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caralara · 2 years

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Why this Babygate situation is so different than before (but the same, too) and why it’s leading to The End

I don’t think I can count the number of anons in my inbox telling me to stop believing babygate will end soon because “the fandom has hoped before again and again and it never ended, we’ve been through this so many times” and of course it’s always accompanied by an “it’s for your own good sweetheart I just don’t want you to get disappointed and hurt” and yes yes yes thanks for the concern but I don’t take this lightly, you know?

My optimism isn’t based purely on a gut feeling, and it’s not just based on Louis mentioning Freddie every now and again or him wearing one or two funny shirts. Nope. I looked at the big picture, the time frame from when Babygate began in 2014 (yes 2014) until now and looked at everything I could get my hands on and had a few thoughts about the why and how, so let me walk you through it, just so you can stop filling my inbox with concerned messages <3

First of all - if you’re new here go read my Xarry post to get some background info on why I think babygate even happened in the first place and why Louis went along with it more or less willingly, at least to some degree.

TL;DR: to make it possible for Harry to come out as bi (regardless of his true sexuality), Louis had to appear Super Straight™ in order to not out Larry in the process, and Harry had to sort of stunt with a man that wasn’t Louis - and how do you do that? Babygate & Xarry.

Ok, let’s dive right in.

The Set-Up and Execution

Seeing as it seems they had Briana’s social media wiped clean by approximately end of 2014, the plan must have been in place by then already. This is just to illustrate that these sort of things are planned way ahead into the future - this is about 1.5 years before the baby was even born.

In my opinion, it is debatable if it was ever clearly communicated to Louis or even planned to go through with the entire pregnancy and have the baby born from the beginning. I personally believe that from Briana’s side, they were more than happy to be along for the ride and stay in the spotlight for as long as possible, and management might have suggested something like that to them quite early on, as the Briana Tomlinson and baby Tomlinson URLs had been around at a very early point in the time line already - however, once it was clear that a baby would be born, and paraded as his child, as they saw that even the pregnancy news did very little to convince people that Louis was A Heterosexual, they seemed to push for the full blown execution of the baby-having-business.

Even though Louis managed to sabotage any narrative of a “Happy Couple Expecting a Baby” by calling the paps to Glastonbury where he was holding hands with Tamara Bell, management kept pushing the narrative of Louis and Briana getting back/staying together non-stop (which made it all so messy and confusing to the gp and fandom) and even engagement rumours were seeded.

This culminated in OTRA Belfast being cancelled on 20 October 2015, where Louis did babygate interviews all day long and that “Baby [Boy/Girl] Tomlinson Is Born” was accidentally published early - I believe, this is where Louis found out for sure they were after all planning to go through with the whole birth and him being a father, and not limiting the stunt to a “pregnancy,” and he & Harry and the other boys put their foot down and walked out. He went on and leaked Home that night, and almost exactly a month later he had Danielle Campbell as his new girlfriend introduced - I believe he sought out a beard / PR girlfriend as insurance to not get dragged further into any marriage/relationship stunts with Briana (also the reason why they worked and looked so well together, she was the only beard he ever chose for himself instead of management - and she meant autonomy, something positive, to him).

But can you see how he’s working the chess board, how he’s sacrificing one thing to gain another? How he’s creative and finding solutions to these situations, to get the best possible outcome for Harry and himself from these dilemmas? How he’s utilising what he learned from being in the middle of the storm of the music industry? All the tricks and hacks? How he - even back then - used clothes and double meanings to signal (The Future Is Now shirt, the only shirt ever he re-wore (two days in a row!) on stage - precisely the two shows he called the baby doll thrown on stage a fake baby, and the other one when Harry put the balloon under his shirt during Little White Lies on the day exactly three weeks before the One Conception article?). How he’d learned to manipulate the media? Instrumentalising that horrible “fan” phone call where a deranged person is threatening a literal baby (regardless whether you think it’s real or fake), he highly publicised it at precisely the perfect moment, exactly 6 months after we got the first real pap photos of Freddie - coincidentally also the limit to employ infant actors per year in California, he uses the phone call to plead for privacy, after a bazillion planned pap walks, and making the fandom self police and create a taboo about the topic babygate so they’d quiet down, that it wouldn’t get talked about, questioned and brought up as much anymore and he could put it to sleep for now (-- worked really well, didn’t it? /s).

He knows fandom dynamics, he knows what we talk about, he knows what the different sub bubbles of the fandom like antis, solos, twarries and larries need and he also knows he can trust us, larries, to have his back throughout all of that, picking up on his signalling and sticking around for his true self.

The Quiet Years

By now we’re in late 2016. Louis is an established dad, he’s throughout has signalled he’s not happy with the stunt but he is going along with it - he’s signalled with clothes, with songs recommended (like the Devlin Album or Daddy Cool), he’s referenced FRIENDS with the Sunglass Hut, follows people with paternity scandals on social media, and he’s flatout leaked and protested.

print!Louis has explicitly not taken a paternity test, and he’s taken Briana to court approximately 28 times over custody, while he actually has never done that, and he’s paying less than $6k in child support each month as a multi millionaire.

So why did he not end it then?

First of all. Jay passed in December that year, may she forever rest in peace. I don’t even want to think about it too much, I will never be able to fathom the pain of this loss. And he still went through with his first single.

I think it is important to remember why he even agreed to do it in the first place: it was to make a coming out possible for Harry, without outing Larry in the process. By now, there’s such a gigantic heap of lies by and about a lot of important people connected to a Larry coming out accumulated, it would already be incredibly difficult to manage a coming out on it’s own - and now make it a move that won’t destroy both their careers: I don’t think the world / industry was ready for that in 2017 (or is today, if I am being honest). So. We always have to consider what Harry is doing and how gay Harry is, to see if an end is possible for babygate. So obviously, Harry didn’t come out as bi, and I believe it had to do with him signing with Jeff and Jeff doing a 180° turn, pouring honey into his ears to delay a coming out until he’s established as a solo artist, turning up the Hendall heat almost immediately. And we all know, that Harry trust(ed) Jeff, so there was no coming out at that point (they told me that the end is near, always running from the bullets, we never knew we were here before...)

So. In January, Douis break up and Louis gets back with Eleanor, and jets off to Jamaica, where Harry is also spotted.

Harry kicks off his solo career with his first solo performance in May 2017, while Louis dives back into work, announcing Back To You for July 2017 and deals with his grief on top of that. And guess what gets dusted off for promo season? Yep, suddenly Louis remembers he has a son. It is funny, just a little bit, that every single tweet, insta post and interview mention about Freddie is always in close proximity to a release. I made a fancy google calendar to visualise it, and it is so clear - usually he mentions him about 6 weeks before something gets announced, and then during promo for the Announced Thing. Like for Just Like You which gets released in October 2017, and then the same for Miss You early December 2017. Louis keeps signalling, with the Billie Jean shirt and the Just Like You music video, while Harry gets a big scary demon bee tattooed and sings Kiwi thrice on the three year anniversary of the One Conception Article.

The entirety of 2018, Freddie is basically non-existent - Louis also isn’t putting anything out. He’s in the studio a lot, and besides the recycled and rerecycled Carbon Copy Article that periodically gets published every two months, there’s nothing in that year.

Then, first Freddie postings happen again beginning of 2019, and guess what - Louis announces the release of Two Of Us. For the promo interviews, Freddie gets dusted off again. Louis releases the TOU music video the day before International Day Against Homophobia.

So why did he not end it and ride the publicity wave for Walls? I think there are a few different reasons why not. For starters, Harry released Fine Line, a very very gender and queer album around the same time. I don’t think Louis wanted to overshadow it with Babygate stuff. Secondly - maybe Louis wanted to see if he could pull off Walls without having to use the promo from a scandal, to prove to himself he could make it as a solo artist, too. I also think the push pull behind the scenes with Syco was coming to a head at that time. Shitty promo, no faith in him as an artist, and their past... Focus on one fight at a time - free himself from the people who were responsible for that horrible closet in the first place, then get rid of the collateral damage. And finally: the End needs proper preparation to be pulled off with minimal damage to Louis’ career and his loved ones. It is a huge pile of lies, and he needs to be disentangled from it with a delicate plan and patience. With all the factors behind the scenes being unsure, it is difficult to create a plan that will need at least a year to be executed if you don’t know who will be on your team next month.

The End - Attempt #1

I believe with the release of Walls, they started to execute the plan to end it after LTWT and to use the scandal to push visibility for LT2. They had announced the tour end of October 2019, and Walls was released 31 January 2020 like a lil birthday present for H - and that’s where they started the groundwork for Babygate to end: an album sporting a handwritten note, dedicating it to his littleladfreddie, missing any and all songs about fatherhood, or the joy and struggles of having a child.

Why? Because in order to End It, they have to make the fandom and gp think he’s the most devoted Daddy of all times, so that when the news hit that he turns out to not be the father after all, having taken that way overdue DNA paternity test, everyone will believe him that he really believed he was the dad to littleladfreddie and that he’s actually a victim of the scammer Briana.

They make the groundwork for that, too, in May 2020 - two months after having to push LTWT back to August because of Covid. There’s several articles of Briana dating Brody Jenner (of the Kardashian Jenner clan, yes) purely to get her back into the limelight, to make her interesting for the public, for it to make sense why it has to be in the papers what she’s doing. Between May and September there’s at least (!!) 22 articles about Briana dating Brody, to then have a BUA and immediately, and then, three weeks later, in October, we get Boobiegate - painting an image of scammer!Briana, with a sugar daddy literally telling Louis in an open letter that he hopes she didn’t scam him, too. Oof, what a story!

So why did it not end then? Why did it go quiet for the entirety of the first half of 2021?

Covid. Louis had to push back his tour, again - this time to 2022. It pretty much coincides exactly with the first article coming out about Briana and Brody - this part of the plan was already in motion. And remember, Louis is playing the long game. Making it googleable that Briana is a scammer, it’s not a bad thing if it’s already longer ago than just one promo cycle - makes it look more organic. Boobiegate was important groundwork - but not actually a sign it would end within a couple of months of it. So they pulled it off, the whole boobiegate thing unravels until the end of November, and then it goes very, very quiet. They pushed back the tour by a whole 10 months, so until then - sit and wait. We have almost zero activity from Louis between January and June 2021 - except for some Euros and studio content.

The End - Attempt #2

The next attempt gets kicked off with a “Briana topless article” in June, the day after we get Louis and Freddie at an empty arcade, super recognisable and Louis in full on babygate gear and a two days later Briana refollows Louis on instagram. The fandom goes wild - aww daddy content, especially after Louis poses with little Louies for photos!

September it picks up again: Louis starts to heavily signal with clothes (in the afhf, Obituary, Beatles, sunglasses,...) and then is seen in LA, assumendly seeing Freddie.

October, Louis gets seen clubbing with Annas (key player during babygate seeding in 2015) wearing his H shirt.

November, we get the Bentley push: facetime where he calls over Freddie to talk to Bentley. The mum herself describes how Louis took a week to find the best time slot to call - in the mean time he flew to LA and honestly, he’s so great, he loves his fans so much that he takes out time from his precious son-daddy visit to call a fan up! so thoughtful. He then gets spotted in LA with Freddie, again in full babygate gear (grateful dead “steal your face” shirt and bbg sunglasses!) and Daisy posts a photo of Louis with Freddie.

