#She immediately starts arguing against that assumption

[hephaestuscrew]

In Ep55 A Place for Everything, when Minkowski thinks Kepler is doubting the likelihood of Eiffel still being alive after he's floated towards the star in his spacesuit, Minkowski says "Eiffel had plenty of air left, and let's not forget he survived for -" It seems pretty likely that she was about to say that Eiffel survived nearly 200 days stranded in deep space on Lovelace's shuttle. It's interesting to me that Minkowski uses that incident as evidence that Eiffel will survive this time too, because that's not really how situations like that work.

We don't know exactly how much Minkowski knows about Eiffel's time on Lovelace's shuttle, but the reality is that he survived for those 193 days due to an extremely specific combination of impressive ingenuity, incredible perseverance, access to the right resources, a fair dose of stupidity, and an extraordinary amount of sheer luck. Without just one of those ingredients, he would never have made back to the Hephaestus alive. The ingenuity and perseverance could serve him well in this situation too, but the other factors don't exactly apply in the same way.

In my view, it isn't really that Eiffel's survival on that shuttle serves as evidence of any specific attributes that will guarantee his survival this time. I think it's more that the events with Lovelace's shuttle - Minkowski thinking Eiffel was gone forever but then being miraculously reunited with him - have given Minkowski a non-specific sense of Eiffel as a person who survives, a person who ends up in nearly inescapable peril and yet somehow always escapes, a person who makes it back alive against all the odds. It's not a piece of logical practical evidence. It's just an emotional instinct that allows her to believe that she's not going to lose him, allowing her to focus on what she can do to try and find him.

Minkowski's 'Goddamn it Eiffel' when he floats towards the star in Ep53 is so much less dramatic than the way she yells his name as the shuttle drifts away in Ep28. And that's partly about what the story calls for in those moments. And it's partly about the specific situations and the agency Eiffel has had in them. But it's also that in Ep53 she already believes that he will be okay, that he'll come back. He's done it before. He'll do it again.

[finelinefae]

semi-finals [tennisplayer!harry x tennisplayer!y/n]

synopsis: y/n gets distracted and harry just wants the girl he likes to like him back

word count: 10.7k

contains: fluff, angst, enemies to lovers, set at a boarding school, slow burn, angst, tennis rivals, strict parents, first kiss(es), jealous!h, jealous!yn, inaccurate height of certain characters who may actually be taller in real life but this is an au so it's fine, a crazy confession but not really bc we all saw it coming

this is part 3 of the game! read part 2 here

. . .

Y/N watched him from across the room, studying the way people walked up to him as though he was some kind of celebrity. He smiled and laughed but it didn’t reach his eyes, not in the way it did when they were together. 

But it wasn’t his charismatic smile and booming laugh that constantly grabbed her attention when she was trying to listen to Sarah’s story about the cat her parents had fostered back home. It was the blonde girl beside him, the one who hadn’t left his side for the entire night, who laughed along with him and stole glances whenever he wasn’t looking. 

Her opponent for the next tournament that was now a month away. 

Astrid Anderson had once been a student at Crestwood. They’d all been in the same infant class together and every boy in their year group was obsessed with her. Harry and Astrid hadn’t started dating until the year before Harry left for Australia. They were the ‘It’ couple of Crestwood, everyone treated them as though they were some kind of celebrity couple. 

All that lasted until Harry had to leave for Australia. He broke things off and then Astrid moved to Trinity Academy which was Crestwood’s biggest rival in most competitive areas. Y/N didn’t know or care what Astrid had gotten up to since she left school. There was no bitterness between them but they both knew they weren’t the type of people to share the same social circle. Whilst Astrid cared more about her social life, Y/N was completely focused on academics and there was nothing wrong with either of those things but it didn’t give them much to talk about. 

“Right Y/N?” Sarah asked, her head whipping around in her direction only to realise she had no idea what she was talking about. 

“Right,” Y/N nodded, having no clue as to what she was agreeing with. 

Adam held back a smile as he sat on the couch across from her, “Mitch, come get a drink with me,” Sarah stood up, tugging the hem of her skirt down, “I need you to push past all the tall people.”

Mitch, all five foot eight inches of him, rose from his place beside Jake on the couch with a self-satisfied stretch, as if flaunting his height as proof that his girlfriend needed him. "Coming, babe," he declared, a hint of smugness in his voice.  Everyone laughed as Mitch winked, following behind Sarah through the crowds of dancing bodies. 

Y/N glanced over at Harry who was now standing with his back to her, talking to Astrid with his hand propped up against the refrigerator. “If you’re not careful, you’ll burn holes into his back,” Adam spoke from beside her. 

“That’s the idea,” Y/N murmured. 

“Hm, I thought you didn’t like him?” Adam asked the question causing her to turn and face him. 

“I don’t,” She answers immediately but the words are like metal on her tongue, “I-I mean I-” 

Adam’s lips curve into a knowing smirk, “I see,”

Y/N wanted to protest but found herself unable to muster the words. Her mouth seemed to glue itself shut as she attempted to argue against Adam’s assumption that she liked Harry even a little bit. Her emotions had been all over the place ever since she asked Harry to coach her. He seemed to bring out a part of her she didn’t even know she had. One moment she was angry, the next she was laughing, and sometimes her heart would beat so hard against her chest that she felt like it was trying to leap out and walk right into the palm of his hand.

She couldn’t comprehend how the wires in her brain had seemingly rewired themselves, transitioning from loathing someone to now seeing visions of them before she drifted off to sleep. It both frightened and excited her, this inexplicable shift in her feelings consuming her thoughts and diverting her attention from the actual game - a game that had never required feelings before. 

“We both agreed on not seeing anyone if this was to work out,” She confessed.

“Did he make that rule or you?” Adam quirked a brow.

“It was a mutual agreement I guess,” Y/N shrugged. 

Adam nodded slowly, his eyes darting to and from Harry. “C’mere,” He motioned with his finger. Y/N leaned in at the same time as he did, until they were only inches a part from each other, “Laugh,” He says.

“What?” Y/N questioned. 

“Trust me, just laugh.” Adam glanced over her shoulder again before smiling. 

Y/N hesitated for a moment before complying, a hesitant laugh escaping her lips to which Adam joined in. The more he laughed, the more she laughed with him until he stopped, “Uh oh,” He smirked, leaning forward and grabbing his drink from the coffee table, “Looks like you started something now.” He motions his head behind her and Y/N turns to find Harry no longer with Astrid but striding towards them, anger radiating from him. 

“Adam, what did you do?” Y/N exclaimed, sitting on the edge of the couch as Harry approached them. 

His eyes were darkened, his jaw tense, “Y/N,” He said her name over the music, “Can I talk to you?” Each word was tense as he spoke them like he was trying to control himself. 

Maybe it was the bit of alcohol she’d had that was taking over her senses but she felt a sudden boost of confidence. Y/N folded her arms, “Ask me again,” She smirked. 

Harry scoffed, “Can I talk to you?”

Y/N’s expression was smug as she spoke the next word carefully, “Again,”

Harry’s jaw tightened, gritting his teeth he spoke again just as she asked, “Can I talk to you, please?”

Adam snorted beside her and Y/N’s lips curved, “Okay,” She stood up, ignoring the way her head spun, and stumbled as she followed him down the hallways of his apartment to a room near the back right by the bathroom that people were queuing up to use. He stood in front of an unopened door and pulled out a key from his back pocket to unlock it. 

Stepping inside, Y/N glanced around the room and noticed how different it was from the rest of the apartment. It had calming blue walls and a simple bed with white sheets. A big window let in soft light, making it cosy. There were personal things like photos and an old music player. There were posters on the wall and pictures of his friends on the corkboard by the desk. On one of the shelves in the corner, she saw the trophies she had previously seen in boxes now displayed on his shelf. 

She smiled but it quickly disappeared as she faced an angry-looking Harry. “What are you playing at?” 

“What do you mean?” Y/N crossed her arms.

Harry's eyes narrowed, his frustration evident as he took a step closer to Y/N. "Don't play dumb with me, Y/N," his voice tinged with a raw edge. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. You and Adam? I thought we agreed not to date anybody?”

Y/N scoffed, “So did I until I saw you hanging around your ex-girlfriend who - might I add - is my opponent for the next game!”

Harry took a step forward and Y/N took one step back until she was backed up against his door. He placed one hand on the wall right by her head and hung his head to look down at her. Y/N’s breath hitched at how close he was, “Are you jealous?” He murmurs. 

“Jealous of who? You and your ex?” She emphasised the ‘ex’ like she was reminding him that Astrid was his ex-girlfriend. 

Harry's eyes flickered with a mixture of emotions, his lips curling into a knowing smirk. "You are, aren't you?" he murmured, his voice low and filled with a hint of amusement.

Y/N's heart pounded in her chest as she felt the heat of Harry's body so close to hers. She swallowed hard, refusing to let herself be intimidated by his proximity. "I'm not jealous," she insisted, her voice tinged with defiance.

Harry's smirk widened, his hand still resting against the wall beside her head. "Really?" he challenged, his breath warm against her cheek as he leaned in closer. “You don’t think I didn’t see you and those pretty eyes staring holes into the back of my head?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, her frustration evident. "You're more arrogant than I thought," she muttered under her breath.

"Do you like him?" Harry's question caught her off guard.

"I've already told you I don't," she replied, a hint of annoyance colouring her tone.

"You know it kills me?" Harry's voice softened, his expression pained. Y/N's confusion was clear as she waited for him to continue. "It kills me to see you with him, to see you with anybody but me. Especially when you laugh like that, I only want you to laugh like that with me."

"Well, unfortunately for you, you don't tell me what to do," Y/N shot back, her heart pounding against her chest.

"I thought I was your coach?" Harry smirked, attempting to lighten the mood.

"You're my coach, not my keeper. If I want to talk to Adam or laugh around him, I will. In fact, I'm going to," she declared, spinning around and pulling the door open, the noise from the party flooding her ears.

As she walked back into the living room, Y/N spotted Adam with Mitch, Sarah, Jake, and some others playing beer pong at the dining table. Adam's smile faltered when he noticed Harry behind her. "Hey, everything okay?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

Y/N nodded determination in her eyes. "Can I play?"

"Sure, it's my round so you can be on my team if you want," Adam offered with a smile.

Y/N grinned. "Who are we playing?"

Suddenly, the boy she had been locked in the room with stood at the opposite end of the table. "Mind if I join?" Harry's question hung in the air, his eyes fixed on Y/N.

Y/N tried not to react as Astrid approached him, placing a manicured hand on his shoulder. "I'll be on your team, H," she said with a smile, and Y/N's jaw tensed at the sight.

Harry smirked, glancing at Y/N, “Alright then,” 

“You sure about this?” Adam asked.

“Mhm,” Y/N nodded, “It’s just…How do we play?”

Adam laughed which caught Harry’s attention as he spoke to Astrid, “Just follow my lead, you’ll get the idea.”

As the game started, Y/N sensed Harry was intentionally trying to make her jealous when he laughed and spoke to Astrid far too enthusiastically. But she refused to let it bother her the way he wanted it to. She focused on the game with Adam, watching as he tossed the ping pong ball into one of the cups.

She noticed Harry scowl whenever they got remotely close to each other, high-fiving or giving each other a hug whenever one of them managed to get the ball into a cup. It gave her a sense of satisfaction whenever she’d see his eyes narrow as Adam placed a hand on her elbow to help her aim the ball in the right direction. 

Towards the end of the game, Y/N could feel herself slowly starting to fall under the effects of the alcohol. She had only ever drunk alcohol at functions or dinner parties with her parents and now she was countless drinks in. Her brain was turning fuzzy, there was no thought behind her words whenever she spoke and every time she aimed the ball, it would fly off the table somewhere across the room. 

As Y/N took her last turn, she was already very drunk and she knew she'd feel bad about it in the morning. Even with her friends cheering her on, she struggled to focus. She aimed carefully at the last cup, but the ball bounced off the table and landed in a plant pot nearby.

"Oops," Y/N slurred, her lips curving into a drunken giggle. "Looks like it's my turn to drink."

Before Adam could reach her, she took a step forward, catching her foot on the table edge and tumbling to the floor. Y/N laughed as she lay flat on her back looking up at the ceiling, “Are you okay, Y/N?” Sarah’s voice called. 

"Are you alright?" Adam asked, helping her stand back up again.

"Whoa," Y/N said, putting a hand to her head as it started to pound.

"Okay, I think that's enough for you," Adam chuckled.

"Are you okay?" Harry appeared in her view. "Hey, look at me." He gently lifted her chin with his finger.

"I'm fine," Y/N swayed. "I'm really, really great."

"Yeah?" Harry smiled. "Your knee's bleeding."

Y/N's brows furrowed. "It is?" She looked down.

"Mhm, c'mon, let's go clean it up." He took her hand.

"Oh, but the game!" Y/N looked over her shoulder to see everyone returning to their own groups.

"The game's over, love," he sighed when he realized she wasn't going to take another step on her own. He threw her over his shoulder and carried her down the hallway to his room.

"Hey, quit calling me that!" she slurred, banging her fists against his back.

The noise from the party softened as Harry closed the door behind him. Y/N found herself on Harry's bed, her body bouncing lightly as he carefully laid her down. She gazed up at the ceiling, her legs dangling over the edge of the mattress.

Harry stumbled into his bathroom and dampened a cloth under the cold water before walking back to her. Y/N propped herself up as he approached, observing him closely as he knelt between her legs.

He gently took her calf in his hand, “Are you drunk?” Y/N asked. 

Harry chuckled, his cheeks flushed. "Just a bit," he admitted, a lazy grin spreading across his face. "Maybe more than a bit."

Y/N giggled, “Me too,” She confessed.

“I know that,” He chuckled, his hair falling in front of his face, “You play a mean game of beer pong.”

“If it weren’t for you I probably wouldn’t be so competitive,” Y/N admitted.

"But it was fun, right?" Harry's smile softened. “You like spending time with me?”

Y/N relaxed, her shoulders dropping, “I think…” She starts, her mind whirring, “Okay shhhhh,” She puts her finger to his lips and his lips pout automatically against them, “Don’t tell anyone this but everyday I wake up and I look forward to spending time with you.”

Harry smirks, “You do?” 

“But don’t tell anybody,” She insists.

“Okay,” He nods, “I won’t tell anybody.”

“How do I know you won’t tell anybody?” Y/N frowns. 

“Hmm,” Harry thinks, “How about I tell you something?”

Y/N nods, “Okay.”

Harry’s eyes look into hers, “No amount of time in the day is ever enough for me. I want to spend every moment of my days with you, every second of time and even more than that.” 

“Woah,” Y/N’s eyes widen, her hand resting on his shoulder, “That’s a lot of time.”

“And it’s still not enough,” Harry whispers, his head leaning closer to hers. The cloth slipped from her thigh, Harry’s cold fingers wrapping themselves around her ankle that was right by his knee as he knelt on the floor. 

“Harry,” Y/N murmurs, “Do you still love her?”

Harry shakes his head immediately, “No,” He says, “For someone so brilliantly smart how do you still not know?” 

“I’m not smart when it comes to people,” She whispers, “Or you. I think that’s why you frustrate me so much.”

“You frustrate me for an entirely different reason,” His hand lifts to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel his breath fanning her face, smelling the scent of alcohol. 

Her hands go to his shirt, scrunching the fabric into tight fists, “Tell me,” Her eyes flutter shut as his lips ghost over her cheek.

“Not today baby,” He says. 

“Y’ said it again,” Her lips curve, “You called me that in the car too.”

“You remember that?” 

“I remember everything,” 

As Harry parted his lips to reply, Y/N seized the moment, her hand darting to the back of his neck as she planted a quick peck on his lips. His eyes widened in surprise as she giggled, "Whoops."

Before she could fully retract her hand, Harry leaned in, closing the gap between them and pressing his lips to hers once more.

Y/N melted against him, feeling his lips merge with hers as he caught her bottom lip between his. Her eyes were closed and her senses were overwhelmed with the taste of alcohol and the scent of his aftershave. His lips were soft and everything about him was so warm. Every time she would try to catch her breath he would just steal the air right out of her as if she were his source of oxygen. 

They both pulled away. Y/N needed a moment before she could open her eyes again as she tried to regain her breath. When she did, green, hazy eyes looked into hers. Her lips curved before she spoke, “I haven’t kissed anyone like that before,” She admits.

"Really?" Harry asked, his voice tinged with surprise.

Y/N shook her head, her laughter bubbling up. "I mean, I kissed Jamie Keller once in the fourth year, but it wasn't a proper kiss."

Harry rolled his eyes, a hint of amusement in his expression. "Fucking Jamie Keller," he muttered.

Y/N laughed, unable to tear her eyes away from him. "Yeah," she murmured, "Fucking Jamie Keller."

Harry's fingers brushed against Y/N's cheek, “Do you think we’ll remember this in the morning?” He asked. 

Y/N couldn’t find an answer, instead, she brushed the curls in front of his eyes to the side and wondered just how much she had had to drink to end up in the one place she’d been trying to avoid. 

. . .

“Shit,” Y/N hissed, “This isn’t real.”

Her head was pounding like someone was hammering against her skull and her spine felt like she had been sleeping folded in half as she sat up straight in bed. She was in a room, a room she didn’t recognise and hoped it wasn’t just some random stranger’s. 

The last thing she remembered vividly was sitting on the couch with Adam and Harry standing somewhere across the room with Astrid, everything afterwards just seemed to blur all into nothing. 

It was her first time getting drunk and probably her last too from the awful state her body was in. She wanted nothing more than to shower and sleep in her own bed, eat foods high in sodium and drink gallons of water. 

Her heart leapt inside of her chest when she heard soft snores coming from somewhere in the room. She looked down and saw Harry curled up asleep on the floor, his arms wrapped around her ankle and holding it to his chest like a teddy bear.  

Y/N's heart swelled with a mixture of confusion and tenderness as she gazed down at Harry's sleeping form. She couldn't deny the warmth that spread through her at the sight of him, even if she couldn't quite understand how they had ended up in this situation.

Carefully extracting her ankle from his grasp, Y/N shifted to the edge of the bed, wincing as her head throbbed with each movement. She needed to get home. She had so much to do and prepare for now that her first game was over. She cursed herself as she tiptoed past Harry, not before grabbing a blanket to place over him as she walked to the door. 

Harry sighed, “You don’t remember do you?” 

Y/N frowned, wondering if he was talking in his sleep or actually asking her a question. She shrugged and pulled the door open, closing it softly behind her. 

Harry’s apartment was a mess. 

There were beer cans littered across the room and silly string on bits of furniture. She wondered whether or not she should stay to clear up but then remembered it was technically Mitch’s party which also made it his responsibility. 

She tried to spot someone who might have been able to offer her a lift home so she didn’t have to get the bus back to her dorm. Fortunately for her, Adam was lying on the couch asleep so she walked right over and gently shook him awake.

“Hey,” She whispered, “Sorry to wake you up,”

“Y/N?” Adam groaned, “I thought you went home,”

Y/N didn’t know why she was suddenly blushing but she replied, “Any chance you can give me a ride home?” She knew he had a car because he lived with his parents.

“I’ve been drinking,” He groans.

“Please?” She was desperate, “I know you only drank water for most of the night,”

He yawns, “Fine,” 

In the car ride back to her dorm, Y/N tried to recall the memories that had been missing from the previous night. She vaguely remembered playing beer pong and Harry playing alongside Astrid but the more she drank, the more her memory seemed to fade.

“You okay?” Adam asked, glancing over at her from the driver’s seat. 

“No, I can’t remember anything from last night,” Y/N groaned, running her hands over her face. 

Adam chuckles, “So you don’t remember falling over?”

Y/N’s eyes widened as she turned her head to look at him, “I fell?”

He nodded, “You tripped over the dining table when we were playing beer pong. Harry took you somewhere to fix up your knee,” 

Y/N looked down at her knee and frowned, “My knee?” She murmured, seeing the cut on her knee and the blood that had dried up around it. 

Seeing the cut on her knee must have triggered something in her brain because all of a sudden everything was beginning to piece together. 

Harry’s eyes look into hers, “No amount of time in the day is ever enough for me. I want to spend every moment of my days with you, every second of time and even more than that.” 

Harry's words echoed in her mind, sending a shiver down her spine. She could almost feel the warmth of his breath against her skin as he spoke those words and when he leaned and… 

“No fucking way,” Y/N blurted after everything came flooding back.

“Are you okay?” Adam looked at her concerned.

How could she possibly answer that? Was she okay? Clearly not, considering she had ended up in the bedroom of her longtime rival and kissed him.

She had kissed him.

And she had enjoyed it enough to want to kiss him again.

This wasn't good. It felt like she was breaking all the rules she had set for herself. Harry wasn't just any boy she went to school with; he was her coach, her rival, and someone she had known for years. He was the boy who used to tease her on the court, the one who always seemed to be one step ahead.

