#the idea of her fucking whiling away the hours making mind maps in some swanky study her parents bought her

[yourfatherjustinmcelroy]

Rewatching the first few episodes of fhjy because i guess i have nothing better to do and the way you can see how kibblespilly was supposed to be a counter to riz is so fucking funny. Its all there from the very beginning- the attitude, the tactics, the way she interacts with the party and everything- this is supposed to be riz's counterpart to run against him for student body president and have a terrible battle of wits and barbs

But in a twist that is perhaps THE most befitting to her ideal story of running against the boy she chose to be her antagonist, the intrepid heroes just straight up not taking the bait resulting in her instead having to go toe to toe against her idealized perfect rival's aggressive near-flunkie unsubtle chaotic friend is SO FUNNY.

Like I know some people are disappointed we dont get the riz vs kipperlily presidential whatever, I know it doesnt make tons of sense in that specific narrative way. But the fucking hilarious meta that even this didnt go her way is so funny. Because instead of rogue sneaking and behind the shadows plays and spy vs spy shit, we have just outward schoolyard taunts and shit like kristen exploding and jumping over the school and the exact kind of play that baits kipperlily into rage every single time and its so fucking funny. Kristen runs naked through the school and does party stunts and is STILL BEATING HER. She even clearly constructed her party to mirror the bad kids perfectly and craft each of them their own nemesis/counterpart and for the most part it like kind of worked EXCEPT FOR HER.

It must drive her fucking crazy that her cute little plot of rogue vs rogue didnt pan out at fucking all despite ALL the signs pointing to that making the most sense. This was something she just couldnt predict, couldnt mastermind. She got up onto that metaphorical stage for a debate and instead was met with a clowning act. Its so funny. I love fantasy high. Nothing you could have done would have changed this, fourdogs. You never had any power at all.

[fific7]

Ticket to Ride - Part 2

Billy Russo x Reader

A/N: Inspired by The Beatles song of the same name. This takes place in my S1 Punisher AU with Arrogant!Billy in attendance, in which he gets a taste of his own medicine.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW due to sexual content, including oral, between consenting adults* in some chapters. Drinking and swearing.

*Irl, please don’t go wild in the country without protection.

(My photo edit)

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕒𝕚𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕞𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕖𝕣 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟, 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕙

𝕊𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕓𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕟 𝕀 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕

𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖

𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖

𝕊𝕙𝕖'𝕤 𝕘𝕠𝕥 𝕒 𝕥𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕓𝕦𝕥 𝕤𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The aircraft door opened and you stepped out gratefully onto the air jetty. You weren’t scared of flying, you just didn’t like being cooped up in a flying tube for several hours on end. Up an escalator and along a short corridor and then you were able to see outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The sky was beginning to shade into the colours it would take on for dusk. It looked like it had been a nice day and you hoped the good weather would continue for your stay.

Karen had texted you while you were sitting on the plane at JFK, waiting for it to push back. Frank had told her that Micro had tracked your phone to the airport so boy, were you glad you’d turned off your old phone and switched to the new one when you did. She’d also told you that Billy had asked him to find out where you were headed, and your heart sank. You knew it wouldn’t take long for Micro’s vast and nerdy computer skills to find you but then again, London was a huge city and they’d have no idea whereabouts in it you’d gone to ground, thanks to your new ‘burner phone’.

You were feeling super-excited. This was beginning to feel like an action movie, with you on the run from the bad guys.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“London??!!” Billy shouted, making Frank quickly move his phone away from his ear on the other end. “Yeah, London,” he replied.

Billy was back at his usual post by the window. “I mean... obviously I knew she was gonna fly somewhere but I thought it would the West coast, Miami, Seattle, Alaska... somewhere like that. But to go to a whole other continent....!!!!” Frank sighed, “Yeah, Bill, sounds like she’s really not keen to bump into you anytime soon.” “Yeah, thanks for remindin’ me.” “Bill, you brought this on yourself, buddy.” “I know!” yelled Billy, “An’ all I wanna do is get her back and make it up to her for the rest of my life, and all I know is she’s in London! Do you know how big that place is?” “Yeah, I do. And t’be honest... I dunno how you’re gonna even try to find her over there.”

There was a silence on the other end of the phone. “I mean...” Frank continued, “I’m guessin’ you are gonna go over there and try to find her, Bill?”

Billy’s shoulder twitched upwards briefly, and he stared intently out the window at the New York skyline.

“Yeah, Frankie... yeah, I damn well am.”

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

You’d left two of your big suitcases and the backpacks in a luggage storage facility at JFK, travelling with just the one suitcase and a large shoulder bag. You took the overground Heathrow Express to Paddington before negotiating a change onto the Tube to reach Tower Hill DLR station, boarding one of the driverless trains out to Canary Wharf. Settling back into your seat, feeling pretty proud of yourself for managing not to get hopelessly lost.

