#best decision ever near and light are right up there with him as the faves ever thank you TzviaAriella

[numbuh424]

going to reread noelverse just to feel something again, wish me luck

[officerrxyes-inactive]

Eager, Young, and Starry-Eyed

(read on ao3)

Summary: When Carlos is asked to participate in the annual football game for his police precinct, TK is more than willing to come cheer him on. The afternoon does not go quite as they expect it though... (sorry I suck at summaries) 

Note: Beta-read by my fave person @terramous 

Title from “Late July” by Shakey Graves... it really has nothing to do with the story itself but I’m so so obsessed with this song and I just needed to use it as a title so.

TK was never that interested in sports. His dad had tried to get him into playing or at least watching any sports game with him when he was younger but it just never stuck.

But when Carlos told him about the annual football game that he was participating in for his police precinct, he couldn’t help but share in his excitement. Watching his attractive boyfriend run around on a field in a tight shirt, all hot and sweaty? He didn’t even have to think twice before agreeing to come cheer him on. 

Which is how he found himself sitting on the bleachers under the hot Austin sun in a local park.

He tries his best to follow the action on the field. Carlos had mentioned the game was just a friendly competition and from what he could tell, he was right. The players don’t seem to be taking the game too seriously. Instead of the aggressiveness among players TK was used to seeing when he would watch games with his dad, the players have been laughing and teasing each other throughout today’s game.

As for his boyfriend, TK did not have to understand the game to realize Carlos was playing incredibly well. In just the first half, he had worked up quite the sweat. He knew his boyfriend had played football in high school, having found his letterman jacket hidden in the back of his closet. However, when TK confronted him about it, Carlos failed to mention how good he was at the game. 

And now, seeing the little beads of sweat on Carlos’ forehead glisten in the sun was enough to make TK’s mouth dry. He could not wait to grab the other man by his wet curls and kiss him as soon as the game was over.

Every once in a while, Carlos glances over to him and gives him a smile that makes TK’s heart flutter. Who knew football was so much more fun to watch when the man you love was playing?

He was so lost in thought of how hot his boyfriend looked that it took him a few beats to realize that said man was no longer running across the field but was now curled up on the ground, surrounded by his teammates. 

Immediately, TK stands up, his heart pounding in his ears. What happened? Why wasn’t Carlos getting up?

He tries to suppress emotions and his racing thoughts but when another thirty seconds pass without Carlos making any move to get up, he can’t stop himself from making his way down the bleachers, toward the field. He pauses for a second at the sideline, wondering if it is okay for him to be on the field. But he quickly pushes that thought aside and makes his way over to Carlos. This is his boyfriend lying on the ground, clearly hurt. If anything, TK can at least try to push aside his emotions and put his training as a first responder to good use. 

As he gets closer to Carlos, he recognizes a few of the faces surrounding him, having seen them when he meets his boyfriend at the station or on calls. They must recognize him too because as soon as he gets close enough the crowd starts to part, allowing him to reach Carlos. Either that, or the worried look on his face is enough for them not to question who he is.

“Hey,” he says, kneeling down next to Carlos, “I didn’t see what happened. Are you okay?”

When Carlos looks up at him with a tight expression and jaw clenched so hard that the vein in his neck stands out, he gets his answer. Carlos is clearly not okay.

“Got tackled and my knee gave out,” Carlos winces and manages to grunt out.

TK’s heart breaks seeing the man he loves in such clear agony. He’s been with Carlos long enough to know the man has a high tolerance for pain and will often try to hide it, insisting that he is fine. The fact that he isn’t even bothering to conceal his emotions at this moment sets off quite a few alarms in TK’s head.

“Do you think you can stand so we can get you off the field?”

Carlos gives a small, unsure nod, and TK extends his hand out, trying to take on as much as the other man’s weight as he can. He slings the injured man’s arm over his shoulder and one of his teammates does the same on the other side, allowing Carlos to be practically carried off the field.

Once they hobble their way over to the sidelines, TK eases Carlos down onto the bench. He then takes a seat next to him and gently brings the other man’s right leg up to elevate it so he can take a closer look at it. He lightly touches it only to pull away when he hears Carlos’ sharp intake of breath. With how tender his knee is, TK can’t help but worry. It’s not looking good.

“Do you guys have any ice?” TK asks, directing his attention to the teammate who had assisted him in getting Carlos off the field. 

The other guy nods and hurries off before returning with a fresh bag of ice that TK gingerly places on Carlos’ knee.

“How’s your pain? One to ten?”

“Eleven. I think it’s my ACL,” Carlos grits out.

TK can feel his heart breaking all over again. ACL tears are never a good thing. If Carlos is right, he will likely be out of commission for a while. 

“Maybe not, it could just be a bad sprain.” TK suggests, trying to hope for the best.

“No, it is. I’ve done this before. With my other knee.”

“What? Carlos!”

“It’s what ended my football career in high school.”

Did Carlos really just say a knee injury is the reason why he stopped playing football? “Then can you please explain why you thought it would be a good idea to participate in the game today?”

“I told you it was just a friendly competition. I didn’t think it would be too rough, and I was told that the odds of my re-tearing my ACL was low.”

“Well were you ever informed that the probability of tearing the ACL in your other knee was higher? Around nine to twelve percent actually.” TK knows this is not the best time to throw statistics in Carlos’ face but his boyfriend needs to understand that what he did was reckless and preventable.

Carlos just looks at TK, pain clearly laced in his eyes as he bites down on his lip.

TK takes a breath. As much as he worries about his boyfriend and knows this could have been avoided, it happened nonetheless. And now they have to deal with it. “We need to get you checked out at the hospital. Do you think you can get over to the car or do you want me to call for an ambulance?”

He shakes his head. “It was embarrassing enough to get hurt in front of my co-workers, I don’t need to run the risk of Michelle finding out yet. She’s never going to let me live this down…” He pauses for a second before continuing, “I think I can make it to the car and you can drive.”

“Well I kind of figured I would be the one driving,” TK chuckles but stops when the joke falls flat.

TK loops his arm around Carlos, this time taking on the other man’s weight alone, and they make their way towards the parking lot.

---

Lucky for them, the emergency room was near empty and Carlos was able to be taken back right away. After an initial examination by the doctor which proved just how tender and swollen his knee was, he had been sent back for an MRI.

Now he was back in the room, waiting with TK anticipating the results. TK couldn’t help but notice how miserable his boyfriend looked sitting on the hospital bed, icing and elevating his right knee. He had traded in his sweaty t-shirt and shorts for an uncomfortable light blue hospital gown. The scowl on his face confirmed that Carlos would prefer to be anywhere else but here.

He exhales at his boyfriend's lethargic state. 

This gets Carlos’ attention, who turns and meets his eye. “What?”

“I know this sucks but you don’t have to look so sad.” TK tries to hide the small smile forming on his face. He can’t help it at the sight of the adorable pout of Carlos’ lips.

“I’m glad my pain is amusing you,” Carlos says as he looks away from the other man.

TK just stares at his boyfriend. “Come on, you know I didn’t mean it like that.”

Before Carlos can respond, their soft banter is interrupted by Carlos’ doctor knocking on the sliding glass door.

“I have the results for your scan,” he starts off. “I’m afraid our initial prognosis was right. There is a tear in the ACL of your right knee.”

TK doesn’t fail to notice the look of disappointment that washes over Carlos’ face upon hearing the news. He leans over and grabs his hand before giving a small nod to the doctor to continue.

“Now, taking in your occupation as an active police officer I would highly recommend surgery to repair the tear. It would require quite a bit of physical rehabilitation post-surgery, however it would guarantee you can get back out in the field in top shape. I can’t say the same for going with the non-surgical option, but that is still on the table if you would rather take that route.”

“I’ll do the surgery,” Carlos states without hesitation.

“Are you sure you don’t want to think about it?” TK asks, slightly taken aback by Carlos’ quick answer. He knows his boyfriend is anxious to return to work but this is a big decision and should not be taken lightly.

“I need to do it, TK,” he says, giving him a reassuring look before directing his attention back to the doctor. “I want to do the procedure.”

“Okay, well in that case I have an opening for you two weeks from today that we can schedule you for. And in the meantime, we’ll get you fitted with a brace and crutches. Try to take it easy until then and continue to ice and elevate until the swelling goes down.” 

Carlos nods and looks at TK, giving him a small smile. The same smile that made his heart flutter just a few hours ago, now under different circumstances but having the same effect. His boyfriend was going to be just fine.

“Careful baby,” TK says while holding the door open for his boyfriend who was hobbling behind him on his crutches. His knee was now safely secured in a tight black brace. Though if the look on Carlos’ face was any indication, it was still causing him quite a bit of pain. 

“Yeah, I got it,” Carlos grunts as he makes his way through the door frame.

TK just sighs. He knows his boyfriend is determined to do everything on his own but he’s mistaken if he thinks TK isn’t going to mother hen him for the next few months until he is fully recovered.

He watches Carlos ease himself onto the couch, elevating his knee and letting his crutches fall to the side. 

Making his way over to the kitchen, TK grabs a fresh ice pack for his boyfriend before joining him on the couch, delicately placing the ice pack on Carlos’ knee.

“How are you doing?” TK asks, concern clear in his voice.

“My knee hurts.”

“I can’t fathom why it would. I meant mentally, how are you doing?”

“I don’t know,” Carlos says, averting his gaze away from TK.

TK pulls on his hand to get his attention. “Hey, talk to me.”

“I guess I’m bummed because this won’t be an easy recovery, and I really want to get back to work but I know that won’t happen for a while.”

“How do you feel about the surgery?”

---

“I’m a little nervous… I mean I had the same procedure when it happened but this time it’s different. I was in high school then. Now, I don’t know,” he pauses to gather his thoughts. “The stakes are a little higher I guess.”

“Well, you agreed to it very quickly,” TK adds on.

“Yeah, TK, because I know if I want to go back to work, that’s my only option,” Carlos quickly fires back.

“Listen to me,” TK says, looking at his boyfriend seriously. “You’re allowed to be more than a little nervous about it. It’s a fairly big procedure. And yes, it will take a while to recover but I’m going to be here every step of the way to take care of you. Mentally and physically.”

Carlos looks up at him softly before snuggling into TK’s side. “Have I mentioned how much I adore you?”

“Did I mention how hot you looked today, all athletic?” TK bites on his lip, the urge from earlier in the day to grab his boyfriend by the curls coming back just as strong. “Yeah some athlete I am,” Carlos says, gesturing down to his knee brace.

TK just smirks. “Well have I mentioned I find sports injuries pretty hot too?”

“You’re ridiculous,” Carlos chuckles. 

TK smiles and cups the other man’s cheek. “Yeah but you love me anyway.”

They smile at each other before leaning in, pressing their lips together for a passionate kiss. 

[aleksanderrs]

introducing ; 𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒌𝒔𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒏 .

( herman tømmeraas , cismale , he/him , aquarius , 21 ) i just spotted aleksander ‘ aleks ’ thorsen at the beach today . don’t you know them ? they live down by the rocks and usually hang out with the stoners and outcasts cliques . from what i’ve heard , they can be impulsive , but they’re also honest . i always think of them when i hear hell is where i dreamt of u & woke up alone - blackbear and tend to associate them with bruises and scratches decorating pale white skin , a backpack filled with narcotics , flicking off the cops on the freeway with a smirk on your face .

note that this is a pretty triggering intro ! i’ve tried to put a tw before any bullet that mentions something triggering , but i may have missed something . if you do read this intro , read it with caution please , as i wouldn’t want to trigger anyone ! 

tws : foster care system , violence , injuries , drug and alcohol abuse , shooting resulting in death , suicidal thoughts 

stats

full name : aleksander carter thorsen peters

nicknames : everyone calls him aleks , like …. everyone . some people call him sander and he’s fine with this one too , but usually just aleks tbh

gender : cis male

height :  5 ′ 10

age : 21

birthday : february 5 , 2000

zodiac : aquarius sun , aquarius moon , scorpio ascendant

right handed or left handed : right handed

eye color : hazel , shooting more towards green , but shifts colors with the lighting 

hair color : naturally very light brown , nearing more towards dark blonde , but he always dyes it a super dark shade of dark brown or even black . you’ll never catch him with that light ass hair of his tbh lmfao

piercings and tattoos : he has a septum piercing he hides by flipping it upwards whenever he feels like it tbh , literally a fuck ton of tattoos ! he has a pretty decent stick and poke on his left ankle he did himself when he was like sixteen that says ‘ aurora ’ ( twin sisters’ name ) , he has one that reads  ‘ murphy , 1961-2021 ′ on his inner right bicep ( will get into that later in his intro ) , he has these fingers tattoos on his left hand ,  this tattoo on his inner left bicep , ‘ livet er nå ’ on his left wrist ( which means life is now in norwegian ) , a little pitbull face tattoo to honor an old dog he loved so much named pawly , ‘ 2000 ′ ( year he was born ) in the middle of his left arm , ‘ oasis ’ diagonally on his right arm right above his wrist ( fave band there guys ! ) , an aquarius symbol on his right ring finger , honestly a bunch of random ass small aesthetic tattoos ? probably a little alien , a mini drum set tattoo , a random small thunder tattoo ? probably the word ‘ fuck ’ somewhere like .... idiot who gets a lot of random tattoos idk what to say , literally is probably a centimeter away from losing his shit and impulsively getting a face tattoo he really doesn’t give a fuck anymore tbh KJVNDVJFV

languages spoken : english , norwegian , basic spanish , but wants to learn it fluently 

sexuality : bisexual / biromantic 

place of birth : long beach , california

hometown : literally everywhere , no permanent hometown tbh

last four songs listened to : faint by linkin park , supersonic by oasis , mama by my chemical romance , torture me by red hot chili peppers 

character inspo : a mix of chris miles and james cook from skins u.k , lip gallagher and mickey milkovich from shameless u.s , callie adams foster from the fosters , eli ‘ hawk ’ moskowitz from cobra kai ( season 2 hawk ) 

backstory

so aleksander , or aleks as he prefers to be called , was born six minutes after his twin sister aurora , to two norwegian parents ( julie and anders ) , both twins being the first american born in their family . his father was a no show from the start , and his mother was something else . him and aurora endured their mother’s heavy drug abuse , living in a crappy environment with an actual crackhead , until she was deemed unfit to take care of them and they were taken from her by child protective services when they were seven , instantly thrown into foster care . his mother didn’t care enough to ever even get them back , signing away her parental rights , and choosing drugs over her own two children . aleks hasn’t seen her since , and has no desire to ever see her again at all 

as a kid , he was pretty soft . he didn’t like mean people and was fairly sensitive and highly emotional , two things that you literally cannot be if you’re a foster kid , which , unfortunately for aleks , was exactly what he was . basically exactly how you could picture a foster child’s life really . him and aurora managed to stay together for three years until they were separated from each other at ten years old

i guess you could say this is when things changed drastically for him . he assumed they might get reunited eventually but it never happened . he would cry himself to sleep every night because of how lonely he felt and he actually had no friends at all . if anything , the kids at his home would constantly make fun of him for being so sensitive and crying so easily . he was completely on his own , and really sad

he came to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t really survive if he continued letting his emotions get the better of him . by the time he was twelve , he altered his personality drastically and changed altogether . what really happened is that he let his anger and resentment get the better of him

he just became super fed up with how fucked up the system is , and how literally no one wanted to adopt a kid his age ? the lack of sympathy from his fellow foster ‘ siblings ’ , and a mixture of everything going on around him , he kind of gave up and turned into this version of himself that took shit from no one . he never stayed in a foster home for more than nine months regardless of whether he behaved or not because something always seemed to come up for some reason ? this of course , gave him no real stability . 

he got thrown into a foster care family , the johnson’s , when he was fourteen , and for a while , it seemed like a pretty top notch foster home , definitely the best one he’s been in by far . i say for a while because shit went down hill pretty fast , literally in less than five months . aleks had an unlikely friendship with the foster parents’ son , kyle . kyle was four years older than him ( eighteen ) but it seemed to work at first since they shared the same room , until one day , they get into a pretty heated argument at school ( kyle is a senior , aleks is a freshman ) . to this day , aleks genuinely doesn’t even remember what the argument was even about , but this was the argument that flipped his life upside down more than it had already been flipped 