It must have been a drunken mistake. Y/N had no idea what she was like when she was drunk and clearly, she wasn’t the most sensible. It didn’t matter if things had suddenly changed between them, she couldn’t be with him, she wouldn’t allow herself to. Her focus was on winning that scholarship at the end of the school year where afterwards they’d be on two separate paths moving away from each other. 

Her feelings weren’t forever, tennis was. 

Thankfully, Adam had pulled into the front of her dorm building. She opened the door and leapt out of the car, “Thanks for the ride, Adam.” She tries to smile. 

“Hey Y/N,” Adam stops her, a look of concern on her face, “Are you okay?” He asks again and she realises she never answered him before.

She bit the inside of her cheek and gave him a tight-lipped smile, “I’m okay,” She lied and closed the door, spinning on her heel and walking to her dorm where she hoped she’d be alone so she could have time to work through her thoughts.

Even when she felt like she was winning, he always managed to one-up her, and this time was no different.

. . .

Y/N walked into school the Monday after the party at Harry’s house. 

When she returned back to her dorm, the first thing she did was shower and then spent the rest of the day wallowing in self pity and trying not to cry at the thought of kissing Harry. 

She had managed to go avoiding him the entire weekend and planned on doing the same today. He had sent her text messages asking her if she was okay but she’d ignored them, putting her notifications on silent like it was enough to trick her mind into believing nothing happened between them. 

Sarah had walked in on her hiding under her bed covers, watching episodes of Gilmore Girls and eating cold pizza. It was a sight she had never seen before which left her wondering if something had happened at the party but Y/N refused to tell. 

People congratulated Y/N in the hallways as she walked to her locker. She wasn’t used to getting attention from everybody. Most of the time, people didn’t really acknowledge her unless they needed help with their homework.

“Heyyy court queen,” Sarah beamed.

Y/N immediately shook her head, “Sarah, no,” she snorted, trying not to laugh.

“What?” Sarah frowned, “I’m trying to think up a catchy nickname so it catches on and people put it on merch and signs for your game.”

This time Y/N did laugh, “Are you trying to make money off of me?” She teased.

“No, of course not, I’m just being a supportive friend. You know my mother is designing a new clothing line? I can totally get her to design something for people to wear for your games.”

“Sarah,” Y/N put her hands on her friend’s shoulders, “I’ve won one game for a school competition. As much as I love you for it, I don’t need you to create merchandise or give me catchy nicknames.”

Sarah’s shoulders slumped, “I know, it’s just… You’re playing against Astrid Anderson. Not only is she popular at her new school, but she’s also still pretty popular here too. Jake told me he saw her volunteering at a homeless shelter, offering them invites to come to the semi-finals.”

Y/N rolled her eyes, “We’re playing tennis. It’s not a beauty pageant. Whatever happens, won’t be up to how many people turn up or what everybody’s wearing.”

“But don’t you think she’s trying to do it to throw you off?” Sarah asked, “I’m pretty sure she still has feelings for Harry. Isn’t that weird?”

“Weird?” Y/N replied quickly, “Why would it be weird?”

Sarah looked at her suspiciously, “Because she’s Harry’s ex-girlfriend? And your opponent for the next game and did I forget to mention Harry ‘your coach’s’ ex-girlfriend?”

“What Harry does outside of our training is none of my business,” Y/N cleared her throat.

“Did something happen between you two? At the party, Mitch said he saw you two go off somewhere and now you’re being weird,” Sarah questioned.

“Nothing happened, Harry was just being his usual, annoying self,” Y/N hoped she was convincing enough to drop the subject, but Sarah continued to look at her like she knew there was something she wasn’t saying.

Thankfully, the bell for the first period was a perfect interruption. Y/N slammed her locker shut, “I’ll see you later?”

Sarah nodded, “Lunch, right?”

Y/N froze, remembering that Harry was a member of their usual lunch group, “Um, I-I have tutoring.”

“What?” Sarah furrowed her brows, “I thought you tutored on Wednesdays?”

“Change of schedule?” Y/N blurted out, grasping for an excuse.

Sarah’s eyes narrowed, “Something very weird is happening… Are you pregnant?”

“Okay, love you so much, bye,” Y/N rushed, giving Sarah a quick hug before walking quickly past her to avoid blurting out any more hideous lies.

As she turned the corner, she accidentally bumped into someone, her shoulder colliding with theirs. Y/N looked up, and her heart was in her mouth when she saw Harry looking down at her, something flashed in his eyes, his lips parting the same way hers did as she finally laid eyes on him after ignoring him all weekend. He was wearing his blazer for once, but his tie was loose around his neck.

“Y/N,” he breathed.

Y/N’s eyes softened, she wanted to speak to him, but then her cheeks flushed as she remembered the night in his bedroom. “I-I-” Her throat felt like she’d swallowed cotton wool as she tried to get her words out, “I can’t.” She shook her head, walking past him and ignoring him calling her name.

. . .

Y/N had hoped by ignoring the things that were bothering her, everything would fix itself on its own. It was a bad habit she hadn’t learned to kick and the situation with Harry was no different. 

They hadn’t spoken a word about their kiss since it happened, in fact, they barely spoke about anything at all. Y/N had hoped Harry would go back to their usual back-and-forth arguments and forget about everything but whenever she tried to say something that would push his buttons, he’d just ignore her or use one-worded replies. 

During tennis practice, he’d barely even look at her when she asked him a question and stopped arguing with her when she wanted to do things differently from the way he worked. She was even beginning to think her friends had figured out that something had gone down between them from the way Harry would completely shut down whenever she opened her mouth to speak during lunch break, 

As much as she hated herself for it, she missed him. Missed the way they would argue over everything but smile at each other because they both knew it wasn’t serious, missed the way he calmed her down whenever she would get too passionate about something and the way he looked at her like she was the only person in the room. 

She had tried to forget the kiss but she went to sleep dreaming about it. Every time he got anywhere near her, thoughts of his lips on hers flashed through her mind like a showreel. His low, drunken mumble when he spoke to her outplayed the music in her ears whenever she tried to listen to the playlist he had made for her. 

Worst of all, it was affecting her gameplay. Y/N was pretty sure she had never seen such terrible volleys or groundstrokes in her entire life. Every time she would try to aim the ball, she’d get distracted by Harry wiping sweat from his brow or watching her so intensely when she wasn’t looking like he was trying to set her on fire with his own eyes. 

The game was two weeks away and the dream of winning that scholarship was slowly slipping out of her grasp with every passing day. 

It was the end of the week and Y/N was sitting in her dorm room, eating cereal at her desk with her pyjama bottoms and her school shirt on. She was finishing up the last few questions of her math homework when Sarah walked in. 

“I need to show you something,” Sarah dropped her bag on the floor and pulled out a newspaper. 

“What’s wrong?” Y/N frowned, taking the rolled-up paper in her hands and unrolling it on her desk. Y/N’s eyes widened, her mouth falling open when she took in the image before her. 

It was a blown up picture of her and Harry on the front cover of the school newspaper. Harry had one arm around her waist and they were both looking into each other’s eyes, a smile on his face and a surprised look on hers. 

To everyone else, it looked like the front cover of a Nicholas Sparks novel and it probably didn’t help that the title was written in big bold letters with the words ‘The coach and his student’. 

“What the fuck!” Y/N stood up, gripping the newspaper in her hands she thought it might rip apart. 

“I know,” Sarah cringed, “I had no idea they were going to do that, Y/N, if I did I would never have gotten Luke that interview.”

“Sarah, ‘The coach and his student’? What is this? The title of a porno?” Y/N couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “How many people have seen this already?”

Sarah didn’t answer until Y/N gave her a stern look, “Everybody,”

Y/N groaned and threw the newspaper in the trash can beneath her desk before sliding on her trainers and storming down the hallways of her dorm. 

“Wait where are you going?” Sarah ran after her. Y/N ignored her as well as the people whispering about her as they held copies of the newspaper in their hands. She made a beeline for the car park, her gaze drawn to the familiar sight of his black Audi parked in its usual spot. There he was, leaning casually against it, engaged in conversation with Mitch, Adam, and Jake.

Mitch’s head turned when he saw her pacing towards them, Sarah still running behind her. Harry’s attention shifted to her. She saw the flash of amusement on his face before it fell flat again. 

“Have you seen this?” She held the newspaper up in front of him.

Harry’s eyes darted to the newspaper before landing on her face again, “Yes.” He said the usual one-worded reply he had been giving her all week. 

“And you approved of it?” She could feel the anger bubbling beneath the surface of her skin. 

“No,” He replied, “But it doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers you it seems.”

“Of course, it would bother me!” Y/N exclaimed, “If I’d have known they would make it look like we were a-”

Harry stilled, his jaw clenching, “If we were a what?”

Y/N paused before answering, “A couple.” He seemed to react in a way she couldn’t put her finger on, “I would have never done that stupid interview in the first place.”

Harry scoffed, “Why does it bother you so much to like me?” 

“It doesn’t bother me,” It did but she wouldn’t tell him that.

“You haven’t talked to me since Mitch’s party,” Harry started but she cut him off before he could say anything else.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” She stressed.

“You and I both know that’s not true.” 

“Harry you’re being ridiculous,”

“Says the girl who ran out here in her pyjama pants,” He quips.

Y/N looked down to realise she was, in fact, still in her pyjama bottoms. She glanced around at her friend’s who quickly looked away to act as though they weren’t all watching their argument like it was some kind of reality TV show moment. 

Harry’s shoulders dropped and he let out a sigh. He reached for her wrist and pulled her in closer. Y/N inhaled, it was the first time he had touched her since the party. “Look,” He murmured, keeping his voice low, “If I’d have known this was how you’d react I would have never have done it.”

Y/N looked surprised, “Really?” She couldn’t help but feel a sting at his words but she ignored it. 

He nods, “I went too far and I know things with you are different,”

“What do you mean?” But before Y/N could get a reply, she felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. 

She pulled it out and felt a pit form in her stomach when her mother’s name lit up the screen. She immediately answered it and walked to the back of Harry’s car to speak to her. “Mum?” Y/N answered. 

“Your father got an email this morning,” Her mother replied. No hello, no how are you or how’s school, just straight to the point. 

“He did?” Y/N already knew where this was going. 

“It was a copy of the school newspaper,” Her mother’s voice sounded as though she was trying to keep her anger at bay, “We opened it hoping to see our daughter somewhere on the scholar’s page but low and behold there you were right on the front cover - with a boy no less.” 

“Mum-”

“We want to see you,” Her mother snapped, interrupting her, “Your father has reserved us a table at Château Blanc two weeks today. It’s the only day off he could get so be grateful.” 

Two weeks from today was the day before the semi-finals. She needed to train but she couldn’t say no to her mother, “Okay, I’ll be there.”

“Good.” Her mother replied before hanging up the phone. 

Y/N slipped the phone back and sighed, “Are you okay?” Harry’s voice sounded. 

“My parents have seen the newspaper,” Y/N’s jaw clenched, “They want me to have dinner with them.”

“Do you need me to come with you?” Harry looked at her with genuine concern.

“No, what I need you to do is leave me alone.” Y/N had shut down. It was the way she always got whenever she spoke to her parents. 

“Y/N I didn’t know-” He reached for her hand as she walked past but she quickly pulled it away. 

“Leave me alone Harry,” She said, completely defeated. 

Y/N made her way back to her dorm and collapsed on her bed letting out a sigh of frustration. She looked up at the ceiling and wondered if she would ever find the off switch that would finally offer her a break from the life she was living. 

. . . 

Harry stood on one side of the tennis court, sending tennis balls flying with his racket toward Y/N, who stood on the opposite side, swiftly striking them back. She tried to ignore the intensity of his gaze, which seemed to linger on her every move as if he were observing more than just her technique. 

Every time she attempted to slice or backhand the ball, it would completely falter landing somewhere off the court. Whilst her body was on the court, her mind was elsewhere like it had been every day since her parents had called. 

She made an attempt to drop-shot the ball only to end up missing it completely. “Fuck!” Y/N cried out and hit her racket against the ground over and over again in a fit of rage and frustration. 

“Okay, slow down there, love,” Harry chuckled, “Y’ gonna break the racket and I’m pretty sure it’s school property.”

“It’s my own racket,” Y/N replied. 

The corner of his lips tilted upwards, “You still mad about that kiss?” 

Y/N glanced around them to see if anyone heard him. It’s not like it would change anything, everyone already thought they were dating after the school newspaper came out, “No, I’m not mad. In fact, I’ve already forgotten it ever happened, my brain has fully wiped it from my memory.”

Harry’s lips transformed into a smirk, “Oh really?” He took a step forward and she took one back, “Replaced with all those books…and…tennis,” His eyes dart down to her lips. 

“Tennis…” She whispers, her heart thudding in her chest. 

“So you don’t think about it at all?” He asks. 

“N-not at all,” She lies, terribly. 

“Okay,” He shrugs, wiping the smirk from his face, “Well clearly something’s bothering you because those hits were the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

Y/N gives him a look, “It’s my parents. I’m meeting them for dinner this Friday and I haven’t seen them since they dropped me off here at the beginning of the year.”

“Are they that upset with you over the paper?” Harry looked concerned. 

“I guess so. My dad even reserved a table at Château Blanc. It’s his favourite place to get mad at me and my mum. He can book a booth and then try to control his anger whilst eating steak and mashed potatoes - honestly, it’s his dream scenario.” Y/N laughs but Harry doesn’t see the humour. She sighs, “I’m worried it will throw me off of the game.”

This time, Harry does smile, “I don’t think anyone could do that.” 

“Everything is piling up and I just feel so mad and I don’t know where to put it,” She huffs. 

Harry's smile softened. "Here," he offered his racket, "Use mine. Can’t have you breaking yours when you have a semi-final to win."

Y/N hesitated, then accepted the racket, seeking confirmation from Harry. With his nod, she began to hit the racket against the floor repeatedly, releasing her frustration with each strike. 

"Ugh," she screeched, "I’m so pissed."

"Oh, yeah, let it out," Harry encouraged with a chuckle.

With each slam of the racket, Y/N vented her frustration. "I just wanna play tennis!"

“I just want to win my next stupid game!”

“I just want my parents to like me!”

Suddenly, Harry joined in, mirroring her actions. “I hate that I have this stupid injury!

“I think my dad’s disappointed in me!”

“I just want the girl I like to like me back!”

They continued hitting the rackets on the ground until they started to crack and split from the force. As the rackets began to splinter, they exchanged a glance, a mix of exhaustion and relief evident in their eyes. With a final forceful slam, they both dropped their broken rackets to the ground, the sound echoing in the quiet of the tennis court.

Y/N looks down at their broken rackets on the floor, her chest heaving up and down. Unable to help herself, she starts laughing feeling relieved to have finally gotten all her anger out. Harry watches and then starts laughing with her. 

“Feel better?” He asks. 

Y/N nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Yeah," she replied softly, meeting his gaze, “I do.”

. . .

Y/N’s parents sent a car to pick her up on the night of the dinner. She sat in the back of the car in a pair of tights and a navy blue dress with a pair of brogues laced up on her feet. Her hair was in loose curls fastened with a clip at the back. Whenever she was around her parents, she always had to dress smart. 

She glanced at her phone to make sure she wasn’t running late as they pulled in front of the restaurant. She tipped the driver before leaving even if her parents wouldn’t agree if they found out later. 

The dimly lit restaurant looked elegant, with fancy lights and dark wood furniture. There were long curtains on the windows and the tables had white cloths and polished silverware. Gentle jazz music played in the background as people chatted across tables.

Y/N spotted her parents in their usual booth at the back. She made her way towards them but immediately began to panic when she realised they weren’t alone. 

Sitting across from them was Harry’s mother, Anne, who Y/N had last encountered briefly before when she had visited his apartment for the first time. She looked regal in her fancy dress and matching pearl jewellery. 

Beside her sat a man wearing a finely tailored suit and tie who resembled an older version of Harry, with grey hair and a face lined with wrinkles, but he didn't seem a day over sixty. His eyes were a darker shade of green than Harry’s were and his demeanour wasn’t as friendly. 

“Y/N,” Anne was the first to acknowledge her presence, smiling as she walked over.

It caught the attention of her own parents, who turned and forced a smile as though to project a united front in front of Harry’s parents. “Hello,” Y/N bent over to kiss her mother and father on the cheek in greeting. 

“Y/N, you remember Anne and James from the country club?” Her mother, Theresa, spoke.

“Of course,” Y/N sat in the chair beside her mother.

“We invited them to eat with us considering this matter contains them both.” 

Y/N nodded, not knowing what to say in response. She knew the dinner with her parents would have something to do with her participation in the Academy Slam but she hadn’t been expecting to see Harry’s parents too. 

“Did you see Harry on his way in?” Anne asked, “He said he was on his way earlier.”

“Mind if I sit here?” His voice appeared out of nowhere and Y/N’s entire body reacted in a way she couldn’t control around him.

Her head lifted to look up at him and the air knocked out of her. Unlike his usual casual attire, he was wearing a black suit with golden buttons and a black tie. His hair was better styled than the usual unruly mess of curls. He smiled down at her, his eyes seemed to brighten beneath the dim lights at the sight of her. 

He winked and sat down in the chair beside her, “Sorry I’m late.”

His presence overwhelmed her senses, the faint scent of his cologne filling the air as he settled into his seat. Whatever this dinner was meant to be had completely changed for her; she suddenly felt less alone.

“Harry,” Y/N’s father, David, spoke, “Haven’t seen you since you left for Australia.”

“It’s certainly been a while,” Harry spoke, smiling forcefully. 

After ordering their food, David speaks, “I assume you know why we’re here,” He directs the statement towards Y/N who feels everyone’s eyes on her.

“The newspaper?” She says.

“The tennis,” Her father replies, saying the words with a hint of disappointment. “Y/N, you don’t seriously think you’re going to get anywhere with this tennis thing do you?” 

Y/N’s cheeks warm in embarrassment, “What?”

This time Theresa spoke, “We understand you enjoy it for fun but don’t you think you’re being greedy taking the opportunity of a scholarship away from girls who want to waste their lives on it?”

“Mum,” Y/N starts, “Tennis… tennis is everything to me. I-I’m not doing this because it’s some game to me. I’m doing this because I don’t have a choice.”

Y/N feels Harry’s knee bump hers beneath the table like he was silently praising her for sticking up for herself, “Don’t be ridiculous Y/N,” David says, “All you’ve ever talked about is going into medicine.”

“Because it was all you were willing to hear,” Y/N quickly responded.

A throat cleared from across the table and Harry’s father looked directly at him, “Don’t think this doesn’t apply to you.”

Harry frowns, “What are you talking about?”

“Coaching Harry? Seriously? After your injury? You know the doctor said you could worsen the damage if you continued and you disobeyed that for what? A silly game of girl’s tennis?” 

He scoffed, “Here we go,”

“Harry,” His mother warned. 

“You know we all agreed that if you were to go back to school you’d need to pick up on other subjects so you could actually go somewhere in life? Instead, we have to hear from your teachers how your grades have fallen only to find you on the front cover of the school newspaper with a girl who can’t hire her own coach and has to put you at risk?” 

Harry’s hands ball into fists beneath the table. Y/N didn’t know whether she felt more embarrassed or ashamed, all this felt like her fault and she didn’t know what to do. 

“I-I didn’t mean to put him at risk, Mr Styles,” Y/N stutters. She feels Harry place a hand on her knee. 

“Y/N, this will stop at once. I’m requesting the school pull you out of the competition.” Her father says and Y/N swears she feels her heart breaking.

“No please,” She was willing to get down on her hands and knees and beg, “Please Dad, this means everything to me.”

David raises a hand, “I won’t hear any of it. If it means you can focus on passing your exams and Harry no longer has to think about his injury then you can quit.” 

“N-no, I won’t let you take this away from me. I’ve been good, I study every day and I’m top of all my classes, why can’t you let me just have this one thing?” She didn’t care if she sounded childish or insane, this competition was all she had been working for. 

“Oh quit blubbering Y/N,” Her mother spoke, rolling her eyes, “You know I hate it when you do that.”

“Please, please,” Y/N doesn’t know what more she can do or say, they wouldn’t listen. 

Harry pushed his chair back, the sound catching everybody’s attention as the legs scraped against the floor, “I think Y/N and I will eat elsewhere,” Harry spoke, taking her hand beneath the table and flipping it over to intertwine their fingers. His thumb rubbed over the pulse point on her wrist in a way to calm her down. 

“What are you talking about?” James huffed. 

“Do any of you actually know how hard Y/N works?” Harry spits, “I doubt it because you’re all too busy counting the paper in your wallet to look up at your own fucking kids.” 

“Harry,” Anne gasps.

“No,” He glares at both his father and Y/N’s parents, “Y/N studies six hours a day, every day. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her take a break from it. When she’s not studying, she’s on the court blistering her hands just so she can get at least one perfect shot. She is the most brilliantly smart person I know and you may not care or fight for her but I will. I always will and right now I will not let you take away something she has worked so deeply hard for.” He stands from the table, still holding Y/N’s hand and everyone can see it as she refuses to let go. 

