#which like...wow I'd be so fucking done too???

[memori662]

KIAN vs ALEXA (my two dear snipers...)

Spoiler: they end up as besties

And sorry if the P.O.V. is strange. Idk why sometimes they're written in first person and another times in third person.

Bang!

Alexa dogdes the bullet just by a hair.

Bang! Bang!

Now, what the fuck?

“Hey, to whoever is trying to kill me: I'm sure I have no debts. And if you're looking for any debts my parents might had...” She smoothly takes out her hand-gun. “I'll make sure you don't get your prize.”

Her eyes search for any strange movement. Any sound. Anything. And they land on a green fluffy ball (?) on one of the buildings.

The green fluffy ball (?) must've noticed her eyes on ‘itself’, as ‘it’ —in an abnormal velocity— changes placement.

“It's a solo sniper? Snipers don't usually attack alone. Or it's a very good sniper or there's more enemies.”

Shit. She has lost sight of ‘it’.

“Are you being a coward?” Maybe provokating whoever that might be lure ‘it’ out. “I mean, if you're a sniper that some dark organization hired to kill me, I'd feel honored to be such an important figure.” For fucks sake, I sounded just like Memori or Mimi...

It doesn't work. Bang!

Oh, they're good.

Alexa isn't one that works in dodging —unlike a particular blonde girl named Memori—, she's also a sniper. And she recognizes a good job done —thing that Memori definitely wouldn't...— Wait, don't think of her everytime??! Maybe those are things that happen when you're a competitive person and is paired with someone who enjoys remarking ‘how much better she is at everything’. But anyway, as I was saying— Bang!

“We're gonna be bad blood...” she mutters.

Her red eyes scan the place quickly, taking notes of anything she could use at her advantage and anywhere more enemies could been hiding. I should probably ask for help— Bang!

She would've been already dead if it wasn't for her quick thinking. She's been doing this practically since her birth.

I should confront them directly. Snipers usually don't have good hand-to-hand combat skills.

And with a quick and quiet running, she luckily makes it to the top of the —gladly not too tall— buildings without being shot.

She knows the green fluffy ball —that now takes the shape of a young adult probably with her same age, that wears a fancy mob-like suit that which would give off an intimidating aura if it wasn't for his puppy-like expression— allowed her to actually come closer, because he clearly isn't a normal human.

“Wow,” the puppy-looking boy speaks, “it's been a while since someone succesfully dodged my bullets.” His voice doesn't have any venom, just genuine interest. “You're good.” He smiles.

“I know I am good.” As she speaks she fires her gun. “No need to remember me.”

“If I shoot now, you cannot dodge.” The green-haired boy smiles slyly as he easily dodges the bullet. “Are you sure it's wise to keep attacking me?”

“Who said I couldn't dodge?”

“It's basic knowledge. You're so close to me that if I fire right now, you wouldn't have time to dodge.” he speaks lightly with a sing-song tone.

“Are you suggesting we chit-chat this over? Because I'm no diplomat.”

“Neither I am.” Even though his voice and overall appearance were so soft and puppy-like, the sniper in his hands right now says the contrary.

He probably isn't half bad in hand-to-hand neither. I need to be careful for any ambushes or hidden trap.

“Are you thinking about my skills right now, Alexia?”

“It's Alexa.” Oh no, this man is giving me déjà vu...

“I think Alexia sounds cuter, don't you think so?”

... Definitely déjà vu.

“Hehe, but I think Alexia suits you better, don't you think so, Ale~xia?”

Ugh, get out of my head, you fucking egocentric bitch—

“My name doesn't have anything to do with being ‘cute’. And how do you know my name?”

“Your name?” He widens his eyes —so fucking adorable—. “I thought you'd know me!”

Nope. This guy's on drugs.

“I'm Kian. K-I-A-N!” If he had a tail, it'd be swinging happily right now. “And you're Alexa. A-L-E-X-A.”

Why is he spelling the names again...?

“I asked you a question.”

“Memori is your Boss or something like that, right?”

Of course.

“You know her?”

The glimpse of sadness in his eyes disappears as quick as it appeared. “Yes.”

“What's she to you?”

“...” He seems to be struggling to find the correct words. “We- She was a close friend.”

... Is this some sort of pattern? Thinking of all the similarities...

Being unclear as fuck, acting as if everyone should know what you're talking about, being in your own world, switching personalities as a light switch, loud, child-like, asking how your name's spelled... There's definitely some patterns.

“Are you implying she hired you to kill me?”

“I'm not,” he whispers to himself. “It was just because.”

“Just because? Nobody hired you, no ‘a higher power demanded me to’? Nothing?”

He nods with apologetic eyes. “Memori seems to like you very much.”

Hell yeah she does and doesn't even try to hide it.

“You're asking why Alexa has to go with me?” She asks with a nonchalant expression. “Obviously because she's better than you all.” Her words are often impossible to understand if they're seriously or not. But it wasn't the first time that she admited a clear favoritism with Alexa.

“But Alexia, what do you man with a high—”

“Dude, did she reject you or what? You look so hopeless always talking 'bout her.”

“No?? I don't see it.”

“Ya sure?”

“Sure. She's like my sister.”

“... Really?”

“Really. She's like a black cat.”

What. Definitely no.

“Uh-huh,” I continue. “Why did you think it's a good idea to attack me?”

“Well, since Mori bullies you—”

“She doesn't.” Mori.

“—she must like you very much! And I wanted to see what it is that she likes about you so much!”

“You're nuts.”

“I'm not a nut- I'm not an aliment!”

“I know you're a real human.” He recoils just a bit when I call him a real human. “I meant you're crazy.”

“Ohh!” He has fangs. “That's what you meant!”

“Are you four or what?”

“I'm the same age as you!”

“Really? I don't think so. And how the fuck do you—”

“Ah, sorry for this,” he says as he lowers his sniper.

“No worries.” A total weirdo after another weirdo. “And where ya from? Your work, I mean. You look too fancy to be a normal sniper. Don't tell me you're a blue-blooded rich?”

“Ah, that is... Hm.”

“Very helpful,” irony fills my words. “So ya aren't a rich?”

“Ah, you could say... Kind of rich. My work pays me well.”

“Are riches becoming more and more common by the time?”

“People are getting better and better at finding suitable jobs!” He exclaims with optimism.

“I don't think Memori's your friend.”

“She's an angel! Who wouldn't be her friend?”

“An angel, you say?” She asks skeptically.

“She may be nicknamed sinner now, but I mean it as her personality—”

“She's nicknamed sinner now?! Since when?”

“Ah, between a circle of rumours,” he half-lies smoothly. “Nothing big, really. Some people simply resent her for her former job.”

“That chick was probably in some illegal trade. Tell me otherwise,” she rolls her eyes in exasperation.

“You don't know where she used to work?”

“At least me, no.” She looks at the sky. “She's a real mistery among us. Classic rich person behaviour. How delightful.”

“You don't have a very limited vocabulary!” He seems oddly excited about it. “I thought you wouldn't know words like ‘delightful’.”

“It's not a bad thing.”

“Why the hell wouldn't I.” No, this man right here? He's also a total fucker.

“Uh-huh.” Of course it is a compliment. Of course. Very obvious. Totally expected.

He suddenly grabs my hand and shakes it with both of his hands with a bright smile, but quickly stops after what seems like remembering etiquette. As if there is an etiquette for shaking hands. There isn't, right? ... Not that I would know, anyway.

A little late, no? “Alexa. Pleasure's mine. Is that what I'm supposed to reply?” I ask genuinelly this being the first decent handshake I've ever had.

“Excuse me,” he apologies with a smile as he lowers up his right-hand and looks at me expectanly.

??? What does he wants me to do?

“Uhm... What do I do?”

“Ah, nothing,” he dismisses.

Oh, a headshake.

I offer my left-hand to him. He stares at my hand, as if it was strange. Fuck, do headshakes have some etiquette I'm not aware of? “Am I doing something wrong?”

He focuses his attention back to my eyes as he accepts my headshake also with his left-hand. “It's not a big deal. Usually, handshakes are with the right-hands.”

So it does have an etiquette.

“Oh. I'm left-handed. I didn't know.”

“Don't worry your pretty little head about it.” He replies as he shakes his hand four times, completely different from how his behavior was a minute ago. “My name is Kian. A pleasure to meet you.”

“Mhm, maybe a little bit more formal, but yes,” he chuckles and nods. “You are cute. Like a mouse.”

Like a mouse. That's new.

“And you're like a dog.” It's an implied insult.

“Why, yes! I get told that often.”

“Figures.” I stare at this green-haired man with disbelief at his obliviousness.

“Welp, I need to go now.” He adds, “Boss expects me...”

Boss? So he does work for someone, huh?

“Bye-bye, Alexia! It was nice to meet you!” He waves his hands with excitement.

“... Nice to meet ya too, I guess.”

And with that, he jumps swiftly away.

Huh, what a strange man.

Randomly pick 2 OCs. Make them fight. How will it go?

[kason-nvidiade-art]

Contagion Ghost by KasonSama

More Ghost! This time infected, but...something about his eyes...he...he seems to be himself? No milky eyes like so many others in the hoards that attack, none of the his light is lost, just...he looks more resigned, saddened by what's become of him...

ANYWAY this was fun to paint, might go back to it and work more here and there, but right now, finished is better then perfect!

[cluescorner]

I cannot imagine being a Damian stan right now. You've got both Zdarsky's bullshit (where he clearly doesn't give a shit about your boy) and The Boy Wonder (where Juni Ba clearly gives so many shits about your boy) coming out on the same day. The whiplash must be insane. I hope y'all get some nice warm soup for your efforts jfc

[pibsboots]

I've always had chronic fatigue. I remember being twelve, and an adult mentioned how I couldn't possibly know how tired they felt because adulthood brought levels of exhaustion I couldn't imagine. I thought about that for days in fear, because I couldn't remember the last time I didn't feel tired.

Eventually I came to terms with the fact that I was just tired, and I couldn't do as many things as everyone else. People called me lazy, and I knew that wasn't true, but there's only so many times you can say "I'm tired" before people think it's an excuse. I don't blame them. When a teenager does 20 hours of extracurriculars every week and only says "I'm too tired" when you ask them to do the dishes, it's natural to think it's an excuse. At some point, I started to think the same thing.

It didn't matter that I could barely sit up. It was probably all in my head, and if I really wanted to, I could do it.

When I learned the name for it, chronic fatigue, I thought wow, people that have that must be miserable, because I am always tired and I cannot imagine what it would feel like if it were worse.

Spoiler alert, if you've been tired for a decade, it's probably chronic fatigue.

Once I figured that out though, I thought of my energy as the same as everyone else's, just smaller in quantity. And that might be true for some people, but I've figured out recently that it absolutely isn't true for me.

I used to be like wow I have so much energy today I can do this whole list for sure! And then I'd do the dishes and have to lay down for 2 hours. Then I'd think I must gave misjudged that, I didn't have as much energy as I thought.

But the thing is - I did have enough energy for more tasks, I just didn't go about them properly.

With chronic fatigue, your maximum energy is obviously much smaller than the average person's. Doing the dishes for you might use up the same percentage of energy that it takes to do all the daily chores for someone else.

If someone without chronic fatigue was to do all the daily chores, they would take breaks. Because otherwise, they're sprinting a marathon for no reason and it would take way more energy than necessary. We have to do the same.

Put the cups in the dishwasher, take a break. Put the bowls in, take a break. So on and so forth. This may mean taking breaks every 2-5 minutes but afterwards, you get to not feel like you've run a marathon while carrying 4 people on your back.

Today, I had a moderate amount of energy. Under my old system of go till you drop, I probably could have done most of the dishes and wiped off the counter and then been dead to the world for the rest of the day.

Under the new system, I scooped litter boxes, cleaned out the fridge, took the trash out, cleaned the stove, and wiped off the counter and did all the dishes. And after all that, I still had it in me to make a simple dinner, unload the dishwasher, and tidy the kitchen.

It was complete and utter insanity. Just because I sat down whenever I felt myself getting more tired than I already was.

All this to say, take fucking breaks. It's time to unlearn the ceaseless productivity bullshit that capitalism has shoved down our throats. Its actively counterproductive. Just sit down. Drink some water. Rest your body when it needs to rest.

There will still be days where there is nothing to do but rest, and days where half a load of dishes is absolutely the most I can do. But this method has really helped me minimize those, which is so incredibly relieving.

[ericshoney]

Tara's Sister ~ Chris Sturniolo (part two)

Summary: After meeting your sister's friends and getting Chris' number, you finally hang out with him.

Warnings: possible swearing, first date, kissing, fluff

a/n: Here you go! To everyone who asked for a part two! Hope it's as good as part one! 🥹

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was the day. You were hanging out with Chris. Tara hasn't stopped teasing you since you met him and you've been texting back and forth constantly.

Tara begged to do your make up and you finally agreed as long as it was nothing fancy. You then picked a simple but cute outfit as you were just getting dinner.

"Ahh! You look so cute!" She exclaimed.

"Taraaaa I'm not a baby." You mumbled as she gently squished your cheeks.

"Your my baby sister." She replied, making you laugh.

"How is Chris picking you up?" She then asked.

"Uber." You answered simply, checking your phone to see a message from Chris.

Hey now on my way 😁

Twenty minutes later, you heard a knock at the door. You went and opened it, seeing Chris there with a smile.

"Hey, wow you look really pretty." He said.

"Thank you, it's just simple." You replied with a smile.

"Honestly you could rock up in sweats and a hoodie, I'd still think your pretty." He rambled on, making you blush and smile.

You then said bye to Tara as you both got into the Uber. Chris was telling you a funny story of what happened with Nick throughout the day.

"And he just blamed me! I wasn't anywhere fucking near him!" He shouted.

"He's clumsy. He and Tara could be the same person." You said.

"Right. They are both loud." He replied, making you smile and nod.

When the Uber stopped, you both got out and went to the restaurant that Chris had booked for you. He spoke to the waiter and you were led to a booth near the back.

You started looking at the menu and knew what you were going to order. The waiter soon came back, letting you and Chris order your drinks first.

"How's the college break going?" He asked.

"It's going good and I love staying with Tara, I honestly don't know if I want to go back." You answered.

"If you went back I wouldn't see you as much." He mentioned.

"I know, that's another thing playing on my mind." You replied with a faint blush.

Chris smiled as you drinks then arrived and you both ordered your food. The two of you talked and joked, Chris making you laugh the whole time.

A few hours later, a belly full of food and a massive smile on your face, you were both ready to leave. Chris offered to pay, which you playfully argued with saying you could pay too, but Chris wanted to treat you.

"You wanna go for a walk, maybe get some ice cream?" He suggested as you left.

"Yeah sounds good." You replied with a nod.

You then walked down the street, listening to Chris chat. He was also a good listener, letting you talk as well. You two walked around the city and found a cute little ice cream stall.

"I'm paying this time!" You exclaimed, running over to the stall.

"Not if I get there first!" Chris shouted.

You giggled as you both raced to the stall. You were about to get there when arms wrapped around your waist, lifting you off the ground.

"Hey!" You shouted with a giggle.

"I win." Chris said, making you smile.

"Fineeee." You whined, making him laugh.

Chris ordered two ice creams and paid for them. He passed you yours, which you thanked him for, as you went and sat on a bench.

"You know, along with Tara, me, Nick and Matt can help you find a job you'll like to do with photography and fashion." Chris offered.

"That would be nice." You said.

"Or even you could put more on your socials." He added.

"I might do. I think I'm done with college, many more things here I like." You replied.

Chris smiled as you faced him. Your eyes flicked to his lips as his to yours.

"Can....Can I kiss you?" He asked softly.

You smiled and nodded as he leaned in, his lips touching your softly. You smiled against his lips kissing back.

"Wow." You whispered as he pulled away, both of you giggling.

Chris smiled and called an Uber to take you both home. You held his hand gently the whole ride home.

When the Uber pulled up at Tara's place, Chris walked you to the door, both of you still smiling wide.

"I had fun tonight, Chris." You said.

"Me too, wanna do it again sometime?" He asked.

"Totally." You answered with a nod.

Chris smiled and kissed your cheek, waving as he left in the Uber. You walked in and saw Tara watching a movie on the sofa.

"Did you have fun? I need all the details!" She exclaimed.

You laughed and sat telling her the details. Once Chris got home, he was the exact same question by Nick and Matt. Both of you smiled as you explained the amazing date.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tags:

@lgbtq-girl @mattsfavbigtitties @onelesslonelygirlbieber6 @sturniolo-fann @riowritesitall

[maxwell-grant]

The Penguin: Episode 8 "Great or Little Thing" Series Finale Breakdown

So first and foremost I need to give a shout-out to everyone who's been following this with me and helped me week after week process and articulate this show, this brilliant Penguin Braintrust without which I would be incredibly lost on how to even begin breaking this thing down this way: @davidmann95, @wil4x, @book--wyrm and my friend Lucas who is not on Tumblr.

And so we're here at last, in the end of the show. This took forever. I need a goddamn break. This isn't enough and will never be enough but it'll have to do. So let's get to the episode that has had the world joining hands in the unanimous urge to see the absolute shit kicked out of Oswald, and has made the character at last earn this:

(Episode 1) (Episode 2) (Episode 3) (Episode 4) (Episode 5) (Episode 6) (Episode 7)

So who would have guessed that cartoon dirtbag Rex Calabrese was still gonna turn out to be less of a cartoon dirtbag than Oz the moment we stop seeing him through Oz's eyes. Still a terrible person by every metric, but terrible in the same way a lot of Sopranos characters are terrible: this is, at the end of the day, a job, and you can talk to them, you can sit at a table to get down to business with them, and you probably know people in your life like them, and maybe you can even count of them to get real and even help you when the chips are down, even if it doesn't mitigate everything else that they are or do. At the very end, he was neither the benevolent god-king that Oz saw him as, nor was he the absurd dirtbag gangster we had him pegged as - there was never anything exceptional about Rex Calabrese, he's just a real criminal. Maybe the realest in the show.

I said in the last post that Francis burned with hate at everyone in the world except the person who most ruined her life and haha WOW was I wrong, because it turns she's known the entire goddamn time, and quite possibly no one has ever hated him more than Francis.

Most people in the show who hate Oz do so because he's a destructive bastard who craps on their lives directly, or because he's a lying sneaky fuck who does nothing while their lives are ruined, and Francis has had to deal with both longer than anyone else. I can't possibly count every single way this wildly recontextualizes every single interaction, every moment, everything that Francis has shown us and done since the first episode, because I'd have to recap EVERY scene and line of dialogue she has and we still have so much else to get through.

Why was Francis was so effectively able to withhold affection and hold his feet to the fire and give him that bottomless pit of yearning in his stomach that's driven him to move mountains in pursuit of it? Because Francis wouldn't have loved him even if he gave her the entire world at age 12. She never had any affection or love left for him. Oz was always chasing nothing.