! violence and injury tw for the next four bullets , read with caution or skip ahead if it will trigger you ! they’re outside getting into it , petty ass verbal argument tbh , when kyle strikes him right in the face . doesn’t really end there though because this grown ass eighteen year old man dead ass starts beating his ass . actual understatement , like , beating his ass like he’s getting paid for it type shit . he can hear people around them screaming out ‘ fight fight fight ! ’ but it’s really , really not a fight though ? like it’s just this eighteen year old beating the living shit out of a fourteen year old kid , a literal fucking child

eventually when it’s over , kyle threatens him . tells him that if he says anything at all , he’s going to make sure he gets sent to a group home or frame him for something he didn’t do to get him sent to juvie . aleks is seriously just laying on the floor , holding back the urge to cry , injured as hell , wondering where the fuck that came from . it was just so random ? he really thought he was friends with this guy and he just gets his ass beat over an actual fifth grade argument . he’s been picked on before , even shoved or had sour fights with people before , sure , but he’s never in his damn existence been beaten like that before . super low point in his life because it’s the first time he genuinely got his ass handed to him and then some , but definitely not the lowest point 

when he gets back to his foster home , he tells his foster parents he was jumped . makes up this entire story from the crack of his ass . it actually makes him physically and emotionally sick to sleep in the same room as kyle , but he tells himself it is what it is . he doesn’t rest that entire night . the next day though , he waits until kyle is sound asleep to get up from his bed beside him and hover over at him , watching him snore soundly . a million and one thoughts run through this kids head , but it’s mostly just hurt , anger , disgust , and this sick need to get back at him . it’s this fight in his head , one voice telling him to let it go while the other voice screams at him to fuck him up . aleks momentarily decides on taking the higher road , knowing it could get him into huge trouble if he lays a hand on kyle , but that decision to take the higher road vanishes when he looks up above the fuckers bed and see’s the mirror that hangs on top . he stares at his reflection , spotting his bruises , the swollen bits of his face , the scrapes and cuts , how fucked up he looks , and he acts completely on impulse , his anger getting the better of him . aleks grabs kyle’s soccer trophy from on top of his bed stand , lifts it up above his head , and smacks him right across the face with it . this obviously wakes up kyle instantly , but aleks has the upper hand , since kyle is laying on his bed , half asleep , and without a weapon . aleks starts fucking him up with the thing , you can hear kyle’s screaming loud and clear , and it’s not long before kyle’s parents come rushing inside , obviously pulling aleks right off him , and well , you can kind of see where this is headed 

moral of the story , aleks is considered a high risk foster child with that little stunt he pulled . his first actual offense , but it still gets him sent to juvie for three days , and that’s really just because the judge is being nice considering his situation ... i don’t even think i need to describe what juvie was like because like we see movies y’all we know JKFNDJF . he broke kyle’s nose , scratched his cornea , and left him with multiple injuries . kyle’s claims don’t help his story either . he tells everyone that aleks is psycho , that he’s wrong in the head , has some serious anger issues and ‘ attacked him out of nowhere when he was just trying to help him ’ , makes him out to be the biggest bad guy in the book , conveniently leaving out the part where he fucks him up with his fists at school . with the squeaky clean record kyle has , no one really cares for aleks’ side of the story at all , especially since he claimed his injuries were from getting jumped . from that point forward , he knows for a fact he’s never getting adopted , and , as sad as this may sound , he doesn’t even care anymore ! end of violence and injury tw !

actually hurting someone the way he did kind of ignited something inside him he didn’t even know was there . of course after a certain age , he grew a much tougher shell and stopped crying about everything , stopped being so damn sensitive , but he’s never laid his hands on anyone before until he met kyle . he wasn’t proud of what he did , it made him feel like shit inside , dirty in a way , and it didn’t give him any sense of accomplishment or bring him any joy , but .... it kind of awakened him to all these different ideas , a different mentality , gave him a feeling of power and superiority he’s never felt before . at that point on , he began thinking ‘ every man to himself ’ , very much katherine pierce from the vampire diaries mind . he does what he does to survive and he doesn’t care who he has to knock down . no one ever cared for him , he stopped caring for people  –  that’s that .  

it took everything ( like dead ass everything ) , to convince the judge not to put aleks in a group home . he was , thankfully , placed in another foster home , but with much higher restrictions than his last . it was school and back , the doors were locked at 9 pm , bedroom doors included , windows sealed shut .... just bad , but it beat being in juvie , so again , he told himself ‘ it is what is it ’

began acting the fuck out . new home , new school , he became the bad kid your parents warned you about , begged you not to hang out with . skipping class , a nasty smoking habit , talking back to the teachers  –  he actually stopped giving a fuck , and his behavior just worsened as time went on . despite his own birth mother being a drug addict , he did the same shit . he turned to drugs , alcohol , and violence , mostly . hanging with the wrong crowd , slick ass mouth , not afraid to punch someone , on some illegal shit , but , he became very street smart and learned to keep his shit ‘ low key ’ as he called it , really .... just not getting caught . he was barely barely passing school , just enough so his ( current ) foster parents wouldn’t bug him about shit . eventually moved to another home without as many restrictions and decent living , really , really just tried to keep a low profile all while doing hood rat shit on the low #hannahmontanawho?

! drug abuse and drug mentions tw for the next three bullets ! he really , really began to rely heavily on drugs and alcohol . started off with weed , but escalated from there . adderall , xanax , oxy , coke , mdma , even ketamine ... really any drug you can think of , all tried by the time he was sixteen . his top three favorites quickly became coke , ketamine , and obviously weed . aleks thinks he has the whole situation under control , swears he’s become a master of deceit , but it’s only really a matter of time before shit catches up to you , right ? 

he’s sixteen when him and a couple of his friends decide to drive to santa monica just for the fuck of it . they swear they’ll get him back in time , all with the idea to get really fucked up by the beach and go on an adventure . only problem is they get too fucked up and attract too much attention up to the point of getting caught . four teens running in different directions from the cops , high as fuck .... lovely tbh 🥴

again , you can kind of see where this is headed .... him and another guy were the unlucky ones , of course . aleks gets caught with only a joint on him , but tests positive for a bunch of drugs . it’s already his second offense too . he gets four days in juvie this time , drug counseling once he’s out . the only problem is no one really knows where he’s going to get placed after this , though he’s pretty sure it’ll be some high restriction group home , but very surprisingly , he’s wrong ! end of drug abuse and drug mentions tw !

the day he gets released from juvie is the day he meets a man named murphy peters , or my favorite person ever ( what aleks will soon come to think of him ) . murphy isn’t really too sure about taking him in until he gets told ‘ well if you don’t take him i guess i can just send him to a group home ’ . they just look at each other at that moment , aleks’ eyes filled with unshed tears , beat up and tired , and murphy turns back to the guy and legit says ‘ nah , don’t even bother . just a few weeks , right ? ’ 

he’s super shut down emotionally when arriving at his place . murphy is a single foster parent with an old , really friendly pitbull named pawly for company , no other foster kids in his apartment . being tossed around so much , aleks assumes it’ll only be a matter of time before he fucks up and gets sent somewhere else . that’s how it always seems to go down anyways , and he did only say a few weeks after all 

but things take an unexpected turn for the better on the second day he’s there . three in the morning , he’s awake but the lights are turned off , pitch dark . he randomly hears murphy open the door and pretends to be asleep . a part of aleks feels like this might get dark very fast . after all , he lives alone . he’s a single foster parent , and aleks has lived through enough in the system to know how fucked up it is . the last thing he’s really expecting is for murphy to shake him roughly like ‘ wake up kid , wake up , i know you not really sleepin’ ! ’ so he kind of just sits up and turns on the light like um .... it’s like three am , and murphy is pacing back and forth around his room like ‘ aight , i figured it out , kid ! ’ and aleks is just like haha yeah cool ..... again , it’s three am

strangely enough , murphy starts telling him his life story , through and through and aleks can’t help but think how this old man he met two days ago figured all this shit out . it makes him angry that he’s apparently so transparent ( he’s really not , murphy is just next level ) . truth be told , he wants to swing at murphy , and he knows it’ll get him into deep shit , but he does it anyways . imagine his shock when this old man blocks his punch and manages to slam dunk him back onto his bed . he’s just like what the fuck aren’t you like eighty KVBFDJ

moral of the story is they get into an argument and aleks eventually tells him that the reason he’s so angry is because he ‘ can’t beat up everyone he hates , you included ’ ( half true , but definitely not the only reason he’s so pissed at the world ) , even more random when murphy is like ‘ i’m gonna teach you some healthy ways to let out that anger , be ready at ten am , kid ! ’ and aleks really thinks he’s making fun of him so he’s like ‘ yeah , okay .... fuck you old man ! ’ as murphy makes his way out

but ... he’s not talking shit ! ten am on the dot and he’s getting dragged to what he thinks is a gym , but it’s actually a dojo . he thinks murphy is talking out his ass when he tells him he’s going to teach him karate , and enroll him in boxing classes for the summer . he’s just wondering how this old solitary man is gonna even teach him good karate to begin with , but he soon learns that the old saying don’t judge a book by it’s cover is pretty much murphy to a t

he is right though . he starts boxing and karate and it does help him a lot ! he realizes how much doing these things gets his mind off everything . even though he’s basically ‘ fighting ’ it brings him a strange sense of peace , and surprisingly ? discipline too . he knows this whole thing is temporary but it still changes his mindset a lot . he mostly begins to focus on physical activity and becoming the best at what he’s doing rather than his old bad habits like drugs and alcohol , stealing , any type of petty crimes he used to commit . at the time he didn’t want to admit it , but murphy was definitely right . this was for sure helping him take out all the anger he has inside , all without doing things that could get him arrested

and him and murphy start to really bond too . they both like the same bands , they’re both aquarius’ , similar tastes in tv shows and movies , they both have nearly the same sense of humor , murphy was even a foster kid like him who out grew the system , but again , aleks really tries to not get attached because he knows he’s just being nice , but he really really starts to fuck with murphy . deep down in his head he’s like ‘ i kind of wish he was my dad ’ .... making me emo and shit smh

when school comes around , beginning of his junior year , he manages to convince everyone to let him drop out and get his ged . school really just isn’t for him and it never has been , being in a place with a bunch of other teens for like eight hours for five days a week gives him anxiety , just drains his social battery completely . he does drop out , but he’s pushed so roughly by murphy to get his ged , he manages to pass the test by late november , basically graduating over an entire year ahead of his actual class

and life seems to get better from there ! murphy eventually tells him he wants to make this a permanent thing . aleks gets so happy he actually bursts into tears 🥺

the entire process takes a lot longer than necessary though , especially with his record . in the beginning , they can’t find his actual birth certificate . his actual birth father , for some reason , refuses to sign away his parental rights at first ( aleks is like bro i literally hate you .... sign the fucking papers ) . kind of starts to seem like the whole universe is against him . every time the coast looks clear and it seems like they can go through with the adoption process , something happens and delays the entire thing . it actually takes him over a year until he finally gets legally adopted by murphy , when he’s seventeen . actually the happiest day of his life

things only seem to get even better from then on out . he gets his driver’s license , his tattoo artist license in california when he’s nineteen , starts working at an actual shop in venice beach when he’s almost twenty . he’s not the best at first , but not terrible . eventually , he becomes really really good though . he basically paints , listens to music and does a mixture of boxing and karate during his free time . he tattoos and pierces people for income , starts saving up because he really wants to drive down to mexico one day , with murphy in his rv . actually the road trip of his dreams !

but , remember when i said it kind of seems like the universe is against him ? 🥴

it’s february first of this year , four days before his twenty first birthday , and nine days before murphy’s , when him and murphy get into a fight . aleks can’t even recall what the fight was about , but he gets so angry , he takes murphy’s rv and drives to god knows where . he gets really drunk one night and starts doing a bunch of dumb shit , but his dumbest idea has to be stealing a backpack full of diamonds from these two guys . gets chased by them for a moment , but manages to get away , all while being told ‘ you’re gonna regret that shit so hard bro ! ’ . in his defense , he had no idea the backpack was filled with diamonds , he just liked the way it looked because it was a kipling ? he liked the little monkey keychain ? imagine his surprise when he opens the thing and see’s probably at least half a million dollars in diamonds . he’s just like wow that’s crazy .... i’m gonna drive back home right fucking now . four , almost five years of sobriety .... thrown down the toilet when he gets drunk , but he tells himself it was just a single slip up . that he’ll do better 

he gets back home february sixth , the day after his birthday . spends his actual twenty first birthday passed out and hungover , asleep on the bed inside the rv . he tries walking past murphy as he’s outside wiping down his car , hoping he can just pass by him without being questioned , but of course he’s wrong . another fight in aleks’ eyes , but it’s really just murphy bitching and questioning him because he cares about him , because he’s obviously concerned that he’s been gone for the past five days , phone off and everything . it starts escalating until aleks eventually screams at him and tells him that he needs to ‘ stop pretending like he actually cares about him when all he feels towards him is pity ’ which , kind of just shows that he never really got over his trust issues and general trauma from being in the system . and there’s just a moment of silence before murphy is like ‘ i don’t know when you’re thick headed ass is gonna realize i’d take a bullet for you if it came down to it ’ and of course , aleks doesn’t believe him ! now fast forward to another half second of arguing until murphy’s words are actually put into action

! guns / shooting resulting in death and panic attack tw , please skip past this bullet if this triggers you ! they’re outside when a white van drives by , he can clearly hear an angry familiar voice shout ‘ i told you you were gonna regret this ! ’ , a gun pulling out from the window crack , and he gets so nervous he just freezes on the spot . he knows exactly who it is  –  it’s the guy he stole the backpack from like , two days ago . aleks knows what he’s going to do , but he can’t seem to move . he really thinks he’s going to die , until this man literally steps right in front of him , and , just like he stated not even a whole minute ago , actually takes a bullet for him . gets shot right in the chest , and by that time , all the neighbors are outside , calling the police . the area is too heated , so the van drives off quickly after missing the shot , no license plate or anything so it’ll be harder to identify who it was . you can imagine how traumatic this moment is for aleks , and the saddest part ? he really thinks murphy will somehow magically make it , like it’ll be some type of miracle all over the news and such  –  but he’s wrong . murphy bleeds out right in front of him , aleks doing everything in his power to try and stop his bleeding , but there’s really nothing else that can be done . the last two things murphy tells aleks is to ‘ please take care of all the clown paintings around the house ’ and ‘ never lose them , don’t let anyone take them , keep them no matter what ’ and he’s pretty much gone before he can tell aleks why . he gets so so nervous , he doesn’t know what it was at the time , but he starts having an actual panic attack . all his neighbors coming up to him like ‘ oh my god kid , are you okay ? ’ and trying to help the whole situation like ‘ help is coming right now ’ but it’s kind of like aleks can’t hear a word they’re saying ? like his heart is just beating so fast and he’s suddenly sweating so much and he can barely breathe . it’s like his body is there , but his soul , his mind ? gone , panicking , hyperventilating . everything from then on seems like a blur . getting told murphy’s dead in the hospital , which he definitely already knows . the police statement he gives , half there , half not . that day , it’s like a part of him vanished . he really was not the same ever since ! end of guns / shooting resulting in death and panic attack tw end !

he panics , hardcore . the first thing he does when he gets home is instantly take all his clothes , murphy’s computer , and general important things into the rv . he doesn’t know why murphy is so fixated on the clown paintings , but of course he grabs all twenty of them , he puts those in the rv as well , connects murphy’s car to the rv , and just starts to drive , far away from venice beach . like half a million dollars in diamonds inside a backpack on top of the passengers seat , too traumatized to stay in murphy’s apartment . he just starts to drive , with the intention of going to mexico , but then his dumb ass realizes he doesn’t have his passport on him . he keeps driving until he reaches san diego , and that’s the story of how he ends up in sunhollow

he genuinely doesn’t know what to do from that point on . he pawns the diamonds and purchases an rv site and gas /electric for nearly three years , so he doesn’t have to worry about about rent for a while . yes , he’s really just living in his damn rv because he doesn’t know what else to do and he terrified . he ends up in the rocks , the rougher part of sunhollow . for the first few days , he’s petrified , super afraid the guys who ended murphy are going to find him . thankfully , that doesn’t happen , but he’s still paranoid about it

he actually cries like a baby during murphy’s birthday on february tenth . if he was still here , he would be turning sixty . imagine how awful he feels , that his actual real last conversation with him was an argument .... he hates himself tbh 

from that point on , all the progress he’s made gets flushed down the drain . the only positive thing about the whole thing is that he manages to get a job in this new city in half moon ink as a tattoo artist and piercer , with his prior experience . besides that , it’s all shit . he’s living in an rv , he doesn’t know what he’s doing or where he’s going with his life , he’s scared , and the worst part of all ? he starts abusing drugs and alcohol again , heavy this time . all his sobriety and hard work all these years ? completely gone

aleks really said ‘ fuck self love , we’re doing all the drugs ’ after murphy died . he’s just super not okay about it because he knows he’s gone because of him , because he couldn’t keep his damn sticky fingers to himself . he’s basically spiraling super hard now , and he knows wherever murphy is that he’s not happy with what he’s doing , but he can’t seem to stop . it’s like once he started using again , there was no going back

so he keeps doing hoodrat shit tbh ! his dumb ass ends up getting caught with resins of cocaine in a bag , on february twelve , literally on his birthday month . the offense wasn’t that bad because it was just coke residue , but it’s still basically a felony , and with his past record , he gets actual prison time . he was going to be in prison for a whole two months , originally three , but he got off lucky . however , with good behavior and community hours , he ends up in there for only a month , got out recently on march fifteenth . he’s doing community hours and getting drug tested by his p.o , he’s under house arrest too . he can be out between six am to six pm , but if he’s not right back in his trailer by six pm on the dot , well .... i think you can figure out what happens

he’s barely getting by really , known around town as trailer trash for obvious reasons , literally currently wearing a fucking ankle monitor . i don’t really think he cares about anything anymore ? like he’s just so done with it all . he didn’t even flinch when he got caught , didn’t try to run and willingly gave in ( which helped with his case but ) , like , that’s how done he is . genuinely didn’t care that he was going to actual prison . he just does not care . he’s barely living , one day at a time

i’m gonna end his backstory here , below are some headcanons !