Your AirBnB apartment was in a part of the city called Docklands, beside the Thames on the Isle of Dogs. It was an area of shiny skyscraper offices and fancy apartment blocks built round the old docks, and your accommodation for the next two weeks was in one of those. You were suitably impressed when you got inside it... open plan, all trendy furniture and gleaming fittings. Big, big windows with views of the river and the tall buildings.

Your phone chimed and you saw a text from Karen on your notifications. Taking your suitcase and bag into the bedroom, you went back out to the main area and sat on the sofa to read it. Oh. Billy now knew you were in London, and had apparently booked a flight over - he’d be arriving tomorrow. Your heart rate sped up; Billy was a sniper, used to finding, stalking, watching his prey. But, you told yourself, he had no idea whereabouts in the city you were and no way of finding you.

Relax.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy stepped off the Heathrow Express, looking around for signs indicating where the taxi rank was. He’d been looking at the Tube map during the train journey. Nah, fuck that.

He was too wired to even think about getting to London Bridge on the Underground, or ‘Tube’ as he found out Londoners called it. His brain had been working overtime trying to figure out how the hell he was going to find her in a city the size of London. She’d stay central, surely - she wouldn’t head to the suburbs, he felt confident of that.

Getting into the first taxi in the queue, he drawled out, “The Shard, please.” The taxi driver nodded and pulled away from the station without saying anything. Thank fuck, thought Billy, I can’t be dealing with a talker right now. But just as the thought had left his head, the driver’s London accent said, “First time in London, guv?” Billy sighed, “No. No, it isn’t.” In fact it was, but he wasn’t about to tell the driver that. He’d only end up getting taken on the ‘scenic route’, double the time, double the price.

The driver grunted and turned up the radio... really annoying music could now be heard but Billy would take that over inane small talk any day. He looked out of the windows at the city streets and his mind went back to his mission. Mission impossible. Finally he saw the river and the taxi crossed a wide bridge before pulling up outside the lofty skyscraper that was The Shard. According to the blurb he’d read on some travel website it was the tallest in Western Europe, and while there were taller buildings in New York, the shape of this one made it look quite dramatic.

He paid and got out of the taxi with his expensive wheeled duffel bag, heading to the Shangri La entrance of The Shard and going inside. (It’s one of the priciest hotels in London - of course). Checked in at reception on the 35th floor, he was then whisked up to his room on the 52nd by another express lift. The windows were huge and the views spectacular.

Once again, he was gazing out of a window at a cityscape.

Where is she?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Your first full day, you occupied yourself with getting to know the surrounding area, doing some grocery shopping and sitting on your large balcony, enjoying the view and relaxing with a glass of wine.

Every time a plane went overhead you wondered if Billy was on it - he was due here today. You shook yourself a little, you’d just have to stop thinking about it. He wouldn’t find you.

Your mind wandered unbidden to his recent behaviour. Knowing Billy was a player from day one, you’d still got involved with him. More fool you. Another old cliché.... you thought you’d be the one to change him. And you thought you had. You’d dated him for a few months, he seemed to have ditched his old hound-dog ways and when he’d asked you to move in with him, you’d agreed without thinking it over too deeply.

Now, looking back, it seems like you’d made a big mistake.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Micro had spent quite some time constructing a query table that he could run against accommodation reservations in London for her arrival day. She had no reason to book under another name and he’d just have to run with that assumption.

When Billy had come directly to him instead of going via Frank to ask that he try and track down her reservation, Micro had been too scared to refuse. Billy still really unsettled him - he always reminded him of a circling predator.

This query would take a while to run. He hit the go button and wandered off to work on another project while it tunnelled its way through layer upon layer of data.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy was pacing his swanky hotel room like a caged panther. He’d given up on the idea of roaming the streets of London trying to spot his target, that was just one dumbass idea. He’d never find her that way, much better to just wait on that geeky twat to come up with the answer with his internet wizardry.

He’d spoken to Frank earlier, who had nothing new to report. Billy wouldn’t allow himself to feel guilty at cutting him out of the loop on his recent ask to Micro. He wasn’t stupid enough to believe that Frank wouldn’t mention it to Karen. Much as he loved him like a brother, Frank was a big sap when it came to Karen and he knew he’d give in and tell her, probably sooner rather than later.

However Frank had told him that Madani had called earlier that day, wanting to know where Billy was and why she couldn’t get in touch with him. Billy had figured out that his girl had got herself a new phone, and he’d followed suit. Which is why Dinah hadn’t been able to reach him. “Whaddya tell her?”he’d asked. “That you were on an overseas operation and were incommunicado.” “Good,” nodded Billy, “....that takes care of that little problem for a while at least,” feeling a sense of relief.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Frank cut the call, a grim smile on his face. He hadn’t been completely straight with Billy, but it was for his own good. What he’d told Madani, however, had been the unadulterated gospel truth.

He’d said to her that Billy had hared off to Europe in pursuit of his live-in girlfriend, who’d suspected him of cheating on her and left him. He was absolutely determined to get her back.

He’d taken great satisfaction in the dead silence on the other end of the line, eventually punctuated by an angry snort and the call being abruptly ended.