“Harry, sit down,” James orders but he ignores him.

“You’ve been disappointed in me since the moment I injured myself. I know you think I’m no good to you anymore, in fact, I’ve accepted it and I am glad for it because I have never been so happy and if you looked long enough you’d realise it.” Harry looks down at Y/N, his eyes filled with passion and anger and sincerity, “I am happy.” He says, “Because of what she has given me.” 

James scoffs, “And what is that?”

Harry’s head spins in the direction of his father, “Something you know nothing about.”

And with that, Harry tugs on Y/N’s hand to lead her out of the restaurant. 

Before they could fully walk away, Y/N felt her mother pulling her back, “If you walk out of this restaurant…”

“You’ll what? Never speak to me again? As if that’s anything new,” Y/N scoffs, “Nothing I do will ever be enough to either of you, will it?”

Y/N ignored the throbbing in her chest at her mother’s lack of reply, instead, she walked alongside Harry, holding his hand as they left the restaurant and reached his car.

Outside, the cool breeze felt nice on her warm skin. They shared a glance before Y/N started laughing so hard she started to cry. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she sobbed softly. Harry looked at her with a gentle expression, giving her space to let out her feelings and make sense of everything that had just happened.

“I don’t normally cry so can you look away?” Y/N sobs, unable to help herself as the tears fall from her eyes.

“No I don’t think I can do that,” Harry says, “You’re too pretty,”

Y/N huffs a laugh through her tears as she tries to wipe them away with the back of her hand, “I feel stupid,” She whispers to herself, her head falling forward. 

She sees Harry’s shoes on the ground and lifts her head up to look up at him towering above her. He smiles and pushes her hair out of her face, “Hi Y/N,” He murmurs.

“Hi Harry,” She whispers.

“Sorry for kidnapping you,” He says and Y/N chuckles.

“S okay,” She murmurs, her hands balling at her sides when he steps closer until his face is right in front of hers. 

“Can I admit something? You can pretend to be a little shocked if you want,” Harry asks. 

“Okay,”

“I’m crazy for you,” He admits, the words stealing her breath, “I’ve been crazy for you since third year since you followed me around the playground threatening to beat me up with a tennis racket if I didn’t show you how to use one.” 

Y/N’s lips parted, unsure of what to respond with so she let him talk, “And I’ve spent all these years pining for your attention even if it was just a scrap but I don’t think I can take it anymore. I like you Y/N, I like you so much I don’t know how to breathe until I’m around you. I thought tennis was what bought me happiness but I don’t think it ever has. The only reason I ever loved tennis as much as I do is because of you.” 

“Harry,” Y/N’s eyes glisten at the boy in front of her. The boy she had spent her whole life arguing with because no one had ever frustrated her as much as he had. 

“Do you hate me?” He asks, his eyes worried, “Because after that kiss I thought you did for a moment.”

Y/N shook her head, “No,” She murmured, “I don’t hate you.”

He let out a sigh of relief, “Okay, well that’s good.”

“No one has ever stuck up for me before,” Y/N says, “Or believed in me the way you do. I’ve always done it all on my own.” Harry’s expression softens, “I think all this time I thought I was hating you, I was actually afraid of you because you make these things happen in my brain that I couldn’t seem to ever figure out.”

“Have you got them figured out yet?” Harry cups her cheek in his hand, it’s warm and soft and everything she needs.

“Not everything, but I do know one thing,” Y/N stands on her toes, looping her arms around his neck and smiling harder than she’s ever smiled - ever. “I like you an awful lot, Harry,” 

Harry’s smile outshone the moon. It was the happiest she’d ever seen him and maybe the happiest she’d ever been too. A sense of relief seemed to feel the air, Y/N felt lighter like she was a tennis ball flying through the air right into the palm of his hand, “You mean that?” He murmured, lips ghosting her cupid's bow. 

“I do,” She says, “But if you make me say it again I’ll lie and say I don’t mean it,”

“Okay,” He whispers, his mouth grazing hers as he holds her face in his hands, “I won’t make you say it again.”

Instead, Harry surged forward with such urgency and kissed her upper lip between his. Y/N’s eyes flutter shut but the whole world becomes brighter when she does. She was consumed by him, all of her senses had just become Harry. His tongue darted and tangled with hers, his hands pulling her in impossibly close trying to mould them together. 

When Harry’s lips pulled away, Y/N’s eyes remained shut and she was immediately desperate to experience that feeling all over again. Harry chuckled and she opened her eyes, his lips were pinker from the lipstick she was wearing, his eyes hazy and she was pretty sure her own pupils were carved into hearts just from looking at him.

“Can we go back to my place?” He asks.

Y/N didn’t even need a moment to think about it, “M’kay,”

. . . 

Harry could barely contain his desire as they made their way to his apartment. With a forceful push, the door swung open, and he pressed Y/N against it, his lips hungrily exploring every inch of her face and trailing down her neck. Despite her attempts to remove his shirt, her hands kept gravitating back to his tousled curls, pulling him closer for more intense kisses.

As they tumbled onto the couch, Harry hovered over her, his gaze filled with desire. "Harry," Y/N's voice quivered with a mixture of excitement and nervousness, "I-I've never done this before," she confessed, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"What? Never kissed anyone? That's hard to believe because you're really good at it," Harry teased, peppering kisses along her neck.

"No, I mean... I've never..." Y/N trailed off, the implication clear.

Understanding dawned in Harry's eyes. "Is that what we're doing?" he smirked, enjoying her flustered reaction.

His expression softened. "Would it make you feel better if I told you I haven't either?" he confessed.

Y/N's eyes widened in surprise. "What? But what about Astrid? You were together for a year."

"Astrid's family is Catholic," Harry explained. "And if it ever came to that, I don't think I could go through with it."

"Why?" Y/N questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"Because," Harry shrugged, "I've only ever wanted you."

Y/N's heart fluttered at his words, a rush of emotions flooding her. "Don't act so surprised," Harry chuckled.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" Y/N inquired, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Because..." Harry paused, his gaze locking with hers, "I knew I needed to be careful with you.”

Y/N huffs, “I’m not fragile,” 

His smile is sweet and gentle when he replies, “Maybe not to everyone else,” His breath fans across her cheeks, “But you are to me.” 

Y/N melts into the couch when he kisses her again. She didn’t know kissing could be so magical but suddenly they were eight years old again where life was simpler and games were just for fun, books were read for enjoyment and Y/N’s emotions weren’t so difficult to navigate. 

It was strange having someone understand her the way Harry did. Her whole life she thought no one was paying attention to her, not even her own parents, but he had been admiring her from afar for most of their lives together. 

“We don’t have to do anything tonight,” Harry says, “I don’t want to rush this with you. I want to do it right,”

Y/N’s lips curve, “You could never do it wrong,” 

He holds her to him, their legs intertwined on the end of the couch. Y/N had always thought the court was where she was meant to be but maybe this was where she needed to be all along. After all, tennis would not be in her life if it weren’t for Harry. 

. . .

“Okay, you gotta go baby,” Harry slurs against her mouth as she continues to kiss him. 

“Wait,” She whines and he smiles, feeling delirious whilst their lips connect repeatedly. His hands reach are holding her thighs as they wrap around him, her hands in his hair pulling him closer. 

They hear Y/N’s name from the umpire once more and Harry has to find the strength to pull away. His lips ghost the skin of her cheek, “Y’ gonna go and win this?” 

“Mhm,” She sighs, releasing herself from his hold and grabbing her tennis bag.

“Hey,” Harry pulls her back into him and she makes a little ‘oof’ sound. He holds her face in his hands, “You think you’re so hard to read? Not with me,” 

Y/N huffs, “I’m nervous. What if I don’t win? She’s your ex-girlfriend and everybody’s made a big deal about this because they already think we’re dating.”

“We are though aren’t we?” Harry quirks a brow, “Dating?”

Y/N looks at him blankly before hitting him on the shoulder, “Obviously Harry!”

He chuckles, “Okay, okay,” His hands slide down her arms to thread his fingers with hers at their sides, he lifts them up so their hands are pressed against each other and leans in close, “Remember what I told you about your anger? And how it’s the hottest thing I’ve ever seen and now that you’re my girlfriend I’m allowed to say that but honestly it’s the hottest thing ever and I almost die everytime I watch you play and I see you get all mad and-”

“Harry, focus,” Y/N snapped before she grinned and kissed him quickly, “But thank you, your ass looks pretty good on the court too.”

“Are you being for real?” Harry says, his mouth falling open, but he shakes his head to bring himself back to the main point at hand. He couldn’t pull her away for another make out session not when they were already late as it was, “But anyway, this game is no different to the others just because you’re playing against Astrid. Use everything you have and channel it against her.” 

Y/N nods, her eyes twinkling when she looks at him, “You’re a pretty good coach,” 

“You’re a pretty hot tennis player,” 

“Okay stop,” She pulls away and grabs her tennis bag.

“What?” He throws his hands in the air and laughs, “Now that I’m your boyfriend can I freely look at your ass under that skirt whilst you play?”

Y/N spun on her heel and glared at him, “That’s misogyny.”

“But I’m obsessed with you,” He argues.

She pauses for a moment and then nods, “Fine but don’t make it obvious,” 

. . .

Harry stood on the sidelines, his heart pounding as he watched Y/N prepare for Astrid's final serve. The tension in the air was palpable; it was match point, and the game had been intense.

Harry had always considered Y/N the greatest tennis player he had ever seen. Maybe he was biased because he’d also been hopelessly infatuated with her since they were in third year but nothing compared to seeing his girl play on the court. 

He couldn’t seem to breathe as Astrid threw the ball into the air and hit it so hard with her racket, the sound echoed across the court. 

Y/N ran to retaliate, backhanding it straight back to her. His eyes stayed fixed on the girl who he had confessed his feelings to just last night. 

Astrid had tried to throw Y/N off multiple times during the game. Waving to her fans in the crowd whenever they would take a moments break or trying to remind her that she was Harry’s ex-girlfriend. Harry had told her to ignore it but Y/N didn’t exactly need advice on how to hit back at her opponent, she’d do it all in the game. 

It was a long match of back and forth before Y/N finally decided to go all in, hitting the ball with so much power and precision it landed in the line and bounced straight off the court. 

Crestwood students erupted in cheers as Astrid threw her racket to the ground having lost the game. Harry could feel the rush of elation over his entire body, his fist pumping the air when the scores appeared on screen with Y/N winning the entire thing. 

Y/N didn’t need to go anywhere to celebrate because the one person she wanted was standing right in front of her. She dropped her racket to the floor and ran into his open arms, “That’s my girl,” He spun her around, “You did it, baby, I knew you could.” 

Y/N was beaming, leaning down to kiss him in front of the whole crowd of people. “We’re going to the final,” She squealed, hugging him tightly. 

“You and me,” Harry responded. 

. . .

taglist: @storyschanging @lilbredsticc @esposa-do-harry @st-ev-ie @itschelseacisneros @hermionelove

[bonefall]

Clear Sky Killed Bumble; Gray Wing's Desperate Defense

The "analysis" I've seen out there is beyond bananas. We are out there on state-of-the-art exploratory vessels, sailing the 7 seas into brand new lands, discovering new kinds of fruits to compare to the absolute lack of sanity people are displaying.

Clear Sky definitively killed Bumble. Gray Wing does not want to believe reality.

While some try to argue this death down to "negligent homicide," that Clear Sky essentially beat her unconscious and left her in an unsafe area where she got killed, that's so unlikely I'm confident in saying it's wrong. The evidence shows that Clear Sky tormented her to death with a ferocious, sadistic beating which caused her to bleed out, which is second degree murder, and used the smell of a fox and Gray Wing's blind adoration to lie his way out of consequences.

There's not a lot of ambiguity in the evidence that is presented. There is fox scent but no fox bites, and the preceding chapter provides a comparison between the wounds on Misty vs the wounds on Bumble. Clear Sky's story is so convoluted that not a single part of it makes any sense. Quite frankly it's only been topped recently by the "I can confirm this woman is evil because she snored her evil plans in their sleep" fib of ASC.

In either case, Gray Wing believes neither. He does not believe this is Clear Sky's kill in any way.

This moment is an excellent example of how Gray Wing continuously prevents anyone from taking any action against his dear brother's violence until it is too late. By convincing the moor cats to all calm down when they're rightfully furious, and treating the lives and perspectives of native cats as lesser, Gray Wing becomes complicit in some of the harm this tyrant manages to carry out.

To shield a person from the consequences of their own actions is enabling, regardless of if it's direct or indirect, wittingly or unwittingly.

We are going to go over the whole of the 26th chapter of DOTC Book 2: Thunder Rising, from Bumble's death scene to Gray Wing's downplay of it. A meticulous, step-by-step analysis.

Leading-up context

The Scene

The Immediate Response

Incredible suggestions that have been made that I had to read with my own eyes

Leading-up Context

Let's start from square one by introducing the cast, with the assumption you have not read DOTC or are just vaguely aware of it due to its reputation.

Bumble is a kittypet who regularly visits the woods without issue. She is a small supporting character in the first book, The Sun Trail, whose purpose is mostly to be a friend to Turtle Tail, who is the future wife of the main POV character, Gray Wing.

As the two girls become closer friends, Gray Wing becomes more controlling of Turtle Tail and more hostile towards Bumble. This culminates in Turtle Tail leaving "The Settlers" to live with her friend over the winter. All is idyllic until the humans adopt a third cat, known to the fandom as Tom the Wifebeater because of what happens next in Book 2; Thunder Rising.

Turtle Tail becomes pregnant, but notices that her roommates are keeping some kind of secret. She begs Bumble until she reveals that humans tend to take kittens away when they're old enough to be weaned. Turtle Tail leaves to return to the wild, and Tom the Wifebeater begins methodically torturing Bumble over the next month as punishment, leaving scratches, bruises, and "dried blood" all over her when the humans are not looking.

When Bumble tries to seek help from the moor cats, Gray Wing is frustrated that the battered woman has interrupted his walk with his new wife. It is stressed that Gray Wing hates her for taking his love interest away, and he believes she is too fat and clumsy to live in the wild. The leader of the moor cat settlers, Tall Shadow, has a hard time throwing Bumble out, until two outsiders, Wind and Gorse, who are trying to get accepted into this group themselves, take the initiative and drag Bumble back to her domestic abuser.

Gray Wing is biased against Bumble. This is a fact. He explicitly does not like her.

Shortly afterwards, the forest cat settlers, led by Gray Wing's brother Clear Sky, experience a fire and begin to expand their borders. They are already known as a violent group, their leader is a manipulative liar, and Gray Wing himself was once viciously mauled as Clear Sky sat by and watched.

Yes, Gray Wing is aware that Clear Sky sat there and watched, too. He called out to him and Clear Sky did nothing as Fox, a man who knew full well that this cat was his leader's brother, was shredding him.

Gray Wing doesn't want to believe his brother is a bad person. This is also a fact. He explicitly feels guilty when he has thoughts otherwise.

On-screen, through the POV of Gray Wing's nephew Thunder, we see a native woman named Misty slaughtered by Clear Sky for her land. Her children are taken, and her body lays unburied and rotting for two days before Wind Runner and Gorse Fur (sporting new names at the request of the moor cats) find her.

They describe the wounds they found on the corpse in detail and make an accusation,

Now, before this point, Wind Runner and Gorse Fur have been doing everything in their power to endear themselves to this group. Gray Wing himself trusted them, because they've taught him methods for living here, caught and shared food, and even saved the life of his other brother, Jagged Peak, when a burrow collapsed on him.

But now his xenophobia towards them is coming back-- because they're calling for action against his brother. He's only ever uneasy about them when they seem to have an ounce of influence over his group.

Turtle Tail's conclusion is completely sound, and if it hadn't been for someone else, would be correct. Clear Sky DID move to kill the children-- he was stopped by his underling, Petal. Turts was able to understand what Clear Sky was going to do without seeing it firsthand.

The crowd is shocked and furious, for logical reason. They ARE in danger. Clear Sky IS escalating his violence and expanding his territory. It's starting with the native population, and the moor cats are able to understand and predict what will happen next.

Except Gray Wing.

The Scene

While investigating ONE confirmed murder, as there is no reason to doubt Wind Runner and Gorse Fur except for conveniently xenophobic ones, and TWO suspected murders of children, the patrol hears the sudden shriek of a cat in pain.

Bumble is found bleeding to death on a previously unclaimed patch of land, at the very center of a circle of trampled grass. There is the reeking smell of fox, and under that, there is the scent of Clear Sky.

Her wounds are described in great detail,

Completely consistent with the way that the wounds were described on Misty. Nearly word-for-word.

The only evidence of fox is the smell. No one heard it bark, there is no note of it bounding off, there are no bites or wounds consistent with those of a canid. They were described exactly the same as Misty's.

Slits are cat claw wounds. Not fox bite wounds. She was not being bitten, she was cut all over her body, prominently down her belly and sides.

Unless this fox shapeshifted into a cat and then meticulously created wounds consistent with the ones left on Misty, Clear Sky did this.

Where did the fox go? Probably came to investigate, maybe licked at the bloody cuts expecting a meal, and then was scared off by Bumble suddenly waking up and screaming. It's possible, but unlikely that the patrol's clamor scared it off, considering they didn't see or hear any fox noises.

There are also signs of a struggle-- and Bumble was not able to fight in the condition she is currently in. It's most likely it was the struggle from when she was being tormented and trying to get away, unless there was a fight with a fox while Bumble was still unconscious and she was dragged to the middle of it, for some reason.

However, a fight with a fox is still unlikely, as the patrol was able to hear the whimpering of a cat in pain as they approached but not the furious sounds of a battle with a large predator. If there was this whole epic brawl with a fox that trampled the grass around Bumble, why was there only a single shriek?

Gray Wing, expert on the smell of Clear Sky's armpit, confirms it's his brother. His whole world spins when he realizes his Dear Brother is involved in this, feeling horror and disbelief.

(Also note that Gray Wing implies Clear Sky's involvement is the prophetic bad thing his adopted son mentioned in the previous chapter, not the shredded woman dying in front of him lol)

The rest of the group is able to acknowledge reality, coming to the obvious conclusion. Clear Sky is expanding his territory, including the very patch they're standing on. He has been violent in the past, even against other settlers. Misty was slaughtered in a way consistent with the victim dying in front of them, so he is killing cats who stand in his way. Gray Wing's immediate, literally DESPERATE response is first to jump to Clear Sky's defense.

Gray Wing asks Bumble directly if it was a fox, and she is too weak to answer... until she finds the strength, as a domestic abuse victim, to blame herself for the way a cat beat her bloody. She thinks it's her fault for hunting here, because she was hungry, not thinking straight, and stupid.

I have seen this described as Bumble "making a defense of Clear Sky." I will leave it up to you, the reader, to determine if this sounds like Bumble is trying to say he's not guilty of hurting her or if it's the sort of infamous self-blame that domestic violence victims lapse into after a furious thrashing.

When Clear Sky returns to the scene of the crime, he cuts her off while admitting he did assault Bumble, then glares at everyone to challenge a fight.

Gray Wing swoons over him like he always does.

I have heard it said, without examples, that this is normal because this happens all the time in Warrior Cats. That it's a normal thing to be standing next to a domestic abuse victim who is bleeding out and watch her murderer daring all of your friends to do something about it, and admire how brave he is. That, again, without any examples, this is just something that every character does when the Villain of the Week exists in front of them, so it's not even special that it was Gray Wing's first response.

If you believe that, I have a bridge in London to sell you.

Desperation is under all of Gray Wing's feelings which immediately follow. His voice "cracks" when he has to ask if his darling brother did this. He wants to scream when he takes his sweet time answering. He shrinks under Clear Sky's gaze, because he reads that he's "accusing him of betrayal."

But somehow, that FIRST response for him to fawn over his brother is not part of that, because in unquoted books of other arcs a hero has admired a villain?? Context doesn't exist because in some other book the same emotion was described maybe. Incredible.

No mention of how casually he brushes off this sight that makes his eyes show "guilt and horror," either. No talk of how he made a little ""joke"" about how no one greeted him nicely at a tortured woman's deathbed. Almost like he was caught red-handed and the wounds don't actually unsettle him as much as the crowd's reaction.

Even the glare-- Clear Sky is trying to get Gray Wing to do his bidding. He wants him to protect him, be his flying monkey, and control his furious people.

So at the next opportunity, Gray Wing jumps to his defense again. Second time in this exchange.

FIRST he was described as "desperate." Now he takes a deep breath and BRAVELY licks that boot.

Turtle Tail steps forward and posits the obvious truth. Clear Sky is going mad with power, doesn't care who he hurts, and is completely capable of doing something like this to Bumble. This was already done to Misty, and even earlier, Clear Sky stood by and watched as one of his minions savaged Gray Wing in a similar way.

The whoooole crowd can see this. It is Gray Wing, and Gray Wing alone, who prevents there from being any consequences for Clear Sky's actions.

