#i get being annoyed at daniel fans being called all sorts of things - i too as a lando stan am very used to stanning a popular driver | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

old-childhood-drama · 3 years

Text

Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas Masterpost (Toe/Jaylor)

Before dating (May 2008)

We start with the Taylor lookalike

In May 2008 the Jonas Brothers are filming their music video for Burnin’ Up [x]. Joe’s love interest in it is played by a blonde girl who looks quite a bit (and she’s also styled) like Taylor Swift, for reference, this is the music video that has Selena Gomez as Nick Jonas’ love interest.

As far as we know they hadn’t even met so we don’t know exactly what this was supposed to mean, maybe Joe had a crush on Taylor or maybe it’s a coincidence.

We do know that Nick and Selena were dating when this was filmed and that by the time the MV was released (July 4th, 2008) Joe and Taylor were officially dating.

Toe is alive! (July 2008 – September 2008)

On Tour

Fans claim to have seen Taylor around the tour in early July, which matches with Taylor’s lyrics in "Last Kiss".

Last Kiss. Taylor Swift.

I do recall now the smell of the rain

Fresh on the pavement, I ran off the plane

That July 9th, the beat of your heart

It jumps through your shirt

On July 14th, Taylor and The Jonas Brothers perform “Should’ve Said No”[x] from her debut album, and this performance now forever exists in their 3D movie (a classic), a cute fact is that some fans have said that Taylor tripped when she first came out, so they had to repeat it for the movie.

On July 20th Joe flies to Wyoming to watch Taylor opening up for Rascal Flatts, and they flew back and she was spotted at the Omaha show.

She’s seen in a couple shows more and she joins the stage again for their Madison Square Garden shows in August [x]. They sing “Even now just looking at you feels wrong”.

They’re together but they’re not together.

For more context, we must remember that Taylor was a very new artist from a small label and The Jonas were pretty much at their peak and Disney’s biggest act, and they were managed like crazy and could never even think about being seen with someone in a romantic way. Any rumors were denied so fast, and Disney did the absolute most to keep it secret. So according to everyone they were just good friends, at the time both Taylor and Selena were annoyed by all the secrecy.

Now back to the timeline:

Taylor is backstage of the tour A LOT for the next couple of weeks right next to the other not-girlfriends Selena and Danielle.

She films a cameo for the “Love Is on Its Way” [x] video for the concert in New York. She was said to be only interested in hanging out with Joe and they were seen hugging *gasp* I know it doesn’t seem like much now but back then this was the hottest gossip and again the Jonas were not supposed to breathe near any human of the opposite gender.

Taylor and the Jonas were staying at the same hotel a bunch of rumors ensued, but I will not talk about the whole Olympics and Toe locking themselves in a room at midnight thing. If it’s real, we really needed to touch some grass and stop staying outside of people's rooms all night.

On August 17th Joe goes to Ryan Seacrest's show and denied that Taylor is his girlfriend in the best way a corporation like Disney can train you to deny something that’s true. Saying Taylor is “a great girl and I think anybody would be lucky to date her. I think anybody would love to go on a date with her.”

And Taylor tells People Magazine “He’s an amazing guy and anybody would be lucky to be dating him” Cinematic parallels.

Taylor is spotted in the back (in a mirror) of one of the Jonas youtube videos [x]. Basically, we all knew they were together.

The Central Park date (August 28th)

Now if you were a fan of either the Jonas Brothers, Selena, or Taylor you know this next part and it the iconic triple date of Central Park.

Again, this is kind of famous at this point and Selena has been quoted saying how awful it was because the boys were not allowed to be seen with them so they all went to Central Park (Selena’s first time in Central Park) and Taylor and Selena walked about 20 feet of distance from the guys so nobody would think they were together but we all already knew because it wasn’t like they were that good at hiding it and there are pictures of them together that night (the clownery of it all).

These backstage tour adventures are the reason Taylor and Selena are friends today and in Selena’s own words the best thing to come out of those relationships.

VMAs (September 2008)

With how many pictures of them together that night [x] [x] [x] exist you would think they had gone together as a couple but no just two besties! The 2008 VMAs are so the show where Russell Brand mocks the Jonas Brothers and their purity rings and Taylor publicly defends them.

Toe seems happy for the rest of September but as we know now the end is near.

The Break-Up (October 2008)

Social Media was different back then and Taylor did what every teen girl with a broken heart did in 2008 and she went to myspace with an edited post to make a statement about the Toe current situation.

Post-Breakup

The 27 seconds Joe Jonas will regret for the rest of his life.

Taylor went on Ellen and I don’t even think I need to say much this interview is THAT iconic she sat on that couch and told the world exactly how Joe had broken her heart in the following two quotes:

“There’s one that’s about that guy, but…that guy’s not in my life anymore unfortunately. That guy…that’s an ouch.”

“I’m not even gonna be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18…it was like 27 seconds, that’s got to be a record.” [x]

She also went on Ryan Seacrest’s and when asked about the perfect guy she saw an opportunity and took it, saying “I used to always say sense of humor, but I think that it’s important to have the same kind of sense of humor. I have a really dry, sarcastic sense of humor and if somebody doesn’t think that my sense of humor is funny, then that’s not something that is good. Um, so sometimes you know, that can be a wrong match. If they’re not allowed to go in public with me, that’s sort of an issue too.” [x]

Bonus the amazing youtube video Taylor posted with Joe’s Camp Rock doll and how he comes with his own phone to break up with other dolls [x]. Taylor eventually went full out and cited Camilla Belle (then girlfriend of Joe) as the reason for the breakup. And you know someone at Disney’s PR office wanted to die when this was going down.

So finally, Joe was forced to acknowledge the whole situation with a Myspace post:

"I never cheated on a girlfriend. It might make someone feel better to assume or imply I have been unfaithful, but it is simply not true. Maybe there were reasons for a breakup. Maybe the heart moved on. Perhaps feelings changed. I am truly saddened that anything would potentially cause you to think less of me. For those who have expressed concern over the "27 second” phone call. I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did. Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk. “

Forever & Always

Now this song is known as THE Toe song and it was born out of the end of the relationship when she felt Joe was getting distant, but she couldn’t do anything to help it, it was made really late into the production of Fearless so she had to rush to finish it in time (so no other breakup songs are about Joe in the original album).

Forever & Always Was I out of line? Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide Like a scared little boy I looked into your eyes Thought I knew you for a minute, now I’m not so sure

In the 2009 Grammy's Taylor and Miley (insert The Ex-Girlfriends Club Theory here) performed Fifteen (obviously not about Joe) and the Jonas were in the audience. I believe this is probably around the time Taylor writes Mr. Perfectly Fine and You All Over Me, which we know get to have thanks to Fearless (Taylor’s Version) 13 years later.

You All Over Me

The best and worst day of June

Was the one that I met you

With your hands in your pockets

And your 'don't you wish you had me' grin

But I did, so I smiled, and I melted like a child

Now every breath of air I breathe reminds me of then

Mr. Perfectly Fine

'Cause I hear he's got his arm 'round a brand-new girl

I've been pickin' up my heart, he's been pickin' up her

And I never got past what you put me through

But it's wonderful to see that it never phased you

In November of 2009, she also goes to SNL and mocks Joe in her monologue. "You might think I'd bring up Joe That guy who broke up with me on the phone But I'm not gonna mention him *rolls eyes* In my monologue [Spoken:]Hey Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting SNL [Sings:]But I'm not gonna brag about that In my monologue [x]"

To make things even more dramatic and very awkward The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Taylor Swift spent NYE together watching the ball drop on TV and this was probably not how they wanted to start their years. [x] [x] [x] and a video [x]

Now let’s discussed some of the songs that came out at the time. The Jonas response to Forever & Always was Much Better. Nick described it as a song that was very personal to Joe and Joe went on to say that it was based on his very interesting year. They also at some point wanted to pretend the song was about their love for their fans but come on. Joe also changed the lyrics from ‘superstar’ to ‘country star’ and later changed it to ‘movie stars’ when he broke up with Camilla who is the ‘Much Better’ girl from the song.

Much Better - Jonas Brothers

I get a rep for breakin’ hearts

Now I’m done with superstars

And all the tears on her guitar

I’m not bitter

But now I see

Everything I’d ever need

Is the girl in front of me

She’s much better

Taylor’s iconic response in Better Than Revenge seems to be more of an attack on Camilla. She’s spoken about her regret for this song since then and hasn’t played it in years and Camilla seems to be ok we never forgiving her for it [x] [x]. Regardless this song remains a staple of the genre ‘Feminism OFF, Bops ON’.

“I was 18 when I wrote [“Better Than Revenge.”] That’s the age you are when you think someone can actually take your boyfriend. Then you grow up and realize no one can take someone from you if they don’t want to leave”. - Taylor 2014.

Better Than Revenge - Taylor Swift

Let's hear the applause (Come on, come on)

Come on, show me how much better you are

(So much better, yeah?)

See you deserve some applause

'Cause you're so much better

She also released "Last Kiss" about the nicer part of their relationship, and some believe other songs such as If This Was a Movie, Haunted (Speak Now) and Jump Then Fall (Fearless) are about Joe. From the Jonas, the other song believed to be about Taylor is Paranoid (Lines, Vines and Trying Times).

Jump Then Fall

Well, I like the way your hair falls in your face

You got the keys to me

I love each freckle on your face, oh

I've never been so wrapped up, honey

Probably a song was written about and in the early days of their romance and the long hair freckles [x] thing definitely fits 2008 Joe.

If This Was a Movie

Baby, what about the ending?

Oh, I thought you'd be here by now

Thought you'd be here by now

According to some this song is a sister song to "Last Kiss" in the same album and that is confirmed to be about Joe.

Haunted

Come on, come on, don't leave me like this

I thought I had you figured out

Something's gone terribly wrong

Won't finish what you started

This song would be a sister to Forever & Always since Taylor described both to be about a relationship that was fading in the end and that she was confused as to how they got there in the first place.

"‘Haunted’ is about the moment that you realize the person you’re in love with is drifting and fading fast. And you don’t know what to do, but in that period of time, in that phase of love, where it’s fading out, time moves so slowly. Everything hinges on what that last text message said, and you’re realizing that he’s kind of falling out of love. That’s a really heartbreaking and tragic thing to go through because the whole time you’re trying to tell yourself it’s not happening. I went through this, and I ended up waking up in the middle of the night writing this song about it.” Taylor

Friendlier days are coming (2010- )

I guess time can heal a lot of wounds and Toe is seen hugging and on friendly terms at the Clive Davis party on January 31st of 2010 [x].

The world was so shocked when we realized that Joe went to see her perform in a couple of her shows in September 2011 [x] [x], and in here Holy Ground is born about her new evaluation of their former relationship rather than the bitterness of the breakup. The lyrics' secret message is “when you came to the show in SD” and the potential parallel to "Last Kiss".

Holy Ground - Taylor Swift

We blocked the noise with the sound of ‘I need you’

And for the first time I had something to lose

And I guess we fell apart in the usual way

And the story’s got dust on every page

But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now

And I see your face in every crowd…

… Tonight, I'm gonna dance

For all that we've been through

But I don't wanna dance

If I'm not dancing with you

Last Kiss - Taylor Swift

I do remember the swing of your step

The life of the party, you’re showing off again

And I roll my eyes and then

You pull me in

I’m not much for dancing

But for you I did

They're seen talking in the MTV's EMA's 2012 [x].

From here they seem to be friendly and in May of 2015 after the Billboards. They even go on a double date later that year with Gigi Hadid, Calvin Harris, and Karlie Kloss (this picture feels so cursed). Nick and Joe get invited to Taylor’s 4th of July party and they seem somewhat distant after his split from Gigi.

Present (2020- )

In 2020, we got the amazing surprise of folklore with the song ‘Invisible String’ that makes a reference to Taylor’s past songs about exes being harsh and how she sent Joe and his wife Sophie Turner a present for their baby girl’s birth. In 2021, she has now released the re-recordings of Fearless and we are all reliving the drama and enjoying the chaos of Taylor’s and Sophie’s friendship not letting Joe know peace for those 27 seconds over a decade ago.

Invisible String

Cold was the steel of my axe to grind

For the boys who broke my heart

Now I send their babies presents

#Taylor Swift #fearless #fearless (taylor's version)#forever & always #mr perfectly fine #you all over me #last kiss #toe #jaylor #joe jonas #jonas brothers #folklore #invisible string #paranoid #much better #lines #vines and trying times #better than revenge

63 notes · View notes

luninosity · 3 years

Text

Okay, so, some Falcon and the Winter Soldier thoughts (will have some spoilers) for episodes two and three. General non-spoilery comment first: I feel like these were both *okay* episodes - neither as good as the first, but I didn’t dislike them, either. I’m still really curious to see how we’re going to wrap this all up in three more episodes; it doesn’t feel like we’re halfway done yet!

Okay, more spoiler-y notes below the Read More, not in any real order, just as I think and type. I’ll probably forget some things, but for now, here’re some thoughts...

--I like ep 3 slightly more than ep 2, mostly because of Zemo!

--I actually really love Zemo here (I liked him in Civil War, too): complex, sardonic, enjoying poking at people, a villain we do feel sympathy for even as he’s still sharp enough to remind us that he is a villain. Daniel Bruhl has always done a fantastic job flipping between calculated cruelty, wry humor - the whole “I am a Baron” moment was great - and pain that for him is still raw, about the loss of his family. (Some things’re awfully cliche - look, the supervillain’s playing chess and reading Machiavelli in his cell? really? - but, y’know...sure. Why not. We expect some cliches in the superhero genre, and this is an inoffensive one.)

--also Zemo dancing. That’s it. That’s everything.

--moving on from that: I’m also really liking how they’re writing John Walker. He does have charm, and there’s a certain amount of sympathy - especially as we see him worrying about filling the Captain America shoes, in ep 2 - but we’re also getting this really subtle sense of wrongness about him. He’s clearly vindictive and angry when things (and people) don’t act according to his mental script for them, and he’s willing to use his name and power to do things like get Bucky released...which in context and given our sympathies for Bucky is a good thing, but...it’s also an indicator of his willingness to do what he wants, because he can. (To be fair, Steve Rogers also often did that! - but Steve earned our trust, both in narrative and character. From his first introduction to WWII leadership experience to all the Avengers stuff, Steve consistently acts to protect people, and he’ll also listen if someone else has a good idea or if someone needs to talk, like with Wanda.) So I’m really liking this slow-fuse character development.

--mixed feelings about Sharon. I love that the show’s acknowledging how much she sacrificed for our main heroes, with no reward. On the other hand, she also clearly knew the consequences that could happen; she said as much at the time. The level of bitterness seems like a lot. But I’m also interested in everything we still don’t know about her - if she’s not the Power Broker herself, she’s obviously Up To Something. So that should be fun.

--hey, look at that X-Men location, with Majipoor! Also a nod to Wolverine’s favorite bar there, I think?

--I love heist and disguise plots!

--I also really like Bucky’s having to revert to the Winter Soldier - Sebastian Stan does it so brilliantly, with so many layers of emotion: not wanting to, loathing it, recognizing the necessity, shutting off all emotion and just coldly doing it, hurting but covering it up...just fantastic, and you know I love some hurt/comfort, and this seems like such a great set-up for emotional hurt

--but! this also seems like...a weird plot hole, kind of? Bucky’s pretty famous at this point, right? I imagine the criminal underworld knows he’s been pardoned and deprogrammed, right? or do they assume Zemo, with his knowledge of Hydra, still has some special control over him?

--along the same “this seems like someone didn’t think this through” path, Sam, you’re a professional, turn off your phone on a mission. Oh my god. Face-palmingly stupid - and I think somewhat lazy writing, as the writers plainly needed a giveaway, and went for the first idea they had. Even if it made a main character look incompetent.

--the Flag Smashers and Karli are...fine. They feel very Generic Marvel Villain - not the big space alien type, but the other type, the “I have a personal loss and motivating pain so I’m a little sympathetic but also Clearly Evil, watch me kill civilians so the audience won’t ever find me TOO sympathetic” type. Meh. Fine. Zemo’s more interesting, but...fine.

--Anthony Mackie is such a fantastic actor - every bit of his reaction to the Isaiah Bradley reveal is so good. The anger, pain, frustration, ferocity...heartbreaking. Actually that whole scene is so good - his emotions at discovering this secret history are palpable, and it’s so painful, because we also understand why Bucky would keep the secret - as someone who knows about pain and trauma and being experimented on, and knowing Isaiah wants to be left alone - we feel really deeply for both characters here, and it’s great.

--I actually liked the abrupt swing from the Isaiah Bradley encounter to the casual everyday racism of the cops on the street - is it subtle, no. But it’s not meant to be: it’s meant to be standing up and shouting about how not that much has really changed, and about how pervasive racism is. I know some reviews were all, “this was just too much!” or “too forced!” but...look, it needs to be shouted sometimes for people to hear.

--Bucky’s notebook being Steve’s, oh, ouch, my feelings. If I had the time and energy to write fic...

--(also, if I had the time and energy to write dark!fic: where’re my fics in which Zemo’s implication about the Winter Soldier “doing anything you want” gets played with? what or who does Bucky have to do to keep the undercover charade going? so many Bad Wrong Kinky power dynamics and explorations of consent and what this would do to Bucky’s head, here, and honestly I’d totally read them all, just saying.)

--Sam and Bucky together...I don’t know. This is one of the elements that I’m not actually a huge fan of, but I think it’s partly a personal genre / sense of humor thing that’s not clicking for me, personally, again. Like...

--I don’t find people shouting aggrievedly at each other to be funny? I’m not sure why it is.

--I mean, I get that they’re doing, like, eighties buddy cop movies, but...it got old really fast then, and it’s not something we needed to bring back. It’s not clever, and it’s...well, shouty and annoying.

--(I say this as someone who genuinely likes the first two Lethal Weapon movies...but the significant difference is, I think, we’re also shown in both those movies that Riggs and Murtaugh care about each other. They don’t want to be partners initially, and they don’t get along initially, and they do argue over tactics**...but they immediately feel responsible for each other and act to protect each other even as they argue, because it’s the right thing to do and we’re shown moments of them awkwardly trying to connect, because they both have that deep sense of...protectiveness...that makes them Good People - like, if they learn something that the other person needs to know, they tell each other. They protect each other’s families / love interests. So by the end of the second movie, with that fabulous character death fake-out, Murtaugh’s initial shock and grief is real and powerful and painful, and so is his genuine relief when the worst isn’t true - and it’s all earned.) (**however, they tend to argue tactics *before* jumping in - “is it 1, 2, 3, go on 3? or 3, then go?” And then once that’s established, they go ahead. That makes a difference as far as...well...competence and teamwork!)

--(Sam and Bucky, as far as I can tell, don’t do the above, and just...maybe shouldn’t be working together?)

--I also don’t find grown men acting like my youngest nephew, when he’s having a temper tantrum, to be funny. Staring contests? Random insults? Sulking in silence? Oh, grow up.

--(Also, yes, writers, we see you with the “couples therapy” and “get closer and make your legs touch” and “landing on top of each other as they hit the ground” moments. I, at least, personally, am very tired of...I don’t know that I’d call it queerbaiting exactly, but this idea that we’re supposed to find these moments funny...because why? Because, ooh, they’re two men getting close to each other, physically or emotionally? Why is this a thing we need to draw attention to? Do you think you’re doing some sort of fan service? Please either make Sam/Bucky happen or stop doing this.)

--both Sam and Bucky are highly competent and professional agents, or they should be. They should know how to work in the field - even with people they may not like - and adapt to shifting strategy, make best use of available assets, include people in the plan, etc. I can’t help but compare this to something like, say, Leverage, which also has a team who mocks each other and makes jokes but clearly absolutely respects each other’s capabilities, has a plan going in and tells everyone what the plan is, and adapts (and trusts each other to adapt) on the fly as necessary, and does it all without random insults about someone’s (PTSD-related) staring and “robot brain”.

--one of the very specific moments that bothers me a lot is the ending of the therapy scene (yay for showing heroes in therapy! but also I’m pretty sure she’s...not a great therapist?). Bucky finally opens up and says something real, about his own self-doubt and wondering whether Steve was wrong about him....and Sam just...brushes it off and goes, “we’re done here,” basically. Not only does that feel wildly out of character for former counselor Sam, it feels cruel. I really deeply dislike that moment the more I think about it. Makes me want to scream.

--Sam insults Bucky way more than the other way around. It’s starting to feel very one-sided (it’d be better if more clearly reciprocal, though it’s still not a dynamic that’s my favorite), and again, feels out of character - maybe this is Anthony Mackie’s sense of humor, but Sam isn’t Mackie, and Bucky isn’t Seb, and it reads as...a weird unbalanced power-trip thing to me. And also out of character for Sam, who can be sarcastic (”If you guys eat that sort of thing,” about breakfast, when Steve and Nat have randomly shown up at his door) but that’s not the same as just throwing unprovoked insults at a person who’s trying to recover from trauma, and a lot of those insults seem to center on things that were done to Bucky, that he had no choice in (the staring, the arm, etc), and that feels....it just feels mean, to me. Make fun of things he’s had a choice in / can do something about, if you have to - hair, clothes, liking “old people’s games” like gin rummy or pinochle, not knowing who Beyonce is, I don’t know, there are so many options that aren’t cruel! Do that instead. Let Bucky have a good comeback for once, too!

