This is based off a personal experience. Tw for fat-shaming, homophobia, and general assholery from an asshole kid.
The bell rings cheerfully as Bitty steps through the doorway. This was one of his favorite places when he was younger. The eclectic curios, every shape and size and color, packing the shelves were an endless source of fascination for young Eric Bittle, and the owners were friends of the family, so they knew Bitty well and didn’t freak out when he picked up a ceramic pepper shaker or glass figurine and held it in his hands like an ancient treasure.
He walks through the store with that same sense of wonder now, 30 years later, and brushes his hand reverently over the shelves. They’re not looking for anything in particular today, but Bitty has told Jack about this place so many times, he simply couldn’t help but visit. Besides, you never know when you might find the perfect accent piece for the new home.
Chicken-shaped serving bowls, a porcelain figurine of a girl dancing, a set of silverware in a dusty wooden case. Bitty is spoiled for choice. As he browses, there’s a movement at the back of the store, and he catches a glimpse of someone hauling boxes through a door. He wonders who runs the place now. The sign still says Thompson’s Antiques, but he knows Mrs. Thompson passed and Mr. Thompson is getting on in years. Could it be that…
A prickle of fear runs through him.
The figure in the back drags the box to a nearby aisle and starts unpacking it, placing items on a low shelf. Bitty’s curiosity overflows. He moseys into that aisle and begins to speak, but the man raises his head before he can get a word out. He has to catch his breath all over again.
The man’s face goes slack. “I know you,” he blurts.
Eric puts his hands on his hips and gives a bright smile. “Davey Thompson. So you’re here after all!”
~~~
“Davey, this is Eric. Eric, this is our little boy Davey.” Mrs. Thompson’s smile is bright as she urges her son forward. “Why don’t you two go play at the playground while Mommy and her friend talk?”
The kid is tough-looking, with ruddy cheeks and a thick build. Eric reaches out his hand to lead Davey along the way. The minute they’re out of earshot, Davey snatches his hand back like he’s just touched a hot stove. Eric turns, surprised.
“You’re fat,” Davey says.
Eric blinks.
“You look dumb,” Davey adds on. And thus a quote-unquote “friendship” was born.
~~~
Davey stands up. He still has the same tinted cheeks and stocky build that Bitty remembers, but his face is sunken somehow, and he’s built up muscle where baby fat used to linger on his arms and shoulders. He’s got a tattoo on one arm – a Japanese koi fish, mid-splash.
“Nice ink,” Bitty comments.
And Davey Thompson, for possibly the first time in his life, smiles at Bitty. “Thanks.”
“The shop looks nice,” Bitty says, surveying the shelf like it’s his domain. “Hasn’t changed much since I used to come here.”
“You’re – you’re Eric Bittle, right?” Davey says, sounding almost scared of the answer. “From school?”
“From way before school,” Bitty responds. “You’re looking good.”
“Uh. Thanks. Same to you.” Davey looks uncertain, almost sheepish. There’s a moment of awkward silence. Davey tries to break it. “Um. So. What are you –”
He doesn’t seem to have the strength, or the will, to come up with the rest of the sentence. Bitty picks it up. “I’m a pastry chef,” he says. “I have a bakery and I cater, and I’ve put out three cookbooks. Can you imagine that?”
Davey looks kind of stunned. “Wow,” he says slowly. “Good for you. Where’s the bakery?”
“Up in New England. Providence, Rhode Island, to be exact.”
Davey snaps his fingers. “That’s right, you went to college up there. For hockey, wasn’t it?”
~~~
Bitty takes a swing at the ball. He misses, and it goes tumbling behind him into the net.
“Hah, you’re the worst goalie,” Davey says.
Somehow, Bitty finds the courage to say, “Let me play forward.” But his words are swallowed by the passing of a car on the cross street.
“What?”
“You be goalie.” Bitty gives the phrase all the menace he’s got in an eight-year-old body.
Davey laughs, a cruel laugh that sounds like ripping paper in Bitty’s ears. “Why? I can score on you all I want. That’s why we made you goalie.”
