#Joey Intercom Event

[edogawa-division]

It has grown late into the night in the city of Edogawa as a certain Hacker’s birthday was slowly approaching its end, only a few more hours were left and Kaoru Shinozaki was spending the remainder of her birthday locked in her lab working on a new invention as always, while eventful and somewhat fun as the day had turned out to be, Kaoru was more than content to lock herself in her lab doing what she loved, at the moment she was currently trying to connect two wires together to power up the device on her table when the intercom in the corner of the room sounded off, surprising Kaoru and accidentally shocking herself.

“OW! MOTHERFUC—“

“Kaoru! Someone’s at the door for you!”

“Ughhhhh..” Kaoru groaned as she slammed her head on the table, rubbing her poor, burnt fingers before sitting up and leaving her now ruined invention to go check (and potentially cuss out) whoever it was that was here for her.

Upon making her way to the main level of the house, she stopped short however as she did not expect Joey Kurusu to be standing (or perhaps, fidgeting would be the right word as the detective looked like a spooked deer) at the house’s entrance, looking like a hot mess as if he had just rolled out of bed in his casual clothes and had ran all the way over here…and knowing her bespectacled friend, he probably did.

Aside from his presence, the numerous pile of gifts he had in his arms had also caught her attention as they had almost blocked the detective from her view. “Joey?” Kaoru questioned and it was a miracle that Joey didn’t drop her gifts with how high he jumped before swerving to look at her, instinctively brightening up. “Kaoru! Hey, happy birthday!” Joey had tried going in for a hug but remembered that his arms were already occupied so he just gave a smile and nod in her direction.

Kaoru couldn’t help but smile at the lovable goofball she called her friend and helped him carry the gifts over to the living room where they sat them on the table. Kaoru plopped on the couch and patted the space next to her, inviting Joey to sit as well, the blonde did so but made sure that there was a respectful distance between the two, Joey kept mentally reminding himself to be very respectful, very mindful, it wouldn’t be very demure of him to invade Kaoru’s personal space even if all he wanted was to—

“S-so! Birthday, yeah? I bet you already got a lot of gifts but I still wanted to put my two cents in, I would’ve given you these sooner but…uhhh, yeah, I guess my habit of binge watching anime for days straight finally caught up to me because when I woke up, I only had like, 30 minutes to get you a present and I may or may not have spent 10 of those 30 minutes panicking super hard haha..” Joey sheepishly laughed and scratched his head, Kaoru only smiled broadly as she cursed A.R.K. the fuck out in her head, she decided to keep the fact that she had returned both Joey and Lyall back to their homes to herself after taking photos upon photos of their cute sleeping faces for her collection.

“Uh, anyways! Go ahead and feel free to open them! I really hope you like them.” Joey placed his hands on his knees and swayed back and forth gently, anticipating Kaoru’s reaction to the gifts he picked out. Kaoru didn’t keep him waiting for long as she grabbed the first gift she had her eyes on and tore into it, revealing…

…A coffee mug decorated as a prescription pill bottle.

“Hehe, I saw this and immediately thought of you, I’m more of an energy drink kind of guy but even I understand how important coffee is to us Anti-Sleep deviants haha.”

After that, Kaoru grabbed another present, this one revealing…

…A…weird ass stuffed animal.

“Now you have your very own autism creechur to squish and cuddle as much as you please! I would have gotten you the ADHD one but unfortunately they sold out of those but hey, this little guy is just as cute!”

After that, Kaoru grabbed another present, this one revealing…

…A Cinnamoroll plush neck pillow.

“Boku Cinnamon!…God that was so cringey, I don’t know why I even did that, please erase that from your memory, anyways, I figured that this might help you with your neck problems or at the very least lessen them, I get it, dealing with a sore neck from countless hours of staring straight at a monitor fucking sucks.”

After that, Kaoru reached for the final present, this one being the smallest one of them all, revealing to be…

…A starry night charm necklace.

“Oh heyyyy, how did that get thereeeee? Um, this was kinda more of an impulse buy but it’s still a gift all the same! I thought of nothing but you when I saw it and I thought ‘hey, Kaoru would look pretty with this’ so I bought it…as a friend! Because friends buy each other bracelets, yeah! Purely platonic intentions here!” Joey grinned, proud of himself after that truly pitiful performance of trying to save face before growing bashful again. “But you are one of the closest people here to me, Kaoru, I really hope you know that.”

Happy Birthday Kaoru! 💙

Kaoru blushed a deep red at Joey’s words. Her mind was running a million miles a minute at hearing her crush say those words. She had even felt her heart skip a beat. Oh lord, did Kaoru have a bit of a meltdown when she realized she had a crush on two people. Lyall and Joey? What shojo manga did she just step into? She wasn’t entirely sure how to deal with her feelings for Lyall when feelings for Joey just crept up on her.

How could she not develop feelings for Joey? He made her laugh with his jokes. He was the person she would spend hours with binging anime, playing video games, and staying up until morning just sending messages after message to each other. Kaoru even waited for the days when she could go visit him down in Kanazawa, wanting to see Joey and his cute freckled face-

…she was down bad wasn’t she?

“Uh Kaoru?” Joey asked, waving his hand in front of the hacker's face and bringing her out of her mental spiral. “You good?”

“Oh! Bracelet, right! I love it, Joey!” Kaoru brightly smiled, trying to squash her nervousness down deep inside. When all of the sudden a voice in the back of her mind that suspiciously sounded like A.R.K kept taunting her telling her that she had “no fucking balls” and we’ll never let it be said that Kaoru made good decisions. Her entire life was proof of that. Gathering every bit of courage she had, Kaoru leaned over and placed a small kiss on Joey’s cheek, letting out a giggle when he began to sputter and turn bright red.

