#also again i do not at all think that leaked scene is their breakup

[demadogs]

the mlvn breakup has the potential to be one of the best scenes in the entire show if it coincides with mikes first time coming out to someone and im SICK of people wanting a meaningless breakup in episode one just so you can skip to byler. does heartwarming platonic love and comfort MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?????!!!!

[lunar-years]

everyone has different interpretations of scenes, but for real that scene with jamie and roy was just plain sexist. roy seriously said "i don't know if we're getting back together because she's a woman and you never know". like what the absolute fuck was that line? they showed up to her house condescending, completely unapologetic about their behaviour, and treated her like a trophy prize. she deserved to beat them up. jamie and roy have always been troubled characters, but they were never (not even in season one) sexist assholes. the show went out of its way multiple times to establish that even when they made mistakes it was due to personal insecurity and not misogyny.

and whenever it was something misogynistic, it was heavily criticised as such, which, in this episode, it was not. a lot of people did seriously not catch the blatant sexism of it at all and went "that's how these men act" (again, what the fuck?). jamie spent season three being respectful of roy and keeley's breakup and not making a move on her, out of consideration of roy's feelings. roy, who knows how abusive jamie's father is, probably better than any other male character on the show, physically assaulted him. despite the fact that throughout the season roy has been approaching jamie with affection, realizing that's what he needs to feel secure (complete disrespect to 2x08 too, one of the best episodes of the series). and while we're on the topic of violence, roy and jamie were never this violent with each other, even when they hated each other's guts. jamie, who gave keeley a truly heartfelt apology about the leaked video, making a point to not victim-blame or engage in literally ANY other sexist behaviour, just brings it up to upset roy in a dick-measuring contest. and one episode ago, one fucking episode ago, they were all getting along, keeley and roy were obviously trying to get back together, and jamie wasn't one bit bothered by it. they were holding hands on his bed and he saw them and smiled! regardless of whether you think the roykeeley arc was rushed (i do), jamie might have been heartbroken or sad, but he wasn't, not once, established as jealous of them. and this entire season was devoted to roy and jamie becoming friends by slowly growing comfortable around each other and actually trusting each other. every single one of those things was thrown into the trash. and yeah, sure, progress isn't linear and perfection isn't possible for people, but that WAS NOT regression. roy and jamie were never sexist dicks. those were two completely different characters.

ALSO, this scene normalizes the idea that it's perfectly forgivable to revert back to sexism whenever emotionally distressed, even if you are generally not like that in your life. it's not. in reality, you're either sexist or you're not, and doing this in one scenario will absolutely mean that you will be sexist in different scenarios too. nobody in real life will be sexist in some areas of their life and feminist in others. implying that this isn't the case shows a very poor understanding of feminist theory and ted lasso has more or less done a good job at not being sexist. i feel like this really excuses unacceptable behaviour that the show itself tells us, with rupert particularly, has very real consequences that perpetuate violence against women. to me, the light-hearted resolution of that whole scene was terrible and poorly written at best. people in the writers' room typed that scene, read through it, and did not find it weird at all. though it's not the first time in the third season, see: forgiving jamie's dad and far-right bigots (???).

and lastly, when people were asking for a love triangle resolution, they meant something fitting for the year of our lord 2023. healthy communication and conversations, mutual respect and love between the charactets, maybe even polyamory (3x11 had a great ot3 set up, too). nobody meant we wanted something from the fucking 1950s. literally the only worse way this could have played out would have been if keeley ended up with the one that caused the other more damage. legit disgraceful ending for roy and jamie as characters, and for the show as well. considering everything it has stood for so far.

(i'm sorry if this reads like i'm calling people out, i'm not, really, i'm just very mad. and also really sad, because i did not go into the ted lasso finale expecting unaddressed sexism. like that was Really Very Bad. for this show especially).

woahhh there's a lot going on here, anon. For anyone wondering, I'm assuming this is a response to this post of mine. While I don't mind discussion or being called out... this does feel like something that could've very well been your own post or an open response to mine instead of an anon note. Because if you've read my meta, you'll probably already know I'm not going to agree with you on this.

Just gonna drop a few short thoughts because I don't have energy to write a think piece when my broader thoughts are already contained in my original post:

I'm not sure where you think I was trying to excuse their words or pretending they weren't being sexist or like they weren't treating Keeley as a weapon in their own games or a prize to be won. I think there's a difference between excusing someone's actions versus trying to understand where they were coming from for the characters and where they are at now.

"while we're on the topic of violence, roy and jamie were never this violent with each other, even when they hated each other's guts" Roy & Jamie were literally beating each other up in the locker room and brawling right out there on the pitch in season 1, anon.

"Keeley and Roy were obviously trying to get back together, and Jamie wasn't one bit bothered by it." this is just not true. Roy was trying to get back together with Keeley. Keeley wasn't shown to be reciprocal (beyond sleeping with him, which is a repeated pattern of behavior for her on the show, and something she in fact did with Jamie in season one), and Roy misinterprets it, as Jamie misinterpreted it. In fact, I'd argue Roy deciding it was a good idea to try and make him and Keeley happen right there in Jamie's bedroom with Jamie crying to his mum one room over, shows he wasn't thinking about Jamie, not when it comes to Keeley. Roy wants what Roy wants and he assumed he was going to get it. And Jamie went through a whole journey of expressions when he opened that bedroom door, so I don't think it's fair to say he "wasn't one bit bothered." I think we've established at this point Roy and Jamie both love Keeley and have always been weird and jealous about it with the other.

"this scene normalizes the idea that it's perfectly forgivable to revert back to sexism whenever emotionally distressed" this scene didn't normalize anything, because the show immediately acknowledged that Jamie and Roy were both in the wrong and had Keeley rightfully kick them to the curb for it. The narrative was not that this is okay or acceptable behavior. I definitely didn't see the scene as light-hearted

"nobody in real life will be sexist in some areas of their life and feminist in others." i am a woman who considers herself very much a feminist. That doesn't mean I've never had moments of internalized misogyny or made harmful comments that buy into a patriarchal narrative, despite myself. Well-intentioned people make mistakes. We are all works in prog-mess trying to get through life as the best people we can be. Jamie and Roy, in my opinion, are fictional iterations of the same principle. I don't think this comes even close to destroying their entire characters in the way you are implying.

All the best x

[in-any-universe-ever]

they never have a dramatic lil breakup phase?? oh I just know aemond folds like a wet napkin everytime they fight/ he gets a feeling that luke is upset w him OR he jumps to resolve anything before it can escalate

he's so "my wife is mad at me, I wish I was dead" coded 😭😭

Gah I know the angst is ripe for the picking but they really don't have a breakup phase! Yes, they fight, but nothing more serious than what I already depicted in the ultimatum scene.

For Aemond, Luke is love and comfort. He worships Luke and treats him with respect. Luke, in turn, worships Aemond and treats him with the same respect. They communicate well and find safety and solace in each other when their lives are otherwise chaotic. (And yes, Aemond absolutely lies naked with his head in Luke's lap after a hard day while Luke strokes his hair and praises him. There are also times when Luke has a rough day and Aemond takes care of him as well, albeit differently because Luke's needs are different.)

I will indulge you in some squabbly angst since you asked for it :)

"Do I need to remind you that you don't own me?"

Luke knelt in front of Aemond as he sat on the bench in his bathroom, gently dabbing a wet cloth at bloody knuckles from the fight. Aemond had gone overboard again, punching and punching until his skin split open, all while Luke was shouting and pulling at his arm with futility.

It was a quiet, simple question, but it caused Aemond to tense to rigidity. Luke noticed at once, but his own anger prevented him from soothing his boyfriend. He let Aemond feel the tension of the moment, let him soak in it, because Luke wanted to fight.

"I don't know how many times I have to explain this to you. If you're going to take me to the club, I'm not going to sit down with you all night. We can do that at home. I'm going to want to dance, and since you absolutely refuse to dance with me, someone else will do it. It's dancing. Just fun."

"You can have fun if you want to. I know I'm a killjoy."

"And then you go and talk like that!" Luke said, his tone escalating while he dropped Aemond's hand. "You're not a killjoy, Aemond. I love spending time with you, but we have different ideas of fun when we go there. That's okay! But you can't beat up any person who touches me when I'm doing what I think is fun."

Aemond's gaze pointed to the floor and Luke groaned.

"Aemond, fight back."

Aemond didn't look up.

"Fight back." Luke pushed him in the shoulder. "FIGHT BACK!" He pushed again. "You drive me crazy! You can punch some guy's face in until your knuckles bleed but you can't even look at me when I want to fight with you?"

"I hear you, Luke. I won't do it again."

"UGH!!!" Luke shouted and pushed Aemond right off the bench. He straddled Aemond's hips and grabbed his face so Aemond had to look at him. "Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking."

Aemond's eye was wet with tears and he kept trying to avert his gaze but Luke refused to let it happen, turning Aemond's face and shifting his own head so he was always in line of sight.

"Please, Luke," Aemond said, finally shutting his eye, a tear leaking from the corner and dripping into his hairline. "Please, if you want to leave, just leave. I can't... I can't fight if this is it."

"I'm not going anywhere," Luke said, and he was still shouting, but his tears were ruining his volume. "I love you. I love you, Aemond. Please look at me."

Aemond opened his eye, lifted his hands to rest atop Luke's on his own face.

"I don't understand why."

Fresh tears fell out of Luke's eyes and he pulled Aemond up and tight against him. Aemond held him tightly back, sniffling into his shoulder, pressing his nose in hard.

"You're my best friend," Luke told him. "Every day I wake up excited to see your face. You make me laugh. You tease me within an inch of my life and it sets me on fire. It makes me alive. You watch bad TV with me and you pretend you don't care but I KNOW you care who Saerra chooses in the Bachelorette. You dyed your hair green because you know I loved it and even though it annoys the fuck out of me, you'll beat up anyone who touches me because you love me so fucking much."

Luke ran his fingers through Aemond's hair and could feel him visibly relax in his arms.

"And you still love me even though I took your eye. You know how to forgive and move on. I forgive you everything you've done to me, to my family. I forgive you your hard heart. I accept you as you are, your sadness and your self-deprecation, but I need you to talk to me. I can't solve all our problems alone - and we'll have them. I am not perfect and neither are you, so please... please work on us with me."

Luke waited, more words on his tongue, but waited for Aemond to say something. He continued to stroke Aemond's hair - back to blonde, after they have fun with the green - feeling the tension leave him, bit by bit.

"If Saerra doesn't choose Zachary, she's a fucking loon."

Luke burst into laughter.

Aemond nuzzled into his neck before planting a gentle kiss on his cheek. Luke settled, still smiling, and pulled back to look him in the eye. "I love you," Aemond said.

"I love you," Luke replied.

"I'm in this with you. I just... I need help."

"I will help you."

Aemond smiled, a mischievous sort of grin that made heat rise in Luke's cheeks. "I have an idea how you can keep dancing at the club without me beating someone up."

"Tell me."

Aemond whispered into Luke's ear, and his words riled Luke up so much that he pushed Aemond onto his back again.

[eurekq]

I feel like people are reading a lot into that baudelaire welch message that really isn't present? It sounds to me like they were assigned to finish up astarions writing during crunch (still bad) rather than making the decision to do that voluntarily. That + the fact that most of his extra scenes were already present in early access (he's very front loaded in terms of content) and iirc the extra durge content for astarion is like... from what I remember basically just the breakup conversation, some mid-conversation lines (ie. "but you're MY leaking blood bag"), and the first night durge scene which is again, like, three lines of dialogue tacked onto a scene that would occur with or without him. While astarion IS clearly larians darling and that's not good (if I had to guess I think it's because the devs really like neil newbon's performance, as he's not actually the most popular among fans) I think baudelaire welch is getting a lot of undeserved vitriol over what amounts to probably like 20 lines of dialogue max. Something also to note is that companions amount of content is distributed differently; wyll has far more actual dialogue trees to go through in my experience, and karlach and shadowheart have a lot of environmental interaction in act 3 and act 2 respectively. Also worth noting that my game was incredibly glitched in act 3 though, so I may have missed a lot. All this to say that larian definitely had a favouritism problem but, especially given that they only joined on in 2022, which is after a lot of astarions scenes were already written, I don't think baudelaire welch is the boogeyman people are acting like they are. I'd need a full interview from them to really know what was going on leading up to release rather than. One discord message. Actually why are they even in a discord with fans that's such a bad idea

[circlemidnight]

hey, so... do you (by any chance) know if the '"open ending/multiple endings" ship' is just about who ARCHIE decides to be with, or if it will included more couples as well? like, i could have never predicted JV would have an actual chance, and less that they'd have the same chance as the (arguably) main/long-lasting ships of the show!? it's nothing short of amazing. how powerful they are.

