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callsign-bunnie · 1 year

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Soap - Chapter 6 - An Academic Achievement

Soap and Rodolfo have an argument. Meanwhile, Ghost starts to pay more attention to Soap and Soap finds out Roach isn't as happy on the inside as he is on the outside. Shit's crazy.

Soap listened to Rodolfo list off what happened with growing shock. He couldn’t believe Alejandro had acted that way. Well… he didn’t not believe it but that was so shitty. “He told you you have a stick up your ass?? What an arse!”

Rodolfo sighed, eating some chips that Gaz had brought over. They were tortilla chips, which Rodolfo had made a comment about preferring the real ones, but he had also eaten most of the bag so… “He apologized for it.”

Gaz shook his head. “Still, that’s terrible, mate. Actually…” Gaz hesitated. “Alex mentioned that Tuesday morning, Alejandro asked him questions about you.” Soap perked up, frowning. Alejandro had asked about Rodolfo? From Alex, no less. He looked to Rodolfo, who seemed just as perplexed.

“Odd.” Rodolfo frowned. “Did Alex say why?”

Gaz seemed to consider. “No, just that Alejandro found out he knew you and wanted to know some things. He was pretty pissed when Price kept us late.” Gaz winced.

Soap frowned. That was weird. He went to ask why but Rodolfo beat him to it.

“Yeah, he mentioned that Price kept you late…” Rodolfo nodded. Oh, that must have been why. Soap remembered Rodolfo mentioning Alejandro had been late. Still, weird for him to be pissed enough that Gaz felt it important to mention.

“That’s… weird.” Soap frowned, shaking his head. He wasn’t sure he liked that. Alejandro sounded unstable.

“Whatever. He’s an asshole.” Rodolfo sighed, leaning back into the window seat.

“Actually… Ghost said that Alejandro is a huge asshole.” Gaz shrugged, seeming reluctant to share. Soap frowned and sat up a little. Ghost knew Alejandro? “Apparently they used to be friends.”

Soap frowned more. Odd. Ghost… didn’t seem like the type to be friends with Alejandro Vargas. “Ghost like… the leader of the Forensics club Ghost?”

“Who else goes by Ghost on the campus?” Rodolfo laughed. Soap flushed dark, rolling his eyes and throwing a glare at Rodolfo.

“I just want to make sure!” Soap huffed, crossing his arms. “He knows Alejandro?” He asked Gaz.

“Yeah, they used to be best friends, apparently.” Gaz nodded.

Soap sat back again. That was a weird idea. They seemed so different.

“Weird.” Rodolfo shrugged. “Small world, I guess.”

“Yeah…” Gaz nodded. “Ghost said they used to do adderall and alcohol and do dumb shit. Said you should stay away from him out of math class.”

“Great.” Rodolfo sighed. “Well… I don’t know if I fully trust Ghost. He’s pretty intimidating.” Soap couldn’t help but agree. But… He liked Ghost. He knew he had to be a good guy. He acted like one. “But, I trust him more than Alejandro.”

“Ghost is a pretty cool dude.” Soap spoke up, feeling the need to defend him. “I trust him.”

Gaz frowned and tilted his head. “You know him?”

“He’s the TA for my chemistry class.” Soap nodded and grinned.

“Soap is smitten.” Rodolfo spoke up, laughing.

Soap could only glare back. “I am not smitten.” It was half hearted because… Soap very much was smitten. “I just like him… a lot.” Okay, maybe that was the definition of smitten.

“But he’s scary.” Gaz frowned. “I… I’d be scared he’d eat me.”

Soap couldn’t help but grin. “Well, you see, sweet Kyle…” He put his face close to Gaz’s, watching Gaz’s face grow dark red. For a moment, he wondered if he kissed Gaz, would Gaz stop him? Poor kid seemed pent up. Frustrated. “That’s the goal…” Soap whispered, deciding not to kiss Gaz. He didn’t like him like that and he didn’t want to muddy any waters.

Soap was rewarded with his head being shoved back. “Pervert.” Gaz huffed.

Rodolfo laughed softly. “He’s borderline obsessed with him.”

Soap grinned, stealing the bag of chips Gaz was holding, ignoring Gaz protesting. “Sadly, I think you’re right, Rudy. I can’t get him out of my head but… Ugh, he ignores me.” He pouted and sat back, thinking back to their class that morning. “He didn’t look at me, today in Chem. Not once. Just sat there. Looked miserable…” Soap’s heart melted as he thought about it. He’d wanted nothing more than to fix whatever vexed Ghost.

“Oh uh…” Gaz winced. “May be our fault, that one…”

Rodolfo perked up. Soap frowned. “How??” Rodolfo asked, and Soap immediately turned to Gaz to hear as well.

“Well… You know that girl from etiquette class? The one who brought over cupcakes?” Gaz seemed to hesitate, glancing to Soap a few times. “She… put amphetamines and ashwagandha in them.”

“Ash… Ashwa… what??” Soap frowned, deeply. He was immediately pissed and tempted to hunt down whoever had done that. She’d drugged Ghost!

“Um, according to Alex and Ghost, it makes you horny…” Gaz flushed and sighed, shaking his head.

Soap frowned deeply. Poor Ghost…

“Oh that’s awful! Why would she do that?!” Rodolfo seemed appalled.

“She’s fucking obsessed with Alex.” Soap did not miss the anger in Gaz’s voice. It sounded like a mix between jealousy but also… possession. Odd, he’d never expect to hear something like that in Gaz’s voice. “Ghost said it was to make him addicted to her. Thankfully only Ghost and… well, unfortunately Roach had cupcakes. But, Roach seems fine.”

Soap thought back to the meeting on Tuesday, which would have been the direct day after. Roach hadn’t seemed like anything was wrong at all. “Yeah, I saw him Tuesday. He had climbed into the ceiling.”

“The ceiling?” Rodolfo asked, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, he’s like that,” Gaz answered before Soap could. “Even when in high school.”

Oh yeah, Soap hadn’t told Rodolfo that Roach went to high school with Gaz. “You guys went to high school together?” Rodolfo asked. Soap winced, since he’d meant to tell him.

“Yeah, Price introduced us. He’s always been the fourth member of the freethinkers club, though he’s a year under us. But, he loved to climb stuff.”

“Yeah, why Roach, by the way?” Soap spoke up. He’d been very curious about it. “Like, I get we all have nicknames… but why Roach?”

“Oh um… Well, his real name is Gary. We came up with Roach.” Gaz winced and sighed. “But, he got hit by a car and… survived. And since he liked to climb stuff. He was fairly resilient so we joked he’d survive the apocalypse. Farah had mentioned a bit before that roaches could survive nuclear radiation so… the name got stuck. He loved it, though.”

Soap smiled. That was cute, actually. “I can imagine he loved it.”

“Damn, my nickname is boring compared to your guys’.” Rodolfo chuckled.

Gaz laughed. “I mean, Gaz is pretty boring. But I like Rudy! It’s cute! Like the reindeer.”

Soap rolled his eyes. Only Gaz.

“Thanks Gaz.” Rodolfo laughed, softly. “Anyway, so Alex didn’t have any cupcakes?”

Oh right, that was how they got there. Soap turned to Gaz, curious again.

“No, just Ghost and Roach. I… realized Mary was into that weird witchcraft bullshit before we ate ours.” Gaz sighed, that tone from before reappearing. Gaz really was so obvious.

“Weird…” Rodolfo nodded, and Soap had to agree. “But… why would he look miserable today?” That was fair, it’d been three days already.

“Well, he went on this weird monologue about Mary likely wanting to make Alex addicted but it was like… almost like he was talking from experience…” Gaz mumbled, frowning.

Soap’s heart melted. “Oh poor Ghost…” He murmured. He started to wonder what Ghost had gone through. And… Soap wanted to help him. He wanted to make it better.

“Oh no. No!” Rodolfo tore Soap from the thought and Soap frowned, looking at Rodolfo. “There you go. You can’t fix him, Soap. It hasn’t worked in the past.”

Soap glared at him, immediately defensive. “I’m not-” Soap clenched his hands into fists. This wasn’t like the past! Ghost needed help and Soap wanted to provide that. Not to fix him. “I don’t want to fix him, I-”

“You want to help him. You’ve done this before.” Rodolfo glared at him.

Soap shook his head. “So??? If there’s something there, why can’t I want to help him?” Also, Rodolfo was one to talk! His relationship history was a fucking list of tragedies by Shakespeare.

“Because you go overboard.” Gaz shook his head. Oh, not him too! “You burn yourself out doing it.”

Soap shook his head. “Maybe he’s worth burning out for.” Ghost was, he was confident.

Rodolfo rolled his eyes and the anger in Soap’s chest flared. “Soap..”

“Fuck you both.” Soap stood. They both had a lot of fucking nerve. He wanted to yell at them both. Gaz was martyring himself over a guy and Rodolfo… well, he had a list of things he could fire back. But he didn’t. Instead, he just left, flipping them off.

He didn’t know where he was gonna go but he was getting away from them. How fucking dare they?!

Soap was still irritated with Rodolfo and Gaz when he sat down in class. He couldn’t believe they would have the nerve to lecture him like that on something that wasn’t their business. At all!

He jumped when someone appeared by his desk. “Hey, you good?” He looked up and all the irritation just melted away. Ghost was standing there, staring down at him. And he was concerned for Soap!

“Oh…” Soap flushed and sat up. “Yeah, I’m just- Issues with my friend. Did you need something?”

“You just… were glaring at your desk, so I wanted to see what was up.” Ghost shrugged, seeming almost… sheepish. Oh… Ghost cared… Soap could feel himself turning into putty at the idea. “Do you… do you want to talk about it?” Ghost sat in the desk beside Soap’s.

Soap’s heart swelled and for a moment, he wanted to rant to Ghost about how awful it had been. But… He couldn’t do that to Rodolfo. And… well, the subject of the fight was Ghost. He didn’t want to reveal that much. “No, I… I can’t air our problems out like that.” He sighed and relaxed his shoulders a bit.

“Oh.” Ghost frowned. “Okay. Well… if you change your mind, you know where to find me.” He pat Soap’s shoulder and then got up again, going to his stool by the whiteboard. Soap almost regretted saying no as Ghost left. Fuck. He’d had a chance to have a full conversation.

It wouldn’t have been a long one, though, because Dr Laswell came in barely ten minutes later. “Alright, safety procedures. Soap, get down here!” She called.

Soap grinned. Right. He was always the “don’t do this” example. He played the part really well. He got up and went down to the front, knowing his outfit already didn’t fit the rules. He was wearing short sleeves, and ripped jeans. Not good for the lab.

“Well, we can start off first with attire. Mactavish, I think you have some jeans in your rips.” Dr Laswell shook her head.

Soap laughed. “What can I say? I’m a man of fashion.” Several kids in the class laughed and Soap could have swore he heard Ghost chuckle.

“Well, fashion isn’t great in a lab. Now, I don’t want to treat you guys like children. I wish I could trust you guys enough to just know this. But I’ve worked with 40 year old men, who still don’t take safety seriously in a lab.” Dr Laswell shook her head, a slight southern accent coming out.

Soap laughed, with the rest of the class. He loved the way Dr Laswell talked. She tried her best to treat them like full adults.

“Alright, Simon and Soap are going to do demonstrations. We have our shining example.” She gestured to Ghost, who stood and bowed a little. Soap smiled. He was such a dork.

“And the problem child.” Dr Laswell chuckled, touching the top of Soap’s head. Soap knew it was affectionate, so he was never offended.

“Alright, right off the bat, Ghost is fantastic. All of his skin is covered. Your clothing is your first barrier to anything that can harm you. Remember! You can remove clothing, you cannot remove your skin! Now, I’m gonna warn you. I have to treat every chemical spill like a tier 1 emergency. So, if you spill anything on any article of clothing, I have to remove it. Depending on the chemical, with scissors. Depending on the chemical, the chemical may remove it, itself.”

Soap laughed, softly. He had definitely had a few good shirts ruined by spilling stuff on them and Dr Laswell cutting them off. On lab days, he wore clothes he didn’t mind losing.

He watched the class, who seemed to all be just as amused.

“Hey, I can demonstrate that whole removal thing.” Soap offered, loud enough for Ghost and Dr Laswell to hear. He shivered at the glance Ghost gave him. If he wasn’t careful, he’d have taken that glance as a challenge.

Dr Laswell lightly shoved him, affectionately. “That’s not necessary.” She shook her head.

Ghost seemed to snort and look away again. Soap’s heart picked up in pace. Was Ghost… was that flirting?? Excitement flooded his veins and he hoped to god that it was. “Just offering.” He grinned, putting his hands behind his back.

“As you guys can see, Mactavish would be in poor shape if something spilled on him, since most of his skin is showing.” Dr Laswell continued, though she seemed to give them a knowing smile.

“I wore this outfit on purpose.” Soap grinned.

“Damn, I was thinking you’d lost a bet.” Ghost chuckled. Soap’s heart hitched. Oh that definitely had to be flirting.

Soap snorted. “I’m just this daring.”

“You two.” Dr Laswell shook her head. “Focus, boys.”

Soap apologized, chuckling, and turned back to the class, though he couldn’t help but glance at Ghost again. These little back and forths had his heart fluttering.

Dr Laswell continued with the safety lecture, having Soap and Ghost act out various dos and don’ts.

At some point, when they were miming holding a beaker, Soap stumbled and Ghost grabbed him, immediately, one hand going to his waist and the other to his arm. Soap’s heart jolted and he looked up at Ghost, who quickly looked away, his face a little pink.

Soap’s breathing stuttered. Oh. He stood straight again, waving off Dr Laswell’s concern. “I’m good.” He smiled. His heart wasn’t. It was doing jumping jacks and he could still feel the pressure of Ghost’s hand on his waist and his arm. He hoped the feeling never left.

Unfortunately, the class finished before they did. So, Dr Laswell had Soap stay back a bit so everyone could leave and he could get his bag. “Did you actually wear that outfit on purpose?” She asked, clearly amused.

Soap grinned. “I knew you’d call on me.” He had. But… he hadn’t put that much thought into his outfit.

“I like your jeans.” Ghost spoke up.

Soap perked up, immediately. “Thanks! I did the rips myself.” He grinned, twisting his body a little to show them off.

Ghost nodded, seeming impressed. “You might have to show me how.”

“Not you, too.” Dr Laswell shook her head. “Soap, come with me. I need to talk to you about something.”

Soap already knew what it was. Chemistry club. He groaned but got his bag, waving bye to Ghost, who left. “Dr Laswell, with all due respect, you’ve banned me from the labs. How could I even lead the Chemistry club??”

“I’d be willing to lift the ban if you… joined.” Dr Laswell shrugged, leaning against her desk. “Soap, come on. You have no other extracurriculars besides boxing. And the sound help you do for the debate club. Other than that, you have an open schedule. And… I think the Chemistry club will be good for you.”

Soap groaned. “What about Farah??”

“She’s vice president of the Forensics club. She’s gonna join but she can’t head the Chemistry club.” Dr Laswell shrugged. Right, officially that was Farah’s title.

“I don’t know.” Soap sighed. He wasn’t sure he wanted all of that responsibility. “I thought you had to be a chemistry major to head it.”

“Nope, just a chemistry related degree. Chemical engineering is, in fact, chemistry related.” She smiled.

Soap shook his head. “Fine, I’ll consider it.”

“That’s all I ask, Johnny.” She pat his shoulder. “Alright, get out of here so I can call my wife. I’d like to eat.”

Soap grinned and left, knowing Professor Laswell did not like to be kept waiting.

Soap wasn’t sure why he was doing this. He just knew he didn’t want to deal with Rodolfo, and… he had started to hate himself again. They were flashes of the moment and when that happened, he wanted to do something destructive.

So, he’d went to Alpha Lambda’s party. Maybe a little bit of it was to hurt Rodolfo. He knew that was petty. He already felt bad at taking pictures and posting them. But.. he didn’t take them down.

He kept looking around the living room of the frat house, watching everyone else dance and drink. His eyes ended up falling on Roach, standing in the corner. He looked deeply uncomfortable. So, Soap went over. “Hey, buddy!” He yelled, over the loud as hell music.

Roach perked up and waved.

“Um… I guess I have to ask you yes or no questions…” Soap got closer so he didn’t have to yell.

Roach nodded, seeming to almost move closer to Soap as well. He looked really uncomfortable. Soap softened. Poor kid. He looked almost scared. “Did you come with Gaz and Farah?”

Roach nodded a bit.

“Did they ditch you?” Soap frowned. That didn’t sound like them.

Roach hesitated and shook his head. He got out his phone, gesturing to the pocket that held Soap’s. “Smart.” Soap grinned and got his own out. He put his number in Roach’s, when prompted, and then put Roach’s in his own.

“Farah found a pretty girl and followed her off. And Gaz is looking for Alex.” Roach texted.

Soap frowned. So they had ditched him. “Well, stick with me.” He started to guide Roach to the kitchen, where it was quieter. “Um, don’t drink anything that you don’t have to open yourself.”

Roach seemed relieved and quickly nodded, following him. Once at the kitchen, Soap got Roach a bottle of Soda. Roach took it and signed thank you, one of the few signs that Soap recognized. “Well… I know it’s probably not great but what do you think?” Soap chuckled.

“It’s fucking loud!” Roach texted, quickly. “And people keep trying to touch me and I don’t like it!”

“Yeah, I get that.” Soap snorted, reading it. “We’ll hang out here.” He offered.

Roach nodded a bit. He looked around the kitchen, taking a sip of soda.

Soap watched him move, feeling bad. He still seemed uncomfortable. “I think they have food somewhere, if you’re hungry?”

