#its so fucked that canonically kevin never gets to meet her

[dayurno]

robin cross and kevin day parallels actually go so crazy. they both spent their formative years in a basement underground with exy-obsessed captors. they both saw exy as freedom. they both were isolated even within the foxes’ group of outcasts. they were both under andrew’s protection. it cost kevin jean to leave the nest and it cost robin another girl’s life to escape her kidnapper. robin carried her racquet with her to self-soothe and kevin restrings the net of his when he’s anxious. they’re even bird coded

#to those unfamiliar the word robin is also a kind of little bird 🕊️ #i dont ship them but i dont blame the people who do if im honest #BUT ITS JUST CRAZY TO MEEE #its so fucked that canonically kevin never gets to meet her #but i will say that the echoes of his presence are still there #she joins the foxes the year after kevins graduation and there andrew is taking robin to night practice #there he is coaching her because he knows exy is the tool she needs to believe in herself #there he is doing what kevin day told him only years late 🫠 #sorry they make me insane #robin when she’s the weird kandreil amalgamation no one asked for #will expand on this if i have more thoughts later but please talk to me about robin. thank you #txt #aftg #kevin day #robin cross #kevin #robin #fav #kevin&robin

[fallenstarzz]

The Kayleigh Day Lives AU

Extremely self-indulgent bullet fic with probably some written snippets later on. Canon-typical CWs.

So most of the canon backstory for Exy stays the same – Kayleigh goes to Japan, she meets Tetsuji, they create and launch Exy to rapid global fame, etc.

Kayleigh and Tetsuji really are friends. They're almost mirror images, both intent on leaving their mark on the world, albeit for very different reasons. They feed into each other's worst impulses, which works out great up untill it doesn't.

Kayleigh doesn't know the Moriyamas are Yakuza, but she also doesn't NOT know that. They are funding her dreams and that's all she needs to be certain of. And if there is some shady things are going on backstage, well, Tetsuji's the only one handling them so it's hardly like she's gonna get blamed if it gets out

The years go on, they are getting too old to play, so Tetsuji fucks off to create the Ravens and take more full control of the side branch after his leg injury and Kengo coming into power, and Kayleigh also retires after having Kevin.

The main problem is that now Kayleigh is expendable. She's no longer Exy's greatest player, she doesn't need to promote the sport as much anymore, and she and Tetsuji start butting heads over what the future of Exy is going to be. He wants them to settle down and strengthen their base in the US first before moving on to establishing it more worldwide, while she thinks they should keep diversfying the sport as much as they can. They start contradicting each other on interviews, and the media catches on to a possible feud, there is talk of a schism that could stop Exy in its tracks.

The main branch catches wind of that and is, in the simplest terms, Not Happy. They've let Tetsuji put a lot of money into Exy at this point and they can't sit by and watch as he gets usurped, or worse, as Exy becomes to unstable to be a profitable investment anymore.

So Kengo calls Tetsuji with the news that he can either put Kayleigh in line or the main branch will do it for him.

Tetsuji considers it for a while. He is not a sentimental man, but he also isn't ungrateful for Kayleigh's help so far. Plus she has that very convenient, very promising son and he has plans for a Perfect Court.

(since in canon, Kevin is not considered Moriyama property, I'm guessing that they didn't plan on fighting his bio father for custody after Kayleigh's death, it was just a pleasant surprise. Maybe he still would have been recruited, just when he was older and more clearly going to be Perfect Court material. There's a reason why Riko hasn't picked all his players when the series starts)

So Tetsuji calls her and lays down the law. He doesn't say everything yet, but makes it clear that Kayleigh can either follow his lead or the very powerful, very dangerous people she's getting in the way of are going to get rid of her. He makes it seem like he's protecting her by giving her this choice.

Kayleigh doesn't want to get steamrolled out of her own sport, but she wants to die even less, so she ends up saying yes to becoming the Moryiama's puppet. She figures she can keep pushing her agendas from behind the scenes, just with more care and sublety this time.

They end up, then, with Tetsuji functionally ruling Exy as Kayleigh takes a figurehead role, parroting his decisions and essentially becoming even more of a media darling

She doesn't agree on sending Kevin to the Nest straight away. She doesn't want to get separated from her son, for one, and also knows enough of what the Moriyamas are about by now to fully trust them with him. It is known, however, she'll eventually have no choice but to enroll him in EAU.

Kevin and Riko still regurlaly meet up for Exy play dates, become friends, and obsess over the Perfect Court and their possible roles as #1 and #2. This sets Kayleigh on edge a little bit, but she can't find a way to physically interfere and just has to hope it never escalates too far.

But as Kevin grows older, the noose starts to progressevily tigthen – specially now that they lost their intended #3 to an overeager mother.

So Kayleigh starts getting sent away in more and more media tours, and signed up for teaching workshops and attending games and really anything that will make sure she doesn't stay in the same place for more than a couple weeks.

All the moving around is going to impact Kevin negatively – he wouldn't be able to study or practice properly – and eventually Kayleigh is worn down and worried for her son's future enough that she agrees to leave him in the Nest while she travels.

Kayleigh isn't naive enough to believe the Nest is a paradise, she knows Tetsuji very well after all, but she has settled into her place well enough to start accumulating some information and power of her own inside the side branch. It's not enough that the Moriyamas couldn't still kill her if they wanted to, but it is mutually assured destruction before she goes.

So Kevin gets treated well... When she's around to watch. Which is not really that often. But Kayleigh manages to stay an influence in her son's life and have some say in what his future is going to be. (And if she has her own opinions of what the real order of the Perfect Court should be, well. That's a problem for another time).

She settles into a sort of routine as the next decade or so goes by. She becomes the face of Exy, watches carefully for Tetsuji's weaknesses, slowly ingrains herself with the Moryiamas, travels the world and periodically comes to stay with Kevin in the Nest and try (mostly fail) to mitigate the damage Tetsuji is doing. It's not her ideal life, but she's managing – all she has to do is hold on untill Kevin graduates so she can afford to throw her weight around to put him in a different pro team than Riko, so the Moriyamas can't use them as leverage against each other as much anymore. The first step towards being free is being safe.

And then, of course, Riko breaks Kevin's hand.

#all for the game #aftg #Kayleigh Lives AU #kayleigh day #tetsuji moriyama #riko moriyama #kevin day #more to come when I actually meet my uni deadlines #all for the game fanfiction #aftg fic #bullet fic #exy #the ravens aftg

[electraslight]

got any gwevin headcanons?

here ya go!! sorry if i have less of these my gwevin thoughts are borderline incomprehensible if youre not down w the liz lore.... most of my gwevin shit is so far divorced from canon theyre completely different lawl

-when gwen moves away to go to college kevin comes over to her house w toiletpaper and lightbulbs bc you never remember those when youre first moving out

-gwen actually distrusted kevin heavily when they first met because of their prior meeting but was civil and friendly because she'd been burned before by being outright rude to people she distrusted. this in turn made him obsessed with her bc people are nice to him so rarely

-kevin actually wears more makeup than gwen (whos more of a tinted lip balm and moisturizer type girl) so he does her makeup for special events

-kevin and gwen don't actually ever get married in the series (this is actually canon) and i think its bc even though kevin has a longer lifespan than someone like ben, he'll still die long before gwen does, and shes scared of leaving someone she loves behind. both kevin and gwen r very against the 'saintity of marrige' as well bc of their families so they just stay unmarried for the rest of their lives. they get ben to be a surrogate for devlin though :))

-kevin is very empathetic but not very good at social cues, so he often does things that he feels will help/ empathize with people but doesnt understand the signals they're putting out, if that makes sense, so he'll often try to be affectionate with gwen when she's mad at him and it will just make things worse. gwen knows he's trying to be loving but her inherently judgemental nature makes her go through this endless cycle of confronting bad assumtions about him and trying to knock them down for the sake of the relationship. kevin sees this and appreciates that shes trying, but still feels like hes not worthy of her effort. theyll get through it dont worry

-gwen is a fucking HORRIBLE driver, and has crashed cars multiple times including kevins, but he forgives her no matter what bc she just makes big eyes at him and he forgets that he was mad at her

-gwen grabs kevin's padlock to yank him down to talk to her. 99% of the time this cuts off the air in his windpipe but he gives zero shits because he gets to look at her face to face

there you go!! again, this stuff is purely brain speculation lol. i hate the heteronormative fixer upper type trope so much but theyre so cute i cant resit it, so i make up shit in my head lawl. gwevin is only good when gwen is the boyfriend and kevin is the girlfriend methinks. thanks for the ask!!

#gwen tennyson #gwevin #kevin levin #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 uaf #ben 10 original series #ben 10 headcannon

[liege-of-the-bees]

S7e16: Stag

Everything I have seen abt this episode so far has been insane I'm so fucking excited

Fuck why did they have to bring Grundy back

ARCHIE LEARNING WHAT BISEXUALITY IS

Also Betty being like 'I want that, men and woman. I want that'

Lizzo has been such a non-character but that scene was fun

OFC BRET OWNS THE PORN FILMS

'WE WANNA WATCH THE STRAIGHT PORN TOO'

See the 'Jughead coincidentally being gone everytime horny stuff goes on' would be so much funnier if Jughead was made Aro-ace canonically like in the comics. Sex plotline start and Jughead just gets magically summoned elsewhere

Cheryl just wants to paint naked women

Kevin and Clay canonically watch gay porn in the Babylonium

'Gal pal' Kevin and Clay know what you're doing Veronica don't even pretend

ARCHIE GLANCING OVER AT REGGIE

POLLY???

This is the funniest way they could've brought her back

Nothing more subtle then developing lesbian pinups in the school darkroom

Fellas is it gay to watch gay porn together

POLLY AMOUROUS

Veronica has a crush on Polly and you can't convince me otherwise

Please don't push the Jughead/Veronica thing again. Not after the misogyny. Not after the lesbianism.

IF YOU WANT TO MEET A FRIEND OF MINE (My girlfriend)

This Polly is actually so fun

'GAL-PALS'

This is the gayest straight porn scene ever

OH WAIT IT'S GAY PORN

THE IMMEDIATE CUT TO CHERYL PAINTING LESBIAN PINUPS

The funniest fucking way for Archie and Reggie to discover their bisexuality

They should shower together

Julian clocked them so hard ngl

It's gonna be another wrestling movie isn't it

God I wish Evelyn was there to react

Clay: 'I think you should have gay sex Archie'

THE THREESOME???

Fellas is it gay to have sex if its also with a woman

ROSE'S TURN

Betty that's your sister please

Oh never mind it's not incest she just wants it to be her

PENELOPE

THEY WERE AT IT ALL NIGHT?

'Expanded our horizons'

FELLAS IS IT GAY TO SAY I LOVE YOU????

Cheryl's gothic horror returns

I love you Cheryl you're doing great sweetie

Get her Betty

God I'm so attracted to Lili Reinhart

THE SLAP SINGLEHANDEDLY BRINGING BACK DARK BETTY

Fuck off I will not accept this as anything but Veronica's comphet

Homophobia

#riverdalelive #riverdale #riverdale s7 #riverdale season 7 #riverdale spoilers

[delicrieux]

—MAKE YOU SAY “OH” EXTRAS: TINDER

extra meaning non-canonical occurrence; can be placed anywhere in the “make you say oh” timeline after couple (cha. 14) and before the final “oh”. 

pairing—corpse husband x f!reader warnings—tinder profiles, tw: men, swearing.  word count—2.6k. format— written. ─── ❥ req by nonnie​:  y/n makes a youtube vid/live stream where she's just swiping through her tinder acc and corpse literally blocks her lmao

author’s note—akldsljfs this was such a funny idea i could not not write it lmao

ultimate masterlist. myso masterlist

You have pulled the biggest brain move by setting up both a facecam and a screen recorder on your phone. All is beautifully displayed and visible during the stream. Your fanbase is particularly intrigued on what exactly are you planning on doing today, seeing as your tweet of “strea” had been a bit vague, if not downright ominous. No emojis. No elaboration. You couldn’t even be bothered to finish the word. Truly, a mystery. Everyone tuned in and are currently waiting with bated breath.

A few of your fans must sense upcoming doom because the overall mood in the chat turns from optimistically intrigued to...evil. It’s an entity all on it’s own now, clawing at you through the screen with various renditions of laughter and devil emojis. A few eggplants thrown in there for good measure, accompanied, naturally, by the scandalous water drops. At first the common consensus is that you’re biting the bullet and going through your camera roll on stream. Definitely an idea worth considering, though you frankly don’t know what lies at the start of the 11k photograph journey, and you are afraid to check in public. Could be a harmless meme, could be a salacious pic you had saved of an OF star. It’s really a gamble. Either way, you would definitely get banned. You might still get banned. Why do you insist on doing shit like this?

Because it’s funny. Because you’re kinda stupid. Because it’s just so absolutely laughably easy to do.

A smile quirks your lips, and while it is not explicitly smug, the look in your eyes sure is, “Greetings,” You utter lowly, dimming the lights--the budget for this stream! Ugh, you went all out, “my children.”

mother i crave violence

sensing evil energy rn!!

i do not claim the energy in this video for myself or anyone else watching this 💖💖

^with peace and love shut the fuck up

“I know y’all lowkey hoes-” Upon your words the chat splits into two: one side eagerly agrees (even shares a few OF accounts! How helpful, supporting small businesses!), whilst the other feverishly insists on innocence. You make a face stuck somewhere between offended and bewildered, “Now c'mon now-I know you. I know you all. We’re the same, don’t-what was that?”

You try to scroll back to the comment but it’s loss in the sea of incoming messages, “I swear to God I just saw-”

Corpse_Husband: i love late night streams it’s not like i have anything better to do.

“COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORPSE!!!!” 

rip headphone users

i cant feel my face when im with you by the weeknd but instead of face its my fucking ears

yall think full vol on pc is better?my parents woke up 😭😭😭😭

To think he’s spending his last waking moments for today with watching you (he probably still would have anyway, because you do not posses an ounce of shame or self-control and pester him relentlessly)! It makes your heart sing, and suddenly, a traitorous, fun hating idea barges it’s way through the crowd of incoherent buzzing and states: don’t do this. For some reason it also has the voice of Rae. As if that would work in guilt-tripping you- Rae never succeed, and her fictitious rendition in mind won’t fare much better either.

Still, you thought about it. That must count for something. Corpse will understand, won’t he? Why don’t you want to upset it in the first place? Men look so funny when they lose their shit, like hello, don’t you have anything better to do? But the image of Corpse just sitting there, hurt, distraught, leaving you on seen because he’s in his sad boy hours leaves a sour taste in your mouth. 

queen rly went from  🥺😊 to 😕 u ok bbgirl?

Corpse_Husband: no pouts cutie

akjdjoeijdfse cUTIE??? deadass boutta r.i.p.

Well that succeeded in eliminating everything from mind, doubts included. If this was an anime, the scenery would shift into something roseate, with flowers and bubbles and sparkles all around you along with a halo or two. Alas, not an anime, rather reality. The led-lights, however, seemingly possessing a will of their own, slowly turn from deep violet to pink. You smile brightly, like the absolute dumbass you are, and you are met with a ray of heart and blushing emojis. You are just so cute, a real cutie! Still in your disguise adorable state, you swipe your finger on your phone screen, the grin never leaving your lips.

There, among the plethora of apps, nestled sits a red square with a white fire plastered on it. The delicate calligraphy on the bottom reads: TINDER.

The mood changes once again- you’re giving the roaches emotional instability by how quickly everything flips over- and the chat spams eggplants vigorously; some, of course, bravely fight against the thirst.

nooooooo i thought y/n is gonna stream in a god honoring way!!!

^pack it up girl defined

“So, Charlie and I-” You note a few awfully curious comments and squint, “-yes, we talk a lot. Charlie is a really good friend of mine. We’re best friends. Brothers. Sisters. Cousins. The whole fucking family tree-no, that sounds weird. Delete. Anyway, Charlie, being the absolute fucker he is, said, hey, you know what would be funny? And I was like, nooo, what would be funny, Charlie? And he says to me, he says, says, making fun of men on Tinder. And if y’all need any more proof that Charlie and I are platonic soulmates, then dunno, my children, my roaches, I dunno-I dunno what more to give you.”

You can’t be bothered reading the comments, there’s too damn many. You also need to save your reading comprehension for the actual bios. It has a time limit, that darn thing. 

“Okay, so I made a profile earlier, but I hadn’t swiped on anyone yet-” Despite the fact, Tinder helpfully informs you that already 99+ people have swiped right on you, “So, this is me,” You show the pictures you have of yourself, and damn, not to be a conceited narcissist, but you look really good. Like if you saw yourself on Tinder, you’d super like instantly. “Uhm, so, my bio-my bio says: let’s sauce in the tub together, ya dig? splishy splashy, giggle giggle.” 

i cant believe we are witnessing y/n trying to form a coherent sentence live 

shes trying give her time

ya dig??? y not capeesh

what scene from the godfather is this lol?

“My anthem, is,” You laugh, covering your lips with your hand, “Corpsie, this is form you-” Proudly, you show that indeed, Corpse’s E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY FUCKING LIFE is listed as your anthem on Spotify, “Hehe.” Yes, you say that aloud.

Corpse_Husband: you’re killing me Corpse_Husband: thanks baby Corpse_Husband: now delete tinder ❤︎

You ignore his last quip, deciding it’s finally time to get this show on the road, “Right, let’s do this shit. I’m not actually going to swipe on any guys that look, uh, decent? Yuck, can’t believe I just said that, uhm, because I-because I feel like some actually deserve a chance with someone? I don’t wanna get anyone’s hopes up, as I am currently in a long distance relationship with Chrollo. So I’m just gonna swipe on, like, frat boy assholes. Because I don’t care if I hurt their feelings. Quite frankly I don’t think they possess them in the first place.”

The chat voices their agreements. With the ground rules set, you, giddy, click on the first profile.

Does Tinder know what you’re doing, your plan? The FBI agent watching you through your phone must be working overtime, bless his heart. They must, because the the first guy to meet you is named Jason, and there he is, blond hair and blue eyes, holding up a fish the size of his torso. Marginally adequate in looks, pretty good muscles. A solid 7 bordering on 8. He’s the same age as you, 15 miles away, and he studies at some college you don’t care enough to look up. Bio reads:

I like to drive fast. Fishing is my passion, but if you can’t catch me by the ocean, you’ll catch me catching waves, bro! Love a good gym date. You do squats, and I’ll keep a close eye to make sure you’re doing it correctly ;) You probably saw me at a party. Leader of the The Phi Kappa Psi. I’m a Gemini, if that matters lol.

You, of course, read it aloud, dramatically; provide some constructive criticism-he seems nice, but he’s a Gemini, so naturally, you can’t trust him at all! Also, that gym date session leaves little to be desired. With your rant done, you swipe right, and shocker! (not), it’s an instant match.

“Okie, I still wanna swipe of some profiles, so I’ll see what he’ll text later-” For a second you wonder the legalities of this stream, but you’re having too much fun to think of it further, “guys, I won't get sued, right?”

NOW she considers it

well....

if you do, we’ll kickstart your lawyer dw <3

Onto the next profile. Kevin, 25, is seen fixing his car- or, you assume he’s mid-fixing it, you don’t really know why else he’d hold a wrench and be covered in oil. He’s shirtless, and the caveman part of your brain echoes something closely resembling AWOOOGA!, but...but!...blonde hair, blue eyes. You pout again, “I don’t...I don’t really like blond boys, ya know? With the blue eyes and all, it’s just not my thing, uhm, unless it’s like-like...Armin from Attack on Titan. Else I don’t care.”

