#But i liked how things resolved w his family...... their own ways of having relationships w each other it was sweet

[joelletwo]

Okayyyyyyy i finished global examination 😭😭 i gave myself horrible momentum by splitting up the last chapters so weirdly but it was still really good and as always i did tear up some more lol. Its like.... anticlimactic and a little ominous that at the end theyre like. All staying in the military and reusing the system for parts. Thatll go well surely no problems w that ^_^ but its that kind of book and also it gives me 154 back so thats fine 🥺🥺 rly enjoyed this one it was a fun read

[fiamat12]

RE: THE ADJACENTS PART 2

The only one I can relate to from a public perspective is JD because he seems to be minding his own business trying to work, promote his projects & be a good friend to Nic. Oh, and T & C seem to mind their own biz, too.

But let's take them one by one:

1- JD- imo, is queer and I'm not "calling him out" as he doesn't hide it at all. The man he was allegedly dating is still around in a pic w/ JD as recently as Aug 9 (maybe more recently, it's just last one I saw). Sure, there's always a chance JD is bi or pan, went through a break up, and is now dating N... however, both N & JD liked the alleged bf's most recent post on June 29. I suppose they could be one, big happy family, OR the boys are queer and Nicola is their friend, which explains the lack of romantic body language w/ JD & lack of regard for him w/ how she acted toward L on the WT (Note: L acted the same way toward N w/ A around so that should signal what was happening there, too). Still, JD def could've accompanied N to Malta as a friend or to detract from L being around.

2) A- I believe she & L have disentangled or are close to it. I think she became a huge liability at some point, esp. after Luke friendzoned her, which I think was long ago (prob after the 1st LA trip). I think he's had to manage her ever since, to keep rumors of him & Nic from surfacing & anything else untoward she may be privvy to from his HBS days. I also think L is a kind person hasn't who hasn't wanted to hurt A. Upon further reflection of MD's post w/ the song "Never Be Like You", I believe the mistake L made was ever getting involved w/ A in the 1st place. BUT I think N is aware & has been waiting for it to resolve in a way that won't crush their reputations. I don't subscribe to the theory that L needs to grow up, decide what he wants, deal w/ his glow up, or a litany of other things that get projected onto L. Imo, N was the hold up & skeptic, and if L had his way, they would've never parted.

3) R- I think R turned out not to be the friend L thought he was. I think they were a support for each other last summer when they were both spiraling from break ups - R from a failed engagement, and L from N [yes N not J; this could be a whole other post but I believe L's hold up marrying J had to do w/ his feelings for N. I think L wanted to be w/ N post filming & N put on the brakes. I also suspect that N was busier than L, which made L insecure after being w/ her nonstop for 8 mos. So, he may have had some flirtations (EB, etc.) that made N feel insecure, & that resulted in them taking the break that the intimacy coordinator suggested]. But back to R...I think when L's star skyrocketed, R wasn't ready to grow w/ him and ended up regressing into childish antics. I think L is learning the hard way that he'll have to be more cautious, even with friends, as his fame increases. You get an NDA, You get an NDA, You get an NDA (!!!)

4) S -I believe she & R may have broken up. I think she initially had stars in her eyes, just like A. Both of them have stated they have dreams of being on the West End. So, I think they thought attaching themselves to older actors w/ connections would get them somewhere. I do believe S also had feelings for R until she found out that he seems to be very self focused rn and has nothing to give to S to support her dreams or growth (thus, the break up coach she followed dealing in one sided relationships). I also think an inappropriate flirtation ensued btwn R & A that led to some hurt feelings. Oddly enough, S seems to gravitate more toward L, prob because he's more caring & empathetic. She's also had to learn the hard way.

5) T & C- I have nothing bad to say about them. They seem like a solid couple on the fringe of it all. T's been respectful in how he's photographed L and C seems to be a supportive friend who has her own career and extended family with whom she seems close. She follows N and likes her posts, so she's prob a dl one of us 😉 🚢

[apollothesunrat]

I'm back with more PJO/Riordanverse headcanons! Some of these are also just ways I would have done things after seeing then in new perspectives. This'll probably be a long post so I'll put this all under the cut.

Imma start with the headcanons!

Malcolm and Jake were actually dating for a while but only told everyone after Nico and Will both came out.

Adding on to my Genderfluid Percy headcanon from before, Percabeth are both bi so Annabeth doesn't mind.

Mitchell came around during the Sea of Monsters quest and Lacy came at the same time as Drew due their mortal parents living in the same area since they go to the same school

Clovis has actually been at the camp nearly the same amount of time as Annabeth due to his sleep powers hindering his mortal mothers life, she left on the hill.

Thalia and Grover set up small hidden demigod camps for quests since it's common for monsters to destory your supplies. They are able to do this because they travel a lot.

Percy, and Annabeth often invite Will and Nico over so they can help eachother with eachothers Tartarus experiences.

Percy and Annabeth consider Nico a little brother and let him stay over at anypoint once they have their own home.

Every year Percy has three birthday parties. One at camp courtesy of his fellow campers, one at his home with his closest friends, and his family, and one with his cousins where they go out. Often the one from hosted by Sally and Paul is the only one actually on his birthday. The other two often happen the next day.

After Jason's death Leo and Piper decided to start meeting up at least once durung the school year, to check up on eachother. They are sometimes joined by others.

Percy knows how to cook, on the other hand Annabeth is not the best at cooking.

Clarisse and Percy spar together for fun when either of them need a break from everything else in life.

Clarisse often treats Will like a little brother because of how young he was when he became head medic and how many times he healed her despite her rude words at first.

Magnus and Annabeth have meetups almost every month, occasionally Percy and/or Alex will tag along. Annabeth and Percy have yet to tell Camp.

Percy and Annabeth also often meet up with Carter and Sadie for food. They like to check up on the younger kids. Percaveth had yet to tell Camp about these two as well.

When Sally and Paul want a date amnight and Percy and Annabeth aren't available the rest of the seven or Nico and Will are open to babysitting Estelle so the two can still go out. Everyone loves Estelle.

Now for the changed storylines.

I would have had Percy and Annabth stand up for Nico more during the deabte to go save him from the jar as they have know him since he was ten and it just makes sense.

Caleo but platonic. I've seen many points made by others where it shows Caleo isn't the best and honestly it is a bit strange to resolve Leo's arc by giving him a romantic relationship with an immortal much older than him. So instead of having them date, I'd have them bond over them both having bad luck with relationships and give them a sibling relationship.

I would have Drew be mentioned much earlier, give her a big relationship with Silena. She's always with her sister, looking up to her. She was always kinda of a mean girl but she masks her sorrow about Silena with more hate.

Talk about Jason's missing memories more. He never fully got his back, have him ask Reyna about his life, and Thalia about their mother.

I would make Ares just... Less the way Rick made him. He respects girls in his myths, he supports the Amazons. Yet he abuses his daughter? Have him be a supportive father that just hates other demigods cause they think of him as mindless war disrespect his children.

Similarly I would change Hera. Yes, it makes sense for her to dislike Thalia and maybe other big three children because of the myths. But not any other demigods. She, along with being the goddess of marriage and childbirth, is also the goddess of family and women. So many demigods have horrible families, let her support them discreetly by allowing her cabin to be the cabin for unclaimed campers, or perhaps by leading young demigods to Artemis so she can help them get to camp.

More seafam shit. Percy and Triton bonding, Percy meeting his other godly siblings other than Kym, Amphitrite getting to know Percy and acting like a stepmother, etc, etc. I need more of this.

That's all I have for now! I may post an au ideas post soon. I have many aus, some inspired by fics and some are completely made up of my own dumb thoughts.

[eerna]

so glad to WHINE ABOUT TPT.

it should have been wren pov, I agree it seemed like there was a more interesting story going on on her side! And your theory it got rewritten for more jurdan makes sense … also so fucking stupid it’s third person - is there some asinine publishing rule going on? I know readers like to self insert these days, maybe the publisher was worried bc oak is male/a love interest? dumb. dumb.

why didn’t vivi come to the engagement feast? wren had such a hang up on what Vivi said about her, I wanted that resolved (and I just wanted Vivi in general!!!!) wren meeting her human family off screen without a mention of how it went fuckin SUCKED. at absolutely no point was I convinced she should be staying in the house of her abusers being a ruler for people she didn’t know instead of returning to her REAL family. and she didn’t even bond w oak’s family either.

I also enjoyed the dialogue in the garden scene so much, but without wren’s pov it felt out of nowhere or even like she was using sex as self harm. she is so deeply self loathing and so convinced oak will move on for her, so her propositioning him feels like she was trying to rip off the bandaid and get him done with her faster. again, I have to assume because the last time we heard her thoughts was when she would DO that kind of thing. if she’s had this great character growth we don’t fuckin know!!!!!

I had fun but it was also such a disappointment and wren deserves better

Welcome welcome to the whine party~

YEAHHHH presumably it was single POV for the mystery of why Wren is acting so weird, but imo it didn't work. It was so so so painfully obvious and the plot twist didn't twist, so why not just give her the POV. As for the third person, all the Cardan POV content we ever got was also in third person, so maybe HB just doesn't want to write her male leads from first person? The self insert thing occurred to me too, but Wren is one of the least self-insert-able characters I've ever read in YA, and she too had the first person, so idk honestly. Maybe someone who has more experience with HB's novels could figure it out.

I WAS WAITING FOR VIVI THE ENTIRE TIMEEEE like out of all of Oak's family, she was the one who hurt Wren the worst. So where was she!! She lives in the human world, fine, but she was there for Oak's official heir party, so why not for his engagement??? Heather would have Never missed it in a million years. The lack of content regarding Wren connecting to either of the families was sooooooooo bleh, since we KNOW that being a part of one is incredibly important for her and she desperately wants to be accepted by both Oak's big dramatic yet loving family and her own human one. Her returning to the Court of Teeth makes no sense, she only has the worst memories of the place, and it doesn't even EXIST as a ruling body anymore.

SAME on the garden scene! Like you said, it sounded like the Wren from TSH, who used his interest (which she perceived as customary and short-term) as a way to punish herself and treat herself as someone undeserving of proper love. Okay, it's because of the Endless Hunger of her magic, but it's strange to never deal with her pretty unhealthy views of her sexuality. IF ANYTHING, in the final chapter she STILL thinks she is too much and needs too much and won't be able to function properly in a relationship, and we just,,,, never get closure,,, Oak is just like "don't worry" and she's like "ok" and that's it. Head in my hands. This was a romance focused duology and somehow Wren didn't even get her proper closure on that.

Literally my takeaway. Fun. Disappointing. Wren my baby you deserved more.

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hi, I’m INFJ. I need to ask: 1) what I should improve myself to feel less put off at Ts in general, to lessen the T & F difference 2) Tips on communication w Ts, especially INTJ.

Ik you said ppl’s strength underlie their weakness & vice versa, so they have a set of advantages to offer. As much as I’d like to dismiss it, I suck at Ti (I’m improving by learning critical thinking). I need to view Ts less judgmentally.

I had personal motivations for handling immaturity, but that wasn’t the only drive. The other (great) one is my feelings for my childhood INTJ friend, who I’m having a crush on & is asking me out. I’ve had feelings for him since childhood.