Roach seemed curious and nodded a little, so Soap pulled him to a table that had a bunch of food on it. Oh. It was spicy food and then also ice creams and popsicles. They really stuck to those themes. “Can you-”

Roach was already grabbing a popsicle. Soap got out a pocket knife he kept on himself to cut it for him, since there were no scissors anywhere. “There.”

Roach pulled his mask down to eat it. Soap immediately noticed the scarring on his cheeks. Straight lines. He frowned. “Hey, did you-” He stopped when Roach looked at him. No, he’d ask later.

“Nevermind, I- my brain is lagging.” Soap sighed. Roach frowned but nodded. “You’re kind of cute.” He offered, wanting to help Roach relax.

Roach flushed and smiled. He signed thank you, again, before continuing to eat his popsicle. Soap stood so no one could see Roach’s face if they came in, getting a cup of ice cream for himself.

Someone decided to turn the music up and Soap sighed. “As if it wasn’t loud enough.” He muttered.

Roach seemed immediately on edge again. Soap frowned. He remembered a few times Rodolfo had gotten overwhelmed by noise. He’d thrown a fit. Screamed, tore at his own skin, broken something. Meltdowns. Soap knew it had to do with the autism. He worried Roach would have a similar reaction.

“Hey, um… I think I know somewhere it’ll be quieter.” Soap smiled. “Grab another popsicle and your soda and come on.”

Roach quickly nodded and did as told. Soap put his spoon in his mouth and took Roach’s arm, guiding him to the stairs. He gestured for Roach to go up, first. Roach quickly did as told and Soap followed him. He, instinctively, looked for Alex’s room.

He saw the door with his name on it, frowning a little when it was closed. “Hang on, stay here.” Roach nodded and Soap went to the door, listening to it. He made a face at hearing a bed creaking. Moans. Gross, Alex. He shook his head. “Uh…” He went back to Roach, having to yank him out of the way as someone almost ran into them.

He frowned, seeing Alejandro coming up the stairs with some girl. Their eyes met and for a moment, Soap could swear Alejandro looked like he’d been caught doing something. But… why? It was a party. People hooked up at those.

Alejandro quickly looked away and continued on, almost slamming the door to his own room. Soap shook his head. He just grabbed Roach and went to a random one. “We’ll just go in here.”

He closed the door so no one would come in. Roach went to the bed, immediately, sitting on it. Soap did the same, scooting back against the wall. “Hey, for the record, I didn’t bring you in here for sex. Just… so we’re clear.”

Roach seemed very confused.

Soap flushed. “Right, so um… sometimes, at parties, when they take you to a room, it’s for sex. But, I… Rodolfo is autistic, like you. I’ve seen him get overstimulated from loud noises and I didn’t want you to have a meltdown like he does.”

Roach hesitated before nodding.

Soap noticed the scars again. “Hey, you in no way have to answer but… I gotta ask. Did you do the scars on your cheek?” He knew he shouldn’t ask, but he had to.

Roach’s face changed. He looked away before nodding.

Soap frowned. “Oh.” He wasn’t sure what else to say. “Can… I ask why?”

Roach seemed to hesitate then he got out his phone. “ My dad abandoned me when I was a kid because he couldn’t stand to see my face. My mom died in childbirth of me and… I look exactly like her.”

“Do the others know? Farah, Gaz, and Alex I mean.” Soap asked, frowning. Poor kid… He always seemed so happy, too.

Roach shook his head, looking down at his lap. Soap frowned when he noticed his shoulders start to shake. Soap’s heart broke for him. “Come here…” He offered, holding out his arms. He was half surprised to almost be tackled by Roach immediately moving to him.

Soap held him close as he cried into his chest, holding him like Rodolfo had held him a few times. “You can cry, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” He murmured, rubbing his back. “I don’t believe in that whole crying makes you weak bullshit. Sometimes you need to cry.”

Roach didn’t respond, just kept crying. Soap leaned his head back against the wall. He was sure he’d been holding back a lot of tears. He just comforted him as he did so, though. He cried for a while but Soap didn’t mind, though his shirt was kind of wet.

When he finally calmed down, Soap started to talk. “You wanna hear how I blew up the chemistry lab?”

Roach looked up at him, rubbing his eyes. Soap handed him the now half melted popsicle and the soda, opening the popsicle again. Roach ate it, not moving from his spot. Soap didn’t mind. “So, it was last year. I heard that pure potassium explodes in water. I… wanted to see how. So, it was a night when Rodolfo had debate practice and I was bored.

I went to the labs when I knew Dr Laswell would be busy with her wife. It was their date night, I’m pretty sure. But, she had given me a key because I loved to do stuff. I got a giant beaker and filled it with water and then I got the potassium and I put it on some tape, and then I attached the tape to some string so I could lower it down into the water. Problem was… Well, I accidentally misread the measurements? I put 10x the amount of potassium into… 1/10 of the amount of water…” Soap winced, chuckling when he noticed Roach’s eyes go wide. “Yeah, huge skew. So… it blew up the table. And… the three tables around it.”

Roach started to laugh, almost choking on his popsicle. Soap laughed as well. “Yeah, needless to say, that key got… revoked. And I am now banned from the labs, alone. Unless I become leader of the chemistry club, apparently.”

Roach continued to laugh. Soap was glad he appeared better. “I’m glad you think I’m funny.” He ruffled Roach’s hair.

Roach made a face and fixed it.

“I won’t tell them. By the way. About the scars.” Soap winced, kind of awkward. He just wanted to assure him.

Roach seemed to relax and signed thank you again. Soap smiled at him. He got out his phone. “We can watch youtube until the party dies down a little. Then we’ll go. Put whatever you want on, I can watch anything.”

Roach hesitated, seeming unsure.

“Anyway.” Soap reiterated. “Rodolfo puts on dumbass law documentaries all the time.” Soap sighed. “Trust me, I can watch anything.”

Roach relaxed and nodded, laying back against Soap’s chest and turning something on. Soap pet his hair like he was a cat, zoning out.

He had to zone back in, however, when Roach was making a distressed noise and jerking off of him. He was holding his shirt from his chest. Soap frowned, noticing a brown stain spreading. It was also on his flannel. Soap realized he must have spilled his soda on his shirt and now wouldn’t want it to touch him. He must have been like Rudy in that regard, too. “Take your shirt off, I’ll give you mine.”

Roach seemed to hesitate. “I’ll turn around?” Soap offered, already pulling his shirt off.

Roach hesitated again and nodded a little. Soap handed him the shirt and then got up, turning so he was facing away from Roach. “Just… tap me when you’re done.” He hummed. He had no problem being shirtless. He was shirtless for boxing, anyway. And… well, he didn’t get labeled easy for nothing.

Roach touched his back a moment later and Soap turned back around. Roach rubbed his eyes a little. Soap wondered if all that crying had taken a lot out of him. “Hey, I think the party is gonna go on for a while, let’s just go to bed. I don’t mind sharing it if you don’t?”

Roach got out his phone. “ I cried on your chest. I think we’re beyond that.”

Soap laughed. “Yeah, a little.” He climbed onto the bed and scooted against the wall, letting Roach climb in.

Roach fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow but Soap stayed up longer, thinking about the last few days. Ghost and… Rodolfo. He was still upset. Rodolfo really had had no right to judge him.

None at all.

Soap woke up to the sun in his face. Fuck. He frowned, feeling a body under his arm. The night before came back to him and he sighed. Right, Roach. They must have ended up cuddled together.

“Well, Good fucking morning.” Soap winced and shielded his eyes to the sun, shifting to look at Farah, who was glaring down at him.

He looked to her left and right, seeing Gaz and Alex, who both had their arms crossed. Farah, herself, had her hands on her waist, glaring at him. “Jesus christ, Farah, am I not allowed to sleep?”

“I know you did not just-” She went to lunge at him, but was held back by Gaz and Alex. At this point, Roach had started to shift around, and he sat up. Soap groaned and put his head back on the pillow, very tired and confused.

Roach signed to the three, probably a good morning, Soap assumed.

“Soap, please explain what… this is.” Alex gestured.

Soap raised an eyebrow before jerking upright as he realized. “Oh, wait a minute. Now, first off, Alex I know you are not judging me right now. Second off, this is not-” Soap got flustered at the implication. He did not like Roach like that.

“It better fucking not be!” Farah exclaimed. “You better not have fucked my baby brother.”

“Jesus, slow your fucking roll, Farah.” Soap got up, ignoring the baby brother comment. “That’s not what happened.”

“He’s wearing your shirt,” Gaz spoke up.

Poor Roach’s brain seemed to be working at half speed, because he seemed to still be confused about what was going on. “And his own pants!” Soap yanked the blanket down to show.

All three frowned and Soap just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, after you guys ditched him, I found him. He looked scared out of his mind, so I took him to the kitchen where it wasn’t so loud. However, some asshole turned up the music. So… I brought him up here. I meant to go to Alex's room, but,” he turned to Alex, pointing and jabbing his finger at Alex’s chest, glaring, “you were busy. ”

Gaz and Farah immediately turned to look at Alex, who’s eyes went wide. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t go to my room, I slept on the couch.”

Soap sighed. “Look, someone was in your room and they were being… loud.” He snorted. “So, I just yanked him into a random room. We watched youtube on my phone and then he spilled his soda on his shirt, so I gave him mine. Look.” Soap got Roach’s shirt off the floor. “See??” He decided not to mention the crying.

Farah snatched the shirt from him, looking at the soda stain on it. She turned to Roach. “Is this true??”

Roach quickly nodded, his face now deep red. Thankfully, his face mask had gotten put back in the night. He signed for a few moments and Soap crossed his arms as the other three finally relaxed.

“Okay, so why did you guys share a bed??” Gaz asked, frowning.

“Because I’m comfortable enough to share a bed with anyone.” Soap shrugged. “And, I didn’t want to sleep on the floor. And I wasn’t gonna make the kid sleep on the floor. He was clearly freaked out last night. Which, first off, you’re lucky I got to him. And not someone else. Especially since you and Farah ditched him.”

Farah frowned. “We didn’t mean to. We were gonna be right back.”

“You weren’t.” Soap shook his head. “Anyway, just… he can keep the shirt for today.” He turned to Roach, ruffling his hair. “I return you to your keepers. Text me if you need anything. Anything. ”

Roach nodded and gave him a thumbs up, seeming to smile under his mask. Soap pat his head and then left before the other three could say anything else, shaking his head. Damn. He was glad they were protective, but ask questions first.

Soap frowned as he was suddenly pushed into a wall by Rodolfo. “What the fuck-”

“That’s it, I’ve had it! You won’t even let me apologize!” Rodolfo glared at him.

Soap snorted and crossed his arms. He had doubted Rodolfo even was. “Will you?”

“I was gonna try, but you’re being petty as fuck!”

Soap glared at Rodolfo. “I know.” He had been being petty on purpose. “That’s why we’re friends.” Rodolfo was ten times more petty than Soap and he knew it.

Rodolfo sighed and then seemed to relax. “You’re right. We’re best friends. Look, I… ran into Alejandro at Lazy Ann’s. He… figured out you like Ghost.”

Soap’s heart stopped. Fuck! “You told him?!”

“No!!” Rodolfo quickly said. “He figured it out! Anyway, just- he told me Ghost is a good guy. Said that I shouldn’t worry and that if Ghost hurt you, Alejandro would deal with him, himself.”

Soap frowned a little. Weird. Alejandro was defending Ghost? But, he was glad. Rodolfo wouldn’t dislike him. Wait, why was Rodolfo suddenly okay with Alejandro? “You trust Alejandro?” He frowned.

“Alejandro and I had a conversation about other things. Either he’s a fantastic actor, which I wouldn’t be surprised, or… there’s been a misunderstanding. Either way, Ghost hates Alejandro. Alejandro has no reason to lie in his defense. So… I have decided to believe him.”

Soap frowned more. He wondered what they had talked about that had so drastically changed Rodolfo’s opinion. But… he still didn’t forgive Rodolfo. Rodolfo had had no right to lecture him. “Why should I forgive you? You don’t trust me enough to make my own decisions…” He went around Rodolfo, wanting to leave.

“No!” Rodolfo followed him. “No, I trust you, I promise, Soap! Just… I’ve been there to comfort you when guys use you and dump you. I was there when you broke up with that asshole. I don’t want you to get hurt again. You’re my best friend… I want you to be happy. And… sometimes I worry you chase guys that will hurt you.”

Soap winced at the reminder of his ex boyfriend. That had been a mess. “I don’t mean to…” He mumbled. He didn’t want to be hurt. “I just… I get this urge to fix them. To help them.” It was like a fly in the back of his brain. Nagging.

“I know, it makes you a good person. I shouldn’t have been so harsh. Please forgive me…” Rodolfo was using his begging tone.

Soap stayed facing away from him, crossing his arms. He wasn’t sure…

“I… I have something about Ghost if you do…”

Damnit, Soap couldn’t resist that! “Okay, fine, I forgive you!” He quickly turned around. “What is it??”

“Come back to our dorm?” Rodolfo laughed, already going past him in that direction.

Soap quickly followed him back.

When there, Soap followed him to the window seat. “Spill! Right now!” He knew it had to be good if Rodolfo was willing to use it as a bargaining chip for redemption.

“Okay, okay!” Rodolfo laughed, almost giggled. “Alejandro told me that when they were in high school… They were in a band. They both sang and I think Ghost played guitar. It was a rock band.”

Soap’s eyes went wide. Ghost had been in a band… A rock band. And he’d played Guitar… and sang. He felt himself grinning so wide his face hurt as he imagined Ghost on a stage, singing and playing. It was a wonderful image. “You’re lying. Don’t play with me!”

“I’m not!” Rodolfo took Soap’s hands. “Alejandro said he has pictures that he’s gonna give me at our session tomorrow.”

Soap found himself pulling away and standing, feeling almost entranced. “That’s fantastic!” He grinned. He had been right! “So he can sing! I knew from his voice that he had been able to sing and I- he’s even more perfect! And guitar, too! You said rock music, right??” He turned back around to look at Rodolfo, who was laughing softly.

“I said a rock band. Alejandro didn’t say the name of the band but… apparently they have stuff on youtube and soundcloud, still.”

Soap knew, immediately, he had to hear it. “Oh please get the name, Rodolfo! Please!” He put his hands together, begging. “I’ll do anything, please!”

Rodolfo’s got a mischievous grin on his face and Soap almost immediately regretted his statement. But he didn’t take it back. He’d do anything. “Anything? Well, if that’s the case… Laswell reached out to me with a request from her wife.”

Soap winced, immediately catching on. “Oh no… Chemistry Club??” He groaned. “I’m banned from the labs. Why would I do chemistry club?”

“You said anything.” Rodolfo reminded.

Soap glared at him, half tempted to say no.

“In that case, I guess I don’t have to ask Ale-”

Soap immediately whined. “Oh fuck off, I’ll do it.” He fell back on his bed, crossing his arms. “But I want the name first!”

“I’ll get it, Soap. I promise.”

Hey, want to get added to a tag list for this ship or AU? Reply to this with "add me to the tag list for [ship/au]" and I will tag you in everything I post for whichever you choose. If you want to be added to a different tag list, send me an ask or dm

@alegrvs @mshoujodoll

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membermentmania · 1 month

Text

August 9th, 12:19-3:01am

“Warehouse. What’re we drinking?”

“Steel Reserves.”

“Dude, seriously?” Kyle responded with a halfhearted glare.

“The alloy series!” Stan defended as if his very life depended on it.

Kyle felt a smile pull at his lips. “I’ll allow it.”

“I’m not cruel,” Stan said with feigned offense.

“What flavor?”

“Blue razz.”

“Okay. You’re not cruel.”

He gave Kyle a halfhearted shove. “Why was that what answered that?!”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Because if you tried to give me watermelon, I might very well have flown away,” he teased.

“Alright, dramatic.”

“Blue razz is, like, the only option if we’re gonna drink those.”

“You’re just picky.”

“Okay, Alcoholic Andy,” Kyle said playfully.

Stan let out a shocked laugh before his jaw dropped slightly. “You get that shit from Tammy?”

Kyle laughed. “Her calling Wendy ‘Wet-blanket Wendy’ doesn’t get old, dude.”

Stan sputtered a laugh. “Have you heard what Wendy calls her?”

“No?”

“TBI Tammy.”

Kyle barked out a laugh. “No fucking way!”

“Yes, dude! I heard her mutter it once in passing and it took everything in me not to lose it!”

“That’s so mean!”

“I think that’s just, like, their thing,” he said with a small smile. Kyle raised a brow. “I have a theory.”

“Indulge me with your gossip, theory boy,” Kyle responded.

“I think they like each other.”

Kyle paused, thinking about it. He remembered the one night he never wanted to think about again. Tammy would not let him pull her out. Wendy nearly fell apart. “You might be onto something.”

“Totally onto something.”

“How do you feel about that?” he asked evenly.

“Huh?”

“Your ex girlfriend moving on?” He responded, confusion creeping in.

Stan laughed. “I’m happy for them, honestly. Y’know. Shit sucks right now and just being able to have someone to connect with and mean it… They both deserve that.”

Kyle both understood that and craved it like he’d never craved anything before. “We all deserve that,” he said thoughtfully.

Stan let out a quiet hum. “We do.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as Kyle ruminated on everything bouncing around in his head. He was surprised that he was actually managing better than the majority. Whenever he really thought about it, logically with the way his emotions come on, he should’ve been the first one to fall into the corruption hell pit they’d all been trying to claw their way out of.

“Ky?”

Kyle snapped his head up to look at Stan. “Hm?”

Stan laughed quietly. “We’re here.”

“Shit,” he muttered. “Sorry,” he offered awkwardly.

“You’re fine. You okay?”

Kyle felt like he was going to melt into nothing whenever Stan looked at him like that. The gentle concern that made Kyle feel like, for just a moment, he was the most important thing on the planet. “I’m fine.” He tried for a smile. “Ready?”

