#val was so committed im so sad

[mightbeorphanedidk]

how did the four die??? is it the same as canon, undecided, or different????

I'm assuming you mean Alastor, Vox, Valentino, and Velvette. If so,Oooo, idk. From what I know (correct me if im wrong) Vox, Val, and Vel's deaths haven't been confirmed. And I THINK that Alastor was like, shot in the forehead???

I'd normally follow the canon but.. Al's death just seems... stupid??

Apparently he died because while hiding a body in a hunting ground, he was confused for a deer and shot in the head???

Those??? Do not??? Look the same??? How did someone confuse those?? It doesnt really explain how Alastor died to DOGS, either. I was thinking about it a few days back and came up with an okay-theory.

The way you look in Hell represents how you died, so I don't necessarily disagree with the notion that he was shot like a deer. But I don't think he was CONFUSED for a deer, to me, that's just stupid.

My theory is literally just:

Hi im alastor the serial killer (and cannibal???). Oh no i got caught killing someone here i go running through a hunting ground aaaahhhh

Oh no they sent dogs running after me ahhh i can't outrun police dogs

Ahhhh they got me they're mauling my arms and legs to stop me from moving ahhh ohhh the pain

Oh hello sherrif of the town conduct your funky lil speech as my arms and legs get chewed up by your dogs

Oh hes shot me in the head :( Im dead now in the middle of the deer hunting grounds, and because i died being TREATED like a deer, im a deer in hell

Yeah thats my theory.

As for Vox, Valentino, and Velvette, my stories are very.... out there??

Valentino:

Hello my name is valentino i am a university student who has been treated well by hjs parents all his life and has gotten good grades and stuff

Oh whats this my friends want me to party with them

Look at me now im addicted to partying my grades are going down my parents are disappointed in me oh well lets keep partying

Im super drunk and just commit a pretty bad crime i need to get out of here

Drunk and driving? Only one outcome

Im dead now womp womp

Velvette:

Hi im velvette i want to start a fashion career but my parents said no

My sister is the only one to support me, she sacrificed everything to get my career going. Oh no she died im so sad ill keep fashioning to live for her

Oh my fashion career failed. Guess I'll die

And thus she killed herself

Vox:

Hello my name is <definitely not vox> and i live in a household where my parents thoroughly believe in this weird religion that is definitely not legal or ethical. My dad watches weird messages on the TV and phone and stuff that the world is going to end and we all need to submit to death on a specific date

When i grew up i began preaching the same thing because it was all i knew and when the day came i led the mass self-offing (does tumblr have filters??). Yeah oopsies

[russilton]

Im new here and i must say that ur blog is a treasure to me (no dramatic). I enjoy ur postings a lot and I admire you sooo much!

It's a fascinating ship BUT sadly not a lot of people have realized this point i may say. and Im wondering when did you start to ship them? (cuz u know, the No1 gewis fan i may say? lol). Like when george came to merc? or even before? or it's like some special moments and everything suddenly clicks?

(feel free to ignore this if you don't wanna answer(but im lookin forward to it 😜)

Well anon you got me blushing at 10am, thank you very much

Wildly, I can give you the exact moment I started shipping it, because I documented it on discord.

See I’d sent @thatsmemate a gif of Bono earlier that day while explaining f1 to her, and she’d said Lewis and Bono looked like they were carnally in love, which to be fair in that gif they absolutely did. Then she went to bed, and I, a man with the flu and access to an ao3 account, did what any normal person does, and went “huh I wonder if there’s fic about Lewis on ao3”

And there sure was (fic is censored because I didn’t end up personally enjoying it but that’s not the authors fault, I just didn’t vibe with top George)

As we can all guess, it did indeed open Pandora’s box, because nobody reads just one fic when they’re sick.