That ‘little problem’ was hopefully taken care of for good.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Micro looked at his phone as it beeped at him, the notification saying that his query was complete. That had taken much longer than he thought it would. Now he could only hope it hadn’t returned too many matches as he’d thought it prudent to run it on surname only.

He pulled up the results table and was pleased to see that there were only a thousand or so, he’d feared there would be many more. He scrolled through the list and quickly pinpointed the one he’d been looking for.

With a deep sigh he picked up his phone, typed “Wood Wharf, Water St, London E14”, a building and apartment number into a new message, then hit send. It would be the early hours of the following morning in London, so he very much doubted that Billy would leap out of bed and head right over there.

He finished eating his supper, drank a beer and settled down to watch TV when his conscience started bothering him. Should he? He shivered when he thought about what Russo might do to him if he found out.

Popping another bottle of beer open, he sat and contemplated what he should do for quite a while. He suddenly picked up his phone, sending a quick text to Frank telling him about the whole situation and including the fact that Russo now had her London address.

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While you were lounging on your balcony, sipping your wine and watching the world go by, it suddenly occurred to you that this would be a great base to work out of for a while. You messaged the estate agent and extended your stay to one month, with an option to extend if required.

Then, on a whim, you booked a flight to Barcelona early the next morning from City Airport - it was really close to your apartment even if the flights were a bit more expensive. You’d been doing a little research into other destinations to explore, and having a base in London to travel to and from made you feel much more comfortable. The W Barcelona had caught your eye while you’d been browsing for accommodation and as you were only going for a few nights, you’d booked in there.

Feeling extremely pleased with yourself, you got up and went into your bedroom, looking for a folded-up smaller travel bag you knew you’d packed in your luggage. Finding it, you began to choose some outfits for your short trip, thinking what a joy it was that you could now leave your large suitcase here.

But damn, you were going to have to be up early tomorrow. Best to get an early night, you thought, immediately yawning.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Billy shot up in bed as his phone chimed with Micro’s text. When he read the information in the text, contrary to Micro’s belief he did leap out of bed and started pulling on his clothes (Micro had forgotten that this was an ex-Marine he was dealing with here).

He sat back down on the bed and googled the location. Oh okay, East London.... Docklands. Too far to walk and he didn’t think the Tube ran at this hour. Then he pulled up the Uber app and booked an immediate pick-up.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

Walking into the terminal building at City Airport, you were in the middle of a total yawning fit when a text came in. It was from Karen and you stopped, putting down your bag so you could read it.

Karen: Sorry to tell you this hon, but Billy went direct to Micro 🙄 and intimidated him into finding your London accom. Frank’s told him not to do that again no matter how much he’s shitting himself! Please take care of yourself 💋

You: Bastard 👿 thanks for the heads-up, I will do 😘

Picking your bags up again, you hurried over to one of the automated check-in machines to get your luggage tag.

Whoever had said ‘timing is everything’ had definitely got that right.

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

“Oi!!!” yelled an irate male voice. Billy turned his head to see a groggy-looking tousle-haired guy, obviously just having been woken up. “Keep the noise down!”

Billy said nothing, just gave the guy his death stare. His head quickly disappeared back inside his apartment.

After pressing the buttons of a few apartment numbers at the main entrance, someone had buzzed him in and he’d been pounding on her apartment door for the last five minutes. But there was no response, and he knew she wasn’t that heavy a sleeper.

He slid tiredly down onto the floor outside her door. Had she somehow known he was on his way over here? No.... how would she know that?

His head dropped down in momentary defeat and he ran his fingers through his hair, groaning.

She hadn’t moved on already, had she?

»»————————————-———-　⚜　———————————-————-««

The plane lifted off the tarmac, and immediately you felt a huge sense of relief. You just weren’t ready to see Billy right now - you’d probably kill him if you did, ex-Marine or not.

Now you were off on your next adventure.

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London

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@blackbirddaredevil23 @galaxyjane @omgrachwrites @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @ourloveisforthelovely @swthxrry @odetostep @supernaturalcat7 @obscurilicious @strawb3rrydr3ss

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[adrift-in-writing]

Français Between Us - Chapter 5

Took near half a month to do because of me being a preoccupied piece of shit, but here we are.

Read on AO3

Summary: In which Lena gets her mind blown three times in one day.

______________________

Coffee.

If one thing Lena learned, this was probably a mistake and a half. Coffee was the worst fucking idea she had ever planned, mainly because she hadn’t the slightest clue where to even start looking, let alone taste the blends of French coffee. In short, she knew fuckall about coffee around these parts.

But she promised, and she didn’t like breaking promises. On top of, this was her college professor she was asking out on a friendly outing. There was no way she could back out of it without hurting Professor Lacroix’s feelings after she had earned her trust.

The final hours of the university slowly trickled away as Friday afternoon eventually came. Students and professors alike were more than ready to get comfortable into the weekend, yet there was still so much to be done before their first official break was to be scheduled.