“Thanks Joey. Can’t imagine a world without you.”

[inkyencounters]

The Event begins soon

If you would like to respond to it via dashcommentary or other shenanigans, please tagged it as #Joey Intercom Event

That way anyone who doesn’t want it can block it <3

[artificialqueens]

Blue Neighborhood Series: LOST BOY + for him. (Jaida-centric) - Mac

AN: Thanks to Alex for betaing and thanks to you all for sticking with me as this update took a while. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

Summary: Jaida is still reeling from the events of Widow’s birthday party, but she doesn’t have time to process as Homecoming is on the horizon.

The week leading up to Homecoming, Jaida did her best to act as if nothing had changed.

She attended class, ate lunch with her teammates, went to practice, drove home, did her work, and went to bed.

She was structured. Followed her routine.

Nothing had changed.

Except her secret was out.

Granted, only out to a handful of people, most of whom didn’t care enough to spread gossip like that. But there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t go flaunting her business to the entire school.

And that’s what ultimately worried her.

Every whisper in the hallway had her straining her ear to listen. Each snicker made her wince. It was like her body was on high alert and she had to do everything in her power to pretend it wasn’t.  

She hardly even noticed when last period rolled around, reflexively sighing as the familiar screech of the intercom sounded.

Jan’s voice rang out, chipper and bright as ever.

It was a small comfort.

“Good afternoon!”  Jaida could hear her smile through the static. “I know everyone is anxious for the Homecoming court nominees, so we’ll start with that. But first-”

Jaida poorly concealed an eye roll. In the midst of all her personal drama, she had almost forgotten entirely about the dance.

“Like previous years, Eastview recognizes the student body as a whole is diverse and not everyone fits into gendered roles, so we will, as we have in the past, refer to the winners as Homecoming Royalty rather than King or Queen!”  

There was some shuffling as the intercom was passed around, Bryce’s voice suddenly ringing in the small classroom.

“Without further ado,��� he boomed. “The nominees for our 2020 Homecoming court are…” He paused dramatically, causing a few people to groan. “Nicky Doll, Jan Sport, Jaida Essence Hall, Gigi Goode, Bryce Eilenberg, Wilson Lai,  Jason Carter, and Mark Manio.”

Jaida felt herself exhale.

“Congrats to all our nominees! Reminder to everyone that you can go in and vote through the student portal for Homecoming royalty now. We look forward to seeing everyone at the dance this Friday!”

Jaida tuned out the rest of the announcements. Though she smiled politely whenever her peers stopped to congratulate her, she had ultimately zoned out, instead focusing on outlining a new defensive play to run during practice.

Her teammates didn’t comment on her subdued nature, probably out of fear. They simply nodded when she gave instructions, hustled around the court, jumped when she said jump. The usual.

The gym was a welcome relief from the rest of the school. It was a comfort thing, sure, but mostly it acted as a representation for everything she was good at.

Here, in the 94 by 50 foot court, she was somebody.

She didn’t have to think. Everything was reflexes and power and speed. No mistake she made couldn’t be fixed by practicing a hundred hours.

No mistake was permanent.

Her body was mendable. She could make it do whatever she wanted.

She wrapped up practice as she always did, with the order of ten laps around the court and a high five to each of her girls. They filed off into the locker room one by one, but Jaida lingered a bit, her mind still mulling over the events of the past few days.

She found her eyes trailing down to the area of skin above the bend in her elbow. The black ink of the fresh tattoo still took her off guard. It hadn’t fully healed yet, and there were traces of irritation around the black dots that made up the letters. She sighed as she ran her fingers over the raised skin, memories of Widow’s birthday party flashing behind her eyes.

One such image stuck out among all the others though, and she felt bile rise in her throat at the thought.

Before the churning in her stomach could get worse, she started running.

She felt her body take over as she threw herself around the court at lighting speed. Lap after lap after lap. Her brain only passively aware that she was moving because of the beads of sweat making their way from her hairline to the small of her back.

Jaida only slowed when she noticed a figure at the edge of the court.

Gigi stood calmly under the net, hair styled, posture set, unabashedly staring as Jaida rounded a corner.

It was strange.

After hiding for so long, Gigi simply looking at her felt dangerous.

Jaida slowed to a walk several feet in front of the cheerleader, taking cautious steps closer.

The corner of Gigi’s mouth quirked up playfully. “So, you gonna ask me to Homecoming, Allstar?” She batted her eyes in a manner that would have, under normal circumstances, had Jaida chomping at the bit to press her against the nearest flat surface.

As it was, with the memory of Gigi’s frazzled appearance and Jackie’s smug smile burned into her retinas, Jaida couldn’t help but bite back a scoff at the notion.

“Thought you had a date,” she muttered, venom in her words.

Gigi’s smile vanished; her eyes fell to the floor. “Not anymore.”

“Oh? You’re too good for her too?” Jaida couldn’t help the bitterness from seeping out, her arms coming to cross in front of her chest defensively.

Gigi’s eyes flashed darkly, but the glint of anger passed just as suddenly as it appeared. “I’ll take that as a no, then.”

Jaida set her mouth in a line, unwilling to give Gigi any more of an inkling into how she felt.

Gigi hesitated a moment, her previously icy posture melting a bit as her eyes searched Jaida’s face for… something.

“Is it Jan?” She finally asked.

“Is what Jan?”

“Why you can’t look at me?”

Jaida nearly choked on her own spit.

Gigi nodded once. Firmly. With finality.

And turned on her heel.

…

Friday came faster than Jaida would have liked.