Ah, I think some of those rumors/leaks turned out to be false. I think it's better to just rely on the bts and statements made from people on the show. Rumors tend to snowball into unrealistic statements the more they are spread. Unless they are giving a specific detail of a scene then I wouldn't put much faith in them being true. And keep in mind the style of the season, it's been very simplistic, low stakes, with quick resolutions to things. I don't think they are setting up some big complex ending or a cliffhanger that's gonna enrage everyone. It's gonna be something bitter sweet, lighthearted but not crammed with possible what-ifs to every ship that came before. But I'm sure there will be many winks and nudges of nostalgia in the last episode. Right now if I could guess I would say it's probably just left unclear if Betty and Archie figure things out, but to me it seems like they are wrapping up Jeronica as an endgame pairing. There is a lot of mirroring of their first episodes this season together, she's helping him create Archie Comics, and they have written them more like a secondary romantic plot and not really this big will-they-won't-they dramatic conclusion to be reached in the final episode. They're also the only "random pairing" that actually got back together. From the bts, we know they are riding in the backseat of the jalopy together, which I doubt they would be doing if they have another breakup. also just my opinion but it makes a lot of sense to me that the two people hurt the most by the cheating would find happiness and move on together? If they are talking about changing the future, Veronica and Jughead never being hurt has a really big impact on the story. In comparison, the two who cheated are figuring themselves out and not committing to anything or anyone because they are still working on themselves. Plus, if the last episode is from Betty's POV it will likely focus on whether or not she finally gets with Archie this season, because her story is kind of meandering but rolls back to her feelings for him the same way that they showed hints that Veronica never got over Jughead. The multiple endings thing came from what Madchen said: No, we don’t get out of the 1950s. So I guess that is a big spoiler. I will say you do experience the characters in three different… dimensions, that you get to see a lot of closures that are outside of the 1950s. I can tease it that way. I think that’s safe enough. So, make of that what you will. I'd say it's either you get to see what would happen if they went back to their own time, their future in the next few decades if they stay in the 50s, or maybe the afterlife and some kind of cycle beginning again once they all die and time resets for them. The word closure implies that it's not really open ended though. It's possible if they go back to the future the ships reconfigure, but they choose to stay in the 50s, so does that count as canon? But like, I think in one dimension or another Jeronica is endgame. It's very close to the end of the season to be stirring them up with more drama again. At the very least I believe they will graduate as a couple, which is a win for me. It's been very out of the blue that we got so much content, but I'm glad they left it till the end so they have more of a chance of being happy together!

[septembersghost]

Omfg.....I am in shambles. AOTG is too good. It has that plot of invisible string with the reference in paper rings fleshed out("without all the exes.........here so tall"). Her vocals 🤯🥵🥵. How could she leave this. This makes me sure that joe also had his share of 'all too wells'. Something she hinted in willow (show me the places where the others gave you scars). And the treat me like a lady😫😫. I feel like the bathroom reference is jake(party bathroom,cry tears mascara in the bathroom,etc..) The ready for it...? reference (I forget their names now).The leaving without saying goodbye part made me think of HS(Mainly because of her AYHTDWS speeches and breakup makeup). It is also important to note that she is not jealous of his exes but she is thankful they made him who he is today. For some reason this song feels like false god sound to me. God!!!! I wanna teach you what forever feels like is such a 'I wanna brainwash you into loving me forever" .

Ps. I feel like I am going to come to your ask box again if I want to scream something . Sorryyy💕💕

i love just reading this and nodding along, and for every argument about why she left it off the record (too many love songs, she uses its themes in other songs, lover was already too long, etc), i have two counterarguments. the first is, she has never actually addressed the concept of being thankful that the other girls in his life existed, because they helped him become who he is, plus the mention of his mom!, and there is something very warm and gracious and newly grown in that concept (i've seen people say this makes it too much like thank u, next, but they're quite different to me?), and, second, IT'S A GREAT SONG!!! WHY CUT THAT GOOD OF A SONG?! AHHHHH

i still think she could've opened the album with it to set the whole scene. iftye is...fine...but the callback to rep isn't entirely necessary and it doesn't do as much for the album's whole concept. imagine starting with the gratitude and then telling the rest of the story, the bookend with daylight, with once believing love was burning red, but it's golden! envision this with me please, it makes me lose it!

there are so many parallels and references to her past experiences, as you pointed out (even to glitch and "dudes who give nothing"), and the idea of "forgetting" can tie into the experience with CH as well. definitely think crying in the bathroom and leaving without saying goodbye are allusions to those relationships you mentioned, and her processing the way they fell apart so sharply contrasted with what she feels with joe. the reason i half-joked that this song would've ended so many arguments years ago is because it gives us an even more whole picture of them, and her maturity and the love they share as partners, it gives us that peek into the fact that he's had his share of heartbreak too, AND it has killer production and amazing vocals. i've been in the TRENCHES for lover and aotg would've simply proven those points!!! that's interesting that it feels like false god to you, i wonder if it would've helped false god feel less out of place sonically to some fans? (i loooove false god btw!) her sincerity and that feeling of contentment in the song too, i just! it's very "all that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing" coded too.

another thing the leaks of aotg and need did was remind me how very much i love lover and its heart and the revelations she gave us through it and its soundscape. taylor's description: "Lover is, like, completely just a barn wood floor and some ripped curtains flowing in the breeze, and fields of flowers and, you know, velvet." i feel that SO vividly in these two tracks where i might not in a couple of the songs that did make the album, and i'm curious HOW she made those decisions. (secret unpopular opinion shhh but they reminded me why i actually cherish and prefer the overall sound of lover to midnights. not at all discounting midnights' strengths as a whole, but in my heart, i'd always choose lover.)

she paints such a beautiful portrait of their love and i adore every crumb we get of it, i am a simple hopeless romantic girl! every dead-end street lead you straight to me! because things that feel like endings take you a new path! i love you more!!! 😭

i'm rambling on, but i agree with everything you said, and please don't be sorry, come and scream in excitement to me whenever you want!!! 💖💖💖

[spicywhenspeaking]

Star-Crossed Connection: Chapter One

masterpost

Nick Folio x Original Female Character

this is a complete work of fiction, some characters while based on real people are totally made up. :)

Seraphina Holloway is Hollywood’s new it girl. But, when an embarrassing viral video of her ex / costar publicly dumping her goes viral, she thinks she needs a quick fix to help maintain her image. When she’s set to appear at her new movies premier she scrambles to find a date to bring that will help take the white hot spotlight away from her public dumping and show that she’s still desirable to all. Enter Nick Folio, drummer of the metalcore band that’s taking over the scene, Bad Omens. He’s a sweet down to earth guy with a heart of gold and when a smokin hot movie star asks him to be her fake boyfriend for a week he agrees to help. But will the line between fake feelings and reals ones start to blur when Seraphina lets her true self show.

word count: 3.3k

Taglist: @cookiesupplier @lma1986 @to-be-written @bngurngheart @jessicafg03 @knivesforapro @thatchickwiththecamera @somewhere-diamond @sorrowsofsilence @malerieee @dsireland86 @collapsedglasshouses

FLASH Seraphina! Seraphina!!  Right here!” FLASH

FLASH Seraphine! Hey! Let’s see a smile over here!”  FLASH

FLASH Seraphina! How are you feeling after the breakup?!”  FLASH

“Have you seen Conner's latest tweets? What do you have to say about him calling you a spoiled brat? and a controlling alcoholic?” 

FLASH FLASH 

The nonstop lights flashing in my face and the condescending questions have me feeling irate. I’m just trying to get to my fucking car. “No! I actually didn’t see his tweets! I could care less what he has to say and you can fucking quote me on that!” I yell back at the paparazzi as I climb into my car and slam the door as they continue clicking pictures over and over again. 

Ugh, I’m never getting away from this embarrassment. The stupid video was a drunken fight with Conner, my on-again-off-again boyfriend of the last year and a half. That fight ended up with us wanting to never speak to each other again.

Unfortunately, he’s my co-star in the movie we just made and we have loads of scheduled press to do along with a week-long film festival in snowy Colorado. I need to figure something out quickly, no way am I showing up to that alone. Conner Frank is a lot of things, talented, gorgeous, charming, but he’s also a petty douche. He’s been subtweeting like a dejected teenage boy since the video leaked. I look like such a primadonna, crying outside of a party sloppy drunk, and yelling at Conner about flirting with some other girl.

I looked like a wild woman, my makeup was smeared and my outfit was barely hanging on my body, he looked like an innocent bystander being berated by a drunkard. But I'm not exaggerating when I say he and this girl were hanging all over each other.

We had gone to the party together and this girl was in his fucking lap, if I had been sober? Maybe I would have handled it better. Instead, there's video evidence of me yanking her off of him and dragging him outside to hurl insults at him and cry about how he doesn’t love me anymore. And just my luck about forty people were video taping it on their phones. It was all over the news the next day, DailyMail, E!, TMZ, my hometown news station even talked about it. Ugh, and now the fucking paparazzi won't leave me alone.

I managed to get out of the parking lot without much hassle. The paparazzi have always been relentless, but I guess they have some regard for their own lives. They moved out of the way pretty fast before they met the underside of my vintage Bronco. My dad practically rebuilt the whole car, It’s all I have left of him since he died five years ago. He was a firefighter and died in a house fire after saving a family of five. I miss him a lot, I’m thankful that I have the memories of fixing up this car together.

 Pulling onto the road I roll down my windows and turn up the radio. “Coming up next we have a band that’s taking over the rock charts with their new single, here’s Bad Omens with Just Pretend,” the radio DJ says as the song begins to play. I’ve never heard of Bad Omens before but I like this station so I’ll check it out. 

I'm not afraid of the war you've come to wage against my sins

I'm not okay, but I can try my best to just pretend

So will you wait me out

Or will you drown me out?

So will you wait me out

Or will you drown me out? 

(I might have to let you go)

“Oh shit, this is pretty good,” I mumble to myself as the song plays on and I turn the volume up louder. 

I can wait for you at the bottom

I can stay away if you want me to

I could wait for years if I gotta

Heaven knows I ain't getting over you

We'll try again

When we're not so different

We will make amends

'Til then I'll just pretend

I listen to the rest of the song and make a mental note to listen to more of their music when I get home. I’m on my way to meet my manager, Alyssa, and my assistant, Jules, for lunch to discuss what next steps I want to take with my career and how to get out of this stupid embarrassing viral expose of my life. 

When I arrive at the cafe where I agreed to meet Alyssa and Jules there is a bit of a commotion but thankfully the manager at the restaurant doesn’t allow the paparazzi inside. Once settled into a corner booth I sigh exasperated. “I am so done with this fiasco, I need an image revamp immediately,” I say to the two others at the table. “Well we can get you booked on Kelly’s show to talk about the movie, she’s great for positive press. Her clips on TikTok do really well.” Alyssa suggests. “Oh yeah, and you could do that karaoke game! People will hear your singing voice and forget all about this shit with Connor.” Jules adds. “I like the talk show idea but not the singing, let’s not forget how horribly received my single did a few years ago. Sometimes actors should just stick to acting. Myself included.” 

“What I need is a new guy, I need to make it seem like I could care less about Connors’s stupid comments and cheating. If I could find a hot, mysterious guy I could make myself look like the hot superstar I’m supposed to be.” 

God, If my dad could hear how fucking full of myself I sound he would throw me in the car and take me right back to grandmas ranch to get rid of this attitude. But I don’t know how else to survive in this world. It’s toxic to a core so I’ve just adapted to be toxic along with it. 

