#for like all his close family and friends and my sign is their obviously lol

[chelseachilly]

THIS LOVE - prologue | high tide came and brought you in

pairing: ben chilwell x reader

rating: T

word count: 1.5k

summary: you and ben have been best friends since you were kids. there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for him, including pretending to be his girlfriend to help his career when his public image has taken a hit. what’s the worst that can happen?

A/N: hi everyone! welcome to my latest ben fic! thanks to everyone who voted in the poll i made recently, ultimately i couldn’t decide so ended up going with both fake dating and friends to lovers lol. the title is from this love by taylor swift (taylor’s version obvi) <3

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When you woke up today, becoming Ben Chilwell’s girlfriend is the last thing you would’ve expected to happen. Short of an alien invasion or a complete nuclear apocalypse, there is hardly any conceivable scenario that you would’ve had a harder time believing.

The day starts like any other.

You wake up after hitting snooze a couple times then hurry to get ready for work. You don’t have time to make coffee at home, so you grab a latte and a bagel from Pret on your way to the hospital.

It’s a typical, stressful day in the life of an A&E nurse, with a few major traumas coming in and the usual NHS understaffing issues.

You have lunch with your favourite coworker talk close friend Valerie, who you met in uni, and talked shit about your least favourite coworkers while eating mediocre salads from the cafeteria.

By the end of the day, you’re totally exhausted, practically dragging your feet as you walk up the stairs to your flat and collapse on the couch.

You’ve just mustered the energy to change into your pyjamas when there’s a knock on your door, and you excitedly run over to grab your dinner.

Unfortunately, it isn’t the Indian takeaway you’ve ordered waiting for you on the other side, it’s your best friend Ben.

“I thought you were Indian food,” you groan.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Ben chuckles as you step aside to let him in and he kicks off his shoes. “Tough day?”

“Long day,” you reply, walking back over to your couch and plopping down as Ben walks into your kitchen to get a drink, making himself at home.

You and Ben have been best friends since you were six, when you and your family moved and you started at the same primary school as him. He was the first kid to show you some kindness by asking if you wanted to join him and his mates for a game of football at recess. Obviously, at the time you couldn’t have predicted that the childhood pastime would turn into a massively successful career for him.

You two grew closer over the years and remained close even when he started at Leicester’s academy and you didn’t get to spend nearly as much time together. You almost never missed a home game, regardless of if it was a friendly in the academy days or a monumental Champions League match once he made it to Chelsea.

Likewise, Ben has always been there for you, supporting you as you worked your butt off to make it through uni and get your nursing certification. He was elated when you landed a job at a hospital in London not long after he signed with Chelsea, immediately offering you a spare bedroom.

Although you did take him up on that offer for a couple months while you saved up and looked for a decent flat, you eventually got your own place to be closer to work. And because you found that guys you went out with were either threatened or way too excited when they found out you lived with a Premier League footballer.

You’ve both been living in London for about three years now, and while you’ve made your fair share of friends in the city, there is something special about the bond you have with Ben. He knows you better than anyone else, just as you know him, and hanging out with him always feels right.

He feels like home.

Ben joins you on the couch with two beers he stole from your fridge, one of which he passes to you.

You raise an eyebrow, accepting the drink and taking a sip. “Since when are you allowed to drink the week of a game?”

“I’m just having one,” Ben retorts, kicking his feet up on your coffee table. “I’ve had a long day, too.”

“Oh, right, the PR meeting was today,” you recall. “How did it go?”

“Not great,” he sighs. “Do you think I’m a man whore?”

You nearly spit out your beer, trying very hard not to laugh as Ben looks at you with complete earnestness.

“Well, um, I wouldn’t say it like that,” you chuckle. “But…”

“Oh my god,” Ben groans. “If my best friend thinks that, no wonder my publicist says my image is shit.”

Frankly, Ben’s reputation has been better. Lately, he’s been spotted with more models and influencers than you can keep track of, none of whom stick around for very long. The media has been loving it, branding him as Chelsea’s resident playboy and splashing photos of him leaving clubs with beautiful women all over the tabloids.

You try not to judge, as it’s none of your business who Ben hooks up with, but you do think it’s a bit unlike him to be so reckless about it. Nevertheless, you’ve kept those thoughts to yourself.

“Isn’t that sort of the norm for footballers, though?” you question. “I mean, it’s not like a cheating scandal or something. Some of those guys are way worse than you, at least from what I’ve seen online.”

“Yeah, but according to Shreya, my publicist, times are changing and people don’t like the playboy shit anymore. Apparently I would have more luck getting brand deals and stuff if I seemed more…wholesome.”

You love Ben, but you struggle to see the man who proudly told you he left Jack Grealish’s party with two girls a few weeks ago as wholesome.

“So, what’s the plan?” you ask, taking another sip of beer. “Be more discreet with your hookups?”

“Not exactly,” Ben replies. “The team thinks…and I know this sounds crazy, but they want me to get a girlfriend. Well, a fake one. Someone to improve my image.”

You can’t help but burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation, and Ben narrows his eyes at you.

“God, I didn’t know famous people actually did that,” you say, trying to hold back your laughter. “Who’s she gonna set you up with? Please say it’s Taylor Swift. She’s single now!”

Ben laughs for a moment before setting his beer down on the table and turning to face you with a slightly more serious expression on his face.

“Actually, they had someone else in mind,” he says sheepishly. “Someone I already know.”

“Who is it?” you ask, trying to rack your brain to think of what girls Ben knows that would improve his image. Outside of his family and his mates’ girlfriends, you’re pretty much the only woman who is a constant presence in his life. “Wait, are you - don’t tell me you’re asking me?”

Ben pauses for a moment before hesitantly nodding, looking a bit as though he’s afraid you’re going to hit him. Which, frankly, you’re considering.

“The PR team asked if I knew any girls that would work and Mark started going on and on about how you’re my best friend and a nurse and they all said you would be perfect-“

“Ben, I can’t date you!” you exclaim, cursing his agent, Mark, for even suggesting something so absurd. “Who would even believe that?”

“We don’t need people who know us to believe it, just the public,” he states. “And you don’t have to actually date me, we just have to pretend in public for a couple months.”

“I know, but…”

“Please, Y/N?” Ben says, looking at you with wide eyes that you’ve found hard to resist since he was using them to get your extra biscuits in fourth year. “I know it’s a weird request, but it could really help me out.”

It’s really hard to say no to that. Ben has always been there for you in every way imaginable. He once flew to Leeds, where you went to uni, on a moment’s notice because you were stressing over finals and needed a friend. A couple years into his time at Leicester, your dad lost his job and Ben insisted upon covering your parents’ mortgage for six months to help out, claiming he “owed them for all the Sunday roasts” and refusing to accept repayment even when your dad found work again.

He would never use any of that as a bargaining chip or try to cash in a favour, but you really do feel as though you owe him one. And more importantly, you want to help him.

“Okay,” you sigh. “I’ll be your stupid fake girlfriend or whatever.”

“Really?” Ben’s face lights up and he pulls you into a tight hug. “Thank you so much. God, you’re a lifesaver.”

You hug him back just as tightly, breathing in his familiar scent - a mix of his aftershave with a bit of grass and something else.

“You’re welcome,” you say, rolling your eyes slightly as you pull back. “I feel like I’m gonna regret this.”

“You won’t, I promise,” Ben assures you. “I’ll give you a cut when I land the next big brand deal, how’s that?”

“Ew, no, that makes me feel a bit prostitutey,” you chuckle. “It’s just a favour, no need to compensate me. Although you can pay for the food when it gets here, since you’re gonna end up stealing half of it anyways.”

“Deal,” he grins, grabbing your TV remote and putting on an episode of New Girl you’ve both seen before.

As you settle in with your beers and samosas, laughing at the television together, you can’t help but wonder what you’ve just signed up for.

Oh well. What’s the worst that could happen?

A/N: i hope you enjoyed this first part, please let me know what you thought!! should have the next up soon! 💕 (also let me know if you want to be added to the tag list!)

[joanofexys]

Hi! Sorry for randomly dropping anon into ur inbox, but I’m kind of in love with ur oc’s and I was wondering if you could tell me more abt Ilya? Ik u said they’re just some guy from Penn state and for some reason that really intrigues me lol.

Never apologize I love anons and I'm so flattered you like my little guys. Also sorry this is gonna take a minute and there will be many typos cause I'm typing one handed on my laptop while eating an icecream/my cat tries to steal my icecream bar, not that you needed that info

ANYWAY litte recap on Ilya:

22 years old

5'5

he/they, transman

youngest of 4, has all sisters

Played for Penn State

Now plays for Olympic Court

Goalie

Number 7

I haven't decided on what he majored in yet

Yeah he really is just some guy. He's the only athlete really in his family. One of his older sisters ran track in high school, but otherwise their family is full of musician. Dad is a middle school orchestra teacher, mom is a music professor, his sisters all went into the arts. He can play a, quite frankly, ridiculous amount of instruments and he enjoys them all but he's not particularly passionate about it.

His parents signed him up for little league exy because he saw exy on the tv once and wouldn't shut up about it/was begging them to play. His parents just wanted all of their kids to be happy so they caved very quickly and Ilya developed an intense passion for the sport that obviously never went away.

Ilya's oldest sister (Liliya) is 7 years older than him, the other one 4 years older (Kateryna or just Kat), and the sister after (Tanya) that only a year and a half older. They're all incredibly close despite any age gaps while also very much having a dynamic of lovingly bullying each other

Ilya kind of always knew he was trans and they were always in a safe space to express it. His parents used to joke that they had "3 girls and an Ilya" and they didn't even bat an eye when as a kid he went straight for the "boys clothes" and asked to be called a prince instead of a princess and only responded to being called a boy. At school it was different, in elementary school other kids didn't care but the teachers could be weird about it, and then as a teen other kids started getting mean about it. But his parents and their sisters were always accepting and they filled their house with enough love that Ilya never thought about being closeted or pretending to be someone he wasn't.

He gets recruited to Penn State's team as their starting goalkeeper as an openly trans athlete. His team's respectful for the most part. There are some people who just don't seem to get it, but they're never outright rude or transphobic to him. There are sometimes snide remarks and something Not Cool said on accident and Ilya is always quick to correct it and most of his teammates are decent enough to apologize and try to do better

And he talks A Lot about being a trans and generally queer athlete. He's happy to be one of those people out and proud for everyone who can't be. Ilya has always, unapologetically, taken up space. Not even focused on his queerness, just in the way he exists as a person. If he's in a room you're going to know he's there and you're probably going to know their every thought as well.

They care a lot and they take everything to heart. They're very much a "don't cry cause you'll make me cry" type of person. He's much more willing to take on people's pain and share their burdens than he probably should be.

And he has zero filter. While he's absolutely paving the way as a queer athlete and he has a lot to say to the press about that his press time also has to be limited because he will just say shit. He has insulted other teams, insulted specific players, shared information that he definitely shouldn't have, said "fuck" on camera too often to keep count, and a lot more. He is keeping the Penn State vs Edgar Allan Ravens twitter discourse alive and well with all the shit that comes out of his mouth

He makes his best friend his junior year. She's a sophomore named Alice and she's a defensive dealer. Her sophomore year she comes as trans, MTF, and Ilya is the first person she tells becuase he's one of the only queer people she knows. After that they're pretty much attached at the hip and Ilya would kill and die for her. Her family isn't super accepting so he takes her home with him for the holidays. His family becomes hers and they're more than happy to add one more girl to the family.

