#this is the music that automatically plays when i jump onto the server

[ashdoesfandomarchieved]

Two Bisexuals Are Your Co-Captains

ao3

“I solved racism,” Mariner says, kicking open the ready room door. This should not be physically possible, as doors have progressed past the need to be opened, and are, in fact, automatic.

Boimler, whose face is currently one with the synthetic wooden desk, gives her a thumbs up but doesn’t move beyond that.

“Okay, I lied, I didn’t solve racism,” Mariner admits. “It’s still a problem in our galaxy. But, I did solve our captain problem!” she tries. This does get Boimler to remove his face from it’s fixture on the desk.

“You did?” he blinks up at her, creases in his face from where it had been smooshed against the hard surface.

Mariner dumps an honest-to-god paper file on his desk. “Check it out, twink.”

Boimler swipes the file, frowning as nothing happens when he taps it. Mariner helps him out, flipping the cover over. “So there’s this really nifty rule back from like 2039 that allows for two acting captains to co-pilot the ship simultaneously.”

“Are you serious?” Boimler groans.

“As Legato Infection,” Mariner confirms. “It was apparently instated for missions where the crew is like. Separated or some shit and need more than one captain coordinating. Because Starfleet was also part of the air force for a while, co-captains were basically just co-pilots. Like this was a whole thing. But it got overwritten with the First Officer Act of 2048 that instated First Officers as a fill in instead of a co-captain, able to make decisions and delegate, but it was never technically outlawed. Meaning…”

“We could technically take advantage of the loophole and-”

“Co-Captains!” Mariner punches the air. “You know what this means?”

Boimler blinks at her blankly. Beckett applauds herself over the alliteration, as she throws an arm over his shoulder. “It’s our ship,” she whispers dramatically, already envisioning the communist flags with selfies of her and Boimler printed on them.

“Or it could just be your ship,” Boimler says, fear in his eyes.

Beckett grabs his collar, dragging him up to eye level. “Our ship.”

________

“Beckett no,” Freeman says flatly. Ever since The Incident--the one where the ship was overrun with the Pakleds that took out the entirety of senior command--she’s been in medbay, wrapped up in so many bandages she looks like a mummy from one of those really old movies Boimler is obsessed with.

“Beckett yes ,” Mariner says, taking a slurp of her cherry limeade slurpee. “You named me First Officer!”

“Then why does Boimler-”

“Ransom also named him First Officer!”

“So your brain jumped to Co-Captains ?” Mariner can’t see her mom’s expression, but from her squinty eyes she’s pretty sure it’s disapproving. “That is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard of.”

“You can’t call your daughter dumb!” Mariner throws her hands up in the air.

“Mariner, you’re dumb.”

“That’s against parent rules! Everything I do is supposed to be a fucking delight!”

Freeman turns her judgy eyes to Boimler, who had been staring off into the middle distance, probably traumatized by all of the shrieking the mother and daughter duo had been doing since they entered medbay. Whatever, it’s not Mariner’s fault that her mom’s kneejerk reaction to her daughter charging into medbay with a bat'leth and no shirt on was to shriek like a goddamn banshee.

“You know what,” Freeman says, eyes locked on Boimler. “I’m already having a bad fucking week. Go ahead, make it worse I dare you .”

“Uhm-”

“We absolutely will do that,” Beckett promises, crossing her heart.

_____

“ ATTENTION ALL PERSONAL ,” Mariner says, over the ship’s speakers. D’Vana, from her position at the First Officer’s station, gives her a Disappointed Look. Mariner gives her a thumbs up back.

“ DUE TO OUR EXCRUCIATING CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN YOUR FORMER CAPTAIN AND HER FIRST OFFICER, ENSIGN BOIMLER AND I WILL BE YOUR CO-CAPTAINS TONIGHT. OR FOREVER, WE HAVEN’T DECIDED YET.”

“Mariner, what are you doing?” Boimler says, storming onto the Bridge. Mariner, who had hacked the Bridge speakers to play Demi Lovato’s Confident every time Boimler entered, is pleased to note that nobody had figured out how to turn that off yet. Unfortunately for her, however, Boimler didn’t recognize his girlboss powers, and had been yelling at her every time it happened.

“I’m letting the ship know about our change in command, oh Co-Captain of mine,” Mariner says over the booming bass and Demi Lovato’s dulcet tones. In the corner of her eye, the vulcan side character that everyone thought was a Cool Guy, bopped his head to the music.

Boimler sighs, pressing his palms into his eyes. “So we’re actually doing this?”

“Dude, I already made us friendship jackets. That shit had a no refunds policy.” She pulls a leather jacket that had been draped over their helmsman's head--bad for ship navigation, but good for dramatic effect--and throws it at Boimler. Boimler unfolds the pink monstrosity, sighing deeply at the neon-yellow glitter words Gatekeep Girlboss Gaslight emblazoned on the back.

“Is this really necessary?”

“It’s ABSOLUTELY necessary,” Mariner says, standing up. She turns around, showing Boimler her purple jacket which says Malewife Mansplain Manipulate in snot-green glitter.

“HOW DOES THAT MATCH.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN HOW DOES THAT MATCH.” Her voice echoes strangely, alerting her to the fact that the shipwide comms are still in use. She reaches over, flicking the switch off and turns back to Boimler, hands on her hips. “Is this an anxiety thing again? Do you need to go back on medication?”

“I don’t need to be on meds!”

“Then why won’t you wear our super secret special jackets!”

“Because mine is hot pink and says girlboss on the back!”

Mariner lets out a gasp. “Are you saying... Boimler are you adhering to GENDER ROLES?”

“No-no stop it -”

“You! You of ALL PEOPLE-”

“Mariner, cut it out!”

“LET IT BE KNOWN THAT BRAD BOIMLER IS A-”

Boimler pulls the jacket on so violently that he somehow elbows himself in the eye. The pink really does go with his hair-which Mariner knows for a fact he dyes himself every three weeks. “There! Happy?”

“So so happy.” Mariner hands him a martini from the tray she had brought in and nailed to the arm of the captain’s chair. The one she hands to Boimler has a rainbow umbrella in it. “So, first order of business. I think we need car seats for short people.”

“Excuse me.”

Mariner picks up her own martini glass and takes a chug, choking on the strawberry chunks she had grinded into it a few minutes before Boimler got here. “You know, car seats? That shit you put babies in because cars are a danger to humanity but we keep buying them? I think the shorties on this ship deserve some protection.”

Boimler drains his glass. “Fine, whatever, I don’t even care anymore.”

______

Mariner is commissioning the previously mentioned communist flags with hers and Boimler’s faces printed on them, when Tendi comes into the ready room. She is wearing the face of complete and utter defeat that everyone else had been wearing since the Co-Captains had been instated. Mariner insists it’s because they’re sad that she and Boimler wouldn’t get to be captains forever. Boimler says it’s because everyone’s writing their suicide notes to their familes.

“Mariner, we need to talk,” Tendi says, using the opening line to every break up Mariner’s been a part of and seen on tv. Which is really weird because she didn’t think she and Tendi were in a relationship.

“I’m all ears,” Mariner says, which is a dumb fucking line because clearly she isn’t , but people say that all the time.

“I don’t want to be your First Officer,” Tendi says, crossing her arms. “It was fun for the first week, but after you made it mandatory to do the Macarena during the first ten minutes of each hour, morale has been down.”

“Hmm,” Mariner pets Boimler’s therapy cat, Dishwasher, thoughtfully. “Okay, I’ll make that one optional. Any other requests?”

Tendi sighs. “No,” she admits. “To be honest, the ship is running at 98%, which is the highest any ship in Starfleet has ever run. I think Brad orgasmed when he heard about that.”

“You call him Brad ?” Mariner stares up at her friend, aghast.

“That’s his name?”

“Yeah, and his cat’s name is Dishwasher , but that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to call her that!” Dishwasher growls at her name. Mariner shushes her, hands clamped over her ears. “She turns into a murder-rage machine when you call her by her given name! How do we know Boimler isn’t the same?”

“Because I call him Brad all the time!” Tendi hisses back, throwing her hands up in the air.

“Oh my god, he’s probably serial killing as we speak. I hope you’re ready to talk to the victim’s families and let them know that their loved one’s died because you couldn’t help yourself.”

Tendi stares at Mariner for a full minute. “Resignation,” she reiterates, pointing at Mariner. “I want to be a gross ensign scrubbing the deck again. Nepotism sucks .”

“Fine, you’re demoted. Go enjoy mediocrity.”

“I will.” Tendi storms out, kicking the door shut. Which again, is completely, 100% impossible because it’s the 23rd century or whatever-Mariner’s not keeping count-and automatic doors are now a Thing.

Mariner hacks their speaker systems to play the Wii Shop Channel Music-a reliac of the past only alluded to on private groupchats and servers- to play whenever Tendi entered a room. It’s the least she could do.