And all along it was Rex who shaped the entire course of Oswald's life, as well as prefiguring his dynamic with Victor, with a single conversation. Oswald spend his childhood wanting for Rex Calabrese to notice and like him and be his friend, and he has no idea how much Rex actually affected his life.

That fateful night at Monroe's was never the feel-good story about his Ma summoning the willpower to live by dancing away the grief, and it was never even just the night of the eternal promise that Oz thinks back to, it was a fucking trap to kill Oz. Nothing he has in his life is real, nothing he says is true, he has never not lived in complete total delusion.

The sheer disgust in Deirdre O'Connell's face at the "I do too". How much of her personality we completely understand was born from this absolute resentment she's nursed for decades towards Oz.

And this rotten little turd comes at her with a perfect speech that hits her every insecurity and bitterness and spite and situation and convinces her to give him another chance. The nature versus nurture thing again - Oswald was shaped by hardship, by decades of hard work and neglect, by the total absence of his mother's love while in turn being forced to live in stunted childhood dedicating himself to always taking care of her, and maybe what we're seeing here is heavily distorted by Francis's POV - or maybe he was always a little monster, because this guy talking to her is The Penguin, the same guy doing the same things in the same way, either way it doesn't matter. Again, born fucking ready.

So now we see our three major supporting characters - Sofia, Victor and Francis - all of them have shown that they had a chance to walk away from Oz, to not let him ruin their lives further. All of them could have left Oswald behind, and all of them should have left Oswald behind, but they had to come back and justify the choice to do so, they had to get satisfaction, it couldn't have been for nothing. Victor had his car and a girlfriend in a bus waiting for him, Sofia had a jet to take her to Italy, and Francis had Rex Calabrese ready and waiting to put him down without a word. All of them had a chance to get out of the show and never look back, but like Oz, they had to rectify and overcorrect for an insult.

Sofia can't walk away from Gotham without punishing Oz for turning her in, for killing Alberto and further lying to her, she can't accept that this man, this embodiment of Carmine's legacy and hold over her, is still out there unpunished getting away with what he's done. Victor can't walk away from Gotham knowing that his parents did everything right and still died for nothing, that every hurtful thing Oz said was right, he can't let "They don't give out awards for dying in the projects" be the last word in his and their lives. And Francis can't walk away from Oz, who killed her two sons and keeps lying about it, who ruined her life and now keeps promising he will take care of her and acting like everything will be fine, she can't let this pass even if she can't kill him either, and so she'll make him give her the world and die trying.

The tragedy of what happened is what hurt/broke them - the added insult of what Oz said or did is what they just can't live with. It can't be for nothing.

Goddamnit it, it was really just too telegraphed for it to not happen the way it did.

I fucking knew it the moment the episode started and we got the grungy boss orchestral take on the funny Penguin chords that we were in for some calamitous shit.

We see at first that, in spite of seemingly failing, Vic has graduated to the point he can give his own speeches, gain his own allies, run his own cons - he's not just Oz's proxy, but will manage to convince the others to become such as well, and he's coming at this from a place of complete sincere belief in everything that Oz says, all of the man of the people rhetoric he will so thoroughly pervert and then sell to the people actually responsible for everything he told Victor he was fighting against.

Zeke walks up to him nearly crying about how Sofia blew it all up and Vic instantly asks back where's Oz - not because he doesn't care about Crown Point, but he's already processed it and has already learned with Oz how to just barrel forward regardless, now it's time to get to work. Victor who so readily throws himself into rescuing Oz again and again. Victor who's lost everything - he doesn't have his family, he doesn't have Graciela, he doesn't have the other mobs backing him up, and right now he doesn't even have Crown Point anymore, all he has is Oz.

The man in red who reads the Law Gave him three weeks of life, Three little weeks in which to heal His soul of his soul's strife, And cleanse from every blot of blood The hand that held the knife - The Ballad of Reading Gaol

Sofia dressed in two thematically appropriate outfits - the red scarf echoing both the first outfit we see her in, back to covering her neck but in control of her own collar, and the outfit we see her the farthest back in time with at the start of Episode 4, and with her final crimson fur coat outfit accompanying her final greatest triumph and ultimate defeat in the show. Not only that, but in this episode she also gets to perform characteristically appropriate stylized torture - holding a family intervention and therapy session with mafioso torture tactics to try and wrench the truth out of her victimizer, enacting calculated sadistic yet righteous justice via psychological breakdown, and ultimately allowing the woman he victimized and wronged to take her killshot at him.

See, it's not just that Sofia Gigante is a Batman Villain, or that she's well passed the threshold of supervillain. Cristin Milioti doesn't play Sofia like she's a new character, which she basically is, and she isn't just playing a tortured gangster lady protagonist dipping into camp villain territory, which she also is - she plays Sofia Gigante like she's been a Batman Rogues headliner for decades now stepping into the spotlight once again, like she's the dark modern revamp of someone Adam West would have thought and she's just always been around showing up in stuff along with The Penguin, like she's only not fighting or teaming up with Two-Face in this because he's not here yet. It is crucially important that Sofia passes every standard of Batman Villain imaginable with flying colors, in part because it helps to reinforce that The Penguin is a monster all his own.

Even here, with as much power as she's ever possibly held over him, reduced him to a whimpering begging mess to be killed off in a second, she is so shocked at the sheer brazen selfishness and delusion and level of bullshit on display, that even now he won't break character and think about his actions and admit to what he's done not even to save his own mother from mutilation, that she just loses the script entirely. Her entire show of power collapses and she physically recoils from sheer disgust at just how low Oswald is, at just how much he lacks the ability to even suffer for what he's done. Realizing that there is simply not enough of a soul in this filthy beast to even torture, and that however much she hates Oswald for ruining her life, someone had a prior claim all along.

Eve - Sofia - Francis in the end united in, however much they may dislike each other, however different their circumstances may be, there is nothing they could possibly do to each other that would be worse than what Oswald has done to all of them, joined in silent agreement that their rage ultimately belongs in a bullet fired at Oz's head and that they deserve their kill shot at this man.

"I had enough to give, Oswald".

This really is gonna be the high point of Francis's life from this point on.

Aw man, I liked Sofia's scruffy dirtbag detective, I wanted him to stick around as one of the reocurring characters like the movie cops

Oh Victor, sweet kind Victor, you couldn't possibly ask for anything worse in the entire world.

Oz feebly already beginning to lie and spin his new version of the events, that Sofia stabbed him and fucked up with Ma, and here comes Victor with the reversal of their dynamic, seeing this guy who's been brought low by the oppressive force looming over his life that he must defeat (because all that Victor knows about Sofia at this point is that she used to be Oz's boss and is now out to kill them, that she is scary as hell, and regardless of whether or not she was the Hangman, she just bombed his fucking neighborhood) and reaching out to him with a speech about solidarity and dignity and self-worth and picking yourself up by your fucking bootstraps to save the day. And Oz responds by coaching him on how to be a better bullshitter. Because to Oz, he knows the playbook by heart, but Victor meant it all.

Victor rebuilds Oz from basically nothing by providing him with the validation that he so desperately always craved and never got, saying all the things he always wanted to hear, poised so they can finish this together, poised to give him not only the army he asked for, but a full-blown revolution, and he never once asks for anything in return. Just, goddamnit this isn't hurting any less.

"She, sh-she'll never look at me again, all right?....unless I get this done. Got a promise to keep." Maybe the one and only time his mask ever fully cracks. For a second. He rebuilds it right back up and gets to work, but it cracked. He knows what he's doing, up until the moment he doesn't. It's that simple.

A lot of what drives Oz is acceptance, and a lot of what drives him is his desire to be accepted in worlds that have been declared, by how they run themselves and by the people that inhabit these worlds, as worlds that he was never going to be included in. And one of those worlds is the hierarchy and the hoi polloi of the political realm and the power within the political realm because he understands that all politics are corrupt essentially, and the damage that he could do then in being part of a political infrastructure of Gotham interests him. I thought it would be nice if, in that time jump, he had been invited to maybe a gala or two, you know what I mean? It'd be awkward. He'd be slurping out of the fucking teacup, there'd be stains on the table, he wouldn't really fit in, but he’d fucking love being there. - Colin Farrell

Mirroring the scene in Episode 01 where he adjusts himself next to the car, scuffing himself up to look like the sleazy funnyman the Falcones keep around for kicks, now he's dressing up as much as he can and asking Victor for input, because he truly values what the kid thinks and, goddamnit.

"C'mahn, I don't bite", pfft yeah, not in this movie universe anyway. And to the same guy you did the nose-gushing-blood bit to, even.

Minutes inside of City Hall and he already parks his ass right on Bella Real's seat - not as any kind of intentional slight against her, it's just naturally where he goes to, even before the scene ends and we see his new plans start to come to fruition.

Guy who takes offense at Viti calling Sofia a psycho and then goes up to Councilman Hady talking about the unhinged loony bin broad who went "full psycho" that he's handing to him on a platter, pointedly calling her Falcone.

At first I thought it was funny that Sal Maroni was getting blamed here for Bliss and the underground lab, but then I remembered that he was actually the one who introduced Drops to Gotham and the whole epidemic that became, so if anything it is an extremely easy part of the story to sell, even without his body being down there and all.

"You're gonna have some trouble, Oz" - pointedly smiling and calling him Oz instead of Oswald as he had up to this point, because by that point he's already a crony and already willing to work with this guy handing him all these miracles.

"You wanna be welcome? You gotta look, clean" Yes Father Pal, I Shall Become A Capitalist Caricature

You can see in the walk around, in his look at Bella Real and the mayor's office high up above and the steps, how little Ozzie's gears turn once again and rebuild his life after losing the streets and everything that happened with Ma - This is the next nest, this is the next throne, this is next schmuck I gotta cozy up to, this is the next boss looking down on me that I gotta destroy, there's the reward waiting for me if I do. This is the one that matters, I did everything in the shit and now I'm gonna get me sum goddamn respeck, Feh Ma of course.

And before all of this we see Sofia's next move, showing the ways in which she is good at this, the ways in which she truly is something outside of the worldview of what these gangsters are used to, and why she is going to lose. "Because I can". She is good at commanding a room and promising rewards beyond the wildest dreams of these street crimelords because she can offer everything they want and lose nothing she cares about for it, she will hand them everything and dip because she can, and she is going to lose because she can lose. Because she still thinks there is an end in sight for her, she thinks she will get to walk away from this universe and go meet a happy ending at a cafe in Florence.

It's not just that Sofia was born into privilege and never really lived in Gotham and could just hop onto a plane out of here anytime, it's also that she has room in her life for introspection, self-awareness, consideration towards others, and all those things that come easier when you're "born full", and not when you're the starving hustler for whom leaving the city was never an option even if he had all the money in the world, the hungry animal who wants this, wants everything, harder than anyone has ever wanted anything. The guy who has no room for anything else in his brain other than a perpetual bullshit generator set to a 24/7 chorus of "I GOTTA WIIIIIIN"

Another element to her that I really love is, she's good at this. She knows she's good at this, she was supposed to take over the family. She may not know the ins and outs of the game as it currently stands, but she is good at this. Some of it is, I think that's the only world she knows, and some of it is there's something in there, that's always been there, and she believes it is rightfully hers. There's an element of, "I need to have made it worth it for something", and if that means power, then okay. - Cristin Milioti

There’s a level for both of them that they enjoy each other’s suffering, and that sort of leads to Sofia’s downfall. If she didn’t need to see Oz suffer she might have been free. And she really gets in her own way in that regard and largely because Oz is this crutch that she just cannot let go of. - Lauren LeFranc

And here we get to the end of season 1 of HBO's The Sofia Show, the bittersweet in hindsight but extremely cathartic torching of the set as a last hard-earned spiritual victory by our hard-done-by lady protagonist. All of her family is dead, the city is out for her blood, she gathered all the remaining criminals for One Last Job with everything on the line, and she is having a very fun time with her montage destroying her home and family name beyond recovery. She is going to finish her character arc, get to finally kill her former comedy sidekick turned mortal nemesis, and hop on a plane to The White Lotus resort straight away into greener (if only marginally less fucked up) genre territory away from this ugly nightmare city. Alas, this is not The Sofia Show, and it's time for her theme suite to catch up to her once again and tell us of how very badly this is all going to go for her.

And she can't even be that shocked, when the high of burning it all down goes away, when she sees that old Ozzie Cobb wriggled his way out of this jam regardless and is now coming at her with a speech, she can't even react to it. Deep down she knows how the rest of the night is going to go. She may not have expected Arkham outright, but she was braced for a loathsome fate.

It rules so much they give him a big fat fight the power speech with a bloody revolution montage, and we can only sit there aghast with Sofia at the sheer audacity of him to act like this, like a man of the people, thinking he truly has the right to be talking like this and to her of all people.

And now we see how Oz won the gang war, and the next domino to fall on the downfall of Gotham City, and the first effect of his own rise to power: like The Riddler, he has toppled the order of things and he has turned people into extensions of himself, Victor being the first and the one who gave him this revolution, of all the little mini Penguins out there devouring the social structure of Gotham crime forever. You kill the boss, you become the boss now. Everyone can bleed and everyone can be killed and everyone must be killed in the quest to the top, no handrails or codes, they wouldn't invite him and so he crashed. After he unified the criminal underdogs, Victor rallied the underdogs beneath the underdogs, and now the streets are a jungle where there will never be an end to the wars over who gets to be atop the food chain, because they are all fighting to see who gets to be the next Penguin.

For decades people have written Oswald Cobblepot as a creep and a sleaze and an incel who hurts/kills women for rejecting him, or who is chronically insecure about them and I can very confidently say nobody ever did anything half as horrible and half as truthful and half as meaningful as LeFranc did here. We see the other reason why it was so imperative to her that Oswald not be a misogynist, and it has nothing to do with just making him more likeable or sympathetic or honorable. We get in this episode the pay off to the thoughtline: okay, he's actually a gangster who respects women, he does not act like every other prestige drama gangster who ever lived, we are going to center women in this show and he will treat them with respect - now let's watch how he HORRIBLY screws them over in the name of this respectful gentleman persona he lives by, let's watch how he betrays them in the ways that matter most, how he even makes them wish they were dead without personally ever lifting a finger to harm them, let's do some grown-up feminist commentary in Batman for a change and highlight the ways in which men profit from belittling and oppressing and destroying women even when they're pointedly not misogynistic and even self-professed genuine allies to them.

And so it is that the only Falcone mobster who isn't misogynistic towards Sofia is the one who screws her the most horribly. He will murder every man he comes across, he will murder every man he could have been and every man who is even marginally better than him in any way, he will push all of his brothers out of the nest and not tolerate any other big shot in town bigger than him and not even the only man, the only person, in town who loves him will be spared. But he is a gentleman, so he leaves the women alive (well, except for Nadia Maroni, but she was a rival big shot and worse, his boss for a day or two, so she obviously had to go eventually).

I thought about his greatest fear, and it made a lot of sense to me that his greatest fear would be that love is transactional. That if he does not achieve a level of power and give Francis certain types of things that he’s promised her she might not love him. And that informs every relationship he has on the show It was always important to me, and this was always part of my initial pitch, that if Oz was to achieve a level of power—and that is something that was not up for discussion, that was my job that I was tasked with for the season—that he has to lose something emotionally. It can’t come without a cost. - Lauren LeFranc

"the crooked politics that have allowed wealthy elites like Sofia Falcone to wreak havoc". Oz has weaponized the status quo against her so throughly that she is going away under the exact same image that she did it the first time, as a privileged serial killer and Falcone. She doesn't even get to have her new name anymore, and the rest of Gotham does not see her as the new and strange and horrific new threat that she embodied in Oz's life - she is going away as just another upper-class monster like her dad.

The triumph that Oswald has fought his entire life for, the Big One that he's scraped and fought and hoped his entire life would happen and he'd get to show his Ma at the end, the thing that he's going to throw a party for at this moment, is just a politician on tv saying things that Oswald claims he told him to say.

All of our 3 major supporting characters will thus reach the high point of their lives, on the moment before it is ripped away and they are destroyed forever. Francis gets to finally spit all of her hatred back to Oz and take her revenge on him, and her babies appear before her alive and unharmed. Sofia gets to burn down her father and his legacy once and for all, and is on her way to kill her nemesis and finally be free of it all. Victor succeeds in helping Oz win, they have revolutionized the gangs and defeated the big bad Falcone and he's done right by his new family what he couldn't do with his old one.

And of course, Oswald finally wins - he is the last man standing, he's defeated his greatest enemy, he is the big shot of Gotham and his victory is, so he claims, right there on the tv for his Ma to see, he can finally get what he's always wanted now - and then he doesn't, and then his soul crumbles, before he finishes the job by murdering his heart.

Oz didn’t need to do that, like it wasn’t actually necessary. In that moment, Victor did not betray him. He did nothing wrong. In fact, the thing that he did “wrong” in Oz’s eyes is that he loves him and that he cares about him and Oz actually cares about Victor. I think by the end Oz sees that as a really big problem because he loves his mother so deeply and Sofia took advantage of that love, and then it became sort of a weakness in his eyes. Victor saw him at his most vulnerable and for Oz to achieve the power that he thinks he needs, he can’t have that level of humanity. He can’t have that heart with him anymore. So he stifles his own heart. He kills it. - Lauren LeFranc

When he said to Vic in the sewer, “They'll tell stories about us one day, kid,” he meant it. At that stage, he actually saw that he could rise and Vic could come with him. It's only when the vulnerability and the shock of his mother being taken from him, and the place of vulnerability and danger that puts him in, that he realizes there's no more love, there's no more affection, there's no one else I'm going to have in my life that can lead me to such vulnerability as my mother has led me to or as this kid could potentially lead me to. - Colin Farrell

He's not relishing being horrible. When he realizes, "Oh God, Victor makes me vulnerable. I can't have that shit anymore." The way that Lauren wrote it, and the way Colin played, there's such sadness under the horror. You're like, oh my God, how fucked up do you have to be that the one person who you feel you have any connection with now, you have to snuff out because it makes you weak. What happened to you? - Matt Reeves

"You think she forgives me?" Once again, the mask cracks. Only around Victor. Only because of Victor. And he can't have that again.

And thus we get to the final parallel between our 3 side characters - that in the end, all they did was serve Oz's own rise to power, and hand him the world in exchange for their lives. All they were to him were additional steps in the ladder that began with his brothers. Francis gave him his life, his drive, his motivation and eternal justification, the insatiable pit in his gut driving him to do this forever. Sofia got him his promotion to Falcone lackey, and then she got him another promotion by handing him the tools with which he could become an underground boss and rally them, and then she got him another promotion by handing him the keys to his political career on a silver platter. And Victor saved his life, more than once. He helped him, provided the justification he has craved for a lifetime, rebuilt him, gave him his revolution, gave him the streets, and showed him the last thing he needed to kill to make it to the top.

