#because some die-hard fans who share in that ignorance will take the accusations of being horrible personally

[reptired]

incredibly fucked up how we (yes we because i am also guilty of this) unconsciously hold people with a large following to an unrealistically high standard simply because a group of people finds them charismatic

i'm not saying famous people shouldn't be held accountable, not at all, i think it's extremely important to call people out when they do/say something shitty even on a personal scale

and i'm also not talking about behaviours like grooming and abuse

i'm specifically talking about behaviours that clearly come from ignorance and are not a very obvious and clear pattern, it is for some reason assumed that someone with a large following must know the history behind this term/stereotype/saying and yet chose to use it anyways when the reality is that you don't acquire +1 knowledge for each extra follower you gain

[vagrantblvrd]

That one AU where Ryan’s undercover, right?

Still with Narco or maybe he’s been shuffled around a bit, moved over to Robbery right around the time Homicide and Beckett get the case with Finch and Esposito’s old partner. (Or maybe a case crossed over and he’s being loaned out, idk, details and so on???)

And at the beginning of the case in comes Detective Demming in Robbery, formerly out of the 54th.

Castle is like >:(((((( because the man is just too pretty, and also probably rescues cats out of trees on his days off, and honestly, is he the only one to see this Detective Tom Demming as what he truly is?

(In his experience, someone who seems too good to be true isn’t, but clearly this Demming has bamboozled not only Beckett but Esposito and Captain Montgomery as well and it is up to the intrepid author of the group to prove it! ...as soon as he finds evidence.)

Meanwhile.

The case proceeds as usual and Lanie finds Ike’s prints on Finch’s body, which, you know Drama.

In comes Holliwell and the accusations and whatnot.

Esposito going to see Carol and Tim and asking if she knew and all that fun stuff?

But then!

Someone finds out that Finch was in contact with this guy, someone who could help them with a Thing (technical issue, get them something else they needed, who can say, right?) and of course it happens to by this guy who happens to know Demming.

Seems delighted to see him, all friendly like as they haul him in to ask a few questions and he’s got this smirk and is “hey, Demming. See you’ve moved up in the world,” and generally being a cocky little shit because he knows they can’t pin anything on him and also he has an alibi, but yeah, sure. Why not humor the cops for a bit? Should be fun.

Demming is just like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ because yes, okay, he knows this little weasel. Busted him a few times for minor offenses and the whatnot but he always gets out and no one can make anything stick. But. He’s got a reputation for being able to get people what they need and rumors tying him to a string of robberies in a case a few years ago they were never able to solve.

But everyone knows he had something to do with it, you know?

So they ask him a few questions and get a lead. Doesn’t pan out, but what did they expect, really? (The next time they haul him in he does have a lead that pans out, so that’s nice.)

Shenanigans and whatnot, they see the footage showing Finch’s wife and Ike casing the bank and bring her in for questioning. Esposito races to Ike’s with Beckett and he has that conversation about it that’s all about Drama.

Back to the precinct and Beckett sparring with Demming and the “stealthy” sneaking around to get Demming’s SIM card and ~reveal that oh, yeah, no.

Not a dirty cop and you should all feel ashamed about even considering the possibility because the man is an angel, okay? An absolute angel.

(He definitely rescues cats out of trees on his way to coach underprivileged kids, you know he does.)

And then!

Esposito running off to help Ike steal the ledger and Demming is like ah, yes, Esposito is totally taking “a walk” and excuses himself to make a phone call, as you do.

Beckett and the others realize Holliwell is the dirty cop and since Esposito isn’t back yet – but before they can theorize as to why that is, Demming comes back in and says a “reliable source” told him Ike’s going after the ledger as they speak and with Esposito nowhere to be found it makes sense he’d be with him, right?

There’s this Moment where Beckett and Castle do the brain-twin thing and go hmmmm because it’s a little too convenient how Demming came by that info, but no time to worry about that now, they have to get to Ike and Esposito before Holliwell does.

Holliwell showing up to catch Esposito and Ike in the act and the pew-pew shooting before Beckett and the others catch Holliwell trying to make a break for it.

AND THEN.

Shenanigans in which other cases are dealt with and every so often Demming shows up and oh, hey.

Also Demming’s little weasel buddy?

Enough that he starts in on giving Esposito and the others grief too when they bring him in for questioning?

(Kind of weird how he keeps popping up, but whatever. Demming says the guy’s just like that and you just get used to it? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Eventually though, there’s a case, right?

Some murder that’s tied to drugs and robberies and homicide(s) and he’s a suspect – and then a key witness – and all the good will and trust he’s built up with his little criminal circle doesn’t mean a damn thing when someone put a price on his head and anyway.

“Wait, what?”

Because they have to protect him from the baddies – a stipulation if they want the information he’s got in that head of his – and it’s like.

Like, sure. They could do that, or they could maybe put more pressure on the guy? Beckett and Esposito could break him, just give them time, and Demming is like.

“I mean, you could, but it wouldn’t get you much. Trust me.”

And so the safehouse and Demming’s little weasel courting painful, drawn-out murderization from Beckett and the others with all the shit he gives them? Seems delighted by it like he has no idea how close they are to snapping, and does he realize they definitely how to hide a body where no one will find it, but whatever.

The thing is, Beckett and the others would rather die than admit that yes, okay. They, too, have a soft spot for the little bastard the way Demming seems to?

Such a little shit, but weirdly endearing and also he has helped them out a time or two before, you know?

He really gets under Esposito's skin, though. Because flirty little bastard and Castle is like a kid in a candy store because a criminal willing to share stories and whatnot who hasn’t (yet) threatened to kill him!

Incredible!

Amazing!

(Also, a fan!)

Beckett kind of loves the way he pushes Esposito’s buttons and he’s just. It’s hard not to like him. (She pointedly ignores the looks she gets from Demming because they’re all of the “I told you so” variety and anyway.)

And then!

After a couple of days of this the weasel disappears on them – and it’s all !!! and also >:((((((((((( because not only how, but why????

Demming goes to get answers from his people while Beckett and the others try to find out where the little bastard’s gone.

Realize, after going over what they know about the case and the little bastard that of course he’s gone to talk to someone – make a deal with his boss (the one who put the price on his head) or something and anyway -

Demming runs into them to tell them there’s some kind of meet going on...somewhere and his weasel’s involved, and then madcap race to get there before the little bastard gets himself killed.

Shenanigans in which the bad guy gets the drop on Beckett and the others, looks like the whole gang is about to be murderized, right?

Drama and Bad Guy Confessions Via Monologue, the weasel about to get murdered for real, but what’s this?

A bunch of cops in from Narco and Robbery, also Captain Montgomery and associates and all cavalry to the rescue to save the day?

Bad guys in cuffs being led off and Esposito hauling the weasel along, pissed off like you wouldn’t believe because of course the little bastard snuck out on his watch – scared the shit out of him – and just.

Very much Annoyed.

Demming takes charge of the little weasel when they get back to the station, had this odd little smile on his face as Esposito hauled him away, right? One Beckett and Castle just could not figure out and then!

Beckett and the others up in Homicide finishing off reports and whatnot and not quite ready to head home?

She gets a call from Demming, says he has someone he wants them to meet and if everyone’s still there? To which she is like yes?????

And then!

Few minutes later the elevator goes ding!

Ding goes the elevator and out comes Demming and his little weasel?

No cuffs this time, and it looks like he’s had time to clean up and get a change of clothes, which is probably for the best because of all the blood and whatnot after being knocked around by the bad guys before Beckett and the others showed up.

Which also huh, you know, huh. Like, sure. Guy’s not their murder suspect, but also other crimes and why, okay, why is Demming smiling like that? Why is the weasel smiling like that?

(He does clean up well, though. Not that Esposito is staring or anything, goodness no.)

“Thought you’d like to meet Detective Kevin Ryan.”

Shit-eating grins on both their faces and Beckett and the others like what and then attempted murder of Ryan by Esposito because that little shit, and then shenanigans?

Also going out for drinks and the telling of a story that involves undercover work and many instances of running into Beckett and the others and being like – “Do you guys ever get a normal homicide case?” because Kevin’s new here and doesn’t realize and anyway.

For some reason Kevin Ryan ends up transferring to Homicide and Esposito grumbles to anyone who will listen for forever afterwards about getting stuck with him, but it’s pretty obvious someone needs to look out for the idiot.

And then shenanigans and Castle still prying stories and whatnot out of Ryan every chance he gets – Esposito gets this look on his face when he’s around for one because they’ve all gotten to know the little idiot by now and how the hell is he not dead yet???

And perhaps, also, there is still ~flirting because Ryan is still a little shit and Esposito cannot with this moron, but also there’s a betting pool, because of course there is.

Castle has a !!! “My goodness, I never would have expected you, of all people, to take part in this,” to Demming when he ponies up some money for the betting pool on how long until those idiots figure out their shit.

(Meanwhile, Ryan gets in on the betting pool about Beckett and Castle because how do they not see it and anyway, yes.)

Shenanigans???

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[alightwhendarknessfell]

Black Veil Conspiracy Time

So I've noticed something with Andy's costumes for the TPT era videos/photoshoots. He's always wearing a garter around his thigh but the color of it keeps changing. I'm starting to think there is significance to it considering how detailed Andy is with his outfits (especially in this era).

I first noticed it in the Scarlet Cross music video where it's red. I figured it might just be part of the black/red color scheme but then it appeared in all the photoshoots. Then all of a sudden (around the time they started posting the pool photo shoots) it's white. Then in the Torch teaser, it's black (with a red suit, so the reverse of the black suit/red garter).

I wanna hear people’s theories on it and I’ve got a few myself. I'm hoping that with the album/comic release we'll find out what it actually means but until then I thought it might be fun to hear what everyone else thinks it could symbolize.

(Disclaimer: These are just my interpretations of what it could mean and is just meant for fun.)

Theory 1: Religious/Historical Meaning: Garters are traditionally worn by brides and have come to have different purposes/meanings. Given the name of the band is Black Veil Brides it could just be an easter egg type thing or it might have a symbolic meaning.

The garter originated because people believed having a piece of a bride's dress was good luck. That led to bridal parties ripping a brides' dress off in an attempt to get a piece of good luck or to help "consummate" the marriage. In order to prevent this, the tradition of the garter toss started. Giving someone a "piece" of the dress spared the bride. Andy could be wearing it to symbolize the idea of giving a part of himself to the fans/world through Black Veil's music. Much in the same way brides used to toss their garter as a way to appease the wedding guest and keep from having the rest of their clothes ripped off it could be his way of saying "here I will give you this (the music/band)". With the expectation being that in sharing that part of himself he will be allowed to keep the rest of himself private. Andy is a pretty private person when it comes to his daily life, but being "famous" makes that hard.

Another meaning of the garter goes back to the importance placed on the bride being pure (aka a virgin). The expectation was that on the wedding night the groom would "deflower" the bride. The families also placed a great deal of importance on this and the garter was often used as "proof" that the marriage was consummated. Thus tying it to the idea of purity/loss of innocence. If you listen to Black Veil/Andy Black's discography there is a recurrent theme in the songs of innocence, specifically of lost innocence. I think Andy could have incorporated it due to this meaning which would also tie into the religious themes of the TPT era. The changing color (see next point) is also what makes me think this might be closer to the meaning behind it. Andy was 18 when he moved to Hollywood which is still very much a teenager. Before his 20th birthday, he was touring the world, signing major record deals, and basically forced to grow up very fast. There's no end to people waiting to take advantage of young, impressionable, and starry-eyed kids in order to use them for personal gain. I mean how many childhood stars end up fucked up as a result of their early fame, then have to navigate their way back to who they really are. Andy's spoken quite a bit over the last few years about how he kind of fell victim to the "rock n' roll lifestyle" during his early years. I think the "loss of innocence" he's possibly referring to is the blissful ignorance that kids/young adults have about the world. Once you learn how ugly the world can be (whether that's the music industry, fame, or the world in general) that childhood innocence starts to go away.

You can't get it back, and although it's replaced with knowledge and better judgment, I think a lot of us miss the carefreeness of childhood. If this is the meaning behind the garter then I think the color change really deepens it.

Theory 2: Color Meaning: Red -> white -> black I think this has to mean something. Red could symbolize being tainted in some way, whether that be shame, sin, the idea of having "blood on your hands", crime/blasphemy, etc. The fact that the red garter appears in Scarlet Cross, a song about being branded with a scarlet cross as punishment, I think makes this more likely. The lyrics almost explicitly state this idea "A symbol for my shame, the color of your name, its how they see you break, and live with my mistakes". The red garter could be his way of saying there is some sin he feels the need to atone for. Alternatively that he feels he's being accused of a crime/sin. If you read up on The Scarlet Letter there are several parallels to the TPT storyline as it's been revealed so far. I think at least the song was influenced by the pop-culture idea of a "scarlet letter".

The change in color to white (generally seen as good, holy, pure, etc) could mean that whatever sin or transgression has been committed has been absolved. As we saw the red garter in Scarlet Cross, I think it's interesting we see the white garter in an abandoned pool. Pool = water and water is cleansing. This might be a coincidence but it's interesting nonetheless. I do think that the white garter is supposed to symbolize whatever "bad" thing the red meant being forgiven/cleansed.

Which leads us to the black garter. The fact that we first see the black garter in the Torch teaser which appears to be set in a graveyard makes me think it symbolizes death. Interestingly, I believe he wore a version of the red garter that had a black stripe on it which could have been foreshadowing. There is also an inversion of Scarlet Cross where he wore a black suit with red accents, now he is in a red suit with black accents. Andy said that the four music videos represent a story within the TPT world and this could play into it. However, I don't think the "death" meaning is necessarily bad. It could be, but since it was proceeded by white, it might mean that since whatever sin has been absolved he is now free to let it die. Death could symbolize freedom. The teaser made me think back to the Coffin music video which featured Andy closing the lid on his "Andy Six" persona but left the question as to was he really dead.

We'll have to see what Torch brings but I feel that the garter and its color could play into a wider theme of closing a very long chapter in his life/the band's. Since this comes at the start of a new era, before the album I think it might be a way to transition into that new era. The last album, Vale, was a very dark album. Andy has spoken about how horrible of a place he and the band were in (due to reasons I think we now all know given the events of 2019/2020). I have a feeling this new era represents freedom from what was haunting them, past mistakes, etc. The lyrics for Feilds of Bone speak to this idea in my opinion.

Theory 3: Other: There is meaning in The Phantom Tomorrow world and that will be revealed in the album/comic. It might have a personal meaning for Andy or he just thought it was cool and a way to color coordinate. Alternately he's just be fucking with us for fun lol.

I hope you all enjoyed my conspiracy ramblings because I've had a lot of fun thinking up different meanings. Shout out to Andy for creating such interesting looks and for his creativity. I'm loving all the hidden messages, cryptic posts, and mystery surrounding this album. I'm so incredibly excited for it to come out. Feel free to send in your own theories or anything else you've noticed so far!

[imacrowcawcaw]

Hi I come with a rather silly question, but I was curious, according to your perception how would you describe the personality of every girl in the GVF fandom here at tumblr

That's not a silly question at all, I think it's great and actually quite creative!!!

It seems to me that there are a couple types, which is normal cause there's a lot of us lol. We're not all the same, even if we have some interests in common!

Types of Greta Van Fleet Fans on Tumblr as Observed By Me

Type 1: The Casual Fan

She knows their music, but it's not her favorite. She might reblog a few photos or funny things about the boys on occasion, but her blog is no where near dedicated to Greta and they probably aren't even one of her hyper-obsessions, just another artist in her library. She's more on the outs of the fandom; it's rare that she's tagged or mentioned in anything because not many of us know her. Greta Van Fleet is, most likely, an outlier in her music taste: either heavier than she's used to, or more classic rock when she's a straight up metalhead. All of this is absolutely okay! This girl is generally chill and sweet when she does get to interact, although if she ends up liking GVF more and wants to get "in" on the fandom it can be frustrating to make herself seen.

Type 2: The Die Hard Groupies

I feel kinda bad calling them this but, if given the chance, these chicks would become groupies in an instant. They love the band with their whole heart, and want to live a life of peace, sex, drugs, and rock n roll with their idols. But since they are contained to Tumblr at the moment, these ladies contend themselves with thirst tagging, sending various friends like @satans-helper and @dreams-madeof-strawberrylemonade naughty fanfiction requests and confessions, reblogging pictures of their favorite groupies from rock history, and, of course, listening to Greta Van Fleet (cause they do like the music, I want to make it clear it's not all about sex). It's a toss up whether this girl is open to any and all of the boys, or has a lane she will die in. Jake seems to be the most common.

Type 3: The Accuser

This can girl is much, much more common on Instagram, but I've seen a few here too... The Accuser takes "cancel culture" to the extreme and is canceling a person for something every single day (and encouraging others to do the same) despite the fact that she still likes them apparently (you'll see that she still posts about this person who is "awful")? She thinks the boys are abusing their fame by not promoting social justice very publicly at all times, she has problems with all their girlfriends, she thinks the album is taking too long and that they're being lazy; she goes on rants about symbolism in the songs, makes every conversation about social justice no matter the relevance, and picks fights about the most ridiculous things. (Again, this was on Instagram, but I had two girls fighting over which twin had the larger gay following and things got INTENSE). This girl is quick to anger and accuse, wants everyone to be on her side and thinks even minor disagreements are Literal Death, and still proclaims to love the band despite finding fault in everything they do. High probability she excludes Danny or hates him the most. Yikes.

Note: If you're mad at "The Accuser" one cause, hey, sometimes there are problems that need to be addressed, keep reading.

Type 4: The Defender

While I prefer this girl over The Accuser, she is also... not perfect. The Defender, in contrast to The Accuser (and probably fighting directly against her in a reblog chain no one else bothers to read cause ugh this again), thinks that the GVF boys are literal angels on earth who can do no wrong. She agrees and backs up every decision they and their management make, and always jump to their defense whether it’s music, looks, actions, or online activity being criticized. She is probably a pacifist, heavily dislikes fighting, and wholeheartedly believes in “peace love and unity”. I wouldn’t say that she is naive or irresponsible entirely, but she tends to ignore anything that she dislikes or else immediately jumps to the defense. Think One Direction fangirls circa the early 2010s. 

Type 5: The Happy Hippie Medium

This girl is what I, personally, would consider an enthusiastic yet responsible fan. She generally stays outside of the drama because it has nothing to do with her, she thinks it’s too silly to argue about, or she just values her sanity and peace. She does, occasionally, chime in on matters that she thinks are too important to be ignored, whether it’s the wait time for the album or their social media presence, and she’s always respectful about stating her opinion. She loves Greta and posts quite a bit about them, including original content, but she also has other interests that she blogs about. It could be other bands, aesthetic photos, astrology, artwork, tv shows, activism, it doesn’t really matter, but you’ll find that her blog is an interesting and utterly disorganized haven of herself. Gives great recommendations on all manner of things, and has probably been to a concert and had the time of her life.

Type 6: The Obsession Blog

This is the girl - or, rather, the blog - that is 100% about Greta Van Fleet. Every bit of content that comes in or out is GVF related; she’s the one you go to if you want a certain picture or an ear to hear your fantasies. Even more so if her blog has a specific topic, such as a Sam Kiszka blog! (Or @gretavanfleetconfessions lmao shameless self plug). She probably also has one or more side blogs where she has other content she is interested in, as well as personal information. I am surprised at how often I follow both blogs without knowing it’s the same person!!!

-----

So, I think that those 6 types covers pretty much all the types of fans of GVF on Tumblr, or maybe more accurately their attitudes and content. I admit that I probably walk the line between “Happy Hippie ” and “The Defender”; I try to keep a healthy balance between my obsessions and a healthy amount of affection to GVF, sometimes that means ignoring stuff! 

I have also noticed that there are things that a LOT of GVF fangirls have in common that aren’t band related, but make this fandom more vibrant and close nonetheless. Many of us:

are musicians

are writers 

are artists (plugging @sphoox cause she’s my favorite but seriously all the artists rock)

generally like to be creative, whether it’s crochet or cooking or making moodboards

have other shared bands, such as: Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Motley Crue, Guns n Roses, Nick Cave, Hanson, Harry Styles, Lana Del Ray, Twenty One Pilots, David Bowie, Pearl Jam, Metallica...

have other shared tv shows and movies, such as: Avatar the Last Airbender, The Witcher, Killing Eve, Mad Men, The Office, Parks and Rec, Labyrinth, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, The Adams Family, Pirates of the Carribean...

are interested in astrology and star signs

are interested in history

are interested in fashion

love to read and learn (not necessarily in school) and have all manner of knowledge

are in the LGBT+ community

are women of color, in and outside the U.S.!

are neurodivergent 

love nature and being active outdoors

love and share various aesthetics, whether it’s cottage core or ‘67 hippy or 80s rocker vibes

I love this fandom community and hope I can remain a part of it for a long time! There are things that diversify us and things that bring us closer together, plus, of course, the four wonderful (and sexy) musicians that brought us all together in the first place. What type of fan do you consider yourself to be? Was I accurate (enough), are there more types? I hope I haven’t wildly offended too many people lol....

[nebucat]

i’m very empathetic. i know i am

i’m able to easily imagine another’s perspective and how i would feel if i were in their position, and if i don’t right away then i try my best to do so

the issue was that i could see their perspective, i could understand where they were coming from, but i knew their perspective was skewed by insecurities and that they were too wrapped up in it and stubborn to think critically or have faith in me.

i didn’t... want to validate those insecurities, or i guess i didn’t want to reinforce that sort of thinking. i wanted to help them out of it! but i guess i just... didn’t know how. i didn’t know how to reassure them besides explaining my perspective. i didn’t want to just dismiss how they were feeling! i payed far more attention than they realized. to the point that i immediately understood the problem and felt how they were feeling because i’ve been there before. in some ways, i still am. feeling replaceable or insecure. and i know thats just what it is. i know insecurity obscures our vision. and it made me uncomfortable because the fact i knew it wasn’t true. the accusations of ‘ignoring’ them or losing interest in our writings was not true. but i didn’t know how else to tell them that.

especially because i shrink so much under accusations. my knee-jerk reflex is to accept fault for something as a fawner. the number of times i rolled over for them didn’t help my mental state because i genuinely did let myself be convinced of the things they were telling me. that i ignore them. that i’m dismissive. that i’m inconsiderate. and i am trying to unlearn all of that shit that got ingrained in my head. and it didnt... help either? that they would guilt trip me when i did try to share my perspective, only reinforcing the insecurities.

it was never... enough. i was never enough. i could never make them happy and there was always something i was getting criticized for. no matter what i did, now matter how hard i tried, i was ALWAYS doing something wrong. and they would rub it in my face with their cruel, vindictive comments.

