#they're so fucking cool and get no recognition no respect

[birdbracket]

Pre-Semifinals

Round 3 has come to a close, bringing us to 4 remaining competitors:

It is worth noting that the falconiformes v. suliformes race was extremely close, ending with the falcons only having a 2% lead.

Semifinals voting will begin Sunday, 2/19 at 12 am.

Matchups are:

Columbiformes v. Falconiformes

Apodiformes v. Charadriformes

[pha55ed]

Song Abt Your Break-Up || Formula 1/2

type :: angst tw/cw :: none contains :: lando, oscar, ollie, kimi, paul, summary :: singer!reader make a song about their ex and your fans go crazy - for the better or for the worse. you hope their pr team can fix their reputation... f1 masterlist || f2 masterlist || more here!

Lando Norris | 04 "happier than ever" - billie eilish || fc : gracie abram

yourusername : happier than ever out now! filming was a blast despite the many tears :") thank you for all of the love on this song - hope you enjoy it!!! <3

ㅤㅤ→ user 01: LANDO WHEN I CATCH YOU!!!! LANDO WHEN I FUCKING CATCH YOU!!!! OH MY GOD 📢📢📢

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 02: BRING ME WITH YOU!!!!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 03: guys (y/n) said to not bring any hate to him! she said in an interview that they're cool now!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 04: did you... even listen... to the song....? obv she's lying - she wants the mans balls cut off

ㅤㅤ→ user 05: "you call me again, drunk in your Benz - you scared me to death" OH MY GOSH??? Lando is literally fucking evil who tf does that. Revoke his F1 seat bruh, that shit is so irresponsible

ㅤㅤ→ user 06: everything about this is so perfect omfg, the sadness, the anger, the exposing?!?!?!

ㅤㅤ→ user 07: this is literally giving me flashbacks to my toxic ex, i'm glad she got out

You and Lando were the new "it" couple for F1 for a long time, almost two years of being the top couple. But that was quickly ruined when you both cut each other off after a huge nasty fight. Everyone was speculating on why you both broke up, even stalking you to your house to ask questions.

So you decided to just make a song, a song with all the answers that those big nosed reporters wanted. And holy shit, the crowd ate it up. The song was just supposed to be a hidden song on Spotify, but it got over 200 million streams, getting you awards and so much recognition. You even got a brand deal with Lego, which was a bit random but who would say no to that???

As you arrived at Lego's headquarters to discuss plans with the company - you ran into someone you knew way too well. Lando Norris. You completely forgot that one of McLaren's newest sponsers was also Lego... Did Lego fucking set you up???

But that didn't matter. Because now you were trapped in the awkwardest elevator ride with your ex, the man who once made cry from laughing so hard who is also the man who made you cry for days after ghosting you for a week to party in Miami after his win, doing only God knows what.

You both stood on opposite sides of the elevator, you were hoping he would take the stairs to respect your space - but he didn't. The silence was driving you crazy, and what's even crazier is that Lego's headquarters is fucking 45 floors and you were only on the 3rd floor after 2 minutes.

"(Y/N)", Lando said quietly, as if he was trying to not break you. You didn't move your head or body to face him, only your eyes. "Uh,"

It was as if he collapsed from your glance alone. As if the guilt from losing someone as amazing as you finally hit him as he looked at you. You were no longer his, no longer giving him a soft glance with your gentle smile.

From one simple glance at him, you shattered his harden facade - just like you always do. The tears welled up in his eyes, his jaw slightly shivered from the nervousness he had. But he did his best to keep his composure as he stared back into your cold eyes.

Oscar Piastri | 81 "i wish i hated you" - ariana grande || fc : idk :(

yourusername : the most intimate mv filmed - but it was so worth it <3 thank you for all of the love on the song and an even bigger thanks to my besties who helped me get through filming haha :")

ㅤㅤ→ user 01: i know she said she could never hate him but I CAN!!!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 02: girl she literally has no hate for that man,,, they ended on good terms

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 03: oscar even said he listened to the song recently and said he liked it, but his fav is "bye"?!!!??!?!! like bro he's making a joke out of it

ㅤㅤ→ user 04: oscar pulled a baddie, broke her heart, and she doesn't even hate him??? his rizz is fucking insane

ㅤㅤ→ user 05: her VOICE CRACK IN THE SONG!??!?!?! (Y/N) I WILL LITERALLY JUMP OFF THIS BUILDING

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ yourusername: pls dont omg 😭

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 05: yes ma'm!!! 🫡

Oscar and you didn't end on bad terms, just simply were getting pulled in different directions. Your music career was blowing up and work slowly consumed your whole life. Same goes with Oscar, as he was pushing himself to his limit just to try and get his first win. Which he did recently, you couldn't help but smile and like his post. Although your break up was heart-breaking for the both of you, you couldn't lie and say he was a bad boyfriend.

You were getting ready to head out for your first show of your world tour. Of course, you had to start in Australia, your home town and also the home of most of your fans. It was a huge stadium, packed to the brim that you were questioning the legality of having this many people in one spot.

But somehow, despite the thousands of people in the crowd, you made eye contact with a stupid boy with a stupid smile and stupid bright orange outfit... Oscar, he came to your first show while still in his ugly McLaren polo and jeans outfit, it was painfully obvious that he got an instant flight here just to watch you.

Despite him wearing the outfit you hated so much, you couldn't help but smile at him. His attendance meant so much to you. What meant even more to you was the fact that he was holding up a small poster, perfect size to not block anyone's view:

"Play "i wish i hated you." I need an ego boost"

Of fucking course he couldn't be serious for a second. Your smile only grew as you chuckled at the sign, you couldn't say no to his request after he put in the effort to make a whole poster , even if the poster looked like shit.

Ollie Bearman | 03 "second best" - laufey || fc : marissa long

yourusername : lots of therapy needed to make this song... but it's finally done! second best is out and i hope it becomes you're first choice! (something i never was)

ㅤㅤ→ user 01: praying to fucking god that this isn't about ollie PLEASEEEE

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 02: i think it is, sadly :( they both unfollowed each other and haven't been seen in public since last month...

ㅤㅤ→ user 03: "kissed me with somebody else in mind" OLLIE HOW COULD YOU?!?!??!?

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 04: even crazier is "you swung me around in that midsummer dance, held me in close as you thought of your past." cause that's fucking VILEEE to do to a girl

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 05: literally!!! looking back at old photos of them, she seemed so deeply in love while he just looked spaced out :((

ㅤㅤ→ user 06: (y/n) is better than me cause i would have spilled gasoline on his car during a race

Turns out those 8 months with Ollie were for nothing. Those sunsets in his arms, cold nights in his jacket, and those kisses in the rain meant nothing to him. He did his best to hide it, but you always had a feeling deep down that he wasn't fully committed to you. You just ignored it to keep him longer.

But you couldn't ignore it forever, so you let your curiosity loose as you looked through his phone while he was sleeping. It was wrong to do, but what's even more wrong is for Ollie to spam his ex with over 300+ messages within a span of 6 months begging for a chance with her... So basically throughout your entire relationship, he was missing her.

Fucking 6 months, of Ollie texting, calling, even emailing her, for another chance. Love letters upon love letters proclaiming that you mean NOTHING to him and it's just to distract him from how much he misses her. That he only picked you because you looked like his ex, that you sounded like her, that you would never ever replace the hole that she left in Ollie's heart.

It was insane how much of a poet he was with her and yet you couldn't even get a kiss in public.

But his ex never responded to any of his messages, the last time she checked his messages was about 10 months ago, the exact time they broke up. You're pretty sure she blocked him and he's just messaging a brick wall. But that doesn't matter at all. His words hit you like a train at 200 mph, crushing your heart into a million pieces.

You broke up on the spot, never seeing him again since that day. But he can't say the same. If anything, it's like you haunted his phone. You were constantly on the radio, his for you page, on billboards, God he couldn't escape his guilt even if he tried.

Your song didn't help his regret at all. Now that the fans had a glimpse into the cause of your break up, Ollie was receiving huge amounts of hate every single day, even during interviews with fully grown adults. One time a reporter straight up asked him if he was going to make a diss track on you? Why the fuck would he do that??? That's besides the point, the point is: everyone knew about this drama, no matter their age, job, or interest.

Once again, Ollie went to his favorite restaurant in Italy. Well, actually it was your favorite restaurant, you showed it to him and ever since then, he's never found a place with better pasta. It's ironic since the restaurant he doubted so heavily but ended up loving and never leaving - was the same exact story he had about you...

Although he would beg for his ex for months on end, the second you left he felt the biggest regret and guilt he's ever had. His ex completely left his mind, despite the fact that she finally unblocked him and was texting him back for once. He couldn't give two shits, because he realized what he lost, you.

He spent hours every single day beating himself up for losing you. Hours in the gym to try and run from his problems, but he couldn't because everything led back to you. His favorite pair of shorts that you gifted him, the small sticker on his headphones you placed, the little stuffed animal you both got at a carnival together - God he didn't want you back, he NEEDED you back.

Ever since you left, he was a completely different person. His racing skills dropped, he crashed more than ever, and yet he couldn't even seem to focus since his mind could only think of you. So as he sat in his seat, waiting for his pasta, he glanced around the room to see the back of your head.

It's just a head of hair, is what an outsider would say, but to him, it was your shiny hair that was so easy for his fingers to comb through. How could he ever forget what you looked like. You were all he thought about, after all.

As if his body moved on his own, he stood up from his seat and walked over to you. His mind completely blank on what to say, despite his body being so eager to meet you.

Before he knew it, he was standing right before you. His eyes wide as he looked down at you, his breathe unsteady from nerves, and his hands shaking from how scared he was. Now he was stuck in front you, awkwardly staring at you as if he was hoping for words to magically come out about how sorry he is.

Kimi Antonelli | 04 "two slow dancers" - mitski || fc : rebecca armstrong

yourusername : two slow dancers out now! one of the hardest songs i've ever wrote but i hope you all love it <3

ㅤㅤ→ user 01: literally gonna rip off my skin why would you make this right when i broke up with my boyfriend

ㅤㅤ→ user 02: "it's funny how you always remember, and we've both done it all a hundred times before, it's funny how i still forgot"

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 03: STOP I'M GONNA CRY OMFG

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 02: "to think that we could stay the same, but we're two slow dancers, last ones out." IM THROWING UPPP AHHHHH

ㅤㅤ→ user 03: i can't even hate kimi since the song is so fucking good likeeee

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 04: REAL!!!!! the fact he hurt (y/n) to THIS DEGREE??? to make this master piece is both a blessing and curse

ㅤㅤ→ user 05: (y/n) needs to put her fucking pen down... i can't take it anymore....

Kimi and you broke up on rough terms, but not in the usual "rough" way. Instead of any cheating, fighting, or pain: it was a gradual change within both of you. As he grew, his passion for racing only flourished even more and now he even has a chance at being in F1 next year. Meanwhile, you were still trying to make it big as a musician while struggling in college. The distance between you two grew not only in milage, but also romantically.

You both agreed to split: allowing both of you to grow in your careers fully without having to feel the guilt and pressure of a relationship that was no longer filled with love. It was gut-wrenching, to say the least, to say goodbye to Kimi for the last time for good before you left for college and he left for Italy to train.

The song you made blew up, with millions of people posting about how the relate to it, cried to it, and screamed to it. This was your huge break through song, which only made the rest of the songs on your album a massive hit. You were the brand new rising star of the year, and you were overjoyed.

You were invited to Italy to do a brand deal with Miu Miu, a huge honor and amazing deal. As you wiped the sweat off your hands and let your makeup artist put some light powder on your face, you walked out onto the small stage to do your interview.

But the second you step foot on stage, you couldn't help but make eye contact with someone too familiar: Kimi.

As if time froze, you could feel your smile drop as your heart sunk. Although you knew the break up was for the best, you could never lie and say that you didn't miss him. That you didn't miss his bad jokes, his curly hair in your lap as he slept, his sweet encouragement as you showed him your new songs.

Your eyes stayed stuck on him despite moving towards the seats, that suddenly seemed as if they were a mile away. His eyes stared back into yours, as if he was able to read the hidden affection and small hint of regret of your break up. But Kimi wasn't any different, his face and body said the same exact thing, but in a more forward way.

It was as if his eyes were screaming, "I miss you." a thousand times into your head. As if he was begging you for a chance of redemption, as if he waited 6 months purely to see you in person just to tell you that he still loves you. That he still needs you by his side, and he always will.

Paul Aron | 17 "logical" - olivia rodrigo || fc : _jannah on ig (she's stunning omfg)

yourusername : filming logical is done! mv is coming soon >:) thank you for all of the love for this song. i didn't think so many of you would relate,,, i hope you're all okay <3 connecting with you all has been so healing

ㅤㅤ→ user 01: literally a child of divorce rn... i can't believe paul and her broke up :(

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 02: it's not confirmed for sure if they're broken up though!

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 03: (y/n) def wrote this about him,,, "february sky" paul's bday is in february, "i'm sure that girl is really your friend" hinting at his childhood bsf who lowkey ruined their relationship, she's even filming in the desert because she wanted it to be the exact opposite of who she wrote it about - and paul is from the snowy regions of estonia...

ㅤㅤ→ user 04: PAUL ARON BETTER SLEEP WITH HIS EYES OPEN.

ㅤㅤ→ user 05: l'VE SCREAMED THIS IN MY CAR NONSTOP I CANT WAIT FOR THE MV OMGGGG

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 06: "ARGUEMENTS YOU HELD OVER MY HEAD!!! BROUGHT UP THE GIRLS YOU COULD HAVE INSTEAD!!!" 🗣️🎤😭

ㅤㅤㅤㅤ→ user 05: "SAID I WAS TOO YOUNG, I WAS TOO SOFT!!!! CAN'T TAKE A JOKE!!!! CAN'T GET YOU OFFFFFF!!!!!!" 🗣️🗣️🎤🎤💔

You always knew deep down that Paul wasn't ready to settle down. He even told you himself while drunk once, but you ignored it just to keep him around for longer. But eventually, he started to feel stuck - his fear of commitment becoming too strong. He started to talk to other girls, not fully cheating but setting them up to be a rebound if he were to ever break up with you.

And the idea of breaking up wasn't far fetched, since it happened almost every week. You two got into arguments over almost everything, ending up with you in tears and Paul storming out while you sobbed alone. But, only God knows how, you two always managed to patch it up just enough to ignore the issues and act normal again.

But it was draining both of you - mainly you. Paul was good at hiding his emotions, pushing them down and ignoring them for months. You, on the other hand, were more emotional and aware of the subtle resentment you both held for each other.

As months progressed, you made a pros and cons list for him... Your relationship was doomed the second you even thought of that. When you made that list, it seemed as if the cons never ended while the pros could barely even start.

Paul planning his future rebounds, his extremely close girl best friend who never treated you kindly, him hiding you from him family, him not wanting to visit you after his races, him ghosting you for days because he "needed space" despite the fact that you would leave voice memos of you barely able to breathe because of how depressed you were - and so so SO many more.

You ended the relationship, which was extremely hard on your part. Especially since you were the one trying so hard to keep the relationship afloat. But, you never felt so free since the break up. It was as if a ship-load of issues and fear were lifted off your shoulders, you were able to geniunely smile and laugh for the first time in ages. You took care of your hair and makeup again for once, your fashion upgraded massively too.

Although you only broke up about a month ago, you already had so many changes in your lifestyle and yourself that you barely even thought about Paul - unless it was late at night when your depressing thoughts came out. But you always slept those away, ignoring them and suppressing them, something you just learned how to do.

You made "Logical" while dating Paul, you only got the guts to post it after about a month after the break up. Since then, "Logical" was EVERYWHERE. So many people could relate to it, which concerned you, but you were happy to help a community of heartbroken people. But, while your community was flourishing - Paul's was the opposite.

People were wondering how he could fumble someone as talented and gorgeous as you. Everyone knew Paul was cold and apathetic at times, but so many clips arose of him flat out ignoring out. Even worse, a paparazzi released a super old photo of you and Paul arguing in public, with you crying while Paul stormed off like usual.

The hate he was receiving was so extreme that his entire PR team was on fire - making him go on a month long break to try and hope that the internet just forgets about him. It was slightly working, but the hype behind the song was still too high to let Paul come back to film any videos or do interviews.

All of the hate started to crack down on him, making him finally open his eyes and realize how awful of a boyfriend he was. So, he decided to make the first step in improving himself: reaching out to you.

When you saw his number in your phone, your heart sank. A single notification crushed your entire day, making panic rush through you like a broken dam. But, you were able to open it.

When you opened it, you were met with a huge text, a text so long that it could classify as a dictionary. It went on and on and on, about his regrets for hurting you, how he was such a dickhead, how he knows you most likely will never forgive him, and how he loved your song...

f1 masterlist || f2 masterlist || more here!