“What kind of guy?” they ask in unison. “What about Jacod Elordi, hes so dreamy,” Jules asks. “I think he’s dating that nepo baby whose mom went to jail.” Alyssa says as she scrolls through her Instagram feed, “What about this TikTok guy? Noah Beck? He’s a cutie.” she flips her phone to show me some photos but I’m unimpressed. “No, I don’t want some cookie-cutter Instagram hunk, I want someone cool and hot. Like….Like….like that guy over there.” 

I point off to the far side of the cafe where a group of guys is sitting at a table, I’m singling out the one with the baseball cap and red cut off shirt. “In between the two long-haired guys across from the one with the neck tattoo. That’s the guy.” I say, admiring his side profile. “Wait a guy like him? Or that guy? Just some random guy?” Jules questions and I don’t answer, I just scooch out of my seat and head over towards the boy’s table.

A few people notice me as I walk over and I offer a small smile. I reach the table where the four boys are seated and clear my throat to announce myself. They look up confused and I begin introducing myself, “Hi, I’m sorry this is kind of weird but I’m-” 

“Holy shit!! You’re Seraphina Holloway!" one of the long-haired guys says. "Haunted Drive-In is one of my favorite indie horror movies, you were so awesome in that! oh!, I’m Nicholas by the way, sorry for interrupting. This is Jolly,” He points across from him, “and Noah” who is sitting to his left, “and this is also Nick, but we call him Folio.” who is the last of them sitting on his right side. They all give a head nod of acknowledgment and Folio offers a little “hey.” 

“Hey! Nice to meet y’all. Wow, I can’t believe you saw that movie! It was one of my firsts but definitely a personal favorite. Goes to show that it’s not the budget that makes the movie, It’s all about writing and having a good director.” I start to ramble and remember the reason I came over. “So this is kind of random but I was wondering,” I turn to the guy he introduced as Folio, “if I could get you’re number?” 

He does a double-take between me and the rest of the guys almost like he’s making sure I’m talking to him. “Me?” he gestures to himself and raises his eyebrows. “Yes, you.” I giggle. “What? Are you not interested?” 

He eyes me up and down and shakes his head, “oh no, I’m definitely interested, Just surprised is all. Um but yes, my number, can I see your phone?” Nodding I hand him my unlocked phone and let him put in his contact information. “Listen are you busy tonight? Maybe we could go out for drinks?” I am never this forward and honestly, it feels kind of cool, but is it empowering or desperation? Shut up inner monologue. It can be both..right? 

“We actually have a show tonight, why don’t you come and we could do something after?” 

“A show? Oh, are yall a band?” I ask and the guy with the neck tattoo looks almost offended that I didn’t know. Like omg sorry but pretty much everyone in L.A. is in a band or some public access soap opera, sue me for not knowing them all. But Folio is the one who responds, “Yeah, Bad Omens, have you heard of us?”

Wow, if that isn’t cosmic intervention at work before my very eyes, “I just heard you guys on the radio! You guys are awesome, you’re playing tonight? Where?”

“Text me your info and I’ll send you some passes for the show”

“Okay, perf. Looking forward to it! Wow, so awesome meeting you guys. I will text you and see you guys tonight” I say with my pageant smile and while turning back towards my table almost completely run into a waitress.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, are you okay?” I say throwing out my hands to keep them from crashing onto the floor, “Yes, I’m okay, it’s fine- oh my god! You’re Seraphina Holloway! Oh my god! Did they really cast you as Ferye in the live-action ACOTAR series, omg that’s my favorite book series, can we get a picture please?” 

Laughing I agree to the picture, “Thats just a rumor, but I would love to play Ferye, could you imagine? I’ll have to call my agent” I joke as we take the quick selfie and with one last wave to the table that was watching my whole interaction I head back to my table to quickly text Folio back with my contact info.

“Sooo? How did it go?” Allyssa asks and her and Jules both lean in to get the details. “Well.. It looks like we’re going to a concert tonight girl!” I say and turn my phone to show the three backstage all-access tickets he just sent over. 

Later that evening the three of us are outside the venue preparing to show our passes. “Wow, I’m so glad we became friends in middle school, movie premies all over the world, free stuff, and now VIP concert tickets. We did good Jules” Allysa says high-fiving Jules and I roll my eyes. “Wow, so that’s all I’m good for now? Free stuff and access to shows and movies?” I joke and we all laugh.

“No no, of course not. You also offer amazing medical benefits.” That makes me burst out laughing. I’ve known Allyssa and Jules since the sixth grade and when my acting career started talking off the choice between some random Hollywood leech and my best friends helping me out I went with my friends and It’s been such an amazing journey so far. Besides the current shit-storm, I’ve found myself in. But, that’s all on me. 

We make it into the venue and head towards the VIP area a few minutes before the opening band goes on. The music is cool and different from what I typically listen to. 

When Bad Omens finally takes the stage I’m transfixed, the show they put on is electric and so fucking fun. I can’t keep my eyes off Folio, he’s a drummer, so hot. Their music is great, the song on the radio was such a gentle introduction to them, they have some really headbanging stuff and I never thought I could be so turned on by someone banging against a drum kit for an hour.

Folio had texted me earlier to wait for them at the backstage exit so when he was done with the show and showered we could head out to hang out. 

When he and the other guys exited he waved and they walked towards us, “the guys are going to the Dave & Busters down the road if your friends want to join? I thought we could take a ride to a coffee spot by the pier” he asks me and I almost swoon on the spot. “That sounds great.” my friends excitedly agree and we say our goodbyes and head our separate ways. 

I follow along side Folio as we walk further into the parking lot, “so should we call an uber? Or did you drive?” I ask and he laughs under his breath as we stop next to a big black motorcyle. “I road here since it was a show in town. How do you feel about riding on a bike?” he asks and my eyes widen a little. Hmmm the risks are falling off and becoming mangled and possible dying and the pros are riding on a motorcylce with a hot drummer..”Sounds fun!” I tell him and accept the hemet he offers me. “But it will mess up my hair.” I fake pout and he laughs, “I think you’d prefere a bad hair day over your brains spilled out over the side of the road. Plus, it would take a lot more than bad hair to make you look bad.” 

I blush slightly and put on the helmet, “how do I look?” I ask and do a spin. 

“Very nice,” he says looking me up and down, “have you ridden before?” 

“Yeah, my dad had bikes and use to take me on rides. He died a few years back so its been a while but I know the drill.” I tell him and try to push down the emotion the clogs my throat. It’s still hard to talk about him. “Oh, I’m sorry for your loss. Was your dad a harley man?” he asks and I can’t help the big smile that speads across my face. “Yeah he had a 1959 Harley-Davidson Duo Glide FLH, it was his baby. It’s still in the garage at my mom’s, I havent been able to ride it. But, maybe someday.” 

“Thats a sick bike, maybe that someday we can go on a ride together?” he asks and I smile and nod as he throws his leg over the bike to start it up. I climb on behind him and wrap my arms around his waist. A few minuets later he takes off out of the parking lot. We fly past or friends walking towards the D&B and give them a quick wave before Folio takes a sharp left towards the coastline. 

It’s been so long since I’ve been on a bike I forgot how much fun it is, the speed, the wind whipping against your skin, the world buzzing past you in a blur of color and lights. 

The closer we get to the pier the stronger the salt air of the air hits my system, the beach is my favorite part of living in California. I love the warm breeze and the sand and the freezing cold water, It’s my little slice of peace in the world.

We make it to the coffee shop about twenty minuets later and once inside I order and green tea and Folio orders a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. He finds us a seat on the patio facing the water. The coffee shop has warm twinkly lights all along their patio and small unscented candles at each table. “This is a cute place, you come here often?” I ask taking a sip of my tea. “Yeah, I like riding near the water, the air is nice out here.” 

I’m starting to forget why I originally asked for his number in the first place, I figure I should just rip the bandaid off. The worst he can do is say no and then I awkwardly uber home and never listen to his band again. I could try this the old fashion way, and date and maybe we would eventually get there but this premier is next week and I don’t have time for traditional dating right now. 

 “Look I don’t know how to ask this and not sound awkward but I have a new movie premiering next week at the Colorado Music and Film Festival and I need a fake boyfriend to make me look hot and my ex look like a loser. I don’t know if you saw but this embarrassing video of me went viral and it’s my literal nightmare to show up to this thing next week with no one when he’ll have the newest victorias secret lingerie model draped all over him.” I blurt it all out like a toddler after eating broccoli for the first time. “Um I know that sounds crazy, but I need you to pretend to be my boyfriend? Would you? It’s in colorado! So snowboarding, good food, parties? Um weed? If thats your thing.” 

“Wait what? Do you just regularly ask people you barely know to movie premiers? And ask them to be your fake boyfriend? How do you know I’m not crazy? And how does a girl like you need a fake boyfriend?” he asks with a small giggle. 

“Ugh, I need a fake boyfriends for the exact reason of being myself. I’m a mess, I just need to not look like a total loser infront of my ex and really the world. I’m some sick joke because I acted like a drunk idiot. Have you ever been a meme? It sucks, and I’m not even a meme I can use ironically with my friends." I take a deep breath before continuing. "Listen I know it’s a lot to ask a stranger, but it would just be a week and if you hate me at the end of it we never have to speak again.” 

He’s quiet for several minuets and I don’t say anything else, I’m sure he’s just thinking of a nice way of letting me down. 

“So a week in colorado with you, at a film festival and I just have to pretend to be your boyfriend?” he asks and I just nod as confirmation. 

“You know what? What the hell, sounds like it might be fun. What do I need to do?”

I don't stop the smile and squeal that break out of my mouth and I practically shoot over the table to hug him. “Oh thank you! thank you! You just need to show up and be the cool motorcycle driving metal drumming guy that you are. Oh and send me your measurements and I can have my stylist pull some stuff for you to wear. I will send you the itinerary tomorrow, this is going to be great.”

As we finish our drinks and head back to the bike I notice movement in my peripheral vision and then a sudden sucussion of bright flashes. 

“Hey Seraphina who's the new guy?” FLASH

“Is this a new guy?” FLASH “whats his name?” FLASH “hey Seraphina give us a smile” FLASH

“Are you going to mess this relationship up like the last one Seraphina?” FLASH “come on give us a smile?” FLASH

“Ugh, I’m sorry. I guess they found out I was here.” I whisper to Folio and he quickly moves to defensively wrap his arm around me and walk us closer to his bike. “No need to apologize, let's just get out of here.” 

He hands me my helmet and we quickly climb onto the bike as the flashes continue going off. Soon I can’t hear their harassing comments as Folio kicks on the engine and speeds down the road. “So I guess that’s the start huh? This is gonna be fun” he laughs and hits the throttle harder sending us blazing down the dark city streets. 

thanks for reading ! :)

Chapter two ->

[longlivthemagic]

Stranger Things 4 Byler Theory

This is a compilation of my theories based on what has been leaked and subtext because im a bored ass bitch and I would love to hear you guys add on in the replies or correct anything!

I also know a lot of us are losing hope, but DO NOT. Remember when season 2 was released, we were NOT at all expecting the amount of byler we were given. When the season 3 trailer came out, it was promoted as the summer of love- but it was very clearly the summer of fighting and breakups.

Will’s sexuality will be once again brought up as it was in season 1 with the bullies mocking him for being gay. There was a leak going around for awhile that mentioned Will being bullied for having HIV. This would make a lot of sense with the timeline and the AIDS crisis taking off at this point in time. My guess is because he’s older now, this will cause him to come to terms with his sexuality and possibly have a heart to heart with one of his family members (im assuming Joyce or Jonathon because I truly don’t think will feels comfortable with el at first based on another leak). I think this will only be the focus for the beginning of Vol 1, however, and Vol 2 will focus more on Mike’s side.

Either the Duffer Bros are complete dumb-asses and suck at their job- or they intentionally ended last season placing Mike in front of an open closet and showed him in the trailer once again in front of an open closet with a literal SIGN pointing to it to give us a hint about his sexuality. I think that if they truly have had the entire storyline planned since they pitched the idea as they claim and they pay as much attention to detail as us- there is no way in hell they would let this slip TWICE. When they saw us freaking out over the kids in front of the closet last season, they knew what they were doing showing us Mike in front of an even more obvious open closet this season. That makes me think that a lot of the “real” relationship issues between Mike and El will not only be because of long distance- but also because Mike is growing up and starting to question the way he feels about Will as well. I think this will be hinted at all season, but Mike’s dumb ass might not realize it entirely until he and Will spend all that time together this season. I think their time together is a key plot point in getting Mike to realize his feelings as everyone, even casual viewers, has already realized that Will is most likely gay and likes Mike.