Luckily for her, Widow had reached out the day after the nominations, almost as if she knew what Jaida was going through, and had offered a spot in their Homecoming group.

Jaida had accepted gratefully, thankful, because her only other option had been to go alone, seeing as her teammates all had made plans weeks ago.

She still wasn’t thrilled about the whole prospect of Homecoming, knowing that it was mostly an excuse for people to get drunk and party after a school-sanctioned event. Seeing as the most recent party she attended had ended so poorly, she wasn’t eager for a repeat.

Still, she was glad to be involved, even if she loathed herself for it.

It was something she had tried and failed to explain in the past. She was grateful, absolutely. The opportunities she had been offered, the friends she had made, her damn college tuition had all been made possible through basketball and her quasi-stardom. She wasn’t ignorant to the power she held. She just didn’t see it the same way other people did. That’s what Widow still couldn’t understand. It wasn’t fun to have the reputation of the school on your shoulders at all times. It was exhausting.

Jan understood.

Jaida figured that’s why it was so easy with her. They both held the weight of everyone’s expectations on their shoulders so constantly that it became a part of who they were. They prided themselves on never breaking a sweat, even when the unyielding pressure was too much to bear.

They saw it as strength, even if deep down they knew better.

The stress and pressure had taken over Jaida’s life so completely that she was scared of who she’d become without it.

So she set her shoulders and forced a smile when she arrived at Widow’s doorstep right at 8:30, dress bag thrown over a muscular forearm.

Widow had swung the door open wide, hair tied up in a towel, practically naked. But she acted like this was totally normal as she let Jaida in, leading her down the familiar hallway to the kitchen.

There were two other figures lounging about in various states of undress.

The guy, Joey, or Joe, Jaida remembered Widow calling him, was leaned against the counter, hip cocked out to the side, toothy grin set in the lines on his face.

He was handsome.

In that classically charming way that most men with two brain cells and a non-threatening demeanor were.

And then there was Dahlia.

She was perched atop the kitchen counter smiling widely at something Widow’s boyfriend had said when she made eye contact with Jaida.

Her expression changed instantly, face falling along with her gaze.

Jaida tried not to let it outwardly phase her. She still hadn’t figured out how she felt about Dahlia. The instance at the party being one of the only experiences she’d had with the younger girl. Granted, during said experience, Dahlia had gone out of her way to attack Jan and ended up being one of the driving forces that exposed her and Gigi.

But there was something else that Jaida couldn’t quite place. A motive.

Which made the whole thing ridiculously more complicated, and Jaida really didn’t want to get into all of it right then.

So she brushed it off to the best of her abilities and gave a small nod in Dahlia’s direction.

An understanding passed between them as the younger girl shot her an appreciative look before letting the tension in her shoulders dissipate.

The four of them lounged about the house for a solid half-hour before even attempting to begin the arduous process of getting ready. In all honesty, Jaida hadn’t been prepared for the event that her counterparts made dressing up, and she was taken completely off guard when they both insisted on doing her hair and makeup.

Jaida relented after a bit of teasing and let the two take over, grumbling just enough as they poked and prodded every inch of her face.

That, coupled with the fact that Widow and Dahlia had to get ready themselves, was just one of the many reasons they pulled into the parking lot of the school nearly two hours after the dance started.

Jaida’s group didn’t seem to mind though, Widow and Joe leading the way into the school, giggling into each other’s space all the while. Jaida found herself smiling at their antics, something about the uncomplicated nature of their relationship was refreshing to be around.

When they entered the school, Jaida managed to avoid having her picture taken, smoothly slipping away from the rest of her group in an attempt to orient herself.

It was just as well seeing as Widow began berating the school’s hired photographer about angles and lighting and a million other things Jaida couldn’t comprehend.

The basketball star couldn’t help but smile slightly at the decorations that covered every inch of the gym. The theme had been Underwater Ball, which Jan had despised since the moment it was chosen.

Jaida couldn’t count the number of times she had to listen to the student body president complain about how blue washed her out and how unethical the whole fishing industry was.

But for however much Jan hated the theme, she had done a damn good job with the decorations. Floor to ceiling cardboard waves acted as a background to the literal hundreds of hand-drawn fish cutouts. Not to mention the life-size mermaid statues that lined the dance floor. Projectors on either side made the waves look realistic as they moved with the non-existent tide. Seaweed pillars lined the stage in the center of the gym.

And Jaida’s personal favorite touch, the seafood puns.

Claw and Order Crab Cakes

Kriller Punch

As Jaida’s eyes roamed the impressive setup, she caught sight of some familiar faces.

Nicky and Jackie were smack dab in the middle of the dance floor, throwing their heads back, eyes shut, dancing like lunatics. They commanded attention. Nicky, with her natural grace, and Jackie with her unending magnetism.

Heidi and Crystal swayed nearby, giggling at their pair of friends and chatting with… Brita, who looked to be having the time of her life.

Jadia wasn’t really up to date with all the cliques, but the grouping seemed unusual.

She shrugged it off and continued scouting out the rest of the space, catching Aiden and Rock out of the corner of her eye. The two girls had managed to get to the very top of the collapsed bleachers and were looking out at the mass of bodies.

Then there was Jan, surrounded by a crowd of smiling faces, and Bryce at her side. A casual onlooker wouldn’t question the scene in the slightest, but Jaida could see Jan’s hand tensing around her cup at the proximity.

And then there was Gigi, standing alone against the far wall, covered head to toe in dazzling silver, her dress reflecting the pulsing lights.

She looked like a sexy disco ball. And also like she’d been crying.

Jaida hated that her stomach twisted at the thought.