I do truly wonder had my first f1 rpf fic been sewis or galex if I’d be here now- I really don’t know! I can explain to you all the reasons gewis is so vibrant and important and meaningful to me, but I also know I imprint like a duck, and it may have been the fact that it was the first fic I read and I went “well, this is awesome, I would like more” and then when I tried other ships it just… didn’t do anything for me? I mean I was well aware of and still follow the sewis sub reddit but never felt inclined to the fic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (I also blame @hamiltvn and @danielssmile for having posted fics that knocked me on my ass when I started reading gewis , like can’t argue with quality)

Whatever it was, it clicked with me, and while I tried to go “this is weird they’re real people we can’t read this” I just… kept going back all while watching the races. I’d already gotten SO fond of George at Merc as it was, I was a fan of his before he signed with them, and while I was sad when he was signed over Val, I was also excited as all hell. Val seemed like Merc was taking a huge toll on him, and George was so silly but incredibly committed.

I can also give you the moment it clicked. I was on IG, recommended to me between races, Merc had posted a clip of Lewis interrupting George’s Australia interview to hug him, and George’s face just… wobbles. When he comes back to the interview his lip quivers and he has to take a breath, he looks happy but so very ready to cry… that was it for me, I just sat there and though oh, you adore him, of course you do.

I have shown this clip to so many gewis people who do not feel the same way about it I do, which is fascinating but I spose we can’t decide what our spark is can we? This was just it for me, and it’s only gotten worse seeing George flourish as his own person, he’s not just… chasing Lewis now, but valued as his own person, WHILE still putting Lewis at the centre of his focus and admiration. He’s no longer standing within a shadow- he’s growing out of it while remaining firmly rooted in that emotion of respect.

AND Lewis gives it back hand over fist the more he describes George as the push that helps keep him driving, the more he sees George as an almost equal

I only get more in love with them, even if they frustrate me and their team frustrate me and their fans… sure are loud. They bring me joy.

[scapular-dyskinesis]

[brekker-by-brekkerr]

Live reaction hsmtmts 3x06:

Please the canoe scene is the cutest thing ever they're so cute i love them The way ej said so we can stay together like I'm crying babies please stay together

Kourtney is so iconic i love her and her teaming up with Carlos madox and jet will be incredible

Wait i really love val now and also everyone has been assuming things about ash and telling her how she is but val didn't she was like no I'm not about that. wait im kind of getting on board with this

JET AND RICKY ARE TALKING JET AND RICKY ARE TALKING my jetwen heart is happy

The pizza oven joke was good

Ms Jenn being like EJ my tallest child. Any time the wildcat fam is canonically referred to with familial terms my heart is so happy

Yes a Corbin bleu song let's go

EJ and Miss Jenn scene: stars i love EJ literally my favourite

Dewey says: why do Ricky and EJ give off boyfriends energy every time they interact like you're standing so close together you're so comfortable around each other what is this. Also don't think i didn't see it was EJ pulling you back at the start of the episode like he's your bf

Ricky asking if miss Jenn is tired he's so sweet i love him but also i feel like Ricky's always having to be emotionally responsible for the adults in his life so it’s like habit now :(

When EJ was concerned about the wildcats finding out miss Jenn was there bc he doesn't want them to know he's struggling- i get that, especially bc if the person in charge doesn't have it all together everyone is freaked out, but like can someone tell him that it's okay for him to not have it all together bc he has way too much pressure on him, and that these are his friends so it's okay for them to know not everything's perfect. They can work on this together

I don't like miss Jenn and Mr Bowen it's wack get that away

Jet genuinely cheering kourt on? So cute. Like the little "you got this kourt" I wasn't sure about jet x kourt bc jetwen and also i love Howie and kourt but i could get on board with this. Like her calling his stuffed animal cute that was nice. But i think they would be a cute friendship anyway

"Richard !" And then her throwing the freaking rock at him and Ricky being so confused help 💀

The way Ricky kept looking at jet when he said he was a very committed man 👀👀👀👀

No this is so cute wait we're getting more portwell content

Also Ricky's out here helping everyone with their relationships, romantic and non romantic. Like yeah i get it this is for love triangle spice blah blah blah but i appreciate that Ricky was out here helping seblos with their big moment, and then jet and maddox with their relationship, and now with PW's little moment