I used to think we couldn’t go out because of my immaturity. I suck at handling personality setbacks/criticisms/etc. (all date back to bad Fe & Ti lol). Later, I became more honest w my feelings, better at expressing genuinely, finally more logical than before (some positive changes for my own sake). But I still feel unable to bridge the gap w the Ts (esp TJs).

I hate this state, it robs me off chance for a greater relationship w the guy I’ve loved for years. I’m better than before, but I still fear this won't work. Our friendship is great, time passed but we still share many central values like how close we are to our family, definition of independence, pet peeves, political spectrum. I used to suck at not making a disagreement a heated argument, but with time, I got better at It. We had found the way to disagree while still being able to fully understand the others’ POV. I got more grounded thanks to him, too. But our growth was platonic.

Communication challenges are still considerable. I never used to tell him my feelings and I’ve never been in relationships before. But he’s already been in a few. I’m into this possible change as much as I’m willing to stay the same, because I’m so scared whether being his girlfriend will actually be a good choice. Help :(

------------------

You say you get the idea of everyone having strengths/weaknesses but it doesn't sound like you really do. On the surface, it's not a bad thing to want to improve upon your weaknesses, but your approach to it is problematic. You still haven't understood that the first step must be to accept and embrace weaknesses, because proper self-improvement has to come from a place of love - not hate.

You are standing in front of someone who knows your strengths and weaknesses and still loves you and wants to start a life together. Yet you cannot accept being loved by him. Why? Because you haven't yet learned to love yourself, so you can't imagine that others can, either.

It sounds to me like it is lovingkindness you need to work on. Critical thinking isn't going to help you accept and embrace all of yourself, is it? When you finally learn how to approach yourself, your life, and others with an attitude of love, the relationship problems you've described have no reason to arise.

For example: If you can accept your insecurities, own them and talk about them openly and still love yourself, who can trigger them? If you can accept and love him both for his strengths and weaknesses, why would they cause you any conflict? And when conflicts arise as they inevitably do in intimate relationships, if you approach them with a reconciliatory attitude, why wouldn't they get resolved?

At the heart of your question is not personality but your self-worth and self-esteem. Until you address those issues, your attempts at function development are at high risk of getting twisted up. Ni+Fe should allow you to envision beautiful potential for love, but you are using them to invent more ways to hate and punish yourself.

Relationships aren't about being perfect and being able to handle everything perfectly. If that's what you're unconsciously aiming for, then you're imposing a very unreasonable burden on yourself. Failing to achieve false images of perfection only exacerbates self-hatred in a vicious cycle.

[ankoffin]

For the rook questions if they're still open.... relationship w family members

they are always open, tysm for the lovely question!

99.9% of everything written below is my own headcanon!!! for anyone curious to my rook fam names & designs can be found here so what's written below would make more sense!

starting off strong with his parents! I think he generally has similar closeness to them, i like to think as a kid he'd love sneaking in their bed at night and cuddle up to them! I think Otto is kinda like most of his kids they start off life with difficulties expressing themselves but learn to do it in their own way even if it doesn't conform to society! (autism runs strong in the hunt blood) Rook also had that as we know so Otto paid tons of attention to stuff he did find joy in so he could support that (it happens to be Neige) and Rook is very thankful for his parents always supporting him! Rook feels his family are people who understand him fully without a need to tell anything and he wishes to find someone in his life outside them who can understand him like they do (..vil haha) His parents let him (and rest of the kids) find themselves naturally too but it sometimes has its downfall as it allowed rook to not pay much care to himself always and believing he can't participate in being pretty because of his looks but as we know Vil turns it around!

Now to the older twins! Rook doesn't see them often anymore but he loves both of them dearly, I think he gets to act mischievously together with Queen as both of them like being little mind-game talkers at times. Queen likes to challenge Rooks mind and what be believes, not because they actually want to change his way of thinking, but to discuss #deep stuff about life. King is more of a tone-deaf person so Rook talks to him much simply too, i think in summers when everyone gathers they like to play rough in the backyard of the house, wrestle each other with love, they both come back mud in hair and all dirty

Now to his younger brother Bishop! I think Bishop is the complete opposite of Rook so how they look at things warry tons but they get along very well. They kinda cancel each other out by rooks good vibes making bishops judgmental ones seem more normal and other way around too! Unlike with Queen, they actually enjoy debating their mindsets which often resolves in "agree to disagree" but they find joy in mentally challenging each other.

Next younger sister after Bisshop is Knight! Shes a very observant girl and really looks up to Rook and started to get her hair straight like his. She mostly observes Rook and how he acts as she loves his positive mind, Rook is very cuddly and sweet to her as she is his little tiny sister!

NOW youngest sibling Pawn! Rook obviously loves them but bros just a baby :p cant do much but he is more then happy to play with them and babysit if needed (if hes home that is lol)

Overall i think all the Hunts love each other and want the best for each other! I have actually tons of ideas on his parents but thats a whole diff thing ><

[offorestsongs]

aa hi hi!! that ask game looks so fun i'd love to see 💘 for thornqueen? :0

AHH HII 💜 this is way longer than a snippet but i love fake dating so i went a little bit insane LMAO

💘 FAKE RELATIONSHIP / MUTUAL PINING

“This is stupid even for your standards,” Vil says, crossing his arms.

Rosienne makes his best pleading face, eyes wide and sad like he's a shelter dog. “I knooow. But my dad was so happy when I told him I have someone! I can't just show up alone now, can I?”

“Yes, you very much can. You should, in fact. Maybe that will teach you to not run your mouth.”

Rosienne doesn't falter. Vil is stubborn, sure, but so is he. With enough puppy eyes and groveling he can win this.

“Yes, yes, I’m stupid, I know! But it's really important to me and you're the only person I can ask. Well, I thought about asking Rook, but then I thought about it some more and well… You know.” He's rambling now, he knows it, but maybe if he talks long enough, Vil will agree just to shut him up.

“You can just say you've broken up.”

“And make my dad sad? No way. Would you want to make your father sad?”

Ah, there it is. Rosienne can see that Vil’s resolve is slowly starting to melt away.

“And listen. I know I’m not exactly boyfriend material, alright? But you're an actor. Surely you can pretend, even if it's me.”

At least that part was true — Rosienne wouldn't wish his own company on anyone. The mere fact that he and Vil were friends was a miracle enough. Would be enough, maybe, if Rosienne didn't so desperately want the taste of the real thing.

Even if it's all pretend, it would be nice, for one evening, to feel what it would be like, being the type of person somebody like Vil Schoenheit could fall in love with.

Vil pulls out his phone. There's a determined look on his face that Rosienne knows well but he's not sure where it came from this time. “When's the date?” he asks, casually.

So casually, in fact, it takes Rosienne a second to catch up. “What?”

“When's the date?” Vil repeats, slowly as if speaking to a toddler. “For your family dinner.”

“Oh! Are you- Are you really going to do it?”

“I don't just throw my words around. You should know this by now.”

Rosienne smiles. It feels like a victory and friends or not, he always likes winning against Vil. “Oh, thank you, thank you! You're my best friend, you know that, right?”

“Yes, I am aware.” Vil smiles, too. “You won't find anyone better, I’m afraid.”

***

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the nerves are eating Rosienne alive now. He's not sure why. It's just the Minuit family dinner; he's been there many times, he knows what he can expect, and he knows for sure his father will love Vil. The trembling hands and twisting in his gut is just his body being annoying.

“Come here. You look like a mess.”

Rosienne looks up at Vil. They're still getting ready, but he's already looking splendid. He's wearing a suit, a classy black three-piece that clings to his frame in all the right places — Rosienne was definitely not ready for Vil in a suit. He can't look at Vil without many, many very stupid thoughts running through his brain.

He's not sure how he will survive the evening.

He walks up to Vil, feeling just a little bit lightheaded.

He lets Vil handle him; straighten his tie, try and tame his curls. The smell of Vil's perfumes is overwhelming. The shimmer of his eyeshadow is the only thing Rosienne can look at.

“You know, we never discussed what being your boyfriend entails,” Vil says with a smile that makes Rosienne feel like he missed a step on the staircase.

One of Vil's hand is still in Rosienne's hair, the other slides effortlessly on Rosienne's chest.

It feels like Rosienne had walked right into a trap.

“Oh, you know. The usual… boyfriend… stuff…” he manages to say, even though his mind is racing too hard to come up with any coherent sentences.

Vil raises an eyebrow. “No, I don't think I know. Use your words, darling.”

Rosienne's can feel himself blush so hard, he's surprised he hadn't yet went straight up in flames. He would prefer that, actually. He has no idea what to deal with… whatever is going on right now.

What is even going on right now?

“Oh, you know,” he repeats, stupidly, and sees Vil's smile turn downright mocking. “Don't look at me like that! You probably know more than me! It's not like I ever had a boyfriend… Or- or anyone, really. You always wanted to play the love interest, right? Be creative, figure it out! Isn't that your job? Or- or something, I don't know…”

He lets his emotions carry him for a second before faltering.

Vil doesn't say anything. Instead, he does something worse. He gently raises Rosienne's chin. Leans down. The smell of his perfumes is the only thing in Rosienne's world now.

Before Rosienne can react, Vil's lips are on his, somehow gentle and firm at the same.

Nothing about this feels real, not the fact that Vil is kissing him, that he's gently cradling the back or Rosienne's head and certainly not the fact that Rosienne, driven more by instincts than by reason, lets himself wrap his arms around Vil's waist.

Vil kisses like he's claiming what's rightfully his, like he's certain beyond a doubt that Rosienne would never say no. He's right, of course, but he shouldn't know it. It's the type of confidence that would make Rosienne's blood boil in anger before, but now he just lets himself melt under the boy.

“What- What was that?” he asks when they finally part. It feels like Vil had kissed life out of him. It feels like the whole world is spinning.

“I'm just getting into the role,” Vil replies, straightening up. There's no blush on his face, not a hair out of place. “You're my director for tonight. I tend to listen to those.”

[noxiatoxia]

hi i wrote this like bulletpoints bc im not making this an essay. tldr youre kinda right but kinda wrong and this isnt new but kaorus issues DO get resolved we just dont really see him say "hey!! my issues are resolved :)) ". he lives through the things he was anxious about and survives so we can see it gets resolved. just in a shitty way.

ep 16/karuizawa arc> kaoru tries to help hikaru and himself to have their own individuality by experiencing different types of relationships and increasing their emotional maturity

ep 21> kaoru describes the cindrella metaphor. the dynamics in the club are the carriage. (haruhi/tamaki as daughter/father noted)

>tamaki is the one leading the carriage, aka the dynamics. hes the "leader" in a sense.

>once tamaki realizes he likes haruhi, they wont be platonic like a father/daughter anymore aka->

>the dynamic is gonna change

>hikaru also likes haruhi

>in this situation, hikaru might care a lot about haruhi and might not take this well especially after "replacing kaoru" (i assumed this is how kaoru feels bc hes later relieved when hikarus w haruhi and he still seeks out kaoru to make sure he's ok)

>this complete dynamic change is going to seperate the host club

>but hikaru seeks him out first after haruhi and hikaru are trapped

>he is sure that the dynamic issues and a group break will happen when the dynamic between haruhi and tamaki change and time passes by (whichever comes first) but so long as he's hikarus first choice he's fine with it

>kaoru assumes tamaki creates a family scenario so everything can be platonic as long as possible, but is shocked to see that tamaki wasnt willingly doing this he was just fucking stupid

>this creates a crack in kaorus way of thinking, his ~deep~ theory is just a conspiracy (that he made up due to anxiety but he doesnt realise it yet)

>hani say "kao and kyo are as oblivious as tamaki" implying that they trust the host club to stay together in face of struggle

ep 25

>the host club is facing the struggles kaoru was scared of and in a sudden, unprepared way. tamaki is leaving (might leave and then leaves), kyoya's family suddenly seems disappointed aka he might pull away from the club entirely, in the end theres a lot of changes in the club. they lose hani and mori first in the battle (graduated), then kyoya isnt coming (pulling out for future plans/family pressure), they are running after tamaki as a trio when hikaru gets hurt.