Resentment simmers like a low sun in Bitty’s gut. He wants to challenge Davey to play him on actual ice. He knows Davey can’t skate. As bad as he is, Bitty can’t possibly lose to him there. But the words stay stuck inside, plastered to the inside of his stomach, making him feel sick.
“Worst goalie ever,” Kevin chimes in.
“The worst, the wooooorst,” all four of them sing to him.
Bitty crouches low and is glad they can’t see much through the oversized goalie mask. Someday, he thinks, someday I’m gonna get them.
~~~
“Something like that,” Bitty answers easily. “And you’ve been here running the store?”
“Pretty much.” He doesn’t look very proud of that fact.
“I remember you used to say you were going to be an astronaut.”
“Ah, well –” The rose tint on Davey’s cheeks grows a shade deeper. “We were kids. I figure I missed my shot to make something of myself.”
All of Bitty’s nurturing instincts come alive. “Don’t say that. You’re doing well. Doing good, honest work. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Nah, man. It was just the easiest thing to do, once Mom got sick. I had to be here for her, and I … just stayed.”
Bitty gazes at him. This isn’t the attitude he expected from Davey Thompson, not in the slightest. He seems so defeated, as though Bitty’s arrival has reminded him of everything he isn’t. Bitty doesn’t want to be that for him, but he doesn’t think he has a choice in the matter. He quashes the small, self-satisfied demon that’s cackling in the back of his head. He’s not that kid anymore, either.
Just then, the chimes jingle at the front of the store. The babbling voice of a young child brightens the room. “Ah,” Bitty says, “there they are. He had to keep them outside a while before they calmed down. Little kids just work themselves up into a dither sometimes.” He offers an apologetic smile to Davey and retreats down the aisle toward the front of the store.
Suze is quiet, but it’s clear she was crying her eyes out earlier. She hangs on to her Papa with a fierce fist. Robby’s eyes are bugging out at the sight of the store. “What’s that?” he keeps asking, tugging on Jack’s slacks. Jack himself looks a little the worse for wear, but happy. That kind of tired-happy that they see in each other’s faces every night once the kids are in bed.
“Come on, Rob,” Bitty says, holding out his hands. “Want to see Daddy’s favorite store?”
Robby holds out his hands to be picked up. Bitty obliges, despite the warning creak of his back. He turns to take Robby further into the store and sees Davey standing there, staring them down.
He points. “I know you, too.”
“Ah, here we go,” Bitty says with a laugh.
“Were you in school with us? I don’t think that’s right, but—”
Jack holds out his hand for a shake. “Jack Zimmermann,” he says. “And you are?”
“My old friend Davey,” Bitty fills in. He can’t help but put a pointed emphasis on the friendpart.
Davey clasps Jack’s hand but doesn’t seem to want to let go. “You’re Jack Zimmermann? The hockey player?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
Davey pumps Jack’s hand about four more times before finally letting go. “It’s – it’s good to meet you.” He looks at Suze, still curled up in Jack’s other arm. “And these are your kids? Or—” He turns to Bitty, face contorted in confusion. “Are they your kids?”
“Both,” Bitty answers cheerily. “Davey, meet my husband.”
Davey Thompson very nearly has a coronary right there.
~~~
“Hah, you’re just small all over, aren’t you?” Davey says with a pointed glance at Bitty’s crotch.
“You can’t help how you’re born,” Bitty retorts, but he pulls up his boxers right quick.
“Yeah, some people are just born stupid,” Davey agrees. Bitty instantly regrets replying at all.
Kyle whispers something in Davey’s ear. They both laugh.
“You’re right,” Davey says. He turns back to Bitty. “He’s right. They do say things about you.”
Bitty’s heart drops to his stomach. “W-what things?”
“You know! That you’re—” Davey flaps his wrist.
He doesn’t seem to have the nerve to say the word, but he doesn’t have to say it. The others in the locker room laugh.
For not the first time, Bitty is tempted to just ask, “So what if I am?” But he can’t. Not to these people. This isn’t how he wants his coming out to happen. So he just turns away and pulls on his sweatpants, ignoring the rills of laughter that echo against the lockers, and feels small. Small all over.