______

“As your First Officer,” a reluctant Rutherford says reluctantly, “I am here to remind you that that would be a very bad idea .”

“Rutherford, who’s the boss around here?” Mariner asks, hands on her hips.

Rutherford sighs. “You.”

“And as the boss, who makes all the decisions around here?”

Another sigh. “ You .”

“Then why are you being a killjoy over my decision to get down and dirty with my Co-Captain?”

Rutherford makes a shriek-y noise, like those boys who got their testicles cut off in the old days so they could sing opera. “Mariner, I’m serious, don’t do it .”

“Is it against regulation?”

“No,” Rutherford groans. “You’re both the same rank-”

“So what’s the problem?”

“You can’t sleep with Boimler just because you can!”

“That’s not why I’m going to sleep with Boimler,” Mariner waves him off. “I was sitting on his lap the other day-”

“Oh my god -”

“-in the Captain's chair--ooh we should look into getting another one of those, TWO chairs are better than one--”

“Mariner, to the point please.”

“Oh, yeah, so I’m in his lap and I maay have backed up a little too far and bumped up against-”

“Stop literally stop .”

“Yeah, so turns out Boimler is PACKING and I gotta hop on that train, so to speak.”

“Okay, you know what?” Rutherford shoves his padd at Mariner. “I quit, I can’t do this. I want to be a lower decks ensign again.”

“Wow, you’re like, the seventeenth person this week to quit. Which, coincidentally, is exactly how long I’ve been captain.”

“Yeah, weird coincidence,” Rutherford deadpans.

_____

“I may have fucked up, Mom,” Mariner shrieks, waltzing into medbay with all the grace of a duck pulling off a white bread heist. “I think you should take captaincy back.”

Freeman, who had fully recovered two days ago, but refused to engage in the chaos Mariner was purposely causing on her ship, looks up from where she’s reclining with her long island ice tea and swimwear magazines. “Really now?”

“ Yes . All of my friends hate me and I found out Boimler has purple pubs.”

Freeman almost drops her drink. “ What .”

“Tell me about it. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still fucking, but like. Wow, I thought he dyed everything. Turns out that shit is natural.”

Freeman covers her face with one hand. “No.”

“What?”

“No, you’re keeping the ship.”

“WHAT.”

“I already spoke to your father,” Freeman gives her daughter a shark-like smile. “We agreed that this position of authority has been good for you. And, considering, the ship is running better than any ship in Starfleet since the inception of the Federation, the Admiralty wants you and Boimler to stay on.”

“ WHAT .”

“They think it’s an interesting social experiment that merits more research. Congratulations, you and your fuck-buddy are now ginnypigs.”

___

“I think, as a sign of protest, we should rename the ship,” Mariner says, draped across the desk in the ready room. Boimler, sprawled out all over the desk chair, snorts. The room has been completely revamped in pride flags and the previously mentioned communist flags. Mariner thinks it’s her best interior design work, but Boimler claims it’s an eyesore.

“What would we name it?” he asks, humoring her.

Mariner considers it, taking a swig of vodka. “Okay, hear me out. Q and Picard’s Loveboat.”

Boimler grabs the bottle out of her hand, taking a chug. “You know what? This might as well happen.”

They submit the formal request on Boimler’s padd a few minutes later and are both pleasantly-at least in Mariner’s case-surprised that it goes through. It’s likely that the guy in charge of filtering these requests is either very very bored or very very underpaid and either way Mariner likes his energy.

A few days later, they have Q AND PICARD’S LOVEBOAT stamped across the side of the ship in comic sans-a truly underappreciated font from ye olden days that Mariner dug up one night on the wayback machine.

It takes exactly four weeks for the Admiralty to catch wind of it-by then she and Boimler had been Co-Captains for almost two months-and, well, there isn’t much they can do about it.

She does receive a rather long voicemail from her dad that she promptly deletes. She’s not about that energy.

_____

“Boims, Boims, Boims,” Mariner chants, crawling into his bed. Boimler lets out a shriek as her ice cold toes slide up against his bare thigh.

“So you know how our ship got renamed so easily?” she says, once Boimler had stopped screaming. “Well, I found the dude who approved it. Nice kid, I want his gender. Anyway, looks like my dad is getting a new ship and they're getting someone to christen it.”

“Oh my god,” Boimler says faintly, turning his face into his pillow.

“I may have gotten us on the list of possible people to christen it. As in, the kid hacked the server for me and we're the only people on that list.”

Boimler looks like he's regretting everything ever. He also looks like he's kind of in love with her. Mariner inspires that kind of duality in people. “What are we going to name it?” his voice has a tinge of fear in it that both of them get off on. The kink is strong with this couple.

Mariner grins.

_______

THE DADMIRAL: ACT OF REBELLION OR GENIUS?

Ash H. Beiggs

Many of you may remember the highly criticized decision Starfleet made when instating “Co-Captains” on the starship Q and Picard’s Loveboat ( formally known as the USS CERRITOS). Well, Captains Bradward P. Boimler and Beckett E. Mariner are back with bigger and bolder headlines to make.

The chaotic young duo are renowned Federation-wide not only for running the tightest ship in Starfleet, but for their unorthodox methods. Captain Mariner in particular has been praised for her innovating thinking and usual personality. When asked about her decision to name Admiral Mariner’s ship The Dadmiral she simply claimed that “Mohammad had his mountain, Jesus had his followers and [she] had a molotov cocktail and nothing to lose.” Captain Boimler declined to comment.

The actual christening of The Dadmiral was reported as a “spectacle to behold” by many onlookers. Captain Mariner was seen streaking through the aforementioned ship, with a bottle of vodka in one hand. Her Co-Captain was not far behind her, but was reportably more restrained. The actual christening was completed by Captain Mariner who “yeeted the vodka” into the ships warp core, shouting “ One of us. One of us,” in rapid succession until she was removed by security.

Neither Admiral Mariner or Captain Freeman are available to comment at this time.

[apollo-writes-random-shit]

The Final Heist

Final part fam!

Read it on AO3!

Word Count: 2,894

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4 (You’re here fam!)

She should have known something was up when Gavin kept staring at the jewels room.

Ignoring all the chaos in the dining hall, curtains parted a familiar face standing in front of the microphone in front of the small band. At first, her face fell as she saw everything going on, spotting a server being chased and tracked by the police. She should have known something was up when Gavin kept staring at the jewels room. In her mind, Gavin never suited the young man. Shaking her head, she opened her mouth and began to sing a favourite of the patrons.

Sometimes when I, wanna run away and hide.

Race grinned, hearing the soft cry of frustration as Sean lost him. He was sure anyone else would slow down to blend in more. After all, the cops were looking for someone who was running away but Race? He was smarter. Sure at the start, he'd been too cocky, letting himself slow down and blend in. He however quickly learnt that it was a bad move from both the police and Snyder.

When there's no one on my side, and all my pride had disappeared.

His experience as a thief had taught him a lot of skills, both good and bad. To others, being a thief was despicable in situations like his but honestly, he really didn't care. He loved the rush that came with his job. Yes, there were times where everything felt like it was crashing down and that he should run from the job but those moments were rare. At least that's what he liked to tell himself.

I take it off my mind and leave it all behind.

Race shook his thoughts from his mind as he spotted more of Sean's crew leaving. No doubt they were not just leaving the building to answer questions. They were also there to look out for him retreating with his prize. A smirk painted his face as he turned skidded towards a window, barely dodging Sean's hand, letting out a laugh as his fingers brushed against his jacket.

It was only then that Sean noticed where he was heading and he doubted the detective would try to follow him.

Nothin' left to do but try to take the leap and follow-through.

It wasn't the first he had jumped out of a window and he knew there was a chance that he might have to do it again. No matter the number of times he had to use a pane of glass to make his escape, he still wasn't used to the feeling of it shattering around his body.

And that's exactly what I'll do~

Had he meant to land on Sean's head? No. Did he? Yes. Was he going to apologize? Probably not. He certainly wasn't going to stick around. He had an important delivery, after all, one he could not afford to fuck up.

I know to you I don't seem very strong but I assure you before you can find me I'm gone.

Sean grunted as he stood up, already nursing a killing headache. He honestly didn't care that he had blacked out for a few seconds. Instead, he was more focused on catching up to the infamous thief. He'd yell at the person who had fired two warning shots later. In the chaos of attempted capture, no one noticed two men slipping away.

So come on and catch me you've still got a chance...But not for long~

His heart fell slightly as he stood in the door of the casino. There were multiple ways Racetrack could escape...Too many. "Same teams as last time! Remember his tricks and do your best to block off any place you believe he can use as an escape!"

He took off, hearing his trusted colleague and friends fan-out to look for their target. They all knew there was a high chance he could escape like always but they hoped that tonight would be the night. They were all sick of this game of cat and mouse but mostly, they were sick of Sean's obsession with the elusive thief. Sure they all wanted the cocky bastard behind bars but at times, they felt like that goal ruled Sean's life.