Onto the bio:

You have to treat a car like you treat a woman: go on long rides, take the lead, but most importantly, keep her oiled up 😜 

“What the fuck did I just read?”

The chat is equally confused. You swipe right anyway- another match. Too easy.

The stream continues without incident for a solid thirty minutes- all of your matches, expect a few that genuinely looked like normal dudes that really couldn’t write a decent bio to save their lives, had been blond hair blue eyed gym rats with ranging forms of misogyny. Some opened with asking for nudes out right, some asked about your day first before asking for nudes. You prefer the former. Straight to the point! You admire the gall. 

But then, down the forty-five minute mark a profile popped up that made you still by your phone, your smile dying as your eyes bulged. Dear God. Lord in heaven. Who is this demonspiit lookalike and why is he so fucking hot? The neck tats, the skateboard, the clothes- holy shit, you gotta close your mouth before some drool dribbles out.

No bio, just his name, Tyler, and that he’s 23.

“He boutta be 23 in me.” You mutter, swiping right with lightning speed.

WHAT DID SHE SAYYYYY?????????

tyler is y/ns karma for relentlessly mocking that one guy that had a whole ass list on what his “female” partner should be

^he deserved it and also tyler seems like a typical fuckboi y/n grow a braincell

look at mom 🥺 her eyes are sparkling

It wasn’t a match right away. You somehow expected as much, but it still upset you. Simp behavior, pathetic. The stream continued bravely, and when Tyler messaged you a simple “yo” you totally didn’t sequel. You didn’t manage to text him back on stream: texting all those guys that you didn’t really find all that attractive was easy, but this...You’re a sucker for a man who radiates red flag energy. His whole profile is a red flag. He might just be a red flag himself.

What can you do? Suddenly becoming color blind is not easy. Once the stream ends, you unmatch with everyone expect Tyler. He you chat with for a bit, but a sudden craving for different company makes you abandon him, too. You don’t feel too heartbroken for him- you’re certain there’s already too many girls in his dms. You wish them luck.

Happily, you delete Tinder. You go to Twitter, notice you’re trending again- look at you go! Queen shit- and as you compose a thank you tweet, something strange happens. You go to text Corpse, but when you click on his profile you grow cold.

YOU’RE BLOCKED. You can’t follow or see @/Corpse_Husband ‘s Tweets. 

...Pardon? You hop onto Instragram and-also blocked. Seriously? And you thought you’re one petty bitch. Corpse is seriously prissy about everything. Damn, if he didn’t like your stream, he could’ve just said so. Didn’t need to, like, block you from his internet existence. So not cool.

You try texting him but no text go through. Well how will you let him know you deleted Tinder just like he asked? You relieve your frustrations by punching your pillow a few times. Later, you apologize to her, you didn’t mean to hurt her, it’s not her, it’s you. Fuck, 5 minutes of exile and you’re already loosing your mind.

“Raeeeeeeeeeeee!” You whine loudly. It’s roughly 2am now, but you don’t care. You’re too heartbroken to care. There’s a thump from her room, but nothing else, “Raeeeeeeeee!!!” You wail, wallowing in self-pity on your bed. You hear a very loud, very annoyed sigh from her room, followed by angry marching. Your door is abruptly thrown open, and in the dim, colorful light you see her scowl.

“What?” She grits.

“Can you please tell Corpse to unblock me from everything?”

“What did you do now?”

“I made fun of men on Tinder.”

She pauses, “...That doesn’t sound so bad.” She surmises, voice laced with suspicion, “What else?”

“...There was one really hot guy that I kinda sorta talked to after--”

“Y/n.”

“-But I totally deleted Tinder and honestly he was pretty boring, so, like, uhm, please?”

She sighs, the servery of which implies she is holding the weight of the world on her shoulders, and instantly you know that you won. She taps away at her phone, “You owe me one.” She states, and before you can reply, she exits your room and slams the door behind her.

Grinning, you text his phone again. The message goes through, oh gosh, you’re so relieved you feel like crying. This has been, officially, the worst five minutes of your life.

You Y DID U BLOCK ME LOSER!!! MAJOR LOSER ALERT!! I DELETED EVERYTHING IT WAS A JOKE r u still mad at me? y u always mad at me i never do anything:(

my husband You’re my baby, how do you think I’ll react when I see you publicly simping for some asshole on Tinder?

Oh no, he used the words, he delivered the killing blow. You’re finished. Your heart can’t take such a workout. 

Not that you would ever admit it to him, though!

You hehe ur jellyyyy u always dis jealous hehe?

my husband Not jealous.

Yeah, you might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but even you know that’s a lie. You send him an array of kissy emojis that he doesn’t have the decency to reply to. Then, completely unprompted and dead serious, you send him a simple voice memo, saying: “You really have nothing to worry about, you know? You’re my favorite, Corpsie.”

He responds via text, reiterating that he’s not fucking jealous and that he just doesn’t like when you show such outward interest in anyone but it’s not like he cares or anything. It’s just really, like, weeeeird to see his baby simping for another man like that totally ruins the whole dynamic!!! It was only natural that he should block you on every social media platform, including his personal number (which, like, was completely necessary! Doesn’t matter that his viewers can’t see it, it’s gotta be super believable!), and inform his followers of that, because it’s all a joke, like, for the dynamic, that Youtube grind, you know? Ya dig? No personal feelings were involved at all. He totally wasn’t upset that you found someone else cute, no way!

my husband I’m not jealous. Lol.

You ik u repeated tht like 50 times  u trynna convince me or??? lmao

my husband No comment. ...You don’t actually talk to anyone else like we’re talking, right?

You no one else calls me their baby if thts wat ur wondering at least not to my knowledge lol im all urs

my husband That makes me very happy to hear:)

Yeah, it makes you very happy, too.

hope you liked it!! xx

#corpse husband #corpse husband x reader #corpse #corpse x reader #corpse husband x y/n #corpse x y/n #myso #make you say oh #imagine #imagines

[xlady-saya]

i’ve had a love of my own [ch 1]

Relationships: andrew/neil

Summary: Despite everything Neil could’ve imagined for his life, he never thought he’d be here, finally giving the world the interview they’ve always wanted.

It’s been decades, but even with his numerous accolades and sports wins, he finds that they’re the least important thing about his life.

Neil can’t help but laugh. Andrew would be so annoyed if he were here.

Of course, Neil only wants to talk about him, and the life they spent together.

Tags: interviews, post canon, major character death but not how u think I swear lol, neil is an old man retelling his memories about andrew, cheesy romance, post retirement, see more tags on ao3

Read on ao3!

Neil pricks himself on the old Palmetto pin as he fixes it to his collar, jabbing the same spot on his thumb he hit just a week before.

He hardly winces at the feeling these days, and for a long time, Matt joked about how he really couldn't go a day without attracting some form of violence. Neil smiles at the thought, because it's far from the truth. He stands by the claim he never asked for fights, simply had no problem finishing them.

"You mean letting me finish them," Andrew would quip, and they'd go back and forth all over again in a never-ending argument. It's so never-ending, Neil goes through the motions of it even now, however many decades later.

This pin tends to start it, since it's the only remotely dangerous thing he owns now. The orange is still bright and obnoxious, with criss crossing Exy racquets in a bright white. He's memorized the raised edges, tilted from old age. The once silver backing has rust spots, but no one ever sees that part. It has its reputation intact, and Neil smiles sardonically.

It's not the only thing that's been worn down, but he likes to think he doesn't look as bad as he could too. Laughing at his own joke, he taps the pin lightly. It's apparently vintage now, according to Allison, since the new Palmetto merch has drifted into neon territory.

Neil is glad he kept his own. It's especially important today, he thinks, that he shows as much fondness for the past as possible. Though, it's not for his sake. His room is nothing but littered with the tokens of the past.

Sighing, he stares fondly out across the living room, the walls haphazardly decorated with old, signed jerseys his friends used to wear. He has one from each of their old teams, but picked his favorites to go up on the wall. The rest sit in storage, ready to be auctioned off whenever he decides living is too much of a chore. Above the mantle, Andrew's racquet from his last team hangs in a shadow box. Then below it, framed pictures which Neil tries to rotate as best he can, some of them shitty ones converted from his phone camera. Mostly, they're of his Foxes at various points in their lives. The only two photos which stay the same are the one he took with Andrew and Kevin at the Olympics, and the snapshot of him and Andrew at the airport in his first year at Palmetto.

If he had to catalog the room, that would barely scratch the surface. He's pages away from mentioning Nicky's terribly made mugs, Betsy's first editions, and cookie tins filled with postcards Katelyn and Aaron sent twenty years ago.

Most of the time, the untidy collection of junk surrounding him is a comfort. It makes the small apartment feel like home, or as close as he can get when he's by himself. He swears some of the items still carry the unique scents of grass stains and floor polish, or Allison's perfume and the glitter glue from Dan and Matt's kids.

When that fails him, the candle he has in every room does the trick to fill in the blanks. Andrew used the same scent for over half their life together: breakfast pancakes. It's sickly sweet and stains the furniture, and Neil loves nothing more than to bury his face in the cushions after a day of having them lit.

These are the things that ground him, that keep him in place, but today he feels fidgety for the first time in years. He shouldn't be, he thinks, laughing to himself. He planned this after all, it's just...

Well, he's never been the best at talking to people.

There's a knock at his door, and the cuckoo clock on the wall (shockingly, that one is his fault) tells him it's right on schedule. Neil sighs, slipping his feet into the white slippers beneath him. "Come in, Sydney."

The nurse on his floor opens the door to his apartment with a smile, too fresh faced and early for this time of day. She’s young, and she's always been a bit cheery for his taste, but she reminds him of Katelyn and he allows it. In the last few years, when Andrew's migraines prevented him from reading, she'd bring him audiobook gift cards.

She smiles bright, and he gives her that look for her to cut it out. At this point, she's less put off by it and more amused. He only tells her to save the smiles because if she doesn't she'll have wrinkles like him years from now. He hates how much he sounds like Allison.

Neil hardly looks in the mirror anymore, but this morning he put in some effort. He looks as perpetually tired as he always looked back in the day, except now his eye bags are accompanied by wrinkles that form their own topographical map on his face.

At least he didn't lose all his hair.

The only thing is his blue eyes are as piercing as ever, so coupled with the grandpa look, he's quite intimidating. Not that he needs to be, but it's nice to feel a little capable when he can barely walk by himself anymore.

"Morning, Mr. Josten," Sydney greets, untucking the wheelchair from behind the door and pushing it over to him. He makes sure to grab Andrew's favorite crochet blanket. He hates messing with it, but he thinks the smell of nicotine it carries will help him today. Refresh his memory.

Neil grumbles, but lets her help him into the chair. He has on his good lounge pants, without holes, and his old Palmetto sweater. "I told you years ago I hate being called that."

"Because it makes you feel old," she jabs, teasing lightly. Even still, she's gentle when she places the blanket over his lap and hands him his glasses. "I have to keep you in line somehow."

"Ha-ha."

As she wheels him out of his room, he starts fidgeting again. He's used to exploring the luxury nursing home on his own time, not because he has somewhere to be. He hasn't had somewhere to be since...well, he hates thinking about that, lest he run into a memory that hurts more than helps.

Today isn't the day for that.

Some other, more able-bodied residents pass by him on foot, waving amicably and knowing better than to expect a wave back. Shockingly, he's well liked here, probably because he doesn't have rowdy grandkids who break the peace. Plus, he's pretty sure some of them are old fans.

Sydney leans down as they pass through the common area and into one of the meeting rooms, the spotless linoleum floor throwing him off as usual. He never would've picked a place so expensive and fancy for himself, but Andrew was always someone with classy tastes. "Ready for today?"

At the reminder, Neil wrings his fingers together. Not advised by his doctor, but fuck that guy. "As ready as I'll ever be," he says, glaring at the glass doors ahead. Sydney laughs, placing him at the end of a large table. The meeting room creeps him out, since it's mostly used for family meetings or will planning appointments. Sound proof, silent.

"Oh hush, you're a famous athlete, I'm sure you've faced worse," she chides, pouring him a glass of water without any ice. Because he's a fiend. Neil rolls his eyes; she has no idea. He's threatened countless reporters before for stepping even a toe out of line, but some recent college grads from an indie publication are making him sweat more than an Exy game. Sydney makes a show of whispering behind her hand. "Besides, I heard from Gabe at the front desk they look terrified, so go easy on them, yes? Can't have another cafeteria incident."

Ugh, not that again.

"You have no witnesses," he waves off, leaning back in his seat while Sydney sets the break in place. Only then is he hit with a wave of calm, fondness even. His quivering hands curl as best they can in the blanket, the ghost of a grip, and he smiles out across the room. Ah, he can't be doing this already, but it's hard to help. He itches for the smell of a cigarette, a press on the back of his neck. Closing his eyes, he tries his best to feel it. "Besides, once they know why they're really here they won't be nearly so stressed. Hell, they might even be disappointed."

He tries not to grimace at that, but for the time he's giving them and the paperwork he made them sign, they're going to sit and listen to his old man ravings all day or so help him--

He feels a hand brush against his, and when he looks Sydney is there. She squeezes his fingers in hers, smile fond and weighed down with a sadness so foreign, he nearly regrets telling her to cut it out. But no, he understands. He's the one who understands the most. She grazes the fabric of the blanket as she pulls away, breathing in the same smoke he can for just a moment. "No, I don't think that's possible."

She doesn't give Neil time to doubt himself, not that he could. He can never doubt anything when it comes to Andrew, no matter how much the blond secretly doubted about himself. Neil always teased him for that, and his living oxymoron ways.

Neil's biggest goal of the day is to piss off Andrew's ghost as much as humanly possible, and his grin is nearly splitting at the thought. Fine, mission active.

"Good luck!" Sydney calls as she leaves the meeting room, and he watches her gesture to his guests once they arrive through the glass doors.

Oh shit, they really do look terrified.

The two interviewers see him through the door and Neil can only assume they shit a brick. They're young, can't be more than a few years out of university, dressed way too professionally for someone as uncaring as Neil. They could've shown up in clown costumes for all he cared, at least he would've gotten a good laugh.

The young man fumbles with the door and his companion rushes forward a little too fast before correcting herself. Jeez.

Neil does his best to hide his laugh, not that he's ever been polite. It's more...

Their terror is Neil's fault. He started declining interviews soon after he retired, letting his name and lifestyle fade into mystery and speculation with the public. Kevin had not been happy about it, since to this day he and Thea are in the public eye, commentating on Exy games, doing talk shows, helping curate museums, blah, blah, blah...

Neil didn't have time for that.

He never thought he'd be okay with slipping back into unknown status after so many years of being seen, being cheered for, but when the time came it was an easy choice. Andrew made it so. Neil had his time to be free, to do whatever he wanted and play the sport he loved. But ultimately, when he no longer could, fucking off to do whatever he wanted with Andrew sounded way better than dealing with reporters and overzealous fans.

Just because he became an unknown though, doesn't mean he faded into obscurity. According to Allison, his life has been quite a hot button issue in the community for over a decade. People want to know where he's been, what he did during those years, how he looks back on the past, everything. It's been obnoxious.

Popular sports magazines and large publications have practically been clawing for a piece of him for years, and he's never given in no matter how many fruit bouquets they sent or how many checks they tried to write him. Though, one almost got him purely because they kept sending gourmet chocolates, and if Andrew was a glutton before, old age only made it worse.

So, Neil Josten is back to being a subject of interest for some reason, someone people want to know everything about. For him to randomly call up a dying indie magazine and offer them full rights to an interview under his specific terms surely threw the sports world into a fucking whirl.

Whatever.

He's going to share what he wants to share. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Mr. Jo--" The first reporter clears his throat, passing his notepad and phone over to his other hand before outstretching one to Neil. "Mr. Josten. It's such an honor to meet you, um, wow. I'm Blake, and this is Rayah. We're so grateful for being granted the opportunity to interview you. You're a legend!"

Neil stares at the outstretched hand like he doesn't know what to do with it, and as much as he does know what's expected of him, part of his hesitation is equal parts his disinterest and the fact he doesn't talk to anyone but his remaining family these days. Well, and Sydney.

Blake swallows and drops his hand, surely admonishing himself for his own stupidity.

Rayah saves him. "Um, we really are appreciative, sir," she says, laying out some notepads and setting up her recorder. Old school, Neil appreciates it. It's better than cameras and microphones. "We're still in shock honestly. We were theorizing on why you picked us the entire drive up here!"

"Neil is fine, and don't bother with small talk I know it's not why you're here," he says then, smiling at her words. They both flinch, taken aback. He's not sure why they'd be expecting a Kevin Day type. He has a record for being too blunt and argumentative for his own good. He's right though; they're here for answers, not discussions on how he's doing or what he does for fun in his not so humble nursing home. In much the same vein, he promised honesty, so he'll give it from the start. "I picked you precisely because you're unknown and failing."

They freeze, but they're clearly not Foxes. If they were, they'd immediately get indignant and glare, hold themselves back from punching a helpless old man. Oh, those were the good ol' days.

When Rayah fumbles for a response, a logic, Neil simply shrugs. "I like the underdogs."

He doesn't intend it to be, but it's a tension breaker. The stiffness in the reporters' shoulders deflate with a laugh, and they finally get back to organizing themselves without looking like they want to run for the hills and beg ESPN to take over.

"As your history suggests," Blake jokes, and Neil rewards him with a grin, tapping his Foxes pin.

He doesn't mention the fact Andrew would've never spoken to him had he gone to some trashy magazine, and that Andrew was always a bit of a rebel himself, though he hated to admit to any kind of urge that didn't involve Neil, sweets, or fancy cars.

Neil takes the free moment to wrap his blanket around his shoulders, letting the ingrained smell of ash permeate around him. Much better, he can think so much clearer like this.

As they finish setting up and take their seats across from him, Blake taps his pencil against the rim of his notepad. It looks like he almost wants to launch back into small talk, but thinks better of it when he remembers Neil's words. Considerate, a good listener. Just what Neil needs today.

Blake clears his throat, cutting through the bullshit. "Now, we know you have specific terms for how you want to lead this interview, which we're completely fine with. Wherever you want to start, we'll follow."

And with that, they sit back, unsure but ready to catch whatever morsel of information might fall from Neil's lips. Again, he finds himself fighting a smirk.

Of course, he led these people astray a bit, but he doesn't see the problem with having a little fun before revealing his true intentions.

He nods, pushing down the giddy feeling that always comes with talking about Andrew. Not yet, but soon.

"Hm, I assume you prepared some questions just in case," Neil asks, taking a sip of his water.

Rayah blinks, exchanging a look with Blake. She rifles through her notepad to a page in the middle, scribbled and stained with ink. There are so many questions on it, some of them curve over the others in a painful word twister. "Uh yes but, we didn't think you'd want to answer them," she guesses.

She's correct.

Neil loathes interview questions, because they're predictable. But in this case, he'll let the first one lead him down the road.

Neil relents, leaning back in his wheelchair. "Well you're mostly right, but why don't you ask me your first one?" He offers, and they look positively ecstatic. "That'll get me started."

And once he starts, he doubts he'll be able to stop.

"Sure." Blake clears his throat, making sure his recorder is functioning properly. When he's satisfied, he leans back, mirroring Neil's posture, though the rigidity is still there. If he doesn't lighten up, he's going to have back pains for days. "Now, there have been a lot of milestones in your career as a pro athlete. No one would dream of disputing your skill in the sport, or how you earned any of your countless awards--"

"Flattery," Neil warns, raising a single finger. That's not what he's here for either. In fact, as much as this is his interview, it's not about him at all.