>in the pumpkin patch when doubt is highest and they are thinking about how this is surely the end, we see haruhis flashback to her dad about not hesitating when the time is right. even though she doesnt have the need to continue, she still does because she /wants/ to. AND she succeeds. this would show kaoru that there is no "spell" or some uncontrollable event that would lead to the end of their friendship, and that he can keep it alive just by working on it

>the fact that the show ended the way it did (with tamaharu happening TO keep the dynamics alive + all members working their hardest just to keep it all going) wouldve been enough to curb kaorus worries because it was physical proof that even when the things that he feared happened the group didnt fall apart and even got stronger

>so he lives through his fears becoming true and it gets resolved symbolically. obv i would want there to be a 40 min episode where kaoru goes to theraphy and resolves his issues including the incest kink but the last few episodes were rushed as fuck

Hi! Never disagree with me about the carriage ever again I'm going to fucking kill you. (<- this is a joke i am joking im not mad at u u are my friend)

I've talked about this before -- about what the last episode symbolizes in terms of the carriage allegory. But it was an old post so many people probably haven't seen it.

To showcase why I disagree we need to first realize what the carriage allegory actually stands for.

In short, the carriage is the anime's way of implementing Kaoru's depression arc from the manga. If you're unaware of that, the tl;dr is very similar to episode 21 just without Cinderella metaphors. Scared Hikaru will leave him, scared he'll lose his friends, etc. Except in the manga, Hikaru and Kaoru actually talk about this, culminating in Hikaru dyeing his hair but reassuring Kaoru they'll always be together.

In my mind, the carriage is obviously a stand-in for this. But... It's also trying to serve to be a plot device to set up the end of the show.

My guess is the creators probably thought Ouran would get a 2nd season but it didn't get greenlit, so they had to wrap things up very suddenly, which is why the ending feels as rushed as it does. This is just a theory though.

The carriage, as it is presented in episode 21, clearly is setting up a major plot point: the dissolve of the host club. And since we as an audience are lead to believe Kaoru's word is to be believed, we're also like "oh, shit, is the host club gonna fall apart?"

cuz keep in mind, through this episode and episode 16, the show presents Kaoru in such a way that makes him seem "smart" and "wise" and that his ideas hold some sort of weight to them.

So, to recap, the carriage allegory in the anime is two things: 1, a character-driven arc about Kaoru's fears and 2, a plot device to set up the ending of the show.

This is where the "resolved" thing gets tricky.

The carriage is resolved on a plot-level. By the carriage hikaru, kaoru, and haruhi were one falling into the pumpkin patch, yet still saving tamaki in the end, shows that even though the "spell" ended, they still managed to get their happy ending. The club did not fall apart.

But, keep in mind, Kaoru's side of this equation -- about the fears of growing up, drifting apart, being different from his brother -- are not touched on.

To say it was resolved because of the pumpkin patch thing I think is just...wrong. At best it's incredibly lazy writing.

Tamaki & Kyoya had character-driven arcs, too. Ones that were presented throughout the whole show. And those actually got resolved in the final episodes. Yes, they were still open-ended endings, but they were acknowledged. That's what I'm pissed off about when it comes to the carriage. It doesn't get fucking acknowledged ever again. Not even a little bit. The best we get is symbolism that only, as I said, solves one half of the puzzle at best.

for further reading here's this post and this post.

[aronarchy]

(finished THT S2E9 a few weeks ago but didn’t get to putting this out in text until now)

- throughout the 1st two seasons I was curious how they were going to play Fred—started with surface possibility of him adhering to the “bad but not in an Actually Evil Villain way,” i.e. able to be polite; it was shown to be just a façade later; I think a lot of viewers were also curious about his relationship w/Serena & how far misogyny stretched vs his previous relationship w/her pre-Gilead that seemed pretty good & respectful & fine, and how that played into the shifts that occurred during the coup, and how she maintained a presence behind the scenes in activism and planning and operations despite becoming a Wife, and to what degree Fred disagreed w/her being dismissed by the others. kind of confirmed a thought I’d had(?) to see that he was willing to be “traditionalist” w/her & assault her and not just Handmaids and not just endorsing other husbands’ assaults on their wives. lot of viewers seemed to feel really sorry for her after that, enough to move her from the “villain” category to the “pitiable/sympathetic/to be fought for” category. unsurprised that [iris’s abusive parent] had a similar reaction, and called Serena a good person after that (she always had a problem w/acknowledging Serena as Actually Abusive; cis nuclear family mothers abusing their dependents tend to find solidarity). also saw various articles going w/a similar framing of sympathy.

- but that’s the thing, isn’t it? (white, bourgeois) cis women are abused (by white, bourgeois cis men) and are victims—but they continue to choose their power over the further marginalized, over the forced laborers they own in their households, over their own liberation from their abusive patriarchs. Serena has physically assaulted as well as constantly verbally abused and controlled and psychologically tortured over the first two seasons (and after E8 she resumes). She gets a chance to leave to Hawai’i and she doesn’t—I doubt this was solely influenced by the coercive control/threat Fred exerted over her, much of her motive was that she wished to continue ruling over what she did have. We see that even more in E10 (viewed a few days ago)—she joins up w/Fred to rape June and that’s, symbolically + as the plot goes, how that contradiction that was (finally?) exposed or forced into the light in E8-9 was “resolved,” with the state of her and the house going back to as it was before: she will be close to him, plot with him, conspire together so long as it’s to abuse someone even more powerless. Serena has had much more leeway to run away throughout the entire story, and to succeed and not be caught. June tried running long before Serena started considering it when offered by the American(s).

- also it was just kind of sad to see how much better their lives were in E8 when Fred was out of the picture, and also how much less abusive Serena was to June (relatively speaking). good choice of portrayal. and a good way to understand how material conditions can lead the “good”/normal to commit atrocities, and the atrocious to behave less atrociously.

- I get why they chose for there to be a way out, going for the “inefficiency”/“working against themselves” angle (re the fertility issue, and the solution the American guy offered re their own scientists and researchers)—but it was also kind of disappointing, bc unless they were going to go full-out w/transhumanism I would’ve preferred if they just let it be. What if there wasn’t any way to resolve the small amounts of “available” fertility? What if the human race really was going to die out, and there really was no magical stroke of luck loophole found that could stop it? I would’ve liked to see the showrunners really having to contend with the fundamental value question, getting to the heart of the issue, having the guts to double down on yes we really do mean it there is no possible amount of productivity increase whatsoever that would justify coercion. (But this is a show for libfems, and for people who like happy endings and no hard dilemmas, so they have to keep it positive.)

- show makes many extremely good points and great analyses but it’s still hindered a lot by the areas where it hits a certain ceiling and doesn’t have the ability to break out of the box—mainly its erasure of racism, its erasure of transness/gender variance, and how it tiptoes around the issue of childism/child abuse (and ultimately this all feeds into its lack of endorsements of militancy, and ultimately how it falls back onto the “liberal democracy fundamentally good, just gets bad when disturbed”). obviously it’s very much not in a position to go for a family abolitionist stance, normie directors right now are all cowards, but it’s still galling to see the fundamental assumptions still endorsed, even when one of the bioparents is gay or whatever, or when the other options apart from the bereft mothers are (far worse) abusers. (a common objection would be “but they’re suffering so much from having their kids taken away so why would you hurt them even more by ok’ing kids leaving on purpose” but this is only bc the narrative still centers the adult perspective & adult struggle with patriarchal violence, not the child/youth’s, and youthlib is core and essential, not tangential or disruptive, to the overthrow of patriarchy.) (this is also linked to the show’s refusal to depict queerness more subversive than “goal of two cis adults legally married with happy kids”)

[crowsnest-creations]

Relationship History Tag Game

was tagged by @crypticcodexcreations so blame them if it's a trainwreck lol Rules: briefly (or not) describe what kinds of intimate relationships (platonic, romantic, sexual, or otherwise) your MCs have had PRIOR TO THE BOOK STARTING. Have they had their hearts ripped out before jumping into your fluffy romance? Are they aro/ace and have never been in a long-term relationship before?

Since I only have the one solid WIP that's what I'm doing. Get ready for a Stupid World dump! Although, I'm probably going to give it a proper name soon. Kiki: I'mma keep it real w u chief, she's been WAY too busy supporting herself n shit as an orphaned kid and college student. She had ONE remaining family member, who she *is* close with - a little sister. Other than that? She doesn't really have any attachments to anyone. Lafarallin: As elves are mostly enslaved by humans in his world, and he's the equivalent of like 14, he hasn't really had the chance to form any romantic or sexual relationships with anyone. He's friendly with the other elves in the sages' temple he was born in, but nothing particularly close. He's young and naive.

Onyx: Listen. She's a dragon. A young adult dragon. She has fucked before and she will fuck again. She's never had any real meaningful relationships - kind of a "bust a nut and off ya strut" kinda girl - but she's been around the block a few times. She's never held any interest in any beings other than dragons prior to the story, however, and magic is a great contraceptive. She has no real family ties or anything, either - dragons can be kinda brutal with how they raise their young. It's kind of a case-by-case basis thing, but still. She was basically on her own by the time she could catch healthy prey.

Murgakoth: She's very close with her orc tribe - they're a very "it takes a village to raise a child" kind of culture. Not everyone is related by blood, and they keep good track to avoid accidental inbreeding (though their DNA is kind of like a snake's - if they DO accidentally inbreed once, their genetics can take it so long as it's not continuous) but all the adults help raise all the children. Other than that? She's tried dating a few times, but she's more interested in the hunt than anyone around her age in the tribe.

Barir: He's definitely dated before. He actually did have a sweetheart before his accident, but he was assumed dead for long enough that she had moved on, and by the time he got out... Well. He's not really in a good state to date ANYONE at that point. He wasn't ready to settle down, though, as he hadn't known what he wanted to do with his life yet - good thing, too, can you imagine explaining his situation to any kids he could've had? "Sweetie, daddy's never going to come back. No, he's not dead, he's just got major trauma and anger issues and WILL destroy us all if we force him back into the underground city. I'm not even sure if he remembers you exist, honestly." Yeesh, good thing he wanted to wait to bone down until he knew where his life was going, that would traumatize a kid.

Tizedan: She's interested in possibly dating, but she knows her chosen profession (adventuring hero) is STUPIDLY dangerous. She's resolved not to date anyone who can't adventure with her - she doesn't want to leave someone not knowing what she might be doing or if she's okay. She's had a few guys try to take advantage of her seemingly naive external personality to bone her, but she's cut all their dicks off. Clearly, they were uncontrollable horny animals - and what do we do with those? Castrate them. Ziorvai'in: He's a dark elven prince. He doesn't date lightly, and he's not a fan of casual sex. He's got a lot of potential suitors lined up if he wants to, some trying to woo him in traditional manners, but he's turned them all down. And then he trained with monks for some time - yeah he's a kissless virgin lol. Though that's by choice - in his mind, the safety of his people comes first. For now.

