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delphi-shield · 2 days ago

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a little dream of me

Leon Kennedy x Reader x Jill Valentine Fluff wc: ~1.8k

pics from @/thisdastampdoesnotexist. gif from @/onlyasimp4-2dbitches, dividers from @/adornedwithlight

who else is up romanticizing the mundane⁉️ (<- bone crushingly lonely) this has been in my drafts forever and I was finally appropriately sleepy enough to finish it. used this fic to get back into the swing of things so it may be a lil clunky

content: fluff without plot. midday naps. established poly relationship (jill/reader, leon/reader, jill & leon). minor relationship squabbles. reader specified to have a cat and also tits.

summary: everything is a competition with these two - including who gets to keep you company while you nap.

It had seemed like the perfect day to catch up on some work. No plans, no obligations, no desire to fight the traffic. Jill had offered all of the above. She'd woken you up early with insistent kisses at your neck, mumbling her plans for a morning hike. You'd rebuffed that idea quick with an unintelligible murmur, nuzzling deeper into your pillow.

That set the tone for the day. You were still in bed by the time she was back from her hike, had only traded the warmth of your bed for the indulgence of a shower with Jill. Your face pressed between her shoulder blades, warm water cascading down. You trusted your weight against her frame, made her question whether or not you had fallen asleep standing up.

“Leon's coming over around noon,” you'd told her, words pressed into her back.

“Yeah? You two have big plans?”

She felt you shake your head. Your arms squeezed around her waist, drawing her muscled body back into you.

“Just gonna hang out here. I'm gonna get some work done.”

Fat chance, Jill thought. She kept that to herself. If she pointed out that you seemed much more inclined to have a lazy day in, you'd push back and work too hard. She was just going to let you have your illusions of productivity.

Case in point: the sunny morning haze had tempered into an overcast sky, stringy cotton candy clouds rolling into puffy, over-whipped dollops. Leon had showed up with a light lunch in hand, passing you a warm bowl of soup and Jill a cup of coffee. He settled next to you on the couch, feet kicked up on the coffee table.

It doesn't take long for your first yawn to breach containment. You snatch the blanket from the back of the couch, draping it over your lap. You dropped your laptop on top of your thighs. Still playing at the idea of work while consciousness bled out of you and into the cushions. Jill caught Leon’s eye, smirked, and turned back to her own work.

Leon laughs. He warns, “you’re playing a dangerous game.”

Maybe he was right, but telling him that was a surefire way to never hear the end of it.

“I'm just chilly,” you yawned. You pounded out a few more lazy keystrokes to prove yourself. Hope this email finds you well, you draft. Phew. Hard work.

As if she knew you needed a break after that grueling labor, your cat appeared on the cushion next to you, tail curled up behind her. She gingerly closed the distance, careful paws immediately turning heavy the moment she climbed onto your stomach.

Your laptop nudged halfway down your legs, pushed lower and lower as your cat had stepped forward and demanded more real estate. Frantic keystrokes turned to gentle, loving pets. Your laptop wobbled, balanced precariously on your shins, your cat stretching down the seam of your legs and pushing it even further.

Devious little creature. You had whined and protested while doing nothing to move the little beast from your lap. She pushed any hope of productivity away from you, and you scratched under her chin.

The final death knell for productivity sounded - the first distant rumble of thunder rolled in through your open window. All the work you had hoped to catch up on was slipping through your fingers, washed away by the patter of rain against the rooftop.

Leon rescued your laptop from toppling to the floor, shutting the lid and laying it to the side. He mussed your hair playfully, just to feel you swat weakly at his hand. He knew damn well what the next words out of your mouth were.

"I think I'm gonna take a nap," you declared, right on time. Your hands scooched carefully beneath your cat, scooping her into your arms. A gentler awakening than dumping her on the floor when you pulled your legs back, to be certain. She mewled quietly, little trill pealing from her when she bunts her head against your shoulder.

Now, here arises the issue:

“Be right there.”

“Coming.”

Jill had already risen from her chair. Leon's feet had landed on the floor. They freeze, turning to look to each other. (Oblivious to the issue, you plod down the hall, cooing to your cat.)

Leon groans as he stands, hands slapping his thighs.

“That bed ain't big enough for the two of us,” he says, wiggling his fingers by his hips like he's ready for a stand off. Out of habit, Jill scans him for weapons. Left his every day carry in the car this time, at least.

That bed is probably big enough for the two of them, realistically. The one time they tried, they had technically fit. You had been in heaven, all wrapped up in the middle. Warm and safe, wrapped up with your lovers. Meanwhile, Leon's - and I quote - gangly fucking muppet legs kept bumping into Jill, his ‘talons’ scraping her. Jill had thought she was kissing the backs of your fingers, your soft skin against her chapped lips - only to realize too late that it was Leon's hands.

It had been too close for comfort. They'd decided not to do that again, that they'd take turns and live with it. Jill had gifted Leon toe nail clippers to show that she held no ill will; Leon had lifted her chapstick.

That peace was on pause for the moment. A naptime was on the line, with no clear invitation extended to either of them. Leon is tempted to pull the ‘you live together’ card, try to sneak into your bed on a technicality - but he decides to play fair.

Leon’s fist drops heavy into his palm. “Let’s settle this.”

Jill cracks her knuckles.

“Whoa, hang on– rock, paper, scissors, not beat, maim, bludgeon. Is that how you settle things at the BSAA?”

“I always win.”

“I have no doubt.”

Jill extends her fist, taking mercy on him. No beat down today. Just rock, paper, scissors. He might actually stand a chance now.

He thinks of what motivates him - what he's fighting for, the prize on the line.

Leon could picture blanketing you with his weight, hands slipping up your waist to curve against your ribs. There's no need for a blanket; he runs hot, has a furnace-like warmth he's happy to share with you anytime, anywhere. Conversation is pointless and light, your voices mingling and muddling together in the space between you. Coherence is gone, but he curls his fingers against your ribs to pry a giggle from you. It's hard to find the time to slow down but he relishes the way that time sputters to a stand still on lazy afternoons, your fingers trailing down his spine, slower and slower until they finally stop. Maybe you're not the prettiest sleeper, but it's pretty to him. He slips in and out of sleep, head cushioned on your pillowy tits.

Leon takes the first round. Rock beats scissors - he goes so far as to bop Jill’s fingers with his fist, making a crunching noise. Jill isn't amused.

“Best two out of three,” she insists, eyes hard.

Jill has a different picture in mind. Hands pushing your hips to the mattress, a blanket tangled between your limbs. You giggled when you told her you actually intended to nap, that it wasn't an excuse for a quickie. Jill could change your mind. It would be easy. But your fingers pet through her hair, scratch at the nape of her neck, and she swears she could purr. She noses up the valley of your chest, plants a kiss dead center, and pillows her cheek against your tits. She had never been one for naps, but she grasped every moment of serenity with you tightly, watched half-lidded as your eyes fluttered shut. Her head rises and falls with your breaths. She could stay like this forever, if you let her.

Scissors beats paper. Leon throws his hand up.

“Scissors twice in a row? Who does that?”

“Me.” Jill shakes her fist, drawing his attention back to the game. “Stop stalling. I'm ready for my nap.”

“Yeah, we'll see,” he mutters.

Time slows. Surely she wouldn't throw scissors again. Who would do that?

Jill Valentine would. She would commit to the bit. She's trying to throw him off, trying to make him think she's mixing it up so she can sneak in and win. He's underestimated Jill's ability to stay the course in the past before.

Jill throws scissors. Leon throws rock. He hisses out a contained, appropriately excited ‘yesss’ as he pretends to crush Jill’s scissors again.

She rolls her eyes, tamping down a smile. She waves him off, turning back to the kitchen table.

“Yeah, whatever. Have fun.”

“Oh, I will,” he insists, already backing down the hall to the bedroom. His gloating grows quieter, trying not to disturb your rest - the smug effect diminished by the fact that he's practically whispering. “Gonna sleep for three hours. Get my cologne all over the pillows.”

Leon nudges the bedroom door open gently, and–

“Goddammit,” he mumbles.

You're already asleep. That isn't the problem. The problem is your cat is curled up on your chest. Right in the valley of your breasts, where he wanted to be. He'd been so concerned about Jill that he had forgotten his biggest competition. Taunting him, the cat stretched out, paws pressing against your chest. She curls back in, rolling onto her back, belly presented.

A trap, he thinks. He shuffles over silently to pet the enticing belly fur all the same. Furry little traitor - she places a paw against his wrist, claws flexing. A warning - don't fuck up my nap, I got here first.

Leon risks kissing your forehead. Your cat allows it, her eyes tracking his every movement. He drags himself back into the living room, throwing himself down onto the couch, slumping.

Jill peeks up from her work, brow furrowed. Before she can ask what's wrong, Leon pipes up.

“The cat beat us to it.”

“She weighs 10 pounds. You can't move a 10 pound cat?”

Leon props an arm up on the back of the couch. He levels her with a skeptical look.

“Are you gonna move her?”

Silence. Jill would rather stick her hand in a jar of barbed wire than try to move your beloved menace from your chest.

“Let's just watch a movie.” Jill shuts her laptop and drops onto the other side of the couch.

“That's what I thought.”

When you wake hours later, the house is silent. You hadn't expected to wake up alone. The storm had settled into a gentle flush of rain, the house dark and cool in the midday storm. You stumble from bed and wobble down the hall, searching for at least one of your partners.

You find both of them crashed out on the couch, Leon squished against one arm, Jill against the other - and your cat taking up the majority of space curled up into a ball on the middle cushion, napping away.