headcanons

! drug abuse , suicidal and death thoughts tw ! this is kind of sad , but he’s reached a point in his life where he doesn’t really care if he lives or dies . in fact , he spends a lot of his time thinking about how he’s going to die , when , if it’ll be painful or not .... really really depressive and dark suicidal thoughts . the only thing is that despite everything he’s gone through , aleks doesn’t have it in him to actually commit suicide . he thinks about it constantly , thinks about getting run over by a car or drowning or shooting a damn bullet through his head , literally any type of death , but he would actually never pull through with it . he wants it to happen , but he doesn’t have it in him . this is a reason why he abuses drugs so much at this point . of course he likes the high , but in the back of his mind , he’s really really hoping he’ll take so much , it’ll kill him . that way if he dies , it won’t look intentional , just like your typical overdose . like , his heavy drug usage is literally a cry for help . he really doesn’t care if he takes it too far , he actually wants to take it too far always , but he never seems to overdose . he’s mixed a bunch of stuff before , but it just doesn’t happen ? in a way he feels he’s cursed , because he can’t even overdose and die properly . again , his idea of the universe being completely against him ! end of drug abuse , suicidal and death thoughts tw ! 

he actually .... doesn’t have a smart phone ! no bullshit , has some crap flip phone and a government phone he uses to speak to his p.o , that’s it . the only smart type of technology he really has is murphy’s 2018 mac book pro and a smart tv he has set in his rv . he rarely gets close to anyone , but on the rare occasion that he does , if they ask for his number , no bullshit , he gives them the number from pizza hut , has it memorized and all . you have to be really , really special for him to give you his number . the only people who really have his number are customers ( people he tattoos , and does piercings for ) like , that’s literally it . isn’t part of the gc ( the ic chat on discord ) , doesn’t have an instagram , twitter or any type of social media , actually old school as fuck , which is wild , considering he was born in 2000 

he has a fuck ton of cds ! literally no one has cds anymore but he has so so so many . oasis , red hot chili peppers , my chemical romance , sleeping with sirens , arctic monkeys , yes , asking alexandria , the list goes on .... so many cds because this is really all he does in his rv . play a cd and start painting or sketching some tattoo ideas . he loves music a lot and considers it an escape , even though he doesn’t have a musical bone in his body and doesn’t play any type of instrument , but he just loves music so much , literally always listens to music no matter what he’s doing . his favorite band is oasis , murphy put him on that band . they’re favorite song was supersonic and they would listen to it together on repeat forever while driving , jamming to other oasis songs on the road as well . aleks listened to supersonic on repeat on the ride from venice beach to san diego . he cried the entire way . 

he’s like ..... a kleptomaniac for real . he’ll walk into a clothing store with a large hoodie on , grab twenty different shirts , go into the dressing room , put on ten of those twenty shirts , slide his oversized hoodie on top , and walk right out . sometimes he won’t even have any real reason to steal stuff , he just does because he’s bored . will go into a store and take something he doesn’t even need , surprisingly has never been caught . very reckless of him considering his situation , but again , he just doesn’t care anymore . he spends a lot of his money on drugs , so he’ll steal basic necessities sometimes , like toilet paper , tooth paste , soap , shampoo and conditioner . the weirdest thing he steals hands down is like .... family pictures of people he doesn’t even know ? like it’s so weird , he’ll jack a wallet , take all the money , and realize there’s like a family picture in there , the wife , the husband , their kids , a dog . weird as fuck , but he takes the money and family picture and throws out the wallet ? again , super weird , but i think never really having a legit family and losing the one person he loved unconditionally who believed in him caused this ? he’s just like you know .... what let me live through the eyes of these people <3  super fucking strange , literally has a few pictures of random ass families he doesn’t even know at all just stuffed into his glove compartment , for no reason at all .... fucking weirdo tbh

another fun fact is he has hypermobile shoulders ( or double jointed shoulders ) . he realized this when getting handcuffed once , his arms behind his back . he thought to himself ‘ i feel i can bring my arms above my head to bring my handcuffs to the front without breaking my arms ’ surprise , surprise , he definitely could ! does that weird shit and brings his entire arms from the back to the front while holding them , he said undercover contortionist here !

this is a wild headcanon , but remember those twenty clown paintings murphy insisted aleks never get rid of ? entire story behind those things . so murphy ? actually won the powerball in 2015 . no lie , magically got all numbers right , won 238 million . with federal withholding and taxes and all ? still left murphy with a stacking 101 million dollars . he spent less than half , leaving him with exactly 64 million dollars . now you would expect him to start living a glamorous life after that right ? well wrong ! he remained humble as ever, bought an rv and the car he wanted , payed off his bills , donated some money to charity , but continued living in his hood ass apartment in venice beach , kept quiet about the entire thing , never told a single soul . he’s the type of old school guy that would rather keep his money under his mattress rather than in a bank , doesn’t trust banks , only had a debit card because it was absolutely necessary , and a credit card he never really used , really just to build decent credit . he knew he couldn’t empty his entire account in one go , so he emptied it , little by little , gradually with time , until he eventually had all 64 million dollars in cash , all one hundred dollar bills . he knew he couldn’t store the money in a duffel bag like an idiot , so what did this man do ? literally .... put the money inside the paintings . no lie , inside the paintings . he knew no one would ever wanna steal a hideous clown painting , he was smart about it . each painting is stored with 3.2 million dollars inside , all one hundred dollar bills , meaning each painting carries exactly 32,000 one hundred dollar bills inside , tightly packed together so they all fit , wrapped and all . now really , really stop to think about this ..... aleks ? actually has 64 million god damn dollars inside his rv , stored inside those hideous clown paintings , and the most wild part ? he has absolutely no idea at all . to him , they’re just ugly ass clown paintings that weigh a ton ( because they’re stuffed with money , aleks ! ) . crazy , right ? everyone in sunhollow thinking he’s dirt poor trailer trash , without a nickel to his name . shit , he thinks the same thing too ! positive he’s gonna die broke as fuck and alone , but little does he know ? man is carrying 64 million in his shitty rv , and he has absolutely no fucking clue at all . definitely going to accidentally find out one day ( but that calls for a future self para tbh )

murphy had no intentions of spending all the money on himself , planned to donate the other half and spend the rest living his final days in santo domingo , dominican republic ( literally .... that’s how humble this man is ) . around that time is when he started fostering aleks though , and after the first few months with him , he knew , right away , that he was going to give that money to him one day . didn’t tell him about it because he knew it would freak him out and he wouldn’t stop asking about it , but he knew all that money would be his . stored it all away in those terrible clown paintings , specifically because he knew no one would suspect a thing . wanted to tell him about it , but passed away before he could . aleks still doesn’t know what’s in those paintings , has them stacked away somewhere because he thinks they’re so ugly , but would never throw them away because it was murphy’s last wish . the day he finds out what they actually have inside though ? his life will do a whole 360 . again , i’m gonna work into that though

people just think he’s trailer trash tbh and he does nothing to prove them wrong . i think his reputation just follows him around . lots of people don’t bother to get to know him and he doesn’t really bother to get to know people . he’s a big ass loner , spends nearly every single day alone minus when he’s at the tattoo shop . lots of people are really intimidated by him , especially with all the rumors about him , and that fucking ankle monitor tbh , but he doesn’t care , doesn’t do anything to try and stop what people think . he’s like if people wanna think i’m trailer trash whatever i don’t care , and he really , really doesn’t

he’s actually kind of a low key hoe ? bisexual as fuck and will hook up with just about anyone . it’s wild though because he’ll fuck you and kind of just disappear ? half the time he doesn’t even do it on purpose , he’ll kind of just dip without giving you his phone number or even wait for you to wake up . like you’ll maybe wanna make breakfast for both you guys , but you look to the other side of your bed and he’s no longer there . no phone number , no way of contacting him , kind of just a ghost . he never let’s people come over to his place ever ( because .... rv tbh ) so it’s not like there’s any way you can really see him again if you wanted to . unless you randomly see him somewhere , but odds are he’ll disappear into the background before you even really get a chance to talk to him . gives him this asshole reputation , but the truth is he just doesn’t want people getting too close to him out of fear that they’ll abandon him . you’ll think you’re starting a lovely friendship with him or even just a great hook up and he’ll randomly just ghost for like six months 🥴 never see him again type shit

he actually .... doesn’t really like being touched at all ? it’s weird because he likes sex a lot and doesn’t mind being touched everywhere in that moment during the heat of it , but like let’s say afterwards maybe you wanna cuddle ? you wanna greet him with a hug ? a little kiss on the cheek ? he’s not comfortable with that . he doesn’t mean to be an ass about it , but he actually physically cringes when someone just greets him with a random hug without any type of warning . will literally push you away and be like ‘ please don’t touch me again ’ . maybe this has to due with his childhood in general but like .... do not greet him with a random hug or kiss on the cheek ever because he will literally disappear so fast , push you away so quickly . if he initiates it , sure , but if it’s just random from the other party , he’s not gucci with it . i think if he finds someone he actually really cares about and vibes with he would be okay with physical affection ( example , he let murphy hug him all the time ) , but like let’s say he just meets you and you wanna go in for a friendly hug ? he’s gonna take like three steps back . makes him look like an asshole , but he really can’t help it . he doesn’t like being thrown off guard like that , strangely feels like he doesn’t have control of the situation ? he’s super weird tbh . he’s fine with a fist bump , or a quick handshake though

he hates mind games ! hates them . he’s definitely not the type of guy you can give a million hints to and he’s fine just figuring them out and going along with it . he doesn’t like indirect people who say one thing but mean something else and say this with hopes that you ‘ catch on ’ , he hates that difficult shit . he will catch onto every single hint you send , know exactly what you want too , but he’s not going to do anything about it . he wants someone who can be blunt and upfront with him , someone who knows what they want and shouts it to the world , someone who will tell him what they want from the start , no sugar coating , no beating around the bush , no mind games or backwards flirting . he’s a very blunt person , will tell you what he wants right off the bat without even blinking , doesn’t believe in the will they/won’t they bullshit . you’re either upfront and straight up with him , or you can play those mindgames for like , fifteen minutes with him before he ghosts you quick as fuck . like you want him to be super unattracted to you ? play mind games with him , beat around the bush , and hint at stuff while never directly telling him what you want . watch you never hear from him ever again tbh

he actually did half the tattoos he has . he’s become a very skilled artist , really good at sketching , painting , anything involving art with his hands . it’s relaxing to him . he hasn’t done any type of boxing or karate since murphy died , but he can very easily pick up from where he left off . he has a black belt , very good at both things , but has been avoiding it since the whole thing with murphy went down 

he actually has undiagnosed bipolar disorder and even ptsd , especially from that bullet . he doesn’t really know this , but even just the sound of a gun going off can trigger him , take him back to murphy’s backyard , blood everywhere . it’s never happened to him before thankfully , but it’s a possible idea for a future thread or even self para . he has ptsd over lots of things that happened in his childhood and teen years , but a gun shot would probably really trigger him . for his bipolar disorder , he has a mixture of both manic and depressive episodes , but mostly manic ones . he’ll be awake for an entire week and not even really feel tired , fake elevated happiness , but it’s hard for him to notice he even has a problem with how heavily he abuses drugs . being high all the time never gives his brain a moment to think

literally getting drug tested every other week , but he’s still doing drugs ? he’s currently barely smoking weed because he knows that stays in your system forever , but drugs that flush out in just a couple of days or don’t even show up ? he’s all for it ! catch him with niacin , cranberry pills and juice , and cleansing pills like , two days prior . he hasn’t failed a drug test yet but he’s still doing drugs . actual dumb ass criminal mastermind ? like .... the lengths he’ll go to get high but not get caught ..... go to fucking therapy and rehab aleks holy fuck

murphy’s old pitbull ended up dying at seventeen years old , in 2018 ! no one thought he would make it for so long , but little guy did . aleks still remembers the pitbull , has a little pitbull small tattoo somewhere on his right arm in honor of this dog . his name was pawly 

despite the fact that he hasn’t spoken norwegian in over a decade ( last time with his sister ) , he still vividly remembers it , since it was basically his first language . like , he claims he doesn’t remember it anymore , claims he forgot , but if someone just randomly starts speaking norwegian , his brain would instantly put all the words together and he would start speaking back fluently . you can’t forget what you fully learned , aleks !

a part of him wants to reconnect with his sister . he hasn’t seen her in over a decade , has no clue where she’s at , if she ever got adopted or if she’s even alive at this point . he really wants to find her but doesn’t know where to start ? little does he know she’s literally living in sunhollow too ( shoutout to aurora thorsen sparks )

really , really wants to be a vegetarian , later on a vegan ! he loves animals so much , has seen so many documentaries where he knows fucking animal slaughterhouses and meat is like the number one cause of the green house effect ( especially slaughter houses , watch cowspiracy on netflix to get an idea ) , but he’s a broke ass bitch right now and just eats whatever , when he’s even hungry . he always tells himself that if he ever has money ( HAHAHA LITTLE DO YOU KNOW ALEKS ) that he’s definitely going to become a big ass vegan . loves cows so much , would dead ass go ‘ moo ’ if he were to ever meet one and would probably be upset if they don’t moo back at him 🤡

he has never left california , literally ever . he’s been nearly all around cali , but has never left , not even to another state  –  it’s legit all he knows . he really , really wants to travel , take a road trip down to mexico ( literally even knows some okay spanish from being friends with so many mexicans and central and south americans ) like , he just really wants to go anywhere . he’d like to visit his parents’ hometown , a little town in norway named stavanger . he wants to go all around south america , buenos aires , rio de janeiro , lima , he just wants to go places and see life from outside the shithole he’s been stuck in since forever , and one day he will do it ( when he finally finds that fucking money damn ) . if he could choose to live anywhere , he would probably wanna go to his family roots , in norway . he already speaks the language so it should be fairly easy ( kind of wild how he wants to do all this yet he wants to die at the same time .... sad boi hours tbh )

may not look like it , but he really can kick your ass if he wants to ( that karate / boxing in him be like 😜 ) . if you see him from far , he looks like a little soft angel ( baby face that will never go away ngl ) but don’t let his physical appearance fool you ! he will dead ass high kick someone in the face if he has to , no remorse . he isn’t as violent anymore compared to when he was a teen , but if he feels like he’s going to be attacked or feels like you genuinely want to physically hurt him , he won’t hesitate to fuck you up 

even though he’s grown a tougher shell over the years , he’s very low key still a softy . deep down inside , he’s still that little kid that would cry whenever people were mean to him . he can be very sensitive and compassionate ..... but on the inside . obviously he no longer bursts into tears like he used to as a little kid , but contrary to popular belief , if you really get to know him , he’s soft . shows with how much he loves animals , and it’s weird because he doesn’t like being touched unexpectedly , looks like a bad ass and acts like one , but deep down ? soft ass heart , too soft for this world , needs to find the right person to actually connect with and cuddle gdi

he has the tiniest little scar , right below his right eye , where kyle decked him ( left handed punch ) . it’s really barely even noticeable , and lots of people who have short conversations with him won’t even realize . if you’re talking to him for a while , and really admire his face though , you’ll notice it . again , not a huge scar , not super prominent , really blends in with his skin , and usually something most people miss , but it’s there

i’m gonna end this here because this is long and i’m going to leave connections to brain storming , but below is his birthchart !

[bubblegumstardust]

i havent bombarded you with questions in a long ass time so here i am (feel free to skip some if its too much): 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 (i know you probably won’t even have to google), 16, 17, 18, 24, 27, 29, 33, 36, 41, 47, 51, 58, 59, 61, 66, 71, 74, 75, 76, 79, 80, 90, 95 and finally 100🥰🥰

Dear God Chelle 😂😂💕💕

So sorry this is so long but I can't do read more on mobile

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

I try to have more cereal generally but I just chuck milk in randomly and if it ends up being more then it ends up being more 🤷‍♀️

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

I generally just use an actual bookmark, but some things I've used in a pinch are: receipts, a pen, sunglasses, some mail, another book, debit card, a hairband, my purse

4: how do you take your coffee/tea?

I don't drink coffee and I just have a teaspoon or 2 of sugar in my tea

7: do you name your plants?

Yep, I have 2 in my room called Ellie and Nyah. I even named their pots because they're cute and shaped like a sheep and a hippo! The pots are called Pippa and Mimi and they're girlfriends

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings?

Generally writing I guess. I do a lot of painting/drawing too but that's less feeling expression and more just fun.

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

Yep, and I'm probably very annoying to share space with because I do it a lot

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach?

On my side and I have to switch like every 10 minutes when I'm trying to sleep or I get uncomfortable

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends?

Literally cannot think off the top of my head. @wonderfilledness, remind me please. Also Chelle tell me any of ours I might have forgotten.

12: what’s your favorite planet?

In our solar system, Pluto because fuck science, it's a planet! Other than that there's a planet I can't remember the name of that, because of rotation speeds, always has the same side facing the sun so like most of the planet is uninhabitable except a thin strip on either side between the two

13: what’s something that made you smile today?

The pup. Also I was helping my mum make masks and I completely fucked up and it was really funny

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

Ngl it would be a mess. Also probably covered in books and art stuff and it'd probably be light and airy with lots of plants and cute pastel colours

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

Oh where to begin! Okay so for one NASA had to design a special pen for use in space because due to the lack of gravity, normal pens don't work. Any liquid in space will form itself into a sphere due to surface tension. Sunsets on Mars are blue. There's a planet where it's constantly raining glass sideways because wind speeds are so high. There's a (I think) dwarf planet in our solar system that they nicknamed The Goblin. Planet 9 is something we can observe exists but no one can find it and it might not be a planet at all. It could be a black hole or something. The moon is slowly drifting away. I'm gonna stop here but I could go on for ages.

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish?

Fucken love a good spaghetti bolognese

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

Kinda want it pastel pink or purple again but also really wanna dye it like a deep turquoise colour

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up.

Excuse me how dare you assume I've done anything dumb! Tbh I definitely have but again my memory is really bad for stuff like this so I'm gonna turn to @wonderfilledness and @mooncloudsea for this again

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets?

