[serpentpack]

heyyy im still here, i’ll be posting starters and such tomorrow. i got the covid booster this week and it kicked my ass. 

[sadprosed]

𝑳𝒀𝑹𝑰𝑪  𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺.

↬   SPEAK  NOW  ( 2010 )  by  taylor  swift.

taken  from  or  inspired  by  the  lyrics  of  the  album.

+    feel  free  to  change  pronouns  !

‘  i  left  a  small  town  and  never  looked  back.  ’

‘  why  do  we  bother  with  love  if  it  never  lasts  ?  ’

‘  i  can  see  it  now.  ’

‘  you  are  the  best  thing  that’s  ever  been  mine.  ’

‘   we’ve  got  nothing  figured  out.  ’

‘  i’ll  brace  myself  for  the  goodbye,  because  it’s  all  i’ve  ever  known.  ’

‘  you’re  the  kind  of  reckless  that  should  send  me  running.  ’

‘  meet  me  in  the  pouring  rain.  ’

‘  give  me  something  that’ll  haunt  me  when  you’re  not  around.  ’

‘  my  mind  forgets  to  remind  me  that  you’re  a  bad  idea.  ’

‘  keep  on  keeping  your  eyes  on  me.  ’

‘  i’m  so  glad  you  made  time  to  see  me.  ’

‘  your  guard  is  up  and  i  know  why.  ’

‘  you  gave  me  roses  and  i  left  them  there  to  die.  ’

‘  it  turns  out  freedom  meant  nothing  but  missing  you.  ’

‘  the  cold  came,  the  dark  days  when  fear  crept  into  my  mind.  ’

‘  maybe  this  is  wishful  thinking.  ’

‘  i’d  go  back  in  time  and  change  it,  but  i  can’t.  ’

‘  don’t  say  yes,  run  away  now.  ’

‘  this  is  surely  not  what  you  thought  it  would  be.  ’

‘  i  lose  myself  in  a  daydream.  ’

‘  i  know  you  wish  it  was  me.  ’

‘  i  am  not  the  kind  of  boy  /  girl  / person  who  should  be  rudely  barging  in  on  a  white  veil  occasion.  ’

‘  long  were  the  nights  when  my  days  once  revolved  around  you.  ’

‘  i  count  my  footsteps,  and  pray  that  the  floor  won’t  fall  through.  ’

‘  i  was  losing  my  mind,  but  i  swore  i  was  fine.  ’

‘  you  paint  me  a  blue  sky,  then  go  back  and  turn  it  to  rain.  ’

‘  you  should  have  known.  ’

‘  i  took  your  matches  before  fire  could  catch  me.  ’

‘  you  can  take  me  down,  with  just  a  single  blow.  ’

‘  someday  i’ll  be  living  in  a  big,  old  city.  ’

‘  all  you’re  ever  going  to  be  is  mean.  ’

‘  you  have  pointed  out  my  flaws  again,  as  if  i  don’t  already  see  them.  ’

‘  somebody  made  you  cold,  but  you  can’t  lead  me  down  that  road.  ’

‘  someday  i’ll  be  big  enough  so  you  can’t  hit  me.  ’

‘  i  used  to  know  my  place  was  a  spot  next  to  you.  ’

‘  lately,  i  don’t  even  know  what  page  you’re  on.  ’  

‘  is  it  killing  you  like  it’s  killing  me  ?  ’

‘  how  did  we  end  up  this  way  ?  ’

‘  you  held  your  pride  like  you  should  have  held  me.  ’

‘  i’d  tell  you  i  miss  you  but  i  don’t  know  how.  ’

‘  the  battle  is  in  your  hands  now,  but  i  would  lay  my  armor  down.  ’

‘  the  story  of  us  looks  a  lot  like  a  tragedy  now.  ’

‘  it’s  so  quiet  in  the  world  tonight.  ’

‘  it  could  stay  this  simple.  ’

‘  i  won’t  let  anyone  break  your  heart.  ’

‘  i  wish  i’d  never  grown  up.  ’

‘  it  was  enchanting  to  meet  you.  ’

‘  your  eyes  whispered  ‘have  we  met  ?’  ’

‘  this  night  is  sparkling,  don’t  you  let  it  go.  ’

‘  i’ll  spend  forever  wondering  if  you  knew.  ’

‘  now  i’m  pacing  back  and  forth,  wishing  you  were  at  my  door.  ’