#leon kennedy x reader #jill valentine x reader #leon kennedy fluff #jill valentine fluff #resident evil fluff #leon kennedy x you #jill valentine x you #leon kennedy x reader x jill valentine #resident evil fanfic #leon s kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy fluff

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sopphic27 · 18 hours ago

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Fun Fact: A lot of the Stolas antis compare him to Valentino off all people

H. How. What show are these people watching.

Okay so, this has been sitting in my drafts for a while, but let's get down to it. This post got wildly out of hand.

TL;DR: Valentino and Stolas have some superficial similarities, but Valentino is an abusive overlord who gained his power through exploitation and uses it to be abusive, meanwhile Stolas was incidentally born into his power and at worst is ignorant but well-meaning. Their behavior onscreen and interactions with their subordinates and their partners is night and day.

Valentino: a human sinner who is an overlord, so he owns countless souls of other sinners. He "employs" others demons as erotic dancers, adult film actors, and sex workers. I say "employs" in quotes, because I get the feeling that a lot of these people don't necessarily get a choice. He's blatantly manipulative, physically and sexually abusive, and generally just an asshole. For the sake of this comparison, I'm going to focus on his relationship with Angel Dust.

Stolas: a hellborn Goetia prince, he is said to have legions to command and share his knowledge with, and he canonically and on screen has a staff of servants, security, etc made up of (that we've seen) imps and hellhounds. His staff seems to have standard jobs such as serving meals, delivering messages, cleaning up, and whatnot. We don't know much more about them, however. He's socially anxious and awkward, very intelligent, and he behaves publicly in a very regal and reserved manner expected of a prince. In private, however, he seems more friendly and polite to the people he interacts with, with the exception of people he dislikes (e.g. Stella, Striker, Andrealphus). I'll focus on his relationship with Blitz pre-Apology Tour for this comparison, but I'm also going to address his interactions with his staff.

Before anything else, I'm going to call Angel and Blitz their "partners" even though that's not technically accurate. I'm not actually suggesting that Val and Angel are in a relationship or are each other's partners, same for Stolas and Blitz, but I don't have a better word for "the other person in the relationship".

So what are their similarities?

Both Valentino and Stolas are of higher status than their partner.

They are both demons that have magical abilities while their partners do not. (Comparatively. Angel Dust may have some abilities, but we haven't really seen him display them beyond some glowing eyes)

They're both much more powerful than their partners, physically, magically, and socially.

They have some sort of contract with their partner (Pre-Full Moon)

They both have a lot of employees and staff working for them.

They have red eyes.

They're, um. Skinny? I'm running out of similarities.

So I would say that they do have a number of superficial similarities, but I want to dive in to these similarities a little deeper.

Stolas was born into his status as a prince, so was Blitz as an imp. Say what you want about the social hierarchy in Hell, but they do live in a society, and imps are basically the bottom of the pyramid in Hell. The point is, Stolas didn't choose to become a prince, he just is. Valentino, however, had to climb to achieve his status. He died and manifested in Hell same as any other sinner, but he managed to climb the ladder, made deals to own other sinners' souls, amassed power, and after however long, became an overlord. To each their own, but in my opinion, this means that he chose to become an overlord by exploiting other sinners, just like any real life business mogul. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a monarchist, but being born into power and taking it by choice are still very different.

Similarly, their magic is very different. We haven't seen much magic from Val, but we know that he has a certain amount of power over Angel, he produces that pink liquid with unclear properties, and we know from other overlords that he probably has more abilities that we haven't seen. We have seen a few displays of Stolas's power, though. He can use telekinesis, create portals, possess people, turn people into stone with a look, etc, and he can transform into a giant owl monster. So yeah, he's crazy powerful. But again, Stolas was born into his power, he's a Goetia prince, he inherited and honed his magical abilities through study and practice. Overlords seem to gain a lot of their power by owning souls, though this isn't actually totally clear. Regardless, Valentino has power over Angel as a direct result of his contract owning his soul.

So both of them have definite power differences with their partners. The key difference, however, is how they use this power imbalance in their relationships. Valentino literally owns Angel's soul, he uses his power over Angel to control him, manipulate him, force him to do things, abuse him, etc. He is blatantly physically abusive to Angel, we see him hit Angel, drag him around, push him down, grab him by the neck, and yank on his chains. He's also very psychologically abusive, he threatens him and his friends, insults and demeans him, and holds his contract in front of him to remind him of their deal and make Angel feel helpless. He's just awful.

Stolas is very very different in how he treats Blitz and their relationship. I mean there's the obvious, he is never physically abusive toward Blitz. And before any of the Stella sympathizers come at me, he's never been physically abusive toward her either, he just BLOCKED her hand as she attempted to strike him. If you ask me, it seems like she has probably done that before! He never intentionally demeaned Blitz, he never tried to hold their agreement over his head, he doesn't even seem to have forced Blitz to do anything sexually against his will. Plus he's a fucking bottom. He is aware of their difference in power, but he never intentionally abuses it. The only times he's ever insulted Blitz were either teasingly (e.g. "Oh and your memory is so perfect? What's [Moxxie's] phone number? Exactly.") or after he had already ended their arrangement and was upset with him (e.g. during their argument in Apology Tour). Even then, it really comes off as him pointing out Blitz's flaws and his hypocrisies after Blitz broke his heart. If you were to compare the beginning of Apology Tour to any scene between Val and Angel, the difference is crystal fucking clear.

And let's talk about their contracts. Valentino, as previously stated, literally OWNS Angel's SOUL. It's written in ink and legally and magically binding. Literally. Whatever deal Angel made with Valentino is basically irrelevant since at the point in the show that we see, the only thing he really gets from Valentino is a job. He used to get housing, it seems, but he gave that up to live at the hotel. I don't think he gets any kind of protection, but that's just speculation on my part. For Angel, it seems like there is no way out of his deal with Valentino, only Val can release him, and he doesn't want to because Angel makes him money. Stolas and Blitz have basically a verbal agreement, made over the phone. "Favors for favors." Stolas lets Blitz use his grimoire, the spell book given to him to perform his royal duties, something that he's definitely not supposed to be lending out to anyone, let alone an imp. Blitz needs the grimoire to be able to get to Earth, which is the most important aspect of his business in killing living people. Stolas also needs the grimoire for his job, but he lends it to Blitz for all but one day of the month. In return, he asks Blitz to spend the night with him so they can have sex. Blitz agrees to this arrangement, very willingly, and in my opinion, he gets the better end of the deal, especially considering the fact that he seems to like fucking Stolas. Now, by definition, this arrangement lowkey makes Blitz a prostitute. He is exchanging sex for the ability to run his business. But this arrangement is not written down anywhere, it's just an agreement between Blitz and Stolas while they're both happy with their end of the deal. Eventually, however, Stolas doesn't feel happy with it anymore because he's developed genuine feelings for Blitz and is uncomfortable that he feels like he's exploiting Blitz. So he calls off the arrangement in the hopes that they can start a new relationship on equal footing. He gives Blitz the Asmodean Crystal, arguably a better tool for Blitz's business than the grimoire was because it's easier to use, and they no longer have to exchange sex for the grimoire. He gifts the crystal to Blitz, no strings attached, and tells him that he cares for him and wants him to stay. Even when the conversation goes south, Stolas doesn't take back the crystal or even indicate that it's something that he would do. It's Blitz who's then uncomfortable because he feels like he needs to be doing something to "earn" the crystal. But that's his baggage, and not the point right now. The point is that in Val and Angel's contract, Val has the more favorable end of the deal, and he's the only one who can end the contract between them, and he probably won't. In Stolas and Blitz's arrangement, Blitz had the better end of the deal, and either of them could have backed out of the deal, but ultimately Stolas chose to end it, and he made sure that Blitz didn't suffer any consequences to his business as a result of their deal ending.

Now moving away from the relationships with Angel and Blitz, both Val and Stolas have employees, lower status demons working for them. Val's employees are mostly sinners whose souls he (or one of the other Vee's) owns, and then there's Kitty, the off-brand Robo-Fizz. Based on how he treats Angel and the other actors and people around him, I think it's fair to say that he's not a very kind and considerate boss. He's physically and verbally abusive, he's controlling and demanding, he's short-tempered and violent, and he clearly has no respect for scheduled work hours since he calls Angel in whenever he fucking wants. We don't see Stolas interacting with his staff as much, but what we do see is pretty standard for how a royal might treat a servant, with a neutral and stoic attitude. He's not necessarily friendly to his staff from what we see, but at least he's not actively abusive. I mean compare how Stella treats the imp butler and how Stolas does.

She grabs him by the arm and throws him full force at the wall during an argument with Stolas, while also dehumanizing him (de-demonizing?). He shows up again a little later in a state. Poor guy. The worst he ever gets from Stolas is this:

Not great, but definitely not as violent as Stella. My interpretation of Stolas with his imp staff is that he's at worst negligent and careless with them, but he's not nearly as intentionally violent.

And I was joking about the physical similarities, the majority of the cast have red eyes. I'm not even taking shots at Vivzie's character design.

I don't know how this got so long, I just had a lot of thoughts.

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peachhcs · 9 hours ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/peachhcs/768260981215330304/httpswwwtumblrcompeachhcs767959888939941888

okay so freaking cute.

i can’t wait to see them in san jose.

totally see them having really soft sex because of her shoulder and will just being so gentle.

a weekend in san jose

hughes!sister x will smith au (samy + will)

part 11!! WOW guys i made this into a lovely 6.3k fic filled with lots of fuff and a bit of smut! i got super carried away and because everyone seems to like longer fics sometimes, i put this all into one part woohoo (can also be read as a stand alone if u really want)

i made note in big red letters where the smut starts and ends so if you don't wanna read it, you can just skip past it. :)

if you do read the smut though warnings are: hickeys, making out, fingering, oral (f receiving), protected p in v, swearing, i think that's it? just read at ur own risk and skip if u don't wanna read! :) but anyways, enjoy this long fic!!!!!!!!! this may be the last part of this side plot unless there's more you guys think of and if you do pls send my way and i will happily write it

au masterlist

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10

samy was in san jose the next weekend. she came out of her gate in search of will who told her he'd meet her there, so her eyes scanned the crowd for his familiar blonde curls. there were so many people pushing and shoving their way through, she forgot how busy san jose's airport was compared to ann arbor.

finally, the brunette found will's taller figure near the edge of the crowd. she quickly grinned, raising her hand so he'd see her before navigating herself towards him. she came out on the other side of the crowd embracing her boyfriend in a tight hold. he held her tightly, spinning the two around a bit.