He hypocritically believes that attacking Clear Sky for the murder of Bumble would make them all "no better than he is" when he had no qualms about coming to blows over the exile of Jagged Peak much earlier. "Attacking Clear Sky for Murder" is morally equivalent to "Actually Doing Murder."

This is only for Bumble though, a "foreign" woman he does not like. He did not believe this for Jagged Peak, and he will not believe it later when he watches Clear Sky strangle Rainswept Flower to death. They are worth physical consequences.

He even physically shields him.

"he stepped between Clear Sky and his own cats, not sure which of them he was trying to protect." It's Clear Sky. Bumble's life means nothing to Gray Wing, so he is trying to protect Clear Sky from the fury of the angry mob he has earned by killing her and Misty.

He CANNOT let there be any doubt. Not even from himself. His brother must be protected at all costs. To that end, he is trying to make some kind of opportunity for Clear Sky to escape accountability.

If you are "neutral" in the conflict between victims and their abuser, you have taken the side of the abuser. If you provide opportunities for a perpetrator to escape accountability, you are an enabler. If you allow a suspect to escape the scene of a crime, since every cat in these books seems to be a lawyer the minute anyone wants to react to violence, you could be charged with accessory fleeing and eluding-- a felony.

Before you try to say this is all in the noble pursuit of peace, let's not be dense.

DOTC is not committed to non-violence for any other tyrannical leader. Especially not One Eye, even believing that an underhanded ambush that breaks the terms of a duel Clear Sky set is the good and righteous thing to do. Killing him was the correct action, as it was with Slash in Riverstar's Home. Outside of DOTC this logic is casually applied to Brokenstar, Tigerstar, Scourge, Hawkfrost, Darktail, and Ashfur-- with only Leopardstar and Blackstar being "exempt" for following an evil ringleader.

Gray Wing himself has no moral dilemma about One Eye or Slash, either. Nonviolence is not his goal.

It is Clear Sky, and Clear Sky alone, who the narrative of DOTC will conclude "deserved" a million second chances. That torturing Bumble to death, slaughtering Misty for her land, and countless offscreen cases of attacking natives didn't push him past the "fundamentally evil" threshold into an irredeemable monster, as is the case with Slash and One Eye later in this arc.

The difference between Clear Sky and DOTC's other two tyrants, to me, is obvious. Clear Sky is the POV's brother and a member of the in-group of The Settlers. The lives of his victims, as mostly "foreigners" and entirely women, are worth very little to the notoriously xenophobic and misogynist writing team.

If the moor cats had shredded Clear Sky right here and now, dozens of lives would have been saved. The First Battle wouldn't have happened. Justice would have been served for Bumble, regardless of if the cause of death was 2nd degree murder or negligent homicide. He wouldn't have smacked and beaten any of his other victims.

Gray Wing prevents this, giving Clear Sky an opportunity to tell a lie.

(He even whines about the idea of Wind Runner challenging Clear Sky about boundaries, the whole thing that started this incident in the first place. This is the perfect time to start arguing about boundaries, actually, when he's in the middle of establishing new ones.)

In the past, I'd been too charitable to this exchange. This lie is obscene and anyone who believes it is ignorant. No frills, no bells, you either can't think critically or just didn't want to so Clear Sky can be innocent or Gray Wing can seem "reasonable."

Clear Sky's visibly eager to start his story, "glad of the chance" now that he's had time to concoct a story. He could have explained earlier but didn't, sizing the group up and glaring at his brother to crack a whip, asking if they believed he was capable of it, so he could gauge what he can get away with.

"New part of my territory" = Freshly annexed land he has violently conquered, confirming the patrol's fears of expansion.

"I wanted to give her a warning, just a little cuff" = No one leaves his territory gently. Confirmation he thrashed her, downplay of how severe.

"How was I to know she would faint?" = Bumble is visibly emaciated, and he's blaming her for not being able to stay conscious through the whole beating.

"I could see her paws twitching, and I knew she would come around" = He would not care, Misty's body was unburied for two days.

"So I left" = Leaving Count: 1

Pauses, wincing, because this is another act. Every time he's putting on a little show for other cats, he takes dramatic pauses and plays up his pain and regret. Seen earlier in this book.

"But heard a fox bark" = no barking was heard by the patrol, only a cat's shriek.

"And ran back" = Was apparently so close that he could hear barking the patrol didn't, but so far away that a fox had time to cut her to ribbons, AND this was so long ago the patrol wasn't close enough to hear the fight? Returning Count: 2

"But I was too late" = Wounds inconsistent with fox attack. Leaving Count: 2

"I was going to get help" = There is no medic in proto-SkyClan. When Jagged Peak broke his leg, they had to borrow Dappled Pelt. What help? Who?? Even as he says this, Frost's wound is going completely untreated. If Clear Sky was going to get help, why wasn't he telling Cloud Spots to do something when he got back?

"But then I heard you all arrive" = He left to get help but was still close enough to hear running? Just abandoning his noble quest to get that "help" he apparently has? Returning Count: 3

Not a single part of his story adds up. EVERY aspect of it has a problem, in that it's either deceptively worded to downplay his abuse, doesn't line up with who he is, or just doesn't make logistical sense.

It's not JUST a lie, it's a BAD one.

Even worse, Clear Sky is a known liar at this point. He does this when the truth would not benefit him, like earlier in this book when he fibbed to Thunder about why he abandoned him right in front of Gray Wing's face. The story doesn't make sense and there's not even any reason to give him benefit of the doubt, because he is known to be dishonest.

He's offended when Turtle Tail calls him on being full of baloney, and once again shoots a sharp look over to his flying monkey, expecting Gray Wing to dance on command and defend his honor like always.

But Gray Wing seems to be perfectly capable of being "wise" when it would directly benefit Clear Sky.

I have seen the question begged, "if he's such a bootlicker then why he no verbally bootlick a third time in a single exchange?" and I would tell that person to read the text because it says why. Right there. Here, I've underlined it. So you don't miss it again.

If Gray Wing licks that boot again, THIRD TIME, in front of an angry mob who wants to skin Clear Sky alive, they will lose patience and make the clearing look like Bruce's Eating Dome. So he shuts the fuck up and gives his ungrateful brother the chance to indignantly slip away, even though he desperately wants to cry out and tell him how shiny and lickable those boots are.

"What can I say?" Nothing. "I'll only make things worse" Correct. "If I don't let him leave now there will be a fight" im literally just quoting the text verbatim

He is NOT doing this because he does not believe him, NOR because he doesn't want to defend him. It's because this the best way to protect his brother from consequence.

And then Bumble uses her dying breath to apologize for ever hurting her friend, showing Bumble is still just blaming herself for everything, with Turtle Tail still repeating the same malicious excuses that were used to deny her asylum from domestic abuse.

"I wish you could have found happiness, even though I was unwilling to help you. It sucked to learn that our shared wifebeater started wifebeating you, but we didn't want you in our camp so really this was unavoidable."

I've voiced my ire before, gone on long rants about how angry this exchange makes me and even campaigned for more recognition of the misogyny in this subplot. The fact that the last words Bumble hears are just more excuses from a person who could have done something disgust me, and I think I'm right to feel that it's vile that this sits unexamined in a book for young readers. But it doesn't change what happened.

She senselessly died in intense pain and despair, for the crime of existing. All that's left to say is that I wish Bumble could have found a better friend.

But ultimately, Turtle Tail is another woman in the notoriously misogynistic arc of DOTC. She's just a supporting character for Gray Wing's conflict, and he's got some opinions about what, exactly, is making this so sad.

He doesn't give a fuck that this woman he hates has been murdered after slowly starving to death, for months, since he watched her be dragged back to a domestic abuser. She "stole" his romantic interest for a few months, after all.

It's stressed he "never especially liked Bumble" at her deathbed. It's not JUST "the death of a kittypet," a group of people he is bigoted against. It's about his piece of shit brother.

It's about how HIS REPUTATION HAS BEEN TARNISHED.

"It changes the way my cats think of Clear Sky," THAT HE IS NOW A KNOWN MURDERER, "and that changes everything" IT'S GOING TO BE A LOT HARDER TO DEFEND HIM NOW

This is completely consistent with Gray Wing's behavior into the rest of the chapter, and even the books beyond.

The Immediate Response

Gray Wing explains what happened to the other moor cats. He has to hide his actual belief that Clear Sky didn't actually do anything wrong so that the moor cats don't dismiss him for the biased, brother-obsessed little minion he is. He admits how he really feels about Bumble's death to Turtle Tail at the very end of the chapter-- so what he says here is a lie.

Not a delusion. A lie. He withheld the full truth of his bias when questioned. If he's honest about his conflict of interest, this group will trust his judgement less. He has a goal; to prevent his cats from retaliating.

Wind Runner is, again, the one who is rallying the other cats into action. She's seeing that Clear Sky is murdering innocent cats, possibly even her friend considering how much she knew about Misty, and that this will only escalate. Gray Wing doesn't like that.

So when Tall Shadow starts suggesting the things he agrees with, like how Bumble's life was less valuable anyway so this is no reason to start a fight with his Dear Sweet Brother, and they should all just sit on their butts until no one's angry anymore, he decides she "deserves" his support.

It's a political move.

"After all, she was only a kittypet... omg why are you so mad?? I didnt mean it like that, all im saying is that we should just calm down ugh dont be so sensitive" -Tall Shadow, channeling your racist aunt

If Gray Wing can get the other cats to waste their time on useless half-measures, like more patrols or perhaps writing a strongly-worded letter, he can make them feel like they're doing something when they're actually doing jack shit. Wittingly or unwittingly, this is a measure to stall the inevitable, making them miss their chance to strike while the iron is hot.

He's either an idiot or he's subconsciously acting from a place of loyalty to his brother. Bias resembles the former but is born of the latter, and either way the result is the same.

After this, there's a brief conversation where Tall Shadow makes it clear that there is absolutely no reason to be mistrusting Wind Runner. They both agree "when this is all over" she's a good cat to have around-- they just don't seem want to listen to her now, when she wants something done about the sadistic lunatic next door.

Gray Wing's talk of "working together" is laughable. His idea of "working together" includes the cat who just slaughtered two people for existing on his newly annexed land, who long ago stopped listening to reason. Tall Shadow herself starts preening and announces that her response to all this is that Clear Sky must absolutely be stopped by some cat.......................... so she'll think abt it.

tomorrow maybe. we'll put a pin in it. set a little reminder on her phone or something.

(the genius plan she comes up with in the end is a nonsequitor babble about how rocks don't exist to be sat on, so clear sky should just stop conquering all the land or something. he listens intently and then throws her into a tank of piranhas.)

But anyway, it's time to smooth things over with Turtle Tail, who had been struggling with that uncomfortable truth that the moor cats, and Gray Wing specifically, were also culpable in some way for the slow, painful death of Bumble.

He'll fix that with a big display of affection.

"Don't be mad at me it's nobody's fault :) She wouldn't have been able to cope so it's inevitable she wound up dead :) I'm sorry you're hurting bc i like you, not that i give a damn that your friend was shoved into a blender and shredded alive after starving for months :) Thanks to you I am now ready to lead this clan directly off the side of a cliff." -very endearing conversation i assure you

It works because Turtle Tail is not allowed to maintain her own opinions as a girl in DOTC. Obviously. Her husband licks her ears and tells her that he likes her and that's the end of any examination that they have any responsibility here. god forbid she re-examine her feelings towards the writers' favorite in light of how much of an ass he made of himself at her friend's deathbed.

Just in case it slipped your mind though, once again it is made clear that Gray Wing is reacting with leisure because he does not believe (or care) that Clear Sky killed Bumble. No, not even in the negligent homicide sense, that Clear Sky's actions allowed Bumble to die through beating her unconscious and leaving her alone in an unsafe location. He does not think this was something to blame Clear Sky for.

He believes that the fox did it-- he was lying earlier when he said he "didn't know what to believe." He does. He didn't reveal his bias when he was being questioned, because he wants to prevent the moor cats from fighting Clear Sky over Bumble's death.

Also note the sneaky little turn of language Gray Wing makes there. In denial of Turt's claim that "innocent cats are being slaughtered," Gray's counter is Bumble alone before the pivot. The patrol was originally about Misty's murder and her missing kittens as Clear Sky expanded his borders-- but Misty's apparently not an "innocent cat" who's been slaughtered. She's absent from that category, implied to be part of Clear Sky's hypothetical "good reason" for expansion that Gray Wing needs to get to the bottom of.

Bumble's murder is denied. Misty's is implied to just be collateral damage for the unknown plan. He's unbothered about the death of either one.

Gray Wing: "No one else can get to the bottom of this! theres only ME! I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN STOP CLEAR SKY"

Also Gray Wing: (leaps in front of an angry crowd to defend his brother. cries that he doesn't believe hes capable of such terrible violence. actively prevents anyone else from doing anything about him)

Anyone with a vague awareness of DOTC knows how this ends. Gray Wing is going to lead them astray with his bad judgement, so purposefully delusional about his brother that they will have to dig a mass grave at Fourtrees. Gray Wing thinks he's a *~special boy~* who is the only one who can truly get through to his brother, and maybe he is, but not before dozens of people have to suffer and die for it.

This is enabling. To enable is to directly or indirectly support another's harmful actions, such as addiction or abuse. He did it here, both during and after Bumble's death, giving Clear Sky the cover to escape consequences for his actions and halting any attempts to do anything concrete. Because of him, Clear Sky never pays for what he did to her.

In the book 3, Clear Sky denies all wrongdoing, and in Bumble's last mention in book 4, her torture is described in passive voice. A terrible "happening" which seemingly couldn't have been avoided. No one is held accountable. Not the moor cats for turning her away, not Clear Sky for her killing, and even Tom the Wifebeater is redeemed after being given a chance to live in a clan for not being "soft" like his female victim.

All so sweet, beloved little Gray Wing never has to confront that he let a killer get off scot-free because the uncomplicated childhood memory of his brother as a lovely good boy was wrong. That he was so consumed by spite that he smugly watched Bumble get dragged away from the only people who could have helped her. That he was complicit twice.

Incredible suggestions that I have had to read with my own eyes

fucking ✨Bonus Round✨

"If clear sky fought bumble, why bumble leave no scratches?" I'll let you sit there and think about why the DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIM did not fight back against a large, violent man who was beating her. I'll give you a minute. I'll play some jeopardy music.

"he's quote 'horrified and guilty' at the wounds which means he didn't make them himself" Clear Sky has a repeated habit of "blacking out" when he butchers women (Rainswept Flower, Willow Tail). He's also a liar and an actor, even according to his own account he'd seen these same wounds before when he came back a second time. Most importantly, what fucking part of "horrified and guilty" implies he didn't make those himself, does a toddler not look "horrified and guilty" when it spills chocolate milk on a couch and its parent sees it? Does that mean the toddler didn't do it? If you wouldn't accept this logic for a toddler why the fuck will you accept it for a suspected murderer?

"Maybe Clear Sky fought the fox off?" He doesn't actually say that, it's just implied during his lie when he says he showed up too late, but it's hypothetically possible. Even if he did fight this fox off, he must have still mauled Bumble because she is covered in claw wounds, even if he doesn't remember it because he "blacked out." There's also still the problems of Bumble being in the middle of the trampled grass, the patrol not hearing the sound of battle, his framing that he just tapped her and she passed out, and him apparently running to get help he does not have. Occam's Razor still suggests the solution is that this fox was scared off when Bumble screamed, with Clear Sky just using the convenient smell to lie his way out of consequences

"How'd Clear Sky get fox scent on him?" Probably from showing up to the crime scene that absolutely reeks and prowling around like an axe murderer, which we saw him do. Bumble had no fox bites and no one heard a fight. did you know that if you stand in a sewer you smell like shit

"Gray Wing just doesn't want to think his dear sweet brother could ever do such a thing :("

"What if the Erins are just so incompetent that they created a crime scene completely inconsistent with the very true and real story that Clear Sky told, it just happens to look like a lie on accident, they unwittingly made him a liar earlier in this book because they forgot the events they previously wrote, and don't know anything about a type of predator that appears in nearly every entry of warrior cats and happens to be one of the most popular animals of all time" what if i tripped and fell and a shawarma with extra tahini sauce fell into my mouth, followed by an apple slice, and 3 litres of water. should i continue my fast or has Allah fed me.

All of this is why I am adamant on saying that Clear Sky killed Bumble by beating her to death. In order for this to have been the cause of a fox, you'd have to take a liar at face value and ignore every other detail. That's what Gray Wing does, described on the page as "desperate to believe in his brother's innocence."

Unfortunately, this will also not be the only time that Gray Wing's obsession with his brother and shockingly horrific judgement will put other cats in danger or get them killed. It's just the most deliberate example, and thus imo the most upsetting.

[nychthemeron-rants]

Butch Chilchuck AU Pt2

(Pt. 1)

As I mentioned in my previous post, the only real difference in this AU is that Chilchuck is a butch woman who uses he/him pronouns instead of a man.

No one in the main party knew he was a woman because he couldn’t be bothered to correct their assumptions about his gender when he’s busy trying to be treated as an adult.

He revealed that he was a woman after the bicorn when Marcille accuses him of keeping more secrets. “Its not a secret but I guess I should clarify that I'm a woman since I don't think any of you have caught on yet.” type thing. Cue everyone's shock, especially Marcille.

Since there's been at least one woman in the party who's been uncomfortable with Chilchuck bathing with other women (because they think he’s a man), and he's doesn't give enough of a shit to argue, he’s been bathing with the men instead (because again, he simply doesn’t give a shit)

Senshi thought he was trans (though I'm not sure he knows about trans people as like an actual identity, he just saw him bathing with the men and being treated as male and ran with it. Thats Chil's business after all.)

Laios just thought half-foots had internal “equipment” until it was needed. Wanted to ask about it but even he has the social grace to not question co-workers about that.

Shuro fully suspected Chilchuck was a woman but was too awkward to say anything

Namari knew almost immediately and has been the only one in the party to fully understand whats up with Chilchuck because she was respectful and understanding. (Plus they're drinking buddies)

Falin thought he was a man but also didn't really give a shit when he tried bathing with the other women. It was the marriage seeker who threw a fit before Marcille.

Post reveal, Marcille is just pissed he didn't say anything so she didn't have to go through this adventure up until Izutsumi joined the party feeling like the only woman.

Laios asks if he needs to change anything about how he treats him in the same vein as asking if he should call him Sir when he revealed his age

Senshi is just trying to process how wrong he was about literally all of his assumptions about Chil, as he is a middle aged woman and not a little boy. Feels embarrassed about his misunderstandings, no judgement towards Chil.

Marcille has questions post reveal. She gives me the vibe of a sheltered cis woman who has never questioned what makes her a woman, so when she’s presented with a woman who is more comfortable with mostly masculine presentation, uses “male” pronouns, and has even voluntarily removed his breasts as a woman, she is confused. She initially struggles to understand how a woman can be so against femininity and still be a woman. Chil, while reluctant to answer questions about his personal life, explains that he isn’t against femininity but simply feels more comfortable presenting more masculinely. And that he simply can’t be fucking asked to correct people when they guess wrong. He also ends up helping Marcille understand that gender isn’t expression and connect to her womanhood in a new way that isn’t necessarily linked to her femininity.

Laios does ask why he had facial/ body hair as a tall man and dwarf. Chil gets annoyed about him basically asking about his medical history but answers that he has PCOS and is also menopausal.

This causes Senshi to get annoyed that he didn’t mention this earlier as those conditions can lead to different nutritional needs (I.E. PCOS diet to manage symptoms or extra calcium and vitamins after menopause.)

Senshi and Laios start getting weird around Chil, no longer worrying about him being a kid, and are instead trying to be respectful of the fact he’s a woman (such as being less touchy, trying to give him privacy when changing as if they hadn’t bathed together before, etc.) Chil gets annoyed because while he appreciates the lack of touchiness and the added privacy, he’s pissed that they’re acting different after discovering he’s a woman and overthinking how they interact with him. They also start fucking up his pronouns because they’re ingrained in “women = she/her” mindset and feel like they need to “correct” themselves.

Izutsumi doesn't care and fails to see how Chilchuck being a woman instead of a man changes anything. Chil really really appreciates this.

Chil has to sit them down and explain that LITERALLY NOTHING has changed. They get better after this. (Senshi decides to go ahead with making sure he adjusts Chil’s meals to his needs.)

Post canon, Chil and his family goes to a dinner at the castle, and he shows up in a dress because A.) he wanted to match his wife and B.) kinda wanted to fuck with his friends. He succeeded as everyone was very taken aback by the sight of Chilchuck in a dress and “actually dressed as a woman for once” (a comment that annoys Chil because he is always dressed like a woman because he is always a woman who is dressed.)

[joesanrio]

Hiiii can I request a Jey uso X female reader where jey sees a post on social media saying reader is messing with Jimmy and it’s not true. But Jey still gets hot headed and stuff thank you ☺️

This!! I love this. I feel like I took this and ran with it- so please forgive me 🩷 a bit angsty :))

All over Twitter | J.U

Summary: Jey never liked how quickly he was bothered of something on social media, but he can’t help himself… especially when it comes to you.

