#had to pretend very hard to be as homophobic as them too so uh. yeah that hit very hard in some very painful places

[forestlingincorporated]

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF YOUNG JUSTICE: DARK CRISIS 5

....yeah, I’m fine with it, for the most part. 

I understand the critique being made. It might be a little sloppy in the execution, some of Mickey’s talking points hit a bit too close to home for reasonable critiques of how these particular characters have been treated over the years especially since YJ has a heavily LGBTQ fanbase who’ve long hoped that YJ would be ALLOWED to be more inclusive, but I can tell Mickey is meant to represent the toxic mindset that prioritizes cis het white fuckboys’ preferences above the opinions of the diverse fanbase Young Justice actually has. 

At least, that’s what I think it’s driving at. Like, I think Tim being queer is playing a big role here. Look how Tim coming out split the overall DC fanbase at large when it first happened. I don’t see it a lot, because I’m on tumblr where majority opinion is pretty much YAY BI TIM! but I still see the youtube comments trying to pretend their distaste for Tim’s “sexuality retcon” has nothing to do with homophobia and that it’s “just not canon” - sucks to suck, man, it IS canon now. 

That’s what this comic is MEANT to be critiquing, I think. And like, Mickey is WRONG about Young Justice being what he wants them to be. He’s trying to MAKE them be versions of themselves they NEVER were. Whether you thought that was obvious enough (or if I’m just full of shit, lol), is up to you. 

On to commenting on individual panels. 

I LOVE Tim struggling to identify himself with the minority group. Identifying as queer is NEW to Tim, and it’s hard to let go of your privledge, especially when you fly under the radar. Tim’s a cis white man who’s identified as straight for a long time - he’s just not used to being subjected to homophobia or microagressions. He’s long been an ally, but he’s just not used to saying “I” yet in this context, and I love that little inclusion. 

YES, VERY GOOD! 

...yeah, I don’t like this. I hate that Cassie is my least favorite part of this series, but she’s kinda unreasonable. For one, like, why is Bart apologizing at all? HE wasn’t fooled. And Tim and Kon had their suspicions as well, even if they WERE somewhat fooled. And why does Cassie ASSUME they were fooled? And even if they were, how does she know they weren’t under some form of influence to think it was her? There’s just a lot of assumptions Cassie’s making here, and while Cassie can be abrasive at times, this comic isn’t really selling me on the idea that Cassie’s been done dirty over the years. Cassie HAS been done dirty over the years, but this comic doesn’t make me too sympathetic. The girls have been written all over the place, sort of similar to how Kon’s been up and down as well, and it’s just... WEIRD for a comic so concerned with feminism to do its own gals dirty like that when THEY WEREN’T EVEN IN THE FUCKED UP WORLD. 

I’ve seen that Anita will be showing up soon, and I’m kinda fucking NERVOUS about it, because if this is how Cissie and Cassie are written, what are they gonna do to poor Nita? 

So, as per my notes above, I think Tim being queer is playing a big part in Mickey’s... eveything. Because HIS perfect (racist, sexist, homophobic) world was BEFORE Tim came out. Now one of his “heroes” is intrinsically changed from what he wants him to be. He’s been trying to FORCE Tim to be the straight-presenting 14-year-old he used to be, but Tim’s not cooperating, so the world really DOES have it out for him. Bart, for all HE’S not cooperating, is still pretty much what Mickey expects him to be, only he’s eaten a library since then so he’s not “the dumb one” like he expects. And Kon is... Kon is having a crisis, ok, but he loves his friends. 

lmao this is just a funny panel 

Uh, oh, and Tim and Kon were just really gay with each other the whole comic, but I didn’t take pics this time because there were a lot of them and I’m just not as surprised this time. Nothing more noteworthy than what’s come before. Some fussing over Tim, general touching, you know the drill by now. 

[emkini]

Tonight is a bad bad night for the internalized homophobia everyone 

[redorich]

What if Tommy and a few other Hermits went to the Dream SMP to take care of some business (aka Dreamon + small family reunion for Tommy) and they see Tommy hug these two PvP gods as a ghost floats around them saying, “oh Tommy! You’ve been gone so long! Where did you go?” And seeming quite happy as well. The hermits get to see just how fucked this place is. Tommy told them Techno is by far the richest person on the server yet he only has one stack of diamond blocks. Not a single shulker box to be seen. Phil tells them The End is Off Limits. They get to see the main hub of this world is less impressive than a single of their big builds. They see fighting in the streets. From the other side of walls they hear people threatening eachother. They get to see and experience the comparative hell that Tommy cane from -🐍

Scar’s the one that gets to go first. He and Grian jockey for the privilege, but in the end Scar is the mayor of Hermitcraft, which means he gets to visit the Dream SMP first. (Grian pouts for days.)

Scar wears his very nice mayor sash, and irons his trousers, and keeps his armor in his inventory so that everyone can see his nice apparel. He smiles, and opens his eyes to what is basically a pit. The ground is more creeper-hole than actual ground, and there are mishmash walls all around him. His smile falters.

<Dream> Oh shit hes at spawn

<Technoblade> dream forgot to change visitor spawn, worst admin ever

<Dream> Shut up

Tubbo hit the ground too hard

<Technoblade> TUBBO IS GONE CRABRAVE

<ItsFundy> canon death

<Tubbo> NO

“Hey there,” Tubbo says from behind Scar. The mayor yelps, whirling around and nearly falling on his face.

“Sorry to scare you,” Tubbo laughs, “but how about I show you around? After I get my stuff back, that is.”

“Y-yeah,” Scar says, visibly perturbed. Tubbo leads him through a hole in the wall just large enough for them to go through one at a time, then through a small patch of forest. (Do these people seriously not even have a way out of spawn, or a path from spawn to the important locations?)

Dream catches up to Tubbo and Scar right as the town comes into view. They meet up at a patch of ruined land, on which two identical Nether portals are sat.

“Welcome to the Dream SMP,” Dream says with a gesture toward the slightly-broken oak slab path stretching out from the portal. “Sorry I’m late, I had to take care of some business.”

“Business?” Scar asks despite himself.

Dream fidgets with the handle of his axe sheepishly. “Yeah. I sent some of the troublemakers on a wild goose chase several thousand blocks away from here. Hopefully, they shouldn’t bother you.”

“That’s great and all, but I kind of need to get my stuff back,” Tubbo cuts in before Scar has a chance to question Dream.

“Sure, it was near Tommy’s old house, right? Why not show Scar the Prime Path while you’re at it?”

Tubbo smiles, and takes Scar’s hand in his. “Great idea. Come on, Scar!”

Scar allows himself to be pulled along, dodging holes in the “Prime Path” as he does so.

“That way’s Eret’s Gay Castle-- you can’t grief it, it’s homophobic,” Tubbo explains, “and up ahead’s Church Prime.”

It’s not much of a church, Scar thinks, given the giant floating poster that’s been left to peel away. Bits of the poster have even been torn off and stolen, leaving only the item frame behind. Still, he knows better than to say rude things about someone else’s religion, even if the state of disrepair... No. He won’t say anything.

Various depictions of anti-Technoblade propaganda still up. They’re so, so ugly. Further along the path there’s a tower that actually isn’t hideous, so it was probably made by-- Eret, was it? The same guy who made the Gay Castle? A stray chicken clucks while Scar tears his eyes away from the Walmart which has magma for floors, and the Targay, and the cobblestone framework of what Tubbo claims is a Denny’s which was used once for roleplay and then promptly abandoned.

Tommy’s old house can best be described as “open air”, to put it politely. At least there’s a fence..? But as Tubbo picks up his items and the two set off for L’Manberg, politely ignoring the giant Gogy posters, they hear a scuffle up ahead.

“Let go of my fucking hair!” George shrieks.

“Not until you give me back my potato,” Sapnap responds. The two grown men are fighting like children in the middle of the Prime Path in broad daylight, pulling each other’s hair and slap-fighting but at least-- no, never mind, they’ve got their weapons out now.

George shrieks at the top of his lungs when one of Sapnap’s swings gets too close. “It’s rotted anyway, why the hell do you want it?!”

“Because it’s mine,” Sapnap insists. He finally bonks George on the head hard enough to kill him, then scoops the rotten potato out of George’s belongings. His hand toys with a flint and steel, but he eventually seems to decide not to burn George’s items for the offense of stealing his potato.

“Oh, hi there!” Sapnap says once he spots them. He waves.

Scar hesitantly waves back. He’s beginning to think that perhaps he should have worn his armor after all. He watches in morbid fascination as Sapnap takes a bite of his rotten potato. Sapnap’s face drains of all color; he immediately leaps off a cliff to go be sick in a valley away from prying eyes. George’s things are left on the ground.

“Y’know, I think I left the oven on,” Scar says slowly. Tubbo looks at him with sad, pitiful eyes, as if to say, do you see what I have to deal with?

“Would you like to go back to Hermitcraft and try again another day?”

Attempting to affect nonchalance and failing miserably at it, Scar waves his hand rapidly. “Actually, Grian really wanted to come see your server, so-- maybe I’ll send him. I’m real busy with, uh, mayor stuff.”

Tubbo nods, pretending to buy the excuse. “I’ll have Dream send you back.”

“Thank you,” Scar says fervently.

[maira-writes-shit]

Wait I thought-

Haikyuu Semi Eita x Shirabu Kenjirou

Misunderstanding, crack, angst (?)

Words: 2,218

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1FU8Zjr2qTIhOopGs58o8U?si=75949331e9d240d5

Semi was just trying to drink.

His underclassmen got in the way oft that though.

„Really? Him?“, came Taichi’s surprised voice from a few meters next to him.

„Yeah him, ok?“

Taichi started laughing at his best friend, Shirabu.

„Shut up, Taichi!“

„Calm down! I’m just saying your taste in men is questionable at best.“ the redhead got flipped off by his best friend.

…wait…Is Shirabu gay?!

No you must have gotten something wrong. Don’t get your hopes up, dumbass.

Besides even if he were why would he like you?

He hates your guts, Semi.

„What’s up, Asshole?“

Speaking oft he devil…

„Nothing much. How about you, Brat?“ the comment earned him an eyeroll.

„I was just asking because you’ve been staring at me for like a minute.“ „What? Can’t I just appreciate beauty?“

Shirabu’s cheeks went red and he sputtered a bit, at wich his upperclassman let out a little laugh.

He’s terrible with complements that aren’t about his volleyball skill…

Cute

The copper haired setter turned away and took a swing from his waterbottle.

„Dumbass…“ ,was mumbled under his breath as Semi stood up and held out his hand.

Now that he thought about it…it wasn’t so far fetched that Shirabu might be gay.

When Tendou and Ushijima told the team they were dating Shirabu was ok, even gave a small smile.

When a Senpai made homophobic comments last year Shirabu made him eat his words.

But all of those could also be a ally thing to do...

He also didn’t exept a single connfession from girls he got (which made Semi a little happy).

„You’ve been spacing off a lot latley.“ The setter jumped a bit at the voice that was suddenly at his ear.

„Oh god Tendou! You scared me there!“ „I’m used to that reaction. Anyway what do you have on your mind, Semisemi?“

„I overheard a conversation from Shirabu and Taichi and now…“ „Now what?“

Semi started to scratch the back of his neck, wich he always did when he was nervous.

„Now I ask myself if Shirabu might be gay.“

Tendou stared at him for a second.

„Oh he is.“ „WAIT WHAT?!“ „He’s pretty open about it too. I mean he did date uh what’s his name again? Oh yeah Ennoshita from Karasuno for a while.“

„Really? I never noticed…“ „Dude..how oblivious are you?“ „Shut up!“

There could actually be a chance for you..

No no don’t get your hopes up

But what if?

But what if not?

Why does this have to beso hard-

Semi’s inner thoughts were cut short by him noticing something or- someone standing in the gates tot he campus.

He walked a bit closer to find out who the person standing there was.

The person was a tiny bit taller, they had soft brown hair that shimmered slightly silver, they were looking at their phone while leaning to the wall probably waiting for somone, they were wearing some comfortable pants and a slightly t obig white jaket that looked like it could be from a sports team-

On the back oft he jaket…Aoba Johsai.

Now Semi remebered.

Yahaba Shigeru. Aoba Johsai’s second year setter and probably the captain next year. But what was he doing here

„Hey Asshole!“

Wait does he mean me?

Someone walked by him, torwards Yahaba.

„Shut up fucker. Let’s go.“, came from the person that walked by him

He knew that voice.

Semi watched as Shirabu walked to Yahaba who put down his phone and hit him in the arm as they walked away.

He blinked.

What was that?

Is it him? Ist hat the guy Tachi was talking about with him?

They did look really close…

„You seem in a bad mood. What happned?“

Semi hated Tendou sometimes. Espacially because he knew him so well.

„It’s nothing..“ „So it has to do with Shriabu!“

Semi sighed. „Yeah…“

Tendou flopped down on the bed and let his head fall from it to hang upside down, looking at the setter who was sitting on the floor playing with his nails.

„Tell me.“

„So you remeber what I told you about that conversation Taichi and Shirabu had, rigth?“ Tendou nodded „Well I was walking around to clear my head when I saw some guy standing in the gate. I walked close to you know see if I knew them.“

Tendou just continued staring at him nodding at some parts.

„And do you know who it was? Yahaba Shigeru. He’s setter at Aoba Johsai- anyway so I was questioning why he was there but he looked like he was waiting for someone so I watched a bit more until Shirabu came.“ Tendou perked up a bit.

„Yahaba was like „Hey asshole“ and Shirabu went „Shut up, Fucker. Let’s go“ and they walked away laughing and shit.“

„So now you think that Oikawa’s student is the one Shirabooboo and our resident redhead were talking about, right?“

„Tendou you are also a redhead…“ „Deatails.“ „But yeah. Exactly.“

His best friends rummbedd his chin, thinking: „Mmmhhh…maybe.“

Semi stared at him for a second.

„Wow thank you.“

He hit one ball after the other over the net.

Yeah that’s good. Put all your feelings into these hits.

Goshiki jumped to resive his serve.

„Ouch-!“ „Wait- shit sorry. Are you ok, Goshiki?“ „Yeah it’s ok. But are you fine, Semi-senpai?“

„Huh?“

„You put an awful lot of power into that and you only ever do that when you are felling bad.“

„Yea I’m fine.“ Semi walked away but he continued to feel Goshiki’s eyes on him.

Apperantly not only Goshiki’s because when Semi went to grab his waterbottle a voice came from behind him: „I don’t belive you are fine.“

„Oh god Shirabu you scare me- and what gives you the opinion that you know everything about me?“

Shirabu just rolled his eyes.

„I’m not saying I know everything about you, I’m just saying I know it when someone just pretends tob e fine. Also you’re really distracted wich you usually aren’t at all at practice“

The older sighed.

„Ok you’re right…I’ll talk to you after practice, ok?“

The copper haired teen nodded and went back to setting to a few first years.

„So now spit it out.“, attacked Shirabu him afetr practice was finnised.

„Ok…so there is this…person. And I really like them. It’s just that I think they might be in a relationship with someone else already…“

„You think?“

„Well they spent a lot of time together and they seem very personal and just very close just- ugh it’s so confusing!“

„Why don’t you just assk them?“ „It’s not that- have you ever been in love Shirabu?“

The younger of the two looked away, cheeks turning slightly rosy. „Maybe…“

Intresting…

„So you probably know how complicated it can be.“ „Actually no…I think love is very easy it’s just humans that are complicated.“

Semi had never looked at it like that. He was so right though.

„Thanks Shirabu that really hel-“  the older classman was interrupted by two people running torwards them.

Yahaba again…ah fuck.

„Haba, Yachi! What the actual fuck are you two doing here?!“

„Well you see- I was out with Kyou and may or may not have confessed to being absolutly and utterly fucked for him or by him honestly Idon’t care at this point-“

„Not important Yahaba!“

„Yeah anyway I also maybe ran away before he could say anything!“ „Oh god how stupid are you?! We need to do something about that right now!“ „That’s why we’re here.“ ,came the small voice from the girl -Yachi- who was half hiding behind Yahaba.

Shirabu turned around waved a quick goodbye to Semi and then ran torwards the 2nd year dorms with the other two.

Semi Eita was just dumbfounded.

Wait…wait I thought-

I thought they were dating? But Yahaba said that he confessed to that Kyou guy…

Shirabu was wrong after all! Love is fucking confusing

Semi continued staring at the underside of Tendou’s top bunk and sighed.

His roomate was sleeping over at his boyfriends room so Semi had their space all for himslef.

It was almost midnight by now and he was still awake.

Wide awake.

Pictures of Shirabu laughing, looking at him with worry in his eyes, making a snarky comment or giving Semi that stupid smirk, were floating around his mind.

Oh honestly how did this sarcastic asshole of a brat make Semi so stupid with love?

To say it simple: he was tried.

He had not slept at all last night trying to figure out not only his feelings but also in which relationship Shirabu was to Yahaba. He came tot he conclusion that he was stupid.

Someone flopped down in front of him.

Speaking oft he devil…

„You figured your shit out?“

„No Shirabu I did not figure out my shit. Did you?“ Shirabu seemed to not know what he meant for a second but then seemed to get it.

„Oh you mean Haba’s Kyoutani problem?“ Semi nodded. „Oh yeah so you see, my friend Yahaba has this massive crush on his winged spicker Kyoutani and what you witnessed yesterday was him freaking out because he told Kyoutani he liked him and the ran away.“ Semi huffed out a laugh.

„Yeah the two of them are just idiots! I could basically smell that they liked each other since day one! Yeah anyway me and Yachi then convinced him to call Kyoutani and now I’m just waiting for him to text me about how it went.“

„So…how do you feel about it?“ „Huh?“ Shirabu looked at him and he looked so innocent and Semi could feel his heart clench.

„I mean how do you feel about the two oft hem being together?“

„Well I’m happy Haba is happy. He isn’t the best when it comes to taking care of himself and I know Kyoutani will make sure that he is well. They work well together and they’ll make each other happy.“

„You seem to really care about Yahaba…“ „Why are you asking so much about him? Why do you care about who I’m friends with?“

„I just want to know you better, ok…I care about you and Yahaba seems to be a very close friend of yours.“ „Of course he is! He was my first friend and my only one for a very long time! I’ve known him since I was 8. When I moved here he was the only one that even tried to be my friend. Sure we have our differences and we argue but he is like a brother to me. I love him and I want him to be happy.“

Semi just sat there in stunned silence.

„Why? Why would no one want to be friends with you?“ that seemed to surprised Shirabu. „Well if you haven’t noticed: I’m a mean little shit that can’t keep his mouth shut.“

The younger looked down at his hands

„Is…ist hat really how you see yourself?“

„I mean that’s how everyone seems to see me at least.“ „I don’t see you like that.“ The copper haired boy looked up at him and asked with a hopeful (?) voice: „Really?“

„Yeah! I mean sure you can be sarcastic and snarky but you are so fucking talented and amaizing and smart!“

The copper haired boy smiled at him a little and his cheeks started to get a little pink.

It looked good on him.

„Hey Shira- oh sorry! You two about to kiss? Sorry for ruining the moment I guess.“

„TAICHI!“

Shirabu’s cheeks were burning red now and Semi also felt his cheeks warm up.

He hadn’t noticed just how close they were now but it really looked like they were about to kiss. Semi smiled a horrible smirk as he got a idea.

„Yeah exactly Taichi! You are interrupting us“ Shirabu’s head spun around so fast that Semi was a little worried. „We were just about to full out make out but you ruined the mood.“

„Well I’m sorry, Semi-senpai! I will excuse myself out now.“

„Wha- We were not about to kiss!“ „Tsundere much!“ „Tachi!“

„What? Would it be so bad to kiss me?“ Semi fluttered with his eyelashes resting his chin on his hand.

„No it would not be that I’m just saying-“ „So you would kiss me?“

?“ ,the older said with more hope and truth in his voice. „I-I mean yeah-“ he was cut off with Semi pressing his lips against his.

Shirabu’s lips were incredibly soft and Semi lost himself in Shirabu moving against him.

Tachi who the two had forgotten exsisted let out a whistle and they broke apart, red in the face.

„Uhh…“

„Oh yeah anyway one oft he first years broke his leg and Washiou wants us in the gym!“, Tachi told them as he walked away.

They hadn’t been able to talk about it yet.

Washiou had talked for an hour about safe practicing and then they had to practice fort he rest oft he day until it was drak out. Shirabu then had been dragged off by some oft he other 2nd years.

Semi went asleep that night with a slightly giddy feeling.

I kissed Shirabu…holy fuck I kissed Shirabu Kenjirou!

He couldn’t wait to talkt o him

To be continued...

[kittybellestark]

Straightening Things Out

Part 2

Hey everyone so this is going to be a two part fic, tumblr told me I hit my limit soooo. 

This is the long awaiting MayxSkip with Bi!Peter fic I’ve been talking about, idk how long a 2nd part will take but I already have a bit written, which is super nice. Uh, yeah, this is heavy stuff, so prepare your hearts, bc mine hurts

TW: homophobia, depression, self harm, homophobic slurs, eating disorder (?), abuse, sexual assault, thoughts of suicide, questioning sexuality, alcohol

He’s not sure how he got here.

Well, he knows, but he just doesn’t understand it.

A year ago Peter was trying to get May with Happy. It seemed logical and safe. May wanted to get back into the dating pool, and while Peter was hesitant about the idea of May being with anyone other than Ben, he felt like Happy could be a good person for her to be with. That was safe, controlled even.

Pushing for May to be with Happy seemed like the right step. Supporting May in her decision to start seeing people again also make sense. Now, Peter regrets it. He should have told her no. That he wasn’t ready or comfortable with that.

He doesn’t understand why he’s in the bathroom cleaning up his own blood. He didn’t even go out as Spider-Man. Peter hates May’s new boyfriend.

Skip wasn’t safe. He wasn’t very kind either. And there was just something about him bothered Peter. And yet when Peter tried to talk to May about it, the complaints weren’t heard or taken seriously.

May doesn’t understand that Skip is a danger, and Peter can’t really talk to people about this.

Six months ago…

“Hey Happy.” Peter smiles jumping into the black ‘inconspicuous’ Audi.