[tastesousweet]

⭒ the girl with the tattoo (iii) - pt 1 pt 2

matt sturniolo x fem!oc / reader

summary : no one frustrates and confuses y/n more than matt

warnings : smoking weed, alcohol/drinking (i headcannon everyone 21+!), tension, sexually suggestive

mickey speaks : THIS IS LONG AS SHIT!!!! ngl im not obsessed w this part but u guys r the sweetest thank u for loving this story so far and for ur patience. part 4 definitely won't have as long of a wait.

THIS IS PART THREE GO READ THE FIRST TWO PARTS NEOWW

MATT hates hosting parties.

now that he and his brothers have hosted three of these "get together"s to promote the warehouse, he’s realized just how much attendees dont give a shit about respecting the space they're in. he found it to be a cool concept for sure: give out free tiny tats along with food and drinks for more exposure and networking. nick came up with it and it sounded perfectly easy way to build their brand and get to know people in LA.

except the first one was a complete mess, with chris constantly promoting the party (he mentioned it to almost everyone he talked to, encouraging them to bring friends along), frequent instagram posts dedicated to the event, and natural word of mouth the warehouse was suddenly overcrowded and trashed within the first hour of being open. matt barely got through that night without losing his temper or calling the cops to shut down his own party.

that’s not to say matt hates attending parties as severely as he hates to have his own. he’s more than willing to go out when he has a set time to leave and good enough company. he’s trained his anxiety to behave within those spaces so that he's not ruining his or anyone else's time. now it seems his anxiety only spikes when it comes to (what feels like) hundreds of people surrounding him in his space with no intentions of leaving until well into the morning. at that point he’d prefer to be at home, completely alone.

just as he does now that nick has dragged him out to a nearby liquor store to buy “goodies” for the event later today.

matt’s face carries his typical dry expression as nick stands next to him, hands resting on his hips, eyeing the various vodka bottles.

“nick, it’s alcohol not the fucking newspaper,” matt grumbles.

“i know that! i just don’t wanna choose the wrong one.” he defends.

“if they don’t like something i think we have more than enough to choose from at this point,” matt sarcastically nudges his arms that hold onto a wide selection of alcohol that nick has impetuously given him with quips of ‘okay, hold this one.’

“matt, i wouldn’t have brought you if i knew you’d be such a buzzkill, jesus.” nicks tsks.

“alright, don't say that like i was begging to come here, nick. i had no choice and-"

nick cuts him off swiftly, noticing a few girls have joined them in the aisle, “matt, move." nick guides him backwards with his hand, "you’re like, in the way.”

matt turns his head to see what exactly he was blocking, before turning back to nick and scowling, “‘m literally not in the way at all.”

“they might need to see all the options,” nick shrugs, going back to narrowing his options down while matt stands in slight annoyance, zoning out.

until he overhears the two girls call, “yeah it’s over here, y/n! come!”

and matt can’t help but turn and look (at an embarrassingly quick pace that he’d blame on his brain's pristine sound recognition and not that he wanted to see you, necessarily).

and sure enough your frame comes into view (clad in a sweatshirt and small pair of shorts), confirming that he did not mishear and you unfortunately were in fact the y/n called for. not wanting to deal with small talk, he immediately turns to nick, “the second one is best, nick. alright, let’s go.”

nick looks over to him, throwing his hands up loosely, “ohh, now you wanna be helpful whe-" he closes his mouth when he sees you over matt's shoulder, "did you know y/n's here?” his eyebrows draw together and he swiftly grabs a tall bottle of Absolut and places it in matt’s arms before walking around him (ignoring his hand’s poor attempt to hold nick back).

you’re too busy discussing which vodka tastes best with a few of your friends to notice nick walking up to you guys. you only look over once you hear a snap followed by a hushed “matt!”

you host a tender smile when you recognize the two tattooed boys, “nick? what are you doing here?” you glance from nick to matt who seems to be holding a full bar's worth of liquor while nick holds nothing but a tote bag and sunglasses he enjoys fidgeting with.

“y/n, i have a party i’m hosting tonight why would i not be here? now the real question is why are you here at 11:30 AM?” he jokes, squinting his eyes at you.

“same reason as you,” you shrug then realize you haven’t introduced your friends properly. “oh! and these are my friends; i texted you about bringing along, remi, erin, and andrea.” they each wave slightly as you gesture to them.

after an exchange of greetings and smiles (though you could tell matt’s was so phoney), nick backtracks, “okay but actually why are you here?”

“did you think i was joking? i’m getting drinks for your party!”

“i mean this in the kindest way possible: why?”

“i wasn’t gonna show up empty handed! it’s common courtesy to bring you guys something whether or not you ask.” you insist and matt fights the urge to roll his eyes.

he knows you have no mal-intent but god damn do you make yourself look so fucking pretentious.

“yeah, we’re trying to figure out what would be the best kind to bring right now,” erin chimes in.

nick immediately agrees, “oh my god, tell me about it. i was just struggling with that too!” and he turns to matt to validate, see! it’s not stupid to care about possibly buying the wrong thing!

matt just rolls his lips into his mouth, trying to give anyone a fucking clue that the conversation should be wrapping up by now.

“we’ll probably just end up getting pink whitney,” andrea reaches for the bottle on a nearby shelf.

matt can feel your eyes on him but he chooses to keep looking down at nick's ugg boots as if they’re the most interesting thing he’s seen.

you shift your eyes back to nick who’s still talking to andrea before you begin to speak, “well, i’m sure you guys are busy, you know, party planning.”

suprisingly, matt speaks up to agree with you, "yeah, you’re right actually. we are pretty busy."

nick cuts in with a shake of his head, “well, we’re actually not doing much before the party starts, honestly. we’ll probably just drop this off at the warehouse and set up a little, then go home, right matt?” nick shrugs to his brother who's eyes only widen with a look of question, “oh that's so true, matt!" he turns back to the girls with a smirk, "if you guys want you should come hang out with us now!”

matt wishes he currently had a free hand so that he could slap it over nicks mouth and drag him away before he sells his own kidney next.

"oh that's okay, we still have some stuff at home to do before we even think to get ready, but we'll be there tonight," you smile and look over to the girls who each agree.

"okay, we'll see you around then." matt tilts his head to the side encouraging nick to follow as he walks away.

"you have my insta so just dm me if you need anything. okay, bye! don’t forget swimsuits!" nick smiles and waves before rushing to catch up to matt who has already left the aisle.

౨ৎ

“i still can’t believe y/n was there, like what are the odds?!” nick giddily sighs and looks over to matt as the two walk out of the store.

“yeah, how fuckin’ weird," he murmurs, adjusting the brown bags in his hands to reach for the keys hanging from his belt loop. "small world, i guess.”

౨ৎ

“how the fuck are you so calm?” you ask in shock from behind the bat squishmellow you hold while sitting on nick’s baby pink couch, legs crossed.

“y/n, it’s like the teeniest, babiest tattoo ever,” andrea almost laughs as she takes another bite of a miniature rice krispy treat.

this “get together” at the warehouse has been a hit as far as you can tell. when you and your friends arrived it was already rowdy with people everywhere, music pounding, and bottles of alcohol scattered on the counters of a kitchenette (where you placed your own bottle of pink whitney, tied with a dainty white ribbon). you all found nick early on dancing in a crowd of people. he gave out hugs and easily convinced andrea and remi to let him tattoo them. after looking over the flash sheet nick made specifically for tonight, the girls decided to get matching cherry tattoos.

nick’s work area was so soft. he had bright hues of berry hugging his walls in the form of posters and paintings and faint creamsicle colored pillows to keep his couch company. when you all first walked in he explained how much he enjoys when clients bring in a friend so he had to make sure they had a comfy place to sit. you found nick so endearing in that since, he’s very caring and thoughtful despite his attitude at times (a far more understandable attitude than matt’s).

“it’s soo small,” nick adds, “i still think you two should get one,” he smirks looking over to you and erin huddled on the couch.

“hell no, i think i'm good for like another year," you shake your head and look over to erin while you gently run your fingers over your tattooed lower hip.

"yeah, absolutely not. i'm not even close to drunk enough to do that shit right now." she laughs.

౨ৎ

matt finds joint rolling to be the most satisfying part of smoking. the precision needed to perfectly fill, wrap, and burn makes him giddy in his own matt-kind-of-way.

after working on his last client (who wanted a somewhat abstract piece for the lowkey means of a “free tiny tats event”) and successfully sneaking through the crowd to grab a snack then sneaking back into his work area, he wanted nothing more than to get high alone.

he begins to gather his spare weed, grinder, and rolling papers from a spot tucked away in a drawer. he stops by his desk to turn his speaker back on, playing hushed kendrick lamar thorughout the space.

he taps his fingers along to the beat before sitting in a chair and displaying the items in front of him. he begins to grind the weed while humming, only to be interrupted fairly quickly.

"matttt!" chris peeks his grinning face through the curtain before taking it upon himself to walk in, "what are you doin' all alone in here?" matt pauses his movements with a sigh.

"no way you were rolling up and not planning to share? what the fuck?" chris pries in jest, rolling a chair over to sit in front of matt.

"dude, 'm so over this fuckin' party. i was planning to just smoke this and go nap on nick's couch or something." matt explains as he carefully lays the weed in the paper.

"you were barely even out there! got all your clients to text you whenever they got here." chris mumbles a scoff. "that is not the fuckin' point of this by the way, supposed to be meeting new people." chris rolls his eyes leaning himself so far into the chair that his back has practically met the seat.

"at least i'm doing something, you've only given like a tat or two all night," matt mumbles, slowly filling the white paper with weed.

because chris knows he's right he deflects the conversation to the reason he even came searching for matt in the first place. he clears his throat, playing with his fingers, "nick wants to take the girls up to the hot tub."

"thought we weren't allowing randoms up there anymore?" matt smirks at the memory of nick just hours before lecturing the both of them on what ground rules needed to be set so people don't demolish their shop for the fourth time now.

"obviously if they're with nick they're not just randoms." chris shakes his head, "pretty sure it's y/n and some friends she brought along. you remember that girl, right? she was-"

matt stops sealing the blunt to respond, "uh huh, i remember her."

chris lets out a breath, causing matt to finally look up and make eye contact with his brother (after spending their entire conversation too focused on rolling) in surprise at his pause in speaking.

"yeah, she's cool." chris yawns.

"i guess." matt says while finishing off the joint.

matt then lifts his hand up to give chris a view of his rolled joint. "stellar." chris smiles and matt hands it him, "swear you have a gift for this shit or somethin'." chris holds it in different angles near his face.

matt just shrugs and reaches for the tiny red lighter in his back pocket, "light that bitch up," he encourages chris.

"wait, no, let's save it for hot-tubbing."

"no? let's not? i didn't roll it for anyone but myself, let alone a group of barbies."

"be nice, matt."

"give me it, chris," matt rolls his eyes and signals with his fingers for chris to hand it over. “also who says i’m joining you guys in there?”

chris hands the joint back over to matt who’s immediately putting it in his mouth and bringing it towards the lighter’s flame, “nick wants the both of us up there, he thinks it’ll be fun.”

matt’s words come out quieter now that he’s speaking with smoke held in his lungs, “is he shit faced?” matt exhales the smoke as he speaks, “you know he thinks anything is ‘fun’ when he’s drunk.”

he takes another hit while chris explains, “no he’s actually really fuckin’ coherent, hasn’t had anything compared to me.” he smirks knowingly.

“not too much of this for you then,” matt exhales and passes the blunt over to chris. “so who’s gonna be hosting this party if we’re all on the roof?” matt asks squinting at him while playing with the soft edge of his graphic tee shirt.

chris’ face hides behind the smoke he releases, “we have dontae and claire working tonight too, they know how to deal with shit. i’m not too worried.”

“cool, so nick has contradicted himself twice already tonight, what happened to ‘one of us three should always be keeping an eye out’?” matt questions.

chris shakes his head, handing matt the smoked down joint, “literally how am i supposed to know why that kid thinks the way he does?”

matt licks his lips with a smile at his brothers comment then goes to hit the blunt once more.

“but i do know you need trunks on asap, brother.” chris lifts himself up, feeling a little looser now that he’s quite faded, and begins to dig through matt’s backpack in the corner of the room.

“why the fuck are my trunks just casually in my bag?”

“i put ‘em in there knowing you wouldn’t listen when we told you to pack them.”

“because i’m never getting in the pool at a party, that sounds terrible.”

“you think everything sounds terrible,” chris rolls his eyes throwing the plain black swimming trunks at matt’s chest.

౨ৎ

“‘kay so the game is just called, “i dare you…” but we’re gonna play it like drink or dare,” chris explains before taking another sip of his pepsi (he’s attempting to ‘sober up’ before playing a drinking game). “assuming the crowd knows what drink or dare is..?” chris looks around to everyone to confirm. there’s quite a lot of people in the spacious hot tub: you and your friends, the triplets, asha, and two of the triplets’ friends nathan and cameron.

when everyone nods in understanding chris explains something about the order to follow and how to discard any used cards, but you only loosely pay attention. instead, your eyes keep an unfaltering stare on matt who sits across from you with the shadows of his face highlighted light blue from the water below and a warm amber from the outdoor lighting above.

he wears his hair messy and his signature silver chain that reflects in the water harshly. you find yourself focusing on his tattooed hands (large in proportion to the joint he’s just finished rolling), and his pink tongue that has slipped out a number of times to lick at the joint and secure its shape.

he’s so into his own task he hasn’t even acknowledged your presence really. somehow that bothers you and attracts you to him at the same time. his face is so neutral as well, it’s not easy to find matt without a resting bitch face and an foul mood to match.

you feel andrea’s hand guide up your back, carrying water in its trail. you still continue in your curious trance until she leans down to your ear, “don’t start drooling now.”

you immediately look up towards her (as she’s sat on the ledge of the hot tub, cautious of her new arm tattoo). she barks out a laugh and you try not to laugh as well, punching the side of her leg instead.

“what did i miss? what are we giggling aboutt?!” nick excitedly asks as he climbs into the hot tub and sits in the empty spot to the left of you. you turn and greet him with a smile and he immediately hands you one of the many beer bottles he holds, “here, take one, pass it down.”

“oh it was nothing, thank you.” you reply when handed the final bottle.

nick nods before swatting at chris who still stands in the middle of the hot tub, “kid, you can sit down now, i think we all got it.”

chris looks over to nick, “you go first then, nick. i’ll queue up a few songs.” he shifts a floaty that holds a set of cards in it towards nick before taking a seat next to erin (you can overhear him introducing himself even though your attention is on nick as he draws).

“who’s the bright one who chose a game with cards to be done in water?” nick jokes finally looking at the card.

“i’m sure you can guess,” asha laughs next to him.

you watch as nick’s face welcomes a large grin upon reading his dare. “okay…i’m reading this out loud, right?”

“i thought ‘we all got it’?” chris jokes and watches nick deadpan, “yes, nick just say it.”

“this one’s easy, ‘i dare you to make one of the group members crack a smile in less than a minute.’” nick adjusts himself to face nathan, “nate look at me.”

“oh come on nick, nate laughs at everything when he’s drunk.” matt talks despite his lips closing over the joint he’s just about to light.

“i don’t!” nate says before looking over to cameron, who elbows his side, making nathan giggle and cover his face. “no! for real, try me nick.” he adjusts his expression to be serious but just as nick opens his mouth to speak nathan explodes in sudden laughter causing the rest of the group to laugh as well.

even matt laughs into his arm as he passes the joint to remi, next to him.

౨ৎ

as the group continued playing the dares leveled in dirty extremity. asha nibbled on cameron’s ear like a hamster, nathan texted a friend asking to have a threesome, cameron licked sugar off of andrea (who very much enjoyed it), until finally it was matt’s turn.

matt’s been far more sociable and charismatic this entire time spent in the hot tub than you’ve seen him before. but you can’t tell if it’s the weed and alcohol or even just the fact that he’s surrounded by a group with some of his close friends that’s bringing this out of him. you’re shocked the only nagging he’s done was to break up a small argument between his brothers and of course make fun of you, mouthing “you scared?” after you denied hitting the joint for a second time. you mouthed back “no” and rolled your eyes at him but his playful smirk never left.

matt hangs his head and stifles laughter after reading his card, “i dare you to bend over backwards and let the rest of the group spank you, chose who’s best.”

“oh my god!” chris’ laugh is higher in pitch now that he’s extremely high.

“guys i really don’t wanna,” he sighs.

“matt, don’t be lame! you’ll be the first one who’s drinking,” asha encourages.

“fuck this game,” he mumbles under his breath before adjusting himself to lean over the hot tub, everyone laughing at the sight. it was fun to see matt so unserious for once.

after taking turns to hit matt’s ass, he decided the fourth person’s was the best, per his dare’s request, and nathan celebrates with a throw of his hands in the air.

remi then performs a trust fall with the person she trusts least in the group, cameron (who she told there was no hard feelings since they’d only met today), making it now erin’s turn.

she blushes at her card before reading aloud, “i dare you to give a lap dance to the hottest person in the group.” she bites her lip in embarrassment but nonetheless leans over to chris and requests a song in his ear.

chris smiles and taps his phone as erin adjust herself to standing. “this is gonna be hard to do in water,” she messes with her hair.