“Born ready.”

“Course you were, loser.”

Kyle wrapped his arms around Stan and shot them onto the roof. “What the fuck?!”

“What?”

“You didn’t even transform!”

“Cool trick I figured out, actually.”

Stan looked at him with genuine bewilderment. “Explain?!”

“Pass me my knock off four loko and I’ll talk,” Kyle said with an edge of cockiness.

Stan rolled his eyes. “You’re so annoying.”

“Yes, we know that.”

He laughed, passing over the dreadful can. Kyle cracked it open and took a sip before taking a seat. “Kay, so,” he waved his hand that held his drink for punctuation. Stan nodded. “Due to a series of unforeseen events, I had a bit of an emergency. Had to use my magic for something. But I wasn’t transformed. Kinda a do or die moment.” Stan’s eyes widened. “Lower stakes but, y’know,” he quickly added on.

“Okay…”

“But anyways. My magic worked. However.”

“There’s always a fucking however,” Stan groaned.

Kyle laughed. “We use more magic when we’re not transformed. Like, our marks dull faster. But if it’s like a one and done type of thing, it uses less magic than it does for us to transform and do it.”

Stan’s nose scrunch. “Did you test this?”

“I may have run into a few spares so I had to facilities to figure out the mechanics of this.”

“Dude! Everything is fucked right now!” Stan scolded.

Kyle partially raised his hands up in surrender. “We need all the information we can get. That could save us.”

“Why haven’t you told anyone yet then?”

“Because I fully figured it out today, asshat. Or at least, I think I have it fully figured out.”

“Oh.” He laughed. “Shit, man. Sorry.”

“Nah. If the roles were reversed I’d probably burst a blood vessel before you got an explanation out,” he joked.

“Becoming self aware, are we?” Stan teased.

“I’ve been self aware, unfortunately.”

Stan laughed. “Been getting there,” he muttered as he took a sip of his drink.

“Stop doing that,” Kyle responded dramatically. “It’s exhausting.”

Stan breathed out a laugh. “Drink.”

“What?”

“Complaining means you gotta drink.”

“We’re still on that?” Kyle responded with a laugh.

“Them’s the rules.”

Kyle rolled his eyes but took a sip of the way too sweet, but also way too bitter concoction. His nose twitched slightly. “These still suck.” Stan gave him a look. He groaned and took another sip. “They’re gross,” he drawled. Stan continued to silently grin at him like an idiot. “Oh my god, are you kidding me?” he asked as giggles started to bubble out.

“I’m not the one being a Negative Nancy.”

He shook his head, trying to cover up his laughs. “You’re fucking ridiculous.”

Stan took a long sip, obviously trying to keep pace. “I know.”

They fell into quiet as they looked up at the sky. The breeze was gentle. They were above the flickering street lights. The only light they really had was the full moon softly illuminating the rooftop. This was nice. Kyle didn’t realize how much he missed simple nights like this. They hadn’t had a do nothing but drink shitty tall boys night in a while. They’d done this exactly once since Tweek came into the picture.

But things were fucked up at the moment. Kyle couldn’t help but acknowledge the bit of worry ebbing at him.

“And again, if anyone has any information on Heidi Turner, please come to the front office,” the crackly speaker blared.

Bebe stared at her desk blankly for a moment. It was like she couldn’t understand the words coming out of the speaker. Her teacher started to speak and she slid out of her chair. The scrape it made against the board sounded like nails on a chalkboard, effectively silencing the entire room and directing all attention to her. “Can I be excused, please?” she blurted out. It came out frantic and uneven. She didn’t wait for a response as she stormed out of the room. She wiped at her eyes as she tried to call Heidi. Her phone went straight to voicemail.

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freetheshit-outofyou · 3 years

Text

My son and I were on the road most the day and did not know about the verdict until about an hour ago. But while we were driving I told my son that if Mr. Rittenhouse was found not guilty that the next evolution of this would be to pull the "White Privilege" card and play that to the sheeple, and here it is. Miss Stephanie Willis, if there is white privilege and you seem to think there is, there is also black privilege and you have put it on full display. That privilege is to be openly racist and not have the masses call you on it. I'll get called a racist for this post and I don't care, people like you have sucked the meaning out of actually racist, hate based crimes by using a wide brush to paint everything you don't like as racist. You are the very reason the word racist has been water down to mean almost noting, great job counselor. Miss Willis, there were no Black, Hispanic, Asian or any other Human divisions on trial here. The 3 attackers were white, Mr. Rittenhouse is white so just how does your racist rant play into this. Your own statement: "I dare say Kyle Rittenhouse was cloaked with a privilege you cannot find in any legal precedent – The Rittenhouse Privilege. Throughout the trial there were instances in which it was quite apparent that the scales of justice tipped in favor of Kyle Rittenhouse.

Let’s start with the jury makeup. After the jury process, 18 individuals were selected to listen to the trial. Of these 18 individuals, 12 were selected at random by the defendant, Kyle Rittenhouse, to deliberate. These individuals consisted of seven women and five men – only one was a person of color.

The next thing to consider is the venue. The case was tried in Kenosha, which according to Census data is over 75% White. In the past, Kenosha country voted Democratic but went for Donald Trump in the 2016 election. It is also particularly important to consider the fact that Wisconsin is a gun friendly state. But we must also ask ourselves Gun Friendly toward whom?" You call out "instances" of white privilege through out the trial in favor of Mr. Rittenhouse, without following your accusations with substance. As a lawyer you know if you make an accusation it NEEDS to be based on factual example. If Mr. Rittenhouse did indeed have the scales of justice tipped in his favor because he's white, what about his white accusers? Did they loose their privilege card at some point? You point out the jury make-up, the jury THAT WAS FREAKING DRAWN AT RANDOM FROM A BINGO DRUM, there was no color code on the damn tags to let him know who was white or black. So for you to imply that the jury should have been more black is horse shit and you damned well know it attorney. It was none the less a jury of his peers, and his peers, not a left slanted activist lawyer that decided his fate. You complained about the location the trial was held but there is a long standing practice of holding trials where the "crime is accused to have happened", you know that. It has been legal president for a hundred years. It is actually rare for a trial to be moved out of it's jurisdiction, but you know that also. Again a jury of his peers, in the location of the event that the trail is said to have happened, basic law. The problem is the left needed this kid to burn, they hung so much racist propaganda on to this, so much anti-gun rhetoric, deep pro-criminal agenda onto those who clearly attacked Mr. Rittenhouse they needed this win. Without a win their house of cards and false accusations would fall apart and let the world see further behind their curtain of lies. And here we are looking at the wreckage of their lies. I am pleased Mr. Rittenhouse was found not guilty, I enjoy when a free Citizen is found to have used his (R)ights correctly and with in the confines of the Constitution. I like that he will be free, as free as the left will let him be, but I love that the Constitution won today.

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stephspurs · 3 years

Text

A Family Affair | Euro 2020 Football Fanfiction

Hi besties - here is part 6! We are officially halfway through this fic! Part 6 sees friendships blossom, situationships struggle, and cheeky intercontinental facetime chats! I hope you all are enjoying it as much as i am! I love hearing from you after you've read it! Love always, Steph xx

Part 6 | parte sesta

warnings; a couple of tugs on the heartstrings (in both the best and worst ways)

word count; 2301

writing tools; third person until dashed line, first person thereafter.

next update; Friday 06/08 5pm AEST. Updates are three times/week (Monday, Wednesday & Friday)!

Tags (as requested by users); @footballffbarbiex @obsesseds-world @abysshaven

link to fic masterlist here

Amelia had been back in Turin for a week or so, settling back into her city apartment had been more difficult than she anticipated as she was now alone for the first time in more than 2.5 months. It wasn’t very often, but sometimes she did miss the companionship of having a boyfriend. She missed someone to have breakfast with, to watch movies under the covers, to bring to official events. She still did all of these things, with a date, that was a friend, that sometimes maybe crept beyond the friendship zone and into the we shouldn’t be doing this but it feels so good zone.

Fede was someone that hung around Amelia like a fly to sugar. She enjoyed the attention most of the time. She appreciated his friendship, wisdom, talent and intellect. He could hold a conversation, talk to her about the arts, sell her the dream. She even didn’t mind it when they did cross that line a few times. Long afternoons and even longer nights spent wrapped up together in his bed sheets, her bathtub, his kitchen, her lounge room...you get the point. It was almost as though the two were in a committed relationship - committed being the operable word.

Fede wanted Amelia all to himself, and she was just that - available to him and for him whenever he wished, which was often. That’s what confused Amelia most, he didn’t want to label their situationship. He was happy to be ‘friends’ outside the four walls of their respective homes, but lovers when the curtains were drawn. She would maybe understand if he was elusive, always going out and on his phone but he wasn’t. He spent all of his time with her, there wouldn't have been enough hours left in the day if he separated those he spent with her from those he spent alone.

The Juventus players noticed this behaviour early on, seeing a noticeable difference in the way their number 33 paid attention to their tactical sessions. How he was turning up to the training centre early, with an extra piccolo for the english member of their coaching staff. Federico claimed he was helping Amelia brush up on her Italian, but having an Italian-born mother who insisted on sharing her culture with her kids, meant she was pretty much fluent in the language before arriving in Turin. His teammates weren’t stupid and neither was she.

This was the one area of her life where Amelia felt comfortable to go with the flow, she didn’t need to prepare or overthink anything to do with the charming Italian boy from Firenze. She let him take it at his own pace, she was in no need to rush. She let him take her home to meet his Nonna, she spent quality alone time with his dogs when he’s running late from training, and that’s a rare occasion being that it’s normally her there after him and he hangs back to drive them both home.

Everything was progressing at his pace, and the moment Amelia just asks for some clarification on the situation, he would get visibly stressed. He wanted to have his cake and eat it too. And for a long time he could, he had Amelia's attention and affection at Juve, he even had it during their european campaign. At the end of the tournament, when they all broke up for their summer breaks, Fede conveniently waited until their final round in the shower, if you know what i mean, before pulling her into bed and having a heart to heart with her.

Amelia thought that she was finally getting the clarification that she was after, which in a way she did. Fede spoke whimsical words about how she makes him feel wanted and understood, and in turn he told her about the affects he knew he had on her. It was a conversation that would turn Shakespeare to a pile of rose petals. In the end, he told her that he wanted to continue what they had just how they had been doing it. And so, that's exactly how they left it. No labels. Friends outside of the four walls of their apartments. That was all Amelia needed to be able to enjoy her family holiday in Mykonos, guilt free, not missing the man that became the equivalent of her shadow.

The constant company she had in Mykonos compared to what she was experiencing in Turin made her more eager to return to work than she had previously. Of course, there are group chats and facetimes and phone calls throughout the days that kept her occupied, but she was missing the boys and her brother. Her friendship with Kyle was back to its old ways, memes being shared across the european continent, long phone calls to talk about their problems. Kyle knew all about the Fede x Amelia situation, Amelia having given him the sparknotes version over a wine filled zoom session one evening that same week. Their pre-seasons hadn’t gone back yet so they were able to indulge in a bit of vino, guilt free.

She was surprised about the constant contact, or lack thereof, that some of the boys had maintained with her. Ben Chilwell hadn’t once messaged or instagrammed the girl, despite being active in their group chats and liking her holiday pictures on instagram. He even made the rookie error of liking a picture so far down on her instagram, there was no way to explain his need for being there. She messaged him a couple times, assuming he just got busy with whatever he was doing, but there was radio silence on the other end.

A friendship she was surprised had blossomed so well, considering their flirtatious start to life, was with that of Jack Grealish and Tyrone Mings. There had been more facetimes than she could count between herself and the two villa boys. Whether it was Tyrone telling her about a book he had finished that he thought she would enjoy, or Jack asking her how to cook dinner, maybe even them both cooking dinner together - of course she had to have a later dinner to be able to do so, with the time difference and all...and there was no way Jack was going to be having dinner an hour early “athlete’s schedule an all tha ya’know” he would smirk down the camera, brummie accent on full display.

She met Tyrone through Jack, he facetimed the girl for outfit advice one night before going out with the tall defender and the pair hit it off. Both giving Jack the fashion advice he needed but didn’t want to hear (a Gucci two piece tracksuit set is never the answer). Tyrone immediately noticed a certain attention to detail being applied by his fellow number 10, to the tactics that were being put forward by the girl that was far too good at her job. His training was improving, his set pieces having a certain amount of flare. There was also a lack of attention being paid from Jack to other girls. Instead, much preferring to spend the evening at home watching the same netflix series as Amelia so that he could discuss it with her the next day, or better yet, at the same time.

As pre-season had commenced, Amelia had been applying the same tactics that she developed (and that obviously worked) throughout the European campaign to her Juventus club level. Having faith in the four men that were with her and the Azzurri to ensure that their other teammates were completing them accurately. It appears that her skill was widely recognised, having a few missed calls and voice messages left from English telephone numbers that she was yet to listen to. In all seriousness, she was nervous to listen to them. Worried that they would make her an offer she couldn’t refuse. A wise person once told her that you shouldn’t make any decisions whilst you're at the top of your happy, or the bottom of your sad. You should make important decisions when your life is at its constant. It's very easy to accept things that you wouldn’t normally when you're at the peak of your mood, just as easy as it is to forget the bigger picture when you're down. Who knew Kyle Walker was so wise.

“So, i’ve got a bit of a dilemma” She spoke down to her facetime camera one evening in early August.

“Hit me with it darlin’” Jack spoke back to her, getting his dinner utensils out so that they could cook together again. He didn’t like not being prepared for her tutorial, he got stressed if she added pepper and his pepper was still in his pantry. Each afternoon, when it was agreed upon what they would be cooking together that evening, she sent him a list of what he would need out on his bench to complete the meal.

“I’ve missed a few calls from English teleco numbers this last week or so”

“Ok? Do you think they’re scams? You’re beautiful Amelia but I don't think it's actually an Egyptian prince on the other end that wants to offer you 250k in exchange for your paypal info…”

“Ha ha very funny - that was one time ok and he wasn’t a Prince, he was claiming to be an investment banker and wanted to help me start up my portfolio-ANYWAY JACK I WAS 16! God just forget I even told you that story” Amelia barked down facetime, now pausing what she was doing to point at the British boy with her wooden spoon, the same way her mother would to her when she was being cheeky. All she was met with was boisterous laughter.

“Nah i’m only joking, continue with your story.”

“I began to listen to the start of one and it was a talent acquisition manager for one of the premier league clubs, offering me a job” Amelia said as she continued to stir her pasta. Tonight they were making penne arrabiata. She received no reply from the boy. Looking down to her camera to check the call was still active, she saw him looking at the camera with a serious expression.

“Are you going to tell me what the problem is before I start to get excited that you’re going to be living within driving distance from me? Oh god i’ve just realised - was it from Villa? You could be even closer than I imagined” Jack started to ramble, getting over excited with the prospect of being so close to the girl that he could physically hang out with her, instead of virtually.

“Jack calm down, I didn't listen long enough to find out what club he was from. I have 5 more just like it waiting in my inbox.”

“What's the problem then Mils?” Jack could see the girl had apprehension written all over her face.

“I’m just nervous that they're going to tell me everything I've always wanted to hear. That they’re going to make me an offer I can't refuse and I have to leave my life here.” Their pasta was ready to be dished up now, so the girl poured herself a glass of red wine and got herself comfy on her couch.

“Come on, play the messages and i’ll listen to them with you, be your voice of reason,” Jack offered the girl.

“I should probably call Tyrone, you’re just going to reject every club that isn’t Villa.” she laughed before switching facetime to her laptop, moving to the floor of her lounge room and resting her elbows on her coffee table. With the phone near the screen of her mac, she began to play the messages.

_____________________________________________________________

“Hi Amelia, Shaun here from Newcastle United-” “As if you’d waste your talents at Newcastle”

“Jack! That's horrible! At least i know i already look good in the black and white striped kit”

“No, not happening. Next”

“Amelia, Hope you don’t mind but I got your number off of one of my players who knows you. Long story short, we have a position here are Arsenal” “Bloody Bukayo, needs to keep his silky mitts off ya”

“Jack, give it a rest or i’m calling Tyrone”

“Amelia White, Greg here from Aston Villa Football Club” “Get in Greggles!! That's it, stop listening, you’re taking this one”

“I need to listen to them all Jack”

“So, you’ll consider Villa?”

“I’ll consider all of them”

“You’d really go to Arsenal? Aren’t you a Spurs supporter? Shocking stuff”

“Ok maybe not all of them”

“Ciao Amelia, Mario here from Chelsea Football Club - I’ve heard nothing but good things about you. We could really use you here at Chelsea next season. Give me a call when you get a spare moment to discuss the opportunity”

“What? Nothing to say to this one, Jack?”

“Nah, sounds ok. You deserve to showcase your skills at a big club like Chelsea. And besides, you’ll have Jorginho there to look after you. Come on, next one”

“It’s the last one actually”

“Amelia, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity here at Manchester City for someone with your skill set. It would be a massive advantage to have your tactical insight to the game coupled alongside the fantastic leadership we’ve already got at the club”. “Holy shit, Pep called you himself? Kyle Walker really knows how to pull strings when he wants something”

“I am overwhelmed”

“Hey, you don’t need to make any decisions right now. Sleep on it, talk it over with your family. Speak to Jorgi, I know you’re close with him. And just let me know when you decide to pick Villa so i can start house huntin’ for ya”

“Night Jack, speak soon”

“Sleep tight darlin’, speak to ya tomorrow”

Part 7. | settima parte

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itsadamcole · 4 years

Text

bet pt. 2

fem!reader x adam cole

Reader and Adam come face to face after six months apart at Survivor Series ... “please, forgive me”

word count: 3.4k+

warnings: smut, angst, a lil bit fluffy

— hey hey, here’s part 2 of the short adam cole series .... on a side note, i’ve really been in the holiday spirit so i’ve started writing some christmas / fluffmas imagines ... the first two are scheduled to be posted december 1st and 2nd —

masterlist || part 1 || request an imagine here

~ 18+ content below - read at your own risk ~

Survivor Series. The day you've been dreading for six months since you left Adam.