‘  this  is  the  very  first  page,  not  where  the  storyline  ends.  ’

‘  my  thoughts  will  echo  your  name  until  i  see  you  again.  ’

‘  please  don’t  be  in  love  with  someone  else.  ’

‘  please  don’t  have  somebody  waiting  on  you.  ’

‘  i  never  saw  it  coming,  i  wouldn’t  have  suspected  it.  ’

‘  you  underestimated  just  who  you  were  dealing  with.  ’

‘  there  is  nothing  i  do  better  than  revenge.  ’

‘  sophistication  isn’t  what  you  wear  or  who  you  know.  ’

‘  do  you  still  feel  like  you  know  what  you’re  doing  ?  because  i  don’t  think  you  do.  ’

‘  show  me  how  much  better  you  are.  ’

‘  you  really  did  it  this  time,  left  yourself  in  your  warpath.  ’

‘  wasn’t  it  beautiful  when  you  believed  in  everything  ?  ’

‘  who  you  are  is  not  where  you’ve  been.  ’

‘  you  wouldn’t  be  shattered  on  the  floor  now,  if  you’d  seen  what  you  know  now  then.  ’

‘  you  and  i  walk  a  fragile  line,  but  i  never  thought  i’d  live  to  see  it  break.  ’

‘  something  made  your  eyes  go  cold.  ’

‘  don’t  leave  me  like  this.  ’

‘  i  thought  i  had  you  figured  out.  ’

‘  i  still  mean  every  word  i  say  to  you.  ’

‘  something  keeps  me  holding  on  to  nothing.  ’

‘  i  can’t  breathe  whenever  you’re  gone.  ’

‘  you  told  me  you  loved  me,  so  why  did  you  go  away  ?  ’

‘  i  don’t  know  how  to  be  something  you  miss.  ’

‘  your  name  is  forever  the  name  on  my  lips.  ’

‘  i  feel  you  forget  me,  like  i  used  to  feel  you  breathe.  ’

‘  i  never  planned  on  you  changing  your  mind.  ’

‘  you  held  your  head  like  a  hero.  ’

‘  bring  on  all  the  pretenders,  i’m  not  afraid.  ’

‘  one  day  we  will  be  remembered.  ’

‘  long  live  all  the  magic  we  made.  ’

‘  when  they  point  to  our  pictures,  please  tell  them  my  name.  ’

‘  i  had  the  time  of  my  life  with  you.  ’

[serpentpack]

i am rewatching legacies with some friends who have never seen it because when i was in georgia i dragged them to covington with me, but it’s funny how a lot of people who have no tvd context like the show a lot better than ppl i make watch it who do. 

[serpentpack]

❛ don’t wait for me, it’s not a happy ending. ❜

IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE I WANT POWER ( ACCEPTING. )

❝  you don’t to make a martyr of yourself.   ❞   she knows what it’s like  :   to be the last of her kind.   the serpent pack was long gone,   and for a long time   --   maybe   still,   grief haunted even her happiest memories of them.   what a pity it was,  to know death so intimately,  you’d already mourned your own.   

❝  hope...  ❞   she starts,  reaching out tenderly,  fingers ghosting over hope’s bare shoulder.   a shaky breath.   ❝  you weren’t born to be sacrificed.   i won’t let that happen.  ❞

[serpentpack]

❛ It’s in the blood and this is tradition. ❜

IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE I WANT POWER ( ACCEPTING. )

❝  but it doesn’t  have  to be.   ❞   her lips furl in to a snarl,  wild eyes flickering with both frustration and desperation.  toni is on the ground,  energy too depleted to shift back in to wolf form.  she doesn’t have serpent support on this.   the rest of the pack are willing to trade the town for their own safety,   but toni’s in no rush to  make deals with the devil.   not if she can’t exorcise her first. 

❝   some of the traditions of this town  deserve  to be ancient history,  cheryl.   ❞

[serpentpack]

' ask for forgiveness, never permission. '

IF I CAN'T HAVE LOVE I WANT POWER ( ACCEPTING. )

she’s far more graceful than he is,  hopping over the gate in two swift movements  --  but careful still,  with the camera swaying on her neck.   gold eyes  glisten  in the moonlight.   it’s bright,  but not quite full,  not for another couple days at least   :   but enough to make her restless and eager for excitement.   blame  animal instinct  for a high school break in. 