“you’ll be fine!” you encourage with a smile.

“alright, you ready?” chris looks up to erin and she nods in response.

body party by ciara begins to play sensually through the nearby speaker gaining a few “oouuu”s from the group.

what you don’t expect is for erin to lean herself in front of matt. and matt definitely doesn’t expect this either, but he’s not too mad about it.

“oh shitttt,” cameron grins, he and nathan occupied in their own awkward-laughing fit while watching with wide eyes.

she moves slowly and hovers matt in a straddling position to “grind” on him. you take a heavy sip of your drink while watching in an attempt to hide your odd feeling about this. it was like watching a car crash. you watch as matt’s eyes gaze up and down her body, not daring to touch her but unashamed of his attraction.

asha laughs and whistles in support when erin turns around to give matt a view of her ass. nick dramatically ducks behind you yelling, “i actually can’t watch this! oh my god!”

you laugh and to mess with him whisper, “don't worry, it’s over now.”

nick looks back and immediately goes back to covering his eyes and laughing with you, “you bitch!”

you look back to matt who tilts his head back with wide eyes and lips puffing out in humor. and finally, after it feels like the two have dry humped for hours, erin stands back up and bows. matt claps with a wide smile, everyone else joining in.

when erin sits down you look up to andrea who just stifles a laugh with a sip of her drink. “well how the fuck am i gonna top that shit?!” chris exclaims while grabbing a card.

“real question is how the fuck will matt recover from that?” you joke causing matt to look over to you.

“oh don’t worry about me, sweetheart. i’m sure i’ll recover fine. chris,” he lifts his head gesturing for chris to begin his dare.

your tongue travels along your teeth to stop yourself from ruining a good time with your confusing feelings.

“i dare you to give a hickey to the person to your left.” chris bites his bottom lip and blinks slowly before looking over to andrea who just smiles and playfully flutters her fingers at him.

“you’re cool with this right, ‘m not tryna make you uncomfortable or any-”

“chris, shh.” andrea says.

“'kay, where do you want it?” he smiles.

“let’s make this fun,” she adjusts her bikini top and presses her manicured fingers along her right breast, “right here.”

nick is extra dramatic when it comes to watching chris suck harshly on his new friend’s tit, “okay, why the fuck did we choose this game?!” he turns away.

when chris is finished andrea shows it off to the group as proof and pushes chris’ cocky face away with a laugh, “nice job, stupid.”

afterwards, andrea gets a dare to expose her search history with the group, which she does without a problem.

it’s finally your turn to pick a card. “i dare you to lick whipped cream off a person of your choice.”

“oouu who’s it gonna beee?” nick nudges into your side.

you look around the hot tub, wanting to pick someone unpredictable, “ashaaa, you haven’t had much to do yet?” you look over to the girl who now has wide eyes and a growing smile.

“okay, yeah let’s do it,” she shrugs. “nate could you go get whipped cream, please?”

once nathan’s back you move closer to asha and decide to put whipped cream on her shoulder. “it tickles,” she giggles when you lick the entire dollop off of her easily.

you both laugh and you lick your lips as you head back to your seat.

౨ৎ

after another round it’s finally matt’s turn again, he draws a card that reads: give a kiss anywhere, on the person you’d “take home to mama.”

matt slowly stands and rubs his chin with a devious smile. “ummm,” he draws out, giving multiple looks at everyone before he walks over and hovers over you. you’re shocked by your body’s ease when his wet hand lifts to hold your face and his lips connect to yours. the kiss isn’t sloppy, but rather needy. you were just getting used to the taste of the bitter beer he’d just been drinking when he pulls away and steps back, unfazed.

you blink and wipe your fingers around your lips as matt wipes a hand over his eyes while laughing to himself.

“mom, would love y/n,” chris adds, calling back to the initial dare that led to that stomach turning kiss.

“'course she would, she’s a fucking saint.” matt sighs.

you squint your eyes and tilt your head, “i wouldn’t say that…”

“yeah, shit, my bad.” matt spreads his legs across from you, “forgot you have that little tattoo. i’m sure you’re not such a good girl anymore.”

you’re fucking annoyed now. you hate that he thinks you're inferior to him in any way. “hey where’s that ashtray, chris?” you ask, adjusting your seated position.

“uh, here,” he reaches behind him and places it on the same floaty as the cards, along with the lighter.

“you guys are cool to keep going,” you say and take the abandoned joint in your hand to relight it.

matt watches in spiteful anticipation.

“take it slow, and hold it” andrea explains to you in a whisper, knowing you’d never smoked in your life.

erin begins her dare to prank call a customer service line and dirty talk them when you take a hit of the joint.

matt eyes never leave your bothered figure as you inhale and cause the tip of the joint to light a bright red. he can tell you’re trying to prove a point which makes it more amusing to him when your eyes begin to water after you shakily exhale and attempt to hold back a cough.

“don’t hurt yourself.” matt quips under his breath.

౨ৎ

the group hadn’t realized just how long they’d been in the hot tub nor how drunk they all are until they struggled to get out and back to the main floor of the warehouse.

though, lots of giggles and piggyback rides helped them all stay together as they traveled back, cold and still damp. all partygoers were gone at that point, leaving the warehouse empty yet a mess.

nick (being the self-proclaimed good host he is) led the mass of drunk people to the bathrooms and brought extra graphic tee shirts and sweatpants to change into from the many boxes of merch sold in their tattoo shop. the boys had insisted that everyone just sleep at the warehouse due to their abundance of couches and chairs and their fear in sending anyone home in an uber at close to 3 AM.

matt is throwing pieces of trash in a large black trash bag when you step out from the bathroom near the colorful kitchenette of the warehouse.

he glances up when you approach slowly, feeling yourself sobered up quite a bit after peeing and washing your face.

“hey,” his voice is rough in tiredness.

“hey, do you have any water over here?” you ask politely, your lips taste salty when you lick over them.

“in the fridge,” he replies, crumbling wrappers and adding to his bag.

you notice how red and puffy his eyes truly are now that you’re this close to him and in better lighting. you walk past him to get to the fridge, almost completely empty after a long-lasting and full party.

“are you sleeping any time soon?” you ask, opening the water bottle.

“i don’t know.”

“i can always help you clean this if you need me to.”

“‘m good.” he analyzes a glass bottle to decide whether it’s worth keeping.

you nod your head, “cool.”

“you should probably sleep.” matt suggests looking over to you.

“i think i can decide that for myself, thanks.” you drink more of your water.

“you’re right i can only suggest. i’m suggesting you to go to sleep. and if you do stay up i'd suggest you don’t spend your time talking to me.”

you finish off your water and move closer to matt, placing it in the bag. “you truly know how to piss a girl off.”

“it’s my specialty.” he whispers and looks over your face now that you’re so close.

he’s so fucking hot that it genuinely upsets you at this point. you just back up and turn to go find the couch andrea’s decided to sleep on.

“goodnight, sunshine.” he calls after you, going back to his cleaning.

you're not too far away when you hear the bathroom door open and once again matt is greeting someone, only when you look over your shoulder you see erin approaching and matt leaning on the island counter with a smile.

you turn the corner with irritation. and you find yourself in the unfortunate position of having a problematic crush on matt while wanting nothing to do with him at all.

꩜⋆ ˚｡⋆🎱˚

[babacontainsmultitudes]

In Defense of the Other Teens

Hello besties :)

SO how about that last episode huh? I've certainly seen a lot of interesting takes and cool art and all that come from it!

And I'm... Here to offer my two cents.

Alright y'all, a few things before we actually get into the meat of it. First, this is a long post. Like, even by my standards this post is pretty fucking long. I hope that I'll be able to keep you entertained throughout at the very least, but maybe grab a cup of tea or coffee or the like before venturing under the cut.

Second, my stance on things will become pretty clear I think fairly early on, if you haven't already put two and two together from the title of this post. That said, there are some fairy bold claims I'm gonna make here, and the fact of the matter is some of them may very well be disproven as soon as today's Teen Talk drops. But I wanted to get this out beforehand, partially as a show of faith in a certain someone, and partially cause honestly I think it's good to practice giving oneself room to be wrong about things. That said, there are still many other points that I think remain important regardless of what we find out next episode (or in teen talk), and I hope you'll find those interesting as well.

Next, honestly, the first few chunks of this little essay really start out as more of a rant/vent than a tight analysis, and I kinda start things in a weird spot if I'm being frank with you, so maybe just try to bear with me for the first few parts, ok? They're still important for the bigger picture I'm trying to paint.

Finally, if I come off as a little extra salty and sassy in this one, I am, but I *promise* it's all in good fun. :)

Alright, so let me tell you my thoughts about Lincoln.

You know what I think? What I honestly, genuinely think? Linc is the most selfless of the teens by a long shot. Like, there's literally no competition. Enough "all he wants to do is help other people and all they ever do is betray him" with respect to Mr. TalkedGrantIntoAPanicAttackThenLeft and more appreciation and recognition for Lincoln Li SayHiToYourDadForMe Wilson, I'm begging you. I could sit here and start listing examples of Linc's selflessness to you for a good long while, but really no set of examples could better illustrate what differentiates Linc from the rest of the teens than this exchange:

**

Scary: "Chosen one…""

Jodie: "Bat’tholemew, we don't use those words." 

Scary: "Somebody they wouldn't expect."

Taylor: "It's me. It's got to be someone that they don't expect."

Scary: "Yeah." 

Taylor: "Yeah." 

Scary: "It's got to be somebody who's really earned—"

Taylor: "Somebody who’s really earned—" 

Scary: "—the respect."

Taylor: "—the right to... And all the knowledge of all the animes together…"

Scary: "Somebody with more knowledge than anybody else."

Taylor: "Someone with— who knows what to do. S… "

Scary: "Somebody who knows what to do to step up."

Taylor: "Somebody who can step up and be the chosen one."

Scary: "And be the chosen one."

Link: "Hey…"

Normal: "Guys, I think… I might be the chosen one…"

**

Yes, funnily enough, it's Linc's absence here that says a lot about him rather than his presence.

What's more, I frankly just don't think it's fair that Linc can do *so much* for the people around him but the *one time* he decides to do something that (seemingly) goes against Normal's plan, it's depicted as some ultimate act of betrayal or Linc "giving up". I feel like we significantly understate how much the other teens *have* done for the sake of Normal's plan (seriously, are we actually gonna ignore Linc stabbing his leg on a candy cane- TWICE??), and how much they've lost in doing so. If every time they fuck something up undoes everything they've sacrificed or done right, well, that's quite the negativity bias!

So why don't we talk about Linc's decision, actually. Did we just witness Lincoln finally snap? Has he given up on Normal's plan to help the doodler? Has he given up on using empathy? Did Lincoln Li Wilson choose the easy option? I would say no! No to all of those! And I think especially upon a relisten of the final moments in the last episode, Linc's train of thought when he breaks the pic is actually quite clear. And yes, this is about Linc showing empathy towards Scary, but I want to talk about the actual implications of that a bit further as well. Let's start by looking at the final bits of dialogue leading up to the breaking of anchor:

**

Linc: "Scary, what are you even doing?"

Scary: "You gotta destroy it"

Linc: "We can't- you just heard the Doodler's gonna make the world worse it's gonna kill we just gotta find something, why do you have to destroy it-"

Scary: "You don't know that!"

Linc: "I mean you don't know it's not that way we can find another way to destroy it"

Scary: "No, Willy said that it's easier to control if we destroy the anchors"

[ANTHONY EXPLAINS THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT WILLY WOULD HAVE TOLD SCARY]

Linc: "Well we're not gonna do it that way okay, come on like, the easy way is-"

Scary: "Who died and made you the leader?"

Linc: "The easy way is usually the bad way right? Sometimes the better thing is harder."

Scary: "This is easier what you're just gonna tell the pic 'Oh I love you I'm so nice to you' and it's just gonna give you all its secrets that's not how life works."

[LINK TRIES SAYING I LOVE YOU TO THE PIC AND NORM EXPLAINS THAT HE ALREADY TRIED THAT]

Linc: "Okay well like you're right it's gonna be hard but- I know it's not a person but I don't want more people to die we've already killed enough people like can you just do one thing with us and just try to find a way to make this-"

Scary: "The Doodler is gonna kill more people you're not seeing the bigger picture!"

Normal: "What no, Linc don't listen to her!"

Scary: "Listen to me!"

[AND THEN LINC SNAPS THE PIC]

**

Okay there's... A lot to unpack here. I'll start by pointing out what I think are a few key things to take note of:

- Linc is seemingly adamant on choosing the empathetic route and not letting any more people get hurt

- Linc affirms that sometimes the harder route is the better one

- Scary rejects the notion that simply saying "I love you" or otherwise being kind in words could actually do anything

- Norm says "don't listen to her"

- Linc's decision to break the pic only occurs after Scary says what she does (above point), seemingly in conflict with what he himself said only moments prior about not taking the violent route.

What I think needs to be understood about Linc is that, more than anyone in the group, Linc's decisions are calculated. Yes they often catch us off guard (seriously the amount of times Linc has done something that's made me actually gasp in shock is a bit crazy), but once the dust has settled, his decisions are always clearly consistent with who Linc is as a person and his philosophy, and accordingly, never come from a place of selfishness. The humor of it aside, when Linc says that he never misses any shot that he takes (:( Can't find the exact quote), he is entirely correct (and admittedly while I probably should gather various examples to show you what I mean, Linc swapping places with himself and Nicky really is the most perfect demonstration I could possibly ask for, as it showcases both Linc's aforementioned selflessness and how Linc's seemingly shocking decisions are never actually accidents or executed with uncertainty on his end). Try to keep these above points in mind as we move forward.

Next, let's consider the pros and cons for Linc of breaking or not breaking the pic, as seen from Linc's perspective. I suppose the general impression I've gotten thus far is that many people seem to be interpreting Linc breaking the pic as a likely (or sure) sign that he has "given up" on Normal's plan, and given in to choosing the "easier" route. This, I perhaps a bit boldly argue, raises a number of questions and ultimately implodes in on itself as an interpretation after even a brief consideration of them. At the most basic, and perhaps least interesting level, it's not like it would be that hard to search a little bit for some demonstration of love (especially with a certain pair of will-they-won't-they partners not too far away... Though I feel like the pic also could have been interesting as applied to some of the other characters around right now? Anyways...) You could say then, that maybe Linc simply doesn't care about using empathy, and has ultimately lost confidence in Norm's plan by this point, so he takes the path of absolute least resistance cause, well, whatever. But wait, didn't Linc *just* say that they weren't going to do things that way, and that he doesn't want more people to be killed? (You might say then that he thinks Scary has a point on "not seeing the bigger picture" and believes that choosing violence here will result in less deaths, but frankly I just don't think there's anything promising or compelling enough about Scary's argument here for Linc to have any real reason to believe it, all the more so given Willy’s involvement). Are we to think, then, that Linc changes his mind purely on a whim, and a whim influenced by Scary of all people no less? Frankly, I see this as a severe underestimation of Linc's strength of character, and this is where we really do need to consider the degree of calculation and confidence that goes into Linc's decision making and risk taking. What I'm saying is, Linc simply doesn't fall victim to selfish impulses that way (and within the group this is a quality unique to him!). Moreover, even if Linc might have his doubts in Norm and his plan, he still has significantly more reason to go with that than to listen to Scary. Seriously, Linc has every reason to not listen to Scary here. When it comes to what Linc cares about the most, Scary has without a doubt harmed Linc more than the Doodler ever could (The significance of Tony Pepperoni being stabbed in Linc's home in front of his dad  c a n n o t  be forgotten or understated!!!). Even if Linc didn't care at all about showing empathy to the Doodler, if he were acting purely out of selfishness he would still have more reason to do so if only because it means not giving the satisfaction to or otherwise helping Scary (and Willy).

But Scary is confused, and Scary is lonely, and from her perspective she probably does feel betrayed. We (and Linc) are given some important information regarding Scary in this episode. Firstly, we get a glimpse into how Willy has twisted things and convinced her that violence is the better option (not because it's easier per se, but because more people will apparently be saved in the long run). Second, Linc finally understands what Scary needs... Or at least what she doesn't need. Specifically, he understands that simply saying "I love you" isn't enough. He understands that Scary will never believe it no matter how many times it is said, and that to really prove to Scary that she is loved and get through to her, he needs to show her, has to prove to her that, despite everything, he is still on her side.

Linc, I dare argue more than any of the teens, has so much reason to leave Scary behind. But he understands her now, and, against Normal's wishes, listens to her. In a weird way (if I'm not dead wrong about this whole empathy thing), this kind of is Linc's "throne of the doodler" equivalent. It would be so easy to not break the pic, to not choose to (help and) empathize with Scary after all the pain she has caused him, but that's not the kind of person Linc is, and I hope the points I raised earlier make that reasonably clear.

