#this headcanon is very special to me

[clickety-clacker]

Been seeing so many cool Clickies on my dashboard since getting into GGG, I just had to take the time to draw a few of them- plus, it was a bit of a challenge to try new styles. A lot of these guys were also super influential to how I draw and even think about Click Clack on my own time, so you should definitely check them out! Names below the cut cus it got long heehoo

Top left: @malartsorte

Top middle (holding papers): @scribblelimbo

Top right: @wishgraanted

Leftmost middle: @beastwhimsy

Middle (peace sign!): @sootnuki

Rightmost middle: @molabuddy

Bottom left: @pespillo

Bottom middle: @artuurle

Bottom right: @modmad

I know I said it already, but all of yall are super cool and I had a lot of fun challenging myself to make this! Keep on being awesome 👍

[egophiliac]

happy new year Ego!!! Just wanted to let you know that I absolutely adore your twst fanart and the tags are just an absolute pleasure to read! You are my greatest inspiration for my personal twst art and I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful masterpieces <333 if possible, may I ask what are some of your headcanons for the diasomnia family? If not for diasomnia then any other characters are fine as well!

thank you, and happy new year! 💚💜💚 that is amazing to hear; it's always a little bewildering but super flattering that other people like my silly little doodles so much!

I don't think I really have any really solid headcanons and also canon keeps validating me left and right (FLUFFY DOMESTIC DIAFAM IS REAL). mostly just kind of...impressions and general thoughts, if that makes sense! lately though I've been kind of obsessed with thinking about Lilia's hair, and specifically when/why he ended up cutting it. (l-look, we're bouncing around the timeline and I gotta make decisions about these things when I draw, it's relevant) (I mean I would probably be weirdly fixated on this anyway, but.)

I think I've settled on the idea that he kept it long until he went to NRC, partly because 1) I like drawing The Ponytail, and 2) I think he thought of NRC as a chance to reinvent himself a bit! he gets to go and be a wacky carefree teenager for a few years and have fun! (officially he's there to keep an eye on Son #1, but how much trouble could he get into, really.) so he gave himself a Cool Teen Haircut to go with his fresh new Cool Teen Persona!

also maybe he had some reflection on his hair's troubled past with three kids...

...and had to weigh his vanity versus the fact that he was going off to be around hundreds of kids on a daily basis, and. the choice suddenly seemed obvious.

[frankensteinposm0]

are there still beautiful things?

[umblrspectrum]

Can we get more of the murder drone x rain world au?

ok

[brat-pack-it-up-boys]

Okay I said I would so I must

My design for two bit

Let’s pretend anatomy isn’t real

[aleki-lives-here]

[handsome-wise-strong]

Jacelaena headcanons please ❤

This is a million years late, I’m so sorry! But ask and you shall (eventually) receive!

Helaena is a head taller than Jace. As children, Jace always hoped he would grow taller than her, but as an adult? He’s obsessed with their height difference. He loves when her chin dips and her eyes lower to meet his as he beams up at her, just absolutely stunned by the tall goddess. Even better when she dips down for a kiss, and his neck cranes up to meet her.

Jace brings Helaena out of her shell. She is always quicker to laugh when he is around. She is more likely to enjoy a dance, if Jace is her partner. He makes her more adventurous and more free. Meanwhile Helaena calms Jace, softening his heart and cooling his temper. They better each other!

Helaena rarely calls him by his name. She instead uses a flare of dramatic titles for him. Valiant prince and dragon-heart being among her favorites. Jace wishes he had the nerve to call her pretty names, like flower or darling, but he simply can’t call her anything but Hel, in the softest and fondest voice in the world.

Jace always shows off at tourneys, but especially if Helaena is in attendance. He asks for her favor without fail, and she never denies him. If he wins, he is sure to crown her the queen of love and beauty.

Jacaerys is a man of honor. He desires nothing more than to wed Helaena and rule alongside her. But because of his code of honor, he feels a deep need to have a good relationship with her family. He craves their approval of the match, even if Helaena insists it doesn’t matter. He tries everything in his power to get Alicent to like him or at least respect him. He knows that Helaena’s brothers are pretty much a lost cause, especially Aemond, but he never gives up on trying to win Alicent’s favor, even after he and Helaena marry.

Both Helaena and Jace struggle with High Valyrian. It is a point of bonding for them, both being slow learners of the language. They help each other and study together often, finding lessons more bearable if they’re working together.

After they wed, they both decide they want many children. Jace hopes for them to look like Hel, with her soft round face and wavy silver hair, but Hel hopes for the opposite, wishing for them to have their father’s dark unruly curls and warm brown eyes.

Jacaerys prefers dressing lavishly, while Helaena likes to keep her outfits simple. Jace often wears full Targaryen regalia, his tunics and cloaks made of fine silk or velvet, with the added addition of many silver and gold accents such as rings and brooches. Helaena prefers comfortable and light dresses, usually in pale pinks, blues and yellows.

