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#the tension between P and everyone who looks at him and sees Carlo and how it prevents him from getting to be his own person sometimes
echosong971 · 7 months
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“The Mechanical Puppet with the Borrowed Soul”
No spoilers for the endings in the tags, please <3
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retvenkos · 3 years
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“would it be terribly cheesy if i said ‘it was always you’?”
requested by @biqherosix STRAP IN, FOLKS, BECAUSE TODAY WE ARE TAKING A LOOK AT WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE FOR EJ CASWELL TO HAVE A CRUSH ON A NORTH HIGH STUDENT...
so first of all, you and ej knew each other long before you ran into each other in high school. because, you see, you went to junior high together, and in those days, both you and ej were on dance company 
(you can pry dance company! ej from my cold, dead fingers)
you were arguably the better dancer, and seventh grade ej really wanted to prove himself. a baby competition sprouted between the two of you, but it was nothing big.
you both liked to show off in order to taunt the other, and you both got a kick out of trying to one up each other.
but at the same time, you were teammates. you did everything together.
so the bond between you and ej was strong. it was a competition, yes, but it was friendly competition and you both actually hyped each other a lot. 
plus, dance company does a lot of things as a group, so it was unavoidable. you were going to end up liking each other at some point. luckily, it happened sooner rather than later, and the two of you built up a nice rapport with one another - a closeness forged in friendly competition and last minute studying parties.
but all that changed when you went to north high and ej went to east high
now, since north high is completely fictional, i get to create the dynamic between the schools, so listen up everyone!
north high clearly has the better arts department, and they also have the better tennis and softball team.
east high has the better stem department as well as a better swim team and any other swim related sports.
west high has the better sport teams overall - basketball, football, volleyball, etc.
(that's why we never see any uber jocks at east high—)
now, clearly you have your boundary school, but people get on special permit all the time, and when you say you’re going to north high ej is like ???? but why ???
“they have a better arts department, ej, you know that!”
“well, yeah, but east high is the best. we always said we were going to be wildcats!”
“ej.... they’re actually leopards.”
it wasn’t a super emotional goodbye. you promised to stay in touch, and it wasn’t like it was hard. you still saw each other around the mall, you still followed each other on instagram and what not but.... time just got between you.
you slowly stop texting, you see each other less, when you see each other in public you do that thing where you give a smile but then don’t go over to say hi, because you’re wrapped up in other people. it’s not pointed things, you just... stop talking.
and you still like each others photos on instagram but you’re just... there. 
all of that changes, however, when carlos asks you to help him choreograph hsm.
at the time, the rivalry between schools wasn’t big, it was just a low simmer, and the reason carlos approached you was because once upon a time, you, ej, and him had all been in dance company together for one (1) year (it all comes full cIRCLE) and for one of your performances, you had done something hsm related.
carlos wanted to know if you remembered the routine and could help him come up with something slightly more advanced.
and while you and carlos hadn’t really kept up with one another, he jokingly brought up a time where he did something for you, and how you always said you’d pay him back one day and maybe now it was time to cash it in??
you decided why not? you’ve done a lot of stuff for north high’s dance company, but you’ve never helped out in a musical before (and as you can imagine, north high is very competitive in their arts)
so you joined the hsm cast as co-choreographer.
now, because you had your own north high dance company stuff to deal with, you end up missing a lot of rehearsals. you mostly brainstorm with carlos and add tweaks to the choreo. carlos is the one to really ~teach~ things.
which means that while you are present for ~the drama~ that was ej-nini-ricky, you actually miss a lot of it. you feel the tension, but exactly why it’s Like That is beyond you.
you tried to ask carlos once but he said he wasn’t going to get into that, thank you.
and honestly, you have competitions to keep up with, so you’re not fixated on it. you’re just hoping that they’re not still pissed at each other on opening night, when ej has to strap ricky in for “getcha head in the game”
and while you’ve chatted with ej a couple of times, you haven’t had much time to catch up.
you actually bond a lot with gina, who is on the same level as you in terms of dance. you end up talking and mention how ej was once on dance company, and that rocks her world because ej???
and that’s when you show her all of the old videos you archived on your instagram from your junior high days. carlos, ej, and you all in dance company. they’re precious.
and when ej’s friendships are strained and he doesn’t have anyone to turn to, he sees you and gina laughing and crowding over your phone, and he comes to say hi.
and thus, the friendship begins again.
it is, of course, slow going because so much time has come between you, and gina and carlos (the two you hang with the most) are not on great terms with ej, but you guys grow really close all over again. ej is glad to have another senior to talk to about college, and you’re glad you have an old friend to talk to because it’s easy to feel out of place in this school that isn’t yours.
and on opening night, you know ej gifts you something - maybe it’s a jacket or beanie with the wildcats emblem on it.