So no, I don't think Linc chose the easy option. I think he believes himself when he says that sometimes the harder route is the better one, and followed through on this when he took his shot.

Sincerely, if you think the Doodler is just a scared teen deserving of empathy and sacrifice and making tough decisions, but Scary isn't, then I think you've missed the point. The Doodler is just acting out and needs help, but when Scary or Linc break an anchor through violence (be it violently empathetic or not), we give up on them? We hope for Normal to abandon them when they're hurting and depict it as deserved or even righteous? I can't get behind that, I'm sorry. 

Furthermore, whereas Norm would certainly be justified in feeling concerned for the Doodler's sake if Linc's actions count as an act of violence, apart from that like, if Norm chooses to interpret Linc reaching out and showing support to someone as lost and alone and in need of help as Scary as a personal attack against him, either as a betrayal of their friendship (Norm is very jealousy-prone we’ve known this from the start!) or as a direct attack against Norm's perfect little violence-free narrative that lets him be the hero regardless of who gets left behind wait does he actually just hate Hero cause of her name hm, then that is, respectfully, completely a problem with him, and not with Linc. I think if Normal actually snaps from this, then his entire philosophy of choosing empathy is based on a lie, and Norm just wants to follow the narrative that allows him to be the hero on paper, so that everybody finally loves him.

Well that's a bit harsh huh. Believe it or not, I'm genuinely not trying to throw Norm under the bus here. But... I am trying to expose his flaws and shortcomings in relation to the other teens. This is important moving forward, because in refusing to seriously acknowledge the fact that Norm, while still having plenty of good in his heart, is someone who can be quite self-centered, and ultimately cares about being well-perceived and loved first and foremost, we become blind to the ways in which Norm, like Scary, is vulnerable to future instances of manipulation. That bit on appearance vs. true compassion isn't mere interpretation, by the way, Will has stated this quite clearly in episode 27 of teen talk (and in general I'd really rather not rely on that kind of bonus content in these sorts of posts but, well, it's hard to ignore this):

**

Will: (In reference to Norm's scene in the pride layer) "I feel like I understand Normal better now, like a kind of darker side of his psyche that's different from Henry... Like Henry's very concerned with being a good person but I don't think is super concerned with whether people like him or not, whereas Normal is like a little concerned with being a good person but *mostly* concerned- it's two different ways to solve love [he explains what it implies for Henry], the other is 'if everyone else likes me, that means I can take that in as well'."

**

I need to stress that I am not trying to imply that Norm is anywhere close to being a bad person, btw. Normal, like everybody else, has his flaws, but has proven that he has plenty of good qualities as well. What I *am* trying to imply is that Norm does have a tendency to put himself at the center of things, and is from a more meta standpoint benefiting from a narrative that puts him at the center of things (more or less guaranteeing that he will be seen as a hero of sorts no matter what- evident even in how fandom largely depicts him vs the other teens), and I'm just saying that if ever he found himself in Oakvale by some chance he might really appreciate the enforced anti-violence initiative put in place by the town's noble leader who really just gets him and praises him and-

I know (almost) nobody wants to hear this, but if Normal actually had a villain arc, it would most likely consist of him falling down the same path that Barry did. Barry was a hero, on paper. And the people around him certainly saw him as such, and loved and accepted him in some sense of the word, which is what he truly wanted at the end of the day. And he got rid of all the violence!!! 

But none of that makes Barry a good person.

*sniff sniff*

Hey... Has anyone else noticed the distinct lack of stinky weebs in this post?

As much as I myself am a bit more interested in the Linc side of things right now, I do need to talk a bit (or a lot) about Taylor too. My little guy! You haven't even had a proper, serious character arc yet and people have already decided that you don't have a shot vis a vis the upcoming anchors, despite easily being the most emotionally resilient and stable of the group. You know what, I'm gonna throw in most loyal too. If you'll humor me...

Taylor may not be the most empathetic of the teens (in fact, he may very well be the least), but this doesn't mean he doesn't care, and doesn't mean he isn't kind in his own way. What's particular about Taylor's brand of loyalty compared to the other teens that I think might make it a bit easy to overlook is that it while it is very strong, it tends to be reserved only for the people he chooses to call his friends (oh, and his mom!). There's no question of Taylor's choice to disregard what Nick tells him and go back to save Linc from the FBI, it embodies some of the most fundamental parts of who Taylor is as a person. Which I guess is to say that, there are ultimately only so many people Taylor chooses to have in his circle, but those bonds are extremely important to him, and he really is ride or die about them. I think that this aspect is most obvious when looking either at Taylor's relationship with Linc or Cassandra, but also with Hermie actually! Oh, and similar to the example with the FBI, Taylor's response to the whole Tony situation is perfectly consistent with this aspect of his character as well. Tony was not part of Taylor's circle, not someone he chose to let himself get attached to (because when Taylor gets attached to someone, it is indeed a very deliberate choice), so no, he's not gonna care that much about Tony's death. But he is bothered by Scary's betrayal. He is bothered because, even if they weren't the closest, Scary was, I would argue, still part of Taylor's circle. And yes, he is bothered by Linc leaving him alone in the last episode for the same reason, except that in this case it's probably worse actually. I know I'm straying pretty far from the original topic here, but still I think it's worth exploring the interesting position this puts Taylor in going forward, especially with respect to Nick. 

("Seriously baba when did this become about Nicky literally what are you talking about right now?")

Thus far, Taylor has made it very clear that no, he is not going to allow Nick to be someone he becomes attached to. There's a risk, in loving and becoming loyal to someone as strongly as Taylor does, and Nicky has not yet proven himself to be a risk worth taking. So what happens next? Nicky is (finally) around after all, so what might the future hold for little Taylor? On the one hand, Nicky's "words of advice" might begin to get through to Taylor, which could leave him in a pretty dangerous position. Taylor takes a big risk every time he lets someone in (everyone does but Taylor more than all the others because of how fully he loves and trusts and protects, is what I'm saying- er... He's a lot like his dad that way actually!), so what if Nick convinces him that nobody is worth that risk, and that everyone you hold dear will ultimately betray you? Well, I think we'd be left with a very lonely Taylor! Conversely, what if Nicky decides to prove himself worthy of Taylor's love? What if Taylor comes around and lets him in? ahaha shit I feel like there's a bad joke to be made about Taylor keeping his dad at arms length and his dad not having any arms right now god fucking damn it what even is this post. Will Nicky be able to maintain that trust? If he abandoned Taylor again, after Taylor has allowed himself to become attached (or if something happens to Nicky cause lets face it horrible things tend to happen to Nicky), I think Taylor might finally have a hard time getting back up.

What the fuck was I talking about? Oh yeah, so I guess going back to Norm, on the one hand, I guess on the more extreme end Taylor could actually take Linc's actions very hard, in which case I actually could see him sticking with Norm as an act of self-preservation. That said, I don't personally feel that this will be the case, that Linc is still ultimately in Taylor's circle, and accordingly Taylor's loyalty towards Linc will persist, albeit perhaps with a seed of doubt sewn at the back of his mind. And I don't think in that case that it's fair to frame this as Taylor betraying Normal? As others have pointed out, Norm frankly just hasn't really earned much in the way of Taylor's friendship. Really, as far as I'm concerned, Taylor doesn't really owe Norm much of anything at all. From the very beginning Norm has made it clear that he doesn't particularly care for Taylor, and ultimately has let his own jealousy and desire for attention (especially Linc and Hermie's attention) get in the way of ever really getting to know or appreciate Taylor beyond the surface level. Would I call it betrayal for Taylor to choose to continue to support his best friend instead of the guy who told him that anime isn't real? No, and I think the double standard is pretty obvious if we consider the reverse. That is, if Taylor chose Norm over Linc, after everything he and Linc have been through, would we be framing Linc as the victim of some grand betrayal? I genuinely don't think we would, at least not to the extent that we would with Norm. I suppose I'm saying all this, because well as aforementioned I just find there's been a lot of undeserved cynicism towards Taylor, and I think a lot of it does genuinely come from Normal's privileged position within the narrative as its de facto "hero" and what is most convenient for maintaining that image (and when I say "hero", that does include "righteous villains" who "deserve(d) to snap", just so we're clear on that).

Hmmmm I kinda wanna talk about Taylor and Normal as each other's foils but this post is getting a bit long isn't it... *Sigh* Not today, no, not today.

......Okay but still I have to say that if Taylor actually does finally get his "main character moment" I actually think that would be a great opportunity for Norm to acknowledge, reconcile, and learn to cope both with his jealousy and the parts of himself that are self-centered. Conversely, if Taylor does for one reason or another stray a bit too far into the habit of keeping people at arm's length out of fear of abandonment, betrayal, or the like, I think he could learn something from Norm too (having trouble phrasing exactly what I mean here, so perhaps I'll save the full notion for another time!)

So that's... Yeah, I think that's the most important stuff. I debated on sort of elaborating on examples of Norm's major character flaws, but despite everything my intent here was first and foremost to offer a "defense of the other teens" more than anything else. Though I will say that I think there is something to be said about how Normal's self-centeredness gets in the way of his ability to actually help those around him (Grant and Taylor both being great examples in "The Staircase"), how this contrasts with Linc's willingness to actually listen to and figure out what Scary needs in this most recent episode, and accordingly what Normal could potentially learn from Linc about not just choosing the route that's easiest for you.

[littlewestern]

James. let's hear it, I wanna hear your spicy mamma mia ship opinions on funny red train 🤌

I struggle to nail down my thoughts about James's relationships about 75% of the time, but thankfully @greatwesternway functions as my extant, offsite brain for when mine doesn't work and reminded me of some good ones.

DUCK:

ALRIGHT! Before everyone starts beating me with hammers for typing yet more words about Duck, let me defend myself.

This is probably my favorite relationship that James has in the series, though I can't say I ship it per se. But the pieces are all there, right?

James finds Duck suuuuper fucking annoying, and it's really easy to see why. On a surface level, Duck talks about one thing all the time, he comes off as being no fun (read: more interested in doing his job than looking splendid or pulling important trains), and despite not being splendid or gorgeous or even really remarkable in any way, Duck has all the independence and responsibility that James claims to desire.

This obfuscates the true nature of James's disdain, though. James doesn't dislike Duck because of anything so superficial as looks or station. James is jealous. God, he's so jealous!

Duck, unlike James, places a great deal of value and importance on his identity as a GWR engine, but he also slots beautifully into life on the NWR without much issue. (There was that hiccup with the diesel, but that's besides the point, you can't account for what diesels will do to a yard.)

James, by contrast, has never felt at home on any railway and so has leaned into the idea that he is simply an individual. Who needs a shared identity when you can just be red? Certainly no sour grapes to be found here, nope, no sir! James is just fine by himself and he doesn't need anybody else to feel accepted and wanted and like a real part of the railway.

But Duck... Duck seems so happy! He just does his jobs and works hard and, as if by magic, gets everything James claims to want. He has a branch line, gets consistent recognition for being Really Useful, and no one's ever double or triple-checking to make sure he's doing his jobs without complaint or fuss. He's even got guys who laugh at his jokes! No one ever laughs at James's jokes... It's hard to watch the guy you dislike get everything you think you want.

Of course, James doesn't actually want a branch line or responsibility or any of those other things. What he wants is the belonging, the simple satisfaction of having confidence in who you are without the cherry red veneer James has to throw on top of everything. When Duck rolls on by with his slip coaches and seaside line and the respect and admiration of everyone he works with, James gets a glimpse at what his life could be if he'd only set aside his pride and insecurity. But it's not that easy, is it?

It would be easy, however, to take this in a shippy direction. For James, any strong feeling (positive or negative) about another engine tends to turn quickly to a desire for acceptance, but I fear it's doomed to be one-sided in this case. Duck has guys who like him a lot more than James does, and they're all ten times more responsible and less troublesome than the NWR's number 5. Handsomer, too, in Duck's estimation.

TOAD:

PUT. THE HAMMERS. DOWN.

No, listen! I'm completely serious! Toad is so good for James in Toad's Adventure. And why wouldn't he be? Toad is good for everyone, but especially James.

He only takes Toad on because he has to have a brake van, but by the end of the ordeal not only does James learn a valuable lesson about how accidents are more easily forgiven than simple neglect, he also has gained such a great amount of respect for Toad that he sets him up to tell the whole story to a rapt switching yard. This is such a cool move by a guy who has gained a reputation for being incredibly Not Cool, especially not to his own rolling stock.

Toad is an interesting pick to me because he's a veritable font of wisdom and practical advice, and James is great at taking that sort of knowledge to the next logical conclusion. James the Critical Thinking Engine. Toad would be indispensable for him to have around consistently but he also never poses the kind of threat to James's ego that another engine might. Toad can also stick up for himself when it matters, so you won't see him rolling over if his engine starts to mistreat him. Maybe not the best for shipping, but it's a relationship dynamic I really like.

Thanks for the ask!

[caliburn-the-sword]

finished reading scarlet; last thoughts and reactions and ponderings

was about to be like "ew wtf did not want r*pe in MY y/a book" AND THEN HE SLIPPED HER AN I.D. TO ESCAPE

thorne is SO real for only being concerned about his jacket despite human bites being very dangerous lol

why are these werewolves acting like vamps

it's kind of nice how cool thorne is with lunars with all the lunar hate there is - i remember when reading cinder being apalled about how she generalised them all as corrupt

YES SCARLET KNOWS SHE KNOWS NOW

NO NOT GRANNY I'M LITERALLY IN STUDY PERIOD RN I CAN'T CRY (note: i managed not to cry in study period but god my eyes burned for a while lmao)

tf i thought wolf was just being possessive in like a protective way against ran and not just a plain old possessive way. he's honestly making me nervous rn like goodness i can literally feel scarlet's fear rn. STOP WITH YOUR I CAN FIX HIM DISEASE AND RUN (note: okay he got brain fucky wucky by mind control so this isn't him)

HOLY SHIT THEY'RE ALL FINALLY MEETING I'M FROTHING AT THE MOUTH

i think kai is going delulu. i bet his office isn't bugged and he's got a spy. literally since cinder my money has been on torin. but maybe huy

omg kai's recognition of cinder's sacrifice by going to the ball <3

gotta agree with everything cinder's saying about kai's marriage because it's everything i've been thinking since kai decided to marry levana. i wish he would see how it's a bandaid for a stab wound. he's barely fixing a short term problem, which is gonna have the same long term problem regardless

the girls (all current pov characters) ARE FIGHTING. not mad tho because i'm a messy bitch who lives for drama <3

"She'd had the bridge built for herself out of very special glass, so that she could watch (...) all without being observed herself" levana YOU MEAN A TWO WAY MIRROR??? don't go acting all superior you're not special

from what wolf has described of his Tragic Backstory there is NO way he ISN'T a virgin. i'm so sorry that was my only takeaway but i'm trying to distract myself

"We met less than a week ago and in that time I've done nothing but lie and cheat and betray you" FKSDHFSDK sounds JUST like ouat rumpelstiltskin and yet he's STILL healthier than him and not toxic LMAO

wait did wolf need to pretend betray scarlet without her knowing instead of just making THAT the plan because those supersoldiers can smell hormones?? i bet they can. i reckon he needed her to feel REAL fear (note: now that i think about it it's probably just the bioelectricity crap but also ONLY the thaumaturge would be able to detect that???)

if i keep having to read "alpha female" with my own two eyes, i'm going to need bleach. marissa meyer you owe me financial compensation for the psychological distress i've been caused. 3 is in fact 4 times too many. it is a crime that it was ever thought into existence

predictions for cress

didn't do this last time between cinder and scarlet but figured it would be fun!! you guys get to silently laugh about how wrong i am, no spoilers

first off, doc erland's place in africa becomes the home base and cinder starts her training

someone tries to recreate garan's device since it will be useful for the rebellion - could be a joint effort between cinder and cress since they have the hardware and software down respectively. idk who's gonna fill the last role of like. bio stuff and the surgeries tho but we'll see

MORE THORNE BACKSTORY

definitely more wolf pov chapters now that marissa no longer needs to make him dodgy

cress is at least a LITTLE bit delulu wackers bonkers cray z lost her marbles etc etc from being so isolated for so long. i would LOVE to get into that mindset and character voice. would make for a very interesting pov

on reading the blurb:

i'm REALLY fucking dumb it finally occurred to me that in rapunzel the hero falls from the tower and gets blinded by thorns. so that tells me exactly who carswell thorne is (rip to when i thought he was the prince from sleeping beauty cause that's embarrassing). i wonder if he gets ejected into space from the satellite and his eyeballs freeze out of his sockets or something

i wonder WHY cress would be locked up by the queen BEFORE she was even able to hack since she wouldn't have been useful then. my first thought was that glamour doesn't work on her like with shells but she's not a shell herself but that wouldn't make sense because the thaumaturges seemed surprised by cinder and michelle benoit so it can't be that. for the sake of my running joke of every fairy tale character either being related or knowing each other, i'm just gonna pin it down to her being somewhere in the family tree and leave it at that

can these people STOP getting separated from each other?? i can't handle it. from the blurb it seems like the boys got cut off from the girls??? and then kai is also separated from all of them lol. this is a prediction only in the sense that i'm trying to guess who's getting separated from who. i think it would tie well into separating everyone from their love interest like poor cinder

i wonder if this will be the book that we meet princess winter since with royal etiquette and all that her presence will p r o b a b l y be required during all them wedding preparations and what not

@eddisfargo @francforever @winterrhayle @winterpinetrees

[cryoexorcist]

okay i have thoughts. spoilers for lantern rite under the cut.

