#zac talks about dumb shit

[cockedd20]

watching neverafter and this is like so dumb but like

episode 4 pib is talking to the fox and they are arguing and a bit discussing who is going to go back to trickster up the next story

and I was thinking about how what if Fox ended up going and zac just got a new character sheet

but zac has dmed a couple times as a joke and I was thinking how funny it would be if they just decided right then and there mid episode that Brennan was going to play the Fox for the rest of the season and Brennan just goes back and gets the next player and they just sit down with Zac and he has so make some shit up

the idea of Zac making sense of the plot threads in episode 4 and going from there is fucking insane to me

[gotasenseivebeenbetrayed]

It's so annoying to check the Haylor tag and see (mostly Gaylors and Larries) saying dumb shit like "did you even read the prologue of 1989?" Idk babe, did YOU? Because if you're still a Gaylor after that and the other multiple times she's said she's straight, an ally, and to stop shipping her with women then are you even truly a fan of hers? She was saying, in the nicest way possible, AGAIN that she is straight and tired of people shipping her with her FRIENDS. She dated Harry, so linking songs to him is not what she is talking about in the prologue. For the males, she was referring to her male FRIENDS - ie. Ed Sheeran and honestly I have no idea now who her other male friends are because she's kept them so secret but, I know she was also linked with Cory Moneith back in the day as well as Zac Efron who were clearly just friends with her.

The other thing I have seen is "you have no proof Haylor ever happened outside of 2012 besides their song lyrics". Yes, no shit. Did you hear Harry? I'm not even a huge Harry fan and even I know he specifically did an interview (maybe multiple) where he said lyrics/songs were "the best unspoken dialogue between people". Like, he gave you the proof right there. So if you can't put 2 + 2 together then idk what to tell you.

All of 1989 indicates a relationship that failed mostly due to the paparazzi/media influence. Firstly, I have no idea how anyone could ever link that to Dianna Agron when IF they had been in a relationship it was secret so it could not possibly have failed due to the media/paparazzi. I'm assuming those who believe this just do not get metaphors? Because in "I Know Places" she's not talking about hiding a queer relationship, she's talking about the paparazzi hounding her and Harry early into their relationship (he also talked about this and how at the time it was overwhelming for him and he hated it) - I know she also made comments about this back then as well - and she was trying to be his safe place and saying "I know places we can hide from them". The hunters with their guns are literally paparazzi with their cameras. Literally the entire song:

"It's a scene and we're out here in plain sight I can hear them whisper as we pass by It's a bad sign, bad sign Somethin' happens when everybody finds out See the vultures circlin', dark clouds Love's a fragile little flame, it could burn out It could burn out"

"Lights flash and we'll run for the fences Let them say what they want, we won't hear it Loose lips sink ships all the damn time Not this time"

"They take their shots, but we're bulletproof"

All of this is about a public relationship.

"Out Of The Woods" is referring to both the relationship "are we out of the bad parts of our relationship?" and "being out of the media's spotlight causing them issues".

"Wonderland" talking about flashing lights (paparazzi) and them getting lost away from it. Again, media and paparazzi and needing to run/hide from them.

"But there were strangers watchin' And whispers turned to talkin' And talking turned to screams, oh"

That's literally explaining people watching them then running wild in the media and it turned to them fighting.

Haylor was photographed quite a few times but, there were also tons of instances where they were together that was not reported by the media - but fans saw them out and about. So clearly she did know places they could hide from the media.

As for "Slut!" it literally ties in perfectly with every other 1989 song, so again - how is ANY of that about Dianna? She's saying "everyone wanted him that was my crime", aka I get called a slut because everyone wants him and hates me for having him. I'm sorry but, as pretty as Dianna is - she was never someone "everyone wanted". And if their relationship was a secret, then why would Taylor fear being called a slut and how "it'd be worth it for once"?

[paledarklight]

Hi! I’m a little confused.

I don’t want to start anything but I have a few questions:3

1. You know when Daryl and Beth meet when she’s 16? And she’s underaged throughout most of the relationship? I don’t want to hate but I didn’t know if you knew this. (Daryl is his early 40s when they meet btw) I just find that relationship weird, even in a romantic way.

2.I also saw you say something about Carol being an old creep? (I believe thats what was, correct me if I’m wrong, sorry!) But how? She’s like 3 years older than Daryl.(Both early 40s when they meet) I DONT SHIP THEM BTW. I think they are just friends:3

3.You said Carol pushes the boundaries and her relationship with Daryl, can you dumb that down for me? I read your post and wasn’t understanding. It seems more she’s trying to be good friend, and I’ve just never really seen her show interest like that? Idk, I feel like a lot of this stuff you say might just be because of the shippers and not actually canon (that sounds mean I’m sorry😕)

Just stuff I wanted to know! Also in no way I’m I trying to hate:3 I respect your opinions on not liking a ship or character. I’m not a hater of Carol or her ship with Daryl. I have a lot of criticism, but I think i have that with every character. We just have different opinions and that’s okay:3 Hope you answer this and have a lovely day!

Okay so I'm going to Correct you sweetheart.

Daryl was not in his forties but I love the way you said that as if I was wrong, it gives off saying the wrong answer in math class with your whole chest.

I'm telling you this because this has been corrected by Norman himself, Norman has said that his character is in his thirties at the start of the show.

If he is in his 40s It is by season 5 season 6 what he would probably be 39-40 and by that time best would already be in her 20s.

Yes Beth is 16 at the farm but she isn't having sex so what's the issue, he isn't courting her .

(16 is the legal age in Georgia)

And just too correct you again because I'm sure you know this but you're going to cherry pick, Rosita and Abe are roughly the same age difference, Abe was most likely in his 40s , he already had a wife and kids that left him (he most likely had anger issues before the fall )

He used Rosita.

He fucked her until new pussy came around.

Yet no one has a problem with him. Hmmm, odd.

Zac was a college student and most likely in his 20s and Beth was maybe 17 at the prison and so again

I see no one talking about that. Mmmmm.

Remember Axel. No one has ever made a hate post about his gross ass.

People like to pick and choose what couple they support.

Daryl has never once tried to be inappropriate to Beth.

He never hurt her.

He's a gentleman compared to half these creeps .

Yet he gets shit on the most.

Carol is actually most like forty unlike Daryl who I corrected you is NOT forty . Maybe you don't actually pay attention, which most people don't, they watch a TV show without doing research about it, finding out questions. Only nerds who really love the show so that

So yes she's older . And Norman's character has stated he feels like a mother and Child relationship.

Also if a man wants to he will if he really wanted to fuck her he literally would, it didn't stop Glenn and it didn't stop Rick. Nothing stands between a man and his pussy.

No I'm not just saying she has boundary issues because of propaganda, as if to imply that I'm just regurgitating hate and not because I don't have a mind of my own or eyes . I watched the show it's not like I watched a different version.

It didn't even start at the prison it was happening at the farm as well, Daryl needed space , Sofia was dead and he needed space to process what happened and Carol wouldn't give him space she kept invading his literal space, his camp site and sure you can say it was coming from a good place but seeing as it's a pattern, then no.

Second time is the prison, he's just being nice and giving her a back rub so she makes a gross pass at him to fuck around and he says no

She she then GOES ON and makes a pussy eating joke (go down first)

That's sick, you sick bitch

When someone says no that means no that does not mean keep trying. Making sex jokes AFTER someone has said no is disgusting I shouldn't have to explain why.

She's horny and Daryl is who she thinks will give her a quick fuck but he doesn't like her like that and maybe she thinks if she just pushes him he'll say yes

...

...

He doesn't.

Again I don't care, as in I can't control who you ship but don't force me to ship it.

You wanna ship Carol and fantasies about how he thinks she's attractive, great .

Do that.

Away from me

I can't control what people ship I can only voice what I like and what I don't.

I love Beth, Love Daryl.

I don't care about Carol at all, I think about her as often as I think about the poop coming out of my colon

[edzasks]

I just wanna ask but not siding with the girls. Why at the end of both Sammi & Sara did they both trash talk Zac? Like, they made some serious allegations on what kinds of mess he is and how mean he is. Zac is human I get that, but how true is it to what extent ? Sammi apparently uploaded tweets and then deleted them, does anyone have them? She said she would drop the tea but didn’t. Like yes I know they were bitter, but can someone explain this all to me as to what happened ? I can’t find much online about either relationship and why it went sour.

Because Sami was always a problematic horrible person, I don’t even know why Zac dated her. She was cheating on him like the trash she is. Just toxic altogether.

Then Sarah is young and dumb, and seemed very obsessive. She had to flash that she was with Zac Efron and was weird (she was a fan before btw) and then she’d pull shit like his grandma passed away and they went out there and she started taking photos of the area cause she knew what she was doing. Taking naked pics in his home, friends home and posting it publicly.

Both of them were clout thirsty and that’s why it went sour because Zac ended it with both and both had expectations from him. Like e.g Sarah showing up @ his house uninvited and Sami getting the boot when he’s the one who gave her clout (followers) and her fashion/clothing line ability.

[ratwormz]

you're not cringey for having a special interest.

you're not weird for carrying plushies or stim toys.

you're not crazy for stimming in public.

you're not suspicious for avoiding eye contact.

you're not stupid for going nonverbal.

you're not rude for using your phone at social events.

you're not dumb because you're autistic.

you shouldn't have to change your ways to accommodate for those who don't need it.