“it’s kinda stupid, but we always said we were going to be wildcats together, and we did it.”
“huh, i guess we did.”
and for some reason, you chest is really warm, and you can feel the heat sneak up to your cheeks.
“this is really sweet, ej.”
“well, you know me.”
“yeah, i guess i do.”
and then it’s his cue to get ready to go on stage.
“oh! and there should be another surprise coming, don’t hate me for not telling you!”
and you’re ??? but it turns out to be gina.
you all clearly go to denny's afterward to celebrate, and if ej feels his heart seize in his chest everytime you laugh or steal one of gina’s fries, it’s not an unfamiliar feeling. because really, it had always been like that, with you. you never cease to amaze him.
and once you’re on the east high theatre group chat, you never get taken off of it, so you know everything that’s going on with your theatre buddies, after hsm has finished.
and this is where a conflict of interest really comes in...
because, you see, once hsm is a hit, some of the theatre kids at north high think you’re a traitor. you gave east high their secrets, and now east high is an actual contender. uncool, (y/n).
so you kind of get iced out by a lot of north high kids. like i said. competition there is  s t e e p  and you’ve been accused of fraternizing with the enemy..
but when zach roy shows up and he hears about the drama surrounding one (y/n) (l/n), he gets an idea... so he approaches you one day after dance company practice...
“he asked you to do wHAT?”
you’re texting ej, carlos, and gina in a group chat
“he asked me to co-choreograph their show.”
“are you going to do it?” - carlos
“of course they are! do you think opportunities like this just fall out of the sky?” - gina
“i don’t know, though, i feel like he’s working some angle with me. there’s something about him that doesn’t feel genuine.”
“it’s those piercing blue eyes.” - carlos
“i have piercing blue eyes!”
“and you’ve never done anything underhanded?” - gina
“we did that together!”
“what should i do?”
“accept, clearly!” - gina
“i’d be careful, if i were you. miss jenn doesn’t trust him for a reason.” - carlos
“it’s up to you, (y/n). you’ll do great, and it’s a great opportunity.”
“but?”
and everyone can feel the pause - the conflict where ej doesn’t know what to say.
“but nothing! this is a HUGE opportunity! he’s dancer extraordinaire derek hough zach roy! i’d be the villain of your eventual documentary if i were to try to hold you back.”
“okay... i think i’ll do it. you know how competitive things are, here. this could really give me a boost.”
“hell yeah, (y/n)!” - gina
“spy on their production for us?” - carlos
“anything for you <3″
i imagine you clash a lot with lily, but you actually become really good friends with howie and antoine. but that’s beside the point.
and while things are on good terms at first, your bond with your wildcats stays strong, and you’re carving out a place in north high rehearsals, lily is quick to find out that you’re on the east high group chat.
and because this is hsmtmts, i get to have some fun with this premise.
lily gets some kind of tech nerd on her side, and she gets him to make it so that somehow, the text that you get from the theatre group also send to her phone, for maximum stalking of the competition. that’s how she always gets one step ahead of east high.
and as north high seemingly continues to have insider info on east high, someone suspects there’s a leak.... which leads to you. who else has access to north high? so they send a fake text and wait to see if north high takes the bait.
they do. so now east high thinks it’s you.
but at this same time, you keep noticing that suspiciously, whenever you get a text from east high theatre department, lily’s phone goes off to. literally at the same moment, you’re doing your own test to see if somehow she hacked your phone.
(you had your suspicions because lily is actually terribly bad at hiding her hand and constantly makes remarks that make you Think™.)
you confirm lily to have hacked your phone, and so you go old school and show up to east high, hoping to tell them what happened and find some fix (since east high is the mother of all tech schools in this universe.)
but when you walk into the auditorium, the cast is being really passive aggressive toward you? and you’re so confused? what happened?
of course, ricky is the only to confront you because these days, it seems like he’s always one (1) moment away from blowing up.
and you explain that you were played just as much as they were - it was never your intention to betray them. east high is your family.