Six months ago, you walked out on the best and the worst thing that's ever happened to you. Six months ago, you lost a piece of yourself and turned to sleeping with your best friend, Tyler Breeze, just to fill that void.

But it's not filled. It'll never be filled. So you stopped about a month ago, and Tyler now has a girlfriend so nothing's weird between you two.

You've never gone back to Adam. It's taken everything in you to stay away from him. You've barely spoken to him in six months, but since he's NXT Champion and you're Raw Women's Champion, you both have matches at Survivor Series.

You sit in your dressing room, scared to leave. Scared to run into Adam or one of the Undisputed Era boys. It's your worst nightmare.

"Y/N! You're on in five minutes!" someone calls through your door.

Sighing, you get up and grab your title, throwing it over your shoulder. With your anxiety rising, you leave the room.

You don't know what you'll do if you see Adam. It's been so long and he's probably moved on. You haven't, but you've tried.

Once backstage, you stretch out. Your opponents, Smackdown Women's Champion Sasha Banks and NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai, into the small room.

"Hey, girlie," Sasha says. "You have an audience in catering."

You sigh and say, "If it's Adam then I don't care."

Sasha says, "Y/N, come on. I've told you before. That man is head over heels for you. Maybe the beginning was a lie or a bet or whatever it was but he truly loved you. I saw it. We all did."

Your music hits and you say, "I can't talk about this right now, Sasha. I have a match to focus on."

You make your entrance, forcing a smile onto your face as you step into the ring.

****

Adam's POV

She looks beautiful in her dark red gear. It's my favorite ring gear that she owns. It sparkles but is dark at the same time. Definitely her two personalities mixing together.

I miss her like hell. I haven't been able to move on from her. It's been six months and I'm still infatuated with her. I love her. I've loved her for so long. It pains me to see her. Rumor has it that she's seeing her friend, Tyler.

I stand in catering to watch her as the match begins. My match is next and I know they'll call me back any minute and I'll come face-to-face with her when she walks through those curtains.

She's distracted by something. Her footing is off and she's not selling moves like she usually does. Maybe Sasha told her she saw me in catering. I told her I was going to watch Y/N here on the TV.

"Yo, Cole," Kyle says, clapping me on the back. "Your match with Drew and Roman is next. Let's head backstage."

I say, "Yeah, okay." I leave the TV and walk backstage with Kyle, Roddy, and Bobby.

We get backstage and I see there is a TV. I watch it.

Roderick says, "Talk to her after your match. I know that you've been wanting to talk to her."

I sigh and say, "She doesn't want to talk to me. She doesn't even want to see me, Roddy. There's no point."

Bobby says, "You should still try instead of sulking."

I look over at Bobby and say, "She left me, Bobby. If she wanted to talk to me then she would have already." I'm starting to get heated.

Kyle says, "Adam, bro, calm down."

"You want me to calm down? Seriously?" I say, my voice rising. "You three are the reason I'm in this mess. You three came up with the bet and I accepted it because I was drunk and secretly was crushing on Y/N. I never should have accepted it because I fell in love with her and now she's fucking gone! I can't live without her, and the only reason I'm still in this damn company is because of the title around my waist. There's nothing else for me here because she's gone!"

What I didn't know was that Y/N's match ended and she came through the curtains in the backstage area with Sasha and Io. The guys were all looking behind me and that's when I realized she was standing right behind me, listening to every word.

****

Your POV

As you walk backstage, you can hear someone shouting.

"... I was drunk and secretly was crushing on Y/N. I never should have accepted it because I fell in love with her and now she's fucking gone! I can't live without her, and the only reason I'm still in this damn company is because of the title around my waist. There's nothing else for me here because she's gone!"

The voice is Adam's. He's shouting at the guys. You've never once heard him raise his voice at anyone, not unless it was important or serious.

You stand backstage with Sasha when Adam turns around and he sees you. His title is secured around his waist and he's wearing his black and gold gear with his Undisputed Era t-shirt.

There's nothing else for me here because she's gone. Those words stuck with you. If it wasn't for that title around his waist, he probably would have left WWE and gone to work with Ring of Honor again or maybe even AEW.

Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns come backstage at this moment. The tension between everyone in the room is thick. Drew and Roman realize this and ask to make their entrances first.

Right before Adam makes his entrance, you rush out of the backstage room. Sasha right on your heels.

Tears have started running down your cheeks. You get to your locker room and throw your title on the couch.

Your win tonight means nothing anymore. It doesn't matter that you won. Your happiness was swept away when you heard Adam ranting to the guys about you. Six months later and he's still trying to defend his lies.

He'd have left WWE if it wasn't for that title he's managed to hold for two and a half years. It's the only reason he's still in WWE.

You start to throw things around the locker room. You're upset, you're angry, and most of all, you're frustrated. Even after finding out about the bet and after he lied to get you to sleep with him, you still love him. Six months later you still love him. After everything, you'd go back to him.

Sasha grabs your wrists and says, "Y/N. Y/N, stop it. Please. Before you hurt yourself or break something super expensive."

You look at your best friend and cry, "Why do I still love him even after he lied to me? Why would I drop everything and go back to him if he asked me to? Why would I take him back?"

"Because deep down you know that he never lied to you," Sasha says. "You know that he actually loves you and it wasn't for some stupid bet he made with his friends. Love is crazy and makes us do crazy things."

You sniff and wipe away your tears. "Can we get out of here? I don't want to be here when his match is done because I know he'll want to come looking for me," you ask.

Sasha nods and says, "Of course. Get changed and we'll head back to the hotel."

You nod and change out of your ring gear and into your street clothes. You let Sasha borrow some extra clothes you had so the two of you can leave as soon as you're changed.

****

Back in the safety of your hotel room, you order room service and watch Grey's Anatomy on Netflix as you lay in bed.

There's a knock on your door at around midnight. You think it's Sasha coming to return the clothes she borrowed earlier so you answer the door.

It's not Sasha at your door. It's Adam Cole.

"What?" you ask. "It's late."

Adam says, "I looked for you after my match. I wanted to talk about what you heard."

You say, "I don't blame you for wanting to leave WWE since I left. I'd want to do the same thing if I was you."

He says, "I tried to leave the company. A few weeks after you left, I went to Regal and Triple H to get them to let me go. I was ready to drop my title just to leave the company but they convinced me to stay."

You look at Adam as he talks. This is going to be a long conversation so once he's done talking, you say, "Come inside, Adam. We can keep talking inside." You move to the side and he walks inside.

Closing the door, Adam says, "I get why you left. I lied to you a few times at the start but within two weeks, I called off the bet."

"Adam," you say.

He shakes his head and he says, "Let me explain."

You sit on the bed and look at him. "So explain," you say.

Adam walks and stands in front of you. He says, "The night of the bet, the four of us got drunk. We drank a lot and we started talking about relationships. I mentioned to them that I had a little thing for you and that's when Bobby came up with the bet. He said that there was no way that I'd be able to get you into bed. Kyle and Roddy joined his side. I accepted the bet because I was drunk and liked you for some time. I was the only single guy in the Undisputed Era. But, like the dumbass I am, I took it a step further and started a relationship. Two weeks after the relationship started, I completely called off the bet because you meant so much more to me than a stupid bet."

You say, "Being drunk doesn't excuse you from accepting it. It won't work on me."

He says, "I'm not done yet. After the bet ended, I told myself that I'd never tell you about it because of this happening with us. You getting mad and leaving. I'd never choose my career over you because I know in the long run, you'd always be there for me. Wrestling is something I'll do until I'm fifty or so but there's nothing for me after that until I met you. Then I messed everything up. You're even seeing someone else right now so I don't expect you to come back to me."

You sit and listen to every word. Once he's done talking, you say something. "I'm not seeing anyone right now. I've been single for the past six months, But if I asked you to retire right now, you'd do it?" you ask, testing him.

Adam nods and says, "Yes, I would. You mean more to me than a bet or than wrestling. I love you, even after all this time. Please, forgive me."

You sigh, "I have forgiven you, Adam. For the most part. I just can't forget what happened and what you said to me that day. You lied to me just to get me in bed. You lied to start a relationship with me. All you had to do was say, 'hey, Y/N. I like you and I'd like to take you out on a date' because I would have said yes. I liked you for so long, Adam. All you had to do ask me out."

He looks down at you and he says, "You don't have to forget because we can both grow from what happened. I'm a dumbass, I know. I was just nervous and in a way, the bet made me talk to you. I just want to make it up to you, Y/N. Let me make it up to you. Let me take you on that date. A real first date."

You look up at Adam and say, "I don't know. I don't fully trust you, Adam."

Adam tucks a piece of loose hair behind your ear and he says, "I can make it up to you, Y/N. Let me at least try. I've learned from this and I want to show you that I've learned from this."

Your heart pounds in your chest as he touches you for the first time in six months. Without knowing it, you lean into his touch and close your eyes.

His hands rest on your cheeks for a second before he pulls you up so you're standing in front of him. You look up at Adam. "I'll think about it," you say, finally reply to what he said.

You feel Adam's hands leave your cheeks and slide to your waist. He pulls you closer to him. You're eye level with his chest before you look up at him with your eyes, meeting his pretty blue orbs.

"Can I start right now?" Adam asks as he starts to lean into you. You grab a fistful of his shirt, not knowing if you should back away or not.

Your lips brush against Adam's and you say, "I still need some time."

His lips move down to your neck and you gasp softly, tilting your head back a bit. Adam mumbles, "I need to make it up to you, Y/N." He starts to kiss your neck gently. Your hands slide into his hair as he picks you up by your thighs. You wrap your legs around his waist.

Sighing as he kisses your neck, you give in and say, "God, make it up to me, Adam. Make it up to me all night if you want to. I need you."

You look down at Adam and he looks up at you, pulling away from your neck. He kisses you hungrily. Your lips move feverishly against his, both of you letting out soft moans into the kiss.

He lays you down on the bed and hovers over you, not breaking the kiss. He grinds his bulge against your clothed core. You moan into the kiss, reaching down and pulling Adam's shirt up over his head. That breaks the kiss momentarily but your lips connect again like magnets right after.

The passionate kiss becomes more intense when Adam slips his tongue into your mouth. His fingers dip into the waistband of your sweatpants, rubbing you slightly over your panties. You moan against his lips.

Adam's hands run up your body, slipping under the shirt you're wearing. He pushes up the shirt until his hands are on your breasts, massaging them. You gasp and moan, pulling back from the kiss. You lift your arms above your head so Adam can pull off your shirt. You never put on a bra when you got changed earlier.

He pushes up your shirt, kissing and sucking on your breasts. Your eyes close and you smile.

"You're so beautiful," Adam mumbles against the sensitive skin on your breasts. "I am so in love with you."

You sigh, "Less talking, Cole. More fucking."

Adam smirks and says, "With pleasure."

Within seconds, both your pants and Adam's pants are off with both your underwear. Adam hovers on top of you between your legs.

His lips are on yours, moving feverishly against yours. Your hands are on Adam's back, holding him close to you.

The tip of Adam's erect member runs through your wet folds, making you moan into the passionate kiss.

"Adam, baby," you mumble against his lips. "If you don't stop teasing me instead of fucking me, I'll walk out the door. I swear to God-" You're interrupted by Adam thrusting hard into you, making you cry out in pain and pleasure. Your fingernails dig into his back.

He has a smirk on his lips and says, "You were saying?"

You stare up at him and move your hips so he's completely inside of you. "You gonna do something or are you just gonna lay there?" you ask.

Adam positions himself above you so he thrusts into you. Slowly but deeply. His hips are already flush against yours as he pushes your legs up so they rest against his arms.

He's kissing your neck as he thrusts his hips into you. Every few seconds, his thrusts get faster and harder. Your fingers slide down his back, definitely leaving scratch marks.

The room is filled with your moans and the sound of skin slapping together. A layer of sweat has appeared on both your bodies. It's a little warm in the room.

Your moans get louder the harder he moves. Your hands eventually make their way into his hair, gripping it a little bit as he moves.

Adam lets out soft groans as he thrusts harder and deeper into you than he ever has. You throw your head back and pant, "God, I love you so much. I love this so much."

He smiles and starts to kiss your neck. His thumb rubs your very sensitive clit, making you almost scream out his name. "Fuck, Adam. Just like that," you cry out.

The bed begins to creak and hit the wall a bit when Adam picks up speed again. Your legs begin to shake and your walls clench around Adam.

Adam realizes how close you are and he says in your ear, "Come for me, baby. I want you to come around me like you always do."

You don't wait anymore. You release around Adam, crying out his name. He pulls out right before he comes, releasing his seed all over your core and stomach. His fingers help you ride out your high.

Adam collapses beside you, grabbing his shirt and wiping you down. You pant and stare up at the ceiling.

You think about the day you left and you close your eyes.

Maybe you overreacted a little bit by leaving. You never heard the whole story, until today. You never let him fully explain.

You let out a sigh and ask, "Do you really love me? Even after six months apart?" Your eyes open and you look over at Adam.

Adam looks over at you and says, "I was ready to love you forever. Of course I love you after six months apart."

"Do you have any other secrets you need to tell me?" you ask.

He shakes his head and says, "I'm a completely open book to you now. No more secrets, I promise."

You lean over and press a lingering kiss to his lips. After a few seconds, you answer the question he asked you six months ago right before you walked out the door.

"Then yes," you say, not pulling back very far from the kiss.

He tilts his head and asks, "Yes, what?"

You smile and say, "I'm answering the question you asked me six months ago before I left. Yes."

Adam thinks for a second before he finally gets it. He smiles wide and puts his hands on your cheeks, pulling you down for another kiss. You giggle against his lips.

He rolls onto you then gets off the bed. He fetches his jeans, pulling something out. "I've carried this with me everyday for six months, hoping that one day you'll accept it," Adam says, coming back to the bed.

In his hand is the same velvet black box that he held out to you six months ago and inside, the same diamond oval engagement ring he presented to you.

You smile as he pulls out the ring, sliding it onto your left ring finger.

Adam lightly kisses you and says, "That's my promise that I will not keep another secret from you, unless it's a secret to surprise you in a good way."

You giggle and look at your ex-boyfriend turned fiancé before you say, "The guys and Sasha will be so confused when I show up with a ring on my finger."

"Let's worry about that tomorrow," Adam says. "I still have a lot to make up for and it might take all night."

And with that, you spend all night having the best make up sex with Adam. You don't fall asleep until the sun has begun to rise.

145 notes · View notes

literaphobe · 4 years

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season 2 of she-ra rated by catradora content

the frozen forest: “aw, cute, you can turn your sword into stuff.” very interesting how adora has to literally train not by fighting any real soldiers in the horde just... catra. light hope scanned her brain and knew she wouldn’t bother to run after anyone else :/ which. is true. call her out!! she fights bots too but she has more or less no issues with them even though she’s no expert with turning her sword into stuff yet, but then catra comes out, and suddenly adora can’t even block a single punch because catra laughed at her :( AND suddenly her sword can’t turn into anything but a cup. why adora? are you thirsty? it’s even funnier because none of this is real, and adora KNOWS that none of this is real, but she’s still Affected when fake catra says her seductive “hey adora” and she decides oh i know! i’ll turn my sword into a d*ldo with holes! oh wait never mind, is that a flute? damn it now she wants to Serenade catra. that’s even gayer than wanting to have sex with her. “did you mean to do that? because if you did it’s a terrible weapon.” “is not! >:(“ adora’s comebacks are like. kindergarten quality shit. i would make fun of catra’s insult too but in her defense that’s not actually catra. so adora tries to hit fake catra with her musical instrument and it doesn’t really work so she tackles fake catra and pins her to the ground. and looks,,, low key aroused as she does it okay adora.... she’s not real please remember that.... ur already a furry please don’t also be a bot fucker “what are you waiting for? you gonna play me a song on that thing?” yes she WAS catra! that’s what i’ve been SAYING don’t be mean to your girlfriend when she’s trying to serenade you :( adora gets angry after this latest act of oppression so she raises her hand, about to hit fake catra, but she stops right before the weapon can make contact, and her face softens. “i knew you couldn’t do it.” fake catra fades and the audience finds out something adora already knew. none of this was real, and even if she had hit fake catra and killed her, real catra would be fine. And Yet,,,,, big fucking sigh bros. haha y’all ever so hung up on a chick that you can’t even kill a fake simulation of her? even though she’s your enemy? lmaoooooo anyway the training simulation ends and adora is so depressed she transforms out of her she-ra form and asks “did you have to make her so mean? :(“ even tho light hope is about to come out and yell gay slurs at her. light hope shows up and is very confused. is catra... not mean? was my catra ooc miss adora? :/ did this catra hit different? too hostile? not like what ur used to? :/ go to hell adora if you made catra into a sim and picked her defining trait it WOULD be MEAN god everyone’s a critic. and then adora is like ok ur right :( catra is mean.... but have you considered making your simulation’s fake catra one that will hold me gently in her arms? have you considered that maybe i don’t want to fight her and that i want to kiss her instead? god damn it light hope you bitch. you fucking homophobe.