I'll be rollin' place to place, won't stop till I win the race!

Even Sean himself could admit that he wanted nothing more than to catch Racetrack and lock him away before moving on to other cases though he doubted he'd find any as interesting as the current case.

Although I may have crossed the line.

He knew he'd win eventually. Race may be the fastest person he has ever seen but even he had to slow down and finish at some point.

No time to waste on you.

Race hummed as he skated along, holding back laughter, hearing his competition ask questions to random patrons. Humming softly under his breath, he calmly hit a slot machine. After all, even grandmas needed a big win sometimes.

Idly, he pulled out the diamond, inspecting it for a few seconds. However, the second his back hit another one, he instantly regretted his action, watching with horror as it flew across the room.

I don't plan on slowing down, no I'll keep on going even if you think I'm in the wrong

He swallowed, ignoring the offended cry from behind him as he crossed the room, clumsily launching himself onto the pool table. "Come on you piece of shit." He bit his lip, holding back a cry of frustration as it slipped through his fingers yet again.

Just know that, although I may not think everything though I don't take back what I say or regret what I do.

He found himself unable to hold back a small cry of triumph as he caught it, even though he had hit the ground face first.

Race clambered to his feet, wincing slightly as a wave of dizziness washed over him. He sighed softly, shoving it back into it's hiding place before staring at the man in front of him, giving him a weak grin. "Well hey, Jackie boy. If you don't mind, I'ma just...Leave? Have a good night Sir!" Was he surprised at a hand tightly grabbing his collar? No. Was he surprised to be shoved into the wall? Also no.

He tuned out the normal Miranda rights speech all police gave, paying more attention to the light wind ruffling his hair. Yeah, he knew he had the right to stay silent or whatever but where was the fun in that? "Look. I get this is ya job and shit but eh. I don't have time for this." With a grin, he grabbed the curtain, using it as a cover as he jumped out of the window, ignoring the curses coming from behind him.

I know that some stay in line and they stick to the plan, but if you leave it to me I'll do whatever I can 'cause I know that's what I'm here for.

He was grateful for the short distance between the window and ledge. Knowing that the small team would have alerted the others to his trick, he took off running. He may be stupid at times but no way was he going to use his skates on such a narrow landing. The thief silently praised himself on his quick thinking as he found himself almost tumbling off the edge. A sharp turn later and he found himself jumping from letter to letter, thanking Pulizer for having such a large sign.

In the split second he took to come to a stop so he could catch his breath, his ears were filled with both an annoying and familiar tune. The whirring of helicopter blades and a voice coming from behind the blinding light. "Hand yourself in Racetrack! It's over."

A smirk overtook his face. "Can't hand myself over to you when I can't see you!"

"Oh for god's sake. Turn the light down Wiesel!" With a groan, Sean turned back to the smug thief. "There. Happy Mr Drama Queen? Now just hand yourself and the diamond over. It's not that hard."

"Not very professional are you Spot?" Race always liked the way he could annoy his rival with a few words.

I don't wanna wait around anymore, even if you can't see.

He pulled the diamond out of his jacket, flashing the annoyed detective an innocent look. "Do you mean this diamond?" A laugh escaped him as he stared at Sean's blank look. "Alright alright. Here." He hummed, holding it out. Sure this wasn't part of the original plan but he was used to thinking on his feet.

The good inside me...

The second Sean's hand touched the top of his stolen good, he slapped his hand over it, laughing yet again as he used his arm to swing across the gap between The World casino and the building next door. "Thanks for the hand Spot!"

The frustrated swear from his opponent was music to his ears. His eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light in the alleyway. He took a few moments to pull out a stashed briefcase, yet another step to the conclusion of his final plan.

A smirk graced his face as he jumped down, unable to hold back a chuckle as the two figures waiting for him. "Hello, boys~"

The smirk just widened as the pair spun around, posed for a fight. "So. Shall we get going?"

"First things first. Hand over the briefcase kid. We gotta check you have what you promised."

"Awwwww. Don't you trust me, Morris? I have the briefcase right here so naturally, I have what I promised."

Oscar huffed. "How do we know it's not empty? Open it and show us or we'll hand you over~"

"Oh, I don't think you will."

"Why not?"

The two brothers tensed as the thief pulled out a gun, grin wiped from his face, replaced with a schooled blank expression, his posture bored. "Listen here, boys. I'm not really in the mood to play around tonight. This job is important and all you have to do is drive me to the bridge. Remember, your dear ol' uncle is in tremendous debt and just because the boss is behind bars doesn't mean it's completely automatically cleared...Now. Get in the car and start driving." Race flicked the gun towards the car watching smugly as the two scrambled to get into the ute that was going to be used as his getaway vehicle.

They didn't need to know that the weapon was empty. He never liked the idea of spilling blood. The idea of snatching someone's life from them sickened him but he knew he didn't have a say in it. Sure he was Snyder's prized thief but he had morals. He wasn't like the other members of the gang. To him, human life meant something, no matter who's life it was. Yes, he had been told to get away and if needed, to kill his enemy but Race was never going to have blood on his hands. He would rather die himself instead of ruining the lives of people's loved ones. As far as he knew, he had never landed anyone in hospital and he always made sure it'd stay that way, even if it meant being yelled at by his boss.

I don't have the time to tell you why I do the things that I do.

The ride was silent, allowing Race to take a breather as he removed the wig he had been wearing all night. As fun as it was to 'dress-up' as Snyder used to call it, he found it better when he was allowed to be 'natural'. He allowed the wind to mess with his hair as he removed his contacts, putting them away happily. He wasn't the biggest fan of them, no matter how helpful they were...Mostly because he still poked himself in the eye a lot when he was putting them in and taking them out like an utter moron.

He smiled softly at the diamond in his hand. Soon this would all be over and he could relax in the first time in years. Sure he'd miss the rush he got from outsmarting the police but it would still be better than scanning the streets each time he decided to take a walk.

Before he knew it, the Brooklyn bridge was rolling under the wheels of his transport and with a soft smile, he tucked the diamond away, knocking softly on the window. "This is my stop boys! Money's in the back so keep driving until you get a chance to see it." The wanted man carefully jumped out from the ute tray, allowing himself to just roll as he stared at the view offered to him, ignoring as the car turned around to return to The World. He grinned to himself, wishing he could see the looks on the Delancey brothers' faces as they opened their 'payment'. After all, it had taken him a while to get enough Monopoly cash to fill the briefcase.

Just please hold on and soon you'll see that I'm not the villain I appear to be.

Shaking his head, he hummed to himself as he stared off at the police blockade in front of him, an annoyed police force staring at him. No one seemed more pissed-off than Sean 'Spot' Colon. The sight of everything just filled Race with joy. Now came the fun part.

Diamond clutched in hand, Race did what he did best and sped towards them, keeping an eye on each person in front of him, trying to guess the move they'd make before it even entered their mind.

Movin' along, no I won't settle down until I'm locked behind bars or I'm kicked outta town!

He managed to hold back a gasp as Sean attempted to hit him with his baton at his head before attempting to grab him. (Honestly who aimed for the head? What was he trying to do? Hit him in the temple and kill him?) While he was able to hold back the gasp, he couldn't stop the soft squeak escaping his lips as a bullet grazed his cheek. Like he gets it. They had to arrest him and if that involved shooting at him to force him off balance then they could do it. Still, being shot at was never a fun feeling.

"Jeez, Jojo. You'd think you'd know not to shoot at me by now but apparently not."

So you can keep on a runnin' around and around and around.

He winked at the flustered man as he stuttered out an apology before pausing. "Wait...Why the hell am I apologizing to you?"

"Because I'm just amazing like that~"

With a hum, he skidded to a stop by the railing, holding the diamond over the edge, watching as Sean threw his arms out. "Alright Race. Just hand the diamond over and hand yourself in."

"Dunno guys. That doesn't sound like fun but I guess I can be nice."

But you will never quite catch up to me!

He saw the way some of their eyes lit up in satisfaction but he saw the suspicion in Sean's eyes. With a hum, Race tossed the diamond over to his rival before launching himself over the group, laughing at the confused noises of the group. How none of them noticed him removing the top of the diamond right in front of him, he had no idea.

And I know you think I'm crazy.

Using their brief confusion, he pushed himself on, ignoring the footsteps chasing him, the calls for him to stop falling on deaf ears. Tucking away the real stolen good, Race jumped towards the gently swaying rope, allowing it to wrap around his wrist.

"See you around!" He blew a kiss to the frustrated group before pulling himself further up the rope, grinning as he popped his head into the helicopter's open door. "Money's with ya nephews Weasel~ See you around!"

