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bomber-grl · 1 year ago

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Leo Valdez relationship hc♡

₊˚⊹Pairing(s): Leo Valdez x Gn!reader (no pronouns/no specific godly parent)

₊˚⊹Warning(s): Some cringe things so proceed with caution 😭

If you thought he was annoying he gets 100x worse

Like you know that one friend that gets a lil too comfortable around you?

Yea well that’s him except he’s your boyfriend

Now, I kinda sorta imagine diff sides of him as ur bf

So the most obvious way is him acting annoyingly clingy and such

He’s always cuddling up to you, calling you cringe nicknames/pet names, and just being so clingy and affectionate

Not that you hate it

He’s so sweet too, like he knows he’s annoying and stuff but for the most part it’s just to tease or mess with you

And when it comes to the more emotional part of the relationship, he’s there

You can only guess it’s because of how he always tries to hide his true feelings behind jokes and humor

Due to your relationship you two began getting closer and thus conversations of his true feelings and thoughts were revealed along the way.

So it just makes you sad that not enough people realize how sad and miserable he can be sometimes.

The reality of this slaps you in the face when you accidentally stumbled into him bawling his eyes out and very obviously going through something serious, then starts laughing and throwing out jokes at his own expense

Like why??

All you could think of doing was hugging him. Really settled in stone that y’all are 4lifers

Continuing from that, he really does like you

Like all his life he was literally “the other woman” in the sense that no one ever wanted him back.

So once you return his feelings he’s bamboozled

He genuinely takes a step back and tells you to stop joking around.

That’s how bad it was

Well, because of how taken back he was he not only made jokes but eventually realized there was no reason to use them as a cover anymore and just hugged and thanked you.

Yea, thanked you for liking him

Most times you enjoy each-others company in either your cabin, if not in bunker 9

While you’re just chilling in there practicing or doing whatever and him just working on a project he asks what makes him so attractive to you

Of course he drops jokes like “ofc I’m super sexy” or “how could u resist me?”

But when you ultimately tell him what you liked about him and how cute you found him-

He flusters

Badly

How easy it is to fluster him is one thing you absolutely love about him

He’s always getting overly cocky and flirting with you like there’s no tomorrow while dropping the most down right horrendous pet names known to man

(Ex: pookie wookie bear, sugar booger, etc)

Most times when Leo would flirt with girls in the past they’d ignore him and basically look down on him. ( which we all know)

Well when your lovely ass comes around he does the same routine

But unlike before, you actually reciprocate this flirting

And he combusts on the spot

*leo exe has stopped working*

Quite literally

He’s so unused to his affections being returned it’s literally whiplash the second it is

Gets to the point where he’s so embarrassed from your constant harassing teasing and flirting that he covers his face and basically whines out, begging for you to stop.

What a simp

(This statement is quite literally acknowledged by everyone else too LMAOO)

aside from that, he’s super hot

Literally

Concerningly so, especially during the summer

And it’s the absolute worse

Not only do you have to worry over him potentially over heating and passing out -

But also worry about yourself passing out CUZ THIS MAN DOES NOT KNOW PERSONAL SPACE!!!😭😭😭

He’s always clinging onto you and it could be 100 degrees outside and he truly does not give a flying fuck

It gets to the point where you have to peel him off of you, or at least beg someone else to do so in your place

And then he pouts and acts upset like??

Would he rather you die of over heating??😭

Like sorry we all ain’t fire resistant 🙄

Your personality takes a whole 180 during winter

Sure, they have the weather controller dome at camp but during missions that’s when you cling to him.

He always just lets you because of how touch starved the poor guy is.

(You probably are too if we’re being real here)

In the case that the weather controller isn’t working and it starts snowing then you most definitely sneak him in your cabin or bunker 9-

(I firmly believe he would build beds or sum shit for y’all to hang there and eat snacks)

And y’all would cuddle. You’d be warmly tucked under the sheets away from the harsh winds and hearing nothing else but each others breath.

Going back to physical affection in your relationship- home dude would be stressingggg

He’s be so nervous and his heartbeat would speed up anytime you’d hug and hold his hand.

Again, he gets way clingier and once y’all kiss there ain’t no going back.

He’s stuck to you forever.

If you ever want to cuddle or sleep in the same bed as him for a “sleepover”-ish thing then best believe dudes gonna be the worst sleepover- partner??

Just imagine this-

Leo, you ,both laying side by side under warm sheets on a dark winter night.

No light besides that of the moon and y’all have been pretty intimate and emotional. Just getting to know each-other on another level

Finally you’re falling asleep, your lids are drooping and you breath calms down after Leo shed a few tears.

Then all you hear is-

“Bro imagine if-“

Literal slap to the face

Like you can’t tell me he doesn’t say the most random shit and stops yall from actually sleeping. Literally has y’all giggling and shit all night.

If you’re in your cabin and you have siblings- they literally tell you to shut the fuck up and be grateful they let ur lil boyfriend sleep there without snitching.

Like goddamn

Never have y’all once slept in Leo’s cabin because how how fucking weird his siblings are-

Anyway 🙃

Bro is always showing you off

He has you on his arm and always saying shit about how he pulled a baddie

Like, sir, you’re the baddie

Anyway

Best believe home dude spoils you

Like sure, sometimes he’s a lil broke but he’s always making and buying you little things

Which is honestly so sweet 😭😭

Especially when you react by cuddling him and just peppering his face in kisses

He’s glad to have you as his significant other

I mean in his own words

“All da ladies love Leo”

(Ofc replaced w a Gn term cuz I’m sure everyone loves Leo lmao)

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nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx · 8 months ago

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Helpless part 36, sorry for the wait, here is a long chapter as payment

Nico woke up after three hours with a splitting headache, he felt nauseous, where even was he? He spotted the blonde boy sitting on the chair next to him reading a book, he was surprised that he wasn't off with ten other patients by this point. "You okay Neeks?" Will said putting his book down and walking over.

"I've got a headache."

"Nauseous to?"

"How'd you know?"

"It's normal, I'll go get you some water." Will walked out returning with a glass and handing it to the Hades kid, he started taking small sips from it, letting the cool water run down his throat, when even was the last time he drank water? "Would you be open to talking to someone? I know you don't like opening up to people but it could help."

"Are... are you forcing me to?" Nico asked so softly Will could barely hear him, he sat down next to the whispering boy.

"'Course not Neeks, we just want you to get help."

"Please don't make me talk to people." He whispered back, curling up.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to." Nico mentally laughed at the irony of Will telling him that when he was being kept in the infirmary which he really didn't want to do. The son of Apollo grabbed the small boy's hand and started rubbing the back of it in circles, "You could try a journal? I've heard that helps."

"Maybe... can we leave this for now?"

"Sure, anything in particular you want to talk about?"

"Can we finish our game of twenty questions?"

"Okay."

"Who's your favorite siblings?"

"Don't you dare tell any of them but Kayla, Austin will kill me if he finds out." Will laughed, "Least favorite of the seven?"

"Valdez, he's annoying as fuck also I fucked him that one time so it just makes everything awkward."

"Wait what?!"

"We were both bored and drunk, we never talk about that day. Anyways, have you ever dyed your hair?" He decided to let Will come to his own conclusions on that one, especially because Leo was too drunk to actually remember it, or he was just a very good actor. He remembered that night, it was the anniversary of when Bianca had died, while he last memories with her weren't the best he still loved her. He still wished he'd died instead of her. He was drinking himself numb, standing outside on the deck in the darkness when Leo walked, well walked was being generous, stumbled down the stairs, so drunk he could barely stay up right. He remembers thinking 'well might as well do it, haven't got anything to loose.' He remembers grabbing his shirt and smashing his lips against his.

"Why are you so drunk Valdez?" He muttered into his ear, trailing up kisses

"None ya business Shadow boy."

"Fine." He pulled away,

"Hey!"

"No sympathy sex if you don't tell me."

"My mom died today."

"I'm sorry."

"Di Angelo I seem to realise you are also drunk, would you care to explain why?" His words were practically just slurs, fuck it, he thought, they'd both just never acknowledge it again.

"My sister died today."

"What? But Hazel-"

"My other sister, Bianca, died when I was ten."

"I'm sorry."

"Can we just fuck senseless I can't take processing this anymore."

"Fine by me." And then that was it, they never spoke of it again and went back to hating each other, honestly it was a disaster that they we're probably never going to unpack.

"Nope, I was going to dye it brown again when I saw my mum but then she didn't talk to me for years so never really did that."

"That is messed up but in a desperate attempt to keep this light hearted we will unpack that later. Now, I will be kidnapping you and dying your hair every colour imaginable."

"Can I ask why?"

"You're blonde, what else would I do?"

"Umm... okay then, have you ever watched Star Wars?"

"Nope."

"What! How? I'm putting Kay or Aussi on tomorrow night and we are binging all of Star Wars together."

"Please no."

"Too late Angel boy." Nico sighed in defeat, shaking his head but accepting his fate.

"Why didn't you tell me you could speak Italian?"

"I didn't know, I mean the song I learnt a while ago but actually speaking it's like how Aphrodite kids can speak French because it's the language of love, Italian's the language of music."

"That makes a lot of sense."

"Speaking of Italy, do you miss it?"

"Yeah, but when I went back there with Jason on the Argo II I didn't really feel anything, everything there changed so much, it barely feels like home now. What's something no one or only one person knows about you?" Will could tell him so many different things, he had so many secrets but was it safe to share them? He could do the easy thing and say that he glows in the dark, he could talk about his mom or the things he does at night when he's sure no one's watching him.

"I can glow in the dark." It was too soon, he'd tell him... eventually.

"YOU'RE A PORTABLE SUNSHINE!!!" Nico cringed at himself mentally but it was so easy to get lost in conversation with Will, just about fun shit, not worrying about everything all the time. I mean he'd had his fair share of hard conversations and lectures from the blonde boy but it was still so easy to relax around him. That wasn't good, he couldn't let his guard down, especially after those kisses. He said he loved him, he kissed him after the first one, he didn't pull away but that didn't mean anything. He would leave after realising that he was worthless and didn't deserve love, he wanted to let him in but his brain wouldn't let him, the only reason he'd said half the shit he had now was because of Reyna.

"Shut up Doom and Gloom." He laughed, messing up Nico's hair.

"Don't think I will, Care Bear."

"Really?"

"You love it, be honest." Fuck, he shouldn't be letting himself get this comfortable, he shouldn't be getting this relaxed with anyone. But it was living sunshine, cinnamon roll, Will Solace, he could trust him... right? Will rolled his eyes in defeat,

"...Will you be my boyfriend...?" Fuck, why did he do that? What if he- his thoughts were cut off with Nico di Angelo, son of Hades, ambassador of Pluto smashed his lips against his own, grabbing his blonde hair. He wrapped his arms around the small boy's neck, pulling him as close as he possibly could until they broke the kiss.

"I'd love that Sunshine." Here goes nothing, at least he'd be happy for a day or two, he didn't want to build hope of Will liking him for any longer than that, but at least there would be some temporary happiness. A moment of silence passed until Nico asked the next question "What's going on with your mum?"

"Well- Umm.." Will struggled to hold back tears,

"You don't have to talk if you don't want to."

"I want you to know, it's just... hard."

"Take a deep breath, it's going to be okay." Will shook before a tear fell from his eye as started to talk.

"Well until I was eight she was amazing, honestly the best parent I could wish for. But then after that she became really busy, working two jobs to pay for the album she was writing. Then when I was nine she dropped me off a my aunts, said it was for a few days, three months later I ran away. Her house... it was a nightmare, constantly called the unwanted child, yelled at for getting in trouble at school and not paying attention. And for anything that went wrong... ever and well let's just say she wasn't the nicest overall. Food once a week and if I was in trouble once every three weeks and well she hit hard. I don't think mom knew how bad she was, at least that's what I used to think, now I'm not so sure. I ran away which is when I found camp, just wandering around aimlessly until I was attacked by symphalian birds and I just ran until they couldn't find me. I was in the infirmary for two weeks, which was when I met Michael... first time someone cared about my existence in a few years. I was claimed the first campfire I went to; I wrote to mom so much those first few months... poured my fucking heart out, never got a goddamn response. Well she sent me a letter yesterday... wanted to meet up next week, don't even know how she fucking found out where I was. Didn't even bother asking the fuck had happened." Will didn't realise he was crying until Nico wiped a tear from his cheek and kissed him on the forehead,

"I'm so sorry."

"I'm going to go there next week and say every fucking word I want her to hear." He said in a broken voice, he pulled him into a hug.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Will just nodded, sinking into the smaller boy's arms, slipping his hands into Nico's.

"Why do you always wear that ring?"

"Bianca gave it to me before she left, it was my mothers; nearly got it stolen at a club a when I was twelve."

"Why were you...?"

"Addicted to more things than I would be willing to admit, easiest way to get them. Cats or dogs?" A look over uncomfort washed over his face as he quickly changed the subject; Will knew he wouldn't get any more information on what had happened, at least any time soon.

"Cats and that is objectively the correct answer, also I already asked you that."

"Firstly, I don't care. Secondly, you're wrong. Thirdly, you are a golden retriever but you like cat's!? How?? Why??"

"Cat's are just better, and anyways you are the definition of black cat but preferre dogs."

"Cat's aren't 'just better' why do you think we have three headed dogs but not three headed cats?"

"Simple, a single cat is already perfect, why add two more when you've already got perfection?"

"Shush, dogs are still better."