“oh, yeah? i’ve never known an east high leopard to go to north high.”
and so now we’re in shambles! we’re divided! 
you leave, upset, and ej catches you in the hall. he tries to explain that ricky’s been on one, recently, that none of his anger was really meant for you, and that he believes you - truly. he knows you’re the last person to ever betray them. you’re not like that. that’s more him than it is you.
and you just give him the world’s biggest  h u g .
now you’re probably wondering why i insisted on this particular plot line, but let me tell you - ej never really understood completely what a complete breach of trust it was for him to steak nini’s phone and violate her privacy like that. now he can see how deeply it affects you - how it can really ruin people in ways you never intend. it’s about the learning curve.
anyway, it takes you a while to build up trust with east high again, but you say “hey, why don’t you guys continue to send false leads to this group chat? make another for yourselves, and continue to spread misinformation to me.
ej is like... do you really want to sabotage your own show? but you tell him something along the lines of “our show is still going to have superior choreography, lily is just going to waste her time doing pointless side missions. it has nothing to do with the quality of my work.”
and ej loves this competitive and devious side of you so much. but he’s also deathly terrified of telling you how much he cares about you, because he always manages to screw things up.
and gina finds hilariously endearing because of all people to be self conscious... ej caswell? the ej caswell? she would be his hype woman if she wasn’t so busy finding this all too Good to be true.
eventually, lily will find out, but when she confronts you and threatens to tell the cast that you’re the reason they’re so behind in their production, you tell her that to do that, she’d have to confess to stealing your phone, hacking into it, and using it to spy on you which breaks like 23 different school rules. but sure! tell everyone! you’d love to see how the principal reacts when you film it and show it to them on monday.
(this is getting really long, let me see if i can wrap it up, quick)
clearly, ej is an Idiot when he’s in love, and even though he’s deathly afraid of telling you his feelings, that doesn’t stop him from expressing them.
both of you are in your respective musicals, and your rehearsal schedules align really nicely, so a lot of the time, ej will drive up to north high afterward so he can give you a ride home. (you don’t have a car, okay?) you guys always stop to get fast food or a drink at starbucks or something, and you have little “dates” where ej parks the car and the two of you eat in his car, just chatting about your day.
or on weekends, you and ej go and drive up to the state college that ej was admitted to, and you walk around campus, trying to envision him there. and if you’re also going to a school nearby, you do the same for you. (bonus points if you’re going to the same college, so you walk around and pick out the places where you’ll chill together.)
and if these little excursions of yours are the highlight of your week, and all you want to do is hold ej’s hand forever, singing in the car with the windows down and driving into the sunset... well, you just hope that ej wants the same.
and since ej is in av club, and he’s really trying to dig in and figure out what his story is, he’s always got a camera of some kind out, and some of his best work, he swears, are pictures and videos of you.
anyway, at some point, you confess to ej that you have a crush on him (howie probably pushed you to do it because he was tired of seeing you pine).
it’s a weekend and the two of you are procrastinating on your respective school assignments (study sessions being interrupted with senioritis? sounds about right) so instead you’re just sitting on the floor, staring at the ceiling, talking about whatever. and i think it just slips out, and when you realize what you’ve said, you’re vvv embarrassed, and you don’t even want to look at see how ej reacts, but he calls your name and you turn to him, a deadly mixture of dread and hope rooted in your stomach and shaking you to your core, but ej is smiling and in his eyes is something brighter than the sun, and when he tells you he’s feels the same, it’s like that dread in your stomach blooms into pure joy and when he tells you he’s had a crush on you since you were eighth graders and you were a better dancer than him, you can’t help but laugh until all of that warmth in your stomach has escaped into the air and hangs around the two of you like low hanging stars - so close, you can reach out and touch them.
anyway, cue lots of sneaking around north high - not because it’s a secret but because it’s fun hiding in the back of the auditorium and sneaking into the empty dance room.
cue cheering for each other at the menkies and congratulating each other when east high gets best musical, and north high gets best choreography (amongst others).
cue going to denny’s to celebrate and laughing until your sides hurt, stealing each other’s fries, and holding hands under the table.
(also... ej 100% would kiss your fingers when your hands are intertwined and that’s truly a blessing)
cue going to pool parties together for no other reason than i want all of the east high kids to do an impromptu rendition of “all for one” and ej gets to hit ricky with one of those blow up beach balls “for revenge” on the basketball moment in season 1.
plus, a pool party would do wonders for destressing, don’t lie.
AND FLUFF ENSUES.
taglist: @maybanksslut, @theletterhart, @brokenandheadoverheels, @neelia-thedaughtherof-athena @kitsdeadwife, @amortensie // add yourself to the taglist here!
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torentialtribute · 5 years
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Sheffield United news: Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder lifts lid on turnaround at Bramall Lane
It went straight to the wire. The unbearable tension. Emotions by the wringer, they had hung there to the bitter end, their destination determined by the very last game of the competition. Contrary to the toughest expectations, they sometimes opted for the long race and stood by death. Mission accomplished.
Chris Wilder was in the middle of the festive crowd at the Warner Stand when Jos Buttler removed the bail from Lord & # 39; s last month. He acknowledges that the drama of England's World Cup victory could be an allegory for Sheffield United & # 39; s first season back in the top flight for a dozen years.