"Right," Blake says with a huff of a laugh. "But surely one of your brightest moments was your historic win at the Olympics. It was talked about for months within the community. Of course, any true Exy fan knows the details of the game, it was only covered by every major publication. So, I guess our question is, what do you most remember about that moment? Was it as monumental for you as it was for Exy fans?"

Ah, a predictable question, but also not a bad place to begin. Neil doesn't fight the edge of the smirk that appears, though he does raise his thumb to swipe at it. It's been a while since he's felt so mischievous, it's so difficult to be, well, difficult when you're being wheeled around all day.

It was a monumental moment for him, though maybe not for the reasons everyone else would think.

"You certainly did your research," he comments, humming as he sits back in thought. He already knows his answer, but he's weak, and the feelings the memory evokes barely need to push him to send him careening off balance. Swept up. "Not sure what I was expecting from people so young, but my apologies for making assumptions."

He's glad they didn't ask the question in the stereotypical format, fishing for ways to brag and make it all about him. When he thinks of that time, as proud as he was, it's not his own praise that comes to mind.

With that in mind, Neil sighs.

"I don't think it was an exaggeration to say that was one of the best days of my life," he admits, and it's the truth. He's not here to lie. Come to think of it, he hasn't lied once since Andrew ran on ahead of him. Smiling, Neil lets the words flow.

"It was important to me, but not all because of the Olympics themselves..."

--

Neil rarely has time to pay attention in Exy games, as horrible and inefficient as that sounds.

His feet move on their own accord like a well-oiled machine, cogs and steam rushing through him to propel him across the court at record speeds. And they are record speeds.

That's why he's here isn't it? To run, to score.

It had been overwhelming when he first arrived, the sheer size of the Exy court at the Olympics. It's surrounded by flags from all over the world, bright neon signs and sponsorships. The lights at the entrance had been so vibrant, he made the mistake of looking up at them.

Blinding.

All aspects about it are, because as much as Neil knows this is his life, it can't possibly be reality.

The crowd makes the one at the Ravens' stadium seem minuscule, out of its league with seats and aisles that almost climb up to the heavens. The crowd roars and Neil feels every cheer and stomp echo against his bones.

He never thought he'd be here, but despite the gravity of it, he no longer has the time nor want to dwell on it. All that matters is his team, and getting them the gold.

Being with Andrew afterwards...getting to see Wymack smile proudly at Kevin.

Letting Kevin be proud of himself.

And Neil is an Olympic-qualified player, so with all that in mind, he delivers the second best game of his life. Even in the final seconds of the second half, even when he's been body checked so many times the nuts and bolts he imagines inside him must surely be worn and off-kilter, he doesn't stop moving. Everything is instinct, from the force of his steps to the last minute shifts he needs to intercept the ball.

It's not Kevin's perfect strategy, it's not a map or an out of body experience where he can see where every player on the court is.

He has no idea what's going on outside of what's in front of him, no awareness of anything but the immediate threats and a certain beacon, standing in the goal.

And that's the hardest part of it all, not being able to look over at Andrew for even a moment after he scores, because the game is fast and ruthless, and he has twice the energy of anyone on this court.

It's a stupid way to play, if he's really supposed to be Kevin's double. But they all long since established he is far from it. He has his own passion, his own drive, and Kevin trusts Neil with his life on the court.

Probably through anything.

So when he sees the perfect opportunity for a final interception, a chance to get them the last winning goal of the game, he's surprised that it's the one moment where it all comes to a stop. He's never had the experience before; normally his body snaps into action. He's not used to comprehending things until they're said and done.

He thinks his body is still following through though, turning in just the right way, making sure he's lined up.

But Neil is aware of so much more, his eyes train like a predator's on the goal, and he understands. He has a choice.

Choices are a weird luxury now, but he's gotten so used to having the freedom of them, he's forgotten the sheer magnitude they can carry.

His eyes snap to the goal, and then to Kevin. Kevin, who is so much closer, and already looking right at Neil.

And Neil never describes himself as fond towards most people, but he can say it proudly in that moment. This is the Kevin Day he likes to see.

Green eyes stare back, blown wide with a fire that can't be matched by anyone, probably not even his own mother, maybe not even Neil. A true, unadulterated love for this violent, freeing sport. Kevin catches Neil's eyes through his face guard, forehead drenched in sweat but his entire being rings with energy, ready and unwilling to quit until the buzzer sounds.

A Fox, at heart. Neil knows Andrew can see from where he's standing in goal, and Neil knows he's just as satisfied, deep down. It might give him some peace of mind too, to know Kevin kept his spine.

Neil puts all of those emotions into his last movement of the game.

He inclines his head just so, and that's it.

Kevin moves.

As Neil's racquet intercepts the ball from the other team's striker, he can't help but be a bit smug as he takes a powerful step forward. He can hear the painful slide of his shoes against the court floor, the heat of being too close, too exposed.

His legs will surely be shot after this, but no matter.

Kevin Day was always meant to be the greatest player in the history of Exy, the reigning queen, despite the arrogance they'll surely have to hear non-stop about. Fine. It's only fair that Neil help him achieve that goal here, at the biggest stadium in the world.

(By no means the best one, but still).

The clock gets down to five seconds, the beats resounding off the walls of his skull. Neil swings his racquet with such force the strings whistle, and the ball moves in a straight line directly into Kevin's. The other striker has zero time to react, the force of Neil's brutal cut off sending him stumbling. The ball hits Kevin's strings hard, Kevin's grip tightening around his racquet to keep it close to him.

Kevin doesn't hesitate longer than that.

He shoots at the goal in one fluid arch, and scores.

As confident as Neil is in Kevin's aim and skill, he'll admit his stomach swoops. It's a feeling that never truly goes away, much like the instincts that keep him moving. He wouldn't trade it for anything, that millisecond exhilaration before it comes together.

Because well, at one point nothing ever fell into place for him.

In the flash where the ball hits the net, Neil feels the ghost of a key in his palm, reminding him when that changed. The buzzer of the countdown blares, and all that anticipation meets a well-deserved end.

The stadium erupts until not even the buzzer can be heard. There's a swish of plexiglass doors, the sounds of their coach yelling in triumph, but Neil's body is too spent to react.

Neil's heart constricts in his chest as he tries to get air in, but it's impossible. Satisfied doesn't even begin to cover it, though he's sure he looks just as breathless as Kevin does, staring at the goal as it lights up. The world moves around him, respecting his moment of privacy when they should be hoisting him up and not allowing him a minute of disbelief. Neil's glad they don't; Kevin deserves to look surprised once in a while.

His teammates pile on each other, clapping him as they pass. A lot of them are still in shock, a few fall to their knees right away, but Neil feels nothing but fulfilled.

He made the right call.

His body sags, stinging, and he feels Andrew's gaze pinning him upright from across the court. It's the only thing that gets him walking, but he wills himself not to look in his boyfriend's direction.

If he does well...nothing else will matter, and there's one thing he has to do.

In a haze, he goes over to Kevin, who turns, sensing him. Neil shakes his head at Kevin's arrogance to this day, because even though Kevin is the one who made this possible for him, who came to him first...

Well, he still lets Neil do all the work. Neil laughs and hugs Kevin fiercely, barely keeping himself upright, and they trade the trembling in their bodies. Kevin drops his racquet, their height difference making them look all the more pathetic. He can hear Andrew's voice already, telling them they're too emotional about a damn sport.

Somehow, that makes Neil even happier, and he leans back as Kevin pries his helmet off, eyes wild and smiling.

Yes, the right choice. Absolutely.

"We did it," Kevin says, but not in disbelief. He had to have known they'd always make it here. "We did it."

Neil squeezes his friend's shoulder and grins, uncaring of what camera catches it. He's too damn happy to care. "Guess we did."

The crowd cheers so loud Neil can't hear more than a faint buzz in his ears, and the sticky scent of gatorade and sweat is an unfortunate addition. The cameras flash and shine obnoxiously through the double plexiglass to bathe them in light and attention.

Yet, with his legs feeling like jelly and his muscles stretched to the limits, there's only one thing he really wants. What he always wants.

Warmth, safety, something to lean on and keep him sheltered from the world before facing it alongside him. Neil hates that before, the only thing he yearned for was to play Exy. He thought that was bad.

This is so much worse.

Biting his lip, Neil turns to where Andrew is standing in the goal, already looking at him from across the court. And Andrew, with all his control, keeps himself planted there. Neil's breathing hiccups loudly, and Kevin's probably the only one who hears it over the cacophony.

Neil doesn't think he can cry anymore, but his eyes tighten up, he has to blink the pain away.

Neil wonders if Andrew's gripping his racquet hard enough to damage it, if he's digging his heels into the ground like Neil is.

Neil swallows down the lump in his throat. Suddenly, he hates the cameras more than usual; he's torn between wanting them to vanish completely, or wishing they paid as much attention to Andrew, because god, he's earned it.

Neil digs his heels in harder.

I want to be with you.

It's such a simple string of thought; it has crossed his mind so many times before, but never has the urge hurt so much. It has nothing to do with all he's worked for, with the fame and recognition this win will bring him. It's just Andrew.

He hasn't had a knife to his skin in years, but this reminds him of the piercing of flesh, lighting his nerves on end and sending him towards the source of his relief, his contentment.

Andrew played so well, so well, not just here. He worked his way through the pros until he got to Neil, worked his ass off for his reputation. He qualified with the rest of them to be here.

And tonight, he blocked almost every shot at his goal.

Neil closes his eyes, willing himself to calm down but he can't. This is one of the best moments of his life. If he can't share it with Andrew to the fullest, what was the point of everything in his past?

They're not out. That's the problem, he knows, as much as he doesn't give a single fuck. No one outside their family and management knows anything about them, apart from some tabloid rumors about their intense dislike of one another. If that doesn't prove how clueless the media is, Neil doesn't know what does.

And as much as they value privacy, as much as their peaceful bubble is enough, it's moments like these where Neil wants to take and show no matter the consequences.

He looks to Kevin, unsure. It's always been him, the one who warned them about the backlash they'd face despite his acceptance of their relationship years ago.

Neil expects the same thing here: the subtle shake of Kevin's head, the concern in his eyes for their careers and future. It used to piss Neil off to no end, but Kevin communicates all emotion through Exy, even concern. Neil's learned to read between those infuriating lines. The importance of career translates to 'without your career, there is no you.' Sometimes he forgets he's not entirely free.

And if he weren't around, then Andrew...

'You can't leave him.'

And so, knowing Kevin's language, Neil stayed in line, and he expects that same advice today. To his surprise though, it never comes. Kevin is looking at him, tired smile firmly in place as he nudges a shoulder in Andrew's direction. Neil's mouth falls open, and yes, he's convinced now. It's a dream, it's all one big dream. Except--

Kevin shakes his head. It's not resigned, or worried. He's just happy for them both. He pushes Neil away, straightening his back in preparation for his fans. Royal snob. "Go on already. You guys are gross."

And despite the laugh that falls from his mouth, Neil's breathing stutters, and he hadn't realized how wound up he truly was until it happens. His lungs fill with air and he throws his racquet to the ground. His self-control is poor, they all know that. Encouragement is all he needs to break him and send him where he belongs.

He takes off in a full sprint towards Andrew as the rest of his teammates crowd Kevin, looking after Neil in confusion.

Huh, so his muscles still work after all. The tendons are on fire, but it's the least of his concerns. He runs like his life depends on it again, faster than he ran during that whole game.

And to Neil's absolute delight, Andrew's body language screams 'finally.'

The blond takes a step forward, throwing his racquet to the side like it's worthless. Oh. Andrew's bracing to catch him, and Neil laughs at the realization as he throws off his helmet. One day he'll actually make Andrew fall over, but for now he enjoys the strength.

He jumps into Andrew's arms effortlessly, feels calloused hands wrap around his waist as Neil reaches for the clips of Andrew's helmet. Despite knowing the barrier is there as he fumbles with it, he leans forward, lips grazing the metal guard. Andrew huffs, and Neil claws until the helmet clatters to the floor. He throws it a bit far, and it hits the goal post with a clang, but he doesn't care in the moment. If all eyes are on them now, he can't feel them. They're in a vacuum, a side effect of being so taken with Andrew at times. Unaware, vulnerable. The rush of sound from before goes dead around them. His fingertips can feel overheated skin, can trace the barely-there freckles on Andrew's face.

Andrew isn't in the mood to let Neil admire today.

Neil barely gets to see the color in Andrew's eyes before the goalie's hand grips in between Neil's shoulder blades, pulling him down.

It reminds him of their first kiss; Neil catches Andrew's lips and, as if not believing they're real, that something could feel so wonderful, he pulls back. His eyes widen, the first hit of a drug. He breaks the kiss only to dive right back in, uncoordinated but so sure of himself. And he doesn't get how, but Andrew smells the same as back then. Less like cigarettes, but the same smell of leather and earthiness. Neil doesn't read nearly as much as Andrew does to have the capability of describing it, but it's refreshing, like soil after the rain. Through the sweat and exhaustion, Neil would know him anywhere.

Andrew opens his mouth for him first, breath hot but movements predictable. Neil will tease him later for that. You're getting old. Because the dance is so familiar, the way Andrew pushes Neil's tongue back first. 'Come and get me.'

Neil obliges every single time, because he can't back down from a challenge, and maybe he's getting old too.

Neil knows the kiss can't last forever, especially not here, but he allows himself to pretend it's not the case. Andrew hums into him, and Neil's hands feel all the vibrations from where his hand slips down to Andrew's throat. It's bared completely for him, and Neil gives a little squeeze.

He sighs into Andrew's mouth when his boyfriend's eyes open to glare at him, pulling back before kissing Neil again, and then one more time, and maybe just once...

One more, Neil thinks, brushing his lips against Andrew's so lightly they stick for a moment, and he licks his own slowly when he pulls back for the final time. His heart beats in his ribcage, or maybe that's the pounding of the reporters' feet as they rush through the stadium, he's not sure.

Again, it's always best for him to not look at Andrew if he's supposed to be doing something else, because in that moment, the blond has all Neil's attention.

They're already pressed chest to chest, but Andrew squeezes tighter, almost painful, keeping Neil there through the flashing of cameras and shocked cheers.

And while Andrew's expression gives nothing away for the public, it speaks volumes to Neil.

--

Neil didn't know what old meant back then, now that his legs give out after a good walk or his spine aches under the weight of nothing.

But they were predictable, that much was true.

Neil isn't looking at the reporters anymore, too focused on trying to weave the fraying threads of the blanket back into place. From their silence, he can guess they're as shocked as he expected them to be.

Unaffected, Neil reaches over for his water, taking a sip as he confronts their slack jaws and wide eyes.

Now, that might have been a bit unfair of him as well, to jump into such a blatant romantic recollection about Andrew. Again, Neil never took interviews, rarely took questions, but the subject of his relationship with Andrew was especially off limits for decades. What they had was theirs, and only theirs, even after outing themselves that day.

People naturally tried to pry, tried to dig up their past in hopes of justifying what they saw as a nonsensical relationship or gossip fuel.

Neil made them fear for their lives after that.

He eviscerated publications, reporters, top sports officials, talk shows hosts, pretty much whoever he needed to. Anything to keep Andrew's name out of their mouths. A lot of them sealed their place in the land of irrelevancy, media outlets were slammed by a combination of their fans, and Kevin's too, once he stood up in support.

Andrew always hated it, Neil's desperate need to protect him from words that no longer phased him, but Neil didn't care. It was one of the only things they fought about in their adult years.

It worked though; soon, all the major outlets aside from the tabloids stopped talking about it, knowing mentioning it in any way that wasn't positive or neutral would land them in a ton of hot water.

Even those online sources who refused to let up eventually fizzed out from lack of material; they tried their best to be nosy, but pretty much got nothing but some rare paparazzi photos a few times a year of them kissing in the park or on a date.

In short, it's a bit of an unspoken rule that you don't talk to Neil Josten about Andrew Minyard unless you have nothing but good things to say, and a lot of people are too chicken shit to take the risk and potentially insult him. That's the only disappointing thing, none of them have a shred of courage. Neil really would talk all day about Andrew if people just approached it correctly.

Not that Andrew would've allowed it when he was alive.

Take that.

Despite all the fear Neil instilled in the media, it never stopped the other famous Foxes from talking about how gooey and devoted he and Andrew were, but Neil let that slide.

The things he does for family.

So it makes sense that these reporters seemed to have forgotten Andrew's importance at all, another offense. Not just because he was the best goalie in Exy history, but because Neil was first and foremost, Andrew's.

Blake's mouth opens and closes, pen dangling precariously from his hand. "Are...are we allowed to ask about Andrew?"

Blake even flinches after he asks it, afraid that perhaps it's only okay for Neil to bring up.

If you only knew.

Neil laughs, too relaxed to hold back anymore. The reporters stare, exchanging nervous glances with excitement tingling below the surface.

Yes, he supposes details about his relationship with Andrew are more secretive and sought after than even Neil's opinions. The reporters weren't even going to try.

But now, there's morsels of information dangling in front of them, and Neil need only give them permission. It's their lucky day.

Neil's smile fades into something gentler, wistful. It's the closest he gets now, to how he looked at Andrew. But it's still different, because that expression...

Well, Andrew is gone. What more is there to say?

Neil leans back, wringing his hands softly. "I guess it's only fair that I tell you the real reason I accepted this interview."

The reporters lean forward, holding their breath, but Neil doesn't feel like making them wait. It's all about Andrew now, like he wanted it to be. "I want to talk about Andrew, plain and simple."

Except when it's not.

Their relationship was anything but simple but Neil cherished each memory, and he wants to speak them aloud so no one forgets. He wants everyone to know how important this person was to him, so when he's gone and can't defend them, people can't speculate or taint it with their unasked for opinions.

"I've never had the opportunity to really reminisce about Andrew, not even with my family," Neil admits. He and Aaron and Katelyn would sit around the fireplace at their home sometimes, telling stories, or Kevin would send him old pictures or clips of Andrew playing. But never the intimate details, never the raw, and at times complicated feelings. "It never felt right, even after he was gone. I wanted to keep it close still, so I wouldn't betray Andrew's trust."

Neil takes a deep breath, and it shakes his small frame, a cough escaping his lungs. His voice is rough, but no less sure when he continues. "But I know now what he'd say to that. That I couldn't, even if my dumb Exy brain tried really hard."

But he'd never.

He smiles, wiping his eyes when they aren't even wet. That's another thing he misunderstood back then. Neil thought he couldn't cry, but he's sure today he'll prove his younger self wrong.

Rayah and Blake stay silent through all of Neil's pauses, and the respect means more than he can say. Andrew would approve, he'd be okay with Neil's choice. That's what matters most, he thinks.

"For once I just want everyone to know how I felt, I want to tell you everything as I saw and felt it, so you can tell everyone else," Neil says, and hopes they can read between the lines for the rest. Ultimately, when he's dead he'll be nothing but bones in the dirt, his legacy won't mean much in the long run. But...if nothing else, he wants this to remain, for as long as it can.

He never cared before about it, but he guesses age really can put a new perspective on things. Neil sighs, and taps the table with his finger for lack of anything better to do. When he looks back up, he has their undivided attention, Rayah's brown eyes shining with unshed emotion. None of that, not yet. "Anyways, now that you know I misled you, I hope you're still alright with listening to me ramble for the next few hours."

If not, they can kindly fuck off, but Neil has his suspicions at this point that they'll stick around. As much as Neil prides himself on reading people's intentions well, he's quite horrible at reading people's feelings. But maybe he's improved in that arena too.

A price for everything, he thinks ruefully, reminding himself there's a break in between this session for him to take his pain pills.

Eventually, it's Rayah who stutters a response. "Of course it's alright! We're so honored! And not just in the...bullshit way."