FIRST OFF, THEY MET IN GAME. I'm so happy that they FINALLY gave us canon interactions between chongyun and xiao, and chongyun and zhongli! Those relationships mean so much to me in rp, and I'm so happy that hoyo is finally branching out and giving chongyun more people to interact with that isn't just xingqiu and xiangling.

more headcanons for chongyun too? mahjong? how cool is that honestly? ALSO, I CAN FINALLY CONFIRM THAT CHONGYUN IS NOT THAT IGNORANT, HE TOTALLY KNOWS THAT XINGQIU'S AN AUTHOR. Chongyun may be the worst liar in existence, but he's covering up for his best friend in the classic chongyun fashion, and we love it.

I am so here for Chongyun finally getting more recognition. He's been left on the backburner for far too long, completely forgotten about and ignored. We were fed this event, and I'm smug that a lot of the general bad takes the fandom has on him were proven false.

FOR ONE. he doesn't hate hu tao. I am so fucking sick of hearing that. I have seen that all over reddit from people who put laughing emojis after saying that and acting like Chongyun finds her obnoxious. They're friends. They've always been friends. Why on god's green earth would chongyun hate her when they both have similar ways of thinking?

His voice line is that he finds her smirk condescending, not that he finds her obnoxious. And it could even be a case of him misunderstanding her facial expressions too!

ALSO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE ARE SO ADAMANT THAT CHONGYUN AND XIAO HATE EACH OTHER. like I know chongyun isn't a popular character, but holy batman of awful takes? That one actually makes me angry cause like. One. who the hell would hate Xiao? and two, do people actually pay attention to the shit chongyun says? My guess is no because he isn't your fave five star, he's a 4 star that people gloss over because uwu baby.

Chongyun is one of the most laid back, passive guys who also doesn't take shit. that's canon. He doesn't like Xiao putting down his clan, but he loves and admires Xiao because that's? a fucking yaksha???? THAT HIS CLAN WORKS WITH????

Mostly I am just tired of this fandom erasing chongyun from the narrative like he isn't one of Liyue's power houses. The guy works tirelessly to protect Liyue, he's got one hell of an intriguing backstory that again, is barely mentioned. The fandom as a whole tends to overlook Chongyun and/or only see him as an accessory to Xingqiu. Which, don't get me wrong, I adore their friendship, but I want to pluck Xingqiu and toss him aside so Chongyun can have the fucking spotlight for once.

This is why I push to throw Chongyun at a lot of people here on tumblr. He's such a fascinating character with so much potential, and if hoyo isn't gonna write him, I gotta.

And if the fandom isn't gonna give him the respect he deserves, then we gotta, as writers.

I know this one event isn't going to change the collective fandom's mind about him and he's still going to be largely ignored again, but man. I am thriving over interactions.

Also, for rp's sake, I am choosing to believe that Chongyun and Xiao were faking not knowing each other. Chongyun and Xiao are very very close and I will hold tightly to this headcanon and you can pry it from my cold, dead fingers. And even then good look because I will have superglued it to my cold, dead fingers.

[kob131]

Oh my God, RWBY is so amazing because look what a little independent studio of nobodies was able to create! Ten years, nine volumes, four original video games, three video game collaborations, two runs of Japanese manga, and an anime made by Studio Shaft.

Well I'm glad that you're still so passionate about RWBY, Sunder. To be honest, I thought this was sarcastic at first.

But yeah, even if I don't find the manga or anime to appeal to me, you have to admit that having so many other people willing to work on the franchise that was made by a cool animator and two drunk interns from a studio whose last claim to fame was a Halo fanfic is pretty damn impressive.

I think the pinnacle of coolness from RWBY's collaborations will always be Cross Tag Battle for me. It showed me Blazblue and how cool and well respected those games are, to the point that I can't help but see how it influenced RWBY. So seeing a crossover between the two is just so cool to me. Though I haven't been able to play it for...silly reasons.

Though I can see why Ice Queendom is seen as the true big name accomplishment, given that most anime inspired shows can't claim to have been adapted BY a big name anime studio. And when I called it 'basically high profile Japanese RWBY fanfic'- that wasn't a negative. It's very clear the people working on Ice Queendom did love RWBY and want to add onto it, which really helped the end product. It would not have been well liked in the slightest if it was just a 'for hire' job.

And really, I understand why it's endured. It did get lucky being at the right place and at the right time with the boom of anime in the 2010's as well as the name recognition of Monty. But I've always found the writing to be the best part. The actions are cool but what really gives the action the kick has always been the context behind them. The context of Episode 8 being the final step for the show to truly begin with the dynamics of the main teams being set up as well as Ruby and Weiss working together to take down the Nevermore is a great example of classic but effective writing.

And that's kind of RWBY's writing in a nutshell. 'Classic but effective.' The characters aren't new, the setting has a unique mix but the elements are familiar, the themes are...really fucking old, the plot beats are your average 'world threatened, coming of age story'. But RWBY is an example of WHY these tropes and cliches exist. Ruby is compelling because everyone wants to be strong enough to endure the harshness of life, even if we know we can't always do it. Weiss shows that you can grow beyond just your family and be your own person. Blake speaks to a lot of cynics because deep down, so many of them WANT to believe in better things. And Yang shows a light at the end of the tunnel when things go south, that you can use your pain and mistakes as a basis for growth. These aren't new ideas but they're ENDURING ideas.

I may not be as passionate about RWBY as I once was, but I'm certainly respectful of the show. Because I think the writers and animators have a good grasp on why people like fiction. And you can't help but respect them and the show for it.

[paperlovesadness]

In regards to Wet Leg, I think the TikTok aspect of it is really kicking. They're ~cool and edgy and sexual and out there and just so fucking *trendy* that it seems almost fake to me. Kinda like Måneskin (who used to be cooler I must admit but now is just another act in the back of the line...)

The very ~edgy cool quotable sexual innuendo easy to memorize~ lyrics do a lot of work too, I think (which, to me, seem so fucking cringe and immature and like, uninspired???)

And the fact that POP-DEITY and all around easy to digest and ~relevant and queer and catering to the right audiences Harry Styles endorsed them so heavily? And the continuous repeated mention of other celebs who love them like Elton John, Dave Grohl and Florence Welch, it's like they're just being pushed super hard in the industry. It seems so rehearsed and put-on. Like a spiel someone has been paid off to say every fucking time.

The Brits themselves must have been eager to have someone young, female and trendy to push forward to stay woke and up to date after the controversy.

Also, the fact that they copied Alex's speech at the Brits, but she hadn't even memorized it? She needed to look at her phone and it seemed so odd? Like why??? And then she stopped? Why begin and not follow through and commit to the bit? Like what was the point? She was trying to say how its amazing to have more women in rock and she chose to quote a speech made by a man dripping with sarcasm who doesn't care about being there?? And then she proclaimed how much it meant to them? Like?? Just, go with either one... She clearly had no fucking clue what he meant with that speech.

Ooh, you've made some really good & interesting points! (Thank you for joining the conversation!)

The more I think about it the more I agree that the 'tiktok potential' aspect may be a huge factor in this.

I saw someone on Twitter use the phrase "fast fashion but in music" - and I think that kind of nails it? There's always been musical trends but now like with everything they're coming and going so much faster than ever before. And with tiktok being able to make a song trend and bring the artist millions of views & streams it's no wonder the industry will gear towards that to get some easy income in. Especially when the songs that do best are literally the most basic easy-to-compose tunes one can think of.

I'm not even very up to date with these things. But I can see some patterns. Like make up a song that's simple, relatable - and like you're saying edgy and (*gasp!*) sexual + very rhythmic (good for edits and jump cuts/transitions) & you've got a potential hit.

"ABCDE-FU" type of shit. Or yeah- some of the new Måneskin songs too. Like BLA BLA BLA and Kool Kids (which were the only two actually unbearable songs on the album to me - but then in shock I found out that they're up in the top of their young fans' favorites)

(I do also agree - I was very much a fan of Måneskin and their previous two albums. They kind of lost that originality though with most ot the tracks on this one. Very much going the fast-fashion-music direction unfortunately)

Harry Styles' support being a big reason also just came to me yesterday as an idea - glad to see someone also thinks this could be a factor. His music isn't my thing - but I can respect it and even say some of the songs I have heard are good. But he's got a crazily dedicated fan base to the point that I believe they'd love and support anything he ever said he liked.

It's exactly the fact that next to them suddenly getting all these awards they've also been getting so much acknowledgement from fellow musicians who make completely different music that made me want to understand. I just feel like I'm missing something here!

Because I can understand getting the little songs stuck in your head or enjoying bopping around to them. But how does that type of song get you "best new discovery" awards & recognition from people like Elton/Dave/Florence???

The point you made about Brits possibly clinging to them as their hip-trendy and female representation is am interesting one too! Quite possible with the scandal they had.

And yeah... That speech... honestly didn't know what to think about it at first. Except how it was almost physically painful watching the awkwardness. It could've been a good idea to do if it had literally and thought and aim behind it. Like is they felt the same way about award shows and the way the industry works as Alex/AM does. They obviously don't though.

If it was meant to be a cheeky little joke-reference then it should've just been that first line (I'd appreciate it that way!). When she continued with it I stopped in my tracks and thought she'll do the full thing as maybe some deeper commentary/statement. But then she cut it off randomly... Strange.

And you're right it did also actually kind of contradict some of the things they added later?

Overall - I've got some ideas but still don't feel much closer to solving this mystery.

But very grateful for what you added! I think we've got a similar view on these things.

Have a great day anon! 🤍

[charnelhouse]

only the lonely

Pairing: Lloyd Hansen x F!Reader x Six (Court Gentry) Wordcount: 6.6+K Warnings: smut. threesome. LLoyd is a possessive dick and lashes out. He uses derogatory words, but i shaved off his stache so who really wins in all this? Six is probably OOC, but we live fast and loose with them rules, baby! Summary: "Sociopathic tendencies. Keyword, there. Doesn’t mean there aren't a few people I’d die for if necessary.”  A/N: For this to work, I erased the whole little kidnapped girl storyline. So just pretend the boys are fighting in that maze for their own egos. In a diff world, I feel like they'd respect each other to a degree and if you remove the kidnapped aspect, it probably could be valid.

They’re both near death when you practically drag them into the getaway vehicle. Significant damage. Shallow breathing. Lloyd is missing a few fingers, and when you wrap your arm around Six’s waist, his shirt squishes wetly. There’s way too much blood. It sticks to your cheek as you help him into the car.

They can't die. It would ruin everything.

You’ve got a boss who wants their skills, and he gave you the task of hiring them. For the last few months, you've been forced to wait for the right opportunity to strike. It soon becomes clear that a rare and likely impossible series of events must happen for them to even consider the offer.

But - happen it does. In fact, it falls into your lap.

They're in Croatia and on opposite ends of the same mission. A mission that has steadily gone south and has now hit rock bottom.

Your informants fill you in on where these two are headed. Scapegoats. The CIA has fucked themselves so severely that there isn't a single solution that isn't paper-thin. Lloyd Hansen and Sierra Six are as good as dead. Rats in a cage.

Well - now they're tucked into the back of your car like a pack of sardines. Both too big to fit.

Lloyd is paler than usual - his milk-white skin gray and sallow, and his big blue eyes are having trouble focusing. Six - Court - is just as bad, his head rolling forward as he tries to lift himself upright in the backseat.

“What is this?” he mutters the second you slip behind the wheel.

“In a nutshell? CIA is coming, and they plan on getting rid of both of you.” You twist around in your seat to level them with your best authoritative stare. “So you either get cool with each other real fast, or you go back out there and die.”

“That’s a real Sophie’s choice, baby,” Lloyd remarks dryly. He’s leaning forward, unable to press his back to the leather. He regards you with a kind of wonder, subtle recognition, though he’s probably dizzy from blood-loss.

It’s been a long time, Lloyd.

Silent as the grave, Six holds your gaze. His fingers tremble on his thigh and there’s no hope in securing a seat belt around him. The car's interior already reeks of blood and burnt flesh. 

“It’ll be unmarked graves, and you’ll both take the fall for this shit-fire.” You glance at Lloyd. “You really wanna be buried with that stache?”

“God,” Lloyd groans as he spits out a thick glob of blood that hits the window and drips down slow as molasses. “You’re such a cunt.”

Six socks Lloyd in the chest, and he chokes, sputters, and then yells when he accidentally falls against the seat and irritates the charred flesh of his back. “She’s saving our asses, you fucking shithead.”

“Standing up for her? Didn’t peg you as the chivalrous type. Good luck getting in that snatch because it’s next to impossible.”

You jerk a finger in Lloyd’s direction. “You would use snatch, you fucking troglodyte.”

“Nice word of the day, babe. I’m so proud of you.”

 “Jesus,” Six hisses. “Just shut up so we can get out of here. I’d really like to stop bleeding out right now.”

He nods at you. “Let’s go. We’ll figure out the rest later.” He shuts his eyes and drops his skull against the headrest. “We can murder this guy and leave him on the side of the road if he complains.”

Lloyd scowls but says nothing else. Seemingly deflated, he hunches forward, curling his mutilated hand against his chest. 

Dawn light, pink as a grapefruit, filters into the car, shoving both men into stark relief. They look touched by death. It’s jarring. Two living legends are going cold in the backseat of a shitty rental. As the air fills with the whir of helicopter blades and the scream of sirens, you hit the gas.

***

This is how it starts. You bring in crooked doctors who are paid under the table. They deliver top-notch medical supplies and sew up what they can. The men will have to be flown out of here. They’ll need surgery, but first, they must accept the terms.

Six will be easy. Fitzroy is gone. He’ll require cash to stay below ground. He’s been doing the CIA’s dirty work for years and this offer is practically the same thing with even less rules. This is what he knows.

Lloyd will be difficult. He’s too arrogant and unpredictable and has always been his own boss. But, his connections are tapped. His options are limited. He’s got nothing, now, that the CIA would rather bury than use him.

You explain it simply. It’s private sector work. Not above board. The money will be better than anything either of them has gotten, and your boss will keep them safe. No government intervention. No CIA. They’re already dead. Dust in the wind. 

“What’s the catch?” Six asks as he idly watches one of the medics sew an ugly knife wound across his chest.

“We work as a team,” you reply smoothly. “These jobs will always require more than one person, so it shouldn’t be an issue.” Your eyes dart to Lloyd, who is staring down at his wrapped hand. You can see it. He’s been knocked down a peg, slightly humbled by the fact that he got his ass handed to him by Six. “I just need to make sure your egos can handle it.”

“I don’t even know who your boss is,” Six says. “I don’t even know who you are.”

“Agent 33,” Lloyd interjects quietly, his gaze still trained on his hand. “Remember Vienna?”

Six’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “That was you?”

Vienna. The memory ripples through you, and you can still feel the shard of metal in your thigh, lake water in your throat. The dozens dead and how you had done all of it because you were ordered to. One-hundred bodies to save a thousand. Your mouth gets suddenly dry.

“That was her,” Lloyd confirms as he finally looks up. His expression is completely unreadable. “I hadn’t seen you since I got kicked, but it tickled me when Denny said you went ghost on him after that shit in Istanbul. Knew you were just as depraved as me.”

For a moment, the unmistakable feeling of blood is on your hands. The stickiness of it itches. You went into the private sector because it was easy. You no longer had to wait for the government to give you permission when difficult choices had to be made. You weren’t strangled by all the red tape. You weren’t blamed for things beyond your control. There’s a scar under your breast that still throbs.

“I was recruited,” you explain. “Exactly what I’m doing here.” You cross your arms over your chest. “You have nowhere to go. My boss will protect you. You don’t need to know their name. You don’t need to know their mission statement. I went in blind, and I don’t regret it.”

Lloyd's jaw clicks, his nostrils flaring with barely contained hostility as he takes a moment. He’s caught, and he knows it. He’s stuck to a spiderweb. You picture spreading his arms out and nailing his hands to a glass slab. Let me pull you open, Hansen. “Whatever,” he finally growls. “I can hand you my bank account number later. I need a plastic surgeon to fix the fucking skin on my back.”

Six doesn’t give you a verbal answer, but he does tip his head at you. It’s enough.

***

The first mission is a shit show. Six (because he hates Court) and Lloyd crash into each other with alarming regularity. They argue and bristle, Lloyd is too loud, and Six isn’t loud enough. There is snag after snag and it’s because they won’t just listen. It’s a fuck-up, but you complete the mission and get the money. There’s blood in your hair as you drag yourself into a shower, and refuse to speak to them for three days.

By the fifth mission, they’re on even ground. There are splinters in the foundation, but it’s working. You have to appeal to their strengths. You have to butter up both of them, especially Lloyd, but that’s no surprise.

You want to win, right? Do you want to be the fucking best? We’re ghosts. We need to be wraiths in the night. We don’t do things messy. If you get us in a tight spot, Lloyd, then we are all fucked.

Fine - Fuck - you’re such a bitch. 

No, I’m not. You’re just a fucking baby.

Can you two relax? Jesus.

Like you’re any better? You’re a bleeding heart, Gentry. It’s embarrassing.

***

“You need to shave that mustache,” you tell Lloyd plainly. They’re in the new hideout. A place where the three can lay low when they have several assignments on the docket. It’s isolated in the French countryside. All flecked white paint and a farmhouse flair. The garden is wild with lavender, and Loyd grills big slabs of meat that get delivered from the local butcher.

“Since when?”

“You stand out like that,” you reply. “Everyone looks at you and not in a good way.”

Six snorts before trying to mask it by shoving a spoonful of sorbet into his mouth. Lloyd pouts for an hour, but he doesn’t refuse you. 

Later, you find him in the bathroom, hovering over the sink with the razor in his hands. “Get on the toilet,” you order as you step inside. The tile is cold under your feet. They need to crank the heat up in this place. Autumn has come early. The sky was purple-blue as the bruises on Lloyd’s biceps. He got into a fight with a giant Russian in Croatia and nearly had his spine snapped.

He shoots you a sidelong glance. “You’re going to cut me.”

“I flayed a dude once without killing him.” His eyes widen.

“I just got hard,” he groans, cupping his crotch. You ignore him and gesture to the toilet. 

“Sit.”

He does. 

You’re careful and slow as you work. You stand between his knees in your pajama shorts and tank top, and his fingertips skate across the side of your leg. His other hand is still screwed, bandaged within an inch of its life, but he’s working with it. Adapting. He stares at you as his features go slack - softened by the warm bathroom light. His eyelids droop, and his full lips part, but he doesn’t move an inch. You feel as if you’ve tamed a giant, lazy cat. When you gingerly tilt his head up, thumb caressing the hinge of his jaw, he makes a soft, low noise in his throat. His fingers skim the edge of your shorts, but he doesn’t push it. 

After all, you have a razor at his throat.

You wipe away the shaving cream when it's done and smirk down at him.

“Look,” you tease. “There’s the dude I met all those years ago.”

His lips split into a devastating half-smile. His teeth are white and shiny, and he is too good-looking. “Keep talking,” he urges. “You definitely wanted to fuck me then.”

“Hmm,” you tap your chin. “I did, but Marie told me you were a terrible lay. Totally selfish, which is really on brand.”

He scoffs. “I didn’t put an effort in with Marie. She’d been begging for my dick for months. You…well…” He lowers his voice to something ragged, and his breath puffs against the bare skin between the band of your sleep shorts and your top. His hungry eyes flit back to yours, and he squeezes your knees. “I’d eat your pussy until you begged me to stop.”

The place between your thighs flickers. Heat in your stomach begins to expand, blossoming throughout your body. Even your face grows warm, and Lloyd can tell. He’s reading you, his pink tongue sweeping over his spit-slick lower lip. With the razor still in your hands, you cradle his jaw and lean down. His brow lifts an inch in surprise, but a second before your mouths meet, you dart to the side and press it to his ear.

“Baby,” you whisper. “I’d fuck Six before I fuck you.”

You abruptly pull away, ease out from between the trap of his legs, and toss his razor in the sink. The sound of steel and polished wood bouncing off porcelain reverberates throughout the tiny room, and Lloyd doesn’t even blink. He’s staring at you as if you’d just slapped him.

In your own way, maybe you had.

***

Six is easy. He’s a man of very few words, and his entire work ethic is high-speed, low drag. Still, he can be entertaining when he wants to be. He’s slightly awkward when he tries to relate to you in any way that isn’t killing people. You know his background. You know how he was raised and where he’s been, so Six is barely even a fully functioning human. More machine than anything else. You don’t think he has a favorite movie or tv show. He’s a blank slate that you can’t seem to dent or leave your fingerprints on.

“Can’t believe you got Hansen to shave,” he remarks slyly. You’re sharing coffee next to the Arc de Triomphe, waiting for a drop-off not far from the cafe. “How’d you do it?”

“Promised I’d blow him.”

Six chokes on his coffee, and you laugh. “I’m kidding, but that probably would have worked, too.”

“He does have a hard-on for you,” he observes, his tone almost thoughtful. “It’s a little creepy.”

“He just likes what he can’t have.”

“That seems pretty accurate for him.”

You lean back in your chair, observing Six’s body language. His baseball cap pulled low, his sharp chin and honey-dark stubble revealed in flashes. He doesn’t look like a Court.

You’d heard about Six before you ever met him. The Gray Man. The man who existed outside the fold. You want to ask him questions, bug him about his scars. You want to compare stories. 

Suddenly, he shifts forward, lifting his arm to dab foam from the corner of your mouth. Just as quickly, he pulls away as if realizing what he’d done. “Sorry - I just - you had -”

“You’re fine, Six,” you reassure him, hiding a smile. “Thanks.”

***

Lloyd doesn’t necessarily hate Court Fucking Gentry. The man has dived out of a torpedoing airplane without a parachute. Yeah - he heard about that one. 

Lloyd read his file when he was given Operation Kill Ken. There’s stuff there. There’s some fat within all that gristle. Abusive father. Prison. Six doesn’t fuck around and, quite frankly, the man has more street cred than Lloyd will ever be able to touch. Lloyd went to an Ivy League for football. He wears loafers and cashmere. He’d skirted above the law until everything went ass-up in Croatia. 

But, shitty dads? He gets that one. 

He wasn’t lying when he said they could have been friends. The only issue he can see is that Six really doesn’t offer himself up. He seemingly does not know how to function as a person. He eats. He sleeps. He fucks (Lloyd hopes). He murders with style using the weirdest shit: pens, scissors, a well-placed shoelace. 

Lloyd has a very begrudging admiration for the guy. It kind of pains him that the only thing Six really seems all that interested in is 33. His little eyes brighten the second you speak to him or touch his shoulder or praise him for a job well done.

Meanwhile, you pretty much knock Lloyd upside the head whether you’re congratulating him or chastising him. It doesn’t matter. He isn’t jealous. Not really. 

Right?

***

The blast nearly takes you out. You manage to curse and roll out of the way before it explodes, but it does the job. Your ears ring. The world swirls in a black-red shriek. There’s a distant pain in your side, and your fingers are wet, your pants are soaked. You see blood. You may have broken something internally. The light is receding, and you can’t see what’s wrong with your stomach.  It’s difficult to breathe. Somewhere in the fog, you hear your name.

Not 33, but your name.

It’s Lloyd. He’s rushing toward you.

“Hey, hey.” He pats your cheek gently; his hand fits around your throat as he holds your head up. Opening your eyes, you see how close he is. There’s the thick stubble across his jaw, around his generous mouth. His lashes are long as pen strokes. He has crow’s feet now. His eyes blue with a hint of green. Mossy pond water. His thumb strokes your lower lip, wiping away the blood.

“There she is,” he murmurs. “You took a hit, Pumpkin, but Six is coming. We’ll get you out.”

You blink at him for a moment before your mouth twitches into a smile. He frowns. “What is it?” 

“You said we’ll….”

He scowls. “Don’t get too excited, duchess.” 

You blink the dust out of your eyes. Your heart rumbles in your chest. “I-I can’t…”

You can’t breathe. You want to tell him this, but the words are rattling behind your tongue. You’re drowning.

His expressions shifts into something nervous, deeply concerned. “What? Where does it hurt? Fuck - there’s a lot of blood.”

His eyes catalogue every piece of you, but when they move lower, he blanches. He goes quiet.

You feel like you’re falling, drifting out into a warm sea. There’s salt in your nose and tongue, and Vienna never happened. 

He slaps you lightly again. Shakes you until your teeth click. Don’t you fucking dare. Do. Not.

It’s dark.

“Shit,” he growls before shouting for Six.

***

From your doorway, Lloyd regards you with bewilderment. He doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like the very real shudder he felt when you got ripped open by a stray grenade. 

“She’ll live,” Six tells him as the doctors work overtime. “The boss went haywire, apparently flying in the best of the best.”

“It’s weird.”

“What is?”

“This boss,” Lloyd muses, scratching his beard. It’s all grown in, and he’s not going to ruminate over the fact that he may have done it for 33. “He’s got something personal with her.”

“We don’t ask questions,” Six reminds him as he leans against the wall. Lloyd’s eye catches the deep scar etched into Court’s bicep. It zigs zags until it disappears beneath his shirt sleeve. “But you knew her before this?”

“I met her in college,” 

“Harvard?”

“Yale, actually. She was at Yale.”

He recalls the specific memory in vivid color. It had been the Yale vs. Harvard Game, and he’d been starting. He’d lost, which had been expected, but still hurt. He’d gone to drown his sorrows at some frat house party, and he’d run into you. Drunk and pretty and lost. 

He hadn’t fucked you, of course. But he let you sleep in his bed, right up against his chest. Fully-clothed. In the morning, you’d been so embarrassed that you bought him breakfast, and it ran from there. You were friends. You were also smarter than him, which got him hard. He confided in you about his shit childhood while you shared your own ugly past. Very. Very. Lifetime.

After they were recruited junior year, they ultimately drew away from each other. Different assignments. Different training. Still - the CIA had inevitably carved them both into stone. Zero morals. Hard choices. They were soldiers.  

No impulse control. Unsanctioned torture. More kills than the entire Mossad. 

He stares at your body. You look tiny - sunken and broken and drained. Lloyd really thought there was no softness left in him. No warmth. 

“Should I leave you two alone?” Six asks, and Lloyd startles. He whips his head around to pin the blonde with an icy glare.

“Sit on my fucking face, Court.”

***

Something is going on between you and Lloyd. Six can feel it as the tension mounts. They’re in another safe house in Australia. The sun has bleached his hair and given Lloyd some much-needed color. 

You’re in better shape than a month ago when you’d gotten wrecked in Nice. Your blood had stained his hands. He’d cupped your insides, and, for a moment, he’d been upset.

Disturbed. Sad.

“C’mon,” he had encouraged, teetering toward the edge of panic. “C’mon - eyes up. It’s a scratch.” But your eyes had remained shut and didn’t open for three days. 

In the weeks following the incident, Lloyd goes out of his way for you. He displays these small gestures of affection like when he opens your door and helps you out of the car, when he reloads your gun, or when he makes you coffee and purposefully doesn’t bring Six any. 

What am I doing here? Six asks himself this nightly, and the answer is always right behind it.

Because you have no other options. You have jack shit, and this has always been your life. 

It doesn’t help that he kind of likes 33. You’re cracked in certain places, but you’re just as skilled as he is. Incredible strategist. Unreal sniper capabilities. Artistic with a knife. Beautiful in a conflicting fashion. Sometimes he sees you as the girl next door, familiar and tender as caramel popcorn at a baseball game. Sometimes he sees you as a tropical storm, full of heat and difficult to grasp. Sometimes he sees you as the stars above, cold, unfeeling, and far away. 

Today, they’re sitting in an old jeep. You and Six are waiting for Lloyd to return from stealing back an asset another team lost. It’s some hard drive in a lab, which is very on the nose for their line of work. Six prefers the mercenary stuff. He doesn’t like having to carry valuables.

The air tastes like rain even though the sun is burning Six’s scalp. The AC puffs and spits, but he’s still sweating down to his ass. 

He watches you tap your fingers against the wheel. It’s been three hours of twiddling their thumbs. They’ve covered every topic imaginable before they just resigned themselves to this silence. 

He thinks of the tension between you and Lloyd. Out of his own sick curiosity, he wants to puncture it. 

“Did you and Lloyd ever fuck?” It slips out of his mouth before he can stop it, and you whirl around to look at him. Your lips part in surprise. 

“What?”

“Sorry,” he smiles. “I meant to say - did you guys ever hook up?”

“Because that’s so much better. Real subtle.”

“I’m a subtle guy.”

“Didn’t you already ask this?”

“C’mon,” he presses. “I see the way he looks at you. I know you guys knew each other in college.”

In fact, you never really told him anything. You said Lloyd wanted what he couldn’t have and didn’t expand on it. Lloyd had been incredibly aloof about your past, and Six didn’t know why he even cared this much. In truth, he’d never been part of a team before. He’d never had partners or anyone to relate to and live with. Yeah - he didn’t like Lloyd, but the guy got the job done. Hansen had seemingly calmed down, and most of Six’s ego thought it was because he’d kicked the guy’s ass. Brought him down to size. 

“We didn’t,” you reply as you cut him a sharp glance. Your eyes glisten in the sun, and he swallows. “We met in college and were friends, and we stayed that way.”

“How come?”

“Because fucking him is like the surefire way to get him to never speak to you again.”

Oh. 

So, maybe, you did care. 

“You know what’s funny?” you continue. “I told him I’d screw you before I screwed him.”

Caught off guard, Six chokes on his own spit. He smacks his fist against his chest to clear the shock. You’re staring at him, lips curled into a devious grin bordering on seduction, and - how did this happen? He hasn’t had sex in months. Maybe, since Bangkok? He’s positive Lloyd goes out most nights to find something to take the edge off. Drown his frustration in some poor chick who isn’t you.

Six feels himself twitch. His dark jeans are too snug, and he isn’t sure what to do.

“Me? Wow,” he replies, laughing a little. “Thanks for the opportunity.”

Your expression is thoughtful. Your lovely eyes drift over his face as if you’re taking stock. Do I do this? I should just fucking do this. He leans forward, leaving a breath between them. The AC creaks. The car’s engine ticks. It’s too hot, but his palm finds your cheek, and you let him tilt your head.

Your lips are soft as he meets them. Your tongue coaxes his mouth apart, and it’s tender. This kiss. This moment between them that he didn’t expect. Your hands slide into his hair, arms winding around his neck. You’re in his lap, and this is dangerous, cutting it close. They’re supposed to be on guard.

He can’t release you. He doesn’t want to. He’s lifting his hips as you grind down against him. There are the wet noises of their lips and tongues colliding. You’re making these muffled whimpers that are knocking him flat. He feels like he’s back in high school. All of his lovers have been nameless, faceless people across the world. Sex in alleys or dark rooms or between the shadows. Paid or unpaid. 

He knows you. You’re not a stranger. They’ve spent months together. He can tell anyone how you like your eggs, how fruit-scented candles make your nose wrinkle, or what you look like handling an RPL-20. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Reflexively, Six snatches his gun and aims it at the window, only to find Lloyd there. He is glowering; an M320 casually slung over his shoulder.

You scramble off Six and end up falling back against the dash. Your hand flies to your side where you’d been wounded in Nice. The stitches still raw.

“Fuck,” you hiss and then shoot Lloyd an apologetic look. “Lloyd-”

“Don’t,” he snaps before ripping the car door open and sliding into the backseat.

Silently, you disentangle yourself from Six’s lap and get behind the wheel. 

It’s a fucking awkward ride home.

***

Your subconscious must hate your ass because you haven’t been sleeping. It’s a nightmare - Vienna - and you wake up with tears on your cheeks. Your nose is stuffed, and your throat is sore. 

There’s movement in the corner of your room, and you yank your gun from beneath your pillow. Clicking off the safety and aiming.

“Hey,” Six’s calm voice fills the space. “You were screaming.”

Shit. Shit. 

Heat erupts under your skin. “How loud?”

“I mean, I was down the hall in a dead sleep.”

You groan, dropping the gun onto your side table before shoving your face into your pillow. “Did Lloyd hear?” It comes out muffled, but Six catches it. You feel the bed dip under his weight, his hand finding your knee over the covers. 

“He went into town. Hasn’t come back.”

“Figures.”

“You want to talk about it.”

“Do you ever want to talk about it?”

“You got me there.”

You flip onto your back so you can look at him. Through the gauzy curtains of their bungalow, the moon bounces off his golden hair. You realize he’s not wearing a shirt, and you can see the ugly knotted flesh of pink scar tissue that covers his shoulders and bicep.

“Regret is pointless,” you mutter. “It’s a weakness.”

You’re fairly certain Lloyd told you that once after he burned his mark alive. But that had been back in the CIA.

Six nods, humming in agreement. His hand slides up your leg before sliding back down. He does this - just this - and your body begins to respond. There’s another twinge of guilt in your belly. When he saw you straddling Six, Lloyd’s expression had been wrecked. You know he’s furious. He’s probably taking it out on some poor soul. He’s probably fucking someone else. 