‘if only you payed more attention’

‘you don’t want to disappoint your cool new friends’

‘you’d rather disappoint me than them’

‘you want to stop being as important to each other? fine. i’ll start giving you as equal amount of attention as i do everyone else. you want me to give you reassurance for things i’m not even aware of? ok. i’ll start showering you in those meaningless compliments everyone else throws around in this rpc’ 

‘it’s hard to care about setting off your anxiety when you clearly don’t care about setting off mine’

and i... i wanted to move IN with this person. i wanted a relationship with them!!! i genuinely saw a future with them. because i thought they were changing. i thought they cared. i thought they loved me back.... i wanted to be with them so badly and yet this person was so cruel to me. i was so naive to believe that was what real love looked like.

i don’t even want to think about what could have happened if i stayed. if i continued down that path with them. if i actually did move in with them. i was already so isolated from everyone in our community with them. but i would have been even more isolated if i moved in with them and i would have had no way to escape. thinking about it makes me so nauseous and freaked out.

im so fucking glad i left. i’m so thankful for the friends who helped me get out before it was too late. that week before shit hit the fan, i was such a fucking wreck. i was starving myself because trying to eat made me throw up, having anxiety induced nightmares and was crying literally every single day multiple times, pacing up and down the street at night trying to talk myself down and reason with myself, sleeping all the time because i’d rather be unconscious than awake. i wanted to die. i really wanted to fucking die. it was like highschool all over again. and seeing them groom another person and treat them the same way they treated me when WE first met... seeing how much they praised that person and flattered them and gave them so much positive attention, yet knowing how abusive and neglectful they’d been to me...

i was convinced i was a broken person. i remember saying that to myself, “i’m broken. i’m so broken” as i cried and cried and cried. they didn’t make me feel loved or safe. they made me feel broken.

and thats what narcissistic abuse is. they’ll appeal to you with sweet talk and praise and attention, shower you in compliments and make you feel like the most special person in the world. and once they have their hooks in you, they’ll slowly break you down and groom you into tolerating the abuse. the guilt trips. the manipulation and gaslights. they’ll provoke you to get you to fight with them so they can pick apart everything you say and poke holes in you in order to garner control over you. they’ll humiliate and use hostile humor to tease you in public spaces in order to keep you off balance and install shame inside you.

they do this because they need their narcissistic supply. it doesnt matter if its positive validation or negative validation, they do this because theyre deeply insecure to the core and have to depend on external validation in order to feel anything. and because they’re living in their own delusional reality, they think this is NORMAL and OKAY and that they aren’t wrong for acting like this. a narcissist can never be wrong and will NEVER hold them self accountable for their actions without dragging others down with them.

even the last MESSAGE this person sent me just goes to show they literally are incapable of holding themself accountable for anything. they’ll only apologize to convince you to give them another chance. and thats what that note was--- an attempt to convince me otherwise. but their actions speak louder than the sweet talk and sob stories. and i knew this for certain when i confronted them after calling the police for the suicide baiting. they denied it was a manipulation tactic and had the gall to shame ME for getting worried about them! LMAO. “i’m sorry YOU felt that way” “i’m sorry YOU felt pressured”. not a single apology for literally trying to manipulate me. not a single apology for being the one to use their suicidal idealization to keep me tethered for so long. because narcissists can’t hold themself accountable and will find any reason not to.

i used to have narcissistic behaviors. sometimes i still catch myself falling into old toxic patterns. but i KNOW i’m not narcissistic. i have empathy, i AM considerate and kind, i TAKE accountability for my actions without using self deprecation or excuses, and nothing good and nice i tell people is fake or forced. i have so much love in my heart for people and i’m proud of myself for how far i’ve come and how hard i work to grow and better myself.

so i guess there is one thing i can thank them for. for getting me to fall in love and realize how much i truly have to give. i’m going to invest that love in the people who actually love and respect me, and respect my feelings. and continue working on myself for the benefit of my and those around me.

and who knows, maybe one day i’ll find someone as funny and charming who’ll treat me better. someone i can share as much of myself with as i did with them, who wont take me for granted. until then, i just want to learn to be content with myself.

[renaroo]

Some Times (Time and Time Again) (4/8)

Disclaimer: Booster Gold, Blue Beetle, and associated characters are the creative property of DC Comics. Warnings: Canon shaken not stirred, Heavy canon references to Booster Gold (2009-2011) and Blue Beetle (2016-2018) Pairings: Boostle Rating: T Synopsis: Booster Gold and the rest of the Time Masters are still straightening up things in the wake of the most recent universal Rebirth. But Rip Hunter is still missing in the aftermath, leaving Booster in charge with Skeets, Michelle, and Rani. But there’s a distraction for Booster, one he can’t keep himself from ignoring.

Ted Kord, miraculously, is still alive. And that makes everything more complicated than Michael could have ever imagined.

A/N: Haha! How’s that for an improved rate for chapter turn arounds! I don’t know if I can manage it weekly, but boy wouldn’t that be nice. All things considering. 

And lovely and well deserved thanks to @mcbangle, @shibascarf, @secretlystephaniebrown, AlreadyThere, and Schwoo99 for your lovely feedback and support! It’s greatly appreciated.

Booster Gold

It was already a hell of a day by the time Booster finds himself racing throughout the busted up laboratory in search for Rani. He is in an all around bad mood, conflicted and somewhat wounded with old pains and traumas licking at his heels thanks to the conversation with Ted.

Then Rani — sweet, terrified, all his fault Rani — is gone. And there’s only an open wormhole leftover in the cabinet to clue him into what’s going on.

Using the Legionnaire flight ring, Booster kicks off the ground and zips back to where Michelle is standing by the lab command center. She’s looking a little shellshocked but Booster absolutely does not have time for that.

“She’s gone!” he yells at his sister instead. “She’s teleported out, but why!?” When that fails to draw Michelle’s attention, Booster comes to a hovering stop by her and stares in disbelief. “Michelle!” he snaps in imitation. “Are you listening!?”

Without turning toward him, Michelle says, “I know where she went.” Her hand draws up and points toward the chalkboard.

Not even fully listening to Michelle, Booster follows her gaze to the board and feels himself go slightly off balance. If he hadn’t been using the flight ring, he might’ve ended up on the floor sideways from the knock to his teeth.

On Rip’s meticulously kept chalkboard is a newly etched message that Booster knows for a fact was not there even earlier that day when he got back.

Ted Kord is KEY.

“What the hell?” Booster articulates first. Then, with a slight pang, he recognizes something even more pressing about the message. “Is that… is that Rip’s writing? No… Who…” he rambles out loud before glancing around the lab.

Half of him wants to accuse Rip Hunter of hiding in the shadows, of playing some kind of joke wrapped up in the 4D Chess he has been doing since he first met Booster. But there is nothing to see. There’s no one but them. Only Michael and Michelle.

Which begs another question.

“Skeets?” Booster calls out to no avail.

“Rani is looking for Rip. She sees a message from Rip. She takes the message and runs with it before thinking things through,” Michelle deduces. She then gives Booster and accusatory stare. “Wonder where she picks that up from?”

“I need to get to Ted’s, get Rani, put out any fires…” Booster lists off, already on his way to the transmat.

“Would you hold your horses?” Michelle demands. “I’ll put on my Goldstar suit and we’ll go together. I don’t like how this feels, Michael—“

“I’ve got this,” Booster doesn’t so much as argue as he is concluding the conversation.

“Jesus Christ what did I just say about running into things without thinking them through?” Michelle yells as she takes off running toward her room.

“No time for thinking!” Booster yells back, already beginning to transport. “The multiverse is colliding together because my daughter and my best friend are meeting each other!”

Michelle apparently has no comeback because rather than screaming it, Booster only hears a frustrated roar that he is far more familiar with than he should be.

In Booster’s mind, the worst case scenario is already upon him. Rani, freaking out and distressed, huddled in a corner while Ted, freaking out and distressed, is calling up whatever passes for social services among the Justice League. Someone will ask questions, take records, and Rani is suddenly on the map for some sort of time traveling ne’er-do-well to get at Booster if they want to. And he’ll lose Rani out of the great wide nothing just like he lost Rip—

Booster does his best to turn the alarms in his brain from an eleven to about a nine and thinks what complications this means for him and Ted.

Things are already complicated, Booster was hoping to go over some script or something with Michelle before hanging out with Ted again. How many things can he share? How much can Ted even be expected to believe? And how in the world is Ted going to forgive him for being a different person without any of the years and years of context that is suddenly missing between them?

How can Booster resist his instinct to constantly screw things up with the two people, at the moment, he cares about the most in terms of not getting screwed over?

It seems like a tall order, and before he touches foot in Ted’s lab again, he’s certain there’s a mix of these two things that will be his worst case scenario.

That is, until the reality smacks him in the face with a whole lot worse.

Black Beetle — his seemingly nameless and faceless enemy throughout the time stream — is standing in Ted’s laboratory. And worse yet, he is doing so with a gun much more serious than Ted’s old BB gun, right at Ted’s head. And Ted, for his part, seems genuinely stunned.

“Ted Kord,” Black Beetle snarls, “you must die!”

“NO!” Booster screams, the sound ripping through his throat from the core of his being.

He’s in the air and barreling toward Black Beetle before it even registers that Ted has leaped into action, grabbing Rani and rolling behind the desk. It’s a close call and Booster can only begin to thank his stars that Ted really is the Ted of his memories, but there’s not time to dwell.

“Get the hell away from them!” Booster roars as he connects his forcefield protected knuckles with the side of Black Beetle’s armored head.

Even with his field up, Booster feels the hit in the bones of his fist. There’s something harder to Black Beetle than the last time they fought. Which, Booster has to admit to himself, is not a good sign for him.

“Booster Gold,” Black Beetle snaps angrily, catching the second fist Booster throws at him. “I am surprised by your resilience.”

“By now you really shouldn’t be,” Booster growls back. He aims for the unarmored mouth on Black Beetle only to be caught a second time.

“After our last Beetle adventures, I had thought you had your fill of failing to save your friend from death,” Black Beetle hisses. Then, without warning, his head comes jutting forward, breaking through the field around Booster’s body with speed and precision to land a perfect headbutt for Booster’s nose. “But apparently your masochism is greater than that of the average fool.”

Dazed, Booster backs away with his hands released and instinctively reaches for his nose. Definitely broken, definitely gushing blood — but he doesn’t have the time for it because Black Beetle is already coming back at him.

Gritting his teeth, Booster directs the field shields to his left side and successfully deflects the incoming right hook. It gives him enough time to spit out a mouthful of blood and course correct. He needs some distance, maybe use a concussive blast to further to swing it.

He doesn’t get the time or the distance, however, as the Black Beetle armor produces a clawing arm-like extension which grabs Booster at the waist and clamps down, hard.

“Booster!” Ted yells.

“Mikey!” Rani screeches.

A quick panic tears its way through Booster and he glances wildly in the direction of the two voices. His fingers are still grappling with the claws of Black Beetle but his attention is fully on Ted and Rani — they are too close to all of this! Booster has to get Black Beetle away from them and do it fast.

“Stay down! Both of you!” Booster yells at them just before Black Beetle slams him headlong into the Bug.

“I have lost my patience for your persistent meddling!” Black Beetle snarls. “I will set all things right today! I will see to it that any anomalies for the time stream are destroyed! And I will enjoy listening to your pathetic screams as you know that you still are powerless to do a thing!”

Booster has literal stars in his vision once the dark clad time traveler drops him on the ground. His neck aches and he can feel the wheeze of air pushing back into his lungs. He knows he has to get back up, though, or else someone is going to do something stupid.

“I’ve had about enough of this!” Ted growls.

“Oh, no,” Booster says, smacking himself in the head to try to clear his vision quicker.

“Sir!” Skeets buzzes in front of him.

“Skeets! Save Ted! Rani! Anyone! Fuck!” Booster orders, pushing to his feet and seeing where Ted was.

Ted has already slid over the top of his desk, goggles on and pulled out some sort of large canon looking device with a fanned out disk at its front. When Black Beetle immediately shoots for the in-the-open Ted, the reply is given in kind by the strange device which showered the entire room with an immense white light.

“Solar gun kinetic converter!” Ted preens, even as the blowback sends him to the ground. He coughs. “Has a kick, but anything you throw at me, this baby will convert into a concussive blast and hit brighter!”

Booster smirks and pushes off from the ground in order to boost his launch speed as he hurled himself at Black Beetle.

The light flash from Ted’s machine has put the Black Beetle off balance enough for Booster to throw himself into and shove the man out toward the door and into the hall, out the tenth floor window.

As soon as Black Beetle crashes through the glass, Booster firmly digs his heels into the ground and skids to a halt just short of heading out himself. He releases a long sigh of relief as he actually does seem to have gotten ahead.

Unfortunately, Black Beetle’s armor seems to remember it has flight capabilities much faster than Booster did.

“Damn it,” Booster hisses, looking over his shoulder and realizing that Ted is rushing his way and Rani has crawled out from under Ted’s desk to get a better look. “Skeets! Get her down!”

The tiny robot is quick to listen, and Booster barking orders at all seems to make Ted take pause, but not before the shadow of Black Beetle hovering outside eclipses them both.

Booster locks eyes with Ted and feels that ever present twinge of guilt and horror that has lived with him for nearly five years at this point.

“Ted! Down!” Booster yells.

But it isn’t like before. There is action that Booster can take.

Thinking on his feet, Booster projects his forcefield onto Ted. It encloses the semi-retired Blue Beetle in an oval dome before moving along with Booster as they flew toward the laboratory.

“Are you going to explain anything that’s happening to me?” Ted demands as they land in relative safety from their attacker.

“Later over beer if we make it,” Booster promises wearily.

For a brief moment, Ted looks in Booster’s direction. He’s only nodding along to Booster’s words and yet, as he does so, Booster sees a trust and security from Ted that warms something deep inside of him. It’s been so long since they were doing this, side by side, both in the exact same moment.

Both trusting each other because… as long as they’re Blue and Gold they’re bound to win. Somehow. Some ridiculous fashion.

It’s all Booster can do to take a breath and feel confident that it’s going to be okay.

Just before he loses Ted’s gaze. Ted’s looking back in the direction of Black Beetle and his body immediately seizes in tension.

“Round Three!” Ted yells in warning.

Booster raises his guard and steels himself, but he already knows his main objective.

Skeets has Rani. Booster has Ted guarded with every ounce of reserve power his suit has.

Whatever comes next is going to hurt.

Black Beetle flies at Booster like a bat out of hell, crashing into him and the Bug once more. The metal surface crushes in around Booster as a result of the impact. Booster feels the air pushed out of his lungs but he refuses to think about it, instead punching as much as he can right for Black Beetle’s big dumb jaw.

Some hits land, but the momentum is working against Booster as he feels a pop in his shoulder against the grinding metal of the bug.

“You have no concept of the danger you’re in!” Black Beetle snarls, grabbing Booster’s shoulders and flying with him to the floor.

They crash into the cement, Booster first yet again, but this time Booster can get a footing. He kicks off the pavement and plants his feet right for Black Beetle’s crotch.

Even armored, the villain juts away on instinct, which gives Booster time use a concussive blast. He can only lift his left arm, but it’s enough to give space between them.

It’s not enough. Black Beetle is ready to go before Booster’s even caught his breath.

Fortunately, there is a boom followed by the cracking and folding of metal all around them.

Booster lifts up his head to get a good view as Michelle uses her magnetic fields to crush what’s left of the Bug and the surrounding loose metal and bring it down on the Beetle’s head.

“Get away from my brother!” she yells.

Taken by surprise, Beetle is brought down, the crushing weight growing the longer Michelle levies her magnetism on him. “Damn you, Carters, no!” he roars, reaching with his loosest hand toward the chest piece of his suit. “This is not over!”

With a similar BOOM and spectacle, the Beetle is gone, and all the metal and electronics in the area around him fall in a heap to the ground.

“Heard… that before,” Booster musters, pushing to his feet. His ankle twists in a wrong way and he collides with the floor. His unresponsive arm does nothing to brace for the fall.

“Michael!” Michelle yells.

“Booster!” Ted yells right along with her.

And just before he passes out, Booster thinks how unexpected and wonderful it feels to hear both of their voices at once.  

[shyanwritingevents]

~ CLOSING ANNOUNCEMENT

The Shyan Exchange 2019 has come to an end, and this blog wants to thank everyone who took part on it this year. From participants to pinch hitters, and those who supported by reading and commenting, reblogging and being positive presences in the process of many aritsts and writers.

Here’s this year’s round:

~ FANART

Flowers For You by Gresea for sapoeysap | Not Rated 

OH mann so hanuhaki disease intrigues me and the prompt made me think "what if... ryan was about to confess to shane?? and had a bouquet of flowers?? but right before he's about to confess he starts coughing up flowers???"

because I just love me some angstaaaa i hope you enjoy this!!

Tuesday, 2 a.m. by Likeabook for poetdameron | Rated G

When your boyfriend regularly comes home cut up, you start some wound-care courses real quick. When you husband comes home cut up again, you chat along while assessing the damage.

~ FANFICTION

Save a Horse by Booked_Painter for matterbaby | Rated T

Contrary to popular belief, being a cowboy sucks. A cowboy on the run from the law? Even worse.

Shane is an outlaw headed west not for the riches, but to escape his past. But when he meets a lone sheriff by the name of Ryan Bergara, his plans are thrown out the window as he's dragged into a whole slew of not-so new problems.

detour thru ur medium by sapoeysap for LightningRidgeBlackOpal | Rated G

detective unsolved is a ratings hit, good for shane's wallet, less good for his sanity. especially with the producers plan for this episode.

Still Feel the Pull of You by sequence_fairy for Booked_Painter  | Rated T

“I–” Shane starts, but he really has no explanation. He blinks again. Ryan’s chest is heaving, he’s breathing hard, and water is dripping off his hair and down onto his shoulders, drops beading against his skin and rolling down his arm and– “what the fuck is on your arm, man?”

Ryan turns to look and blanches, before looking back up at Shane. “Get out,” he says, and there’s enough of a growl in his voice that Shane is half-turning to go before he’s even realised he’s moving.

“No, really,” Shane says, ignoring the voice in the back of his head telling him to just go, and stepping closer again, as if to inspect the patch of strangely coloured skin on Ryan’s arm. “What’s that? It’s like–” It’s like scales, is what Shane wants to say, but that’s ridiculous.

Or: the one where Ryan's a siren and Shane walks in on him singing in the shower.

You drag me closer to life by Lori_Cifera for abovetheruins | Rated G

Ryan Bergara looked up at the inn sign, trying to get it in picture with his camera. "So, Boogaras, here we are. Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The rumored haunting ground of... The Mothman." He gave his audience an excited smile. "Let's just hope I'll return alive."

Ryan Bergara has a small Youtube show. This trip to Point Pleasant to hunt for the fabled Mothman was just supposed to broaden the scope of his show but he will end up finding much more than he ever expected.

how big your heart can get (with a little water and sunshine) by abovetheruins for Likeabook | Rated E

In which Ryan deals with a new neighbor, nosy employees who care a little too much about his love life, and flowers. Lots and lots of flowers.

This Candy Got You by smilingsarah10 for Kaya4114 | Rated M

Five times that Shane shares candy with Ryan and one where it really counts. Smut is in the +1.

lovely dark deep by LightningRidgeBlackOpal for Gresea | Rated T

While searching for a cryptid in the woods, investigator Ryan Bergara discovers more than he bargained for, and finds himself speaking to a mysterious man named Shane.

Future holds by commoncookie for somelikeitpink | Rated T

TJ needs a babysitter for his son, luckily Shane and Ryan are up to the task.

A Hazy Vermillion by cleopatraslibrary for big_brother_wrath | Rated E

Demonhunter Ryan Bergara has tracked down Amadeusz and is ready to exorcise the little shit to kingdom come, but when the demon begs not to be sent back, Ryan sees humanity where he doesn't want to. So, they bargain. What could possibly happen?

The Best of You Belongs to Me by big_brother_wrath for chelseyelric | Rated M

Ryan Bergara goes on a hike to clear his mind from all the work back home, and just as the sun enlightens him, he finds himself dropped into a world he doesn't know he can leave. Everywhere he turns, the image of shadows and red eyes haunts him. It's as if the forest itself knows the jig is up, and Ryan must survive long enough to escape or die trying to.

want you in my room by beethechange for smilingsarah10 | Rated E

As they watch, Tall Guy takes his beanie off, revealing a mess of thick, shiny brown hair. He runs his hand through it to shake out the hat hair and Ryan feels like he’s stuck in an Herbal Essences commercial, except he’s the one making inappropriate lustful noises.

Ryan adjusts his snapback, determined. He is, after all, wearing his very finest basketball shorts, without even a single hole at the hem, and the knowledge puts an extra spring in his step.

“I’m gonna climb that dude like a tree,” he tells Curly.

don’t you feel me (feel your heart shine) by LovelyLittleNothing for cleopatraslibrary | Rated G

Prompt: This would be set in canon, but be an AU. So, I'm a huge fan of Kelsey and Curly and love both of their dynamics with the ghoul boys. So, in this AU, one of them is like a seer, but only in regards to soulmates. Soulmates are known in the everyday world but seers that can see who they are? Not so much. They're just a myth. So, what I'm proposing are shenanigans by Curly and Kelsey to get these two together!

Keep Your Enemies Closer by matterbaby for yliegestu | Rated T

Ryan Bergara, son to the boss of La Eme, is suddenly thrust into a leadership position when his father is shot at a wedding. The person behind the killing is obvious to Ryan, but after his accusation is wrong, he has to work with the head of his family’s twenty-year enemy, The Madej Family, to figure out who killed Steven Bergara, and why they framed The Madejs.