"Whatever you say Neeks, just know that your opinion is wrong." Will teased, patting Nico on the head, covering his hand with his mouth to stop any protests. "Who's your favorite Mean Girls character?"

"Regina, what kind of a question is that? How much longer do you think Jason and Piper are going to last?"

"What?"

"His much longer will they last? It's doomed, my bets are another week or two before one of them snaps." Will thought back to the two of them, he didn't know either of them that well but he normally never would have guessed they're together.

"Umm... I haven't really thought about it but I guess another month maybe month and a half. Favorite book?"

"Ernesto, it was impossible to find and even harder to read since it was all in bad handwriting and dyslexia didn't exactly help. Also if I was caught with it I would have to spend months in the church but I still managed to get through it." Nico remembered finding the first page somewhere on the floor and picking it up, desperately trying to find out where it was from. It took him months to find one and about a year to read that one but he remembered the plot word for word. He could remember sneaking out at dawn to read it before anyone else was up, it was like that for half a year, waking up every morning to read it and then hide it from his mum and Bianca, he didn't know how he never got caught. "Do you like being in the infirmary all the time, I swear you never take a break."

"Yeah, I like being able to help people. Also I'm the only healer so I try to not put anyone else in the Apollo cabin have to be in here too much, I mean normally it's Kay and Aussi but sometimes we have other people in here. What's your favorite season?"

"Winter, I love the rain also I hate the sun."

"Heyyy!"

"Sorry Sunshine, it's the truth, when have you ever seen me outside willingly? What's your favorite song?"

"Probably... Pretend."

"Sing it?" Nico said laying down on his lap, looking up at him.

"Tonight my self-respect went out the window

It didn't stay for long

But I figured I'd be wrong

So, don't come close

My heart is rather clueless

I don't know why I do this But just once more

Let's close the door and play pretend

More than a glance

More than a friend

I'll close the door and play with you

Is that what you want me to do I'll do what you want me to do

Hit me up

It's fine, Mil pause my healing

It's all part of our truce

Oh, the sweet smell of abuse So, please don't go

My life is going backwards

No room in it for you But this bed fits two

Let's close the door and play pretend

More than a glance

More than a friend

I'll close the door and play with you

Is that what you want me to do I'll do what you want me to do

Why do I want it too?

I should be running from you

Why do I want it?

Oh, I want it too

Let's close the door and play pretend

More than a glance

More than a friend

I'll close the door and play with you

Is that what you want me to do

I'll do what you want me to do" Nico stared into his eyes, mesmerised by the blonde boy's voice. Will smiled, planting a kiss on his forehead."If you could have one wish, what would it be?"

"I'd bring Hazel's mother back, she deserves to see her again."

"Not your own?"

"I'd rather make her happy; do you play any sports."

"I love playing soccer but there isn't really time with being in the infirmary."

"You mean football?"

"No I mean soccer...?"

"Soccer is football, the abomination of a sport you have here that you call football is rip off rugby."

"I would argue with that but I really can't, there's basically no difference between the two sports. But it's definitely soccer."

"All Americans are dumb and that is the hill I will die on, you kick the ball with your foot, that's why it's called football. Where did soccer come from?"

"I don't know but it sounds better."

"It really doesn't Solace; just ask the next question, I can't afford to lose any more brain cells."

"Rude, but what's your favorite time of day?"

"Sunset, who's your favorite out of the seven?

"Probably Annie, but I talk to Leo a lot, mainly because he's here a lot."

"Can't imagine why." Nico said speaking in fluent sarcasm,

"What's your fatal flaw?"

"Holding grudges."

"How am I not surprised? Also that was the last question."

"Good, I was starting to run out of ideas."

"Same though," Will glanced down at his watch, "Neeks, it's almost lunch time. I want you to try eating just a tiny bit, stop whenever you feel sick, but could you try?" He half nodded, dreading what would come next.

***

______

Sorry again for the wait, I got distracted

I'll be honest I was running out of questions at the end

If you're still reading comment your Hogwarts house

May the odds be ever in your favour

-Siri

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shanmthebrave · 4 months ago

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“Are you ready, Leo~?”

“I’m always ready, Azucena.”

“Hehe, great!”

The literal definition of Yapper x Listener - An Leo x Azucena (AzuLeo appreciation/persuasive post) -TEKKEN 8-

~TW - HE/HIM LEO~

Like, Azucena would yap about coffee and Leo wouldn’t mind :)

His laugh and the way he casually answers Azucena that he’s from Germany WHILE IGNORING THE FACT THEY’RE IN A WAR-ZONE BECAUSE THAT DON’T MATTER WHEN YOUR FAV COFFEE CELEBRITY IS IN FRONT OF YOU

Bro she’s gonna send you coffee for being a fan, like a good celebrity doessss

Also he’s ignoring the fact for a moment that she’s with G-Corp…and also also asking at the end what her true purpose was…

Tbh to me Azu’s purpose with this sudden conversation was either:

She really wants to promote her coffee ☕️

Or she finds Leo interesting (Whether Platonic or Romantic)

Either way, we can leave it to imagination :) but I’d always pick red or both

CAN WE ALSO NOT IGNORE THE FACT THAT SHE GAVE LEO A WINK AND BLEW A KISSSSS?! ACKKKKKK

Their only interaction in the story has implied that Leo already knew Azucena before their canonical encounter. Their lines during chapter 10 are proof contributing to this:

Observation from their Chapter 10 interaction:

An instant recognition, Leo’s got good observation skills. He’s kinda shocked that she’s with G-Corp. Understandable, since the people in G-Corp are pretty bad people, and seeing Azu, a person who he knows well for her coffee (only revealed after the fight), working for them, his shock becomes understandable.

Azucena’s motives confuse Leo, as she’s promoting her coffee by working with G-Corp, the company that well, 💀 his mom. Ouch.

Despite that, after their fight, Leo reveals that he’s a a fan of her coffee. AND AZUCENA FINDS HER FELLOW COFFEE DRINKER!

She offers to make a special order for him, and LEAVES THE FIGHT WITHOUT CONSIDERING ITS A WAR-ZONE, IS SHE EVEN OKAY?!

Well she is seen in the good ending so we can assume that yes she did make it

Leo is just standing there, confused as to what her real purpose was (which I covered in the point above)

Now, let’s talk about their lines during their fight and their meaning behind it, and compare this interaction to Leo’s fight with Jin:

When Leo successfully lands a hit, he says lines to try and diffuse the fight, rather then try to continue the counter offensive, unlike what he did with Jin, where his distrust in him is evident.

He says: “Open your eyes!” And “There’s no reason for us to fight!” Clearly showing that he doesn’t wanna fight Azucena. Rather, to convince her to stop siding with G-Corp.

Unlike his fight with Azucena, his interaction with Jin is a tad more hostile, as we know Jin did some pretty messed up stuff, which provoked Leo to initiate a spar with him. However, Azucena chose to fight Leo instead, when he clearly didn’t want to.

Now, let’s chat abt Azucena’s POV. She really just wants to promote her coffee, but also broaden her horizons for new blends, perhaps. Maybe find a fellow coffee enthusiast or a strong opponent (latter is the most likely motive).

When Azucena lands a hit, she only has one line: “Come on, let’s have some fun!” AS IF THIS ISNT A WAR ZONE AND ITS A FRIENDLY SPAR.

She seems to enjoy fighting Leo. This is especially shown when she gets defeated and flips back, exclaiming “You’re pretty good!” As if acknowledging his skill.

This pretty much shows that the entire time, she was fighting for fun, forgetting that she got herself into a war. It makes me laugh inside tbh. Haha.

Oh you think we’re done? Nope cuz we’re covering a lil bit about their character episodes too!

Leo meets Azucena in the final stage. Huh. What a coincidence.

There’s not much to say in this, other than the fact that both of them fight Yoshimitsu in the first stage. lol.

✨Special Interactions!!!!✨

Is there really any points we can make?! It’s so cute! And random…but funny and quite welcoming.

It’s not everyday someone encounters you and declares themself the coffee queen and tries to KICK you while you try to process everything (lol)

The pure surprise in Leo’s face never fails to make me laugh. Bro looks so perplexed and afraid 😭

And Azucena kicking him without warning is so random and even more silly, like give this man some time to process you woman 😂

When Azucena wins, she tells Leo that a good coffee takes time to brew, as if encouraging him that he’s doing great and he will get better, like a sparring partner that gives him feedback.

On Leo’s end, he’s awfully happy he won and says it’s time for a coffee break, something he says ONLY when he wins against Azucena. It’s as if fighting her reminds him of his liking for coffee.

Now, I will give my reasons why I love shipping Azucena and Leo together.

They have cute/canon interactions

The relationship has potential

Special intro pass

They relate over the one thing that got them together: COFFEE

Leo likes her products and is a big fan of her.

Azucena seems to enjoy his presence and wants to encourage him to get stronger.

Even tho Azucena sided (formerly) with G-Corp (not confirmed if she stopped working with them), Leo’s pretty chill and is willing to forgive her (Seeing as he forgave Jin, a literal war criminal)

It’s just cute. It’s so random, it’s adorable

It also just works in a way. They’re the literal definition of Yapper x Listener

She would yap to Leo about coffee and whatnot and he’d be so chill with her.

A cute, energetic girl with a shy, gentle boy trope, dominant girlies with gentle boys are just so funny and adorable to watch.

Welp, I can’t add any more photos and I’m running out of ideas, so in conclusion, the points I want to make is:

- AzuLeo is a very cute ship

- It’s hella under appreciated

- It may be random, but who says we can’t ship what we want and promote them?

- I love these two coffee lovers

- BANDAI NAMCO, GIVE THEM MORE SCENES TOGETGER, AND I WILL BE HAPPY. PLEASE!

- Azucena is overhated. Period.

- The creators of Tekken said we can call Leo any gender we want cuz Leo is…Leo. So I’ll call him a male.

I don’t rlly expect people to like the ship after this post. And that’s okay with me. As long as I’m happy and passionate posting what I like. ❤️

If you made it here, thanks for reading through my entire ship post haha. I hope you will start to like this ship or perhaps tolerate it if you hate it. Whatever happens, or if your opinion doesn’t change, at least I’ll be happy, cuz I spoke my mind on something I like :)

#tekken 8 #tekken #azucena ortiz #leo kliesen #shipping #azuleo #leo x azucena #yapping #i love them sm #coffee ☕️#appreciation post

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jamiesfootball · 2 years ago

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The super longest post about Keeley and her relationships: featuring interesting parallels between Keeley and Jamie, how her and Jamie's perspectives on their relationship is an inverse mirror, why Roy Kent, and other ramblings.

Heavy on the Keeley.

(woohoo boy this is a super long one I am not kidding. this is so long i busted out the laptop so I could add a readmore for you fools. you’re welcome)

Starting with the depressing bottom:

Jamie having a bad sexual experience with an adult that he didn’t choose in a very male-specific situation.

Keeley choosing something sexual with a teacher in a very woman-specific situation and the adult teacher not only letting it happen but also making it worse.

So we have two people with… not great experiences in their history, and their experiences are layered like a burrito in how other people perceive them through the lens of their gender. And yet somehow our cute little muffins battled on, and by the time the show starts they are 1) together and 2) freaking adorable, but 3) have a tendency to put sex first in a relationship (more on that later).

It’s adorable, flirty, fun sex definitely, but it also collapses pretty quick when Keeley begins starts making a relationships with what are arguably two of the most important people in her life: Rebecca and Roy.

First - Rebecca.

One can extrapolate from the context given in the show that before Rebecca, the friends Keeley had were industry-related acquaintances and other famous people. Not serious, sensible people. No disrespect to Sally, but while Silly Rebecca is a delight I think what drew Keeley in her general awe of Rebecca was how inner strength and outer persona were so intertwined. She was a formidable, self-sufficient, boss-ass-bitch. While Keeley clearly possesses an enormous amount of inner strength, she (as the script says) is used to people judging her book by her cover.

It's as she gets to know Rebecca - who is kind and thoughtful and caring behind that initial cold exterior - it's Rebecca who asks Keeley the probing, important questions, like why she's settled for messing around with someone who on the surface makes for a very shallow relationship.

Keeley's answer? For shallow reasons. Jamie is young and fit and fun, and Keeley's been stuck in the cycle of finding young-fit-fun for so long that she's actually lost track of the fact that one of those is beginning to not apply to her. Her joke about being Leo DiCaprio isn't entirely a joke - in industries of fashion and fame, it's pretty common for people to stop emotionally maturing around the age that they get famous.

So Rebecca asks 'what about accountability?' and that's the true start of Keeley's journey, because until someone said it, she didn't know how to put to words what it was she needed. And what she needed was room to grow, room to have a stable, normal, and dare I say adult relationship.

Enter Roy Kent.

Their initial interactions are loaded with fun, flirty chemistry, but two instances in particular resonated with Keeley: the scene in the club and the scene where he told her he didn't appreciate being used as a pawn in her relationship at the auction. And while the club is pivotal for Roy as a leader, I think the moment that sunk Keeley was when, amidst all of the team drama going on, he took a second to just stop and... acknowledge her. He didn't come there for her, she wasn't in his direct focus, but she was there, and for someone who's probably used to feeling a bit like arm candy? It felt like respect. Score a point for Roy Kent.

The second scene is a case of Roy 'accidentally putting his best foot forward at the right time' because she's pissed at Jamie, arguing about accountability, and then there's Roy demanding the same accountability from her. He challenges Keeley and Keeley does not back down. She jumps head first into accountability and it fits like a glove.