“  we could get away with not having to ask for either,  if only you stopped leaving security a trail of breadcrumbs to follow come morning.  “

she bends down after she  sticks  the landing,  snatching a dirty old beanie off the ground. 

“ drop something,  jones ?” 

[cyberstole]

𝐇𝐀𝐋𝐒𝐄𝐘'𝐒 — 𝐈𝐅 𝐈 𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, 𝐈 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 ( 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 )  /  feel  free  to  change  pronouns  as  you  see  fit  !

THE TRADITION

❛ she’s easy on the eyes. ❜

❛ her soul is black and it’s a fact. ❜

❛ so take what you want, take what you can, take what you please. ❜

❛ ask for forgiveness, never permission. ❜

❛ It’s in the blood and this is tradition. ❜

❛ they dress her up in golden crowns, her smile hides a lie. ❜

❛ you can take it back it’s good as gone. ❜

❛ this is your soul, i hope what’s left will last all summer long. ❜

❛ they said that boys were boys but they were wrong. ❜

BELLS IN SANTE FE

❛ don’t call me by my name, all of this is temporary. ❜

❛ watch as i step away, for your sake. ❜

❛ maybe i can hold you in the dark. ❜

❛ leaving through the door without a word. you won’t even notice, little bird. ❜

❛ better off dead, so i reckon i’m heading to hell instead. ❜

❛ don’t wait for me, it’s not a happy ending. ❜

❛ to sort out all his bullshit, to figurе out the treason ❜

❛ jesus, you’ve got better lips than judas. ❜

❛ i could give you bad one, otherwise i’m useless. ❜

❛ ‘cause who the fuck would choose this? ❜

EASIER THAN LYING 

❛ i’m only whatever you make me. ❜

❛ you make me more and more a villain every day. ❜

❛ you don’t know you reap, you sow. ❜

❛ whatever you give to me from yourself you take. ❜

❛ well if you’re a hater then hate the creator, it’s in your image i’m made. ❜

❛ 'cause i’ll hang myself if you’d give me rope. ❜

❛ i got so much faith and lost all hope. ❜

❛ one eye broken and one eye bruised, ‘cause I gave myself away for you. ❜

❛ you liar, you don’t love me too. ❜

❛ my heart is massive but it’s empty. ❜

❛ gasping for some real attention, some undivided hypertension. ❜

❛ losing you is easier than lying to myself. ❜

LILITH

❛ i’m perfection when it comes to first impressions. ❜

❛ you got me thinkin’ that i was too mean. ❜

❛ everything that I say I believe. ❜

❛ tuck a knife with my heart up my sleeve. ❜

❛ i am disruptive, i’ve been corrupted. ❜

❛ by now I don’t need a fuckin’ introduction. ❜

❛ you know I get too caught up in the moment. ❜

❛ i can’t call it love if i show it. ❜

❛ i just fuck things up if you notice. ❜

❛ have you noticed? tell me, have you noticed? ❜

❛ now i’m wondering if i ever wanted to hold you. ❜

❛ you’d let anybody with a body control you, and you know it too. ❜

❛ the more that you have, the more that they’ll take. ❜

GIRL IS A GUN

❛ i’m not your daydream, i won’t have your baby. ❜

❛ it’s a shot in the dark, i’m not a walk in the park. ❜

❛ this girl is a gun, and we been havin’ some fun. ❜

❛ i can show you if you turn the lights on. ❜

❛ i keep waitin’ for love to come and swallow me up. ❜

❛ I feel better when the boys stop callin’. ❜

❛ this girl is a gun, before you know it, it’s done. ❜

❛ god is a gun, he can have what he wants. ❜

❛ let me show you how to touch my trigger. ❜

❛ makin’ me crazy from mornin’ to evenin’. ❜

❛ i can’t not take it, i love it, i break it. ❜

❛ it’s never enough, so I’m givin’ you up. ❜

YOU ASKED FOR THIS

❛ i don’t know what you want from me. ❜

❛ now what the fuck does all this mean? ❜

❛ my tears are falling flawlessly now. ❜

❛ go on and be a big girl, you asked for this now. ❜

❛ who the hell is in your bed? ❜

❛ you gotta kiss goodnight and give some head. ❜

❛ i want my cake on a silver plater, i want a fistful in my hands. ❜

❛ i want a beautiful boy’s despondent laughter. ❜

❛ i wanna ruin all my plans. ❜

❛ i want a fist around my throat. ❜

❛ i wanna cry so hard, i choke. ❜

❛ i want everything i ask for. ❜

DARLING

❛ really can’t remember where i left my spine. ❜

❛ maybe I’ll be better if I take my meds. ❜

❛ darling don’t you weep, there’s a place for me. ❜

❛ somewhere we can sleep, see you in your dreams. ❜

❛ ever since i was a little girl i found this sweet. ❜

❛ all the little flowers give me something to believe in. ❜

❛ never knew the feeling of a stable home, been a couple years of living on the road. ❜

