#kiley answers

[genderfluidarchive]

Can one be bigender and genderfluid? :0

yep, absolutely! being bigender means having two genders, being genderfluid means having fluidity in your gender. for some bigender people, they experience both genders at the same time, some people switch between the two, and some people experience some other form of fluidity relating to them. so a bigender person can definitely be genderfluid and vice versa.

if you feel like you experience fluidity in your gender and you identify with both terms, that's completely fine.

also: one of the main characters (Claire/Claude) in the book Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault is bigender and genderfluid!

[raging-violets]

❝  are you…are you really over me?  cause,  that’d actually really suck because i’m not over you.  ❞ can you do this for kiley? Please, i hope you guys are well :)

A/N: Set during 4x02 Big Time Scandal. This is a fluff piece, I do have a angst version of it coming later, but I wanted to do fluff as I do angst with Kiley a lot. What can I say, their best friendship/romantic relationship makes it work either way.

@partiallypearl @ceruleanmusings @mystic-scripture

-

Kendall ran his hands over his face.

Seriously?

Really?

After all the things he had to deal with that day; chasing down Lucy to get her to say the song wasn’t about him, confront Lucy over what their ‘relationship’ actually was and apologize, deal with James running around trying to get Lucy to make out with him, deal with the fallout of that along with Jo, deal with Logan and Carlos punching old ladies—which didn’t entirely surprise him—and now he had to deal with this!

Jax’s Riley splits with Big Time Rush’s Kendall?!

Sources say they heard her cry of “I’m f*king over this” before seeing her storm away from the speechless boy bander at Lucy Stone’s press conference.

He didn’t think there was anyone around to even hear that conversation. The stupid part one, or the funny part if he thought of it that way, was what she was blowing up about the whole thing with Lucy, not him! She was over the way Lucy was working to keep herself vindicated over slamming Kendall in the limelight. He and Jo had tried to set her straight, Kendall had to open his dumbass mouth—Riley’s words—to make things worse.

And she was determined to set things straight.

How it turned into the world mourning (female fans) or celebrating (male fans) his and Riley’s supposed breakup was a shock to him. But…it looked like he had more people siding with him on their supposed break up. So, the entire day wasn’t a wash.

“What’s wrong?”

“Hm?” Kendall lifted his eyebrows.

“You’re brooding.” Though didn’t appear to be too concerned as she continued to eat her ice cream, intermittently wiggling her shoulders in a happy dance as she did so. Whether it was from the ice cream in general or from happiness of things working out with Lucy, she was in a good mood. And seemingly unaware of the nearby fans taking pictures of the two of them.  It wasn’t too strange; they’d had people taking pictures of and analyzing their every move online since they were just friends. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you over me?”

“What?” Riley asked. She lifted her gaze to him but didn’t stop eating.

“Well, I just was just thinking,” Kendall said. He traced his finger in a circle on the tabletop. He lifted his gaze to hers, peering at her from beneath his eyelashes. “Are you…are you really over me?” He was barely able to hold the solemn expression before he started smiling and laughing, turning his phone to face her. “Cause that’s actually really suck because I’m not over you.”

Riley glanced at the headline on the screen then burst out laughing. She reached out her hand, cold fingertips pressing into his neck made chills roll down his spine, and pulled him toward her, giving him a sweet kiss on the lips. Literally, as he licked the chocolate ice cream away.

“If I couldn’t get rid of you before, Hockey-Head, I can’t imagine getting rid of you now,” she teased.

Kendall smiled and kissed her back.

After the day they’d had he knew this new scandal was something they could easily tackle together.

[thusspoketrish]

top five books !!

Hi there!

Thank you so much for your ask x

This was so hard to narrow down. But here we go, haha. This also ended up a bit longer than I intended. Whoops!

My Top 5 Books: 

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. My God. Where do I begin with this painfully beautiful exploration of sexuality, identity, yearning, forbidden desire, repression, and grief all done in 159 pages?

Baldwin is a genius, my favorite writer of all time, and a true inspiration to me. He captured the dredges of the human psyche in this novel (in all of his novels, really) with such brutal honesty that smoothly oscillates between clean cut, surgical clarity and an achingly elegant beat of poetic prose. I first read the book at 17. I have reread it countless times since.

As a writer, I am so deeply touched by and indebted to Giovanni’s Room, the literary prowess of James Baldwin, and the impact his writing has had on me throughout my life.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. A relevant story on the perils of performative wokeness and classism as it feeds into casual racism/microaggressions, toxic relationships, and misogynoir. The protagonist is a young black nanny named Emira who is wrongfully accused of kidnapping the white child she’s babysitting by a security guard at a grocery store.