Jace has always been uncomfortable around insects, but in an attempt to bond with Helaena, he tries to loosen up and relax around them. This backfires often, when he confidently picks up an unfamiliar insect to show off to her, and is bitten immediately. She appreciates the effort nonetheless, and explains to him how to properly handle insects as a maester tends to his bug bites.

Jace is fascinated by her dragon dreams. He writes down every riddle she says, often reading them over and over to try to unravel the words to find their true meaning. He is always careful to never push her on explaining them, knowing it’s best to leave her be and distract her with something else once she’s done speaking of them.

They both think they’re not good enough to be with the other. They’re always trying to better themselves for one another. Always trying to be someone worthy of ruling with the other, and loving the other. It takes a long time for them to realize the other feels the same way they do, and they have a long talk, reassuring each other that they’re both good enough. When they both realize they love each other unconditionally, just as they are, their union becomes stronger and more devoted than ever.

And lastly, Jacaerys and Helaena have a long, happy, peaceful and prosperous reign together. They live long lives and are surrounded by loved ones when they pass away, and countless poems and songs live on, telling the tale of the dragon king and the gentle queen, and the remarkable and deep love they had for one another.

[backpackingspace]

Eurylochus trying to physically drag odysseus by his ankles as odysseus clings to some tree root. (They've reached a stalemate. Polites couldn't make it today for some reason, he had blacksmithing training.)

Eurylochus: how the fuck are you king?

Odysseus, who needs to get all his dramatics out before going back to being responsible: didn't you hear i stole it from my dad

Eurylochus: nevermind I'm just going to kill you

Odysseus: I mean you can try ONE of us is being trained by the goddess of war

@www-dot-why-are-you-here-dot-com

[moonlit-escape]

. ☠︎︎.˖⚝๋࣭⭑ֶָ֢♱ Gene Mystreet headcanons !!

my third and final favourite mystreet character. oh how stupid i am. my 6th and far from final favourite myst character. he's so silly i need to beat his ass

5'7.4 (171.2cm)

hispanic

bisexual (it runs in the family. their mom is bi too)

scorpio ♏️

the eyebags aren't just bc he's has a god awful sleep schedule, they're actually hereditary (dante covers his with cucumbers and a skincare routine)

only speaks in spanish when he's losing his shit (arguing, panicking, tripped and scraped his knee on the sidewalk)

god can that boy dance

honestly just really loves cats

he went through a rough patch in uni and it sort of gave him a major wake up call as to just how he was doing and what kind of person he was and wanted to be

he, zenix, and sasha went their separate ways during uni, but tried to keep mostly in touch until eventually coming back together as roomies

god he would have just. the Worst depression meals. bro eats macaroni cheese dust in a glass with milk like it's a fucking nesquik packet. takes apart oreos and eats all the cream off, then puts pieces of ham in between them like theyre goddamn lunchable crackers. makes mayonnaise and jello sandwiches. takis and sweet relish. sasha and zenix have to make sure they come home on time and cook something before he puts whatever fucking concoction he makes into his body.

but he's actually a pretty damn good cook (when he's Not in a depressive episode)

learned to read fairly quickly, so he would always read dante to sleep

HARD gifted kid burnout like my man crashed and burned at 16

but now he's just a silly little nerd

favourite ninja turtle is donatello (mainly bc his fav color is purple)

he likes anime a lot, honestly. especially from 1990 to 2000s

plays mihoyo games. his mains are, respectively; cyno (genshin), jing yuan (hsr), and anton (zenless). This is a meta joke.

piercings,,, pirericngs,,,,, yesssss ,.

typa guy to use kaomoji and cat emoticons and send you cat videos off of youtube

the only social media he has is tumblr and reddit his punkass doesnt fw any other

he'd probably get a tattoo. maybe for his sweet girl, Apple, the poor thing

wants another cat, but he wants to give sasha and zenix no other choice but to let him take one in, so he's up Praying a stray will find him and follow him home

*opens his wallet and an entire roll of dante's baby pictures fall out* "UHM- UH- FWUH- I WAS HOLDING THESE FOR MY MOM-" dante, travis, and aph tear up on the spot

carries an epipen on his person at all times in case of emergencies. it was something he did growing up with dante, just in case the kid had something with peanuts, and it just kinda followed him into adulthood

was never that mean to travis, since he was dante's best friend, but he was never careful around him either, so

him and garroth actually end up being great friends who just spend most of their conversations gushing about mutual interests (their baby brothers, cats, video games) or sassing each other off

no wait bc why would his taste in men absolutely be himbos. (or at least just very sweet, kind-hearted people)

he calls people by specific little terms of endearment, depending on the type of response. that doesnt make sense. let me elaborate.

uses "babe" or "honey" when someone is in distress or upset ("oh, honey,,")

uses "bucko" or "buddy" when someone mouths off at him ("oookay there, buddy." "alright then, bucko.")