And just like that, it's over between her and Jamie.

BUT. BUT. Keeley and Jamie have been broken up since episode 4 and we’re still getting new facets to their relationship!

One of those interesting facets that’s come to light is that Keeley has a habit of downplaying to other people that her and Jamie's relationship had any emotional components at all. Before and after they break up, she always refocuses any mention of Jamie in the conversation towards the sexual:

“Now I’m in my 30s and I’m still dating a 23 year old footballer.”

“[To Jamie] Babe, if [bankers] looked like that, then we wouldn’t be together.”

“I just wanna know if I can bang him.” “Well you’ll have to ask him, it’s his dick, isn’t it?”

“Five out of five: would break again.”

And like, she tells Roy that she hooked up with Jamie to get back at Roy because she was hurt that he left her on read after a really fucking good kiss, but then you look at her face in that scene and that's not entirely true is it Keeley?

When Jamie stops by her house, Keeley's face is NOT that of someone plotting anything. That is not the face of someone who's bummed their crush might not like them and is looking for a rebound (well it is at first a bit).

But Jamie comes over and she. is. CHARMED. He's here to thank her for being so excellent to him all the time, and taking him to plays, and putting work into him that he didn't appreciate before. He's not even here for a hookup - she offers him a drink and he's just like 'nah, thanks tho'. He's basically out the door before he realizes what she's implying.

And that's the thing - the second sex is off the table between them is when their relationship actually begins to shine. She’s constantly charmed by his total… Jamie-ness. Like saying ‘you’re welcome’ when she says he made it easy to break up. Like seeming ambivalent about the break up, but then cheering when Keeley is still willing to help with his beer ad campaign. Stripped of the sexual connotations of a relationship, his honest appreciation of her is endearing. But that's it. She's refocused on Roy, and she's not looking at Jamie anymore as an option. That book is closed.

Now. Jamie.

Poor fucking Jamie, who has a history of losing a good thing right when he was starting to understand that he had one to lose (see: getting transferred from Richmond, losing Keeley).

Where Keeley has spent most of their post-break up intellectualizing that her relationship with Jamie was mostly just a sexual fling, Jamie has spent more of their post-break up time realizing that not only was their relationship was more emotional than he thought, but that its the kind of connection he wants in the first place. It's clear from post break-up day one that he still wants Keeley around, even if it's not as a girlfriend. Where she's dismissing things between them as having been shallow, Jamie is sitting there going 'she took me to plays, she listens to me when I talk about what's bothering me, she gives me advice. She's kind. I could always turn to her when I needed help. I miss her.'

It's as if before, they both found comfort in focusing on the sexual aspects of their relationships, so neither of them really tried for anything more.

And then Keeley went off to have an emotional relationship with Roy, and Jamie had to come to terms that that’s….what that is. That’s what a real, emotional relationship looks like. And it turns out he wants that. He feels left behind. And yeah, he was jealous. Why wouldn't he be jealous? He's never had anything like that before, and now it looks like the person he used to be with actually wanted that the whole time and he was just too. Fucking late.

So he's just been a big old confused ball of feelings since they broke up. They broke up, and then they slept together. His hopes got up a bit, and then she's dating Roy Kent. At some point he deletes her number. Then he's confused and alone, and he tracks her down to a cafe in London and she gives him good advice about talking to Ted to get back onto the team. And then he's confused again, because what's the trick? He's alone and everyone at Richmond hates him. He goes to Keeley for advice, and this time she doesn't talk to him- she drops him on a therapist instead. Maybe it's not a trick then. Her and Roy actually seem fucking happy. What the fuck?

And I know it in my bones that the moment he decided to delete rest of the pictures? Had to land square between The Hug at Wembley and confessing to Roy that he told Keeley he loved her. Because at some point him and Roy Kent came to a tentative understanding, and Roy started treating him like a real human person, and then it wasn't just about being hung up on his Keeley. Because there was someone else involved, and that person could get hurt if Jamie didn't back all the way off. It occurred to him that there was something to destroy, and he didn't want to be that person. He had to stop lying to himself that things were ever gonna go back. He deleted the rest of the pictures and videos of her, and he just has to live with the fact that he likes her, yes. But he also likes Roy now too.

And THAT'S how you be accountable to the people around you. Not just by stepping up to do the right thing, but by stepping back and making sure you don't do the wrong thing.

Like deciding to follow Roy instead of Keeley when he finds out they've broken up.

Jamie knows he's charming, and he knows that Keeley finds him charming. But he also knows that Roy is hurting. How could he not be? Keeley just broke up with him. Except she didn't, he broke up with her. And yet Roy's still hurting.

And Jamie. Sweet fucking Muppet he is. Decides to do the right thing. He empathizes with Roy. Let's him lick his wounds. Takes him to see a fucking windmill. And he stays away from Keeley, who's already told him before that she has trouble turning him away. He doesn't even tempt that.

For Keeley and Roy, I think it's fair to say they were each other's first real, serious relationship. And they grew and learned together as a couple. But without Roy, Keeley has new eyes for what she wants, and she can't help but notice now that some of what she wants? That's in Jamie now.

She doesn't go there either. She maintains her distance. Why wouldn't she? She's never the one that goes to Jamie.

Now. The rebound.

Keeley did the bravest thing a person can do after a break up. She took a new road. She met someone she had a good feeling with. They hit it off.

Jack. Jack who is fun and fit and makes her laugh. Someone who's a bit cheeky, sometimes a little inappropriate, assertive about what they want, and fucking hot in a suit jacket without an undershirt. Intense eyes.

Checkmarks all across. Exactly Keeley's type. But it wasn't quite working.

Keeley was going through the all the motions of an emotional connection in the hopes that it would bloom. But she's playing the game one handed. She's still got her heart in her hand over Roy, and then there's Jack and she wants it to work with Jack, she does, because on paper Jack is great! Sure Jack doesn't challenge her the way Roy did, never frustrates her like Jamie did, never seems to need anything at all from Keeley really. But Jack is full of big romantic gestures that make Keeley feel adored! With Jack she can just have fun and relax! Jack's a great rebound.

But Jack doesn't make her feel like she's been struck by lightning, does she? Maybe she could have, one day. And Keeley is willing to try - that's all you can do after a break up, is try. But she's trying to make it work with someone who is very much the Type of Person she used to like and there's something missing.

And then there's these little moments. Where the differences creep in and in until things split apart.

Jack takes Keeley out to fancy restaurants. On their first date, Roy took her home to cook for her.

Jack's 'that was so fucking hot' moment was telling the office that her and Keeley were dating when Keeley said she was feeling unsure. Roy's 'that was so fucking hot' moment was listening to Keeley when she said she needed space and going to read his book on the couch.

Jack says about the video leak 'I will take care of this' and Keeley believe her. Then she gave Keeley a press statement and an disbelieving 'how would i get it down? it's the internet'. The lawyers helped, but Keeley would have to do all the work.

On their first date, Roy threatened a paparazzi and stole their sim card.

(He also held her hand. It’s such a simple, almost childish gesture but he really did love holding her hand all the time.)

Jack prioritized social appearances over her relationship with Keeley. Roy once gave Keeley a video of him crying at a press conference just so she could have a wank.

Roy fucked up when he asked who the video was for. But you can not say that if it were him in Jack's position, that he would not have gone through ridiculous extremes to have made Keeley feel better. Whatever she fucking wanted. He'd probably release a video of himself masturbating if it he thought it'd take the pressure off of her. When that man is committed, there is no half measure.

But he doesn't have the right to that anymore, does he? And it's his doing. And all he can do - the most he can do without crossing any boundary - is '''''casually''''' run into Keeley in the parking lot and try to offer a quick word. He's dying inside that he can't do more.

And he fucks it up so bad. Ironically, his fucking up this time is what allows Jamie to put his best foot forward.

Keeley Jones. Hurting. Single again. Bitter. Let's be real - fucking traumatized. Because that shit hurts, and it's happened before when she was younger, and it's happening again. She was shaking when she first saw the leak. Couldn't even finish the video. And she's right on the money when she says she feels like she's fifteen again - because she's reliving the same damn bullshit and she's still having to argue for her own autonomy.

And who shows up at her doorstep (shaded in soft colors to match Keeley's earlier outfit, her whole aesthetic)? Jamie Tartt, the one the video was actually for. The one who is fucking kicking himself because he knows he got rid of those - even though they were special to him. He got rid of them because it was the right thing to do, and he came here to apologize because it's the right thing to do.

Jamie Tartt isn't entirely new to her - he's still painfully Jamie. He kinda drifts off on a tangent about himself for a bit. He's still so easy to read. Him showing up for her is new; but his sweetness is not. And he doesn't say the right things always. But he is there for her, and he fucking cares that she's hurting. And if part of that was on him, then he's here to claim that part and apologize. Because it's not her fault.

Again, with the words you don't know you need to hear until you hear them. This from the guy who used to have near-topless photos of her (although only her, eleven pictures all of her) all over his locker. But those are the photos that she chose to do, and she is proud of them, and they always matched sexually, didn't they?

And now they're talking again, for the first time in a while. And it's because of a sex video that she sent him. Yet somehow, for the first time in their relationship, there's....no sex. None. Not even a vibe of it. For once, they're on the same page, seeing each other clearly, and sex is off the table.

It's nice. It's a good look on them. It's downright loving.

Keeley Jones had a no good, terrible bad couple of days, but Jamie Tartt made it a little better.

Let them be close. Let them care for each other, however that looks for him. If it grows, so be it. They've all grown this season - Roy, Keeley, and Jamie. All it takes to fail is for all parties to stop trying, and there's no one here who isn't trying.

Also another bit that I couldn't quite flesh out the way I wanted to:

Jack cancelled a family meetup because of Keeley's scandal. Roy wouldn't cancel on his niece even if it meant missing Sexy Christmas. Something about the commitment of it all. Something.

#keeley jones #jamie tartt #roy kent #did I lose the thread?#it feels like I did but I had a lot to say #keeley jones is also a work in progmess #obviously so is Roy #jamie may be in progmess until he dies - there's a lot of mess in that boy #but god my feelings for all three of them #just let them be happy #all of them equally happy #please #ted lasso meta #ted lasso spoilers #i hope some of this made sense because it took forever to write and i am NOT rereading it for proofing #ted lasso

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nerves-nebula · 2 years ago

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2012 has so much room for character analysis. And analysis in general.

I watched it when It was coming out on tv and have been rewatching it for the past couple months very slowwwllllyyyy. Shshsbbdd

Anyway I'm just getting nna ramble my analysis in your direction.

Starting with Mikey! Par tof the reason people sorta cling to Mikey I think is cuz like, splinter sorta ignores him.

It's this sorta odd thing going on where we have scenes like splinter telling Donnie to act more like Mikey cuz he's thinking to much and it's impeding his abilities cuz he's overthinking. Which, is an attempt to address Donnie's anxiety albeit in not the best way but it sorta worked?

Which means splinter is acknowledging mikeys fighting prowess. And that Mikey not thinking to hard and just doing is a good skill to be able to execute.

But ALSO, we get a scene of when the boys first got their weapons, and splinter tells everyone why they're getting what weapon, and why they'll enjoy it. Except Mikey. Mikey just gets nunchucks. Which, is dead ass the hardest weapon to wield there so what the fuck dude?

And Mikey is, so fuckin smart. His brain just in Canon goes too fast for him to remember words and shit. He's so adhd frfr

But Leo is dead ass the golden child. Like, everyone asked to be leader, cuz they are teen boys, but splints chose Leo cuz "he asked for it" and then instills all his ideals in him! He's treated like he's the best at everything and is expected to be the best at everything AND to care for his brothers. And he can only feels like he doesn't really have a life. Which leads into the whole Leo develops a crush on his half sister while not knowing she's his half sister nonsense.

Donnie is just, he's the smart one. He's stressed all the time, but also a. Fucking simp who is never reprimanded by his dad for how he treats april, which he really should be! Having mindmap of every possible way an interaction could go with her is creepy! And literally stalking her!!!! Donnie's also the one who deals with Timothy and he gets in trouble for it with splints despite not even wanting to be dealing with it himself. It's a mess.

Raph has just, obvious anger issues. And splinter does not address them in a healthy way frequently. It's a lot of, "just breathe" and Raph is just: "I want to punch someone or something yesterday."

OH and splint sets his brothers shoot him with plungers while yelling at him and roah like, has a whole ass panic attack. That manifests aggressively cuz raphs anger oh so obviously comes from anxiety. But splinter like never picks up on that.

2012 splints treats the boys like students more then sons ALOT. But also cares about them enough to do shit like, break brain control cuz he didn't wanna kill them ✌️

I could probably word that better but I'm still a little high on laughing gas rn cuz I just had a dentist appointment.

yall be out here writing fandom dissertations & shit after going to the DENTIST yknow what I do after going to the dentist??? lay around in mild agony cause my sensitive ass teeth hurt...

anyway these are fun times.

i still cant get over the fact that i made my neglected turtles stay underground and never go out as a way to reflect my weird family isolation as a kid and then i watched the first ep of 2012 and it was like "yea they're fifteen and they've never left the sewers. they only know each other" and im LIKE!! WHAT!! THEY'VE LITERALLY ALMOST FINISHED PUBERTY AND THEY NEVER LEFT THEIR HOME???? THEY ONLY KNOW EACH OTHER????

i dont think the writers understand how fucked up that makes you and your relationships to people and its just like a part of the turtles story i guess???

