#so i mean...if the email does go to an actual person its not like they'd have a direct link to my bank account

[dogboy-br4in]

think i typed my own email wrong when paying this bill online, which, now i'm getting paranoid about,,, soooooooo yayyyyyyyy

[ultfreakme]

"I'd burn down the world for you."

Jay laughs. That's an understatement, he cackles, chortles, folds over in his chair and nearly drops his tablet on the tile floor of his office. "What tiktoks are you watching?" he wipes his eyes.

Jon's neck heats. Even after over a year of dating, he keeps finding ways to stick his foot in his mouth. "What!" Jon raises his hands defensively. "I might!"

Jay levels him with a steady look. "You would not, be serious."

"I could," Jon tries again. "Like a little."

"Really convincing me here babe." He returns to his work, tapping away at an email meant for Daily Star, then switching to a secret personal project none of the Supers should know about (sans Jon and Nat).

Jon sits on the large table. Dark wood, covered in printouts, post-its, notes, and candy wrapper, he shuffles them back to make space for himself, not like he can make it worse. "I just wanted to try saying it. It's what everyone says, you know, even if they don't mean it."

Jay picks up his stylus, carefully scanning a document for The Truth. "Again, I don't know what tiktoks you're watching these days- or is it some anime? Are you watching crappy shojo anime?"

Jon grumbles. "I have excellent taste in shojo anime and you'd know if you at least tried to watch Monthly Nozaki-kun with me."

"Fine, fine I'll watch it," says Jay. "Point is, no one actually means it when they say they'd do dramatic and destructive acts of useless violence for someone."

"But they do," Jon insists. "There are people who'd put everything aside if something happens to their boyfriend. And I--I can't."

Setting the tab aside, Jay rolls his chair closer to Jon. "What really brought this on?" He looks up at him, warm, honey brown eyes, sharp with the focus of an interrogation. Jon resists the urge to lean down and cup his face. Where should he begin?

"I wish I could say stuff like that without thinking forever about, like, moral consequences and actual global devastation," says Jon. "Ivy would do it for Harley, and you know Harley would do it back. But I can't even say shit like that without some alert going off somewhere."

He does feel the urge, he felt it a million times with Bendix. The urge to just, end it. It would have been so easy, even if he knew it was wrong. The instincts battled but there was always a clear victor. He's seen The Aerie not give a second thought before dropping people from skyscraper-heights when someone got a hold of Wink. He didn't approve, he never will. But he wonders, sometimes, to let the power flow and not stop it.

He keeps thinking it; 'I'd let everything go to waste to keep you safe. You deserve the world, you deserve everything' to the point he feels sick and helpless with it. He would, but he can't.

"They also end up being apprehended by Batman for trying that shit. Threats of ending-the-world are bad."

"I know but-- just-- I feel like I'm not, fully here with you, for you. You know?" Like they're one side, he can say it all he wants but if things get messy, everyone would expect Superman to leave his boyfriend behind. He hopes to every higher force hearing to never put them in that position, but after Waller and Nia, he worries, he fears. All it takes is one person with a motive.

"I don't expect you to go nuts with your powers for me," Jay says easily, tracing circles on Jon's knee. "I'd actually fight you if you go 'I let the bad thing happen for you', like that's where it ends."

Jon bends down. "But what if I did it to keep you safe?"

"Same thing," Jay turns his chin up, their noses an inch away. "Lois told me once, you aren't just mine to keep. You've got a whole world, it's not just me in it that matters."

Sometimes, it feels like it's just Jay. But he is right, he knows the consequence of letting one person define fate of the world. He's seen it in the version of his father who did let the world burn in the name of his mom. She'd hate it, and so would Jay.

"I'll try my best not to let the world burn down for you?" Jon says.

Jay pecks a kiss on his cheek. "Getting warmer, I am totally seduced and charmed."

Jon places a quick press to his forehead and leans backs, kicking his feet. "So, what would you do?"

Stylus paused over the tablet, Jay watches ahead. "I'm not Superman."

Jon tilts his head and makes a questioning sound.

He chuckles and brings the tablet back to life, circling a sentence for a grammatical error. "I'm not for protecting anything and everything all the time," he says. "I've got to prioritize, and my priorities are based on what I care about."

Jon should probably discourage him and tell him no. No he can't just prioritize. No, he has to care about the rest of the universe too because superheroes, powers, responsibilities.

But it does feel nice to know someone would tear everything apart for him, selfish as it is. He wouldn't even hate Jay for it if he did it.

[alicepao13]

Hudson and Rex S02E05 - Dead Man Walking

That's a lie, from what I've seen it is mostly raining. In any kind of situation.

Mason calls and that's one more day of ruined plans. Work never stops.

In the real world, by the time Mason's blood results would have come out, he'd be dead already.

Jesse the fanboy lol

I remember Dillon Casey from his Nikita days.

Of course Mason has an estranged family.

Like what? He's dying, this is a "get your affairs in order" situation. Not everyone has plot armor, Charlie.

Living creepy gifts might not be the worst way to try to get someone to read your manuscript, but it's definitely up there.

Jesse definitely attracts and is attracted by the crazy girls.

Joe's theater background is revealed early enough. Funny how that detail survived long enough to become a case in S5.

That will never not be ridiculous. Sorry.

Okay, with the force that Rex threw himself on the councilor I think it would be more likely for her to die from the fall.

"Cute as hell, but stubborn". Yep, that's Rex.

And then she tells Charlie to bring a date to blend in. And of course, Charlie only knows one Woman™

"I know that you're working on the super impossible task of making an antidote of an unknown poison within 48 hours but could you also be my pretend date for tonight?" dude stop giving her more work.

Cue fake date number I HAVE LOST COUNT ALREADY.

They looked good. It's such a shame they didn't dance. I'm not even a huge fan of dancing but I'd be a big fan of them dancing.

Rex might be occupied for a while.

As soon as they chose to focus on the politician I knew that the other case would have been the reason for Mason's poisoning.

No, I'm sorry but if someone had poisoned me and I thought I had them in my sights and I was holding a gun, I would have shot them. I don't know what the hell Charlie is saying about justice.

If you think that it's far-fetched that Rex made Mason put down his gun with a "pretty please" look, then you're going to love Kommissar Rex where Rex's devastatingly sad look makes a man kill himself.

"I have an idea but it's not exactly by the book" "You're starting to sound like Mason". Joe, I need you to let go of the idea of squeaky clean Detective Charlie Hudson so that we can all move on with our lives. I mean, when he finds a reason in at least one case per season to disregard police procedure, I think you have a rogue on your hands.

While I like the plan of sending an email to "blackmail" the person who sent the email to Mason and send it to everyone at the party, the issue is that out of all the people who had nothing to do with it, some of them are bound to discuss receiving a weird email, right?

Of course Rex's hide and seek game at the start of the episode would prove to be useful later.

"My dudes, the poison is right there! The fucking pen! It's the second time you're ignoring me!" (In my mind Rex swears a lot.)

This is nothing in terms of its meaning within the scene but I like the shot.

It's amazing that no one else didn't accidentally touch the pen. It was there a long time. Couldn't Sarah have touched it towards the end of the episode? Just as they'd recognized the poison so that they'd quickly administer the antidote to her as well, but Charlie would already have a heart attack? Just an idea.

I love this shot as well.

Mason before getting the antidote: Tell my ex wife I love her. Mason after the antidote: Sarah would you want to have a drink with me sometime?

lol. Although who can fault him, right? Also, watch and learn, Charlie.