Wow man let me tell my good friend, The Family Butcherer, who butchers every family he gets his hands on whether a crime family or a literal one, how much I think of him as family.

"They don't give out awards for dying in the projects"

Just like with Squid, Vic's emotional intelligence dooms him. He sees this man whom is like family to him brought to his lowest point, crushed beyond measure, in what he assumes was just a phenomenally terrible stroke of fate and not something he had any blame whatsoever for, and reaches out to pat him in the back, emotionally reassure him that it wasn't all for nothing, that his family would surely be proud of him, and that there's things to look forward to.

Vic threw away his chance to walk away into the sunset with Graciela and he just had to come back to save Oz (AND Sofia, the one who'd bomb his neighborhood) from the Maronis, the least of all possible evils in his life and his city and who never even noticed him. Victor only narrowly missed out in 2 situations that Oz would have absolutely left him to die in, so there just had to be a third where he'd die in the absolute worst way possible. Not with Sofia's gunshot to the head, not bombed to rubble along with his neighborhood, no, Mr. Carmine 2 had to make it as painful and intimate as possible.

Vic the only Number Two in town who couldn't kill his boss and in fact never even considered doing so, and so he dies - there is just no room for him anymore, not in Oz's life, nor in the new Gotham that the two built together.

LEFRANC: "You see Oz become this next level monster, I remember the take too. Jennifer and I look at each other, Colin transforms his face in this really remarkable way, that I don't think any of us fully anticipated could be achieved in that way." - The Penguin Podcast Episode 8

I knew that the general sentiment was that, by the end, they kind of wanted to, in a way, kill the Oz that we met in the film. I felt that there was a sense of creative responsibility that leaned towards, “We cannot have this man as a likable character,” which is hard I think they wanted that in the earth by the end of the eight hours. They wanted that RIP. That's gone. I hated that scene. I really did. I was fucking so pissed off. It felt in performing it as — guess what? — you would like it to feel in viewing it. It felt gross, it felt cruel, it felt absolutely insane, and it felt like Oz was reaching a point of no return. - Colin Farrell

So the day after I watched this episode, my friend Lucas messaged me in the afternoon sending me audio messages, "Son of a bitch! Son of a bitch! He stole his identity, he didn't even die with his fucking name! They'll never find him! Fuck, goddamnit!" "ELE MORREU COMO INDIGENTE, PORRA" and, yeah. Yeah. That gets to the heart of it.

If Vic was just a guy taking his money, if Vic was purely transactional, if he was just another Link, he'd have made it. Oz wouldn't have given a shit about him, Oz would have died on the sidewalk when the Maronis hit at minimum. All this piece of shit wants is love, and when he gets it, when it's finally non-transactional, from the ONLY person in the entire show who loved him, he has to kill it, he doesn't know how to deal with it, he has to smother his heart.

He has to become Carmine Falcone 2, strangling the poor and vulnerable of Gotham while pinning all of his crimes on Sofia.

Vic just wanted his family back, man. He just wanted a family again, to at least show his family that they didn't die for nothing. The thing that Oz spits in his face as he dies. It wasn't for nothin.

This show has so many dozen little variations of Penguin getting his heart broken and retaliating cruelly, but this one hurts the most partially because it has no basis whatsoever on any pre-existing insult or cruelty, there was nothing that warranted this, and you still get why Oz felt that he had to do it. The lowest, weakest moment of his life, and he can never permit anything like it ever again.

Victor was his heart, and The Penguin remembered that his heart only exists to be broken.

Victor punctures the illusion, and he cannot have that. Everything about The Penguin hinges on that singular fact of his life: he cannot and will not break character. He cannot break character, otherwise he dies, otherwise Gotham City will eat him alive, otherwise he has done it all for nothing. That is the ultimate threat Sofia posed to him, and why his ultimate victory comes only from creating a perfect delusion and spinning everything that happened in service of it. Because all those things said at Monroe's? They weren't true - his Ma, y'know, it was just her disease acting up, that psycho did something to her, she wasn't thinkin straight, and it was really Sofia that stabbed him and did all that fucked up shit, and his Ma is really happy that she got the penthouse in the end and that he didn't put her down, look, she's crying tears of joy even, I gotta keep doing everything for her.

Everything and everyone in his life, he can spin in service of the delusion, they can all play dress-up with him forever, except Victor. Victor may not have the slightest clue as to what Oz actually did, but he's seen too much, he knows he has vulnerabilities, he knows the thing that Oz needs to bury far, far more than all the horrible things he's done. Killing Victor is maybe the one thing that he absolutely cannot in the slightest spin a decent delusion out of, that he did it for him or did it for noble reasons or anything other than out of disgusting self-serving weakness.

But who's Victor? Some kid who died in the projects and didn't even have a name? Someone with nobody left to mourn him, not even a street to get back to, nothing but a guy who's already forgot him?

That Victor Aguilar? Never heard of him

“I will never think my mother doesn't love me. She was having a bad day when she stuck that bottle in me. She was under a lot of pressure. She nearly lost her finger. She stuck a bottle in my belly. It was a bad day. She didn't get a good night's sleep the night before.” It's that kind of thing. He'll make up fucking whatever. He's already lying when he goes, and he's stitching up his belly, and Vic says, “What happened?” And he says, “Sofia, she stuck me with a bottle.” He's already beginning to bury the truth. - Colin Farrell

He needed your love, and then you didn't give it to him, and you didn't obey, and you didn't do those things that he needed, and then you mentally aren't there for him in the way that he needs, but he's got to physically keep you around because he's too weak to not do that. He can't give you the gift that he promised you in Episode Six, he's too weak of a man to do that. And so he needs to hold onto you, but under his terms. - Lauren LeFranc

There's a thing that happened on that last day that made my blood run cold, which was I felt Oz not love me anymore. I felt his coldness, and I think that Francis felt it too, and she always had so much of his attention and so much of his love. I don't even think she realized how much she had until he withdrew it. And when he withdrew it, it was utter and… slightly terrified. I was just lying in that bed, I just felt the love leave the room. It's a real thing, and it's gone, yeah, and I think Francis feels it, too. - Deirdre O'Connell

He's this man who is clawing his way to the top, and I knew he wanted power, but what what does that mean for him? That's where I started to conceive of like, he wants his mother's love, and he wants people's affection. He wants to be revered. That was like the main thrust for me of what defines power for Oz, and then by the end you realize that, when he doesn't get those things, he doesn't get his mother's acceptance, he still gets it. He makes sure he gets it. - Lauren LeFranc

So bowled over and miserable I was that I didn't even notice until later that he was wearing a version of the classic Bronze Age/Triumphant get-up.

If the pattern of his life is unjustifiably cruel retribution for slights and insults, perceived or not, by the end Francis had done it to him as well. That she never loved him and in fact always hated him more than anything and anyone else is the biggest insult of all, and so he punishes her the most cruelly, knowingly or not.

"You are who you are, and you couldn't change if you tried."

He will never stop telling Rex Calabrese stories, he will never stop bringing up his brothers and mom as a sympathy ploy, and even if he will never truly love her again, he will never stop ruining the world in her name, he will never stop, he will never stop, he will never stop.

You had to sit through 8 hours chipping away at all of his fun and charm and wacko comedy antics and motivations and all the scruples and principles that he turns out to have less and less of, until he butchers them all in the very end along with the heart of the show. Penguin burning through all of his lovable quirks and charm, everything that we loved about him in the movie, until he comes through as a black-hearted bastard of unlimited malice who will never stop growing and getting worse and putting more lives in danger. Not only as much of a lowlife backstabber as we initially assumed him to be in the movie, but far worse than what we could have imagined.

I said as much that the first episode marks the transition from The Batman to The Penguin with the titlecard, and this brings it back around. The show dies with Victor, we get Sofia's post-credits Nick Fury Tease with Selina's letter and with Selina's theme playing and a final grace note of hope for Sofia, and thus the only character in the show to end with anything resembling positive, and then we get the first scene of The Batman Part 2. showing us the horrible thing in this world that Batman will have to defeat for us.

RIP Bella Real, we all know this asshole is gonna become mayor, and he's not waiting for the next election.

Credit to @book--wyrm for pointing out one more horrible fucking thing, that at the final dance, his hands are covered in scratches, much like the hands of Carmine Falcone when he comforted Sofia.

“One of the very early things that Lauren pitched was that ending with Eve where she looks like Francis,” said Reeves. “He can’t get what he needed from his mother because she’s no longer in that state because of the dark events and what he’s done, so he recreates it in this other way with Eve, and it’s very disturbing,” said Reeves. “That was something we thought was a great idea and was so emblematic of this guy’s internal state. It’s like, even as he now seems to have gotten that first major step toward being the kingpin, you know that some part of him will never be filled. - Matt Reeves

When I read that, I was like, “Oh my god, we're going full Bates Motel here.” But again, it speaks to what has become a pathological inability to accept the world that he has played such a heavy hand in creating. As far as he's concerned, he's just doing what he needs to do to live the life of a good son. And look, his mother can't talk anymore, so he needs a surrogate. I mean, it would be kept out of the sexual realm — it wasn't about that. It was about the intimacy and the tenderness and the pride that Oz always so deeply needed to feel his mother had for him, and pride in him, that he never really got from her. The one time when he finally can say to her, can go to her bedside and say, “It's done. Everything you said that I was capable of, everything you said that I should aspire to, it's done. I am now the boss. I took it from everyone else.” And he gets nothing back. His mother's already gone. That's just too horrific for him, so he needs a surrogate. He would say to Eve, “Look, I'm grieving. I'm finding it hard to deal with the fact that my mother's alive, but she's not here. She's gone, but she's fully present at the same time, physically, but she's nowhere there. She doesn't recognize me. I don't recognize the woman she's become. Do me a favor. We used to dance together and talk at the end of the night. Would you put on her dress and just let me pretend?” But it was twisted. It was twisted, but I dug it. He needs it from his mom so much. And again, his imagination is so potent that he just cast her as that figure, that most prominent and most powerful figurehead in his life, which has always been his mother. She's got to stay alive. He's got to hear that he did well from her. He's got to hear that she's proud. Look, by the end, he's bananas, as they say in the film. Good cop, batshit cop. At the end, he's batshit. - Colin Farrell

Remember when this show had fun Dolly Parton end credits, remember when this almost looked like it was gonna be fun and light-hearted compared to the movie and The Riddler: Year One

So turns out all along they actually had something real twisted planned with the name Karlo, and the Clayface concept that evokes. Asking his prostitute girlfriend to shapeshift into his crying comatose mom in the room upstairs so he can finally get the dance with her atop the world that he craved his entire life and have her tell him how proud she is that he ruined everything forever.

It is not a good ending, but it is his happy ending. He achieved everything he wanted in the smallest possible amount and at the highest cost imaginable, and thus he burns more than ever to take more and more in the name of a satisfaction he will never, ever have. He ended his arch-nemesis, and he didn't have to kill her, that's not what a gentleman does. He got the streets, and he's poised to take political power, and there is nobody left to care about, nobody except the only person who's ever mattered. He can still keep taking care of Ma as a justification for all the shit he will do now and forever, but he doesn't actually have to take care of her anymore, he doesn't even have to love her or grovel her for validation anymore: He has a Ma who will tell him everything he wants to hear, forever.

Of course, he may not have his three dance partners anymore - his Ma is in a vegetative state, Sofia has been locked away once again, and that kid, what was his name again, ain't around. But then, he will simply move on to new ones: He didn't actually lose his first dance partner, his Ma is fine, look at her telling him how proud she is of him and everything he's done and how unstoppable he is now. And he has a new partner in City Hall who is all too eager to play along to everything he says and does, who will receive and spit back his rhetoric just as Vic did to the streets of Gotham. And if he's defeated his nemesis and dance partner, well, not for long. There's a new one waiting for him. He never wins without losing. He will never again live without his next dance partner there to hound and foil him at every turn. There will always be something in the way.

It was exciting to me, the idea that we’re going to meet Oz as a mobster, and to play him as just a man. There’s nothing fantastical about him. There’s so many people like Oz in our world who hold a lot of power, who also connect with people because they speak, on some level, the truth. They can be charming and engaging, but also really terrifying and calculated, and not necessarily doing what they say that they will do or caring for people in the way that they say that they will. It felt so timely and so important to really engage with a guy like Oz and not turn away from him, but actually turn towards him so we can start to unpack, in our own society, what makes a man like Oz so appealing, and what makes him equally appalling. - Lauren LeFranc

I think Oz has always been someone who believes that everything he’s saying in the moment is true, and he creates worlds and illusions for himself to merit his actions. He does it sometimes very briefly in impulsive moments, and then sometimes more methodically, and in the end the fact that he didn’t get from his mother what he’s always desired isn’t good enough for him. So he has to create this strange fantasy live in this delusion of his own making, and pay Eve to dress as his mother and force her to tell him he she’s proud of him. So mentally, emotionally, Oz is embracing his own delusion. I think, for the audience, I hope they more deeply understand him psychologically and realize that there is a deeply broken man inside. He is violent and problematic and and very emotional. And that’s really the man that will carry into the next film. - Lauren LeFranc

And it has to end in a total reversal of the movie ending - The Batman ends with showing there is a light in the darkness, that this tortured broken man can fix his mistakes and lead us into something better. The Penguin ends by grabbing your face and desperately yelling at you SOMEBODY FUCKING SAVE US, HE WILL ONLY GET WORSE. The Batman ends with telling us Batman can save us all, and The Penguin ends with telling us Penguin will kill every last one of us in real life if he hasn't already, if nobody stops him.

And so I'll leave these last partings words to the Penguin Braintrust as we close off this series - see you all in therapy and in theaters when The Batman: Part 2 drives us all completely insane once more.

@wil4x

I don't think this Penguin is someone Batman can tolerate, I don't think Bruce can ever save Gotham's soul with a force of corruption as big as Penguin taking root in the seats of power. No amount of informant work can justify letting a monster like Penguin stay "King of Gotham". I think there's an argument to be made that Oz is a bigger threat to Batman's overall long-term mission than guys like Joker or Riddler. Those are huge immediate threats, but Penguin does a lot more long-term damage to the very soul of Gotham and its people. As long as The Penguin is on top, there's no hope, Gotham will never not be the most corrupt and nightmarish place on earth with him in charge

@book--wyrm

He will truly climb anything no loss so great it can't be flipped into an asseet A nuke Francis armed out of pain and grief and desperation and despair And poor vic Only wanting to do good And instead he saves gotham’s own typhoid mary of misery

@davidmann95

so the thing is Oz kills hope for Gotham forever in this

he's replacing the mayor who stands for hope at the end of The Batman with a corrupt comics rando built on a lie so he can install himself as the power behind the power forever Batman can't be alluded to in the slightest until the very end because it can't be until there's no lingering 'aw, I don't want my boy to get Batman'ed' it can't be until we understand truly and completely why this man proves the necessity of someone out there to stop him

The other stabs at this with Oswald, from what I’ve seen, are trying to make him low-down and dirty and vile enough to be a ‘proper’ Batman villain. But this already made him low-down and dirty and vile. And made us love him for it. This isn’t about ‘fixing him’, this is about taking him all the way to the top He’d accept no less

This is about making him operatically nightmarish enough to be a guy Batman is going to fight forever

Lucas

VENGEANCE, GET OUT RIGHT FUCKING NOW.

[glitter-stained]

Ok sooo don’t know if you’ve ever already been asked this but-

I’m like a sucker for cute baby robin Jason interactions with the Teen titans. In my own wonderful world I like to imagine that Baby Jason had (has) a crush on his older brother’s cool older friends (cough cough Roy).

How do you think that would go? (I’ve thought of these scenarios soooo many times)

Especially when he meets them again when he’s older, and ripped, and ohmygodthosethighs

Just asking Fellow Jason Todd Stan to Fellow Jason Todd Stan :)

Tysm for the ask!

Hmmm

I think the more Titans Jaybin had a baby crush on the cuter it gets.

Dick: so hey Jay how was it what did you think of my team?

Jaybin, who spent way too many hours surrounded by the coolest and prettiest people he's ever seen smiling and talking to him: I think I have arrhythmia.

As for his comeback, I'm gonna be honest I'm very critical of villainous Jason, I think UTH an intelligent, enjoyable story but I personally can't get over its flaws so I'm gonna answer using some AUs of mine, please bear with me. Mostly it's just hard to analyse and make hypothesis about a characterization you disagree with.

Antigonish : that's my personal UTH rewrite where Jason is still a villain/antihero/rogue but the way I'd have written it. In this, Jason (17) looks around 17 years old at most in UTH so he's still not exactly a sexy adult but I don't think the Titans know he's back yet. At the end of Antigonish, Jason leaves Gotham and Dick only finds out from Bruce after he left that Jason's back. So I think the way Dick learns it and passes it on the Titans is "there is a very deeply traumatized highly skilled teenager wandering across the country who needs urgent psychiatric care if lost please return to Batman." I don't know when he first meets the og Titans afterwards (though he maybe meets Roy first since I kinda want him to wind up in Star City for a while, make friends with Mia), but I think there would be that "best friend's undead little brother, handle with care" vibe going on on the Titan's side. On Jason's side, I can see him annoying the fuck out of Mia lmao -"wow your older brother is so handsome I wanna use these biceps as pillows for the rest of my life", "have you seen him with Lian, I wanna bear his children" she would be SO DONE with him

Now in an AU similar to Antigonish, but also closer to canon (aka trying to mash my version of Jason into various dc canons held together with glue to have in character!Roy with an older version of Antigonish!Jason teaming up) which I will call the Jayroy AU as its sole purpose for existence is that I want these people to date, Jason and Roy meet as adults (Jason is 22 and Roy 29). Why did they never meet before? Eh, raising a kid who definitely doesn't get exploded is hard work. Anyway the point is Roy doesn't recognise Jason. Jason is using a pseudonym (probably something stupid like Harper Teal) because of legally dead reasons and just assumes Roy recognised him and followed along, but he looks nothing like the cute little guy who blushed like a tomato every time Roy talked to him. At some point Jason casually mentions the adventure he had with the Titans and Roy goes through several kinds of shock and has to reboot like a computer.

> + bonus lantern AU:

Red Lantern Dick: "hey guys remember my first little brother Jason? He asked if he could get some help on an intergalactic issue."

The titans: "that cute kid? Didn't he die? And why would the second Robin need help with intergalactic threats anyway?"

Jason, thighs and tits on display, in his Star Sapphire uniform, with a machine gun construct under the arm: "Hey guys who wants to help me take down a space wide trafficking ring?"