Nevertheless, when the bell rang, every student was more than glad it was over, and Lena headed straight towards Amélie’s office once more. A nerve-wracking wave of anxiety rushed inside her, but the student furrowed her eyebrows and grumbled to herself.

You asked for this, Lena. Woman up. Win her trust some more. Ask her how her day was doing! Simple shit! Why can’t you do something so simple?!

All those thoughts roamed around in her head. Eventually, when she had made it to the vicinity of the office, things mellowed out on her end. At least, until Gérard burst through the office door, looking worried. They were speaking native French, which Lena had been able to easily decipher.

“Amélie, please! ” He pleaded to no avail. The door between them had been left open only enough that Gérard’s from covered most of the interior space within, thus obscuring Miss Lacroix from view.

“For the last time, Gérard, I am going to be unavailable this afternoon and this weekend. I ask you to leave, I expect you to comply.”

Amélie’s voice had a very uneasy sense of calmness to it, which seemed to scare Gérard more than anything.

“ Loin avec vous. ” Amélie ordered, now harsher in tone. Before her assistant could even react, the professor slammed the door shut and applied her ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign up, in comparison to the previous ‘Please Knock’ sign.

“Great…” Gérard muttered, rubbing his cheek. It had been noticeably red - presumably from being slapped - and walked away. Seemingly oblivious that Lena was nearby, he resumed his own daily tasks that the professor set him up to do, though now in deep shame.

Nervously swallowing, Lena clenched her hand into a fist, and gently knocked on the door. Even though this was a fairly stupid idea given how easily irritated her professor’s mood was, she did it anyway.

A couple moments later, Amélie rapidly opened up the door and prepared to deliver a lecture. “I thought I told you that I --” She stopped mid-way, only to find that Lena was standing in her presence, rather than that annoyance of a man in her stead. Her expression changed from a stern glower to one of soft kindness. Then, a smile spread itself on her lips. She cleared her throat, trying to remember her English.

“Ah. Lena. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to lecture. I hope you didn’t see me with my assistant.”

Her student giggled some, and scratched her head. “Well...you two argue like a married couple if I gotta be honest. ‘Cept it’s one-sided.”

Professor Lacroix rolled her eyes. “Married? Tch, doubtful.” For a moment, she considered the idea before deeming it too silly, and she leaned her shoulder on the doorway. “He’s three years my age and yet he acts like a boy. I’d only want to marry a man - a grown one at that.”

“So you’re saying he’s not your type?”

“No, he just...” Amélie drifted off, though she shook her head a few times and blinked. “Where are you going with this? Don’t we have a coffee date?”

The word ‘date’ caught Lena off-guard, and made her feel flushed. Last she remembered, this was a simple, friendly, non-romantic coffee ‘outing’. Nope. Not a date. Not a date whatsoever. She wanted to correct her professor, but knowing how she felt, Lena would only stumble over words like the gay nerd she was.

Instead, she just nodded, and actively tried not looking at Amélie directly.

“Well, did you find us a place?”

Sadly, this was where Lena had to respond back with a negative head-shake. She lowered her head. She was no expert on finding any baristas around Paris, nor any decently good location. In fact, the past few weeks she’d buried herself in work just for the first exam that she had no time to do anything.

Regardless, Amélie softly chuckled and grinned. “Always have a Plan B. I know a good place somewhere on Rue Cler . You can probably see the Tour de Eiffel from there, too.”

“Really?” Lena perked up suddenly, now filled with relief they could at least hang out together. “What’s the name?”

“It’s the Cygne Noir Café. I am positive you won’t mistake it for any other building in the market street.”

If memory served her right, she had stopped by Rue Cler once. Though, Lena couldn’t recall worth shit if she saw a sign that read Cygne Noir or not. Also if memory served her right, she accidentally made her way there instead of getting there on purpose. When she did, she nearly got in a minor car accident due to how narrow the street was that day.

GPS could serve her well on finding a suitable parking lot, or at least helping navigate to where Miss Lacroix wanted her to be. The student just pulled out her phone and dialed in notes for the maps app to find, and within moments, it presented her a perfectly viable route to drive in no less than twenty some minutes with good traffic.

Amélie had placed a hand on Lena’s shoulder and put up that warm smile of hers again. “I’m going home really quick to change, if that’s okay.”

“...Change? And here I thought the only thing in your wardrobe was professional clothes!”

“Very funny. Now, I’ll meet you at the café later, yes?”

A simple nod from Lena was all it took for Amélie to nod back. “ Bon. I look forward to it.”

________________________

Despite being one of the most famous market streets in all of Paris, Rue Cler on a Friday afternoon seemed surprisingly calm. It was rare to even find a good parking spot - even rarer that it was right next to the market itself - but Lena had made it after some diligent searching.

No building around the area as far as she was concerned had the sign of a Cygne Noir anywhere to be found. Things seemed to be lost, until Lena turned the corner and checked on the building on the opposite side of the market.

