#also. the way he says ‘my best friend’ in reference to cal……………

[kraviolis]

the whole rule about jedi not marrying & not having children isnt because those are seen as paths to the dark side, its because those kinds of relationships are the biggest source of fear in the entire galaxy. and letting yourself bend to your fear is the first step on the path towards the dark side. with how many jedi there were, it wouldve been impossible to individually check in on and monitor any jedi who chose to have a family, so it was better to just enforce the rule of no attachments.

like kata said— her father only began to change when her mother died, because bode started letting his fear of losing kata control his actions. he was terrified of losing his entire family again, like he lost the order. thats when he began turning to the dark side, when he allowed his fear to cloud his judgement. he stopped thinking of kata as her own person, but more of a special item he possessed. as if he could just put her on a shelf or tuck her away into a box and hide her to keep for himself.

because he was not thinking about kata’s life & future when he took her to tanalorr. he wanted her safe but wasn’t taking her happiness into account. what if she got sick or injured and needed a doctor? what about her schooling? or friends? did he expect her to just… grow up completely alone, with only her father as company? she was already scared and lonely even after just a few hours of being on tanalorr.

its actually heartbreaking that in the post-story game, when she’s living with cal and merrin and greez, kata seems so much… brighter. responsive. not happy, per say, but she’s not scared and she’s not lonely. she talks about learning to cook from greez and learning botany from pili and how she thinks its funny that people are scared of merrin and sings a song her mother taught her and doesn’t even ask about her dad.

in bode’s desperation to make sure kata was safe, he neglected to realize that she had her own thoughts and feelings and opinions. he forgot that she wasnt just a blank slate for him to project onto. he forgot that she was a real person and not just a doll. the way he talks about her sounds so sweet at first, but after the betrayal… the way bode says “my little girl” feels almost exactly the same as anakin saying padmé’s name in ROTS.

[entwinedmoon]

This month is the 40th anniversary of John Torrington’s exhumation and autopsy. I’ve been doing real-time daily updates over on this post to show just how long and drawn out the process was. It took over a week, starting from when Beattie arrived on Beechey to when they first started digging to when they finally got the coffin open. Right now, those updates are in a bit of a lull because, after they dug down to the coffin, they had to wait for permits to move onto the next part, so there won’t be another Daily Torrington Dig update until August 17.

While we’re waiting for Beattie to get his permits to crack open a cold one (Torrington’s coffin) with the boys (his scientific research team), you can check out my Torrington blog posts to keep the spirit of the season going. The posts Sacred to the Memory of and A Star Is Born would be especially applicable right now as they explore Torrington’s death, exhumation, autopsy, and the media’s response to the photographs of his well-preserved body.

But there’s something else I wanted to share here, another type of media response that I’ve known about (and had a copy of) for a while. I shared it years ago on Twitter, thinking it would get a laugh there, but that was, er, not the reaction I received, so I’d held off on sharing it anywhere else because I thought most people would find it inappropriate. However, I was reminded recently by a friend (don’t know if they want to be tagged here or not, so I’ll go with not) about the existence of this particular piece, and I realized that this might be something that would be more appreciated here on Tumblr, where we like to photoshop Torrington’s corpse into memes, ship him with the guy he’s buried next to, and want to see what he would think of Takis and flavored vapes.

The article I’m referring to is the story about Torrington that appeared in the Weekly World News.

If you’re not familiar with the Weekly World News, it was a notorious tabloid that made up absurd stories and pretended it was real news. Some news stories were actually true—so it wasn’t completely like today’s The Onion—but there were also plenty of clearly fictional articles, featuring bizarre, often supernatural stories, such as Elvis sightings, a double-decker bus mysteriously found at the South Pole (“scientists” claimed aliens did it), or Bat Boy, a boy who was part bat, part boy.

Torrington’s level of fame within the cultural consciousness of the time meant that he, too, got to experience the tabloid treatment.

(CW: pictures of Torrington’s mummified body beneath the cut)

Published on March 3, 1992, was this front-page story:

Man buried in 1845 brought back to life!

Sailor’s coffin frozen in arctic ice 147 years!

Hush-hush new drug revives corpse, say doctors!

Yes, according to the Weekly World News, John Torrington was brought back to life in 1992. There’s even a full article all about how it happened.

MAN FROZEN SINCE 1845 BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE!

Scientists revive seaman trapped in ice 147 years!

Sailor back from the dead still thinks James K. Polk is President of the U.S.!

By Cal Sanders, Special Correspondent

The perfectly preserved corpse of a British sailor who was buried in an icy grave after he died on an Arctic expedition in 1845 has been revived by scientists—147 years later!

And while Petty Officer John Torrington’s health is fragile at best, the team of doctors who illegally plucked him from his grave and brought him back to life say he is aware of his surroundings, walking with help and might very well be able to lead a normal life “if this man has the psychological strength to adapt to the 20th century.”

“It’s hard to believe but this man thinks James K. Polk is President of the United States and insists that horses and sailing ships are the best and fastest ways to travel,” Dr. Hermann Richter said in his report on the experiment that brought Torrington back to life.

“Electric lights literally scare the hell out of him and to be perfectly frank about it, he hasn’t quite decided if he’s dead or alive. About the best we can do at this point is take his recovery one day at a time.

“If Torrington survives we will have produced a living piece of history. If he dies, at least we’ll be able to say that we tried to do something that might ultimately have benefited all mankind.”

The decision to steal Torrington’s corpse from its grave in northern Canada couldn’t have come easy for the Richter team, which issued its report to selected European newspapers “from an undisclosed clinic in Germany.”

For starters, the young man’s grave has stood as an unofficial monument to the courage and determination of 128 adventurers led by British explorer Sir John Franklin—adventurers who gave up their lives to chart the last 300-mile-leg of the treacherous Northwest Passage between 1845 and 1848. Torrington’s body was exhumed once before, in 1983, but it was carefully reburied after scientists took a small tissue sample to determine the cause of death. As it turned out, Torrington died from lead poisoning after eating provisions out of tins that were sealed with the dangerous and often lethal metal. Needless to say, news that Richter and his associates secretly exhumed the body a second time, smuggled it into Germany and succeeded in bringing it back to life have infuriated many experts, some of whom consider the theft of the body criminal. Richter himself insisted that Torrington is in good hands and will be free to go when he is strong enough.

The doctor went on the say that he understands why the experiment might sound extreme to some people but he believes that the revival of Torrington “furthered the best interests of medicine and science.” Richter’s report did not include any of the techniques that were used to revive Torrington but it did mention “an exciting new drug” that might one day make such revivals routine.

Because he died of lead poisoning, it is also believed that Richter and his team somehow cleansed Torrington’s tissue of the deadly metal before bringing him back to life. For the record, Torrington was a man of 20 when he died. Now he looks like a man of 80, photos supplied by Richter show.

“A century and a half of death is enough to age anyone,” said Richter.

There’s a lot to unpack here—the morally dubious German doctor with a mysterious, Frankenstein-esque resurrection method; the burial and exhumation dates both being off by one year for some reason; the short, skinny guy in the obvious bald cap that they thought would pass as Torrington; and so much more. Interestingly, a lot of the article seems to focus more on how scandalous it is that Dr. Richter stole Torrington’s body, as if the writer thought that the revival of a long-dead corpse wasn’t enough of a scoop. Also, I’m not sure if Torrington would even have been aware that Polk was president in 1845—was he the sort of guy who paid attention to international politics? Wouldn’t it have made more sense for him to think Victoria was still queen?

Many people might be offended by such an article, but the Weekly World News never cared about who they offended. Unsurprisingly, one of those who did take umbrage with the story was Dr. Owen Beattie.

In a short article in the Times-Colonist Metro about a week after the Weekly World News story ran, we got to hear Owen Beattie’s reaction.

HEE-(T)HAW . . . It was standard checkout rag fare. “Man Buried in 1845 brought back to life” shouted a recent front page of Weekly World News. “Hush-Hush New Drug Revives Corpse,” it continued.

These startling revelations bore some significance for both the wax museum’s Ken Lane and University of Alberta anthropologist Owen Beattie. The man purportedly thawed like last night’s dinner was John Torrington, one of three sailors from the Franklin expedition buried on Beechy [sic] Island. The Franklin expedition—and John Torrington—feature large in the wax museum’s arresting Frozen in Time expedition. Torrington’s body was exhumed from its Arctic grave in ’84 by Dr. Beattie, who determined death was from lead poisoning.

Neither Ken nor the anthropologist felt their respective professional worlds crumbled with the News article. (It ran with a photo of an emaciated looking chap being assisted by doctors and reports that Torrington is terrified of electric lights, still believes Polk is the U.S. president, and horses are the only way to go.) Ken shrugged it off with a what-can-you-expect-from-a-checkout-rag laugh. The anthropologist wasn’t quite so forgiving.

He refused to comment on it at all, insisting that his research speaks for itself. Apparently John Torrington was quite dead when he was exhumed and equally so when buried after the autopsy. But then that’s not the sort of stuff that sells check-out rags.

While it’s perfectly understandable that Beattie would not appreciate something like the Weekly World News’ fake story, what I find most interesting about this snippet is that there was a wax museum with a Franklin Expedition exhibit that included Torrington??? Does that mean there was a Torrington wax figure???? Where is it now????? Can I buy it?????????

These very important questions aside, it’s fascinating to see that Torrington was well known enough to make it into a “checkout rag.” Maybe it’s not the legacy he would have wanted, but at least it’s worth a good laugh.

[shininglynxie]

I come to you with more new characters!This is Nox(he/him) - an axolotl and poison dart frog hybrid. He's a pretty stoic guy and a man of very few words. Despite his appearance and demeanor, though, he's a very chill and sweet dude who's always ready to be there when you need him and always ready to help out.

He's a semi-popular musician and makes music for a living. He mostly does it from home. Despite this, he still goes on walks semi-regularly, and regardless of his untalkative nature and stay at home job, he still enjoys social events. He does DJing pretty often. Mostly in the city he lives in, but he does sometimes tour around the country. He loves crafts and sometimes makes himself accessories out of trash and other random objects, like the necklace he's wearing here.

Nox is one of Cal's best friends. They used to be a part of a music club together during high school, and nowadays, they host a music-related podcast with a couple of other friends from that club.

I meant to debut Nox as a part of OC-vember for the day 3 prompt: Toxic. The prompt isn't supposed to reflect his personality in any way at all. Instead, it first of all refers to the fact he's half poison dart frog. And secondly, it's because of Toxtricity and its poison typing. Now, that may be a random thing to say, but let me explain. Nox was actually inspired by an idea of an online persona I had for myself years ago. It was supposed to be a fusion of shiny Greninja and shiny Toxtricity - two of my favourite pokemon at that time. That idea never ended up going anywhere, but I ended up reusing it, turning it into Nox.

Also, have the ref that I made for him! It showcases his elaborate patterns and what his "hair" and go-to hairstyle look like!

[lashton-is-my-drug]

Lashton Timeline Masterpost; using 5sos and solo albums for eras

Using 5sos albums to show an overview/condensed relationship era timeline, using selected tracks. Release date is in parenthesis. Keep in mind, albums are recorded AT LEAST 6-8months before released, more typically closer to a year earlier.

A note I do want to make is that the affection between members of the band, and the fact they knew, and even created their pairing names, normalized and arguably fed into the "shipping" culture that happened. This has caused confusion throughout the fandom in delineating what friendship looks like and what a relationship looks like. Friendship is where the best relationships are based. How many times have you heard couples say that their partner is their best friend. All of the boys are best friends as well as soulmates, as themselves have stated.

Now with that out of the way....

(Gif: Fetus Lashton)

Luke's mom is Ashton's maths teacher 2009- 2010 school year.

Then at some point Luke and Ash are both at the cinema where Luke is getting bullied by some kids and Ashton steps in and defends Luke (knight in shining armor anyone???). I will make another post about the timeline of the band and Lashton. For this timeline though, I will be focusing on their music.

(December 2012) “Somewhere New” first EP

“Out of My Limit” [Luke songwriter] - Special attachment to this song as it was performed in 10th Anniv YT Show. The lyric referencing 2 years matches up with how long Luke and Ashton knew each other. Calum and Michael met in 3rd grade, Luke went to the same school with Cal and Michael. Also, Ash was the only one to have jobs to help with expenses. [[Side note: Something that’s been on my mind is how “meet split ends” could be a double meaning to reference the band Split Endz (same lead singer is in Crowded House. SE was prior to CH. Lead singer is known in the industry for his songwriting skills. Ash is a fan of Crowded House.)]]

“Beside You” [Luke songwriter] - It’s a song of longing. During an interview, Ash attempted explaining the meaning is one can of beans is with another can of beans, but there’s another can of beans that wants to be with one of them. He lost confidence in his explanation so he didn't continue on with it. 🥺☹️

(Gif: March 13, 2013 Ash London interview Ash leans over and kisses Luke's shoulder after caressing Luke's hair. Cal leans over onto Luke's other shoulder (doesn't kiss him ofc to try to cover it up) The interviewers don't even acknowledge it happening. Link

Pictured: April 14, 2013 Tweet posted by Luke then deleted, confirmed by an OG 5SOS fan)

Gif: October 30, 2013 Melbourne, Aus with their parents in the audience. During the song "Teenage Dream", which is already a suggestive song in of itself, Luke walks over to Ash with a huge grin on his face during the line "let you put your hands on me in my skin tight jeans" Then Ash sings the "let me be your teenage dream tonight" right into Luke's ear, while Ash is doing a rock n' roll suggestive shoulder roll. Luke is all for it. Link

Photo: Luke's mom takes photo of the moment and posts it to her socials

(June 2014) “Self-titled” album

Lashton young love era continues. Learning how to craft songs and production and forming a bond with producer/mentor John Feldmann. “She Looks So Perfect” single released March 2014.