"hi, so good to see you," the girl mumbled into his shoulder.

"glad you made it safely. it's good to see you too," will cheered, pulling back so he could see her face. his hands caressed her cheek, quickly pecking her lips and then pulling her back towards the exit.

"mack's waiting with the car in kind of an illegal parking spot, so we gotta hurry back," will explained his fast pace while samy just giggled. typical.

"don't tell me you parked in the pick up lane," she raised her eyebrow. when will didn't say anything the girl hit his arm and rolled her eyes.

"what? i wasn't gonna spend an hour fighting with someone in the parking garage," he defended himself because why would he waste his time in there when he could sort of illegally park in the pick up line for ten minutes?

will navigated them through the busy airport in five minutes, way faster than samy would have gotten herself out. the warm san jose air hit her skin like a refreshing drink after spending so much time in the cold back in michigan. she giggled as the blonde pulled her towards his fancy bronco—one of the first things will spent his new money on.

"wow, i haven't seen the car in person yet," she admired how clean and sleek it looked compared to her parent's old ford suv she drove around back home. (and it was actually jack's before it was hers)

"nice, isn't it?" will grinned proudly as he helped samy get her suitcase into the back.

"hey samy!" mack exclaimed from where he moved himself to the backseat. the only rule in will's car was that samy got passenger seat anytime she was around.

"hey mack!" the girl exclaimed and ran around to quickly hug in before getting into the front.

will was in a moment later and the three of them rolled out before an officer gave them a ticket for parking in the pick up line.

"it's good to see you, mack. i haven't seen you since the draft," samy grinned.

"you too. i'm excited you're visiting this weekend. smitty was yapping in my ear yesterday about all the plans he had for you guys," the younger brunette said making will flush in slight embarassment. samy found it endearing though.

"ooh, i can't wait. i haven't been up since we moved him in at the beginning of august," the girl poked her boyfriend's arm to which he just grabbed her hand to hold it.

macklin smirked from the backseat, remembering the conversation he poked at will about a month ago about his driving. it all made sense to the shark player now.

"well when you and will aren't off doing whatever, sennecke and i wanna catch up with you. he said he'd drive up to hang out like tomorrow or something," macklin said.

"wait, yeah. i wanna see him beck. i told him i'd see him whenever i was here," samy grinned. beckett and mack were the two "freshmen" she adopted and basically took under her wing at the draft this past summer and with such busy schedules, she hadn't been able to see them since.

"not to put a dent in your plans or anything smitty," macklin eyed his friend in the front seat. will just shrugged.

"all good, we have like three-ish days to do stuff. i haven't seen much of beckett either so it'd be cool to see him," will nodded in agreement and the other two smiled.

will dropped macklin back off at his place and then went back around the block to the house. he helped samy with her luggage again and led the way into the marleau household.

"just a fair warning, pat's youngest kids will go a little crazy at first because..you know..you're quinn, jack, and luke's little sister," will chuckled a bit before he opened the door. samy flushed, a smile gracing her lips.

"dont worry, i can handle it," and with that, will carefully opened the front door.

the commotion could be heard loud and clear. it was definitely a boy house with the tv on loud and voices already arguing about something as the couple stepped in.

"hey guys, will's back with samy!" patrick saw them first where he got up from the couch to greet them.

christina came out from the kitchen with the youngest boys behind her. the older ones got from the couch too. "hi samy! it's so good to finally meet you. we've heard a bunch about you," chrisitina grinned, going in for a hug.

"it's so good to finally meet you guys too," she hugged her back and then went to give a quick hug to patrick.

"welcome to our home for the weekend! these are our boys—landon, brody, jagger, and caleb," patrick introduced the boys who shyly waved at the girl.

"you're quinn's sister!" caleb exclaimed making the others laugh. samy smiled, bending down so she was eye level with him.

"i am. maybe i can score you a signed puck or something," the girl laughed and she loved the way caleb's face lit up at that idea.

"why don't you guys get settled in and then i have some lunch whenever you're hungry," christina smiled and samy thanked them for letting her stay before following will upstairs.

she admired how will already hung up some of the things that were on his walls at boston. she especially liked the framed pictures of her and him on his nightstand.

"those boys are adorable," she turned to him as he set down her suitcase and shut the door.

"they're pretty funny. maybe they can convince you to play some driveway hockey with them," will chuckled.

"oh, 100%. they seem so nice, i'm glad you've found a home here with them," samy sat down on the bed to just take it all in and catch her breath after the plane ride and meeting everyone.

will quickly joined her. "it's..it's the life alright. i'm grateful for how kind they've been to me."

"i mean, duh. who wouldn't wanna be kind to you," the soccer player laughed as she reached over to pinch her boyfriend's cheek. he took that as his opportunity to take ahold of her hand and bring her in for a better kiss than their peck at the airport.

this one was a lot slower and filled with more love. samy curled her good arm around his neck where she toyed with the little curls on the back of his neck. her hand brushed against his chest and will curled his own fingers around her own.

"i love you. i'm glad you're here. this is gonna be really fun," the boy hummed when they pulled apart.

"i love you too, handsome. can't wait to beat your ass in driveway hockey later," she teased and will rolled his eyes.

"alright. don't gotta go that far."

"you're just mad because you know i will, even with a hurt shoulder," the brunette smirked. luckily, she was able to graduate from a bulky sling to a shoulder brace that still kept everything in place, but she had a bit more mobility than before.

plus, even though it was her right shoulder, she shot with her opposite arm and hand in hockey so she'd have no problem taking down will and the marleau kids.

later that afternoon, samy did exactly that. all the marleau boys were out in the driveway with will and samy as they teamed themselves off to play against one another. samy got brody and landon, the older ones, for the first round and she already knew they were gonna kick will's butt.

she ran right past will's feet and passed the ball they were playing with towards landon. he swiped past his brothers to shoot it right into the back of the neck. samy and brody cheered while will groaned.

"you have a hurt shoulder, i'm not gonna go hard on you," the blonde complained and made an weak excuse for the loss.

"come on, babe. i'm not broken. i can still play. you don't gotta go easy on me," samy said.

"if you say that, i am gonna go hard on you and then end up hurting you more, so i'm good," will said as the six of them sit themselves back up.

"will hurting his girlfriend? ooh.." jagger said making everyone but will laugh.

"someone record it!" samy added into the teasing which will just shook his head to.

they played for the rest of the night until christina called them in for dinner. samy got to know the marleau's more while she told them about her life at michigan and the legacy her and her brothers were leaving on the field and on the ice.

once they finsihed, will and samy hung out downstairs for a bit before calling it a night knowing there was a lot to do tomorrow with will's extensive itinerary.

"i love those kids," samy commented from the bathroom as she brushed her teeth.

"they're really great. they're always bugging me to play with them," will smiled.

"that's so cute. they probably look up to you so much in addition to their dad. i hope you cherish that," the brunette hummed.

"oh, i do, don't worry. it keeps me motivated when they watch the games and see how i do."

the youngest hughes shut the light off and eagerly crawled into will's bed. this was her favorite part about getting to visit and sleeping in the same bed together. will was always so warm, so it was especially nice when they were in michigan or boston and it was below 30 degrees. even now it added that extra comfort as the girl snuggled in close to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his torso. the sleep came faster than it had all semester and she was out in minutes with will not too fard behind her.

—

will picked macklin up again the next day as they headed downtown to the place they would meet beckett for lunch. the younger brunette was pretty chipper as he climbed into the back, probably because it wasn't 7 in the morning for once when will picked him up.

"how was your night?" macklin wondered, definitely smirking.

"it was great, how was yours?" samy asked.

"mine was great, too. did you guys—"

"macklin" will warned before the boy finished his sentence. samy just giggled.

"i was gonna ask if the boys dragged you out to play driveway hockey," macklin kept talking even though they all knew that wasn't his original question.

"they did. i beat will in an overwhelming 6-2," samy proudly said.

"6-2? jeez, smitty. you got distracted or something?" the younger brunette burst into laughter making will's cheeks flush.

"shut up," will mumbled while samy poked his cheek.

"he's just mad i can still beat him with a hurt shoulder."

the three made mindless conversation as they rode into the city. samy caught macklin up on everything happening at mich and a few things on her brothers. macklin caught samy up on things she did and didn't hear from will about the sharks and life in san jose so far. it all sounded like it was going really well which made the girl happy.

will rolled them into a parking spot just outside of the restaurant, "i think he's almost here or is here," macklin checked his phone.

a bright orange range rover rolled into the parking space two down from where they were just as macklin said that. everyone knew it had to be beckett considering the orange matcbed the anaheim colors perfectly. they all got out and sure enough, beckett's tall frame got out of the car.

he smiled widely when he saw them. "hey guys!" the younger boy exclaimed as he locked the car and hurried over to them.

"hey, beck! it's been so long," samy hugged him first which he reciporcated into a tight squeeze.

"it's so good to see you in california. hey, celly, smitty," the other two boys took their turn saying hello.

"your car is awesome, by the way. orange is very fitting," samy pointed to the car.

"oh, thanks. my mom thought it would be fun for me to get it wrapped, so i did. pretty sick isn't it?" everyone nodded in agreement before heading inside to get a table.

the four ended up on the outside patio where macklin was the first to get conversation going and ask about beckett's season so far. the younger boy excitedly explained how much experience he's been gaining and getting to make friends with the older guys on the team. of course, samy asked him about trevor for jack's sake.