Krr'Kiri: Gremlins don't really have a concept of "dating" per se. They're a very open relationship kind of people. However. They fuck. A LOT. Krr'Kiri has ABSOLUTELY fucked before. Casual shit, yes, but they have. And they have NO IDEA why other races are so shy about sex. Like seriously every known animal does it! Why be shy? They will never know. They kind of understand dating in a way, though, because gremlins will often decide on one to three (on average, sometimes more) recurring fuckbuddies and have children with them. They also have some way of keeping track of who's related to who, but lord help you if you try to figure it out. No one but the gremlins knows how they do it and they are. Remarkably unhelpful with their explanations.

Bein real, idk who all has done this, so I'm just gonna have an open tag for anyone who cares. Except @crypticcodexcreations, I'm throwing this back at you directly. Do one of your other wips coward lol

[reachingforaspark]

hello, just wanted to drop in and tell you that i just read graded exposure! so so in love w the way you write eddie (how he's so obviously moments away from breaking, putting himself together through sheer force of will bc the idea that he's allowed to be any other way is unthinkable) and his perpetual tension w Everything esp w buck, so incredibly enamoured by the way you portray chris and buck's relationship as independent from where they stand w eddie. i just [clenches fist] they love each other so damn much. divorced parents coded i'm obsessed

Oh my goodness!! Thank you so much, you've totally made my day💕

I loved writing Eddie in this story, at the point he was at the end of 5A, I think I entered a bit of a fugue state and wrote this chapter in 24hrs because I just had this urgency to express some of that overwhelming tension and weight he was experiencing. It is so hard to believe where he was at this time last season to this season. Seeing him free himself from some of that expectation, acknowledge his trauma to first to himself and then more freely to his friends and family, it makes me want to cry all the time!!

And the divorced dad's era was definitely a central vibe of this story! I loved the way the show went in 5b, but gosh I had fun planning out and working through Eddie and Buck negotiating their situation.

Thank you so much for reading it, even though it is incomplete and has remained that way for a long time.

I do have some ~10,000 words from the next two chapters, so if you're interested here's a scene from later on in the story below the cut!

“Yeah, Dad, go have some fun!” Chris, ever Carla’s little mimic, pipes in. “Carla and I need to get my homework done.”

“In my own home!” Eddie says, but goes to change his shirt.

He shoots Buck a quick text, asking if he’s free to grab a drink. It’s fine, it’s fine. They’ve never had a problem before that couldn’t be worked out over a beer or two.

“Go,” Carla shoos at him again, “say hi to Buck for me.”

He’s in the car already when Buck replies.

Sorry, on a 24.

Eddie’s not sure what is more telling, the use of punctuation or lack of emojis, or the fact that Buck hasn’t even suggested an alternative evening, like tomorrow when he’s off shift. Well, it’s not that Eddie can go back inside now. Too many questions, or a knowing look from Carla. He contemplates for a moment. If Buck was on shift, Bobby was probably on shift, Hen too. He starts the car, resolved to go… somewhere, and pulls onto the street and starts driving.

Eddie hadn’t even known Buck was working today.

Eddie finds himself sitting in a room with a tray of glass beads in front of him. One of the more bewildering turns of his life in recent months, and there have been a few more curveballs lately for sure.

There’s a woman in the corner braiding cloth into a rug, another knitting a pot holder. There’s some wool thing happening at the end of the table he can’t even guess at, fluff spread about the place. The woman sitting beside Pepa has a scrap booking toolbox packed so tightly and efficiently it puts his old med kit to shame.

Unfortunately for Eddie, Pepa’s community craft group are as serious about their gossip as they are their crafts.

“Eddie,” A woman whose name he possibly was given earlier asks, “how is your new job going?”

He gives Pepa the side eye as he responds. She raises an eyebrow back, like, you crashed my evening, remember?

“And Christopher, any new pictures?”

He does, in fact, have pictures. Buck sent through some from when he took Chris to the library yesterday, Chris sitting in a beanbag, Chris scanning the mountain of books to be brought home, Chris in the back of the Jeep, new book already cracked open in his lap. They got out far too many for him to get through in the next month, not that Buck ever says no.

“Did Buck take him to the library?” Pepa asks.

“Ah, Buck.” The ladies around the table say Buck’s name in unison and cross themselves.

It’s a little creepy. Pepa clocks his reaction to that too. He concentrates on shifting the little beads into little groups, bluer ones here, greener ones there.

“Eddie, he saved your life on that street.” Pepa pats his hand on her way to picking up needle nose pliers. “I’m grateful for him everyday.”

“Yeah.” Eddie says.

He gestures at the wires in front of him. “Pepa, I don’t know what this is supposed to look like.”

“It can look however you want, Eddie. It doesn’t matter, as long as you like it.”

Eddie has to squint one eye closed to thread the tiny beads onto the wiring, one after the other, as the chatter settles around him. It’s mostly harmonious. There’s the occasional mutter of discontent.

“Did I get that right?” He whispers over to Pepa, his Spanish not quite up to the rapid exchange Rita and Paloma are engaged with at the end of the table. “Her son’s first wife’s brother?”

“Hush, Eddie, don’t be rude.” Pepa hisses back, as though her ear isn’t tilted in that direction too.

Eddie makes a pair of earrings. The dangling kind, with loops of tiny seed beading in a deep blue. They remind him of the kind of thing Shannon would wear when they were twenty, loose floral dresses and earrings that made gently clicking noises when she walked, and got tangled up in her hair by the end of the day.

Eddie’s version are crooked though, and that makes him think about the pinched little look Ana would get when Chris would make her a drawing and she’d coo a suggestion that he write a story to go along with it. And the one time Eddie had thought that maybe she preferred stories because she could get away with putting them away into a drawer, not keeping them pinned up on her very neat fridge.

It’s probably unkind, but he knows Ana would never wear these earrings.

He feels strangely proud of them.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Honestly, I'm not sure I can take another two years of this. Four hours of content and the story hasn't progressed one iota. Will is still relegated to Ml!even relationship counselor and Vecna-detector status, and they've made Mike go so unforgivably all in on his bullshit that even if he's projecting, I've lost all respect for his character. "My life began that day I saw you in the forest"? Utter horseshit, and no need for it. J,W and M could all have saved her together with family love

Well, I finished watching, and, of all the messages I got, this one probably summed up my thoughts the best.

Not only is Will still silently suffering, but he also feels compelled to help Mike with his relationship with El because he sees how upset Mike is.

I mean, I've been there. It's a horrible, bittersweet thing to love someone so much that you tear yourself apart to see them happy. Everything Will said to Mike in the van was how he felt about him. How Will feels different, like a mistake, but Mike gives him the strength to go on. That cut me deeply. They really went there, and they didn't, possibly aren't going to, resolve it.

Will is the sad gay boy. The fact that he had to sit there and listen to Mike essentially tell El that meeting her was the best thing he's ever done...

I realize Will loves his sister, but there's no way that didn't hurt him. He's literally having to watch as everything he ever wanted slips away.

I realize Mike is clueless and oblivious in the best of time, but how can he not realize what Will is really saying?

Everything, absolutely everything, about Will's story this season was for the benefit of Mike and El. Even his painting only served to help get Mike and El back together. They led us to believe it was linked to Will's love for Mike, and, while technically true, the conversation was entirely about Mike and El. It was just an elaborate "wink and nod" to people who have picked up on Will's feelings in the past.

Will's own development is one of the most painful tragedies I've ever seen.

No Trance, no addressing his own pain aside from a couple "up to interpretation" conversations. No acknowledgement of him being significant in any way, shape, or form. He's still just a sad gay kid who can sense the Mindflayer. A poor kid who just was apparently in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Oh, and the Mindflayer is apparently Vecna all along, somehow, even though we saw him find it in the Upside Down when he got there?

I don't get it. At all. Why are they doing this? I feel like they're building up Will's pain just so he eventually lashes out and becomes a villain.

I...I need to think, but I don't know that I want to continue on this journey after this.

I was wrong about so, so much, but that's not what really bothers me. I've been very wrong about many things before.

What bothers me is that they led us to believe that it was all going somewhere. That they'd address Will's sexuality. They didn't. At best they hinted at it, just a little stronger than before. That they were "building that up." They didn't. In fact, they tore it down. That Will might again be important. He wasn't. That the painting was significant. It wasn't.

What was with the harness? The photos in the roller rink? Why even build up his feelings for Mike?

I'm at the point where I don't think I'd even accept it if he and Mike eventually got together. At best, they're prepping for a "final 10 minutes" confession. At worst, Will gets to watch, assuming he's alive, as Mike and El live happily ever after.

I'm sorry I led so many of you astray. I just...really thought the evidence added up.

[satoruin]

➣ break up & don’t make up

pairing: ayato, diluc, kaeya, kazuha x gn!reader

summary: breakups with them but there’s no leaving on good terms

warning: angst w/ no comfort, non-graphic mentions of injury in diluc’s part

notes from lee: stg if this disappears from the tags again,,, anyways enjoy some angst i whipped up bc i was inspired 🫶

ayato:

“i’m sorry kamisato, but you know better than anyone that i’m not fit to be at your side. i don’t come from a prominent family, i’m not part of the military, i’m nobody.” you had rehearsed these lines to yourself in the mirror, hoping that you wouldn’t tear up. how wrong you were once you were faced with his own tears.

“you’re not nobody to me, (y/n).” he holds you hand tight, desperate to get you to look at him. desperate to get you to stay, to stop packing your things, to find a way to make you see that you’re not alone.

your lips curl inward, pushing down the sob that threatens to come up and make you stop. “maybe but that doesn’t stop everyone else from saying it! don’t you hear the whispers whenever we are out together and your clan elders aren’t happy with me either. as the eldest and the commissioner of the entire yashiro commission, the most reliable of the tri commissions, it is your duty to marry someone good, someone that can keep up with your political affairs and has a good social standing.”

“who told you that? you know i don’t give a shit about any of that, all i want is you by my side and i will fight anyone who believes differently.” he’s forcefully turned you to look at him now, hoping your resolve will crumble by seeing the tears that roll down his face. hoping that his words can change your mind.

“it hurts to leave you, i loved you ayato. i did but i’m not cut out for this life and i never will be, fight who you want but it changes nobody’s view that i am not good enough for you. and i’m sure you know better than anyone that it’s true. you only liked me because you like to rebel against tradition, but you knew it was never going to work out long-term.”

your words of self pity aren’t, wrong but he won’t stand to let you be consumed by it, “but i can make it go away, you know that i-”

“no, i’m sorry ayato there’s nothing you can do now. haven’t you heard that you have to let go of those you love. it’s time for you to let go of me, i’m holding you back. but because i have this absolutely overwhelming love for you, i'm willing to let go so that you can be the best yashiro commissioner yet.”

he sinks to his knees wordlessly, your hand still in his grasp. you stay silent waiting for a response, and when you don’t get one you bow to him, “thank you for your time, commissioner. i’ll stay out of your way now.” you pull away your hand and walk out of the room, all your belongings in tow.

ayato stays sunken into the floor as he sobs silently, not brave enough to watch you walk away.

diluc:

“why do you always forget about yourself, luc?” you half scolded him while you dabbed at the wound on his shoulder with an alcohol pad. “it’s okay to think about yourself once in a while, ya know.”

he hisses at the sting and grumbles out a response, “i can’t be selfish when mondstadt still needs to be protected.”