A rather tall building with a swanky looking black swan as their logo. In a fancy font just next to the swan, it read, ‘Cygne Noir Café’ . There seemed to be people all the way on the rooftops, judging by one person’s arm hanging off of the railing.

Lena had gone inside, now noticing the elevator up towards the terrace above. The atmosphere in here was rather cozy, and the smell of freshly brewed caffeine and some other smell lingered about. Was it bread or...meats? That just made absolutely no sense.

That is, until she looked at the board filled with various assortments of light comfort food and assortments of coffee products, from a cup of coffee to purchasing bags of coffee beans - hell, there was even different flavored coffee cakes up for grabs if people wanted something fresh and new.  Somehow, all of this fancy stuff was something Lena could actually afford on a college budget. How they managed to keep business booming and rake in enough positive revenue was beyond her.

Service seemed fast enough, and Lena had already asked for a medium-sized cup of medium-roasted cappuccino with milk. If she had known her mixes better she’d have probably ordered something more extravagant, but something simple instead suited her just fine.

When Lena had taken her seat next to a window, only then could she hear the snazzy and upbeat lounge music playing over the loudspeakers. While her coffee was still fairly hot, she let it simmer down. It was nice and all that she could at least relax now, but... Amélie had yet to show up. The sights outside of the window were more of a treat to her eyes, and yes indeed - she could, in fact, see the Eiffel Tower from here. It’d probably be best if it were on the terrface above, but today, she felt like staying indoors.

With that, Lena pulled out her phone and began waiting around, opting to listen to her own tunes rather than the lounge music. She casually surfed the web, checked her grades, and caught up reading up text messages between herself and her friends, alongside occasionally took small sips of her coffee. If nothing else, she was buried in her little screen pressing buttons to send messages back and forth, just waiting there.

Eventually, in the midst of her tunes changing tracks, she had an earbud unplugged to make sure nobody would be ignored on accident. Lena’s eyes were closed for the most part, and her coffee was perfectly warm to drink still. Then, within earshot, she heard the sound of a throat clearing.

“I hope I didn’t make you wait too long, mon amie .”

Without looking, Lena took one sip of her coffee again and opened her eyes.

Amélie had already taken a seat down, softly smiling with her glasses on and her hair now down instead of into a ponytail. Now, instead of her regular professor attire, she had worn a beige autumn sweater and a pair of dark blue jeans and...purple sneakers.

“Ho--” Lena choked upon seeing her professor the way she was now. She coughed up her drink and almost fell out of her chair trying to calm herself.

Who was this? This couldn’t be Amélie! The Professor Lacroix she knew was uptight and looked reserved, and also...so, so intimidating. The person in front of her looked rather nerdy and casual. No way they were the same person!

All that preparation for not being gay on this outing? Thrown out the goddamn window. Lena’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment and timidness when she got back in her seat, and now she was bouncing her leg up and down from the anxiety of it all.

Shit, Lena thought to herself, It’s just like the first day I met her all over again, but times two!

She took a few deep breaths and nervously swallowed, trying so hard not to look at her professor lest she get slain by her beauty again.

Don’t let your gay show, Oxton. Don’t let your gay show!

“Your gay is showing, Lena.” Amélie softly chuckled, pressing her chin onto her hand. “Are you that surprised to see me this way?”

Rapidly, Lena shook her head and felt uncomfortably hot. “N-No! No, absolutely not! I-I’m just uhh...umm…” She actively searched around for a bathroom, or at least somewhere to hide in shame.

“Well, there you go again, babbling like a buffoon.” Miss Lacroix had teased. “You must be really happy to see me.”

She couldn’t take it anymore. She was sweating bullets at this point, and felt the gentle flutter of butterflies in her stomach. If Lena didn’t collect herself right fucking now , she’d probably faint, or do something stupid.

“I gotta go to the bathroom!” The student exclaimed, standing up. She accidentally tripped herself within the first step out of her chair, further embarrassing herself in front of her professor. She daren’t look back, in fear that Amélie was getting a kick out of this.

The first person she had made contact with afterwards was a waitress who gave her directions to the bathroom, and the same waitress who would arrive with Amélie’s little cake and her cup of coffee. While Lena was gone, Professor Lacroix began snacking on her dessert.

Meanwhile in the bathroom…

Lena hurriedly splashed cold water on her face, trying to cool herself off from that little episode outside. She took deep breaths, still furiously blushing from witnessing Amélie. On top of that, her professor was right. She ended up looking like a blithering idiot - and that was only backed by the fact she fell on a flat surface.

“Woman up, remember? Woman up! Woman UP! You gotta face her!” Lena said back to herself in the mirror, clenching her fists together.

But could she even face her teacher right now? She was even able to be dealt with when she had gentle smiles and an uptight attitude. But now that Professor Lacroix was unrestrained? No. Fuck no. She didn’t sign up for this level of gay - as she self-proclaimed since day one . When Lena was just about done drying her face off, the door opened up.

“Everything okay? Your coffee’s getting cold.”

