#idk i just miss when my weirdness was like kinda charming to some people instead of universally frowned upon lmao

[sol1loqu1st]

worried i am never going to adjust to Midwestern Culture(tm) and i'm always going to be an obvious outsider and people are going to judge me and assume i'm a dumb backwater conservative for my mannerisms and if my southern accent ever slips out lmao

[spectacularlyignorantt]

For Young Royals ff writers

I started reading YR fanfiction and I noticed people using Spanish in several occasions. Since it’s canon from the show I think it’s amazing authors are trying to incorporate it but sometimes it doesn’t sound as natural. As a writer I know is really hard and also brave to work around something you don't know. That being said, I hope this guide is helpful.

1. I want to address something important because it is kinda offensive: they’re not Spanish. There’s a difference between language and nationality. Since both Omar and Carmen -Linda- have Latino heritage, is proper to assume the family comes in a way or another from South America. I read a bunch of fics in which people referred to them as Spanish, but they are Latinos. Spanish music, culture and cuisine are rather different. Please take this into account.

  2. Pet names: really cute but also kinda cringy when it's not well executed. 'Mi amor' means my love. It's normal from a parent, it's serious coming from a 16 yo boy to another. I would use it when the relationship gets serious and try to not overuse it. If they are older and married, go for it. An older Crown Prince Wilhelm would totally make his husband blush by calling him mi amor.   Mi vida (my life) is not frequent coming from a parent, less serious believe it or not and really nice. But also I wouldn't use it if you are trying to make one of them swoon for the other. It's not as romantic as it sounds in English. Bebe means baby, of course. I think it's cute, this one you can totally overuse. Sounds fresh and young, I think Simon would go for bebe and Wille would die every time. I know darling it's pretty normal in English, but cariño sounds way too motherly to me. I would only use it between Willmon if they are older and married. Cielo means sky, which sounds weird, I know.  But some people use it as a pet name. Mi cielo - my sky- as well. In a way, it means 'my everything'. Idk why. Maybe bc the sky covers everything. Who knows. I like it but it's a personal opinion. Mijo means my son. It's pretty common in Latinamerica. Parents use it all the time. Maybe try not to overuse it. Not because it's wrong, but it often feels like you´re trying too much to make them sound bilingual. Good alternatives are: hijo, amor mio, mi amor, cariño, mi cielo. 

Te amo and Te quiero are not the same. Te amo is I love you, but Te Quiero means I love you (chill version). Linda tells Simon both 'te quiero' and 'te amo' at some point, which works because it's normal from a parent or a son/daughter. Te quiero is less serious, works great between friends. Some people say te quiero when they aren't ready to say Te amo, but I wouldn't use it coming from Simon to Wille. It would be out of character. Use it between Sara-Simon-Linda.

Te adoro means I adore you. Is not common but is CUTE AND ROMANTIC. This one is completely personal, take it with a grain of salt.

Mi principe means my prince, but sounds cringy. His mom could say 'tu principe azul' which means 'your prince charming' while trying to embarrass Simon. He would blush, cute. 

Well written-normal phrases: 

'¿como estas?': How are you?

 'bien, ¿y tu?': well, and you? 

 'Como te fue hoy?': how was your day?  

'Todo va a estar bien': everything will be fine. 

 '¿Necesitas algo?': Do you need something?

 'No, gracias' 'Si, gracias': No and Yes, thank you.

‘Perdon’: Im sorry

‘Te extraño’: I miss you

 '¿Qué quieres cenar?': What do you want for dinner?

'¿Tienes tarea?': Do you have homework?

 '¿Cómo está Wilhelm?': How is Wilhelm?

‘Mamá’: Mom (Wille calls his mom ‘mama’ or ‘mamma’, but it’s a different pronunciation. I believe Simon says ‘Si, mamá’ at some point. That’s spanish.) 

‘Mami’: Mom but cuter

‘Má’: Mom but shorter. 

‘Madre’: Mother

If you have any other suggestions for pet names/words/phrases and how to apply them, send me a message!

3. Common phrases: it's important to notice that only Linda and Simon talk to the other in spanish. Unless Wille learns spanish and it's part of the plot, Simon would never say something in spanish to him - besides pet names- This includes Sara, she seems to understand but replies in swedish. I read that the actress used to work in Barcelona, Spain, so she probably understands the language. That means the decision to make her respond in swedish has something to do with her character. That being said, we don't really switch between languages if we know the other person can't understand. It's rude. I would never go and say 'como estas? ups, Im sorry, I forgot. How are you?' But something that happens A LOT is that I forget words or phrases and try to remember them by saying them in the other language. For example 'and she went to the... mierda, como se dice... aeropuerto... oh! airport!'. Or the other way around, I forget words in my mother language but I know them in english. It doesn’t seems to happen to Simon, but it’s fairly normal.  Also, and I'm sorry if this is getting too long, Simon and Linda talk to each other in spanish as a way to express how close they are. It's part of the characters and their relationship. Simon is clearly more in tune with his Latino heritage, which comes from his mom, and he shows it by using the language fluently with her. -'Como estas? -Bien, como te fue en el trabajo?' he is asking about her job and her day. It almost sounds like a conversation between a married couple. Is not meant to be weird, is meant to express that Simon feels like he has to replace his father. So maybe take this into account and don't throw spanish phrases between them just for the sake of it.

  4. If Wille learns some Spanish for Simon he would totally explode. He is clearly really proud in general and the fact that the Prince of Sweden can speak spanish because of him would kill him. In the best way. This has nothing to do with the language, but I'm just saying. Bonus points if he uses spanish to make Kristina feel left out. That would be a nice rebellious act.

5. Again, they are not spanish. People from Spain use 'vosotros' instead of 'ustedes'. Both of those word mean 'they', but in South America we don't use vosotros. This is just ONE example. I know spanish is confusing and has millions of variations; don't worry about the specifics. But try to be respectful when referring to them as spanish/latinos.

That's it for now. I'm sorry if it's not perfect. I'm from Argentina and our spanish is the messiest. But I tried to keep this guide as neutral as I could. Also also, I'm sorry if my english grammar isn't the best, this took way too long and I don't have the energy to check my mistakes. And that's okay, because languages are meant to be used and be confused. I make mistakes and that's fine. I'm not judging anyone. Please be kind to yourself. Please don't refrain from writing in spanish, this guide is meant to help you if you want to, but just the fact that you are writing anything is brilliant. Thank you for sharing your work!

[angelicmichael]

Okay so I have a ton of inspo to write for Stan after last nights episode and I have a lot of fic ideas and concepts I can’t get out of my brain so.. here they are lmfao. The first concept is fluffy and wholesome but the other ones are pretty dark and most involve death and blood.. fair warning hehe. ALSO if any writers see this; feel free to write something based off one of these if you’d like !! 🥺💖 I don’t mind :)

Idk why but I rlly wanna write something domestic and fluffy.. maybe some fluff with no plot djdjd. But maybe reader and Stan are friends, and are hiding in his cabin from the cannibals after a close call (maybe they decided to go hiking earlier and ran into them) and get a bit.. distracted afterwards 👁. Maybe the scare of the cannibals make them have a heart to heart and then.. they decide to stay the night in the cabin bc they don’t wanna leave bc their still scared. And maybe it’s also stormy outside or somethin hehe. and they just 👁 make out 👁 and cuddle 👁 and fall asleep together 👉🏻👈🏻. And their just both rlly grateful that they’re both alive 🥺 and together 🥺🥺

Maybe reader comes to surprise Stan bc they’ve been dating for a while but.. he’s been distant lately. Not picking up calls, and just acting rlly unlike himself. Reader doesn’t exactly know that theirs cannibals in the forest but she knows that theirs something, or that Stan believes that there’s something so she gets concerned and goes to see him. She goes straight into his cabin (maybe she has a spare key.. and it’s night so he shouldn’t be busy) and she sees his jacket, his hat, his gun.. reader grabs a flashlight and starts to look outside for him and finds a trail of blood.. reader immeadietly starts to panic but before she can probably react she sees something running in her direction full force.. but she doesn’t know it’s Stan until he literally is in her arms hugging her. Stan runs into her practically and reader realizes he’s bleeding when she sees blood on her shirt when they pull away.. He has a huge stomach wound and he’s going into shock. Reader is in complete disbelief that this is actually happening and that he could actually die, but Stan is still talking to her.. he urges her to leave and to not wait around for him and to not bother getting help. He tells her about the cannibals and reader doesn’t believe him but.. as she goes to leave to get help anyway she sees a shadow out of the corner of her eye and realizes that he probably wasn’t bullshitting. Reader goes to be with Stan and comforts him in his final moments 🥺

This is so random and not in depth/plot heavy at all but I’m just thinking about Stan confiding in reader about the cannibals.. and then she decides to playfully bite him. At first it’s a joke.. and their dating so it’s not really that weird but then she hears him moan and she completely stops.. purely laughing at the fact that he has a fucking biting kink and how ironic it is (ig this is just me saying that I think Stan has a biting kink LMAO)

Okay so I kinda hate the ending of the episode tbh so.. here’s a fix it fic idea hehe. Major spoiler warning but instead of Stan dying.. maybe he sort of is a ally to the cannibals?? Not necessarily becomes one but more so protects them and in return they protect him u know?? But to make this a fic.. maybe reader and Stan have been dating for a while and she doesn’t realize his ‘alliance’ until she goes to the forest w him.. She sees how the cannibals won’t touch him and she’s beyond fucking bewildered. However the cannibals want reader, but Stan is v protective 😌 and maybe he shoots a cannibal or two and ofc it ends in fluff.. Stan starts fussing over reader and her (little to nonexsisting) wounds and even threatens to quit his job for her but reader tells him to stop bc she’s okay 🥺 but maybe the fic ends w him quitting his job and them both leaving the national park <3

Y’all knew this was coming but a fic where Stan is a cannibal (but not full on feral tho) is necessary LOL. I’m kinda thinking about fairytale or little red hiding hood au for this one?? Maybe reader goes into the forest bc she knows that women have been going missing as of late and she’s curious 👁 and wants to investigate. She goes into the forest and finds Stan, who automatically seems sus bc of how out of it he seems.. his clothes are stained red in a couple places.. he barely makes eye contact and reader can’t help but to marvel at how sharp his teeth seem to be.. the more they talk the closer he gets.. to the point where it would almost be uncomfortable if he wasn’t so attractive and charming.. even with the scent of iron heavy on his breath, reader can’t help but to want to kiss him, to feel his mouth on hers but she also starts to feel like it’s not necessarily a choice. He seems like the primary suspect so reader feels if she wants to survive she’s going to have to seduce him… and not to mention if she truly wants to get info out of him about the missing women.

Okay so after seeing @stanvogel ’s post, I’m just thinking about Michael x Stan so.. here’s a Michael x Stan one 👉🏻👈🏻 hehe. It’s another normal day for Stan.. doing quick checks and patrols throughout the forest. Stan loved his job, he really did but this was the part he always dreaded the most. He gives the forest half a glance as he walks through - hoping that something wouldn’t happen to catch his eye or pop out at him. Hoping he could just go back to his cabin and have a easy shift but of course, he just had to see someone. Seeing people isolated in the forest wasn’t something that Stan was unaccustomed with, but the fact the individual he saw was currently drenched in blood and was still alive was something to marvel at. Stan quickly introduced himself and asked what the fuck he was doing.. after babbling some shit about satan and saying his name was ‘Michael’.. Stan had heard enough. He didn’t exactly want to take care of this lunatic but he wasn’t going to leave him out to be eaten and have his intestines ripped out either.. not on his shift if he could help it. Stan brought Michael back to his cabin, carefully cleaning up his wounds and trying not to stare at his crystal blue eyes for too long.. or his lips. Harshly reminding himself this was a guest, not someone he should even think about asking out but Michael surprisingly took the leap first. Asking if Stan was single and that’s all it took. Stan wasn’t sure if he agreed to start seeing him because he was genuinely interested or because he didn’t want him going back out to the forest and gaining the attention of the cannibals.. either way, Stan couldn’t really argue. He was simply happy that he could finally capture someone’s attention and keep it for once. Someone who would stay with him and make this job a little less lonely.. Antichrist or not.

[organic-guacamole]

episode 209 spoilers below

I'm so late today but here it is

I love EJ, he's finally learning to be happy. I'm so proud.

Ms Jenn = every boomer during zoom calls, like jeez yes we can hear you stop shouting at me.

LOVE THE SUBTLE JOKE ABOUT QUARANTINE "these dark times" "you mean spring break?"

ah yes, remember when we thought covid was just gonna give us a longer spring break? good times

SEBLOS

damn the passive aggressiveness from Carlos and the absolutely over it tone from seb✋

CASWELL COUSINS!!!!! THEY'RE THE BEST!!!!

we needed more if this kind of goofiness for the first part of season 2 that only such an iconic duo can provide.

old old movies-

is it even that old, or is Nini being a gen alpha rn-

i choose to imagine EJ being scared of the movie and hiding in Ashlyn's shoulder while she keeps a straight face and then EJ pretending to be tough afterwards

aww redlyn are soulmates.... yknow, if gingers had souls

(please ignore me)

y'all saw how EJ's face *lit up* when Gina logged on? how dare you tell me he doesn't like her

ofc she's no damsel in distress, she's Gina porter, she's amazing.

so do we think she'd be the type to just glare at suspicious people? or bark at them

do they not know that Rini broke up? or is Ms Jenn just wanting Nini to suffer through her heartbreak to make her a better actress....

speaking of, why is Nini in the call? she's not in the show anymore. Unless she is, even after the rose and the song got cut, which would be so unfair to all those that auditioned properly before she even came back but whatever, she's the main character I get it 🙄

big red is a hero honestly, Nini better thank him for changing the subject like that

I can't-

i won't work you over the break-

this woman would 100% work her kids 24/7 if it was legal and idk how to feel about it.

YES GINA USE THAT CHARM

QUEEN

FRENCH QUEEN

SHE LEARNT FROM THE BEST (antoine obvi)

smh the airport lady, eavesdropping on Gina's call.

The way she was so happy to answer EJ's call, "eej"

I love them your honour.

EJ WITH PAINTED NAILS YES PLEASE

great now we need to see Gina, Ashlyn and EJ having a complete spa day and EJ getting really into it and Gina and Ashlyn take pictures of him when he's laying down in a robe with a mask and cucumbers on his eyes.

finally we get to see Gina's side of portwell

the way she considered it as flirting, this is the sign she asked for in episode 6 come onnnnn

no is Asher/jack really doing tiktok dances in an airport-

Ricky is me. I am burrito.

oh Lynne, sweetie, I'm sorry but the blonde hair is not it

is that even the same lady or-

THE BEAN

THE CHICAGO BEAN

THE BIG OLD METAL BEAN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CITY 😭

jetlag is my go to excuse for anything... I haven't travelled in 2 years.

"welcome to the Lynne and Mike gossip show. where we talk about our depressed son that we both neglect in certain ways! And now a word from our sponsor, Nord VPN..."

SO MANY CANDLES

WHAT DEMON IS LYNNE TRYING TO SUMMON IN HIS ROOM-

is Nina becoming social media obsessed EJ from season 1? AND SHE LIED ABOUT HAVING SONGS TOO PLEASE WHY ARW THEY RECYCLING THE SAME PLOT-

Gina smiling at the picture of her family on Instagram makes me so happy, idek why.

EJ's nails are so pretty, we needed to see it more (unless he had it on for the rest of the episode and I just.... didn't notice🧍🏽‍♀️)

oh not the tiktok kid✋

yes ma'am end this strange mans whole tiktok career

sir take a hint and leave

GINA NO DONT SAY YOUR LAST NAME HE COULD BE A HUMAN TRAFFICKER

Ricky, walking in style✨

weird kid, ok then Lynne, can't you see he's this close to the edge?

not all your fault baby Ricky, Nini sucks a bit more

RICKY YOU DIDN'T COME DOWN HARD ON THE SONG-

YOU ASKED WHAT IT WAS ABOUT AND SHE SHUT YOU DOWN-

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF

ok but the deleting comment thing was very bad

still don't know if I like Jack honestly

hmmm so Nini's calling herself Nini instead of Nina in her little egg seat, while trying to write a song without inspiration.... Nini, honey, Ricky was your muse, he inspired you to write all those songs, even if it wasn't good for the relationship.

that doesn't mean you gotta get back with him, or that you can't write a song that not about him butttt it'll take some time

the rainbow sticker in her box and her rainbow shirt-

anyways wbk she's not totally straight

Jack are you a criminal?

quick, Gina, check his ankle for a tracker

THE YES AND PRACTICE STRIKES AGAIN

the way Gina wasn't into it in episode 6 but she's used the technique twice now

stole her grandma's Pomeranian-

Jack where the hell did you pull that out from-

the fake crying killed me, that looks like so much fun though

anyone wanna raid a first class lounge with me?

wait so is jack not gonna go in with her?

wouldn't he go in too? help look for the credit card? SO CONFUSED

the first class lounge guy was so into the drama though, watch his face when they start arguing 😭

sorry to break this to you Kourtney, but you haven't even blocked the second act yet soooo...

take that as you will

I love how all of them are totally dissing the dance off

that's the most realistic part of this show tbh

shouldn't Nini have asked how she knew....since the start? why is the fact that her best friend has knowledge of a North high secret now dawning on her...