~~~
Davey recovers from his shock and nods his head rapidly. “Oh, I get it. Uh, congratulations. Uh, Bittle, could I talk to you a sec?”
He has that sheepish look again. Bitty watches as he retreats into one of the side aisles. “Gimme a sec,” he tells Jack, setting Robby down, and follows Davey.
When they’re isolated, Davey turns to him sorrowfully. “I, uh—” Davey looks at the floor. “I was pretty mean to you in school.”
It isn’t what Bitty expected, not at all. To be honest, demons in the back of his head aside, this sort of thing doesn’t bother him so much anymore. Why should it? He’s married with two kids and a brand new home. He doesn’t spare a lot of time thinking about the distant past. “Um,” he starts, suddenly terribly embarrassed.
“No, let me—” Davey raises a hand. “Just let me. I said a lot of nasty things to you back then. I’m really sorry about it. I think about it a lot, and I’m just – I’m really sorry.”
There is a piece of Bitty that’s happy, even smug, at hearing this apology. But mostly he just pities Davey at this point. What a thing to carry around your whole life. “We were kids,” Bitty says. “Kids say dumb things. It’s all water under the bridge.”
“Still.” Davey says.
“I can’t say it didn’t hurt me,” Bitty goes on. “But I turned out okay, don’t you think?”
Davey laughs grimly “Yeah, look at you … and look at me.” He shrugs.
“You seem to be doing all right,” Bitty says charitably.
“I’m not an astronaut,” Davey says.
Bitty laughs. “Neither am I. We’re all good.” He pats Davey on the shoulder. A moment passes between them, silent, as they both listen to the sound of the past giving way to a new, kinder present.
After the moment passes, Bitty grins “Come on, I’m going to introduce you to my kids. Do you have kids?”
Davey flushes. “Yeah, I got a teenager. A real smartass. I wonder where he learned it.”
“Pictures!” Bitty declares. “Get that phone out, I demand pictures.”
Davey struggles to pull his phone out of his jeans pocket. This time, he flushes with pride. He narrates the story of each photo as they walk back toward the front.
Bitty angles his head to the side. Above him, Jack snaps another picture.
“I’m not going to put them online,” Jack says. “I’ll keep them on the camera, then delete them after.” After what? Bitty wants to ask, but he also kind of knows the answer.
He smiles. “If you say so.”
He feels gorgeous, lying here nude against the blue sheets. Above him, Jack’s in jeans and socks and nothing else, the strap of the camera lying against his bare chest. Bitty wants him down here, but he also wants to keep feeling this way, like he’s a piece of art to be admired, even worshipped. Jack tilts his head, makes an approving noise, and snaps two or three shots. The camera’s click is like a touch, Like each time, Jack’s putting those big callused hands on him and saying don’t move, i want you just like this.
But Bitty can’t not move. He slides around on the sheets, finding different ways to drape his arms over the sheets and his stomach, turning his head to catch the radiant sunlight. Jack follows him with every move, kneeling over his legs, sometimes scrambling to the side or off the bed to get a shot. “Bits,” he says, and his voice is thick with want.
“Put the camera down,” Bitty coaxes, “and come here, sweetheart.” He knows what that tone of voice does to Jack, can see the evidence of it in the tent of his jeans. Jack breathes harder behind the camera, but he keeps shooting, as Bitty turns to his side and arches his back and stretches like a lazy cat.
He spreads his legs, and Jack takes the invitation, kneeling between them. He holds the camera in one hand, and places his other hand flat against Bitty’s stomach. The contact burns Bitty like a brand, and he arches up into it, letting out a little impatient sigh. Jack captures the sigh, looks at the image on his camera, and nods. “Make more noises like that,” he says.
“Make me make more noise,” Bitty challenges.
Jack grins, a wide, eager smile. He slides his hand down Bitty’s stomach and teases at the head of his cock.
An involuntary “ooh” comes out of Bitty’s mouth, and Jack snaps at that moment, making a throaty noise that’s half-pleased, half-yearning. “You should see these, Bits,” he says. “The way you look–”
“Jack…” Bitty thrusts his hips up. “Too much talking.” He shoots Jack a look that says, you know what to do.