Tbh, you Chelle. Also I'd definitely trust Alice with them but it's somehow easier to tell you because admiting stuff face to face is horrible and I can only talk to you online really

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?

I don't like gum

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

Everything all you guys do is cute 😘💕

33: what’s your fave pastry?

C r o i s s a n t s

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now?

Hmmm. I don't know what my mood is right now so like idk?

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving?

I mean I'm pretty sure the last book I actually read was Aurora Burning so I gotta say that

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

Well there's plenty of foods I don't like but I'm not sure I'd ban any of them because there's always people who do like them.

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

Okay it makes no sense but I always think of Alice when I here B0$$ by Fifth Harmony because it's one of the songs we always end up screaming along to in the car

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why?

I feel like Alice is a vodka aunt and maybe I'm the wine mum?

59: what’s your favorite myth?

Idk actually. I quite like the echo myth though

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received?

Honestly I have no idea 😂

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like?

Small little delicate one with lots of small cute flowers like daisies and other pink white and purple ones. Also it would be full of forget me nots because they're my favourite flowers.

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea?

Peppermint all the way

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns.

They have short brown hair and give some of the best hugs. They're a couple inches taller than me and will not let me forget it. They also steal all my old clothes and would probably steal my dog if given the chance. They need to learn to fucken drive already and it's been too long since I last saw them

75: tell us about your pets!

He babey. He also a little shit but I adore him

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t?

So many things. Probably most importantly, applying for uni

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

Lol no one likes me enough to do something cute for me

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why?

Light purple. I chose it when we first moved here but painted it even lighter a couple years in

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities.

I'm generally not the biggest fan of cities but I actually really loved living in Nottingham. It was super developed and you had like everything you could need and want there but also really kept its historic feel and it never felt so overcrowded like places like London do and idk, it was just a really nice place to live

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

I don't really have any in particular. Probably do some more art and writing and stuff but idk really

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why?

I usually pick future no question but like I'm a little concerned as to what such a near future will actually look like. Maybe the past so I can redo some stuff and make a few better life decisions and get help for my mental health sooner and also maybe find a way to do something to prevent some of the awful things happening right now

[writerman]

Get Well Soon- Flash Fiction

This is for my little brother @mypackpride whomst is sick AF right now.

A little flash fiction of your three faves. 

Elbarduil.

Word Count: 591.

- - - - - -

The sensation of having his hair stroked was what woke him. Bard had never had the luxury of being woken so gently before but before he could truly appreciate a wave of nausea and fiery heat washed over him.

Groaning, still with his eyes shut tight, he did his best to try and roll across the bed to the cooler side. It didn’t offer any relief and now the hand that had comforted him was gone.

How long had it been since he had felt this unwell?

Opening his eyes was not altogether the worst decision he had ever made but the bright late afternoon sunshine near blinded him and groggily he tried to throw his arm over his face to shield himself- bad idea.

Another wave of nausea paired with an unbearable heat under his skin made him dizzy and his stomach roiled bile rising up into his throat.

“Our poor dragonslayer suffers greatly, Mellon.” Elrond’s familiar voice drifted through the air and soothed Bard momentarily. The hand in his hair returned as the brunet elf sat on the bed beside him. “You have a fever, Thranduil and I were quite worried when you would not wake this morning.” The light in the room dimmed and Bard, with the little energy he had, moved to look across the room as Thranduil closed the curtains blocking as much of the sun as he could with the thin material.

Grateful for the reprieve from the sun Bard let his head fall back to his pillow and he closed his eyes.

“It is difficult for us to treat you when you are unconscious, now that you are awake we can soothe you as best we can.” The door to the room opened and someone stepped inside speaking quietly in Sindarin.

The sudden cold cloth to his forehead made him jump but soon he settled and revelled in the feeling of the heat retreating from his brow. It was a simple yet effective measure taken to treat the fever and Bard threw a thank up to whatever Gods had blessed him with the two elves that were taking care of him.

Someone sat on his other side- It was Thranduil. The blond let out a heavy sigh that likely had meant to portray irritation but merely left him sounding tired.

“Such a nuisance you are waking with a fever and drawing us from our work.” While Thranduil had tried his best to sound put out he failed and Bard managed a weak smile as he opened his eyes to look up at the blond.

“You can’t fool me, Thran. Anything to get you out of your meetings, if anything I am a blessing to be this way.” The blond glanced over to Elrond who looked away to hide his smile but he nodded in agreement with Bard.

“Well…” Thranduil huffed and puffed for a short while before continuing, “I do not enjoy seeing you this way but, I admit, you have cleared my schedule for the day and I am thankful for that, at least.”

Bard genuinely would have felt triumphant if it didn’t feel like the heat of Mount Doom resided under his skin desperately trying to immolate him from the inside out.

Regardless of how unwell he felt, he knew he would be well looked after by the two loves that enchanted his life with such joy.

And if there was ever a moment they required his care the world would not see his face until a smile had returned to theirs.

[matthewmrdock]

You Never Know - College!Daisy Johnson AU

College!Daisy Johnson x College!Reader AU

Summary: y/n isn’t exactly interested in a relationship. Until she sees Daisy, then she’s just whipped.

Warnings: Very Slight Drinking?

A/N: This is an entry for the writing challenge @prettyyoungtragedy is having! And I noticed there aren’t that many Daisy Johnson fanfics, so I wanted to show one of my faves some love, but this may bomb but that’s okay. But I hope you guys enjoy it! And most of the characters are roughly the same age (college student age) except for the professor, and I know some are waaaaaay older than others in the movies but that’s not the case here.

Word Count: 1,760

“How about her? You two would be cute together.”

“I’ve told you a thousand times, Buck, I’m not interested in having a relationship right now. I’m not like you, you know.”

He chuckles at your comment. He knew it was true. It was practically a law for Bucky Barnes to have a lady by his side at all times. You on the other hand, not so much. Having no problem with this, it just wasn’t you.

The light brown haired girl across the diner was awfully cute, anyone with eyes would know that. Her black colored nails tapped on the side of the mug, as she sat with a platinum blond man who appeared to be her brother. Her green eyes sparkled from the dimly lit lights in the ceiling, casting an ominous shade of yellow light around the room and still she looks like an angel.

“Whatever you say, love. I know you.”

Yes, you. The same you who was busy enough studying for finals without trying to find a date. Bucky’s priorities on the other hand, were apparently not the same.

“Eat your pancakes, asshole. You can find me a girlfriend after school is done. Even though I am perfectly fine on my own right now.”

“Yeah, right before you go to medical school. Great time to start a relationship.”

“It’ll just have to be a summer thing,” you said with shrug, drizzling maple syrup over your waffles.

“Oh believe me, I will find you the perfect girl, who you will never want to leave.”

“Have fun with that, Buck,” you say, waving your waffle covered fork in his face before putting it in your mouth.

“Oh I definitely will. Hey, you never know y/n.”

You roll your eyes with a small laugh at your best friend. You have no idea how you dealt with all the crap he’s given you over the years, but it compensates for- “don’t you have a 10am lecture today?”

“Shit, I almost forgot.”

Sometimes Bucky Barnes turns out to be somewhat helpful.

You grab your backpack, fumble around in your wallet for a $10 bill, and shovel a few last bites of breakfast into your mouth. “Bye, Buck, I’ll see you at 7 for the party,” you spoke so quickly you worried if he didn’t understand you.

“You’re going with me to that?”

“Yeah, why not? I’ve had a long week with school work, I think I should get a night off after 5 days of hard work.”

“Okay, I’ll be at your dorm at 7 on Friday.”

“Sounds good. Oh fuck I’m really late, see you then, Buck.”

“Bye, y/n!”

The clock on your phone read 9:56, and your lecture hall was at least 10 minutes away. Sprinting is the only option at this point. Apologizing to the people waiting by the restaurant door as you run by, running across the crosswalk, you make it onto campus. The lecture hall is still far off, but finally in sight. You can feel the eyes staring you down as you hurry your way to class, but honestly you couldn’t care less at the moment.

You finally get to the building, and finally, finally into the room. Trying to get into the room as quickly and quietly as possible is in fact not possible, and it’s either a one-or-the-other situation, or neither at all. Sadly, in this case, it’s neither.

Most of the hall turns to look at you barging through the doors, nearly falling as the door cracks open. Class hasn’t appeared to have started yet, which you mentally thanked god for, and scanned the room for a seat. Finding one near you isn’t an issue, but getting there is.

“Sorry, sorry, excuse me, sorry, pardon me,” you whisper, trying to get through the row of people to the empty seat which was unfortunately in just about the middle of the row, so bothering the poor students was really the only way to get there.

Plopping down in the seat with a thud gave you a sense of peace, after the stressful past 10 minutes. You started to get out your laptop and notebook when you overheard the pair in front of you speaking in hushed British accents, “where is she?” The man said, slightly concerned.

“She’ll be here soon, it’s not like her to miss class,” the woman replied.

And as fast as you can say “perfect timing,” a fairly tall girl came in with her dark hair up in a messy bun. Looking up at see the person causing the noise coming in, in the row in front of you, you saw quite possibly the most gorgeous girl you have ever seen. In an over-sized Harvard sweatshirt and athletic shorts, she was absolutely adorable. You gave her a small smile, which she graciously returned,

“Thanks for saving me a seat guys, I totally overslept.”

“No problem, Daisy. You’re right on time,” the British girl responds.

Daisy. A beautiful name for such a gorgeous girl.

“Good morning, students!”

“Good morning, Professor Hill,” the whole class echoes.

***

As you put the last finishing touches on your makeup you hear a strong knock at the door of your dorm. You had on a tight navy blue cocktail dress with a pair of nude heels, and you have to admit that you look great.

“Come on in, Bucky!”

“Have you ever noticed how loud your neighbors are? And wow, you look hot! I mean, you look really good”  His eyes were practically popping out of his skull.

“First of all, yes, I live next to them. And second, thank you, kind sir,” you say with a courtesy.

“Why it is my pleasure, my lady,” Bucky said with a bow. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I’m all set,” you tell him, grabbing your purse of your bed.

“Great, we can take my motorcycle over to the party.”

“But my hair might get messed up.”

“Oh quit your complaining, do you want to walk?”

***

“Who’s ready to paaaartaaaay?”

“Well he’s obviously drunk,” Bucky said pointing to the frat boy behind the DJ table chugging a bottle of beer and stumbling around. The man had to easily be six feet tall, with short, spiky blond hair covered by a backwards baseball cap, and a short beard.

Laughing at Bucky’s comment, you can clearly see the man having a good night.

You look around for anyone from your classes, not wanting to stay with Bucky the entire night. Not that you didn’t love spending time with him, you just knew he would want to hook up with some girl and you really did not want to be around for that.

Seeing the two Brits from your 10am was fairly surprising, you didn’t think of them as part of the usual party crowd. But, you usually weren’t either. Hey, good grades don’t get themselves.

Next to the two you recognize, there’s one person you don’t. You could see the backside of a woman, who was clearly taller than the other. She had long black hair, and had a maroon dress on with black heeled boots. Holy shit. It’s the cute girl from the lecture who came in late. And you notice that she cleans up very well. So maybe this is a good ‘holy shit’ moment?

Torn between introducing yourself and staying with Bucky, he decides to make that decision for you. “Go talk to her,” he instructs.

“How did you-”

“I told you, y/n, I know you. And you clearly seem interested in talking to that girl over there, so you should.”

“Well you’re not wrong,” you say with a smile on your face.

“Am I ever? And you are completely smitten. You should fuck her tonight.”

“Bucky! You’re so gross sometimes. I’m just gonna get a drink and go talk to her,” you explain.

“But you love me. Go get ‘em,” Bucky says, patting you on the back.

With a red solo cup in hand, you make your way up to Daisy.

“Hi, I’m y/n.”

It’s shocking you’re able to get a sentence out with all the nerves stored up inside you.

“Hi, y/n. I’m Daisy.”

Oh my fuck her voice is like heaven.

“I know. I mean- I,” you sigh, taking a moment to get your story straight so you don’t end up sounding like an absolute creep, “I overheard your friends say your name in class today, I promise I’m not stalking you or anything I-”

“Hey, calm down a little bit, okay? It’s alright. You seem really sweet. Do wanna go somewhere a little quieter?”

‘Daisy is quite possibly the sweetest person in the world’, is the only thing running through your head.

“Yeah, yeah that sounds great.”

Soon enough you’re both sitting on the curb outside the frat house underneath the oddly slightly romantic street lights. Even in the dirty yellow glow she’s extremely kissable.

“What do you want to do after college?” Daisy asked, actually seeming to have an interest in what you plan on doing with your life.

“I want to become a doctor I like helping people, I like science, it just seems like it’s a good fit for me,” you reply. It’s true, you had thought for quite some time now on pursuing a career in medicine.

“That’s so cool,” she smiles. “I’m not really sure about what I want to do. I like computer science, but being a police officer or something like that seems exciting too, you know? I just think that’d be really cool. And like you said, I want to help people be safe.”

“I can see you as a cop,” you reply.

“Thank you,” she giggles.

“Your laugh is really cute. And you’re really pretty,” comes out of your mouth in a whisper, before you can even comprehend what you’re saying.

“I think you’re really pretty too,” Daisy says bumping her shoulder into yours.

As soon as you lost physical contact, you longed for it. Daisy continued to look straight at you, as if she was memorizing your face. Your eyes darted from hers to her lips, negotiating in your head about whether or not to make a move.

Oh, screw it.

You cup her face and gently kiss her. She pulls you in closer, deepening the kiss. You could smell the alcohol, but you don’t care. All that matters right now is that the sweet, amazing, kind, caring Daisy Johnson is with you right here, right now. And you could not have pictured a more perfect night.

[rather-impertinent]

Do Not Forget It

A/N: for my fave @arlome "you're holding back" (I forgot what number it is lmao) 💓 enjoy friends! xo

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A stone plops with speed into the water, disturbing the reflection of the moonlight, followed by another and then another and another. The bowler is a one Dr. Dwight Enys, who has abandoned his role as host in search of a quiet place to clear his thoughts. The water had always been a comfort to him, and the small deck and pond at the back of Killewarren, near the small, private garden was his favourite feature of the impressive estate. He hurls pebble after pebble, stone after stone, rock after rock into the poor, defenceless stream. He is so preoccupied by his thoughts that his wife's hand on his shoulder nearly ceases the function of his heart.

He stumbles several feet backwards and drops the small handful of pebbles he had been holding. "Caroline!" he exclaims, clutching his chest.

"Dr. Enys," she greets, giggling at him. I see you have still not mastered the art of skipping rocks," she teases. "Fear not, I shall teach you again on Sunday." She pulls her husband close to her and kisses him fervently before pulling away, feeling somewhat affronted. "You're holding back," she observes with a pouting face.

With some effort he shakes his head. "I'm not," he lies, his tone light. He has always been a terrible liar, a man of such upright moral values could not possibly be expected to be skilled in the art of deceit.

"Dwight," she says, offering her best encouraging smile. "Is something the matter? You can tell me," she takes his hands in her own, "We promised long ago not to keep anything from each other."

He smiles slightly. "That we did," he admits before sighing heavily. "I- I just wonder if such occasions," he motions to the house behind them, "are necessary, and so often."

She laughs dismissively, unaware of the ulterior motive behind his comment. "Oh, Dwight, I know you're no lover of society but I'm afraid such parties are indeed necessary for preserving our good name!"

Her comment stings him for some reason. "Does not my work do that?" he counters defensively.

Caroline releases her grip on his hands and rocks back and forth on her heels impatiently. "Of course it does - but in a different way! We have discussed this, Dwight! Like it or not, you are master of Killewarren, and you must take heed of the responsibilities of such a role," she has not noticed that he has blushed furiously at this, "Besides, it is an opportunity to spend more time together."

An owl hoots in the distance. "We've scarce exchanged two words all evening," he points out flatly.

Flustered by his logic, she hopes to win him over by a playfully taunt. "I'm afraid my dance card has been full. Such is the hardship of having a rich, beautiful wife! Perhaps I can fit in a dance with my favourite doctor some time later this evening." She smiles cheekily at him.

He tries to smile but finds it cannot reach his eyes. "I think I shall go to bed. I find I am feeling somewhat ill." He nods curtly at her and approaches the house.

That nod, Caroline reflects, is akin to one he had given her long ago, when she had teased him about the lives of his patients. The thought of such informality tightens in her chest and she observes him as he is about to enter the house. "Dwight! Wait!" He does not hear her, or perhaps ignores her deliberately, and slams the large oak door behind him.

Caroline returns to the party and Dwight's absence is now obvious to her. She accepts a dance with George Warleggan but is so distracted it is a miracle the man has any toes left by the end of the brief encounter. She excuses herself brusquely and approaches the table to fetch another glass of port, her third in only fifteen minutes since reemerging from outside.

Two men stand a few metres to her right, she does not recognise them but her ears prick at the recognition of their conversation topic.

"Is Dr. Enys truly a gentleman then, do you think?" the older man asks his younger friend.

The younger man smoothes his richly embroidered waistcoat as he considers his answer. "Supposedly," he scoffs. "But a man with such a queer sympathy for the poor could never truly be a gentleman. I have heard he wishes for there to be no divide between the likes of us and the vulgars. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?"