I don't know if it's worth mentioning but in some of the "dead man walking" episodes I've seen, in the end the poisoned person actually dies. Not that I'd expect that to happen here but it does make things interesting.

[pixeldashblog]

Ikea's Ömsesidig panels for the Symfonisk picture frame finally fulfill the speaker's promise

I've had two Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame speakers since they launched nearly two years ago and have been extremely satisfied with their performance in my Sonos home theater as rears. I wrote in length about my experience for Input if you'd like to read that review.

The Picture Frame has fluctuated quite a bit in price in its lifetime. When I reviewed it it went for $200, eventually spiking to $260. It's currently on sale for $170 until May 29th if you're interested in it for any of the uses it's designed for. Although the length of the sale does suggest Ikea is trying to clear out inventory for an eventual refresh of the product.

My one gripe with the Picture Frame was always how the thing looked. The default artwork it ships with won't fool anyone, and the power cord will seal it: this is a speaker.

Efforts by Ikea to sell replacement speaker covers never amounted to anything I found attractive. The splatter art and record player designs that launched within a year of the speaker's release were too boring, and a limited run of covers with classic artwork like the "Mona Lisa" and "Starry Night", or the current line of wild animal portrait photographs, were non starters if I ever wanted to change the orientation of the picture frames. My suggestion that Ikea release a line of solid colors or open up a way for owners to print their own photos have yet to be taken up.

Then, a few weeks ago, I got an email from Ikea's US PR team about the Omsesidig collection launch, a collaboration with nine Latin American artists to design various home decor products, including three covers for the Picture Frame speaker.

The covers, designed by artists Trini Guzmán and Diana Ordóñez, were immediately eye catching to me and, most importantly, my partner who had never loved the look of the Picture Frames. So last week I purchased two covers, featuring Guzmán's "Graphical" and Ordóñez's "Mask".

"Graphical"-Trini Guzmán

"Mask"-Diana Ordóñez

I am by no means an art critic and will not pretend to be, but I absolutely love how this art looks on my speakers. The textile of the covers showcases the artwork very well, making sure different types of lighting plays well with the print of each work. The colors are rich and vibrant. Most importantly, they actually make us smile when we walk in to the home theater room.

These pieces were actually designed to be appreciated not just for the gorgeous artwork they feature, but also for the device they'd be sitting on. While I don't expect the Picture Frames to fool my house guests now, they may be fooled just a bit longer than before. And while these speakers are currently in my very dark theater room, my partner is excited for us to move to a space where she can showcase them in an open living room.

My personal favorite is "Graphical" which is shown in a portrait orientation on the Ikea website but looks good in any orientation in my opinion: you can tell Guzmán took extra care to make sure the art design would suit any owner's preference.

I hope Ikea continues to hire real artists to design Picture Frame covers going forward. I feel much better about my purchase knowing the art is original and supports working artists and I think offering a broad selection of Picture Frame covers designed by young artists working today would go a long way to give this line of products a unique story in the tech world. These covers will stay on my walls for a very long time, but if there is a refresh of the Picture Frame speaker in the near future, I hope there's a giant selection of art to choose from for it if I choose to buy more wall art speakers.

[ooc-themis-cattails]

and like, Bradbury himself had one of his characters say it wasn't the technology-- that TV could do the same as books were doing, it just wasn't, because people wanted fast-moving popular entertainment. Bradbury was about slowing down.

And that, I do agree with; but the internet too can be slow. You can spend hours just reading information about stuff, instead of refreshing your feed. Back when I first read the book, very few teenagers were willing to sit down and spend an hour typing out an email to somebody they'd never even knew in person, then connect to the internet and listen to its screeches as it very slowly sent the email, then come back every day and connect up checking for a reply. Back then, that's all we had. It's still here now. It's just that we go and refresh our social feed constantly to keep up with what's just happened, what's going on RIGHT NOW RIGHT THIS SECOND. If your friendship will decay just from not hearing from somebody for a single day, that's not a very close friendship.

Even Bradbury said about books, thank goodness we can close them and put them down. He also said, don't fill up all your time with programs to watch and things to engage in next. We need to spend time engaging with media while not taking in the next thing. We need to think about what we read, and do more than just agree or disagree and move on. We need to ask ourselves, "How am I going to take what I read and use it in my life? What does it help me understand a little better?" Or else it's just vapid, in out bang pow boom, like Bradbury says of the TVs.

Fahrenheit 451 isn't about technology at all (and I'm sure Bradbury would have been annoyed with my high school teacher for trying to distill it to that, losing all the details that made technology the problem in the case of that story.) It's about slowlife and having unfilled time. People no longer have porches in his world because they don't want to sit and just think. And that's something he's probably right about; it just has nothing to do with screen or no screen, electronic or not, or even what content we are being served. He did care whether substantial content WAS served, but he thought it wasn't being served because we didn't want to slow down for it.

We aren't quite as vapid as Bradbury's doomsday vision. Even our entertainment has a meaning, an opinion; and we tend to go in mining for its meaning so that we know what it's all about, so we can join in the conversation on what we read. Bradbury thought even that was too fast; it left no room for poetry. He's probably right. We have to experience the actual book itself and not just listen to the meaning. Even if we're just there to grab the meaning and go, and have an opinion on it-- even then, we're just crunching data. When we reduce it to meanings, we never really ask what if we've got the meaning wrong, what if our professors were products of their time and overlooked the fact that it doesn't exactly mean that, it only superficially resembles it because it addresses some of the same problems. We start out with this book, then we get teachers telling us it's about technology and falsehood and not focusing on nature or the physical world, and then we get psychologists telling us to limit "screen time" as if that would magically make us think about what we'd been engaging with. Nobody ever became wise by abstaining from things. Less time on screens? No. More time thinking, whether you use a screen or not.

Banned text

I went to the local library, and didn't actually find much I was excited about; the selection was so poor compared to Amazon. But of course there were a trillion copies of Fahrenheit 451, and I have like no memory of the plot, so I thought I'd go ahead and give it a read.

I read Fahrenheit 451 many years ago in high school (back in the 20th century), but I struggled to understand it the way I struggled to understand normal people. I was like Clarisse, except they made me go to school and didn't let me have any therapy for it. And I couldn't understand where the other characters in the book were coming from, or why they acted like automata or got trapped in their mundane lives, any better than I understood my classmates. But Clarisse was connected to nature and was a rejection of modern technology that had already taken over, while I was using technology that hadn't become a monster yet. And because of the "nature = good, technology = bad" theme that all the teachers very much wanted us to notice, I was mostly annoyed.

I was seventeen in the days of the very early internet, like some kind of settler in a digital wild, before social media existed. Every day I would want to get home away from the school social treadmill with its structured activities, and I'd go on the internet-- which was mostly text those days, all words, no videos, few photos-- and I'd talk to the very rare other teenagers who rejected their school lives and went on the internet to make friends with distant teenagers who didn't fit in like me, the uncool outcast kids who wanted to reach out and touch someone that wasn't swept up in their prescribed lives of social competition for peers' admiration.

Downstairs, my mother sat hypnotized by the glow of TV sitcoms, my father slaved away at the treadmill of capitalism, and I escaped through a thread of text, spinning out over the phone line and projected far away into the ether. My words like a cry into the darkness were finally sent somewhere meaningful, crossing vast distances of space to talk to other stars like me that burned, that did more than just orbit the culture that was fed to us without reaction, like a cold hard rock. The new technology that now traps people was, for me, a line of escape from that trap. I used computers to connect with other teenagers on the level I craved, one that made my classmates mock me for thinking and caring too deeply.