Howie is sweet honestly, at least he's trying to help. but I stand with Kourtney, don't take him back just because he sang an amazing song, and is giving you a heads up on what's gonna happen...

KOURTNEY IS ME TRYING TO LEAVE AN ONLINE CLASS

I hate school

ooo Nini's writing a song about bad internet connection 🤩🤩🤩

I never lie, except when I do-

son that is the creepiest thing you could say to a stranger that you've been "helping"

2 truths and a lie👀

he's an Ariana fan 100%

called it.

OLDER BROTHER-

WHAT-

free spirit? damn so brother porter was in that horse movie

so has she been kissed or not?????????

I feel like she's moved more than 15 times though so possibly

but then if she's moved so much, and before east high she never opened up to anyone, she's never been kissed then?? damn

same though Gina so let's be besties please

heartbreak president is a great song title idea, give Nini a call rn

but wait

is the no strings attached feeling thing about her telling Ricky she liked him? she thought she was moving away so she thought it'd be no strings attached???

guys I think I figured it out insert the "I've connected two dots" meme

THE DUKE SWEATSHIRT

IS THAT YOUR BOYFRIEND'S

OMG I LOVE I LOVE

NOT THAT I KNOW OF???

ma'am did you just kill me

yes you did

Lynne and Ricky have such a weird relationship

YES IT DID SUCK

TODD SUCKS

LYNNE SUCKS

yeah I get that you wanted Ricky to like Todd BUT THAT WASN'T THE TIME

right so we already know that Ricky was so desperate to keep Nini cuz he didn't want to be like his parents, and now Lynne's talking about this-

Richard needs a long hug

yes Lynne, it is your fault. thank you for finally admitting it.

YES DYE YOUR HAIR

BLOND HIGHLIGHTS RICKY WILL RISE AGAIN

"sometimes the best, last thing you can do for someone you love, is let them go."

gotta admit I teared up at that point

not me thinking big red was calling ms Jenn cupcake for a hot second-

Carlos please omg, you're at the "beach" and they're leaving for the pool?

also, why not just do the call from the hotel room please omg

"don't ask me"

"Carlos"

OMG WHAT HAPPENED

big red wants the tea

O M G

SEB IS JEALOUS

JEALOUS SEBBY IS MY FAVOURITE THING IDC

I'm surprised ms Jenn knew how to give Nini permission to screenshare tbh

So lily's been stalking the East high kids and spending time editing this video while she's supposedly in an immersion trip.... right

EJ and Ashlyn's picture is so chaotic, what even is happening there

"slacking off" bestie its spring break, obviously they're confident enough that they'll get it done in time so why not focus on your own musical.

jealous seb = sassy seb

please what if those guys Carlos is posing with are his cousins or something and that's why he's so confused about Seb

6 YEAR OLD EJ I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM I LOVE HIM

Nini saying she's obsessed with her ex, that's not weird at all 👍

I can just tell Matt had a blast harassing Julia with those puppets.

Jack please dont be like that, "yet"

chances are you'll never see eachother again 🥰

(honestly sometimes I really miss those friends I made on trips and stuff when we'd spend the day or week together, only to never see them again....those were the good days though)

Ashlyn and Nini should write more songs..... something better than this one at least

Nini: "im good"

cue the Tia Mowry (please I can't spell) crying gif

oh I forgot Ricky was in the show for a hot second

1. where did Gina get to film this without people being around

2. did she just... randomly change her clothes???

ok but the transition between Carlos and EJ

*chefs kiss*

now everyone shut up, EJ's singing

oh i think I'm pregnant

HIS MUSCLES

YES KOURTNEY

I love how big red and Kourtney went from being "the best friends™" to the couple in season 1, to kinda close themselves and having their own plots

sebby makes me so happy

props to biggies editing skills honestly

PORTWELL BEING SIDE TO SIDE I CANT

AND SEBLOS OMG

big red lives for the drama

"wow" so true Ricky

no he is not cute, stop it

"holding" ok that's kinda cute

yeah EJ's a lucky guy😌

jokes aside, it's not that hard to exchange numbers-

keep in touch if you want

ok I really like Jack now

if he comes back in season 3, maybe have him be LGBTQ+ ?

like the only out characters they have rn are Seb and Carlos and they're like the sterotypes, yk?

I'd love to see jack kinda break the mold

Ricky's breaking my heart

that song just hurts

the only thing

now I don't hate Lynne????????

HOW DARE THEY WRITE IN A PROPER REDEMPTION ARC FOR HER

UGH IM SUPPOSED TO HATE HER FOREVER

I mean I don't live her now but she's good

but honestly

"mom can I show you something"

IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL

THE PICTURE AND EVERYTHING OMG

I'm sobbing please help

Gina saying she's just waiting for the right guy and then EJ coming to the airport to pick her up late at night without her asking, offering to bring her back in the morning so she won't have to Uber, bringing her a granola bar (WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT SHE FORGOT TO PACK) and without expecting anything in return???

ms ma'am you've got a keeper right there

her smile at the end was so heartwarming I really can't.

this episode was great.

it felt really short but I liked it, great character development for Ricky, Lynne and Gina.

Cant wait for next episode to see more of EJ being the ideal boyfriend /hj

[leia-imogen]

aaron & the family he's found all by himself; vol. 2 // vol. 1

( ft. short jokes, a belated birthday shopping trip, & an ultra-chaotic winter break )

( for @criswisstuff & anyone who enjoyed the first one <3 )

savannah, who is 5'9, is constantly teasing aaron and cleo for being short. katelyn's good at 5'6, and also a bit impossible to tease bcs she's the actual best, so she gets to escape this

cleo ( 5'2 ) is perfectly delighted to have someone shorter than her for once in her life, even by only 2 inches

aaron: guys, just try and see this from my point of view

sav: [ collapses ]

katelyn: [ crouches down ]

cleo: [ sits cross-legged on floor ]

aaron: dude you're literally 2 inches taller than me

cleo: 2 and a quarter

sav is so smug about this but in a good-natured way, in that she and cleo call aaron "kid" or "kiddo" or "pipsqueak" and he doesn't mind bcs they always say it w such a huge smile and he likes to respond to sav with "how's the weather up there, tall-ass?"

and katelyn thinks it's ridiculously adorable how tiny aaron is and obviously she uses him as an armrest all the time

katelyn, petting aaron's hair: guys guys omg he's like an angsty mini blond kitten and i would kill for him <3

sav, popping up between them: mini-yard :))

before i get super distracted, i just wanna mention that aaron met sav and cleo towards the end of november, so they missed the twin's birthday

but sav still insists that she must take him shopping bcs sure his fashion sense is fine but there's always room for improvement, isn't there, aaron??

he relents, so long as she and cleo and katelyn ( who already gave him a birthday present?? why's she doing this??? ) don't spend too much money

sav drags him all around south carolina to the best thrift stores she can find and cleo and katelyn are amazed that she can get such fantastic deals on the supermodel clothes she wears

fr she's literally a fashion design major ( + minoring in business management ) and she shows up to class in skilfully done drugstore makeup and an absolutely killer outfit for like 15 bucks

she grew up poor, and she's still poor now, even if she ( thankfully ) managed to scrape a cheerleading scholarship

sav, flicking through a rack of dresses labelled $4 apiece: RIP to little miss rich bitch reynolds but i'm different ;)

no hate to allison she's awesome but she grew up in the lap of luxury surrounded by designer brands so she knows NOTHING about thrifting and rationing money in general

oh and sav and allison have kind of a frenemies thing going on bcs they're both fighting for the top spot of their fashion design course

they spend the whole day shopping and aaron ends up with a highly upgraded wardrobe that contains a lot of cute pastel stuff and sav's promise to do his makeup

aaron insists on paying for dinner at the really nice pizza place a short drive from campus even tho they all protest

and andrew knows he's found new friends, but has no idea that it's the vixens and he's dating one of them. nicky does tho, but he's sworn to secrecy

nicky thinks his new clothes are adorable and is stunned when aaron tells him the total cost

"oh my GOD that girl sounds like a genius."

"yeah, her name's sav. you guys,, would get along, i think."

okay now for the winter break part!!

i think that you can get permission to stay at dorms if you're an international student or something??

anyways since sav's super upset bcs her father straight-up told her not to come home bcs he has a new girlfriend ( god i hate sav's father )

katelyn would stay with her, but her dad can finally have her home in new york for christmas and she really doesn't want to miss it

cleo, the only one with a properly functional family, is going back to her big family house and loving parents and grandma and aunt and siblings and cousins. love that for her.

so aaron and sav are stuck at psu for 2 weeks and aaron's surprisingly cool with this. and sav's excited bcs for the first time since her mom died, she can spend her christmas with someone she actually wants around instead of her shitty-ass father and his constant stream of bitchy girlfriends

they spend a lot of time together, stealing food from the athlete's dining hall to make their own weird combos, which usually ends with aaron making something Cool and Interesting and sav gagging and spitting out whatever strange concoction she had previously insisted would taste good

i literally can't bring myself to give a shit about the twinyards' deal bcs andrew literally became best friends with renee?? and hooks up with guys at eden’s??? idk what's going on there but it's like andrew is trying to control aaron's life while he can do whatever he wants??? and honestly wtf????

also let me just make it clear that i ADORE andrew so so much he's one of my favourite comfort characters ever but i'm not gonna make excuses for his shitty behaviour. i fully believe he heals and puts away his pride to apologise to aaron, nicky, and kevin for his treatment of them

that's definitely not to say that aaron's internalised homophobia isn't eww, but with so many important people in his life gay, he makes a huge effort to get over it

so andrew just thinks that aaron is spending a lot of time in the library or out with nicky or something

and when aaron tells sav about this deal, she's kinda horrified, but it's pretty clear to her that aaron so desperately wants to fix his relationship with his brother, and she's not in any place to discourage him, is she?

the only thing she can do is hope that he won't come out all the worse for it

and stare at the boy curled up on the other end of the pale pink sofa cleo's parents had gotten, wonder just how much shit he'd been put through, and decide she was going to be his best friend

aaron's face has gone entirely impassive. sav nudges his fluffy-socked foot with her own, then reaches out to smooth the crease between his eyebrows. "careful, you'll wrinkle your pretty little face."

aaron is very caught off guard by this, and very promptly flushes bright red, which contrasts with the pale teal hoodie he stole from katelyn

"okay, enough talk about depressing crap. wanna go make christmas cookies now?"

"yeah."

so they make christmas cookies. well, it was supposed to be christmas cookies, but it turns into double chocolate fudge cookies somewhere along the line. neither of them knows how

them baking together is the definition of chaos. they're still blasting songs, and sav is singing along terribly

"yOu'Re A mEaN oNe, Mr. GrInCh," while poking aaron's cheek as he tries to mix something. he throws a handful of flour at her. "yOu ReAlLy ArE A hEel."

anyways obviously sav retaliates and that ends in a flour fight. it only stops when aaron deadass cracks an egg on sav's head and she smears chocolate into his hair

she also tries to make him sing along to baby, it's cold outside

"i'Ve GoT tO Go `wAAyyy~" she holds a spatula up to his face

"go away."

they video call katelyn, who takes one look at the mess in the cramped dorm kitchen and sighs so loudly and dramatically that her dad pops in and asks if everything's okay

aaron freezes up at the sight of him and sav quickly turns off the camera, bcs they both want to make good impressions on him, and being covered in various cookie ingredients just won't cut it, ya know?

the cookies turn out delicious and sav sends all their group chat various photos of the process, most of which consist of selfies with her making goofy faces while aaron is simultaneously baking and flipping off the camera

plus a several videos of sav enthusiastically dancing and mouthing the lyrics of, as follows, all i want for christmas is you, let it snow, and santa claus is coming to town and aggressively pointing a spatula at aaron

"c'mon aari, just sing! please??? please???? please you can do it i believe in you!!"

finally he just. gives up. "okay, you know what? fine, i'll sing to ONE and then you will STOP bothering me you insolent dumbass."

sav beams. santa baby starts playing. aaron is very clearly going through five stages of grief in 0.5 seconds

"go on," sav says sweetly as she slides in next to a pouting aaron, "i'll sing with you."

sav slings an arm around his shoulder and sways with him, so it's just her doing that and him grumpily mumbling the lyrics

and when the cookies are cooling down, they start cleaning the kitchen up. aaron rubs some spilled egg yolk into sav's hair but it goes pretty okay otherwise, since they're just listening to more christmas songs and chatting about light stuff, like aaron's biochem course, sav's fashion course, and their dumb classmates

aaron mostly listens tho, and learns that sav kind of hates allison reynolds for giving up her inheritance when she would do ANYTHING for even the tiniest fraction of that money

but she still thinks allison's gorgeous bcs c'mon

and that sav's dream is to one day open her own boutique!!

aaron spends most of the actual christmas day with the monsters at eden's bcs nicky and andrew wanted to

he spent a lot of the time texting on their group chat

doessavvyisgay: so u just go to a nightclub every week??

unaliveme: i mean yeah, i literally worked here for a while. we needed money and nicky was already working 2 jobs night and day

actualblessing: babe ur backstory is so tragic

unaliveme: i'm a fox for a reason ig

cleo.magda: Yes but-

doessavvyisgay renamed this conversation "aaron miniyard support group"

unaliveme: oh ffs

unaliveme: sav subject change go

doessavvyisgay: i'm at the clothes store what should i get?

actualblessing: something pretty :)

doessavvyisgay: sorry, i can't buy the cashier

cleo.magda: Wow.

doessavvyisgay: I DID GET HER NUMBER THO

unaliveme: lmaooo what's her name?

doessavvyisgay: uh

unaliveme: savannah istg u don't even know her name??

actualblessing: s a v

actualblessing: damn u really do be turning on the Charm tho

actualblessing: respect i didn't even talk to aaron till i asked him for notes bcs he has rly pretty notes and also a rly pretty face

actualblessing: and even then i was like :0

unaliveme: IT WAS CUTE I PROMISE

doessavvyisgay: u 2 = the only valid heterosexual couple

actualblessing: rt

unaliveme: oh shit i'm getting super drunk

cleo.magda: Aaron, you drink? That's not legal, get out of there right now. Kids these days-

unaliveme: cleo u have literally seen me get drunk af,, the first time we met,,, and anyways this is how my family bonds ✌🏻

doessavvyisgay: that's. so damn weird kiddo but go off ig

actualblessing: no go find better things to bond about other than alcohol and weird sweaty dancing

cleo.magda: Yeah, go watch some Christmas movies!

unaliveme: nicky makes us watch die hard every year

doessavvyisgay: see u in hell, kiddo ;)

cleo.magda: I meant things like The Polar Express and Home Alone.

actualblessing: merry christmas ya filthy animals!!

doessavvyisgay: merry xmas y'all i'm gonna go to that christmas party bcs i'm super bored

unaliveme: merry christmas mothers and fuckers

cleo.magda: Merry Christmas, you guys!

[punkscowardschampions]

Rio & Liam

Rio: I still can’t believe all that mess just happened

Rio: I swear to God my friends aren’t usually that trash like… what the fuck

Liam: it was unbelievable, are you ok

Rio: Like not at all but there’s nothing you can do

Rio: and you’ve already done loads more than I could ask, so don’t worry

Rio: This has really blindsided me, I’d never have expected this from her

Liam: sometimes you don’t know people how you think you do, or you did but they change on you into somebody else

Rio: So true

Rio: I never knew her, clearly

Rio: and she didn’t know me if she thought I was ever going to take her side over my family, was that the plan?

Rio: I genuinely do not get why she did this, tbh

Liam: she probably wasn’t planning further ahead than getting your other mate to take her side, she did things without thinking when I knew her

Rio: Who in their right mind would take her side

Rio: even without the full story

Liam: I dunno, I could be looking at it wrong and what she wanted was for all this to come out

Rio: Now I’m just worried there’s something seriously wrong with her

Rio: it’s not normal, no shit but

Rio: there has to be something going on to drive her to this, right?

Liam: if it’s a cry for help, getting this many other people involved and doing it tonight is a weird twist

Rio: It’s fucked, on so many levels I can’t even get into

Rio: Poor Edie

Rio: Is she mad at me now?

Liam: you don’t have to worry about Edie, she saw what Lex was like before this, she’s a good judge of who people are underneath whatever they put across

Rio: at least one of us is

Rio: I just don’t want her thinking I was out to ruin her night or make it about me and my friends’ bullshit

Rio: I was trying to do the opposite, draw a bigger crowd, you know

Liam: she understands where you were coming from, and it’s like you said, the two of us are in a bubble, I’m not gonna let anything ruin her night or switch up what it’s about

Rio: I’m really glad

Rio: At least that good still came from tonight

Rio: she doesn’t need to feel involved with all this Lexie business, it’s definitely about me, not Edie and you, I can see that now

Liam: I’d be a dick when you’re still going through it if I said I was buzzing we’re both out of it but I was questioning when it started if it was a bit about me, and her, I dunno what I could or would do if Lexie was, like, in love with me or something

Rio: But perfectly valid, this is a shit show

Rio: You don’t need to worry about her, she’s not going to come anywhere near me or mine ever again

Rio: it’s a betrayal beyond what she said in the text, and she knows that

Liam: she don’t worry me, and you don’t have to worry about anything but what she’s trying to involve you in

Rio: Oh we’re done

Rio: now I know she can’t fuck with me any more

Liam: loads of good came out of tonight then

Rio: I suppose that’s true

Rio: it doesn’t feel like that right now but hey

Liam: being done with her shite is gonna feel better in the long run

Rio: Sorry, I am not trying to dump this on you

Rio: that’s how I got here

Liam: Edie’s not mad at you but she would be at me if I just dipped on her sister in the middle of this

Rio: I appreciate that you took the time to do the digging

Rio: can I ask how you went about it?

