've been on actual dates with men before. Maybe that makes it worse for you?"
"Oh, definitely. I keep finding unexpected things and not finding things I expect!" One of her fingers poked the side of my breast and I shivered. "Like these."
"Well, they do tend to be found there on women," I laughed softly, earning a much more full belly-laugh from my teacher.
"And you're so soft and delicate, gentle… which is part of what's throwing me. I'm used to exclusively dating men taller than me who can truly make me feel like a lady. I was kind of shallow about it, if I'm being really honest with you. But a year or so of working this job for Victoria has kind of broken me of that shallowness. Maybe…"
When she had been thoughtfully silent for a few seconds, I kissed her cheek and prompted, "Maybe?"
"Maybe that's part of why I'm not running screaming from this right now. Being required to flirt with and jerk off a bunch of gross guys reset my expectations. A cute girl like you is… a relief? Definitely a step up from any of them, even if I never thought about it before."
"And even if I'm a little younger than would be ideal," I admitted. She did nod her agreement, but also looked apologetic about it. "I get it. And I know there's really nothing I can do about it, but I would if I could."
"Whoa, whoa, wait." She rested a hand on my shoulder. "You don't think I blame you for being in school, do you? I would never-"
"No, no," I assured her quickly.
"Good," she sighed in relief. "This is nobody's 'fault', it's just a really cruel twist of fate. You're an amazing young woman, Makoto, and I wouldn't change a thing."
I must have been smiling even wider than I thought, because Sadayo kissed both of my cheeks tenderly. "Th-thank you."
"What? It's just the truth." Then she rolled her eyes and said, "Besides, if I could magically change one of us, why make you older when I could make me younger? Talk about a waste of a wish; I'd rather add ten years to my life then subtract from yours."
"Nine years," I corrected gently, petting up and down her side. But it made her laugh. "What? Isn't that less bad than ten?"
"Yeah, but I really doubt it's going to make much of a difference to our families." Then her eyes went wide. "Oh God… my parents."
Wincing, I pictured the middle-aged couple that had been yelling at Miss Kawakami in the hospital. I knew they definitely were not her parents, but my brain filled in the mental image with them anyway. "Are they going to think less of you?"
"Definitely. They are good parents, don't get me wrong, but they're pretty traditional. Take your pick! Will they be more mad that I'm gay or that I'm dating a teenager? Honestly, I'm not sure."
"Bisexual," I corrected again. Though I did start to worry that correcting her so much would be annoying. "You still find men attractive, right?"
"They won't care about that. Especially because they think girls liking other girls is 'just a phase' anyway." Her hand caressed over my hair, and I leaned into the touch. "I have to go soon."
My heart squeezed in my chest. "Oh. Yeah, I guess our time's almost up. I should grab your money."
"Thanks. It's… I can use it, sure, but really it's the best protection I have against catching hell for sneaking around with you. If it's part of my job, who can really blame me?"
"Exactly. And it's not forever."
As I extricated myself from her tempting body, she looked vaguely sad. "No… not forever. You're right. Just feels like it."
                                            ~ o ~
Within about five minutes, she was back in her maid outfit and I had her ¥10000 stuffed into her pocket. We lingered by the door. Neither of us seemed to know what to say, but kept trying to communicate something with our eyes to the other person. I know what I was trying to communicate was that I hated to see her go, that all I wanted was for her to stay so we could explore the strange new feelings together. I can only guess what she was trying to tell me.
"Thanks for a wonderful evening," she told me with a smile and a bow. "You really pulled out all the stops. Kind of blew me away."
I bowed back. "My pleasure. I'll… have to save up a little before I can request you again. Sorry."
"Oh… I'm sorry, we can find some time when I'm not working. I don't want to bleed you dry! Maybe…ugh, it'll be riskier but you could come to my place. I live alone."
"Riskier?"
"They'll see you going in and out of my apartment. God… okay, what flimsy excuse will we use? I'm tutoring you? I mean, you're probably the smartest girl in school. But… maybe with me being a female teacher, it could work…"
Eyes dancing with with ill-suppressed glee, I leaned up to deliver another heated kiss to the woman I was suddenly dating. Or something like dating. Then I pulled back, biting my lip as I watched her sway and waiver.
"We'll just have to be very careful. Like a game."
"What a dangerous game. Didn't think a little kid like you could be such a gambler." But at least she was smiling as she bowed low at the waist. "Thank you for your support, Master! Becky really enjoys getting dirty for you!"
I don't exactly know where the flirty line came from. But before I could stop myself, I was muttering, "Seems like you do." It was the reason a deeply blushing Sadayo scrambled for the doorknob and out of my apartment as fast as she possibly could.
                                            To Be Continued…
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