--the action scenes are action scenes. Also fine.

--Sam might be right about destroying the shield, and the show may even be (unintentionally?) setting that up as the best outcome, but that’s a problem for the future, Sam; get it back first. Also it’s a problem you caused by giving the shield up - did you really trust the government to leave it unused in a museum? You’re not that naive.

--overall, it’s...a perfectly fine show, so far, I think? Solid, and interesting, but not great. I think some of what doesn’t work for me is because it doesn’t work for me personally, as far as the shouty insult-heavy action “comedy” bits that I’m not enjoying, but I think they’re doing what they aimed for with it, so in that sense, I guess it’s working? There’s a lot of really cool stuff around the edges - John Walker, Isaiah Bradley, that Dora Milaje stinger, the bigger world of a history interwoven with racism and superpowers, the chillingly effective use of Bucky’s past - but I wish I liked the central Sam-Bucky relationship more. Individually they’re wonderful - they’ve both had such powerful scenes dealing with family, trauma, and consequences - but I feel like, in the effort to do the buddy comedy dynamic, the writing has just made me really sure that they actually genuinely don’t like each other? To such an extent that if they show any affection / caring / interest in each other in the last three episodes, it won’t be believable. (I mean Sam and Bucky, not Mackie and Seb. Mackie and Seb’re adorable.)

--I just want to think about Zemo dancing some more.

#the falcon and the winter soldier #tfatws spoilers #spoilers #fatws spoilers #thoughts

36 notes · View notes

pengychan · 3 years

Text

[Good Omens] Winging It - Isaiah 40:31

Summary: Shockingly, attempting to destroy an angel without consulting God first comes with consequences. There is more than one way to fall, and a thousand more ways to inconvenience an angel and a demon who just wanted to be left in peace. Characters: Gabriel, Crowley, Aziraphale, Beelzebub, Michael, Uriel, Sandalphon Rating: T

Prologue and all chapters are tagged as ‘winging it’ on my blog.

A/N: well, shit hits the fan and the end is near.

***

As the boy who was most assuredly Not The Antichrist - but who had nonetheless been their charge for about the first eleven years of his life - walked towards the front door of the bookshop in Soho, entirely unaware of being stalked by a man with a pocket knife, Aziraphale stood in the bedroom of a lovely cottage in the South Downs, not far from the Devil’s Dyke.

He knew it was rather rude, being roughly seventy-five miles away from the place where you happen to have an appointment in about five minutes’ time, but surely it was not too much of an issue, given that they would be right back in the bookshop by crossing the threshold of a rather miraculous door they had installed between the two places. And besides, Crowley had really wanted to show him something.

That something being a luxurious, huge and hugely gaudy canopy bed with gold-plated columns and red velvet drapes that wouldn’t have looked too out of place in Versailles, before revolutionaries took most of its contents to an uncertain fate. As a piece of furniture still occasionally turned up in flea markets, Aziraphale wouldn’t put it beyond the realm of possibilities.

Said bed now occupied the greater part of the bedroom that Crowley had insisted they ought to have in the cottage, against Aziraphale’s suggestion to turn it into another room for his books.

“We already have the loft for those, and the bookshop on the other side of the door,” he’d pointed out. “We need a bedroom.”

Aziraphale, who had actually last slept sometime in the nineteenth century and solely out of boredom while watching an especially poor performance of Troilus and Cressida - in itself far from Shakespeare’s best work, and the lead actor’s lisp had done it no favors - had been slightly taken aback. “But, my dear, we don’t need sleep,” he’d said, getting a snort out of Crowley.

“We don’t need to eat either. So what?”

Aziraphale had to concede he had a point, although he didn’t quite see the allure of laying in a semi-comatose state for several hours while hallucinating the same way he saw the allure of a slice of red velvet cake, and agreed that the cottage would indeed have a bedroom. It was only fair considering the space he had for his books, so that was a compromise he did not regret.

Telling Crowley he was welcome to choose whatever bed he liked himself, however, was something Aziraphale did regret. He knew that Crowley’s taste when it came to furniture ranged from dreadfully minimalistic to unbearably garish, but this - the golden columns, the red heavy velvet - was… a little too much.

“Well, what do you think?” Crowley was asking, looking as proud of himself as he had after moving that golden monstrosity he called a throne right next to Aziraphale’s old trusty armchair in the loft, entirely ignoring the way Aziraphale’s right eyebrow had twitched.

This time, it was the left eyebrow to twitch.

“Well, it is-- rather…” Aziraphale raked his brain for a polite way to put it. “Eye-catching.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Crowley grinned, even prouder. Aziraphale suspected his euphemism had been a little too subtle. “I remembered what you said when I came to save your butt in France.”

“... That I wanted crêpes?”

“That you had standards. French royalty standards.”

“Well, it was not quite royalty level, more along the lines of a noble--”

“This beauty comes straight from Versailles.”

Ah, of course. Of course it did.

“Or, well, not so straight. It went around across Europe quite a bit. But here it is, as you see.”

“Yes. I… I do see.” Aziraphale managed a smile. No harm done, he thought - he didn’t have a habit to sleep as Crowley did, so he would hardly ever need to be in that room at all. He would just entirely forget about that bed. Out of sight, out of mind.

“The mattress is new, clearly. You’ll like it. Real plush.”

Aziraphale blinked. “That sounds nice, but I am not in the habit of sleeping.”

“You should try. Nothing better than some time spent in a semi-comatose state while vividly hallucinating.”

A chuckle. “You’re not making it sound very alluring.”

“Ah, I should up my temptation game. I’m out of practice. When was the last time I tempted you into anything?”

“This morning, actually, you--”

The chiming of the grandfather clock downstairs - a very tasteful eighteenth century clock Aziraphale had long debated whether to move in the cottage or keep in the bookshop - cut him off, and reminded him of… well, of the time.

“I believe Warlock should arrive any moment now - we should head back,” he said, and they did. It looked like the boy might get there before Gabriel popped in to return the book, and if that turned out to be the case… well, Aziraphale really hoped he had enough sense to put the book in a bag or something like it. If not, they may need to have a few words.

There were things an eleven-year-old boy really didn’t need to see.

***

“Ugh, c’mon, they knew I was coming…” Warlock Dowling huffed, taking a couple of steps away from the door of the bookshop which had stayed closed, no matter how hard he knocked. He glanced at the sign in the window; it made just as little sense as it did the first time he read it.

I open the shop on most weekdays about 9:30 or perhaps 10am. While occasionally I open the shop as early as 8, I have been known not to open until 1, except on Tuesday. I tend to close about 3:30pm, or earlier if something needs tending to. However, I might occasionally keep the shop open until 8 or 9 at night, you never know when you might need some light reading. On days that I am not in, the shop will remain closed. On weekends, I will open the shop during normal hours unless I am elsewhere. Bank holidays will be treated in the usual fashion, with early closing on Wednesdays, or sometimes Fridays. (For Sundays see Tuesdays). A.Z. Fell, Bookseller

Warlock briefly wondered who A. Z. Fell was, really - the founder? A co-owner? It definitely was not Brother Francis’ name, but he had claimed to be the owner, which was a leap from working as a gardener but not a claim Warlock had any reason to doubt. Brother Francis did not lie, after all. He hated lies and got really cross with him whenever he caught him lying, usually after Nanny-- after Crowley suggested he did.

“Pair of weirdos. Always been,” Warlock muttered, but it wasn’t really a complaint; they were a fun pair of weirdos to grow up around, or else he wouldn’t have tracked them down in London. After checking through the window to see if anyone was in, and seeing, no one, Warlock reached in his pocket for his phone and began looking for Crowley’s number.

Focused as he was on the screen, he failed to notice the man approaching with a hand in his pocket, eyes fixed on him and pupils blown so wide his eyes looked entirely black. On the opposite side of the road Hastur, Duke of Hell, retreated from the mortal’s mind with a smirk and prepared to enjoy the scene with eyes just as black.

***

“... So no, I really doubt the London Dungeon holds prisoners anymore, but it would be an interesting thing to--”

“Silence,” Beelzebub spoke suddenly, stopping abruptly in their tracks and causing Gabriel to almost bump into them and drop the book, something for which Aziraphale would probably be very, very cross with him. He frowned.

“It’s not my fault that they have stopped using the dungeons, if that’s such an issue I suppose we could change plans and--”

“Something’s wrong.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t you sense-- ah. No, you can’t anymore,” Beelzebub muttered, and looked around with a scowl. “A demon is at work. It was my order that no one was to approach the traitors.”

Gabriel blinked. “Maybe it’s Crowley--”

“It’s not,” Beelzebub all but snarled, staring at someone some distance away. Further down the pavement stood a man that looked… wrong, for the lack of a better word; something not human who made a passingly decent job at masquerading as human, but not quite good enough. Gabriel may not be able to sense demonic or angelic presences anymore, but he could see as much.

“Hastur,” Beelzebub scoffed.

Ah, Gabriel was vaguely familiar with the name - Hastur, Duke of Hell. Not someone he’d be pleased to meet anywhere in general, but seeing him there was especially worrying. He recalled Michael mentioning that out of all demons, he held a particular grudge against Crowley. Was that grudge really so great that he would ignore a direct order from Beelzebub to find Crowley in Soho and… and do what, exactly? “What is he doing here?”

“I’m about to find out. Wait here,” Beelzebub muttered, and walked - no, marched - directly towards the demon. “Hastur, Duke of Hell. What in Heaven are you doing here?”

Their voice caused the demon to recoil and turn his attention away from… whatever they had been staring at on the other side of the road. He was already deathly pale, but he seemed to grow just a tad paler as his gaze rested on a decidedly annoyed Prince of Hell planting themselves before him, arms crossed and clearly looking for a very good explanation why he would defy a direct order not to be anywhere near the traitorous demon that holy water could not destroy.

As he stammered some sort of reply, Gabriel let his gaze wander across the street. A man was walking towards the bookshop coming from the opposite direction, and he was… wait. Wait, he looked familiar - Gabriel had seen him before, a few months earlier, near the church where Daniel’s funeral service had just been held. He’d given him his coat because it was raining and talked briefly with him, and he had found it funny because his name was… his name…

“Noah!” Gabriel called out with a smile, walking towards him. “How are you doing? How’s your--”

The next word - dog? - died on his lips when he got to look, to really look, at Noah’s eyes. They looked no more human than those of the Duke of Hell currently getting a tongue-lashing only a few steps away, and they were fixed dead ahead of him as he kept walking, giving no sign of having heard or seen him. Walking towards the bookshop… and towards a boy fumbling with his phone right in front of it, back turned to them all. Something was off. Something was wrong.

A demon is at work, Beelzebub had said. Gabriel opened his mouth to cry out, to demand that Hastur, Duke of Hell, released that mortal from whatever hold he had on him - but before he could force out a single word, Noah’s hand came out of his pocket and something gleamed in the sunlight.

There was no time to cry out. No time for words, no time to think, no time to demand action from anyone other than himself. Gabriel knew there was one thing he ought to do now, one thing only. Ever since finding himself without plan or purpose, choices had not always come easy to him - the terror of choosing wrong often paralyzing him. But this one came with no effort: it was no choice at all. As a dark shadow fell on a boy he didn’t even know, Gabriel dropped the book he had come to return, and ran.

“NOAH! STOP!”

Noah did not turn, but the boy did. He lifted his gaze from his phone to glance over at Gabriel, clearly confused - then his confusion turned into alarm when Gabriel suddenly grabbed his arm and yanked him away.

“Hey! The hell?” the boy yelled, just as the knife descended on the spot he’d been standing only an instant before, narrowly missing the back of his neck. He tried to pull away from Gabriel’s grip, turning to call out for someone to get that madman off him - and froze when he finally saw the man standing behind him, eyes all black and lips pulled back in a snarl, swinging something at him.

Somewhere in his brain, he registered it was a knife. He tried once again to scream - mom, he thought, but if he’d managed to force out his voice he probably would have said something more along the lines of ‘shit’. Gabriel, from his part, didn’t try to speak again; he could tell Noah was beyond hearing him.

So he yanked the boy back once again, and threw himself between him and Noah. The result was, all things considered, extremely predictable.

Four and a half inches of steel buried themselves into Gabriel’s gut with a wet sound that went almost entirely unheard. There was a sense of heat, the pressure of a handle against his flesh and, at first, no pain. Gabriel found himself staring straight into pitch-black eyes for a moment before the pupils shrank to a normal size again, revealing the human eyes, light blue and filled with confusion. Somewhere behind Gabriel, the boy screamed and turned to bang on the door of Aziraphale’s bookshop.

People around them stopped walking to turn, not quite having caught up what was going on but slowly getting there. On the other side of the road, a panicked Duke of Hell disappeared in a cloud of smoke as soon as the Lord of the Flies turned to see what the commotion was about.

Gabriel tried to speak, to call out for Beelzebub - don’t hurt him, he didn’t know what he was doing - but a gurgling sound was all that left him, and something dripped down his chin.

“What…?” Noah muttered, blinking at him, and looked down. “Oh-- oh God, oh Jesus Christ, oh shit-- !” he cried out, voice high and panicked, and staggered back with the knife still in hand, dislodging from Gabriel’s flesh with another wet sound.

Blood came rushing forth, coldness set in, and so did pain. Gabriel’s knees folded, and he hit the ground just as the bloodied knife did. Noah stepped back again, shaking like a newborn calf.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry-- someone call an ambulance, I’m sorry, oh God…!”

Don’t bother calling out for God. They don’t answer. Not for me.

“Gabriel!” Beelzebub’s voice filled his ears, drowning out all the rest. There was a hand on the back of his head, lifting it, and he opened his eyes again to see them looking down at him, wide-eyed and scared in a way he had never seen them.

And Gabriel was scared, too, filled to the brim with the most primal, human terror - the most ancient sort of despair known to man. He suddenly knew why even Yeshua had faltered that night in the Garden of Gethsemane, pleading to escape the fate before him and avoid what he knew was unavoidable.

I don’t want to die.

He tried to speak, choking on his own blood. Somewhere behind him, a heavy door was thrown open and Aziraphale’s voice reached him as though from miles away.

“Warlock! My boy, what is-- oh. Oh dear, what…?”

“What the Heaven is going on?” Crowley’s voice was a couple octaves higher than usual, and suddenly there was silence, time itself stilled; the crowd all around them, Noah, even a bird flying past right above them remained fixed in time like so many statues. The boy was talking frantically to Crowley and Aziraphale, but Gabriel was unable to pay his words any mind. His gaze remained fixed on Beelzebub, and on Beelzebub only.

“Heal me,” he choked out. He felt cold all over, even with the wound itself throbbing in heat and pain the way the wounds on his back had, the day his wings were torn off. “Please.”

“Hastur will pay for this, he-- I-- of course, you idiot, be still--” their hand hovered above the blood-soaked shirt, and suddenly they hesitated. Their gaze found Gabriel’s, and held it. “... Sacrifice,” the Prince of Hell murmured.

“What…?”

“You sacrificed your life for another. That’s it. It’s your ticket back home, Gabriel.”

Home. Back in Heaven, where he belonged. Not quite in his old position - a mortal soul - but still, home. Except that… except that if he returned there as a mere mortal soul...

“No,” Gabriel wheezed. “No. I can’t. I-- would never-- be able to leave it-- again.”

“You never wished to leave it in the first pla--”

“Never see you-- again--” Gabriel coughed, and let out a weak groan at the excruciating pain. He could taste blood in his mouth, feel it down his throat, pooling down on the pavement around him; he felt his strength draining away with it. The back of Beelzebub’s free hand wiped some of it off his chin; the other still cupped the back of his head.

“... You will die either way in the end. You do not wish to reside in Hell and I will not force you.” Their plan of leaving behind Hell for good seemed to be far from their mind now. “This may be--” the Prince of Hell paused, and let out a shaky breath. “This may be your best chance, Gabriel.”

“No. Not now. Not yet,” Gabriel managed a smile. His vision was growing blurry. “I will take… all the time I can get. With you.” However little it may be. Such short life spans, but I will make it worth it. I must. I only get one shot. “So don’t-- let me die-- yet.”

For a moment Beelzebub only stared, their hand hovering above his wound. They swallowed, and opened their mouth to say something - only that someone else spoke first. Aziraphale.

“Oh, oh dear, what a dreadful mess-- Gabriel? It’s all right, hold on, I will heal you--”

“Keep away from him!” Beelzebub buzzed furiously, shooting a glare at Aziraphale, at Crowley, at the boy who was currently glued to Crowley’s side, staring with wide eyes at the scene before him and at the crowd frozen in time. The angel reared back, but did not give up.

“I mean to help him. Heal him.”

“I can heal him myself!” the Prince of Hell snapped, and pressed their hand on the bleeding wound. Pain shot up Gabriel’s body and he ground his teeth, waiting for relief, for healing, for the end of suffering… but none of it came.

Beelzebub pulled away a now bloodied hand, taken aback, struggling to comprehend what they were seeing. “It’s… it isn’t working. It won’t heal.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, despair sinking in his chest.

No. It cannot be. Not now, God, please. Don’t do this to me. Don’t let me die now that I have learned to live. Don’t take them from me again.

“... May I try, Lord Beelzebub?” Aziraphale spoke again, ever respectful, but the hesitation in his voice made it plain that he didn’t think they could succeed where Beelzebub had failed. Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut, and felt something trickling down his temples.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why--

GABRIEL.

That voice, in the back of his mind and yet everywhere. Gabriel hadn’t heard it in such a long, long time, but hadn't forgotten it. His chest shuddered in a gasp, and he tried to speak again, to respond to the call - whether to cry, to beg, to curse he didn’t know. Before he could force out a single sound, another voice rose. Very familiar and decidedly concerned.

“Uuh, angel? Any idea what that is?”

“What-- oh. That might be our cue to move out of the way. Move away-- you too, Warlock, move back, my boy…”

What…?

Gabriel opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. Precisely above him, the blue of it was gone; clouds of blinding white had gathered in a circle, and within that circle was only light. The air around him seemed to crackle, and he knew what that meant. Gabriel tried to speak, to warn Beelzebub, but he could only cough up another mouthful of blood. On his tongue, he could now taste something else.

Ozone.

From a distance, once again came Aziraphale’s voice. “Lord Beelzebub, you ought to let go and--”

“No.” Beelzebub’s grip on Gabriel tightened, vicious and desperate at the same time. The air crackled, the clouds swirled, and Gabriel’s vision began to fade. His hand weakly gripped their jacket, but he was unable to do anything else. Beelzebub’s face was but a blur, but ah, their grip was unyielding. His eyes slipped shut, his head rolled against their chest.

“I refuse to let go. God cannot tell me what to do and neither can you.”

Don’t take them from me again. Please, please, please--

“Brother Francis, what the hell--”

“We’ll explain later, my boy - step back now, cover your eyes - don’t look, Crowley, make sure he doesn’t look--”

The crack of thunder covered his next words, filling the world, drowning out all noise. Gabriel felt the grip around him tightening, heard Beelzebub choke out something that sounded a lot like ‘you idiot’, and he opened his eyes.

And then there was only light.

***

In the instant before lighting struck, three things happened in quick succession.

First, Crowley pulled Warlock’s face to his chest to make sure he wouldn’t be blinded as many mortals had been before Heaven learned to somewhat tone it down; second, Crowley turned his back to the scene to avoid looking himself, and shield the boy while he was at it.

And third, Aziraphale’s wings unfolded to shield them both.

There was no heat, which was rather typical of Heavenly things: light without warmth, utterly unlike the darkness and heat - humid heat rather than raging flames, but all the more uncomfortable - that Aziraphale had experienced in his first, and hopefully only, visit to Hell.

Shielded by Aziraphale’s wings, Crowley kept his eyes tightly shut behind his glasses and Warlock’s face pressed against his shirt for several more moments after the last echo of the deafening thunder faded.

“Is it safe to turn, angel?” he asked, while Warlock kept muttering against his shirt a litany of words that mostly sounded like ‘what’, ‘the’ and ‘fuck’, in the order.

This time Aziraphale didn’t bother to make a mental note of talking with the boy about his language. Aside from being relieved the boy had not been stabbed, turned into salt, incinerated, blinded or deprived of his sanity, Aziraphale suspected they would have different, more pressing matters to discuss very shortly. “I’ll check. Don’t look yet,” he replied, and finally looked back.