This is strongly shown through songs like “She Looks So Perfect” (originally completely gender neutral in lyrics and title “You Look So Perfect”), “End Up Here” “Don’t Stop”, “Long Way Home”. SLSP and EUH have direct evidence about Luke and Ash’s relationship starting. The rush of first meeting your person and first love. ❤️

(June 15, 2014) "Don’t Stop” EP

“Don’t Stop” [Luke and Cal songwriters] confirmed lgbt on Track by Track YouTube video, Cal tells Michael he wrote it for him, meanwhile Luke and Ash are specifying a whole backstory which includes drinking at a party. The boys already did have experience drinking, even though not legally allowed yet. Luke's cheeky love song. Ash has a brave moment of adding that it can be about a boy, then Luke agrees with him. Remember, Ash didn't write it.

“Try Hard” Start of lyrics mentioning roses in Lashton songs, Luke and Ash present day have matching rose tattoos.

“Out of My Limit” included on EP.

(March 2014) “SLSP” Ep +B sides

“Wherever You Are” [Luke songwriter] Experiencing a special closeness with someone but unable to be together because of forces, have to hold back “every night I almost call you just to say it always will be you”, “you can say we’ll be together someday”, “I know I shouldn’t tell you”, “why can’t I stop feeling this way”, “but there’s nothing that compares to what we had, and so I walk alone”.

(October 2015) “Sounds Good Feels Good” album

Focused on mental health, trying to figure out how to handle pressures of the industry on one's self identity, and navigating relationships with one another. Full of teen angst. Heavily working with John Feldmann. Proving themselves to the industry.

Luke and Ash getting even more seriously involved (evidenced by “Vapor” “Waste The Night”)

(Gif: Nov 2015, Ashton showering Luke with love on the couch moment included in How Did We End Up Here 5sos documentary video. Ash is all happiness while again, Luke is enjoying the heavy affection from him.)

(June 2018) “Youngblood” album

Luke and Ash really step up as lead songwriters. Right after the end of tour sometime in August of 2017, the two of them go to Stockholm, Sweden together to immerse themselves in honing the craft of songwriting with Rami Yacoub and Carl Falk.

(Gif: May 28, 2017 Luke says he would "follow him to the end of the Earth" Link)

(Sept 13th, 2017) Luke tweets for Australia to legalize same sex marriage (he very rarely talks about political issues),

October 10th, 2017 Ash next to Luke, while in the car with Luke driving and Cal in the backseat, proudly announces “Luke lives with me now” via instagram livestream. Link

Oct 15th, Ash, makes sure everyone is aware they definitely are living together, tweets about him and Luke living together complete with a cute video of them in living room together. Link

Oct 20th, 2017 Australian marriage equality account tweets to Ash asking for a follow to be able to DM, Ash replies with “Done 🌈❤️”. Visuals take a much more purposeful presence than ever before during this era. During promo for YB, Luke and Ash wear matching rings.

Lyrically the song “Youngblood” seems to be wanting each other but with a bit of angsty sexuality and the games that are played.

“Valentine” [Ash songwriter] Ash directed the music video, music video included LGBT imagery. Genius interview, Sex and romance doesn't need a specific day, it should be all the time. Luke makes sure to say “it’s sweet”.

“Better Man” recorded in Bon Jovi’s guitarists house (Luke’s fave band), Luke said it was him being in “a very self-destructive place” “then juxtaposed in the chorus” of finding someone loving.

“Empty Wallets” Ashton trying to impress Luke by giving Luke money to spend, but then not approving of how he spent it (lyrics reference drugs). Ash does however, believe in second chances (Cocktail Chats). An interview exists that Ashton speaks about spending money on a partner, which insinuates its his love language.(I would include reference to interview but I don't remember which one, I've watched too many to remember which one, sorry) He's bought Luke expensive multiple custom leather jackets, and has made social media posts showing off such gifts. There's no evidence, as far as I know of, Ash buying lavish gifts for Cal or Michael. Yes, Ash bought all four of them brotherhood necklaces, which are meaningful, but there's nothing lavish, like custom leather jackets.

“Want You Back” During Zach Sang interview, Ash says it describes “falling in real love and it determines the way you go in relationships the rest of your life, frustration of not finding that again, [It’s] not the actual person”. Paying attention along the years how much Luke and Ash are on the same wavelength in interviews and such, like finishing each other’s sentences and connecting on each other’s thoughts and how affectionately (not the same affection towards Michael or Cal) they act towards each other. Luke “lyrics are sad, but upbeat [musically]”. Includes another reference to roses. Ash has worn a roses shirt. "Freckles on your back" Luke has freckles. Luke starts feeling comfortable enough to wear makeup in the music video. Wearing makeup is a big thing to the guys because of conservative views on gender norms they were surrounded by in Australia. Rainbow music video, with room for interpretation.

“Ghost of You” Band was/is escapism (started day 1 as escaping Aussie), this line is queer coded “my feet don’t dance like they did with you”, “(Led) Zeppelin shirt” is Ash, Ash has expressed that this song is emotionally meaningful numerous times ever since released. I have a whole lyrical analysis posted.

“Meet You There” Right person wrong time, will be together when time is right. Easily consider this as queer flagged relationship that can't be together for certain reasons...

"Midnight" Bonus track. Has an incredibly queer flagged theme of only being able to love someone at night, never in the light.

"Monster Among Men" Another bonus track. Queer flagged song. "I'm so bad for you", this song is so filled with testosterone.

"When You Walk Away" Another bonus track. "Such a sentimental love, In a cynical world". Yet another song about outside judgements on being with a lover, a common theme weaved throughout 5sos and solo discography..

(Gif: Calum's recording of Luke and Ash being adorable goofballs together moment, included in a 5SOS tour diary. Dare I include that while Ash and Luke are boyfriend'ing, Luke's beard is on the same boat...)

(Pic: Jun 6, 2017 Luke posts a photo to his IG captioned "ashtonio irwinie". Luke and Ash cozy during what can be construed as a date night. Link )

(March 2020) CALM album

Maturing even more into their adult life era

“Red Desert” Motivation as a band. Having a reason and muse that keeps you going for a goal. Luke and Ash are each other’s muse (soulmates, twin flames).

“Old Me” Moving through and past hard partying days, messing up but then working on what will make you a good partner

“Teeth” Lies giving butterflies, music video shows rainbows on Luke and shows Ash for lyric about seeing as "my wife". Theme of torment and working through each of their barriers/struggles. Ash posted an acoustic guitar version where the torment is clear. Later, when 5sos5 album is released, Ashton says it contains working through barriers.

“Wildflower” pop love song. Music video is rainbows galore including starting and ending with 5sos themselves as a rainbow. Ash tweet announcement includes rainbow. Ash is very proud of this song.

“Best Years” Luke professing his love, features The Edge guitar part. See my lyric analysis.

“Not In The Same Way” Luke looking at his mistakes from his and another perspectives (as per Luke), Ashton via ig livestream: “the concept’s beautiful. We love each other but not in the same way”. Luke: “chaotic relationship”, hurt each other “when you were just friends”. This wouldn’t match with being about Sierra since they were narratively shown together and narratively so quickly together as a couple. No time to be friends.

This song is a precursor to “COMPLETE MESS”.

“Lover of Mine” Luke and Ash devoted love song, having to deal with lies, “dance around the living room”, “when I look at my life and all of my crimes, you’re the only thing I think I got right” “kaleidoscope mind” 🌈 “seen the red, seen the blues”. This song describes a relationship that’s experienced a lot together.

“Lonely Heart” Ash pauses during his solo track by track IG live to take an emotional moment. Rainbow hearts lyric video. “Native of mine, you’re just my kind” (hello soulmates!!), dancing inside a burning house, being pulled apart from each other and hating the feeling of that, “I’ll always follow, I promise you, until the end of time” (refer back to Luke saying in interview he would "follow [Ash] to the end of the Earth"). When Michael suggests it’s Luke’s least fave song on CALM during a CapitalFM interview, Ash immediately says "I'm signing off". Michael has a pattern of razzing the guys like this.

Screenshot: Official audio video for "Lonely Heart". Rainbow hearts 🌈

“High” There’s an awkward back and forth when talking about this track during Ash London interview. The person is selfishly calling the other person to tell them they’ve changed. Double meaning: high as in smoking mj, or thinking well of this person. There’s a tone Luke and Ash are each speaking with. Luke sounding apologetic, Ash sounding perturbed.

Luke and Ashton release solo albums in between 5sos albums.

(2020) Ashton's album "Superbloom"

"Sunshine" Song includes lyrics... "Satellite dreams" feeling like he's alien. Doesn't fit in with humanity. Queer flagging. "Expensive perfumes, Ladies do not lose, Playin' but not on the team" and reference to living in a cage. Closeted queer flagging.

"Perfect lie" about having to tell lies with his partner, gender neutral. Closeted queer flagging. Album filled with torment despite publicly at the time being supposedly in a happy relationship with a female.

"I'm To Blame" He described this about getting high with someone. But then towards the end it takes a turn... "No I can't, Live a lie, You can't make me, Live a lie, Burning red, Letting go, Up in flames, All the same, I am too". This part is so heartbreaking to listen to. He's being told to live a certain way but he's not happy doing that. Closeted queer flagging. Years of manipulation subjected to him from Modest Management perhaps?

June 1, 2021 - Ashton posts a tweet during Pride month announcing it's not just Pride Month but Pride Life.

July 9 - Luke includes gay marriage reference in first single “Starting Line” music video.

There's so many references to opening up his eyes all throughout his album. Feeling fake and being sorry for how things are and how he handles himself throughout, asks for forgiveness.

"Starting Line" Processing his childhood and the band until now. Sets up all the topics covered throughout the album, as per Luke. Undertones of being LGBT. A friends parent, not in the fandom, heard this song and asked if he is gay. See my analysis of the music video/lyrics post. When Luke's album and single was released, Ashton was intensely supportive and commenting on his social media, posting ig stories. "Jumping into my dreams" comment by Ash on his ig post for the music video. Link to Ash supportive social media

"Place In Me" "You always liked this time of day, no words left to play on, how many chances does it take" This is such Ashton coded. Lyrics are so ingrained in his being, being considered as a lyricist is so important to him, but sometimes words are not enough without action to back them up. Remember how Ash is willing to give chances? It sounds to me like this is something Luke is hearing from Ash, about getting things right. This song is saying sorry and no matter how things are this person is a part of his being. Ashton posts ig story of this song "Now with my eyes wide open, it's heaven in your arms. I'm crying and it feels so good".

"Mum" The references to chandeliers and scared of not being accepted. Hoping his mum is along with him through it. "Love the fear of falling" "jump into my ocean" "can't you hear me?" "nothing hurts me now".

"Baby Blue" "I'm on my way to Wonderland, Take off my suit and wander in for a moment, Or stay for a lifetime" Heartbreakingly candid lines that are queer flagging of closeting. "I'm hiding in a living sleep". Closeting. "Living in the in between, And I'm never gonna last, never gonna last" Closeting. Well, you get the picture.

"Motion" Music video promote it about struggling with mental health as well as queer flagging and closeting. Trapped behind glass (same theme as Harry Styles video for "As It Was"). Rainbow of colors. Drinking a gallon of milk.

"Comedown" Last track on the album. Looking back on how he's not been accepting truths and instead avoiding them."Light up a darkness I was never meant to" Hinting that another person in his life brought on revelations. This song can be connected to COMPLETE MESS. Camelia Street is located in Australia in NSW area where the boys are from. He released this album with Sony Music, which is known for using personal lives/stunts to promote projects. Hence him creating the story of it connected with Sierra. "Seeing those colours creeping in, They give me something I can feel, As the seconds start to take bloom" Connected with mental health as well as self acceptance as lgbt.

Ashton posts an unboxing video to his IG story when he receives a vinyl of Luke's album.

(September 2022) 5SOS5 album

Luke and Ash continue to express being committed to one another by wearing matching black onyx rings, engagement/wedding bands. There was different matching rings during Youngblood era as well. The songwriting has increased in maturity, even more than ever before. Contemplative look back where they’ve come from (“Red Line”, for instance) and where they are today (“COMPLETE MESS”, for instance)

“Complete Mess” Luke and Ash complete each other, but at the same time can ruin each other. Luke said during an interview, the song is romantic. Music video was only the relationships between members of the band. Luke wore his black onyx ring (frames of him showing his hand used for Spotify canvas too). Song idea started with Luke “you make me complete”, then Ash put a 5sos “touch of misery”. Promo for the song is so full of Lashton, yet the Lierra “engagement” gets brought up throughout, never by Luke. (To me, it reminds me of how Zayn was throughout his engagement to Perrie Edwards.) Song also has a connection with a shirt Luke owns. Ash has the picture of it at the ready on his phone, should anyone ask.

“Easy For You To Say” Considering moving back to Aussie to get back to roots when settling down.

“HAZE” Chill vibe about being in love. Luke and Ash literally singing to one another for a verse about when the bullshit is getting to them, they’re able to be themselves with each other “feel human once again”.

“You Don’t Go To Parties” Ash’s perspective. Him being with everyone he knows but yet he’s still not engaging with them “clinging to my couch” besides getting high with friends since he’s not interested in finding anyone there. He can’t stop talking about the ”past 5 years running out my mouth” (matches up with the timeline of when they lived together 2017). Luke and Ash have been longtime party buddies. Could be about Ash’s sobriety, as well.

“Caramel” Navigating being together through how more complicated life has become (similar theme from “2011”). A love that’s seen and been through highs and lows “it’s been a while since you and I been where we started”, but not losing what they have together “I don’t want to let it fade away”. “True love” yet having to “play pretend”. But at the end of the day, it's still "love like a landslide, I kiss you goodnight". Both Luke and Ash each choose it as one of their faves on the album.

“Red Line” Melancholy Ashton reflecting on the time spent in London riding the train to songwriting sessions. Light vs dark. Falling out of love, he’d lose himself (feels like “Complete Mess” adjacent)

“Moodswings” has parallels with Luke’s song “Slip Away” (struggling to get out of your own way when things are going good, mental health).