No matter how hard she tried, and Lord knows how hard she tried, Jaida couldn’t let Gigi go. It wasn’t even fondness anymore, it was all of it. The whole stupid fucking lot of it. The sex and the feelings and the closeness that shook Jaida to her very core.

She craved Gigi with every ounce of her being.

Her heart beat in time with Gigi’s careful steps; the click-clack of heels against linoleum floors.

But before Jaida could fall into another endless spiral of feelings and self-loathing, there was a voice ringing out over the speakers calling for all the Homecoming Royalty nominees to come to the stage.

Jaida felt herself follow the lead of the other nominees onto the stage. She squinted at the harsh spotlights, feeling the familiar itch on her skin that meant people were looking at her. It wasn’t wholly unpleasant, just… noticeable.

She took a moment to breathe in and out and survey her competition.

Nicky up first in a gorgeous black and white pantsuit, looking like the epitome of French fashion. Jan to her left, sunshine yellow dress complimenting the brilliant smile she wore. Jaida’s own form fitting red dress pooling around her ankles like water. And Gigi in her silver shining dress that hugged her sides the way Jaida’s hands itched to.

The nominees stood hand in hand, some holding their breath, others rolling their eyes internally as the room went dead silent. The seconds ticked by like hours, but Jaida felt Jan squeeze her hand a split second before the announcement came.

“Jaida Essence Hall and Jan Sport!”

Jaida smiled reflexively as her heart sank in her chest.

She turned to pull a beaming Jan into her arms. The first physical contact they’d had since the party. And that knowledge alone lit something up inside of Jaida, but before either of them could say anything more than a simple congrats, there were sashes and crowns and the booming voice calling for students to clear the floor.

Jaida rolled her eyes at the extra-ness of it all, but Jan elbowed her in the side and she couldn’t help but break out into a giggle.

She offered a hand out to Jan, who smiled adorably as she took it, leading them down the stairs of the stage and into the center of the gym.

Jaida let her hands find Jan’s hips, while Jan’s arms wrapped around the back of Jaida’s neck.

Jaida couldn’t help a grin as a corny love song began to play from the speakers. Jan blushed prettily and teased her about it, but Jaida didn’t care.

She and Jan swayed for what felt like ages. Hands and bodies wrapped around each other.

They fit.

Body and soul they fit.

“You’ve got an admirer,” Jan whispered, nodding her head over Jaida’s shoulder.

The Allstar player turned her head and caught sight of Gigi staring daggers at the pair of them. She quickly looked away when she was caught, then pushed herself off the wall where she had been leaning, storming over to Nicky and pulling the other girl out the gym doors.

“How are you?” Jan’s tone was serious, but her eyes were soft.

Jaida chuckled and shook her head.

“What?”

“Nothing I just-” Jaida smiled. “You never say what I expect you to.”

“Thanks?”

“It’s a compliment.” Jaida insisted, inching that much closer to Jan. “Most people would be tryin’ to get information about all that.” She nodded in Gigi’s direction.

Jan shrugged. “I’m not gonna lie and say I’m not curious, but you’d tell me if you needed to.”

Jaida nodded. “Thank you, Jan.”

Jan smiled sadly as Jaida’s movements began to slow.

“For everything.”

Their careful swaying came to a stop and Jaida reached up to hold Jan’s hands in her own. “But I can’t-”

“It’s okay.” Jan stopped her, cupping Jaida’s face gently with one hand. “I won’t take it personally.”

Jaida smiled sadly at her own words echoing back at her. She couldn’t fight the rush of emotion that filled her chest the longer she stayed fixed in place, breathing in Jan’s presence.

So she didn’t.

She let it wash over her in one ceaseless crash after another.

And then Jan let her go.

…

Jaida found Gigi and Nicky leaning up against the side of the school, cigarettes held loosely between red lips. Gigi coughed on every inhale, but the fire in her eyes kept her cigarette from going out.

Jaida approached the pair cautiously, careful to not trip over her dress.

The cheerleader tensed as she came closer, while Nicky looked between them warily.

“Gigi, can we talk?” Jaida asked, letting a bit of her frustration out in her tone.

Gigi swallowed around a cough and glared. “What? Still don’t wanna be seen with me?”

Jaida rolled her eyes, the past month’s worth of frustration and hurt spilling over. She didn’t think twice before pulling Gigi into a forceful kiss that they both felt in their toes. Gigi melted into the contact, fiery exterior melting away the longer Jaida’s lips pressed to hers.

They hadn’t ever properly kissed before, but it didn’t seem to matter, their mouths meeting in time, breath synching up almost subconsciously.

When they finally parted, resting their foreheads together, Nicky was nowhere to be found.

They didn’t speak as Jaida interlaced their fingers and led Gigi silently away from the school.

They climbed into Jaida’s truck, neither mentioning how this was the first time Gigi had sat in the passenger seat. They drove and drove and drove, Jaida’s eyes fixed on the road ahead of them, rather than the pit growing in her stomach. But Gigi’s warm hand on her thigh grounded her, kept her head from flying too far away from her shoulders.

Jaida’s mind was empty as the jet black road narrowed, leading up and up and up into the mountains just outside of town.

The Allstar chanced a look over at her passenger seat. She couldn’t read Gigi’s expression as the wind whipped her previously pristine hair into a tangle of blonde strands. The shimmer of her dress still reflected the sparse streetlights as they raced around countless switchbacks.

She looked beautiful.

Jaida pulled over at the next lookout point. Only when she turned the key did she notice she had been holding her breath.

They sat in the silence for a beat before Jaida felt herself stir, exiting the vehicle and hopping down onto thinly milled gravel.

Body on autopilot, she lowered the back hatch and crawled into the bed of her truck, ignoring the way her dress pulled at the seams from the movement. She offered a hand out to Gigi and the two sat against the back window.

