#I have no idea how Johnny suddenly got this good at math

[allthingsfangirl101]

Friends Don’t Lie–Steve Harrington

Request by Silver9860

Steve Harrington is not nearly as big as an asshole as everyone thinks he is. At least, not to me. Steve and I have known each other our entire lives. We've been combined at the hip since we could walk.

When he started becoming popular, he brought me with him. I was unsure about this new group of people we were spending time with, but he has always protected me. If anyone said anything about me that Steve didn't like, he'd immediately put an end to it.

There is only one thing about our friendship that part of me wishes I could change. Since middle school, I've been struggling with anxiety. I have panic attacks that keep getting worse over the years. The worst part is that I hide them from Steve.

Even though Steve and I have been best friends since we were little, he has no idea that I sneak off and suffer through my anxiety attacks in silence.

I was currently hiding in the bathroom after I did horrible on a math test, forcing myself through a panic attack. I had to calm down before lunch. Steve couldn't see me like this. I jumped when the bell rang. I walked out of the stall and washed my hands.

I looked at my reflection and watched myself slowly return to normal. I ran my fingers through my hair and grabbed my backpack. I walked down the hallway, my hand gripping my backpack strap as tightly as I could.

I gasped when someone suddenly grabbed my other hand, playfully swinging our hands back and forth. I looked over to see Steve smiling at me.

"Hey," he greeted. "Carol told me you went to the bathroom after your math test and didn't come back. You feeling okay?"

"Why did she tell you that?" I stuttered.

"I was waiting for you outside of class," he explained. "When you didn't walk out, I asked Carol and she told me."

"Oh," I said, looking away.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said, slightly clearing my throat. "It's just a migraine. You know how I get with those."

"Wait," he said, tugging on my arm and stopping. "How long have you had a migraine? Why didn't you tell me? Do you want me to take you home?"

"Steve," I cut him off. "First of all, breathe. Second of all, I'm fine. It's nothing. It'll go away."

"Y/N," he sighed.

"Come on," I chuckled as I pulled on his arm. "We're going to be late for lunch."

                                * * * * *

Even though he didn't say anything about it during lunch, I could tell it was bothering him. He kept glancing at me but wouldn't say anything.

After lunch, Steve and I didn't have a class together until history at the end of the day. I walked down the hallway and stopped when I saw him, Carol, and Tommy standing in the hallway.

"Good news," he smiled as I approached them, "We've got a sub. Wanna go get food?"

I looked over his shoulder to see Missy and her friends glaring at me. Ever since middle school, Missy and her gang of Wanna-be Barbies have tormented me. Their main reason is Steve. They hate that he spends so much time with me and none with them.

Missy is actually the reason I had my first panic attack. And just like how Steve doesn't know about my panic attacks, he has no clue that Missy is in love with him.

"Y/N, you okay?"

I opened my mouth but nothing came out. Slowly, I couldn't breathe. I started to nervously stutter as my hands shook. I glanced over at Missy to see her smirking at me knowingly.

Before Steve could say anything, I turned on my heel and ran. I ducked around the corner and leaned against the lockers.

"What's with her?" I heard Carol scoff.

"She's always like that," Johnny sighed.

"No she isn't," Steve said under his breath. "Something's wrong."

"Dude, where are you going?" Johnny asked.

"I'm going to go check on her."

"Why?" Carol scoffed.

"Seriously," Johnny chuckled. "Why do you even still hang out with her? I know she was your BFF in elementary school and middle school, but she doesn't exactly fit in with our group."

"So?" Steve asked, officially getting angry. "She fits in with our group because she fits in with me."

As he spoke to them, the tone of his voice changed. I recognized this tone of voice. Whenever Steve starts to get annoyed with Carol and Johnny, his voice comes out slow and like he's clenching his jaw. It usually means he's either about to storm off or get into a fight with Johnny.

"Come on, Steve," Carol laughed. "Y/N's. . ."

"If you're smart," Steve said, his voice deepening, "you won't finish that sentence."

"Dude, chill," Johnny scoffed.

"She's my best friend," Steve warned. "If you make me choose between you and her, I won't hesitate to choose her."

I waited for their responses but all I heard was Steve taking a deep breath to calm down. He had to take a few calming breaths before sighing.

"Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go check on her because that's what people with actual feelings do."

"What about food?" Carol whined.

"Just go without me," he sighed.

My breathing picked up as I heard him jogging down the hallway. I was struggling to get my breathing under control as he noticed me.

"There you are," he sighed. "Is everything okay?"

"Steve," I gasped.

"Y/N?" Steve's voice was full of concern as he moved so he was standing in front of me and gently put his hands on my arms. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

"I'm. . . I can't. . ."

"You can't what?"

"Breathe."

That was the last thing I remember saying before I passed out.

                                * * * * *

I woke up a little while later. It took me a second to notice that I wasn't at my house. Or at school. I slowly sat up, still a little dizzy.

"Y/N!"

I looked over to see Steve running over to me. He knelt down next to me and gently moved some hair out of my face.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

"I'm fine," I said under my breath.

"Y/N," he sighed. "What the hell happened? You were gasping for breath and couldn't put a sentence together. You just. . . passed out. I didn't know what to do so. . . I brought you home. . . I've never seen you like that."

"Steve, I'm fine," I tried to reassure him.

"No, you're not," he said a little harsher than he needed to. He stood up and started angrily pacing back and forth as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Why are you so upset?" I sighed. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" Steve scoffed. "Y/N, you passed out! I can't act like that didn't happen."

"It's not a big deal," I shrugged.

"For crying out loud, Y/N, just tell me what happened."

"Look," I sighed, "I got lightheaded. That's all. Okay?"

"Okay?" Steve scoffed. "Y/N, I'm going to say this one more time; you passed out! You were getting lightheaded and dizzy and then all of a sudden. . ."

"I passed out," I cut him off. "I still don't understand why you're so upset."

"Because you're my best friend, damn it. And as your best friend, I have to protect you. On top of that, I can't say that I love you and not. . ."

"You love me?" I stuttered.

Steve opened and closed his mouth, struggling to find the right excuse. I slowly stood up, nervously playing with my hands. He took a shaky breath as he gathered his courage.

"What if I do?"

Even though I wanted to respond, I couldn't find my voice. I was too happy and all I could do was smile. He reached forward and grabbed my hands in his.

"What if I do?" He asked again.

I stood on my toes and gently pressed my lips to his. Steve was the one who deepened the kiss. He let go of my hands and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, pulling me closer to his chest. As our lips moved in sync, I slid my hands up his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck.

We finally broke the kiss, breathing heavily. He leaned his forehead against mine as we caught our breaths.

"What if I love you too?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Steve leaned back and looked at me with soft eyes. "Y/N," he said gently. "If that's true then I need you to tell me the truth. Why did you pass out?"

I slowly stepped out of his embrace and sat back down. He instantly joined me, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers.

"Please don't be mad," I whispered.

"Hey," he said to make me look at him. "Why would I be mad at you? I was too busy freaking out that my best friend passed out and I couldn't do anything to help her."

"I have panic attacks," I finally admitted.

"Wait, what?" He asked, the look on his face slightly dropping. "Why didn't you tell me? How long have you had them?"

"A couple of years," I whispered.

"What?"

"They started back in middle school," I said, knowing I might as well tell him the truth. "You were out of town and Missy and her friends cornered me about you."

"About me?" He asked, his voice dropping. "Why would they corner you about me?"

"Missy had a crush on you, Steve," I sighed, looking down at our hands. "She's still in love with you actually. And she hates me because you're more concerned about me while you don't give her the time of day."

"What did she do?"

"She and her band of idiots cornered me in the lunchroom and wouldn't leave me alone until I told them everything about you. They wanted to know everything so Missy could get you to fall in love with her."

"Well, that was useless," he said with a small laugh.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I would never fall in love with Missy," Steve explained. "I was already in love with you."

"I hated telling them things because I was already in love with you too."

Steve leaned in and pressed his lips gently to mine. I smiled as our lips instantly started moving in sync.

"Y/N," he whispered, breaking the kiss sooner than I would've liked. "I want you to promise me something."

"Anything."

"The next time you have a panic attack, please tell me," he sighed. "Now that I know what's happening, I might be able to help you."

"I will," I said instantly. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. I was just embarrassed."

Steve leaned over and pressed his lips gently to mine. He pulled back, a smile still on his face.

"You don't need to be embarrassed around me, Y/N," he whispered. "You're my best friend. Plus, I love you."

"I love you too, Steve. And I promise, no more secrets."

"Good," he smirked. "Because friends don't lie."

"Oh geez," I sighed. "You've been spending too much time with the kids."

"You know what they say," he shrugged. "I may be a shitty boyfriend but I make a damn good babysitter."

I cut him off and pressed my lips to his. I felt him smile as he started kissing him back.

"You are not a shitty boyfriend, Steve," I whispered after I broke the kiss. I smirked before adding, "And you should trust me because friends don't lie."

"No, they don't."

[cosmiclatte28]

Casual Intimacy (Mark Lee x you)

a/n : it’s my soft hours I guess? I made this sweet Mark Lee imagine (well for me this is sweet. I want a boy like this... if you’re that kind of man dm me 😜)

fluff, no warning, no suggestive content but kisses, and just Mark being a wonderful man for you. 

Happy Imagining Mark Lee as your s/o! 

People often ask you how you can hold on to your “plain” relationship with your current boyfriend. You seriously do not like them bothering you about your relationship life, but you need to deal with it considering the fact that the man you are dating is the famous Mark Lee of NCT.

He is dorky in camera, and in real life too. You pray day and night to the angels to make sure Mark is not tripping on some random stone or bump a pole. Guess your prayer works, when you see Mark always smiling in front of the camera coping up and working so hard with his endless job.

You yourself work in a famous two Michelin restaurant in Seoul. You’re not going to lie, you met Mark lee on your duty. NCT was holding their debut birthday and you were appointed as the chef to cook for their meal that night. Apparently, Mark Lee was super fascinated by your dish and he requested you to come greet the team when your job in the kitchen is done. Your head cook lets you leave your station once desert is prepared and the plates coming into the washing room is clean.

That was five years ago, Mark Lee got love struck by your simple but attractive persona. His eyes couldn’t leave you as you answer their questions on the dishes and you congratulating them. They’re glad when they learn that you listened to their songs and followed their schedules, just that you don’t have much time to be like the other wonderful fans.

Mark Lee looked so intrigued on you and as you bow to them bidding goodbye, he just returned from the restroom. With his long legs trying to catch his other brothers, Mark happened to slip his number on a piece of tissue paper to your pocket and gave you a genuine smile plus a “thank you”.

You earned a good pay that night and even better, Mark Lee’s number.

Well, he isn’t your bias but come on who doesn’t have Mark Lee in their bias list? Want it or not, conscious or not, Mark Lee is always in the list. So, that night when you finish showering and eating a light midnight snack, you gave the number a shot.

You thought your message will never be replied, maybe Mark will have his phone in silent and only opened up messages from his contact list. You’re lucky when your notification bleeped and from that night both of you learn more about each other.

He kept your number under your name, plain business people say, you also thought maybe he wanted to call you for another dinner party. But the chats he had been sending was far from platonic business. It involves jokes, puns, memories of living in Canada (well you graduated from University of Toronto, but cooking is your passion), and even deeper like late night talks.

The relationship got deeper when Mark Lee called you one night, asking if he can meet you in the restaurant. He said he needed a good meal to write a song he was assigned for. You found no correlation between a good meal and writing a song, but believe it or not, Mark Lee came with one  of the hottest selling song that month. Earning him a title of “King of Lyrics”

Since then, he called you again and again when he didn’t have the idea to write. You finally invited him over to your house when you got closer. Mark got to eat in your small dining table with a simple dish that was made with love and care that Mark said tasted better than any other dishes he ever had.

You laughed saying he is exaggerating, but Mark never exaggerates when he is with you.

“Be my girlfriend will you?” he one night asked after you teach him how to cook a proper egg. Despite him succeeding the challenge back in 2020, he still needs practice. He succeeded cooking eggs after knowing you for more than a year.

“Suddenly Mark? After you can make a perfect runny egg?” you giggle but nevertheless nodded your head.

His smile that night was even brighter than when he received any awards and praises. His eyes spark joys and emotions uncaptured by cameras. The world never knows how Mark’s true happy face looks like, but if his world is you, then the world knows!

For the first two year of dating, both of you are keeping it low. Dates happen in your house (your wage is enough to buy you a house). You always cook him foods, tried new dishes to him, earned a lot of complains on how the food is not “suitable for Korean tongue” which you always shrug off because he himself is a mix.

But thanks to his constant brave inputs, your dishes are perfectly blended and well known. News media and TV shows started to cast you in their weekend shows. You were offered a contract of a cooking show in a known broadcasting company.

Mark told you to go for it. He knew how happy you are about cooking, and his faith told him “if that is what was given for you, go for it.”

He was right. The internet loves you, they love your simple but tasty dishes. Your show was ranked the hottest that month, famous for helping college student eat a more delicious food.

NCT even did a special relay cam for it, each group were doing a challenge on following your recipes.

Mark was caught off guard on that live shooting day. His team consisted of him, Ten and Johnny.

And you may guess, things went wrong but in a chaotic fun way. When the three of them are together, they just speak in English and forgot all of the filters they should have.

Mark spilled his relationship when he accidentally said out loud “Of course I know how to do that, my girl has been teaching me that.” Mark boasted when Ten asked if Mark could make the egg benedict for their dish.

Johnny and Ten froze on screen, well the NCT members knew your relationship with Mark but they kept quiet. Mark realized what he has said was recorded and forever lives in the web. The comment section went wild and the fans are thrilled about the “mysterious girlfriend Mark has”.

He eventually spilled the truth on a press conference. You were there beside him when he faced the board director and when he sit in front of different mics and cameras flashes. No one knows but throughout the time, when your heart is beating faster than when you took your SAT and final tests, Mark Lee held on to your hand whenever you are answering a question directed to you.

The magazines are taking the favor of the rising topic, inviting you and Mark to take a photoshoot. When you were insecure about taking a picture with him (who has did countless shoots), he squeezed your arm when walking past you and gave a small proud smile as he went to change clothes while you start your personal shoot. No one saw that, but his quick reassuring squeeze boosted your confidence that day and the couple shoot was very nice! You could print that as your wedding pictures!

When the internet goes wild when they connect the theories and Instagram posts Mark and you both made (fans are the best in deciphering codes!), you now walk through the streets crowded by fans. All asking how is it like to date Mark, but not few also told you to screw off. One day when you both are going back to Canada for a winter break, the fans are crowding the way. You gulped when you have to walk pass them, but Mark looked so used to it. He just chuckled and landed a small hand on the back of your waist. With the manager hyung and bodyguard pushing to make way, you made it through the crowd with confident steps.

On the Christmas dinner, Mark was invited to your family dinner and vice versa. You had to attend their family lunch and to say you were nervous was an understatement.

“Mark, what if they don’t like me?” you asked on your bus ride to his house from the airport.

Mark laughed, he always laughed as his first respond, “Baby, it’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

You snorted, “You calling me baby is already suspicious, for three years we dated you “dude” me 70% of the time, “baby” was only like 10%”

He did the math, “Then what’s the remaining 20?%”

“You just call me “Bro” for the res of them.” You squeezed his cheek and planted a kiss there.

“I like it though, not too cheesy.”

He grew red. “Gosh I am having the Jaehyun syndrome. Why are my ears burning?!”

He was not 100% wrong, his parents were nice they grew fond of you especially when you helped his mother prepared lunch. Well you both arrived earlier and you decided to give a hand for the busy mom.

Mark sat next to you on dinner and when you were diving into a yummy Christmas pudding, his parents began asking you the “platonic questions asked to your partner”.

You almost chocked on your pudding when they asked “Are you seeing a future with Mark? Can you make our son happy and us too?”

You were not ready, you expected questions like where you work or where you live. They said “We can find all that answers in the internet, but not the answer to our question.”

Mark’s gentle kick from under the table by your side made you looked at him and he gave you that sincere smile only you have the privilege to see. He nodded slightly and shot his eyebrow to his parents side “Answer them… I am also curious of the answer.”

You grew red, it wasn’t the drink or anything, but his parent’s happy and relieved face when you nod your head and said “I am seeing a future with him, if I get both of your blessing.”

They love you and Mark was right. That night, you invited his family to join your dinner instead. The same question was asked from your parents to Mark and Mark was more than ready to marry you.

But your wedding bells did not chime that fast. He has his career and so do you, both of you just keep the stable relationship going on. Together facing the problems and obstacles in your relationship. Fights occur, bickering occur, threads of breaking up also happened once or twice… but both of you used that to build a stronger bond.

You always melt when Mark came home from a long day. After he showered and savored his dinner, he always ended up leaning on your shoulder in the big snuggle sofa both of you never regret buying. His head on your shoulder, his hand scribbling words to a paper and you whispering ideas to him which brought a big smile to his face.

Writing lyrics has been even easier for Mark, he blended your frustration with his, splattered some love words, and voila a masterpiece! People said his lyrics were relatable and both of you always keep it to yourself that “those happened in our life, no wonder it looked real.”

He always kissed you gently on your lips, tasting the faint cherry flavour of your lip balm. Mark’s lips tasted of medical lip balm, but you love it nonetheless.

You blinked and realized the flashing cameras in front of you. Oh right, someone from the hot magazine company is asking you a question.

‘Can you please repeat your question?” you asked politely to the lady holding out a mic.

She quickly nodded, “A lot of fans are wondering If you are still in a relationship with Mark. Mark was busy for the last months with projects and comebacks. And the interaction update from both of you are little to none. Fans suspected you were over with him, considering that Mark looked like he is the “plain” type in a relationship.”

You pressed a smile, hiding your urge to laugh out loud. Weren’t the fans always picturing Mark as their dream boyfriend? Why did they judge him as the plain boring type then?

You clear your throat and while looking through the crowds, you spot Mark Lee seated in the crowd with a mask and a hat, giving you a nod, and you turned your mic on.

“We’re still going strong; well I think love is not the type of grand gestures or explosive displays.” You started off and caught everyone’s attention.

“It’s made up of little things,” you felt your heart clench upon remembering all the small affections Mark always did to you. “It’s the little things Mark Lee did that say he is here, and he cared for me and that my life has intertwined so deeply into his that there was no need to think.” You take a pause to look at the audience.

Everyone looked impressed, but amongst them you catch one pair of gleaming proud eyes, the pair of eyes you’ve been waking up to for the last years, and the one you want to wake up to in the future years.

“It’s Mark’s casual intimacy that made us both stay strong and stronger.”

Applaud was heard through the room, you were holding your press conference because you were retreating from all the cooking shows and rumor has it you are going to marry Mark.

“Please pray for both of us, as we will be tying our bonds soon.” You leave the room after a bow and the man with mask and hat is already waiting for you outside the big crowded function hall.

His hand naturally makes its way to your waist and you never felt more sure to step into life with this man you love, Mark Lee.

“That was wonderful (y/n)~”

You smile, he did not dude you nor bro you nor baby you. “I love you Mark Lee,”

He leaned in for a peck behind the tinted black van window, “I love you most (y/n) Lee,” he winked and you rubbed your cheeks “Guess I have the Jaehyun syndrome now! Also I like it when you call me with that name.”

He quirked his eyebrow and smirked, “Don’t worry, you’ll be hearing that soon for the rest of your life.” He reached for your hand and kissed the knuckles.

“I met you thanks to your amazing handy work in cooking unforgettable dish.”

You rolled your eyes, “You were so amazed on my egg benedict Mark! How is that an unforgettable dish?”

He shrugged his shoulder, “I don’t know, something about you, cooking, and love made me this love struck and awfully amazed by simple things you did.”

the end

thanks for reading, put in comments for I’d love to interact with you on the story plot .. rant to me what you hate or like idc :D i want to talk with my readers! to thank you all for reading and spending some time here

omg i didn’t know if I made the right choice of making Mark Lee as this character, but I want it to be him.. I’ve been writing a lot of Jaehyun and Yuta fic and I guess Mark can be a refresher. Please let me know if someone else suits this better!

[mimsyaf]

Why Is The Night Different From All Other Nights? On This Night, Bitter Herbs.

The first problem, Johnny thought, was that he just didn’t have a lot of experience with apologies.

Bobby said it was important. Bobby had come to him a few months ago wearing that earnest, almost pained look he got when he was praying before a match (and didn’t they all give him shit for that!) and said “I think you ought to apologize to LaRusso.”

“I’m not the one who totaled his knee,” Johnny snarled, and Bobby shook his head with a deeply disappointed look reminiscent of Johnny’s fourth grade teacher when they were learning fractions. Well, the class was learning fractions. Johnny had Superman vs. The Amazing Spider Man tucked in his math workbook and was mostly learning about red-sun radiation.

“I know, Johnny. I already apologized last week. He was really cool about it.”

Johnny didn’t always make great decisions, but most of his best ones came from following Bobby’s advice. So he started hanging around LaRusso, waiting for the right moment to say he was sorry. Only the right moment never seemed to present itself, and soon hanging around morphed into hanging around with, which in turn morphed into the current situation, which neither of them seemed to want to talk about thank you so very much.

And LaRusso turned into Daniel in Johnny’s mind, and that should have made it easier, but somehow he’d never gotten around to apologizing. When they started doing — this stuff, whatever, Johnny thought maybe he could skip the apology step altogether. Make it up to Daniel with his body, because Johnny was good with his body — he could make it do awesome things, and he was always coming up with new awesome things to do to Daniel. Maybe that was enough to show him how he felt, like paying off a debt through orgasms or whatever — not like it was one-sided, Johnny came just as often, but Daniel seemed to like that too, so... all good?