She closes her mouth immediately after at the unprofessionalism of it, but it only makes Neil feel more at ease. He smirks, satisfied. "Noted."

"Mr. Jo--Neil, we really are happy to write about you and Andrew but I have to admit," Blake says, flipping through his notepad with a tight look on his face. "The questions we did prepare as backup don't exactly lend themselves to anything about your life with Andrew."

It's precisely why Neil stated he'd mostly be doing the talking initially, but their first test question actually did end up helping move him along, so...

Neil shrugs, gesturing to the notebook with fierce determination.

These people are about to learn...

He can make anything about Andrew.

When he smiles at the two of them again, they must feel it deep down. They return it tenfold, and then Rayah clicks her pen.

And with the pleasantries out of the way, Neil opens up to everything he's been keeping locked away.

"Try me."

#andreil #all for the game #aftg #andrew minyard #neil josten

[side-effect-of-the-meds]

Okay!!! Desperate for twinyards :D!!! Will Aaron ever found out that erin takes care of him when he is drunk? And will he find out that Aaron cares for him and will there ever be a point where the things he said when he is drunk would be said when be isnt? Gosh im such trash for your fem!andreil

I’m so sorry these asks keep taking so long! They take me thirty years to get to and then they turn out really bad. One day I’ll start creating quality content. Until then, have this. 

In honor of Spoopy Month, it’s Halloween themed!!!!! (I borrowed a big chunk of it from my canon compliant fic Love of my Life but I just really like that part of the story. Sorry :))

“I never thought Crowley and Aziraphale would ever return to Eden,” Ronnie said as the Monsters made their way to the bar. Ania smiled. Erin scowled. “Aw don’t scowl at me like that, Angel.” Ronnie barely dodged the heels Erin chucked at her. With a broad smile, Ronnie turned her attention to Aaron. “I’m sorely disappointed to see that you’re not the Archangel Micheal.” Aaron glared at her but his annoyance didn’t last. 

Aaron could never stay mad at Ronnie for long. For the longest time, Ronnie had been the only ray of sunshine in Aaron’s dreary life. The middle child and only daughter of a rich widower, Ronnie was free to do as she pleased while her father groomed her brothers to inherit his fortune. Having four brothers would be more than enough for most people but Ronnie hadn’t hesitated to adopt Aaron into her little band of miscreants. In the years before Erin’s arrival, it was Ronnie (and at times, her brothers) that had been looking out for Aaron. She was just as much his sister as Erin was. That was what made their relationship so hard for him to wrap his head around. He’d given up trying to make sense of how they could have gone behind his back like that long ago but on nights out at Eden’s he couldn't help but feel a little betrayed. 

“Earth to Mikey,” Ronnie said, waving a hand in front of his face. “Come on, we’re toasting you’re little cheerleader. To Katelyn,” Ronnie cried as she raised her own shot. “For breathing -or maybe blowing- some life into Aaron!” Aaron shrieked at the crude joke as his family laughed, downing their shots. Aaron’s brain short-circuited at the sight of Erin downing her shot to the toast. She just wants to drink, Aaron told himself as he regained control of his thoughts. Curling himself into his shoulders, he stood apart as Ronnie caught up with the others.

“Aaron,” Josten said as she nudged his foot with her boot. “Erin said to grab a table.” Aaron nodded and headed off to search for one. Despite the pounding music, he heard Josten following him. He risked a backward glance only to find her watching him. He growled but Josten’s face remained blank. She’s been spending too much time with Eri, he thought as he went back to shouldering his way through the crowd. Finally, he found a table in the back of the club with just enough chairs for them. Without hesitating, he sank into one only to find it covered in something sticky and white. 

“Oh Hell no,” he screamed as he leaped up. Josten peered over at his seat before doubling over in a fit of laughter. “Fuck off, Josten.” He snatched the paper towels she offered him out of her hands and did his best to clean himself off before kicking over the chair. 

“I see temper tantrums run in the family,” Josten remarked. Aaron looked over at her. She was staring out across the dancefloor, a soft smile on her face. Following her gaze, he spotted Erin flickering in and out of view from where she still stood at the bar. A pang shot through his chest. Ania looked at Erin the same way Erik looked at Nicky- the same way Katelyn looked at him. 

“Damn you, Josten,” he said, more to himself than her. 

“I’m already damned,” she replied anyway. “I’m damned to spend the rest of eternity in love with your sister but if that isn’t damnation at its best, I don’t know what is.”

The world tilted beneath Aaron’s feet. Love. Ania had said she loved his sister. His Erin. His Little Doe. Tears spilled from Aaron’s eyes. “If you hurt her…” he said, his voice breaking before trailing off entirely as he gulped for air. 

“She’ll kill me herself,” Ania answered easily. She reached a hand out and carefully wiped a tear from his face. “Don’t cry. Eri’ll skin me alive if you do.” 

“Does she even care?” he asked. Aaron tried to smile as he asked it but he knew it came out as more of a grimace than a smile. A wave of sadness crashed down over him at the sound of his own words. 

"Of course she cares, you cracked walnut," Josten snapped. As the strobing lights passed over her countenance Aaron could see the fury on her face. "I've only known her a year. You've known her for three? Four? How the hell can you not-" Josten stopped short. "It's because you're always drunk," she said quietly. 

"No. That's Kevin," Aaron said. 

"Whenever we're here. Whenever we go home, you're too drunk to remember." 

"Remember what?" 

Josten worried her lower lip, weighing her words "Don't drink tonight." She clamped a hand over his mouth before he could protest. "Trust me. You'll see."

"Trust a liar?" 

"I wouldn't lie about Erin." It sickened Aaron to know she was telling the truth. For the remainder of the night, to Kevin's delight, Aaron discreetly pawned his drinks off to him. Where Erin excelled at faking the drug-induced mania she’d lived with for the last two years, Aaron excelled at faking a drunken stupor. Or at least, he usually did. Keeping up the act was much harder than Aaron anticipated. He was far too preoccupied keeping an eye on his sister to fully concentrate. A few rounds in, he gave up watching her in favor of retreating to the dance floor. At least there, he wouldn’t be under her constant scrutiny. 

He was wrong. Each time the crowd parted enough for him to have a clear view of the ledge where he’d left them, he found Erin’s eyes trained on him. No matter where he went or what he did, she was watching him. Beads of sweat formed along his forehead. Had she seen through his ruse? Did she know he was faking? 

There was nothing Aaron could do now but pray. He passed the remainder of the night on the floor with Nicky. Around 11:50, Ronnie called out for the final round. Josten was by Aaron’s side in an instant. 

“Throw your legs onto Nicky’s lap in the car. And talk to Kevin about something- anything. Make him laugh.” Aaron broke his facade to shoot a confused look at her. “Just do it,” Josten pleaded. Aaron ground his teeth together as he considered his options. After a moment he gave her a sharp nod and made his way over to the counter with her to collect the final round. 

In the car ride home, Aaron did as he was told. He threw his legs over Nicky’s and leaned heavily against Kevin. Kevin wrapped an arm around Aaron, who tensed immediately. Kevin Day was not known for his compassion nor for his affection. Catching the warning look Josten shot him as she buckled her seatbelt, he forced himself to relax. For once in his life, Kevin wasn’t talking about Exy. Instead, he was giving a lecture on the unabridged history of the LGBT community. Aaron tentatively slid his own commentary into the lesson. To his relief, both Kevin and Nicky laughed. He choked on the soda he was drinking when he saw the upward curl of Erin’s lips in the dashboard mirror. 

Nicky got out of the car first as it rolled to a stop on the drive. He toppled face-first into the grass and laughter burst out of Aaron. He felt something pressing at his back and before he knew it, he toppled out of the car too.

“You drunk bastard,” Erin said. Aaron’s heart stopped as he rolled onto his back. Erin was standing over him, a brilliant grin plastered to her face. “That’s what you get for drinking so much” She bent down and scooped him up in an easy, obviously practiced, motion. Aaron was too shocked to say a word. 

 Aaron was suddenly thirteen again. He was sitting curled up on his mother’s bed with the handset pressed to his ear. A woman's voice drifted through it. She was talking about a girl named Erin. The woman was gushing about how happy she was to have found Erin’s birth mother, and her brother too. Brother, Aaron thought. He felt his heart racing in his ribcage. I’m- I’m a brother! A twin brother! Aaron had been over the moon at the very thought of meeting his sister. 

        The voice of his mother sent him crashing back down to earth. She hissed at the woman to keep her fat mouth shut. She didn't want to know anything about Erin. She wanted nothing to do with her and she certainly did not want Aaron seeing her again either. She slammed the phone down so hard that Aaron jerked the phone away from his face. Silently, returned the phone to its cradle and crawled back to his own room. Drawing his legs in, he tried to hold in his grief. Hot tears streaked down his face as his shoulders shook. Anger coursed through his veins. Clenching his jaw, he unfurled himself and stalked into the kitchen. He grabbed a notebook and pen from the kitchen and ran out of the house. He raced down the block to the park. Seated at one of the picnic tables, his pen flew across the page. He wasn't quite sure what he'd written, only that he had to send it before his mother ever found out. He stopped by the fountain on his way out of the park. He would need money to send the letter. With a grimace, he peeled his shoes and socks off. Wading through the fountain, he collected every penny, nickel, and dime he could find. This isn't stealing, he told himself. They threw their money in here. Even if it is, it doesn't matter. This is for my sister. This is for Erin.

        Every day for the next two weeks, Aaron checked the mail in the hopes of finding a response to his own letter. When it came, Aaron nearly had a heart attack on the spot. He sat down on the steps in front of the house. With shaking fingers, he carefully opened the letter. A brilliant smile plastered itself across his face when he saw the chicken scratch that filled the page. It looked just like his own handwriting. Unfortunately, his smile had been quick to fade. Erin had only written back to tell Aaron that she didn’t want him around. She was more than happy to remain with Cassidy and her new brother, Drake. Aaron grabbed desperately at his chest. It felt as though some hand had forced its way into his ribcage and ripped his heart out.  New brother, Drake. Tears fell onto the page. Ink ran, blurring the words into one another. Aaron ripped up the remnants of the letter up and hurled them in the bin. He collapsed on the kitchen floor, sobbing. Great, he thought. Fucking great. It doesn’t matter. I don’t need her. I don’t need anyone. I hope I never meet Erin or her new brother Drake.

But Aaron had. He had been sat down across from her in a juvenile detention facility, three feet away from her, separated by a four-inch pane of bulletproof glass. Looking at Erin was like looking through a funhouse mirror, it was him but something wasn’t quite right. Sure, Erin’s hair was longer than his, ending harshly at the edges of her jaw and she had a few more moles than he did but that wasn’t it. Maybe it was the seemingly permanent downwards tug of her lips. Maybe it was the bold set of her shoulders that exuded a confidence Aaron could only dream of.  

Maybe it was her eyes. They were the same brown as his but where his were full of pain and fear, hers were empty. Two empty pits stared back at him from across the table. The glass may have been designed to protect him from Erin’s fists but it did nothing to save him from her eyes. So empty. So soulless. Aaron had once heard that there had been a time when people had refused to take photos for fear that they stole the souls of the photographed. At the time, Aaron had scoffed at the people for being so stupid. Now, Aaron understood. Sitting before his sister, he feared that if he stared too long into her eyes, she might steal his to replace the one she lacked. They were so cold. So empty. So loveless. On the plane back from Cali, Aaron closed his eyes only to find his sister engraved on the back of his lids. 

Back in Columbia, Aaron stood before Nicky’s full-length mirror. He’d tugged a skull cap down over his head. His bangs poked out from beneath, matching Erin’s to a T. He blinked and it really was Erin staring back at him in the mirror. Reaching a hand out, he traced a finger down her cheek. Her cold eyes stared back at him and realized why he couldn’t look directly at them. They were their mother’s eyes. When Tilda Minyard wasn’t drunk or high, she was empty. 

There wasn’t very much Aaron knew about his father other than the fact that his mother had eloped with him once she’d learned of her pregnancy. Tilda was three and a half months pregnant when Micheal Minyard died in a car crash. Depression coaxed Tilda back into old habits that Micheal had helped her break. She began drinking and chain-smoking despite the twins she bore within her. Both twins were born with fetal alcohol syndrome, manifesting in their stunted growth, ADHD, and Aaron’s dyslexia. Erin had developed a nicotine addiction as well.  It wasn’t until after Aaron had found out about his twin that Tilda had told him this. 

“I didn’t even want you,” Tilda mused as she took another swig from her whiskey bottle. “I wanted Erin but your names sound so similar that the shitty ass nurse fucked up and gave me the wrong one. You never stood a chance with me,” she said. “I was never going to love you.” Tilda swung the bottle at the side of Aaron’s head. It connected with his skull and rattled his brain but it wasn’t enough to dislodge the words from it. 

Aaron pressed his forehead up to the mirror. Up to Erin’s forehead. 

“Do you know why Mom doesn’t love us?” he whispered. “It’s because no one loved her. No one but Dad but he’s long gone. It’s his fault, you know? Luther’s, I mean. Mom is the way she is because her own brother didn’t love her enough. He didn’t love her enough to let her stay once she got pregnant. He didn’t love her enough to help her take care of us. He didn’t love her enough to protect you.” Tears slid down Aaron’s face as his grip on the mirror’s frame tightened. “Luther might not have loved his sister, but I’ll love you til the day I die.” Looking in the mirror, Aaron saw himself again but it wasn’t the same Aaron he’d grown accustomed to seeing. This one had fire. This one had fight. This one would protect his sister, no matter the cost. This one was going to save his sister from devolving into the monster their mother had become. 

That Aaron failed. Erin was just as cold and empty as their mother had been. That Aaron failed. Erin was forced to face Drake all on her own. Every night, he lay awake wondering what horrors his sister faced behind the pristine white walls of Easthaven. No amount of kisses and cuddles from Katelyn were enough to bury the weight of Aaron’s broken promise. Guilt and regret intertwined, winding around Aaron and choking the life out of him. He broke down constantly, reduced to a sobbing mess by the weight of his woes. 

Aaron loved his sister more than life itself. Erin was indifferent to him. Upon her return from Evermore, she hadn’t even spared him a passing glance. Instead, she’d fixated upon the child Josten had brought home. Aaron had never expected his sister to fawn over him. It wasn’t in her nature. Or so he had thought. It was because of this that Aaron couldn’t help the spike of jealousy that shot through him as he watched his sister’s shoulders soften when she held the baby. He could barely contain the scowl he felt tugging at his lips as Erin brushed her lips against the backs of Cleo’s hands.

  Cradling Cleo close he asked her, “What makes you so special? I know why Erin lets Ania have what she wants but what about you? You’re just a baby. I’m her brother. Am I not good enough for her?” Tears splashed down onto Cleo’s face and he hurried to wipe them off of her. As he did, he felt Cleo’s tiny hand wrap around his little finger. It was just barely big enough to encircle the single finger. “Oh,” he said. “That’s why.” He sat down on the couch and lay Cleo in his lap. She looked up at him curiously before her face split into a wide grin. “No wonder Mom wanted a daughter.” Cleo babbled at him and he chuckled softly. “You’re right. Maybe Luther was jealous too. I won’t be like him,” he swore again. “I’m not going to abandon Erin. Or you either.” 

Aaron loved his sister more than life itself. If Josten made her happy, then so be it. If Cleo was the one she showered with love, then fine. But a small part of him wasn’t fine. Erin didn’t love him. His sister, his own flesh and blood, didn’t love him. It left a hole in his heart, one that even Katelyn couldn’t fill. Aaron hadn’t known what he’d have to give up to Katelyn but what he did was far worse than anything he could have imagined. There weren’t enough words in any language to express the anguish that washed over Aaron when Erin had picked Ania over him. He’d used Josten as bait for Erin to break her promise but a small part of him had wanted her to refuse. He’d wanted Erin to pick him over her. He’d wanted Erin to do the unthinkable and tell him that she loved him more than she wanted Ania. He’d wanted her to wrap her arms around him and hold him close. 

He wanted her to hold him the way she held him now as she carried him to the front door. Josten was already unlocking the door. She turned at the sound of Erin’s footsteps. A bright smile of her own burst out across her face. 

“Shut up, Ania,” Erin swore. 

“Haven’t said a thing,” Josten replied. She pushed open the door and let Erin pass. “Erin?” she asked as she followed them into the house. “Why do you only do these things when Aaron’s drunk?” To anyone else, it may have seemed like an innocent question. To Erin though? Getting anything from her was like pulling teeth. For half a second, Aaron didn’t expect her to answer. Then he remembered that it was Josten asking not him. A pang of bitterness pierced his heart as he felt his sister’s chest swell at the intake of a breath. 

“Because he’s nice to me,” she said. Aaron’s head jerked up but Erin wasn’t paying attention. She’d stopped walking. Her eyes were trained on a spot on the wall. “After I killed Tilda, he stopped talking to me entirely. Aaron loved Tilda, even if she didn’t deserve to be loved, and I took her away. I hate when you say you’re fine because that’s what I told myself whenever he ignored me. I told myself that I didn’t care. I did. Aaron’s favorite color is navy blue. Half of my closet is navy blue. Aaron’s favorite song is Young Blood. It’s on every one of my cassette tapes in the car. I hate cool ranch chips but I buy three bags every time I go to the store because Aaron loves them. Tilda didn’t deserve Aaron’s love but he loved her anyway. I don’t deserve Aaron’s love either. I-” A shaky breath rattled through Erin. “I just wanted him to love me too.” 

“I do,” Aaron blurted out. Erin snapped out of her trance at the sound of his voice. 

“You’re not drunk,” she said. Her voice was dangerously quiet. Her eyes were dark and stony but this time Aaron didn’t look away. The longer he stared, the more apparent it was to him that they weren’t empty. Staring into them, he saw something flickering deep down inside.  

The truth about cameras is that they don’t steal your soul. They show you yours. No matter how perfect a picture may seem to others when a person looked too hard at their own, they saw what lurked beneath. It wasn’t that Erin had their mother’s eyes. It was that she had his. When Aaron looked too hard at his sister’s eyes, he saw too much of himself. He saw the sad, empty creature he’d become. He saw the defeated, lonely creature he still was. Most people hailed Aaron as ‘the normal twin’, the Dr. Jekyll to her Mr. Hyde. No one realized how wrong they were. 

Erin was a fatalist at heart. To her, everything, every single thing, was predetermined. If the world believed her to be a monster, then that was what she’d be. She played her part and lived exactly the way people thought she would. It was all an act though. Behind every one of Erin’s monstrous acts, was a lonely little girl trying her hardest not to get left behind again. 

Unlike his sister, Aaron didn’t believe in fate. Every man made his own way in life, no matter the circumstances he faced to make it there. If that was true, then didn’t that make Aaron responsible for all the things that he’d done? Growing up, Aaron had done many things he wasn’t proud of. It didn’t matter who suffered so long as it wasn’t Aaron. If there was no fate, then wasn’t Aaron responsible for all the people he’d hurt? It wasn’t Erin who was a monster. It was him. When Aaron looked too hard at his sister’s eyes, he was forced to face the monster he had become and it scared him. 

Aaron felt the support go out from under him and he hit the floor, hard. Erin spun on her heel and shoved past Josten. Neither of them moved until they heard the door to her bedroom slam shut. 

“I told you so,” Josten whispered. There were tears shining in her eyes. “It’s over, isn’t it?” she asked herself. 

“What do you mean?” Aaron asked. 

“I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone about this and now… she’ll never trust me again.” Her voice broke. 

“Ania-”

“Don’t, Aaron.” She turned on her heel and marched out of the house, nearly knocking over Kevin who was dragging Nicky in. 