[f1nalboys]

GOING GHOST HUNTING

heres a self-indulgent and wonderful little thing for some of the characters i write for because im hilarious and i want to ghost hunt with these mfs (affectionate) no i cant spell no idc deal w it yall should know this by now also is this a safe place to admit that i used to have a massive crush on zac bagans or no……

mentioned: jd, ian mckinley, randy meeks, tatum riley, sidney prescott, billy loomis, stu macher, mickey altieri, derek feldman, hallie mcdaniel, erin ulmer

Randy Meeks, Ian McKinley, Jason Dean, Erin Ulmer

ok so me and tatianna made this trio up and im in love w them so bare with me while i go feral. <3 ANYWAYS so all three of the boys simultaneously believe and don't believe. they're the type to be like "that shit is SO FAKE!" but the second they hear a sound they start throwing up. Ian is super into paranormal shit and has a big bucket list on where he wants to visit eventually. JD is the one who will antagonize the spirits by making fun of them and being disrespectful but the second he feels a breeze he's sobbing and asking for forgiveness. Randy is the most vocal about not believing until he actually shows up and then he's all about being respectful and not doing anything to piss them off lmfao. He's also the most afraid and will genuinely believe he's getting possessed LMFADBGJBSB Ian will have to calm him down and JD is there with a straight face but internally he's trying to remember that quote from the exorcist heheheh basically i love them it would be so easy to scare them when they're actually somewhere but just being like 'omg i see something...' erin is CONSTANTLY scaring them SJGBSHBGH its so funny she disappears in the place and just screams bloody murder, will jump out of random hiding spots, even throw random stuff to get the guys freaked out. she is the only one who is remotely calm the entire time and has, on many occasions, had to hold one of them who fucking scooby doo jumped into her arms yes it was ian no he wont talk about it he feels safe in her arms i would like to have sex in a haunted location with them all.

Billy Loomis, Stu Macher, Mickey Altieri

ASSHOLES! they do not take it seriously in the slightest especially not Stu. he goes around and messes with stuff, jumps out to scare you, fucks with the oujia board if you're using one, shit like that. he's also not easily scared, if something happens he finds it fucking awesome, so just work on your acting bc if you start crying and saying you're seeing stuff he will go fucking bone white LMFAO. Billy is just like "this is so dumb ghosts don't exist you're an idiot are so are the fake spirits" the entire time. he will never ever admit if something creeps him out so he'll just use that energy and accuse you of being scared hehe. Mickey might be the better option out of them because he'll TRY to take it the smallest bit seriously for you. think shane madej type shit LMFAO he's talking with the ghosts and teasing them but if you're actually freaking out he'll still laugh at you but he'll lay off a bit. i would like to have sex in a haunted location with them all.

Sidney Prescott, Hallie McDaniel, Tatum Riley, Derek Feldman

best group ever ever ever <3 they all take it seriously, won't fuck around and be purposely disrespectful but also don't take it TOO seriously if that makes sense??? like they'll all lighten the mood with a few jokes and will occasionally scare the others when they can hehe. derek is the best if you're genuinely afraid of this shit, he'll be around you the entire time and try to calm your fears as much as he can. he'll even offer to take you home and leave early if you're not feeling it. hallie is the bona fide ghost hunter, has all the latest gadgets and knows all the rules she'd fucking buy night vision goggles if given the chance. she really wants to catch a ghost on camera and gets so excited at the slightest bit of activity, her energy and excitement are SUPER contagious. sid and tatum take it a little less seriously and mainly humor hallie when they tag along. tatum will be the type to come up behind you and go 'boo!' in your ear LMFAO. sid wants to play scary games like the hide and clap game but in complete darkness LMFAO. the bravest one too, will sit in complete darkness by herself and ask the ghosts questions. i would like to have sex in a haunted location with them all.

sorry guys something hacked me i think ignore the crossed out sections they mean nothing.

[doiefy]

nct dream playing league of legends

ok so this is completely self-indulgent because i finally got a new computer and can properly play league again ahfjkhfjh. a quick rundown for anyone who hasn’t played the game:

the objective is to destroy the nexus in the enemy team’s base, which can be reached through three different lanes.

top lane: brawlers and fighters mid lane: assassins and mages bot lane: one marksman and one support jungle: neutral camps 

some other terms cs: creep score, number of minions killed in lane kda: kill, death, assist ratio gank: going into another lane to flank the enemy

mark: “nice job bro”

the reliable jungler. or at least, he tries to be. 

will constantly come help you if you're getting beat up in lane. laughs when his ganks fail but will hype you up when it works.

always lets you get the kill and apologizes profusely if he accidentally steals it.

forgets that dragons exist “oh wait dude, dragon was up?? FUCK WAIT THAT WAS ELDER”

he'd play rammus, nunu and zac, literally all the wholesome, funny characters. memorizes their voice lines and repeats them while he clears his camps. 

would quite literally die for willump. if he dies and hears nunu say “no! don’t leave me, willump!” he’ll go on a muderous rampage when he respawns. 

renjun: "GET ME OUT."

the mage midlaner who’s hardstuck in silver and can’t get out.

the ranked matchup algorithm hates him and puts him with an entire team of trolls.

at first he refused to play the game, but somehow got addicted overnight. hates the game.

preaches against the objectification of sexy female characters and bonks evelynn to horny jail whenever he sees her. 

a farming and skillshot GOD. perfect cs even under tower, lands everything and people think he’s scripting. 

plays mage assassins like ahri and leblanc, artillery mages like lux and xerath.

refuses to spend money on the game and relies on skin shards. 

mass reports everyone he doesn’t like. you didn’t say gg to him? reported

jeno: "ggwp <3"

the wholesome top laner who beats people up and then friend requests them at the end of the game.

looks tough, has a deep username, so people are scared of him. in reality he’s just having fun

has the most wholesome emotes. 

while everyone’s casually laning, he’ll already be in the enemy base at 20 minutes, 1v5ing and singlehandedly ending the game.

sends cute faces in all chat as if he doesn’t have a perfect kda and can beat your ass to the moon. 

probably plays sett, malphite (oh god), gwen, renekton... probably has the patience for nasus too. 

never fucking pings before he teleports but it somehow works out. 

haechan: *aggressively pings enemy missing*

TOXIC ASSASSIN MAIN CHANGE MY MIND.

he’s good, has good mechanics, but usually ends up getting way too cocky after two kills, constantly dies while diving the enemy.

spams pings on people and emotes whenever he gets a kill.

plays teemo just to be a little shit.

istg he’d play zed, yasuo, yone, katarina, all the assassins. “you need skill to play yasuo.” proceeds to go 0/20/1

streams his games on twitch and accidentally sends the link in all chat so the enemy can stream snipe him.

either he carries or he’s useless.

takes special game modes just as seriously for some reason ?? buddy calm down it’s just super mario party

anyways i love you donghyuck <3

jaemin: "you're doing great sweetie. just fucking amazing."

the passive aggressive support main and i stand by that.

likes the pretty champions and will buy ONLY pink skins and chromas, even if it’s for a champion he doesn’t play. pink warwick?? hell yeah

pretends he’s proud of you even if he’s completely, utterly done with your dumbass. 

the passive aggressive, disappointed comments like “you need me to get that cannon for you? no? you can do it yourself? andddd you missed it. nice job sweetie. we just lost 60 gold.”

lets people play ranked with him even if they’re bad and then he has to smile through the pain of demotions.

plays champs like yuumi, lulu, janna, morgana.

will play yuumi and do nothing just to spite you. “sorry you died but my heal is on cooldown.”

is really sweet sometimes though <3

chenle: "i got autofilled."

unbothered king. 

he can play every role pretty decently, and gets experimental with his champion picks. like he’ll take a mage into the jungle and somehow get away with it, or play a support against a brawler and beat them up ??

just laughs at everyone’s pain and doesn’t really care about his rank.

secretly owns thirty smurf accounts. 

has the dumbest ideas like selling all his items and buying 6 mana crystals.

will somehow get the entire team to partake in said dumb idea; in other words, jisung’s worst nightmare.

dances in lane while his team is fighting. “GUYS LOOK AT ME.” “chenle DO SOMETHING.” 

again, he plays e v e r y t h i n g

also streams on twitch and makes a whole army to bring donghyuck down.

jisung: "my entire team is dead and they think it's my fault."

the stressed support main.

he’s good at the game but can’t possibly save his entire dumbass team from certain death.

ends up having to fight tooth and bone on his own while the rest of his team is dead. 

always calling the shots but no one listens to him so he just talks to himself instead, “guys, stop splitting up- oh and they’re all dead. k i’m gonna go over here.”

plays engage tanks like nautilus, leona and blitzcrank. engages the wrong enemy and gets yelled at. 

refuses to play ranked with anyone. not even renjun. n o  o n e. trust no one. 

ends up playing tft, the autochess of league. because at least it’s every man for himself. somehow climbs to diamond. 

[crystalkleure]

Do you still do those beyblade deep dives character study posts? If so then could you so one for Count Night? And if not then just talk about something you super duper like :)

Sure thing, I love writing long analytical posts! I just usually lack the time for it lately, sadly. Hey, I'll even throw in a Ye Olde Style character icon like I used to tack onto these things, for old times' sake!

Count Night

10/10. I fucking love Count Night. Count Night is so fucking funny.

I can't believe that the anime actually entirely neglected to mention the fact that Count Night is Zac's older brother, because those two actually act so much like eachother. It's fun to compare them and realize what personality traits apparently just run in the family blood.

Zac and Night are both so incredibly fake. They are extremely good at misleading and manipulating people, and they do it in the exact same way: They deliberately give off the impression of being far more benign and stupid than they actually are, so nobody expects them to do anything foul [or, at least they don't expect them to succeed when they try]. Zac has his Sweet Bubbly Dumb Blonde stage persona, but is vicious and outright gleefully sadistic when out of view of fans and cameras, especially if he feels he has been threatened in some way -- Zac will absolutely terrify and destroy anyone who challenges him, particularly if they are encroaching on his turf as an idol, and he's quite clever and subtle about it so as not to tarnish his image. And Count Night is...ridiculous. Look at him. He looks silly. He's dressed as a cartoonish caricature of a phantom thief, he looks like a kid in a Halloween costume. Would you ever expect some absurdly theatrical lunatic who looks like a low-budget LARPer and speaks shitty broken French for The Aesthetic to actually break into your place and steal your shit? Night looks like a fucking joke, so no one takes him seriously, so no one realizes he is actually extremely competent at breaching high levels of high-tech security and committing grand larceny. Count Night WILL steal your shit.