December: Louis likes babyphotos of friends, and poses with other friend and their baby while wearing a Lacoste crewneck with a huge alligator on it (baby-gator anyone?). Then: christmas and birthday with a 10 £ cake from m&s, and a Freddie within the Tomlinsons who sticks out like a sore thumb. we accidentally get an instagram video of Louis telling Freddie he looks just like him (carbon copy steal your face gasp) with his lips etc. Freddie poses with a surf board Louis gifted him that’s called DNA. Louis wears Beatles again.

January 2022: Louis congratulates his 6 year old son in a tweet. at half nine pm. but freddie goes to bed at 7 doesnt he louis and Daisy posts carbon copy post of Louis and Freddie

February 2022: Louis sees an opportunity and takes it: has the tourbus stop for a little Louie hislittleladfreddie’s age, and in front of hundreds of phones filming him, he tells him he’s got a son just like him (cue aaaaw daddy Louis)

March 2022: Louis gives Freddie a shout out during his LA show, no one gets it, so he does it again. before all of this, he tells Charlie where to film (we’ll get it in the documentary to make it real y’all) he’s spotted on a daddy son day out at Santa Monica pier

Throughout the rest of tour, the intensity and frequency of signalling through clothes get more and more, Louis wears beatles, bbg sunglasses, and: starts wearing chequers and following F1 accounts, joining F1 & DNA spaces on Twitter ensuing in the Chequered Flag Theory, signals with playlists and likes and follows and more while posing with as many 6 year old kids as possible, specifically requesting to be photographed next to them. He starts signalling about September.

June: his new merch is influenced by Dalí, who’s latest publicity came from a postmortem dna test proving the child claimed to be his wasn’t his after all.

He wears Lacoste and Palace (=Queen=Freddie Reign) and chequers almost non stop.

July: Louis messages Bentley’s mum on Twitter (after her proving to share absolutely everything for clicks and engagement) to tell her he loves his son

August: his new Album is announced: Faith In The Future. Reminds a lot of the Future Is Now shirt. Louis (and Harry!) use a lot of 7s. As in 7 years are enough?

September: LT2 Promo starts. There’s an onslaught of melittleladfreddie, see this post.

Conclusion

So. Here we are. I just wanted to explain how this time it’s different, by explaining the reasons and context of bbg related things happening in the past. that the things that are usually being called on to prove “he talked about freddie before” or “there were patterns before” are true, but they were in a different context.

so on the one hand, you’re right - we’ve sort of been here before, in 2019/2020 when they initially wanted to end it, but no one could predict covid would happen, so they had to adjust their plans. and it’s the same for this now: I am absolutely sure it will end. and if it doesn’t, it means there’s a reason they had to change plans again. remember, they have to consider Harry as well. and something shit like covid can always happen, as we’ve learned. doesn’t make freddie any more related to him though. I think this is truly the first opportunity for him to safely end it.

sorry this got so long, but honestly, it IS complicated and complex and i simplified it A LOT. if you have specific questions, feel free to inbox me!

To the end, my friends - Faith In The Future!

#babygate #bbg #freddie #louis #faith in the future #the future is now #honestly #feel free to send me an instance #of freddie stuff #or signs it was supposed to end in the past when it didnt #and ill do my best to show the context of it #ill just link this post from now on when someone asks me about the difference #lol #i stayed up for this #ugh

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oriley42 · 11 months

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Can you tell us more about Wilson's POV from realizing he's in love with House and deciding to arrange a whole fake wedding and House pushing him away when Wilson tries to kiss him and saying he won't come running and the confession scene when he puts his cards on the table? I know you had Wilson discuss it in Chapter 6 and I loved it so much but I'm greedy for more because oh my godddd that's insane (affectionate)

Hi anon, absolutely! Putting it under a read-more bc it got kinda long 😅

His first move, as we saw, was to cling to a beautiful damsel in distress and Repress™ literal seconds after having an earth shattering Oh God He's The One moment--we can skip past that, to him looking at engagement rings and thinking "oh ho, and once I'm engaged again, I can stroll right into House's office and he can't turn me away!" and then. I imagine him just sitting right down on the concrete curb. and going. "hmm. am I more excited to manipulate House into seeing me than I am to get engaged to my lovely girlfriend?" and realizing that despite all the layers of forced ignorance of his own feelings that yes, that is the case.

Cue going home to Julie, attempting to hash this out with her ("it's not that I don't love you...I just am also in love with my deranged pet wedding planner.") Julie, sensibly, is not moved by this, and leaves. Wilson finds he's relieved, which confirms that this was--despite being extremely scary and counter his usual instincts--the right call. Now, Wilson has time to Ponder. He wishes he could talk to someone like Cuddy about this, but then it would get back to Stacy and inevitably House, and Wilson knows he has to approach this Just Right, because he's on his last chance. He can't blow it by just talking to House about it--now that would be insanity. House would be halfway to California before Wilson got through "I love you"! Not to mention it wouldn't be Romantic. It Must Be Romantic, and Big, and Extra, or it wouldn't be worthy of the big extra romantic messed up thing he and House have.

Which is when he realizes: hey, the engagement idea? Still has merit! No actual fiancée required! (Would Wilson have made these Choices if he'd talked about his plans with literally anyone? If absolutely any other human being had heard his Scheme and been able to offer feedback on its, how to put it, loopiness? Who's to say….) So, he gathers up his courage, and blusters into House's office. And it works! He tells House to his face "I'm in love and this time, I'm not letting anything get in my way" and sure, maybe House doesn't get it yet, but he will!

And just as Wilson hoped, they're quickly spending sooo much time together, and it's romantic. They're drunk and babbling about invitation typography and Wilson has just gotta kiss him, this is it, House will kiss him back and Wilson can pop the "I'm single xoxo" surprise and they can ride off into the sunset--

And then House pushes him away. And Wilson's really scared because he thought he was on his last chance but it's actually worse, he's past that. He's on chance negative-one. He can't just pull out the "haha Julie's long gone, actually! also i'm in love with you and maybe always have been, how about you and I get hitched since we're on the topic." Not now. House is cold. He needs to be softened up. He needs to remember how good they were together. He needs to be able to imagine their future together. He needs to know that Wilson isn't just reaching for him because he's lonely, he's committed to House this time, he's choosing him. And what better way to do that, then to keep planning a wedding--their wedding?

So, they do all the wedding things, and Wilson makes sure at every turn that this is about them, for them. House says he hates weddings, but he clearly doesn't hate this, and Wilson knows if he could just get House to slow down and see marriage not as a prison but a promise, he would want it. It would make him happy, Wilson knows it (Wilson Knows Best), because House is needy and selfish and terrified of abandonment and if he could just believe that marriage would fix all that, then it could, because Wilson would give it all to him, forever...

And House is his friend again, but it's getting close to the wedding date, and House shows no signs of cracking or figuring it out. Wilson leaves it as late as he can, but now it's the night before and House still hasn't said anything (would it kill the guy to express a shred of feeling? well. yes.) so fine, Wilson is done playing games (for now), he goes to House's place and waits for him to turn up. And House falls right into his arms and oh fuck, why did Wilson wait so long, but it's delicious to taste all that pent up furious raging desire so really it's all working out. And this--this is the proof. House wants him back. Now all Wilson has to do is get down on one knee and whip out the ring, and sure, House will say no at first and maybe flip out a little and Wilson might have to sit on him to keep him from bolting away, but that's okay, because House loves him too Wilson can tell and that's all Wilson needed to be 100% confident in his absolutely ridiculous plan. House loves him, and so tomorrow, they are going to get married. The End.

Wilson definitely kept telling himself that this is The Only Way, happily ignoring the many other ways that exist. And that is why he and House are perfect for each other, because their broken worldviews slot together and complement each other so messily yet perfectly. Also, because absurd and hurtful deception is literally their foreplay.

#thanks so much for the ask!#house md #the marrying kind #asks #my fic #hilson

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citnamora · 1 year

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A New Kind of Love by Frou Frou is SO loveless aro(spec) and here is why:

A new kind of love / Genetically altered

Enough of "Love Lite" / And "I Can't Believe It's Not Love!"

This verse could easily be interpreted as mocking the commercialization of love. The second line alludes to common household items such as butter and coke. Frou Frou is pointing out love is something marketable with the air of someone on the outside looking in.

I can't help myself / And you don't have to say that

"It sparks across flesh / You'll feel it kicking in soon"

This verse reminds me of the folks who tell aros that they're going to know what love is when they find it in the future. You can't tell me this isn't a direct reference to the "late bloomer" bullshit we hear all the time.

Are you falling in love? / I've a feeling you are

Are you falling in love / With a feeling?

This chorus is sung somewhat wistfully. It's as if this person is trying to understand, on some level, the intensity of a foreign emotion. Very loveless aro if you ask me!

So you're running late / And it's not even like you

You were doing so well / Did the dog eat your homework again?

Whoever is being addressed by our protagonist is falling behind a noticeable amount. Perhaps because of their new relationship taking priority over all else? The usage of "the dog ate my homework" could imply the relationship potentially eating up what time they have. Or it could just be pointing to the fact our singer was given a garbage excuse.

I can't help myself (oh uh oh) / 'Cause my friend says, "in real life

It's only the police (oh uh oh) / That ever come looking for you"

This one is a bit difficult. I don't think it's meant to be taken literally. "It's only the people who want to control you who show interest in you," maybe? The song itself is very cynical for the first half so it could be read as someone trying to warn the other of a toxic relationship. Possible power imbalance. Someone controlling. Aros tend to be skilled in picking up on red flags for their peers' relationships!

Are you falling in love? / I've a feeling you are

Are you falling in love / With a feeling?

Are you falling in love / Or only feeling you are?

'Cause if you're falling in love / Let me feel it

They want to know what it's like to fall in love! They want to experience the highs that come with it! This is so aro coded you might as well slap an aro flag on it LOL.

I've been busy / You know that

You know you're just saying that / Are you going to get that?

What's that supposed to mean?

This bridge reminds me of people telling arospecs that they're making excuses on not finding romance. "You're just saying you're busy. When are you going to get a boyfriend/girlfriend?" It's the pressure some of us experience from our peers to find love like they did.

Let me feel it

This line is repeated until the end of the song. It's the desperation to get in on something other people understand. It's the frustration of being unable to know what it's like. It's wanting to know, no matter the heartache, what it feels like to love and to be loved. And that, folks, is what solidifies this as loveless arospec!

In conclusion: A New Kind of Love is sung from the perspective of someone who feels disconnected from love, remaining cynical of it but wanting to experience the rush of it themselves despite this. It's the Aro Experience(™). Case closed.