Beneath the cover of darkness, you can blatantly study Six. It’s an alien feeling. You have a softness for him. He’s completely different from Lloyd, yet he is just as dangerous. He slaughters swiftly and hopes that they deserve it. There’s a swagger about him that he doesn’t intend. He’s dry. He’s sarcastic in the direst of moments. There’s a piece of you wanting to turn him over, shake him, and see what spills out.

“Court,” you murmur, unsure what he wants. 

“Don’t call me that,” he chastises as he begins to make his way up the bed. He’s shaken his identity off. He’s gray - he’s nothing - he’s just air. He hovers above you, planting his arm beside your head so he can bear his weight. You touch the ridge of the scar that rides his shoulder before your palm slides to his heart. It’s beating fast - a thump thump thump that echoes in the silence. 

“You’re not nothing, Six,” you tell him, and you can’t see his eyes, but he does drop his head and captures your mouth in a kiss that vibrates through your skull. He’s ripping your blankets away; he’s wedging himself between your legs, rucking his boxers down. You grasp his cock, pump him once and then twice before he’s already pushing inside you. You gasp - fingernails breaking the skin at the nape of his neck. He groans - circling his hips, testing the waters before he lazily draws back and thrusts forward. The bed squeaks. The headboard knocks against the wall. 

He threads his calloused fingers through yours and shoves your hand into the mattress. He pins you beneath him, taking you in long, agonizing strokes. You moan against his tongue as he licks the cup of your mouth. He peppers kisses across your cheeks and brow as he fucks you. A snapshot of something sweet compared to how hard his pace is.

The nightmare fades - disintegrates into nothing. You swear you hear the front door open.

“No regrets, right?” Six reminds you as he throws your legs over his shoulders and sinks deeper. He’s sitting back on his heels, head cocked as he admires you splayed before him and then the place he’s disappearing inside you. He’s incredibly built, thicker than Lloyd and you wouldn’t expect it with his ugly zip-ups and old t-shirts. His thumb finds your clit. “Tell me.”

“No regrets.” He presses down. 

***

When Six sees Lloyd the next morning, it becomes apparent that he wants to peel his face-skin from his bones. His eyes are slits. His mouth flattened to a firm line as the muscle in his jaw pops. He cracks his neck and cleans his guns on the outdoor patio. He says nothing, but it’s obvious.

He definitely heard them.

Six shrugs it off. It is what it is. He can’t help it. It happened - kind of rolled together. Like calling to like. You can’t keep adrenaline-soaked mercenaries in a tiny house for months and months with no outlet. 

Also - yeah - he may kind of like you. He likes you because you’re so hard. You sink your heels into the ground and don’t budge. Remorse will get you killed. Grief. Fear. Stay cold and distant and turn off all your compassion and you're good.

The thing was - Six was positive you couldn't. You hesitated on certain missions when it came to civilian interference. It was Lloyd who took those shots for you. It was Lloyd who would gently push you out of the way and claim that kill.

Six is shaken from his thoughts when he hears your feet pad down the hallway.

“Um - hi,” you mumble as you hastily step into the kitchen. 

You’re just as lovely in the morning as you are at night. You busy yourself by making eggs. When Lloyd’s head is turned toward the sun, Six darts from his chair and touches your hip, he seals his chest to your back and pins you to the sink. 

“Morning,” His voice is low, thick from lack of sleep. Your ass presses back against him and all his blood runs south. Fuck. 

When he tries to catch your eyes in the reflection over the faucet, you duck your gaze and accidentally drop an egg onto the floor. He isn’t sure how someone who has beheaded a person can be so coy and yet. 

“Meet me in your room,” he murmurs as he slips his fingertips over the nape of your neck. You shudder, before silently tossing the pan into the sink with its runny, half-congealed eggs and darting back to your bed. 

Six grins before he realizes that Lloyd is once again looking into the kitchen. The gun is forgotten on the table beside him as he leans back in his chair. He’s staring at the space you just vacated. His expression is not exactly angry, but puzzled. A little sad. 

For a moment, Six pities him. 

***

You hear Lloyd before you see him. His steps are heavy as they vibrate through the hallway of the house. It’s been a week. He hasn’t spoken to you due to Six constantly hovering at your side. Lloyd’s anger flourishes; it is palpable.

Of course, he reigns fire once Six is out on a mission.

When Hansen finally spots you, his lips peel apart into a blinding grin. “Fucking finally,” he crows as he strides toward you. You stumble backward, hitting the wall. You curse yourself for giving a shit about this, but you don’t know what to say. 

When Lloyd reaches you, his good hand curls around your throat. He thrusts his thigh between your legs and holds you there like a rag doll. His mouth is a millimeter from yours. His lower lip brushes your top one; his breath warm against your face. “Jesus, that fucking guy is like a god damn insect,” he snarls. “Wouldn’t even give me a moment with you. Has he staked his claim already? Covered you in his fucking come or something? I heard all the noises he made while he was inside you. How good was it?”

You blink at him. He’s not choking you, but the pressure of his thumb against your windpipe is uncomfortable. “Lloyd-”

He drives his thigh harder against your cunt, the muscle of it right up at your heat. “Tell me, duchess. I want to know.”

“It-it was good.”

He cocks his head, his blue eyes too bright under the hallway lights. He looks a brush manic, and you find yourself gripping his shoulders, trying to ground him. He’s upset. He’s not just angry. He’s sad.

“Not me, huh?” he asks, eyebrows lifting. “Is it the hand? Probably can’t ruin you the way I want to, but I could try.”

You frown. “It’s not your hand, Lloyd. Don’t be ridiculous.”

His thumb finds purchase under your jaw. He pushes it in a little. You gasp. “Hansen - you - you were in town fucking someone else - I - I don’t know what you want -”

“No,” he growls. “It was always going to be him. You told me yourself.”

“Let me go for one fucking second, you fucker.”

“No.”

You shoot your hand up and twist his ear violently to the side. He stumbles backward, hissing in pain. “Oh, you fucking bitch-”

You point your finger at him. “No - just no - chill out so I can explain.”

He straightens, his eyes narrowing to slits. He’s flushed with rage, his chest hitching. You’ve never seen him this emotional. His anger is usually a cold thing - winding up before it explodes, and then it burns out. 

“I fuck you, and you’ll get bored,” you accuse. “You have no impulse control, Hansen. You get obsessed, and then you forget why you were obsessed in the first place. No offense, but I don’t feel like being another notch on your bedpost, especially because we’re partners.”

He frowns. “You wouldn’t be.”

“I’ve seen you do it to every girl you’ve ever had.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. His remaining scarred fingers curl beneath his bicep. “Every girl isn’t you.”

Huh.

He rolls his eyes. “Jesus, princess,” He clicks his tongue. “For someone so skilled at spec ops, you’re fucking hopeless in the body language department. Do you think I would have spent this much time with you if I didn’t care? I’m not counting the last few months because you pretty much railroaded me into this, but I’m talking college, before the CIA.” He points to you and then to himself. “You and me? We’re the same. Granted - you may have a dash more empathy, but I knew who you were when we met, and I liked it.”

You stare at him - stunned. 

“Vienna?” His expression softens. “Yeah - I knew what you had to do and why you did it. I know you made the tough choice because you were the only one capable of it. You were trained to compartmentalize and toss out the rest. I fucking hate to say it, but Six is the same. It’s the job.”

“Those - those aren’t great qualities to want in a girlfriend.”

He snorts. “I care about you. I like you. A lot. I can spell it out. I can send you a card or flowers or fuck you into next week, but that is the truth. The rest means dick to me.”

You stumbling over your words. “You - you don’t like anyone. It’s literally in your file. Sociopathic tendencies.”

He smirks, and it only highlights his handsomeness. “Sociopathic tendencies. Keyword, there. Doesn’t mean there aren't a few people I’d die for if necessary.” 

“I don’t believe you.” 

You really couldn’t. All the stories you’d heard about Lloyd painted him as a complete narcissist. He cared about money and being better than anyone else. He liked pain. He liked winning. He couldn’t be collared.

He’d followed your career, though. He understood why you did the things you did. Here he was - unfurling for you, baring himself and declaring that everything you hate about who you are is alright in his book. 

“Then let me show you,” he replies urgently. He steps back into your space, his hands finding your hips. He lowers his head, his gaze trained on yours as the corner of his mouth quirks. You’re chest to chest, and he’s wearing one of those ridiculous soft-knit collared shirts that cost hundreds. 

Slowly he grips the backs of your thighs and lifts you up. You wrap your legs around his waist, hooking your ankles right over his perfect ass. Your spine brushes up the wall, and you cradle his face, thumb rubbing over his cheekbone. “I mean, I shaved the stache for you,” he teases as he ruts against your lace covered pussy. You reach down between you, unbuckling his belt and pulling him out. It’s a slow, methodical dance. His eyes don’t leave yours, and he doesn’t prep you or lick you open; he just lets you hitch your panties to the side and guide him into your sex.

“Oh,” you gasp. “Oh - fuck -”

He shudders, breath warm against your mouth. He saws his hips, easing out until it's only the tip before shoving himself forward. He’s bigger than you expected. It kind of hurts, but he quickens his pace and you forget. It burns and throbs and lights up your blood.

“Come on, duchess,” he drawls. “Kiss me.”

You do, tongue plunging behind his teeth as you fist his hair. At some point, you both fall over, and then he’s forced onto his back, and you're on top. You ride him, the skirt of your cotton sun dress flowing over his thighs. His hand is on your ass, while you reach for the other one. He gives it to you cautiously, but you coax him - praise him - tell him it’s okay. You grasp his wrist and tug the mutilated fingers up, threading them with your own, pressing your lips to the ones that remain. That seems to do something. His eyes widen, his brow lifts, and he groans. He plants his feet and fucks up into you. He leads a messy rhythm, and you respond to it, bouncing, clenching, and circling your pelvis to meet every punch of his cock. 

His head falls back against the floor. “Jesus fucking christ, baby,” he rumbles. “You’ve got a tight pussy.” You rock down into him, rubbing exactly where you need to, right against his pelvic bone. You’re close, and he’s so hard that his length is pulsing inside you. He’s at his end just as you skate over yours. He sits up, his hand grasping the nape of your neck as he forces you to his mouth for a clumsy kiss. He flips you onto your back, burying himself to the hilt before you can mourn his loss. One final drag of his cock as your walls flutter and clutch, and then it’s over. He collapses on top of you, his mouth wetly smearing your cheek before he drops his face into your neck.

“You’re perfect,” he husks. “I’m getting hard again.”

You punch the side of his arm and try to haul him off you, but he’s too heavy. Finally, he relents. He rolls onto his side and slaps your ass. “Well, that was great, honey,” he jokes. “Now - I’m off to fuck someone else.”

“I hate you.”

“Nah.”

***

“Judging by the text I got from Lloyd, I take it you guys made up.”

You go rigid at the stove. You’re stirring a pot of soup you threw together and Six is sitting at the table. Casual. Quiet. Perfectly normal. You feel on the spot. There’s still the intense ache between your legs. You’re raw and swollen. Lloyd had licked his own come out of your pussy before fucking you a second time.

“What-what did it say?”

You hear Six unlock his phone before loudly reading. “Hey fuck face! 33 and I will now be regularly having wild animal sex. We should probably figure out a sched. PS. I ate her out on your bed.”

You whirl around. “He did not.”

Six’s mouth quirks. “But you guys did everything else?”

You wring your hands before you glide toward him. He opens his arms, and you sit on his lap. It’s familiar - it feels normal. “Lloyd and I are….” You search for the word and come up empty.

“Complicated?” Six offers. 

“Yeah,” you reply. “And weird. We - we have a lot in common, and he knew me. Before the CIA…before all of this…” You gesture around you. “He knew me when I wasn’t so fucked up.” You sigh, rubbing the place between your brows before finishing. “We have something.”

Six nods in that particular way he has. He’s not angry, just resigned. You touch his cheek. “You and I have something, too.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “So what? You want us to share.”

“If you’re able.”

“Does Lloyd even know how to share?”

“We could teach him.”

***

In a way, they’re orphans. Lost. Touching in the dark. Lloyd’s mouth burns against yours as Six buries his face between your legs. “Let go,” Lloyd orders. “Relax, duchess. Let him eat you out.”

You arch when Six sucks your clit, and Lloyd drops his head to lick your nipple. He massages the other breast as he noses your cheek. “You need more?”

“Yeah?” you breathe. “Yes.”

“Mmmkay,” he croons before fisting Six’s hair and shoving his face deeper against your cunt. Six groans, the muscles in his back undulating as his fingertips bruise the undersides of your thighs. The only time Six listens to Lloyd is when he’s in bed with you.

“Fuck,” Lloyd rumbles. “That’s so hot. Who would have thought I’d have a cuck kink?”

Your hips buck up against Six’s face, and he responds by pushing two of his fingers into you. Your stomach flips, and Lloyd steels his arm around your waist. He holds you down as he watches Six crack you open, flattening his tongue from hole to clit.

“Bunny,” Hansen murmurs, his beard scraping your throat. “You’re soaking Court’s face.”

You can feel Six bristle at the name, but he doesn’t let up. He continues to work you over. He’s thorough in all aspects of his life.

Lloyd’s touch falls from Six’s hair to his shoulders; it strokes the deep, etched line of his scars that wrap around his body. You’re riveted - gaze following the path his hand takes as he just feels Six’s marked flesh. Lloyd’s other hand traces your scars, the few fingers that remain slide along your stomach where the bomb split you near in half. In the dim light of his bedroom, your eyes find Lloyd’s, and he reaches between you and Six, boldly caressing exactly where Six is dipping his tongue. 

You shudder. 

“How many scars do you think we have?” Lloyd marvels just as you climax, hips rolling against Six’s face as he anchors you to the bed. Lloyd’s question hangs between you, and you can’t tell if he’s being serious. “I mean, it’s kind of wild,” he grins as he drops his head to kiss your stomach. “We’re still all incredibly good-looking.”

Despite himself, Six laughs. 

Part Two

[heliianth]

Hey!! I've been thinking about your httyd urban fantasy au lately and I was wondering if you could share a bit more? Like maybe about the dragon rider gang? Like Fishlegs or Astrid? Or a bit more about Snotlout and Hiccup's dynamic?

No pressure! But it's such a cool concept and this is a free pass to talk about it if you want to :D

Have a good day!!

Ahjkasg hi its rlly sweet u think abt my stupid little au !!!!

i talked about Astrid here. shes very familiar with dragons but very complacent in the exploitation of them. so she doesnt hate dragons but she doesnt love them, theyre just a means to an end for what she wants (recognition). her "romantic flight" equivalent in this au is learning that Stormly thinks of her like a friend instead of like how a pet thinks of an owner. shes the first to approach Hiccup about joining his ridiculous vigilante shit

Fishlegs and Astrid are actually friends before they meet Hiccup in this au!! Fishlegs family is in a similar situation to Astrid's; his mom deals in economic research of dragons and while Fishlegs has a different opinion on them (hes intimidated and thinks the amount of workplace injuries that occur with captive dragons isnt worth the economic gain they could hypothetically provide), he still doesnt quite reach the same respect or conclusion until Astrid and Hiccup show him Toothless and Stormfly. he doesnt approve of the vigilante stuff and will hang back and do "base operations" more than he goes out with them, but he becomes really passionate about it once they bring Meatlug back from a mission

Ruffnut and Tuffnut are completely blank slates as it comes to dragons. they kind of have the normal kid "holy fuck dragons are cool" idea but their daily life isn't involved with them at all. Ruffnut gets involved because Tuffnut shows interest in Hiccup's bullcrap once they find out about Toothless, and shes kind of like Fishlegs in the respect that shes more hesitant than someone might think, but she joins to support Tuffnut (who is really fascinated by the loser kid suddenly having a night fury). eventually they find Barf + Belch on a completely solo mission. Ruffnut had difficulty with Barf because he kind of represented "youre in this for good now" at first, while Tuffnut mainly does it for the feeling of freedom. i imagine their parents have really high expectations even though they are kind of absent and Tuffnut wants to escape that while Ruffnut is more practical

Snotlout and Hiccup are cousins and their dynamic is pretty well covered. he, Astrid, and the twins knew each other before Hiccup moved in with Snotlout. initially Snotlout thinks Hiccup is being fucking ridiculous and is afraid of getting into trouble with Spitelout, but once Astrid gets on board he starts being more willing to cooperate and then help. he and Hiccup have a brief rough patch where they're really mad at each other; Snotlout bonded with Hookfang while on a really simple rescue & release mission, which complicated it enough that they were caught by the authorities, and Hiccup got arrested (but not "found out" in the superhero sense which sounds stupid but yk what i mean. like on different charges, like trespassing or refusing to cooperate with police. which i mentioned earlier somewhere?). that leads to Stoick finding out about the vigilantism and them needing to hide Toothless for a while* and they fight with each other over that. it blows over but every once and a while Snotlout oscillates between feeling guilty and angry about it all