Gigi curled to her side as if knowing this would be the last time she could, head fitted neatly on Jaida’s shoulder, the easy intimacy making the older girl’s stomach churn.

They didn’t say anything for a long while, Gigi running her fingers over the exposed skin of Jaida’s arms, Jaida staring at the stars like they would provide some answer to their predicament.

“This is it, huh?” Gigi finally whispered into the darkness, all anger and malice gone from her words.

Jaida felt her chest tighten.

“We’ve hurt too many people already.”

“So hurting us is gonna change that?”

Jaida shook her head and was surprised to find herself blinking back tears all of a sudden. “No,” she conceded, “but you know we can’t keep doing this.”

Gigi chuckled bitterly. “If I had a nickel for every time you said that.”

“It’s different now,” Jadia insisted.

“Because you can’t stand to be seen with me?” Gigi bit out. “You could do a lot worse, you know.”

Jaida sighed. “Gigi-”

The cheerleader cut her off with a gentle touch to Jaida’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.” She looked down to her hands, fingers flexing against the fabric of Jaida’s dress anxiously.

Jaida shook her head. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have started this in the first place.”

“I didn’t stop you.”

No, she hadn’t.

She didn’t know Gigi was in a relationship when they started their… arrangement. She assumed. Hell, Gigi looked like that, she must have had people lining up left and right for a chance with her. Jaida assumed there was someone in the picture, but she hadn’t cared. She was frustrated and burned out and it was only their sophomore year. She wanted to be reckless, screw the consequences. And that had worked out fine for a while. They fucked and pretended to be perfect strangers if anyone asked.

But one night, Jaida was shooting the ball around outside her house, attempting to perfect her three-point shot, when she caught sight of Gigi through the window. She had her head in her hands, brow knit in frustration over an open textbook on her desk. It was a completely ordinary scene. Nothing magical in the least.

And yet something took root in Jaida’s chest then, something she was never able to voice aloud.

Suddenly their hurried sessions between respective practices felt different.

Jaida had done her best to push it aside. Gigi was supposed to be her reprieve from thinking. She was supposed to be like basketball, muscle memory.

She didn’t know what to say. She could still barely process her own thoughts, let alone verbalize them.

“I’m-” She started, but Gigi pressed a delicate finger to her lips, face scrunched up in a wince, like Jaida’s words caused her pain.

“Me too.”

The air between them stilled. The only noises audible were the crickets in the distance and Jaida’s pounding heart.

Eventually, Gigi shifted up on her hands, draping herself over Jaida’s body slowly. She began trailing kisses up the length of Jaida’s exposed neck.

Jaida tensed at the contact.

“Let me,” Gigi whispered, breathing shaky. “Please.”

They hadn’t done this a lot. Their rendezvous usually focused on Gigi’s pleasure, seeing as she was the one that could go home after, but she had persuaded Jaida a few times in the past to let her explore.

Jaida always felt exposed afterward, laid bare. Raw.

Jaida met her gaze warily, but the sheer panic in Gigi’s eyes was what finally did it.

After a beat, she nodded.

Gigi’s lips curved up at the sides. It wasn’t a smile. Not by the half. Because it didn’t warm Jaida’s chest from the inside out the way Gigi’s smiles usually did.

She traced lines of muscle with her tongue, breathed words Jaida couldn’t hear against her skin, marking it as her own.

Jaida felt her skin itch like it didn’t belong to her anymore. If she were being honest she knew in her heart it never had been hers.

It had always been Gigi’s.

Before long, Jaida was panting open-mouthed into the thrumming night air as Gigi’s fingers made sharp circles over her clit, pulling the older girl closer and closer to the edge with every gasping breath.

Gigi pressed herself closer, her mouth to Jaida’s neck, her chest to her stomach. Jaida felt like she was on fire and her mind was blank and full at the same time and it was all too much and then Gigi spoke.

“Tell me you loved me.”

She sounded far too coherent for Jaida’s current mental state to process.

But she couldn’t think about that, couldn’t think much of anything because she was so close and so torn up inside.

“Gigi-”

The cheerleader cut her off, pulling her head back so Jaida could see her teary eyes.

“Lie to me.”

Jaida shut her eyes tightly, unable to look at Gigi directly anymore. She let out a shaky exhale as Gigi resumed her ministrations.

“I still do,” Jaida whispered into the night air.

[realm-sweet-realm]

Aimless rambling about the ink thinner AU

So, I’ve always kind of wanted to explore this comedy au in more depth (and no, I’m not writing a fanfic on it. It would be aimless). If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the ink thinner AU is one where the crew gets the opposite of their usual personality for a week. This doesn’t include a person’s abilities or attitudes about specific people (it won’t make Wally smart, or make Sammy instantly fall in love with him). It’s an interesting concept to explore- what would you, as a person, do if you could be separated from so much of what keeps you where you are for a week?

I’m going to add an extra detail: on day two, Joey figures out what happened and calls the other twelve into his office to explain. All of those who have families and/or significant others will have a meeting together that night to explain what’s going on to their loved ones so they can work out an arrangement.

Original post is here: https://youllallriseinthenk.tumblr.com/post/187692782312/what-would-happen-if-each-of-the-batim-employees

The post is about what their personalities are, but I want to talk about how they’d handle it.

Henry: has way too many emotions and no way to handle them since he’s always been super calm without much effort. On the plus side, he 100% takes advantage of Joey’s temporary reasonableness so he can get him to make some changes around the studio in regards to working conditions. Does his best to contain himself at home. (His kids mostly just think it’s funny.)