He allowed himself to jump down onto the support beam, wincing ever so slightly at the feeling of cold steel against his body, his uniform doing little to protect him.

But I hope that maybe now you'll see why...

He took a deep breath and jumped to his feet. Pulling the small ball out of his pocket, he threw it into the air as hard, praying that his throw would be strong enough. He was a runner after all and rarely had to throw things in his job.

His eyes lit up with both joy and relief as the bomb exploded far in the sky, decorating the sky with a firework. Even the feeling of being shoved roughly to the platform couldn't take the relief away. He couldn't be bothered to question how they had even gotten up to the platform.

"You're under arrest Racetrack. You have the ri-"

Race chuckled, cutting Sean off. "To stay silent. I get it. It's been three years Colon. I'd say it's been long enough for us to be friends ya know? Besides, I think you just got rid of the fella known as Racetrack~ Can we move this along? It's cold out."

"You're being arrested...And your complaining about the temperature?"

"Looks like your ears work DaSilva! Anyway, I guess I should congratulate you all for this huh?"

"God, you're annoying."

All Sean and his team got as a reply was tired joyful laughter.

I had to try!

[nickyxlloyd]

Post-Pool Party Spin the Bottle Recap

LOCATION: Keaton's room after the pool party CHARACTERS: @ezragreenn , @hollandstxrling , @damnkeaton , @hey-juda , @jameshardesty , @nickyxlloyd , @carmenstrcde . SUMMARY: these nerds play spin the bottle, eat pizza, and watch pokemon.  TRIGGERS: kissing and joking mentions of homophobia. (idk man to be safe) PS: we did this on discord, so here it’s lengthy. if you decided to read, bless you. also if you would rather read the interactions on discord, you can hit me up and i’ll add you to the server. <3

Keaton: Keaton had proposed the idea of those who were still going strong toward the end of the party to return to his hotel when someone next door began complaining about how much noise they had been making, and the others bailed back to their respective rooms (or the rooms of others). Keaton was leaning against the entertainment center, half blocking the tv with another drink in his hand. He took the last swig from the bottle, set it down, then shifted aside to grab yet another. "I don't know, I guess I get that she probably had to work early tomorrow, or maybe she has kids. I just thought it was a bit of an exaggeration. A please would've been nice, you know?"

Holland: "It's her fault for deciding to live in a Motel 8. What does she expect, complete serenity at all times? That's ridiculous. I hope someone has really loud, really obnoxious sex in the room next to hers." Holland didn't like to be ordered around. That much, she had to guess, was clear. She took another drink from her water bottle with an exaggerated eye roll. "I need someone to take my mind off of door 4B before I go and start yelling."

Nicky: Nicky kicked back on the couch, "We weren't even being that loud. She's just annoyed that we're young and having fun while she's living in a Motel 8 and going to bed before 11 o'clock at night." She took a sip from her third capri sun of the party, "It's tragic, really, but it doesn't give her the right to be a killjoy."

Ezra: Ezra rolled his eyes from the window, drunk to the point of being happy and the jokester that he was. "Do you guys want me to go to her room and cause a scene?" He was being completely serious and he hoped that others knew.  Ezra was also a little high so he was standing on the wall of the room as still as the people from that Blair witch movie.

 Jamie: Jamie tended to give people a break, usually trying to see their point of view but she was tipsy and slightly bugged. It’s not like they’d been screaming outside or her door or something but maybe Keaton was right. Maybe she did have work or kids sleeping or it could have just been a bad day and she wanted peace. Whatever the situation Jamie felt a little less annoyed with every passing second. “Um.. something tells me she’d call the cops? So.. um.. distraction.” She looked around like it’d pop up. “How about we.. get in touch with our teenage selves?” Did that even make sense? James scrunched her nose. “We should play spin the bottle I can’t remember the last time we did that and it’s a good distraction..”

Juda: Juda sat, cross-legged, at the foot of one of the beds. He was grasping a spiked seltzer in his hands. "I mean we were screaming and it is a Tuesday night." Juda knew the burden of having to get up for an early commute so he empathized with the woman.  "At least we can keep the party going in here!"

Ezra: Ezra nodded his head at Jamie's idea. "You know, as high school as that idea is - I'm totally in." Ezra took an unopened bottle from the 6-pack he just purchased and managed to chug the bottle as quickly as he could before reaching out with the hand the bottle was in. "Who else is in?" He looked over at Juda. "Also, babe - it's a fucking motel people probably get murdered here and fuck hookers. She should be happy that the noise is different for a change." Ezra realized his words were harsh. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry...it's escorts now."

Jamie: Jamie popped a few of the alcoholic gummies she had left in her mouth, glad someone liked the idea, waiting to see if others would too. She was totally not just drunk and wanting to make out with someone or anything.

Holland: "Is that really the only thing you found wrong with that sentence, Ezra?"

Nicky: Nicky rolled her eyes at Ezra's comment but she was also on board with spin the bottle so she moved from the couch onto the floor near where Juda sat, "I'm in."

Jamie: “Yay!” She joined them on the floor.

Keaton: Keaton opened what would possibly be his final bottle of the night. "Maybe we should've invited her to hang out instead." he shrugged it off, then, as he sat down on the floor with his back to the entertainment center he had just been leaning against. "Flashback to fifteen. I'm in for old times sake."

Juda: "Okay that's fair but still I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt." He huffed before taking another sip of his seltzer. At the mention of spin the bottle Juda tensed up. He used to hate that game in high school. Before he was out he would always have to find some way to excuse himself from the party so as to not get roped into playing. He decided to see how it would play out. After all, they were a long way past high school and Juda was much more comfortable with himself now.

Carmen: Carmen's brows furrowed at the suggestion. "Is it really necessary to play just to relive our teenage years?" She stood reluctantly off to the side, not sure if it was the smartest idea to play.

Nicky: "C'mon Carmen, we're all friends here. I'm sure it'll be fun." Nicky said encouragingly, patting the ground next to her.

Keaton: "Don't act like you don't want to jump at the opportunity to kiss me, Carm. You're not fooling me." Keaton offered a playful wink, to make it clear that he was joking and held a second drink out to her. "Come on."

Jamie:“Necessary? Probably not but I think it could be fun.” She shrugged.

Holland: Holland had already made the floor her home, so all she did was crawl until she was next to Nicky, collapsing on the other girl's shoulder with a long-suffering sigh. "I swam too much. So I'm at 15% right now. I need one of you to give me a good reason to stay conscious."

Juda: "I'm down to play but maybe for only one or two rounds." He said softly. Trying to make eye contact with Carmen for reassurance.

Carmen: Carmen rolled her eyes at the comments, folding her arms over her chest. Glancing at them all for a second, she ended up caving. "Fine," she sighed. "Maybe a round or two."

Ezra: Ezra put the bottle in the middle of everyone that was placing. "Alright. Someone, please put on some music and I swear to god if someone plays anything with Cardi B I will automatically use my magic to get the bottle to spin on you because I'd want to kiss you now." He loved Cardi B when he was drunk for some reason and knew every word to Bodak Yellow. "I vote that Carmen goes first!"

Nicky: Nicky smiled as Carmen decided to join, "Yes, everybody plays!" She said as Holland leaned on her shoulder, "I'm sure someone here will energize you."

Carmen: She shot a quick glare at Ezra. "Can't we start with someone else?"

Keaton: Keaton drew his knees up toward his chest with one arm while the other held his drink. "I can confidently say I don't have any songs by Cardi B on any of my playlists. Sorry, man."

Jamie: “If no one wants to volunteer to go first we could spin the bottle and pick it that way?”

Holland: "Smart, smart. This is why you're tonight's ringleader, J."

Juda: Juda remained quiet. He was already beginning to stress out about all of the random outcomes that could happen.

Holland: "Okay, whatever, since I don't see anyone else manning up." Holland sighed before she reached into the center of the circle, took hold of the bottle, and spun it. "This is to decide who's goin--" before she could finish, the bottle had come to a halt. And it was aimed at her. "The gods have spoken." She readied herself with a shake of her hands before she spun again, watching and waiting as it slowly came to a halt. "Awe, Juda!"

Juda: When the bottle creeped its way towards him, his nerves were validated. He rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm first...nothing against you Holland, I just knew it would land on me right away." He paused for a moment, "So want me to come over to you or-." The logistics passed the bottle stopped escaped him

Keaton: Keaton immediately broke out in a rendition of Kiss the Girl from the Little Mermaid, albeit slightly under his breath as he held the beer bottle to his lips with a small smile(edited)

Holland: "We meet in the middle." Holland laughed as she got to her knees and made her way to the center of their misshapen circle. "Lay one on me, baby boy." Even as she spoke, she rose a hand to flip Keaton off, her smile remaining in Juda's direction. "Don't worry, I won't make you act like you mean it."

Keaton: Keaton put a hand over his chest, as if genuinely insulted by the finger she raised in his direction. "Listen, the Little Mermaid is a legendary fucking movie, alright?"