The crowd of mortals was still around them, frozen in time, unscathed and unaware. The clouds were gone, quick as they had come - but there was a sphere of light before him, crackling with electricity where Beelzebub and Gabriel had been until moments earlier. In that light, there was… something. At first Aziraphale couldn’t make it out, but as he stepped closer and the light began to dull, he could see something all right.

And that something was a pair of folded wings.

At first, Aziraphale thought he must be looking at the wings of a demon and wondered how Beelzebub could survive the full might of the Lord; then, as the light pulsed and faded little by little, he realized that was not it. The wings were not the pure white of angels, but neither were they midnight black. Deep brown with a golden sheen, mottled with darker brown, black, specks of white. The wings of an eagle.

And they did not belong to Beelzebub.

One last crackle of pure energy, and the pulsing light dissolved. Aziraphale worked his jaw a moment, mouth dry, before he finally called out.

“... Gabriel?”

The wings shifted, and slowly parted. Gabriel was kneeling on the pavement, eyes blinking open as though he struggled to comprehend what was happening. In his arms, held tightly against his chest, was the Prince of Hell; their eyes were screwed shut as though they were waiting to be smited still, but they were in one piece - shielded from the full might of God by the Archangel Gabriel himself, who seemed to be just now beginning to process precisely what had transpired.

“What…?” he muttered, and the sound of his voice caused Beelzebub’s eyes to snap open. They pulled back from his chest, on their knees themselves, and looked up at Gabriel - and at the wings spread behind him. They opened their mouth to say something, closed it, opened it again.

“You have wings again,” they finally said. “But they don’t look like--”

Gabriel didn’t so much turn to look at them. “You are all right,” he muttered, and cupped their cheek with a long breath, smiling widely. “Thank-- whoever there is to thank, you’re--”

Beelzebub’s hand grasped the collar of Gabriel’s shirt before he could say another word, and yanked his head down in a sudden kiss. It was definitely not something Aziraphale had expected to happen and neither had Gabriel, by the looks of it, but he seemed… far from displeased. Actually he leaned into it rather enthusiastically, arms slipping around the Lord of the Flies’ waist.

Aziraphale stepped back, feeling just a touch awkward.

“Angel, is it safe to look or no--” Crowley finally spoke up, and turned without waiting for an answer. A rather unwise move, that. His gaze fell on the scene before him, and he let out a groan. “Uuuugh! No it’s not safe, not it’s not, for Satan’s sake it’s seared in my brain now, why didn’t you warn...”

He turned again and took a few steps away, rubbing his eyes beneath the glasses. Warlock, on the other hand, remained exactly where he was - eyes shifting slowly between Gabriel’s brand new wings and Aziraphale’s own, still in full display.

“... Brother Francis, I don’t mean to be rude or anything,” he finally said. “But what, pray tell, the fuck.”

“Well…” Aziraphale hesitated a moment, knowing he couldn’t count on Crowley stepping in for an explanation for at least another ten minutes, busy as he was trying to jab his eyes out of their sockets. In the end, he said nothing and turned to survey the scene.

Time stood still and so did every single living being in sight, including the man who had wielded the knife, a horrified expression frozen on his face. Gabriel and Beelzebub didn’t seem to plan on letting their mouths part ways anytime soon, still on the very spot where Gabriel had nearly bled out to death minutes earlier. A few steps away, in the middle of the road, was Aziraphale’s antique pornography book.

With a sigh, Aziraphale went to pick it up and tucked it under his arm, making sure to hide the cover from Warlock’s sight.

“I believe,” he finally spoke, “that we all could use a nice cup of tea right about now.”

***

"But those who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall soar on wings like eagles; they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint." -- Isaiah 40:31

***

[Back]

[Next]

#good omens #ineffable beurocracy #ineffable husbands #archangel gabriel #beelzebub #crowley #aziraphale #warlock dowling #winging it

16 notes · View notes

formulatrash · 4 years

Note

Hi!!!!!!!! I kinda just wanted to say i like Jev. Like a lot. Gush about him and Edoardo. And Sam. And i just love a lot of the boys ok

ok so this is a long boi, settle in

JEV. Ahhh god. Where can I even start with JEV? But like, in a totally different way to Lewis. I always liked JEV when he was in F1, he was funny and waspish and not very good at remaining strictly media trained. He was also fast as hell on the rare occasions he had a car to do so.

Until the 2014 season he’d always been kind of the cute French guy, used to hang with Daniel Ricciardo, you know. Fun STR vibes before online content was a thing so you just got the odd flashes of them being sweet in interviews and stuff rather than probably the whole McL-style shebang if had been today.

But 2014 was just like, relentlessly dark. He started the season starving himself to try to get down to his teenage teammate’s weight and ended up hospitalised with severe dehydration twice, which Marko used to slate him in the press and imply it was, like, substance abuse or something. Then of course there was Jules’ terrible crash, which hit him very hard (JEV and Jules were very close) and he lost his seat, had already started being ousted from his car for FP1 to put Verstappen in it by the time Suzuka happened. (neat, didn’t have to change the TLA...)

When he arrived in Formula E he was like, pretty dead behind the eyes. He was withdrawn and some people call it ‘difficult’ but I always got that he was just boiling over furious. Like there was all this horrible hurt and anger he was always only just holding off. Clinging to the Ferrari simulator role was terrible for him and for the first two seasons in FE it was like he was there-but-wasn’t.

Things came to a head, I think, in losing his seat at Virgin - he rowed with the team boss very severely and it explosively boiled over in Buenos Aires during a weird weekend where he was again hospitalised and the team tried to get him signed off from the race, while he tried to get himself cleared.

(stories abound about why JEV was hospitalised and it’s his to tell if he wants to - needless to say the popular paddock rumour about it being related to a notorious local sex worker is total fucking bullcrap)

(JEV that weekend - the photo is Spacesuit/Shiv Gohil)

He was so unhappy when I first interviewed him in FE, like he could only distract himself momentarily from it and his results were as uncommitted as he seemed to be. You’ve got to remember, when he bought into Techeetah in Season 3 people said both that he was too difficult to get a drive anywhere else and that he was just like, a messy write-off.

I always hoped he’d recover, that he’d put himself back together. I’ve always got on with JEV and also there was like, a desperate hope for that narrative; you want the recovery story. The popular view was that he’d gone off the rails as a driver and would be pootling around the back forever, miles from the championship fight with a few scrappy podiums to his name.

Even at Season 3 testing, even after investing in a team, he was still hung up on things. The snub from F1 hurt him deeply, his pride was so wounded at not getting a chance that it was like anything threw him for a loop on it, even while he tried to move on with his life. He did an interview with then-magazine Current E where he spoke about it -

"I miss everything about F1. The roar of the engine. The braking. The grip. The speed. Everything’s different now."

And he was still wearing his Toro Rosso race boots, as some sort of bluntly visual metaphor.

It changed when he got Stephane Sarrazin as a teammate and really started to sort his head out. He’d been getting better for awhile, getting more control of the way things affected him and Sarrazin was a really positive influence for him. He took the win in Montreal, almost as a footnote because Lucas and Sebastien were setting off the fireworks as they had been for many seasons, and that was huge.

(I was so, so happy for him; he looked so relieved in the press conference, like he couldn’t believe that he hadn’t somehow lost it)

And then the rest is somewhat history. He’s one of the most successful drivers in Formula E (Sebastien has more wins and Lucas more points but JEV is the double champion) and if it felt like a wobbly and haphazard process at times, he’s become able to manage himself and the way he reacts to things. He smiles so much more now - which admittedly, more than ‘rarely, if ever’ is not hard but he looks happy.

He’s taken knocks and picked himself back up, come back to recover. Even the disastrous first race in New York last year, he pulled himself together after despite having a huge radio meltdown. Things don’t wound him deeply, he doesn’t pick at himself as much, he’s not magically fixed but he’s doing ok and he continually works on keeping that going, which I find really inspiring - for some of us there is no “gets better” but you can find ways of dealing.

I love him deeply. If you're not still a fan, still in awe of what the drivers do, then you should probably not be a motorsport journalist so I don’t think there’s any point in pretending I’m not.

This was my favourite moment of last season, maybe. He stole Jack Nicholls’ chair in the post-race press conference in Berlin and came to speak to me about And We Go Green, to say everything I said in it about him was true and like it was out of his own head. Which given how deep the film gets on him I was like. He didn’t have to say it (although I’d been terrified - I hadn’t seen the film yet at this point) and it was kind of him. He’s genuinely often kind - also genuinely often annoying but that’s overgrown cats masquerading as human beings for you - and I think he really appreciates that people didn’t give up on him a few years ago.

Anyway, that’s prob enough for one post but like. I love them a lot.

#fe asks #jev

87 notes · View notes

travllingbunny · 4 years

Text

The 100: 7x01 From the Ashes

Disclaimer: This post is about the episode of the show The 100, From the Ashes, the season 7 premiere, and only about it. In this post, I will NOT be discussing any original scripts, unused takes, bloopers, behind the scene photos or videos, scribbled notes exchanged between the writers, or any tweets, Instagram posts, SMS or e-mails by any of the cast or crew members, considering the fact that none of those things constitute the show’s canon, which consists of the actual episodes.

I will also not be discussing anything about the future episodes posted by any ‘spoiler accounts’, and, in fact, I am unaware of most of these things, since I’m trying not to read any spoilers. Please do not tell me any spoilers for future episodes or ask me about them.

I really enjoyed this episode, in spite of the unfortunate lack of Bellamy (which I was already expecting since what happens to him here was already spoiled by the trailer. Of course, I’m looking forward to see Bellamy again, and, before that, to everyone finding out about disappearance and it becoming the focus of the season. But until then, the show has quite a few other storylines to deal with, from setting up and delving more into the Anomaly mystery, to dealing with the fall-out of season 6 in Sanctum, and both of these were handled well, for the most part.

This episode in particular had really good characterizations all around - for Murphy, Echo, Indra, Madi, Raven, Emori, Gaia, even Jackson - and, of course, Clarke, who had an arc that took her tendency to try to repress her feelings to an extreme, until they exploded in a most memorable way. It will cause her trouble, no doubt, but it was great to watch, and something I had been wishing for for quite some time.

There is just one character whose storyline I’m still not sure how I feel about, because I’m not sure what the show is doing with him.

After the last season’s cliffhanger, there was some concern in the fandom that Bellamy would regress to being all about protecting his sister, after their relationship had been redefined with “You’re my sister, but you’re not my responsibility”. Some of that was really exaggerated: there’s absolutely nothing odd or surprising about Bellamy crying over his sister disappearing in his arms. Of course he loves her and wants her safe. But I was concerned they may regress his development if they make him forget about everyone and everything else in his life in order to impulsively jump after her into the Anomaly. However, that did not happen - Bellamy didn’t decide to go on his own, rather than tell others and make a plan. He was taken.

The mysterious people from the Anomaly seem to be able to control the Anomaly, and have some sort of a cloaking device, presumably connected to their suits and helmets, that makes them invisible to others. They also have some sort of a screen inside their helmets, with facial recognition of targets and commands. It’s all a bit creepy - these seem to be humans, but they are receiving orders the way a robot would. (It’s all very Terminator-like!) Maybe because they also have lost their memories while going through the Anomaly? Where did they get the info about who Bellamy, Gabriel and Echo are - was it from Octavia’s memories?

Memories and memory loss are obviously going to play a huge role this season. People who come from the Anomaly to Sanctum seem to lose their memories, except when the Anomaly is still there. Does this happen only on Sanctum, or at the other side(s) as well? How does the fact that the Anomaly sucks in radio signals fit into that? Hope had to use a message she put into her own arm to remind herself to “TRUST BELLAMY”. (Interstellar is mentioned a lot as an inspiration for this season, but this reminds me of another Nolan film, Memento.)

We also see Clarke spout knowledge about how the big mansion was built (by Russell for Simone, to remind her of her house on Earth), which she would know due to still having some of Josephine’s memories. And I’m sure that the fact Madi still has the memories of past Commanders will play a big role - specifically, the fact she has Becca’s memories, which could be the way to tie the present day story to the prequel/story about what happened during and right after the apocalypse. (She also probably knows about Sheidheda more than anyone else alive, which may play into the Sanctum story.)

It’s too early to judge Hope as a character, but the mystery surrounding her is certainly super interesting. Why do the mysterious people from the Anomaly have orders to kill her on sight (as opposed to capturing, which they were supposed to do with Bellamy, Echo and Gabriel)? Is it because of who she is, or what she is - is it about her actions, does she know too much, or is her existence itself that’s the problem?

I loved the Octavia cameo in Hope’s hallucination, with the confirmation that she was an “aunt” figure to her, a part of a found family with Diyoza and Hope. The Anomaly makes you see your biggest desire or biggest fear - and Hope’s biggest desire seems to be to be reunited with her family

Echo’s hallucination, on the other hand, is obviously about her biggest fear - so it makes perfect sense that it’s Roan who appears to her, as he exiled her from Azgeda. Of course biggest fear would be losing her kru and her king/queen and being left alone and adrift. I’m as surprised as anyone that I found Echo's scene to be maybe the best in the episode. But she did have some really good character moments in seasons 6, and this is IMO her best character moment so far, picking up from her red sun hallucination in 6x02, and flashback from 6x11. which revealed that even her identity as “Echo” is fake. It seems the show is finally doing the character development it neglected to give her in season 5, and addressing all the obvious issues with Echo’s development and her relationship with Bellamy. I think this confirms that it was indeed Echo talking to herself while hallucinating Emori in 6x02, since her hallucination of Roan tells her the same thing, that she is still just a killer following another master’s orders. We finally see Echo feeling guilt over the things she did in the past, including her betrayal of Bellamy in season 3. When she imagines him calling her out on betraying “the man she now claims to love”, is it just about her thinking the others would doubt her love, or is she herself questioning whether her feelings for Bellamy are really romantic love, or just loyalty to her current leader? Their relationship, especially in S6, often came off more as the latter.

(It was also really cool to see Zach McGowan again)

The timeline of 7x01 seems to have confused some fans, but I think it’s pretty obvious that, at the beginning of the Sanctum story, no more than a day (probably less than that) has passed since 6x13 - going by the facts that 1) the Anomaly storyline picked up minutes after the end of 6x13, and the Sanctum story was presumably happening at the same time, and 2) Indra had to explain the situation in Sanctum to everyone. The only thing that seems to go against that is that Russell is said to “not have slept” since what happened on the ship, which makes it seem like it’s been longer. Or maybe Russell was just being extra dramatic. “Oh, I have no slept for a whole day!” He certainly spent a lot of this (his last) episode feeling sorry for himself. At least he seemed to have finally realized he wasn’t the superior good guy in all of it (”Tell them I’m treated better than I deserve” - yes, indeed.)

Indra was great, even though poor Adina was forced to be an exposition machine for a part of the episode.

A common complaint I’ve seen among fans is that it’s weird that Clarke and others in Sanctum aren’t worried about Bellamy and co. I don’t understand this complaint, as it’s clear that very little time has passed and that Bellamy, Octavia, Echo and Gabriel must have told everyone they were leaving and why (though I don’t know how many details they told them about the Anomaly Stone). People have been gone for a whole day in season 6 when they just went to the Offering Grove (Echo in 6x06) or the radioactive shield (Raven, Emori and Echo in 6x05), which are within the confines of Sanctum and much nearer than the camp by the Anomaly. What are they supposed to do but wait for a couple of days for them to come back? It’s not like they can call them, when radios and other means of communication usually don’t work on Alpha because of the Anomaly sucking the signals.

In fact, their absence was mentioned in the picnic scene, when Raven toasted to “absent friends” and we got a reaction shot of Clarke (I know, Clarke, I'd be annoyed too if I was you, but Bellamy had to be all "I'm gonna go now and explore the Anomaly Stone while Sanctum is in chaos and you're in mourning for your mom" because the plot needed him to..., before Niylah toasted to the “departed ones” (which would include Kane and Abby) and we got a close-up reaction shot of Clarke trying to keep it all inside, as she did every time in this episode someone mentioned Abby.

The idyllic picnic by the mansion - everyone’s attempt to get some rest and nice time after everything they had been through - was such a contrast to the “powder keg” of Sanctum and the end of this episode. But it also felt fake - just as fake as the deception and lies that Murphy and Emori are Daniel and Kaylee Prime, or that Madi still has the Flame in her head - to keep the devout and Wonkru under control, respectively - and just as fake as Clarke’s attempts to convince everyone she’s “fine”. As usual, the song playing in the background (”Darkness” by Pinegrove) was very fitting:

Suddenly I find I've got darkness on my mind It's a question mark that keeps me looking And it's never satisfied And it's never what I thought Saying I'm happy when I'm not No, I got darkness on my mind Leaning out the frame When it's particulate and gray I'm perpendicular to my whole being When I lean a certain way Saying I'm happy when I'm not Finding roaches in the pot Oh, I got darkness on my mind Some people spend their whole lives looking For someone who could understand While meanwhile a lilac blooming Sometimes on the driest land And I know it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak And I'm longing out that open window For whatever it is I seek [musical breakdown] Some people spend their whole lives looking For someone who could understand And while meanwhile a lilac blooming Sometimes on the driest land And I know it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak So I'm trying not to be so bitter I'm just looking at it honestly Well, I know it's been a long time coming I'm angry and I know that's weak And I'm longing out that open window For whatever it is I seek Some people spend their whole lives looking For someone who could understand While meanwhile a lilac blooming Sometimes on the driest land, yeah

I like that there was anger, blame and conflict between our kru and that everyone didn’t just forget what happened last season (and for once, Clarke is not the one getting the blame!) It would've made no sense if no one was blaming Murphy, and it makes sense it would be Jackson, who was so close to Abby and who’s not particularly close to Murphy. It also makes sense there was disagreement about the method of keeping peace in Sanctum, and that not everyone would be happy with Memori cosplaying the Primes.

Murphy himself had a really good characterization in this episode - we saw his grief and his feelings of guilt. While he tried to defend himself when blamed that he didn’t know what Russell would do, when left alone, he blamed himself for various actions that led to it, which is something Murphy from a couple of seasons ago wouldn’t do.

It’s great to see Raven looking more like her old, pre-season 6 self, and even better to see that her self-righteousness has gone. She’s more like the old Raven but without the snarky b1tchiness. I’m glad that she got called out by Murphy on her “Miss Morality” role from last season (which never really made sense, pre-time jump Raven was never a moral compass of the group, she was smart, pragmatic and could be as ruthless as anyone).

Another major theme of the Sanctum plot were the new beginnings. Clarke pointing out season 3 feels like another world seems almost like the show going meta and pointing out to the audience how much Clarke and all these people have lived through and been since.What is Sanctum now after the Primes have been defeated, with Children of Gabriel coming back home and clashing with the Devout - brainwashed and loyal followers of the Primes, with the rest of the Sanctumites in between? How are Wonkru and the 36 Eligius prisoners going to start again on a new planet moon? (36?! Wow, so they really suffered heavy losses in that gorge, too, when there are so few left?) Can Grounders be without a Commander? Gaia without her religion? Can Madi be a normal kid, without the Flame - or is that even possible while she has to pretend to still be Heda? The title From the ashes seems to refer to that - and maybe the end of the episode means that you have to burn down the old beliefs and old idols to build something new?

Mothers and daughters were another theme. I liked that Madi mentioned her biological parents (well, mother) on-screen for the first time, since the fandom tends to forget about them and ignore them too often. Madi was unsuccessful in her attempt to make Clarke share her feelings with her - maybe because this conversation showed a big difference in how they see each other? Clarke thinks of Madi as her child, but Clarke has never had a child before, while Madi had parents and suffered their loss; Clarke assumed Madi was talking about her and what happened in S6, but Madi always calls Clarke “Clarke” rather than “Mom”, and tried to connect to her on the equal level, as another daughter who’s lost a mother. Maybe it’s exactly because Clarke sees Madi only as her child that she feels she must be “strong” for her all the time and not show grief.

There was an unexpected parallel between Indra and Clarke in how Indra also tried to suppress outward expressions of grief when her partner - Gaia’s father died, which clearly wasn’t healthy and caused a rift between mother and daughter. (I’m not sure about when that happened, i.e. when Gaia first decided to become a Flamekeeper. I guess it must have been before the timeline of seasons 1-3. So Gaia’s dad is probably not the man that Indra recognized in 2x15 as one of the Reapers? I’m still angry that we never got any resolution to that storyline and that the Reapers were forgotten after season 2.)