"oh, he's super funny and a great mentor. he's got a lot of good tips for all the rookies," beckett smiled.

"i'll make sure to tell jack that, then," samy chuckled.

"what about all of you? the sharks have been really moving up with the recent wins," the ducks player turned the conversation to the other two boys.

"yeah, i mean it's been awesome. we're all definitely improving which i think is really good. get to spend all my time with mack over here," will roughed up his friend's shoulder making the brunette pull away from his grasp.

"totally. i love annoying him. my favorite activity, actually," macklin grinned.

"michigan has always been doing really good this season. do you think you guys are making it to the finals again?" beckett turned the conversation to samy.

"i hope so. we've definitely turned the program around in the last year, so i'm excited to see what else we can do," the girl grinned.

"sorry about your shoulder, by the way. i know that must suck," the younger boy commented and samy just shrugged.

"it's not horrible anymore. i actually beat will in driveway hockey last night so that has to mean i'm doing better," the youngest hughes teased her boyfriend again.

"damn, i mean yeah. what was the score?"

"6-2."

"6-2? smitty, what happened?" beckett had the same reaction as macklin making him and samy laugh again.

"alright, alright, i get it. i suck when my girlfriend does any competitive sport against me," the blonde shook his head, but smiled nonetheless.

the three spent the rest of lunch catching up with one another before deciding to walk around downtown a bit since beckett nor samy had been before. macklin and will took the honors of pointing things out and taking them into the shops they thought were cool.

samy's eye was caught when they made it into a small boutique. she quickly admired all of the jewlery and clothes up on the racks. will watched the girl carefully, a soft smile on his lips as he followed her around the store and let her use him to carry the things she wanted to try on.

"hey, we'll be right back," will called when samy pulled him back into the dressing room. macklin and beckett just exchanged a glance before snickering to themselves and letting the couple be.

will just stood on the outside of the stall though, handing things to samy when she asked for them and rating the things she put on. she came out in a very pretty, short, maroon dress with little flowers as the straps. will's eyes never left her as she did a small spin and he basically eyed her up and down. the color reminded him of boston.

"i really like this, but i don't know when or where i'd wear it," samy said as she looked back at herself in the mirror.

"i could think of a time," will subconsciously licked his lips earning a bright blush from the girl in front of him.

"alright, lover boy. i'm gonna change and then we can keep going," samy chuckled and shut herself back into the stall.

even though there was no occasion, samy decided to buy the red dress. she was at the register quite literally about to tap her card when will quickly slipped in and beat her to it, the payment processing onto his card instead.

"will," the girl looked at him in surprise.

"what?" he grinned.

"you didn't have to pay," samy frowned. him paying for her ticket here was already enough.

"and?"

not wanting to get into it in the store, samy decided to let it go as will grabbed the bag before she could. "thank you," she said as they walked away.

"anything for you," he kissed her cheek and they met back up with beckett and macklin outside.

"wow, you're so whipped," macklin commented when he saw will carrying samy's bag for her. beckett snickered.

"you'll understand when you have a girlfriend," will hummed, not even caring about the teasing anymore.

they stopped by a few more places before deciding to head back. everyone hugged beckett and made promises to see one another again and that beckett would try to see samy when the ducks came to detroit in a few weeks.

for november, it was surprisingly hot in san jose, so they rolled the windows down as soon as they were back in the car. will let samy control the aux, so she scrolled through her spotify looking for the right playlist as will got back onto the road to home.

one her favorites came up first which happened to be tate mcae's nwest song, two hands. the beat quickly brought the mood up and it felt perfect with the windows down. she started singing the lyrics, sticking her hand out to catch the breeze, imagining she was in the music video.

macklin and will nodded along also big fans of tate's music. samy's hair blew everywhere from the wind and she didn't see the way will's gaze kept flicking to her as she sang along. one of his guilty pleasures was listenng to tate mcrae's songs and it was the cherry on top listening to it with his girlfriend right beside him who loved her music just as much.

will thought of the lyrics, specifically the way samy sang them, especially when tate sang "i want them all to see, you look good on top of me." the blonde's mind ran a bit wild and he tried keeping his thoughts under control knowing this wasn't the time to be thinking of that.

but boy, it was hard not to and will wondered if samy was having the same thoughts.

they dropped macklin back off and will quite literally sped back to the house, samy a bit oblivious to the thoughts running through her boyfriend's head.

much to will's luck, the house was empty when they got in. he remembered that jagger had a basketball game and the older boys were still at practice, so he was gonna use all the time he had and pulled samy to the stairs.

"what's up with you?" samy laughed as she followed the hockey player into his room, lifting an eyebrow when he shut and locked the door behind them.

"i really wanna kiss you," the boy mumbled and then closed the space between them without letting samy respond.

he held her face in her hands as she let him kiss her. it was quick but passionate as the two melted into one another. samy felt will's eagerness as he slipped his tongue into her mouth and sucked her bottom lip into his.

"you're so beautiful," will mumbled between kissing and pulling back an inch for air.

"not that i'm complaining, but what's sparked this?" samy hummed as she ran her finger dow his sharp jaw.

"something about that song and you singing it had my head spinning," will confessed. the brunette smirked, a bit surprised to hear this.

"oh really?"

"figured we could test it out, you know?"

———SMUT STARTS HERE———

a wide smile spread across both of their faces as they reconnect their lips. will pushed samy back onto the bed where she laid down and he hovered above her. he remembered her shoulder, so he forced himself to slow down a bit so he wouldn't hurt her. he leaned on her good side as they made out.

samy's hands tangled into will's curls and a soft moan left his lips into hers. they really took this moment in, feeling every part of each other pushing against one another. will's hands curved around samy's hips as he worked her hips againsy his own, pressing his hardening dick against her thigh.

"shit, baby," the blonde moaned out. he was really trying to take his time knowing he didn't wanna hurt the girl even worse, but it was hard when his brain was so wired up at the moment.

samy moaned at the feeling of will's excitement agains her leg. one of her hands fell down to his chest again where she tugged at his shirt as indication that she wanted it off. the boy obliged, sitting up to peel the material off and exposing his very toned chest to her.

"every time i'm wowed by you," samy hummed as she admired will's six pack and toned muscles across his upper half.

"i'm flattered," he grinned, reconnecting their lips.

he helped samy get her own shirt off which revealed the pretty bralette underneath. will had such a bad thing for her tits as he immediately dipped his head down and started sucking the plump flesh. the girl giggled, wrapping her fingers into his curls again to give occasional tugs.

it was a really good thing samy wasn't playing at the moment so will could leave his hickeys or love bites he liked to call them now.

"shit, baby," the girl moaned when will brought his lips to her nipple. he prided himself in her reaction and sucked harder while going and back and forth between the two.

samy began arching her back off the bed into will as he hit all the right places and her skin became littered with dark bruises that only he would know were there.

that thought had will's cock twitching in the restrictive material of his shorts and a groan leaving his lips at the feeling of samy's bare tits pressing against his chest.

"fuck, babe," he muttered, pulling his lips away.

will started moving down. he placed little kisses all the way down samy's stomach until he reached her shorts. he smirked when he saw the look of desperation on her face for him to take them off.

"want these off?" he wondered and the girl nodded.

"please."

will pulled them down her legs where that pink fucking thong that drove the boy crazy hid underneath. his mouth watered at the sight, getting flashbacks to august. "god, i love this fucking thing," he grumbled, hooking his fingers around the band and pulling to make a snap against her skin.

"wore it just for you," a smirk graced her lips making will shake his head.

"i fucking love you," will leaned down to press little kisses around her hip bone that eventually turned into him sucking hickeys because these were the places no one would ever see but him and the thought drove the boy more crazy.

the little whimpers escpaing samy's lips was doing nothing to help the problem in will's pants that he tried to desperately ignore. he wanted to focus on samy and her pleasure, trying to forget about his own for now.

"fuck, you're dripping," will said when he pressed his fingers against the thin, very wet material of her thong.

"you're not the only one with eager thoughts," samy smiled lazily as she watched her boyfriend push her the material to the side so he could slide his fingers against her.

she threw her head back into the pillow when he started pushing them into her warm heat.

"fuck, will," a moan escaped her lips.

"god, you're so wet, baby. fuck," will slid two fingers in, slowly pumping in and out and in and out to get samy ready for the real thing.

he figured he needed to get her really ready because they didn't do anything when he visited michigan considering she just had surgery. this time was a completely different story though and it was safe to say they were both craving this.

"oh my god, will. faster, please," samy begged a little.

will pumped faster before dipping his head down and replacing his fingers with his tongue. the sensation made the girl jump a little, not expecting his tongue. the surprise was quickly replaced with immense pleasure though as will worked his mouth around.

"s-shit, will. oh my god," she grabbed his curls and tugged, basically using him to move him where she wanted.

considering will didn't do this a lot, he was pretty fucking good at it. he took samy's moans as a sign that he was doing it right and let her control him with tugs on his curls. she pushed her hips further against the boy's tongue, her orgasm close.

"fuck, will. i'm gonna cum," she cried.

"cum for me, baby," will encouraged, sucking harder.

the feeling sent the soccer player over the edge. she released right on will's lips and tongue, tugging his hair hard. the blonde smiled, licking his lips as he sat back up.

"did so good for me, baby," the blonde praised, leaning down to place a gentle kiss to her lips. she flushed, slowly coming down from her high.

will leaned himself against her again and samy felt how hard he was now, still straining through the tight material of his shorts. his hips jerked forward when samy rubbed herself up against him.

"s-shit. i'm so hard for you," will moaned into her mouth.