“What the hell have you done to her?” Kevin snarled. Just the sight of a teary-eyed Josten was enough to sober him up. He abandoned Nicky and closed the space between himself and Aaron in the blink of an eye. Balling his fist in Aaron’s shirt, he shoved him against the wall. “I’m not asking again, Aaron.” This is what a brother should be, Aaron thought.

When Ania first arrived at Palmetto a year ago, she and Kevin were always at odds. No matter what she did, it was never enough for him. But that was because he knew she could be better. Nicky had made the mistake of mocking her once and Kevin and slammed him against the wall just as he held Aaron now. Erin intervened quickly, breaking them apart with a poisonous smile and a flash of steel but one thing remained:  Kevin Day, a man afraid of his own shadow, hadn’t hesitated to square up the second someone dissed Ania. And that was before he’d found out who she really was.

Kevin and Ania weren’t bound by blood the way the twins were. They’d chosen each other. Ania had chosen to follow Kevin out to Palmetto and Kevin had chosen to have her back. But hadn’t the twins done the same thing? Erin chose to move to Columbia and Aaron had chosen to protect her. Why had they failed where Kevin and Ania had succeeded? The two of them were just as broken as the twins. In fact, they were worse. Ania had lived her life in the shadows, jumping ship the second anyone started to get too close. Kevin had lived his life in the limelight, denied anything even resembling a friend. 

Even without knowing her, Kevin had looked upon the wretched creature that had been Ania Josten and wanted to offer her a future. He had wanted to offer her something to live for. Kevin would never be able to love Ania the way she needed to be but he wanted to give her the chance at a life where she could find someone who could. 

And he did. Kevin brought Ania to Palmetto and gave her a reason to keep going. He brought her to Erin, someone who could care for her the way she needed to be cared for. But what had Aaron done for his sister? He’d pushed her away the second things got hard. He’d denied her of the love he’d promised himself he’d give. He’d made her lonely. 

“How?” he croaked. “How do you do it?” Kevin frowned and his grip loosened.

“How what?” he asked.

“How do you always know what Ania needs?” Aaron had seen the way Ania ran to Kevin the second things fell apart. Too many times, he’d come back to the dorms to find her breaking down in Kevin’s arms. Each time he’d watched Kevin swaddle her shaking form in blankets and offer her things: a cassette player with only one tape, a bowl of vanilla ice cream drowning in chocolate syrup, his laptop with an exy game already loaded. 

During Erin’s time at Easthaven, Aaron had found himself craving the smell of cigarette smoke. He wasn’t a smoker but the smell reminded him of Erin. One night, he finally caved and dragged himself to the corner store. He returned with a pack of cigarettes and another pint of strawberry ice cream. Every time Aaron passed by the corner store, he picked one up. He never ate a single one, though. Opening the fridge door, he realized there wasn’t any space left. Every inch of his fridge was filled with pints of strawberry ice cream. 

It should be empty. The fridge should be empty. His breath came in short, ragged gasps. Aaron didn’t know when the tears started or how long he’d stayed knelt in front of the open fridge, only that Ania kicked it closed before sitting down on top of it. 

“There isn’t enough strawberry ice cream in the world to fix her,” she said. She handed him a tissue box and waited for him to blow his nose.

“Then what will?’ he asked. 

“That’s for you to figure out,” Ania said before unplugging the fridge. That was what Kevin said before he let go of Aaron entirely. With that, he left Aaron alone in the kitchen so he could lug Nicky up to his own room. 

Aaron sat heavily in one of the dining room chairs, picking at the table mats. It was early the next morning when he finally decided what to do. Actually, he didn’t decide. He just kind of stood up and started for the stairs. He didn’t even remember taking a single step. One moment he was at the kitchen table, the next he was standing in front of Erin’s door. He reached a hand out, tracing the letters on the door. The memory hit Aaron like a train. 

It had been a week after Erin had arrived in Columbia. Aaron’s name was already on the door and he had wanted to add hers to it too. Ever since he’d been old enough, Aaron had been working part-time just to keep himself and Tilda fed. In the months before Erin was set to come home, he’d picked up extra shifts to scrounge up the money he needed. With it, it went to the crafts store in the rich part of town. He picked out the four letters he needed and bought the highest quality paints he could find. On Friday, after practice, he’d broken into their mother’s liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of Jack Daniels. Downing a swig, he found the courage to present his haul to Erin. It took some coaxing but he managed to convince her to sit on the floor with him on a pile of newspapers. Together the two of them painted the wooden letters black. Once they were dry, Aaron watched as his sister painted constellations onto them. 

“What’s that one?” he asked.

“Gemini,” she replied. 

“Astrology,” Aaron said as he crinkled his nose in disgust. Erin glanced at him, her lips just barely curling up. 

“Have you ever heard the story of Pollux and Castor?” she asked.

“No,” he replied.

“They were two brothers, twins, from Greek Mythology. They did everything together,” Erin said softly. “The two of them couldn’t live without each other. So, when Castor lay dying, Pollux called out to his father for help. Zeus saw his son’s pain and offered him a way to save his brother. Zeus offered Pollux the ability to share his immortality with his brother. Doing so would mean that neither of them could live normal lives again. They would no longer live here on Earth and they’d only have each other as company. Pollux agreed immediately. To him, his brother was more important than anything else in the world. So, Zeus turned the brothers into stars. Together, the two of them live side by side in the sky.”

“Wouldn’t you get lonely if you had only one person to talk to?” Aaron asked. 

“Not if it was you,” Erin replied. With that, she picked up the letters and moved them to the desk beneath the window. The two of them climbed into their respective beds and fell asleep. 

Aaron took a deep breath and knocked softly at his sister’s door. He stood there, his heart hammering in his chest. What if she didn’t answer? Aaron took a deep breath. He’d just try again later. Ania was right. What they’d done tonight had betrayed a great deal of Erin’s trust in them. If she didn’t answer, it was because he’d hurt her, just like he always did when he was sober. Aaron leaned his forehead against the door. “I’m sorry, Eri,” he whispered. Just then the door opened and Aaron toppled forward again. Erin neatly sidestepped his falling form but caught him with an outstretched arm. “Eri-” he began. He stopped short, realizing he didn’t know what to say.

Erin gave up waiting for him. She righted him and stepped back. Aaron took it as an invitation and entered her room. Aaron had never been inside his sister’s room. In the pale glow of the first rays of sunlight, he saw the dead roses suspended from her ceiling. A thousand photos covered the surface of the mirror. Upon closer inspection, he found that they were pictures of the Monsters. There was one of Nicky smiling brighter than the sun as Erik pressed a kiss to his cheek. There was one of Aaron shoving Matt, the two of them smiling. There was one of Wymack with his head resting on Abby’s shoulder. There was one of Bee dressed up as a bumblebee. There were a lot of photos of Ania. One of them had been kissed with black lipstick. Erin was the only Fox that owned black lipstick. As Aaron inspected them he was aware of Erin at his back. 

“There aren’t any with us in it,” he said as he dragged his fingers over them.

“Yes, there is.” Erin wrapped her hand around his wrist and guided it to one all the way in the bottom corner. Its sides were crinkled from being taken out and replaced too many times. There was a fold down the center from when it was been folded in half, probably placed between the folds of a book. 

It was a photo featuring a pair of babies. Both of them had wispy blonde hair, most of which had been tucked beneath a little beanie. They were dressed in matching white onesies patterned with little sharks. They were two perfect, identical little babies. Erin laced her fingers through Aaron’s and he suddenly saw it. The two babies were holding hands too. Eyes closed, unable to even see one another, they had taken hold of each other’s hands. Babies didn’t have much strength, but the two of them were clinging to one another like their lives depended on it.  

 “Eri-” he croaked. 

“Yes or no?” she asked. 

“Yes,” he said. Erin turned him to face her. She wrapped an arm around him and drew him close. Tentatively, he wrapped his own arms around her. “Erin?” he asked softly. She pulled back just enough to look at him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t better.”

“You were the best,” she said. “You still are.” For once, Erin’s eyes weren’t empty or angry. Instead, they were hard. Resolute. If anyone else had said it, Aaron wouldn’t have believed it. Erin wasn’t a liar. Every word she said, she meant. 

“I can be better,” he offered. He watched as she worked her jaw, searching for what to say. 

“I think I can be, too,” she said. Time seemed to stop. Aaron watched as the smallest of smiles tinged his sister’s lips. The rays of the rising sun filtered through Erin’s thick curtains, illuminating the fading freckles that danced across her face, forming constellations of their own. It turned her pale hair, bound in a messy bun atop her head, into a halo of pure gold. Erin might have been dressed as an angel last night, but she looked more like one now than she had then.

#just a pipe dream #fem!andreil asks #erin minyard #ania josten #aaron minyard hc #aaron micheal minyard #aaron minyard #wholesome twinyards #fem!andreil #the monsters #kevin day #the foxhole court au #the foxhole court #all for the game au #all for the game #all for the gay

[lotarclasspects]

The Homestuck Epilogue and Analysis of the Text as a Whole (brief)

EPILOGUE SPOILERS AHEAD 

As many of you in this fandom have recently born witness to: The Epilogue is finally here. It begins with a prologue, with John being disillusioned from the world and Rose telling him that him going back is essential. In the beginning of the story we are introduced to the idea of things which, viewed from the lens of the greater story, are not necessarily measured in terms of one person’s moral stand point of “Good” or “Bad”, rather Essential and Inessential. This is the axis upon which Vriska turns, this is the path of events which Rose can see, and this is the stage upon which the conflict of our two Narrators comes to pass.

To understand the Epilogue, we must first, briefly, summarise some of the core themes of Homestuck. These, in short being: The Agency of the Characters, The Narrative itself as the Villian, and the meaning of Freedom. 

We will begin with the meaning of Freedom. What it means to be Home Stuck. Homestuck is not named simply as a joke about the start of the story, but its name rings true as an abstract way of representing the main objective of its characters. To win, and be at peace in the new Universe. For you see, much like Problem Sleuth, they only leave the house at the very end. But this only makes sense if you understand the Symbols because as Rose Lalonde, Seer of Light, One who Understands the Narrative’s Focus, explains: “The symbols holdall the power”. As you are probably all aware, the entire story focuses on the fates of the characters as they toil through the Alpha Timeline. As we later learn, this “timeline” is not the one which leads to the most fortuitous outcome, nor is it one which allows all characters to have equal relevance or fulfillment. It is simply an extremely specific series of events which allows the main villian of the Text, Lord English, to exist, take pleasure in his wanton destruction, and then die and be reborn all in a circuitous loop. Sure, the kids “Stop” Lord English in the end, but their Victory is more defined by their escape from their terrible, dire, and tragic situation. They enter their “Roles” by way of Sburb, which is symbolised by a House. A human house, a troll house, it doesn’t matter. It ends with them escaping through the door never to be truly seen in the comic again. They finally leave The House, and by House I mean the Narrative, which for the purposes of this examination is essentially interchangeable with Lord English himself, because in truth that’s what he represents. 

Lord English is the main villian of homestuck, but what he represents is a core theme of understanding the story. Lord English’s character design is essentially made to be a charicature of Andrew Hussie himself, the worst, most vulgar and horrible parts of his prior works. Gamzee, shitty clowns, Equius: Horses, Dirk, the narcissism and stuckupishness of his own narration, and Caliborn. The “Tortured Artist” who complains that “Internet Teens” don’t understand his “Masterpiece”. Sound familiar? But he also represents the Narrative itself. The awful cycle which the characters are subjected to suffer in. the Lord of Time itself is a classpect which means “One who Controls Time, One who controls Others with Time, and One who controls Endings, the wrapping up of plot threads, and Certainty” Which is exactly what the Alpha Timeline is. Lord English is representative of a DM, or storyteller who insists that everything must be done THEIR way, who is rigid and controlling about what they WANT to happen being what HAS to happen and any deviation of the sort will either be not allowed or punished. Therefore, the villian representing this shows a core theme and belief of the story. That controllers and rigid authoritarian storytellers are something evil. Theyre the bad guys here. On the flip side, The Rigid Authour’s nemesis in the end is the Muse of Space, Calliope. Someone who “Inspires others with her Creations, Inspires Creation, or Is inspired By creation, expansion, worldbuilding, and co-operation.” She is a caricature of the Fandom. Who desires collaboration and working together. This is a core element of SBURB, that a good session (Which in and of itself borrows themes from both GAMES and STORIES) can only happen from a collaboration and understanding between individuals. This is a core element of the Epilogue. 

Now, to understand how this all ties into the Epilogue, it first needs to be understood how fucking Meta homestuck is, and WHY the Narrative is the villian. It’s because, for a story to happen, the characters must suffer. Endure drama, heartache, weird adventures. Because otherwise there would be no story. Kevin from Home Alone gets left behind every year. If he was a real child, he’d probably need therapy about that in his older years, but Kevin is not allowed to have a happy, non abandoned christmas, because then they wouldn’t be able to make any more Home Alone’s. So Kevin has to suffer for the Narrative to continue in its existence. Precisely the fact why Homestuck ended where we couldn’t see them walk through the door. If we were to see that, then they wouldn’t truly be free of the narrative because the sole ability for us to be able to witness that would mean they’re still trapped. This is why the credits are in the format of Snap Chat. It allows the audience to have a small window into their lives whilst showing they’ve truly escaped and are allowed to live like real people.

But here again comes our problem. For the Epilogue to exist as a compelling story, the characters would have to experience conflict for that to happen. But the Epilogue does something interesting. It formats it in the style of a Fan Fiction. Because whilst Homestuck plays with the ideas of how restricting a story would be if the characters were real people, the Epilogue plays with the idea of what is, and is not Real to a story in the first place. What can be considered “ Canon”, and does that really matter. In the Meat and Candy halves, as referenced by Dave later on in the Candy section, when you flip a coin, in the short instant before it falls the two offshoots of the result of that perfectly equal choice come to exist. This was the nature of Calliope asking John which he wanted to pick. By doing so, she gave the opportunity for an alternate version of himself to live where he would die and so forth. The John who ate the Meat may have died but by doing so allowed all of creation to continue. Even though he didn’t get what he thought he wanted, he died in a relationship with terezi after his life had meaning again. Candy john got what he wanted. A relationship with Roxy. He got to live. But these things, in the end were not what he’d hoped them to be. His other self got to be with terezi. The same is true for the other characters. Karkat lost the presidency in Meat, but in Candy he proved he’d make an excellent leader. In Meat, Davekat became canon, but in Candy dave lived to be romantically unfilfilled but he got to meet Obama and achieve an ultimate catharsis of the self.

But the thing is, these choices, in a sense ARE perfectly equal. There is no evidence in the Narrative, that one is inherently more Canon than the other, because it is directly stated that they both exist outside of Canon. If both exist outside of Canon but are not Fanon are they both True? Or is truth relative. I believe that the Epilogue was a way of seeing what reality would bring to these characters, whilst filling out two different paths. One where they got something and one where they didn’t. And this also comes to the sub plot of the battle of the two narrators. As Calliope mentions in Candy, when it becomes obvious that the speaker had an agenda you begin to wonder whether it simply came to light who the speaker was or if they had been using their subtle passive influence all along. We barely even notice in Meat, because Dirk’s typing quirk is identical to the quirk used by Andrew Hussie himself. Whether he is simply an alternate version of Dirk Strider in canon... up for debate. But this also begs the question. If the stories are outside of Canon, and the Authour can change, then who is the executive on saying what happens and doesnt? The Epilogues are explorations. Not closures, but exploring what would happen in situations. It offers the idea that anyone could narrate about a series of events happening outside of canon,and it would be just as feasible and valuable as anything else outside of Canon. Therefore... Your fan fictions have just as much narrative Truth as those, and if those had some truth at all then do yours also? Or if your own stories are false then so are they. These are not meant to be taken as the “missing link” of the end of Homestuck, but simply filling a gap where a prior hole has already been filled. The end of the story seemed to have the characters so briefly meet but here it was FILLED TO THE BRIM with dialogues. So take of it what you will, because in the end, what it meant by “Above the Line, All is true and below it is all things which are insignificant” means that literally whatever you imagine could happen has an equal chance of happening in another “Outside of Canon” timeline. But what it meant by “The Important and the Unimportant will never again meet” is that Homestuck itself will never explore these things. That was it. What happens next... Is up to all of you.

-The Knight of Breath

#Homestuck #Homestuck Epilogue #Epilogue #upd8 #Homestuck Analysis #Homestuck theory #homestuck epilogue theory

[fathercharlesoffdensen]

The head meds kicked in, but I had some time yet before work to knock this out, sry not sry.

Thor: Ragnarok's particular brand of humor does not, in fact, belittle or go out of its way to disrespect the apparently sacred ground of the stodgier parts of the MCU, but rather underscores their emotional importance by showcasing the characters dealing with them years down the road in a notably healthy way, at least compared to how they did so previously in canon. This is my thesis statement.

On principle, I cannot make everyone in Thor fandom see that Loki yearns for his relationship with Thor and even the rest of his family to be harmonious, and that, at least in movie canon (your mileage may vary, comics King Loki, you crazy leotarded bastard), or convince Marvel that it's actually a boon for Tom Hiddleston to infuse Loki's facial expressions with sincere emotional resonance when it comes to reacting to the idea that, in spite of their differences and Odin's terrible fucking parenting, he still loves his adopted brood, as opposed to characterizing him as a vaguely sympathetic Magneto-Joker hybrid and discarding him once he's no longer important to the plot. But uh, both of these things are a Thing.

I also can't expect that there aren't pockets of honkey-heavy (I include myself in this demographic; 'Crocs, mac 'n' cheese, glamping,' see? I am one of you) MCU fanon that aren't racist or least culturally insensitive and/or flat-out stupid, and that that also influences the small hard-on some people have for hating Ragnarok. I can say that if your main argument is bristling that Taika Waititi just doesn't ~~understand~~ Loki the same way Whedon and company do because Spike 2.0 doesn't translate well into the monolithic Maori New Zealandian he's-not-White-and-I-am-uncomfortable-about-that-guys dialect, you probably have some soul-searching to do. If you can’t find it, a gently used one from eBay will probably work just as well.

So anyway, Ragnarok, lemme walk you through it. There are a number of occasions where the film references its predecessors in humorous ways, and it is common for the aforementioned sliver of Thor fandom to be crotchety about it because I guess comedy does not, in fact, equal tragedy plus time. (Hot take: It does.) I posit in spite of all the whining that each reference to Thor 1 and/or 2 and/or the Avengers flicks in Ragnarok serves a specific purpose that, super weirdsies, probably doesn't involve Taika Waititi putting a 'kick me' sign on Tom Hiddleston's back and then turning on a camera. Also, I personally liked 'em, because things are too fucking serious sometimes and it's nice to laugh. But! Here they are, in all of their glory:

1. Loki's summer stock theatre: Loki has gone out of his way to cast appropriate actors whose portrayals of his family and friend(s) are a direct insight into how Loki himself views them all. Sif is overly feminine and useless, because Loki's a bit of a sexist as a defense mechanism for his own masculinity and 'feminine' interests/mannerisms being scorned for like 1,500 years, and is probably also still miffed that that pesky spelling Sif's hair to stay dark after he snuck into her bedroom and cut it off in comics canon MORE THAN ONCE thing did not, in fact, make Thor stop hanging out with her because it made Loki the prettiest maiden by default. Volstagg is Fat. Hogun is pretty accurate, because even Loki knows better than to fuck with Hogun too much. Liam Hemsworth parodying his brother's take on Thor is the most meta fucking thing I've ever seen, with the possible exception that Matt Damon might have his cameo as Loki because he also played Loki in Kevin Smith's Dogma way back when (though I can't substantiate this alas).