you get it now

the type of friend that is Always ready to back you up on your bullshit. absolutely no hesitation

he really didn't have a crush on aph, he was just a Grade A Asshole who thought it was fun to fuck with people

because he was viciously jealous of people who were capable of being happy and having good lives

not that he had a particularly awful, hard life. sure, his family had their struggles, but they were getting by. yes, he has felt like there was something deeply wrong with him that has been present within himself since even before he was born that made most people avoid him like he was on a secret list. but it was fine

he just knew that he had a sick feeling in him, and the only way he'd feel anything else was if he was a mean little asshole

some nights, it did scare him. it frightened him how bitter his tongue always tasted

and all of the time, constantly, buried beneath the feelings of hate, he felt guilt. he felt so, so much guilt. but, his only coping mechanism for when he's feeling bad is to do more bad things, and pretend he's always in the right

and, eventually, he broke. he broke down hard. now, since he's seen that his first plan to get rid of this feeling of skin-deep sin has failed, he's decided to try the other way. to atone

[snailvibes]

Evening chat I give you my list of some of my autistic Max Caulfield related headcanons except a lot ended up being pricefield related oops (does include spoilers)

Remember these are all HEADCANONS and me just being silly and having fun projecting on my fav lol

- that grey jacket she’s always wearing? That’s her comfort clothing item why do you think she’s still got it in double exposure

- even ever since she was really young Max has always been a picky eater bc of dealing with food textures and generally not liking a lot of things. Chloe always tried to make sure her mom bought things that Max liked so she could always have stuff to give her no matter what

- Max doesn’t really know how to like. Enter group discussions, it’s a lot easier for her to talk to people if it’s either one on one and with someone she’s familiar or comfortable with, she knows what she’s gonna say to someone before going in (like “I’m going to go up to Kate and check in on her” or “I’m going to go up to Brooke and ask about her drone”), or it’s someone talking to her and asking her questions, so when it’s people just generally chatting in a group she usually gets left out cus she doesn’t know how to jump in

- loud noises usually overstimulate her (vortex club party was hell) and growing up one of the more common times that occurred was when it stormed outside :) [which still held true throughout the game :))] post sacrifice Arcadia Bay ending she just kinda completely shut down in Chloe’s truck for a long while through a mix of it and the emotions from everything

- aside from Chloe, Kate was the first person Max found who actively listened to and engaged in her infodumping. During their first few tea hangout sessions she’d find herself accidentally going on about photography and stop herself, and every time Kate would encourage her to keep going cus she enjoyed hearing about it (ultimate Loves to yap + loves to listen duo)

- a lot of the time when Max shuts down she ends up going nonverbal for long periods of time and Chloe is the only one who can translate what she’s trying to communicate lmao. Everyone else, while they mean well, tend to just get confused so if she’s like with Kate or Warren when it happens they’ll just be like “shit time to track down Chloe”

- Chloe’s hair is one of her favorite things to mess with and play with cus she loves the sensation of running her hands through it, so when she’s overwhelmed Chloe will just take off her beanie and let Max run her hands through her hair for as long as she needs

- The Captain is her comfort plush which is why she brought him with her to Arcadia Bay. Usually she carries him around with her as much as she can but she didn’t wanna get made fun of for it at Blackwell so she started keeping him in her dorm. Post Sacrifice Arcadia Bay, she drags Chloe back to Blackwell before they leave so she can retrieve him from the rubble and starts carrying him with her everywhere again. Post Sacrifice Chloe she just starts carrying him with her everywhere at School without really worrying about what people will think, and everyone just doesn’t say anything cus they can tell she needs it.

- Max relies on music a LOT to block out the world when everything is too much. Chloe knows this and when she’s not using her earbuds to do it alone, will always offer to sit quietly and listen with her if she wants

- Warren Graham I know what you are /ref him and Max infodump about nerdy movies together almost every chance they get and sometimes they have to be pried apart in the halls to get them to go to class bc they will go on for hours if left alone to

- going back to that “Max struggles with conversation in groups” point, if said convos are happening in the photography classroom whether it’s a “class discuss this” moment or a group project, Kate will always try her best to get Max included in ways that work for her like asking for her thoughts or just pulling herself away from the group to chat with Max one on one

- girlie needs very specific instructions for things because otherwise she will overthink what to do and get confused and this has screwed her over with so many class assignments but I think she’d get help from Kate in that regard because she’s the only one she’s not anxious about asking if she knows what someone meant by something

[kuroo-hitsuji]

The Dark Santa Mammon card... Unrealistic (/hj). I'm gonna be so real, as soon as I knew his ass wasn't possessed or cursed or something I would be eating that shit uP--

Mammon can be pushy. As a treat. On account of the whole being a huge sub literally 90% of the time thing shxhjsgdhzhx Very rarely Trying to be dominant gets you free Dom For The Day tickets in my book and Mammon has a surplus--

[generic-sonic-fan]

Want a super-hyper death gun that'll vaporize robots in a flash built for you? Go to Tails.

Want something that an actual fucking person will use on a day-to-day basis built for you? Go to Knuckles.

[tendoujo]

HC 01 : A "short" analysis of Akane being a parallel to Ranma fighting gender norms.