“Hi Pete.”

After a few minutes of talking the conversation finally turns.

“How’s your aunt.”

Peter snorts, rolling his eyes. “She thinks she’s doing great. Still with Skip, he lives with us now. May isn’t very happy that Skip and I aren’t getting along too well though. She thinks that I have a problem with seeing her with other men, amongst other things.”

“Sounds like you don’t like him. I didn’t even think that was possible, you’re like a lab.” Happy chuckled.

“I resent that. I don’t like a lot of people who I don’t need to disclose to you. I was just expecting her to get with someone else, someone who was less I don’t know, just less.”

“You and me both kid. You and me both.”

-

Five and a half months ago…

Peter and May were making dinner together, the radio was playing softly and Skip was sitting in the dining room, beer in hand, listening to Peter and May’s conversation.

“How was school, baby?” May asked.

Peter hums as he chops some carrots. “There’s a new transfer at school. From Tennessee, he even lives with Mr. Stark.”

May pauses mixing the stir fry they were attempting to make. She smiles at Peter an eyebrow raised, waving the spatula at him.

“Is he cute?” She asked in a song-song voice.

Peter rolls his eyes with a smile. He sticks out his tongue, flicking some water at May. Skip watches with a smirk on his face.

“Yeah, yeah he’s really cute. Blond hair, blue eyes, southern charm and he’s so smart too. And tall. May, he’s also like muscular too, his arms? He used to work in a mechanic shop where he grew up, he could probably bench press me without breaking a sweat.”

“Sounds like you have a crush!” May squealed pulling Peter into a hug.

“You have a crush on a man? Are you gay?” Skip huffed with a laugh.

“Bisexual, actually.” Peter deadpanned. “Is that a problem?”

“No, no, not at all. Just surprised.” Skip laughed.

-

Five months ago...

May was at work, it was just Peter and Skip at home. Peter was in his room, the door was closed over, and Skip in the living room watching a sports game and drinking some beer.

While this wasn’t the most common occurrence, it wasn’t necessarily uncommon either. Peter would stay in his room and do homework or play some sort of online video game with Ned, Harley and MJ, typically Minecraft but sometimes they chose something else. Skip would watch sports or the news, but never a reliable source, always the Daily Bugle or Fox News.

Today was supposed to be like every other time. Peter was supposed to be in his room and Skip in the living room. But then Skip was in his room with him. Peter felt uneasy. It just didn’t sit right with him having the older man in his room.

“I think we need to talk, Pete.” Skip said sitting on Peter’s bed, while Peter stayed sitting at his desk.

“Sure, what about?” Peter tried to sound pleasant and kind, doing this for May.

“Well, I’ve been trying to broach this subject with you gently, but May and I have spoken about how we can cure you.”

Skip had the decency to look somber. His shoulders hunched forward, frowning. His eyes held remorse and regret. It only seemed to enrage Peter.

“Cure me? As far as I was concerned I was perfectly healthy.” Peter couldn’t help but snort.

“Of your sin, Peter. You like men, and we know that we have to cure you of it.”

It felt like all of the air had been taken out of his lungs. His heart stopped and the world blurred for a moment before Peter shook himself out of it. He pushed himself up out of his chair trying to back himself up, away from Skip. This wasn’t right. This was really wrong.

“May accepts me. She said so. She’s always supported me and accepted that I’m bi.”

“She didn’t know how to tell you she didn’t. She was crying quite a bit. May just didn’t know how to tell you. So she asked me to help fix you.”

Skip got up from the bed, walking over to Peter, trapping Peter in. Skip put an arm on each side of Peter’s body, resting his hands on the wall behind Peter. Peter felt trapped, his eyes wide as he looked around unsure of what he could do. May and Skip thought he was sick.

“She can’t-“ Peter cried, tears coming to his eyes. He didn’t want to accept it. This couldn’t be happening.

Skip put a hand on his shoulder.

“She does, Einstein, but it’s okay because I’ll fix you.”

-

Peter sat at their usual lunch table, Ned next to him, MJ, kiddie-corner to him and Harley across from him. His leg was bouncing as they all ate, but he couldn’t do more then push his food around his tray.

“There’s nothing wrong with me being bisexual right? Like, I’m still normal, I’m not sick or anything for liking more than just women right?”

It used to be old-hat for MJ and Ned to have to reassure Peter that being bisexual is okay. It was just last year that Peter finally started to feel secure in his sexuality and not question whether he was normal or not. It just always felt like Peter was faking his attraction to other genders.  

The group became silent with shock. None of them were prepared for Peter to have any insecurities about his sexuality, and it certainly wasn’t something that Harley was there to witness. It had been such a long time since he voiced this doubt. Ned and MJ gave each other looks, while Harley sat there starring at Peter slack-jawed.

“Sorry. I’ve just been in my own head recently. Bisexuality is valid and so am I. I know, I’m sorry, I just- what if I’ve been lying to myself this whole time? I’m sorry, I know I’m being silly.”

There was another moment of silence before Harley grabbed Peter’s hand.

“It’s not silly to question you’re own sexuality, Peter. Being bisexual is hard because people always try to invalidate you and tell you to just choose. It’s okay to be confused. Prefaces change from day to day and it is so confusing sometimes. We’re your people, we’re here for you no matter how you identify.” Harley smiled, something sad and soft.

-

Four and a half months ago...

Peter was trying to sleep. It wasn’t coming easily anymore. Skip and May were in the next room over. He should be able to sleep. But nothing felt right. Everything was always off, never normal, almost safe. It didn’t feel good.

There was the sound of footsteps in the hall before Peter’s door opened and closed. Peter tried to pretend to sleep, but the footsteps came closer to him then Skip’s hand was on his shoulder.

“Hey Einstein. I’ve got something for you.” Skip whispered, getting Peter’s eyes to open.

Peter pushed himself up and into the top corner of his bed, knees drawn to his chest. He really hated Skip. Hated his deep voice and pointy chin and crooked nose. He hated Skip’s receding hairline and beer belly. Peter hated Skip and everything about him. But mostly Peter hated that Skip and May knew there was something wrong with him.

Skip dropped some razors onto the bed. All loose and brand new. Peter looked at Skip like he was crazy. It was too late at night to register this.

“May and I were talking again. Anytime you have a sinful thought, any homosexual thoughts or desires just give yourself a cut. Obviously don’t do it in front of anyone other than me, but this should help bleed the faggot out of you.”

Peter gasped, eyes wide and shaking his head. He didn’t want to do this. Cutting himself was not something Peter ever wanted to start doing again. He got away from it, he recovered, and now the blades are being provided to him. Peter is being expected to cut this time. 

“I can’t do that. Anything but that Skip, please.”

Peter didn’t realize the tears that were pouring down his face, or how hard it was to breath. If it wasn’t for Skip wiping the tears from Peter’s face, he probably wouldn’t have noticed.

“Hey, no, no it’s okay, Einstein, it’s not as bad as it seems okay, look,” Skip took Peter’s wrist slicing it a few times, just enough to bring up blood up before handing the razor to Peter, “See? Nice and easy. Now I’m not going to leave until I see you try okay?”

Peter nodded, bringing the razor down on his skin and breathing a sigh of release as he broke his own skin.

-

Tony dropped food in front of Peter, two burgers and fries, before sitting down beside him. They were finally watching a movie after spending time in the lab and now Harley would be joining them too.

“Kid, we’ve talked about your eating habits. You need to eat more than a regular person. I don’t like seeing you lose weight this fast. I just like to see you happy and healthy.”

Peter knew he should say something. The razor in his pocket wasn’t normal and he should tell Tony. And his need to cut every time he thought about Harley, or the need to cut when he realized he was playing into Skips hands. But Peter didn’t want to lose his little therapeutic treatment again. He could do better at hiding it this time, especially with his healing factor now. Peter could keep this.

It’s his little secret with Skip. Peter could keep it safe. It made him feel better, and that’s what everyone wants, right?

“Oh yeah, sorry, I’ve just had a smaller appetite recently, I’ll do better, promise.” Peter nodded with a smile.

At that moment Harley walked into the room, giving Peter a crooked smile, a blush painted across his cheeks.

Peter would have to cut later, for thinking about Harley like that, and for doing what Skip told him and also for scarring Tony. Peter deserved this.

-

Four months ago…

Peter and Skip were alone together again.

It seemed to become more common now. Or maybe Peter was just getting used to having Skip try and cure him. He hated himself for wanting it to work. Peter just didn’t like himself much anymore.

“Einstein,” Skip slurred, “are you still a faggot?”

Peter flushed with shame, nodding. Peter really hated Skip for making him feel like this. For feeling shame for being bisexual and wishing he were straight. Peter hated himself a lot. He just wanted to be better.

“Shame, thought I’d have you straightened out by now. May is going to be disappointed to know you’re still a homo. I’ll have to start getting more aggressive with your treatments.”

Peter shook his head. He was already so tired, and he just wanted to feel safe in his home. He just needed to do what Skip and May wanted and then they’ll like him. All Peter needed to do was be straight, no matter what. He’s doing the right thing.

“How much more?” Peter’s voice cracked.

“As much as it takes to turn you straight.” Skip smiled.

He now gripped Peter’s face in both hands, thumbs on his cheeks. Skip used the hold he had on Peter to bring him towards the bathroom doorframe- the only metal frame in the house.

Peter didn’t fight. He was doing this for May. May wants him straight and wants Skip to do it. Peter scratched at his legs, where most of the cuts were, hoping that would convince Skip from stopping whatever he was doing. But it didn’t, of course it didn’t. Why would it convince Skip, when he’s only doing what’s best for better?

With his hold on Peter’s head, Skip jerked Peter’s head into the doorframe, with enough force to make Peter forget how to stand. Peter was only being held up by Skip's grip on his head when Skip lifted up his knee, forcing it into Peter’s stomach.

Peter groaned with the impact and Skip let him go and Peter fell to the ground. He barely managed to catch himself, resting his forehead on the cool floor. There was barely a moment before an on slate of kicks were delivered to Peter.

“No,” Peter sobbed, “stop, please, stop, stop, you’re hurting me.”

It was another few moments before Skip stopped kicking him with a huff. Skip sat down on the ground, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder to comfort the boy. Peter continued to sob, barely able to support his own weight to get himself sitting.

“Einstein, I just want you to know that I don’t like doing this. I don’t want to do this, but May and I agreed that I have to do this. I’m sorry Einstein, but it’s for your own good.”

Skip pulled Peter onto his lap, rubbing Peter’s back to bring him some comfort. Peter relaxed into Skip’s hold when he realized that there wasn’t going to be more pain. They sat there for a while before Skip finally stood up, as Peter’s sobs were finally ending, bringing Peter to his room and tucking Peter into bed.

-

“Peter I’m worried about you.” MJ said after Academic Decathlon practice.

Peter was wide eyed, holding his book bag in front of him, using it as a shield. His clothing that used to only be a little bit large on him, now swallowed him completely, his cheekbones were sharper and anytime his sweater moved a little bit, his collar bone was revealed to be protruding from his chest. Peter flinched at people who moved too fast and his skin was pale with dark bags under his eyes.

“I’m okay MJ.” Peter smiled, but his eyes were still empty.

“Are you cutting again? You’re acting like you used too. I don’t like seeing you lose your spark.”

MJ moved forward, grabbing Peter’s hands in her own. His hands were cold against hers and shaking slightly. Her head tilted just a bit as she searched for answers on Peter’s face.

“I’m not- no, I moved past that.” Peter lied.

He couldn’t tell her. He needed to cut. He needed the freedom it gave him, the relief. It was one of the only things he had anymore that he still enjoyed. By telling MJ, Peter would lose his sanity. Everything would be okay as long as he had a razor on him, as long as he got to cut his skin open.

But he should tell her. Maybe that would get everything to end. If he just told someone, maybe Skip would stop hurting him. Or maybe they’d push for Skip to continue on with trying to cure him. This was for the best, after all.

“Peter, you’re one of my best friends, okay? So if you were cutting again, hypothetically speaking, know that you can come to me, I won’t tell anyone. Not even May or my parents.”

Peter nodded, looking away from her, hating himself for lying and hating that MJ was trying so hard. It would have been so much easier if he just liked MJ instead of Harley.

“Look, look, MJ, see no cuts,” Peter rolled up his sleeves to show healed skin and no scars, “I promise, I’m just a little stressed out right now, don’t worry about me. I’m just focusing on myself for now, I’ll be okay.”

“Okay, well, when is the last time you ate?”

“Right before practice.”

It felt nice for Peter to actually tell the truth. He was eating almost as much as usual. Typically the same amount unless he had time alone with Skip. Peter was just stressed and sometimes couldn’t keep his food down, but he still ate more than enough. He should be able to keep up his weight, the weight loss just sort of happened.

-

Three and a half months ago…

May was working the overnight shift again. It was a school night so Peter was at the apartment with Skip instead of the Tower like he would be on weekends.

Peter was finally sleeping, well actually he was passed out from exhaustion, but it was still a sort of sleep, technically. Somewhere between Skip moving in and their ever-more-frequent talks “chats,” Peter started to lose sleep. He would stay awake later, slit his wrists longer, and on top of that the surprise beatings from Skip were really taking an affect on Peter. All except the desired affect.

Peter was still bisexual. He didn’t want to be bisexual anymore. He just wanted to be normal, straight. Liking men was wrong, Peter was wrong. May and Skip just wanted what was best for Peter. And this was what was best. Skip was just helping Peter. He was straightening Peter out. This was just want needed to be done.

Skip stumbled into Peter’s room. He saw that Peter was tucked in under his blankets deep in sleep and Skip couldn’t help but climbing into the bed too. He pulled the teen into his body, breathing in how Peter smells, nuzzling his nose behind Peter’s ear.

Peter woke up trapped in Skips arms. He panicked trying to get out, it was just like The Vulture dropping a building on him again. But this time it wasn’t concrete but instead a man. A man who was supposed to be in love with his aunt.

“Skip.” Peter whined trying to wriggle free.

The older man moaned, moving a hand down to feel Peter’s length.

“I didn’t realize that you’d rub off on me. You’re trying to turn me into a homo. Einstein, you’re rejecting your treatment and trying to change me instead, and I don’t tolerate this very much.”

Peter shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. His whole body shook with nerves, and he thought he was going to vibrate out of his body.

“Skip, I promise I’m taking this seriously. I should be straight, I want to be straight. Just like you Skip, I’m trying really hard to be straight. I promise, I don’t want to be a disappointment to you or May anymore.”

The older man laughed, holding onto Peter tighter. He ground his hips further into the teen, making Peter whine and squirm more trying to break free.

“Einstein,” Skip moaned, “You’re ass, I swear it’s a woman’s. Your such a fairy, Einstein. I could just imagine you as a woman, you’re hair at your shoulders, this great ass and a tight pussy, your tit’s would probably be smaller, barely a handful, but you’d be so cute. Too bad you’re just bent.”

-

Harley sat across from Peter, cheeks blushed, watching Peter carefully. Peter no longer felt that the freckles painted across Harley’s cheeks and nose were cute, and he no longer felt comforted by being in Harley’s presence. Now Peter only felt dread. There was no more warmth or the feeling of being safe. 

Peter wasn’t attracted to Harley. He didn’t want to be with Harley, he was afraid of Harley. What Skip was doing was working. Peter was going straight. He wasn’t going to be bisexual anymore, he was only going to like women now.  Peter wasn’t going to be a freak or a fag or a fairy or a homo or bent. Peter was going to be straight. Skip was fixing him.

“Peter are you okay? You’ve been really spacey recently.” Harley asked keeping his voice soft and cautious. 

Peter smiled. It didn’t feel natural and probably didn’t look all that genuine, but Peter felt like he should be happy. He was happy that he this meant that May and Skip will not be disappointed in him. Maybe then Skip will like him. Now they can be a family

This is going to fix all of his relationships. People are going to like him better if he’s straight. He’ll only like women and be normal. It’ll solve so many problems for him.

“Yeah, Harls, I think I’m actually really good. Like, for real.”

Peter laughed, not one of his soft, bubbly and contagious laughs, the ones he was known for. Instead it was hallow and empty, self deprecating even. Harley’s eyes widened, suddenly more concerned for Peter than he’d been previously.

“Peter...” Harley sighed.

He reached out to grab Peter’s hand, watching Peter flinch back hard. Harley saw the moment Peter recognized what he did and how he tried to shake himself out of it, but he also saw how Peter moved to stay farther away from him.

“I’m good, Harls, really.” Peter nodded again.

“No, you’re not. There’s something seriously wrong. I’m going to figure it out. I’m going to make sure you’re okay.”

-

Three months ago…

Peter and Skip were finally alone. May had been on a stretch of day shifts and Peter’s friends were more persistent on having Peter go out with them during evenings. They were even tracking his food intake. The group was becoming obsessive over Peter now. And Peter was sick of it.

But now Peter was home alone with Skip. He could finally tell the man the good news. It’s been well over a week since Peter had and romantic or sexual feelings for another man. There’s only been fear, with any he looked at. Peter didn’t want to be attracted to men. Skip was curing him. May and Skip will finally accept him again.

As soon as May stepped out of the apartment Peter left his bedroom and sat down on the couch beside Skip. The man smiled at the boy, licking his lips before pinning Peter onto the couch. Skip groped at Peter for a moment, before pressing sloppy kisses onto his neck.

“No, stop, Skip I don’t like this.” Peter fought. “I just wanted to tell you that it worked. I don’t- I’m straight. You cured me. It worked. You and May don’t have to be disappointed in me anymore.”

Skip laughed. Loud and boisterous, pressing his weight down onto Peter. His hands moved up and down the teens frame, removing Peter’s clothes. Peter struggled harder, tears pouring down his face, sobbing out pleas to be let go. He tried fighting it, fighting Skip to keep his clothes on.

“You see Einstein, while I’ve made you straight, you’ve made me a fag. So this is going to have to continue, just a little until I no longer view your twink-ass as jailbait.”

Peter sobbed harder, trying to use his elbows to get away. Instead, Skip just pressed a hand into a patch of fresh cuts, forcing Peter’s vision to white out for a moment, that was just long enough to take off Peter’s underwear off.

“Skip, Skip no. No. I’m not. I swear, I didn’t make you like men. I didn’t do it. I’m straight now. You fixed me, I swear. You need to stop. You don’t want to go there. You don’t want this.”

Peter tried begging. He tried pleading, but he couldn’t stop Skip. It was too late. Skip had a plan and he wasn’t going to stop.

“Real funny that you think you know what I want, Einstein. This is for the best though, I promise, I’m doing this for you.”

-

It was movie night with May. Skip was out meeting up with his old friend was college. So it was just Peter and May. In their living room.

Peter couldn’t sit on the couch. Well, sitting in general wasn’t really working. So Peter just laid down on the ground, and May took the couch.

“Peter, I’m proud of you, you know that?” May finally spoke, halfway through Tangled.

“You are?” Peter didn’t anticipate his voice cracking, but hearing that May was proud of him? It was worth everything.

“Of course, baby. Skip told me that you let him help you, and I’m so proud of you for accepting help. He said that you’re problem was resolved with his help too. I’m so glad you two are getting along.”

Peter heard the words of confirmation that what Skip has been doing is what May also wants. She’s proud of him. She’s happy that Skip fixed him. May is glad that Peter is straight and that Skip turned him. It breaks Peter’s heart to actually hear it from May.

Peter never wanted to do it anyways.

And yet here he is. Having done it for her. He did this for May. To be accepted by May. So that he isn’t a disappointment in her life. And he isn’t happy. He’s not happy with himself, or Skip or May. Peter thought this would make him happy.

Peter wishes he born properly. Born straight. Born not wanting to harm himself. He wishes that the feeling that he needs to die never existed. Peter wishes he could be himself and be loved by his family. It shouldn’t have to be one of the other.

“Thanks.”

He tried not to choke on the acid rising up his throat.

-

Two and a half months ago…

It doesn’t stop. Skip doesn’t stop. His brain doesn’t stop. The fear didn’t replace the attraction like Peter originally thought. It’s just more confusing now.

Peter just wanted this to end.

Skip wasn’t going to end this.

-

Tony and Pepper had invited Peter, May and Skip over for dinner. Tony had made loads of his famous lasagna, and Pepper made a spinach dip appetizer and they ordered cheesecake for dessert.

All the adults seemed to be having a conversation together while Harley and Peter talked among themselves.

“I have an announcement.” Skip smiled at May, bringing the attention to himself.

“I asked May to marry me yesterday and she said yes.”

Peter was sure that this would be what killed him. Skip was his life sentence for whatever Peter did wrong. Skip was going to be his step-uncle, his new guardian.

Tony, Pepper and Harley congratulated the couple, and Tony patted Peter’s shoulder. Wine was brought out Peter couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m just, I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be back.” Peter smiled pushing himself out of his spot.

“Hurry back Einstein, we’re gonna be a family, we have to celebrate together.”

Peter was going to be sick.

He nodded and left the room, shutting himself in the bathroom and throwing up.

This isn’t what he wanted. Skip can’t be there for the rest of his life. This was wrong. Everything about this was wrong.

-

One month ago…

Peter was sure Skip was going to kill him. Or use him forever.

Peter didn’t like either option.

-

“I don’t want them to get married.” Peter confessed.

Happy pulled the car over, turning in his seat to see Peter. The kid wasn’t looking very good, he reminded Happy of 2008 era Tony. It wasn’t a very good look on a kid.

“You feel like it’s too soon after Ben? Or is it because of how fast-paced their relationship has been?”

Peter had tried not to think about Ben since Skip moved in. He didn’t want to picture the look of disappointment Ben would give him. Peter didn’t want to think that he is a failure in Ben’s eyes. Ben would believe that Peter brought this onto himself.

‘With great Power Comes Great Responsibility.’

Ben always said that. And yet Peter failed. He gave away his power, and was completely responsible for where he is now. Peter did everything wrong and Ben would know that. He took his uncles advice, his dying words, and ruined them, broke them, tossed them in the trash and set them on fire. Ben would hate this Peter, and Peter knew that like he knew how to breathe.

“Oh, uh, yeah. I just- I don’t think I’m ready for May to be married yet. It just feels like Skip is trying to replace his spot. I don’t want the to get married yet.”