#hot aro shit #aro analysis #arofication #loveless aro #this song is a banger but it also hits me where it hurts LOL #pls reblog I stayed up way too late extracting all of this from my brain

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catboytheo · 3 years

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how p1h's hyung line would act around their idol!girlfriend.

genre: mostly fluff, a smidge of angst

warnings: none

theo

the starry-eyed idol boyfriend™

ik i'm always calling theo a hopeless romantic but PLS

his favorite movie is about a wedding ffs

and he cried during the wedding scene in the aladdin movie

such a typical cancer 😫

whenever he's singing a song about being in love, he thinks of you

that's his secret to how he conveys his emotions and expressions so well when he sings: he simply thinks about you 🥺

you're actually the inspiration behind a lot of his lyrics

also he smiles like an absolute fool whenever he watches your fancams

you know those special christmas stages at the end of each year that feature performances with idols from different groups

i can definitely see theo singing a christmas ballad with another idol (that's you bestie) from another group in the future

or those collab osts

he would love practicing with you and hearing your beautiful voice

also isac is another place he can subtly interact with you

theo pops off during isac events because he knows you're there with your own group, watching and cheering on for him

one time he accidentally made eye contact with you after the archery event and he panicked over it for the next few days

luckily, no one seemed to notice

there’s too many groups there to keep track anyway

also theo lowkey gets jealous when he sees you interact with another Very attractive idol he knows you have the hots for

but at the end of the day, he takes pride in knowing that you’re his girlfriend and no one else’s 😌

keeho

the supportive idol boyfriend™

during those ‘guess the k-pop song’ games,

keeho ALWAYS guesses your group's songs in 0.1 seconds

pls he would get really excited and yell his name confidently and smack the buzzer so hard

and during random play dance, he's always the first one to get up and dance to your group’s newest song

knows all of your group's discography and choreography by heart

i have this feeling that keeho would absolutely BODY gg dances

kinda off topic but speaking of gg dances

i never knew i needed jiung covering bicycle by chungha and intak covering lip & hip by hyuna until they did

okay moving on

keeho always streams your latest comeback mv on all of his devices and makes the rest of p1h stream it too

i feel like keeho wouldn’t exactly be on the brink of exposing your relationship,

but he would have some pretty close calls

so you would be a special mc on music bank

reading the cue card and asking p1h questions and all that

p1eces would notice how keeho's gaze lingers on you for slightly longer than average whenever you’re talking

and how he can’t help but smile whenever he sees you doing aegyo

so after filming, you pull keeho aside backstage and remind him to be more careful

honestly keeho probably has your number in his contacts saved as ‘pizza delivery guy’ to avoid being detected by the fnc managers 😎

jiung

the undercover idol boyfriend™

he’s quick to dodge any vlive questions that relate to your group in any way

jiung rly said i Pretend i Do Not See 🙅‍♂️

when asked about his ideal type in interviews, jiung basically describes you but he words it in a vague way so no one catches on

so your group and p1h would be featured on one of those weekly idol crossover episodes

jiung would act as if you weren't there to avoid dating speculations

at first, it's really difficult for him to ignore your presence,

but he ends up pulling it off quite well and no one suspects a thing at all

jiung is a whole gentleman too 🥺

during the first half of the episode, jiung noticed how you kept pulling down and adjusting your short skirt

so during break in between filming the episode, he finds and borrows a blanket in the stylists’ room for you to put over your lap,

since he thought you might feel a little less uncomfortable that way

ok so everyone’s already aware that jiung already dances like the rent is due for every stage

but if you were in the live audience,

but he would go off even more

oh and he would be extra flirty with his expressions on stage

because he knows that you're watching him 😳

he hopes that one day, your relationship can go public without any backlash from the fans or the industry in general 😔

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gilbirda · 2 years

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Party like you are dead. Second Act.

It is time for The Everlasting Trio to share their thoughts about the whole thing. Tucker may be stalked by Wes. Sam may be asked her hand in marriage. Danny may have to face an enemy.

Once again I'm not 100% happy with how this turned out, but then I'll just edit in the future. Also, I maaaaaaaaaay have some ideas for a short epilogue or something, but I won't make any promises. Enjoy!

From my series, You and me and our best friend makes three

[Read on AO3][Read on FF.net]

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Second Act

Tucker

Tucker snickered as he watched the situation go down from afar. He decided to step out of this specific part of the clusterfuck, knowing that it would be funnier if they revealed things one by one.

And he was a little bit more than distracting with his full on Pharaoh stuff over his body. This was Danny’s night, the culmination of weeks stressing over every tiny detail and being unable to let Dora and her entourage do their work in peace.

It was also the culmination of years stressing over not letting his secret be known. After his parents found out and he became King, he realized he didn’t have much to fear anymore. The overpowered bastard was now beyond the grasp of any kind of entity or government agency that could go after him (aka the GIW).

And Danny was tired of pretending to be what he was not.

He couldn't begin to understand how it must have been for him to be two different people all this time, to behave differently, to exaggerate some traits and hide others to give the illusion that the goofy, funny and absurdly good person Danny was, had been two different people all along.

As he watched him dance (pitifully, in that armor. He had insisted on wearing it because it looked cool and Sam had enabled him) with their girlfriend, he could see how happy it made him to be whole in front of everyone.

Soon he saw the rest of the humans approach the circle and watch the dancers, some Tucker recognized from school (Mikey, Dale and funny enough, Valerie) and some he didn't. The humans looked so out of place, not only for being alive, but for being dressed as if they were going to a party in Buckingham palace.

Ghosts didn't care that much for appearances - if they wanted to dress up a little it was completely up to them, but humans?

Humans simply assumed that some kind of dress code was installed.

Ha.

The funniest was Sam's mom, Pamela, who had decided to sit down after the Big Reveal™, her husband fanning her face with a napkin. Tucker saw her eyes going back and forth between her daughter, Danny and himself. He waved and smiled, just to be a little shit.

"Who's that, sir?" his bodyguard for the day, Kafele, asked. As far as he knew, he was a warrior or something. He looked so out of place here.

"That's Sam' mom."

"Ohhh, the High Concubine' reverend mother?"

Tucker sighed, but nodded. Yeah. Danny and Sam were, according to his court, his Concubines. Sam was the High Concubine because Danny couldn't, being the freaking Ghost King and everything.

With time he just stopped correcting them.

Not that Sam and Danny didn't get a kick out of the whole situation. And it wasn't like Tucker thought it was funny as hell that Danny's court had accepted Sam and himself as Royal Consorts. Well, at first they scratched their heads a bit when Danny said he had two consorts; but honestly? they were just happy that no one batted an eye that one of Danny's lovers was male.

Who would have thought that ghosts were that progressive?

He snorted and took a sip of his drink, his eyes going back to Sam and Danny. Their physical chemistry was off the charts and it was clear, even from his position at the food and drinks table, that they couldn’t look away from each other. But Tucker already knew that. Did that make him nervous? Insecure? Hell yeah, sometimes. Other times he straight up felt like a third wheel all along, or even the bi-curious addendum of a threesome.

He was being unfair, he knew that, but with time he had accepted that trying to shut up thoughts like these was useless. He better embrace them, process them and speak with his partners about it. Or else he would have his ass kicked via a very heavy steel-toed black boot.

Instead, he tried to turn things around in his head, knowing that all these doubts were just inventions of his insecurities. His friends and partners never did anything, at least on purpose, that gave that impression. The times they did it was more out of not really knowing what the heck they were doing, mixed with having to deal with all the stuff in the GZ, and mixed with him being stupid and deciding to give “space” to his friends and therefore enrolling in computer engineering a year earlier.

(If he was a genius he had to take advantage of it and skip senior year.)

(Which in retrospect was a dick move because Danny needed him. Sam needed him. He just didn’t see it.)

And now, sometimes he kicked himself for missing out on the fun Sam and Danny were having in the Ghost Zone. It stung, but at least they included him in everything and told him afterwards. And Danny had looked genuinely happy when Tucker managed to install wifi and electricity in the castle.

Hell yeah, computer engineering was awesome!

And magic too! Who knew that magic was too similar to science? And that a techno-geek could learn the basics in a few months?

Him. He knew. Because he was awesome.

Gasps in the crowd took him out of his thoughts, his eyes going back to his partners knowing they were doing something to mess with the humans again.

Indeed they were. Tucker rolled his eyes but smiled when he saw Danny kick the floor and start floating up and up into the impossible high ceiling, Sam in his arms. A myriad of tiny blobs of glowing ectoplasm appeared from the cracks in the walls, from behind the tapestries, from under the tables… Shades, small ghosts with simpler minds, that had taken refuge in the King’s Castle and were very attracted to his emotions, like bees to pollen.

Danny told them once that shades didn’t have lairs, so they usually hid in other ghost’s lairs, feeding on the ghost’s emotions and giving back highly concentrated ectoplasm they stored in their bodies, in a somewhat symbiotic way. The stronger the ghost, the more shades they could maintain. His boyfriend loved the little guys and once he settled in the castle he gave open permission of shades to make it their home.

Tucker could barely hear them all chirping and purring as the little shades circled around Danny and Sam, since the speakers started blasting “Super Freak”, and it was a little loud near the food table.

He rolled his eyes at Danny’s song choice. It must have been triggered by something their girlfriend said, judging by her smug expression and Danny’s greenish burning face.

She's a very kinky girl

The kind you don't take home to mother

His eyes went to Pamela and Jeremy Manson, who were watching the spectacle with horrified eyes. Maybe it was the acrobatics Danny did with their daughter in the air, or maybe they were starting to connect every dot and every clue of their past.

When I make my move to her room

It's the right time, she's never hard to please

… Or maybe it was the lyrics. He was paying attention. Tucker saw Jazz grumble something to her drink at the other end of the table, her cheeks pink, so maybe she was as well. If someone else was listening, he just hoped they didn’t see the way Sam took an aerial dancing move that brought her closer to her boyfriend to whisper something in his ear, provoking another flare in his face and making the shades circle faster around them.

Okay, they were being pretty obvious now. C’mon, Danny! He knew that the place literally listened to his every wish and desire, but this was ridiculous. He personally had selected a really nice and neutral playlist to ensure a safe place where they could come out of the ghost closet without any issue; but nooooo, of course mister overpowered stomped all over his careful thinking and was giving not-that-subtle hints via music. Subconscious or not, if “Careless Whisper” started next, he was staging an intervention.

Three's not a crowd to her, she said

Room 714, I'll be waiting

When I get there she's got incense, wine and candles

It's such a freaky scene

He choked on his drink. They had tried the scented candles and wine thing, once! And okay, there were rose petals involved, but those were a pain to clean and got stuck on his skin for far too long. Zero out of ten, not recommended. Also the "wine" had been non-alcoholic champagne. Look, they may have been seventeen, but neither liked alcohol.

“Danny…” he growled, glaring at the dancing pair illuminated by the shades.

“Sir, are you alright?” His assistant, Kissa, moved her eyes from the spectacle to her pharaoh. She was super chill and the level-headed of the pair of sisters that attended him personally. Also she was super smitten with the King but thought she wasn’t that obvious.

“Yeah, yeah.” Kafele gave him a napkin to clean his face. “Couldn’t breathe for a moment.”

The two anubis-headed ghosts turned to glance at him and Tucker knew what they were thinking. His kingdom was waiting with bated breath for him to die. They said that once he left his mortal coil he would ascend and recover his memories from his past life, and would take his place as their pharaoh. Until then, he was some kind of figurehead, with a regent council taking care of everything, like they did when the heir was too young to rule.

Honestly? He was okay with that. He really wanted to finish his degree and maybe mess around with politics, maybe even take on a more involved role in Danny’s castle as his Advisor for a few years. Ghosts were patient and lived forever - they could give him a few decades.

Surprise surprise, a big chunk of his followers didn’t think so, and were plotting to do more than wishing for his death (rude) so he can rule as he was supposed to.

Kafele and Kissa weren’t of those, but they wouldn’t save him from dying if it naturally happened sooner than later.

I guess this is my life now, he thought not for the first time, sighing. This is why he didn’t like to go all Duulaman. He didn’t want to give his subjects hope. And constantly fear they would stab him in the back. Literally.

He looked away to his partners as Danny laughed. The song changed, fortunately to something not that obvious, as the rest of the ghosts floated up to continue dancing with their king after letting the pair of lovebirds have their moment.