& # 39; Not six were hit by the park. It wasn't like & # 39; n game & # 39 ;, says Wilder. "It was hard to hit and Joe Root said he had found it hard to get off the square. Everyone had their own problems with the field, but when there was so much at stake, it would never be a smooth game. When it comes down to it, in such a situation it is all about victory.
Chris Wilder says that Bramall Lane was an easy place to come and play when he arrived at the club
Wilder says there was a toxic relationship between Sheffield United & # 39 ; s players and supporters
The 51-year-old has won more games since February 2014 than any other English football boss
& # 39; New Zealand was fantastic. I never thought it would be easy because some people were making love and it wasn't. It was a game that faded and flowed to death and yielded an incredible conclusion. & # 39;
The mention of cricket develops a glint in the eyes of the Wilder. Sheffield Boys under 13, opening bat, and he shines. "Not that I was that good. I loved playing, but I was certainly not the best cricket player the school produced. Someone else took that cloak. A guy who goes by the initials MPV. "To Michael Vaughan, Ashes-winning captain, at Silverdale & # 39; s sporting appeal can now be Chris Wilder, Premier League manager are added.
Apart from & # 39; the price of the ticket, which was pretty heavy, & # 39; the experience of the Lord is one of these cherished Yorkshireman. That night of July 14, he ended up in a pub in St. John's & # 39; s Wood, where he drank in the atmosphere of the historic occasion, next to the wet stuff that went over the bar.
This summer, Cricketfan Wilder was inspired by England & # 39; s World Cup success
The man with the Blades tattoo was also in the crowd on Bramall Lane and demanded rather contrasting emotions in 2007: Sheffield United & previous home game in the Premier League prior to today's visit at Crystal Palace. The last day defeat by Wigan
The sinking feeling came with an exaggerated sense of injustice for a home support to West Ham and their third party in the hands of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano. "I would come back to see whenever I could, to be with some of my friends," says Wilder. "It was a day out, the chance of a few beers and a catch up. The kind of togetherness that a club should promote.
"A lot of things were flying around the back of that season. People spoke about weakened sides. It was hard for me because I knew Paul Jewell and Chris Hutchings from the moment I played at Bradford, so although I was distraught that Sheffield United had perished, Jagger and Hutch were really good guys and it was great for them to be Wigan to keep up. & # 39;
At the time, life was remarkably different for Wilder, a Conference Level Manager with Halifax, a club on its way to liquidation. He grins: "People ask me if I ever thought, when I was at the Head, that I would lead Sheffield in the Premier League. I was thinking about what tea was and how the team would come that day!
"My way has always been to stay ahead of myself. This year it may also be a matter of not fooling myself if things don't go the way I want. & # 39;
If it goes as it would like, a strong home form has almost certainly played its role. There is no doubt about it. We are talking about using the support & # 39 ;, he says. "The players and fans were certainly not connected when I first came to the club. Players hated supporters, supporters hated players. You still had 20,000 weekly visits, but it was an easy place to play for opposition teams. It was one of the first things we tackled. The way we excited the audience. & # 39;
Since February 2014, when he took over at the bottom club of the Football League, Northampton, Wilder was the most productive winner among English football managers and tasted 131 teams. He knows, however, that he has to get used to losing.
Billy Sharp scored his first top flying goal ever in the 1 -1 from last weekend signing with Bournemouth
Former Man United-wonderkid Ravel Morrison was one of Wilder & # 39; s summer signings
& # 39; There will be a number of reality checks this year & # 39 ;, says Wilder. I'm good at that. I don't like it, I am not going to feel like a hoop when we are defeated, but if you are involved in a nine-month season and a relentless season, you have to get over it quickly. I spoke to a few managers about it and their advice was, "Don't beat yourself in this division because you're against it."
Wilder is expected to stick to the core of these players who got him here during the opening weeks. Lys Mousset and Mo Besic, his two foreign takeovers in the outfield with a spending of £ 45 million this summer, have experience with English football. Otherwise Wilder played it safe, looking for homegrown products.
"It's 100 percent thanks to the players I know," he says. "With the money that we have to spend, we cannot afford any mistakes.
" The club also did not get an extensive international scout system because we had to plow everything financially to get out of the League One – sale of Dominic Calvert -Lewin, Che Adams and Aaron Ramsdale. I didn't want it, but we had to generate the money to bring in players that we thought could get us out of the division. So we had to sell David Brooks to get to John Egan and others to make us more competitive in the championship. & # 39;
Things will of course change if Wilder & # 39; s newcomers can go the full distance now that they are back in the Premier League.
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