LIKE THINKING ABOUT IT, I GET IT, and im sure thats how it is in a lot of tmnt iterations, but thats crazy. these boys would be so fucked up irl.

sorry for the ramble i just aint got much to say about ur analysis, cant say if i agree or not cause i aint even watched much 2012 lol.

#nnstuff #ask #tmnt 2012

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lazypanartist · 2 years ago

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Can you tell me, do you enjoy hurting people?

I don't believe you -

Do you enjoy killing?

I'll kill you!

What? Like you did our brother?

Take his name out of your mouth.

Leo I'm -

He died to protect both of us.

You're as much to blame as I am.

-----

Based off a friend's TikTok animation!

Here's the video

⚠️ Warnings ⚠️: mentions of death, dysfunctional family dynamic, shifting blame, no resolution, angst

-----

Donnie's fingers clenched with the memory. The familiar weight of his staff sat in his hand, but the rest of it was still.. there. The smoke, the dust, the screaming.

Raph's sacrifices were never just for himself, and oftentimes, for more than just his family. Risking his tail for Cassandra and her child, the chipped edges of his shell reminding everyone of every time he leapt in the way of danger. His arm, dutifully crafted by Donnie after Raph dragged Mikey out of the path of a building's fall, was specifically armored to help prevent further injuries.

But his final moments couldn't have been avoided with any amount of armor or padding. Leo's plan, his own role.. Raph's body on the crushed pavement..

Donnie jerked with the weight of a hand on his shoulder, turning to meet Mikey's eyes. The movement grounded him, just barely enough to feel his own hands shake. The younger turtle offered a smile, if only to help calm him down.

Donnie paused, turning back towards Leo. He had turned away. Ever the headstrong leader, he still loathed confrontation of the emotional sort.

"He would have done it for anybody." Leo murmered. "Risk his arm, his shell, his life." He whipped back around, brow furrowing.

"So why try and blame me?"

"Calm down, please!" Mikey stepped between the pair now, bands stretched between them. "It wasn't the fault of either of you!"

Donnie scoffed, face tensing from upset to steeled. "Of course it wasn't. Because the four of us together lasted this long, saved so many others because HE was there to protect us! And now HE'S GONE. Because Leo's plan fell through, AGAIN." He gave his twin a pointed look, watching with empty satisfaction as the leader's expression twisted into a scowl. "And now, we're screwed."

"Because YOU didn't warn any of us about the Kraang's movements!" Leo pointed at him, finger wavering. "If you had told us that Sister left her post.." his voice was wavering now. "We might have stood a chance. HE might have stood a chance."

Mikey's arms had fallen to his sides sometime during the twins' argument. Even older, wiser, leaders of war.. once the family was outside the eyes of those they had helped or led, they devolved back to this.. mess. Barely functional adults with the military power to lead.

It would have been funny, if it wasn't so.. pathetic.

"He died because he was shielding you!" Donnie's voice was less accusatory now, shaking even more terribly than his hands.

"He and I were only open like that because Sister knew it'd be an easy shot." Leo shook his head, his own hand falling now. "And she was right."

The siblings were all silent now. The tension the twins had held for one another was gone. Mikey no longer needed to stop their childish bickering.. at the cost of several minutes of screaming and fighting and finger pointing.

His hands were still, unlike those of his older brothers. A quiet voice in the back of his mind mentioned it may have to do with his gift, and he pushed them aside. His subconscious voice could wait.

"I'm sorry." Donnie mumbled. Leo nodded in acknowledgement, sighing deeply as a hand came up to flick his mask tails over his shoulder.

"We're a mess." He glanced up, grinning. Mikey laughed quietly. "Complete and utter disasters."

"The pinnacle of leadership, really."

Donnie huffed. "Honestly? I'm surprised we all made it so far. I thought you'd die first."

"Hey!" Leo's grin widened for a moment before falling completely, the family falling into silence once again. None of the brothers knew what to say..

But nothing they could possibly say would ever bring Raph back.

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crossdressingdeath · 2 years ago

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The thing that bothers me most about the fandom acting like Percy and Nico have this really close, sweet, mutually supportive relationship that's usually actually Jason and Nico's relationship with Percy slapped on top but never mind that is... honestly for me the most compelling part of their relationship is just how incredibly fucked it is? It's this one-sided unhealthy mess that's leading Nico further and further down a path of self-destruction and the whole time he knows he is never going to get out of it anywhere near what he's putting in but he can't stop himself (even though some of his thoughts in BoO suggest he wants to) and Percy seems at best only vaguely aware of how badly he's hurting this person who's only ever wanted to help him, but neither of them are bad people. It's an unhealthy relationship where both the people involved are fundamentally good people who do not want to hurt anyone. Their relationship is not mutually supportive or even all that close, and is frankly hanging on by a thread made entirely of messy history that occasionally feels like the aftermath of a bad breakup without them ever actually dating (you can't tell me that Percy talking shit about Nico while the Argo II was en route to rescue him and despite the members of the Seven who didn't know Nico already distrusting him doesn't have just a few "ex-boyfriend who's still kind of bitter about it" vibes)! And neither of them are happy with this situation, but neither of them know how to take the first step towards fixing it! That's something you don't see very often in kids' media!

Now, I don't know how much of that was intentional on Rick's part (the bit where the writing lowkey suggests that the only thing messing up their relationship is Nico not having told Percy that he used to have a crush on him makes me just a little uncomfortable and I hope TSatS goes more into all the other stuff between them, for example Percy making zero attempts to defend Nico when Leo and Jason question his loyalties and in fact almost certainly making things worse with the disturbing stories he canonically told them about Nico, which I am literally never going to be over). But I find Nico and Percy's canon dynamic fascinating, because it shows sides of them that we don't usually get to see. Percy's treatment of Nico shows a dark side to his devotion to His Group Specifically (what happens if you're not considered part of Percy's group specifically? Percy's got some really strong "fuck you, got mine" energy at times that does not get acknowledged enough) that can only be showcased with a character like Nico who's vitally important but not technically part of the group! Meanwhile Nico's unfaltering loyalty and devotion to Percy even though he knows it's bad for him and even though he hates himself for it says a lot about him as a person (and I'd argue gives more of a hint about his actual fatal flaw than Bianca's little talk about grudges does; this boy's fatal flaw is self-sacrifice, not holding grudges, and I will die on this hill)! And it just feels like a shame to drop that for your standard protective older brother dynamic that doesn't fit the established relationship at all, especially when half the time it feels like the people doing this just don't want to acknowledge that Percy isn't perfect all the time outside of minor Protagonist Flaws like being mildly insecure at times and being a little dense. Basically I want more fucked up relationships where both parties are good people who haven't got a single solitary idea how to fix it but don't want to take the massive step of cutting the relationship off entirely and trying to rebuild it from the ground up! Stop taking away one of the really good examples of that I've got, dammit!

#riordanverse #...does this count as anti percy? i don't know #i love him in everything except his treatment of nico in which he is Simply The Worst

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white-light-on-my-prism · 2 years ago

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Tagged by the lovely @letters-from-transylvania 🤍🤍

Name: I go by Lavanya(he/she/they) in the football fandom because why not? Also because she's one of my favourite fictional characters moulded by the one and only Rabindranath Tagore, the love of my life.

Birthday: 28th of May!

Zodiac sign: gemini according to western astrology and leo according to Hindu astrology, but I am way too ignorant about astrology to understand what either of those mean for me.

Hobbies: wayy too many holy shit, can you tell I'm neurodivergent? I LOVE MUSIC, so... it's not a hobby it's worship for me, and I don't care if it sounds corny. I was pursuing fashion as a career but now I've switched my majors so I guess it's a hobby? And writing is a hobby which I want to transform into a career going ahead. Nail art is a proper hobby though. It just exists and I do it and I enjoy it thoroughly. Picking out gay subtext from every piece of literature I ever– *gets shot*

Favourite colour: Blue and pink on the main, but I find anything softly vibrant to be visually appealing.

Favourite book: Sherlock Holmes. Everything of Sherlock. Everything of Poirot except 'Curtain' because spoiler alert he dies and he's not allowed to do that. I'm quite into Greek myth though a lot of that shit is messed up, but so am I. Recently read the second book of 'Aristotle and Dante' series, those two books SLAY SO SO HARD.

Last song I listened to: 'Still Alive' by Demi Lovato, it just came out and it's a punk rock masterpiece. Demetria🤌✨️

Last movie I watched: 'Is love enough? Sir' directed by Rohena Gera. It's in hindi and the artistry in the film it top notch. An excellent commentary on societal class divide, privilege, dreams, hopes, love and the complications that arise when all these intersect.

Something that helps people: Some wisdom I gathered from recent personal experience– acknowledge the negative impact of other people's actions on your life, and do not be afraid to take steps accordingly. Doesn't matter if the person did it completely unintentionally, doesn't matter if everybody around you says that they're "an angel" and they would "never do that to anyone" even though they did it to you, doesn't matter if even you genuinely believe that they're a good person and they didn't mean it. It still happened. And it affected you negatively. People can be the best people ever and still act in a shitty way on occasion because we are humans, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't be held accountable. So don't be afraid to admit it to yourself, or call it out, don't feel compelled to accept their apology, especially if their behavior doesn't change going forward, and don't shy away from drawing boundaries. You may lose friends in the process, people may attack you to defend them and it may hurt a whole lot, but, you owe it to yourself to not put up with bullshit, including unintended bullshit.

Meaning behind my url: I used to be a passionate science gay bb as a middle schooler lol. Had to let go of that part of me because of some traumatic experiences which are ☠️☠️ better not talked about but... I've always thought of the dispersion of light by prism experiment as a symbol of queer liberation for obvious reasons. That's where the url is from :)).

Tagging: @neyxmessi @ispeakmorelanguagesthanyou @dykes4neymar @emmacarsword @krocodilf if y'all haven't already done this, I'd love to get to know you but nothing compulsory. And anybody else seeing this, you're tagged!

#tag game

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selenafreshfriendkidoaf · 2 years ago

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Should you expect your partner to give you emotional support

Zodiac signs can provide us with a compelling thought of what we really want inwardly. Every individual might feel that they need a few things or others, yet together, the signs give us many hints. Not we all open up to other people and determine what befalls us or what we feel about it. Hopefully you will find somewhat more about the feelings of the signs. Figure out how to comprehend what each sign requirements sincerely from its accomplice.

Should you expect your partner to give you emotional support

Aries

Aries is unconstrained thus at the exact second while getting drawn to somebody, will experience passionate feelings for. They are audacious in affection. They are the ones who generally care about their accomplices and put stock in the declaration of affection for their accomplices. For instance, they might make a special effort to satisfy their accomplice. They are red hot and fun. Freshness is what they search for in their adoration relationship. The Aries are brave in nature and active in nature. Along these lines, they love arranging unconstrained trips with their accomplices. They like to rule in an adoration relationship and want a compliant accomplice. You try not to mess around in affection. They like to be spoiled and really focused on by their accomplices, and this is the thing they request in adoration.

Taurus

Taurus is an admirer of extravagance yet is a faithful accomplice. They don't effortlessly feel the actual draw toward somebody so rapidly. They like to be cherished by somebody, and as far as they might be concerned, the individual ought to be the one with whom they can settle down. They need to have an actual fascination toward the beginning of the relationship. They are the ones who, for their accomplices, can go up to any degree and embrace better approaches to start sentiment and love in their accomplice. They are the ones who like appreciation and investing quality energy with their accomplice. Exceptionally possessive of their accomplices on account of adoration. They are extremely specific about their experience with their accomplices in affection or their connections.

Gemini

Gemini is a pioneer and doesn't effortlessly become hopelessly enamored. Being the individual who gets exhausted rapidly doesn't allow them to fall effectively enamored. In any case, when they fall head over heels, they do it without limit. They are the ones who are carefree and social. They love dating in such an example that they can be engaged and locked in. In this way, a functioning time with their accomplice in which they can effectively partake and think carefully is what they search for. They appreciate moving around, and as of now, they require an accomplice who can go with them. They are the ones who search for suddenness, change, and energy in their affection life. Along these lines, astonishing dates and new investigations are what they appreciate in their adoration life.

Malignant growth

Malignant growth is delicate and doesn't effectively become hopelessly enamored, yet they have a ton of adoration to give when they experience passionate feelings for. They need an accomplice who figures out them. At the point when they get such an accomplice, they are prepared to give themselves completely to their accomplice. They are ready to give everything in affection, yet assumptions from the accomplice are fundamentally less. They are great at affection and require sentiment, making them alluring and baffling. They like to have an efficient brightened date at the beach or at home with home-prepared food to go with a wine to set for an ideal treat for their accomplice. One of the most faithful zodiac signs. They are the ones who can give for what seems like forever to the relationship and are 100 percent faithful to their accomplices. They are personal and extraordinary, significant and modest.

Leo

Individuals who are not difficult to focus on and acknowledge their relationship with all difficulties and challenges. At the point when their self images get topped off, they are fast choice takers and can undoubtedly experience passionate feelings for such an accomplice. They are extremely striking individuals and leave no step unturned in communicating their adoration for their accomplice. They like when significance is given to them by their accomplice, and they like to communicate their sentiments. They are dependably the ones who can go on some unacceptable side assuming their accomplice leans toward some unacceptable side. Their unwaveringness assists them to make areas of strength for a with their accomplice. They are the ones who long for autonomy and maintain that their sentiments should be regarded. Appreciation and playing with their accomplices are what they search for in their accomplices.