Juda: Juda gave Keaton a fierce side eye before making his way to the middle as well. "Who knows maybe we will fall in love." With that, he leaned in, closed his eyes and kissed Holland. As expected it was painfully platonic but still, he remained for a few seconds. When he pulled back he surveyed the circle, "I- I wasn't sure how long we were supposed to kiss. Was that good?"

Ezra: Ezra chuckled. "That was the most polite round I've ever seen."

Holland: Holland had to keep herself from laughing (or cringing, she couldn't tell) as the kiss endured. It felt like kissing a brother she didn't have. "I think we can call it."

Juda: "Did you expect anything else from me in this game" Juda sat back down nudging Ezra playfully

Nicky: "Jude, it's your turn now, babe." Nicky said when she realized he wasn't aware of the rules.

Juda: "You mean I have to go again?" He was already overwhelmed that the spotlight had been turned so quickly on him. "Okay okay." He grabbed the bottle and twirled it, maybe a little too aggressively. When it stopped it faced Nicky.

Nicky: "Okay, c'mon we have to allow a re-spin here right?" Nicky protested on both of their behalfs, "We're both too gay for this."

Holland: "Don't be homophobic Nicky."

Ezra: "Wow...it's 2018, Nicky." Ezra followed Holland's words.

Juda: "I think it's homophobic to not let me spin again." He piped in.

Carmen: "I mean, they shouldn't have to kiss if they don't want to..."

Jamie: “Best cheek kiss ever time?”

Keaton:"Honestly, it doesn't matter to me. do whatever your hearts desire. Are kisses on the cheek allowed, for the record?"

Holland: "I think it's homophobic for you two to not nut up or shut up." She balled a fist and slapped it against her open palm as to create a dramatic punctuation for her words.

Ezra: "Just allow the cheek kiss." Ezra agreed, Getting up quickly to grab another drink.

Nicky: "Listen, Holland. you're the one forcing a man to kiss a woman when he doesn't want to, sounds pretty homophobic to me." she said jokingly, but she moved into the center of the circle. "Fine, come kiss my cheek, Juda.”

Juda: "I feel like that is lame though." He loved Nicky but if kissing Holland was like kissing his sister Nicky was somehow a level above that. 'I'm fine with that though."Juda leaned over and pecked her on the cheek, "There is everyone happy?" He passed the bottle off to Nicky

Holland: "No, I'm not." Holland huffed, then stuck out her tongue at the two of them. It was still good-natured, but that didn't mean she had to act it.

Ezra: Ezra moved back to his seat. "As long as you're happy, I'm always happy." He smiled with his teeth right before a bottle followed. He quickly moved to whisper to Juda. "Sorry about that. I was totally not being as serious as I sounded."

Juda: Juda leaned in while smiling, "It's really fine. I'm not as upset as I sounded. Just...my luck you know."

Jamie: Jamie felt bad her suggestion now seemed to be making others uncomfortable but didn’t know whether to apologize so she busied herself with a drink.

Nicky: "Alright, now that we're all satisfied other than Holland, let's move on," Nicky said as she spun the bottle in the middle, watching as it landed on Jamie who was just taking a drink, "Alright, Jamie we're up," she said, pointing at Jamie.

Ezra: Ezra pat him on the back. "Well, just know that you can always play with me later."

Jamie: Jamie nearly dropped her drink when she realized. “Ooh me!” She smiled a little and moved towards the middle.

Nicky: Nicky smiled as Jamie made her way into the middle, "Yes, you. Let's do this," she said as she put a hand on Jamie's cheek and leaned in to kiss her. She pressed her lips against Jamie's for a bit before pulling back.

Holland: "This is much more boring than I'd anticipated."

Nicky: "Get fucked, Holland," Nicky shot back playfully, "The game's just starting."

Jamie: She smiled again when they broke apart. “Boring? Is it because no ones kissed the other to the floor yet? Lack of tongue?” She was kidding.

Juda: "To be fair this group is pretty poorly balanced."

Ezra: "This is why you should have pre-gamed with Sonny and I. I'm staring at the wall and having a great time."

Keaton: "Shit, you guys pre-gamed without me? That's alright, Nicky and I... half-gamed? " He was sure there was a word for it, but he had been drinking just enough to forget it. "We smoked too, at some point."

Juda: "Haven't most of us been 'pre-gaming' all day?" Juda had maintained a consistent buzz for hours. He honestly was shocked he hadn't crashed yet

Jamie: “And to think all I did was eat a ho ho standing by the sink,” She moved to spin the bottle.

Holland: "Same, Jamie, same."

Ezra: "Half-gamed?" Ezra just started chuckling, taking another drink. "We literally walked out why everyone was talking? That's always the "we are going to smoke because why the fuck were we talking about ghosts on the bus."

Jamie: “I got me... alas, not today because I’m not in the mood.” Making out with herself would probably be super boring so she spun again. “Hello, Carmen.” She winked playfully in her direction bc and moved to the middle. 

Ezra: "Wait...Keaton for some reason I had no idea that you smoked."

Keaton: "You guys have been hanging out with Dev too much, there are no fucking ghosts on the bus." Maybe Keaton just didn't want to believe in such a thing. Keaton had smoked for pretty much as long as he could remember, so he just shrugged. "Guess you haven't been paying enough attention to me."

Carmen: Carmen had been half watching up until the bottle pointed in her direction. Eyes widening slightly, she felt the slightest bit of panic. "Um... Hi?"

Jamie: Was she nervous? Everything was slightly blurred so it was hard to tell for sure. “Cheek kisses are an option?” Just in case.

Holland: "Only in valid cases of two gays. You two aren't two gays."

Carmen: This would've been a lot easier if she had had a little more to drink. "No, it's, uh fine." She put on a brave face, though probably looked half-terrified, and moved to the center.

Jamie: Jamie smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring manner as she moved to the middle. She didn’t want to spook anyone so she was careful as she leaned in to press her lips against Carmen’s.

Carmen: Carmen tried to smile back, but her nerves were getting the best of her. She let Jamie take the lead, otherwise frozen to her spot in the center. The kiss was quick, Carmen pulling away after a second, but she let out a breath now that it was over. She shot Jamie an awkward smile before going back to her spot.

Keaton: Keaton glanced at Carmen, noting an uneasiness that was pretty unusual for her. he didn't want to draw too much attention, so he moved as much as he had to talk to her quietly. "You okay?

Ezra: Ezra looked over at Juda hoping only he saw, and his eyes were widened.

Jamie: It was over before she could blink but she didn’t mind as she flashed her a smile. Now to find where she’d set her drink as she moved back to her spot.

Juda: Juda shot Ezra a look telling him to knock it off.

Carmen: She gave a quick glance over to Keaton. "I'm good," she murmured, shifting her gaze to the bottle. "It's my turn right?" Quick to grab the bottle, she gave it a spin. Was it bad that she let out a sigh of relief when it landed on Juda? Because that's exactly what she did. "Sorry, Jude. Cheek kiss?"

Juda: Juda bit his lower lip realizing that it was back on him. He took another sip of his drink and shrugged, "No it's okay. I think the cheek kiss rule only applies to Nicky and me because we are Nicky and me." He readjusted and leaned over to Carmen.

Carmen: Nodding her head, she leaned in to meet him. It was easier this time around, pressing her lips to his for a second.

Juda: It was easier for him too. The initials nerves were off and he was comfortable with Carmen to let it happen. "Sorry Holland, still nothing too exciting for you..." He grabbed the bottle and spun it once again. This time landing on Ezra, "..but who knows."

Holland: "Oh, whatever. I've given up hope."

Keaton: Quietly, again, Keaton begins singing. This time High Hopes by Panic! and the Disco as he discards another bottle in favor of a cold one from the cooler nearby.

Holland: "Keaton, not to be weird, but you should sing me to sleep tonight. But only death metal songs in a lullaby voice. I want it to be a challenge."

Nicky: Nicky swatted Holland on the arm playfully, "Lighten up, Holly. Not every kiss is going to be x-rated."

Keaton: "Ah, that's hardly a challenge. I'll accept it anyway, though. Just have to wrack my brain for some songs."

Holland: "Ow. Not only is my arm bruised, Nicky, but my heart is too."

Nicky: "I'm sure Keaton's lullaby will distract you from the pain," Nicky said.

Holland: "Here's hoping. Meet me in my room, Keat."

Ezra: Ezra teased. "I'm not gay, I don't kiss dudes." He quickly got on his knees, turning towards Juda and smiling at his ex-boyfriend. "I know you'll enjoy this." He put his lips to Juda's, kissing for a fair amount of time and it was on the verge of turning into a make-out before he pulled away and moving back down to his seat.  "Gets better every time." He winked at Juda before his hand moved to spin the bottle. He knew that it would land on a girl and it landed on Holland. "Hmmmmmmmmmm."