Also Ricky guiding in EJ like why is the caswen content there though. The way Ricky looked at EJ. Also they're both wearing converse

STOP IT WHEN THEY WERE WAITING FOR THE FIREWORKS THE WAY EJ LOOKED AT GINA WAS SO SAD IM GOING TO THROW UP

why are they doing this to them

>:(

Also quick tangent i hate that fireworks are always a metaphor for whether a relationship is good or not in media bc some relationships are like fireworks but like Belly's mom says in tsitp some are like campfire some are more comforting and that's not a bad thing and it's just so dumb it's not an indicator of a good relationship i hate this

I get that it's a metaphor for there being sparks but we know portwell has chemistry and sparks why are they doing this hhhhh

No seriously the more I think about it the more Im so tired of the fireworks metaphor. Fireworks are not a necessary component of a relationship. Often you'll feel fireworks or butterflies or whatever but when you're more comfortable with a person and a relationship it feels comforting and right

DUDE WAIT THE FIREWORKS WITH THE VAL AND ASHLYN HUG 

Big red and her were cute if i was super invested in them I'd be mad but i like this and redlyn might stay together anyway this is just ash’s queer awakening 

That was such a cute moment even if it doesn't go anywhere bc Val's in college and all that it was still a nice little sapphic moment i appreciate it

JET COMING IN THE CABIN WHILE RICKYS CRYING ARE WE GOING TO GET A JETWEN MOMENT

guys you have no idea how much i would love if everything was a misdirect if Ricky got with jet and portwell figured themselves out oh my stars

Ricky calling jet a nightmare that was flirting

No Ricky that was so scary your face was so scary pls don't do a repeat of season 1 what was that

[lassieposting]

okay but i'm still really salty that we don't see more of skulduggery and gordon's friendship because? all the indicators point to them being like, really really close. gordon probably sees more of skug in the 20-odd years pre-canon than ghastly does. like?

- let's go back to their first meeting. gordon is celebrating publishing his first book. he's like, 19. he throws up on skug's shoes outside a bar in new york. somehow a friendship comes out of this encounter? which? how the fuck do you go from upchucking on someone's bespoke footwear to ending up with their number and an introduction to the world of magic, gordon wtf did you do

- then we skip ahead to the horror writers' halloween ball. by this point, they're close enough that, when gordon is finally invited to a party he's been wanting to attend for years and has the opportunity to impress all these super-famous writers, he doesn't attend with one of his "numerous beautiful women" with whom he had "numerous torrid affairs". he looks at his invite, realises it's going to be a room full of writers in fancy dress, and calls skug like "so do you want to come to a pretentious event with me in a silly costume"

- then we skip ahead to the horror writers' halloween ball. by this point, they're close enough that, when gordon is finally invited to a party he's been wanting to attend for years and has the opportunity to impress all these super-famous writers, he doesn't attend with one of his "numerous beautiful women" with whom he had "numerous torrid affairs". he looks at his invite, realises it's going to be a room full of writers in fancy dress, and calls skug like "so do you want to wear a silly costume and be my plus one to a really pretentious party" and skug appreciates it so much and gordon knew he would and im just??? skug tells gordon outright that this is the first decent party he's been to in forever, because all the sorcerers walk on eggshells around him at the requiem ball and they're all afraid of him and that makes this gesture so sweet alskdfhsdlkfhdslfkh

- he also knows skug well enough by then to immediately get defensive when skug says his authoress friend seems "nice" and "looks a little like grace kelly", which is hilarious in and of itself because?? gordon??? how many women has skug "swept off their feet" right under your nose that you immediately feel the need to tell him to back off? what scandalous shit has skug been getting up to in the intervening ~10 years that he apparently has a history of cockblocking gordon?