So when the experts insisted we all had to turn off our electronics and go out and touch grass, as if screen time were the destroyer of thought, I was so angry-- touching grass was part of what the mass majority was doing with their sports and their school dances. What was digital and abstract and "unreal" to them was my lifeline to my friends, to the other rare kids like me out there, so scattered and few, who actually thought and lived.

Now I get it, now that the world has changed and everybody's online using the internet just like they used the TV and everything else. But at the time it was being presented to me (presented, of course, by pop culture that had digested it, memetic associations and symbolic settings that had filtered into other media) as a bunch of false equations: "Technology =/= reading, or sharing deep ideas. Technology =/= real contact with real people. Face-to-face contact, and nature, are inherently more deep and connecting than any use of technology." These were the opposite of my experience. But they were formulated by people who only dimly understood the book's concerns: people who vibed with its insight that the experience of life was easily lost in the hypnotic content delivery of entertainment, but didn't have its insight as to why. The formula was then blindly taught by concerned parents and schools and other adults who thought themselves wise, to keep me away from the internet, which was my lifeline out of the endless prescribed cycle of school and work and the expectation that I would make money and marry and have children and do the same thing to them.

Go to school, move out and live on my own, go to work, select a partner, produce another generation that will do the same. It seemed so painfully meaningless, like the point was just to keep going on with the program-- which, of course, included plenty of activities that were supposed to involve enjoying the outdoors. Amusement parks, the beach, travel, hiking, all these things were prescribed for our health, so we had to go and labour at them (away from my precious internet connection with other distant misfits who actually connected with me).

I'm allergic to grass. If I sit in it my eyes and nose will stream with so much water and mucus that I can't even focus on anything other than my itching and distress. "Go out and touch grass" means anything to me but "pay attention to the world around me"; it means to be unable to focus on anything other than the overwhelming concerns of my bodily function, to feel unwell and trapped in my meatsuit, and unable to see. "Go out and touch grass" meant "obsess over your meat trap, like you're supposed to do." I wanted to dissolve into a stream of digital truth and escape my physical confines. Being a person didn't mean living in my body (my teenage desirable girl's body, precious currency of social attention, with its nascent disabilities just strong enough to make physical life unpleasant.) It meant being out of my body, being pure consciousness, focusing on meaning and, yes, emotion, physical as those chemicals actually are; being allowed to choose and guide my attention, and to care about whatever I wanted, and not distill all of the meaning of living down to the officially "healthy" program that society had selected for me.

Yes, the internet has become a hypnotic trap. But the problem isn't "screen time", the problem is when we use our screen time all wrong. Bradbury would have been happy to see that we participate with our own thoughts and use our own words, and that we constantly learn things we didn't expect to encounter. We're reading, and not only that, we're reading the thoughts and feelings of everybody, not just establishment-curated popular content. Unfortunately, a lot of those thoughts and feelings just echo the crap that's already been fed to us by school-work-society.

The problem isn't the medium, and the thing to be cherished isn't books. Before social media took over our lives, pundits were afraid that nobody would be able to read or write due to television. That did not turn out to be the problem-- we now read and write more text than anyone ever has in the whole history of civilization. The problem is that it's easy to turn off our brains and let content be delivered to us without any effort, rather than engaging with it by choice and direction. It doesn't matter whether we do that through radio, or TV, or the internet, or old dime-store comic books. Experts have finally stopped worrying that the next generation won't read, now that we see on twitter that text can be used to waste time just like anything else.

What concerns me is that we won't think about what we've read. That we won't digest it and think how it applies, or doesn't apply, to our lives. That we won't investigate for ourselves, but accept the word of the experts on whether engaging with it is healthy or not. That we won't look for whether it's true or untrue in our experience, but simply repeat it in situations that are superficially similar-- and then arbitrate whether it's healthy for other people by the metric of what they're looking at, not by what they choose to do with it next. Bradbury used the metaphor of a society that said TV was good and books were bad. The characters choose what to burn and what to broadcast for other people, what's good for society and what's bad for it, by judging the content that others take in, and making assumptions that it affects everyone a certain way. The mistake is in losing the individuality of how it affects everyone differently. Even Fahrenheit 451 itself instills caution in some people, self-satisfaction in others, misidrected paranoia in others, speculative wonder in others, and sleep in those who aren't interested in social issues.

The trap is not technology, but rather that we will only use it to do Normal things that we are Allowed to do. The trap is believing that certain media cause everyone who engages to have bad reactions rather than good ones, instead of treating each person as an individual case that could go either way. The trap is accepting that certain things are forbidden-- that we shouldn't read or think them at all, not even experimentally, not even long enough to know why, or whether, they are wrong. If we don't look at them because we fear they will harm us, we'll lose what they are supposed to do, which is warn us about the real harm. If we avoid content based on what the experts claim it will do to us, we will lose the engagement of those most interested in using tools in a healthy way. And if we shame, forbid or otherwise prevent others from engaging with the medium of their choice, then someone who would have actually needed it to step beyond their prescribed social boundaries will lose their lifeline.

[genevievemd]

Sara, here are some questions about your sweet beans that I'm dying to know. They're holiday themed, to get into the season's spirit.

What is the first present that Ethan gave Gen, and vice versa?

Which of them is the better gift giver? Who gives the worst gifts? Bonus for examples.

They participate in a snowman making contest. Which of them is going to win and what does the winning snowman look like?

Thank you for these!! I love them and I love you 🐑

What is the first present that Ethan gave Gen, and vice versa?

I'm assuming you mean like Christmas present since it's holiday themed, and not like the actual very first ever... The first XMAS gift he gave G, was Christmas her third year, after they'd been officially dating for six months, he went way overboard and got her a Cartier Love bracelet with "Rookie" engraved on the inside.

G, in comparison, felt like her gift was nowhere near as spectacular, Ethan would disagree. She booked them a rental house in Montauk for a long weekend after the new year. And on the card she specified that it was a no phone, no emails, no outside world weekend. It was just the two of them and Jenner. And Ethan thought it was perfect.

Which of them is the better gift giver? Who gives the worst gifts? Bonus for examples.

Honestly, they're pretty even when it comes to getting each other gifts, because they know each other so well that it's rare they don't get like the perfect gift. Although, over all, when it comes to gifts to anyone, it's Gen. She puts a lot of thought into the gift she gives. Ethan to anyone but G is a terrible gift giver. Literally has no idea what to do, he's usually a gift card kind of person.

They participate in a snowman making contest. Which of them is going to win and what does the winning snowman look like?

LMAO, I love this. Ethan would think it's so childish, but Dr Perfectionist would win because he'd make sure its the best damn snowman in existence. He doesn't half ass shit. lol He'd make a doctor snowman, and G would end up making a classic but overestimates the snowball sizes and its uneven and lopsided and a little too tall for her. Ethan will tease her about it for weeks.

[thatssonanii]

House Party

Bloodline Family Series

Parties were pretty much an every weekend thing for Eli, Koda and Milo. Sometimes during the week too. But they never had their own. For almost a month, the cousins planned their party. Trinity and Jimmy were going to be out of town about an hour away, all their siblings were going to be with Grandpa King and Nana. Koda and Milo weren't sure where their parents would be but they knew they'd take the alone time.

"You're really gonna use Auntie Trin's glass punch bowl? Didn't we buy one from the store?" Milo asked walking into the kitchen.