On the floor, the humans looked up at the inhuman display. The majority seemed to be fine with it, they were people from Amity and weird shit was common there; but some looked a bit overwhelmed with so many ghosts and revelations for a day. He saw groups approach Maddie and Jack Fenton, talking to them and leaving quietly with them. It was okay, they had expected people wanting to leave early and planned for it.

Movement caught his eye. He turned towards it and found Wes marching in his direction with those intense eyes he reserved for Danny. Until now, that is.

“Foley!”

“And that’s my cue to leave,” Tucker put his cup on the table and almost ran towards the crowds. “Don’t follow me!” he shouted over his back.

The ghosts parted for him when he walked, some recognizing him as the ruler of New Egypt and others murmuring “my Lord”, doing a courtesy to the High King’s Consort. Having overlapping titles was kind of exhausting, since people weren’t sure how to address him.

Who was he kidding. It wasn’t like he didn’t like the attention.

“Danny! Sam!” he called when he knew they would see him. The pair broke their kiss and looked down at him. He crossed his arms, arching an eyebrow.

Sam was chuckling as they floated down. Danny’s ghostly blue skin was tinted green with a blush, as if they were caught by a parent doing something they shouldn’t.

“In my defense, Sam started it.”

He looked at her. “I hope those plans can be postponed until tomorrow.”

“What if they can’t,” the girl smirked, stepping up to the challenge.

“Sam, it’s not fair! You had him for the whole day! It’s my turn with Danny.”

“You can have him after I’m done with him,” she narrowed her eyes.

He growled playfully, leaning in until their noses touched. “Samantha Manson, don’t play with me.”

“Oh, yeah?,” she smiled wider, menacing, showing plenty of white straight teeth. “Or what, pretty boy?”

He tried to hide a shiver. He wasn’t Danny, but he could also appreciate a woman that could crush you under her foot like any other (intelligent) man.

“Calm down, guys. There’s enough Danny for everyone. Inhuman stamina and everything," their boyfriend put a hand on each shoulder, giving a quick peck on the cheek to Sam and then to him. His lips were cold, but his cheeks were warm.

They had decided to go all out about revelations today. Danny had been feral lately, having suddenly decided to come out of all the closets today. "If I get to flaunt my crown around, why can't I show off my cute partners?" he had said. It was like he suddenly gave up secrets and wanted to clear any misunderstanding or silence any suspicion.

I mean, ghosts weren't blind, especially the servants of the castle, who were massive gossipers and had family and friends all over the Realms. Ghosts knew the three were together, but it wasn't official yet, not in the eyes of the ghost law.

Tucker didn't know much about it, but he was assuming that what ghosts were talking about was more on the line of human marriage. Which, too soon, bro. He preferred to lay low, honestly. People knowing they were together together was okay, no problem - it was just… he was only seventeen!

Sam

“Ancients, Danny.” Tucker was blushing hard. The suave persona Danny put on when in Phantom mode always managed to transform their boyfriend into putty.

“I mean it, bro.” Danny said, cupping his face with his hands, leaning in for a kiss.

"Bro…"

She rolled her eyes. The amount of fluff and glitter and mushy feelings those two radiated was absurd. It was sometimes enough to make her upset in the stomach; which she bravely endured for them.

As the lovebirds kissed, she looked around to taste the reactions at this revelation. The ghosts already knew, of course, since gossip, especially juicy gossip like the King’s private life, was spread around faster than the actual orders from Danny. Some of the ghosts she knew cheered, whooping and genuinely happy at their King’s happiness; others continued on with whatever they were doing, not really caring about drama and gossip.

Her eyes searched for the humans, finding the A-listers hurdled at the food table, talking among themselves. Star looked up as if she felt she was being watched, her eyes finding Sam first before they rolled over Danny kissing Tucker at her side. Star’s eyes went wide and she slapped Paulina’s arm to get her attention. The girl turned to see what was going on, freezing when she realized what she was seeing.

Sam waved her hand, just to be a little shit.

On the other side of Paulina, Dash looked a bit green. Kwan, instead, was giving her a thumbs up and a smile.

She nodded and gave a thumbs up too, but didn't know what he was approving her for. It wasn't like she was the one sucking Danny's face right now.

She brushed her hair back, annoyed at the maids' decision of having it be free. At least they compromised on getting her bangs away from her face, but she would rather do a ponytail or a simple braid and be done with it. If she wanted to go over the top like her two idiot boyfriends, she would have done something more dramatic than her normal guard uniform.

She decided to march on and leave the lovebirds under Fright's watchful eye. She was hungry and thirsty after almost the whole day running around to have everything ready and to accompany Danny as he greeted all the ghosts.

You see, this gathering was serving a double purpose - this was the mandatory coronation ball they didn't get to throw (long story), and as a come out party for them as ghosts, or ghost adjacent, and as partners. And so, it was double the effort. Danny had been banned from organizing it, so he of course spent the last week pestering Dora and her army of assistants, maids and helpers. And pestering her.

Fortunately she managed to keep him tired and occupied with constant training and practicing sword fighting together, but the last stretch had been the hardest.

Anyway, she knew he was going to crash hard after this. Her teasing from before was just to get a raise from him, but both knew that the moment everyone left he was going to sleep for twelve hours. At least.

"Hey Sam," she heard Kwan call her from one of the few remaining groups of humans left in the place. Huh, after they got to see their hero and his castle, it seems they weren’t that interested anymore.

Or needed time to think about how a fourteen year old died and gave his life to protect the town.

“Hi.”

“Nice outfit,” the words were awkward in his mouth, but she could see him trying to be nice. Behind him, Dash was frowning. Paulina was eyeing her with clear fear in her eyes. The rest of the A-listers hid behind the trio.

She smirked. “Thanks. Danny ordered a custom for me. And Tucker and the Fentons made some…. Uh, adjustments.” Maybe divulging about these adjustments was a bad idea. Ghosts had keen ears.

“Is he really….” The boy seemed confused. His hands twitching as if he wanted to pat her shoulder in the ‘bro’ way he expressed himself. “Well, the King? How? Why?”

Sam pursed her lips as she put food on her plate. Answering that question would be difficult and not exactly something she should say in a party. Kwan seemed interested, worried, and his furtive looks at the halfa in question told her that the human wasn’t trying to gather information to cause harm. Maybe Kwan was trying to match the Danny he knew with what they learned that day.

Unlike the rest of the A-listers hiding by the table, who looked ready to make a run for it.

“Because it was the right thing to do.”

She wasn’t sure the boy understood the weight on Danny’s shoulders, or any of the humans still in the castle - she couldn’t either, she never pretended to. But still, Kwan made a face between sadness and pity that told her he kind of did.

“Hungry?” The King they were talking about made an appearance, trying to hug her from behind and burying his face in her hair without making so much noise with the armor. She rolled her eyes. Danny was vibrating with so many emotions it was no surprise that some low level shades fell from his flaming hair to start circling around him.

Paulina made a strangled sound, but neither turned to look at her.

“So,” Wes's sudden voice wasn’t angry, but it was accusing. Sam glanced at Tucker, finding him cornered against the food table. “Pharaoh, huh?”

“Yeah, remember the Duulaman incident? Hotep-ra?”

“Their minds were wiped, Tuck,” Danny said over his shoulder before nuzzling Sam’s hair again.

“Huh-uh.” Sam nodded, eating some delicious vegetable sandwich.

“True, true. I forgot. Ha! Forgot.”

Sam groaned at her boyfriend’s weak joke.

“There’s truly no mystery here, Wes. I don’t know what to tell you. I am the reincarnation of a pharaoh and I will rule over New Egypt when I die.”

The warrior (in training) noticed Star, Kwan and Hanna, another satellite, making faces at how easy Tucker talked about his death.

“And you banging the King of the Ghosts doesn’t affect that?” a ghost Sam didn’t recognize, that was obviously listening in the conversation, choked on the ghost wine he was drinking. “Conflict of interest and all of that?”

Valerie cut through the tense silence when she walked right between Wes and Tucker with an empty glass in her hand. Her face was stony, but a twitch in her brow told Sam that the huntress had been listening in on the conversation, too.

“They’ve been banging before that.” She stated in a deadpanned voice. She poured some punch in her glass, took a long sip, and refilled it again before turning and going in her merry way.

“And how do you know that?” was the first thing Sam heard Paulina say after their challenge.

(Which, what a shame. What a shame that the poor girl didn’t get what she had coming.)

Valerie glared at the A-lister with the brunt force of the Red Huntress power.

“Because,” she sipped her drink. It glowed toxic green sometimes, so it was spiked with ghost wine. Huh. “I’ve been trying to hunt Danny since freshman year.” Another sip. “And after I gave up I started fourth-wheeling these fuckers.”

She made a strategic exit before the barely hanging there humans could ask her what she meant. Hannah did a double take between the Ghost King still clinging to her (floating shades and everything), and the ex A-lister. Sam could almost see the gears moving behind her eyes.

Tonight was a night of closets and revelations, huh.

“You don’t look surprised,” everyone turned. Tucker was smiling, like he knew something. “At least about the banging thing.”

“Please stop saying that.”

“Of course,” Wes ignored Sam’s plea, grabbing his phone from his pocket and unlocking it. “Who do you think I am, an amateur?” Finally he found the Gallery app and scrolled towards a folder she didn’t catch the name of, but was full of pictures of them.

“Ohhhh, interesting.” Danny let her go to approach the other two, curious to see the pictures.

Sam walked closer too, at least to check how deep ran the damage of Wes’ stalking.

It was… Well, it could be worse. Much worse.

She saw a picture of the three of them in the Fenton’s backyard, this was super early in their relationship, in gym clothes and apparently doing some martial arts basics training with Danny. The next picture was a little bit embarrassing - of her kissing Danny’s cheek as she gave him a thermos (she remembered this fight, also early in their relationship). The next was of her and Tucker sitting on a bench with Danny’s homework on their laps, arguing about who got to do his homework this time.

(Tucker mimicked his chicken scratch best.)

Then, as the pictures became more recent, Wes caught them easily in more, huh, compromising positions. Tucker pulling down human Danny, who was wearing the simpler version of his kingly regalia, to kiss him deeply. A photo of her trapping Danny in Phantom mode against a wall in a dark alley, his legs around her waist and her hands tangled in his longer locks of white hair, their mouths locked in a passionate kiss.

The most recent was of the three of them cuddling in a park, on a picnic day - she was reading, laying on her stomach; Tucker leaning against her back doing something on his PDA, and Danny in human form sleeping with his head on the geek’s stomach. That one had been a rare quiet day when the chaos post-coronation died down.

“Nice camera, dude! Do you mind sending them to me?” Tuck suddenly had his newest, high tech, probably super expensive phone in his hand, already hacking into Wes’ phone to get the pictures. She hoped he would delete them after that.

“Hey, those are kind of personal moments.”

“Does my hair really look like that from the back?” Danny reached with a gloved hand at the back of his hair, disturbing some shades that fluttered for a bit before resettling between the plates of his armor, probably to phase into his body and set camp there.

Before anyone could comment more on the pictures, a voice rumbled in the throne room turned dance hall.

“Lady Samantha Manson!”

She tensed, as she did when someone said her full name.

She turned as some young looking ghost she didn’t know, but felt kind of familiar, approached her. For a moment she tensed and grabbed her morningstar, ready to defend Danny, but it became clear that the ghost was after her. She widened her stance.