Also, in the manga [which is not translated to the best of my knowledge, and I can't read Japanese, so do note that I always hear Manga Details from other people], I do believe it is either implied or outright stated that Zac does not know that Count Night is a phantom thief? Night does not wear his silly costume around his brother, he wears shit like sweater vests and glasses and khakis during the daytime, he looks like a perfectly harmless little librarian in his plainclothes. I think his cover story is that he's a businessman or entrepreneur or something? However, I'm not sure that Zac really doesn't know, so much as Night THINKS Zac doesn't know, and Zac is possibly playing along with that for shits and giggles. Zac certainly did notice Night's Conspicuously Impressive Rare Bey Collection, and Zac's not stupid. I just feel like he would pick up on any Financial Oddities happening, any curiously-timed crimes being committed and making it to the news, coupled with the fact that his brother tends to Just Fucking Disappear sometimes, etc., that sort of shit, and eventually put the pieces together.

Which would explain why one of Zac's favourite Dumb Things To Do In Public is don that silly mask of his and call himself "Beyblade Mask", acting like people Surely Can't Recognize Him and then pretending to be surprised when they do [after he drops 500 hints at them lol] -- he's probably tickled by the fact that his brother has an actual Secret Double Life with a disguise [many disguises, actually] that is surprisingly actually convincing. I wonder if he's waiting for Night to put two-and-two together upon seeing him in his silly Beyblade Mask "disguise", realize that's a Cutesy Brotherly Mockery of his own nighttime habits, and realize that means Zac has realized what he's been up to. That sounds exactly like the sort of bullshit mind game Zac would play lmfao. I just feel like Zac's whole stupid silly Beyblade Mask fake-disguise thing and the fact that Count Night is an Actually-Disguised Phantom Thief isn't a coincidence, those two things have to be related somehow. Unless the overwhelming desire to cover half of your face up with a silly mask is just something else that runs in the Kurogane blood lol.

Also, it's cute how Zac and Night have the whole sun/moon thematic dichotomy going on. Zac the Sunshine and Count Night. Ha.

And on a completely different note, something curious about Count Night is the fact that his Eclipse has an Avatar inside of it. Right Artemis and Left Apollo did not have Avatars inside them until Count Night stole them and used them, combined into Eclipse. That...actually raises several questions. For one, Gachi explained how Avatars are formed, so now we know that they are some type of Energy Being that is created within the mind of their blader and then channeled into that blader's favourite spintop, so no question about what the Spintop Monsters are anymore. So, we know that the monster does not come from the spintop, the spintop is merely a vessel for it. Does this mean that Count Night created Eclipse's Avatar? It would make sense for those beys he stole to have indeed been empty, because they were created by Dr. Evel, who already has his Egis -- he's already made a bey Avatar, and people can't seem to make more than one of those things, they can only continue to adapt/evolve the one they've got. So, it would make sense for any extra beys created by someone who already has an Avatar-inhabited bey to simply be benign plastic shells, empty vessels with nothing to be put in them yet. So if Night already had Avatar Energy bouncing around in his brain, ready to Coalesce Into A Creacher and just itching for a bey to hop into, it'd make sense that he'd bond that energy to the next bey he grabbed and end up forming an Avatar for it, and in this case that bey would apparently be Eclipse. But Eclipse is also a unique bey. It is a bey made of halves of two other beys, Artemis and Apollo, both now owned by Night, though we never saw him use them not fused into Eclipse. We don't...HAVE any other cases where a fusion bey, made of parts of various beys, is comprised of parts of beys all owned by the same person. Normally, when Bey Fusion happens, the donor beys all have their own Avatars, which then either fuse or simply attack in tandem via the single fusion bey, and thus the donor beys all belong[ed] to different people. And, as stated above, it doesn't appear that one person can make more than one Avatar. Normally, when a fusion bey de-fuses, the borrowed parts go back to their owners, taking their attached Avatars with them. So, what, uh...what happens when Eclipse de-fuses into Artemis and Apollo? If Count Night were to use both of those beys together at the same time, not fused into Eclipse, how would that work? Would each one have its own Avatar, making this the only known case of someone creating more than one bey Avatar? And, if so, was that perhaps only possible because Night created Eclipse's Avatar while Eclipse was Eclipse, meaning that if Eclipse's Avatar splits into two [Artemis and Apollo], that's not so much "making a second Avatar" as it is literally, well, splitting one whole into two halves? So it technically is still one Avatar, just with the capability of dividing itself into two hivemind-type semi-physical forms at once? My brain hurts. Lore's too enigmatic and complicated and Technicalities In The Laws Of The Magical Fictional Universe is not my dissection strong suit, psychoanalysis is.

Anyway Count Night is incredibly interesting and has far more potential than was tapped into in the actual show. I say this about just about every character, but BRING HIM BACK, BEYBURST. DO MORE WITH HIM. He's so fun.

[harryhighkey]

reassurance

hi! it’s been a really long time since i posted a one shot! i don’t really have a good excuse besides that life has just been really busy. but i genuinely do miss writing these. here’s just a little something to get me back into it 

______________________

It was late, and normally by this time you would be in bed with Harry and finding yourselves somewhere in between either a deep coversation, making love, laughing at silly things or even seeing a viral parkour video and asking him if he thought you could do it to which he would say,

“Baby, you can’t even walk up the hallway without tripping over.”

But currently, you were kind of avoiding going up to your bedroom. Harry had been off for the later part of the night. You couldn’t figure out why either and it was putting you in a weird mood, also. Usually you were so tuned in with him that you would notice even the slightest shift in his demeanour, as he would with you too.

However, whatever mindset he was in tonight really seemed to appear out of no where. You couldn’t pick where it came from at all. There was no argument, no significance with what day it was, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Hell, you hadn’t even been secretly binging TV shows you were meant to watch together behind his back just because you couldn’t wait after he got upset about it last time. You couldn’t even really tell if Harry’s mood was more mad, sad or anything else in between and you were dwelling over it. You couldn’t find any kind of clue and your brain was caught in a whirl of over thinking.

You sighed as your phone died, you’d been killing time by scrolling through Tiktok. It was the only thing that was keeping your brain distracted. This time, you had to finally make your way to your room where you knew Harry was. You couldn’t help but become a little anxious with each step. You were a big believer in being honest with feelings - and thought everyone else should be too - so when you couldn’t pick what was going on because something wasn’t being said, you felt so out of your element. 

You couldn’t help but to think you shouldn’t have to be feeling like this, it had been such a good afternoon and night. Your best friend had come over spontaneously, but that was nothing new. She did that about once a week, and her and Harry got on well. At first the three of you were hanging out, you’d had an early dinner and then Harry left you two, to allow you to have friend time. He was good like that, he knew how important friendship was to you. But that was never something that bothered him before.

You’d noticed his mood change when you went to ask him if he wanted a tea when you were making some for you and (Y/F/N). And the way he answered you was so strange, immediately you noticed and asked if he was okay and once again, his reply was not like his usual self. If you didn’t have a friend over you probably would have questioned him further, but you figured it could wait until it was just the two of you.

Which happened to be right now. And fuck, you wished it had been sorted out earlier so you weren’t overthinking how this was going to go.

You cracked open the bedroom door and stuck your head in, as if you were a guest in someone else's home and trying to find the right room. However, this was more your apartment, Harry had been living here ever since he got back from tour a couple of months ago, though.

He looked up and saw you peering in, “What are you doing?” He initiated the conversation, but it wasn’t said with any humour, you picked up on that. Things were still not completely okay.

You took the opportunity to come into the room fully, taking the few steps it took to reach your bed in your not so big bedroom. “Phone died.” You answered him while sitting on the side of the bed and reaching for your charger.

“That’s the only reason you came up?”

Shit, things were touchy with him then.

“What? No.” You answered him instantly, twisting to face him and bending one of your legs up on the bed. “I just got caught in a Tiktok scroll after (Y/F/N) left.”

“Told ya’ not to go on that before bed.” His tone was lighter and you smiled, unconsciously shifting more onto the bed and closer to him. He smelt so good, and his hair was damp. He’d showered already. “Keeps you up for hours. Good thing it died.”

“It’s not my fault I find the dumbest shit funny.”

“That definitely is your fault, that’s your sense of humour!” Harry laughed then, too.

“Oh my god, like yours is any better.” Harry was definitely no where near into social media as you were, but he would always come see what had you laughing at your screen. And sometimes he’d find himself laughing too, but it mostly made him smile to see you laughing. “I didn’t even get to do a twitter scroll yet.”

He frowned at that and looked away. The weird mood was back as quick as that brief moment of normal had appeared. Why? You hadn’t said anything to upset him, he knew you also enjoyed scrolling through twitter to see silly things to laugh at there, too.

“Hey,” He looked back at you as you got his attention. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He was being stubborn and you really had to fight against an eye roll. You hated when he was like this, it wasn’t all the time but enough to frustrate you when he wouldn’t be forthright with his feelings.

“Harry.”

“(Y/N).”

“Please tell me what’s going on. We had such a good night, I’m really not understanding this right now.” You were always very forthright with your feelings, sometimes that contrast between you two worked wonders and other times, it was challenging. Tonight seemed to be the latter.

He let out a deep breath and had a very deep in thought look on his face as he stared at his own feet stretched out to the end of the bed. God, even there propped up against the headboard he looked perfect. If your phone wasn’t dead, you would have picked it up and taken a photo. 

“Why are you smiling?” He caught you staring with that fond look upon your face.

“You just look really good right now.”

“You sure about that?”

What? 