Virgo

They are the ones who don't effectively fall head over heels. They need the things perfectly positioned. The individual who can see the value in their self images and has morals can be their accomplices. Assuming the objectives and plans are clear, that can dazzle them, and they can fall head over heels — nonetheless, their sign shows that they are useful and grounded. At the point when they become hopelessly enamored, they expect love and give love to their accomplice. They like to learn new things with their accomplice, joined by a cup of wine. Aside from that, they even favor an experienced accomplice. They love to be close to their accomplice, remembering for the kitchen-where they are cooking together. They love security and dedication in their relationship. Along these lines, they do right by be the best faithful accomplices. Virgos are individuals who are mindful and solid in their adoration.

Libra

Drifters for the genuine heartfelt match depict them. Libra is an affection sign, a genuine heartfelt on a fundamental level. They anticipate that their accomplices should be valid on the most fundamental level. They fall head over heels for the people who are similarly dedicated to their relationship and are prepared to put resources into the relationship. They are transparently warm and heartfelt. Magnificence for topics in all structures matters for them. They focus on their accomplices and leave them intrigued. They like to invest energy with their accomplices looking for them. They love complete focus or the inclination of their accomplice. As far as they might be concerned, unconstrained shopping trips mean snapshots of affection with their accomplices.

Scorpio

Scorpios in affection need a profound, close to home, and attractive association. They love sentiment and interests, including the entire night battles. Scorpions have confidence in doing everything without limit. Leaving anything midway, either their affection or their battles, isn't OK to them. They stay for quite a while in their relationship when they become hopelessly enamored. They are the ones who look for a twin fire among their accomplices. Energy and force mark this sign. They are the ones who would rather not hurry into adoration, so they lean toward such time in affection with their accomplice away from the buzzing about of life. Thus, they like to go setting up camp or lie on the grass and check out at the stars with their accomplice. They even prefer to be wild and partake in the rides at the carnivals with their accomplices. They are 100 percent valid in their inclination.

Sagittarius

Sagittarians search for investigation in their accomplice. They are not the ones who express their feelings with adoration. They are not demonstrators but rather are valid sweethearts. Sagittarians are the signs that search for energy and investigation in adoration. They are the ones who see love as an experience that excessively profound, physical, and generally speaking scholarly. Along these lines, perhaps hiking, journeying, and going to all courageous games are what they like on their dates. Water games, for example, boating are likewise the ones that they appreciate with their accomplice. Some sort of wine on this multitude of tracks or a lengthy drive that take you on a safari ride or horseback riding. They like to find out about new encounters subsequent to investigating things for all intents and purposes with their accomplices and will generally make it intriguing for their accomplices.

Capricorn

Capricorns are extremely heartfelt however calculative and try not to face challenges. They first see the individual and decide if it merits concentrating on the individual. They move at a gradual speed. They don't effectively settle, yet they are prepared to thoroughly take care of their accomplice when they settle. They are extravagance darlings and live reasonable, restrained, and dedicated lives. They anticipate regard however never rule their accomplices. Their affection for their accomplice incorporates a significant conversation with their accomplice, a trade of feelings, and actual fulfillment. Love is vital to them; they are much of the time not extremely expressive and uncovering. The adoration minutes with their accomplice can be in a decent feasting lobby, joined by candlelight. A candlelit supper with costly wine and heavenly food, and meaningful conversations is the ideal season of adoration for them. They are the ones who end up being the best accomplices and are dependably faithful and anticipate something similar from their accomplices.

Aquarius

They search for individuals who express their remarkable and individual selves. They are more friendly however beneath in the heart and are looking for somebody who can come to settle their necessities. Their adoration is exceptional and unique. At the point when they love, they love profoundly. The Aquarians frequently may get to know somebody yet may later on become hopelessly enamored with a similar companion. Aquarians are the ones who partake in a day with their accomplice at the close by unusual gallery or the shopping celebration or the film celebration or some sort of celebration where they might want to partake in the time with their accomplice. They are steadfast sweethearts and search for an accomplice who can offer responses to their odd inquiries and regard their freedom.

Pisces

Individuals of this sign are the most enthusiastic ones. They are exceptionally touchy and thoughtful individuals looking for a fondness with their accomplices. This harmony isn't just physical yet additionally mental for them. They are individuals who live in the creative mind, and while getting an individual who thinks often about their profound perspective, they effectively experience passionate feelings for them. They look for the profound side. They are visionaries and are exceptionally innovative. As far as they might be concerned, a day of adoration would either be on the oar boat around evening time or with some light music playing behind while taking it all in and having wine. They are extremely enthusiastic and profound darlings, for they acknowledge the adoration and give it to their accomplices. They need individuals who can regard their heartfelt inclinations. Extremely mindful and unselfish in their demonstration of adoration towards their accomplice.

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h-worksrambles · 2 years ago

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Oh here we go, moving onto the man himself! Sorry this took longer than normal, but I finally have some notes of my own ready to add to your own findings. Full spoilers and canon typical content warnings as ever.

-Jenna and Leo are the first to go looking for TJ. Jenna has taken an especially protective attitude to TJ throughout the game. While Leo feels obligated to look out for him as the group’s leader and protector.

LEO’S ROUTE BEGINS:

-Chase sees Leo leaning on a rock, one that he has many fond memories of as a child. It’s a moment that encapsulates many themes of Leo’s route especially. Leo trying and failing to functions as the group’s ’rock’ and how that ultimately leaves him alone. Chase’s conflicting feelings of bittersweet nostalgia. The fact that this nostalgia goes hand in hand with his trauma (the lake being directly next to the rock). It’s a complicated mess of emotions summarised in the next line:

“It’s weird like that. Every memory I have of this place is dreamy and gold, but always has a hint of sadness about it, no matter what the situation was.”

-Leo is deflated, ‘looking way older than he actually is.’ Ironically this disconnect between hold old Leo is and how old he acts, is integral to his route, but in the opposite direction. Because he wishes to go back to the person he used to be when he was younger.

-The choice that actually decides between Jenna and Leo is interesting for a number of reasons. For one, it sets up a distinct connection between Jenna and Leo, the other two members of the ‘OG crew’. The breakdown of that trio ends up being central to the narrative of Jenna’s route. It’s also interesting that, again, Jenna is both acknowledging of Chase and Leo’s relationship and keen to get them to talk. While she has a number of motivations to do this, as I said before, it conveys that she does care about them both and wants them to be honest with each other. But it also sets up another conflict with Jenna. She tries to talk frankly with Leo, he refuses to listen, and she walks away exhausted. The pressure to constantly be the voice of reason and emotionally intelligent ‘mom friend’ is just as much a character conflict for Jenna, as being the protective, hypermasculine ‘big bro’ is for Leo. It’s hardly surprising that a queer story would deconstruct heteronormative and cisnormative gender roles, but Jenna adds another layer to that discussion alongside Leo.

-The first thing Chase does when this route starts is…trip over. Obviously there’s a temptation to joke about how often he does this like a bumbling horror movie protagonist. But in a route all about Chase’s dependency and lack of agency, which ends in a nightmarish visual metaphor directly pertaining to his legs, it’s a fitting tone setter.

-Chase is caught off guard by Leo’s smoking. Leo being made uncomfortable by how much Chase has changed in their years apart comes up frequently both here and in Jenna’s route. And here, Chase experiences the same.

-After all this time, Chase and Leo still find it hard to talk about complicated emotional matters. They immediately avoid the topic and go back to wallowing in nostalgia. But that can only stave off an argument for so long.

-Chase is disillusioned to find out that Leo is still upset about their three years apart…despite the fact that this conversation was clearly unresolved and they even said they would have to talk more…something Chase already non-commitally put off. It clearly sets up the character flaw Chase will have to struggle with over this route. Leo’s anger has a ‘venom’ that Chase doesn’t recognise. Much as with the Carl route, Chase is forced to realise that one of his friends’ pain runs far deeper than he realised and that he himself is partly responsible.

Meanwhile, this sets up many of Leo’s character flaws over the route. While he’s right to feel deeply hurt at Chase for ‘keeping [him] in the dark over three years’ the way he talks about how they ‘always planned’ to live together in Echo, despite having not been together in three years raises worrying questions about just how right Flynn was about him (though Jenna’s route adds another layer to why Leo thinks this). And, as all of their argument unfolds, the final point it inevitably comes down to, is Echo itself. Regardless of whether you as a player, believe Chase and Leo could ever have worked out or not, they will never work as long as their relationship is ‘anchored’ to Echo.

-Chase reflects on how Leo’s protectiveness was hugely exacerbated after Sydney died. Something we have already heard about in Carl’s route.

-Chase voices his fear that Flynn was right about him, that he really is just a boring nobody. Leo tries to comfort Chase by saying he just grew up and matured, but that inadvertently taps into Chase’s fear that he isn’t the same as he used to be. Chase’s lack of comfort with himself and lack of faith in his own identity is a recurring conflict with his character. He alternates between cringing at himself or his selfish behaviour as a kid, and wishing he could go back to that kid because it would be preferable to feeling as bland and empty as he does now. Chase’s trauma has, both metaphorically and literally, made him into a different person. And that lack of faith in himself, leads directly into his dependency on Leo. Leo comforts him during his doubts over not being special and makes him feel that he is. It’s small wonder that Chase was so quick to fall for him.

-Leo takes Jenna’s side insisting that Flynn criticising Jenna for leaving her family was ‘especially’ out of line. Not only does this, as Chase says, show the limits of his family mantra, but it’s a rare moment of solidarity between Jenna and Leo. A reminder that he used to be one of her closest friends and support figures when dealing with her family. The fact that neither of them can tap into that during the scenes they actually share together is a quiet tragedy of their stories.

-Much like his scene in Carl’s route, Flynn’s appearance here is brief, but telling. I mentioned there that seeing Chase and Carl together hits a sore spot for Flynn both because he was Carl’s main support network after Chase left, (and thus he feels like he has just been a Chase substitute) and because of his own buried attraction to Chase himself. Seeing Leo and Chase together here cuts deep in a similar way. As we learn through Metaphor, Leo too has used Flynn as a Chase substitute in the past and subsequently abandoned him. There’s also the fact that to Flynn, this just confirms his own bitter belief that Chase and Leo care more about getting into each other’s pants than they do about Sydney. That Flynn is the only one who’s really affected by it.

-Leo and Chase’s discussion raises a debate that will define this route. When a part of your life is complicated and not entirely healthy, but also was at one time, too important to let go of, what do you do with it? Chase raises this when he wonders if he should not have come back to Echo at all. While Leo, drawing on his own history as an immigrant who considers himself lucky for the good things he has in his life here despite everything, takes a very different view. It’s a dichotomy of letting go of the bad or holding onto the good.

-This moment of comfort causes the boundaries to blur between the two. They fall into a comfortable and familiar act of physical intimacy. Chase himself wonders if they be should doing this but can’t deny it makes him happy. It this mixture of still loving Leo but still being unsure what he wants, that will drive his character arc in this route.

-On a more positive note, we see Leo making an honest to god effort to live up to his protector role. He guides Chase back to the car over the rocks where Chase tripped previously. He does to best to be there for Chase and to be strong for him. It’s a sad reminder that, in a different context, that could be a very a appealing trait and a factor in why Chase fell in love with him to begin with.

Leo as furrybait:

At this point, it’s important to bring up a very deliberate aspect of how Leo’s character was designed. Leo is basically crafted in a lab to be the perfect being to queer furries on the internet. His characters design leans into many of the common traits of hyper-masculine furry love interests, especially in the bara genre. He is also invokes the romantic tropes of childhood friend, first love and old flame. And there have been numerous factors designed to push players to make him one of, if not their absolute, first routes (his route was the second to be completed). Leo is designed to make a very attractive, very positive, first impression. And knowing he and Chase have history and used to be very much in love, further encourages them to explore that relationship and want the two to end up together, regardless of whether you personally are attracted to Leo (and if you are, then that’s just more reason to ship them).. And the game KNOWS THIS. This is important to remember as the route progresses.

Tuesday:

-TJ shows a rare moment of visible frustration here. The reaction is understandable. The reunion has been a disaster. Flynn has brought back all his worst memories. And now Chase hasn’t kept his promise to him about hiking. And still, even though spending time with this group is nothing but stressful for him, he still feels he has to. It’s a rare moment of TJ’s happy, ultra selfless facade breaking and him showing genuine frustration.

This becomes more explicit when Chase talks to TJ when he looks for an action figure for Carl. I’m not entirely sure if Chase’s protectiveness of TJ in that route and dismissal of him here is all that contradictory really. Carl’s route has already established that Chase can be very selfish and tends to think with what’s between his legs, especially when Leo’s involved. I’d argue this moment is simply Chase doing what he did when he and Leo were dating. Getting too wrapped in each other that they ignore other people they care about. They’re falling back into old habits.

-Jenna trying to look for a manga to give to Carl is a fun little character beat that also serves as another example, like in the Carl route, of her giving him what she thinks he needs, not what he likes. Also, as OP states, there definitely seems to be a degree of foreshadowing here.