❛ only you have showed me how to love me in a life. ❜

❛ until it’s time to see the light, i’ll make my own with you each night. ❜

❛ i’ll kidnap all the stars and i will keep them in your eyes. ❜

1121

❛ i won’t die for love, but i’ve got a body here to bury. ❜

❛ the parts of myself that i’ve hated… i can’t tell which ones are mine and which I created. ❜

❛ you could have my heart and i would break it for you. ❜

❛ i try to be careful with the thing inside my chest. ❜

❛ so you can forget me , i’ll leave if you let me. ❜

❛ please don’t leave, don’t leave me in the shape you left me. ❜

❛ just leave me in the place you found me safe and soundly. ❜

HONEY

❛ she’s on the tip of my tongue, she’s on the top of my thighs. ❜

❛ open your mouth, i got a surprise. ❜

❛ all i can taste is the blood in my mouth and the bitterness in goodbye. ❜

❛ drippin’ like honеy, down the back of my throat and on the front of my mind. ❜

❛ she stings like she means it, she’s mean and she’s mine. ❜

❛ i love every second, it’s fuckin’ fantastic ❜

❛ she’s hell in a basket just makin’ a racket. ❜

❛ good things aren’t easy to get, i know that i won’t regret you. ❜

❛ between my fingers, she leaves then she lingers. ❜

WHISPERS

❛ you sabotage the things you love the most. ❜

❛ this is the voice in your head that says, “you do not want this”. ❜

❛ this is the ache that says, “you do not want him”. ❜

❛ bet I could fuck him. ❜

❛ why do you need love so badly? ❜

❛ i’ve got a monster inside me. ❜

❛ isn’t it lonely? ❜

❛ think that you know me? you think that you could if you hold me? ❜

❛ think you could try to console me, but i do not know me. ❜

I AM NOT A WOMAN, I’M A GOD

❛ i am not a woman, i’m a god. ❜

❛ i am not a martyr, i’m a problem. ❜

❛ i am not a legend, i’m a fraud. ❜

❛ keep your heart, 'cause i already got one. ❜

❛ every day i’ve got a smile where my frown goes. ❜

❛ maybe i could be a different human in a new place. ❜

❛ i just wanna feel something, tell me where to go. ❜

❛ i stay right herе 'cause i’m better all alonе. ❜

❛ i never listen but i see you with my eyes closed. ❜

❛ it really does hurt when you love someone. ❜

THE LIGHTHOUSE

❛ from a tender age i was closed with rage. ❜

❛ i went swimming with the devil at the bottom of a lake. ❜

❛ he was tall and mean with venom eyes so green. ❜

❛ i’ll allure you like a landslide and I’ll show you lovely things. ❜

❛ he kissed me on the mouth and dug his fingers in my thighs. ❜

❛ a sailor ain’t a savior 'cause they only tell you lies. ❜

❛ he’s laying in the water, begging god to let him down. ❜

❛ i showed him all my teeth and then i laughed out loud. ❜

❛ i never wanted saving, i just wanted to be found. ❜

❛ that should teach a man to mess with me. ❜

❛ i’m glad i met the devil 'cause he showed me i was weak, and a little piece of him is a little piece of me. ❜

YA’ABURNEE 

❛ i can’t decide if i love you more at morning or i love you more at night. ❜

❛ the moon don’t pick sides and the sun won’t resign until you’re by my side. ❜

❛ your beauty is a blessing. ❜

❛ i never got to tell you how i lovеd the way my eyes makе yours look green. ❜

❛ i think we could live forever in each others faces. ❜

❛ if we don’t live forever maybe one day we’ll trade places. ❜

❛ darling, you will bury me before i bury you. ❜

❛ i’ll never know if there’s danger in confession. ❜

❛ it’s memory that presses like a blade against my throat. ❜

❛ or to die without revealing that you got inside my head. ❜

❛ love is just a currency so take my pockets, and take me home. ❜

❛ take my life, and take my soul, wrap me in a wedding ring. ❜

[serpentpack]

also i am going to go through my following and send unprompted memes to people who have in their rules that that is okay.  you do not have to answer any of them.   if you’d like me to send memes like this! 