Eli shrugged. "It was cracked. This is good, she never uses it anyway."

Milo shrugged emptying the snacks into the other party bowls they'd brought. Koda was lining sodas up on the counter.

"I found the beer your dad hid in the garage," Koda laughed.

"Cool, he won't even realize they're gone. Is ya friend still gonna dj, Lo?"

Milo nodded going to throw his trash away.

"Yeah, he should be here in a few. Did you remember to lock the doors upstairs?"

"Ummm, yeah, I think I did. I'll check in a few."

The furniture was moved out of the way, the dj was set up, snacks and drinks were out and the boys were dressed. Fortunately for them, their parents had actually called them to check on them so they didn't have to worry about that being a problem.

A couple hours later, Eli's house and backyard was full of people, classmates, friends from other schools and a lot of people they didn't know. They were enjoying themselves much more since it was their party.

While his cousins danced Koda was by the dj area, taking pictures and videos of them. The more Milo danced the harder he laughed. Going over to them he joined in on their vibe, it was contagious.

Eli continued to dance and looked around the party feeling eyes on him. When he caught the eyes of the girl watching him, he smiled then tapped his cousins.

"I'll be back, I think i spotted my situation for tonight," Eli said staring at the girl.

Koda laughed, "Handle your business, cuz."

"Hoe ass boy," Milo joked.

After slapping hands with his cousins, Eli crossed the party to get to his girl. He snuck up behind her putting his hands on her hips.

"What's up, beautiful? I don't think we've met." He whispered in her ear.

The girl turned around and smiled at him. "We haven't but I know who you are."

"Is that right?" Eli smirked.

"That's right, Eli. I'm Suzy. Now that we're acquainted I wanna see if what I heard is true."

Licking his lips, Eli looked around the room for a moment them back down at Suzy. "Damn you don't waste time but if that's what you want. Follow me."

Milo hit Koda's arm and pointed to Eli, who was climbing the stairs with Suzy behind him. Koda watched them, he couldn't help but laugh.

"That's your hoe ass cousin, Lo." Koda joked.

While the cousins enjoyed their party, Trinity was waiting on the hotel bed for Jimmy to get out of his shower after their date. They decided to take a two day trip to Tampa just because. Trinity checked her texts, her emails then the vivint app. It kept sending her notifications from the doorbell camera. She had been ignoring it figuring Eli and his cousins were going somewhere but it was over 50 plus notifications.

As she looked through the stills from the camera her anger boiled over. She knew these boys were into doing some bad shit but to have a party was something new.

Jimmy came from the bathroom immediately noticing his wife's frown.

"Damn, did I take too long?" He asked jokingly.

"I think," she paused taking a deep breath, "No. Your son and his cousins are having a party."

Jimmy sat on the bed beside her laughing, "They always go to parties. No big deal."

Dropping her phone in her lap, Trinity turned to look at her husband. "No, fool. Your son and his cousins are having a party in our house."

"The hell you mean he having a party? In my house? I known you playin."

Trinity tossed her phone to him, "Look at the pictures. All those kids going in our house with bottles and shit. What does that look like to you?"

Taking the phone, Jimmy looked through the stills his jaw clenching after every picture. He gave her the phone back then went to put his clothes and shoes on.

"Get dressed and packed, we goin back. Ima kill his ass and his damn cousins too," he huffed loudly.

Once the couple got on the road, they called the other two couples to let them know what their kids were up to. They were going to wait for Trinity and Jimmy to get back in town before going to confront their kids.

Meeting up two houses down, the parents stood together fussing about their children. They could hear the loud ass music from where they were standing and it only pissed them off more. Meanwhile inside the house, Eli was still upstairs, Koda was dancing with Parker and Milo in the backyard with Aunni and their other friends.

"Okay, I'm over waiting. Can we go snatch these lil bad asses up or what?" Apryl complained.

"I'm sayin," Kandice agreed, "That lil slow ass boy is gon wish he took his ass to that farm when I'm done."

The men followed their wives to the house and inside, Apryl was in front pushing the teenagers out of her way, Trinity and Jandoce glaring at any of them who looked like they wanted to say something back.

One of the girls stopped dancing and smiled at the parents. "Mrs, Reigns," she screamed over the music. "I didnt know you guys were coming!"

"Girl, get out my way," Kandice demanded pushing the girl out the way.

Jey saw where the DJ was and headed over to him. Roman spotted Koda while Jimmy looked around for Eli and found him leaving against the banister on the second floor talking to a girl. Apryl eyed the party goers, Kandice and Trinity went to the kitchen.

Roman grabbed Koda by the back of his shirt, yanking him away from Parker. Koda snatched away prepared to fight whoever it was, his face softened realizing it was his father.

"Fuck," Koda mumbled not taking his eyes off Roman.

Jey slammed the laptop the DJ was using closed and glared at the young boy daring him to say something. When the music stopped everyone looked to set what the problem was except Koda, he didn't move. Noticing the issue, Eli started to descend the stairs stopping in the middle when he saw Jimmy staring at him.

The teenagers started to complain about their being no music which angered the parents especially Apryl, who still hadn't found her son.

"Shut up! Where is Adrian?" Apryl yelled. They. stood dumbfounded staring at her making her suck her teeth. "Where the hell is Milo?"

Again, nothing.

Apryl nodded, "Oh so nobody knows where his light bright ass is? That's fine, so since no one knows I guess I'll start beating ass till someone talks."

About ten of the kids blurted out that he was outside prompting Jey to head that way. Jimmy and Roman continued to stare at their sons.

"Get yall asses out now and off anything is missin out of this house, I'll visit each of you personally until I find it." Apryl threatened loudly.

Kandice came out of the kitchen to stand beside her cousin. "Leave, now!"

The teens rushed out of the house as quickly as they could, trying to avoid getting too close to the parents. Eli tried to scoot pass his dad but Jimmy stepped on front of him. The ones in the backyard were long gone when they saw Jey. A few minutes later after the house was clear, Jey came walking back in the house with Milo behind him.

Trinity rushed out of the kitchen towards her son and snapped the back of his head making him flinch. "Not only did you have a damn party but you used my good dish! And one of your lil friend broke it!"

Eli moved back from her with his hands up. "My bad, I ain't think it would get broken."

Sliding her sandal off, Trinity started to hit her son with it, gushing with each hit. "These bad ass kids in my house tearing my damn house up."

Koda took a step back, Roman took a step forward. Koda did it again and Roman followed.

"Boy, if you take one more step away from your daddy it better be to run," Kandice spat.

"Why the hell would you participate in this, Adrian? You know my elevator don't go all the way up and neither does your daddy's." Apryl said moving closer to her frightened son. "Look at this mess, Adrian. Trash everywhere, shit is broken and is that beer and weed I smell on you?"

"No!" All three boys answered.

"We had a beer or two but we wasn't smoking, Auntie," Eli spoke up.

"Shut. Up." Trinity said through gritted teeth. "She wasn't talking to you."

Jimmy folded his arms across his chest, "How the he would you know what they did? You had your ass upstairs laid up with somebody daughter."

"Whose idea was this party?" Kandice asked.

"Who was it?" Roman barked.

The boys jumped and all three started to talk away the same time.

"Okay, okay, okay," Kandice yelled. "One at a time."

"Me and Koda," Eli said looking down.

"No," Apryl said shaking her head, "No, it wasn't. Try that again. Who?"