Are we, in 2024, ready to accept that Akane Tendo is Ranma's perfect parallel when it comes to the symbolism of fighting against the gender norms of their time and the acceptance of one's true self ?

Ranma is a character that suffers from the consequences and expectations of a normalized TOXIC MASCULINITY IN THE LATE 80s - mid 90s. His transformation is one clever tool to show the viewer the change of treatment his male form gets from the female one, both having their own pros and cons according to the situation and beliefs the character gets into. This series heavily emphasizes the gained value Ranma obtains when he's a man, almost as if showing how people consider him less or weak when he's a woman. After all, Ranma 1/2 makes a constant MOCKERY of the injustices caused by sexism in a Japan of such era.

Ranma takes it from the point of view of a man trying to fulfill the expectations of a toxic masculinity laid upon him, a mere teenager that, when forced to be a woman, loses a supposed "value" and "strength". He NEEDS to break the curse not because he WANTS TO to but rather to keep the WORTH people see on him, a worth only relevant when he's a man.

And here's where Akane enters the picture. While Ranma's female form shows you a pinch of the unfair treatment women go through everyday ( the effect of sexism ), it is Akane's character the one taking it fully from the perspective of a woman. One that's not only dealing with the sexism of society but also one where her demeanor and appearance does NOT fit the traditional concept of FEMININITY.

Akane's described as a TOMBOY, or at least what people considered to be a tomboy in the 80s - 90s. For our current times, she's pretty feminine having a closet full of colorful outfits with skirts and dresses, plus an emotion-driven personality. Yet we are seeing it from the current values and agenda. Back then Akane was the perfect example of a TOMBOYISH CHARACTER, aka : a girl that had short hair, took roles mostly associated with men, "acted just as violent as a man", got into constant physical fights, and had the strength mostly seen in male characters.

She disregarded the usual "main female character" tropes, especially the one of the "main love interest" that we see of women acting all feminine, delicate, dependant, with the house wife attributes of cooking and taking care of others.

Throughout the story Akane is pint pointed as a girl less cuter than the others for acting like a "boy" or rather, not taking part of the girl stereotypes of those years. She's not good with cooking or sewing, her skills fall better in fields mostly dominated AND expected in men like martial arts and the display of one's strength. She has to constantly deal with others demeaning her as "weak", "uncute", "macho", "ugly", etc, during the story only for 1. being a girl, and 2. not matching the expectations ( both physically and mentally ) set on women.

Although Shampoo does know martial arts as well, it seems that the story "forgives her" for acting AND looking more traditionally feminine and knowing basic "housewives attributes" ( example cooking ). The fandom and manga calls Akane the "tomboyish" one for being so violent when in reality, Shampoo is just as violent or even more than her. But it's important to mention that Shampoo IS A VICTIM OF THE SEXISM throughout the story as well. Perhaps she doesn't have it as rough as Akane or rather, her problems set root in another topic compared to Akane's battle with her FEMININITY.

Physically, though having banger outfits in the manga, she doesn't match the "pretty feminine girl" concept. First, her body. It's taken as a JOKE in most instances with Ranma and other characters making fun of her body lacking certain. . . aspects. Later on in the manga, Akane finds herself being insecure of it to the point of starting to consider herself "not enough" or the fear of getting confused with a BOY.

Second, HER HAIR, a key element in her story. Some old folks still see short hair in women as something "masculine" and this alone shows another effect of TOXIC TRADITIONAL FEMININITY and how it impacted Akane's character. We see at the beginning of the series that her long hair represented her FEMININITY and how letting it grow was her solution to be seen AND accepted by others as a girl.

If she couldn't change her demeanor as a fighter then PHYSICALLY she tried to make it up for it in what she could control : her hair. So when it was taken away, it was as if she had been stripped of something that made her BE ACCEPTED. Like the title of the chapter says : A girl's hair is her life.

Akane losing her hair meant that she had to deal with a sudden supposed lack of femininity and it is exactly this what makes her confront herself and eventually, accept her own person regardless of what others think of her.

She's dealing with toxic masculinity, as well as toxic femininity. Akane is seen as weak by men because of her gender, most not considering her an eligible rival. But they also see her as girl that "lacks" for not matching the traditional standards ( aka. stereotypes ) of a girl. It's truly sad to think that not only do the men judge her but so do women, even her own sisters feed onto such expectations.

Akane is a character that HAD TO TAKE THE ROLE OF THE "SON" of the Tendo family cause no one else would. Mostly so her father could be at peace knowing that someone capable was in charge of the family business and it seems that it wasn't enough with Soun WANTING a man in charge despite Akane's best efforts. Akane is STRIPPED AWAY from the family business, her future, just for being a girl. Unless she gets married, of course. . .