Liam: not if you’re asking bc you wanna do more on her, that’s not being done or gonna make you feel better

Rio: Oh, no, it’s not about her

Rio: It’s for personal reasons

Liam: if you don’t know what you’re doing you’re gonna end up alerting the person you’re looking into before you find out what you wanna know

Rio: and it’s not something you can teach me?

Rio: I’m not a totally technophobic 👵 I swear

Liam: I don’t even know what you’re looking for

Rio: If Lexie had done more to me, behind the scenes, how could I find out if it was her

Liam: you’d know bc she can’t cover her tracks, it was easy for me to find the things I did

Rio: you don’t think she could keep it up then

Rio: yeah, that’s probably true

Liam: I don’t know, maybe if she wanted this to blow up as fast as it did and didn’t want something else to

Rio: She’s shot herself in the foot if it was her

Rio: anyway

Rio: I still feel bad, I should make it up to Edie

Liam: we could be giving her too much credit or not enough

Liam: Edie meanwhile deserves full credit for how the show went

Rio: I’m going to take her on an actual decent night out

Rio: you’re invited too, of course

Liam: thanks, if she wants me there, I’ll be there

Rio: We could go [somewhere bouj and your vibe] next weekend

Liam: where 😏

Liam: now I’ve searched it, yeah, alright, she’ll feel 👑 going there

Rio: Right?

Rio: I know it was technically your birthday but a girl can never feel like a 👑 too much

Rio: I’ll take her shopping first too but you don’t have to come to that bit, don’t worry 😉

Liam: wouldn’t be the first time I’ve waited outside a fitting room with a bag or the extra clothes they won’t let you take in

Rio: Bless

Rio: sisters are good training for girlfriends, for sure

Rio: I went out with a guy who had like all brothers and he was hopeless

Liam: my ma’d claim it’s more to do with her, however much of me is well behaved

Rio: well of course, that goes without saying

Rio: you aren’t a mummy’s boy type though, are you? 🤴

Rio: ‘cause I hadn’t even thought to warn her about that possibility yet

Liam: you’re too late with any warnings now

Rio: god, don’t say that, sounds so 😬 like 😂

Liam: if she calls me a mammy’s boy when you ask her, I’ll see myself out, like

Rio: I highly doubt she’ll say anything negative about you

Liam: your ma didn’t order me out when I met her, but you can give me a clue if she was just being polite, yeah

Rio: She was as surprised as the rest of us

Rio: but she’s pretty chill, and you aren’t a serial killer, so you’re good on that one

Liam: bit soon to crack a joke at Lexie’s expense or yours about how we don’t all get caught doing what we shouldn’t

Rio: 😏

Rio: if my sister goes missing, I think I’ll be able to put 2x2 together on that one, babe

Liam: the boyfriend did it every time, no technological skill required to solve the case, only luminol and an awareness of toxic masculinity

Rio: no wonder my ma liked you if you came out with all that

Rio: that’s just her energy

Liam: liked could be a bit strong but I’ll work on it, I get that everyone’s not gonna be celebrating as hard as mine is

Rio: that’s so cute 😫

Rio: it’s sweet, no one’s hating now

Liam: it’s the looking older thing, putting me at a disadvantage one time, but she knows I’m not 24 or something crazy now

Rio: No offence, but it could be a lot worse

Rio: she’s gone around with some strange people 🥴😷

Rio: and yeah, you aren’t that much older, really, so along with what you clearly have in common

Rio: I see it

Liam: not gonna get offended you think I’m normal, it’s a massive asset when I’m going round being a huge criminal, clearly

Rio: Ha, is it

Rio: stop with your jokes I’m tryna be sincere 😅

Liam: stop being sincere, you’ve had a fucked up night and if you don’t 😂 you’ll be 😭 is the cliche

Rio: God, too real

Rio: How tragic of me

Liam: nobody’ll hear it from me 😂 or 😭

Rio: Cheers, like

Rio: I’ll go get another drink and toast being free/drown my sorrows

Liam: I’d offer but you could be 3 drinks in while I’m still waiting to be served

Rio: I look older too 💁‍♀️

Liam: 🥂

Rio: I’d offer to get you guys some but I can’t 👀 yous and I’m sure you’re gonna go do something better now

Liam: I'll think of something to put the spotlight back on Edie and keep her feeling special until it's your turn

Rio: 🥰

Rio: Good job

Liam: she could teach you how to find out if Lexie did mess with you at all before, instead of giving a stranger like me access to your devices

Rio: Ah, I don’t wanna worry her

Rio: I’ll just forget about it, it’s no big

Liam: is it that worrying

Rio: Maybe I’m just over-protective, I’m sure that’s what she’d say

Liam: yeah, honestly, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing

Rio: She’ll thank me when she’s not a crazy teen

Liam: probably true

Rio: It sounds like wishful thinking, I know

Rio: but I’ve been there

Liam: wishful thinking you ain’t a crazy teen no more

Rio: Charming! 😂

Liam: not a 👵 you wanted me to know

Rio: If I am you are, and you want me to know you’re not too old for her soooo 🤫

Liam: you already admitted it could be loads worse

Rio: You aren’t some sleazy ‘producer’ who pretends you don’t know how old she really is

Rio: or some wannabe rockstar

Liam: unwishful thinking or did it happen

Rio: She’s not stupid, thank God

Rio: just nightmare scenarios that would be way more worrying if she remotely was

Liam: it’s that you’ve been afraid to come to her shows before now then

Rio: Pretty much

Rio: and idk

Rio: contrary to how it seems, I try to let them have their own things

Liam: I get your motives

Rio: If she wanted me there, she’d ask, wouldn’t she?

Liam: if it’s that simple between you two

Rio: Simple ain’t the word

Liam: which sounds like her coming out with what she do or don’t want ain’t likely

Rio: She’s been vocal about what she doesn’t want but I can’t do that for her, that’s the problem

Liam: confrontation where you don’t expect anything to change is easier than getting vulnerable over something you could have, or wish you could, but dunno if you’ll get

Liam: her music matters to her, but you playing along and 👏 bc you’re her big sister isn’t enough

Rio: I know it does, doesn’t she know that

Liam: she thinks you don’t take it serious

Rio: That’s not true

Liam: to her it is or she wouldn’t have told me and I wouldn’t be telling you

Rio: I don’t know why I’ve said any of this to you

Liam: there’s some anonymity as you don’t know me, but I’m kinda invested so you’re not just venting to someone who isn’t

Rio: Honestly, forget about it

Rio: I can talk to my own sister when I need to, we’re fine

Liam: yeah, but you can let me help too

Rio: What can you do about it?

Liam: you’re here bc I invited you

Rio: She could’ve said no

Liam: and she didn’t, she said it was a good idea

Rio: yeah

Rio: me and Edie are fine

Rio: despite any efforts from ex-friends or otherwise

Liam: nobody’s crediting Lexie to that level

Rio: what are you saying, Liam?

Rio: if there’s a problem you know about, then just say

Liam: if it was about her it’d be over, it’s you saying it ain’t simple between you and Edie, I’m not saying anything

Rio: It never is, is it

Rio: were things simple with your sister?

Liam: yeah, a terminal illness is gonna make things pretty simple, like

Rio: Oh, I would’ve imagined the opposite

Liam: not for a relationship dynamic, she gets what she wants

Rio: I guess so

Rio: well, obviously, it can’t work like that long-term, sorry to be blunt

Rio: but I’m not telling you anything you don’t know

Liam: I wasn’t telling you to follow the example of me and my sister

Rio: I know

Rio: Some things can’t be fixed, that’s the truth

Liam: don’t mean you throw round a statement like that and stop trying to

Rio: All I do is try

Rio: you don’t know

Liam: I know Edie’s worth the effort

Rio: and so do I

Liam: you’ve got time and loads of chances to keep on trying is the truth

Rio: Look, it’s not a secret I’m dating our cousin, so I know you know that

Rio: it’s also not a secret that plenty of people, Edie being one of them, are not fans of that

Rio: I can’t change any of that, that’s something we’re all going to have to live with

Liam: there’s stuff you can change though that’d make things better than they are

Rio: I’m not doing anything else wrong

Rio: in her eyes, anyway

Rio: that’s where the problem starts and stops

Liam: if you say so

Rio: You’ve known her five minutes

Rio: I really don’t need a lecture when I’ve known her her whole life

Liam: I wouldn’t keep it this vague if I was putting you in your place instead of trying to spare your feelings

Rio: Spare my feelings? Like she hasn’t said it all a million times worse? 😂

Rio: worry about what you know about her after-all, but thanks

Liam: I’ve got no worries about her

Rio: ‘course not

Rio: look, I sincerely mean drop it

Rio: it’s been an intense night and a weird one on my end, let’s act like we left it there, yeah

Liam: you not wanting my help don’t mean I’m retracting the offer, it’s still there

Rio: You’re dating her, you don’t need to impress me, like

Liam: it’s about her, not you

Rio: You don’t reckon she’s better off without me then

Liam: I wouldn’t admit to it, isolating someone from their family and mates is a huge red flag

Rio: 😏 Encouraging as ever that you just bring that shit up in lieu of nothing

Liam: you brought it up

Rio: no I didn’t

Liam: when you asked me if I think she’d be better off without you

Rio: that’s hardly accusing you of being a psycho abuser

Liam: it’d be a toxic thought for me to have, especially bc I’ve not known her long enough for you

Rio: you haven’t known her long enough to have a go at me on the matter, that’s what I meant by that

Liam: I’m not having a go, I’m having a convo you started and I think is worth keeping going, for Edie’s sake

Rio: I’m not mad at you

Rio: so agreed

Liam: she’s already helped me loads with shite I’m struggling with, I wanna help her too, if I can

Rio: that’s nice

Rio: genuinely

Rio: you clearly care, I don’t have to worry about that

Liam: we did just meet but everyone’s gotta start somewhere

Rio: of course

Rio: you know people usually don’t go this fast though, I’ve not just imagined that up

Rio: most lads ‘refuse to put a label on it’

Liam: most lads think they’ve got as much time as they want to fuck about, my brain’s not wired for wasting it

Rio: I get that

Rio: but you don’t have to skip ahead, miss the fun parts, you know

Rio: like, you don’t feel forced, right

Liam: what do you think she’s rushing me into or vice versa

Rio: I know our experiences shape us, and we have no control over that, trust me, I do

Rio: but idk, it’d make me sad to think you end up doing things you didn’t actually want to, or miss out on the little things, for the sake of fitting it all in, in pursuit of those milestones

Rio: you know

Rio: neither of you deserves that

Liam: you’ve described the opposite of what we’re both doing, it’d be funny if I’d never done any of it before or I was pretending to you I hadn’t, but I’m not with her

Liam: I want it to be different and she knows it is

Rio: If that’s what you both want

Rio: then that’s all good with me

Liam: after that’s what Lexie did, I fully expected Edie to want me to do stuff I wasn’t down to, but that was before I really knew her

Rio: What did Lexie do?

Liam: you know how she can be, it was intense, and asking too much of me

Rio: that’s fucked up of her

Rio: are you okay, did you tell anybody?

Liam: what would I have said, she fancies me too hard, I had bigger things going on, it barely registered until I said about it to Edie and she was upset for me

Rio: She shouldn’t have gone out with you

Rio: even if she thought she was doing a nice thing, she clearly wasn’t mature enough to even attempt to go about it in a good way

Liam: I shouldn’t have agreed to it, she wasn’t forcing that bit, it was on me

Rio: You were grieving, bad decisions are expected

Liam: nobody was mature enough back then, it was ages ago

Rio: so young

Liam: too late now to use the rushing things chat on her

Rio: I don’t think she’s been an evil bitch the whole time

Rio: she got it wrong back then

Rio: but this time she’s crossed a line

Liam: and got caught out for it

Rio: yep

Rio: oh well, at least it’s over

Rio: even if I never work out what I did to make her do that

Liam: it’s clearly a her thing, whatever her damage is, not your fault somehow you could point at and say yeah there’s what I did

Rio: yeah

Rio: I think I’d rather I could know, what it was about

Rio: that over thinking she did it just ‘cos

Liam: I could look again, see if there’s more to find, but it ain’t gonna be a folder called why

Rio: ha

Rio: nah, you’re alright

Rio: I can move on without it

Liam: drowning your sorrows or doing a cheers, wasn’t it

Rio: 🥂

Liam: I can see you

Liam: but we're gonna head off, direct from your sister is she already feels high

Liam: I'll pick her up if you wanna 👋 [and do pick her up before Rio can answer lol]

Rio: I saw your ma commented, are you going home?

Liam: not straight back

Rio: okay, well have fun

Liam: and you

Rio: ���🧡

Rio: and tell her I’m sorry, yeah?

Rio: and that she was really good

Liam: yeah, I'll let her know

Rio: thanks, Liam

Liam: she'll wanna hear it

Rio: I hope so

Liam: and about [wherever they are going on this double date] too

Rio: convince her if not

Rio: she’ll 🧡 it when she gets there

Liam: both of us getting to dress up will have her 😁

Rio: absolutely

Rio: I’ve not completely forgotten who she is, like

Liam: I was hyping up your plan not calling you out as being blackout drunk this fast

Rio: you know what I mean

Rio: blackout is now the mood but hey

Liam: don’t let Lexie get to you

Rio: I’ll do my best 🙃

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

Perry being relocated is sad, but it could lead to some bonding moments between Phineas and Heinz should they interact again. Phineas tells Heinz that it really started to sink in that he shouldn't have thrown away the pamphlet; if he had actually heard Perry out, maybe they could've kept the whole thing a secret from OWCA. Heinz comforts him and tells him it's not his fault; in hindsight, he shouldn't have roped some random kids into his scheme, but Phineas tells him it's not his fault either.

in reference to this post

WAIT THAT’S ACTUALLY SO CUTE??? oh man do I have Some Ideas™ for this

First of all, I have a feeling they’d all kinda stay away from each other for a while. I think Phineas would just be too sad to see anyone, and he’d rather spend his time moping with Ferb. Heinz wouldn’t even know where to find them anyway, but he’d probably want to stay away from them because he’d just feel really fucking guilty. I mean, it was Heinz that built the other-dimensionator. It was Heinz that let them come with him. There is no way he wouldn’t feel solely responsible not just for himself losing his nemesis, but these kids losing their pet, and that’s not even getting into the guilt I’m sure he’d feel over letting his doppelganger attempt to have them yeeted across the room or fed to the goozim (until, of course, he was also sentenced to a game of Poke the Goozim With A Stick). 

But after a few days of moping around the penthouse and attempting to build things that he gives up on halfway through, there’s a knock on the door. His first thought is that it must be his weekend with Vanessa (already? how did that happen?) and he’s like :/ because he has to explain to her that he accidentally had Perry relocated literally just hours after finding out that the guy had a whole family that he never even knew about. But then he opens the door and it’s Phineas standing there, and heinz.exe stops working for a few seconds because why is this child standing outside his penthouse? 

And Phineas has obviously been crying but he’s not right now, and he just looks up at Heinz with the saddest puppy dog eyes and asks, “Can I come in?” and there’s absolutely no way Heinz can say no to him,

Now, Heinz is obviously very confused because there’s really no reason for this kid not to hate his guts, so he has to ask what tf Phineas is doing here. Phineas just kinda shrugs and sniffles real quick, and Heinz has read Perry’s body language enough that he can kind of tell what people are thinking even if they won’t say it, so he sighs and just says something like, “You miss him, too, huh?” and Phineas nods and then starts fucking sobbing, and poor Heinz hasn’t had t comfort a crying child in years, so he has no idea what to do.

So Heinz gestures to the couch, and he’s like, “... you wanna sit?” and Phineas just looks at it for a second and Heinz quickly adds, “it’s not the same one he peed on,” and Phineas doesn’t stop crying but he does crack a smile before he sits down. Heinz sits down, too, and he asks why Phineas is there again, because while his new couch is very comfortable -- perks of not buying new inator parts and new doors every day; he could afford a very luxurious couch -- he is decently sure Phineas did not come here to try out his couch.

And Phineas takes a minute to compose himself, and then he says something like, “I was just starting to get to know this other side of him, and now he’s gone” except like phrased so it’s sadder idk it’s hard to write dialogue if I’m not actually writing something in fanfic form lmao. 

Heinz just kinda nods because he doesn’t necessarily relate -- sure, finding out Perry had a family was surprising, but the difference between Agent P with his family and the Perry the Platypus that Heinz knows isn’t anywhere near as stark as the difference between Agent P and the Perry that Heinz can sort of picture at home -- he does relate to wishing he had had the time to learn more about him before he had to leave. 

Then Phineas asks, “What was he like?” and it all kinda falls into place. He came here to get to know the side of Perry that he didn’t really get to see; the side that Heinz knows better than anyone, because he’s seen both the friend and foe aspects (often on the same day, when they’d go hang out after work). So Heinz starts talking and talking and talking, and it’s oddly comforting because this is what he used to do with Perry the Platypus and he hasn’t really gotten to monologue since Perry left and he’d forgotten how therapeutic it was. It’s not the same, obviously, but seeing Phineas’s reactions to his stories is heartwarming in a different way.