Ilya makes court right after he graduates and it's with Jude, Em, Mara, Florian. you know the drill at this point. They're the ones I never shut up about. And I think I'll largely be repeating myself and I don't want to be annoying with that so we'll stop there

Some other fun things about Ilya though:

he never learned how to ride a bike. he will never ride a bike. fuck no (he fell over and scraped his knee once and despite all the balls to the head playing exy that was his breaking point for some reason and he never got on a bike again)

he's a cat person

he teaches Florian ASL and it's the main they talk to each other cause Florian likes to go nonverbal

they were such a huge fan of Jude it took everything in them to not be starstruck when the two first met

the two instruments they stuck with were the violin and the piano

they have an addiction to strawberries

is almost always playing jazz music on a vinyl when they're home/have people over

he has a shitty autograph and Flor has begged him to "get better handwriting" since he signs so much stuff but he's fine with it being an unreadable disaster (Florian's autograph in comparison is gorgeous)

he is an unapologetic foxes stan after they win finals

[kaelidascope]

director's commentary for the parallel hangouts merging together in Reach in MM (and WHAT WERE BLAKE AND WEISS DISCUSSING IN THAT CHILI'S)

**cracks my knuckles**

OKAY

Both Reach and Resist go hand in hand and achieve a handful of things all in one go. They read like a large time skip montage, showcase the growing tension between the bees, memorialize a handful of personal favorite memories of mine, and cover all these mod-podge collection of scenes I wanted for MM bees but ran out of space to properly expand on LOL

Blake teaching Yang how to pole-dance;

The stuffed bee comes from Pugoata's Etsy shop and I have one on my desk NGJFGFKGF

Yang not realizing the pole spins was also my first reaction touching a dancing pole for the first time LOL before I got into dancing, my roommate had me install her pole into the ceiling of our apartment and I went to touch it and almost fell off. Life imitates art or whatever

Around this time, as we later see in Resist, Blake is obviously going back and forth with her personal feelings and beliefs. Sawrin words it well in his breakdowns, but she is wanting to give into temptation by the obvious signs Yang is throwing at her. But then she remembers her life and situation and goes down a spiral of assumed futures and 'what ifs' and then just shuts down and runs off. Despite her willingly putting them BOTH in a situation where they could flirt and kiss. She's giving into natural temptation when she shows off to Yang more than she should, getting in her personal space. It's an easy mask to hide behind when she can play off her advances as 'teaching Yang how to be sexy'

She totally did intend on kissing her she just wussed out LMAO and what Yang doesn't see if she is downing that water in literal gulps because she is blushing profoundly and her hearts beating a mile a minute. This is roughly around the time Blake starts getting Ideas.TM about Yang and none of them are in the bible

Yang comes over for Guys Night at Pyrrha's;

I designed their neighborhood after the historic yuppity district close to where I lived for a brief time. More specifically, it's modeled after a fucked up cobblestone route I used to have to drive when I delivered pizzas in that area

Weiss may have been cut off from her family but she still had savings. She invested a fuck ton into that property specifically cus there's no HOA

The vibe I was going for with the fire pit and the projection outside on a cold November night was modeled after 2 experiences of mine. I remember being super fucking cozy around a fire pit at my ex's family house once and it was one of those rare nights where it was freezing. But with the scent of the firewood burning and being bundled up near loved ones, it was a rare moment of peace for me in my early twenties. Second, we used to have these family friends who had a sheet tacked up on their back porch and would watch football on it. I blended the two vibes together for this one

I can't get a lime to float to the bottom of a bottle of Corona so neither can Yang

I used to destroy the plate of pigs in a blanket at cookouts so that's why they ate those

Pyrrha's gambling addiction was born on the spot in this scene! It started with her just placing a bet but then after that, I saw opportunities present themselves and it was just too good not to pass up. The club-wide bet also did not exist until this chapter either LOL I wrote it into the story after the fact and it is not mentioned until The Hangover Chapter. But chronologically, she established it the second she saw Yang take Blake home after work.

The Chili's Girls Night is real and I used to do it often. The photo of them leaning over the table filled with empty margarita glasses also exists

And yes. We were very hungover after (there are more photos that exist, but for the sake of pre-transition face reveal, I'll send them to you Spork in DMs after if you wanna see them LOL)

So on this particular night, Weiss spent a good chunk of it complaining about her usual gripes. After three drinks, she asks Blake about Yang. What Yang DOESN'T see is how supportive Weiss actually is of their relationship, and she's the one who told her to text Yang and send them some pictures of their night out. Blake has been dragging heels FOREVER about dating and Weiss is just glad she's not being a fucking shut in who only focuses on working and nothing else. She was very much a recluse even when they lived together, so she's glad to see Blake spending time with someone other than Weiss's mandated outings. She had thought something might've gone somewhere with Ilia, but Ilia couldn't end up handling it. They then collectively nod and drink on her behalf (poor thing). They talk about some things in their past memories. Blake asks how she and Pyrrha are doing. They talk about some social drama going on in the club. Jaune is their waiter at this particular Chili's (yes there is lore here) and they make drunk small talk/tease with him. After drink 5 or 6 Blake starts getting loose about her attraction and shyness towards Yang and Weiss asks Pyrrha to bring Yang to come get them since Blake's too embarrassed to do anything.

Blake actually being receptive towards Yang here is literally cus her insecurities and self-imposed rules are barred out cus of how drunk she is. Yang acknowledges this, much to her dismay, and misses another opportunity to kickstart their relationship because if they are gonna start, it should be proper LOL and not something that could be seen as taking advantage of Blake. Both of them are old kind of beyond the sloppy juvenile mistakes

Blake "sleeping" on Yang is a memory from when I had a really rough emotional night during my grieving period and my boyfriend at the time just held me on the couch while I half-slept. Same vibes. We eventually had to move but I did not want to.

In the anthology series Midnight Forever, we will see a lot more Blake/Weiss interactions both from the past and off-screen throughout the original fic. Including the night Weiss made her stay and their first Margarita Night SKKSKSS Weiss and Blake's dynamic is modeled after mine and my now oldest standing friendship :) the very same girl who I danced with! Unlike Blake and Weiss though, our dancer personas were completely different and incompatible LOL we did not have a matching act

[undertalebabbleblog]

Fellverse Collars

Okay… here we go! This was one of the first rants I ever made that was actually useful somewhere along the way instead of just being what it was… a rant to my closest of close people who GET the fandom (AKA: the only person willing to listen to me and put up with my crap at that time in the morning and still talked to me the day after despite the previous 5+ hours I’d been asking at them. When they are still willing to respond to your messages 4h later- 9am -you KNOW they’re a keeper) So I figured here is as good a place and time to start as any…

[Especially considering I was TODAY years old when they let me know that discord chats have a SEARCH function… anyone else been spamming the ‘page up’ button for hours like your life depended on it? HANDS UP ✋]

SO without further ado~

I bring to you my explanation of the meanings of collars in the different fellverses! [This will be heavily based in the UTMV if you hadn’t guessed - focusing on underfell; Edge and Red, and fellswap; Black (or interchangeably Razz) and Mutt]

So CONTEXT- I was brought into this rant by a question from a friend asking me to explain fell universe collars to them (obviously), since they’re mentioned quite a bit throughout the fandom where the fellverses are concerned, but the variation between the meanings really confused them, and its not like they really had a solid definition to depend and lean on for info on it because the concept was mainly based in fannon. So they came to me. Because I apparently give off the vibe of knowing this. Good thing I ACTUALLY had an answer lol

BASICALLY~~~

In the simplest of terms, quickest way I could put it, and perhaps one of the most obvious of facts: The collars are a sign of ownership.

Think of underfell’s resident skele bros (Most commonly known as Edge and Red throughout the fandom), Edge literally OWNS red.

This could be interpreted in a whole bunch of different ways, but it all boils down to Red being practically either a pet or just straight up property to Edge.

It’s there to send a message. If someone were to hurt red it would be the equivalent of property damage… Or kicking his puppy… It lets people KNOW that if they mess with Red, Edge is going to get, understandably, pissed. It’s a protective measure.

When it comes to fellswap the underlying theme of ownership is the same, but it’s the context that differs. While Edge has his status, it is mainly his formidable battle and trapping prowess and infamy that makes the collar an effective safety measure. When it comes to fellswap the protection the collar offers is more of a proof of subjugation and the rising of said ‘owners’ status.

In fellswap Mutt was was viewed as a fierce foe, whom of which the majority of the underground were terrified of, knowing him and his brother Black by the name of ‘the queens guard dogs’. Having Black collar Mutt raises Blacks own infamy and labels him as some untouchable higher power, despite the lowness of his HP, which ordinarily would spell death for a monster of his world.

Their world is one in which family ties mean next to nothing in the grand scheme of things, they were merely a weak point to exploit. The chink in their armour. It was either that of a form of unsteady alliance with trust in which you’d trust the other to turn on you in a heart beat when push comes to shove.

The collaring is the closest they could come to showing they could care. The only form of tie that holds meaning and makes you stronger. Someone that people wouldn’t want to mess with.

Although that is mainly interpretation based off of the way the fandom flows, while underfell is a little more reliably set fellswap if most DEFINITELY more of a concept than a set idea.

If you needed this cleared up hope it did that for you!

If you didnt… hope you at least found it either entertaining or informative enough to be worth the time spent reading this!

[queerxqueen]

If you didn’t know what Zionism was then I think it’s worth acknowledging the role propaganda, brainwashing and indoctrination play in what’s happened too. And I want to preface this by saying my intention isn’t defence of Noah, but nuance, because people seem to be missing a large chunk and treating him like he’s a 50 year old that should know better.

He is swimming in propaganda, all his life. His parents, his community, his peers. He is easily influenced. Picture the Oct 7 event but with him surrounded by parents reacting and saying things on pure emotion (because a fact is that everybody knows somebody in Is*ael, the Jewish community isn’t large worldwide. It is safe to assume they were upset.) any corrupt people in his religious community - it would have been surrounding everywhere he turned. He gets sad when people are sad. Dangerous time for more misinformation to be fed to him. Really I am curious to know about his sister being around too.

People say he can still educate himself - and I agree yes he can and should, but they are dismissing how deep propaganda goes. This happening did not surprise me. Him doubling down is surprising me, upset me, but I still think growth can happen over time. Him taking down posts was a good sign but he is obviously pressured by those around him and I hope he grows a spine. (Does that sound familiar, stan world? Feeling pressured to do what others do so you don’t get thrown away by your peers/people you like? He is so close to your own very young age, you know that right?)

Those 30 year olds with their stickers have 10 years on him. He met many of them on the propaganda mess that was the trip his parents set up for him (likely his ‘birthright’ trip) that uses young people to promotes the ‘country’ by using the religion he cares about. Because that’s what he was fed his whole entire life. He didn’t do any of this in 2021 when the last big attack happened. That trip and the bullshit people he met really did damage. That is not me excusing his responsibility btw, but it is a valid analysis.

Shawn, Brett and the Duffers are double+ his age too and they disappoint me way more than Noah. They feed him more lies because he trusts them! They should know better than Noah who was recently 17, and 14 and a kid. Especially Shawn who is close to his family.

Its not new information that he needs a spine. He needs friends that care about him. He needs to not please people. Noah is responsible for his actions but his indoctrination plays a part that is so obvious.

You might be confused why I sound like I criticize but sound like I defend too. That is the nuance. That is called not bowing to people (kids!) in a fandom prioritizing the wrong thing. Ya. 🙏🏻 on God Palestine will be free, but he does not have ‘blood on his hands’ people need to take away such intense focus like that on one person who is not even a politician. They sound ridiculous and not true allies! A real ally would not be prioritizing getting likes on hate tweets and posts, and not even discussing the genocide. Noah is a speck in this, it is just loud on your Internet side.

I've listened to a lot of stories from anti-zionist Jewish people and almost all of them have the common factor of indoctrination and propaganda that has surrounded them their whole life. I definitely agree that's the case with Noah. It's tragic but it unfortunately doesn't excuse his actions.

Agreed that the Stranger Things of it all is irrelevant in the scope of the real violence going on and that people should direct their anger to do something that actually helps Palestinians (like calling representatives, educating yourself, joining BDS led boycotts, etc) instead of just hating on celebrities or boycotting one of the most popular shows.

I appreciate and agree with the nuance. It all still sucks though lol.