The STRUGGLES OF A WOMAN having to deal with that era's sexism, the imposed traditional femininity and toxic masculinity is translated better through Akane's perspective and her story than female Ranma's. She IS his parallel from another point of view and challenges when it comes to fighting gender norms and the eventual acceptance of one's true self because, despite being mocked every chapter, she CONTINUES BEING GENUINE TO HERSELF. She can doubt herself, change her opinion or try something new but at the end of the day, she always decides to BE TRUE TO WHO SHE REALLY IS AND CONTINUE DOING WHAT SHE LIKES DESPITE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK OF HER. Credit is due where credit is deserved and Akane does need to be recognized more as an actual character that broke barriers. Actually, it's ironic to think that Ranma is widely recognized as THE character that broke gender norms in the 80s while people poorly mention or even consider Akane one as well. Almost as if HER being exactly a GIRL gave her less of a value in her OWN FIGHTS against the gender norms and sexism. The joke writes itself.

[bitchapalooza]

Law being sex and romance repulsed Aromantic asexual, Luffy sex repulsed demiromantic asexual. Law being Luffy's first ever crush, and first ever heartbreak because Law has to shut him down. But, for the first time, Law explains WHY he let him down when before he would just be a jerk and be mean to that person so they'd leave him alone (he doesn't even owe them an explanation anyway, plus they were usually always strangers in the first place), that he just can't fathom even the concept of reciprocating because he just can't. Well that might be an exaggeration. Law is aware he's capable of feeling something towards a person that could lead to a companionship. But romance? He's not sure he's really capable of experiencing such a thing. He's never had crushes, never looked at a person and felt like he wanted to spend his entire life with them. He can understand romance and relationships, but he can't see himself personally experiencing them. And it's not like he could force himself to do it either. Because he'll end up just hurting the poor guy. He genuinely can't be physical, besides maybe a hug on occasion? Maybe? But to go beyond a hug—the thought of it makes his stomach drop, makes him shiver. Can't explain it, it's just not something he's able to do.

And Luffy just laughs. He laughs at Law's deeply personal, and pretty awkwardly said, explanation. Luffy explains that he feels the exact same way! Or a little bit? Somewhat? He's not sure. And usually he's pretty good at deciphering his own feelings—over time anyway. Not the best at it but he's been his own therapist for a long time so he'd say he's like half way to expert levels by now. Luffy says he's still confused about why he's suddenly having these feelings. Why he so desperately wants to be with Law. He already enjoys Law's company to begin with. Loves it in fact. He says he definitely gets what Law is talking about being intimate. It's something that makes him squirm, like he wants to crawl out of his own skin. He's fine with most physical touch, he says, but the idea of more makes him feel..... Nervous? Like crushes, he's just never felt that spark, as Ace once called it when Luffy asked what it felt like to be with someone (as if a 15 year old who just got his first girlfriend a week prior is instantly an expert in these things).

Luffy may not have gotten what he wanted when he told Law he thinks he's got a crush on him and he wants to understand it all by dating like he's seen other people with crushes do. But he and Law did grow a little closer and even felt a newfound sense of normal wash over them. That idea of being broken slowly leaving their combined self deprecating vocabulary. Even feeling a bit of freedom now that they've both finally spoken their feelings aloud.

[jamiesfootball]

📓

CONGRATULATIONS. YOU ARE THE LUCKY WINNER OF THE LONGEST RESPONSE. I'M SO SORRY.

Welcome to my Jamie can have more than 1 2 3 4 best friends agenda starring Isaac McAdoo From Isaac’s perspective See the one thing Isaac always had a thing about is people seeing him on his own merits. He knows all too well that his image fits a stereotype—there’s nothing he can do to change that—but what he can do is put the effort in to make sure the other parts of him shine through. So he studies up: on fashion, on kinesics, on Shakespeare. Anything he’s interested in, he puts the effort in. So it’s not enough for Roy to give him the captain’s band- he has to earn it. He has to put the effort in, or it doesn’t count as his.

Then there’s Colin. Colin came to Richmond during the same transfer period as Isaac, and from day one they've been getting scolded for talking during video review. Colin is easy; they share a wavelength. A silliness. Colin is judgy and a bit hot tempered, but also completely easy-going with whatever Isaac suggests. He’s never had to try hard with Colin. When Jamie shows up at Richmond the first time there’s a bit of that too. He’s got some of their silliness and humor, though it’s shrouded in dickish overtones. He’s more willing than Colin is to push back if he doesn’t like something, but there isn’t much he isn’t willing to go along with when Isaac suggests it. Plus Jamie thinks it’s funny when Colin gets into a proper bitch session (Isaac agrees). But Isaac thought Jamie appreciated him for the other stuff. He never came at Isaac the way he came at Sam about the football stuff, so he always assumed that Jamie could see that Isaac was putting the work in. That he respected the effort of trying to do well on a team that wasn’t doing well, but was certainly trying to do better. That he respected Isaac. Then Isaac was throwing a chair through a tv, and more fool on Isaac then- Jamie never respected any of them at all. But Roy gave him the captain's band and Isaac McAdoo always earns what he’s given, so when Jamie comes back to Richmond he knows it’s on him to set an example.