And Jack does. His hand comes down to encircle Bitty’s cock, so much heat all of a sudden so much there and Bitty arches up as the sensation seizes him. His jaw opens, and he breathes heavy exhales as Jack snaps and snaps. Jack strokes him, one deep stroke from root to tip, and Bitty shudders, the pleasure zinging through his blood. He blinks up at Jack with big, pleading eyes.
Jack slides his hand down to Bitty’s balls and teases him there; Bitty keens at the intense sensation. Snap, snap sounds from somewhere above as Bitty tangles his hands in the sheets and balls up the fabric into fists. “J– Jack,” he starts, breath coming faster.
Snap. Snap. Jack’s hand back on his cock, stroking faster, the sounds of the camera echoing in Bitty’s ears. He pulls himself together and lifts a hand to Jack’s upper arm. “Jack,” he pants, “if you do not get down here within five seconds, I cannot guarantee the safety of that fancy camera of yours.”
And at last, at last, Jack sets the camera down on the bedside table and leans down to meet him.
for the small overlap of my followers in the centre of the batman/check please venn diagram: take a trip with me to batfam x omgcp hell lol
some prior notes before i get into this:
for my own safety and sanity, i primarily won’t be focusing on the grimdark, death-filled origin stories of the batfamily
i will be fucking around with ages, characterizations, and relationship dynamics from both omgcp and dc bc this is my au and i do what i want lol
there’s gonna be a fuckton more under the cut bc this is all stream of consciousness and i needed to get it down or else my brain wouldn’t shut up about it /);w;(\
oKAY LEGGO /o/
jack zimmermann is The BatMan
broody, black-haired, blue-eyed, soft-spoken giant of a man who can terrify others with a glare
not quite a playboy in his civilian identity as jack zimmermann, but defo a himbo who trips over his own words and generally has no idea what he’s doing if it isn’t about his family or his family’s giant corporation
also pressure to live up to parents’ legacy as positive figures who constantly made changes to the city they loved? trying to follow in his father’s footsteps as an amazing philanthropist and business man?
*chef’s kiss*
he’s awkward and perhaps robotic about it sometimes but he loves his family (old and new) with all his heart and will fight the world to protect them
eric bittle is catwoman the night cat
flirty chatty, sneaky cat burglar who steals to fund his own interests
(it’s baking we all know it’s baking lol. he has a dream to start a career in the food industry but he can’t afford it yet so…….. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)
bitty’s got soft hands and quick technique—there’s nothing he can’t break into or break out of so long as he’s got the right tools
first meeting with jack zimmermann as the batman was unfavourable for everyone involved. eric was a criminal trying to steal a vintage dining set from the local museum and jack was……very jack about it
their relationship softens as they cross paths more often and they learn about each other’s identities
bitty left home at a young age and never looked back—he may miss his family dearly but it was for the best
besides, if he went back home then how could i run into you, mr. tall, dark, and handsome?