- furthermore skug does not laugh at or mock gordon when he sends trays of drinks flying in his stupid fish costume which is. an admirable commitment to not hurting your buddy's feelings considering he laughs at val for falling over All The Time

- and then val is born! and gordon a) lets skug meet her and b) brags about her to him all the time, to the point that when she's 12 skug remembers the exact words he used to describe her. and it could easily come across as kind of insensitive that gordon talks about his niece so much when skug is a father without a child, but? honestly i always got the impression he's trying to include him in normal everyday family life stuff. Trying to prompt him to realise that he needs something in his life outside of getting revenge on Serpine.

- and then gordon dies, which is sad. but he hasn't been dead long by the time the funeral happens, google said you can go from death to funeral in less than a week, and skulduggery shows up at the funeral service. which means he knows gordon is dead.

now, none of the edgleys know skulduggery exists. gordon's lawyer only calls gordon's closest family - des and melissa - the day of the funeral to let them know about the will reading, and he has clearly never spoken to skulduggery before, so he didn't get a "hey your friend just died" heads up from the solicitor. it's possibly only been a few days since skulduggery last saw gordon. so the logical conclusion is that skug tried to call him, gordon never picked up, and skug went to the mansion when he got concerned, which would also imply that skug and gordon are in Very Regular Contact and gordon not returning his calls is Unsettling enough to warrant a house call.

- everything else we get comes from echo-gordon, but like.

- "The thing I still don’t understand, however, is why didn’t Gordon tell me about your family history? We were friends for years, we had conversations about the Ancients and the Faceless Ones that went on for days, so why didn’t he tell me?” JUST. IMAGINE THESE IDIOTS ON DAY THREE OF A CONVERSATION AND SKUG CALLS GORDON AT LIKE 3.45AM IN BETWEEN TWO MURDER CASES TO JUST BE LIKE "AND ANOTHER THING"

- gordon helped skug on cases? and "got [him] into a hundred fights, because [he'd] bring him somewhere and he wouldn't stop pestering people, but...fun times" I MEAN. really how often do u find someone more annoying than skug. he gets himself into plenty of fights as it is. and it's so satisfying to hang out with someone and then realise that for once you're not the annoying one like

- "skulduggery would understand. he's been through a lot" SKUG OPENED UP TO GORDON??? THIS IS A MAN WHO REFUSES TO ADMIT THAT HE HAS EVER EXPERIENCED AN EMOTION BUT HE CONFIDED IN GORDON

- skug figured out echo-gordon existed but knew him well enough to let him reveal himself in his own time when he was comfortable?? im screeching into the void

anyway im just really salty that this is probably the closest friendship skug has had with anyone outside the dead men in?? at least a century?? possibly longer? and we only see them interact like three times we were cheated

[sorcieresque]