COLLECTION | WORKS | EVENT | ASK

[yourdreamscenarios]

When you have to physically restrain him

∙ Request ♡ ∙ Word count: 2,765

“Why are you mocking?” Yoongi asked and when you lifted your gaze from the plate in front of you and flickered it towards him, you noticed he was already staring at you. You couldn’t help it when a warm blush settled itself on top of your cheeks and you could see the corners of his lips curling upwards. He didn’t usually smile that way, he saved it for special occasions. For example when the two of you were all alone by yourselves. You hated the fact that he could make you blush so easily, because you also hated the fact that he knew exactly how he made you feel. He knew what kind of an effect he had on you and he loved it. He wasn’t someone who’d sent swooning looks your way from his side of the table. You had long since learned that Yoongi wasn’t the romantic type, or the man who would do everything to make you happy. He wasn’t the person to bring you roses after he’d been gone for weeks or who would surprise you by showing up in front of all of your friends. Yet he was all you needed, because whenever you wanted hime to be there, he simply was. He was the kind of man who noticed when something was bothering you and who called you out to talk about it. 

You sighed and brushed a lost strand of hair behind your ear before leaning back in your chair. It was only then you realized how tense you were and when you forced your shoulders to loosen up you could feel knots forming inside of your muscles. You didn’t even want to know what your face had been looking like until he had called you out for it. Inwardly you scolded yourself for simply thinking about yourself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to space out.” You muttered and made sure to fold your lips into a smile while you reached for your glass so you could take a sip of whine. It seemed like forever since the two of you had had a night like this. One where you could just sit together and spend some time with each other, without there being the chance of either of you getting an important call or having to hurry because there was still so much work left to do. Tonight, it was just you and him, together, in this cosy restaurant at the edge of town. It was a nice idea, that you were far enough from others to be left alone. But you knew that idea was simply an illusion. 

Everyone knew Yoongi and you knew that if people really wanted to, they could just step up to your little candle lit table and ask him for his autograph. Yet, they seemed respective of your privacy and the two of you were left by yourselves, except for a waiter who stepped in every once in a while to ask if you needed anything. Still, the thought of having Yoongi all to yourself in a public place was kind or giving you a rush, almost as if you were on drugs. He was never truly yours, there were always others you had to share him with when the two of you were out. But right now, while he sat in front of you in his nice button up shirt and his vest, there was no one around to steal him away from you. “You’ve had a rough day?” He asked, picking up his own glass and bringing it to his tender lips. Unknowingly your gaze followed the movement and rested on his mouth before you realized what you were doing and you quickly adverted your eyes to stare at the ugly, fake set of flowers which stood in the middle of the table. “Something like that.” You mumbled, a dark undertone settling itself inside of your voice as you thought back about today’s events. You hadn’t had a very nice week so far if you had to be quite honest. 

Things didn’t seem to go as planned at work and your boss was giving you a hard time because of it. Even though you’d only been promoted last week, he already expected you to take care of everything as if it was as easy as breathing. Your friends kept suggesting dates to meet up with you and were getting irritated because you couldn’t make it and thought you weren’t making an effort. Unseen events came in the middle of things and ruined your plans. But what was the use of thinking of such things right now? The last thing you wanted was to ruin the evening for the both of you. Who knew when you might have the chance to do this again? “I’ll feel better once I’ve had food.” You explained, searching through the room in the hope to catch a glimpse of the waiter, yet you weren’t lucky. Across of you Yoongi rolled his eyes, clearly amused with your eagerness. By now he was used to the fact that you were always asking for food and your hunger was never stilled. Yet, his intense stare lingered on your face, and you knew that he wouldn’t forget about this. He wasn’t one to push you and he wouldn’t ask you to talk if you weren’t up for it. 

He wasn’t one to get into your business even though it was just as much his as yours. He wasn’t the best in sharing emotions himself so he definitely wasn’t going to scold you for not sharing yours. But you could tell that he was attentive and he would bring it up again once the two of you would be somewhere private. “I’m glad we came here, one of my friend keeps bragging about this place. She says the desserts are to die for.” You announced, hoping that by picking up a different topic the two of you would be able to forget about the mess going on around you and to focus on just the two of you. You’d been looking forward to tonight, had been longing to spend some time with him. He constantly seemed busy these days and nights like these were rare. Yet, it caused you to enjoy them even more. A soft breeze came from behind you as the door of the restaurant opened and a group of people stepped inside. You definitely should have asked for a table further from the entrance, but you didn’t feel like changing to a different seat now. 

Yoongi’s eyebrows shot up at your words, a small grin creeping around his mouth. Whatever he was about to say, you knew it would be better if no one else would hear. “And here I was thinking I’d be your dessert for tonight.” He muttered softly, his words caused a humming warmth to spread itself through your body. Leaning over the table top slightly you locked your eyes with his, amused by the sudden twist in the conversation. A few seconds ago you had been longing for chocolate cake, now you found yourself thinking of another kind of sweetness. If it wouldn’t look so weird you would have gotten up right now and you would have dragged him home to get a taste. But unfortunately you were hungry, and you weren’t planning on leaving before you’d had at least one bite of food. “Well look at you! Who would have thought I’d ever see you around sometime?” A loud but all too familiar voice caused your mouth to snap close, leaving you unable to fling your teasing comeback across the table. Your head unwillingly twisted sidewards, where you could see someone taking a few big steps towards you until he was standing beside your small table for two. Every bit of warmth you had felt before drenched from your body, leaving you ice cold. 

You glared at Darren, your ex boyfriend who you’d broken up with over a year and a half ago. He’d never taken it very well, and ever since you had continued to refuse his excuses and apologies and had ignored his efforts to get back together with you, he’d grown bitter towards you. He loved to use every single opportunity to make your life slightly more miserable, just to make himself feel better. It was childish, but he’d never been able to act like a grown up anyway, not even when the two of you were still an item. “What do you want Darren?” You growled, ignoring the stares you got since others heard your rude greeting. A devilish smirk slipped onto the man’s face, caused the dimples you had once loved to show. Thinking back of it now you couldn’t seem to figure out what had ever caused you to fall for him in the first place. He’d always cared much more for himself than he had done for you. He’d never put you first and you had always been second place. Even now, when he wanted to drag you down to make himself feel better. “I was just about to have a dinner meeting with my colleague’s. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you, but you never pick up my calls.” Darren spat, accusation filling his voice. You rolled your eyes at his childish act and pressed your lips together while thinking of what to say. 

You wanted to tell him to leave, but knew that he wouldn’t go before he felt like he’d said enough. “Perhaps that’s your cue. Maybe she’s trying to tell you to leave her alone.” Yoongi reacted before you had the chance to do so. Darren’s eyes jumped towards your boyfriend for the first time, as if he’d just noticed that you had company. The two of them had never met, but Yoongi surely wasn’t Darren’s biggest fan after everything you’d told him. He scoffed and brushed his hand through his hair sending Yoongi a sour smile. “I heard you were dating someone. Not very nice of you to let me find out over the television. But I guess you must be pleased with yourself, now you finally get the attention you deserve. Let me ask you, how do you like your new position at work? Did your celebrity boyfriend put in a nice word for you?” Your eyes widened at his insult and you could tell your cheeks were heating up again, yet there was nothing flattering about it this time. Anger was rushing through you as you glared at him. Quietly your fingers turned white around your glass of whine and you had to force yourself to calm down before you would squeeze it into tiny pieces. This guy made you feel sick. The only reason why he came up to you was because he wanted to talk shit to you. 

He hadn’t always been like this, but now that you thought back of it, you were glad you had been able to get rid of him. He must have heard about your change of function, but unlike his assumptions you had worked hard for your current spot in the company. “Screw you Darren.” You muttered, keeping your voice low in the hope you wouldn’t gain any more attention from the people gathered on the tables around you. He snickered and took a self confident pose as he faced you dead on. “No thanks baby, I’m done screwing you, it wasn’t that good anyway…” Your jaw dropped towards your chest in shock, feeling horrified because he was speaking to you in such way. Even though the time you had spent together hadn’t been the best and things hadn’t ended on good call, you never would have expected him to be this rude. After he’d once told you he’d loved you, you would have expected slightly more respect. You barely processed what was happening when you saw Yoongi jump up from his seat, his chair shoving backwards from the strength he had used to push himself up. In a matter of seconds he stood face to face with Darren, their noses touching. For a small second you felt as if all the air inside of your lungs was being pushed outwards. 

The entire restaurant had become quiet and all eyes were pointing at you, tension filling the air. Everyone knew what it looked like when two people were about to make a scene, and this was definitely starting to look like it. “Don’t you dare talk to her like that.” Yoongi’s voice was cold as ice, causing you to shiver before you got up from your chair and moved to stand beside them. He didn’t often loose his temper in public, but you knew that Darren had pushed it too far. “Yoongi leave it, it’s not worth it.” You whispered softly while wrapping your hand around his arm. His muscles were stiff underneath your touch and you knew he could snap any second. This wasn’t the way you had wanted this night to go. “Oh really? That’s not what she said when I did screw her.” You gasped and registered the growl that rolled down Yoongi’s lips before he planted his fist in Darren’s face. “No!” You squealed quickly stepped in front of him as Darren fell towards the floor, tugging down the tablecloth and causing cutlery and plates to clutter onto the floor. The crashes rang through the air, but you ignored it. Your heart was hammering inside of your chest as you focused yourself on Yoongi’s outraged expression. You didn’t even care if Darren was alright, he deserved everything he got. 

“Let’s go home, please.” You pleaded, your hands pressed up again his chest to keep him from flying on top of your ex boyfriend. When his eyes pointed on you they were wary with anger, yet he nodded ones and firm, left some cash on the table without checking the amount and grabbed your hand before fleeing out of the restaurant. You didn’t look back, not even once. Adrenaline was rushing through your veins as you stepped into the night air. A cold breeze slapped you straight into the face and for a moment you felt as if you couldn’t breath. None of this seemed real, that your ex boyfriend had just shown up right in front of you and had treated you like dirt, that your boyfriend had just broken his nose. Without checking if Yoongi was catching up with you, you marched forward on your high heels, hoping you were walking into the direction of the car. “_______________!” Yoongi’s voice came from somewhere behind you as you stepped on the road, hoping to cross it and reach the other side. You realized you’d forgotten your coat and goosebumps were beginning to spread across your skin as you ignored the sound of your name. 

A hand enclosed itself around your lower arm, forcing you to stop as it swung you around. “Where are you going?” Yoongi asked, his gaze burning as he kept you from running away from him. You could barely register what he was saying, leave alone know what you were supposed to answer. You were upset, because apparently you and your ex boyfriend couldn’t act like normal people around each other and your boyfriend couldn’t keep his fists to himself. “Home!” You yelped and you could see him flinch because of the hysterical sound inside of your voice. Yet his hold on you didn’t loosen, his fingers simply lowered until they were unclosing yours. The pressure of his hand in yours was quite soothing, but not enough. Your emotions were battling each other inside of you. One part of you wanted to yell at Yoongi for what he did, for not being able to control himself, for starting new rumors about himself. Another part of you wanted to thank him for standing up for you, walk back inside and slap Darren across the fact yourself. 

But neither of those things seemed like the right thing to do. “You never told me your ex is such a shit head.” Yoongi muttered softy and you actually found the corners of your mouth tugging upwards at that. “It’s an important detail I forgot to mention.” You said, suddenly feeling exhausted. It was as if all the events of last week were weighing down on you, and this was something else you really didn’t need in your life right now. As if he knew exactly how you felt Yoongi starting tugging you into the opposite direction you had been heading. “Let’s get out of here.” 

∙ BTS Masterlist ♡               ∙ Masterlist ♡

[justmysicklypride]

P-P-P-Play that shit: ptv analysis - Part 2

 Hi what’s up everyone and welcome to this week’s pew news. This is a continuation of my last post where I pretty much summed up Pierce The Veil’s career from the beginning to present and gave an overview of their rise and downfall. You can check it out here, but if you already know about everything or have read it already then feel free to ignore it. In any case, I was originally gonna make these two posts as one but ran out of room bc who the hell would read that much text in a blog post (me) so here you go - part two of this fucking conspiracy theory because I didn’t even get to share any of my thoughts in the last one. (I also forgot to put headers with each new topic smh apologies to the English language)

Edit: it’s been fucking eons since I wrote the last one/started writing this one like legit I even changed my user. The reason why this has been put off for so long will be explained later but yh smh

Gigantic obligatory disclaimer: Everything that I will discuss whether it be in this post or my last, or any future posts that relate to this subject IS NOT going to touch on the subject of the “sexual relations with a minor” incident in itself. I will not go into detail about my own views on this specific matter as there is literally no way to win because whatever I say could be taken out of context by literally anyone. That being said, I do not condone pedophilia, I do not condone sexual harassment or rape, and I do not undermine the importance of consent. I respect the laws of different states, as I know they vary with time and place, and I understand that everyone has their own opinions and I do not wish to impose my own onto others.

In regards to this, however, I do have to acknowledge that I, first and foremost, do not think that Mike Fuentes is innocent, and I strongly believe that how the band handled this situation was just plain terrible, but I do also have to acknowledge the fact that this situation is to stay between the accuser and the victim, as well as their respective legal teams and that I should not go nosedive headfirst into anything like this when it does not directly affect or require my judgement as a necessity, lest I face any legalities or blacklash as a result. Furthermore, everything that I will be talking about are conspiracies only and I do not in any way assume or imply that any of this is true.

In other words, I don’t mean to offend anyone but if you end up getting offended then that’s on you, not me. Let’s begin.

Introduction 

The points that I am trying to highlight in this essay post is, in simple words, that Pierce The Veil’s... well, everything, comes off as kind of a conspiracy, almost, to me. I have had these thoughts for a long-ish time, and so this post is basically me finally making a post that covers all things that I have been thinking of in the past. Unlike my previous post, this one is a lot less fact-based and a lot more opinionated, so if you’re not into that, then that’s fair. Otherwise, I will be discussing the following things (in this order): the topic of kellic, Misadventures, and the accusation + response.

When Life Gives You Lemons, You Ship Them Together And Call It Lemonade

I refer to my last post and assume that everyone understands how “kellic” came to be and what it means. To summarise to the bare minimum best of my abilities, it’s the ship name of Vic Fuentes and Kellin Quinn, aka what people call it when someone wants or is keen on the idea of these two frontmen having an affair with each other in a (typically) fictional setting. It happens all the time, especially in this day and age where you can easily just find someone with the same obsession as you with a click of a button. That’s why King For A Day, and inadvertently Collide With The Sky, became such a huge success. It appealed to the right demographic of teenagers and tweens who were ecstatic at the prospect of shipping, and went on to achieve even more impressive feats following that. How you ask? Well, by going on a tour around the world of course. Together. Playing shows every night that ends with one of them literally carrying the other off the stage. Gotta give the people what they want, hey?

I have a strong belief that the key to success is through beating the system at its own game. In this case, the game is simple - get fans, get money. Unfortunately, as we all know, getting fame isn’t as easy as simply earning it through grit and determination. To achieve fame, one must find a way to do something at the right time in the right way so that people will notice. If one person does, and your fire doesn’t die out right away, then you’ve got yourself a forest fire. Then later on, all you gotta do is keep this forrest fire going, but assuming that there isn’t someone standing on the other side with the whole fire department’s resources in tow, then the only thing stopping this fire is itself, because with all things in life, fire dies out, and fame stops accumulating after a while if nothing is done about it. Humans need entertainment. If something starts to fail to pique their interests, then they move on. That’s why YouTubers are required to change up their content every now and again in order to try and relight that spark they once had, and even then there’s a good chance that they won’t. 

I was originally going to write another blog essay about this whole YouTube analogy thing but quickly realised that for one, I don’t have time bc I’m getting my ass fucked by university on a daily basis; and that for another, there’s most likely a billion other videos or essays about this topic as is, so I’ll just link one or two of them here. I haven’t watched them all yet or I don’t remember much of them, but all they do is pretty much summarise up stuff like how YouTubers become successful and their downfalls and all that, and even though they kinda focus on a specific person or group of people, I feel like it could be generalised.

Even without the YouTube metaphor, we know��shipping works. It is evident in multiple works across various media that giving the fans what they want is often what gives these people their continued success, such as Dan Howell and Phil Lester, who have all but stopped trying to create their own individual branding (save for their separate merch stores that are probably there just to get more people to buy their overpriced clothing), and who at this point have become such an overused example that I actually hesitated writing that. Why do you think movies and shows and cartoons mostly have a romantic subplot? Romance is an essential trope in literature and easily one of the most popular genre out there for various reasons. According to a Bustle article written in 2016, romance often gives the readers a sense of hope or gives them a way to live out their fantasies in the easiest way possible, and while this may not apply to everyone, (personally I’m not a romance fan much at all but I can appreciate good literature), it’s hard to deny the phrase “sex sells”.

Given that, you’d think that any company with half a brain would learn to exploit it, but for some reason this wasn’t the case in Pierce The Veil’s management, and no matter how I look at it, I can’t really see the reason why. It’s not like the band members are uncomfortable with the ship - Jaime Preciado has been seen kissing Vic Fuentes on stage (not on the lips guys chill) (I had forgotten how fucking difficult it takes to find this one specific clip so here’s a couple different fuenciado pictures instead to make up for it smfh), and Vic Fuentes has mentioned kellic in a live stream once jokingly - and Kellin Quinn is notoriously known for being completely okay with it (so long as he doesn’t have to look at it), so just what is the reason?

This Ain’t A Hiatus, It’s A Goddamned Arms Race

I’d be lying if I didn’t miss all the memes that all stemmed from the Pierce The Veil boys not being able to release an album when they’d promised, before postponing said album yet again and disappearing off of the face of the earth digitally for another year or two, giving them a total of four years as their unofficial, unannounced hiatus. For this, I have several questions.

We all know Vic Fuentes loves taking his sweet ass time releasing music - he’s admitted to remaking his first album a second time before releasing it, as stated an interview a couple years back - but you can’t honestly tell me their management just let them get away with it. Sure, through this time they’ve been pushing out new merch to no end, but something tells me that this giant gap they’ve wedged between the new album and Collide With The Sky isn’t gonna be good publicity, despite all the memes that’ve sprouted from it. There’s been fans who stopped taking interest in this band because of it, as well as fans who have just gotten fed up with having to wait so long. They scrapped a whole completed album in the process of creating Misadventures too, and while it’s not uncommon for bands to throw away near-completed ideas at whim, it’s also not unlikely for there to be some external factors or reasoning behind why they did it. Could it be that the album they threw away stayed too close to their roots and management or some other person told the band to start again, so that they can create something more appealing to this day and age? Or could it be something else that is hard to see at face-value?

You’ll Never Get Ahold Of Me Now

Finally, I’m gonna address the overdue elephant in the room. If you want to read the full thing, here it is because I’m tired of having to reiterate what happened. Mike Fuentes received a sexual allegation by some girl(s) and the band released a shitty statement that has since gotten deleted - that’s the general gist of it. 

Like I said, it’s been literal months (or weeks idk my perception of time is severely fucked) since I actually started making this post so literally no one cares anymore, but regardless of what past me has promised or written down, I’m not going to be discussing the allegation in itself, but rather what and/or how the band and their subsequent management has handled it, in that they handled it so bad that I honestly can’t believe they did it like that. 

Edit: I wasn’t gonna bother finding another copy of the statement bc no one’s gonna give a shit but then I’d be doing some baseless shit and I honestly can’t stand people who half ass these things, despite my growing urge to do the same thing, so here’s the statement. 

For starters, who the hell waits one whole month before releasing a statement? From what I can remember, their excuse was allegedly that pretty much management forbade them to talk or make a statement about it earlier for... reasons? (Just realised I don’t actually have the source for this so idk take it with a grain of salt I guess because I was sure I had read this somewhere but I can’t back it up.) 

That’s not even the worst part, either. The statement itself gave zero closure to literally everything. Yes, they acknowledged the allegation, but that’s just about as far as they went. The whole point of a statement is to clear things up, whether the accuser was right or wrong, and what steps will be taken from there, whether an apology is to be issued or not. No shit you know about the incident, who in the fandom wouldn’t? Instead pointing out the straight up obvious, what they should’ve done was 1) not waited an entire fucking month before talking about it, most likely hoping the whole thing to blow over by then and 2) actually talked about the incident in their statement instead of tiptoeing around the subject like some sort of time bomb ready to go off. There is no right or wrong answer, because literally all they had to do was tell the truth - as in write down a statement from Mike (not the whole fucking band mind you) about his take on the whole thing or get him to say what had happened from his point of view. Then resolve it privately with your legal team and whatnot if they really feel the need. Hell, all he needed to do was apologise. Whether something like that classifies as assault or rape or whatever is up to you but the fact of the matter is that she’s underaged at that point in time. Even if she was fully aware of the risks and whatnot and gave legitimate consent, under the eyes of the law and pretty much 80% of the people reacting to this incident, it will be deemed illegal and inappropriate behaviour. All these people had to do was literally just be open and honest about it regardless of whatever the hell happened, because this is all happening on a public platform where everyone can see/read it to their hearts’ content. Viewers can’t judge or make a decision to support or not support you if you don’t tell them your side of the story, so for the love of god, why the hell didn’t they?

The statement was filled with bullshit about how they love the fans and all that shit, and honestly my thoughts can be accurately summed up in this video right here. So much backlash could have potentially been avoided had they just told it as it is, because now all we have is a vague ass response that gives no closure and tell us nothing as to whether Mike actually did it or not, because in the statement he manage to spout some bullshit about how he’s “never intentionally manipulated or abused anyone in [his] life” and that he’s just a ball of empathy which at first glance could suggest he at least thinks he’s innocent, but then they go on to say how Mike’s taking a temporary leave from the band for, you guessed it, absolutely no reason. At least, no reason that they’ve given us (what else is new) (I’m becoming more petty as the night drags on it’s literally 1am). Honestly, .@piercetheveil, please tell me why the honest to god fuck did you have him leave just after suggesting that he might be innocent? I know the world isn’t black and white but when you’re making a stance and defending yourself or admitting to something, it really is - black and white that is. Either you’re innocent or believe that you’re innocent and stand your ground by not leaving the band, or you admit that you are guilty, in which case your leaving of the band would actually feel justified, because now it’s like you’re gonna come back as well, so what does that even mean? Mike isn’t gone indefinitely, he hasn’t pleaded guilty or innocent, and now the band is telling us they love us? Fuck out of here with that bullshit.