“well i want to be selfish, i want to keep you by my side, i want to go to sleep with you in our bed for one night and wake up to you there in the morning! is that wrong?” you exclaim, trying to make eye contact with him and gauge his feelings, but he turns away.

“but mondstadt,” he starts, but you’re quick to cut him off by pressing down on his wounded shoulder once more.

you huff angrily and start wrapping his arm up.“if i’m not important to you then what is the point of this relationship? i feel like i’m just another attendant at your manor, not the person you should come home to at night or confide in. we’re practically strangers right now luc.”

when you’re done you throw the supplies down angrily because of his refusal to even give you an answer. you try to look at him again but he remains with his gaze fixed to the side.

“ok, i’ll have my things out by tomorrow then.” you retreat to your shared bedroom, if you can call it that anymore, not expecting him to follow you.

and he doesn’t. diluc doesn’t walk through the big oak doors and tell you he wants you to stay and that you do mean something to him. if anything you suspect that he’s gone out again as darknight, protecting his precious mondstadt.

you walk out the front of the winery and adelinde stops you, “don’t tell anyone what you know about the young master. you know that we are very well connected, so we will know if you decide to have loose lips.”

your nose crinkles as you pretend to smile and nod at the poorly disguised threat. with a heavy heart and sigh you leave the winery, knowing there’s no one left to stop you from going.

diluc watches out the window from your once shared bedroom as you leave. he understands it’s better this way, even if it leaves yet another hole in his heart.

kaeya:

you storm out of the tavern and you hear his unmistakable footsteps behind you. you continue to walk but you need to get your thought out. you whirl around to find him reluctantly following you. “you used me, i trusted you! and to find out that you’ve just been stringing me along for fun.”

“i did always say no strings attached, darling. so if anything it’s your fault for feeling ’strung along’ as you said.” he replies coldly, obviously not wanting to even discuss this.

“unbelievable! how could you tell me that you love me? that there was something between us?” you’re still fuming, hands clenched by your side as you demand answers out of the calvary captain.

“maybe they were the truth at one point, but once you served your share of entertainment…” he trails off, leaving you to fill in the blank.

“i hate you and your stupid charming words. i hate myself for ever having fallen for you.” you try to sound mad but the break in your voice tells kaeya that you’re not far from tears.

he watches you receding figure disappear down the cobbled road as you make your way home. he really believed that there should be no strings attached. kaeya couldn’t afford that even if he had to sever the ones tied to his own heart.

kaeya hates that everything he just said was a lie in an attempt to get you to leave him, and it worked. of course it worked, he knows you inside and out and you’re on the forefront of his mind at all times.

but it's because of this that he knows you will be better off without him. it’s easiest for you if you hate him instead, makes it easier for you to forget you ever loved him.

but he’ll never forget the warmth of your love.

kazuha:

“i can’t go kazu. my whole life is here, it’s not for me to uproot it all for you.”

“but it’s not reasonable for me to stay here with you either,” he tells you softly.

“why not? why is it so bad to settle down and stay here with me? am i not worth your time and you’d really rather be out wandering?” you question him.

he quickly elevates your own worries when he doesn’t answer. “it seems we have reached an impasse, darling.”

“no. tell me. am i not good enough for you to settle down with?”

“that’s not it and you know it.” he seems to grow frustrated at your persistent questioning.

“well, if you can’t find an answer then maybe it is best if we stop seeing each other. you wouldn’t be able to see me while you’re out and about adventuring either way. don’t bother coming back to see me.”

you storm out and he lets you. he doesn't have an answer for you but he hopes after you cool down that you’ll be back.

kazuha waits right up until beidou is calling him onto the crux, telling him that he’ll be left behind if he doesn’t board. he hangs his head with resignation, giving up on his wish for you to show.

it appeared that the wind was not leading him to a happy ending with you and after your harsh words there’s no hope for him to return to your arms.

seems fate liked to be cruel to him, destined for a life of solitude on the sea.

[dr-drea]

Adding to that whole Finn characterization thing, the writers also broke with the Skam tradition of the typical narrative structure of the seasons, where at least in one episode, the love interest is in focus. I guess most of you are familiar with this anyways, but i'll try to shortly explain how a Skam season is (typically) structured.

Episodes 1 -3: establish our main and their character traits, the situation they find themselves currently in, their family background, their hobbies etc.; they also hint at potential struggles, which is why a lot of theory making by the fans is happening here; and, of course, they show us who is going to be the love interest.

Episodes 4 - 7: we can see our main struggling with the themes established before, but also some achievements and happy moments (usually the first kiss, or getting together with the LI); there are some up's and downs in the plot and at the end of this bumpy ride, we also have a pretty clear idea what the love interest is like, and we are guessing about their central struggle.

Episode 8, also known as hellweek: Now, our LIs struggle is clearly pointed out, leading to an accumulation of both the main's and the love interest's problems; this is leaving the main as desparate as never before. Gradually tho, they manage their way out of the mess so that...

in Episode 9, the love interest is in focus. In the case of newly established relationships, we see the main dealing and overcoming their own problems, and then fighting for the Love Interest, to get back together with them (the only exeption here is the Hannah/Eva season, which ends with a breakup, but we still learn a lot about Jonas' character and background story in the last two episodes).

Finally, Episode 10 is where all storylines come together, eventual side conflicts are resolved, everyone is happy.

Let's go back to the current season and how Finn is (not) in focus here.

The topics established in the first three episodes can still be considered the main topics of the season, though we all agree they were handled messy and weirdly. And I do think, up to episode three, the season was quite okay.

But episode 4 - 7 do not provide us with a coherent 'up and down' of the Failin relationship, but rather with a messy, incoherent construction of both characters and that love relationship, which also in later scenes seemed underdeveloped. That resulted in almost nobody rooting for them to get together.

Both episode 7 and 8 seemed like hellweek for Mailin (and Zoe), and while Mailin got really tangled up in her own problems, I don't see a central struggle for Finn.

That Mailin is avoiding him? That's HER problem, not his, anyone would have been annoyed by that.

Him feeling like a 'tryout boyfriend' is also not really his problem, but kind of the conclusion of how Mailin has treated him so far.

So again, a reactive characterization.

And now we are at the end of episode 9, and I don't see the drama ending?? And I also don't really see Mailin 'fighting' for Finn, or how the plot takes Finns feelings/struggles into consideration. It is all about Mailin.

And that might be one of the central mistakes that were made during this season. Having it solely revolve around a white, skinny, heterosexual, neurotypical girl, a character who we have seen over and over in the media landscape. Making her BY FAR the most privileged character in the series, by also giving her a high socio-economic status, and then barely reflecting her privileges. And that, while having an extremely diverse friend group around her, whose stories even centered around not having these privileges, being discriminated against and disadvantaged. And on top of that, having these characters doing nothing, but praising her.

With everything happening, the writers and creators of S8 are completely ignoring thoughtfully made casting choices and previously established storylines.

I'm so done with this season, and tired of criticizing it, but especially the last aspect I wanted to point out again, as it bothers me a lot.

[angryteapott-archive]

I actually (personally) like anthony's arc in the show a bit better too. In the book there's this p&p esque emphasis that he's core good all along w/ rough edges. But Anthony isn't just a little judgey but overall kind to strangers like Darcey, Anthony is repeated a Giant Dick in both the show and the book,, NOT ONLY by modern standards but as told by people in his world. That's an issue for a romance lead.

The books tries to solve by him standing up for penelope at a ball- he does that because she's a family friend, and I'm not personally convinced he's a nice person from that considering the shit he's said/ done to other strangers thats pretty much the bullying he's saving her from. He loves his family but in a way that is dismissive, controlling, and doesn't line up with how he treats others, ie him throwing a key to see kate crawl on the floor after being such a controlling dick to Daphne because "simon doesn't treat women right" BETTER THAN YOU DICKHEAD. The conflict that is instead addressed in the book is his resistance to love due to trauma, and to resolve the other issues the book decides "he might be a rake but he's also something else entirely " like who cares? Volunteering at the soup kitchen doesnt absolve you of kicking puppies??

The show at least attempts to link both things- he's a callous misogynist who's too controlling while having a dutiful heart for his family and trauma BECAUSE he has a dutiful heart towards family and trauma. He's not kind/honorable and separately a swashbuckling rake, his kindness is tainted and mirrors his actions as a rake because it comes from his terrified certainty that his family can rely only on him. He's allergic to being wrong and condescends constantly because he's caught up in this narrative. I need a mistress because I need affection without being vulnerable with my family because then I'm putting the burden on them that mom put on me and I can't possibly be wrong in treating my mistress as subhuman because my duty to family means she's unsuitable for my reputation and if I'm wrong about that SHE needs to fit into MY world. Edwina's a good wife candidate, I'm the only one who can support my family, if I'm wrong about something my family faces dire consequences (baby or mother?), I cannot be wrong, if I no longer want to marry Edwina my previous decision was wrong, I must marry edwina to never be wrong for my family. Thus him not pursuing kate and pursuing edwina actually makes more sense then it does in the books- instead of it being due to a fear of his own death that doesn't touch his relationship to his family, it is in line with his actions towards daphne, his mistresses, his brothers etc as a fear of a loss of control. It's completely irrational but justified to himself as self sacrifice. In the show everyone is baffled by his decision except for kate, who has the exact same fear and the exact same flawed arithmetic. Why can't she also find a match? Because Edwina's the one who's important! She's not afraid of a loss of control and being legally separated from her family at all! She's doing it for them! It makes no sense until its viewed through the lens of her trauma. Anthony resisting being together is less drawn out in the books, but while the starter reason is similar (edwina makes a good wife) the secondary reason (I'm attracted to Kate and thus will be too sad about my upcoming funeral) rings a little hollow for me because we don't see that fear of death in other areas.

In the book, Anthony's issue of trauma making him not want to love Kate is resolved by him deciding to not let fear make him not want to love Kate. His previous callous behavior is completely forgotten or presumably continued. In the show, Anthony's issue of trauma making him want to never be wrong and control everything by saying he's self sacrificing is resolved by him realizing that very fear puts him in the wrong a lot of the time and his sacrifices aren't actually what people want or need. Whether it's putting too much pressure on his 13 year old brother, bribing an institution to accept his 20 something year old brother, or lying to a lovely young woman about the circumstances of their engagement- it's NOT for their own good, what he's sacrificing for is his fear, and he needs to learn to love in a way that takes into account other peoples input. Daphne's line was deafening - "All of these decisions that you seem to make and then resent us for. Though they do not make you worthy of your family's respect. They simply make us pity you." !!!!!! !!!!!! ! ! ! He realizes he's failed! And only through that does he realize it's now safe to fail! This culminates in him confessing he loves Kate while understanding he can't control what she does in response, but more importantly it is preceded by him making amends with his mother, brothers, and generally admitting he was wrong. Instead of an arc that's indulgent of his bad behavior and where trauma only impacts one facet of his life substantially, he begins to change how he moves in the world!! Way more consistent of a motivation.