I think that we definitely will get some byler angst beginning of the season because I’m assuming Will is hurt by how focused Mike is on El when he arrives (ex. giving HER flowers when it’s Will’s birthday and shit). They will 100% have angst at the roller rink and will result in some tension that they try to talk through but is interrupted by El possibly hurting somebody in the rink and being taken into police custody (spoiler by monopoly game set). This is going to be early in the season, so we know that Mike and El are only together for a very short period of time with Will third wheeling for almost all of it. El leaves with the lab right after she’s done with this incident and then it’s Mike and Will for the rest of the season. I’m assuming there is a Mileven fight in this episode as well based on the car scene of her driving away and him just standing there looking dead inside.

However, I think this angst will be resolved a lot faster than we think. I believe there is going to be some tension while they try to figure out what to do about El- but as soon as they are raided, they will make up in the trip to find her and we will get the soft byler scenes we want. One leak said that bylers will be very happy with one scene of them in the pizza truck together, so I’m assuming they make up and it’s a cute moment between the two, or a heart to heart.

The rest of the season is incredibly hard to predict because they have kept Will’s storyline so hidden. He may not get powers, but he is definitely connected with the Upside Down. We know Vecna has the ability to mind control people, so I’m really hoping at some point we get Will dealing with his past trauma and Mike helping him through it. I believe that Will is going to play a key role in defeating Vecna and I think this is going to have a big toll on him and we will most likely take a break to focus on that instead of his romance with Mike. However, I do believe that either Vol 1 or Vol 2 will end with Will confessing his feelings to Mike, most likely Vol 2, and we will either get a kiss or they will once again be interrupted after Will tells Mike and they will do that whole “stare at each other and not address it” until they defeat Vecna.

Finally, a side note for everyone saying Will won’t get powers because Max has powers now- Max doesn’t have powers. She was possessed by Vecna in that one cemetery scene as revealed by the monopoly game. This means that Will getting powers is still a very real possibility and we might get to see our boy kick ass to save Mike and his brother :)!

Edit: look at this for some extra hope :) these bitches gay fr

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZTdXJjaby/ (https..byler on tiktok)

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

5x09 - Past Is Prologue - basically 4x06's mirror & it's obvious there's a Buck and Eddie flip around in the story

So, interesting episode.

First of all, I love the title. "Past Is Prologue" indeed. This episode was all about moving on and change from what has come before.

We get Bobby and Athena moving into the next phase of their married life with May out of the house and Harry out with friends consistently. (that first scene was so freaking hilarious, give me that "sexual situations" warning for Bobby and Athena anytime LOL)

May has to fill out a change of address form after having what she most likely dubbed a very scarring experience.

Toni is hesitant to let Clive back into her life but after talking things out with Hen, she decides to give him another chance.

Ravi is becoming more and more a solid member of the 118. Even though he's not replacing Buck per se, they do keep comparing him to Buck. In this one, he cuts down on the coffee order time. (and this is interesting to me, too, because it makes me think back to that scene from 3x15 where Hen was bringing in coffee and Chim didn't get the right order "there's no cinnamon" vs "there better be oat milk in here")

The driving student is getting over a breakup and looking for a fresh start, something that is implied that she is starting to possibly find in the driving instructor. (something that is doubly implied by the oil leak, like "striking oil" which is supposed to be lucky)

Taylor decides to leave the past in the past, and not tell the parole board that her father deserves a second chance. After her father's brutal response (what a dick btw), she leaves well enough alone and opens up to Buck emotionally, resulting in her telling him that she loves him, being the one to say it first. It's obvious that their relationship has entered into a new phase.

Buck follows Bobby's advice and shows up in Oklahoma to be there for Taylor in case she needed him which results in everything mentioned above. This time, the person he's in a relationship with isn't jetting off or leaving him. And on top of it, they're telling him that they love him first.

So all seems good, right? Buck and Taylor are happy and moving into the next phase of their relationship. Buck finally has someone that isn't running or keeping him at arms' length. Taylor feels that she can truly open up to Buck and not be judged for it. Bobby and Athena make a great crime-solving team (probably to help ease the sting slightly from Michael and David being written out, reminding us of the dynamic Bathena also had back in 4x12, it's no coincidence to me that this episode was put in this order of the lineup after Michael's last episode). May will no longer be scarred for life and Toni possibly gets a second chance at love, as does the driving student. And Ravi is doing well. So everything is good.

Except...

A couple of things.

1) Bobby Advice On A Relationship...Again - Buck took Bobby's advice on his relationship, which tbf is excellent advice and I loved seeing that happen the way that it did, in the oh-firedad-has-had-enough-of-your-shit kind of way. Pure no nonsense, blunt and giving it to Buck straight. But notice the wording of this advice. While Bobby is right, that a breakup may not be on the horizon if Buck just talks to Taylor, notice how Bobby says that Buck goes with the flow and ends up in these relationships without knowing how he got into them. There is absolutely no need for that particular piece of dialogue to be in that scene unless it's important and the writers/show wants the audience to pay attention to it. Which is also reiterated by Hen's weird line of "Abby, Ali, at least Taylor doesn't rhyme, right?" Granted, due to the theme of the episode, naturally Buck's past relationships would be brought up because if 'past is prologue' and he's going to do something different, this needs to be mentioned, including his already past attempts at hooking up with Taylor. But it's the fact that they mention it in this very blase way that doesn't fit and keys us in to the fact that everything may not be what it's cracked up to be.

And of course, we've seen the 118 and then Bobby giving advice on relationships before, haven't we?

"But you're happy now? With Athena and the kids?"

And we all know how this went. Not to mention, I find this parallel even more interesting when you realize that Bobby's advice comes from yes, the firedad perspective, but also from where he's currently at in his life and marriage/relationship with Athena. In tonight's episode, we get Bobby giving a Buck a verbal slap to the head and right after it, Hen mentions May's ordeal on walking in on Bobby and Athena.

And while Chim may have been there in season 4, Ravi being there in season 5 is no coincidence either. Eddie may be stepping in to replace Chim temporarily on the medical side of things, but it's Ravi that Hen seems to be connecting with more (which is why the coffee order scene *cough cough*)

And my favorite parallel to the 'book club' scene from above? The 'telenovela' comment Buck makes to Eddie. Notice how it's Buck teasing Eddie this time, and how instead of Buck and Hen reading books, they're currently experiencing 'telenovela' levels of romantic drama (according to Eddie).

But yes, we've seen this all before except this time, we're seeing it happening with Buck.

Which brings me to my next point:

2) Eddie's story flip around - What we saw Eddie go through from 5x01 to 5x03 is what we're seeing now but for Buck. Notice how we don't get a whole lot of insight into what Eddie is thinking now. We get bits and pieces here and there, sure, like tonight, but ultimately we're not getting a whole lot of Eddie like we were in the beginning of the season. Which is ironic considering we didn't get a whole lot of insight into Buck in the beginning of the season. They literally have taken Eddie's story (concerning Ana and his future) and flipped it around to show us Buck's side of the story now (concerning Taylor and his future). They purposely only showed us a little Buck during Eddie's story, and now only a little Eddie during Buck's. That doesn't mean that they aren't involved in each other's stories still, as we saw from tonight, from the moment outside the hospital, from the balcony scene, etc. And they're doing this because they're doing the same thing to Buck that they did to Eddie. They're making Buck go through it and choose what he really wants. At the moment, the audience is expected to think that it's Taylor and their relationship. However, I would beg to disagree and here's why.

Taylor was the first one to say "I love you" and does it in such a way that Buck almost misses it. Granted, it might make sense for her to say so first, especially given Buck's romantic history and maybe his reluctance to be the first to say it especially given how Taylor had been trying to push him away initially. But instead of seeing a big bright smile when Taylor confesses this to him, we see more a confused smile than anything. This could be him just being surprised, not expecting it, but I tend to doubt it. Because after that scene, we get Buck telling Taylor "So now I know all of your secrets" and Taylor saying "My middle name is Kelly" (which basically implies that no, Buck still doesn't know all of her secrets, which again makes me think of this supposed 'ethical conflict' but okay) and then she runs up the stairs, Buck then gets the big smile on his face, and runs up after her. Which naturally brings their relationship back to "sexual".

I sincerely don't think Buck is in love with her. I think Taylor has been trying at their relationship (as we've seen from the breakfast attempt, the trying to be there emotionally for Buck, etc) but I think he's still a little guarded when it comes to her. I think he enjoys their relationship and he obviously does care about her, but I don't think he's in love with her. I also think the song that they chose for the ending montage is very purposeful. The "Last chance, last dance, last chance for love" lyrics (specifically playing over the kissing scene between BT). They chose for Taylor's "I Love You" to happen while the song is playing, for her to say it while Buck has his back to her and he's pouring wine. And once again, look at Taylor's smile compared to Buck's. Buck is surprised, then confused. The very next scene we see is of them kissing and then the whole "no more secrets" convo which is then followed by the stair climb. We've seen Buck when he loves someone (which is funny considering the talk he gave Eddie in 5x02, again, the flip around), and this isn't it. We saw him smiling way more with Ali and even Abby. And he smiled way more with Taylor before they went all domestic this season.

3) This episode is also mirroring things from season 4, specifically "Jinx" - While this isn't Buck and Taylor meeting for the first time or deciding to date in this episode, it does mirror Eddie seeing Ana again and deciding to take the next step, asking her out, which then leads to a relationship. This is literally BT taking the next step in theirs. This was a big moment for them, with Taylor deciding to confide in Buck after he makes it clear that they need to talk about things right then (which, seriously, good for Buck, he truly is evolving, I just wish it hadn't come on the heels of Taylor saying she had a flight planned, because hello Abby my old friend basically, no wonder Buck "bucked up" and put his foot down, but still great show of character growth on the writers' part). But just because things seem rosy right now (for Taylor at least, like I said, I have yet to see Buck just as happy as she is) and yes, Taylor is being given more character development than Ana was, doesn't mean it will continue to look this way in 5B. I really do believe they're doing to Buck what they did to Eddie. Buck has to learn how to "follow his heart".

And funnily enough, in 4x06 we saw Buck get his "upgrade" to Buck 3.0. Here I believe we are seeing Taylor getting an upgrade to either Buckette 3.0 or Buckette 2.0 at the very least. She's taking a major step by being vulnerable enough to tell Buck she loves him and staying in the relationship after revealing what she did about her past. I personally think they do plan to keep Taylor around as long as they can and that's why she's getting a lot of development as a side character, but not because she and Buck will be getting married and having tons of babies. I think it all goes back to what Tim said about wanting to keep that reporter perspective for the show's story. But I don't think it will either extend past the expiration date on the BT relationship or it will but Taylor will be solo. Because here's the thing.

While they ended Eddie's relationship with Ana 7 episodes ago, that doesn't mean that if they wanted, they couldn't push Eddie in a new romantic direction. It doesn't necessarily mean that he has to get into a serious relationship all of a sudden (we know he's not ready for that) but he could date or just have fun, even a harmless flirtation at work or something like that. Something Christopher absolutely doesn't have to know about or Buck or the 118 even but we as the audience could. But instead, we're not being shown that. At all. Like I said above, they're keeping Eddie mostly muted, just like they did with Buck during the Eddie and Ana arc this season.

And the wording in this scene is familiar wording we've seen before:

Buck: "We've reached the point in our relationship where the woman flees."

Ravi: "Women flee you?"

*Eddie laughs*

Ravi: "Routinely?"

And then this little gem...

"A little? When was the last time a woman told you she had to go home to wash her hair? 1952?"

Followed by...

Buck's reaction to Hen's "Okay, Buck, you're being a little too Buck about this":

And this is Buck's reaction to Eddie's teasing him with the line above:

That's twice now that they've shown us how Eddie makes Buck feel better, and it's in a series of moments they've been showing us how Buck also makes Eddie feel better. In an episode where the BT relationship starts attempting to build an emotional foundation, this scene, this little interaction here is absolutely key.