light hope is like okay cool. this latest performance was ur worst one btw and adora is like why do you THINK and is like i wanna be the very best :( like no one ever was :( and protecc etheria :( “but catra, she’s just in my head” ;) oh yeah i bet she is adora JFJSJDJSJD “when you grow up with someone, they know how to push your buttons :(” that’s very true adora. but you also grew up with many people such as lonnie, rogelio, and kyle. and you don’t seem to give a shit about them :/ so i guess “grow up with someone” really means “be in love” huh. i love you but do NOT lie to me ever again. after this, we see the real catra :’) she’s back at the horde training kyle, lonnie, and rogelio. “she-ra is too strong to defeat with force alone. but she’s slow and easily manipulated.” yeah maybe for you! maybe she slows down when she fights you because ur pretty and ur voice is sexy! way to flex ur privilege :( not everyone can manipulate she-ra because she’s not in love with all of them ok :( just u :( later on, we’re back at the war meeting in bright moon. bow says “we’re defeating the bots, but more keep coming. while we’re using our resources to hold our borders, the horde hasn’t had to deploy a single soldier.” hey! that’s a perfectly normal statement right! one that does not mention any specific person. there should be no reason for anyone to respond to this by bringing up any individual. guess what adora says. guess what she fucking says. i’m so fucking done oh my god. “typical catra >:(“ did... did bow MENTION catfkakdjsjdjsjs????? i’m fucking WHEEZING. adora. baby. could u. like. chill out? :/ re catra? for like one second? no? okay guess i’ll have to live with it. adora is so hung up over the “hey adora ;)” she heard from fake catra during training that she has to repay the favor when she fights entrapta’s upgraded bots. adora looks into the camera of one of the bots and just. she just KNOWS catra is watching and she’s correct. and she’s like “hey catra ;)” before punching the camera and cutting the live stream. catra’s response isn’t to immediately ditch the horde and go kiss adora (booooooo) but to. try and explode she-ra using one of the other bots. okay. i guess we all cope with arousal in different ways :/ when the bot explodes and adora realizes her attempt at seduction did not work out the way she intended (press f to pay respects), she gets all “>:( catra” which is very cute and iconic of her. and it’s apparently her way of coping with the situation so i’ll just let her be! 9/10

ties that bind: fuck you swift wind. what the FUCK. i can’t believe adora had to go on some stupid quest with the horse all because she would be fiFTy sEVeN pERcenT mOrE eFFeCtivE with him. who gives a shit. catra getting kidnapped and tied up is clearly the superior plot here and adora wasn’t there for it?? which, i know is the whole point, but also, why did they have to put her with the horse. would’ve rather seen adora with literally any of the princesses instead. haha jk. but also, am i? it is important that adora gets over her hatred of swift wind and bonds with him. but also, is it? sigh, let’s get on with the show. bow and glimmer set out to go bring back entrapta. “let’s go get adora!” bow baby. u r so woke. i love that attitude. yes y’all should’ve absolutely brought adora along. no she was not doing anything important. “adora’s training!!!!” glimmer baby i love u but why :( why would u do this :( anyway, bow and glimmer get tricked into thinking the horde is torturing entrapta so they (accidentally) kidnap catra. bow is an absolute sweetheart who just. is sweet to everyone so he tries bonding w catra and is like “come on, i bet even the horde has friends. what about adora? :3 you two grew up together. what was she like as a kid? :3” because adora is bow’s best friend and he wants to know more about her <3 best boy <3 and catra just hisses at him because if she spoke she would probably say. adora was everything to me. adora made me laugh, she played with me, she took care of me, she protected me even when everyone else looked the other way. just seeing her would put a smile on my face. she held my hand. she hugged me. she was my shoulder to cry on. adora was the only good thing in my life at the horde. i have been in love with her my entire life. and now she’s she-ra. anyway. catra decides to annoy glimmer into letting her go, and glimmer gets so frustrated that she says “how did adora take years of this? she didn’t run away from the horde. she ran away from YOU” which. is about the most horrifying thing you could say to catra since she like. really believes that. and adora’s not even there to defend herself :( and say shit like. Well It Helped That I Was In Love With Catra And That Every Moment We Spent Together Was Filled With Laughter And Joy Because No One Else Has Ever Made Me This Happy Even When We Were Stuck Together In The Worst Place On Etheria—stuff like that u know? :/ anyway catra is like :’( —> >:’( “adora’s gonna dump u one day too glimmer!!” + “you and adora are perfect for each other, i’ll give you that. earnest, naive, ridiculously easy to manipulate. it’s adorable!” wow catra. u think…… adora…. is…. adorable? wow…. :’) djdjdjdjdjdj but yeah. she really said my gf is cute! my gf is earnest! and that’s pretty much it on the catradora front. notice how i didn’t say a word about the horse plot. yeah. :) i mean i physically couldn’t because this is a catradora based evaluation post. but ya. u get the point. 7/10

signals: huh! nothing! except when glimmer says “catra was right!” and adora’s face is like... u kno. u know how she gets when catra is suddenly brought up. 2/10 but the whole ghosts thing is cute. adora believing and wholeheartedly being scared of ghosts makes me think... catradora buzzfeed unsolved AU

roll with it: the absolute RIGHTS of this episode. adora planning obsessively because “you’re not taking the biggest variable into account :( catra </3 she’s been behind every horde plan, she led the attack on bright moon, she’s devious, she’s very cute—“ and everyone is like omg adora calm down,,,, okay fine we’ll fantasize about ur gf. so everyone is all: this is my catra headcanon <3 glimmer is like. catra is a sexy femme fatale. bow is like. catra and i would make so many sick fucking puns. and adora is like :( y’all are all headcanoning catra WRONG :( she’s sexy and funny and cute the Way She Is :( why mess with the original recipe? :( except she’s wrong because season 4 and 5 will exist one day. but she is not wrong because season 1-3 catra is also very good. adora u do u. have fun laughing at everyone’s interpretations of ur gf. go ahead and brag about how uve been in love w her ur entire life. adora is like. all ur plans suck. obviously catra would block or duck or jump up really high or look really cute or smile and dazzle u with her charms. how DARE you underestimate my enemy gf. and then everyone devolves into their cool plans again and adora is like CATRA CATRA CATRA >:( so everyone is like ok fine we are going 2 bully her. and we get this epic scene where they do impressions of catra, but it is visualized like: different versions of catra keep flanking adora, and she in that scene is clearly very seriously considering having a fourway with femme fatale catra, prom catra, and punny og catra. but in like uh.... a cool platonic way. anyway, everyone is like. hey adora. we know ur paranoid and obsessed with ur gf. but can we just attack the horde now? could you chill the fuck out? and adora is like. u wanna know the worst that could happen? fine. “i’m the heaviest hitter, so catra will separate me right away. trap me, take my sword, do Something so i’m helpless when she turns on you. she knows Everything about me, EXACTLY what i’ll do, EXACTLY how to take me out. they’ll overwhelm frosta and mermista with bots, they’ll fire on perfuma, and use her to draw bow out into the open, pinning him between the bots and the horde soldiers. glimmer will teleport in to save him, but she won’t have enough magic left to get out, trapping them both. catra will make me watch all of it before she Finishes Me Off.” which..... weirdly kinky, but okay, and also weirdly sweet if u think about it? like catra grew up thinking she was never as good as adora but adora even with her new she-ra powers now is convinced that catra is so good that she can predict and counter and overpower anything adora throws at her, even with her super-powered friends and allies <3 and she...... lets it paralyze her with fear and blames herself for anything that could possibly go wrong which is really sad and not good :( but stuff can be two things! and. we’re kind of trying to be gay here so let’s continue on the gay train <3 the princess alliance realizes that adora has major issues and give her love and support so adora is like oh nice!!! time to run in without a plan and stay true to my brute strength colors <3 and she’s so excited to see her gf..... only to find out, her gf isn’t there?????? the fuck???? she spent hours planning their fight date only to get stood the fuck up??????? she’s so distraught over it as she fights scorpia she goes through the five stages of grief. she’s like... catra’s really not here?? and she left you in charge???? and babe i get that ur jealous and upset that ur gf didn’t show up but hey :( don’t hate crime scorpia like that :( 8/10

white out: adora is upset that she hasn’t seen her enemy gf in a while so when the squad finds out that the horde is doing stuff in the north(?) adora decides that they must immediately go there in case the horde (catra) is doing stuff that she must stop the horde (catra) from doing immediately. and it works! they bump into the super pal trio! but before that, we see entrapta show catra the red disk that makes she-ra go RAGE and adora go floop. it’s basically a Make Adora Delirious/Drunk Crystal <3 catra gets an evil hate boner when she hears that the disk “takes away she-ra’s powers” and is like damn entrapta ;) why didn’t you tell me about that sooner ;) later on, the best friend squad bumps into the super pal trio! adora sees catra and is like. hey remember last episode? what the fuck was that babe. step the FUCK up. run away with me? <3 but here’s a more literal break down of what really happened: catra is threatening entrapta as she... tends to do when she’s interrupted by adora who says “catra! >:(“ completely ignoring that there are other people there who she should also greet. i mean it’s just manners u know? “it’s been a while.” is not an excuse. u haven’t seen entrapta either for an even longer time. and u had nothing to say to her? i get that ur gay and in love but have some respect okay :( catra is happy and decides it’s time to seduce her. we get yet another “heyyy adora ;)” for the books. adora starts to ignore everyone present again and banters pettily with catra about how catra lost the battle of bright moon, because you know :( she hasn’t seen her gf in a while :( and she didn’t get to rub things like that in her face :( and catra is like haha lmaooooo loserrrrr and it really pisses adora off so she’s like okay down to business then! go away >:( and catra’s like oh u want me to go away? make me ;) and so they literally. run away from everyone else. i’m not making this shit up they literally said those things and just ditched the group. and both groups, who have not said a fucking word to each other since this confrontation began because the lesbians are so fucking loud and clearly everything they discuss is personal and not an invitation for group convo, they’re all left there to be like..... i guess we should fight each other now? and scorpia is like UGHHH goddamn it. and u really feel for her u know? :/ u try and u try to ask a girl out and she’s so stupid she doesn’t know ur asking her out on a date, but her stupid ex walks in and all she has to do is run and catra runs in front of her ready to go on a date. what the fuck. anyway, catra and adora are also fighting. adora’s better at transforming her sword into stuff now so she summons a rope (ok kinkster) to grab catra’s leg and pull her towards her and she threatens catra with her sword, saying “don’t move.” catra’s response? “oh, please. you’d never have the guts.” and god damn it catra it’s not that she doesn’t have the guts! :( it’s that she loves you and doesn’t want to hurt you! and also she’s not into necrophilia! catra continues with “you know, as much as i love our fights, it’s way too cold for this.” i hate them so fucking much. they really do get off on this shit!!! i hate them but also mood!!!! stop flirting with each other ur both so goddamn annoying omg. “why don’t we try something new? ;)” yeah. something new like hmm what if y’all kissed? haha, just a suggestion! but no, catra decides to use the red crystal thingy :( haha SIKE i’m not :( at all i’m very much :) because we’ve been WAITING for drunk adora. i love that delirious baby. what a fucking cutie. but because she-ra’s sword is the one who gets poisoned, she-ra goes all angry and evil and catra is like that’s hot! but it’s not what i signed up for but also... oh lmao she’s fighting her friends? nice. this is hot again. complacently, catra goes “this is the greatest thing that’s ever happened!” causing evil!she-ra to realize she exists and trying to kill catra for real, and catra is like NEVER MIND I DID NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS and she’s like “adora wait :(“ which is like. babe no :( babe u were supposed to turn evil in a sexy way :( we could be sexy and evil together baby :( babe :( thankfully for catra adora’s not the only one who has a crush on her so scorpia tackles she-ra, separating her from her sword, and she goes back to adora. catra gets the sword, laughs, and says “that went so much better than i could’ve ever hoped.” did it?????? ur so stupid ur gf was about to murder u and u were ready to simp for ur life. then she goes “looks like you’re mine now, adora. >;)” and like. lifts adora’s face up by the chin with the tail end of the sword. and. let me just take a deep breath here. uh. What The Fuck Is That. HELLO?????? why is that. okay. HHHHHH. why!!!! good god!!!!! i hate sexual tension. anyway, catra tells scorpia to carry adora inside bc adora’s not wearing enough layers and she doesn’t want her gf to get cold :( jk but uh, they get adora inside, and catra is once again obsessed with her. she sits right next to her and pines like “always so perfect.... look at you now.... (i HATE how sexual this sounds) you’re coming back to the horde under my command.....” like. COME ON. why is she like this. ur allowed to be evil but i draw the LINE at u flirting with adora she’s not even AWAKE. and scorpia is like. could u. could u not be obsessed w adora for one second? it’s kinda harshing my vibe :/ and catra is like hehe she ra go >:( haha funney. we can turn the rebellion’s own hero against them. That’s Good™ i wonder which of your friends i’ll have you annihilate first... and then she giggles to herself and it’s so cute but babe. once again. stop flirting with adora while she’s out cold she won’t be able to flirt back :( and then the most. upsetting part of the ep happens. catra LEAVES and makes scorpia watch over adora before adora even wakes up so we don’t get! to see! catra with drunk/delirious adora!!!!!! what the FUCK. what is the POINT. i am DISTRAUGHT. hello?????? why were we robbed. whatever. it’s still good but come on not even one scene? :( scorpia is annoyed as she should be and is like UGH just wanted to be alone with catra but nooooo im stuck babysitting her “”””””ex-best friend””””””” which we all know is code for just. ex. LMAO fkdkdkdk like this isn’t even reaching we BEEN knew. anyway adora is being. so cute. so goddamn cute i am in love. adora barely even remembers her name but when scorpia is like hm what’s the passcode to the lab? adora goes BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP BOOP and puts in catra’s super long fave number. that is so fucking cute that she knows and remembers that and thinks that catra would use it even tho she’s not even. in the right state of mind. and scorpia gets jealous obviously like ohhhh u know catra’s favorite number and i don’t! u grew up with catra and she’s been in love with you her whole life and i don’t have that! fuck u adora. even when u and catra are fighting each other tryna kill each other u can tell there’s a real bond there :( and like scorpia I’m so sorry baby I know :( they’re in love and it’s very annoying :( and i know adora is very annoying but have you also considered that she is very cute? that she is so lovely? and yeah that’s why catra is in love with her and shit :( seahawk and scorpia fight over adora and adora is like. hehe. catra mean <3 she’s so mean <3 and so hot and cute and sexy <3 omg im gonna marry her hehehehe <3 both sides reconvene to fight the bug, and adora finds glimmer vaguely familiar but doesn’t recognize who she is exactly. but she’ll remember catra’s long ass fave number. ok whore. catra, who’s also stupid, sees adora and is like guess I’ll drop all other priorities to get her! and tells scorpia to find the sword because she’s going after adora again. she’s so determined to keep adora that she.... catches a moving arrow. and throws it away. fjdjdjdjddj DAMN ok sheer gay determination is THAT strong huh. but it’s also sad because catra’s so busy fighting she doesn’t get to see adora being super cute :( it’s fucking wasted and not FAIR. catra thinks it’s funny that anyone would expect her to willingly give the disk up, because she’s got control of adora now, and control of adora means that adora won’t leave her.... which is not healthy :( but also HHHHHH but also it’s okay because their relationship gets healthy in the future and that’s very sexy of them <3 the disk is broken by scorpia in the end, and as adora regains.... conscious???ness????? idk??? her sense of reality??? sobers up???? anyway she and catra exchange this one last very heavy look, right before catra is grabbed by scorpia 9/10, except i want to take away so many points because of the wasted potential, but also i wanna add back so many points because of “looks like you’re mine now, adora ;)”

light spinner: ewwww shadow weaver ewwwww hordak i’m so sorry catra baby so sorry u had to interact with them instead of adora :( 0/10 </3

reunion: I AM SO SORRY. I AM SO FUCKING SORRY. THIS EP IS SO GOOD. BUT. I CANNOT BELIEVE I HAVE TO SAY THIS. THIS IS ONLY BECAUSE THIS IS A CATRADORA EVALUATION OK. therefore the rating is.... is..... :( 0/10 :( i know i am distraught too. :( despite what a masterpiece it was... there was no catradora :(

#text #she ra #catradora #spop #yes hello welcome back to whatever the fuck this is <3 #yes i had to put the readmore in the middle. of the 2x01 evaluation #because. it was long. and i don't want the post to look so long on dashes #so please reblog it u guys <3 #i really loved all the replies on my s1 evaluation #i really hope y'all like this one too :(#if u think i am funny please tell me uwu #i love. to read tags #and asks and replies hehe #anyway have fun!

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yourreddancer · 2 years

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HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

April 8, 2022 (Friday)“I have dedicated my career to public service because I love this country and our Constitution and the rights that make us free," Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said today at a White House ceremony celebrating her confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Also today, we learned that Donald Trump, Jr., texted Trump’s White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on November 5, 2020, two days after the presidential election and two days before the media would call the election for President Elect Joe Biden: "We have operational control Total leverage…. Moral High Ground POTUS must start 2nd term now.”

The text, in the possession of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol and reviewed by CNN reporters Ryan Nobles, Zachary Cohen, and Annie Grayer, suggested that even before the election was called for Biden, Trump’s people knew he would lose. Trump, Jr., offered a number of different ways in which Trump could nonetheless steal the election, most of which later materialized. Trump, Jr. apparently could not see why this would be a problem, since, "we have operational control.” “It's very simple," he texted: "We have multiple paths[.] We control them all." At least some of Trump’s inner circle were clearly conspiring to overturn our democracy.

Just who was involved remains unclear to the public, although the January 6 Committee has more information than we do, not least because both Ivanka Trump, the former president’s daughter, and Jared Kushner, her husband, both of whom acted as White House advisors, testified before the committee recently. Trump spoke with the committee virtually on Tuesday, for 8 hours. Kushner testified for several hours on March 31.