[poppy-metal]

this is the first ask i’ve ever done ♡ i’m sorry if it’s cringy LOL, i literally just haven’t been able to get this out of my head and it’s 1:00am. steve!centric.

whatever you do, don’t think about how steve’s parents definitely forced him to play a classical instrument when he was younger. they wanted to use him in his adolescence to impress the other stifling parents in the rich neighbourhood of hawkins’, so they chose the cello. something deep, alluring, leading, etc. young steve would be hauled up in the living room of that near vacant house, watching longingly as the neighbourhood kids played rambunctiously on the sidewalks while he was tethered to darkness as the curtains closed, blocking his view of salvation. a brand new cello practically the same size as him would fight against his scrawny arms, weighing down on the right side of his chest suffocatingly. his firm instructor, one of the best in the country, sat across from him as he relentlessly instilled the art of classical music into steve’s brain day and night, until the soft pads of his nimble fingers were bloody and bruised.

once steve got to high school, he fought tooth and nail with his parents to not continue cello lessons, much to his parents now still evident resentment. he was afraid that if anyone found out that he knew how to play the cello, and god forbid, was continuing in junior high? they would group him in with the ‘band geeks’, thereby ruining his future ‘king’ title before it could even get up off the ground.

flash forward to the future (eddie didn’t die, duh) and it’s the summer of ‘86 after eddie has graduated (yay). the metalhead’s name has been cleared by hopper. town splitting earthquake? who’s she? so! eddie’s been struggling to find a bass player for corroded coffin, since maybe their old bass player decided to go to college, or get the hell up out of hawkins, or they broke their hands somehow, anyyyyways. eddie’s been sticking up audition signs all around hawkins with sticky, uneven sections of tape on every pole and establishment wall that he can touch. not to mention driving recklessly in his van, only to throw a few hundred matching signs out of his windows wherever he can, never failing to disturb the surrounding neighbourhoods’ of hawkins’ as they shoot him the bird before grumbly cleaning up the signs off the road.

it isn’t until a few days later when steve, robin, and eddie are in family video on a very dead saturday evening after the 5:00pm rush. eddie came to bug the two best friends, leaning against the counter as he played with his butterfly knife, deep in thought. steve was sat atop the counter absentmindedly with a mouthful of pringles, while robin lazily merchandised tapes near the till.

robin: “so, munson, you get any bites on your band’s bass player auditions yet?”

eddie: “no one except for ollie trout. he plays the cello, which is basically the same, but.. he’s just so.. stiff.”

steve, being the himbo, but genius he is, offhandedly mentions that he played the cello from when he was five to fifteen. for ten years, because his parents wanted him to and paid ‘fortunes’ for lessons from an old new yorker who smelt like olives. since he isn’t ashamed to talk about something that he found absolutely mortifying a short time ago, anymore. plus, robin plays the trumpet, so obviously it wasn’t that big a deal, right? he doesn’t see the awe in his friends’ faces until he reaches down to grab another pringle, the can suddenly gone. he looks up to see eddie’s jaw dropped incredulously, pringle can in his ring adorned grasp as robin is frozen in place, speechless. steve nearly sputters as he swears, believing some upside down thing was happening again before eddie practically got down on his ripped denim knees and BEGGED steve to play at least one gig with them.

i’m thinking that eddie bribes steve with maybe like, free work on his bmw for life whenever it needs to be repaired, or he’ll take initiative on driving the kids, particularly dustin, wherever they need to go for the rest of the summer. steve agrees at those propositions, but he’s hesitant, because it’s been a long time since he’s played. it’s something his parents made him do, and he doesn’t fit the image, but the bass feels different to him somehow. i’m thinking it’s kinda morphing into a school of rock! au. in addition to eddie teaching steve how to garner his confidence back into playing music again, he shows him how fucking cool black sabbath, metallica, motley crüe, etc. are. how the same chords that contributed to a piece he found static can electrify a space, how the sound he emits can become his, instead of his parents. it isn’t until steve finally picks up the glossy black bass that the band collectively owns, and fucking NAILS a complicated bass solo that eddie had walked him through moments before, that the metalhead silently thanks steve’s shit parents for allowing eddie to turn their goody two shoes boy into an entity his parents would loathe. the other two corroded coffin boys are SHOCKED, because they know they did not just watch the prince of hawkins’ get possessed by the gods of music for a good five minutes before reverting back into a nice guy. needless to say, jeff and gareth are more than down to have him join for a gig.

and whatever you do!! don’t think about robin calling your parent’s landline and asking you if you want to see steve’s first gig at the hideout with corroded coffin that night, because she doesn’t want to be alone, and you shyly saying yes. because you’ve always held a certain desire deep within the pit of your chest for the mature babysitter. and the thought of steve harrington? playing metal music? at the dingiest bar in hawkins? alongside the town outcast? it made your heart flutter and your core clench with anticipation and want.

you and robin dress in your best ‘metal’ outfits. if you’re more outgoing, you can definitely spice it up. practically painted leather leggings, shredded corroded coffin makeshift tank, glossy black boots that lick the bottoms of your thighs. or!! if you’re more of a coquette/girly girl, you could wear a really cute crop top and a verrryyyy short tennis skirt with slightly scuffed up mary janes (all black, because you still want to fit in with the band). those are just some options! anyways-

you and robin are near the outskirts of the crowd, away from the pending mosh pit (they’ve garnered quite a crowd, as word had spread fast that steve ‘the hair’ harrington had joined the only metal band in their small town of indiana). the chipped stage becomes bathed in a faded low light as the band walks on, and your breath hitches in your throat because there, on the right side of the stage closest to you, is the man of the hour.

steve’s dressed in a shredded band tee that’s been altered into a makeshift tank top, revealing the wiry rug of chest hair that makes your head go a bit fuzzy, with the way the chestnut strands glint in the slightly yellow stage light. not to mention the toned muscles in his arms flexing each time he moves from shoulder to fingertips, casting shadows within the indentations. black denim jeans, skinnier than you’ve ever seen on his legs are hanging low on his hips. the same hips you rarely ever see with how his large hands are always casing them in disappointment. except now, those same hands that make a pool of warmth spread within the base of your panties, are wrapped around the glossy black bass that’s strung around his torso. his dusky gaze is surrounded by an eyeshadow shade that resembles soot, with white glitter spilling down his waterline and onto the soft skin of his under eyes. a light sheen of sweat is beginning to cascade over his sun kissed skin, causing your saliva to become gelatinous as the tip of your tongue tingles longingly. he looks angelic.

and oh god, when they start playing? the crowd is going fucking nuts at eddie, steve, gareth, and jeff making the stage their absolute bitch. they sound like professionals, absolutely tearing the house down as the crowd moshes. broken teeth, black eyes, and nose bleeds inevitable at this point. your doe eyed gaze becomes cloudy as steve looks right at you, his hair damp with sweat as it droops over his sly gaze. you watch with parted lips and a searing warmth cascading you, as his rosy mouth morphs into a devilish smirk, pearly white teeth glinting ominously in the light. you can’t help the shiver that dances down your spine as steve puts on a true show. long fingers skillfully encasing the rough strings on his bass as he lets loose, screaming into the mic along with jeff as they act as background vocals for eddie, bass toned voice broken with the feeling of finally being free, alive. hopping and kicking around on stage with his steel toed combat boots as if his lungs had just taken their first real breath of air. tinged with stale cigarette smoke, metallic liquor, torn leather and cheap perfume.

and you swear, in that moment, that you would let his entire being swallow you whole.

hehe, thanks for listening to my word vomit! ♡ can i also be this emoji ‘🐇’ pretty please! ♡ if not than this one ‘💌’ 🥺🥺 i love your writing and hope you liked this! feel free to add on too hehe. i’m a slut for corroded-coffin!steve ♡

love, R! ♡

im going to pass out??? i need to suck his cock backstage immediately.

[yeehawbvby]

Maxine Pokemon (tm) lore post LET’S GO ->

- Born in Unova, heritage is a mix of whatever the equivalent of Italian + Irish is in Pokemon (her mom is the daughter of an Italian immigrant, and her dad is an immigrant from Ireland).

- Her huge family (she’s the youngest of 7 siblings) moves to a farm on the border of Wedgehurst and Turrfield when she’s like 5 years old

- She moved to Galar early enough that she managed to develop a Galarian accent instead of keeping a Unovan one. Here’s a voice claim!! (This video specifically - this person sounds less soft in other things and it just wouldn’t fit Max as well. She’s VERY soft spoken.)

- She was an accident. Her parents had her far later than her siblings and didn’t want her, but were too proud and religious to do the responsible thing in that situation

- They resented her because of this, manipulating all her siblings to feel the same, thus all treating her like shit

- Unable to keep enduring the abuse, Max runs away at 10 y/o to Spikemuth

- In my HC, Spikemuth’s cost of living is low because crime etc. is high, and the city is huge. Made it an easy place for little urchins like her to run off to. She still struggles, though

- She lived in a tent for a long while because she was too young to sign for an apartment and didn’t have any adults to sign for her, but she glammed that shit out the best she could!!

- Battery powered string lights, tons of blankets and pillows, some incense to make it smell good but also ward off dangerous pokemon that might stumble upon her at night. It was as cozy as it could be

- Her partner is a Misdreavus! She was obviously too young in Unova to have a pokemon, and they aren’t natural in Galar, so how did they end up together?

- It belonged to one of her older siblings. He rarely took it out of its ball, and actively talked about how he didn’t like it compared to his other mons

- Maxine would sneakily hang out with it from time to time, and they got on well, sharing a bond in being the unwanted child basically

- So when Max ran away, she stole Misdreavus to come with her

- (Still haven’t worked out the logistics of it, but Max can understand pokemon. It’s friendship based, like, she gets close enough with a pokemon and eventually she can actually understand them? Idk. But yeah she can actually converse with Misdreavus to a certain degree)

- She did some odd jobs, but mostly made her cash off underground pokemon battles. The stakes were higher (making them illegal lol), like.. it was intense gambling basically.

- Misdreavus didn’t want to evolve, so they hustled >:3 They went from venue to venue pretending Max was a new trainer with a new pokemon. Sometimes they lost on purpose before a win streak that they claimed as “beginner’s luck”

- It was absolutely exhausting though. She was constantly putting herself in tons of danger by doing this

- At the time she was like 145cm tall (by the time she’s done growing she’s only like 149cm lol), malnourished, and didn’t have any real way to defend herself if someone got mad enough to harm her

- Plus, Max is a little anxious mess and all the people + risk + acting wasn’t great for her. Kinda led to her being too tired to really care for herself

- Eventually met Piers and Marnie when she was, like, 17 or so - they were out on a walk, Marnie dropped a toy, and it rolled into Max’s tent

- Piers was surprised to see someone around his age open the flap to hand it back, and Marnie (who was like 6 at that point) was interested bc of her childish wonder or whatever

- They became fast friends, because I’m a sucker for giving Max the love she deserves damnit!! (BIG contrast from her old lore lol)

- Piers and Marnie would visit regularly. They would all mess with each other’s hair, paint each other’s nails, they’d play handheld games and read comics together and listen to music together - anything they could do from the confines of basically a little camp

- Piers would often come without Marnie, like if she was away at a play date or something, which is how Max and Piers’ bond grew as strong as it is

- Eventually Piers invited Max over, and when he realized she barely knew how to act in someone else’s home, let alone really, like.. take care of herself beyond the bare minimum, he pieced together that she’d been on her own far longer than he’d thought - not just in the physical sense.

- Piers’ and Marnie’s parents were gone, but they’d at least had some stability due to inheritances. So to try and offer that to Max, he started to sneakily feed her more, would subtly convince her to shower at his place when she needed to, offered to let her sleep on their couch…

- Once Max caught on, things got a little weird. She didn’t like the help, and being autistic, took it personally; like he pitied her for her shortcomings and executive dysfunction, and wanted to help because of that, rather than because he cared about her

- But by now Marnie was becoming more aware of herself and the world around her too, and her concern tugged at Max’s heartstrings a ton. She and Piers both managed to convince Max that they just wanted her to be happy and safe

- Fast forward a little, and now Max, Piers, and Marnie are renting a place together

- Piers found out about Max’s illegal battling habits and, now being a gym leader and rockstar, let her be part of the staff

- With a more stable lifestyle and also with age, Max started to be able to pull herself together

- Previously skin and bone - not in a healthy or natural way, but rather the ‘hadn’t been sleeping much, was horribly depressed and was extremely malnourished’ sort of way - she started to put on weight

- Needing new clothes, it gave her the chance to change her style to something closer to what it is now - very cute and cozy, rather than the weird mix of emo and athletic-wear she had worked with previously

- Along with the style change, she cut her hair!! Or at least tried to. Piers had to fix it lol

- By 23, she was ready to get her own place

- Wanting a change of pace, she moved out of town - decided on Circhester because she and Misdreavus like the cold, and also because it’s right next to Spikemuth, so she and her closest friends could still see each other often

- She started working at the Circhester gym, not wanting to commute back to Spikemuth so often, and Melony became a bit of a mother figure for her

- They went on cute lunch dates frequently, for strolls around town with hot cocoa, and Melony even took Max shopping sometimes. It was the closest thing to a mom-like figure Max had ever experienced

- This made work more enjoyable too. She was worried that, upon changing venues, she’d have a hard time. Going from working with friends to working with strangers was scary as hell at first

- Eventually Melony tried to convince Max to do the gym challenge, thus starting that whole saga. She only decided to actually join in when Marnie decided to give it a shot too, encouraging Max to go along with her

- Melony and Piers both wanted to endorse Max so badly lol. Since Piers had already endorsed his sister though, they decided on having Melony do it

- (This never happened I don't think, BUT I love the idea of Piers and Melony bickering over who gets to endorse Max jkrengdrge)

- Partially because I’m indecisive and partially because Max is an extension of me, she doesn’t have a set team - she just swaps her pokemon out situationally (with her Misdreavus being the only exception to that), which made the gym challenge kind of easy on her. She had all the type matchups she needed, she just had to train them more

- Earns a corny nickname of DynaMax from fans (and keeps it after the challenge is over too, to her misfortune.. she has a love-hate with how her fans play into her love for corny dad jokes), but is super anxious about all the attention

- She has a fling with Leon during the gym challenge

- They break up before she even makes it to the end of the challenge, agreeing it’s probably for the best (from an ethics standpoint as well as just for each other. They stay friends though)

- She doesn’t win! She made it to the finals and then got her ass whooped by Allister.