Pairings: Joshua Fatu {Jey Uso} x fem!reader

Warnings: social media drama, delusions, arguing, cursing, stubborn!Jey, crying, bad angst (first time), rumors, mentions of cheating, not edited

Word Count: 1230

Ratings: Angst | 16+

———————————————————

Jey scrolling through his social media was starting to become a daily thing, especially since the Bloodline storyline was starting to pick up. As much as he hated how people depicted him and his talents based on the 30-45 minutes they saw him a week, he never reacted. He kept any bad energy they sent towards him to himself, and pretended like he didn’t even see it. That was until he came across a tweet that had to do with you and his twin.

The tweet had about 92k views already, and 40k retweets. It was a video of you and Jonathan meeting up late at night, hugging before entering a random building. There was no context about what was happening except the obvious comments of;

Nah imagine thinking your girl safe from your own twin 💀💀

I CANT- poor Jey 🥲💔

No cause what abt my girl Trin?!?!

That Y/n? Do she not know how Trin can get down…😬

He couldn’t help himself but to keep scrolling through the comments, looking for some type of reassurance that it isn’t what he’s thinking. Jey always thought he knew where you were and what you were doing, maybe he was too blind by a false sense of trust. “Y/n!” He calls for you from the living room.

Your delicate footsteps making their way downstairs to the man sitting on the couch, you couldn’t help but smile at the gorgeous man in front of you. “Hi Baby.” Your lips plump and glossy as always, wearing Jey’s shirt with your little shorts. He looks away as he can feel himself getting flustered by your appearance, remembering the things he just saw not even a minute ago.

“You want to tell me anything.” His voice deep and stern before he lays back against the couch, your hips swaying a bit as you go to sit beside him.

Your freshly groomed eyebrows now in a confused furrow, “I like your haircut… I mean they could’ve faded the sides better but—” Jey’s head immediately snapping towards you.

Going silent as he rubs the side of his hair down before adjusting himself in the chair. “It’s cute!” I reassure as a small smile forms Jey’s lips before the smile drops quickly. “Appreciate it but that’s not what I’m looking for.” His eyes boring into yours, uncomfortably. Your hands starting to fidget together under his intense gaze, shaking your head ‘no’.

A loud sigh coming from his mouth as he picks up his phone, Twitter immediately popping up on the screen. “Look.” He hands you the phone before crossing his arms aggressively, your eyes falling onto the dim screen. Playing the small clip of you and Jon, not understanding the big deal until you scroll down to the comments.

A small scoff leaving your mouth as you go speechless by all the assumptions, “Those people are so miserable.” You hand the phone back before looking at Jey’s serious face.

“So, it’s the people now? Not the fact that you and my damn brother sneaking around at night?” He sits up almost giving himself whiplash. Feeling your heart drop at his demeanor, you couldn’t believe that the man you left everything and everyone for is accusing you of. “Joshua. You’re kidding…” Trying to understand what he’s getting at, this had to be some type of prank.

April Fools was a couple months ago though, and we did forget about it. “This is a joke. Ha-ha so funny babe.” A sarcastic laugh leaving you forcefully as you notice Jey’s gaze not changing.

Noticing the deep breaths, he’s taking is starting to concern you, “I’m not joking, are you screwing around with my brother? My twin at that.” He speaks calmly. Your eyes going wide at the audacity, “Joshua. Don’t be fucking delusional- if I was going to cheat do you really think that I would go to your twin brother?” Your voice high-pitched unintentionally.

His head shakes before wiping his hands on the edge of his knees. Jey loves you too much to believe this, he knows you wouldn’t, you couldn’t do that to him. Something subconsciously is saying otherwise, the fact that he no longer knows where you were and what you were doing is making him upset.

“Do you know how fucking embarrassing this is for me. To find out that you going behind my aback through social media.” He says out loud, hands rubbing down his face in a stressed manner. “I didn’t go behind your damn back! They’re clearly just making stuff up.” Your voice in a defensive tone,

Jey’s gaze on you turning into disappointment making your heart drop. His heavy footsteps leaving you in the living room as he goes upstairs assumingly to your bedroom.

The tension surrounding you, sitting in the now quiet room alone. Heart racing and head spinning, you felt like you were going to cry at any moment. The fact that he wasn’t listening to you just hurt worse, never did you think that complete strangers would have that much of an impact on you and Jey’s relationship.

The loud slam of a door snapping you out of your trance, “Joshua! What are you doing?” jumping from the couch and heading up the stairs quickly. His figure passing by with a suitcase, not bearing a glance towards you. “I’m going to stay the night with… well damn I don’t even know because I can’t go to my own brother!” Jey shouts before throwing the suitcase onto the bed.

He always tended to be overdramatic especially in disagreements, but never to the point where he was leaving. “You’re fucking crazy! Nobody did anything, it was clearly taken out of proportion. Stop acting like that!” You could feel the tingly feeling of anger starting to spread through your body. “Y/n, then what the hell were y’all doing? Because I didn’t even know about you going to see him? He didn’t tell me either!” He shrugs his shoulders as he waits for your response.

“I- nothing! We weren’t doing anything.” You stutter knowing that he can’t know the real reason you were meeting with Jon. Not liking the answer, he heard, he goes straight to the closet and starts ripping shirts off the hanger, “I’m so tired of being second place. So tired of looking like a fool! You say you weren’t cheating but you can’t even tell me what you were doing?” His hands flying as he shouts angrily. Going completely speechless as you watched him continue throwing things into the suitcase, chest heavy, before breaking completely.

Tears streaming down your face uncontrollably, this is ridiculous. Multiple solutions rambling through your head as you stood behind the fuming man. “I can’t tell you. But I promise I wouldn’t cheat on you.” The words practically forming together as you can barely speak while trying to control your breathing. Jey turns around to see you looking like a complete wreck, his eyes softening.

“Then imma go until you can tell me. Simple as that.” He says as he zips up his suitcase, your eyes looking in a panicked manner as he grabs his wallet. “Joshua! Don’t you think this is a bit dramatic?” You sniffle as he rolls his eyes at you.

“Hell yeah. But rather be dramatic than sitting and looking like a fucking clown.” He exits the room without even looking back.

[foggyfanfic]

What Tattoos would the Madrigals have?

Sorta a weird post, because presumably these characters are relatively devout Catholics, they absolutely would not ever get tattoos (not to mention we have no idea how much they know about micro-biology so jury’s out on how clean tattoos would be in Encanto). But I saw @teawizard ‘s picture of Bruno doing male thot jobs and it got me thinking. So!

Edit: Oof, this has been in my drafts way too long.

Alma

Hers are low key the most obvious to me. Alma would definitely have a little memorial tattoo for Pedro, and possibly have the triplet’s names. I’m operating under the assumption that she wasn’t born into an important family, so when she becomes La Señora Madrigal she makes an active effort to play the part rather than it coming naturally to her. Which would mean she might get a single tattoo right after losing Pedro, someplace easy for her to cover, then never again.

Agustín

I was going to say Agustín looks like he was raised too fancy to get tattoos even in this hypothetical, but then I actually thought about it a little. He’s supposed to be super accident prone, right? So, I think he’d have a tramp stamp. Hear me out! First time he goes out drinking with friends he discovers he is way more sensitive to alcohol than he thought he’d be. He wakes up with a bunch of blank spots in his memory, a helluva headache, and a sore spot on his back. A week or two later he is getting undressed to take a shower and notices something weird on his back out of the corner of his eye. And there it is! The words “Señor Madrigal” in a heart made out of healing herbs. Inexplicably, there are dolphins either side of the heart. When he asks his friends, he went missing for a while and they eventually found him hours later with his tie and vest off, and his shirt untucked. Biggest problem? He is not yet dating Julieta.

Julieta

In contrast, Julieta had an idea for a tattoo for her entire childhood, but figured she’d never get it because she knew her Má would hate it. She starts dating Agustín (is very amused when she sees his tattoo), then starts arguing with Alma over her boyfriend. In a fit of pique, she decides to get the tattoo whether or not her Má likes it. Even though Alma is annoyed at the tattoo itself, when she sees it she can’t help but like it. It’s essentially Julieta’s own version of the Hippocratic Oath on her left shoulder blade. Pepa makes fun of her because “even when you rebel against mother, you’re so perfect about it”. Eventually, Juli gets a matching tattoo with her siblings. Eventually.

Pepa

Pepa always wanted a tattoo but couldn’t settle on anything until Dolores is born. After that she gets each of her baby’s birthdates tattooed on her ankle. She would also eventually get a matching sibling tattoo.

Félix

Song lyrics, his wedding anniversary, and a tattoo that references his side of the family in some way. Maybe all together to form a sleeve, but more likely to be on his back.

Bruno

Bruno would have a full sleeve of good luck tattoos, and then some. He would have a chicken on one foot and a pig on the other (sailor superstition), on his shoulder blade opposite his sleeve he would have a prayer he likes that he got right before going into the walls. In an ill thought out fit of boredom he would give himself a stick and poke in the walls, the word “leña” on his knuckles (one of the ways to say wood in Spanish, although it looks like people usually use it to say firewood, but “madera” wouldn’t fit on his knuckles). Then when he gets out of the walls and is reunited with his sisters they would get a matching tattoo, the movie hasn’t really shown us enough of their relationship for me to say exactly what, but something meaningful to them.

Isabela

Immediately post movie she would get a sleeve of carnivorous and poisonous plants in order to express her newfound individuality. Later when she’s gotten over the initial high of finding herself, she would get a butterfly or something, something that represents her love for the family.

Dolores

One of Mariano’s poems on the inside of her forearm so she can reread it regularly. And a little lightning bolt right behind her ear, Pepa’s gift probably makes their relationship complicated, so I could see them looking for ways to show they do love each other despite said complications.

Luisa

She would have some sort of inspirational quote on her bicep about hard work, then post movie she would get another on the other arm about remembering to pause and enjoy life every once in a while.

Camilo

Like his mother he’d have a really hard time picking a tattoo, since the creators said they would have included him having slight identity issues if they had the space for it. When he gets on the other side of those issues, he gets those two theatre masks on the inside of his wrist to remind himself not to get too caught up in his own act.

Mirabel

Since she puts so much self expression into her clothes she wouldn’t really get the point of getting a tattoo until post movie when she starts actively building a relationship with Alma and thus gets to learn the town’s history more in depth than before. Then she gets the date the Encanto was established, a picture of the butterfly that was on the candle, and a quote about love conquering all.

Antonio

His back would become a guide to different animal tracks. So there would be the paw print and then right under it a label explaining what animal it goes to, but like all over his back and spilling down his arms when he runs out of room. Since he and the artist wouldn’t be sure how to do snake tracks, he’d have the local snake species circling his ankles and wrists.

[wonder-worker]

Why was empress Mathilda not able to become the ruler?

Hi! There were lots of reasons, and historians have gone back and forth between them over the years. I am not an expert at all, but the way I see it, it was a combination of factors - be it social, structural, or plain bad luck - that resulted in Matilda's inability to claim the throne of England. To list a few I think were relevant:

Misogyny. After his son's death in 1120, Henry I's first instinct doesn't seem to have been to name his daughter his heir but instead to conceive another son with his second wife Adeliza of Louvain. William of Malmesbury wrote that the lords swore to accept Matilda as their sovereign only if Henry I died without a male heir; John of Worcester wrote that Henry designated Matilda as heir as "he had as yet no legitimate heir to the kingdom", implying that Matilda would be the one to provide that heir (ie: a son); and it seems that some of Matilda's supporters like Robert of Gloucester stressed the claims of infant Henry (the future Henry II) from the onset. Some historians have argued that Henry I wished to live long enough to transfer the kingdom and duchy to his eldest grandson, though this is of course mere speculation and Matilda would have been her father's immediate successor for the foreseeable future regardless. So even during Henry I's life, while Matilda was named heir and was expected to inherit & rule England, her exact situation appears to have been complex, and her gender was - directly or indirectly - at the heart of the complication.

Moreover, during the Anarchy, while Stephen technically did not justify or defend his claim to the throne explicitly because of his gender, there was clearly public debate over female succession at that time: for example, Matilda's illegitimate brother Robert of Gloucester was known to reference the Bible, where the Book of Numbers depicted God sanctioning female inheritance when there were no sons. This indicates that Matilda faced opposition from enemy quarters specifically for those reasons. Also, during Matilda's brief assumption of power as a female king, gendered ideals of masculinity/femininity and kingship/queenship entirely dictated public response to her and shaped her negative reputation.

Xenophobia. The Normans and Angevins were historic enemies, and many nobles were incredibly worried about Matilda’s second husband Geoffrey Plantagenet becoming king. I don't think it's a surprise that the Gesta Stephani repeatedly called Matilda "Countess of Anjou" or emphasized the presence of "Angevin knights" among her entourage. This had something to do with gendered expectations as well, but it was also likely meant to highlight Matilda's presumed foreignness, despite the fact that she was a princess of England by birth.

Complicated inheritance patterns. Succession in England, both before and after the Norman Conquest, was incredibly tricky. I'm not even going to get started on the Anglo-Saxons, but going by William the Conqueror's children: his eldest son rebelled against him, his second son inherited while keeping the eldest one imprisoned for life, and was in turn most likely murdered by the third son, who also kept the eldest son imprisoned for life. Hereditary claims were thus overridden in both cases. As Charles Beem points out in the Lioness Roared about Matilda's own father: "Henry I promoted a system of lineal inheritance based on a firm rule of primogeniture [for his children]. However, his own legitimacy as king was not based on this principle, a concept that infiltrated Anglo-Norman inheritance practices during his reign. Instead, he based his self-representation as a legitimate king on a medieval hodge-podge of justifications: porphyrogeniture, or having been “born to the purple” after his father had become king of England, sacralization from his anointing and consecration, and the acclamation of the people: Finally, Henry I secured papal recognition for his title, and convinced Pope Calixtus II to reject the claims of William Clito, the son of Henry’s eldest brother Robert Curthose, in effect dealing a severe blow to the legitimacy of primogeniture." So even in an ideal scenario, the idea of a designated heir and eldest child succeeding without hindrance would have been unusual. Unfortunately, this was not an ideal scenario by any circumstances.

Also, England seems to have functioned with an interregnum at that time, meaning that Matilda would not have been immediately considered ruler upon her father's death. To quote Beem: "To become king of England in the year 1135 required positive, immediate action; although the theory of the king’s two bodies had already begun to develop, the idea that an immediate succession occurred upon the death of a king had not. Instead, an interregnum occurred, which ended only when the crown was placed on the next king’s head. This had been the case with William Rufus’s accession in 1087 and that of Henry I in 1100, both of whom overrode the hereditary claims of William the Conqueror’s eldest son Robert Curthose. Although Matilda had received oaths to support her candidacy, the oaths in themselves did not make her king. Like her uncle and her father before her, Matilda needed to be physically present in London, to receive formal homage from her tenants-in-chief, to accept the acclamation of the people, and to be anointed and crowned in Westminster by the archbishop of Canterbury". I think the first heir to be regarded as king despite not being physically present in the country was Edward I in 1272 - a while away. Which brings me to...

Bad Luck. At the time of her father's death, Matilda wasn't in England or Normandy. She seems to have left her father's court after a disagreement where he refused to be reconciled with William Talvas without punishing him despite Matilda's wishes on the contrary. As Robert of Torigny notes, in the end of 1135, "the empress Matilda, who he [Henry I] had long before appointed heir to his realm, was staying in Anjou with her husband count Geoffrey and her sons"; William of Malmesbury likewise stated that she was staying in France “for certain reasons.” The fact that Matilda wasn't physcally present made it easy for Stephen and the nobles to sideline her and overrule Henry I's appointment.

Matilda was also pregnant at the time, and it's possible that this prevented her for making the crossing, either due to physical reasons (we know she nearly died during her second childbirth) or due to ideological ones (she may have "considered such a state to be a liability in constructing herself as a viable contender for an office essentially gendered male", as Beem speculates).

An insufficient power base: Yet another one of her misfortunes was the fact that Henry I seems to have withheld his daughter's dowry till the end of his life. For example, Torigny writes that "the king was unwilling to do the fealty required by his daughter and her husband for all castles in Normandy and in England". Nor does Henry seem to have associated her with direct kingly governance during his life that could have made the transition to rulership more natural for her and for English & Norman magnates. This meant that Matilda and Geoffrey didn't seem to have had a solid power base to rely on at the time of her father's death with which she could directly launch her claim. It's no surprise that their first move was to try and secure her dowry castles (Exmes, Domfront, Argentan, Ambrières, Gorron, Colmont, etc), and that Matilda installed herself in one of them.

And, of course, Matilda's ultimate bad luck was the existence of a rival claimant (Stephen) with sufficient resources and backing who chose to press his own - theoretically inferior - claim. Ultimately, after the majority of nobles sided with or acquiesced to Stephen, Matilda's doors were shut - without tangible support, she was stuck. It's not surprising that it was only after Stephen began to alienate his followers (particularly Robert of Gloucester, who had initially supported him) a few years later that Matilda got an opportunity to press home her advantage.

Hope this helps!

[une-sanz-pluis]

I've been thinking about Henry VI's sexuality and Edward of Lancaster's supposed illegitimacy and came to the conclusion that the most popular narratives about these things are so incredibly poisoned by ableism.

(warnings for ableism, mentions of discrimination against non-normative gender and sexuality, mentions of rape.)

For a start, there's the very good point raised by @themidnightcircusshow in this post about the narrative that Edward had to be illegitimate because Henry didn't immediately snap out of his catatonia at the sight of his infant son.

But I'd argue that ableism is at least partly responsible for how Henry's humanity is perceived. That is, he's rarely depicted as human but an empty body at the centre of spectacle (e.g. The White Queen, John Watt's Henry VI and the Politics of Kingship). As far as gender goes, it feels like he's depicted as neither male nor female but neuter. There is a hatred of non-normative gender and sexuality, especially towards the way that Henry "fails" to live up to the ideals of manhood and masculinity as both king and husband, but ableism also plays a large part too. Depicting Henry as neuter furthers the sense of his non-human status while his mental illness also serves to explain "why" he fails to be properly masculine and properly human.

(I am not talking here about sympathetic depictions of Henry that show him a non-binary and/or asexual figure but dehumanising ones that treat his gender and sexuality as one of many things "wrong" with him and use it to prove he’s not really human.)

But it's also things like...

the default assumption that of course a man with severe mental illness could not possibly be physically capable of having sex or impregnating his wife (cf. that novel where Margaret mocks Henry's belief he got her pregnant with his "pathetic thrusts", a line burnt into my brain)

the default assumption that of course the wife of a man with a severe mental illness couldn't possibly be sexually attracted to him or must have cheated on him (though she must be demonised for the cheating).

the default assumption that of course Henry is so detached from reality and lacking in intelligence he didn't know how babies were conceived and, unlike every single other person in England, didn't know his wife was cucking him.

the above ties into uncritical but near universal acceptance of the extremely dubious story* that Henry claimed that the Holy Spirit fathered his son as proof of Edward's illegitimacy and Henry's gullibility.

Unrelated to the above, which depict Edward of Lancaster as, naturally, illegitimate, is the ableism and rape culture inherent in depictions where Henry does father Edward but not because he wants or chooses to have sex with his wife. No, I'm talking about the novels that frame Margaret sympathetically but believe that Henry can't really feel human emotions so it's actually a brilliantly astute and totally understandable move by Margaret to have sex with him when he's incapacitated in some way. There's sympathy extended to Margaret, the rapist presented as a victim of Henry's failure to "be a man", but none to Henry, the actual victim.

(I'm not talking here about sympathetic depictions of Henry as asexual, sex-repulsed, non-binary or dealing with trauma, dealing with fertility issues, or any other issue relating to his ability to have sex. I'm yet to find any of these outside of tumblr and AO3. I'm talking about the depictions of Henry common in histories, commentaries and novels of the Wars of the Roses.)

* The one and only source for this story are the dispatches by Prospero di Camulio, a Milanese ambassador to France, and he mentions this story in passing as one of the rumours he heard in 1461 and suggests "these may only be the words of common fanatics". In other words, our one source for this story is pretty sceptical of its truth.

[cumulo-stratus]

02- Lover

pairing- Spencer Reid x Male!reader summary- slow burn story of how spencer reid fell in love with Y/n L/n warnings- profanities, some arguing, lemme know if theres anything else! wc- 2k a/n-big big thank you to @avis-writeshq for proof reading this!! And guys I know 2k isn't a lot but it's a lot for me and im rly proud of my self 😚

part 1//part 2

While the interactions y/n and Spencer had started sharing on the train had plagued both men's minds, it had been for very different reasons. If you asked Spencer, he'd be inclined to use words such as enchanting, or describe it as a delightful rush when he thought about it. But if you asked y/n, he might be more likely to use words like conflicting, frustrating, yet electric. Like the rush of doing something bad, while in motion you're given a short, small burst of adrenaline, but once done an equal rush of guilt follows.