Perhaps most telling, Odin makes sweeping overtures in Loki's play about his being the savior of Asgard, the son he wishes he'd appreciated before he made his noble sacrifice, etc. This is a kind and noble portrayal of his adopted father, one which Loki has had time to come around to because he has had time to get to know Odin and the Asgardian citizens in a way he previously couldn't, post-Dark World, and it has matured and humbled him. Even so, his longing facial expressions when Odin matter-of-factly says he loves him and is proud of his magical abilities and reminds him of Frigga are an incredible epilogue to The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard, because finally, art has imitated life in a way that has showcased both Loki's and Odin's maturity. What Loki's play doesn't do is make light of Loki dying/'dying.' The humorous portrayal of everyone is proof that Loki himself has used both humor and theatre as a coping mechanism. This isn't someone who was gleeful to usurp Odin so he could have a run at 'conquering' Asgard. Bereft of prophetic insights from Heimdall or fate or what have you that Thor has at his disposal, and needing to not make too many waves, lest Thanos figures out where he's hiding, Loki spent most of his time as a hands-off 'ruler of the Realms, with the possible exception of small improvements on-planet, like putting railings on the fucking Rainbow Bridge because someone could fall off that thing, Heimdall.

Even Thor's accusation that he mostly sat around "in your bathrobe, eating grapes" is probably 50 percent not fully appreciating Loki's approach to Kingship and the other half goading him because he knew he was going to find Loki pretending to be their dad the second Surtur gloated that Odin wasn't on Asgard anymore. He wasn't really interested in ruling all along, in spite of being brainwashed/tortured into attempting it by Thanos; he said as much as far back as in Thor 2011 ("I never wanted the throne; I only wanted to be your equal"). Again, Loki was never portrayed in the movie 'verse as being a dyed-in-the-wool villain, and by Ragnarok, he's a young man/demigod just trying to figure out his place in everything; which arguably, Thor is doing as well, albeit in the form of taking a gap year or two from college to pal around with his friends on an extended road trip. TL;DR: Loki inadvertently spends a couple of years cooling off and growing up, and the result is a significantly healthier being who can laugh at himself because he's had the opportunity to finally sit down and put things into perspective. This brings me to my next point; this is a transition sentence.

2. Someone fell off that thing, Heimdall: If you aren't already mad giggling when you realize Loki has been in the room with Thor on Sakaar for several minutes and even in the scene, albeit blurry, without either of them noticing, I entreat you to appreciate that a bit. Okay.

Once again, Loki telling the story of his suicide attempt at the end of Thor 2011 as less a tragic, spur of the moment action brought about by his grief and inability to see the rift between himself and his family mending any time soon, and more of a pre-planned risk he took good-naturedly the way a self-referred adrenaline junkie might talk about going cliff diving or some such showcases another common defense mechanism of his: Adaptation. Loki is something of a chameleon even before taking his actual shape-shifting abilities into account. He's also an opportunist: If jumping aboard a new ship mid-battle because the odds of survival appear much greater, he has few moral qualms about doing so, and/or an intense desire to Just Survive that overshadows everything else. (Most of the time, anyway.) In a kinder understanding of his talented, lying silvertongue than Thor and Sif and the Warriors 3 seem to have, as well, Loki has a knack for selling his actions by way of pretending they were what he planned to do all along. This is the pathos behind his retelling of his near-suicide to a group of admiring onlookers. Loki has learned from his time as Odin what it is to take up the mantle of, as Hela sneers, "goblets and garden parties," and it inadvertently primes him to get along really well on Sakaar. Now that he, too, is away at college for the first time, Loki is unburdened by all the embarrassing shit everyone on Asgard knows about, and he uses it to craft an idealized version of himself for the sake of having a good story to tell at a party. This doesn't mean Taika Waititi is making light of Loki's near-death experiences: He absolutely expected to die in the 2011 film, and, I strongly argue, in 2012, this was also the case. After being pumped full of so much of Thanos' magic and power over the years probably was the only thing that kept him from dying from his wounds after taking a giant fucking sword through the chest, Loki woke up, looked around, surprised, and then made the situation work for him.

(I started rambling about how Odin's reluctance to not immediately come home once he broke free of Loki's spell [because he and Frigga had missed a lot of Odin Sex Nights aka Wednesdays and/or Heimdall warned him or something that destiny needed to take its course and that course was just letting Loki deal with all the board room meetings about how much Asgard spends monthly on booze while he ate pudding and lorded over the nursing home TV on Earth and that seemed way easier than having to listen to Loki whine about how much he hates prison all over again] and/or how obvious Loki's body movements are even in his Odin form meant that probably at least 75% of Asgard knew he wasn't fucking Odin the second they saw him also ties into the theme of everyone in the family kind of learning to get over themselves is apparent in even more subtle ways, but uh, this was the main gist of it. Sorry/you're welcome.)

3. "Mblergh, it's me!" I know The Snake Story wasn't movie canon before Ragnarok (though "that time I turned you into a frog" has been portrayed in other versions of Thor and Loki's relationship and it's fucking great in every one of them), but it, too, is evidential of the Brodinsons' mutual ability to allow time to help them reframe painful memories of the past with additional insight and a sense of humor; because again, it's fucking funny. Sorry you hate brown directors and having the replica of Loki's Avengers sceptre your mom bought you at Hot Topic in 2012 crammed up your ass so much that you can't see the forest for the trees, though.

Concluding paragraph: Thor: Ragnarok is up there for me with X-Men: First Class and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith as being superhero movies with colons in the name and the backing of a ridiculously attractive bromance that have taken over large swaths of my overall fandom experience over the years and I am extremely fond of it on the basis of that alone, but also it's the most in-character and positive portrayal of Loki that we could have gotten from a movie 'verse whose big-wigs are otherwise largely apathetic to him, and people should probably be sending Taika Waititi like fruit baskets or something for it rather than angry missives on Twitter because we don't deserve him, and yet, there is he is anyways. Final thought: I have to believe he would appreciate Tom Hiddleston's emo vampire from Only Lovers Left Alive being brought into his own What We Do in the Shadows canon and Adam hating every God damned second of it and that they would talk about it over another bowl of pasta before talking about their plans for Thor 4, aka why don't we just do a mocumentary of the behind the scenes of Loki's theatrical productions (lots of Norse myths brought to life in increasingly inappropriate ways on stage) and idk you and Hemsworth can kiss or something at the end and Jeff Goldblum can be there doing whatever the fuck he wants, and then they high five.

Work Cited: I reblogged a post earlier today of a 99% legitimately solid argument that Loki didn't fake his demise at the end of either of the first two Thor movies, and a piece of it nonetheless got stuck in my craw. OP is probably good enough people, whereas I am merely a crabby fandom bitch who would look nicer if I wasn't so fat and would smile more. Bow following standing ovation slash a handful of death threats on social media. I gotta get ready for work now. L8r world, smell my ass!

#thor: ragnarok #thor #loki #taika waititi #tom hiddleston

[classic-rock-roller]

1. You’re in the Game Grumps studio and Bonham and Danny are singing a song together while you and Arin are reviewing the power hour in post. At one point Danny takes it up a few notes to try to harmonize. It sounds nice for a second, but then it sounds terrible. “Dammit Dan, I lost the note cause you tried to harmonize.” How does he respond and what do you and Arin say?

Dan: you should have kept it. Stick your finger in your ear. 

Arin: It sounded good for a second. 

Me: I can’t harmonize for shit. 

2. You’re in the car with Bonham and Arin and Danny on your way to get lunch. When you get to where you’re going, Bonham tries to get out of the back of the car, but her foot gets stuck between the seat and the door, and she falls out of the car and lands on her side. The three of you just watched it happen, but she springs up immediately, “That was fun, let’s go.” How do the three of you respond?

Me: Are you ok?

Dan: You’re something else.

Arin: Let’s not so that again 

3. You and Danny are talking in the Game Grumps studio one day, and Arin and Bonham are nowhere to be found. You’re having a nice time. Ross comes up to you at one point and says, “You guys should come see this, it’s crazy.” You and Danny follow him, and find Arin and Bonham taste testing weird shit that Matt and Ryan (Supermega, fellow Game Grumps) are mixing. How’s it going when you arrive? What are Matt and Ryan giving them? What do they all say when you and Danny arrive?

They’re gagging and Matt and Ryan are making different cocktails out of things like escargot, caviar, and calamari. They look at us and Matt and Ryan are like, “Wanna join?” While Bons and Arin scream, “DON’T!” 

4. You and your band are finally finished with a late night concert and meet and greet. Danny, Arin, Suzy, and Ross were there, and when you see them, Ross says, “Geez guys, you look like hell.” “Yeah, you look like something they serve at 2:30 in the morning at IHOP.” Danny says after hugging Bonham. How do you and Bonham respond, and what do the Grumps say in response?

He goes to hug me and after I’ve been hugging him for a bit he goes to move when Kevin goes, “Don’t move. She fell asleep.” 

Danny: Jesus she must have been tired. 

Suzy: Aww, she looks so sweet sleeping on your shoulder. 

Arin: Besides the fact that she’s drooling a bit. 

Bons: We’re all exhausted. She usually passes out on the tour bus about this time. 

5. Bonham is doing Danny’s makeup for the NSP one-night-only performance on a talk show. They’re in the room next to yours and at one point you hear her yell, “Dammit, just fucking hold still!” You go see what’s happening, and Danny is having none of the makeup thing. “It’s tickling my face!” How do they respond to you coming in, and does he ever get his makeup on?

Danny looks over to me and goes, “How can you do this on a daily basis for your concerts? Jesus.” 

Bons: Stop looking over at BabyCarrot and look at me.

He finally does get his makeup on. 

6. You’re eating lunch with the Grumps and Bonham one day, and out of nowhere Danny says, “Want to see a dumb trick?” “Sure,” Bonham says. He then proceeds to put a small piece of bread in his mouth, spit it into the air, and catch it in his mouth. ���Ta da,” he says through his full mouth. How do you, Bonham, and Arin respond?

Me: You're a human canon!

Bons: That’s awesome!

Arin: No it’s not it’s gross. 

7. Danny is speculating on ideas for the next NSP album and he says, “It would be neat to use a melodica, but we don’t have one.” Instantly, Bonham says, “I have one.” Instead of gratitude, his initial response is, “Why do you have a melodica?” “If you need weird instruments, I’m your guy.” How do you and Danny respond?

Me: Where do you think we get all those awesome instruments for our albums?  

Danny: Awesome! I may have to hit you up for some. 

8. Bonham is in the studio working on her solo cover album, and one day you and Danny and Arin decide to surprise her by bringing her lunch. When you get there, you find her lying on the floor with her eyes closed and The Last Unicorn playing and she’s singing along. The song ends and she still hasn’t noticed that you’re there. Danny says, “You were singing my song.” She jumps a little and says, “When did you guys get here?” How do the three of you respond?

Me: We brought you lunch. We’ve been here for a majority of the song. 

Danny: You like it that much?

Arin: Why are you on the floor? 

9. You’re eating lunch with Bonham and Arin and Danny, and at one point Danny asks, “Hey Bonham, have you ever been in bed with somebody and called them the wrong name?” She’s taken off guard, and says, “Wha–no? How would that even work? Just like, ‘unh, Batman, take me…’ What even, man?” This for some reason makes him laugh uncontrollably. How do you and Arin respond and what does Danny say when he’s done laughing?

Me: I almost called Kevin Nikki once but caught myself before I did. 

Arin: How did that go over?

Danny: Batman? Seriously that’s the best name you could have used as an example. 

10. Danny and Arin discovered your band’s song “through the ages”, where each member of your band was dressed as a different stage of life (Sean was the baby, Bonham was the kid, Linus was the teenager, you were the adult, and Erik was the old man. I can’t find it looking back but I think you know the one). They’re admiring the different looks, but in the scene when Bonham and Sean are playing they start losing their shit. “What’s so funny?” you ask. Arin says, “She pretends to be so fuckin serious all the time but then this…” He trails off laughing and Dan says, “The emotions I feel inside from the cuteness is unbearable.” How do you respond, and what does Bonham say?

Me: Yep, Bons is a big cutie-pie. She’s always been since we first met and I love her for it. 

Bons: I AM NOT! I am serious and I can punch you if you wrong me. 

I come up behind her and hug her from behind, “You’re a Cutie-Pie!” Danny runs up and hugs her screaming, “Cuddle puddle!!” and then Arin joins in. 

11. Arin learned that Bonham likes guitar hero so he and Dan come to you two one day and suggests that you and her join them on guest grumps to play it. “We’re all musicians so it’ll be fun.” How do the two of you respond, and do you do it? If you do, how does it go?

Me: We can but be prepared to have your asses beat. 

Bons: Hell yeah! 

It goes well and of course Bonham beats all our asses. 

____________________

1) Your singer never hugs anyone unless he is really close to them or really likes them. One day, while you’re about to start a Power Hour, she comes up and hugs Danny from behind, “Hi, Danny.” Arin goes, “What the fuck? Where’s my hug?” Your singer looks under Danny’s arm (because he’s nine inches taller than her), “You don’t deserve a hug yet, Arin. Danny is just very huggable, kind of like Kevin.” How do you, Dan, and Arin respond?

2) You’re working on your album with NSP and your singer really wants to cover Same Old Situation by Mötley Crüe. You’re discussing it with Danny and your band members when Sean pipes up, “What is that song about anyway? I never got it.” How do you, your singer, Danny, Linus, and Erik respond?

3) Nikki and Tommy thought it’d be a great idea to have you and your singer dance as some of the strippers in Crüe’s music video for Girls Girls Girls. While filming parts, Vince or Tommy would either wolf whistle at you and your singer or scream, “Look like you’re having fun up there, dammit!” One time, your singer screams back, “I’m not a fucking stripper. I’d rather be the one placing the dollar bills in the girls’ panties.” How do you, Tommy, Nikki, Vince, and Mick respond?

4) Your singer made you swear to never tell Kevin that she dated Nikki before she dated him. One day, Kevin comes to you with a box and slams it down on the table so hard it makes you jump, “What’s this?” He slides it over to you and you open it to find...compromising pictures of Nikki and your singer when they were drunk on a tour before she met Kevin. How do you respond and what happens once your singer gets home? 

5) Your band has just started and you need to find stage outfits. One day, your band, Randy, Rudy, and Kevin are in the studio when you hear Sean ask, “What the fuck are you wearing?” And you turn around to see your singer in leather pants, thigh-high heeled leather boots, a long leather trench coat, a layered shirt and a black top hat on top of a black wig. “What? I wanted to experiment. Although on the walk here I got quite the looks.” Sean replies, “Yeah, because you look stupid.” How do you, Erik, Linus, Randy, Rudy, and Kevin respond?

6) You, your singer, Kevin, Rudy, and Nikki are all drinking at your singer and Kevin’s house. Dan and Arin are there too but are not drinking. Your singer gets really quiet and goes and stands out on the balcony. This would not be odd except its only 15 out and your singer doesn’t have a jacket. Soon the rest of you come out. You’re the first one to your singer and she goes to you, “What do you think would happen if something happened to me? Would anyone care?” she looks back over the balcony, “At least the criticism would stop.” How do you, Kevin, Rudy, Nikki, Danny, and Arin respond?

7) Your singer is still with Kevin onstage after she kissed him. And Rudy, Carlos, and Frankie are getting annoyed. The crowd keeps screaming, “Kiss your wife again!” And your singer won’t leave the stage. What do you do to get her off the stage?

8) You and Rudy are Mal, Eddie, and Roxanne’s godparents. One day, your singer pulls you and Rudy aside while the kids are playing and goes, “God forbid, if anything happens to Kevin and I. You’ll take care of our babies, right?” You can see the worry and fear behind her eyes as she goes from looking at you to looking at the three of them. How do you and Rudy respond?

9)  Your singer takes you, Rudy, and Kevin with her to her parents’ house to take care of their chicken while they’re on vacation. You, Rudy, and Kevin are upstairs watering the plants when you hear the door open and your singer scream, “No, Hei Hei!” The three of you turn around to see the chicken running up the stairs and your singer chasing after it, “Get back here you fucking chicken!” How do you, Rudy, and Kevin respond? Do you help her catch the chicken?

10) Sean is still being an ass to your singer while in the studio. She’s exhausted from taking care of her kids and one time, she just bursts into tears, “I can’t take this. I’m exhausted. I need sleep but we have to finish this. And Kevin is so great and he takes care of our kids but he’s so busy at work right now and I just...” How do you, Erik, Linus, and Sean respond?

11) You, Kevin, your singer, and your singer’s sister are all sitting on your singer and Kevin’s couch. Your singer is reading and the three of you are watching a movie. At one point, your singer’s sister looks at her and goes, “Can you stop breathing? It’s annoying.” Your singer closes her book and goes, “I’ll just go in my room since my very presence seems to piss you off when you’re already in a piss ass mood.” “Why don’t you disappear? It’ll make my life a hell of a lot easier.” Your singer leaves the room. What do you and Kevin say to her sister?

12) You’re on tour with War Angel and Rudy, Kevin, and Dan and Arin are with you. One day, you’re looking for your singer and Danny comes out to you, Arin, and Kevin and goes, “You have to see this.” He takes you to the back of the bus where you find Rudy and your singer cuddled together sleeping with your singer’s face in Rudy’s neck. How do you, Arin, and Kevin respond and what do your singer and Rudy say when they wake up?

@osbournebemydaddy your turn Bons :)

#tag game #tag war

[nathanielwessninski]

AU!Football (Aareil!Andreil), Part 1.

I feel quite angry because yesterday I spent hours writing pieces of this, so that suddenly the light goes out in my urbanization and EVERYTHING I wrote is erased. fuckin 'shit. Now, again, I come back to this because it really is an idea that has not left me alone all day yesterday (and today). In itself, it is an AU in which instead of the Foxes being an Exy team, they are now Football, except Neil, who will now be a Vixen.

This will be like a light introduction to the characters.

Here the sport of Football is mixed, so the alignment will be the same as in the canon, except that Neil will be a cheerleader and Seth will be alive and occupy his 'position'.

Kevin will continue to be an obsessive sportsman who plays with an injury to his left hand (because of Riko), but will recover. Seth is less asshole here, because I admit that a certain part of me liked the character and I want to give it a try, but it will still have its sassy bitch side (not really homophobic).

(Seth and Allison are not in relationship romantic here, but they are best friends; Renee and Allison are girlfriends).

(The Moriyama here are not any kind of mafia or anything like that, only a high-ranking business family; and Riko is just a jerk. Do not worry).

Allison and Dan are still wild and loyal to theirs, and with Renee shutting the fucking mouths of all those who still think that a girl can not play a contact sport as well as a guy.

Matt and Nicky are smiling and adorable as always, but protective of their family. Andrew is a little less aggressive than usual with the Foxes (God bless you, Betsy Dobson), but an imbecile with sociopathic instincts as always; is a little closer to them and can engage in small conversations when the Foxes aren't being intrusive (Renee helped a lot to get to this type of 'truce'), and on RARE occasions defended the fools when someone tried to pass with them.

Aaron does change here a little more than the others did, it's something more closed than before in terms of his thoughts and feelings, but he considers the Foxes the true family he never had, although it took a lot to reach this understanding (Nicky , Renee and Betsy fought a lot for this); he is among the first to jump to defend them, although he is usually a asshole with them.

Another radical change is found in the fact that Aaron never sent a letter to Andrew, so they never met or knew of each other's existence until a slightly funny situation occurred at the University; It was something like Nicky strongly confusing Andrew with Aaron, which brought many questions that had no answers until they reunited the twins in the same room (along with a broad search in the family registry and a blood test).