He lets the other lads take the lead, but mentally Isaac’s prepared to have it out if he needs to show Jamie who’s in charge this time around. It doesn’t come to that. Jamie comes sulking back in like a puppy who’s new and nervous to play with the big dogs. He stands there and apologizes. He takes it when the lads throw at him the same complaints that Isaac’s been fielding since he took on the armband- from the valid (Sam’s stewing anger) to the less valid (Richard deserved it) to the….Isaac isn’t sure (‘he unfollowed all of us on Twitter, Dani. It wasn’t just you’).

Jamie never challenges Isaac’s claim to leadership. It irks something awful, and something in Isaac suspects that Jamie still doesn’t respect him.

Then the gaffer goes mental one day, yelling at them like a Loony Tunes character, and Jamie’s the only one of them to say anything about it. Isaac should’ve said something. Someone needed to call the coach out and he should’ve done it. He keeps telling himself to do better as a captain, but then these situations crop up and he doesn’t know what to do until after the thing has happened.

But Jamie didn’t look at him after like he was trying to steal Isaac’s lead. If anything he looked confused, bewildered when the team gave him props for standing up for them. No, it wasn’t a power move on his part. He was just doing the right thing. The right thing that Isaac should’ve done.

Isaac games it out with Colin, the Jamie mess. Colin reassures him that it was a funky situation and that the lads knows Isaac is trying his best. Colin wouldn’t lie to him.

So Isaac figures ‘you get what you give’ right? If Jamie’s going to make an effort, then so is he. If he wants Jamie’s respect, he’ll give a little first. Isaac makes an effort to grease the way on Jamie coming back into the fold. He’s got a handshake with everybody on the team and he makes of point of showing everyone on the pitch that Jamie’s got one too (had one before the rest of them, if he’s being honest; had one since back when they used to hit the clubs together). It’s easier than he thought it’d be, folding Jamie back in to club nights, movie nights, the occasional cheat day brunch.

One morning they’re sipping on cheat-day mimosas at Colin’s (and watching the highlights from the game from the night before in a time-honored tradition of not even pretending they don’t have egos) and Colin finally cracks and tells Jamie his stupid gelled back hair last year made him look like a luge runner. Isaac is proud—that’s the longest Colin’s ever kept his opinion to himself. Jamie snorts orange juice on himself; Colin yells about his couch. Jamie tells them that he was just revisiting old haunts and the mood struck him, yeah? Swear I won’t do it again.

Isaac tells him he better not. Reflects poorly on him as captain if one of his crew shows up looking like a twat. He throws it out without thinking. It’s the first time he’s given voice to the new hierarchy between them and he’s not sure how Jamie will respond.

Jamie responds by complaining that the orange juice burned his nose. Then by texting Isaac the next morning, a photo of himself in the mirror rocking one of those puffy vests he likes and a stiff collared button-up shirt Isaac wouldn’t be caught dead in. His hair is gelled back, but it doesn’t look too awful with the halfway decent fade he sports these days (Isaac could do better, he’s just saying).

The text says, “all good cap??”

Isaac texts back a photo of himself. “needs work bruv”

He’s not sure if its respect, but it’s something good. Something that makes him crack jokes, and hang off of Sam’s shoulders, and defend Isaac’s artistry with the razor to Jan like it’s his own honor at stake. (This in spite of the fact that Jamie has never, not once cashed in his free yearly haircut).

It’s all good and then Wembley happens and Isaac thinks that maybe the real issue is that Jamie’s never seen what respect looks like in his life. Maybe the flaw was never in Isaac as a captain or a player, if this was the man who should’ve taught him what it looked like in the first place.

He tests the waters when Jamie comes to him and Colin panicked after the funeral and tells them he pulled some stupid shit with Keeley (‘the funeral got to me. I don’t know why I said that—Roy’s going to murder me’). Jamie’s got himself all worked up that Roy’s going to talk to the gaffer and they’re going to send him packing—as if—and Isaac tells him full stop that the only way through it is to be responsible for his actions. Tell Roy the truth. Tell him you didn’t mean to step on his relationship, and that you respect him.

Because Jamie does respect Roy. Isaac knows that much. He can see it in the way Jamie followed him around like a lost duckling when Roy first came back to coach. Now that he knows what he’s looking for, he can see it a lot in how Jamie looks at Ted when Ted is doing one of his Ted-talks. He can see it in how Jamie looks at Sam when Sam talks about how Twitter still won’t lay off about the Dubai Air thing but he refuses to let them treat him with disrespect but he also refuses to stoop to their level. Jamie’s respect looks a lot like awe and wonder with just a hint of confusion. Jamie never looks at Isaac like that.

Jamie does take his advice though, and by the end of the season him and Roy seem square. Isaac’ll take the win.

Colin complains that when Roy headbutted him, he got a concussion, but when Jamie gets headbutted he gets a hug.

Isaac and Jamie both go in for a very sarcastic hug at the same time. Maximum silliness reinstated. All is right in the world.