“What?” The word appeared loud in your head and also exited your lips in surprise. That was not the typical reaction you received from Harry after complimenting him. You couldn’t help but to begin to think that whatever he was feeling off about was something not so major, in fact, something petty or he wouldn’t be acting so immaturely otherwise. “Tell me what’s going on, you’re being silly right now.”

Stubbornly he looked away.

“Harry, c’mon. You know this is gonna’ get to me if you don’t tell me.”

“Something you said got to me.”

“What did I say?” Your reply was a little defensive, you didn’t want it to be but you couldn’t help it. You knew something was off with him, but you didn’t expect it to be specifically something you done or said to him, because you truly thought tonight had been such a good and chilled out night.

“When you were talking about Zac Efron.” He finally admitted what was stirring in him and the conversation with your friend from earlier played in your mind.

-

“Dude, what?!” You displayed genuine surprise at what your friend had just told you. “There’s no fucking way, you’re lying.” After reminiscing over a funny memory that had happened when you and your friends had gone to see High School Musical Three at the cinemas, you’d been informed by your friend that Zac Efron was in a relationship with a girl he’d met at a cafe while she was waitressing.

“I’m not! Check twitter, it’s all over it.” She prompted you.

You picked up your phone then. “Oh my fucking god.” You exclaimed after typing Zac Efron into your twitter search bar. “This is like... real fanfiction shit.”

“I know!”

“She is living the literal dream, imagine dating the actual Troy Bolton. Her life couldn’t get better.”

“Personally, I’m more into a 17 again Zac Efron.”

“Or how truly beautiful he looked in Charlie St. Cloud. What a man.”

-

It was such a silly conversation with your friend, one that in all honestly, really had no significance. You, like many other people, were a big fan of the High School Musical movies and - once again - like many other people had a celebrity crush on Zac Efron at the time.

“Harry, you can’t be serious right now.” You couldn’t help but to let out a laugh, all of this fretting you had been doing over something so minor.

“Don’t laugh.”

“I’m sorry, but you have to know this is really dumb.”

“Didn’t you hear how you talked about him? Saying how his girlfriend has got the best life and shit like that.”

“Oh my god, you do not need to be this jealous right now.”

“It wasn’t very nice to hear, (Y/N).” You didn’t even realise Harry had heard you two talk about this, he must have gone to the bathroom or something and overheard as he walked past you two on the couch. But after his latest response you started to realise that all he heard was you two talking about Zac Efron, his current reaction probably meant he had missed when you talked about your own life with Harry.

“Did you stay around to listen to what I said after that?”

“No, I had enough.”

“Oh, baby, you really missed out on the good part.”

“What did you say?”

“I don’t know if I should tell you.” You know you shouldn’t be teasing him right now, but you really couldn’t help but to make fun of him. It wasn’t often that Harry got caught up in something more on the pettier side and you weren’t one to shy away from teasing in the first place.

“Don’t.” Along with his one worded reply, he scooted his body down to lay flat on the bed before rolling onto his side and groaning into the pillow. He knew this was one of the more trivial things he had gotten annoyed at you with, but he couldn’t help but to allow his jealousy to seek through. Not when it came to his dream girl.

Mirroring his movements, you too manoeuvred to be laying down on your side and once you were comfortable, you brought a hand up to run it through his hair. “Well, if you had stuck around to hear the rest of that conversation you would’ve heard me say,” He turned his head to face you then, genuine curiosity painted on his features and it truly took your breath away how beautiful he was this close up. “that I was living in the best fanfiction of all.” He started to smile then, he could notice the blush beginning to appear in your cheeks. You typically weren’t one for a sappy moment, so when you were this way he loved every second of it.

“Tell me more.”

“Well, I said to (Y/F/N), it’s kind of weird because Zac Efron is this celebrity crush, you know? Like a, never gonna happen but woah, that man-”

“I meant tell me more about me, not him.” He cut you off and there was a little anger in his voice, but it was at least mixed with a little humour this time.

“I’m getting there.” You laughed at him again. “Anyway, but, so were you once upon a time for me.”

“Hm?”

“Harry, you know this already, don’t make me say it.” Now you rolled over, except onto your back to look at the ceiling.

“If you want to make it up to me, I gotta hear it.” He wasn’t being serious, you knew he had already moved past the jealousy from before, but it was rare to catch you in a more romantic spiel and he wanted to milk it some more.

You let out a sigh before continuing. “Well, you know I was a One Direction fan.”

“I’ll never forget the night you told me.” You laughed at that reply from him and so did he, it came out when you were very drunk and made for lots of embarrassing moments the next day. 

“Anyway, what I was saying to (Y/F/N) was kind of along the lines of, if I could tell a younger version of myself walking out of her first One Direction concert that she’d be where I am right now, she’d... I don’t know, die or cry or something.” You turned your head to look over at him then and he was smiling in that way that made his dimple so prominent and the beat of your heart harder. “Like, yes, I have celebrity crushes from when I was younger, but, I’m so happy with you, Harry.” You rolled back onto your side, you wanted him to know you meant this. “This life with you is better than any fanfiction or daydream I could think ever up. You don’t need to be jealous, I have everything I want with you.” You didn’t intend for the mood to shift but tears of complete happiness had welled in your eyes.

Harry noticed and he brought his arm around you to pull you closer in towards him until your bodies were against one another. “I love you so much, baby.”

“I love you, too.”

[achliegh]

Bronze

Alright, I had this wonderful idea come into my head about Clayton, honestly he deserves his own fic. So here is his version of events! Lots will tie together with Golden so I recommend you read that as well. But you don’t have to of course.

Explaining:

Before Letter is the present.

Letter is updating the lives of the people back home, of whoever wrote it mostly.

After Letter is memory.

The first few letters will be very awkward because writing letters and not being sure what to talk about and what not to talk about is hard and confusing. Stick with me! Yes, this prologue is just a letter.

TW/CW: Discussions of death, miliatry training, smut, cringy jokes, underage drinking, dumb choices, swearing, and more later on.

Beta: @walking-crisis

Some Characters belong to @lumosinlove

Chapter 2:

For You

Chicken Fried

It was silent besides the radio humming faintly over the walkie attached to his vest. Every breath he took in filled his lungs with dust.

Nothing felt real.

The mission was to take out a target. Clay left it at that because he hasn’t been in the military long enough to be able to consider targets… people. He felt sick anytime he put the two together but he knew this is what he signed up for. This target has taken many lives and he was watching through his scope, gun pointed at the door of the building where the target operated.

He had to put himself in the headspace where he couldn’t think about anything other than the trigger where his finger flinched whenever the door opened.

He didn’t have the signal so he didn’t shoot.

His partner sat next to him, completely relaxed tapping his thigh to the beat of the music. Every hit of his thigh almost made Clay flinch. This wasn’t his first mission where he had to take a target out, but this was the first where he didn’t see them actively doing something horrendous. The slight breeze felt like it could push him over with just the right amount of pressure. Everything was sensitive… yet he felt numb.

The door opened for the fifth time in the last hour and an old woman waddled out of the building, she smiled at a small group of children who ran past. She has aged with stress from the lines of her wrinkles. Her baggy clothes looked homemade.

She was sweet, reminding him of his own mother.

He relaxed when he saw her, knowing she couldn’t be the target. Watching her talk to a man on the street he hears the signal. His partner rolls over to lay next to him and takes out his binoculars to look at the woman and gives Clay the signal to get ready.

Two Fingers Pointed Up: Get ready.

Two Fingers Pointed Out: Shoot.

Hesitating for a moment, his partner notices and gives him a look to get his shit together. Swallowing his hesitation. He takes the safety off his gun and ready's himself for the shot.

One he would hear forever.

Dear Honey Bee,

How's my baby doing? Making friends I hope, that’s the one thing you always amaze me with. The way you make friends so easily. I could never, shy little thing like myself. I was terrible at breaking out of my shell. Your daddy always convinced me to go out though.

Which reminds me! You remember Miss Bell down the road? She is pregnant with triplets, and no one knows who the father is. How scandalous! I always thought she would end up with that farmer Micheal across the river but she never liked him much.

Your lovers stopped by last week and Little Miss… what do you call her? Sparky or something. She was absolutely glowing when we gave her a photo album of you and Leo from when you were in middle school. The hunk you managed to catch had hour long conversations with your daddy about the latest sports which I didn’t understand so I did what you always tell me to do.

Smile and Nod.

It’s odd writing letters to you, I remember writing to my family when I first moved in with your Daddy because we didn’t have the email or the phones. But I am so used to writing to you over the phone that writing on paper is odd. I hope you’re getting these letters, everyone has said you haven’t responded but I remember when Wyatt was in the military and Eloise was a mess, long before you and Leo were around. So, I’m not too worried.

I am sending you and your Team the best wishes for safety. Praying y’all all get home safe and make lots of babies. We need more kids, I want grandbabies and I made sure your lovers know that.

Now, on a more serious note. Your Daddy is still upset with you for just leaving like that. He wishes he could have convinced you to stay because he wants you safe. I want you safe too but I know this is something you need to do. From the calls I've had with Leo he is also still angry with you.

I keep trying to convince your Daddy to write but he says it hurts too much. So know that He sends his best anytime I write to you. Anytime you think of us.

We love you so much Clayton London Bruss. Now get some rest, I know you’re tired.

Love,

Your Mama

He knocks on the window of Leo’s truck, horny fuck can’t control himself. Clay doesn’t mind it much though, walking over to Ashley who hands him his phone that she was routinely checking.

“Find anything interesting?” He takes his phone and puts it in his back pocket, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“Nothing besides your terribly gay nudes.” She rolls her eyes. “Just because Leo is a faggot doesn’t mean you have to sink that low.” Clay furrows his brows and is about to say something back when Finn walks over to them, looking like he just had a great make out. Clay smiles.

“How was the truck?”