[willsimpforanyone]

Hey! I was wondering if you could do a poly!solangelo x child of eros!reader smut? And there was this tiny bit of angst since reader is the child eros and well, ya know what happened last time nico saw eros/cupid? Thanks!!!!!!!!:D

i can do that, thank you for waiting so patiently! as per usual, everyone in this fic is in their 20s at least as they have their own apartment and no one below 25 can afford that shit

reader will use they/them pronouns and generally i don't refer to genitals unless the ask specifies them

hoo boy this got away from me

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

I draped myself over the back of the sofa, arms flung around Nico's neck. "Hey gorgeous, how're you?"

The flinch he gave, no matter how hidden, didn't go unnoticed. He didn't say anything and I immediately pulled away. I walked round to the front of the sofa, sitting at the end with a good two feet of space between me and my boyfriend.

"You okay? Do you not want to be touched?" Which I was fine with, it just meant I'd go and find Will to lean on- being a child of Eros meant I was somewhat touchy and that wasn't always okay with people.

Nico shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. "Hm? Yeah, y-yeah, I'm fine."

Bullshit.

"Bullshit, what's wrong?"

He shot a glare at me and seemed to immediately regret it, curling in on himself and tucking his head into his hands. I hesitated, slowly getting off the sofa. "Alright, I'm going to get Will, because this looks like I've done something and I don't know how to get you to tell me."

I made it almost to the door when Nico sighed. "Wait, come back, I-" His voice was thick, like he was swallowing tears. "-I can tell you, you don't have to get Will, just... c'mere, okay?"

Carefully, I returned to my seat on the sofa, clasping my hands together to resist holding his. Nodding, I waited patiently for Nico to explain.

After a moment, he turned to face me. "It's not your fault, I know that, but sometimes... sometimes it sucks that I never... for fucks' sake!" Nico dragged his hands through his hair. Instinctively I reached out, only to pull my hand back. Nico liked touch on his terms, and I would be a really shitty partner if I didn't respect that.

Instead, I cleared my throat. "Neeks, not to push you, but you're not making much sense."

Nico nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I know, sorry, um." He took a deep breath.

"Do you know what day it is?"

"Yeah, it's-" Oh. Oh, shit, it's a real bad anniversary. "Oh, fuck, Nico, I totally forgot!" I jumped off the sofa and made to leave. "I'll- I don't know, go for a walk or go to someone's house, of course you don't want to be around me-"

Nico practically leapt across the sofa to stop me leaving. "No! No, don't go, I'm not mad at you, I'm not, I swear." My hand was tightly grasped in his and it took everything in me not to melt. I let myself be led back onto the sofa.

"I'm not mad, it's just a bit difficult when someone you love was created by a god who ruined your life, y'know?" He gave a watery laugh. "Well, one of the gods that ruined my life."

I gave a small smile. "I get it, Neeks, I do, but I need you to be honest with me, okay?" He nodded, and I continued. "Would it make it easier if I just... left, for today? Go over to to Piper's or something?"

Nico wiped at the tears welling in his eyes. "Please, don't go. I love you too much to let your dad get in the way."

There was a pause, and we both burst out laughing.

"Oh my gods, that's such a weird sentence!" I cackled, and Nico buried his face in his hands to hide his smile.

"Wow." His voice was muffled but sounded less like he was going to burst into tears.

"What happened?" Will's head poked round the door, sunny smile directed at the pair of us.

I shook my head. "Nah, just realising that my existence is awkward."

Nico half-heartedly slapped my leg. "Hey, no, your dad's existence is awkward." We began giggling again.

Will waltzed into the room, pressing kisses onto the tops of our heads. "Ah, I see, that time of year, huh?" Wow, he catches on quicker than I do, apparently.

Nodding, Nico slid over to me to make space for his other partner. "Yep, I shall be mourning the fact that I didn't get to come out on my own terms for the rest of the day, just so you know." Will flopped onto the sofa and I immediately reached out, grabbing his hand so I was touching both of them.

"Well," Will began. "Thanks for the warning, honey, but you don't have to do that."

"I will, though, it's not really my choice." Nico gave a small rueful smile.

Will looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "I mean, I've sort of had an idea hidden in the depths of my mind for a day such as this."

Both Nico and I perked up, curious. Nico shifted until he was facing Will, back leaning against my side. "Sounds dangerous, but go on."

Clearing his throat, Will played with my fingers. "It's sort of a... roleplaying... thing." I raised my eyebrows back at him, and he shrugged. "Look, just something to make Nico feel like he's just... experimenting, unsure of his sexuality and hasn't come out to anyone yet."

I couldn't judge Nico's expression, but he hadn't turned to stone which I took as a good sign. His ribs vibrated against me as he spoke. "I'm... curious, continue."

Will sat up straighter. "Okay, um, something like we'd picked you up from a bar or something, convinced you to come home with us, allowing you to experiment with us, have us experiment with you, just stuff that a closeted gay might be interested in but without any potentially toxic fallout."

Pretending to take home an innocent Nico and letting him explore exactly what he wants? I couldn't lie, that was a pretty good idea as long as Nico was into it.

Very carefully, I tuned into Nico's body language. One of the weird little gifts I had from Eros was being incredibly attuned to body language and what it meant for each person. Will had gone from somewhat nervous to more confident when Nico had said he was interested.

Nico's shoulders were loose, his fingers interwining with mine, his heart was pounding and there was a red flush creeping down his neck. Without seeing his face, I could fairly confidently say he was interested in this idea of Will's.

Fidgetting slightly, Nico swallowed. "Hypothetically, when would you want to do this?"

Will shrugged. "I mean, the point of this exercise is to distract you, give you positive memories of before you came out." There were air quotes around the last four words. "So, hypothetically, if you wanted, we could start now." He paused. "Obviously you'd be able to safeword out of it at any time, you know that, right?"

Nico was nodding before he could catch himself. "Y-yeah, Oedipus."

Will made eye contact with me. "Hey, you down for this?"

I grinned. "Oh, so very down, baby."

Lifting himself off the sofa, Will reached for me. "Okay, Neeks, we're going to go out to the kitchen, then we'll come back in after a minute or so and get started, alright?" I took Will's hand and together we left Nico on the sofa.

My skin was buzzing, but I let Will lead me into the kitchen.

"Hey, Will?"

"Yeah, honey?"

I swallowed. "Can I kiss you?"

Will grinned. "Feeling a little deprived of affection, are we?"

Rolling my eyes, I pulled him closer, letting his hand go in favour of wrapping my arms around his waist. "Please?"

In answer, Will pressed his lips against mine. I surged forward, delighting in finally being allowed to touch and kiss and feel someone against me. Will's hands cradled my head and I melted into him, transferring all the desire to touch Nico in the last twenty minutes or so onto Will.

He pulled away, laughing lightly at my whine, and pecked my nose. "I know, babe, but we have a baby gay out there, waiting to be shown the ropes, isn't he worth cutting this a little short?"

That sent a shiver down my spine. "Yeah, absolutely, come on." I dragged Will into the bedroom, the pair of us searching for a couple things to lay out on the bedside table before Will caught me in one last kiss.

The trip from the bedroom to the living room was the longest journey in the world. Nico was standing by the mantlepiece, pretending to admire the picture of me and Will on holiday. He'd strategically put all other photos with him in them to face down- he was into the game and I was delighted to see him invested.

Will strode forward. "Hey, you like our home?"

Nico nodded. "It's lovely." His eyes ran over the cheesy rainbow flag bunting we put up last year and never took down. "It's great that you're so open in who you are, too."

I slung an arm over Will's shoulders. "Thank you, hun." I took a slight risk. "You could be too, y'know."

Shaking his head, Nico folded in on himself. "Maybe. Not right now, though."

Sidling up to him, I nudged his shoulder. "No, of course not, it's just us right now." Nico leaned slightly into my side and I looked back at Will, as if to ask him something.

He came up on the other side of Nico. "So, me and my partner were wondering, of course you can say no, it's just a suggestion, but-"

I interrupted. "Get to the point, darling."

Will pretended to glare at me. "What am I supposed to do," he hissed, just loud enough for both Nico and me to hear. "Just tell him we want to fuck him? I have manners!"

Nico coughed lightly, and both Will and I froze as if we'd been caught.

"Y-you..." Nico swallowed, trying to keep the smile off his face. "You want to- fuck me?"

I sighed, gently turning Nico to face me. "I'm not gonna lie to you, we may have had an ulterior motive in offering you a place to stay for the night, but that doesn't mean you owe us anything, okay? If you don't want to, then we can order pizza, watch a movie and make up the sofa for you to crash on."

Will, careful not to spook Nico, wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. "But, if you want to, my partner and I would love to..." He paused, considering his words. "...make you feel good, darlin', in any way you'd like."

Nico took a shuddering breath, trying to hide how much this idea was affecting him. "I-I don't know what I'd like, I've never been with..."

"That's alright, honey." I reached up and tucked his dark curls behind his ear. "We can help you figure that out, if you'd like." He looked at me with such trust in his expression I almost caved. This was the innocence that was hidden from him, but was still there, it just needed a little coaxing to come out. "So, what do you say, handsome?"

Under the careful ministrations of both me and Will, Nico relaxed and nodded. "O-okay, yes, I'd like that."

A grin spread across my lips and I trailed my hand from his cheek, along his neck, down his arm and twisted my fingers in his. "Then come this way, we'll take care of you, we promise."

I led the three of us into the bedroom. We sat Nico down on the bed, and his eyes drifted to the things on the bedside table. Will explained the condoms and the lube and that there was a bunch of toys in the drawer below that we didn't need to use but were there in case he wanted to see what they did.

Slipping onto the sheets beside Nico, I rested a hand on the back of his neck as Will explained in a way he would to someone that had no idea what they were doing. This kept Nico grounded and meant I could feel his heartbeat, blood thumping through him and giving away how excited he was.

"Will, baby," I interrupted. "I think he gets the idea."

Will grinned sheepishly. "I just want him to know what could happen." He kneeled down, leaning a hand on Nico's knee. "You still okay with everything still?"

Nico nodded, and I guided his head to face me. "Hey, can I kiss you?"

Instead of a verbal answer, Nico pushed into my space, wrapping his arms around my neck and kissing me hard. I reciprocated with as much fervour, closing my eyes and enjoying the familiar experience of kissing one of my partners. My arms secured around his waist and I hoisted him into my lap, drinking the whine from his lips.

Will pulled gently on the hem of Nico's shirt, pulling it off only when Nico pulled away from me very briefly. I ran my hands over his bare torso, thrilled with the hitch of breath I got when I ghosted my fingers over his nipples. I dragged my nails over them again and was rewarded with Nico throwing his head back and moaning from deep in his chest.

His hips were shifting, clearly getting uncomfortable. I broke away from where I'd been nipping a lovely flower patch of red and purple into his skin to look at Will.

Eyes hungry and wanting, Will was also shirtless and hard in his sweatpants. I raised an eyebrow. "Nico, sweetheart, hop off me for a moment, will you?" It took a moment for him to respond, but he obediently wiggled off my lap.

I slipped off my trousers, exposing my legs and shuffled back until I had my back against the headboard, the pillows holding me at an angle. Beckoning for Nico to come back, he crawled over and I positioned him until his back was against my chest. Will fell on the bed, eyeing Nico like a predator does prey.

Breathing against Nico's ear, I shot a wicked grin Will's way. "You wanna get fucked, handsome?" Nico's back arched against me and I felt the desperate groan more than I heard it.

"F-fuck, yes-!"

Will stripped Nico of the rest of his clothes, licking his lips at the sight of Nico's cock, red and hard and drippy with precum. "I'm gonna prep you first, okay darlin'? You think you can handle that?"

Nico nodded frantically. I smoothed my hand along the planes of Nico's ribs and hips. "Be nice, Will, he's new to all this."

I delighted in the twin moans that drew from my partners. Carefully, I reached down and pulled Nico's legs apart, thighs exposing him and a delicious blush spreading down his chest.

Grabbing the lube, Will coated his fingers in the substance and kneeled between Nico's legs. He winked. "I'll be gentle, promise."

Nico keened as the first finger eased into him, body adjusting to the intrusion and relaxing as I pressed kisses into his hair and Will went slow and soft, keeping up the pretense that this wasn't an intimately familiar situation.

"So good for me," Will breathed as Nico took a second finger, then a third. "Such a good boy for us, Nico." Said 'good boy' preened under the attention, body limp and pliable against me.

It didn't take long for Will to withdraw his hand. Nico let out a broken cry of want, and I shushed him in his ear. "Shh, I know, baby, I know, but don't you want Will to fuck you? Be the first one to experience you like this?"

Nico dug his nails into my legs bracketing him and nodded frantically. "P-please, I need him, I-I need him to f-fuck me so bad-!"

I grinned, lazily drawing circles around his nipples. "Aww, so precious, baby, wanna be fucked so bad." I looked back to Will applying a condom and hissing as he jerked himself with lube. "Don't keep us waiting, honey, you heard him."

Will practically leapt on Nico, catching him in a heavy kiss, tongues moving lazily and I held my hips as still as I could, occasionally grinding up against Nico.

They broke apart and Will sat back, lifting Nico's hips up and massaging his hole with a thumb. "You want me to fuck you, huh?" Nico rolled his hips in a frankly obscene way, and Will could stand it no longer.

He guided his cock into Nico, and I had the pleasure of hearing their sighs and moans at finally, finally getting some relief. The jealous part of me reared its head for just a second before it was pushed down by the delicious sight of Will fucking into Nico at a slow, steady pace, cock dragging against insides with wonderful friction. They fit together so well, I was so lucky to know and love and be known and loved in return.

I felt my body rocking in tandem with Will's thrusts, my hands firmly on Nico's waist to stop him wriggling too much. Whimpers and moans sang in my ears and it became harder and harder to not reach down and touch myself to the sights and sounds and sensations.

Will's breathing got heavier and heavier. "I-I'm gonna come, darlin', feels so fuckin' good, my gorgeous boy..."

I reached down and wrapped a hand around Nico's cock, hardly moving as the force of Will's thrusts let Nico fuck my hand. Nico grasped at the sheets, eyes rolling back in his head. "Sh-shit...!"

Nico came with a broken cry, tears spilling over his cheeks and Will buried himself to the hilt inside Nico, spilling into the condom with a throaty groan and leaving red fingerprints on Nico's hips.

The moment was quiet, panting as the only noise.

Very gently, Will pulled out, kissing Nico's knees apologetically as he hissed in overstimulation. In the softest voice, Will murmured, "I'll be back, gimme a sec." He slipped off the bed, legs slightly shaky and wobbled to the bathroom.

With as much effort as he could master, Nico rolled off me, pulling me down to lay with him face to face. Eyelids low, fucked out expression on his face, he gave me a small smile. "You didn't come."

I shook my head. "It's fine, gorgeous, this was about you, remember?"

In response, Nico nudged his leg between mine, pushing his thigh against me as he threw an arm around my waist and moving as close to me as he could get. His voice was breathy and worn out and unbelieveably sexy. "Use me."

Still keyed up from the sight of my partners lost in pleasure and with Nico's thigh between my legs applying a delectable amount of pressure, I rolled my hips against him. "That's it," Nico tucked his face into my neck, laving his tongue over my pulse point. I shivered and felt him grin. "Use me, sweetheart, I know you want to, I wanna feel you come, please?"

Well, when he asked so nicely, what could I do but obey? I grinded against Nico's leg, breathing hard and letting my boyfriend trace shapes with his tongue against my skin. In a few minutes I was right on the edge. Nico reached his hand down and into my underwear and in the next few seconds I was coming, soaking my underwear and his hand and his thigh. "So good, fuck, you look so good when you come."

"Oh shut up." I blushed hard and Nico kissed my cheek.

"Absolutely not."

Will returned, accompanied with towels and the sound of a running bath behind him. "Come on, this isn't over, we're still taking care of you, Neeks."

Rolling his eyes, Nico bit gently into my neck and I squeaked. "Nico!"

He sat up, a shit-eating grin on his face. "I'll come be taken care of, but only if I get to make you come properly." His eyes burned into mine, and I was helpless.

"You get an attitude after sex, you know that?"

Nico grinned, then his eyes widened, looking between me and Will. "Hey, guys? I think I might be gay."

Will face-palmed as Nico cackled. "Just get in the bath, Neeks."

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

okay this took me like almost 2 hours to write so i am in Pain but i hope you enjoyed!!

[thesharkwhalewhoohooooo]

Bridget x fem! Oc

"Red, my dearest, don't cut your hair like that." Hecate had walked in on a 17 year old Red, sitting begrudgingly at her vanity chair and was about to snil a whole chunk of hair off, probably because she was frustrated at it.

"Go away Hecate."

"Mh, sure, after you've given me those scissors, or else my head'll be the next one rolling." She joked, something that was strictly forbidden.

"What would you like me to do princess?" Red held up her hair in a half up half down, which she had been trying to do for a while now, but it just wouldn't sit right.

"There, no need to cut it all of, it takes longer to grow lost things back than it does to cut it off." She smiled at Red through the mirror, patting her shoulders and staring at her for a bit as she did her makeup.

"Creep."

"I'm allowed to stare at you kid, you've grown so much Red, it's weird how much you're like your mom." Red scoffed, hooding up her tube of mascara as if it was her mom's scepter and mocking her accent.

"Off with their heads!" Hecate laughed, the same loud and warm laugh that's been in every good memory Red has ever had.

"Exactly like that kiddo, just add a bit more black to your eyeshadow and you'd be a carbon copy!" She stopped laughing and looked at Red suspiciously.

"Well, i'd say your tutoring session is already done, but apparently Maddox had forgotten to give you some homework." Red frowned in confusion, what the fuck was that old lady on about?

Maddox landed on the couch she had but in the corner of her room, waving at them through the mirror with some papers.

"Good morning my Hecate!" The woman smiled at him, patting Red's shoulder once again before turning around and leaving.

"Gods, she's changed so much." Maddox reminisced about his past memories of the witch, not realising that Red had turned around in her chair.

"Has she really changed that much?"

"Mhm, there used to be a time where she was engaged... not that she'll ever be able to have a love life anymore though, so I wouldn't dwell on it too much." He shrugged, handing her the papers and quickly rushing out before she could ask more.

"Stupid Maddox and his shitty cliffhangers."

-

Red wasn't going to tell anyone that Maddox's words had intrigued her, so she obviously also didn't tell anybody that she was 'lurking' around in the court magician's quarters, even though it was her home sk it wasn't considered lurking, it felt as if she was, because she had never been in this hall before.

Much like how the queen had a hall of portraits of past rulers, the court magicians had a similar hall, with their engagements, accomplishments and marriages depicted on a plaque under their portrait.

When she had finally gotten through the endless sea of bright purple blue hair, and her eyes landed on Hecate's face, she searched the portrait for anything first.

She had an axe swung across her shoulder, the same muscled build, mostly same clothing, the hearts on her trousers were shades of pink, not red... weird, especially when the hearts on her shoulders kept their pink.