Just when things were about to finally settle down, Amélie personally sought out her student. All that progress... gone . Again. Once more, Lena shook her head with her eyes widened. She pursed her lips and squeaked, really hoping she didn’t come a step further.

With a head tilt and a minor exhale, Miss Lacroix just nodded. “Okay. I’ll be at my seat.” The bathroom door slid shut afterwards, and Lena held both of her hands on top her head.

She couldn’t hide forever, and she had to deal with this one way or another. Perhaps, if she imagined Amélie with some interest in her (because she did reference this as a date, after all) she might fare better.

So maybe, that was Lena’s plan from here on out. She exited the bathroom, though still her eyes wandered about. She cautiously took her seat, making sure she got her footing right, and reached out for her cup of coffee.

Aside from the ambient noise that was the jazz music playing in the background, the two of them remained there in rather awkward silence. Considering this wasn’t much of a date so far, the student smacked her lips and put on a goofy little smile.

“Your sweater looks nice on you.”

“Oh?” Amélie lightly chuckled and raised her glasses back up her nose. “Well, maybe because this is the first time anybody’s really seen it.”

“Speaking of though…” Her student tapped her fingers on the table anxiously, “How come you’ve never shown people...this?”

“What? My sweater?”

Her student shook her head. “Y-You.”

“Oh.” Amélie flatly said, then giggled a bit. ”What? You think professors have no lives outside of their classroom? Please.” She shrugged and bit her lower lip. “This is me. But rather, dropping that strict ‘I will fail you for looking at me the wrong way’ behavior, I guess? Did you expect someone else?”

Then the professor remembered the purpose of this date, and brushed off whatever was on her mind with a light bit of laughter. “Right, you wanted to get to know me. Ask me something.”

Now that things were rolling along, Lena could finally shine. She rubbed her chin - though still actively avoiding looking at her professor - and snapped her fingers. “Do you teach anything else besides French?”

Sadly, Amélie just shook her head. “I wish I could teach a musical class or a ballet class. But, they aren’t short-handed on those instructors.”

"Why those, in particular?” Lena replied back.

“Well, I like what I could do instead of just teaching a common language. I mean,” Amélie scoffed and lifted her hand up, letting it fall in the process. “aside from teaching the basics of everyday French I’d like to do something artistic.”

“And...what can you tell me about yourself?” Her student had nervously asked.

“Well...you know my age already and what I do. I was born in Annecy. And like I said, I wish I could teach ballet. My favorite color is blue, though if I feel pretty I’d want more purples than blues. Occasionally it’s black, too.” The professor rubbed her chin, then shrugged. “Pretty normal person.”

“Is ballet like a hobby for you?”

There was a slight pause.

“A...little.” Professor Lacroix began, taking a sip out of her coffee cup. “I quit ballet and piano lessons for a while.”

Though vague, Lena wanted to push that envelope some more. This was, after all, the reason they came here in the first place. To quit something so promising to become a professor seemed very off, at least in Lena’s way of thinking.

“And what did your family say about that?” Lena tilted her head to the side.

Another pause, though this time Amélie’s tone went from chipper to a bit of a serious one. “They didn’t take kindly to it, actually. Said I was foolish to throw away something that great.” She sighed, and muttered something indistinct in French that Lena couldn’t quite catch. All of a sudden, things went silent again as Amélie was looking down at her plate, pondering.

Lena couldn’t help but feel like something was off. Her teacher had been so cheerful earlier and now, it was weirdly serious. Before another moment had passed, Amélie looked up from her plate and right into Lena’s eyes.

“I’m sor--” Lena tried to begin, but her professor cut her off.

“Don’t be. Just…” She stopped, and furrowed her eyebrows. “I think you deserve to know who I really am.”

________________________

Lena blinked a few times, now dumbstruck. She didn’t even say anything and yet, this was now somehow warranted. ‘Deserve to know who I really am’? Was Amélie not who she was claiming to be?

Her professor took a deep breath and exhaled. “Recall back to our first meeting when I said Parisians think they should have it easy.”

This again? She wasn’t quite sure what Amélie was going on about and, frankly, her distinct hatred of Parisians seemed to be a bit fixated. In return, Lena just nodded and shut up.

“I mean it when they want easy money and easy women.”

Amélie swallowed, and pursed her lips before laughing again. “God, I’ve never told anybody this. This is embarrassing.”

“...Go on.”

“Let me ask you something: Are you aware of Gérard’s last name?”

Lena tried to recall what she knew about Gérard, though it seems that his last name was never brought up, and therefore she didn’t know it. “I’m actually not.”

“It’s...Lacroix.”

Now this was getting real freaky. Lena’s eyes widened at that and she was really bewildered now. Lacroix? As in, Amélie Lacroix and Gérard Lacroix? “What?! Are you two like --”

“ No! No...it’s...we’re not married, we’re not related or anything. I…” Professor Lacroix trailed off, though in a few moments she was covering her face. “I don’t even know if this was a good idea.”

“Tell me.” Lena spoke, now more interested. “I won’t tell anyone else if you do.”