Until tonight, when he looked in Daniel’s eyes and the guy looked afraid of him. For a second only, but oh man that sucked. That sucked so bad. Bobby was right, Johnny was going to have to use his words, and Johnny had always been terrible at that. He could never say what he meant, the right words slipping through his fingers like beads of mercury that time he broke the thermometer in chemistry class. Used to drive him crazy when he was with Ali — she’d get so mad at him, and the more he tried to explain where he’d been coming from, the madder she got.

So the first problem was that he was terrible at apologies. The second problem was that Daniel was totally wasted. What a lightweight. Sure, literally he was a twig, but that was no excuse — Ali’s best friend Susan was tiny, and a chick to boot, and she could drink them all under the table, even Dutch.

“Your face is funny,” slurred the pathetic excuse for a teenager, gazing up at Johnny blearily. “Why’s your face funny?”

“I’m thinking about how you’re a loser who can’t hold his liquor,” Johnny snapped. Ok, not such a great start to an apology. Dammit.

“I can definitely, definitely hold my liquor,” Daniel pronounced. “That wasn’t liquor, it was cough syrup.” He sighed, twisting around in Johnny’s lap. “Do we have any more?”

“Nope.” And ok, maybe Daniel being kind of fucked up would make this easier? Like, he was more relaxed right now than he normally got. Johnny took a deep breath.

“You don’t have to be — I don’t want you to be scared of me.”

Daniel sat bolt upright suddenly. So much for being relaxed. “Scared of you?”

“Yeah uh — before, you looked kind of — uh, what I’m trying to say is, I would never uh. You know, hurt you or anything. I was just messing around.”

Speaking of funny faces, Daniel’s went through about nineteen different expressions in the space of a second. “Oh really? You would never hurt me?” He flailed his arms, pushed himself out of Johnny’s lap. “Jeez, you’re right, how could I ever have gotten such a crazy idea? Silly me.”

Oh wow, ok, they were really doing this. Johnny’s heart was pounding.

“I’m sorry.” Ok, that part had come out alright.

Daniel gave a weird laugh. “You’re sorry?”

“Yeah.”

“What for, exactly?” his eyes were very sharp for someone who’d been acting drunk as a skunk a minute before.

Johnny tried to take another deep breath, but it felt like someone was sitting on his chest. “You didn’t. Do anything. I mean, sure you were kind of annoying — no, wait, let me finish! I’m bad at this, ok? I don’t usually. I mean, with Bobby and Tommy and them, we don’t really — we just kind of pretend things didn’t happen, if one of us is a dick, and then. It’s ok. Like, no hard feelings. But, I never —“

God, Johnny felt like he was strangling. His eyes were stinging, he wasn’t going to cry, was he? Pansy! Never mind, never mind, just keep going. He’d started now, might never get a chance like that again.

“I never did anything to anyone like what I did to you. Last year. I — it wasn’t your fault or anything. Forget what I said just now, it had nothing to do with you being annoying. I — ah!”

Johnny gave an unholy strangled gasp as the pressure around his chest increased. Keep going! “I don’t know why I did that stuff,” he gritted out. “I mean, we all did it, but none of the others would have — it was all my fault. You didn’t deserve it, not any of it. Except with the pie. That was funny, but everything else was really fucked up, like nothing I ever did before. And I wish —“

Johnny gave up the fight, let loose a sob that hurt his throat. Almost done, keep going!

“I wish I hadn’t done it. I’m sorry and I wish I hadn’t done it, but I did, but I want you to know I never. I never will again. And I get it if you don’t want —“ he gestured between them, he didn’t have words for this, was terrified of finding them, “that’s fine, I understand. Please just believe me that I’m sorry.”

He couldn’t look at Daniel. Couldn’t keep his eyes open at all, really, just sunk his head onto his knees and tried to get his breathing under control.

Daniel was silent for so long that Johnny half wondered if he was still there. Like maybe he’d snuck away under the cover of the pounding surf. Then suddenly he felt a slight kick against his toe.

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He couldn’t look up.

“I’m not going to say it’s ok.” A pause. “It wasn’t ok, but, I uh — I believe you. And I accept your apology.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I do.”

“Thanks.” Johnny burrowed his face even harder into his knees and neither of them said anything for a while.

*************************************************

Parts One and Two of Ma Nishtana are here

Part Three is here

Part Four is here

[harley-sunday]

Encore [02]

Summary: The new Disney+ show ‘Encore’ brings together former castmates of a high school musical, tasking them with re-creating their original performance in a high school reunion like no other. Emotions run high as you face faded friendships, long-forgotten controversies, killer choreography, and an ex-boyfriend you haven’t seen in eighteen years.

Pairing: Chris Evans x reader [unnamed OFC, nicknamed ‘Ace’)

Warnings: Language

Word count: 8.5k

AN: As promised, here’s part 2. Hope you like it, please let me know what you think :) 

Masterlist

It’s all been pretty hectic from the moment you walked into the theater room just before five, with Adam immediately ushering you off to the cafeteria where dinner is about to be served. You end up on the other end of the table from Chris before you even had a chance to say hello to him. You keep stealing glances in his direction to try and find out if he’s as nervous about having to make out on stage in a couple of hours but he seems too caught up in whatever story Johnny’s telling him to notice. 

You’ve just finished your main course when Coy suddenly stands up and claps his hands to get your attention, “Everyone, I just wanted to take this moment to thank you for all the hard work you’ve done over the past four days.” He nods towards Adam en Kelly, “We went into this project unsure of what to expect, but you’ve proven to be a worthy cast and we have no doubt that you will put on an amazing show tonight!”

People start to clap, but he raises his hands to stop them, “We have one very special guest who will be joining us tonight, who I think deserves your applause even more.” 

The door opens and in walks Mrs Linton and all of a sudden everyone claps, you included, and then there are tears in your eyes because you didn’t think you’d ever see her again. Chris is the first to greet her and you watch him give her a hug and then smile at something she says. 

She makes her way down the table, greeting everyone with a hug and some encouraging words, and you patiently wait your turn but she now walks with a cane and so it takes a little longer. Her smile grows wider when she sees you and you carefully wrap your arms around her.

“You have no idea how happy I am to see you here,” Mrs Linton says once you’ve let go of her. Someone pulls up a chair for her and she sits down next to you, her cane resting against her knee. “I honestly thought you’d never come back.” 

“You and me both,” you confess with a smile, “but I’m glad I did.” You risk a quick glance at Chris, who nods at you from across the table, making you smile, and of course Mrs Linton knows exactly what is going on.

“So I take it you two have finally made things right?” 

“We’re getting there,” 

“Well good,” she says as she pats your knee, “you know I’ve always been rooting for you two.” 

Before you have a chance to find Chris you’re told to go to make-up and wardrobe, where they transform you into Rizzo in no time. You’re sent off to the backstage area then, where most of your castmates are already waiting for some final instructions from Coy. Michael, Johnny, and Chris walk in next and you can’t help but smile when you see them in their T-Birds jackets and elephant trunk hairstyles.

Coy claps his hands to get everyone’s attention, “Listen up, everybody, we have ten minutes until showtime and I just wanted to tell you to have fun out there. You got this, you’ve worked extremely hard and we all,” he looks at Adam and Kelly, who are both nodding fervently, “have confidence in you. Break a leg!”

There are cheers and hugs and maybe some tears, and in the chaos of it all you find Chris and give him a hug, “Good luck out there.”

He pulls you even closer, “Go knock ‘em dead, Rizzo.”

“How you holding up?”

Unlike Monday, this time you do answer, “I feel like I’m about to throw up.”

“You’ll be fine,” he says from somewhere over your shoulder. He pokes your side then, “At least wait until after the break, Ace, we need to make out first, remember?”

You want to say something, really you do, a witty retort maybe, or just your regular spiel, but the promise of it all is too much and so the only thing you can do is watch him walk on stage a few seconds later, quietly shaking your head. 

Nicole joins you not much later but doesn’t say anything and you are more grateful for that than she’ll ever know. Instead, she gives you a gentle push when it’s your cue and tells you to go for it.

You find Chris on the right side of his stage, in what is supposed to be Kenickie’s car, and you join him in the made-up backseat, where he throws his arm around your shoulders immediately. It all feels oddly familiar and yet so new at the same time but there’s no time to explore that right now. You make it through the scene with ease, the banter between you two like second nature. 

He finishes his last line then and all of a sudden your mouth goes dry because you know what’s coming next. He gives you a wink right before he leans in and lets his lips brush against yours. They let Chris keep his beard, even though technically Kenickie should be clean-shaven, and so there’s a new sensation to the kiss that you haven’t experienced before. 

You want to take it slow, relish in the moment of this second first kiss for as long as possible, but then you feel his hand on your hip, giving it a gentle squeeze to let you know it’s your cue, and you remember you have a performance to give. 

Putting your hands in his hair you pull him even closer, pushing yourself against him, exaggerating your every move and you can hear the audience react, loud cheers coming from the back where you know his family is seated. You smile against his lips but keep yours closed because you want there to be a promise of something more, later, when it’s just the two of you and you’re not on a stage for the world to see.

He pulls back then, because the script says he should, but there’s a mischievous look in his eyes that tells you he’s enjoying this just as much as you are. Pushing you down, so your back hits the bench you’ve been sitting on until now, he kisses you.

You’re hardly capable of forming a coherent thought, so the fact that you remember that the script calls for you to throw your leg in the air and wrap it around him is some sort of miracle. His weight is on you now and it’s not entirely unpleasant and so you pull him down even more. It’s a good thing you’re hidden from view from the audience, you muse, the cardboard cut out of the car high enough to only show Chris’ head and back and your hands in his hair. 

There’s a beep from the side of the stage then, letting you know the curtain is about to close for intermission and so you push Chris off you, his hair messy and a hint of your lipstick on his lips. He grins and from the way he tilts his head at you, you can tell he’s back into character, “You ok there, Riz?”

You get up and out of the car, trying your best to channel Rizzo when you shrug and say, “I’ve had better.”

The audience cheers as the curtain closes for intermission and just as the stage lights turn off he comes up behind you and takes your hand, pulling you towards him in the darkness that slowly falls on you. Letting go of your hand then, he cups your face and even in the dark you can see the way he looks at you, his eyes falling to your lips, quietly asking for permission. 

You hesitate and quietly tell him, “Not here.”

He nods, letting you know he understands, and instead presses his lips against your forehead softly. 

The rest of the evening passes in a blur and before you know it the entire cast is gathered on stage to receive a standing ovation, loud cheers coming from all throughout the crowd. You’re somewhere in the middle of the line, Nicole on one side and Chris on the other, and can’t help but get a little teary-eyed when you see Mrs Linton give you a thumbs up from the front row. 

When the curtain finally falls it’s a quiet for a moment, until Michael pumps his fist in the air and yells out, “Fuck yeah! We did it!”

More cheers erupt then and Nicole pulls you in for a hug, “We did it, babe.”

You smile against her shoulder, “We sure did, Nic.” 

There are some people clapping then and when you turn around you see Coy and his team on the side of the stage, giving you another round of applause. 

“That was amazing, guys,” Coy says with a wide smile. 

“We’re very proud of all of you,” Adam agrees. He looks at Coy, who nods, before he continues, “We just wanted to let you know that your family and friends are waiting for you next door, so go, get changed, and then we’ll meet you there after.” 

There’s no one waiting for you in the music room, your parents somewhere in the Carribean on their annual cruise, and so you are feeling a little lost until you spot Mrs Linton, who waves you over.

“What a great performance,” she tells you when you join her, “maybe even better than the one you did all those years ago.”

“Thank you.”

“Are you sticking around Sudbury for a little while longer?”

You shake your head, “I’m flying back to Philadelphia on Sunday.”

“Promise me you’ll come back some day,” she raises her eyebrows at you, “so we can catch up properly?”

You’re just about to tell her you will when someone taps your shoulder and you can’t help but smile when you turn around and see Scott, Chris’ brother, standing behind you. Before you have a chance to say anything he’s pulled you in for a hug and whispers, “You came back.” 

“I did,” you agree, rubbing his back. You pull back a little and smile up at him, “It’s really good to see you again.” 

You and Scott were in the same year of high school but didn’t have any classes together until your junior year. Your shared hatred of Mr Mulligan, your math teacher, made you instant friends and it was actually at Scott’s fifteenth birthday party where you first met Chris, who was seventeen at the time. After an awkward first date at the roller skate rink exactly ten days later, because that’s how long it took him to work up the nerve to ask you out, Chris kissed you for the first time and asked you to be his girlfriend. Breaking up with Chris and leaving Sudbury so suddenly also meant you lost touch with Scott, which you’ve always regretted.

Scott lets go of you and greets Mrs Linton like they’re old friends, which seems odd until you remember he did theater in your senior year, when you had lost all interest in the art without Chris around, who by then had graduated. Mrs Linton excuses herself then, tells you it’s time for her to go home, but not until she makes you promise you’ll keep in touch this time. 

You risk a quick glance around the room once she’s left, but other than your cast mates there aren’t any other familiar faces and so you turn to Scott, “Is your mom here?” 

He shakes his head, “She had to leave right after the show.”

“Oh,” there’s nothing you can do to hide the disappointment in your voice, because you now realize you were actually looking forward to seeing her again. 

“She did want me to ask if you want to come over for dinner tomorrow night, though.”

“Oh, I’d love that,” 

“I’ll let her know,” he says with a smile. 

You try your hardest to act casual when you ask, “And Chris?”

“He’s right over there,” Scott says with a grin, eyeing you suspiciously, as he points to somewhere on his left, “I don’t why but he’s talking to that bitch Jessica Mullen-”

“Scott-” you gasp, slapping his arm.

“What?” He shrugs, grinning, “Don’t tell me you suddenly like her now?”

You just shake your head, lips pursed, not commenting on it any further. 

He gently nudges your shoulder, “Oh come on, he’s only got eyes for you anyway, so there’s nothing to worry about. Plus I think she’s very happily married to Joey Burton and his family inheritance, if you know what I mean.”

“I don’t know-” you try, but your voice comes out just a little too pitchy to make it believable and you can’t help but laugh. “Whatever.”

“Yeah, whatever,” he scoffs, teasing you. 

It’s then you see Chris coming towards you, so you throw Scott a look that you hope tells him to behave.

“Hey,” Chris says once he’s close enough, smiling when he looks at you. 

“Hi,” 

“Awkward,” Scott whispers in a sing-song way somewhere next to you, making sure it’s loud enough for both you and Chris to hear. 

You want to ignore it, act as if that didn’t just happen, but you can’t help yourself and so you flick Scott’s arm to let him know you’re not above kicking his ass if need be. 

“So uh,” Chris runs a hand through his hair, trying his hardest to ignore his brother, before nodding somewhere over his shoulder, “looks like everyone’s going to Hardy’s for some celebratory drinks.” He looks back at you then, “You’re coming, right?”

“I don’t know, I’d have to drive back,” you say, coming up with the excuse almost automatically. It’s not that you don’t want to go, it’s just that you don’t really see the point if you can’t have a few drinks while you’re there.

“I’ll drive,” Scott pipes up then, most likely trying to redeem himself. He grins, “Yeah. I’ll drive. We’ll drop your car off at your hotel first and then I’ll be the designated driver for the rest of the night.” He nudges you when he sees you hesitate, “Come on, it’ll be fun.” 

You look at Chris for backup, but he just stares at you with a mischievous smile, eyebrows raised, and so you can’t help but give in, “Ok. Yes. Fine. Let’s go.” 

Hardy’s is somewhat of an enigma, a pub known only to locals, and almost like a refuge for your generation. The age limit goes up every five years or so, and, as Scott tells you from over his shoulder, currently stands at thirty. The pub is located in what looks to be, from the outside at least, a normal house at the end of Whitetail Lane. There are no signs, no neon lights telling you what kind of beer is served, nothing to indicate it’s anything but the quiet suburban home it pretends to be. 

Johnny Ryan’s dad owned the pub when you were in high school and every Thursday night, after practice, you would all meet up here for some drinks. Of course Mr Ryan made sure he served non-alcoholic beverages only, not wanting to be accused of corrupting Sudbury’s finest. Still, it gave you a place to hang out, Mr Ryan always there but never judging and never ratting you out to any of your parents either.

On the car ride over Scott tells you that Johnny has taken over from his dad a few years back and that for all these years, Thursday nights have always been for the theater kids. 

Chris admits that he tries to go there whenever he’s in Sudbury, because it’s a safe place where he’s sure there’s no one taking unwanted pictures or asking him for an autograph. “They all treat me like Chris, you know, the nerdy little theater kid,” he says just as Scott pulls up to the parking lot. “It’s great.”

He waits until you get out of the car and then walks next to you as you follow Scott inside. Memories of your nights here, mostly spent making out with Chris in a dark corner somewhere, start to flood your brain and you swallow hard, trying to not let them get to you.

It’s as if Chris knows, because right before you enter the backroom, where the bar is located, he puts a hand on the small of your back, his fingers splayed out against the fabric of your top, a heat radiating from them that you are not sure can just be blamed on your imagination playing tricks on you. 

The lights are turned down low and there’s music coming from a jukebox that’s tucked away in a corner, the eighties rock almost a tribute to whatever happened here the last thirty years or so. The room is crowded and loud, lots of smiling faces and people trying to talk over each other, and it isn’t long before someone hands you a bottle of Heineken which you accept with a smile.

Chris sits down on one of the few empty bar stools, although he turns around in his seat so he can chat about the upcoming Patriots game with Michael, who has found you in the crowd easily. You end up standing next to Chris, your back leaning against the wooden bar top, your arm brushing against his whenever you take a sip of your beer. 

Scott has disappeared off to somewhere on the other side of the room, talking to a few people who were in your year at Lincoln-Sudbury but who you were never close to, and so you’re just standing there, listening to all the conversations going on around you, taking it all in. Nicole finds you not much later, standing next to Michael, clinking her beer against yours before she takes a sip, “Cheers.”

“Cheers, Nic,” you reply before taking another sip. “Keith here too?”

She nods, “Yeah, is over there somewhere,” she says as she points to the front room, “playing snooker with some of the guys.” 

“You come here often?”

Nicole lets out a laugh and it’s then you realize you just hit her with the worst pick up line ever and then you’re laughing too, having to put a hand on her arm to keep from doubling over. It takes a while before you’ve calmed down enough again that you can let go of her, but still there are tears in your eyes when you say, “That was so bad.”

“Hey,” she replies with a wink, “if you wanna go outside and make out by the old Oak, I’m up for it.” That sends both of you into another fit of laughter and once again you’re reminded of all the things you gave up when you left Sudbury so suddenly all those years ago. 

You turn around and order a couple more beers from the girl behind the bar, handing one to Nicole before you give Chris and Michael a new bottle as well. Chris winks at you and if anyone asks you’ll definitely deny it, but it does make you a little weak in the knees. You shift your focus back to Nicole, who tries to recap everything that has happened at Hardy’s over the past eighteen years for you.

You only half listen to her, because even though Chris is still talking to Michael, he somehow snuck his arm around your back, his hand now resting on your hip comfortably. It’s distracting but you don’t want him to pull away either and so you try your hardest to concentrate on whatever story Nicole tells next, all while hoping it’s dark enough to not have anyone notice what’s going on. That is until Chris sneaks his hand under your top, his fingers ghosting over your skin, and you can’t help the shiver that runs through you.

“You ok?” Nicole asks, cutting herself off mid-sentence.

“Yeah, no, fine,” you reply, your voice a little unsteady, “just a little, uh, cold, I guess.”

She eyes you suspiciously because if anything it’s almost uncomfortably warm here, with this many people inside.

You shake your head, silently asking her not to push it any further, but you see her eyes go from you to Chris, narrowing them a little before they widen shock when she sees what’s going on. She just nods and continues her story effortlessly, although she can’t keep from smiling all throughout. 

After an hour or so Nicole excuses herself to go check up on Keith and you carefully shake off Chris’ hand so you can go to the bathroom, but not before you look back at him and throw him a wink. You’re not sure what has come over you when you do, and you wonder if he even remembers the signal, but there’s no turning back now and so you make your way to the hall, your cheeks slightly burning.

You risk a quick glance in the mirror when you’re washing your hands, not entirely surprised to see something that can only be described as excitement in your eyes. When you step out into the hall you see him standing there, leaning against the door that leads you into a coat room nobody ever uses, even though it holds so many memories for you. Without saying anything you take his hand and lead the way, waiting until he’s closed the door behind before you turn around and face him. 

There’s a single light bulb dangling from the ceiling and you can see the way he licks his lips when he lets his eyes fall to your mouth. He doesn’t do anything else and you know it’s because he wants you to be the one to make the first move, allowing you to be in control of what happens next. 

Taking a tentative step forward you close the space between you and bring up your hands, letting them rest against his chest, before you look up at him and your heart flutters from the way he looks down at you through hooded lids. Your hands move up then, cupping his face, his skin warm against your fingers as you pull him towards you.

“You sure about this, Ace?” His voice is rough but his eyes are kind and you know he’s just making sure you’re not too caught up in the moment.   

“No,” you answer honestly but then brush your lips against his anyway and kiss him. And kiss him, and kiss him. No holds barred this time. Your hand sneaks into his hair and you push yourself against him, deepening the kiss because, God, it feels so good. You want to say that it’s like no time has passed, that it’s just like before, except it’s not. It’s new, and different, and exciting, and a little scary all at the same time. 

One of his hands is on your lower back, the other cupping your cheek, and then he lets his tongue run along your lower lip, silently asking for permission and it’s a good thing he’s holding you because you actually feel your knees buckle when you open your mouth and he slips in. 

There’s a knock on the door that startles you and has you pull apart almost instantly, your hands back on his chest to steady yourself while you try to catch your breath. 