“Flatline” The intensity of falling in love. Luke is shining (“COMPLETE MESS”). “Hard to fake”. Has a dark twist (Ash has spoken about enjoying doing that in his songwriting).

(Photo: The guys celebrating a successful album. Luke and Ash, Michael and Cal.)

(Gif: April 2023 Tecate Pa'l Norte music festival in Monterrey)

[anjumbai]

Deep Work by Cal Newport - Thoughts

"I'll live the focused life, because it's the best kind there is." - Winfred Gallagher

Rating: very useful out of 10

I knew I heard the name Cal Newport somewhere before. It turns out he wrote that book named "How to Become a Straight A-student"; which I read back in 2021. Although I did not finish it, it was filled with a lot of practicality and very useful instructions. And this book, while focusing more on the fact that why going deep is necessary, is also filled with equal amount of well-explained examples.

The book argues why you should not drown in shallow activities which yield little to no impact on your life, but rather spend more time going deep and practicing deep work. Deep work refers to the practice of committing to a work with intense focus, reducing all sorts of distractions while you're going at it. While I approached this to learn more bout student life and the uses of deep work, it turned out to target knowledge workers more. But that wouldn't stop me from extracting something from the book now, would it? Well anyways, I won't go into much details about the book. I sometimes forget that I'm writing about my thoughts and not on a critical review of how the book is structured or anything like that.

So what did I like about the book? The fact that it advised you to quit social media. I liked how he said if you wanna do something different, if you wanna be able to focus more and get distracted less, you should be harder to reach. You shouldn't be available just by one email, or be just one instagram notification away. And I liked how he said that most people would argue that "I'm connected with my friends over there etc etc" and how it does have some validity, he names it the "any benefit" approach. Which means if something provides you with even just one benefit, you'll cling to it despite the overwhelming difference of the damages it can cause.

I agree with him on this part and being difficult to reach has now proven to be a good part of my life. I love it. You can even say I liked this because he mentioned something I already do. Which is true. I worked for it, so some recognition from an inanimate object feels nice.

He also states how deep work should be practiced on a daily basis. Which gives natural idiots like me hope cause even though I might be an idiot, I can still practice something daily without much issue ( thanks to atomic habits ). And like James Clear said, habits build up like compound interests do. I liked the book. I disliked some of it for the overwhelming office related examples but perhaps I should've understood students aren't the key target audience in this book. As he already has a rather amazing book for students. Check it out, I'd say.

A common argument that comes up would be that- I don't need to read a whole damn book to learn basic stuff like this. True. You don't. You can just learn em by scrolling through your Instagram food, or YouTube; maybe if you try hard enough you can resist clicking on that youtube short too. I'd still advise reading the book. It teaches you to practice something on a long term basis, and each chapter happens to have something new instead of all of it one, so you can gradually learn and apply. That's how self-help books work for me. You read and apply, learn something new, apply again. This book might encourage some to become delusional. Just reading self-help books don't take you particularly anywhere. So if this is your 14th self-help book, maybe seek therapy. Or you can ignore me, which is the natural order.

Atomic Habits and Deep Work, both happen to be helpful in their own ways. But I'd prefer Atomic Habits over this, due to how much more practical the first one is. But if you really wanna understand the need of deep work and eventually apply it in your life, or maybe you lack focus like me- try it out. It has boosted my focus span. Or maybe the fact that I don't really have much to do daily is what made my focus span increase but hey, nobody is looking into that.

Next read: The Subtle Art of not giving a damn about the books title. (or grammar)

[rozetheeuwu]

Over analyzing my favorite Reborn character's theme team.

Cal Whitaker is my favorite character and I am going to ABSOLUTELY overthink all of this but I want to share my thoughts about his team Burning Pride . I KNOW I'm thinking TOO deep about it, but I don't care because I love him.

(I talked about this on discord so I'm copying and pasting most of it to here) Also didn't check for any spelling/grammar errors.

Spoilers to his character ending:

Okay let's start with the obvious one.

You fight the gay man on a Rainbow Field with his team called Burning Pride.

NOW onto the deeper stuff.

The first time we ever battle Cal is on the Rainbow field (unless you randomize everything)

When we meet him he's hot heated and the worst version of himself. In this fight we fight when he's become the better version of himself, even if he still has ways to go it's clear that he is on his way to finally heal. Not just the relation with himself but also his friends and brother.

Now for the Team:

Magmotar:

He has his Magmotar, what we can assume is the pokemon he had with him for the longest time. Out of all his story related battles Magmotar was always the one that was with him (Also his Charmeleon/Charizard, but Magmotar was the only fully evolved and is his ace). Despite having changed, his ace is still by his side. It was by his side through Cal's entire development.

Medicham:

He has mega Medicham, the pokemon of his teacher who has helped him get to where he is now.

Volcarona:

He has has Volcarona, I'd like to think it represents his friendship with Shelly, his best friend. Despite him having changed so much as a person he still holds her close to his heart.

Entei:

Alright let's start with Entei. Entei is one of the legendary beasts, which are also referred to as the legendary dogs, now out of those three Entei is the most dog like. In his first story related battle he had a Houndoom which is seem as like a very evil pokemon, in his second related story battle and the following after that he has Arcanine which is seen as a loyal companion. I already mentioned how that is a reference from how his personality changed from hot headed to the person we know now.

Entei is also known as the volcano pokemon. Which is a reference to his first trainer class 'Volcanic Cal'.

He went from a dog pokemon that is described as evil to a dog pokemon that is seen as a loyal companion to a legendary (dog) pokemon who embodies the passion of magma/is said when it roars that a volcano erupts.

What does this mean?

I think it's supposed to represent that his fire has been rekindled hotter than ever, but instead of anger and revenge his flame is that embodies passion, friendship and loyalty. Rather than the volcano erupting when he's angry though, it's passion, friendship, ect.

Delphox:

Now Delphox, this one is a bit trickier but I think I can stretch far enough for this.

On the Ashen beach field psychic types moves are boosted. Apophyll Academy is set on the Ashen Beach field. The Academy helped him come to terms with his emotions and helped him calm and focus on his mind.

Delphox is fire type which represents his fire type specialty and it's psychic type which represents him coming to peace with his mind.

Now there aren't many fire/psychic types, Victini is also one, but I think Delphox fits this team because before e17 he had an entire team of starters on his team up battle on Pyrous mountain and I think it's supposed to be a callback to that.

Victini:

This one is also a bit of a stretch, but hear me out.

Victini is the Victory Pokemon, it is said that its trainer always wins. But rather than winning battles against other trainers I think Victini is supposed to represent the inner battle that Cal had with himself.

As long as he keeps learning he'll become the better version of himself, in that way he has 'won' against his troubled past self.

One of Victini's pokedex entries says When it shares the infinite energy it creates, that being's entire body will be overflowing with power. I'd like to think this is a nod to his character ending where Victoria asks him to be the leader for the outing we see in the ending. Just like how Kiki shared her wisdom with Cal, Cal will share that wisdom with everyone there. And that will be passed on as well, creating an infinite 'energy'.

I'm AWFUL at putting my thoughts into words so I hope this all made sense

I just love Cal so much it's unreal.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

Signed, your resident Cal stan <3

[riverstardis]

series 32 episode 27:

jac's back

reallyyy don't understand how they expect ethan to find out who the blogger is?? and wouldn't they rather he spend the time doing his job???

robyn's complaining about everyone being tired and david puts on an american accent and goes "yeah but we must follow our commander-in-chief, and make this hospital great again!" nahhh that's not fair😭😭😭😭 ethan walks up behind them but stops to listen and robyn's like "you really need a holiday david. don't worry about it, as soon as i see ethan, i'm gonna have a word." and ethan walks away😥😥😥😥😥 well at least robyn hasn't forgotten that he is their friend

poor ethan :( i was gonna say he's really going through it but he's been going through it CONSTANTLY for like 2 years at this point😭

aw cal mention! ethan's speaking to alicia in his office after he's told everyone that he's going to find the blogger today and they'll lose their job and he's like "'i will find you, and i will kill you' did you ever see that film? cal used to watch it all the time" and she says she watched it with him once but she is VISIBLY NERVOUS like stroking her hair😭

"'the idiots have cancelled all locums for the foreseeable future' so that's me? the idiot." 😭 alicia tries to convince him that it means everyone in charge because it's plural?? bestie he IS in charge??? it was decision to cancel locums and leave so who else could that possibly mean😭😭😭 yeah she didn't start the blog with the intention of hurting ethan but THAT was DEFINITELY a direct attack

he asks if it's her and she gets SO offended like "you really think that of me??" making him feel bad for even thinking it, that's actually horrible >:( and then he asks for her help in finding who it is and she says he must think a lot of her to think she'd rat out one of her colleagues and says she's not gonna be responsible for somebody losing their job... but ethan will lose his job if he doesn't find who it is soo you'll be responsible either way??? well really it should be her losing her job ofc, not that i want her to

rash and bea sjkskjfsj

rash is still scared of resus🥺 bea going "you can either walk into resus, or you can sit out here and fill your pants. either way is messy." LMAOOO I LOVE HER

ethan's investigating the patients mentioned by rage in resus and he asks charlie about one of them and charlie notices alicia listening in looking worried sjsjdjd

lmao rash runs away from resus to be sick again and ethan's like "well it's no wonder people are writing blogs if that's how the f1s are behaving"😭😭 he's going to be your best man one day bestie can you believe that!

oop alicia accidentally says "her" when referring to the blogger to duffy💀💀

ily rash <333

i want bea to be my girlfriend

ethan getting mad at noel for not doing what he's asked him to and as he walks off noel's like "where do people go, eh robyn? he used to be such a decent bloke" and i'm pretty sure ethan was still in earshot judging by his expression :( also sorry but "where do people go"???? what kind of a stupid fucking question is that?? his brother died less than a year ago did you forget already???? and robyn's like "i know. and to think, i used to fancy him. i mean, not a lot, but he had potential" not a lot? reaaally robyn?? i remember the scene with the doughnuts after dixie left you can't fool me

rash leaving to run after a patient when ethan asks him why he isn't in resus and then ethan gets the notes of all the patients he was investigating and they're all rash's patients and he shows charlie who's like "noo, that can't be right" and ethan's like "it's basic psychology isn't it? can't do their own job properly so complain about everyone else doing there's."😭😭

aww rash's patient is scared so he gives him his glasses and he says they're plastic or glass or something and he wears them because they make him feel like he can be something he's not🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

GO RASH!!

ethan asks noel to call jac down because he knows who the blogger is and also to tell rash he needs to speak to him so ofc noel puts two and two together and he tells alicia and charlie notices her looking guilty again

ooo charlie's like "you're not just gonna stand there, are you?" to alicia as they watch rash approach ethan's office. she tells rash ethan doesn't need to see him anymore and prepares herself😬

alicia was mentoring rash on all the cases that were blogged about😬

jac going "i usually spend my lunch break avoiding all human contact so this had better be good" sjsjdjfj mood

surely jac realises that he's covering for alicia right???? like he says he knows who the blogger is and looks at alicia who looks like she's about to burst into tears and jac's like "well you hide that bruising bitterness well. it's always the quiet ones who shout the loudest." but then ethan says that alicia helped him work it out and jac appears to immediately believe him that it isn't her??

ohh okay nevermind no i think she does realise when he refuses to give her the name and says he's made a deal with them for anonymity in exchange for the blog coming down because she asks alicia how she worked it out and when she doesn't tell her she's looking between them like she knows😭

why is this even jac's job anyway?? i could well be missing something because i was not watching holby at this point in time but i thought she was just head of darwin? what's this got to do with her??

alicia says she doesn't know what to say but ethan just yells GET OUT😢

ethan telling everyone that he's resuming the standard locum policy and approving leave again and robyn's like "what's brought all this on?" and he's like "i am on your side, robyn. always have been." he sounds SO sad :(((((

alicia writing one last post to apologise for some of the things she wrote "it's not that i was wrong in trying to shed some light, it's more that i hurt some of the people i was trying to help" you don't say

alicia tries to thank ethan for not dobbing her in but he says it was just because they need the staff

"we are dying on our feet. they're crushing us, ethan, at least people know what we're going through now." "do they? no, i think tomorrow they'll just be reading about some pop star or the best way to comb your eyelashes" comb your eyelashes??? ssdhjdfshj

they're both crying :(((

"it wasn't meant to hurt you" "i looked you dead in the eye and i asked if it was you, and i believed you. i even asked for your help." "i know, and i'm sorry, but you've done your little investigation and it's over now so-" "that is not the point! i tho- it's like i didn't matter to you. i was clearly struggling, i was losing friends, you didn't care." "we weren't exactly bosom buddies when it started" "you even tried to make me feel bad for daring to think it was you. it's cold, alicia. it's mean."😥😥😥😥 why is she trying to act like it's no big deal now that he knows?????

"look it wasn't easy to lie but i had to! we are having a nightmare in this ed and that is where my head was at. and my heart." oh her heart😢😢

"i've gotta ask. was it because you still like me?" "like you?" "yeah you didn't dob me in, is that the reason? only i would like to talk about that" i mean you had like sort of just got back together so of course he still likes you?? or he did, anyway. "are you joking? i couldn't like you less." :((((

"the only reason i didn't tell jac naylor it was you is because i'm a decent person, but you're not. you're not, alicia. you played cal. you played me. you're not good to be around." i meannn he's not exactly right, because i don't think she intended to hurt cal or him, but he's not exactly wrong either.

"ethan?" "it is doctor hardy. and that is all i'll ever be to you."😥😥😥😥😥 okay now start the clock how little time does it take them to make up again shdhjfh

george rainsford and chelsea halfpenny though!!! they're sooo good

[shemarmooresfedora]

Rebuilding Family

Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Warnings: mentions of gun violence (just references to what happened last chapter, nothing new), hospitals, one swear word

A/N at bottom

Masterlist

Chapter 22

You managed to make the nurse feel bad enough for you that she gave you lots of extra Jell-O.

