#Phil Volatile

[quotelr]

I can remember whendelusions of grandeur entailed wanting tobe a rock star, movie star,a millionaire; to make itas a writer—now it seems that it’sto want to earn adecent living

Phil Volatile, White Wedding Lies, and Discontent: An American Love Story

[zackstriker]

TIT jacket arrived what do we think phannies does it fuck?

[mikaikaika]

I've been thinking of a theory which the more I think about it seems extremely plausible. What if the reason qTubbo is behaving like this is cause it's not him - what if the data we found was technically not qTubbo's but instead Creation's.

What if Creation was created by Tubbo to protect eggs but then was manipulated by the Feds for their own doings. So eventually Tubbo hid the data containing majority of Creation's programming away and that was the reason he got Iced and memory reset until Feds could figure out how to make Tubbo do their bidding again.

So this data is not actually Tubbo's but instead OG Creation's and now the Creation Fed wanted is back and alive just in Tubbo's body where Creation's data has been mixed with Tubbo's memories. That's why the first time they sent creation when Tubbo was supposed to be away on a date with Fred.

Further hints, QTubbo felt like he was trying out loud how to say Phil's name for the first time (maybe cause Creation is used to saying Guardian), forgetting little things like waypoints/having a backpack, calling Chayanne the GOAT but then said second goat you know like Rank 2, staring at birds much like Creation did. His purpose is still the eggs and that's why he asked the "rankings" of the parents. Saying how he feels he feels like hasn't "done anything for decades"

The statement "I thought before I was on autopilot but now I'm the computer controlling the autopilot" which would actually fit how Creation was a robot being controlled by his engineering and programming but now he actually has free will. His comment about "newfound morality" would explain why his emotions are so volatile because he isn't used to having them.

And lastly it would make sense for why the stream was called transfer complete :D

[isa-ghost]

Phil and bagi hcs?

YOU HAVE JUST ENABLED A MONSTER.

I AM SO ABNORMAL ABOUT THESE TWO.

Also these will apply to AMFMN!! Because SURPRISE, if no one has checked the fic tags, her name is listed as a main character. ;) She'll be arriving in Chapter 6!! :D

I cannot fucking WAIT to expand upon their dynamic, which is funny because by the time Bagi shows up, Phil is possessed so it won't be exploration through direct interactions until the recovery period waaay later in the fic. Nonetheless it'll be hype! :D

qPhil headcanons masterlist

Phil is a member of the "Bagi can do whatever she wants forever" club. He supports her rights and wrongs and fully believes she could kick his ass no matter how unbalanced of a fight it'd be in his favor (disclaimer I don't actually know Bagi's exact pvp skill level 🤔)

Bagi is a member of the "God I want Phil to take me on a flight some day, I am so sad his wings are fucked up" club. (She would probably be terrified /pos)

I don't know what it is about their friendship but I feel like Bagi is so much more attuned to the way Phil thinks than the average islander. I guess I'd say it's because of how perceptive she is in general, especially with how she's a detective? Whatever it is, Bagi just has this talent for reading Phil like a damn book. And she won't hesitate to call him on his bullshit either. She's much like Fit in that regard. Crow man can't hide SHIT

Like fr if Phil ever gave Bagi reason to be concerned the first thing she'd do is start cornering those closest to him and either ask what's up or be like "hey Phil's on some shit rn, we gotta go force him to confess whatever stupid shit he's shouldering on his own and bottling up"

Phil has definitely been whacked with the frying pan for not venting and acting like he has to brave the horrors alone btw. Bagi's the type of friend that'll kick your fucking ass if you're not self-caring or being mean to yourself. (I am projecting LMAO)

Bagi isn't as Holy Shit We Could Die Any Second about things as Phil, but they're both very protective people, which can manifest in very volatile ways when they're hurt or angered by something (ie: Feds). I would not want to experience their individual wraths simultaneously.

Bagi is one of the top people Phil shows his gift giving love language to. Be it resources she needs, pictures he's taken of her/Em/Tina or of weird island shit, the means to complete cookie tasks, etc. She's one of the first in mind.

GOD Phil wants her to teach him how to wield a frying pan so badly. He's an excellent swordsman and bowman, but PAN?? The enjoyment he'd get out of it would be infinite, he'd love to be kicking ass while getting a laugh out of it bc pan go BONG when it hits a motherfucker.

If one needs something the other says yes no hesitation. They might ask each other a couple questions, but as soon as they have 100% clarity, they trust each other with the rest and know that if something goes wrong, whoever is present at the time will unleash hell on the person or monster that caused it.

I've somewhat already hinted at it but GOD the mutual admiration they have for each other!! Their wits and way with words, their natural sense of leadership, their determination to defend what they believe in, what they think is right, and the people they love, their specific expertise, the list goes on. They just think the other is so fucking cool and brilliant.

Tbh I think in the right circumstances they'd teach each other some lowkey fucked up tricks they have up their sleeves. Like Bagi giving Phil insight on manipulating people into giving the answers you're looking for by asking the right carefully worded questions, or Phil teaching Bagi the best spots to hit/hurt a person/mob to really do some damage just purely as a "hey if you ever find yourself in a Situation, here's a tip" thing

I don't know how better to show this without explicitly saying it: These two are not the other's fucking caretaker. Phil is not Bagi's father figure and Bagi is not Phil's mother figure. Yes, they can scold each other when the other is doing something dumb (cough, 7 hcs ago, cough). Friends do that. They support each other and call each other on their bs. That is not parenting, that's being a good friend. And they are to each other.

On that note, it hasn't come up too much yet but when shit sucks (like when the eggs were lost or lost lives), they're good at distracting each other. But like without halting the process of dealing with their emotions. If they're sad, they'll be sad together, but they're good at picking the right conversation topics to lighten the mood. If they're mad, they'll be mad together, and they'll plan what to do about it with each other.

I think I've sorta demonstrated it well enough in a couple of these hcs already but AUGH, they're just. So on the same page with each other almost all the time. And when they aren't, they're so good at giving each other perspectives they didn't think of before. Which, I don't mean to compare Bagi to her brother here, but is also how Phil and Cellbit can be with each other too; though they've somewhat fallen out of that sync post-Purgatory. The way the Mystery Siblings are so on the same wavelength as Phil makes me so *slams fist on desk*

Phil is normally a very Just Vibin' kinda guy but Bagi can get him into some really deep intellectual conversations sometimes and it's so 🍿🍿🍿 to watch

[erissdoesart]

What’s the twins techbur alicorn Au?

Boi o boi! The au consists of a few more pictures, I'll drop them chronogically and then the explanation :3

Techno and Wil are twin ponies. As little colts they were playing together and Wilbur accidently forced Tech into situation where the red pony broke his horn. Unicorns can't do magic with broken horns, as it is highly dangerous for everyone around and themselves.

Techno ran away from home and Wil spent a long time searching for him/trying to find a way to recover Techno's horn. Before he succeded, Techno came back, backed by a power like no other.

Phil, the King of Changelings promised to recover Techno's magic if the pony helped him take over the Kingdom for his hive. Techno is a terrifying warrior even without magic, so he did most of the war on ease.

Phil said that having Wilbur is crucial in order to fix Techno's horn and Techno captured his twin, threatened him and delivered him to Phil.

Phil, who knew that Wil still loved Techno and would do anything for him, even if he was terrified. Phil, who knew that Wilbur's magic and charisma could help fell the Kingdom even faster and make it perfect feeding grounds for his Hive.

His plan was to mainly force/guilt Wilbur into working for him by assuming Techno's form, sometimes with a fixed horn, sometimes with broken, just to perpetuate that feeling of love and doom

Mind you, Wilbur was working on a way to recover Technos horn his whole life at this point. He was terrifies of what would happen to the pony kingdom and knew he can't risk accidentally falling for Philza’s plot.

Wilbur had a solution. He created a highly volatile spell. The spell was meant to take a pony and take away their core element- pegasus wings, earth pony strength or unicorns horn- and then remodel them into something else. Wilbur planned to first make Techno into a pegasus and then remodel him *again*.

The problem of that magic, was it required HUGE mastery of the spell and the cost was deemed too high. Wilbur would die if he did the spell more than once that is

But he wanted to save Techno :3

You can see in the casting spell art, the colored paned glass window actually foreshadows what actually happens

Techno's transformation got messed by Wilburs dying moment and he was between a recovered unicorn and pegasus- and bc he still loved his brother, he tried to save him from his own idiocy. And fed his magic into the spell, accidentally finishing and defining it.

The spell was so innovative and so fate changing and defining that it actually granted the innovators of the spell alicorn status! Something similar to what happened to Twilight Sparkle in mlp :3

As to what happened with Tommy and Philza... well~ that's still up to decide >:3c

[swordfright]

shape language + dsmp cast !

Over the past year or so I’ve been slowly (very slowly lmfao) teaching myself to draw, and part of that process has been learning how shapes dictate meaning and emotion, so just for funsies I decided to do a full analysis of the shapes I usually use when drawing the cast of DSMP. Full analysis under the cut~

From left to right, top to bottom:

c!Dream — Typically, triangles communicate action, dynamism, or danger, all of which are pretty fitting for this guy, so the overall impression of his shape is usually triangular. His design also tends to use a lot of rectangles, which (because they contain elongated vertical lines) communicate a solidity that is less stable than, say, a square.

c!George — My design for him is very circular. Circles are made up of curves, so they tend to communicate softness and safety, as well as inaction or passivity. Since he can sometimes be quite a passive character in comparison to others, I usually go with a circle-based design for him.

c!Sapnap — I see Sapnap as a very complex character with a lot of different sides, at times extremely impulsive and at other times quite stable. Because of this, the shape I like to use for him is the rhombus, a type of parallelogram. Think of it like a square that’s leaning to one side: it still communicates the solidity and dependability of a square, but the diagonal lines that make up the shape mitigate that impression by suggesting motion/tension.

c!Punz — The base shape for Punz is usually either a short rectangle or a square, communicating reliability, while the face shape tapers into a point to suggest dynamism. He’s tricksy but dependable.

c!Techno — This guy’s always made up of circles and squares! Sturdy, reliable, approachable, strong, friendly. An all-around (haha get it) great guy.

c!Philza — I see Phil as one of those characters who, despite being very affable, has got a lot going on under the surface, so I didn’t want to stick to simple shapes for him. The shape I usually go with is an oval, because it carries the safety and amiability that roundness lends, as well as the slight instability implied by the long vertical lines in an oval.

c!Sam — This guy’s mostly squares! Strong, dependable, solid, secure…but also deeply inflexible.

c!Quackity — Nearly every shape in this design is some kind of triangle because that’s how I see Q: unpredictable, sharp, active. Triangles effortlessly convey the volatility associated with his character arc.

c!Wilbur — Okay, this is a tough one. Wilbur is a super manic character. This bad boy can fit so many shapes in him! His design usually features a pointed nose (triangular), a square jaw (strength/conviction), and either a rectangular or oval-shaped head. Wilbur can do (and be) a lot of things at once, so I really wanted his shapes to get that point across.

c!Tommy — Since he and Tubbo are both some of the younger server members, I like to include circles in their designs since roundness conveys youth. Tommy’s face shape usually tapers into a more pointed chin because he’s so active and volatile, he needs some pointy bits to show it!

c!Ranboo — The predominant shape here is a LONG rectangle. When it comes to rectangles, the wider the base, the more stable the shape ends up looking. But if the rectangle is much taller than its width, it conveys instability or even anxiety. I want Ranboo to look like he could topple over at any moment.

c!Tubbo — Just like Tommy, Tubbo’s primary shape is circular to communicate youth. But since Tubbo is a somewhat less active character than Tommy (a statement that’s true of most characters TBH) his circles are wider, sort of more squashed, to represent a state of semi-stability.

I could go on about this for way longer but I’m gonna cap this post here. There are a ton of characters I haven’t covered obviously, so LMK if there’s anyone else in particular whose shapes you’d like to see me break down.

[codgod]

the thing about qslime is like. he’s BEEN in denial about flippa’s death ever since it happened. when the eggs were taken away when the brazilians first arrived he was fully expecting flippa to show back up with them, he actively went looking for her. this thing with codeflippa isn’t like… new. at all

also, tangentially related, i honestly feel like etoiles reassuring him that tilín’s death wasn’t his fault may have had a negative effect? at least in regards to how much guilt he feels. because his emotions are all in extremes — he either loves mariana or hates her guts. he either feels so guilty that he runs off thousands of blocks away and tries to summon an angel to bring tilín back or he doesn’t care anymore because it was “just an accident” (a sentiment which doesn’t extend beyond himself because he is, ultimately, as self-centred as he is self-unaware). charlie said it himself when going through the element rooms in cellbits castle — his character is entirely driven by emotion, and he’s an absolute wreck about it. that’s why his character would be blood (even if charlie himself chose energy/chaos)

the other islanders are very much used to how.. volatile he is. so they just kinda let it go (at least on the outside) as seen with cellbit, roier, phil, etc. hanging out with him and codeflippa and helping them do her “tasks” which obviously probably isn’t the best approach (except on an information gathering front, but i mean for slime specifically here) but like… how do you even help someone like that? someone so deep in that they can’t even see that they’re losing themself to something that isn’t even real. he’d have to get to a point where he actually lets himself realise that something is wrong but he just. can’t

[hannahhook7744]

Phil Hargreeves Headcanons;

He's the tallest member of the Phoenix Academy and the first to go through puberty.

He's a pyromaniac but no one can prove it.

Phil argues with Reginald about shaving his beard daily because he refuses to shave it and Reginald demands he does so.

Isn't a people person but is good at reading them.

Is very much a 'Fight (or intimidate) first, ask questions later' type of guy.

Phil can't handle spicy food at all but absolutely loves sour foods and snacks.

Hates the color yellow.

Gets along best with Luther and Fei abd does not take any criticism toward the two of them lightly.

Phil is exasperated (though amused) by Klaus, and is very protective of him because he knows what it's like to be afraid of his own powers.

He also butts heads with Diego a lot because of Diego's volatile relationship with Luther.

He also butts heads with Alphonso but for different reasons. Though he loves all of his siblings.

Assuming Carla from the comics is the seventh member of this academy, he gets along with her as well. Though he'd likely get along with any of the other possible candidates for the seventh member as well (more or less).

He has pyrokinesis.

Phil is number three in this timeline.

Phil leaves the academy when Luther does because he's loyal to a fault (which while later than the other siblings in every universe, is relatively early in this one).

Phil's a cat person and was Luther's best friend growing up.

He and Luther both share the dream of going to space.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on who you ask) neither of them go to space here and Phil goes on to become a fire fighter (ironically).

Phil Hargreeves is a sleepwalker and has almost burnt the house down while doing so on more than one occasion.

He also had an emp phase.

Has a stash of 'contraband' (aka kid stuff and a phone) hidden under his bed so that Reginald can't take them away.

Phil Hargreeves is very good at using chopsticks.

He's dyslexic.

Once nearly choked to death on marshmallows doing the chubby bunny challenge because Diego challenged him (Diego also nearly choked to death).

When he and the siblings were thirteen they started sneaking out to the movies (because Klaus really wanted to see Treasure Planet and several other movies). Now Phil loves Disney movies (even if he refuses to admit it sometimes lol).

Scared the crap out of his driving instructor because he didn't study for how to drive stick.

Didn't really like Reginald but put up with him mainly for Luther.

Gets along with Diego the best when they have to get Klaus out of trouble.

Has ended up on the wrong side of Diego and Alphonso's powers more than once (and occasionally on the wrong side of Luther's powers since he spends the most time with him).

Is Luther's wing man (they are both terrible at flirting and it is by pure miracle they meet someone who thinks Luther's horrible flirting is cute. Aka this world's version of Sloane).

He also likes horror movies but never watches them with Klaus because he knows Klaus doesn't like them (usually because they're inaccurate but also because they scare him sometimes).

Phil likes a wide variety of music.

Got arrested once because he burned a guy who kicked a dog but got left off because there was no proof.

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

@acollectionofmiscstuff .

[9leaguesofmirrors]

His Soul's Best Mate (a Dave Parkes and Phil Proctor friendship fic)

I've recently become obsessed with the friendship dynamic between Phil and Dave (the other members of Legz Akimbo) and decided to write this: a fic about platonic soulmates

Two boys sat in a waiting room among several other hopefuls, waiting for a chance to audition for an up-and-coming theatre company called Legz Akimbo

One has his head buried in his audition book, murmuring his lines under his breath and making notes as he went along. If this went well, it could mean breaking through into a tough industry he'd been training for all his life

The other's scrolling through his phone. He doesn't quite know if this is what he wants, but that doesn't mean he isn't up for giving it a good go. Growing bored of Letterboxd, he puts his phone away and glances over at the man next to him. He sees the monologue

"I almost picked that one."

This caused the other man to lift his head in surprise, which quickly changed into a warm smile

"It's one of my favourite plays, you've heard of it?"

"Only thanks to a lot of researching!" Laughed the stranger "I'm not exactly an encyclopedia of theatre knowledge."

"What did you end up choosing?"

"Found a play called One Man, Two Guvnors. Figured I'd give it a shot."

"You're a fan of comedy! I had a feeling."

"Wow, it's that obvious?"

That made them both laugh. In a potentially volatile industry like the theatre, it was nice to meet someone that felt like a human being

"I'm Dave by the way." He extended his hand, a big grin on his face "Dave Parkes."

"Phil Proctor." He shook it

"No way, Proctor?" Dave chuckled in disbelief "Like in The Cruci-"

"Yes," Phil sighed with a smile "just like The Crucible. I guess my destiny was laid out in front of me since birth."

"Better hope you're good then!"

That's when Phil knew he'd found a very good friend

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

Rehearsals were interesting. And by interesting, Dave meant "his personal hell". Seriously, their new director was more unstable than a dingy boat on a stormy sea! He thought that, overtime, he'd get better. He was yet to be proven right

One evening, Dave was on a video call with Phil for their weekly line-learning session. They figured they'd start early, plus Dave appreciated being able to talk to his friend without Ollie breathing, or rather screaming, down his neck

"Have you worked with Ollie before?" He asked during their post-run through break

"Nah, first time. You?"

"Same here, was just wondering how you were finding it. I mean, Ollie seems to like you-"

"Like me?" Phil laughed a little at that "Funniest thing I've heard all week!"

"But he always brings up that audition you're going to, the one for that radio show?"

"Only because he's pissy about me missing rehearsals!" Phil muttered "Sarcastic git..."

Once Dave heard that, it all started to click. It would explain why Ollie spent so much time talking about it, yet never showed any real interest aside from that

"Right. Sorry, sarcasm gets lost on me." Dave shrugged "Joys of autism, I guess."

As soon as he saw the look of surprise on Phil's face, Dave couldn't help but laugh - he'd forgotten that was part of him he didn't know yet

"I was diagnosed pretty recently, plus I'm really good at hiding. Trying to get better at not doing that."

"Why didn't you say anything? I mean, you don't owe anyone an explanation, but surely you could get additional support-"

"From Ollie? Not a chance! We both know what he'd do:" Dave took his pink-tinted sunglasses from his desk and put them on, imitating Ollie's voice and mannerisms "My name is Ollie Plimsolls, and welcome to my new play entitled Autism Speaks. I have no idea that this is also the name of a crapsack company because I do absolutely no research. Please sit through this agonising performance while these two actors beside me slowly feel their souls decay!"

Phil could hardly breathe from laughing, and Dave was no better as he took his glasses off again. There was something about having someone that shared their irritancy with their director that felt like Spring air

"He really is something, isn't he?"

"I think the word they use is 'crackpot'." Phil said "I'd quit, but I need the experience. Plus, I like doing stuff with you."

"Boo, that's soppy!"

"Dave, don't be a dick!" Phil teased lightly "Speaking of dick, I don't think Ollie will like it if we still don't know our lines by next week, so we should probably go for another run-through."

Dave started to move his hands like Ollie again

"You don't have the whole script memorized after 2 weeks?! What kind of actor are you?!"

"Don't Dave, I'll start laughing again!"

They only made it through a page of the second run-through because Dave kept doing the "Ollie Voice" and Phil couldn't concentrate

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

4:00...

They'd been there for half an hour...

And Ollie was still ranting

Phil had stopped listening about 10 minutes in... actually, that was a bit generous. He'd probably clocked out by the 5 minute mark. It was Dave's fault, really, for improvising onstage. That was the reason he started laughing. It never happened, Phil was always great at staying in character, people saw it as a challenge, to make him corpse onstage

So far, only Dave had succeeded. And he had a consistent success streak

Of course, Phil wasn't completely innocent. After Dave started it, he had to get him back somehow - besides, they always ended up laughing when they faced each other head-on

They enjoyed it

The kids loved it

Ollie clearly didn't see the funny side

"How hard is it not to laugh onstage? Neither of you are that funny, surely it should be a simple task!"

When Ollie's back was turned, Dave looked at Phil and mouthed you hungry? That earned a silent shhhh from Phil, who was not about to enrage their director anymore - he actually wanted to go home at some point today

"You two are impossible!" Continued the angry blond man, still not looking behind him "You've ruined my production, you've ruined my reputation-"

You ruined my dream journal! Dave mouthed, laughing as Phil tried desperately to hold back his own laughter

"It's like watching a 5 year old throw a fit." Phil murmured, quiet enough that only Dave heard it

"In those silly jumpers, he looks like one too."

"How far could you push him in a pram?"

This time, it was Dave's turn to clamp his hand over his own mouth, trying to avoid any sound coming out

"Odds on 6 meters?"

"No please, I insist!" Barked an irate Ollie "Your turn! Since you're so intent on interrupting everything I do, what is it? Spit it out!"

"Just agreeing with you, Ollie." Phil said quickly, fearing that laughing in his face was a very bad idea

That seemed to set Ollie off on yet another tirade and he started to pace again. For a while, both Dave and Phil were silent. Then Dave turned to face him

"Y'know what this reminds me of?"

"..."

"My neighbour used to have this chihuahua-"

Neither of them could hold it in, and the torrent of angry yapping from Ollie afterwards was completely worth it

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

"What do you mean 'not well'? You were perfectly fine yesterday!"

"It caught up to me, Ollie, I told you there was a bug going around. Dave went off with it, you'll probably get it next."

"So help me if either of you give me your disease-"

"We should be alright by tomorrow, we can pick things up then."

It took a little (more like a lot) of convincing, but eventually Ollie caved. As soon as he'd hung up, Phil turned to Dave with a confident smile

"That's him off our case for the rest of the day!"

"He really has no idea what day it is," Dave would've been lying if he said he wasn't a little downhearted by that, but it didn't matter much in the grand scheme of things "and he says he cares."

"He's all talk, no action. Or height."

They both laughed, some jokes never got old

"So," Phil took a neatly wrapped parcel from his bag and handed it to him "the celebrating begins!"

Dave took the package and opened it, and his eyes instantly widened. Never did he thing he would be holding a vintage polaroid camera in his hands

"How did you even find this?"

"You'd be surprised what you find in Camden market."

"You actually managed to fend of Tish to get me a gift?"

"Don't even mention her name," Phil groaned "I wanted to go on my own, but you know what she's like. You mention Camden Market and she follows you like a bloodhound."

"I think it's just you." Dave adopted her voice "I just love you gay guys!"

"Right, I'm taking back the camera." Phil teased as he reached for it, only to be swatted away by a laughing Dave

"Get Tish to go with you!"

Managing to avoid Phil's grasping, he pointed the camera in front of both of them and snapped a selfie

"Dave! Fuck's sake!"

"This is going on my fridge!"

"You better not!"

"It is!"

Once the laughter subsided, Dave looked at the developing photo. It was as if, somehow, he'd managed to capture the chaos and joy and everything he liked in their friendship.

Part of him wished more people remembered his birthday, he wouldn't even have minded Ollie giving him a visit!

"Thanks for this, mate. Means a lot."

"You OK, Davey?"

"Yeah, I just..." He looked at the photo, then back at Phil with a smile "I'm fine."

Phil knew that wasn't true, he gave a firm pat on the knee. A silent assurance that, all teasing aside, he was there for him

"I just feel..." David started to alternate between clenching and unclenching his fists and pressing the pads of his fingers to his thumbs, trying to find the words "... just feel a bit invisible sometimes."

"Invisible?"

"Yeah. I mean, Ollie's the main guy: writer, director, producer... all the stuff. You're Phil Proctor, lead in every performance - which you're great at! But... then there's me. Just... Dave."

Phil hated hearing his mate talk about himself like that, especially when his skills were so obvious to him. He picked up Dave's Polaroid camera and held it up

"You," he said with a smile "are Dave Parkes. Future filmmaker and producer."

"Is this you haggling for a role?"

"Well... maybe!" Phil joked, wrapping an arm around Dave's shoulder "But I know that you're gonna make films that put these plays we're doing to shame."

"That's not hard!"

After that day, Dave started to look forward to his birthday again

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

Dave had been off all day, and he'd have been lying to himself if he said he didn't know why

It meant a lot, that he was the first person Phil told about his new job opportunity, he was filled with pride to think of his best friend finally escaping Legz Akimbo prison

Even so, there was a tiny part of him that wasn't happy about it at all. At first, he assumed it was jealousy. Phil was free to live his life, while he was trapped doing educational plays for kids that didn't care, with a director that seemed to hate his guts

As he sat in his living room, pressing the pads of his fingers against his thumbs in a self-soothing manner, his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his phone buzzing. He heard a familiar voice at the end:

"Davy!"

"You alright, Phil? How does it feel to have nearly finished your life sentence?"

"Good. Really good, yeah."

Dave knew Phil well enough to know something wasn't right

"Thought you were meant to be a good actor!" He joked "Now tell me what's really going on."

"Alright, you got me." Phil managed a small chuckle "I'm not ungrateful or anything, trust me - I've wanted out of here since day 3!"

"So what's the problem-"

"Is this a bad idea?"

Out of all the things Phil could've said, Dave wasn't expecting that

"You what?"

"I want to get out, I have for ages, but what's gonna happen after I leave? It'll only be you and Ollie left."

"He spoke to you."

No answer. Not that there needed to be one

"Yeah. He did. Usually, I don't listen so much. But he said all this stuff about how I'm such a "bad friend" for leaving you behind. I know he's just saying it to hurt me, probably doesn't even meant it. But you know how I get."

Dave did. Phil had opening up about the pressure he felt to constantly make the right decision. Theatre was a difficult business, one wrong step and you could fall hard. There were many moments where Phil would need that extra bit of reassurance, just a push in the right direction

Not that he'd always ask for it, that was still tricky for him. But, when he did, Dave was there for him

And, even though he'd have loved to keep seeing his best mate every day at rehearsals, keep making him corpse onstage, and ranting about Ollie and all the other things that they did to keep themselves sane, he knew he had to be there for him here too

"Phil, you've earned this! Don't worry about me, I'm a grown up - especially when you see me stood next to Ollie!" He heard Phil laugh on the other end, which was a good sign in his books "This is about you, mate! You'll do great!"

"It'll be nice to work with a director that doesn't keep trying to lob chairs at me."

"Exactly!"

The conversation started to flow into a number of topics: films they watched recently, the most recent episode of their favourite show, their current (Phil's final) future disaster they were part of thanks to Ollie Plimsolls. Phil's departure almost forgotten until the end of the call

"Showtime next week," he said humourlessly "if it wasn't in front of kids, I'd do it tipsy."

"Not very professional, are you?" Dave teased

"No, but I think I deserve it."

A pause. Dave's fists clenched and unclenched and each finger pressed against his thumb again; with show week happening so close and the fact he wouldn't see his closest friend anymore was eating at him. Come the week after, things wouldn't feel the same. Well, they wouldn't be the same

He didn't realise he wasn't talking until Phil did:

"Odds on Ollie blowing a blood vessel tomorrow?"

Despite himself, Dave laughed

"Very probable, I'll send you a video."

"Davey?"

"Yeah mate?"

"I'll call you next week."

"OK."

Another pause

"Let me know when the ad comes out."

"Promise."

That's how the call ended: with Dave Parkes, alone in his living room, trying not to think about the week after next

Because he was used to the late nights, the rehearsal stresses, the tantrums and the bullying

What he wasn't used to was going about it alone

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

"Why are you doing this, Dave?"

It was the first time he'd seen any sort of genuine care towards him being shown by Ollie. As if this was the moment he realised that Dave was exhausted. As if he finally felt even the slightest bit of sympathy

Dave looked at him. He wondered if, in another life, they could've actually gotten along. Maybe, if things were different, Legz Akimbo could've really been a trio. Three friends working together, collaborating and supporting each other

But that was a universe lightyears away...

"I just can't stand you, Ollie."

... In this lifetime, they were just too far apart

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Phil! Wait up!"

Upon hearing his name, he turned around, surprised to see Dave running towards him. Phil's shoulder's were grabbed as his best mate caught his breath

"Dave, what happened?"

"I quit!"

"What?" Phil's eyes widened "I mean, that's great but-"

"Remember what you said ages ago? About me being a filmmaker? Well, you were right. I wrote something months ago and I sent it off to Jed Hunter this morning!"

"What did he say?"

Dave's eyes seemed to light up even brighter, his whole face glowed like a lantern about to be launched into the air

"Phil... I'm gonna be a producer."

For a few seconds, Phil was stunned into silence. Then, his arms opened slightly

"Can I-"

His question was answered by Dave pulling him into a bone-crushing hug. That's where they stayed for what felt like a joyful eternity, a buzzing clump of laughter and freedom

"Phil?"

"Yeah?"

"... Odds on you helping me out?"

Phil pulled away, slightly confused, but wth a glimmer of excitement in his eye

"As long as I'm not playing Joseph the carpenter." He joked

"No, but I did write a role with you in mind. Jed said you'll have to audition... but I'm producing, so my say goes-"

"Why are you doing this, Dave? I mean, it's great but.." why me? Was the unspoken part What makes me worthy?

Dave wrapped an arm around Phil and beamed, as if he could see their successful futures right there and then

The struggles, the little achievements, the pushbacks and the pull forwards

He could see the films he'd create, the roles Phil would go on to play, and the awards they both would eventually win - both seperately and for their collaborations

But, right now, he answered Phil's question with the only thing he knew for sure:

"Because you're my best mate, Phil."

[isakyakihasmyheart]

Mind Dump 5 years on...

This is the first time I've logged into this account since 2019(ish) so I'm pretty sure there's going to be no one left here but if you are, Hi! I'm just going to dump this post here because I am a tumblr girl at heart and laying my most deepest thoughts to strangers on the internet is all I've ever known...

After the recent news of the death of Liam Payne 2 days ago I've been thinking about this website non-stop. Like many people, this news hit me so unexpectedly emotionally. Grieving someone I never knew, but also grieving a time in my life I can never ever experience again.

My life has changed so much since I last logged into this account, and yet so little at the same time. I started this account in early 2017 after I got into SKAM back in 2016, abandoning a previous Dan and Phil centred account I had from 2014. I was still in school, the last season of SKAM lining up with my own life of leaving school and starting university. I remember thinking that was so cool, watching these characters I grew to adore also experiencing their last year alongside me. I started university in late 2018, studying to become a nurse but yet never got over SKAM. Instead, I became obsessed DRUCK and connected to Matteo in a way I haven't ever experienced with another fictional character since (the only close match being Connell from Normal People in that one uni scene iykyk). However, I ultimately ended up abandoning this account in 2019.

I don't actually know why I stopped coming on this website. Because since I was 14 this website was all I could ever think about. Me and best friend in 2014 were absolutely obsessed with tubmlr. We would literally spend hours on this website reblogging the most random things, and things that at that point in our lives meant so much to us. And with this recent news, I've felt this strong tsunami of nostalgia for that period of my life.

I was never a 1D blog, but I loved 1D. Not very openly as I had older sisters who made fun of me for it. I squashed any outwardly expression of my love for them to avoid this at all costs. A major cost being turning down to go and see them in concert in 2014/2015 when my friend (mentioned above) had an extra ticket. I think about that often and regret it every time. When covid came around and we were in lockdown I was in the mid/end of my 2nd year of uni, 20 years of age. I know a lot of people talk of how they regressed back to their younger passions, and so did I. I had the full 1D experience I never let myself have, not caring about others' opinions on it (mainly my older sister). I listened to their music nonstop every single day, watching so many edits and even reading fan fics. I truly felt like I was 14 again. But there was always that voice in the back of my head saying, "you're too late, it's not the same, you've missed out on it all." I yearned with everything in me to be that teenage girl again. It was during this period in 2020 that my family relationships also became very volatile and dysfunctional, meaning 1D became an even bigger safe space for me.

I've always been a nostalgic person in the worst way possible. I can't help but let the regrets of things I never did consume me. The thoughts of how different my life could be, how different I could be, it always plagues me. I know this sounds dramatic because I'm talking about a 2010s boyband, believe me I know it does.

But I was 14 when my life started to go to shit, when my mental health first started to decline and truthfully it has never recovered. Maybe because in the back of my mind, I always felt like that 14 year old girl, scared and alone and hurting so bad with no one to help her. And the unbelievable shocking news of Liam Payne dying, it's just transporting me back to that period of my life. Even more so as I lost my dad very unexpectedly and traumaticly in March this year.

I just feel so full of grief for so many things all at once, all separate yet all so intertwined. I would truly give anything and everything I have to just relive being that teenage girl, even the unspeakable bad parts. And it makes me so angry to know I can't. And of course, I can't, because that's not how time works! Yet it feels like I can't breathe when I come to that realisation. In all its dramatic flare, it genuinely feels like it's killing me that I can't ever experience that life again.

All in all, I'll never truly forget this website. Especially not this account, I loved this account! Maybe this is just the part of growing up I'm currently struggling with. I'm 24 now, which in itself is scary because no matter what I am and always will be that 14 year old girl.

Girlhood is forever and always xx

[quotelr]

We had scar-tissueromance and ours wasa relationship of sayinggoodbye—every timewe fought, every timewe fucked, and every timewe called it quits, beforepicking up our knivesagain

Phil Volatile, Crushed Black Velvet

[fr-likes-chocolate]

Making a colorza Fic that will probably be posted here and on Quotev. I’m thinking about the different colors and how they affect Phil’s personality

----

Redza: volatile and firery. Whatever emotion he feels, he expresses it tenfold.

Orange: I often see Orangeza depicted as a steampunk engineer. That seems to fit him well, using the urge to create that every Phil has. However, he can act just as volatile as Red, which ends up with him getting into trouble.

Yellow: Yellowza is portrayed as kind and helping by everyone who knows him. However, he does also have a dark side he tells no one about.

Green: this is the first color to interact with characters from SMP cc!Phil has been on (aside from Technoblade, who interacts with every colorza with the exception of one), as Greenza is basically DSMP Phil combined with 5 yr hardcore world Phil. He is a healer mentally, physically, and spiritually. He also would be considered neutral good. He fights for things he believes is best for everybody, even if getting there means it causes (a little) harm to others.

Blue: like Green, Blueza is also related to an SMP, earth smp to be precise. He is the cold hearted ruler of the Antarctic empire, but is secretly very sad and depressed due to things I will not spoil yet

Purple: the definition of a corrupt and manipulative politician. He seems friendly and calm, but is actually a psychopath. He is the breaking point of the entire series

Pink: a child at heart, Pink is the blissful void after Purple’s insanity. He is kind and gentle to all no matter what. This unfortunately makes him easy to manipulate. He is also the only colorza to have no interaction with Technoblade.

Black: every single bad trait of all the other colors combined. He is a killing Machine that cannot be stopped, not even by those who love him most.

White: the opposite of black and the combination of every hood trait the colors have. Nicknamed cumza buy Wilbur

[foolsocracy]

Personally, I'm on the "Sam Prime has only one life" train because it makes far more sense why he's looking for ways to extend it mechanically if he only has the one than if he has three. A single life is a lot more volatile; one mistake could end it in a flash. Three gives you a little more leeway, so you can learn and live again. For someone to be so intricately entwined with death and escape from it, it feels symbolic to only have one life. (Plus Philza and Techno each only have one, and their relationships with death are Also incredibly entwined with that fact, so it just makes sense to me.)

REAL!! anon you're so real. let me speak on this

Only having one life is definitely much more of a motivator for Sam's clone shenanigans. And i also think it would be important to note that, from what I remember, most of Sam's raving about new bodies is about avoiding injury & outside forces that could kill you. I think he does mention bodies breaking down with age too, but I think it comes across as secondary when he talks about it. At least from what I can remember.

Only having one life also works well with the fact that he knew Phil from when Phil was much much younger (100s? 1000s? of years!). I'm pretty sure both Phil and Techno emphasize that them having one life has to do with where they are from, rather than who they are. Considering that Phil met Sam prior to Techno, and Phil and Techno being from the same place, its pretty likely that Sam is from there as well.

Another thing I'd like to mention is Sam Prime's reaction to waking up after being in a clone body for so long. It was a shocked, "I died." The way he says it isn't a way I'd expect someone who grew up aware that you can die and come back to life twice. And you may be thinking, maybe he's crazy delusional cause he's Sam and he's convinced himself that he can't die in a clone. And this is true. BUT! Boomer also has a very telling reaction. Its very much along the lines of you couldn't have died, you're right here! Now THIS is a sentence out of the mouth of someone who only has one shot at life.

now onto how Sam has died and behaved like a 3-heart character. Sam on the DSMP has no memory of being Sam Prime, and so he believes he's the same as any other person from the region, aka someone who has 3 lives. It could be fun to think that he might have incredibly repressed memories of his lives (or lack their of) when making sense of a comment he made back in the Trapped in Prison streams: he goes through Limbo to get back to his body in between deaths.

"but ryin! he was being metaphorical!" maybe! but what if he wasn't! makes you think. Perhaps if Sam's consciousness is in a clone body when that clone dies, he travels through some type of limbo where he can locate and return to his own original body, another clone, or even re-inhabit the same body that just died. DSMP Sam isn't even aware he has clones or an original body to get back to, so he just reanimates the old one.

Another comment on this Limbo --- Sam Bucket. It is widely agreed upon that Sam Bucket is another one of Sam's clones, and I believe the same. But there are a few things BBH has said about him that really stump me: 1) you can't touch him, 2) he can teleport, to an extent (as seen in the Sam Bucket finale). It's very... ghostly, no? Maybe the case with Sam Bucket was that when he died and was possessed by the Egg, he also lost that knowledge of how to successfully transfer back to another body. Or maybe it was because his conciseness wasn't only his anymore, that it couldn't fit back into his bodies right. So Sam Bucket could be an apparition of the consciousness that was in the Sam Bucket clone, and continues to haunt the Egg. The teleportation could be explained that way, as he doesn't need to adhere to the laws of physics; or maybe since he is so closely bonded with the Egg while being incorporeal, he's gained the Egg's ability to teleport.

Now for why he is suddenly back in his body after DSMP Sam's 2nd death. This one can go a lot of ways. Here're some ideas:

Going off of Sam Prime's shock of having died in a clone, perhaps Sam's Dream & Ponk deaths would be the first one's he'd ever experience. I also want to relate this to the 3-lives system as well, so maybe after 2 'deaths,' the more powerful 1-life Sam Prime had is reduced to an equivalent to a single 3-lives life. If that makes sense. With only one 'life' left, it is instinctively sent back to the original body to sustain it with what is left.

If we want to add the previously discussed Sam Bucket theory into this, here we go. It still makes sense that Sam Prime would not be aware that that body died, as his consciousness never returned to the original body to be added to the mix. Here, it would also help to think of the 1-life as split not into the one death, two deaths, sent back to body, like the previous scenario, but instead the clones can go through 3 'lives' before being forced back to Sam Prime.

Maybe the energy taken from the 1-life Sam Prime has isn't so easily split up into the 3-life system. It could be where energy is just drained over time, and the Ponk death was the straw that broke the camel's back. Its convenient, but possible. Also, it was the only death Sam had after he saw Sam Bucket. Maybe being exposed to his own consciousness triggered something in his head where it defaulted him back to Sam Prime? Who knows

Anyway, that was a lot of words to say Yeah, I like the 1-life Sam theory.

[jinxpologist]

you are the sun. you heal, you burn (for tntduo fic thing)

THANK YOU

okay so we've got an interesting dichotomy and a very magical air in this title so i'm definitely thinking something fantastical. fantasy au!

i'm imagining the "you" in this is wil, because he's the character out of both of them who's most likely to be volatile and have a "healing"/"burning" dichotomy.

i see wilbur as some sort of unique type of mob hybrid, a phoenix, with his abilities and species kept secret because of how valuable and identifiable they are.

i don't want any of that hybrid discrimination shit in this universe - most people have some sort of mob trait, and if they don't, they're not seen as inherently better. different species' mingle together happily.

each species comes with it's own unique traits. for example, quackity would be a duck (because of course he is), meaning he's a naturally good swimmer, has a pair of waterproof wings that he can use to fly for long distances, can sense magnetic energy (internal compass), and has a very strong respiratory system.

quackity is an amateur volunteer town guard (not a cop. more like a security guard) who's keeping the peace at the public market. he meets wilbur, who's new in town, and then five minutes later someone's stand goes up in flames out of nowhere.

obviously the guard collects itself and makes sure everyone is safe, but afterwards they start looking for the perpetrator. for some reason, quackity has an odd gut feeling about wilbur (who had vanished at this point) and tracks him down about a week later to interrogate him about it.

wilbur denies any involvement with anything that happened that day, but he says that he's always happy to help the guard. quackity can't tell if he's being a little shit or not but he takes his word for it, and the next time another case of arson happens, he asks wilbur about it, and wilbur very surprisingly is able to help out.

they start working together when there are random cases of petty crime or violence and quackity is sticking his nose in shit that he really shouldn't. guards don't typically investigate, they usually help immediately with emergency situations and try to help keep the townspeople physically safe in the moment.

quackity starts pulling some strings and begins to realize that wilbur is involved in some shit that's a bit deeper than he bargained for, but he wants the help, so he thinks he doesn't have a choice but to stick by him. he's also noticing that wilbur is hiding something (his species) that's making it difficult to trust him.

meanwhile, wilbur is working with an underground crime guild of which he has honorary membership (phil is the leader, techno co-leader lmao) to track down the owner of a remote magical item that could help him ensure his own safety and somehow manipulate his species traits to enable him to use them on others. aka, he'd have the power to heal and bring people back to life.

chaos ensues as they do various bullshit that eventually leads their paths crashing into each other, with quackity investigating wilbur's entire group and getting allies to help him do it and wilbur trying to evade detection while he makes progress on his ~ quest ~.

eventually quackity gets involved in the underground crime scene himself and finds himself very surprisingly in his element, taking his knowledge from a not-so-great hometown and an amazing strategy for several common gambler's games to win as much power as he can to unravel what exactly is making this city tick.

running out of steam but the fic would be long and winding and have LORE that would all culminate in this huge thing at the end with all the characters that have been acquired throughout and the main two would both have to make a big choice (between each other or their dreams). and i would cry

okay that's it sorry it took ages i'm insane and this idea is making me insane!!!

[bonesandthebees]

okokokok idk if im reading too far into this but it FEELS like what techno did was intentional?? you have a wonderful habit of giving characters motivations and agendas that come across as infinitely simpler and easy to judge until afterwards when you see what they were really trying to accomplish. and the timing, with phil and techno both approaching him within the span of a few days? that feels like something they orchestrated together, especially considering the fact that the two seem to work on the exact same wavelength in this setting at all times. i cannot see techno doing something like that without at least SOMEWHAT briefing it with phil first, and while techno did seem uncomfortable with the situation at first, all the purposeful mentions of him looking thoughtful once he saw the crimeboys dymamic made me go hmmmmm (also. no idea what about crimeboys is what caused techno to change his mind and start pushing, but im gonna think EVEN HARDER AFTER I SEND THIS)

i feel like he planned on a convo with wil on this topic, but maybe intended on it occuring in a more private setting like phils did? then kinda went 'fuck it, may as well if he's right here and i have a good opening to start an intense convo'?? emduo trying to push wil further, knowing that in the end these tough pills and forced reevaluations of himself would be helpful even if it'll hurt in the moment- something that other people wil regularly talks to avoid entirely... (part of me wants to think the others being around was planned to add pressure or prevent him from shutting it down as easily, but then why was techno so hesitant in the beginning...)

i see techno being fully genuine in those questions, though- hell, maybe the motivation is entirely different and phil and him are trying to use the very volatile state he's in to get more information out of him? or it could be both at once. idk i love this chapter a lot i just feel odd writing off technos actions as just shit disturbing for the sake of it, or just feeling anarchist-y in the moment. there's SOMETHING there. what is it? i dont know.

ive never sent an anon but hi >:) ig 🦡💥🍂 just in case any are in use and i end up writing another essay immediately after finishing a chapter LMAO

I wouldn't say techno necessarily planned out this convo, but he did have a somewhat different intent than how it came across. while he wasn't sure, he was starting to suspect that things in the palace might not have been what they seemed from the outside. the kidnapping was easy. it went off without a hitch, and that's strange because the pythia can literally see the future. why wouldn't clara warn him? why does the pythia seem to have such a fucked up mentality regarding his relationship with clara? why has nothing changed in the government since they kidnapped him? things weren't adding up, and while techno was very unsure what the full picture was, he wanted to push the pythia to see if he could force him to give them some answers, even if that meant upsetting him a bit. he didn't mean it when he implied the pythia was bad at his job. it was more like a, "this doesn't make sense, what's actually going on here?" and, well, he got his answer

I'm glad you picked up on techno's actions being a bit off though because you were right! he was kind of trying to be a dick, but not for the reasons the readers think. it wasn't out of any malice towards the pythia. it was actually out of his own sympathy for the pythia and wanting to understand what was going on better. he just figured the pythia wasn't going to talk unless he provoked a reaction out of him.

welcome to the anon club!! I don't believe any of those are in use so i'll go with the first one and call you badger anon :)

[tahitiwoke]

five times kissed bc i didnt send it to you but i suppose its my time to be hurt

ONE | HE WAS A GIANT.

" it's all the in the back swing, slugger, " phil says with a laugh, readjusting roman's grip on the sammy sosa wooden bat - it's pint size, one he had to get at a walmart because the ones he had at home were practically the size of roman himself. the boy pulls his arms back and tries for a practice swing, one-two-three times, and with a fresh determination, adjusts the yankees cap phil had pushed onto his head before they got to the cages.

like this? " yeah, just like that. come on, now, chin up. focus and don't dare look away, 'cause that's what gets you -- taking your eye off the ball. " from the other side of the batting cage, carol whoops and shouts go roman! and shoots phil a wink. he's a good kid they tell each other at night when he's gone to bed. he's a good kid with a good head on his shoulders and he's got a hell of a life stretching out in front of him.

there's a long break before the next ball flies out the ejector and a longer pause between the shunk of the piston, and the crack of roman's bat finding leather. naturally, phil goes wild. " that's what i'm talking about! " they applaud obnoxiously and phil kisses the top of his head, ruffling his hair.

TWO | WICHITA LINEMAN.

things go wrong. it is the nature of the beast, it is what happens to people like them in this job and maria tells him this was always going to be the risk, that if anything were to go wrong, it may as well be now when nobody is in too deep. are you in too deep? i heard he's living with you. but phil knows now what he didn't before: he can't live without roman.

when maria mentions transferring roman into someone else's caseload, he grabs her wrist, keeps his voice low so as not to wake the sleeping boy in the hospital bed that looks so obscenely large next to his tiny frame. if you take him away from me, i'll burn your fucking house to the ground. he's my boy. the pause had been volatile. had been hard to process, for both of them, but when he let go, she had nodded. okay, she had said with an oddly proud look on her face, okay. get some sleep, coulson, you look like shit.

he waits until she's gone before he turns back and kisses roman's forehead, careful not to jostle any of the wires attached to him; when he sinks back into the too-small, shitty uncomfortable plastic chair, he opens a book and starts to read.

THREE | EVERYTHING ALL THE TIME.

she's not coming back, is she? roman stands in the threshold of the bedroom doorway, looking into the dim light cast by the bedside light; phil is awake with a report scattered over the duvet - not a usual move, but the living room still has a lot of boxes from the move, both his things and roman's - so needs must. he looks over at roman, over his glasses. he's always been a precocious kid. he's always been a good kid -- thirteen years old and already half a man.

a sigh pushes out between them, phil rubbing at the frown cutting into his own forehead. " no, slugger. she's not. " there must be some sort of sadness, some heaviness that he has not managed to cover quick enough because roman pads into the room then, in his pyjamas that look a little smaller than they did last week. (they'll go shopping tomorrow. he'll get him new clothes, and they'll have ice cream and he'll say to the waiter my son was wondering if you had the chocolate milkshakes again?) it is careful the way he puts his hand on phil's shoulder, but in a strange moment, he's almost the caretaker -- roman leans over and presses a kiss to phil's forehead. it's okay, dad.

FOUR | COURAGE, MY BOY.

jess watches the young man on the edge of the wellwishers carefully; he's hung far enough back, stood beside a red-head she doesn't recognise, that it shouldn't really draw her attention as much as it does, but the utterly devastated look on his face catches her breath. it's a deep sorrow - the kind she feels herself, in some small way. her brother was not the most forthcoming person. never mentioned friends or girlfriends -- or boyfriends? no, it doesn't seem the grief of a lover. it looks... christ, it looks like the grief of a son.

(that makes her baulk, makes her immediately dismiss the idea. because phil would have told her, surely, and their mother if he had a son. he would have mentioned it.)

somebody presses a folded flag into her mother's hands and says we thank your brother for his dedication to his country -- fucking steve rogers shakes her hand when he says it. she does not know what phil did for a living but it seems overwhelmingly important with the sad, sorrow filled face of captain america staring over at the white stone marker. the boy she'd been watching - twenty-ish maybe, she thinks - steps up to that marker after the priest disappears kisses his fingertips, pressing them lightly against the front, just above the words chiselled into it.

PHILLIP J. COULSON. FRIEND, BROTHER, SON. THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL GO INTO ETERNAL LIFE.

FIVE | ONE SMALL VICTORY.

phil is running a little late -- he doesn't mean to be and he texts roman to say he's on his way as soon as he leaves the office, apologises for the delay and that dinner is his treat. that he cannot wait to meet the mystery girl. he's so eager, in fact, to get into the restaurant that he even tosses the keys to the valet with a cheerful don't scratch it, chief and takes the steps two at a time upstairs to where the hostess had told him they've been seated.

the girl is facing away from him and carol forces a smile when he walks in, but roman stands. roman stands and hugs him and phil kisses his temple, " hey, slugger, sorry i'm late, i had a nightmare at the office -- "

phil turns then, to greet the girl and say hello and has his mouth open to introduce himself but -- he knows the face. he knows the exact shade and shape of the girl in front of him and she looks equally thrown off, looks slightly nauseas when roman says josephine, this is my dad, phil.