And then of course a minute later, after Buck reveals he thinks he and Taylor are living together, Bobby jumps in with "I'm going to tell you why this keeps happening to you. Because you don't talk to the women you're dating. You just go with the flow and find yourself in a relationship with no idea how you got there and what to do when things start to go wrong."

And right after he finishes, Eddie says "Yeah, who does that?" in a very sarcastic way. And why? Because of this little scene right here:

Where Eddie mentions Ana being the first "woman" he's wanted to spend time with since Shannon, where Buck tells him to "buck up" basically and face his relationship head on, and where the beginning line is "Hey, are you really trying to sleep or just pretending?"

Which is why we also get Buck's reaction to Eddie's sarcastic line and then Eddie's reaction to Buck:

Because Buck is currently going through his own version of what Eddie had to go through. Buck may not be getting panic attacks or getting asked to a Christening but it literally is a mirror. The "woman" is in love with them and their relationship is at a crucial point where they need to make a decision. Buck running up the stairs after Taylor isn't the decision, despite them entering the next phase of their relationship emotionally. Because if it was, and BT was going to be the it couple or even endgame, the show had an opportunity to end Buddie once and for all right here. Instead, they chose for Buck to have his back turned to Taylor, to be helpful and assist her by getting the bowl for her from the cabinet while she's preparing food aka cooking (Eddie and Ana breakup dialogue taking place in a messy kitchen parallel, anyone?), and for him to have a somewhat lackluster response to her love declaration. And then of course, the little mirrors/parallels back to Eddie, Eddie/Ana, and of course 4x06 and that whole dynamic. And the fact that in 5x03 we saw Eddie decide to end things with Ana after talking to Buck but he doesn't have a talk with Bobby like the latter does here with Buck in this episode about making a "breakup inevitable". Even though talking to Bobby talked to Eddie in 4x06 and Eddie/Ana started after, Bobby didn't talk to Buck about entering into a relationship with Taylor. They really are lining up every single detail from a two-sides-of-the-coin perspective and melting it all down to create one thing: Buddie. I'm telling you. It's all right there.

And of course the whole 118 firetruck scene ends with Hen revealing what happened to May walking in on Bobby and Athena in the kitchen. Hen: "I just wasn't aware we could bring our gear home for recreational purposes." Ravi: "You playing sexy firefighter, Cap?" Bobby: "What makes you think I was the firefighter?"

It's coming, folks. Hang in there. I know it's tough, especially with all of the angst and what feels like disconnected-ness this current season but it'll all be worth it in the end. And when we look back and see where they connected all the dots on the Buddie roadmap.

Let's see what the Christmas episode will bring next week. <3

[jancys-blue-bayou]

Would you be receptive to the idea of Steve and Nancy getting together at the end of this season only but with Jancy still as endgame. Theres some theories floating around that Joyce and Hopper dont make it back this season. If that happens, Jonathan would pretty much have no options but to go single dad Will and El in California. Maybe Nancy gets back with Steve after the breakup. And we get the timeskip and the relationship has fizzled out when both Jonathan and Nancy return to Hawkins and rekindle the relationship.

No that would suck bc Stancy is an on fire garbage can. Also that theory doesn't make sense to me, regardless of whatever Jopper does for the rest of the season, the pizza van gang are going to Hawkins. Given that the army literally shot up their house in Lenora I don't see them returning there, not anytime soon at least. I've not bothered with leaks but heard from people who do that Jancy are together for the season finale so.

Anyway like I've posted before, I'm not too worried about them bc the Stancy shit I think is just really pointless shipteasing. It's really atrociously bad writing though, and their fixation with sticking Nancy in the middle of this extremely played out love triangle again (for everyone! Not least of all Steve had moved on!) just says it all about how the Duffers writing sucks for female characters especially. I mean I'm very critical of A LOT of their writing post s1, but how they're unable to write for a female character without centering their storyline around a man is really astounding. Sticking Nancy in love triangles, having Joyce chase around after Hopper, centering Max whole arc around her racist abusive step brother, El's storylines focus either on her relationship with Mike or Brenner. And for all their romance focus, the lone lesbian on the show spends all her time with Steve. When they do let two women have scenes together (El and Max in s3, Nancy and Robin in s4) they only talk about boys.

[craftyghostartisanplaid]

Shoni S2 Breakup Predictions

Beware of Leak Spoilers…

So as some twitter sleuths have already deduced that “let’s swap all our clothes” Shoni are already broken up in the S2 promo picture where Shelby has short hair, this is what I predict is what will happen.

We know from the official promo and from the leaks that Martha has surprisingly taken on the role of hunter within the group. We also know that she - at least once - buddy systems with Shelby when hunting and that Shoni have had private a conversation about not leaving Martha alone/making sure she’s okay.

We also know that at some point Martha and Toni have a terse conversation. The official promo scene shows Toni calling her a “fucking warrior” and clearly now sees Martha in a different, more independent light. The leaks however showed that during this same conversation, at some point, Martha gets frustrated with Toni and tells Toni to “not tell her anything” the “her” we can assume is Shelby.

The leaked scene of Martha and Shelby hunting together also hints at Martha’s frustration with them as she asks Shelby what exactly they have been discussing about her behind her back.

I predict that there is rising tension throughout S2 between Shoni as a couple, and Martha. Remember that Martha was incredibly excited to have Shelby as a friend and was very invested in keeping that friendship just between them - which Toni was incredibly put out by. I would imagine that, in their real life, Toni as the more dominant of the two of them likely made outside friendships difficult for Martha. Toni’s possessive and a lot of work. Hell, she sleeps on Martha’s bedroom floor.

I could see why it could be frustrating for Martha to have her best friend and her new friend (that was just for her) suddenly become this inseparable pair. Not only now is Martha not (in her eyes) the priority of either Toni or Shelby, these two people are now conspiring together and agreeing that Martha needs to be looked after and protected.

If I was Martha, who had gone through all the trauma of the Island, facing my repressed abuse, committing “animal murder” for the good of the group, I would be PISSED that Miss Americana and the Window Break Prince were suddenly not recognising that I was stronger than both of them combined.

I think what is going to happen will be that Martha will go out to hunt and, because of rising tension, or an argument or just sheer infatuation, Shoni will choose to stay with each other (again) instead of one, or both, going with Martha. Martha will get in an accident that leaves her critically injured and Gretchen - knowing they are so close to day 50 of the experiment - will leave it until the very last second to send rescue.

Knowing Shoni are canon soul mates and endgame I can’t fathom the breakup being from one of them doing something awful to the other. The thing that both Shelby and Toni do best is complete fucking self hatred. I don’t think Martha’s accident will even explicitly anybody’s fault, but it will spiral both Shelby and Toni into a hole of self blame so deep that they think they have no choice but to be apart as them being together caused someone (else) to get hurt.

Also Shelby then cuts off her hair for some reason.

[sparring-spirals]

okay! something something liveblog TLOVM s1 episode 8 LETS DO THIS I MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO CASS (this one got long sorry)

call it influence of the Mighty “man we end up busting a ton of cults” Nein but lots of people chanting in the start of an episode put me on EDGE okay. anyway hello pike! :)

oh, sorry, more of a “hello pike :(” still going thru it, i see. breakups (with magical entities) are rough!

christ i was vibing too hard with the intro and got jolted by the whole “cass and percy” situation WHOOPS.

yay healing magic but also ohgOD are you putting dirt DIRECTLY INTO AN OPEN WOUND???? THAT SEEMS EXTREMELY- (I am dragged offstage by the collar)

anders, sir, i think percy might be a little too angry to appreciate your monologuing. classic miscalulation, you should’ve gotten at least half your monologue in BEFORE playing your big cards.

“this revenge is mine” “not if you’re dead” sorry percy your friends care about you and also are dramatic hoes who deliver one liners to undercut your one liner.

you know i made that quip and then Vex delivered the reverse one-liner about the long shot and... that might be a twin-specific thing. These dramatic hoes. I adore them.

pike 🤝 keyleth : muttering “please work please work” when they cast spells because of a complex relationship with themselves and their power

ADORABLE keyleth moment but also- CASS don’t SCREAM with your throat oh god Keyleth don’t GRAB her by her throat oh god don’t TILT YOUR HEAD BACKWARDS. *mutter mutter healing magic mutter mutter*

FUCKING charm person, always a bitch. anyway i love the little moments when they figure out a fight and do Good. before they kill each other.

SKJDFHALSJDGSHD this shouldn’t be funny but pike working her ass off panicking and worrying to reach the everlight and then she gets there and its just “who r u”

anyway: poor pike oh man :(

again: LOVE the moments of teamup and smoothness (right before they kill each other. but that vex/keyleth teamup! nice!)

me: oh no this is a 4v1! *watches percy get taken over by demon* ..... 4v2?

oh i was hoping someone would rip out his silver tongue but this is also good :) “work out all the angles” one-liner brain always at 100% huh percy

fantastic mundanity of VM chasing a tongue while percy strides by leaking smoke. like “ah yes, percy leaking smoke, we’ve all seen it now, CATCH THE GODDAMN TONGUE”.

again: sick one liners. and keyleth going “guys, the smoke!” thank u kiki.

i look up from stuffing cass into my pockets: what? no? i? what? listen shes mine now get away. anyway sibling relationships really got me *waves arms inarticulately* aaaa

ngl with the tone vex used for “kinda terrified... kinda impressed” that’s not what i thought the second half of the sentence was going to be. that said, from vex, what she said is probably the higher compliment.

keyleth looks so happy and at peace doing this, awww

yes i am googling “does slit throat cause blood to come out of mouth” yes it is for a shitpost on a fandom blog i run please do not arrest me

(i don’t think it does but i also didn’t research very hard)

i adore all these voice actors but matts delivery of “delilah, what are you doing” was a lil wack and made me laugh a little. did this man just wake up

1: *googles how much blood is in a human body* 2: sylas seeing this and just going 🤨 kajsdfhlasjdfh

fucking CHRIST everlight!! use a zone of truth like everyone else!! goddamn!!!

sorry, correction: fucking CHRIST everlight!! recommend a therapist like everyone else!! goddamn!!

I think there’s a genuinely interesting analysis/discussion around faith-driven guilt and “goodness” and etc but i also think its really funny- and sweet! that pike was like “im... bad.” after all this struggling :( and the everlight was like “nahw ur good nw ok see you”

okay seriously joking aside: this is a really, really lovely scene, and beautifully done. <3

“of course its zombies! fuck me!” listen Scanlan, that IS what you were asking for.

cinnamontography <3

overall:

- i really, really enjoyed this ep, actually! Not sure what it is but so far I’ve very much been enjoying the second ep in each of the releases lmao.

- a lot more medical and biological questions coming out of this ep than i was expecting, but that’s how it goes sometimes i guess.

- I think in general the little character interactions and quips in action/battle are some of my favorites- they always feel very right and are always so telling in multiple ways :’D like Vex being mean to Keyleth but trusting her in combat, speaks VOLUMES. Grog raging being about rage, but also about his friends. Who ducks and hides, who backs up who- augh. lovely.

- Cass. <3 like, I know, there’s still Some Things that’ll happen, but damn shes BEEN thru it okay. 

- Pike’s scene with the Everlight- so, so, so, good. In dialogue, in VA, the bit with the VM silhouettes- very nice.

- Percy got a ricocheting bullet shot and some VERY cathartic murder and we love that for him and also his smoke demon. but mostly for him.

[multimetaverse]

HSMTMTS 2x01 Review

New Year’s Eve was a great way to return to HSMTMTS especially after such a long gap. Let’s dig in!

Vladimir Lenin once said that, ‘’ there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". It’s been almost a year and half since S1 ended but this past week has seen revelation after revelation as the fandom has resurrected itself and promotion for S2 kicked into high gear: Joshua Bassett came out, Frankie and Joe confirmed that they are a real life couple, Larry seemingly confirmed that S2 will only have 11 eps rather than the 12 initially ordered, and perhaps most importantly Olivia revealed that she and the main cast are under contract for 4 seasons and made clear that she’s leaving the show as soon as her contract is up.