“Happy birthday, dear Jo,” you and Spencer sang, “Happy birthday to you.”

“Blow out the invisible candle!” you encouraged her.

“I promise we will get you an even bigger cake than before soon,” Spencer kissed her head as she ate a spoonful of the green Jell-O.

“It’s okay, I like Jell-O,” Jo said, outreaching the spoon towards Spencer.

“Me too,” he smiled, taking the bite off the spoon.

Spencer’s phone rang and you saw it displaying Hotch’s name. Spencer grabbed the phone and stood and you nodded at him in acknowledgement.

“Hey, Hotch” Spencer said as he stepped out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

“Reid, is there any way you could get back to the BAU?” Hotch asked.

“I really don’t feel comfortable leaving my family until the unsub is caught,” Spencer stated, watching you feed Jo another cup of Jell-O through the window.

“Not even if we sent two guards over,” Hotch asked.

“No sorry, I’m not leaving them. Can you fill me in over the phone?” Spencer responded.

“Yes, of course. I’m going to have Garcia call the hospital and fax some documents over to you so you can look them over. I’m setting you up on speaker in the conference room now,” Hotch stated.

“How’s everyone over there?” JJ asked.

“As good as can be expected. Y/N is sitting up now and she says her discomfort is minimal. And Jo seems to be enjoying the vast supply of Jell-O here. Oh also, Y/N and I are engaged,” he added.

“WHAT? Boy Wonder, you can’t keep springing huge news on us like it isn’t a big deal. You’re getting married!” Penelope squealed.

“Yes, I am,” Spencer smiled.

“Dr. and Mrs. Pretty Boy,” Derek grinned.

Everyone else gave their congratulations before getting to work.

“This unsub obviously has a vengeance against specifically Reid because we were all there and they only aimed for Reid’s family, probably because they knew it would inflict the most pain for him,” Emily stated.

“Garcia, search all past cases in which Reid was the primary on the takedown,” Hotch said.

“Sir, he was at the bureau for nearly seven years. There’s still hundreds,” Garcia replied.

“Garcia, filter out anyone who is still in prison. Focus on unsubs that have been recently released or escaped,” Spencer said.

Spencer heard Penelope clicking away at her keyboard through the phone.

“There’s no one you have put away that has escaped or been released in the past six months.”

“An unsub that has this much rage against Reid would have taken action before then,” Derek countered.

“Get a list of everyone I had to kill and focus on their friends and family. Maybe an anniversary is coming up that triggered them” Spencer spoke softly.

“Got it. We’ll update you later. Tell Y/N we all are sending our best,” Hotch said.

“And a muffin basket!” Penelope added.

-

Spencer was curled up on the tiny hospital bed with Jo and Y/N who were both napping when his phone rang.

“Do you remember the L.D.S.K. in Des Plaines, Illinois about 5 years ago?” Hotch asked.

“Yes, Phillip Dowd. He was an E.R. nurse taking shifts at multiple hospitals and wanted to save the people he shot to look good,” Spencer spoke softly.

“This unsub is exhibiting the same M.O. and you were the one who shot him in the hostage

situation. So, I had Garcia look up his relatives. He has a younger brother, Damon, who served in the army as well but was just recently dishonorably discharged after a long mission. That explains why he would target you now.”

“Of course. How did I not see this?” Spencer rubbed his eyes out of frustration.

“Your girlfriend, or should I say fiancée, was just shot. I think you have the right to not be exactly clear-headed right now,” Hotch assured him.

“Is he in custody?” Spencer asked, watching you start to stir next to him.

“Yes but he wants you to take his confession.”

“I’ll be there soon,” Spencer sighed and hung up.

“Who was that?” you whispered.

“They got the guy but I have to take his confession,” Spencer whispered back.

“Why?”

Spencer looked you in the eyes guiltily. He had to tell you that he was responsible for you getting shot. He was the one that the unsub was angry at.

“It’s all my fault,” he whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek, “It’s the brother of an unsub I had to kill five years ago.”

“Love,” you wiped the tear off his cheek with your thumb, “you were not holding the gun pointed at me. This was not your fault. You were only doing what was right during that case,” you spoke softly but in a serious tone, “I need you to say it for me, please.”

“This...was not my fault,” Spencer sniffled.

“Good,” you gave him a kiss, “now go get the bad guy’s confession and then come back to us.”

-

Spencer entered the slightly chilly interrogation room with a file in his hand.

“Dr. Spencer Reid,” Damon smirked.

“Why did you do it?” Spencer asked flatly, taking a seat across from him.

“Try to kill your family at your daughter’s birthday party? Eye for an eye, Doctor,” he replied.

“Why wouldn’t you shoot me though? I’m the one you have a problem with,” Spencer asked, already knowing the answer.

“You’ve been shot before. That’s nothing new. Even if you died, your pain would be relatively minimal compared to watching a loved one bleed out in front of you knowing that you were the cause.”

Spencer’s mind flashed back to earlier when you made him state out loud that he was not responsible for any of this.

“This was your fault, not mine,” Spencer spoke firmly.

“Too bad, I’m not as good of a sniper as Phillip. Next time, I’ll have to practice more,” Damon made a fake gun with his fingers and pointed it up to Spencer’s head, pretending to shoot it.

“And I’ll make sure Mommy isn’t around to stop the bullet….you know what, maybe I’ll actually take two shots next time.”

“You son of a bitch,” Spencer leapt up from the table and tackled Damon to the floor.

Damon wasn’t in handcuffs but was already pinned to the floor before he knew what was happening. Spencer landed a few good punches on him before Hotch and Derek pulled him back.

“Stay away from them,” Spencer seethed.

“Are you going to do something about this rogue agent?” Damon demanded, wiping the blood from his nose.

“Technically, he’s a civilian and I’m only responsible for my team’s behavior so no. And it’s doctor, not agent,” Hotch put Damon back in handcuffs and escorted him out of the room.

A/N: so many people thought the unsub was cat adams but i already planned it to be like the LDSK in the park. i wasn’t originally planning on having cat be in this fic but should i write her in (this fic will still have a happy ending). also, this is a bit of a filler chapter but the next chapter is gonna be really long and i’m so busy this week so it may not be out until this weekend. i will post an update on here when i have a better idea of when it will be out. anyways...did you hear that??? i think it’s wedding bells...

[tkc-info]

19th century characters in the 21st century

Basically a paja mental about characters from the 19th century randomly waking up in current times (next gen).

AARON

He fucking tears up when he sees the 21st century and Madeleine living in it

He's had to fear for his life (because homosexuality was a crime under capital punishment) ever since he found out he was gay so seeing how society has changed (as he said it would) moves him to tears, he full on wails

The first thing he does after meeting Madeleine is going to pride (let's say it's June lol) and no one understands why this random dude is simply staring on with an odd face but Aaron's simply basking in the knowledge that the times had changed, that he in some way contributed to it by uplifting any queer people he met while in his timeline and that the struggles he and the others like him were worth something and look those two men are kissing

That being said, he is a Victorian man and is a tad bit (read: very) shocked by the kink side of pride

Aaron is general is shocked by the 21st century because he didn't expect to see pictures of near-naked people on the streets nor the types of clothing people wore

He hates being gay. Straight-up hates it because *points at Gaylord* call him gay and die he'd much rather be called a homosexual and that's how he calls himself

Sydney and him get married FAST and they choose to hyphenate

Onto the kinship lol

Finding out Madeleine is the biggest relief of his life, but relief is too small a word to encapsulate what he feels

Seeing that Madeleine was able to get married to a woman? Yeah he's happy beyond description and adores Diana instantly

It takes him a long while to stop referring to Madeleine as his fiancée (and Madeleine also struggles)

He fucking adores that Madeleine named her daughter after his mother (aka what Daniel would've named had he been a girl) and is 100% willing to hear Adelaide after Coraline

Btw Aaron loves Cal for reasons I can't say because *spoilers*

Aaron tries to be the best uncle to Marcus and Adelaide

Aaron spends a lot of time trying to understand the lgbt community because he sees Marcus being omnisexual, Adelaide being bisexual, Aaliyah being aroace, and Yeah being non-binary and there's a momentary short-circuit in his mind trying to process how little he knew and how much he has to learn

Also Aaron *loves* how accepting straight people (particularly Saz) are of his homosexuality, he meets Hunter, Arash, I was going to say Sohrab lol, Sekros, Cal, Atalanta, etc and is just so happy that a good chunk of the population is treating him like a human being with inherent worth and not someone unnatural. He loves the straight people in mirror

His overall satisfaction with the 21st century is 10000/10

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

SYDNEY

Mostly like Aaron but in a more calmed way he doesn't cry much

But he kisses Aaron in the middle of the street and feels this power and freedom coursing through him when the knowledge of 'I can do this again and again and I won't have my employer (Aaron's father) legally murdering me' sinks in

He's also very happy that poor people aren't that poor as frequently and that (the UK) has stuff like public healthcare

He also hates being called gay

After marrying Aaron, the next thing he does is getting an education to have chances of becoming an author

He and Hunter are good friends idk why but they are they just have that vibe

Unlike Aaron, Sydney doesn't have the time for Adelaide's crush on Coraline. Not in a bad way, he just finds it too funny and Adelaide's struggle to find 'the right clothes' too nonsensical

He loves seeing Madeleine's life in the 21st century, he thinks motherhood and having a wife suit her

Also he was the one who tended to the wounds Gaylord inflicted on her, so he's at awe at how calm and happy Madeleine is now

Listen, Sydney had trouble understanding the technology behind corsets, he does NOT understand computers or phones or whatever

The first time he saw a movie he got very alarmed because he thought there were real, tiny people trapped in the screen

Then he saw Marcus watching a film were two guys were having sex and nearly faints because 'yOuR sOn iS cOnSUmInG pOrNoGrAPhY mAdeLeInE'

(ofc hearing Marcus --and Yrah-- talk about people he finds attractive leaves him like this :0 because Marcus is already dating someone and in Sydney's time admitting you were attracted to other people was something people did not do openly)

Really he loves how open people are compared to the Victorians but he could do with much less nudity, the only one he wants to see naked is Aaron (his husband!!!!!!)

His overall satisfaction with the 21st century is 9/10 (he really does not like technology)

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

MARCUS

When he learns that Madeleine named his son after himself, he is overcome by an overwhelming wave of relief and happiness

Also he loves that his nephew's partner is genderqueer. Marcus loves Yrah

He tries really hard to build a relationship with Madeleine to get to know his older sister (he also tried to apologise but Madeleine would have none of it because he was a fucking child)

He's as excited about LGBT rights as Aaron and specifically tries to learn everything about trans people to the point where he could do a test (the Spanish version, not the multiple choice thing they have in America) and ace it

He's very happy about what it could all mean to Camille and makes clear he'd be there for his husband regardless of what he wants to do

That being said, Camille and him have Talks. Since their marriage was arranged so that Camille could have a space he could safely express his masculinity in, and he technically doesn't need that safe space anymore. Marcus wonders whether Camille would want to get a friendly divorce and find himself a husband

In the end they decide they still want to stay married. They're two bros in a marriage because they're straight (yes, Yrah, Yitian, and Marcus (Zubairu) joke about that constantly)

(Marcus tells them that marriage means different things for different people, and to Camille and him it is just the expression of the height of platonic love --Odhran and Aaliyah overhear that and tell him Camille and him are in a qpr)

(Marcus acknowledges that Camille and him are in a qpr but 'thank you very much I'm still going to call mine a marriage')

Technically, Marcus could date if he so wanted to but he refuses to flirt with anyone nor be flirted on (sOrRy i'M mArRiEd tO mY bEsT fRieNd AnD i fEeL wEiRd aBoUt ChaNgInG tHe dYnAmiC)

When random people see him in the street, they think he looks like an asshole because he looks like a certain German's wet dream but whoever talks to him realised in an instant that he's super respectful in the same way a gentleman ideally should be and always calls out people's bullshit

But really he acts like a gentleman, Marcus is The Gentleman™ (and then you've got his nephew lol)

He's horrible with technology and he's always asking Camille to help him even if Camille is as lost as him

His overall satisfaction with the 21st century is 10/10

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

CAMILLE

His first reaction is to support Marcus through everything he's going through with meeting Madeleine because what type of husband is Camille if not the best?

When Marcus is a bit better the realisation of what the 21st century entails for him hits him like a truck

At first he's in shock because Camille has as much faith in humanity as me in Spain's economy

It's all very overwhelming in a good way because he couldn't even have dreamt about it (really, I can't really explain how much of a hardcore pessimist Camille was)

It takes him a while to let his true gender identity through when he's meeting random people but when it does, his mental health improves a lot

Now, I can't discuss Camille without talking about Yitian

While I was researching about trans people and their experiences, I watched a video in Spanish where an (old) man said "Whenever I see trans boys, I get jealous in a healthy way because they're strong, they've begun their hormone treatment sooner, they go to the gym, etc" that is how Camille feels about Yitian because they're the opposite sides of the same coin (Camille could never start hormone treatment, Yitian could; Camille is not cis passing, Yitian is *very* cis passing; Camille's parents would've never supported him, Yitian's parents literally sat by his side and helped him choose his name --I have this headcanon that Morgan vetoed the first one for personal reasons a little boy should not be told but that is a story for another day)

Camille is just at awe at Yitian and very happy for him (Yitian --and Yrah-- has a lot of respect and admiration for Camille, too)

Camille and Yitian's relationship is beautiful and Yitian tells him about hormone therapy and stuff

Camille *thinks* about all that stuff and talks to Marcus about it (rubber duck debugging? Marcus is the duck)

Like Marcus, he treats dating like the pest

Aaliyah and Odhran tell him about QPRs and he begins philosophing (it has just come to my attention that that isn't a verb in English, well idc) about platonic love to the point where Aaliyah and Odhran, who just wanted to share their type of relationship, end up with these (✿☉｡☉) (╬☉д⊙)⊰⊹ฺ faces, get a headache, and refuse to speak about QPRs for a good week

Were he not with Marcus, Camille would dream of marrying the creators of YouTube

I mean, the moment he discovers channels like jubilee or those educational channels that teach you about philosophy/history/politics/etc he becomes obsessed because that's basically free education and if loves learning new info

Just picture him sitting cross-legged on a sofa with his husband laying his head on his lap while Camille watches a YouTube video on some random philosopher and that's a good portion of how he spends his evenings (Marcus, ofc, understands nothing but is happy just seeing his husband so interested)

Aside from YouTube, he hates technology. With a passion

(everyone is just happy he lived long enough to see cars and planes otherwise it would have been impossible to get him to travel via human ways)

Idk Camille is just like the wise man everyone who knows everything and is super cool and collected

His overall satisfaction with the 21st century is 9'75/10 (read: Sydney)

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

GAYLORD (I had to)

He's the pest

He's considered a criminal in Mirror from the very moment he opens his eyes

In the event he escapes Aboveground, he'll quickly be recognised as the groomer that he is and sent to prison

Bye bye Gaylord we hate you here

[starshipsofstarlord]

Caught Backstage | 5th Second

Warnings; includes smut, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), embarrassment, second hand embarrassment,

Wembley Arena, one of the most famous places that a musician could perform. It was an honour to be welcomed onto that stage, and even more so that there were cameras around corners within the crowd, capturing the sheer joy imploding onto the faces of fans, and to top that all off, there was another reasoning for the lenses. A movie, technically the second one, but the first taking information from each member of the band.