Juda: After their kiss, Juda sat back down. Ezra had grabbed and kissed him so quickly that his mind hadn't even fully caught up. "There's your fun kiss Holland. But I'll gladly share the wealth." Juda jumped on Ezra's playful hmmm

Holland: "Is this homophobic, too?" After watching Ezra with Juda, Holland had only just finished laughing when she noticed and commented on the bottle pointing in her direction. "What're we doing here, E?" At Juda's comment, she rolled her eyes with a quiet laugh. "Shut up, J. Or I'll make you kiss Nicky again."

Ezra:  Ezra lightly nudged Juda and looked at Holland.  "Well, I can't give you as good of a show as that but I come pretty close. " Ezra didn't mind kissing someone on the mouth, there was a time when he thought he was possibly bisexual and hooked up with a girl (worst memory of his life he had to imagine it was Ryan Gosling).

Holland: "Okay, your funeral. I'm going to turn you straight." She joked, flashing a smile at Juda. She found her way to the middle of the circle yet again, holding her arms out until Ezra was close enough to pull in, her hands planted firmly on each side of his face as she pressed a kiss to his lips. Obviously, there was still nothing attractive about it, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to have fun with it. Her hands ran wildly across his hair as she forced down a laugh, finally breaking away with a dramatized gasp for air, fanning herself off. "Dunno how Juda survived."

Juda: "I didn't." He said deadpan. "I'm actually rather dead right now. You've been hanging out with a ghost ever since the first time we kissed."

Holland: "So Devon was right all along."

Ezra: "Am I going to have to get one of those fucking pottery wheels and sing unchained melody?" Ezra said, quickly walking to his backpack to put on a hat after his hair was messed with. He was very serious about his appearance. "Listen, at least now I can wear my new black hat."

Keaton: Keaton sat back down with a fresh bottle of beer, among the last that they had left, and silently flipped on the TV. Of course, there were only a handful of channels that weren't just static. One of which was an episode of the newest season of pokemon. Keaton quietly tried to follow what was happening with low volume, but was visibly perplexed with his mouth agape and eyebrows furrowed.

Holland: "I was going to apologize, before I remembered that I don't care and that I'm not sorry."

Juda: Juda bopped Ezra on the brim of the hat, "I'd love to do couples pottery babe." He chuckled and then turned his attention to the TV. "Is that suppose to be Ash?  The art style is so different."

Carmen: "What is this show?"

Ezra: Ezra totally forgot that he ordered pizza moments before the game, and a knock on the door is what made him remember. "Guys. It's the police..." He joked before walking to the door, grabbing the pizza, and walking back in where Keaton was watching Pokemon. "What the fuck happened to Rock and the one girl who hated men?"

Keaton: Keaton glanced at Juda, then focused back on the screen. "Is he seriously still a kid? Hasn't it been like... twenty-years?"

Holland: It was about that time, chaps, so she looked back to the bottle on the floor with a sigh. She reached out and gripped it with a look of concentration, whipping her wrist so that the bottle went faster than the time before. Although it didn't seem like many people cared, at that point. "AHEM. Keaton, if you wouldn't mind. You're needed elsewhere."

Nicky: "The girl who hated men is right here, Ez." Nicky joked.

Juda: Juda fell for Ezra's joke and whipped his head around thinking the police were there.

Holland: "Juda why are you even nervous? We're legal now." She paused, "Oh, wait. People smoked bud. I retract my previous statement."

Juda:"I'm not about to get into the complexities of why I would be nervous about cops knocking on our motel door after we had already gotten noise complaints...now go kiss Keaton. That should be fun!"

Ezra: "It's illegal to have drugs, not do them I think we are fine." He lightly leaned against Juda. "My hair is iconic!"

Keaton: "Misty? Togepi was pretty cool." He commented absentmindedly, only half paying attention to the game they were still in the middle of playing. He hadn't actually had his chance to spin so far, but it seemed his misses had run out. "I thought my job was just to sit here and look pretty, not actually play." he joked, with a small smile

Juda: "Don't forget sing. Your job is to sing too." He said finishing his drink.

Holland: "You were failing that job the moment you started watching Pokemon. But whatever, I could always spin again."

Keaton: "I can't sing, kiss someone and watch pokemon." he sighed, tossing the remote onto one of the beds. "Alright, come on Princess." Keaton said as he sat up on his knees and leaned across to meet her.

Holland: Holland hated that she actually laughed at what Keaton said, but once she was in the middle to meet him, she wiped away her smile. This was the first potential kiss of the night that could possibly even be something other than awkward. Her nose scrunched as she got closer, a joking attempt to ease the tension growing inside of her. She wasn't sure why she was nervous, but she was. After a moment of not doing anything, she merely rested her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward to press her lips to his.

Keaton: Keaton paused when she did, his voice low now that they were mere inches from one another. "Never thought you were the type to hold back, Holland." he teased in a whisper, leaning his weight on one hand and holding the side of her face in the other as they kissed.

Holland: Holland couldn't keep herself from smiling mid-kiss, her arm instinctively wrapping around his neck. For a second, she nearly forgot where they were or why they were kissing at all, until a loud I CHOOSE YOU erupted from the screen behind them, making her jump away. She released a shaky laugh as she moved back to her place in the group, eyes on the ground as she hid her grin with her fist. "Okay, welp. Your turn."

Ezra: Ezra looked at Juda again, giving the same wide-eyed look with a mouthful of pizza.

Nicky: Nicky looked down at her hands as Keaton and Holland kissed, suddenly very interested in her cuticles.

Juda: Juda raised his eyebrow at Ezra, rolled his eyes and got up. He moved over to grab a slice of pizza but muted the tv first.

Keaton: Keaton wasn't necessarily opposed to kissing anyone in the group, aside from Nicky (or Avocado as he tended to call her). Perhaps he made the kiss last a bit longer, and a bit deeper than he normally would've though. Just for the sake of getting Holland to stop complaining for a while. At the sound of the TV, Keaton couldn't help but to pull away from her and start laughing. "Alright." He leaned back again, and spun the bottle which landed pointing directly toward him twice, before finally stopping on Juda. "You up for one more kiss, Romeo?"

Juda: Juda turned around having just taken a bite of his pizza. He was now mentally kicking himself for deciding to take a slice. It wasn't hard to tell that he was a little more excited to hear his name get called this time around. "I think I can manage...just uh sorry if I have pizza breath." He mentally kicked himself again (just shut up Juda).

Nicky: Nicky sighed and leaned back on her palms a bit before pushing herself up and heading over to the pizza once Juda headed back to the circle. She picked up a piece and sat on the bed for a minute. "Juda's got all the luck tonight," she joked. 

Holland: Holland watched Nicky leave her spot, expecting her to return once she'd gotten food. When the space next to her wasn't filled again, her eyes found the girl as she sat on the bed. Her eyebrows furrowed just slightly with her confusion, although she chose not to say anything about it. Instead she turned her attention back to the two boys she'd already had two very different experiences with, put her fingers in her mouth, and used them to whistle.

Keaton: "It's alright, I was going to grab a slice anyway." Keaton reassured him, with a smile as he stood up to meet Juda half way. "We could always kiss Lady and the Tramp style." he joked as he drew closer, one hand at Juda's waist to pull him closer while the other lightly touched the side of his neck. "You good?" he paused for a yes before finally closing the last few inches to kiss him.

Juda: "I think I'll pass on the spaghetti bit." He let out a quick laugh while still looking down. When Keaton grabbed his waist and neck Juda's body fully reacted in some combination of goosebumps and butterflies in his stomach. He softly responded, "Yeah...I'm good," and then tilted his head and kissed Keaton.

Nicky: Nicky finished her piece of pizza and got up before heading back to sit down next to Holly and Carmen. "I feel like the boys are having way better luck tonight," she commented to them with a laugh.

Ezra: Ezra's eyes went another direction. "There's a mean girls quote for this." He mumbled under his breath.

Keaton: It was strange how much they'd all changed since high school, wasn't it? Keaton had never had the chance to kiss Juda back then, by the fates of the Spin the Bottle Gods. Or perhaps the bottle had landed the right way, but back then neither of them were brave enough to step up. Now, he closed his eyes and held onto the kiss for a little while longer. It was different than the kiss with Holland, in some way. More... gentle and slow he supposed. Still, undoubtedly pleasant.

Juda: Juda smiled through the kiss. It was intensely satisfying and very comforting. Especially with how he was being held by Keaton. As they began to pull back Juda's racing mind began to regain control. He didn't want the moment to be over. He wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling. If his excitement was that of his past self's question finally being answered, even if it was in a semi-forced way, or if the excitement was new and in the present. All he knew was that he was glad it happened and with that, his game time was over

Ezra: Ezra stood up, deciding it was time for him to go. "Well, I'd love to stay but I'm tired as fuck." And a little jealous? It had to just be him being tired. "Keep the pizza."  Ezra nodded to Juda’s words and walked out with him. He said as he grabbed his bag and began walking out of the room. “I’m big spoon tonight. You’re also hot as fuck and since I like you so much I’d like to see you shirtless” he said while moving to lightly grip Juda's hand.