Their cooperation stands in stark contrast to the refusal of the rest of Trump’s senior advisors to respond to subpoenas. But on April 6, the January 6 committee received the 101 emails that Trump advisor John Eastman, the author of the Eastman memo laying out an illegal plan for Vice President Mike Pence to throw the election to Trump, had refused to hand over but that a federal judge, David Carter, reviewed and ordered released. In his decision, Carter wrote that it is “more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.”

The committee today secured cooperation from an important witness to the insurrection. Charles Donohoe, the leader of a chapter of the extremist Proud Boys in North Carolina, pleaded guilty this morning to conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and to assaulting police officers. He has agreed to testify against his co-defendants.

Hugo Lowell at The Guardian reports today that the January 6 committee is focusing on cooperation between the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers in a plan to stop the certification of Biden’s victory using physical force. The committee has reviewed video from Nick Quested, a documentary filmmaker who filmed a meeting between the two groups in a parking garage on January 5. It has focused even more closely, though, on 17 minutes filmed at the attack itself, along with communications between the Proud Boys and rally organizers including Alexander and right-wing media personality Alex Jones.

Quested testified before the January 6 committee on Tuesday. “They’ve done an incredible amount of hard work and have an exceptional grasp,” Quested told Politico’s Kyle Cheney. He called the events of January 6 a "constitutional attack" that was "very serious."The committee is digging into how organizers used social media to spread disinformation and plan the January 6 insurrection. Cristiano Lima and Aaron Schaffer of the Washington Post reported yesterday that the committee has been talking to experts on social media, disinformation, and online extremism, and has recently hired a new analyst to pull things together. Committee members are also looking into the ways in which key influencers used social media to push their plans.Right-wing activist Ali Alexander also agreed today to comply with a grand jury subpoena from the Department of Justice, seeking information about the organization of the events surrounding January 6. This indicates that the Justice Department is looking broadly at people close to Trump and that prosecutors believe those people might have committed crimes. In a statement made through a lawyer, Alexander said: “I did nothing wrong, and I am not in possession of evidence that anyone else had plans to commit unlawful acts.”

But in videos posted online and now deleted, Alexander boasted about his work planning the events of January 6. He claimed that he worked with Representatives Mo Brooks (R-AL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ) to put “maximum pressure on Congress while they were voting…so that who we couldn’t lobby, we could change the hearts and the minds of Republicans who were in that body, hearing our loud roar from outside.”

And yet, for all the new information about the January 6 attack on our democracy, Republican lawmakers are focusing elsewhere. Today, in an unprecedented attack by a senator on a newly confirmed Supreme Court justice, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) released a video attacking Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Although Graham voted to confirm Jackson to a Senate-confirmed judgeship just last year, yesterday he voted against her elevation to the Supreme Court. Today he said: “I voted no to Judge Jackson, and now I understand why the radical left wanted her so badly. She’s a judicial activist, she gets the outcome she wants no matter how the law’s written, when it comes to crime, her record is very, very dangerous.”

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protectwoc · 4 years

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why all reylos are racist

y’all can go ahead and cancel me now because some of you are not going to like what i have to say and i am completely okay with that.

this recent gq interview with john boyega has incensed me. hearing all the things he went through, from disney and from “fans” and with no support from anyone… i’m livid. sometimes when i think about it for too long i start shaking, i’m so furious. and the response from the reylo fandom has infuriated me to a degree i honestly didn’t know was possible.

some of you may have seen my recent tumblr rampage. it’s reylo bullying hours here on my blog, and i’m not sorry either. one person threatened to post screenshots of my comments, which like… okay? i know what the fuck i said, it wasn’t that long ago. in fact i was going to include the screenshots in this post right here, but they blocked me before i had the chance. sorry. i’m sure somebody has them. anyway…

over the past two days in the star wars fandom we have seen something unprecedented: an outpouring of support for john boyega. both reylos and anti-reylos have joined forces to voice support for john in the wake of the gq interview (and the blm protests, let’s be real, some of y’all would not have given half a fuck if it wasn’t suddenly cool to be antiracist). and this showing of unity is one of the most rage-inducing things i’ve ever seen in a fandom (which is saying something; i have seen some shit).

reylo fandom, full offense intended, but where the fuck do you get off? you’re supporting john now? where was this support when tfa came out and you couldn’t stand the thought of him next to your white-girl-self-insert? where was it when tlj came out and your boy ryan completely sidelined him? where was it earlier this fucking year when y’all twisted a harmless joke (like yall haven’t spent years writing reylo-throne-room-sex-meta BULLSHIT) and ignored the vile racist shit coming from your own fav’s mouth? but you’re supporting him now? now that being antiracist is trendy? fuck outta here with that bullshit.

your fandom is the reason for the vast majority of the absolutely subhuman treatment john has endured over the last few years. your fandom influenced ryan (yes i know what his name is) to write tlj the way he did, you have behaved indefensibly here on tumblr.hell writing and drawing and fantasizing about all sorts of racist bullshit, and y’all have STAYED in his twitter mentions spewing hatred seven ways to sunday. but NOW, without a shred of self-reflection, you’re supporting him? now his experiences are valid?

the way that your fandom refuses to take accountability for its actions makes me see red. y’all stay on some “not all reylos” nonsense and i am SICK OF IT. i’m only gonna say this once, and i want you to hear me: you cannot be a reylo and be “antiracist”. you cannot participate in a fandom that has behaved the way yours has and say “blm, uwu acab.” you can’t. like do you think black people are dumb? that we can’t see right through you? we can.

“but rae,” i hear you whining. “you’re gonna say just because i like two characters together i’m a racist?” and of course not. that would be ludicrous. i think just because you knowingly engage and participate in a fandom that has racism encoded in its dna, you’re a racist. i think because y’all are in bed with racist harassers, racist trolls, and racist content creators, you’re a racist. that’s what the fuck i think. y’all lost the right to “it’s just a ship” me the instant you dragged john boyega into this.

here’s an example: i watched tfa about three days after it came out. i watched the first half, saw the obvious relationship set up between finn and rey, and thought, “aw, cute.” then i watched kylo and rey fight, watch him offer to teach her, and thought, “... interesting.”

when i got home i checked tumblr for finnrey content, saw the outpouring of love from black fans, all the cute fanart and fics blooming, and smiled. then, slowly, guiltily, i searched “reylo.”

BOOM. racism. the things i saw in the tag that night are tattooed on my brain. reylos rejoicing about the obvious rey/kyle pairing because “sw would never put her with that monkey finn”. calling him an “oaf”, “useless”, “bumbling”, “stupid”. reylos joking about how “when they talked about the Dark side, [they] didn’t think they meant that kind of dark.” “woke” reylos pretending to ship stormpilot in an obvious ploy to get finn away from kylo. and in between all of that, cute ship art. fun fics. talented gif makers. and nobody saying shit about the reprehensible behavior going on in their tag.

reylo is built on a foundation of racism. from that first week, racism has been woven into the fabric of your fandom, and it’s been going unchecked. and i don’t mean calling out other reylos. that’s not enough. i mean taking actual steps. y’all have been sitting in a cesspool of racism for five years, and its time for you to get the fuck out or shut the fuck up about being an “ally”. y’all need to leave this fandom.

don’t agree? here’s another story. in 2017, when i still watched supergirl (before i grew taste) i shipped karamel. for those of you who don’t know, karamel is the ship of kara zor-el (supergirl) and mon-el, her second love interest. when supergirl was moved to the cw for its second season, the decision was made to abruptly end her romance with jimmy olsen, played by mecahd brooks (a black man) and replace him with mon-el, played by chris wood, a white man, who was revealed to be, among other things, an alien slaveowner, as well as a playboy and all-around terrible person. and i shipped them. look, i’m not defending myself, but i never really bought the chemistry between jimmy and kara. even though mon-el’s introduction and the way that they carelessly disregarded kara’s feelings for jimmy made me uncomfortable, i thought the way melissa played her attraction to chris wood was more believable (and again, i’m not defending myself, but they are now married so it’s not like i was wrong). so i shipped them. simple as that, right?

well, no. not really. because the inherent racism in the way the writers wrote out her admittedly sweet romance with a black man in favor of a white slaveowner jerk kept bothering me. and finally i decided that it made me too uncomfortable to participate in. i never really reblogged any karamel fandom stuff, but i completely divorced myself from the fandom. i stopped reading karamel fic, and i switched to reblogging exclusively jimmy/kara content until the fandom died out/i stopped watching. i made a choice that real life racism is more important to me than a fucking fandom or a ship, and then i acted accordingly. simple as that.

and i’m not saying you have to stop liking the reylo dynamic. i still like the chemistry between kara and mon-el. i’ve shipped problematic ships before (bamon comes to mind) and i don’t think there’s anything wrong with that (to a point). but there’s a difference between liking a ship dynamic and engaging and contributing to a fan culture of racism. you have to stop participating in the fandom. y’all are in bed with people indistinguishable from confederate-flag-waving-all-lives-matter-touting racists and you don’t feel the need to get out of that environment? there comes a certain point where you have to decide if fandom bullshit is more important to you than fighting racism, and unfortunately, reylos have chosen wrong. that, ladies and gentlemen, is why all reylos are racist, regardless of what they say. roll credits.

except i have more to say, so i’m gonna say it. first of all, i’m not trying to hold myself up as some kind of paragon of virtue. i’m not holier-than-thou because all my ships are “woke” or whatever. chemistry is subjective, and we’re all going to be attracted to different ship dynamics, and there’s nothing wrong with that in theory. what matters is the execution. i finally had to say one day, “you know, this ship and the racist baggage it carries is actually less important to me than battling systemic racism on every level, including the fandom level”. y’all thought being antiracist was gonna be easy? that you wouldn’t have to make some actual changes, to make some actual sacrifices? sorry not sorry to disappoint. and if i, a normal-ass person with flaws and problematic thinking that i’m still dealing with and the whole ine yards, can make that decision, then other people should be required to as well.

(what really irks me is that the karamel fandom wasn’t even really that bad! i definitely could have gotten away with being a karamel stan in 2017. thankfully the supercat and supercorp shippers were doing the lord’s work and bullying them into submission (don’t think i’m letting y’all off the hook either, y’all have got some racism to deal with as well but that’s an essay for another day) but like most of the racism happened at the writing level; the fandom itself wasn’t engaging in racist clownery on the regular. but like the reylos are. y’all see racist bullshit coming from your neighbor, fav fic writer, artist, gif maker, whatever, and don’t say shit? don’t feel the need to distance yourself from them? gtfoh.)

i made this argument earlier when i was on my rampage (which i’m still on btw so don’t clown in my inbox, you will get your shit rocked) but i’m going to make it again because i feel like its important to note. when i pointed out that existing in the reylo fandom while you are aware of its racism makes you complicit in that racism, a white reylo told me earlier that (paraphrasing, my memory’s not as good as it used to be and i did mention that they’d blocked me) “you don’t solve a problem like systemic racism by ignoring it. leaving the fandom would be allowing it to happen.” when i pointed out that that’s police officer rhetoric almost verbatim, she (a white reylo) admonished me (a black woman) not to compare police brutality to a “ship war.” lmao.

look, clearly y’all need a refresher on what “systemic” means. it means, quite simply, that there are systems, large and small, allow for racism to exist, and it also means that allowing for racism to exist on the small scale means expecting it on a large one. like you think police officers spring fully formed from the head with racist ideals already ingrained? no! they learn it and learn to justify it with “well just because my friend made a racist joke doesn’t make me a racist” and “just because i laughed at my friend’s using a racist term in my video game doesn’t make me a racist” and “just because my friend is a racist doesn’t mean i’m a racist” and then we have people watching their coworkers kneel on a man’s back for 8 minutes with no remorse. i’m not gonna solve police brutality by fighting reylos on tumblr, but fandom racism is real racism with consequences on our world, and i don’t tolerate ANY type of racism. and the fact that you are so willing to not just tolerate it but justify it should say something to you.

and not all reylos are like this. similar to cops, good reylos don’t last. i have seen people grow so disgusted by the racism in the reylo fandom that they publicly turned their backs on it, and those reylos i respect. you’ve heard of “the only good cop is an ex-cop” well get ready for “the only good reylo is an ex-reylo”.

(and also like far be it from me to justify a cop but one could at least say they have their livelihoods to think about (not like they couldn’t just pick a nonmurderous profession but i digress) but you reylos can’t even choose between taking a stance against the hateful and unjustified bullying of a man who had the audacity to… get a job (?)... over a ship? come on now.)

the point of all this is, for all their posturing about “being antiracist” and “fuck 12” and “support john boyega”, reylos have decided that a relationship between two fictional people is more important than all the black and brown people who are hurt by that decision and the consequences of that decision. and before y’all pull some “b-but there are POC reylos!” (stop fucking using poc as an adjective, its a noun, it stands for person of color, please use it as such) internalized racism is a thing. busting out your token “reylo of color” (see how easy that was?) is not going to change my mind. all reylos are complicit in the racism of their peers, and being complicit makes you culpable. full stop.

and that is why the public support of john boyega from the reylo fandom has me seeing red. renounce your fandom or keep that man’s name out of your mouth. anyway, this was long and ranty and entirely stream-of-consciousness and i’m refusing to edit it so it’s probably completely incomprehensible to anyone besides me but if you made it this far thanks for reading ig. all reylos are racist, blm, fuck 12, acab, stan john boyega, don’t clown in my inbox unless you’re coming to bully me for being a karamel shipper, which i deserve (or do, i couldn’t give less of a fuck). good night.

#john boyega #anti reylo #raetalks

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antoine-roquentin · 4 years

Link

The popular conception of chivalry, as a moral code guiding the behavior of honorable knights, is flat-out, laughably wrong. That’s a creation of 19th-century authors like Walter Scott, and the popular fantasy authors (basically up until George R.R. Martin) who built on their worldview in the 20th.

In reality, chivalry was all about one particular version of Guys Being Dudes. Chivalry could refer to a few different things, but the most common meaning was simply battlefield deeds, executed with some style. This, what knights referred to as “prowess,” was at the core of the broader ideology of chivalry: raw, bloody, physical performance, violence done effectively and to an agreed-upon aesthetic standard. The second major concern of chivalry, honor, grew directly out of the first. Honor wasn’t an abstract concept to medieval knights; it was a possession, a recognition of their particular status and place in the social hierarchy, which they were well within their rights to violently defend and assert through their prowess. Piety was the icing on the cake, but no knight really doubted that God approved of their actions.

An oral culture, passed around during training sessions and drinking bouts and feasts and military campaigns, produced this culture and inculcated new knights into it. A whole universe of texts, the kinds of things knights read or had read to them, sent the same message, like this 12th-century poem called Girart de Vienne:

When I see the whinnying war-steeds plunge

With worthy knights into a battle’s crush,

And see their spears and cutting blades well struck,

There is nothing on earth I love so much!

These were dudes who loved getting after it, and for them, getting after it meant blood-soaked deeds on the battlefield. It’s not that there was nothing more to it - sure, there were some bits about romance and ladies, debates about religiosity and moral actions, exhortations to do better - but the core was always physical, male violence. And it obviously wasn’t for everyone: Knights were members of a hereditary military aristocracy, and their possession of chivalry was what set them apart from dirty peasants.

Two aspects neatly parallel modern Bro Culture: first, the emphasis on physicality and the body, and how that provided both a sense of the self and secured social status; and second, the restricted, bubble-like world that produced and emphasized it, with its fictional and real heroes, its stories about great deeds, its values, and its models to be emulated. Your average knight would absolutely identify with and appreciate this impossibly toxic meathead sentiment:

Obviously, there are pieces that don’t neatly parallel, the biggest ones being the hereditary and explicitly military nature of chivalry. You don’t have to be a soldier to be a Bro, though it doesn’t hurt. And - much more important - you aren’t born into being a Bro; you become one, by doing worthy deeds of prowess.

That’s a quintessentially American value: the idea that anybody can make something of themselves if they work hard enough, move enough weight, run fast enough, practice enough to shoot a tight grouping, make the right sacrifices. The physical meritocracy (and its potential rewards of fame and fortune) is open to anyone willing to do whatever it takes to climb the ladder. Even the least intellectually gifted meathead can make something of himself if he does the workouts, takes the right gear, and builds his audience on YouTube and Instagram. Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and smash that follow button.

In a moment of stagnant social mobility, rising inequality, and incredible uncertainty around the future, this strongly visual message of self-betterment and improving one’s socioeconomic status through literal sweat can resonate deeply. It’s all within the individual’s control, if they simply work enough - an antidote to all that uncertainty, everything that’s so obviously beyond an individual’s control and reckoning, no matter how misleading and incomplete the formula actually is.

That’s especially appealing to the many millions of American men who don’t have college degrees (many more of them than women, given the gendered trends in undergraduate enrollment) who are effectively locked out of professional-managerial culture and its straightforward path into the comfortable upper-middle class. Accomplishment through physical prowess is thus a means of building both a sense of self and community.

The connections to this particular moment in American culture and history go much deeper than that, though. This whole edifice of Bro Culture grows out of the broader rise of influencers, performative self-branding through social media, and the construction of identity through consumption.

With the right protein powder, shilled by your favorite strongman, you too can deadlift 800 pounds, or at least tell yourself you’ll get there someday. With the right brand of CBD tincture, which sponsors your favorite Crossfit athlete, you won’t feel that burning pain in your rotator cuff after you clean and jerk too much weight with suboptimal technique. By religiously listening to the right Bro-approved entrepreneurship podcast, hosted by some guy who happened to get booked on the Joe Rogan Experience during a slow week, you too can buy a McMansion in an affordable suburb.

Much of what happens in Bro Culture is driven by lifestyle consumption: ads for sunglasses on Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast, brand partnerships between supplement companies and YouTube stars, tactical holsters for concealed-carry that an ex-Marine with a million Instagram followers wants you to buy. It’s self-actualization through sponsor codes.