- (Sorry for the Champion Gloria and Victor erasure. Maybe another year was better to them)

- Because she didn’t win, things go back to normal for a bit

- Only abnormal thing is that after the gym challenge, her and Piers start dating

- They had been interested in each other for a long time - even shared their first kisses with each other, amongst plenty more after the fact - but didn’t want to mess things up

- It was Max dating Leon that made them both realize they should give each other a shot romantically. Max didn’t feel the same butterfrees and whatever, and Piers got jealous as fuck (although he wanted Max to be happy so he didn’t say anything)

- Things go amazingly with them actually, but they wind up breaking up on friendly terms when she decides to move to Paldea a few years later. It’s less actually wanting to break up, more just thinking the distance might be too hard to manage

- When she leaves for Paldea it’s because she wants to go to school, something she’d never gotten to do before. Knowing it’s prestigious and wanting a challenge, she enrolls in Uva

- My HC is that Scarlet, from the manga, takes the place of the protag here. So while Max does befriend Arven, Penny and Nemona, and while she does get a little involved in the main storyline, she isnt super in it.

- She doesn’t become a champion, but does hang around Scarlet and Nemona to support them during the gym challenge

- Whiiiich is how she eventually meets and canoodles with Grusha!

- Having been a pro ice-type trainer herself for a while, plus both of them being physically disabled to a certain degree (Max’s hEDS + Grusha’s, in my HC, prosthetic leg), they mesh well

- There’s a lot of playful bickering going on, and at first Max couldn’t tell if it was in good fun or if Grusha just fucking hated her lmao. But it worked out!!

- Since gym trainers aren’t as prevalent in Paldea, Max has to go into a new line of work. She turns out to actually do really well in her classes, so she winds up being an assistant researcher and TA for Jacq and his classes!

- Fast forward a while, she’s explicitly told by him that black Tera crystals are not worth the research, please don’t go, etc.

- She doesn’t listen because of her childlike sense of wonder and new love for academia, thus going with Nemona to take one on.

- Unfortunately, their opponent is a messed up, dummy strong, super pissed off electric-tera type Gyarados. They struggle a LOT.

- At one point it shoots a bolt at Nemona, rather than at her pokemon, but Max runs over to block it. She gets fucked up, because obviously.

- Max thinks she’s dead. In reality, she goes into a coma. She doesn’t know that though as she gets an isekai to Hisui

- Hisui-era Max follows mostly the same plot as PLA. All the field research piques her interest, for inexplicable reasons (she has no memory of her other life yet), but nobody opposes it.

- She and Volo have a romance, because of course they do. Half my OCs backstories are ship-driven ciwjvodkckd

- As she regains her memories, she loses her absolute marbles

- Not only is she here because she “died” but she’s having a worse time than she could ever possibly imagine. Shit is dangerous in Hisui!!

- Eventually realizes Volo has been manipulating her all along. Loses some more of her marbles, as one would

- The thing is, Volo’s feelings were still real. He did what he needed to do, but he ultimately does care for Max, and offers to let him rule the world he aims to create alongside him

- With literally nothing to lose, Max accepts. Couldn’t possibly get any worse than it was, and at least if she was gonna be stuck with anyone it would be someone she admires

- Arceus is PISSED that she was gonna follow through, rightfully so!! So it retracts her from Hisui before she can hand the plates over, as punishment, and also as a way to prevent himself from being flicked out of existence

- From Volo’s POV, Max simply vanished, plates included. So obviously he conspires that she has some sorta power and it was on purpose and he got Punk’dtm

- In present day, Grusha - knowing how important Piers and Marnie were to Max (and also knowing them, maybe being friends with them, because of all the phone and video calls Max had with them) - flew the two of them out to Paldea so they could be there for Max if and when she woke up

- The gym challenge had just ended before this so Marnie had the time, and Piers put his tour on hold

- Max wakes up. She was out for like a month or two real time, I think, but was in Hisui for a year or so.. don’t ask me how this works idfk

- She now thinks everything in Hisui was just a really fucked up dream

- A lot of crying happens, both because she’s scared and because she’s happy to see her old friends and new ones all together.

- Feeling messed up by everything that just happened, she decides to move back to Galar. She wants the comfort of what she considered her true home, plus she doesn’t want to be reminded of her Incident every time she sees a Tera crystal

- Her and Grusha break up for the same reason she and Piers had earlier. It’s all on friendly terms, but they don’t want to do distance.

- Piers is elated she’s coming back, but they both agree to take things slow. No dating resumes for a long while, but it does resume. First loves, still best friends, etc, it makes sense (I know irl it doesn’t always make sense BUT MINMAXSHIPPING IS MY OTPPPPPP)

- Okay so. You know how I said the isekai was real and Max really did time travel back to Hisui?

- Volo is real. Volo is immortal.

- He’s posing as a traveling merchant in modern-day, and just happens to be in Galar.

- So, a few months after Max wakes up, she runs into him.

- She’s terrified. How is he here? Wasn’t he just a figment from her dream? What was going on?

- Volo? He’s PISSED. He remembers everything: his heart being broken, his plan being ruined, his accomplice vanishing before his eyes. He puts on a facade though, for his own safety.

- Volo pretends to not recognize Max. When Max addresses him by name, he plays it coy, like, “Oh wow my goods are so popular in Galar that you know my name without me saying it? Pshh that’s weird, I’m flattered” etcetera

- Lame way to end this but that’s all I’ve got for now, because idk what comes next and idk how things might change when the next game comes out :’)

[tartrazeen]

Why am I making myself sad 😭

I've had this really nice (sad 😭) head canon about Angus and Rohan growing up. I could write it as fanfic...

... or I could just barf it into a post like I'm doing now.

So this is about the two of them when they were very young.

Basic backstory: in my head, when they say they've known each other for "practically all their lives" and "as long as either of them could remember," they mean it: I have Angus as being a year older, and the two of them meeting when Rohan was six and Angus was seven. Both orphans. Both without a home. Rohan woke up from where he'd fallen in a forest one day, and Angus was the kid standing over him, the first thing Rohan saw, who was waiting to see if he was dead or not lol

Angus took enough of a liking to Rohan when they were in that forest that when Angus went to leave, and Rohan sort of baby-duck'd onto him and followed along, Angus mostly just shrugged. There was a village nearby, after all, and that's where Angus had been headed anyway, having just been passing through that forest when he saw a maybe-corpse. When Angus goes to leave that village a few days later, Rohan continues baby-ducking and following his new best friend. Angus, being seven and not thinking any further than his next meal, shrugs and accepts that he's got a buddy now. He has no idea that he's just signed up for a life-long commitment.

Skip ahead to their present day, or maybe a few months after the finale. Maeve's exiled, Nemain hasn't started her shenanigans yet, so there's a decent sense of peace over Kells.

Rohan is telling the others about how he and Angus grew up. In this particular version of my daydream (I like changing it), it's because Rohan's still trying to bond with Lugad but doesn't know how to be an older brother to him. Ivar explains that an older brother's supposed to protect his younger siblings, guide them through life, keep them happy, and help shape them into who they are as adults. And Rohan's miffed, because Lugad's already grown, so it seems like the ship's sailed on that.

Deirdre tries to think of ideas for Rohan to try, and eventually asks how it was for him and Angus. Rohan does his little scoff-laugh, saying he doesn't see what that matters. When the others push, he says Angus is his best friend...

... but to be honest, he wouldn't say Angus was 'protecting' him. Rohan was usually the one getting Angus out of trouble, and Lugad isn't antagonizing every guard in every village. In fact, Lugad grew up in one place. It might have been on a horrible island, but at least Lugad didn't make Rohan move a hundred times because of some tiny thing he didn't like about where they were one morning.

This gets into him explaining that when they were boys - Rohan being seven, Angus being eight - they'd had some rough times trying to survive by themselves. They did take care of each other, but Angus would... well, he'd be a little selfish from time to time. Rohan doesn't blame him because they were both so young, but he says that's the difference between being brothers and being best friends. Rohan loves him and obviously Angus is his family now, but back then, they were just two kids that happened to meet one day.

He gives examples when the others ask. For instance: food. There wasn't much of it. Sometimes, they'd be close to starving. And sometimes, Angus would let the hunger get the best of him, and he'd eat his whole share - more than that - before Rohan even got back to split it. And then Rohan would be stuck eating whatever happened to be left.

It was almost funny, because Rohan could even see how bad it was. Sometimes, Angus would get caught by the guards for stealing and be gone for a few days. Magically, there'd be enough food the whole time that Angus was gone. No hard feelings, Rohan stresses, but it was entertaining to look back on it. Angus had never lost that appetite either; even now, he'd eat everything around him.

The most frustrating part was how Angus always had to complain about where they were living. It'd be over something small, and so small that Rohan can't remember now that nearly fifteen years have passed, but Angus would think it was more than enough reason to pack up that very night and head onto the next village. Eventually, they got to the village closest to the castle, and they had to stay there because where else were they going to go? Rohan had genuinely been afraid when he first became Cathbad's druid, thinking that in the meantime, Angus was going to head off again - without Rohan.

He hadn't. :) All was well.

Anyway, that was why taking lessons from Angus wasn't the best approach.

There's dinner in the throne room later on, and Angus is here now. There's a light conversation and Rohan idly laughs about having to move from village to village so often. Angus rolls his eyes and laughs like he agrees the whole thing was a chore, and Rohan says that at least a lot of good came out of it: if Angus hadn't been so picky, they would've never been where they needed to be for Rohan to become Draganta.

To be honest, there were fun moments while they were moving, too. Angus would whine endlessly about how much he hated the forest, which would shut him up when they finally got to their next village. But despite that, Angus would tell Rohan story after story. They'd be made up, but Rohan still remembers some of them. They were vivid - Angus has always had a way of spinning a tale, and those would lull him to sleep under those trees. It was peaceful. Rohan kind of misses it. Too bad Angus hates sleeping on the ground.

Deirdre asks what sort of stories these were. Rohan says they'd be ones about a clumsy bunny who kept dropping its magic rings, or even one about the princess herself, trying to pluck a silver plate from a waterfall of plates, and only having one chance. Or there'd be a field of grass made out of gold, and a knight having to stomp through with his armour, trying to stop the sheep from eating all the golden grass. Cute things like that.

Angus is a little impressed that Rohan remembers those. Rohan shrugs, saying he's always enjoyed Angus' stories. But now that they're talking about it, and knowing that Rohan did appreciate getting to be in the forest enough to hear them all, what did Angus hate about all those villages?

There's a thoughtful silence and smirk from Angus like he thinks Rohan's making a joke, but Rohan insists he's serious. Angus decides to only half-joke back, glibly replying that it mostly had to do with all of them getting burned down.

Rohan's confused. The others are more surprised, and are able to ask Angus what he means. Angus says that each of those villages were attacked by Temrans. There was a war, after all.

Rohan's very confused.

Not about the war - yes, obviously, there was a war - but about being attacked. They never got attacked by Temrans.

Angus says yes, that's true. Because Angus got them out of the village when he'd heard enough rumours to predict an attack was coming. So then he'd get them both out of there.

The others start asking Angus what it was like, growing up like that. Rohan is quiet as Angus brushes it off and says it was fine, that's how it used to be by the border, and the trick was to keep moving deeper into Kells - towards the castle. In fact, that's how Angus met Rohan: he'd been leaving one village that'd just been attacked, and found this lump of a boy lying in the middle of a forest between the next one. And so a friendship was born.

Rohan says they were never attacked.

Angus agrees again, saying they always stayed a night ahead of it.

Rohan asks how Angus could know.

Angus says they could hear it from the forest.

Rohan says he never heard a thing.