[serpentpack]

plotted starter call for toni <3 

[serpentpack]

                YOU  CAN’T  TAKE  THAT  AWAY  FROM  ME  !

an independent    JUGHEAD: THE HUNGER - BASED   TONI TOPAZ .     highly selective   &  mutuals only.     riverdale canon-phobic with heavily developed crossover universes.

[serpentpack]

｡ * ․ ･     ☽     @geminaie​​​    ➢      i might have done something. 

toni can barely hear josie’s voice over the sound of her friend’s heart rushing furiously, loudly,  beat drowning the once still silence of the night.   she takes a step toward her friend,  cautious,  confused...   searching  for some hint of what’s wrong before it’s revealed. 

when she   s m e l l s   it,  heavy and metallic in the air. 

“   is that . . .   is that   blood ?   ”

[serpentpack]

ratherbewild​

IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE,  an entire pack disappearing into thin air overnight.  Wouldn’t leave voluntarily without their belongings;  couldn’t be   t a k e n   without leaving evidence behind.  This is   —   the kind of thing that’d have Jody making calls,  that Claire would tear out of town to investigate.  If they were human,  anyway.

     “ Were you home last night?  Or did you come home this morning to find them gone? ”   Jody would be proud of her for knowing what to ask,  she thinks,  but Patience doesn’t get to enjoy it.  Not when Toni is here,  hurting  right in front of her,  scared for her family.  “ It’s just   —   if you were left behind on purpose,  it could be mean something. ”

❝ i wasn’t –– ❞ toni’s mind runs rampant with the possibilities, churning out new hypothetical situations with every question. thinks back to the last thing she’d heard from them, tries to maybe piece together some message. but it never comes. a frustrated sigh escapes her. ❝ i was coming back to the trailer park for fall break. but, i’d facetimed them just ten hours before. ❞

there’s a beat between them. toni finds the courage to look patience in the eye.

❝ look, i know your friends won’t like it, and i know that you and i don’t exactly  speak  anymore but –– ❞ toni rummages through her bag, searches for the one thing they left behind : a discarded beer can, crushed and sticky. but it smells like sweet pea, and it’s all toni has to go on. she holds it out as though it were something fragile. ❝ i really need your help. ❞

[serpentpack]

geminaes​

She looks at Toni through her reflection in the mirror and it pulls at her heartstrings, even when she knows the conversation is about to take a turn. Its her birthday, she’s supposed to look forward to being fashionably late to her own party, to celebrating the most grandiose display of egocentrism the Salvatore School had ever seen ( not her words, but everyone else’s ). How to tell her that her efforts to secure an eligible bachelor for her sweet sixteen had turned into a fiasco? A disaster of atomic proportions. 

“ Actually –” She says, pushing away from the mirror and away from Toni, and towards her dresser, where she rummages through her belongings in an attempt to find the perfect piece of jewelry to compliment her dress. “– Raf and I aren’t going together anymore.” Its more matter-of-factly than she intends, but she thinks that if she appears diplomatic and collected, Toni won’t notice the drastic change in the conversation’s mood. 

She’s not sad, she’s not hurt, she’s not even angry – maybe a little relieved, but she can’t explain why, she can’t ask Toni to explain why she feels like he’s dropped a weight off her shoulders. “ I decided I wanted to fly solo. Women don’t build empires with men attached to their hips. What happened at the gym was an unfortunate and isolated incident ”.

it’s the evenness in her voice that tips toni off : lizzie is a bit too collected about this late a change in the plans, especially on her big day.  toni leans back against the vanity.  careful eyes watch lizzie rummage through her dresser with a near inhuman focus.  they linger too long ; at least this time she can pass the uncertain flutter in her stomach as concern.  plum lips part just slightly as she holds her breath. 

❝ how inspired of you, ❞ she murmurs when she finally remembers to exhale.  when she forces a cautious grin across her cheeks.  ❝ lizzie saltzman: feminist pioneer. ❞

there’s a beat between them.  toni’s mind wanders instantly, wonders what exactly went wrong.  after all –– toni had warned rafael herself : don’t you dare hurt her.  but she can’t bring herself to ask.  not when lizzie’s intent on having a good time tonight.