-While the hypothetical zombie attack discussion is mostly played for laughs, it raises subtle details as to aspects of Leo’s character. Leo instantly declares he will protect Chase in this kind of scenario. Jenna escalates the competition with Leo as soon as Chase is involved. Leo tries to live up to a hyper masculine and ultra capable role, and fails, falling over himself in the attempt. If Leo’s baggage is in part to do with his complicated relationship with masculinity, it’s fitting that this highlighted repeatedly by putting him in conflict with Jenna, the only woman of the group (I don’t mean this to say ‘Leo is sexist’, I simply mean it’s a quick an easy short hand to communicate that masculinity and gender expectations are going to be a theme of Leo’s character).

-Incidentally, Chase brings up that given Leo was trained for football back in high school, that he’s losing worse than Chase would have expected. As such, one could see this as another example feeding into Leo’s insecurity that he peaked in high school and feels washed up abs unsatisfied with himself now by comparison. This incident makes him feel inadequate in something he used to be good at.

-Jenna once again flirts with Chase, and we see once again a similar warning sign to what happened on Sunday. Jenna flirts in a way where it’s unclear whether she’s being serious or just trying to make Leo jealous. But either way, it certainly does make Leo visibly jealous. Again, whenever Chase is involved, the competition between these two escalates from fun to potentially troubling.

-I definitely agree with OP’s interpretation of the music scene. Leo agrees with Chase regardless what answer Chase gives, determined to keep him happy. Meantime, while Chase can say that he finds the lyrics embarrassing, he can’t help but sing along. Another small sign that this nostalgia cuts very deep and is hard to let go of. A feeling he feels towards a lot of thing about Echo. Including Leo…And yes, the lyrics seem like very deliberate foreshadowing for the role of Shadow Chase and Leo’s delusions.

Kudzu:

Like Raven, Kudzu is the designated backer side character for this route. And I refer again to my point about the role these characters serve. They’re characters who provide alternative, potentially healthier dynamics that the characters could follow up on, if they weren’t so trapped in their own heads. Kudzu interestingly serves that role to two characters. To Leo, he’s a friendship that Leo has developed over those three years without Chase, and one of the few good things in his life that could help him be better. For Chase, he ultimately becomes a second, healthier love interest but we’ll get that later. In his opening scene we see an immediate visual contest in the upkeep of their homes. Both line in fairly rusted, modest homes. But Kudzu’s gardening had kept his in good order, whereas Leo’s is overgrown with ‘weeds and sage brush’. He’s out of sorts and his problems are threatening to overwhelm him. Kudzu, while he has his fair share of baggage, is doing a better job keeping his issues under control so that they don’t cause problems for himself or others. They’re both doing their best in a bad environment but Kudzu’s taking better care of himself. And we see that demonstrated visually here.

Chase makes a complete mess of his first meeting with Kudzu, but I think it’s worth noting how Kudzu is visibly tense at the sight of a stranger (a fact which makes a lot of sense once his history becomes clearer), but visibly relaxes when he sees Leo. It’s the first of several reminders that these two are genuine friends. A fact that’s important to remember for later. Leo also establishes that Kudzu moved to Echo to get away from bad things that happened to him Payton. That immediately establishes a contrast between him and the main cast. Kudzu came here to get away from his problems. Unlike Chase and co. his issues aren’t tied to Echo itself.

Chase can’t help but notice that Leo’s family home feels ‘empty’ with only Leo on it. And it smells not of scented candles but only of cigarette smoke. We get an immediate sensory conveyance that Leo is somewhat stagnating in something familiar, because it just isn’t the same. Even his room is exactly as Chase remembers it.

Leo jokingly bringing up his porn habits appears to be a clumsy way to flirt with Chase by bringing up something sexual. But that just makes Chase notice the drywall holes. During the prologue, I mentioned that the carnival game hints at Leo’s anger problems as he gets more desperate in the game. Here we get another glimpse of it. Chase teases Leo by saying “what if I was standing here? What would that have done to my face?” However, despite being a joke, Chase inadvertently cuts to a central issue of Leo’s character: that because he’s caught between trying so hard to protect the people around him, and anger issues that he doesn’t want to seek help for, he could end up hurting the very people he wants to protect.

Incidentally this is the only time Leo’s route mentions the infamous prank that triggered their breakup in the first place. This comes up much more substantially in Jenna’s route. This suggests that, while he still thinks there’s a chance for him and Chase, Leo avoids bringing that up for fear for ruining his chance. But when the prospect of getting back with Chase is not on the table, he’s more willing to be open about how much that hurt him. Chase and Leo’s relationship is consistently depicted as a way for the two to distract themselves from not talking about their problems.

-Leo’s porn habits serve as a pretty clear insight into his headspace towards Chase and their relationship. He’s fixated on any porn that can remind of what he once had with Chase. Not just sexually but just general contact and physical intimacy. Leo isn’t just lonely and horny. It speaks to a deeper desire to be needed. To have someone to dote on so as to feel good about himself.

The two diverting into a tickle fight is a genuinely very sweet image but it’s also another lens in the pattern that the two are trying desperately not to think about their problems. To evoke Leo in Route 65 they’re trying to just ‘be happy’ in the moment. But in the process they’re ignoring things that should probably be addressed. Chase has just seen something that’s probably worth talking to Leo about, asking him if he’s ok. But he doesn’t want to have that conversation. So they do this instead.

Leo’s gun:

Leo’s gun is an important Chekhov’s gun (no pun intended), but it also is another example of why staying in this town is so bad for him. Chase remembers Leo as someone who hates guns. And yet it was given to Leo by his father for protection. In order to protect the life he feels comfortable and familiar with in, Leo arms himself with something he supposedly hates. Just like how, in most aspects of his life, he shields himself in masculinity to be a tough, capable, protective figure. And yet it is clear that not only is Leo not cut out for such a role but it’s making him a worse, less happy person trying to take on this role. The fact that Leo now carries is a gun is a sign that he’s not just stagnating in Echo. He’s actively getting worse.

-On a related note, Leo brings up the strange incident of when he thought he saw Chase outside his window, a fact that will become much more important later. Once again, feeling tired, wanting comfort with something familiar, Chase doesn’t think much about that right now.

Chase’s nightmare:

I agree with OP’s interpretation of this dream sequence. The immediate transition from Chase hearing a voice mocking him for trying to ‘hide’ directly to himself in a sexual position on Leo’s computer is symbolic of his guilt. That finding comfort from Leo (be it emotionally or sexually) is just distracting him from his actual issues. In addition, we get a glimpse of Shadow Chase here. And I find this striking because it’s not simply taunting Leo, but is actively hostile to Chase. I see this as a sign, that, outside its literal plot explanation in Jenna’s route, the Embrace stands as wider metaphor for Chase’s guilt, and the hole he left in the lives of all his friends. And that guilt for his sins has, because of Echo, gained a kind of sentience. His guilt is literally spiralling out of control. All Chase can do is what he always does, cling to Leo and vainly try to distract himself…

Wednesday:

-Chase finds himself still unable to disentangle himself from his nostalgic musings as he travels with the others to Carl’s house. Still he oscillates between cynicism to what a miserable run down place Echo is, and memories he can’t help but cherish.

-Flynn’s pessimism about the party is brushed off by the others but he makes exactly the same points Carl does in his route, that making them meeting up all about Carl would just make him uncomfortable. It’s another sign that, wilfully disagreeable as he may be, Flynn understands Carl better than anyone else in the group right now.

-Janice’s episode is something I already touched on when Flynn describes it in Carl’s route. But in TJ, Leo and Jenna’s route, the scene plays out near identically as Chase is there to see it in person.

-Leo’s frustration now really starts to visibly build as his plans to keep the group together unravel. It’s become increasingly clear that Leo is desperately trying to keep a sinking ship together as everyone (particularly Flynn) snipe at each other as he desperately tries to insist everyone is having fun.

-Carl’s absence causes the birthday party to play out very differently in this route. For Leo it adds to his mounting frustration of things not going as he planned, causing him to lash out at Flynn. For Flynn, without the one person he actually gets on with here, he’s much more abrasive with the others. He’s not reigning himself in like he was in Carl’s route. Even Chase has to excuse himself and be alone for a bit. During this moment, he comes to a difficult realisation. That, for all their history, for all they care about each other, the group are not good for each other. Their personalities don’t mesh and most of them barely tolerate each other. They were brought together through obligation, closer to a fraught family than real friends, now that they’re all full fledged people with their own lives, there’s little holding them together. Not only does highlighting these fractured relationships emphasise the tension where they’re forced to survive together in the climax, but it sets the tone for realisations Chase will need to make about his relationship to Leo in particular.

Flynn and Chase’s argument:

-The scene provides a painful insight into Flynn’s thought process during this time. On a primary level this is Flynn’s attempt to warn Chase of the dangers of getting back with Leo. But there’s many complex emotions at play in Flynn’s head here.

Firstly, Flynn carries a deep resentment at the thought that none of the others actually cared about Sydney as much as he did. As a result, he’s primed to see the others’ actions through that negative light. Hence he accuses Chase and Leo of reigniting their old flame on a grave, a prospect which baffles Chase as he didn’t make that connection. To Flynn, this is a confirmation of what he fears: that everyone hated Sydney and nobody cares that he’s dead.

Secondly, numerous factors make Chase and Leo’s relationship a difficult prospect for him. Firstly, like Carl, Flynn from abandoned when the two got together and ignored the rest of the group, which Flynn alludes to when he accuses them of ‘making it our business’. There is also the added factor that Flynn and Leo were an item in the past, and that Flynn is attracted to Chase. So Flynn feels like he has been used and discarded by two people he wants a closer relationship with. And all of this is given greater weight by something we learn in Route 65: Flynn sent Chase to the infamous party specifically so that the newly out Chase could talk to Leo. He set them up to become a couple in order to bond with his two other queer friends and better make peace with his own sexuality…only to end up ignored by both of them. So any valid concerns he has over their power dynamic, especially since he chose not pursue Chase because he didn’t want to be ‘taking advantage’ of him, is influenced by his resentment of them seemingly ignoring him, and (in his eyes) Sydney, as well as his wish to be closer to both of them: both emotionally and sexually. He has a valid point. He’s seen Leo in these three years and he knows the wolf isn’t in a good place. But he has a lot of other complicated emotions at play here. And when Chase doesn’t immediately buckle under his hostility, he’s forced to confront those emotions.

-When Leo arrives, his own messy history with Flynn, as a result of Metaphor, comes up to the surface again. As far as he’s concerned, Flynn is trying to keep Chase away from him (and to an extent, he’s right). But Chase is totally unaware of the context of their tension. Leo places him arm around Chase’s shoulder to effectively mark his territory against Flynn and the two leave.

-Flynn’s anger boils over again as he insists on leaving to look for Carl. Considering that not only has he been there for Carl more than they have, but (to him) the others seem less worried, this is likely triggering Flynn’s fear of another Sydney. That he’s about to lose his closest friend again, and no one else seems to care.

-In a scene that resembles the Friday of Carl’s route, Leo voiced his sadness that the group can’t fit together like they used to. Now there’s a lot you can say about whether the group ever fit together as well as Leo’s rose coloured glasses suggest, but regardless, he blames himself for trying to force them, especially Flynn and Carl. Now, while Leo is arguably putting too much responsibility on himself, it also true that, as Carl implied in the prologue, Leo has not paid Carl or Flynn much attention the past three years. In trying to bottle up both his depression and his sorrow over losing Chase, his relationships have stagnated due to negligence and it’s only now that he’s really realising that.

It’s at this point that, his attempts to get the group together a complete disaster, Leo puts more effort into rebuilding his relationship with Chase. Chase is, in many ways, all he had left of the group now. And that change in mindset is marked by the sunset, a recurring motif in their relationship. Chase tries to optimistically focus on the good parts of both this week, and the town. The same way that Leo did. But such nostalgia is immediately dissolved by…

Clint:

Clint serves a number of purposes in the story and Leo’s route in particular. On the one hand, he embodies all the worst parts of Echo, the kind that would make it a mistake for Chase to stay with Leo there. He’s racist, homophobic, violent and a drug abuser. He’s also Chase’s childhood bully, another reminder of the worst parts of his past in Echo that Leo is trying to ignore. But as we get a hint at when Leo brings up Clint’s sister, he’s also a product of and victim of the town, physically abused by his father (who also, it is implied, sexually abused Clint’s sister). Leo and Clint’s antagonism, as well as Leo’s willingness to keep trying to get one over on his high school bully, is a sign that he’s still stuck in the past not just in terms of his friendships, but his grudges too. His appearance is also the perfect way to deflate any attempt Leo’s makes to paint a nostalgic picture and convince Chase to stay. He’s a reminder that this place is actively hostile to them both and it would be a horrible mistake for either of them to stay.

As the two sit and drink against the sunset, Chase ponders how much he wants to ‘run off into the wilderness’. It’s an image that encapsulates why Chase loves Leo. To Chase, he represents comfort, familiarity and, above all, escape. They got together out in the middle of nowhere where a newly out Chase could feel safe and protected. He’s a way for Chase to hand the reigns over to someone who cares about him and not think about his problems anymore. A way for Chase, who doesn’t like himself, and thinks of himself as boring and broken, to feel desired and adored. But Leo will never be the escape Chase wants. Not just because asking anyone to be that kind of emotional crutch is unfair, but because Leo doesn’t want to escape. He wants to stay still. To hold onto the good in a way Chase can’t. Leo again tries to ask Chase to come back to Echo, to rebuild what they lost. And again, Chase can’t give a solid answer, still torn between what he needs, to get as far away from Echo as possible. And what he wants, to be with the man he still loves.