Angus squints at him.

The stories, Angus explains, still kind of smirking because he thinks it's funny that he has to spell this out, were him trying to cover it up. He makes Rohan go through the ones he remembers. What did they have in common? Metal. Crashing on metal. Angus barely remembers any of them, but he's sure there would've been a few to cover any screams.

...

Rohan thinks.

In the awkward silence that Angus is trying to break for the others, Rohan brings up that one story about the wolves that were terrible at howling.

Angus grins. Exactly his point. One of them had to get some sleep, so it might as well have been Rohan.

The others start to chat excitedly about this, Ivar even alluding to Rohan being wrong about Angus looking after him, until Rohan interrupts again. He's beginning to frown.

Rohan asks what Angus means by 'getting some sleep'. He remembers Angus sleeping all the time back then. It was partly why it took so long to leave the forest.

Angus says he'd tell Rohan stories to get the boy to sleep, but Angus himself would be awake to keep an eye out for Temrans. They liked to attack at night back then, so night-time was all he'd been worried about. He'd take naps throughout the day to get some rest in. Which was fine. It helped with the hunger anyway.

Rohan calls Angus out on that, saying Rohan never took naps and he'd have even less to eat than Angus would. That earns him a look from Angus, so he explains how there'd be times where someone wouldn't stick to eating their fair share.

Angus is mildly outraged by the accusation, asking when that had ever happened. Back then, he clarifies. He sneaks a bit now 'cause Rohan always puts the good stuff in his half.

Rohan says that when they were boys, Angus would wait until Rohan was out and then help himself to the food. There'd barely be enough for one of them, and Angus decided to take the first bites anyway.

Angus squints at him.

Rohan frowns back.

Angus asks, starting to smile, like Rohan is playing a trick on him, if Rohan had ever seen Angus this so-called 'share'.

Rohan says no, and that was the point. Angus waited until Rohan had left.

Angus says yes, that was the point. He'd wait for Rohan to go, then wait for him to come back so Angus could lie. There was barely enough for one of them, after all, and Rohan would always make them split it evenly. Angus starts joking about it with the others, bragging about how he'd let Rohan split the food, then just hide his own share and give it back to Rohan at night. There they were, starving orphans, and Angus still had that boy eating twice a day. Better to spread it out like that, obviously.

Rohan doesn't believe this. He can't quite argue it, but he wants to. Eventually he says that if that's true, why would there be food to spare whenever Angus got taken away by the guards?

Angus laughs outright at that, but not at the part about food. The part about the guards. They were living in villages - what guards? Rohan's been living in a castle for too long.

Before Rohan can ask about that, Angus answers his first question with a question: what exactly did he get taken away for? Stealing, was it? And what did he steal? Oh, there was food to spare? Funny, that.

Garrett asks who took Angus to jail, then. Angus says there was no jail. Whatever villager he'd taken food from would find out, beat him half to death, and then he'd need a few days to come limping back to Rohan. He means it light-heartedly, but it's a little more bitter than the rest of what he's said, and the meaning of his words bring an unmistakable sense of pity to the table.

Except for Rohan, who is deeply confused and a tad angry.

Rohan asks if Angus is saying that he wouldn't eat, just give Rohan his food, then sleep through the hunger as they ran from village to village, always only barely ahead of the Temrans.

Angus says yup.

Angus says he's also surprised that Rohan's only figuring this out now. He thought Rohan had known from the beginning. Why else was he following Angus around?

Rohan says it's because they were friends.

Angus shrugs and says that's fair enough.

Rohan can't stomach what he's been hearing. This is news that's come crashing onto him, and Angus is happily chatting with the others and assuring them it was for the best - well, it was horrible, but at least it got them Draganta. Small price to pay for a kingdom, isn't it? And Angus gives a innocent bat of his eyes to the king and says, "You're welcome."

Which is when Rohan leaves the table. Not consciously, of course, but steadily. His ears are ringing at this point. He's not sure if he's cold or sweaty and he doesn't understand why he'd be either.

Rohan doesn't answer when he feels someone calling him. Ivar, he imagines. Although these feel like Garrett's hands leading him to sit. After... months, it seems, his vision - which had blurred some time ago - starts to clear again.

He sees Angus knelt over him. One hand gripping Rohan's shoulder. Angus looks worried and even scared, so different from the boy who'd only grinned in amazement that Rohan wasn't dead in a forest.

Angus had been talking. Rohan hadn't heard. Eventually, the sounds around him returned, and Angus was asking what was wrong. The others were there as well, in varying states of crowding around or stepping back to let Angus handle this.

In my last version of this daydream, Rohan and Angus talk this out right now. In this version, Rohan's more emotionally stunted than that. He apologizes for a making scene, says he isn't feeling well, and then excuses himself back to the hut.

Angus arrives later in the night. By how sheepishly he enters, it's clear to Rohan that Angus thinks he's the one who screwed up. He says as much, apologizing for lying, swearing he thought Rohan knew or puzzled it out by now.

And Rohan breaks.

I mean, truly breaks.

His entire plan was to be stoic about this. He was going to solemnly thank Angus for taking care of them as boys... and still even now, with how much work Angus did to keep him fed and with mended clothes...

But he breaks.

Because Angus was his best friend and was eight and never once complained about the truth of what there was to complain about. And Rohan had complained about that, calling Angus selfish. In hindsight, it was all so perfectly clear that Rohan felt like an ass for not figuring it out. Angus was right to assume he would. So now Rohan was left with an overwhelming guilt of having put that all onto a child, who'd been barely older than him and who'd needed someone's care, but was stuck with Rohan instead.

He cries so hard, he doesn't even realize he's crying into Angus' shoulder or that he's clutching onto his friend as tightly as he is. And Angus allows it to happen, in a flood of patience that never appears unless it's as dire as this. Rohan can feel himself being carefully handled until he's sat on the edge of his cot. It's there that Angus asks if Rohan wants to hear one more story. Rohan agrees by not disagreeing, and Angus sits Rohan back until he's propped up against the thief.

It's exactly like they used to be in those nights: Rohan lying against Angus, curled up under him, and Angus gently holding him there. It isn't perfect, since Rohan's bigger than Angus now, but it feels like a home that Rohan didn't earn.

Angus, in his half-dream of a voice that would never fail to have Rohan at ease, tells a story about a little boy named Schmangus.

Apparently, Schmangus had a hard life growing up. It'd been filled with war and hunger and cold and all the awful things those would do. He doesn't mince words, because he says Schmangus was terrified. Every corner had something new to fear, and he knew he had no choice but to face them anyway if he wanted to live.

One day, Schmangus found a corpse in a forest - only it wasn't a corpse, and it had a name: Schmohan. Schmangus and Schmohan - Rohan would've hit him if this dumb name wasn't so badly what he needed right now - became best friends and went everywhere together. Schmangus never asked him to, but Schmohan always followed along.

The trouble was that Schmohan had all the brains of a child who would drop dead in a forest, and was always trying to share food that wasn't enough to share, and fight wars with a dinky sword that hadn't helped against whatever had knocked Schmohan out in the first place. That meant it was up to Schmangus to keep them alive, and that meant Schmangus had to lie about it.

It wasn't so bad the first time. Or the second. By the third, it had become a pattern. And it got harder and harder to do. Schmangus felt like everywhere he went and everything he touched was cursed, and Schmohan hadn't asked for any of it. Schmangus wanted to keep that curse away from Schmohan for as long as he could; just like food, there was only so much peace to go around, and with how terrified Schmangus was, it only made sense to give that peace to Schmohan.

Stories turned the sounds of war and fire into a melody. Pockets turned a meager scrap into a meal for later. Sleep and water from the river, plus whatever he ate right from a villager's home, got Schmangus through most of it. The villagers didn't catch him often - sometimes Schmangus would just be hiding - but when they did, it was still worth the risk.

He only needed the peace to last until they were somewhere safe. He didn't know where 'safe' was, but now he was making an effort to look for it. Before, Schmangus would simply wander around. Now, he had Schmohan to care for.

Rohan says that Angus was only eight.

Angus says yes, he was, but this wasn't about him, it was about Schmangus, and also, shut it, he isn't done yet.

Schmangus felt a new kind of fear: one of failure. He knew he was only eight, and he knew he didn't know what he was doing. But if he could keep Schmohan from hating him for - shut it, Rohan - for dragging him all over the place like this, he'd be satisfied.

And he was. When they eventually made it to the castle, Schmohan had simply teased him about living in there. It was the best thing Schmangus had heard. It was like everything he'd gone through was worth it. Maybe he'd gone through it alone, but Rohan would always try to split everything - he meant Schmohan, shut up Rohan - and now one of them had enough of a peaceful life to share.

The story used to end there, Angus says, but there's a new ending to it now. Rohan is utterly relaxed into Angus, and at any other time, would have been dozing off already. He asks Angus for the new ending, and Angus provides.

Schmohan, as he'd said, was the sort of boy who'd fight a tree and have it topple over and crush him, so of course he grew up and never figured out any of this until Schmangus told it to him outright. But Schmohan wasn't a fool. Schmohan had become the best warrior of a kingdom named Schmells - Rohan did shove him a little for that - and had figured out many things, even if he still held a spoon like an angry rat - a lot of a shove from Rohan - so it had to mean that Schmangus was very good at lying.

Even on the nights where there were no sounds of war, Schmangus would lie awake worrying that Schmohan had enough. If there'd been any way for him to know that fifteen years later, Schmohan would still be looking back on those days as peaceful journeys with his friend, never aware of attacks, thinking food would appear by itself...

... that boy would've slept with a smile on his face, knowing he'd saved his friend from so much, so completely, his friend would long for those nights. He'd remember the stories as stories alone, and remember what they'd been about. He'd be happy. Still, obviously, very hungry and cold and awake, but happy for what it did.

Rohan asks if it's because Schmells got Schagmanta.

Angus says that's a dumb name, and everyone knows the champion of Schmells is called Footsy O'Bigtooth, and no, that's not why. It was worth it for Rohan alone. And he knows that isn't much, what with how upset Rohan is, but Angus was eight and trying his best. He would've done everything differently if he'd had a way to see their fate, but he didn't. So he doesn't regret doing what he could.

Especially not when it brought them here.

It sits in Rohan's mind for hours. Angus doesn't budge him, save to settle them better on the cot. Eventually, Rohan hears the steady, telltale breath of sleep brushing the top of his head.

He very slowly and carefully chances moving to look up. There, as it'd been in the story, was the softest smile on Angus' face.

Rohan curled himself back under his brother's chin, and went to sleep as well.

[allyriadayne]

do you have any thoughts or headcanons about lyonel's daughters?

yah of course lol

their names are lucinda and alysanne strong. @elcctra and i came up with their names. lucinda for lucinda broome, lady tully during the first years of jaehaerys' reign. lyonel might have wanted to honor his overlords as a sign of peace after harrenhal changed hands to the strongs, from a minor vassal house to one of the most powerful. alysanne well obviously for the queen. more or less the same thought, because it's my headcanon lyonel is low key a social climber and would want to honor the targs that gave the family his seat.

under the cut babyyy

they are very close in age, i would say something like 18 months or around. from the same mother, lyonel's last wife. while they weren't a disappointment, everyone expected more sons that could go over larys' claim but alas. in general the girls are very happy and healthy and inseparable. many think they are twins but not really. i think of them as being older than rhaenyra by two or three years max but to her they feel younger because they are very carefree and girly and giggly. like every annoying teenage girl who laughs at you on the streets. rhaenyra has Responsibilities and she always liked alicent better of course so the girls are only there to entertain the princess and so on. not for serious stuff.

to me they are the opposite of the harwin - larys - alys trio. while they are looking at the horror and experiencing complex dynamics, the girls are making friends with every ghost in harrenhal. the are also very friendly so nobody cares if the cook finds them talking to a third person in a dark cellar <3 this also happened because there is a big age difference between the siblings. not very close. harwin and larys disliked their stepmother, larys hated the girls on principles because he knew they were meant to be his replacement, and alyn doesn't hate them but has complicated feeling about them just like with any strong child she takes care of in the nursery. lyonel also named one of them alysanne to add insult to the injury lol

they loved their dad because lyonel only asked of them the bare minimum and rhaenyra's household is pretty cool and the princess is nice to them. they do wish they were more prominent in there but they don't mesh well in general. they are normal girls in harrenhal but in real society are a justtt a bit off putting. what else???? hm they cried when lyonel and harwin died of course. they went to the funeral with larys' (/larys/ they can't believeeee) leave and they acted as his representatives. they love harwin's children to bits but are gutted none of them know they are family.

very codependent but not in the weird way lol just in the way they don't have a distinct personality from the other. they probably had a double wedding or something and dragged their husbands to dragonstone. felt very betrayed when larys stayed in the capital bc they never understood why he would hate harwin/harwin's children. they feel like it's their duty to continue their house esp after aemond killed the other strongs. larys sends them perfunctory letters here and there like "come here this instant" or something but it obviously doesn't work. he doesn't care about them personally but he's a control freak and can't let them go. they don't care about him /either/ so goodbye.

for one of the girls i have claudia jessie in vanity fair. with darker hair (not in bridgerton...not with those stupid bangs) but for the other i'm still blank. i just liked claudia because i thought she looked A LOT like matthew needham and that was fun. i want the other to have brown eyes because all of lyonel's children have blue yes (fight back lyonel!!) but i haven found a fc yet.