Now, was how we arrived there better than the book to me? No. Once he realized he should dump edwina it really was annoying that they pushed it to the wedding day for drama. Why wasn't kate's arc equally fleshed out. Why was so much time devoted to penelope and the featheringtons. There's flaws. But i think the writers at least realized "anthony is nice to penelope at a ball and loves his fam" wasn't going to cut it to present anthony as a good man, and the arc they gave is actually pretty nuanced. Deffo think the book was better paced though, and Edwina and Mary are MUCH better done in the book.

[goldenroutledge]

aspen’s bliss » pt. 3

pairing: drew starkey x girlfriend!reader (but not for long 😶)

word count: 6.9k

warning(s): fluff, angst, mentions of cheating, car accidents, hospitals, injuries, and drama

summary: your relationship with drew is still thriving, but the drama from last year’s aspen trip may not be as resolved as you thought. drew is acting suspicious and it’s hard not to think the worst. when you go to miami for your brother’s wedding, disaster ensues and the truth comes to light

a/n: i can’t say much without giving anything away!! i really really hope you guys like it. its taken me months to write this (i was having such a hard time w the plot) so i hope it was worth the wait ;)

part two ~ drew starkey masterlist

© goldenroutledge || do not plagiarize, repost, or translate my work in any way

A year later, your relationship with Drew was still as strong as ever and you couldn’t be happier. From only your first few months together, you knew he was it for you. And the opinions of your loud mouthed family members, namely Grandma Betty, could not say or do anything to change that. You were all in. Even if Drew couldn’t see that yet.

Little did you know, he dealt with his own insecurities in your relationship. He made it his job to be there for you whenever you needed him, but tended to withdraw from situations that would include him opening up to you. It wasn’t like he felt uncomfortable around you, or that you would invalidate his feelings. Those tendencies to be closed off only came to him in regards to talking about your relationship.

He just seemed to prefer letting the thoughts wander in his head as he tossed and turned through the night, blaming it on insomnia and hoping you wouldn’t notice. Of course you noticed, though. You made an effort in paying a lot of attention towards your boyfriend and encouraging him to talk to you about the things going through his head. Although he brushed it off, you wouldn’t stop asking like he hoped. This wasn’t the first time, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“You alright?” You placed your bookmark in the book, looking up towards Drew from the bed as he came out of the bathroom, fresh out of the shower. “You were kinda quiet during dinner tonight.”

“M’fine.” Drew mumbled, not once making eye contact with you despite feeling your stare on his body. The silence sustained for what felt like forever. Until you had enough that is.

The lights were out and Drew had given you a kiss on the cheek as a way to say goodnight, but you could almost hear the gears turning in his head. “Drew?” You spoke barely above a whisper. No answer. “Drew?” You repeated a little louder this time.

“Yes, Y/n?” He replied softly, but also sharply at the same time. Hearing your first name fall from his lips was enough to send shivers down your spine, as he always seemed to have a cute nickname to call you.

“What’s been bothering you?”

“Nothing, how many times have I told you that?”

Even though he wasn’t facing you, you could picture the annoyed look on his face. “You don’t have to tell me, babe. I know something’s wrong.” You placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Talk to me.”

He sighed but melted into your touch, rolling over and placing a hand on his forehead while he thought. “I don’t know. It’s stupid.”

“Nuh-uh. It can’t be if you’ve been thinking about it all night. Please, Drew.” You pleaded. “I’m worried about you.”

He let a few moments pass by before he spoke up again. “I don’t know, really. That’s the thing. I know you love me but I also know you can do better. And I’m scared that one day you’ll realize it.” He muttered, feeling heat rise to his cheeks at his confession.

“Oh, baby.” You sighed, a frown pulling at your lips. “I love you more than anything, and there’s no one else for me, Drew.” You cooed. “You’ve made me happier in these last 2 years than I’ve ever been in my entire life.”

“You mean that?” He asked softly.

You pecked his lips quickly before replying. “Of course I do.”

He smiled and rested his head beside yours. “I know. Sometimes I just need to hear it.” He admitted sheepishly.

“I’ll tell you more often, then. Because I never want you to forget it.” You reassured, kissing his jaw softly.

Thinking to yourself, you were oddly grateful that these moments happened. If they hadn’t, you would be oblivious to the fact that Drew had insecurities too, and you could both work on them together. You also felt silly for not realizing sooner, even if you picked up on his dampened energy. Drew had been acting distant ever since he had taken you out for dinner earlier that same day.

“What can I get for you, sir?” The waiter asked Drew first.

“I’ll have the sirloin, medium-rare with the potatoes, please.” He answered as the waiter scribbled Drew’s order on his pad, before turning to face you with a grin.

“And for the pretty lady?”

You refrained from gagging at his strange nickname. “Uh, I’ll have the same.” You gave him a tight-lipped smile, folding the menu and handing it to him. He had taken Drew’s, but his grip on the opposite end of the menu you were holding was more of a playful tug. He had a smirk on his face but you didn’t give him the satisfaction, dropping the menu on the table. His smirk fell from his face, picking up the menu and walking away. You shrugged it off, sparking a conversation with your love in front of you.

Through the rest of the evening, the waiter came by a little more often than he probably should’ve. Checking if you needed refills or to ask how the food was. After a while you had asked for another glass of wine, to which the waiter happily obliged. He picked up the glass and refilled it, handing it to you instead of placing it back on the table.

His eyes bore into you but you refused to give him the eye contact, grabbing the glass from him. The waiter’s touch lingered over your hand, to which you wiped your hand with your napkin in discreet disgust. As if that wasn’t enough of a sign, the man spoke your way with another odd comment.

“Enjoy, beautiful.”

Drew continued to be particularly quiet, not wanting to be the jealous boyfriend that makes a scene in the middle of a restaurant. He knew you weren’t entertaining it in the slightest, and wouldn’t even think about it. The sick feeling in his stomach may have been in his head, but he didn’t want to ruin his date with you.

Once the waiter had appeared with the check, he had written his number on your copy of the receipt. He had initially tried to hand it to you, before Drew snatched it out of his hand and saw the scribbles. “Seriously?”

“Well, I’m sure she can speak for herself. I just want to get to know a pretty girl, that’s all. Maybe she can save my digits for when you call it quits.” He replied to Drew in a mocking tone.

“She’s not available.” He stated, jaw clenched and eyes full of anger.

“Looks pretty available to me. I don’t see a ring on her finger.” The man shrugged, smirking at the banter between the two.

Honestly you were annoyed about the embarrassingly persistent and invasive service on what was supposed to be a fine evening out with Drew. Just before your boyfriend could say something, you did. “He’s right. I’m not interested, and I never will be. Take a hint, sir.” You got up from your seat, Drew taking the signal and slapping more than enough cash on the dark wood table.

“Keep the change.”

“Y/n?” You hummed against his chest in response, drawing shapes mindlessly. “Do you want to get married one day? Like have you thought about it?”

“Of course I have. I’ve been dreaming of my wedding day since I was like 11. What about you?”

“Yeah, for the first time in my life. I guess when you meet the right person, it changes a lot of things.”

You grinned, and he did too as he could practically see the image of you smiling your bright and gorgeous smile in his head. “Yeah, I guess it does. Y’know I never imagined introducing a guy to my family, let alone bringing them with me to Aspen.” You admitted, referring to the (mostly) wonderful trip the two of you took the year prior.

“Aww, how special am I?” He boasted playfully.

“Really, really special, Drew.” You answered, sitting up slightly to face him better.

“Like, you’d let me be your husband special?” He teased.

“Maybe. But if you don’t consider me wife-special, then no.”

“Lucky for you, I just so happen to.”

-

The thought of marriage hadn’t wandered far from Drew’s mind ever since that night. In some weird, twisted way, he was grateful to the repulsive waiter for bringing it to his attention. In the back of his mind, he envisioned himself with you forever, but didn’t know when would be a good time to take a step further. But now that you had made it clear you both were on the same page, he felt much more confident. The words of his mom replayed in his head; ‘if the timing is right, just go for it’. And that was the plan. At least he thought the timing was right.

He had just come home from work, finding you on the couch with a fancy envelope in your hand. “Hi baby.” He greeted, watching your head shoot up from the mail in your hand.

“Oh, hi.”

“You ok?” He asked concerningly, as your foot hadn’t stopped its vigorous bouncing on the floor.

“We got this in the mail today, I was waiting for you to get home so we could open it together.” You explained, patting the spot next to you on the couch. “It’s from my brother. He told me to look out for it.”

“Ok, then what are you waiting for? Let’s see.” He encouraged, the both of you watching in anticipation as you opened the folds of the envelope and pulled out its contents carefully.

You let out a gasp, Drew’s jaw hanging open simultaneously. “A wedding invation?! Oh my god...” You exclaimed, eyes following the intricate calligraphy.

“Wow.” Drew cleared his throat, running a hand through his hair and leaning back on the sofa. “That’s fast.”

“Isn’t it?” You shot back. “He’s known this girl for like... a few months. And now they’re getting married?” You leaned back with Drew, his arm now around your shoulders as you shook your head in disbelief.

“When you know, you know I guess. Maybe it’s true love.”

“I don’t know. None of us have met her. Magnolia. I hope Mason’s not making a huge mistake.” You sighed.

“Yeah. Let’s hope not.”

You stayed silent, texting Daniella to see if she got an invitation yet or not. Mason was the second of the siblings to get married. He was also the youngest, so you know your sisters wouldn’t be taking this lightly. You all grew up watching over him and it was still an instinct you carried to adulthood.

“You look sad.” Drew pointed out.

“Yeah. I just can’t believe my baby brother is getting married before me.” Drew only frowned, not sure how to respond to your admission. “I’m still happy for him though, don’t get me wrong. I hope it works out.”

“It will, darling. It always works out in the end.” Drew reassured. It wasn’t that big of a deal, but Mason’s approaching wedding threw a wrench in Drew’s plans to propose. He didn’t think it would be the right time, and he knew you wouldn’t try to take that spotlight away from your brother and his fiancée.

If anything, he chose to look on the brighter side of things and take this as an opportunity to find you the perfect ring. Drew wanted to ensure you have the best of the best, the crème de la crème all for his girl. Picking a ring wouldn’t be easy, but he was more than up for the challenge. You were busy enough over the next few days getting information from your siblings about the wedding, while also making the necessary travel arrangements.

Travel arrangements for one. Bringing Drew along would be ideal, but given the last time he was around your family, the trip ended in shambles. You already confirmed Grandma Betty would be one of those in attendance. And hell, she was probably the main contributor to the finances of this wedding.

Drew reassured you many times that what she said hadn’t bothered him in the slightest, or would ever make him see you differently. Her disparaging words probably got under your skin more than they did Drew’s. You hadn’t uttered a word to her since, and didn’t plan to at the wedding in Miami either.

“Whatcha doin?” Drew questioned, popping up behind you at the table and placing his hands on your shoulders.

“Uh, just booking my flight for Mason’s wedding.”

He quirked an eyebrow, hands pausing their movement in rubbing your shoulders gently. “Your flight?” You sighed at his tone, leaning your head back in exasperation. “As in, you’re going alone?”

“I don’t want to, Drew. But last year in Aspen didn’t go so great, either.” You elaborated.

“Really, Y/n? I thought we agreed we were past this?” He queried, moving to sit in a chair next to you.

“It’s not that easy, babe.”

“It’s not?” He argued. “Why did you lie to me and say you were over the whole Aspen thing when you clearly aren’t? You don’t want me to be around your family now?”