I really enjoyed this premiere, it felt like picking up right back where we left off. I’m guessing that S2 was originally supposed to premiere around Christmas or New Year’s but the holiday decorations and real Utah snow add a charming aesthetic to the ep. Tim Federle deserves credit for giving HSMTMTS more of an ensemble feel which is no easy feat with a cast as large as this show has. It likely won’t last due to covid restrictions  but at least for tonight we got to see all the characters hanging out together acting like a real group of friends.

The dialogue tonight really reminded me of Glee and I think I mean that as a compliment. Miss Jenn in particular seems to be doing her best April Rhodes impression minus the alcoholism. 

The rini scenes tonight were lovely. Perfect gift was a great song and I loved the rini duet during the music in me as the world faded around them leaving just the two of them. The Harry Styles reference is funny in light of Josh’s coming out interview. Of course, it’s hard now to separate Nini and Ricky and Olivia and Josh. Their chemistry shines through as 2x01, 2x02, and possibly parts of 2x03 were filmed pre Jolivia breakup which seems to have happened around summer 2020. Whether they can keep that same chemistry later on in S2, not to mention future seasons, remains to be seen.

A major theme tonight was communication and clearly Rini need to work on theirs. Poor Ricky had to learn that Nini’s moving to Denver the night before she leaves town which has to remind of him of his mom effectively abandoning him. Ricky saying that he’s never gonna breakup with Nini ever again sure sounds like foreshadowing for a disaster though the odds that this time Nini initiates the breakup are pretty good. 

I’m glad that the show is continuing to delve in the Bowen’s divorce story with their house being sold and Ricky and his dad having to move into an apartment. Divorce is expensive and the division of assets typically leave people less well off. Mike Bowen needs to work on his communication skills but he’s rocking that beard; it takes him from depressed divorced dad to depressed divorced daddy.

Seblos was cute and in a nice change of pace Disney doesn’t seem to be cynically teasing them then cutting their scenes. It was refreshing to see them just being a couple and to hear Carlos casually refer to himself as gay. In that regard tonight’s ep didn’t seem like it was a Disney show at all and it’s major progress that there are now two main gay characters on HSMTMTS. We learn that Carlos is rich which seems likely to be a source of conflict with Seb who comes from a large farming family.

Bet on It was really fun and I liked that Ricky apparently couldn’t stop singing it. The medley of HSM 2 songs was fun but I’ll be real with you wildcats, I never thought HSM 2 or 3 were nearly as good as the first movie so I’m not sad that they’re doing something else this year.

Wild that Big Red’s mom also calls him Big Red. Salt Lake Slices seems poised to be a big part of S2 both as hangout spot and work location for some of the characters. Redlyn are sweet together but sometimes Big Red comes off as a closeted gay guy which isn’t ideal for a het pairing that is supposedly a big part of S2.

Nice to see Gina so excited to have sleepovers with Ashlyn. We know from 2x03 that Gina contends with being single on Valentine’s day and from her glances at Ricky tonight she’s clearly not over him. Tim’s playing with fire and I can only hope he knows what he’s doing. I liked the little detail of Kourtney having AOC on her vision board, it feels true to the character (hopefully AOC gets elected president one day if the USA doesn’t collapse into a fascist dictatorship or civil war before then). EJ’s beard has got to go but I like that he seems committed to being a better version of himself; very doubtful his plan to go straight to Duke like his forefathers doesn’t change by the end of the season. 

Derek Hough did a good job of playing Zach as a subtly condescending man who managed to swiftly undermine Miss Jenn’s confidence, we’ll see what he and North High bring to the table.

Looking Ahead:

Next week are auditions for Beauty and the Beast, we know Ashlyn gets the role of Belle and EJ has conveniently removed himself from the running for Beast which presumably clears the path for Ricky to take the lead. There’s been some controversy over the casting choices and I’ll save my comments about it for the 2x02 review.

We get to see Lily who looks like a meaner version of season 1 Gina, we’ll see how much depth she actually ends up getting. Howie is introduced in 2x03 and Antoine likely shows up later on. Jack likely shows up towards the end of the season.

Howie seems to have a connection with Kourtney though the character synopsis does say he gets close to a wildcat or two which certainly leaves room to slide him into Gina’s plot. We know Antoine is into Ashlyn so that’s another love triangle to look forward to. Jack was described as having wanderlust and most of the cast seems not to have filmed with him so I think it’s likely that he plays a role in convincing EJ to take a gap year rather than head straight to Duke. 

A translation leak on TikTok reveals that in 2x03 Gina is sad that she’s only gotten a Valentine’s Day gift from her mom. A brief clip from the promo shows up her on her porch at night holding a heart shaped box of chocolates. If that’s supposed to be from a secret or semi-secret admirer than it has to be from either EJ, Ricky, or Howie. If it’s a platonic gift then it could be from anyone, we’ll see what Tim has up his sleeves.

Nini moving back to SLC is a question of when not if. It’s going to be very difficult to bring her back in a way that’s justified and also doesn’t leave the time she spends in Denver looking like a total waste. Frankly, I’d rather the show just bite the bullet and bring her back with as little fuss as possible.

We’re possibly around a quarter way through HSMTMTS given that the mains have 4 season contracts and presuming that the show is not cancelled earlier. At the very least the show will be radically different after S4 if they try to continue it as Olivia has made very clear that she’s going to leave asap to pursue her burgeoning music career full time (notably she’s only done the bare minimum of promo for S2). 

Looming over the remaining seasons of HSMTMTS is what the professional relationship between Olivia and Josh looks like especially since in many ways the show is built around Ricky and Nini. Off screen relationships have often caused on screen problems and dating a co-worker is rarely a good idea since even clean breakups leave lingering resentments. Obviously the Jolivia breakup was not clean, Driver’s License, Deja Vu, and Good 4 U (which is a certified bop) were clearly written from a place of hurt and in some ways were written to hurt. It’s no surprise that Joshua has dropped his duet with Sabrina Carpenter from his EP; someone on his team at least is trying to stop the damage to his reputation. There’s a decent chance that Olivia’s songs becoming such hits has irreparably damaged Joshua Bassett’s reputation among the same pool of largely young women that he’s targeting his music towards thereby cutting off his music career at the knees. If nothing else this behind the scenes drama should keep things entertaining for a while.

Until next week Wildcats 

[sadclearance]

M!reader and hanta sero! toxic toxic manipulative reunion after breakup

how the #26 hero made headlines with his sex tape

pairing: hanta sero x male manipulative reader

summary: hanta sero and y/n meet again after their sex tape is leaked.

warning: sex tape (sero fucking you), manipulative and toxic behavior, implied/referenced past cheating, suicide attemptish, implied/referenced revenge porn

category: angst(?), fluff(?) idrk 

word count: 4300

"and then the fucking cashier asked to take a picture!" katsuki bakugo seethed. "i just wanted to get my damn groceries, but everyone's so damn nosy!"

"at least they asked?" mina ashido said, her voice pitched at the end, making it sound more like a question than a statement.

"don't even get me started on the fucking stalkers that don't ask," bakugo growled.

"i don't know how you can live like that," hanta sero laughed at bakugo's misery. "sounds terrible."

is this karma for being amused by bakugo's misfortunes?

the day immediately after, sero is scanning his items after getting everything he needs from the grocery store when the cashier stares at him with wide eyes, glancing between him and the phone in their hand.

"are you cellophane?"

is this what having fans feels like? it's kind of flattering but also annoying that he's being called his hero name during his off time.

"oh, yeah," sero responds with a light laugh, trying to stay polite.

he expects them to ask for a picture or maybe an autograph. what he doesn't expect is snickering.

he vaguely remembers how denki kaminari described being recognized in public for the first time. he was met with taunts from a group of students because a video of him short circuiting had just gone viral.

sero's quirk doesn't even have any drawbacks similar to short circuiting, so he can't think of a possible reason why his cashier would be laughing at him.

he ignores it and finishes checking out because he doesn't want to ask what's wrong with the other person.

when he gets back to his apartment complex, he checks his mail. there's a few bills and postcards from old friends.

the guy next to him bursts out laughing.

he closes his mailbox and gives him a questioning look. that just made it two people that have laughed at him in the past thirty minutes. what's going on?

"you're cellophane, right?"

"uh, yeah?" sero says, completely confused.

"just don't be too loud in this building," the guy says, apparently cracking himself up.

sero is still puzzled. he's been the perfect tenant. the loudest noise that's ever come from his apartment was the merciless explosions from bakugo directed toward kaminari after a particularly bad joke, but that happened two years ago. ever since then, the most that could be heard was maybe kaminari's laughter, but sero doubts that that was even that loud.

when he reaches his floor and opens the door of his apartment, he's greeted with his friends on the couch.

"oh, hey," sero says, shutting the front door with his foot and going toward the kitchen to start organizing his groceries. "i told you guys to start warning me before you come. do i have to start hiding my spare key?"

"we know what you're doing, sero," ashido frowns.

okay, something's up. the pink hero isn't using her normal teasing or upbeat tone, and the television isn't even on.

"what?" sero looks at her with the same expression he wore toward the guy who told him not to be too loud.

"you did this last time, bro," eijiro kirishima gives a disapproving look. "i thought we made it clear back then that we're here for you."

what is kirishima going on about? "last time"? well, sero knows what he's talking about because of the whole "here for you" part. of course he remembers. it was a prominent part of his life because it only happened once, during a time in his life he remembers too well.

see, sero is an easy-going guy. out of everybody in the group, he's probably the most stable.

i mean, ashido is a party animal that drags the group out to upbeat bars at least once a month even when she would do a hundred things she'd regret the next morning. it's not like they didn't like doing it, but she definitely needed supervision.

then, there's kaminari. he's an emotional mess, getting caught up in too many confusing flirty situations. each week, he would have a breakdown in the group chat. "so do you guys think me and x are really flirting? or is this like joke flirting?"

can't forget about kirishima. he's probably the second most stable, but he still has a lot of times where he needs reassurance and comfort.

last but definitely not least, bakugo--the emotionally constipated man who is only the tiniest bit better at communicating his emotions than he was in their first year together.

too long, didn't read: four out of five of the group needed someone to depend on at least once a month.

sero is the one person in their group that didn't necessarily need anybody. this isn't because he keeps shit to himself. he's just fortunate enough to not have any problems that aren't surface level. the most he has to deal with are minor inconveniences like running out of toilet paper, running into a villain on his off day, or getting puked on by ashido on a particularly wild night--nothing that emotionally tears him apart.

well, there was this one time about three years ago when he felt the worst that he ever had before. it was a terrible experience of heartbreak and self-hatred which is why he unfortunately remembers it so well. he kept it all to himself until his friends managed to eventually force it out of him, hence the "we're here for you".

but there is absolutely no reason for them to say "last time" as if it's happening again.

"what are you guys talking about? everyone's being so weird today."

"oh my god," kaminari's jaw falls. "do you seriously not know, or are you pretending like you're okay again?"

"not know what?" today is a day of questions, and he doesn't like it one bit.

"do you not check your fucking phone or something?" bakugo growls with annoyance and the slightest hint of shock. the slight gentleness of his volume gets sero incredibly worried.

"i haven't had time to. why? what's going on?"

the four look at each other, considering if they should enlighten sero on whatever it is.

when sero determines they're taking too long to decide, he takes out his phone from his pocket.

at first, he sees a bunch of text notifications from almost all of his old classmates and coworkers, all asking in various ways if he's okay.

he moves past them and searches up his hero name. what could be so bad that his friends expect him to go back to being as much of a concerning mess as he was the last time they spoke to him like this? he doubts that anything could make him as bad as he was after his breakup with his high school sweetheart.

oh... well, he can admit that seeing his name with a link from an adult video website being the top result and under "trending" doesn't make him feel that great, but he doesn't think that it's that bad.

"there's a video on pornhub with my name on it. is it like a really messed up cosplay of me or something?" sero asks, partially joking. "because if it is, i don't really care, guys. you don't have to worry about stuff like that. i know what it means to be known by the world, and that there are creeps out there that get off to--"

"shut the fuck up and watch the damn video," bakugo scowls.