The one thing I’m not sure about is Jordan’s characterization and arc. I’m not sure what the show is doing with his exactly, and I’m afraid that they’ll try to leave it ambiguous just how much he is or isn’t brainwashed. 6x13 made it very clear that he has been “adjusted”, which Russell confirmed here, and Jordan’s “adjustor”, who was creeping behind him in the season 6 finale, was very present and active in this episode, and clearly still had a big influence on him. At the same time, we learn that Jordan does not believe in the divinity of the Primes - instead of that, his hallucinations made him see something connected to the mystery of the Anomaly, which Russell describes as something “greater” (almost like he has finally found God, of sorts, after all, which he talked about 236 years before when he first landed on Alpha)? The good news is that it means Jordan will have a role in the Anomaly story, rather than being the advocate for the Devout. What I’m afraid of is that the show will gloss over the fact that Jordan was brainwashed - whether or not he came to believe that Primes were gods, he certainly did a 180 from despising Primes as murderers, being outraged by their actions and knowing very well that Priya was not Delilah but someone who took over her body; to (just a few days later, after “adjustment”) spouting Prime propaganda about the “peaceful” society they had before the Bad People from Earth came (that’s the peace they had when they regularly murdered their people to steal their bodies, left babies to die, and made them go crazy and kill each other from time to time) and having some kind of attachment to Priya herself and her mind drive.

At least, I hope that Russell unceremoniously smashing the mind drive means we’re done with that storyline. I loved it, it was my favorite storyline of the show, but it’s time for it to be over. It makes no sense that anyone is still letting Russell keep his mind drive, for starters. When will they realize they need to destroy these things?

- Clarke’s way of dealing with grief over her mom’s death was certainly unhealthy - repressing her feelings even more than usual, trying to be calm, composed, logical, to do the things needed to keep peace. In her last scene in 6x13, Clarke was open about her grief with Bellamy, looking to him for comfort, finding comfort in his arms and his words. But now he’s absent, there’s no one else she can be that open and vulnerable with. (The only other person Clarke looked for comfort to was Abby.) It’s nice to see that she and Raven have mended their friendship with Raven, she is starting to develop a new one with Gaia over their mutual care for Madi, she has mutual respect with Indra, she’s known others - like Murphy or Miller = for years, since the Delinquent days... and they all want to help her, but she’s not opening up to anyone, not even Madi. She thinks she must be “strong” for all of them, and her Head and Heart are unbalanced - she’s repressing the latter, until she finally explodes.

I love the scene of Clarke finally losing it and beating up Russell (I had already seen it in the trailer, and it was my favorite moment) and then crying while holding Abby's clothes. I don’t know about anyone else, but I love seeing an angry, emotional Clarke, letting it all out, especially when it's anger at people she has every right to be furious at. We haven’t seen that from her since early season 3 (when she yelled and spat in Lexa’s face over her betrayal). It had bothered me for a few seasons that Clarke - who used to be vibrant and could be impulsive, angry, hold grudges, yell at people in seasons 1-2, had become so repressed and muted due to her constant self-blame. I’ve had enough watching Clarke look sad while other people keep yelling at her and blaming her. (The only other instance of Clarke being furious was her hurt and rage at Bellamy and the slap in 5x09, but that was more of a silent, “internally screaming” rage/hurt, which turned into Clarke being emotionally frozen for the next couple of episodes, until learning he was alive. When Clarke is keeping everything inside and not yelling, that’s when she’s in the worst emotional state.)

It is, however, so sad that she still blames herself, too, for her mother’s death, whispering “I’m sorry”, the same way she whispered after seeing her father floated.

My only problem with the scene of that stupid palace burning down is that "mistakes" is a serious real understatement for what Russell has done. I know, I know, this will cause a lot of trouble in Sanctum and Clarke will probably have to go back on some of these decisions to keep peace. But there’s really nothing morally wrong with deciding to execute Russell - not only does he deserve it, but he’s arguably even an exception from the general objection to death penalty, since he’s lived several times the normal human lifespan, by stealing other people’s bodies. And the palace burning down is a symbolic way to send the message that the old power structures are gone - which Clarke pointed out when she said there will be no kings or queens anymore.

Sheiheda taking over Russell’s, or rather his latest host’s body, wasn’t surprising, as that was the most popular theory. But it was cool to see Sheidheda’s creepy mindspace again and Sean Maguire as the original Russell. The bodysnatcher got bodysnatched. That’s something like poetic justice.

I just have to post this because it’s such a beautiful shot!

Rating: 8/10

#the 100 #the 100 season 7 #the 100 7x01 #from the ashes #clarke griffin #john murphy #jordan green #bellamy blake #echo kom azgeda #madi griffin #the anomaly

46 notes · View notes

wolfpawn · 4 years

Text

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 136

Chapter Summary - As the Early Man premiere looms, Danielle gets more worried about it, but Sophie and Nacelle both try to settle her nerves. When the day comes, how will she deal with it all?

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long. This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously.

NOTES - Yes, I love slagging Michael's accent, I won't apologise, there's no malice behind it :)

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog @jessibelle-nerdy-mum @nonsensicalobsessions @damalseer @hiddlesbitch1 @winterisakiller @fairlightswiftly @salempoe @wolfsmom1

‘Elle, this is too much.’

‘Just be grateful that come next Christmas, I will have someone else to annoy with this too, so I may not go as mad.’ She laughed.

‘“May not”?’

‘No promises, if Emma has a girl, I will probably still go as mad for boy’s clothes for your two.’

‘’Or you will just buy three of everything if she has a boy.’

‘Yeah, that’s fairly likely as well.’ Danielle acknowledged.

‘Are you alright with the premier?’ Danielle stared at the cup in front of her, not answering. ‘You’re scared.’

‘F….ing terrified.’ Danielle corrected herself as she looked at Kit who seemed to realise that that was the most opportune time to pick up a word he shouldn’t.

Sophie moved Hal to her other knee. ‘It’s not as bad as you make it out in your head, you know?’

‘People from all over the world will be sitting behind their computer screens and judging me, A - because they think they know me and B - because they think that Tom is theirs and not an actual human being.’

‘That’s only taking in a small number of his fans.’

‘Those are the ones that bother me, people being curious or people actually realise that even though they adore him, he is his own person, them I can handle, they don’t even have to like me, I just don’t like the negative people.’

‘Do you read what they say?’

‘Sometimes.’

‘Don’t, you will only upset yourself. You have seen what they have written about Ben and myself, negative people need to be toxic about others, it feeds their need for negativity.’

‘I know.’ Danielle looked at her cup again.

‘Have you spoken to Tom about this?’ She shook her head. ‘And why not?’

‘Because I can see he is stressing about my reaction to this and he is absolutely terrified I will scarper because of it, so if I voice my terror, he will react accordingly, ie overreact as I am doing and we could very much end up in a bad place as a result and I am not risking us for some stupid fear I have.’

Sophie pursed her lips, knowing that she would not convince Danielle to say anything to Tom. ‘I think you should tell him, but that is only my opinion.’ She stated politically before looking at her son, who was chewing his fist. ‘Not another one already.’

‘Toothsies.’ Danielle declared with a funny face causing him to giggle.

‘How do you do that?’

‘I have no idea, he is probably just laughing at my accent.’

‘It hasn’t changed since you came over, has it?’

‘Not that I am aware of, my family said nothing of it changing when I went back for a few days. They’d be the first to point it out.’

‘Michael Fassbender has an odd accent.’

‘Well, he is from Kerry, that’s a normal statement for people from there. But it does seem to be a slight mix of both London and Kerry.’

‘Have you met him?’

Danielle shook her head. ‘Is he even around these parts anymore?’

‘He moved to Portugal with his wife, I think, apparently, Brexit did not make them feel welcome anymore.’

‘Understandable, I get a few comments about being a “Paddy” here taking British jobs.’

‘Actually, what will you do when Brexit happens?’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Will you stay?’

‘I am not leaving unless I have to, I came pre-vote, so hopefully, I am not going to be booted out. Worst case scenario, I can marry for a passport, that’s still a thing, right?’ She joked.

Sophie had to laugh but nodded her head slightly in agreement. ‘Is that what you planned? It’s as good a reason as any these days.’

‘And I am laying down my foundations in advance for immigration too.’ Sophie laughed again. ‘I don’t know, I suppose it is different for me than for Fassbender, my partner is British, his is….Swedish isn’t it?’

‘Think so.’

‘So they don’t have ties here such as family. We do, Tom could never move out of the country, leaving his mum and dad behind.’

‘How was Christmas with his mum?’

‘Amazing, I love it so much, we have all the joy of family, but we still have our own space.’

‘So you don’t think you will sell now?’

‘I spoke to him about it, he really did not like the idea and looking at the reasons, I can see it makes a lot more sense to keep it than to sell it. So no, no selling.’

‘And you are okay with that?’

‘Yes.’ The confidence in her voice made Sophie smile, it was clear Danielle was happy with her statement.

Sophie decided to give her more advice. ‘You will be fine, stay with Tom, let him know if you are scared and most importantly, be honest with him. Ben was the exact same, you can see him asking more than once if I am okay, Tom will do it too. And smile, they want to accuse you of being unhappy so much, don’t give it to them.’

‘Why are they so in need of putting others down?’

‘Because they are miserable and spiteful, two personality types prone to loving bringing others down. You will do fine, don’t fret.’

Danielle just nodded in response.

‘Elle?’ Tom knocked on the bathroom door. ‘Darling, Nacelle is here, I told her to go into the spare room, far more space in there for her to set herself up.’

‘Okay, just a sec, I am fighting with my hair.’ She walked out of the bathroom. ‘I am shaving it all off.’

‘Please don’t, it’s cold out, you’d regret it.’ Tom smiled, looking at her attempts to get it to do what she wanted. ‘You get your things together, and go over to her, alright?’

‘Thank you.’ She leant up and kissed him. ‘I don’t know why she insists on being here this early, am I that ugly?’

‘You are nothing of the sort.’ Tom chastised. ‘Didn’t Emma take four hours to do hair and make-up the day of her wedding.’

‘In all fairness, I never saw a more beautiful bride. The make-up only accentuated her features. She looked incredible.’

‘You looked so beautiful too.’ Tom smiled. ‘I fell utterly in love with you in every way that day. Before the wedding, while you were helping Emma, my feelings grew, but that day….I realised later what it was but I remember seeing you, walking down the aisle with Jack’s best friend and being utterly flabbergasted, you took my breath away.’ He placed his hand against her cheek. ‘Why did I waste two years? We could have had so much more time together.’

‘We both were not smart enough to take our heads out of our asses. And things happen for a reason. Who knows, if we had gotten together then, we may not have lasted.’ She pointed out. ‘Or we could be married now and be parents or perhaps we could be divorced, or just planning a wedding, we can never tell, all we can do is accept what is and change things moving forward if we are not happy with it.’

That startled Tom slightly. The idea of them married, must less as parents was a step that he thought they were a significant distance from at present. In all truth, he would see that as more of a reason to be angry at himself for not just saying something that day as they were eating or even ask her to dance, but he said nothing and missed out on two more years with her.

‘Hey, Earth to Tom…’ He turned to see Danielle looking at him. ‘Are you alright, love?’

‘Yeah, I was just thinking.’

‘Oh dear.’ He gave her a small playful warning look. ‘I better go get ready for this.’

‘So must I, I will be back soon.’

‘Are you going somewhere?’

‘I am going to the barbers.’

‘Are you getting everything cut off?’ She eyed him warily.

‘Not at all, just groomed.’ He consoled, smiling as she relaxed. ‘This is going to stay for a while yet.’

‘Good, I love it.’

‘And if I have to shave and tidy?’

‘I like you like that too.’ She smiled, kissing him. ‘Go. This is going to take me a serious amount of time.’

‘Not at all, you are so beautiful already, Nacelle just accentuates it.’ He assured her as he gave her a kiss and left the room and going down the other room to the curious looking makeup artist. ‘She is just out of the bathroom.’

‘I’ll have her ready for you.’

‘I will get you both something on the way back from my own appointment.’ He smiled as he left.

‘Ellie?’

‘Don’t call me that.’ Danielle growled as she came to the bedroom door. ‘Hey.’ She hugged her friend.

‘You look scared.’

‘I am scared.’

‘It’s nothing. And you have your own knight in shining armour, let’s get this started.’ They walked into the spare bedroom which had a large vanity table with a mirror. Danielle sat in the chair and watched as Nacelle looked at her before grabbing a few things. ‘We’ll get your hair in a few rollers, a nice tousled look will go well with your dress.’

‘I trust you.’ Danielle smiled, looking at the outfit she was wearing before Nacelle put a cloak over her to protect her clothes and started attacking her hair with rollers.

‘You really need to consider getting an ombre done, it would suit you so much.’ Nacelle insisted.

‘I need to worry more about the grey hairs.’

‘Shh, you have only a few.’

‘I spent the last thirty minutes pulling out some.’

‘Try doing it with my hair and then talk to me.’ Nacelle confessed, making Danielle feel a bit better, the pair talking about anything and everything as Nacelle worked on Danielle’s hair and then makeup.

#i hate you i love you #chapter 136 #tom hiddleston #tom hiddleston fic #wolfpawn

13 notes · View notes

dxnnyboi · 4 years

Text

⌠ DARREN BARNET, 24, MALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, DANIEL ‘DANNY’ ISHIDA ! according to their records, they’re a THIRD year, specializing in LINGUISTICS, CULTURE & ASSIMILATION + COVERT OPERATIONS; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (a white, perfectly charming, crooked smile; finger guns across the hallway; loose laces in his shoes). when it’s the (taurus)’s birthday on 5/17/1995, they always request their FRENCH TOAST from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation.

BIOGRAPHY

He was born right outside of Boston amongst big houses, expensive cars and fine jewelry.

The youngest of the Ishida boys. There’s four of them.

He’s the not-so-happy accident in his family, which isn’t exactly a secret and it’s clear on plain sight, when you find out his siblings are 12, 13 and 15 years older than him, so there wasn’t much relationship with them, nor her parents. Danny has always been the neglected boy in the family. He’s tried to impress them many times, but at some point he simply gave up.

That did not mean he didn’t get anything material. It was the way his parents would compensate for the lack of attention and amusement. Danny had everything every young kid would’ve dreamed of. He got his first Mercedes Benz at the age of sixteen (crashed it merely three days later only to get a replacement after a week long punishment of driving a simple Ford).

Let’s get a little bit into his family. His father was always busy, if you could call drinking, gambling and doing drugs such thing. That’s on the surface, what everybody knows of Mr. Ishida. What not many people know, and he would like to keep that way, is that the Ishida family are the head of a mob organization with ties to drug cartels and prostitution rinks. Just. Very illegal stuff.

Mom... Mom just likes to take antidepressants with a bottle of champagne in very expensive silk robes.

Danny has known of the family business since he was old enough to comprehend the things he could and could not say, but before that, Danny basically grew up alone. Raised himself with the very few examples he saw in his life, which surprise, weren’t exactly the best, but he learned to be sympathetic too. Most of his life lessons though, came from movies. And he was a fan fo romantic comedies.

Fast forward to him being seventeen and in high school. His father had been recruiting new girls, and he wanted Danny to learn. Sure, he was kind of neglected, but every now and then daddy felt merciful of his youngest son and wanted to give him a sense that they had some sort of bonding.

Dad said not to talk to any of the girls. Just fix their documents, since most of them were illegal, don’t ask names, or lives, but there goes sympathetic Danny, ready to disobey his father.

Long story short, he fell for a girl named Lucia. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen, and even though he was quite the ladies man in school, she was his first time, his first love, his first anything. It was all a secret, of course. His father could not find out, but of course he did.

Danny was in the midst of a heated make out session with Lucia when his oldest brother saw them, and went and told Mr. Ishida about it.

Long story short again... Lucia did not make it, which Danny did not take well, but he had to hold it all back, or things would not have ended well for him either. And ever since, Danny has been trying to find a way to get back at him for it.

Just like the rest of his brothers, Danny had an automatic pass into Yale. He hated it, but he convinced himself this would be the end of it. That he would get a good major, a good career, a good job somewhere far far away from his family and that the nightmare would be over.

But it wasn’t. His father’s plans for him weren’t over, and since he was the one with the least interest in following the family business, Mr. Ishida sent his youngest son to a place where he would learn how to do things on the low, to be secretive and lethal all at the same time and what a better place than Blackthorne.

Danny almost rebelled and escaped, but upon thinking about it a couple times, he realized it could play against his father too. He would learn everything he needs to learn, be the best secret weapon as he can be and eventually shoot his shot, end with this fucking bullshit life they had.

PERSONALITY

Despite the internal angst in Danny’s life.... his personality is far from what could expected. He’s not broody or dark. He’s more of a fuckboy with a warm smile and a wit word to charm as many as he can. Or annoy the fuck out of them. He’ll find enjoyment in both. This gif is literally the most Danny thing you will ever see.

Selfie enthusiast. Bonus points if they happen at the gym. Definitely self absorbed.

He loves movies, loves books, and will quote them every now and then.

He’s really smart. Borderline brilliant. School comes really easy to him as well as other sort of activities. He doesn’t brag about it, but he’s quite proud of his intelligence, because high key, his parents never really mention it. So if someone has to hype him up, it better be himself.

He speaks English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, some Korean and is trying to learn Italian, simply because it’s hot.

He’s a sensitive child. He will cry with good songs, and some animal videos on Facebook and TikTok. He won’t deny it. He’s very proud of his emotions but will be a dick about it every damn time, and call himself a damn good person, as if.

He’s a party boy. Usually organizing them, bringing in the party goods and favors. What are his father’s connections for anyway?

On that matter, he ain’t a drug dealer and would never call himself that. He does like to share his own stuff, though. But won’t sell. Anything else illegal? Fake IDs? He’s your guy.

He always gets what he wants so he falls on the manipulative side. He will fake being your best friend, will fake having a crush, will do it all just to get what he wants.

He can be a pretty good boy too, though. Sensitive, attentive, loyal, responsible (for the most part) but be sure to always question his intentions.

POSSIBLE CONNECTION IDEAS?

Fuck boy calls for hook ups, friends with benefits, and one night stands. Give me some. Unlimited amount.

Sum fucks he could have had in Blackthorne too. Where my queer boys at.

Exes? He kind of runs away from actual love and opening up, but I could see him trying to be a little bit serious. Of course it did not work. Could be him breaking your child’s heart or the other way around.

Besties. He’s the bro kind of guy. Loves his friends a lot. Extremely loyal. Would lie, fight and kill for them.

Someone who’s actually had eyes on the Ishida family. This is a school of spies, some families are in the government or agencies who could already be trying to dismantle the whole organization.

Enemies. Just people who can’t stand him.

Crushes?

Old friends who had a fall out after something?

Former roommates who hated him. He’s annoying, messy and is always shirtless and working out. Could have liked him too tbh.

I suck. Give me anything pls.

@gallagherintro

#gallagher:intro #intro

7 notes · View notes

smygarding · 5 years

Text

jealousy? don’t know her | Oikawa Tooru x Male!Reader

General information:

Oikawa Tooru x Male!Reader

warning(s): none reader info: the reader will go by he/him/his pronouns. the reader is a year older than tooru and attends university. word count: 3100+ other info: a request from an anon! i hope you like it, even if it took me ages i’m really sorry...

Oikawa Tooru was stressing.

A blur of endless possibilities and scenarios were circling around in his mind – hindering every reasonable thought that was trying to calm him down.

‘What ifs’, ‘ifs’ and ‘what happens’ questions were gathering in piles, sorted into possible scenarios Tooru imagined in near futures, distant futures and different universes. His mind felt on the verge of collapsing just by the mere sight in front of him and the calm, analysing and critical mask he always wore slipped through his fingers like sand.

His heart rate sped up the moment he felt his façade crumble and in pure rage, everything flashed red before his eyes. Knuckles creaked as he formed fists, and the warm metal filling his mouth snapped him out of the aggression and back to the present where he was standing no more than 7 meters from his boyfriend.

Letting go of his clenched fists and releasing his bleeding bottom lip from the harsh bite, Tooru sent one last nasty glare towards the unknowing figures before he sighed quite heavily and picked up the belongings he had dropped onto the ground. There was no way he would let his adorable boyfriend see him in such a horrid state.

Dear God, please let my eyes have seen wrong…

“[Name]!” Tooru put on his usual happy smile as he walked towards his boyfriend and swiped his tongue quickly over the bitten lip. His boyfriend might be obvious to various things, but when it came to Oikawa Tooru himself, no one was more observant or worried than [Name].

As he drew nearer the college student and whoever had accompanied him, a small piece of the crushing pressure upon his heart let go the moment he saw your lips curl up in your genuine, dorky, but utterly amazing smile. In that exact moment, Tooru found himself ecstatic to call that smile his and the fact that it was directed towards him made his heart thump even more.

“Tooru,” you answered just as joyous and took a couple of steps towards his moving figure. “I’ve missed you so much, cutie.”

Laughter erupted from his mouth and a lovely flush spread over his cheeks as he walked into your open arms. He too had missed you the long and agonizing week he spent doing nothing but playing volleyball for upcoming tournaments.

“I missed you too, babe.” He replied smoothly as he circled his strong arms around your waist, took in your natural scent and glared at the male behind you. The added pressure on the nickname was also intentional, of course. “It was so hard not seeing you for a week and you hardly replied to my messages.” The whining was slightly exaggerated, but it served its purpose by guilt tripping you and telling the stranger to fuck off.