“I am over it, Drew! But I don’t want to put you in that situation again. I’d rather take the heat alone than have you be the punching bag.”

He uncrossed his arms from over his chest, standing up and pausing in thought. “Well you could’ve just said that, Y/n.”

You stood up and moved towards him, nodding your head in agreement. “Yeah. I should’ve told you, baby. I’m sorry.”

He cupped your sad face, pressing his forehead against yours. “We don’t have to care what they think, love. So what if your grandma doesn’t like me? Or thinks I’m unworthy of you and incapable of taking care of you, or making you happy.” He joked.

“To be fair, she doesn’t like anyone.” You laughed out, cupping Drew’s face as well. “But there’s no one I’d rather love. No one that takes better care me of me. You know that right?” You reminded him. Sometimes he made jokes about these kinds of things, but you were always there to tell him again that you loved him as much as he loved you.

“Yeah. I know.” He beamed, the both of you tilting your heads slightly and catching each other’s lips in a passionate kiss.

“Good.”

-

The next morning, Drew had woken up significantly earlier than you. But how could he disturb you in such a peaceful and comfortable state? It just so happened that the peaceful and comfortable state in question was sleeping on his bare chest.

His eyes widened at the name coming across his Caller ID. Sandra. His jewelry consultant. She was recommended to him by some friends of his who got married not long ago, and once he got her information he decided it was the first step. The first step to the beginning of the rest of your lives together.

He carefully removed himself from your grasp, replacing his body with some blankets before stepping out onto the balcony to take the call. You were snoring away in the bed, only the duvet and Drew’s body heat keeping you warm. Until Drew’s body heat seemed to vanish, and a softer, lighter object replaced him.

You stirred awake, eyes fluttering open to see a blanket in your arms instead of Drew. You were still too sleepy for your eyebrows to knit together in confusion, but you caught sight of the balcony door barely cracked open. Although it was still early for you, joining Drew on the balcony and getting some fresh morning air didn’t seem like a bad idea.

You threw on one of his shirts over your body, the fabric restoring the heat that was missing from the bed. At the sound of the door sliding open, Drew shot a quick glance at you but turned away. “Hey, hey. I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.” He murmured. You could barely make out the high pitched voice on the other line, but you weren’t really trying to hear it either. “Good morning, beautiful.” He smiled, sliding his phone into his pocket and kissing your forehead. “Did you sleep well?”

“Mhm. I was really tired.”

“Oh? I wonder why.” He teased, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

You giggled. “Yeah, I wonder why. Who was that on the phone?”

Drew’s muscles tensed as he tried to think quickly. “Oh, just work stuff.”

“Oh, okay. How about some breakfast then?”

“Breakfast sounds perfect. If you’re on the menu.” He winked.

“Sorry. We’re all out of that. Looks like we’re stuck with pancakes.” You shrugged with faux disappointment.

“Oh really?” He challenged.

“I’m afraid so.” You couldn’t hold back a grin for too long, shrieking as Drew delivered a sharp smack to your ass to emphasize his seriousness.

“We’ll see about that.”

-

Mason’s wedding was approaching, which made you more and more anxious about another family reunion. You couldn’t remember the last one that went well. Or one where Grandma Betty didn’t tear everyone’s confidence to shreads. But Drew was right, she can’t get to you if you don’t let her.

On his side of things, this wedding was like a sign from above. Sandra’s company was based in Miami, just having a few other locations sprinkled around the country. He had already planned on traveling to pick up the ring before Mason even announced his upcoming nuptials. And if time allowed it, he would be able to sneak away and purchase your engagement ring earlier than he anticipated. One of them out of the large selection he narrowed it down to, anyway.

You still hadn’t found out, and that was the most important thing of all. Unbeknownst to him, your intuition was telling you something way worse. Not that you would ever think Drew would cheat on you, but you’d been cheated on before. You could write a book on the secretive calls, the hushed tone he spoke in while on them, the same and constant ‘work’ excuse. Drew seemed to be replicating all of those behaviors that made you uneasy. You couldn’t tiptoe around it any longer. You had to speak now or forever hold your peace.

“Hi, Drew.” You greeted calmly, entering your shared apartment as he slammed his laptop shut a little too quickly.

“Hey, baby. You’re home early.” He pointed out.

“Yep. The salon wasn’t busy today so I got in early.” You explained, referring to your nail appointment earlier. And now that you thought of it, Drew had been trying to get you out of the house a lot more. But you needed your nails done for the wedding anyway, so you obliged this time.

“Oh.”

“Can I ask you something, Drew?”

“Of course, sweetheart.” He responded innocently.

You shook off the cute name and stayed strong. “Why have you been so busy lately? I mean, I know work is great for you and all but.. I feel like I hardly see you anymore.”

He turned his head to the side at you words. “What do you mean? We live together.”

“Yeah.” You mumbled, looking down at your freshly manicured hands to avoid his stare. “I don’t know. I guess what I’m trying to ask is-” You sighed, taking another deep breath in. “Is there someone else, Drew?”

A small gasp fell from his lips, rushing to take both of your hands in his. “Of course not.” The floor looked so much more interesting than Drew right now. “Look at me. Please?” Your eyes flickered up to meet his bewildered ones. “I would never- and I mean EVER- cheat on you, Y/n. And I’m so sorry for making you feel that way, or making you not trust me but I swear on all that is holy there’s no one else. You’re the only one for me. I promise to make more time for us-” He rambled, being cut off abruptly by you smashing your lips to his.

“It’s okay. I believe you.” You smiled softly.

“I feel terrible for making you think that though. That’s not okay-”

“I believe you, Drew. It’s just-” You started. “I’ve been cheated on before and I guess I never let go of that insecurity. But I trust you.” You reassured him.

He nodded, pressing a soft kiss to your temple, breathing in your sweet scent as he held you. Lying to cover up his plan was the worst part about this. Especially if you were thinking he would ever hurt you like that. But for now, it was what needed to be done if he wants this to go right. Drew counted his lucky stars, that this would all go to plan.

The night before Mason’s wedding.

Your flights were scheduled to depart at 7:35, leaving just enough time for you to get settled in your hotel and be there for the wedding the next day. Your bags were packed, just waiting by the front door as you finished packing a few things in your carry-on, going through a mental checklist so you weren’t forgetting anything.

Taking notes from your previous vacations, packing your main luggage in advance kept stress down to a minimum, and you were taking all of the de-stress tips you could get. You sat on the couch, relaxing into the comfortable furniture while waiting for Drew to finish up. As your eyes scanned the coffee table in front of you for your phone, they landed on Drew’s first.

Of course you didn’t mean to snoop, or to even see the text that lit up his phone screen. But you had to have a little context as to what was going on. A woman’s number saved under ‘💍’. This had to be a joke.

drew: i’m gonna be in miami for the next few days. so i’ll see you sometime this week?

💍: sounds perfect. just let me know when you can sneak away from y/n, we can’t let her find out.

drew: of course not. hopefully she’ll be too distracted with her family to notice.

💍: can’t wait for you to see what i have waiting for you.

Your jaw might as well have been on the floor. Your hand went limp and let his phone fall down onto the coffee table, tears pricking your eyes from anger and disbelief. “Y/n?” Drew murmured cautiously, watching your still figure sit calmly on the couch.

“Drew.” You swallowed harshly, not sparing him a glance.

“What’s wrong?”

You let out a painful laugh at his oblivion, picking up his phone and making your way towards him. “You’re cheating on me? And you want to ask me what’s wrong?”

He stepped back after you shoved his phone to him, the suspicious texts displayed on the screen. His face dropped at the sight, confirming the intuition you’d been having for the last few weeks. “Oh, shit.” He cursed under his breath. “Baby, please. I swear it’s not what it looks like. Just hear me out.”

“Oh, great. Use that fucking cliché on me, Drew.” You spat sarcastically. “I don’t need you to tell me, anyways. We’re done.”

“No, you don’t understand, Y/n. I never cheated on you. I would never cheat on you. Please, just let me explain.” He pleaded, eyes darting after you as you gathered your keys, luggage and purse, ready to head out the door.

You stood there, motioning for him to continue. But his mouth ran dry, and he didn’t have the words to cover the situation. He didn’t even have a ring yet to prove it to you. “That’s what I thought. Fuck you, Drew. Stay your cheating ass far away from me. Don’t come to Miami.” You ordered, punctuating your statement with a slam of the door.

Drew didn’t move for what felt like hours, tears pricking his own eyes as he processed what had just transpired. You walked out on him over a miscommunication. A surprise that was supposed to be one of the best of your life. It cut the both of you deep for you to walk out the door. With a small hope that Drew would explain himself and this whole thing would be a misunderstanding. Instead, he failed. He couldn’t stand to see you leave like that. But that’s what you did anyway.

-

The plane ride to Miami was exhausting. As soon as you had sat down in your car to head for the airport, you sobbed. Quiet, but heavy sobs escaping out of your throat. You cried and cried for what felt like hours. Almost missing your flight, too. But the day was planned for travel anyway, so you didn’t have on mascara to worry about blurring your vision. Or leaving black streaks around your eyes and down your cheeks like it normally would’ve done.

It was hard to give your appearance a second thought when you felt your chest tighten and heart break into pieces the whole way there. What once was a chill playlist to listen to on the plane ride was now changed to a depressing one, leaving you to gaze out the plane window and replay every word in your head.

Your destination was almost forgotten. It felt like you couldn’t get far enough away from him right now. But you were grateful for the distance you could get at the moment, it was surely needed. Stepping out of the Miami Airport to your rental car, the humid air clung to your skin. It was the closest thing to a hug, oddly enough. You weren’t quite sure where you were going, letting the GPS be your guide as you struggled to take in the new scenery.

Normally you would’ve been fascinated by the city, but you passed it by as if you’d seen it all a million times. The hotel staff probably deemed you as rude, not once flashing them a polite smile at their service. But your dull and sad eyes said enough. Along with your slouched posture, hood pulled over your head and the monotone you spoke in. You hardly remembered falling into a deep sleep until you woke up the next morning.

The big day.

Attending a wedding of all events was quite literally the last on the list of things you’d want to do today. As terrible as it sounded, a funeral would’ve fit your mood much better on a day like today. You felt hurt and miserable, the painful memories flooding back to you as you gained your bearings. Oh, how you wished it was just a bad dream.

A few knocks were heard at your door, your feet dragging across the carpeted floor to answer. Daniella. “Oh my... you look terrible! Why?” She exclaimed, rushing in and examining your further.

“Gee, thanks.” You chided. “It’s been a long day.”

“It’s 11am.” She noted.

“Exactly. Long day.”

“Where’s Drew?” She inquired, looking around the room for any traces of him and left with absolutely none. You nearly flinched at the sound of his name, the feelings all too fresh at this moment.

“He’s not coming.”

“What? Why not?” You glared at her, and it clearly wasn’t enough of an answer for the chipper woman. “Don’t tell me...” She insinuated, gasping at your deadpan. “You broke up?!”

“Bingo.”

“I really didn’t see this coming! I feel so blindsided!” Daniella exclaimed in shock.

“You’re telling me.” You muttered, plopping down on the bed.

Another gasp came from her lips. “He cheated?”

You scoffed. “How the hell do you know everything anyway? I didn’t say that.”

“You don’t have to. I know you too well, big sis.” She explained. “I’m really sorry, though. It must suck being here when you just got your heart broken.”