Andrew had just transferred to PSU to continue his career in Criminal Justice, due to certain complications (he savagely beat a professor who tried to hurt Bee) at his previous University; To say that he was stupefied by such a finding would be bullshit, he really expected a strange shit like that of his sanguine 'family', not that he cared more, actually. What he was curious about, with a simple transfer of universities, he had just discovered that he had a twin and a cousin.

At first he stayed away from them as much as he could, he did not care a bit, he just focused on his classes and visiting Bee in his new office (she got a new job at PSU as a psychologist for his athletes).

Until she confused Andrew with Aaron when coach Wymack led his team to meet before her and decide what day it was for each of them to have a session with her. From there she advised Andrew a lot about how well it could make him try to know and approach this part of his family that he did not know, and that they seemed to be alone (besides the Foxes).

It was a complicated and lengthy process that Andrew and Aaron could engage in a long conversation, without monosyllables or sharp and sarcastic answers. From there they were able to reconstruct a bit of family history: Tilda gave both twins up for adoption, only to finally repent a bit and take one of them (Aaron) before finalizing the paperwork, Andrew went to the Foster System (and then to Juvie for his problematic attitude) and Aaron stayed to live with an abusive mother for years (not that Andrew was better in the foster homes), until he met Nicky and after his mother died of an overdose (and a strong argument between Nicky and Luther Hemmick in which the minor finally cut off all relationship with them), Nicky took Aaron's custody (with the help of another distant relative who did not agree with the method of raising of the Hemmick).

Andrew suffered physical and psychological abuse in the homes to which he was given, but was only sexually abused once by Drake Spear when he was thirteen, one year after he was adopted by that family; but on that occasion Drake was caught in the act by the very Cass Spear, who called the police directly.

Destroyed for having failed a child as wonderful and amazing as Andrew was, she moved some contacts to move Andrew to an adoption and help institute where a distant friend of Richard Spear, Betsy Dobson, worked as a psychologist. (And after two years of understanding, fighting and love, Andrew let Betsy finally adopt him).

So, now both twins and cousin are in the process of approaching with help from Betsy (poor of her, with Andrew antagonizing everyone, Aaron being scathing and Nicky very gaudy).

A few months later, and all three of them maintaining a more civilized relationship, Andrew was slightly coerced by Bee (again) to join the football team (which was a fucking trick because Betsy knows there are VERY few things that Andrew can deny her).

(At times, Aaron admits to himself that he feels somewhat jealous of Bee's close and loving way of being with Andrew; he would have loved to have someone like her nearby).

Andrew's expressionless face and slightly psychopathic behavior constantly intimidates the Foxes a bit (except Renee and Wymack, and sometimes Allison), but over time they get used to it.

Aaron does not even like football, but he was violently harassed by sportobsession!Kevin Day to be part of the team after having seen him wildly tackling a son of a bitch who tried to touch Neil Josten (And Nicky happily joined the team to not be alone).

Aaron have a thing with Neil Josten, everyone knows it (except Andrew, because he don't know about Josten).

The day that Andrew Minyard met Neil Josten was fucking memorable for Allison: it was on a type of team-building weekend organized by Dan and Wymack, that they somehow managed to reunite everyone including the twins and Seth (Bee and Abby were really happy).

Then as the day progressed and the afternoon fell, they decided to make a movie marathon in Abby's living room, but before they needed to recharge supplies, so Wymack asked Renee and Allison to take care of it; somehow the trip was joined by Andrew and Seth.

They arrived at 7/11 and set out to collect different types of snacks for everyone; then in one of the corridors Allison spotted a very familiar auburn hair, let out a small squeak of joy and ran over there, alerting Andrew and Renee that they thought there was some threat, only to see the blonde hugging wildly to a short guy.

After leaving the mysterious boy and letting him breathe, Seth also approached and released a sassy comment: 'look just who is here, if it is other than a whore vixen smartass'.

Before any Fox could say anything else, the unknown boy (for Andrew and Renee) counterattacked: 'what's up, drug addict? Have not you received your daily dose, that I notice you something cranky?’

Surprisingly, Seth only grined sideways and stretched out a hand to stir the hair of the boy under: 'how did you do in the competition, midget?'

The auburn boy reply to Seth: 'of course we won, Gordon; nobody compares to us, so I hope you Foxes do not leave us in bad during the season'.

In that Allison jumps and assures with conviction: 'clearly this is our season, Josten, we have two new members who are monsters in the field when they want; we will destroy the asshole of Riko'.

Josten only gave a small laugh at that and nodded in support; and that sound really caught Andrew's attention, that he looked up from the candy shelf to finally see the one who seemed to be friends with Gordon and Reynolds, being stunned.

'Shit,' was the first thought that went through Andrew's mind, followed by 'fucking gorgeous' and 'problem': in front of him was a boy a few inches taller than him, with auburn hair and impossibly blue eyes, like celestial ones. Beautiful. His left cheek had a slight pink burn of three circles, barely visible, and on his right he had three fine cuts; However, not a single one of those scars left any kind of beauty, not even remotely. Even though Andrew's face remained expressionless, an intense blush was staying on his cheeks as he detailed the impressive boy in front of him; he never had seen someone so painfully attractive like Josten.

Allison noticed it (Renee too, but she did not anything).

The blonde took the Vixen's forearm and pulled him closer to the group saying: 'Oh, right! You do not know Renee or Minyard, personally; You never could meet to meet my Renee and Minyard arrived when you were in the competition. Babe, Monster, he's Neil Josten, sub-captain of the Vixens.'

Renee introduced herself and greeted him kindly, curious about the times when his girlfriend talked to him about this boy, Andrew only blushed a little more when Neil looked directly at him but swerved off with a cutting: 'Cheerleader, really?'

Before Allison spoke, Neil responded quickly and sharp: 'What, I do not look like that? Then you'll have to excuse me, I forgot to put on my uniform skirt for you.'

The right corner of Andrew's mouth trembled (the closest thing to a smile that Renee had seen in him): 'so sassy, Vixen.'

A grin formed on Neil's lips: 'so, Andrew Minyard, I could say it's a pleasure to finally meet Aaron's twin, I've heard a lot of things from you'.

Andrew like: 'I bet were not good at all'.

Another short laugh came from Neil's lips: 'no, they were not, but they're still interesting'.

A thought was shared among the other three present in the scene, something like 'fucking weird flirting' (being kinder in Renee's head).

Andrew may only want to kick himself when he felt so trapped looking at Neil's fluffy lips.

#AU!Football #aareil #andreil #renison #neil josten #aaron minyard #andrew minyard #nathaniel wesninski #renee walker #allison reynolds #danielle wilds #matt boyd #nicky hemmick #kevin day #david wymack #betsy dobson #abby winfield #seth gordon #robin cross #aftg #tfc #trk #tkm #all for the gay #all for the game #the foxhole court #the raven king #the kings men #riko moriyama #katelyn

[youngerdrgrey]

save the cheerleader, etc. etc. // a riverdale moment

.

.

outtakes from a fic unfinished wherein Veronica stays with Cheryl instead of going to the jubilee. Alternate ending to season one. + on ao3

// care warning: talk of canon suicide attempt

.

.

i.

Archie rats them all out; rather, Hermione reads Archie’s text to Veronica and puts the pieces together. (The text, by the way, was a simple We should get Cheryl to the counselor on Monday. It could be nothing, but if she’s already tried drowning once….)

Hermione Lodge at least has the common decency to wait until they’re in the hall to snap at Veronica. 

Technically it’s not just cocoa. Not that Veronica should tell her mother that, Vee just needs something else to focus on for a second. Something other than the fact that her mother is legitimately suggesting sending Cheryl home to Penelope Blossom of all people.

“You know her mother, Mom. You’ve known her longer than I have, so I know that you don’t honestly believe that Penelope Blossom would be supportive right now. She’d spout some nonsense about Blossoms being stronger than this and call it a day. Or worse!” Cheryl once said that her parents would kill her, and that’s before it was confirmed that her dad’s a fucking murderer. "Forgive me if I’m not sending her back to the person who broke her.”

“And forgive me if I’m not letting my daughter get caught up in their madness.” Hermione towers over Veronica when she steps in closer. Over protective Mom-mode to the thousands, and the moment’s complete with a hard stare straight to her daughter’s eyes. "Leave that girl and her family alone. Do you hear me?”

“Yeah,” but Veronica’s not shaking in her sheer tights. “And I can’t believe it. First you want me to be nicer, then you push against every chance I have to prove it. I’m not like you, or Daddy. I can’t keep turning my back on good people—“

“Good people!?” Hermione full on huffs. “Clifford Blossom killed—“

“She’s not Clifford Blossom!”

“She’s worse!” Than a murderer!? “She could be, Veronica. You have to accept that.”

“No.” Cheryl Blossom might be one of the worst people to go to Riverdale High, but she’s nowhere near as bad as the parents in this town. She’s not as callous, or as unforgiving, or as quick to damn every single person who doesn’t fit within her idea of perfection. Sure, she’s a fucking bitch, but that doesn’t mean she should die. “I won’t accept that. I’m not going to the jubilee. Send the city my regards." 

Veronica wheels around on her heels. She only gets her hand around the doorknob before her mom speaks again.

“What about Archie?”

He’s got about a mountain of gauze wrapped around his knuckles, but he’ll be fine. (Later, Veronica will kiss along the cracks in his skin. He’ll assure her, again and again, that he’s okay, but it’s not him that she almost lost. Not him that she’d been itching to sit by on the ride back from the river.)

Veronica asks, “What about him?” Then she opens the door back into their suite. 

Cheryl hasn’t moved from her spot by the fire, but she makes eye contact with Veronica the second the door opens.  Veronica tries joking, “Guess a little privacy’s too much to ask for?"

Cheryl rolls her eyes. “Hotels aren’t soundproof, Veronica. Never have been. Probably never will be.”

“Great for the voyeurs, bad for everybody else.”

Cheryl hums in agreement while Veronica makes her way over. The cocoa’s down to the bottom now, just a thin layer of brown that’s almost see through. Veronica should probably refill it. Or maybe just some water this time. She shouldn’t be giving someone downers like alcohol when they had a night like this but sometimes—

“Thank you.” Cheryl glances over, purses her lips against whatever sort of add on would ruin the moment, then she says it again, “Thank you, Veronica. For everything.”

And Veronica doesn’t want this to be more than Cheryl can handle. She doesn’t want the full ABC Family breakdown, or the soul searching hug or whatever. She just wants to make sure that her new friend is okay, and alive, and maybe not gonna try this again once she gets the chance to be alone again. So she tries to defuse it. She says, “I’m keeping the shirt. I haven’t tried it on yet, but I am sure that it will look amazing on me.”

Cheryl’s eyes flash with a bit of her normal spark. “I can take it back.”

Veronica hums this time, plants her hands behind her and leans back into them. (It makes her chest arch, and Cheryl’s eyes definitely drop when she does it.) “You’ll have to pry it off me.”

Another flash, and the slightest hitch in Cheryl’s breath. “I’m game if you are.” (And Veronica is. Or was. Or will be.)

“Let’s get you warmed up first, ‘kay bombshell?”

Cheryl glances at Veronica like there’s a million ways she could warm up, but another blink and it’s all gone. She sips the last of her cocoa and wiggles the cup by its handle for a refill.

.

.

ii.

Cheryl doesn’t sit — not immediately at least. When Betty had told Veronica about her day with Cheryl, Betty couldn’t get over how easily Cheryl had moved through her space. How Cheryl had straddled Betty’s legs to get close enough to put Betty on edge. How Cheryl had seemed so terrifyingly, perfectly normal until the moment that Cheryl had snapped. Which, at this point, does seem to be her modus operandi, but here, in Veronica’s bedroom, Cheryl stands still. Like she’s not even there.

“You can sit, you know.” Veronica pushes her bedroom door closed with a click. She shifts her phone in her hand enough so that she can click the lock too. “My mom’s not going to do anything. I think I made my point perfectly clear. I’m not leaving you, not after….”

“After I went under?” Cheryl offers. Her voice comes out as light as her eyelashes. Light as the ends of her hair now that they’re finally drying back to their normal color. But she doesn’t seem afraid of the words, even as Veronica blanches.

Veronica heads for her bed, reaching a hand out to Cheryl as she goes. “I was going to say after the night we’ve had, but—“ here their hands clasp so Veronica can lead, “Your way works too.”

Cheryl breathes out something that might’ve been a laugh. “Only it didn’t. Archie wouldn’t let it.”

“None of us would.” Veronica doesn’t let go of Cheryl’s hand once they sit. If anything, she holds tighter. Cheryl’s fingers still feel too soft, too pruned, and — “I’m sorry. I never should’ve left you earlier today. You were obviously going through something. And you needed someone there.”

“You were there, when it really mattered. I don’t—“ Cheryl sits up a little straighter. “You don’t have to babysit me. Go, have fun with Archie. You’re singing together, right?”

The kids in America song that always makes Veronica think of Meet the Robinsons and the Jonas Brothers. It took, like, three rehearsals for Vee to sing to the right lyrics without having to think about it. And their voices do sound amazing together.

“We have plenty of chances to sing together. This town has a party, like, every other week.” She tugs on their joined hands enough to knock Cheryl off balance. “I mean, it’s no New York, but—“

Cheryl groans. “What’s so great about New York anyway? What makes them better than us?”

New York’s familiar. New York’s constant motion in Manhattan, a flurry of people who are always in the way but somehow able to remind you of what little stuff you take for granted now. New York’s where Veronica Lodge became Veronica Lodge. Where she decided she didn’t need to go full on Blair Waldorf to have the same sort of presence of Leighton Meester on the steps. Where she kissed a boy for the first time and liked it. Where she grew up.

But Riverdale’s where she had to learn how to grow up. How to be a friend to more than just her friend group. How to be the kind of person she wants to be and commit to it.

Plus, Riverdale’s got Cheryl. Everyone. It’s got Betty and her mom and Archie and Kevin and Ethel and Josie and Valerie who definitely isn’t over Archie but doesn’t deserve any sort of animosity for being there when Archie apparently didn’t want anyone else to be. It’s got a whole world of people that she would miss for who they are and not only for the moments they’ve shared together.

So, “I don’t know.” Veronica glances over at Cheryl, gives a little shrug. “I’m not too sure if anything’s better than you.” Then she rolls her eyes at the phrasing and tugs her hand back. (Cheryl doesn’t let go right away, btw. She lingers.) “That sounded gross, but I’m just really glad you’re still here.”

And Cheryl might not be able to say it yet, but the way she bumps her shoulder into Veronica’s definitely feels like she might be glad too.

.

.

.

iii.

Veronica sneaks a glance at her phone while Cheryl’s in the bathroom. There’s about a dozen texts from Archie and Betty and Josie about the jubilee’s best moments. Betty freaks about calling out the whole of Riverdale. Archie freaks out about performing for all of them. Josie asks that Vee tells Cheryl to check her phone. 

Veronica squirms into her covers at that last one. It’s a little weird being the main point of contact for Cheryl. But that’ll pass, won’t it? It’s not like Veronica’s marrying the girl; she’s just being a good friend.

But she does tell Cheryl that Josie’s worried. Mentions it between bites of Halo ice cream that she skims from Cheryl’s bowl since Cheryl doesn’t quite seem ready for that much junk food. Cheryl plays it off like it’s obvious, but there’s a second — another flash where it must click. Cheryl’s family might be trash, but they aren’t the only ones who could be here for her.

.

.

#riverdale #thornhill #cheryl x veronica #cheryl blossom #veronica lodge #hermione lodge #mine #riverdale: fics #riverdale: s1

[minyavd]

The Foxhole Court Fic Rec IV Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V A ★ indicates fics I would reread every day if I had no life

Angst/Hurt/Comfort

Baltimore Blues by SpangleBangle He saw the duffel. It was battered all to hell and the strap was nearly torn from the bag, but it still glowed almost neon in the darkening night and streetlamp glare. Neil would never… He dropped to his knees beside it and rifled through it, looking for any sign, any clue as to where Neil might have run. Nothing, nothing, nothing. Until his fingers found the keyring. Until he found the phone.Andrew's perspective on the Binghamton riot and the walking tragedy that is Neil Josten.

Those That Broke Us by WriteThroughTheNight "Neil doesn't talk about his mom and doesn't think about what she'd do to him if she saw him now. He has a family, he has Exy, and he has Andrew. He has more than enough, more than he ever could have dreamed of.Neil doesn't talk about his mom until a warm fall day outside the locker room, waiting for the start of their game with his team and family. It's a place that she doesn't belong, where not even a memory of her belongs, but she wriggles her way in and takes root in his chest." Or Neil reveals, piece by piece, what life with his mom was like.

Alternate Universe

A Castle of Curses by Greenninjagal (WIP) Neil didn't mean to be found dying in the middle of the forest. He didn't mean to be saved by a couple mysterious voices. He definitely didn't mean to wake up in a castle.After a lifetime of run, run, running and lie, lie, lying Neil has no problem preparing to leave again. But upon waking up in a the rundown castle in the middle of nowhere, and no understanding of anything other than the people in it are extremely weird and hey-- wasn't that statue in another room before??-- Neil finds himself in a predicament he's never had to face before.Neil didn't mean to stay. And he most certainly didn't mean to wake the dragon.

★ call me in the afternoon by Jaylocked Neil had literally been tortured on several occasions, and that was still better than this. (written for the prompt: "andrew and neil meet in a group therapy")

Connection through Pain by sacchan Nathaniel was six years old, and he was in pain. His body ached, but the one actually in pain was his soulmate. Their connection started when he was born, but he noticed its existence only now, and the reminder was very cruel. From now on, Nathaniel would experience the pain and the nightmares of this other person, as they would do the same with his. Till one of them died.

★ Doe & Josten: Deductionists by SpangleBangle (WIP) Andrew Doe, rude but brilliant consulting detective, thought he had no need of a partner as he worked slowly away at dismantling the largest crime family in the country, helping out with other cases on the side to relieve the tedium. That was, until a scruffy runaway with a stupid amount of secrets stumbled into his life. Or, more accurately, broke into his kitchen.

★ Eyes Half Closed by constellationqueen (WIP) The A/B/O au that LITERALLY no one asked for. Sorry not sorry.Neil was promised to Riko when they were little, but Neil has no intention of being taken by that asshole. IDEK LEAVE ME ALONE

Like a River by Moonix (WIP)  Andrew was a statistical anomaly. He was both a Seer and a Squib, an unfortunate combination of genetic traits that still somehow got him into Hogwarts. He had both hands full babysitting Kevin Day, resident Quidditch prodigy, after the drama with Riko Moriyama in fifth year, and making sure his brother finished his last year of education after the death of their mother. What he did not need was another stray to take in – Neil Hatford, formerly Nathaniel Wesninski, prominent guest in Andrew's prophetic dreams with his blue, blue eyes and death omens flocking to him wherever he went. What he needed even less was to start pretending they were in a relationship, but then, Andrew never had been very interested in doing what was good for him.

My Way Home... by ionlyloveyouironically (WIP)  Two years after they run, Mary Hatford decides it's not working.At age 11, Andrew Doe moves into a massive house with his new foster mother, Stella Josten. They make a picture-perfect family: mother, son, and strange boy who lives inside the walls.

No Ordinary Cats by Nekojita  Andrew gets a little more than he bargained for when he rescues a tattered cat from some drunken idiots at work one night.