It felt so surreal, there was an onslaught of adrenaline running through your veins as you held a chilled water bottle, drinking the cold liquid. You had yet to start the show, so there was still time to kill. One of the last times that had been recorded was when Mikey and Cal had been cinched by the snaking flames, it made you relieved that that idea had been scrapped for the future.

However, even though there was no fire nearby, there was a heat riveting inside of you, you had so much energy awaiting, but it was still almost an hour until you were called out to grab a guitar and stand behind a microphone. Those statistics made you huff, and so you walked into the dressing room that the five of you shared, only to see a single singer there. Luke.

Your partner was half laid on the couch, his phone grasped in one hand. As you entered the confinement, you ensured the door was closed behind your jittering presence, so that if you were to consensually pursue your primal urges, there would be a barrier, blocking out the view of anyone that decided to be a peeping tom.

“Missed you.” He mumbled, continuing to stare at the screen of his device. You sat beside him, his hand extending to your thigh and massaging the taught muscles, it was a comforting act, his lips pressing to the skin that the uprise of your shirt exposed also. Luke was the sweetest, and his statement made you laugh a little, not enough to trigger any insecurities, but enough to peak his curiosity. Although his phone was still in his hand, he was peering up at you.

“I was gone for twenty mins tops, and I still didn’t get my phone back from that asshole.” Crossing your arms was not the only sign that signalled that you were frustrated. Another was the crease that formed between your brows, which Luke reached up to try and rub away, at his touch you let the line shrink away.

“That’s better.” He spoke, throwing his phone onto the table in front of the couch, his hand coming up to brush any loose strands of hair that had absentmindedly decided to escape from behind your ear. “What did he want with it anyway?”

“He saw it as a way to piss me off, and for once Mikey was correct. Normally I wouldn’t be bothered, I’m so exhausted from our work, my mum wants me to visit her in (Your Home Town) and is getting annoyed that I can’t because business, and my dad’s getting the other end of the stick, she’s saying she should have never let him move me to Sydney with him. A part of me is slightly happy that Mike took my phone, but the other wants to rip his head off.”

“Would sex help ease your list of troubles?” It was blunter than the boy usually was when referring to the activity, let alone suggesting it. Your head snapped up to lock onto his smirking gaze, trying to decipher whether he was being serious or not.

“Here? Now?” Slipped past your lips, unsure whether the idea was that great of one. Sure, when you had entered the room, it had been an probable thought, one that had calmed you just from thinking about it, however it seemed risky.

It certainly wouldn’t be your first time having sex with the risk of being caught, the tour bus and hotel rooms were a green zone, however there were paid staff behind the scenes of the stage, working to make sure everything went perfectly and to plan. The aspect of two famous teenagers having sex on a sofa, in the band’s relaxing quarters wasn’t on the schedule. But what did they expect, as said, you were teenagers.

“We have forty seven minutes, there’s plenty of time.” Luke prompted, his hands beginning to undo his jeans which attracted your eyes to the area of his covered cock. However you didn’t stop his actions, instead you remained still, letting him shuffle his layers of concealing articles down his thighs, far enough to the point where he was revealed.

His dick lay heavy on his thigh, twitching slightly when you licked your lips at the sight. “Care to shed a little clothing too? I don’t think this is going to work if only one of us is half undressed.” At his suggestion, you too shimmied down your black skinny jeans and underwear, neither anything particularly eye catching or special to the moment.

Your pussy was left bare, and as you came to rest again upon the sofa, you hovered over Luke, your eyes cast down as he had his hand on the body of his length, his hand conducting the movements of his cock and how it rubbed sensually against your slit.

“Just put it in me!” You sighed, brushing your hair over your shoulder. As you commanded, Luke bottomed out inside of you, pulling you down on him by the waist, his face coming to rest closer to your own. “Oh.”

“You’d think you’d be less tight by now, not that I’m complaining.” He bit his lip ring, which encouraged you to lean forward and take the metal ring into your own mouth, sucking on the black accessory and the part of his lip around it. Then you began to move, bracing your hands on his chest as you brought your tightness up and down his erection, coating him in your pleased juices and the feeling elicited happy noises from the pair of you.

“Good, don’t.” You breathed, your eyes fluttering at all of the sensations that you were feeling from where your bodies interlocked. The bliss never got old, the passion remained intact through each day of your relationship, and it was presented to those who opened the dressing room door. They groaned because of the sex, but for a different reason than Luke had been.

“Fucks sakes guys.” Calum turns, not wanting to see two of his best friends in such an intimate moment, clearly not meant for their eyes. At his voice, Luke and you froze instantly, redness spreading from your cheeks all the way down to your necks and luckily clothed chests.

“Not again.” Ash shook his head, and you avoided the eyes of your bandmates. They laughed a little, but you and your partner however did not. “Did you two really have to do it in here?”

“We’ve never done it in a dressing room before.” You attempted to sass back at the drummer, but to your dismay, your voice came out as quiet and guilty. Not really the attitude that you were going for, but oh well.

“Can you guys give us a minute to get decent?” Luke asked, his hand flopping over his face, to which you prodded his fingers, trying to peer through them to find his ocean eyes.

“Sure.” Mikey dragged the word out, unsure how to deal with the situation. “I just came back to give your phone back (Y/N/N) And the sofa’s all yours when we grab dinner, I don’t want to sit on that thing.” He threw it at you, the object ending up right next to Luke’s naked thigh which tensed from the contact.

“Thanks.” A sheepish smile was exploited onto your lips, teeth showing through their parting in an awkward stance.

“We’re on in a bit, keep your hands out of each other’s pants until after the show please.” Calum spoke, still refusing to look at the two of you. A loud sigh was heard from him as he walked away, and you imagined it as a prayer to either make him blind for future instances in which they caught the two of you in such a position, or for him individually to never have the unfortunate luck of seeing you two as such ever again.

Taglist

: @coucoukayy

@reallygroovyholland

​ @faithhhsworld

@lukehemmingsleftnipple

@inocent-as-a-rose

@marvel-af

@kingxnichole

@winchestergirl907

[wildfl0wer-meg]

“So like cal and the reader have been dating for a super long time (...) and everyone just thanks they’re best friends and they mange to keep it a secret (…) and one day calums phone gets hacked and photos of them go everywhere and like imagine he proposed and didn’t say anything and now his engagement photos are everywhere and he’s super mad and the reader decides to make the best of it and do a live answering some questions?” - @bitterbethany

I haven’t wrote in a while because I got really sick and found out that I have some blood problems... but I’m on medicine and feel so much better now. This was requested a long time ago as well and I just got really bad writers block which sucked.

warnings : mentions of hate comments

fem!reader x calum hood

———

It was a widely known fact among the 5sos fandom that Calum was an extremely private person.

Even though the other guys opted to keep more of their personal lives to themselves, Calum went above and beyond when it came to ever the smallest things.

As his fiancé, you knew first hand how private he was, despite your years together everyone only knew you as Calum’s best friend.

It’s all he ever referred to you as, with the hate you had received for being as little as a best friend and he didn’t want to know what would come with being out as a couple: let alone an engaged couple.

“Hey baby,” Calum smiles as he walks into the room where your getting ready, “where’re you going looking so nice?” His arms wrap around your waist and his lips ghost over your neck.

“Just going out for a little,” you smile, “I want to do some shopping and get a few new outfits, do you need anything?”

Calum shrugs, burying his face in the crook of your neck, “not right now,” he hums and pulls away as you finish up your makeup,

After you finish getting ready and say your goodbyes you go to the mall, spending most of the day wandering shops and finding new pieces to add to your closet.

You hadn’t heard from Calum since you left, which is why it was such a surprise when your phone began to ring and Michael’s name popped up on the screen.

“Hello?”

You hear frantic voices on the other side of the phone, “it’s Calum,” your fiancé says through Michael’s phone, “we have a problem,”

——

You couldn’t believe what you were seeing when you finally arrived at Michael’s and they told you to get onto Twitter.

Pictures of you and Calum were everywhere. Pictures from the beginning of your relationship all the way through last night when you went out to dinner with him and the guys.

You frowned seeing the hate already rolling in, usually accompanying your engagement photo.

The worst hate though was on the couple inappropriate images that Calum had. They weren’t too bad, he was smart with what he kept, but there was a few unexposed pictures he decided were safe to keep.

“How did this happen?” You ask, voice firm as you look at Calum.

“I really don’t know,” he sighs, “someone hacked my iCloud and was able to get everything,”

“Well can we figure out who? Back track the posts on Twitter? Or find an IP address!” Your voice was frantic, while you knew that things stay on the internet forever you wanted to know who started it, and why.

“Management is working on it,” Michael sighs, “until then you both need to decide to address it or to ignore it,”

You sigh as he pull out your phone and look at Calum, “we need to address it, and quickly,”

——

“Hello everyone,” you say as you watch the view count rise exponentially.

“We’re going to address the pictures that came out today, and also answer some questions,” Calum continues, his eyes already scanning the comments.

“So yes, as many of you now know Calum and I are together, and we’ve been together for a very long time,” you look down at your hand, at your ring, and smile. “And last spring we got engaged,”

“We’re not sure how the images got out, and we didn’t want them to get out. Today has proved why even more, the hate that Y/N is getting is unacceptable.” Calum sighs to try to hold back his temper, “she’s the love of my life and I’m not going to apologize to you for that,”

“We’ll start answering some questions now...” you watch the comments and finally find a good one.

“Were we ever planning on revealing our relationship?” You look over at Calum who shrugs,

“I think we both knew that it was inevitable. Rumors have swarmed us for years because of the times that the paps have caught us out on dates, and we knew someday they would catch us doing something that we couldn’t shrug off as just being friends,”

“I mean yeah, if we have kids someday that would be kind of hard to explain, so it was inevitable but we wish we didn’t have to. It’s no one’s business but ours,”

Calum looks for the next question. “Has there been any close calls?”

“Yeah...” he shrugs, “especially due to COVID. She almost walked in during some interviews that she didn’t know I was doing,”

You both answer several more questions, surprised by how nice everyone is being.

“Okay final question,” Calum laughs after you answer a funny question.

“Was Wildflower about Y/N?” Calum smiles, a laugh leaving his mouth as he looks over at you. “Yeah,” he says,

“I’d hope so,” you smile, “if it wasn’t I would want to know who it is?”

“It’s only you baby,” he smiles before leaning over to kiss your cheek.

“Alright we’re going to go,” you smile, “thank you all who are supportive of us...” you glance over at Calum so that he can piggy-back off of you.

“Yes! Thank you! And we’ll talk to you all later!” He smiles and you both say bye at the same time before ending the livestream and falling backwards with a sigh.

“That was better than expected...” you say and Calum smiles as he reaches over to kiss your cheek,

“I knew they’d be,” he smirks and you laugh at him,

“Yeah okay,” you roll your eyes but continue to smile as you cuddle into his chest, exhausted from the events from the day.

———

Okay so quick announcement, I made a new blog! @fandoms-whore I will be writing mostly for YouTubers that I like over there so if you want to go check it out and see if you like anything that I like maybe you can request something?

Masterlist

[kybervisions]

a taste of life [kylo]

summary: ben solo is brought back from the dead by a force-sensitive pirate and is given the opportunity to start a new life as part of her crew. 

author’s note: hdjfkj i love the idea of a pirate!reader so here is my contribution,, so this takes place a few weeks after the battle of exegol in which the first order was defeated ,, if you’ve played jedi fallen order than reader’s ability is exactly like cal’s ,, lmk what you think :)) ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Isao muttered as he navigated the ship through the wreckage. The ruins of Star Destroyer fleets decorated Exegol, evidence of the New Republic’s victory. And There was so much to loot! You chuckled. The Scorpion landed near a weird-looking throne. It was so dark that Isao landing the Scorpion was a miracle. 

“Well I see a very fun trip to Canto Bight in our future,” You said with a smile and ran out of the cockpit. It had been a while since you last visited the city and partook in the activities of wealthy individuals. You so desperately wanted to gamble and drink credits away, so you quickly strapped your belt on and grabbed a blaster before exiting the ship. Nori ran after you. 

“Canto Bight? I thought we were going to Jedha and see the remains of the Jedi temple there,” Nori expressed disappointment with your desire to return to Canto Bight. She had become obsessed with learning more about the Jedi after learning about your Force sensitivity. 