“Yeah. It does.” You confessed. “But I’m here for our brother. Forget the drama. Also, don’t make it a big deal. It’s Mason’s day.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” She surrendered. “We’ve got a wedding to get ready for.”

-

Before the ceremony began, you sat in your assigned chair. Only to take notice of the empty one to the left of you, a seat meant for Drew. The story you were going to tell to excuse his absence you weren’t sure of yet. But maybe the same one he used on you all of those times. Caught up with work.

The rest of your sisters and their significant others were to your right, your parents and stepparents, as well as Grandma Betty in the row in front of you. Until, a figure slid into the chair beside you quickly, just before the officiant announced everyone to please take their seats. You continued staring at the ground, spotting some familiar dress shoes and pants.

“What the hell are you doing here, Drew?” You seethed through gritted teeth.

“I’ll explain later. I swear to you I’m innocent, Y/n.” He defended. Magnolia’s bridal music began playing through the venue as she made her way down the aisle, everyone standing up.

You didn’t utter a word to him, focusing solely on the two people at the altar instead of the person to the left of you. Sure, you all had your suspicions about Mason and Magnolia before. But seeing them together today was magical, and your worries and doubts were washed away.

The vows they exchanged made you tear up, seeing your brother so happy and so in love. Something you thought you had only 24 hours ago. You couldn’t deny the fact that you’d always imagined yourself getting married in the near future, but unexpectedly it was Mason’s turn. Of course you were beyond happy for them. But you’d always thought you’d be next at the altar, exchanging vows with Drew instead.

And now you could hardly stand to look at the man beside you. Not after the betrayal he caused you. Drew offered you the hanker chief from his pocket as he spotted a tear roll down your cheek. You didn’t accept it, swiping the tear away with the side of your thumb.

Soon came the reception.

Tables were rearranged to prepare for the toasts. A toast which you had nearly forgotten you promised Mason you’d give. All you had to do was speak from your heart; even if it was tainted at the moment. You would do the best you could.

“As your big sister, Mason, I couldn’t be prouder of you. Even if I am a little tired of you being the center of attention.” The guests chuckled at your lighthearted comment. “I’m so happy you’ve found someone you can love and care for enough to last a lifetime, and I’m happy someone found that in you, too. Life isn’t perfect, but it’s short. Value your days and cherish your time together like it’s your last. It’s rare you find someone who makes you feel like you’re on top of the world all the time. Protect it with your life.” You paused, gazing towards your ex boyfriend close by in the audience. “Congratulations, you guys!” You ended, hanging the mic up as guests clapped and cheered, raising their glasses before drinking what was in them.

Before Mason could come by your table to give you a hug and say thanks for the kind words, you excused yourself to the restroom rather quickly. “Is she okay?” Mason asked, looking between his 3 other sisters and Drew. The sisters appeared confused themselves, leaving Drew to sigh.

“I need to tell you all something.” Daniella’s eyes widened as she told him to go ahead, prepared to hang on his every word. “Y/n broke up with me last night. She thinks I cheated on her. But the texts she found were from my jewelry consultant. I picked up Y/n’s engagement ring this morning after I got in.” Drew ranted, weary to hear the criticism from your siblings he knew had to be coming.

“Well what are you waiting for? Get on your damn knee, Starkey!” Chantel encouraged.

“She’s been a wreck. You gotta tell her the truth.” Daniella chimed in.

“If you don’t be honest and pop the question soon, it’s not looking too good for you.” Mason added.

“We’re at your wedding, man. I can’t just propose now. I just need to find the right moment to straighten this out and talk to her.”

Your sisters continued to help him through this as he cleared his name with the evidence. Even discreetly showing them the ring box that was bulging from the pocket of his pants. “Where’d Y/n go? She’s not in the bathroom.” Jacqueline stated.

Drew quirked an eyebrow, at Jacqueline’s words and at his phone now vibrating in his pocket. He swore he turned it off, but that was the furthest thing from his mind as he read the ID of the call. Coral Gables Hospital. His heart sank, picking up with a shaky hello.

“Is this Drew Starkey?” A woman asked.

“Yes.” He gulped.

“We have you on file as Y/n Y/l/n’s emergency contact. We were able to recover her phone from the scene. She’s been in an accident.”

“A car accident?” He queried in shock. “Is she okay?”

“Injuries are minor. You can discuss it further into detail with the doctor.”

“Yes, of course. I’m on my way.”

It was supposed to be a short, calm drive. Just around a few blocks to get some fresh air that blew through the cracked windows before returning to the reception. You were sober, and but less coherent than you estimated. Tears blurred your vision to the point where you hadn’t seen someone run their red light, but you definitely felt it when they smashed into the passenger side of your rental car.

You woke up in the hospital, Drew pacing the small room you were in as your eyes fluttered open. “Drew?” His head whipped to turn towards you, nearly falling beside the bed to take your hand in his.

“Are you alright, sweetheart?” He cleared his throat before correcting himself quietly. “Y/n.”

“Just some terrible whiplash, a few cuts, a sprained wrist, and a nasty bruise from where the seatbelt restricted me. Other than that I’m just peachy.” You reassured, adjusting in the uncomfortable hospital bed.

“Thank god.” He sighed, holding your head to his as he kissed your cheek gently. He was now sitting beside you, tears pooling in his eyes again as he examined you. You let out a barely audible ‘C’mere’, wrapping your arms around his neck and giving him the hug you knew he needed but wouldn’t speak up to ask for. And who were you to debate, you needed one too.

Then you remembered. You changed clothes shortly before you went on the drive, not wanting to sit in the confines of the rather uncomfortable dress. Ironically enough it was one of Drew’s shirts that was hanging up, your hospital gown replacing it. But his shirt was now coated in dried blood from where a few glass shards hit you on your arm and side.

“Sorry about the shirt, Drew. I know it’s one of your favorites.”

He frowned with tear stained cheeks, meeting your eyes. “Forget the shirt. It’s replaceable. You aren’t, Y/n.”

“We still have to talk about that stuff that happened before I left. I didn’t lose my memory in the crash.” You quipped.

“When we get back to the hotel. I promise.” He answered, giving your hand a light squeeze.

Daniella rushed in the room, calling out your name. “Y/n! Are you alive? Do you still remember me? It’s me, Daniella. Your sister-” She spoke frantically, before you interjected.

“Yes, and unfortunately yes, Dani. What about any of that falls under ‘minor injuries’?”

“I don’t know. I was just checking.” She breathed out, hugging your propped up body. “Can we have a second, Drew? I wanna talk to her about something.” Daniella winked, Drew retreating to the door.

“Of course. I’m gonna go talk to the doctor.” He nodded to her.

Daniella waited for the door to be completely shut before speaking up. “You gotta give him a second chance, Y/n. I don’t wanna be a blabber mouth and ruin anything but it’s not what you think. It’s actually the opposite. I believe him. He showed us all to prove it.”

“Prove it with what?” You questioned.

“Um.. you’ll have to see for yourself. Just be open minded. Hear him out, alright? Guys may be dumb but Drew loves you.”

You gave her a soft smile. “Thanks. That’s good to know.”

As you were leaving the hospital, your heart pounded and you felt nauseous. Not just from the whiplash, but from the fact that you would be getting back in a car when you were just hit by one only a short time ago. Drew could feel your body shake and shiver with anxiousness, arm around you securely as he walked you to the car.

“I don’t wanna get back in a car, Drew.” You sheepishly confessed.

“I know you don’t want to but we have to. I’ll hold you the whole way there, okay? Don’t worry. You’ll be safe.” He cooed, kissing your forehead.

“Okay.”

The ride back to the hotel was short. You felt safer than ever with Drew beside you, Daniella driving slowly to keep you at ease. You hardly paid attention to the trip upstairs to your floor, Drew guiding you the whole way and letting you lean most of your weight on him.

He sat you on the edge of the bed, carefully helping you into pajamas. He sat beside you, taking a deep breath. “That really scared me tonight, Y/n. I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah. Me too.” You chuckled, nudging his arm with your sore one.

“Can we have that talk now?” He asked. “About that stuff that happened when you left.”

You shrugged. “Might as well.”

“Ok. Well..” He started, clearing his throat. “I know it looked bad. But I never cheated on you, Y/n. Wouldn’t even think about it. And I should’ve been honest with you about this from the beginning, but I wanted it to be a surprise. Gosh, I wanted everything to be perfect. Just like you’d pictured it but things didn’t turn out that way.” He acknowledged.

“Okay. So what happened then?” You questioned impatiently, still as confused as before.

“I was texting that lady because I was- uhm- buying you an engagement ring. She’s my jewelry consultant.” He admitted, heat rising to both of your cheeks.

“Really? So that’s why her name was saved under a fucking ring emoji! Wow. I’m an idiot.” You rambled, leaning forward to rest your elbows on your knees while covering your face with your hands. “I’m sorry, Drew. I just automatically assumed the worst and I-”

“Don’t be.” He interjected.

“You had a reason to question things. I admit it looked bad. I just wanted you to never see it coming. But you found out anyway. I’m sorry.”

“Apology accepted, Starkey.” You responded.

“Yours too, Y/l/n, even if it was unnecessary. You know I still love you. No matter what.”

“No matter what.” You affirmed.

Moments of silence passed before you had the courage to speak up again, just letting your bodies lean on each other as your thumb caressed his hand lightly. “So, do you have the ring..?”

“Well, yes. But that depends if you still want to marry me after all of this shit I’ve put you through.”

You chuckled at his words. “Yeah. It’s been a rough 24 hours. And now I’m exhausted and injured.” You joked. “But I still know I’d marry you. There’s just one thing holding me back.”

His face went blank for a minute at trying to figure out what you were trying to say. “What is it?”

“I haven’t been proposed to yet.”

His eyes lit back up with hope at your answer. “Oh! Right.” He breathed out in a whisper.

“So if you wanna... then ask.” You whispered back, watching as he got up from beside you, retrieving a box from his pocket and getting down on one knee. Tears of happiness pricked your eyes at the signt. Who knew it would be in a Miami hotel room under nothing but two bedside lamps and less than optimal circumstances.

He beamed at you with nothing but love and adoration in his eyes, opening the box to reveal a ring that looked like it was made for you solely. “Will you marry me?”

“Hell yes.” You cried out, letting a sob escape your lips. He grinned even wider at your answer, sliding the ring onto your finger slowly, engraving this memory in his mind forever. His hands held your face in them, guiding your lips to his before they moved passionately and perfectly in sync.

Resting your foreheads together, his gorgeous blue eyes glistened with a set of forming tears. “I love you so much.”

“And I love you so much more.”

“Even just yesterday I felt alone. It broke my heart knowing that I broke yours. And for a surprise at that. I’m always alone if I’m not with you.”

“Then you never have to be alone again. Because I’m here forever.”

“That’s not long enough.”

You rolled your eyes in faux annoyance. “Ok, fine. Forever and ever after that.”

He chuckled, locking your pinky with his. “Forever and ever after that, it is.”

a/n: wow. it’s finally done! let me know what you guys think pleasee i hope it was up to your expectations lol

taglist: @ilovejjmaybank @missevi @nxsmss @cameronsrafe @msgorillagripcoochie @bibliophilewednesday @tovvaa @freddymaybank @annab-nana @babeyglo @sunsetholland @moniamaybank @outerbankspreferences @laneybobeczko-g @jjpouggues @j-j-may-bank

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