Happy nodded in understanding, trying to give the teen a small smile.

“Pete, no one is ever going to replace Ben. He was your uncle, your guardian, your parent, he raised you. Skip could never live up to that.”

-

Present day…

There’s blood.

Peter is in the bathroom cleaning up his own blood and he doesn’t understand how he got here.

Well, he knows how. He just doesn’t understand it.

And he doesn’t know where to start cleaning it. Peter doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do. This was all horribly wrong.

Peter knew he couldn’t stay here much longer though. Skip had gone back to his own bedroom, after a rough ‘session’ with Peter. And now Peter is alone, and bleeding and he needs to get out.

Peter picks up his phone and makes a call.

“Hey, can you uh, come pick me up, I can’t stay here, I need, uh I need to get out of here.”

“Yeah kid, you got it. I’ll be there in half.”

“Meet me, uh, two blocks up from here actually.”

“You okay, Underoos?”

Peter hung up the phone.

He hoped in the shower hoping the water would get rid of the blood, hoping the soap would wash Skip away. And when that didn’t work Peter put on an oversized sweater and large sweatpants. Peter packed untainted clothing into his book bag and left through his window and down the fire escape, putting his hood up.

This was a mistake.

Leaving was a mistake. Skip was only doing what he thought was- no. No. No. Peter can’t go back.

He won’t live through this. Peter doesn’t want to live through this.

He scratched at his arms as he made it to the spot that Tony was supposed to pick him up.

Peter was going to be sick.

How could he let it get this far? Peter shouldn’t have let this happen. This was all wrong. Why is he relying on Tony to take him away. What if Tony agrees with Skip?

Peter coughed up blood.

New plan.

Go with Tony, make sure his stomach isn’t bleeding, once he’s good, leave. Go fast. Stay away from cameras. Go to Canada. Or Florida. Get out of New York. Go far. Somewhere where May and Skip won’t think he’ll go.

Tony pulls up and Peter hops into the car quickly. Tony doesn’t start driving right away though. Instead he looks at Peter, seeing the fear in the boys eyes, as well the way he is unconsciously scratching his arms.

“What’s happening?”

Peter shakes his head, tears filling his eyes.

“Please, just drive, I can’t be here. Can’t be in the city right now.”

“Is this drugs?” Tony asks as he starts to drive, hoping that Peter won’t leave. “I don’t care if it is, I can get you help.”

“It’s not drugs. It’s probably be easier if it was drugs. Honestly, I wish it was drugs. I can’t go home though, okay? Please don’t tell May.”

“Okay. We can do that for now but I will eventually have to tell her where you are so her and Skip don’t get worried.”

“You can’t” Peter shouted jerking upright and pushing himself further away from Tony. “You can’t. Skip can’t know. He’ll kill me, I swear, he can’t know, I can’t go back.”

Tony nodded, as Peter seemed to fall apart in front of him, hoping that appearing casual while driving will keep Peter talking.

“So we don’t like Skip, alright. Is there a reason why?”

Peter sobbed and Tony was tempted to pull over right then and there, but he knows that scaring Peter would cause him to run, so he needs to keep driving.

“He said he’d help. He did the opposite.”

Tony hummed, bringing them out of the city and towards the compound. Peter was rocking himself slightly, clearly uncomfortable. He started to cough, blood splattering across his arms.

“What the hell, Parker?” Tony said stepping on the gas.

“No Skip, Tony. Promise me, we don’t get him involved even if that means keeping May in the dark. You bring Skip into this then I’m leaving. Okay?”

“Jesus, yeah, okay, promise. We’ll keep him out of this, I got you. No Skip, we don’t want him, I got it Pete.”

Peter nodded, feeling relief wash over him as he was finally in a safe spot. He was out. He was out of that god forsaken apartment. No Skip means he’s safe. Safety means he can finally sleep. So he closed his eyes.

-

Tag List: DM or send and ask if you would like to be added, if you only want to be tagged in pt2 please make that clear  

@peterbeanie @jean-and-diet-coke @dead-inside-pt2 @they-were-cloudsinmycoffee

[ghost-in-the-hella]

51. “You make me feel alive.” with PriceMarsh.

My apologies for taking so long to finish this! For whatever reason, Kate POV seems to take me extra long to get my head around. Better late than never, I hope!

CW for implied cutting, implied suicidality, referenced canon drugging and sexual assault (the Vortex Club incident), and referenced homophobic and emotionally abusive parenting.

---

“I’m a bad influence on you,” Chloe says, and for a moment she’s so beautiful in the moonlight that Kate doesn’t catch the sadness in her voice. 

“What?” Kate says when it registers. “No, you aren’t.”

Chloe stares at her unblinkingly, cigarette raised so that her face is wreathed with smoke, and gives her a look like she’s somehow proving her point simply by existing.

“You aren’t,” Kate repeats more firmly. “What, you think nobody’s ever smoked in front of me before? I do all kinds of community service. Plenty of people have smoked in front of me.” 

“Okay, but did they smoke in front of you after sneaking you out of the dorms past curfew, and did they commit petty crimes before they lit up?”

Kate rolls her eyes and shakes her head softly. “I still say you’re not a bad influence on me. I didn’t vandalize anything.”

“Mm. You did let a persona non grata delinquent into the dorms and then sneak out with her so she could tag public property, though.”

“True, but…” Kate kicks her feet gently in the air as she thinks. The metal of Chloe’s truck bed is cold and hard beneath her thighs, but right now it’s more comfortable than her own dorm bed. She hasn’t felt safe sleeping there since she woke up on the floor after the Vortex Club party she can’t remember. The gross comments that keep popping up on her whiteboard don’t exactly make it feel like home, either. “I asked you. I don’t think you’re the bad influence there.”

Chloe mock-gasps. “Kate Beverly Marsh! Are you suggesting that you were a bad influence on me??”

“Maybe,” Kate teases, and this feels better. Chloe’s moods tend to turn on a dime, and Kate’s never quite sure how to handle them. They’ve only been hanging out for a couple of weeks, and although Kate’s learned to recognize Chloe’s sorrow she hasn’t learned how to comfort her. Chloe wears that hard, tough, punk persona so proudly; offering her a hug feels like it would be a transgression. But when Chloe’s joking around, Kate feels much less out of her depth. Most people don’t expect Kate to have a sense of humor - “good little church girl” that she is - but Chloe’s proven herself to be an exception. Chloe’s an exception to a lot of things. “I did ask you to help me break the rules.”

“Because you wouldn’t know how to break them on your own, goody-two-shoes,” Chloe teases with a chuckle.

“I’ll have you know I was a rule-breaker before I met you, thank you very much!”

Chloe flicks the ash from the end of her cigarette onto the damp, sandy asphalt of the beach parking lot. “Really,” she deadpans. “Kate Marsh, rule-breaker.”

“Yes.”

“Sure we’re talking about the same Kate Marsh?” She holds a hand over Kate’s head (mercifully, it’s not the one holding her still-smoldering cigarette). “‘Bout this tall? Literal human marshmallow? Goes to church every Sunday and volunteers at the soup kitchen?”

“Yes!” Kate laughs.

“Okay.” Chloe shifts her position abruptly, reclining with her shoulders propped against the wall of the truck bed and dangling one leg off the edge of the tailgate while the toes of her other dirty boot stop just shy of touching Kate’s thigh. Kate wishes she were as comfortable anywhere as Chloe seems to make herself everywhere. “There’s obviously a story here.” She gestures melodramatically with her cigarette, luminous red embers and pale blue smoke - almost the color of her eyes - against the colorless dark of the night sky. “So spill, Katydid. Illuminate me.”

In her head, Kate scrambles frantically to find something suitably rebellious to tell Chloe. She’s sure she must have done something interesting at some point in her life, but with Chloe’s eyes on her and the way that Chloe’s biting her lip as she waits she’s having a very hard time thinking about anything else. “I… Sometimes I stay up really late. All night, even.”

Chloe looks like she’s trying not to laugh. “That’s it? Kate, that’s… That’s not even breaking any rules! You’re eighteen; you can stay up as late as you want!”

“My parents are really strict about bedtimes,” Kate says a little defensively. “Right up until I moved into the dorms, they would do room checks every night to make sure my sisters and I had our lights out and were sound asleep.” A sneaky little smile tugs at her lips and she drops her voice into a conspiratorial tone. “But there was a creaky floorboard between their room and mine, so I would listen for it and then I’d pretend to be sleeping when they’d check on me. And once they were gone, I’d stay up reading or texting my friends or watching movies.” Kate can hear how boring this sounds, so she hurries to add, “Movies my parents wouldn’t let me watch. I would sneak them. Horror movies, violent stuff. Things like that.” Not only horror movies, Kate doesn’t add because she doesn’t want to tip her hand even though she knows - she knows - that Chloe likes girls, too; she hasn’t forgotten how Chloe used to look at Rachel Amber. But she suspects that Chloe never had to sneak around her mother to watch Imagine Me and You or Saving Face or - God forbid - But I’m a Cheerleader, and she’s not sure that Chloe would understand how incredibly criminal it had felt.

“Pfft! I’ve been doing that shit since I was a kid. With my old friend Max, even, and she was almost as much of a goody-two-shoes as you. Man, after we sneak-watched Jaws she wouldn’t so much as stick a toe in the bay for the rest of the summer. Total chicken.” She grins wickedly. “Nice try, though. And I’ll definitely have to remember about the horror movies. I’ve got some that’ll knock your socks off, guaranteed. So what else you got, Cup-Kate?”

Kate chews on her lower lip for a moment before blurting, “I cursed at my mother.”

Chloe actually laughs at that. “I did that this morning. And again this afternoon. I do that literally every day.”

“I called her a…” She balks. She knows that Chloe curses all the time, but somehow she just can’t make herself repeat the word even though it felt so good to say it and watch her mother’s face turn livid. “A bad name. She grounded me for a week.” Grounded is an understatement. But Chloe doesn’t need to know about Kate getting her mouth washed out with soap at the ripe age of seventeen. She doesn’t need to know that Kate’s mother took away her phone and computer as punishment and proceeded to read her most personal texts and emails before grilling her relentlessly about them until her father came home and put a stop to it. She definitely doesn’t need to know how much Kate cried and begged for forgiveness that week.

Something in Chloe’s face makes Kate feel like she knows it all anyway. “Sounds like she probably deserved whatever you called her.” Chloe nudges Kate’s thigh gently with her boot. “And hey, if you ever want someone to go call her names so vile you’ve never even dreamed of them, much less let them soil your lips, just lemme know. I’ll do it for free.”

Kate can’t hold in a giggle at Chloe’s offer. It shouldn’t be funny, she knows. But it is. She shouldn’t think Chloe’s offer is sweet, but she does.

Chloe smiles and stubs out her cigarette, which is by then burned down to the filter. She hauls herself back up into a sitting position, the toe of her boot still pressed lightly against Kate’s thigh. “Okay, so we’ve got cursing at your mother what I’m assuming is a whopping one time in your life despite the fact that she probably deserves it way more than that, and you staying up to watch horror movies past your bedtime. Not exactly sounding like a hardened criminal, there, Kate. Sounding more like a complete and utter cinnamon bun, if I’m honest.”

“I, um. I drink wine every week?” It’s a weak stab and Kate knows it, but it’s all she’s got left unless she wants to delve into much more personal territory that she’s in no way ready to talk about.

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Doesn’t count as breaking the rules if it’s literally part of church.” She wags a scolding finger. “That’s cheating.”

Kate seizes the opportunity with both hands, a victorious grin spreading across her face. “Which is breaking the rules! Ha, got you!”

Chloe scoffs. “Uh-huh. Very clever, Marsh. Still not disproving my cinnamon bun theory, though. You’re going to have to try harder to scandalize me.” There’s a lift to Chloe’s eyebrow that feels like a dare. Or maybe it only feels like a dare because Kate really, really wants it to be one. 

Both of Chloe’s eyebrows shoot much higher when Kate answers her challenge by leaning in and kissing her.

Kate wants to do this forever. She wants to press harder, dig deeper. But she’s never kissed anybody before and she suspects she’d do it terribly if it were much more than a peck, and if this isn’t something Chloe actually wants then pressing would only make it worse. So she holds her lips against Chloe’s for a couple of incredible, terrifying seconds, and then she pulls away.

Chloe blinks slowly, looking dazed. Kate isn’t sure whether that’s a good sign or a bad one. “Okay, wow, that… Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“...Does that mean I can do it again?”

Chloe lets out a laugh, fragile and amazed. “Holy shit, Kate.”

Kate wants to kiss her again, but Chloe hasn’t answered her question. Her stomach twists suddenly. “Oh my God, I’m such an idiot; I’m so sorry.” She puts her palms on her flushed cheeks. They feel impossibly hot; she can’t even imagine how red they must look. “I should have asked first. I’m so sorry.”

“It… yeah, that was definitely breaking the rules. I’ll give you credit for that one.” Chloe laughs a little shakily. “Kate Marsh, rule-breaker.”

“I shouldn’t have done it; not like that. Oh, Lord, I’m no better than those… those creeps who--” Kate can feel the warm feeling kissing Chloe gave her slipping into a cold spiral that seizes her chest and pumps ice water through her veins.

“Don’t even.”

“I didn’t even ask, or warn you, or anything; I just--”

“Dude, chill. It’s fine. I liked it.”

“You’re probably still-- I shouldn’t’ve just--” Kate blinks as Chloe’s words sink in. “You liked it?”

Chloe nods. “Yeah, I mean… It took me off-guard, for sure. Asking first would’ve been better, no doubt, but it’s not like I haven’t been wanting you to kiss me for, like… a week, at least.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. It was nice.” Chloe rubs the back of her neck, frowning. Her face slips back into that space Kate hasn’t learned how to navigate, the one that shows she’s thinking too hard and feeling too much. “Uncharacteristic, though.”

Kate's heart sinks. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means… Hell, I don’t know. It means maybe I really am a bad influence on you. It means maybe my step-dick is right and I’m just a no good delinquent dragging you down with me.”

“Chloe Price, you are not a bad influence on me!” Kate touches her shoulder. Chloe won’t turn and look at her, so Kate touches her chin and turns her head until she has to meet her eyes. The look in Chloe’s eyes makes Kate’s heart hurt. “You’re the best possible influence on me.”

Chloe laughs again, but it’s a broken sound. Kate never wants to hear her laugh like that again. “Not fucking possible,” Chloe tells her. “You’re, like… the best person I’ve ever met. And I’m…” She waves a hand to gesture at the whole of herself.

“You’re a good person,” Kate insists. “You’ve lived through bad things, and they’ve hurt you. But you’re a good person.”

“I’m a high school dropout with no job and no prospects. I smoke, I drink, I do drugs, I swear, I spit on sidewalks, I--”

“You don’t judge me. Why should I judge you?”

“I’ve sold drugs,” Chloe plows on, “I’ve hurt people, I’ve started fights just because I was angry and I wanted to hurt someone…”

“I’m not saying that you’re perfect. I don’t expect you to be perfect. But you are a good person. And you’re a good…” Kate takes a steadying breath. “You’re a good friend. You don’t treat me like I’m some fragile little flower that’s been sheltered from the world, or like someone who needs to be sheltered from it. All my life, people have tried to control me.” Kate clasps her hands in her lap, fingers wrestling with each other anxiously. “My family, my neighbors, my church, my friends… They all expect me to act a certain way, to talk and think and feel and believe exactly the same way that they do, and they don’t care what I want. They don’t care what I think or feel or believe. But when I’m with you…” Kate feels something wet slip down her cheek and wipes at it absently. “Chloe, when I’m with you, I can be who I want to be. I can be me. I can break the rules I want to break and follow the rules I want to follow and you don’t judge me either way. You make me feel alive. You make me want to be alive.”

Kate’s fully crying now, so it takes her a minute to realize that Chloe’s crying, too.

“Shit,” Chloe says, and she’s half-laughing as she cries. “Shit, shit.” She mops at her face. “You, I… Fuck, I can’t even… Shit, Kate! You’re… you’re fucking perfect. Jesus.”

Kate wants to correct her: Chloe is the one who’s perfect. She’s a perfect mess with her tangled blue hair and the dark circles beneath her eyes, her chipped nail polish and chapped lips and bony elbows and scarred forearms. Her stained clothes, her dirty boots, her bra strap slipping down her shoulder, the stink of cigarettes hanging around her in a constant fug. Her mascara running with her tears, the way she’s smiling through them and looking at Kate like she’s some kind of miracle. She’s perfect, and Kate wants to kiss her again. She wants to press the knowledge of how perfect Chloe is into her flesh with her lips so that she believes it.

But they’re both still crying, and the moment just doesn’t feel right. So instead Kate asks a question she’s been wanting to ask since they met: “May I give you a hug?”

Chloe nods rapidly, and her smile brightens. “You’d fucking better.” She opens her arms, and she welcomes Kate home.

[luckyjak]

essek week: day seven

For @essek-week day seven: AU. In this case, modern AU

TW: Homophobia, tw: implied transphobia, TW: Outing, Brotherly Love, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, religious conservative family trauma, Mighty Nein as Family, boys crying about feelings, Modern AU. 

most of the trigger warnings are implied not explicit but I feel the need to warn regardless

He’s late.

He shouldn’t have come at this point, but something keeps tugging at him, making him move forward despite the rain of the city and his general tardiness. Perhaps it’s the fact that he bought a gift that makes him keep moving, or maybe it’s the fact that he hasn’t seen Essek in three years, or any number of reasons, but his feet keep moving, and he doesn’t stop.

When he arrives at the location his GPS tells him is the venue, he hesitates even as his hand is on the door.

It’s not a church, Verin thinks, smiling in spite of himself. Mother would have kittens if she knew Essek was getting married not in a church.

She'd have a conniption over the fact that he's marrying a man, too, of course. Not that she was coming to the wedding. No one from Essek’s side of the family was likely to come to his wedding, except for Verin, and it was that thought that gave him the courage to open the door.

At first, he wonders if he’s wandered into the wrong location, if he perhaps misread the invitation he received. But a quick glance tells him that, no, this is the right location. The planetarium looks like a garden exploded in it: there are flowers everywhere, and none of them match. But the chaos actually sort of works, aesthetically, as all of the flowers seem to glow with the night sky overhead.

He’s like, the only drow here, but the place is packed with people dancing and drinking. He tries to see if he can spot his brother anywhere, but before he gets too far there is a blue tiefling in his face.

“Hi!” She says to him, very bubbly. She looks like a princess, wearing a bright pink sparkly dress and a tiara. Across her chest is a sash that says Maid of Honor. “Are you related to Essek?”

He blinks at her, slowly. “I am. Is he, ah, still here…?”

“He is,” she bounces on her tiptoes, still grinning. He realizes suddenly that she is wearing matching pink converse shoes as opposed to heels. Another thing Mother would have a fit over, he thinks.

“Can I, uh, see him, or…”

He feels a large, rough hand on his shoulder, and he turns and finds himself staring at a very tall, pink haired firbolg. “We just want to have a little conversation, first.”

“I’m sure you are a very nice guy!” The tiefling tells him, still bouncing slightly. “But Essek said a lot of his family are dicks, so we just wanna check.”

“Yeah,” comes a new voice, and he turns to find a dark skinned human woman in a blue suit. She is also wearing a sash, although her’s says Caleb’s Best Friend Fuck Gender.  “We just wanna make sure you aren’t here to start shit. Say something homophobic or something fucked up on his wedding day.”

A part of him feels warm on his brother’s behalf. The Essek he used to know never had friends who would stand up for him like this. He blinks slowly, and tries to find a kind smile within himself. “I’m not our mother,” he tells the three friends of Essek, and hopes it’s enough to convey his sincerity.

The firbolg slaps him on the back. “Good enough for me!” He points in the general direction of the center of the room. “He’s dancing with his husband.”

He wanders, for a little bit, but he still doesn’t see his brother. Instead, he decided to amuse himself by counting how many other people are wearing sashes like the tiefling and the woman in the suit. The firbolg is wearing one, too, he realizes, only his is on backwards; it says Made of Tea. There is a halfling in a yellow dress who has a sash that says Mama Bear. A half-orc wearing a ridiculous pirate hat whose sash says Best Captain. An incredibly buff woman with dark hair is dancing with a purple tiefling in a dress, and both of them are wearing sashes, too. The woman’s sash says Made of Honor (Also Guns) while the tiefling’s says Best Dead. The woman dips the tiefling as part of their dance, and the tiefling immediately cracks a joke in someone’s direction, which is how Verin finds his brother.

No wonder he couldn’t find Essek at first. He hardly looks like himself. Gone is the quiet boy who used to hide up in his room, or when forced out into public, hid behind several layers of thick robes. Instead he’s dancing in the center of the room, and the center of everyone’s attention, too. His brother wears a silk white halter top that sparkles in the starlight. Verin thinks it may be slightly translucent, too, but he’s too far to tell at this distance. His top is tucked into high waisted dark trousers with shiny gold buttons on them. Unlike many of the women here, his brother is wearing high heels, and more makeup than most of the women, too. He wears gold eyeliner and thick purple and blue eyeshadow, but it looks nice on him. Makes him look ethereal, which, Verin thinks, might have been the theme.

The man Essek is dancing with is half a head taller than his brother, and human, too, from the looks of him. He looks like a wizard, Verin thinks, which is sort of a ridiculous outfit to wear to a wedding, but it kind of works for him. He wears a long, light blue cape, robe thing? But the top half of it is sparkly, woven with silver thread to look like stardust. The man’s hair is very long and a vivid red, going down past his shoulders, but it’s been braided in an elaborate French braid, with bright flowers woven into his hair.

He’s also wearing makeup, Verin notices and grins. A light blue eyeshadow.

The song they are dancing to ends, and the newly wedded couple kiss, and Verin turns away immediately so he’s not looking at them, like they’ve done something embarrassing. Shame sinks into the bottom of his stomach as he does so, and he feels himself flush with anger and embarrassment. This is Essek’s wedding, he tells himself. There’s nothing wrong with him kissing his husband.

Why is it so hard to unlearn every toxic thing Mother ever taught me?  Verin thinks, ashamed of himself. His hands grip the present he brought tightly, and he turns to try to find the gift table, to put what he brought there and then go home, and of course, that’s when Essek spots him.