“Warm, I forgot how hot it gets in the south.” Finn pulls his shirt to get some airflow and Clay nods while Ashley scowls a little at the redhead in front of them. The music starts to play over the speakers. Logan joins them after a couple of minutes.

Clay has gotten a few… interesting vibes from Logan when Leo isn’t looking. He notices the hesitation that Leo can’t see. He sees the way Logan wants to tell Leo to back off and to pull him closer at the same time.

Leo doesn’t deserve that.

Clay likes Finn better because Finn definitely likes Leo, and Logan probably to a point where it's bad for himself. But Finn is someone who cares with all or nothing.

Leo does deserve that.

They start heading over to where Leo has parked, a Bronco in between their trucks, Clay notices Logan hesitate reaching for Finn’s hand. So, it wasn’t only a Leo thing. Lots of people think Clay is an oblivious idiot but that would be sort of wrong. He is very observant when it comes to people, maybe not so much when it comes to safety.

“CLAY!” He looks upt just in time to see Leo chuck a BudLight, yuck, at him. Obviously needing to get rid of it, he pulls out his keys and punches a whole to shotgun it.

Way to start off the night.

Lot’s of drinks later, one of his favorite songs came on over the speaker. Chicken Fried by The Zac Brown Band, it's a great song. Casually singing the lyrics he turns to Ashley who is on her phone, he shrugs not caring and runs over to Leo and jumps on his back. Hopping off after Leo lightly elbows him in the ribs, Leo turns around and joins him in singing the lyrics.

Dancing like idiots he looks at Leo’s infatuations and sees them with sappy looks on their faces but he knows Leo won’t notice them.

As the night goes on they do more stupid shit, crawling into the passenger side of his truck he let’s Ashley drive him home. The blind trust he puts in her is something he will regret later. About 20 miles from his house they see flashing red and blue lights behind the truck. Ashley pulls over and sighs annoyed, crossing her arms.

Clays anxiety is off the charts, he knows he isn’t sober and underage. If this is who he thinks it is then there is a 100% chance he will be taken down to the station. Of course, they would get pulled over when Ashley’s dad knew she would be at a bonfire with her “degenerate” boyfriend.

“Hi Daddy” Ashley smiles a little at the officer as he shines a flashlight into the cab of the truck right into Clay’s eyes.

“Sir, I’m going to need you to step out of the vehicle. Hi Ash, can you drive your car home after you drop his truck off? I’m gonna book him down at the station.” Clay gets out and about falls over and neither Ashley or her dad is impressed.

Getting thrown into the back of a cop car after an aggressive handcuffing and pat down is not how he wanted to spend his night. He honestly just wanted to go to bed.

Having been arrested for no reason so many times he knows the process by heart now. So well in fact that the officers don’t even have to tell him what to do. He just does it and goes to sit in his favorite cell. Where he can throw pieces of paper at the Sheriff’s desk.

He calls his mom with his one phone call and tells her what happened. She is out of town with his dad for a conference about cattle prices in the south this year so Clay gets to spend the night in the cell. Great.

Just what he wanted.

[edzasks]

your page is literally a haven for toxic fans and tabloid gossip and you're complaining about drama on Twitter? you created it. what do you think speculating about his health and drug use is? your lack of self awareness is embarrassing.

This ask really pissed me rightfully off, so I’m just going to give you a brutal fucking response because of how disgustingly disrespectful you are, and the lies you’re spreading about me. So here we go. I never talk like this, but you can rightfully fuck off.

For starters babe, please shut the fuck up — respectfully.

My page is not a haven for “toxic fans” get the stick out of your ass — I barely come on here anymore, and I don’t feed into this apparent “toxicity.” Just because I post anons and stay neutral doesn’t mean “rumors are pushed.” Neither are those my opinions either. Just because I post them, doesn’t mean I agree or participate in them.

I didn’t create Jack shit either, you just want to bitch 😂😂🤣 and make up fucking bullshit. Cause you all can’t stand that fans have other opinions or want to discuss or chat about their fav which is Zac — that’s how it works every fucking time, there’s always one anon 🙄 who wants to bitch because (on every Tumblr ask blog, if they aren’t jerking off fav celeb 24/7. There are Taylor blogs out there 50x bigger than my blog about Zac and they get the same shit from cupcake anons like this who cry and bitch because they’re that obsessed in their fantasy about the celeb they made in their head. That’s why blogs like mine drive you insane.

If you ever actually spent time on my blog too — then you’d know the anons I get are mainly positive, or neutral. (Back when I was up Zac’s ass, and always stated my opinion firmly, I was still damned, so whatever I do whether ‘perfect’ or not I’m damned always .🤷‍♀️) They are completely mild compared to most ask boxes about bigger celebs. Majority of the time I’m also being neutral (therefore, not really a response) or denying, x, y and z.)

Lastly let me educate you on PR. That’s not how rumors are created you absolute fucking dumbass. Tabloids have never picked up a “rumour” here, ever. You need a fucking whirlwind of people to do that — and guess where those start on? Deuxmoi. One or two anons speculating whatever the fuck they like, doesn’t start shit, but platforms like Deuxmoi have started rumors daily about Zac that been false every fucking time. Why don’t you focus your energy there?

“Speculating about health and drug use” 🤪🤪🤪 yeah, okay anon. If you didn’t have reading comprehension and talking out of your asshole, you would know I never once said Zac was doing drugs, dumb fuck. People speculate all the fucking time and make headline news (there is nothing you can do about it because that’s unfortunately his past)— you also have his ex-girlfriend yapping to radio hosts and booking interviews crying about his issues with drugs and how he struggles. IF YOU used common sense and stop talking out of your ass, you’d be able to put 2 + 2 together (very simple math babe) and realize it’s shit like that reignites the gossip bird.

Additionally addiction is fucking black and white you dumbass — as someone who have family friends who work in rehabbing people, and have lost family & friends to addiction, you aren’t just “sober” and “addiction is over” … Life isn’t rainbows and daises and a walk in the park after. Sobriety is discipline and struggle — what can I tell you? Even Men’s Health magazine already got people speculating on Deuxmoi already, or mentioning his past cause they think he got plastic surgery.

Also next time — get the fuck off anon and speak to me directly and have some balls if you’re gonna shade me on Twitter.

I’m tired of fucking logging in every fucking time and hearing one pissed off stan with their panties in a knot acting like a knight in shining armour. By the way by crossposting to another platform and crying and throwing your hissy fit — you’re the one who WILL start rumors and giving more publicity to my blog, so thanks for the clout babes.

Keep on hating and being obsessed — love my fans 💋

[alex-ruins-everything]

Being Human - Chapter 3

My monster roommate AU. Read the whole thing on ao3 here!

CW for cursing, Virgil talking about being dead a lot, and a shirtless guy (but it’s not described in any detail)

Virgil was confused as all hell. Humans weren’t supposed to be able to see him, yet his harmless night of enjoying some good old Tim Burton was rudely interrupted by...Roman. Roman who was so goddamn loud and sang through the halls of the house. Roman who liked to entertain Patton with made up stories about fairytale nonsense. Roman who’s closet contained way too much red for any normal man (not that Virge had snooped at all). Roman who could see him.

He had escaped back to the attic the second the human had dropped his takeout, hiding away in the familiar space. The only part of the house that was still his despite the home being owned by Patton and Logan now. He was seated on the bed that was nestled into one of the nooks, knees to his chest. Technically sitting was still floating for a ghost, but it gave Virgil a sense of normalcy. He looked up when he heard Logan unlock the attic door and walk up the steps with his unmistakable light footsteps.

“Tell me what happened,” the vampire said, also taking a seat on the bed, though it actually dipped under his tangibility.

Virgil went into the relay of what happened. How he was minding his own business and then their new dumb roommate scared the shit out of him.

“He isn’t supposed to be able to see me,” he said with a frown. “Why can he see me?”

“I’m not sure,” Logan admitted, looking a little annoyed that he didn’t have an answer for once.

“So you’re gonna kick him out now, right? I mean, he’s obviously some ghost-seeing weirdo who sings way too many showtunes in the shower. He’s gonna go. Right?”

“I’m afraid Patton quite likes him…” Logan huffed, running a hand through his perfectly neat hair.

Virgil frowned at that. “So what? I just stay in the attic forever now?”

“Hardly. You’re a roommate now, you have free reign of the house. You just have to...appear alive.”

“Oh yeah! Lemme just slap a pulse on and go frolicking in fields of daisies!” Virge rolled his eyes. “He’s gonna think it’s weird that I can’t leave the house. That I don’t have a job.”

“I’m aware,” Logan said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

They both turned their heads when Patton’s footsteps started to come up the attic steps.

“Ro went to bed,” Patton said softly. “He’s okay.”

“Oh good, so glad the human is okay,” Virgil crossed his arms, pulling his knees to his chest again.

“Do we know why he can see you?” Pat asked, frowning at the shake of Logan’s head. “Oh...well...that’s okay! Virgil, you can make a friend.”

“I don’t want a friend.”

“Patton, darling, is there a reason you’re so fond of having Roman around?” Logan asked.

Patton shrugged. “My instincts tell me he’s good to keep around. Someone we want on our side…”

“But he’s just a human,” Logan said.

“So were you once. So was I. So was Virgil. Just because Roman is human doesn’t mean he’s any lesser.”

That conversation in the attic had been a week ago. Virgil was still getting used to acting human. He had to make it look like his feet were touching the floor. He couldn’t float through walls or ceilings. He had to deal with Roman. Roman who was at an audition so Virgil had free reign of the house. He floated down the attic stairs, trying to get himself into the habit of doing such when he paused at the music he heard. Something about making a man out of you? He wasn’t alone, and he was pretty sure neither Patton nor Logan listened to that sort of music so loudly.

He put his feet on the floor, walking into the living room where Roman was. Shirtless. Lifting weights. If Virgil had the facilities for it, he would have blushed from a shirtless guy alone. Luckily the lack of blood and a heartbeat prevented that.