 This guilt was egged on by Gina- y/n’s girlfriend. If you asked any of his friends they would say that she’s not good for him. She was about as emotionally mature as a highschooler, to put it lightly. Almost immediately after the couple left their honeymoon phase, Gina became jealous and overbearing. She would yell at him for not texting her back immediately, or accuse him of cheating at least once a week. And many other incidents of the sort. Y/n knew it was toxic and had been telling his friends he would break up with her soon- but somehow never got around to doing it.

Lately their arguments had revolved around the topic of one man- Spencer. Gina felt y/n was spending too much time with him, 'I'm your girlfriend- not him!’, about summed up the argument they’d engaged in the night previously. 

“Well how would you feel if i was hanging out with some guy from the gym all the time, and flirting with him, and sexting him all the time like a whore- wouldn't you feel the same?!”

Gina was absolutely incensed when she found out that her boyfriend traded numbers with the genius, and texted each other regularly. In her mind they were basically having sex, and y/n was basically creating on her.

“Oh don't you dare turn this around on me! we only hang out on the train, it's not like we’re getting dinner together or something! god you need to get a grip…”

The last part was mumbled but Gina still heard it- and was even more incensed by it. And although y/n knew the way he was handling it was a bit childish, but he didnt care- he just so mad in the moment. He was enraged at Gina for not trusting him enough.

“What the fuck y/n?!! You’re such a liar!!”

And so they went on in circles like this for at least an hour. Gina would make an argument consisting of primarily lies and assumptions, and y/n would try to convince her otherwise- fruitlessly of course. Round and round they went, and needless to say y/n slept on the couch that night. And the next morning Spencer noticed y/n massaging his neck every couple of minutes- despite y/n’s attempts to be discreet about the pains in his neck. He didn't want to make a big deal about it, as he had slept on the couch many times before anyways after fights with his girlfriend. 

— 

“You seem chipper-”

Derek observed with a teasing smile when Spencer pushed through the large doors of the BAU, the comment doing nothing to deter the unusually large smile plastered on his face. Said smile grew even slightly more when he felt the vibration of a text against the fabric in the pocket of his pants, knowing it was a text from y/n. He didn't text anyone else much anyways for it not to be him. If anything y/n had taught him how to text. Of course Spencer knew how to type and send a text to someone, but didn't do it unless he had to- he’d rather call them or talk to them in person. That was of course until y/n offered him his number and spencer had to then awkwardly explain that he didn't really text all too much. When he found this out, y/n had taken it upon himself to teach Spencer how to text with him. He called it their texting for dummies lessons. They spent almost a week's worth of commutes doing said lessons.  

“Oh I just had a nice morning that's all.”

Spencer was quick to shrug off the comment, knowing the endless teasing that would ensue if Derek knew the real reason for his extra large smile that morning. 

“or do you mean a nice night? who was it- the librarian, or no no the only other person in the theater watching a 3 hour long sci-fi!”

Derek spoke with a wiggle to his eyebrow and teasing lilt to his voice. Luckily Derek got Spencer's back when Penelope poked her head out the round table room and held up the casefile, announcing a new case. 

“Heads up crime fighters! we got another one!”

Her words caught the attention of the Profilers scattered about the bullpen and drew them towards the briefing room. Spencer rushed to finish pouring the 6th sugar packet into his coffee mug and texted Y/n to let him know he had a case, before shoving his phone into his pocket and half jogging to his seat around the table. 

Y/n knew about Spencer's job, mostly because the first time Spencer wasn’t on the train for a couple days while on a case, y/n freaked. When he got on the train again a couple days later as if nothing had happened- y/n demanded an explanation. And now Spencer texted him whenever he got called on a case- even though he knew y/n wouldn't worry and just assume he was on a case- it was an excuse for them to text more. And Spencer would take any opportunity possible to talk to him.

Later, as the team boarded the jet spencer overheard JJ and Emily practically gossiping about what had happened that morning with derek. spencer just sighed, pulling a worn book from the messenger bag at his hip, and flipping to the doggy eared page. Although he was still slightly distracted by JJ and Emily not so subtly talking about him. 

“you think he’s found someone?”

emily’s giggle reminded spencer of that of a school girl gossiping. Emily leaned towards JJ, eager to hear what she had been told penelope- the ever terrible secret keeper. Not that his recent mood shifts were much of a secret anyways. 

“i mean do you see how much more hes been texting? INstead reading during his lunch break he texts. What- or who could be so intriguing that Spencer Reid chooses it over a book? a crush! thats who.”

JJ and Emily seemed convinced at Emily's argument for Spencer's recent change in behavior. This overheard conversation sparked thoughts about y/n in spencers mind. And spencer agreed silently with emily that y/n was worth not making progress on a book he was reading. As in his opinion talking with y/n was the most entertaining thing he could do.

—

When Spencer returned home from the case in Kentucky, needless to say he was absolutely exhausted. But despite every signal his body was giving him- he decided to stay awake in order to finish the book y/n had recommended to him. That way the two could discuss the novel on their daily commute.

The moment y/n stepped onto the train the next morning, Spencer could tell something was off- and it didnt take a profiler to see something was wrong his hands fidgeted at his sides more than normal, his eyes had large bags under them, and his entire demeanor sagged like the bag on his back was filled with large stones. When y/n crossed the subway car and took his normal seat, Spencer had decided to refrain himself from asking what was wrong- as he didn't want to intrude. Spencer had always been a little awkward- and he knew from experience that asking could make it worse. So he left it alone for now and tried to make conversation about the novel he’d finished the night before. And y/n had actually perked up a bit when they got into an excited debate over two charachters- until his phone buzzed in his pocket again. At first Spencer didn't notice it, and continued rambling about his analysis of the aforementioned book, and the aforementioned characters they had been debating over - Spencer didn't notice until he heard an exasperated sigh leave y/n’s lips. He froze mid sentence, thinking he’d said something wrong- or that he’d rambled too much (as he often did) but then he noticed y/n's gaze was locked onto his phone- which was opened to text messages.

💕GF💕

-lemme guess your still talking to that ‘dr. reid’ AFTER we talked about it last night

-you need to stop hanging out with him- im better for you 

Spencer didn't mean to read it, But he still did- and it hurt. His brows creased and he looked at y/n with a pained look. A lump formed in y/n's throat when he looked over and realized Spencer had read the text from gina- and the text he had already typed out to respond with. it read ‘ you know you shouldn’t make assumptions like that- we barely even talk after the argument we had about it last week.

“You know, you should’ve told me if your girlfriend didn't want us hanging out- i dont wanna ruin your relationship..”

Spencer's voice was a bit strained and you could hear the hurt in it. y/n rushed to apologize but Spencer didn't want to hear it. 

“spencer i'm sorry- its just- just gina gets a little insecure sometimes and we argued about it last night- She just gets jealous a lot-”

Y/n's rambled half apology, half explanation did nothing to ward off the hurt Spencer was experiencing, or to slow down his thoughts, which were jumping to conclusions faster than Spencer could read. And before he spoke he had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat and blink away the burning of tears behind his eyelids, threatening to spill.

“So gina never wanted us to hang out?! you should’ve told me y/n- i'm not gonna intrude on your relationship.”

While the pair argued, y/n could hear the previous night's argument with his girlfriend ringing the back of his mind. Gina yelling about him being a pathological cheater, and her having to put up with it. Gina often played the victim in any and all situations where she was at fault. Because deflecting was often much easier than dealing with her own issues. 

Despite the fact that the pair was in a heated argument, the pair spoke in hushed tones as to not attract more attention than the already prying eyes of the quite crowded train car. Y/n was shocked- he could believe Spencer would say something like that- and in the heat of the moment he didn’t notice the tears lining Spencer's waterline- or in fact the tears that lined his own. After a moments silence, the train conveniently halted to a stop at spencers station- and wasted no time in hastily pulling his messenger bag that only a little while ago had been used to save a seat for y/n, over his shoulders with a huff and all but stomped out of the train car. And as the doors to the train car closed shut with a satisfy shhhk behind him, Spencer pulled the corner of his unbuttoned cardigan up to his face and wiped his slightly red eyes of their tears, feeling trickles of guilt now snaking their way into the pit of his stomach for what he said to the man he held so dear.

TO BE CONTINUED...

[thelargefrye]

CHAPTER ONE … the stranger in the woods

pairing : ateez x f!reader (eventual poly relationship)

genre : atla au, slow burn, comedy, angst, fluff

word count : 2.6k

warnings : language, mentions of being attacked by fire benders

note : tag list has been moved to the end of chapter! feedback is appreciated!

you found a stranger in the woods during a storm, not yet knowing that it seemingly change your life.

IT WAS RAINING THE DAY YOU CAME ACROSS THE STRANGER. the storm had been raging on for what felt like hours now, and you were surprised to see that the large gusts of winds and rain hadn’t blown you away yet. 

but the storm was the least of your worries as you found the stranger, heavily injured and now thanks to the rain, covered in mud and leaves. he looked like he was on the verge of death and you noticed the burn marks here and there on his body. you felt your hands throb underneath their bandages as you remember how it felt to be burned by fire – or firebenders.

was he attacked by firebenders? was what ran through your head as you picked him up, throwing his arm over your shoulder as you hurried as fast as you could back to your grandmother’s house. 

your grandmother was surprised when you busted through the door with the stranger, and she immediately had you lay him down in order to patch his wounds up. you hadn’t noticed it when you picked him up, now that you were out of the storm, you took in his vibrant blue arrow tattoos that covered his body. 

was he an airbender? you had only heard stories of how the airbenders would gain those tattoos after mastering their element. you figured only older air nomads had those arrow tattoos, but you’re glad to see your assumption proven wrong. you also couldn’t help but notice how beautiful the stranger was. 

he was probably the most beautiful man you had ever seen in your life. not even the village’s most handsome could match against this stranger. 

“he should be fine now, thankfully his injuries weren’t too bad,” your grandmother says and you let out a sigh you hadn’t known to have been holding. after that, your grandmother scolded you to go change your clothes, not fully noticing how you were still soaked to the bone. your mind is only concerned about the stranger. 

“do you think he was attacked by firebenders?” you asked your grandmother after you had changed your clothes. the older woman is silent for a moment as she stirs the soup she had been previously making before you stormed inside the door. 

“his injuries sure do seem like that’s what happened,” she replies, but you can sense the dread that takes over her body. she really didn’t want that to be the case. recently, you had overheard several of the men in the village talk about how the fire nation has been seen all over the earth kingdom. 

everyone felt tense about it, and rightfully so. the fire nation was a powerful nation with their military and obviously also thanks to their bending powers. fire. some would consider fire to be the most powerful element, but others would argue and say it was the most destructive. 

you would have to agree with fire being the most destructive element. only because you’ve only seen people use it for destruction. 

“i heard some men in the village say they’re worried about the fire nation. some travelers are talking about how they are planning to start a war with the other nations,” you say as you fumble with one of her many nick-nacks that sat on the table. 

it all felt weird and something uneasy sat in your stomach at how this was all going. your eyes drifted over to the stranger who laid peacefully in bed. 

“i’m not sure, dear, many things happen in this world without reason or explanation and sometimes we just have to accept those things. if the fire nation starts a war, the other nations can only do what they can to either stop it or fight back.”

her words settled on your mind for the rest of the night, even as you ate and went to bed. the stranger was still unconscious and the storm still savagely raged on. you remember your grandmother mumbling about how the spirits must be upset about something for the storm to be this harsh. 

WHEN YOU WAKE UP THE NEXT MORNING, you find the stranger trying his best to make it to the door. you let out a gasp at the sight of him limping towards the door. 

“hey, you can’t go out! you’re still injured!” you say doing your best to stop him from leaving. the stranger, despite his injuries, is surprisingly much stronger than he seems. he easily blows a gust of air at you, knocking you down as he reaches for and opens the door. you let out a huff as you move and manage to grab his ankle, stopping him from moving. 

“let go! i have to go find moni!” he hisses out trying to pry your hand away from his leg. 

“no! you’re still injured! you need to rest before you hurt yourself even more,” you bite back before pulling on the stranger’s ankle and making him stumble back. 

the stranger falls back, landing on your body and you both let out a groan and you hear footsteps coming from somewhere else in the house, that you can only assume it's your grandmother.

“what on earth are you two doing?” she asks, coming into the room and is surprised to see the stranger collapsed on top of you. 

“he was trying to leave, granny! i was just… ugh, trying to stop him. hey, will you… please get off me! you’re kind of heavy,” you say and you feel the stranger shift before he manages to roll off of you and you are quick to stand up. 

“i need to leave! i have to go find moni before those fire bastards find him!” the stranger says and it only confirms the fact that he was attacked by firebenders. 

“boy, you are in no shape to be looking for your friend. you need to rest,” your grandmother says as she helps him up and makes him sit back on the bed. “if it makes you feel better, my granddaughter will go search for him.”

you look at your grandmother in shock. surprised that she would volunteer for you to search for this stranger’s friend. 

“that’s very kind of you, but i would rather look for him. i know he’s probably very scared right now especially thanks to the storm that was going on last night,” the stranger says as he once more stands up. he lets out a small grunt as he stands, but tries his best to hide it. 

“then let her go with you. my granddaughter is very familiar with these woods and will help you find your friend faster,” she says and the stranger looks from her to you before down at the floor. its obvious he’s considering it, thinking it over before he lets out a small sigh. its clear your grandmother will not let him go out by himself, adamant on you going with this stranger. 

“fine, if you are insistenting then i guess i could use the help,” he says and your grandmother smiles at him before she turns to pack your bag for you to take. 

“yeosang,” the stranger says as he watches your grandmother pack the bag. you look at the man with a confused look. “my name… it's yeosang,” he finishes.

“oh, i’m y/n,” you tell him with a little smile. 

“SO… WHAT DOES YOUR FRIEND LOOK LIKE?”

“large, fury,” he answers as the two of you walk through the forest together. the aftermath of the storm is something you haven’t seen before. trees uprooted and threw across the forest, branches broken here and there, and it really looked like a tornado had swept through the area. 

“well, then he should be pretty easy to find then. there’s a cave not too far from here, maybe he went there to hide,” you suggested after the two of you basically climbed over a large log before continuing on the dirt path that had been basically man-made over the years of people using this route to travel between the different villages in the earth kingdom. 

“that’s probably a good place to check,” he says before he allows you to lead him to the cave that’s nearby. the cave is usually a place known to the villagers, especially the kids who are hiding there from their parents when they are going through their “runaway” phase. 

“it should be close,” you tell yeosang as and sure enough the two of you come across the cave. yeosang quicken up his pace as he rushed into the cave, calling out to his friend as he entered it.

“moni! moni, are you here? moni!” his voice echoes throughout the cave as you follow close behind him. you were shocked when you seen a large bison hiding out inside the cave, but this didn’t seem like any regular bison. the arrow design on its fur let you know this was a flying bison and more than likely yeosang’s “friend” he was looking for.

“moni!” yeosang said with a sigh of relief as he ran up to the bison and hugged him. the bison lets out a small roar before he lazily licks yeosang who you notice smiles up at the bison before he’s turning to you, his smile somewhat disappearing, but still remaining on his face. “thank you for helping me find moni,” he tells you and you feel a heat rush over your face as you as you can notice the rather gentle smile overtake yeosang’s face. 

“um, it's no problem! but… you still need to rest though, you’re in no place to be trying to leave or fly anywhere,” you tell him, still concerned over his well being. 

you can tell yeosang is conflicted about what you are telling him. you can see the conflict of everything going through his mind and you wonder if there’s something else he’s worried about. something different than finding his flying bison. 

did it have something to do with the firebenders attacking him? was he separated from someone else and wanting to go find them?

“how long will it take until i can leave?” he asks, bringing you out of your thoughts. 

“three days at the most,” you answer him. 

“then i’ll stay and rest, then on the third day i’ll leave. i… have someone that i need to find,” he says, proving your theory that he was probably wanting to go look for someone. 

“okay,” you tell him before you and him are making your way back to your grandmother’s house. yeosang is kind enough to allow you to ride on the back of moni. 

THE NEXT THREE DAYS, you spend making sure yeosang doesn’t push himself while also helping take care of moni. the giant bison seemingly takes a quick interest in you as you feed him different types of vegetables that you and your grandmother grew in her small garden, plus whatever you had bought at the market in the village. 

you have also started taking a liking to yeosang, he’s become a nice addition to the house that only kept you and your grandmother. the airbender would often share things with you about his people, telling you stories that date back to centuries ago. 

you’ve noticed that your village has also taken a liking to yeosang, the village children entranced by his cool persona. often begging him to show them some of his airbending, which he does but not without a few playful complaints thrown in. 

“where are you going to go once you heal?” you ask him on the his last night. the two of you are laying in a field near your grandmother’s. moni is not too far away as well, rolling around peacefully in the field. 

you refuse to look at yeosang, instead keeping your eyes on the stars above you. word has been spreading that the fire nation is starting to close in on the earth kingdom with rumors about them already killing most of the air nomads. 

“i’m not sure, i just know i need to find my friend,” he says and you can hear the concern in his voice at the thought of perhaps not finding his friend. 

“your friend… he’s really precious to you isn’t he?” you ask, feeling your heart race for some unknown reason, or rather one you refuse to acknowledge. 

“he is, that’s why i need to find him before the fire nation does,” yeosang says with a sudden spark of determination. “do you have anyone precious to you?” he then asks, catching you off guard.

“my grandmother is precious to me,” you tell him, but you know that’s not what he means. 

“is there anyone else?” yes, you want to tell him, but you don’t think you have the heart to talk about him. yeosang turns his head briefly to look at you as he notices your quietness. he’s greeted with the sight of your glossy eyes as you continue to look up at the stars. “i’m sorry… you don’t– i shouldn’t have asked.”

“it’s okay, i lost him because i wasn’t brave enough and i think i’ll probably regret it for the rest of my life,” you confess with a heavy heart as you wipe your tears away. the two of you bask in the silence between each other for a few more hours, before yeosang is helping you onto moni and is taking you back to your grandmother’s.

it feels odd to see yeosang off. you want him to stay, but you know he needs to find his friend. the two of you are standing in front of each other, you shuffle from foot to foot as your eyes look from anywhere but at the airbender in front of you. his wounds have healed nicely and you’re happy to see that he’s gotten his strength back. 

“um… thank you, y/n, for finding me and helping me,” yeosang says as he looks at you with a soft smile. the two of you have definitely warmed up to each other over the past three days, but you still feel like he’s a stranger to you. you kind of don’t want him to leave so soon, you want to get the chance to know him better.

before you can say anything, your grandmother is coming out of the house, a bag in her hands before she’s basically shoving the bag into your own. 

“g-granny? what are you doing?” you ask, taken off guard by her actions. 

“my dear, you’re going to join yeosang on his journey. he’ll need someone to look after him and moni,” she says with a smile and you miss the blush that overtakes yeosang’s face.

“go with… yeosang? but granny, what about you? i need to stay and help you out,” you say, you would love to go with yeosang, this could be your chance to leave your village, but… what about your granny? you need to be here for her and help her out around the house.

“my y/n, you don’t need to worry about me. i feel that yeosang might need you more during his journey,” she tells you and you turn to look at yeosang who is already looking at you. 

“i don’t think your grandmother is going to let me leave without you,” he starts and you feel kind of bad. like your grandmother has literally pressured him into making him take you along with him. “but i don’t mind. moni seems to have really taken a liking to you, and it would be nice to have some company,” he adds with a smile making you smile as well.

“well, then i guess i can’t argue with you and granny. so… should we be off then?” you ask and yeosang nods. you bid goodbye to your granny before yeosang is helping you on top of moni. the two of you take off as you finally ask yeosang who you are looking for. 

“his name is hongjoong, and he’s… he’s the avatar,” he confessed to you.

tag list : @invuwrld @frankenstein852 @watamotee33 @kawennote09 @mixling-blog @hwal0v3r @marahleiwhen @harry-the-pottypus @rdiamond2727 @sanniesbum @marvelahsobx @voidcupidz @khjcoo @mysticfire0435 @exfolitae @kangskims @cvpitvno

networks : @cultofdionysusnet

bold means unable to tag!

[yankstrash]

𝐌𝐒𝐔’𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 & 𝐔𝐌’𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐲 ~ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: 𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭; 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐍𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐡. 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐧’𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐲; 𝐀𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 & 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐬’ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐦𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞? 

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩, 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 

𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐌𝐒𝐔) & 𝐀𝐧𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫 (𝐔𝐌) 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟑𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭. 

Friday, 6:00 pm, rivalry night in East Lansing, Michigan. An hour until puck drop between Michigan State University and The University of Michigan men’s ice hockey teams. People were beginning to file into the stadium and players were beginning to file out of the locker rooms and onto the ice to warm up. If you’re lucky enough to get a seat right along the glass of the rink for this game then you’re lucky enough. Ellie, the pretty 19 year old daughter of the Spartans hockey team's head coach, sure was lucky enough. 