"better do something about that, huh?"

the hockey player sat back on his heels as he unzipped his shorts, puling them and his underwear down in one go. his cock sprang up, the tip red and leaking some precum already. samy's mouth watered seeing her boyfriend's thick, throbbing cock before her.

"f-fuck," the blonde muttered as he pumped himself a few times. he leaned forward to fish out a condom from his nightstand, quickly breaking the wrapper and rolling it on.

"need to be inside you," he mumbled, eyes back on his girlfriend.

"want you to fuck me, will," samy begged a bit also eager for him to put it in.

will hovered over her again, lining himself up with her entrance. he slowly pushed in, ducking his head into the crook of her neck. they both moaned out at the first contact. the urge to cum already so strong.

"oh fuck, baby. you feel so good," will groaned, slowly rocking himself in and fighting all of his urges to just poud into her. he needed to be slow for her sake and not hurting her.

"yeah, baby. fuck, you're so big," samy moaned into his ear, her fingers scratching up his back as she let the pleasure overtake the slight pain since they hadn't done this in so long.

her walls sucked him in and he paused when he bottomed out to give the brunette a second to catch her breath. he kissed her lips, struggling to hold onto his self-control and not pound his hips.

"tell me i can move," the way she squeezed around him had his urge to cum slip fast.

"yes, move, please," samy nodded, so he started rocking his hips back and forth in a steady rhythm.

they moaned out as the pace continued building and will littered more kisses across her chest and lips. her tits pressed against his own chest again and will moaned at the feeling of her nipples rocking and bouncing against his skin with each trust.

"fuck, baby. oh—you feel so good—fuck," he wasn't gonna last. "you're squeezing me so good, practically sucking me in," the boy continued.

"feels so good, baby. shit. keep doing that," samy praised him as well, her grip getting harder on his biceps.

will was rocking his hips at a strong pace that moved the bed along with them. he was so glad no one was home right now or else he'd never be able to show his face ever again.

"mm, fuck yeah. oh, fuck yeah. you're gonna make me cum," will blabbered, the only thought in his mind was the one lyric and how he was quite literally on top of samy.

"cum for me will. wanna cum with you," samy got out.

little beads of sweat began building between their bodies and will directed his gaze to where he disappeared in and out of her. the way she sucked him so tight was gonna send the boy over the edge as his self-control slipped away.

"fuck. fuck. i'm gonna cum..i-i'm gonna fucking cum. please say you're close," the blonde cried, his hips now practically pounding into her even though he told himself to take it easy.

"i'm so close, baby. so close."

he felt her clenching around his length which meant she was about to cum. will thrusted a bit harder, hoping to push her over the edge for a second time. she buried her head into the pillow, her chest risng again to push against will's. he groaned, mesmerized with the way her tits bounced back and forth with each snap of his hips.

the sensation sent samy over the edge. she moaned loudly, releasing around will's throbbing cock that had been waiting for her to go first. the tight clench and squeeze sent the blonde over the edge too. he snapped his hips one last time into her, releasing into the condom with a moan.

"ah, fuckkk baby. jesus christ. fhhuck," the blonde's hips twitched, his sweaty body collapsing onto hers as he spilled all of his cum into the condom.

samy dragged her hand through his curls, grinning while peppering kisses across his face. "so good, will. did so good."

"fucking love you so much. we should put that song on more often," will smirked, placing his own soft kisses across her face.

he slowly pulled out, pealing the condom off and running it to the bathroom. he came back with a towel to clean up the rest of their mess. samy watched lovingly as her boyfriend cleaned her up before snuggling into her side for a moment.

"too bad i can't leave any bites on you," samy hummed when she saw how bare will's neck and chest looked compared to hers. they didn't want to risk fans seeing the marks during the season.

"you still can lower than my shoulders," the blonde smirked.

the brunette hated not returning the favor, so she pushed will onto his back and dipped her head below her shoulders which definitely resulted in will getting hard again and a second round.

———SMUT ENDS HERE———

on the last night samy was there, will planned a fancy date night at one of the restaurants downtown. she wore the dress she just bought and it was a miracle they even left the house because when will saw her come out of the bathroom, let's just say his mind ran wild again.

the atmosphere was definitely very high end and it felt like they were amongst the rich people who lived in the area on a saturday night out.

"i'm glad you came out," will grinned.

"thanks for buying my ticket again. i really appreciate it," samy grinned back.

"there's a lot more where that came from," the girl rolled her eyes a bit at his words despite the smile still on her lips.

"i'd have you out here every weekend if i could, you know that," will swirled some of his drink around in the glass, a mix between a smile and smirk on his features.

"yeah, i know. i wish. i'll probably see you soon though. when are you guys playing detroit?"

"in a few weeks i think," the hockey player hummed, the schedule not on the top of his head.

"so you'll see me then and maybe by then i'll be able to actually play," the girl scoffed a bit, but will just shook his head.

"i know it sucks, but you've been doing really good. you're gonna be back on the field in no time," he grabbed her hand from across the table. the gesture made her blush.

"i know, i know. i guess i have to think of new hobbies or something," they shared a laugh.

after dinner, they walked around downtown some more just trying to take everything in and spend every second they could together before samy's flight back home tomrorow. granted, will was still going crazy over the maroon dress hugging all the right places on his girlfriend's body, especially because it was so boston college colors, so their walk around downtown didn't last for long.

will was impatient and quite literally eager to have his girlfriend one more time because she needed to leave. his lips were on hers when they made it into the parking garage and he was pushing her against the car.

he knew the house would be full when they got back, so will did the one thing he promised macklin he'd never do—have sex in his car.

it was the best sex will ever had in the car though.

��

they got to the airport close to 6 in the morning, even earlier than when morning practice started. samy's flight was at 9 though and she wanted to be there early, so will got himself up to drive her and macklin tagged along to say goodbye too.

the drop off line gave the three deja-vu as will parked to the side and got out to help with the luggage. macklin yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eye as he got out too.

the two boys stood in front of the entrance where samy was about to disappear into.

"alright, i'll go first since smitty will take decades to let you go," macklin took the lead by opening his arms. "it was good seeing you, hughesy. we'll see you super soon."

"it was soo good seeing you, mack. keep will in line for me, yeah?" the girl joked a bit, eyeing the blonde behind them who playfully rolled his eyes.

"obviously, i will," they laughed and then macklin pulled away.

samy's gaze fell to will's sad one. she opened his arms for him where he buried his face into the crook of her neck, squeezing her tightly. "i'm gonna miss you so much."

"me too, but you'll be michigan in just a few weeks," she tried looking on the positives for them or else will would just make it really sad.

"i know, but it seems so far away," the blonde frowned.

"it'll go fast, i promise. i love you," the youngest hughes pulled back to see will's pretty face. he smiled, breathing her in one last time.

"i love you, too baby. get back safe. text me when you land," he hummed and she nodded.

they hugged one last time before samy pulled back because if she didn't they'd never let go of each other. she waved to the boys before heading inside. they waved back, will blowing her kisses until they couldn't see her anymore and some car behind them honked to get moving.

"fuck off," will said as him and macklin climbed back in.

they were basically half-asleep still, so much that when the brunette got back into the passenger seat, he didn't realize how pushed back it was so he basically fell onto his back when he got in. it caught both of them off guard.

"what the fuck happened to this seat," macklin grumbled as he fixed it so it was more upright and not as pushed back.

the realization hit him faster than will remembered the reasoning and then macklin's jaw dropped open.

"HOLY SHIT! you fucked in here! oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," the younger brunette began freaking out and will internally face palmed.

"dude, chill. chill. i promise i cleaned everything," will tried calming his friend down.

"dude, i can't believe this. oh my god, that's fucking disgusting. you said you'd never fuck in here!" the boy exclaimed.

"we had no other options! i swear it's clean," will defended himself. macklin didn't have anything else to say except shaming his head and the car behind them honked it's horn again.

will quickly drove out of the line, suddenly embarrassed that he forgot to fix the seat. he also worried macklin actually was mad until the brunette asked:

"so on a scale of 1-10 how good was it?"

there it was. it wasn't even 7 in the morning yet.

"dude," will shook his head.

"what? i feel like i deserve to know after you betrayed me like that."

"it was actually really fucking good. 10 for sure," will gave in with his answer.

"you know what? hell yeah. high five me for that one," macklin held his hand up. the blonde smacked it, a content smile on his lips now.

"now drive fast so i can get out of this car and go back to bed."

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bambi-kinos · 19 hours ago

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hey... what do you make of just like starting over and real love? do you think theyre rlly about paul? i think they are, but i struggle to believe john was finally making up his mind like that

Paul almost certainly thinks that (Just Like) Starting Over is about him. He purportedly listened to it on repeat for days right after John died and then there's the "walrus" referenced in the first draft of the lyrics, as well as the line about making love in Paris. I absolutely believe that Paul is the primary recipient of (Just Like) Starting Over.

I don't think it was John making up his mind per se...I think it was more like, John was unhappy with how he had left things with Paul and he was feeling optimistic about their future, so long as they stayed the course and renewed their love. However John is still John, he reached out to May Pang the same year and reconnected with a bunch of people out of the blue. Which is to say that yes, he did want to renew things with Paul and patch things up with him. But he also prepared some back ups in case that didn't work out for him. I think it was Harry Nilsson that received a middle of the night phone call from John where John was really warm to him after being out of touch for years. (Just Like) Starting Over was written with Paul as its true object and in John's heart of hearts I believe he wanted to make a new bond of love with Paul, but I also think that it is written as such that John could tell any of his old flames that "this one's for you" and mean it.

Which brings us to Real Love, I think that Real Love is also intended to be about Paul. However Real Love is a lot older and to quote a random twitter user I saw when Now and Then dropped, "it's another Lennon misery fest." When John wrote the beginnings of Real Love he certainly had Paul on his mind (hence the "lalalala farm" bit in the initial "Real Life" noodling around.) Whatever was going on with John staying in the Dakota, he was clearly longing for Paul and desperately wished things were different. But Real Love lacks the hopeful and anticipatory tone of (Just Like) Starting Over. I think John wanted to do more with Paul than sit in a studio with him again IYKWIM.