“Sorry, is the music too loud?” Roman asked, setting the dumbbell down.

“Yes,” Virgil answered immediately. “Don’t they have places specifically for exercising nowadays? Go there.”

“You mean a gym? I didn’t wanna make the trip just for this,” he shrugged, grabbing his phone and turning the music down a bit. “Better?”

“Hardly,” Virgil shoved his arms into his hoodie pockets. “Patton told me you had some sort of show thing today.”

“I did have an audition...until I got cancelled on,” Roman sighed, grabbing a bottle of water and sipping on it.

“Why?”

“They got Hugh Jackman to do the part.”

“Who?”

Roman laughed before realizing Virgil was serious. “Wait- you really don’t know who Hugh Jackman is? I mean, I know Wolverine isn’t for everyone but it’s impossible not to have even heard the name.”

Virgil just shrugged in response.

“Okay,” Roman said. “You wait here. I’m going to go shower and then we are watching The Greatest Showman. Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman...can’t go wrong.”

Virgil watched as Roman stood up, grabbing his shirt and disappearing up the stairs. What the fuck had he gotten himself into just by trying to get one day of peace and quiet? He settled onto the couch, pulling his hood up and waiting as Roman got cleaned up. A few loudly sung showtunes later the human was back down with damp hair and a new outfit. Virgil didn’t think it was legal for somebody to look quite so nice in sweatpants and a t-shirt that seemed to be too short. Apparently he was dead but still gay, good to know that hadn’t died with him. Though it wasn’t a comfort to know that he could develop a crush on an annoying breather and have to sit there unable to do anything about it.

“Alright!” Roman announced, grabbing the TV remote and pulling up a streaming app. He scrolled through titles “Now settle in and get ready for the Greatest Show.”

“I thought it was called the Greatest Showman?” Virgil asked, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Yes- it’s- just watch,” Roman rolled his eyes, sitting crossed legged on the other side of the couch as he hit play.

Virgil hadn’t strayed from the few movies that he liked in a good decade or so. There was even a collection of VHS tapes on a shelf next to the TV for him. He wasn’t sure how he felt about this new one, but he did get to know who Hugh Jackman was now. Roman explained he was also a superhero named Wolverine and apparently was shirtless in a lot more scenes in those movies. Roman also went off about unrealistic body standards being portrayed in superhero movies. Virgil didn’t understand any of that considering his favorite movie was claymation starring a literal skeleton. Society was weird now. When the movie ended, Virgil had to admit he found the songs catchy.

“So it was about the circus?” he asked.

Roman nodded. “The creation of the circus!”

“I’ve never been to the circus…” Virgil said. It hadn't been a thing when he died.

“When we were kids - like real little kids - my brother and I always joked about running away to join the circus,” Roman laughed before frowning. “We never did, obviously.”

“You have a brother?”

“Yeah.”

Virgil frowned slightly as he sensed he struck a nerve. He didn’t bring it up again as Roman’s grin returned.

“I’m gonna go out tonight I think...but we should do movie day more often,” he suggested. “You aren’t completely the worst, Emo Nightmare...and this place is kinda lonely.”

Virgil smiled a touch at the compliment, eyes widening as Roman reached over and lightly nudged his shoulder. Then he realized that Roman nudged his shoulder. Roman had touched him. If he still had air in his lungs it would have all been sucked out by pure shock alone.

“Okaycoolexcuseme,” he said all in one string of what would be a breath, getting up and speed walking to the attic door before just floating through the ceiling.

Roman had been able to touch him. What the fuck?

[ratwormz]

Tips for writing healthy romantic relationships (mostly reminders for myself)

relationships are more than just constant "i love you"s and kisses and cuddles. on the opposite end of the spectrum, they go beyond being "just friends". try to find a balance between purely romantic interaction and regular buddy-friend-pal interaction.

going off of that, don't have them constantly act the exact same. allow some moments for cuddles and kisses, and some for playing video games, and some for more in-between interaction, but never just one all the time.

not all relationships have a sexual aspect to them, so don't feel pressured to make the lovers flirty or sensual for the relationship to be healthy.

know the characters' dynamics and understand how they would interact naturally. are you pairing someone lazy with someone sporty? two very introverted people? someone happy with someone who has depression/anxiety? in these cases, what would be healthy, realistic and reasonable interactions between them?

don't make your partners have the exact same interests or personalities. even if they're similar, avoid making everything the same - healthy relationship dynamics have differences and disagreements.

DO NOT MAKE THEM ARGUE. the most it should go is a friendly debate, which should end in a compromise. a disagreement should never be pushed to the point of verbal/physical violence or end in distance/coldness towards each other.

allow room for growth. even in marriage, nobody is perfect and people are constantly learning. don't force yourself to create the "perfect couple" because it doesn't exist - only healthy couples.

good partners should respect each other's personal interests, needs and beliefs.

find a way for them to enjoy each other's interests, either together or separately, without starting an argument, feeling forced to do something they don't want to, or forgetting their interests to make their partner happy.

whether it's slowburn or love at first sight, always give them time to learn about each other and develope a friendly relationship before jumping head-first into a romantic one.

your characters should never purposefully embarrass, harm, or belittle their partners unless it's an established kink/lifestyle that they've consented to.

long-distance relationships are just as valid as short-distance and can be just as healthy! partners don't have to be super close or always able to see each other for it to be real love

i hope these help! feel free to add more!

[peachybowen]

stupid • r.b

series masterlist

  pt.1 pt.2

pairing: ricky bowen x reader

warnings: swearing? cliche things? My writing?

songs: I think you kinda, you know by Joshua Bassett, Start of Something New by Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron

words: 3.6k

A/N: this is my first time posting/writing on Tumblr! I hope u enjoy xx

italics= little scenes? (like the scene where Ricky says: „this is a nightmare. Love is dead.”) :)

crossed words is when they usually turn to the camera you know :))

There may also be a few mistakes but I tried my best! :)

Junior year. Another year sitting in a classroom full of teenagers. Also another year of creating memories with my two best friends, Ricky and Big Red. Ricky Bowen, the cutest boy you will ever meet. Trust me on this he's so cute I-

,,Today's the day guys. It's happening.'' Ricky stated excited while nudging my shoulder. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

,,Hell yeah. Junior year, baby'' Big Red replied just as excited as Ricky.

,,Might grow a mustache. Might do a lot of things.'' he continued with a grin on his face. I just kept on walking between the two idiots.

,,Dude, I'm talking about Nini.'' Ricky said with a smile. The smile on my face was now replaced by a frown. I grabbed my backpack straps and continued walking.

,,Today's the day we start over.'' Ricky explained.

While we were walking down the stairs of East High School, Ricky said something about him and Nini texting and her sounding mutual.

,,Nothing about bad news or needing to have a big talk. Just ,,Hey.'' That's good right?'' the boy continued and turned his head to me. I just shrugged.

,,Summers are no man's land, Ricky. I don't know what ''Hey.'' means and neither does Y/N or you.'' Big Red sighed and started to walk faster.

,,I think it's good.'' Ricky breathed out and sent a smile my way which i obviously returned. Soon after we actually found Nini by her locker talking to her best friend, Kourtney. We said our hellos and it was silent for a second.

,,Can we talk?'' Nini asked and turned to look at Ricky. He looked shocked.

,,I met somebody else at camp. I didn't plan-'' she tried to explain but Ricky interuppted her asking if it was a joke. They both didn't seem to care that we stood there watching the scene unfold in front of us.

,,Still talking here.'' Nini snapped and continued.

,,I didn't plan for it to happen but it happened. He was the Music Man, I was Marian, the librarian. It's called a showmance.'' she finished looking her, now ex boyfriend, straight in the eyes.

,,Wait, you went to librarian camp? That's a thing?'' the red headed boy beside me asked. I looked at him and nudged him so he would stop asking dumb questions.

,,Please tell me you're joking.'' Ricky wailed. I could literally see the hurt in his eyes.

,,I'm not.'' Big Red and Nini replied at the same time. I kicked Big Red this time to finally shut him up.

,,Come on, Ricky you know what you did! Or you didn't do.'' Nini pointed out. I knew what she was referring to. The night she told him that she loved him. Ricky came over that night explaining everything and that he wasn't ready to say the L-Word yet. It was the night where I realized how I really felt for him. We played 'Just Dance' all night and my goal was honestly just to make him happy. He was so stressed and worried. I just wanted him to have fun and forget about all that Nini stuff, even if it just was for 5 minutes.

,,Good morning, students. Please make your way to the gym for our annual back-to-school kickoff.'' a teacher announced trough the speakers. Nini was about to leave when Ricky spoke up again.

,,I don't belive this. You're blowing me off for some theater punk you met four weeks ago? At a lake?'' Ricky asked still in disbelief that he was getting dumped.

,,You kinda dumped me!'' the girl snapped back.

,,It was a break. It wasn't a break-up.'' he corrected. At this point it was hard to watch. It was awkard standing there, watching the drama onfold in front of my eyes but I didn’t want to leave Ricky alone.

,,I'm sorry Ricky but it is a break-up now.''

,,Pop off girl.'' Kourtney, Nini's best friend, commented. Me and Big Red turned to look at her.

,,Stay out of it, Kourtney.'' Big Red hissed.

,,I'm dismantling the patriarchy this year, and I'm not afraid to start with you.'' Kourtney threatend before Nini left with her. I turned to look at Ricky who was frozen in his place.

We were sitting in the Gym soon after the whole agrument. The kickoff was boring.

,,And I am also pleased to announce that this year, seniors will be allowed to wear baseball hats on Fridays.'' the principal announced. Everyone just looked at him not saying a word. Well besides that one girl who screamed: ,,Go seniors!''. The principal continued a few seconds later.