The two men laugh gruffly, which sends a wave of anger coursing through Caroline's body. "Indeed I have not. It is one thing to have sympathy with the vulgars but it is another to dress like one!" the older man continues in disgust, and Caroline's face grows redder. "The man's attire must be fifteen years out of fashion! One would expect to see a better dressed master of Killewarren, presuming his primary motive was the impressive fortune. Why, Ray Penvenen would turn in his grave to think of such an improper upstart inheriting his house and niece. Lord knows why Enys was so offended when you told him so!"

So, that is what is wrong with Dwight. She gulps her glass of port in one smooth motion, earning her several raised eyebrows, but she cares not. Before propriety has the chance to influence her decision she is approaching the two men; her features contorted in fury, her knuckles clenched with such force they are as white as the moon that shines in the sky.

Before she can open her mouth to launch an explosive tirade in defense of her husband, she is enveloped in a tight hug. "My dear, it is so good to see you!" exclaims Elizabeth Warleggan, elegantly turning her away from the two gentlemen and back towards the table of port. "My dear, you forget yourself," she warns warmly in a hushed tone. "I overheard their conversation, pray do not take it to heart. You know we all think highly of Dwight." She smiles gently at Caroline, whose temper is decreasing by the second. "Where is he?"

Caroline sighs and hesitates slightly. "He is upstairs, I believe. He has taken ill, would you believe it? Such irony!" she laughs nervously.

Elizabeth knowingly places a gentle pat on her bicep. "Go to him," she encourages quietly. "I shall see that things run smoothly here in your absence. It has been a while since George and I entertained, I find I am rather enjoying myself," she smiles brightly.

Caroline squeezes her hands lovingly in thanks and excuses herself; taking care not to sprint out of the room.

As she comes face to face with the door of their bedroom, nerves swim in her stomach. She honestly considers knocking before realising how utterly ridiculous that would be. She slowly turns the doorknob and peels the door open, closing it gently behind her. Dwight is sitting on the edge of the bed, his boots removed, staring blankly into space as he often does when he is upset; he has not acknowledged her presence.

Caroline gulps slightly before slowly edging near him. "My love?" she says shyly. Her voice brings him out of his daze and he swiftly stands up and begins untying his neckcloth. He simply nods at her again.

That second nod pricks her eyes, and she places her hands over his to cease his movements. She guides his chin with her hand so that she may look at him; his eyes are sad, like that of a small child or puppy. Her arms wrap tightly around his body. "Why did you not tell me what those horrible, impertinent scoundrels said?" she breathes against him, new anger surging through her veins at the mention of the two men downstairs, who continue to drink fine port at her expense! Bone shall have to escort them out.

Dwight's arms lightly slink around her waist and she smiles. "I did not wish to bother you with such things," he excuses lightly, his lie once again obvious to her ears.

She pushes away from him, severing their embrace. "For God's sake, Dwight!" she yells, "I am your wife! You can talk to me about anything! You know that! Why did you not tell me?"

He stiffens in response to her anger. "I did not wish to bother you," he grumbles stubbornly.

"If you do not tell me the truth this instant then I swear I shall sleep in the pink room for the remainder of our marriage! What is the matter?"

He runs an impatient hand through his styled hair. "I do not wish to embarrass you! I don't want you to feel ashamed of me!" he shouts, finally admitting the truth at last.

Caroline gasps quietly. Her comments earlier in the evening seemed to have a profound effect on him and now she sees why. She averts her eyes in shame at having fed his insecurities with her words. She sighs loudly. "Dwight, I could never feel ashamed of you," she tells him. "Your transition to master of Killewarren has been nothing short of extraordinary. Especially after your- ordeal- in France. I must doubt that there is another heiress alive who feels more pride for her husband."

He smiles shyly before his anxiety floods him again. "But- but everyone downstairs is so well-bred and proper and- gentlemanly. They thrive in such environments as this whereas I am tongue tied and foolish. I cannot help but feel they are somewhat right in suggesting I was not a suitable match for you."

"I did not marry you for your fine blue eyes nor your quality of neckcloth, Dr. Enys," she teases in attempt to calm the tightness in her chest at his implication. "Truly," she begins sincerely, nervously playing with the lace on her sleeve to distract from her vulnerability. "That all may well be true; they may have fortunes of their own and status. But since the day you chided me for my over indulgence of Horace's whims, I'm afraid there could be no other man for me but you. No man had ever stood up to me before. You challenged my every word, my selfish actions, my naive mind. You have made me who I am. Do you think I would be content to sit at home by the fire waiting for the return of any man from France?" she quickly wipes away a tear that threatens to fall. "I can assure you I would not. Perhaps I do not show it often enough, but I am truly proud to be married to such a kind, generous, intelligent, penniless country doctor!" She is both laughing and crying.

Dwight closes the distance between them with almost impossible haste and crashes his lips against hers with such passion she fears it will drain all of the air from her lungs. "I love you," he murmurs sincerely against her lips as they break apart, his brows furrowed in emotion as he considers how truly fortunate he is to have married such a wonderful, understanding woman.

She kisses him again. "I love you," she echoes ardently. She presses her index finger into his chest. "And do not forget it."

"I will not," he promises quietly, quickly kissing her again before offering his arm. "I believe you promised your favourite doctor a dance. Unless, of course, you are referring to Dr. Choake, in which case I believe is grounds for divorce!"

They laugh heartily but she does not take his arm as he expected, instead she resumes the untying of his forgotten neckcloth. "I have a fancy for a different sort of dance, one where I may prove to you just how proud I truly am," she purrs impudently.

Without any sort of resistance, he succumbs to her seduction, ripping the neckcloth from it's position and casting it carelessly onto the floor. Caroline fumbles desperately with the buttons of his waistcoat as he gently suckles her earlobe. A button slips off his vest and bounces off the floor, causing the doctor to chuckle brazenly into her ear. Her patience quite spent, she hoists the item over his head and dispenses it inattentively behind them, where it lays abandoned with the orphaned button, followed soon after by Dwight's shirt.

Dissatisfied with the uneven state of undress, he twirls her around, running his fingers through the tied lace of her gown, loosening it up. She grasps his sunny hair as he peppers avid, hot kisses along the column of her slender neck, eliciting delightful moans from his wife's parted lips. He skilfully removes her garments with the precision of a surgeons hand. He was - at present - pleasantly at peace with being considered ungentlemanly, and his wife could most assuredly not accuse him of holding back now.

[mad-madam-m]

bc..well i dont think i need to tell you why considering the times youve seen it} but netflix is doing me so dirty. they're removing it on the 2nd of nov, and its like theyre taking away my family. imma miss them so much, . obviously they are all the faves, but have you answered which order you like them best in? if not please explain in detail for this broken old soul. so much love, a fellow leverage enthusiast ~

Tumblr apparently ate the first part of the ask, but I saw “removing it on the 2nd of nov” and shit I know exactly what you’re talking about.

For those who don’t, Leverage is leaving Netflix on November 2 and I AM DISTRAUGHT

To answer your actual question, I don’t think I’ve ever sorted the main 5 by who I like best, probably because it changes based on episode and how I’m feeling that day. But I’ll give it a go!

5. Nate

Nate is the lowest on here not because I don’t like him, but because when you stack him up against the others, for me, they’re all going to come out ahead. Despite being the so-called “white knight,” Nate’s a lot darker than the other characters (the CAREER CRIMINALS), which even Parker comments on at one point (”Is it just me, or is he getting creepier?”). The scene at the end of The Cross My Heart Job is absolutely chilling (“God killed you. I just made sure it took.”), and that was really the one that made me pull back and see Nate in a different light. I liked the scene, and I do think it’s in-character, but damn.

His mastermind abilities allow him to do a lot of manipulation, both with the marks and the team, and I think even Nate starts to realize near the end of the series that he’s reached a point that he either needs to get out or risk becoming a supervillain, basically. It would be really easy for him to hit that tipping point, because he’s very good at convincing himself he’s doing the right thing or that the ends justify the means.

4. Sophie

Sophie is so fantastic. I love how seamlessly she can slip between her roles, and I love how much she cares about the other members of the team, and I adore the friendship that builds up between her and Parker. There’s a post I reblogged recently that said, basically, Sophie wants to be the mom friend, but she’s really more of the wine aunt, and I think that’s pretty accurate.

Quite possibly my favorite thing about Sophie is watching her growth as an actual actress over the course of the series. She goes from being absolutely painful to watch in episode one (the team’s reaction to her is HILARIOUS) to knocking the same role out of the park and receiving a standing ovation in the final episode.

3. Eliot

I think what I love most about Eliot–aside from his country boy hipster chef aesthetic–is how okay with himself he is. If I remember correctly, John Rogers called it being “not at peace, but at equilibrium,” and I think that’s such a great description of him. It’s clear Eliot’s done some pretty awful things in his past, and he never glosses over how bad they were (even if he doesn’t talk about them). But it’s also like…he’s come to terms with the fact that he can’t change the past, what’s done is done and it’s a part of him now, and all he can do is move forward and do better. It’s a really great contrast to Nate, who spends a lot of the series agonizing over his decision to “switch sides,” as it were.

Also, let’s be honest here. “Till my dying day” and “I don’t have to search anymore” are two of the most goddamn romantic lines I have ever heard in my life. I never had an OT3 before this show but DAMN, Leverage.

2. Parker (or Hardison) 

I’ve gone in-depth about how much I love Parker before, how much I love her arc and how she spends the entire series learning how to people and eventually becoming the one to take over the team. It’s such a well-done character arc that never feels like it’s OOC, and Parker never loses any of the weirdness that made her so unique and interesting in the beginning, even as she gains compassion and empathy (and learns how to deal with other people and with feelings) through being part of the team.

She’s absolutely wonderful and weird and outstandingly competent, and I love her with all my heart.

1. Hardison (or Parker)

MY PRECIOUS GEEKY HACKER CINNAMON BUN. Y’all, I cannot express how much I love Hardison. He’s so damn smart and it’s like…he’s kind of the first one who sees that they could be a real team, not just working a one-off the way the others say. It’s interesting that he’s the only one of the team who had some kind of a stable childhood–it’s clear his Nana loved all her kids fiercely and did her best to give them a good home, something evidenced by the fact that Hardison spends prom night hacking the Bank of Iceland to pay her medical bills.

He’s outstandingly competent, and if he screws something up, it’s usually because he did his job too well, rather than the other way around. He’s definitely younger than the rest of the team and it shows in his overall maturity levels (e.g., skipping a job to play World of Warcraft), but he’s also pretty emotionally mature, more so than any of them except maaaaybe Eliot. He’s so patient and sweet with Parker as she’s figuring out her feelings (PRETZELS, GUYS).

I just…I really love Hardison.

[businessguide12-blog]

Gordon Ramsay: The Unhealthy Son Chef From Hell%u2019s Cooking area Teaches Very good Company

New Post has been published on https://businessguideto.com/online-business-news/gordon-ramsay-the-unhealthy-son-chef-from-hellu2019s-cooking-area-teaches-very-good-company/

Gordon Ramsay: The Unhealthy Son Chef From Hell%u2019s Cooking area Teaches Very good Company

It got quite some time for Cook Gordon Ramsay to come to my consideration. With minimal t . v . viewing time offered caused by a hectic function plan, I usually view a choose band of cord funnel applications which have with consideration been waiting around in my electronic digital recorder. When summertime arrives and my first run faves are inaccessible, I have bold and from time to time go slumming amongst the broadcast channels. In the middle of that rubbish heap, I found the Cook from Hell.

There seemed to be something in regards to a gentleman using a overseas emphasize yelling at a lot of odd seeking folks cook outfits that appealed if you ask me, despite the fact that i don%u2019t determine what made me view. It reminded me of exploring the carnivals while in my younger times. I experienced a similar attraction to Hell%u2019s Kitchen area that I managed for the Clyde and Bonnie Passing away Auto demonstrate or perhaps the Reefer Madness motion picture movie theater inside the shows area of the carnival.

Seeing Hell%u2019s Kitchen the first time concerned me. I dislike actuality tv shows. My wife and i also discuss an office inside our residence by using a t . v . set up that may be on quite often. Inside the attention of relationship happiness, I from time to time observed Determine Judy or Jerry Springer. After expanding fed up in the antics on individuals programs, my partner discovered Big Brother. Though easier on my small ears, that demonstrate do absolutely nothing in my opinion. I would have felt exactly the same about Hell%u2019s Home.

With my finger strongly planted about the route-changing switch of my far off, I had been willing to retreat back for the sanity from the increased double and triple digit route phone numbers on my small cord container. In spite of my best efforts, I was able to not change the funnel. I needed to observe every single BLEEPING minute of Ramsey%u2019s Tirades. I believed out why, at the end from the episode.

In spite of my aversion to reality shows, I watch The Apprentice. Anybody considering company possibly does. As soon as you work through all of the personalities, contestant chitchat and also other crap chucked into satisfy the regular fact television set method, it%u2019s a show about organization done efficiently. When industry is completed improper, the bad participant is fired. That%u2019s about as true because it receives. That is certainly even the appeal of the items one among my teenage kids cell phone calls %u201Cthe Imply Chef display.%u201D Imply? I beg to be different. It%u2019s about kitchen and preparing food administration done efficiently.

Those who have ever been offered a one or two hundred or so $ food that tasted like day outdated junk food can connect with Ramsay%u2019s Specifications along with his adoration for providing the best meals in the most imaginative way possible. Although I am just a delayed comer to Hell%u2019s Kitchen area, I have become an ardent supporter. So much in fact that we in fact journeyed towards the BBC America cord funnel to get out much more of Ramsay. A Few Things I found was great.

Even though I haven%u2019t actually viewed Great britain television set inside a critical way considering that Benny Hillside, I got a possibility with Ramsay%u2019s Cooking area Nightmares and earned major. I came across the series to become engaging and also helpful. In one day as soon as the overall educational procedure is dumbed-lower to the point of becoming nearly pointless and fairly illegitimate in real life, it can be relaxing to find out how Ramsay is able to attain out and status the obvious for the unaware. This is something that men and women planning to attempt their hand on the bistro organization can study from.

It has been my uncomfortable encounter to have to explain to folks why their ideas suck, being an the occasional company venture director and specialist. That%u2019s the reason I rarely do this operate any longer. When going through a broad-eyed customer who is able to house loan a residence, borrow from relatives or max out bank cards to open up a goal company, I often must be the main one to spell out why they need to not. It%u2019s hard to tell men and women what most economic, mortgage, visa or mastercard and professional property businesses will not. All those organizations stand to profit from a small venture malfunction up to successful.

Individuals who fail at organization usually wind up back again at the office for one more 2 decades spending money on a goal that transformed into a problem. Lenders know they%u2019ll do anything whatsoever in order to save their property, so that they get money. Companies looking to dispose of above-valued retail shows and over-stocked general items would like to produce a sale. The strip mall landlord with unfilled stores plus a bad place is delighted to have as little as a couple of months rent of the Sam Walton wannabe so he or she will pay a few of their own personal bills.

Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen Nightmares shows things i phone Logic%u2019s Poor Course: Business Owners can do nearly anything they need, if they practice it correctly. Doesn%u2019t suggest you ought to available a skating extras store, because you cherish skating. Think again before you decide to option the farm on that formula, though your Grandmother may cook up a imply set of oat meal cookies. Ramsay knows what works and what doesn%u2019t, although he could have a potty jaws. Possibly that%u2019s because he experienced their own tough classes as you go along.

Brought into this world in 1966, the near future Scottish Celeb Chief cook seen his daddy consider numerous professions and businesses. The family unit continuously moved, because of several breakdowns. Ramsay most likely thought he handed down his father%u2019s knack for awful fortune as well as his initially title. Soon after vibrant successes in football (football), the longer term chef would be authorized from the Rangers. A number of injuries averted that. As opposed to signal with a decrease league crew, Gordon enrolled at the nearby university to examine accommodation administration and food catering. He was only nineteen years old.

After doing work in relatively modest the kitchen and managing resort cusine bedrooms, he relocated to London. Ramsay%u2019s gig at Harvey%u2019s positioned him less than Cook Marco Pierre White colored. Carries a well known temper and tyrannical home administration fashion, though white-colored is regarded as the godfather of recent English food preparation and food. During his heyday, Chef White colored regularly ejected people that reported about his cuisine and allegedly misused his staff in one method or another. Ramsay kept Harvey%u2019s right after virtually three years and later stated he was fed up with the %u201Cthe rages and the bullying and assault.%u201D

Cook Ramsay made a decision to further more his excellence of your French Cuisine by using benefit Albert Roux at Le Gavroche in Mayfair. It had been there that he fulfilled Jean-Claude Breton, his Hell%u2019s Cooking area Maître D’ and actual life Expert of your Hallway at Ramsay%u2019s Royal Hospital Streets bistro. After subsequent Albert Roux towards the French Alps to be effective as his second, Ramsay moved to Paris to do business with Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon. Savoy%u2019s style of kitchen area management was oppressive. Three years of your both mental and physical anxiety found in French Cooking areas was sufficient for Ramsay. He put in each year employed as a Chef on the Idlewild, a private yacht that cruised from Bermuda.

Chief cook Ramsay returned to England in 1993 and worked well as Go Cook at Los angeles Tante Claire. Despite their philosophical dissimilarities, Cook Marco Pierre White colored presented Ramsay a job as Mind Chief cook and 25Per cent of your diner in the future called Aubergine. Ramsay continued to be there until finally 1997 when a question more than operation of the diner triggered him to go out of. Chief cook Ramsay established his own restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at Noble Medical facility Road, in 1998. Noble Hospital Streets was awarded a third Michelin legend in Ramsay and 2001 took over as the initially Scot to accomplish this recognize.