Her eyes trialed over her portrait, she saw a mass of bodies piled up behind her, making up the entirety of the back of it, but just far enough that you won't spot it when you first look.

"What the fuck..." she breathlessly muttered, leaning closer as she distinguished the bodies of human beings, including massive giants and sea creatures.

"Oh wow, she's a fucking monster, good to know." Red rolled her eyes, then went on to read the plaque.

"Hecate Spades and her weapon: the princess of Hearts, engaged to Queen Bridget Hearts- WHAT?!" Red's eyed widened, leaning closer and rubbing over the plaque as she saw her mother's name.

"Yeah, that was such a long time of my life, i'f wish it upon my worst enemy... but y'know, don't have any anymore." Hecate shrugged, as if she hadn't just scared the life out of the girl she considered a daughter.

"What?"

"YOU NEARLY MARRIED MY MOTHER?!" Hecate nodded, looking down at the princess with a smile.

"Mhm, definitely almost did." She shrugged, "but, someone has to carry on the court's magician line, and i'm not sure how that would work if we merged with the royal line." Red suspiciously eyed her, that was not the real reason for the break up.

"Then where is your heir then? Mh?" Hecate smirked at her.

"You." Red choked, then saw Hecate laughing and slapped her.

"Hey! Not funny!" Hecate stopped laughing, staring at Red for a while, seemingly out of it before she nudged her arm.

"Hellooooo?"

"Right, actually, i'm training my niece for it, she's my father's sister's son's daughter, she had a high affinity in magic, and if she gets my magic when I pass, she might be up to par with me." She looked down at the plaque, eyes zeroing in on the queen Bridget of Hearts part, if she ever found out, she'd have no niece to teach.

"Let's leave before she finds us here-."

"Red. What are you doing here." The queen herself had left her throne room purely to find her daughter, now that was rare.

Hecate stiffened up, which Red noticed, and pushed the girl to her daughter, standing in front of her portrait with a matching grin.

"What'cha think? Do I still look as amazing as 2 decades ago?" She put her hands on her side and puffed up her chest, Red let out a giggle at it, and Hecate looked at her with soft eyes, remembering more and more of her Bridget the longer she spend with her.

"You look utterly stupid, stop this nonsense at once." Speaking of the woman, she was staring straight into Hecate's eyes, who smiled at her.

"Will do so, my queen." She bowed, disappearing into nothing in less than a second.

"Hey, mom? Were you ever engaged-..." Red trialed off with a frown, looking at the plaque, where once stood engaged to to Queen Bridget of Hearts' now laid a blank spot.

"Why are you spouting such nonsense, out of this hall! Now! And I better not find you snooping here again! I bet Hecate put you up to this, didn't she?!"

-

"Can I see the princess of Hearts?" Red had been begging Hecate for a few weeks now, and was officially hanging off of her leg to try persuade her.

"Okay! If you stop... whatever this is?" Hecate groaned out, stopping in front of Red's quarters, where she was supposed to drop her off.

"You are not small enough to do that anymore!" Red smirked as she stood up, crossing her arms as she stood before her heart shaped doors.

"Show me!" Hecate pulled out a mirror with a cheeky grin, Red glared at her.

"Okay! Okay! Calm it kid..." She trialed off, gesturing with her hand, and then the axe was there, giant pink heart and all.

"Here you go." She held it out to the princess, whose former titleholder it was named after.

"Is it named after... you know?" She spoke softly, as if trying to preserve the magic the weapon held in her eyes.

"Your mom? Yeah, but my cover up story is that she has a heart and it's my princess." Red rolled her eyes once more at the lame coverup.

"Don't roll your eyes at me young lady!"

"It's too late to go back from being the fun uncle Hecate!" Red teased, her arms slowly starting to tremble from the weight of the axe.

"I'll hold her for you, i'll place her down in your room so you can inspect her all you want." She had to get out of there before Red reminded her too much of Bridget.

"Yeah sure, what kind of stone is that?"

"A lover's secret, ironically enough."

"That's so corny."

-

"I can go back in time and see how Hecate looked for myself now?! I've always wanted to see how she defeated that giant seamonster!" Maddox snatched the watch out of her hands.

"No Hecate related trips until you're older! Promised?" Red hiffed, crossing her arms and tapping her foot on the ground.

"All right! I won't go on any Hecate related trips in the near future!" Maddox nodded, relieved.

"Also, I have the Princess of Hearts in my room right now, you wanna go check it out?" Maddox shook his head yes wildly.

-

"-invited to join Auradon Prep." Red saw Hecate's features sour from besides her mother, who looked shocked for a while.

"We accept!" Even Hecate seemed surprised, and she was never surprised at anything her mother did.

"Wait what?"

"You shall go to Auradon Prep! Now go and pak your bags!"

"Did my mom just grow a heart?" Red frowned as she asked Maddox, who also seemed confused.

"And dress in something respectable! For once try not looking like Hecate..." Red shrugged, that was a compliment in her books.

"Okay so half a heart, i'm gonna go ask Hecate why she looked so sour! Bye!"

"Why did you look so sour?" Red popped up in Hecate's office through the hidden door behind one of the paintings, Hecate staring at where she popped up long after she had jumped down.

"Mh?" She snapped out of her memory of having to catch Bridget from when she tried to come in through there, swallowing the knot in her throat for later.

"Why'd you look so sour?"

"I went to Auradon Prep..."

"HUH?!"

"It wasn't called that yet stupid, sit down somewhere, I'll tell you a story about your mom that not many know, only like... three people are left." Red quickly plopped down onto the comfortable chair she had Hecate place close to her desk in a corner.

"Tell!"

"Okay, so, it used to be called Merlin's academy, because, of course, Merlin was the big man there." Red nodded, urging her to continue.

"And my dad was a douchebag, so he said I could 't join Bridget there unless I defeated an entire army, which I did by the way! And then when I finally got there Bridget didn't recognise me. Blah blah blah, almost a year later, family day, her parents show up-."

"Mom had parents? She didn't just... spawn?"

"Shut up kid. -and they revealed that I was her childhood best friend, she was all shocked like what?? Oh my good gracious heavens how did I not recognise you?!"

"She cussed like that?"

"It's not about that?!" Red sighed and rolled her eyes.

"The end, not happily ever after because we eventually broke up after like... 7 years." She let that information sink in.

"You guys were in a relationship until I was like...5?"

"I think it's more 6? Who cares, we're both shit at math, which is why you need to find yourself a girl who's good at counting stuff because we're both fucking bad at it, and I already found a girl like that but it didn't work out for me but it will for you!" the princess rolled her eyes, leaning back in the chair.

"You wanna help pack?"

"Hell yeah!"

-

"Don't forget to brush your teeth every morning and evening, and then don't forget to do your skincare, you never know when you might end up in a picture that they might post, having pimples when that happens is so fucking annoying." Red slapped Hecate's hands away, who was fussing over her even though she was supposed to put her luggage into her dorm.

"Hecate?" A blue haired woman was looking at them, and Hecate grinned at her, the girl standing next to the blue haired woman staring wide eyed at the woman.

"Ella! I'm not really allowed to talk to you... is this Chloe? She's way prettier in person! Where'd she get all that from?" Red awkwardly stood next to her, trying to leave but instead being kept there by Hecate, who gave her a shove into the direction of Chloe, who was freaking out about the fact that thee Hecate Spades was standing in front of her.

"Well obviously from me."

"Mh... not sure, i'm way prettier."

"Hecate... we're adults now, we're better than this."

"You might be, i'm still not over the fact that you threw that rock at my forehead, I think I even have a scar! Look!" She held up her hair and leaned her forehead closer, Ella laughed and slapped her arm.

"Oh my god! You normally would've punched me... has royalty pressure changed you?" Ella looked away from her.

"It did? That's not good-...."

Red zoned back in on the girl now holding her hands.

"Hi!i'm Chloe? You must be Red! My new roomie!" Red witheld a grimace, instead slowly nodding.

"Yeah... sure."

-

"Bridget, don't." Hecate spoke up before the queen could say what she wanted to, but she only gave her a glare and stood up to pronounce war onto Auradon, throwing her cards up.

Hecate sighed as she stood up, holding out her hand for Red, who slowly shook her head as she looked up at the woman who had essentially raised her.

"I don't want to die, please don't let me die." She heard Hecate whisper into the breeze, empowered only by hope and her own strength that it might reach someone's ears.

"I don't want to kill, I'm not good for anything else, please don't do this." It was really Hecate, Red watched as her mouth moved, only whispers coming out that she could only half hear.

"Please don't make me use her."

-

"Sweetheart!" Bridget smiled as Hecate walked into the courtyard, Red's eyes widening as she saw the stray blood splatters on the bottom of her trousers.

That certainly explained why they're red now  -it didn't, but maybe???-

"Princess!" Hecate grinned, rushing towards Bridget and picking her up to spin her around, pecking her lips several times.

"Hey! Big lady! Let the princess down!" Ella kicked Hecate's shins, the girl glaring down at her as she held Bridget close.

"Shut up Ella. I got you this!" She smiled as she fished a small bag out of her pocket, presenting it tk Bridget like it was priceless, carefully setting her down.

"Is this?" Bridget gasped, eyes wide.

"I saw one of them on my way back from fishing for those fish you wanted, I got a few of its teeth and grinded it to the powder for you! Also I put an anti stink spell on the fish... why do you need them though?" Bridget smiled, placing a finger to her lips.

"Secret!"

"Awwwww!" Ella kicked her again. "Hey little ant girl! Stop that!"

"Sunfish!"

"Dwarf!"

As the two continued exchanging insults, Red and Chloe glanced at each other.

What the fuck.

-

Well, they stopped the prank, ish? And headed back, but they ended up still not back, instead they were in a very specific room in the Hearts castle, the Queen's, it seemed like they weren't there in person, more like their conscious was.

"Bridget? Where are you?" Hecate called out into the room as she walked in, walking through the two girls.

"I'm here, no need to be sk worried." Bridget giggled, looked at Hecate from the bathroom doorpost.

"Are we interrupting something?"

"Shhhhh."

"Why sre your eyes red? What happened? Do I need to-?"

"Kill someone?" Bridget finished with a frown, looking down at the floor.

Hecate kneeled down in front of her to be in her line of sight, holding her knees and placing her chin on her stomach.

"what's wrong?" A tear fell onto her forehead, Hecate didn't stop looking up at the no-darker pink haired woman, who's hands were shaking as they gripped onto her light pink sleeping gown.

"Why do you always kill everything?"

Red's eyes widened, the Hecate she knew had begged her not to have her kill, not to die, not to use her most prideful weapon, this was a whole other Hecate.

"I'd burn the world down for you, my queen." Chloe Awwed, Red hit her for it.

"I don't want you to burn the world for me, I want you to be here with me and watch the world flourish, not burn, I don't want to hurt the world anymore than I have to." Hecate kept silent, she knew what this meant.

"I won't kill for you anymore, I can swear on my life-."

"Don't do that, you'll just kill yourself, that's not what I want, I don't want the world to burn, but all you do is set it ablaze further. I don't want that." Hecate's eyes began to water, leaning back a bit so the can look down and lean with her head against her.

"Just say it."

"What're they talking about?" Chloe whispered to Chloe, who had walked closer to hear their hushed conversation, as if the whole world was in this room, as if their whole paradise was about to crumble within these walls, nowhere further.

"Shut up Chloe."

"I don't think this engagement is a good idea.... We're not right for each other." Hecate's tears finally hit the hardwood floors, Bridget slowly combing her fingers through her hair.

"Don't do this, don't do this to me." The queen's tears fell onto Hecate's hair, slowly rolling off or sticking in between the ruffled strands.

"I have to, I can't let everything burn for us, it's not who I am."

"And I respect that! I don't need to set it all ablaze for you! I can just.... Not do that! I'll watch everything grow with you! I'll watch Red grow up and be just like you! Please don't-." She stopped talking abruptly, slumping down and sitting on her knees completely slouched.

"We'll watch her grow up, just not together."

Red hadn't noticed her own tears until Chloe was stood next to her, gently holding her hand and leaning against her.

"It's allright, you can cry about it." Red let a soft sob escape her lips, hiding her face in Chloe's shoulder and crying as Hecate slowly stood up and exited, leaving Bridget, who fell on top of her bed and sobbed into the pillows.

-

"Red! My daughter!" Bridget held open her arms for her daughter, who hesitated a bit before accepting the hug.

"Where's Hecate?" She felt her mother tense a bit under her, but she didn't see it otherwise, and she was greeted by a warm hand on her back.

"Wassup kid, i'm happy you're going to attend almost the same school as us! We had such a good time here..." Red glanced at Chloe, who was next to her, both in silent understanding that yes, that was a really sad tone.

"You'll find friends in no time!" Bridget smiled brightly, hugging her again.

"The castle will feel incredibly empty without my little felon."

"Well maybe it will be easier to clean up without you influencing her every move." Hecate jokingly crossed her arms, turning away from them slightly.

"Stop it you crybaby!" Red grinned out, grabbing Hecate and pulling her into the hug, cautiously eyeing her as she stared at her mother with soft, lovesick eyes.

"How about I show you guys where your pictures are, they still have them, you know." Ella nudged Hecate, who dragged both Chloe and Red with, Bridget trying to stop them.

"Come on princess!" Bridget stuttered in her step, eyes widening as she nearly got sucked into a memory of the three of them running around, her usually after the two others, who were wrecking havoc, and always with the same two sentences being thrown at her by Hecate and Ella.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Ella grabbed Bridget's wrist and dragged her with, leading the group towards the wall filled with pictures.

"Oh! Castlecoming! You two were announced cutest couple!" Ella excitedly pointed out, her finger pointing towards the two, wrpaped up in a loving embrace, Bridget in a beautiful light pink ballgown, and Hecate in a matching white suit, with a light pink blouse.

"Always matcht the lady." Hecate shrugged it outt with a proud grin, "also helps if the lady doesn't give me dead rats."

"You know, i'm thinking about kicking your shins again, i'm wearing pointy heels!"

Bridget watched as her family ran around again, and even though she had never wanted to see the world burn, she'd have loved to watch this flourish with Hecate by her side.

[billthedrake]

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (PART THREE)

"Wow, you went all out, Coach," I said as I helped him set out the food on the table.

He gave a grin and replied, "Just my bachelor holiday dinner... thanks for sharing it with me, Russ."

"My pleasure," I said.

Ed had in his hand a bigger sized bottle of beer, which he opened. "Feel like sharing my Christmas present?"

I nodded. "Just a half glass," I said. "Gotta drive back." I wasn't a big beer guy, but I didn't want to turn down Coach S's offer. "Who's the gift from?" I asked.

"Matt Reynolds," he replied as he poured my glass half full then set to give himself some. "He and I are both into beer." Coach Reynolds was the high school's head football coach.

I held up my glass. "It makes sense, but I guess I never thought of teachers hanging out together outside of school."

He held up his glass and gave a silent toast. Then he replied with a smirk, "I'll admit get along better with some of the teachers more than others. Matt's my closest friend." Ed got a little shy as he added, "He's the only one who I've come out to, actually."

"Coach Reynolds?" I responded, incredulously.

That made Ed laugh. "Um, yeah. You surprised?"

I nodded. "The guy's a total meathead. Yeah, I'm surprised."

My former teacher shrugged. God, he was so handsome and adorable. I was glad we'd gotten the sex out of the way, so I could actually carry on a conversation with the man. "People have a way of surprising you, Russ."

"Sometimes not for the better," I said. Then realizing I might have come across as snotty or cynical, I added. "Sorry... I guess I'm still a little bitter from the way Zach Martin treated me." Zach and I had been friends since 6th grade, but he stopped talking to me when I came out.

I saw a look of real empathy on Coach S's face. "Sorry, Russ," he said. "I didn't know the full story, but I know you went through a lot."

"You do learn who your real friends are," I said, my tone less bitter than my words now. "I realize now that Zach is just crazy insecure, and I just got caught up in that."

Ed nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if Zach is gay himself."

I don't know why that didn't occur to me. "You think?"

He nodded. "Don't take it to the bank. It's just a hunch. But I know when I was that age, I was so freaked out someone would figure out... I may have been an asshole to a few guys just so I could fit in."

"Damn, Coach," I said.

He seemed embarrassed now. "I never had a friend come out to me, and I don't know what I would have done if I had. I'd like to think I'd do the right thing, but you never know." He took a sip. "I just know I was MAJORLY fucked up about the gay thing. Playing sports didn't help." I knew Ed Stanley was opening himself up to me, maybe in a way that wasn't easy for him. "I always admired how you handled things, Russ."

That surprised me. "In what way?"

He looked at his beer glass as he reflected on my question. "I don't know. You seemed confident in yourself." He looked back up at me. "Whatever... I know being a teenager isn't easy and probably wasn't for you either. Teachers don't know all that's going on, but we have more of an idea than our students realize."

I laugh. "Probably, yeah." Then, "truth be told, being an adult isn't always easy either."

That made Ed smile. I loved his smile. "You got that right," he said. "There's one big consolation prize, though," he said. "What we did just now," Ed added with an impish grin.

"You mean the fucking?" I clarified.

His blue eyes twinkled. "Yeah, the fucking. Maybe I shouldn't admit this, but that was the hottest sex of my life."

Damn, this man knew how to push my buttons. "I'm honored," I said. "So maybe I shouldn't admit it was the hottest sex of my life, too."

"Well, here's to hot sex," Ed toasted.

I laughed and matched his toast.

We talked a little less as we dug into the food. I don't think I realized how much the sex had worked up my appetite, and Ed seemed to be in the same boat.

But as our eating pace slowed, I had to ask the question on my mind. "So, Ed..." I started. "Why did you let this happen... You know, between us?"

He seemed to anticipate my question. "I got tired of putting my life on hold. I broke things off with Jessica two years ago," he explained about his former fiancee. "It was around the holidays, actually, and I guess I realize I'm still not happy." He gave me a little wince of a smile. "Seriously, having you keep me company has made my year."

My heart pounded. "Damn, Coach. I'm having a blast. Not only the sex, but all of it."

"You know, for a college kid, you're pretty damn mature."

"Hardly," I laughed. "I know this sounds cheesy, Coach, but for me, being gay... well, I just love other guys. Love spending time with them, in whatever way clicks." I found myself the one being embarrassed. "I guess I craved the male bonding I didn't always have."

"Remind me to punch Zach Martin's lights out next time I see him," Coach said. And it took me a second to realize he was joking.

I laughed. "Please do. The fucker."

Ed pushed his chair back. "Let me clear the dishes. I have some dessert if you have room."

"I have room," I said. "But I'm helping you."

I got up and started picking up out dinner plates. As I brought them into the kitchen, I could see out the window, into Ed Stanley's back yard.

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Ed asked, concerned.