And then maybe Phineas apologizes, and Heinz is like ??? because if anyone should be apologizing, it should be him -- and he was getting there; he was just a little wrapped up in happier times -- and Phineas explains the whole thing with the pamphlet and the fact that he basically ignored everything Perry tried to tell him (and he doesn’t say it, but hearing Heinz talk about Perry and what he thought and what he felt just makes it worse because it means Heinz (his nemesis!!!) was willing to listen to him and he wasn’t). And Heinz is like “Dude, literally shut the fuck up because this was all my bad” (but, you know, not like that) and they talk about that for a lil bit and Heinz finally says, “You know what? We both messed this up equally. We can share the blame, how ‘bout that?” and again, Phineas doesn’t say it, but that makes him feel better, too, because everyone else has been telling him to stop blaming himself. Even Ferb said it, as if Ferb wasn’t completely level-headed the entire time. If Perry had handed Ferb the pamphlet, he would have read it and he would have figured out what Perry was getting at, and then Phineas wouldn’t have wasted so much of their last few hours together just being angry at him. This is the first time someone has been real with him about it, and it means a lot.

And that, my friends, is the story of the newly-formed unbreakable bond between Phineas Flynn and Heinz Doofenshmirtz :,)

I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason you sent this was that you know that I’m a complete sucker for a good Phineas/Heinz (non-romantic) relationship, but I have to admit, the more I think about this, the more I feel like this would work out better with Heinz and Ferb. I know that’s probably really weird from someone who’s literally written a whole tumblr essay about how Phineas and Heinz are basically the same person (casual promo is casual), but I was actually just talking to revenblue on ao3 the other day (I would tag his tumblr instead but a) I don’t want him to feel compelled to read all my bullshit and b) I want to bless any Perryshmirtz fans out there who may not have read his fics yet because he is The Perryshmirtz Writer™) about how Heinz would get along with the boys, and I realized that Ferb and Heinz would actually get along really well in a different sense? 

The charm of Phineas and Heinz’s potential friendship has always been that it would be someone to excitedly talk to about building and inventing and that they’d connect through excited conversations that they can’t have with anyone else. Sure, Phineas can talk to Ferb about it and Heinz can talk to Perry about it, but neither of them talk back very much, so putting two excitable blabbermouths together would be fantastic. 

But Heinz and Ferb would get along really well because Heinz would actually listen to him. He’s so used to hanging out with Perry that he can pick up on silent cues with no problem -- something that would be really useful when hanging out with a mostly nonverbal kid. As much as it looks like Ferb might get that from Phineas already, it looks more to me like Phineas just assumes they’re on the same page and Ferb just roles with it. I’d go more in depth but a) it’s almost one in the morning and I have an 8:30 class tomorrow and b) this post is already so much longer than it needed to be, but tl;dr: This would be a great way for Heinz and Ferb to bond because it would give Heinz the chance to monologue and infodump about his best friend at the same time it gives Ferb the chance to both learn more about Perry and to talk to someone who’s going to pay attention to his own thoughts and feelings with no prompting.

[tardytothepardy]

Fruits Basket - Vol.15

You think you know someone, and then it turns out you really, really don't. At least, you know a very small portion of that person.

In a pretty hefty chunk of this book, we get a massive flashback into Yuki's childhood. As expected, it wasn't that great. What I didn't expect is how bad it was. It was,,, honestly a lot.

So, because he is the Rat Boy, and because I guess the rat is the closest to God in this whole situation, Yuki ended up being around Akito for most of his childhood. It wasn't ever really anything he wanted to do, it was just something he had to do. And from the short glimpse we get of Akito as a little kid, it seems like he didn't use to be anywhere near as bad as he is in the present (which makes sense). He seemed to have a short temper, but other than that, there wasn't anything unusual. Until one random day, that is. Akito kinda flipped his shit, and has been that way since. How nice.

As a result of always being close to Akito, no one else really wanted to be around Yuki. And after Akito cracked a bit, and started saying that Yuki wasn't wanted, that he was unnecessary, and that no one liked him, Yuki didn't much like being around Akito, but he didn't have any choice. Some time around then, Yuki's parents seem to have kinda sold Yuki to appease Akito, so he didn't even have his family to fall back on. Ayame, his older brother, ignored his existence as a whole. Have we even met Yuki's father in this entire series?

So when Yuki first heard of Kyo, how he was left outside, Yuki was pretty curious. He was alone, and so was this mysterious cat person. Maybe they could be friends? But, of course, the second that Kyo saw Yuki, he blamed Yuki for basically everything that went wrong in his life, just because Yuki was the rat, and he was the cat. Before this point, the whole Juunishi thing doesn't really seem to affect Yuki much, he doesn't seem to categorize people based on what animal spirit they have, but I imagine that after this incident, maybe that changed. After that initial interaction with Kyo, Yuki didn't immediately hate him, he was just sad and confused, but moving on, I bet it was excellent fuel to the fire.

(Oh hey I'll just put this here, that after Kyo yelled at him for "ruining everything" and that everyone would be happier if he just disappeared, he ran into his mom again. He was upset, and probably could've used some nice comfort. Instead of that, he got slapped in the face. So. -1 for Yuki's mom.)

Do you remember way back, probably around the first books, when Yuki brought up that time that he accidently turned into a rat while playing with some kids in elementary school? It went over that. It was already a sad scene, but now there's this additional context that when he was playing around with the other kids, that was basically one of the first times that he was truly happy. But after he changed into a rat, well obviously that had to be covered up, so all those kids that he was starting to make friends with were made to completely forget about him. He wasn't back to square one, he was at square zero, because now he had had a taste of friendship, just for it to be taken away and replaced with Akito (and probably other people) shaming him for having the audacity of being born as a Juunishi, because he totally chose to be like that, right?

Another slight detour, the hat. So the hat was originally Kyo's, but after he saw Yuki holding it, he just decided that it wasn't his anymore. And, oh my fucking god? The following panels are fucking heart wrenching, it's terrible. Did no one hear Yuki crying, or did they just ignore it? Like, I don't like kids, I can't handle them when they're screaming (why do they scream so much it's weird) or crying, but oh my god, that hurts me. That panel hurts me. He just wants a family that loves and cares for him, that doesn't avoid or ignore him. (Put a pin in this sentiment, because it pops up later.)

After a steady diet of this kinda thing, with Akito's acidic words, people's general distaste or indifference for him, he started being scared to reach out to others. (Personally, I kinda feel like screaming at these people, like wtf is wrong with all of them) It's here when he just seems to kinda shut off. All this time, he's still sickly, and feeling like your life is without worth (and having your world confirm it everyday) doesn't exactly make you fight to stay healthy, y'know?

And here's when Yuki kinda is given a purpose, because after Akito visited him when his cough was acting up, and basically asked him, "Are you going to die yet? If you're gonna do it, just do it already", he left the house, and ran out randomly out in town in the early morning, where he overheard Kyoko screaming to the police about how her adorable little daughter in her adorable little dress with her cute hair in adorable little pom-poms was missing and she was going to tear down the town to find her. He kept running down some roads, until he did actually find that adorable little daughter.

On his end, it seemed to be a series of "Well shit. What now?" after finding her, and only continued as Tohru saw him and started following after him until he led her back to her house. This whole thing, as has been explained in previous books, was basically the first time in his life where someone needed him, specifically him, to help them. And that feeling, of knowing that he was able to help someone, and that he was needed, even for a little bit, was enough to pull him through.

Then we're pulled back to present, shortly after Machi broke open the closet door with a chair where Yuki was stuck in, which was the main thing that even started this whole thing, where he's explaining kind of why he came to see and/or love Tohru in maternal way. Thing is, just like when that was revealed, I still don't blame him for it. She's very caring. I'll admit (like Kakeru, who has kinda been there sitting with Yuki this whole time, apparently in silence) that I don't wholly understand it, on a personal level, but I can see why he thinks that. It makes sense.

Now onto to wacky happenings and zany shenanigans! The school is making a play, and Kyo's one of the main characters (despite never really showing that he has literally any interest in acting or theater, but yaknow whatever) in a Cinderella play, with Cinderella herself being played as Hanajima! This has already been brought up in the last book, but I'm just reiterating for fun or something idk

Tohru's having a hard time fitting into the role of an evil stepsister, to the point that she's worried about slowing others down because she just,,, can't,,, make,, herself,,,,, be,, meannnnn omigod it's so hard ;-; Additionally, Kyo's just not showing up for rehearsals and stuff, he's not even bothering. Probably bc it's embarrassing for him. And with these two main problems (the show can't go on if Prince Charming doesn't know his lines, after all), the play is altered, ever so slightly, so that it becomes "Sorta Cinderella". What a marvelous title.

Let's go back to that pin I mentioned earlier, with Yuki wishing he could have had a family that loved and cared for him.

So, before some of this stuff with the play, Yuki brought up The Hat, of the "It was first owned by Kyo but he later abandoned it after seeing that Yuki picked it up, and later wore that hat when he led Tohru back to her mom" fame, in a very off-handed manner. I think he just said that Tohru still has the hat, in her room, that's she's kept it all this time. This throws some unpleasant memories for Kyo into the air, and leaves him rather bitter.

Leading back to the main scene at hand, Kyo kinda goes off on Yuki, saying that Yuki was lucky: he had a mom and dad, he was needed, he was involved in the family matters. He's had it easy, had the world handed to him on a silver platter, and that he'll never understand what it's like to hope for something despite knowing he'll never get it. (and both times i've read that so far, i just want to yoink kyo into the beginning of this book, like, no dude. your childhood was fucked up, but so was his.) He stops mid-rant, however, when he sees that Yuki is not fighting back, at all, and when he remembers something that (probably) Akito said, that Kyo just uses Yuki as something he can hate. Naturally, why would you ever want to feed into something that Akito would say, so he stops, but not before punching a hole in a window. Ow.

Finally, we've gotten to the play, the main event! Hiro, Kisa, Momiji, and Haru (among others) are there to witness the,, the sight? (Idk man it's 12:30am) Hiro is acting strangled, as per usual, trying to keep Kisa away from all the creeps, but also trying his small-child most to not Mess Things Up, as he has a slight history of doing throughout the series thus far.

The play in of itself is pretty funny, personally I think the narrator was doing the heavy lifting in this one. But more importantly, there's a point where "Cinderella" asks "Prince Charming" if all he ever wants out of life is to hide away from people, locked away in his own space, dying alone, (which I heavily doubt was part of the script, because,, whoa) and partway through telling her that he wouldn't affect anyone if he did do that, the "Stepsister" (Tohru) interrupts him, saying that would make her... she stops herself, but one can assume that the end of that statement would likely be that, if "Prince Charming" (psh nah this isn't about the play anymore) Kyo were to do that, she would get very upset, and generally not have a good time. And he had the audacity to be surprised about that like wtf man.

After the play, Yuki runs into a group of girls that are harrassing Machi, because she said that Yuki isn't like a prince. She didn't explain herself after saying it, and so I suppose the Yuki Fan Club (or whatever it's called idk I'd be surprised but also not if it wasn't called that) took offense to her disagreeing with her. After being pushed around (literally), Machi says that Yuki just seems too lonely of a person to be a prince, that despite being surrounded by people, he just kinda seems out of it most of the time. Now, is that true? It kinda seems so, so, props to Machi for seeing that, hopefully she's not going to be kidnapped and tortured (idk stuff happens). Hearing Machi say all that does kinda startle Yuki, but the fight itself stops after Kakeru makes a fake announcement about a photoshoot with Yuki that makes the bullies scatter away.

And that's basically the end of it. Although the flashback thing with Yuki probably didn't even take up a third of the book, it was still some pretty heavy stuff, so it's nice that it was offset slightly with the play. I don't really have much else to say about that.

[pikapikarawr]

I-Land Ep 7 Thoughts

**SPOILERS WARNING**

I’m returning with my brain dump of I-Land thoughts again lol after not writing about ep 5 and 6. Anyways, I-Land came back after their 2 week break and ooh boy, I have many  thoughts.

The 6 Grounders

There weren't really any surprises for the grounders that were picked. Daniel, Sunoo, Niki, and Geonu were basically fixed. So I felt like I was really only picking 2 people. I liked Youngbin, Hanbin, and Nicholas. Youngbin needs more practice, so I'm ok if he just debuts later. I'm sad that Nicholas didn't make it, but Taki's good too, so it's ok.

I thought it was kind of cruel how they called the last 3 people up to announce the last saved. I felt bad for Nicholas and Kyungmin :(, even though it's a TV show, so they did it for suspense.

I really like Kyungmin's positive mindset. I hope he continues to be optimistic and keeps on training! I hope to see him debut one day.

I hope the eliminated trainees don't take it too hard and just take it as a learning experience, and keep on going. Hopefully, we see them all debut one day, even if it's not together.

The Initial Ranking This initial ranking seemed unfair. Because during the first round of voting, we knew that Sunoo, Daniel, and Niki were already in Ground. So people knew to vote for them.

I wasn't surprised that Sunoo was 1st because he seems really popular in Korea. Pretty surprised that Daniel scored 2nd, but both Sunoo and Daniel had an advantage of being in ground at the time of the voting. Niki was too, but he's not as popular as those two. And it's likely that people kind of paired Sunoo and Daniel together when they were voting because they performed the vocal test together and they kinda give off the same cheerful and youthful vibe.

Heesung and the I-landers were surprised that he was "only" #3. We all know he's #1 in everyone's heart and debut list though :(. If they knew how the voting was, they'd understand though. I'm actually surprised that so many people voted for him because it was really likely that he was safe from elimination. From the edit this week though, a lot of people will vote for him. So I wouldn't be surprised if he got 1st or 2nd this week.

I did think it was weird during the first round where they included everyone, instead of telling us the 6 that got sent to ground. During that voting, I consistently voted for Sunoo, Daniel, and Niki. Then for the others, the first few days, I voted for my 3 favorites - Heesung, Sunghoon, and Jake. Even though I knew Heesung and Sunghoon were probably safe, just in case Sunghoon somehow gets sent down or these votes affect the challenges later. Then near the 2nd half of the week I voted a mix between some others in ground.

I thought it was fair that K didn't understand why Sunoo and Daniel got such high rankings. He didn't see how the voting went on. And Heesung is definitely more talented than them, so I think they also felt kind of awkward about it and kind of guilty. Why is K getting evil edited tho?? I'm pretty sure his spot is fixed in the final group.. He's basically the best dancer there and can choreograph well. whatismnetdoing? I'm confused. Maybe they're just milking drama as usual.

Dance Battle

Jungwon is good at everything?!? I really liked his freestyle

Sunghoon: I'm not good at freestyle Also Sunghoon: But I'm not bad at it either *giggle* that clip was soo cute hahah

I don't really know locking, but I feel like Taki had an advantage because he's the only one that locks. He did have good energy and expressions during the round though, and the crowd was hyped during his round. So his round was solid

Sunoo LOL. His dance was very "him" haha, it was cute/charming and even though, he couldn't freestyle well, he just went with it and did whatever. The cartwheel to just jumping and spreading his arms and legs was hilarious xD

K and Heesung as expected were good too. K's expressions were really good.

BTS!

The gifts were really nice and thoughtful

I think the hanboks that Niki got were probably the best? I also liked Jin's food bowl, but I'd probably never actually use it because I'd be afraid to break it or wear it out haha.

Niki finally showing his age that he's the 2nd youngest of the group. Aww he was such a baby this episode, so excited about the gifts :')

The segment about the trainees concerns was so sweet. Heesung worried about what it takes to have good leadership and I liked Hanbin's question about confidence (I relate, bro lol).

K saying that he wasn't handsome, and Suga and J-Hope saying, "we debuted, you can too!" hahahah XD.

*All the trainees ask sincere questions* Geonu: How do I look up without getting wrinkles? *Jimin eyeroll*

I'm surprised that Sunoo had bad health. It doesn't show on the show. But that could be the reason that the I-Landers kept voting him out before? Maybe because he couldn't practice as much?

Daniel saying that he wanted to be a rapper came out of nowhere lol. But if it makes him happy, I support it :). I really like his singing voice too though. He just needs to become an all-rounder haha.

I wish the trainees could have actually met BTS, but maybe they were afraid of covid?

I'm actually surprised how long the BTS segment was. I thought it'd just be like a quick 5 min clip of giving the mission. I'm glad they included all this extra stuff and we get to see more of the trainees personalities and behind the scenes of what they're thinking.

Teams Fake Love - Taki, Heesung, Sunghoon, Sunoo DNA - K, Niki, Hanbin, Jay I Need You - Jungwon, Jake, Geonu, Daniel Side note: Super glad they got rid of the internal I-Land voting nonsense lol. It was a good idea in theory, but truly terrible in reality. Maybe they heard feedback from it and changed it. Plus this way the producers have more control of who’s in the group too. 

I actually kind of wish the audience votes didn’t completely decide the fate of the group because even if all the popular trainees make it, the group might not be good if they’re missing an essential member..Like what if all the popular members were rappers, who’s going to sing the songs?? That’s not relevant in this case, but that’d be an example. 