The Chef from Hell was on his way, yet not every little thing will be clean sailing. In 2001, Ramsay launched Amaryllis in Glasgow, Scotland, the metropolis of his birth. The cafe was first productive, but substantial rent, light week day company, snippy workers plus an inability to keep the food list reasonably priced were important elements in their breakdown. Ramsay misplaced a lot more than the cafe. His protégé, David Dempsey, passed away in 2003.

Amaryllis ended up being to have been a vehicle for Dempsey to ascertain themselves as a well known Chef. As he was there, the restaurant attained the respect from the only diner in Glasgow to acquire a Michelin Celebrity. When it shut, Ramsay brought Dempsey to London to operate as Head Cook at his Medical facility Street diner.

After only a few weeks back United kingdom, Dempsey was found looking to burglary into a property based in Elm Playground Backyards, just off of the Kings Streets in Chelsea. The owner in the flat struggled with him and Dempsey fell to his death from your 2nd narrative windowpane. Dempsey allegedly enjoyed a medicine issue. Ramsay%u2019s brother is surely an addict as well as the Chief cook is fiercely contra–medicine.

All Chefs are subject to company chaos, bottom collections, food items charges, personnel difficulties along with the always-altering tastes from the public. Chief cook Ramsay has dealt with all those difficulties much better than most. His love for a culinary task effectively completed, ability to make alterations as needed and admit breakdowns after they arise will be the characteristics that will make him a fantastic someone and mentor worthy of seeing. By 2006, Chief cook Ramsay has grown to be fairly of the conglomerate with restaurants, food and bars specialist obligations all over the world.

It%u2019s tough to say how much of Ramsay%u2019s bistro achievement is a result of his television reputation. When it comes to culinary arts stardom, the preparing food and dishes most-often have the Chef. Nevertheless, if it%u2019s also about title acknowledgement and being a bigger than existence press body, Cook Ramsay very easily fits into individuals tasks at the same time.

British t . v . audiences found Ramsay%u2019s crazy ways in 1998 with Boiling Stage. Ramsay%u2019s rants continuing in 2000 with Past Cooking Position and got with a change in 2004 when Ramsay%u2019s Cooking area Nightmares success the airwaves. The method of Chef Ramsay spending a week attempting to rehabilitate an ailing eatery during every single episode worked effectively. Your Kitchen Nightmares show remains proceeding solid following 3 periods on Great britain tv. An American variation is due within the fall of 2007.

The top of Hell%u2019s Kitchen in 2004 adopted Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen area Nightmares and launched British viewers to the very best of the most severe of Gordon Ramsay. As he will need to have learned some of those temperamental tirades from cooks White colored and Savoy, Ramsay has perfected them. So, much so, that Fox Tv helped bring the potty-mouthed specialist of pugnacious platitudes to American citizen people in 2005. Hell%u2019s Cooking area captured on swiftly in the us and may have established the door for just one of Ramsay%u2019s mouthy mentors to get his picture at U.S. t . v . audiences.

Whilst Ramsay is hectic looking to save American dining places requiring rehab with Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen area Nightmares, a new version of Hell%u2019s Kitchen area presenting Chief cook White colored is rumored to be growth for your Fox Network. People like seeing chefs explode and act a bit ridiculous as verified by the latest modifications on the different preparing food and food items cable television stations. cooks, Hosts and chefs are becoming a lot more impolite and intense.

If imitation is the sincerest kind of flattery, visualize a mouthy Martha Stewart spitting out expletives, kicking her dearest pets because they sampled the The apple company Pan Doughty or organizing food items about when guests point out her stop at Group Given. As they may be able to imitate his style, couple of self-designed foods specialists, cooks, chefs or restaurateurs have reached Chief cook Ramsay%u2019s height of fame and influence.

Don%u2019t wait for rerun time of year to have the Chef from Heck. If it%u2019s anything such as the UK edition airing on BBC The united states, Ramsay%u2019s Kitchen Nightmares on Fox will certainly be a have to-see for business people, buyers and anybody wanting some leisure that educates and also it entertains.

Continue reading at http: //daily life.BillKnell.com

[museicaliteacup]

Leoji + 16: upside-down kiss

prompted by @puddingcatbae on twitter, thank you for requesting my fave cutie-pie skater boys ♥

The sun’s shining at the height of midsummer, and Leo’s out practising handstands in the back yard.

He was always rubbish at them when he was a kid with scrawny arms and so much more excited by dancing and soccer and learning how to do his first jumps on the ice, and he had so much going on that learning how to do them was never an issue. But the neat thing about growing up and incorporating gym sessions between the skating and dancing (the soccer is high injury risk and sadly had to go), is that now Leo’s strong enough and patient enough to learn a few new tricks. And it’s been a couple months, but he keeps his arms straight and core strong, and smiles wide when he takes one stride forwards on his hands, then another, until he’s walking almost as easily as he might on his two feet.

There are steps on the patio—probably Guanghong, gone inside to take a call from his coach and fetch them iced tea from the fridge. Leo redirects himself to walk towards him, and hears soft clunks on the picnic table, quiet humming—and then, finally, an incredulous half-yell.

Honestly, it’s not like it’s anything really special, but Leo stills springs off his hands to see Guanghong staring, slack-jawed; and Leo knows Guanghong’s shocked because his phone is loose in his hand, and Guanghong never misses an opportunity to post things that amaze him on Instagram.

“Oh my god,” he says, biting back a laugh. “You’re gonna let flies in looking like that.”

Guanghong gapes at him like a fish. “You never told me you could walk on your hands!”

“You never asked,” says Leo. Which is a reasonable thing to say; after all, they’re figure skaters, not gymnasts, and just ‘cause Leo’s good at handstands and has friends in the US gymnastics team who’ve taught him some cool tricks doesn’t mean it’s ever going to be useful (or legal) in a competition. It’s kind of sad, though; he used it in an exhibition skate once and it got a better applause than any of his jumps.

“But…” Guanghong seems lost for words, and he still hasn’t made this a Thing on social media. Leo’s slightly concerned. “But Leo… that’s so cool!”

Leo laughs and rubs the back of his head. He doesn’t deny it, though; after all, it’s because it’s cool that he learned to do it.

“Do it again!” Guanghong says; and all of a sudden his phone is up in prime recording position, and with a few taps his eyes light up. “We can absolutely top ten thousand likes on Instagram with this.”

“You can top ten thousand likes, it’s your account,” Leo points out. But’s he’s nothing if not willing to help out, and springs himself back in position.

“Okay, now walk… hand… go forwards,” Guanghong says, determined despite stuttering over the terminology. Upside down, it’s hard to talk, so Leo walks forwards and does his best to ignore how much faster the blood’s going to his head this time round. Guanghong could’ve waited five minutes, surely? Maybe it’s his fault for being bad at saying no, or wait, especially when Guanghong is involved.

“And now in a circle.” Guanghong’s firmly at home behind the camera, commanding and decisive, and Leo wonders if he’s realised his vocation is really as a bolshy director, not a hotheaded actor. I can do both, Guanghong would say to that, defensive as you please. Leo’s still pegging him as a director.

He’s getting awfully close to the flowerbed, and now Leo’s feeling the strain through his wrists and the burn in his stiff-straight elbows. Please don’t let me crash, he begs Guanghong silently. Telepathy would be really great right now. He doesn’t want to ruin Guanghong’s video by falling over, but even he has his limits.

“Backwards, backwards, away from the flowerbed.”

Maybe telepathy does exist after all. If so, the blood’s starting to pound loud in Leo’s ears, and now would be a really great time for Guanghong to let him come down.

“Now—smile for our followers!”

Leo whines, but ducks his head down and gives it his best shot. But the movement proves too much. The pressure in his head rises to a blood-squeezing peak. Leo squeaks.

And with a yelp, his arms wobble, and he topples down to crash against the grass.

“Leo! Ughhh, we were so close!”

Leo moans and squeezes his eyes shut tight. His blood’s flowing in the right direction again and it feels awful.

“We need to do another take,” Guanghong mutters somewhere near him on the grass.

“No,” Leo says. “Please, no, let me die. And then let me stay the right way up.”

There's a shuffling noise in the grass, and a shadow passes over Leo. He cracks open one eye.

Guanghong's hovering over him, with the sort of half-pout half-flame-emoji expression Leo can’t help but associate with him getting his own way.

“Please?” he tries again.

Guanghong doesn’t answer right away, but bends down and braces his head over Leo’s.

“Only ‘cause you’re cute,” he says. Leo rolls his eyes. As if.

If it were only ‘cause he’s cute, he doubts Guanghong would do what he does next—and that’s to lean down, and peck a kiss upside down to Leo’s nose. He grins, and wriggles further into the sun-warmed grass. He could stay like this all afternoon. And then, still close above him, Guanghong pipes up again.

“...But do you think you could do another take in twenty minutes?”

[cityalps]

19 OF OUR FAVE CITY ALPS MOMENTS FROM 2019

1. Receiving the studio keys from an old pharmacy 

After nearly two-years of dreaming about City Alps and all we hoped it would be, we finally found a space that we believed would work for our training philosophy and community. We received the keys to an empty shell with bright pharmacy lights the only remnant from its previous life on 1 February 2019. Its was such a weird feeling. A mixture of extreme excitement and trepidation. Taking the plunge was, without a doubt, the best decision we ever made regardless of where this journey takes us!

2. Hiring our builders, Richard Sprik and family (and involving Toine and Ad)

We were fortunate to be referred to a dream construction team, Richard Sprik and his family. The execution of the renovation process was unbelievably professional and the team was always ahead of schedule, with the oversight provided by Toine and Ad (our two advisors that Eljse put us in touch with). Without our above experienced and warm Dutchies, the outcome might have looked very different. Georgia was constantly trying to get Richard and his brothers off the red bull and smokes and onto the veggies and fruit, with mixed results (recall having to eat most of the dust-covered carrots). They were a great bunch of guys and an absolute pleasure to work with.

3. Painting with mates 

Once the construction team had done most of the heavy lifting, the space still needed to be painted and all smaller jobs completed. Our friends were incredible in volunteering to help get it done.  We honestly could not have done it without them! It involved long hours and some serious manual labour. But they were so selfless, supportive and helpful. With the exception of Zachs wall (the wall that took three weeks to paint due to peelage, scrapping, re-painting, peelage, sanding, painting, re-scrapping, sanding, painting), it was so much fun to spend time with mates over a few beers, great mixed spotify playlists, primer and the City Alps dark blue. It made a difficult task, a wonderful memory of what true friendship really looks like.  

4. Pre-opening Chambles ski-trip 

Months before we pulled the trigger on the rental agreement, we had planned and booked a Ski weekend with friends. We nearly pulled out of the trip due to general busyness and everything that needed to happen/overseeing the building process before we opened the City Alps doors. Ultimately, we decided at the absolute last minute to just ‘DO IT’ and it was definitely the right call. It was a recharge and served as a reminder of what we were really trying to achieve with City Alps: a space where you train to do something adventurous outside of the studio (it was also the first sale of 12 City Alps winter sweaters, with the brand being taken to Tel Aviv, Neurembourg and Geneva). 

5. Opening 42-day crew 

We launched City Alps with our opening 42-day special and it lead to the core group that is mostly still in tact. We think of some of our more consistent and strongest members, and many of them joined during this initial 42-day period. We like to think of this elite core group as the glue that holds our community together. It was a fun 42 days. 

6. Wim Hoff experience 

A big part of what we want to do with City Alps is around organising workshops and events geared towards endurance athletes. The first workshop we organised was the Wim Hoff method and the idea of recovery being a key component to any training program. Martin Pet (a former age-group level Dutch triathlete) took us through the 3 pillars of the Wim Hoff method, namely breathing, cold therapy and exposure. It was an enlightening experience to be submerged in an ice bath in March outside the studio, with our new neighbours passing and wondering WTF we were doing. All about being comfortable being uncomfortable. 

7. JBs adventure talk 

We are a community inspired by adventure, whatever that means and looks like for you. For Jean-Baptiste our fellow City Alper, it meant cycling from Zurich to Cape Town via the west coast of Africa. JBs talk was inspiring and thought-provoking. He has such an interesting view on the world and experiences. We loved hearing his story and people still refer to it in many post-ride coffee conversations at the City Alps cafe. More adventure talks to follow next year. 

8. La Chouffe trail weekend 

The annual City Alps trip to La Chouffe was as fun and enjoyable as ever. We love this race and it did not disappoint - for new and experienced trail running it was equally as exciting. We also had some strong City Alps performances, putting the many studio hours of training to test. Come on Olle, Dave, Elsj and Agata, City Alps needs a podium for this one next year. No pressure. 

9. Dolomiti Xtreme Trail 

Thomas recently asked us if we are working for the Dolomiti Xtreme Trail after we pushed (successfully now) for him to join. The answer is no (well not yet anyway). But we love this race and the whole 150km cycle from Venice to the start, eating polenta and running in the most spectacular scenery, is near-impossible to beat. We cannot wait for 2020! This race is as authentic and adventurous as they come! 

10. Nutrition workshop

Ok so this happened in a pre-game changers world. It was really informative and interesting. Our biggest take-away was that we, as athletes, should be eating far more than we think. That little gem has come in handy over the Christmas period. Seconds? Um yes please. 

11. Second 42-day crew 

We launched our second 42 in August, and it lead to a whole new batch of strong and wonderful City Alpers, as well as transformative physical changes for some. Dorte, Mathues and Mita were all worth winners. 

12. Getting married 

Easily the happiest moment for of 2019. Our rock star City Alps team held the fort strong and we arrived home in Amsterdam from our home in South Africa, to many wonderful celebrations and excitment all around.  

13. Our Coaches

We have been really lucky to find the best team of instructors. They are all such unique humans (and athletes), and bring their own special stamp and quality to the City Alps experience. So grateful to have them in our team! 

14. Steph and Niels 

Steph our host, neighbour (serendipitous this) and fellow City Alper is the hostess with the mostest. Always welcoming and warm. She sets the mould for all the hosts to follow.  Niels also gets a special mention as occasional host and full time City Alps vlogger. We love Niels. 

15. The bar 

This late addition to the space has been such a win. We love having good quality filter coffee at the bar and catching up with members. This is normally where great adventures are discussed and arranged with new friends, where high fives are given out regularly and where Strava stats are compared… because if it’s not on Strava… it didn’t happen!

16. Sam and Xoliswa 

In 2018, we raised funds for the Chintsa Running Club in South Africa. Chintsa is where Georgia and I met. Supporting the running club from the village is something that we feel very strongly about. The running club was started by a really inspiring local trail runner, Steve. Steve has given something positive to a community where hope is sometimes hard to find. We sponsored two of the top runners from the club to participate in the UTCT in Cape Town. It was the first time that either Sam and Xoli had left the Eastern Cape province and they were so blown away by the whole experience. We can't wait to see how this experience manifests in their lives and in the lives of the running club going forward. 

17. Sunday ride vibes 

We are loving the longer Sunday endurance rides. Such great training and banter all around. So glad we introduced them to beat the winter blues. 

18. Dreams fulfilled and goals achieved 

Watching some of you write down goals on the goals wall and then tick those goals off is so inspiring and motivating for us. Also, to see the improvements in strength and endurance in some of you has been amazing. It's always those members who are the most consistent that get the biggest rewards. No secrets. Just consistency and hard work.

19. You all 

We love you the City Alps community. We can honestly say that our biggest highlight of 2019 has been meeting you all. We feel so privileged to have many wonderful, strong and like-minded humans to train with and to do trips together. The 2020 is going to be our strongest and most exciting decade yet.

Written by: Dayne and Georgia Muller 

[nettlestonenell]

@nettlestonenell:  And the truth is, if I'm being 100% real and honest is that: there is no fill-in fic. B/C Han and Leia never broke up. I mean, I don't see WHY the writers felt they had to break them up (other than they wanted a reunion scene). TFA's story can still function well without having blown all three of the trio apart in the intervening years. Certainly, Han's death can be just as resonant w/o his having to be estranged from Leia. Everything is crap in Leia's life in TFA; she's lost Luke, her son, Han, and she's still fighting the same war. It's more weight than her character should bear. So, in truth, there is no fill-in fic in my mind. B/C that break-up didn't happen.

BUT, if you've got a gun to my head, I reckon a fill-in fic that would upset me less would be: Han and Leia had it rough in the beginning following RotJedi. Han had trouble adjusting (not to being second to Leia in most people's eyes, but to State dinners and pomp and deportment, and, like trying not to flinch every time someone called him General Solo, and being expected to stay put in one place).

After decades of being on his own, at the beck and call of no one, joining the Rebel Alliance was a rough transition. He worried that more seasoned Rebels were snickering about him behind his back. He worried that he wasn't being sent on missions b/c someone was trying to protect him for Leia's sake. He flinched at being sent away from her (when he wanted to be close) and being assigned to tasks near her (when he wanted to get away)… His life of smuggling still dogged him on the rougher planets. Past scores and broken deals caused trouble he couldn't always get out of without a scuffle or a fire fight--that would have nothing to do with re-joining the galaxy under the Rebel Alliance, and banishing what was left of the Empire. He knew the upper echelon of the Alliance was having secret meetings about how to “deal” with him. He knew the meetings were secret, even from Leia.

He hated to feel like he was a burden on her, on her leadership, her effectiveness. He said none of this aloud.