The ghost wasn’t stupid, though, as he stopped at a respectable distance and bowed to Danny. Then he glanced at Sam before looking back at the King.

“I request the hand of Lady Samantha in marriage.”

The room fell into silence as the music stopped with a scratch for the second time in one night. Danny straightened his posture and tilted his head.

“Why?”

Why indeed. It was known of the High King’s intent of making Tucker and Sam his official Consorts after their deaths. Challenging a claim on another ghost like that, be in a romantic, platonic, mentorly or fatherly kind of relationship, was highly frowned upon. To challenge the King’s claim was plain suicide.

“My Lady has proved a worthy warrior and news of her accomplishments has come to my humble pricedom in the Lands of Perpetual Spring.”

“She’s alive.”

“So she is,” some ghosts gasped. Living people weren’t exactly welcomed by everyone in the Zone. “It matters little to me.”

Danny lifted an eyebrow, his hair disrupted by an invisible burst of air. He looked at Sam, who made a face at the situation. The King wouldn’t accept the challenge, because he was Danny, but he couldn’t simply ignore the ghost.

Sam straightened her back and hit the floor with her weapon.

“Beat me in single combat and we’ll talk.”

The ghost looked at her over his shoulder, like she had just said something crazy. He turned at the king, but he was shrugging.

“Whatever she says, man. Try and win against her before making any rash declarations.”

More whispers from the ghost crowd. By this time everyone should have gotten used to how unorthodox Danny was about almost everything. And how he didn’t care about protocol. And etiquette.

“Very well,” the ghost said, clearing his throat. “Dueling rules?” He smiled down at her in a condescending way.

She snorted. She knew the dueling rules. “Until forfeit, or five seconds knocked out or unable to keep fighting.” It wasn’t her first duel, but it was the first time she didn’t duel against Danny, a yeti warrior, one of Pandora’s captains or any other of her trainers. “Tell me your name, since you already know mine.”

“I’ll tell you after I win my new bride,” he winked at her, and her skin crawled. Okay, now it was personal.

She swallowed some words she wanted to say and looked at Danny for confirmation. He nodded and stepped back, letting the duel begin.

Sam didn’t waste any second, letting go of her morningstar to hit her forearms together. The plating of her armor there sparkled for a moment, activating the magical-technological properties of her suit, runes written with light all over the previously dull plating of her armor. She couldn’t even pretend to understand how Tucker and the elder Fentons did it, but her suit let her absorb ambient ectoplasm over time and store it in the metal, to be released in similar fashion as any other ghost. So far she had managed enhanced physical abilities and low-to-medium power ectoblasts, but she was working with Danny to get into the really cool stuff soon.

Anyway, she could win this. She had trained like crazy for a year. She had to win this.

Taking advantage of the distraction, she took a breath and grabbed the morningstar, swinging it with her enhanced strength at the ghost frozen in place. The hit got him on the side full force, launching him to the other wall with an undignified scream.

She blinked. Did she win already?

No, the jerk came back flying at her with fury in his red eyes. One hand on his bleeding side and another combed back long platinum locks, revealing his elvish ears flattened against his skull. He hissed.

Sam was waiting for him when he launched himself, claws first, and prepared her shoulder to take the hit. Her armor purring with power, feeding her and fanning the flames of the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The ghost hit her, but she stood her ground. Her feet dragged for a moment over the polished stone floor, and for a moment she lost her footing. Gritting her teeth, she let go of her weapon to free her hands to push back at the ghost, sneaking a punch to the jaw to make him stop trying to crush her under his natural ghost strength.

He let her go, and she took a few seconds to regain her breathing. She also checked that the armor was still functioning. Everything was okay, of course. Fenton weaponry was quite sturdy.

The Jerk, as she was calling him in her head, lunged at her again, but she sidestepped him. In the last moment, the goth grabbed his tail and pulled back, forcing him to fly back in front of her. She charged her left arm and punched him downwards. The other ghost hit the stone so hard he made a crater.

“What-” The Jerk started to say as he stood again on two reformed legs, the hand still drenched with ectoplasm on his head.

She didn’t let him finish. Sam charged her knee guards and jumped, floating for a moment in the air in the way that gravity worked funny in the Ghost Zone, and plummeted back down, legs first to where Jerk was looking up at her with horror.

He moved away at the last second.

“Hey, hey. This is just a duel! No killing!” he tried to plead, eyes bulging out of his head at the even bigger crater she was looking at him from, just where he stood a moment ago.

“Oh yeah, I’m not at the maximum power setting,” she clicked her arm guards together again, and the armor started purring louder, the metal glowing in a softer white than most ghosts.

“But-”

“Why? Do you want to surrender?” she rose her voice over his, her stance tense and ready to attack again.

Jerk eyed the bright armor for a second. Then looked into her eyes. Sam smiled, hoping he got the message that she intended to humiliate him for his insult at her person.

Instead of doing the intelligent thing and giving up, he squared himself, his hands charging with his own ectoblasts. A delicate flower crown appeared on his head, showing how he was channeling the power of his land.

She narrowed her eyes. The hard way it is.

The warrior (in training) leaped forward with a charged kick to the floor, trying to get in close quarters before he could shoot her. Hand to hand combat was her best strategy, and ghosts never expected it because everyone could shoot ectoblasts. Up close and personal? They didn’t know what to do with her.

She guided away one of his charged fists in a flowing motion and did an uppercut with her other hand. She jumped and kicked him down, following him down to do a series of combo punches before kicking him in the chest with all the energy she could gather in her knee guards.

Jerk flew up and away, crashing through the stained glass window behind the throne, which depicted an abstract picture of the King triumphant after battle.

Sam stood back up, panting at the effort. When five seconds seconds passed and Jerk didn’t come back, she relaxed and clicked her forearms to deactivate the armor and stop wasting ectoplasm.

“What a workout, huh?”

She bit her lips, not knowing if she should laugh or hit Danny at the comment.

The ghosts decided to laugh. Duels were the purest form of entertainment in the Zone. Bread and circus and all that.

“Someone check if homeboy over there is still breathing, please?” he continued, turning to grab her hand and lift it like she was a boxer at the ring. “Sam wins!”

People cheered, and even if she shouldn’t care about anyone’s recognition, she looked around to find people from her school clapping along with the ghosts.

Her mother… Pamela was frowning. Her father was pale, his hands trembling.

She decided she would care about that later.

“Sorry about the destruction, Danny.”

“No problemo. I know more than anyone how rowdy these ghost fights can get.” He made a motion with his hands and without even looking at it, everything that was broken during the fight repaired itself in seconds. On the back of her mind she registered the ‘ohhhh’s and ‘ahhh’s of the humans and ghosts alike.

Sam smiled at the show of power, glad that Danny seemed more comfortable with it. That was the whole point of this party, anyway.

She kissed him softly on the lips.

“Thanks for letting me take care of it.”

He snorted. “You are kidding, right? Thank you for kicking his butt. What a jerk,” he rolled his eyes.

“While I agree with Danny, Sam, not to objectify you or anything, but hot damn!” Tucker joined them, fanning his blushing face. “Those were some sexy moves. I don’t think I can stop thinking about it now.”

“I can sit on your face later, if that helps.”

Her boyfriends blushed and looked at each other, clearly picturing it in their heads. They looked back at her, nodding enthusiastically.

She smirked and grabbed Tucker’s face to kiss him deeply.

“Later.” He squeaked, breathless against her lips.

Danny

Danny closed his eyes and smiled, enjoying the noise and the gathering of different entities in his castle. Since he took the throne, silence became his enemy - it left him alone with his thoughts and his extended conscience of the Zone and-

No. Focus, Danny. He had to focus on what he had close. The shades nibbling at his emotions and his energy, his partners’ presence close by, Fright shadowing him. The former A-listers of his school. His sister, who was watching him.

He opened his eyes, finding Jazz beside Dorathea, apparently mid conversation, looking at him with concern. He smiled, hoping it was reassuring. He was fine. Finally, no more secrets.

“So…,” Wes continued their conversation as if Sam hadn’t just fought a ghost with her bare hands. “How does it feel knowing that the guys you bullied during highschool are now ghost royalty?”

The question was aimed at the popular kids, of course.

Dash turned at him with a frown on his face.

“Royalty?” he said. “I know how these things are, Fentonio. You are not a real ghost, you can’t be king. Maybe a figurehead or something, but I can’t believe that ghosts would simply roll over and obey a wimpy human.”

Danny laughed. Of course, he expected something like this. “It surprises me that you know such big words, Dash. But you are mistaken, though. Ghost society is dictated by power. The most powerful is at the top. Aren’t you familiar with the concept?”

He tilted his head, daring him to agree.

“Also,” he continued. “Do you forget how I got this crown?” He pointed at his hair, feeling the Crown of Fire materialize, ignoring the boost of power and awareness that came from summoning his relics.

“Prissy Dark.”

Danny snorted. “Yeah. I defeated him. And now, if someone wants my crown, well,” he smiled and kindly let a bit of his power show. The room became darker, and he knew ghosts could feel the pressure of his presence. Humans, though, would have to go by what Tucker had called his ‘crazy eyes’. “They’d have to defeat me.”

Sam elbowed his side.

“And defeat Sam first, yeah yeah, that too.” He rolled his eyes, letting go of his control of the place. As usual, his keep, his lair in the Ghost Zone, obeyed.

(If he wanted, he could make everything, including its residents, obey. He could do so many things-)

Dash took a step back, but recuperated quickly from the scare.

“I still won’t believe it. You had help!”

“I did. I do!” he nodded. “I’m proud to say that I got here with a mix of bad luck, the power of friendship and stubbornness.”

“You are selling yourself short, my King,” Ember suddenly jumped in, pushing him playfully. “You still passed those tests and trials and some shit,” she knocked back her glass of ghost wine, missing her mouth completely. “And now you are the King of the Underworld! Woohoo!”

“Ember, I think you need to cut a bit with-”

“Remember when we used to fight?” she threw her arms around his neck. “You were so cute, defending the town.”

Fright did a quick step to remove the singer, but Dann shook his head. On the back of his mind he registered the humans freaking out at the famous singer Ember McLain.

“Hey, do you wanna dance for a bit? It would burn the alcohol.”

“Burn?” the ghost smiled, she wanted it to be a smirk, but it was lopsided and weak. What had happened to Ember? Did she argue with Skulker again?

“Yeah.”

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun blended into the room, a careful move to reign back the party mood from the previous fight. It worked, because a lot of cheers echoed in the room, including a drunk Ember.

“That’s what I’m talking about, yeah!” she turned to look at him before she jumped into the dancing crowd. “For a grown-up you are still pretty cool, dipstick.”

“Not a grown up, yet,” he arched an eyebrow.

“Grown-up-to-be then,” Ember struck her tongue, her guitar appearing in her hands, and she started to float backwards as she did her own rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s classic.

He breathed in relief.

“King of the Underworld?” Dash squeaked. “Like… Hades or some shit?”

“Still caught up on that?”

“Will you, uh, damn my soul or anything when I die?”

Danny rolled his eyes. “First, rude. Hades never decides who dies. He’s not even the God of Death, that is Thanatos-”

“And he is actually pretty nice!” Tucker said around the big cake slice he somehow found and was in the process of devouring.

“- And second, I’m not some god of the afterlife.”

“You kind of are, though,” Jazz and Dora had decided to join them, probably taking pity on him at being interrogated.

“Your Highness,” Dora did a courtesy. Danny had given up on telling her not to, so he nodded in acknowledgement.