Amélie bit her lower lip softly. “I took the last name Lacroix before I even knew Gérard. The chances of meeting someone with the same name is...very awkward.”

“So, what’s your last name?”

That was where Amélie went silent and felt a bit uncomfortable. The professor scratched the back of her head and tapped her fingers on the table. “You promise?” She wanted assurance, and Lena nodded alongside giving a little smile.

“...Guillard.”

Her student didn’t even flinch, and only blinked a few times. “Is that supposed to mean something?”

A slight wave of relief came over Amélie. She had almost forgotten Lena was a foreign exchange student, and thus had no idea how much weight a last name such as hers held.

“The Guillard family is very important to France, mainly because I descend from Knighthood since the days of the Revolution and they helped build France for what it is today. We’re royalty, and thus...” She placed her hands on the table and began nervously twiddling her thumbs. “I’m...kind of a big deal.”

Only then did Lena get it. She now had a sense of who she was really interested in, and started feeling hot again. “O-Oh…sooooo...you’re...”

The professor just nodded. “Yup. I’m stupid rich and I am your professor whom you’re gay for. But I left the former behind.”

I'm interested in a bloody rich girl who is now leagues and leagues above my gay ass, Lena thought to herself. Fucking shit.

Lena started feeling sweaty again, until Amélie began speaking. “That’s why Gérard is very interested in me, actually. He figured it out and I never told him. He wants my money, and because I’m a woman he’s probably thinking I have to marry someone for it.”

“So why did you leave?! You have all the money in the world!” Lena blurted out, though carelessly. She then realized what she said and covered her mouth.

Now you done fucked up, Oxton.

But, despite what Lena thought to herself about, Amélie just giggled. “I don’t want to live a life where everything is handed to me for free. My piano and ballet lessons? Given for free by professionals. Is that even a bad idea?”

Lena still couldn’t really even comprehend it. She was sitting just across someone who seemed like an average person, and for the longest time she always thought…

What are thoughts even, now? Nothing in this moment made sense to her, and for the first time, she felt lost.

“That doesn’t mean you should call me Amélie Guillard. I’m still Professor Lacroix to the world, so I suggest --” She got cut off.

“W-Why me?” Lena stuttered.

She grinned, and chuckled some.  “If I never told you this, you’d never think different of me. Am I right?”

Lena just nodded.

“There’s your answer.”

She still didn’t understand, but...it seemed reasonable enough. Still, Lena was just a simple girl from London. To get the opportunity to meet someone of royalty was in the realm of impossibility, and how she met one was the most unlikely of ways to do so.

The only thing she could do right now was finish off her cup of coffee. She wanted to leave, though that felt like the wrong thing to do. Things settled down back to normal in a bit, but Lena was more or less uncomfortable with the idea at first.

Amélie downed the last bit of caffeine in her cup and sighed. “Well, I came here for a date. I’m not satisfied just yet. I’ll tell you what,” Amélie scooted herself closer to Lena, and beckoned her student to come close.

Oh, god. Now this was going to be the closest she’d ever get, and she really, really felt nervous getting up close and personal. Reluctantly, she leaned in.

Then she felt the sense of warm lips pressing up against hers, and it disappeared just as quick as it came. Did...did Professor Lacroix just kiss her? On the lips?!

Amélie just chuckled, and held onto Lena by the shoulder. “If you keep this a secret between you and I, more of that will come. But, not in the classroom nor after class. I don’t want to get fired, after all.” She let go of Lena, and then sat back down.

By then, Lena felt light-headed and fell right back into her chair just before fainting, and distinctly hearing Amélie’s laughter.

[honorarybigsister]

fourdogs

I'm wheezing

Rewatching the first few episodes of fhjy because i guess i have nothing better to do and the way you can see how kibblespilly was supposed to be a counter to riz is so fucking funny. Its all there from the very beginning- the attitude, the tactics, the way she interacts with the party and everything- this is supposed to be riz's counterpart to run against him for student body president and have a terrible battle of wits and barbs

But in a twist that is perhaps THE most befitting to her ideal story of running against the boy she chose to be her antagonist, the intrepid heroes just straight up not taking the bait resulting in her instead having to go toe to toe against her idealized perfect rival's aggressive near-flunkie unsubtle chaotic friend is SO FUNNY.

Like I know some people are disappointed we dont get the riz vs kipperlily presidential whatever, I know it doesnt make tons of sense in that specific narrative way. But the fucking hilarious meta that even this didnt go her way is so funny. Because instead of rogue sneaking and behind the shadows plays and spy vs spy shit, we have just outward schoolyard taunts and shit like kristen exploding and jumping over the school and the exact kind of play that baits kipperlily into rage every single time and its so fucking funny. Kristen runs naked through the school and does party stunts and is STILL BEATING HER. She even clearly constructed her party to mirror the bad kids perfectly and craft each of them their own nemesis/counterpart and for the most part it like kind of worked EXCEPT FOR HER.