Real Love feels a lot more like an expression of John's regrets and how he wished things were different, that he had gone a different way. It actually strikes me as more of a venting song than something John really wanted to polish and bring to the public, "why must we be alone?" is a question John seems to have been asking himself through out the Dakota years. He put himself in this position and he is trying to understand why he did it to himself, even asking seemingly silly and pointless questions like "why am I so alone, why isn't Paul here with me, didn't I hold him in my arms just yesterday?" ('Yesterday' again....I said something wrong now he's gone away....and I don't believe in Yesterday myself....I never wished I had written it....now I long for yesterday....)

But when you're making vent art you don't ask yourself sophisticated questions, you ask yourself really obvious ones that you know the answer to but you've been scared to answer fully because it means accepting that you've known this entire time and haven't done anything about it. The Real Life demo we have ends with "just call him on the phone."

(Just Like) Starting Over is John making his first steps towards a new future that he wants Paul to be a part of while still being uncertain about what that entails. Real Love is John coming to grips with the scale of his loss and bewilderment at how he got here, the intervening years between his successful love affair with Paul vs the drug addled years in the Dakota being a smeared blur.

I don't think John had necessarily made up his mind about Paul. More like he realized his relationship with Yoko had run its course (whether he knew she was a parasite is another question.) That was his chance to be with Paul again.

#anonymous asks #the music #mclennon #beatles meta #my meta #talktalktalk #john lennon #dakota days

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flying-mochis · 3 days ago

Text

I just finished the Silmarillion so now it's time for me to loose my mind trying to discern the timeline changes in Rings of Power

mostly I was trying to figure out which "war" it was that Celeborn went missing in

but first I wanted to ground myself by figuring out when Finrod died- except that also isn't clear...

This is a very long, unedited stream of consciousness post, so I'll put it under Keep Reading. I also didn't really fact check any of this just going off my recent memory of just reading the Silmarillion so- If I got stuff wrong...woops

TLDR: Though Finrod originally dies in the Silmarillian during the Beren and Luthien, I think the RoP writers have changed his death to be sometime after the defeat of Morgoth as he's hunting Sauron. I think Celeborn went missing sometime before Finrod died, either in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (before the Fall of Doriath) or in the War of Wrath (the final defeat of Morgoth). Ultimately who knows but I'm excited to see what they do :)

In the Silmarillian, Finrod dies around late year 400 in the 1st Age protecting Beren in Of Beren and Luthien. He is killed by Sauron, as Sauron throws them in like a pit of death thingy.

but in Rings of Power, when Galadriel is giving exposition in the beginning, she basically says 'Then Morgoth was drafted, but Sauron continued to cause problems, and my brother vowed to hunt him down, then he died.' So it sounds like RoP Finrod survived the War of Wrath against Morgoth, but then died hunting Sauron afterwards.

This change would call into question how the events of Beren and Luthien played out in the RoP timeline- I guess it's not necessary for Finrod to die into order for that story to still have worked? Like maybe Luthien saved both of them or maybe Finrod never went with them. But...Part of the fall of Doriath in Hurin getting Finrods fancy necklace from Mim the dwarf after he's taken over Finrod's Kingdome in his absence- so if Finrod survived up to the fall of Doriath and past that- how would that work? I'm sure it could, there are ways to work around it so the story can still play out with those changes- or maybe they changed more major parts of the story like the fall of Doriath! That would be bold but not out of the question.

Maybe it's also possible that Finrod did still die during the Beren and Luthien story but that just happened after the defeat of Morgoth? IDK if that makes sense, because then how would Thingol have gotten the silmarill that leads to the fall of Doriath and all that stuff with Earendil and Elwing-? that has a lot more continuity changes so less likely.

Ok, moving on from Finrod. His death is at least canon from the Silmarillion, but Celeborn going missing is not. Or at least, it isn't mentioned. But one thing about Galadriel and Celeborn is that they were retconned into the story after most of the Silmarillion was written, so their presence it is extremely spotty and sometime inconsistent. It's basically mentioned that they fall in love when Galadriel and her brothers go to Doriath and she stays with him in Doriath while Finrod finds his kingdom, Nargothrond. Then she's mentioned talking to Melian like once after that right before the Dagor Bragollach (one time Morgoth surprise attacks a bunch of elf cities) and then...They basically disappear for the rest of the book until it starts talking about the rings of power in the 2nd Age-

So...There's already a lot of missing spots in there story. That's one of the reasons I think it's cool they made Galadriel a protagonist in RoP, because what she's doing in those times is very vague, though more so in the 1st Age than the 2nd- but her character could still shed some light on what she was doing then- Especially when Celeborn is introduced, cuz that's gonna require some background explanations.

So that's all just to provide the context that there is barely any context for what those two were doing before RoP takes place.

Another note about possible timelines for Celeborn going missing is its relation to Finrod's death. This is not confirmed, but I've always worked with the assumption that Celeborn went missing before Finrod died. This is based on some factors- such as Galadriel's seemingly more cheery nature when she calls him a "silver clam" before he goes off to battle---This doesn't sound like the traumatized, hardened Galadriel we know from her response to Finrod's death. Also, as other's have pointed out, if Finrod had died before Celeborn went to war and Galadriel had already become a warrior, why wouldn't she have gone to war with Celeborn? It's possible they were just going to different locations, but I don't think she would chide him to not join the fight is she was also doing so.

Running with that assumption- If Finrod did die saving Beren as he did in the Silmarillion, that means Celeborn would've gone missing in some battle before then, maybe the Dagor Bagollach. This would mean he would have missed out all everything with Beren and Luthien, everything with Turin, and everything else with the fall of Doriath at the hands of dwarfs and elves. Which I think would be a shame. There is still conflict in having missed out on a significant tragedy, but I think having him witness all those tragedies would be more interesting- and his bitterness towards dwarfs would be more understandable if he was physically there to witness their betrayal and slaughter of his people.

As I've said, its possible and probably likely that they'll change it so Finrod died much later, and this is another one for my reasons for thinking that. Aside from the other plot holes that creates, Finrod dying after the defeat of Morgoth opens up to possibilities for which battle Celeborn went missing in, so I'll continue with that assumption.

So, let's start with what Rings of Power canon we know. Not a lot, but in Celeborn's one mention in season 1, Galadriel says "When he went to [the War], I chided him." So he didn't go missing on some personal quest or whatever, he specifically went off to fight in "the war". One issue this raises is that Celeborn is from Doriath, and Doriath doesn't give a fuck. Doriath does not send any of its people off to any battles in the Silmarillion until it starts falling apart. The closest we get to Doriath elves fighting is when they hunt down the dwarves that killed Thingol and then defend themselves from the dwarves and the sons of Feanor.

One way to get around this could be making it so Celeborn and Galadriel left Doriath at some point to operate on their own. Maybe they went to live with Finrod in Nargothrond (I think it is mentioned that Galadriel stayed with Finrod there for a while, but Celeborn isn't mentioned? And I don't remember if that's in the Silmarillion or one of the unfinished tales- which are more subject to flexible canon). In which case, Celeborn could've gone off with Finrod to one of the battles- This is an interesting idea as it could show Galadriel and Celeborn being more independent and maybe dissenting from Thingol after his sus decisions with Beren and Luthien. The next battle after that story would be the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the unsuccessful battle with Morgoth right before the Fall of Doriath. The problem with him going missing in that battle, again, would be him missing out on all the drama of the Fall of Doriath.

The second explanation for Celeborn going to war would be that he goes to fight after the Fall of Doriath. It makes sense that he would be more willing to fight after seeing the destruction of his people, even if that wasn't directly at the hands of Morgoth. Galadriel's joking disposition may not make as much sense in a setting after her husband home was destroyed and his family was slaughtered- but maybe everything still felt lighter back then as long as they were together. The most likely battle he went missing in after that would then be the War of Wrath itself, the final defeat of Morgoth.

Another possibility is he went missing during the Fall of Doriath, but that wasn't much of war as it was a siege, and I feel like Galadriel would have at least tried to help out in some way in those circumstances.

Overall, the two most likely battles I see him going missing in are the Nirnaeth Arnoediad (the 2nd to last attack on Morgoth) or the War of Wrath (the final defeat of Morgoth). The Nirnaeth Arnoediad, or some earlier battle, may make more sense for Galadriel to not go Celeborn as they hadn't experienced the tragic loss of Doriath yet, but I guess the same could be said for her not going with Finrod later.

I think I prefer him at least surviving up to the War of Wrath, as that means he was around to see the Fall of Doriath, and experience all the ~fun~ trauma of that, which is one of the things that could make him more unique as a character.

There is also the question of if Celebrian is even born yet and if so, where she is. As Galadriel and Celeborn's lives are so vague in the first two ages, so is Celebrian, their daughter. I don't think we know for sure when she was born, but I believe it is mentioned in Unfinished Tales that Celebrian was alive and with them by the time they first went to Eregion. Obviously much has changed as neither Celeborn nor Celebrian were present for the fall of Eregion in Rings of Power.

Personally, I don't believe Celebrian is even born yet in RoP. As other have pointed out, Galadriel starts the series as one who has lost everything, one who has no ties and nothing left to lose. This is fundamental to her hunt of Sauron and her eventual fall to the manipulation of Sauron. It doesn't track that she would be doing all this while she has a living and present daughter to worry about or keep her grounded. It's possible both Celeborn and Celebrian are missing. I feel like should would have mentioned that to Theo when she told him about Celeborn, but she's also managed to only mention her supposedly dead husband once in 16 episodes, so clearly she's a master at putting those particular traumas in boxes to never be spoken of. I feel like having both of them be missing to show up later would be a bit too cluttered and it'd be smoother to just say she isn't born yet, but anything's possible.