Juda: He leaned back on Ezra, "Okay and with that, I think it's time to call it. No? Yeah?" He kept talking unprovoked.

Keaton: As they parted, Keaton kept just a small amount of space between them for just a moment. The smile on Juda's face made him smile as well. He let go, his fingers falling from their positions and to Keaton's side, as Juda addressed Ezra, and took a step backward. "Honestly, I'm glad we made my room the venue. That means I get to keep the pizza, right?"

Nicky: Nicky turned to Carmen, "Do you want pizza? I think I'm going to grab a slice before I try to track down Sonny to make sure he's not dead and head to my room."

Carmen: At some point during the rounds, Carmen got up to get herself a drink. It had been the only thing keeping her from bolting after her turns. She was just glad she hadn't been picked again, but once Ezra had gotten up to leave, she was quick to use that as an excuse to follow. Or she was until Nicky spoke to her. "Oh, uh.. No, that's okay. I don't think I'm feeling that hungry."

Nicky: "Okay cool," Nicky said as she stood up, "I'm not letting Kiwi here have an entire cheese pizza to himself, especially since he got to kiss like so many more people than I did," she exaggerated as she grabbed another piece of pizza. 

Keaton: "I kissed two people, Avocado." He rolled his eyes as he fell backward onto his hotel bed with a mouthful of pizza. "It isn't our fault that your one true love isn't here. Do people put avocado on pizza? Probably, right?"

Nicky: "I bet they do in California, seems like something they'd do." Nicky said as she headed towards the door, "Anyone wanna walk back to the rooms together? Power in numbers," she asked the remaining members of the game, half joking since the rooms weren't far.

Keaton: "Goodnight everyone!" Keaton called out as he stood back up, planning to at least watch them walk back to their room from the doorway of his.

Holland: "I'll walk you, Nicky." Holland offered, dusting herself off after standing up. "Keaton, don't forget that you owe me a goodnight song."

Carmen: With everyone getting up to go, Carmen felt like she could make her exit. "Good night," she uttered before heading back to her room.

[kadobeclothing]

8 Social Media Platforms That Weren’t Founded in the U.S.

In 2018, North America discovered a viral new app called TikTok. Within just a year and a half of its launch, it reportedly grew to over 800 million active users.

As tech journalists and bloggers dug into the origin of the odd video app, some were surprised to discover that TikTok, which took America by storm, was actually inspired by an app created by the same company in China.

Researching social media platforms not founded in the U.S. can be helpful when trying to learn about audiences that live in other countries, especially those that live in highly censored areas like China or Russia. In areas like these, where people might not be able to access common U.S.-based networks, like Facebook or YouTube, tech companies have built their own social media empires. Whether you’re interested in international marketing, or just want to learn more about how audiences around the world interact with the internet, learning about the top global platforms that weren’t created in Silicon Valley can be an eye-opening experience. Below, I’ll walk you through eight of the most popular social media platforms around the globe, including TikTok’s origin platform — Douyin. 8 of the Biggest Global Social Media Platforms QZone and QQ Owner: Tencent Origin: China (Available globally, Chinese language-only) Name’s Origin: QZone and QQ were shortened from the original name, OICQ. The O stood for “open” while ICQ is an instant message term that sounds like “I Seek You” when said allowed. Reported Users: 517 million active users on QZone with 653 million monthly users on QQ. QZone is a social media channel while QQ is a messaging app that links to a QZone account. The two apps serve as an alternative to Facebook in countries like China and South Korea, where the U.S. platform is blocked. The overall platform’s story began in 1999 when QQ launched as a desktop messaging site. QZone, a social media site and app, launched in 2005. In 2019, as mobile-first mindsets grew in millennial and Gen Z audiences, Tencent transformed the QQ website into a standalone app. QZone still serves as a social media platform while QQ is now similar to the Facebook Messenger app. To help you better visualize how people have used QQ and QZone, here’s a quick analogy: When U.S. millennials like me were children, we raced home from school to message our friends on AIM. Then, as we reached our high school years, we ventured onto Facebook, where we could message people, create a profile, and post updates. Meanwhile, in China, people in my age group might have messaged friends on QQ’s messaging website instead of AIM. Now, QQ users might use its sister app — QZone — for a social media experience that’s comparable to Facebook. Then, to message friends, they use QQ. Here’s an example of a current QZone profile that shows just how similar the platform is to Facebook:

Source On QZone, users are encouraged to publish posts, videos, or even music. Like Facebook, they can also connect with friends, see a feed of updates, comment, share or react to posts, and update cover or profile photos. The QQ and QZone are great examples of a social media brand that gained traction long before we signed on to well-known platforms owned by U.S. tech firms. The usership of QQ and QZone might be so strong in China because young audiences discovered the brand for its messaging tool and were able to join and enjoy its full social media network later on. Although Facebook launched 2004, one year before QZone came out, Tencent had already captured the millennial demographic with QQ, figured out how to grow its product competitively with QZone, and continued to add features to pull in Gen Z audiences. While QZone and QQ seem like Facebook alternatives, their history of growth is fairly parallel. And, as one of the ten biggest social media platforms globally, QZone is worth knowing about if you plan to market to Asian territories with heavy censorship. WeChat/Weixin Owner: Tencent Origin: China (Available globally) Name’s Origin: The app’s original name was Weixin, which translates to “micro letters.” In a play to become a more globally used app, Weixin rebranded to WeChat in 2012, Reported Users: 1 billion active users WeChat launched in 2011, before competitors like Kik and WhatsApp. The messaging app was rolled out by Tencent, which also created QZone and QQ. Similarly to WhatsApp, WeChat allows free text-based chats and voice calls. It also has a Moments feature similar to Instagram or Facebook Stories. Like many U.S. platforms, you can place fun animated stickers and filters on images or videos sent within the app. To join WeChat, users need to know someone on the platform and have them scan an activation code that a user receives when logging in for the first time. Once users are logged in, they can access WeChat’s messaging feature, send video messages to friends, and host virtual phone calls with one or more contacts.

Source Aside from using the platform for friend-to-friend communication, users can also take advantage of more entertaining features. For example, while one feature allows people to play in-app games live against friends, others include video or photo filters that can be used in chats or video calls. Here’s a quick video that shows a popular game being played on the WeChat app:

WeChat also connects to a number of third-party or Tencent-owned apps so that a user can take on multiple tasks, like hailing a ride or paying friends money, directly from WeChat.

Source At this point, Facebook, Snapchat, WhatsApp, and other major social media apps are using a similar strategy of pulling additional features into their platforms to keep users logged in longer. For example, many of today’s top messengers allow group video calls, offer in-app games, or let users send money. Weibo (Also known as Sina Weibo) Owner: Sina Corp. Origin: China (Available globally with text in Chinese.) Platform Name Translation: Loosely translates “microblogging.” Reported Users: Projected to hit 500 million monthly active users in 2020 Weibo, also called Sina Weibo, is the biggest Chinese microblogging and social media platform. The social channel made news in 2017 when it reached more monthly active users than Twitter. Since then the app’s continued to grow. Reports suggest that more than 30% of Chinese internet users now have an account on the platform. When you visit the website, it’s automatically in Chinese. However, you can use Google Chrome’s translator to convert the text to different languages. To give you a better idea of how Weibo works, here’s what its desktop site looks like with the English translation turned on.

Like Twitter, Weibo offers a central feed where you can see the latest or highest performing posts. To toggle through different types of posts, you can click a category on the list in the left sidebar. On the left, you can log in to an account and see “Hot Topics” similar to Twitter’s “Trending Topics.” If you continue to scroll down, you’ll also see a box that allows you to search for people — similarly to Twitter’s “Who to follow” block. To help you see just how similar these two platforms are, here’s a picture of Twitter’s feed.