Not only did she have the best view of the game, but she had the best view to, hopefully, see her newly ex boyfriend, get shoved right into the glass and knocked on his ass (in Ellie’s words). “Now I’m not saying I’m rooting against our team, I would never do that. However, I am STRONGLY rooting to see Nic get taken out hard.” She said to her best friend and roommate, Mackenzie, who was sitting beside her. “Agreed. He needs to be humbled, bad.” Her best friend agreed.

Being around hockey her whole life, Ellie’s dad always tried to steer his one and only daughter, not to mention child, clear of hockey boys. He knew they were bad news, but he also knew sooner or later one of them would catch her eye. And sure enough, that someone happened to be his center, Nicolas Rich. Ellie and Nic began dating during their freshman year, and although Ellie would never admit the full truth to her dad, their relationship was nothing but toxic from the start.

He was exactly what her father always tried to get her to stay away from, to protect her from. She never wanted her father to turn on one of his players however, so when they broke up, as far as he’s concerned, it’s because “It just didn’t work out, he wasn’t the one for me”. But the truth is, he did everything her father knew he would. Cheated, yelled, argued, manipulated, gaslighted and worst of all, broke her heart. 

While Nic would’ve never stooped as low as to physically hurt Ellie, he very much emotionally hurt her. During their 9 month relationship, she always had an idea that he cheated on her when he was away, but she could never prove it. And her accusations and insecurity is what lead to most of their arguments. She never wanted to actually be right about her cheating assumptions, but when she was in fact proven right after finding out he slept with a girl on a road trip, she broke it off immediately. Ellie put up with a lot of shit, but she knew her worth and as soon as she knew he was cheating she ended things completely. 

Nic had tried to talk to her and get back together, but his attempts failed. He hurt her and she knew he would never change, and so she wanted nothing to do with him. The breakup was over a month ago at this point, and Nic has finally given up on trying to win her back. Ellie is obviously still hurt, but she is finally moving on and all she’s focused on now is him getting a nice humbling on the ice. 

“Is it just me or is it colder in here than usual?” Ellie asked. Mackenzie shrugged, as she had all the appropriate attire on for a hockey game in Michigan. “I’ll be back, I’m gonna go grab a beanie from my dad’s office.” Ellie said, standing up to make her way to the locker room area, in search of a warm head piece. As she was walking, her phone vibrated in her hand. She looked down, surprised to see a text from Nic. 

What was he doing on his phone, shouldn’t he be warming up?

Ellie rolled her eyes and sighed as she read the text.

“Can we please meet and talk later? I miss you. I’m sorry. Please.”

She almost laughed as she read it, before she deleted the message and carried on her way. She let out another sigh as she began walking again and bumped right into someone. Her 5 '4 frame was no match for the 6' 2 one she just collided with, and she stumbled back a bit before she was settled into place by whoever she just rammed right into. 

“Holy shit I am so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going!” She said in a hurry, embarrassed that she just walked right into someone. “No no it’s my bad, I’m rushing, should’ve been on the ice 10 minutes ago to warm up.” The stranger said. It was then that she started seeing normally again, and her eyes landed on the face of the person she bumped into. Or should I say, the boy. She had to look up a bit, as he was a foot taller than her with skates on. When she did, she was met with the cutest boy she had ever seen. The title that once belonged to Nicolas Rich now belonged to the boy whose name she didn’t even know, who happened to be wearing the opposing team's jersey. The rival. 

“I-”. Was all she managed to get out. It was like she was in a trance. Ellie obviously had experience talking to attractive boys. Hell, her ex boyfriend was the heartthrob of MSU hockey, and she was stunning, but for some reason this boy took all the words out of her mouth. “Sorry.” She finally said. 

“I” “Sorry”. “What was wrong with me?” Was all she thought. 

The boy chuckled at her flusteredness, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit flustered himself by the beautiful girl standing in front of him. “It’s my bad, really.” He said. She did nothing but smile at him, unsure of what to say next. Instead of saying anything, she moved to the side and continued her walk to her dad’s office. She had taken about 5 steps before she was called back to the boy. “I’m Luke.” Was all he said. She turned back around at the sound of his voice. “Ellie.” She said with a smile. 

He smiled at the sound of her name, thankful she turned back around and told him. “And what are you doing rushing around by the locker rooms, Ellie?” He asked, curious as to why she wandered down here. “I didn’t bring a hat and it’s freezing in the rink, so I’m going to get one.” She said, her voice beginning to lose its shake and return to normal. Luke raised his eyebrows in confusion. “You know hockey games are cold, right?” He asked, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. She laughed at his comment. “So you’re going to steal one from the locker room?” He asked, still intrigued. “I’m going to steal one from my dad’s office.” She said. He raised his eyebrows again, but this time in curiosity. 

“Your dad?” He asked. “Yes, my dad, he’s the head coach of MSU.” She said. He nodded his head in understanding, knowing he’s probably treading in dangerous waters right now. “Well I would ask for your phone number, but I have a feeling I’ll get turned down for multiple reasons.” He said, feeling a sudden confidence boost. This wasn’t like Luke. Sure, he’s had girlfriends before, but the act of talking to a girl usually scared him a bit. He may be a well known hockey player and the brother of the NHL’s biggest heartthrob, but he was soft spoken, shy and quite reserved. It took a lot of confidence for him to make a move on a girl, especially one as pretty as the one he was currently talking to; But that’s the thing, she was pretty, really pretty, too pretty to let walk away without at least trying. And so when the sentence fell out of his mouth, he was just as taken aback as Ellie was.

“And what are the reasons, exactly?” Ellie asked. “I’ll start with I’m the rival, but I’ll tell you the rest if you say yes.” He said confidently. Ellie smirked. The last thing she wanted to do at the moment was get involved with another hockey player, especially one she knew nothing about. But how could she pass up the opportunity with the guy who she was staring at lustfully, who just replaced her ex boyfriend as the cutest boy she had ever seen? 

Feeling a bit confident herself but not wanting to seem too easy, she replied with “Maybe if you win tonight.” Luke was taken aback by her answer, mainly because he didn’t completely get rejected, but also because he knew this meant he had to be on his absolute A game tonight if he wanted a chance. “Then win I shall. See you later, Ellie.” He said, before now being the one to turn and walk away, leaving Ellie a bit speechless behind him. 

“Oh fuck, what did I get myself into?” Was all she thought as she continued on her journey, almost forgetting the reason she was down here in the first place.

[silent-sanctum]

Objection! Yet Another "In Defense"

Okay! My alarm bells went off and it has come to my attention that yet another user has posted a "Jotaro is a misogynist" allegation post. Since Yoongi ain't raise a weak bitch, I am here to give my own counterarguments to the post in more comprehensive detail.

This will be my "Should pineapple be on pizza or die" / "Is mint chocolate actually good or is it the spawn of Satan" type of debate.

I am going to die on this hill that while he is in fact a man of many, many flaws, misogyny is not one of them no matter how convinced some people think he is. I will live up to my bio and that's the truth.

But before I begin, I'm going to put up a couple disclaimers because if I know the Internet, people love jumping the gun almost immediately when encountering someone who has a different opinion than theirs.

Disclaimer #1: Whatever I state (or even what OP has said), is all within the realm of HEADCANON because we aren't Araki. We did not make the canon universe, so all my yapping will be assumptions based on the material presented to the audience. Disclaimer #2: I am in no way shape or form fighting OP, alright? These are just my rebuttals against the arguments she has mentioned. She's entitled to her own opinion. I'm entitled to mine. 'Tis but a food for thought of mine. Spicy edition. Disclaimer #3: I don't want anyone commenting/reblogging this saying "lmao don't you have anything better to do than to argue with people online?" Because I just finished a whole day's worth of examinations, for which I studied a whole week, and got good scores from it. I can do whatever the hell I want during my resting period, anonymous user. Even if it's making this huge ass post defending my hyperfix. Thanks.

With that out of the way, let's get on with the meat of it all.

"You people can't recognize misogyny if it isn't in your face "Women should die" kind of bullshit."

Oh I'm aware. Bold of you to assume that we don't know how deep and how silent misogyny can run in today's society. More so in Asia and the Middle East.

And it's slightly insulting to assume that because I want to defend a fictional character and that he isn't misogynistic popularized via memes, you say that "Oh! You don't know misogyny at all! It's annoying!"

You say that because I know in the West, misogyny is the more "in your face" and obnoxious type. But as an Asian woman, I very much know the levels of audacity men can harbor against women that aren't just limited to, as you quote, "Women should die" behavior.

Misogyny is similar to a spectrum. It can be as obvious and proud as the Andrew Tate's, the "Alpha" men, and the basement-dwelling incels. It can also be as quiet and condescending as a regular guy in your day-to-day. They won't preach toxic masculinity, but would instead infantilize, belittle, differentiate, or alienate women and see them as someone inferior to the male sex.

I can sense red flags. I'm hypervigilant about how men behave around women and whether they see them in a different, negative light. So I know what the hell this word means.

And I'm not saying OP is one (I genuinely don't), but women can be misogynists too. Ironic, I know but they exist. Some women are drawn to misogynistic men as well. Booktok is an example of that.

Phew. With that introduction out of the way, let me first make my little assumption on why this whole debacle started before I start breaking down each argument.

When you look at it from a bigger picture, he doesn't get to interact with many women in this series with an abundance of male characters. So it's easy to jump to conclusions about their stance on it when you decide to base a whole character on the beginning episodes.

I think the reason why some people are convinced that Jotaro is an "anti-woman" is because he yells at women... for the first few episodes. Let me see what else. *Flips note* Oh, that's primarily the reason. Okay.

What bad things had he done? Called Holly a bitch and yelled screaming girls to shut up. That's it. Any other things I left out was intentional because I will be discussing that separately.

I won't expand on the whole "but Part 3 happened because he loves his mother" shtick because it's in the first argument. But when you come to think of it, he doesn't really say "bitch" as much as people expected him to outside of Holly. He doesn't even say it unwarranted or like he wants to.

Onto the screaming flock of school girls. Before he tells them to shut up, here's what happened. They congregate, start calling for his attention, and one of them grabs his arm.

What does he do? Does he yank his arm off in disgust? Does he shove her even slightly? Does he tell her to "back off bitch" or "get the hell away from him?" No.

He simply looks at her and does nothing. Ignoring her so to speak. Because he doesn't like the attention of being seen as a piece of meat for them to ogle at. He only tells them to shut up when they start becoming obnoxiously loud.

"But he was very rude and pushed those two women on the plane!"

Ma'am/sir, they're on a plane about to crash unceremoniously into the ocean, and the flight attendants decide to prioritize fawning a minor over their own lives. In the process, they block his path to the cockpit. Who wouldn't get frustrated in a situation like that?

Onto the arguments:

I agree that there are misogynistic men who can still love their female family members but still be an "anti-woman" towards others. But I can cite examples on how he interacts with women who aren't family in contrast to how a misogynist would.

Case A: The School Nurse

And we have one of our first earlier examples from Episode 2. When we first meet her, he's sitting in the infirmary and she's there almost giving him a light lecture about getting into trouble. He wants his knee patched up and she's about to do that because that's her profession.

How does he behave around her? Does he show body language signs indicating he's undermining her skills as a nurse? Does he call her a nagging bitch for lecturing him? Does he dismiss her words?

No. He evades her hands from reaching his hat, and when she's about to snip his expensive pants he reasonably asks "what are you doing?" She explains her intention and he sighs, simply saying that he'll take them off himself.

Does he show resistance? No. He does what is told so his knee can be treated.

AND after Kakyoin reveals himself, he gets pissed at him for using the nurse as a puppet, saying his whole speech and ending it with "Especially if it's an innocent woman!"

I've seen some use this sentence as him being misogynistic because they perceive it as a sign of belittlement when in actuality, it's not.

You have to know that he lives in 80s Japan- Patriarchal Japan where women are most likely going to be treated less than men in general even up to today's day and age. (I doubt you've heard but there's currently active crimes against women in Korea. If shit can happen there today, it can happen in Japan too). Let's face it and I hate to say it but it's the truth: Women are part of the minority. That's a reason why gender equality rights are being fought for, and why feminists exist to begin with, as well as the creation of the MeToo movement.

Jotaro knows women are more prone to be taken advantage of in this country, more so during this period. And he hates that. He despises that. Hence why he responded with such words to Kakyoin with that much vitriol.

He acknowledges he's not a perfect guy, that he's a punk true and through, but he has enough dignity and moral values to see that when one portrays women as lesser than men and uses them for personal gain, it's vile and evil.

Case B: Anne

Miss little stowaway! Let's see his behavior around her. OP has mentioned her at the ending, being on the fence and all, so I'm here to shed some light.

Back in the boat when she's still posing as a boy, how does Jotaro see the situation: It's a child in the middle of trouble. He looks at it not through the lens of "I applaud this boy for fending himself", but more so through "People are already intervening so I'm gonna sit this one out."

She goes overboard and he jumps in to save her. And then he finds out Anne's a girl. Does he think differently of her? No. She's still a child who needs saving.

He becomes her passive big brother figure. He wants to assist her off the small boat, but she declines and sticks a tongue out, and he sighs. Saw someone's head get mutilated? He shields her eyes. Anne is getting inappropriate attention from an ape? He intervenes and sees the orangutan as a disgusting animal, both in a literal and figurative sense. Falling off a cliff? He safeguards her. Caught in a dead end? He helps her with a quick "good grief".

Case C. Tomoko

Another example! But let's switch it up a bit to Part 4 this time. A testament on how his personality was really just him being a teenager going through an identity phase, replacing that punk persona for professional stoicism.

When he visits her house to look for Josuke, he meets her. She sees him, thought he's Joseph, and immediately goes in for a hug, motorboating his chest with a string of "Love you's" spilling out in that pitchy voice.

Does he call her a bitch? Does he pull her away because she violated his boundaries? Does he make some belittling comment about her behavior in his mind?

No. Jotaro stands put, gets put off because she's all up on him rubbing her face on his chest, tells her frankly to look over him again and says he's not Joseph.

And then he asks if Josuke's at home. Tomoko's zoning out. And what does he do? He doesn't groan. He doesn't roll his eye at her blanking out. Instead, he notices she isn't responding so he repeats his question to her face with the same polite tone so he can snap her out of her thoughts.

And when he leaves, he says one more thing to her. It's easy for anyone to say something along the lines of "Toughen up, it'll get better" / "It'll pass" / "Hang in there". But what does he say instead? He offers condolences and mentions that if Joseph was less senile, he'd support Tomoko, knowing that she's been wanting to meet the old man again.

Yes. That's because he is mean to everyone. Equally. Hell, I think he calls men "bastards" more often than he calls women "bitches". In which part of the show did he show any sort of condescending remark that women were weaker? How often does he spout out "bitch" in the entirety of the show?

He protects them because, for one, his enemies have supernatural abilities that ordinary civilians can't see. Which one will make him more of an ass? Protecting them or turning a blind eye?

It's like saying that a man shouldn't help a woman struggling with her heavy luggage up the staircase because "Hey aren't we all equal? They should struggle as much as we do!" Which is such an asinine concept to adhere to.

It's not seeing them as weak. It's called having basic human courtesy. He's going to help because they're people who need help, not because they're women in need of saving.

How is that any different from him wanting to protect Koichi? From him wanting to protect Josuke?

"She's no mere woman. Jotaro stumbles upon a woman stronger than him and he couldn't comprehend it."

OR.

He knows something's wrong with the nurse so he makes that comment. "She's no mere woman" as in "She's behaving erratically than what a normal person should be behaving." Man or woman. She has a welcoming personality so of course he'd be thrown off guard when suddenly she's stabbing students in the eye and cheeks with unnatural strength.

And the way you worded this was as if you're saying Jotaro is allergic to strong women. When it wasn't the case at all. In part 3, he fights against strong women Stand users (Enyaba and Midler) just like he does with the male enemies. In part 6, he teams up with strong women Stand users (Jolyne and Hermes).

He even outright states and believes that Jolyne can make it through the chaos because he knows she's strong and capable. He's proud of her strength and abilities.

Again, in which part does he not comprehend that women can be strong? That it's so mind-boggling to the extent you had to include "fucking" to emphasize your point?

In fact, I think he'd respect and appreciate a woman who knows her self-worth and power. Sees a successful female colleague? *applauds in stoic.*

Again, I agree that age does not excuse anyone to be misogynistic. It can happen at any age. Because it's a mindset. It's rooted deep in the psyche. But I've already made my case about teenage Jotaro so I'm not gonna reiterate.

With the whole Kira deduction thing in Part 4.

Let me restate this- The time this part was set in is the late 90s. Setting? Japan. A patriarchal country where gender roles were more rigid and inflexible. During that time, I hate to break it to you, but the country was not that expressive nor progressive as compared to the West. It was common for women to be housewives doing the chores and tending to the kids, while men did the heavy labor out of the household.

So you cannot blame Jotaro for making that logical deduction. He was born in Japan, knew by then how his country works at 28 years old, and thus is able to make a deduction based on the patterns of how society was structured during that period.

Sure you could say some women worked too, but the majority of them would be the typical housewife. In 80s-90s Japan I say again.

"Traditional Japanese"

This, fellow readers, is what you call a "Preference". It can be harmless and not necessarily condescending. But even then, with the inclusion of the parenthesis, you could say that this was a choice based on the mindset of a teenager's train of thought.

Jotaro likes his quiet time -> learns from the world that apparently traditional Japanese women are usually the "quiet types" -> resulting in the aforementioned preference.

And just like any other preference, it can change with time as you grow older and wiser. As you can see, he dates and marries a foreign woman who's not "traditionally Japanese" and even had a kid with her.

It doesn't necessarily mean he wants a housewife who can cook and clean for him. At the age of 17, that's the least of his concerns. All he wants is for his partner to know when it's appropriate to be quiet and when it's appropriate to be excited. He prioritizes his peace. As simple as that.

I can see why people like to see him as part of the autism spectrum and I respect that.

And yes, I acknowledge that he's a huge asshole. No denying that. That's just how he is at that age.

And again, we don't see him say "bitch" that much anyways for it to be a verbal stim of sorts. I recall he says it twice or thrice. And that's it.

Personally, I'm not that sold into the headcanon (and this is coming from someone who probably has ADHD and has a sibling diagnosed with autism). Introverts can be callous. Some can look apathetic. Not every one of us will be shy and timid.

"He could've shoved her off."

And you know why he doesn't? Because as much as he tends to bark and yap about how annoying and doting his mother is, he loves Holly. He likes her hugs. He lets her give him goodbye kisses to the point it has become a pattern in his life. He likes her cooking. He's going to travel the whole world for his sick mother to get better.

And Holly knows that. A mother knows her child more than anyone else. She's unfazed by his words because she knows the good son she raised underneath that tough abrasive persona. Heck, even Suzy Q knows that too.

Also a cute little assumption. After they fight Midler and after Suzy talks to Jotaro, you can see his hand lingers on the phone. It's as if he's contemplating. I'd like to think that's a moment where he wanted to call Holly, to check up on his mother.

I agree that being gay doesn't excuse someone from being misogynistic. Like I said, it can happen to anyone of any gender or age.

Gay people can be misogynists. Point blank period.

Personally, he's a demisexual king in my eyes. But others are free to give him any orientation they see fit. Gay, trans, bisexual, aroace- You name it. The fictional world is your oyster! Go ham!

I believe that a fictional character's sexuality is a headcanon in on itself unless explicitly stated by the creator. Telling someone that character is straight? Headcanon. That character is gay? Headcanon. Claims a character to be non-binary? Headcanon.

"He's just a baby boy uwu uwu"

Okay OP with the "we're infantilizing him" allegations! That's new!

(That... was passive-aggressive of me. Apologies. I'm aware we call him "baby girl" often but with the way those two words were put into that sentence combined with the emojis gave off a different connotation.)

I don't know why but whenever we say that Jotaro isn't *insert one negative trait*, y'all are quick to say that we are proclaiming that:

"Oh my god~ He's not like that~ He's Saint Peter coming from the heavens pure as light."

Like what? No seriously... what??? I have never seen anyone treat him like he's the perfect human being.

Hell, I can even say that he's NEGLECTFUL. Yes! He's a neglectful father no matter how good his intentions were. He was an absent parent who technically neglected his child. There! I said it!

We KNOW he's an asshole. We KNOW he has a multitude of flaws that are not admirable. He's reclusive as fuck. He's brash and abrasive. He's seemingly distant when he talks to people. Socially awkward outside of work. He's impulsive when he wants to be.

I love character flaws. That's what makes a character so fascinating.

So please, if you have any strong opinions, keep them to yourself. Not everything has to be shared online. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

I can see a shit ton of flaws in this reserved, stoic mountain of a man. But I draw the line when it comes to some traits that seem not entirely fitting of his character.

The ending paragraph...

Me, an Asian woman constantly facing the audacity of men my age objectifying women and promoting toxic masculinity on a daily basis:

[tea-moon-ster]

Hey Brother

Finn and Alex answer to some sibling questions in an interview for the Lions' channel.

CW: mentions of injuries and food

All characters belong to @lumosinlove. inspired by the lovely @fruitcoops's social media fics (and happy birthday again, lovely!) read it on ao3 here.