leaked daisy and ai spicy xxx hot girls IM

pear-otter Yes. A bunch of times. My favourite one is where you’re a ludicrously wealthy trophy wife and I’m a down on my luck pastry chef. You hire me to cater an event and I fall helplessly into your wiles when I first visit your house. I’m amazed by the size and opulence of you and your husband’s house, but am quickly distracted by you. You descend the grand staircase in a sheer black robe, through which I can see your underwear, lacy and intricate. Your hair is artfully disheveled like you just awoke but your makeup is flawless. You want to give the impression of effortlessness, and vulnerability, and I buy it. As the date of the event grows closer, you invite me over more and more often, to adjust the menu. I wonder if you’re just lonely, or if it’s my company in particular you desire. I need this job, so either way, I don’t complain. By the day of the event, you have me completely at your mercy. I am enamoured and would do anything for you. You dress in a ravishing white blouse tucked into a tight pencil skirt. Your hair is in a ponytail, hanging in loose curls, and your eyes are endlessly sad when I see you. The event is a success, but just when it’s winding down, you find me in a back hall. You look scared, but maybe it’s all an act, your hair askew, and blood on your shirt. You say your husband is dead, and take me to see his body. I’m horrified, but you feed me a story about it being self defence. Whether I believe you or not doesn’t matter. I’m devoted to you, guilty or innocent. So I help you cover up the crime, make it look like an accident, burn your clothes. Help you wash the blood off. But when news of your husband’s death gets out, people are naturally suspicious. You’re the prime suspect, but I cover for you. Somehow, I’m implicated. When tensions are highest, we meet in your house, by moonlight. You convince me to confess to the murder, somehow making me think it’s my idea. You kiss me. Sometimes things get a little more heated than a brief kiss. The next morning I confess to the murder. You come to every day of my trial, still dressed in mourning clothes, as if you’re mourning for my freedom just as much as your husband’s death. I’m found guilty. You cry, and I hope the tears are genuine, but I never know for sure. For months you don’t visit me, and I try to come to terms with the fact that you used me, manipulated me into taking the fall for your husband’s murder. Until one day I have a visitor. It’s you of course, dressed in a tight black dress and a fur throw. You look like you’ve just come from a beautiful party. You act casual and coy, trying to play me as usual, but something’s different. I wonder what you want from me this time, what else is there, and finally I become frustrated with your cagey behaviour. I stand to go, but you ask me to wait. You admit you miss me. You just wanted to see me. At first I think it’s nothing but a trick, but there’s a desperation in your eyes that tells me you’re being truthful. Visiting hours end and you promise to visit again. And you do. There are trailers for conjugal visits, and you use your influence to let us meet in them, even though we’re not married. When I get out of prison, you wait for me in a fancy car, dressed in a wide brimmed hat. You’re wearing red lipstick, and you smile and ask where I want to go.

sorcieresque Firstly. I am high as shit.

sorcieresque Secondly, thank you for your candor. But wait, there's more.

pear-otter ?

pear-otter Are you really high?

pear-otter Daisy? Are you okay?

sorcieresque Yes and No. In your order. I said wait. I am typing.

pear-otter Okay.

sorcieresque I twice monthly entertain the idea of showing up at your door, the trope: Large coat and small lingerie. On your lap while you blush and stutter, fully-clothed. Trite, I know. I think I get off more to the power I’d hold than the subject prop of the fantasy; the patriarchy has sure done a number on me. I am aware lacy underwear and sexual confidence will not make anyone treat me equal to a man or give me the salary I deserve, that is, if I ever intended to get a job, then I could dethrone Elon Musk in a heartbeat. Where was I. These are lesbian asks and so we must take 30 minutes off being sex-critical feminists. We make love all night. I top, there is bondage involved. Much more Intimate, deeper: Sometimes I do not feel like Daze exactly but I’d rather wear a floral blue hawaiian shirt and men’s jeans, a silver gun strapped to my waist, my heart on my chest, hair long, disheveled. I walk like Daze walks and move like Daze moves but I am not a boy. I have never told anyone this. I think about girls like you but I do not know very many girls like you so you will do. A guy is hitting on you, you are clearly uncomfortable with his advances, leaning back into a locker. His arm is blocking you from escaping. I come over and put my arm around your waist and  One second I must punch Tyler in the face permanently she is being obnoxious.

pear-otter Hang on. Moire is there in the fantasy or Moire is there with you in real life right now?

sorcieresque Right now. I've punched her in the face permanently. Where was I.

pear-otter Your arm around my waist

pear-otter Also I have some questions but I’ll hold them til the end. Wait one is pressing, are you sharing this with Moire?

sorcieresque Into a locker his arm is blocking you from escaping I come over and put my arm around your waist and I could say something along the lines of The Lady Here Doesn’t Care For What You Have To Say or Excuse Me, That’s My Girl even when you are not in fact my girl, but instead I simply just kiss you on the side of the face and smile at him and escort you out of his grasp until we are out of sight. In this fantasy I do not expect to be paid back. I cannot stand a woman being harassed and will use my gentlemanliness for good. I want to be strong, imposing, protective. I want to intimidate men not with short skirts but swagger and confidence or as the kids say, Big Dick Energy. But you are grateful. You swoon a bit and perhaps kiss me on the corner of the mouth, write your number on the inside of my arm. I wait exactly four days to text you.