It’d be better if the producers just pick the group and take the audience vote into consideration? Or do a point system like 1/3 from producers, 1/3 from bang pd, 1/3 from audience, which I think they mentioned something like that at the beginning of the series.. but they haven’t mentioned it since then.

Predictions Hmm so from each team, I think Taki, Hanbin, or Geonu will get eliminated first.

Fake Love has a really good team, but that song is really hard. Also, I don't know if Taki realized that if his team doesn't place first.. he's highly likely to get eliminated. I'm hoping they turn it around, but mm I feel like they would all struggle with that song. Who's going to sing all the high notes other than Heesung?

DNA is the Dance representative team omg. This performance is going to be so fun to watch :), I'm excited for this one.

I don't know why, but I feel like I Need You will win? I feel like this song highlights vocals better and the dance isn't as intense as the other 2? And I feel like Jungwon, Geonu, and Daniel are all really good vocals to carry the song. Hmm I feel like Jake would've fit DNA better? There probably wasn't enough spots though. He'll probably do ok here.

Man, time is passing by so fast. Only a month until the finale! And there's only 5 episodes left.

Picks It's hard to narrow down my picks to 7.. : Heesung, Sunghoon, Jake, Jungwon, K, Jay, Daniel

I like the inital 6 I-Landers that made it to Part 2, but ahh, I don't know who the last spot should be. I really like Sunoo too and he's probably more likely than Daniel, Jake, and Jay.. but uhm, Idk who to kick out :(. There's no way Sunoo doesn't make it though unless Producers kick him out. He's so popular. I think he'll take Jake or Jay's spot.. maybe Daniel(?). I feel like the group is better though if Daniel and Sunoo are together though, and not if only one of them makes it. Idk why, but I kinda just naturally pair them together haha.

And Geonu seems to be the "main vocal" pick, but the producers seem to have abandoned him and the editing hasn't really shown much of his personality.. so.. I think Heesung is just going to have to carry the songs as main vocal and center.

[william-nylander]

having a very rough day, do you have anymore top willy moments to gift us?

i am so sorry u are having a rough day pebble. i decided to go a bit rogue with this, in that it is instead a Top Willy Interviews On the Leafs Youtube Page listicle. i hope it makes ur day a teeny bit better.

idk if you’ve ever been to toronto BUT this look is very like. like this willy lives in the junction and hates the “noise” of the downtown and has waited 2 hours in line for bangbang ice cream in august. he likes to smoke weed in trinity bellwoods. he goes to poetry readings on bar roof tops and says shit about how everything north of dupont is “north york”. hes been known to sit at the piano in the common room at university college (uoft) and play scales. he can and has fucked ur boyfriend.

this willyum is your coworker at canadas wonderland one summer. he does not know what hes doing. he is either like :| or like :D depending on the moment. his nose gets sunburnt at the beginning of the summer but only ever in a charming way!!! u never see it peel. he works the stuffed animal stands and cannot understand why his has a line and none of the others do (hint: its bc every1 has a crush on him!!!!). before the park opens he wanders around with one of those velcro monkeys around his neck. he likes the mindbuster the best bc thats MY favourite ride and this is my listicle. 

also i miss willys gigantic front teeth gap. he used to have little tombstone teeth. what has he done to them. 

hey i love kyle dubas with my whole heart and all but there was something to be said about how when lou made them all be clean shaven and hair short it meant that willys hair was always kinda like a dragon ball z character and also his skin was all fleshy and elastic like a babys arm 

speaking of kyle dubas i found this choice shot of willy blinking while kyles prattling on about nothing and like has anything ever been more My Aesthetic 

god. has any1 ever been more iconic. this willy lives just north of bloor on dufferin and will tell anyone that the ossington strip is the “most underrated part of the city” (& hes right!!!!). they know his name at sugo. he takes all his out of town friends there and he gets tattoos at ink + water (thats at lansdowne right? now ive confused myself). he goes to the value village there and owns 29 pairs of sunglasses. he has his bed on the floor. he listens to a lot of better oblivion community centre. he long boards. he goes to bulk stores for groceries. he wants to start brewing his own kombucha. actually u know the more i typed this willy might just be me whoops.

this man is my next door neighbour for the summer in cottage country. he has a fishing boat but he doesnt fish because fish suck. i invite him over for bbq and telling stories around the campfire. we drink shitty beer. he is not interesting but he is hot. maybe we make out on the dock. willy looks weirdly good in green.

whenever someone has bracelets on their wrist my mind goes str8 to SUMMER CAMP. willyum is a camp counsellor at a camp maybe on like idk lake erie or some shit. he is a cabin leader and he loves his little sprouts/campers. frederik gauthier is the HEAD LIFEGUARD and willy thinks hes so funny and weird and sweet and cute and he doesnt realize!!! until the end of camp!!! that he has a big crush on freddie goat!!!! its the last night of camp and theres a big campfire and a camp dance and willy asks goat to sneak away with him. they go down to the beach and sit on the picnic table under the lifeguard tent and willy kisses goat and its very romantic. 

okay 1) love a man in a puffy coat & 2) there is something about “my father will hear about this” draco malfoy looking like He Was a Diplomats Son mp3 willy that just really gets my goat. he went to a boarding school in the swiss alps and fucked ur girlfriend. he has a closet for his shoes. he dated a member of the swedish royal family for a summer but broke up with him bc he was too clingy.

speaking of that bitch…..here he is again. this is after his tour after high school. he rented out an apartment in lisbon and would smoke cigarettes with beautiful people on the balcony. he spends a month in the south of france turning golden on the rocky beaches and buying dinner every night from the market on his way back to the hotel. this willy takes molly at a gay club in dresden and wakes up in an architect students bed and then he goes to the park to sweat off a hangover and pretend to read nietzsche  

this willy is absolutely the rapscallion son of the president. whats that movie with mandy moore (maybe???? oh no wait i just googled it its katie holmes) - that movie with katie holmes where the first daughter like falls in love or whatever?? this is willy. OOH IVE GOT IT. okay so this willy is absolutely a zoey barlett type from the west wing who is very cute and everyone loves him even though he is a spoiled brat sometimes/all the time. ENTER the assistant to the president - zach hyman - in a charlie young role. they fall in love over a pot of chilli. its the most beautiful thing u have ever s33n. 

okay so like willy is the new Legal Assistant at the office. kyle is a Partner in Law or whatever tf they’re called. willy and he are Working Late One Night and u know what that means…..they go to rol san bc its open until like 6am and they eat the FUCK out of some dumplings and then kyle drives willy back to his apartment (maybe in this one he lives in a shitty place at yonge & college???? like classic “roommate in the living room” toronto living??) and they KISS in the CAR and its ROMANTIC.

this willyumm is your date for thanksgiving dinner. he comes extremely bundled. my parents live north of toronto so i imagine this willy driving us north for the weekend. his scarf is very evan from skam and its sexi. he does not like the folk playlist that you have put on but its FALL and the TREES and OCTOBER MEANS HOZIER and hes like UGH FINE WHATEVER and is a bit grumpy but then u pass thru the holland marsh and he’s like “hm smells like onions” and its all fine again. his laugh confuses your extended family and he sucks at scrabble and is a pouty bitch about it but its a GOOD TIME.

god THIS WILLYAM is ur older brothers BEST FRIEND and he comes over to play video games ?? i guess ?? i never had a brother but i YEARNED to crush on a brothers best friend. he is very handsome like a lion. maybe you write some weird diary shit about it. every time he comes over ur SO WEIRD and he KNOWS ABOUT UR CRUSH and hes VERY NICE ABOUT IT.

also would a willy listicle be complete without me marvelling over his long straight nose??????????? look how straight it is!!!!!!

this will ham is in ur intro to gender studies class on friday mornings in sid smith. hes in one of ur projects and hes got no fucking clue whats going on. hes on the varsity blues hockey team and he thought that he clicked on “intro to geography”. despite the fact that he has no idea whats happening ever hes enthusiastic about listening. one time u go for coffee at mallo across from where honest eds used to be and he asks u what the male gaze is. 

okay. i hope u enjoyed this. it took me awhile and i enjoyed every second of it. to conclude, here is several screen shots from my favourite willy interview:

u ever see a man more beautiful

lil elastic face weirdo 

[she-toadmask]

I’m kind of in a mood suddenly so below the cut there will be me just talking about fanfics I have read or am reading and why I like fanfic and stuff because I need to just

Fanfiction fucking rocks the basic part before all the stuff about it as the story just...it’s so easy to access and there’s so much and it’s just all there on the internet I don’t have to find a physical book

And on AO3 (where 90% of good currently-updating fic is afaik) there is TAGGING where you will know what you’re getting into (unless the author suddenly adds a sex scene and only then updates the tags but at least they give a warning at the start of the chapter but it doesn’t bother me as much as it did a couple years ago as long as I know it’s coming I know it’s a tool and it has its uses) with character drama and deaths and all that jazz not to mention how Ash being a badass has a specific tag and just other random things having tags that are important parts of the story

Like there are multiple fics I have found (not all of them are living fics sadly) of writing Ash’s journey in the beginning differently, like there was one I saw once that I kind of forgot to keep reading where he went to Sinnoh (and was still rivals with Paul and I think their ship tag was there?) and it said it was following game plot and then there’s one that I definitely don’t have open anymore because it didn’t update for some amount of time where he had a Joltik and then a Ferroseed and it’s really cool and a different one that’s still living and it’s called Pity of the World and Jesse + James (who is genderfluid in this fic) + Meowth are good people and stuff and just steal abused Pokemon and they run into Ash and they all end up being travel buddies and Ash understands Pokemon (not literally of course that’s not this fic) and also just knows what James’ gender is before they say anything and also in one chapter Zapdos is in Gringy City and says something about friendship being for mortals or something??? idk we’ll see and then there’s a different fic that I was reading and lost when switching devices and Ash was raised by Pokemon and literally can speak Pokemon and it was really neat but I haven’t tried to find where I left off because I’m too lazy for that tbh but it is still updating it’s Symbiosis or Symbiotic or something like that

Most things involving Ash that aren’t shippy or weird like that (ok there are some I’m not interested in but whapdfajaldjakjdf) end up being really cool because he’s a fucking legendary magnet which can either be played for laughs or deadly serious or just not be part of the fic if it isn’t relevant and so many fics use Aura it’s really cool (including Pity of the World I think he mega evolves Pidgeot (who evolves before leaving) when he fights Sabrina who does not have a doll in this fic) and there are different ways they do it and the thing I was mentioning about his connection with Pokemon like maybe it’s just a bit more than normal or it’s just yes he is everything and I kinda skipped out on gens 6 and 7 of the anime but I get enough to understand what they mean in chat fics and when referring to it in other fics it’s really cool

I think I mentioned Creepypasta and how there were two Harry Potter Creepypasta fics, one that was one and was slow to update if it wasn’t dead and one that was on the fourth one actually I was wrong about what number it was I think and updates every two weeks the first one is more lighthearted/written by a younger person like Slendy is a character and Harry x a lot of the ‘pastas I guess and it takes place starting before 4th year and the beginning is kinda meh with some weird dialogue and absurd levels of Dumbledore Ron and Hermione bashing but it does call out some of the other legitimate problems like how the lake trial in the tournament just kidnaps people which is very big because it was Ben who was kidnapped so big yikes there and honestly it’s not what you want to read if you want something really high-quality and serious like not that it doesn’t take itself seriously but it feels closer to something I would have read when I was in middle school than most of the Sanders Sides fics I read (just using that as comparison because the vast majority of that is well-written stuff). Then the other one!!!! For one it has a much more realistic/developed take on the Creepypastas’ existence like how the stories are how they exist with Slenderman being a cosmic horror being thing more than a character with character which is always really cool and Jeff kidnaps Harry as a baby (he is Boy when he is with the Creepypasta and Harry when at Hogwarts and there’s some really cool stuff about how they’re different) and, having lived with murderers, Harry gives zero fucks about things and kills Fluffy in the first book long before other stuff happens, Quirrel tries to use him to get the stone but gets annihilated at the mirror because family and then Voldemort is just a giant white snake for the rest of the series so far and also because he sucks Lockhart tries to exorcise Harry because Harry is fucking nuts and it’s great and also Harry is a Hufflepuff and there is probably more Gryffindor bashing than is necessary and pretty much all the adults get bashed for sucking (like in book 3 the boggart stuff is called out for being hella dangerous for them also Harry can’t cast the Patronus charm make of that what you will idk what) though Harry does make for quite the conversation topic among the teachers, Harry x Neville is the main ship and Neville eventually gets resorted into Hufflepuff because the Gryffindors are being massive dicks to him, also Harry flirts with Draco because Harry gives no fucks and it’s great (also both books give Luna lots of love, like the young one she’s a Seer like from Madame Macabre’s old webcomic that’s dead as it gets and the long one she’s just a good character and shit) and Harry makes these books to spread Slenderman’s legend throughout Britain/the Wizarding World and Draco may have gotten one and survived???? but now Neville has one during the summer months (and also through feeding Fanged Geraniums or whatever live stuff and blood instead of bonemeal he is creating Audrey II and straight-up says something about having to call it Harry Jr. but that’s probably just a little joke and isn’t going to stay beyond this but it’s just fun because Little Shop of Horrors slaps) and I have big fear about him doing the stuff and getting hurt and Harry/Boy conflict will be scary

There’s this other fic I found when trying to find good fics involving Ash and it’s kinda weird and seems to be written by a younger author but we’ll see where things go, like Harry got transported by Celebi to the world of Pokemon and Giovanni is Silver and Ash’s dad and they live with him and also Harry does too and he’s in a wheelchair and also is really smart and I wish we had gotten to spend a bit longer seeing their dynamics before when Harry is 14 the Goblet of Fire somehow spits his name out and Celebi helps with getting Harry (and also the other three because of course) safely there without dying because dimensional travel is hard and Celebi is friend and Luna gets to be important here too I think she’s shown up as a named student and guided them to a room and seems to know things about the castle and that’s kinda all there is so far there’s a bit more but it’s not got a lot yet I hope the author keeps going it’s a weird idea but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes

Oh I forgot to talk about it but there’s this whump Ash fic that was being written under one title but it got dropped and now it’s being rewritten with the same concept but under a new title and going about a lot of things a different way it’s just the same starting premise and the fic is Helpless and Ash almost dies multiple times and there’s this theme of adults failing him and also Gary fucks a thing up and Ash needs support and therapy (a good number of fics have Ash needing therapy but given the shit he’s been through that is not surprising especially from my limited knowledge of Kalos holy shit Lysandre was doing some mad shit) and it’s just good but it is a lot of hospital and Ash being hurt and almost dying so be warned if that isn’t a safe read for you

The reason I don’t just outright block explicit anymore despite the horrors of trying to find safe Pokemon fic on AO3 amidst the consensual porn, incest porn, pokephilia porn, etc., is I randomly decided to try and find some Sonic fanfic on AO3 because a couple people on YouTube have been doing Sonic story stuff (Sonic What If has some good stuff that’s just... what-if scenarios and then there’s Sonic Rewritten which takes a game’s plot and then redoes it but good like the Deadly Six having personalities or Sonic 06 not having maybe bestiality or Generations being more than ‘oh past and present stages now have nostalgia’ and Robotnik and Eggman are significantly different people in that one and it’s really cool) and I thought maybe I would find some good stuff on AO3 (which I have but nothing that I want to ramble about specifically though there was one fic where Eggman does Tails clone and then his original body dies so he’s stuck looking like Tails and it’s kinda wild) and I found a fic that was marked explicit because torture and violence (honestly it wasn’t that bad) and I like it and don’t want to miss something that I might like by accidentally blocking it and now when I try to find Pokemon fic I have to see Leon x Hop and Pokemon x human smut.

There’s one Sanders Sides fic that I was reading and I don’t remember the name nor do I know if it’s updating I think I lost it but it started from the beginning of the series with the Dark Sides being a platonic poly family and when they weren’t in the episode they were talking about it/the Light Sides and it’s honestly really really good and the author just decided to have Deceit’s name be Janus and it was amazing when it turned out that was his real name it was just great but IDK if the fic has been abandoned, I think I lost it in the shift, but it was really good (but sympathetic dark sides and unsympathetic patton and roman and logan for a bit so do be warned if those aren’t comfortable for you)

Oh yeah I remembered another fic I can talk about there was this one Creepypasta fic and it’s completed and it is a Jeff x Reader but it kind of just stops being about the romance after a certain point and just goes way off the rails. It starts like ‘oh this will be a normal x reader with mansion and Slendy is dad and Zalgo is probably evil’ and then NOPE SLENDERMAN HAS BEEN RAISING FAMILIES THAT LOVE HIM TO TURN THEM INTO CRYSTALS TO MAKE HIM MORE POWERFUL AND ZALGO IS AGAINST THAT and it just is great like I never see Zalgo being good, like Slenderman being evil or whatever is plenty common (especially in the innumerable ARG fics I don’t read because I don’t have the attention span to learn what the fuck the source is) but never in tandem with Zalgo being anything but chaotic evil n shit it’s wild and it’s great and also Slenderman’s parents have faces I guess idk that was weird also there is one smut chapter but like the author said you can skip the smut and I did and didn’t feel like I missed any plot stuff so if that’s a no for you just keep an eye out for the author’s warning. It is by a younger writer, as demonstrated by its daily updates while it was being written, tiny chapters, and some general writing style stuff common to younger writers, but honestly I just love it for being something so wildly different, under the guise of a typical x Reader fic.

Speaking of ship stuff and Creepypasta the trilogy of Sans x Creepypasta fics are amazing. The writer definitely improves over time, the beginning of the first book kind of has the weird ‘then I knew I was in love’ stuff from a couple of the pastas (then again I’m ace and demiro so starting romance is just generally weird) but it is just a really good series. Sans ends up with seven kids in the third book and, while everyone else in the Undertale cast is bashed in the first two, Papyrus does seem to get some redemption in the third, so there is that. Also Murderer Sans is a fantastic tag, Gaster made a deal with Zalgo to create the skelebros and Sans is more demon than Papyrus by a lot and Zalgo is trying to kidnap Sans and Sans’ children so he has his family together to destroy the world and wander free and it’s wild and also Chara and Flowey show up and also LJ being an angel is mentioned and relevant to the plot for a bit so that’s neat and I don’t know all the details of how it ends because I lost it when I shifted and didn’t want to find where I was but it’s a great fic (albeit with a few things I can argue on) and the author has also been writing other Sans x Creepypasta stuff but I haven’t read it because idk

I really wish I had a good Minecraft fanfic to gush about but I really don’t it’s hard to find Minecraft fic that isn’t tuber-based, either Dream and friends (which occasionally I find a good one but so much is either Dream SMP which I have no interest in getting into, involves people I don’t know from Dream SMP, or just is shippy or straight-up doesn’t have a premise I’m interested in) or Hermitcraft (I fell behind so I have no idea what’s happening anymore) (but also like Mianite and Aphmau stuff but not as much as used to, but now Dream rules all so), and it just sucks. Like if some of it was Team Crafted fic I would be on board like hell yeah give me that nostalgia juice but it’s so much shit I just don’t know. I love the idea of Minecraft fanfic because there are so many options for the world and you can either make your own characters and you probably have to but then there’s just if you use Steve Alex Herobrine or Notch how they are written depends on the author and I live for that shit it’s a big part of why I read Creepypasta fic it’s because I like when there are different ways characters can be done (not unsympathetic or sympathetic like Patton so much like straight-up different characters) like Herobrine and Notch are the big ones like good vs evil, involved vs not, serious vs comedic, there are so many different ways to play them and I’m so disappointed AO3 doesn’t have much of it and so much of it is just Dream stuff and it usually just isn’t what I’m after in a fic.

The only other fics coming to mind right now are two wildly different fics involving Springtrap x Reader, one of them is being transferred from Wattpad for copy reasons, complete with tiny-ass chapters and that language that’s just so middle-school in the best way possible (like William and Springtrap are different consciousnesses and they way the author describes their struggle at one point is just so similar to a stupid thing I did and I have so much affection for it) and the other is legitimately really really good and the reader-insert has recently found out that Springtrap is William Afton and has murdered many children and they are currently dying multiple times to help his victims pass on because they can see ghosts and it’s actually really good and I have no idea where things are going, reader has currently met up with Michael Afton, currently all purple and dead and stuff, and has learned about remnant (weird-ass shit from modern FNAF lore) and it’s getting wild. I feel like there are two types of FNAF fic, ones in the style of FNAF 3/4 and earlier and ones from maybe 4 onward. Like ones where the lore was basically ‘bad man committed murder against children and they’re possessing the animatronics and that’s why they’re trying to kill you’ and then 4 starts having some more expansive lore ish and then after that it just goes everywhere with remnant and scooping and even more locations and also the books matter probably??? There is this one fic involving Glitchtrap that hasn’t updated in a bit and it’s fun, I like the idea of Glitchtrap and really wish I could read more fic just centered around FNAF VR. Then again, BEN was always one of my favorites and after I stopped being absolutely terrified of Herobrine I really liked his possibilities, maybe I just like the story utility and possible execution of characters with wide-ranging powers over technology and affecting the real world outside of it, IDK.

Ok I’m out of ramble energy, and also topics unless I go more in-depth about specific character options, but my energy is gone so I think that’s the end of it. I typed 3,000 words about fanfictions I’m reading and probably could have talked more about some of them if I wanted. This is my new hyperfixation. I guess. At least I know I have one, it’s reassuring to know for some reason, like for a while I missed how much Pokemon was my life in elementary school and Minecraft was in sixth grade, like it was nice just having something to focus on, though maybe that’s just the college and depression talking.

That was good, I’m glad I did that. Y’all are loved.

If you seriously read this entire thing... Wow. I really appreciate you digitally listening to me talking about random fanfic shit that I like. You’re really really cool.

[calliecat93]

Top 10 Disney Couples

Last year for Valentines, I did a post on some of my favorite all-time ships. I wanted to do something like that again this year, so I decided to do Disney specifically. I’m only gonna count the main animated features (with one exception), so no Pixar but maybe I’ll give that its own list next year. Also, because I put this ship on my list last year, I’m going to exclude Rapunzel/Eugene (they’d be Number 2 otherwise) so that I can talk about some other pairings that I love. And trust me, when it comes to Disney, I got plenty.

Okay, here we go~

#10. Milo Thatch/Kida (Atlantis the Lost Empire)

Atlantis is one of the most underrated Disney films ever, and same with this pair. Okay so I guess technically they didn’t get together since there wasn’t a kiss or anything... but come on! While their intentions were all in the second half of the movie, it was just so... sweet to me. Milo had it rough through the whole movie with so many people belittling him. Even though he made friends with the crew and doing so got them to do the right thing, they were still pretty harsh on the poor guy in the start. He had been mocked due to his dreams, but never gave up even when his inexperience and dorkiness got in the way.

Kida though? She seemed endeared by him. Just like Milo had a curiosity in finding Atlantis and learning of their culture, Kida was interested in Milo and the world he came from. She might be the very first person aside form Mr. Whitmore who acted kindly to Milo right off the bat and asked him to help her save her people and culture. Milo didn’t go for the money, he went because it was his grandfather’s dream, and in turn his dream. They were so cute and fun together as they learned about each other's worlds, and of course, Milo did everything he possibly could to save Kida after she and the crystal bonded, as well as the entire city. Even at the risk of his own life. And just that hug between them at the end and Milo choosing to stay in Atlantis. Just... beautiful. This pair might be subtle, but it's just so sweet and respectful to each other and I just love them.

#9. Duchess and Thomas O’Malley (The Aristocats)

I think this was one of the first movies I ever saw in my life. My mom said I used to watch it all the time as a kid anyways. Heck, pretty sure this movie is why I love cats so much.

Anyways, this pair is cute. Duchess is a classy lady, while Thomas is a swinger. But they just have this natural chemistry the minute that they met. They don’t judge each other from their different walks of life or anything. You can tell that Duchess was charmed the second Thomas first came on. But what sells is, while thrown off for a moment, when Thomas realizes Duchess has kittens? He pretty much goes into dad mode instantly and tries to keep them happy/protect them. I mean he didn't have to help Marie when she fell out of the milk truck at that point, but he did it because it was the right thing to do. He wasn't one of those assholes who got thrown off cause the girl had kids. Heck, that seemed to bring them closer together.

But yeah, it’s just nice and charming to me. There’s nothing real deep about it, but IDK. There’s just something endearing about it to me. Maybe t’s due to Eva Gabor’s performance as Duchess, which also kinda helps with a pairing later on. But I just find them charming and Thomas showed to be a good guy and a good father figure. Sometimes you don’t need a lot of depth for a pair, you just gotta make the sense of romance come off. Disney has always been good at that, and this pair demonstrates that.

#8. Cinderella/Prince Charming (Cinderella)

So to be fair this one has little to no development. Which is kind fo a thing with some of the early Disney films n it’s things like this that Frozen pointed out... even though it kinda fell into the same cliche, but ah well. But you know what? As I said, Disney is usually pretty damn good at making you like a pair, even if it’s out of focus. This one is a prime example. We don’t see much of the Prince, but at the same time there is so much there.

Throughout the movie, we saw Cinderella belittled and abused by her stepfamily. She’s treated like a slave and gets her dreams literally torn apart right in front of her eyes. But she tries to remain kind and hopeful, and the Fairy Godmother rewards her for it. She gets the one night at the Bal. She didn’t go intending to find love, he went because for one time in her life since her parents died, she could have one night of happiness. That was all she wanted. Then Charming saw her. It was him who got struck with love at first sight It was him who walked out on th other girls and approached her. A prince noticed this girl who felt that she was a lowly servant, and danced with her. FOr Cinderella, that had to be so touching and amazing that can we blame her for being so in love after? After someone finally, finally gave her some long overdue affection.

Yeah in RL this can be dangerous. But it isn’t RL. It’s a fairy tale. Cindy earned her happy ending. And if we needed genuine proof about the Prince, A Twist in Time showed that he was indeed a good, heroic person. He didn’t judge Anastasia off her looks. When he found out the truth, he went to find Cinderella and remembered his love for her. He never cared that Cindy was a servant or anything. He loved her when he saw her, and clearly loved her for who she was. Cindy found someone who would give her the love that was so cruelly denied form her and she got out of her abusive family through it. Is it perfect? No, and I can give the remake points for doing a better job at developing the romance. But even so, it’s just s beautiful pair I loved since like... three years old. As such IDC what anyone says, I will always love them. 

#7. Belle/Beast aka Adam (Beauty and the Beast)

It might be a surprise to some, but... I’m not a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast. Don’t get me wrong, I like it. I just feel like Belle, compared to Ariel and some of the later princesses is a little too boring. I still love her though. She’s bookish and kind and is seen as weird by her town, but she pursues what she enjoys anyways. She refuses Gaston’s advances as, while she had expressed wanting love, she didn’t want it with a brute like him. She wanted to choose herself. Then The Beast happens.

People tot his day still like to throw the Stockholm Syndrome card around, but it is idiotic. Belle never caved to Beast when he acted like a brute. But he did see that he wasn't a bad person when he saved her from the wolves, ad she chose to tend to him because she’s a good person. Yes, Beast needs her to break the curse, but Belle doesn’t just cave in either. Beast has to change himself to earn Belles's affection, and over time he does. He learns to be kinder and sure it’s a work in progress, but he does try and he does become better. It goes form needing Belle out of necessity, to genuinely falling in love with her because of her kindness towards him. Belle made Beast a better person, and once she saw the person he truly was, she fell in love with him.

But even then, despite those feelings, Belle decides to leave because her father needed her. Beast, instead of trying to force her to stay, allows her to go. That’s how much he loved her at that point. He loved her enough to let her go, even though that meant he’d be doomed. But it’s through that act, that selflessness, that allows the curse to eventually break. Because of Belle, Beast broke away form being a monster and spared Gaston. Because Belle saw the good in Beast, she stood up to Gaston and went back to save the man she loved. Because of that love, the curse was broken, and Beast became Adam once more. Belle saved Adam. Even if I’m not a huge fan of that film, it’s such a beautiful demonstration of the power of love and they truly deserved each other. A tale as old as time, indeed.

#6. Miss Bianca/Bernard (The Rescuers)

THIS IS THE MOST UNDERRATED DISNEY SHIP EVER.

I love these two so much. Again, its a rather understated pair, but it just works. Bernard is the nervous janitor of the Rescue Aid Society, but he clearly believes int heir cause as shown when he sings the anthem outside. Bianca is the Sweedish representative who has many admirers, but her heart is set on her job. She takes a liking to Bernard because she sees that compared to pretty much everyone else, he believes in rescuing those in trouble with the same passion as she does. He also shows how much he cares for her by being worried about her going to save Penny. Not because she’s a girl, but because he wants her to be safe. That clearly touched her and is why she picked him to be her co-agent.

They both work well together, Binca encouraging Bernard and being the charmer, more relaxed one. Bernard is frequently nervous, but he has a clear knack for the job and does it well. By the time they are on the way to Devil’s Bayou, it’s clear that they’ve acknowledged their feelings for one another. Ther’s no major arc or anything, it’s just two individuals feeling mutually attracted and feeling comfortable with their feelings. They work very well together and manage to rescue Penny, and later Doby in the sequel. The sequel retains the same charm, and the end where Bernard finally proposes makes me smile big every single time.

It’s just a lovely pairing that works so well and it is soooo underrated. It needs more love.

#5. Tiana/Prince Naveen (The Princess and the Frog)

I love this pair so much. It’s a classic ‘came from two different worlds’ story. You have the hard-working and ambitious Tiana and the lazy, spoiled Prince Naveen. Tiana is a good person, but she tends to put work over everything else and never lets herself relax. Naveen is a fun and intelligent man, but he’s spoiled and doesn’t know how to do anything, which caused his parents to cut him off. Due to this, Naveen got himself cured and he ended up passing it onto Tiana.

It is through each other that they find what is missing. Naveen has someone who actually pushes him to work and to realize his own flaws. How he doesn’t know how to act in the real world, even though he shows that he has plenty of skills if he tried. Having someone like Tiana who didn’t fall for his charm and pushed him to actually do things got him to better himself, and it clearly drew him to her. With Tiana, Naveen helped her see that there is more to life than working hard. It’s okay to take a step back and to find things like love. Her dream will always be there, but love will only come around every so often. It helps Tiana ease up and believe in things like wishing stars again, and it paid off for her.

Even at the end, when it looks like they’ll never become human, they accept it. Naveen almost gives up his freedom to marry Charlotte not to turn human again but to let Tiana fulfill her dream. Tiana realizes that she loves Naveen and even if it means losing what she wanted, she’ll still have what she needs, just like her father did. But it works out as once they get married, Tiana is now a princess and their kiss breaks the spell. Tiana got her dream. Naveen did everything he could to make that dream happen, including work with his own bare hands. They got the thing they both wanted and needed, and it’s just beautiful. Neither one are perfect, but their love is genuine, and I adore them and their journey,

#4. Hercules/Meg (Hercules)

I just realises that 5-2 are all from Musher and Clements directed films. Huh. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised though. Those two are so good at making likable couples. Even if they only have to much time to develop them, they make them good and their live believable and I love them. Hercules and Meg are no exception.

Unlike other heroines, Meg is a little older and less innocent. Herc is the more innocent one this time around. Herc is a good-hearted guy trying to figure out who he is and wants to be a hero to reunite with his God family. He saves Meg where despite some clumsiness, he pulls it off. Meg is clearly amused and Herc is lovestruck by her beaut. But of course, Meg is with Hades due to selling her soul to save her lover... who left her for another woman. Meg is cynical and hurt, and considering she pretty much gave up her soul for a man who left her without so much as a thank you, it’s hard to blame her.

Even though Hades makes her get close to Herc to find his weakness, Meg ends up falling for him due to his kindness and genuine heroic heart. She’s in denial of it because of what she experienced, but he wins her over. So much so that even if it means eternal servitude, she refuses to help Hades anymore. Unfortunately, it only gives Hades what he needs to break Herc, and it hurts them both. But despite clearly being heartbroken by the deception and being powerless, Herc trie to save everyone anyways. THen Meg sacrifices herself to save him and restore his power, making Herc realize she did really love him. Herc grew to love Meg because she was smart, funny, and she made him feel less alone. Seeing that she was willing to die for him, despite all that happened, really showed how strong that love truly was. Meg again sacrificed herself to save who she loved, and Hercules proved he was a hero by going to the Underworld himself to save Meg. He was willing to sell his own soul to let Meg leave, and this act got him his full Godhood restored.

But the best part? At the end despite finally being deemed a True Hero and being back at Mount Olympus, what does Hercules do? He gives it up. For Meg. He finally found the place he came form... but it wasn’t where he belonged. He belonged on Earth. The place that raised him. The place he found Meg. His parents are stunned, but clearly happy for him and grant his wish. They finally get to kiss, and it feels so earned. Hercules found someone who loves him for him and can fill the void. Meg found some genuinely kind who would never leave or hurt her. That's the best way to describe this pair, genuine.

#3. Ariel/Eric (The Little Mermaid)

In many ways, this pairing set up the basis for many pairings to come.

Ariel is a mermaid who wants to be human. Eric is an adventurous prince wanting to enjoy life. One fateful night, Ariel stumbled upon his ship and it was love at first sight. Not just on her end either. When she saved him, Eric got one glimpse at her, but could only remember her voice. He wanted to find this mysterious girl again (a fact many critics seem to ignore) and thus the stage is set. After Triton destroys her grotto, Ariel takes Ursula’s deal and becomes human, and gets her chance to woo Eric.

These two are just adorable. People still get on Ariel for her choice here, and yeah she fell in love super fast. But she already wanted to be human, and I think some of her feelings were more infatuation than real love at first. But once humans, we see that Eric is a genuinely nice guy. Even though he thinks Ariel isn’t the girl since she can’t talk, what doe she do? He takes her to the palace anyways because clearly, she needs help and shelter, and he’s willing to give her that. I think that’s what gets Ariel to truly love him, seeing that he’s a good person and kind of her ideal vision of what humans are like. Then Ariel, despite being mute, is just so charming and weet that Eric ends up feeling attracted to her. So much sot hat once Grimm points it out to him, he gives up on his curiosity over the girl who saved him and is about to turn his affections towards Ariel. Sure Ursula messed that up, but it showed that no, he didn’t fall for Ariel because it turned out she was that girl. He fell in love with Ariel because of who Ariel was. Just as she fell for him because of who he was.

I truly did not care that their romance was rushed. It was genuinely charming and sweet. They were both good people, and seeing two good people happy is perfectly fine. Especially at the end where once she found out what Ursula was doing, Ariel went after them even though she couldn’t swim in her human form. Eric, despite being human, went to save Ariel from Ursula, and she, in turn, saved him from getting blasted. Then Eric finished Ursula once and for all, nearly getting killed int he process but this proves himself worthy to Triton. He grants Ariel legs, and the two can finally be together. The critics and ‘feminists’ can say what they want, they are adorable and just good for each other and as I said, are the template for so many couples afterwards. I love them, dang it!

#2. Aladdin/Princess Jasmine (Aladdin)

IDK what it is about these two! They’re just so... perfect! IDK how to explain why, but I’m gonna try.

Like I said, Musker and Clements are just really good at making likable pairs. Aladdin is a street rat striving for more. Jasmine is a princess who wants freedom. When they meet, its true love. It doesn't even feel like Aladdin fell for her cause she was pretty, it truly feels like he saw his soulmate for the first time. Then the two find a common link in feeling trapped in their lives. They both want more. Want to create something better for themselves. And they find that they may just be able to get that through each other. But then Aladidn is arrested and Jafar lies that he was executed, breaking Jasmine and essentially ensuring that she wasn’t going to leave again.

Then Prince Ali shows up. Jasmine is angered because he appears pompous and because her everyone si trying to make decisions about her without her consent. She isn’t a prize to be won. Ali, of course, is Aladdin, and once Jasmine tells him off, he realizes how the persona he’s putting on is wrong. He acts more like himself, showing that he likes Jasmine not because of her looks or money, but because she’s a fun, strong-willed person. Once she sees this and suspects he’s Aladdin, she goes with him on the magic carpet. A Whole New World is one of the most romantic scenes in any movie period. You will never be able to convince me otherwise. It ends with Jasmine realizing Ali’s identity, and while he still lies, Aladdin acts like himself and Jasmine falls for the person he truly is.

But of course, Aladdin is still lying. So he still needs to prove himself worthy after. Which he does by defeating Jafar despite having only his street rat skills to aid him. But he accomplishes it masterfully. He realizes that he can't live a lie or force Genie into servitude just to fulfill his won want. He frees Genie, but he didn't need his magic by then. he more than proved himself to the Sultan, who lets Jasmine choose who she wants. I think he’d have done this long before if not for Jafar’s hypnosis, and the smile of Jasmine’s face is just beautiful. She chooses Aladdin, and it is indeed a whole new world for both of them. It’s just so genuine and pure and I love them.

So... back at the top, I said there was one exception to the ‘strictly form Disney animated features’ rule. Why? Because I just could not leave this one off. It would feel wrong because it is one of, if not the, most perfect and longest-lasting couples in all fo entertainment. Who am I talking about? 

#1. Mickey and Minnie Mouse

As the old saying goes: it all started with a mouse.

Mickey and Minnie is so freakin pure it makes me feel the warm fuzzies if I so much as see a photo of them. Really, anything they are in together makes me feel that way. For over ninety years, these two have graced pretty much every media form ever and have been together in some fashion throughout it. They have the same birthday and last name for crying out loud! This was destiny!

Both Mickey and Minnie are sweet and endearing. Mickey is the face of Disney and while I know some find him bland and one-note, there’s always just been this charm to him. I love how much of a sweetie he is, and he does have his mischevious streak. Minnie over the years has become more sassy and stern, letting her not just be Mickey’s girlfriend. But no matter what changes the two have been through, their utter love for each other has never faded away. You can put them in anything in any setting, and they will be head over heel for each other. 

I mean even their longest-lasting voice actors, Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor, got married due to these roles. Mickey ad Minie got married in real life. It really showed too. You could just tell that Mickey and Minnie, Wayne and Russi, were just so in love and it made you love them. It’s something that’s gonna be hard due to Wayne and Russi’s passings, but true love is eternal. That love will always exit through Mickey and Minnie. Even when Bret Iwan and Chris Diamantopolis took over Mickey, you still feel the love between Mickey and Minnie and I’m sure that whoever takes over Minnie will also keep that intact. That love is immortalized, and I will continue to love every second of it.

Mickey Mouse is the one who started it all, but Mickey and Minnie are the ones who started Disney’s pure love stories. I think that’s something that Disney has always been good at. Sure the romances can be rushed and happen at first sight. Even they’ve made fun of themselves for it But they’re just so good at it. As they say, don’t fix what ain’t broke. Maybe give it a fresh coat of paint, but don’t fix what doesn't need it. I look forward to seeing future Disney pairs, and I will cherish them all, both old and new Happy Valentines Day everyone~

[noramachwitz]

i wrote a giant review post and i thought i’d keep the momentum going so here’s a giant review on skam nl under a read more

okay so i have to say i loved s1 and i think nl did one of (maybe even the) best versions of s1 i love isa so much and i loved the girl squad and i was super exicted to see their version of s2 since noah/liv were the only version that i didn’t dislike in s1 and i hate to say it but ... i find s2 pretty underwhelming. and i have for a while. i’m still keeping up with it but honestly i’m having some (kinda big) problems with the way it’s written

(and needless to say these are all my opinions and you can disagree it’s fine etc.)

what it boils down to are these points:

1) plot driven - this season is SO plot driven it drives me mad. somehow the entire plot just happens /to/ liv (and i’m not talking about the SA here of course but everything that happens before that) and somehow almost every decision she does make and where they’d finally show her having some agency is off screen?? i keep feeling like everything that happens happens because it’s the next step in the story and there’s little transition imo?? i feel like i always see plot point a then plot point b but a lot of the times i don’t know what actually happened to lead from one to the other for example i still don’t freaking know why liv actually went on a date with him?? or noah saying his brother can’t be trusted but then still believing him. i just feel like liv and noah both as characters just don’t fit into the way they’re going about this story

2) noah - i think noah as a character had a ton of potential to be really insteresting and different but ... NL changed the vibes around him completely and you have this artsy painter dude who seems quite charming and doesn’t take himself too seriously (which monk portrays perfectly ngl) but they just completely failed to adjust the story so it fits his character better. instead noah (in my opinion i’m very sorry lmao) actually behaves more like OG william than most other williams. he acts the same way, he justifies his actions the same way, he even says a lot of the exact same lines and ... why?? why not fully embrance those vibes and actually change the story as a consequence?? i remember soo many people in the fandom saying they can’t see noah beating up someone and it’s true i agreed but then it happened anyway and these moments just KEPT HAPPENING where i couldn’t see him doing something but he did anyway and i just don’t understand why.

so instead of changing things that were easy to change and would make noah better than william they change things that are unnecessary which leads me to one of the biggest plot devices i’ve ever seen: the death of noah’s mum. when i first realised that noah’s mum dies during this season i was actually pretty excited bc i thought they’d use that to explore him as a character more but!! no it was just a two week plot device to guilt trip liv?? and almost every clip we got during that time was just liv feeling guilty and guiltier and her staring at her phone constantly until she ends up at the wake and we find out actually noah wasn’t even close with her and it didn’t really affect him?? and it hasn’t been mentioned since either??? WHY!! instead of giving noah and liv a solid base for a relationship and use that time to idk get to know each other more and like just to talk it just feels to me like they took the easy way out writing wise

also it’s literally the penultimate episode and noah has had ZERO character development and we still know very little about him but we’re still supposed to be rooting for him and liv?? how am i supposed to do that when he’s so underwritten?? this is all such a shame goddamn it

3) time management/pacing - i have no idea if it’s because i binged s1 or not but you can tell so hard with s2 that they’re on a time limit and it always confuses me what they end up coosing to spend time on. prime example: the sleepover clip. we spend 3 whole minutes (yes i checked) with liv going around that wake having that weird conversation that literally adds nothing to anything and then she finally sees noah we see them sit next to each other and listen to a record and ... then liv talks to ralph on the phone and it just cuts to them getting ready for bed like why spend so much time on unnecessary stuff in the beginning and then when there are finally opportunities for development they’ve got no more time left!!!

in general when there finally is a moment of tension or conflict the clip usually ends and we have to wait a whole day or even 2 for another clip and it just really makes me wish we’d get less of these quiet moments (and while they’re definitely necessary too i just feel like nl actually has way too many of them) and just give us more plot movement instead so we can actually get somewhere. this is less of a problem if you only watch whole eps but since this is skam and real time narrative it just doesn’t work for me.

4) conversations - the lack of converstions REAL conversations between noah and liv is sooo frustrating to me. they’ve basically only had ONE real conversation so far and that was when liv broke up with him. that was the first time they actually /talk/ to each other and ... okay i know everybody keeps saying NL is prioritising liv since it’s her own season and that it’s about her and not her realtionship with noah but i mean that relationship is a big part of her story?? and i still don’t know why liv actually likes noah, i don’t know how she realised that she loves him and we haven’t actually like ... seen them bond??

the conversation i did actually really like was the one between liv and esra when she asks if esra has ever been in love but i was just kinda like where did that come from?? they’d made out twice at that point and that was it?? i guess this ties in with the fact that it’s just plot driven which means i don’t necessarily get a character’s motivations since they explore the plot and not the characters themselves. the other actual conversation was the one liv had with engel but there for me it was another case of Where Did That Come From you know? like engel gives liv this whole thing about how she’s scared of chaos which is true but from a storytelling point of view there was nothing to like ... trigger that realisation? i mean of course theoretically i know that the girls are all close friends and just know each other well but when you tell a story (even if it’s skam that’s based in realism and believability) you need buildup to things and i feel like that something that really lacks in skam nl

5) in general - to me personally it just feels a lot like nl shies away from proper conflict a lot because resolving it would take time which they don’t have but that means they don’t build proper tension that drives the plot forward. and i actually have the same problem with s2 in the OG as well don’t get me wrong but i feel like that’s something they could change but haven’t because nl just?? idk seems scared of changing too much?? they change the characters but not the plot but why? who knows, i sure don’t and it’s not they way i enjoy a story being told

okay to end this whole thing on a more positive note lmao here’s some thing i actually do like about this season:

soundtrack is a+ as always nl is good at that

the cinematography and general aesthetic is just ... so pretty (but ngl i feel like that sometimes comes at a cost of substance)

the girl squad! although i can’t say it’s the best as many other people do because i never would have thought iman missing would be this noticeable but for me it throws off the entire dynamic?? anyway but i do like them

esra!! she’s so great

i just love isa

okay that’s all

[they-handed-me-the-moon]

Okay I’m gonna do the thing and just get my complaints with the show out, if you’re not interested in reading criticisms (half of which are just being attached to the way things were in the book) please ignore this, I’m going to say all sorts of nice things in a minute. Also please don’t rb this one. If we’ve talked before feel free to comment or disagree, if we haven’t please don’t just this once—I’m usually happy to have people jump off things, but I just got back and I’m not in the mood to start any Discussions just now. Cool thanks!

1. I’m not saying that the show going in for more angst and making some of the central characters more insecure and making Aziraphale and Crowley’s relationship more tenuous and uncertain was *objectively* the wrong choice. I mean I could argue that it was but ultimately it’s probably more just different than right or wrong. But it did make me realize how much I had appreciated having a fandom that was built around material that for all its angst potential (which I also enjoyed) was so fundamentally cozy.

2. Yes I am of course going to take issue with Anathema and Newt. For the record I found Newt notably more likable in the show than the book, even if watching Anathema have sex with a guy she had shown no interest in just because a book told her to was even more uncomfortable than reading it. And there was more of a sense of mutuality in the show—partly because of Adria Arjona playing Anathema as genuinely liking and being charmed by Newt at times, and partly because Newt actually does offer her emotional support and contributes to decision-making at several points instead of only with the “do you want to be a descendent for the rest of your life” line at the end. And that’s nice—mutuality in a relationship is important! The lack of it is one of my biggest issues with their relationship in the book! What really gets to me here is that they got to that mutuality not through strengthening Newt’s character but by weakening Anathema’s—by making her more uncertain and insecure so that Newt could sweep in to support her. And look—obviously there’s nothing wrong with female characters having insecurities and needing support, like everyone does. But we’ve got an awful shortage of weird-looking female characters who swagger around with breadknives and bucketloads of well-earned confidence and decide to try and stop the apocalypse without being told because it’s worth a shot, and the fact that they seem to have undercut her confidence and independence specifically so that she would have to lean on the sub-par dude she’s saddled with as a love-interest reeeally rubs me the wrong way. (Shoutout to my brother for pinpointing this before I was able figure out exactly what was bothering me).

3. Okay and while I’m on the topic of Anathema, the way they played up the whole ‘professional descendent’ thing? Hmmmm, not a fan. I think I kinda get why they did it, (it makes her fit more neatly into the ‘people breaking out of their prescribed roles’ theme), but they make it into a sort of ‘chosen one’ storyline where she was ‘fated’ to help stop the end of the world, which is fine, I guess? But to me one of the central appeals of the book is a motley crew motivated not by duty or predestination but instead by love of the earth and plain old selfish, stubborn attachment to the lives they had built there going ‘okay realistically there is no way we, of all people, can keep the world from ending, but I guess we’re just gonna try anyway!!!’ Making Anathema some sort of prophesied savior sort of removed her from that narrative, and reduced the strength of that narrative thread overall.

4. Oh and I think I’m in the minority here but I also did not enjoy the kids getting stabby with the horsepeople. There were some great elements to the scene for sure, but that just didn’t feel good to me. The children felt a little more ... protected from enacting that kind of violence in the book, and while there could be legitimate reason for changing it, on a thematic level it also took attention away from the whole ‘power of human belief’ thing, so it felt unnecessary and weaker as well as harsher.

5. I’m not ... actually particularly bothered by any of the changes to Aziraphale? I mean don’t get me wrong I do miss him being a much more overt bastard who is comfortable in his own skin, who collects blasphemous Bibles and is rude to  customers and still walks around with his sanctimonious Holier Than Thou convictions because he is THE WORST. But tv Aziraphale is still a proper bastard, even if you’ve got to pay attention a bit more to see it, and I do rather like the way his softness is in itself framed as a rebellion against Heaven. So yeah, I think the changes they made worked and were compelling, and I don’t really have comprehensive complaints about his character. HOWEVER I did not like him indirectly killing the executioner. Having a scene where he indirectly but intentionally causes a death was a good idea in concept, but to my mind it was the wrong circumstances, wrong target, and wrong tone for the scene. Still, it doesn’t bother me that much because it just felt SO off that it feels kinda laughable and my mind just cheerily decided that the filmmakers were misinformed and that did not actually happen.

6. Crowley’s changes I’m having a bit of a harder time reconciling myself to, although I’m having a bit of a hard time pinpointing why? Some of the changes are of the ‘I don’t prefer the change but that’s more personal preference and attachment to my initial vision of the character than critique’ variety, like the ways in which his fear manifests less as anxiety and more as anger in the show. But if I had one central complaint (and this might sound weird at first) I think it would be the way that his world is reduced to Aziraphale. And okay, let me explain—I’m not complaining that their relationship was more emphasized in the show, which I actually loved, and also this is probably a bit hypocritical coming from me when 80% of my posts are about their relationship. The thing is, I find romances more interesting and compelling and moving when both parties have defined personalities and interests and attachments and character arcs outside of one another. And Aziraphale did have that—arguably he has a more defined and complete arc than in the book, in fact. And Crowley definitely has a defined personality. But besides the Bently, what does he love? What are his interests? How does he feel about humanity and the earth? Why does he prefer the earth to hell beyond ‘hell sucks’? How does he feel about his fellow demons? Why does he want to save the earth? Does he care about saving the earth, or is it really only about saving and being with Aziraphale? Idk, I’m exaggerating a bit here, and certain answers to these questions can definitely  be inferred. But I miss the Crowley who loves humanity in all its mess, who finds in it an alternative to the restrictive roles demanded by heaven and hell alike, and who has his own arc of going from knowing that he is harming humanity but not doing anything about it, to facing Satan with a tire iron because Aziraphale convinces him to face up to the harm he has caused and do something about it, even if the odds are impossible.

7. I cannot BELIEVE they took out Tim.

8. And I’m running out of steam here so I’m not fully going into it, but it did feel like the show lost a bit of its sense of the earth in all its disastrous glory. I mean, there are plenty of stories that compare Heaven and Hell, but part of what set Good Omens apart for me was the particular way it triangulates Heaven vs Hell vs earth. I haven’t read enough similar fiction to know if it does this in an especially complex or unique way, but what comes of it is this gloriously defiant optimism. The show goes further into Heaven vs Hell (which I enjoyed) but it felt to me as if the earth was a little (although certainly not entirely) lost in the mix.

9. Also definitely not a fan on how hard Crowley pushes for child murder as long as he’s not the one doing it, but so far as I’ve seen the fandom has chosen to collectively forget those lines in favor of ‘you can’t kill kids,’ ‘I’m not personally up for killing kids,’ and THE LULLABY, so I’m the end those lines aren’t anything like the disaster they could have been. Good going, folks.

10. There are of course big-picture things like racism and sexism and homophobia that are. there in varying degrees. Not necessarily more than average, though that’s an even more depressing sentence. But for some of those things I’m not the best person to dissect them, and for the rest I’m tired and I don’t wanna.

11. In conclusion I have a pithy line that encapsulates what I’m having a hard time adjusting to in the show, but I’m pretty sure the first clause would annoy one half of the fandom, and the second clause would annoy the other half, so I’m gonna to cut my losses and shut up now.

[woildismyerster]

Crutchie's mouth was on your neck, and your brain was foggy with his scent. THIS IS SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL LIKE IDK IT'S JUST A MASTERPIECE PLS DO MORE CRUTCHIE

This kind of turned out,,,, angstier than I usually write.  Bizarre.

“Finch,” Jack said, and it felt like the group collectively sighed as they fell into the regular routine.  

Wednesdays nights, for as long as the weather permitted, was a baseball night.  Anybody could come, though new people were seldom invited.  Jack and Crutchie were the team captains, and they always chose the same two people first.

(Davey had looked between the two captains, confused, the first time he played.  “I can’t tell if you’re joking or not.”

Jack tutted, shaking his head.  “Geez, Dave, I thought you seemed alright.  I would never have invited you if I’d known you had something against disabled people.”

“I thought we were friends,” Crutchie had said, the slightest tremor in his voice.  Davey, aghast, looked a little faint when the boys burst into laughter.

Jack ruffled his hair.  “Crutchie has the best throwing arm in the group.  He’s pitcher.”)

“Y/N,” Crutchie said, and you rolled your eyes.

He chose you first every week, though you weren’t anywhere near the best in the group.  You didn’t deserve to be chosen first, but he unironically chose you every week.  You sometimes wondered if he felt like he owed you for something, but nothing came to mind.  It was a predictable, unexplainable act of kindness.

“Bad call,” you mumbled to him while Jack chose.

“I’m going to win,” Crutchie whispered back.  “You’re my lucky charm.”

“How’s that work?  Do you make a wish?  Rub me real hard?”

Crutchie grinned, ears going a little pink.  “Think that would work?”

You smacked him with your glove.  “Why, Crutchie, I do declare.  Not in front of the boys.”

He laughed, and though you stood by your belief that he should have chosen somebody else, you were pleased that he chose you first.

Race squirted you with his water bottle.  “Ask Crutchie out.”

“Is this supposed to be, like, a psychology thing?  ‘Cause it feels kinda good, so it won’t work.”

He sprayed you again, and you tried to remember if there was a spare shirt in your backpack.  Maybe not?

“You suck at baseball.  You suck serious balls, Y/N.  He only picks you because he wants his balls and bat to see your diamond.”

You wrinkled your nose.  “Gross.”

“Please.”  Race rolled his eyes, blond curls matted to his forehead with sweat.  “You want him to take you out to the ball game, too.”

Not like that, you didn’t.  You wanted to hug him when you won a game without wondering if it was lasting too long.  You wanted to embrace teasing about being chosen first, and you wanted it to be safe to believe that the guys were right about why.

“Not if you talk about it like that, I don’t,” you said.

“Aye!  Crutch!”

The boy in question turned away from a conversation with Mush, eyes lighting up.  “Yeah?”

Race grinned, crooked and cunning.  “Did you know that Y/N likes ballgame food?”

“Christ,” you whispered.

“Everybody does,” Crutchie said, frowning.

“Ask what Y/N’s favorite food is,” he urged.  “No?  Fine - your weiner.”

You groaned, Crutchie’s face glowed red, and Race chortled.

You weren’t sure that you were making Crutchie feel so lucky now.

“Y/N!  Hey!”

You grinned at the sound of Crutchie’s voice, stomach kicking with delight when you saw the grin on his face.  He was scrolling through his phone, maybe to show you something funny he found online earlier -

“Awe,” Romeo crooned.  “Look how happy they are to see each other.  Adorable.”

The smile slipped off your face, and you saw Crutchie’s falter.  You tried to smile when he showed you a meme he liked, but it felt false.  Maybe all of your happiness had drained when the embarrassment set in.

There were still butterflies in your stomach, but they had more to do with the eyes on you than the boy you were standing with.

“Concept,” you said at school.  Crutchie was by the vending machine, weighing the pros and cons of buying his daily soda in the morning instead of the afternoon.  “Instead of hiding some stupid prop in Mush’s locker on Halloween, you hide in there.”

“If I don’t have caffeine now, I might die.”

“You’ll be in some creeptastic costume.”

He rubbed his face, weary.  “If I don’t have caffeine later, I’ll die.”

“Well,” you said with a warm smile, “since you’re dying either way, there’s no need for a costume.  I’ll just put your body in the locker.”

“Are you talking about some weird sex thing?”  

You cringed when Morris Delancey came up behind you.  “Do you need something, Delancey?”

“I need your boyfriend to get out the way,” he said.

You didn’t bother saying that Crutchie wasn’t your boyfriend.  That being said, you couldn’t look at Crutchie, either.  There was a painful, dull sickness settling in your chest, and you couldn’t even look at the friend who was going through the same thing you were.

“I want you guys to stop teasing,” you said firmly.  “About Crutchie and me, you know?  It isn’t cool.”

Katherine bit into an ice cream sandwich, chasing a bit of cookie that threatened to fall.  “Why?”

“Because it’s embarrassing.  Because it makes it hard for us to spend time together.”

“Stop being cute, then.  Stop reacting.”

You scowled.  “Please, Kath, I’m serious.  It’s making me sick.”

She looked at you then, smile fading.  “Ask him out, then.  That’ll stop the teasing.”

What she was saying, you gathered, was that there was nothing she could do.  The teasing had become an essential part of the group, and it didn’t matter how much damage it was doing to the relationship your friends were pushing for.  If you couldn’t preserve the relationship by stopping the teasing, you would have to stop the teasing by stopping the relationship.  It was the only way to keep Crutchie as a friend, however different the friendship may be.

You couldn’t even ask Crutchie to meet you after school without there being wolf whistles.  The lines around his face, usually so cheerful, were bleak when he agreed.

You felt utterly nauseous when he met you at the back of the school.  So unhappy, overwhelmed by something almost like pre-regret, and already nostalgic for the days when you were too young to be teased about dating.

“I think we need to stop hanging out so much,” you said.

Crutchie blinked, and though he didn’t look too surprised, you thought that maybe he had been expecting something different.  “What?  Why?”

“I miss you,” you said plainly.

“So we need to stop seeing each other?”

“I can’t even look at you without people teasing me about liking you,” you said, and your voice went thick.  “Everything we do, people are talking.  It makes me nervous to be around you, and I don’t want to be.  Maybe if we just - if we take some time apart, or make it clear that nothing is going to happen, people will just - they’ll stop.”

He frowned.  “That seems like a lose-lose situation.”

You threw up your hands.  “Yes!  I know, everything sucks.  But if the others give up, you and I can try to salvage whatever’s left.”

“It got hard,” Crutchie said slowly, “so you want to give up.”

“No, I want the others -”

“It got hard,” he said again.  “And you decided that protecting your image was more important than protecting our relationship.  Our friendship, I mean.  Because, apparently, the idea of us in a relationship is so abhorrent to you -”

You listened, horror dawning where the numbness previously resided.  You started thinking that maybe you had misread something somewhere down the line - that maybe the both of you had assumed the other was bothered by the teasing because it was unfounded.  Maybe he was embarrassed because it was true.

“Wait, Crutchie, do you -”

“Fine,” he said.  He rubbed at his face, furious in a way that made you wonder if he was wiping at tears.  “Fine, we can stop hanging out as much.  I hope it makes you more comfortable.  Truly, Y/N, I just want to you be happy with the way things are.”

You weren’t.  You really, really weren’t.

“Why weren’t you and Crutchie partners in English today?  You guys are always partners,” Race said.

“Because you guys are douches,” you said.  “Because you guys were so relentless, so thorough, that we can hardly speak to each other anymore.”

Race blinked, surprised.  “We were just telling the truth.”

“You made it impossible for us to figure out the truth for ourselves!”

“You already knew the truth,” he shot back.  “You and Crutchie are crazy about each other, and you both know it.”

“I didn’t know,” you snarled.  “I didn’t know he liked me, because you guys made it impossible for us to have a conversation without it being some big thing.”

Race’s jaw worked, but you saw a hint of shame flicker across his face.  “What did you do?”

“I told him I need a break.”

“Idiot,” he said.  “Oh, you idiot.  You probably broke his heart.”

“Believe me,” you said.  “Not more than I broke my own.  Next time, keep your thoughts to yourself.”

“Y/N,” Crutchie said, and your head shot up.  Nobody blinked twice when you walked to stand by your team captain, but you had to actively try not to gape at him.

He wouldn’t meet your eyes.  You stood to his side, a few steps behind, and wished you could hold his hand.

“Bad call,” you whispered.

“You’ve never failed me before,” he said quietly.  “I’ll always want you on my team.”

You had to blink back tears.  You hadn’t realized you were near tears in the first place.  The feeling was mutual, and maybe you hadn’t wrecked the possibility as thoroughly as you had thought.

You watched Crutchie during the game, and for the first time, he didn’t watch you back.  He studiously kept his eyes on the game, pitching perfectly inning after inning.  

He had listened to you.  He had been angry, yes, but even in his anger he wanted you above all others.  He was embarrassed, but not so embarrassed that he hadn’t been willing to tough it out to be near you.

You were the one who hadn’t been able to handle the teasing, and Crutchie was the one who had to deal with the brunt of the damage.

There were butterflies in your stomach when he gave Jack a cocky grin, and it had nothing to do with anybody who might have been watching.

Jack struck out, just as Crutchie had known he would, and your team won the game.

“Good game,” you said to Crutchie, several feet out.

He looked surprised that you talked to him, but pleasantly so.  “Yeah, well, I had my lucky -”

You got to the pitching mound, wrapped your arms around his neck, and kissed him.  

There were wolf whistles, but they paled in comparison to the sharp inhale Crutchie gave when you pressed yourself against him.

There were jokes, but that had nothing on the sound of his cane hitting the ground, his hum of relief, his clothes rustling against yours.

“I’m sorry,” you mumbled when you pulled away.  You didn’t move out of his grip, opting instead to press your face into the side of his neck.  “I was a jerk.  I liked you that entire time, and I should have told you instead of freaking out.”

“I should have said something ages ago,” he said.  “I could have prevented all of this.”

“So could I.”

He shrugged.  “Guess it doesn’t matter now.  It all turned out the same.”

You smiled.  Of course he had forgiven you immediately.  You hadn’t forgiven yourself - you would be such a good date that it would wipe all other relationships out of the water.  “It turned out okay.”

“Turned out perfect,” he grinned.  “Ready to face the music?”

“Are you kidding?”  You pulled back, grasping his hand.  “This is my favorite song.”

[theolivechickken]

So… I’m in EUROPE

Jan 9

Alternative titles for this first blog post:

The blind side?

Did I mention that my favorite river is De Nile? As in I’m in denial that I’m going abroad for a semester

The hardest goodbye

The shortest drive of my life trying to make it last as long as possible

¡Sorpresa! So January 9th came out of nowhere

I only cried 40 times

When will it sink in?

I don’t know why I’ve been so emotional about leaving these past few days. I love traveling and exploring new places, and I’m excited for this semester. I think I’m a little nervous for the shock when it hits me that I’m going to be away for four months. It’s not a big deal since I’m away from home and in Redlands for school most of the year. Yet it’s a different deal since my home is now in a different country.

And here’s me being real for a hot minute. I’m sad to be away from Nick for so long. I’m not worried about our relationship but I’m going to miss being in his company and sharing moments with him. Sure, we can always FaceTime (and watch Game of Thrones at the same time). But I think the big difference is that I’m not gone for a short trip or May Term. It’s a lot of time, yet I also feel like it will pass quickly and be over in a blink of an eye.

I’m just hoping to be as “in the moment” as I can and enjoy this experience while I have the opportunity :)

I’m also sad to be far away from my big. If you’re reading this Big D, I love you and miss you and we should travel once I recover from being broke from this trip.

I think I've been prepped all my life for long haul travel because it seems to feel shorter and shorter the more I take trips (especially after doing a 16 hour flight to South Africa). I had my first *oh shit* moment where I realized I’d have to navigate LAX by myself once I got dropped off. Bless traveling in groups but also bless people who are veterans or able to do it alone.

I’ve always wondered: how do people get cold in airplanes? I'm always hot and stuffy and lets cross our fingers that I didn't get sick (midway through the flight my throat started to feel very dry and scratchy). And hey what's the deal with airline food (jokes?) But for real why am I so gassy?

10 Hours later we arrived in London had to SPEED RUN THROUGH SECURITY to make it to our connecting flight to Munich. Actually we made it through alright. Even the workers told us that our flight wasn't boarding yet so we didn't need to stress (but Ayetzy did since her bag was stopped by security).

Jan 10

Alternative titles 2.0:

Walking in a winter wonderland

It's a bit nippy

Hey so what's Germany look like? Idk I couldn't tell you since everything is covered in snow

WOW they actually have seasons here

It feels like I'm in a weird dream where I think I'm just in a different state in the US, but I'm actually 13,000 miles away from home. Also, what the heck is a kilometer? What's the exchange rate from the euro to Dollar? How do I mentally convert Fahrenheit to Celsius? At least I prepped for time with a 24 hour clock. But what's the time difference at home? Also, everything is in German (but at the same time, I can recognize words here and there!)

The houses are kinda cute. They look like the houses little kids draw with the pointy roofs and windows in the middle of the wall. Jet lag has my body all out of whack. I’m starviiiiing and trying my best to stay awake on this shuttle ride to Salzburg so I can fall asleep when it gets dark out and reset my body to a new time zone.

Update: I definitely passed out on this shuttle ride.

Seeing all the snow is low-key a shocker (yes I was expecting snow but nothing in my life would have ever prepared me for this much snow) but I'm excited to experience a different life in a different world. Fun fact: this is the most snow that Salzburg has received in a long time. So our shuttle driver wasn’t able to make it up the mountain to our home. He was about to drop us off at the side of the road and make us walk up in the snow, but luckily Sara, Kaya, and Katharina drove down and picked us up!

Once again, I find myself in room no. 9 (a theme?). I remember walking into our home and immediately seeing the staircase. Kaya offered to help us carry our 50lb luggage up the stairs and I was like “Nah, I got this.”

First set of stairs was no problem. Then I realized there was a second set. We made it up but had to catch my breath. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE. By this time, Kaya held up the bottom of my suitcase so that I could lift it up the stairs. Thankfully, I’m on the third floor.

Jan 11

We started off the morning with a light breakfast in the Mendel and then toured our building, Monschberg 21. I love it here. It’s quite charming and cozy. We are settled in the backyard of a park and on the top of a mountain, which gives us a beautiful grand view of the city. I better have swol legs from hiking this mountain and climbing 3-4 sets of stairs multiple times a day in the Monschberg.

Our classroom is on the fourth floor (along with a student/study room, a yoga/relaxing room in the tower, a small gym room, and a cozy library). The dining room (Mendel), student kitchen, and Marcus’ kitchen is on the first. Did I mention there’s also a basement? And a dungeon. And a Winter garden (probably my favorite room in the house)!

We all gathered in the Winter Garden for an introduction to culture in Salzburg. Turns out that Red Bull was invented here, and Mozart hated Salzburg. None of the locals really know what the Sound of Music is, but it’s important for tourism. In the US waiters shower customers in unsolicited, overly-friendly conversation and attention, but here you have to flag down the waiters for the check and they’ll leave you alone for the most part (which I could get used to actually). It’s encouraged to sit down and spend time with friends and families at restaurants (and Western food-to-go culture isn’t really a thing). People like to follow rules (especially older folk) so we probably shouldn’t be jaywalking or walking in the lane designated for bikes. We also learned some basic German words and phrases to help us get around town. And people here are very literal. If you ask them how they are, they will tell you how it is (instead of replying with a quick “I’m good” or “I’m fine”).

We took a break to have a delicious home cooked lunch. Marcus prepared pork, fried rice, and a salad. Afterwards, we threw on a butt ton of layers and walked down into the city for a tour. We passed by the opera house, Mozart’s birthplace and statue, Salzburg cathedral, and neighboring shops in the city.

I was toasty for the most part, but when we stood for long periods of time, my toes started to get cold. Also, I probably should have worn a scarf, but I also didn’t die without it. We were also able to explore a bit on our own before dinner. Raine, Aubree, Patrick, and I were trying to find a coffee house (that wasn’t overly bougie), and we stopped inside an Italian coffee shop to warm up.

We tried our best to use our navigation senses to try to find the Mozart statue and then Patrick wandered off and disappeared. We threw some chunks of snow at each other as the locals quietly passed by and then Patrick reappeared with Kaya and Sara. We walked to Zum Zirkelwirt and had Goulasch, Stiegl, and Kaiser schmarrn for dinner. It was also Nadia’s 21st birthday (and Patrick and Savanna had also recently celebrated January birthdays) so we headed to O’Malleys for drinks. I tried a shamrock cocktail and an Apple Strudel shot - both were surprisingly pretty tasty.

For the most part, our group is directionally challenged. I like to think I’m good with directions, but it was also difficult navigating around town at night when major landmarks are covered in snow. We didn’t know where the horse statue was located, so we went around in circles before turning right up the street and finding the bike tunnel back to the stairs by our mountain. A crazy ol’ (schwasted?) Austrian lady stumbled into our path and started shouting and mumbling things we couldn’t understand. It was an interesting spectacle to say the least. The snow started coming down hard and we ended up climbing 100 steps up the mountain and then getting lost at the fork in the road at the top. We ~eventually~ made it home and all in one piece :) Great start to the semester.