The unknown male glared back, surprising Tooru enough for him to grip his boyfriend’s (f/c) sweater harder. What the fuck? Not that he actually could complain much since he was the one who had glared first.

You didn’t notice the slight change in your boyfriend’s tone, too used to his sappy nicknames. Then again, you were just as bad as Tooru when it came to compliments, loving remarks and syrupy sweet nicknames. The two of you together equalled in lots of PDA, gross flirting and being overall mushy to the point that it was annoying.

What you did notice, however, was Tooru’s longer embrace and tighter grip. Knowing his tendencies to be clingy and overly affectionate, you just shrugged it off as normal behaviour after a long week of minimal contact through brief calls and texts.

Yet you squeezed him back as a small verification, and Tooru’s heart suddenly felt too big for his chest.

When you both finally let go, it was reluctantly so and though no word was spoken you both want nothing more than to find yourself tangled in each other’s limbs on your slightly too small couch.

A not so subtle cough brought you back to your surroundings after a long moment of losing yourself in your boyfriend’s warm eyes. Feeling a blush creeping up your neck, you scratched yourself nervously on your jaw simultaneously becoming aware of the slight stubble forming.

A small chuckle erupted from your mouth, a bad habit you did unconsciously when you felt yourself grow nervous. “Pardon me.” You apologised quickly, glancing towards the exchange student beside you. “This is my boyfriend Oikawa Tooru,” grabbing the third year’s hand gently, you pulled him closer towards your body, so the other male would get the picture, “and this is Daniel Adams, an exchange student from New Zealand. We’re both taking the same (major preference) major.”

Tooru bowed curtly, only to have a quick second of confusion paint his expression when he saw Daniel offer his hand to shake. Accepting it with some hesitance, he let no trace of annoyance nor pain cross his face when he felt Daniel squeeze his hand harder than needed.

A familiar feeling started to bubble in his stomach, and it was almost as if Tooru’s body was preparing itself for a volleyball match. The handshaking reminded him way too much of shaking hands with rivalling captains, with the exception that this was not an actual match. No rules, no limitations and no court were in the picture which meant that Daniel Adams was a rival with free reins and had room for dirty tricks.

“Nice to meet you.” The words were gritted through clenched teeth and a clever amount of venom was laced in between.

“Likewise,” Daniel replied in heavily accented Japanese.

Tooru smirked at that, a bit too triumphantly. In response, Daniel narrowed his eyes in an irked glare and squeezed Oikawa’s hand one last time before releasing it.

Stepping back to your side, Tooru sized the man from New Zealand up and down as you reverted back to an awkward conversation. He didn’t need to focus on your words to sense your slight uncomfortableness and he did not have to focus on Daniel’s replies to register his flirting.

The way you were unconsciously losing your grip on Tooru’s hand and twitching every now and then, gave away just how awkward Daniel’s advances made you feel. That and the fact how Daniel’s body language directly told Tooru that he was indeed flirting with his boyfriend in front of his own eyes made his skin prick and insides boil.

Daniel’s lack of shame also confirmed Tooru’s first suspicion after having spotted the same antics just before they had noticed him.

Tooru had more or less a bunch of involutory experiences when it came to be flirted with, flirting, and how to spot signs of attraction. The reason being Aoba Johsai’s devoted supporters. Most of the of the time he really didn’t mind the support from various female fans, but it could get overbearing at times.

You, on the other hand, were another case. He knew that his boyfriend was obvious to subtle and normal flirting, something he had experienced first-hand after the first couple of dates with you. At first, Tooru thought you had tried to make him jealous or that you were simply playing with him, but after having confronted you about the issue, he realised that you were completely unaware of the various suggestive efforts flying your way.

Whether it was various hands reaching out to touch, feel or simply grab, bodies inching closer to your own, low vocal purrs or even compliments headed your direction, Oikawa Tooru had never met someone as obvious and naïve as you. It was endearing at the same time as it was frustrating – Tooru wanting nothing more than to rip his hair out in pure jealousy but also laugh at your confused expression every time someone tried to make a move on you.

This time, however, was different.

Whenever a flirting situation occurred, Tooru had learned to ignore it and not make a big deal out of the smallest attempts even if his insides were boiling and seething with jealousy. He had dated in the past after all, and jealousy was not a pretty face, even the sweetest girls turned horrific when the green monster first took over.

Overly clingy and jealous partners were tiresome and exhausting to deal with. If he himself grew tired of possessive lovers, then there was a chance that you did too. You were so much more different than his past girlfriends and he absolutely loved it. With the exception that you were indeed male, you didn’t know your boyfriend as the idol – the volleyball captain, and that made Tooru feel so much freer without having to live up to any expectations. He was your younger boyfriend and that was it, no more no less.

Again, this situation was different. You were usually relaxed and laidback, even when people came too close to your personal bubble.

If you could laugh and brush off various attempts in your own naïve way and you could talk him out of bashing someone’s face in, but in this situation remained silent without even the smallest smile then something was utterly wrong.

The former rage Tooru felt changed into dreadful knots twisting his whole inside out. Why were you letting some weird student treating you like nothing but an object, and why was he letting Daniel do so?

With another glance at your awkward and slightly twitching form, Oikawa decided he had enough. Picking up his shoulder bag from the ground again, he tried to avoid any harsh movements not wanting to give Daniel any clue about them leaving. Not that he really needed to be careful, the exchange student seemed to have forgotten about his existence already.

A warm, calloused hand suddenly slipped into your own nervous one. Though it shocked you slightly you quickly found yourself feeling relaxed again and extremely grateful for your wonderful boyfriend who could spot any kinds of tension quicker than any other you knew.

Squeezing down as a silent thank you, you felt your lips twitch as Tooru squeezed back in reassurance.

It was hard to keep a straight face as you gave Daniel a quickly made-up and completely bullshit excuse to leave. It became even harder not to burst into laugh as his expression turned sour, both at the excuse and the handholding.

Relief and warmth flooded both your senses as the two of you parted ways with Daniel, leaving him pissed and alone.

You could finally turn your entire focus and attention towards your patient lover who currently walked beside you and retold every ‘adventure’ he and ‘Iwa-chan’ had experienced the last week. Whether it was a volleyball match or just them being at school didn’t matter at all, you still listened enthusiastically and clung to every word he spoke.

Distracted by his stories and every detail your eager eyes rediscovered as you gazed at him lovingly, you were glad Tooru still held your hand as he guided the both of you towards your own flat.

“- and then he threw several volleyballs at me, hard!” Toruu exclaimed dramatically and paused to take a huge gulp of air before continuing again. “Did you hear that [Nickname]-chan, Iwa has been so mean recently so now you’re the only person I want to be with…” Whining out the last few words in a childish manner, Oikawa turned to you to send you a rather adorable puppy face.

That made you crack slightly. You would soon celebrate your four-month anniversary together, yet Tooru still believed that his cute pout could work on you.

“I’m sure you deserved it one way or another, darlin’.” While your boyfriend’s pout turned sour, your own expression revealed the biggest shit-eating grin which caused him to slap your chest lightly.

“Ah, [Nickname]!” He wailed loudly while waving the hand which wasn’t holding yours up in your face. “How can you be so cruel towards your own boyfriend? It’s your duty to love and support me no matter what.”

“Duty? No matter what, huh?” You chuckled. Tooru didn’t seem satisfied by your vague reply and sent you a glare even though he knew you were joking.

“[Nickname]” he dragged out, “stop teasing me.”

“Okay, okay.” And with that, you pressed a quick kiss on his cheek. Luckily that little kiss kept him quiet for the rest of the way to your tiny, cosy flat.

“Oh man, I’m so ready for just laying like dead bodies on the couch right now.”

Tooru turned to look at you with the most unreadable face. “Dead bodies, [Name]? Really, you couldn’t find anything more romantic to say than that?”

“Yeah?” You shrugged, “I mean, I plan on cuddling with you on that sofa,” you pointed at him and then at the soft, moss green furniture placed in front of a decent sized telly, “and then we can watch something, listen to something, whatever you want.” You paused only to see Oikawa awe softly at your suggestion. “So, we’ll be laying quite still, kind of like dead corpses.”

“Augh, why did I even say anything?”

Ignoring his dramatical ways, you bit your lip to contain the smile that threatened to spread on your lips. He made himself way too easy and fun to tease.

“Wanna join me, babe?”

Long, full eyelashes dipped, and rosy lips curled up in a coy smile. “I’m sorry [Nickname]-chan,” Tooru began cutely, “but I’m not into necrophilia.”

This time you couldn’t help but burst out in a roar of laughter.

“Oh my god, Tooru, babe,” you sobbed out between the laughter, “I was just kidding, holy shit.”

“That’s what you get from being gross.” Huffing at your shaking form and turning his head high while puffing out his cheeks, Tooru tried to stay mad at you, but he didn’t even last a minute. In the end, he sighed in defeat and looked at you fondly.

“I thought you wanted to lay on the infamous couch of yours, not on the floor.”

Glancing up at Tooru’s standing figure, you smiled happily. “So, you’re taking me up on the offer?”

Oikawa let himself have one last annoyed moment by rolling his eyes quite obvious before offering you a hand, so he could pull you up. “Do I have to spell it out for you, [Nickname]? Get on that couch.”

After a few minutes of struggling, shuffling and awkward limbs being placed in the wrong places, you finally found the perfect position to lay in. The sofa wasn’t the biggest and you two weren’t the smallest, yet you made it work perfectly. Oikawa was sprawled on top of you as he drew circles on your chest making you giggle every now and then when he brushed a ticklish spot.

“[Name]?”

You hummed in reply, feeling incredible content with Tooru’s warm body upon your own, sandwiching you against the soft green cushions.

“About Daniel…” He trailed off, regretting having asked in the first place the moment he felt you tense underneath himself.

“What about that dick?” It was pointless to avoid any topic mentioning him seeing as your boyfriend had been present during an incredibly unpleasant situation and experienced the said male first-hand.

“Nevermind, [Name], I shouldn’t have asked.”

You shrugged, or at least made an attempt beneath your boyfriend and cupped his face softly to make sure he wouldn’t feel unnecessary guilt or try to avoid eye contact. “It’s okay, you softie. Yeah, it was an uncomfortable experience and I wish I punched his arrogant face and broke his nose, but we don’t have to worry about him again, he’ll be under someone else’s care next week.”

Feeling the brunette nod into your chest, you thanked him mentally for being so understanding.

“I agree on the punching part.” He chuckled breathily. “I was really close to just knee him in the balls myself.”

Both of you laughed at that. A comfortable silence followed the dying laughter and you managed to wrap your arms around Oikawa’s middle without accidentally tickling or grabbing him.

“Yeah,” inhaling slowly taking in his pleasant shampoo scent, you began again: “It’s not every you get hit on by a weird, creepy exchange student.”

Tooru agreed with a hum. “I agr- wait.”

The sudden burst baffled you and you met his warm eyes with a questioning look.

“Wait, so you were aware of the flirting?”

“Uhm, yeah? Why wouldn’t I? It was pretty obvious?”

“Oh my god,” he exclaimed, sounding as if he discovered the meaning of life, “I thought you just found him creepy… Ugh, I should have pulled you away as soon as I came.” The sentence was finished off with an annoyed groan and you rolled your eyes at the drama queen you had the pleasure of calling boyfriend.

Pinching his cheek slightly to stop him from pouting, Oikawa’s small glare turned into a sulky expression as you started to giggle.

“It’s so cute when you become jealous, baby.”

“Not fair…” He whined again, burying his head into your chest.

You laughed at his antics but stroked his back in a soothing manner to tell him that you meant well.

“But really?” Though muffled due to him squashing into your shirt, you were able to make out the words. “You really don’t mind me being jealous over such trivial matters?”

Nodding, you continued your small loving motions. “Well yeah, it’s cute and honestly it makes me feel loved in a way, you know?”

Surprisingly, a mischievous smirk appeared on Tooru’s lips as he lifted his head to meet your eyes.

“Then do you mind me pulling you away from any possible threat from now on?”

A loud laugh passed your lips, “Possible threats? If I allowed you to do that, you’d practically be scaring off anyone headed my way, Tooru.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.”

You almost shoved him off you and onto the floor due to that comment but settled for rolling your eyes obviously, which Tooru just stuck out his tongue at.

“You really don’t have to feel jealous though, baby,” you caught your boyfriend’s attention by cupping his face gently. “Even if I find it incredibly cute and flattering, I still wouldn’t leave you, so don’t worry about it. I reject every single one of them every time, and if someone doesn’t take no as an answer, I know that you’ll always protect me.” You ended your tiny speech by kissing him gently at the temple. Oikawa enjoyed physical contact a whole lot and leant into your touch, almost like a touch starved cat.

“Thanks, [Nickname],” he smiled a tad shyly before he started to pepper your face with small, loving kisses. “But I really wasn’t that jealous.”

“Tooru, sweetie, we’re not having that discussion now.”

1K notes · View notes

sanguinesixx · 5 years

Text

cat and mouse

Nikki’s playing a game with you. You’re just not sure who’s the cat and who’s the mouse.

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Okay, a few things! I gave Tommy a twin sister because I didn’t really feel comfortable using Tommy’s real sister in this, and also Tommy having a twin is the perfect recipe for disaster. Also, I’m open to constructive criticism because I know I use too many fucking commas.This is based off The Dirt version of Nikki but picture whatever you’d like.

Chapter One

Danielle’s twin brother had gotten you hooked on cigarettes when you were fifteen. Four years later, they were still just as tarry and bitter, and just as easy to hate. You don’t really know why you don’t try to quit; maybe it’s because everyone you know smokes and enables you. Maybe it’s because Danielle’s brother, Tommy, hangs around the diner all the time. He brings along the rest of his band, Mötley Crüe, occasionally. You were good friends with them now, having spent time with them and successfully bonded. Though, before you and Tommy’s band got closer, they made your skin crawl with nervousness, and the cigarettes offered a distraction. The source of this feeling, specifically, was Nikki Sixx.

You’d be lying if you said he didn’t kind of interest you.

Today is no different. It’s cold, probably dropping close to freezing if not already there. They’re all bundled up. Strangely enough, though, Nikki is wearing a shirt with the sleeves chopped off and the arm holes dragged down to his hips. He’s holding a leather jacket in the crook of his arm. It’s strange to you that he’s not wearing it, but he doesn’t look fazed by the cold air outside.

They all sit down at their normal table. Someone comes up and talks excitedly with them for a second before handing them a journal to sign. Mötley Crüe isn’t quite famous yet, but are gaining popularity. You snort at the look on Nikki’s face. He looks satisfied at the recognition but a little annoyed at the interruption.

Despite his strange expression, he’s still weirdly sort of pretty. Nikki’s hair isn’t styled today and everyone is dressed fairly casually. He’s leaned up against the corner of the booth with his arm hugging the back of it lazily. Your eyes follow the curve of his biceps like they’re on autopilot. His arms are strong, muscular, sort of honey-tan; a color weird to see in February.

You take a long drag from your cigarette. The smoke clouds him for a second, turning him fuzzy around the edges. You wonder why he captivates you the way he does. It could be something in the set of his shoulders or the way he tends to do whatever the fuck he wants. Maybe it’s nothing at all.

“Hey!” Your boss calls. “Why don’t you take their order, huh?”

You sigh, snub your cigarette, and take one last glance at him, before heading over.

“Hey, Y/N!” Tommy grins at you.

You smile back. His high energy and good mood are a little contagious, if you’re being honest. “Hey, boys, what’re you in the mood for today?”

Tommy asks for pancakes, Mick just wants water, and Nikki and Vince just order black coffee. You raise your eyebrow a little at the slumped forms of the latter two. Vince’s blond head is cradled in his hands, and Nikki looks exhausted. “I’ll throw in a hangover meal for the two of you.” You say, looking pointedly at them. Neither acknowledge you.

Tommy leans up to stage whisper, “Wild fucking party last night.” A laugh bubbles up out of your chest.

He winks at you theatrically as you go to give the order to the kitchen and push through into the break room. Danielle looks up at you and immediately states, “My brother and his dumbass friends are here.”

“Uh, yeah,” Your eyebrows creep up to your hairline. “How’d you know?”

She purses her lips. “You’ve got that goofy look on your face.”

“I do not have a look on my face!” You defend, turning away from your fresh mug of coffee to stare incredulously at her. She gives you a pointed look.

“You do. Pretty sure the whole city knows about your desire to have Nikki crack your cervix in half with his dick.”

You splutter. “What are you even talking about? No one knows about my crush on Nikki!”

Danielle grins at you, shit eating expression identical to her brother’s, and says, “Everyone knows. Given, Mick had to point it out to Tommy because we know he’s not the most observant, but he knows. I��d be shocked if Nikki had no idea.”

She’s right, unfortunately. She always is. It’s so fucking annoying how perceptive she is. You shrug, unable to argue, so you jab, “At least I don’t want your brother to ‘crack my cervix in half.’”

Danielle groans and bitches at you for the visual.

…

The boys invited you offhandedly to their party tonight. It’s crawling with people by the time you and Danielle arrive. There’s music that you can barely hear over the steady roar of voices and people doing weird shit. David Lee Roth is in the corner bumping a line as thick as your index finger. Cool.

You pass Vince between two girls who have to be supermodels. Go, Vince! you think. Mick is relaxed against the same couch with a beer in his hand. Tommy is making out with a girl in a chair, and Nikki’s arm is on fire.

“Y/N,” Danielle grabs your arm. “Look at that girl over there!” She’s pointing at a girl with a sheet of long blonde hair, cherry pit lips, and big eyes framed with thick eyelashes. The girl is dancing fluidly, alone, but in a crowd of people. You can practically hear Danielle drooling.

“Go talk to her,” You urge. Danielle is off before you even finish the sentence. Sure, she left you alone. You don’t really blame her though. If you had half the charm the Lee twins did, you’d be doing the same.

Vince is gone off the couch and Nikki has replaced him, so you grab a beer, chug half of it, and then settle next to him. He’s very clearly coked out. You can tell by his eyes, and by the fact he’s finished bumping a line in the shape of an ‘N’.

“Want any?” Nikki asks, voice rough from the drip. You shake your head. You’re already buzzing with nervous energy. Coke is the last thing you need.

He hums and sets the tray down on the table. He’s wearing another cut-out again, this time with the neckline sheared into a shallow V, and a sinfully tight pair of leather pants. He looks fucking edible.

Nikki leans back against the couch, gold necklaces thumping dully against his chest, thigh muscles flexing against the leather, groaning with the effort. Your throat suddenly feels very dry.

“I’m gonna go get another beer,” You stand up hurriedly. “Want one?”

Nikki shrugs, which means yes in his head, so you get him one. You make it through another half of a beer before you give up, grab two more, and go back to sit next to him.

You fidget nervously and tap your fingers against the cool neck of the Heineken bottle. Nikki turns to you. “I’m glad you didn’t take me up on my offer. You’re psyched the fuck out already.”

“Sorry,” You mumble. Heat rises to your cheeks.

“You on something?” He asks.

You could lie, say you bumped a couple lines or something before you left, but lying to Nikki feels cheap. You shake your head.

Nikki raises an eyebrow. He says, “Then what’s got you so nervous, sweetheart?” His tone shocks you. It sounds teasing, like he knows the answer but he’s playing with you.

“Nothing.” Your voice is tinged with vibrato. The nervousness in your tone is palpable. There’s no way Nikki hadn’t noticed it. Maybe on a normal day, he’d leave it alone. But this Nikki – high, predatory Nikki – would not. You’re sure it’s the drugs, you know how he gets. Right?

“Alright, don’t tell me.” He gives you a grin that sends a spike of electricity right through you, and your confidence that it’s the drugs dissolves immediately. Nikki’s never acted like this around you before. Sure, he gets flirty, but this. This is very new and so out of the blue that you think you might sort of be in shock.

He makes a noise that snaps you back to attention. “How about I guess, and if I get it right, you tell me?”

You take a hurried sip of your beer. “Okay.” You say, with all of the confidence you can muster.

“First question,” Nikki grins wolfishly. “Is it because you’re not a party girl? Parties not your scene?”

You laugh. It surprises you that you’re able to laugh in panic mode. “No.”

“Is it because drugs make you nervous?” He leans in closer to you.

You snort. “No.”

“Is it because I’m high and you think I’m acting weird?” He’s near enough now that you can smell his cologne, clouded by sweat and whiskey.

“Close, but no.”

“Is it, I wonder,” He’s so close to you that you can feel his breath fan out across your mouth – he could kiss you if he moved a centimeter closer. “Me that makes you nervous?”

Your heart is beating so fast you wonder for a split second if you might die. The beer must have kicked in, because you manage the confidence to speak. “Maybe,” You offer.