jack is very flustered by him and rightfully so lol
once he’s more integrated into the batfamily, bitty loves everyone just as fiercely as jack does
hops or bully as robin i/nightwing
i can’t decide between the two yet for who i’d prefer for the first robin and eventually nightwing
i love hops for the teasing, pain-in-the-ass robin and eventual titans’ leader, nightwing
but i also love the idea of (canonically second best dancer of smh) bully being an expert gymnast who came from a family of travelling performers, whose acts are tied deeply to their cultural identities
this is up in the air for the meantime, but either of em would be excellent nightwings
whoever’s not robin + louis would also be in this iteration of the titans
dex as robin ii/red hood
now i gotta be honest, i almost didn’t want to have red hood be part of this bc pain but!! i think dex would be an excellent red hood
picked up by billionaire jack zimmermann, dex is a kid from the streets who tragically dies in undisclosed circumstances
his homelife before jack came into it was taking care of his mother and protecting them from an abusive brother
he takes the mantle as robin with some trepidation at first but comes to love it with all his heart
after his death and eventual resurrection, he becomes the red hood: an anti-hero who cares for the underdogs, for the forgotten people of the city, fighting crime in his own way in the alleys where he came from
he goes on his own adventures with his own group of outlaws—nursey, a clever archer with as much dorkiness as he does archery skill, and chowder, a naive but kind and loving alien with godly powers
(no, neither nursey nor chowder were ever part of robin i’s titans bc i have Opinions™ about this and i want them to be their own ragtag group of heroes gdi)
(yes, i am just furthering my polyfrogs agenda. also you can’t tell me polyfrogs as joyfire wouldn’t be the best thing ever )
ransom as robin iii/red robin
a tired ball of chaos, ransom would be such a good tim drake i can feelit
a bright young man who forces his way into batman’s life after robin ii’s passing and after looking up to both generations of robin growing up
he deduced jack and co’s identities on his own and then studies up like hella to become the next robin
he’s slightly terrified to present his findings to The Jack Zimmermann aka The Batman, but his bravery and thoroughness at the very least intrigues jack enough to take him under his wing (pun intended)
ransy’s parents are not pleased when he announces everything to them
they have expectations of the world from him but at the end of the day they love their son and they love that their son is doing good in the world
he’s a disaster bi btw
one of his bffs is holster aka superboy i, who is his righthand man in their team of heroes (young justice titans)
his other bff is march aka spoiler and basically his first love who is his partner in all things batfamily
ransom has the dick grayson problem of going back and forth between the same two redheads blondes for several years bc he loves them both very dearly
whiskey as robin iv
jack’s son who barrels into his life after years of secrecy
idk who i want to be his ~mother yet
initial instinct says camilla, jack’s ex, a skilled assassin-slash-mercenary with her own moral code
her relationship with jack would mirror that of roy and jade’s and whiskey would be lian………….except instead of lian it’d be damian LOL
camilla kept whiskey as a secret bc she knew who Jack The Batman and Jack The Billionaire was, but she’s forced to give him up when her life comes under threat and she decides he’d be safer with jack
jack and camilla do not have an antagonistic relationship before nor after whiskey comes into jack’s life, but just from the way whiskey grew up he’s got Some Issues to deal with
jack allows him to express/release his emotions with combat and detective training, and eventually he becomes the next robin
ALTERNATIVELY
whiskey is a clone resulting from the success of experimentation combining jack and kent parson’s dna (think conner kent being the result of clark kent and lex luthor)
kent is jack’s old flame and partner
they grew up together and were inseparable for most of their youth until a brutal falling out where jack eventually started his path to become the batman, and kent turned to crime and world domination
whiskey, again, was the result of an experiment studying human genetics that successfully created a clone of billionaire and masked vigilante, jack zimmermann + the head of the biggest crime league in the world, kent parson
whiskey comes into jack’s life after discovering his conception and wanted to learn more about his other father
he also left the league bc i imagine grooming a child to be a murderer in a villain’s syndicate takes its toll and whiskey saw this as his perfect out
cue the same journey to him becoming robin iv
other notes
shitty is alfred pennyworth but not an old butler. he is instead jack’s righthand man and best friend. if it wasn’t kent with jack growing up, it was shitty, and shitty stuck by jack’s side after kent left. they know each other as well as they know themselves, and jack would trust his life and family with shits. shitty’s basically his live-in manager and PA, but he loves what he does and he, too, protects the batcave with a shotgun (as well as a foul mouth lol)
lardo is lucius fox and heads all of zimmermann enterprise’s innovations. she got into a relationship with shitty after years of the two of them dealing with jack’s bs and eventually they two fell in love. she’s a genius and unafraid to put any of the batfamily in their place, especially since shitty won’t. yeeeeeears down the line, once jack puts up the cowl once and for all and she and shitty have their own family, their son picks up the mantle to become the next batman a la jace fox
tater is the superman to jack’s batman. a loud and kind humanoid alien who was adopted by russian immigrants after crashlanding to earth as a baby and grew up to eventually become superman
tango is superboy ii and whiskey’s best friend. idk if i want him to be tater’s son, but i do want super sons, and whiskey needs a sunshine alien just like damian lol
george is wonder woman. i am not taking any questions about this.
alsoapril is wonder girl in young justice a la cassie sandsmark. i will not be taking questions about this either.
if she isn’t whiskey’s mom then camilla is batwoman. no questions here as well.
idk yet who i want as cass and babs but i know want them here somehow. i just dunno yet. maybe farmer as oracle?? ford as orphan?? vice versa??? use jenny and mandy instead???? maybe i should rearrange the whole damn family????? idk yet but don’t worry i haven’t forgotten them~!