This book is the embodiment of the saying: “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman.” Emira is tried and tested at every turn, stuck in a cycle of devaluation and outright dismissal of her time, her energy, and her intelligence. Despite all the chaos, she’s not to be played with, and she circumvents the harmful stereotype of the “strong black woman.” Instead of having to strictly endure the pain and negativity thrown at her with complete stoicism, she allows herself the space to be vulnerable, to explore her self-doubts, and to process the impact the grocery incident had on her.

Black women can be soft, too, blue, too, and that's absolutely okay. This is so important to see represented in media, in literature, and in life.

Ways of Seeing by John Berger. There are a number of texts that dismantle elitism, the male gaze, and highlight the importance of historical, social, and cultural context to truly understand art, but Berger does it in a way that is accessible and timeless.

His work has always been a staple in my own research and institutional critiques on the inaccessibility of the art world, the austerity of museum spaces and practice, and the continued exclusion and mishandling of marginalized narratives within our canonical understanding of modern and contemporary art.

(Pssst…Outside of Berger, let me turn you on to performance artist Andrea Fraser, whose institutional critiques are hilarious, unapologetic, and without fail a gloriously biting commentary on the absurdity of the art world and our obsession with its lusty commodification and pretentiousness. Little Frank and His Carp (2011) is still a performance that lives rent free in my head.)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This book holds sentimental value for me. It was one of my dad’s favorites, and he loved the 1974 film adaptation.

What’s not to love about this American classic that captures nostalgia in such a poignant way? We also have the glitz and glamour of the Roaring 20s, the socialites, fake identities/personalities, obsession, unrequited love, broken dreams and promises, and murder.

And it’s all depicted in such a lush and beautiful way that it takes you almost by surprise when you finally realize just how terrifyingly cold and empty this world that Fitzgerald crafted for us is. Love it!

The Trial by Franz Kafka. No one portrays absurdism, existentialism, loneliness, and depressed but horny unreliable narrators quite like Kafka! He is a master at building dread and confusion while disorienting his imperfect protagonists (and his readers) by dropping us in the middle of harrowing situations.

I’m a huge fan of his work, and it’s hard to narrow down my appreciation of it to just one book for this list, but The Trial has to be my absolute favorite. I am a sucker for witnessing the moral flailing of somewhat problematic protagonists. K’s arrogance and superiority, tempered by his utter helplessness and increasing instability against the metaphysical force of the Law, make him an instant favorite character of mine. He struggles against a tyrannical bureaucratic system hellbent on stripping away his autonomy by trapping in the ambiguity of an inexplicable hell. K never learns of the crime he's being accused of and neither do we as the reader.

The book satisfies my love for a critique of flawed judicial systems, while also exploring the impact of paranoia, isolation, and existential dread, all wrapped up in the tension of a psychological horror/thriller. I also love a story that comes full circle at the end, even if it is abrupt, tragic, and maybe even meaningless, despite K.'s desperation to find meaning within the absurd.

Ask me my "TOP 5/TOP 10" anything!

[astronomous]

do you think an elf could be turned into a vampire

theoretically yes it’s possible if the conditions are right however i feel like by and large the vampire magic like. wouldn’t take. do you know what i mean like the venom would be rejected and just kill the elf instead

[dreamofstarlight]

kerry and her daughters were at the taylor swift concert and its like "aw" but like taylor just sucks right now with her annoying boyfriend 😭

No yeah!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kerry Kennedy (@kerrykennedyrfk)

Her caption 🥰❤️

[midwintern-i-ghtingale]

has anyone read such a fun age by kiley reid?

i just want to talk about how BONKERS alix is.

[neil-gaiman]

Not an ask, just a thank you. Really enjoyed spending time with you yesterday at NJPAC. It was an early Christmas present for my husband and he didn't know where we were going until we got in the car yesterday morning (we live in South Jersey across from Philadelphia). He was so excited when I showed him the tickets on my phone. The sincere and often hilarious way you answered our questions and the thoughtful selections of the stories you read (Donna will live with me forever) made for a wonderful afternoon. My favorite story was about the dinner party and Armistead Maupin, it was so cool to hear a new favorite author (yes, my husband Jim and I are late comers to the magic - though I did read Good Omens way back in the day - but we're making up for lost time) speak so lovingly of an all time favorite author (I worked in book shops for about a decade and Tales of the City was always the first book I suggested to the baby gays venturing into the world of queer literature). Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. It as been a tough year for us, perhaps the worst in our 38 years together, as I was forced out of my job of 20 years last fall and 60 is a tough age to find work (I just got a new job a couple weeks ago thanks to a dear friend) so to hear Jim say twice yesterday that it was "one of the happiest days of my life" really brought joy to my soul. You are henceforth my Angel of Joy, Neil. Peace, joy, and long life to you and yours. Mike Kiley-Zufelt

That means a lot. And I'd recommend Armistead Maupin to everyone.