,,And now for a special introduction. This year, East High has a new drama teacher with an announcement that she swore, in writing, would not cost too much money.'' he said and gestured to a woman who was sitting in the front. Everything was silent again. Nobody clapped besides two students.

,,Why? Why do things have to change?'' Ricky asked staring at Nini who was sitting two or three rows in front of him. We turned our heads to look at a heart broken Ricky.

,,Some things never change.'' I replied in a whisper, smiling when he turned to look at me.

,,I've been wearing the same socks for three days.'' Big Red added with a shrug. I looked down at his feet for a second and gagged dramatically. Big Red just smiled and turned his attention back to the new drama teacher. I did the same.

,,My name is Miss Jenn, and when I heard that the high school where High School Musical was shot had never staged a production of High School Musical, the musical, I was shocked as an actress, inspired as a director, and triggered as a millennial.'' she explained. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion for the second time that day.

Millennial?

,,Auditions are tomorrow after school.'' Ms. Jenn continued and looked around.

,,This show could change your lives, and I'm saying this as a background dancer from the original movie. Third from the left, back row, red headband, and those are my real teeth.'' she exclaimed happily. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nini nudging Kourtney to  indirectly say that she was gonna audition. After that she introduced us to the student Choreograph, Carlos.

Sitting at our usual table at lunch and talking about Nini was one thing, but seeing Nini being all lovie dovie with my big brother was another. And if your wondering, no, he didn't tell me that he was dating Nini. Normally he told me everything but he just decided to not tell me that he started dating the ex-girlfriend of my best friend.

,,Dude are you seeing this?'' Red asked, looking at my brother and Nini, and then back to Ricky who was looking at them as well.

,,I'm seein' it, I'm hearin' it, I'm hatin' it.'' he replied and turned to me.

,,Did you know?'' he asked with a semi angry expression on his face.

,,What? No! And you know that I would have told you if I did.'' I replied looking at him.

,,I can't believe it.'' Red muttered still watching the couple.

,,She's dating my brother.'' I mumbled turning my gaze to them as well.

,,Yes. I have eyes'' Ricky growled, clearly being annoyed.

,,Co-captain of the water polo team. Senior class treasurer.'' Red listed eating his food.

,,That's correct.'' Ricky mumbled still annoyed as shit.

,,What are the odds that the guy she hooks up with at camp goes to East High?'' the red head asked not knowing that he is annoying Ricky more and more.

,,Apparently, the odds are exceptionally good.'' Ricky snapped and I decided to show a bit sympathy.

,,I'm sorry Ricky.''

The curly haired boy turned to face me.

,,What are you gonna do?'' I asked him.

,,I don't know.'' he sighed, stood up and left, leaving me with Big Red.

,,Ok is there something you wanna tell me?'' I asked as soon as I arrived at home. EJ was sitting on the couch and was on Instagram, as always.

,,What do you mean?'' he asked looking up from his phone.

,,Oh I don't know maybe you getting a new girlfriend who was the girlfriend of my best friend by the way. How about that?'' I hinted with a mad look on my face.

,,Oh that. Yeah I'm dating Nini.'' he simply said, turning his attention to his phone again shortly after. I went to the couch and sat down beside him.

,,Why didn't you tell me?''

,,Nini told me not to say anything. She wanted to sort things out with Ricky first, you know.'' he replied turning his phone off. My gaze softened. 

,,Oh.'' I simply whispered.

,,Yeah, I'm sorry. Anyways, are you auditioning?''

,,Of course EJ.'' I answered with a smile.

,,For what part?'' he asked further.

I crossed my legs before answering.

,,Probably Taylor.''

My phone rang just as EJ was about to reply. I picked up my phone and saw that Ricky was calling me. I didn't think twice and picked up.

,,Hello?''

,,Hi, Y/N. It's Ricky. Meet me at Big Red's House. Now!'' was all he said before he hung up. I stood up and sent an apologetic smile towards my big brother before grabbing his car keys and my shoes.

,,I'm taking your car! Love you!'' I yelled before closing the door and running to the car.

,,Okay, I know it's crazy, dude, but she has to see me in a whole new light.'' Ricky explained while I was sitting on a chair and Big Red was playing a videogame.

,,But we hate musicals.'' Red argued, still focused on his game.

,,I don't.'' I chimed in, rolling my eyes at Big Red's argument.

,,I just think it's weird when people, like, burst into song in the middle of the street.'' Ricky stated, paching around in the room.

,,That is a musical.'' I retorted, looking at my best friend.

,,Okay, look. I'm auditioning for this thing tomorrow, and nothing is gonna stop me.'' he declared.

,,Do you even know the plot of High School Musical?''

,,Of course! It's about Zac Efron dancing with a basketball.''

,,Wrong. It's about the character, Troy, having to choose between being true to his friend, Chad, or following his heart with Gabriella.'' I corrected with a smirk.

,,The point is, you're out of your league here, man. You can't pull this off.''

Ricky looked at his male best friend.

,,Yeah?'' he asked.

,,Yes.''

And with that, Ricky grabbed his Skateboard and left without saying another word.

The next day was uneventful. I was nervous because of the auditions but I got through the day without having to throw up.

,,People make sure you audition number is clearly visible on your clothes. This isn't a game.'' Carlos yelled as he walked passed me. I looked down to see my audition number. Number 5. I smiled and went to talk to my brother.

,,You know, I'm actually kinda bummed that we don't have any competition here. It would make getting the leads all the sweeter.'' he said to Nini and I rolled my eyes playfully and sat down on a chair.

,,Could you stop tempting fate?'' Nini asked with a laugh and looked at her boyfriend. EJ looked back at her and grinned. I never felt more single in my life.

,,You know what? You're right.'' she continued turning her head back to the mirror in front of her. I was about to say something but Ms.Jenn knocked on the door.

,,Okay, theater people. Let's do this!''

Everyone started cheering and got up from their chairs. The smile on my face grew and I turned to my brother.

,,Good luck!'' I said and hugged him.

,,Good luck! I love you.'' he replied and hugged me back.

,,I love you more.'' was all I said before I left the room.

We all got on stage and Ms. Jenn told us to pair up with someone who wasn't our friend. That's when I realized that Ricky wasn't there. I sighed and paired up with Ashlyn. I know that Ms.Jenn said to not pair up with a friend but she did not say to not pair up with your cousin.

We all lined up and chatted till Miss Jenn started walking down the line of students. She stopped in front of a boy.

,,I'd love you to read for Ryan.''

,,You are giving major Taylor vibes.'' she said to the next girl. The next in line was Ashlyn.

,,You. You're giving me uncommon depth. Ms.Darbus?''

I looked at Ashlyn and she started smiling.

,,I'm dying. I'm deceased. Yes.'' Ashlyn replied, still smiling happily.

,,Oh. Your application says you play the piano.''

,,I dabble.''

,,You ever written a song?'' Ms.Jenn asked with a curios look.

,,Nothing I've ever shared with anyone.''

,,I always thought the drama teacher should have an Act Two power ballad. We'll sidebar.'' was all the blonde teacher said before she stood in front of me.

,,Gabriella.''

I looked at her and shook my head slowly.

,,No. I'm actually here to audition for Taylor.'' I answered a small smile forming on my lips.

,,Oh, ok.'' was all she said before she continued walking down the line.

Ricky still didn't show up and I really thought he just decided not to audition last minute. I was sitting on stage with the others. It was EJ's time to audition.

,,Okay, what do I need to know?'' Ms. Jenn whispered to Carlos.

,,EJ Caswell. Big brother of Y/N Caswell, most Instagram followers. Wakes up looking like that-'' was all I could hear from their little conversation. Soon after EJ started singing 'Start of Something New’ while Seb played the piano.

,,Well, excuse me. Armie Hammer called. He wants his jawline back.'' The female teacher joked with a bright smile on her face. I sent a smile towards him which he returned.

,,Moving on with the Taylor's and after that we're gonna continue with the Gabriella's!'' she announced while clapping, shortly after.

It was my time to audition and, boy was I nervous. I was trying really hard not to throw up on stage in front of everyone. Like, I auditioned for plays before but I wasn't like my brother who was really confident in the things he did. I'm the sibling that overthinks everything.

,,Ok Y/N start when you're ready.'' Carlos said and waited for me to start. I took a deep breath and started reading Taylor’s lines. It was the scene where she apologized for trying to manipulate Gabriella and Troy's relationship.

,,Gabriella, we were jerks. No, we were worse than jerks because we were mean jerks. We thought Troy and the whole singing thing was killing our chances of having you on the scholastic decathlon team.''

,,Thank you Y/N! Now let's hear your singing.'' Ms.Jenn instructed. My eyes grew wide and I gasped.

,,Hold on. Jade didn't need to sing and she auditioned for Taylor as well. Why do I need to sing?''

,,Just do it!'' EJ whisper-yelled. I turned my gaze to him and then back to Carlos and Ms.Jenn who smiled widely. 

,,Ok.'' I mumbled and looked at Seb who started playing the Piano seconds later.

,,Livin' in my own world

Didn't understand

That anything can happen

When you take a chance

I never believed in

What I couldn't see

I never opened my heart (Oh) To all the possibilities

I know that something has changed

Never felt this way and right here tonight

This could be the start of something new

It feels so right to be here with you (oh)

And now looking in your eyes

I feel in my heart (feel in my heart)

The start of something new.''

In conclusion...I sang my heart out.

,,Great, thank you Y/N. Let's continue with the Gabriella's!''

I smiled and sat down beside Nini. She smiled at me and I returned it. My brother sent me the same proud smile as Nini.

Gina was incredible. She was a multi-talent. I was kinda jealous. I mean I knew she could dance but she could also sing like a goddess. It was Nini's turn after Gina. To be honest, I did not think she could take on Gina. I mean she mostly played Trees and animals in plays soo...you know.

Just as Nini positioned herself on stage, Ricky came running in with his guitar.