“Jedi Temples don’t have open bars,” You reminded your Twi’lek friend, “or casinos,” Nori sighed in frustration. “I’m just trying to be plastered and gamble,” You smiled. “No need to get ourselves involved in Jedi business,” 

You’ve known about your connection with the Force your entire life. You were a member of the Blazing Chain — an organization of nomadic raiders made up of Force Adepts that wandered Unknown Space. With no loyalty to the Sith or Jedi, the Blazing Chain simply utilized their Force abilities to make raids easier. Three wars occurred, and each time, for better or for worse, the Blazing Chain remained neutral. You had no intention in breaking that tradition. 

As you walked, you found a cube. The strong fog made it nearly impossible to see, but your foot gently kicked it. A faint blue glow radiated from the cube and you felt a compulsion to pick it up. You knelt down, and as your fingers touched the cube, a scene played back in your head. And then, a blinding white light. 

“Ahh, dank farrik!” You shouted and crawled away from the cube. Nori ran to your side. 

“What happened? Are you okay? Did it happen again?” Nori asked frantically. By ‘it’ she was referring to one of your ‘echo episodes’ in which an object gives you a memory by touching it. You were one of two adepts cursed with that ability from the Blazing Chain. It was referred to as a Force Echo. 

“I’m fine,” You groaned, feeling a sharp pain in your head. “That kriffin’ holocron was part of the battle here,” You informed Nori, crawling back to the cube. It wanted to be opened and only you could do it. 

“Whoa,” Nori marveled at the unique gold design on the cube. You held the cube in your palm of your hand and closed your eyes. Within seconds, the holocron levitated and opened. “That is so cool,” Nori muttered. 

A white ball of energy emerged from the holocron. You opened your eyes and a bright white light shined. You appeared possessed, and it terrified Nori. She screamed. You began muttering words in a language she couldn’t understand. 

The energy ball dispersed. The holocron closed and fell back onto your palm. 

“What the kriff was that?!” Nori exclaimed. You stood up, completely unfazed by the recent possession.  

"No clue,” You told your friend. 

A tall man dressed in black emerged from the fog. The light from the Scorpion beamed on the man. He was very pale and bloody. His black sweater bad a large hole and was absolutely filthy-looking. 

You would not be caught dead wearing that. 

“We don’t want any trouble, um, sir,” You attempted to de-escalate the interaction. The holocron must be worth thousands and there was enough on the Star Destroyers to share with the beaten-down man. 

“Do you know who I am?” The odd man asked. 

“Oh...um, no?” You replied. You looked to Nori. She shook her head.

“Where did you get that?” The man looked at the holocron in your palm. 

Immediately you tossed the cube to Nori, who put it inside her bag. “Get what?” You played dumb. “Do you need any help? A new outfit perhaps?” You asked him, looking at the large tear on the chest area of the sweater. 

His right hand reached for the hole in the sweater. His fingers touched his bear chest. He stared blankly at you, “I’m lost,” He felt a strange comfort when looking at you.

It was you that gave him life. 

“Well you are in luck!” You said with glee. “We are pirates and there isn’t anywhere we can’t go,” You informed the stranger. As a child you learned all the best traveling routes to bypass First Order and New Republic checkpoints. With the power struggle and chaos that followed the fall of the First Order there was no better time to be a pirate.

“Coruscant,” He replied rather quickly. With Alderaan destroyed, his mother would be buried at the capital. Coruscant had been in open rebellion against the First Order, and he was certain the New Republic would restore peace. 

Your smile dropped, “Coruscant? Why would you want to go there? Are you part of a gang?” You questioned and reached for your blaster. “Like I said, we don’t want any trouble,” You said cautiously. 

“What do you have in Coruscant?” Nori asked, aiming her blaster at his head. 

Truthfully, nothing. Kylo had nothing. 

“Where are you going?” He asked you, and your smile returned. 

“The Smuggler’s Moon,” You replied. 

Kylo remembered hearing Han mention Nar Shaddaa throughout his childhood. It was an entire world filled with pirates and outlaws. It was also the homeworld of the Hutts. Leia would threaten Ben with a visit to Nar Shaddaa when he would not behave. It terrified him as a child. 

“Got some people that might be interested in that glowing cube,” You mentioned. 

“You can’t sell that!” Kylo exclaimed. Both women took a step away from him, but they weren’t scared of him. They appeared rather annoyed with his outburst and demand. 

“First of all, I’m the captain, so watch your tone,” You pointed at him, unamused. “Second of all, I can sell whatever I want,” 

“That cube is an ancient Jedi artifact,” Kylo informed you. 

“Oh, well in that case,” You smiled. Kylo smiled too then, believing he had convinced you to keep the very thing you used to bring him from the dead. “I know just the Hutt to sell this to,” 

His smile dropped instantly. 

“Are you a Jedi?” Nori questioned. 

Was he a Jedi? Ben had been a padawan when Snoke tainted his mind. He spent more years of his life as a pawn for the Sith than he did as his uncle’s student. He blankly stared at Nori before his attention returned to you. 

“Doesn’t matter,” You answered the question for him. He was beyond grateful for your reply. “The cube is getting sold, and you, my friend, have three options,” Ben knitted his brows and slightly tilted his head in confusion. “You can remain lost on this hellish planet, I sell you, or you can join my crew,” 

“Why?” Kylo asked. Kindness was not virtue he experienced often. There had always been strings attached to the kindness of others. Snoke disguised his actions as a way of helping Ben. Oh, how stupid the mind of a child is. 

You had already done more than you knew — you brought him back to the land of the living, unknowingly it would seem. Offering him a spot on your crew was you giving him a chance to truly live. Joining your crew would also give him a chance to figure out how you gave him life.

“Tall, broad-shoulders beast like you, figure I could sell ya for some pretty New Republic credits,” You smiled, taunting Kylo.

“Isao said to hurry up or he’s going to leave without you,” A B1-series battle droid exited from your ship. The droid was in pristine shape, despite its mismatched torso and right arm. "I don’t know if he was being serious,” The droid added. 

Nori walked toward, “I’ll hold him off,” Both she and the droid boarded the ship. “And I’ll adjust your sarcasm setting,” Nori smiled at the droid. 

“So, what d’ya say?” You asked him. “Roger could use help cooking and cleaning,” You laughed as the words left your lips. You were filled with genuine happiness. Kylo could feel it, and it was intoxicating. 

He gave you a simple nod, “I will join your crew,” 

“Great, do you like Canto Bight?” You asked and began walking toward the ship. Kylo was hesitant to follow you. You felt his hesitancy and stopped walking to face him. 

Kylo studied you for a brief moment. Nothing about you screamed danger, but he was almost certain your hands were drenched in blood. “I’ve never been to Canto Bight,” He replied and took steps towards you. There was so much Ben had yet to see. So much of the galaxy still left to explore, and somehow, you blessed him with the breath of life. 

“Oh, you are in for a treat, big guy,” You stated, more than happy to show off your favorite vacation destination. “But first we are gonna need to buy you some clothes,” You said and boarded the ship. Kylo followed after you, and the scent of burnt cookies touched his nose. 

“Sorry!” Roger apologized, attempting to get rid of the smoke by frantically waving his arms.

[kindahoping4forever]

Dress // Ashton Irwin

Part of the fun of using prompt lists is finding ways to incorporate everything when someone requests multiple prompts in one piece. I had the skeleton for this story fairly quick and as always, @cal-puddies​ was a problem solving queen and helped me fine tune it into something that made sense. I wrote this maybe a month ago and got caught up tinkering with it and am so glad to finally get it out into the world!

Prompts: “I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that.“ and “I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you forget you ever even met that asshole.” and “Wow, I didn’t realize you were that… Flexible.”

Warnings: Supportive/protective/flirty friend!Ash, the slightest drop of angst, brief mention of unnamed character cheating, ridiculous amounts of sexual tension, spontaneous (but protected!) backstage sex

Word Count: 3k (on the nose. The 🤡 nose of course)

Masterlist

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————-

“I can kill him if you want,” Ashton offers.

You consider your friend’s offer. “I mean… I won’t stop you but I also won’t dye my hair and go on the run with you, I just got it to the shade I’ve been wanting.”

“Fake friend,” he scoffs.

Like most nights when you were visiting on tour, you and Ashton sat behind the venue, people watching and talking shit. Tonight’s conversation had a very specific subject: your cheating ex, a record label rep, who you just found out would be attending tonight’s show to scout one of the opening acts.

“I just hate the thought of you having to see that asshole again,” he seethes. “And I hate that I’m the one putting you in that position, as if I haven’t already done enough.”

You met “that asshole” (as Ashton exclusively refers to him) when you visited a 5SOS promo tour he was running so Ash has always felt somewhat responsible for your heartbreak, despite your insistence that he shouldn’t. It was a decent relationship; it never got too serious but you had fun and occasionally felt understood. But towards the end, he was always travelling and long distance made things difficult. Things became even more difficult when you realized he’d been cheating on you basically the entire time. You were hurt but your confidence was broken more than your heart.

You admit you’re nervous about potentially running into your ex but Ash is downright furious so you let him rant. You don’t realize that you’ve gotten lost inside your own head until Ash is snapping his fingers in front of your face. “Obviously I do love listening to myself talk but what I’m saying is for your benefit,” he snarks.

You shake your head. “Sorry. I think you can understand, I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”

“That’s what I’m saying, I can’t stand seeing you like this.” He pauses and then enthusiastically squeezes your knee. “Here’s what you do: go back to the hotel while we’re at soundcheck, put on something sexy - Oh! That black dress you wore when we all went out in Austin? Do your hair, go all out and he’ll feel like a fuckin idiot if he even catches a glimpse of you.”

“Really?” You ask, skeptically.

“Trust me,” he insists, pulling you out of your seat. “It’ll make you feel good even if you don't see him.”

He’s right and you do feel better trading out your unofficial tour uniform of a messy bun, band merch and jeans for some soft curls, your favorite black slip dress and a pair of tall boots. You never thought of this dress as particularly sexy until Ash mentioned it but as you assess your reflection, you have to agree that it does flatter your body nicely. You throw on the leather jacket that Ash gave you for your birthday and head back to the arena feeling ready to take on the world, or at least your ex-boyfriend.

The guys all hoot and holler at you when they come back to the dressing room after soundcheck. (Ashton, of course, takes credit for your transformation even though all he did was suggest it.) You gratefully accept their sincere compliments, laugh at their hyperbolic ones and by the time they have to leave for their meet and greet, your face hurts from grinning ear to ear and you’ve essentially forgotten you were ever nervous in the first place.

But as they file in afterwards, Ash immediately notices your mood has changed drastically. You’re curled up under a blanket in an easy chair, mindlessly staring at your phone, your hair has been thrown back into a bun and as he tries to get a closer look without being too obvious, he can see your eye makeup is a bit smudged as if you’d teared up, if not full on cried.

He knows you well enough to know that if he hounds you, you’ll shut down and he’ll never find out what’s wrong so he just keeps an eye on you. But you know him well enough to know when he’s going to great lengths to ensure he’s paying you extra attention but not too much. He sits on the arm of your chair even though there’s plenty of actual seats available, he goes out of his way to include you in even the tiniest of conversations and when dinner arrives, he brings you a plate of food without being asked. You’re sure you’ll appreciate it in hindsight but right now you just want to be left alone.

You offer to keep Calum company when he goes out for a cigarette and as you’d hoped, besides a casual “You good?” and a side hug, he lets you stew in peace. When he starts to head back in, you tell him to go ahead, that you need another minute to yourself.

He pauses. “Ash isn’t gonna like that,” he chuckles. “But I’ll head him off best I can.”

Cal’s prediction is correct and you’re not alone for three minutes before Ashton comes barreling outside in search of you; you roll your eyes at the sight of him, fresh out of his ice bath, wet hair hanging in his face, white t-shirt and black shorts clinging to his damp body. You almost catch yourself admiring the spectacle before he starts making his way towards you and you remember how annoyed you are.

“Hey!” He brightly greets you.

“Jesus Christ, Ash,” you snap. “You’re gonna catch cold out here like that and then you’re gonna have to cancel shows and I’m gonna feel like it’s my fucking fault just because you can’t leave me alone for five goddamn minutes.”

His eyes briefly widen at your outburst but he quickly regains his composure and takes your hand. “Come with me,” he says quietly.

He leads you to the band’s warm up room and you throw yourself on the couch with a huff. He snorts and lifts your lower half up, sits close to you and rests your legs in his lap. He taps your thigh, “I’ll leave you alone if you tell me what’s going on.”

You sigh in response.

He tries again, “Don’t tell me you’re still nervous about that asshole because I told you ---”

“I saw him,” you interrupt.

“What? When?”

“While you were at meet and greet. I went out to the bus to get my charger and we passed each other on my way back,” you explain.

Ashton clenches his jaw. “What’d he say to you? I’ll go find him right now, I don’t fucking care.”

“He didn’t say anything,” you say plainly.

“What do you mean?” He asks, confused.

“I mean he looked right at me and didn’t say a word,” you explain. “Like I was nobody, not even worth ‘hello.’ Like I never meant anything to him.”

He comfortingly rubs your legs in his lap and watches you process what you’re feeling.

“I’m not sad, I don’t think. Because fuck that guy, for real,” you contemplate. “I think... I just feel like an idiot for letting him get to me and for caring at all he was going to be here and I really feel like an idiot for going to the trouble of putting on this ridiculous dress ---”

“The dress was an excellent idea, you look amazing,” he insists.

You purse your lips. “I look embarrassing, I hate this fucking thing,” you tug at the material in disgust.

Ashton lightly slaps your thigh in protest. “You love that dress. I love that dress.” Noting your look of disbelief, he smirks and continues. “Listen, it’s a good dress. I’ve had dreams about you in that dress. Like... dreams,” he emphasizes, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

You feel your face getting much warmer much faster than you would’ve expected. You study his expression to try and figure out how serious he is. “Liar,” you determine with a laugh.

“Oh you want details? OK, you first wore it to that label party and I dreamt we were at my place, talking on the couch kind of like this,” he gestures. “And I ran my hand up your legs and played with you under your dress until you begged me to fuck you.”