Nikki leans back against the arm of the couch again with a satisfied, raptorial expression settled on his face. You feel cold now without the heat of him right next to you, and don’t know what you look like right now, but you could probably guess it’s somewhere between frazzled and about to jump in Nikki’s lap. That idea is very, very appealing.

Frantic yelling occurs from one of the bedrooms. The door slams open, and Danielle sprints out entirely naked except for a hot pink thong, the girl from earlier chasing her with something that looks like a metal whip.

“What the fuck?” You shriek. One last look at Nikki, whose face is screwed up in almost childlike surprise, and then you’re off to chase down your best friend.

#motley crue #nikki sixx #tommy lee #mick mars #vince neil #the dirt #fanfiction #fanfic #fic #my writing

188 notes · View notes

kinetic-elaboration · 4 years

Text

April 15: Limetown S2

Finished listening to Limetown today. Then I read a lot of reddit posts about it. Now I have a lot of thoughts but also I desire to go to sleep because it was supremely hard to get up this morning and I’d like to finish work at a reasonable time tomorrow.

I liked S2 more than a lot of other people seemed to, but I think that’s pretty understandable. I mean first off anyone participating in a subreddit about Limetown is, or was at one time, a huge Limetown fan and huge fans of anything are going to be more critical of what they love because they’re more invested. This is especially true when talking about new installments of anything, because the new has to live up to whatever original installment created that intense love in the first place. I’ve gotten increasingly critical of everything I’ve ever been A Fan of, so I get it. With Limetown, I’m much more of a casual listener, but I needed to hear others’ opinions and interpretations, so I went to the Internet.

Plus, the frankly ridiculous wait between seasons means that S2 could never have lived up to S1. S1 becomes legendary by the mere passage of time. S2 would have been a letdown even if it hadn’t been farmed out to new people to write and produce and even if it hadn’t been surrounded by drama and controversy.

And, finally, that finale was bonkers, and I think it’s hard not to finish and not immediately think....okay, and? What am I supposed to think of THAT? And that can eclipse what came before and make it harder to judge the season as a whole.

All that said, I did like it as a whole. I thought the first four episodes were solid and episode five had certain things that were very good, even if I’m unsure how to feel about other parts.

A few specific thoughts (may or may not be coherent):

I was a bit surprised by how much lone-wolf activity there was--I really thought from the end of S1 that Lia was taken by some kind of Organization, not just One Guy. Similarly, for some reason I thought Charley was being held by some Group of some sort, not just, again, One Guy. (I’m not 100% convinced that the first bit of confusion isn’t a plot hole though.)

I liked the back story of the Bridge and I didn’t find it a let down at all. Halifax and the Bridge were probably my favorite eps of the season. But I also think perhaps I’m more into the whole ‘ramification of the tech’ angle than others?

Speaking of ranking eps and comparing seasons, I wouldn’t put anything in S2 above Scarecrow, but I think Halifax and the Bridge and probably Bordeaux were better than Winona.

I did ship Daniel and Emil. And I’m not convinced I wasn’t supposed to.

It’s canonically true that Emil is Lia’s father, right? Like I find it weird that people continue to refer to them as niece and uncle when it was confirmed they are not. I kind of called that, only in that I didn’t understand how an estranged niece would be so important to him. Also... there’s always a surprise father lol. Always.

I’m on the fence about how much of a plot hole it was that Emil didn’t know that Cleo was fake based on his own knowledge of Limetown. I see the argument... but even in small communities, not every one actually knows everyone else? I don’t know. More importantly than the simple logistics, though, I think obsessing about what he would or wouldn’t have known misses the point. (See below.)

I felt a little bit cheated by the twist with Charley playing Emil, only because I felt like it was so late in the game for that, and I’d put too much into her story, all of a sudden, to have it just as suddenly taken away. It seemed a little too much like ‘psych, it’s all fake though!’ Which I think is what other people got from it too, especially when coupled with her last speech and then what I’ll refer to as the Lia Coda.

But. Having only listened to it once. I do get, I think, what they were trying to do.

First, and most importantly, I think they were really getting at Emil’s hubris, a hubris that’s been created by his ability. Which is why I think it might be missing the point to say that ‘well he would have known he didn’t know a Cleo.’ Yeah, if he had to think critically. But he doesn’t because he assumes that he can just read the truth in someone’s brain, because that’s how it’s always been.

So what I’m saying is that if you think of the theme or point of the series as ‘what would having this ability, mindreading, do to people?’ and all of the different eps and character backstories and story lines as being variations on that theme--what would it do to a community, what would it do to a marriage, what would it do to children--well here is another one: it’s created a blind spot in Emil, an exploitable weakness out of what he thought was his strength.

I guess what I’m saying is I do think that’s interesting. I felt like I had other thoughts on it but... can’t remember.

Um, I think it helped me see what kind of person Charley is. Maybe this is me and my desire to empathize with literally every character but, just having her be the POV character for so long, I was giving her a lot of benefits of the doubt. And then, you know, I felt bad for the lamp, so to speak. So obviously I felt played but, having been played, I felt I’d learned something. I’m not convinced that ‘playing the audience’ wasn’t a purposeful part of that twist, is what I mean.

I definitely could have done without Charley’s little speech at the end, both in terms of form and substance.

It becomes slightly more tenable to me when paired with the Lia Coda BUT... it’s way too late for me to get into that lol. In short I will say I think it’s easy to conflate the character who speaks last with the author and the last opinion given as the Right Opinion, the Message, the Lesson. But it’s not necessarily so. Maybe Charley was supposed to be fucking annoying. And part of the purpose or perhaps even the central purpose of the Coda was to point this out to the listener.

I also have not read the book and know only what’s on the four corners of the podcast, so to speak, so I didn’t know what Lia’s power was supposed to be. I thought she and her mom were, like Sylvia, immune to the mindreading. So that might also have affected the way I read the Coda. But again, not going into it rn. Especially because I have a half-formed Wild Theory about it that I’m not even sure if I like myself.

#the year 2020 #2020: fandom thoughts

3 notes · View notes

dvp95 · 5 years

Text

can’t breathe when you touch my sleeve - chapter 6

pairing: dan howell/phil lester

rating: e (eventually)

warnings: none

tags: alternate universe, slow burn, fluff & humour, tiny bit of inner turmoil wrt sexuality but trust me it’s not that deep, eventual smut, idiots in love

word count: 4,036 for this chapter (25,168 total)

summary: Dan keeps making a fool of himself in interviews, to the point where it’s basically a meme. Now he’s got to sit down for the better part of an hour and sell his show to the YouTuber he’d had a massive crush on when he was a teenager.

read from the beginning on ao3 or on tumblr!

read this chapter on ao3 or here!

Dan has been wearing a line into the carpet of his hotel room, pacing back and forth for what feels like hours. He's muttering to himself, tugging at his hair whenever he gets especially worked up, and only spares a moment to consider what a weird image he makes for anyone who might come in.

"I'm gay," he says out loud, over and over, trying desperately to make it sound like it belongs there.

He rewatches Phil's coming out video a few times to remind himself how easy and happy Phil made it sound, but he can't seem to recreate that energy alone in his room.

No matter how many times Dan says it, the word 'gay' still makes his heart race and his gut clench like he's gone over the drop of a rollercoaster. His pulse pounds in his ears when he imagines saying it to another person, someone he cares about, someone who might hate him for it.

It's just a word. It's just a word, and it's basically who he is. It shouldn't be this hard to say.

His phone goes off with a Twitter notification, but he can't handle that right now. He turns his phone off without reading the message from Phil and keeps pacing.

"How did you deal with this for like twenty years?" Jaime complains, watching the rain fall almost horizontally outside the window.

"I didn't live here," says Dan. He steals some of her chips while she isn't looking.

"London wasn't much better."

They're holed up in one of the numerous tiny pubs in Dublin while they wait for Patrick to finish a solo interview and photoshoot. Dan likes it here, liked it in Edinburgh too, but he's been more or less working on autopilot. His mind is in a dog park in Soho, where Phil has been sending pictures from all afternoon. Pictures that he hasn't responded to.

"I like London," Dan says absently. He pretends not to understand the knowing look Jaime sends him. "What?"

"Sure, you liiiiike London," she teases, smacking his hand away from her plate.

"I do!" Dan huffs. "I always wanted to live in London when I was a teenager. It was, like, the dream. And I think it's probably still where I'll be ending up eventually."

"And a cute guy with a cuter dog has absolutely nothing to do with that?" Jaime asks, sipping at her beer.

Dan feels his stomach twist. It's not pleasant, having someone assume something about you, even if that thing is true. He looks down at his own hands and shrugs. "No, I mean. I'd want London anyway. I just kind of want it... more, now."

"You never actually answered my drunk texts. How long have you been together?"

"We aren't together, James," says Dan. His throat is tight with suppressed emotion. This is the first time he has spoken out loud about his attraction to a guy to someone that matters to him. It's fucking terrifying. "I - I like him, though."

"I can tell," says Jaime. She kicks at his shin under the table and smiles when he gives her a reproachful look. "Don't call me James, or I'll call you Dan."

With a snort, Dan steals more of her chips. "Fine."

They eat in a fairly comfortable silence for a few minutes, both of their plates acting more like communal food, and Dan almost thinks he'll be able to get away with the topic being dropped.

"He likes you too, y'know," Jaime says, bursting that hope. "In case you couldn't tell that he eyefucks you constantly."

Dan feels his face heat up and resists the urge to throw something at her. The server in this very Irish pub has been nice to them so far, but causing a scene as a Brit and a Yank doesn't sound like the best plan. "Shut up."

"I'm serious, Daniel," she laughs. "You really can't tell?"

"No," Dan says, affecting an annoyed sort of sigh. "I mean, yeah, no, I can definitely tell that he would be up for it if I asked."

"Why haven't you asked, then?"

He could tell her any number of half-truths, and she'd accept them as whole answers. Not wanting to fuck up their immediate connection, the whole ocean between them thing, or any other justification he's been muttering to himself while he paces around his hotel rooms.

The thing is, though, that Dan trusts Jaime. She's never told anyone any of the stupid shit he does when it's just them. Neither has Patrick, for that matter, but he's not here right now. And Dan doesn't think he can say this twice.

"Because," he says, swallowing hard and looking at the table. "Nobody knows I like boys. I don't even like to think about it too much, usually."

Dan can practically hear his heart pounding. He jumps a bit when Jaime's small, dark hand covers one of his, and she gives it a reassuring squeeze. "Hey," she says quietly. "I didn't mean to push."

"You're fine," Dan says, and he means it. "I kind of need to think about it now, anyway."

"Because of Phil?" Jaime asks. When he nods and looks back up at her, she smiles. "You seem good together. I've never seen you look so happy, Daniel."

"I don't think I've ever been this happy," Dan admits. His palms are sweating. "And I know I haven't, like, known him that long or whatever, but. Did you know I used to be a fan of his back in the day? He was kind of a role model for teenage Daniel. If I'd have known he was gay back then... I don't know. Maybe I'd have been able to admit that about myself, too."

The label doesn't actually leave Dan's lips, not applied to himself, but he still feels like he's got hundreds of eyes on him. It's just Jaime's, though, big and dark and kind, and he tries to breathe through it.

"That's a very brave thing to tell me," says Jaime.

"Sorry," Dan says, nonsensically.

Jaime laughs, a trill of a noise that makes the dim, rainy day feel brighter. "Oh, you're dumb dumb."

"Only sometimes," says Dan. He's fighting a losing battle with a grin.

"Do you want to be with Phil?" she asks, so blunt about it that Dan is at a loss for words.

He pulls his hand away from hers to play around with his phone, a nervous habit he's never really been able to kick. "I mean, yeah. I do. But it's really not that simple."

With a little hum, Jaime rests her chin on one of her palms. She's beautiful in a way Dan can appreciate beautiful art, beautiful clothing; she's not beautiful the way he finds Phil beautiful, the way he's found men beautiful for years and tried so hard to push away.

"I guess not, but I also know you pretty well by now, Howell," says Jaime. "You've never met a problem you can't twist into something worse."

A little rude. But very true.

"What do you suggest, then?" Dan snarks. "Tell the world I'm - and deal with the consequences of that? People back in Georgia already hate me for so much other shit, I doubt this will make it any fucking better."

"I suggest just being honest with yourself," says Jaime, ignoring the rest of his mini strop.

Being honest with himself is not something Dan has made a habit of doing. And he probably could live the rest of his life pushing this aside, stamping it down, lying through his teeth to the people around him, but. It sounds like a pretty shit way to live, if Dan is going to try the honesty thing right now.

He remembers how it felt to be leaning into Phil's space in the big hotel bed, remembers the way Phil had smiled at him every time he pulled Thor into a cuddle, remembers the deliberate circles Phil had traced on the back of his neck when they said goodbye at his flat.

That's something he wants. Dan is craving that, the intimacy and familiarity of it that he knows he'll never fully be able to feel with any nice, beautiful girls like Jaime.

He could probably do it, anyway. Meet a woman. Marry her. Have the kids he's always wanted. Maybe he'll even find someone who doesn't mind adopting so he doesn't have to live in fear of his child getting his fucked up genes. If he's very, very lucky, he might even find someone who doesn't mind this thing he's been keeping a lid on since he hit puberty.

The fear that strikes in Dan's heart as he imagines exactly what it would be like to keep living like this is what decides it for him.

"I don't want to," Dan starts, then stops. He has to think about his words and not just respond to his inner thoughts like a weirdo. "I mean... I don't want to lie. It's really, really exhausting. I just didn't have a good enough reason not to."

"So what are you gonna do?" Jaime hums.

"What d'you mean?"

"Are you going to come out, like, to the general public?" Jaime asks, and Dan appreciates the nonchalance of her tone. "Or just me and Phil?"

"I don't know," says Dan. "I think I'd tell Patrick, too."

Jaime smiles and pats his hand. "Oh, darlin', he was in that room, too. I think he has an inkling."

"I can't tell other people until I tell my family," Dan says like she hasn't interrupted. "It just wouldn't be right, y'know, them finding out because a friend of a friend saw a piece in The Sun about how much I like sucking cock."

A cackle is startled out of Jaime, and she covers her mouth with both hands. "Daniel!"

"What?" Dan does his best to look innocent, but he's cracking into a shit-eating grin before he can stop it. "That's what would happen!"

"Horrible boy," she says.

"I didn't do anything."

"Please don't come out to your parents by telling them you like dick," says Jaime.

Dan shudders. "Ugh. Can we never talk about my parents and dick in the same sentence again? Thanks ever so."

"You started it!"

They're still bickering when Patrick finally joins them, sliding into the booth beside Jaime and knocking his long legs against Dan's in greeting. "Did y'all eat already?"

"Yeah, you want something?" Jaime asks, handing over the menu they'd kept for him.

While Patrick looks it over, his fingers idly tapping against the thick wood of the table, Dan steels his nerves. He knows he doesn't need to do this, he's got no obligation, but he also knows that this is a safe environment and he might never do it if he procrastinates much longer.

"Shepherd's pie sounds good," says Patrick.

"I'm gay," says Dan.

"Okay," says Patrick, not looking up. "Or maybe a curry? D'you think it's good curry here?"

Dan blinks. "I said, I'm gay."

"And I said okay." Patrick looks at him then, raising his eyebrows. "Did you want me to scream or something? It's not like it's a big deal."

It's a big deal to Dan. It's a really big deal. But he's touched by Patrick and Jaime's easy acceptance anyway, trying his best not to get emotional in the middle of the pub. He wants to explain himself, wants to say that he's never said those words to someone before, wants to cry and hug them both so tightly because they're his friends and he cares about them, but that would be overdramatic even for him.

"Thanks," he says instead, his voice thick with suppressed emotion. "The curry sounds good, mate."

"It does," Patrick agrees, and that's the end of that.

As if he knows that Dan has been having his videos on for four nights straight, falling asleep to his voice and waking up twelve autoplayed videos later, Phil uploads a new video that night.

Dan is pretending like he's going to sleep, all the lights off and his laptop away and everything, because he's got breakfast radio in the very early hours of the morning and he wants to at least try to be a functional human during it. But then he gets a notification for Phil's new video while he scrolls through Reddit, and he clicks on it without a second thought.

"Hi guys," the Phil on Dan's phone says, grinning and waving. Dan's breath catches, just a bit.

That's the outfit Phil was wearing when Dan came over and watched MasterChef with him. He was in Phil's flat during the filming of the last couple of minutes.

Logically, he knows that he's been in Phil's home, that he's been behind the scenes of AmazingPhil in a way that he never would have dreamed he'd be able to. It still fucking rattles him, though. He pays more attention to the jump cuts in the video - where, most likely, Thor had been bugging for attention - and desperately wishes he could remember which one was for Dan, which slice of unused footage was Phil telling him he wanted Chinese food.

"So I guess I won't be going back to Seven Dials for a while," says Phil, wrapping up yet another story that Dan forgot to pay attention to. He starts doing his outro, tells people to subscribe and all that jazz, says goodbye, rolls that beautiful Thor footage.

There's still a minute left on the video. Dan thinks he knows why.

Sure enough, after a beat of a black screen, Phil has included a blooper montage of all the times Thor interrupted his story. It's adorable, watching Phil get tongue tied and giggly while Thor licks at his face or does the zoomies around the room. Dan's heart feels full to burst at how badly he wants to be there again.

Will Phil include it? Dan's breath is caught in his throat as he waits, watching Phil's face so carefully to see what it does when - if - he says Dan's name.

Phil's lips curl into a different sort of smile than the one he'd been giving Thor. This one is warm in a way that makes Dan's pulse pick up speed, even seeing it on such a small screen. Finally, finally, Phil says, "Dan. Are you growling at Thor?"

He sounds like he's trying to be stern, but he can't quite accomplish it with that smile of his.

Then, Dan's own voice comes through. "Maybe."

"Maybe?" Phil's smile grows, gives him deep crinkles around his eyes. He looks so fucking fond. Dan doesn't think it's all for Thor. "I'm literally filming right now."

Dan whines, "He's just so cute," and then the video ends for real. Phil is smiling off-camera so genuinely, but autoplay is already suggesting another AmazingPhil video for Dan. With a resigned sort of sigh, he lets it play.

For about two weeks now, Dan has been figuring that, while Phil is a flirtatious guy who most likely wouldn't say no to a roll in the sheets, he doesn't actually have feelings for Dan or anything crazy like that. How could he, when they've known each other for such a short amount of time? How does Dan have all these feelings already?

But the way that Phil smiled when he was talking to Dan, and Dan wasn't looking back at him, is making Dan's head spin.

Fuck. He's got a lot to think about.

If people keep telling Dan he looks tired, he's going to snap.

He didn't get any sleep at all, really, his mind in fucking overdrive all night as he tipped over the box in his mind and let it all wash over him at once. He doesn't feel better, not yet, still exhausted and anxious and really, desperately not wanting to be sat in a radio station with his costars.

Unlike the BBC Radio One interview, this one is live on breakfast radio. Dan is trying not to think about that too much, or he's going to have back sweat all over his favourite shirt.

The shirt still smells like Phil.

It's distracting.

Dan hasn't responded to the Thor photos that Phil sent him yesterday or this morning, too wrapped up in his own brain as he's been. He hopes that Phil won't be offended, because - well, Dan isn't the best texter in general, he might as well get used to bouts of silence.

His leg is bouncing as Jaime establishes a rapport with the radio host, whose name Dan has been told at least a dozen times. Gun to his head, he could not recall it now.

He's too busy thinking about Phil. And maybe that's a mistake, unprofessional at the very least, but Dan can't help it. He can smell the faintest hint of Phil's cologne when he puts the collar of his t-shirt over his nose and his hands keep twitching, remembering what it felt like to be held by Phil's.

Mind completely full of Phil and lack of sleep, Dan can't really be blamed for not paying attention to his surroundings.

This is his excuse, anyway, when the radio host introduces himself again for the audience - in one ear and out the fucking other for Dan - and Dan's response, after Patrick and Jaime have said their names, is to say, "Hi, I'm Phil."

There's a beat of complete silence before Jaime breaks it, honking into her microphone and covering her mouth. Dan's brain catches up with his mouth, then, and he feels himself turn brick red.

"Daniel's been up all night," Patrick says dryly. "Apparently, he had to get three stars on Rainbow Road."

The idea that Dan didn't already have three stars on Rainbow Road is offensive, but he takes the life vest Patrick is throwing him. "Hah, yeah, sorry. I'm Daniel, and hopefully that'll be the most embarrassing thing I do today. I have a bit of a knack for it, if you didn't know."

Dan already knows he'll be clowned for this one for a while, judging by the sheer glee on Jaime's face, but he's determined to make it through the rest of the interview without forgetting his own name again.

Sure enough, they've barely said their goodbyes to the host and left the studio when Jaime crows, "'Hi, I'm Phil'? Holy shit, Howell!"

"I'm going to take a walk off a very short pier. 'Scuse me."