❝ at least now i don’t have to fight quite as hard for a dance with the birthday girl tonight, ❞ toni chirps as she springs to her feet.  she eyes the necklace in lizzie’s hands with wordless approval,  instinctively reaching for it.  laughter breaks the tension tightening in her gut as she slips it over lizzie’s neck and fastens carefully.  ❝ so... unfortunate, huh?  was he that bad? ❞

[monstermeme-deactivated20191027]

👿.     “     𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒     ”     𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄     .

a     collection     of     scenarios     that     involve     our     muses     ‘     kissing     ’     .     feel     free     to     specify     ,     or     send     ‘     KISSES     ’     for     me     to     randomly     generate     a     number     .     do     not     copy     &     redistribute     as     your     own     .

01. a soft kiss .

02. a rough kiss .

03. a platonic kiss .

04. a bloody kiss .

05. a desperate kiss .

06. a goodbye kiss .

07. a promised kiss .

08. a dared kiss .

09. a ‘glasgow’ kiss .

10. an eskimo kiss .

11. a forehead kiss .

12. a kiss that leaves a mark .

13. an interrupted kiss .

14. an almost kiss .

15. a reunited kiss .

16. a kiss in the rain .

17. an emotional kiss .

18. a secret kiss .

19. a final kiss .

[serpentpack]

｡ * ․ ･     ☽     @ratherbewild​​    ➢      do you trust me ?   (   claire   )

amber eyes  glow  as she stares dead ahead.   in other circumstances,  they may have  actually  gotten along   –   hell,  in other circumstances they might have been  best friends.   but selfless as she  might  be,    toni’s still got a hell of a survival instinct   –   and she knows better than to show her underbelly to a   hunter   when she’s the  prey.   blood trails down claire’s cheek.  toni’s nails dig in to her own palm.

“do i have any  reason  to ?”   it’s more bark than bite,  but neither of them have weapons.   just stubborn spirits.   “they’re my  family,  claire.   there’s  no way  i’m letting you anywhere  near  them.”

[serpentpack]

           𝐘𝐎𝐔  𝐂𝐀𝐍'𝐓  𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄  𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓  𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘  𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌  𝐌𝐄  !

an independent    𝘑𝘜𝘎𝘏𝘌𝘈𝘋: 𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘏𝘜𝘕𝘎𝘌𝘙 - 𝘉𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘋   𝐓𝐎𝐍𝐈 𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐙 .     highly selective   &   mutuals only.     riverdale canon-phobic with heavily developed crossover universes. 

[serpentpack]

connectere​

     𝐀  𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐌  𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄  𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐒  𝐈𝐓𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅  𝐎𝐍  𝐊𝐀𝐓'𝐒  𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒,   teeth  biting  her  own  tongue  as  she  pokes  it  out.    being  behind  the  camera  so  often  made  it  so  her  confidence  dialed  back  once  in  front  of  it.     ❝     it’s  all  about  highlighting  the  voices  of  those  who  most  need  it.     but  if  you  ever  decide  to  make  your  own  zine,   count  me  in.     all  for  the  sake  of  your  art.     ❞     a  few  steps  close  the  distance  between  the  two,   and  girl  quickly  seizes  the  camera  for  herself.     hands  linger  on  the  touch  before  snapping  back  to  reality.     ❝     but  let  me  go  back  to  content  management  where  i  belong.     ❞

❝  I just might have to,  ❞   toni  hums  with wagging eyebrows.     she gestures outwardly with a comically dramatic flair.    ❝   i mean...   let’s get this girl in front of   a crowd !   ❞     there’s heated laughter,   the dim glow behind them giving kat a sort of halo effect.     toni wishes she could   capture   how it highlights her curls before her camera is taken away.    static jolts between them   ––    but kat hesitates before pulling her hand back.     toni’s interest peaks. 

❝   so...   ❞      toni hums,   dragging   her lower lip between her teeth.     her eyes drift to the way kat’s hands cradle her camera.     to her fingers.     she tries not to let it   matter   that kat’s nails are trimmed but well kept,  tries not to read in to it.      instead,  toni pulls out her best interview impression.    ❝   tell me about kat edison,   social media mogul.   ❞