Leia simply had no time. Like any new president in her first 100 (or first 1,000) days, she barely slept. She traveled extensively. She studied studied studied to learn things about all the new worlds they were trying to bring into the Alliance. She was one of the few left alive that had any background in, or affinity for, diplomacy. And on many worlds the cultural importance of a consort (and the fact her side was often vacant) was not to be underestimated. When he was there, Han made gaffes. Sometimes he was found to be wanted on the world they had traveled to treat with. It was rough and bumpy, but not impossible. And then came the baby. They were overjoyed. Excited, terrified. Chewbacca seemed like the only one who felt pretty chill about the whole thing. Then again, Wookies simply take turns wearing their young more or less for the first two years of life. But Leia was torn between her considerable duties and the baby, and Han was simply unsure what sort of parent he had the capacity to be (he recalled little enough of his own parents).

NN:  And then the baby showed signs of being, well, gifted. And Leia became convinced giving the child into Luke's care was the only way to avoid, to hedge against creating a second Vader.

NN:  Han didn't like it--not because of Luke, but--he liked being around the kid. It made him feel different, in a good way. A fresh way. But Leia was so sure it was the right thing to do, and he--well, he'd never been very good at figuring out the right things to do. So, he agreed.

NN:  When everything happened, they were still together. The Rebel Alliance had been disbanded, or nearly so. Leia's responsibilities had diminished. No one was complaining or strategizing about Han’s proclivities toward adventure and smuggling anymore. Han had started to feel something like comfortable.

NN: Ben's actions, his kidnapping/turning away from the Light, savaged them, though. They hung on each other. Sleepless nights were shared.

Luke disappeared.

Even more light and spark vanished from Leia's eyes.

NN: And Han...well, Han went back to what he knew. Except now, instead of chasing illegal cargo, he flew and bargained, and shook trees like the old days, no longer to locate valuable, illegal freight, but to try and find their son.

He always returned, but for months he'd be absent--radio silence--chasing leads with Chewie. Taking on dangerous cargo to finance his hunt.

NN: And then one day he came back and asked for Leia, and a new staffer of hers told him she was in a meeting, and could not be disturbed. And he spied something of the meeting, how elegant and perfect Leia looked in it. She laughed (his own perception too skewed to realize it was polite, not genuine, laughter), she parlayed.

I'm not needed here, he thought. I carry with me the shadow of my son, and all that has occurred, and all that has been lost. Because of me coming into her and Luke's life.

And he found Chewie, without explaining why, and determined he would not be back until he'd found both Luke and Ben, and she could laugh like that at him again.

Leia exited the meeting feel tense and drained. It was a masque, after all, this variety of diplomacy. A play without a script.

Did I see General Solo? she asked the new aide.

No, I don't think so, Ma'am, the aide replied, having been instructed by several of Leia's advisors that they would just as soon chase the smuggler off as have to keep putting up with his stubborn, backward ways.

@reblogginhood: ok, so you are obviously 100% correct that they never needed to break up Han and Leia, and it was dumb to do so, because he could have been out there and found Rey and Finn without having to be estranged (but...not even really estranged???) from Leia

and honestly, that was the most frustrating part--they didn't even give Han and Leia ANY kind of story

there didn't appear to be anything to reconcile; there was no story to their reunion; it was just there, it seemed for the Kylo backstory

RBHOOD: but ANYWAY

all that said

HOW DARE YOU GIVE ME THESE FEELINGS WITH THAT FILL-IN

and also THANK YOU FOR THESE FEELINGS

and of course, on the other side, Leia assumes Han just couldn't be happy tied down to the life she has to live

and assumes he's happier wherever he is out there without her

(mutual pining is my fave trope)

NN: Like, being royal and the dramatic irony of your staff keeping you in the dark about things/decisions/actions is certainly a jam of mine.

NN: But, you know, the loss of Han is also (importantly) the loss of Chewbacca for Leia. And for every time Han put a foot wrong, on so many planets the presence of a Wookie in the Alliance's retinue put a foot just *right*, lent an air of nobility to the proceedings.

NN: And he gave the best hugs, Chewbacca. Leia misses him.

NN: When she can't sleep (which is often), and she can't stare at another diplomatic briefing (which happens sometime after 2am), she lies down on the smallest, narrowest thing she can find; a chair, a couch, a cramped window seat--and imagines she's in a bunk on the Falcon with Han, his arm laced around her back as they sleep—as they always slept--to make sure she doesn't fall off the rack.

NN: Han, who would rather no one knew how sentimental he is (he pretends they don't notice that he treats a way-too-old ship like his own maiden auntie), takes to stopping by the O2 masks on the Falcon, hanging ever-in-the-ready. Sometimes he pulls one down, takes a hard, unnecessary drag on it.

Tells himself maybe that was it--that was the one, the one Leia always used. That in doing so he can once again share breath with her, be close.

NN: Chewbacca? Chewbacca worries. He doesn't mention it, but about six months after Luke goes missing he starts to shed, even though it's unseasonal, not the right time.

NN: He follows Han, they smuggle to finance their search, but the jobs seem more dangerous now, and Han gets less joy out of the danger than before. Solo is become a man driven, weary and almost spent, even from the moment he wakes. Chewbacca begins to feel too old for this life.

Chewbacca misses Luke. Luke was good for a laugh. Luke made them all smile, or worry in concert. That was his job, his function in this family. But the worrying before was never so laced with fear, with loss.

Chewbacca thinks: it is the difference between worrying over whether a stew might be burned, and whether your planet's deathly drought will ever end.

It is oppressive.

NN: The two of them chase the slightest whispers of Ben's whereabouts, surely the last people in the galaxy interested in finding the boy after what he did. They run after hare-brained, wild goose chase information they know to be nothing more than that about Luke’s location. Still, they carry on.

Occasionally, they find themselves learning news of what the Alliance is becoming: the Resistance.

Occasionally, a news transmission includes an image of Leia.

After seeing it, Han does not sleep for three solar days.

NN: Leia comes down with a migraine so rough nothing the medical droids can offer her short of sedation can take the edge off it.

But she has a meeting with a group that can help finance new weaponry her Resistance desperately needs.

NN: She insists on attending, knowing her inclusion in the talks is found to be inspirational, an essential stamp of approval, by many.

Traveling back to base in the shuttle, she retches long and hard into the nearest receptacle. I'm sorry, she apologizes to the pilot and the flight crew for the mess.

As they disembark back at base camp she realizes; it's Han's birthday.

RBHOOD: OH GOD NOW I'M CRYING AGAIN

just imagining the musical montage of leia and han thinking about each other at the same time as they can't sleep, thousands of light years apart

RBHOOD: ..........and of course, you know, diplomacy sometimes requires a bit of flirtation

and Han catches a video clip by accident on a news feed on a distant station

and after a moment of paralysis he thinks, this is good, this is good, this is where she always ought to have been, and I want her to be happy

and he almost makes himself believe it

NN: And then, off in the distance, Luke occasionally feels Leia's emotions, and he can't bear it.

NN: This is a 1000% pining-ready situation.

And then the montage starts with them a younger age, and then ends with some time lapse where they've aged into their TFA years.

RBHOOD: yesssssssssssss

they have become accustomed to the pain of loss and loneliness, but it hasn't lessened

NN: but their moment of reconciliation definitely occurs prior to the events of TFA. It actually happens when he loses the Falcon.

Chewbacca brings him back, finds where Leia & Co. are hiding. Han's been roughed up, he needs some rest and some light medical intervention. The two of them are on the run, so why not hunker down with some other people also on the run?

NN: No one tells Leia that Chewie has signaled their arrival. In fact, there are so many new people in the Resistance that most of them don’t quite recall the fact that Leia and Han were together, or the shape their lives took. It’s as though the textbooks of the day elide over Han, and his missing son—whom many come to incorrectly believe (as General Organa’s son) perished in the massacre of the rest of Skywalker’s students. It is a persistent misinformation.

But something brings Leia to the hanger that day, and though Chewie is not flying the Falcon, she runs up the lowered ramp of the unfamiliar ship he pilots into their hidden base, and finds her way to Han's side. Han's so in and out of it he doesn't know what year it is or how long (or if) he's been gone.

He speaks to her and holds on to her like no time has passed at all.

She recognizes it as the gift it is. Because in a short time he will recall it all; the pain, the loss, the distance.

But for those hours that it takes for medical to get him stabilized, he's thinks he's somewhere between just having been awoken from Carbonite, and being tortured by Vader in the Bespin system.

She memorizes every word he says, answers his every question in kind.

The human medical staff try to keep their blushes to themselves, unfamiliar with encountering their General in this form.

They have forgotten how very small of stature General Princess Leia Organa really is, how she has for decades shouldered the burdens of the movement without having anyone to shoulder her burdens.

They have forgotten, or never understood, that she loved a smuggler; the father of her lost child. That her brother, the mythical figure, was just a farmboy on a backwater planet.

That underneath General, beyond diplomat, around Princess--she is Leia, a soul distant from all those she loves.

RBHOOD: nell, that LAST LINE

that's GORGEOUS

it's a crime this is all in DM, tbh

NN: Stop tempting me to collect it.

I know I'm gonna wanna read it all again one day

RBHOOD: No you SHOULD collect it and post it

[choupetit]

GOT Recap: Eastwatch

Airdate: 8/14/17 ; Season 7, Episode 5 

 Watching tonight’s Game of Thrones was like watching an elaborate set of dominoes being lined up - so many pieces of pertinent information, so many players coming together, so much anticipation for the final two episodes of the season! Not my fave episode and at times it felt like some mighty convenient revelations were coming to light, but the season is coming to a close, so I guess they are trying to pack as much stuff into one episode as possible. That said, let’s do this! Grab your warmest furs and snuggle on in for the recap of “Eastwatch”: 

When Queenie Ain’t Happy, Ain’t Nobody Happy

We pick things up shortly after where they ended last week. Bronn and Jaime Lannister emerge from a river and we see a smoke-filled sky in the distance - the aftermath of Dany’s dragon attack. I vaguely wonder how they managed to get this far from Dany, when it looks like they just took their first big gasp for air after plunging into the water to narrowly escape death by dragonfire. Bronn gives Jaime some flack of the “What the hell were you thinking with a stunt like that? The only one who gets to kill you is me!” variety. Jaime lays out that they are pretty much screwed, considering they just encountered what Dany can do with only one dragon - and she still has two more. Bronn tells him dragons are where his loyalty to the Lannisters ends and gives Jaime a “Good luck breaking the battle news to Cersei” quip. 

 Meanwhile Tyrion is gravely surveying the devastation of the battle his Queen just won - charred bodies and ashes are everywhere. All the surviving Lannister soldiers have been rounded up for a brief speech by Daenerys Targaryen. “I know Cersei has been trashing me as this sadistic, horrifying invader, who goes around burning people to a crisp when I don’t get my way, but I want you to know, I’m not like the other dragon moms. I’m a cool dragon mom. Seriously though, right now I need you to support me or be burnt to a crisp. So…who’s with me?” A handful of soldiers kneel before her. Randyll Tarly and his permafrown, however, are not game. He and son, Dickon, stand defiantly. Tyrion attempts to sway them, and whey they refuse, he tries to get Dany to lessen the punishment by taking them as prisoners instead. Denied. “Tyrion, my catchphrase is ‘Dracarys’, not ‘Hey, let’s handle everything reasonably on a case-by-case basis, filling up my entire week as I dole out fair and just verdicts against my enemies’. It just doesn’t roll off the tongue, damnit!” And so, Randyll and Dickon are flambéed in front of all their fellow soldiers, who quickly bend the knee to their new queen. 

 At the Red Keep, Jaime is once again conveying terrible news to Cersei, which seems to be the only other thing he does when he’s not banging his sister. He lays out Daenerys’ awesome and terrifying strength, what with her dragons and insane Dothraki posse. He concludes they are totally screwed and should just give up the Iron Throne. Oh and btw, Lady Olenna was responsible for killing Joffrey. Cersei’s all “I knew you should have let me make her suffer!!!!” You half-expect her to ask Qyburn to resurrect the old lady just so Cersei can kill her the right way. 

As for Queen Dany, Cersei counters they have the money to hire new soldiers and they can either fight and die, or submit and die…and we all know Cersei subscribes to the “Take down as many enemies as you can on your way out” school of thought. She throws in a little barb at Jaime for good measure: “I know which decision a REAL soldier would make.” Zing! What’s it gonna be, Jaime? 

Say Hello To My Little Friend

At Dragonstone, Jon Snow is taking a walk outside and looks like he’s about to break out into glorious song (“The hiiiiiiills are alive, with a stash of Dragonglass, la-la-la-LAAAA!”) when Drogon and Dany fly up and the dragon gracefully lands right in front of Jon. Warily, Dany watches as Drogon roars and bares his teeth at Jon…and lets him pet his snout. “Yup, yup, just a little to the right - ahhhh, that’s the sweet spot!” It seems clear that Drogon recognizes a Targaryen is standing before him. 

 While Dany engages Jon in some dragon appreciation chit chat, one of her Dothraki guards arrives and presents a man who claims he’s a friend of hers: It’s Ser Jorah! Daenerys’ face lights up and I expect her to run over to him and give him a huge hug, but no. She just gleefully introduces him to Jon Snow - who served his father, Lord Commander Mormont, at the Wall. When Dany asks Jorah if he found a cure to his greyscale, he’s all “Gurl, I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t.” At this point I totally want him to drop Samwell Tarly’s name - he doesn’t. Daenerys finally gives him a warm hug…now that she knows he doesn’t have cooties anymore - that’s right, we all noticed, Dany! 

 We cut to a great sequence of a flock of ravens as they fly near Eastwatch and cross North of the wall. Their eyes intermittently go white for the briefest of seconds as they continue to fly - Bran Stark is using his warging abilities to do a little Night King reconnaissance. As the birds continue to fly north, they suddenly come upon an enormous mass of snow zombies which are slowly advancing southward. The birds circle overhead and we catch a glimpse of some Whitewalkers below. The Night King is among them and he looks sharply at the flock as though he knows Bran is spying on him. The birds disperse and a very startled Bran is jerked back to consciousness. He tells the maester they need to send out some ravens, stat. 

 In Oldtown at the Citadel, upon receiving the news from Winterfell, a group of archmaesters are gathered to discuss the scroll they received about the Army of Dead. Samwell Tarly is in the room performing whatever menial duties he’s been assigned that day, but he listens in. The majority of the maesters scoff at the idea of Whitewalkers, while archmaester Marwyn concedes it could be true…or it could be a trick by Daenerys to get Queen Cersei to move resources to the Wall, leaving the realm defenseless against the foreign invader. Sam can’t bite his tongue and admonishes them for their cavalier attitude.  He tells them he’s seen Whitewalkers in the (rotting) flesh and they are, in fact, a real and horrifying threat. He implores them to spread the word to the realm. Since everybody trusts the Citadel, it’s in their power to sound the alarms and get all of Westeros on board. But the men laugh him out of the room. One maester asks Marwyn if that’s the Tarly whose father and brother were killed by Daenerys Targaryen and Marwyn confirms it, but says he hasn’t had the heart to tell Sam of their deaths just yet. I mean, is there ever really a good time? RIP, Tarleys!

Back at Dragonstone, Tyrion and Varys are chatting. Tyrion is like, “Dude, it was really gnarly when Dany nonchalantly torched the Tarlys because of their loyalty to Cersei, but I couldn’t talk her out of it. She kinda freaked me out with that move.” Varys cautions him that he really needs to find a way to get through to Dany, because there’s a thin line between commanding respect and turning into a merciless ruler. Varys recalls, regretfully, the many times he simply wrung his hands and did nothing while serving the Mad King during his brutal regime. Tyrion changes the subject and points to the scroll Varys is holding - it’s the news from Winterfell, and of course Varys took a sneak peek.  He tells Tyrion it’s not good. 

What Could Possibly Go Wrong? 

In the war room, Jon and Dany have gathered with their respective advisors and Jon tells them he has to head home since Whitewalkers are practically knocking on their door up North. Collectively everybody wonders what can be done to stop the Whitewalkers while they’re in the middle of a war with Cersei. They all agree that Cersei won’t simply believe the news - she’ll need living (dead) proof that the threat of the Army of Dead is real. So they decide they need to get her a soil sample, if you will - that is, they gotta bring a snow zombie to Cersei, no big deal. 

But once they have the zombie, they still have to actually get it in front of Queen Cersei. Tyrion points out that the only person Cersei trusts or listens to is Jaime, and maybe Jaime will hear what Tyrion has to say. Ty will just need Ser Davos to smuggle him into King’s Landing for a meet-up. 

 Jorah steps up to go snow zombie poaching - probably because he knows that the only way to keep impressing Dany is by constantly putting his life in danger. Plus, distance makes the heart grow fonder…maybe. 

Not to be outdone in the hero department, Jon says he’ll head to Eastwatch, too. He’s the only one familiar with Whitewalkers and their army, after all, and he can convince his Wildling pals to help in the snow zombie retrieval efforts. It all seems like a weird Ocean’s Eleven plot. Frankly, I’m baffled that nobody suggests they simply send a dragon out to airlift a snow zombie and drop it at the Red Keep during Cersei’s daily outdoor yoga sessions. But what do I know? 

 At Winterfell, the Northern Lords are getting cranky about their absentee King, hinting they should have chosen Sansa to lead them. Sansa gives a measured reply, “Jon’s our king and he’s doing what he thinks is best” while Arya watches on, glowering. Later, the two sisters are walking the hallways. Sansa vents that she knew the Lords would start to turn on Jon for abandoning them all. Arya is ticked that Sansa didn’t say more to defend their brother. Sansa counters she needs to make sure they keep their alliances strong by listening to what the other Northern houses have to say, but Arya thinks what’s really in play is that Sansa is preparing for a scenario where Jon doesn’t return. Her big sis denies it, but Arya creepily says “You’re thinking it right now, you don’t want to, but the thought just won’t go away.” You can tell Sansa is kinda wondering, “Did Arya pick up novice psychic skills now, too?” At this point, nothing about her siblings would surprise Sansa. 