Yes, I support the band’s decision to pull out of the All Time Low tour and to not have Mike out there in case fans feel threatened or unsafe or whatnot, but if you’re pleading innocent, then honestly the whole band should’ve just said “hey we’re gonna go on hiatus for a while until our legal team’s finished with taking care of everything”, and not just said hey guys we’re gonna kick him out because he may or may not have done something that we’re not gonna tell you because we’re shady fuckers like that. I know they are on hiatus right now, but at the “start”, they only said that Mike would be withdrawing temporarily or whatever so it’s kind of like, okay? Sure? It’s a right mess I assure you. Honestly, throughout this whole incident, it was this statement part that made me really fed up with this band. My interest in them had died down significantly from since I hit fifteen all those three years ago, and right now when I dug up an old iPod shuffle to bring with me to university to save my phone battery throughout the day, I can honestly say that I won’t be adding any Pierce The Veil songs onto it anytime soon unless I get peer pressured to. Personally, I feel like that’s kind of the mentality of a lot of had-been Pierce The Veil fans, too.

That’s Great And All But What’s Your Point?

Pierce The Veil’s management sucks ass.

There’s no easy, lawsuit-prone way for me to say it but, and this is just a conspiracy theory I swear to god if I get the fucking ASIS kicking down my door in the middle of the night you better read the fucking disclaimer, there’s obviously some shady shit going on in there no matter what way you slice it. Either they’re sabotaging Pierce The Veil’s success or whether it’s all some big confusion or misunderstanding, or if they’re just plain dumb, we can all agree that this whole thing - the kellic fan service, album making, allegations and subsequent statements - should’ve and could’ve been handled a hell of a lot more gracefully and professionally. Believe it or not, waiting until things blow over is frankly just childish and solves literally nothing, so either they can pull their act together quickly with this next “special secret” album to redeem what little quality/dignity they have left, or they can just fade away into irrelevancy and become a band that no one cares about anymore. 

History repeats itself. This band is quickly becoming just another Leafyishere, and as ominous as that sounds, it’s honestly not unlikely at this point. I am intrigued as to where they go from here, because if they manage to breakthrough again, then I would be very surprised given their current situation. I want to know how they choose to handle this - whether it’ll be the same or not, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Thank you so much if you read through this honestly like I am beyond happy that this is fucking over because I have a bunch of non-band related post essays I’ve been meaning to post but this one’s been nagging at the back of my mind for the past few months or however long it’s been. I’ve clocked in at around past 3k words for this one, and none of this is edited because I’m honestly so done with this you don’t understand. Like I said before, this took ages because I was gonna make another post talking about other shit that relates to this before realising that there’s way too many people that’ve addressed the whole YouTube thing so me doing it would literally be pointless, and even though no one really reads this shit, as big of a nerd as I am, I do enjoy writing bullshit because maybe then I’ll stop ranting to my friends and family about topics they don’t care about.

Regardless, that’s it for this two parter thing, and until next time or whatever.

Catch’ya x

[lore-a-lie]

Chapter 2, Act 8: Lives on the Chopin block

CLASS TRIAL- IN SESSION

Everyone went to their proper podiums again, with three new crossed out portraits filling up their ranks.

Miu’s was naturally the first that Kaede turned to, her eyes staring back at her from between the three crosses going across her face. She idly wondered if it was because of the girl’s lewdness or a comment on how “strong” her personality was, like alcohol, but it felt fitting in a darkly humorous sort of way. Miu still would have probably appreciated this little joke either way, if she were there to see it. But she wasn’t.

Reluctantly she turned from Miu’s face, past Shuichi’s, to see about those of her other lost friends. It was hard to avoid thinking about whose face would be joining these monochrome memorials after this too. But even that was more pleasant than to really see where Maki and Kirumi’s deaths left them.

Ryoma was alone now, flanked on both sides with dead faces. That of one of his closest friends in this prison, and the other the girl who threatened his life to escape it. But at least the latter’s absence made it easier for Kaito and him to share glances now, for what little support that could give each other.

Though these looks would also mean every time Kaito faced him he’d see the harsh reminder of Maki’s death looming over Ryoma. Kaede couldn’t imagine what seeing that must be like for either of them.

The red lines hardly looked out of place for Maki’s, but the cross was placed less like an X and more like a plus sign. Or more accurately a gun’s scope, given the circle around it. It was almost a blessing her cause of death wasn’t up in the air like Himiko’s initially was, since they at least knew for sure she wasn’t really shot.

Kirumi’s portrait was pretty bland in comparison. The lines were cleaner and crisper than Rantaro’s, but less artistic than Shuichi’s, just a plain formal X on the center of her face. Like checking off a box on a grocery list or a voting ballot. Not that anyone here ever voted for her to do anything.

But there wasn’t much time for contemplation. Their lives were all on the lines again.

“Aww, everyone seems so depressed this time. It’s okay! I’m sure it will be okay! We know what it’s like to watch as your number keeps dwindling one by one but you’ll bounce back. Just like we did!” Monophanie began, taking a triumphant pose with her paws where her hips should be as she looked up to the sky with Monotaro’s scarf blowing in the breeze. The source being the fan Monodam held for her.

“Ya don’t need ta lie to 'em ‘Phanie, they know what they gotta do. Speaking of, youse all best ignore any of what our old paw sez capisce? He’s just an audience this time, we’re still running this show!” Monosuke followed.

“Yeah, yeah whatever. It’s almost nice to have a break for a change. I’ve been doing this for just soooo long you know? This should be so much less stressful, it’s gonna be great for my fur. It’s not easy to keep up this youthful complexion, with how much work I’ve had to put into these games year after year...” Monokuma dismissively replied from his throne, taking out a compact to play with some blush for emphasis as he slighted his most obnoxious son.

“Then-Don’t-Interrupt-Us-Anymore-Father. I-Shall-Do-The-Basic-Explanation-Of-The-Class-Trial.”

“I didn’t agree to that shit! You chumps know the drill by now, if you really don’t know how this works yet then just shut up and watch. Ya argue like a family at dinner over who sent your buddy ta go sleep with da fishes, and vote for “Howdunit”.”

“You mean “Whodunit” Monosuke. “Howdunit” or “Howcatchem”s are completely different types of mysteries. We don’t care how any crime was done, even a completely blind guess would be valid in this courtroom.” Monophanie corrected, again acting like this was some boring comedy routine.

As Monosuke distracted himself bickering with Monophanie over "embearassing" him for his mistake Monodam took over again. “But-If-You-Vote-For-The-Wrong-Person-All-Of-You-Will-Die. If-You-Vote-Right-Only-The-One-Responsible-Will-Be-Punished, With-An-Execution-Made-To-Best-Reflect-Who-They-Were-As-A-Person, Sins-And-All.”

“Oi, not everyone dies if they get the criminal wrong you bucket o’ bolts! If the innocent spotless can’t catch which of them blackened themselves with the blood of their “friends” the killer graduates! They can get the hell outta dodge and leave this place, no strings attached, even if they don’t want to.” Monosuke chimed, while he got his sister into some sort of headlock to "settle" their dispute.

And got an uppercut to his "jaw" for his troubles, as she proved victorious again so she could continue while Monodam nervously watched. (Honestly, with how distracting it is watching them squabble and how dumb they normally are I'm really impressed what they're saying is still coherent. And yet still somehow equally useless. We still know all of this already, so why put us through the entire thing a THIRD time?!)

“And no one is allowed to get out of this without risking bloodying their own hands either. As long as you’re in the minority a wrong vote won’t be held against you, but if you don’t vote we need to kill you. Well, Monosuke will if one of you decides to try, I want no part of it. We’d refuse if we could, I’m sorry.”

“But-I’m-Sure-None-Of-You-Would-Want-That-So-Let’s-Move-On!" Monodam rushed so Monosuke couldn't try picking a fight with their sister again. "Remember-To-Be-Respectful-Of-Each- Others-Thoughts-And-Feelings-As-You-Argue, Even-If-Some-Of-You-Need-To-Lie-And-Accuse-Each-Other.”

“Oh Jeez this is really gonna suck isn’t it? You tykes didn’t even bother trying to stick to your scripts!” Monokuma grumbled behind them, knocking his head against the back of his chair.

“Of-Course-We-Didn’t. What-Is-The-Point-Of-Replacing-You-If-We-Were-Going-To-Follow-Your-Orders?”

Kaito gladly took the opportunity to try and put things back on track.

“Let’s just ignore them for now you guys. Sorry if I can’t be of much help this time.”

“Not to worry, no one blames you Kaito." Kibo quickly dismissed with a sympathetic look. "Between the first victim and your illness this was expected.”

“My what? Who said anything about me being sick?! I’m not sick, I’m as hearty as a horse!”

“Suuure you are Kaito. You really want to admit you’ve just been scared shitless this whole time?”

“FUCK YOU KOKICHI, I ain’t afraid of-”

“No ghost?” Kokichi finished for him with a matching unnatural ghostlike grin on his face and a cackle. (How the fuck does he even make expressions like that?! Who even cackles anymore outside of movies?)

“Please don’t make this one long ghost joke you two, we already had a failed seance and no zombies.” Tsumugi said with a sigh, making Tenko nod her head in agreement.

“Does it count as a failure if we never got to start it?” Angie asked, the picture of utmost innocence.

“We ended up with more dead people than we had when you wackos started, hell yeah it counts!” Kaito shouted, looking appalled he had to point it out to her.

While Angie huffed, Kiyo took the chance to make his argument instead. “It wouldn’t have failed, someone just took advantage of the few of us isolating ourselves for that brief window of time to kill Kirumi. But we should answer the question of who attacked Maki first yes?”

“No! Kirumi’s the freshest so she should be the one we focus on." Tenko shot back, banging against the front railing of her podium with her momentum. "Besides, it’s obvious whoever killed Maki is the one who would have tried attacking you guys. Or BE one of you guys. So Kiyo’s the culprit!” She pointed at him.

Ryoma stepped in before Kiyo had the chance to defend himself though. “Easy there Tenko. Angie’s the one who had the gold on her hands from the gold katana that was used to kill her and it was Angie is who wanted to perform the seance, so shouldn’t she be our prime suspect? The only sources of gold leaf we have are that sword and the supply from her lab, Kaito and I checked.”

“Nuh-uh, Angie would never kill anybody! A degenerate like Kiyo’s way more likely, it was his katana. Besides if there was gold on the underside of all the handles in those rooms wouldn’t that make not getting any on him suspicious? I mean Kirumi wouldn’t since she never tried to leave before… You know.” Tenko trailed off as the memory of the horrifying scene made her lose steam.

“Anyone could enter my lab and take it, and not having gold on my hands still proves I could not have handled that Katana. And with the game’s “first come, first served” rule why should we assume one person is responsible for both crimes? As the only blackened we need to find is Maki’s killer should we not focus our efforts on that culprit first?”

“I agree with Kiyo, there will be time to go over Kirumi’s death later. We can even sort out who killed her outside of the court if we run out of time before we can settle it.” Ryoma said, giving Kirumi’s portrait a wary glance.

“Yeah! Besides Maki has more possible suspects too, so settling her death will take more time.” Kaito agreed.

“Why would the killings be unrelated though, aren’t they a bit too close together to be a coincidence? If we uncover Kirumi’s killer it may help narrow down potential suspects for Maki too, if the two aren’t one and the same. But Angie isn’t responsible for either of these, I swear by Atua’s name.”

“Is “Atua” really their name, or just what they are? Merely asking out of genuine curiosity I assure you.” Kiyo asked, and despite his claim the question had an unmistakable snark to it earning him a glare.

“Hush up you heretic, Angie need not speak His name. That's a higher member benefit.”

“I… I guess the two could be related? I mean Kirumi was the one investigating Maki’s body so maybe the killer chose to attack her just in case she noticed something in addition to wanting to stop the seance.” Kaede suggested, unsure of what else to say.

“Then Kiyo’s still the killer because he chose Kirumi to act as the Medium-”

“No, he didn’t Tenko! Kirumi ask him for job. Gonta may no be able to help but he still hear that right.”

“Exactly. And Angie was the one who chose the rooms we were going to use, I only said they needed to be dark. It would appear the katana used to cut off the head of our maid was hidden under those rooms. Had I been the one to kill her why wouldn’t I have simply used a weapon from Maki’s lab instead?”

“Why would anyone have used a katana in that poor condition then? It is most surprising it is able to cut as well as it is despite its current state. Maki’s lab would be a plain better place to take something like this from, wouldn’t it? It’s probably where the knife Kiyo found in Kirumi’s apron came from too.” Kibo pointed out.

“Oooh I know, I know! Angie had to use it because she’d be too short to reach Kirumi’s neck with anything else!” Kokichi said, hopping up and down as he raised his hand like a kid with a look that screamed he knew he was wrong and just merrily teasing them again. And so Kibo took the bait.

“Negative, that is both illogical and unlikely. While none of Maki’s weapons are as long as the katana’s blade the angle of the cut wouldn’t be this even if that were the case, there’d be a slope to it. Besides Kirumi may not have even been standing when she was attacked.”

“Umm, wouldn’t there need to be a lot of force behind the swing too? Angie isn’t sure why everybody’s only picking on her and Kiyo.” Angie said, looking a little confused as Kiyo only shrugged.

Seeing as it was easy to clear up Kaede explained this one. “It’s because of the announcement. It only rings when three people not counting the killer finds a body, and it didn’t ring until Ryoma caught up to us. Unless anyone thinks I could have done this too?”

“Ah, fair point. I hadn’t noticed. Are you sure that’s when it rang Kaede?" Kiyo asked as he, Angie, and Ryoma took a moment to mentally go over what happened. "Everything was rather hectic at that point of time I'm afraid. I hardly remember the bell ringing at all, and I wasn’t in nearly as much shock as you were at the time, my apologies.”

“Yeah, sorry Kaede but I don’t really remember hearing anything other than you screaming either when I caught up with you three." Ryoma reluctantly agreed, giving Angie a wary glance as she still seemed to be thinking it over and coming up blank. "It could have rang, don’t get me wrong, but I wasn’t really paying attention to that thing in the first place.”

… Am I sure? I mean a lot was going on and we’ve heard it so often now. I couldn’t really catch what anyone was saying either. And I don’t want to accuse either of them. Or is Kiyo trying to gaslight us, and just tricked Ryoma? Why would he kill Kirumi? He’d have to have blood or something on him right- OH!

“Hmm, maybe you’re right. I mean neither of you has her blood on you- well I mean Kiyo has some on his bandages now but only from touching her, he didn’t when he offered to help- and with how… Messy it all was that’s pretty unlikely, isn’t it? Especially since the killer also posed her.”

“But no one here got blood on them. Could killer have been under boards to stay clean? That why crosspiece cut?” Gonta asked, struggling to picture what might explain this.

“A killer attacking someone from under the floorboards you say? Oh, that sure is nostalgic. Not to mention that mask, or a knife and the same golden katana being present for a murder. So many memories~ Isn’t it lovely how violence keeps repeating itself like clockwork?” Monokuma drawled.

“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk this time! Besides, I think it’s more like an Endless Waltz-”

“Tsumugi don’t let his nonsense ramblings distract you! Just ignore him.”

“And keep your own nonsense nerdy ramblings to yourself too! You’ll just distract us and that’s waaay worse.”  Kokichi scolded, as if to parody Kaito, who gave him a scowl for twisting his words against her.

“Gonta does make a good point though, the cross pieces don’t seem to be related to anything. Unless it made Kirumi trip, to help set up the attack?” Kibo suggested, trying to get everyone back on track.

“No, had that been the case Kirumi would have most likely suffered at least a head wound. We saw Kaede nearly fall prey to it, and who knows what would have befallen her if not for Gonta’s intervention.” Kibo said, though he looked frustrated that this left the boards unexplained for this.

“Then how else would someone hide the blood? I mean there was so much of it and nobody found any sheets or anything to clean any of it up or block the splatter right?” Tsumugi nervously asked.

Let’s see… We ruled out using something to cover them since we didn’t find anything.

Even Angie’s lab doesn’t have a sink so there was definitely no way for anyone to wash the blood off.

… But hiding it UNDER something we’d expect a person to normally wear could work if it covered enough of them. Particularly if they were one of the three checking rooms for the seance, since no one would see them without it. Which would only leave one person.

But none of this is making any sense. What motive could he possibly have to do something like this?

“I think I know the trick to this now you guys. If you’ll let me explain my theory on how this happened…”

Kaede looked around the room, and everyone gave their approval. No one had any distinct ideas after all. So she began painting the scene for them with her words and the sound of her voice the best she could.

“First the culprit set up the three rooms sometime before today. Cutting through the crossbeams and applying gold leaf to the handles would take too long for this to be anything other than premeditated. I can’t explain the floorboard trap, but it could be to help distract anyone who found this by accident.

Today, when someone else suggested these rooms be used for the seance it was time for that premeditation to pay off. They made sure only one person went into each room, themselves, their victim, and the one they planned to frame for this. Ideally, their fall guy was the one who’d suggest this.

They wouldn’t need to do anything for their mark to set themselves up, since they’d likely touch the loose gold when trying to leave the room, making it look like they’ve touched the golden katana.

Not only would the culprit know to avoid the gold there, the victim wouldn’t have a chance to touch it either, so if we didn’t notice the handles we’d assume there was no other way for the gold to be there. They may have even originally planned to clean the other two handles, since they set it up so it wouldn’t matter who went into each room, but obviously they never got the chance so we weren’t fooled by this.

But that doesn’t explain how they kept their hands clean to start with. That ties into how they didn’t seem to get anything on them.

They went under the floor, where the three rooms are all connected, and took off their jacket. They already planted the katana in that crawlspace, so it was a vital area for them both to keep their weapon out of sight and provide a way to get into the victim's room without being seen.

Since there weren't any bloodied covers in this area that means whatever they used to hide the blood they'd get on them is still with them. Here there are two possibilities. They could have left their coat down there to make sure it'd stay clean, dropping it off when they got the katana or vice versa. Or they took off their coat, turned it inside out, and tied it around their waist like an apron to help keep any blood from getting on their legs. I think the latter's more likely here.

After that, they pick up the katana and go to the room they know Kirumi entered so none of the gold would get anywhere they couldn't explain later. They have to act fast because while the rooms are dark since there aren’t any candles it also means she’d be tempted to leave soon. Maybe they even said something to help make her pause or used the seesaw trap to distract her.

Ultimately they succeeded in decapitating her. It could be due to the killer having a light source on them or just the length of the blade covering a lot of the room but their goal was achieved. After doing so they moved her body to the wall near where they entered, posing her as if it was for a twisted tea ceremony.

With how general the pose is in practice even that could have been done in the dark, and I’m not entirely sure why they chose to move her like this at all. It could be to keep her away from the seesaw trap in the center of the room, but it's really hard to say.

To get rid of the gold and blood from their hands they remove the wrappings they put there. The cotton strips could then be used to help touch up any other clean up they need to do on the walk back to the room they’d be expected to leave from. But first, they’d stop to put the blood-soaked katana under the room their patsy was in to further implicate them of this crime.

With the katana gone and blood mostly out of the way they put their jacket back on, over their probably blood covered shirt, and stuff the soiled wrappings in one of their pockets while applying some fresh bandages so that we’d be none the wiser that they changed at all as we’d notice if they were missing.

That’s probably around the time I found Kirumi’s body, since everything happened so fast. It wasn’t hard to look like they were just worried about what was going on when they joined the rest of us, and if they needed to adjust anything else we’d all be distracted trying to find out what was going on even if the body was found sooner than they were planning on.

I wasn’t imagining the bell delay before either. Since they needed to see what I was screaming about as soon as they could to keep from being suspicious, they really were one of the first three to see the body.

So… The easiest way to for us to see if I’ve got this wrong would be for you to take off your jacket Kiyo. Otherwise, there’s no one else who could do it this way. No one could enter or leave those rooms without anyone else noticing, and at least Angie’s hands would still have blood on them if she tried my method.”

The room went silent as they turned to look at him. But despite the horrors he’s accused of he isn’t upset. Korekiyo doesn’t seem bothered by anyof this in the slightest. And that wasn’t the worst of it.

He’s smiling. There’s no doubt about the expression under that mask. He’s accused of murder and he looks like a child who just got a brand new set of toys to play with! Something isn’t right here. I know he’s kinda messed up but this is going too far! How can he possibly be so happy about this right now?!

“Nicely done Kaede! I’m most impressed, I’m sure that’d deductions would make even an Ultimate Detective proud. You’re always so full of such wonderful surprises. You are absolutely correct! But so there is no room for doubt here I will concede, and I do apologize if it is unduly upsetting to any of you.”

There really weren’t any doubts as he laid his coat along the railing of his podium. There’s so much blood his white undershirt could nearly be mistaken for Maki’s top, it’s even worse than his bandages were. He made no move to take off the bandages though, since considering everything he really didn’t need to. But even as he stood before them in his bloodied button down he didn’t seem the least bit nervous.

“Though I must also confess, the trick with the floorboards really is unrelated here. That was just a remnant of a plan I scrapped after seeing it might be too difficult to properly utilize. Though had I stuck with it Kirumi would have died all the same, during the caged dog seance. Any other questions?”

“... What the actual fuck?”

“Do be more specific Kaito. I can’t answer you if I’m not sure to which part of this you are referring to.”

“Are you giving up then?” Ryoma practically growled as he visibly struggled to restrain himself.

“For Kirumi’s murder most certainly! But if you think now is a good time for us to vote you’d be most sorely mistaken. Not unless your death wish has changed to wanting to have us all die alongside you. Because for the terms of this trial, as bloody as I may be, I’m still as “spotless” as everyone else. However, I am grateful you all have allowed me to experience something so close to what our true blackened must have all felt before their ends. It’s a most enlightening and intriguing sensation.”

“What are you talking about?! You killed Kirumi you bastard-” Tenko shouted at him, as if hoping if she got angry enough his confidence would crumble and see he was doomed. But he just wouldn’t stop.

“Indeed I did! But only Kirumi. Just ask Gonta or Ryoma, I was with them when Maki died. Unless you’d prefer I simply tell you all who our real blackened is, the one you all should have been seeking? Now I do understand if you don’t wish to believe me, but it won’t make my words any less the truth. I’m offering to reward you all for your fine work in order to keep the trial up to this point from being a wasted effort.”