“I’m not a god.” His tone was final. He didn’t want to discuss his actual status as… whatever he was now. After bonding with the Core in his coronation ceremony, he knew... He just knew he had become something else. Not human, not ghost. Still halfa. But what he found in the Core, it wasn’t -

(He was Undying now. He was Eternal. And he was only one step away from the creature he was bonded with now.)

But he was not a god.

“You should totally cosplay Hades, though.” He glared at Tucker. “You already rock the ‘dead but sexy’ aesthetic.”

An explosion took his attention away. Of course. Gather a bunch of drunk ghosts in one room and leave them unsupervised for five minutes and someone was going to explode something.

After reassuring everyone that it was okay and he was just going to check what happened, he followed his instincts and found one of the DP banners adorning the walls on fire. Blue fire.

He looked at Ember, who was cheering among a group of fire core ghosts that joined her. Surprisingly, some humans he recognized from his school, but were younger than him, were cheering too.

He waved his hand and fixed the banner.

“Careful with the fire.” Was everything he said, but it fell on deaf ears.

Danny walked back to where he was to continue the conversation and maybe talk to his sister, acknowledging people that greeted him with a nod and a smile, when he froze at what he found.

Huh. It seemed like drunk ghosts weren't the only thing he had left unsupervised. Apparently, parents-in-law were also dangerous to leave alone.

“... and you must stop this… behaviour!” Pamela made a gesture with her hand. Sam arched an eyebrow.

“But you just gestured all of me.”

“Yes! It is unbecoming of a lady!” the woman pinched the bridge of her nose. “So this is what you were doing behind my back? Behind our backs?” Jeremy stood silently behind his wife. “Running around hunting ghosts? With a ghost?”

“I thought you were okay with it?” Sam crossed her arms, but Danny could see how the argument was affecting her. She didn’t like fighting with her mother.

“Yeah, but I never allowed you to canoodle with it!”

Oh. So it was this argument.

Danny took a breath to control his emotions and stood into the fray, positioning himself behind Sam and besides Tucker, one hand on her shoulder.

“You!” Pamela redirected her glare at him. “You dragged her to this path!”

Sam stepped into her line of vision. “He never dragged me anywhere. I followed him willingly and knowingly.”

“And look what it made of you,” Pamela scoffed, looking at Sam up and down with her mouth turned down. “I didn’t raise a tomboy,” she looked at Danny and then at Tucker, who were biting their lips to stay silent. “And I didn’t raise a promiscuous daughter either.”

It was also this argument, too, huh? They’ve been avoiding that confrontation for years.

“You didn’t raise me, the nanny did,” Sam’s shoulders were tense. “You don’t know me.”

Pamela took a step back, as if the teenager had just slapped her in the face. But Sam wasn’t done, it seems.

“Mother, this is who I am. Being here, helping Danny? It is where I do the most good. The stuff we are changing around here… it is worth it.”

The King let his hand slide to her’s, and squeezed it softly. Jeremy’s eyes followed every movement.

“Things are changing for the better. Don’t you see? After tonight nothing will be the same. When I get back I can show you-”

“Don’t.”

Sam’s voice broke a little bit. “What?”

“Don’t go back home.” The woman closed her eyes. A tear went down her cheek. “I can’t… I can’t deal with this anymore. This… rebellion of yours. I thought working with Phantom would help get you used to some practice experience and then you would go back to the real world and work on real causes. But this?” She looked around the hall. “This is a fairytale, Sammykins. Ghosts aren’t real people. You aren’t helping anyone.”

This time it was Sam who looked like she had been slapped.

“You really don’t know anything,” her tone was of disbelief. She narrowed her eyes. “You think you do because you have money to throw at your problems, to hide things you are insecure about. But you know nothing.”

“I am your mother. I know what I need to know.”

“No you don’t. You just choose what you want to believe and stick with it. Did you know we’ve been dating for two years? No, you don’t. Never asked. Did you notice all the times I wasn’t home, when I was out there saving the goddam town from real threats? No, you don’t. Because you only care about yourself and things that directly affect you. You think you are my mother, but you never cared about me, ever.”

“I do care-”

“No! Just… shut up. Leave. Just leave,” the hand in Danny’s was clutching it with a death grip. “I will decide if I want to go back to that house after tonight. For now… Danny?”

He cleared his throat, summoning the Crown to make a portal. “Please, step into the portal. Thanks for attending today.”

Pamela seemed like she wanted to scream at him too, but when their eyes met she closed her mouth and blinked rapidly, as if confused. Crazy eyes indeed.

“This isn’t over, young lady,” she turned to look at Sam.

“Oh yeah, it is.” Her smile was weak, but her eyes were stormy.

When the Mansons crossed the portal, Pamela made a point to glare at everyone who was looking at them (which was by this time practically the whole room). Music had stopped again and Danny didn't have the energy to kick back into the party mood anymore.

"Sam?" Tucker whispered, making a move to hug their girlfriend, but the girl stepped back and away from them.

"I… I think I need a moment," she took their hands and squeezed twice, to signal she was not okay but couldn't deal with physical contact for now. "Be right back."

The crowds parted for her. Those that didn't know her or her situation still got the gist from the argument, and didn't want to poke the bear, especially after knowing what she could do to a ghost.

Danny's heart broke in pieces as he watched her go. The sight of her back as she left via a side door triggered a nightmarish vision he often had since he accepted his title - no, since forever. Since the accident. He always feared the moment she got enough and left him, the moment she would regret involving herself with him, with how messed up he was.

He loved her. He really did. But he would rather just die again in the portal than force her to leave everything behind for him.

"It's going to be okay, Danny," his boyfriend's hand on his own snapped him from his thoughts. "Sam is stubborn but smart."

He didn't answer. What could he say? Nothing was going to be okay, nothing was going to be the same after tonight. He knew this. His partners knew this. But they didn't expect-

Danny took a breath and reigned back his emotions, noticing the flames of the torches grow back to their usual height. The little shades stirred inside of him, too, sensing his discomfort. He sent a calm wave from his core and they resettled back into their sleeping places.

A lot of people depended on him now. He couldn't crumble down like this in public.

The King turned and nodded at Fright before starting walking back to the throne, dragging Tucker with him by their joined hands. All the joy and party mood was gone from his expression, being echoed by the ghosts that moved away from him (in respect? in fear? he didn't know the difference anymore), letting him take his time walking to the raised dais. He didn't bother figuring out how to get up there with the armor - he floated instead. He was the Ghost King. Might as well make a show of it. Just to be a little shit, he made a flourish with his cape as he sat down on the gigantic throne.

An ornate chair appeared next to his throne and Tucker sat down with a sigh, the sound kind of loud in the silent room.

"Now," Danny swallowed the knot in his throat. "We have things to do. Let's get started." He projected his voice, but with how quiet everyone was, he didn't need to raise the volume much.

Ghosts knew what was going on, but since the humans weren't aware of the double purpose of the party, the few groups that remained scrambled back to make space for whatever was going to happen.

Danny smiled softly. No one would get hurt in his lair, they should know that by now.

He looked back at the front, trying not to show favor towards any of the ghosts in front of him. Coronation balls weren't just party and alcohol - protocol dictated that it would also be the moment where subjects (ugh, he didn't like that word) could pledge allegiance officially, and make a show of supporting him in front of everyone.

Not all the ghosts played the games of politics in the Zone, but those who did were a little… over the top.

Danny groaned, watching the first brave ones approach the dais, some ghosts from a cousin kingdom of Dora's, big and jeweled boxes in their hands. Right behind him, he noticed part of New Egypt court drag literal slaves and carriages full of gold behind them.

Tucker groaned as well. He didn't get involved with his future kingdom yet, but he knew they were pretty hardcore about keeping the king happy to keep Tucker as his Consort.

This was going to be a long night.

Sometime in between a pledge from the Guild of Writers and the Knights of Eternal Dawn (how he knew the names, it was part Dora’s rather intensive drilling and his connection to the Zone) Sam slipped back at his other side, another chair appearing for her. Her expression was collected, but he could feel she was done with the party, more than he was.

But he couldn’t just ask everyone to stop and go home. There were many things he could do now, that was true; but he was as limited as well. He had to watch what he said, what he did outside the palace. He was more than a hero - he was someone the ghosts looked up to, feared and/or respected. He served a new purpose.

But there was no going back now. Sometimes he wondered if he did the right thing after all. He was new at this, so he still needed more time to get used to the changes; but sometimes he saw the look in people’s faces, ghosts and humans, his parents, and he wondered… Was he really the person for the job?

Yes.

(The Whisper. Since the coronation he could hear it better. Sense it better.)

...My favorite….

(It said he was the one it wanted.)

But how could he? He was only a child.

“Daniel.”

Clockwork was standing between his throne and Sam’s chair, as if he had been there for a while. He knew he hadn't - he had been paying attention to the parade of riches and ghosts in front of him.

“He’s here.”

He didn’t have to look up to know that with Clockwork, Pandora was also here on the dais. Both ghosts had been busy and told him they wouldn’t come before the pledge part of the ball. As part of his Council, they were needed for official business.

But this was not what Clockwork was talking about.

Ah.

Of course.

“I see,” Danny straightened his spine and tried to relax on his throne, feeling it grow and grow into a more threatening chair fit for a menacing king. “I should have seen this coming.”

The doors to the main hall opened with a bang, and there he was, Plasmius in all his glory. Danny tried his best not to show anger. The last time they crossed paths he almost crushed the other’s core in rage.

In his defense, he said some pretty awful things.

The crowds, alive and dead, parted to let the infamous archnemesis pass through. Not even Maddie and Jack tried to approach him, not after what they had to witness, not after what they learned about their college friend.

Vlad stopped a few steps in front of the dais, arms straight at his sides, his face contorted as if he had swallowed something disgusting.

Danny stood and crossed his arms, trying to make himself look bigger.

“Vladdie. What a sight for sore eyes.”

“Daniel, I didn’t come here for the usual banter.” No ‘little badger’, no smiles, no pleasantries.

“Another challenge, then?” He summoned the Crown, just in case. His core flared with the power, and Danny caught a few ghosts flinching under the weight.

To his relief, Plasmius was shaking his head. “No. It isn't that, either.”

As he looked up at him, Danny was surprised to find genuine sorrow. Pity. Without breaking eye contact, the ghost dropped to his knees in front of everyone, enticing a few gasps and yelps of surprise.

“I have learned that…” he started, a faraway look in his eyes. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know, Daniel.”

The King floated down the raised platform and stood right in front of Vlad. “Didn’t know what?” Plasmius looked away.

“I thought it was just power. Just something to own. I didn’t know what it truly-”

He was stopped by a hand on his head. Vlad looked up to find Danny’s eyes and he understood what was going on. He had his suspicions, but somehow his archnemesis had been shown what it really meant to be King. The horror. How it was not a position of power, but a living sacrifice-

“It’s okay.”

Danny tried to smile, but the pain was still fresh.

“I forgive you.”

His (former?) enemy leaned in and hugged the halfa around his waist. Danny heard a sniffle, but didn’t move to look.

“I pledge my allegiance to the High King of the Ghosts. From this moment until I fade, I may serve you as you see fit.” He recited the words mechanically against his chest. Danny was hit with the force of the new bond entangling itself around his core, a new ghost to command, a new soul belonging to him.

(Belonging to the Whisper. To the Zone. To the Realms. Who could see the difference anymore? Where was the line?)