I'm pretty sure the "canon" about Celebrian being born before the fall of Eregion is from Unfinished Tales anyway? Which I think of as more like a draft of Tolkien's ideas for the family, not canon in the sense of the SIlmarillion or the published stories.

Lots of "canon" falls apart around Galadriel and her family as they were added in so late and Tolkien seemed to die before writing his "final" story for them. And this is an adaptation, they aren't meant to follow "canon" like the gospel anyway, as we've seen. As I've said, the very lack of solid story around Galadriel and her families experiences through the first two ages is more exciting than anything, as it leaves so much room for the writers to get creative them and write a thrilling story that we haven't seen before. This is a chance to shine light on characters that fall under the status of "unfinished" in Tolkien ever-changing world, such as Celeborn. The only "canon" (Silmarillion) information we have on Celeborn for the 1st and 2nd Age is that he lived in Doriath during the 1st Age, he was somehow related to Thingol and later Nimloth, and he and Galadriel were in love. There's other supplementary, unpublished notes that either expand on these traits or straight up contradict them.

Based on letters nearing his death, Tolkien was clearly still thinking of how Galadriel's families story could go, but as he never "finished" with them, if such a thing is even possible, we'll never get that "canon" story from him. So it's up to us- or, in this case, it's up to the writers of the Rings of Power. So we'll see!

Wow, that was a long-winded way to say "I dunno"

#I also realize the show is about the 2nd age- not the 1st age-#but Im just feeling 1st age-pilled after reading the Silmarillion #and they'll have to provide at least a Little information when Celeborn shows up-#maybe not the exact time of Finrods death but at least mention when Celeborn went missing?#I guess they could just keep it vague #that would be consistent with their inconsistent timeline at least lmao #I'm just looking for an excuse to pull my hair out over my new hyper fixation #maybe I shouldn't call it that just yet...#actually I just went through the whole Silmarillion in 5 days #so yeah #tbf about half of it was summary #BUT I WAS PAYING ATTENTION TO THE DORIATH PARTS #God I could use a whole separate series about the Doriath shenanigans #maybe I'll make another post about that #ignore me misspelling Silmarillion #silmarillion #the silmarillion #lord of the rings #the lord of the rings #LOTR #tolkien #jrr tolkien #galadriel #celeborn #Celebrian #galadriel x celeborn #celedriel #the rings of power #trop #rop

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the-travelling-witch · 8 months ago

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𝐎𝐂: 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐎𝐍

Name: Cheron von Blocksberg

Homeland: Hell

Dorm: Diasomnia

Class: 3-C

Age: 18(ish)

Height: 192 cm w/o horns

Club: Had trouble picking but ended up in the Science Club

Best Subject: Ancient Curses & Practical Magic

Hobbies: Studying magic, reading, fashion

Pet peeves: His wings getting caught on door frames… just build more arched gateways, mortals

Favourite food: The souls of the damned… just kidding, it’s lasagna

Least favourite food: Anything too sweet and tacky

Talent: Getting under people’s skin (without the teachers noticing)

Cheron von Blocksberg, the Prince of Hell, cuts an imposing figure befitting his position. Even if his height doesn’t manage to impress, his leathery wings and the pair of thick horns crowning his head, paired with his sharp claws and fangs, are enough to have people backing away from him. The crimson ends of his dark hair, reminiscent of hell fire, and the blazing intensity of his ruby and golden eyes do not help in making him more approachable. One look at him makes it apparent why he was sorted into the dorm based on the Thorn Fairy’s spirit of nobility.

Coming to Night Raven College is more of an excuse to leave the bleak and lifeless planes of his home. Considering his status, his education growing up was already pretty all encompassing, so his life at NRC is more about entertaining himself by toying with the living souls around him and seeing what he can tempt them into. Cheron’s not exactly hostile but some of their reactions are just so funny, he can’t help himself at times. Before coming to NRC, he wasn’t quite sure how much the living would differ from the damned but it turns out you can talk circles around them all the same; all the better for a silver tongued demon like him.

Unlike others, he doesn’t go around flaunting his power, though he will put people in their place if necessary. Besides, it’s not like he has to go around making people more aware of how threatening he can be; his title, high grades and the gossip going around campus do that for him. Despite his charming and easy-going smile, most people like to keep him at arm’s length, just like his housewarden. However, unlike Malleus, Cheron is actually present around campus and his mood can be rather unpredictable behind that amused expression of his, which makes people as wary of him as of Floyd.

Still, it’s not like he’s completely heartless, putting in some effort, especially for those who’ve earned his respect, and joking around most of the time. No, no, he is taking this seriously, trust him. After all, he is here to meet new people and build connections, and humans fascinate him. In his free time, he’s quite fond of researching old magic and even experimenting with altering and creating new ones. Some students have also reported seeing him pour over fashion magazines or with his nose stuck in a book.

“Hm? Oh you’re the Ramshackle Prefect, aren’t you? I’m Cheron, nice to meet you! Say, you must have some interesting stories to tell, I wouldn’t mind lending you my ear over a coffee some time. Just call me when you’re feeling chatty~”

Relationship with other students:

Riddle - If there’s someone Riddle has to resist collaring as often as Floyd or Ace, it might be Cheron. Sure, in front of the teachers, the prince is a model student; always properly dressed, never late and on top of his coursework. But Riddle knows better. Calling Cheron an angel is like trying to convince him the sky is red. Yet, the Diasomnia student isn’t technically breaking any rules, always operating through some kind of loophole, which frustrates the Heartslabyul housewarden even more. Still, he’ll give credit where credit is due and silently commends his meticulousness and will to study.

Leona - If Leona had horns he could lock, it would probably happen more often than anyone would like. In a way, Cheron ticks him off more than the other lizard by the sole fact he has to see his face more often around campus. While Malleus is annoyingly oblivious at times and many of Leona’s taunts fall on deaf ears, Cheron returns them with interest each time. The lion prince isn’t sure if he prefers that, so he settles for not meeting the Diasomnia student more often than necessary.

Azul - At first Azul thought he might have struck big. Another Diasomnia prince from a distant land? One far off from living society? Perhaps if he was as clueless as Malleus or naïve as Kalim… In his conversation to test the waters, however, the octomer soon learnt he’d get burnt if he tried anything funny and has made a berth around Cheron since. Whenever he sees the demon with one of the tweels, he can feel a headache incoming.

Kalim - Cheron has seen more than enough souls who had to pay the ultimate price for their greed in the end, so when he heard the heir of the Al-Asim family would be joining NRC, he couldn’t help but be sceptical. Yet, he would admit, Kalim surprised him. Despite all of his wealth, greed was one of the least fitting words to describe him and Cheron could respect that. If you could fault Kalim for anything it was his naïveté but that was hardly a sin. So Cheron found himself being much more genuine with the second year than with others, no matter how distrustful Jamil was of him.

Vil - Vil tried not to get ahead of himself when he met Cheron the first time. Sure, he carried himself with grace and elegance befitting his position but he knew from experience with Leona and Malleus, that didn’t have to mean anything. Yet, the blond was positively surprised when Cheron maintained his pristine appearance and showed off his manners. And against all odds, the demon hit it off with Vil surprisingly well after commenting on the magazine the model was studying. Then again, Vil is one of the few people who have earned Cheron’s respect, so maybe it’s not so surprising after all.

Idia - Listen, Cheron gets it. Being from a gloomy environment and expected to take over the family business himself, he can sympathise with Idia, almost to the point of leaving the fellow fiery-haired guy alone. Almost. However, the Ignihyde housewarden is just so much fun to tease. The first time they met, Cheron had to stop himself from grinning too hard as Idia nearly fell over backwards, stammering out an excuse to get away. As one of the first interactions with the living, it had a pretty forming impression on him. Still, he makes sure to cut the poor guy some slack… every now and then.

Malleus - As the heir apparent of Briar Valley and his housewarden, Cheron obviously treats Malleus with respect, though his tone is laced with playful teasing most of the time, which usually results in Sebek popping a vein. Malleus does not pick up on it. People sometimes wonder if Cheron is jealous of the other prince for snatching the housewarden position but those are just rumours. Sure, he doesn’t shy away from metaphorically locking horns with the dragon but being a housewarden sounds like a hassle and Cheron’s not about that. His gargoyle-esque appearance does net him some points with Malleus though, who was terribly disappointed to learn he was, in fact, not a sentient gargoyle.

Jade - Octavinelle’s vice housewarden has always taken to studying the behaviours of those around him, either to learn more about them or to learn from them. In the case of Cheron, it’s both. On one hand, Jade finds great amusement in watching him interact with students around campus, an air of sly aloofness surrounding him. One the other hand, there are so many rumours surrounding him without enough proof to match them, which fascinates Jade the same way a good puzzle would.

Floyd - Putting Cheron and Floyd together can either lead to a catastrophe or… well, a catastrophe. Their moods either clash and they are ready to go at each other’s throats -Cheron hiding it significantly better than Floyd- which spells trouble for those in their vicinity. Or, they get along splendidly, egging each other on and terrorising the poor souls around them. Either way, avoiding them together might be the smartest option.

Trey & Rook - As his clubmates, they regularly interact with Cheron outside of normal classes. And while Trey sometimes still sweats bullets seeing both Rook and Cheron around certain chemicals, he learnt pretty soon after the prince joined the club that he was very well read and much more responsible than the whispers about him would suggest. Rook just holds a general fascination for the demon and enjoys bouncing ideas off each other.