It must drive her fucking crazy that her cute little plot of rogue vs rogue didnt pan out at fucking all despite ALL the signs pointing to that making the most sense. This was something she just couldnt predict, couldnt mastermind. She got up onto that metaphorical stage for a debate and instead was met with a clowning act. Its so funny. I love fantasy high. Nothing you could have done would have changed this, fourdogs. You never had any power at all.

[ladyartemisia28]

Her getting Buddy Dawn for their party as cleric does seem like it might have worked as a dark reflection of Freshmen Year Kristen. Like someone hating someone because they remind them of the worst parts of themselves. But she just sees someone who was raised in a terrible system not unlike her brothers.

Oisin and Adaine really only have wizardry and being originally from a rich family. Adaine as soon as she could got away from them and their influence.

Fig and Ruben do have some parallels. Former non-alt kids (reminder in middle school fig was preppy cheerleader). Wildly successful in the music world.

Unique thing with the rivalry there, she has interacted with him like once as herself. She's doing full on psychological warfare on him. Wanda Childa.

Gorgug is not really well matched with Mary Ann since she does not show emotions (she may indeed have many but outwardly she seems apathetic). Besides rage Gorgug hasn't struggled with showing of emotions.

Fabian and Ivy I'm unsure how they were supposed to pair.

Riz of course was supposed to have Kipperlily as rival.

Rewatching the first few episodes of fhjy because i guess i have nothing better to do and the way you can see how kibblespilly was supposed to be a counter to riz is so fucking funny. Its all there from the very beginning- the attitude, the tactics, the way she interacts with the party and everything- this is supposed to be riz's counterpart to run against him for student body president and have a terrible battle of wits and barbs

But in a twist that is perhaps THE most befitting to her ideal story of running against the boy she chose to be her antagonist, the intrepid heroes just straight up not taking the bait resulting in her instead having to go toe to toe against her idealized perfect rival's aggressive near-flunkie unsubtle chaotic friend is SO FUNNY.

Like I know some people are disappointed we dont get the riz vs kipperlily presidential whatever, I know it doesnt make tons of sense in that specific narrative way. But the fucking hilarious meta that even this didnt go her way is so funny. Because instead of rogue sneaking and behind the shadows plays and spy vs spy shit, we have just outward schoolyard taunts and shit like kristen exploding and jumping over the school and the exact kind of play that baits kipperlily into rage every single time and its so fucking funny. Kristen runs naked through the school and does party stunts and is STILL BEATING HER. She even clearly constructed her party to mirror the bad kids perfectly and craft each of them their own nemesis/counterpart and for the most part it like kind of worked EXCEPT FOR HER.

It must drive her fucking crazy that her cute little plot of rogue vs rogue didnt pan out at fucking all despite ALL the signs pointing to that making the most sense. This was something she just couldnt predict, couldnt mastermind. She got up onto that metaphorical stage for a debate and instead was met with a clowning act. Its so funny. I love fantasy high. Nothing you could have done would have changed this, fourdogs. You never had any power at all.

[mcelroys-n-dragons]

#the idea of her fucking whiling away the hours making mind maps in some swanky study her parents bought her #thinking like yessss im a mastermind..... yesss riz will run against me for president because he needs the extracurriculars.... #oohooo im so smart im so evil theyre never gonna see it coming #and then experiencing it all come crashing down as kristen declares shes running for president #diabolical #hilarious #im obsessed

Rewatching the first few episodes of fhjy because i guess i have nothing better to do and the way you can see how kibblespilly was supposed to be a counter to riz is so fucking funny. Its all there from the very beginning- the attitude, the tactics, the way she interacts with the party and everything- this is supposed to be riz's counterpart to run against him for student body president and have a terrible battle of wits and barbs

But in a twist that is perhaps THE most befitting to her ideal story of running against the boy she chose to be her antagonist, the intrepid heroes just straight up not taking the bait resulting in her instead having to go toe to toe against her idealized perfect rival's aggressive near-flunkie unsubtle chaotic friend is SO FUNNY.

Like I know some people are disappointed we dont get the riz vs kipperlily presidential whatever, I know it doesnt make tons of sense in that specific narrative way. But the fucking hilarious meta that even this didnt go her way is so funny. Because instead of rogue sneaking and behind the shadows plays and spy vs spy shit, we have just outward schoolyard taunts and shit like kristen exploding and jumping over the school and the exact kind of play that baits kipperlily into rage every single time and its so fucking funny. Kristen runs naked through the school and does party stunts and is STILL BEATING HER. She even clearly constructed her party to mirror the bad kids perfectly and craft each of them their own nemesis/counterpart and for the most part it like kind of worked EXCEPT FOR HER.

It must drive her fucking crazy that her cute little plot of rogue vs rogue didnt pan out at fucking all despite ALL the signs pointing to that making the most sense. This was something she just couldnt predict, couldnt mastermind. She got up onto that metaphorical stage for a debate and instead was met with a clowning act. Its so funny. I love fantasy high. Nothing you could have done would have changed this, fourdogs. You never had any power at all.