"It's a blizzard out there," I said. I set down the dishes by the sink and walked over to the sliding glass door.

I was exaggerating, but it was really coming down now, and several inches of white stuff lay on the ground, the reflected light making the dusk seem less dim.

I felt his presence behind me, his hand touching my waist. It was a simple gesture, and a welcome. "Jesus," he said. "Is it supposed to let up?"

I laughed. "Man, I don't know." I turned to him. "I should check in with my folks."

He patted my side before stepping back. "Yeah," he said. Maybe a little disappointment in his face that I'd be leaving, but possibly I was flattering myself.

I pulled out my phone and indeed I had a couple of worried texts from my mom. She was staying over at her friend's and was concerned I'd be driving in the winter mess. I told her I could stay over at my friend's and that I'd check in with Dad.

My father isn't a big texter, so I called him.

"Hey," he said when he answered. "Some storm, huh?" Dad could get right to the point sometimes. I think I inherited that from him.

"Yeah, Mom's freaking out about me. I told her I could stay over at Jason's tonight."

"Sounds good, Russ," Dad said. Then with a quiet tone, asked. "You're not at Jason's are you?"

I paused, a little freaked out I was caught in a lie. Though knowing Dad, he hadn't actually caught me at anything. The man just had a good sixth sense. I figured I was 21 and had no reason to lie to my parents. "No, Dad, I'm not. Sorry."

"I'll cover for you with your mom. Just be safe, OK?"

"I will," I said. "Promise. And again, Sorry." I was feeling like a heel now.

"I was 21 once," Dad said. "You need your space. If you need anything, a ride or something, just me a call."

"Will do."

I shook my head after I hung up. Coach S was right. Sometimes people can surprise you, in a good way.

He was just finishing cleaning up when I walked back in. "Everything OK?" he asked.

"Yep," I said. "If I'm not imposing too much, Coach, could I crash here tonight? I can sleep on the couch or whatever." I didn't want to make it seem like I was just trying to be clingy with him. "My parents just don't want me driving."

He laughed. "I damn well hope you're not taking the couch, buddy," he said. Then with a worried hesitation, he added, "I mean if you do, I'll respect that... but I wouldn't mind a little bonus time with you."

"I wouldn't mind either, Coach."

That made him smile. He set down his towel and faced me fully. "You know, I never was your coach."

"You prefer Mr. Stanley?" I teased.

"No, not really," he laughed. He stepped up and wrapped up his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to him. "You know, I didn't ever think I'd enjoy being with a taller guy," he said.

"Yeah?" I asked. I'd spent my teen years self conscious about my height but now enjoyed it. Ed Stanley was bigger and hunkier than me, but I was able to look down some at him as we stood toe to toe.

He nodded. "Guess I liked being the man."

"Ed, that's about the dumbest thing I've ever heard," I said with a laugh.

"Yeah, it is. Guess I got some hang ups. But I like this," he said. "You're a tall drink of water, Russ." He now ran his hands up my back, over the fabric of my T-shirt. "When did you bulk up?"

"Started hitting the weights freshman year," I explained. "Guess I had hangups of my own, you know, about my body...."

"You got a porn body, stud," Stanley said with a sexy grin.

"Look who's talking," I said.

We kissed. It was gentle and magical. Just a hint of tongue and I could sense our breath was synching up.

"Hmmm, I like snow days," the man said in a low voice.

"I'm liking them now," I replied.

I felt his hands come around my friend, openly feeling up my chest. I was so into his ex-jock build that I was enjoying seeing him clearly turned on by me. His hands traveling lower until his left knuckle grazed the crotch of my jeans.

"You're hard," he said, as he looked up into my eyes.

"Pretty much. Yeah," I nodded.

We kissed again, and now I took the occasion to feel up Ed's body. I undid a couple of his shirt buttons and felt him moan into my mouth.

The man seemed to be keeping his self-control as he stepped back. I could tell he had a boner in his sweats now, and I was proud I'd given that to him. "OK if we just enjoy a little time in the living room before hitting the bedroom? We got all night, Russ."

"Sounds good."

"I'll light a fire in the fireplace," he said. "Sometimes it doesn't seem worth the bother just for myself."

"I wish I'd brought something more comfortable to wear," I said. Even in his button-down, Ed looked relaxed with his sweats on.

"Feel free to dig through my drawers to see if something will fit you." His eyes swept up my body. "Not sure if there will be."

"Thanks," I said. I went back to his bedroom and looked through his casual clothes, all folded neatly in his drawers. Indeed his sweatpants and pajama bottoms were way too short, but I decided on a pair of gym shorts with a drawstring that helped them hold to a waist that was two inches smaller than his size. I could have stuck with my T-shirt, but I saw an old shirt with a baseball team logo. Something about wearing Ed Stanley's clothes excited me, so I grabbed the shirt, too. I slipped the shorts on without anything on underneath, then tried on the shirt. It was loose, but it came down below my waist, which was good.

He was done fiddling with the fire when I walked in.

"You found my old team shirt," he observed, walking over to join me on the couch.

"The Captains?" I asked, referencing the logo.

"Yep, my minor league team. Played with them for two years before I called it quits." He seemed nostalgic.

"Is that when you decided to go into teaching?" I asked. I didn't really know how any of this worked.

"No, I got my Ed degree in college. I knew the majors was a long shot."

"Well, you're a great teacher," I said, then blushed as soon as I did. "I guess this is weird to talk about, huh?"

"A little," he admitted. "But you're really hot, Russ... you've become a really hot young man. So if I have to deal with the weirdness, it's worth it."

He placed his arm around my shoulder again, and I leaned into his warm build some. I knew if he started something sexual, I'd be ready for it, but our session earlier that afternoon had taken away the urgency.

"I know this isn't my place to say, Ed, but you deserve to be happy." I couldn't look at him as I said this, but after seeing a certain loneliness in the guy, I felt I had to speak to it.

"Thanks, Russ," he replied softly. Almost sadly. "Are you happy?"

"More or less," I said.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"I dunno," I said. I realized no one but Ed Stanley had ever asked me that question. "I mean, I'm enjoying college, and I guess I've dated a couple of guys. But like, I don't know, part of me wants a real relationship, something serious, to see what that's like. I mean, I'm not gonna rush it or anything, you know?"

His hand squeezed my shoulder. "Yeah, I know, Russ," he said.

I turned to him and his eyes were on me. Coach Stanley wanted another kiss. I wanted to kiss him. This time, I did my best to copy the man's soft approach. Something about our connection made me rock hard now as I kiss him and he kissed me back.

We made out some, a lot even. But we weren't rushing anything. It was around 7 and it was Christmas and the snow was coming down. We could enjoy this.

"What about you, Ed?" I finally asked as we parted, goofy expression on our face. "Any boyfriends?"

He shook his head. "I've tried the app thing. And this may sound old fashioned, Russ, but... I don't know, I think I need some other connection than coming in and taking off my clothes."

I nodded. "In all fairness Ed, you look REALLY fucking good without your clothes on."

He smirked. "Thanks. But you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do," I said. "I've done the hookup thing some, and I've enjoyed it. But... I don't know, earlier..."

I stopped mid sentence. Stanley picked up on it. "What?" he asked.

I gulped. "I'm afraid of saying something real stupid, Ed."

He put his hand beneath my chin and turned me toward him. "I want you to trust me, Russ. I may not agree with what you say but I'm not going to judge you. Promise."

I nodded. My body shook a little, which made me embarrassed because I knew Stanley could tell. "When you were in me earlier...."

"Yeah...?" he prompted.

"It felt incredible. It was incredible."

"It was incredible for me, too," he said.

"Yeah, but... I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think for me half of it was I wanted to make you happy. Like, I wanted to give that experience to you."

"Oh buddy," he muttered, his eyes a little moist.

"Maybe you think that's fucked up, but I think that's what made the fuck so good for me."

He took a deep breath, like he was trying to choose his words carefully. "That's what sex is, giving as well as receiving pleasure."

"It's not always," I corrected. I thought back to some of my hookups. "At least not emotionally."

"Yeah, not always," he agreed.

We kissed again. A little more eagerly this time. Part of me wanted to talk more with Ed, but this felt better. Being held by him, him pull me down on top of him as we reclined on the couch. He was warm, and the fireplace was heating up the room, too. Maybe this wasn't too different from time with my boyfriends of the past, but Ed Stanley brought a seriousness that wore down my defenses.

Slowly we humped on the couch and explored each other's bodies as we made out. He had me take off his minor league T-shirt and I unbuttoned his dress shirt once more. Ed Stanley was hard once more, I could feel his boner against mine, even if we hadn't stripped from the waist down.

But as we kissed Ed ran his hands down my back and under the waist of my shorts, which were his shorts really. His broad palms felt nice and warm against my bare buns.

He grunted into my mouth as I pulled up.

"Think I could press my luck, Russ?" he asked, horny as he could be.

"I'd say I'm the lucky one, Coach... are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

He looked into my eyes, his blue eyes clearly hungry. "I'd love to fuck you again, buddy." He put a slight emphasis on the "fuck" making it sound more naughty. "Maybe try some different positions."

I grinned. "You liked the barebacking, didn't you?"

He bit his lips and nodded. "And how. But if you're not up for it..."

"Oh, I'm up for it," I assured him. "I should be a little more relaxed from earlier."

"Is that how it works?" Ed asked, his fingers now dipping deeper into my crack.

"Can't speak for other guys, but a good fuck stretches me open a little. It's a nice feeling actually."

His nostrils flared as he took that in. "Bedroom?" he asked hoarsely.

"Lead the way, Coach," I said, then slid up off his body before standing in his living room, an erection evident in the shorts, matching his own clear boner.

Things felt smoother and slower now that we were working up for our second round. Yet our eyes ate each other up as we stripped down completely and got in on opposite sides of Ed's bed.

"Damn," he hissed as I moved in to nestle up against his naked furry build. "I'm glad you're staying over, Russ."

I could feel his hard dick against mine. "Funny... all of this happened because I ran into you."

"Glad I got that Christmas tree," he said. "I almost didn't."

"Glad I had the guts to hit on you," I replied.

He smirked. "I knew you wanted to."

"Yeah, I know," I said.

We kissed again. I was starting to worry about whisker burn or chapped lips, but it was like neither of us could get enough. The more we did, the more Ed seemed to get worked up. I was, too, sure, but I think my normal MO was to be a horndog when I was with a guy, so it was like I was waiting for the signal from him to amp things up.

I now used the element of surprise to push him on his back while I got up on top. His hands were greedily gripping my ass muscle as we got into it.

"Damn, you have a great ass," Ed said in a soft low voice.

"I realized at some point tall guys have to hit leg day twice as hard," I said, joking but not entirely.

He laughed. "I hope you don't mind me focusing only on your body... you know I think more of you, Russ."

I didn't know what Coach thought of me, actually, beyond this strange chemistry that had erupted between this week. I leaned up, flexing my bod a little and showing off for the man, even as my own hands were on his strong pecs. "I'll let you in on a secret, Coach. It's kind of a kick when you treat me like a piece of meat. I didn't think that would ever happen."

"Noted, buddy," he said, his own hands coming up to touch my smoother build.

I reached over to where the lube was still out.

"You, um... ?" Coach started to ask.

I nodded, reaching back to slick up his boner. Ed Stanley was rock hard now and I enjoyed the broad grin on his face as I slicked him up then leaned back against his cock.

"Twice in one day... fuck," he muttered.

I misunderstood what he meant. "You want it, right?"

"God, yeah," he muttered. His eyes were on my body some but mostly watched my face as I sank back onto him. The penetration indeed was easier this time. I was horny and Ed's prior fuck had loosened me just enough.

"Amazing," my ex teacher grunted.

I sat further down in his lap. I felt full in a good way, but it was the psychological part of this mating that got me going. "I didn't ask... what's your favorite position?"

"I gotta choose?" he chuckled.

"No," I replied. "Just curious."

His hands now openly caressed my front, his eyes clearly excited. "I love it all. But maybe doggy."

I nodded. "Hot. But let me ride you like this, and you can pick the positions you wanna try."

"Sounds amazing, buddy," Ed grunted. I could tell he was still in thrall with the feeling of condom-less sex. "Only it should be good for you, too."

"It will be," I assured him. "Maybe let me cum missionary," I added. "Last time was crazy hot."

"Will do."

Ed watched me work up and down in his lap, his hands now gently gripping my waist to guide me. Then not so gently he held me steady while he pumped up into me. "Feel good, buddy?" he asked.

It wasn't a question, though. Stanley could read the pleasure in my face. "Fuck me, Ed."

He got an almost serious scowl on his face as he got into fuck mode, thrusting up deeper into me. "All right..." he finally urged. "Climb off."

I didn't know what he had in store, but as I knelt on the mattress, Coach S's thick body scrambled out from beneath me and moved to come from behind. I felt his hand on the middle of my back, pushing me forward. "All fours, buddy," he urged, a new horniness in his voice.

I felt his lube-slick prick nudge back into place and once again his hands gripped my waist to almost pull me back on to him.

The thrusts were urgent and hard now. Not rough, but I was being nailed by a very horny and very athletic man. "Tell me if it gets too rough," he instructed.

"Feels amazing," I replied. It did, too. I wouldn't say Ed Stanley was making me any less vers in my sexual inclination, but he was revealing to me that when I did bottom, I wanted a top like this. That girthy cock of his was riding hard and heavy over my prostate. I braced myself on the bed and felt my prick drip onto his bedsheets while my former teacher used my hole.

"Goddamn... my last load is frothing up on my cock," he said excitedly. Like he was living out some nasty porn video. Which in a way I guess we both were. "Fuuuuck!" His thursts jackhammered into me in rapid succession, until I felt them pause.

The hands on my waist now let go and ran up and down my sweaty back. "Don't wanna cum just yet," he said softly. Then he pulled out and gave my ass a light smack. "Why don't you lie on your stomach and pull one leg up."

I did as asked, turning back to look at his hungry eyes and sweaty body as I did. "You've been thinking a lot about this, haven't you."

His wet dick pulsed. "I have," he grunted. "I watch a hell of a lot of porn, and now I have my own Corbin Fisher guy in bed with me."

I pulled my left leg up toward my chest, feeling my ass crack and hole exposed to his gaze. "Just remember I'm not actually a professional at this, Coach."

He had an apologetic look on his face. "Got it," he said, then scooshed forward to line up his prick to my now-wet ring.

I was half turned on my side, half face down, in a scissor position. The entry was easier this time, aided by the limits the angle put on Coach's thrusts. He was taking it slow, too. Only I got to feel the extra depth of penetration as his cock bore deeper. All the while, those blue eyes were on me. Watching.

"I love seeing your hardon while I fuck you," he muttered.

"I told you, Coach... it's good for me, too."

It was like my words made him focus on me, and the pleasure I was getting from my insides. Slowly, he sawed in and out, eyes locked on me the whole time.

"I feel like I could come any minute," he said after a few minutes.

"Why don't you?" I asked. I was so turned on but also knew my relatively inexperienced ass would probably tire out within a couple more minutes of this.

"Don't want it to end," he said simply.

"You know I'm gonna let you fuck me again, Coach," I replied. "That is, if you want."

"Yeah?" he said a real sense of hope in his voice.

I nodded.

"Fuck... I'm so close, buddy," he said, now very slowly working in and out of me. "Ok if we try this on your stomach?"

I didn't reply. I just moved my legs down and stretched out on the bed. Coach Stanley stretched out on top of me, covering my back closely with his hairy bulk and his beard tickling the back of my neck. Already he was thrusting into me, not fast but hard, while his hands felt up my arms.

"This OK, Russ?" he asked.

"Feels great, Ed," I grunted. It did, too. I'd tried this with a couple of guys before, including my frat boy boyfriend, but Ed Stanley was bigger and furrier and meatier in his build. I loved the full contact and the weight of him on me. And I loved the thickness of his dick plowing me steadily. "You can go harder if you want."

I swear he growled, let out a real bear growl, when I said that. His hands now held my arms down and he just went for it. Hard deep shoves into my ass as he eagerly went for his nut.

"Oh my fuck..." he grunted. Then I heard a deep series of whimpers as the man came, deep in my ass for a second time, his body twitching and jerking on top of me. I didn't think I could come in this position, but I felt a pressure in my prostate that made me feel the urgent need. I reached down and touched my prick. I had enough lube left in my right palm to make it work. Just two strokes back and forth and I was entering my own deep orgasm.

"Oh shit," I hissed as I regained some consciousness. I'd never had a bottoming orgasm quite like that. My first with Coach Stanley had been about fantasy buttons and the way he pressed every one. This second nut was more purely physical, the way Coach's topping practically fucked the cum out of me.

Ed was already rolling off me and lying down to get face to face as I turned on my side. "I guess that was good for you, too, huh, Russ?" he asked.

"Jesus, Ed. I can barely think right now," I muttered, still catching my breath. "But yeah...."

His own chest was rising and falling and I could even sense his heart beat as he smiled at me. "I think you telling me I could do it again sometime... that was the trigger for me."

I looked down on the bedsheets, where my cum had soaked the fabric. "I'm afraid I left a big wet spot."

He smiled. "Well you gotta sleep in it... just kidding. We'll change the sheets," he said. "But I'm glad you liked that, because... goddamn...."

"Yeah," I agreed. I slid off the bed. "Can I get some water?" I asked.

"Help yourself in the kitchen," he replied.

I slid Ed's shorts back on and made my way to rehydrate. When I returned, he'd stripped the sheets and was putting on a new set. I helped him. He was bare chested in his sweat pants. If I hadn't just had two rounds of intensely incredible sex, I would have boned up just looking at him. As I watched him tuck one side in, he looked up, catching me staring. He winked, which made me blush.

He picked up the bundle of soiled sheets and turned back to. "Don't worry, Russ, I'm in the same boat," he said. "Like I said, it's like when I wanted to play with my new toy all Christmas day."

I laughed. "You mean I can't play with mine tomorrow morning?" I joked.

He smirked. "I didn't say that, buddy," he said. "I'll throw these in the wash. You feel like having another beer in front of the fire place? I have some scotch too, if that sounds better."

I'd never had scotch but I figured what the hell. This evening was about new experiences and getting to know Ed Stanley. "Scotch sounds good."

He nodded. "Put another log on the fire, if there's still embers. I'll tend to it in a minute."

"Yep," I said.

Coach S wasn't making a move to put a shirt on, so I didn't either. Maybe we'd need to fire to keep warm, but I enjoyed the half nakedness together.

Coach offered me a small glass filled with the brown liquor and went to get the fireplace roaring again. He settled back on the couch next to me. It was my turn to place my arm over his bare shoulder, feeling the hardness and the heat of his body.

He had a quiet content look on his face. "You know, Russ, I don't want this day to end."

My heart pounded. "It doesn't have to, Ed," I said. "Well, it does, but you know what I mean."