What? So he just killed her because he knew he’d get away with it?! Is he telling the truth right now?

“Why did you even go so far then?! The posing, the decapitation, all of it! Why kill someone at all if you know you aren’t going to graduate from it?” Kaito snapped.

“Must you be so hung up on that? Her death has never mattered in this case. But fine. I only meant to cut into her neck enough to be fatal, to assure her a quick death, but I misjudged the sharpness of the blade. I hadn’t tested it enough so I didn’t notice the rust wasn’t an indicator of it being dull, so I put much more force into the swing than I should have. The posing was an attempt to give her some dignity after my mistake. I also thought it may suit an “artist’s” sensibilities, to buy me more time to prove I was not guilty of killing Maki should I have needed it. I do apologize for framing you Angie, I have no excuse.”

Angie’s smile was completely gone as she blankly stared at the monster standing beside her. The hate in her eyes was unmistakable. Had she been someone else she may have even tried to attack him, for the way his apologies as he faced her felt like a mockery. But her resolve was stronger than that so she just watched him in silence, refusing to dignify any of this with a response, until Kaito began shouting at him again.

“How can you say a person’s death didn’t matter?! Like hell we’d ever just let that be swept under the rug. We can’t just ignore what happened to them in order to protect ourselves. She was our friend! Besides, Maki Roll told me she was going to talk to you last night so you still could have done this.”

“And that is true, but she left my lab before I did and I still have my alibi. Gonta was even as gracious as to escort me back to my dorm, in accordance to the student council’s curfew Maki and I both broke. But given what happened I suspect she never actually left the fourth floor.” Korekiyo claimed.

“So what, you’re trying to pin your crimes on Kibo or Angie again?! We don’t need to waste any more time on your lies, I’m ready to vote!”

“And it’d be suicide Tenko, we still have a ways to go to prove anything. I saw both of them that night and if the Monokuma-” Ryoma began to argue before peanut gallery interfered again.

“It’s a Monosuke file you bastard!”

“Oh shut up Monosuke, let them work or I’ll gag you with my scarf!”

“Ohh, kinky.”

“She-Said-Be-Quiet! And-Why-Would-You-Even-Joke-Like-That-Father?!”

“... Fine. If the Monosuke file is to be believed I saw Kiyo at the time it said Maki died. I don’t see thing being some sort of trick he pulled either, she’s too quick to lose to someone like him in a fight.”

“Yeah. Gonta… Not really understanding why he do this but Kiyo not lying about Gonta escorting him. But… That means student council kill Maki? Why?! We… We protect all students. No exceptions!” Gonta said best he could through his confusion, sweat, and tears.

“Exactly! And Angie definitely didn’t see Maki that night. I was working in my lab, no visitors either.” Angie quickly claimed, which got a nod from Tenko and Monophanie to offer some support for it.

Not to be outdone Kibo also rushed to his own defense. “I didn’t see anyone, I was working in the computer lab the entire time! You can even check the log for the program I’ve been fixing, everything is time stamped so I have a solid alibi!”

Korekiyo almost looked bored as he shook his head at both of their panicked responses. “You all seem to be forgetting there was one other person on the fourth floor that night. Kirumi was the one patrolling the halls so Kibo had his time to work and help weed out any of Angie’s unwanted guests.”

“I’m not the culprit!” Kibo shouted over him.

“Angie’s not the culprit!” Angie said at almost the same time and volume.

“You’re both idiots is what you are.” Korekiyo bitterly countered them almost just as quickly.

It was hard to get a word in edgewise as the three kept talking over each other in their efforts to prove they weren’t the culprits. Well, the two were, as Korekiyo simply kept being drowned out as he tried to prove they were panicking over nothing. His argument seemed sound enough though, despite Kaede’s wariness.

Framing Angie for Kirumi’s death in order to make her a suspect for Maki’s would have only worked if he always planned on making her the person he planned to frame, which doesn’t seem like the case.

Kibo’s been completely unrelated to the case so far and has no motive to go to Kiyo’s lab to kill Maki.

But Kirumi’s a different story. She had been so ready to kill after her video she lashed out in front of everyone. Maybe Maki was able to pick up on that and confronted her about and something… Snapped.

“So Kiyo, what you mean to tell us is you killed Kirumi because you knew she was guilty of killing Maki?” Kaede asked, hoping to anything that would listen that this wouldn't blow up in her face.

“Precisely. That is why she put herself in charge of examining Maki’s body, much like how I examined my own victim in kind. Kirumi planted those ashes, not discovered them. I saw her do it since I knew to keep an eye on her already. It’s also when she took the knife Maki had when she fell, hidden under the pieces of the broken banister. I suspect Maki used it in self-defense, rather than the blood being Maki’s, given how its style indicates it came from Maki’s lab, when Kirumi would have likely preferred the equally easy to obtain kitchen knives as she had more experience with them.”

“So what? You mean to tell us you killed Kirumi to avenge Maki since you knew the two fought for some reason you’re not sharing? I’m not buying it.”

“Oh goodness no, if that was my motivation I wouldn’t have needed to do anything. Can you imagine the execution Monokuma would have had in store for her? Kirumi wasn’t the sort of woman who’d be content to go quietly into the night either, so her own futile efforts to elude her grisly fate would have only prolonged things even more. She’d never allow herself to die with dignity if she could help it. Survival was far too important for her. So I spared her that suffering, as beautiful as it may have been.”

“So… Kiyo kill Kirumi to… Protect Kirumi? Like killing wounded animal that can’t get better?”

“Very good Gonta! And not just her either. So far I’ve been the only one of us who hasn’t played a part in sending our friends to their graves, with voting to have them executed. Now I’m the only one with her blood on my hands, rather than having it divided amongst us all. I didn’t think anyone would mind that.”

The courtroom was nothing but arguing as they tried to decide whether or not Korekiyo was telling them the truth, and if he was if it would have in any way justified his actions. He wasn’t wrong in acting like Kirumi would have died either way, had she really killed Maki, but by taking things into his own hands he denied her the chance to defend or explain herself.

Even if that wouldn’t have changed anything in the end, she had a right to a fair trial, didn’t she? Except then they’d still have to see what living hell Kirumi would undoubtedly be forced through to die. But was the alternative Korekiyo made for them really better for anyone here but him?

Korekiyo still let them string themselves along like this, to watch them as they struggled to figure out what happened, when he could have ended things much sooner by just explaining himself. The only reason he could possibly have for this was his own entertainment. He’s already expressed similar sentiments so often pulling a stunt like this wasn’t really that much different.

He’s always been a sadistic creep, but they underestimated just how far he was willing to go with it. Kaede resisted the urge to put her head in her hands to try and block out Korekiyo’s twisted logic.

Head in her hands- Kirumi’s bloody head in her hands- Please I don’t want that image in my head- Wait.

Kirumi was only there because she didn’t want Kaede to be involved. Like Gonta said Korekiyo didn’t choose Kirumi like he was now claiming. So his reasoning for “picking” her must have been a lie too.

When I offered to be the medium before Korekiyo looked surprised but pleased.

Like everything was going according to plan without him lifting so much as a finger.

Kirumi wanting the role initially bothered him, before he adapted. Which means...

It was supposed to be ME in that room, not Kirumi. Kirumi just got in his way.

Korekiyo was trying to kill me.

Why on earth would he want me dead? I haven’t done anything wrong!

Why would he do that even after asking if I could be his sister’s friend when we got out-

… Unless she’s already dead.

That’s why he reacted the way he did during his motive video. That’s why the last words were about some promise between the two of them. The promise to make her some female friends on his travels.

It was reminding him he already failed. Not unless he wanted to try giving his dead sister some dead friends. Like those cruel burial rites where you kill innocents just to give the person who died company.

This is why Kokichi has been weird when he’s around Korekiyo. He realized what he was capable of. That’s why after we got the Necronomicon he’s been trying to make sure I’m not left alone with him.

Maybe it wasn’t just me either. The casino stunt helped keep Korekiyo away from any girls he might go after, aside from Maki. Maki would be able to protect herself though, and she had Ryoma and Kaito too.

Even if Korekiyo slipped away he wouldn’t have an alibi, and Gonta was between him and the school. Tenko was likely the first girl he’d be able to attack, and he wouldn’t stand a chance against her.

Why didn’t Kokichi just tell me? What was he afraid of? Being wrong? Tipping Korekiyo off? Scaring me?

Should… Should I tell them? If… If there is another reason Korekiyo wanted me dead this might really be an isolated incident. The stuff he’s saying is really screwed up, but he isn’t that wrong.

None of us wanted to see another of our friends be executed, no matter what they did to deserve it. And no matter how he did it a quick death would have been a lot less painful than what Monokuma planned.

Well not really Monokuma’s plans. The mastermind behind this game is the one to blame for all of this.

Maybe Korekiyo thinks I could have been the mastermind and he was just trying to end the game? If he gives that as a reason then I’m not sure anyone would be able to trust me anymore, even if I can prove he’s wrong or hiding his real motive. Would anyone believe me? Could I prove I wasn’t the mastermind?

But if he doesn’t think I’m the mastermind then he could go after someone else next. I’d probably be too risky to try killing again anytime soon, but Angie’s cult looks like it’ll be gone now and even if Tenko’s enough to scare him off Tsumugi’s in danger. Assuming he couldn’t just kill Tenko with some trap.

Either way, if I bring this up someone will probably want to kill Korekiyo even more than they already do. And whoever does will just end up being the next friend we execute, even if the victim definitely deserved it.

Which option is the more acceptable risk? Korekiyo killing someone else, or someone killing him? Having to recover from losing an innocent victim, or condemning a sympathetic murderer for protecting us? Can’t there be a third option? Could we really keep him in check without killing him somehow?

What do I do? I… I can’t breathe. I need to focus on breathing. I NEED to calm down. To think this through.

But I don’t know what to do.

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[dazaran]

title: you're still here ship: oda sakunosuke/edogawa ranpo   ft   'Oda was adopted by Fukuzawa too during the events of ln3' au rating: G AO3 link: here!

day two of rarepair week -- prompt : your hand in mine / scars.

The sound of loud, hard footsteps echo down the hall of the hospital building. Nearby nurses and doctors turn to focus on the source of the noise that breaks the silence of the peaceful and melancholic establishment, though it zooms past them before they can give a complaint warning. More accurately, the source is not an ‘it’ but a ‘he’ - Edogawa Ranpo, fresh off a case on the other side of the city, but one phone call from Kunikida was enough to make him order the nearest policeman at the site of his case to drive him straight to the hospital as quickly as possible.

He makes a sharp turn down another hall, and when he reaches the second door to his right, he grabs the door handle and swings it open with too much force. It bangs against the wall protector in the process, but he pays it no mind as he looks at the other side of the room with a frantic expression.

“Sakunosuke!”

A man with red hair sitting up in a hospital bed turns to meet Ranpo's gaze. There's a fresh scratch against his cheek, and gauze is wrapped around his chest from where it peeks out of his hospital gown. “Ranpo...”

Ranpo strides quickly across the room to the man’s side, palms nearly slamming on the edge of the bed before fingers grip tightly against the sheets. It makes the bedridden man wince, but it’s conveniently ignored. “You idiot - you idiot, Oda Sakunosuke! Do you know how I felt, getting a call from Kunikida that you were in the hospital?” he says, voice almost trembling.

Oda lowers his gaze in shame. “... I'm sorry.”

Ranpo shakes his head, lifting his hand to use a sleeve to wipe his nose. “Stupid... You just had to get hurt when Yosano-san’s out of town...”

Really, no one's to blame here. Not Yosano for a trip she planned months in advance because someone up north had some medicine she was eagerly anticipating, not Oda’s... Maybe a little of it was Oda’s selfless personality and the fact some amateur bombers tried to rob a bank, but still.

Ranpo doesn't take injuries of his family well. A concern drilled into his heart from an incident 12 years back, while he didn't have much of a policy for work, he did have a policy of making sure to protect his ‘family’ - the agency. Seeing them get hurt, seeing a possibility of losing them, it was something he hated. After having grown up with the master detective for over the past decade, Oda knew this all too well. He knew, but at the same time... He couldn't let civilians get injured if he could help it. That was the agency’s policy.

Carefully, Oda reaches out to grasp one of Ranpo's hands. Ranpo flinches at the touch, but soon lets his body relax when he meets those warm red eyes. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen,” he explains, tone gentle. “Atsushi and I were in the building at the time and had to act. The criminals targeted a woman and her child. We couldn't stand by and do nothing.”

He can't help it. Similar to Kunikida, Oda had a policy about letting people die in his presence. Many years ago, he was on the other side of the spectrum known as ‘life and death’ - he was the hand of death itself, looking into the eyes of many people and never feeling moved whether they begged for help, nor did those glassy lifeless eyes perturb him. Oda is sure he would have remained on that path forever had he not met Fukuzawa, Ranpo, and most importantly Natsume. He was given a new goal in life, a second chance, and while he certainly didn't want to allow it to go all to waste... Oda was no longer a man who could bear the idea of letting someone die.

From the way Ranpo looks at him, he can tell the detective knows it too. After a decade together under Fukuzawa’s leadership, they understood each other; they had a bond with one another that was undeniably strong, even if it all started with a scared young boy possessive over his savior because he didn't want to be alone and a child assassin who didn't know how to feel. Somewhere along the line when distrust faded away and Oda learned what it was like to be a normal person, the two of them had a new issue to overcome - though feelings for each other is relatively much easier. Stupid and cowardly, the fact it took them until they were 22 and 23 to say anything or act was amazing in itself.

Yes, they were stupid in their own ways. They were stupid in a way the other loved more than anything in the world... Like right now, as Ranpo can't keep up his displeased face in front of Oda’s honest expression and concedes with a sigh as he lifts his hands to cup the redhead’s face. He leans forward, just enough to press their foreheads together.

“Jeez... Alright, I'll let it go this time.” Ranpo says, bottom lip jutting out in a pout. “But you better not end up like this again any time soon. I don't... want to see the man I love the most in a hospital bed of all places, when he should be in bed with me at home.”

Oda chuckles softly, lifting a hand to rest atop one of Ranpo’s, leaning forward to press a chaste kiss against his lips. “Knowing you, you planned on climbing into bed with me right now anyway.”

“Oh, great! Less explaining for me, then!”

With a wide smile, Ranpo kicks off his shoes, jumping into Oda’s bed in one fluid motion. The force of his weight against the redhead’s chest makes Oda groan in pain, gritting his teeth as he shifts to make room for the detective. Ranpo doesn’t apologize for it, instead making himself comfortable at Oda’s side with his head resting against one of the man’s broad shoulders. Oda can only sigh, moving his arm to wrap it around Ranpo to have a more comfortable position as he presses a small kiss to Ranpo’s temple.

“Comfortable?”

“If I wasn’t, I’d keep moving until I was~”

“That’s true.” Ranpo did what he wanted, when he wanted, until he was satisfied. That was just the kind of person he was.

There’s a moment of peaceful silence between them, but considering that one of them is a busybody, it’s not long until the detective shifts to slip a hand underneath Oda’s hospital gown to drag fingers over the gauze wrapped around his midsection.

“... How bad are your injuries?”

Oda hums, letting his head fall back against his pillows. “They threw a hand grenade, and I jumped in front of that mother and her child. It was near a window, so I had a fair share of it in me. My life’s not in danger anymore, everything is just going to hurt for a while.”

“Hmm. When Yosano-san comes back, are you going to ask her to heal you up?”

Silence again, this time it being completely Oda’s fault. Eventually, the redhead clears his throat, then shifts in his bed. “I’d rather heal up the old fashioned way for this, no offense to her...”

Ranpo throws his head back with a laugh. “Even after all these years, you’re still scared of her treatment!! You’re the senpai, you know.”

“I know...” Oda looks away, scratching his cheek in embarrassment. “It’s not as if you act like you’re a fan either. Her ability is terrifying, after all...”

“I’m not a fan of getting hurt, but if it comes down to my life, I’d trust her with it.” the detective speaks with complete confidence, a smile on his face which soon softens as green eyes move to look at Oda’s face. “And I trust you with my life too. You’ve saved it enough, after all.”

“You’re still going on about that...”

“Ehh? Not just the first time, of course, but the first time is the most important!”

Understandably so, as without Oda exposing the location of some men who tried to hire him, Ranpo would have most likely been sold on the black market as a slave. It was on nothing more than a whim that Oda told the then-bodyguard Fukuzawa, but never did he think that what transpired afterwards would lead to his own life changing as well and now - Well, here they were. The agency was created so that Ranpo and Oda could use their talents in a safe environment, while Fukuzawa watched over as their guardian.

Of course, the two of them weren’t children anymore and lived in their own apartments now. (Sometimes, as Ranpo was rather flighty and enjoyed company over the loneliness of his messy apartment.)

Tracing circles on Oda’s abdomen idly, Ranpo exhales. “... Do you think they’ll scar?”

“Who knows.” a pause as Oda sinks more into the bed, bringing Ranpo closer. “Are you just asking that because you have some sort of fetish for mine?”

“How crude of you to say~ You say that as if I like to watch you get hurt!” the detective smiles, knowing that Oda’s accusation isn’t exactly completely wrong. “Well... I do like them, but not for no reason.”

Oda arches a questioning brow. “I don’t understand.”

A small hum, and soon Ranpo allows his hand to merely rest against Oda’s body. “They just remind me that despite everything you’ve been through, despite all your struggling, you’re still here. You’re still alive and fighting.”

“Ranpo...”

Ranpo gives a childish, incoherent noise, burying his face in Oda’s shoulder. “This is embarrassing, I’m not saying anymore! Bottom line, I’m just happy you’re okay - okay? Got it?”

That didn’t last very long. Oh well, Ranpo’s genuine sentiment never did before he got embarrassed and immediately closed in on himself. Oda personally always found it rather endearing, which is only made evident now in the way he grabs for Ranpo’s hand resting against his abdomen to bring it to his lips, pressing a kiss against Ranpo’s fingertips.

“Thank you, Ranpo. I love you too.”

“... I-I didn’t... say that.”

“You don’t have to. I’m a part of the Armed Detective Agency too - I have some skills. And... I should know the personality of my lover after we’ve been together for years.”

This quells any further argument from the detective. Ranpo is quiet for a moment, lacing their fingers together before squeezing lightly. “You should rest for a while. You’re still healing.”

“I should.” Oda returns the squeeze, nuzzling into Ranpo’s hair. “Stay here and rest with me?”

“Well, I did finish my case...” Ranpo curls into the redhead’s side with a content noise. “I guess there’s no helping it~ Alright!”

Yosano returns to Yokohama by 3 in the afternoon. Atsushi is quick to inform her of the situation with himself and Oda under Kunikida’s order, even though his knees shake and buckle under her unnerving stare and sing-song question of ‘do you need treatment?’ . Of course he doesn’t. Atsushi rarely does, but Yosano loves getting a rise out of him regardless, as he’s quite the theatrical one like Tanizaki. She says she’ll go check on Oda’s condition at the hospital in Atsushi’s stead, and struts off out the door with her medical bag in hand.

When she gets there, one of the nurses is more than happy to direct her towards Oda’s room, and Yosano bows her head politely before walking down the hall. She stops just outside the hospital room with a gloved hand on the doorknob, inhaling before giving a smile and entering the room.

“Oda-kun, Atsushi-kun tells me that you were injured,” she coos, closing the door behind her first before turning around. “Shall I tend to your-”

Her voice is soon cut short when her gaze settles on the man. He’s fast asleep in the afternoon sunshine, not even the opening of the door capable of waking him from his slumber. His arms are wrapped around Ranpo’s small frame that is so contently sleeping atop his chest, curled into Oda as if he were a cat. Their hands are still holding one another’s - and Yosano can’t help but give a smile as she rested her hands on her hips.

“Geez... Now how can I think about bullying you when you and Ranpo look so content?” Yosano thinks aloud, knowing very well they won’t be able to respond to her.

Well, ruining such an endearing sight would be too much of a shame... Yosano opts for walking over to ruffle Ranpo’s hair affectionately, then Oda’s.

“Sweet dreams, you two.” she says with a soft smile, and quietly makes her exit out of the hospital room.

Oda and Ranpo don’t even stir from their slumber, all too content and safe in each other’s arms.

[not-another-imagine-blog]

More American than Apple Pie (William Nylander)

Anonymous said:

Hey hi hello could you do a William nylander imagine about thanksgiving with your family in Boston (I know Canada and the US have different thanksgivings) and he's nervous because he hasn't met them yet and because they're all huge bruins fans and clearly he's not a bruin lol thank you doll

Word count: 1678

Author’s note: I know that I haven’t been going in order of when I received my requests lately and I’m sorry, but sometimes inspiration strikes me for different stories at different times. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving wasn’t a holiday you had expected to share with William. For starters, American Thanksgiving is far more different from the day of thanks celebrated in Canada, and William’s from Sweden, where they don’t celebrate any sort of holiday that’s anywhere near the gluttonous fourth Thursday of November. The NHL also doesn’t take any breaks except for Christmas and All-Star. These were the reasons why you only bought one plane ticket home.

What you weren’t expecting was the Leafs to not have any games Thanksgiving day or the following day. You had thought that William would want to rest and enjoy his days off, but he instead begged to come home with you. You had resisted at first, but his argument was extremely passionate, and you just couldn’t say no to your boyfriend. This led to the present: You and William sitting in the rental car as you drive the familiar streets to your childhood home.

“Don’t be nervous.” You say for the third time in as many minutes.

“I’m not nervous.” William insists once again. “You know, at this point it seems like you’re trying to reassure yourself more than you are me.”

“I’m just letting you know that there’s nothing to worry about.” William gives you a knowing look as you smile at him. “Alright, maybe I am trying to reassure myself.”

“What are you so nervous about? I’ve met your parents before, and we got along just fine!”

“Thanksgiving isn’t just my parents, though, and I’m just trying to prepare you. My extended family’s a little…” You trail off, trying to find a word to describe your family that’s not too harsh. “Intense.” You finish.

“Intense?” William questions right as you turn on the road to your home. Yellow and black adorns every yard, with the occasional splash of blue and red. You nervously laugh when William whips around towards you, suddenly becoming very nervous. “The Bruins?” He accuses, addressing you almost as if you’ve committed a crime.