,,Am I too late?'' he yelled, totally out of breath. Nini looked not so pleased.

,,We're all set on Troys. We're low on Chads. You can read after the Gabriellas.'' Ms.Jenn stated and turned her attention back to Nini, who still looked mortified.

,,I only studied the Troy scenes in the movie.'' Ricky told her while walking up the stairs. My brother rolled his eyes at Ricky, which lead me to roll my eyes at him.

,,Troy would have arrived on time.'' Carlos commented.

,,Thanks. Let me do the talking.'' the blonde whispered to the young choreograph.

,,Okay Nini let's try this again.''

Nini looked so much more nervous than before. No wait. She looked terrified. I didn't blame her. Having her current boyfriend and her ex-boyfriend in a room while you're trying to audition for a lead role is kinda nerve-racking.

,,You got this babe!'' EJ literally screamed. The scream startled Ms.Jenn so much that she spilled her coffee over the sound system. All the lights turned off.

,,Nobody panic! Nini, let's wait for the lights to come back on. I don't want this to throw you.''

,,I'm not thrown.'' the brunette replied. Everyone looked at her (well as best as they could.) and she started singing. Not even a minute later, Ricky got his phone out and turned on the flashlight, literally holding it in Nini's face. And of course, EJ got up and did the same. Nini was really good. Like really really good. Just as she finished singing, the lights came back on.

,,Well, thank you Nini. I only needed 32 bars but I appreciate your commitment.'' Ms.Jenn said while Carlos held up his right thumb. She turned her attention back to Ricky.

,,You, late boy.''

He looked at her.

,,Let's do the Chad sides.''

Ricky nodded and grabbed the script. It was quiet. Ricky looked at me and i sent him a (hopefully) comforting smile. Big Red came in last second as well. He held his thumbs up and smiled.

,,Hey, there. I'm Ricky Bowen. I'm a junior. And here it goes.'' he said before he started. I smiled the whole time, trying to somehow lift his spirit. He started reading the lines but stopped a few seconds later. My smile slightly faded and I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. He crumbled the script in his fist and I turned to look at Big Red who was looking at me with the same expression I had on my face.

,,I don't know. Maybe its the way Gabriella always had your back. And maybe you can't stop beating yourself up for totally blowing it with her'' Ricky began, looking at Nini who was sitting beside me.

,,And look, Troy. Even if you never said the L-word to Gabriella, 'cause that's, like, not even a word your parents say to each other anymore. That doesn't mean that you don't. Maybe it just means you were waiting for the right time to say it. So that everyone could hear it.'' he continued looking Nini. She was trying to avoid eye contact though.

,,No. That she could.'' he finished after a short pause. My smile was completely gone and I just looked at my hands.

,,Okay kiddo. Time to sing.''

Before Seb could even start playing the piano, Ricky asked if he could sing his own song. Ms.Jenn just agreed and he grabbed his guitar. And the next thing I knew was that he started singing the song Nini wrote for him. Don't get me wrong. I was so proud of him for being so damn brave but it still hurt a lot. I sighed and slowly got up, leaving the room. Just to clear my mind for a bit.

,,Clear!'' Carlos yelled as he ran past me with a blue piece of paper in his hands. I followed him, realizing that it was the cast list. Everyone was crowding around it so I didn't really get to see if I got the Taylor part.

,,"Chad"? She thinks I'm a Chad?'' EJ asked dumbfounded, his ego obviously hurt. I really thought he was gonna get the Troy part. Everyone stepped back and I finally got to look at the list.

Taylor McKessie - Gina Porter

Honestly the day couldn't have gone worse. First the Ricky thing and then the Musical. Big Red seemed to notice my sudden mood switch.

,,Y/N?'' he asked and I looked up to him with glassy eyes. He started smiling.

,,Look at the top of the list.'' he said chuckling. I did as he said and my eyes grew wide.

Gabriella Montez - Y/N Caswell

I turned to look at my best friend. I was so confused.

that's why Miss Jenn asked me to sing.

Big Reds' smile grew bigger and bigger every second. Mine did as well. But then I realized that Nini wanted the role and I practically just stole it from her. I looked at the list again.

Gabriella Montez understudy - Nini Salazar-Roberts

I looked at Nini and smiled at her. She flashed a sad smile my way and went to talk to EJ.

Big Red hugged me and, of course, I hugged him back. Ricky then stepped forward, searching for his name on the list.

Troy Bolten - Ricky Bowen

And that was definitely the start of something new.

[hansonismyhappyplace]

is Hanson over...?

Being a fan since 97 I am used to defending the band. Pointing out all the good things they do and the positive messages in the music.

Sure, they’ve also done plenty of dumbass things over the years but it was always just accepted as part of the package and there was always more good than bad. 

Until 2020.

Like...they have done more egregious things this year ALONE than maybe throughout their entire career combined. It would be impressive if it wasn’t mortifying. Let’s see...

-Zac making light of a global pandemic with the licking doorknobs post

-Zac’s videos talking to himself where he puts on the arguably homophobic lisp

-Zac asserting that Hanson Day would go on even as the pandemic became worse. Obviously they eventually cancelled it but I’m sure he was the last to accept it.

-Announcing during a pandemic they’d be playing some dumb state fair or something in July (I didn’t really pay attention to where/what exactly this show was supposed to be). Obviously that eventually got cancelled to, but why the fuck did they even announce it long after it was clear everything like that would be postponed.

-STILL RELEASING NO NEW ALBUMS. I AM SO OVER THE FAN CLUB ONLY ALBUMS. AT LEAST PUT THEM UP ON STREAMING ONCE THEY ARE A YEAR OR TWO OLD. It is 2020 guys, sorry, streaming is the way you get music out there now. You held out long enough. There are plenty of other ways to make money from the fan club.

-Speaking of making money from the fanclub, the ridiculous merch lately. Merch for Isaac’s “Quaranstreams” merch for Zac’s bike accident. These fools will monetize anything.

-Taylor making a post promoting Tesla while Elon Musk is busy making headlines being a verifiable piece of shit

-Then, after another black man is murdered by American police, Hanson’s response is to post about rocket launches and livestreams while fans are literally BEGGING THEM TO SHOW THEIR COMMITMENT TO BLACK LIVES.

Obviously this last one is the most important. Hanson has long cited black artists as some of their biggest influences. They have done charity work in Africa (which, the question of did they do actual good or was that just some white savior BS is a valid question). Only a couple months ago they posted something about new music they are making being “AFRO FUSION.” 

Sooooooooooo let me get this straight Hanson: you want to take black culture and influences and use them to help you make more money through your music but can’t even do the bare minimum of posting about black lives mattering during this time in history? Cool cool.

Taylor did finally make a post, but only after literally hundreds of dissappointed fans commented on Instagram. Still no post from the band account as I am writing this. I have never been more disappointed in this band and I’m not sure if/how they recover from this.

[cxstlaviee]

[ band aid ] – cora and zac

Cora takes care of Zachariah after he gets into a fight. 

If silence were truly as deadly as they claimed, Zachariah Williams would be dead. 

Cora understood the function of bar fights - she knew it was his lizard-brain lashing out, not his brain. She logically could accept that fact that he’d maybe even had a right to deck that dude who had made a comment about her. After all, that drunk stranger hadn’t used the kindest words to describe her. Maybe part of her should even feel flattered? That was part of her issue though - was this really worth it? Over her? Hardly. She knew that girls usually liked that kind of thing - when boys fought over them. She’d never been quite like other girls though, had she? 

So after the scuffle, after they’d been kicked out, Cora hadn’t spoken a word to him. Not while they waited for a cab and she inspected his bleeding cheek, or his knuckles. Not while they were in the car heading to his place. Not while they were in the elevator on the way up. It was the only real way you could know she was truly angry. Cora normally couldn’t shut her mouth to save her own life, but if she went quiet on you? That meant trouble. 

When they got inside, she didn’t even look at him, just went straight to Zelda’s crate, letting her out, giving her some love. Then finally, Cora barked at him, “Bathroom Zac.” Clipped. Short. Angry. No loving Zachariah, like he normally got. As few syllables as possible to get her point across. He went off, and she took a minute to go grab food and water for the dog, sitting with her on the floor for a minute as she ate, stroking her fur, hoping it would calm her down a little. 

No such luck. She was just as angry when she finally got to him, pulling alcohol and peroxide out of the medicine cabinet, acting like she owned the place. Cora knew why she was upset - when you grew up in an angry house, you avoided anger. She avoided other people’s anger, she avoided her own, hence the silence. It was either quietly rage, or scream, and she’d rather stew in her own feelings that take them out on him. That and… Well Zachariah had never been anything but tender, caring, loving with her, and there had been something jarring about seeing him that way. Dabbing a cotton ball on the cut on his face, she tutted at him, shaking her head. It was the same treatment her boys back home had gotten whenever they got into trouble. Judgey looks, rolling eyes, tsk’s and clucks of the tongue. Silence. Cora put a band-aid over that gash, then moved to his knuckles, washing them off, cleaning them up. It was in that space of time, where she was looking down at his hand, that tears began to well in her eyes. By the time she looked back up at him, they were rolling down her cheeks. “You can’t be doin’ shit like this, Zac. I can take care of myself. And you…” He didn’t get it, but how could he? For as much as they talked about everything, Cora hadn’t told him much about her childhood or her dad, and with as angry as she was at the moment, now wasn’t the time to explain. “You’re too important to me to be gettin’ hurt over dumb shit like that…” 

“Cora I--” He started, but she cut him off, holding a finger up. 

“Uh-uh. No. This isn’t up for discussion. This isn’t a discussion. I’m telling you. Don’t do that. Not over me. I’m a big girl. I’ve been takin’ care of myself for a long time. I… I don’t like that. The end.” She wiped at her tears, shaking it off, before wrapping a bandage around his fingers, slipping back into that silence.