pear-otter I like it I like that you simply kissed me on the side of the face

pear-otter You don’t need words to convey your intentions to the guy, or aggression to intimidate him. That would be playing his game, and you don’t do that

sorcieresque sent a GIF

pear-otter Is this Moire

sorcieresque [[ WRONG PERSON ]]

pear-otter [[I see]]

sorcieresque Yes. I have punched her in the face forever. Thank you. I like the part where I convince you to plead guilty for the crime I commited. It's much too flattering.

pear-otter I like that part too It’s probably my favourite part

sorcieresque Let's unpack that.

pear-otter You might be able to do it. If the situation was right

pear-otter I don’t mean if you... you know. I just mean. I don’t know. I probably wouldn’t go to jail for you in real life though I’d escape In my fantasies I’m never a shapeshifter, although sometimes I’m not Ai either.

sorcieresque You wouldn't survive a day in prison. Do you often wish to pay, or perhaps, atone, for some unspoken guilt that you refuse to acknowledge.

pear-otter Hence why I’d escape

sorcieresque sent a photo post http://pear-otter.tumblr.com/post/175391797716/sorcieresque-no-yes-soft-pink-lacy-with

By the way, I forgot to say: Niiiiiiiice.

pear-otter Hmm, I don’t think so... Sometimes I’m the rich trophy wife and mmmsomeone else is the one who goes to prison. Oh. Thank you

sorcieresque Whom.

pear-otter Moire

sorcieresque I knew it.

pear-otter One time it was Val but then I just felt guilty

sorcieresque She'd do well in prison.

pear-otter Are you telling Moire?

sorcieresque I'll spare you the embarrassment.

pear-otter Okay

sorcieresque But I did do a dramatic reading of your fantasy. You're an excellent writer. She read mine over my shoulder. Everyone's a critic.

pear-otter Okay. Thank you? Did she laugh

sorcieresque Yes.

pear-otter Okay.

sorcieresque Like you laugh when. Puppies. I'll take you lingerie shopping.

pear-otter Really?

sorcieresque Yes. You'll have to model them though.

pear-otter You’re really nice like this Daisy Kind I mean

pear-otter I guess... I agree to go. If you still want to when this weird spell is over, and when you’re not high.

sorcieresque I am absolutely fucking stoned. You can't hold me accountable.

pear-otter I’m just saying if you change your mind and don’t want to go, that’s okay

sorcieresque I can still be mean.

pear-otter Oh I’m sure you can

sorcieresque You couldn't possibly escape prison. You're not. Wiggly. Enough. It's laughable that you think you could.

pear-otter I’m a shapeshifter?

sorcieresque Not in your fantasy. Check AND mate.

pear-otter Otters are known for their wiggles, Daisy

pear-otter Oh Well I never said I escaped in my fantasy

pear-otter Hang on are you saying I’m fat

sorcieresque I'm saying you're weak.

pear-otter I don’t know how I’d be without my powers so. Maybe Do you have your powers in your fantasies?

sorcieresque Duh.

pear-otter All of them?

sorcieresque They're me. I'm them. We aren't Daisy and an extra. I am me.

pear-otter Yeah well same but I still have some idea of what it means to be just human

sorcieresque When I was human it hurt.

pear-otter Oh in the cave? I was just an otter

sorcieresque Then perhaps you are an otter and an extra.

pear-otter I mean probably. My mother was an otter first Are you having fun with Moire

sorcieresque Mmmmtyer is too bony to be comfortable. Did your father fuck an otter.

pear-otter Gross To both

sorcieresque I mean, I ask. Respectully. Did he fuck an otter, respectfully.

pear-otter Of course not, my mother was granted human form before he was even born Yesterday at 11:07 PM

sorcieresque Where was her consciousness before that. Today at 6:31 AM

pear-otter She was just an otter. Today at 10:56 PM

sorcieresque That is so fucked up. That is absolutely goddamn messed.

pear-otter How?

pear-otter That’s just how it is. It’s how most kawauso become shapeshifters. And kitsune and other things.