[curator-on-ao3]

Hi! How's you? Lord's Grace, I'm fine.

Just wanted to ask, what are the standout moments from both the seasons about, for, in, about Pike and Una? Ones that you remember or half-remember but they feel like they're the defining moments about them, or reveal something about them or just moments where they're together and we simply enjoy them, moments you'd love to write more fics about.

:') Lord Bless! Have a lovely more lovely even more lovely day

I’m glad you’re doing well. ❤️ Thank you for asking — this was fun to consider!

I understand the boundaries of your question, but I’m gonna color outside the lines a little bit to say that it starts for me in The Cage when Pike is so considerate of Number One’s feelings that he apologizes for the reasonable choice not to put her on the landing party. Then, on Talos IV, they work together so cleanly, handling the same equipment and picking up on each other’s ideas and plans. Yes, the episode kicks off the ship in the obvious way of revealing that Number One fantasizes about Pike. Yet the episode also makes clear why — a closeness and camaraderie that’s evident from the start. (And at the end. Colt asking who would have been Eve and Number One shutting Colt down, then Boyce pressing the question and Pike shutting Boyce down. Meanwhile there’s me ignoring the Lilith story to shout: “Her name is literally ‘Number One,’ y’all. Who else would be Eve?”)

Then we get to Discovery and she appears before him in a shimmer of transporter beam and the camaraderie, the understanding, the care for each other — it’s all still there. He teases her about her food and drink order. She teases him right back. She knows his orders before he gives them. He trusts her completely. It’s so lovely and comfortable and real-feeling.

There’s more in the Short Treks (Number One freaking out when Spock notes her “most careful study of the captain,” etc.), but let’s get to the heart of your question.

Strange New Worlds took the care, the camaraderie, the understanding, and deepened all that even more, made it so Chris has never served on a non-redacted ship without her, made it so they’ve known each other most of their lives, made it so we see them talk about life and duty and journeys whether in his quarters or the ready room, it doesn’t matter because the comfort they have with each other transcends location. Both times she even mentions resigning, he says absolutely not. Twice, he holds her service record in his hands and rushes off to do what he can to save her from a dangerous situation. And, as we all know, Mr. “He Views Resorting to Force as an Admission of Failure” (per Number One in Q&A) gets violent when Starfleet arrests her and is about take her away from him.

So, in terms of truly answering your question (finally), I love how, in the premiere, the second Chris walks in to rescue Una from Kiley 279 that she starts teasing him, he instantly teases back, and she knew damn well that he would come and rescue her even though he wasn’t technically on duty. I also love little things like how when he’s helping her get around despite her injured leg that there’s no self-consciousness in touching (even in underboob territory) because they’ve served together in close proximity for ages so why would they be self-conscious?

Which takes us to Children of the Comet and more talking and domesticity (yes, I can fully believe that dishwashers are a lost technology since that means I can watch them do dishes together) and sharing hard truths in his quarters. There are layers at the dinner party, stories and him teasing her in front of other people for everyone to be able to laugh together … and her deep care for his feelings when he’s not laughing at all.

Clearly, I could keep going for season one:

Ghosts of Illyria when he subtly checks in on her feelings at the beginning, then she’s so worried about him on the surface, and finally his stalwart support for her in the ready room.

Memento Mori when he asks how she’s doing — and the way he asks in the midst of a crisis with softness in his voice.

Serene Squall with the casual intimacy of her helping him put on his gear, then their history together and understanding via the Alpha Braga IV reminisce.

Quality of Mercy when she chases after him even though he put her in charge of the meeting, then his reaction to her being missing in the future, him trying to figure out what happened to her, him standing by the command chair when he finally sees her again, and, of course, as mentioned before, his reaction to her being taken away.

And I could keep going for season two:

Ad Astra Per Aspera, like, all of it but especially when he speaks of the loss it would be to him if she left, the fact that he’s an adult who suffered from asthma as a child yet he risks asphyxiation to help her, the picture of them both that she keeps in her quarters, everything about The Hug™️, and so much more.

Charades with the There Was Only One Couch scene and, earlier, the “🎶 first contact get down, get down, first contact get down” look on the bridge.

Those Old Scientists having them both like the communicator better than a commbadge — and getting how Pike and Una visually check in which each other so much than even their cartoons do it.

Subspace Rhapsody letting them kiss (I always say I will send a bouquet of flowers to the editor who put that in the show).

Under the Cloak of War showing him listening to her and trusting her where her talents exceed his.

I’m leaving things out that I’ll remember as soon as I hit post.

There are vibes and glances. There is body language. (🎶 There were moments of gold/ And there were flashes of light/ There were things I'd never do again/ But then they'd always seemed right.) There’s a certain groundedness that lets me believe these two truly know each other.

And, for all of that, I am grateful.

Fun fact: This is my first post in which I hit the image limit and couldn’t add more. Even after I combined some. Whoo-hoo! Also, I apologize for not sourcing the gifs. I had them saved and Tumblr gif search is a nightmare.

Edit: I remembered one of the many things I’m sure I’m leaving out: their conversation in The Broken Circle. The mutual concern, the lived-in feeling of their talk, the vibe that this was far from their first conversation since everything went down. I loved it all.

[arcadiabaytornado]

If you could add one song in bts and lis what would you add?

I didn't realize how many songs I listen to that could fit the plot of Before The Storm before I answered this ask.

But for Before The Storm I would ultimately add "High" by Zella Day, Some of the lyrics to this song seem like they were just written for Chloe and Rachel:

For Life Is Strange I would add "Better Son Or Daughter" by Rilo Kiley as a song that plays over Chloe's stereo. The lyrics kind of remind of "In My Mind" by Amanda Palmer which already plays in the game.

[jrooc]

✨ Tag Game Wednesday ✨

Thank you dearest @juliakayyy @energievie @mybrainismelted @deedala @mmmichyyy @stocious @francesrose3 for tagging me!

~~~~~~~~~~~ Name: Jess

Age: A little younger than Noel

star sign: Libra ♎️

your first language: English

second language: I can swear pretty expertly in Quebec French

favourite lip product: Glossier’s Bom Dot Com- lifesaving in Canadian winter

the best food dish you can make without a recipe: Chicken Pot Pie or fish tacos with mango salsa. Or seared tuna. I’m a decent home cook.

If you drink tea, what kind?  British black tea. I like Typhoo or the green box

If you drink coffee, what roast do you usually get? Medium

favourite thing to watch on youtube right now:  Gallavich edits or workout videos

favourite thing to watch on youtube in 2012: was I on YT back then? Maybe music videos or Queer as Folk clips?  

favourite item of clothing right now: My Gallavich sweatshirt from Redbubble

favourite item of clothing in 2012: Probably ripped jeans like I’ve been wearing every day for years

fandom

three movies you recommend: Kiera Knightley’s Pride and Prejudice, Garden State, Empire Records

your favourite concert: Rilo Kiley or Wolf Parade. Maybe Modest Mouse? There’s been a lot of shows, man

have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? Im afraid of Shameless Reddit

have you ever left a fandom because of the fans? No but I’m pretty new to fandom. Hi! Happy to be here 👋🏻

the best tv show you watched last year: The Bear and The Last of Us (Julia this is great I’m just stealing your answers lol)

do you have a fancasting you just can’t let go of? Noel Fisher and Cameron Monaghon

a ship you’ve abandoned: JimmySteve/Fiona

on a scale of 1-10 how willing are you to share your ao3 history? 10 but Proceed at your own risk. As Kaka said I’m apart of the weird shit channel on discord and have seen some things.

do you have a fandom tattoo? (do you want one?) 1000% but probably something subtle or hidden. Maybe a line of dialogue like “Sorry I’m Late”

what fandom do you wish was bigger? Shrug emoji

has a finale ever ruined a show for you? How I Met Your Mother .. wtf

have you…

swam in an ocean? Yes! (Currently right next to one) ever been vegan/vegetarian? Never I love meat. gone skinny dipping? Yupp gone skiing? Yes but not a fan. been to a convention? For work? Too many.

Waving hi or tagging @deathclassic @skylerwinchester @creepkinginc @ms-moonlight-inn @redwiccanrobin @mickeysgaymom @tv-obssessions @such-a-barbarian @gallavichsuperfan @peppaspice @guinguin1984 @ian-galagher @darlingian @librasrenaissance @samantitheos @sleepyfacetoughguy @crossmydna @heymrspatel @heymacy @sam-loves-seb @sgtmickeyslaughter

[genderfluidarchive]

I know that clothes ≠ gender but sometimes I feel like I'm faking and I'm not a "true" genderfluid person, because I really do like dresses and frilly clothes and girl-ish stuff in general… But sometimes I like to wear them even in my masc days, and I feel like I don't have the right to ask people to refer to me with he/him pronouns because of it…

Idk if somone else feels like this, but I'd appreciate if someone had a solution to it!!

i definitely understand feeling like your gender somehow isn't valid because of your traits or hobbies or likes or presentation.

so how to deal with it?

disclaimer that often it takes some time to get over internalized transphobia, just keep working at it and reminding yourself that you are valid and can be whoever you want to be. forever.

ok first of all: everything gendered is totally arbitrary. there is nothing that is inherently masculine or feminine, technically. humans just like to make categories and put labels on things even when there's no true meaning or reason behind it. if you lived in a different country or a different time period, different things would be considered masculine. different things would be considered feminine. it truly doesn't matter in the scheme of who you are. whether you're a girl who likes tech or a guy who collects american girl dolls, you're still your gender.

second of all: do a little thought exercise for me and think of it in terms of other people. flip the genders - for instance, if a girl was really into weightlifting and other "masculine" hobbies, she'd just be a tomboy or butch girl. you would still respect her as a girl, right? and if you knew a guy who likes frills and pretty things, wouldn't you still respect him as a guy? why should it be any different for you? i mean this in a completely positive way - you are not the specialest person in the world, and that's a good thing. and i have to tell myself this too lmao. there is nothing that makes you so fundamentally different from other people that you don't deserve your gender and identity respected regardless of how you present.

third of all: look for cis men who are really feminine. look for cis men who are just kinda feminine. look for feminine men. find media with gender-non-conforming characters. there are plenty of them. number one: it will make you feel more normal. number two: would you question their identity because of how they present or what they like? no. at least i hope not lol.

fourth, maybe: create OCs that are like you. create art about your experience. find other people who are genderfluid and like feminine things. find friends who you know will accept and respect your identity. remind yourself that you deserve to be respected.

p.s. my younger brother has a bed full of plushies, wears makeup sometimes, and owns a corset that im lowkey jealous of but i can't steal bcos we don't wear the same size *pouts grumpily*. my ex-boyfriend liked skirts and split dyed his hair white and red. boys are all different. you're as valid as a boy/masc person (when you are one) as everyone else.

i hope something in this helped! go listen to your favorite song n be kind to yourself. you rock!

[raging-violets]

you've always been the most important person in my life. + kiley?

A/N: Saw in this post, that you were feeling nostalgic and it kicked my ass into gear to get this one up. There is also a Rated M/Explicit version of this I'm working on as well! And despite where I cut it off with a read more, this is not an heavy angsty piece, it's a fluffy one!

-

Riley had been sitting through a more than boring business meeting—who the hell actually cared what countries brought in the most clicks on their social media pages?—when she got the phone call.

Thank God, she thought, twisting her features to make an exaggerated expression of apology before slipping out of the board room. She could practically feel the jealous glares of her brothers and sister as she escaped the tedium of the day to slip outside.

Riley glanced at the number that came up on the screen and sighed lightly. Not recognizing it, a bit of trepidation rolled through her stomach. Most people had anxiety about talking on the phone, that never bothered her. She loved talking on the phone, but when it was unknown numbers, it was what made an eyebrow quirk.

Especially after that time some more than exuberant fans had managed to sleuth their ways through the internet and leak her phone number. A few well-timed cease and desist letters and strongly worked police involvement had nipped that in the bud.

Now, unknown numbers gave her pause. But something in her gut told her to answer it.

“Hello?”

“I’m sorry, to bother you ma’am,” came the voice on the other end of the line. Riley’s hackles immediately started to rise. No one called her ma’am. Her cheeks started to flush, ready to take on whomever decided to grab her number once more. Especially when it continued with, “but is this… Riley…?” trailing off a second as if they were determining if they’d actually called her, “Oh, Riley Jackson?”

She sucked in a deep breath through her nose, working to keep her temper in check and focused on the tone of the voice speaking to her. It didn’t sound young enough to be a fan, but that’d tripped her up before.

“Speaking,” she replied flatly.

“This is Mason Lee, I’m calling from the Los Angeles Sports Center.” Riley’s eyebrows came together. “And you’re listed as the emergency contact for Kendall Knight, I’m afraid there’s been an incident.”

All at once, Riley felt the heat leave her face as concern took over. “Is he okay?”

“He’s had a nasty collision while on the ice, so if you could come in, we could discuss the extent of his injuries.”

Riley pressed her lips together. Logan had always been vocal about what certain words of injuries meant. Not to mention her own dreams of being a doctor…and all of the time she’d spent in doctor’s offices due to her injuries from Robert. If a doctor wanted to speak to someone in person, it either meant there was a serious injury or a serious run of recovery that was needed.

“What the fuck did you do now, Hockey-Head?”

“Ma’am?”

Riley chuckled to herself, not realizing she’d said her mental questions out loud. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

 Riley quickly sent a text message to Ronan about leaving the rest of the meeting, and hurried to the sports complex.

When she arrived and was taken back to the medicine room, Riley twisted her fingers together. Her blood pressure rose with each step she took, breath coming up faster and faster. With every step she took, images of the time spent in hospitals and doctor’s offices flashed through her head. A broken arm here, a busted lip there, cuts, bruises, sprains, abrasions. All the ways one could be abused flew through her mind.

It'd been a few years since Robert had been removed as her foster parent and had been charged and sentenced, but the memories were always fresh. It was no wonder she’d frozen when taking the MCAT with Logan.

The terror she worked hard to hide must’ve been emblazoned across her face as she scanned the area because a Asian man wearing a grey polo with the complex’s name on the front strode toward her.

“Miss. Jackson?” He asked. “I’m Mason Lee.”

“You can call me, Riley, mate,” she said quickly. “Is Kendall okay?”

Mason Lee chuckled. “Kendall’s going to be okay. I just wanted you to be aware of what happened. Kendall was practicing on the ice and he got into an altercation with some other players out here. They went around a few times and went into the boards and they’ve received some injuries.”

Folding her arms, Riley jutted out her hip. “What was the bloody fight about?” She knew the answer before it was given, then nodded when Mason said, “From what I can understand, the other guys were giving him a hard time about being in a boyband and playing hockey…”

Mason smiled at the roll of her eyes. “He’s in good spirits, but he’s gotten a few injuries. He’ll need a lot of rest and he needs to stay off the ice for the next couple of weeks. He won’t be able to perform for the next couple of weeks as well.”

“Well, he’s sustained multiple injuries, but with plenty rest, and lots of pain killers, he’ll make full recovery in no time I’m sure,” Lance explained, lifting a weight off Merlin as he spoke, “he’s very lucky he came out of this with what he did, it could have been much worse.”

She nodded, still twisting her fingers together despite them being tucked out of site. The quicker she saw him, the quicker she’d be able to breathe.

“And as if it, we don’t tolerate fighting here so he’s banned from the complex for the same amount of time he’ll be in recovery.”

“I don’t expect he’ll dislike anything less,” Riley murmured. She ran a hand through her hair, briefly closing her eyes. When she opened them she asked, “Can I see him?”

“Absolutely, he’s been asking for you.”

They walked into the room Kendall was in and he immediately looked up and smiled when he saw Riley coming toward him despite the frustration and aggression that sagged his shoulders forward. He reached out a hand that Riley took and immediately wrapped him up in a hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him.