“What, I’ve never mentioned that my family’s die-hard Bruins fans?” William scoffs.

“No, I don’t believe you have.” William groans when he looks down at his shirt. “I’m wearing my Leafs hoodie! You let me wear my Leafs hoodie!”

“It has your name and jersey number on it, Willy, it’ll be fine.”

“Fine? I think I’m going to get mugged when I step out of the car.” William’s calm demeanor has melted away at this point as he grips the seat of the car, his knuckles going white.

“Willy, they’re not going to hate you for playing for the Leafs.”

“They know I play hockey?” You shrug.

“My family’s asked who I’m dating, and I’ve said ‘William Nylander.’ I guess I’ve just assumed that people who watch hockey as voraciously as they would know the name.” You pull the car to the car and park, suddenly grimacing at just how decorated the house is. “Are you ready? You know that we don’t have to do this, right? We can leave; I’ll say that you got sick on the way over or something like that.” William shakes his head, opening the car door slightly.

“No, we’ve come this far. I’m gonna meet your family and they’re gonna be blown away by how awesome I am.” You smile and pat William’s hand.

“That’s the spirit, Willy.” William opens the rear door and grabs the pie that you had picked up from the store last night after you landed while you join him at the other side of the car. You both look at each other, silently daring each other to make the first move.

“Are you ready?” William finally speaks after a moment.

“I’m ready if you are.” You grab William’s hand then, locking your fingers together and walking towards the door. You don’t bother knocking, you just open the door. At William’s inquisitive gaze, you smile. “My house was constantly full of the neighborhood kids. I don’t think I’ve ever even heard the doorbell.”

“(Y/N)? Is that you?” A voice shouts from inside the house. Grinning, you tug William over the threshold.

“Come on! They don’t bite.” You joke while William rolls his eyes. “Anybody home?” You yell back in response. At this, your mom comes out of the kitchen, a dish towel slung over her shoulder and her hair pulled back in a loose bun. She immediately envelops you in a hug before noticing William.

“William! (Y/N) didn’t tell me you were coming!” Your mom abandons you to hug William instead as you’re left holding the pie that your mom almost crushed in her haste.

“The schedule fell just right, no games for us today or tomorrow. It’s nice to see you again, Mrs. (Y/L/N).” Your mom blushes at William’s insistence on calling her a name so formal.

“I’ve told you before to call me (Y/M/N), William.” You roll your eyes quickly as your mom turns to you, not wanting to get caught doing something so childish. “Everyone’s already here, so be prepared-” Your mom can barely get out her warning before you hear a bunch of children screaming and the pounding of footsteps down the stairs. Around the corner comes various cousins and siblings; they all look the same, so when they’re all running together it’s difficult to tell the 15 or so apart.

“(Y/N)!” You’re tackled in a flurry of hugs as you stumble back, attempting to gather everyone in your arms. They tumble back in a mass of arms and legs, staring at William in awe. William shyly waves to them, uncharacteristically blushing.

“You’re William Nylander.” One of your male cousins says almost questioningly.

“He is, and if you guys stop staring at him like he’s a zoo exhibit maybe he’ll actually answer some questions.” You say firmly. As the oldest ‘kid’ in the family, you’ve always been the one to let them know when they’ve screwed up.

“What’s it like playing with Auston Matthews?” Your cousin Marie shyly speaks, using her teddy bear as a shield between her and the world. William can’t help but smile as he steps up to Marie, bending down to her level.

“Ah, so you’re an Auston fan, huh?” Marie nods exuberantly.

“Uh-huh! For my birthday, (Y/N) got me a Matthews jersey!” William glances up at you as you shrug.

“I tried to get her a Nylander one, but she wouldn’t budge.” You joke.

“Playing with Auston’s pretty great,” William starts, getting back to his starstruck audience. “But he’s even better off the ice.”

“Come on Marie, we don’t care about the Leafs!” Your cousin Henry groans as Marie sticks her tongue out at the young boy. “What’s it like being smashed against the boards by Chara?” You laugh loudly as William winces at the thought.

“It hurts. Some say that they see their lives flash before their eyes when they get checked by Chara. I’ve literally never been more scared before.” Everyone starts to pelt questions at William before they’re all interrupted by your uncle calling everyone into the kitchen for dinner. The kids all trample ahead, yelling about who gets to go first, while William stands and smiles at you, kissing you quickly.

“See? Nothing to be nervous about.” You say.

“Who the hell is this?” A deep voice booms as you go white.

“Oh no.” You mutter before turning and smiling. “Uncle Brandon! How are you?” You wrap him in a hug while simultaneously tightening your grip on William’s hand, who has suddenly tried to back up.

“Just great, (Y/N/N), but don’t change the subject. Who’s this?” You pull William right next to you, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

“This is my boyfriend, William....Nylander.” You mutter the last part, knowing that this might not go nearly as well.

“Maple Leafs William Nylander?” You uncle questions as you nod. For a long moment, your uncle glares at the both of you before grinning. “I guess I can make an exception to my hatred of the Leafs. (Y/N)’s never brought a guy home before.” He jokes as you groan.

“Just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” You joke, lightly shoving your uncle as he laughs and shakes William’s hand.

“Come on, kids, plenty of good food in the kitchen.”

Thankfully, dinner passes by uneventfully, with only one inflammatory statement made by your great-grandmother. Afterwards, you do what every New England family does; settle in to watch the Patriots. The living room’s packed, with you and William ending up on the floor. You sit in between William’s legs as William lays his head on top of yours. Not being from America, he doesn’t really understand football, but he tries, yelling and cheering when you guys all do the same.

“HOW THE HELL WAS THAT PASS INTERFERENCE?” The living room explodes with a variety of curses and yells. You huff and look up at William, who’s smiling down at you.

“Sorry. We get a little crazy when it comes to football.” You’re stating the obvious, but this is one of those perfect family moments that you don’t want to ruin.

“I don’t mind at all.”

“So how did you like your first American Thanksgiving?” You ask.

“That’s more food than I’ve ever seen in my life. I’ve never seen an 85 year old woman with dentures eat a turkey leg so fast before.” You both laugh at the thought of your great-grandma demolishing her meal. “But it was fantastic. Thank you for letting me tag along.” Marie chooses this moment to whine about how she wants to sit with William. You move besides him, allowing Marie to occupy your former spot as William makes a show of making sure she’s comfy.

“I think that you’ll be tagging along for the next few years, Willy. You’re kind of stuck with this family.”

“There’s no other family I’d rather be stuck with. Happy Thanksgiving, (Y/N).” William leans in to kiss you as you kiss back, ignoring Marie’s complaints about how gross it is.

“Happy Thanksgiving to yo-TOUCHDOWN!”

[the-shitposter-within]

Soulmate AU Polyship LesRuSteSebJo Christmas Headcanons

Alternatively- A list of incredibly specific holiday-themed AU headcanons made for a gift exchange! EDIT: Putting this under a cut since it’s really long and I wasn’t thinking about it earlier.

SET-UP - Everyone is born with a small counter(s) on their left wrist, displaying the amount of time they have left before they meet their soulmate. It displays the number of years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, and seconds until they met them.- When someone meets their soulmate, the counter disappears and is replaced by a heart - and the shift can be physically felt, so it's difficult (if not impossible) to miss having met your soulmate for the first time.

- Officially 'meeting' a soulmate tends to manifest as either eye contact or direct physical contact with one's soulmate, but either way the contact has to be direct. Meeting them over the internet or through a penpal program doesn't count (though there're various websites designed to help people find their soulmates based on the times left on their counters).

- If someone's soulmate hasn't been born yet, the counter is replaced with a string of dots, similar to an ellipses.

- Some people think 'soulmates' are limited to just two people, but there're actually many Soulmate Groups, where three or more people are soulmates with each other. Members of Soulmate Groups have multiple counters (one for each soulmate they're destined to meet) arranged from soonest to farthest away. Polygamous marriages are legal and fairly common as a result of this.

- If someone's soulmate(s) dies before they meet them, the counter grays out and becomes only zeros. If they die after having met them, the heart becomes a broken heart.

ACTUAL HEADCANONS - First off, alternate universe where Leslie and Ruben aren't sharing a body or something because... reasons. Okay, now onto the headcanons.

- The group is gearing up to have their first Christmas together as a proper group.

- Juli was invited (by Seb and Joseph) to stay over for the holidays, and despite being reluctant, Lily's relentless puppy-dog eyes got her to cave and agree to come.

- Ruben was initially a little sour about the whole affair, having a distinct disdain for anything remotely related to religion, but ended up mellowing out a little when he saw how excited some (read: Leslie and Lily) got in the weeks leading up to it.

- Stefano was openly and inexplicably bitter toward the entire concept of the holiday from the very first of the month. He outright ignored any attempts to get an explanation, but when his attitude suspiciously does a 180 immediately after the 22nd (i.e. his birthday) passes, the rest of the group suddenly realizes what was going on and groans/rolls their eyes at how unbelievably petty he is.

- He claims to have no idea what they're talking about. He's lying, of course.

- Everyone in the group is hard to shop for, since most of the things relating to their interests are things they'd rather get themselves/things they already own.

- The only exception is Lily, she'll be happy with almost anything they get her. She does, however, have a neat little Christmas wish list, with things like 'colored pencils' and 'a pet' written in multi-colored crayon.

- Seb and Joseph shop for Christmas gifts together (except what they get for each other, obviously).

- When asked who they're buying the kids stuff for at the store, everyone in the Dad Squad says its for their daughter - they all consider themselves as Lily's dads, even though Sebastian's the only biological parent in the group.

- The downside to this is that they all have very different ways they think Lily should be raised, and those ways often conflict.

-It took the combined efforts of Seb, Joseph, and Juli to keep Ruben from telling Lily that Santa Claus isn't real.

- Lily already knows. She's known for over a year now, but she's pretending not to because she doesn't want to make her dad(s) sad.

- Ruben has no interest in decorating the tree and Stefano gets banned from helping after trying to put what looked suspiciously like human remains up as decorations, so the bulk of the decorating falls on Seb, Joseph, Lily, and Juli.

- Lily, however, manages to get Ruben to join in and put exactly one (1) ornament on the tree. He goes back into the shared bedroom to read immediately after, but she's still so happy about it.

- Leslie's never messed with Christmas decorations before and the others are nervous about leaving him alone with so many sharp and/or breakable objects, especially with his history of panic attacks, so any decorating he does is closely supervised. He doesn't mind (or rather, doesn't really notice the distinction), and he and Lily end up having a lot of fun wrapping colorful lights and garland around the tree.

- Joseph put an Elf on the Shelf in the living room to encourage Lily to be good. The next morning it was found hanging from the ceiling fan with a note stapled to its chest.

- 'Put it back up. I dare you.'

- No one ever figured out who did it, but there was a strong suspicion that the culprit was either Ruben or Stefano.

- It was Juli. She saw it out of the corner of her eye when she was headed to the bathroom in the middle of the night and almost pissed herself. And then she got revenge. And the Elf on the Shelf was no more.

- On the night of the 23rd, it starts snowing, and it doesn't stop until nearly 10 AM the next morning.

- Everyone bundles up and they all go outside to have some fun in the snow (with varying degrees of willingness). It's kind of a disaster.

- Lily tries to build a snowman, but then Stefano steps in and tries to get her to be more creative with it. Which is sweet, until he starts trying to make it look like its head is half cut off, at which point Sebastian and Joseph intervene.

- Seb viciously lobs a snowball starts a snowball fight with Stefano, and in the end Joseph, Juli, Ruben, and Lily end up getting dragged into it. Seb, Joseph, and Juli end up on one team while Ruben, Stefano, and Lily are on the other.

- Leslie stays on the sidelines, keeping himself out of trouble and also making little mini-snowmen to line the back porch with. They're all a little lopsided but that somehow makes it even more adorable.

- Joseph and Ruben are the strategists for their respective teams, and end up taking the whole thing way too seriously as they try to out-calculate each other.

- Team KCPD try to take down Stefano first, thinking that he'd get annoyed and give up after enough snowballs to the face, but it just makes him better at dodging.

- For the most part, no one bothers Lily, even as she pelts Team KCPD with lumpy little snowballs.

- Ruben spends almost five whole minutes sitting behind a tree and packing a single snowball together for maximum damage 'aerodynamic quality.' It ends up hitting Seb square in the jaw. He accuses Ruben of trying to break his nose, something Ruben doesn't directly deny.

- "What're you talking about, Seb?"

- Juli 'accidentally' hits Stefano in the crotch, and while Sebastian's laughing at the face he makes Ruben hits /him/ directly in the face with a huge snowball. Literally makes him eat snow.

- All things considered, the fight gets out of hand and some muttered apologies are exchanged after the fact.

- Ruben mostly stays inside after the fight, since he has trouble with temperature control due to his burns and doesn't want to risk catching something. He got so caught up in what was going on that he forgot to take his body's limitations into consideration, and immediately goes to correct that (mainly by changing into warm, dry clothes). He still watches the others from the window, though.

- Lily, Leslie, and Juli (whom was dragged into it) make snow angels together and then help each other up so there aren't any hand/footprints ruining them.

- After a few hours out in the snow, the whole group ends up going back inside, to avoid getting sick.

- Joseph, as the designated Team Mom of the Dad Squad, makes hot cocoa for everyone.

- Later that night, all seven of them sit down and have a Christmas movie marathon. Ruben isn't really interested in any of them and mostly reads through the movies, but the others are glad he's there.

- Leslie falls asleep in the middle of one of them and ends up slumped over against Joseph. Stefano takes a picture of it when they aren't looking.

- Lily ends up falling asleep too, and at that point they all quietly agree that it's time to wrap it up.

- On Christmas day, Lily woke up at 6:30 in the morning and immediately ran to go wake up the Dad Squad.

- Joseph had been up for half an hour already and was in the kitchen making red and green pancakes (food coloring), bacon, and eggs

.- Ruben was also up, and was sitting in the living room, watching a show about medical anomalies.

- The three remaining dads were promptly woken up by Lily and dragged downstairs to where the gifts sat under the tree.

- Joseph tried to insist that they have breakfast before opening presents, but Seb tells him they may as well do it now since Lily won't be able to sit still until the gifts are open.

- The gift opening is only about 13% disaster.

- There're two unsigned gifts under the tree - the first is addressed to everyone in the Dad Squad, and upon unwrapping it they find a large bottle of cranberry-scented lube. No one asks who put it there but everyone has their own suspicions. Most of them suspect Stefano.

- They're right. He thought it'd be hilarious to see everyone's reactions and he was right. Lily's too busy with her own presents to notice all her dads silently imploding.

- The second unsigned gift is addressed specifically to Ruben, and inside is a little tube of burn cream. There's a long moment of uncomfortable silence before Ruben says something.

- "You're about thirty years too late, but thanks anyway." It's the most sarcastic tone they've ever heard him use, and that's saying something.

- Seb was behind that one. He thought it'd be a lot funnier than it turned out to be.- Lily made little arts and crafts things for all of them. Origami flowers, little dolls and animals made from clay and/or popsicle sticks, drawings etc. It's adorable.

- Leslie made everyone sugar cookies (with a lot of help from Juli), which turned out a little misshapen but still tasted good.

- In an unexpectedly sentimental gesture, Stefano made a photo album full of pictures he'd taken of their little family over the past few months and addressed it to everyone. Many of the pictures are candids none of them realized he'd taken at the time, like a picture of Joseph, Lily, and Leslie baking together or one of Seb and Ruben curled up together on the couch. There are even a few from the past week or so, indicating he'd been adding to it right up until Christmas.

- Everyone gets really sentimental about it and they spend a good ten minutes flipping through it.

- The only one who got an individual gift from Stefano is Lily, whom received a sketchbook and a set of high-end colored pencils. She's already putting them to good use by lunchtime.

- Juli wasn't 100% sure what to get anyone, so she mostly just got them clothes - sweaters, scarves, etc. Seb ends up with an ugly sweater with reindeer and snowmen on the front, which everyone immediately pressures him into changing into. Even he admits that it's hilarious.

- Ruben gets almost everyone practical items he knows they'll get a lot of use out of; a trench coat for Seb, a glasses cleaning kit for Joseph, photo development chemicals for Stefano, a sweater for Leslie, and a pair of gloves for Juli. Lily, by contrast, gets a junior science kit that no one quite knows how to feel about.

- Joseph does much of the same, getting everyone things he feels they'll be able to use.- Lily put 'a pet' on her Christmas wish list, and The Dads deliver - they get her a hamster, complete with a cage and hamster food. Joseph gives her a mini-lecture on responsibility and how she'll have to be the one to clean the cage, feed it, etc. She only half listens, mostly just excited to have a pet.

- The hamster is a Teddy Bear hamster, and Lily names him Yogurt. It's adorable.

- After the present unwrapping is over, Joseph drags them all into the kitchen for breakfast, which has gotten cold and has to be reheated. Lily sneaks bits of pancake into her pockets to give to Yogurt later.

- When everyone gets through with breakfast they all occupy themselves with their presents, trying on gifted clothes, and in Lily's case playing with toys (and Yogurt).

- Joseph and Stefano drop a few hints to Juli during lunch, and she ultimately gets what they're trying to communicate.

- After lunch, Juli takes Lily to see a movie under the guise of 'girl time', so that the Dad Squad can spend some 'dad time' together. Immediately after the car pulls out of the driveway, they all head to the bedroom and give that new cranberry lube a test drive.

- By the time the girls get back, the Dad Squad has already gotten cleaned up, though they all still smell suspiciously like cranberries.

- This is also the point where they realize the entire living room is an utter mess of torn wrapping paper and empty cardboard boxes which they can no longer ignore.

- ~Cleaning Time with Joseph and Stefano~

- Lily, Seb, and Juli get roped into cleaning, too. Leslie falls asleep on the couch and Ruben picks up exactly what part of the mess is his fault before walking away to read the dense medical text he got. They do get it done, though.

- Dinner goes much better than anyone expected. Seb, Joseph, and Juli all work together to get the actual food made and nothing gets burnt. Other than Lily sneaking more food into her pockets for Yogurt, things pass relatively uneventfully, and after some precarious and slightly questionable stacking methods, all the leftovers get put away.

- The whole group ends up falling asleep on the couch together at 10:30 while watching a made-for-TV Christmas special, with the photo album left open on the table.

BONUS: I was gonna add a set of images (made in XNALara) to go with the headcanons, but I ran out of time and only got two done out of the 4-5 I was planning :’) But here they are anyway, since I didn’t want them to go to waste!

Enjoy!

[toobadforthefacts]

Louis, Harry, Family and Friends’ Denials of Larry (as a Whole or as a Theory) and Confirmation of Elounor

(@seirral4) [Updated 13/08/2017]

[DISCLAIMER: this post has been recreated due to 1arry-isnt-rea1′s deactivation. Everything has been compiled and written by them, except when stated otherwise: the version retrieved was old, so some debunks went missing, and the situation needed to be mended. Also some links were updated, some denials reorganized, and some lexicon actualized: Larry Shippers --> Larries to avoid confusion. Give credit when you share some else’s contents.]

—————————————————————————————————

Larries seem to think Harry and Louis have not denied Larry. They have, yet Larries still make up excuses for it.

I wanted to make a post showing all family or friends who have denied Larry at some point. This post is not only Larry denials, but confirmations of Elounor or denials of a theory of Larry (i.e. tattoos and such).

I never see people talk about most of these denials.

Guess why?

Like I have always said, Larries only see what they want to. They ignore everything that disproves or doesn’t support their ship.

I can also hear every Larrie scream, “THEY DIDN’T SAY ‘LARRY ISN’T REAL’ THOUGH."

That is a USELESS excuse. They do not need to say those three words to convey the same message. If that is your excuse for everything you will see in this post, you are helpless and clueless. Do not bother reading.

Lastly, if you are a Larrie and consider anyone in this post "irrelevant,” just remind yourself that you believe day old Twitter accounts who claim to have seen Larry with no proof. Everyone in this post has met the boys multiple times, is a good friend of the boys, or are family members. Not random people behind a screen who can easily make up lies.

[Image and video heavy.]

***Quick Note: I will post old screenshots if the reply was hard to find on my iPhone version of Twitter. Sometimes it just shows his or her tweet (which I would specifically search for) but not the original tweet he or she had replied to, then I will also post a screenshot on the current version of Twitter to show it is real. If the current version of Twitter shows both the fan’s tweet and his or her reply, I will only post that.

—————————————————————————————————

Stanley Lucas

Stanley had replied to Louis’ tweet about Eleanor and his anniversary. Shortly after that, Stanley’s started replying to Larries who were spamming and harassing him with tweets talking about how Larry is real and Elounor is fake.

He started by just replying with “weird” to fans. Then he tweeted the following picture:

This tweet has been deleted. If you are doubting whether or not it’s real, go type in his tweet and @ name. There are tons of quoted tweets from that day on that time. It was real.

He then tweeted the following:

He continued to reply to many fans about different things. I’m only showing the ones about Larry or Elounor. In the following screenshot, you will see the fan’s question and his answer.

Next, the screenshot is of the current version of Twitter. You can look up this tweet yourself to verify that it is real.

He continued on and on. Here is yet another.

Once again, here is the screenshot from the current version of twitter.

The Larries really did harass him that day. He continues on. 

Love how he called the theory of Larry “rubbish.” Now here is the screenshot form the current version of Twitter.

Then one fucking idiot said believing in Larry was an opinion, and Stan was wrong even though he has known Louis for years. He replied to her as well.

Now the current screenshot.

One again, he replied to a Larrie. This time it included Harry.

I could not find the tweet to take a current screenshot when I searched for it. I didn’t scroll through his account. I don’t know if it was deleted or not, but it was real. There are many quoted tweets from it on the same day and time.

In the next one, he tells a Larrie how crazy her theory is.

Then he continues to tell Larries that Louis is straight because they are STILL NOT GETTING IT.

Once again, he sets Larries straight on the difference between a fact and an opinion.

—————————————————————————————————

Max Hurd

Max Hurd is one of Eleanor’s best friends. As far as I can tell, she has known him before she met Louis or around the same time.

On September 9, 2012, a Larrie harassed him by calling Eleanor a beard. He had the following conversation with them.