*(ive kinda decided that Toothless's capture was government-funded due to the threat night furies as a species pose. like watch httyd1 the potential that they have for destruction if weaponized is insane. and by releasing Toothless and befriending him, Hiccup has already done something highly illegal)

hope this satisfies ur brain ^-^

[salvatoreren]

ST4 Thoughts

Alright, apologies for those who were waiting for this, it's unlikely there would be but anyways wow what a season also please excuse my messy structure, i have too many emotions that i can't exactly type out okay so

At first I didn't like the new season, i'm not very open to seeing new characters and atmosphere

I wasn't too fond of eddie, he just gave off billy vibes, when i mean billy vibes i mean he looked scary, forceful, i didn't like his treatment towards mike and dustin, he also looked like one of those goth people or something who think they're so cool, but that quickly went away when he and chrissy had a talk, like he was so reassuring??? he was so soft to her??? I loved them, they had potential but yk she died which honestly i was not expecting,

its so funny how they just made this dude on the run during half of the season, i literally hoped the basketball team wouldn't hurt him, stranger things really does have that magic where unbearable characters that are entwined with the supernatural shit, like witness it turned out to be really likable

( ngl i expected eddie to actually perform while being in the upside down because it was in the trailer like lmao think about it)

also I liked fred too poor dude, nancy's friends just keep dying on her- and argyle just gives off hippie vibes and all so he was cool, i literally laughed at his panic during the gun scenes

dmitri turned out to be a pretty awesome character too, i love his dynamic with hopper, like i fucking hoped he wouldn't die during the demogorgon battle and also One??? JAMIE CAMPBELL BOWER NAILED THAT ROLE, I LOVED HIM, I'M SO GLAD HE'S GETTING RECOGNITION LIKE AT LEAST HIS MOST KNOWN ROLE WOULD BE ONE NOT CAIUS ANYMORE

the only characters i wasnt really fond of was the basketball team and angela because ugh they're like hero wannabes and shit, and chrissy's boyfriend just gives off kyle vibes, and angela, ugh she was so bitchy to el, and what happened to her fucking forehead was deserved, girl had it coming

DUDE I DID NOT EXPECT FOR TAMMY THOMPSON TO SHOW UP, THAT'S LIKE THE BIGGEST TWIST OF THE SEASON LMAO

Eleven and Will? Hellooo sibling bonding, i love these two so much, and will is so supportive and protective of her??? how will quickly claims he's her family ughhh that's so fucking beautiful. I wished he hugged her though when he was comforting her

also mike what the fuck was that greeting, are you guys not like bestfriends? Like what the fuck was that? It was so awkward

damn bro i lived for one and eleven's bonding, he was so helpful to her, they could've achieved world peace lol but srs i loved the dynamic

Joyce and Murray were the funniest duo, and honestly i did not expect murray to be having those skills, KING

also i think it's interesting that nancy and robin have interacted with each other, because in terms of their love lives didn't nancy also changed herself for steve? Like Robin is doing the same just less focused. And I think they should talk about this and shit

Steve and dustin's bromance are still the fucking best

Erica walking to the hellfire club like with an american flag cape??? WHAT A QUEEN I LOVE HER, I was also so happy to see the sinclairs winning their respective games especially Lucas, he actually got more relevance in this season bravo, i felt so bad for him because he was just so lonely? None of his friends are there for him and max broke up with him? Then he got replaced with his sister, though temporarily but i felt like to him it felt permanent and im sure he felt really hurt to see that his friends whom he wanted to be in his game were cheering for erica which could've been him, and like he's tired of being a loser, he just wants it all to stop i love that we had more depth on his character

THE CALLBACKS TO THE PREVIOUS SEASONS, I LOVED IT AND ACTUALLY HAD FUN DEDUCING THOSE SHIT

AND I LOVED EPISODE FOUR SO MUCH, I LITERALLY CRIED AT HER MEMORIES, THE MUSIC, THE LETTERS (IM CURIOUS WHAT SHE WROTE), THE LUMAX MOMENTS? WE DESERVED THAT SHIT UGHH TOP TIER EPISODE

VOL. 1 FINALE HAD ME STARING AT THE SCREEN WITH MY MOUTH OPEN, THAT TWIST FUCKING GOT ME AND IM LIKE HOLY SHIT THAT WAS AN AMAZING SEASON, AND I WAS ALREADY DREADING FOR THE SECOND

and now for the things i didn't like

I didn't like the implications that Steve and Nancy clearly had a thing for each other again, because isn't it way past that? Whatever it's probably just me

The california group was way too sidelined, especially Jonathan, he is so fucking underrated but I'm glad we got to see Suzie tho, i loved how she was all sarcastic at the printing thing

ALSO DID EVERYONE IN THE SHOW REALLY FORGET WILL'S BIRTHDAY? WHAT THE FUCK, THAT IS LITERALLY SO CRUEL I CANT

and lastly where the fuck is Steve's bat?

So that's my thoughts on season four, i can't wait for vol. 2, i'm so glad I became a part of this hype and watched the series in general like i just started the show on a bluff but this show has made me so happy, it has comforted me and i am totally immersed in it

[sapphicdib]

IN THIS ESSAY I WILL EXPLAIN WHY I FUCKIGN LOVE DIBPER

I didn't wanna clog up the dash w me reblogging tia's post so im gna talk abt it here!!

Okay so from the context of why Dib works so well with Dipper is because they are very similar in a lot of ways but have very different strengths, and therefore can support each other. To explain quickly, Dib's motivations in canon are basically "expose zim to the world as an alien so they'll finally take me seriously (but mostly my dad)". All he really wants is his father's approval, who AHEM, is essentially abusive and i fucking hate professor membrane so much fucking fuckity fuck shit-- excuse me. Anyways everyone in his life writes him off as crazy for believing in the paranormal.

Dipper is also like this to an extent, he wants to impress a father figure (Ford) and towards the start of the show is depicted as slightly paranoid, so he can understand where Dib is coming from on that front. Also can you imagine Dib telling Dipper "my fucking classmate is an alien, here, look at these pictures!" and Dipper nodding, and going "yeah omg that's so cool!". Like I think Dib would start fucking sobbing. He just wants to be believed and respected and not shoved into the mold his dad wants him to fill, and Dipper believes him!

Coming from Dipper's point of view, he doesn't have very much self confidence. Of course, he does gain some as his character develops, but Dib would definitely be there to pick up the slack. He is extremely confident in the show, or at least lacks the awareness to lose confidence, and therefore is a lot more reckless than Dipper. 50 step plans? Hell no, he's throwing himself into situations without thinking of a way out at all. So basically Dipper's anxiety is an Immovable Object and Dib's recklessness is an Unstoppable Force. This way, Dib would pull Dipper out of his comfort zone and Dipper would reel Dib in a bit so he doesn't get himself too hurt.

On the similar side though, both of them are passionate and obsessive, Dib keeps tabs on Zim constantly and Dipper keeps up the journals so they both like logging their findings. I think to a certain extent both of them kinda want recognition for their research so I could easily see them publishing some of it together whether it just be in a book or an actual academic journal. They're both nerdy as fuck (but in different ways), Dib is good with machinery and tech while Dipper is good with organization and numbers. (Headcanon: Dipper tries to get Dib to play DD&MD with him but Dib's ADHD brain gets bored of all the numbers very quickly lol). They are both v good boys and I love them.

Most of this stuff is just stemming from canon and has nothing to do with the ADDITIONAL headcanons I have for these motherfuckers, so let's just rapid fire those: 1. Dib can cook, Dipper can not. If it wasnt for Dib, Dipper would be living off microwave spaghettios to this day. 2. Likewise, Dib cannot fucking drive, Dipper does all the driving for them. 3. Dipper is still kind of insecure about his masculinity even into adulthood, but Dib is rlly gnc and it kind of eases his nerves seeing that his partner wears all sorts of clothes and isn't questioned. 4. They both chew their pens. Ew. 5. Dib is always cold, Dipper is always warm, together they make the perfect human body temperature.

Those are mostly just general headcanons, I have way too many fucking aus and unless you want this essay to be literally the length of a novel I'll restrain myself. The main au I talk about (and am writing a fic for with my friend @/kuzakat), is the murder boys/murder boyfriends au, wherein Dib is a serial killer and Very Annoying and Dipper is just trying to get him out of his hair lmfao. Its basically a hannibal au by accident but blame Kuza for that because THEY watched it and I haven't, so for all I know they subtly shoved in hannibal details while I was none the wiser. UHH other than that I have my Farm AU, Telekinesis Au, Horror Au, Angel/Demon Au, and the Betrayal Au, but I might be missing some. So yeah. Ask me about my aus if you want I love talkin about them!!

[power-chords]

what is power pop ? i read the wikipedia article and it confused me even more

Ooooh baby. One must imagine Sisyphus re-opening the same can of worms.

Per Courtney Love, whose definition is more elegant and succinct than I could ever muster: "Three Pauls and a Ringo."

If you're asking me? I'm still trying to figure that out. I think I was talking with @infant-tyrone when I tried to articulate my definition of power pop: a kind of convoluted intra-nerd signaling genre for people who heard “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and/or “Substitute” and never recovered. 100% earnest, but ranging in self-awareness from “in on the joke” to “completely unconcerned with outsiders laughing.” I’m not talking about like Big Star or Badfinger or Paul Westerberg here, where there is an air of critical and commercial respectability or enduring name recognition. I mean The Knack, 20/20, The Rubinoos, The Smithereens. Where somebody makes a face, either "Yuck!" or "Wait, who?" The more I think about it, the more I lean toward power pop as both a sound and an associated state of mind. That a defining characteristic of a power pop band is total conviction that the uncool thing you love is Cool, Actually. I mean so totally convinced, so secure in that knowledge that you don’t even feel the need to argue with anyone who doesn’t get it. You see all kinds of nerds freaking out at each other on the internet when somebody insults a thing they like — it’s because they have enough shame that they’re still only 75, 80% convinced themselves.

Power pop musicians have reached 100%. They have Gone All The Way. It’s why they make evil horny sex pest music half the time. They will squabble amongst themselves, but fundamentally they do not give a shit what anybody else thinks outside the in-group. They're just like, “I’m gonna write the catchiest possible song about that high school chick who either will or will not fuck me and why that is making me insane.” To them, the value of this is self-evident. They might get defensive when provoked but you wouldn’t build a musical career off of either guaranteed disdain or low financial yield — actually usually both — if you hadn’t fully committed to the bit.

[formulatrash]

F1 twitter di be feeling like they're the superior fans don't they

Ah, you know. I’m on both. I think there’s equal amounts of different respectability politics played out on either and you all know what I think about simping to gatekeepers by promising you’re not like the other not-straight-white-men fans uwuuu. 

At the end of the day, there are millions of people chucking garbage content onto the internet all the time. Tumblr has some of the best memes, gifs, aesthetic content and creativity. Twitter works best as an effective information communicator, it’s actually shit as an interactive or discursive platform and well, look at it: it’s got racism. 

(so does everywhere, obviously but hoo, jumps rights out at you hey)

I mean, I don’t know what the latest beef is tbh cus I have been working all day but taking a wild stab in the dark...

We all know what people mean when they say F1 Tumblr though, which is an image of a particular sort of infantilised female (always female, despite how many people on here are men or nonbinary 🙄) fan who’s probably a fan of a short list of drivers deemed ‘too hot to not be overrated’ by whichever man is in charge of that this week. 

The complaint is always that Tumblr fans only like pretty pictures, don’t understand anything technical about the sport. Historically, ‘hardcore’ F1 fans have pissed their pants about every aesthetic change from liveries to when F1 changed the logo in 2017 and a bunch of people were like ‘I’m vomiting out my eyyyeeees’ until they immediately forgot about it completely but that’s of course different, somehow, from having a blog where you put nice edits and like... actively like things. 

Firstly, I don’t give a fuck if you don’t understand anything technical about the sport. I’m a technical journalist telling you: that’s cool. There are people who get paid to write about Formula E who don’t know an inverter from an ECU (yes, they are men) so don’t let that worry you. Secondly, if you do want to or already know technical stuff about the sport I don’t see why that should stop you reblogging some cute gifs of Lando spraying champagne or whatever. 

F1 Twitter feels like it’s closer to the action - there’s more journalists on there, the teams are all there, etc so there’s lots of clout to be scored by getting replies or attention or whatever. F1mblr (which, don’t get me wrong: some of you are fucking idiots) has more of a homegrown fanzine feel and there’s a lot fewer people on here imagining their blog will get them industry recognition. Which actually... you shouldn’t write it off. 

(I mean, hey!)

[ranpoismyblorbo]

I'm gonna add my thoughts cuz I'm bored and no one's gonna ask me so I'll do it my fucking self😩😌

Herongraystairs: Um. YES??? OBVIOUSLY?? I LOVE THEM???? WITH MY WHOLE HEART????? THEY ARE LITERAL PERFECTION?? Ok but srsly they all love each other so much and while I don't see it as a polyamrous relationship (for example Kierarktina, MY BABIES, are a polyamrous ship if you don't know what it means)(I DO think that Will and Jem are bisexual and pansexual respectively tho but not into each other), I love their dynamics. They would all do anything to keep the other two safe and they own each other's hearts and just yes I love them.

Jordelia: I like it. It's nice but it's also kinda annoying me if you get what I mean. I like James and Cordelia is a badass woman (come on you know that Cortana only goes to the badasses) but it's just ANNOYING ME with all "he loves me?? Nah he doesn't/She loves me?? Nah she doesn't." LIKE HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO FIGURE IT OUT JAMES OMG SHE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU AND CORDELIA I-SMH. Like it could work but it'll never be one of my faves it'll just be a ship I'm meh about.

Clace: No. Again I don't have anything against them but I just don't get the hype that they have and the concept of instant attraction is so weird to me like ok?? You think they're hot/cute?? How tf are you just completely ✨enamoured ✨ so easily?? You have just seen them and never even talked to them?? OH YOU'RE IN LOVE AFTER KNOWING EACH OTHER FOR LIKE 2 DAYS NOW ARE YOU OK COOL CUZ THAT'S NORMAL, NOT MENTALLY ILL BEHAVIOUR!!!!!!!!! Ok I'm sorry that got aggressive lol but yea I just don't get it but I don't have anything against the ship itself it's just too intense too soon without any base development before they originally got together/fell in love imo (don't come at me)

Jemma/Blackstairs (why can't we just pick one lmao): THEY. ARE. THE BEST. MAIN SHIP. EVER. The angst?? Perfect. The PURE UNBRIDLED PASSION??? Off the fucking charts. The fluff?? ADORABLE. Idk what else to say man I just love them and the forbidden love aspect was >>>>>> chef kiss (unlike Clace 🙄🙄)(IM SORRY I CAN'T STOP), and best friends/friends to lovers is literally my favourite trope ever and this was the best one just yea.

Side note: Sizzy is my favourite TSC ship AND THEY ARE SO UNDERRATED FOR WHAT HUH THEY NEED MORE RECOGNITION OR I WILL PROTEST.

What are your honest thoughts on each tsc main couple?

Jordelia: Jordelia is a lost cause for me, James reminds me of someone I don't like irl and thats why I can't make myself to like him, if that makes sense? Cordelia has all the characteristics that should make her a good character (and she is amazing) but the weird kinda adoration she has for James always throws me off. She has been in love with him for the longest time and I don't personally relate to that, I relate more to angst and the feeling of wanting something that you shouldn't, so I like fairstairs better. No.4

Clace: You know how your perception of a couple is damaged if you don't like either participants that much? Clace has never been one of my favorites, neither the characters nor the ship itself, because of that. Irather prefer Sizzy in TMI. It just wasn't it for me. I don't even care about the supposed "incest" that made so many readers cringe and not like it. It just doesn't make sense to me🤷‍♀️. So if I had to rank them, they would be no.3 ig?

Blackstairs: Blackstairs just gets me, man. Its is the perfect combination of angst, forbidden love and also has best friends to lovers (which is one of my favorite tropes). Like I said, I personally relate a lot to pining for someone that theoretically should like me but somehow doesn't. See it all comes back to personal experience lmao. No.2

Herongraystairs/ Wessa/ Jessa:

Do you know haw everyone has a book or a character that changed their life? A book which makes all others pale in comparison? Well this is it for me. Anyways, its just Herongraystairs for me, it can never be justWessa or Jessa because there isn't one without the other😭🥰. That shit always makes me cry so damn much but that doesn't measure up to the actual grief that I always experience when i reach the end. The series is a journey, with 3 people who love each other so damn much that they would do anything to save the others, the bonds that they forge, the bonds of love and trust and the impending realization of the death that follows them. And when something tragic (but expected) happens, I can't help but feel devastated with the others. I hold this series as something very close to my heart, because at this point, these are the characters that I'm made up of, a personality trait and i don't think ill ever let go of them. Did I phrase that right?😭😭