Nolite te Bastardes Carborundorum by redFreckles (WIP)  It's probably Stockholm syndrome. It was only a matter of time, Nathaniel supposes. Years of violence of all sorts finally catching up to him, these four walls finally collapsing around him, Neil's firm resolve to not be broken slipping out from underneath Nathaniel's uncertainty and folding in on it's own shattered surface.Nathaniel hates Neil, sometimes, for what he means, what he represents. A hope long lost in the hands of his father as he sold him to the devil.Or in which Neil is sold, but not to the Moriyama's.

ode to sleep by jaylocked  Andrew’s barely even noticing his surroundings by the time he walks through the automatic doors, more ready for a Slurpee than he’s ever been in his whole life, but the sight of an attractive man effectively disarming and disabling a guy with a gun gets his attention pretty quickly.(written for the prompt: "Ok, so what if neil & andrew meet in a 7-11 where they both go when they can't sleep at night bc both of them are insomniacs + they're always half asleep so it takes them a while to notice each other.")

Pressure Points by puddlejumper99 (WIP)  Neil enrolls at Columbia High School and remarkably fails at remaining invisibleI've had to fuck with the timeline a bit to make it work in my mind? But most of the canon backstory is intact. Just shuffled about a littleHope you like it! I've never wrote much fanfic before these dumb exy boys completely consumed my life but i cant get them out of my head so here we are.

Right Here in the Light by OrdinaryVegan  A few members of the domestic Andreil household find themselves awake in the middle of the night. In other words, Andrew Minyard is the best father in the universe, and no one will convince me otherwise.

She was Found by OrdinaryVegan AKA Piper: The Prequel

★ Something Sweet by horrorinabakset (WIP)  Neil's mother dies when he is fifteen. As a result, Neil ends up in Columbia, at a diner called Sweetie's. There he encounters a rather strange family, a boy raising his twin cousins.

staff recommendation by flybbfly Andrew works at a bookstore. Neil stumbles in during a bad storm.

Taking in Strays by Leahelisabeth (fortheloveofcamelot) Neil picks up a stray. He and Andrew get a little attached.

The Definition of Overkill by WriteThroughTheNight Neil and Andrew are neighbors and spiders that big should be illegal.

★ to know a man by moonix  In which the Foxes all work at a coffee shop run by Wymack, Neil is their newest recruit with a dark past, Andrew is obvious, Neil is oblivious, and everyone ships it apart from Aaron, who just wants to study in peace. With guest appearance by a stuffed jellyfish called Josephine.

Watermark by fairietailed (JereJean) He hops into the kitchen on one foot, catching his mother before she carries the bowl of peas she’s holding into the dining room.“Jeremy?” Her eyebrows pull together in concern at the look on his face. “What is it?”“I don’t know,” he says, sticking out his foot. “I think it’s my soul mate?”--In which bruises and scars from your soulmate appear on your skin, and Jeremy's skin is a myriad of colored stains.

★ we’re kings of the killing by OneSweetMelody (WIP) When Nathaniel Wesninski enters the Baltimore FBI field office, he comes out as Neil Josten and owes more than than a few favors FBI if he doesn't want to be slammed with a host of charges. With no choice but to work as an FBI agent to pay off his dues, Neil is assigned to a field office in Columbia, South Carolina. However, it only takes a few weeks for Neil's past start catching up with him and for him to start wondering if he's really all that safe in Columbia

Raven!Neil

dangerous and disquieting by feuchsli (WIP)  In which Mary's first attempt at stealing her son away has failed and she only succeeds five years later. But the damage is done and the lack of running-experience leads to Nathan catching up with them. What we see here is the aftermath of that and the hell that is Nathaniel Wesninski's life—at least up to the point when he meets the Foxes and slowly becomes another person under the name of Neil Josten.

Dare You To by quexnk (goldveines) (WIP) Nathaniel's place is at Riko's side, the hidden and elusive number three to Riko's perfect court. His identity is kept secret due to his father's history, but the three on his cheek tells the truth: some things can't be hidden - such as Nathaniel's inclination to his father's personality. Nathaniel isn't interested in being loyal to Riko, he's interested in playing Exy; and his methods aren't always to Riko or his partner, Jean's, benefit. He'll push both his own limits and those around him to play.

★ This is What Hollows by constellationqueen (WIP) (Rewritten) A month after Kevin runs from the Ravens, Nathaniel Wesninski is sent to the Foxes as a message from Riko.

Fluff

Ache in my Bones, Ache in my Heart by imagined_melody Andrew and Neil both find wintertime difficult to weather (pun intended). They take care of each other.

my heart is glowing fluorescent by dizzyondreams Neil woke briefly, shallow wakefulness, that dreamy, half-sleep where he barely opened his eyes. He could hear soft talking from somewhere behind him, could smell cigarettes and boy sweat and laundry detergent, an oddly familiar smell, and before he could really take anything in he was asleep again.

#i told you guys i might make another one today #:D:D:D #fic rec #tfc fic rec #the foxhole court #aftg #all for the game #tfc #andreil #andreil fanfiction #the foxhole court fanfiction #tfc fanfic #tfc fanfiction #aftg fanfiction #my posts #tfc ff

[i-did]

Do you have any thoughts on the way “fuck you Nora” impacts things like ships, in particular the recent sentiment that andreil is toxic and other fanon ships are objectively better and healthier that’s in pockets of the fandom. Like I’ve definitely seen it in the Kevin-centric niche the most but even outside of that there’s this belief that things like jerejean and renison would be very soft and healthy when there’s no proof of that. It’s almost like plausible deniability because (1/2)

andreil has canon strengths and flaws that are irrefutable, so when they ship things like Jerejean kevjean that don’t interact they feel a license to make it “better” because they know better than Nora if that makes sense. And Kandrew and kevineil are pitched as being healthier than andreil, among fans who say they wish the kandreil draft was canon where Nora has said multiple times, even when she talks about how fun they were to write that k/a were “obsessive” (2/2)

Yeah I definitely think “fuck you Nora” can play into it, sort of like how for a while most marriage or “I love you” HC posts started or ended with “fuck you Nora”. 

I think andreil are such a unique relationship dynamic of two very “difficult and violent” people ending up together, so I understand why they also get called toxic and flawed a lot. Tbh I can’t really see Andrew or Neil with anyone else, I think they fit together well and what works and is healthy for them just won't work or be healthy for everyone else. 

I also agree in the plausible deniability aspect, sometimes I think these fans take these characters and names and general situations, and make them into OC’s and/or props to fulfill troupes. The nature of fan creation is to play around with canon.

I personally don’t think the average college boy would be emotionally prepared or equipped enough to be a healthy pairing for a recently escaped lifelong human trafficking and cult survivor who just narrowly survived. And I don’t think Kevin who held power over Jean in the nest at number 2 instead of 3 as well as Riko’s partner, would be healthy either. Kevin himself talks about how it was different for him than for Jean, it was worse for Jean since he was a “lower rank.” I think the idea Kevjean is better than Kevin and Thea comes partially from the belief that gay=better in fandom, and the ‘pair the spare’ mentality. 

I also personally think that both Kandrew and Daysten/Kevineil are not good fits either. I’ve talked about it before and explained why I think Kandrew is unhealthy and am not really interested in exploring it, but for Kevineil I personally think they… fight too much I guess. You get in arguments with your friends as well as partners, but the way they affect you and power works can be very different, and the type of arguments are also typically different. I think they're fine as friends, but I think they would need a lot more outside of canon growth and development to be a fit romantically. I don’t care what others want to ship or explore, I just personally don’t see much appeal with either dynamic. 

I think people who say “this would be healthier” are usually imagining their ideas and HC’s and version of the character rather than the canon one, as well as just… their personal idea of what is “healthier” and what a good relationship “looks like”.

Also you briefly mention Renesion as being depicted/perceived as “softer and healthier” too. From what I see of Renesion its very… just kinda there. Usually there isn't a lot of development or they're just sort of in the background of another fic. The Renee and Allison in canon would not pair well together imo either, I also mention this somewhere in an earlier ask as well. I'm all for wlw pairs and ships, and I've read like a decently long Renesion fic my friend @wishbonetea wrote called “The Gracekeepers” where they do actually have chemistry, but are growing differently than they do in canon. In canon Renee is a “bad person trying very hard to be a good person.” she’s anti-negative talk and avoids speaking ill of others or expressing negative or harsh opinions. Allison has recently escaped a stuffy rich people environment where all their words are cloaked and all compliments are backhanded and no one really says what they’re thinking, Allison’s personal growth from this is to let it out and say what she really thinks, who give a fuck if they think she's rude or unladylike, it's her feelings. Also Renee’s past is often just depicted as this cool thing rather than something very truamatizing that she struggles with, makes it hard for her to genuinely connect with others and be her ‘real self’, and Allison's on-again off-again boyfriend just died, and she was there the night it happened. I haven't seen any fics actually explore these topics, just kinda ship them since “pair the spare.” (if any of you know any fics that address this or focus on it lmk)

I'm not going to hold their chemistry to a higher standard than mlm ships tho, I've seen people ship almost all the male characters together in the tags but obviously don’t do as much content for the women, which is a shame because some of the fox ladies have interesting potential chemistry. Dan and Renee have a very interesting dynamic in the EC and Nora herself said if she were to ship the fox ladies it would be Dan with Renee. I personally have high standards for ‘shipping’ I guess, sometimes I vaguely think “oh this could be interesting” but rarely do I actively explore it. I'm a pretty canon focused consumer, I never watched supernatural thinking ‘dustiel’ or even picked up on the queer-baiting until much later. I don't care about shipping the way most fans seem to. I like to imagine Andrew and Neil meeting in their late 60’s or so, or even not meeting the other and being single and having fulfilling lives that way too, which is not a common way to ‘show affection’ to characters. 

I agree with you and think it comes down to plausible deniability and this urge to ‘defy Nora’–be all edgy to an author who stopped listening–as well as pair the spare and fandom culture of shipping at its core. Shipping is seen as a good/better treatment of the characters and “what they deserve” a lot.

#ask #fandom culture #mailob #damn its 4 am why did i answer this now #i have work tomorrow lmfao #i hope u see this anon

[brightlotusmoon]

Tmnt headcanon fanfic

Uh. Shite. Which thing was I supposed to be working on? A) There was the MTL fic revealing that Mikey is pan poly demiboy. B) There was the CFR fic revealing that April is demiromantic Asexual and Gaia helped everyone figure out this whole polyamorous family thing. C) There was the MTL fic where Don and Mikey build a housecleaning robot that patrols with them after Donnie bargains with Mikey for junkyard cookware. D) There was the CFR Crossfire fic where 2003 Mike destroys an alien invasion with psionic powers he got from 2012 Mikey. E) There was the MTL fic where Raph and Mikey learn how to manage Raph's temper and Mikey's depression simultaneously by sheer accident after Raph triggers seizures in Mikey. F) There was the unconnected fic showcasing the 2003 turtles' dynamics when they're 19 and Mikey is team medic and psychiatric spiritual therapist. G) There was the CFR fic where psionic Mikey pushes his healing power to the limits when Splinter gets sick. Aand then there's the random SC fic where Mikey learns Science Yeah! and Donnie just shrugs and gives up and Raph still thinks it's a very elaborate prank involving Ghost Splinter and a textbook on neuroscience. "Cold Fire Rising Mind Games" should be at least three chapter-stories deep and it's not, I need ideas. Readers are still begging for stories with psionic pan poly genderfluid Mikey and poly turtles and Ace April and Pan poly Karai and Astral Spirit sex because Raph and Leo want to be gentle, while physically Don and Mike are kinky little shits and cripple Gaia loves experimenting while attached to biosensors because she's half cat neuroscience student and the boys are very shiny. I love my OC. I haven't even had her meet Shinigami, dear gods. The sex with those girls would be explosive. Who wants to see her sisters?? Everyone is named after a Greek goddess with a Russian middle name with a Japanese surname. Everyone is bi or gay. I have too many fucking headcanon ideas, help. Can you believe I won awards for this insanity. But I realized something. Cross posting between AO3 and FFnet means that I get more reviews on FF, but on AO3 I can answer comments directly. So if you would, it would make my dopamine levels explode if you could comment on the AO3 stuff. On the FF site there were questions I could only answer in private that I wanted to answer in public. Like all the chapters of Cold Fire Rising and its sequels. There's nothing. It makes me do that sad puppy head tilt whine. Look. I know it's a beast of a story, between 104K and 109K depending on format, and the medical terms are heavy, and tons of things happen with creative liberties taken like stolen treasure, but it was a literal labor of love for an 18 year old fic dusted off and rewritten. Maybe the AU timeline diverting so severely from canon makes no sense because they were only meant to be in space for six months, but all my medical and athletic friends insisted on some realism so I had to throw that six month thing out the Fugitoid's ship window and it still worked out okay with nine months, no harm done. I'm just super proud of my monstrous baby. I'm still startled that Hecate won Most Interesting OC. But happy. My Lady deserves a fictional incarnation to be recognized as awesome. And you can't read Crossfire, Most Interesting Crossover, without referring to Cold Fire Rising, so I win no matter what. I just ... I am swarmed with headcanons about each Hamato clan member being at full potential, I might as well do in depth character studies that Kevin Eastman never expected. I swear that neuropsychology of michelangelo thesis will come together one day. I promise this is all helping my Original novels. I'm not writing Angsty Fluff Hurt Drama fics just because I'm bored. I have Knowledge and I want to share. I just need to keep a flow chart and outlines. Sometimes I wonder which brother is best paired for Mikey in different situations. Where was I going with this?

#cold fire rising #mikey the lifegiver #the sunshine child #headcanon #fanfiction #myfics #psionic Mikey AU #disabled mikey AU #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2003 #CFR: Crossfire #CFR: Mind Games #my oc has my disabilities #empath mikey #OC Gaia #ao3 #ffnet #tmnt critical #ranting #random fandom thoughts #i love this fandom #i love this franchise #I get way too involved #shut up I love him #you bet I'm being condescending in the original sense #mikey is underestimated

[prongsmydeer]

Ayesha Liveblogs Riverdale S1 E1-6

As someone who has consistently read Archie Comics pretty much as long as I can remember I already know this is going to be weird

The Blossoms have been on screen for about ten seconds and they’ve already established a Lannister vibe

“May Jason Blossom burn in hell” who hurt the Coopers

Where is Hiram Lodge he is the only rich man I’ll ever trust 

I can’t believe that Kevin Keller waited 70 years to be introduced only to be Betty’s Gay Best Friend he’s supposed to become a Senator Archie didn’t die for this

IS VERONICA WEARING A CLOAK

Reg’s introduction is telling Archie that he’s hot and I love it

“That [Hiram]’s the devil incarnate?” WHAT DID HIRAM DO

“Betty and Archie aren’t dating but they are endgame” !!!!!

LEAVE ARCHIE ALONE MISS GRUNDY HE’S A MINOR AND YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE A SENIOR CITIZEN

Oh god is this going to be a hot-dad-rich-mom backstory for the parents of two people who are dating does this make Jughead Gossip Girl

IT IS AND HE IS

Why did you break up the Andrews what did Mary ever do to you

This show is making me remember things I didn’t even think I knew why do I know that Riverdale’s mascot should be a bulldog

“Is being the Gay Best Friend still a thing?” no

“I have moves” “Show me your moves” I can’t believe Betty and Veronica are going to fuck

You’re such a terrible person Miss Grundy you not only assaulted a minor but also you’re making his dreams harder to achieve and forcing him into moral crisis

OH MY GOD THAT WAS SUCH A STUPID FANSERVICE KISS AND I LOVED IT 

Guess Polly’s journalism career died with Hiram’s morality

“Sorry, my specialty is ice” END HER VERONICA

“Why did you defend me?” Because she’s in love with you Betty

I really hope this ends in polyamory or lesbianism 

Well I guess Hiram loves Hermione even he is morally bankrupt

Archie: NO DAD IT’S YOUR DREAM

Moose is a closeted bathroom flasher good lord 

“Who wants to tryst in the closet of love first” Betty and Veronica

“We’re not just friends, we’re best friends” At least Archie values his friendship with Betty 

Are Jughead and Archie not friends anymore oh no is this because of his grim backstory 

They replaced Moose’s Dumb Jock stereotype with a Closeted Footballer stereotype well at least they’re keeping things fresh

“It was a town of shadows and secrets” [Archie’s Weird Mysteries theme plays]

Archie would not go to jail for you having sex with a minor Grundy 

Why is Alice such a terrible person stop manipulating your daughter 

“Sardonic humour is just my way of relating to the world” you’re missing the mark Dan Humphrey 

Veronica loves Betty so much just get married 

Did Kevin just tell Moose to live his life in the closet what an ass 

Update: he actually explicitly said those words jesus chirst 

ALICE STOP

“This morning in the hallway you wouldn’t meet my eyes” Mr. Weatherbee is an amateur private investigator

Read the room Hermione 

Jesus Betty going from everyone’s angel to murder threats in 0 to 10 seconds

“She’s not like that she cares about me” she really does not

“A friend is better than a boyfriend” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

“Betty can we make a vow?” 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

Netflix is plugging their own shows lmao 

Why are they making Chuck a player where is Nancy

“Nothing this bad was ever supposed to happen here but it did” [Archie’s Weird Mysteries theme plays]

No offense but Veronica Lodge is the love my life

Dark!Dilton Doiley unveiled 

“Because we have to claw our way into the same rooms you can just walk into” Riverdale finally doing something right

I’m so offended that there’s an investigation and Archie’s not a part of it what a disservice to Archie’s Weird Mysteries

“Polly grew up too fast I don’t want you to make the same mistake” calm down it’s red lipstick not a crate full of dildos

Chuck is an idiot Betty and Veronica just confronted him in a locker room why would they possibly want to hook up with him

I never thought I’d relate to the Blossoms but I would also punch Alice

“What made you take such an interest in my son?” Because she’s a p/edophile

Why are you attacking a teenage girl you utter piece of garbage

Betty’s a fucking psychopath yikes is this some PLL double identity shit

Ugh this is so weird will someone please just arrest Miss Grundy

Is Veronica Latina this I can dig 

Alice, literally every time she’s on fucking screen: Hi I’m here to be The Worst

You’re not even from this town Cheryl you’re from Pembrooke 

Where is Jellybean anyway 

THE OG GERALDINE GRUNDY MAKES AN APPEARANCE

“Where does this end, Geraldine?” with a prison sentence hopefully

Why do people tolerate Cheryl 

I love Kevin and Joaquin lmao they’re great

Even though Alice is a piece of shit who is awful to children at least she took down a predator so I can’t hate the scene overall

Was that meant to imply that Grundy goes on to abuse other children????

I suppose Jellybean couldn’t remain a baby forever

You know when I was reading Archie Comics when I was a kid I really did think what was missing was more absentee fathers in gangs

Fred Andrews is the only good parent in this entire town jesus christ 

Reggie is going to come off like more of an ass in this because for some reason he doesn’t seem to friends with the squad and he’s been replaced by Kevin

“Polly was trying to hurt herself Betty, that’s why we sent her away” that is not a good parenting strategy for your suicidal child

Why is there this dark history of maple syrup in this town did I miss something in the comics

The real question is where Chip Cooper is these days was he also murdered

Lmao isn’t Veronica canonically a terrible singer anyway?

Why is Josie giving Veronica shit for being privileged when her mother has unstable jobs and her father is in jail

“I was born alone, I’ll die alone” calm down Batman

Even though Jughead isn’t really a romance guy I don’t mind this bc 1) Betty deserves some good things in her life and 2) If Jughead did have to love someone it would be Betty because he is #TeamBetty all the way

“Long tails and ears for hats” KEVIN SAID THE THING

Please don’t kill Polly

"Fear that as soon as you slay one there’s another monster waiting to take its place” [Archie’s Weird Mysteries theme plays]

#ayesha liveblogs riverdale #riverdale #there will be spoilers if that's not clear