"you want me to watch porn in front of you?" sero raises an eyebrow, slightly amused--a feeling that clearly isn't being reciprocated by any of the four that are staring at him.

"just watch it," kirishima sighs.

he clicks on it, even if he thinks it's a little weird that his friends want to watch him watch porn. maybe it's so bad that it's funny. he's expecting some weirdo to be wearing a poor version of his hero costume getting bukkaked or something weird like that.

all amusement leaves his body, and his confused smile drops.

it's not some weirdo wearing a knock off cellophane costume. he's greeted with a screen covered by him. wearing nothing.

it's not even the fact that his nude body is exposed on the internet to be shown to anybody and everybody that causes the pit in his stomach. it's because he recognizes the video. he knows what happens in it. he knows who's in it.

he doesn't stop watching as giggling from his phone fills the awkwardly silent room. soon enough, the nineteen year old sero in the video has a cock in his mouth, and his fingers are up the ass of the owner of said cock.

that's not even the worst part. the worst part is the next part, which is where sero from three years ago takes the camera, uses his quirk to tie his ex-love's wrists together, and fucks him while getting everything on camera, including a clear shot of his face.

he watches the entire thing, too frozen to do anything else.

in any other situation, his friends would be teasing the shit out of him. ashido would poke fun at how sero of all people made a sex tape, kaminari would make some stupid pun about how he made a sex tape, kirishima would try to be holding himself back from laughing at how sero used his quirk for such a purpose as tying his partner up for sex, and bakugo would probably call him something along the lines of "plain face cock-sucking bottom bitch", even though the next few scenes that follow show that he's clearly not the last part.

this isn't any other situation, though. this is a sex tape with the one person he fucked over so badly that he still stays up every night thinking about it--regretting it. sero thinks that the universe must think he's one big joke.

"sero?" kaminari asks when sero doesn't speak even after the video ends. it's an awkward situation, really, because as mentioned earlier, his friends just watched him watch himself suck a dick and then proceed to pound into the ass of their former classmate.

he's not nearly as mortified by that as he should be.

he's more mortified that this is trending on every single social platform, not even because he's a pro hero with the world currently looking at his naked body, but because he somehow managed to fuck up y/n's life more than he already had three years ago.

"i'm tired" is the excuse he decides on using as he walks toward his bedroom. "i'll talk to you guys later."

hesitantly, his friends show themselves out, which he's glad for because he really needs some time to process--and wallow--by himself.

sero lies in bed for a while, not sure what to do, before he finally pulls out his phone again and does something that only makes the pit of guilt in his stomach worsen.

DailyHero: Taping Hero: Cellophane and the Video That Everyone's Talking about

HeroWeekly: Cellophane--26th Ranking Hero, Everything We Know About His Video

HeroTribune: Cellophane's Shocking Video

it isn't just hero media networks that are talking about it, though.

CelebrityGossip: Plain Hero Plain No More

since when is he a celebrity? he would find that funny if he wasn't so abashed by today's events.

RecreationalChronicle: How the Tape Hero is Making HeadLines

it makes him slightly amused to think of how that's another one of the stupid puns kaminari would make if the situation wasn't so sensitive.

he clicks on the hero weekly one, which just so happens to be the number one news outlet for hero news. sero's kind of surprised that they said anything about it. they were known for keeping things profession based, and the title of the article frankly sounds like any other drama website. he might be flattered by hero weekly deeming his amateur sex tape important enough to dedicate a whole article to it if he wasn't so plagued with guilt still.

Cellophane--26th Ranking Hero, Everything We Know About His Video

Cellophane, real name Hanta Sero, is the 26th ranking hero in Japan today. This morning, an explicit video featuring him and another man was leaked onto the internet via an adult video website. The original source is unknown, but we can only assume that neither Cellophane or his featured partner was behind revealing this to the public eye.

From what we gather, this video was filmed roughly around or before the first assignment that brought Cellophane lots of recognition. By this time, he was nineteen years old and had graduated the prestigious U.A. Academy a year prior.

The identities in the video are very clear, as there are many clear shots of both participants' faces.

While the video itself is shocking to many, Cellophane's partner is what surprises us the most. Y/n L/n was a hero that graduated alongside Cellophane from U.A. Academy. He was famous for being so fresh out of high school, but after just one year of unbelievable success--around the same time the infamous video was recorded--he went completely off the grid. To this day, nobody has seen him since.

sero stops reading because he feels more shitty the more he reads. he knows what the article is talking about. y/n cut off almost everybody from u.a. after their breakup. his friends tried to assure him that it wasn't his fault, but it was an awful big coincidence that his abrupt disappearance happened the exact day of their breakup.

he wonders what y/n's up to nowadays. is he still in japan? is he still pursuing a heroic lifestyle? perhaps he's been doing what aizawa did. maybe he continues to fight crime, just minus the recognition and media time.

if y/n really is living a peaceful life right now, did sero just shatter that? the world had sort of forgotten he existed at all after a few months of his disappearance, so he probably would've gotten away with roaming the streets freely without being recognized. did sero just ruin that for him?

he needs to know. he needs to try to fix things, even if he knows he can't. he needs to... he needs to talk to him, even after all these years.

when sero asks kaminari to meet him alone, the electric hero's kind of nervous. last time, he was happy with the entirety of their friend group comforting him. why did he want some one-on-one time all of a sudden?

apparently, he was right to be nervous because what sero is asking of him is hard for him to do.

"hey," kaminari says with the best smile he can muster in his anxious state.

"hey," sero greets back, taking a sip of his hot coffee.

"thanks for buying," kaminari says, twirling the straw in his cup with his hand, the ice of the iced coffee moving and crashing together.

"no problem," sero nods.

"what's up?" kaminari asks, putting the tip of the straw that lays in between his fingers into his mouth to take a nice long taste of the sweet treat.

"i need to talk to y/n," sero says, looking down at the coffee between his two hands instead of up into kaminari's eyes.

"i--what?" kaminari asks, almost spitting out his drink.

"i know you still talk to him, and i know why you can't tell me how to find him, but--"

"sero," kaminari frowns at the frantic desperation in his friends voice. "it's not that i can't. i mean, i probably shouldn't, but... that's not why."

"then why?" sero's voice is pleading, but his eyes hold angry frustration.

"look, the thing is, i don't even talk to him that often," kaminari sighs. "we've talked maybe twice since you guys broke up. we're not the friends that we used to be before."

"i understand that there's boundaries that shouldn't be crossed, okay? believe me, i really do, but i really need a chance to talk to him again. if he tells me to go away, i swear i'll drop it. i'll leave him alone. please."

"i know, i know. i know you aren't a stalker ex. just..."

kaminari's lips tighten into a line, a habit he's picked up over the years whenever he's faced with any kind of decision--whether it be deciding what flavor of ice cream he should get, or, apparently, if he should let his best friend see the guy he broke the heart of.

"okay," kaminari hesitates.

"thank you! thank you thank you--"

"don't thank me yet," kaminari says with a weak shake of his head. "before you talk to him, i need you to know that he's not the same person you knew."

"i understand," sero nods. he doesn't expects his meeting with him to go well anyway. sure, he hopes it will, but he's mentally prepared himself for the worst outcome, which his brain has decided is for y/n to yell and start throwing things at him.

"i... i don't know how to put it, really, but the few times that we talked, he's sounded... weird. like creepy. i don't know, man," kaminari shudders at the thought, but sero's too caught up in his anxious excitement to really care.

"it's okay. i understand," sero repeats.

"if you're sure," kaminari pauses. "truth is, y/n wants to see you, too."

"really?" sero feels all too hopeful, and he can see the worry paint kaminari's face.

"i don't know if it's in a good way or not," kaminari says carefully. he doesn't want to hurt his friend, but he doesn't want to set him up for disappointment either.

"i'm not expecting anything," sero says, but his words aren't very convincing when there's a clear smile growing on his face.

"just be careful, bro." kaminari writes an address on a piece of paper.

"you don't have to worry about me," sero reassures with a smile.

as he wanders through the streets, he's shaky and nervous and scared and ecstatic and--just everything.

y/n wants to meet with him. the possibilities are endless, but at least he now knows he won't be turned away--at least not immediately.

he goes between riding in cabs to treading amongst the shadows on the street, changing whenever someone recognizes him from the trending news.

he endures long hours of stares and whispers, encouraging himself with the thought of being able to see y/n again soon, whether that be a good thing or not.

"fiftieth floor of paragon hotel..." sero mutters to himself as he presses on the cold metal button. lots of questions come to mind, like where will y/n be? he didn't get a room number with the address. how will y/n react? will he stay civil? will he give him a chance to explain himself? did he only want sero to come so he could vent out his anger and frustrations?

when the elevator doors open, he sees a single door.

he hesitantly turns the knob until he's hit with a cold breeze from the night air.

oh.

it's the roof.

his brain's new worst conclusion is that y/n's going to push him off, but he's more okay with that than he should be. he has a quirk that can save him even if that happens, and if anything, he thinks it'll help him feel a little less guilty about everything he's done to make y/n's life more shitty.

"y/n," he calls out softly when he sees y/n just standing there, looking up at the big white moon in the sky.

nothing's really changed. his appearance isn't much different from the last time they saw each other, and sero's still enamored by how the stars above could never compare to the bright light that is y/n.

but that's not something he should be thinking about right now. his head shouldn't be filled with hopeful thoughts.

the object of his love to this day turns around upon hearing his name.

"sero," he greets with a smile. "you made it."

"yeah. i did," sero hesitantly steps closer to y/n. "listen, y/n, i'm..."

fuck. why is that the only thing he can get out of his mouth? he has so much to say--he's been thinking about it every night for the past three years--every hour for the past few days. so why is his mind blank now of all times?

"how're things with... i can't even remember her name," y/n laughs a little, and sero frowns. he doesn't know why he's laughing about the mistake that's been haunting him forever, but he swallows down those feelings. people grieve differently, and if anybody had a right to how they react to that night, it's y/n.

"i'm sorry," sero finally manages out. "she... i haven't talked to her since then. she's not a part of my life."

a casual "weird" is y/n's only comment before he turns back to look at the moon.

"you know... you know she never meant anything, right? we were--"

"'we were drunk, and i was lonely, but that's not an excuse, but she meant nothing, and you're the only one i want'," y/n finishes for him.

sero's heart sinks. has he been playing that night over and over in his head, too? has it been hurting him all this time as well?

"i remember." y/n's smile is still there, albeit more grim, and it unsettles sero.

"yeah..." and sero doesn't know what else to say because apparently, after years of mulling it over in his head, he hasn't come up with anything better than his initial rambles of regret. though, he still has something else to apologize for-- "i'm sorry. i swear it wasn't me who leaked it. i deleted--or at least i thought i deleted my copy years ago. maybe i didn't do it right. i don't know. i can't imagine how hard this must be for you. god, i'm so sorry. i managed to ruin everything all over again a whole three--"

"sero," y/n interrupts, sitting on the low ledge, eyes still on the sky.

"yeah?" sero swallows thickly at how desperate he sounds. he hates how messy his words are--hates how they pour out sounding so slow and stupid.

"do you love me?" y/n asks.

"what?" sero completely blanks. did he hear him right?

"do you love me?" y/n repeats, fully turning his body to him.

"yes." he doesn't hesitate for even a second, even though he wonders why he's asking that question at such an inappropriate time, because he has no doubt in his mind that he loves y/n and has since the moment they met.

"i don't believe you," y/n smiles as he stands up on the platform.

"what are you doing?" sero asks obliviously.

"what i should have done all those years ago," y/n smiles big, and it scares sero a little. "if you really love me... then you would catch me."

sero barely has time to process what he said before y/n lets himself freefall backwards.

sero's brain hadn't even considered that this would be one of the possible outcomes.

"y/n!" sero screams as he runs toward the ledge. he panics as he watches y/n's body get smaller and smaller the more he falls. he rips off his civilian long sleeve, shoots out his tape to stick onto the floor, before throwing himself off to go after him.

he uses his free elbow to launch his tape at y/n, knowing his own body wouldn't be able to get to him fast enough.

he wants to let out a sigh of relief when he sees that y/n's dangling by the white line rather than falling, but he knows from past experience with hero work that they're not completely safe just yet.

pulling himself up with the clear film he had luckily had the brains to think of placing first, he makes it back onto the roof of the building, slowly pulling his other elbow to haul y/n's body up as well.