Joey: It was a long week for him. Suddenly developing empathy when you’re a person who’s done so much wrong isn’t easy, and he was also a pretty somber person in general that week. On the plus side, he made some great changes to the company and apologized to a bunch of people he did wrong to.

Sammy: is really even-tempered all week. Takes the opportunity to apologize Susie and Wally for being so snappish all the time, and tackles particularly frustrating parts in the songs he’s working on.

Susie: Is finally able to look at things logically and leave her obsession with the Alice role behind. Being less naive, she comes to a realization that she is being seriously mistreated at Joey Drew Studios and writes down why she thinks that so that she will remember when the week is over. Signs up for auditions elsewhere. Her cynicism is really off-putting, though.

Allison: is outwardly a total bitch all week, but her fire for novelty is gone, at least. It’s pretty uneventful for her, except that Thomas is really kind to her. She and Susie go out to bitch about life over coffee at one point.

Thomas: it’s a very peaceful week for him. He’s able to have a productive and helpful discussion with Joey (see below) and can connect with Allison in a way that’s hard to come by for him now that he’s in a rare state of inner peace and contentment. Will probably miss this more than anyone.

Jack: essentially spends the week making his rounds on every person that routinely takes advantage of him, chews them out, and sets new boundaries on the relationship. Goes harder on some people than they deserve and apologizes to them as soon as the week is over. He also crashes at Sammy’s place so that his family doesn’t have to deal with him being an asshole.

Wally: was so depressed that he spent the first day of it in bed. Afterwards, he was determined to move up in the world and made a plan to do so. He was thinking “who’s the last person I’d normally want the help of,” and invited Shawn to help him.

Norman: was really sociable all week and made a bunch of friends with people not affected by ink thinner. He lost track of most of them afterwards, but he kept a few.

Grant: obviously enjoyed being cheerful and energetic. Used the opportunity to draw up a detailed financial plan for the studio to get as much as possible fixed, and especially to get as much done as possible before Joey was back to normal. Also tackled some things in his home life that usually seem too hard or intimidating.

Bertrum: is essentially thrown into a paralyzing existential crisis because everything he’s ever done was to become as big and noticeable as possible, but now he feels like an disgusting embarrassment and just wants to hide and never be seen or thought of again. (Yeah... a person who hates themself as much as Bertie loves himself is a wild mess.)

Lacie: really has to help Bertrum stand up for himself. Thankfully she’s feeling really gentle and nurturing right now. Eventually she just has to encourage him to take the time off and not make any big decisions until he’s himself again.

Some events:

-Jack chews Joey the fuck out for everything, which makes him cry. Sammy as well. Both of them treat him with kindness that week. Sammy didn’t even realize he was mistreating Jack until he told him because Jack is just that much of a cheerful pushover. Sammy changes his behaviour towards Jack after the week is over. On the other hand, Jack picks a fight with Allison that ends with him in the infirmary.

-on day two, during the meeting where Joey tells everyone what’s going on, Wally drops some line about how depressed he’s been. After the meeting, Grant takes him aside and offers to tell him some of his coping mechanisms, since he’s used to dealing with it. Wally takes him up on the offer. The two passed by each other a few times that week and Grant made a point of asking Wally how he’s doing. After the week, Wally started asking the same thing on the occasions when they crossed paths (until Wally left, that is. See below.)

-Since Thomas doesn’t feel so under-thumb anymore he tries to have a serious talk with Joey about the ink machine. Joey tearfully admits that the ink machine is evil and they should get rid of it. Being both unusually sentimental and naive, Thomas comforts him and promises not to go to the police so long as Joey immediately gives the order to start taking down the machine. Of course, that order is immediately reversed the second the week is over, and so is Thomas’ willingness to go to the authorities.

-Wally and Shawn have a deep, meaningful conversation about their future careers. Wally writes out a plan to take a second job so he can save enough money to take some time off, learn a trade, and go into a career that will make him happier with himself. Shawn considers looking for a job as a chef and leaving the studio behind. The second the week is over, Wally is so glad to feel alive again that he immediately crinkles up the plan and is like, “Hey Shawn, fuck this, I’m happy right here!” To help him celebrate, Shawn sets fire to the plan and dares Wally to stuff it in his mouth. He does. After the week, Shawn actually does go on to become a chef, and gets Wally a job as a janitor at the restaurant. Thus, neither of them get sacrificed.

-Right before the week is over, Jack gets ahold of the intercom, and tells everyone that he’s found more ink thinner and will drink a whole gallon of it if anyone tries treating him like dirt again. A few days afterwards, Grant and Thomas approach Jack, and, well, it wasn’t easy telling the poor guys that there was no more ink thinner.

If you have anything to add, reblog and add it.

[devilswinging]

EVENT: Impersonation Investigation

“A’IGHT!”

There’s Bendy’s voice over the intercom. It’s obvious it’s something important when Bendy’s the one using the intercom. Though how did he get access to it without Joey going ballistic...? “Listen up, ‘cause this is important an’ kinda crazy folks!”

A clearing of the throat. “Someone’s been impersonatin’ Joey. An’ they’ve been doin’ a pretty good job a doin’ it. Now, I ain’t sayin’ it’s one a you’s, ‘cause I know it ain’t. The level a impersonatin’ the culprit’s doin’ is beyond anythin’ a human could ever attempt. So y’all’re in the clear. No... This is the work’a a demon. Someone like me.”

“Exactly like me, actually. There’s another Bendy roamin’ these halls. An’ I’m askin’ to keep yer heads down an’ keep yerselves safe; I think we all know by now how dangerous I can be, so this guy’s no exception. An’... I want’cha to block the cutouts’ lines a sight. All a ‘em. I ain’t the only one able to use ‘em anymore, an’ if we can cut off any an’ all advantages this other Bendy might have, the better chance we stand a findin’ him.”