sorcieresque Like in Japanese Cartoons.

pear-otter Kitsune? Yes, they’re very popular, including on the television.

sorcieresque Ah. I think I like otters more. Like puppies.

pear-otter Oh Thank you then Foxes do have a reputation of being more sly and wily

pear-otter You like when I film otter stuff right? You liked it a lot when you were sick before

sorcieresque But can they dance cinematic ally shot choreographies. I think not.

sorcieresque Check AND maete.

pear-otter Haha, I guess that’s true :) So ARE you having fun with Moire?

sorcieresque Mmmmnnnnnnnnn̯͜n͚͉̝̟͉n̙͎̳͓͢ yes. But you shall take this to your grave. I a mswearing you to secrecy of the highest degree.

pear-otter Okay sure

sorcieresque PINKY swear. With Your HEART.

pear-otter How can I pinky swear with my heart I have to do it with my pinky finger

pear-otter Whatever I Pinky Swear.

sorcieresque [Photo of Daisy dragging her hands down her face in an exasperated gesture, her eyes bloodshot white, the fleshy pink of the inside of her eyelids showing.] The Fat man of Sand is pouring his concoction in my eyeballs. If there's anything else you wish to know Speak now or forever hold your peace.

pear-otter Aud’s weird boyfriend? Is Aud there too? Oh actually wait

sorcieresque Hmm.

pear-otter In your fantasy?

sorcieresque Mhmm.

pear-otter You said um and I quote “I top, there is bondage involved.” What does that mean I mean I know what bondage IS I MEAN Hypothetically And I guess? I understand the first half of the sentence But could you perhaps elaborate!

pear-otter Haha or not? It’s okay!!! The moment has passed I guess I was just curious

pear-otter Daisy? Are you telling Moire this? I was just Joking isn’t the right word Playing along haha You probably fell asleep or got too caught up hanging out with Moire, which I hate I mean I don’t hate Moire!!! Just the thought of you two hanging out, especially high, really bothers me Why am I saying this What if you’re making out That’s hot ***NOT THAT’S NOT something you would want to do??????? Right???? If you were not high STOP Anyway. Good night Daisy I hope you’re not making out with Moire or bonding with her too much I mean I hope you sleep well And Moire. Apart. Maybe in separate rooms even Oh no. You’re going to wake up, not high, and see all this It was nice talking to you like this. Um. I don’t suppose we could pinky swear my last 500 messages into secrecy too? Good night

[its-ashley-95baybe]

my good God. thanks for the rundown. a mess indeed. im a late fan from the UK so i had no idea. val basically treated her pretty badly. im at a loss of words and kinda feel sorry for her now. but i guess she got what she wanted in the end which is a commitment, but for how long??? yikes. i saw them at blackpool for a dance event, they seemed so in love. this is so sad.

Hi! It’s no problem. They do a good job at hiding it and they never talked about why they broke up multiple times and why he never claimed her. Their fans love the trips they take and the “power couple” personal they appear to have but it’s based on lies and instability. Their friends and family don’t really get along 

[lassieposting]

10, 12 n 19 for skugpine?

Ohohoho so u fell in the SOW garbage pit too huh

God this got so long im so sorry

10) who usually makes dinner?

They go out. Skug has a well-equipped kitchen and can make a few staples, but Nef still has no idea where Skug lives and Skug wants to keep it that way. Serpine knows how to make a grand total of one dish - pasta, staple diet of his student neighbours - so they usually meet up in town and he'll make use of Skug's apparently bottomless wallet at one of Roarhaven's swanky restaurants. Skug likes the one that plays live jazz.

12) who hogs the bathroom?

Nef. This dimension has A Lot of fun shit that he did not have back home. Skug spends an unreasonable amount of time trying to reconcile that his nemesis, orchestrator of The Trap, is also the same man who will spend ages perched on the side of the bathtub kerplunking an entire hoard of those gritty bathbomb things into the water and gleefully sending him videos of what colour the water turns.