“It’s been almost five minutes, guys,” a low voice tells you from the other side, followed by a chuckle that lets you know he’s enjoying this far too much. 

You roll your bottom lip between your teeth and make a face while Chris tells Scott, “Thanks, man.” 

“Oh God,” you breathe out, a little embarrassed that you still have to rely on Scott for not getting caught. You glance up at Chris, a little taken aback and a lot turned on by the way he looks at you, as if he’s ready to throw caution in the wind and just have you right then and there. You shake your head and whisper, “Not now.”

The ride back to your hotel is silent except for Scott, who’s found a seventies disco station and is quietly singing along to ABBA’s ‘Fernando’. Chris seems to be lost in thoughts in the passenger’s seat, while you let your head rest against the window sitting in the backseat behind him. Scott tried to get you and Chris into the backseat together, but after a very stern look from his older brother he cut his losses and so here you are. 

You think back to your night at Hardy’s and how lucky you were Johnny and Michael were in the middle of a pretty intense sing-off right when you came back and so it seems like nobody really noticed you were gone in the first place. With the few people left by the time the bar closed, you ended the night the same you always did, with a very passionate rendition of Meatloaf’s ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’, sung at the top of everyone’s lungs. 

All too soon Scott pulls up to your hotel and so you lean forward, kissing his cheek, “Thanks, babe,” you meet his eyes in the rearview mirror and wink.

He throws you a smile before he pretends to look something up on his phone while you turn towards Chris, who has shifted in his seat so he can face you. You scrunch up your nose, trying your hardest not to make this awkward, and so you just say, “I’ll see you at dinner tomorrow? Five o’clock, right?”

“Yeah,” he says with a smile. “You still know the address?”

“Of course I do,” you scoff as you open the door and get out of the car, “Like I could forget.” You wave at them before you start walking towards the entrance of the hotel, rummaging through your purse to find your key card so you can let yourself in. You’re almost halfway when all of a sudden you stop and turn around and find yourself walking back to the car. 

Before Chris has a chance to realize what’s going on you tap on the window and watch it as it lowers into the door at an excruciating slow pace. Still, you wait until it’s all the way down before you lean in, resting your hands on the doorframe, muttering a quiet, “I forgot something,” before you give Chris a kiss that has him smile against your lips.

“‘Night, Ace,” he says once you’ve pulled back, his voice low and a mischievous look in his eyes. 

From beside him you hear Scott groan, “Am I sixteen and third-wheeling again, or what the fuck is going on? Jesus.” 

You blow Scott a kiss and then push yourself up, giving Chris a quick wave before you run back to the hotel. 

Saturday morning finds you getting ready to go out and have brunch with Nicole, who you’ve agreed to meet at Coffee Works in ten minutes and so you grab your phone from where it’s charging on your nightstand and drop it into your purse before you head out. 

The weather is nice for the time of year and the drive over, even though it only takes a few minutes, has you admiring the way the trees have started to change colour, their leaves slowly changing to the most vibrant yellows, and oranges, and reds. 

When you pull up to Coffee Works Nicole is already waiting for you and when you meet up with her, after finding a parking spot not too far away, she’s all smiles, “Morning!”

“Hi Nic,” you say as you give her a hug before you follow her inside. You point to a table in the corner, although it isn’t very busy and only a few other tables are occupied. Still, you have a feeling there will be some questions you don’t necessarily want anyone else to hear. 

There’s some smalltalk about the weather and her kids until the waitress comes to take your order, but it isn’t until you both have your coffee that the interrogation really starts. Nicole looks at you from over her mug, a twinkle in her eyes that tells you she wants to know everything. She doesn’t say anything though and so you just raise your eyebrows at her because you sure as hell ain’t going to just confess without making her work for it. 

“Ok, fine,” she sighs as she sets her mug down. She folds her hands together and leans over, “First things first, how was it?”

“How was what,” you ask, feigning innocence by taking a sip of your coffee. 

Nicole just stares at you and shakes her head, letting you know she’s not up for playing games. 

You return the favour until you see her lips curling up into a smile and you both burst out laughing.

“I hate you,” she says in between laughs, wiping at her eyes. “Eighteen years later and you’re still making me drag it out of you.” 

You just raise your mug in reply, still laughing.

“You know what, fine,” she holds up her hands, “I’m going to ask you one question and you decide what you wanna do with it.” She sits up a little, but it’s at that time your food is being served and so she waits until you’re alone again before she continues, “What happened yesterday?”

Just before she finishes her question you take a bite of your bagel, buying yourself some extra time, trying to decide just what exactly you want her to know. Once you start talking though, the words come out easily and you find yourself telling her about the show and how nervous you were, about the kiss you and Chris shared on stage, how there was some semi-public PDA at Hardy’s that you know she caught up on, and how you’re meeting him for dinner at his mom’s house tonight. 

“So,” she draws out with a shake of her head, and you already know where this is going. “You’re just not going to tell me how it was to make out with Chris again after all these years, or-”

“How do you-”

“I saw Scott disappearing into the hallway about five minutes after I went looking for Keith,” she explains with a grin. “Funny how some things never change.”

“I don’t know what-”

“Uhu.” She leans back in her chair, “Just tell me if he’s as good as you remember.”

You feel the heat rising to your cheeks and so you bury your head in your hands, before you quietly confess, “Even better.” 

Nicole makes you promise to stay in touch once you’re back in Philadelphia, telling you that while she loves reading your letters it’d be nice to maybe call every now and then. She offers you the guest bedroom at her house whenever you want, even though, she says with a mischievous smile, you’ll probably won’t need it now that you and Chris are back on good terms.

The goodbye is bittersweet, because now that you’ve finally seen your best friend again after all these years, it’s hard to let her go. You promise to come back to Sudbury soon and she tells you she’ll call you once you’re back in Philadelphia.

There’s still some time to spare and you decide to stop at The Frugal Flower to pick out something for Chris’ mom before you head back to the hotel, where you change into something a little more dressed up for dinner. When you’re done touching up your makeup it’s time to go, the drive over only taking ten minutes, and so all too soon you find yourself pulling up in front of the house you spent so much time at when you and Chris were dating.

You spot Chris’ car in the driveway, not surprised that he’s here already, although it does absolutely nothing to calm your nerves. To ground yourself you take a few deep breaths before you carefully take the flowers from the passenger’s seat and get out of the car. The house looks exactly the same and a wave of nostalgia washes over you, remembering all the times you would just let yourself in after school, usually finding Chris in his room after first having a cup of tea with his mom. This time though, you ring the doorbell and smile when Chris opens it. 

He places a chaste kiss on your cheek before he steps aside to let you in and you follow him to the other side of the house. He leads you into the kitchen and throws a grin at you from over his shoulder before he announces to the room, “Look who I found-”

Scott’s at the other side of the room, at the stove, and turns towards you with a smile. You’re sure he greets you but you don’t hear a word he says because all of a sudden Lisa steps into view on your right, her hands clasped in front of her mouth when she sees you. You bite your lip to keep from crying, but then she reaches  out her hands and you just have time to hold out the flowers for Chris to take before she pulls you in for a hug.

“Oh, sweetheart,” is all she says, but it’s enough to make you cry for real then and you just hold onto her, letting her comfort you in the way she always did, by gently rubbing your back and telling you it’ll be ok. 

You think you hear Chris mutter something about going to check on something in the dining room, telling Scott to come with him, and you’re so grateful they allow you to have a moment alone with her. Pulling back a little you try to smile through your tears and you want to tell her it’s good to see her again, but the words seem to be stuck in your throat.

“It’s ok,” she says again, running her thumbs under your eyes to wipe away your tears, but she’s a little teary-eyed herself which in turn makes you cry again. 

It takes a while before you’re calmed down enough for her to let you go, but not before she holds you at an arm’s length so she can “Really look at you.” After a while she simply states, “Still beautiful as ever.” Her eyes grow kind when you shrug and she gives your hands a little squeeze, “I know it hasn’t been easy, sweetheart, but it’ll be ok. I know it will be.”

You just nod, still unable to say anything but thankful for her neverending support. 

“We’ll have time to catch up later, I’m sure,” she says, a quick look over her shoulder to make sure you’re still alone, “but I just want you to know I’ve missed you. And I know Chris did too.” 

“Lisa-”

“No, sweetheart,” she shakes her head and gives your hands another squeeze, “I don’t think you realize the effect you have on him. I haven’t- This week he’s been the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time.” She must understand the weight of her words and she’s quick to tell you, “I’m just happy to see you again, sweetheart.” 

You bite the inside of your cheek to keep from crying again and just nod, hoping it will tell her you feel the same way. 

You find yourself at Wholefoods not much later, Chris following you around while you try to find the right kind of leafy greens Lisa claims she forgot to get even though you think it might be a set up to give you and Chris some time alone. You decide on some endives and rucola, hoping it will go with whatever else is supposed to go into the salad Scott’s making. 

“Got it?” Chris asks from somewhere over your shoulder.

“Yep,” you nod and motion for him to follow you to the cash register. You’ve just rounded the fruit section when you bump into someone, “Shit, sorry about that.”

“It’s o- Oh,” 

Trying not to pull a face when you see it’s Fiona Warren you throw her what you hope is an apologetic smile and try to continue towards the exit.

“Well,” she draws out, a hand on your arm to keep you in place, “this is interesting.” She looks from you to Chris with a devious smile, “I didn’t know you guys were seeing each other again.”

You don’t say anything, hoping Chris will do the same, and just stare at her.

“Well, you know what I mean,” she says as she shrugs innocently and waves her hand around, “after that messy breakup.” Another fake smile directed at you then, “Good for you though, trying to get back together with him now that he’s made it big.”

“You bi-”

“Ok, that’s enough,” Chris says from somewhere behind you before he takes your hand and pulls you away. “Come on.” He leads you to the drinks aisle and after a quick search pulls a Raspberry Peach Snapple from the shelf and hands it to you, “Here, take this,” before he takes out a second bottle, this time the Orange Carrot one. 

To anyone else it might seem like he’s lost his mind, but you know exactly what he’s doing and so you squeeze his hand as you follow him to the cash register. Using one of the self scan machines means you’re outside not much later, where he takes the two bottles out of the bag and hands you yours. You open them at the same time, turning the cap over in your hand to read the message inside.

He laughs when he reads his, “Mosquitos have forty-seven teeth.” 

“Interesting.” You clear your throat and read yours, “On average a human being will spend two weeks kissing in their lifetime.”  

“Huh,” he says, taking a sip of his Snapple, a mischievous look in his eyes. He caps his bottle, sliding it back into the bag, and takes a step towards you, “Guess we better get started then.” 

You tilt your head up towards him, smiling when he presses his lips against yours, allowing yourself to get a little lost in the moment, trying to ignore the fact that you’re making out in front of a Wholefoods in the middle of Sudbury. 

When he pulls back he throws you a wink, “Twenty seconds done, Ace, still so much more to go.” 

“Can’t wait,” is all you can say, trying to distract yourself by putting the cap back on. Looking back at him you hold up your bottle and whisper a quiet, “Thank you,” to let him know that even after eighteen years this is a perfect way to distract you whenever you get upset. 

Chris takes your hand again as you walk back to his car and you’re about halfway there when you hear a low whistle behind you. As if on cue you both turn around and see Carla Hayes walking towards you, a kid on her hip and a tired looking husband behind her.

“Well, well,” she snickers, “look who it is. Sudbury’s golden couple back together again.” She looks from Chris to you and shakes her head, “God, Ace,” she all but spits out the nickname she sure as hell isn’t allowed to use, “you really think this is a good idea?” 

You don’t say anything, just turn around and tug on Chris’ hand to get him to follow.  He does, but you can tell he keeps looking over his shoulder to where Carla is still standing, “Chris, come on.”

“Why didn’t you tell her to-”

“I went through all of this once, Chris, eighteen years ago,” you scoff, “I’m not doing this again.”

“What are you talking about?”

You let go of his hand when you reach his car, rounding the hood so you can get into the passenger’s side where you try your hardest not to break down and cry. It’s all just too much, the happiness from earlier completely washed away and replaced by anger and sadness.

“Talk to me,” 

Shaking your head to let him know now is not the time you stare out of the window instead, watching as the buildings along Boston Post Road pass by in a blur. 

“Don’t do this,” his voice is soft, “don’t shut me out.”

You turn towards him and stare at him, hoping he’ll get the message to let it go.

Either he really doesn’t or he chooses to just ignore it, “They’re just jealous, Ace, don’t let them get to you.” He pulls up to his mother’s house then, but stays seated once he’s turned the engine off.

“Don’t,” is all you say when you get out of the car, not waiting to see if he follows you or not.

Scott keeps stealing glances at you and Chris during dinner, like he’s trying to figure out what happened. You hate how worried he looks and so you slip your hand under the table and gently pat his knee to let him know it will be ok. He doesn’t seem convinced. 

Most of dinner is spent catching up with Lisa, although you mainly just tell her about your week back in Sudbury. Scott occasionally joins in, but Chris is keeping awfully quiet, only answering questions Lisa or Scott directly ask him. It’s awkward and weird and not at all how you thought tonight was going to be, and you wonder if his mom notices anything. 

Lisa excuses herself then, tells you all to stay seated while she puts the finishing touches on dessert, and so here you are, sitting next to Scott and opposite to Chris, the awkward silence filling up the space between you. Trying to avoid it getting even more awkward, you’re just about to get up and excuse yourself to go to the bathroom when Scott puts his hand on your arm, keeping you in your place. 

“I don’t know what the fuck is going on with you two,” Scott says in a hushed whisper, eyeing the door to the kitchen to make sure Lisa hasn’t heard him, “but you better get your shit together. Mom’s going to know something’s up and then-”

“It’s nothing-”

“We ran into some people at Wholefoods,” Chris says at the same time. 

“Chris-” you throw him a look, one eyebrow raised, “It’s fine.”

“Clearly it isn’t,” he counters. “You’ve been ignoring me all night.” 

“I’m not ignoring you,” you scoff, “I’m just catching up with your mom.” 

“Oh, come on,” 

“Listen, either you work this out now,” Scott suggests, “or you better put those acting skills you both claim to have to good use because mom’s coming back in a few minutes and I swear to God, if-”

“We’ll be fine,” you tell him, looking at Chris to get him to agree.

He just shakes his head, “I can’t believe you. We are not fine.”

Scott lets out an exaggerated sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, “Fine.” He holds up a finger to shut both of you up and calls out to the kitchen then, “You need any help, mom?”

“No, thanks sweetie,” Lisa replies from behind the closed door, “just have to plate up and then dessert is ready.”

“Ok,” Scott looks from you to Chris, “you have about three minutes. Go.” 

“Scott-”

“We ran into Fiona Warren and Carla Hayes,” Chris says at the same time, “they made some mean comments when they saw us together, it was nothing really, but-”

“It was nothing?” 

“It was, Ace, come on. They’re just jealous.” Chris shrugs, “Why do you care so much?”

“Why do I care so much?” You let yourself fall back against your chair, “You wanna know why I care so much?” You don’t wait for a reply and instead continue, trying to keep your voice down, “It started at prom, when you weren’t there. The whispers, the ‘Oh, he must be busy with his acting career, don’t you want him to succeed?’ and the ‘Well, you already went to his prom together, can’t have it all, now can you?” 

Chris wants to say something but you hold up your hand to let him know you’re not done, “And then someone showed me those pictures and Fiona Warren of all people had the nerve to tell me that she understood why you’d much rather stay in LA.” 

You take a sip of water, your voice rough from the strained whispers, “So after they found out we’d broken up- Even though I broke up with you- The rumours started. That you had dumped me because you’d never make it big if you had something-” you shake your head and correct yourself, “Someone holding you back. That your career would take off much faster if you were single. That they never really understood how you settled for someone like me anyway.” You look at Chris, “Every single day they kept coming at me, almost relentless.”

He waits for you to continue, but you shake your head to let him know you’re done. He throws a quick glance at Scott before he looks back at you, “Ace, look at me,” he waits until you do, “I know there’s nothing I can say now to make this better-”

You nod, because no, there isn’t, but at least this is something.

“-but don’t you think maybe it’s time to let it go?” He reaches his hand out to you, “It’s been eighteen years.” 

It takes a moment for his words to sink in, but when they do it’s like he stabbed you right through your heart with a dull knife. You feel your mouth fall open but you’re at a loss for words and so you just stare at him. You hear Scott say something to you on your left, but his words don’t register at all, and it’s at that moment Lisa walks back in, holding a tray with four individual desserts on them. 

It’s like seeing her triggers you back into action and you stand up, looking down at Chris, “I should go.”

“Ace-”

“Sweetheart,” Lisa says at the same time, before she turns to Scott, “What happened?”

Scott shrugs but doesn’t say anything, a slightly panicked look on his face. Chris just shakes his head at her and all you can do is kiss her cheek, “Thank you so much Lisa, but I need to go,” before you grab your purse and head towards the front door.

Chris rushes after you and catches up with you just as you’ve put your hand on the door, “Ace, come on.” He puts his hand over yours, “We can talk about this.”

“Like you said, it’s been eighteen years,” you say, your voice cold and void of any emotions. “Maybe you're right. Maybe it is time to move on.”

His eyes darken at your words, “Why are you giving up so easily?” 

“Why am I-,” you gasp, shaking off his hand, “You wanna know why I don’t want to fight anymore? Because I have been fighting for the last eighteen fucking years!” With that you step outside and slam the door shut behind you before you hurry towards your car. Once you're inside you call the only person you know who can help you try to make sense of what just happened. 

She answers on the first ring.

“Nicole?” Your voice is unsteady, “Are you home?”

“I’m sorry,” you sniff, taking another tissue out of the box that sits on the couch between you and Nicole.

“Don’t be,” she puts her hand on your arm and gives it a gentle squeeze, “you just sit there and cry for as long as you need.”

You nod and dry your eyes with the sleeve of the sweater she lent you after you couldn’t stop shivering, although you’re struggling to find a dry patch of fabric. You’ve told her everything, in between sobs and endless cups of tea, working through all the events of this evening, one at a time. 

“You know what, it’s fine,” you say then, although you’re not sure who you’re trying to convince. “This was never about getting back together anyway. All I wanted was closure.” You scoff, “Guess I got what I came for, huh?”

“Babe,” Nicole throws you a look to let you know you’re not fooling her.

“It’s fine,” you tell her again, hoping she’ll let it go. “It was good to see him again, but after what happened today, how he acted like it was no big deal, even though this was exactly why I left Sudbury- I don’t know, maybe-”

“Ok, but you need to cut him some slack.” 

“What?” 

“You said it yourself, remember?” She raises her eyebrows at you, “‘A lot has happened, but none of it you went through together.’ He doesn’t know what you’ve been through, babe. How would he?”

“Yeah, but-”

“No.” She sits up, “You broke up with him over the phone and then you left, like what, three weeks later? So unless you’ve told him, how would he know?” She holds up her hands to let you know she comes in peace, “I’m not trying to make you the bad guy here, just-”

“Telling it like it is,” you finish the sentence for. “Yeah, I know.” 

“So why don’t you?”

“Why don’t I, what?”

“Tell him,” Nicole shrugs, as if it’s that simple. Then again, maybe it is.

You sigh, trying to weigh your options. You keep hearing Chris’ voice, when he told you it would be too little, too late to come up with any excuses now, and it’s exactly how you feel about maybe telling him what you went through eighteen years later. What good would it do? In the end you simply tell her, “I don’t know, Nic.”

It’s raining and so you’re doing a weird sort of speed walk, your purse slowly sliding down your arm but your suitcase in one hand and your carry-on in the other means there’s nothing you can do to stop it from ending up around your wrist. It doesn’t help the bad mood you’re in from having to get up early and so when your phone chimes to let you know you’ve got a new message you ignore it, at least until you make it to your car. 

Once your suitcase and carry-on are in the trunk you take your phone out of your backpocket and hurry inside where you pull up your messaging app. Your heart drops when you see it’s from Chris, and when you read the message it feels like someone punched you in the gut:

We shouldn’t leave things like this, Ace. Can we talk before you leave? 

You bite your cheek to keep yourself from crying at the unfairness of it all. Still, your reply doesn’t leave any room for interpretation, but it’s all you can do to keep your heart from breaking again:

I’m already back in Philadelphia. It was good seeing you again, Chris. Take care.

[sapiowoman28]

Aiming for the stars chapter 1

By all accounts she was not having a good day and the last thing she needed was someone trying to talk to her. Especially if that someone was Ning.

She didn’t dislike Ning as much as she disliked everyone else on campus. But N’s obsession with grades grated on her. The trio of NWG were infamous for their obsession with studying hard and getting good grades while the rest of the year partied all year and studied secretly at the last minute.

She herself knew she was at the bottom of the scale when it came to academic excellence. There was no if’s or buts about it. She was just there to make her parents happy. To just pass, get her degree and find a job.

Except she wasn’t quite passing. Her lecturer had asked her to stay behind after maths tutorial to speak to her. And she knew what it was all about.

“You need to pass this semester or you’re not going to graduate,” he said as gently as he could. “Maybe you can ask some of your friends for help. Maybe speak to Yizhuo or Aeri. Even Minjeong can help.”

She groaned internally. Of course he asked her to look for NWG.

She nodded. “I’ll look for Yizhuo.”

“Good idea. Aeri is already tutoring Yangyang. So she might be a little busier. Try the other two girls.”

She felt her stomach churn. Yang Yang was upping his game. Yang Yang, the super loud guy “gangsta” wannabe whose grades were as bad as hers. Who smoked weed and partied like his life depended on it. She wondered if the rest of her fellow under achievers were getting secret help too. She would have to check.

So here she was, in the cafeteria with her headphones on as a sign for people to leave her alone while she had her lunch with Ning suddenly standing above her breathing down her neck. Clearly Dr Byun had spoken to her.

She took off her headphones sighing.

“Hey Ning,” she forced out a smile as friendly as she could. “Join me?”

It wasn’t a real invitation. Ning only had lunch with her two gals. Nobody else. It was the only reason why she extended the invite in the first place.

Ning sat down next to her.

“I’ve already had lunch with Giselle and Winter in the other canteen. This one doesn’t have much choice for us vegans.”

She tried not to roll her eyes, cutting to the chase instead.

“I gather Dr B spoke to you.” She stated to which Ning nodded, asking for the phone.

Ordinarily she didn’t let anyone touch her phone, but she didn’t dislike Ning as much as everyone else.

Ning typed in a name and a number and gave it back to her.

“The guys from the archery team,” Ning said, voice lowered suddenly. “They tutor folks every Tuesday and Thursday. If you can afford a fee I think they’d be great for you.”

“Why can’t you tutor me?” She asked, not excited at the prospect of knowing more people. The questions. The looks. The explanations she’d have to give.

Plus she needed real geniuses. Not conmen. She already got conned last year.

“They tutor me. How do you think I get straight As? Besides, I need to tutor Sungchan.” Ning grinned. “I don’t have time.”

“Sungchan? As in tall weed seller Sungchan?” She asked almost too loudly in shock.

“Shh! Pls! Our source of weed must never be identified!” Ning frowned. “Anyway Ive a friend in the archery team who majors in math but he’s one year our senior. His name is Jaemin Na. Just text him. He’ll be able to help.”

She sighed. She hated studying. She hated tutors. She hated people. Especially those posing as tutors.

“Isn’t Johnny suh the captain of the archery team? Am I gonna get fleeced again? Those idiots from SUmaMega charged me 2k in my first year and my grades didn’t improve one bit.”

Ning rolled her eyes. “You know Johnny left that frat to focus on archery right? I know there’s that association there but trust me. The guy’s ok.”

She wondered why she trusted Ning so much.

“I’ll text him,” she said. “I don’t exactly have a choice.”

She forgot to contact Jaemin. Friday came and there was a party thrown by Karina. She waited for Jeno to get to her place to park his bike, shower and leave in an Uber with her after his shift ended at 10pm.

She and jeno hooked up a year ago and he never left. Most of her friends didn’t know how to react to him. He didn’t do well enough to make it to college. He worked in a hospital mortuary. He had tattoos and looked intimidating. Most people were scared of him.

But she decided she liked his vibe after one night of fooling around. He was really a softy who made her laugh and the sex was great so that was that. Her social circle came to accept him as her other half though neither of them had labelled their relationship. He was a familiar face at parties- his arm around her waist, protective. Which was great for her because she hated people. At least the people on campus.

Today they decided to hang out in the kitchen to people watch. Jeno was affected by something he saw at work involving a dead 3 year old and needed calming. She told him they could stay in but he said he needed a distraction. So here she was, with her arms protectively around Jeno this time, easing him with alcohol and soft kisses on his jaw, and little updates about their friends from elementary school that made him smile.

Tonight’s crowd was different. A lot of the people she didn’t know. Likely from other faculties. But the vibe was chill even though it was pretty crowded. The music was great- the deejay was the short guy from the SVT frat.

Except there was a kid now, in an Adidas T-shirt, looking into the big bowl of spiked punch.

“Hey! Adidas!” Jeno called out, and the kid jumped as if he had been caught. He was tall and gangly, but his face revealed how young he was. What was he doing here at a college party?

“Uh?” Was all he could let out, eyes warily looking at jeno and her.

“Are you old enough to drink?” She asked, and watched him straighten up and morph into someone more resolute.

“I’m old enough.” He said firmly.

“I don’t think so young man.” Jeno said. “Show us your ID.”

By now he was straight up ignoring them, scooping up the drink into a red cup and taking a sip before making a face. He decided to abandon the drink entirely. But not before he looked at them.

“You’re right that I’m underaged.” He said smiling with no malice or irritation. “But I bet you guys were drinking way before you were 18.”

To which both jeno and her could only start giggling.

Past 1am both Jeno and her were both tipsy and giggly from the punch Adidas rejected. He returned to the kitchen a couple of times to get more water or soda, sometimes trailing behind another kid who was loud and obnoxious and had no problem with consuming the punch.

He was friendly, and when he returned alone they decided they liked him enough to introduce themselves to him.

“Jisung.” He said.

“Are you a freshman?”

“Sophomore.” He smiled embarrassed. “I skipped a couple of years in school.”

Jeno looked impressed.

“What about that loud guy you were with?”

“Chenle. He’s a sophomore too. He’s one year older than me though.”

She frowned. The name was familiar.

“Didn’t he get a gold in something?”

Jisungs face lit up.

“Chenle’s an archery ace.” He grinned. “I’ll never catch up with him.”

“Ah you guys are from the archery team.” She smiled. “I’m supposed to get in touch with Jaemin. About tutoring?”

Jisung started to look around nervously.

“Listen, don’t talk openly about that. Johnny already got a lot of flack the last time even though he wasn’t involved.”

“Sorry.” She bit her lip.

“It’s ok. The college doesn’t have a problem with the tutoring. It has a problem with people making money but not doing their job properly though.” Jisung explained.

“Is Jaemin around?” She asked.

Jisung let out a laugh.

“Jaemin hates parties.” He said. “Absolutely hates it.”

At 2am Jenos watch beeped, signalling it was time to go. She had a rule that she had to sleep by 3 on weekends.

“It’s time,” he grinned knowingly.

They left for her apartment off campus and soon she was under him, hands gripping tight his arms, mewing like the way she did. And then they changed positions and she was on top and both of them made so much noise her room mate Mark made 3 knocks against the wall from his room, a sign to lower their volume.

Later after a shower she realised it was way past her designated weekend bed time. She couldn’t sleep but was content to watch jeno sleep. She hadn’t felt this much stillness in her mind for a while. Usually her mind ran a hundred miles a minute. Sometimes she burst out crying. Perhaps it was the alcohol or the fact that jeno was next to her.

Whatever it was she knew the next day that the voices in her head would start all over again.

[gumnut-logic]

Johnny Snapshots

@onereyofstarlight​  Okay, let’s face it, I live in the land of the Virg and John is one of the hardest for me to tackle (the other being Alan who I do a disservice to on a regular basis). So I don’t read much John focussed fic. Not that I don’t love the boi, it’s just...oooh, look a bright shiny Virg! :D

So in order to get Johnny fluff for you, I only really have my pile of Virg-focussed fic to play with, though I can recommend reading stuff from @the-lady-razorsharp​ and @willow-salix​ cos they claim Johnny as their boi and write lots of stuff focussed on their space noodle :D

While looking for my previous post in my archives, I came across a snippet of John from one of my fics and got the idea of little Johnny Snapshots. So, here from amongst all my Virg fic, have a little Johnny Nutty-style.

Note: Snapshots from all sorts of fic, looking for fluff, spoilers for everything, several AUs, several ships, pretty much potluck and lots of description of the Johnny :D And while I’ve included links to the fics, the fics themselves are likely Virgil focussed and there may not be much more of John in them than is already here. You’ve probably read some of these before, too.

I hope you enjoy anyway :D

-o-o-o-

A ghost drifted on the breeze.

White as an angel, pale as the moonlight sculpting his form, his next youngest brother rode the air currents above the island.

The only word to describe John was elegant. Airborne porcelain, he circled. Midnight starlight cascaded through Virgil’s mind. Expressions of sorrow draped in calm, warmed by an amber light, the steady core of his star-loving brother.

Virgil watched mesmerised as his turns became tighter and tighter, closer to the ground. A great arch of white feathers and he landed gently, barely disturbing the sand beneath his bare feet.

He was gleaming in the moonlight from toe to hooded gaze. Ever so pale skin, free to be bare to the elements with the absence of the sun, his only clothing was a cut off pair of jeans so faded they were more white than blue.

Only his hair had colour, flame caught in just the right flash of light.

Decision

-o-o-o-

When he woke, the sun was making for the horizon, the whole island cast in gold.

“Hey, Virgil.”

The soft melodious voice of his space borne brother was lacking its usual transmission static and it was a pleasant surprise to roll over and find John sitting on a lounger beside him. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself. How are you feeling?”

First question of any brother to any injured brother, of course. “Good, actually.” And he was. Relaxed, pain at a minimum, a gorgeous sunset in preparation, and... “Great to see you down here.” Virgil didn’t admit it often, but he did miss his middle brother. Didn’t really like him so far out of reach. But John loved it, so it was what it was. Didn’t mean Virgil couldn’t be happy to see him when he could. “What brings you to this little planet?”

The sun was sculpting John’s pale features and white shirt in almost molten gold, merging his skin with his copper hair. The odd thought of some kind of Greek god fluttered through the back of Virgil’s mind. He shook himself mentally. What the hell?

V.T. Green

-o-o-o-

John appreciates a fine meal. Of the five brothers, he is the one who will know about the wine. He’ll know which region it came from, what it should be eaten with and which year grew the plant it was made from. This, of course, means he is the most likely culprit to steal Scott’s boutique beers out of the fridge…to the point that one of the first signs of the middle brother being back on Earth is the sudden missing bottles from said refrigerator.

Virgil thinks it is hilarious.

Scott’s worried his brother is a secret alcoholic and keeps monitoring his intake.

Alan keeps messing with Scott’s head by pinching extra bottles to ‘up John’s intake’.

Gordon messes with everyone by refilling the bottles with apple juice.

But yes, John is the one to appreciate a good meal, most likely because he has to eat all that space crap eighty percent of the time.

Food, Tracy style

-o-o-o-

A sigh. “Um....never have I ever...er...been arrested?” Surely, they hadn’t done that?

“Are you kidding me?” Gordon, glugged down some more drink. “That’s an easy one. Paris. The Louvre.”

What?

Scott raised his hand holding his glass. “Gordon.” As if that explained everything. He swallowed heavily.

Alan snorted, rolled and fell face first onto the carpet.

Gordon laughed. “Hey, bro. Time to take another drink. Remember the teddy bear at the fair?”

“Crap.” Alan grabbed his glass and toasted the air. “Gordon.” Apparently, it did explain everything.

“Gordon.” Kayo said it like a zombie and swallowed some more alcohol. Ridley just stared at her, but was distracted as apparently not-so-asleep John attempted to locate his glass by pawing blindly at the carpet with one hand. His mumbled “Gordon.” Was almost muffled as Ridley tried to grab his arm.

“Lawn flamingo.” Virgil attempted to bring the drink to his mouth, but missed and threw it over his shoulder instead. “Oops.”

Em blinked.

“Okay, that’s it. I’m calling this game. Off to bed with the lot of you. I have the strongest feeling that I should have taken Grandma’s advice and gone to bed early myself.”

There were many a muttered groan, mostly of ‘Awww’ and her name, but the brothers mostly stumbled to their feet. Kayo had to drag Virgil off of Em. The man was heavy.

Ridley smiled at her as she manhandled her space noodle off into their rooms. John was muttering something about ‘Gordon’s fault...didn’t want to do that in a book store.’ Penny helped Alan to his rooms, all the time shooting glares at Gordon.

“What?” The aquanaut looked non-plussed. “What did I do?”

“Gordon, go look after your brother.” Scott’s voice was firm. He still hadn’t relaxed.

Em sighed, grabbed his arm and, activating her hoverjets, pulled him up. “C’mon, Commander, time for bed.”

“Em.” And suddenly she was in his arms.

“Flyboy, your blood alcohol content can be detected from space.”

“Space!” John’s voice echoed down the hallway.

“Not today, spaceman, you’d miss TB5 and end up on Mars.” Ridley was obviously being very patient.

“Not Mars. Wrong trejacktory.” A closing door shut off the rest of the mumbled maths that followed.

Never Have I Ever

-o-o-o-

John sighed, walked over to the bed and sat on the edge in echo of something he had done so many times as a boy. He used to come in here and talk Virgil’s ear off about space and stars and his latest science projects. Virgil, in turn, would nod, say the right things at the right time and generally be the good older brother. John suspected that Virgil hadn’t understood half of what he was saying, but the older boy had never said anything. Not that Virgil wasn’t smart, just his interests lay in different areas. 

They were both quiet by nature and Virgil’s patience drew John to him. Mostly because he would listen. One of the hardest things about being a far above average student with very specific interests was finding someone to talk to about them. John wasn’t a big talker outside the family, but that was because society in general was lost two words into any sentence he wanted to construct. John had no use for general gossip when he had spent the day discovering a new extra-solar object. Who cared who won the football when Neptune was aligning with Earth in a way that wouldn’t happen for another one hundred and sixty five years?

It was Virgil who stopped and listened as a young John Tracy babbled about his latest discoveries.

He was his big brother.

The House

-o-o-o-

Unfortunately, distracted, he didn’t see brother number three and collided with him, nearly sending both of them to the floor.

“Oh, god, sorry…J-“ His hands met soft silk and he looked up, this time truly focussing on his tall brother.

Oh my god.

He must truly have some kind of sibling radar because there was no way in hell he could have recognised his brother otherwise.

“John?”

“Hey, Virgil.”

And yes, that was a smirk on that face.

He eyed the man from bottom to top. High heeled boots in shiny black leather. Black tights! High cut, buttoned up, deep blue coat sequined in an elaborate filigree with almost ankle length tails. The ends of his sleeves flared out like flowers over leather gloves. And a white silk cravat wrapped his throat with about ten layers of frills.

But all that didn’t live up to the hair. Oh, god, the hair. Gone was the familiar red, replaced with a fountain of silver white, springing in strands from the top of his head like a spray of leafless weeping willow, long enough to reach his chest.

Virgil stared. “Are you wearing makeup?”

The smirk widened and, yes, there was some kind of lip gloss to go with the elaborate eyeshadow arching into his brows.

Blink. “Wh-who are you?”

“Why, my dear child,” and John tapped him on the head with his ornamental riding crop. “I’m the Goblin King.”

Another blink. “Who?” He couldn’t recall ever seeing a goblin who looked quite like that.

And the more familiar John rolled his eyes. “A friend of mine advised me that this would be easier if I made myself completely unrecognisable. She is a fan of old movies, so I picked one.”

Virgil narrowed his eyes. “She?”

“She.”

“Okay.” He eyed his brother again. “I’ll take your word for it.”

A Warm Rain Halloween (wip)

-o-o-o-

It had been three days. His brother was now hooked up to several IVs and other invasive support mechanisms, his unconscious body needing assistance to survive. The usually agile, calm and kind man now lay pale, his hair unkempt and limp, eyes bruised smudges on his lifeless face, hands wrapped in copious bandages.

Virgil reached over and ran his fingers through that blond and red hair, attempting to straighten it out, forcing the flick to behave itself.

“C’mon, John, speak to me.” Virgil’s voice was little above a whisper. “I can’t do this without you.” And the statement was suddenly true. Spoken without thought, Virgil realised that through everything that had happened to him in the last few months, John had been there, even when Virgil was too terrified to see him, John had stood strong while his brother dragged him through the mud. He had done everything in his power, everything, to support Virgil. “God, don’t let a faulty circuit be your epitaph, you are worth so much more than that. So much more.”

He needed his brother’s dry wit. He needed his calm voice. He needed him.

Virgil let his head drop to the bed.

Please.

Father

-o-o-o-

John hated crowds, especially those involving the press. Scott went out of his way to make sure he wasn’t exposed to them, but his brother wasn’t available right now.

Head down, no eye contact. “No comment.”

“No comment.”

They crowded in on him and he grit his teeth.

A sharp crack and a yelp. A squawk and the clattering of plastic on concrete. A scream and a flash of light. John looked up to find holocams falling like rain. One close to him simply stopped and dropped. Another sparked, spun and dove at the nearest reporter. She screamed and ran.

The holocam chased her.

Oh.

The crowd began to disperse in erratic squeals and yelps of fear. John took advantage and dashed through to the doors of the hospital. Behind him, the elevator fired its thrusters, adding to the confusion, and launched towards orbit.

“Eos, you are dangerous.”

“Yes, John, and don’t you forget it.” The amusement in her voice had him smiling.

“Thank you.”

“You are welcome.”

Dirt

-o-o-o-

The only one standing entirely upright was her middle grandson. He brought up the rear, his tall, lithe form fluid as he walked. As always, his red hair was startling against his golden baldric. His eyes tracked around the room, his expression cool and controlled, but as his grandmother, she could see the tells of worry and exhaustion.

The great silver form of Eos sat on his arm preening her feathers. Every so often, the hawk would pause and survey the room, just like her bearer, her startling red eyes catching everything. Sal would never understand that relationship, but it had saved her family more than once and she was grateful, if still wary.

The Prince Who Would Not be King

-o-o-o-

If the quiet lifestyle is more your thing, you may wish to upgrade to John Tracy. ‘Up’ is the keyword here as he resides twenty-two thousand miles up, in orbit, in fact. Yes, John is the original space Tracy. Fully adapted to the cold and dark beyond our atmosphere, he does indeed adore the quiet life.

However, before we tempt you any further, it should be noted that John is the only Tracy brother who is a parent. A single parent at that. Inadvertent though her existence is, Eos is recognised as John’s daughter and she presents a number of unique challenges, the least of which is what she will do to your bank accounts if you upset her. Yes, if you are looking for bankruptcy, offending Eos is a fantastic way to achieve your goal.

In summary, don’t piss off the kid.

Having said that, should she approve of your existence, Eos is quite capable of enhancing that existence should she so choose. In any case, John’s daughter is a great conversationalist, even if she has locked you in the bathroom.

John himself sports arguably the most stunning eyes of all the five brothers. Alan, please be quite and Scott, sit down.

A unique pair of turquoise irises that contrast exquisitely with his copper hair makes for a stunning date to have on your arm. The only downside is that arm may need to be handcuffed to yours if you intend on going anywhere involving more than six people at a time.

Our space Tracy is not a social being. Despite communication as a profession, John Tracy has been heard to wish to only speak to others from space. This may include you. Please keep your phone charged at all times.

It should also be noted that if your phone battery is dead and John wishes to contact you, he may hack an appliance as mundane as your toaster. Communicating via the temperature controls in the shower has been reported. Virgil was not impressed.

John is one of the taller Tracys. Unlike Scott, however, heels may not be needed as ninety-five percent of the time John is in space, so if you are planning to get to know him, you’re going to be in space too. Just float up to look him in those gorgeous eyes.

A fan of spaceball and Star Trek, John is your traditional loveable geek. Be aware that his neighbour knows this and you may want to lock all the airlocks in case she comes knocking for a cup of sugar.

John is definitely a good investment and comes with a space station to boot. You will be able to spend many hours stargazing both at the universe and those irises.

Plus One Tracy

-o-o-o-

 Oh, I do have a couple of John focussed fics. The fluffiest is Bagel.

[traincat]

I've been ranting to my friends about Johnny being abused and raped recently and one of them said: Lyja has damaged and put an element of distrust into every relationship he may ever have. which is really fucking me up and I wanted to share in part bc I don't wanna be sad alone and also bc I think that's an interesting side effect of Lyja's time in his life that doesn't get talked about enough

Thank you for sharing this because the thing is I do think there is a very definite divide in how Johnny acts particularly in regards to relationships before and after his marriage to “Alicia.” I doubt this was entirely intentional on the parts of the writers who handled the book after, but I’ve said before that I think after a certain amount of time and with enough stories behind them characters tend to take on a life of their own, and even if the writers are hesitant to address it there’s no way an event like his relationship with Lyja couldn’t have deeply effected Johnny.

Simply put: I don’t think “playboy Johnny” exists before Lyja. I don’t buy into “playboy Johnny” much as a general phenomenon, because if you actually look at the canon there’s just not much to actually back it up, but he certainly has at periods played into this public (both in and out universe) perception of himself. What I mean is, pre-Lyja, there is absolutely no proof Johnny had ever engaged in casual sex. (There’s actually no proof he wasn’t a virgin when Lyja began working her way into his life while masquerading as Alicia; this panel from Fantastic Four #275 is the first time Johnny having sex is addressed:

That shirt is Johnny’s – you see him wearing it the issue leading up to this one. To be clear, there’s nothing in the issue that supports this being Johnny’s first time, either – it’s just that he doesn’t have any sex scenes prior. Either way, this is not the reaction of someone who had a good time.)

Pre-the Alilyja incident, Johnny had a grand total of three relationships: Dorrie Evans in high school, Crystal Amaquelin, Frankie Raye. He had a few dates with a girl named Lorrie Melton who called things off with him because he was more serious than she wanted to be, and shared a whole one kiss with a girl named Valeria from the Fifth Dimension (no relationship to his future niece). He also briefly pursued a girl named Julie Angel, who blatantly wasn’t interested in him. When Julie’s friend Sharon came onto him during this period, he reacted with discomfort:

(Fantastic Four #259)

So, playboy Johnny Storm, a womanizer who sleeps around – he doesn’t exist in canon at this point. (If anything, Johnny repeatedly reacts negatively to being kissed suddenly and without his permission leading up to and during the marriage.) Then you have the marriage, which happens fairly quickly – Johnny and Alicia’s relationship is “cemented” in FF #275, they get married in FF #300. I want to note that Johnny’s pretty young when he gets married, especially by modern standards – you have to do the Spider-Man math with this one, since Johnny’s age at this point in canon isn’t stated, but he and Peter both get married at roughly the same time. We know that they’re roughly the same age, Johnny being 16 when he got his powers and Peter being 15 and these things happening fairly closely together. Peter comments very shortly after he’s married that he’s been out of high school for five years, which would make both him and Johnny roughly 23 when they respectively tied the knot. Alicia is labeled during Byrne’s run as three years older than Johnny, but it should be noted that Byrne has a habit of making women younger and putting them in relationships with much older men – which would track if it’s his opinion Alicia first met Ben when she was 19. (It’s my personal belief that she should be older than that, but that’s neither here nor there.) We have no idea how old Lyja is in comparison to Johnny. So he’s young, and the relationship escalates very quickly, which, looking at it with the retcon in place, makes sense, because Lyja is on a mission to infiltrate the Fantastic Four. So it’s quick. The marriage, the Skrull reveal, and the ensuing melodrama lasts… a while after that. 

Then the big reset button that was Heroes Reborn got hit after Fantastic Four #416 and Johnny and family were shunted off to a pocket universe for a little bit, sans Lyja. Fantastic Four v2 is the first look we get at a more playboy-ish Johnny Storm in line with, say, the Chris Evans version of the character – older when the accident hits instead of being a fresh-faced teen, a bit irresponsible, comes off a little bit like he might be a dog. But this reboot canon can’t really keep it up: it reunites Johnny and Crystal temporarily, and then everyone gets snatched out of their alternate reality bubble and planted back in their regular timeline anyway. 

So let’s look at Johnny’s relationships after his marriage:

1) Alysande “Caledonia” Stuart: A young woman Johnny found and rescued in another dimension who lived with the Fantastic Four for a while. I’m including this even though it isn’t strictly a romantic relationship – Johnny appears to have feelings for Alsyande, but it’s unclear if they’re reciprocated or if she just feels a deep debt of loyalty to him for rescuing her. Either way, I really like how this relationship is handled; they’re both very respectful of each other in a way that’s missing from a lot of Johnny’s actual romantic relationships. They definitely didn’t have sex. 

2) Namorita Prentiss: The first actual romantic relationship Johnny has post-Lyja. This one’s another weird one; Johnny and Namorita first get together after teasing the paparazzi and commiserating about being famous. They then proceed to spend next to no time together. Seriously, like, to the point where the books remarks on it:

(Fantastic Four v3 #55)

Johnny and Namorita do do things like attend celebrity functions together, so I label this as Johnny’s first “publicity” relationship – less about being in love, and more about him and the other party looking really good together for the public eye. (This is also something he never did before his marriage.) Anyway, they break up off panel, although Johnny did apparently ask Nita to move in with him at one point, which she refused.

Kourtney: A second and much more prominent “publicity” relationship. Kourtney is a supermodel who we’re first introduced to when she breaks up with Johnny when the Fantastic Four go broke and he falls out of public favor. They do get back together for the duration of Marvel Knights 4, and then they apparently break up again. Nothing to write home about in this relationship – she and Johnny don’t really appear to actually like each other all that much, especially on her end. 

We enter a relationship deadzone for Johnny as we hit Waid’s run. He starts it off apparently shaking off a bad celebrity breakup, and while he goes a bit moony-eyed over a few pretty girls at the beginning, basically nothing happens. He at one point meets up with a girl from the internet who claims to be a fan of his and things seem like they might get romantic… except his body language really is screaming the opposite:

Fantastic Four #514 – I’m not saying how much of this was intentional or even what the intent was, but if there’s something a comic book artist should be good at conveying, it’s body language. Here Cole’s is aggressive – leaning in, touching his face – and Johnny’s is closed off – hands in his pockets, leaning away from her. It’s just interesting if we’re supposed to believe he’s hot for this girl.

Anyway, Cole turns out to be the Wizard’s daughter, catfishing Johnny to find a solution for her unwanted superpowers. So. That lasts two issues and nothing happens between them.

Psionics: And now we enter Millar’s run. Millar’s run is probably the biggest contributor to Playboy Johnny – not only does he have an ill-advised sexual affair with a superpowered bank robber named Psionics, he also gets walked in on – apparently – about to have a threesome with two girls cosplaying as Storm and the Scarlet Witch. I’ve had a problem with the cosplay scene for a while now, because it just doesn’t fit with Johnny’s 616 personality. Something about it has always felt very off. And while I could just go “well it’s Mark Millar,” it occurred to me on a recent reread what’s wrong with it: it feels staged. Johnny’s in the middle of filming a reality show; the camera crew is who walks in on him. If he was trying to cultivate this playboy image, well, one way to do it is to make sure you’re walked in on in a compromising situation. He and the girls are all still fully clothed, and he actually ditches the scene as soon as they’re discovered – to congratulate Ben on his engagement, but still – while the girls frankly seem more interested in each other. It’s a weird scene still, but there’s nothing in it either way to say he was or wasn’t setting it up to make it look like he was the kind of womanizing carefree celebrity party boy who has threesomes with hot cosplay girls while not actually doing that.

As for Psionics, the hot bank robber he sleeps with? Well, turns out her family from the future kidnaps him and uses him as a giant power battery in a machine that has a good chance of killing him. No bad feelings or anything, though.

Again with the awkward body language. He certainly just stands there while she kisses him. This is the exact opposite of smoldering passion. Also, next time he sees her she tries to kidnap his niece, kills his longtime family friend Alyssa Moy in front of him, and then gets murdered right before his eyes. So. That all happened.

He has one apparent would’ve-been one night stand in Hickman’s run after this, except she turns into a bunch of bug monsters and activates the Negative Zone portal. He also has a highly implied brief sexual relationship with Daken Akihiro at this point, who… uses that connection to make Johnny feel horribly guilty over Daken’s apparent death and then so Daken can steal a weapon from the Fantastic Four. There’s a weird pattern here.

Darla Deering: The last and most recent of Johnny’s publicity relationships – Johnny starts seeing Darla, a major pop star, sometime after his experiences in the Negative Zone. This is another “they’re in a relationship but they don’t spend any time together” fling, too – at the end of the relationship, when Darla’s gotten together with Scott Lang, Johnny actually admits that he liked dating Darla because of Darla’s celebrity lifestyle more than he liked her. 

Here we hit Robinson’s run. Johnny does a lot of partying after he’s lost his powers, and while it’s not explicit, there’s something of an implication during this point that he is sleeping around. However, his most serious relationships in this run are with his family, Wyatt Wingfoot, and Peter Parker, and he has no consistent romantic partner. 

Which brings us to his last serious relationship: Medusa. This one’s a weird one, too, and it’s one where I’m not hesitant to blame the writer’s lack of research at all when Medusa and Johnny were genuinely very close during her stint on the Fantastic Four team. It’s clearly a placeholder relationship – we know Black Bolt/Medusa were going to get back together. If anything, I think here Johnny’s holding onto a piece of his then-missing family the only way he knows how.

So, a couple of relationships post-marriage, but by in large, with the exception of Namorita where we see hardly any of their actual relationship on page and perhaps Medusa, nothing serious. Certainly nothing like his impassioned “head over heels” falls for Crystal and Frankie Raye. So there’s very definitely a change in Johnny after Lyja and in how he behaves in romantic relationships – the implication that he does have casual sex, the uptick in relationships that are clearly for the public eye, a lack of a previously held deep devotion to his partner. I think you could make a really good case for all this coming about as a result of lingering and unaddressed trauma from Lyja. 

There’s also, and this isn’t explicitly romantic, the appearance of this little quizzing game:

(Fantastic Four: Secret Invasion) This actually is Lyja in her only appearance since FF #416, disguised as Sue and trying to convince Johnny that Ben is a Skrull for… well for nothing good, obviously, but the book never actually gets into why she’s attempting to separate Ben from Johnny, except that separating him from his family is exactly what she tried to do before she was discovered to a be a Skrull during their “marriage.” But it’s telling that when Johnny feels like something isn’t right, he immediately starts quizzing “Sue” about things she should know. Definitely seems like the kind of game someone who unwittingly married and was abused by a shapeshifter would invent to make sure that the people in his life are really who they’re supposed to be.

So I definitely think there’s a lot of lingering trauma there that, if a really good writer dug into it, could inform a lot about both the romantic relationships he had after that point and his romantic future, especially if it was paired with a story where he explores his romantic feelings for men. It’d be interesting to see it doubled up with doubts after his relationship with Daken in that regard, since Daken also used him to gain access to the Fantastic Four. I’d love to see it all really gotten into and actually, for the first time, addressed, especially if it was in the context of a romantic relationship with Wyatt Wingfoot, who was present during the early days of Lyja’s seduction of Johnny and is also who Johnny ran to after he discovered the truth about the monster Lyja told him was their child. A lot of history to get into there.

[someonexsomeone]

The Bargain

Title: The Bargain

Author: SomeonexSomeone

Word Count: 1331

AU: Single Dad!Johnny

Summary: Single Dad!Johnny has trouble convincing his daughter to go to school.

Authors Note: I hadn’t realized how much time had gone by since I wrote something! This is my first story without a pairing. I tried to throw in a little something when I mention Johnny’s previous girlfriend, but it felt a little too forced. So, I kept it to a good ol’ Father-Daughter bonding moment. I hope you guys enjoy it all the same. Requests are still open!

She was trying her little tricks again.

Johnny remembered the feeling of not wanting to go to school all too well, begging his parents to let him stay home and play with his toys or watch TV all day. Not that he didn’t enjoy seeing his friends, which he loved more than anything, it was just that in between playing with his friends were boring classes. At least, boring at the time. By the time he arrived in college, stuck in the library with hundreds of other students battling for any desk space to study for finals, he found himself wishing to go back in time to kindergarten where the hardest thing he had to do was figure out 2 + 2. Although, if he had gone back in time, he never would have met the love of his life, and she would have never given birth to his beautiful daughter. Johnny could feel the smile tugging at his lip thinking about her.

“Do I really have to go today, Dad? I think I’m feeling a bit sick.”

“Oh really~” he asked curiously, crouching down so they were eye level. Both of them were already dressed and ready to head out the door. Johnny was wearing his usual work attire, ready to sit at his 9 - 5 desk job that paid well enough for them to live comfortably in their spacious apartment. Not the exact dream job he pictured in college, but he still managed to keep photography as a hobby. It was why most of the walls were covered in pictures of his daughter. That, and many of his friends (though he had to admit they were holding or interacting with his daughter, so she was in those as well). His daughter watched as Johnny placed a gentle hand on her forehead.  He had to admit, she looked extra cute today with the braids  Uncle Doyoung managed to get into her hair last night that somehow managed to stay together. “You don’t have a temperature.”

“Not that kind of sick,” she insisted quickly. “It’s more of a...a...stomach ache.”

The tale as old as time. A sickness that cannot be seen, but felt only by the victim. A clever, five year old victim who did not want to do her math test today.

“Oh no! Well, we can’t have that can we,” Johnny said. He made a dramatic thinking face before snapping his fingers in realization. “You know, I bet it's the cereal you eat. I don’t think I’ll buy that brand anymore. Maybe we should switch to something healthier, like oatmeal...”

“No!” she yelled quickly, before adding, “Did I say stomach? I meant throat! My throat hurts.” For a classy touch, she gave him a fake cough, making sure to make it believable by covering her mouth in the crook of her elbow. “Really sore throat.”

“Well, how about I get some medicine,” Johnny suggested as he made a move to stand. The girl was quick to stop him again, wrapping her hands around the cuffs of his sleeve.

“I don’t think need it! It’s not that sore.” She stared up at him with her big brown eyes. The ones she got from him. “Don’t get the medicine, please.”

“So you’ll be okay to go to school?” The girl looked into his eyes, staring, trying to think of a better plan. It only took a moment. Johnny watched as her eyes flickered with brightness, an idea popping into her head. Quickly, and out of nowhere, she launched herself at him, wrapping her small arms around his legs as much as she could. Although she was still rather small, Johnny tumbled like an old tree as she hit his knees. They fell to the ground, the young girl crawling into his arms so he could cradle her. She bursted into to tears, adding the sophisticated touch of wiping fake snot on his jacket. “Woah! Bud, what’s wrong?”

“I’ll miss you too much if you leave me today. Can’t you take me with you? I promise I’ll be on my best behavior.” Johnny could help but smiled down at the young girl in his arms, adoration filling his eyes as he watched her. Quite the little actor he raised. “You won’t even know I’m there. Promise!” She looked up at him with tear filled eyes, her lip quivering, begging not to go. Johnny sighed. How could he say no to his favorite girl?

“Oh, sweetheart.” Johnny sighed, resting his head atop hers.

There were very few times like these. Times where it was just the two of them. Holding her like this made him realize how big she had gotten, how much time had passed since she was born. Has she always been this big? When did her hair get so long? He couldn’t remember the last time they just held each other. She had to have been still crawling, before feeling like she had to look good for the other kids in her class. Probably when she still slept in his bed with him, not knowing that her filling the space did so much more than keep the monsters away.

After loosing his girlfriend, Johnny couldn’t imagine getting this far. Parenting was something he always wanted to do, but way down the line. When he had a stable job, a house, definitely after he was married. Definitely not in the middle of summer, during his photography internship. But they had done it, the two of them, scrowning up enough money to still pay the rent on the two bedroom apartment they shared with Johnny’s roommate Jaehyun, and pay all the medical bills. She had promised to be with him every step of the way, to help him through all of this together. But the sudden premature birth was just as shocking as the news of her pregnancy, and Johnny was suddenly left all alone with his newborn child. What could he do? He couldn’t drop classes, not when he was so close to graduating. His parents couldn’t come here, he wouldn’t make them uproot their lives like that. He stared at his sleeping child for hours, contemplating what to do. Johnny has very little guilt in his life, but he knew that the serious consideration of putting his child up for adoption would take the cake. He is thankful everyday for not having gone through with that. And with the help of his many friends, including Taeyong who got him an interview at the office he worked at, Johnny was able to graduate and keep his baby.

Johnny made a promise to himself, in that moment, that he would slow down time, put a pause on his crazy life, just to have moments like this again. Tonight they would go out to eat, just the two of them, and spend as much time with his as possible. After all, he wasn’t going to always be around to experience these moments.

“Hey, sweetie, come on. I know you don’t like your school, but I’d be a really big help if you went today.” She remained silent. Her pouty lip was now shaking slightly. A few more seconds, and the tears would begin. Johnny had to act fast. “Okay, fine, how about this. You can stay home today,” he prompted, which immediately caught the young girls attention, her focus now completely on him, “but that means we won’t get to go on our super fun adventure on Saturday.”

“Super fun adventure?” she asked quietly. “What super fun adventure? We’re going on a super fun adventure?”

“Yeah. Your cool Dad thought we could go play mini golf this weekend, but that means I would have to stay home today, and I would have to work Saturday. Which means…”

“We won’t get to go?” she finished hesitantly. She started playing with her fingers, a telltale sign she was thinking through his offer.

“That’s right. But if you really want to stay home, you can.” The little girl sniffed two, three more times before picking herself up. Johnny watched from the ground as she mocked dusting herself off. She then turned back to face Johnny, crossing her arms. They were eye level again.

“I’ll go. But only if we get tokens to play at the arcade.” She stuck out her hand, a trick she learned from a TV show on how to seal a deal. Johnny paused for a moment, putting on an exaggerated thinking face before sighing dramatically.

“You drive a hard bargain,” he started, before slipping his much larger hand over hers. “But deal.” They shook once, having a playful stare down before rushing to the door. They laughed as they struggled to get their shoes on, almost forgetting the car keys on the hook, before jumping into Johnny’s car. They were, after all, running terribly late.

Masterlist!

[afterjosephine-blog1]

victoria pedretti, she/her, cis female ✧*:･ﾟdid you see josephine “jo” walker the twenty-seven (104) year old ghost walking around halloweentown? they’re known as the romantic, makes sense since they tend be quite sentimental & mystical. they work as a florist & (failed) poet and spend a lot of time at halloweentown cemetery listening to what are you doing new year’s eve? by ella fitzgerald. they’ve always reminded me of new flowers on a decaying gravestone, a fallen chandelier in the middle of a mansion. wonder how they’re taking all the disruption in the town. ( may, 19, she/her, est )

triggers: death (she is a ghost), (mass?) murder, suicide

disclaimer: i’m bad at math and figuring out years and ages required a lot more math than i was ready for, so i’m hoping i get my timeline right ! pray for me !

born in 1915 (march 5, 1915 to be more exact - gotta get that chart), josephine’s family (the ‘nickname’ didn’t come in until later) came from generations of money earned and establishment garnered. also i have no clue what i just wrote i’m writing this first bullet last asdfhjl

when she was six, she had her first encounter with the dead or dying. she’d come across a baby bird who’d been pushed out of his nest too early and, unable to find the nest itself, decided she would pick it up and cradle it in her hands until it evidently passed on. it looked at peace. 

this is unnecessary information, but it’s good to note.

anyway, if you have the money, why not spend it? when josephine was seven, the walkers moved into a victorian mansion. the patriarch was fully under the belief that he would be the next nathaniel hawthorne –– he wasn’t worried about the family going broke while he forced them to let him focus on his writing, what considering all of the money they had at the time had been simple inheritance from generations of walkers.

(kind of important to note that the victorian era was actually... pretty recent? it ended in 1901 and this is all going down in 1922 so!)

within the mansion, they also has some much needed help –– it came with two butlers, two nannies, two maids, and two groundskeepers. they seldom had any use for the nannies.

there was definitely something off, though, and that ‘off’-ness just kept increasing over time. her mother claimed to hear things. she and her siblings claimed to see things. her father began retreating into himself... 

which is why they couldn’t move! he still had work to be done! a great novel doesn’t write itself in one year, silly! they couldn’t leave! he still needed advice!

i don’t want this intro to get super long so we’ll skip ahead about a year. suffice it to say that everyone was still on their bullshit. 

in 1925, when josephine and her twin brother were 10, her older sister was 12, and her older brother was 14, her dad full-on “heeeere’s JOHNNY”d them, then killed himself.

josephine and her twin brother (who’ll just be referred to as ‘her brother’ from this point forward) were the lone survivors of the walker family. as 10y/os, they both still fit in plenty of places that their father could never.

that being said, one of the maids had also made it unscathed. an agreement was made: they helped clean up the mess – she just couldn’t handle messes! – she would act as their guardian. josephine knew they were probably doing something wrong by cleaning it all up – cleaning up a whole-ass crime scene that included their family members – before any authorities arrived, but was she in too much shock to argue? maybe so.

after that, there were zero buyers. it was already expensive, but now there’d been a mass murder? who. 

considering the maid never left the grounds, this did put her out of work. they still had the walker inheritance to fall back on, something that had been unlocked to josephine and her brother five years later, but that was it.

we’re gonna skip ahead a little bit because this is getting long. all that’s happened of note between now and the next bullet: the maid literally never left the grounds. jo began getting called jo. she tried to go to college using some of the inheritance then dropped out. she trained to become a florist.

throughout the next many years of her life, jo began trying her hand at poetry. she ultimately failed at it, but... some people just really don’t know how to market themselves. even past attempting to truly become one, she continued writing in the hope that she might finally –– after over ten years –– make peace with the massacre.

by the time she was 25, she’d gotten married. by the time she was 25, she’d pushed everything to the back-burner. by the time she was 25, she hadn’t seen or thought of the maid in years. by the time she was 25, she was discussing starting a life with her new husband.

by the tail end of her life at 25, her brother had died.

because this is a wanted connection on the main, i’m going to leave the cause unclear.

just when she thought she’d gotten over everything, as emeril would say, ‘bam!’

her husband and friends tried to be of help, but it got to the ‘beyond’ point when she started seeing her brother

another note: on the wanted connection blurb, i made it utp whether he was ~haunting~ her or if she was just hallucinating, so we also gonna make that unclear!

two years, a divorce, and multiple burned bridges later –– jo thought she finally knew what had to be done to get it to stop. she had ‘rationalized’ it as best as she could. in a lot of lore, ghosts couldn’t move on to the next plane of existence until they’d made peace with something or other. maybe there was something integral about her?

so she greeted the maid who hadn’t aged a day in the past 27 years, then proceeded to hang herself.

 this would be kind of bittersweet tragic if it’d actually worked.

 instead, this bitch was suddenly just looking at her own body like “FUCK. I REALLY DID THAT FOR NOTHING.” and gained this sick scar that wrung around her neck like the noose had.

the maid was like “i mean ur never gonna have to worry about aging now tho so??”

as it turned out, they were just in the middle of plenty of families who’d gone mad and died in that house... as she had only figured out after she killed herself.

boy, was she mad!

all of this partial humor out of the way, for the next decades upon decades, she was at a loss. the maid said that, yes, she was physically capable of leaving, but why would she when it felt so magnetic anyway?

with this in mind... jo left. it took an extremely long time to understand how to turn visible, and then even longer to understand how to turn invisible again. apparently she didn’t need doors – like, that was new.

anyway. once she had gained an understanding of what she could and could not do (rest in peace, salt), she began just... doing everything she’d been doing while she was alive... over and over again...

every morning, she made bouquets that she wasn’t paid for. every afternoon, she visited the cemetery to lay them on the most derelict graves. every night, she went back to the mansion.

did she need to find a purpose in her ‘life’ in order to move on? was there something she needed to make peace with? or was she doomed to ‘live’ forever, doing the same things, feeling trapped by the same place?

and that, my friends, is where we leave off.

personality, we’re just going to use various tests/ideas: i knew she was a pisces, kae said she sounded like a scorpio moon – so pisces sun, scorpio moon, capricorn rising (i have a birth chart now) ; total and complete enneagram type 4 ; i honestly don’t use mbti that much anymore but probs infp ; i’m undecided between hufflepuff and gryffindor... then again, i never read the books i just know she isn’t a slytherin and ppl always forget about ravenclaw ; i think melancholic? possibly phlegmatic? j definitely not choleric or sanguine

my mind! it’s so powerful!

connection ideas:

twin brother wc is on the main !

her ex-husband... but make him some immortal or undead being that, therefore, would still be alive.

other writers she’s met through the years, be they in ‘recent’ years ( any time after 1942 adhsjfl ) or in what she’d consider to be ‘her’ years.

idk just. friends. some pretty loose stuff!

any type of connection can be w/ any gender btw!

i’m. not great at wcs, but i’ll keep them coming!

i’m also so open to brainstorming or checking yours out!

like this or hmu to plot !