She breathed in deeply, taking in the scent that was him and feeling him strong and study despite the bandages coating a wrist and his foot.

“Are you okay?”

It took a moment for Riley to realize Kendall was asking her the question, not her asking him.

“Yeah,” she replied, pulling back to look him in the eye. Her expression softened into a mixture of compassion and frustration; much like any girlfriend would have for a boyfriend who managed to hurt themselves. “Are you?”

Kendall smiled a sweet smile, bringing his hands down to grab hers. “You’re shaking,” he said.

She was trembling like a leaf. He knew she hated hospitals. And it wasn’t even a fucking hospital. “You called me here!”

“And you came,” Kendall replied, sounding like a proud little boy.

Riley rolled her eyes. She grasped Kendall’s face and kissed him. “I came,” she replied. “Of course I would. What happened?”

“I got into a fight.”

“I can see that!”

Kendall shot her a look, his face softening the moment their eyes met, and he sighed, shaking his head. “It was stupid, I was just skating around. And these guys started to hassle me about getting into the junior leagues and being in a boyband and…it was dumb.”

“Fucking right, boofhead,” Riley shot back. “Your leg’s broken!”

“It’s sprained,” he said, trying to placate her. “And so’s my wrist.” He kissed her again. “I’m fine, Ruby, I promise.”

Riley sighed, her shoulders slumping. “What’d your mum say?”

He looked at her. “She doesn’t know yet.”

Her eyebrows flew up at that, dark blue eyes widening. “She doesn’t know?”

“No, I only called you.”

Riley thought for a moment, thinking back to what Mason Lee had told her. Emergency contact… She took in a surprised breath through her nose, then studied her boyfriend. Her blonde, bandaged, boofheaded boyfriend.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” he added quickly, taking her silence for anger. “Not on purpose, Riles, I swear I wouldn’t scare you like this on purpose.”

But she wasn’t thinking about that. Shek new he never would. No, she continued to roll the words Emergency Contact through her head, almost as if it were a mantra. “You didn’t call your mum?” she asked. Kendall shrugged. “You put me as your emergency contact, yeah?”

“Yeah…” Kendall looked her in the eye. “You’re the most important person in my life, Riles. You’ve always been the most important person in my life. If there’s anyone I want by my side with this hockey stuff, the good and the bad, it’s you.”

Riley smiled and leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his, gently rubbed her nose against his. Ignored her want to make a comment about his nose poking out her eye, ignored her initial reaction to remind him that James would probably have something to say about that. Simply basked in the vulnerable moment with her boyfriend who she loved dearly, no matter how many stupid hockey injuries he would end up getting. He was about to go into the junior hockey league, it was probably going to happen more as time went on.

Time to get used to it.

“And if it didn’t hurt like hell to move right now,” his voice dropped to a low murmur. “I’d show you how important you are to me…”

“Fuck off,” she leaned back and pushed his head aside as he chuckled. She reached up and ran a hand through his hair. “Let’s get you back to the crib. I think you’ve had enough fun for today.”

After getting more care instructions from the facility’s medical team, Kendall and Riley went back to 2J, with Riley holding the door as he stubbornly worked his crutches through the lobby and up to the room. She motioned for him to sit on the couch before disappearing into the kitchen to get him some food.

She’d turned back around to find him stretched out on the couch, watching her carefully. “What?” She asked.

“Nothing, just…” Kendall smiled serenely, “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She walked back over to him and leaned over, giving him a long kiss. “Especially because your call got me out of the most boring meeting I’ve ever sat through.”

“I’m so glad that both of us are getting something out of this.”

“What are you getting?”

“Time away from Gustavo.” Riley laughed at Kendall’s quick response. “And my own personal nurse.”

At that, Riley shook her head. She reached out for Kendall’s hand and hefted him to his feet before leading him toward the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Kendall asked.

“I’m running you a bath,” Riley replied, her nose wrinkled, eyes flashing. “As much as I like it when you smell like sweat…you really smell gross.”

[kiwriteswords]

So for up until today I read part of your url as kiwi not kiwr

HAHAHAH omg that’s too funny!! Close enough! It’s Ki, cause my name is Kiley, but most of my friends call me Ki! But will literally answer so whatever, so probably would have picked Kiwi up as a new nickname!

[homochampagne]

quinn’s favourite artists/albums/songs

face to face - ignorance is bliss (“the best album i’ve ever heard … [those songs] are like the soundtrack to my life”, november 2002)

goldfinger self-titled

converge (“converge is still a band that kicks my ass … i’ve fucking eaten through every one of their albums”, august 2009)

bright eyes, animal collective, cursive, rilo kiley, m. ward, iron and wine

recover, new transit direction (fun fact: new transit direction was dan’s old band, october 2002)

refused - the shape of punk to come - specifically the song new noise (july 2016, he made branden watch the music video in 1999 after it premiered on MTV)

radiohead (his answer to the question ‘if you could only listen to one band for the rest of your life, what band would it be?’, 2009)

brand new - daisy (“there have been a few records that have really influenced us soundwise, there’s a brand new album called daisy”, june 2012)