Koda nodded scratching his arm. "It was us, Auntie. It was me and Eli."

"Stop that lyin, Makai," Kandice warned in a low voice.

"I'm not lying," Koda stressed.

Roman eyed his son, "Do you really wanna piss me off more than I already am, Koda? Is that what you really wanna do?"

"N-no, sir. But I," Koda stuttered.

"It wasn't your idea or Eli's," Jey added. "It was Milo. Wasn't it, Milo?"

"Yes, sir." He mumbled quietly.

Apryl laughed to herself. "Its almost 3 in the morning and we're tired. We're gonna go upstairs and go to bed. You three stay down here, we'll finish this in the morning."

Eli raised his hand a bit, "But my room is up there."

"Not tonight it isn't," Trinity said smartly.

"Why are we stayin down here," Koda asked quickly.

"Cause you're gonna clean this house up before we get up. Don't even think about napping or going to sleep before this house is spotless," Kandice warned looked at all three boys.

Koda sucked his teeth and quickly regretted it, feeling his father chop his chest.

"Don't try me, Koda. You know better," Roman told him.

The parents went upstairs leaving their kids without a second glance. The boys didn't move right away until they heard the bedroom doors slam. They knew they going to have a long night and day.

[punkscowardschampions]

Jude & Jac

Jude: are you alright? Jac: Not particularly Jude: talk to me then Jac: No offense Jac: but that really isn't going to make me feel better Jude: so do it to make me feel better Jac: What do you want, Jude? Jude: idk Jude: everyone's talking but they're not saying stuff that makes sense Jac: No one knows what they're talking about Jac: they should try minding their business Jude: bit unlikely Jac: I'm not going to give you anything more to report back Jac: I've said all I know already Jude: oi! I ain't running a story for the school paper or owt like that Jude: I'm about the angle whereby you're my sister and I've known your mates for time Jude: it's personal, like Jac: It happened to Is Jac: not me, not you Jac: we can't sit around making it about us, it's not productive Jude: productive? Jac: Don't start Jude: can we get to a place where you tell me what's going on with Izzy or what? Jac: I don't know Jac: some lad creeped on her at the party last night and now her mum is on a mission about it Jude: she's your best mate, how're you not camped out on her front garden?! Jac: Oh great, make me feel bad Jac: she doesn't want to talk, I'm not going to force my presence upon her to make myself, or any of the rest of you, feel better Jude: she needs you, not her ma, what's that woman gonna do? what does she get about anything? Jac: What do you think I'm gonna do Jac: for goodness sake Jude: fuck all if you ain't there Jac: There's nothing to be done Jac: it's happened Jude: that's cold Jude: there's like comfort you could give her Jude: you could be someone that listens to her, if her ma's on such a mission Jac: Like I said, you know nothing Jac: that's all very well you proposing all these nice ideas but I told you, she doesn't want to talk Jac: so this is a pointless conversation Jude: like you heard me say, why aren't you there waiting on her for when she does? Jac: I'm not sitting outside her door Jac: I don't know what you're getting at, to be honest Jude: she'd do it for you Jude: you know that Jac: You're far too concerned with hypotheticals Jac: Like I said, I'm actually trying to be productive here Jude: nah, you're looking out for yourself Jude: being a shitty mate in the process Jac: Fine Jac: happy now? Jude: yeah that's proper cheered me up Jude: ffs Jac: Frankly, you're the least of my worries right now Jac: and that apparently suits you fine so Jac: if we're done here Jude: are you gonna keep replying like this is a business email? Jac: I've got nothing to say Jac: that I haven't already Jude: you've said nowt to me Jac: ask mum and dad Jac: I've got stuff to do Jude: what stuff? Jac: Talk to Sav, everyone else who was there Jac: see what they know Jude: it was her boyfriend's house, yeah? that bit's true? Jac: Yes Jac: it was just a normal house party Jude: did he invite that lad or did he gatecrash? Jac: He was invited Jac: he went to our school, everyone knows him Jude: do you? Jac: Yeah Jac: obviously Jude: if it's who I heard it was then I reckon I do too Jac: Who did you hear it was? Jude: Carter Murphy Jude: he used to be a massive deal far as winning shit for the basketball team but that's not why I know him Jac: I'm not going to confirm or deny Jac: not going to spread the rumours when it's already running rampant Jude: spreading rumours ain't what I'm about either, tah very much Jac: I just meant I'm not saying either way Jude: And I'm just saying if it was him I never reckoned there was anything that off about him Jude: no more than any other older lad who chats to me at parties Jude: wondering if I should've Jac: I don't know Jac: maybe there isn't Jude: but it's not like he'd be rocking a sign saying 'top at beer pong and banter but might force himself on you' at any rate Jac: Well yeah Jac: there's two sides to every story Jude: hang on, you're saying Izzy is lying? Jac: No, I'm saying it's impossible to ever know for definite in these situations Jude: it shouldn't be impossible to take her word for it, unless you've got a reason not to Jac: its hers against his Jude: why would she say he forced her if he didn't? Jude: her ma ain't THAT strict Jac: She was drunk Jac: you know you can think a thing happened one way that isn't necessarily how it was or how the other person saw it Jude: Yeah Jude: but this is a bit different from me getting pissed off at my mates for none of 'em catching me when I thought I'd told 'em I was gonna jump and I'd never Jac: I can have personal opinions Jac: it's not as if I'm talking to anyone or doing anything with it Jac: if her ma wants to take it legal then that's for her to decide Jude: I dunno, maybe you're right Jude: legally, it is her word against his Jude: add in the drink, even if she didn't have that much, it's bollocks but it's bollocks they'd still use Jac: Everyone knows it's pointless going to the police Jac: regardless if it happened or not Jac: don't need to know exact prosecution rates to know it's a waste of time Jude: poor Izzy Jude: whatever happened, everyone's gonna have a personal opinion Jude: and they'll put it about more than you Jac: It's shit Jac: it'd be a better use of time finding a decent counselor Jude: you could tell her that when she's talking to you again Jac: Yeah well Jac: maybe everyone needs to stop trying to tell her what to do Jude: alright, fair Jude: I didn't need to go off on you either Jude: my bad Jac: You aren't the first Jac: don't worry about it Jude: I am though Jude: I don't wanna go out, I don't want you to go out Jac: Come on, don't be stupid Jac: it's not as if there's a maniac on the loose Jac: a boy pushed his luck at a party, it's nothing new, nothing to be scared of Jude: a lad I reckoned was alright Jude: like I said, nobody's got a sign on Jude: everything's gone weird now Jac: People can't be trusted Jac: if you've been going around thinking they can, you're lucky nothing bad has happened to you Jude: some people Jude: you trust Sav, don't you? Jac: I know her Jac: properly Jac: she isn't some random at parties Jude: you didn't know her from birth, like Jac: nothing is ever airtight Jac: obviously Jac: but if she was anything close to what that lad was, it'd be out by now Jude: but if you knew what that lad was like why did you let Izzy go off with him? Jac: Who said I did? Jac: not trusting people as a default doesn't mean I know they aren't to be Jude: well yeah Jac: If she wants to go off with a lad, it's not my place to stop her Jac: or do a background check before she does Jude: would you let me? Jac: We would never be at the same party Jude: I'd never be at one of Sav's Jude: she's at like a 4/10 at this point Jac: I don't care what you think Jude: bit rude Jac: You are Jac: this conversation has nothing to do with her Jude: why are you being so touchy about her? Jac: because this conversation was already close to pointless so I don't need it to get any further off track Jude: I'm bringing some normality back to it Jac: I don't have time for this, seriously Jude: my