The tactical lifestyle craze, a natural outgrowth of this particular slice of Bro Culture, is the logical endpoint of all this. It’s where entrepreneurial late capitalism and influencer trends meet imperial wars, the militarization of the police, and the emergence of Gun Guys as a default protected class within American society. You’re not a Crossfitter anymore; you’re a “tactical athlete,” doing varied types of interval, cardio, and strength training so you can be a more effective soldier or cop or firefighter or whatever, or you just want to feel like you could be one. The physical training is only part of this, since you can prominently declare your tactical affiliations with a variety of lifestyle products, ranging from coffee mugs to American flag stickers for your car to, naturally, firearms....

Just as much as its coffee, whose quality I can’t speak to, Black Rifle Coffee Company is selling the tactical lifestyle. They offer a staggering variety of T-shirts, hoodies, hats, mugs, thermoses, and stickers, many of them prominently branded with the eponymous “black rifle” of the brand. There are a lot of American flags and pieces of law-enforcement and military iconography, signifiers of the in-groups to whom the consumers of BRCC’s products belong, want to belong, or for whom they want to signal their support. BRCC has explicitly labeled itself as a coffee company for conservatives, an active participant in the culture wars. If you don’t like Starbucks and its effete, refugee-supporting, liberal tendencies, buy some Black Rifle product instead. If you like Trump, you’ll be at home with BRCC. Don Jr. endorsed them.

After the picture of Rittenhouse in the Black Rifle Coffee Company shirt appeared, its founder Evan Hafer quickly disavowed the youthful shooter. Even for an explicitly MAGA coffee company, supporting a teenaged AR enthusiast with blood on his hands was a bridge too far. But Rittenhouse had already been shaped by the world BRCC and its fellow-travelers have made. He got the message, loud and clear: You too can become a hero, or at least dress and drink coffee like one, by purchasing the right products, watching the right videos, and following the same Extended Bro Culture influencers. Don’t forget to like and subscribe.

The Veteran-owned piece of BRCC’s appeal isn’t a coincidence. They’re selling a position in the culture wars, a sense of belonging, but also a particular vision of what it means to be American, a man, and an American man. A staggering number of this part of Bro Culture’s key figures are veterans. Jocko Willink, perhaps the best known (and least openly political) of the bunch, was a Navy SEAL officer; he was actually the commanding officer of the famous sniper Chris Kyle during the Battle of Ramadi in 2006.

After retiring, Willink turned his SEAL experience into a career as a leadership consultant, motivational speaker, media personality, and energy drink salesman. His intensity, built on his military service, is legendary: His exhortations to do hard things regularly, to live by a code, and take responsibility for oneself, resonate with millions of people. And Willink is far from the only one to do so, turning overseas service in imperial wars, especially as a special forces operator, into a key component of his entrepreneurial appeal. This isn’t a judgement on his military service; it’s a statement of fact. Being an undeniable badass is a the core part of why Jocko Willink is a quintessential Bro Hero.

Imperial wars overseas always come home eventually, and they do so in complex ways. The fact that millions of people listen to Jocko Willink, buy Black Rifle Coffee Company merchandise, and dabble in more extreme fringes is a product of decades spent elevating not just military service writ large but violent combat overseas against ill-defined Others. For every Jocko Willink, there’s an Eddie Gallagher, the SEAL who was convicted of and then recently pardoned for war crimes after becoming a cause célèbre for large swathes of the online right.

If these are the heroes Bro Culture puts forth - special operators accustomed to high-intensity, high-volume fighting overseas, who then develop enormous media platforms - it’s obvious what message Kyle Rittenhouse and the innumerable police officers, tactical fitness enthusiasts, and more run-of-the-mill viewers and listeners will take. Millions of people listen to Joe Rogan when he talks to Jocko Willink, Tim Kennedy (the Green Beret and MMA fighter and increasingly open right-wing figure), or Cameron Hanes (who advocated for Eddie Gallagher’s release). They’re warriors. Joe Rogan isn’t a soldier, but he’s a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, a former competitive kickboxer, a bowhunter, and a firearms enthusiast. If these are the people at the core of Bro Culture, a culture that directly touches tens of millions of American men, then there are bound to be knock-on effects. If they’re constantly telling their listeners to be ready, to be tactical, to be prepared to fight and to be good at it, that means something.

This is why I think Bro Culture, or at least its extended reaches, deserve more scrutiny and attention. The code of American manhood that’s developing out of this social-media melting pot has some aspects that bear watching: A love of firearms centered on tactical usefulness (for use in what context, exactly?), a vision of muscular physicality, self-defense as a personal obligation, an unquestioning hero-worship of military culture, and far too often, a deep suspicion of people who don’t subscribe to this precise view of being a guy. Support the Troops, and if you don’t, you’re not really a man at all. If cops - quintessential subjects of Bro Culture - are told that they need to be bigger and stronger and quicker on the draw, that they’re basically Troops, and that the targets of violence deserve what they get, what’s the likely outcome of tense interactions between police and the people they’re supposed to serve?

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gra-sonas · 4 years

Note

Hey! I hate to ask this, you already do so much for us! But would you mind just a tiny recap of Vlamis’ live from last night? You don’t have to go into a ton of detail or anything, I just saw that it was a half hour long. I have a weird anxiety thing that keeps me from watching lives and stories for the most. Still haven’t even been able to work myself up to watching the vlamburn one as much as I’d love to! 🙁

Either way, thank you for everything!

Okay, nonnie. I went and watched the whole thing again and wrote you a detailed account of what’s been said. I’ll link the live again, then you can watch here if you want to. Or not. Up to you. 🤗 Hope this helps. 💕

youtube

Brushing his teeth and flossing for 3 minutes while talking.

800 new follower lately “where have you been before?”

“Do you do anything to your hair at night?” He adds Moroccan hair oil in the morning, nothing at night.

“What’s your favorite of the drop?” He hasn’t seen everything from the drop (like the COSMIC tie-dye) bc he’s in Santa Fe. He loves the COSMIC and MALEX embroidered things (“so subtle”) bc they are in Vlamburn’s handwriting, he loves the Manesqueeze shirt bc you can make Alex and Michael kiss by putting your wrists together. He *loves* the candle (there’s one burning on his bedside table), the silky PJs are great, but he can’t decide on just one favorite thing.

“How’s Jesa’s sanity?” She needs like 3 weeks of sleep. He explains, that while we *are* the Vlambase, the Vlambase merch company’s just Jesa and Vlamis. Jesa has a team, but all the day-to-day things, ideas, emails/customer service (Jesa), the newsletter (Vlamis). They hadn’t collaborated with anyone before Tyler, so working with him was a new experience.

One fan mentions how they wanted to buy stuff but couldn’t. Vlamis says that he’s been there, and when he wanted something in the past he couldn’t afford, he started putting away a Dollar a day.

“Thought on One Direction?” Vlamis is a Harry Styles guy. “Harry Styles’ swagger is next level!”

“What do you think about Russia? Will Vlambase merch be available here?” Talks a bit about how annoying things are with shipping companies, says they wanted to protect themselves for the holidays, and now that the Christmas rush is over, some shipping options have become available again.

“Who came up with MANESQUEEZE” He ponders about it, and settles on Jesa. It was Vlamis’s ides to put tiny Alex and tiny Michael on the sleeves so that they can kiss tho. And Tyler came up with the idea to put a “toupee” on his head (in a previous drop, the NEVER LOOK AWAY design had tiny Alex and tiny Michael on the sleeves, but poor Alex was bald) for the design.

Someone got a MALEX pin and the candle. He knows the pin sold out fast, and he feels bad about that. They want everyone to get everything they want, but it’s difficult to make proper calculations how well an item will sell. The pandemic made things even harder. Like the PJ sets. Normally, they would wait until the sale ends and see how many sets were actually ordered, but during the pandemic, stock listings have been changing dramatically from day to day, so they had to pre-order the PJs and robes to make sure they had a certain number at their disposal. He said that they “overshot” on a couple of things, but ultimately sales have been great, and he appreciates that.

“I’m excited to make the MANESQUEEZE doodles kiss bc I do that with the NEVER LOOK AWAY shirt” Vlamis jumps up and shows his closet that’s full of Vlambase merch items.

“Why am I here, it’s almost 3am” He mentions that he’s been staying up until 4 in the past couple of days, but he has to be on set in 7 or 8 hours.

“Hello, just wanted to let you know that I got a tattoo for you” Vlamis asks for a photo and to be tagged.

“Kyle the packer [Vlamis’s roomie KA, who works in the warehouse when a new drop is ready for shipping]” Vlamis says they’re working him to death.

“Please save this live” He doesn’t know whether he’ll save it. Thinks the one with Tyler was important, but since it’s just him, he doesn’t think it’s important.

“I followed Jesa, Jesa is the real MVP” Vlamis says that Jesa is “a beast, and best in the game”. Quickly explains who Jesa is, and that she’s his partner in the Vlambase merch company. He mentions that she recently called him with an idea for Valentine’s Day, and he was like “Jesa, we need to relax!” But she loved the idea. She’s a big fan of RNM and the characters (and Tyler). “Jesa’s amazing.”

“What about new Soli art [Soli’s the artist who created the Boys Will Be Boys art for a previous drop]?” Vlamis smiles. “What about new Soli art. I like that idea. 😏“

“Your house [in New Mexico] is so cute.” Vlamis says thank you and shows the ceiling of the house (which he likes best). “Santa Fe is dope!”

“I adore your teeth” *shows his teeth* Says he had to wear braces (some even adjustable)

“I could’ve used my birthday money to buy something but I forgot” 🤨 << Vlamis’s face. “How you you forget, man?”

“Back to Twitter after this live” He mentions that he’d just been on Twitter before the live.

He got retweeted by Mountain Dew and loves it.

“I’m from Australia and hope my merch arrives before winter” Vlamis says he hopes shipping will be fast.

“Love the Valentines” They’re not actually Valentines, hence they’re “Love Notes”. Vlamis considers doing them not just around Valentine’s Day.

“You catch any of the CW shows returning this month?” “Might have to” But he knows what he’ll be catching on the 12th. “Prodigal Son, baby!”

“Where did you get the Game Boys?” Those are his Game Boys. He has a Game Boy Advanced and a Game Boy Color.

“How do you feel about Forlex?” *scoffs* 😒 “Yeah”

“So excited for the robe!” Vlamis gets excited. “The robes and the PJs are so comfy!” Talks about how it’s a bit weird, bc they don’t make them themselves.

Several people mention that their closet looks like his closet bc of all the merch and he loves that.

“How do you feel about Forlex” *gets agitated* “Why are you asking me this? Don’t do that to me, alright?” *softer* “Don’t do that.”

“How are you doing?” He’s doing very well. Very relieved that eh sale went well. This drop was like 3-4 months of work, the night before the sale felt like an entire month, too. Jesa and Vlamis Facetimed for more than 5hrs. They set up the website, and that’s how the glitch with the GIVE ME MALEX OR GIVE ME DEATH shirts and poster happened. They made a mistake and only noticed after the website went live.

“Do you know when S3 will air?” No, he thought it might’ve been sooner, but apparently not.

“I love your poetry from the last drop so why no poems this time?” He writes poems when he’s inspired, he hasn’t written a poem in a while. He’s currently preparing to direct his first movie in June 2021, and he’s been very focused on that.

“The Meet & Greet day changed.” Filming schedule changed bc they had snow, the schedule’s changing constantly. He’ll be set all day tomorrow (well, today, Jan 11) from 8am until 8 or 9pm. Sometimes they might even wake up in the morning and learn that the schedule’s been changed.

“You could talk about nothing and we’d still watch.” He doesn’t want to talk about nothing, wonders if anyone has any questions about the sale.

“I’m so excited about the robe. I was going to buy more but I’m broke.” He says we should be responsible.

Someone’s still waiting about their Black Friday stuff, but he says it’s the shipping company, not them.

“Vlamentines" He *loves* that, thinks it’s a good pun.

“Gotta support Aurora.” Always. 🥰

“Jealous Guerin in S3?” You’ll see, you’ll see.

“I placed 3 orders, last one last night. Give me Malex or give me death.” He loves it. He also mentions, that they’re working hard on figuring out how to combine orders in the future so people don’t have to pay for shipping several times. They just can’t do that logistically at the moment.

“Real talk, how often do you check your DMs?” He says, that some people might’ve noticed that he occasionally likes random photos on people’s IG pages. When that happens, it’s a sign that he read someone’s DM. He feels bad when he checks his mentions with a delay, and people’s stories have already vanished after 24hours. He sometimes doesn’t get to checking DMs for a week.

“Will we ever get the original pic of the kiss recreation?” *smiles* *waggles his eyebrows* “Maybe in the morning”

“So happy the Trevor Project was chosen for this merch drop!” He’s very happy, too. According to him, it was a no-brainer. Tyler’s worked with them in the past, so it made even more sense. They wanted to make sure that Tyler felt very strongly about wherever they’d be donating.

People urge him to go to sleep. “You want me to go to bed?”

“Why is your merch not available in India?” *deep breath* “It should be, it’s ridiculous. Unbelievable.”

“Your poetry was awesome.” He appreciates the praise and promises to write some more poetry.

Someone asks whether the movie he’ll be directing in June will be a comedy, but he says it’s the opposite. He’s mentioned in the past that Aurora and him will both act in the movie, but apparently he forgot about that. He doesn’t want to jinx the movie and doesn’t know how much he should reveal just yet. Talks a bit about 5 Years Apart.

Someone mentions that it’s Jeanine’s birthday on January 14th.

“Do (or don?) a face mask, Vlamis.” He refuses. Mentions his friend and roommate Spencer Waldner, who makes face masks.

“If there’s leftover merch, will you do another sale?” He says that most things are actually sold out bc they use Blank Clo’s blanks and will only make what’s been ordered. They might try to restock some pins tho, bc they went so quickly.

“USPS are a joke” He defends them. “They’re a public service, they’re trying hard, guys.”

“You should do a Vlambase drop with the Real Vlamis [a.k.a. Jeanie]” He’s excited and thinks it’s a good idea and asks if anyone’d be interested.

Someone congratulates him on directing his first movie. He points out that he’s directed before (Making It, a 3-part web series, it’s on YouTube).

“Would you ever come to Australia Comic Con?” He’d love to. Mentions that he’s supposed to be in Paris in May for a convention, but he’s not sure whether that’s gonna happen considering how things are currently going with the pandemic.

Some more talk about 5 Years Apart.

Circles back to doing a merch drop with Jeanine. People like the idea.

“Please save this live.” After an IG update, things have changed and he doesn’t know how to do it. In the past he had the option to save it [for 24hrs], now he can only upload it to IGTV.

“$30 shipping to Australia hurts my soul but I did it anyway.” He appreciates that and mentions, that he lived in Australia for 6 months in the past.

“Sing some Bright Eyes” He thinks his singing would hurt people’s ears.

Jesa Joy pops up in the chat and urges him to go to bed.

“Jesa is yelling at you.” Vlamis says that Jesa’s a “yeller”, and that she has a tattoo that says “Don’t yell tho”. He admits that Jesa often yells for a good reason. “I need to be yelled at sometimes.”

Someone asks him to accept a request to join his live. He says he’s pretty tired.

He says hello to someone from Germany (not me btw :P) “What’s up, Germany ✌️”

More people ask him to sing, but he says he cannot sing. He says it’s not like a joke or him being modest, he straight up can’t sing and is a horrible singer.

“Will there be a sequel to 5 Years Apart?” Maybe a sequel called “10 Years Apart” (he’s joking and visibly tired)

“Should I buy anything before the sale ends?” Yes.

Jesa Joy’s from Michigan, and Vlamis’s grandma’s from Middlesborough, Kentucky.

“Is Tyler singing again?” He doesn’t know. “I hope so. Love that kid’s voice” (Tyler’s 3.5 years older than Vlamis :P)

He’s getting sleepy and will read a little bit before bed. Considers drinking some Mountain Dew.

“Do you take design ideas.” Sure. Sometimes he sees design ideas from people they’ve been working on for months, but he’s gonna “steal” an idea from someone, he’ll tell them. He’ll steal it, though.

“Are you still reading SAGA?” He read the first one and is half-way through the second. He’s currently reading a book called “My First Movie” by Stephen Lowenstein. “How cliché.” Aurora got it for him.

Purple Skittles are his favorite. Purple everything.

“Your girlfriend’s the best girlfriend.” She is, she really is.

Asks Jesa Joy whether he should go to bed now.Even though it’s late, he’s hungry. Considers eating something. People tell him to go to bed.

He asks “Should I get naked and put on the PJs?” *waggles eyebrows* “I’M KIDDING, YOU’RE SICK. YOU’RE ALL DISGUSTING.” xD

“Don’t eat!” He laughs.

Says goodbye and says that Jesa’s posted a surprise picture.

“Any advice for aspiring actors?” Tells them to make their own stuff bc no one’s gonna hire them. (He’s being sarcastic). “It’s dark, but it’s what you need to hear.”

“Okay, love you guys. Thank you again! It was our best sale yet. Means a lot to me. Means a lot to Tyler. Us doing so well might mean that Tyler will work with us again. So I really appreciate it. Okay, I love you all.”

Jesa promises to post the pic in 4 minutes. He’s excited. “See, I got her to do it! The picture is kind of ridiculous.”

*pretends to take off his shirt, stops halfway through* “Noooooo, noooooo, noooooo!”

*throws kiss* “Love you guys, good night.”

#michael vlamis #vlambase #mgv ig #mgv interviews #nonnie asks

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madroxed · 4 years

Text

the order (season two) thoughts.

so chotoranii asked me for my thoughts on the order season two. of which there are many. posting them here rather than in a reply so tumblr doesn’t fuck up the ‘keep reading’ break.