As you take in his confession, your eyes flicker across his broad frame, all of your fantasies he'd unknowingly starred in running through your mind. You had no doubt you were attracted to each other but you’d always enjoyed the kind of friendship where you both felt comfortable enough to flirt openly without expectation. But this feels like new and dangerous territory. You’re pretty sure you don’t mind it.

“You seemed to remember me wearing it in Austin?” You press the subject, your voice surprising you with how breathy it sounds.

He chews his lip before meeting your eyes. “Dreamt you rode me in a dark corner of that club we were at,” he answers in a low voice. His hand is still absentmindedly stroking your leg, though you are acutely aware it seems to have climbed a couple inches higher since this conversation began.

You’re shocked when you hear your own voice saying, “And when you wake up from these dreams…”

“Hard as a rock,” he offers without hesitation.

His answer hangs in the air as you sit up, resting your arm on the back of the couch behind his head. You’re as close to sitting in his lap as you could be without actually doing it. You’re not sure where the audaciousness comes from but you look him straight in the eyes and ask, “How many times do you think you’ve cum because of me?”

Ashton stares at you a beat longer than you would’ve liked but you never fear that you’ve gone too far. He only breaks eye contact to briefly glance at your tongue darting out to lick your lips; he leans in slightly but has clearly decided to let you lead how far this goes. Finally, you hear his gravelly voice respond, “Far too numerous to count.”

You nod briefly and then you find yourself closing the gap between you. You kiss him with more confidence than you’ve felt all day and your assurance grows as he deepens it with a groan. You tangle a hand in his hair and smile against his mouth when you realize how curly his hair is from air drying post-ice bath. You get lost kissing like this for a few moments before you pull off his shirt and move to lay back down on the couch, wrapping your arm across his broad shoulders in hopes he'll follow you.

He allows you to pull him on top of you and he swiftly adjusts your position so that he can rest between your legs. You're feeling bold so you lick into his mouth and raise your hips against his, electricity running through your body when you hear a slight moan in response and feel his growing arousal through the thin fabric of his shorts. It's your turn to offer up some sounds of pleasure as he focuses his attention on kissing along your jaw and down the length of your throat.

Ash pulls away briefly to search your face for permission as his hand starts to make its way up the skirt of your dress; you guide his hand to lightly brush over your panties and satisfaction flashes across his features when he feels you've started to soak through. You buck into his touch and he takes the hint, dipping into your underwear and running his fingers along your folds.

"Already so wet for me," he teases. "You ever thought about this before?" The large pad of his thumb rubs gentle circles around your clit as you feel two fingertips dancing around your entrance.

You whimper softly into the kiss he offers and he takes that as encouragement to slide his fingers into you. You pull away from his lips and answer with a shrug, “This? A few times.” You rock against his fingers for emphasis. “But not as much as I’ve thought about being filled by your cock,” you banter shamelessly.

He grins at your assertion, hooking his fingers in a way that has you gasping. “Oh, is that what you want?” He pulls his fingers from you, eliciting first a disappointed moan from you and then an aroused one as he promptly sucks them clean. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you forget you ever even met that asshole.”

Ash hikes your dress up over your hips and works your panties down your legs while you sit up and reach for his backpack on the coffee table across from the couch. You dig for only a few seconds before your hand resurfaces holding a condom. He gives you a surprised look and you toss it to him, snorting, “There’s no way my nosiness even cracks the Top 5 most shocking twists of tonight.”

He pulls his shorts down enough to get his cock out and rolls the condom on, chuckling. “I don’t know if I’d call us finally fucking shocking,” he comments.

“I guess that’s true,” you pull him into a kiss, laughing against his lips. “You’ve been trying to get it in for a while.”

He shakes his head fondly and settles himself over you once again; he pushes in and you both groan at the sensation. While you adjust, he pecks along your neck and the tops of your breasts where your dress has fallen down slightly; you decide you need more of that so you pull the bodice down further, exposing your chest to him. He immediately takes advantage and fits his mouth around a nipple while his hand toys with the other one.

You move your hips against him, signaling that you’re ready for him. He starts trying to build a rhythm and while it feels good, it quickly becomes apparent that the limited space of the couch isn’t giving you enough room to spread and accommodate his large build. It’s a giggly tangle of limbs as you both maneuver to try and determine the best course of action, eventually settling on you resting your legs on his shoulders.

Ashton begins slowly pumping his hips again and you both instantly feel the difference in depth; you moan and grabble at his back, bending your legs further towards yourself to get him closer. He growls at the sight. “Wow... I didn’t realize you were that flexible.”

“Missed opportunity for those dreams you’ve been having,” you tease, digging your nails into his arm as his cock drags against a particularly pleasurable spot.

He picks up speed, thrusting into you hard and deep, your pleased sighs and gentle whines spurring him to move faster and fuck you rougher. He notices you biting your lip to keep from crying out and decides that simply won’t do. 

“Lemme hear you, gorgeous... need to know how I’m makin you feel. Thought you couldn’t wait for my cock to fill you,” he pants, pounding into you vigorously. “I know for a fact that you can be a hell of a lot louder than that.“ He presses down on one of your legs as he thrusts, reaching an even deeper spot inside you and you let out a guttural moan.

Your head is spinning as you look up and see a blend of lust and pride all over his face; you’d love to fire back some clever retort but he’s fucking you so good the best you can manage is a whiny “Fuuuuck… Ashhhh… pleeeease…” You’re surprised you already feel the beginnings of your orgasm creeping up on you and you claw at his neck and chest as your breathing intensifies.

“GOD, Ash… gonna cum,” you announce. It’s the last coherent sentence you produce for a while as you cry out repeatedly, your legs shaking and your pussy throbbing around his cock. You don’t usually orgasm from just penetration and the intensity of it is blinding.

He fucks you through it, holding your legs tight and encouraging you. “So pretty when you cum… feels so good around me,” he murmurs. Moments later, a series of grunts signal his impending release and you moan for him, watching as his hips stutter and he cums into the condom.

Ashton eases your legs down from around his shoulders and leans in to kiss you sloppily. He lays his head on your chest and you stroke his hair as you both process what just happened. He gets up after a few seconds to dispose of the condom and a comfortable silence fills the air as you both attempt to make yourselves presentable again.

He hisses sharply as he pulls on his shirt. “Goddamn, you scratched the shit out of me, woman,” he laughs in disbelief.

“Well, I’m gonna be walking a little funny for the next couple days so I think we’re about even,” you grin, relieved that at least this part of your relationship has remained unchanged.

You’re both just about ready to head back out when something occurs to you. “Hey, what did you mean when you said you know ‘for a fact’ that I can be loud in bed?”

Ash looks half-guilty, half-amused as he answers, “When you and that asshole first got together on that tour… I had the room next to you… things were overheard. Really difficult not to overhear, if I’m being honest.” He chuckles and shrugs.

You burst out laughing, cackling so hard you need to sit back down on the couch. Ashton looks at you in confusion. “I… I…” you struggle to get the words out, wiping tears from your eyes. “I was absolutely faking it for him those nights… most nights, to be honest.”

He giggles first out of shock and then at his next thought. “Well, if he’s anywhere backstage right now, he definitely just heard what a real one sounds like,” he smirks.

—-

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[petergrantkavinsky]

RED QUEEN Spoiler Chat with Victoria Aveyard on Instagram (04/17/2020)

Q: Who’s the inspiration for Mare? VA: The RED QUEEN series is written in first person point of view, which means you’re in the character’s head. The majority of it is written in Mare’s perspectives. The inspiration for her - because so much of the books was her and so much of it was me - naturally, there were things in there and character moments that came from my personality. She also has a lot of things I wish I was and also things I’m glad that I’m not. I think that we as writers get to explore being other people the way that we write. Another character that had a lot of me in him was Julian. Julian was probably the closest to my personality. Maybe a little of Evangeline if I didn’t have the rules of society.

Q: Why did Shade have to die? VA: I firmly believe that character deaths have to mean something, and you have to feel something because if you get to the point where you’re desensitized, you’ve lost the audience and there’s no point in what’s going on. I knew [Shade] had to be removed from the narrative because he made things too easy for Mare both emotionally and physically. It’s very hard to write any kind of set piece or action sequence around someone who can teleport. I had to find really creative ways to knock him out every single time. But mentally he was such a crutch for Mare. When you’re writing, there’s supposed to be many obstacles for your characters, you’re supposed to make things as difficult as possible. That’s when they really start to shine, when shit hits the fan. So I knew he would be removed, and I knew removing him would be a major turning point in [Mare’s] character.

Q: Maven broke my heart a lot of points in the book. VA: Yeah... Yeah.

Q: Did you ever consider to have Maven’s “good side” back? VA: It’s interesting because I don’t see him having good side and bad side. I don’t see a firm delineation in his brain. It’s not like he was switching between people, it was all one. And I think that’s how most people are. We all have different sides of ourselves, but they all conglomerate into one person. I never really considered an about-face for him. I didn’t think it would be realistic to his character, to the world, to the path that he’d set himself on. I think he was really really dedicated to the idea “what if everything I’ve done has been in vain?,” and he almost wanted to make the bad things he’s done worth it, so that in his mind they balance out and there was never any way to square that. I do think - in this part of my dedication to writing real characters and writing people - I think that Mare and Cal maybe made a mistake or maybe wrote him off a little too fast? I really wanted to include that confusion and that sort of moment at the end where Mare is thinking “did we make the right choice?” You’re never really gonna know because that’s how life is, you wonder about choices you made, and you never know.

Q: What was the song Mare and Cal were listening to when they were dancing in the moonlight? VA: It was COME ON EILEEN. In the very first draft of RED QUEEN, there were so many more references to modern-day life. There was a dialogue where Mare said “we’re dancing to this song about someone named Eileen,” which honestly in hindsight wouldn’t make sense because language had changed by that time. Our English today would have been similar with what Old English is to us now in that it would be very very difficult to understand.

Q: If you could revive any character in the series, who would it be? VA: That’s a hard one. It almost makes me feel good about who I lost because I can’t immediately answer “oh, I want this character back.” I think it would probably be Shade. I feel bad for him, the hole he left behind. And it was so fun. I guess?

Q: How far in the future is RED QUEEN set? VA: Post-post-apocalyptic setting. The world has fallen apart and put itself back together. More information about that in BROKEN THRONE.

Q: How did you start writing the series? Where did the thoughts and idea start? VA: I remember I was sitting at the desk and I had this image of a girl in the arena about to be executed, and instead of dying, she electrocutes her executioner and kills them. I was like “what is this?” I remember I wrote a little snippet of it down and e-mailed it to myself, and RED QUEEN sort of built from there. The questions I asked myself, “who is she?,” “why was she going to be killed?,” “what kind of world exists for her to have this superpower?” That helped me build the story and find what sort of facet I wanted to tell and how.

Q: Were you inspired by House Lannister to make House Samos? VA: Not directly, but GAME OF THRONES inspired so much of the RED QUEEN novels. I would say the biggest inspiration I took from GAME OF THRONES - A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE - was the way that the books are structured and written. The chapter endings are almost always an insane twist. I got to the point when I was reading those books and I was covering the end of the chapter because I knew my eye was going to drift, and I would look to the side and “oh, this character just got their throat slit. Great.” I wanted to write that way, so a lot of the chapter endings in RED QUEEN and all of the endings of the books have this twist. It’s one of my tricks for getting you guys to keep reading.

Q: Do Mare and Cal get back together? VA: Well, I don’t know, maybe we’ll find out in BROKEN THRONE, who knows? But I was really really proud to get to that ending and have my characters in a place where they know they need to heal and maybe sort of find themselves again. You can’t necessarily do that with another person - some people do - I just don’t think they could. And they’re so young. I’m so happy with many different endings, but to me it didn’t feel true to sort of bookend a life that young. I think it gives the world more reality if you feel there’s more to come and there’s more going on as opposed to the door has shut, the book has closed.

Q: Which power would you like to have? VA: My favorite superpower is not in the books. It was in the first draft of RED QUEEN, but wisely my agent was like “everything up to this point was great. You’ve got to take this out.” It was time travel, and I’m so glad she told me that. But I would love to be a time traveler. I just want to check out what’s going on back in the day.

Q: Did you cry writing a scene? VA: I’m not a cryer while writing. Some authors are, some authors aren’t.

Q: Did you ever give up while writing RED QUEEN? VA: Yes. I distinctly distinctly remember this. I was about three months into writing the draft. I was halfway through, and I thought this was garbage. I remember I reread CATCHING FIRE, the second HUNGER GAMES book. That sort of gave me this motivation to refill the well essentially, and I wanted to write again. But that wasn’t enough. The thing that really pushed me over the top was both my dad and my best friend who were reading the book as I was writing the chapters. I slowed down so much that both of them were like “can you just tell me how it ends because i really wanna know if you’re not gonna finish it?” And I was like fine, okay, I will write this book. And I did. It just came down to that moment of decision to push through. I work best when I’m under pressure. I was really really under pressure then, my back was so against the wall in terms of career. Looking back, I see what a precarious position I was in. I’m really glad I didn’t realize it at that time, but I’m very glad I pushed through on that.

Q: Was there a different ending to WAR STORM? VA: No. I knew the emotional ending I wanted for RED QUEEN when I wrote the first book. I knew I wanted to end this with the main character and the love interest not together. I knew I wanted to have that reality of too much has happened, we’ve been broken, and we need to heal on our own. That was the message I really wanted to send. In GLASS SWORD, I figured out the plot ending and where it was going to go, and it never changed from there. I’m so happy that my editing team didn’t push back on that, my agent never pushed back on that. Everyone was go for it. I got really lucky.

Q: How did you come up with the names for the characters? VA: A lot of them just popped into my head for the most part. Cal was the only one that was really constructed. I knew I wanted him to have a cool nickname but a really good-feel royal full name, so Tiberias Calore. Calore means heat. And I shortened his last name into Cal.