He nodded. "You're a special young man, Russ. You know that?"

I ran my fingers along his delt muscle. "You give me too much credit, Coach, but thanks." I tried to calm my breathing. It was just the sound of the fire and the snow had made everything outside dead quiet. "A while ago, you said I could say anything and you wouldn't just me." It was a question as much as a statement.

"I meant it, Russ."

I squeezed his shoulder. "I guess I'm pretty young still... but I've never felt things click with another guy like they have with you."

"Not even with your boyfriends?" Ed asked quietly.

"Not even with my boyfriends," I said. "Listen, I know that probably came off weird and clingy and..."

"Russ..." Ed interrupted me. "Will you go on a date with me?" I could hear the tension and anxiety in his voice and when he turned to me I could see it in his eyes, too. "Sometime this week, before you go back..."

"I don't want to get you in trouble, Ed," I said. "You know, with your job or anything."

"We'll figure that out," he said. "But you didn't answer my question."

I realized I'd been afraid not of my answer but how much I wanted to give it. "Yes, I'd love that, Ed."

"Good," he said, patting my leg.

We kissed, softly. I pushed my tongue into his mouth first this time.

When we parted we had goofy grins on our faces.

"You know..." Coach S said as he traced his hand up my pectoral muscle and over my neck. "Even if people do find out or there's any gossip... it'll be so fucking worth it."

I laughed, only to have Coach cut me off with another kiss, guiding me back down to a reclining position on his couch.

THE END?

[five-and-dimes]

So I'm reading through the Sandman comics, and I just got through "Three Septembers and a January" and it is just... SO interesting in terms of the Endless family dynamics.

(This is going to be so disorganized and rambly I just have a lot of feelings I loved this story okay)

Like, yeah okay I'm a Dream apologist, but seriously. Despair calls Dream (not in her gallery and without his sigil- very informal and borderline against the rules- and he still comes!) and challenges him to a game over a mortal's life. Dream is like "No, I don't play your games, I'm a goddamn professional" and Despair shoots back like "WOW you think you're soooo much better than us, not fucking around with people's lives, it's 100% your fault Destruction left" and Dream is like "...fine, hold my beer."

So that alone I'm like. Yeah dude. I get it. And if that's the shit he's been dealing with for all of existence? Yeah I'd be annoyed with my siblings too.

Another part I'm super interested in is seeing when Death shows up and when she doesn't (to be fair, we're following Dream, so it's possible we just don't see certain interactions).

At the very beginning of the challenge, Death shows up to like. Scold Dream for going along with it? She even says "I thought you were an adult" and like. Okay, sure, you think Dream shouldn't be doing this but are you going to talk to Despair and Desire about this? I love Death but a lot of times she gives me the vibe of an adult telling you "Just ignore them they're just doing it to get a reaction" instead of telling the other person to stop antagonizing you, y'know?

At one point Despair says "What's there to understand? He's mortal. He's nothing." And Dream immediately disagrees, and like. That feels like PRIME Death lecture area. Despair doesn't value mortals! The people they serve! Death if you can scold Dream for feeling lost and disconnected from humanity after being tortured for 100 years you can scold Despair for looking down on humans for seemingly no reason.

Desire eventually shows up to try to sway the guy they're following into giving into his desires, but he turns them down. And Desire is SO pissed like "what the FUCK this guy should be mine!!" and Dream's just like "¯\_(:/)_/¯" and then as he leaves is like "Tbh disappointed in you Desire, you weren't very subtle" which to me felt like an "I expected better from you" and, expectedly, Desire gets MORE pissed and as they leave, to themself are like "Oh he wants subtle? I'm gonna make him spill family blood and bring the Kindly Ones down on him!!" Which. To me. Feels like just a bit of an overreaction.

Seriously THAT'S why you want to kill him?? Because he insulted you during a challenge that he didn't even want to be a part of but got provoked into? That's your motivation? Holy shit.

Dream's done some fucked up shit, no lie, but when it comes to the family side of things? Honestly #TeamDream all the way, just leave the poor boy alone, Jesus Christ.

[illdowhatiwantthanks]

Home for the Holidays

Casey Novak x autistic fem!reader Warnings: some explicit language, mentions of sex, mostly just fluff on fluff on fluff Prompt(s): From novelbear, thank you! 😊 Word Count: 2.3k

Summary: You bring Casey home to meet your parents and siblings. Adorableness ensues.

Casey's leg bounced up and down as she stared out the passenger window of the rental car. You were only a half hour away from the Nashville airport, and already the crowded city streets had given way to fields, barns, and the occasional herd of cattle on a hillside. Bluegrass played softly through the speakers. You sighed contentedly, knowing just when to turn, just when to slow around a curve, just when to watch for deer crossing the road. You were almost home. Casey let out a shaky breath and you took her hand, pulling it to your lips for a quick kiss before lacing your fingers through hers. "Casey," you sang, trying to get her out of her head. She didn't answer.

"Honey, you're gonna be fine."

"God, I hope they like me," she muttered, her breath fogging up the car window.

"Of course they'll like you. What's not to like?"

"Oh, I don't know," Casey replied sarcastically, throwing up her hands. "I'm a lawyer. I'm blunt as shit. I probably swear too much. And I'm fucking their little girl."

"Okay, first of all, I'm not little. I'm almost thirty. So that'd be a dumb thing for them to care about." Casey said nothing. "Secondly, you're the only person I've ever brought home. If anyone's gonna be scared, it's them! They don't want to scare you off. Chances are not good that I'd ever bring someone home again." Casey bit at her fingernails. You batted them away from her mouth. "Quit with that, you just got them done."

"I'm just saying it's a lot of pressure!" she said, pulling at the strings of her hoodie.

"This is a lot of pressure!?" You laughed. "You made me meet your parents two months in! And you gave me one day's notice!"

"Yeah, but they live in the city, so it wasn't a big deal. I see them all the time. And it wasn't Christmas."

"Oh, don't even start. You were so butthurt when I went home for Thanksgiving without you."

You pulled down your street, houses twinkling with holiday lights, and waved at a neighbor walking a dog.

"Who's that?" Casey asked.

"I don't know."

"You just wave at people you don't know?!"

"Here? Yes. In New York? No."

You pulled to a stop in your family's driveway and grinned at their decorations–a giant pride flag, made entirely of Christmas lights.

"Wow," Casey said, gawking at the display.

"What can I say? They're aggressive allies."

You sat silently in the car for a moment, then took Casey's hand. "You ready?"

You nearly leapt out of your seats as two hands slammed on the driver's side door.

"Y/N!!! Come on, come on, come on!"

You smiled big, eyes sparkling, stimming quickly at your ears and shaking your head. It was your baby brother, Eli. Not such a baby anymore–16 years old. You threw open the car door and he barreled into you, squeezing his arms around your neck as tightly as he could.

"Who's here?!" he said, bouncing up and down with his hand on your shoulders. "Y/N's here!!!"

Casey watched you from a distance. You'd told her all about your youngest siblings–the twins. That they were, quite literally, one in millions. Fraternal twins, both born with Down syndrome. Casey knew, from you, that Eli loved Mario Kart and Les Misérables and called once a week to sing "One Day More" with you. She knew Winnie was a hotshot in the local Special Olympics basketball league (even at 4' 10"), a budding artist, and "kind of a bitch right now," as you'd told her on the way over.

"Can you say that about someone with Down syndrome?" Casey had asked.

You'd scoffed. "People with disabilities can be bitches just as much as anyone else."

Now, as she watched you with your brother, she got it. She got it when you said that they were your favorite people in the world which, until now, had made her ridiculously jealous. She got it when you said that you would give up everything to take care of them when your parents weren't able to anymore. Your face was alight with so much joy, so much connection. Connection that Casey knew you didn't get many other places, aside from her. And she knew then that she'd give up everything for you to have that, even if it meant moving to help you take care of your siblings when the time came.

When you and Eli finally separated, he turned his attention to Casey.

"Hi, Eli!" she said, bending down to be a bit closer to his height. "I'm Casey."

Unlike Winnie, who could talk the ear off a donkey, Eli was mostly non-verbal. He had autism, too, like you, and for this reason, you'd always felt a deeper connection to him. You knew you weren't supposed to have favorite siblings, but Eli was yours. So when he decided to use his limited words to talk with Casey, it was a big deal.

He looked first at Casey, then at you, and asked, "Girlfriend?"

You nodded, beaming. "Yep! Yeah, Casey's my girlfriend."

He stepped closer looking Casey over. After a moment, he seemed to decide that he liked her.

"Casey, big squeeze," he said, and wrapped his arms around her waist. Eli pronounced her name "kissy." You thought your heart might explode. She patted his back and looked to you for a translation.

"Big squeeze means he wants you to hug him as tight as you can. Like, really tight, to the point that you're afraid you might hurt him." She obliged and he laughed in her grip. When she let him go, he patted her on the back and jogged inside.

"It helps with, uh, autism stuff. The deep pressure," you explained.

"Does it help you, too?" Casey asked as you took your luggage out of the trunk.

"What?"

"The big squeeze. Do you like those, too?"

You smiled at her, quick and bright. "Yeah. Yeah, I really do."

"Come here." She pulled you into her and squeezed as hard as she could, using every muscle in her body to put pressure on you, flexing so hard you could feel her shaking. Your body, on the other hand, felt light as a feather, as if all the stress, all the tension in it was seeping out. When she let you go, you sighed happily, your body tingly. You felt almost high.

"Yeah, we're gonna do a lot more of that," Casey decided, observing how much you'd relaxed.

Tennessee wasn't cold, not like New York, but the warmth from inside hit you hard anyway. "Come on," Eli urged, impatiently motioning you toward the living room, where you knew your parents would be sitting. You helped Casey out of her coat, then took off yours, hanging them by the door.

"Mom, Dad!" Eli yelled. "Who's here!?"

Your parents walked into the kitchen, absolutely beaming at you. They'd never say it, but they'd given up on you dating. You just hadn't been interested. They'd gotten used to the idea that you could be happy without a relationship, after years of you sending them articles about asexuality. But you could tell they were happy to see you in love.

"Hey, y'all," your mom said, wrapping Casey in a huge hug that took her off guard.

You smiled as your dad did the same to you, kissing the top of your head. "Hey, sweet pea," he whispered. "Glad you're home."

Casey cleared her throat and reached out to shake your dad's hand. His biker-style beard and imposing height always made him seem scarier than he really was. "Mr. Y/L/N, it's very nice to meet y–" Once again, she was cut off by a bear hug.

"Welcome," your dad said, nearly smothering her. "We're so glad you're here."

"Where's Winnie?" you asked, looking around.

"Upstairs on her iPad." Your mom rolled her eyes. "Want me to get her?"

"Nah. She'll figure out I'm here eventually."

You all made your way to the living room, where Eli promptly got on his own iPad, put his headphones on, and proceeded to perform a series of silent, choreographed dances in front of the Christmas tree. Casey watched him, amused and delighted that neither you nor your parents seemed to find this out of the ordinary at all.

"How was your trip?" your dad asked, lowering himself into a seat next to your mom.

"Good," you said, taking Casey's hand in yours when you noticed she was picking at her fingernails again. "The airport wasn't even too bad."

"I bet it'll be a shit show tomorrow..." your dad mused, thinking about Christmas Eve flights of years past.

"So, Casey," your mom started, clearly eager to get to know the only person who'd ever managed to turn your head. "Tell us about yourself. Y/N says you're a lawyer?"

"That's right." You squeezed Casey's hand as she spoke. "I'm an Assistant District Attorney at the Manhattan DA's office. I prosecute cases for the Special Victims Unit."

"Special Victims?" your dad asked. "Like victims of assault?"

She glanced at your brother who shimmied in the background. "Uh..."

"He can't hear," you told her.

"Yes. Assault, rape, sexually-motivated homicide, child abuse, things like that."

"That's gotta be such a hard job," your mom empathized.

"It's admirable work." Your dad nodded approvingly at Casey, and she seemed to relax a bit. "Those pieces of garbage deserve to rot in hell. But jail's a start."

You rolled your eyes. Your dad was a passionate man, with a tendency to turn more aggressively passionate at any mention or hint of violence toward women and children. Come to think of it, Casey reminded you of him in that way.

"I couldn't agree more," Casey told him.

"You met playing softball?" your mom asked, clearly trying to redirect the conversation.

Casey's face brightened. "We did!" She wrapped an arm around your shoulder and you leaned into her, blushing a little. Your parents shared a glance; they had never seen you this close to anyone. "We're on the same rec team. Y/N's the catcher and I pitch."

"Still got that catcher's gear?" your dad joked, winking at you.

You shot him a glare. "I know I'm not that much taller than I was when I was twelve but, no, Dad, the gear from my middle school team doesn't fit anymore."

"Ooh!" he exclaimed, sitting up and pointing at Casey. "Has Y/N ever told you about her softball nickname?"

"No, she hasn't," Casey said, smirking at you.

"I coached her team when she was little. She played catcher, of course." Your dad leaned forward, as if he and Casey were in on a delightful secret together.

"But she would jump forward to grab the ball," he continued. "Which was obviously a terrible idea because–"

"She's gonna get hit," Casey finished, nodding.

"Exactly. She was really good, but she always jumped out and we kept telling her, 'You can't be pouncing like a tiger, you're gonna get hurt.' And one day, sure enough, she leaned forward and bam! She was laid out. Thank god she had the helmet on, or it probably would've cracked her skull."

Casey laughed, but placed a hand absentmindedly on the side of your head, as if checking to make sure you really were okay, all these years later.

"After that," your dad chuckled. "Word got around with other parents and the girls on the team, and they started calling her El Tigre. For the rest of her softball career–El Tigre!"

Your cheeks were burning as Casey and your parents laughed together, but your heart was warm, too.

"Okay, okay," you said, "I'm gonna go say hey to Winnie." You looked at Casey. "You want to come?"

"Sure!" she said, standing next to you and placing a hand on the small of your back as you moved toward the stairs. You looked back at your parents to see them watching you intently, holding hands, nearly bursting with happiness. They liked her. You could already tell.

As you emerged upstairs, you gently grabbed Casey's waist and pressed her lightly against the wall.

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "I thought we were going to see your sister."

"We are," you said, standing on your tiptoes to kiss her softly. You felt her body melt into yours, the stress of the day dissipating. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay first."

Casey sighed contentedly and brushed your hair behind your ears. "I'm good. They're really nice people, your family. They really love you."

"Yeah, well," you scoffed. "Wait until you meet this one."

You knocked on Winnie's door and threw it open when she called, "What!?"

Winnie sat at her desk in all her diminutive glory, Special Olympics medals hanging from a cork board and Usher's "Yeah!" blaring from the speakers.

"'Sup, nerd," you said, standing in the doorway.

Winnie gaped, looking from you to Casey.

"What are you doing here, Y/N?" she finally said.

"Uh, it's Christmas?" you responded.

Winnie pointed at Casey. "Who are you?"

You could tell that Casey was holding back laughter. "I'm Casey."

"You're Y/N's friend?" Winnie asked, leaning back and swiveling in her desk chair.

"No, I'm not her friend. I'm her girlfriend," Casey said as the two of you took a seat on the edge of Winnie's bed.

Winnie seemed to think very deeply about this. "Her girlfriend?"

You both nodded.

"Like, when you have a crush?"

You blushed.

"Yep," Casey nodded, patting your leg. "I have a big crush on Y/N."

Casey shot you a cheesy grin. She was loving this.

Winnie smirked and waggled her eyebrows. "Do you kiss!?"

"Oh my god," you groaned, rubbing your forehead.

Casey on the other hand, seemed to be living for this conversation.

"Oh, absolutely," Casey told her. "I do kiss Y/N. I love to kiss her."

Winnie scoffed and turned back to her desk, fiddling with her iPad.

"What about you, Winnie?" Casey continued, crossing her legs and getting comfortable. It blew your mind that Casey seemed to be getting along with Winnie so well. Or maybe Casey just liked pushing people's buttons. God knows, Winnie was nothing but buttons to push these days. "Do you have a girlfriend? Or a boyfriend?"

The look of absolute condescension on Winnie's smug face finally drove Casey to the edge. She burst out laughing. "Why are you looking at me like that!?"

"I don't have time for that," Winnie said. "I have to work out." She pulled up her sleeve and flexed her bicep.

"Damn!" Casey exclaimed, standing up to squeeze Winnie's arm. "You are strong!"

Winnie pulled her sleeve back down. "Yeah, I know."

"I hear you're really good at basketball," Casey said conspiratorially, squatting down next to Winnie's desk. "I'm more of a baseball girl myself, but you wanna play tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" Winnie exclaimed, genuinely excited before she remembered she was too cool for us. "But I'll win."

Casey raised her eyebrows. "That's some big talk."

Winnie shrugged. "I can't help it that I'm the best."

"You got me there."

You gestured to Casey and she followed you to the door.

"Y/N can't play, though," Winnie added, glancing back at Casey.

"Aw, why not?" Casey protested. "I love playing with Y/N."

Winnie shook her head. "She is really bad."

"Ouch, Winnie," you said, glaring at her.

Casey cracked up again, and you elbowed her in the stomach.

"Good night, loser," you called as you shut Winnie's door.

"Good night, dork!" she yelled back.

Casey had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"See?" you whispered to her. "I told you. A little bitch."

Casey grabbed your face in her hands and pressed her forehead to yours. She kissed you quickly, then laughed, a wide grin on her face.

"What's this for?" you asked, as if you needed a reason.

"Oh, it's nothing," Casey said, serious, before giggling, "I just have such a big crush on you."

"Ugh, stop!" You pushed her away. "That's so dumb."

"It's cute!" she protested, and you didn't know if you'd ever seen her this giddy. She came up behind you and wrapped her arms around your waist, pressing her face into your neck. "Come on, you say it, too."

You rolled your eyes, but a smile tugged at the corners of your mouth. "I have a massive, huge, heartstopping crush on you, Casey."

She buried her face into you, planting kisses up and down your neck as her fingers tickled your stomach. You squirmed and giggled and shushed her as you both headed back downstairs. You didn't want to seem too in love. Your parents would never let it go.