bad, AGAIN Jude: come on Jac: I'm sick of it Jac: I don't want to talk about this anymore Jude: I know but it's shit when we don't talk Jac: Well Jac: there's not much else going on with me today so Jude: is there owt I can DO then? Jude: dad's camped by the kettle already, like Jac: Keep them busy Jac: I need to go somewhere Jude: no challenge in that Jude: are you going to see Sav? Jac: Tah Jac: yeah, might take a while Jude: is she alright? Jac: No, she's really upset Jac: and her family are driving her crazy Jude: I have just the thing up my sleeve to keep ours busy for time Jude: on you go Jac: Good Jac: in a bit Jude: later then Jude: [skip skip skip] Jude: is Sav still upset? Jude: cos mum and dad are driving me crazy now Jude: they're FUMING 😡🤬 Jac: It's safe to say we're past the point of you needed to distract them Jude: I've got a good work ethic Jude: if a job's worth doing Jac: Very impressive, like Jude: tah, makes one of us Jude: meant to chuck your phone 🚮 you rookie Jac: I have Jac: check the IP address if you really fancy it Jude: 🤓 Jude: how long you gonna take the piss for? Jac: It's not about that Jude: what's it about then? Jac: having time and space Jude: everyone's saying Sav broke up with her boyfriend cos of what happened to Izzy Jude: if she's chucked her phone too she won't know Jac: She broke up with him before then Jac: you can spread that if you wanna Jude: it's nowt to do with me, just saying in case you wanna warn her Jac: Well she's not there to have to listen Jac: if people are tarring Tyler with the same brush as Carter, it'd be the decent thing to do to put that out there Jude: you can't stay away forever Jude: but alright, cos they're saying bad shit about him and all his mates and I don't fuck with that Jac: People might learn to keep quiet if they realize they could be next Jude: bit unlikely Jac: not really Jac: Ty and his friends are popular Jude: not right now Jac: that's my point Jude: yeah I got that Jude: nobody thinks any of this bollocks is gonna land at their feet, that's mine Jude: everyone wants to be special, untouchable and so on Jude: 👑✨ Jac: well if the ⭐s ain't then no one is Jude: I'm here for that, fuck cliques, this ain't America Jac: Unlikely Jude: 🙄😏 Jac: I'm serious Jac: I don't care what anyone at that school thinks now Jude: you don't, your best mate might Jac: She doesn't Jac: it's way below where our concerns are Jac: or have ever been Jude: he's her well recent ex Jude: everyone knows she loved him Jac: Like I said, you can defend his innocence Jac: She dumped him Jude: alright Jude: you ain't found time or space to be less touchy, I get it Jac: I clearly don't want to talk Jac: take the hint Jude: nah Jac: Jesus Jude: you don't get to just do one so easily, take that hint Jac: well I have Jac: and I can log off any time I want Jude: this isn't how you handle shit, anyone with a clue would put money on me legging it before you Jac: then, again, you'd all be wrong Jude: it was all her idea, yeah? Jude: if her family are that relentless you know they'd let her stay Jude: it doesn't have to be some checked in to heartbreak hotel moment Jac: No, it was mine Jac: I don't want to be there Jac: I don't know how you don't get that Jude: nobody wants any of this to be happening but it is Jude: it was you who told me to face up to the fact, how long ago, like? Jac: And I told you, I had things to do Jac: This has little to nothing to do with Isabelle Jude: ❌ running off into the sunset with Savannah off your list then Jude: you ain't missed a day of school in such a properly long time that my mates had that bet running for ages and all lost, remember? Jude: you're the weirdo that goes in 😷🤒🤕🤢🤮🤧💀👻 Jac: Some things are more important Jude: what's so important you need a room with an expensive view to do it in? Jac: Staying sane Jac: not being around to listen to that bullshit and worse Jude: it'll be here when you have to come back Jude: be my sister and pull the 🩹 off Jude: none of this is Jac behaviour Jac: Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought Jude: if in your own words this has nowt to do with Izzy, it's nowt you can't handle Jude: things were bad when you fell out with Mills, you stayed sane and around for that Jac: She didn't get assaulted by nobody Jude: it wasn't your fault that Izzy did Jac: That's not how it feels Jac: or what everyone will say Jude: nobody's saying it and I'd stop it if they were Jac: I'm sick of being treated like I did something wrong Jude: massive dickheads are the only ones who'd try and 1. I'm not gonna let 'em 2. you don't care what people like that think Jude: you're stronger and braver than their bullshit Jac: It's all of you Jac: asking so many questions Jac: Sav's parents want to lock her up Jude: it's mum and dad's job to worry and lay the law down, like Jude: I could've done better with it, alright, I know Jude: but if you reckon Sav's parents are headcases now, leaving it even longer ain't a decent plan Jude: you're the family genius, come on Jac: You worry them, they start to listen Jac: instead of saying how it is and how it's going to be Jude: you're the oldest, everyone knows what that means Jac: We aren't coming back until this calms down and they're willing to be reasonable Jac: that's that Jude: running away don't calm down anything 💥🔥🌪 Jac: Then we won't be coming back any time soon Jac: they're the adults and that's what they need to be about this Jude: what about school? Jac: It doesn't matter Jac: it's not like we have exams or anything soon Jude: school's what mattered most to you since you started going 🤓 Jac: So, I'm smarter than everyone else Jac: I don't need to worry about falling behind Jude: it IS you! Jude: I'm not just talking to a drifter wearing your skin Jac: 🙄 Jude: 😜 Jac: You're an idiot Jude: you'll miss me when you've had your time and space Jac: Unlikely Jude: 💔🥶 Jude: give Sav my love cos she'll 100% miss me Jac: Hilarious Jude: I'll be here all week 🤣🎤 Jac: Sorry to hear that, like Jude: I'll live, like Jac: Would you like me to 💔? Jude: don't fake owt for me Jude: rarely works out Jac: So I hear Jude: well those of us who ain't in the top % have books to read and not like, doodle all over or make planes out of Jude: ✌️😝 Jude: you know where I'LL be if you need ME, we're only fucked on the vice versa Jac: I'd like to say that was a nice try Jude: me too but Jac: Piss poor is more like it Jude: 🥉 Jude: [skip skip skip again] Jude: I can't knock all night, our dear brother will throw his other 👟 at me Jude: you're scaring me Jude: use some big words I can't get my head round Jac: Leave Jude: Jac Jac: No Jude: what happened? Jac: Nothing Jude: something has cos you weren't this person, like, a day ago Jude: and you said you weren't coming back for ages Jac: Here I am Jude: where's Savannah? Jude: you know I'll ask her Jac: No you won't Jude: use a full sentence then Jac: Do not talk to her Jude: why won't you talk to me? Jude: what could be this bad? Jac: Just go Jac: please Jude: I'll be back tomorrow Jude: 🩹 yeah? Jude: longer you leave it Jac: Don't bother Jude: I ain't about to ignore the state you're in Jude: how did she hurt you? Jac: She didn't do anything Jude: who else did? Jac: No one Jude: Then what? Jac: I'm fine Jude: bollocks! Jac: I am Jude: nah Jude: you came in looking like you'd seen a 👻 Jac: don't want to be here Jude: did you and Sav have a fight or what? cos I don't get why you're back if you don't wanna be Jac: she had to come back Jude: do you want me to give her a ring? get her over? Jac: no Jude: you ARE mad at her then Jac: I'm not Jude: if you ain't 🗨 it's cos you're face-to-face Jude: something's off Jude: don't need to be the family genius, like Jac: she's not done anything Jude: have you? Jac: [does not reply] Jude: you can tell me Jude: I'll help you hide her body Jac: Shut up Jude: you talk and I'll listen Jude: what did you do? Jac: I can't Jude: whatever it is, it won't be as bad as it feels right now Jude: she's your best friend, she'll come back round to that Jude: she just needs to be dramatic for a bit Jac: You have no clue Jude: clue me in then Jac: I don't want to Jac: this is my business Jac: what part of this don't you get, just stop it Jude: alright Jude: you still know where I am Jac: 👍