Q: Maven and Thomas? VA: As of now, no plans to return to that story, short story or a novel of its own. But it was a relationship I was really keen to focus on and show how much that colored Maven and his relationship with his mother. His mom is such an interesting character because she does love her son, and so many things she did to him, she did out of love, like trying to take away pain from him by messing with his brain. It had a lot of repercussions later on, but Thomas was definitely the first thing that was so painful, and he went to his mother and said “take this from me.” I think that was really a slippery slope.

Q: Tyton was good character. VA: Thank you! I liked him too. I really loved the electricons getting sort of a little squad going. That moment where Mare realizes she’s not alone. She’d been kidnapped at that point, and people are coming for her, but she’s not alone in what she is. Up to that point while learning “oh, I’m not the only Red who has powers,” she was the only Red with her power, and finally people who deeply understood what was going on...it felt like giving her a hug.

Q: How many times did you think of Maven’s ending? Were you sad to write him the way you knew you had to? VA: I don’t have those emotional downturns with work. There are definitely scenes where I’m so excited because I cannot wait for someone to read this. His twist in RED QUEEN when he reveals where his true alliances lie, that was one of the things I was so excited to get in front of people and to experience with you. But no, I don’t think I was sad. Does that make me a bad person?

Q: Do you think you would write a book in the same world as RED QUEEN? VA: I would say never say never, but I’m definitely playing in different sandboxes right now.

Q: Do you worldbuild as you go or do you know every backstory beforehand? VA: For RED QUEEN - and maybe this is why this is the first book I ever finished - I did a lot of the worldbuilding as I went. I got my bases, but then I really pushed myself to start writing as quickly as possible. In the past, I worldbuilded so many books, and you kind of burn out your inspiration on trying endless maps, trade routes, character backstories, and family trees. I think RED QUEEN was little bit of both. This new story, I did a little bit more of worldbuilding to begin with, but it really made myself jumping. I think there’s definitely a benefit to extensive worldbuilding. Most of it, at least in my experience, does not make it on the page, but it does help the author metabolize the world and the characters to the point where you’re writing it second nature, you’re not entirely thinking about what they’re doing, it’s just happening because you already know.

Q: Do you have an exact vision of every place? VA: Some places, yes. Some scenes, yes. Some scenes, it’s like shot for shot in my brain, it’s like watching it on a movie screen. Some places, it’s fuzzy at the edges and it’s just the people’s faces I see. But sometimes even those are fuzzy.

Q: RED QUEEN characters in Hogwarts houses? VA: Mare - Slytherin Maven - Slytherin Farley - Gryffindor Cal - Gryffindor for sure, he’s such a blockhead. Kilorn - Hufflepuff Elara - Ravenclaw Evangeline - has Slytherin, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw tendencies. I do not believe in split houses.

Q: Did Maven and Thomas have a romantic relationship? VA: Yes. I believed and wrote Maven as bisexual.

Q: What inspired you the powerful and amazing ending of GLASS SWORD? It’s iconic! VA: GLASS SWORD is definitely my weakest of the four books, I think. That one was tough. Adjusting to writing a book in a vacuum versus writing a book when you had a first book and there was a third one coming, that was really tough. But the ending of that book is probably my favorite. “I kneel.” I remember I wrote those words and [screamed].

*Transcript by me :) (Yes, for the first time in maybe two years, I finally have all the time in the world again.)

*You may also watch the live session on VA’s IGTV.

[ineloqueent]

i'll have to admit, i'm curious about which classic rock stars your mutuals are...

anon darling, you’re a star!

fair warning though, i’m referring to all of these people in the present tense. i don’t care. they’re still here, to me.

@archaicmusings — roger taylor

hear me out. cal and rog would get on like a house on fire. it’s very simple; they share opinions on so many things, and cal swears about as much as roger does. but that aside, like roger, cal knows good music when she hears it, tells the best stories, and is loyal to her friends until the last. 

@drivenbybri — brian may

if i had to describe brian in three words, i’d say “extraordinary but humble,” and you know, i’d describe sofie exactly the same way. sofie’s got such an artistic eye, and has the ability to turn anything into a masterpiece. but she’ll never admit it; she’ll do it quietly and watch the amazement on people’s faces, and then not believe them when they express their admiration. like i said, humble. also, sof and brian have basically the same hair, so...

@brianmays-hair — paul mccartney

paul mccartney has always given me vibes of sheer and absolute chaos. jess is about the same. paul and jess have this energy in common, and also, similar smiles?? don’t @ me, but they definitely do. and similar writing styles! bet you paul macca would let jess write lyrics for his songs if she offered.

@joemazzmatazz — jimi hendrix

jimi is chill. regan is chill. i honestly feel like they’d get along very well, two creative souls, with a similar sense of humour (if you listen to some of hendrix’s live recordings, he’s honestly incredibly funny, and charming, like regan).

@deacyblues — david bowie

first of all, david bowie and pearl would gush over each other’s wardrobes. and makeup. definitely. both have such a distinct style, and that’s part of the reason why i liken pearl to bowie. but also, bowie was known for his kindness, his optimism, and his stubbornness. pearl is indefinitely kind, and stands up for what she believes in, just like bowie.

@aprilaady — john deacon

john richard deacon is a sweetheart!! just like dor. but he’s also wildly unpredictable, and has the ability to shock you with a single sentence (brian’s words on the subject were not quite this, but i’m trying to be nice here). sometimes dor will message me something, and i will burst out laughing. she’s got a wicked sense of humour, just like our beloved deacy, and if anything happened to her, i’d throw everything out the window and then jump out of it myself.

@imcompletelylost — freddie mercury

if anyone’s freddie, it’s libby. libby’s got this charisma, exactly like freddie’s. and then i ask her to tell me her secret and she insists that there isn’t one. if that’s not a freddie mercury move, then i don’t know what is. not to mention, libby is so musically talented, it’s ridiculous. she’s iconic, and kind, and funny, and freddie would definitely take her shopping, because they’re just that alike.

@speciallyred — george harrison

oh, c’mon. have you ever seen george harrison smile? it’s like the sun. anna has the ability to brighten anyone’s day with a few words, and this is a quality which george harrison also has. anna’s a wonderful poet, and i’ve always thought of george as a wonderful lyricist. anna’s got style, too, and she’d fit right in during the height of the beatles’ career, in the 1960s.

@mistiermistshazierdays — marc bolan

now, i may be a bit biased here, because phoebe posts a lot of marc, and i reblog all of it. but also, marc’s got this lovely, bright, bubbliness about him, and if phoebe is anything, it’s bubbly (i love that word!!). with her warmth and her humour, phoebe is the perfect marc bolan, and marc the perfect phoebe.

@doing-albri — elton john

vi makes clothes, and elton john, as we all know, is the ultimate fashionista. then there’s elton john’s charitability, which translates to vi’s kindness. and of course, both are musically talented, and love their friends to no end.

@im-an-adult-ish — robert plant

okay. so i don’t really know how to explain this one. but when i was brainstorming all of these, this was the third one i wrote down. i guess meredith and robert plant just have the same sort of… energy? i honestly do not know. but i think the connection is robert plant’s overall charisma, and meredith’s wonderful ability to make anyone feel welcome.

@sixbloodyminutes — suzi quatro

listen, i love suzi quatro. so much. not only did she inspire bands like the runaways, joan jett in particular, with her revolutionary talent and pioneering as a woman in the music industry, but she’s also fucking awesome. back in the ‘70s, she was a symbol of girl power, and if morgan’s got anything, it’s girl power. also, if you’ve seen that one episode of pop quiz, you’ll know she and roger taylor got along well. and i know morgan likes roger taylor ;)

@hijackmy-heart — joan jett

another queen of the 1970s rock scene was joan jett! also a pioneer in the male-dominated music industry, joan jett is known for not only for her music, but her hard-heartedness. the latter is not at all a bad thing, particularly in this world we live in; joan knew what she wanted, and she went out and got it. nat has that same spirit, and the same occasional savageness, which i can only admire.

@dancingdiscofloof — jimmy page

considered one of the best guitarists in the world, even to this day, jimmy page is one hell of a creative soul, and was responsible for (or at least in part) a great deal of led zeppelin’s discography. a dedicated session musician, jimmy determined that there was a certain science to making music. rove strikes me as someone with this same dedication, so there you go!

@almightygwil — stevie nicks

rolling stone has called stevie nicks one of the greatest solo artists of all time, and while they may have written a shit and completely untrue review about queen, they were certainly right about stevie nicks. stevie nick’s lyrics, both on fleetwood mac records and on her own, have always been poetic, and lyrical, even without music. ellie absolutely writes just like this, and so that alone is enough to liken her to stevie nicks. stevie nicks was and is iconic, and in interviews, she was always very genuine, just like ellie.

@mazzell-ro — janis joplin

emblematic of the glam rock era, janis joplin’s voice is one-of-a-kind, and her presence one of unmatchable warmth. genuine, thoughtful, intelligent, and revolutionary in terms of her rebelling against gender norms, janis joplin is perhaps one of my absolute favourite people of the glam rock generation. ro has the same genuineness, the same intelligence, and the same thoughtfulness, going out of her way for her friends, and thus, she reminds me very much of janis joplin. 

[battle-of-alberta]

Battle of Alberta 2021 Survey Results

It’s time!

Quick Summary:

An average BoAB reader is female, age 19-24, and Canadian. Some of you live in Alberta but a bigger chunk of you don’t, and of those that live in Alberta most of you live in or around Edmonton or one of the other two bigger cities.

Most of you found my blog through IAMP or one of my other blogs, most of you all are here for art, jokes and stories, and most of you enjoyed answered asks, illustrations, and character profiles this year. Generally, people are most anticipating more gag comics, asks, and historical stories for the coming year.

Ed and Cal are deadlocked in a tie for favourite character, and most of you are looking to see more of Mac or the Paranormal Trio of small towns followed by Ed and Cal. 

More specifics and the winner of the Battle of Alberta this year below... thanks for participating :D

Demographics

Consistently the main readership of the blog is female, but for the first time there’s some male readership represented! Howdy, fellas.

The biggest age group represented is what I think of as “undergrad”, which is quite pleasing to me. Either the readership is sticking around as they age or maybe I’m just attracting different readership than before. Either way, welcome everyone!

Most readers identify as Canadian, with the rest evenly split between North Americans and readers from elsewhere in the world.

Of those, most readers identify as Albertan, though they are still evenly matched by those who have never set foot in the province.

Of those who have lived in Alberta, most readers live in Edmonton. This is probably skewed somewhat by my own bias because myself and most of my friends are from Edmonton :’) I try to keep this blog from careening straight into an Edmonton-centric blog, but it pleases me that at least someone is going to get my weird references.

Blog

Most of you found this blog by following my other blogs or via the I Am Matthewian Project, which is also very unsurprising. I’m always baffled by the rest of you, but I attribute that to happy accidents of tumblr’s broken search.

I’m so flattered that most of you follow for the art followed by the jokes and stories, I am going to continue to work hard on improving those things in the coming year :) I am now quite comfortable with the basics of CSP, so this year I am going to start applying a bit more of my own style and trying new things.

I also realize that I do sort of skirt around a lot of the history despite spending so much time studying it, it’s always a struggle to think about how to communicate it but I will be working on that a bit more.

Answered asks were by far your favourite category this year, and I’m happy to say I still have a decent chunk of them to get through. I will also be working a bit more on character timelines because it’ll be helpful for approaching more historical stories.

I guess it’s interesting because while I did start this as an ask blog, I have always been more concerned with my own directions and always worried that I’d be unable to answer asks well enough to entertain anyone, so I’m glad!

I’m also unsurprised that everyone’s thirsty for humour in this Very Trying Time, and even when developing my current part-historical-mostly-current storyline chapter I’m trying my best to incorporate a bit more humour and slapstick for you :) And I do love that meta stuff, it’s just been a challenge to strike a balance between kind of supernatural and also logistical questions.

Characters

I forced you guys to only pick one favourite character. Ed and Cal are deadlocked for first place with a very tight three-way race for second (Red, Lilith, and Mac). Veeeery interesting, I always suspect hometown-loyalty plays a role in this answer but I’m curious to know how you pick a favourite otherwise!

You know what’s funny, I have “favourite character is background character” syndrome myself and yet I’m still completely shocked at the results. I’m happy to say that one of the top results is going to get their wish soon. (Also apologies: I completely forgot to add Eleanor to the answers until halfway through the month)

Of course, I’m also always happy to oblige with more hyper-local stuff about Ed now that I’m back in Edmonton for the first time since before creating this blog.

[But who is Orson... any guesses] [How did you know... that there’s a drawing of him on my fridge, just waiting to star on this blog...]

(and why are yall SO THIRSTY for mac i want to know) (DON’T YOU KNOW HE HAS A STICKY PATCH ON HIS KITCHEN FLOOR HE JUST DOESN’T STEP ON INSTEAD OF CLEANING)

This year the Battle of Alberta was cancelled as the majority of respondents voted for the swarm of norwegian rats at the saskatchewan border to overwhelm the rat patrol and take over the province in order to save us from our completely incompetent leadership (whoever responded “J*son K*nney” for Other, come meet me in the WEM parking lot outside the ghost of Target. I just want to talk.)

Miscellany

( I scrapped the UQuiz question because it was poorly thought out. I’ll just have to make one p: )

Thank you everyone who took a little extra time to write me a note about what you think of the blog, I’m so happy you’re enjoying it and like considering the implications of the “universe” i’ve expanded and created. It’s really inspired me to think more seriously about my mission/vision and approach to creating this stuff now that I’m back home And that we are in worse shit than ever before.

This blog is kind of how I cope, but I have always envisioned it as something to inspire and encourage other people to think positively, to imagine and to create a better future. It’s hard for just me to do on my own, but even if I can just make you guys think twice before writing off this hellhole and moving to BC, it’s an improvement.

Thanks for filling this out, I will take these results to heart as I hibernate on the west coast briefly for Thanksgiving and start to plan the blog’s direction for the coming year.