Clint’s attack:

This escalates the threat that Clint embodied earlier as all the worst parts of Echo. And immediately after Chase considered coming back to Echo, he serves as a perfect indicator of why that would be a terrible mistake. But Leo’s reaction is also telling. He ‘has a giant smile on his face, like this is exactly what he wanted to happen’. While on this occasion, it’s justifiable for Leo to pummel a bigot coming after him with a crowbar, it makes an important point. While Clint bullied Leo and the others plenty as a kid, Leo is now the one in control. There’s little that a scrawny meth abuser can do to a red wolf with giant muscles (and a gun). Leo’s reaction (as well as Kudzu’s) makes it clear that this is a common occurrence. The two are actively escalating their old antagonism, Leo happy to have a guilt free outlet for his anger problems (it’s also worth noting that the thing that pushes Leo to actively ‘snarl’ and reach new heights of aggression, is when Chase gets hurt in the struggle). It’s worth keeping this in mind as another character in Jenna’s route arguably acts something of a foil to the escalating antagonism of Clint and Leo. No one is going to say Leo is wrong for giving a bigot a sock in the jaw. But it’s one more sign that Echo is not a healthy environment for Leo to stay in. Note that, despite how much Leo hates guns, after the fight Leo remarks he shouldn’t leave the house without it. Again, supernatural influence or no, Echo is a toxic environment for Leo (or anyone) to stay in.

The fight is ultimately broken up by Kudzu who warns Leo against fighting with Clint. Moreover, his wording ‘I thought we had this shit figured out’ implies he’s been trying to help Leo deal with his anger issues. It’s a reminder that, for as much of a mess as Echo is, Leo has built up a supportive relationship with someone who is actively willing to challenge Leo and motivate him to grow. Kudzu is one of the few good things Leo has in Echo right now, and that will be important to remember going forward.

-Duke’s appearance is minor for now, but lays the groundwork for an important recurring mystery of someone who looks identical to Chase being seen around town.

Chase and Leo’s moment:

-This brief moment of intimacy definitely feels like Echo is leaning hard on its dating sim disguise. Between the full CG art and heavily sensual language, even though very little happens, a first time reader would be excused for believing this was leading into a full blown sex scene, even more than any of the brief moments of petting in the Carl route. In fact, this scene bears a lot of similarities to the Carl route’s kiss scene, as there are similar mixed emotions surrounding it. This takes place after a moment of uncharacteristic violence from Leo. There have been multiple signs that Chase and Leo reviving their relationship is a bad idea, and Leo himself might still be somewhat intoxicated right now. Howly as an author knows how many of his audience want Leo in this moment, and layers the scene in uncomfortable ambiguity. The scene is cut short by what Leo sees in the mirror, and knowing what we do from Jenna’s route, it’s very likely that he’s seen Shadow Chase. This brief moment of intimate reunion with the real Chase brings Leo’s steadily slipping grip on reality to the forefront, a problem that will get worse during the route. Especially when we open from Chase’s nightmare that the creature is actively possessive of Leo.

Every moment of Chase and Leo breaking down another barrier, rekindling their feelings for each other, is marked by another sign that the two doing so is a mistake. At this point, though it’s less that Leo himself is a ‘red flag’ (though the fight with Clint is certainly troubling). So far Leo is still presented fairly positively, and it is moreso staying in Echo that would appear to be the biggest problem. Though, as we will soon learn, the problem is more complicated than just that…

…And that’s all of my thoughts on this section. Sorry again that it took longer than normal. But thank you once again for making your analysis posts. This was the route that really convinced me that Echo was something special. And I can’t wait to see more of your take on it.

Furry Visual Novel Book Club: Echo Week 10 SPOILERS:

Hi everyone, here is the SPOILER discussion post for “Echo - Leo’s Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday”

Links: Previous - Next - Original - Spoiler Free Version

Keep reading

#zombie book club #echo vn #echo project #echo spoilers

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obsidiancreates · 2 years ago

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The Fourfold Tap Liveblog

I just realized that I'm almost done with Season 3 already, huh.

Oh, starting with Raph having the brain damage this time? Oh he's been kidnapped. Is he in Saw? THEY'RE COOKING HIM NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OH THIS IS A SAW EPISODE ISN'T IT WHYYYYYYYYY ARE THERE SO MANY HORROR INSPIRED EPISODESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Oh god Raph still had Brain Worm Juice in his blood?

Lol everyone was waiting for it to explode

DONNIE IT'S OKAY SWEETIE IT'S OKAY DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP

Awwwww Splinter, thank you for being understanding an patient with Donnie. That was nice, "At least I have four wonderful sons." Good Parenting Moment, Splinter

UM LEO?!?!?!?! WHAT ARE YOU DO- TRY HARDER?!?!?!?!?! YES DONNIE SHOUT HIS ASS DOWN

YEAH LEO YOU'RE THE LEADER YOU FIND THE ANSWER DONNIE MAY AS WELL BE THE FUCKING LEADER WITH HOW EVERYONE'S ALWAYS LOOKING TO HIM FOR ANSWERS AND SOLUTIONS ALL THE TIME

Donnie should get to run away, I think. Let Donnie quit the team for once. Let him run away and make some other friends for a bit. Engage in some teen rebellion. This is why my OC for this show befriends Donnie and he becomes second-in-command of her Mutant Rights Activist Group (they're trying to force New York to acknowledge Mutants as citizens openly, Donnie really believes in the cause but Splinter and his brothers are afraid it'll bring the heat down on them and want the whole group to stop, Donnie can't believe it and leaves to full-time help with the protests)

Aw, he calmed down for April. ... I don't trust April's call, something's wrong

HE DID RUN AWAY YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY HE DITCHED THEM

An effective team thinks as one, you mean Make One Do The Team Thinking

Oh yeah, that was a Kraang clone, wasn't it? Poor Donnie...

PFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTT SPLINTER HAS A GIANT RAT WHEEL, I WANNA BELIEVE THEY STOLE IT FROM SHREDDER

If those fuckin' magic scrolls cure her I'll be so pissed.

ICE CREAM KITTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY OH THEY'RE PLAYING POKEMON YAYYYYY AWWWWWWW SHE WONNNNNNNN NO MIKEY LEAVE HER ALONE

Oh no, whatever got Donnie is using him too! Is it mind control or cloning?

Oh god, Mikey was poisoned!!!!!!!! NO THEY GOT MURIKAMI NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOO NOT MURIKAMIIIIIIIIIIIII

Yeah exactly it's a fuckin' tra- guys maybe call Casey? Clearly Casey hasn't been targeted by whoever this is, so he's your Ace In The Hole. They won't expect him. I miss Casey.

LOL KARAI USED DONNIE'S VOICE FOR THE THING SORRY THAT'S HILARIOUS BECAUSE I IMAGINED SHE JUST FORGOT TO TURN THE VOICE MODULATOR OFF AND WENT "Gah, that ruined it" IN HER HEAD

Okay so are Donnie and Mikey Brain-Wormed, then? No, those were holograms, okay.

Yeah, I'm bored of The Foot. I want The Kraang back. They were a lot of fun.

OH SHIT SHE BROKE BEEBOP'S NOSE YES GO APRIL LOVE YOU

OH NOOOO WE'RE BACK TO RAPH BEING COOKED shit she even said it's a game, it's Saw for real- WHATTTTTT DO THEY HAVE HOOKED UP TO DONNIE'S HEAD

Pfffft "Bake my foot up your ass"

This is lame. This is a lame episode now. ... They trapped Donnie in Tetris? OH FUCK THEY STRAPPED HIM TO AN ELECTRIC CHAIR SHIT

AGAIN HIS BRAIN IS GETTING MESSED WITH FOR FUCK'S SAKE STOP MESSING WITH HSI BRAIN HE NEEDS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Mikey one doesn't work for me. A mutagen one would fit Donnie better, given his fears of being a freak. I think Mikey's trap would be better served as a threat of immobility, like he's weighed down in some way or otherwise unable to move his limbs, or maybe a threat of if he doesn't get out they'll make him unable to ever speak again. But the mutagen just feels kinda... "Oh we couldn't think of a thematic thing for him" cop out.

ROCKSTEADY I LOVE YOU

God this Karai Villain shit is stale. Ah, return of The Cheese Phone.

FUCK DONNIE GOT SHOCKED AGAIN GEEZ HE AND RAPH HAVE IT THE WORST RIGHT NOW I THINK THEY'RE BOTH ACTIVELY BEING HARMED THE MOST

FUCK 'EM UP SPLINTER WHOO

Are you... shitting me, Leonardo? Raph asks you what to do and you immediately pass it on to Donnie? Whom you can hear screaming in agony in the room next to you? Whom you just got into a fight with because you won't stop pressuring him? You pass along the buck? This is why you feel like being a Leader doesn't mean anything sometimes, Leonardo, because you aren't one.

Sorry sorry, Mikey is afraid he'll... mutate into himself but a girl? What kinda transphobic nonsense are the writers on right now? Unless he's already FTM, in which case yeah valid fear.

GET FUCKED BRADFORD

Hey finally Xever uses being a fish to his adva- SPLINTER KILLED HIM

Tigerclaw... why do you want Splinter to pay? What is your stake in this?

RAPHHHHHHHHH HE'S DYING NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OH NO BLOB OF MUTAGEN OVER MIKEY NOOOO FUCK DONNIE IS STILL BEING SHOCKED

AND ONCE A-FUCKING-AGAIN DONNIE SOLVES THE FUCKING PROBLEM AND LEO JUST GOES ALONG BECAUSE DONNIE'S THE REAL GLUE KEEPING THE TEAM TOGETHER HERE

Raph... oh he's gonna be so sick and fragile for so long after this...

GOD DONNIE'S ONE IS SO FUCKED UP

OH SHIT MIKEY TO THE RESCUE- DUDE HE ENTERED THE SIMULATION?!?!?!?!? MAGIC FUCKING MIKEY DUDES

B-TEAM FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR B-TEAM FOREVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Sometimes Splinter makes Sonic Adventure 2 Eggman noises.

THIS MAGIC SHIT BETTER NOT FUCKING WORK OR I'LL BE SO PISSED- GOOD IT DIDN'T WORK- NOOOOOOOOOOO FUCK IT DIDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

Well there she goes again. down one of the giant toilets. This is getting real old, dudes. Just let her go home with them, for fuck's sake, I'm so tired of this. It's a sweet moment here but I'm tired.

Okay OH FUCK EW EW EW HER VOMITING IT UP EW

#tmnt 2k12 #tmnt 2012 #sid blogs live

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im-a-mint · 3 years ago

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the big gestiona difference i see between rottmnt splinter and 2012 splinter is that rottmnt splinter had his actions justified, called out, and was actually acknowledged he wasn’t a good parent, while 2012 splinter’s weren’t. to not cause that much confusion between the two im going to call rottmnt splinter “splints” and 2012 splinter well, splinter. (whole study under the cut(yes i am writing this on the computer))

lets start with splinter. splinter didn’t exactly act as a father in any way but more like a teacher who really cherished and cared of his students but who didn’t exactly see them as their children. of course, he called them “my sons” because he knew that he was pretty much the only parental figure the turtles had, but in terms of treatment, he did treat karai more like a daughter even though he didn’t raise her and didn’t even know she was alive until leo mentioned her, all while having actual fucking teenagers that he actually fucking raised with no one else other than him to look up to. kind of a jerk move. then theres also the fact that, even while caring for the turtles, he still abused them. yes, someone can love someone else and still treat them like shit have you not heard of toxic lovers. some of the stuff he did that caused a lot of were:

telling leo that, if he wanted to win the battle, he would have to either sacrifice himself or his brothers and that the world depended on him. basically saying “you have to end your life or sacrifice the lives of people you care about to save people who will never even know you exist”. what did this leave leo with? the atlas complex, which then led to the whole…mess he became by season 5.

neglecting donnie of stuff he enjoyed and ignoring what he had to say as seen in the episode where he created metalhead. the way he expected to receive a negative response is an actual leftover from emotional trauma that even i have from being constantly ignored and told no to even the slightest of things, which in the long run can lead to a complaint and toxically non-confrontational nature in the victim.

using humiliation therapy on raph and clearly showing a difference between the way he treated leo and helped him with his issues and the way he treated raph and helped with his issues. humiliation therapy can leave many consequences and leftover trauma on the victim, and can actually worsen complexes the person already had such as inferiority, superiority, or even god complexes. the first is a clear leftover that makes the person believe they are not worth enough like others, a clear sign of emotional damage, while the other two work as a defense mechanism to make the victim protect themselves to ever believe in what they were told. it also worsened raphs anger issues, too. ironic.

keeping mikey hidden up in his own bubble of everything will be fine, nothing is ever wrong type of world but then ignoring how much this ended up hurting him once he was set out into the actual world. the little we see of his personality from before being released to the surface is oddly similar to the personality we see across the show, but still has something off about it. i have a personal theory that once he began suffering from anxiety and night terrors because of all the traumatic things he was exposed to at just the bare age of 16, he began using this happy-go-lucky personality as a defense mechanism against what terrified him alongside his goofy dumb nature, which also explains how quickly he became an expert in dimension X since it was everything but the terrifying world he had been exposed to before.

and guess what? this is never acknowledged by anyone and actually excused by many just because of some clips where hes shown to care for the turtles. repeat after me: you can love someone, but also abuse them. and all that i mentioned that he did that hurt them dearly? yeah, thats just the top of the iceberg.

aNYWAYS, lets head over towards splints that's objectively a better dad in comparison to the absolute jerk of a bitch splinter is because yes i am biased and yes i will always be.

while splinter is...really fucking bad, splints is no saint. it is explicitly said and sometimes even shown that he neglected the turtles full on. no sugar coating. full on neglect. sometimes it is shown in a subtle way such as with the way that mikey's the one who does the cooking of the home while being *drum rolls* 13. 13 years old. hes the youngest and yet the one who has to do the cooking and all of that which is good since he can be pretty independent but concerning since, well, a thirteen yearold shouldn't be doing the cooking for a family of 5.

and then there's the explicit call out to his neglect from donnies part in that race car episode where he even cries after realizing that splints didn't want to spend time with him and mikey because he wanted to make up from the neglect, but just because he needed someone to use for his own selfish motivations.

but he actually shows that he cares for the turtles in the way a father actually cares for his children. he actually worries about them even a little and worries about them in a way a father does, not in the way a mentor does that. it is also understandable his neglect because, like many fathers in the real world, the introduction of children and the new big responsibility ripped him from his glory days, making him constantly ache for a way to get them back. in many cases this leads to substance abuse, and in splints it led to him neglecting his sons and constantly watching the movies of his glory days yet not losing the love and care he had for them.

anyways this is long enough already, love yall. live and let 2012 splinter apologists die

#valentine studies #valentine psychoanalyzes #kinda??? not really???#oh well #anyways #tmnt #2012 splinter #rottmnt splinter #i fucking HATE 2012 splinter #but i dont condone rottmnt splinter #valentine talks #long post

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official-virtual-hug-dealer · 3 years ago

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Warning: rant upcoming

I know you guys have been hearing a lot about this lately from me but please stop whitewashing HoO characters. This is a huge problem, especially with 'dream casts'.