"are you fucking crazy?!" he raises his voice for the first time in a long time. he doesn't think he's ever felt this angry and frustrated and mortified in his entire life.

y/n doesn't bother unwrapping himself from the tape as he uses a hand to pull sero's face close, kissing him softly.

and sero can't help but melt, which is the opposite of what he should probably be doing. a simple kiss shouldn't be able to pacify him with a situation like this at hand, but it does.

"you love me," y/n smiles when he pulls away just enough to feel the harsh pants coming from sero--the result of both the terrifying moment he just had to experience and his reaction to kissing y/n again.

"i do," sero nods eagerly, and shit, those aren't the words that are supposed to leave his mouth right now. he's supposed to ask what the hell is wrong with y/n. he's supposed to ask why he would do that. he's supposed to curse and swear and--anything but act like it's all okay.

"you love me," y/n says again before pulling him in for another kiss.

when sero puts his arms around y/n's waist and pulls his body as close as possible to his, he feels the buzz of y/n's phone.

"do you--do you need to get that?" sero asks as he reluctantly pulls away, sounding like a whiny child.

"i'm sure it's nothing important," y/n says before throwing his phone off of the roof, and sero pulls him back hungrily, because as strange as that action was, sero can't bring himself to care when the love of his life is back in his arms after three long years.

[12:39am] reporter to y/n: i got myself a promotion! been an honor working with you. again, thank you so much for selling it to me.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

a/n;

i wrote part of this in may last year because i thought the title was funny then i didn't know how to end it but then i got this sero request so

not proofread but when is it ever

[singingaboutwishingx]

ok next question (i’m going to send in so many i’m sorry) what are some other couples in this universe or significant, self-fulfillment changes that you made just for fun!! i’m dying to know more about this universe

(please do not be sorry. i love talking about writing and aus and these characters. once again, i’m also an attention whore who lives for this.)

okay! so i put a great deal of thought into how josh and donna existed without each other, and that very much includes relationships, so here’s a bullet point list, all in the style of the pretty little liars season one, episode two title: “the jenna thing”.

(spoilers for all of the west wing under the cut)

josh and donna

the assistant thing: obviously, josh no longer has donna as his trustworthy girl friday. i touched on this, but i think that josh’s assistant was a woman named jamie. she’s quite close to his age, but she was already married by the time she got the job (no feelings from either side). they had a fairly close relationship and worked well together. jamie (short, dark hair) and her husband, mike (tall, gangly redhead), worked on the bartlet for america campaign in lower-level positions, but she made such an impression on josh and he made such an impression on cj that they got jobs in the administration--hers as josh’s assistant and his in the communications bullpen. a glow-up for both of them. we love to see it. i literally invented this character as an ideal placeholder and then got so invested in her life. there’s actually an unfinished transition-era scene featuring the two of them that i just ended up cutting because it just didn’t need to be there. in it, josh, lou, and donna go to the white house to recruit some staff and meet jamie and mike. it was heavily implied that jamie and mike accepted offers from josh and lou, respectively, to reprise their roles in the santos administration.

the joey thing: i also touched on this. i believe that, without donna there, joey would have actually entertained the possibility of seeing josh in a romantic capacity. they went on a few pretty great dates, but they ultimately realized that something wasn’t quite there. they still remain friends (quite a feat for josh, but it helps that the breakup—not that you could really call it a breakup because they weren’t quite at that point yet—was mutual and amicable).

the amy thing: this is the one i didn’t include. i debated long and hard on whether or not to allude to amy in sigue andando..., but, in the end, i decided that it was an unnecessary thing to add. i did decide, though, that amy and josh pretty much broke it off after “the two bartlets” and its tahiti incident. josh wouldn’t have really thought to make such a grand gesture without donna, so josh and amy’s brief relationship ended on somewhat of a sour note. they were still kind of able to work together after that, but, let’s be real, they weren’t really able to work together so well while they were dating. they hooked up a couple of times after they broke it off, but nothing significant came of it.

the donna thing: i don’t believe donna had any truly serious relationships during her time in new york. she casually dated several people, and there was one guy that she did see for a little less than a year (most of that time exclusively), but she eventually realized that it didn’t ever feel like it was going anywhere, so she broke it off. she was so young when she got together with freeride that she just needed time to heal and be young and unattached.

others:

the president thing: yeah, matt santos was a one-term president. i mean, people on both sides of the aisle liked him okay enough, but unless the republican candidate in the 2010 presidential election was an actual axe murderer, there was no way in hell that democrats could have been in the white house sixteen years in a row. twelve was pushing it. honestly, i believe this to be true of the CANON universe, but i feel like it should be established in this one as well.

the leak thing: as implied in the end of sigue andando, toby is on good terms with the rest of the bartlet senior staff. this is because, in this universe, toby was not the leak. in fact, the leak actually never happened—the space shuttle simply functioned as intended, meaning there was no reason for anyone to leak anything. greg brock did not go to jail, and no relationships were almost irreparably damaged. this also means that will bailey was never the communications director—he continued to work under bingo bob for the remainder of bartlet’s second term.

the cj/toby thing: she and toby decide in season seven that they’re going to stop dancing around each other and actually, seriously be together. andy supports the fuck out of this because she couldn’t imagine anyone better to be huck and molly’s stepmom.

i’m hosting a new york donna q&a in my ask box because i require attention. come ask me things!

[sometimesiwritebadly]

Lie To Me (Harry Styles x Famous!Reader)

“I know that you don't, but if I ask you if you love me, I hope you lie to me”

Summary: You and Harry broke up months ago. When Harry sees you again for the first time, he wants you back; even if it’s just for tonight.

Warnings: Language. Some sexual themes but nothing graphic. 

Notes: A N G S T. based off of Lie To Me by 5sos. You can listen to the song here.

Word Count: 1.3k

Masterlist

Harry fucked up. He broke up with you 4 months ago, over a stupid argument. You two had fought about how your schedules were never lining up, how you never got to see each other anymore. You were in New York, shooting scenes for your next movie, and Harry had flown out to try and spend some time with you before he left for the European leg of his tour. When he got there, however, he found out you would only be in New York for a few days before flying to Atlanta to film the rest of the movie.

“Can’t we at least spend the time we have together?”

“Harry! I’m not visiting New York for fun, I’m working! I have 12 hour days on set, filming an action movie with a lot of stunts I’m doing myself, I’m too tired to go out with you after work! You’re lucky I’m even awake right now!”

“Oh, I’m lucky you’re awake? Sorry my presence is boring you, Y/N!”

“You know that’s not what I meant, H. This is why I said you shouldn’t visit me before you leave for tour, I knew I wouldn’t have any time! But no, you ignored me and decided to show up anyways!”

“I just wanted to see my girlfriend!”

“I know, H. I want to spend time with you, I really do. But I can’t jeopardize my job!”

“Well, why don’t you reschedule your flight, put it back a day?”

“Harry, I have to be on set by Friday-”

“Ok, so push it back a few hours! Spend more than an hour with me!”

“Why should I have to change my work schedule for you? You’ve never scheduled your tours, interviews, whatever for my sake!”

“That’s different!”

“How?”

“It’s more-” Harry cut himself off.

“More what? Important? Is that how you were going to end that sentence, Harry? I hate to break it to you, but you’re not the only one with an important job in this relationship. You’re not the only one who’s successful anymore.”

“Well I don’t know what to do, Y/N! We haven’t spent more than a day together in nearly a month! It’s like you’re not even my girlfriend anymore, you spend more time with Drew than you do me-”

“He’s my co-worker! Of course I spend time with him, I thought you were over your little jealous streak-”

“Y/N, I can’t do this anymore!”

And just like that, the best thing that had ever happened to Harry was over. Now, Harry was getting ready to go to some award show, and he knew for a fact you’d be there. More than anything, Harry wanted to cancel, stay home, and drink. But he’d promised Jeff he’d make an appearance since he hadn’t been seen in public for a while. News of the break-up had leaked, but neither you or Harry had made any public comments. “I’ll make sure the interviewers don’t ask about her, Harry. All you need to do is show up in a suit and smile for the cameras.” Jeff had promised, which is how Harry ended up in a limo on the way to the red carpet.

~~~

Harry was nearly at the end of the red carpet when he saw you. He’d smiled, waved, and politely answered the interviewer's questions - Jeff had kept his word, and none of them mentioned your name - and just as he thought he’d made it, he’d survived the worst part of the night, your sparkling dress caught his eye.

You looked heavenly. You wore a long, golden dress. You’d cut and dyed your hair, and had makeup perfectly applied to your face. But more than all of that, you looked so happy. Your smile was wider than Harry had seen in a long time, your eyes were filled with joy, there was less tension in your body; even though he didn’t have any proof, Harry knew that he’d caused this. The breakup had destroyed Harry, but it had made you look brand-new. Worst of all, your co-star was right next to you, with his arm wrapped around your shoulder.

 As Harry walked off the carpet and out of sight of the cameras, he watched as you two were happily answering a journalist’s questions. You leaned into Drew, Drew smiled at you as you spoke; it took everything in Harry to try and convince himself it wasn’t real. He tried to think of any explanation other than the obvious - “They’re playing up the chemistry to build excitement for the movie”, “They became friends when filming”, “It’s all just a PR stunt, they actually hate each other,” - But when you turned your head and kissed Drew on the cheek, it was like Harry had been shot in the gut. 

~~~

Harry had one goal for the after-party: Get as drunk as possible. He was currently nursing his third drink, only making light conversation with people that approached him. He had noticed you were also attending this party - just his luck. Across the room, he’d seen you glance at him for just a moment before looking away. He didn’t catch your eye again, and after a while, you’d left his eyesight completely.  

Just as he went to order his fourth drink - He really didn’t want to remember today - he heard a familiar voice behind him.

“Hey Harry.” You sat in the barstool next to him, ordering your favorite drink.

“Y/N.” The two of you sat in silence as you waited for your drinks.

“How is everything? How’d the European tour go?” You asked politely once the bartender handed you your drink.

“Good. Y’know how much I love performing.” Harry paused, before deciding to ask the question he didn’t really want to know the answer to, “How’s your boyfriend?” You only looked at him, confused. “Drew. I saw you two on the red carpet.”

“Oh. He’s not my boyfriend.” Harry knew you were telling the truth, but he could tell there was more to the story. He’d always been able to read you like a book.

“So you two haven’t…” It was relatively dark in the room, but Harry could just make out the light redness on your cheeks.

“I don’t think that’s any of your business Harry. He’s not my boyfriend.” You said again. Harry was conflicted; on one hand, you’d basically confirmed that you were sleeping with your co-star, who Harry had been wildly jealous of during your relationship, but on the other hand, you’re single. And you’d made it very clear that Harry knew that. Under the influence of the three drinks he’d had earlier that night, Harry made a decision. He scooted his chair a little closer to yours, and placed a hand over yours. You didn’t move away, so he gathered the courage he needed to speak.

“I miss you.”

“...I miss you too, H.”

~~~

Harry wasn’t sure how it had happened, but you two had found a secluded hallway, and he had you pushed up against a wall. The kiss was sloppy, lustful, sexy; but different. Harry could tell from the way you kissed him, that the feelings weren’t there anymore. Maybe you just wanted to have fun, maybe you weren’t satisfied with Drew so you turned to Harry - it doesn’t matter, because Harry knew that you weren’t in love with him.

Harry reluctantly pulled away from you, and you both took the moment to catch your breath. As you leaned up towards Harry’s lips again, Harry couldn’t help but say what was on his mind.

“Do you love me?” He mumbled against your lips. Your movements stopped, but you didn’t pull away from him. You just looked at Harry. To anyone else, your expression would be unreadable, but Harry knows you too well. You don’t know if you love him anymore.

“H…”

“Lie to me. Just for tonight, please.”

So you did.

~~~

(just to be clear, reader didn’t cheat on him. as i was reading it over i realized it might’ve given off that vibe, but i imagine the reader just turned to her co-star for comfort after Harry)