*my discord is also @ john donne’s whore#5590 if you prefer discord! psa that it literally won’t let me use the mobile version tho which makes plotting there! harder!

[sorayahigashikata]

Chapter 59: "None of you are free from sin."

[starwriter22]

Fearful of Love // pt. 1

Word Count: 2.4k 

Genre: Romance/Angst

Author’s Note: There are 10 parts to this! I’ll be posting a part every day. I have done light editing to this and it’s quite old but I hope you enjoy nontheless! (ps. lawd he fine okie bye) 

Prologue

The heart is a terrible thing…

The muscle that keeps you alive and yet makes your life a living hell, a muscle that causes you to think and make decisions irrationally, all due to idiotic emotions that bring nothing but headache.

It was a hard task, trying to ignore everything. It was difficult to ignore the obvious fact that I had fallen head over heels for you, to ignore the joy that rose in my entire being as I saw you every day, the pain in my chest, but soon it became impossible. The realization that my heart had taken over came far too quickly and it scared me to death. I wasn’t ready.

You broke through the brick walls around my heart in a mere few months. It terrified me that I enjoyed your company so much, that I enjoyed YOU so much. Even when I tried to push you away you never backed down. You were persistent, stubborn and I’ve never met someone so insistent on becoming closer to me and learning more about me.

But you didn’t realize just how terrified I was, how my heart has never bought me any good for long. You couldn’t understand and I hurt the both of us due to my fear. I hurt us both because of my stupid heart and my stupid, stupid decision to let you break down my walls and get to know the real me.

Why did I bring this pain onto myself?

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

“We are all damaged in our own way. Nobody’s perfect. I think we are all somewhat screwy, every single one of us.” – Johnny Depp

November 4th

Some moments I wondered why I decided to go to college. Like in this moment, where I was leaning on the counter of the coffee shop I worked at, head throbbing and frustration at its highest point as I tried desperately to understand the math homework I had in front of me, the homework that my teacher decided not to explain to the whole class in full detail.

To be fair I didn’t have to go to college, the decision was completely voluntary.

‘Oh I’ll go to college and get my degree!’

It’s like I forgot the years of school hell I went through in my adolescence right after I graduated. All the useless homework and how goddamn stressful it was. College wasn’t any better, if anything it was even more stressful and irritating. Because how was math connected to a liberal arts degree at all?

Geeze, can’t I just drop out?

“Hey! What have I told you about trying to do homework while working?”

I cringed, the sound of my boss’s voice breaking the silence in the store. My head only got worse at the loud noise.

“I’m sorry, it’s just that nobody’s really come in and I really need to finish this assignment.”

A sigh left his lips as he walked over to the counter, his eyes scanning my work before moving up to me. “You look like you’re dying. If you work too hard your brain is going to pop.”

“I know, I know, you tell me that every time I come into work. Remember?” I closed my books, placing them back into my backpack behind the counter. “Besides I think my brain popped a long time ago. That’s why I can’t get these stupid problems right.”

Sympathy washed over his expression, and he rested his hand atop my head, ruffling my hair. “Go home, eat, take a break. You’ll get your assignments done. It’s time for you to get off anyways.”

I frowned, pulling out my phone to look at the time. 6 o’clock, did four hours really go by that quickly?

“Oh! I didn’t even realize!” I grabbed my backpack and tugged it onto my shoulders before untying my apron, handing it to my boss, “I’ll see you!”

He smiled, taking my apron and waving his hand to dismiss me, “Yeah yeah I’ll see you kid!”

-

“I wish your boss was as nice as mine.”

A smile stretched across my lips as I looked at the pouting boy in front of me, his hands moving furiously as he expressed his frustrations. “The only thing my boss does is yell at me all day. ‘Yah Jungkook go take this out’, ‘Jungkook stock these shelves’, ‘Jungkook you went over your break by five minutes, now go clean the restrooms.’ I’m a head cashier, my job description is to check out items, help customers and make sure my area is clean. I don’t work on the floor and I’m not a janitor, I don’t understand why he’s so insistent on making me do everything. Is it because I’m the youngest employee?”

“You know I would try and help you get a job at the coffee shop I work at, but your complaints are just too funny.” I said, laughing as he threw a napkin towards my face.

“Asshole.” He mumbled, swallowing the chicken he stuffed in his mouth before speaking, “So how is homework going?”

“Terrible, I’m going to drop out I swear.” I huffed in anger, “I don’t understand why my math teacher is making the homework so hard. Not only do I not understand the work, but I have to turn in 60 finished problems by 11:59 tonight. I even asked him after class for extra help, but he just told me to get a tutor or read the textbook.”

Jungkook laughed, “Some teachers are jerks. But you know I could just ask one of my friends if he could help you. He tutors me all the time.”

I shook my head, placing my fork down after I finished my food, “It’s alright, I think I’ll text Seokjin and see if he’s free. He’s always willing to help me.”

“Does this mean we can’t play Mario Kart together at your dorm tonight?”

“Jungkook, I’m pretty positive you have homework to do as well.”

“I do…but help me procrastinate I don’t want to do it.”

I rolled my eyes, pulling out my wallet as soon as the waitress came over with the check. I put my portion of the bill down before standing to my feet, deciding to text Seokjin while I waited for him to gather his things.

Hey Jin! Are you doing anything? I need help with my math homework. I don’t understand it at all :(-Sent 6:55pm

*new message*

Jin: I’m not doing anything at all! Meet in the library at 7:30 as usual? – Received 6:57pm

Yep see you t-

Suddenly my phone slipped from my fingers and onto the floor and I groaned as I felt a body collide with mine.

“Shit I’m sorry, are you okay?”

I bent down to pick up my phone, inspecting my screen for cracks before standing up straight. The voice that asked the question was deep, definitely unfamiliar. I raised my gaze to the guy who bumped into me, watching his eyes as they filled with more worry the longer I waited to respond.

“I’m fine, thank you. Are you okay?” I asked, a small smile finding my lips as he let out a breath of relief. A bright smile replaced the worried frown on his lips and for some reason the air suddenly seemed lighter in the restaurant.

“I’m okay.” He assured, before someone yelled out ‘Taehyung!’, his name I assumed being that he quickly said goodbye and walked to the person behind the shout.

A shove to my shoulders brought me from the daze I hadn’t even realized I was in, my gaze leaving the back of the guy who’d bumped into me and to Jungkook who stared at me in question. I shook my head, waving my hand to dismiss any worry before walking out the restaurant.

(*~~*)

“Hey Taehyunggie, since you’re an honor student do you think you could help me with my essay for history?”

“Don’t help him! He’s lazy, help me with my science homework. If I don’t finish this I’ll fail. We can even play video games afterwards and hang out, it’ll be fun!”

Jimin glared daggers at the group of Taehyung’s new found ‘friends’. In moments like these he really wished Taehyung weren’t so much of a people pleaser like himself.

The expression on Taehyung’s face displayed just how saddened he was by the questions he was being bombarded with. He knew very well that these students didn’t befriend him because they liked him, but because he was an honor student and they wanted to use him.

He understood this completely and yet here he was, quickly putting on a smile and nodding. Letting out a ‘Sure I’ll help you guys’ and avoiding Jimin’s burning gaze. He already knew what his best friend’s expression was, a look of annoyance and disappointment because he had agreed to do homework other than his own for the millionth time.

The table began to get louder as they all thanked him and after they ate and split the bill everyone gave Taehyung the assignments to work on. As they dispersed Jimin was the only one left and he watched as Taehyung put the newly retrieved assignments in his backpack before standing and walking out of the restaurant.

“You’re not going to do their homework.” Jimin said, walking alongside his friend.

Taehyung sighed, “I already agreed to it, Jimin. Besides the work I have today isn’t that bad. I’ll be finished with all of this by tonight and tomorrow if I work hard.”

Jimin stopped walking, grabbing Taehyung’s arm and looking at him straight in the eyes, noticing the sadness that was swimming in his brown orbs, “Taehyung those are not your friends, they’re using you just like everybody in high school did. I wish you would see that-”

“I do see that, but if they really need help then I won’t just leave them-”

“Taehyung they don’t need your help! They’re lazy assholes who think that they can just boss you around and get you to do whatever they want because you can’t say no! Why do you allow them to keep doing this to you?!”

Taehyung stayed silent. He understood Jimin’s frustration, hell he understood because he himself was frustrated. He had no idea why he couldn’t just say no, he knew very well that they were only using him and it would end like it always did. They would get their assignments done and then act like he didn’t exist until they needed his help again. He wasn’t even getting paid to do their homework; he was doing it for free.

It wasn’t like he was desperate for friends; he was completely okay with hanging out with just Jimin. He didn’t gain anything from doing this, he didn’t even like doing the extra homework. He did enough work in the classes he had to take for his major; music. There was really no excuse for it besides the fact that he was a complete pushover who was so use to people using him for his brain that it became routine to just say yes and do it.

“Old habits are hard to break.” Taehyung said finally, breaking away from his friend and walking into the dorm building. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He could hear the exhausted sigh that Jimin let out as he made his way to his room.

-

‘Clans can show how we still pick sexual partners or mates even today as seen in page 10, in the example it sssssssss’

Taehyung groaned, his forehead colliding with the keyboard of his laptop. He had finished his assignments and nearly all of the assignments that he was given. He just needed to finish this last one, a paper for history, and he didn’t feel like writing long drawn out intelligent ideas. In fact he would love nothing more than sleep being that it was a little past eleven and he had to wake up in a couple hours.

He hadn’t even realized he fell asleep with his head on his laptop until his phone rang, waking him up immediately. He didn’t bother looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“Taehyung it’s Namjoon, what are you doing?”

Taehyung smiled, “Ah hey Joon, nothing much just trying to finish this assignment. Why do you ask?”

“I’m in Yoongi’s studio not too far from campus, we wanted to see if you would come and help out with a song we’re working on.”

His smile quickly faltered as he looked at the screen of his computer and the now thousands of S’s his face typed. He could finish it tomorrow right? He was itching to hear the song Namjoon was referring to.

“Yeah sure, I’ll be there in a few.” He replied, hanging up the phone and grabbing his sweater before locking his dorm room and making his way to the studio. It wasn’t too far, it was a small studio apartment Yoongi had rented that was not even a fifteen minute walk away from campus. He let Taehyung use it a few times to finish his assignments, while other times he usually just invited him (and sometimes Jimin) to listen to new songs he needed opinions for. He enjoyed visiting, it was a lot of fun.

He knocked on the door, listening to the barely audible music playing in the studio. It wasn’t until Namjoon opened the door did he hear the music loud and clear.

The soundproof panels Yoongi put up really worked well huh…

“I thought you had an assignment to finish?” Namjoon asked as he closed the door behind Taehyung, sitting back down next to Yoongi, who was writing, and watching as Taehyung pulled up a chair. Sighing as he flopped down in the seat.

“It isn’t my assignment.” He said, watching as a small ‘tsk’ left Yoongi’s lips.

Yoongi lifted his head from his notebook, turning in his chair to look at Taehyung. He noticed the bags under his eyes and the red tint in his eyes alerting the two upperclassmen that he was obviously tired, exhausted even. “Do you need me to tell these stupid fuckers to quit asking you to do their homework, because I will. You’re exhausted and have enough on your plate.”

Taehyung shook his head, “I’m fine, really.”

Both Namjoon and Yoongi gave him a look, showing him that they were anything but convinced.

“There’s going to come a point where you’re sick and tired of doing other people’s work for them and you’ll finally say no. I’m hoping that day comes soon, for the sake of your health and sanity.” Yoongi said, before turning back to his notebook.

Namjoon gave Taehyung a small sympathetic smile, patting his shoulder. “So about the song…”

[genderfluidsodapopcurtis]

coming out cake

@icefire998: 

it’s a wednesday when you call everyone into the curtis’ living room and tell them that you need to talk to them. well, technically, it’s your living room too, but you’re still getting used to calling it your house. after a long and freakin’ difficult process, you had finally gotten emancipated and moved out of your old man’s house for good. soda had immediately offered you a spot at the curtis residence, and darry hastily seconded that. pony was a little wary of the idea of you living under the same roof as him, but agreed as well. and even though darry tried to stop you, you paid him to live there. you went to school and work and didn’t have to worry about, well, anything. or, almost anything. the gang never knew the reason why your dad hated you so much. you never told them, and they never asked (save for late night conversations with soda, but you wouldn’t even tell him). it was almost too hard for you when your dad hated you, and you couldn’t even fathom how it would feel if the gang hated you, which was completely possible. if you had told anyone that you were afraid the gang might hate you, they would think you were crazy. they were your best friends, right? what could possibly make them hate you? that thing was the little bitty fact that you identified as a girl. no matter how much you liked cars and rodeos and blue jeans, you had never felt like a boy. which was weird, because that’s how you were born; a boy. it had taken you years to figure out that the feelings you were feeling meant you were really a girl, and it had taken an even longer time and research to find out that there was a word for it, and a community. you were transgender, and you were proud to be a part of that community. well, you were, until your dad came home one day to find you trying on a dress. it was one of your mom’s, one that she never wore and wouldn’t miss. he had come home and found you wearing it, and he had gone berserk. yelling at you, throwing things - it was the first time that he had hit you. you were thirteen at the time, and you didn’t really realize that it was a ‘bad’ thing in terms of society. everyone in all the forums you had searched, all the tumblrs you had scrolled through trying to find answers, all the youtube videos you had watched about transitioning and hormones, they had all been so accepting, so nice, that you didn’t really expect anyone to be any different. you knew that transphobia existed, of course, all those online forums and blogs had taught you that much, but he was your dad. wasn’t he supposed to accept you? and thus began the cycle of events that had you staying on the curtis’ couch every friday night and some other nights. your dad never forgot that night, and he never brought it up again, but you knew that it was the reason why he hated you. why else would he? you assumed that he never spoke of it again because he didn’t want to be reminded that he had a child who was different, a child that was trans. you tried not to care, but you couldn’t deny that it hurt. he was the man that had raised you, that had taught you how to change the oil in a car, the man that was supposed to love you. it had made you scared to come out to anyone else. but these people, the gang, were your family of choice. they loved you, and you loved them, and they knew you better than your dad ever did. even still, it had taken you a while to gather up the courage to sit them down and tell them. but, here you were, two weeks after moving into their house. you were sitting on the floor of the living room and they were all on the couch. it was now or never. ‘can we hurry this up? i got places to be.’ dally was leaning against the arm of the couch, cigarette balanced between his fingers as he blew out smoke. johnny laid his hand on his arm, silently telling him to be nice. you tried to catch his glance, to tell him thanks without even talking, but you couldn’t seem to find his line of sight. you guessed that nonverbal communication is more of a pony thing. you sighed. these guys were your family. you didn’t know how this would work out, but you knew that soda couldn’t ever hate you, no matter what everyone else thought. you were sure he suspected (you had let little things slip over time, just to test the waters, but hadn’t come right out and said it), but he had never said anything about it. you just hoped you could get through this without crying. here goes nothing. ‘so, i have something to tell you guys.’ you looked around, focusing on breathing. ‘and i really hope you don’t hate me for it.’ you swallowed, locking eyes with soda, who smiled at you softly. ‘we could never hate you,’ he almost whispered, eyes bright. the fact that you could lose all of this snuck up on you too hard and too fast, and tears welled up in your eyes. you wiped them away with the back of your hand, sniffing. it was hard enough that you were telling them this, and crying in front of them didn’t make it better. you hated crying in front of people. it showed that you were weak. you squeeze your eyes shut and when you open them, darry’s staring at you, concerned. ‘what’s up, kid?’ and you can’t keep this from them anymore. they deserve to know. and so you tell them. you spill your heart to them, you tell them how you’ve kept it a secret for so long. you tell them how your dad reacted, how that’s the reason why he hated you so much. the tears spill over your eyes faster than you can wipe them away, and in a second, soda’s there, clinging to you like a lifeline. he buries his face in your shoulder and you lean your head against his. darry’s not too far behind him, and he puts his hand on the shoulder that soda isn’t holding hostage. he looks you in the eyes, and you can barely make out what he says next. ‘i’m sorry, kid.’ and then he smiles at you and ruffles your hair up like he does pony’s. it’s such a domestic gesture that it’s almost too much for you. you open your mouth to ask him what he’s sorry for, but he beats you to it. ‘i’m sorry you thought that we would hate you. kid, if you ever have anything you need to tell us, please don’t be scared to. we would never hate you, for anything.’ and then he joins in on soda’s hug, and you’re suddenly crying relieved tears. you look at the other four, sitting around the living room. two-bit smiles at you, a kilowatt smile, before asking, ‘will you still fix my car?’ you smile, stuttering out, ‘y-yeah.’ he cocks his head and takes another sip of his beer. ‘will you still go to rodeos with me?’ you nod, your smile growing even bigger. he leans back in his seat. ‘alright. i’m proud of you, kid.’ more tears come to your eyes as your eyes sweep toward dally and johnny. johnny gave you a full smile, which was rare for him, and dally stands up, saying, ‘you’re tuff stuff, man,’ before walking out the door, muttering something about places he needed to be and things he needed to get. you knew that what he had said was as close as you could get to happiness from dallas winston, so you’d take it. your eyes glance at pony, who’s sitting on the couch, eyebrows furrowed like you’re a math problem he’s trying to solve. and then you’re suddenly very nervous about his reaction. it’s no secret you and pony had never seen eye-to-eye. you were soda’s best friend, the one that had seemingly stolen his older brother from him, and you had never really seen him as anything other than an annoying tag-along kid until recently. before, you would have never admitted that the kid had become something like a brother to you, but now, you wanted his approval, just like darry and soda’s. the two older curtis brothers had stopped hugging you by this point (although soda was still holding your hand), and it seemed like the whole room was waiting for pony’s response. he swallowed and cocked his head to the side. ‘but if you’re a girl, what will we call you?’ you let out a breath that didn’t even know you were holding, and everyone else looked at you while waiting for you to say something. and all you can do is start laughing. soda looks over at you with a concerned glance before chuckling weakly, the others follow suit. pony looks confused. ‘what’s so funny?’ you smile at him, and you think that it’s the first time that you’ve smiled a real smile at him. you walk over to the couch to sling an arm over his shoulders. ‘you ain’t half bad, kid.’ he still looks confused, but he smiles at you anyway. you don’t mention the unspoken whisper of ‘siblings’ that filters between you two. two-bit echoes his question once everything’s calmed down a bit. 'yeah, what are we going to call you?’ you hadn’t really given it much thought, because you never thought that you’d be able to come out safely. you wanted to keep it close to your birth name, but you couldn’t think of anything off the top of your head. you thought of one of your favorite tv show characters. she was like you: tough, strong, but also feminine. you made your decision, at least for now. you could always give them a ‘real’ name to call you later, once you thought of something original. but this was great, for now. ‘call me stella, for now. when i think of something, stella can just be a nickname.’ you smiled. the name felt good on your lips, even though it was very close to your birth name. they all smiled at you, johnny meeting your eyes and nodding. ‘i like it,’ he said softly. pony looked up at you. ‘i do too.’ darry stood up from his spot on the floor. ‘alright, stella, do you want cake? there’s some in the fridge.’ you swallow, feeling tears of gratitude come up in your eyes again. ‘thanks, guys.’ you laugh and swipe at your eyes. ‘i just… you guys are the best. thanks.’ they all look at you and smile. ‘no problem,’ two-bit says, standing up out of his chair. ‘only the best for our girl!’ and you feel your heart grow so big that it might burst, so big that you have to shut your eyes really tight so it doesn’t burst out of your chest. soda’s at your side in a heartbeat. ‘hey, what’s wrong? are you crying again?’ and you laugh because they’re still here, you told them everything and they loved you so much that they decided to keep you around. when dally comes back, everyone’s in the kitchen, and you’re eating the aforementioned chocolate cake that darry offered you. you had tried to share it with everyone else, but they refused. two-bit said that it was your ‘coming-out cake’ and that they had no right to take that away. you had snorted, but had grabbed a fork and taken a bite anyway, not even bothering with cutting slices. you did feed a bite to soda, though, after he called you his ‘wingwoman’ and asked if this meant that you liked boys. you blushed and admitted that you had always liked both, and he just simply said, ‘cool,’ before asking if that meant that you guys could talk about cute girls together. when dally walks in the kitchen, he doesn’t have anything in his hands, but you can tell there’s something stuffed underneath his jacket. you don’t ask, because you know that it’s none of your business, but you can’t deny that you’re a little curious. instead, you crack open a beer and pass it to him. two-bit ‘welcomes’ him to your ‘coming-out party’ and tells him that the cake is off-limits, but you cut him a slice and send it his way anyway. after all, this was the curtis house. what good would beer be without cake? darry calls you into the living room a bit later, sitting you down on the couch before easing into the space next to you. ‘now,’ he started out, putting a hand on your arm. ‘i never thought i’d have a girl in the gang, so i never thought i’d have to give this speech, and i’m a little rusty. but please bear with me.’ he clears his throat. ‘if any, and i mean any, of the boys give you any amount of trouble, do not hesitate to come to me. includes, but is not limited to, shepard’s gang and the brumly boys. alright?’ it’s a little uncomfortable for the both of you, but you nod anyway. after all, it’s nice to have a 'big brother’ to look out for you. ‘also, any boy you might bring home needs to meet me before i’ll let you go out with them. you dig?’ you nod again, and he pulls you in for a hug. how many times have people hugged you today? ‘it’s nice to have a little sister.’ he says, smiling, and you are so thankful for him in this moment that you regret every bad thing you ever said to him or about him. a rustling from behind you catches both yours and darry’s attention, and you turn around to see dally frantically stuffing the thing from underneath his jacket into a bag. he sees you guys staring and glares back at you before telling you that it’s none of your business and moving into the next room to finish whatever he was doing. you don’t think it’s a coincidence that a brand new red dress and lipstick appears on your bed later that night.

(hope it met your expectations lol. i love your blog and everything you do. thanks for showing interest in this!)

[comicteaparty]

December 6th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on December 6th, 2018, from 5PM - 7PM PST.  The chat focused on Pin Porter Girl Detective by Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Pin Porter Girl Detective by Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett~! (http://pinporterdetective.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

Tenor | Shinavar

1) Spense's backstory for how he came along is probably my top fav? It was short, concise, but also revealed the personality of him, King, and Queen all in one go that I feel has definitely helped develop the characters in a way to really flesh them out further and has me curious where it's all going to go now what we know whose 'stakes' lie where. /wording yay.

(Also Shadow!Pin is adorable fight me )

RebelVampire

yeah i liked how spense's backstory was executed. cause at the end it didnt just develop spense, it developed the world, other characters, and so forth. which is not usually something you get with backstory so i liked seeing backstory actually further the story in other ways without it suddenly being a story about spense.

my fave scene is the one where pin is being kidnapped for the king and then she just 180s her opinion cause of the evidence being in her face and then she kicks the fairfolk out. i not only enjoyed seeing a character who wasnt stubborn and basically went "this is my life now," but i enjoyed how many things we learn about her personality from this single instance (like the fact that for someone who didnt believe, she sure knew a lot of those fae rules).

Tenor | Shinavar

I'd like to blame her grandfather for that one a little? But yeah, her survival skills and adaptability and good to see - she'd have been royally screwed if she hadn't been willing to.

(Except, y'know, throwing your only weapon you have )

Han

I just started on this comic and I just wanna say I really love the noir style of writing its going for its really enjoyable

RebelVampire

tbf to pin, shes still a kid. so still gotta make those kid mistakes of throwing the weapon and hoping for the best.

welcome Han~!

i enjoyed the noir style writing as well, though i enjoyed that it took a comedic turn. like the opening scene was not where i expected it to go at all with them commenting on the line quality

Tenor | Shinavar

On Pin being a kid: True! I suppose all her detective work she hasn't had to deal with violence too much.

Hullo Han~ :D

Han

yea!! Im really enjoying it

Tenor | Shinavar

The speech patterns threw me off initially honestly - I thought everyone was much older than they were because it was stuff I've only heard from old detective movies wheeze

Han

the comedic and weird creepy vibes scattered throughout are really nice, definitely stuff thats right up my alley

I assumed a lot of it is Pin is kinda playing it up as kid tend to do, but then everyone started talking the same and I was like oh!!! its a reference, but it seems to be set in a sort of alternate reality to ours

I like how theres no explaining really it just hops in and allows the story to make the world-building as it goes

Tenor | Shinavar

Yes, I did enjoy that too~

Like Spense's introduction just made me go "wat" and need to keep going because "Can't believe in people disappearing but we have a talking bird a'ight what's going on"

RebelVampire

i feel some of it is kind of playing it up. i mean tbf most of the characters are kids or the fae. the only adults have been i think a ghost and pin's mom for 5 seconds? so in a sense it could be like a group thing of playing it up. cause kids do that too. play pretend in large groups.

not to say i think it is pretend. just the noir thing i could see still as the kids just hamming up their weirdo lives

although wait prudence had that whole backstory

although that seemed less noir to me too

more wild west

Tenor | Shinavar

-Nod- That was the impression I had. But yeah could be kids playing it up - considering the fae did it too maybe it's a weird influential thing - - What if it's because they picked it up from the local fae trying to be under cover over the years?

I just have this amazing image in my head of them watching old human films to get an idea how to emulate humans wheeze

RebelVampire

that could be. although i think the kids at least have some sense of difference given that iola corrected that one fae for saying thy(edited)

mathtans

I'm now here, for the moment. ^^ I got as far as about page 150.

Yeah, I really liked the opening as far as setting the mood, the detective and noir style.

I rather liked that flashback scene with Penelope "Pin" (I wonder where the nickname is from) going off on the town history, being very suspicious of the founder. Thought it rang true to her character.

Superjustinbros

Hey there!

Just felt like dropping in and saying ello

gonna be a bit busy tonight but I'll see if I can return later

Tenor | Shinavar

Math: I agree~ also showed she seems to have always had a history or knack for looking at odd things and picking things out that weren't quite right

mathtans

Right. I wonder when she decided to go into the detective business.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 2. Pineburg is not just filled with the supernatural, but numerous human characters up to their own things. Do you believe that Iola is truly on Pin’s side now? Alternatively, do you think Iola might betray Pin in the future (and if so, what for)? Do you believe that Riley will overcome his addiction, or might he find some other way to get Fruit? Besides withdrawal, what long term consequences do you think Riley might suffer from his past usage of Fruit? Will Iola and Riley be a boon to Pin’s detective work, or are they going to end up becoming burdens? Also, do you think it’s significant Pin doesn’t know what her mother does for a living? What role might her mother play in regards to events going on in the town?

Jonny Aleksey

I read from 100 to the current page so I probably missed a lot. I did get confused. Best part I saw would be that whole backstory to Penn's ancestor. Most interesting character stuff.

mathtans

Yeah, that fruit thing really threw me when it first came up. Oh, which reminds me, another scene I liked visually was when Pin got sucked into the other place and there were just all these street signs floating in the air. Great callback, how things made sense later (like the fruit).

RebelVampire

yeah i totally forgot about the street signs thing until they were in that place and i was like "gasp it all makes sense now"

but yeah i agree the fruit thing made me what

Han

oooooohhh the twist with the founder of the town is really cool

RebelVampire

pin has a super interesting family line going on

so many threads

Tenor | Shinavar

2. I believe Iola is on Pin's side as long as her revenge is being sated by the Queen, and the Queen seems interested in Pin if just a little bit. I'm waiting for Riley to drip back into addiction, sadly. I don't believe this will be something he can 100% beat without something to literaly cure it <_<; Magic n' all that. On Pin's mom: With what's all been hinted with the family I wouldn't be surprised if she tries to keep away from Pin fo rher safety due to what all they're wrapped up in. Sure her father might have been the link but who's to say she wasn't aware/told some shit?

mathtans

Seems like the only way to cure a fruit addiction is to have another fae do it, like what happened with Spence.

Tenor | Shinavar

Maybe! I wouldn't be surprised, at least

mathtans

Pin's mom doesn't play a role... but her Shadow does! Gasp!

Tenor | Shinavar

Her shadow wants to be Johnny Badass, I love it

RebelVampire

spense might of been a special case though being a bird and all. and tbf it seemed everything with spense happened in one day? and while magic is involved, you dont usually get addicted in one day. at least in a way that comes with withdrawal

i...actually also think riley is gonna fall back in with fruit if he can get some

cause his withdrawal seems pretty long term atm

without signs of getting better

and that sounds like hell on earth

i feel like her mom has to know something given the fam she married into. but then again pin's mom was kind of oblivious to pin dying

Tenor | Shinavar

IDK man - magical addiction might just wreck the body - though usually depending on lore Fae magic is pervasive but slow, often with intent to make permanent damage. But, that is kinda hinted too with how Riley describes how the fruit tastes and what it's like, and how eventually that goes away and what you're left with. I'd say that at least has shown a long term addiction.

TO BE FAIR - did anyone notice all the street signs were gone too? <_< How much do we know can be seen by others? Her sickness might be seen as lesser and just like, exhaustion. Though at least a doctor's visit c'mon. If my kid can't walk for a few days she's goin LOL

(I'd also want to know wtf my kid is doing to being so exhausted but it seems like Mom is pretty... not on the ball about her kid)

mathtans

The Spense thing on one day? I thought it took a bit of time to get hooked, then he was with the Queen for a little bit too. Though he was unhooked in a day, I grant. Riley needs to find a fruit substitute.

Well, the whole town was exhausted for a while, what with passing out while walking their dogs and things.

Incidentally, I didn't immediately clue in that the King was the graffiti artist, and that's how he was doing his thing. Only dawned on me when the shadow thing came back up.

Not sure if that's a me thing.

RebelVampire

but i guess it depends all about what mom is going. like what if shes fighting the forces of evil and if she stops everyone in the town dies? i could understand just kind of hoping pin is fine for the sake of the multitude of other ppl to save.

i realized it was him when he was revealed as the king

just cause the graffiti artist stuck in my mind

cause he was creepy

complimenting shadows and all that

who does that king

nobody

thats how you give yourself away as a fae

mathtans

He kind of stuck for me what with Pin pointing him out near the start, but I'd kind of forgotten later on, reading in batches. ^^;

Tenor | Shinavar

Shhh he was hiding, so good at hiding

mathtans

That and speaking weird.

He was fae-king it all along.

RebelVampire

brave math, bravo

but tenor brought up a good point. who all saw the missing signs. cause we are walking the borderline between whether this is real or whether this is pretend.

like i think some adult would go "wtf is going on? im gonna catch the punk kids who did this"

cause its an adult's perogative to assume it was punk kids

mathtans

Probably more like, "About time the mayor took those in for cleaning".

Though it could be one of those things you simply can't believe. Like, all of them gone? Must be a problem with me or my eyes. I won't let on, I'm acting normal, yup.

Han

tbh I feel like if it was spread out over time eventually people wouldn't notice they're gone anymore

Tenor | Shinavar

Some fae lore falls into a veil-like magic - which I htink may be applied here. It's hinted Prudence had the ability to "notice things" and this system has been used a lot - basically, you see what should be there because you know it should be there, you can't see the magical reality because your brain either wouldn't handle it, or you haven't been brought into the magical influence yet.

Han

an adult whos busy with jobs etc would become unobservant, and also Im assuming a lot of them could be fruit addicted

yea thats also very true tenor

RebelVampire

yeah i do feel like we are going by veil logic if everything is reality.

mathtans

Ohhh, good point, about the noticing. (A handy skill for a detective, incidentally.)

Tenor | Shinavar

So how much do we the audience get to see?

Han

oh man yea...

and the tree and overgrowth signifying the queens rise of power now that the king is gone is a nice touch

aw man Im all caught up now and I want more

I've most definitely have saved this comic to my bookmarks for sure, its too interesting to pass up

Tenor | Shinavar

Yeah I have def enjoyed this and am keeping it on my read list :D

Han

I honestly just feel bad for poor riley at this point, this kid didn't ask for this magic addiction...hopefully he's cured of it eventually

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. Much of the comic’s conflicts are driven by the supernatural Faeries around Pineburg. Do you believe we’ve seen the last of the King, or do you think he’s planning some sort of comeback to once again take the town? What do you make of the King’s ominous warning before he left? Do you believe that the Queen is relatively benign, or is she up to something considering the sudden overgrowth of nature? Could it have something to do with the boon Iola asked the Queen for in order to get rid of the King? If the Queen is up to something, what might her goals be? What other rules of the Faeries might trip Pin and other characters up in the future? Have we seen the last of the Fruit with the King’s departure, or will it come back somehow? Lastly, what do you think the Faeries’ interest with Pineburg is specifically?

Han

hmmmmmm well I have a feeling that Pineburg has some sort of easier connection with the faerie world

like, maybe its easier to journey there and live among humans

either that or because its something they've owned for what I assume almost 100 years they're attached to it like a stuffed animal

Tenor | Shinavar

3) THe Queen clearly has a temper, but I'm not sure what she's up to be. I imagine they're eventually going to be in a territory spat - the Queen understands she can't control the area yet due to the deal, but they could influence things, persay, to garuantee this generation is the last generation <_<

Han

yea I agree, I don't trust the Queen one bit

mathtans

Heh, a lot of that is after where I've read to. As to their interest though, didn't the humans kind of come along and settle there? Technically the fae were there first.

Han

The Queen has clear motivations for sticking it to the King most definitely

mathtans

Makes me wonder about their marriage.

Han

im assuming the overgrowth is the queen claiming what is originally hers---maybe shes upset the king gave away the area that the town now overtakes and is trying to claim it back?

like I know the deal with the founder was kinda like an yea sure u can have the town for a while but its an iou situation eventually, he would've had his way if pin didn't outsmart him

RebelVampire

if they are married

im really confused on that

Han

yea I am too?? I feel like they arent actually married and are in actuality two seperate factions of fae

thats how I interpreted it anyway

RebelVampire

yeah thats how it feels

although the queen kind of acts the jealous wife to a degree

so idk

i could make arguments on both side

Han

mmm yea, maybe they had a fling and it dropped out

its a battle of bitter exes and the town is smack dab in the middle of it

RebelVampire

tho i think at this point they are representing two diff factions. so it might be a political marriage

Han

true!

tbh i would be kinda funny if it just wound up to be like a very long winded version of some sort of divorced couple custody battle over the whole town

mathtans

The liberals and conservatives thought a marriage would unite the fae politically.

Han

im also a little suspsicious of lola, seeing as how she seemed to switch sides so quickly

mathtans

Anyone think Pin might become the new ruler?

Tenor | Shinavar

I think they just need marriage counseling

Hm If Pin were offered, I don't think she'd accept it unless she has no option.

Like life or death over people levesl of accepting

RebelVampire

i think that is a good descrip of whats going on between the king and queen tho. this is just some custody battle XD and yeah im with tenor. i dont think pin would want to be the new ruler unless circumstances dictated it was to protect the town

Han

yea I agree

I feel like Pin is a protector of sorts

RebelVampire

i 100% think the queen is evil and is just more cunning to the king. i think her ultimate goal is to completely push the people out of the town and let nature reclaim it. cause that seems to be her thing. and i think theyre going to be forced to go get the king and say "hey king the queen is worse than you bro"

Han

oooo yea

and then its like the villain becomes the gruntled protagonist

which is a trope I adore

mathtans

King would probably want them to do him favours in exchange for help though.

Tenor | Shinavar

Oh god.

Personally I hope they just manage to mend whatever is allowing such a strong fae connection and just boot them all out because no fae can be trusted

mathtans

Gotta outsmart them somehow.

RebelVampire

i feel that that is more the inevitable end

they somehow get all the fae booted

decide to add to the history books that dealing with fae is the worst thing and just dont

mathtans

Gotta defeat them with iron.....y.

RebelVampire

actually ya know

maybe that is what will play a role

is the iron

cause i forgot about that

Tenor | Shinavar

Iron dome around the town

RebelVampire

but this comic is good about bringing up stuff again

in conjunction with the last question, i trust Iola as far as i can throw her. i think she knows exactly what the queen is trying to do and is just riding the train to the end

and even if she doesnt know

Iola is a side switcher

never trust

Tenor | Shinavar

Well at the ssame time, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and apparently she's taken what the King's done as one hell of a personal slight. Which if he was truly pretending to be her BF I can't blame the rage, but that's dangerous lol

RebelVampire

maybe this is the real lesson from the comic

dont scorn women

because then they go to the fae

and nobody wants that

Tenor | Shinavar

I'd believe it <_< Los of pissed off ladies. Even Pin's ancestor was a woman scorned

mathtans

Maybe Pin's mom is a fae. And Pin is part fae.

RebelVampire

the twist of a century

Tenor | Shinavar

Actually that is a question - why was it her father would have been the end of the contract, and not her? She's still alive. THey hint Iola's family is because the family line was assumed to not continue there so...

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Despite overcoming her trials with the King, Pin has many other problems left at her doorstep. Will Pin be able to solve the issues plaguing Prudence and free her ancestor? What do you think Pin will have to do to be able to free Prudence? Do you think she’ll have to consult the King, or might someone else have the answers? Do you think Prudence is being honest about just wanting to rest, or do you think Prudence is going to betray Pin after being set free? If the latter, what do you think Prudence’s ultimate goals are? Additionally, do you think Pin will be able to maintain a good relationship with her shadow, or will her shadow attempt to leave to be her own person? How might the split with her shadow continue to help or hurt her?

i assumed it was a generation number thing?

Tenor | Shinavar

4. Even if she has to consult the King I doubt he'd help her - it's his contract in place. Unless she gives up something good I can't imagine he'd be willing to try.

RebelVampire

cause its not iola herself who stays the fae hands

its iola's father

so once iola's father kicks the bucket

Tenor | Shinavar

Oooh, then that would make more sense.

mathtans

I feel like Prudence is sincere, because after hanging around for that long, you'd figure it's time to move on. Unless she really wants to struggle with what an iPad is.

RebelVampire

i wouldve thought prudence was sincere

but then her backstory

her backstory is not one that makes me go "ah just sincere old lady"

mathtans

Hmm, guess I only got about halfway through that. Still, centuries to reflect.

Tenor | Shinavar

I do believe she may be sincere in he "I'm done, I'm tired, I want to leave" because "immortality" can be baaad. And boring, esp if she's by herself

mathtans

It wasn't what she signed up for either.

RebelVampire

i feel like she wants rest, but that doesnt mean it doesnt come with strings. like for example, i doubt shed care if the only way to free herself was for pin to take her place in that mirror limbo whatever it is

mathtans

Mirror limbo... how low can you go.

Is it mentioned how Penelope got the nickname Pin?

Tenor | Shinavar

Rbeel: Oooh that's a good point God forbid she get tired of waiting and trying to make that deal wheeze

RebelVampire

i dont think its been mentioned yet, how she got her nickname

but it might have been said in passing and i just missed it?

but yeah i dont think prudence cares how she gets out and at whose expense

chateaugrief

hey everyone, i'm super late but I arrived! was eating fruit but am trying to stop...

RebelVampire

LOL

Tenor | Shinavar

I didn't catch it either.

FFF also hELLO

chateaugrief

I really loved this comic, writing was very good

RebelVampire

the fruit thing still makes me laugh to a degree cause at first i was like "pin why are you mad about ppl eating fruit? most kids dont eat enough fruit so this is a good thing"

glad to hear you liked it

mathtans

It's all about the veggies.

RebelVampire

maybe thats how riley will get over his addiction

hell start doing veggies

mathtans

Or birdseed. O.o

chateaugrief

haha stay away from fruit children! oh man the birdseed stuff I was dying

and before I knew it I was eating out of his hand!

also the lock picking ad that pops up in the middle

RebelVampire

im reminded of that page

http://pinporterdetective.com/index.php/comic/page-22/

now what i expected but horribly hilarious

mathtans

That reminds me, I was amused at the end of Spense's story when Pin saves him and he talks to her and she drops what she was holding.

chateaugrief

@mathtans another great moment. This comic was full of wonderful pacing and humorous beats.

the character expressions were tops too

mathtans

Yes, the pacing was really good in places. I also liked insulting the shadow ... cut to everyone in a dungeon.(edited)

chateaugrief

yes!

Hanging in chains, no less!

Tenor | Shinavar

Yes, I loved that. I am curious how much of Shadow's personality matches Pin's more basic in he sense of someone who hasn't been taught to be human. How violent can Pin be, for example? <_<

mathtans

That's a good point. Does a shadow represent our darker half? One that our soul still needs to survive?

RebelVampire

that usually is it although im not sure id describe the shadow as dark

less cunning and without the same regard for polite behavior

but not dark persay

chateaugrief

the id, in other words?

mathtans

Except shadows are kind of dark by nature. Because the light is blocked.

RebelVampire

i was really surprised that the shadow did not recombine with pin tho

and that shes still around

mathtans

I kind of suspected there'd be more to it. Maybe because of the one banner showing the shadow behind her.

Tenor | Shinavar

I think because hey've been seperated, they can basically let go and back again? Which may be contributing to Pin's health

mathtans

Which reminds me, I mentioned this a couple days ago, but interesting that there's, like, three different banners for the comic depending on what page you're on.

chateaugrief

did the shadow not rejoin Pin? I could have sworn it did, and that was why she got better?!

mathtans

One needs to be as observant as the characters.

Not permanently, I think?

Anyway, will be interesting to see what the fae get up to. When road signs aren't enough.

chateaugrief

yeah, page 124 http://pinporterdetective.com/index.php/comic/page-124/ did I misinterpret this as the shadow rejoining pin?

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett, as well, for making Pin Porter Girl Detective. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Robin Gee and Ethan Bartlett’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://pinporterdetective.com/

Robin’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/RlittlemissG

Comic Tea Party- Thursday Book Club

Next week’s Thursday Book Club will be about My Dad is a Magical Girl by Shinavar / Tenor. For participants, you have the next week to read as much of the comic as you would like~! We hope to see you on Thursday, December 13th, from 5PM to 7PM PST for the chat in #thursday_bookclub!

Comic’s Main Site: https://mdiamg.shinavar.com/

Comic’s Tapas Mirror: https://tapas.io/series/My-Dad-Is-A-Magical-Girl

[netmaddy-blog]

Mad Men Commentary - The Other Woman

New Post has been published on https://netmaddy.com/mad-men-commentary-the-other-woman/

Mad Men Commentary - The Other Woman

Joan and Peggy. These two have been the subject of much contrasting over five seasons of Mad Men, and this week’s episode, titled The Other Woman, casts their differences in the sharpest relief yet.

That title – The Other Woman – refers to a mistress, which is how Don and his creative team think of Jaguar. As he explains it to Megan, “The Jaguar is beautiful, but unreliable. It comes with a toolkit the size of a typewriter. You basically have to have another car to go places. What we’re saying is it’s your gorgeous mistress.” Megan is not impressed. “So, a wife is like a Buick in the garage?” “We’re trying to make a weakness into a strength. We’re selling to men,” Don explains. “No, I get it. Doesn’t being a mistress make the car immoral?” Megan asks. “The word ‘mistress’ won’t be in the ad,” Don says. To Don, this is simply a metaphor, but for Megan, it’s a reminder of Don’s past, and it stirs her insecurities Do Some Work.

The episode gives us other mistresses, second-place women who are looking to make it in a man’s world and are thus making the weakness of femininity into a strength. We’re talking about Joan and Peggy and the wildly diverging paths that each takes to a better position and what they’re wiling to trade to get there. And though each is able to leverage herself to a new plateau, in the end, one will feel like a trap, while the other, though terrifyingly unknown, will feel like flying.

And in the middle of all of this is Don Draper, whose great victory will be tinged with bitterness and loss.

The episode opens with Don, Stan, Ginsberg, and some freelancers huddled up in the conference room, struggling to come up with a big idea for the Jaguar campaign. They’ve decorated one wall of the room with various photos and icons, designed to inspire. But it’s not working.

Peggy catches Don in hallway, and asks him to approve some copy for Secor Laxatives, but he’s in a rotten mood and brushes her off, telling her she’s in charge of everything other than Jaguar and to make a decision. It’s a great vote of confidence, but in life it’s not so much the message, but how it’s delivered that counts.

As this exchange is wrapping, Joan shows up with a fancy lunch – lobster – that is wheeled into the conference room courtesy of Roger Sterling. The men applaud as the covers are removed from the trays. Peggy watches this from the other side of the glass wall that separates her from the big time action.

While Don and the creatives tackle the look and feel of the campaign, Pete and Ken work on the politics of the campaign, securing it against some formidable competition. This includes wining and dining guys like Herb Rennet (Gary Basaraba), the president of the Jaguar dealer’s association. Herb plays his cards close to the chest, until the end of the meal, when Pete assures him that SCDP will do whatever it takes to make him happy. Seeing his opportunity, Herb tells them that there is one thing that will certainly help them win his vote – a night with Joan Harris. A night in bed with Joan Harris. In a show filled with slimy guys and shady deals, this is a new depth. Luckily, Ken Cosgrove is at the table, but just as he’s about to inform Herb that Joan is married, Pete cuts him off.

Herb excuses himself for a moment, and while he’s away, Ken asks Pete why he didn’t tell Herb the truth about Joan, rather than lead him on. Pete says that Herb himself is married, knows that Joan is married, and doesn’t care about either. Ken is disgusted at this. “Well, we wanted to be in the car business,” he says, lighting a cigarette.

Don arrives home from work to learn that Megan has a big audition the next day. She’s nervous and needing support, but she shifts the attention to Don, asking him what he planned on doing. “I was just going to watch Carson and cry myself to sleep,” he says, giving her a hangdog look. She tells him not to worry, that he’ll think of something. He says that maybe she’ll think of something, inviting her to help. She goes along, and asks for the strategy. That’s when he tells her about the Jaguar being like a beautiful, high-maintenance mistress.

These two have been tiptoeing through a minefield these last few episodes, each always on the verge of saying or doing the wrong thing to set off an argument. This time it’s Don who gets under Megan’s skin, but rather than fight, she simply retreats to the living room, leaving him with Johnny Carson and his drink.

The next morning, Pete shows up early and corners Joan in her office. “I got bad news last night,” he tells her. “And I hoped you’d help me deliver it.” Like it was her responsibility.

Joan, being the gossip she is, is all ears, and Pete takes his time building up to the ask. “I don’t know what to do,” he says. “It turns out he wanted something we’re not prepared to give. Something very unorthodox.” “What does he want?” Joan asks. “We’re going to lose Jaguar unless an arrangement is made between you and him,” Pete says. Joan is shocked, but Pete piles insult on top of insult. “If you can think of some way to break this to the company, I’d appreciate it.”

This launches Joan on the offensive, and she reminds Pete of her marital status and what an asshole he is. He simply throws up his hands, saying it’s Herb bringing this up and not him – the don’t-shoot-the-messenger defense.

The scene is like a boxing match, and Pete counters Joan’s moral outrage by being the amoral pragmatist. He brings up the idea that we all make mistakes in life – mistakes that don’t get us anything. They’re free. Well, this is a mistake that could help her tremendously. She could get paid from this mistake.

“You’re talking prostitution,” Joan says. “I’m talking about business at a very high level,” Pete counters, sounding like the devil himself.

Pete goes for his knockout punch – the offer of power. “Do you think Cleopatra was a prositute?” he asks. “She was a queen,” he continues. “What would it take to make you a queen?” “I don’t think you could afford it,” Joan says.

Round 1 – Joan Harris.

Next, we find Peggy and Ken in Harry’s office. They’re about to get on a conference call with Chevalier Blanc, who wants to pull their Beatles-inspired campaign. Harry asks if Peggy will pose as Ginsberg’s assistant (Ginsberg can’t be pulled away from Jaguar), but Peggy absolutely refuses, making Harry introduce her as Ginsberg’s supervisor, which he does.

When they get on the call, Harry and Ken start off talking, but soon the hot potato is tossed in Peggy’s lap, and she improvises a compelling new campaign, set in France with a Lady Godiva theme that the buyer from Chevalier Blanc loves.

Score one for Peggy – she maintains her dignity and saves the account in one call.

Pete gathers the partners together to tell them the news about the dinner with Herb Rennet and his demand. At first blush, all the men are shocked by this news and make a show of being outraged, but after Pete does the math for them, their moral outrage elasticizes, allowing for the proper rationalizations to be made that will allow them to sleep at night.

Bert simply gives way. Roger says he’ll go along, but he won’t pay for it. Lane makes a weak stand, telling Pete he has some nerve. “that’s right,” Pete says. “We’ve gone too far to walk away…over what?” It’s a chilling remark, but Lane folds. It comes down to Don, who is no stranger to misogyny. He’s against the proposal, but for mixed reasons. He’s disgusted by the blatant filth and arrogance of the demand, but he also has his pride mixed up in his reasons. He thinks they can win despite Herb, based on the strength of his and his team’s ideas. He wants to win the business fair and square or not at all. But Pete won’t back down. Don states his position, and leaves to return to his work.

With Don gone, Pete does the math for the remaining partners, reminding them that they don’t need Don’s blessing to do this. “So, we’re 75% of this company. There’s no need to create a conspiracy by having a vote, is there?” Like Pontius Pilate, they wash their hands of Pete while giving him their blessing to pursue Joan for the deal. One by one, they slink out of the office.

Back in the writer’s room, Don tells the guys to abandon the mistress concept. “It’s vulgar. We’re going back to racing heritage,” he informs them, feeling not only the weight of what he’s just witnessed, but the sting of Megan’s judgment from before – that this is immoral.

So, just when Don is looking like Mr. Sensitive, in walks Harry, Ken, and Peggy, to tell him of the good news about Chevalier Blanc. It’s interesting that so much of the time, Don’s miscommunications with Peggy and even Pete come when they approach him right after some stress-inducing incident. Such is the case here.

They tell Don that Peggy has saved the day with a brilliant idea. Peggy plays the humble card, but there’s no need. Don doesn’t really hear a word they say, until Peggy gets snippy with him. He bursts her bubble by reminding her that it’s Ginsberg’s account, which causes her to fire back with “I guess I’m not in charge of everything else after all,” which is a call-back to his earlier sarcasm. This causes him to explode on her, in front of Harry and Ken. “You want to go to France?” he asks, yelling and pulling a wad of money from his pocket. “Here! Go to France!” he says, throwing the money in her face. It’s an unconscionable move, and it sends her out of the office, followed closely by Ken and then Harry.

But ain’t that the way life is? One minute, you’re the hero, and then you turn around and you’re the world’s biggest asshole.

And the same goes for Peggy. Ken follows her to her office, where she assures him that she’s not crying. When he tells her he didn’t think that she was, she gets nasty with him, asking “What? Suddenly, we’re all interested in each other’s lives?” Megan was right about them. They’re SO jaded.

Ken ignores the insult and tries to soften the blow by telling her that Jaguar is slipping away, and that Don is feeling the pinch. Peggy says she doesn’t care. Ken, who’s turned into one of the only decent men on the show, tells her he’ll get her to France, and if he doesn’t then they’ll leave together. She fixes him with a condescending look. “You and your stupid pact,” she says. “Save the fiction for your stories.” Ken says nothing. He just turns and leaves her there. Alone.

Lane may have given up in front of the partners, but he decides to pay Joan a visit, to give her an idea. When he brings up the demand, she is offended by the intrusion, misinterpreting his motives. Of course, his motives are as much self-serving as they are altruistic, but he does show her a way to become a queen. He points out that a payoff will not do much for her or her son’s future, but if she were to push for a partnership and 5% of the company, then she’d be looking out for their future for a very long time.

There’s a moment of great irony in the scene. When Joan still thinks that Lane is in it only for the company, she points out that she makes around $13,000 a year. “I guess you wouldn’t even be tempted,” she tells him, not realizing, of course, that he’s been tempted and seduced by $8,000.

That night, as Don and his team pull a late-night writing session, they are visited by Megan and her friend Julia, the redhead whom Megan was helping audition for Dark Shadows a couple of episodes ago.

As Megan takes Don back to his office, for a little pre-audition hanky-panky to boost her confidence, Julia entertains the writers by climbing on the conference room table and crawling across it on all fours, growling and clawing at the men like a jaguar. I couldn’t help but feel that, with her red hair, and the way she was shot from behind, with her butt hanging out of her panties, she was meant to be a stand-in for Joan, that it was a commentary on her role in this ecosystem – the sex kitten.

At home, Pete reads to his daughter before retreating to his hi-fi system, where he listens to classical music under a pair of headphones. Trudy comes to him, once their daughter is in bed, and he starts griping about how he was in a good mood when he left work, but the long trip home exhausts him. He informs her that once the Jaguar account is landed, he’ll have to get an apartment in the city, to which she says absolutely not.

“It’s an epic poem to get home, and you’re dressed for bed at dinner,” he complains. She tells him that his love affair with Manhattan has to end. “How can you stand living out in this cemetery?” he asks her. “There’s not any good night noises anywhere.” She ends the argument by telling him that she wants to raise her children in the fresh air.

It’s funny how at work, he can get people to do the most immoral acts, but at home, he wields none of that influence.

Another fruitless domestic argument takes place at the Draper residence when Megan tells Don that she’s gotten a call back for Little Murders, the play she needed the confidence for. At first, Don is happy, but when he learns that Megan will be traveling to Boston for out of town tryouts for a few months, he tells her to forget it. This lights the fuse to a big fight that ends with her telling Don that she’s doing it anyway and storming off.

The next morning, Joan meets with Pete to discuss the arrangement. She wears a stunning brown dress with a collar done in a print – tiger…or jaguar – that provides a call-back to Megan’s friend Julia.

Joan is all business with Pete. She gives him her terms, exactly as Lane advised, and when he starts to protest, she cuts him off. After a beat, he agrees.

As she gets up to leave, she pauses at the door to ask which one he is. “He’s not bad,” Pete assures her. “He’s doing this,” she says, then leaves.

Later, Ginsberg interrupts Don in his office to bounce an idea off him. “I know I’m not a manager,” Ginsberg says. “But it’s hard to get things done with you in another room.” “Well, I obviously have the opposite feeling,” Don says. “Permission to speak freely,” Ginsberg says. “What?” Don is frustrated by him, but it’s a funny scene that builds to a breakthrough.

Ginsberg can’t quit thinking about the mistress angle, and he drops a line on Don. “Jaguar, at last, something beautiful you can truly own.” Don takes a beat, closes his eyes, and sighs a sigh of relief, signifying that at last, the words have been found on which the campaign will be built. Don’s relief is palpable.

At about the same time, Peggy is having lunch with Freddie Rumsen, always a welcome sight. She vents to one who knows about the peculiarities of working for Don Draper. “I can never tell, Ballerina, if you’re ambitious or if you like to complain,” he tells her. She wonders why she can’t do both.

During the course of their conversation, Freddie gives her a ton of sound advice, reminding her finally that if Don were sitting where he sits, and he wasn’t the subject of the conversation, he’d tell her the same thing – make your move.

This is hard for Peggy to digest, and as she backs away from the idea, he gets her. “You let him know you’re not some secretary from Brooklyn who’s dying to help out.” It’s that line that seals the deal because it’s so true, at least from Peggy’s perspective. He tags the scene by reminding Peggy that she can’t get mad if he goes after he job, once it’s vacant.

That night, the night before the pitch, Pete pays a visit to Don as he’s wrapping up at the office. Pete compliments Don on the tagline. Pete being Pete, he’s got a hidden agenda, and we soon see what it is when he tells Don that all impediments have been removed, that it will all boil down to the pitch. What Pete means is that, “Hey Don, I’ve Don the hard work, now you just go in there and say your magic words.”

This doesn’t sit well with Don, and as he leaves, he tells Pete that he doesn’t want it this way. Pete couldn’t be happier.

Don races to Joan’s apartment, where her mother answers the door. After a short wait, Joan appears in an emerald green kimono. The mother disappears. “I wanted to tell you that it’s not worth it,” Don says. “And if we don’t get Jaguar, so what? Who wants to be in business with people like that?” Joan seems surprised. “I was told everyone was on board.” Don explains that he said no, but that they voted after he left the room. “You’re a good one, aren’t you?” she says. “So, you understand what I’m saying?” “Yes I do,” Joan says. “I’m all right. And thank you.”

As Don leaves, Joan sends him off with a tender touch to the cheek. He goes home to prepare, feeling as though he’s saved Joan and preserved his chance to win fair and square.

The next day is the pitch, and this is where the show hit another level, putting on par with some of the best episodes in the entire five season run.

Don shows up at the Jaguar showroom, flanked by Roger, Pete, Ken, and the creative team, and as they stride down the middle of the showroom, a competing agency walks past, going in the opposite direction. It’s like an old west showdown.

As Don gets into his pitch, he’s in old form. But there’s a twist.

“You must get tired of hearing what a beautiful thing this car is, but I’ve met a lot of beautiful women in my life, and despite their protestations, they never tire of hear it,” he says. “But when deep beauty is encountered, it arouses deep emotions, because it creates a desire.”

At this moment, there’s a cut to the night before, as Joan shows up at Herb Rennet’s place. It turns out that she did go to him. But why?

Don continues the pitch, and as he does, Joan’s night with Herb is intercut, a contrast to the words Don uses, the mistress metaphor.

Finally, as Don closes his pitch, he ends with these words. “Gentlemen, what price would we pay? What behavior would we forgive? If they weren’t pretty, if they weren’t temperamental, if they weren’t beyond our reach, and a little out of our control, would we love them like we do? Jaguar. At last, something truly beautiful you can truly own.”

And here, we get the twist. The moment of brilliance. It turns out that Don showed up at Joan’s just after she returned from Herb’s hotel. It turns out Don was too late.

The pitch was a beautifully constructed scene that reminded me of the end of the Godfather 1, when Michael settles family business as he becomes godfather to his nephew. Don’s words, used to sell a car, are perverted by the offer of the man who sits in judgment of him. Don thinks nothing of the metaphor, but Megan was right – the car has become immoral because it was bought with dirty money.

Fade to Don’s triumphant return to the office. He’s exultant, and as he sees Joan, he asks if she wants to have a drink with the rest of the team. She declines.

At Megan’s meeting with the producers and playwright (Jules Pfeiffer), she is asked to turn around in her short dress, so they can look at her. It’s a brief moment, but one that is meant, I think, to level the playing field a little. Megan doesn’t get off unscathed either.

Next, it’s Peggy’s turn. She’s at a diner, dressed up and waiting. After a moment, Ted Chaough (Kevin Rahm) shows up. He’s a nemesis of Don, a hated rival, and he’s eager to win Peggy over to his agency – Cutler Gleason and Chaough. Ted praises Peggy to the moon, and asks her what it will take to get her away from Don. Peggy pulls out a SCDP note pad and writes “Copy Chief $18,000/year” on it. Ted takes the pad, crosses out SCDP and $18,000 and writes $19,000 and checks the words “Copy Chief” and pushes the pad back to Peggy. “If this is your last meeting,” he offers as his only condition. Peggy starts doing that nervous Peggy thing, where she jerks her head like a bird and says she needs a chocolate shake.

[traincat]

Weird ask, but I've read your Marvel fics (love them!) but noticed you haven't written much "early years" stuff. So I was wondering, do you have any headcanons about teenage Peter and/or Johnny? I sometimes feel like Peter was kind of a vindictive wallflower (and desperate for validation for something who doesn’t want to join a team) back then, and Johnny was more full of himself but also surprisingly kind... I don't know, it's just not often explored and I'm curious about what people think.

Thanks for reading my stuff, anonymous! I confess the reason is I’m just more interested in Johnny and in Peter especially as adults. My take is the opposite of yours, actually – that there’s way more teen stuff for them out there. (Someone, anyone, please. Peter Parker is 30.) I like the real sense of a shared history between them that hasn’t had a chance to grow yet when they’re younger. (Though, ironically, as I type this I have a teen Spideytorch WIP open, so. Who wants to read the original Galactus story, but with established Spideytorch! Me. It’s just me.)

Headcanons though! This is more me playing with stuff I think is at least implied in canon but:

I think vindictive wallflower is a good phrase for Peter – I don’t know if I view him as desperate for validation so much as searching for something he doesn’t quite know how to name. (cough a really hot date cough) He suffered a huge trauma fairly early on in his life (canon likes to in-fight about how old he was when his parents died) and I think he has a lot of hostility built up that he had no productive way to channel until suddenly he could rip through concrete with his bare hands. (Sidenote I tend to assume Peter Without Powers ends up a very bitter person.)

I was thinking a lot about Peter and secrets as a theme last night – not just his, but other people’s. Canonically in 616 his parents were spies who were framed as government traitors by the Red Skull and as a result he knows almost nothing about them until he accidentally wrecks a trunk full of old documents Aunt May asks him to move in Amazing Spider-Man Annual 5. The implication in the issue is that until this moment, he doesn’t even know what his father’s name was, or at the very least had never seen a picture of him. So I think he was sort of built for secret-keeping – it’s a behavior he picked up, not one that originated with him. He never quite grows out of it, but he’s a little better when more people in his life know he’s Spider-Man. 

Peter does what he does as Spider-Man because he believes it’s the right thing to do to keep people safe but also because he genuinely enjoys it. He likes fighting. There’s a lot of pure, unfettered joy in the physical for him, especially when he’s young and has less in the way of personal responsibilities. 

I headcanon Peter as Jewish, based on the heavy Jewish-coding of the character which will hopefully one day be actual hardline on-page canon, but I don’t personally buy him as very religious in any specific sense. I think he’ll talk to (bargain with) God on his own, and that he generally believes in Something, but I don’t believe the Parkers regularly attend services or that he was Bar Mitzvah’d. Last time he was in synagogue, it’s because he was thrown in in the middle of a fight. He made some bad joke that was immediately taken the wrong way. JJJ gleefully runs an article.

On the subject of JJJ, I hate the idea that Peter’s so victimized by the Bugle and JJJ. Their relationship is a two-way street – Peter uses Spider-Man to provoke JJJ in part because he has fun doing it. Both of them enjoy their feud just as much as they’re frustrated by it, and J Jonah Jameson feels he’s doing what’s best for New York. JJJ also likes Peter Parker and cares about him the same way he cares about all his employees, and Peter returns the sentiment, if grudgingly. The Bugle is a Family.

Johnny got famous more or less overnight after having a childhood I headcanon as lonely at best. All of a sudden, everyone knew his name and wanted be his friend. That kind of thing can go to your head fast – Johnny is, essentially, a child star, with all the damage that can come with that. I don’t think he was honestly full of himself; I think he was playing a role that was cast for him as a blond-haired, blue-eyed pretty boy who could who could light on fire. He didn’t have the time or the space to develop his own sense of self properly before others were deciding it for him. (I do headcanon that he has a preference for men, but by the time he’d worked that out the media had already decided he was a playboy, and he has tended to buy into the media’s image of himself over his own. See: him calling himself a playboy when he had literally had three girlfriends and fully intended to marry at least one of them.)

Reed may never have revealed to the others that he manipulated the media and made them into superheroes for their own protection, but there was a definite tension in the early days when it was unsure if their celebrity would last that Johnny, a generally empathetic person, picked up on, and it’s part of why he clings to celebrity so hard. The idea of not being famous is subconsciously viewed as a threat.

The other three, concerned with their own problems and their own new celebrity, were often either overbearing or somewhat neglectful, though never maliciously, and reacted either way when usually he would have preferred the other option.

Johnny loves cult television and scifi/fantasy okay this isn’t a headcanon this is literally canon but listen it’s important to me that in this geek/jock ship, he is actually the geek. Peter’s just a jock who can do a lot of advanced math on the fly.

The thing about teen Spideytorch is……. they would be so obnoxious. The most obnoxious couple in the world. They’re just so disgustingly in love. So many people in their lives are just quietly waiting for them to break up so they never have to deal with them again. For sweet, sweet freedom. But no, alarmingly, through the years, if anything, their relationship grows stronger and closer. They get married at an alarming age like 22 and people think, this is it, here it goes. There’s going to be wedding drama and it’ll go up like a bonfire. But no. The day comes and it’s BEAUTIFUL. “What the fuck,” mouth several people in silent outrage, as Johnny attempts to mash cake in Peter’s face.

Who wants to hear the exact moment I think Johnny fell in love with Peter I have to look up the dates and do the math on this but I THINK it’s still technically teen Spideytorch.