If you don’t believe this happened, feel free to search up the tweets. They are still there and ver underrated. Almost no one even noticed this conversation.

Next one. On February 27, 2014, Max again replied to a Larrie who assumed Eleanor was his girlfriend. Apparently, if you are a girl and a boy, you can’t be friends without people thinking you’re fucking. He replied with this:

Again, this got barely any attention. I wonder why. Once again, feel free to search up the tweets. They are still there.

Now let’s move on to Max’s Instagram comments. I will first post a screenshot of the picture the comments are located on, so those who want to look them up themselves can. Then I will post a screenshot of the comment he replied to and his reply.

Yes, this is his real Instagram. He has had it forever, and he is constantly uploading new pictures.

These screenshots confirm Elounor more than deny Larry, but just wait, those are coming up.

I like how he added the, “Deluded, weird, blocked,” at the end there.

These are really funny to me because the whole Gretchen and Tina thing is beyond hilarious.

Anyways, again, he does not have to say “Larry isn’t real” to tell you the same thing. Also, he only confirms Elounor once again. How many times has he done that so far?

“I am not going to answer any of your larry bullshit because I actually cannot get my head around how screwed up and cruel you are to accuse my friend of being hired to be someone’s girlfriend.”

“You need to open your eyes and stop seeing what you want to see and realize what is actually there. Which is a long term relationship between two people who love each other."

”…so piece together some weird fantasy for yourself"

Larries, look up the word fantasy if you don’t understand how this is a denial.

Next.

All of these started because Larries continued to harass Max about “Gretchen” and “Tina” even though he has already addressed it.

Max comments “Y'all need Jesus,” so a Larry Shipper comments, “Max needs to get dick out his ass and be more mature and Jesus isn’t real so no one needs him.”

Max then replies with, “Neither is 'Larry’ so you need to find a different obsession to waste your life on.”

DID YOU READ THAT, LARRiES? He just told you Larry isn’t real without using those words. Stop using your bullshit excuse of needing those three words in the same order.

Last one, finally.

Before anyone loses their shit, he did mentioned the girl again and apologized for the “Die in a hole you fucking peasant” part.

Anyways, he again does not say the exact words, “Larry isn’t real” but I think, “something that is as real as the tooth fairy” is descriptive enough for Larries to get the point.

—————————————————————————————————

Sasha Malik

—————————————————————————————————

Julian Bunetta

Julian is one of the boys’ songwriters and producers.

No, he does NOT work for Modest. He would work under the label.

Yes, this is his twitter.

No, he is not verified, but the boys have mentioned him in tweets before.

In the first screenshot, a fan is annoying Julian with questions as to whether Larry is real or not. He replied:

This is a perfect example of something I said at the beginning of the post.

No, he did not say “Larry isn’t real”, however he said it in a different way. You guys do realize what the word “imaginary” means, correct?

Also, if Larry was real, he would not have responded. He has no obligation to reply to fans on Twitter. He gets tons of questions, especially when he begins answering many fans at once. He did NOT have to answer, but he choose to. I wonder why.

This tweet is still there, you can look it up if you would like.

—————————————————————————————————

Simon Jones of Hackford Jones PR

I could not find exactly what Simon’s job title is. He definitely works at HJPR, he might even own it since his last name is in the company’s name. Regardless, his role at the company is a very important one. On July 19, 2014 he tweeted this:

I wanted to verify the fact that this company represents One Direction. The screenshot below is from their website. I highlighted the part that says they do in fact represent the boys.

No, this is not a denial of Elounor or Larry, but it is a denial that the company has even purposely fabricated a relationship. That would include Elounor, Zerrie, Sophiam, Haylor, and so on.

Also, I found this on their website. It’s a testimonial from Modest Management.

—————————————————————————————————

Fizzy’s Best Friend, Tasha

This happened only a few days ago, feel free to look it up. It is real.

Before you start questioning if this account is real, it is. Her Ask in linked to her Instagram, which Fizzy follows.

If you are a Larrie, before you lose your shit, she later said she knew Larry didn’t actually destroy their friendship. However, it still did affect it.

I don’t want to hear how Fizzy’s best friend wouldn’t know anything. My best friend knows everything about my life. When I am talking about shit that pisses me off, she is there to listen. I’m sure it is the same way with Fizzy.

—————————————————————————————————

Gemma Styles

No, this is not a direct denial. However, I do think it is telling of what Gemma thinks of Larry. Remember, she did not need to reply to this. She has fans tweeting her tons of things, and she is not obligated to reply to any of it. She choose to reply to this, and it was probably to deny the ridiculous rumor that she was “hinting” Larry was real. Notice how all their proof is assumptions that they believe are hints?

[Added Aug 2017]

But Larries can’t have nice things, so it was a matter of time really for Gemma to end up denying Larry. It was on Tumblr after she received this ask:

It’s been since then deleted, but that doesn’t take her words back. People that believe in Larry are a WASTE.

The next one is not a proper Larry denial, but more like the first example. Around week after Freddie Tomlinson was born Gemma liked this on IG:

Larries immediately took it as a sign, claimed she was shading “babygate,” and that it meant the denial of Freddie being Louis’ son was coming SOON (yeah, they always say that.) Of course nothing happened, and asked to clarify Gemma said this:

The mentality that implies that everything is connected to the thing that matters to them is actually a trait of conspiracy theorists’ mentality. Anyway, as we all know, “babygate” didn’t “end”, thus this became another sort of Larry denial, and proof that the family of the boys are pretty aware of how Larries work. She got to hear a couple of more complaints about it.

More recently, in 2016, Gemma posted a picture of a graffiti on IG:

Even if in the graffiti both human forms have blue eyes, some Larries jumped in, claiming that it proved Larry. Again, everything is about them and Larry, even if it’s Gemma’s IG and she has, like, HER OWN LIFE.

Yes. See the green and blue hearts so characteristic of the larriedom, and Gemma’s reaction. Sadly, instead of backing off at her reply that the post had nothing to do with Larry, they went after her and called her ableist, just because she dared to deny Larry. One moment they love you, the next one they hate you.

There’s no winning with these people. All we can do is wonder when the next denial will come.

—————————————————————————————————

Keith Tomlinson

Before you begin questioning if his account is real, it is. No, Louis does not follow him. However, other family members do, and he has posted never before seen pictures of Louis and himself.

I really don’t give a shit if you don’t consider him as Louis’ real grandfather anymore just because he was only his grandfather by marriage. Louis grew up with him. You don’t need to be related by blood to consider someone as family, that’s just fucking stupid.

Louis visits him often. He denies Larry. Get the fuck over it. Stop making excuses for it.

Remember, this post is of denials of Larry and confirmations of Elounor. Keith confirmed Eleanor with the very obvious, “Goodnight disbelievers” to all the Larries out there.

Go ahead, search it up to verify it’s real if you need to.

This next one is not a denial of Larry or a confirmation of Elounor, however, I thought I would add it in here to show the frustration with Larries.

Keith has absolutely no chill with Larries. (Personally, I think it was not necessary, but I think it’s just really frustrating to family and friend of especially Louis.)

Again, search it up on Twitter to verify it is real.

Keith literally has zero chill.

[Added: Feb, 2017.]

Keith passed away early 2016. He had a last quarrel with a Larrie who was spamming a tweet of Harry about a terrorist attack with “Larry is real:”

Keith wasn’t here for the disrespect and lack of boundaries. And neither should you.

—————————————————————————————————

Lottie Tomlinson

It isn’t even funny anymore. I honestly don’t know why some Larries continue to harass Lottie.

There was so much drama in the fandom when this happened, oh my gosh. Eleanor also commented, but we are just focusing on Lottie.

Yes, I know this is not a direct denial of Larry. however, like I said before, they do not need to say, “Larry isn’t real” to portray the same message.

I think “SHUT UP YOU DELUDED F R E A K S” and “Sit down and shut up because you people do not know A THING” will suffice. Next.

This screenshot is from when Lottie accidentally favorited a gif of Harry and Louis with the caption, “boyfriends”.

Of course, all the Larries lost their shit and seemed to have completely forgotten about the time she called them deluded freaks.

Lottie quickly un-favorited it and tweeted that. She deleted the tweet minutes after she posted it. You can search up the tweet and see a bunch of quoted tweets on the same day and time to verify it was real.

No, this isn’t a denial. However, she did tell Larries to go away and she admitted it was a mistake.

—————————————————————————————————

Fizzy Tomlinson

The first one I have is from when Fizzy did a Twitcam with her friend.

Fizzy did a twitcam in June of 2012. During it, she talks about Louis’ sexuality.

She says, “I don’t say it’s a bad thing to be gay. It’s just kind of rude to me because I know he’s not gay, and you’re all just like ‘No, your brother’s gay.’ Like, no he isn’t. Shut up.”

She then reads a comment that says, “Louis is clearly gay,” to which she replies, “He has a girlfriend!” (It is cut off).

You can watch it HERE.

Yes, I know. She only said he isn’t gay, and I can hear Larries say, “He doesn’t have to be gay for Larry to be real.” You are right.

However, Fizzy did confirm his relationship with Eleanor. I do know one can have a girlfriend, yet still be interested in men too. However, one cannot be in a relationship with his best friend and girlfriend at the same time.

Next.

I went through Fizzy’s Ask.FM. I did not scroll all the way to her very first answer because I found plenty before than. There are tons, and some of them (about Eleanor specifically) I did not add because it was not directly about Elounor or Larry.

Keep in mind. Fizzy gets tons of questions all the time. It’s her choice on which ones she wants to reply to. She clearly wanted to reply to this for a reason.

Let’s begin the long list of answers. They are not exactly in order.

The link was to the clip where Harry grabs Louis and kisses him on the cheek during an interview. Fizzy replied with, “Do you think if he was being serious he would do that in the middle of an interview?”

“Larry isn’t real but ship what you want,” THERE YOU GO LARRIES. THERE ARE THE THREE WORDS YOU ACTUALLY DON’T WANT TO HEAR.

This is something I always say when family members or friends deny Larry. It is ridiculous to say they are lying when they would just avoid answering at all.

“He doesn’t hate you, just your ship.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes, Elounor is true love, and Larry is fake,” There you go, once again.

“You just see what you want to see,” HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I SAID THIS? YOU GO, FIZZY!

“If Larry was real, I would ship it but it’s not so I don’t haha"

Well, that was simple. 

Simple answer.

There is most likely even more than just these. I only search back a little over a year and a half.

—————————————————————————————————

Niall and Josh

During a Twitcam from over two years ago, Josh was reading comments on the Twitcam he was doing will Niall.

One comment talked about Zayn and Liam’s ship name, which is Ziam. Josh then realized what Larry was. Niall says, "Alright yeah,” with a very dead pan face. They then begin talking about something else. Niall reads a comment that asks if Larry is real. As soon as he reads the comment out loud, he shakes his head and flips his hand as if to show he is annoyed. Josh then says, “I’m pretty sure Larry isn’t real, guys,” while Niall laughs.

I find this funny. This was only a few months after the first bullshit tweets. Niall is clearly like, “Do they not get it…?"

Josh did not even know what "Larry Stylinson” was. Wow! It must be soOOooOOO real.

If you read the comment sections, it is full of Larries who say Niall could have flat out said no, but he didn’t. Honestly, his reaction was telling enough, but I understand where they are coming from.

The whole, “If Larry isn’t read, why haven’t they denied it,” thing, is a different story for a different post I have in the works.

Whether you think Niall’s reaction was a denial or not, Josh denies it too.

You can watch it yourself HERE.—————————————————————————————————

Liam

I LIVE for Liam’s denials of Larry. Let’s begin.

The following picture is an old screenshot. In the current screenshot, it won’t show the tweet Liam replied to. I posted both so you could see what he replied to and see that the tweet is still there. You can still search for the tweet and find it.

The next picture is the current screenshot.

Next.

No, he didn’t deny Larry as a whole, but I don’t want to miss anything. So many people don’t even know most of these things in this post happened.

Next.

Yes, I know screenshots of DMs from either Instagram or Twitter can be faked. I almost never trust any DMs because they are faked quite often.

However, this one was real. The girl who Liam messaged back took a video of his DM and posted it on her Instagram. Her Instagram is now private, but I found someone else who took her video and posted it in their account.

If you are going to say videos like hers can be faked, please show me your receipts. I have NEVER found any. I have had many Larries act like know-it-all-shits and then go ghost when I ask for proof.

The DM is real. Next.

Once again, I would not trust this DM unless the girl had a video, which she did.

The link to the proof that the DM was real is HERE. 

Let me explain what happened with this DM because many people were confused. This girl (@rtsophiam) was followed by Liam and Sophia. She had messaged Liam, asking if Larry was real or not. He unfollowed her. He then, being the kind hearted boy he is, re-followed her and messaged her that.

You can go check. She still has her Liam follow and she had it before the DM incident occurred.

Now, I know Larries were only say it was Modest. That will be their excuse for these DMs. Let me remind you of Liam’s tweets the same night this happened.

His tweets sound exactly like Liam. Go look up all of his tweets from October 2, 2014.

Also, notice his tweets about crazy DMs that are either fun, shocking, or strange? Hm. I wonder what DM he is referring to.

Lastly, during an interview, when asked to explain what Larry is, Liam said, “He’s imaginary.”

Again, do I need to write the definition of imaginary for you, Larries?

[Added: Feb, 2017.]

On his solo interview for Attitude Magazine (Sept 2015,) Liam had some words for the Larries, concerning Larry and Louis’ impending parenthood:

“People think of the Louis and Harry thing [that they’re secret lovers,] which is nuts and drives me insane.” The idea of Larry is, according to Liam, “nuts.” But he goes forward and call the Larries a “conspiracy” and a “cult,” telling that people make every gesture [of Louis and Harry] about them being together, and he knows “it’s not true” and it makes him “mad.” He knows “what’s what” [he understands the inner jokes and gestures] but has to hear “all these crazy theories.” 

“I get tagged in drawings of Louis and Harry being together.” The 4th wall is broken. Well done, Larries. This is not fandom; this is not support. This is, as Liam says in his comparison, a conspiracy theory: “Imagine you’re the man who lands on the moon and you come back home to hear some people saying you didn’t.” Put yourself in these people’s shoes for once and imagine how it would be having people denying part or the whole of your existence. Liam stated Larry is not real and compared you, Larries, with conspiracists and cult people. He also stated that Louis was happy to become a dad, as he’s been for over a year now. When will you get the cue that your invasiveness is not welcomed?

—————————————————————————————————

[Added: Feb, 2017.]

Zayn

In the interview he gave to the Fader in 2015, Zayn had the chance to talk about some of his experiences in One Direction. The conversation quickly moved to the fans’ culture.

Talking about shipping culture and fan theories Zayn stated:

“There’s no secret relationships going on with any of the band members.” This is a direct quote from Zayn, that established that Larry (or any of the other ships, even those not majorly tinhatted, like his own ship with Liam) is not real. But he goes further and says the fan theories had an effect in the way the boys behave in public: “It’s not funny, and it still continues to be quite hard for them. They won’t naturally go put their arm around each other because they’re conscious of this thing that’s going on, which is not even true. They won’t do that natural behavior.” It’s not the gay rumors that affected Larry’s public bond, but the constant harassment and invasiveness, the fact that there are tons of denials and people still spams every single post of the boys (and friends and family) with Larry’s claims. It’s the same Liam said for Attitude, it’s the constant watching and interpretation that exhausted them; in Zayn’s own words: “knowing that everything you do will be parsed for subtext is a terrible mindfuck.” Congratulation, Larries, you played yourselves and ruined Larry for the world.

—————————————————————————————————

Louis 

[Reorganized Aug 2017]

16/09/2012: Bullshit 1.0

Louis calls Larry’s theories conspiracies, and implies that the people involved in it aren’t lovely. He also addresses how those people give the fandom a bad name, thing that’s been proven to be a massive issue intra fandom and with media and GP’s perception of it and fannish behavior. He also refers to Larry as the “biggest load of bullshit.” The impact and following tantrum was so big that, to be able to cope Larries called the episode “bullshit 1.0,” because even if it should have ended that very day, they carried on, leaving room for even more denials left and right, and “bullshit 2.0.” 

As I said, Larries got so defensive they ended up attacking Jay because, as always, she dared to speak up for her son and his girlfriend. Louis had to return and address the harassment again. His mother, people.

The issue ended that day with Louis making clear that HE DOESN’T CONSIDER LARRIES REAL FANS, and that any claim about anyone else but himself tweeting was inaccurate (sounds like he knew already the kind of theories he was dealing with):

Sept 2012: Chatty Man’s denial is reported in this article. The words quoted directly from Louis are consistent with everything Louis’ said on the matter to this day, that Larry makes things difficult for Harry and him, and that it’s disrespectful to his girlfriend.

“I just think it's really degrading towards her,” he explained, mentioning Eleanor again. What's most fascinating is that he admitted that he'd known about the pairing for a while, but that after a while it became more taxing than fun: “This is a subject that was funny at first but now is actually hard to deal with, as I am in relationship. Me and Harry are best friends. People look into our every move—it is actually affecting the way me and Harry are in public.”

Oct 2012: Louis calls Larry Stylinson “a conspiracy of fanfiction.” When Unreality TV asked about Larry rumors, Louis said:

There’s also a recorded interview with thehothits.com around the same period of time of Louis talking about the matter HERE. I leave you a transcription:

“I’m sure if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that every now and again I’m quite outspoken. I think it’s important to speak your mind, and I’ve had a few rants recently. You know, people who have been horrible to my girlfriend Eleanor and to my mum, and I just don’t think people should be able to get away with it. I don’t go to bed and worry about it, I just think that people if they want to be like that, should be put in their place.”

We know you’ve been working on it, sweetie, but these people are so self-absorbed and selfish they don’t listen to anyone but themselves.

Nov 2013: Louis called Larry “a fucking annoyance.” Talking about fan theories and conspiracy theories, Zayn and Louis went off:

Looks like someone was pretty tired. You can read the whole interview HERE.

Do I really need to look up the words conspiracy and fiction for Laries to get the point? 

21/07/2017: Louis denies Larry in an interview with The Sun. You can watch the video HERE (starts at 00:31.)

After relating the phenomenon to conspiracy theories, Louis states that “obviously there’s there’s not truth to it” [Larry’s conspiracy theory] glancing directly into the camera (like Larries always dreamed about) around 01:05. If there’re still doubts about it, or you don’t want to watch it, here are the gifs made by @slowhandsmp3:

And again a transcription:

Dan Wootton: Can you tell me what your view is on these people who are obsessed by a “Larry” conspiracy?

LOUIS: I’ve never actually been asked about it directly. It’s a funny thing. People can believe what they want to believe. It comes across as a little bit disrespectful to the ones that I love, like Eleanor. It’s like anything, if you google a conspiracy on iPhones, you’re gonna get a conspiracy. It’s one of those things people love to buy into, but in reality, obviously there’s no truth to it, obviously.

The same day The Sun published an exclusive interview where Louis went deeper in the issue:

“Louis and Harry’s friendship was also dogged by a ridiculous five-year conspiracy by a group of determined fans known as Larries.

They believe that the pair are in a romantic relationship that was covered up by 1D management, SIMON COWELL and even me (I promise you I’d have been delighted to report that Harry and Louis were an item if that were the case).

Sadly, Louis admits the pressure from Larry conspiracy theorists was a factor in their friendship struggling, especially given the serious relationship he has with girlfriend Eleanor Calder.He says: “I’ve never actually been asked about it directly. It’s a funny thing.“

"It kind of happened naturally for me and Harry because a certain amount of the fans drew up this conspiracy.

"When it first came around I was with Eleanor, and it actually felt a little bit disrespectful to Eleanor, who is my girlfriend now.

“I’m so protective over things like that, about the people I love. So it created this atmosphere between the two of us where everyone was looking into everything we did.

“It took away the vibe you get off anyone. It made everything, I think on both fences, a little bit more unapproachable. I think it shows that it was never anything real, if I can use that word.”

Louis again refers to Larry’s fan theories as conspiracy theories, and blames the fans involved in these behaviors (again called disrespectful) for the public, notorious separation that happened between him and Harry. This is consistent with the things expressed by Louis throughout the years, and also Zayn, for instance, who claimed fans made impossible for Harry and Louis to be spontaneous and physical with each other while in public. So congratulations, Larries, yet another confirmation that you killed what you loved the most.

31/07/2017: Louis’ denial of Larry Stylinson in an interview with Andy Cohen. As the media picked up The Sun exclusive, Louis was asked again about it, now in USA soil. No more excuses, Larries. Louis want to shut down these theories once and for all.

You can listen to the actual audio with words coming out of Louis’ mouth HERE.

Transcription HERE, but here’s a caption:

Not fans. Not anything, but “these people.” That’s how Louis refers to the people that come up with conspiracies about him. It’s over, people. You are not Louis’ fans if you deny his real relationship and his son. He warned you in 2012. Nothing really new to it. Just more denial coming up from the Larries. As Harry would say, SAD.

—————————————————————————————————

Harry

[Reorganized Aug 2017]

During an interview for 60 minutes Australia, the interviewer tells Harry, “Look, Harry. I’ve got to ask you about this one. This is Famous magazine. This says you and Louis are a couple. There’s pictures of you kissing!”

Liam, Niall, and Harry begin explaining that the pictures are photoshopped and that it has happened to all of the boys.

She then asks Harry, “Oh, really? So you and Louis, there is nothing going on?”

Harry replies with a simple, “NO.“ Yes, Larries, hold on. I’ve heard all of your excuses, and I will address them. But first see it for yourselves, I swear it doesn’t bite:

Before you say, "Harry had to lean into to make sure they didn’t have actual pictures of them kissing,” let’s talk about the interview where they asked if Harry was having an affair with Obama.

Looks pretty similar to his reaction in the Australian interview, doesn’t it? So, is Harry fucking Obama too? Of course not. If you go up to anyone, claiming to have pictures of them kissing their best friend, they are going to look. It’s just a natural reaction. Keep making excuses.

Also related to this same interview, Larries spread the lie that there is a picture of Harry crying from right after this interview.

NO, THERE IS NOT.

The picture Larries spread around claiming to be of Harry crying are from a completely different interview where he has been sick for a few days. The exact same shot is at 9:13, and it is actually of Harry and Niall laughing. It is not a picture of Niall comforting Harry because he was crying. You can check it for yourselves HERE.