[punkscowardschampions]

Buster & Rio

Buster: Can you come over? I don't care if it has to be late Rio: What's wrong? Are you okay? Buster: No. And I don't wanna be alone here, with this shit, that'll make it worse Rio: Coming as soon as I can Rio: What has she said? Done? Buster: She's threatening to tell everyone about us and stop me seeing Jay if I don't dump you and get back with her Buster: It's fucking stupid and mostly not happening but Christ, I'm so tired Buster: And sick of her Rio: You know she can't stop you Rio: but if you have to then do Rio: Leave me, I mean, not the bit where you bow to her every whim and marry her at once Rio: if it makes it easier to keep seeing Jay, then I get it Rio: I don't know what I'll do but Buster: Fuck off. I won't. I love you Buster: I love Jay too, obviously, but like you said, she can't stop me seeing her Buster: I'll go to court, I don't care Rio: You know I love you too Rio: but I don't want to make your life any more difficult than it is already with her in it Buster: You're the only thing keeping me sane and you know it Buster: I can't lose you Rio: Okay Rio: You're sure? Rio: If you are, then I'll stand by you and support you 1000% Rio: Of course, I will Buster: 'Course I am. I know it felt a bit, I don't know how to even describe it, going from where we were to like bracelets and 'I love you's ' or whatever but it's been a long time coming, yeah? Buster: And I swear I mean it. I'm so sure Rio: Yeah Rio: Me too Rio: I just wish the rest wasn't such a fucking mess Rio: How are we going to face all the people we have to face Buster: I have no fucking clue, honestly, but I know I'll support you in whatever you wanna do or say Buster: We'll handle it together. Somehow Rio: I'm trying to think faster than she can post Rio: We have to get it out there before she does, right? Rio: At least it'll be the truth, I can own that better than whatever story she's concocting rn Buster: Yeah Buster: And it'll be better coming from us, I reckon, still a shock but Buster: They'll see where we're coming from instead of her POV Buster: Though maybe it's better for everyone to think we're just fucking and we can stop? I don't know Buster: That's what she believes Rio: But when we don't Rio: They're just going to think...Fuck knows Rio: I don't think it'll be good but Rio: I just don't know, I can't predict what anyone is going to think or say Rio: Do Buster: We could always let her post it and leave until some of the backlash dies down. Not what a mature dad would do like Buster: But Buster: She doesn't think I am anyway so whatever, yeah? Rio: Where are we going to go? Rio: We can't stay away forever Buster: This is such a headfuck Buster: There's no time Buster: Thriving under pressure is one thing, but she's proper ambushed us Rio: I know, I feel sick Rio: Stalking her feeds like its love Buster: I can't even bring myself to have anything open on my phone other than this convo Buster: How are we even gonna get everyone together to tell them? There's so many of the fuckers Rio: I don't know, mass group chat seems a little blasé Rio: Maybe, we tell the most important ones, and fast Rio: and then let them tell who they need to etc Rio: Let word of mouth do the rest Buster: Fucking hell, Nance is in NYC, I can't be like excuse the time difference but I've gotta just ruin your life again potentially really quick Rio: Oh, fuck Rio: I wish I didn't love you like I do Rio: would be so much simpler, wouldn't it Buster: I know, but don't say that again, okay? Buster: I told Chlo I don't regret you and I meant it Buster: Even if I have to let mum and dad tell Nance and let her think that's how little I care about her Rio: I'm sorry, I don't want it in any other way, and I only want it that way for your benefit Rio: I don't want to hurt you, ever Rio: Run to NYC? Buster: Good Buster: I would if I thought she'd have me. But I've got no right to ask her for that Rio: What if I ask? Rio: Obviously we'd need a place to stay when the shit hits the fan but at least you can do it in person Buster: Yeah Buster: She deserves that much after me being such a shit brother, as Chlo was quick to remind me Rio: You've had your moments but she still loves you, Buster Buster: Maybe she shouldn't Buster: Maybe I should just stay away from her Rio: Why? Buster: She's finally landed on her feet with uni like, she doesn't need me ruining everything for her again Buster: She's close to you and I've taken the piss so much already, she might not understand why I'm doing this Rio: I know but Chlo isn't going to help her understand, is she? Rio: If we're doing this Rio: if its worth it, we have to go in Rio: we're going to hurt people, and its gonna be fucking horrible Rio: but, it'll hurt me to have to leave you, and that's the only alternative we have left Buster: You're right. Making a habit of being, yeah? Buster: Looks like I'm getting on another flight then Buster: If I pass uni myself at this point nobody can say shit about my ego Rio: You know you can, you will Rio: Obviously you have to tell her alone Rio: but do you want me to come? Rio: I have the funds Buster: I want nothing more but what about your family? Besides Billie they are all here Buster: If you want to tell your parents first I can't blame you Rio: Maybe I'm being a coward, but I'm not convinced Chlo will actually do anything, she would've just done it, surely? I think if you can keep her talking, even if its arguing, it gives us time...like its all she has over you Rio: She'd be a moron (more than she is) to just let go of it that easy Buster: I reckon you're onto something, babe Buster: Or you just really want a holiday like Rio: How did you guess? Rio: Gonna have time and desire to see all the sights, like Rio: I just think...I don't know, she might wanna hear my side too, maybe, and it might help if she does Buster: Yeah Buster: I wish we could take Jay. I hate the thought of leaving her with Chlo right now Buster: And she can work any room, 'course Buster: No chance of staying mad with that face around Rio: Yeah Rio: I don't trust her as a Mum, I wouldn't say that just 'cos I'm the petty new woman, you know that Rio: I seriously don't Rio: but you said her 'rents are decent and do most of the work Rio: Sure they still will be, they'll look after her, even if Chlo won't Buster: Same. It's what scares me about her. More than anything she's ever threatened Buster: Thank Christ she still lives at home Buster: And Jay's too young to believe any shit she says against me Rio: She's going to know who you are, and what a good Dad you are Rio: You'd never let Chlo get away with that, and Jay wouldn't believe her over you Rio: who's put in the actual work, after-all Rio: just another thing she'll lament about, wah wah no one loves me Buster: I need to believe that or I'll properly crack up like Rio: Its the truth Rio: I promise you Buster: You're the best Buster: I know it shouldn't be a competition of who I fucked over more or whatever but you or Erin would never do this Rio: Most wouldn't Rio: Unlucky for you, you found one who will go above and beyond to fuck up your life Buster: Yeah Buster: How soon could you leave for NYC? Rio: As soon as you can Rio: Not ideal for either of us but Rio: Gotta be done Buster: I'm emailing my professors to get extensions and shit as we speak, not that a family emergency anywhere near covers it Buster: Fuck's sake Rio: No shorthand for this situation Rio: Though I'm sure they'd all love to know the drama Buster: Oh fuck, all my old friends are gonna lap this up Buster: Been waiting on my fall from grace Rio: Do you care? Rio: Most of them were cunts, has to be said Buster: Only thinking of you, babe. Not to late for you to hit up James again and choose him instead Rio: Please Rio: He was good for a warm bed and nothing else, you fool