Holster goes into Samwell thinking he’s gonna hate Jack because Jack’s soooo talented at hockey and soooo well connected and soooo rich but he actually hates Jack because Holster mentioned SNL and Jack was like “Oh. Is that … a class”
AU where Bitty owns a bakery and never played hockey at Samwell, but he REFUSES to sell any goods to anyone on the Providence Falconers/any hockey team as a promise to his friends on SMH, all of whom root for different teams
However, since Bitty doesn’t personally watch hockey and actively avoids it, he doesn’t think it’ll be a problem and just jokes about it to Jack, the cute Canadian guy who he’s pretty sure is a sports photographer
Jack then awkwardly laughs, but spends his visits trying to make sure Bitty doesn’t figure out he’s one of the star forwards for the local NHL team
It gets worse by the fact that Bitty highkey does NOT recognize a single player except for people not on the Falcs and the somewhat nearby teams, so Jack keeps accidentally introducing Bitty to hockey players and they keep buying stuff
Snowy follows Jack to the bakery one day and just goes ‘Oh chill’ and Bitty thinks that he’s Jack’s art friend
Tater follows Jack once and Jack steps on his foot every time he tries to say his name is ‘Tater’ (since Ransom loves him), but Bitty thinks that Tater is just a Russian dude who works at the same magazine place Jack does
Georgia hears about it and Jack tags along one day, but Bitty recognizes Georgia as a past hockey player and just jokes with her “I’m glad y'all didn’t bring your team with you!” and Georgia makes direct eye contact with Jack
Kent tries going in once (while Jack was chatting with Bitty) and before he can even get a word out, Bitty shuts down the register, closes the displays, grabs the broom and tells Kent he’s not welcome here
Kent tries to argue, but Bitty’s like “No NHL players in my establisment!!” And Kent tries pointing at Jack, but Bitty’s swatting him with the broom to get out
One day Bad Bob and Alicia have a surprise visit, but Alicia has to make a phone call and so Bob goes in first and Bitty goes “Oh hi Mr. Jack’s Dad! It’s so nice to meet you!” And he recognize the blond baker that Jack’s been telling him and Alicia about for the past few days
Bob: I’m so glad my son found such a good *friend* (gives a look at Bitty) especially with his job
Bitty: Oh really?
Bob: Yeah, I remember how hard it was for me before I met Alicia! All the fame and stuff really made it difficult
Bitty: Oh! You’re famous??
Bob: I mean, kinda?
Bitty: Oh wow! I didn’t know Jack got his photography talent from his dad!
Bob:What-
Bitty: Where can I see y'all’s work? Jack keeps it a secret, but I wanna know your’s at least!
Bob:UM-
When Alicia walks in, Bitty freaks out, and asks for a photograph since “I didn’t even realize you were in the area!” While Alicia is looking at Bob with the most ??? Face imaginable
Bob then has to pretend that he’s not MARRIED to Alicia for the duration of their visit since Bitty can’t make the connection with them to hockey or else Jack’s cover is blown
(Bob keeps flirting with Alicia and Bitty keeps smacking him in the arm since “She has a husband y'know!!”)
So it works because Bitty tried to start small talk with the hot French Canadian guy who visits his bakery, but gets nervous every time, so he never really can say anything at first. The guy is always a bit curt and quick about his business, and holds his camera like a lifeline sometimes, so Bitty makes sure not to make him uncomfortable, but is interested in him for sure.
But then towards the end of one day, Halo gets put on and Bitty starts singing along while cleaning up the bakery. Bitty turns and accidentally makes direct eye contact with Jack, who was the only person there still, who has his cup halfway to his mouth and an amused look on his face.
Bitty is obviously embarrassed, but then Jack is like “I guess you like this song, huh?” and Bitty goes “Of course I love this song, who doesn’t like Beyoncé?” and Jack goes, “Beyoncé? Is she well known then?”
Dead silence.
Bitty just drops the broom he was holding. Jack looks concerned. Bitty looks horrified.
“Hun, how do you not know Beyoncé? HOW??”
Jack just looks away and is embarrassed and tells Bitty he’s been pretty “caught up in my job, travelling and stuff” and hasn’t had the time to really know pop culture. Plus, he’s French Canadian.
Bitty then immediately starts to chat with Jack about different artists and pop culture in general, and learns that Jack genuinely just knows none of it. Nothing. Jack has no reference point, he only knows country music. Out of everything. Country. Music.
Bitty then declares that Jack has to let him teach him pop culture if he wants to keep coming to his bakery because “I will not let a single person into this establishment if they don’t know BEYONCÉ!” Bitty is worried he took that too far but then Jack laughs (and it’s a wonderful sound that Bitty unashamedly tucks into his memory) and agrees. As Jack leaves, Bitty just watches him go, realizes the first conversation he had with the hot guy was about him not knowing pop culture and berating him for 15 minutes, and Bitty justs slams his head into the table
the only interview jack ever does about his anxiety/past addiction is a “kids meet a person with anxiety” youtube video where he explains it to various kiddos aged 5 to 14 and is met with incredible compassion, never-ending curiosity, and ridiculous questions.
kid 1: d’you have anxiety right now?
jack, smiling: yeah, a bit
kid 1: *GASP*
*
kid 2 (not fully getting the point): are ya scared o’ heights?
jack: no
kid 2: are ya scared o’ planes?
jack: no
kid 2: are ya scared o’ birds?
jack: birds?
kid 2: I’mscared o’ birds.
jack: why?
kid 2: they got weird snake eyes like the snake in the movies when at night they’re in the windows
jack: yeah that’s scary. are you scared sometimes that a bird will come close even if there are no birds around?
kid 2: yeah!
jack: that’s like anxiety! your brain tells you to watch out for mean birds all the time, even though there aren’t any around, and birds wouldn’t hurt you anyway.
kid 2: okay. (pause) are ya scared o’ bugs?
jack: ha, I’ll tell you a secret, I am, a bit. but my boyfriend usually takes them out for me.
stuck on a different wip so here are a couple of sketches with lardo being the campus girl crush and jack about to make bitty’s head explode just by existing
Kenny of course has Purrs and her toys. There is hair stuck to everything he owns and he doesn’t care one bit cause she’s his baby. He’s one of thosepeople.
He has a copy of the ESPN body issue because in it, obviously. Think Tyler Seguin’s but somehow even more self-confident. Kenny knows he’s rockin’ one hot bod.
Also featured: a picture of his team in the QMJHL with Jack, a.k.a the best time of his life so far. (Actually a picture of the Rimouski Océanic team for those wondering)
Tater has lots and lots of his very favourite thing after hockey, food!
Bitty has provided blueberry jam, a pie, and some khvorost, in case Tater feels homesick.
Of course, he also has chocolate and candy sent from home, that he likes bullying his team mates into trying. (“Tater, does this have prunes in it?”)
A phone with instagram is very important for documenting trips to real American college frat haus!))))
Chowder loves the Sharks. This we know. He also loves his Chinese heritage, so of course he has dumplings, a feng shui charm, and a token for his chinese zodiac sign, the year of the rat. (which makes him ambitious, charming, and tenacious!)
He also has a toothbrush, because as anyone who’s worn braces for years will tell you, proper oral care is necessary if you don’t want junk stuck in the wires all day…
Dex of course has lobster fishing gear, the tools from his tool box and the fine jar. He will get that dryer y’all.
He also has sunscreen. He’s ginger, he burns if he even thinks about the sun.