For example I just saw one where apparently Piper, and Leo are both white?

Piper being routinely portrayed, especially in fancastings, as white is an issue I've already ranted about multiple times tonight so it's not too far away if you really want to read that

And Leo in this one- and this was a top Google search result- is a young Harry Styles? Wtf? What about Leo Valdez- in appearance or in character- makes you think of Harry? Yes they both have curly hair and I guess Harry can sorta channel that chaotic energy... sometimes... sorta, but like honestly wtf was this person thinking?

Not to mention the incredibly light-skinned casting of Hazel.

And that's just one example. This is incredibly widespread stuff. And it's not just in the Riordanverse fandom, but it is in the Riordanverse fandom and we have to acknowledge and fix it.

I've seen a couple things giving Sadie Kane as an example of 'well technically this character is mixed race so it's fine.' Mostly for Hazel and Piper. No.

First off, The only "mixed race" argument for most of these characters comes from the godly side which is obviously very different from Sadie who had a mortal black father and a mortal white mother.

Furthermore, Sadie is very clearly stated to be white-passing whereas these other characters are very clearly stated to be non-white-passing. I mean, it is right there in the books. This shouldn't have to be said.

And please draw Sam with her hijab on. Guys. Please. I don't care about 'but hair flying looks better' or anything like that. The hijab stays on. It is a religious thing (sorry for bad wording here, it's 1:00 A.M), not some stylish accessory.

Oh, and Piper with feathers and stuff in her hair is a no-go too. That is just a rude and disrespectful stereotype.

A lot of these things I've mentioned are things I have seen people in the fandom who are hurt by these things talk about.

And yes, Rick messed up with some of these, but we as a fandom can do better.

We need to do better.

Let's do better.

(P.S. If you have anything you would like to add or if you see something I got wrong, don't hesitate to add on or message me)

#riordanverse #rick riordan #heroes of olympus #magnus chase and the gods of asgard #kane chronicles #fancast #whitewashing #a message to the fandom #leo valdez #piper mclean #hazel levesque #sadie kane #samirah al abbas

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fruitcoops · 4 years ago

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Hey I was wondering if you could write something kinda angsty but with a pretty ending with the cubs, I’m trynna project getting stood up and turning it into something nice and good, even if it’s just in my head. No pressure but I just wanna smile for a bit and your work always makes me do so :)))

Hello lovely! I’m so sorry that you were stood up--that feels awful and whoever did it missed out on a wonderful person. I’ve combined this with some other asks in the same vein (y’all wanted my boys to hurt) so I hope you don’t mind. Sending love and hugs your way! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove <3

1. Bad mental health day for Finn + pushing himself too hard + passing out (ft. Bee anon!)

2. O’Knutzy boiling over with a fluffy ending

3. Insecure Leo

TW for internalized guilt, vaguely implied self-harm (pushing himself too hard at practice), and relationship arguments

Finn had a few bad habits. He left dirty dishes in the sink, could never remember which setting the laundry was supposed to go on, and barely wiped his shoes on the doormat before entering the house. He wasn’t proud of his flaws, but he acknowledged that everyone had some—as long as they didn’t hurt anybody, it wasn’t the end of the world.

This one…this one was different. Even Finn knew that.

He gritted his teeth for the next set of squats, ignoring the ringing in his ears and the climbing nausea in his gut. The chart only said to do three reps, but he had been beating himself up for slacking a set earlier in the week and decided to do five to make up for it.

That, it seemed, was a poor decision.

His thighs were shaking when he finally put the weight down and he leaned on the wall to stabilize himself. “Fish? You okay?” Logan asked from the yoga mat to his right, staring up at him in concern.

“I’m fine,” Finn lied. “Just straightened up too fast.”

“D’accord.” He could feel Logan’s eyes on his back as he left the gym and headed toward the showers.

Finn’s worst habit was taking care of himself, and it wasn’t something that could be explained away as “oh, silly Harzy” like the washing machine. He made a mental note to take some ibuprofen before driving home so he would be marginally less sore in the morning, but he had the sinking feeling it would be a rough practice the next day.

Remus and Talker were playing some sort of volleyball with an old balloon between their stalls when he entered; he missed getting nailed in the head by a narrow margin and waved off their apologies with a forced smile.

A hand closed around his bicep as he passed, snapping him back to reality as Leo’s bright eyes came into focus. “Hey, lovey, is Lo with you?”

“He’s finishing up.”

A small furrow appeared between Leo’s brows. “Is something wrong?”

“Nope.” Finn faked a yawn and stretched his arm over Leo’s shoulder, dragging him down for a kiss on the cheek. “Cap’s workout just kicked my ass today.”

“That’s what they’re supposed to do,” Sirius said, rolling his eyes playfully as he passed. “You’re not a rookie anymore, O’Hara.”

“Yeah, yeah, alright.”

Logan entered the locker room a few minutes later; Finn closed his eyes and breathed in the thick steam of the shower until the fog in his head cleared a bit and he couldn’t feel the skin on his shoulders. It billowed off him as he dressed again and tossed the keys to Leo, who raised his eyebrows. “Me?”

“You. There’s a little bit of slush left, and you still need to learn how to drive in it.” And I feel like I’m going to pass out at any minute. He swallowed down the last thought and pasted a teasing grin on his face—what Leo and Logan didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them. It was his own fault for being lazy in the past.

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

What Leo and Logan didn’t know apparently did hurt them. In hindsight, Finn should have seen that coming before he passed out in the middle of a scrimmage.

The lights of the coach’s office made his headache even worse. “Care to explain?” Arthur asked in a voice like frost. To his left, Sirius was glowering.

“I already told Hestia—”

“Yeah, I know what you told Hestia,” Arthur interrupted. “I want to hear it directly from you.”

Finn sighed through his nose and picked at a stray thread on his jersey. “I…I pushed myself a little too hard at yesterday’s practice and didn’t say anything when I started feeling bad.”

“Why.” Sirius’ eyes were hard as flint.

“Because I didn’t want to be a pain in the ass! I can handle some aching muscles, it’s not a big deal!”

“Not a—”

Arthur put his hand on Sirius’ shoulder. “That’s enough, Black. O’Hara, I want you to look me in the eyes.” Finn raised his head. “This was a dumbass mistake and all of us expected better from you. Your safety and health come before any workout routine, and it is your responsibility to speak up before you scare the shit out of us by dropping like a rock.”

“I’m sorry, Coach.”

“Apology accepted. I also want you to call Heather when you get home and schedule an appointment with her.” Some of Arthur’s frustration melted into genuine concern and guilt crawled up Finn’s throat. “Doing that to yourself isn’t healthy, Finn. You’re a good man, smart, and I know you know better.”

“Can we talk for a second?” Sirius asked quietly, glancing at Arthur. He nodded and left the room.

“I’m sorry.”

“What the fuck, Finn?” Sirius ran a hand down his face, suddenly pale. “What the fuck was that?”

“It was stupid.”

“Yeah, no, I got that part.”

“I slacked off a set on Monday.”

“Wow, nobody’s ever done that before,” he said sarcastically, sitting down in the chair by the wall as Finn resumed messing with his hem. “You scared the hell out of all of us.”

“I know.”

“You know I’m not mad at you, right? I’m upset that you thought you had to do that at all.”

Tears prickled the backs of Finn’s eyes. “I know.”

“I’m sure as hell not your coach or your dad, but I’m going to say this as your friend, okay?” Sirius leaned over into Finn’s field of view. “Whatever you need, I’m here for you. This team wouldn’t be the same without you. I wouldn’t be the same without you. We need you to take care of yourself, Harzy.”

Finn nodded silently and Sirius gave his hand a quick squeeze, which he returned. “Does everyone know?”

“I told them you were under the weather, nothing more.”

“Classic media answer.” He tried and failed to crack a smile. “Thanks for not telling on me.”

“That’s not my job. My job is herding cats on ice skates for five hours a day.”

Finn’s smile was real that time and he managed a light laugh as he swiped away the dampness on his cheeks. “Love you, man.”

“Love you, too.” Sirius helped him stand up and hugged him tight for a second before letting go. “Speaking as someone who used to do the exact same thing, talking to Heather makes a world of difference.”

“I’ll give her a call.”

The cold feeling returned to Finn’s gut when they stepped out of the office; Leo and Logan were waiting by the opposite wall, looking angrier than Finn had ever seen. Sirius patted his shoulder once before walking off down the hallway toward the locker room, where he would no doubt deflect even more questions.

“Hey,” Finn said, barely above a whisper. Logan continued to stare at the ground.

“You lied to us,” Leo said bluntly. “Several times. Both of us asked if you were alright and you told us you were fine.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I accept your apology, but I don’t understand.” He ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. “Finn, this isn’t how we deal with things. We agreed to be a team.”

Finn bit his lip. I fucked this one up. “We did. I am so sorry for scaring you—”

“We’re not mad that you scared us,” Logan snapped, still looking anywhere but his face. “We’re upset that you refuse to take care of yourself and then lied to us about it.”

Leo nudged Logan’s shoulder before turning back. “Why did you do that, Finn?”

“I didn’t want to fall behind. I was just trying to make up for the set I skipped on Monday.”

“What? Twenty squats and some pushups? That’s not worth your health, honey.” The pet name soothed the terror clutching Finn’s heart and he took a deep breath. They still loved him. This wasn’t the end.

“It was a stupid thing to do and it won’t happen again.”

“Good. Let’s go home.” Logan grabbed his duffel bag off the ground and started walking toward the door; Leo looked like he was going to say something, but Finn gently took his elbow.

“He’s going to need a minute,” he said under his breath. Logan was a hothead about many things, but lying was in the top three. Finn knew he hurt him deep.

“Did you…” Leo trailed off and pressed his lips together as they followed Logan into the parking lot. “Did you feel like you couldn’t tell me?”

Finn shook his head. “No. This was all on me.”

“It’s just that I know I’m younger than both of you and I’m new to the hockey lifestyle, but I never want you to think you can’t trust me—”

“Leo.” Finn stopped walking and tugged on Leo’s hand, turning him around. Worry was painted all over his face and it sliced to Finn’s core. “I trust you and Logan with everything, but I got into my head about this and I wasn’t thinking about how it would hurt you. Please believe that.”

Leo sighed. “I do. I just don’t get it.”

“Neither do I, to be honest.” Logan was already sitting in the car with his headphones on as they crossed the lot. “It’s going to take him a while to talk to me, isn’t it?”

“He was really upset.”

“We’ll figure this out.” He tightened his grip on Leo’s hand. “We’ve made it through worse.”

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

The apartment crackled with tension until Finn literally had to stick his head out the open window to get a breath of fresh air. Waves of frustration and hurt rolled off Logan, though he still refused to look Finn in the eyes.

After dinner, Leo slid into the armchair before Logan could get there, leaving only the couch available. They carefully sat on opposite sides—Finn stole glances at Logan out of the corner of his eye for the entire first half of the movie. Ninety minutes of action later, he felt something chilly poking at his calf.

Logan kept his gaze trained on the TV as he scooted his freezing toes under Finn’s legs. Relief flooded Finn’s veins; he felt a little like crying, but instead schooled his expression into a small smile and rested his hand on Logan’s ankle, where it stayed until the movie ended.

Leo had fallen asleep by that time, splayed out sideways on the cushion with his face smushed against the armrest. “Il est mignon,” Logan said softly. There was a beat of silence and he looked over at Finn. “He’s cute.”

“He is.” Finn cleared his throat and met his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Lo. I never meant to hurt you, but I did, and I’m sorry.”

“Promise me you won’t do that again.”

“I won’t.”

Finn had a few bad habits, but backing out on his promises would never be one of them.

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