See how deceiving pictures (and Larries) can be?

Let’s move on. Larries don’t acknowledge this denial, and they thought they were lucky enough not to go through the same again due to Harry’s reluctance to talk about his personal life. It was a gift that kept giving until it stopped. It happened again. 

In April 2016, a Venezuelan fan asked Harry is Larry was real while facetiming and he said “NO.” It was referred through Twitter by user @kingcasique_ and reported by media in at least this video:

Sadly, these tweets happened between Victoria, the girl that chatted with Harry, and her friend [I can’t provide a link because the girl has been suspended on Twitter]:

These types of implications are NOT acceptable. NO means NO.

Troubles continued for Larries, because life’s a b*tch for them, since during the promo of his solo career (May/June of 2017,) in which Harry remarked again and again how honest his album was, he was asked if his solo song “Sweet Creature” was about Louis.

So Harry denied Larry again, stating that he would “lean toward NO” in the subject of the song being about Louis. Listen to his reply (starting to speak quite upset) at 00:10:

Teen Vogue picked it up and you can read the article HERE. But here’s a transcription of the statement for everyone to acknowledge it.

“Lean toward NO” is as much as a categorical statement as a single NO. The word NO is right there. And you respect the word NO, because NO means NO.

Asked about the fan theory a second time in USA Today, Harry said “Oh, is that a thing?," completely snubbing the rumors. And went further: “Well, whatever it is that it makes one feel. But I think if you listen to the lyrics, you can work out what it’s about.” Oh, Harry, you unlucky bastard. You have a tendency to catch hay fever and Larries.

——————————————��——————————————————

Louis and Harry

[Added Feb 2017]

HERE is one of the first interviews in which Louis and Harry casually dismiss the rumors about Larry being a romance (the one of the “genuinely believe.”) There’s a politeness, a clear intention not to create drama with the denial, because at the time rumors were just starting to get fueled, but they still weren’t a proper conspiracy theory, as Louis would refer later when talking about Larry. It wasn’t the only time the issue was addressed in a relaxed manner, trying to shut down rumors, but with an intention not to alienate the fans. And here’s another:

This is what the YouTube poster of the video wrote as a caption:

“I ship Larry, honest I think they are so cute and I would love them to be together... but if they say that its not true, that it is annoying them, going too far or that they are happy with their girlfriends then as fans we should respect that and let them live their lives. If they aren't gay then it will upset them and their girlfriends, and if they are then its obvious that they can't or don't want to talk about it so really either way shoving your opinions in their faces and their family and friends faces doesn't help. I'm not saying you don't have a right to think that or have an opinion, but sometimes you might want to think about who its affecting and respect what they are telling you, whether you believe it or not.”

Enough said.

—————————————————————————————————

Alright. I think I have gotten most of the ones I could find.

I figured I would actually discuss them more in depth since I can kind of predict what Larries will say about it.

First of, yes I do realize people can lie. However, people do not go so far to call Larries vile, deluded freaks, fake fans, disbelievers, deranged, stupid, a lost cause, bitter, lonely, and fucking peasants. They would also not go so far to call the theory of Larry strange, ludicrous, bullshit, weird, as real as the tooth fairy, a fantasy, imaginary, fan fiction, rubbish, and a wasted obsession. (I personally do not believe everything said about Larries was necessarily appropriate, but it happened.)

Like I have said before, if they didn’t want to out Larry, there was no reason to lie. It can simple be avoided.

Second of all, if you believe their family and friends are under contract, go ahead and read these posts: 

Larries’ Contract Theories I

Larries’ Contract Theories II

It is not only about Harry and Louis, but that Act protects their loved ones as well.

Also, like I said before, these are all people who have known Harry and Louis all their lives or are very good friends or are people they work with. These are not random people who claim to have met Louis and claim to have been told that he hates Larry or that Elounor is real.

I find it really doubtful that these people would not know the truth, and I think if you are telling yourself that, you need to really think about that.

[Added Aug 2017]

After reading all this, there’s no denial that the only constant in the seven-year-long 1D history has been these people denying the existence of a romantic relationship between Louis and Harry. And I’d dare to say that the only constant in the 1D fandom has been the abuse and harassment they have subjected these persons to because of it.

WORDS MATTER. RESPECT THESE PEOPLE’S WORDS. RESPECT THEIR TRUTH. STOP THE DISRESPECT AND THE ENTITLEMENT.

[lupinepariah]

Source: White Dragon by Sandara

Frustrations

This is going to carry a pretty hefty trigger warning.

If there's one frustration I have in my life it's how, due to my autism, to my family I'll always be that "ass-burgers r-word" which means that none of them ever really listen to me. It wouldn't be so bad if I was known for giving bad advice, certainly, but that isn't the case. I love to research, it makes me happy, I enjoy cross-referencing, correlating, and seeking out evidence to back up any claims I might make. I'm not a fan of baseless assumptions of any kind. This doesn't mean that, say, I count myself amongst the "skeptisizm" community. I don't. In their case they often use poorly researched, no name studies to back up their cognitive dissonance.

I like reading medical papers. I'm interested in where they're published, along with how emprical they are and what controls were used. I think that this is a talent because no one else in my family seems to be able to do so, and what I want to use this talent for is to help. I just want to help. It doesn't turn out that way though, sadly, as I often find that I'm ignored and that had they listened they could've avoided no end of suffering. In that context, it feels like a burden and I really loathe being right.

I mean, there are things I'd love to be right about. Who wouldn't. Jormag in Guild Wars 2 is a good example of that. I'd be so happy to be right about that. I'll talk more about that later. In the case where those who don't listen suffer, though? I'd often wish I was wrong.

It's bizarre because my family will think of me as a know-it-all and also an "ass-burgers r-word." It's a bizarre cognitive dissonance. I don't rub it in, either. I mean, I don't think of myself as having above average intelligence. It makes me uncomfortable. I know I'm more strange than the average, perhaps even a little bit more creative too, but that doesn't mean that I'm more able-minded or that I have a stronger intellect. I've never had that egotism and I'm not prone to even humble bragging, that isn't what this is. I'm not trying to put anyone down.

I'd just rather be wrong than someone getting hurt or suffering. Sadly, I have a track record of being right which just makes this all the more frustrating. What makes it worse is that they know that this is the case too. I don't brag about it but it's obvious. I mean, they could look at the evidence and realise that perhaps I do have valid advice to share... or they could look at what's different about me from them and use that to feed their cognitive dissonance. I mean, I'm the "ass-burgers r-word" of the family so clearly I must be wrong, they couldn't have been wrong.

I'm going to get into some examples now because I need to vent, I'll be vague about it however as I'd rather my extended family didn't see this. It wouldn't be the end of the world but it would result in more rowing and shouting that I just don't want.

There was a time not so long ago when I was telling my sister that though her girlfriend's mother has cancer, it's not the end of the world. They were trying to convince said mother to just accept it with dignity and go quietly but I had other ideas. I did my research and I found that for her specific kind of cancer there were trials going on in my country that were looking for volunteers. I wanted to get my sister's girlfriend to push for her mother to be included in those trials. It didn't work. I'm the "ass-burgers r-word" of the family, what could I know?

No, I was told, you're not a cancer expert so we'll just help her to die and not listen to a sole word you have to say.

They let the mother die. It turned out a little later that the trials were a resounding success.

My mother died recently. It happened due to her medication being co-morbid with another she was already taking. My family has a bad habit of never reading the side effects. I was extolling the virtues of this to one of my family a month ago, and to them I was just being a smart-aleck "ass-burgers r-word" who thought they knew things like real people do. I feel I should carry more anger for them in my heart than I do but I just feel tired, cynical, and cold if I'm honest. I've felt worse and my mind isn't really fit for hatred. So, yes, they didn't read the side effects of a medication and because of this my mother... died. I haven't been dealing with it all that well but I understand that this is just how life is for me. It's just left me feeling more cold to them than ever.

I do have physical problems, mind you. I'm prone to seizures and I get the shakes so I do need a carer to help me out with things. At one point said carer, one of my family, decided that they were going to take my dog to the vet as they were being unresponsive. Then they had the dog put down, and even cremated, all without my knowledge. I was asleep, you see. Now, reading into what my dog had? I could've saved my dog's life and they would've continued to live happily for a few years still. I had a good relationship with my dog. I treat dogs well because I was almost raised by them. I've mentioned this prior—I think—but my parents were so neglectful that dogs did more to raise me than they did. The only time I got attention from them was of the drunken and abusive kind.

If they'd woken me up, I would've done some quick research and made a decision that would've saved my dog's life. Sadly, I'm an "ass-burgers r-word" so my opinion doesn't matter. I'm not even a fully conscious, real person. I don't have a mind. I mean, I get neurotypical professionals telling me that I lack empathy and Theory of Mind all the time (despite having more empathy than anyone in my extended family). So why would a homunculus like me care about a dog?

It's frustrating and I have so many wounds, so much hurt. I mean, there are thousands of examples like this I could state. There's one in the works right now! I have a grandmother. At one point in the past my great grandmother was living in the living room—downstairs in a two floor house—because they found the stairs too difficult to climb. At one point we had to have an insepctor come to the home. I told my grandmother that we needed to move the bed out of the room, otherwise the inspector would write us up.

No, I was told, that's not something to worry about because the inspector is a good, lovely person who cares more about random strangers than doing their job.

That worked out well, as you can imagine. It's just frustrating. So, like I said, my mother died. My grandmother is having survivor's guilt right now. This is unfortuante. This is an aunt in my family (my grandmother's other daughter) who's a parasite. She's a horrible create that my grandmother had to break ties with due to how said parasite ruined her life. I mean, this parasite was exploiting my poor grandmother for decades before they called that relationship off. I tried to tell my grandmother. I even did calculations to show just how much the parasite was stealing from my grandmother in actual money, property, food, and commodities.

No, I was told, you don't understand people. You're too simple-minded. Your aunt is a good person.

Since my mother died, my grandmother has been in a state. She's been feeling lonely, vulnerable, and in a right mess. I've been trying to get her to talk to a bereavement counselor. I want her to get therapy. I just want to help her. She won't let me. She won't let me help. She won't listen to me. The one she will listen to is the parasitic aunt. I mean, I know why the parasite is here. Now that my mother is dead—my mother stood with me against the parasite—the parasite wants to exploite my grandmother's vulnerability to get into her will. She wants to take everything my grandmother has, she wants to steal all of my grandmother's belongings away from my sisters and I so that she can pawn them off. She has no sentimental attraction, it's just a way to make money.

My grandmother, being vulnerable, is falling for it. Hook, like, and sinker. The parasite is a sociopath thorugh and through, she's an expert at manipulating people. I'm not. My autism tends to preclude the ability to manipulate people. I don't have the social skills to be charismatic, exactly. Now, if a mind is open to reason, I can be very persuasive and I can make a damn good argument. The problem is is that the person has to be open to listening to reason. I can prove my points with mountains of evidence as what I loathe more than all else are baseless accusations.

I was accused of baseless accusations when interacting with a medical "professional" in my family. They had gotten on the faecal transplant train and they were excited about it. It was my opinion that all it would take is a superbug we can't monitor for very accurately and a compromised immune system. That's all it would take and then we would see some deaths. I knew it would happen.

No, I was told, you don't understand medicine. There's no way that any bug could get through the screening process, it's completely flawless and without any chance for false negatives, there's just no way anything could go wrong.

Indeed. I guess that's why no one has died and faecal transplants haven't been banned? Oh wait. Yes they have. Sadly it took people dying for it to finally happen. It should've happend long before that. Long, long before. Anyone in their right mind would've figured this out, right? I mean, it's not that hard?? You just look into what superbugs commonly escape faecal screening and you then research what effect they would have on a compromised immune system. Isn't it that easy? So why didn't everyone figure it out???

The thing is? It doesn't matter. To everyone in my family I'm just the "ass-burgers r-word." I have a simple mind. I can never be right about anything. I swear they even edit their own memories (which is something you can do with enough cognitive dissonance) to reflect their own biases and the lies they tell themselves. I'm not doing it to be right, though! I'm not doing it to climb some nonsense, worthless social ladder that I don't care about! I'm not doing it for one-upmanship!!! I'm doing it because I care, because I want to help.

No one listens. No one ever does. I try. I try to talk to them. I try to get them to talk to me, to one another. I try to get them pas their stubbornness and their willful ignorance. I try.

This is why Jormag in Guild Wars 2 has become such a mood for me. I get it Jormag. I do. There's manipulations at play here and you just hate all the suffering, you want to help. Your power, after all, is persuasion, not manipulation. It's more akin to hypnosis and a very good argument. It's not mental domination. I just... feel Jormag. I really do. I get this feeling that they know what's going on and they want to help, they're trying to help, but no one wants to listen. They get that there are manipulations happening, that there are illusions everywhere, that people are being fooled, suffering is happening because they won't listen.

It's frustrating when people won't listen and won't let you help them. It's a real mood. I think this is one of those reasons I've become so clingy with Jormag. Jormag just... sounds like a frustrated therapist. They sound like someone who knows what's going on and they really just want to help. Except because of preconceived notions, biases, baseless assumptions, and prejudices no one is listening to them. No one wants to believe them.

This is why the Icebrood Saga storyline is... It's frustrating right now but it could be very cathartic. I mean, it's why I want Icebrood to be a story about preconceived notions and why these kinds of biases and prejudices are flawed.

I just love dragons and I have a lot of feelings right now.

Really, my mother wouldn't be dead right now had they just listened. There has been so much death and suffering because they won't listen. They're too lazy to do research but I'm not. Would it hurt so much to swallow your pride and listen to someone who's bothering to take the time to stay up late reading medical documents and journals?

Yes, I have autism, but that doesn't mean that I should be ignored if I have something important to say.

[storm-driver]

How Kingdom Hearts III will probably go down

First of all, THANKS FOR LIKING MY WRITING STYLE. I TRY MY BEST. To do with the theory I wrote, the huge majority of it was thanks to @derekscorner, who I really couldn’t thank more for letting me post the revised version. Seriously, it got so much attention and I’m so happy that lots of people saw it and liked it.

So... how do I think the ending to Kingdom Hearts III will happen?

*rubs hands together, snickering in the darkness*

Kingdom Hearts III trailers and teasers are SUPER unclear with what the main plot is leading up to. 

We all know that Xehanort is preparing 13 vessels of pure darkness in order to forge part of the X-Blade and plans to use the 7 Hearts of Pure Light, i.e. the Princesses of Heart in order to forge the rest. So to protect the 7 Princesses, we need 7 Guardians of Light. Seems correct, one Guardian per light to ensure that the Princesses aren’t hurt or corrupted in any sort of way. 

This being said, I’m had my fair share of wishing for our beloved and under-developed Kairi to become a Guardian of Light. But plot-wise, it doesn’t make sense. Yes, train Kairi to use her Keyblade so that she may protect herself and her friends! I want my fearless Kairi more than anything!

(i appreciate the hood with cat ears more than god damn anything else, seriously, she looks so adorable)

But do I really think Sora and company would really risk having Kairi on the front-lines when Xehanort has so easily corrupted people in the past? Sora nearly fell into the Darkness in Dream Drop Distance and almost became another pawn. Not to mention, Riku got pretty damn close some times and Terra literally lost himself in the Darkness. Xehanort is a master tactician who’s manipulative-nature has hurt so many people. 

So instead of having Kairi up front and fighting, I’d think that Riku more than anyone would want her to stay behind, where it’s safe. From there, she’s isolated. And that’s a golden opportunity for someone to go after her. 

And that leads into Lea/Axel’s role. During the Orchestra tour, there was a reading of Kairi’s letter to... someone... about how Lea was really sorry for what had happened to her and that he wanted to make it up to her. He’s going to become protective of her, try to support her in any way he can to atone for what Axel did, kidnapping her out of brash action to get Sora to chase him. 

You’d assume Sora would be the one to protect Kairi, since he’s clearly one of the Guardians, but he’s having to go out to other worlds, search for the Keyblade of Returning Hearts, the lost Keyblade Wielders, regain his lost strength. Sora can’t stay back with Kairi when there’s something else he has to do. So who’s best to stay with her? Well of course, it’s Lea.

“So.... who’s the seventh Guardian?”

Hey, I didn’t even NAME all of the Guardians. I’ve got reasoning as to why each person on this list is a Guardian. Yeah, that’s right, unlike SOME PEOPLE WHO WON’T RELEASE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAME, I’ve got EVIDENCE to back my conclusions. Be this reasoning for defensive or offensive action, it should all make sense.

So who ARE the Seven Guardians of Light?

1. Sora

Quite literally the most obvious one since he IS the main character. But Sora isn’t a guardian to a SPECIFIC light, but rather he’s supposed to maintain caution for all of them. I have the sneaking suspicion we’ll be visiting all of the worlds pertaining to the Princesses of Light, only further backing the idea that Sora is supposed to defend all of them versus focusing on only one.

2. Riku

With ties to the Darkness, Riku is one of the most fit to defend those from the Darkness. While Sora and Aqua clearly show power to defeating the Darkness with Light, Riku fought valiantly against it using his own combination of both the Light and Dark. After all, Darkness isn’t a bad thing, as we’ve been taught by his character arc. It’s what happened in the past and those that abuse it that give Darkness a bad name. 

3. Aqua

Having her own experience with the Darkness, living in it for over 12 years and fighting it off for all that time, she will know how to combat it to protect those she cherishes. She knows how to fight Xehanort. She’s the only one BESIDES Terra who’s actually been in a direct fight with Master Xehanort. She understands how to fight the Darkness with Light and could teach it to the others. She’s the expert.

4. Ventus

This one is a bit dipping into theory zone, but assuming Vanitas and Ventus reformed together as one heart instead of two separate entities, Ventus should have all of Vanitas’ memories and experiences. Which means, to an extent, Ventus should have a pretty good picture of what Xehanort plans to do with the X-Blade once it’s been forged and how to stall that from happening. Even if he hasn’t recovered Vanitas’ memories, he has the most experience fighting him and definitely knows how to fight off the Darkness, which adds into a whole “Vanitas can return” arc and how Xehanort might exploit that, etc. Alongside his brotherly nature and stalwart actions, he’s a perfect candidate for going to recover Terra.

5. Terra/Lingering Will

Terra is currently in a very questionable state. His heart is sealed inside his body, which is currently being shared with Xehanort. Meanwhile, it appears his will to fight has been sealed inside his armor. And then there’s the fact that Terranort as Ansem’s apprentice gave into the Darkness and created a Heartless and Nobody. His Heartless, Ansem the Seeker of Darkness, held both Xehanort’s and Terra’s hearts captive in it’s Darkness. Meanwhile, his Nobody, Xemnas, held Terranort’s shared body in existence. Both were destroyed and became whole again. But when Terranort reformed... he didn’t look like Terranort, but rather Xehanort has regained his original body. So... where’s Terranort? 

I have reason to believe that Xehanort regained his old body while Terra regained his real one. But seeing as how his will is trapped inside a suit of armor, his body is unresponsive and his heart will not awaken. So Xehanort is holding him somewhere until they reclaim his armor or find some other way to awaken him. That being said, that puts Terra in a prime position to be recovered by Sora and company. He should know everything Xehanort is planning to do and how to combat it. And being that he probably hates Xehanort don’t know why he wouldn’t, he’s hella ready to fight back.

6. Roxas

OKAY HOLD ON, I KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GONNA SAY, BUT just listen to me okayyyy

Roxas is very hard-set on achieving his goals. He’s stubborn and aggressive when he wants to be, making him a top-notch fighter. He throws what people say over his shoulder and keeps on going. But while he does ignore what people say directly to him, what happens to his friends is what hurts. Roxas puts himself in harms way repeated times throughout 358 in attempts to help those he cares about. I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if his only passion to fight was because he wanted to protect others.

Also, pretty sure this kid has the biggest grudge against Xemnas and will probably not stop being angry until the man has a key in his chest.

7. Mickey

Because it’s Disney, fuck real reasoning.

You want a PROPER StormDriver™ explanation? ‘Kay, I’ll try.

Mickey, having shown to be such a powerful Keyblade wielder in multiple instances, is clearly adept at taking on the Darkness and protecting other people. He’s basically a pro in all of the instances here, having been fighting the Darkness since before Birth by Sleep. It’s literally experiencing outweighing youth. 

He also probably feels passionate about protecting his 3 friends even though he never met Terra and wants them to all be happy. Ven is in a coma, Aqua is in Hell, Terra is... God knows where. And it’s Xehanort’s fault. He probably wants to avenge them.

“But what’s gonna happen?!”

Kingdom Hearts III is concluding the Xehanort saga. That basically confirms Xehanort is gonna fucking die. We’re not just gonna resurrect everyone and then YAY WE WIN BECAUSE LIGHT AND FRIENDSHIP AND

spare me please

If there’s ANYTHING this franchise has taught me, it’s that Sora Squad does NOT get the easy button. 

In order to properly prepare for the oncoming battle with Xehanort, there is literally a to-do list for this game’s plot.

Find Aqua and hope she’s not dead.

Find Ventus and his missing heart.

Find out what the fuck even happened to Terra.

Retrieve the Keyblade of Returning Hearts.

Ensure all of the Princesses of Heart are okay.

Honestly, the list goes on and on. There’s so much shit we’ve gotta do to make this turn in the hero’s favor. Which means this game is gonna be HELLA long and probably REALLY FUN. 

Upon completing said to-do list, odds are shit hit the fan and someone got hurt. Discrepancy in their ranks is gonna lead to them half-way losing the battle against Xehanort, the X-Blade is gonna be forged, Kingdom Hearts is gonna fuck shit up. And then the heroes and heroines are gonna have to try to fix it with the power of friendship or some bullshit like that.

It’s honestly too soon for me to make any kind of real theories about this game, considering we have a grand total of 3 cutscenes from the trailers.

(In case you’re wondering, I’m referring to the scene of Sora holding the Master’s Keeper keyblade from the first trailer, the conversation between Pete, Maleficent and Hades, and the scene where Xemnas accuses Sora of using the Darkness.)

IF we get more stuff outta the D23 trailer, I’ll be able to say more. But I seriously can’t make any real theories besides ones that beat the old games even more.