“... that’s all. I got a demon to find.”

The intercom crackles to silence.

(( this is a cross-blog event between my two blogs @devilswinging​ and @builtmachine​! you’re free to send asks to either blog; all muses (Bebe, Isa, Joey & Henry) are available!

it’s a demon hunt, y’all. ))

[omegastryker]

Game Over - A Stars Story

3p

A fan's job had just wrapped up in Albertsons in Everett. He was waiting for his bus to arrive, which would take him to Ash Way park and ride. His folks said they would meet him in Seattle. As they had a meeting with his sister.

Few fans he didn't recognize that came as customers in Albertsons. They flew in from Dallas just weeks prior.

---

Few hours later...

5p

The fan arrived at the arena. It was an hour til' puckdrop. Warmups had just begun. Some players from Sidekicks also joined in the fun too.

All was well, except... "Where's #91?" wondered the Stars fans from Seattle, Dallas and team.

Was he at the Center grounds? Nope. At the Armory multi-purpose/food court facility? Nope. At the arena? No.

Then...people started to come into the arena, both fans and players alike. Which they went to their respective places.

---

Came time for the event, but the fan? Still waiting for the team, waiting for #91.

Secs...turned into mins...turned into hrs. The fan went inside, "hey James..." said his team's coach.

"Have you seen #91?" - Rick

"No."

"Neither have I" - Benn

---

This caused James to search the premise. Helping him, his new found friend and co-worker; Joey + Radulov.

His family met the fan also. "Have you seen our brother?" said his older sister.

"No, I was with his mom. She was ministering to me." - said the younger sister.

So they allowed the fan to come on the intercom. This covered a wide range of Seattle Center.

"91, if your in the area. Please report to the arena." said the fan

"That player of ours has a lot of explaining to do" Boness

He reported to the arena. But a little too late. "Where were you? You were supposed to be with your team." Andy Eide

"I-was..."

"Yes, you were supposed to be here an hour ago. Do you know what time it is?" - Knet

6p - #91

"Yes, and do you know what you missed?" Benn

"The warm-ups + opener" - #91

"Yes again. But more importantly. A fan here was going to meet you. No excuses. What were you doing?" - Benn

"H-he was?"

"Yes #91. Guess where he's now?

"Main auditorium. Again, the question. What were you doing?"

"Having dinner with my friend."

"So bad that you had to forgo meeting your a Stars fan and the fans in Seattle?" Cass

"W-well."

People were none too happy. A player had missed the opening warm-ups + game opener.

---

"It's nice you want to be with me. But what about your team Tyler? 'Sides, the game is set to go live soon." #91's friend

"I know, but..."

"But what? You wanted to take me to this game, did you not? Well, we'll talk. You got an explaining to do after the game"

So the fan was waiting for #91 together with the team green section (Stars players and fans).

---

Then, the unthinkable happened. He has a fever. - says Benn (as he felt his forehead.

"It's my fault. I'm the one that caused this."

---

Pt. 2 - A fan, a friend and a player. From Bad to good.

[setoxkaiba-blog1]

💔

THE MEME FOR PEOPLE WHO HATE HAPPINESS.

42. Your muse shows up on my muse’s doorstep after several months of being missing, with no memory of the past few years.It was rare for Seto to be working from home these days. A lot of events were taking place, his latest project meant that he had to be inside the office for the majority of the time - to make sure that people where doing what was asked of them. Afterall, in order to get a job done right, you often had to do it yourself. 

Sighing, he placed the latest report to one side, reaching out to lift his coffee but pausing at the sound of his intercom buzzing. Who was it that did not understand the phase - do not disturb? Frowning, he pressed the flashing button, one of his butlers answering at the other side. “Ah Mr Kaiba sir - I apologise to disturb your work but we have a bit of an issue at the front gate here”“Issue?” Kaiba sighed, wishing that people would just get to the point instead of dancing around the subject all the time. What was the point in being so vague? He swore people enjoyed testing his patience at times. “Joey Wheeler sir - he’s just appeared. He seems to be rather confused though”“…I’m on my way”Why had he suddenly appeared? He’d been missing for a few months now and Kaiba had to deal with Yugi and the others constantly on his case to help search for the idiot. The most he did was place a few guards out to search for him. He was too busy to go on some type of wild goose chase. If Joey wished to go into hiding for some reason then that was his own choice. The others should just respect that choice. But - to turn up at his door? He sighed, shaking his head as he walked through the corridors, his mind still working through the problem that he had been attempting to solve before the interruption. Arriving outside, he wondered over to the gate, fixing Joey with the coldest glare that he could muster. “And just why have you decided to crawl back to MY doors? Too afraid to face the others?”@uchimitsu

[sevenholidaysking]

The young boogeyman was in shadow form, resting until he heard a new voice speaking.

...

Cue suppressed chuckles from the shadows, almost holding his guffaws. Christina? Stuffed animals? Straight? Ha! Humans were such funny creatures sometimes. 

[inkyencounters]

Official Business Announcement

"Alright everyone, because Joey doesn't have a secretary he's having me do this nonsense..."

He clears his throat and speaks clearly for all the studio to hear.

"Joey Drew is doing a special event tomorrow, at Noon. But for the sake of preparation, he's assigned me to go around and survey the staff on general opinion. So, if you have any questions for Joey, or heard any rumors about him, please report to me. He will be answering questions, but he said he'd like to make a general statement and cover some bases."

"Just... write down a memo and label it "For Joey:" and I'll add it to the list that will be turned in tonight. Just leave it on my desk."