(Sometimes he couldn’t get out of bed. The heavy feeling in his chest, all that people, all those souls)

He took a deep breath. “I accept.”

And he would. He would forgive and accept everyone.

Because it was the right thing to do. Because he wouldn’t let them know what it really meant to be a ghost. Because he would rather feel the weight and feel their presence, hear the Whispers and dream of horrors beyond the imaginable, than let everyone experience what he did.

Because even if there was a way to undo everything, he would still go into the portal that day when he was fourteen. He would accept the crown again. He would go through the ceremony again.

He was Daniel James Phantom/Fenton and he was the High King of the Ghosts. He had two amazing best friends that loved him and a family that supported him.

He wouldn’t change a thing.

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#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #danny phantom fics #sam manson #tucker foley #danny fenton #everlasting trio #ghost king danny #ghost king au #polyamory #samxdannyxtucker #fanfic #fanfiction #writeblr #gil writes

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dannythedog · 3 years

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bestieeeeee, idk if you do reactions but if you do can you do the boys reacting to their actress girlfriend crying and moping for hours because she got turned down for a role she really wanted?

Yes! I sure do! Thank you for requesting :) I decided to do this headcanon style since it would make it easier to write. I hope you don't mind!

Requests and ships are still open! Send some stuff in if you feel like it

Greta Van Fleet Reactions: Actress GF Gets Turned Down for a Role

Josh

Josh’s heart would ache when he saw you crying

“Oh, baby doll, it’s okay”

He’d hold you to his chest and let you cry it out while stroking your hair

Josh would whisper words of praise while doing so reminding you how beautiful and talented you are

He’d reassure you that you were a fantastic actress. He believes you’re going to have a long and beautiful career

“If I ever get my own film started, I’d make sure that you were the star”

Josh would then launch into a whole story about his "film" and how you would be the perfect person to tie it all together

He'd talk about his own experiences with acting so you knew he understood you

Lots and lots of cuddles while ranting about how dumb the casting agents were

Once your tears were dry, he'd crack jokes

"I miss your smile. I hate seeing you sad"

He'd offer to help you go over monologues for future auditions

“I know how important this role was to you, but you’re so much more than just one audition”

Danny

Danny would walk in with a giant smile on his face, excited to hear all about the part you got

But as soon as he sees your lip quivering his smile is gone

"I didn't get it" you whimpered

He'd then come scoop you up in his arms and pet your hair

I don't see Danny being the type to talk you through something like this

I feel like he would just sit with you and let your emotions run their course

Not that he would be unsupportive, he's just very open with emotions and thinks it's okay to cry however much you need

"You'll get the next one, Y/N. I just know it"

After you're finished crying, he'd make you a tea and get you a blanket

Danny would want you to relax and process your thoughts

He would always listen whenever you're ready to talk about it

Jake

When Jake finds out you didn't get the part, he'd be furious for you

"Are they fucking stupid? You're perfect for this part!"

I don't see Jake having a temper often, but he knew how much this meant to you

He's just heartbroken at the situation

"Don't cry, people who can't recognize talent aren't worth your tears"

He'd cook up your favorite meal since he knew you always loved Chef Jake™

He'd try to make the house as cozy as possible

Records, candles, wine, etc.

If you looked sad enough, he would even bring out his guitar and sing you a song

Jake would pass you your favorite book to take your mind off of it

He'd plant himself right next to you to read as well

Lots of kisses being pressed to your hand

Sammy

When the cast list came out Sam was there waiting with you

Your face fell and he shut the laptop

"Well, fuck them. You don't need that part anyways"

"But I wanted it, Sam. Really badly"

You'd go to your room to wallow

Sam would not let that happen

He'd drag you to a coffee shop even though you had no desire to do anything

Then he'd stop to pet every dog he saw, pointing them out to you

You'd be lying if you said it didn't make you smile at least a little

He'd stop by your favorite takeout place and drag you back to your apartment

"Is it too soon to watch Netflix? I don't know if seeing other actors will make you sad"

You'd laugh at his silliness and let him pick a show

He'd point out random characters and claim you were far better than them

At the end of the night he'd give you the warmest, sweetest kiss

Followed with "You're like, the best actress I know. I hope you know that"

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sparrowmoth · 3 years

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😈🎞🖤⚔️ for the ask game!

Thank you, @hoodpane! ♥️ 😈 Favorite villain parent?

You know....... it’s Cruella. Which is funny because she often reminds me of someone I loathe right down to my soles, but I mean. That’s part of why I like her, I guess? It’s complicated lol. She’s... interesting to me. I find her kind of heartbreaking, actually. She’s something that I love but full of rot and disease and that compels me, if that makes any sense. She had so much potential and her narrative raises so many questions of whether it was somehow her fate to become as evil as she did or if she chose that whole-heartedly and yeah, I just absolutely love getting into her head and exploring what makes her Like That.™

🎞 Favorite scene?

Oh god, this is so hard lmao. UMMM. Every scene with Carlos?? jkldjksjkgldg

I keep wanting to be like “oh! what about-- wait, no, what about--” I JUST LOVE A LOT OF SCENES. If it involves Core Four bonding or Jaylos or OH OH OH Carlos being cute and sunny when Jay comes in with his jersey? Y e a h. Andddd I like watching that scene when Carlos asks Jay for dating advice, but I like watching it on mute so I can pretend it’s gay. Also the limo scene. Also the museum scene(s). All of it.... I just love all of it. Yeah.

🖤 Least favorite popular ship?

Oooh, that’d be Jay x Gil and yeah, it’s a little bit because Gil gets in the way of my OTP, I’m not ashamed to admit that lmao. It’s not JUST that though. Like, I am all about polyamory, but I can’t get behind Jay x Carlos x Gil either. I just... why?? Gil is so cute as part of the Sea OT3. That’s his crew. They’ve loved and cared for him so long. Gil having a crush on Jay? Cute! Jay spontaneously deciding he’s going to pull a “whole new world” with Gil as a consolation prize for the fact that we couldn’t have Jaylos be canon because fuck Disney? No. :)

No shade at people who like this ship, it’s just not for me. I won’t read anything tagged Jay x Gil unless it’s about Jay breaking up with him for Carlos lmao. >>

⚔️ Unpopular opinion about Descendants?

Hmm, hmmmm. Audrey and Ben weren’t in love. Their body language in D1, the way they look at each other... it’s so fake. I think people pull from the books when they make the claim that these two loved each other and that’s fair at least insofar as I think book!Audrey did love Ben. But I don’t think Ben ever loved Audrey, and... Okay, here’s the thing... and keep in mind that I like Ben, but I still feel very strongly about this: Ben was emotionally cheating on Audrey by the start of D1. Even if you aren’t aware of the book!canon establishing how Ben and Mal were dreaming of each other, the intro scene shows this pretty clearly IMO. Audrey knows it, too. She shows possessive body language because she sees the way Ben is reacting to Mal.

And here’s the other thing! Everyone points fingers at Audrey and Mal when they talk about this stuff. Why though? Ben has a good heart, sure, but he’s not perfect. Mal wasn’t flirting when they stepped out of the limo. You can see her assessing Ben’s behaviour towards her with a very guarded expression, but she’s not flirting. Ben though? Ben was flirting. And again, Audrey saw it. She was trying to stop him and he was pulling away from her. When they get into the school, he literally tugs out of her grip at one point and puts distance between them to communicate to Mal that he’s not invested in his relationship. The way Audrey looks at him in that moment? Betrayal. But she tries to save face by fake smiling at Mal. And IMO the only reason someone as headstrong as Audrey didn’t break up with Ben on the spot is that both their families are in such positions of power, it would have been a huge scandal. Especially to accuse Ben, the future king, of being potentially unfaithful to his girlfriend...? Audrey wasn’t just saving face for herself and her family, she was saving Ben’s reputation as a perfect prince charming. It’s all about image in Auradon, after all.

I’d like to think Ben wouldn’t have straight up cheated on her if the love spell hadn’t happened, but as far as canon goes, I think it’s just a simple fact to say that he would have broken up with Audrey for Mal. And if that had happened, people would still blame Mal for it. Almost like society hates women or something. Wild. 🍵🍵🍵

#hoodpane #<3 #ask games #descendants fandom #baudrey*#bal*#anti-gilxjay #ben discourse #new tag specifically for this post lmao #seriously I don't hate ben #but I'm low-key sick of seeing all the girls 'held accountable' for shit that they're just reacting to #I struggle to vibe with Audrey's character but I WILL fight for her right to be respected #Ben should have broken up with her in private the SECOND he started dreaming about another girl #he's a sweet guy but he's also a dumb teenage boy who needs to learn some respect for women #I am placing the blame for THAT on his father #*sips tea*

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addictedtostorytelling · 3 years

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Hello. How is everything? I would like your opinion on Grissom’s faces. That guy is really a puzzle. There are two episodes that I can remember that his face is very weird when he looks at Sara. The first one happens while Nick is talking (6x22) and he looks at Sara with sad eyes. The same thing happens in the law of gravity, when he surprises Sara when she left he makes the same face, the sad-looking kind of confusing. What do you think that means? Thanks <3

hey, @camitalia!

everything is all right for me. how about with you?

in response to your question:

so obviously there’s no way for us to definitively know exactly what grissom is thinking in the moments that you mention, but, to my mind, those looks from grissom seem like thoughtfulness (in the case of episode 06x22 “time of your death”) and smittenness (in the case of episode 07x15 “law of gravity”). in both instances, i think he’s caught up in considering sara and their relationship and maybe is even imagining their future together. i don’t think he’s sad at all.

more discussion after the “keep reading,” if you’re interested.

___________

to examine the scenes in question more specifically:

in episode 06x22 “time of your death,” the scene takes place at the end of the episode, when the team is in the break room, debriefing after wrapping the case. nick enters, bearing a diamond necklace that the victim bought for the female caprice unlimited plant. the team admires the jewelry, and, as they do so, grissom looks over at sara. nick then remarks, “you know, the biggest fantasy in vegas is that everything here happens by chance. nothing here happens by chance. the odds are set before you get off the plane.” again, grissom looks at sara.

i’ve written a bit about the meaning of grissom’s look when the team is admiring the bracelet here.

my take is not that he’s sad but that he’s contemplative—and the thing that he’s contemplating specifically is sara’s reaction to the jewelry.

we know from the original scripted version of grissom’s monologue from episode 04x12 “butterflied” that for a long while, he has wanted to buy sara jewelry.

i think that here, he’s checking to see how she takes to the idea of a boyfriend getting his girlfriend a bracelet; he wants to know if she’s at all offended or turned off by such gestures, so he’s reading her body language and listening carefully to what she says, gauging her response.

i’ve long held that at the end of s6, grissom has marriage on the brain, so he may be imagining what might happen if he were to give sara a very particular kind of jewelry (i.e., a ring).

then, as for his look at sara when nick is talking about chance and the odds always being predetermined in vegas, this gifset and this short meta cover what i think is on his mind.

essentially, grissom can relate to how hard and fast the victim fell for the caprice girl. he also is ruminating on the concept of “inevitability,” and specifically in terms of himself and sara; she came to vegas ostensibly for one reason (i.e., to investigate a case), but the odds were set that they would come together from the moment she stepped off the plane. it was in the cards for them.

throughout this scene, grissom is caught up in how much he is in love with the girl sitting across from him. his mood is pensive and introspective, which contrasts the jocular humor of sara and the rest of the team; however, he’s not “down”—just lost in his big thoughts™.

that these particular looks at sara directly precede their famous “eye sex” interaction just before the episode “fades to black” further suggests that grissom isn’t sad or upset; he’s just deeply wrapped up in all things sara, is all.

as for his look in episode 07x15 “law of gravity,” again, i don’t see him as being sad or confused at all.

to me, that’s the look of a man who is in awe of the woman he loves. she’s covered in garbage grime and smells like a dump, but she’s the most attractive damn thing he’s ever seen, and she never fails to surprise him (in the best way possible) with how she reacts to him. when she tells him she’ll see him later in that self-assured, bedroom purr? it just about knocks his socks off.

his jaw hangs slack and his expression turns cow-eyed because he’s head-over-heels for that girl. he’s missed her so much while he’s been away, and he can’t wait to be alone with her again. that look says, “wow.” that look says, “how does she do it?” that look says, “i’m going to marry her someday.” she constantly and wonderfully confounds him by exceeding his already high expectations.

anyway.

those are my interpretations, at least.

thanks for the question! feel welcome to send another any time.