19) who clings to the other for comfort when they’re sad or scared?

Serpine - which is a new development for him.

Now, I have a whole theory about why alt!Serpine is so different (read: chattier, saner, more realistic and less caricatured) than his book one counterpart, and why his relationship with Skug is so different. But they're pretty similar in that until the year(?) spent in the Leibniz dimension in SOW, both versions of Serpine had to be completely self-reliant. He's never had anyone protect him before. Mevolent afforded him a lot of freedoms to commit atrocities that he might not have otherwise had, but those came with a lot of strings attached and the knowledge that ultimately, Mevolent would sacrifice him if necessary. So he always needed to be on guard for that.

When he joins the group going to Leibniz, he makes a truce with Skug.

(Interesting note: og!Serpine and Skug were already on first name terms. They called each other Nefarian/Skulduggery throughout book one. Alt!Serpine and Skug are clearly not - he's even annoyed by the familiarity in Phase One, and this sarcastic exchange is the only time he uses Skug's name pre-SOW.)

Anyway, Dexter, Saracen and Tanith all advocate for killing him on the spot. They discuss this right in front of him. And then:

Skug defends him.

This has to be a shock? It's a shock to everyone else, and they know Skug better than Nef does. But for whatever reason, Skug fights his corner against his own friends. People who want to kill him as justice for what he did to Skug.

Do-gooders. Who knows why they do these things. Bizarre.

But this continues throughout the trip. Skug tells him to shut up every time he talks, shorts out his nervous system for laughs, and threatens him with violence at the slightest opportunity, but he also protects him from everyone else, and not only the members of their own party.

He's not much of a fighter and he knows when it's in his best interest to ingratiate himself with the top dogs in a group, so he tries to connect with Skug, puts out tentative feelers to Val and Tanith. And gradually, without even realising it, he gets used to it. Having someone protecting him. And we know this, because when Skug agrees to cut his hand off, he's horrified. He genuinely doesn't believe at first that Skug will let that happen, he assumes they'll fight their way out - which means he believes by this point that Skug will prioritise his wellbeing over their being vastly outnumbered and Saracen being injured.

(Interesting note the second: we know either Serpine or Serafina cut bits of Skug off while he was being tortured in Serpine's dungeon - at least one of his fingers. It's really interesting that Serpine is so surprised Skug would allow this, after that - he's basically getting back what he gave out, and Skug is famous for his ability to hold a grudge - to the point that when they first meet in KOTW, Serpine believes Skug is there specifically to kill him...after 200-odd years.)

Anyway, the point is: to be that shocked by this turn of events, he would have had to have built up a considerable (if subconscious) trust in Skug in a fairly short amount of time - enough that he now defaults to Skulduggery Will Protect Me rather than Here Is The Inevitable Betrayal I Planned For.

(Interesting note the third: At this point, Skug reassures him that they'll get him to a healer as soon as they get back - which, again, is something Serpine never gave him. There was no healer to ease the pain of having his finger cut off, no one to nurse his injuries, no antidote to the poison slowly shutting his body down.)

After this, Serpine goes from "Skulduggery" back to "the skeleton". He also acknowledges that Skug had every reason to want to hurt him, meaning he does recognise everything he did to Skug would lead Skug to want to get his own back, and believed he'd defend him anyway.

And by the end of the year, Skug is back to protecting him, this time from China, arguably the most powerful person on the planet:

And then, now delving into au, he's made responsible for Serpine, like a parole officer. Since he's the one who refused to execute him, he gets the dubious privilege of making sure he settles in, behaves himself, and contributes to society. Serpine isn't stupid by any stretch, and he knows China very well - he suspected she'd want him killed, and since she's well aware of their history, he recognises her making him Skug's charge for what it is: a punishment. He's clever enough to connect the dots: China wanted him dead, Skug is an accomplished killer, China is furious enough with Skug to do this to him, ergo Skug probably defied orders to take Serpine out.

So. Eventually, he gets back into the habit of looking to Skug when he's scared and wants backup.