“I’m so excited, I never get called for this kind of things,” Alex smiled.

He was sitting down at a table with Finn at his side, a plain background behind them and two glasses of water on the table he was leaning on with his arms. They were wearing their team’s jerseys, with two mics were pinned on the collars. “Finn, why do you never call me for these things?”

“Why don’t you do them with your team?”

“It’s not up to me!”

A voice came from off camera. “We’re recording, guys.”

Finn turned to flash a smile at the camera. “Wassup, Lions! Welcome to another Lions Channel video. I’m your one and only Finn O’Hara, and I’m here with my brother Alex, center for the New York Rangers.”

Alex waved his hand, winking at the camera. “Hi, Lions. Today we’ll be answering some siblings’ questions, read by the amazing Marlene.”

The voice behind the camera made a cooing noise. “Alex, I want you here for every video.”

Alex nodded, smiling even more. “I want to be in one with all the couples!”

“Throuples, Al, we’re both in throuples.”

“That,” he nodded. “Throuple tag. Poly night. Double throuples double trouble!”

“I’ll make that happen!” Marlene yelled back. She made a quick run into frame to double five Alex as Finn rolled his eyes, but he was smirking. “Since I’m already here, I’ll explain the game. I’m going to read some of the questions our viewers wrote under the comments of our last video -link below- and the O’Haras are going to answer for us. You ready, guys?”

Alex gave a thumb up, and Finn making finger-guns at the camera as Marlene walked away. “Unleash ‘em.”

“Great! Just one thing to do before we start. It’s jerseys swapping time!”

They both groaned, but they got up grinning to take off the respective jerseys, their protests only light teases.

“Do we have to? He stinks.”

“But this way I’ll catch the nerdy loser���s disease.”

“C’mon, we’re playing with the audience a bit,” Marlene smiled.

The two brothers handed each other the piece of clothing and put them on before taking their seats again. Alex was delighted with the blush on Kasey’s cheeks, from where he was standing behind the camera together with some members of the team, as he put on the red and golden jersey. He made a mental note for later and smiled at the camera.

“Do your parents have a favorite?”

“Oh, he’s definitely Mom’s,” Finn immediately said, crossing his arms with a light frown. Alex shrugged.

“You only say that because you’re Dad’s. The biggest couple of dorks that ever dorked on Earth.”

“Excuse you?”

Alex nodded gravely, patting his brother’s shoulder. “Yeah, you and dad are the dorks, mom and I are the cool ones. Just the facts, buddy.”

“That’s…that’s not true,” Finn said with not much conviction in his voice.

“We can call mom right now and ask her.” Finn’s ears went red from blushing.

“I don’t wanna bother her with such irrelevant assumptions, that’s all,” he mumbled, looking away, and Alex barked out a loud laugh.

“What do you love and what do you hate about being in the NHL together?”

Alex stretched his legs under the table, bringing an arm around Finn’s chair. “Well, we don’t see each other as much as I’d like to because of our schedules. But there’s an added challenge every time we play against each other.”

Finn licked his lips. “What I don’t like is that, until we’re not on the same team, one of us has to fail for the other to win, and that’s kind of bitter, like in some Greek myth.” Alex threw a pointed look at the camera, mouthing dork. “But I like when we’re on the ice together.”

“Yeah, it’s always funny to beat your bony ass,” Alex smirked, and the video was cut the moment Finn opened his mouth to argue.

“What do you think of your brother’s partners?”

“Bliz and Nat are cool,” Finn shrugged with a small smile. “Natalie will lend me her books and do face masks with me if I ask nicely. But Kasey knows that he can get away with pranks because Alex is on his side, and that’s not okay.”

Alex looked smug. “I so am. So, Leo and Logan…well, I’d say I know Logan better, but I really like them both. Leo is great. He brings all the maturity you two lack and if it wasn’t for him, you’d starve.”

“You know, he was so worried when I introduced you officially.”

“Finn!” Leo gasped off camera. “He wasn’t supposed to know that!”

“Do you think you’re a better player than your brother?”

“Yes,” they answered at the same time evenly, without batting an eye.

“What’s your brother’s pre-game meal?”

Finn started drumming on the table as they both leaned forward, identical grins on their faces. “Grilled cheese with strawberry jam!” they exclaimed together.

“It was my favorite when I was a kid, then I started making it for Finn before his games, and now god forbid we touch the ice without having it first,” Alex said.

Finn smiled. “We prepared it together before our last game in New York, a month ago. What a jump in the past.”

“When did you brother scare you the most?”

“Oof, definitely his two concussion adventures in college,” Alex sighed deeply, readjusting on his chair. “For the first one I checked my phone after practice and found, like, seven missed calls from our parents, and took a plane immediately. It was scary to see him laying still and silent like that.”

Finn was silent for a moment, biting his lip. “This is gonna sound so stupid after what you just said, but there was this time, when I was eleven-”

“Oh my God, Finn, get over it,” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, it’s my scary experience. So, I was eleven, my friends and I had gotten our hands on this horror movie with age restrictions and all. I can’t remember the title…it was about a ghost living in the walls of a house, and you’ll see why this bit is important. Anyway, we were so hyped up- that is, until I was in my room, at night, alone and in complete darkness. It’s already scary as it is, really. Then, I hear this loud stomp against the wall, and footsteps outside my room, back and forth. And this went on for, like, half an hour. I was about to pee myself. Then this dark figure comes into my room and mumbles something and just stands there, in front of me. I was so freaked out, here, feel my goosebumps.” Alex slapped his arm away. “I was crying by that point. When I mastered the tiniest hint of courage to turn on the lights, I saw this…this lanky teenager with his eyes closed, talking to himself and with a bleeding nose.”

Multiple people behind the camera started laughing.

“I was having trouble with sleepwalking in that period,” Alex explained with a sigh, “And that night I walked into a wall face-first, then into Finn’s bedroom and talked to myself for a bit. Then he started screaming so I woke up terrified and- yeah, not a good night.”

“Then dad came in and blamed me for having scared Alex, because you have to be gentle with sleepwalkers, and went all fussy over him,” Finn scoffed, shaking his head. “And I got grounded for the movie, too. I still think he was awake the whole time and that it was a prank.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Yeah Finn, I broke my nose against a wall just to scare you when it takes so much less.”

“He told everyone in school he broke his nose on a fight on the ice.”

“Shut up.”

“Who was a better scholar?”

Alex arched his brows, pointing a finger at Finn, who opened his arms in a half-bow. “Between who, Mr. Harvard degree and winner of the DSA lottery? Tough choice.”

“Actually, it’s between whom,” Finn pointed out, voice small.

 Alex turned slowly and blinked. “Finn, do you actually want me to put the socks I wore at practice one week ago and that are still in my bag under your pillow? Because it sounds like it.”

At that, Finn’s smile disappeared, his expression as if caught on flashbacks. Alex returned to face the camera and shrugged. “It wasn’t the DSA deal per se, but the way teachers treated it. Studying was hard because there wasn’t much awareness on the subject. But I had lots of friends in school. It was a blast.”

Finn pulled a face. “We had lots of friends and were always more on the popular side. But honestly, between my ADHD and his DSA, our parents argued with our teachers a lot. I hope the situation is better now, but the majority believed that they were just excuses for not studying. College was better, but yuck.”

Alex nodded solemnly. “Yeah, yuck.”

“Your brother’s favorite superhero.”

They looked at each other in the eyes for a second before erupting in laughter, Finn snortling a little, and making Alex laugh harder as he leaned on the table. “Look up, Finn.”

“But no, Alex, look down.”

Another fist of laughter had them bent on the table, shoulder shaking. After a while they straightened, cheeks flushed, and Alex took a sip of water. Finn grinned devilishly as he watched his brother drink and started humming the Spiderman’s theme song. It made Alex choke on his water, and some got out of his nose. He was still giggling as he coughed and patted his own chest a few times, and Finn was about to fall from his chair for how hard was laughing.

“Guys?” Marlene called, mildly amused.

Alex nodded, slapping Finn’s arm, and making him straighten up. “No, yeah-we’re good, we’re good.”

Finn cleared his throat. “We’d need a whole other video to talk about this. Short version: as two nerdy kids growing up in New York, we were obsessed with pretty much every superhero. So many shenanigans. But our favorite was Spiderman-”

“-and Ninja turtles.”

“And Ninja turtles. Alex always made up stories on how he met them on the way home. Suspiciously every time I wasn’t there.”

The older brother grinned without a trace of regret. “I had him in the palm of my hand, really. So gullible.”

“Oh, Finn, buddy, I told the Ninja turtles how fast you are at cleaning my room and they didn’t believe me.” Finn glared at Alex, who nodded proudly. “No, yeah Fishy, I just had a pizza with Peter Parker. He likes me better.”

“I had him believe that the Turtles’ base was in the sewers under our house and that you could see Spiderman flying from the living room’s window. But only when he wasn’t looking.”

“That’s mean!” Marlene called, laughing.

Finn nodded, thankful for the support, but Alex dismissed her with a hand. “Nah, it builds character.”

“Do you think your brother would make a good parent?”

“I know he will,” Finn nodded, quick and confident. They were now calmer, but the blush on their cheeks was slow to disappear. “He’s caring and protective, but not in a strict way. I like to think I was a good training, because he always hung out with me when we were kids, and he took me everywhere. Sometimes you don’t want your little tagalong brother always following you, and I certainly was a presence as a kid. But he never minded it.”

Alex, who’d been looking at him intensely, quickly wiped his glossy eyes before clearing his throat. He leaned forward and looked at both sides, like a coach releasing vital information during an important press interview. “Finn will be the king of suburban dads,” he declared.

“Hell yeah, I will,” Finn beamed.

“A point of force and one of weakness of your brother on the ice.”

They both took a moment to reflect, looking up in the same identical manner. Alex lifted a finger.

“You’re crazy fast, and that’s my answer for both points. It’s a good thing because you can lead the puck from nest to nest in no time, but it also means that when you take a hit at a high speed it’s always a huge risk. Would you look at that, just like with your concussions.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, we got it, clumsy, silly Finn.” He licked his lips and thought some more before answering. “I’m gonna go with your hard shot for the positive thing and, huh…you should work on backwards passes? Maybe? Can that be my answer?”

He looked over the camera for confirmation and smiled. “Great.”

“Is there something you’d like to tell your brother?”

“I wish we talked more,” Alex said, more somber than from the rest of the interview, turning to face Finn. “We always do, but never of, like, feelings and such. And I wish I’d been there for you more in the past.”

Finn’s lips arched downwards in an involuntary touched pout, and he scooped his chair closer to Alex’s. “Well, ’snot your fault,” he replied gently. “You were always there. I didn’t talk, but I knew I would have been safe if I did. But yeah, same for me, I think. We kind of went through tough periods at the same time, but I was in college and not emotionally intelligent at all. So yeah, you were always there for me, but I can’t say the same.” 

Alex’s smile was soft as he pulled Finn’s chair attached to his. He threw an arm around his brother’s shoulders, and Finn leaned in unconsciously. “I don’t feel that way,” he said quietly, “But we can talk about it if you’d like.”

Finn nodded, blinking rapidly. “Yeah.”

“Something you wanna tell the NHL or the fans?”

“Never be afraid of who you are and who you love,” Finn smiled, adjusting the small bisexual pin next to the microphone on his jersey. Alex did the same with his pansexual one and nodded, taking a moment to find the right words.

“In the NHL we’re witnessing many changes in so little time, and it’s great. But before last year, we’d been on stall for ages, because when you feel like you’re the only one, every step is scary as hell. That’s why it’s important to reach out and realize you’re never alone.” There were a few seconds of reminiscing silence, both nodding and wetting their lips. Then Finn cupped his hands around the mouth, forming a cone.

“And let us play on the same team!”

Alex nodded emphatically. “Think of us as an investment.”

“We’d be invincible.”

“The siblings’ bond is so here.”

“Okay, I think they got the message,” Marlene laughed. “Well, this was the last question for you guys! Wanna sign us off?”

“This was Finn O’Hara.”

“And Alex O’Hara, for the Lions Channel. Hope I’ll see you soon!”

[lqfiles]

everyone on team chenle is only making me more team y/n🙅‍♀️ i completely get where chenle is coming from, i get why he’s upset but i also completely understand why jisung is all she talks about, just based on my own assumptions its probably her first serious potential relationship esp as basically an adult, id be excited too.

but chenle has every right to be upset that it’s all she’s been talking about, but he went about it in such an immature and mean way for a so called best friend to do so (kind of publicizing it on twitter “jokingly” or not and then making it awkward in the gc) if he had just spoken to her normally it wouldn’t have happened the way it did but he bottled up how much he disliked it, as well as just projecting it on how he felt about jisung all together.

the way he acted just automatically made me team y/n the more i think about it, because sure what she’s doing can be annoying, it’s not inherently WRONG nor is she intentionally hurting anyone in the process.

[this is also probably stemming from my immediate reaction to defend any women in fiction media i consume when people r against her, let alone MEN?! i was victim of the anime to kpop pipeline (still am) and the wars i had to fight for haruno sakura when i was heavily into naruto…]

—🪼

OH ME TOODHDJD LIKE I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO BE HER LAWYER RN LIKE NO ONE GOT HER BACK OMGGG 😭😭😭

CLOCK ITTTT like his response was definitely immature and could’ve been handled better. and though the tweet came off as a joke, that response was DEFINITELY meant to be shady (as i intended) which is honestly a shitty way to behave as a friend. it definitely all come to this due to his bottled up dislike for jisung and its also why his reaction was so hostile and harsh because he’s been making small remarks this whole time but, like i said in that post, the lack of reassurance in friendship him and y/n have been having for the past weeks with her being more busy with jisung definitely made him grow more agitated

PLUS he just dropped that bomb and leaves it at “i’m not going to argue” even tho he started it!!! and you’re right she TECHNICALLY did nothing wrong 😭very immature but that’s exactly what i’m going for with him atm

i’m more of a “everyone is right in a way” like i ALWAYS try to see from both perspectives i just can’t help it 😭😭 this actually caused me some issues with my friends because they’d think i’m choosing a side in their argument she genuinely i can see why both are mad lollshdjd ANYWAYS YOURE RIGHT i’ll fight for any women against MEN of all people 😑 AND OMG NOT NARUTOO plss my younger brother is crazy about that anime

[tea-with-evan-and-me]

There’s a person in that thread where people are theorizing why Halsey and Evan broke up who was clearly very upset at him for dating Frances at that time. I forgot how insane people acted over it. A lot of the stuff they said is just pure rumors and speculation made by fans but they say it like it’s fact. It brought me back to all of the rude and mean things people would say about Evan on the Frances tea blogs and random assumptions they would make. Aside from that, the people saying Halsey broke up with Evan because of the rt and because he’s “racist” are making me loose brain cells. Like don’t speculate on their breakup when you don’t even know the time it happened. Apparently he also got listed on a “who’s secretly conservative” thread because of the rt. That whole incident has shown me how incapable people are of using their brains. Evan’s actions and words point to him being the opposite of politically conservative. I don’t understand why people back then and still now hold it over his head when he immediately apologized. Non-famous people don’t continuously have their mistakes held against them. And it’s crazy because the tweet wasn’t even about protestors, it was about looters taking advantage of the movement written by someone who was protesting! Anyway, the top comment under the post wondering why they broke up is most likely correct: Halsey wanted kids asap, Evan did not and had just gotten out of a long tumultuous relationship.

which thread, anon? i feel like we’ve had a few reddit posts in here lately lol but yeah, that was NOT a good era. 😭

and i agree, it’s so tiring to see people commenting about evan/his relationships and various situations so confidently when they clearly know very little. perfect example is how halsey and evan had already been broken up by the time the RT incident happened. she was obviously just salty and liking negative tweets about him because that is her nature. as you stated, most likely halsey wanted to quickly get very serious and start having babies and evan was in no way in a place to do that with her. she obviously was wayyy more into him than he was with her. hence the sour grapes.

nothing about evan reads socially conservative. even if he retweeted the post on purpose and never deleted it, nothing about the tweet was actually indicative of the OP nor evan being against the BLM movement. if someone equates looters with BLM, that is a totally separate issue and something that should be questioned. either way, imagine meeting someone in real life and trying to argue with them, full of hatred over a RT that was explained to be an accident and apologized for. 🙄 chronically online bullshit.

[ailelie]

Real Magic (Nick/Louis; from 2014)

​"Watch the coin, love," Nick slurred, carefully folding a 10p coin in a tenner. "Call this a 10 in 10. Terrible name, really. Don't know why I don't think of something better."

He gave the folded square a little shake. "Good and trapped now, isn't it? Go on, feel it. Funny, isn't it. Whenever you think you've gotten something good all properly sewn up, it just slips away from you."

He folded it in half right over the missing coin and laughed. "Fingers never forget, I guess. Here, for the drink."​

It wasn't that Nick didn't like close magic. Like many magicians he'd started with cards and coins, making up stories while hiding his Jacks on the top of the deck. Patter came easy to Nick, even when his tricks failed, he kept his audiences engaged. Got compared to David Devant and Ricky Jay now, didn't he?

But Nick didn't dream of small rooms and table-tops. All he'd ever wanted to be was on the stage, thrusting swords in a box and conjuring rabbits. The big illusions. The real magic.

But, under stage lights, his hands, so sure even when he was dangerously tipsy and edging on drunk, faltered. His mouth would keep running, but his tricks would break down into little disasters.

He'd told all this to Harry last year, even though he knew Harry, so popular at children's parties and known for the long, entertaining rambles that somehow tied his tricks together, couldn't understand. 

Harry had slow-grinned like he had a brilliant idea and said, "My mate's an Assistant. Sort of."

His mate had been Louis. Clever, bright, frustrating, infuriating, wonderful Louis. 

"Of course," Nick said to the bartender, "I buggered it all up." 

He pulled the 10p from his pocket & spun it on the bar. Suddenly, he slapped his hand down and when he lifted it back up, the coin was gone. "Palming," he said, turning his hand over. "Good enough and you can pick things up without anyone the wiser. Took me a full year to learn the trick of it." Took nearly as long to realize he was falling for Louis.

Louis hadn't liked any of Nick's ideas, called them boring. No one worries when you stab a sword through a box anymore, without the fear where was the awe? 

When they performed, Louis improvised. Nick got so caught up in keeping up with Louis, he forgot about the lights beating down. He kept up the patter, did tricks out of order, and coaxed the audience into belly laughter. He and Louis argued over it and the role of the assistant after, but, honestly, it was the best show Nick had ever done. All their shows were.

Nick flicked the coin into the air, caught it, and then immediately opened both hands wide and empty. 

"Down your sleeve," the bartender said. 

Nick smiled. "Nah," he said, "You snagged it from me." He tapped her hand. When she moved it the coin was underneath. 

"How?" 

Nick shook his head. "Secret, now, isn't it?" 

The bartender rolled her eyes. "So why're you here then?" 

Nick's smile pulled down. "Coin's not the only thing I've got snagged from me. You ever hear of the Pendragons?"

It didn't take Nick long to realize that, like Charlotte Pendragon, Louis was a magician in his own right. Bit of an escape artist, he worked that into their tricks, always upping the awe. And Nick would catch him at odd hours practicing, running through steps, picking locks. He was better than Nick at stage magic, good enough to go solo. But when he'd told Louis this, his grin turned brittle and he didn't talk to Nick, except on stage, for a week. Eventually Harry explained.

Louis, too, had dreamed of being a magician, but no one took him seriously. He'd tried to use the assumptions against his audience, but hecklers still asked when the real act was showing up. No matter how good he was; people saw what they wanted to see. As an Assistant, though, he was allowed. Small and agile enough for box jumping, strong enough for lifting, talented enough to keep tricks moving, magnetic enough to charm and distract the audience--he was everything a magician could want.

"So of course," Nick said, walking the coin up and down his fingers, "I threw it in his face." 

Harry had mentioned friends of theirs returning from overseas and possibly doing a group act & Nick had struggled to breathe because Louis hadn't said anything and Louis was going to leave. So, that night, he'd turned routine bickering into a row. Told Louis he was replaceable. Said people didn't come to magic shows for the scenery. Not a single drop of drink could drive Louis' surprised hurt out of his mind.

"Hence tonight's disaster." Alone on stage, he'd forgotten every trick. He was never going to catch that magic again. Nick flipped the coin in the air again, but another hand grabbed it. 

"You gave me top billing," Louis said, handling the words like a knife. 

Nick shrugged. "Wanted to make sure they knew who the real magician was." 

Louis stared and it was like he'd stopped time altogether. Even now he was bloody magic. "I'm still very angry with you," Louis said, slipping the coin into Nick's pocket. "Why'd you do it?" 

"Scared to lose you, I guess. Scared to admit I already had." 

"You're an idiot." He curled his fist in Nick's collar like he was preparing for a punch and then dragged Nick down for a biting kiss."Partners?" 

"Yes." No hesitation. He wasn't losing this again.