(OOC: this is the perfect chance to go "is it true that" or "I heard that", or to turn in any fun headcanons about Joey!)

[inkyencounters]

“joey is it true you have a small dingdongarooni” “IT’S TRUE!!!!!!!”

Not even Sammy’s soundproofing stopped Henry’s confirmation. Oh no.

[devilswinging]

EVENT: Impersonation Investigation - END + ANNOUNCEMENT

Two very similar voices can be heard over the intercom as it crackles to life.

Sounds like someone has a new form...

“Are you sure...?” “Yeah!” “Okay...”

“So... I have already said this in person to Joey and Henry, but... I am - WAS - Isa... and I am the one who was impersonating Joey Drew and harming the toons. And I’m.. I’m TRULY sorry for what I have done.” “Bendy has given me another chance, so... I’m going to do better now. I promise.”

“As for my name... I want to leave Isa in the past with my mistakes. I go by Bast now, so please... do not call me Isa anymore.” “... is that all?”

“Uh, not quite! Yeah, We’ve got a lot a work to do, but now there’s two a us so hopefully work ‘round the studio gets easier on some a us! With Bast’s shapeshiftin’ hopefully we can use that for the rotoscopin’ an’ let some a the other toons have more frequent rests. ‘Cause there’s A LOT a rotoscopin’.”

“An’ also! The major way to tell the difference ‘tween me an’ Bast - he lacks a tail. I’ve got one, he don’t.” “And our manners of speaking. He has that horrible accent-” “HEY!” “- and I do not.”

“An’ that’s all folks!”

The intercom shuts off.

(( OOC announcement under the cut! ))

Bast is now available for RP in all verses! Isa (aka pre-redemption Bast) is still available for RP; just use the name Isa instead of Bast!

[devilswinging]

{EVENT}: Joey Takeover

The intercom in the studio crackles to life and what sounds like Joey’s voice came over it. 

“Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen of Sillyvision. This is your boss and dear friend Joey Drew, with an important announcement. It has come to my attention that some staff feels they may not know me as well as I’d like, and that cannot stand! So it is with great pleasure that I tell everyone some not-so-well known facts about yours truly! Unfortunately I can’t call you all in one at a time to discuss this; it’s much more convenient over the intercom!”

“So everyone, please please ask what you like! My truth is guaranteed, or my name isn’t Joseph Christina Drew!”

There’s the slightest sound of someone trying not to laugh before the audio stops.

[devilswinging]

Joey do you manscape???

He doesn’t even get through the word “manscape” before falling into peals of laughter and giggles, and when he speaks that is DEFINITELY not Joey’s voice.

That’s Bendy’s.

“Oh my GOD! No, no I can’t anymore oh my GOD!!!!! GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY SHOW’S OVER!” He’s still laughing as he shuts off the intercom system and gets the hell out of that office, booking it straight for Sammy’s office as fast as his little legs can take him.

He’s still laughing.

{ EVENT: JOEY TAKEOVER } HAS ENDED.

[setoxkaiba-blog1]

@godfather-of-games

It wasn’t that uncommon of an occurrence for him to be awake at these early hours of the morning, scanning over the previous weeks results and silently growing annoyed by the lack of progression. This mindless task though was interrupted earlier than normal as the intercoms flashing light drew the tired ceo out from his thoughts, an annoyed sigh being given as he switched on the speaker. “Mokuba. I thought you’d be sleeping?” he sighed out softly, picking up the coffee that had long grown cold and taking a small sip. Caffeine just failed to have the same effect these days. “I was but a report came in that I thought you’d like to be made of - look at monitor fourteen” “It’s four in the morning” he yawned as he walked into the next room though, eyes scanning over the hundreds of monitors that made up the walls and ceilings of the room, the majority of which showed empty, boring parts of the city, one or two showing various crimes taking place, only for police to be quickly arriving - but as he gazed over towards the screen that Mokuba had been talking about he gave a soft sigh of annoyance at the familiar face. How long had it been since they’d last seen one another? Four, five years? The days tended to fall into one another but going by how old Mokuba now was, he was able to work out that around five years had passed. “Big brother?” “I’ll send some people to collect him” he answered, hand already having shifted through the air to bring up the virtual console, sending a signal through to Isono as he typed up the report of what he’d just seen. “Go back to sleep now” “Don’t stay up too late”. Silence once more filled the room as Kaiba then wondered over to the mainframe computer, bringing up the image of monitor fourteen onto the main display to watch over the events. It seemed though as if he wasn’t the only one to have been affected by the effect of time. He couldn’t make it out too clearly on a computer scene but there definitely was something different with this Joey and the one that he knew back then.

His attention was brought back to the present as he spotted one of his cars pulling up beside the obviously drunken blonde. The report had said he’d been kicked out of the nearby club for some type of drunken scuffle and though those type of disruptions were usually swiftly dealt with but his police force, anyone related to Yugi was to be reported to him first. His way of keeping tabs on them all really.

Out from the dark car walked out three of his best bodygaurds along with Isono who motioned for the others to keep back for now. No doubt the old man was wanting to try a more gentle approach before any force may be needed. He studied over the blonde before him, smelling the alcohol on his breath and trying not to react to the vile smell. He’d never much enjoyed the stuff himself and it had only ever spelt trouble for his young master. “Joey? Master Kaiba has asked for us to escort you to someplace a little safer than this dark sidewalk. I do ask that you accept the offer”. He was quite aware of how that may sound. He was quite aware of how his master was these days but still remained loyal by his side, doing what he could to keep him from over stepping too many lines or to simply dirty his own hands instead. For now, he stood by waiting for Joey’s reaction, sensing the men behind him growing rather impatient.