[sirenium]

Warning: some parts of this may come off as insensitive, dark, and/or concerning on my end. I do not give a fuck about that; I've read through this multiple times, made sure to tweak things, but I'm not going to walk on eggshells anymore for the comfort of someone else right now I am so fucking tired. So if you're offended by something cold or brass that I said, leave me alone about it. Go do your self care routine and take care of yourself, but don't make it my problem. I'm autistic. I likely have ASPD and almost certainly NPD. I am going to say things sometimes that are way more mask off than what you'd expect, because neurotypicals love playing games and hiding what they fucking mean or are too scared to say what they mean in fear of harming someone's feelings. I've developed this, to an extent, because it is necessary to survive. But no, this is my blog, my feelings and thoughts, and I deserve a space to be honest for fuck's sake! Don't like that I'm not playing games? I'd suggest clicking off or scrolling by now. That said:

neurotypicals are so annoying about empathy and compassion. No Sarah, my ability to not be scarred and shaking from a gore video or a distressing audio does not make me an edgelord or a sociopath. I think it's dramatic and theatrical to put so much effort into caring about strangers, it's a weakness. But you know what I don't do? I don't go 'lol you're just soft haha' to their faces (which I've seen other people do) because that's fucking cringe. I know people react to certain things differently even if it seems fake and overemotional to me. But these people go out of their way to whine about an insensitive joke on the INTERNET or someone not being phased by something. Also, you don't know if the people making jokes are really unphased or just coping with humor, you can't just fucking psychoanalyze and armchair diagnose a random person on the internet!

(school shooting, human and animal death mention under the cut):

You don't need to piss your pants every time someone dies in order to register that the death shouldn't have happened. It's like with the latest school shooting, I don't react all that much to school shootings because wow, another one? how many useless deaths happened this time (note: useless as in it could have been easily prevented)? You know how I feel about lack of gun control? I think it's dumb! I think children shouldn't have to go to school with the fear of not coming home due to some fucker with a gun! If that makes me a sociopath to *checks notes* react logically and not emotionally to tragedies, then so be it.

The truth is that I'm just autistic. It's true that I have antisocial traits, but I'm not a 'sociopath' in the sense that people mean it. People think I'm manipulating them when it couldn't be farther from the fuckin truth, and I grew out of hurting living things so I'm not going to kick your dog to death or dismember someone's grandma. By the way, can we stop equating that word with cold blooded killer? I've been told I behave like a serial killer by a counselor for things such as separation anxiety, even compared to JEFFREY DAHMER as a teenager by a stranger online for viewing gore as a beautiful thing (I'm now painfully aware how bizarre that view is to 'normal' people, but it doesn't make me a serial killer to be fascinated by gore in such a way). Joke's on both of those people, I haven't killed anyone yet like they clearly thought I would.

I'm used to 'sociopath' being used as a word to dehumanize and demonize me and people like me. But hell is it annoying for pop psychology girlies to think everyone is sociopathic for not extending their emotions to yet another death. Death happens every day, how are you not used to it? You'd think everyone would be used to it by now, and this does not mean to lack the drive to want to change the world. But of course, the 'empath' phenomenon has done massive damage to the collective human psyche. You know the type of person I'm talking about: the 'narc/antisocial/borderline/histrionic abuse' pedaling, 'hyper empathetic' girlie who makes it their whole personality to be so kind! So caring! So empathetic and compassionate!

I hate these people. They're so all of the above until someone has a cluster B disorder or general lack of empathy. Then suddenly they aren't very caring and kind, nor compassionate with an abundance of empathy! But yes, the autist who doesn't distinguish between a human being and a Gmod NPC unless given reason is the problem, not somebody shitting on an entire group of people with personality disorders (sarcasm).

It's just irritating, and I felt like talking about it.

[mangotangerine]

random rambles about fanfic

the winter sadness has captured my soul and what normally takes me 1 week is now taking 2 (ch36 of it's not murder, it's research and waste disposal will be up tomorrow) and it makes me sad and weirdly worried that people will lose interest, so i'm going to ramble at the like 7 people who follow me for my radiostatic human AU about the fic because i can't take ADHD meds at 9:52 PM and thus am incapable of wrangling together this 8k behemoth of a chapter that's now going to be 2 chapters because I've still got like 2k words to go and then rounds of editing

chapter 7 of when boys grow up is also mostly done so that should be this week as well.

anyway, rambling below the cut for people interested in the writing process & the differences between the two fics (beyond the obvious)

I have never, before this year, written anything longer than like... 22k. now i've got a 180k (completed!!!! what the fuck!!!!) hellaverse crossover fic that's arguably the most hilarious thing I've ever written (Accidental Bodyguard for Hire for anyone interested. very different vibe but good times and hijinks, the series it belongs to is 260k and has canonverse radiostatic) and the first thing I have seriously written in literal years. I mean I've sort of been working on two original things over the past 4-ish years but writing in isolation, without the feedback you get from fanfiction, is hard.

I got laid off (along with the rest of the company) from a damn good job March 1st and it took until late June to get another one and filled my idle time getting my writing skill back to where it was when I stopped approximately 5 years ago. I'm mostly there now, I think, nowhere to go but up from here. The rewritten maman marie scene from chapter 18 (which I rewrote as an exercise prior to writing the spirit marriage scene in chapter 27) is I think when I got back to where I used to be before.

Anyway, it's not murder (inm) started as a thinly veiled excuse to write radiostatic smut where Vox didn't have a TV for a head (hence chapter 1's "sometimes you just want them to kiss without alastor licking a television" author's note) and turned into... what it is now. This 200k+ exploration of the human condition behemoth with a vague plotline (and more smut scenes than chapters), and a challenge to see how dirtynastywrong I could get my writing.

I have a vague idea of how it's going to end (and have the catalyst scene mostly written) so everything in between is me being like "haha what if this happened" and hoping the whole thing doesn't become boring and repetitive.

I kind of waffle between, "this is fanfiction you don't need to write this like it's a novel" and, "but the plot is all over the place and there is no clear delineation between each arc so it must be getting boring and too long" and have mostly settled on "fuck it, it's fanfiction" for inm.

I'm always thrilled every time someone comments or says they've reread it even once because like WOW somebody LIKES MY ART, especially so with the OCs I've written in (so many people always say they hate OCs, but I like to think I've done a good job with mine).

Especially because the fic has become something beyond the initial plan. I didn't go into this thinking I'd explore trauma, the real impact of Hurricane Katrina, racial themes, critically endangered languages, or learn half as much as I have about the human body, let alone do it as elegantly as I seem to have managed.

You should see the amount of fucking scientific journals I've downloaded and read, surgery videos I've watched and anatomical models I've studied to make sure I get this shit right (apart from like the obvious "suspend your disbelief about the lack of safe sex and atrocious lab etiquette and the fact that these two somehow have yet to be caught and the CIA doesn't work like that really but I do know the pay scale is correct because I researched that") and I'm just... really glad people are enjoying it.

Some shit is off the cuff but so much of it is intentional choices made that I don't think are obvious at the surface level—vox being big and buff and also a subby little bitch boy who calls alastor baby as a subversion to the "smaller character is the bottom" trope; *so* much of alastor's history and character a deliberate subversion to racial tropes; taking care to flesh the side characters out as believable people with inner worlds (i even made some spotify playlists for vox, alastor, catarina and velvette as a fun little exercise); figuring out what traumatic, lifechanging incidents could have happened to turn these two characters into violent serial killers; figuring out how to navigate sexual assault and child abuse without it coming across as overdramatic and titillating for entertainment effects; showcasing two objectively monstrous people as sympathetic humans with brief "oh yeah I forgot they're literally fucking evil" moments because i feel like it's important to remember even the monsters amongst us are just as human as we are, anyone is capable of great evil—there's a lot more, but I wouldn't have been able to work through any of it without all the comments and encouragement.

most of INM is still like off the cuff random "haha what if" scenarios, vs. when boys grow up (wbgu) which is meticulously plotted out with a beginning and a middle and an end, figuring out how to weave in bits and pieces of wbgu to inm and inm to wbgu along the way, and like if anyone wants any resources on louisiana creole (a critically endangered language) I have so much. I spent hours and hours but managed to dig up a copy of an old out-of-print dictionary, even.

there's a lot more "exploring the human condition and specifically xyz" i have planned for wbgu but those are spoilers so you cannot know about them!

I don't know why I wrote all this out tbh, some of it is like a "thank you for the support, this is what i've been able to accomplish because of you, you have no idea how much it means to me" and some of it is like a "see! it's not just brainfucking torture porn! i put thought into it!" kinda thing and some of it is a "please don't get bored of me i put so much work and thought into this shit"

and some of it is a "hey ask questions there is so much that will not make it into the fic that has a big behind-the-scenes impact"

so, uh, thank you, i guess. especially if you've read this far. look for 2 new chapters before american thanksgiving, one for inm & one for wbgu, and feel free to ask whatever questions you might have because there's a 99% chance i've thought about it and made a deliberate choice around it.

[hearts4golbach]

The Night Shift.

Chapter 5.

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

I woke up in the car to Johnnie lightly shaking me.

"y/n/n, wake up, sleepy head!" Jake teased from the back seat.

I hadn't slept off the alcohol. I was in the front seat, for some reason. I looked towards johnnie. "wait, do you even have your license?"

his eyes widened. "uh, no. but, we're here safe." he awkwardly smiled.

I shrugged. "okay."

Jake casually got out of the car. it was clear he didn't drink as much as I did. Johnnie helped me out of the car. I tried to find my footing, but it was a little difficult. He wrapped his arm around my waist. my face got hot. I knew he meant it in a friendly way, but I had never really received affection like this from anyone, and my friends didn't make me feel like this. I watched Jake haphazardly unlock the door, laughing at him.

"what are you laughing at, bitch? I just wanna go to sleep." He glanced back before shoving open the door.

I followed Johnnie to his room after we said goodnight to Jake. "where can I sleep?"

"you can take my bed, I'll sleep on the floor." he offered.

"no, this is your room. I'll sleep on the floor."

"but you're the guest, just take the damn bed." he laughed.

"whatever, hoe." I rolled my eyes.

his hand flew over his heart. "wow, is that really what you think of me?" he asked sarcastically.

"of course not." I pinched his cheek before flopping onto the bed. he pulled off my shoes for me, which caught me off guard. "I'm a big girl, I could've done that myself."

"I wanted to help." he shot me a soft smile before pulling a spare blanket out of his closet and throwing it on the floor. he reached into his drawer and pulled out a misfits shirt. he tossed it onto the bed. "so you don't have to sleep in your dress. you have shorts or something on under it, right."

"of course, I'm not a slut." I rolled my eyes. "thank you."

he nodded before turning away so I could change. I did so and got myself situated under the blankets. "sleep tight." I heard him call from the floor.

"night, you too." I whispered.

I laid staring at the ceiling for what felt like forever. There was no way I could sleep. everytime I closed my eyes, all I saw was his smile. it felt like I could still feel his arm wrapped around my waist. I smiled slightly, thinking about his laugh. fuck it.

"Johnnie?" I whispered.

he cleared his throat. "yeah?"

"will you lay with me?"

he hesitated.

was he angry?

did he think that was weird?

"i- yeah of course." he stuttered in a sleepy voice.

I watched his shadowy figure stand up and climb under the covers next to me. he turned to face me.

"are you okay?"

"this is the first time in my life I haven't felt truly alone." I admitted.

"what?" he asked.

"I've never felt like someone actually cared. I guess you're the first one."

"so, why did you want me to sleep up here?"

"you're stupid." I mumbled.

he didn't answer.

"I don't know how else to explain it."

"that's fine."

"it just felt empty up here." I laughed.

"I get that."

"do you want me to stop talking? you sound annoyed." I asked cautiously. I didn't know I'd act like this around people while I was drunk.

"don't. I like your voice, I feel like I'm always the one talking." I could see in the dimly lit room he had a small smile on his face.

"okay," I paused, remembering our conversation earlier. "Whenever I was in 8th grade, I was searching for anything I could that would change something in my life, it was so.."

"repetitive?"

"yeah. my friend asked me to hold her vape. she was scared of getting searched since she made the smoke sensor in the bathroom go off." I sighed. "against my better judgment, I went in there and hit it for myself. it was like my life had flipped upside down. I still remember my first buzz. from there, it just got worse." he made a sound, letting me know he was listening. "I was constantly feining. but, of course, I got used to it. everything it made me feel went away. I never got high. I snorted opiates, and ended up getting addicted to those my sophomore year.  I was constantly high my whole freshman year. yet, no one ever noticed me. I had no one."

"why did you quit?"

"I overdosed one night. I woke up in a pool of vomit. no one knew about that either. you're the first person I've ever told. I knew I had to stop before I killed myself. I kept reminding myself that life would move on and nothing could change that."

he didn't answer, just wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight. I nearly cried. I've felt countless hugs from family, but none felt genuine. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. he smelled faintly of cologne and cigarettes, which I assumed was from Jake. I eventually fell asleep, still wrapped in Johnnie's arms.

[lilacgaby]

03 | serenity

~1.5k

chapter select!

he came home with a stupid smile on his face that would not go away.

his every interaction with her would make him smile, she just made him so happy. for so many years just because of her presence in a book she made him smile, having her here now was unreal to him.

because of her, he showed off even more in class. he pushed himself even harder than before just to show off how cool he could be.

she had only been there for about two days now, but she was settling in so perfectly.

she fit right in with the girls, who had quickly realized that [name]'s life in 'serenity' was a sore subject that should be avoided. while [name] didn't have a quirk, because of her fresh perspective on the whole thing, she came up with helpful ideas to help not only the hero course, but general studies as well.

she caught up to the class fast in their academic studies as well, even though aizawa said she could've opted out, she seemed determined to fit in.

she was living up to her reputation in the manga perfectly, but overall she'd still hang with katsuki the most, which he couldn't lie: filled him with pride.

they were back in his dorm again today, playing a board game, the game of life. since nobody really knew who'd win until the end, it was a fun game to play.

"aw no! my babies don't even fit in the car! bye dog.."

"that's just fucked up."

"a mansion or a cabin! i'm picking the mansion, the fuck?"

"you can't afford it."

"...cabin it is."

"okay, i have to sing for you to get my bonus money so listen up.. ahem. okane kasegu, watashi wa sta--"

"stop and i'll pay you."

the game revealed a lot of things about the two of them. one, that katsuki, even though smart, was incredibly impulsive which would usually get the better of him. two, that megan thee stallion existed in serenity. three, that [name] was equally as impulsive, which would lead to her getting overwhelmed easily.

after counting up the money, [name] won. "thank god i won, did you see the amount of kids i had? i needed this win."

"yeah, child support would be beating your ass regardless. so, i think i got out of this the true winner."

"so cruel katsuki." she said, her hand over her heart.

"whatever. anyways, mr aizawa wanted us to go up to U-A again later. so prepare yourself for that."

"right!"

"[name].. can i ask you some shit? you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

she mulled it over. she had been avoiding talking about her world since she arrived, but she knew it'd have to happen eventually.

"yeah, go ahead."

"can you like.. see ghosts or something? because in the recent chapters-"

"yes i can." she cut him off before he sprang into his ramble.

"WHAT? the whole damn time? wow, you just spoiled it for me."

"you asked asshole! and yes i could since i started going to that school, i just never felt the need to mention it."

"can you see any ghosts here?"

"no."

katsuki let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and smiled in relief. "phew, i don't know what i'd do if some fuckfaced ghost was hanging around here."

"yeah, yeah. well, want a rematch?"

"oh you're in for it loser!"

after another successful win for [name] since she took the college route, she let katsuki clean up the game by himself, saying it was "a punishment fit for a loser."

they hung around until meeting aizawa at the appointed time.

they walked into the U-A classroom, this time nezu, allmight, and a couple lesser known heroes were in attendance.

"[name], bakugo, these are the heroes who are going to be on the lookout for that strange man from now on."

[name] bowed respectfully, and forced bakugo down into a bowing position too. "alright, let's begin then with what we know."

aizawa recapped what [name] and bakugo had accounted for that night, however, he had new details to share.

"we have done some digging on the villain, he's dubbed himself '2-D', and mostly commits petty crimes. the worst crime he committed was robbing a bank, where he was caught on camera controlling characters from a superhero comic to clear the way into a vault. if you'd all look at this footage here..."

aizawa played a video on the screen. it showed the same man who had attacked bakugo outside a bank. after a few minutes, he had thrown the book into the air and zapped it with his ability. the same poof that brought forth [name] was shown in the video, except something was different. the characters answered at his beck and call, destroying the quirk-proof glass and robbing the bank easily. the cover of the book was left blank as he used the characters to his will.

notably, once the robbery was finished, 2-D zapped them once again, and put them back into the book, as evident by the way the cover turned back to normal.

"now, this confirms something very important while also showing something quite confusing. 2-D seems to posses the ability to bring the characters back into whichever world he took them out of, which is great news for [name] here. however, why isn't [name] being controlled by 2-D?"

the heroes all looked around the room as they consulted eachother for their thoughts. however, none of them had clear answers or claims on what the cause could be.

"maybe it's because of the type of books he used? [name] is from a romance novel, she doesn't have a fighting ability." bakugo said.

the heroes pondered over it. "that seems like the most logical response for now. however, please all of you, keep a look out for 2-D, and bring them into custody alive and healthy. we need to get [name] home safely."

"thank you all, i apologize for all the trouble."

"no, no don't worry young [name]. we are heroes, this is what we're made for! ha ha ha!" all might said.

"ok.."

bakugo guided her out as they exited. "so, you happy? once they find that idiot you're out of here." he said, failing to hide his bitter  tone.

"well, no, i don't know what i feel now. being here, even for a short while, has been fun. and even when i do leave, ill miss you all. so, cheer up katsuki, it's not like im gone yet."

"right, you're still here." he said, grabbing onto her hand."

"mhm. and when i leave you'll probably be there right?"

"right."

"so, stop being a loser and cheer up! let's go get food together again though, i'm starved."

"right, did you like the place last time?"

"yes! aww, maybe we'll look like a real couple today too."

"cut it out!"

"come on katsuki, i know you like me, i saw all those figures--"

"please die." he said, letting go of her hand and storming off without her.

"wait, come back! i was half-joking! i'm sorry!"

they had eaten at the same spot as they did before, and even managed to get a free couple dessert. katsuki flushed at how embarrassing it was that they shared a heart shaped straw, but he secretly.. was enjoying it.

after they finished up there, he took [name] to the manga shop to show her just how popular she really was. posters, art books, pens, sketchbooks, pencil packs, and.. was that a body pillow? she was everywhere, it was as flattering as it was shocking.

"wow, i'm so famous, huh?"

"yep."

"why's there no books though?" she said, eyeing the empty shelves under the mountains of endless merch she had.

bakugo sighed. "they sell out quick."

"wow! i'm so cool!"

"don't let it get to your head." he said, flicking her forehead.

"ouch!"

when they finally left the store, they admired the sunset. they walked side by side down the path, this time [name] initiating the hand hold as they saw the view. but when she saw the glow of the sun sending its goodbyes, he saw her.

his hands moved before he could process it, softly cradling her face in between his pointer finger and thumb as he turned her gaze towards him.

"katsuki?"

"[name], i--"

he was cut off by his worst enemy. a love interest with such idiotic hair and an even worse personality type, as he ran up behind them and put a hand on [name]'s shoulders.

"[name]?"

bakugo released his gentle hold on her face as he glared holes in the guys head. as she turned, she finally realized who it was.

"...

shinto?"

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