#answered #camitalia #asks: csi #**#my meta #meta: csi #meta: gsr #meta: grissom #csi #gsr #gil grissom #06x22 #07x15 #let's talk shop #csiverse

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fictionallyinparadise · 3 years

Text

Screw it, I feel like absolutely garbage and I am full of comfort ideas. (For my migraines bc god are those suffering)

Under the cut bc it's gonna be a long one <33

Satine: Fuck everything we sleeping/laying in bed. I am falling asleep with my head on her chest listening to her heartbeat and she is petting my hair. We're both still in pretty nightgowns.

(movie) 47: Its just gentle arguments of "why didn't you tell me you feel bad I would have dropped everything for you" from 47 and "we have work to do damnit and we can't stay in one place for days on end I'm fine" from me. I'm a stubborn bastard. But I'm also feeling shitty so I don't argue for long and give in and we cuddle in some car we totally legally own. 47 can drive us to safe places.

(video game) 47: Yeah I'm doing him and Diana separate before doing them together. Do not take that out of context. Anyway. If I feel up to it? A nice bath!! A warm one too. With bubbles. He washes my hair and tells me random facts he knows. Then we cuddle somewhere quiet!!!

Diana: She drops everything and instantly gives so much vocal comforts 🥺😭. "You'll be okay darling, I've got you", "my poor dear, come here", "I'll be with you till you feel better, alright?",,, GAHHH. Then just,,,,,, laying in bed,,,white noise plays in the background,,,

47 and Diana: Hehe power couple time. They take turns comforting,,,but it ends up with me being middle spoon hehe,,,they simply want to hold and protect from anything that can make me feel worse!!!!

Not doing Cinderella and Charming bc Idk how our dynamic works entirely

Erik: Yes all poly ships get individual then together results. Anyway. He gets a fuck ton of water and any small silly thing I ask for?? Like?? "Man I want a mint". He comes in with big ass bag of mints.

Charles: Cuddling and quietly infodumping?? Yes. Yes I do think. He simply just murmurs on about anything he wants and I shall listen and feel some joy in my moments of agony.

Charles and Erik: cuddle pile cuDDLE PILe. Either I lay on top of these lads or they lay (gently!!!) on me. Either way. I am held. I am warm. I am safe!

Arthur (Morgan): He takes me away from camp bc god that place is LOUD and we get a quiet little safe place. And we simply. Exist. He makes us food, gets us water, sets up camp,,,stays up all night making sure absolutely nothing bothers me or so help him gOD he will go feral as silently as possible. Doesn't matter how long I need we will simply be out in nature.

Javier: He takes me fishing,,,or just to any body of water to camp at. That's it. Sometimes his boyfriend(s) will tag along. Sometimes his boyfriends' girlfriends will also tag along.

Dutch (and Hosea bc I'm too lazy to do them separately): Hosea reads to me,,, Dutch. Idk. He reassurances me about the future. How great it'll be. Because it will. Because everything is fine. Shut up /lh, nm.

Lucifer: Fuck family drama, fuck crime, fuck everything. Close down Lux. Awkward hugs are absolutely required. I will simply koala hug him. He will just carry me around. No one is allowed to ask questions.

Geralt: He just goes "fuck" and that alone makes all my misery go away /j. Nah but he's awkward as heck. What the hell does he do his shape shifting girlfriend is in absolutely misery?? What do?? He probably does some awkward "I know you feel like shit" talk, hand on the shoulder, gives That Fucking Smile™,,,

Jaskier: Second he can tell that noise makes head hurty he shuts up. Nearly breaks his lute. Just. Hugs and kisses. He shows me songs he's still writing. It's silent. Anything that makes noise gets a "shUT UP" hissed out. All is well.

Geralt and Jaskier. OH,,,oh Jask would make Geralt stop and get a room at an inn. Despite both of us protesting. Immediately simply gives little face kisses. Fuckin drags Geralt to the room. If headache allows he sings quietly. If not then we sit in silence till someone falls the hell asleep.

Scully: Work sucks but she calls every hour to check in. And if I don't answer twice she doesn't call after. She just gets someone to check up on me....and if she is home then we cuddling on the couch. Some cheesy show is on. I have my face buried in her neck. Life is okay.

Dean: Kid feels bad call off all hunts. Hot chocolate and some old, cheesy ass TV show gets put on. Either that or he takes me driving to clear my head. Get some fresh air.

Cas: No angel mumbo jumbo happening here bc I would refuse. He uses he wings to block light and noise. That's it.

Volga: He doesn't know what to do!! Tiny husband doesn't feel good?? What?? How fix?? Who needs wacked with the spear. Unfortunately he cannot bonk my agony away. I use his cape as shelter from the sun. Or his wings. Either works. Sometimes I don't need everything dumped to take care of me sometimes I just need to know someone cares...

Dean and Cas: Some combination of the two. Yeah.

Deadpool: VIDEO GAMES if I can handle it. Other than that he'd get comfort foods then fuck off to another room and check in every so often.

Gordon: Hsnckosod. Okay. He gets water, blankets, pillows, etc. If I want him there I will grab him and make grabby hands. Which I do like almost everytime. He gives words of encouragement,,,,like,,,"you're so strong sweetheart", "it'll be over soon, just rest",,,Aohdoskckks.

Heisenberg: Specifically I imagine falling asleep somewhere random and he just. Drapes coat over me. Carries me to a gentle surface. And just shuts shit down and let's me rest. I wake up and find him and fall asleep in his lap. Everything is okay.

I'd do Jon and Martin but I think of this more with Nove than me so it's more specific to them so...

Sully: Bold of you to assume he isn't off doing something else. I KID I KID. We watch cheesy movies (either on silent or with sound it doesn't matter) and banter. That's it. That's all.

Alice: Honestly I don't know. We cuddle? Maybe? Perhaps?

Jason: We live in a cabin together so it's quiet. He has a room with windows boarded up just for when head hurty. He's a gentle giant. Water? We got that. Food? We got that. Blankets? We got that. Cuddles? Yes.

Simon: He is main "I do not feel good" comfort f/o. We have a whole ass routine planned out. If I can, bathe. If I cannot but still want to get one, he'll do the trick of like. Running the shower but I don't fully get in. Just to wash hair. Then, food and water. And meds ofc. Then rest. He has an entire case of water and snacks in our bedroom as well. Oh and he loans me his clothes. Oh and he makes sure I want his company before staying.

Dwight: He gets those like. Stress reliving oils that go in a humidifier for me? After making sure the scents are okay bc sometimes scents make migraines worse.

I don't have any clue for Ghostface.

I can't do The Curious cuz the self insert is so specific

Brahams: He's absolutely shit at taking care of himself. But he does his best. He'll read to me! Give me kissy. Hehe.

Narrator (Dude, Stop): He makes some stupid jokes to get me distracted and talks about video games with me hehe.

Narrator (TSP): "Sorry Stanley, my partner doesn't feel good so you'll have to do without me for a while.". Okay but for real he finds whatever form will bring the most comfortable and change to that then will comfort. Oh have I mentioned that I hc that he doesn't have a body he can manifest one when he wants and it can be anything?

Slenderman: He can make white noise /j. Nah but Idk he's basically a forest god. He makes everything quiet and guards over me. Fuck the dumb ass teenagers tryna summon him they can suffer later. Tiny joyfriend needs him.

Arthur (Hastings): I know he's in a rush to move the fuck on. but. But. It is rest time. Drink the Joy free water. Eat some food. Idk what the food is but he provides. Oh no there's only one bed,,,HA jokes on you we're gay. We are cuddling. Hehe.

Warren: We both need a fucking day off oh my god. Anyway. "You feel crappy? Me too. Uh anyway. You need anything?". That's all I can think of.

Idk about Magnus. Though fuzzy cuddles

Daisy: She would simply hold me close and do that comforting little back rub thing. She smells like cinnamon. I have decided that is canon.

Luigi: He tells me bout his adventures!! Ghost doggie lays on the bed with us. I am laying my head on his shoulder. We have glow in the dark stars.

Daisy and Luigi. A combination of those two,,,,She holds me but I'm also still resting my head on Luigi's shoulder. We still have glow in the dark stars. Everything is good.......oh how I wanna be here.....

I refuse to write for the Sharktopus f/os 👁️👁️.

Thomas: Hmm. I uh. Dunno. He drags my stubborn ass to bed. Maybe reads to me a bit.

Harvey: Okay let's pretend that ghosts can have migraines. Or that he didn't die. Either works. Anyway. Absolutely awkward energy. "Do you. Uh. Need anything, luv?". Gets whatever is requested. Does finger guns with a "come grab me if you need anything". Yeah.

Jack: He's a good dad okay he's got a routine down for these cases. Get water (do they have water. Idk), get blankets, get candy. Tell me stories about past Halloweens! Or have Zero watch over me if I can't handle noise.

Agoti: OH LOVE OH DARling. Anyway. He gives me one of his sweatshirts and offers headpats. Maybe some forehead kissy too. Perhaps even a hug or two.

Matthew: He's a good boy. He asks me what I want!

Lucio: His existence makes my life better. Okay but for real? He's kinda like Volga but more in a "I can't do anything to help and that makes me upset bc I hate to see you in pain" way. He just gives absolutely luxury. I need sleep? Take this big ass fluffy bed with lots of blankets and pillows. I need water? Only the best and cleanest and best tasting. I need food? Best chef on the job. Whatever I want. I need cuddles? Dog pile time. He also tells stories about himself. Or of us but in his pov.

Sally: Sing to sleep?? She sings to sleep. Or just makes sure I'm comfy. Also that cute little headpat that kids are given?? Yeah.

Jack and Sally: Cute headpats, Zero watchin' over, some type of beverage and candy <33. Oh maybe Jack'll make some silly spooky faces to make me laugh :D

Can't do Revan because I don't know our dynamic yet

Nihilus: The hungry void can cuddle me if he wants to. He's probably got the same Volga and Lucio thing but with more curse words strung with it. Uhh. Fuck it it's my comfort f/o I get to make the headcanons. He has a really soothing singing voice despite the mask. He sings like an angel.

Cookie Run (because Istg I'm just adopting more kids left and right with this game): Mama doesn't feel good? No adventuring we gotta make sure Mama gets some jelly and handmade get well soon cards! Idk they're just kids man,,,sobs.

Sal: Secret agent shit goes oof- nah but he'd tell jokes. Silly little jokes. Get me to laugh. He'd just take my little mind off the big pain.

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