Rio: Try to forget that ever happened, like Buster: Good. Me too Rio: I already wanted you then Buster: I know Buster: And you know I did too, yeah? Rio: I knew for definite after Rio: Got no poker face and the jealousy was palpable, babe Buster: Fuck off Buster: Not my fault you're proper desirable Rio: Just write that on a postcard and be done with it, I reckon Rio: They'll all understand Buster: You just saved us a trip. Well done Rio: Always thinking, me Rio: Now we can hide forever just you and me Buster: I'm thinking my ma's poker face skipped a generation and my daughter got it all Buster: Yeah. I'm looking at flights there and not back, casually Rio: I reckon you might be right Rio: she certainly knows how to wrap you around her little finger already Buster: You being giving her sly lessons? I know her mother can't teach her anything about that Rio: What can I say? Make the most of my time Rio: Nah, just a girl after my own heart, like Buster: Take your word on that like Buster: We might need that hustle you've got if my parents disown me so can't complain Rio: They won't will they? Mine either Rio: Oh God Buster: I don't see how mine can after how they got together Buster: Basically brother and sister depending who you ask Buster: But who knows Rio: And everyone knows about Joe and Ronnie but they still talk to them Rio: am I just being stupid and naive thinking it might end up okay? Rio: not just wishful thinking is it Buster: True. I forgot about them, which shows how many fucks I give Buster: We can do this Buster: It ain't illegal, even if Chlo reckons otherwise. I could marry you if I wanted like Rio: Yeah, it'll just be adjusting to it Rio: like we had to Rio: all we can do is give everyone time Rio: but they can't make us not Buster: Let them be mad if they gotta but I ain't Buster: I love you too much Rio: I love you Rio: I have to be with you Rio: I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't have been there for me throughout all the bad shit Buster: I know you'd have made it, but I'm still glad I was there anyway Buster: If only 'cause I'm a selfish cunt Rio: I don't know Rio: I just know I don't just need you, I want you too Rio: That's all Buster: I feel the same, trust me Buster: I know it's stupid but I can't help wondering what Edie would make of this Rio: Probably thank me for taking the heat off her... Rio: I think she'd get it, she got most things, even the shit other people didn't want to touch Buster: Yeah Buster: We can get a flight tomorrow if I throw enough cash at it. Can you handle that? Rio: Yes Rio: Let's do this Buster: Make sure you tell Indie at least Buster: We can worry about Nance at the last possible moment Rio: Will do, at least she can cover for me if needs Buster: My mum and dad probably won't notice I've gone unless Chlo goes through with her threat and the shit hits the fan Rio: She's not got the bottle Rio: We'll be back to tell them as soon as we can Buster: Actually want you to be a know-it-all Buster: What's the world come to? Rio: Fuck knows, babe Rio: It ain't coming to an end though, not like she wants Buster: Come over tonight and I'll take you home to get packed in the AM Buster: Not leaving your side Rio: Of course Rio: I'm going to take care of you Buster: You can prove that to me later Buster: There's nothing I want more Rio: I'm going to Rio: Gonna show you why I'm worth this Buster: I already know Buster: But I'm always ready for you to tell me again Rio: You deserve it Buster: So do you, babe Rio: I love you so fucking much Buster: I love you too Buster: No matter what Rio: We're gonna have it all, remember? Buster: I won't forget Buster: I'm packing and I swear any drawer I pull out either has something of Jay's in or something that doesn't belong there which she's helpfully put there Buster: It doesn't feel like she was here long enough to do all that Buster: And it's gonna kill me if I can't see her again sometime soon Rio: You will Rio: That's why we're sorting this now, and not running Rio: For her, yeah? Buster: Us too though. 'Cause it has to be better in the long run Buster: We've done our share of lying and not saying what we mean Rio: Yeah Rio: We would've always had to have done this Rio: or stop Rio: she's forced our hand but Rio: I'm so tired of the lies anyway Buster: Agreed. Tempting as it'd be to wait until Jay's in college herself, I can't either Buster: She's done us a favor really, which she'll love Rio: Yeah, let that fuel you Rio: She's going to get nothing from this, she's only gonna fuck herself up Buster: Exactly. I tried to warn her as much Rio: She can't be told anything Rio: Fuck her Buster: Not again, cheers Rio: I'd be jealous but even my brain can't make that scenario believable Buster: Thank Christ 'cause if it could I'd have to reckon you don't know me like I thought you did Rio: No one's that self-destructive Rio: Not even you Buster: No arguments here Rio: Good Buster: Bad enough I did it the once Rio: Thank God for Jay Rio: otherwise that'd be nothing but an awkward regret forreal Buster: Any other mother if I could though, honestly Buster: I'd rather it was Indie even Rio: Um, I wouldn't Rio: She is all you though, sure you could've got her from someone else like Buster: Yeah? You reckon Buster: I wonder what the next one will be like when she's born Rio: Same Rio: Exciting Buster: We've been throwing some names around and none of them have made me cringe like Chlo's choice of middle name for Jay so that's a start Rio: That's a start Rio: All I know is she'll be dead cute too Buster: I'm sure Erin will be well happy you feel that way about her like Buster: But seriously, you're too much and I can't get enough of you still Rio: Shut up, she might not legit try and murder me like Chlo but I still don't think I should try my luck, like Buster: You'd be within your rights to murder Chlo yourself, some of the shit she said Rio: Yeah? Rio: Can't say I'm surprised Buster: I wasn't either Buster: Shut her up anyway though Rio: 'Course you did, so chivalrous forever Rio: My hero Buster: What can I say? I know what you like Buster: She tried to talk shit about Nancy too Rio: Cunt Rio: Nance is 10 times the person she'll ever be Buster: Yeah Buster: She proved it by bringing her up, as if she hadn't done enough already Buster: Trying to call her a freak 'cause in her mind it compares, the monsters she reckons we are and Nance being gay Rio: Shown herself up there Rio: Think what you like about us but get with the times on the gay thing, babe Buster: And she thinks she's the one fit to raise my daughter while I ain't Buster: Jay could be gay for all we know Rio: I don't think she even thinks that, she just chats shit for her own benefit Rio: She can't possibly think she's doing good Rio: Don't know if she cares Buster: Pretty sure she doesn't Buster: She basically said she only wanted Jay so she could play happy families with me Buster: Like there was no point to being a parent if she couldn't have that Rio: What the fuck Rio: She's so Rio: You had no say, she did Rio: she should've really wanted her Rio: So horrible Buster: I wish I could take Jay off her but there's no way Rio: Yeah that'd be near impossible Rio: She's not that level of awful Rio: When you're finished with Uni, set up, she'll have to custody share properly Rio: Get that sorted Buster: Yeah Buster: Maybe she'll get better over time, once the new baby is here and me and you are still going strong, giving her no choice but to accept things even if she doesn't want to see sense Rio: Can but hope, babe Buster: Fuck it I'm coming there. I need a drink. Buster: And seeing you wouldn't hurt either Rio: Yeah? Rio: I won't be mad about that either Buster: I'll stay until you're done. Keep you company like you've done for me Rio: I'll get to pouring Buster: Good Buster: Be there soon