SO MANY SPOILERS AHEAD, OBVIOUSLY.

OK FOLKS, LET’S DO THIS. SORRY ABOUT THE WORD COUNT.

the good, the bad, and the incomprehensible.

ok SO. overall i thought this season was so much better than season one, especially in terms of production and acting.

i should start by saying, the biggest twist of this season? ME LIKING JACK AS A BLOND. i’ve been dragging that hair for months and i end up digging it? i’m so mad at myself.

ANYWAY the first three episodes? flawless! beautiful! amazing! they honestly took everything i could have listed as wanting and put it onscreen. jack trying out for cheer squad and having to stay on cheer squad to keep up the act? them finding each other almost immediately? the jokes about orgies? jack taking the knights seriously and holding on to his anger over the memory wipe? lilith and nicole? nicole in general? RANDALL AND HAMISH FAKE DATING (however briefly, seriously, i will be writing fic where they have to keep that up because i am betrayed that it was never brought up again and if you think i didn’t throw my laptop across the bed so i could run around screaming you’d be wrong)? A MAGIC HEIST?

honestly, all perfect.

............then the season started to go downhill. don’t get me wrong, there were still some excellent parts, but they were hindered by two things:

the plot jumping about too much to be comprehensible.

the fact that we the viewers are supposed to believe that randall carpio and hamish duke would not tear the world apart for lilith bathory immediately.

the first is forgivable; the first season’s plot was a simple enough device that meant it dragged a little at times. this season they seemed to not want to fall into that trap again, but in doing so threw something so big in that they needed far too much exposition because they didn’t have enough time to show it (a trait they fell into in a lot of ways, we’ll get back to that). SHOW, DON’T TELL, FOLKS. that being said, i really liked salvadore as a character, and the idea of a group of people striving to make magic accessible to all was a cool moral quandary plot.

the second is unforgivable to me, and led to the majority of my issues with the season. i understand the knights becoming members of the order (cool concept), i understand them struggling with conflicting loyalties because of it, but what i don’t understand is the fact that randall spent the majority of the season saying “let’s get lilith back!” only to back down at the first push back, and hamish was the push back. because......the order had other problems. IN WHAT UNIVERSE DO THE KNIGHTS OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER NOT PUT EACH OTHER FIRST AND SAY FUCK EVERYONE ELSE?

(jack i understand, if only because we saw so much of it last season. his loyalties are kinda flaky. i do understand his loyalty to vera; not only did she play a huge part in taking down edward last season, but the mind link thing and learning all her pain would have stuck with him. he loves a cause, that boy. also hey ho! jack was so much more likeable this season! we love to see it.)

also i just really missed lilith.

(thank fuck for nicole never giving up.)

the amount of callbacks to season one were fantastic. they didn’t just move on and leave it be, they referenced basically everyone, and seeing professor clarke and kyle again was a nice touch just to tie things together. there also being discussions about jack’s pete related trauma was great and necessary.

ok, so alyssa. i take back my post about how great it would be for her to be the villain. this was so much better. her trauma in the wake of both season one and then accidentally killing someone leading to her feeling so conflicted and lost and alone? her magic malfunctioning when it’s all she feels she has? we’ve always known she was ambitious, but to see her face straight on the idea that she may be left completely powerless and no one really listening or trying to help her except a hive mind that’s also hurting her? o u c h.

we saw this season that the real problem with the order is its motto of ‘hurry up and wait’. ‘we’ll save lilith.....just do all these other things first!’ ‘we’ll get alyssa’s magic back......there’s just more important things right now!’ it’s all so easy to see how that could frustrate someone so much they can’t take it anymore.

i’m so pleased i loved alyssa so much this season. i desperately wanted to and i’m glad they gave me that. i just felt so much for her. she just wanted to not feel so alone and so helpless and so scared that she was going to pick the wrong side again. it was beautiful.

this also meant alyssa/jack was better this season. having got the insta-love out the way last season (ugh), this season they were able to actually look at how that would play out if you took ramifications into consideration. all the problems i had with them last season were vocalised onscreen, and this new unstable thing left in its place was far more appealing to watch. they were messy and bad for each other and they knew it, but that didn’t stop them loving each other.

also: “if we get out of this, can i take you to the mall? because i really hate your jean jacket. and your hair.”

in regards to the other relationships:

lilith and nicole were adorable for the limited amount of time we got them onscreen. the slow crush to nervous dating was beautiful, and seeing lilith struggle with what getting her memories back meant in regards to that was great. we all know i thought the lilith/randall of last season was rushed, so having lilith torn over hurting one of the most important people in her life and following these feelings for someone new was lovely. IF WE GET A SEASON THREE I BETTER GET SO MUCH MORE OF THEM.

here’s the thing, putting aside lilith/nicole for a moment: the order can’t write good relationships (*with one major caveat).

hear me out.

in season one it was insta-love. jack and alyssa meet and suddenly defending alyssa is the only thing that matters to jack. it....wasn’t good. randall and lilith were thrown together with very little build up and we were supposed to roll with it.

this season we had both hamish/vera and randall/gabrielle. i would like to say that theoretically i am here for both of these. but.

hamish/vera occurred off screen. oh, sure, we had a couple scenes of them staring at each other over drinks, but that was all we got until late into the season. we were told that hamish and vera were a thing by randall when he was winding hamish up. we didn’t see it for ourselves. again, this show’s habit of telling not showing is a problem.

hamish and vera could make sense. two leaders of opposing factions having sort of hate, begrudging respect sex? i see it. from there, you can show us how it would become something more.

the show doesn’t.

we’re told they’re together. we’re told hamish is forsaking his knightly duties in favour of vera. we’re told by hamish that he’s drunk the order koolaid,

and all of this is supposed to culminate in us believing that hamish duke - tundra, leader of the knights of saint christopher, the most cunning of the wolves - would push aside everything else because he just believes that much in vera stone? to the point that he would all but abandon lilith and degrade his relationship with randall to randall being the annoying sidekick?

i woke up at two a.m. to write a note on my phone that says: ‘the greatest tragedy of the order season two is hamish duke’s character assassination.’ and i stand by that.

besides lilith’s absence for almost the whole season, it’s the thing i’m most mad about. i love hamish so much and to one-dimensionalise him in favour of a ship is...............shoddy work honestly.

so like i said. HAMISH/VERA COULD HAVE BEEN GOOD, BUT FOR FUCKSAKE SHOW, YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY DEVELOP THIS SHIT.

randall/gabrielle was better developed. by which i mean we actually saw them interacting on screen. we got to see them begrudgingly working together, we saw him learn more about her, we heard them talk about her need to fit in somewhere. when they made the joke about being bffs? good stuff. would i like them to slowburn this shit? yes please. have them become best friends and then have those feelings be something else. i would really like that. the show just needs to.......slow down. not immediately see a single character and need to throw them into a relationship with the nearest person.

gabrielle was great this season. by which i mean, she was gabrielle, and we love some consistent characterisation. i think it’s so true to everything we know about her that she’d want to inject herself into the knights’ world; she wants to be part of the in-crowd, and right now that’s them. she’s also supremely jealous of alyssa because, to her, it seemed like alyssa had the best of both worlds. so, yes, her wanting to be around the knights and that developing into her begrudgingly liking them makes a lot of sense to me.

so, my caveat.

the relationship the order knows how to write? the knights. hamish, randall, lilith, and jack. that dynamic saved season one from being a total mess. that dynamic thrived in the early episodes of this season. IT’S JUST THAT GOOD. i said once that if the order just became greek (2007) but with werewolves i’d be happy, and the first three episodes really gave me that.

THE KNIGHTS ARE EACH OTHER’S SOULMATES, ASK ME HOW.

is this an excuse for me to complain that they gave us a hint of hamish/randall and then cruelly snatched it away and i’m still mad about it? YOU BETCHA.

is this also my way of saying there wasn’t nearly enough jack/randall this season? YOU BETCHA.

removing lilith from the equation (I’M STILL SO MAD) and then having hamish pull away from randall because..........who the fuck knows, was just a recipe for disaster.

clearly lilith is the glue that holds these idiots together.

so, vera. katherine isabelle still just steals every scene she’s in. i love her. i love vera’s characterisation. i love that she’s shamelessly ambitious but also wants the order to succeed and the world not to end. i love that she can be cold and cruel and still have such soft spots for both jack and alyssa. i love that she can be vulnerable and angry about it. i just........think vera’s pretty fucking great, tbh.

i still don’t understand why the knights - after their infiltration revenge plans go tits up - decide to just go full on order. like??????? hamish and jack barely even questioning anything???? randall must have spent most of this season feeling so alone.

that being said, when jack said to nicole and randall that he knew what they needed to get lilith back and the conversation pretty much went:

jack: you’re okay betraying the order?

nicole: for lilith, anything.

randall: i’d literally betray the order for a cookie, haven’t you been listening?

we love to see it.

OH, HEY GUYS, REMEMBER WHEN IAN ZIERING AND JASON PRIESTLEY WERE MEMBERS OF THE ORDER AND JASON PRIESTLEY BECAME GRAND MAGUS FOR A HOT SECOND???? that was written solely for me. i do not know who this show thinks its audience is, but it understands me to my core.

so...............i have zero clue where the show intends to go from here. i just need alyssa to be ok and i hope - like his friend randall - jack is willing to kill whoever the hell he has to to make that happen. (we stan randall straight up murdering someone to get lilith back and making sure nicole remains innocent and safe tbh.)

SO TL;DR: the early episodes gave me life. the show declined from there, but i still enjoyed it a lot. the order is at its best when the knights are a team, i loved alyssa’s story this season, and i have no clue what to expect from next season (if we get one). werewolf alyssa? villain jack, perhaps? we’ll see!

THIS POST PROBABLY SEEMS TOO NEGATIVE BUT HI! I STILL LOVED THIS SEASON A LOT AND I LOVE MY KIDS WITH MY WHOLE HEART AND IF YOU READ ALL A MILLION WORDS OF THIS THEN I LOVE YOU TOO.

also if anyone has any hamish/randall prompts i’ll be hanging out over here crying into my hands for the next few weeks. FAKE DATING. how dare they?!

#the order #the order spoilers #the order netflix #THIS IS.....TOO LONG I'M SORRY #i love this show so much????#but it's also a mess?????#basically my brand lbh

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mayasshitposts · 4 years

Text

Ikemen Revolution

Lancelot Kingsley X OC

-spoilers for Lancelot Route Chapter 23-24-

OC used: Niamh Clemence, sister of Jonah and Lancelot. Picture attached below (made using Artbreeder)

Additional warning: angst with happy ending.

Cradle was eerily quiet that night. The red and black armies were marching towards the central quarter. Tonight, the 500 year old tension between the two sides would finally be settled.

All the red army officers led their squadrons, solemn expressions on their faces. All officers but two. The Queen of Hearts, Jonah Clemrnce, was to ensure Alice the Second's safe return to the Land of Reason.

However, no one knew what the King was up to. No one but her. Niamh Clemence rode out of the Red Army Headquarters, into the forbidden forest. She met with the Wizard, Harr Silver and his apprentice, Loki Genetta, begging them for help. Harr finally gave in, giving Niamh some magic crystals. She immediately used one to teleport to the base of the Magic Tower.

She noticed a heavily guarded spot. Assuming it was the way to the top, she charged, magic crystals in hand. Dodging the disciples, and using magic to fend off attacks, she made it to the leader's hall. Lancelot was already facing off against Amon, the leader of the tower. She noticed Anon charging up a crystal, ready to shoot a huge beam of magic at Lancelot. Niamh's feet started to move on their own, pushing Lancelot out of the way of the blast, only to be hit herself.

"NIAMH!" yelled Lancelot as he watched the ginger haired girl fell to the ground with a soft thump. Filled with rage and fear, Lancelot charged at Amon, with his most powerful spell. Amon scrambled to defend himself, but in vain, as Lancelot overpowered him. A few long seconds later, Amon lay on the ground, defeated. Lancelot made his way to Niamh and kneeled beside her. He scooped her up in his arms, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why?" He croaked, trying his best not to cry. "Why did you do this?"

Niamh smiled weakly, reaching up to wipe Lamcelot's tears. Her fingers felt cold against his warm skin. "I knew what you were planning Lance. I couldn't let you die. Cradle needs you, the army needs you, I need you." She whispered.

"And what about you? How do you think we would feel if you died? How would I feel?" He cried. "Nothing matters as long as you're here Lance. Please be happy for me," she said, wincing in pain. "I love you. I love you so much Lancelot." She whispered, starting to feel weaker. Slowly but suddenly, her eyes closed as she lost consciousness.

Words can't describe the sound of anguish that escaped Lamcelot's throat at that moment. He held Niamh close to his chest.

"What happened here?" Called a voice from the entrance. Lancelot looked up to see the Queen of Hearts and Niamh's older brother, Jonah, worry etched across his porcelain features.

Jonah rushed to their side as he checked both Lancelot and aniamh for injuries. Tears rolled down his cheeks . "What happened to her King Lancelot?" He yelled.

Lancelot looked up into Jonah's eyes, a mixture of fear, regret and grief swimming in the crystal blue ocean of his own eyes. Lancelot pulled Jonah close, with Niamh held tight in his other arm. "We need Kyle. I'll explain everything when we get home.", He said. Lancelot teleported all three of them to Niamh's room in the Red Army Headquarters, and immediately sent for Kyle, the doctor. Lancelot explained everything to Jonah, from his pact with Amon to the fight that had just happened. Lancelot sent Jonah to the Central Quarter to call off the battle.

Meanwhile at he Headquarters, Kyle and Lancelot were talking about Niamh's condition. They both knew that Niamh could not be cured by regular medicine since she was hit by magic.

Lancelot looked at Niamh's sleeping form, and immediately knew what he had to do. His azure eyes turned into crimson rubies. Before Kyle could stop Lancelot, the spell was cast and Lancelot fell to the ground, unconscious.

Niamh was not aware of what was happening as she had been transported to the land of her dreams. She was surrounded by all the people she cared about. Edgar and Jonah were bickering while Zero watched them in amusement, and Kyle was already drinking his fifth pint of beer. Niamh's eyes searched the area for Lancelot, when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, and saw Alice. "Alice?" She said.

"Niamh, your love for Lancelot is powerful. I'm sorry I never noticed it. I have returned to the Land of Reason. Go, your King is waiting for you." She said. Niamh was left speechles as Alice's form started to far away. "Wake up Niamh, and live." Whispered Alice as she faded into the abyss, jolting Niamh up from her slumber.

"Niamh? Niamh!" Called Kyle, the red army doctor and Niamh's best friend. Niamh blinked a couple of times, her eyes adjusting to the light in he room. She looked around and spotted Kyle sitting beside her.

"Kyle?" She called. "How long was I out?"

Kyle smiled bitterly, "Three days. Lance used his magic to save your life." He said. Niamh could feel her stomach drop. Thoughts swirled around her head. Kyle spoke again, "He's alive. And waiting for you. But he did end up using whatever last power he had. He's been waiting for you to wake up. Go find him." He said.

Niamh shot out of bed and hugged Kyle quickly, "Thank you Kyle. I'll make it up to with drinks later." She said before running out of the room. Kyle shook his head, laughing a little. "You don't have to make anything up to me idiot." He sat down at the edge of the bed, sighing softly to himself. "I would do anything to see you smile." He mumbled, feeling a strange ache in his heart. "Lance better treat you right."

Niamh ran down the halls, looking for Lancelot, or someone who knew where he was, when she bumped into something, rather, someone.

"Niamh!" Yelled the person as he lifted Niamh off her feet, spinning her in a circle. "You dummy! You could have died!"

Niamh looked up to find her brother, Jonah's amber eyes, red with exhaustion and unshed tears. "Big brother.." she whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes. Jonah kissed her forehead and hugged her tight. "At least you're safe now. That's all that matters to me. Let me take you to the King." He said.

Niamh nodded as she hugged back, "Thank you Jonah. I love you."

"I love you too little sister." He said. Jonah led Niamh out of the headquarters and to a carriage which transported them to the civic center. As soon as the carriage stopped outside the building, Niamh hopped out, running to the rooftop garden.

When she reached, she was immediately mesmerised by the sight of Lancelot standing tall and proud. "Lance?" She called out to him. Lancelot turned around, a soft smile on his face. All traces of pain and sadness were gone from his eyes. "Niamh."

Niamh threw her arms around Lancelot. He wrapped his strong arms around her, holding her close to his chest. "Before you say anything, let me speak." He said, pulling away from the embrace. He took away a few steps away from Niamh. "I know I have not been very good to you these past few months. Firstly, I would like to apologize for hurting you so much." He said. "You are very important to me Niamh. You are the reason I am still here, alive. You've taught me how to love and appreciate the little things in life. You've taught me the true meaning of love and I could never thank you enough." Lancelot paused for a moment as he looked into Niamh's eyes. Niamh was now crying tears of joy. Lancelot too shed a few tears.

"I want to open this new chapter of life with you by my side." Lancelot got down on one knee as he took Niamh's hands in his. "I'm in love with you Niamh Clemrnce. Would you do me the honour of allowing me to grow old with you and spend the rest of time together?"

Niamh nodded, smiling brightly through her tears. "Yes Lance, yes! I would love that! I love you so so much!"

Lancelot grinned as he stood up, pulling Niamh close to him. He kissed the back of her hands before kissing her lips softly, but passionately. As their lips connected, so did their souls, forming a bond that would stay strong for all eternity.

- the end -

#cybird ikemen #ikemen revolution #ikerev #ikmen revolution #ikerev lancelot #ikemen revolution lancelot #lancelot kingsley

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