While Weibo’s layout and microblogging mission is similar to Twitter’s, the Chinese platform emphasizes videos, photos, and trending content, while Twitter still puts an emphasis on the accounts sharing the content. Although Twitter also prioritizes trending content, you can easily see which of your followers posted, liked, or retweeted it before seeing the content in a tweet. This allows audiences to subconsciously focus on the person who tweeted something as well as the tweet itself. These slightly different layouts might also suggest that the audiences of each platform prefer to consume content differently. While Twitter’s audience might prefer the human connection aspect of its site, those on Weibo might want to jump straight to the content. Douyin Owner: ByteDance Origin Country: China (Available only in China: TikTok is available globally) Name’s Origin: Douyin loosely translates to “shaking sound” or “vibrato.” Reported Number of Users: 400 million active users Douyin is the Chinese-only counterpart to TikTok, which is owned by the same company. TikTok specifically is a merger of Douyin and the Musical.ly lip-syncing app. Both social media apps specialize in allowing users to create, edit, and share short-form vertical video that’s less than 60 seconds. After Douyin launched in early 2018, it grew to 150 million active users in year one. ByteDance then purchased a similar lip-syncing app called Musical.ly and created TikTok, a global app that merged the best features from each original app. Since launching in late 2018, TikTok’s also seen viral growth by gaining roughly 800 million active users. Like Douyin, TikTok also sees a large number of international influencers from countries like India. While Douyin and TikTok are very similar short-video apps and are often confused as the same thing, they have a slightly different set of features, are powered by different servers, and have different levels of censorship due to regulations around the world. Douyin isn’t accessible for us to preview in the U.S., but news outlets describe it as being even more advanced than TikTok — particularly when it comes to ecommerce. For example, while TikTok just recently rolled out advertising options, Douyin reportedly allows users to triple-tap a video with a product featured in it to go to a brand’s ecommerce store. Users can also use the app for virtual tours of hotels, stores, or travel locations, and then visit the websites affiliated with these tours. Unlike TikTok, Douyin also reportedly allows users to geotag themselves at a store or location. This could be helpful for providing brand awareness to local brands. When it comes to what Douyin and TikTok have in common, both are apps where users can share short videos that can feature musical overlays, fun filters, and text overlays. Videos on each platform must be 60-seconds or less. From photos I’ve dug up online, it looks like the platform’s design is very similar with some slight design differences. The screenshots below show a video ad and the platform’s search feature:

Source As a comparison, here’s what a video ad and the search feature look like on TikTok:

Both apps are also centered around a video feed that algorithmically shows users videos from followers or videos that they might enjoy based on previous content they’ve viewed on the app. When users enter the app and see the feed, one video will begin playing automatically. To see other videos, users simply swipe up on that feed. Here’s what this looks like on TikTok:

Aside from the shared features, both fast-paced social media channels are favored by younger generations — especially Gen Z. While over 50% of TikTok’s audience is younger than 34, it’s also been reported that Gen Z has flocked to Douyin. Douyin and TikTok’s success story is a great example of how one unique international platform can change the way we consume content in other countries. Prior to TikTok’s launch in the Western hemisphere, many Americans hadn’t seen anything similar to it since Vine — a similar short video app and feed that was discontinued by Twitter in 2016. Not only did Douyin and TikTok replace the need for Vine, but both apps also catered to Gen-Z and Millennials, two mobile-first generations known for short online attention spans and heavy consumption of video content. Kuaishou Owner: Kuaishou Technologies Country of Origin: China Name Origin: No translation could be found. Number of users: 400 million monthly active users Kuaishou is a short-video app that competes with Douyin. This platform started as a GIF sharing site called Kuaishou GIF. It was like GIPHY in the sense that anyone could create, post, and share GIFs on the network. In 2012, Kuaishou dropped GIF from its name and pivoted to a short video platform. Its interface is now very similar to Instagram’s. It doesn’t have a Stories feature like Instagram, but it features similarly looking profile formats and feeds where users share short vertical videos rather than photos or other content.

Source Like Douyin or TikTok, the video features of Kuaishou seem fairly similar in that users can leverage sound bites and basic editing tools in their content. Like many social media platforms with videos, Kuaishou also allows users to overlay text and stickers to images or videos.

Source From looking at a variety of videos that have been uploaded on to other sites from this platform, it seems like many Chinese residents have used this app to highlight their unique skills and musical talent. Here’s a video that highlights multiple short videos on the platform: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0JCLvFVfDU A number of users have also shared videos that highlight and celebrate aspects of rural China. Here’s an example that Kuaishou posted on its own YouTube page:

In 2019, Apple distinguished Kuaishou as a global app that was defining mobile video storytelling trends. This came shortly after the app notably added ecommerce and monetization features that enabled creators in poverty-stricken rural China to make money from it. Aside from its short-videos, Kuaishou also allows users to live stream content to their friends or followers on the platform. Similarly to the short video feature, the stream has allowed users to film longer videos that highlight their skills. VKontakte (VK) Owner: Mail.Ru Group Country of Origin: Russia Name’s English Translation: VKontakte loosely translates to “in contact with.” Reported Number of Users: 500 million users VK, the biggest social channel in Russia, is like a mix between Facebook, YouTube, and the illegal ’90s downloading service LimeWire. This platform allows users to publish and share text-based posts, photos, video files, and music files with their connections. When it comes to this platform’s user interface, it looks eerily similar to Facebook, with some slight tweaks to page layouts. Here’s what VK’s main feed looks like:

Source And, here’s an example of what a profile page looks like:

Source Aside from allowing users to share their own content, they can allegedly upload and stream copyrighted material such as music and movies. This has allegedly been abundant on the platform since its launch, but legal steps have not been taken against it. The social platform is owned by Mail.Ru Group, a tech company that owns Russia’s main search engines and OK.RU, a social platform noted below. Reports also suggest that this company has affiliations with the Russian government. At the moment, some experts suggest that liberal-minded internet users spend time on Facebook, Russia’s more conservative users spend time on Mail.Ru-owned sites. In a recent Vice article, one user from Moscow described how Facebook was seen as a liberal network. “It’s become more ‘woke’ to be on Facebook because most Russian liberal intellectuals use it,” the user explained. “It’s kind of like Twitter for us, it’s where you follow people when you want to see what they think.” It is interesting to think that while U.S. internet users of all political backgrounds tend to argue their points on Facebook, people with certain political affiliations might stick to using one platform or another based on political affiliations in countries like Russia. Odnoklassniki (Shorthand name: OK.RU) Owner: Mail.Ru Group Country of Origin: Russia Name’s English Translation: Odnoklassniki translates to “classmate.” Reported Number of Users: 200 million users Odnoklassniki, or OK.RU, is a website that specializes in connecting people with their past classmates. The social media platform is set up like a blog, similar to Tumblr, where users can share life updates, images, or videos, which then show up in other user’s home page feeds. Along with their classmates’ content, a sidebar shows users the most popular videos that have been posted on the platform. Below is a look at the feed. While the site is in Russian, I’ve used Google Chrome to translate it so you can get a better idea of what people are posting.

Like Tumblr, users can also click on the name or image of another user in a post to find that person’s profile. These profiles are similar to Facebook’s layout in that they show a cover photo, a user’s top followers (called “participants” in the image below), and then a feed of their own content.

While this platform is similar to both Tumblr and Facebook, Russian citizens don’t commonly use those two platforms as much as OK.RU. Additionally, with warnings that Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram could be banned in Russia, it’s not shocking that tech companies in this region have innovated to create similar alternative platforms. As we’ve seen with the Chinese platforms on this list, many of the top global social platforms have been inspired by or created as an alternative to U.S.-origin sites that were censored or censored. These continent-specific social media industries could be a theme we continue seeing in different areas of the world. If you’re an international marketer, it can be helpful to identify segments of your audiences that might not be able to access the platforms you use for social media marketing. As you do this, you should also research any alternatives that you can access to promote your content or product in those audience’s locations. The Similarities of Global Social Platforms Despite their critical differences, social media industries around the world have some fascinating similarities to that of the U.S. For example, while many of North America’s most prominent social media apps are owned by Facebook or were created in Silicon Valley. Most prominent global platforms were created by Tencent or other major tech firms based in China. Similarly, the two biggest Russian platforms are owned by the same company. Although many of the apps above were created and launched in highly censored areas, they don’t seem to be falling behind on innovation due to these governances. Because international social platforms have evolved on a similar timeline as many common U.S. platforms, it seems like these geographies are building their own parallel social media industries, rather than just racing to create alternatives to our own platforms. One thing that does seem different between international and domestically launched social media platforms is that many of the examples on this list emphasize direct communication more than content, while our own platforms emphasize content and user experience. While every social media platform we use today does have messenger with various features, only a few of them are or were ever standalone messengers. For example, QZone and WeChat built their initial audiences as messenger apps and broadened their features from there. Meanwhile, Snapchat and WhatsApp are the only top platforms that started as direct messengers. While Facebook Messenger is one of the most prominent text messaging platforms, it is an expansion of Facebook’s original News Feed-centered platform. If you’re interested in reaching international audiences, you should pay attention to the social media platforms they most commonly use, and what they use them for. This will give you insight on what types of content these groups engage with, what motivates them, and what strategies could persuade buying decisions. If you want to tap into an international audience, but can’t access some of the platforms on this list, you can alternatively consider testing out a campaign on a globally accessible platform like WhatsApp and WeChat.

Source link

source https://www.kadobeclothing.store/8-social-media-platforms-that-werent-founded-in-the-u-s/