 At the shores of Kings Landing, Ser Davos and Tyrion arrive to attend to their respective business - they sync their watches and agree to meet back at the boat in a few hours. 

 Bronn and Jaime are walking through the dragon skull basement of the Red Keep, where Bronn plans to train with Jaime - but guess what? Psych! It’s really a set-up for Tyrion to covertly chat with Jaime. Seems a bit unlikely, considering the last time Tyrion saw Bronn, the latter had unceremoniously betrayed him. Jaime meanwhile is kinda pissed, ya know, because Tyrion killed their pops. But Tywin was an a-hole trying to have his own son killed when he knew he was innocent…so really Tyrion can be forgiven, right? Considering Jaime always liked his little bro, and he’s stuck with the only other living Lannister who is kinda psycho, Jaime grants Tyrion a moment of his time. Tyrion tells him Dany will win the war, but there may be a way to put all the bloodshed on hold. 

 While Tyrion is busy convincing his bro of the existence of snow zombies, Ser Davos walks the alleys of Flea Bottom and he comes upon a blacksmith’s shop where lo and behold, Gendry is working! Davos is all “Yo, so I figured you’d come back here, because nobody would expect it. How do you feel about joining me on –” and “Gendry grabs his bugout bag and a big ol’ hammer staff and goes “Yup, let’s go!” I’m torn. I mean, I really like Gendry and all, but I don’t totally see where he fits in here or why Davos felt the need to recruit him for Team Jon, but I guess we just go with this? Yay, more Gendry!

 Back at the boat, Davos and Gendry wait for Tyrion and there’s a little trouble with some King’s Landing guards, which just turns out to be an excuse to see Gendry in action with his hammer staff thing - turns out, it’s really great for bashing brains. Who knew? The three men hurry away into their boat to head back to Queen Dany. 

 Jaime, post-chat with Tyrion, visits Cersei’s chambers to tell her of his meeting: Dany wants a ceasefire on account of dead people heading towards Westeros. Cersei is amused at the suggestion of zombies, but is surprisingly open to a truce with Dany, because they need to regroup, rebuild their army and come up with a better winning strategy - oh, and also: she’s pregnant. And this time around, she DGAF about hiding the fact that Jaime is the dad. Ahhh, it’s so liberating to be Queen and do whatever you want without fear of judgment or consequences! Nobody even stops to consider what this might mean for the Lannister/Greyjoy alliance. I can’t imagine it’ll go over well with Euron.

The Short Goodbye

Moving right along, the next few scenes are all quite brief - man, a LOT is happening in this episode! Davos, Tyrion and Gendry have returned to Dragonstone, where Jon and team are on the beach, prepping to sail to Eastwatch. 

Davos wants to keep Gendry’s identity under wraps when he introduces him to Jon Snow, and intends to send Gendry to Winterfell. But the first words from Gendry’s mouth are “Hey, I’m Robert Baratheon’s bastard. You’re Ned Starks bastard. Our dads were buddies. Let’s jam!” The two exchange some short “I met your dad this one time!” niceties and it appears Gendry is now coming along to catch a zombie with Team Jon. 

 Tyrion and Jorah have a pleasant farewell and Tyrion gives Jorah a talisman - the coin he was going to use to buy his and Jorah’s freedom, back when they were captured in Slaver’s Bay two seasons ago. He offers the words “Don’t die, Dude. I want that back.” Next Dany approaches to say goodbye to Jorah. They grasp each other’s hands and share a soulful look, but before Jorah can utter any unforgettable words of farewell, Jon pops up to say goodbye. Poor Jorah walks away, likely stewing in the boat screaming silently “Khaleesi, I love you soooo bad, please just LOVE ME BACK!!!!!“ 

 In Oldtown, Samwell Tarly and Gilly are sitting at the table, and Sam is busy with clerical gruntwork, making copies of old books. Gilly is throwing out various trivia facts that from one of the tomes she's reading - it’s by a High Septon who meticulously documented every single thing in his life. Sam is still wound up from his earlier chat with the maesters that he barely even notices when Gilly drops some key info from the book she is reading: Apparently some Prince Rhaegar dude got an annulment from his wife and married another chick in a secret ceremony. Yah. Let that sink in. Pretty sure the other chick is Lyanna Stark, which makes Jon Snow the legit heir to the Targaryen throne. Ooh, move over, Auntie Daenerys! 

Sam is fed up with the uppity maesters. His talents seem wasted at the Citadel, and the scholars, whom he admired so much, neither believe in nor care about the imminent Whitewalker threat. He breaks into the super secret Citadel library once again to swipe some scrolls (presumably containing pertinent info for defeating Whitewalkers). Next, he packs up Gilly and Little Sam and they peace out. He tells Gilly he’s tired of reading about the achievements of better men. I assume they are on their way to Winterfell, but who knows, really. 

My Shadow and Me 

Speaking of Winterfell, Arya has decided to pass the time by secretly following Littlefinger. I mean, what else are you gonna do as a highly skilled assassin at your childhood home? As she clandestinely stalks him around the grounds, snooping on all his interactions, I get the sense that Littlefinger must know he is being watched. At one point, the maester of Winterfell knocks on Littlefinger’s chamber door and Arya overhears him say he’s found a scroll from the archives - the only copy of its kind. Arya waits for Littlefinger to leave his room and then she goes a'snooping and finds the scroll. We don’t see the full text but "steal his throne” and “swear fealty to King Joffrey” stand out, and it’s signed “Your faithful sister Sansa.” As Arya leaves Littlefinger’s room, we see him lurking around the corner, watching her re-lock his door. Hmm, what’s he up to? 

Snow Zombie Safari! 

Jon and his team have arrived at Eastwatch. They sit down with Tormund Giantsbane and fill him in on their mission. Tormund thinks it’s crazy, and Jon tells him they need some help from Tormund and his men. Davos says he’ll stay behind so as not to be a liability. #survivalstrategies. Tormund informs them a few others have arrived at Eastwatch and want to go north of the wall as well. 

He leads Team Snow to the prison cells at Eastwatch. Inside are Beric Dondarrion, Thoros of Myr and the Hound. It’s like the Dream Team only where various members have a beef with one another: Gendry doesn’t trust the men of the Brotherhood, seeing how they sold him to Melisandre for some good old fashioned blood magic fun. Tormund hates Mormonts on account of the late Lord Commander who had the Night’s Watch hunt and kill Wildlings. And the Hound just likes to call everybody the C-word. But for better or worse, Jon points out they are all on the same side, because, ya know…they’re not snow zombies. Well, I mean…technically Dondarrion and Jon both sort of are zombies, but we probably don’t have time to get into that. The North-facing gates of Eastwatch open and the men head out into a blinding snowstorm. Roll credits.

 For an episode called Eastwatch, there was surpisingly little Eastwatch action, I’m just sayin’. This episode sure was jam-packed with info and lots of set-ups, though. I feel like people were just teleporting back and forth between locations. I suppose this is what the showrunners meant when they said things move fast this season. 

Time for my post-Game two cents:

 Not entirely sure what is going on at Winterfell and what tricks Littlefinger is up to. Is he looking to pit the Stark sisters against each other? 

 The Cersei pregnancy seems all too convenient, which bugs me just a little. Suddenly she has a new Lannister baby to look forward to and a reason to work so hard for the Lannister dynasty? Ugh, please. But if we do have a preggers Cersei, I hope the next two episodes just show her taking naps and enduring all-day morning sickness. 

 I still don’t totally get why Gendry is back in the picture. I think he’s great and all, but it seems like a contrived “let’s please the fans” plot more than something that makes sense. Like, why did Davos want to initially send him to Winterfell in the first place? Just to be nice? 

 And I feel like nobody knows what to do with Jorah so they just keep sending him away. Poor Jorah. 

Sam doesn’t know it yet, but with his dad and bro gone, I’m pretty sure this makes him the rightful heir to his family home.  Unless his dad really screwed him in the will.  So, nice to know that he and Gilly potentially have a nice manor to go to once/if all the Whitewalker madness dies down.

 There have been so many “Jon is a Targaryen” references in this season, which after the big revelation of Season 6 kinda makes it a bit meh every time they allude to it. Please, let Bran finally get word to Jon to clue him in already! Seriously, Bran couldn’t have included that tidbit in his scroll about the Army of Dead? But it’s an interesting reveal that Jon’s not just Rhaegar’s bastard. Again, though, that info works out pretty nicely for Jon. 

 The disconnect between Jaime sinking into the abyss during last week’s cliffhanger only to see him and Bronn pop up a few miles from where they entered the water at the top of the show was disappointing. It totally cheapens the ending from the previous episode, imo. It would’ve been interesting for Jaime to go missing for a bit after the battle, and to see how Cersei would react to her twin possibly being dead. But hey, now he gets to focus on being a new dad again and practicing one-handed diaper changes.

 I do enjoy the coming together of so many characters. Especially the group heading north of the wall. Oh, the adventures they’ve all had! I feel like everybody needs to sit down over a round of drinks so they can share their stories and see how many mutual acquaintances they have - everybody besides Tormund seems to know Arya! 

 All in all, this episode wasn’t terribly thrilling. It wasn’t bad, but more like a hurried data dump. It definitely paved the way for some big things, and knowing that the last two episodes are going to be super-sized, I’m pretty stoked to see what happens next. I’m a tad concerned that now that they are off of the books, the writers are hastily tying up loose ends willy-nilly in a way that doesn’t always feel like Game of Thrones. We haven’t had any big character deaths of consequence, which on the one hand is great, because who wants to lose a favorite? But it also lowers the stakes when you feel like your fave key players will always be safe. Maybe that will all change next week. We’ll just have to wait with baited breath.

[diviinedogs]

do you have a klance fic rec?

I did a fic rec a while back over here! but here’s some more fics :oc

I know younger fans follow me so everything in this list like the last one is gonna have no sm/.ut or too much expl/.icit content

THIS IS...... A LOT AND I’M FORGETTING A TON OF FICS I’M CURRENTLY READING because I just read them when they update I don’t have them in bookmarks on my phone but I really should.... I think these are enough for now though, I actually left a bunch of fics out of this one because it was getting too long

if you guys want I could probably make a page of fic recs? let me know :oc

and of course there’s klance-net’s fic library (I help out with it sometimes c:)

nothing’s quite as sweet

Keith is a barista who hates his job. Lance works at the cat shelter across the street. 

this is like....... one of my fave Klance fics of all time tbh along with A Fish and A Bird+it’s sequel, Crossroads, and the next two fics

Homesick at Space Camp

Lance realizes he's been an asshole to Keith, and on a diplomatic mission to a key planet for the Voltron alliance he... overcompensates. 

the characterizaTION IS THIS FIC IS....... SO GOOD....... and it includes the rest of the team too despite the focus on Lance and Keith and I don’t really see that in other fics tbh

Of Escorts and Espionage

Lance preened. Escort? That sounded kind of sexy and badass. “Why, of course, Princess,” he said, standing up to offer his hand at Allura. “I would escort you to the most Galra-infested reaches of the galaxy if you asked.”

Allura’s arm rose but the hand she placed in Lance’s palm was not hers.

It was Keith’s.

there’s some smut here but I think you could easily skip over it

Handbook of Demonology

This psychic—Lance the Lucid, according to the posters, and Keith wasn’t even going to comment on that—was a charlatan, plain and simple, and Keith kind of wanted to punch him. Sure, Lance knew how to put on a show, but Keith doubted there was anything more to the act than charm and dramatic flair.

Pidge sighed, catching Keith’s eyes. “At this point, they’re pretty much our only hope.”

--

While searching for the truth behind their families' disappearance, Keith and Pidge hire a pair of amateur witches to help summon the demon Zarkon. They accidentally summon Allura instead.

Ignorance is Bliss

As it turns out, learning that your house is haunted makes the ghosts a lot more aggressive. Who knew?

Ah, well. At least one of them is hot. And he's the less-evil one, too, so that's always a plus.

Foreign Scenes

Lance has been dreaming of travelling since the first time he heard stories from his family as a child. Now, having finally the time and money to do it, he goes on a trip to Europe to see some of the most culturally rich cities on the continent. Except he keeps bumping into the same guy over and over again, in random cities, doing stupid shit, and ultimately dragging Lance into his trouble, too.

Basically an AU in which Lance and Keith become impromptu travel buddies and get into trouble.

Would You Want Me (If I Want You)

“Well, maybe you just need to relax,” Lance said with a hum, running a hand through his hair as he grinned down at Keith, his back towards the roof. “So just… lean back and enjoy the weightlessness. It’s…. Nice, right?” Lance didn’t know why he was feeling so sheepish all of the sudden, his lips a thin line. Maybe it was the way Keith looked at him from behind his hair, or the fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt, or the slim legs intertwined with his, or the way the lighting seemed to bounce off of Keith’s skin like he was made of glass.

Whatever it was, it made Lance want to do something stupid.

Or; Keith discovering Lance enjoys messing with Altean technology a bit more than he should leads to Keith finally acting on how he feels.

After talking it out, of course.

can you tell me

Keith works in his brother's coffee shop for the summer, expecting a boring break before college. Lance changes all of that.

The boy is still in the front of the group, but he doesn't take off his glasses so Keith can't tell what he's really looking at -- either the menu or Keith. Keith feels a flash of annoyance but smothers it and pins his smile in place.

anything by this author is greAT so yeah :oc

all we have to do

Keith gets hurt during a mission, and Lance is not sure how to handle that.

Lance wakes up on the floor outside of the medical bay, jerking wildly, body a mess of aches and twinges.

Make Me Your Home

“Oh my god, Keeeith,” Lance wheezed. “Keith you’re the best drunk space cadet I’ve ever seen.”

“Space cadet,” Keith mumbled. He repeated the words again although his eyes had zeroed in on Lance’s hands and Lance offered no resistance when Keith picked one of them up and pulled it possessively towards his lap. He began to gently trace over Lance’s fingers, sending shivers up Lance’s arm and down his spine. “You have looong fingers,” Keith murmured after a few moments.

Keith’s face perked up then, as if he’d just had a brilliant idea, and Lance could almost not wait to hear what new obscure thought had entered Keith’s pretty head. He was prepared to laugh, and instead found himself shivering again as Keith leaned far into his personal bubble, lips practically touching Lance’s ear when he spoke next.

“I bet you could reach all kinds of things, Lance.”

some ns/f.w but it’s minor

Medical Duty

Blue is the color of loyalty, so somehow that translates to Lance being the team medic. Except his only first aid skills come from putting bandaids on his younger siblings, and Keith seems to be physically incapable of not getting punched by every new alien they meet.

The Arch Project

When Lance McClain gets promoted to a top secret research project he is delighted to learn that the old conspiracy theories about something crashing in the desert of New Mexico were not entirely wrong. No one is entirely sure what it is that crashed, but it appears to be a man. A very pretty man who hasn't woken up since the crash. Lance is determined to be the first person on the project in a century to finally crack the case of just what this unconscious being is. Human, alien, or something else entirely? But there are forces out there determined to uncover the truth, and steal it if they must. The Voltron Group, a well known hacker group in the research world will apparently stop at nothing to find out what Galra Associated Corperation is hiding. And sooner or later, Lance will have to choose where his loyalties lie.

this fic just started but tbh I’m really excited for it it sounds cool and I don’t think I’ve seen another fic/AU like it :oc

Shadow of the Past / Ghost of the Future

When Lance is thrown through time, he finds himself one year in the future, in place of the Lance that should be here.

He finds his team to be remarkably familiar, yet distinctly different. They have more scars, a better grip on the whole saving the universe thing, and over a year’s worth of teamwork to bind them together. But the weirdest part? Keith seems to be a lot more touchy with him. Not that he’s complaining… much.

The team must try and work out how to reverse the two Lance’s places and restore them to their original timelines. But despite the fact that they’re still his friends, Lance can’t help but feel a little out of place among a team that’s been through so much with a Lance that just isn’t him. And it doesn’t help that the team is on edge around him, refusing to tell him anything for fear of influencing and changing the past. Things get even more complicated when they have to rely on the team in the past to complete the switch, leaving Lance to little more than sit, wait, and attempt to fill in his future self’s shoes.

//

When Lance is thrown through time, his future self from one year ahead is transported to the past in his place.

This Lance is faster, stronger, and markedly more mature. Not only that, but he's distinctly more intuitive about his teammates and A LOT more touchy with Keith.

The team must try and work out how to reverse the two Lance's places and restore them to their original timelines. Things only get more complicated when the Future Lance can't seem to remember where he was when the switch happened, and he refuses to reveal anything about his own time for fear of influencing the team's decisions.

the other fics by the authors are great too :oc

Your Songs Remind Me Of Swimming

A small cove sheltered by rocks opens Lance's eyes to something he had never seen before. He was never much for believing in the supernatural, but maybe all those sea shanties were true.

I love........ siren/mermaid Keith so much just look at my url a/sdkf;jk

lungs

After a near drowning experience as a child in which he doesn't remember how he survived, Lance avoids the ocean he once loved. He doesn't realize that's where his savior lives.

Or: a slice-of-life story about a boy and his mermaid.

another mermaid Keith!