converge, radiohead, ink & dagger, jawbox, fugazi, and other dischord bands

hammock - specifically the following songs from the “life on the road” vlog series:

always wishing you were somewhere else

the house where we grew up

mono no aware

i can almost see you

texas is the reason and sunny day real estate being a general influence on the used’s self-titled album - too many citations to add, just trust me

[unwellpodcast]

From the ask meme you posted, would love to know

3. your fav dialogue

and

17. inspirations you had during the creating process

I'm trying to get back into reading (an embarrassing thing to type) and would especially love to know if you had recommendations of horror literature similar to unwell!

FIRST OFF: there is nothing embarrassing about getting back into reading. Activities, even ones we love, come and go through our lives. That's a value-neutral thing~

Gonna give you a few things that inspired Unwell- many of them books you should check out!

Media that inspired/informed/shaped/Reminds us of Unwell

Books/Comics: House of Leaves Wisconsin Death Trip The Gone Away World Sandman Locke and Key Digger

Music: The Mountain Goats (Also, John's books are definitely playing in some similar spaces to Unwell) The New Pornographers Rilo Kiley Defiance, OH Gillian Welch Leonard Cohen Warren Zevon

TV: Gravity Falls Twin Peaks The Haunting of Hill House (Flannagan) Midnight Mass

(also, if others want to send us asks- post link here)

I'm going to hide the answer to #3 below a cut, to avoid spoilers (this is from the end of Season 1)

These are two bits of S1/Ep11 by Jess Buha- I think they really emphasize her incredible range, and also set a really great bar for how weird we could make the show. It also illustrates a way I LOVE to have writers work with me as a sound designer (though I didn't design this episode)- giving me what the audience should FEEL, and evoking something big- rather than telling me exactly what sounds I should use.

=====

LILY: Thanks (to WES) You might be overheated. The sun's setting--it'll get cooler. Here, drink this.

WES: Okay.

WES DRINKS. HE SPITS IT OUT WITH A SOUND LIKE A HISSING CAT AND A TOASTER IN THE BATHTUB.

LILY: Wes, it's okay.

WES KEEPS MAKING THE HORRIBLE NOISE. IT BUILDS IN INTENSITY, SOUNDING LIKE A COMBINATION OF FEEDBACK AND A RABBIT SCREAMING. SOMETHING VIOLENT AND VAGUELY OTHER-WORLDLY.

What that alcohol?

MARISOL: No, just water.

THE SOUNDS OF THE FAIR FALTER. THE WARBLERS SKIP NOTES. FAIRGOERS STOP LAUGHING, AND BEGIN TO MUTTER. SOUR SOUND AS THE BANJEAURINE IS KICKED TO THE SIDE. DIRT RUSTLES AS WES STARTS TO SEIZURE.

RUDY: I don't know. I've never / heard anything--[about it.]

====

And then at the end of the episode, we have this beautiful moment:

====

ABBIE: What did she smell like, when you were a little kid?

SILENCE. LIVING ROOM SOUNDS. HOUSE SOUNDS.

LILY: Like cigarettes.

Like smoke. Like a campfire. Like the ocean. Big and salty--she sweated a lot--I don't know--she was always moving. Always planting a thing or pulling up a thing or painting a thing or hauling a thing. She used to take me on hikes through the forest at night, and she'd turn the flashlight off, and we'd stand there in the darkness, and she'd hold my hand, and we'd listen to the-- you know--the whatevers. The crickets. The owls. Night sounds. It was just us, then. Unlike every other millisecond of the day. I felt jealous cause I guess I wanted her only project to be me, but she was like the ocean, and she had all this other stuff going on. I was always so small in her world--like this small, tiny piece. I just didn't ever want to be forgotten.

ABBIE: I won't forget you.

RUDY: You have a certain je ne sais quoi that sticks in the mind.

And I can't forget good people. Celery liquor?

LILY: Thanks. Lemme grab a glass.

RUDY: Just drink it from the bottle.

LILY: Okay.

LILY TAKES A SWIG.

Whew! Spicy.

ABBIE: Celery-cool.

LILY: Hey, did you win that thing?

ABBIE: Yeah.

LILY: Awesome! Awesome.

END.

====

[msmargaretmurry]

hiii my dear, hope you’re having a wonderful day!

21, 35 and 45 for the book worm ask game please 🌞🌼

thank you my dear same to you!! 💕

21. The book(s) on your school reading list you actually enjoyed. — answered here!

35. Least favorite trope in your most favorite book genre.

i don't think i actually have a most favorite book genre? 😂 i read pretty widely and i really enjoy variety. however as a fantasy lover and a romance enjoyer i suppose this is a good place to complain that i often don't like romantasy books. also i kind of hate the term "romantasy." the ones i have tried have had really lackluster worldbuilding and focus more on whatever tropes they're using than on showing me why i should care about these people and they world they're in. i think that romance tropes can work super well in fantasy stories but the fantasy world cannot be built around making the tropes happen, and i won't buy into a story just because it's billed as having certain tropes.

45. What book(s) would you sell your soul to get a TV or movie adaptation of?

also answered here but i will add a few more! not "sell your soul" level but i do enjoy thinking about how a book might be adapted when i read it and a couple of novels i think would make great dramatic miniseries are small game by blair braverman and people of the book by geraldine brooks. i think that such a fun age by kiley reid could make a wickedly smart and funny movie. evvie drake starts over would make a lovely movie. oh you know what would be so fun — the selection series by kiera cass. those books are NOT good, they are the epitome of fluffy trash reads, but i think they could be made into a fantastically cw-esque trash-fluff television series that improves upon the source material and really leans into the reality tv of it all. also i love a teen sports movie so much so i would love a movie version of michigan vs. the boys.