#┊holly’s potions ೃ༄#twisted wonderland #twst #twst oc #┊twst! oc: cheron ೃ༄#after having him in my drafts for so long #i'll just throw him out there #and yes #he's twisted from chernabog

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moongothic · 8 months ago

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Okay so realistically speaking, giving birth is an excruciating, painful nightmare, and from the few Crocodad fics I've seen most people seem to prefer to write realistic pregnancy and make Luffy's birth a (physically) painful thing. Because it makes sense, it might be more relatable for some writers that way etc, and that's perfectly fine (like genuinely, it's not an issue at all, this is not a critique or a complaint)

God I don't know how to make this segue- Have any of you watched Ore Monogatari!! (My Love Story)? It's a great early 2010s romantic comedy series, funny as hell, super cute and sweet, would reccomend, but that aside. During the series the protagonist Takeo's mother gets pregnant and she ends up giving birth to Takeo's baby sister. And it's that scene, where Takeo's baby sister is born, that I keep on thinking back to whenever I wonder how Luffy's birth might've gone.

Takeo and his mother alike are Sturdy Motherfuckers. Like absolute gigachads, borderline superhuman, it's great and it's funny as hell. And because of that near superhuman nature... Takeo's mother goes to give birth at 4:15 pm. And she has finished giving birth at 4:16 pm. One fucking minute is what it took for this woman to bring a child into this world. An absolute legend

The screencaps do not do justice to how fucking funny this is in the actual episode

And so like

Like we know Crocodile's been through absolute hell, being an amputee and all. And as Domino told us at the entrance of Impel Down, we also know the man did not even flinch when forced into Impel Down's traditional 200 Celsius cleansing bath (or 392F)

So Crocodile has better pain tolerance than the average person. Like, you might have to put in a bit of effort to cause him actually hurt. So if giving birth to Luffy was an absolute cakewalk for Crocodile, not only would it make perfect sense in-universe and be completely in-character for him, but also

It would be objectively funny as hell

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Crocodad #I just. I just wanted to throw this out there. For your considderation.#We all love good drama and angst and the feels but also. Considder The Funny Alternatives. Considder The Comedic Potential #Croc's water breaks and Iva-chan rushes out to get like towels or something #They're out for like 30 seconds and when they're back the baby's already born. No screaming no shouting no nothing #Croc just complains why Iva took so long and tells them to help him clean up the mess #And Iva-chan's just like [Enel Face]#Like yeah that's the good fucking shit lmao #ALSO: Again we don't know if Baby Luffy was an itty bitty tiny baby or a Jumbo Sized Baby so like #If Luffy was like average size (or small) while Crocodile's a fucking giant then???#Like?? I would like to imagine and pretend giving birth to an itty bitty baby would be easier than if the baby was proportional to Croc #So the baby essentially just falling out of Croc without any effort could make sense. In a ''this is a shounen comedy manga'' kinda way #I have edited this post like 10 times after posting it oh my god why is this post such a trainwreck of piss poor phrasing and typos #Should've let it sit in my drafts for another 2 weeks clearly

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fogwitchoftheevermore · 8 months ago

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(context for watcher/listener!sausage can be found in the “videos” tag on my blog if you want it, but this ficlet can be read without said context)

- - -

“Y’know, of all the Hermits I was expecting to be pulling me into a dark corner tonight, I did not expect you to be first, Grian! I love the initiative!”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” Grian says in a voice near a hiss. He’s got Sausage by the wrist, leading him into a small area of the upper floor of the tavern in Sanctaury that does look like it was built for the exact purpose Sausage is implying. Grian decides to ignore that as well.

“What are you doing here?” Grian’s straight to the point. He always has to be, with these Things, if he doesn’t want to get trapped in a loop of slant rhyming pleasantries.

“What do you mean?” Sausage asks, shaking his wrist out of Grian’s tight grip and leaning comfortably against the wall. “This is where I live. It’s my home. If anything, I should be asking you mysterious strangers what you’re doing here, but I’m sure you’ve heard that question enough for one day.”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Grian crosses his arms and tries his best not to look petulant, but he sure feels like it. “I thought They’d given up on trying to snatch me back, so why would They send you of all people? What’s your game?”

Sausage laughs, honest to god laughs, like he can’t believe Grian’s even asking him such a question. Grian thinks it’s a reasonable question, in this scenario, but what he thinks and what’s reasonable rarely seems to matter with these things.

“They didn’t send me,” Sausage looks him up and down in that way that makes Grian have to physically stop himself from curling inwards. This is why he never talks to Them. “Nobody sends me anywhere, they don’t tell me what to do and I like it that way! I just do my own thing. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

“No you’re not! You’re not- you can’t be! That’s not how this works!” Grian begins to notice that he’s no longer whisper-shouting and starting to just-normal-shout and takes a deep breath, trying not to draw the attention of his friends enjoying themselves on the floor below. And, realistically, in the other dark corners Sausage seems to have built into this place.

“That’s exactly how this works. You didn’t think you were the only person who’d left, did you?”

Grian opens his mouth, closes it, and thinks. In hindsight… yeah, he had kind of assumed he’d been the only person who’d left. Not for lack of trying, probably- but They’d tried for so long to get him back, kept him closely surveilled even when They’d accepted he was gone- surely some people had caved to that pressure eventually. When there was no sign They’d ever let up, ever let you go… he could understand eventually letting it overtake you.

“Did- did you leave, too?” Grian doesn’t remember the last time he saw Sausage’s face. He didn’t know him back then, of course. He probably would’ve connected the man with the person Pearl so often spoke about sooner. But he knows it’s been a long time, maybe even longer than the last time Grian had gone There. He doesn’t think Sausage had been There, that day. This might explain why.

“Eh, not quite?”

“What-“ Grian flails, both mentally and with his arms a bit. “What do you mean not quite?”

“Exactly what I said! I was never- it’s complicated, y’know?”

“Explain. Now.”

“Well, uh,” Sausage seems to flounder for the first time since this conversation started, which Grian is choosing to take as a victory. “Look, I wasn’t- they didn’t pick me. For this, or for anything, ever. Sometimes things just happen and you get yourself into a place you shouldn’t have and then… they can’t get rid of me, I can’t get rid of them, it is what it is.”

Grian stares at him for a long moment. Really stares at him, in the same way Sausage had looked him over earlier, in the same way that makes you feel like you’re under a microscope. Judging by the sudden nerves in his eyes, Grian can assume he feels it too. Grian remembers his face. That had been the first thing he’d noticed, when the Hermits had arrived. It had been a long time since they’d seen each other, but Grian knew his face. And now that Grian was studying him, really trying to remember… he’s not sure he quite likes what memories he’s dredging up.

“What are you?”

“Grian!” Sausage’s voice drips with mock offense as he puts his hand up to partially cover his mouth. “We only just met, do you think that’s polite?”

“Answer the question,” Grian sighs. How Pearl deals with this man on the regular, he doesn’t know.

“Well, if you insist.” Sausage sighs, somehow even more exaggerated than his previous movements. “It’s just… if you’ll believe it, it’s somehow even harder to answer the first question.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Grian says. “They’re two very different People, you know.”

“But they’re the same species, when it all comes down to it. Like, you might be very different than a chicken, but you’re both birds in the long run.”

Grian pauses, fanning his wings out a bit behind him as he considers. “I don’t think that metaphor’s quite landing the way you want it to.”

“No, me neither. Anyways, let me continue.

When they don’t pick you, things go a little differently! You don’t get sorted onto one side or the other since, well, you’re not really supposed to be there? So I’m… whatever I want to be, really. I think I’m feeling like more of a Listener, today, but we’ll see how the mood shifts.”

Grian flinches at the Name, on instinct. He doesn’t know how to feel about that, so he files it away to be dealt with at a later date. As for the rest of what Sausage said-

“What?”

“You heard me.” Sausage shrugs. He’s so nonchalant, Grian thinks he might strangle him, if not for the worry that that’s exactly what he wants out of this, somehow.

“Did I? Did I hear you?” Grian wants to pace, but that requires leaving the security of the corner, so he forces his feet to root themselves to the floor. “I thought- I thought you had to- if you wanted to change sides, I thought you had to-“

Grian closes one eye and takes his thumb to it, twisting the finger into his eyelid. The gesture seems to get the point across.

“Well, that’s the funny thing about this, actually.” From the way he’s been talking, Grian assumed Sausage thought this whole thing was funny. He restrains himself from saying that out loud if only so Sausage will finish his explanation.

Sausage reaches up to his left eye, pulls his eye lid back a bit, and unceremoniously pops out his prosthetic eye.

“All these processes and rituals actually have a lot of loopholes.”

Grian doesn’t know what face he’s making, but it’s enough to make Sausage giggle while he pops the eye back in. Because of course he does. Because this how his day is going, apparently. Walk through a weird portal in his basement and wake up in a world filled with his friends who don’t recognize him and also a guy he only ever saw There, who he was never supposed to see again. Sure. Of course he’s laughing about it. Grian thinks if he was a slightly different person, he’d be laughing too. It is, undeniably, absurd.

“Well, I think we’re done here then!” Grian would probably object if he weren’t so shocked about the loopholes. As it is, he just stands there a bit stupidly.

Sausage turns away to return to the party before turn around again for just a moment, reaching over, and ruffling Grian’s hair. That shocks him enough to shake him out of his stupor and swat Sausage’s hand away, though not before his hair is suitably messed up.

“What was that for?!”

Sausage smiles as he reaches up to rough up his own hair as well. “I assumed you didn’t want your friends asking questions about why you were dragging me into a dark corner, you know?” Sausage even goes far enough to pull his shirt a bit out of where it’s tucked into his pants, because of course he does. Grian tries not to cringe, but Sausage is right about this one thing. It is the easiest way to dodge any questions about where he’d gone off to- at the expense of the many knowing looks and teasing remarks he’ll be getting from the other Hermits instead.

“Have a good night, Grian!” Sausage calls over his shoulder as he turns to leave for real this time. “And remember, drinks are on me for all you guests tonight! You look like you need it.”