"It's not the worst thing you've ever done," says Patrick. His lips are twitching with either amusement or disapproval. Dan is guessing it's the former. "I mean, it's up there. But you've done way worse. Like do you remember the time -"

"That's not actually helpful," Dan says.

"Sorry, Phil," says Patrick.

Dan reaches for his throat with both hands and Patrick ducks out of the door with a bright laugh.

He's reluctant to check his phone the rest of the morning, because he can only imagine the cyberbullying he's going to endure from his fans over that slip of the tongue. Especially if they've already figured out that he was the 'Dan' at the end of Phil's video. Most people might not make the connection, since nobody really calls him that, but Dan has tweeted about Phil's videos and Phil has posted photos of them with Thor, so. It wouldn't take a fucking detective.

Once Dan's phone starts ringing with a call, though, he kind of has to deal with it. He's playing Guild Wars, so he puts the phone on speaker as quickly as possible. Only two people call him, so he doesn't even bother taking his eyes off the raid to look at the caller ID.

"Hullo?"

"Hi," Phil's voice comes through the tinny speaker. He sounds like he's already on the verge of laughter, and Dan considers hanging up.

Still, he's glad it's Phil calling and not his agent. Amy can be very intimidating, even all the way from Los Angeles, and he can't imagine that she's going to be thrilled about all the fuckups he's had on this leg of the tour.

Dan sighs loud enough to be heard through the phone. "Hello, Phil."

"Oh, am I Phil? I thought you were Phil!"

"Very funny."

"Or are we all Phil?"

The bright chirp of Phil's voice makes Dan smile despite himself. He narrowly avoids getting murked in the game because he's too fucking busy mooning over a boy. Christ.

"Are we human or are we Phil?" Dan asks, overly dry in case his smile shines through the way Phil's is.

Phil giggles. That's quickly becoming one of Dan's favourite sounds. He can practically picture the tongue between the teeth. "You big dork. How did that even happen? Like, walk me through your thought process."

"Isn't it abundantly fucking clear that I didn't have a thought process?" Dan whines.

"I was just wondering if you had some kind of explanation," says Phil. He still sounds far too amused. Dan wants to be annoyed about it, but he can't even pretend like a happy Phil is something he doesn't want. "Because you've done a lot of stupid shit in interviews, Dan, but you've never forgotten your own name before."

"Thanks," says Dan.

"Oh, you know what I mean," says Phil.

Dan shrugs even though he's well aware Phil can't see him. "I dunno, I didn't really sleep last night, and then being in a radio station made me think about you."

That's definitely a half-truth. Dan hasn't stopped thinking about Phil for almost two weeks now.

He'd been hoping maybe some distance would help. Weekend in Edinburgh, couple nights in Dublin. Perfect to get his head on straight - or, not straight, as it happens - and start separating his feelings for Phil from the all-consuming endorphins of fast friendship.

If anything, though, being physically away from Phil has only drawn attention to how badly Dan wants him to be there. Hearing Phil's voice when they're on different islands is just solidifying those feelings into something not easily removed in Dan's chest.

"You were thinking about me?" Phil asks, and he sounds so warm, even as he's making fun of Dan.

God. Dan wants to be there. He wants to see the way Phil's eyes crinkle with his smile, wants to feel the weight of Phil's cool hand in his own.

They've still got another night in Dublin before they can head back, but. There's only one more interview, surely nobody will miss his awkward presence that much?

Dan checks the time as soon as he finishes his raid. It's barely noon. He bites his lip. The whole day is still ahead of him.

Is he really thinking about doing this?

"Maybe," he says. "Hold on, I need to - do something. I'll text you. Like, I'll actually text you."

"Okay," Phil agrees, sounding a bit bewildered but still just as cheerful.

"I promise that I'll text you," Dan says. He's really, really bad at texting people back at the best of times, let alone when he's in the midst of a proper existential crisis, but he'll have a lot of time with nothing but his phone when he's - hopefully - sat at the airport.

"Okay," Phil says again, even warmer.

It would take no effort at all for Dan to get lost in that voice, but he's a man on a mission. Provided that Jaime and Patrick are okay with it, he's going to skive off tomorrow's interview and head back to London early.

He won't even try to pretend it isn't for Phil. He's got to ride this deep-seated certainty as far as it'll take him. And it isn't going to be like a movie, he isn't rushing off to the airport to catch his one true love or anything like that, he just. Misses Phil. Wants to be with Phil. Maybe he'll kiss Phil, but that's as rom-com as he plans to get.

"I'll see you soon," says Dan. "I have to ask Jaime and Patrick something."

#phanfic #phanfiction #phan #dnp fic #can't breathe when you touch my sleeve #words words words

16 notes · View notes

papipopsicle · 5 years

Text

NOT WARRIORS PART TWO

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: In which the reader's parents are going through a rough patch, it takes it's toll on her, and they decide it's best for her to stay with family friends on the other side of America. Y/N and Billy aren't the same since they last saw each other, but somehow they are.

Song: Sunnyland by Mayday Parade

Warnings: swearing

Words: 2K

PART ONE

feedback is always appreciated

Three days.

That's how long it took for the plain walls of Billy's bedroom to drive Y/N positively insane. The garden was an overgrown jungle she didn't dare venture into, and being anywhere else in the house meant seeing and then speaking to Neil. For as long as her memories stretched, her best friend's father played the facade of a perfect gentleman in front of neighbours and friends, but she only saw the reptile that lay so close to the surface. The mere thought of him made her skin crawl like a thousand swarming fire ants.

Billy was either at school causing trouble, or out with his new friends causing trouble, only a few minutes each day spare for his best girl. It wasn't intentional, but the fact that Max even played Monopoly with her out of pity was making Y/N's eyes itch to see further than the boundaries of the small property.

"Y/N?" A gravelly voice sounded from the doorway questioningly. It was early and her clothes covered every single surface of the tiny bedroom. She sat on the edge of the bed with a vanity mirror facing the window, a light blue fluffy towel hugged to her body while her damp y/h/c hair fell in ringlets down her covered back. She put down whatever makeup utensil her hand held and turned to see Billy with a look of horror etched into his features.

A small scoff exited her lips and Y/N went back to applying various products to her face, "This house is beginning to give me the skeevies, -"

"Try living here for six months." The boy joked, his expression softening as he closes the door and lay back on the bed, the sudden dip forcing Y/N to correct her lipstick moments later.

"I'm coming to school with you today." She finished adamantly and turns to grin at Billy with wild eyes.

He shakes his head immediately and groans into the grey pillow, "That's a terrible idea."

"A brilliant idea, I'm glad you agree." Y/N's hands clasp together and her grin only widened at his now pouting mouth, "You can properly introduce me to your new friends, plus I want to see how jealous your fan base get when they see how much you love me." She teases and leaves the bed to search through the outfits strategically laid out around the room.

Y/N hears a chuckle from behind her and she knows she's won, her lips settling into a smirk, "How do you expect to be let into the school, Bambi?"

The girl pauses her search to smile at the nickname Billy had chosen for her years ago. Her stomach does a little somersault as she attempts to cool the blush creeping up on her cheeks. It was easy to sweep aside the boy's classic handsomeness after knowing him since birth and always thinking of him as the kid that ate a mud-pie thinking it was an actual pie. But after being apart, after he learnt to channel his constant anger into working out instead of breaking walls, he wasn't that little kid anymore.

Like the flick of a switch Y/N comes back to reality, shaking those thoughts from her head to muster the most innocent smile possible, "I may or may not have phoned up yesterday, possibly explaining my current situation and I might've asked for a visitors pass. Maybe." Before he can let out one syllable though, she silences him with a dainty finger over his lips and her own melodic voice, "Don't try to change my mind, do you know how difficult it is to avoid Susan? I don't think she's believing that the only two things I do are either sleep or shower and nothing else. Please? I know you have appearances to keep up and people here are more misogynistic than in California, but I'm genuinely dying from boredom. A few strange looks and comments are better than sitting here waiting for you to come back only to watch you leave again."

"Fine." A smile pulled at the boy's lips, his annoyed tone dissipating as Y/N let out a gleeful squeal. Billy finally sat up and watched with curious eyes while his best friend attempted to create the perfect outfit, "You want to make an impression?" She perked up and hummed in response at his question, "Wear the green dress and Daniel's jacket."

“Thanks,” The girl grinned up at him, feeling his arms snake around her waist and tug her close. Her back fell into his chest, warm and inviting but nothing like the quick hug goodbye from him she’d become so accustomed to over the years. His grip was tighter, scared that Y/N would fly back to California and never be seen again if he let go too soon. She closed her eyes in content and began running her smooth hands up and down the exposed skin on his wrist. Billy found that moment too perfect though, this wasn’t how they behaved around each other, they never did this.

He quickly moved his hands to jab her sides and his best friend squeaked in surprise, giggling and trying to catch her breath before retaliating by squeezing his knee, “You fucker, you know I hate being tickled.”

He shrugged, not so subtly eyeing her down from her smoothed tanned legs up to her beautifully made up face, “Get dressed and I’ll stop then.”

She gathered the clothes he had chosen and locked the bathroom door behind her, not before flipping him off.

Y/N changed into the outfit the boy had chosen, confused by what impression she was trying to make. Although the dress was tight and rather short and made her show a heck of a lot more skin than all the jean clad girls of Hawkins, it was one of the most conservative dresses in her ownership. The emerald colour complemented her tanned skin, and the ribbed material hugged her torso elegantly, flaring out at the waist to create a whirlwind of swishes whenever she turned.

Her older brother's jacket hugged Y/N's shoulders tightly while she waited for Billy to fix himself up enough to be presentable for his royal subjects. The girl didn't have any textbooks or stationary with her, planning to be the devil in Billy's ear and simply watch chaos ensue for the day.

He appeared after a few minutes of waiting-forced to be quiet as Susan wanted to sleep in- with a tentative dimpled smile on his peachy lips and car keys in hand.

The four kids from three days ago appeared early this morning calling for Max, her rushed 'goodbye' filling the house with excitement before the door slammed shut behind her.

"So," Billy drummed his fingers against the steering wheel while some sort of rock roared in the background, "How's home been without me around?"

The scene felt so familiar, riding shotgun in the blue Camaro, music pounding into her skull while her best friend drove around aimlessly for hours on end. She knew exactly where her answer was headed, and Y/N's stomach dropped thinking back to the months without Billy around. The girl found a dependability within him, he protected her and this car became her safe haven late into the night when she couldn't sleep or think straight because her parents were too busy tearing each other's heads off.

She hoped and prayed that the muscly boy beside her still shared that security.

Y/N began clicking her knuckles and scoffed, realising he couldn't hear the abhorrence radiating from her sharply raised eyebrow, "Shit."

She didn't have a poetic way to explain why life with Billy was better, it just was. He kissed her cuts and bruises better even after falling off her motorbike at sixteen when it was stationary. She could play pranks on him and know he'd forgive her in an hour or so, even when they went too far. He gave her the space she asked for when life got tough and she wanted to get through it alone, and then held her when she broke down realising she couldn't. Life without him wasn't unliveable, but it wasn't right either.

"Kelly and Cameron have broken up and got back together so many times I've lost count, the people that brought your house are absolute arseholes, but they have a cute dog called Obi so I can't complain. Jessie cheated on Steve with Jack, because you know, it's Jessie, Steve punched Jack and now they're together and Steve's pining over Amy. Dean broke his leg trying to jump from the roof of Rosie's pool-house onto the trampoline then into the pool, but he landed really badly. And I just watched from the sidelines pretending to care about their drama." Y/N chuckled to herself at the amount of times Kelly had come crying to her wanting relationship advice.

"Delilah?" Billy assumed by his best friend turning up in Indiana, something must have happened between the two. He didn't want to pry, he teased Y/N endlessly about how happy she seemed with her short, gorgeously tanned girlfriend, but that all switched if she wasn't truly happy.

The air tasted bitter on her tongue at his words, "She didn't want me to leave, said long distance doesn't work when you're already hiding your relationship from nearly the entire world. She dumped me, and I nearly stayed for her. But at my going away surprise party, I walked in on her and Jessie making out in my brother's room. I mean, she didn't cheat as far as I know, but it made it a whole lot easier for me to leave."

"Guess everyone wants a bit of Jessie... slut deserves chlamydia." Billy hummed and the two chuckled at his latter statement. He managed to brighten the sour mood right in time for the camaro to pull into the small high school car park.

The sky had lightened ever so slightly, a break in the endless clouds allowing the smallest rays of sunlight to shine down on the teens from the heavens. Y/N could practically feel the stares of Billy's classmates boring through her skull and smashing her brains with a metaphorical hammer as she stepped out of the car. To them, she was the Californian dream girl. Pretty curly hair that never seemed to frizz and skin so soft once someone touched it, they craved the inexplicable sensation.

Y/N walked on without the boy, feeling his heavy arm drape over her smaller shoulders in a matter of moments. It was a warning to the lingering gazes, she was off limits. Any conversations were soon extinguished in the halls as the two entered, eyes carefully inspecting and scrutinising the stranger on their King's arm.

"I bet she's pregnant and he's the father." One girl whispered to her group of friends.

Then from another group of girls down the hallway, "I wonder if she knows Billy's fucked half of the girls in his year-"

One of the friends snorted, "Whore's probably screwed anyone who offered back home, don't feel sorry for her."

Billy must have heard all the snide comments being thrown about because Y/N felt his grip tighten around her. She paused her steps to the guidance office and the boy mirrored, searching her face in worry to find the same look as the time that she kicked Owen Howarth right where it hurt in the middle of the cafeteria, and called him out for saying she blew him in the locker room when in reality she caught him perving on the girls showers. He couldn't walk properly for two weeks.

The girl, only a couple inches off Billy's own height, took a small step to close the distance between them and whispered, "Follow my lead."

Y/N stepped back quickly but was soon pulled back into his arms, and she felt his breath hot on her ear, "They aren't worth it, Bambi, trust me?"

Billy saw her look around at the stunned students with a wicked gaze, and just when he thought he knew every last detail about her, she shocked him. Y/N's eyes found their way back to his, thoughts stilling as the effervescent kindness behind his touch lingered on her waist. They flickered down to his lips before quickly shutting, and her hands reached up on their own accord to the back of his neck pulling him down to meet her.

She kissed him and the whole world fell away. It was slow and soft, his hand rest below her ear, thumb caressing her cheek as their breath mingled. In an instant they both pulled away, eyes blown wide with invisible smiles grinning from their hearts.

"I'll come find you after class." She hummed blissfully, turning on her heel leaving Billy alone to try and find the guidance office. Y/N kept her head high and hands in the safety of Daniel's jacket pockets, not daring to look at the faces of the boy's classmates or back at him.

Her mind screamed to turn back around, drag Billy out of the school and apologise. That's not how she pictured their first kiss, up until moving to this god forsaken town the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

What the hell did I just do?

part three?

TAGLIST:

@rockyrocket15 @kcd15 @twogreeneyesandagoldenheart @mhftrs @ghost-brocolli (my new fave unsername btw) @wyattswolfhard @lucifersnipnips @cassiopeia-barrow @4everchrista @delicatelyherdreams @mautand @me-a-hopeless-romantic @buckysjuicyplums @fengarifood @lucyrocks86

Want to be tagged? Just send in an ask!

#fanfic #fanfiction #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction #billy hargrove #stranger things fanfic #stranger things imagine #billy hargrove fluff #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove imagines #billy #hargrove #steve harrington #stranger things fluff

40 notes · View notes

salvatoreschool · 5 years

Text

Legacies Star Talks Hope's New Ally, Roman's Return and 3 Other Twists

The annual Miss Mystic Falls pageant arrived on Thursday’s Legacies, bringing with it all the requisite drama — and leaving several fan-favorite pairings in serious jeopardy. (Hey, at least no one died this time.)

Lizzie initially had her heart set on Caroline’s former title, but when she discovered that Dana’s mother was one of the judges, she decided — much to Josie’s disappointment — that Hope was her best chance to “stick it to those townies” with a win. (Does anyone else think it’s weird that Lizzie is so anti-townie, considering she was also born and raised in Mystic Falls?) Anyway, Penelope tried to convince Josie to beat Hope, but Josie was too loyal to her sister to mess up her master plan. Furious with Josie for once again putting Lizzie first, Penelope started spilling a bunch of secrets she’s collected as of late… including that she should ask Alaric about “the merge.” Gulp.

But before Penelope left school, breaking Josie’s heart in the process (that L-bomb!), she also revealed to Landon that Hope has been lying about meeting his mother — not that “Lope” needed any more drama this week, what with Roman showing up out of the blue. (Really, Alaric? You couldn’t have hired literally anyone else?) This set off a dramatic chain of events: Landon storming out, Roman filling in as Hope’s escort, Josie calling Lizzie out for being heartless, and even Hope discovering that her dress was picked out by Klaus. The tension culminated in an emotional outburst from Hope, guided by Lizzie, who’s all too familiar with the magical side effects of trauma. Lizzie even made her a deal: “You help me get Josie back, I’ll help you get Landon.”

And speaking of getting Landon, Hope’s angry ex(?)-boyfriend ended the episode in Agent Clark’s custody, delivered by MG’s mom, who’s apparently Clark’s superior. I have to admit, it was a twist I didn’t see coming — mostly because we’d spent most of the episode worrying about the freaking Gorgon skulking around campus and turning people into stone.

Below, Danielle Rose Russell breaks down the episode’s biggest moments with TVLine, including how Roman — despite, you know, his involvement in Hayley’s death — remains a very real threat to Hope and Landon’s relationship…

TVLINE | First of all, congratulations on winning Miss Mystic Falls. How was your brief experience as a pageant girl?

[Laughs] Thanks. It’s definitely something I never want to revisit. We did that whole thing in one day, and by the end, I was just like, “I never want to see this dress again, I never want to hear ‘Miss Mystic Falls’ again, and I never want to be in another pageant.”

Legacies Miss Mystic FallsTVLINE | Was that the actual dress Caroline wore on The Vampire Diaries, or did they design a replica?

It was the actual dress! They got it from the Warner Brothers. archive. But the problem is, the dress was made for Candice [King], who’s about seven inches taller than me. We had to be so specific about how we shot the dress. The costume team and I did hours of fittings, trying to get it OK. For example, we couldn’t shoot it from the side, because I have about four inches of toile alone on the front and back of me. So we could only show it from the front, or else I’d look like the girl from Willy Wonka who turns into a blueberry.

TVLINE | I never thought I’d see Hope and Lizzie getting along so well. Could this be the end of their life-long feud?

You know, it could be. I was also very surprised, because in the beginning of the season, everybody thought Hope and Josie would be the ones becoming friends. I was also surprised by how much Hope and Lizzie have in common, while still being so different. They annoy each other, but they also put up with each other. It’s a fun relationship that I’d like to see explored a little bit more in Season 2.

TVLINE | Then again, I never thought I’d see Hope getting along with Roman either. Were you surprised by her behavior?

Very much so. In my head, I always want Hope to get revenge, but she really has worked so hard [to improve herself]. In the last episode, you saw that even in the middle of a dark, painful moment — seeing Landon dead — she still gave MG her blood. She had a moment of understanding that she doesn’t want to be another vengeful Mikaelson. She wants to be good, and she’s always fighting for that. You could see that Hope had a tough time coming to terms with Roman. There’s a reason why she never talks about it, but I think she has genuinely forgiven him and she’s moving on from that.

TVLINE | I guess when you’re a Mikaelson, you get used to encountering people who have murdered your relatives.

Exactly! It just happens.

TVLINE | We didn’t see Roman leave. Is he sticking around?

You’ll see him again a little bit. That relationship will come to a head, as well.

TVLINE | I get that Landon was insecure, but is there any world in which Hope genuinely sees Roman as a potential love interest?

I don’t know. I go back and forth about it, actually. I always thought the dynamic between Hope, Roman and Landon would be an interesting love triangle. So I do have an idea in my mind of how that would happen, but I’m keeping it to myself in case it does. In Hope’s right mind, I’ll say, there would be no world. But Hope is also not a vampire yet, but she could be. There are many mistakes she could make if things go sour.

TVLINE | Lastly, let’s talk about Penelope, who blew up multiple people’s lives this week. How do you feel about everything she did, and the character in general?

The relationship between Josie and Penelope, to me, has always been fascinating. I’m interested to see the fans’ reaction to Penelope leaving, though I do think that’s sort of the only way that relationship could have gone. In order to give Josie what she deserves, all of this had to happen. So I don’t hate Penelope. I think she was super clever and smart, and I was always interested to see what she would pull out of her hat. She obviously also hurt Landon and Hope’s relationship, but the truth had to come out eventually.