“Verin?” his brother calls to him, so he stops and turns to face him. His brother looks so shocked right now, it’s hard to read any other expression on his face; Verin can’t tell if he’s happy to see him, or angry, or both. “You came?”

“You invited me,” Verin says sheepishly, although he knows that’s not a good excuse. They’ve not seen each other in three years. Part of that is on Essek; he left the family in a storm of anger and hurt, but part of it is on Verin, too. He didn’t reach out to him, even after Verin left the family, too.

“I invited the whole Den,” Essek says, gesturing around the room as if to point out the distinct lack of drow here. Most people are still dancing, but a few have stopped to watch his and Essek’s conversation; most of the people with sashes, he notices. “But they didn’t seem to make it.”

There’s so much Verin wants to say, then. He wants to say I’m sorry, he wants to say I was bigger and stronger. I should have protected you from them. He wants to say I’m trying to be a better person now and I should have contacted you sooner and it’s so hard, unlearning everything they taught us, how did you do it? And did you know Father died, the night you left?

But he doesn’t, can’t seem to find a way to make any of those words come out of his throat. The room is too crowded and too hot, so instead, he deflects. “Perhaps their invitations got lost in the mail?”

His comment causes Essek to grin. “All seven hundred and eleven of them, huh?”

“Seven hundred and thirteen,” Verin corrects with a gentle smile, his nerves vanishing with the familiar banter he’s missed from his brother. “Cousin Gwylyss’s wife had twins two years ago.”

“Those poor kids,” Essek muses. “I hope they don’t take after their father.”

“Oh, they absolutely do,” or at least, they did, before Verin left, too.

Essek practically doubles over with laughter, and when he stops laughing he smiles sharply at Verin, fangs poking out of his lips. “Did you know, Great Aunt Beszrima sent me a wedding gift? It’s just money, but it was still a surprise.”

Now it’s Verin’s turn to practically double over. “Did she really?”

“Oh yes. My theory is that the old bat saw the name Thelyss on a wedding invitation and sent money without looking any closer at it.”

Both brothers are laughing now, a shared joke no one else gets, and it’s so nice, he’s missed this so much. This connection, the shared past and the shared trauma. For a moment, they are just two brothers laughing at their extended family, and they can pretend that three years ago, Verin didn’t accidentally out his older brother to their religious, conservative family. That the fight that broke out between Essek and their father hadn’t turned violent. That, when the storm finally broke, both Essek and their father left, and the next time Verin saw their father he was in a casket, and he thought for years the next time he’d see Essek, he’d be in one, too.

His thoughts sober him up quickly.

“I’m sorry,” he says to Essek.

It’s not enough, it won’t ever be enough, but he doesn’t know what else to say. How can you apologize for not knowing any better? He was young and stupid and impulsive, but that’s not an excuse. How do you apologize for ruining someone’s life without realizing it?

But he doesn’t get the chance to say anything further, because Essek is doing something he’s not done in years, and hugging him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

He sobs before he can stop himself, and Essek is crying, too, he thinks, because he can feel the wetness on his jacket. He wraps his arms around Essek's back and hugs him tightly, sobbing because he feels too much.

“Enough of that,” Essek says shakily, pulling away. His makeup is smudged and runny, and he is trying, desperately, to stop crying. “It’s my wedding day. I’m not going to cry any more.”

Verin makes no such promises, and wipes his eyes on his jacket sleeve.

There’s a gentle hand on Essek’s shoulder, and the man he was dancing with earlier--his husband, Verin thinks--hands Essek a handkerchief without saying anything, although Verin can tell he’s been watching their exchange like a hawk. “Oh fuck,” Essek says, laughing as he blows his nose into the handkerchief. “Verin, would you like to meet my husband?”

“Of course. That's why I came,” Verin says, holding his hand out, wishing he looked less like a mess. “Verin Thelyss. Essek is my big brother.”

“Caleb Widogast,” the husband says, shaking his hand. The Zemnian accent is a surprise, but then again, Verin doesn’t know what he expected Essek’s husband to sound like. “Essek is my husband.”

Verin holds his head down, shame filling him again slightly. “I’m sorry I missed the ceremony.”

“It’s okay,” Caleb Widogast tells him with a soft smile. “Better late than never. We are glad you are here.”

“We are,” Essek assures him. He grabs Verin’s hand, and squeezes it gently. “I am so glad to see you again.”

Verin cries again, and squeezes Essek’s hand back. “There’s so much I’d like to say,” he says, his voice cracking as he speaks. “But I don’t want to ruin your wedding.”

“You wouldn’t,” Essek assures him, and squeezes his hand back. “You haven’t.”

“I think,” Essek’s husband looks around, and Verin notices suddenly that they are in a closed circle of people--all the people he noticed wearing sashes, the people who must make up the wedding party. They are circling them to give them privacy, he realizes suddenly, and he feels overwhelmed with gratitude towards these strangers who must love his brother so very much. “That perhaps, if you two wished to talk more privately, we could provide a distraction.”

Caleb’s Best Friend Fuck Gender  whistles. “We are very good at distractions.”

Best Dead smiles sharply with his fangs pointing. “Something of our specialty, you might say.”

Mama Bear wiggles her fingers. “Chaos crew.”

“Go on then,” Essek’s-- Caleb, Verin corrects himself, tells them, squeezing Essek’s shoulder. “We’ll find you later.”

Then a firecracker goes off (where did that even come from?) and people are shouting and running about, and Essek drags his brother off to talk, privately, for the first time in three years, and it feels, a little bit, like forgiveness.

[supercalvin]

breaking the rules but 5WR for the prompt thing? i was just thinking they went well together and you’d be able to do something crazy awesome with it :)

5. High School AU + W. Pretend Relationship + R. In Vino Veritas

There are no rules here, friend. You can do whatever you want, and I certainly love this combination of tropes+AU. Have I ever mentioned that High School AUs are a guilty pleasure of mine? Which is probably why this turned out so long. Omg why can’t I write 500 word ficlets anymore???

Prompts  (or any prompt)  + Ficlets

***

Lance had invited Merlin to this party, which was the only reason he was here.  It wasn’t that hed didn’t normally go to parties. He did. It’s just he usually hung around a different crowd. Will’s parties were smaller, usually no more than ten kids sitting around his living room, staying up too late, playing video games, and maybe baking some of Freya’s weed into badly made brownies.

Lance, on the other hand, was the type of person to get along with a lot of different people. So not only was he close friends with Merlin, but he also happened to be friends with people in the drama club, the student council, and the football team. To be fair, it was hard not to like Lance.

So Merlin didn’t usually go to crazy house parties filled with football and rugby players. He was beginning to wish he had made Will come with him, even though he knew Will would just complain the whole time. Merlin was chatting with Elyan, a bloke he knew from maths class, trying his best to not seem out of place. He sipped on his beer, and prayed Lance would come save him at some point.

“Hey, it’s Merlin!”

To say that Merlin was surprised when Arthur Pendragon flung an arm around his shoulder and smiled at him would be an understatement. To say that Merlin was surprised Arthur Pendragon knew his name and apparently was happy to see him, was an astronomical understatement.

“Hey,” Merlin smiled, trying his best to seem nonchalant. Arthur smelled strongly of cologne, and Merlin had to mentally remind his tipsy-brain that saying ‘you smell good’ would be supremely awkward.

“Lance said he invited you,” Arthur said, still smiling at him. “I’m glad you made it.”

Merlin shrugged, “Why not, I guess?”

“Arthur!” Someone from across the kitchen yelled, “Where are the towels?”

Arthur groaned, “Bunch of children. I’ll be back,” Arthur tussled Merlin’s hair, playfully.

“That was weird,” Merlin said.

“Was it?” Elyan asked, “Arthur’s just like that when he gets more than one beer in him.”

“Really? I don’t think I’ve ever had a conversation with him. I didn’t know he knew who I was.”

Elyan tilted his head to the side. “Didn’t you have history with us last year? You know, with Mr. Garrah?”

Merlin thought back. Maybe he had. But he hadn’t spent much time with Arthur. To say the least, Arthur Pendragon was the Golden Boy oftheir school. He was certainly one of the most popular kids. He was a star footballer. Alright enough in his classes, from what Merlin could tell. Definitely was fit. God forbid if Merlin forgot how fit Arthur was. Merlin was bisexual and was very aware of the fact that in a few hours it would hit him that ArthurPendragon had just been pressed up against him.

But, Merlin reminded himself, he was the only out-and-proud kid at school. And no matter how much Merlin drooled over him; Arthur Pendragon was in a serious relationship with Gwen Smith. Merlin had known Gwen since his first year in Camelot. They had kissed during a Truth-or-Dare game at Will’s back in Year 9. He hadn’t spent much time with her lately, since their schedules didn’t line up, but he assumed if Gwen liked Arthur, then he must bealright.

The party continued for another hour or so, everyone loosening up as more beer was drunk. Merlin mingled with people he had never talked to before and if he was being honest he was having a great time. Merlin wasn’t drunk, per se, but he certainly wasn’t sober by the time Arthur crossed hispath again.

Merlin was sitting on a couch, and Arthur plopped himself down right next to Merlin.

“Hey, you like Triple Goddess, right?”

“Yeah, how’d you know that?” Merlin asked, not sure how Arthur would know his favorite band.

“You wear their concert shirts a lot.”

Merlin wasn’t sure how often he wore Triple Goddess shirts, but he wondered if it was too much if Arthur noticed them.

“I looked them up after I saw your shirt. They’re really nice to listen to while I study. They’re really low-key,” Arthur said.

“Yeah, I listen to them while I code,” Merlin said, wondering too late if it was too nerdy to mention that he liked to write his own computer programs. He tried to cover it quickly, “I haven’t listened to their new album yet. Haven’t the time.”

“I have it upstairs, if you want. Come on,” Arthur stood up and offered his hand. Merlin took it without much thought.

Upstairs was less crowded. Most of the doors were closed andwhen Arthur pulled out a key to open his bedroom door, Merlin figured that was how Arthur managed to keep things from getting out of hand. It didn’t click that Merlin would be alone with Arthur until the door closed behind him.

Arthur pulled out his laptop and popped open the album. The noise from the party was much more subdued in Arthur’s room, and the low sounds of piano and violin came through clearly. Merlin looked around the room as themusic played, unsurprised to see a football banner along with an action movie poster. The desk was scattered with books and the bed was a rumpled unmade mess. Arthur obviously hadn’t expected anyone here tonight. Merlin wondered if Gwen was at this party. He hadn’t seen her. Probably not, if Arthur was here with Merlin of all people.

“Isn’t the lead singer of Triple Goddess gay?”

Merlin chewed on his nail nervously wondering if this was a trick question. He tried to remember that Gwen was a cool person, and she wouldn’t date a homophobe. Hopefully.

“Yeah, she is…” Merlin said, “And the drummer is trans, actually.”

Arthur hummed. He was leaning against his desk, flipping around one of his books. He looked nervous, which was strange to Merlin.

The song changed and the beat was mellower.

“Is that, uh, why you got into the band?”

Merlin rubbed the back of his neck, “Actually, yeah, that’s how I found out about them. They have a music video with two guys, uh, you know, together.” Merlin shrugged. He hadn’t talked much about his sexuality with anyone besides Will or his mum. He wasn’t sure why Arthur was asking. Maybe he was just trying to make conversation with what little he knew about Merlin.

“Yeah, I saw that one.”

Merlin rocked back on his heels.

“So…” Merlin struggled to think of anything he knew about Arthur. But before Merlin could ask about football, and absolutely stick his foot in his mouth, Arthur beat him to it.

“I’m glad you came. To the party. I told Lance to inviteyou.”

“What? Why?”

“I, uh,” Arthur looked up, like there was going to be an answer on the ceiling. “Shit, Gwen said this was going to be easy.” He set down his book and stepped up close to Merlin. He cleared his throat.  “I think you’re fit. And smart. And I know we don’t really know each other, but I’ve never had a good reason to talk to you before.”

Merlin blinked at him.

He took several seconds to process all that.

“Sorry, what was the first one?”

Arthur smiled, “I think you’re fit.”

“B-but what about Gwen!” Merlin stuttered.

“Oh, right.” Arthur said, as if he had forgotten about his girlfriend. “I’m her beard. Or we are each other’s beards? Doesn’t matter. She’s dating my step-sister Morgana. We told our Dad that she’s dating me, so that when she stays over, she sleeps in Morgana’s room. It’s a nice set up.”

Merlin blinked a couple times.

“Uh. Merlin?”

“I think I’m going to need a moment,” Merlin held up a hand. “You’re gay?”

“Yeah,” Arthur shrugged and gestured to himself, as if that cleared that up.

“Holy shit, thank you Jesus,” Merlin said, before slapping a hand over his mouth.

Arthur laughed hard and Merlin smacked his shoulder when he wouldn’t stop.

“Fuck off, you know you’re fit! Don’t torture me.”

“You think I’m fit?” Arthur asked, seeming to be truly interested in the answer.

“Uh, yeah,” Merlin said, trying to suppress a nervous giggle.

Arthur smiled, and Merlin noticed that his teeth weren’t completely straight. There was something charming about him that had butterflies flutteringin Merlin’s stomach.

“So, uh, I’m not out to my Dad. But uh, would you like to, Idon’t know…We could see a film. Or you could come over and we could play some video games? Or something.”

Merlin smiled, “Yeah, I could do that.” Merlin stepped up closer to Arthur, suddenly feeling very brave. “How do you feel about snogging for a bit before going back down to the party?”

Arthur’s eyes widened, “Really?”

Merlin raised a brow.

“That wasn’t a ‘no.’” Arthur said quickly, “I’m just, uh… I’ve never kissed a boy.”

Merlin smiled, “Want to?”

Arthur nodded, “Yeah,” His eyes trailed down to Merlin’s lips. It didn’t take much movement to tilt his head to the side and pull Arthur into a kiss.

When they made it back down to the party, no one seemed to notice that their lips were red and chapped. Merlin had a bit of a bruise on his neck, but he would just cover it up with a scarf tomorrow.

***

Prompts (or any prompt)  + Ficlets

[torisfeather]

Flufftober 4 - Fake Dating

Prompt by @vex-bittys

Read it on fanfiction.net or AO3

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Wooh, this one was not easy, but I managed to finish in time! It's the first time I'm writing fake dating, so I don't know if I did okay ^^'

Anyway, this one is Roman, Remus, Patton and Logan. So... Intruloroyality? I don't know at this point XD

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

Okay, you've got this, Roman thought, that night, at the dinner table, and showed his best smile for his grandma.

He felt so awful, and it felt like everyone at the table could tell how uncomfortable he was. He couldn't even look at his brother or their friends, Patton and Logan, for too long.

Which was bad, because he was supposed to be Patton's boyfriend.

It had started maybe a month ago. When their obnoxious homophobic aunt Beth had tried to introduce them to yet another girl she knew – a coworker's daughter, or cousin, or sister, it didn't matter.

At that point, Roman almost believed she had selective deafness. He and Remus had told her, over and over again, that they were gay, didn't want to meet girls, especially not when she was planning dates for them. Aunt Beth was still 100% convinced this was just a phase and that they could be "fixed".

So when she brought another miss-what's-her-name to their place without their consent, Remus had cracked and yelled: "You can't stay because we're having a gay orgy with our boyfriends tonight!"

Roman had honestly thought that would be enough. Surely their aunt wasn't around his brother enough to be used to the gross nonsense he blabbered all the time.

But it hadn't deterred her. The orgy part, at least, she realized was just a joke. "You don't have boyfriends," she had said, her chin raised in contempt. "I would have known already! You're single and you can give a chance to Natalia here."

"No offense, miss," Roman had said at the lady, who just nodded, looked quite bored. "We are not single. We're dating… uh…"

"Logan and Patton!" Remus panicked.

"Uh, yeah! You know, our classmates?"

"I thought you said they were dating each other?" Aunt Beth said, suspicious.

"No, we said they were dating us! Have you had your hearing checked, Auntie?" Remus asked, and cackled when Aunt Beth gasped in outrage. "What if a bee got inside your ear and started making a nest inside your skull, and that's why you never hear us?"

"Well, I hope you're happy for wasting such a nice girl's time!" she had cried, and promptly vacated the place, followed by the girl.

The twins had high-fived each other and then the rest of the night was spent arguing over what movie they were going to watch to celebrate.

But it couldn't be that simple, right?

Because the twin's mother was very close to Aunt Beth, and so had questioned her sons when she heard about their "boyfriends". Roman and Remus's mom was way more tolerant than her relative, but she was also a gossiper and she couldn't know it was a lie, or she's rat them out immediately. So the twins told her the exact same lie.

Their mother of course told all of her side of the family, as well as their father, who told his side of the family, and now all of their relatives thought they were dating their childhood friends.

So that wasn't ideal, and Roman thought of coming clean, or at least "breaking up", but Remus won him over arguing as long as they believed that, their aunt and any other relatives would stop trying to set them up with people. Which, honestly? Worth it.

And then winter break happened.

Every winter break, the twins and their parents would fly a couple states north, where their grandparents lived, and spend the holidays there with the rest of their family. And it was always expected from the younger people to bring any significant other at least once during that time.

They could have said Logan and Patton were too busy or had other plans, but the twins' grandparents were so adamant they contacted Logan and Patton's own parents to ask for them to join the family reunion, and not knowing anything about the situation, they all agreed on one week.

When they told Logan and Patton what the whole deal was, they were surprisingly calm about it. Logan, especially, thought this was one solution. Patton, of course, bless his little heart, wanted to come clean and apologize, but after Remus begged him not to unleash their aunt on them again, he took pity and agreed.

So Patton would pretend to be Remus's boyfriend, and Logan would act as Roman's. What could go wrong?

Several things, actually. Starting with everyone's ability to act. Roman, of course, was fine on that part. He was a theater kid and he knew what romance looked like. Patton was also pretty good at being all lovey-dovey, except he tended to look nervously at Logan whenever Remus tried something, because he was scared of Logan being jealous.

And Remus tried a LOT. He was a pervert pretending to romance a grey-asexual. And it showed.

As for Logan, well, he wasn't uncomfortable with Roman's flirting, but…

"Roman, your existence is greatly appreciated."

… He was the WORST actor Roman had ever met.

Okay, fine! It was fine! Their relatives were all kind of dumb anyway. The twins' parents didn't notice anything during the trip, and so far it seemed the charade was working.

Except, as days went by, another problem arose.

Roman had probably flirted a little too much. Or maybe it was all the time spent together. Or maybe it was from sleeping in the same bed.

In any case, he had started crushing on Logan.

Okay, not just on Logan. Patton too.

Which was a big no-no. No, you don't get a crush on childhood friends who are already dating each other. Especially in a situation where they are away from home, and thus already vulnerable and/or uncomfortable.

But he couldn't help it. To be fair, he had always been very close with the two. Just not that close. Not enough to notice how cute Patton's sleepy bed-head was, or how gentle Logan was when he was hesitant or stressed, or how warm Patton was when he was hugging him in the morning, or how hot Logan was with his glasses off.

Now he couldn't look at them without thinking "what if", and feeling itty-bitty butterflies in his tummy.

And he was certain everyone in the house could tell. And that was not how he was supposed to act right now.

So he kept his head low, trying not to draw attention to himself, which was very unlike him. And that night, at the dinner table, the boys had had enough.

"I apologize for interrupting, but I believe I have misplaced my phone and I am waiting for a very important call. May I leave the table?"

"Oh, of course Logan," their grandmother had said.

Logan stood and looked at Roman. "Would you mind helping me, Roman?"

"Uh…"

"Come on, you two hurry up, okay?" his cousin said.

Logan grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the corridor and up the stairs. Once they were out of hearing distance, he stopped and turned to Roman. "Now, please tell me what is bothering you."

"What? Nothing! I'm great, let's go look for your stupid phone…"

"Roman, in the past two days you have displayed an increase in signs of stress, you are not doing 'great'. And also, the phone thing was a falsehood."

Roman rolled his eyes. "Logan, just because you took a psychology class doesn't allow you to analyze me, and for the last time, I am okay. Now let's go back."

"I don't think that's right…" Patton's voice said from behind him.

Roman turned around and grimaced as Patton and Remus joined them. "Guys, seriously, you're making a big deal out of nothing!"

"Hey, I didn't say anything!" Remus argued. "You do look like you stuck a lightbulb up your ass and you're scared of it breaking at any point and turning your insides into a bloody purée, though."

"Great, super helpful bro…" Roman sighed. They were all looking at him, and they couldn't spend too much time or someone would come find them, and he couldn't tell them or he'd just make everyone feel bad, and it was all too much. He angrily ran his hands in his hair, pulling a couple time, closing his eyes. What the fuck was he supposed to do?!

"Okay, okay, let's calm down first…" Patton said, and now his hands were on his arms, and he was being so gentle. Roman let the others guide him into the closest room and sit him on the bed. "Now, it's okay Roman, you can tell us…"

"No…" he said stubbornly.

"Roman, we will love you no matter what the problem is, you can trust us!" Patton insisted.

"I promise, it's if funny, I will only tease you about it for two weeks!... Maybe a month."

"Remus, please! Roman, I promise it's safe to tell us."

"And, if I may add," Logan said, "we will help with the best of our abilities if at all possible."

Roman grabbed the pillow next to him and screamed as hard as he could into it. Eventually, it made him feel calm enough to look up at all the worried faces around him. He muttered something into his pillow.

"Ah, sorry, can you repeat that?" Patton asked.

"… I'm crushing on you and Logan. There, I said it, happy?"

Logan and Patton were agape for a moment, but Remus just shrugged. "Pff, me too, you're not special."

"What?"

"Bro, have you seen Logan's bare chest? He looks like a nerdy Edward Cullen. And Patton is the best cuddler in the world."

"How the fuck can you be so calm about this?!"

"It's just feelings, nobody's dead yet!"

"Yet?!"

"Okay, time out!" Logan asked, clapping his hands like a preschool teacher. "I think we need to assess the situation step by step…"

And then he stopped, because Patton was kissing Roman with all of his uncontrolled impulse. Remus cheered and kissed Logan, and for about two minutes there were nothing but kissing noises and sighs in the small room.

"So, um, does that mean you guys also…" Roman started, when his mouth was free again.

"For literal months," Logan admitted.

"That's so much time we have to make up for!" Remus cried.

"Agreed," Patton said, blushing. "We, um… We should go back, everyone's still waiting."

Roman's eyes widened and he fell back on the bed dramatically, hiding his face in his hands. "How the fuck are we going to tell them?!"

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

Run Run Shinsou (Shinsou Hitoshi X Reader)

TIME FOR SOME HOLIDAY FLUFF!! AND HOLIDAY HIJINKS!! I’m serious Christmas shopping is the WORST and ugh this is partially inspired by some Christmas movies that involved the hardships of Christmas Shopping and my own experiences in how exhausting it is...

I’m certain it’d be easier if I had Shinsou’s power though... 

Summary: This Christmas holiday isn’t new to Shinsou, but getting a gift for the person he loves certainly is. And he goes to great lengths to get you a good one. 

You gave a deep groan as you managed to stumble to the dorms with your head up to let out more groans. “You made it out alive (Y/N).” Uraraka stood beside you with a nervous smile, with Tsuyu next to her.

“I’m honestly impressed given that you haven’t really been sleeping at a good time.” Blunt as ever she nonetheless was happy that you managed to work your way through this semester even though you were losing motivation and sleep over the last two weeks.

“Tell me about it… ugh thank GOD it’s over and now I can just… go to sleep…” You confided in your girlfriends since school semesters worked differently in Japan and so school literally just finished and now this meant you could relax for a day at the dorms, have a party with your classmates the next and then go home to your family to celebrate the actual Christmas day.

As you waved a ‘see ya’ to the girls you slowly walked like a zombie to find your dorm. The only thing that made you perk up was your boyfriend hanging by the door as he gave you a casual wave and smile. “Hey.”

The two of you arranged to meet up and hang once school officially ended for the rest of the year, at least until the holidays, and you were so glad that now you could relax with your sweet Shinsou. Even though you were tired as hell.

“Oh Hitoshi… thank God you’re here…” You chuckled as you opened your door to let him into your less than clean room but since he wasn’t the cleanest guy in the world he was perfectly okay with it. Then again, it was comfortable around Shinsou since he was a pretty blasé, casual guy himself. He just tried a LITTLE extra harder with you though even if you and he could be casual and relaxed.

“Oh yeah? Missed me that much?” His smirk made you scoff and roll your eyes, “Well who else is gonna listen to me bitch about how hard school is getting?” You asked as he shrugged his shoulders as the two of you lied down on your bed.

“You know you’ve got a point. I need you to bitch about my issues too…” He couldn’t deny that, you could vent to him all day and he’ll be happy to listen, because you were happy to listen to him about his problems too.

Still, you really did miss him as you cuddled up next to him, “But yeah… I missed being close to you… school is so fucking hard and I just needed a hug…” Your words made him blush warmly as he smiled at you a little bit. “Sure.” He said as he did give you that nice, warm hug you had been wanting.

“I get it… I needed a hug too… my partner and I barely made it through that exam.” Shinsou knew that’s what stressed you out for the past week, and it honestly stressed him out too but thankfully Tokoyami was a fantastic partner and easy to get along with aside from the gloom and doom part, but since Shinsou was a little on the gloom and doom spectrum himself, it worked out and they both passed it together.

“You’re the lucky one! You at least had Tokoyami as a partner for the end of the semester exam! I was stuck with Ojiro…” It’s not that you disliked the guy, but compared to the rest of your classmates he didn’t stand out much and his quirk was hardly much especially compared to classmates like Bakugou, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami and Kaminari. Ojiro was very nice to you and he worked hard to help you but… he wasn’t much compared to the others. Yes it was mean to think that but you were human weren’t you?

“You mean that bland, boring monkey Ojiro Mashirao? I’m sure that’s his name?” Shinsou chuckled and smirked when he didn’t seem to remember his name, or at least pretended to not remember his name.

“More like Ojiro Wishy ‘Washy-rao’.” You returned the smirk when you heard that snicker betray him and he couldn’t help but laugh as you burst into laughter with him. Was it the nicest joke in the world? No, but you could be your most authentic and witty self with Shinsou, and he could unwind with you too and say what was on his mind with you.

“I’m serious… you know the gift-wrapping paper that we’ve been seeing in every store? Those have more personality than him.”

“AHAHAHAHA! Oh my GOD Hitoshi… you’re such a savage… but… you’re not wrong. He’s a kind soul but he’s like a sugar cookie, all sugar but no chocolate. I like that he’s sugar but I want to taste a little something more, and he ain’t got more.” You gave him a thumbs up as you wiped your laughter tears away much to Shinsou’s great amusement.

“Well… at least you and I are done… just in time for this holiday everyone raves about… and we don’t even celebrate it here.” He said as he put his arm around you and you smiled at the thought of the holidays.

“Ah… yeah it’s more of a big deal in America and other parts of the world… I like the idea of if though… togetherness, singing annoyingly catchy songs, wearing red and green and elf costumes, watching adorably cheesy movies and eating so much sweets and food without caring about the calories.” You recalled the way your family spent the holidays and how it was especially a big deal in America, and how it was a lovely holiday even though it was busy and sometimes corny. But in a good way.

“Don’t you already do like three out of those five things? The cheesy movies, singing annoyingly catchy songs and eating a ton of food without caring about the calories?” He asked you with a cocked brow which made you laugh out loud. 

“Well yeah but this holiday gives me the excuse to do all of that and no one can say anything! It’s like on Halloween! Where girls can dress like total sluts and no one can say anything.” You pointed out with a cheeky grin.

“Heh… very nice…”

“And plus we get to get each other gifts! That’s the funnest part! I already got mine for you~!” Shinsou’s face slightly paled when you more or less stated that you already had a gift for him…

He… didn’t get you anything…

Yet!

“Oh… that’s great…” He didn’t mean to sound so transparent but you were so happy and relaxed that you almost didn’t realize how uncertain he sounded. “I have a gift for you too.” So Shinsou kinda lied, but only because he didn’t want to seem like a shitty boyfriend who didn’t even get his girlfriend anything. But he knew how he was going to spend the rest of the day tomorrow before the party…

“Awww Hitoshi… you don’t have to get me anything…” You reassured him, even though you were excited already and grinning at the thought of your sweet Shinsou actually going out of his way to get you something! Okay maybe you lied when you said he didn’t have to get you anything… you didn’t wanna pressure him or nothing but it’d be really nice if he got you something.

“Of course I do. You’re the only one who actually gives a shit about what I feel, and the only one who can get me to SAY how I feel. That deserves something nice.” Shinsou said more honestly, his cheeks warming up the more he said it. He wasn’t the most open guy in the world, but he could be more open with you.

And you couldn’t help the big grin rising on your lips as you giggled and blushed giddily, “Ohh… Hitoshi…” You gave him a bigger, warmer hug and nuzzled into his chest which actually really flustered him as he started to stutter, “You’re the best boyfriend ever…!”

Damn… now he HAD to definitely find you a gift fast after hearing that kind of statement. “Y-You know me…” He said shyly and kind of nervously as he hugged you in bed…

THE NEXT DAY...

“Hahaha… oh man now you REALLY have to find her a gift.” Aside from you, Kaminari was the other classmate of the Hero Course he could rely on since he cared enough to befriend him and Shinsou couldn’t really push him away and he grew to like the guy.

“No doi, I got that already…” Shinsou groaned in annoyance at how Kaminari repeated what he had been telling himself for the past 12 hours as they walked into the mall together. He told you that Kaminari is the one who dragged him over here as a ploy to get you off his little plan and you believed it. So that was a good thing…

“Well hey it shouldn’t be hard right? You guys are boyfriend-girlfriend, and you guys know each other super well right?” Still Kaminari was going to help a brother out and Shinsou appreciated it as he nodded.

“Yeah I do… we basically like the same kind of music, movies and all. Especially MCR and Panic at the Disco…” That was one of the first things you and he bonded over, the love of emo bands, along with Tokoyami of course. Maybe he should have asked him what you would like the most since he was your good friend too, but he was with Kaminari already and now he had to rely on himself.

Kaminari snickered a bit as he put his arm around the guy, “You got this! But uh… do you have money?” That was the most important question and Shinsou hesitated before he nodded, “Oh yeah… I got money all right.” He DID have money but… he also MIGHT have brainwashed a Santa on the way over here and pretended to be one of those Santa’s for a little while to take as much money as he could. But in his defense that Santa wasn’t even donating to a good organization, that organization was really homophobic…

“Good!” But his friend didn’t seem to think much on his hesitation or the fact that Shinsou was still wearing the Santa hat he took as the two of them kept walking and looked at all the cooler stores that had some really cool things. Should he get you jewelry? No that’d be too cliché, besides he already get you a nice charm bracelet for your birthday…

He sighed heavily when he thought he and Kaminari weren’t getting anywhere, at least until he found himself at tried and true Hot Topic. And there he saw it…

The Gerard Way Funko Pop. Black Parade Edition and oh my God it looked so fabulous he almost wanted it for himself…

“I know what to get her.” He suddenly said as Kaminari perked up a bit, “Yeah?!” He looked excited too and followed where Shinsou was looking and saw it with a gasp. “The Black Parade…” He was familiar with the band too, and he thought they kicked ass!

“You HAVE to get her that…”

Shinsou nodded in full agreement as he quickly called an employee before anyone else could get it and to his relief they were able to get it for him as he held it close so no one else could see and try to steal it.

Paying for it was a pain but he DID have some of that Santa money to pay for it and left the store with a very satisfied smile. “Way to go Shinsou~!” Kaminari even patted his friend on the back when they left successful… at least…

“Hey, hey! You’re the kid who took my money!”

It was the Santa he had brainwashed, guess he caught onto it when his bucket was empty and his hat was now on Shinsou’s head. “What are you talking about? I didn’t take anyone’s money that would be stealing wouldn’t it? We don’t steal in this society.” He quickly lied as Kaminari nodded to back his friend up.

“Yeah, you didn’t take anything that’s why all my money in here’s gone and my hat! I remember! You were talking to me and then poof! It’s gone! All of it! Give it back!”

“Quite an aggressive Santa aren’t you? I thought Santa’s were supposed to be jolly.” Shinsou backed up a bit and continued to lie so he could find a way to get out of here. “Look I’m one of you, see the hat? I’m trying to make money for donation too.” Another lie but Kaminari was going to go with it.

“That’s right man! He’s super charitable that’s why he’s got his own hat here!” The blonde exclaimed much to Shinsou’s relief, but that was short-lived when ANOTHER Santa made his way over.

“Is this guy giving you trouble?” He asked the other Santa, who nodded, “Yeah this guy took all my money and now he’s lying about being an honorary Santa Claus!” The First Santa pointed at him angrily but Shinsou just shook his head.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

“Okay let’s calm down now, let me see your permit.” However, the second Santa was asking for a permit now and that Shinsou wasn’t planning on. “You really need a permit to donate to a good cause?” He asked even though that logically made sense since all these Santa’s needed to be legit in order to play Santa here at this mall.

And the Second Santa showed off his permit around his neck to show that he WAS legit and so was the First Santa, “Yeah you do, so do you have it or not?” And Second Santa was getting impatient as Shinsou and Kaminari grew kind of nervous.

“I do… in my heart. I answer to the people, as an aspiring pro-hero I can’t let permits stop me from trying to earn money to donate to the needy because they need things…” That sounded like something YOU would say since you knew how to lie out of your ass too so Shinsou took a hint from you and lied out of his ass.

“Hey! Show us your permit!” Oh shit and now a THIRD Santa showed up after seeing the commotion and Kaminari perked up fearfully and practically hid behind the taller Shinsou. “So many Santa’s are coming…” He whispered to Shinsou who was getting just as nervous but still kept his cool.

“You guys need to back off okay? I don’t need a permit and besides, I wouldn’t even donate to that organization. Don’t you know how homophobic it is? Get with the program…” Shinsou muttered in annoyance to the three Santa’s who were getting much too close for comfort.

“Don’t you bash the Savior Squad!” The First Santa took offense to that, and the Second Santa was getting closer, “Give us the money you took.” He more or less demanded instead of asked which Shinsou wasn’t going to do. He wasn’t threatened by these guys, but he DID need to get away from them.

“I’m not bashing anything. Now if you wanna take it just ask, but all of you have to say please.” He then requested of the Three Santas as they all went ‘Fine!’ and just when they were about to say ‘please’ their eyes went blank as Shinsou smirked and walked away, urging Kaminari to quickly follow him.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” He said as the electric-user gladly complied and followed, but neither of them saw a FOURTH Santa show up so he could help his three fellow Santa’s. “Hey! Snap out of it!!” Shinsou perked up and made the mistake of looking back when he saw the Fourth Santa get the other three Santa’s out of his trance.

“He’s getting away! Get the money back!” The Fourth Santa shouted and pointed at Shinsou, whose eyes went slightly wide when he saw the very angry Santa’s all glaring right at him…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDIIYVPRpns

That was Shinsou’s cue to run like hell as he took off in a very fast dash while the pissed off Santa’s all started shouting “STOP THIEF!” “GET THAT BRAT!!” “I’M GONNA PUT A HOLIDAY HURTING ON YOU KID!!”

Kaminari shouted in terror as he backed away when the surprisingly fast Santa’s whipped right through to chase after his friend as he nervously followed. “Run Run Shinsou! Run like Hell!!” And he called out for his friend, even though no duh, that’s exactly what Shinsou was doing as he ran as fast as he could. Thank God he’d been training with Aizawa to pick up on speed. He wasn’t that fast but he was faster than he used to be that’s for sure.

“Stop him!”

“He’s getting away!”

“He took money!”

“Cut him off!”

But the Santa’s called OTHER Santa’s in the area as they stopped what they were doing for a moment to see Shinsou running off, still carrying your gift in his hands as he looked a little shocked when he saw so many more Santa’s around…

Why were there so many Santa’s!

He looked back to see another Santa, and then another, and then another! And then he realized there was now like TEN Santa’s on his ass and now he had to pick up the pace as he ran with a rare, alarmed face when he could just hear them yelling at him among the loud holiday music blaring while he was being chased.

Shinsou moved away when a Santa nearly grabbed him, and then he got lucky when several kiosks showed up for him to go to and cut off the Santa’s who were getting too close for comfort. The Santa’s all nearly bumped into each other when Shinsou cut them off, but it didn’t stop the others in the back from going ahead to try and catch up to him.

But Shinsou had to run past so many people that he was slightly ashamed to use as obstacles for the Santa’s to get past since he was only one person and there were ten different Santa’s so they had more difficulty getting past the poor people in their way.

Even as the Santa’s yelled for people to get Shinsou to stop they were much too shocked and confused to know what was going on other than the fact that Santa’s were chasing some poor teenager for some reason.

And Shinsou grinned a little when he saw an escalator and quickly ran up the one going upstairs, and kinda cut in front of others just to get away from the upcoming Santa’s. “Dude! This is crazy!” Kaminari went to the other escalator also going up and was already panting, but Shinsou nodded nonetheless. “The things I do for love.” He smirked and shrugged before giving Kaminari the gift before he jumped onto the same escalator when the other Santa’s were getting close and ran ahead of the clamoring people who shouted in shock as Shinsou made it upstairs and lost the Santa’s for a moment as he darted into a toy store.

He knew the Santa’s were coming so he was going to fight back this time, and he immediately made his way to the toy section and grabbed several frisbee’s and Captain America shields and threw them RIGHT at the oncoming Santa’s who were unfortunate enough to get clocked and the other ones moved away just in time to avoid getting hit. But when more showed up, Shinsou grabbed two toy swords to defend himself.

“All right? You Santa’s wanna dance? Okay then, but there’s only one winner coming out of this.” He said with confidence despite the fact that there were TEN Santa’s looking fierce with their fists up and ready to fight as they shouted “You can’t take all of us!” “Bring it Purple-head!”

And that urged Shinsou to quickly swat and strike at the first Santa who got too close, and he kept swinging and swinging until every Santa got too close, although he made one Santa stop in his tracks. But Shinsou’s eyes went wide when all the other Santa’s decided to body slam him to the ground in a giant Santa Slam…

His back hit the ground, but he quickly slid away fast and used the Santa that got too close to him and made the others who responded to him stop as he quickly got away and this sanpped the other’s out of it as they all blinked their eyes.

“Where’d he go?!”

“I thought you had him!”

“You let him go?!”

Shinsou snickered and laughed to himself despite the bruises he was going to get in the morning as he ran out of the store as fast as he could and ran to the nearest elevator to get the HELL out of there. To his relief Kaminari had caught up to him, still carrying your gift and panting heavily from all that running.

“Phew… dude… way to go!! That’s my man!!” Kaminari then laughed and praised his friend as they both left the mall together, rather quickly too to avoid anymore Santa’s that were around…

LATER ON THAT NIGHT…

“Let me get this straight…”

What the hell did your boyfriend just do?

“You’re telling me that you took money from a homophobic donation organization, outran and fought off ten different Santa’s just so you could get me a Christmas gift?” Because Shinsou came back to the dorms winded and with a bruise on his chin from getting elbowed by one of the Santa’s you asked him for an explanation, and he gave you one.

“Ah… yeah…” He nervously scratched the back of his neck the more you described the not-so moral things he did just to get you the gift you were carrying.

It was Gerard Way and he was SO cute and it was the Black Parade edition, and oh my God there was no way it was cheap and yet Shinsou took money just so he could buy that for you…

“That is… SO ROMANTIC~!!!”

Instead of getting pissed like he thought you would be based on your tone, you chirped rather loudly and even fawned all over the gift in your hands, “Oh my GOD~! Hitoshi… it takes a real man to steal money and pick a fight with ten Santa Claus’s just so you could go home with a gift… and you did all that for me. Awww…”

You knew Shinsou wasn’t above doing naughty things but that’s what you adored about him, he had an edge to him and you loved it. In fact it was weirdly attractive and something about this whole situation and knowing your boyfriend more than likely made the naughty list was kinda turning you on…

“Really?” But Shinsou was VERY surprised and VERY happy to hear that as he started to blush and bashfully grin, “Oh w-well… yeah I would… do that all again for you if I had to.” He shyly admitted, although he had to admit he took a twisted delight in running from all those very angry Santa’s. It was kinda hilarious the more he thought about it…

Not like he was going to get in any major trouble either, after all, he wasn’t Bakugo or anything, not many people knew he was despite his performance at the Sports Festival.

“Awww… God I love you…” You beamed as you lovingly hugged him, still holding your gift in one hand, “It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten! God he’s adorable…” Giggling, you hugged him a little tighter as your boyfriend gave a soft smile and hugged you back.

“I love you too.” He whispered quietly back to you, sighing heavily in relief that his efforts were good and that he fought for a good cause. You.

However, now it was YOUR turn to give him HIS gift, “Aaaaaand here is your gift~!” As you pulled away you gave him the box that was not-so wonderfully wrapped but Shinsou still smiled as he accepted it and opened it up with a slightly amused smile. He hasn’t gotten presents since he was like 10 years old. Mostly because he tried to act all cool to his mom and dad that he was ‘too old’ to get Christmas presents.

But this gift really shook him as his eyes went SLIGHTLY wide but the excitement was all on his shocked face when he saw it. An actual Black Parade jacket, just like the one Gerard Way wore in his music videos…

He couldn’t even speak he was so shook, and that made you increasingly nervous as your smile turned shaky. “Um… do you… like it…?” Oh my God he hated it didn’t he…?

“No…” Shinsou replied to you quickly and you could feel yourself sweating already until he said, “I love it.” Even through his excitement he gave you a soft, tender smile as you gasped and grinned widely with a big squeal.

“OH! OH GOOD!!” Oh Thank God you were so excited you jumped a little bit as he looked so marveled and excited to put this on. He was probably going to sleep in this…

“Wow… the buttons and everything.” He couldn’t help but examine how cool this looked, it was stylish and wicked as hell just like Gerard Way. “Just like Gerard wore it…” He then put it up to size himself up, and it was definitely a good fit based on what he saw.

You blushed quite madly with a shy smile, “It’s our favorite… I knew you would like it, I know my boyfriend…” You said with a smidge of confidence as Shinsou’s smile turned into a smirk.

“You knew I’d like it? Then why did you look so nervous?” He had to tease you a little bit and it just made you blush even more as you pouted, “Well…! You’re my boyfriend! I have to get you something I think you’d like…! Let me have this…! I had to kick three guys AND girls in the junk just to get this because I saw it first but they tried to take it anyway... Used my puppet-body quirk and everything...” You whined just a little bit as Shinsou chuckled and put his arm around you. 

“Well you weren’t wrong. I do like it, no, I love it.... but knowing that you also broke a few laws just to get it for me... makes me love it even more... my naughty girl~.” He repeated what he had said as you smiled at him once more, “And I love what you got me too my naughty little Christmas elf~.” As you blushed with a warm smile as he grew rather flustered by your embarrassingly affectionate but sweet name as you and he shared a small little kiss in the comfort of your rooms.

“Happy Holidays (Y/N).”

“Happy Holidays Hitoshi~.”

The two of you said rather affectionately before you both decided to get out of your room to join the rest of the party. Especially since the Bakusquad (except Bakugo himself of course) had agreed to sing some Holiday songs with you.

All the while Shinsou had put on that jacket since it easily became his new favorite thing right now, and of course he caught some eyes from fans like Tokoyami, Jirou and Aoyama. “So soft…” And Shinsou was nice enough to let Tokoyami touch the hems of his sleeve, all the while looking very proud of it as he watched you sing along with Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari and Sero.

It's a wonderful feeling (hey, yeah, yeah) Feel the love in the room From the floor to the ceiling It's that time of year Christmas time is here

And with the blessings from above God sends you his love And everything's okay~

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays Oh yeah Merry Christmas Merry Christmas Happy Holidays~.

You were smiling the whole time as you sung with your friends as Shinsou for once got into it and put his arm around you. 

He wasn’t the most festive guy in the world but it felt more like the holidays with you in his life as you nuzzled into his shoulder as he wore that Black Parade jacket and you were still carrying your little Gerard Way Funko Pop.

“I know I said this already but... Happy Holidays Hitoshi.. I love you.” You whispered that last part to your sweet boyfriend who warmly blushed and smiled at you. 

“And I’ve said this already too but Happy Holidays to you too (Y/N)... and I love you too.” Shinsou whispered the same words back to you while you and he held each other and listened to the music, still wearing and holding onto each other’s gifts the whole time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TUMBLR!!!

[jobethdalloway]

Did a riff on the first prompt of @thepriceisrizzoli‘s list here! Hoping to get to more soon! Academy-aged Jane agrees to go to Frost’s family’s Thanksgiving dinner as his fake date, but is sidetracked by the presence of a certain med student...

~*

“Soooo, Jane.”

“What do you want, Frost?”

“What makes you think I want anything?” 

Jane swiveled around in her chair to face him, and he was relieved to see that despite her deadpan tone, she was at least smiling. “Whenever you come in like that, like saying ‘so’ with a bunch of O’s on the end, it’s because you want something. So let’s just cut the small talk and get to it.”

His shoulders slumped, but he stayed resolved. “What’re your Thanksgiving plans? I promise this isn’t just small talk.”

“Oh, Uh, I dunno, I kinda figured I might just go to Boston Market.” She shrugged. “My family’s going to Maine to spend a few days with my aunt’s family, and on top of being really obnoxious, they’re homophobic as hell so I may have told Ma I was gonna be way too busy studying up for our written exam to take a vacation. Even a short one. Took a lot of convincing, but to let her feel okay with leaving me here alone on a family holiday, but she knows how important this test is.”

“Oh, and I bet you’re planning to study real hard,” Frost chuckled.

“For sure,” Jane said with mock seriousness. “Gonna, you know, kick back with a beer and really hit the books. And by books, I mean ESPN.”

“Cool, sounds good, sounds good...but what if I had a counter-offer? At least for the holiday itself? Like, say, an undercover mission?”

Jane frowned thoughtfully. “I’m listening.”

Encouraged, Frost grabbed a nearby chair and sat down to be at Jane’s eye level. “Speaking of obnoxious relatives, my mom invited my aunts’ families for Thanksgiving, and if I show up to another family function without a girlfriend, my cousins will eat me alive.”

“You’re afraid of your cousins, dude?”

“They’re teenagers, Jane. Merciless. I am still getting guff about an unflattering pair of pants I wore to my uncle’s wedding three years ago. Pants that, say, a girlfriend might’ve warned me were unflattering. If I had a girlfriend. Isn’t it so sad that Barry doesn’t have a girlfriend? What’s wrong with Barry? Have we tried setting up Barry with Miles’ neighbor’s niece’s single friend?”

Jane held her hands up, trying to keep her friend from spinning further into a tizzy. “Okay, okay. So.., you want me to pretend to be your girlfriend,” she deduced.” Frost nodded mutely and Jane leaned back, putting the tips of her fingers together. “Interesting proposition. Haven’t pretended to be straight in like, three years. Maybe it was the same day you wore an ugly-ass pair of pants and I saw you while I was crossing the street or something and I was like, that’s it. I’m ready to declare my intent to swear off men altogether.” 

Frost laughed in exasperation. “Sure, let’s say it was that same day. Now what about this upcoming Thursday?”

She pretended to think about it for another minute. “Hmmm. Sounds like it’d be extremely difficult and dangerous. But Jane Rizzoli never backs down from a challenge.” She reached over to grasp his hand, as if they were making a solemn oath. “I’m down, man, let’s do it! And afterwards, if you want to spread it around how great I did on an undercover assignment with you, well...”

“Everyone will know you’re a pro!”

Unfortunately for Frost, things did not go quite as smoothly as he’d hoped.

He and Jane made a great first impression on his family, His mother Camille made a fuss over them, and Frost was almost a little alarmed by how smooth a liar Jane was, coming up with creative answers to all of Camille’s questions about how they’d come to start dating. She had her arm looped through Frost’s, and would swing them or squeeze his hand at choice moments in certain anecdotes when his aunt and cousins come by to also pester the new couple with inquiries. His cousins thought it was "so adorable!” that they’d come wearing matching football jerseys, an evaluation Jane had been banking on, which came with the benefit of not having to wear a nice dress.

“You’re doing good,” Frost whispered in an undertone in a rare moment alone—they had volunteered to go to the kitchen to get more appetizers out for the endlessly snacking children. “Maybe laying it on a little thick, though?”

Jane whirled around from the fridge, slamming her hands on the counter on either side of him and leaning in close. “Sorry, baby, this is what you signed up for,” she said in the huskiest voice she could muster.

“You...almost had me,” he squeaked. “But then you said ‘baby.’“ 

“Oh. Too much?”

“Little bit.”

They resumed their work of emptying bags of candied nuts. “You’re just lucky there’s no single or age-appropriate women at this party,” Jane said with a smirk. “Otherwise, I mean, I don’t know if I could reign in all this Rizzoli charm. But just to clarify, you said your sister was coming, right? She’s very cute...”

“Yes, she’s coming, but I regret I have to remind you she’s straight,” Frost snorted. “So it’s gonna be no dice with Abby. I guess there’s that friend of my mom’s we met. Robin? I think mom said she’s recently divorced, although from a husband. Could be bi, though.”

His tone made it clear he was teasing, and Jane opened her mouth to reply, but didn’t say anything right away. She was pretty sure she had picked up some heavy vibes between Robin and Camille, but if Camille hadn’t said anything to Frost yet, Jane certainly wasn’t about to speculate. “Yeah,” she eventually said. “I dig older women, for sure. But uh, I’ll keep my raging attraction in check for the sake of the mission.”

Her commitment, however, only went so far. When a woman showed up who was single and whose sexuality was undetermined, all bets went flying off the table.

Some of the cousins had started a football game in the backyard, and Jane was fast to get into the fray. Some were surprised to see that the composed young woman they’d been introduced to turned out to be one of the most aggressive in the game, tackling guys twice her size. Jokes were made about her and Frost trying to out-perform each other. Jane was running to catch a pass when the porch door opened, and Frost’s sister Abby walked out with a friend. Jane did a double take, locked eyes with Abby’s friend, and the football smashed her in the face.

She wondered if she’d blacked out for a second, because it seemed very all of a sudden that she was on her back on the ground, and this beautiful girl was hovering over her. Frost had come to her side as well, but it sounded like the game was still going on without them.

“What the hell happened there?” Frost asked, trying not to laugh. “That catch was yours to lose!”

“And I did,” Jane groaned, sitting up and instinctively shifting to touch her nose.

But the girl gently took hold of her hand and said, “Leave it alone for now, let’s get it cleaned up.”

Jane looked at her as if still very much in a daze, and Frost frowned, connecting the dots. He cleared his throat loudly, giving Jane a pointed look. “So, Jane, this is Abby’s friend, Maura. They’re classmates. And Maura, Jane is m-”

“Abby’s classmate?” Jane asked with a smile, which Maura reflected. “Med school, huh? So, you could tell me if this is broken?”

“I’m inclined to say more like a fracture,” Maura said, helping Jane to her feet. “Why don’t we get it washed off first, though? Then I can give you a more proper diagnosis.”

Frost half-heartedly stood up with them, but stopped at the porch rather than follow them inside. Abby was sitting on the steps, and she got up to give him a hug. “Do you know if your friend is like, available, and/or interested in women?” Abby asked. “Because mine is, and we both went to help when she went down and I’m pretty sure Maura tripped me on purpose to make sure she got there first.”

A flurry of concerned Frost friends and relatives surrounded Jane and Maura once they got back inside, but Jane reassured them all that the bleeding made it look worse than it really was, and Camille was proud of the chance to remind everyone that Maura was a classmate of her daughter’s from BCU’s medical school. She steered them to the nearest bathroom to clean up in, and handed Maura a dish towel she was prepared to sacrifice to a bloody nose.

“Normally, I’d prefer something sterile, but I think in this case beggars can’t be choosers,” Maura said, shutting the bathroom door after herself. “Are you sure you’re feeling all right? You look very flushed.”

“I’m...yes, I’m fine,” Jane said, clearing her throat.

The problem was that she’d seen way too many movies where people snuck off to bathrooms at parties to make out, and it was a hard image to get out of her head, and that had made her blush and it got worse when Maura had commented on it. As Maura set about dampening the cloth, Jane rolled up her sleeves as best she could and leaned against the wall, trying to strike a pose that was casual but also showed off her arm muscles in a not-too-obvious way. She shifted a few times, and couldn’t help flexing as she crossed her arms when Maura looked back at her. Maura’s eyes indeed lingered on her arms, and Jane tried to mask how pleased she was.

“So!” Such a declaration obviously required a follow-up, but now that Maura was looking her in the eye again, Jane’s stomach flipped and she could feel her bravado slipping like air out of a balloon. “You...come here often?”

“Abby’s mother’s bathroom? I’m afraid not,” Maura chuckled. She wiped away most the blood, and Jane flinched a little. “You should hold this, I mean, you were pinching your nose before, and you ought to keep doing it for a minute to make sure you’ve stemmed the blood flow.” Jane hastily obeyed, but neither of them was good with silences, so Maura asked, “Have you been here before? The house, I mean?”

“Actually, no—”

But answering while pinching her nose meant that Jane’s voice came out in a muffled nasally register, sending them both into peals of laughter. Maura tried hard to get a grip on herself because it was clearly hurting Jane to be laughing so hard; Jane winced as she tried to control her wheezing, grasping onto the sink to steady herself. They couldn’t look at each other, because the giggling was contagious, and just seeing Maura smile made Jane want to laugh at how stupid this all was. Finally they’d had enough time to regain their composure, and Jane said she was pretty sure the bleeding had stopped.

“So where are your folks?” Jane asked, focusing on the mirror as she cleaned herself up. “I’m guessing you’re not from around here?”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, I mean, you’re not with your family for Thanksgiving.”

Maura shook her head to clear it. “Yes. Oh, right. My parents are traveling; they’re often abroad. What about you?”

“My family’s out of town. I stayed home to be studious, but I’d just have been at my place watching the game alone if Frost hadn’t invited me over. You like football?”

“Mm, not much, to be honest.”

Jane shrugged, dropping the towel. “Not for everyone, I guess. Phew. Doesn’t look too awful, right? What’s the proper procedure from here, like, do you think you could fix this for me?”

With a delicate touch that sent shivers up and down Jane’s spine, Maura took her face in her hands. “I think so, yes.”

Eager to prolong the conversation as much as possible, Jane bit her lip as Maura continued to assess her. “Um, so, if football is off the table, can I ask what you do like?”

“Hm. While as far as I know I don’t like sports, I’m open to having my mind changed because I really like learning. I like poetry. I like going for walks in the rain. I like modern art and going to zoos and I like when girls wear baseball caps backwards. And...” She popped the hairline fracture back into place, prompting Jane to squeak “ow!” but before she could lodge a formal complaint, Maura said, “I like brunettes.”

“Whoa,” Jane breathed. 

It seemed like her turn to add something to the conversation, but then Maura seemed to remember herself—or rather, remember her medical responsibilities. “We should get some ice on that,” she mumbled, as if embarrassed all of a sudden by how forward she’d been. “Or you’ll start to look like Mike Tyson.”

“Hey! Nice sports reference,” Jane said. 

Trying to assure Maura that she hadn’t found the flirting weird (in fact, quite the opposite), Jane reached around her to open the door for her. They were back in close proximity now, and Maura might’ve been ready to close the door again to see what might happen if Frost hadn’t seen his window to barge in.

“SWEETHEART!” he boomed in a theatrical voice, Jane assumed was intended to be loud enough for relatives down the hall to hear. “Thank goodness you’re all right!”

He put his arms around her, and in a moment where it might’ve seemed appropriate for an actual couple to kiss, he suddenly looked weirded out and Jane looked disturbed. Maura noticed the oddness of the exchange, amplified by the fact that they seemed frozen in awkward position, but she was nonetheless mortified and ducked out of the room.

“Dude!” Jane hissed, pushing him away. “We were vibing!”

“Dude, you’re supposed to be here as my date!” Frost whispered back. “Can’t you just keep it in your pants for one day?!” 

“Frost, you don’t understand, she flirted with me!”

“Oh, you are so toast if you ever have to deal with a hot girl while you’re actually undercover.”

Jane gave his arm a light punch. “Okay, okay. You’re right, I’m sorry, I did accept this invitation on the promise that I’d convincingly act like your girlfriend. And I will continue to do so. But... aw, man. Can I please at least tell Maura? If she sees me being all cute with you, I dunno, I don’t want her to think she messed up trying to make a move on me.” 

Frost glanced down the hallway, checking to make sure no one else had wandered over. When he looked back at Jane, she was giving him the bambi eyes and puppy dog pout combo that meant instant death to any and all ill will. “Ugh! Okay, fine, I don’t wanna crotch-block you. But make sure she’s the only one who knows!”

Jane grinned and gave him a real hug. “Ahh, thanks man! Oh, and I gotta borrow this. Don’t worry, people will think it’s super cute.” She nimbly removed his baseball cap as she walked by, and flipped it around backwards. Camille directed her to the kitchen, where she had sent Maura to get an ice pack. Frost was hot on her heels, and as his mother had started bringing food out into the dining room, he loudly insisted that she relax while he brought everything in—to ensure no one else overheard whatever conversation Jane and Maura were about to have.

“Here,” Maura said, handing Jane an ice pack with a dish towel wrapped around it. “That should help. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? What’re you sorry about?” Jane asked.

“F-for...” Maura rolled her eyes, sighing. “Abby just told me you’re her brother’s girlfriend, and I totally threw myself at you and—”

“No, no, no,” Jane whispered. “It’s cool, it’s cool, um, it’s not real. Me and Frost. He’s my bro and I love him, but not like that.”

Maura raised her eyebrows hopefully. “Oh?”

“Yeah, he was self-conscious about coming home without a girlfriend, like, I guess it’s something his family ribs him about a lot so I agreed to come along and kinda help him out. Just this once,” she hastened to add. “Like, just for today. Come tomorrow, I’m gonna be free as a bird. Hell, come tonight. As soon as we leave.”

Her eagerness was obvious and flattering. “Oh, thank God,” Maura sighed feeling much lighter. “It wouldn’t have been the first time I misread a social cue, so I thought maybe you weren’t...” She trailed off, and they exchanged a shy smile. “I may not know a lot about football, but I do know that you looked pretty good out there. Really nice form, for a few seconds.”

Jane snorted. “Yeah, well, I do like to think I’m pretty good. But, uh, turns out I can get distracted pretty easy when there’s a beautiful woman around.”

“That’s going to make your mission of acting as Barry’s girlfriend pretty difficult today, then, isn’t it?” Maura asked.

Following Maura’s line of vision to the counter she, Jane, was leaning her arm on, Jane finally noticed that instead of casually resting her hand on a hot pad like she thought she’d done, she had accidentally let her fingers slip into a cooling pan of baked macaroni and cheese. They both stared for a few painfully long moments as Jane cast about for some witty remark she could make about this situation. That option was not afforded her, though, when Frost came hurrying back in and saw his friend’s hand in a dish. He pulled his sweater up over his mouth to muffle a shriek, which jolted Jane enough to yank her hand out. 

“You useless lesbian!” he said, voice still muffled by his sweater, as he ladled out the portion of the macaroni that Jane had touched.

“Hey, wait,” Jane said, stopping his hand as he prepared to toss the contaminated food into the sink. “That’s still good, don’t let it go to waste, I’ll eat it.” 

Grumbling, Frost grabbed a spoon to smooth over the mussed mac & cheese, and took it out to the dining room. As Jane cleaned the ladle she had just eaten out of, the last of the straggling kids had come running in from the backyard, and she figured it was probably time to make good on her word to Frost and go make a show in front of everyone else. She turned fully away from the sink only to see Maura standing much closer.

“You’ve got some cheese here,” Maura said, pointing to the corner of her own mouth. She held out her thumb before Jane could do anything about it, though. “May I?”

“Sure,” Jane said, hoping she sounded much cooler than her dangerously thundering heartbeat would’ve implied. 

Unbeknownst to either of them, though Jane had kept her word by making sure Maura was the only person she told about her and Frost’s secret plan, they were sharing this cutesy moment in full view of Camille and Robin, who could see it all unfold from the dining room through a small wall opening over the kitchen sink.

“Hmmmm,” said Robin, watching as Maura made the quick but obvious gesture of licking the cheese of her finger. “So, uh, Barry’s girlfriend...?”

“Oh, she’s gay as hell,” Camille whispered. “Mm. This is gonna be rough. I know I said I wanted to tell Barry about us tonight, when everyone’s gone, but it might be too much to hear about his girlfriend and his mom on the same day.”

“What makes you think he’ll find out about Jane today?” 

Jane and Maura came into the dining room chatting animatedly, and Frost rolled his eyes but managed a small smile as Jane blindly reached for his hand. With her other hand occupied holding the ice pack to her nose, Jane used her foot to nudge a chair out for Maura.

“Hm. Y’know, maybe he already knows,” Robin mused. 

[marvinswriting]

Chapter Two- TSS

Previous chapter, here; Master post, here Regina-centric, TW: extremely mild blood mention

"We probably would have been friends a lot sooner if Janis was more trusting and Regina stopped feigning indifferent," Aaron said.

Janis scoffed. "Do you blame me?"

"No," Aaron says shaking his head. "But my point still stands."

"I want to tell the next part of the story. Janis is gonna be biased." I say.

"Jains? Biased? No." Damian laughs.

"Hey!"

Dying for 15 seconds is scary. 

People tell about how they see god or how deceased relative says it's not their time and it all seems whimsical and heavenly. 

Nobody mentions the fear.

Knowing you're gonna die. Not knowing you could wake up.

Regina doesn't remember much. One minute she was screaming at Cady, trying to ger her voice to travel to the tall girl. The next minute was pain, flashing lights, sirens, her own blood.

Regina shuddered at the memory as she walked down the hall. She was on a mission right now. Ever since Regina woke up in the hospital she was filled with a sense of gratitude which was slowly being replaced by guilt. 

Its funny how getting brought back from the dead can show clarity to how fucked up you were in the past. Regina wanted to fix that.

It was her study hall period and she had hoped to talk with Janis, but the girl wasn't there. 

This meant with Regina's luck she was with her giant friend, Damian and she wouldn't even get near her for the rest of the day. 

If the tiny artist was with Cady she might have a chance, but it would still be slim.

Regina looked around the tiny halls anyway, determined to right her wrongs.

She knew she couldn't fix the years of trauma she caused, but she wanted to apologize. Janis truly was a good friend, it was Regina who fucked up the close bond they had. 

The plastic turned down a hallway and froze to find Janis sitting against the wall drawing in her sketchbook.

It was so easy to think about apologizing, but now that she had the chance, all words seemed caught in her throat. 

She opted to silently walking over, sliding down the wall across from the girl.

"Hey." Regina said softly. 

Janis looked up, clearly not pleased to see her there. "You should be in class. Leave me alone."

"You should be in class too," Regina said. There was an edge to her voice she was trying very hard to keep down. She didn't want to get defensive. "I wanted to talk."

"I'm not in the mood, Regina." Janis went back to drawing in her sketchbook. Regina knew this wouldn't be easy, but she had expected Janis to at least hear her out.

"I'm sorry."

Janis looked up with obvious disbelief. "Uh-huh."

"I'm serious, Janis." Regina turned her palms up, holding her hands out in defense. "What I did was so fucked up, and I can look back now are see that. And I'm not even talking about the years of bullying and hell I put you through."

To Regina's relief, Janis closed her sketchbook, looking closely at the girl in front of her. Her eyes trailed around Regina's face as if looking for any sign of a prank. When she decided Regina was in the clear she spoke. "Continue."

"I was scared. I know its no excuse. People started rumors that we were dating and- I thought maybe if I threw you under the bus and stopped talking to you the finger wouldn't be pointed to me-"

"And it worked." Janis cut in. Her voice was low, mixed equally with hurt and disinterest. It was a tone Regina recognized using herself all too much. The I-care-and-I'm-ready-to-cry-but-not-around-you voice.

"It worked," Regina repeated softly. "But at an awful cost. You were my best friend Janis. I was terrified. When I saw that I was in the clear- I couldn't stop. I needed to make sure I stayed in that clear. And it was so wrong of me. I'm fully aware a thousand apologies can't change my past actions. But I want to change to make my future actions better."

"Are you changing for me or for you?" Janis asked pointedly.

"What?"

"Sounds to me like you have a guilty conscious to clear. I don't think you're actually sorry for me."

"Janis-"

"No, Regina." Janis cut her off. "Not only did you out me to the school, but you also outed me to me. I wasn't even sure of myself yet. I didn't get to make my own decisions on when I came out to people because it was made for me before I even knew my own sexuality. I bet you didn't think of that. Yeah, you're right, the bullying and the homophobic slurs where a shitty touch, but don't pretend like you know what I went through." Her voice while started angrily, was straight-up venomous by the end. "I don't know what you earn from fucking with my feelings with a fake apology, but I'd appreciate if you stopped."

"The apology wasn't fake." Regina said softly. 

"Okay, then what were you hoping to selfish earn from it."

"Nothing," Regina said. And it was honest. "I died Janis. I've been given a second shot at life. I'm not overly religious but I do think it's a chance to fix the awful fucking mistakes I made. I truly feel so fucking bad. I am one hundred percent aware that I have no right to ask for your forgiveness. And I'm not. All I'm asking is that you actually think about my apology. I do want to fix things."

Janis was quiet for a moment, staring at the hallway floor beneath them. "Sure." She said finally. She shoved her sketchbook into her backpack before looking at Regina. "I still don't trust you and would rather you stayed away though."

Regina nodded. "I understand."

The bell rang, causing them both to jump. 

Had they really been sitting here for so long?

Janis mumbled something that could have equally been a goodbye or a fuck off.

.

Regina knew she had a lot of work cut out for her. She also knew it was very likely she would never be Janis's friend again. Even if Janis forgave her, her giant friend definitely seemed like the overprotective type. Not that Regina could blame him, she had given him every reason to be in the past. Regina swung her bag over her shoulder, walking to the tiny pick up the zone with a new sense of purpose. 

.

Her first opportunity to prove herself came not ever three days later while walking through the giant halls with Gretchen and Karen. They were walking slowly, taking in the halls. Regina almost didn't hear it over the buzz of the hallways, but there was no way to miss the cocky tone owned by none other than Shane Omen.

"Wait." Regina said, tugging a strand of Karen's hair. The blonde immediately stopped. Regina turned to where Shane stood in front of Damian who was protectively holding Janis close to him. 

"Hey, Shane?" Regina called, snapping the bully out of whatever homophobic insult rant he was on. "Please shut the fuck up. You're presence is giving me hives."

Shane looked like he wanted to retort something, but Regina placed her hands on her hips, a typical challenge of power for her. She was the queen of this school and Shane wasn't dumb enough to try and pull something.

"Whatever." He said before stalking away.

Regina eyed Janis and Damian for a moment, watching them both visibly relax. She made eye contact with Janis but didn't say anything to the artist.

"Okay," She said, tearing her gaze of the girl and facing forward again. "We can head to class."

.

It was a small action, yeah, but it was something she never went out of her way to do before. It was something she should have done a long time ago. And she knew Janis could recognize she tried from the look on her face that day.

.

It was a week since she last tried for English after school help. Regina wasn't one to stay after for classes, but she needed to turn her grades around fast. But when she walked into the room to see Janis and Aaron sitting at opposite ends of the room and no teacher, she groaned. 

"Are you kidding me?"

" 'fraid not," Janis said, not even looking up from her sketchbook. 

Aaron just shook his head with disappointment. "I gotta pass this class but I can't do it if the teacher doesn't stick to her word."

"Glad it's not just me," Janis says looking up. 

"Oh please, book smart award-winning artist cant do English?" Regina snarked, rolling her eyes before catching herself. "Sorry." She added in quickly.

Aaron's eyebrows raised like he's never heard a genuine apology from Regina before.

Probably not.

"I'm failing from skipping so much if you must know everything," Janis said tensely. 

"Okay," Aaron lifted his hands out, trying to defuse a quickly heating situation. "We're all in the same boat, why don't we study together?"

Regina and Janis stared at each other momentarily before shrugging.

"Sure." Janis got up, moving to a desk closer to the center of the room, Aaron doing the same. Regina sat down as well, pulling out her notes. 

"So, Janis is failing because she doesn't come to class, I'm failing because I can't be bothered to do the work, and Aaron is failing because he doesn't understand it. How are we supposed to help each other?"

"Mutual needs," Aaron says. "I need you to to help me understand, Janis needs to go to class in order to explain to me, and you need to do the work to help as well."

"Sound like you get more out of this than us, but sure soccer boy," Janis said, but she grinned despite the insult. "So what are we learning about right now?" She started.

.

"The teacher never showed up if you were wondering," I say.

"None of us were surprised though." Janis shook her head. "She skipped class more then I did."

"And that's probably saying something." Cady laughed. 

tag list! @musicallygt @realmisspolarbear @smallsoysauce @sourishlemons

[into-control]

submission:

(i’m making my comments along the way in bold because whew)

my v embarrasing old showmila fanfic

context: I was technically 11 yrs old, but very nearly 12 (😭). this was written in the IKWYDLS era, and I'd only just become a fan of shawn and fifth harmony, so I barely knew anything about their personalities. I really believed that shawn and camila were secretly dating. and for some reason, I clearly thought shawn was some kind of cocky bad boy 🤦 

anyway, this is super embarrassing lol. I've deleted the fic from quotev now. the plot of the fic was basically that shawn makes a bet with those vine guys he was friends with that he can get camila to fall in love with him in a week. but then, once they eventually get together, camila starts getting stalked and threatened by a crazy gay fan of shawn's that's in love with him and hates camila. (homophobic undertones I know 😬 I'm gay and was def not impressed with myself reading it back)

EXTRACT 1:

Summary: Shawn made a bet with Cameron and Jack that he will get Camila to fall for him by the 1 week deadline but somewhere along the way he found himself falling in love with her- and hard. What will happen when Camila finds out? Will Shawmila survive? Or is Shawn finally gonna find out what it feels like to be broken in pieces?

A certain brown- eyed heartthrob barged into Camila's dressing room. "Shawn!" she screamed, dropping the magazine she had been gazing at. Shawn was curious; he strolls over to the magazine and picked it up. On the front cover was a huge picture of himself. He smirked. "Camila, why stare at a picture of me when you can stare at the real thing baby girl?" Camila was confused, what did he mean? She snatched the magazine off him and she sighed. "That's not the page I was looking at," she explained, turning to a page where there was a shirtless pic of Taylor Lautner. She hands it back to him. (omg heterosexual icon)

"Wait, what'd ya mean? I am way hotter than some man who plays a dog!" Shawn exclaims cockily. "Haven't you seen Twilight, Shawn? He's a werewolf!" "Shawn too cool to watch Twilight," he countered. (why is he talking like a caveman pls)

EXTRACT 2:

Cameron turned to look at Jack. "He's been flirting with Cabello again!" he said to him, clearly irritated. Wait, what? He was not flirting with Camila, they were fighting!!! Were his friends blind? "Dude, face it. You soo like her," said Jack. "I do not have a crush on Camila!" "You visit her every day, have your dumb flirt/fights and you always talk about her- always!" shouted a frustrated Jack. (the way jack used a slash in an out loud sentence) "Only because it's fun to annoy her and if I liked a girl I would ask her out!!" "No You're afraid that she doesn't like you, that you'll get rejected and made a fool of yourself!" Cameron guessed. "Fine! I will get Camila Cabello to fall for me and guess what; I can do it within one weeks!" He yells in anger. Oh no, Shawn Peter Raul Mendes never loses his temper. (u serious right now) "It's a bet then. And if Jack and me win you have to admit you love her, in front of everybody!" said Cameron. Shawn agreed but as he walked away, he wonderes if he'd made the right choice. Oh well, time to turn on the Shawn Mendes charm, he thought, popping his collar. Starting from tomorrow. Though"

EXTRACT 3:

As he walked back to his table, he felt happy- it was because he was going to prove Cameron and Jack wrong. He ate his sandwich without saying a word to his friends and went to go to the flower shop. "Hey get me the best roses you got," he demanded. The employee's eyes widened and before she could say anything, he interrupted. "Yeah yeah I'm the awesome Shawn Mendes, hit singer, now get the flowers lady" (GSHDHDHAHSHAHHA) She rushes over and grabbed some expensive looking roses; he paid the money and gave a 100 dollar tip and headed back to the Fifth Harmony house. He left them on the table in Camila's dressing room that shared with Dinah, with a careful note. As he walked out, he bumped into Miss Cabello herself. "Shawn, what were you doing in our dressing room!" she shouted. "You'll see," he replied mysteriously, before walking off in his bad boy stroll. She shrugged and stepped inside, when she spotted the flowers on her table. They were roses, she read the note. It said: To Camila, saw these and thought you would like them, from Shawn Mendes. She awwed and put them in a vase. From behind the door, Shawn watched and was proud of himself. He was a step closer to winning his bet.

EXTRACT 4:

Shawn nodded his head. "Camila, I have to tell you a secret," She looked at him. "Okay you know how I've been acting weirdly lately?" Shawn explains.. "What, you mean like when you insulted me in Spanish, dressed all stupid then screamed when you saw the reflection, followed me around everywhere and flirted with a guy because I asked you to? Nooooooooo, that wasn't at all weird," Camila said sarcastically. Shawn looked down in embarrassment. "Yeaaaah, you see, I was acting like that because I was trying to win a bet, I made with Cameron and jack" shawn explained. She looked confused. Camila was so cute when she was confused. "What kind of bet?" she asked him. "The bet were to get a girl to like you," Shawn continues. "Well, who was that girl?" she questioned. Was it just him or did she look… jealous? Shawn panicked and blurted out. "Uh, she has pretty dark hair and is Spanish," Camila looked upset. "Oh, so you like Lauren then. Well, you can go tell her now," (SHUT UPDJFJ) Shawn slapped a hand to his forehead. "No, it's you Camila!!!" he admitted She looked at him. "Whaa-?" Shawn sighs. Maybe he should have been scared. "I really really like you Camila," She hugged him tightly. "Really Shawn?" Shawn nodded. "Do you want toa go to that new food place tonight?" He asked. She looked like she was thinking about it. "Eres un idiota, pero frente Shawn seguro," she said. He gave her a confused stare. "I knew you couldn't speak Spanish!" Camila said triumphantly. Shaw looked at her. "Yes and Shawn? I really like you too," she said

EXTRACT 5:

Shawn smirked and went to sit next to Camila. They looked at each other, thinking the same thing because they were so connected. Their friends all hated them being lovey-dovey so they made it into a game. They acted like a perfect couple when they were around. Their reaction were always hilarious. Shawn started off. He gazed into Camila's eyes and pretended he was in a Twilight scene. "Hello Camila-bear, I missed you so much," Shawn said realistically as possible. (manibear is shaking) Camila played along and sighed. "I know, Shawnykins. It's been almost 5 whole minutes. I can't possibly go that long without getting lost in your dreamy chocolate eyes," Camila put in a dreamy sigh for good measure. Their friends are staring at then horror- struck, like they want to look away but couldn't. Yes! It was working! "I'm so happy you feel the same way! I was worried you had…" Shawn paused dramatically. "…forgotten about me," Camila gasped in horror. "I would do anything for you, MiMi," Shawn finished. Camila frowned at the nickname, knowing Shawn was trying to annoy her. "Oh Shawn!" she sighed. "Camila!" He copied. They both leaned in shared a short kiss then pulled away, looking at their reactions. Lauren had her mouth half open and was staring into space, horrified. Normani had her eyes covered and was yelling, "Make it stop! Please make it stop!". (lauren baby i’m gonna get you out of there) Ally held onto Dinah liks a cuddly toy and Dinah looked like she wanted to push her away but was too busy trying to breathe, like if she found out her favourite lipstick was discontinued. Shawn's friends the girls were holding a hand to their mouth while the guys looked like they wanted to be put out their misery. Shawn couldn't take it anymore. He and Camila began laughing hysterically, clutching their abs and holding tears of laughter.

EXTRACT 6:

Shawn swiped the don't answer button and tried to go back to sleep. Then his phone beeped loudy. He sighed and read the text. It was from his girlfriend Camila. To: Shawn From: Camila shawn sum1 at window help! He read it and quickly hopped out of bed and ran all the way to the Fifth Harmony house to the bedroom Camila was in without shoes on. She was carrying a lamp in one hand and her phone in the other hand and was hiding behind the door. Shawn walked forward and pur his hand on her shoulder. She jumped but then She hid behind Shawn as he crept slowly towards the window. Camila whisperers something to him, terrified. "Th- they wer- were tapping o- on the window, then I s-saw a human sh- shadow across the wall," Shawn locked the window and lied on the floor while Camila was on the bed for the night. she fell asleep and Shawn took out his new iPhone. (rich king) He said on twitter that he was looking for a bodyguard for his girlfriend and that interviews were gonna be at his mansion at 2:00, tomorrow. (he prolly put it on craigslist or something) He looked at Camila. She looked so peaceful and cute when she was sleeping. Stupid cute Camila. Suddenly she started turning around in her sleep and got a few sweat droplets on her forehead. Gross, wait, was she having a nightmare? I have got to wake her up! Shawn stood up and ran over to her. "Camila!" he whisper- yelled.

[incarnateirony]

So now I’m gonna be that butch bitch.

Socially relevant wide topics is not a specific sub blog of anyone that happens to hold an opinion in that topic. I barely even touch my home tab because of how insufferable this fandom dialogue tends to be beyond scrolling through entire vats of whatever the hell is going on and addressing it in general address in a wide host of conversational points. Which literally anyone can see with how few blogs I engage and how rare a burst of gif reblogging even is. Did you tag me directly and land in my notification stream, no, then I probably have no idea what you’re saying. This isn’t hard.

This, on the other hand, is a petty gay sub blog.

Please note there’s a very distinct difference between these and LGBT cinema discussion someone may or may not take offense to.

I’ll give you a hint: my sub blogs are short, pointed, sassy, generally include a random media reference like a video game video or this little piece of art, and are doused in sarcasm. They’re the fandom version of “ok, boomer”. Sure, I do sub blog. We all do. Let’s be real dears. But nah fam. That ain’t it.

Anyone that insists on projecting themselves into a set of shoes left on the floor is free to do so, but they need to recognize that’s what they’re doing with general discussion. No, picking a fight with me on a different social media platform and then pretending any other conversation is targeting you isn’t how it works. I can’t stop anyone from recoiling to the content. And I’ve been EXTREMELY forward on where the door is if they want to continue using regressive angles or taking personal offense to general conversation points. This isn’t new.

Jesus fucking christ.

And for the love of fuck stop treating me like I’m some big name fan. I don’t do conventions, events, actors, I don’t give a shit about shipping culture, I don’t do FB groups, I’m literally not *here* for any of that bullshit. Respectively having a few thousand followers isn’t *shit* on a platform where the big blogs range 8-14,000. I am not. Here. For this clout. Chasing. Bullshit. And I don’t want it anywhere near me. And I didn’t ask to be any kind of leader, or want to be any kind of leader, and magically, this BNF leader that I am had a grand total of 0 fucking people coming at anybody. Just a few telling them to stop escalating their own internalized issues against someone else. If you think that’s unreasonable, I don’t know what to fucking tell you.

If you’re here for fandom drama or personal validation, please, leave me the *fuck* alone. I am not here to be the mother to 2000 grown assed people. Thankfully many of you are reasonable, but for whatever 1% is out there getting *mad* that I’m not conforming, I swear to god, leave me the FUCK ALONE.

I have never been a proper agent of fandom. I have never obligated myself to washes of fandom yelling regardless of if it’s “my lane” or “my friend.” And no, I’m not due to “self reflect” just because *somebody else chose to think I was talking about them.* That’s not how that WORKS. I can’t self-reflect to magically engineer intentions or thoughts somebody else put in their head and projected my way, holy shit balls man.

You wanna know why people talk bullshit about Destiel fandom? This narcissistic manipulative bullshit, this false extremization of talking points, all of it. And no, not every Destiel fan does that before someone warps that. But there’s a reason so many people are hiding from this shit in tag commentary, and it’s THIS. You can deadass say “While I agree we should aspire for better representation we should also make sure to not trample on the work of what people ARE fighting for right now” and SOME FUCKER, SOME WHERE, will turn that into “You’re telling us to settle and stop fighting! You’re a homophobe!” even though it says the opposite JUST ABOVE WHATEVER THEY’RE EXAGGERATING, and yet SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE, will be like “You know what, this resonates with my current feelings, now I’m going to make it dictate this real person’s reality even though that is clearly NOT WHAT THEY’RE FUCKING SAYING.”

I have. ALWAYS. Said. I am not here. For fandom bullshit. This 0 to 100, all or nothing, black or white, Fall In With The Hoard Or Perish By Us Lying And Footstomping And Demanding People Unfollow The Person Who Won’t Fite Me Nao *bullshit.* No, taking a strong stance or having a strong opinion contrary to the Borg is not hArAsSmEnt. What’s fucking harassment is intentionally stalking down people’s materials to pick fights across multiple SM platforms and trying to make it all about YOU while they’re minding their bullshit on their own walls. CHECK YOURSELVES. What’s ~~bullying~~ is trying to incite hive mind attacks. What’s abuse is demanding anyone else tolerate it, much less warping “them or me” choices just because someone *disagrees* with you. 

Nobody sent anybody at the person in question. In fact, they sent themselves, and continued to double down that it had to all be about them, then directed friends to engage and continue it afterwards. The only person that outted them was them, and they fucking @’ed me, so I don’t know what the *fuck* you expected from me. Even if I WAS sub blogging them -- which 1000% not -- not a soul on the fucking planet would have known them until they threw themselves out into the field because IT WAS ADDRESSING MULTIPLE FANDOM TOPICS; and even when they threw themselves out, nobody actually came at them. They just told them to stop. ... And then after that when their friends were told I won’t judge them? ESCALATION! YOU MUST COME ATTACK ME! uh, no. That’s not how this works. Maybe that’s how you’re all used to this working, but that’s not how this works. I can very well say “Kay, whatever you wanna do with yourself” and leave it there.

I don’t ask anybody to come to my wall. I don’t ask you to come pick fights with me. I don’t ask you to troll across multiple media platforms looking for an opening just to get mad when I’m already too exhausted to deal with you. 

I can tell you the one thing you probably shouldn’t do though, and that’s follow a fandom commentary opinion blog and head nod and bobble to it and go “YEAH, YEAH!!” until your own general behavior crops up into the discussion and then turn into a bunch of rabid bobcats and start saying you had a problem with that blog the whOEL tiEM. So, what, you... agreed when it suited you while having a problem with my methods? They’re only a problem if they apply to someone you prefer? 

Get out. I literally do not have the time and energy for this bullshit. I am literally in the middle of my second legal battle in a year while dealing with crippling pain, I can BARELY make my own content BEYOND this conversation, I haven’t even been able to edit for like two weeks,  my game and my projects are all indefinitely paused, I fucking PROMISE YOU that randomopinion dot tumblr dot com is not the highlight of what I’m just out here to inspire shit for, holy shit. Like sure fam, I can barely walk into dollar general to buy a pizza for dinner right now, my house is in limbo, I’m trying to work side jobs while my hip is literally falling apart and my spine is disconnecting from my ribs intermitantly, I might puncture a lung with the effort of sitting down, but you know what I want to do? Stick it to some random FUCKER on tumblr (who can’t keep themselves off of my content while pretending I’m coming at them.) 

If you’d like, with the magic Clap On Clap Off Gay TV invention, if we can also come up with “disability trade” for a feature to live one day in the life of someone, I would gladly invite you to deal with the pain of your anatomy trying to casually rearrange itself. I mean, if we’re all about shoving ourselves into random shoes, go ahead and try mine on. See if you have the patience for this kind of fandom bullshit, let alone to methodically do whatever the fuck a segment of fandom decided I did as some sort of machiavellian plan to sub blog someone I didn’t know fucking existed beyond some other random name account trolling into the middle of an existing conversation on a whole other social media platform.

Is it absolute bullshit to kick into the middle of a conversation, not catch up on the conversation, assume the worst of a conversation because you heard something applicable to you, and to start yelling at people having a conversation that had NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU? Yes, yes it fucking is. No, I don’t care you think I’m holding some grudge from when you farted wrong in the room earlier today, your self consciousness on that front is yours, not mine, fart the fuck away.

Is it even more bullshit to say you aren’t obligated to catch up to the conversation you entered with this angle to and pretend it’s everybody else’s fault? Sure the fuck is. Is it bullshit to @ someone and make literally famously socially abusive demands and then pretend anyone came at *you* after you superman jumped one, two, and five assumptions that it was ABOUT YOU? To just double down because someone’s your *friend* even when the barest application of logic would show they walked in yelling at someone unrelated to them before they set up their drama with a whole ass bass boosting entertainment boom box for everybody? Why yes, yes that is a huge pile of bull shit. I’m not sure why this is a hard thing to grok.

So sure, now I’m sub blogging you. Because somewhere, in the midst of me blogging on every platform about people’s application of bad faith arguments, you decided to bad faithedly attach some sort of fucking motivation to my posts that made it all about *you*. The irony is fucking mind blowing.

I’m so. Done. With this shit.

[crushedbyhyperbole]

Beyond Broken - Chapter Two

Have you read chapter one?

Warnings:  There’s mild homophobia from a secondary character, and implied repercussions by that same character.  Really he’s just old and set in his ways.

For more chapters see my Thor Odinson Mobile Masterlist

The Lonely Man

On Saturday Jess ran the emergency dental clinic until two o’clock when Sadie came in to replace her. She made it to David’s a little after three, taking a detour along the costal road by Ocean Beach Park.  The previous night had really stuck in her head, like the spark of connection with another equally tortured soul.  It was absurd and she knew it, but she found herself driving passes around the block anyway, searching.  It was a futile venture.

William Sr. was full of smiles when he answered the door.

“There she is!”  He beamed brightly.  “My favourite girl.”  His hug was firm and sincere.

“Ahh, Bill,” Jess chuckled, “not so loud or Daisy will get jealous.”

He winked at her with a cheeky grin and waved a hand at her as if to say ‘nonsense’.

“How’re you keeping? I hear you’re still looking after my David.  He really loves your company, you know.  You keep him sane, and me, if truth be told.  He’d be in the house every night moping around getting under my feet if he didn’t meet you almost every evening.  And you know I appreciate you helping out with the dog an all.”  Bill didn’t wait for a reply but pottered eagerly into the kitchen.  “Coffee, tea?”

“Coffee, please.”  She’d need it after the horrific night sleep she got the night before.  “I’m doing ok, thanks for asking.  David an I really keep each other sane.  He keeps me occupied so I don’t think about things too much.”

Bill’s eyes darkened as if a shadow had passes over his face momentarily.  Jess knew it was still hard for him.  It was hard for them all.

“He tells me you’re still enjoying your Sunday night meet.”

Bill only smiled by way of a reply.

“Sugar?  Or are you still sweet enough?”

“Sweet enough.”  She winked.

Daisy came running in at that moment and jumped up at her legs, laddering her tights and smearing mud up her shins.  Luckily the knee-length pencil skirt she wore was spared the muddy make-over.

“Oh you stupid dog, leave the girl alone!”  Bill bent, strained to pick her up.  “Davey boy, come get this dog back in the utility room, she’s getting mud all over the place.”

“No harm done.  I can live without the tights.”

“Hi!” David enthused, breathless, wearing a toothy gurn and wide eyes in place of a smile.  He grabbed Daisy and took her back to get her cleaned. “We’ve just been down to the old stream.”  He called from the other room.  “All the rain has turned it into a river and a lot of the land has flooded.”

“Surprised they haven’t concreted that over to make a car park yet.”  Bill scoffed, handing her a steaming cup.

“Thanks.”  She sipped and sat with William Sr. as he resumed his afternoon TV session.

Watching the news was unbearable.  People were still talking about Disintegration Day.  This new D-Day had surpassed the world war II D-Day by quite a significant factor.  Each city in America, and around the world probably, was erecting monuments, naming all those lost in what they were now calling The Infinity War.  She didn’t pretend to know what that meant but it didn’t change the harsh reality of the outcome.  We had lost but not without trying, apparently.  The scale of this attack was far greater than that on New York and The Avengers had been powerless to stop it.

Jess knew very little about who and what The Avengers were, besides work talk and her talks with David. There had been public out-cry, people slating the group for their failure, calling for them to be brought to justice for bringing this war here to earth.  What had become clear in the following weeks was that this Infinity War had been universal.  Half of all life in the whole universe had been wiped out. How can a small group of people such as they fight a war that large on so many fronts?  It was impossible.

Just leave them alone.  Jess thought each time she heard the criticism.  They’re people too.  They’ve lost loved ones just the same as us.

“You ready to go?” David smiled down at her.  How long had he been there?

“Yeah, sorry.”  She shook herself free of the stupor that had gripped her, taking a long swig of her cooled coffee.  “You sure you’re not up for a late lunch, Bill?”

David shot her a daggered look.

“Nuh-uh.”  He grunted without taking his eyes off the TV.  “I’m not one for these trendy wine bars and fancy restaurants.  You go enjoy yourselves.”

She chuckled, if only he knew how few trendy wine bars and fancy restaurants there were left.

“Why did you insist on inviting him?”  David pouted from the passenger seat.  His feminine side was really showing through more and more lately.  Silas was the likely catalyst for this development.

“He’s got feelings.  And inviting him at least shows we care. Besides, he never accepts.”

She pulled away down the cluttered street.

All but the big towns and cities were becoming more and more run down as time went on.  There were fewer sanitation workers now, hell, there were fewer of every kind of worker, but the same number of streets.  The Stark Foundation’s Disaster Relief Initiative had been put into place two  months ago, where the homeless and unemployed were all suddenly employed and homed thanks to vacancies and empty homes created by D-Day.  It was taking a while, but humanity was gradually getting itself back on its feet.  Things would never be the same but that didn’t mean it had to be all bad.

Jess’s dinner plans with David were mostly a ruse, just as the dog walking was, and virtually everything else in David’s life.  They grabbed something quick in an uptown bar before David shot off to meet his lover.

“I don’t know why you don’t tell Bill that you’re gay.”  She’d said to him once, a few months back.

“Because he’ll disown me and it’ll probably kill him.”  He’d replied, swiping through grinder on his phone.

“Has he said as much?”

“Yeah.”  David had stopped scrolling and turned his phone to her to reveal a sultry looking man with dark chest hair and a shaved head. “What do you think?”

“Too cliché.”  She’d sipped her cocktail and rolled her eyes. “What were his exact words?”

“To quote…”  David had dropped his phone into his pocket and stared at her with an irritated glare.  “’When are you going to get a girlfriend, huh?  Double-you-Jay started dating Jess before he was your age.  I swear, boy, you better not turn out to be one of them fairies or I’ll skin you alive and disown you.’  He also added ‘you’ll send me and your mother to an early grave, damned boy.’”

Jess had accepted that, yes, maybe William Sr. was a bit of a homophobe.  It had been a long time since she’d heard the old man refer to his eldest son as double-you-jay (W.J. for William Junior).  Bill got over that phase when she and Will got engaged. Maybe he didn’t think of him as a man until he was on his way towards marriage.

So that put Jess squarely in the realms of helping David lie to his father and covering up for him while he went and got laid.  It did make her wonder what kind of relationship it was, and would it last if the people in it could only see each other a few hours a day in clandestine meetings of sordid debauchery?  And they were debauched, David had told her as much.

Whatever works for them.  He’s happy.  Let it go.

At 7pm she found herself back on the boardwalk at Ocean Beach Park instead of back at the practice catching up on paperwork.  Heels and a skirt that limited your leg movements were not things one should wear for negotiating uneven terrain; she stumbled a few times on her way down to the waterfront.  The clouds weren’t all that dense yet, some of them looked more white than grey, which was a change.

She leaned against the railing by marker twelve, it really was a beautiful spot. The regal trees and grassy expanse of the park at her back, dissected by well worn footpaths and clusters of flowering shrubs, clean pale sands stretching along in front of the silvery-wood deck of the boardwalk, and beyond, the deep Prussian blue expanse of the Atlantic mantled by tempestuous skies, all perfectly framed by minimum human clutter.

“No dog today?”  A deep voice scared her into an undignified squeak.

Clutching her chest, gasping, she whipped around to face the man.  

“I apologise, if I scared you.”  The lonely man held his hands up in mock surrender.

“No, it’s ok.  Well, I mean, you did, but it’s ok.”  She panted a little, leaning forward to catch her breath again.

There was more light than when she’d previously seen him.  His hood was down revealing dark-blonde hair that was short at the sides and longer on top, a neatly trimmed beard and the most perfect teeth she’d seen in quite a while.  His smile faded quickly as he searched her face with concern, one crystal clear, almost iridescent, blue eye and one hazel eye scanning her reaction.

Heterochromia.  That was rare.

“Once again, I apologise.” He lowered his gaze and began to turn away.  “I shall leave you be.”

“No!”  She lurched forward with her hand outstretched to stop him. “This is kind of your spot anyway, I’m just squatting here.”  She rolled her hand in a beckoning motion.  “Please.  Stay.”

“Very kind of you.”

His accent was strange, English maybe but she wasn’t quite sure.  He leaned on the railing at just over arm’s length from her, respecting the unspoken boundaries that strangers should about personal space.

They stood a while, looking out across the water.  It was comfortable, she didn’t feel awkward until she suddenly remembered his question.

“No dog.”  She said, nodding embarrassingly, giggling a little at how stupid she sounded.

The lonely man dipped his head forward, a smile playing on his lips.

“She’s an energetic one. I trust your gentleman friend is doing his duty this evening otherwise you will have a rampant puppy to contend with tonight.”  He rumbled a short chortle at his internal imagery.

“He has.”   David was family, not a ‘gentleman friend’.

She continued to look out across the water, feeling the chill of the metal railings bite into her forearms through her white chiffon blouse.  It had been a mild day up until now, but with the light fading and the wind beginning to pick up she wished she’d brought her jacket from the car. Her sweater vest only did so much and, honestly, she hadn’t intended to stay so long.

“It doesn’t look as though it’ll storm so hard tonight, the air feels a bit lighter.”  She glanced to her right to see him nodding.  “Will you miss the rain?”

He looked at her then, with a pained look, mouth and brows set into a solemn expression.

“There are other things than rain to cleanse the spirit.”  His tone was almost sagely.  He offered her a thin-lipped smile.

“I suppose you’re right.” Jess had almost forgotten the cold by then.  Her mind was quiet.

They stood in the failing light until ten o’clock rolled around.  The lonely man was the first to break their mutual silence.

“I suppose I should let you go.”  He rumbled quietly.  “Shouldn’t keep you here any longer with my captivating presence.”  He flashed her a brilliant smile and she couldn’t tell if he was being sarcastic or not.

“I’m not exactly handcuffed to the railings here.”  She laughed. A light feeling she thought she’d lost bubbled up delicately in her chest.  For the first time in ten months she felt like she might be able to find herself again, if only she could let herself feel something other than agonising loss.  “But I should go.  I’m the designated driver.”  She raised her eyebrows and sighed.

“I hope your gentleman friend doesn’t keep you waiting again this evening.”  The lonely man called after her.

“Me too.  It was nice to meet you.”  She waved from the start of the trail that would take her to her car.

“Likewise.”

[mikami]

Death Note Audio Drama 06

Disc 6: Grey-zone  - a summary / partial translation

Prior translations / an explanation as to what the fuck this is.

In this: Rem dragging business men, a lot. NightGod228, the playboy. A minor character gets confirmed as gay, but only as part of a homophobic humorous quip, so let’s not get excited. There’s also some fun focus on the internal relations of the Yotsuba Eight, but sadly nothing becomes of it in later discs. 

Hatori is inexplicably nicknamed ‘Harry’.

_______

We begin with Rem explaining the rules of the Death Note to Higuchi, as well as telling him what he is supposed to do / who he is supposed to kill. Rem also somehow discloses that someone she is closed to is accused of murder.

Higuchi’s catchphrase in this is “business is war”.

______

TITLE MUSIC

______

L visits Soichiro in his cell. Soichiro insists on living in the same conditions as Light, even if he could have better. L tells Soichiro that the new Kira murders continue. L is not totally convinced of Light’s innocent anyway, thinks he’s in the grey. He suggests a test to Soichiro, to ‘take some drastic measures’. (Soichiro: “Oh? And we haven’t done that so far?”)

______

Light in his cell. He’s getting taken out of it now, against his will and without explanation.

______

Aizawa trying to get into the new headquarters they just now moved into, in a scene that references the anime one with the belt (just without the belt). Aizawa in this somehow goes by “Shu” with people in the task force, short for his first name “Shuichi”.

Thew new HQ has been downgraded to 10 stories instead of the 23 from the manga. Watari shows Aizawa around. Aizawa refuses to move into the building, due to his daughter going to school totally elsewhere. 

______

Soichiro and Misa in the car. 

MISA: Is that you? The pervert who held me captive this whole time?

SOICHIRO: No! No, I.... I have a daughter.

MISA: Congratulations, I have a cat. Orrr... I had a cat. Uugh, I bet she ran away already and gets her food elsewhere. Uuhh... How long was I gone? How long was I held captive?

At another stop, Light is also brought into the car. The dialogue here is close to the manga. 

______

The task force is waiting at the junkyard that is planned for the fake execution.

______

Light and Misa assume they’ll be let out, but Soichiro informs them its their execution instead. Light tries to... ask for a lawyer. Pretty calmly, too.

But in response, Soichiro is just like ‘well, you’ll not actually be put on trial’ and thus a lawyer is useless. Soichiro says that L promised to kill himself if the murders don’t stop after these executions. 

Soichiro declares that he personally has to execute Light, you know the deal.

Wohoo, mock execution.

______

Matsuda accidentally parked at the wrong entrance to the junkyard, so they have to very quickly drive to the other end in order to reach Soichiro and co.............

______

Soichiro explains to Light why he did the mock execution and how L accepts that as evidence.

______

L talks to Watari. He isn’t actually convinced that Light didn’t just look through the bluff. Thus, he’ll let Misa go as long as she is under police ‘protection’. And Light has to work in the task force.

______

Meeting of the Yotsuba Eight. First Mido presents the yearly finances, which is very quick and without detail.

OOI: If all bullet points get done so quickly, we’ll all end up becoming better at playing golf. 

Laughter.

OOI: Point two. The development of real estate in the Tama Hills. What does your department have to say to that?

TAKAHASHI: I-- I didn’t even realize this was a topic today. Could we delay it? 

SOMEONE: Seriously?

TAKAHASHI: Everything’s gonna be fine. I just don’t have the numbers with me today. 

OOI: I can only let that pass with an explicit warning. The financial department is getting stricter and stricter with the paperwork. One-time delay until the next meeting, but then it really has to happen, Mr. Takahashi.

TAKAHASHI: I’m sorry. It just slipped through.

OOI: It’s fine, we’ll do it next time. Point three and after that we’ll be done already. Who are we going to kill this week?

______

L explains to Light that he can only leave the building if handcuffed to him, but no mention of handcuffs within the building is made. The whole conversation about regulations, dates, and Light being like ‘uh, are we a couple’, etc... those are all pretty much like the manga. L presses the whole memories about their meeting thing for a while and L’s actor will NEVER learn how to say ‘Aoyama’, please save me. 

______

Back at the Yotsuba meeting.

REM: Just look at them. Pretending to think really hard. Like little school boys. Is this really the best that an economic force like Japan can offer?  

OOI: Oh please, gentlemen, someone has to have an idea.

REM (mocking): Just toss dice, Mr. Representative. Let them draw lots. Toss money in the air and check who’s collecting the most. 

SOMEONE: It’s getting difficult. Kira stopped killing criminals and started killing innocent civilians. 

HIGUCHI: Quite apparently Kira is now looking for victim’s from whose deaths he can profit somehow. 

SOMEONE: So, Kyousuke, you are claiming he’s a hitman now?

HIGUCHI: So far there’s been no complaints. Least of all from you. You all agreed to the deal. We can’t just back out now.

REM: What an important point, Kyousuke. Tell that to these men. Eight different departments in this group and not a single woman in the room?

They keep discussing the Kira matter and why Kira is doing it. Shimura brings up the idea that one of them could be Kira. They decide to not look a gift horse in the mouth and to just kill people. In the end, Rem tells Higuchi to just make name suggestions and so he does.

______

Matsuda is declared Misa’s new manager / bodyguard / observation agent. Light finds this ridiculous. L then also asks Light to get more information from Misa, since she loves him so much. Light says he doesn’t like the thought of playing with girls’ feelings.

Light: [...] Someone is seriously going to get hurt. [emotionally]

L: There are human lives at stake in this game. [shitty translation, but ‘to be at stake’ in the German INCLUDES the word ‘game’ already, idiomatically.]

Light: I don’t play.

L: Strange, because that’s exactly how I’d describe your old self.

LIGHT: What?

L: Who is Kiyomi Takada?

LIGHT: A girl I had a few dates with. So?

L: Who is Yuri Ohara?

LIGHT: A girl I had dates with.

L: 73% of your contacts on social media are women, did you know that? 

LIGHT: I’m popular.

L: Over the last two years, you’ve been NightGod228 on two different dating platforms. With more than 500 likes?

LIGHT: I am pretty sure you’re implying something here. But I’m still puzzling out what.

L: It’s just... up until a little while ago, you’ve been a very busy boy. 

LIGHT: That’s not a crime.

L: And now suddenly this change in your attitude. Suddenly a romantic. Did you give a damn for Kiyomi Takada’s feelings? You haven’t called her in a month. And don’t you wonder how Yuri Ohara got over the busjacking you led her into?

LIGHT: I’ve got a lot of friends. Some of them are girls.

L: Most of them.

LIGHT: At least I’ve got friends.

______

OOI: With that, we’re all present.

REM: A handful of idiots.

OOI: Thus I declare this meeting of the Yotsuba group---

TAKAHASHI: Mr. Representative, I have to apologize, but this was a little unexpected and--

OOI: It was unexpected for all of us, Mr. Takahashi.

REM: Because you’re idiots.

TAKAHASHI: I just thought I had until Tuesday to get this sorted out.

OOI: This meeting is not going to be about the financial situation of Tama Hills, Mr. Takahashi. 

TAKAHASHI: Oh. Of course.

It’s actually about Kira, of course. They figure out that impossible death conditions won’t take place and default to heart attacks. 

Someone points out their goals are getting reached anyway.

SOMEONE: That’s not it. We’re starting to get careless.

REM: You’re only starting now?

They point out that these killings are too obvious and that’s an issue.They wanna do something about it.

_______

Soichiro and Kitamura talk. Soichiro tells Kitamura about the new building, Kitamura is jealous of the luxury. Soichiro revels in this. And then Kitamura announces that the Kira investigation is going to be quit. 

______

Matsuda drops Aizawa off at home. He presses Aizawa to move into HQ, but Aizawa still does not want to move in. His wife doesn’t even know he’s on the Kira team.

Matsuda gets called in his function as Misa’s manager and informed she won a contest and gained a movie role. Matsuda obviously has no fucking clue what any of this means and is just concerned that Misa shouldn’t act in porn. The lady calling is audibly confused by the lack of enthusiasm.

_______

Soichiro and Kitamura discuss more about the closing of the task force. Kitamura is very dismissive about the use of the investigation. Kitamura also reveals that the politicians are being blackmailed by Kira to cancel the investigation. Soichiro is appalled.

_______

Light found out the link to Yotsuba. They treat this as if they’d always known Kira can kill through means other than heart attacks, even though in the manga that was a big reveal. RIP.

_______

Higuchi and Shimura in the elevator.

SHIMURA: I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Kyousuke. 

HIGUCHI: Oh really?

SHIMURA: About our weekend project. 

HIGUCHI: What’s with it?

HATORI: Even if you succeed in getting the police to stop their investigations, this L is never going to stop.

HIGUCHI: Maybe not... but.... I don’t know how we’re supposed to get to him. He might be one of the world’s top detectives, but nobody has ever seen his face before and nobody knows his name. 

SHIMURA: And if we had those two things, our... friend could do the rest, right?

HIGUCHI: Yeah.

SHIMURA: Then let’s get out own detective. L is not the only player on the market. Let’s get another detective to find out what we need to know.

HIGUCHI: I like that. 

SHIMURA: Gerald Coil. He’s not cheap, but he knows what he’s doing. Let’s put him on the L case. If we get rid of L, we won’t have any more problems. 

HIGUCHI: Do that.

________

Soichiro informs the task force of Kitamura’s decision. Everyone except for Aizawa agrees to quit. L tells him to decide right now, even though he wants time to think. When Aizawa hesitates, L wants to fire him, but Watari chimes in as he does in the manga. L then asks Aizawa to talk in private.

________

Higuchi and Hatori are golfing.

HIGUCHI: Good blow, Mr. Hatori.

HATORI: My friends call me Harry.

HIGUCHI: Your jaunty golf friends?

HATORI: Well, in that case it’d be you, Kyousuke.

They talk about some golf terms as they play, no idea what that means. 

HATORI: Now we’re almost at the goal.

HIGUCHI: Thanks for the heads-up, I’m not much of a golf player.

HATORI: Well, who’s able to afford that anyway? This field is top league. Most golf players have to earn their money abroad.

HIGUCHI: It has to cost a fortune to be a member in a golf club like this.

HATORI: Well, there’s also candidates who are simply the son of the boss, even if he was never married to their mother.

More golf talk. Higuchi expresses surprise that it’s only the two of them.

HATORI: I wanted to talk to you in private. About our... secret helper.

HIGUCHI: What about him? 

HATORI: It’s a quite intense form of insider business. And it costs human lives.

HIGUCHI: Business is war.

HATORI: And we’re playing the nuclear bombshell card. We’re using... I don’t know, black magic, to get rid of our rivals. That’s going to have a price, I know it. Listen, Kyousuke, I... I want out. I don’t want to do this anymore. It isn’t right.

HIGUCHI: You know what isn’t right? For you to become boss of the marketing department when you’ve just graduated college. Just because your mother is fucking the company president. You know what you signed up for, Mr. Hatori. You could barely believe your luck as you could announce 20% growth for your department, despite that pathetic ad campaign for Space Land theme park. 

HATORI: I understand. Well, I thank you for your honesty. I came to you first because you hardly mince words. 

HIGUCHI: You haven’t talked to anyone else yet?

HATORI: Not yet, no, I---

HIGUCHI: Okay, listen. I understand what’s on your mind. Maybe we’ve gone  a little too far, maybe... we can take a little break. Talk about it. Let’s keep this conversation among ourselves for now. I’ll bring it up at the next meeting, Mr. Hatori. 

HATORI: My friends call me Harry.

HIGUCHI: ... of course.

________

L encourages Aizawa to quit for his family, even if Aizawa is still hesitating. L tells him he needs 110% from his team. Aizawa calls Ukita his best friend here, bringing him up as something he already sacrificed. L says he can’t let Aizawa add weight to his conscience too (by dying). Aizawa accuses him of having no conscience and storms out.

_________

Hatori sitting down at the golf club bar alone, Higuchi already left. He’s having a whiskey. Takahashi is on the phone.

TAKAHASHI: Harry. What can I do for you?

HATORI: Hey Takahashi. That... thing we talked about. I... I, uh, talked to someone else from the meetings. He’ll bring it up in the next session.

TAKAHASHI: So I shouldn’t say anything. 

HATORI: Let him talk first, then support him. It’s going to look like it’s happening without coordination. I’ll also support it, and then we’ll have 3 votes. Ooi is going to remain neutral, as the meeting leader. That means we’ll have enough votes to cast doubt on the whole operation. 

TAKASHI: Okay, so I’ll stay put and wait first. 

HATORI: You can definitely do it. Later.

TAKASHI: Wait, who did you even talk to?

But Hatori already hung up. He starts coughing soon after. Coughing turns into a collapse. He dies.

_______

L informs Soichiro that Gerald Coil was hired to find him and also that that’s him. Soichiro finds the double identity thing morally questionable, due to being a trap. L is unimpressed. Also L wants to bug the Yotsuba building.

________

At Misa’s movie shoot. Misa refuses the kiss, as in the manga.

MISA: I have a reputation, you know. A brand.

DIRECTOR (angry): A-ha. And this is just a movie!! In reality, you’re not an angel!! And Hideki doesn’t even fancy girls in reality either!!

MISA (chuckles darkly): I’ll believe that.

So... here we have our canon gay character for the drama, done for a homophobic joke. Woohoo. The director continues to be displeased with Misa as an amateur actress and wants to talk to her manager.

_________

Inside Yotsuba, Matsuda justifies entering the building by being Misa’s manager. Arguing in the background, between a man and a woman. The woman rushes off to the lady’s restroom. The man, with a heavy French accent, tries to excuse her behaviour. This distracts the lady from the reception long enough for Matsuda to slip away.

________

L and Soichiro still argue about ethics, especially in light of L’s coworkers being criminals. Wedy is called Wendy here and Aiber is called Ivor, do NOT ask me why, I have no answers. 

The poor Yotsuba secretary tries to mediate between Wendy and Ivor by following Wendy into the lady’s room to deliver a message from Ivor. Wendy, however, is not in the lady’s room anymore.

She now notices that they are intruders and calls Namikawa. Namikawa does not take it seriously. He runs into Matsuda after the phonecall. Matsuda offers Misa as image girl for Yotsuba to him. 

_________

Wendy and Ivor are placing bugs and cameras. Wendy and Ivor call each other ‘babe’. Ivor still has the hideous French accent. He also... caused a minor fire as distraction for them. Neat, Ivor.

_________

Matsuda informs everyone that he got Misa an interview at Yotsuba. He had no idea they were already bugging the building. Wendy casually thanks him for giving them more time for being in the building. Matsuda is shocked to find Wendy and Ivor are part of the team.

The cameras are now operational and they can watch today’s meeting live.

OOI: Gentlemen, let’s begin.