Zava arrives and Isaac, for a while, finds himself swayed and forgetting his purpose as a captain. It’s something he’ll look back at and regret, like the Loony Tunes situation, how he got so caught up in the flow of things that he forgot to ask himself what he should be doing as a captain.

Zava sticks around and Colin gets moved to second string. That, Isaac notices. He may not be the captain he should be, but he knows how to be there for his best friend.

Zava leaves. Isaac, faced with his shortcomings, doesn’t handle it well. He over-corrects and insists on everybody bonding in Amsterdam. He keeps half an eye on the hotel door so he can flag Jamie over when Roy’s done with him, but the night comes and goes and the two of them never show up. When they catch the bus the next morning, the two of them seem better, settled and relaxed the way Roy hasn’t looked all year. Isaac puts that down as another thing to learn: bonding ain’t just about the team. Sometimes the coaches need it too. A year ago he might’ve been worried about Jamie stepping on his heels. He hasn't worried about that in a while.

When Total Football goes awry, he over-corrects again but in the opposite way. Lashes out at Jamie for not scoring goals at his end of the pitch, while Isaac hasn't been holding up his half of the job either. But Jamie's the one with the strategy, and he explains it in a way that makes it seem so obvious to Isaac afterwards.

Jamie has respect now. From the team. From the coaches. From Isaac.

And there's Isaac, and he's still missing shit that should be so obvious.

“I told you boyo. You’re seeing things that aren’t there. You don’t have nothing to worry about,” Colin tells him one week.

The next week finds Isaac footing it after his best friend because Colin's a judgmental arsehole when he wants to be, but this time he's off the mark. The ladies who sent photos to their fellas didn't do anything wrong. Whatever girls sent photos to Colin, Isaac will sort it out. He's not happy that this is the side that Colin’s come down on, but they’ll work it out. He’s his best friend; they’ll work it out. He doesn’t have anything to worry about.

It takes holding Colin's phone in his hand for Isaac to realize he's never seen his best friend with a girl.

It’s like he’s the epicenter of an atom bomb, the way the world fizzles away to nothing in his ears, thoughts blown far from the radius until all he could do is hand the phone back and walk away.

Another one of those things he should’ve noticed, but didn’t. Except worse.

He tells Colin everything, and it feels like Colin’s lied about everything.

It hurts. It’s a ball of rage so deep it takes him out at the knees, and it makes him want to do worse than throw a chair at the TV.

For the next month there’s no cheat-day mimosas. There’s no impromptu late-night FIFA matches and avoiding Roy’s wrath when he catches them yawning the next morning. Colin slinks around him in the locker room and makes jokes with the other lads and looks to Isaac for a sign of a smile like this is just a tiff. Like any day now Isaac’s going to roll his eyes and say ‘okay I’m over it we’re square now.’

Isaac doesn’t know how to be over it. He feels himself tearing up just thinking too hard about it. When he doesn’t say anything back and Colin looks away in disappointment, Isaac wants to do worse than throw chairs.

Isaac’s always tried to make sure he gets what he deserves, but he doesn’t know what he did to deserve this.

If this were anybody else it wouldn’t be happening, he’d call Colin and game plan that shit. But it is Colin, and given the potentially sensitive nature, what Isaac really needs is someone who won’t ask too many questions.

That’s what he tells himself when he hits up Jamie to see if he can carve out some time to grab a drink with Isaac, between Roy’s insane extra workouts and the team’s new everyday insane workouts.

He needn’t have worried about spilling any secrets. Jamie wasn't Colin. Colin had an unassuming way of under-reacting that makes you feel like you could tell him anything and he wouldn’t bat an eye. Which is false—what he actually does is he lets you pour your heart out and then tells you you’re being an idiot (judgmental prick).

Jamie on the other hand finds a bone to pick and then natters you into fighting over it, and before Isaac knows it they’ve spent two hours arguing about the end of Inception and he hasn’t once thought about Colin and the huge, stupid secret Isaac’s got locked inside his chest.

Isaac invites Jamie out again two nights later, when the breathing gets tough. Then again on the weekend, when its starting to dawn on Isaac how a Colin-less life makes a calendar feel like an empty hallway after the party’s over.

He spends a month patching over the Colin-holes with Jamie-shaped gauze.

For a shit month, it's pretty enjoyable.

Around week two they go on a shopping spree. An honest to god break out the champagne full fucking wardrobe shopping spree. (Colin doesn’t really like shopping; Jamie isn’t Colin). When they finish ransacking the first store, Jamie lays down his card and tells the shop assistants, "It’s on me." Isaac gets the tab at the next place. He talks Jamie into expanding his pallet to include more summer colors – sneaks a sky blue hoodie into the pile when Jamie isn’t looking – and in return Jamie hypes him up to hell and back, saying he looks mad fit every time he comes out of the dressing room while daring Isaac into trying some basic color blocks ("Not everything needs a print, mate"). He even finds Isaac a pair of pink-tinted sunglasses that are surprisingly tasteful.