[canonicallyanxious]

Some quick and dirty gay chicken thoughts before I go into work:

I am loving the discussion of class issues so far, the nuance of the conversation and Wen's relative privilege (different levels of privilege though, esp with the focus on Heart's family home as a setting this ep), the way this presents a perpetually present undercurrent of conflict and realism that really sets the tone of the show and its themes well, I'm super looking forward to seeing how that thread develops!

Love the relationship developing bw Wen and Li Ming, I think it's so sweet that Li Ming can find someone who can listen to him without judgment and basically act as a calm mentor figure (did cringe when Wen tried to relate to his situation with his experience changing majors but I think you're supposed to, again that undercurrent of socioeconomic inequality is always present in the relationships of these characters) when he has such a contentious relationship with the other adult figures in his life, and you know I'm always a hoe for an older queer mentor/younger queer mentee relationship, even if so far the queerness doesn't explicitly factor into this particular relationship I do very much think that subtext is still there esp with the implications of how out of place Li Ming feels as a queer teenager versus how assured Wen is with his sexuality

As well I like that having this relationship develop gives Jim more reason to trust and like Wen - idk I just think Jim sees how sweet Wen is to his cat and his nephew and the things that are important to his life and how he seems to understand how they're important to Jim and like there's no way he's immune to that u know

Don't have much intelligent to say about Heart and Li Ming's relationship I just think it's very sweet and refreshing to have this relatively uncomplicated young love blooming in the face of all the drama brewing up, and Fourth and Gemini are totally nailing that tone of first love so far! My one nitpick about the storyline is I wish they had subtitles for Heart's signing esp now that Li Ming is sort of able to pick up what he means better now - I know you can kind of sus out meanings through Li Ming's responses but I just think it's a bit of a baffling choice not to make a storyline focusing on deafness more accessible

Jim's tragic backstory of his ex partner cheating on him is a very interesting choice in light of I still have no fuckin clue what is happening with Wen and Alan. I'm scared of this storyline and already have my reservations honestly lol but I will wait and see before passing judgment bc I've been really into the writing of the rest of the show so far (also the actual flashback really had me in my feelings... Uncle Jim you deserve all the happiness in the world.......)

(like it's weird that both Wen's father and close friend seem super nonchalant about him obviously having chemistry with this man when they also know about his relationship with Alan right. It's weird that Wen's dad who he has a close relationship with doesn't seem to know if Wen and Alan still together or not but also had that very foreboding line about needing to be unattached when you come together with a new lover. Whatever the fuck is going on there.)

I will never not find it funny that Jim is really out here like "okay this is strictly sex, purely physical, we won't kiss on the mouth or even learn each other's names and there will be absolutely no strings attached" and then still somehow managed to have the most tender one night stand sex I have ever seen. Like Uncle Jim idk what purely physical no feelings or strings attached sex looks like to you but somehow I have the feeling that reverently caressing your lips over every inch of another man's body while tenderly clasping his hand long into the night isn't it

[4town4lyfe]

HEADCANONS‼️ including Imani so canon things 4 her

Aaron T is Brazilian, São Paulo

Aaron Z is black and filipino

Robaire is black

Imani is black

Jesse is white

Tae is South Korean, busan

Z is a really sweet guy once he warms up to you, even though his face doesn’t show it

T cannot cook. He once tried to make Imani eggs and almost burnt the house down, the eggs were charred, burnt the skillet, plastic spatulas, and the plastic measuring cup. He is banned from cooking!!

T has adhd and autism

Imani might be on the spectrum too, but we’ll prolly never know

They are all very close, like a family

They have a band clubhouse and cabin, away from the general public. They have sleepovers at least once every other week

Jesse is banned from cooking because he once served boiled chicken. No seasoning. No nothing. He said it tasted good, it wasn’t.

Tae has the highest heat tolerance, and absolutely loves those red fiery noodles

Jesse started hacking over a singular hot and spicy cheezit. They aren’t even spicy (to me tho lol)

Tae likes to paint T’s nails

When *NSYNCs “Pop” music video came out, everyone had to convince T not to give himself a buzz cut to look like JT.

On the topic of *NSYNC, when they first came together, October of 1998, there was a talent show and they performed “I Want You Back”, and that’s when they got signed.

At prom, they sang “Tearin’ Up My Heart”

At graduation, they sang “Nobody Like U”, word spread and they got really popular

They performed on those Disney In Concert specials

Where was I going with this I kinda got off track

Robaire is a hardcore Stevie Wonder fan

Imani had a Nirvana phase in 97

Jesse can play the drums

Imani can play guitar

Jesse gets cold very easily, like so easily

Z gets hot quick in contrast

T and Z are like brothers, despite speculation

Imani had the biggest crush on JC from *NSYNC and AJ from Backstreet Boys, obviously doesn’t now tho

The band are friends with both of the groups, even did a trio collab thingy

Tae likes Shinhwa, S.E.S, and H.O.T

I think I’ll end it here cuz it’s getting long

Part 2?

[cassynite]

"Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?" "Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?" and "What’s the wedding like? Who attends?" for...Darrow, please 😁 (please don't hate me I had to when I saw the tag)

Ahahahahah thank you Ash! I do exclusively think of them as Darrow in my head 😂

SHIP QUESTIONS

Did any of their friends or family want them to get together?

Oooooh interesting question. Short answer is not really--I don't think anyone would have seen them coming together! I'm not going to lie, I kind of misread the question when I first looked at it so I am just going to take a moment to talk about people's reactions to their relationship instead lol. For friends--despite Daeran's ostentatious courting methods, the two of them do keep their relationship very hush-hush until act 5, mainly due to Sparrow's general closed off nature. I think that Arue's reaction to finding out Daeran was in love with the commander is pretty indicative of a lot of their reactions to finding out they're together--surprise and confusion that Daeran would genuinely have those kinds of feelings, and also that him and Sparrow would end up together. I think maybe Ember knows earlier (and is supportive) but that would probs be it.

For family--obviously on Daeran's end there's just Galfrey left, and her main reaction is bafflement. Until Galfrey kicks Sparrow into the Abyss they have a good though cordial relationship and Galfrey would not have expected her wayward cousin of all people to capture her stoic Knight-Commander's heart. There might have been a small glimmer of hope that Sparrow would put Daeran on the straight and narrow but instead they both become giant pains in the ass from opposite sides of the spectrum--Daeran continuing to be a menace and Sparrow using her new noble status to fight with Galfrey on political issues she cares about. On Sparrow's end, neither Evaethi nor Crow end up liking Daeran, but that's partly because Daeran is doing absolutely nothing to endear himself. Daeran is hostile to Evaethi the moment he meets her, and ultimately Evaethi will consider Daeran the reason Sparrow will not leave with her to be Pathfinders together. For Crow, he doesn't think Daeran is a good fit for Sparrow--he takes Daeran's measure and finds him lacking, thinking Sparrow would be better with someone who would help her strive to hone her skills. However, when they meet Crow has absolutely no leg to stand on to judge anything of Sparrow's and he knows it, so he keeps his thoughts to himself.

Do they prefer verbal or physical affection?

Physical! Nonverbal signs of affection are how they typically show their bond--whether it be through physical touch or silent gestures. Neither of them are terribly good or comfortable at verbally talking about their feelings, though Daeran is better at casual verbal affection like nicknames or banter and Sparrow is more likely to get to the meat of her feelings through words when she needs to.

What’s the wedding like? Who attends?

The wedding is one of the few big events that Sparrow is wholeheartedly in support of being as bombastic as possible--she's caught up in the joy of closing the Worldwound and getting married so her usual reservations about large functions don't get to factor in for once. She and Daeran help organize it together and it takes place only a few months after the final battle, so most of their companions are able to attend as well--the main ceremony has the pomp and circumstance of a high society wedding, mostly due to Galfrey's influence, but the after party is smaller and more of a send-off to everyone before they go their separate ways, some of them permanently.

[riverstardis]

crazy little thing called love:

the previous episode’s post isn’t showing up in the tag for some reason? not for me at least

alicia’s parents are back together… but not for long!

cal’s leaving alicia a surprise in her locker because he feels bad about not trusting her but he discovers that she has a second phone💀

ah alicia’s dad’s “business partner”

oh look they’re kissing!

aand he ends up pinned against a skip by his car🙃

LMAOO alicia goes “ethan you remember my mam yeah?” and he goes “yes, you had the gonorrhoea! … sorry…” SKDKFKKFG WHY WOULD YOU SAY THAT😭😭😭 ohhh i miss him

oh yeah this is cal meeting alicia’s parents for the first time lol

i love dylan’s outfit

oop cal’s noticed martin holding howard’s hand

lmaoo ethan telling cal how it was awkward having to treat alicia’s mum after the whole sti thing and cal just didn’t know about that at all so ethan explains how she got it off the dad because “apparently he was sleeping around with other women” and cal’s like “well i’m not sure about that last part” 😭😭😭

cal says do you think being a player runs in the family and shows ethan alicia’s secret phone and guesses her pin because she’d leant him her bank card to get drinks one night (her pin is 4421 if anyone was wondering - for her bank and her secret phone💀)

she has flirty messages with “loverboy” that mention scrubs so they know it must be someone in the hospital

it always makes me laugh how ethan is very clearly just as upset, if not more upset, than cal is at this development, and not in a supportive brother way! but cal just doesn’t notice at all😭

cal tries to say martin can’t come into resus but alicia’s like “come on cal, martin and my dad are close” and cal’s like “you’re telling me”😬😬 so of course they then have to come clean

alicia telling them the origin of her nickname ‘scoobie’🥺🥺

“i always loved you jackie, i never lied about that. but you knew my parents, you think my father would’ve accepted a gay son 40 years ago? my friends? so i did what everyone was telling me to do, i conformed. and then i met you and we had alicia, my beautiful little girl, and suddenly i’ve got everything in the world to lose”😥😥

aww he’d been with martin for over 9 years

gem’s had 2 weeks added on to her sentence

cal’s now having second thoughts about meeting up with alicia’s “mystery man” because “maybe sometimes things are better left alone” and ethan goes “we need to know, cal” WE???? then he corrects himself “i mean, you need to know”😭😭😭 ohh ethan you’re soo lucky cal’s distracted

LMAOO louise getting noel and max to model wedding dresses for duffy

“loverboy” turns out to be max and he’s SO confused. ethan’s like “you’re sleeping with alicia? behind his back?” well one of you certainly did! max is still so confused bc he didn’t know he’d been talking to alicia and ethan PUNCHES HIM AND CAL HAS TO HOLD HIM BACK😭😭

that’s soo out of left field for ethan and i remember people at the time theorising that this was a sign of his huntington’s starting as aggression irritability and mood swings are often some of the first symptoms and even now i still think that makes the most sense. with hindsight idk if that’s what the writers were actually going for because they never made it explicit or anything but it could be! the psychiatric symptoms often start years before motor symptoms (the prodromal stage) and ofc from cal’s death onwards it’s impossible to pick out what’s caused by hd from what’s caused by, well, literally everything else, but at this point this really stands out. he’s obviously hurt and angry, as is cal, but his reaction is so extreme and sudden, like his emotional response has been exaggerated

tbh the writers probably just thought it was funny to have ethan reacting in a way that’s obviously not just anger on cal’s behalf but cal still not notice anything suspicious. and it is funny!

alicia tells them she was just pranking max😭😭

“we’ve had fun together, cal, haven’t we? why’ve we stopped?” “i do trust you” “you hardly know me, not really. which is why it worked so well before, it was just” “fun” “everything eventually falls apart when it’s held together by a lie” :( she seems like she’s about to tell him about sleeping with ethan but then she changes her mind

poor alicia :(

aw louise bursts into noel’s interview to tell them how he saved a kids life and the machines can’t do that

aww jackie realises that howard loves and needs martin and goes and tells martin to go and be with him. funny how she didn’t need to try and rape him isn’t it🤔🤔

LMAO charlie and duffy are practising their first dance in the staff room and some others are watching them but then dylan comes in and puts his tea in the microwave without even acknowledging them and they’re all staring at him and he genuinely doesn’t even realise why😭😭😭😭 i love him sjskdkfkk

robyn goes to cal “hey that’s gonna be you and alicia next” yeahhh i don’t think so

they’re all getting ready for the stag do and duffy says to bring charlie back in one piece lmao well they will eventually

max tries to get dylan to come but he’s like “i don’t think there’s a thing in the world worse than stag nights” but then he says they can give him a lift to the kennels because he has to pick dervla up and max is like “you can do whatever you want, you’re driving” “you what?” “everyone else has had a drink” “oh my god this day just gets better and better doesn’t it” skskfkgkgk

alicia tells cal that her parents split up but it’s probably for the best and cal’s like “yeah it’s never easy though, no matter how old you are” hmm interesting… definitely sounds like he’s implying his parents split up which again doesn’t fit with the original backstory richard winsor talked about where ethan stayed at home and had a more family oriented upbringing than cal did does it?

lmao cal makes alicia think he’s proposing and the absolute FEAR in her eyes SJSKDKFK but it’s just lingerie and he’s like “see we can still have fun together”

cal’s like “we good?” and alicia says yeah… but not for long!

alicia goes “bet you give these to all your girlfriends” and cal goes “only the ones i’m in love with” oh poor cal

lmaoo ethan gives cal his stag do t-shirt and shows him his which says ‘barry 2017 world tour “ethan-ator”’ and cal’s like “oh you are not my brother” and ethan just laughs and goes “THE ETHAN-ATOR” DNDKSKJFF just how much has he had to drink already??? he’s also wearing it OVER his shirt???

the cuff link falls out of cal’s jacket as he goes to get changed and he says to charlie “can you believe i nearly blew it all for that?” and charlie’s like “but you didn’t!” but then ethan comes back over, notices it, and goes “hey where’d you get that? i’ve been looking for that everywhere!” and cal is SHOOK but ethan has no idea what he just revealed😭😭

yay the stag the dog and the sheep time!!!!!

[fratboykate]

Sign me tf up for literal widow Yelena and the perfect way you integrated her live/loss for Natasha into this. It hurts my soul so good 😭 I’m also a sucker for those tropes and my dad is a literal example of this (cancer in their early 20s and 2 kids under 3yo to raise). 100% was always A Thing constantly brought up in the Big Fights with my stepmom and a constant source of insecurity for her to the point all photos were put into storage other than small ones in our rooms or his wallet. I feel the angsty gay goodness you’re slowly filling our closed off smol gnome with and I’m Here. For. It.

Would Yelena hang the Natasha pics up on a wall in their shared apartment or just have some sitting on a dresser, nightstand, or desk where it’s not as prominent? What is Kate’s reaction to this and how long does she wait before bringing up her insecurities or a “you have more pics with her around than we do of us and our friends and my family always ask who she is and why there’s so many pics of you w/another woman in our home”? (I’m also on Team Spoilers and agree with other anon that your story details are what make it good and the “spoilers” don’t take anything away. We bounce around in timelines and between aus for a fun time anyway so it’s the norm here lol)

im sorry about your mom friend :( hope youre doing okay these days.

but yeah, the threat of "the dead ex" is such a real thing! there's no two ways around it. obviously, never say never, but i dont think i personally could? are you kidding me? at least not a young widow. its different as you get older, but like becoming a widow in your 20s leaves SUCH A HOLE and so many fucking "what ifs". that feels like stepping into shoes impossible to fill. so i 100% think natasha is a real wedge between them. and like, it all clicks to kate when she finds out there's "another woman" because before she knew she could always almost FEEL like yelena wasn't entirely there but she couldnt figure out WHY. at least it makes sense after that.

i love how you said "shared apartment" as if kate isnt a gazillionaire jksdhfgjkdfg that was cute. she has a couple mansions in different places lol. yelena would move in there because no way kate is moving to some apartment complex in...santa monica or something haha.

but i do think anything that's designated "YELENA SPACE" in their houses, has an almost overwhelming presence of natasha and that eats away at kate. its almost not even intentional. yelena would obviously want good memories from her service days around...natasha is in all of those. pictures from when she was younger just goofing off with friends? natasha is in those? skydiving? with natasha. swimming with sharks? with natasha. so its like...she was a HUGE part of yelena's life and cant simply be erased. kate can almost look past those. those she gets. but the picture of JUST natasha on yelena's desk? EXPLAIN PLEASE. one of their wedding pictures is also on still one of her random bookshelves. those are the ones that drive kate crazy.

idk if you guys have seen the latest season of LIB but whenever i think of kate in this au all of her friends give me "micah's awful best friend" vibes where they're all RANCID and are so not on board with the "widow" thing so they definitely have A LOT to say when they find out yelena still has pictures of natasha around.

[lightlycareless]

Chapter 27 - thoughts.

Heya everyone!

As promised, here are chapter 27’s notes! (which you can read over here! Please do so, to avoid spoilers)

This chapter was… frustrating as it was fun to write, because I got to introduce certain aspects of my life that drive me crazy 😂😭 and they seemed to have the same effect on her—who would’ve guessed that this story would turn into a slice-of-life (satire)? ahahahahah

So… let’s start by the beginning. (warnings: spoilers ahead!)

While writing this chapter is when I realized that I had only covered Y/N’s situation through the perspective of her family… her friends had yet to know why she had disappeared, and that was something that Hinata hoped to avoid as much as possible, because being the bad news bearer for her family was painful as it was, doing the same with your friends just added another layer of unnecessary turmoil.

I think that all of your friends in the sorcerer world would’ve already known what happened before being informed by Hinata. Whether because they overheard someone speak about it, or by connecting the pieces by their own (Zen’in heir married, Y/N gone)

I wasn’t sure of how close I wanted to make Shoko and Utahime to Hinata, Y/N and Ren—Mei Mei was like the easiest one to decide actually haha she’s the complete anti-thesis of Hinata, so I don’t think she would actually get along with either of Y/N’s siblings or Y/N herself… besides, I always got weird vibes from her, so yeah 🤣 name dropped her because why not.

From there, Shoko was someone that I knew would be friends with Hinata due to them studying together. Hinata would like her because she wasn’t all too compliant to Gojo’s and Geto’s antics, however, she would probably be a bit… discouraged by Shoko’s take of her own technique.

Your sister’s like: omg you can heal?! That’s amazing!!

Shoko: I mean... [I think this would obviously change when she's older, Shoko might be like: actually, you're right. I am the shit]

And don’t even get me started with her smoking habit… I think Y/N would’ve tried to hide if not replace her cigarettes with the candy ones lol.

Utahime on the other hand, I envisioned she was a bit apprehensive at first towards Ren (they first met at Kyoto!) and subsequently Hinata and Y/N because of their relationship with Gojo, but after getting to know them she was pleased to see that even if they were friends, they were not like him at all. Utahime really wonders how Hinata could even live with the fact that she’s going to marry him (or was; She might’ve tried to throw a party after hearing that the engagement was cancelled, but obviously didn’t because it wasn’t a happy decision to make to begin with 😥)

If I had to make a list of the friendships that went on (outside of the canon ones), this is how it would look:

Gojo, Geto, Y/N. (Hinata hates this relationship the most, Y/N might be a bit annoyed with Satoru from time to time, but deep inside, she looooves going along with his antics too haha)

Geto, Hinata.

Shoko, Hinata, Y/N.

Utahime, Hinata, Shoko, Y/N.

Utahime, Y/N. (They like going to the Karaoke a lot, Y/N is so proud (and maybe a bit jealous haha) of Utahime’s talent to the point where she almost signed her up to a contest but eventually removed her name when she recognized Utahime would be essentially cheating with her technique haha)

Also, it slipped my mind that Ijichi was a student at Tokyo when Gojo and the gang were there, and he’s Y/N’s age too! (that one panel where Satoru was a complete *hole to him was 💀 anyways…) his career later on in life made me wonder just how the academic program was like for the people that decided to follow the administrative path of the jujutsu world—they probably shared the same classes, but not many. At least not for Y/N and Ijichi to become friends.

Besides, it’s been stated that he doesn’t like partaking with Gojo out of the necessary and he’s somewhat fearful of Nanami (I can’t believe he said he’d cry if he got scolded by him lmao but same), people that are in essentially in Y/N’s life so... yeah.

Y/N tried to get along with him tho, even attempting to show him that Nanami wasn’t as intimidating as he appeared to be and Gojo could be somewhat nice… but he was like nope, I’m good thank you. (Maybe he foresaw he was going to have a tough time in the future and decided to save his energy for until then? Lol)

Anyways, now that I caught my mistake I was intending to fix it was Y/N being virtually alone during her school years because there never was a relationship between the two, they just had different career goals and rarely intertwined with one another because of that. I apologize for this mishap 😭

Moving on from that, I decided to write down a point I wasn’t so sure if anyone was interested about, which is… where is Nanami?

I think I might’ve made it a bit sappy, but you know what? We deserve it, more so after all the things Naoya has done towards us 💀 We deserve to feel special!! (More I mean, cause Naoaki is back there at the estate hehe)

Anyways, I tried considering many situations regarding Nanami and his involvement, and I just… well, it seemed natural that Hinata wouldn’t want him to know. After all, she’s being very careful with the people she’s informing with Y/N’s situation—if the Zen’in decide to retaliate against those they suspect could interfere with their plans, he could easily be taken out. And that’s something that would make your sister feel far guiltier—so she resorted to keep him away from the truth.

At the end of the day… it sucks to think that Nanami doesn’t know what’s going on with Y/N at all, but if I had to make a guess as to what he would think, he would undeniably be angry… and would do his best to help Hinata in anything she needed.

It makes me wonder the kind of relationship he had with Naoya 😂 they probably met at the exchange event at one point in their life since they’re of the same age, even fought against one another? Maybe. But it’s more than obvious that Nanami would not like Naoya at all, and not solely because of his treatment towards Y/N (although that would be a huge factor down the road) but because he started saying some off-putting things such as comparing himself to Gojo as respective heirs, strong sorcerers, that kind of shenanigans.

Besides, rumors about his personality follow him everywhere, so…

Moving on from Nanami… we get to the jewel of the chapter: Hinata’s endless desk work torture.

This is the part that I drew inspiration from my personal life 😭 it was absolute agony revisiting the things I had to go through because of my business 🤣

Starting by the bureaucracy behind it all.

It’s… surprising just how easily people can have you going around on circles for no apparent reason—I had a basic idea of it thanks to what I’ve been told/seen growing up from my relatives and friends, but it wasn’t until I started my business that I saw just how horrible it truly was.

There are some many requisites that you need to complete before, you know, engaging on actual activities... And it’s not that I complain about having to do it, but rather how it’s supposed to be done 💀

It’s a bunch of having to go to actual offices in different places of the city to get things done(when most of them could easily be done online! But even then… it’s a tedious hell to sign up and get access to those online services, the pandemic certainly hastened some modernization but still…)—wait in line until it’s your turn, expect some bad service 😅 or not being able to do anything at all because it’s time for them to close 💀

Yeah, it’s bad. And the location for these places are so random too… some of them are in the city, but others are just like so out there, they don’t even have the right kind of structure that doesn’t endanger the citizens going/living there.

I’m not kidding, there’s this one area that’s essentially known for this long highway that goes from one city to the other, through hills and whatnot. It’s filled with houses and what not on the sides (you literally step out of the house and the road is right there haha). Now, you’d think, well, certainly there’s going to be bridges or something for people to go from one side of the road to the other, right? Or at least some stops or traffic lights, right?

Nope. You wanna cross to the other side? Let’s hope you’re a good runner because you’re about try your luck by avoiding cars that go 65+ mph for no reason, as if you were frogger or something, and hope for the best—it’s that bad.

And… the main inspiration in putting the office Hinata had to go to a bit rather, way farther than she expected. Some would say that the reason behind putting offices on distant places were made to avoid clustering people in one location and what not… but at least make it accessible for everyone 😭 one could say they’re appealing to those that have their own car with all these peculiarities :^)

From there… the unnecessary requisites. Will explain more of the permit further ahead, but for now, let me tell you where this idea came from.

Because I live on the border of my country, and it’s somewhat easy to just cross to the other country, it’s really accessible to buy stuff from over there, import it without having to pay taxes (as long as it’s less than a certain amount), and make good profit over here.

Dear tax administration caught wind of it, thus in order to get some money out of those transactions, whatever you want to send has to be declared at customs. Yeah, even if it’s made inside the country or whatever, gotta declare it.

And gotta pay taxes (over taxes) for it 😭 even if you already did and whatnot. Sure, I get it… trynna make people responsible and pay their taxes because there’s allot of informal business doing their thing without paying…

But even if you show proof that you’re doing everything right, they don’t care :’) and that’s not even the end of it hahahahah there was this one time where I was trying to send a shirt, and since I make my own labels for it I kind of got rid of the original one that came with.

I went to get the product declared, and they were like nah you gotta have the other label. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just something that shows where it was made and the cost and what not.

To say that I was irritated is… well, and understatement hahah I was really annoyed by it cause I had all of my paperwork to show that it was from my brand (local), I paid taxes for it but whatever, if that’s what they wanted me to do then I would 😭 I returned the next day and… they didn’t ask for anything 💀 they made me lose a day just because … very disappointing indeed.

Or the 4 hours in line at customs every time I wanted to send a parcel via express service… a nightmare.

From there, the last thing that inspired me to push Hinata into this hell was my experience with trademarking my brand. It was an online process because the nearest office to do that is like 2-3 states away so… I felt very anxious about doing it in the first place, but I did it anyways.

I submitted my request and paid the fee for it… and then, I realized my logo was all messed up 😭 I don’t know what happened during the upload process but it was just not good—and since the only way I could contact them was via mail (which have the reputation of never getting answered, or maybe like in 5 months) or schedule a 30min call…. Yeah, I was really nervous that my brand was going to be registered wrongly.

They eventually contacted me and they were like: you gotta pay for the whole process again 😭 I was like noooo!!! Just… let me change the image, it shouldn’t be that much! But they didn’t want to because apparently it was my fault 💀 instead, they offered to just register that one (at least the name) and just file another request for the actual correct logo.

I managed to defend myself though, because there were like 3 different versions of my logo in their system and I told them that I just wanted to know which one was going to be registered since there were like different interpretations hahaha

I didn’t hear from them for a while, and suddenly, I got an email saying that my logo and name was successfully (CORRECTLY!!) registered. Lmao. The audacity of wanting to charge me more…

So yeah, I could really go on about the many things that inspired me to have Hinata going around in circles. She already disliked doing paperwork… now she hates it 😂

Anyways… to the good part :> picking up from the last chapter, I wanted to actively contradict Hinata and her faith on the system.

The way she said that she still trusted HQ to not allow any kind of corruption (or at least that blatantly) was really… saddening tbh. It’s like that audio that’s going around on tiktok (and remember kids, next time somebody tells you the government wouldn’t do that, oh yes they would) the realization that those who are supposed to serve/protect don’t really… it’s heartbreaking.

Gege has been quite explicit with the type of issues that the jujutsu community is plagued with, starting by allowing 3 families to essentially make decisions for the rest 💀 from there, the entitlement coming from members of said family, and the discrimination of those they consider less.

Hinata is someone who fortunately never had to endure most of those issues, however, as much as she wants to call herself self-made… she’s not, at least entirely. Writing about her privilege is something that I’m sure she would’ve rather kept a secret because she’s so embarrassed/disappointed about it. Like she would never admit that she had all those shortcuts, you know? Because she’s always tried her best to work hard and earn them, unfortunately, because she is in this bubble way different from the rest, living with people that are of the same fabric, she never noticed such things until her engagement ended with Satoru.

Her siblings could’ve pointed it out… but they decided not to because they felt she was already trying her hardest to make a space where they didn’t feel as if she were their competition… and if she had the facility of obtaining something without having to work that hard for it… then why not allow it? Let her enjoy a few things you know? 😭

But yeah, I know stated Hinata to be a somewhat normal sorcerer compared to Gojo, in the sense that she’s no longer getting any benefits from them, and will be put aside whenever possible.

To think Naoya was somewhat right by saying that she got benefits through her relationship with Gojo… (BUT NOT IN THE WAY HE MEANT THO, THAT NEVER HAPPENED AND THAT WAS JUST HIM TRYING TO RILE Y/N UP EW)

Anyways… Gojo genuinely didn’t know about the permit, I know he’s an idiot from time to time (always) but he would never intentionally mess up something as serious like that. He want’s Y/N back too 😭

Now… the permit 👀

Let’s say that the permit was not needed at all… for a grade 1 sorcerer like her.

The permit is supposed to be for sorcerers of lesser rank. Hinata could’ve easily entered the archives and just get what she needed had it been anyone (righteous) to help her out.

And if she needed a permit, she could also get it there at the school… or so I think, since the schools are apparently used for many things, and I imagine that they must be more than capable of issuing various kinds of documents, a simple permit should be easy.

And as stated in the end of the chapter… all these obstacles were placed to keep Hinata as busy as possible, and even push her to give up 😅

The expiration date, the proof of id and license, were just excuses to not let her in, made by the people involved: Machiko and Nakamura.

The only reason why Hinata was able to get out of that loop was because of the woman that was in Nakamura’s place that day. She was a bit… confused as why she was getting a permit to begin with (and in Nara, of all places, since she wrote down she was from Tokyo), but since she just wanted to go back to finish all of the piled up work, didn’t question the why behind her action and just handed her the document.

If Nakamura was there, he probably would’ve lied about the system being down again… which he thought was more than enough to push her into not coming back, but when she returned for the last time, he was like fine here, have the permit whatever (Machiko warned him about Hinata growing suspicious so he had to be careful)

Also, he was the one responsible before the Kyoto typo— Hinata did write Kyoto in the permit but he decided to intentionally mess it up in order to fumble her attempts. 😭

That’s all I got to say about Nakamura, now Machiko… she’s someone I consider much more interesting.

THERE’S A THOUGHT THAT I COULDN’T GET OUT OF MY HEAD WHILE WRITING HER SCENES WHICH IS: Hinata being like oh damn this receptionist is kind of cute HAHHAHA

PICTURE THIS: Naoya and the gang needed someone to infiltrate the schools and inform them if the L/N siblings do something, right? But they just didn’t know who… that is, until someone was like “I heard through the grapevine that Hinata’s type is a girl with [x] [y] and [z]. Why not place someone that matches that description to distract her?!” and everyone kind of just agreed hahaha thus, Machiko was placed there to act like some kind of honeypot!!! And Hinata fell for her! (a bit)

Her personality was also another requisite for her to have the job, she had to be rude, condescending, overall, a hard person to get along with so Hinata could struggle even more. And even then… she was like “I can fix her” ah, silly Hinata… 😔 to think that she actually felt bad for her deceit (the family thing was another lie, which is why she was acting weirdly when Hinata brought it up) and wanted to make amends with her! Ugh.

However, Machiko far from being interested in being loyal to the Zen’in, she just wanted to get the money and move on. So maybe she can still be redeemed hahahah

And talking about romantic interests and relationships—I was very happy to finally (partially) introduce Ren’s girlfriend! She was planned from the very start; however, I didn’t have a name for her or any more development. (My mind keeps suggesting me I should make her part of the Inumaki clan, but I’d rather not) I’ll talk more about her on the character profile sheet (if that’s the right name) I’m making for everyone so :> I envision Ren to be very affective with her (thanks to Minako and Eiichi haha) to the point where Hinata is like 😳 I must look away. Aw, at least he’s in a happy relationship compared to his sisters…😭

Circling back to the call… the Zen’in knowing what Hinata is doing (or trying to do) is something that I already hinted before in previous chapters. I don’t remember which one exactly, but if I recall correctly, I think it was right after Y/N was sentenced to death and Naoya was like wtf —still trying to process what happened— but then Ogi came along and was like ok she’s going to die, so what? that happens, I sometimes wish my wife was dead, that’s the married life, big deal! Her sister, however, has been doing this!!!

I wonder who she was contacting though 👀? As well as what is the Zen’in planning to do once they have the basic idea that Hinata is actively investigating them? Oof.

Let’s hope she’s able to do much before it’s too late ☹

Anyways, this was just to show once more how busy Hinata has been, and what she did when she was away. She’s been so busy trying to find a way to get Y/N out of the estate that she almost missed the exam she was supposed to help out 💀 poor Hinata, I seriously want to get rid of some of the pressure but… well, my role here is to torture every character :^)

I’m excited to announce that the next chapters will be about Naoya, Y/N and Naoaki :> I hope you like them!! There’s like 2 scenes that I want to show you guys gkashjgksahgjahgjkahgkjla aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Well, thank you so much for reading these notes, as well as the support you’ve given me for the main story 🥺❤❤❤

If you have any more questions about the chapter in general, please let me know! I’ll do my best to answer them without spoiling the story mwahahah

Take care, have a wonderful week, and hope to see you soon ❤

[notproofread]

A Court of Mist and Fury pt. 3

Or in hindsight I know that I was blinded

hi & hello fellow book-lovers and/or fans of the ACOTAR/ACOMAF-series. After a quick break I am back to shout my thoughts into the endless void of book-tumblr. As always please remember that this is just my opinion on the books/story/characters and you do not have to agree with me. Instead please feel welcomed to tell me your thoughts on the matter & read through my other ramblings as well

Now that we have discussed Feyre and Tamlin it is only natural to move on to our third Love-Triangle-Part Rhysand and his Night Court.

Rhysand is literally perfect what the fuck? I like him so much. And I think that this is what makes me so angry about Feyre and Tamlin because obviously Sarah J. Maas is capable of writing characters that make sense, that work well within the world and story. Rhys is interesting, respectful and hard-working, he cares for his friends, his court. And while he can be a bit too cocky and overconfident at times it seems as if he knows his limits, knows what he can and can't do. He has flaws, as any normal human or fae (as perfect as they may seem) has but he acknowledges this. Tamlin seemed to be all that as well in the first book but Rhys is different in the way that he acknowledges Feyre's as well as his own trauma. He is not the picture-perfect love interest, he is a bit morally grey right from the start and he admits to it (shielding his city from everyone to protect it, telling Amarantha the fake name Feyre gave him, being brutal towards the Court of Nightmares, etc.). He talks about his feelings and obviously makes everyone else around him feel like they can own up to their past as well. This dynamic is something that is nice to read through.

Cassian, Mor, Azriel and Amren work so well with him and the Night Court. Their whole group-dynamic is fun and gives off so much found family vibes, it is simply amazing. They work so closely together, each and every single one of them plays their role, in the Court of Dreams as well as in the Court of Nightmares. Feyre gets to know and work with them all individually (some more, some less), so the reader is able to figure out all the dynamics on their own. We get to experience these characters as well as their flaws, fears and to some extent their backgrounds. And what I think is most enjoyable is that there is no "mean" character that picks on the main character just because, which many young adult books like to have (typically another female character and this trope is so old any mysogynistic but that is an entirely different topic lol). Instead we get to experience Mor and Feyre instantly bonding with each other or Feyre being able to prove to Amren that she is useful and more than just a pretty High Fae from the Spring Court. There is so much more to Mor and Amren in general that I instantly fell in love with both of them.

As for Azriel and Cassian I am really excited to see what more they can do. Because they have been established as strong fighters who would die for their friends and the end of ACOMAF has only further proven this. However even though we have been told that Feyre has been training with Cassian we don't get to see the same level of interaction we do with Mor or even with Amren. Same goes for Azriel. It seems like Feyre is kind of all up in their romantic business but not really interacting with both of the men. Since Feyre is the main character and we see the story through her eyes I hope she spends more time with Cassian and Az, so that we as the readers get to see more of them.

The Characters of the Court of Dreams are my favorite so I am glad that the focus of the story was moved to them. Of course not everything about the way they and their interactions are portrayed is perfect but it is much more enjoyable than the Spring Court in the first book. The Night Court is a clear sign that SJM is able to work this out, make characters consistent, likeable even with their flaws and trauma. And that is what I hope to see from the next book(s): characters that act upon their alleged motivation. Make the bad guys act their part if they want to see their enemies destroyed, make them evil, ruthless and cunning. Let morally grey characters be grey, let them have their reasons for doing the things they are doing. Give characters chances to heal, to be better, to turn their lives around. Let there be more to all of their lifes than mates and romantic love (is that a hint for the next part...?)