#Legacies #TheOriginals #TheVampireDiaries #TVD #HopeMikaelson #LizzieSaltzman #JosieSaltzman #PenelopePark #Posie #LandonKirby #RomanSienna #CarolineForbes #KlausMikaelson #Klaroline #Hosie #SalvatoreSchool #MissMysticFalls #TheCW #TheSimpleIntimacyOfTheNearTouch

59 notes · View notes

hazyheel · 5 years

Text

WWE Smackdown Live 8/20/19 Review

Randy Orton promo: he called Kofi Kingston a coward for getting himself counted out in their match at Summerslam. He continuously called him stupid, over and over again. As he was finishing up, the New Day music hit, and Kingston ran in and attacked from behind with a Trouble in Paradise. He was going to try to destroy his ankle with a chair, but the Revival ran down to make the save. So, Kingston just beat them with a chair for their trouble.

Grade: C+. Short and mildly sweet. Orton cut a pretty good promo, with a lot of fire, but ultimately it didn’t add much to the story. The attack was nice and made sense. But the story didn’t really need this promo, unless Orton is going to constantly call Kingston stupid from now on.

Kevin Owens & Shane McMahon backstage: the two talked about Owens’ fine from last week. Owens said that he wasn’t there to cause trouble, and he asked Shane to reconsider the fine. Shane actually said that he would consider it. I wasn’t a huge fan of this, because Owens wasn’t the badass son of a bitch that he usually is. It makes sense that he would do this, but it wasn’t very cool, if I’m being frank.

Andrade vs. Apollo Crews in the first round of the 2019 King of the Ring: Zelina Vega was in Andrade’s corner. Crews started the match with a huge lariat right at the bell, but only getting a near fall. Andrade responded with the running double knees for a near fall of his own. Crews tried to fight back, but Andrade tied him up in the ropes with an armbar. Andrade then tried to hit some high flying offense, but Crews caught him with a dropkick. The story of this match seemed to be that Crews new exactly what Andrade would throw at him, as he was constantly able to counter his moves. Crews hit a nice combination of strikes, followed by an olympic slam for a near fall. As Andrade went to the top, Crews hit a huge ensiguri, and went for a gorilla press, but his arm gave out. From there, Crews went for some sort of move, but Vega grabbed his leg for the distraction. Andrade then hit the back elbow and the Hammerlock DDT for the win.

Grade: B+. Really good stuff here, both guys gave this match everything they had, and for such a short match, they pulled it off. They had a fast paced contest that was very exciting. They also told a good story of Crews being able to best Andrade at every turn, only for the interference of Vega to be the deciding factor. This could be the penultimate point in their feud, but due to the interference, I think they have one more match in them.

Daniel Bryan and Rowan backstage: the two led a figure with his head covered into an empty room. They said that they will reveal what he did tonight. So that is presumably the culprit.

Elias backstage: he was just walking around playing guitar, when he grabbed a random dude and unzipped his jacket, revealing a referee’s shirt. He then found Drake Maverick in a box nearby. He then beat Maverick up a little bit, and told him that the 24/7 championship rules were suspended for the night. He then put him back in the box and left. That is incredibly annoying and a great heel move.

Moment of Bliss: Alexa Bliss hosted alongside NIkki Cross. Bliss talked about how they were humble champions, saying that her show would be for the less fortunate people who don’t have belts. Charlotte Flair was welcomed as their guest. Charlotte said that the King of the Ring throne was more like her type of chair, which Bliss largely ignored. Charlotte said that she took the torch from Trish Stratus at Summerslam, and proved that she is the queen of all eras. She then talked about Bayley, saying that she the face of the brand over the champion. She called Bayley an afterthought, which brought Bayley out with them. She said that Charlotte was just making excuses. She said that she was better than Charlotte, and Charlotte responded that her match with Stratus at Summerslam was what people were talking about. She then challenged Bayley for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Clash of Champions, which Bayley accepted. Bayley then pushed Charlotte out of her chair and the two left.

Grade: B-. Charlotte’s promo skills are awesome, and she made some really good points about why she should be the next contender. Should be a really good match, and one that I’m unsure of who the winner will be.

Buddy Murphy Backstage: Roman Reigns came up to him, and asked him about who attacked him. Murphy said he was pretty sure that it was Rowan, but he didn’t know for sure. Reigns said that if he was lying again, he would kick Murphy’s ass.

Buddy Murphy vs. Daniel Bryan: Rowan was in Bryan’s corner. Before the match, Bryan got on the mic and insulted Murphy for not being certain whether or not Rowan was the attacker. Then he confirmed that they will reveal the culprit, and said that Murphy had something to do with it too. The match started and Murphy took Bryan’s head off with a high knee for a near fall. The two then had a match that was full of stiff strikes and kicks the entire time. At one point, Murphy gave Bryan a huge meteora off the top for a near fall. Bryan then locked in a Lebell lock on Murphy, tying him up in a similar manner to Zack Sabre Jr, just pulling all of his limbs as far away from the ropes as he could. Bryan then gave Murphy the Yes kicks, but as he went for the final kick, Murphy dodged it and hit a hook kick. So then Bryan put Murphy in the tree of woe, giving him a series of kicks and a low dropkick to the face. He followed it up with a back drop superplex for a near fall. Bryan tried for another superplex, but Murphy slid out of it and hit cheeky nandos kicks, and then a powerbomb out of the corner for a near fall. The two then traded blows over and over again in the middle, both hitting huge combinations that ended with a pair of knees and a brainbuster from Murphy, but Bryan got his foot on the ropes. Rowan hopped up on the apron, which distracted Murphy enough to net a rollup. Murphy kicked out and gave Rowan a superkick. Bryan rolled him up again, but Murphy kicked out again, delivered a huge knee and then Murphy’s law for the huge upset.

After the match, someone tried to interview Buddy Murphy, but Rowan attacked and gave him the iron claw backstage.

Grade: A. This was a pay per view match that they held on smackdown. The action was incredibly exciting and the hits were very very hard. They kicked the living crap out of each other. Murphy had back to back great matches in two weeks, so they better give him a push out of this. He is a great talent, and probably a future WWE champion if they put faith in him. He is a top star, and they need to see that in him. A huge win, and a good way to forward his feud with Bryan and Rowan. I don’t know how much longer it will continue, but I am really into it.

Heavy Machinery vs. The Revival: both Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson had taped up ribs for this match, due to Kingston’s attack earlier in the night. Before the match, the Revival got on the mic and called the New Day cowards. They insulted Big E and Xavier Woods for the attack from Raw. They then issued a challenge for the Smackdown Tag Team Championships at Clash of Champions. Heavy Machinery then came out to interrupt. Otis started out with Wilder. The faces worked over the heels’ ribs, and gave them stereo vertical suplexes to start things off. Also during this match, commentary coined the team name of the Revival and Randy Orton as #FTRKO. If only they would tell us what #FTR means (Fuck the Revival). We saw some nice hot tags from Otis and Tucker alike. The finish kinda came out of nowhere, as Dawson ran interference on the compactor, so Tucker took him down with a Thesz press, only for Wilder to run up to him and get him in a pinning predicament for the win.

Grade: C+. Fine match, nothing really of note here. Nice to see some other tag teams be represented.

Chad Gable interview: He mostly talked about how he was an underdog, but the story here was the Shelton Benjamin, his super weird opponent for the King of the Ring first round match, was doing stuff in the background. First, he just gave him a weird look, but then he put a sign on his door that said “you must be this tall to be in the king of the ring tournament.” Weird to make this the story when the two are literally former tag team partners. Shelton will probably win their match, and given his weird promos lately, he might actually win.

Miz TV: Sami Zayn was the guest for the show this time around. Zayn immediately crapped all over the show, so Miz pointed out that he has done nothing but lose lately. Zayn said that while that was true, he realized that he needs to help other people rather than try to attain success. So, he decided to start managing, and his first client is Shinsuke Nakamura. So I guess Nakamura has a mouthpiece now, which he definitely needed. Miz asked why Nakamura would need Zayn if he is already champion, but Zayn responded by saying that he is needed because of the language barrier. He said that Nakamura is a poet, and it kills him inside that he can express himself. So Zayn will help him with that. Miz refused to listen to Zayn, so Nakamura kicked him in the head and nailed a Kinshasa. He continued to stomp on him in the corner until Zayn pulled him away, and nailed another after the fact.

Grade: B-. Fine segment and an interesting new pairing. Zayn hasn’t been doing much of anything lately, so this is a fine role for him. Nakamura did need a mouthpiece, and Zayn is great at that. This could be a fun pairing, but we will have to wait and see how good it is.

Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens backstage again: Shane told Owens to apologize for attacking a WWE official, Elias at Summerslam. He also said that if he ever did it again, then he would be fired. Owens tried to shake his hand, but Shane refused.

Elias vs. Kevin Owens in the first round of the 2019 King of the Ring: the two started out with some of their usual offense, some striking mostly. Owens started to fire up a bit after some of Elias’s signatures, hitting a German suplex and a canonball for a near fall. Shane McMahon then came out so that he could watch from ringside. Elias still took control and maintained it throughout the match. At one point, Owens was looking for a Vader Bomb, but Elias caught him in an Electric Chair, and then spun him around into a powerbomb for a near fall. The tow then battled on the top rope until Elias fell off, but he still managed to get the knees up before a Swanton Bomb. The two then brawled to the outside, where Shane told him to leave Elias on the outside, and took off his shirt to reveal a referee’s shirt. He then replaced the ref and fast counted Owens during a role up for the win.

Grade: C. I bumped this up a bit because of the Shane stuff. He is being a good heel right now, and it was a creative ending to a mini story that had permeated the whole show. A lot of people don’t really like when stuff is overbooked, but I kinda do. Makes things interesting when done right, and this was. It was a good heel move, and it rose hostilities between Shane and Owens again. The match was pretty bleh though. Elias is probably out of the tournament next round.

Whodunnit reveal: Reigns joined Bryan and Rowan backstage for the reveal of his attacker, and it turned out to be a dead ringer for Rowan. What the flying fuck? W-why? Where is this going? Who is he? I have so many questions, and I am pretty confused.

Overall Grade: B-

Pros: Andrade vs. Crews; Murphy vs. Bryan; Zayn as a manager

Cons: main event; whodunnit reveal

1 note · View note

hannah-deserved-better · 5 years

Text

Why Castiel/Hannah should be a more mainstream ship

This is going to be a long essay, but I need to say it. For those of you who follow me, I’ve said a lot of the same things before, but I think it's finally time to address the naysayers head-on.

Now, before I continue, and before people accuse me of attacking their ship, that’s not what I am trying to do. Yes, Destiel shippers irritate me sometimes, but it’s not the ship itself that annoys me, it's the toxic haters that make up the ranks of that ship. You know who you are. I have every respect for Destiel, Megstiel, and any other ship, really. Just because I personally don’t ship it doesn’t mean I disrespect or hate on it.

But I also think that it's time that my ship also gets the recognition it deserves. And it’s time that Hannah, as a character, gets the respect she deserves. I am always disappointed by how little credit she gets from the fans, I am continually seeing mood boards, aesthetics, collages commemorating the women of Supernatural, or the angels of Supernatural and Hannah is regularly absent from these boards. And she deserves way more than to be forgotten.

I hope that, with the show coming to an end, people who plan to rewatch the show through will remember her and give her a chance to shine.

To illustrate why I think that Hanstiel should be counted among the more popular ships that in involve Castiel, I’d like to debunk the top 10 arguments I have had thrown in my direction by people who think they can bully me away from loving Hannah and Hanstiel.

But they are literal siblings!

Ugh. This argument. Okay if that’s what you think, fine, that’s your opinion, but you need to realize that this is up to personal interpretation. Yes, the angels consider themselves siblings, but it’s evident that the SPN writers don’t necessarily consider this a literal thing because there are a few incidents of angel pairings. Daniel and Adina, fallen angels, were clearly lovers. Also, if Chuck created angels, he also created humanity, but do you consider some random Human on the street your sibling? This is really an old argument, and it doesn’t hold much stock, but it's really up to personal belief about the show. You can’t force your views about this on me, and you can’t try to persuade me your opinion is right because it is just that- your opinion. Mine is valid too.

Also, a side note. If you ship Wincest but pull this ‘angels are siblings’ card, then you are a hypocrite.

But Caroline Johnson was married!

And? So was Jimmy Novak. Are you trying to imply that because Caroline was a woman, she needed to return to her husband any more than Jimmy Novak needed to return to his wife? This argument reeks of misogyny.

Hannah abandoned Castiel when she found out about his borrowed grace.

Yes, she did. But think about it from her point of view, she had this unwavering trust in Castiel as her leader and what he did was considered abhorrent to her and her fellow angels. Finding this out from Metatron instead of Castiel himself was no doubt a shock to her, and it left her scrambling to figure out how to reconcile this blow to her faith in him. And this doubt didn’t last long, as soon as she realized what was going on, she went right back to him and resumed her unwavering trust in him.

Hannah tried to tell Castiel to kill Dean

Again, see it from her point. She was trying to grasp and process what she had just learned. And she knew that angels were blowing themselves up in Castiel’s name. She didn’t want to believe it was true and she needed something to cling to. She doesn’t know the Winchesters, as well as Castiel, does, she has no reason to trust them, and she doesn’t understand the bond Castiel has with them.

Hannah tortured Castiel in season 11

No, Ephraim and Jonah tortured him. And even though it was revealed that Hannah was in on it, it also clear that she was pressured into it. Just look at how Ephraim and Jonah talk to her, they were very disrespectful to her, and it was clear this was their idea. And whatever part she played in this, she protested it, and in the end, she fought and died saving Castiel. She literally gave her life for him.

It’s Hannah’s fault Gadreel committed suicide!

No, it's not. Hannah came down to the prison, and it's clear she wanted to try to understand Castiel’s stance. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have been down there in the first place. Castiel and Gadreel didn’t need a guard. She was trying to sort it all out, and Gadreel acted impulsively.

Hannah is hot-tempered and impulsive

Hell yeah, she is. She tried to attack Tessa when Tessa called her weak, and she totally started the fight with Adina. Oh, and we can’t forget how she smashed Metatron’s face into the bars for making a sexual remark towards her. But that’s all what makes her an awesome character. She has flaws. As a writer myself, I can tell you that perfect Polly's are no fun at all. Hannah had depth, she was complicated. She was brave and badass, but she certainly had apparent flaws. Besides, are you trying to tell me the Winchesters don’t have flaws? Hannah is badass.

Hannah was obviously meant to be Castiel’s love interest

Yeah, she probably was, but I mean so? Can’t Castiel have a little happiness in his life? Besides, she wasn’t just that. She was his second in command, she was a leader in her own right. She even led heaven! She wasn’t only Castiel’s love interest, she was amazing in her own right.

If you don’t ship Destiel, then you are a homophobe!

First of all, I am a bisexual woman. I am allowed to be attracted to both men and women, and it’s obvious that I am crazy about Hannah. Also, it's okay for me to prefer het relationships. I happen to be married to a man. I am generally attracted to what I can relate to, and there should be no shame in that. In any case, I don’t need to justify my interests to you. And anyway, you do know that Hannah took a male vessel at the end right? And that Castiel took a female vessel in the past?

Castiel obviously loves Dean!

Okay. Like I said, I respect all ships. But you are going to have to come to terms that in addition to Dean and Sam, Castiel also loved Meg and Hannah. He may have even harbored feelings for Kelly Kline. Since none of those ships became completely canon, we the fans, must interpret what we will about it. I don’t ship Destiel, Megstiel, or Castiel/Kelly Kline but I respect that Castiel may or may not have feelings for any one of them in canon. The world may never know if this was so. Chemistry is in the eye of the beholder. I could see clear signs that Castiel had feelings for Hannah, and I can document such signs, but that’s what fiction is. It’s something that’s not real in the first place so we the fans are free to interpret what we see as we will.

And here are some points I want to make as to why Hannah is amazing and why she is precisely what Castiel needed.

Hannah is the kind of rare angel that Gabriel was talking about back in season 9. The type that is more than a machine built to obey

Hannah has empathy. She is a rather passionate angel. This is her strength and her inner struggle. She is an angel, bound by her instincts to obey and stuck in her strict principles of angel code, but it's pretty clear that she doesn’t obey without question. In many ways, she is a lot like Castiel was in season 4, but unlike Castiel, she seems to have had these feelings all along. Castiel had to learn them. In “meta-fiction,” Gabriel claimed that he and Castiel were rebels because they were different than other angels. And I think that Hannah was another one of those rare ones, with the potential to understand free will.

She never once brought up Castiel’s past nor never appeared to resent him or hold a grudge against him or feared him for what he did to heaven

All throughout season nine, when Castiel was without grace, whenever he encountered another angel, they were quick to blame him for the fall. They actively hated him or even feared him. Some even tried to kill him. Many still resented him for the war with Raphael. Pretty much all the angels Castiel encountered harbored these feelings towards him, but when Castiel met Hannah in that warehouse, she lacked that resentment. She had just been tortured by Gadreel and left in a room full of dead angels, and when she met Castiel, she knew who he was. She never once brought up the war with Raphael, or even the fall, something she herself was a victim of and was no doubt traumatized by. She never feared or hated Castiel.

She was devoted to him in a way that no one in the show has ever been

Castiel really needs someone who could devote themselves to him the way that he would devote himself to them in return. Hannah fits the bill. She listened to him when he taught her about humanity. I mean, really listened. And throughout their road trip, she was more concerned with trying to help with Castiel’s fading grace than she was with her mission. His suffering and deterioration clearly bothered her. Even though she acted on impulse many times, she’d listen to him as he explained why things are the way they are here on Earth.

She was even willing to make a deal with Metatron

This one is a big one because it proves that Hannah is like a Winchester! How many times has Sam or Dean made a deal to save one another? They would pick each other over the world any day. And has either of them ever made that sacrifice for Castiel? Well, Hannah was going to. She knew full well the possible consequences of letting Metatron out, but she was willing to do it to save Castiel’s life. If he hadn’t gotten there, she would have. I think it was a surprise to Castiel because no one has ever cared about him like that.

She literally begged him to take care of himself

It’s clear that Hannah had feelings for Castiel, and they motivated her to be concerned with. Maybe Castiel was uncomfortable with her affections because he’s not used to someone being concerned with his well being? Which is really sad if you think about it. Regardless of her feelings for him, Hannah was concerned that Castiel wasn’t taking care of himself. She begged him to try to save his own life or to at least be as concerned about it as she was. And he continued to blow her off and dismiss her, probably because poor Castiel does not value his own life. If he did, then he would at least be willing to try to work with her to find a plan to save himself instead of literally having to have the king of hell step in to save them both.

Castiel trusted Hannah enough to implore her to carry on in his place if he died.

When it became clear that Castiel may not make it to carry out his mission, to help Dean or to find the rogue angels, when Hannah confronted him and implored him to do something about his grace, even reminding him of his mission, he asked her to carry on in his place. She doesn’t think she could do it, but he did. He trusted her, he saw something in her that she didn’t see herself. He believed in her and thought that she was more than worthy of taking his place if he died. That right there is huge.

She is one of the very few angels to ever give up her vessel, and her actions inspired Castiel so much that he decided to look into Claire’s life after all this time.

Hannah did the one thing that even Castiel himself could not do. She admitted she had feelings for him and more than anything, she wanted to stay with him and see where their feelings lead them. She wanted that very badly, but then she encountered Caroline’s husband, and she was reminded about the life she had taken away, and she put her feelings aside to give Caroline her life back. Anyone could see how heartbroken Castiel was to see her go, but he was so inspired by her act of selflessness that he looked into Claire’s life.

In “Meta-fiction,” Metatron explained that he ordered Gadreel to kill all the angels in the warehouse but leave one alive. Gadreel chose to spare Hannah. Did he pick her at random or did he sense that she was different and that she had the power to persuade Castiel to be a leader?

I mean everyone else around them noted how well matched they were. The tow-truck driver, Adina, Metatron, even Crowley. Maybe Gadreel sensed that Hannah was not like other angels and that she might have the power to be an influence in Castiel’s life. Of course, his motives were less than good, but I think he knew that Castiel would respond to someone like Hannah, someone who was like him or had the potential to be.

It’s my headcanon that Castiel and Hannah both have autistic characteristics

This is the last stance, and it is something very personal to me. I am on the Autism Spectrum, and I hold the opinion that Castiel and Hannah both have Aspie characteristics and that if they were Human, they would surely be on the spectrum. This is the single reason why I love Hannah so much. Do you realize how marginalized us aspie girls are in mainstream media? There are so few of us, and most Autistic characters in fiction are male. It is hard to be autistic and female, and here is the one character I can admire and relate to because she is like me.

So there you have it. The case for Hannah and for the Castiel/Hannah ship. I don’t think it should be considered a rare-pair anymore. It is just as relevant as any of the popular pairings concerning Castiel. This will always be my one and only OTP. And Hannah is and always will be my favorite character. Her and Castiel both. I am a Cas girl and a Hannah girl. Just wondering if there are any other true Hannah girls out there.

#castiel/hannah #hannah/castiel #Hanstiel #Supernatural #Castiel

2 notes · View notes