The thing is it's become a habit, Jamie hyping him up. Going on a year later, most days him and Jamie are still swapping pictures of their outfits each day. Slowly but surely, Jamie's style has stopped looking like ‘DSQUARED2 but only the lame parts.' His style now is fresher, more dialed in. Occasionally, Isaac will admit, he looks fucking fly. Not as fly as Isaac, but the effort's there.

(Colin’s fashion choices are atrocious—if he ever complimented him, Isaac would burn the outfit on the spot.)

When they finally split afterwards, Jamie pulls him into a tight hug and thanks him like Isaac’s the one who’s done him the big favor, instead of Jamie being the one anchoring Isaac to sanity.

After a month he's mad at Colin, and he’s mad at himself for still being mad at Colin. He doesn't know how to fix it.

But no one, absolutely no one, is allowed to throw hate at Colin.

The damn breaks when Isaac isn’t ready, and then Roy's pulling him back and he's in the locker room yelling and all the unfairness and the anger and the guilt and the missing-Colin boils to the surface, and Isaac is gonna cry if he doesn’t get out of there.

Isaac isn’t so far gone that he forgets about the armband, the weight of the thing he’s earned but certainly doesn’t deserve right now. He leaves with Sam, with his steadiness and grace and discernment. He'll either keep it safe or give it back, depending on which way the scales tip for Isaac when he leaves the room.

Roy sets him straight. A year ago Roy’s lessons were sharper, lessons under streetlamps that you had to fight through yourself. Since Amsterdam, he’s been as soft with the team as Isaac’s ever seen him. He doesn’t know what Jamie did to bring that out, but he feels a similar softness in himself when Jamie corners him after the game to tell him what went down in the locker room after he left.

Colin came out to the team.

Colin came out to the team for Isaac.

“Everyone was really supportive about it,” Jamie reassures him. He’s tugging his ear, an awkward tick he’s picked up from Sam, and he’s not quite looking Isaac in the eye but Isaac can’t look anybody in the eye right now either so that checks out. “About him, but also about you, in case it were you too.”

That'd be a new level of drama even for this team. Isaac snorts. “Nah, it wasn’t me.”

Jamie huffs, “Yeah. Didn’t think so.” Then he pauses for a second and adds, “But if it ever was something, you could let us know, yeah? We’re here for Colin. We’d be here for you too. If you're upset about something, you can just tell us. You don't got to spend a month making excuses to hang out.”

It’s Isaac’s turn to instigate one of those crushing hugs. Jamie hugs back just as tight.

There’s too much going on for one day, a red card and Roy Kent telling him to calm down and sort himself out and Colin—fuck he’s got to talk to Colin—but one of these days—

—it’s been poking at the back of his mind, the way that Jamie sometimes is a bit like a can of Lynx. It smells like Lynx and it looks like Lynx but sometimes Isaac suspects he only thinks that because he saw the label first. Another one of those things that he learns that'll make more sense after Isaac figures it out, he’s sure. That's for another day.

For now Colin hears him out. Colin lets him talk. Colin says something about one-percent uncertainty feeling like ninety-nine percent terror, and it strikes a chord, harmonizing with the uncertainty he’d felt over the idea that if Colin lied about one thing, then Colin lied about everything.

Colin doesn’t lie to him. Isaac should’ve remembered that. He should’ve let the ninety-nine percent truth bury out the one-percent lie.

Colin does that thing where he lets Isaac talk himself into numerous dumb dead-ends and only sort of mocks him for it afterwards. Judgmental prick. Lighthearted arsehole. Isaac missed him.

He’s so fucking grateful for the return of Colin-time that a good month goes by. Issac doesn't clock the fact that he’s not hung out with Jamie for a while until fucking Roy Kent side-swipes him with it out of nowhere. Roy had been looking for Jamie, and Isaac quips without thinking, "why would I know where he is? I thought you two were attached at the hip these days?"

Roy grits his teeth and says, "Would’ve thought you’d know, you being best friends and all."

He says it with emphasis, like he’s quoting something. Someone. Jamie. Like he’s quoting Jamie.

He says it as if it’s not news to Isaac’s ears.

He says it and Isaac feels like a fucking idiot. He'd replaced his actual best friend with Jamie for like a month, and Jamie had let him even though Jamie knew Isaac was full of shit and making excuses to hang out. And Jamie was being supportive, stepping back and skipping out on cheat-day mimosas while Colin and Isaac re-navigated years’ worth of late-night conversations, now with the pronouns flipped over.

Colin was Isaac’s best friend. But if Jamie thought Isaac was his best friend—

Well.

Isaac wasn’t in the habit of keeping things he hadn’t earned. If Jamie thought Isaac was his best friend, then Isaac was going to earn it.

Maybe he could convince him to start with a haircut.

[thatseventiesbitch]

A scene I can see in my mind so clearly:

Donna comes home late from work or school, and Eric is feeding baby Leia dinner and they’re both messy and giggling - or he’s giving her a bath and they’re both soaked and giggling - or he’s reading her a bedtime story and doing goofy voices and she’s giggling - and Donna just stands there and watches them for a minute, smiling like this: