#{ want to see a magic trick }; diego

[soshadysoquiet]

An attempt to salvage S4, for your delectation. S4E2

EPISODE 2:

Flashback of Diego and Lila: Them finding Lila's parents and happy, having Gracie and happy if stressed, more family moving in, Klaus goes to rehab, Five gets too drunk at family gathering. Luther moving in and out briefly, family fight as they follow Ben to the airport when he's moving oversees. Then the Twins and overwhelmed and More family moving in, Klaus and Luther and Five coming and going. Gradually feeling they've lost more of their life and too tired to interact. BOTH of them then start investigating the Keepers in very different ways after visiting Ben in prison: Diego notices someone with an upside down umbrella tattoo, he starts seeing them everywhere, packages with umbrella on them and starts tracking through stealing packages and stealing files after breaking into places etc, hiding all the evidence at home in his 'man cave'. Lila at the prison on another visit with Diego frowns over Ben mentioning this weirdo who's been writing to him talking about shared memories, she's overheard other people talk about this even as Ben doesn't seem anything but miffed - but they're things she knows happened. She digs in and worms in via another parent at school who is in the Keepers - overhears things and wends her way in and up the society rankings of the group under 'book club'.

They wake up with sickness and go about their days. (Viktor staying at Luther's but just groaning in bed), Luther has the show of his life, Five blinks himself into his super-secret subway tunnels and back by accident, Diego throws a package successfully, Allison is reading up on what she's studying at work and is being hurried - says she wishes they'd all give her a minute and maybe an aspirin - they do as if by magic. Viktor keeps hearing the building work outside and blows out a window.

They meet back at Luther's, pissed. Lila agrees hers are back too, throwing something accurately.

Ben comes in tentacles and all (keep em from his stomach).

Klaus is perfectly healthy - admits didn't take drink.

Ben gathers them all together and says he knows where Jennifer is and he's going even if they won't (though says it meaner, naturally) they agree they should all go, with some debating. (Ben is having visions of her locked up.)

They go to the village in much the same way  - Though, and I cannot stress this enough, there is NO baby shark playing, it's got to be some song about 'count with uncle Reggie' or something I mean come on, so many tricks missed when you do King Reggie's Chickadoo but not this? Poor. Ahem. Anyway...

They do their road trip, starts as normal, they pull over after Viktor blows the windows.

Ben and Klaus talk about why he didn't take the serum, Klaus says that if you'd been around as long as the old Ben had, or even the last few years, you wouldn't be asking. He's holding the dog tags. Ben says they need to stop seeing him as their dead brother, they're not the same person. Klaus says sure, but they both have the same sudden obsession over girls. Ben argues it's not sudden. Klaus says well it has been a few years, maybe if Ben doesn't want them to see him as their Ben he should spend some time with them so they could know him, just a thought. Ben sneers but then they're back in the car under Diego's road-trip dictatorship.

Diego and Five share a convo bonding about how Diego feels like himself for the first time in years, that he misses feeling this way. Five suggests that it doesn't have to be an either or thing, that Diego's made a family for himself a reason, and not to waste it.

They get to the village and split off, though there is a group with Ben as only he knows where Jennifer sort of is. They clumsily get the town residents more and more suspicious as they roam around and when one of Ben's tentacles slips out all shit breaks loose and it's a gun fight

The fight goes similarly - no lasers or hyper powers for them though just their own. Diego keeps his cool bullet spin move. Five goes to the subway and rides the train.

Ben runs through the fight to Jennifer, who is locked up, takes out the guards and the two stare at each other a while. This is the first real look we get of Jennifer. She sees his tentacles, he tries to hide them, reading her face as shock, she says 'you don't have to hide from me' though he still does put them away. They take hands and run out together, Jennifer won't stop looking at him, and is amazed he's come. Ben says 'well you're the only one who really knows me and still likes me'. Allison overhears that as she comes to drag them out.

Klaus is ambushed by a village person (pun intended)

As they make a break for the van wondering why they're not surprised this is the sort of place Ben's girlfriend comes from and are starting to ask questions they come across Klaus being shot.

He tries to get hold of the dog tags as he goes down but the family are holding him too much, he can't touch them.

The saving of Klaus goes much the same way, except when he wakes up he's horrified and pleading no, then panicking, Diego swerves the car all over and they end up in a crash.

[startrekfangirl2233-writes]

2019, North Island Naval Base - Rooster

Chapter 2 Part 2 of You Are My Soulmate

Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw x Reader

Description:

Bradley loves being able to fly and still come home every night. That's the magic, he's sure, of working at Top Gun as a part of a squadron the Navy trusts with only the most sensitive of missions. Being home, having a home to rest his head, is great. But he can't help feeling like something is missing. Then there is Tinkerbell. He can't get her out of his head. It's like they're magnets, constantly orbiting one another, inexplicably attracted to each other despite it all. It being Hangman, of course.

It all comes to a head during a routine AMDO inspection. Bradley can't figure out why he so desperately wanted to jump to Tinkerbell's rescue when even Hangman didn't look worried. She's not a damsel-in-distress and he's no knight-in-shining-armor, of course.

Disclaimers: Misogynistic speech. Mentioned Homosexual Relationships. Sex Dream. P-in-v sex. Smut.

This content presented in this story is for audiences age 18 and over only. MINORS DNI. I will not be accepting tag-list requests from Blank or Ageless Blogs for this story.

Warnings: Female!Reader

Word Count: 4136 

A/N: Hey All! This is officially Rooster's perspective on the events in Chapter 2! He's a very confused man, but hopefully we can see a little bit more of his thought process here. Happy Rooster Day, Everybody!

AO3: Cross-posted Here!

My Masterlist

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It’s officially summer in San Diego. Even at 5 in the morning, Bradley can already feel the heat rising. It’s going to be hellish trapped in a cockpit for hours a day. But San Diego has nothing on the desert. Once you’ve run flight patrols in 110°F heat, San Diego feels like a breezy cool spring day. The new class at Top Gun won’t think so, of course. They’ll be complaining the entire time. The sun will also make them sloppy, easier to take down. An upward climb, put the sun in their eyes, tone lock and that’s it. That’s a Mav trick, but damn is it effective. 

Other than the pounding beat of his feet and the sweat prickling on his temples and dripping down his bare back, Bradley feels good, great, in fact, today. When he'd just started flying, he'd never wanted to teach. All he wanted to do was fly, fly until he became the best of the best. A decade of hard work and a considerable amount of skill later and he can say he's officially reached that goal. Taking the position at Top Gun, disseminating the knowledge he’s earned with blood, sweat, and tears? It feels like the perfect next step.

That euphoric feeling is a glowing ember in his chest as he parks the Bronco in his customary spot in the base parking lot and gets out. A few spots down he can see a gorgeous cherry red convertible. The sight of that classic car, obviously lovingly cared for and painstakingly restored is another indicator that today is going to be a great day. At least, that is, until he sees who gets out of it. 

It's Tinkerbell. He can see the sun shining off of her thick glossy hair, tied back today into a braided bun. She's in uniform and has on sunglasses and is carrying the biggest cup of coffee he's ever seen. She's normal so cheery and chatty. Not today. A frown mars her pretty face and he can practically see the storm clouds over her head. Maybe she fought with Bagman? Where is he? He's always around her, which makes sense, in a way to Bradley. If Tinkerbell was his soulmate, he'd never let her out of his sight. Come to think of it, for the past few months, Bradley's never seen Hangman and Tinkerbell leave together. Not at all. They come on base separately, they go home separately and even when hanging out at the Hard Deck, there's no displays of affection. No kisses or hugs, nothing to show that they love each other. 

It's a conundrum. But really, Bradley can't pretend to know what their relationship is like. Just because his mom and dad were obsessed with each other 24/7, and showed it too, doesn't mean that every soul-pairing has to be. Though he hopes that his soul knows that he's going to adore them every day, unendingly and unceasingly. The first stop he makes is into the male officer’s locker room to change into his flight suit. The rest of the guys are already in the room, and he’s sure Nat and Callie are in the ladies changing room doing the same thing.

When the Daggers walk into the hangar, they find Admirals Simpson, Bates and Mitchell all arrayed at the front of the room. Bradley lines up next to Phoenix and exchanges a questioning glance with Mav. The wink he gets back is no help. Not at all. He notes the new class lining up across the aisle in his peripheral vision. It's all quiet as the assembled twenty-four aviators await their morning briefing. The Admirals don't start, however, until one final person walks in. 

It's Tinkerbell, in a mechanics jumpsuit, with a clipboard under her arm and still carrying that colossal to-go cup. The first time he sees her smile today has his mouth going dry. She's smiling and chatting with Hondo, too low to be heard, but still obviously jovial. She even winks at Mav. Bradley's so tuned to her that he barely pays attention to the briefing, snapping to attention only when Cyclone says her name. After a brief introduction, all eyes are on her.

Bradley's captivated immediately, chewing on his lips as he takes in her form. The jumpsuit she's wearing is generally baggy and not the most flattering. But on her? It takes his breath away. Tinkerbell lights up the room without even trying to. Bradley lets her sweet voice fall into the background as he watches her lips move as she introduces herself and what the inspection today involves. He’s immediately thinking of the burgundy shade her lips had been the night he met her. He has no idea how long he’s been staring when she stops talking and takes a sip of coffee. A drop of the liquid stays stuck on her bottom lip and Bradley’s fixated on the way her tongue darts out to sweep the liquid away. He can feel his pulse jump unsteadily beneath his skin and an tightening of his boxers. He’s never been so glad that the flight suits are on the baggy side.  She’s listing out aviators and that’s when Bradley tunes back in fully, listening for his name. Tinkerbell doesn’t say it though, and when she dismisses the aviators, he makes a beeline for Maverick and the other admirals.

It’s a few minutes before Maverick can talk to him.

“Hey, kid. Are you worried about an AMDO inspection?” Bradley has missed this. For years, he kept himself from having this, talking to his godfather due to his own stubbornness.

“Nah, Mav. Just wanted to know if you wanted to head to the officer’s lounge and get a cup of coffee?” This is probably skirting the lines of propriety a bit, but after so long, Bradley’s not going to give up any opportunity to reclaim what he lost.

“Can’t, kid. Cyclone and Warlock want me rotating between the two hangars. It’s our AMDO Commander’s first inspection round since her promotion. It’s her first test. They want to see how she does. Frankly, so do I.” Mav’s looking out over the milling aviators. 

“Maybe you and the Daggers can do the rounds as well, at least when you’re not taking part in inspections yourselves?”

“You got it, Mav.” Bradley’s quick to salute and leave, briefing the others as they walk into Hangars Three and Four and splitting up into pairs. For some reason, Bradley has ended up partnered with Bagman. As they make rounds of the hangar, Bradley can’t keep from tracking Tinkerbell. He’s unconsciously been following her all day, and when the changeover happens and he ends up in Hangar Three for his own inspection, he spends the entire time intensely aware of her presence. At least, that is, until Hawk begins pitching a fit at the AMDO in charge of the inspection on his plane. 

He's not a bad kid, Hawk, that is. He's just got a traditional case of the regular aviator ailment. He's cocky, arrogant and full of himself. Bradley's seen the files. He's like Bagman used to be when they were at Top Gun, always pushing the envelope. The only difference is, while Bagman knows not to talk back to superiors, Hawk clearly hasn’t learned that lesson yet. He’s already moving before he realizes that Tinkerbell is walking right towards the yelling and will reach Hawk before he will. Hawk doesn’t even seem to care that she’s right there. Hawk’s so loud that Bradley can’t even hear what Tinkerbell says to him. Bradley moves in closer, as he keeps laying into the Lieutenant, her surname is Green, if Bradley remembers correctly.

This is some test, if it’s what the admirals were intending. Hawk’s making a scene that’s got nearly everyone in the hangar milling around. But Tinkerbell stays cool under pressure. She pulls out an air horn from her utility belt and gives it one blast. Bradley’s ears are ringing and he’s at least 3 feet away from her. Hawk was next to her when she let the horn blow. 

"That is enough." Her voice is louder than he’s ever heard it. "Lieutenant Junior Grade Taylor. If you have a problem with a member of my team, you are to come find me. You DO NOT yell, scream, curse, or berate my AMDOs. Frankly, you do not have the authority to do so." 

A handful of words and she’s already commanding the room.

 "You have two minutes. Tell me what happened. Plain and to the point. No flowery language, no blame games, just the facts." There’s a growl in her voice now. It sends shivers down Rooster’s back, and arousal simmering through his veins. But before he can lose himself into the new grit and sex inhibiting Tinkerbell’s voice, Hawk picks up a litany again. He spits out some glossily dressed up bullshit about how Lieutenant Green has been miscrewing panels back into place. Tinkerbell stands tall, moving under the jet to examine the offending screws. Of course, just as she wheels around to let him have it, he starts up again. 

"I mean, I don't even know why the Navy trusts such important tasks to women." Those words have Bradley’s hands clenching in anger. How dare he? It’s obvious he has no idea what it takes to be an AMDO. But before he can interject and dress the little idiot down himself, there’s an arm around his shoulder. It’s Hangman, jaw clenched but nodding 'No' at him regardless of his own feelings. His eyes say ‘Let Tinkerbell handle this.’ 

"It's not like any of you know how to even use a screwdriver properly." Hawk’s voice is oily as he gives Tinkerbell a once-over and clearly finds her lacking if the disgust in his eyes says anything. That look doesn’t affect her at all. If anything she stands up even straighter and gets a few steps closer. With a deliberate cool, she pulls out the air horn and blows a burst so loud that everything, even the ambient sounds of the wind seem to fall silent. 

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Taylor, enough!" Her voice is like pure sex as she gets into Hawk’s personal space, one finger pointed at his sternum.

"Lieutenant Green's work is immaculate. While you've been ranting and raving like a lunatic over there, I've been reviewing her work. I dare say that your jet is far more aerodynamic than it was before you brought it here for the inspection."

Her chest heaves as she pauses. There’s a fire in her eyes as she glares at Hawk.

"As far as your other comments, I just have one question for you. I've seen your file. You graduated from Flight School. So that means you know everything there is to know in the NATOPS for the F/A-18. Correct?"

"Damn straight!" Bradley already knows that the kid has no idea what an AMDO does.

"Lieutenant Green knows the F-18 NATOPS, too." 

He’s confused? At what? Does he not know Lieutenant Green by name? 

"You know, the officer you were just calling stupid because she's a woman? She knows the NATOPS for the F-18, F-22, and F-35 forwards and backward in addition to the E-2 Hawkeye and C-130 Hercules. That's four planes in addition to what you know, correct? You clearly have no idea what an AMDO does. We don't just inspect your planes. We inspect the maintenance protocols for them. There's nobody I'd trust more to inspect a plane I'm responsible for than her."

Rather than focus on Tinkerbell, because that is a boner waiting to happen, Bradley focuses on Hawk. He’d feel bad for the kid, but there were so many warnings that it's ludicrous that Hawk hasn’t picked up on anything. His intelligence has to be exaggerated.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade, your conduct is unbecoming when speaking to a superior officer." Hawk's gawking with his mouth open like a fish while she lays into him. "Be assured, I will be speaking at length about your conduct to Admirals Simpson, Bates, and Mitchell. As for your treatment of Lieutenant Green, I'll expect a full written apology across my desk by 10 AM tomorrow. You're to report to Chief Warrant Officer Coleman for 300 push-ups while Lieutenant Green finishes up her work."

Hawk’s staring open jawed at Tinkerbell as she stands at her highest and stares him down.

"ARE WE CLEAR, LIEUTENANT JUNIOR GRADE?!" The hangar is completely silent as Tinkerbell’s voice rings through it.

"Y-yes, ma'am." Just when Bradley thinks he can breathe again, she turns her fiery gaze on everyone else standing around in the hangar.

"Alright, folks, nothing to see here! The US Navy doesn't pay us to engage in scuttlebutt! Back to work unless you want to spend all night here. I'm not all too sure our complement of Admirals would like the thoughts of us in pajamas, braiding each other's hair as we gossip about which plane is the best!”

Bradley’s chuckling despite himself. She’s such a study in contrasts, Tinkerbell. So serious and commanding in one instance but so cheery and joyful in the next. Each facet of her personality makes her more interesting. It’s going to be a delight to have her on North Island. When she’s alone or surrounded by other pilots, she’s not so bad. But of course, as soon as Hangman walks up to her, Bradley’s reminded of exactly why he can’t get close to her. She’s taken. She’s somebody else’s girl. To make matters worse, she’s Hangman’s girl. Hangman’s not the type to let another man get close to his girl.

He's careful for the rest of the time she flits about the hangar, taking time to speak to each pilot, each member of her team, and each member of the flight crew. It's not long at all before the cacophony of power tools and drills resounds through the hangar. About an hour after the scene with Hawk, Bradley looks up and sees her walk out of the hangar. He makes an excuse about running out for a cup of coffee before grabbing a water bottle and following her out as stealthily as he can. 

If he's been tracking her correctly, and he has, he knows that Tinkerbell will be making her way over to Hangar Four. He nearly walks by her, in truth. She's scrunched up in the alley between the two hangar buildings. She's leaning against the dusty wall with her head in her hands. He doesn't want to startle her, so he clears his throat as obnoxiously as he can.

“Bradshaw.” Her voice is curt, so cold that if he didn't know any better he'd think an ice storm had enveloped San Diego.

He can't help how gentle his own voice is as he says her callsign. “Tinkerbell.” 

Bradley's got every bit of those beautiful doe eyes looking right up at him, and it makes him lose his composure in a way that nothing else ever has.“Was that - um - Was that the first time you’ve had to give a subordinate a dressing down?”

“No.” Her half-smile nearly blinds him, even as Tinkerbell stares up at the sky. Her chuckle is a barely heard puff of breath that turns into words, “I’ve given a lot of those. This is just the first one since my promotion. Each one leaves me feeling terrible after, though. I don’t know what it’s like for men when they have to do something like what I just did, but I know one thing. Taylor’s going to be all over base calling me a bitch, or any other thing which comes to mind. If it were a man telling him the same thing, he’d probably have bitched and moaned for a little bit before ultimately accepting it.”

It's true. That's exactly what Taylor's going to do. He's going to either drag Tinkerbell in front of everyone who asks him what happened or let the rumors about her tank her reputation. Her voice is thin and breathless as she continues, “H-he’s going to be swanning around for the rest of his time at Top Gun glaring at me, and he and I are going to be the center of all of the gossip and rumors floating around because of it. I’ve heard it all before, you know? She’s fucking him, she’s trying to seduce him, etcetera, etcetera.”

As Bradley stands there, just listening as Tinkerbell confides in him, he can't help making a resolution. He resolves then and there that he'll put a stop to it. That he'll keep Taylor from destroying Tinkerbell. Maybe he'll go to Mav, Cyclone and Warlock himself? There is no way Hawk's blatant disregard for authority can stand as it is. It feels so good to just be the force of her attention. 

She's a vision illuminated in gold as the late afternoon sunshine halos around her gleaming hair and drips into golden pools on her skin. When her words run out, he proffers the water bottle in his hand to her. Tinkerbell's smile at that one small gesture is enough to have every thought wiped clean from his mind. It takes an embarrassingly long time for Bradley to lead her back towards Hangar Four, trying, and probably failing to make conversation about AMDO inspections with her.

By the time he walks back to Hangar Three, a paper cup full of the Navy's finest brew in hand, Bradley's smiling from ear to ear. He’s almost too light-hearted for the rest of the day. Everytime he sees Tinkerbell out of the corner of his eye, a ridiculously giddy grin curls across his mouth. When he stops at the base gym afterwards, he plugs in his headphones and loses himself to the music. He’s jamming out so hard that he barely notices the time passing.

It’s late when he finally staggers into the locker room showers. His muscles twinge with every move he makes and the base’s trickling stream of hot water barely does the job. He throws on a pair of board shorts and a tank top and heads out the door. All he wants right now is a beer and something to eat. As luck would have it, though, just as he walks towards the Bronco, he sees Tinkerbell, scrunched down in the driver’s seat of her convertible. It looks like she’s waiting for someone? Probably Hangman, the nasty voice in his head decides to pipe in. What if he comes out and kisses her? Bradley’s not sure he can take it.

What would it be like to have her as his soul? To see that beautiful smile waiting for him in the passenger’s seat of the Bronco? To be able to kiss her until she’s breathless for him? Breathless because of him? Before he can dwell on it, he drives away, giving her a half wave. The entire time he can see the base parking lot out of the rearview mirror, he’s keeping his eyes peeled for the sight of that red car. He manages to put her out of his mind for the rest of the night, but then he dreams.

Most of his dreams are about his mom and dad and Mav. He asks them what it’s like to have a soulmate, what it means to love them, and how to be a good soulmate. Most of the time, he wakes up from those dreams feeling like he’s just been wrapped in one of his mom’s bear hugs. 

Tonight, when he dreams, it starts like no other dream he’s ever had. For one, he doesn't see anybody he recognizes in the room, if it even is one. Everything is foggy and he can feel the wet slap of it against his face, arms and calves as he trudges through it. The only other place where he has felt fog like this was in San Francisco, on the one trip he remembers taking to visit his Aunt Sarah, Pop's sister, right after his mom had died.

Out of the fog an island festooned in string lights comes up. There's a car there, his Bronco, he realizes as he walks closer to it. The doors are all closed, but there are clearly people inside. The windows are fogged and as he walks closer he can hear a bitten off gasp as a hand presses up against the window, leaving a mark on the misty surface. The closer he gets, the more he hears. He can hear himself, calling someone his beautiful, gorgeous, and lovely girl. He can also hear a voice that's immediately familiar to him.

"Bradley!" Her voice is high pitched and strung out. He is instantly captivated by those breathy moans. Bradley can feel himself grow hard as he tries to see who this pretty girl is. On the other side of the car there's an open window, and Bradley can't believe who he sees. Between one breath and the other, he finds himself in the car.

It's Tinkerbell, of course it is. She's bare, every supple inch of skin on full display as she writhes in his dream-self's lap. He's got his mouth on the soft swell of her tits and his hand buried in the wet warmth at the apex of her thighs. When he blinks, he's hit with all of the sensations, of her release soaking his hand as he fucks three fingers into her, the pinching tug of her hands in his hair, the feeling of her hard nipple against his tongue. 

When she cums again, her hips stuttering in their steady pace, he pulls away from her. She's smiling down at him, tenderly and sweet. When she laughs, it sounds like bells chiming in the distance, maybe wedding bells? He can't resist tugging her smiling mouth down to his own, kissing the sensual curve over and over again until her laughter has once again transformed into moans. 

This time, when he trails his fingers through her wet folds, he's met with soft hands over his aching length. She's so gentle as she frees him from his boxers and trails his length through her soaked folds. She feels like sin as she carefully sinks down lower and lower. Her eyes go glassy and wet as her chest heaves and she struggles to take him to the hilt.

"B, baby I can't. You're so big and thick." Her voice is a barely audible coo. Bradley can't resist reeling her in for a kiss, feeling her soft skin pressed up against his own. She's so tight wrapped around his length, like she was made for him. He can't resist scratching at her scalp, freeing the glossy strands of her hair from her braid. She smells like citrus blossoms in bloom and tastes like berries.

Bradley's so gone for this beautiful, gorgeous thing in his arms. He can't resist telling her that as well, as she adjusts, the cool breeze peaking her nipples as they graze his pecs. There's a tattoo against her ribs, something delicate and beautiful that suits her to perfection. He can't tell what it is, a flower, maybe? Whatever it is, he wants to trail his tongue over the stark black ink, to taste every inch of her skin.

Just as he's about to coax her onto her back in the backseat so he can do just that, she's moving her hips. Each undulating swell has her rising and sinking faster and deeper until she's taking Bradley's length from tip to root every time. Her tits bounce with each movement, and he can't resist tracing a bead of sweat as it trails between the pretty globes. Her mewls as he suckles on her nipples has him ready to explode. But he doesn’t, not yet. Each thrust has Tinkerbell falling apart in his lap a bit more. Already her hips are stuttering in their steady pace and she's babbling at him.

When he thumbs at her clit, Tinkerbell cums on his length with a scream. The combination of her heat and how she looks bouncing on his dick have Bradley spilling into her within just a few thrusts after her. Bradley wakes up seconds later.

It's the dead of night. His clock blinks the time in neon green, 2:40. His skin is coated in sweat and there's a damp patch in his boxers from where he'd cum in his pants like a teenager after a wet dream. But even after he's cleaned up, he can't bring himself to go back to sleep again. Tinkerbell's face as she cums is tattooed in his brain. How is he ever going to face her again? Seeing her command a room is enough to give him blue balls. Now? It'll take superhuman control to keep his composure on base.

I DO NOT CONSENT TO HAVE MY WORK POSTED, TRANSLATED, OR PUBLISHED ON ANY SITES OTHER THAN HERE OR ON AO3 BY ME. IF YOU SEE MY WORKS ANYWHERE OTHER THAN HERE OR AO3, THEN THEY HAVE BEEN POSTED WITHOUT MY PERMISSION AND I WILL BE WORKING TO TAKE THEM DOWN.

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[brellie99]

Honestly,out of all the tua crossover ideas I’ve seen,none would top the chaos of a umbrella academy and merlin crossover

Imagine this

-Five accidentally teleports all his family back in time to the medieval times to the land of Camelot ,they’re all very confused and wander through town where they see a public wizard trial,which tells them magic is a thing in this world.

-Five spends their entire time there trying to keep Luther away from a knight that looks suspiciously similar to him,to avoid the possibility of paradox psychosis and then them fighting eachother to the death.When five gets tired of this,he just proceeds to knock sir Percival out and hide him in a cupboard.

-Luther gets treated very nice around the town as everyone believes him to be a noble.This draws the attention of merlin who was told by the dragon that mysterious travellers have come to Camelot.Merlin find confronts five and a fight ensues,but it ends in merlin learning they mean no harm and just want to go home.Feeling bad for them,merlin agrees to help them and tells five to assemble his family.

-Luther,under the guise of sir Percival,also meets King Arthur who’s fresh off his fathers death,they both talk about their families,how their fathers treated them and have a jousting match,which Luther so badly,it makes Arthur laugh and thank him for playing the fool for him.

-Meanwhile,klaus and Diego go immediately to the tavern to have drinks,where they meet sir gwaine and they all get along relatively well,becoming drinking buddies.This is until a bar fight insues bc they can’t pay their tab and klaus summons ghosts to fend them off.

-This gets him arrested and put in the dungeons for being a wizard,Diego also gets punished and put in the stocks for associating with a wizard (the punishment was meant to be more but Arthur was talked down by Luther and Gwaine),which five uses as an opportunity to pelt him with fruit for getting himself and klaus arrested.

-Allison and Viktor get captured by Lady Morgana,who tries to enlist them after hearing about Allison use their rumour trick to get food at the market.They reluctantly agree and are put on their first mission,to free and enlist a powerful sorcerer who stands trial at Camelot.

-The whole thing comes together as they all arrive at klaus’ public execution,where they try and fail to try him as a wizard,as he is immortal,popping up quite quickly from the execution and terrifying all the crowd and the king

-This distraction,with a little fire and showmanship from merlin,gives them the opportunity to break klaus free,with Diego and five warding off the angry crowd with swords,while Luther distracts the knights in the castle.

-When the crowd get too hard to handle, Viktor knocks them down with their sound wave and Allison then rumours all the town and the king to go home and forget the days events

-They all head to gaisus chambers,and with the help of merlin magic to pinpoint their location,travels them back to 2019

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

If DCLA characters had Tumblr part 11 🕺🏼

🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi Follow

One time when I was in third grade, I randomly decided to pair up two people in my class. No real reason, I just wanted to see if it worked. So, I wrote a love letter to one of them and signed from the other. I put it on his shelf.

Now, here’s the thing: I accidentally left it on the wrong shelf. I left it on the shelf next to his. The girl who got it, she CLEARLY could read that it was adressed to him. But was she a normal person who realized it was put on the wrong shelf and gave it back? NO. She went to the TEACHER about this.

Now, uh… some extra context. I didn’t just write a love letter. I at first drew a picture of stick figures fighting, so that I would ”make him more interested”. And I guess this girl was shocked over the stick figures fighting.

The teacher recognized my handwriting I guess, and she confronted me about it. I was like ”my name is not even on it??” because, again, I was trying to pair up two people in my class, I pretended the love letter was from someone else. She didn’t believe me and was like ”tell me. Is it that you might have a crush on him? 😉” and I was like … ??? I signed it with someone else’s name, OBVIOUSLY I wanted to pair THEM up.

Also neither part of the two people I wanted to pair up ever found out about this. All because I put the goddamn letter on the wrong shelf and the girl who got it was a tattle tale who ruined everything

🌼 punk-not-dead Follow

Reminds me of when I was mad at someone and I decided to write a hateful letter that I put on her shelf. But then I was afraid it would come off as targeting, so I wrote letters to OTHERS too, INCLUDING TO MYSELF so that I would seem innocent.

✌🏼 arodarmivida Follow

You two are my idols.

17 notes

🌼 punk-not-dead Follow

When I have a kid I wanna raise them nonbinary, until they are old enough to decide a gender of their own, or not, or switch between different ones if that’s what they feel like! 🩷

🌼 punk-not-dead Follow

WOW this did not reach the right crowd…

1679 notes

🎤 singing-is-who-i-am Follow

Knowing lots of europeans they’ve been trying to get me to vote for their countries in Eurovision (since you can vote anywhere in the world nowadays).

Anyway, they are always like ”vote for Italy!! No, vote for Spain!!”

And like. At this point I tbh rather vote for Sweden.

🎀 italys-biggest-bow-collector Follow

Violetta if you DARE to vote for Sweden I will break up with you.

🎤 singing-is-who-i-am Follow

We are not dating?

🎀 italys-biggest-bow-collector Follow

I will break up with you as a friend.

Platonic breakup.

Period.

🌟 supernova-number-one Follow

Smooth.

10 notes

🎸 beanie-guitarist Follow

Stuff me and my childhood friends have performed on stage as kids:

- This unclear skit where we said a spell to turn me into Santa. I lost my last baby tooth during that.

- We sang ”best friend” by Toy Box. Or, ”sang”, we mimicked to it because we couldn’t speak english. We also didn’t know the implications of that song.

- We did an entire play all improvised. Everyone thought we had it scripted. It was the best thing we ever performed

- I wanted to be a magician for a while. She was my assistant. We did some pretty cool magic tricks

- We decided to roller skate on a small stage. It worked, but everyone was afraid we were gonna fall

- The microphone throwing incident™️

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

I think of the microphone throwing incident often

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

And you’re not gonna tell us about that incident?

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

Nope.

🎸 beanie-guitarist Follow

You had to be there.

67 notes

🌼 punk-not-dead Follow

I think two of my teachers are secretly fucking

🎤 singing-is-who-i-am Follow

If this is about my aunt and Pablo… then well. Yeah.

🌼 punk-not-dead Follow

NO THIS IS ABOUT PABLO AND GREGORIO

👩🏻‍🦱 dangerously-beautiful-ant Follow

HELP

🏍️ entre-dos-mundos Follow

DO NOT TELL DIEGO ABOUT THIS

#Please say he does not have a Tumblr #LUDMILA IF YOU SEE THIS DON’T YOU DARE SCREENSHOT AND SEND TO HIM

7 notes

✌🏼 arodarmivida Follow

Having your girlfriend also having been your best friend since middle school means she knows ALL about your awkward phases and moments… I cannot hide anything from her.

🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi Follow

I was even more cringe, come on.

We’re in this together🩷

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

I can imagine you two being even more cringe than what you are now. I’m glad I didn’t go through awkward phases or had embarrassing moments like everyone else in middle school.

💍 queenoftherink Follow

Remember when you fell on your roller skates while skating literally 10 meters per hour?

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

AND HE TOLD ME HE NEVER EVER FELL AND THAT HE WAS ALWAYS PRO AT ROLLER SKATING.

🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi Follow

Matteo is just a clown thinking he knows everything

😎 rapmiro Follow

Hey! I don’t like you speaking to my friend like that! He is very good and he does know a lot!

✌🏼 arodarmivida Follow

Then marry him.

💍 queenoftherink Follow

Why do I bother joining your reblogs, it always takes some really weird turn-

🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi Follow

Admit it, Ámbar. You like it. You like seeing us cause a mess. You like it both irl and online. It’s only online that you can admit it.

💍 queenoftherink Follow

See I am this close to blocking all of you and also start a new Tumblr account because What is happening right now. What is the subject? Why are you like this?

🎸 beanie-guitarist Follow

Do you think god stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he’s created?

18 notes

🌟 supernova-number-one Follow

What do you do when you wake up with an… intimate dream about someone and you’ve never had any fantasy about them like that before

🎤 singing-is-who-i-am Follow

A hot tip is to not post it on Tumblr where everyone you know is following you, cause we are nosy.

🌟 supernova-number-one Follow

Not true! Everyone I know don’t even have Tumblr!

🎀 italys-biggest-bow-collector Follow

Don’t change the subject. We can and we will figure it out. Thanks for telling us!

90 notes

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

Sometimes I look at my biological aunt and I am like. Wow. You knew me when I was a baby. Maybe you babysat me at some point.

Because she is just… this cold human who seems to hate everyone else. And to imagine she at some point probably had to watch me during the day while my parents needed to run some errands feels… SO weird.

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

She’s also caught me in the most weirdest situations. I am lucky now that she can’t see me.

The other day I had a tampon up my nose while she was in her once per month hour visitation at our house. I walked inside the room she was in and noticed her there. I was stiff for a moment, feeling like I needed to explain myself.

She and I have a very strained relationship, but she tries to better herself. So she was like ”I know those footsteps… is it you, Luna?”

I was like ”Yeah…”

”How are you feeling?”

”Good…”

I was waiting for her to bring up the elephant in the room, and then I realized ”oh wait… she can’t see me…” and then I sighed in relief.

📸 felicityfornow Follow

But why DID you have a tampon up your nose?

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

I got a nosebleed from accidentally punching myself when I tried to open a very hard cap on a bottle

📸 felicityfornow Follow

Ok, so why…

You know what? Sounds pretty reasonable. I’m also glad your aunt couldn’t see you, even if it’s also a bit tragic she can’t see…

👩🏻‍🦱 dangerously-beautiful-ant Follow

Sorry if this question is personal, and if it is you’re totally allowed to not reply. I am just curious: How did she lose her eyesight?

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

She burned her eyes trying to burn the house down

👩🏻‍🦱 dangerously-beautiful-ant Follow

Oh. Well, I guess that explains why she only has an hour of visitation once a month. Thank you for replying.

24 notes

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

I have talked to several people that apparently did some really weird thing when they sat in the car as kids, and even still do it:

When sitting in the passenger seat, they apparently look out the window and... imagine this imaginary creature or imaginary human running next to the car, sliding on the railings, sometimes skateboarding/snowboarding... just doing all this strange parkour.

Why do you do this? It sounds super weird?

✌🏼 arodarmivida Follow

So when you look out the window on a car trip you just imagine nothing????????

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

Yeah? I just see what I see passing by, I don't think about a random imaginary creature doing parkour on stop signs and railings

🎸 beanie-guitarist Follow

You had a boring childhood, man. Life is so much more fun if you imagine the little things.

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

When I was younger I even pretended imaginary people jumping between houses where I walked, or clung onto airplanes! xD

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

But like... why?

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

BECAUSE IT'S FUN.

💍 queenoftherink Follow

Yeah, even I did this. Now, I imagine someone roller skating rather than running. I saw them skating on the road first and foremost at a car speed, and jumped at any obstacle. It helped me imagine new tricks I could do.

And yes, it was a lot of fun, too. It was an escapism for some of us who really needed some escapism to cope with our everyday life. A little warmth in the cold.

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

Well I guess I could get that, but I never had escapism. I just lived the way I lived and stayed in reality at all times.

🏳️‍🌈 creyendoenmi Follow

Sometimes I am hit with the reality that some people are not born with any imagination whatsoever. I pity them.

🍓 chico-fresa Follow

I have imagination!!! I just didn't imagine fake people doing parkour next to the car.

🛼 rollerskatingonthemoon Follow

But you have to admit your imagination is boring.

79 notes

🧢 everythingscominguponmaxi Follow

I had an interesting dream last night.

Apparently there was this philosophy that there was only one normal person that you knew. If you didn’t know anyone, you were the normal person.

This caused people to question what is normal and what is not.

🌼 punk-not-dead Follow

So there’s really only one normal person on earth?

🧢 everythingscominguponmaxi Follow

No, who is considered normal depends on the person, but the philosophy states that everyone only knows one normal person. For me it can be one person, but for you, who knows other people than me, might have another person in mind.

The question is now… who is the normal person in your life?

5000 notes

[donfadrique]

Previous part

Part Seven

14/🗡️

So, we will not just return to the possible homoerotic plot line—I will be extremely sincere in my conclusions, because my goal was to understand the intention of the director and the film crew.

Let me immediately say about the only negative thing about the scene, and close this issue.

Tyrone Power's poorly drawn mustaches annoy me :) Maybe this was done on purpose, but they annoy ME aesthetically xDD Well, let's move on.

This scene is ambiguous. Look, Diego comes to the party with a lorgnette, begins to act mannered and explains his lateness by saying that his bath was tepid, etc. In general, everyone is indifferent to this—except Capitán Pasquale, who tells Inez, "His bath was tepid. Poor Lolita. I'm afraid her wedded life will be the same."

This can be interpreted in two ways: Pasquale considers Diego to be a pampered and weak fop, unable to use either a steel sword or the sword that he has in his pants (it is believed that men who are too careful about their appearance are not, erm, temperamental). But this could also be a hint at Diego's homosexuality (remember the book's canonical "he seldom wears a blade, and I doubt whether he can use one", "the flashing dark eyes of lovely señoritas do not disturb him", and even "he may wear petticoats, if it please him").

Why does Pasquale say this? Because he is angry that Inez is infatuated with Diego. Regardless of his sexual orientation, Diego is the Capitán's rival (which Pasquale says directly when he sticks a knife into the fruit, hinting to Diego that he would like to do the same with the young man; on the other hand, if someone wants to see in this act of violence against the fruit act of same-sex love, then who am I to restrain your fantasy? xD)

Perhaps the Capitán wants to tell Inez that Diego is physically incapable of satisfying her, but he cannot say it directly because that would be an insult.

It is beneficial for Diego that Capitán Pasquale sees him not just as a weakling and a dandy, but as a "gay caballero" (an expression from Guy Williams). Why?

Well, firstly, this is a book canon, and we are dealing with a film adaptation.

Secondly, it is beneficial for Diego that Capitán Pasquale, instead of envy of his rival, begins to feel complacency, seeing that handsome Don Diego Vega, the son of a rich man, is fascinated by a "second-rate soldier of fortune" who is much older than himself.

So Diego, sitting at the table opposite the Capitán, begins to flirt with him so openly that even a blind monk would have seen it xDD

However, as a result, Pasquale is more surprised and wary than charmed (the Capitán is not a fool, and Diego is more likely to mock him than flirts, and, if you look closely, Diego’s black gaze is much harsher than the Capitán’s gray one).

Capitán Esteban Pasquale: I had the misfortune to kill a man of influence.

Don Luis Quintero: A lady was involved, I believe.

Don Diego Vega: The gentleman's wife, no doubt?

Capitán Esteban Pasquale: Just how did you mean that, señor?

Don Diego Vega: I had hoped to be amusing... Have I failed?

Capitán Esteban Pasquale: Somewhat. With me.

Diego dances with Lolita and proposes marriage to her (more precisely, to her uncle, and Lolita herself, disappointed in Diego and in love with Zorro, runs away—later Diego/Zorro will pay a visit to her bedroom).

Vega also demonstrates magic tricks again (this Diego has a variety of skills: he knows how to flirt with men and to handle weapons, shows magic and acrobatic tricks, understands fragrances etc).

Diego tells Inez that his marriage will help their extramarital affair remain a secret, but Inez is too jealous and tries to dissuade Lolita from the marriage. It's funny that not only does she not consider Diego incapable of loving a woman, she doesn't even notice how Diego flirt with the Capitán (Inez is too confident in her attractiveness to pay attention to such things).

At the end of this scene, Diego admits to his mother that he is not indifferent to Lolita.

NB! Thinking about Diego's "ghostliness", attractiveness, cunning and mockery, I suddenly remembered... kitsune. Kitsune, a mythical creature in Asian mythology and folklore, a fox with supernatural powers. Often plays the role of a trickster. According to legends, it lives for hundreds and even thousands of years, and can also turn into other animals and humans.

There's something about it. Yes, of course, El Zorro is only a mortal, but he's unique.

[ariparri]

Biographical Information

Full Name: Veruca Carlyn McQuaid

Born: August 23, 1973

Blood Status: Pureblood

Ethnicity/Nationality: Irish

Also Known As:

Vera

Vee

Ruca (by Diego)

Signature: 

Relations:

Wilhelmina McQuaid (mother)

Elroy McQuaid (father)

Coby McQuaid (brother)

Magical Characteristics

Boggart: Kelpie

Wand: 12” Redwood, Dragon Heartstring core and supple flexibility

Patronus:

Arctic Wolf (formerly)

Leopard

Amortentia:

Berry Tarts

Carnations

Autumn Leaves

Lemon Tea

Affiliation:

Auror (formerly)

Ballet Instructor

House: Slytherin

Loyalty:

Mac Uáid Family

Ivey Family

Khanna Family

Caplan Family

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

〕About〔

Veruca Carlyn McQuaid is an Irish witch born into a pureblood family, and is the second child to Elroy and Wilhelmina McQuaid. She attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1984-1991 and was sorted into the Slytherin House. She excelled in Defence Against the Dark Arts and Flying classes at school. After graduation, she becomes an Auror. Veruca later marries Diego Caplan. They have two daughters, Marisol and Carina, and a younger son, Ruairí. She continued to work as an Auror some time after the war before resigning and later became a ballet instructor.

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

〕Background〔

Veruca was born late August in 1973 to Elroy and Wilhelmina McQuaid. She is a pure-blood witch and a member of the noble House of Mac Uáid. Veruca and her older brother Coby grew up in the Mac Uáid Manor in Kinsale, Ireland.

As a child, Veruca was a shy girl who always hid behind her parents or brother. Coby had taken Veruca to the nearby park where they met some of the neighborhood kids. Two of the kids that she spent time with were Carson Ivey and Merula Snyde. Veruca and Carson were quick to become close friends, while Merula took some time due to her attitude.

Since Veruca was an emotional child, she's had sudden outburst with accidental magic and was taught at home by family members such as Obsidian, Miksa, and Selma to prevent any mishaps within a muggle school. She eventually learned how to control her magic, and some basic level of reading and writing that she no longer needed private tutoring. Though her mother wanted to keep homeschooling her, Elroy's insistence that it will be good for Veruca to be around other kids especially since Carson would be with her, Wilhelmina eventually gave in and Veruca later went to public school.

Veruca showed a keen interest in quidditch from a young age. During one of the family reunions, her father Elroy took part in the quidditch competition. Veruca was on the sidelines watching her father play and nearly fell over the railing because she wanted to be with her dad. Elroy eventually taught Veruca how to fly a broom and play quidditch. Veruca enjoyed playing as a beater and learning how to do a bunch of tricks on the broom, most of which nearly gave her parents a heart attack.

During a camping trip, Veruca found a baby bat out of its nest with a broken wing. Wanting to help the small animal, Veruca brought the bat to her father and they both took care of it. At the time, since she was very young herself, Veruca had been calling the bat "Gambyt." The name eventually became "Gambat" with Elroy helping his daughter with her pronounciation. When Gambat was finally healed, Veruca tried to get him to go back to his nest but every time Veruca put him down Gambat would fly back into her hands and cling onto her. Seeing how Veruca and Gambat have formed a bond, Wilhelmina and Elroy let their daughter keep the bat.

When Coby went missing, Elroy and Wilhelmina tried not to let Veruca outside of the manor to avoid any publicity. Veruca was never really left alone, always accompanied by either her parents or one of the manor staff. Since she was still a kid, Elroy let her continue playing just in the yard. He even allowed Carson and Merula to come over so Veruca wouldn't be lonely. Carson was a good distraction for Veruca, both were making the best of the situation as best as kids can. However, with Merula, and how her parents were sent to Azkaban, had been very antagonistic towards the two. The two were confused that Merula would treat them horribly, insulting their families and even go as far to say Coby was dead.

Angered by Merula, Veruca pushed her to the ground and they started fighting. Wilhelmina and one of the maids came out to stop the girls from fighting, scolding them while checking them for any bruises. Merula ignored the maid tending to her, calling everyone there crazy before storming off, thus ending their friendship. Wilhelmina questioned the other two on what happened, Carson didn't know what to say. Veruca on the other hand was upset, and asked her mother if Coby really was dead before breaking down. Wilhelmina did her best to console her daughter.

After the fall out with Merula, Veruca had become more closed off and cautious towards people outside of her family. She's now more protective of the people she cares about and more observant towards those who try to get close to her. Carson continues to be by her side, being her closest friend and confidant. Veruca isn't too eager to make new friends, letting Carson be the more sociable one of the duo.

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

〕Appearance〔

Veruca has fair skin tone, green eyes, dark brown hair and stands at an average height of 5 feet and 3 inches or 160 centimeters.

Years 1 - 3

Years 4 - first half of Year 6

The first attire is her casual outfit. Second is her Valentine's Ball, and the third is her outfit for Festival Fun. She replaces the vest for the school sweater in her uniform.

Year 6 - Year 7

Veruca’s attire now consists of a black loose sweater over a black corset styled top and pants. In Year 7, she switches the top and sweater for a long sleeved top with a netted and meshed collar. Her hair is now cut asymmetrically short.

Post Hogwarts

Veruca has grown her hair out and tied in a loose and messy bun. She wore a purple top and a black and purple floral dress.

After her marriage with Diego, Veruca wears an off the shoulder maroon top with a light grey skirt. Her hair is swept over to the side and she wears a necklace with the letter D for Diego. On dates, Veruca wears a light blue strapless dress with a matching button up blouse over it.

When working as an Auror, Veruca puts on a black attire. She wears something reminiscent of her Year 7 attire, a long coat and gloves. Her hair is tied up in a messy bun.

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

〕Personality〔

Veruca exhibits a cool and relaxed personality, usually sporting a neutral expression on her face. Her demeanor compliments this, being informal towards professors, prefects and fellow classmates. She occasionally can be quite irritable, moaning in annoyance or sighing in displeasure when it comes to anyone, or anything she dislikes. Her Irish accent comes out sometimes whenever she's irritated, it also comes out whenever she gets embarrassed.

Veruca can be mischievous and playful at times. When Rowan came up with the idea of having a pillow fight using the Depulso spell they learned in Charms, Veruca claimed it to be a stupid idea but later engaged in the activity the same night with her friend.

She apparently also loves cute things, as when she first saw the swarm of Puffskeins during Care of Magical Creatures and she was enamored by them, hugging a handful of them. She gets easily embarrassed if someone were to catch her in this state.

In spite of her outward calm, she is prone to react rather passionately about threats to those she deeply cares about. Veruca describes herself as someone who was always blaming herself, for all the harm that she's caused to those dear to her. Several examples are when Rowan was struck with ice from the Ice Vault, and when Ben casted Langlock on Charlie. She even places her friends over her own pride, going as far as to shed tears openly in the Great Hall for Rowan's memorial after witnessing her death at the hands of Rakepick.

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

〕Magic Skills〔

Dueling

★★★★★

Flying

★★★★★

Charms

★★★★✰

Potions

★★★✰✰

DADA

★★★★★

Herbology

★★✰✰✰

Transfiguration

★★★✰✰

Divination

★★✰✰✰

History of Magic

★★✰✰✰

Care of Magical Creatures

★★★✰✰

Muggle Studies 

★★★★✰

Astronomy

★★★★✰

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

〕Possessions〔

Broom

Comet One Eighty

Pet

Gambat

Wand

12” Redwood, Dragon Heartstring core and supple flexibility (formerly)

Enchanted Carnation

A carnation that was charmed to never wilt. Gift given by Diego after their first date.

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

〕Relations〔

Coby McQuaid Veruca and Coby have sort of a “complicated” relationship. The two clearly care for each other, but with how both were raised differently due to Coby's disappearance, they have a bit of a competitive relationship that also caused them to engage in childish disputes that continued on into adulthood. Coby may be the oldest, but he can definitely be the most immature between the two, something Veruca often points out, causing Coby to whine about it. They can never play any game together as their competitiveness gets out of hand and someone ends up tackling the other to the ground.

Carson Ivey Veruca's most trusted companion, and childhood friend. The two have known each other since they were 5.They both know almost everything about each other, including their deepest secrets. They have done everything together since childhood. The two also have their own special handshake they made up when they were kids, they still do it even into their adulthood. With Carson's intellect and Veruca's cunning the two make a formidable duo and can cause chaos if they so please. They both know when the other is feeling down about something and are quick to bring it up before the other tries to play it off as something else.

Rowan Khanna Veruca’s closest friend, whom she confides in when she cannot tell Carson something. Veruca trusts Rowan so much, she was the only one who knew about Veruca’s crush on Diego. During the period that they attended Hogwarts, Rowan is revealed to be an exceptionally good roommate. Veruca mentions that Rowan has sweet little quirks, such as folding back the pages in text books of subjects she thinks Veruca would struggle on. She also leaves messages on the mirror when Veruca takes a shower and lets Veruca climb into her bed when she’s had a bad dream. Veruca grows very concerned when Rowan gets hurt during their ventures to the Vaults after she was struck with ice, and cries at her memorial in the Great Hall.

Chiara Lobosca Chiara is another of Veruca’s closest friends. Veruca turns to Chiara when she needs more of a compassionate mindset over logical ones. Veruca cares about Chiara’s wellbeing and always makes sure to ask if she’s doing okay, she even takes the liberty to drag Chiara along with her, not wanting her to be alone. Veruca's fiercely protective over her, and wouldn't hesitate to get into a fight if someone tried to mess with Chiara. After the events that happened in Sixth Year, Chiara was the only one Veruca was able to go to for comfort when she was in such a vulnerable state, and in turn, Veruca would get enraged whenever something or someone tries to hurt Chiara.

Diego Caplan Despite having classes together, Veruca and Diego only started hanging out after the former went to seek Diego out for extra dueling tips. Diego hits on Veruca, but much to the surprise of Rowan, knowing Veruca has always scared these kinds of people away, Diego receives positive results. Veruca even admits to liking when Diego calls her “Ruca.” After Diego helps her with her dueling skills, Veruca hints a liking or attraction to Diego to the point of admitting to Rowan that she had a crush on the Hufflepuff. Veruca’s attraction towards Diego is further evidenced when he starts hanging out with Carson and Jae. Elroy even notices how Veruca interacts with Diego during the summer and teased the two for how much they reminded him of his and Wilhelmina's relationship when they were young. Few years after Hogwarts, the two get married and have three children, and Veruca appears to be even more open about her feelings with Diego.

Jae Kim Jae is Veruca’s detention buddy and fellow troublemaker. Both he and Veruca tend to roast each other in greeting. When Veruca is in a tight pinch with certain items and objects, Jae’s always there with the right stuff, usually offering them to her at a ‘small,’ discount. Jae is also the only one Veruca can act all smug and casual around as they both have a handful of similarities.

Skye Parkin Veruca and Skye have a sort of competitive friendship. Having a brother herself, Veruca knows what it’s like being pressured by family to be the best they can be. They often get into minor disagreements when it comes to the way they study. Veruca even claims that Skye ripping out pages from a book is ‘a crime.’ When it comes to quidditch, the two work extra hard to win for their house, sometimes using that as a means to show off their skills. Despite playing different positions, Skye being a chaser and Veruca being a beater, they make a good team.

Tulip Karasu Like with Jae, Veruca and Tulip roast each other in greeting. Veruca likes Tulip’s style of pranking, as it reminds her of Carson’s. Although they don’t hang out as much as Carson does with Tulip, the two can be good friends and work well together. Veruca can relate to Tulip in regards to “rules are made to be broken” as Veruca always often gets herself into trouble whether it’s intentional or not.

Merula Snyde Once upon a time, the two were close childhood friends alongside Carson. However, after Merula’s parents were sent to Azkaban and Coby went missing, Merula went back against Veruca and severed ties with her. Veruca was heartbroken at the betrayal and eventually grew resentful of Merula. In Hogwarts, the two are always at odds against each other with Merula trying to ruin Veruca’s reputation even more. Near the end of their years at Hogwarts, Merula attempts at getting Veruca’s help yet the latter always sends her off on a goose chase.

Gambat Like his owner, Gambat likes to coax mischief making. He’s been with Veruca since she was a child and the two can talk to each other as if they understand what the other is saying. He’s a very cheeky and smug bat, he also likes to insult or roast Veruca, especially when it comes to her questioning her feelings or actions towards something.

Elroy & Wilhelmina McQuaid Veruca cares greatly for her parents. And while her mother was more on the strict side, Veruca knew her mother cared just as much for her. The fear of something happening to their daughter after Coby went missing was enough to cause Wil overbearing, Elroy was the one who usually had to calm and reassure her. On the other hand, Elroy adored Veruca. He always babied her when she was little, given in to her demands and wants. Elroy was the one who taught her how to fly a broom and introduced her to Quidditch. He was ecstatic when Veruca came home with her own Quidditch plaque.

Donagh & Nevaeh McQuaid Veruca adores her grandparents, Nevaeh always spoiled her with so much affection. Donagh, despite his stoic mannerism, has shown such gentle care whenever it came to Veruca. He treated her the same way he treated his daughter. When Donagh passed, Veruca held herself in her room until Nevaeh came in to comfort her. Nevaeh always insisted that her grandchildren go out and do things without needing her approval. Her reason is "because she's old, what would an old woman's approval matter anyway!" Nevaeh also would sneak some candy to Veruca whenever her mother wasn't looking.

Naoise McQuaid Grand Uncle Naoise was always a quiet and kind man. Like his brother Donagh, Naoise took gentle care over Veruca. Likewise with Veruca treating her uncle with care. The two have their own little tradition the same way Veruca has with every other family member. And that is storytelling. Whether it's Naoise recounting his past for Veruca, or Veruca telling her adventures with the vaults. Usually, Naoise is the one telling stories of his childhood since Veruca always wanted to know what her grandparents were like when they were young.

Áine Lavery Aunt Áine and Veruca's relationship can best be described as awkward niece and rich wine aunt. Since Áine has no children, she has taken to spoil her brother's children. When Áine found Veruca's little collection of brooches and pins, Áine would always buy one from whatever country she's visiting and give it to her niece. Áine usually ignores the articles in the Daily Prophet, until she finds a few articles with her niece being shown in a horrible light. Outraged, she took a chimera drawn carriage to Hogwarts, demanding her niece to clean up her act as she is a lady and not a ruffian. Veruca spent the entire time her aunt was at Hogwarts trying to be a perfect lady while also stopping her aunt from fighting Skeeter.

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

〕Etymology〔

The name Veruca is derived from the Slavic name veruscha/verushka (meaning true, honest, faith) and means vivacious and strong willed.

The original Gaelic form of McQuaid was Mac Uaid, which means son of Wat. The surname McQuaid was first found in County Monaghan (Irish: Muineachán) located in the Northern part of the Republic of Ireland in the province of Ulster.

The Irish name Carlyn claims descent from the O’Connors in Donegal where “Carlan” (from the Irish “carla” meaning a “wool-comb” and “an” meaning “one who” which roughly translates as “one who combs wool”) was in Irish O’Carlain or O’Caireallain.

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

〕Quotes〔

"I used to do ballet when I was younger… but I gave it all up. Wasn't planning on pursuing it as a career."

"My dad taught me how to fly a broom and play quidditch. The family has an entire room filled with all the quidditch plaques and trophies!"

"Coby and I could never play together. Someone always ends up cheating and getting tackled to the ground... we were both bad sports at the time."

"Felix is graduating! Who is gonna look after us now, Rowan?!"

"There's a lot about me that even Carson doesn't know. I like to keep it as a little mystery."

”Can you believe it? My own pet, my one pride and joy, calling me a coward! Liking someone is hard, okay, Gambat!!”

"I don't care what happens to you, Merula. You didn't care about the people you've hurt over and over again! And even now, you refuse to take responsibility for any of it. So why should I care about how you feel?!"

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

Character Quizzes

Friendship Quizzes

Friendship Reward

Bat Plushie

Club Quizzes

Dragon Club - TBA

Sphinx Club - TBA

Date Quizzes

Garden Date - TBA

Courtyard Date - TBA

Date Reward

TBA

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

Trivia & Fun Facts

• When Veruca casts Ridikkulus on her Boggart, it turns into Coby dressed in their mother's clothes and makeup.

• After her wand was destroyed by Rakepick, Veruca stuck with wandless magic.

• She used to dance ballet when she was younger but later quit after failing to get a part in the Sleeping Beauty ballet. She eventually went back to practicing the art when Diego helped regain her courage to dance again. She now practices contemporary ballet then went back to classical ballet after some time.

• She owns a whole bunch of bat themed accessories.

• Veruca has a box filled with antique brooches and pins.

• Veruca and Carson’s birthday tradition involves smashing cake into the celebrant’s face. Friends are also encouraged to take part as they each take a turn smashing or smearing cake onto the birthday star.

• Carnations weren’t always a favorite of Veruca’s until she received a bouquet of one by a certain Hufflepuff.

[thewomanwhowatchedchristmas]

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)

I want to open this review with a disclaimer. I think that this film is absolutely necessary for the representation it gives to people of color. I will not discuss race further than that because I am white, so I don’t have anything to add to that larger conversation here.

The framing of this story is a popular trope of Grandmother (Phylicia Rashad) is telling a story to her grandchildren. I don’t think the framing is necessary here, so I’m not sure why it’s included. But this is also a film that is not intrinsically about Christmas, it just takes place during Christmas. So, maybe that was to make it more Christmas-like?

I do understand why the story starts where it does- with everybody considerably younger. Jeronicus Jangle (Justin Cornwell) and his wife Joanne (Sharon Rose) run a toy shop or boutique or something. What the shop sells is not clear, but they are all his inventions. His apprentice Gustafson (Miles Barrow) and his daughter Jessica (Diaana Babnicova) are also there, both trying to invent things with him. Jeronicus finally invents his “greatest creation,” a sentient matador doll named Don Juan Diego (Ricky Martin). Don Juan doesn’t want to be mass produced though, so he convinces Gustafson to steal him and all the plans, and they start their own toy company. I think it’s toys anyway. Jeronicus is devastated and loses his spark of invention, and when Joanne tragically dies, he sinks into a deep depression, pushing Jessica away.

An indeterminate number of years later, Jessica (Anika Noni Rose) has a 10 year old daughter named Journey (Madalen Mills) who is obsessed with the idea of her grandfather and tricks Jessica into sending Journey to meet him by herself. Sending children long distances to see family you haven’t seen for years is another trope I find very strange. Like it’s convenient for the plot, but how often do people really do this? Journey finds Jeronicus (Forest Whitaker) grouchy and running his pawn shop. A local boy Edison (Kieron Dyer) helps him around the shop, and my personal favorite, Ms. Johnston (Lisa Divina Phillip), the mail lady, shamelessly hits on him as much as possible. Jeronicus is convinced that he has lost the magic of invention, but Journey is determined to help him find it again.

Meanwhile, Don Juan is bullying Gustafson (Keegan-Michael Key) because he has run out of things to produce from the plans they stole years ago. Gustafson tries to use his own invention, but it doesn’t work. Don Juan tells him that Jeronicus has to have something hidden, so Gustafson sneaks around to find something good. Introducing Buddy 3000 (Tobias Poppe)! An interactive robot that only works if you believe he is will! Gustafson steals it, but his buyers don’t believe in him, so the robot won’t work. Journey and Edison steal it back, but Gustafson won’t go down without a fight.

This is a musical, and I was very impressed with the score and the dance numbers in this film. They were the best part of the whole movie (except that the lip syncing in the first song broke my suspension of disbelief for a bit). I also really loved the costuming and hair for this story- the bright colors and unique styles really added to the complexity of the story. Overall, I give it 3.5 stars.

[bowieandqueen11]

I Missed You / Diego Hargreeves Imagine

Request: I know in your dating 60s!diego hargreeves hcs you briefly mentioned his and readers reunion, and cuddling in elliot’s apartment, so i was just wondering if you’d expand on that whole thing because man, he’d be lost for words 😩. im down bad for needy diego 😌

My LOVE honestly this is THE mood first I get DILF Diego and now needy Diego??? My heart cannot handle it!!

Warning: NSFW, light swearing, and mentions of the asylum/drugs!

(I do not own The Umbrella Academy or its characters, all rights go to creators. Gif credit goes to @cardigan-ns.)

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°

The late night drive felt never-ending, the car wheel stiff against your clenched hands, and Diego was crying.

Well, trying his best not to, you suppose. The effort just didn’t seem as successful as he was imagining it to be in his head. He could turn the back of his shaggy head to you and gaze out through the windows and into the blurring lamplights all he liked, but he couldn’t stop the way his shoulders were doing their best to heave and give his emotions away. The way you could spot how his bottom lip blubbered in the fractured image of his reflection. How, every so often, he would raise the back of his hand to wipe against his nose and block out the stifling sound of sniffling.

Despite how wracked he sounded, you knew he was just a mixture of euphoric and terrified. He was simultaneously over the moon that the love of his life had magically appeared in front of him with his tiny ass brother, but also still grieving over the fact that this was probably just another hallucination. ‘Stupid D-Diego’, he thinks, ‘being so easily tricked by this. By them. As if Y/n would ever come back for your stupid ass.’ Just another phantom dream, as so many before them. Soon he’d wake up, and find his arms tied around his sides again and his head battering around the padded rooms of his purgatory.

Although he tries to stop it, he can’t help but let out a pathetic sounding sob then. It catches in the back of his throat, making him sound even more like someone whose soul had been torn into two and patched back together with solely a despaired kind of hope. He frowns, tightening his arms around his sides and banging his head against the passenger side window. He prays that you haven’t heard him as he glances at the diners that whir by and the dry asphalt streets that blur into one long stretch of angry blackness against his blurred eyes, even if this was a dream. He wants to be strong for you, no matter if you’re real or a cruel mirage brought on by the drugs.

It’s a good thing you can read him so well. ‘Di-Di, it’s... it’s alright. We’re not at the asylum anymore, they can’t hurt you. I promise, I swear to god I’ll never let them touch you again. Plus, even better, Five has buggered off again to who knows where so we can finally focus on each other rather than the end of the world for five damn minutes-’ You’re stopped only by your feet automatically slamming down on the brakes in retaliation to Diego’s hand clamping down on top of yours on the wheel.

It takes you a moment to fully process that you’ve come to a stop, before you take a deep breath and glance over at the man sitting hunched over beside you. For the first time that night you really see him, and he looks horrendous. His face has paled, and the tired lines under his eyes seemed to have creased in so he looks like a tired child - frail and broken and dejected, crying out for just one fond and loving word. He’s twisted in his seat so he’s facing you again, the stolen shirt hugging his torso as he stares at you so intensely it nearly leaves you flustered. 

Not knowing what to do, you drum your fingers against the dashboard and wait to see if he wants to speak. You take a few side glances at him as he just leans closer and closer towards you, his pupils becoming wider and wider. It was a puzzling sight: Diego inching towards you like a hunter closing in on his prey, until you could feel his ribcage hit your elbow, but his eyes- his eyes were giving him away. Engrossed, they seemed to grow with profound awe that blurred into tears, so overcome by the knowledge that the angel who had command of his heart was sitting beside him.

He must have seen the confusion on your face as his eyes roamed over every aspect of your body. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a sharp intake of breath. Bless him, he looked so helpless as he leant forward to rest his forehead so tenderly against your own. His hands came up to cup your cheek, his large thumbs wiping over your skin as if you were the one crying instead of him. When he finally pulled back slightly, you could fully take in just how many tears were slipping out of the corners of his eyes and cascading down to hit the edges of his trembling smile.

‘I-. I m-m-missed y-you. Wh-where w-were you?’

‘I’m sorry I took so long. Dallas is a surprisingly big place, and it doesn’t help when you get arrested straight away. Although, I shouldn’t really be surprised you’d do something stupid when I’m talking to the man who was convinced by Klaus that cookies became poisonous as soon as you turn eight just because he wanted to eat all of them’, you reply with a sad grin, trying to affirm the breaking man in front of you by reaching out and resting your hands over his slender and trembling fingers. He snorts, but his smile grows all the brighter as you rub up and down the back of his palm, making sure to gently squeeze his wrists every time you pass them. ‘At least we have all the time in the world now to become reacquainted with each other.’ He rolls his eyes, but even you can pick up the way his thighs shuffle in his seat and his heart seems to choke him. ‘By the way... I like the beard. Looks very suave, which is one thing you are not.’

‘H-hey! I’m plenty s-s-so, sophis-ticated.’ 

‘Diego, you spend half your life running around in faux leather and running down alleyways like a bargain batman. You’re a big idiot, is what you are.’

That earns a laugh as he lets go of one of your hands to reach up and try to swipe away the rest of his tears. You don’t let him do it alone, instead using your own thumb to gingerly wipe under his eyes.

‘How about you and me go back home, huh? I know I said we had forever, but your weird ass little brother actually said something about your family bringing around another apocalypse. He had just downed ten cups of coffee though, which honestly was really impressive to watch but it also meant he was vibrating on the spot when he grabbed my collar and pulled me down to his face to spit that at me so I don’t even know.’

‘You sure you still want to marry into this family? I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to run the other direction’, Diego snuffles. You only push him back down onto his seat with a thump, reaching round his torso and making him put his seat belt back on. 

‘Diego, I’ve known you and your dumbass siblings since I was five years old, you already are my family. Plus, you know, you’ve stranded me in 1960′s Dallas so I’m stuck with your ass until you get me back.’ You start the car back up again, trying to figure out in your head your way back to Elliott’s place without Five being here to shout directions at you.

‘That’s my sexy pumpkin pie.’ You use your right hand to thwack his chest as he finally bursts out in the first real fit of laughter he’s had in months.

‘Ugh, do not start calling me that again, mama’s boy.’

~

Poor Luther.

All he could do was raise his eyebrows at Elliott and smile apologetically as yet another pair of pants smacked against the blurred glass of his bedroom window. ‘This is a lovely cup of tea’, he manages to fumble out as he takes a nervous sip. Elliot’s too shocked to even reply, just leaning back on his chair and staring at the window with his mouth agape.

‘Is your family... all... like this?’, he finally manages to blurt out, raising a finger to point in you and Diego’s general direction. ‘I mean, I met the one with the robot mother... and he was just as-’. His words are overshadowed by the sound of pealing giggles reverberating through the upper balcony, and the sound of his bed creaking under the weight of the two of you rolling over. ‘As frantic’, he finally manages to finish with a hard swallow.

‘Oh, those two?’, Luther starts with a shrug as he sets down his cup and saucer onto the living room table. ‘Those two are probably the most hectic out of all of us!’ His smile seems to portray a sense of pride in the two of you, but it quickly falls into a regretful tight lipped grimace as he watches how horrified Elliott becomes. He looks like he’s about to pass out as he stands up, holding his hand out in front of him as if he’s about to ask something important, but instead he just lets his eyes fall wide as he mumbles out. ‘I’m going to go buy some more jelly.’

‘Good idea, my friend!’, Luther stands up to slap him on the back. ‘If I’m being honest, I think I’d rather go with you if that’s alright. This could go on for a while.’

The sound of their receding footsteps down the slightly twisted staircase is overpowered only by the grunts of Diego as you roll over to straddle him. Your knees draw against his hip to hold him in place, and you can feel how much his body is burning against your skin as you reach up to hold his wrists above his head. Even though you’ve only been here for ten minutes he looks wrecked in the silent moonlight that pours through the sole window: his hair dishevelled like a brandy plumage, his lips red and swollen, and yet it didn’t stop him from trying to escape your grasp and reach up to try and reach your lips yet again. He pants as you push him back down, the engulfing silence of the night making the pounding of his heart all the more evident.

He whines as you lean down until your chest has covered his bare own and he feels your chin slide over his. He squirms under your body, a futile effort to gain some traction and quench the feeling of burning that alights the pit of his stomach with need. You bite down and tug his bottom lip when you see how his eyes have squeezed shut into a painful patience, earning you a gasp into your mouth and a growl that seems to grow from deep within his throat.

‘Did I tell you how much I missed you’, he pants as he finally manages to throw his thigh between yours and flip you down onto the mattress. He crawls over you, running his hands over every inch of skin on his way up: along your calves, biting them teasingly as he goes, skirting his fingertips along the edges of your thighs, splaying his fingers along your hips and squeezing before resting against your sides. 

‘I think you might have’, you manage to warble out against the feeling of Diego’s tongue swiping against the seam of your lips. His legs drive against your own with the force of how he kisses you, pushing you further against the duvet and trapping you against the expanse of his chest. It’s exhilarating and rushed, but full of all the passion and love and want that has been stored up within Diego’s soul since you were cruelly torn from him. 

He breaks away to nuzzle your neck with delicate kisses, so faint and heartfelt they seemed like whispered promises being etched into your skin. His beard though tickled your neck and broke the silence as you began to laugh, and you could feel his warm breath puff out against your shoulder blade in return. He pulls back to gaze down at you, all the adoration in the world bursting out of this whiskey, puppy dog eyes.

‘And did you know that I love you more than anything?’

‘Yeah’, you reach up to play with the curls of hair that lie against the nape of his neck. He closes his eyes in bliss and grunts as he’s enveloped by the brackets of your arms, before he collapses down on top of you to lie with his head under your chin. ‘I think I managed to get that idea.’

[a-d-nox]

thor, god of thunder (asteroids thora (299) & donar (2176))

Dr. Crawford explains it best that over time language evolves. this is why i have three names listed up there: thor, thora, and donar. these are all the same god - just different dialects of the god's name. when talking about greek gods there tends to be overlap in roman gods - some even have similar mythology. but when speaking about viking mythology or norse myth, it is important to remember that raiding was part of their culture. often the vikings would settle in different places that weren't norway, sweden, or denmark. when they settled in different locations, their dialect changed. we see this in many different languages; people laugh when "ye old" is used or "thou art" but that is a perfect example as to what i am getting at. ye and thou are the same, in that they use a character that no longer exists called thorn. thorn (þ) was essentially the TH - hence why thou became you and ye became the. modern pronunciation dictated what words became. thorn was use in old english (thou kneweth this) but it was also popular in old norse language. which brings us back to the three names of thor. the old norse word thor is spelled þórr but when settling in northern europe, old high german made þórr into donar (this asteroid was discovered in San Diego in 1960). while the thora asteroid was discovered by a man in Vienna in 1890 - hence all these different names listed above. i will leave it to you on picking which to use (or use both). i simply wanted to let you know that some of the asteroid gods and goddesses that i will talk about have multiple names and some have multiple asteroids associated with them. i definitely don't mind explaining why like this because it does tend to help people better understand what's happening with myth and language as we continue this journey. it can also help you to discern preferences - maybe you'll want to use thora because it was discovered first or maybe you'll want to use donar because thor's name is commonly connected to that germanic translation.

BUT “when talking about such a popular god or goddess i am going to for warn paraphrasing - of course all these stories have more details and all these popular gods have stories within stories. i would love to share them all/in detail but i would need a book and a lot more time to write it. my attempt in writing these posts is to inform you on the high level story of the god’s or goddess’s life. that being said if any one of the events regaled in the post pique you interest - please let me know i don’t mind giving a more in-depth tale of any of the events mentioned.”

while telling the myth, i will just be using thor.

Thor is the god most heroes aspired to be in Norse myth - he ranks amongst the fiercest warrior deities as the god of thunder. Thor is the son of Odin - the leader of Aesir - and the giantess Jord. One of the most popular myths associated with Thor is Mjölnir, his hammer, and how he got it. The hammer’s origin starts with a trick Loki played on Sif, Thor’s wife, by cutting off her hair (because hair was important for women as a sign of femininity). Thor threatened to break every bone in Loki’s body if he didn’t fix this. So Loki travelled to the underground world of the dwarves, Svartalfheim, to ask the master builders to craft Sif a new head of hair. The sons of Ivaldi crafted her new hair but Loki saw the opportunity to cause some chaos and gain more in the process - he taunted another set of brothers, Brokkr and Sindri, telling them that they would never craft something as perfect as the brothers Ivaldi have. The brothers then competed amongst themselves, between the two there was the magical rings - Draupnir, the golden haired boar - Gullinbursti, and the hammer - Mjölnir… Loki smiled and claimed the hammer the winner - so the dwarfish brothers gifted it and the other objects to Loki for the other gods could judge them as well. Loki came back to Asgard with the helm of hair for Sif and the hammer for Thor. So the two made up - there are plenty of stories that two are friends (the two dressing as Freya and her servant) and others where they are mortal enemies. Thor is also known for battles against the jötnars, giants (notably Hrungnir), trolls - but his greatest enemy was Jörmungandr, the sea serpent (who he bludgeoned with Mjölnir during his hunt for the serpent in Midgard). They’d meet again during Ragnarök, where the two would fight, Thor would be bitten, he’d kill the serpent, then succumbed to his injuries… IN MY OPINION Thor in a chart represents a) where you present the most ferocious, b) where you may be seen as intimidating, c) how and where you receive gifts, and/or d) how and where you protect others from danger.

i encourage you to look into the aspects of thora and donar along with the sign, degree, and house placement. for the more advanced astrologers, take a look at the persona chart of thora and donar AND/OR add the other characters involved to see how they support or impede thora and donar!

OTHER RELATED ASTEROIDS: freia (72), jormungandr (471926), loke (4862), mjolnir (85585), odin (3989), sif (4484), and wodan (2155)!

like what you read? leave a tip and state what post it is for! please use my “suggest a post topic” button if you want to see a specific post or mythical asteroid next!

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[friendlylocalwhumper]

content warning: referenced/implied noncon discussed in the second half of this piece.

meet oscar | quinn shares their grief | quinn returns from a mission | quinn confides in oscar | major attacks quinn | [not yet posted] | quinn attacked, stabbed | oscar finds quinn, and so do the feds | joseph begins the interrogation | this drabble

“You guys didn’t have to be so rough,” Oscar grumbles, tearing his arms out of Duncan and Arthur’s grip and standing straight. A hand marred with scrapes comes up to guide his curls out of his face.

“Sure we did.” Duncan claps him on the back and leads the way down the corridor toward the break room. “Had to convince the mindfucker that you were the poor, hurt, innocent boyfriend.”

“I’ve done my job just fine. They don’t-” Oscar freezes, his stride halting and words cutting off when he hears a long, wretched scream from the room they just left. Quinn sounds like they are in unbearable pain. He can imagine their expression, the tension in their body, the tears streaming down their face.

“...don’t need convincing,” He finishes and continues walking. His coworkers stare and he ignores them.

“They got you wrapped around their little finger, huh, Romeo?” Teases Arthur with an unfriendly jab to Oscar’s bruised ribs. Determined not to look soft, Oscar refuses to pull away or change his pace.

“I’ve been undercover for half a year. If it wasn’t my instinct to show at least fake concern for them, my cover would’ve been blown in the first month.”

A door opens and closes. Oscar recognizes Joey’s footsteps without turning around to look.

“They’re fun.” The interrogator walks briskly to catch up with the others; when he does, he slings an arm around Oscar’s shoulders. “They passed out. Looks like all your work paid off. Did you hear that monitor when you were dragged in? I’m surprised they didn’t hyperventilate.”

“They don’t-”

“Figure of speech.” Joseph waves off the interruption. “They were really calculating whether to start lying, but as soon as they screamed for you not to talk, we both knew they just threw out half the plays they could make. It’s lucky that Diego stabbed them like that, I didn’t even have to bring out any tools to get them screaming on day one.”

With any luck, Oscar thinks, the tension he feels at the thought of Quinn being made to scream isn’t showing in his posture. “Yeah, about that. Diego went too far. They were lying on the ground bleeding out, telling me they didn’t want to die. I wanted them vulnerable, not saying their last prayers. Someone needs to reel him in.”

Joey laughs, loud and comfortable. For a desk jockey who only just got put on the interrogation rotation two years ago, he’s sure gotten comfortable quick.

“He did what he was assigned to do. It worked if they were that messed up. They thought they were going to die? That’s good to know. Anything else I should know about? Every bit will help.”

“You can read all about it in my report,” Grumbles Oscar, angling his shoulders so Joey’s arm falls free of them. “But yeah. They said… their friends died like that. Bleeding out in an alley or something. Like I’ve reported before, their biggest weaknesses are electricity, the dead friends, and their grandmother.”

“Right. But not liking their grandmother, hating her. I studied. You know, I’m gonna hate handing them over to you, but I can’t wait to see their face. Their lover turned torturer.”

Duncan and Arthur are uncharacteristically quiet at that. It’s fifty-fifty, Oscar finds, whether his coworkers will be disgusted at the thought of a fed fucking a magic user, or if they’ll jeer at it and applaud him for tricking one of them. Make comments about what they were like in bed, jokes about how they’ll use those tips to go do the spy themselves.

Over time, Oscar has come to personally hate everyone who made comments like that. He’s read all the pamphlets, memos, and guidebooks about weaponized intimacy and how not to make it personal. How not to get attached. But despite himself, he remembers nights with Quinn fondly. Misses them, sometimes, when he’s stuck at work and all he wants is the simplicity of lying in bed with them. Smelling their hair, pressing his cheek to their chest and dozing off. He hadn’t slept well in years until he slept with Quinn Mae. There’s something reassuring about lying curled up around someone who thinks ten steps ahead and knows how to protect everyone around them at any cost.

Not that they really succeeded at that. But they tried, and he loved their earnest efforts.

“...with the taser.”

Oscar blinks. “What?”

“I’m going to start them off with the taser,” Joey repeats, pressing a fingertip to his glasses to slide them back up the bridge of his nose. He looks around to the other two, who are also sitting down around a break room table and relaxing in their chairs. “When I go back in there in an hour.”

Scratching at the blood that itches at his brow, Oscar shakes his head. “No. That’s too much upfront. You can’t let them know how much we know about them. Besides, how are you going to escalate past that?”

“Oh, I don’t know. A broken arm. Knives through their hands. An Auto-Noose, the whip, a blowtorch. The sky’s the limit, and I have the clearance to do whatever it takes to get what’s in their head into our files.” Joey watches Oscar’s mild shock and frustration, then chuckles. “Just kidding. I know to be subtle. I’ll just press on their current injuries for now. Make some vague threats. I won’t steal your thunder, buddy. You get to pull out the big guns.”

“And don’t mention their old friends. Or the grandmother.”

“I won’t. Man, you are all twisted up about this. Bosses breathing down your neck?”

“No. I’m fine. I’ve just put a lot of time into this one. Don’t want anyone fumbling at the last stretch.”

Joey raises a hand in surrender, leaning back. “Sure. We’ll all be careful. This one’s got a raise in it for anyone who works near them, I bet. You could make it up a rank if you play your cards right. No one’s going to risk that.”

Oscar side-eyes Duncan and Arthur, as well as Harper who is clearly listening as she pulls her dinner from the microwave. “I think there are more than a few here who would happily take a risk to get to drag them into one of the Bed Rooms.”

“It’s not the honor you seem to think it is,” Harper argues from across the room with something like a sneer. “They’re disgusting. Any one of them will crawl to your feet and beg you to take them if it means sleeping in a bed for an hour after.”

“Yeah, your assignments would, Harp, you’re on the whore rotation,” Pokes Duncan.

She jabs a plastic fork into her gray-colored meat and glares. “Only Davian calls it that. He’s got a bone to pick with you, by the way, Joey and Oscar. Working on his old assignment without bringing him in.”

“The only insight he has into Quinn Mae isn’t relevant to breaking them,” Joseph dismisses as he takes his hair down, smoothes out the frizz, and puts it back up in a bun with a deft twist. “At least, not breaking them in a way that leaves them useful. You can tell him to stay in his lane.”

Pushing back from the table, Oscar stands. His office couch sounds like the perfect place to crash right now and close his eyes for a bit. “Update me by text at every development. Call me if anything unexpected comes up. Drinks are on me tomorrow night if you tell me everything, okay, Joey?”

The redhead smiles up at his friend. “Sure. I’ve got you on speed dial.”

[lokiondisneyplus]

"Humanity, look how far you’ve fallen,” a voice drawled out of the darkness of San Diego’s Comic-Con. In the summer of 2013 actor Tom Hiddleston took the stage in full Loki costume to promote what was supposed to be his last turn as everybody’s favorite Marvel villain in Thor: The Dark World. The already boisterous crowd went absolutely bananas chanting “Loki! Loki! Loki!” as Hiddleston, channeling iconic pro-wrestling heels like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, fed off the mixture of screams and boos, pointed menacingly at the crowd and hurled elaborate insults. Go ahead and google “mewling quim” if you’re feeling brave.

It was a star-making moment for an already popular character—one that racked up millions of views online and ensured Hiddleston’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. It’s the reason, according to longtime Marvel producer Nate Moore, that Hiddleston’s character escaped death once again in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to land his very own show, Loki, debuting June 9 on Disney+. “If you’ve ever been to a Comic-Con where Tom Hiddleston makes an appearance,” Moore says, ”you see what magic that is.

”The same year Hiddleston turned in the WWE-worthy performance in San Diego, lifelong pro-wrestling enthusiast and Loki head writer Michael Waldron began an MFA program in screenwriting just a couple hundred miles up the California coast, at Pepperdine University. Waldron rode his love for Hulk Hogan and the drama of the wrestling world all the way out from Atlanta to the shores of Malibu. His ride, from there, took him straight to the top. This is how one man’s lifelong love affair with wrestling became critical to the development of Marvel Phase Four.

Less than a decade later, with an Emmy-winning stint on Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s fiercely beloved animated series Rick and Morty in his rearview, Waldron has become the chosen favorite of Marvel president Kevin Feige, who was so impressed with the now 34-year-old’s work as head writer on Loki, that he tapped him to take over writing duties on the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. Impressed with Strange, Feige then handpicked Waldron to work on his top-secret Star Wars project. With Loki set to make a big splash next week, Waldron shared his unusual inspirations for both Loki and Strange, his rapid climb to the top of the Hollywood heap and how, really, he just wants to be the next Nora Ephron.

While still a student at Pepperdine, Waldron landed an assistant gig with one of his comedy heroes: Dan Harmon. Stationed outside the Rick and Morty writers room, Waldron was desperate to catch Harmon’s eye and decided launching a softball league would be the key. “What I knew about him before was that he was a guy that would love a bunch of attention, like everybody,” Harmon says. “When he started coaching the softball team, it became obvious that he deserved attention.”

“We were terrible. We were the worst team in Burbank rec league history,” Waldron recalls. “But it was a great opportunity for me to trick everybody into reading my writing.” Waldron leaned on his “Southern roots” to channel Friday Night Lights’ coach Taylor every week.

“We lost every single game and he’d take us out to the parking lot and give us this pep talk,” Harmon says. “What was the point of pep talking this terrible team? He kept on, which was a job that you couldn’t accomplish by being ironic or cynical.” One day, fortune smiled on both Waldron and the team when, in the frenzied excitement after their first-ever softball win, Harmon offered Waldron a writers assistant job on the fifth season of his NBC sitcom Community. “I look at all the amazing moments I’ve had in my career, and I’ve been so lucky, I don’t think I’ll ever have anything more exciting than that one,” Waldron says.

“He wanted to be a writer and I was like, ‘Too bad. You’re very handsome and charming. Get on the phone and talk to these producers for me,’” Harmon recalls of his early treatment of Waldron. “So there he is on Community as a writers P.A. and as a ‘facilities manager’ simultaneously—which is code for fixing things that go wrong in the bathroom.”

Waldron, not content to work in Harmon’s bathroom forever, began pitching a show he wrote while still in school about his first love: wrestling. Starz gave Waldron a crack at it, and in the summer of 2017, despite never having written a script that made it to air, Waldron ran his first writers room. “What I loved about wrestling, even as a kid, was there were stakes,” Waldron says. “If Hulk Hogan turned bad one week, that had big ramifications for the rest of my life, as far as I was concerned.”

The wrestling show Heels was born and just as quickly fell apart. “We couldn’t cast it,” Waldron says. “So much for my meteoric rise. My career’s over. I’m like 29 and really, really languishing. I licked my wounds after Heels went on the shelf and said, ‘All right, let me prove to myself that I can still write.’”

With his eye on impressing the likes of Marvel and Lucasfilm, Waldron took two weeks to whip together the first draft of a time-traveling/sci-fi/romance feature worthy of both Nora Ephron and the Rick and Morty writers room, titled Worst Guy of All Time. Waldron’s team was disinclined to share a copy of the script (possibly because it’s in development or its DNA will be found in some other project he’s working on) but you can read write-ups of it here and here. The story about the worst guy in the world, the girl who was sent through time to kill him, and how they fell, disastrously, in love landed Waldron on the 2018 Black List alongside Emerald Fennell’s Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman. It also caught the eye of Kevin Feige.

Meanwhile, Dan Harmon had finally seen the light. In 2018, Harmon and his Ricky and Morty team decided to staff “blind” with writers submitting anonymous cold opens for the fourth season of his irreverent, animated journey through time and space featuring a young boy (Morty) and his drunk, Doc Brown–esque grandfather (Rick). “It was such a Sword in the Stone thing,” Harmon says. Someone informed Harmon that the two submissions he identified as “clearly the best” were “both by the same writer and that writer was the guy cleaning your toilets and all other manner of dirty work and trying to develop a Starz show on his off hours.”

Harmon was so impressed that he not only hired Waldron to write for season four, he offered him a showrunner position for season five. “We’re like, ‘Okay. He’s a little green, but he’s moving so quickly and he learns so fast and he’s such a hard worker. We’re crazy for doing it. Let’s take a chance on this kid,’” Harmon says. “He’s like, ‘Guys, I’m so flattered by this. I have a meeting at Marvel this afternoon. I think I might be running a show for them.’ That’s the story of how we loved, semi-supported, semi-discouraged, and definitely lost Michael Waldron.”

Dan Harmon is no stranger to losing talent to Kevin Feige. Longtime MCU directors Joe and Anthony Russo were plucked from Community. And in 2020 Marvel hired another Rick and Morty writer, Jeff Loveness, to write Ant-Man 3. It’s no mystery why. When sitting down for a lengthy interview with Vanity Fair in 2017, Feige was as eager to talk about the Rick and Morty season-three finale as anything else.

“Well, you can’t fight Kevin Feige in the street,” Harmon says. “He’ll just say, ‘Oh, I love that you’re fighting me, this is so wonderful,’ and everyone will start booing you for being a bully. I am honored and validated by the idea that if people leave me, they leave me for Marvel. That’s an amazing legacy.”

When Michael Waldron left for Marvel in 2019, he went with his Rick and Morty experience, his love of wrestling, a time-travel romance screenplay, and very little actual comic book knowledge. This last part may have appealed to Feige the most. The head of Marvel Studios himself didn’t grow up reading comics and has said that someone with an outsider’s approach to a comic book story can be more valuable than a writer stuck in the weeds of back issues. “I grew up a pro-wrestling guy, probably more of a Star Wars guy,” Waldron says, “but my love of Marvel came from the movies.”

When Waldron met with Marvel for Loki, the executive team had already decided to set the show in the world of the TVA (or Time Variance Authority), a sci-fi bureaucratic agency that cleans up any anomalies in Marvel’s increasingly complex and branching timelines and realities.

“That was the sandbox that we had to play in,” Waldron says. “I came up with the emotional engine of the whole thing. The fans of Loki watched him experience a character arc through Infinity War and, in a lot of ways, maybe even arc out. How do we break new ground with this character? What better movies and TV shows did I intend to rip off in each episode?”

Marvel itself solved the “arc out” problem by plucking Loki from earlier in his timeline at the end of 2012’s Avengers. Hiddleston’s character enters the show a time criminal captured by the TVA who may, in the end, prove its most valuable asset. Loki, the series, presents a less evolved, more mischievous god of mischief and Waldron considers Hiddleston’s versatility the show’s ultimate weapon. The ceiling for Loki felt “so high” that Waldron was free to draw on a broad range of films and TV shows to construct Loki’s latest journey through the MCU.

The time-and-space-hopping adventure spirit of Rick and Morty is an obvious inspiration. “At first I was carrying in the Rick and Morty sensibility and I had to recalibrate,” he says. “I'm not writing a 22-minute cartoon. I was watching Quentin Tarantino movies — Inglourious Basterds. Movies that luxuriate in long scenes of dialogue and tension building.” Waldron also rattles off some other surprising inspirations: Blade Runner, Before Sunrise, and Catch Me If You Can.

But just because he’s pulling from cinema doesn’t mean Waldron thinks of Loki as a six-hour movie. “I’d say it’s something totally new! It’s MCU. It was important that every episode stood alone. The Leftovers or Watchmen, which I admired so much—every one of those episodes felt like a distinct short story. That’s the sign of a great episode of TV. ‘Oh, it’s that episode of Loki.’” (If you’re wondering how delightfully weird Loki might get, Waldron mentions the lion sex cult boat episode of The Leftovers, “It’s A Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World,” as a personal favorite.)

Close watchers of Loki trailers have already singled out what they think is a Mad Men reference in an homage to unsolved mystery man D.B. Cooper. Waldron says the connections to Mad Men, his favorite show of all time, run deeper. “Mad Men is about characters becoming aware of who they are,” he says. “Don Draper gained an awareness of how he was broken and why.”

Here, Waldron says, is where time travel stories really come in handy: “You can literally hold up a mirror to your characters. Perhaps they can encounter other versions of themselves at different points in their lives. In the case of Back to the Future’s Marty McFly, he can encounter versions of his parents and then he understands himself better.”

Fans of the Loki comics know things can get even wilder than Lorraine and George McFly. On the page Loki has shown up as a little kid, and as a seductive figure known as Lady Loki—could these be versions of himself that Loki meets on his journey? Could meeting yourself be literalized in this way? “It certainly could,” Waldron says. “What being is more chaotic than Loki? What do you have to learn from any version of yourself?” If this is the case, Marvel is keeping that aspect of the show a secret but fans have noticed that a few Loki actors, including the decidedly Hiddleston-esque Richard E. Grant, have yet to be assigned roles. Could Grant be playing an elder Loki?

It’s the juvenile iteration of Loki that caught Waldron’s attention. The Kid Loki comic Journey Into Mystery #622-636 by Kieron Gillen was inspirational “not necessarily because our show is about a child version of Loki, but because it excavates his humanity in a more vulnerable space in a way that you only can with a child. A child version of Loki is still burdened by the sins of his past self which is very much what our version of Loki is running up against in the TVA. Can a tiger change its stripes?”

As for Lady Loki, remember the toxic romance Blacklist screenplay that first got Michael Waldron in the door at Marvel. Loki’s cinematic journey has been so tied up in his relationship with his brother, Thor, that he’s never had an on-screen love interest. Waldron, who still aspires to be Nora Ephron, says there certainly are some love stories running through his season.

One love story to keep an eye out for is brewing between Hiddleston’s god of mischief and Owen Wilson’s TVA bureaucrat Mr. Mobius. The two spark and spar, building on the duo’s chemistry from Midnight in Paris. “Mobius and Loki, that's one of the love stories you might see in Loki for sure,” he says. “Although if you print that, knowing our fans, they’re going to take it the wrong way.” When I clarified that their love story might be more akin to the platonic one between Tom Hanks’ FBI Agent Carl Hanratty and Leonardo DiCaprio’s con man Frank Abagnale Jr. in Catch Me If You Can, Waldron says: “Exactly. Right.”

As fruitful as the time travel genre can be when it comes to juicy emotional development, Waldron knows it can also be a logistical nightmare if not plotted carefully. “I can show you what was all over our writers room,” he says, quickly sketching out a branching timeline. “We had to create an insane institutional knowledge of how time travel would work within the TVA so the audience never has to think about it again. It was a lot of drawings of squiggly timelines.”

Marvel already made its case for how time travel works in Avengers: Endgame but that, Waldron points out, “is the way the Avengers understand it.” With a TV show it’s a little different. “I was always very acutely aware of the fact that there's a week between each of our episodes and these fans are going to do exactly what I would do, which is pick this apart. We wanted to create a time travel logic that was so air-tight it could sustain over six hours. There's some time-travel sci-fi concepts here that I'm eager for my Rick and Morty colleagues to see.”

Part of the fun on a Marvel project like this, Waldron says, is creating a disaster and just saying, “‘Yeah, we'll leave that for the next writer.’ But then you do that on Loki and you find yourself writing Doctor Strange and you have to clean up your own mess.”

Like WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier before it, Loki has two main creatives working alongside the team of Marvel producers and executives. In the world of Marvel on Disney+, a head writer like Waldron will get the ball rolling and then a director, in this case Kate Herron (Sex Education), will join in shaping the project going forward.

“Kate's a great creator,” Waldron says. “Suddenly we had the benefit of fresh eyes on this whole thing as we hurtled into production. It's been run more like a feature in that it’s ultimately more director-driven. I'm not the showrunner in the sense that I'm not the one with the budget hanging over my head.”

Waldron wasn’t even on set while Loki was shooting because in February of last year, just before he was to leave for Atlanta, Kevin Feige called and let Waldron know “they were going in a different direction on Doctor Strange.” Original Strange director Scott Derrickson left the project over “creative differences” and Feige, likely eager to hit the target production date of May, made an offer to Waldron.

“I knew I wanted to stay in the family,” Waldron says. “I felt like Loki was in a great place and I was eager for what the next challenge would be.” Director Sam Raimi, a longtime hero of Waldron’s and someone Feige knows from his early days as a producer on the Raimi’s Spider-Man films, was brought on board a week later to direct.

Time was tight. “How do we just make a movie in two months?” Waldron recalls thinking. “But COVID quickly descended upon us. We're not shooting now until November. So I got to spend my 2020 on Zooms with Sam Raimi. Not too bad.” While acknowledging the foundation Derrickson laid for him, Waldron says he and Raimi started “from scratch.”

Waldron began juggling his Strange duties while still keeping one “hand on the wheel of Loki.” (Oh and somewhere in there he also scooped up an Emmy for Rick and Morty over Zoom.) He put his trust in Herron and fellow Rick and Morty alum, writer Eric Martin, to handle the day-to-day of Loki while Martin and Waldron would collaborate on any re-writes needed to make the series come together.

Waldron found a real-life touchstone for Loki in Apple mogul Steve Jobs. They’re both adopted, he points out, and they love control. For Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Stephen Strange, Waldron says: “I gravitated towards [travel documentarian and chef] Anthony Bourdain. Strange is an elitist as a neurosurgeon and a sorcerer. Anthony Bourdain was a man of the people, but there was that intense intellect. You always felt like he could eviscerate anybody with his words at any time. But yet Anthony Bourdain never really punched down. That was the first ingredient in the stew for Doctor Strange.”

Waldron also connects Bourdain’s world-traveling to Strange’s own reality-hopping adventure: “Anthony Bourdain had been everywhere, seen everything. What surprises you at this point? I think for all of the heroes in the MCU, in a post-Endgame world, how do you rally yourself to fight the stand-alone movie villains after you fought Thanos?”

Strange’s fighting spirit led Waldron to his next inspiration. “He's Indiana Jones in a cloak to me,” he says. “He's a hero who can take a punch. That's what made those Harrison Ford heroes so great. Those guys get their asses kicked. Look at Stephen Strange in the first movie. He's really getting beat up but he's very capable and everything. I can tell you that it's a ride...very Sam Raimi. The film is incredibly visually thrilling. John Mathieson our DP, who shot Gladiator and Logan — I think the look of it is going to be unlike anything you've seen in the MCU before.”

“He just wanted to write a really great Indiana Jones-esque blockbuster,” Waldron’s close friend, fellow Rick and Morty alum and Ant-Man 3 writer Jeff Loveness says. “He nailed it. It’s a kind of a throwback.” Waldron, he adds, may have an even more personal connection to Strange: “His wife is a [physician’s assistant]. He really got to the heart of the character, how doctors do have to be cocky. He got the Hawkeye Pierce energy of Strange.”

Waldron says whatever plans he had for Strange weren’t greatly impacted by the fact that the character was meant to show up (and then didn’t) in WandaVision. But Waldron’s close friendship with WandaVision head writer Jac Schaeffer, forged in the halls of Marvel as he was working on Loki, loomed large over the production. “I admired her so much,” he says. Schaeffer, who recently signed an overall deal with Marvel Studios, created a show around Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff which will lead directly into Waldron’s first feature film. “When I got brought on to Doctor Strange — especially because Wanda is part of that story — I just wanted to make sure I wasn't gonna let my friend down,” he says. “I can't shit the bed because she did such a great job. So we had a lot of conversations. Getting to continue Wanda's story was amazing.”

Waldron found himself in frequent communication with Schaeffer and Loveness, creating a kind of friend-based network of writers you don’t often see across several MCU projects. “He was still in the middle of his highly strenuous shoot and running another show, and working on another secret movie and he came onto our Zoom and collaborated on some story stuff,” Loveness recalls, “It's like swimming in the ocean over there. There's always going to be 10 movies that yours ties into. They're going to change Doctor Strange so that it will affect Ant-Man and that'll affect season eight of The Mandalorian.”

Waldron notes that one of his Loki writers, Bisha Ali, went on to create Ms. Marvel and that the whole interconnected enterprise hangs together better if they can think of it as a family: ”Jeff’s dealing with the Quantum Realm and I was dealing with time travel and the multi-verse. Our conversations are probably illegal to have, digitally. We have to meet on a bridge somewhere.”

“Iwas like eight weeks into writing Loki and I finally moved on,” Waldron recalls. “I'd spent a year driving past the old Heels writers room and feeling like a failure. Now I'd risen like a phoenix from the ashes and then, of course, the jilted lover calls and says, ‘Hey, what are you up to?’”

In 2019, Starz came calling to see if Waldron would be interested in reviving his old wrestling show Heels. Arrow star Stephen Amell, having wrapped up his superhero duties on the CW, was available. Waldron, of course, was a bit busy.

“I had to surrender control over the thing that I had been the most maniacally obsessive over,” Waldron says of giving the reins to actor turned showrunner Mike O’Malley. “Mike, to his great credit, was just so generous and patient with me as I did that. There's still so much of it that's mine.” Waldron spent some of his 2021 working on post-production for the show which will debut this August.

By then, Waldron may be even busier tackling another cinematic galaxy. He can’t say much about getting the call to work on Feige’s Star Wars, but he can say: “You’ve heard all my references here. Star Wars! Indiana Jones! [Kathleen Kennedy], she’s made so many of my favorite movies. So to get to collaborate with both of those entities is a dream come true.” Waldron's Lucasfilm gig came with a lucrative overall deal at Disney.

Setting sail on a steady ship like Marvel is one thing, but diving into a fractured fandom like Star Wars is a much bigger challenge. Then again, Waldron survived the Rick and Morty Szechuan Sauce Wars of 2017, so anything is possible. “I think he can be the guy to really kickstart the cinematic grandeur of those movies,” Loveness says. “That's probably laying it on a little thick, but I really think he's the guy to do it.”

“Star Wars is definitely sticky because if you make a certain brand of nerd happy, you're actually middle fingering an adjacent breed of nerd,” Harmon says. “If you take it too seriously, you're doing it wrong. If you don't take it seriously enough, you're definitely doing it wrong. It needs that total joy of the greatest franchise ever, along with a kind of swagger. I do think that Waldron would make a good match for that, but I don't know if he would make a good match for the machine that's carrying that stuff.”

Then again, this is Feige’s Star Wars and it’s not at all difficult to see why these two have forged a successful partnership. Feige and Waldron are both nice guys from the East Coast with wives in the medical field who like action blockbusters from the 80s, have a connection to Nora Ephron, and weren’t brought up on comic books. But the parallels run even deeper. Feige and Waldron see story in a similar way: constantly pushing beloved comic book characters through the lens of favorite blockbusters like Back to the Future. More crucially, both seem to have mastered the art of being political and ambitious without ever seeming disingenuous.

“I remember when he said [he was going to] Marvel and I was like, ‘Oh, god. That's perfect. He's going to be such a team player,” Harmon says. “Orson Welles is not going to work well at Marvel. The Russo brothers, they were collaborators always, first and foremost. That also didn't surprise me. There's a tremendous mandate at Marvel about ‘all for one’ and respecting the franchise. Their leader, Kevin Feige, leads by example. If your ego is simultaneously powerful but flexible enough to fit through that pipe, you are rewarded and you have a home there forever. It's the most obvious place in the world for Waldron. He is an Avenger.”

Growing up in Atlanta and watching his hero Hulk Hogan captivate a crowd, Michael Waldron may not have even known what an Avenger was. But possibly the two worlds aren’t all that different. “In the Heels pilot, somebody compares wrestlers to superheroes because there's the aspirational quality of putting ourselves in their shoes,” Waldron says. “But superheroes aren't just gods, even the ones that are gods. They're human. They're broken just like us. So whether it's a towering, hulking wrestler in the middle of the ring or a pompous demi-god shooting green balls of energy out of his hands, there's a vulnerability in there. I think that's just a really thrilling thing to get to explore.”

More from Michael Waldron and a Loki preview on this week's Still Watching podcast.

[lavendersugarplum]

☂︎ZEROᵗʰᵉ ʳᵉᵈ ᵘᵐᵇʳᵉˡˡᵃ

(The Umbrella Academy x Sibling! Adolescent! Reader)

sᴏɴs ᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴀᴜɢʜᴛᴇʀs

─━━━━━━⊱☂︎⊰━━━━━━─

ZERO WAS OBSERVING HERSELF in the mirror imagining what her day would be like this morning. The change in the weather already had her feeling gloom, but she didn't really expect much from today. It was probably just going to be just like every morning, or so she thought.

Seconds later, Pogo came in, gently, through the door. "Miss Y/n, Luther, and the rest of your siblings are here." As soon as those words fell out of the chimp's mouth she froze as if she didn't know how to process what he just said. She couldn't believe it. Zero didn't think that they would even attend. After how so Sir Reginald treated them, this must be some kind of joke. Once Zero fully processed what was happening, she positions herself around and raised an eyebrow. "Why hadn't you told me they were coming before?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise." Pogo smiled gently at her before walking up to fix the tie on her uniform. Once he was done tying it, he looked at her with his big brown eyes. "You'll do fine. Just talk to them." Zero nodded in understanding, eyes furrowed. "I see....... and Pogo?

"Yes?""You don't have to call me Miss. I'm not quite grown up, as you can see."

"Well, I think you've grown to be a mature young lady," Pogo said smiling.

"Too bad Mr. Hargreeves didn't think so." Zero thought as she walked out of the room.

~☂︎~

TO SAY THAT SHE WAS nervous was an understatement. It had been forever since she had seen any of her siblings at all, including Luther. A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Zero's head in anxiousness. Within every step she took getting closer to the living room, the feeling of her throat closing up came with it.

When Zero arrived in the living room, the first person she saw was her bulky brother Luther along with Diego, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya. They had all looked so grown up. It almost made Zero envy for how mature they had gotten.

"Zero has arrived." Pogo announced causing the five to have their eyes zapped straight to Zero. Vanya was the first to walk up to her with welcoming arms. "Zero." Vanya went over to hug her, causing Zero to back away trying to contain her abilities from being triggered. "I'm sorry." Vanya apologized as she backed away.

"You came back." Zero said, putting what had just happened aside. She was just overjoyed and slightly overwhelmed to see her family again.

"I told you I would come back." Vanya shyly smiled, running a hand through her dark brunette hair. The next person to the conversation was Klaus.

"Oh my, Zero! Well I'd say you don't look a day over..... Since I last saw you!" Klaus said acting surprised but was just really being a tease."Some family reunion, huh?" Zero slightly rolled her eyes at him. "Go on, M-I mean Zero. Go sit by Luther." Pogo held his hand out in the direction of the couch. As Zero made her way over to the couch, she tried to avoid eye contact with her siblings in pure shyness.

"So do you come out of your room now or is it just for stupid occasions like these?" Diego asked, clearly annoyed.

"Diego." Allison warned.

"It's fine." Zero said quietly, voice barely above a whisper. As soon as she said that Klaus's eyes widened.

"Wait. She can talk now?"

Klaus asked, but everyone just ignored it as a question.

"Why am I always the last to know about stuff?" Klaus groans as he fixes himself a drink.

A pensive silence starts to enclose over the room. Zero understood it was kinda awkward because none of them saw each other in such a long time.

Zero observed her siblings as they had their moments of silence. She looked to Luther who looked the same just as when he had left. With the chimpanzee DNA he took, he had gotten taller. She remembers when they were younger, with him being the leader. She knows Luther tried his best, but Reginald didn't think that was enough. Luther was always the leader, and she could feel how much it always got on Diego's nerves. Those two were always getting into rivalries.

Sh started to feel bad that he's going to realize he went to the moon for no reason. Reginald didn't read his reports at all; and she knew that.

Even though Luther was raised to be the best and most useful, Zero couldn't deny that he went through some trauma. They all did. He was raised to believe he was the best and a leader. Another example of Reginald's bad parenting. And as a result, his ego is still here, as Zero noticed. He's the only one that still cares for his father, while Zero just doesn't know how to feel after all the things he did to her. They say it's always better to forgive, but Zero just doesn't know.

Luther loved being hero more than anything, she had to  just hope that he wouldn't put that over himself and his family.

Her pupils bored over to Diego. He may be brash, but deep down Zero senses that he's insecure and still wants to prove himself. Still trying to measure up to Luther, even though Diego has become very skilled in Zero's eyes. She still remembers the time when they had first interacted.

~☂︎~

ZERO WAS WALKING DOWN the hall with Reginald's reports in her hand; taking them to him. A thud into her shoulder made every last one of the reports fall out of her hand, but like magic, she reached her hands and the reports defied gravity to arrive back into her possession.

"Sorry"

Zero was about to walk away but Diego stopped her.

"W-wait. I heard you in my mind. What kind of ridiculous trick are you playing on?"

"...... I can read minds and feel emotions."

"Well don't do that on me. I-i don't need a weird girl like you looking through my mind." With that Diego walked away, keeping a guard on his mind.

~☂︎~

ZERO THEN PEERS AT ALLISON. She had grown up to be a very pretty girl, as so Zero thought. Allison was always nice towards everyone in the Umbrella Academy. She never once talked bad about anyone behind their backs, which is quite admirable to Zero. How much Allison craved for attention is what she didn't notice.

Then there's Klaus. Still the same rebellious person he is. Zero admires how he can just move on and not dwell on the past too much. Sweet and vulnerable as a boy, and also her other close friend thanks to Ben. Besides herself, Klaus got experimented on by Sir Reginald the most. Through the years he has become not all himself, which awakens her concern for his well-being.

Finally, there's Vanya. Zero learned that she became a writer. She remembers when she sent her book to Reginald, but he never read it. Zero finds herself wondering how her music career was doing. Though in the past she seemed aloof, not want to have anything to do with her siblings, Zero had always watched them from afar, knowing their feelings and insecurities.

But sometimes it would be too much feelings and insecurities.

Zero's thought process was interrupted when Luther began the gathering speech.

"I guess we should get this started. So, I figured we could have a sort of memorial service in the courtyard at sundown. Say a few words, just at dad's favorite spot."

"Dad had a favorite spot?" Allison asked, astonished, an expression of surprise crossing her face along with the others.

"You know, under an oak tree. We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?" Luther asked, like it was a usual thing.

Not all of us were his Number One, is what Zero thought.

"Will there be any refreshments? TV? Scones? Cucumber sandwiches are always a winner." Klaus asked as he nonchalantly popped a joint, joining his siblings in the living room, drink in hand. Luther's face scrunched up at Klaus.

"What? No. And put that out. Dad didn't allow smoking in here."

"Is that my skirt?" Allison says in tone, referring to the skirt Klaus was wearing. "What? Oh, yeah, this. I found it in your room. It's a little dated, I know. But it's very breathy on the." Klaus motions his hands. ".... Bits."

"Listen up. Still, some important things that we need to discuss, all right?" Luther proceeds.

"Like what?" Diego asked dryly and uninterested.

"Like the way he died."

"And here we go." Diego rolled his eyes, uninterested.

"I don't understand." Vanya mumbles. I thought they said it was a heart attack."

"Yeah, according to the coroner."

"Well, wouldn't they know?"

"Theoretically," Luther explained.

"Theoretically?" Allison asked.

"I'm just saying, at the very least, something happened. the last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange."

"Oh, Quelle surprise!" Klaus exclaimed gurgling his drink.

"Strange how?" Allison asked.

"He sounded on edge. Told me I should be careful who to trust. Hearing these things made Zero look up from her lap, at Luther.

"Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles," Diego said walking over to him.

"No. He must have known something was going to happen. Zero, you must know something. Did he say anything out of the usual to you?" Luther said kneeling to Zero.

".........No." Zero replied, looking back down.

Luther sighed and got back up. "Look, I know you don't like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad," Luther said referring to Klaus, causing Allison to scoff.

"I can't just call Dad in the afterlife and be like, "Dad, could you just...stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?"

"Since when? That's your thing," Luther encourages.

"I'm just not in the right frame of mind," Klaus replied.

"You're high?" Allison exclaims.

"Yeah! Yeah! I mean, how are you not listening to this nonsense?"

"Well, sober up, this is important. Then there's the issue of the missing monocle." Luther said.

"Who gives a shit about a stupid monocle?" Diego said.

"Exactly. It's worthless. So whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone close to him. Someone with a grudge."

"Where are you going with this?" Klaus asked.

"Oh, is it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed dad." Diego said, eyes trained on Luther.

"You do?" Klaus said in awe.

"And I already know exactly who is the main suspect is. He thinks Zero did it." As soon as Diego said that everyone's eyes went wide and Zero tensed up.

"No, Zero. That's not-" Luther reached out for Zero, but she backed away.

"Why......do you lie?" That was the last thing she said before walking out of the room, heading for her bedroom.

"How could you think she would do that," Vanya said in disbelief.

"She's a kid, Luther," Diego said.

"You're crazy, man. You're crazy. Crazy."

Klaus, Vanya, and Diego started to storm at the room not wanting to continue with the conversation anymore.

Allison started to walk away too with a disappointed look on her face.

"That went well," Luther said sarcastically. He sighs and settles down on one the couches and rubs his head in exhaustion.

"Master Luther."

Luther's thoughts were halted by Pogo, who walked in; wooden walking stick glued to his paw. Luther had called him in to ask him about Sir Reginald's Monocle which turned to be missing.

"I'm trying to locate Dad's monocle. Have you perhaps seen it?"

Pogo simply shakes his head.

"No, unfortunately I haven't, but I would assume it would be one of his personal findings."

"It's not there... I've already checked." Luther goes silent almost about to give up.

~☂︎~

ZERO WAS IN HER BEDROOM reading the book Ben gave her. She already read it a thousand times, but this book is the only thing she has of Ben. She soon started to hear the music play in the house. She shook her head and kept reading. Zero' started to think about what Luther had said about their father seeming off. It wasn't just him, she also noticed he was a out of character months before he passed. Reginald started telling her more about the world beyond the Academy. Of course they would have their usual sessions, like playing chest or eating breakfast together. Sometimes they would just sit by the fireplace in silence. No lectures, no teachings, just silence.

Zero's thought process was diminished by a Thunder clap and sound clouding her ears, along with bright blue shadowing over her room. Zero decided she would stay in a room since there is no way she was going outside. A blue glint casted her eyes as she just stared in awe at the illuminating glow. It was some sort of a wormhole forming in mid-air. She saw her siblings going out to look at it as well.

"And just what do they think they're doing?"

She saw Klaus coming out with a fire extinguisher throwing it in. She then saw Luther directing them to back away from it. All the Hargreeves just stared at it with the wind ferociously blowing. The unbelievable happened. A small figure fell from the whole. As soon as the person hit the ground, the wormhole instantly closed up.

The siblings started to inch closer to the figure, along with Zero who examined the person with curious eyes, eyes widening at what it was.

It was her missing brother.

Five Hargreeeves

[spellbook-gayboy]

Cape-Watch Monthly News Bulletin- July 2022

Hey, yall! I’m your host, Christina Cabello, brining you the latest roundup of this month’s supe-related news with the Cape-Watch Monthly Bulletin! July may just be the best time of the year for our caped crusaders, and we can’t wait to show you what we have in store!:

America’s Grandpa Becomes A Father

Kicking off the bulletin is actually quite a postive story. In the past few weeks, the Guardians Of The Globe member Rex Splode announced that he had been legally adopted by the former Guardian known as Frontline. In an exchange with his partner Invincible, the hero stated that the decision came about from a ‘social acclimation exercise’, in which apparent concerns over a family discount led the golden-age super to offer to adopt him. Despite the bizarre reasoning, Rex Splode accepted, even going so far as to refer to Frontline as ‘Dad’ in the reply chain. Cape-Watch reached out to Frontline for comment and received this written response:

“I suppose the only real reason I did it was because I wanted to. I never really had the time to have kids, and then I see this kid who can’t really relate to his friends because he never really had good parental figures. And I know I’m good with kids- hell, I led the Teen Team for seven years!- so I went into his room, told him to budget better in future, and then handed him the papers. Course, ‘cause he’s an adult, he had to sign them himself, which I was glad he did. So yeah, uh, I’m planning to bond with my kid soon, probably by playing catch or soccer with him. Y’know, dad things!”

And as if this story wasn’t wholesome enough, the heroes were later sighted actually engaging each other in a game of catch, with the additions of Monster Girl and Shapesmith seen as well. I, for one, look forward to seeing more of this father-son dynamic in future!

Demon Detective Delivered from the Depths

In more mystical news, the famed satanic sleuth Damien Darkblood was recently sighted up to his usual tricks, solving a grisly double-murder and, as is usual with him, doing the police’s job for them once again. When asked as to how he disappeared and subsequently returned, he mentioned the ‘grey Scotsman’ that rescued him from the darkest reaches of Hell. This description was of course a reference to the San Diego-based magician Magic Man. The West Coast Warlock confirmed as much in an interview with Cape-Watch, fresh off his victory against a villain simply known as Miss Direction, where he detailed the exact details of his incursion into the inferno:

“First of all, it was both me and Invulner- sorry, I meant Invincible. We went down and down until we got to this city called Dis. Long story short, I had to cut off Medusa’s head and break into this weird demon jail thing, which led to me freeing Dami. By now, I bet you’re wondering ‘Oh well that’s easy! Now all they have to do is go up and out, right?’

Well, not exactly! You see, the worst thing about the Nine Circles is that once you’re in, the only way out is straight down. So down and down we go, passing hellscape after hellscape until we come to the absolute bottom of it: The Pit Of Syrocc. The last few minutes of the whole ordeal was those two trying desperately to draw a portal while I attempted to talk the devil to death. All in all, would not recommend it!”

The timing of Darkblood’s disappearance was certainly suspicious, especially given rumours at the time suggesting he was investigating the massacre of the Guardians Of The Globe. Some at the time alleged that he fell victim to the murderer, while others speculated he had been silenced as part of a cover-up of the murders by the government, supposedly due to their involvement in it. Whatever the reason truly was, the world’s greatest detective certainly wouldn’t tell, instead choosing to resume his regular detective work. Perhaps that may be for the better. 

West Coast Hero Sparks Surge Of Supernatural Sightings

Carrying on from the subject of Magic Man, the wizard’s presence in San Diego has been anything but quiet. In fact, in the short two-month period since he and the former teen hero Multi-Paul began, the government liaison to the superhero community, Peter Schlottman, reported a staggering 33% increase in reports of superpowered beings across the Southwestern US. According to the report published last week, the reports are clustered around major cities, going as far north as Sacramento, California and as far east as Denver, Colorado. Another detail worth mentioning is that the vast majority of these reports are of a decidedly mystical or magical nature, many citizens claiming to have encountered demons or witches on the streets at night. 

Historically, the southwestern states (California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado) have not enjoyed much attention from either superheroes or supervillains. The last real hero to be active in that region was the bank-sponsored super Moneybags, who was tragically killed in a bank robbery gone wrong in the late 1950s. What seems noticeable, at least to myself, is that while the majority of the country’s heroes and villains have typically science-based powers or immense skills and gadgets, the southwest now seems to have to taken on a more occult leaning, mainly protected by those skilled in the mystic arts, and routinely threatened by beings from dimensions outside of our own. But, whatever foul creature or malevolent entity may come next, the citizens of San Diego can rest assured that Magic Man is on the case!

Worrying Activity From Mars Sparks Concerns From Experts

And to round off this bulletin comes a rather worrying report from NASA. According to photographs taken by the recently established Kappa 3 satellite, several large, amorphous pink organisms were seen moving across the surface of the Red Planet. While the nature of these organisms currently remains a mystery, some have speculated that they are somehow linked to the highly secretive Martian colony located beneath the planet’s surface. The lead engineer of the Kappa 3 mission, Mabel Scrofano, had this to say about the discovery:

“What this discovery truly means for the ecosystem on Mars is currently unknown. We’ve been working with our Astrobiology team to determine the nature of these organisms and how they are capable of surviving the harsh surface conditions of Mars. One working theory is that these may be the result of biological experimentation by Martian scientists, but the colony has yet to answer our hails. I would encourage anyone concerned with how this discovery may pose a threat to the safety of Earth to remain calm, as there doesn’t seem to be a way that these organisms could feasibly reach the planet without the assistance of rocket propulsion.”

The theory that the Martians are responsible for the creatures certainly holds some weight. Even with 30 years of public acknowledgement by humanity, very little is still known about their society, mostly due to their extreme, almost warlike reaction to any outsiders making contact. Over the decades, only two members of this reclusive and underground culture have left for Earth: the first was Martian Man, esteemed member of the Guardians Of The Globe and victim of the massacre by Omni-Man, and the second being the elastic (and quite slapstick, in my opinion) hero known as the Shapesmith, who is also the newest addition to the current roster of the Guardians led by The Immortal. Whatever the result of this discovery turns out to be, I doubt it will pose much of a threat so long as we have heroes like them to protect us. 

And that’s all for this month! We’d once again like to thank those who support Cape-Watch with their donations, as it’s thanks to you guys that we’re able to bring you the super reporting we’re known for! And remember to stay safe, stay hydrated, and to tune in next month for more of the biggest superhero stories around! 

[khaleesiofalicante]

GUESS WHO'S BAAAACCCCCKKKKKK

THAT'S RIGHT! IT'S ME!

LEMME JUST SAY the number of times you've made me cry with your fics isn't even funny anymore...

ok ok ok but LEXI OMG SHE'S SUCH A HERONDALE SDYJCDCGYGYCDGYUYUGZSDGYUGYUACGYUMSGYUMSZD I LOVE HER SO MUCH

And "Jason talk dirty to me" is the best way to start a fic, I said what I said.

Don't we all hate zoom meetings? I know I sure do and I have class in 5 and a half hours (i woke up at 1 am...don't even question it). Technically i was gonna try and go back to sleep when I remembered HOLY SHIT LBAF FUCK SLEEP I CAN STAY UP

Also...KIERARKTINA CHILDREN XSUHSGYDSDGJM IM SCREAMING. At first, i was like...one child...TWO CHILD???? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Patrick...I never really knew the guy well but Aline is grieving LEAVE ME ALONE TO CRY

Lexi wrinkled her nose at the name. “I have a message for you.”

“You love me more than mom?” Jace asked.

THE WAY SHE SAID YES WITHOUT HESITATION

but seriously though...do silent brothers wear clothing under their robes...?

ALL THAT FORESHADOWING ABOUT "Darker times" IM SCARED AND I ALSO BELIEVE THIS ISN'T JUST ABOUT THE COHORT.

“I’m not a child!” Lexi protested.

You are seven years old, brother Enoch pointed out. He had been there to place the protection charms after the twins had been born.

If Jace didn’t know any better he’d say the silent brother was sassing her.

But Lexi was a Herondale.

“I’m 49 in dog years!” Lexi huffed.

You are not a dog, Alexandra.

“Daddy said I can be anything I want to be,” Lexi stuck out her tongue. “I’m a dog. A very old dog. Woof!”

Brother Enoch turned to him as if to say, ‘control your Herondale spawn’.

HERONDALE SPAWN.

There is so much going on in these lines BUT LEXI IS A WHOLE ASS MOOD YES BESTIE IF YOU WANNA BE A DOG THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GONNA BE FUCK EVERYTHING ELSE!! WOOF

Jace knew many children had been orphaned by the war with the cohort - like Diego’s daughter, who had been adopted from the Chennai Institute.

This part scared me because for a second I was like "IS DIEGO DEAD??????" before I read on and my mind caught on.

ok on to my second favorite character right after Lexi

DAVID MY CHILD I SAY WE KILL ALBERT. SCREW THE PRISON I'M GONNA BURN THIS BITCH ALIVE

THE FUCKING AUDACITY OF HIM. DAVID IS A CHILD HONESTLY FUCK YOU. I WAS SO ANGRY THIS LITTLE SHIT HOW DARE HE.

I just wanna squeezes David into a bear hug ill protect him from now.

THE FAIRCHILD-HERONDALE FAMILY IM GONNA SCREAM

THEY ARE SO PRECIOUS ISTG AHDGYJDYUKCYDVYGDJHVCGYJMDV

Max stamped his foot on the ground, because he liked to be theatrical about everything

Im sure we all know where he gets it from...

“Shall we go check on the little miscreants?”

“Max and Rafe aren’t that bad,” Jace replied faithfully.

“I was talking about your girls,” Magnus grinned. “My boys are literal angels.”

“One of them is a warlock,” Jace pointed out. “With demon blood.”

“You know your family descended from Tessa, right?” Magnus asked. “Your children have demon blood too.”

“Yikes, no wonder people want us gone,” Jace chuckled and Magnus chuckled with him.

THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION THEY HAVE COME SO FAR ISTG IM GONNA CRY

“Did you know there is a trick to find out if kids are really sleeping?”

“A magic trick?” Jace asked.

“Yes,” Magnus winked. “You see…When kids are asleep, really asleep, they put up right hand. Only parents know of this secret.”

Rafael and Selena remained still, his little celery still snoring gently.

Max’s hand slowly went up and Lexi’s followed.

A bark of laughter escaped Jace, and Magnus shushed him.

“Miscreants!” Jace whispered.

“I told you so!” Magnus chuckled.

“I know of another secret. I heard the Consul has a new punishment for kids who lie,” Jace said. “They apparently have to eat Izzy’s food.”

The hands flopped back into bed immediately and Magnus covered his mouth to control his laughter.

THE DOMESTICITY OF THIS SCENE OH MY GOD

also TIAN!! ISTG IF WE DON'T SEE HIM IN TWP OR TEC 3 MARRIED AND HAPPY WITH JIN FENG IM GONNA BE VERY SAD

“Damn, I would have gladly punched you in the face, Herondale. Next time, ask for volunteers.”

Damn bestie-

“This is ridiculous! I didn’t do anything!” Albert yelled and looked at the brother Enoch. “You saw what they did, right?”

I’m a silent brother, Albert. I can’t see. Surely you know that.

Exactly you blind fuck.

we got Jace and alec brotp bonding leave me alone to cry in a corner. the fact that shadowhunters don't have laws protecting children like wtf is wrong with you people

“Alexandra,” his parabatai interrupted. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?” “Shouldn’t you be in Los Angeles?” Lexi countered.

LEXI AYUAHGUSUSUGWDCDGD,DCGKSDYG,SDGSCDH.

“Max is awake?” Magnus was alert now.

“And Max is hungry!!!” the boy walked into the room.

Live footage of me every morning (or evening. or night. depends on my sleep schedule)

DAVID LEGIT HAD A LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT MOMENT MY PRECIOUS

HE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS

“Oh my god, who is this?” Max yelled and jumped straight into the bed, right next to David. “Are you a shadowhunter? Where are you from? Your eyes are so blue! My daddy has blue eyes too! Wait, I also have blue eyes! We both have blue eyes!”

Max- PLEASE THIS IS SO CUTE

“Yay!” Lexi yelled. “You could pretend to be my other twin.”

“Then you would be triplets,” Alec mumbled quietly. “Not twins.”

Oh shush

“Our people are not going to like this, Alec,” Jace pointed out.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Alec said unapologetically. “I’m the Consul.”

YES BITCH SHOW THEM

I really hope Albert does have to come crawling back and have his marks stripped.

“Is that...Is that a stubble?” Jace asked when something prickled his cheek.

“Yes.”

"Are you growing a beard?" Jace inquired sceptically.

"Yes."

“Gross. I don’t like it,” Jace complained.

“Too bad. Cause I do.”

“I’m going to tell Magnus to shave it off while you are asleep,” Jace muttered.

“Jokes on you. He likes it too.”

Jace weren't you starting to grow a beard in TDA as well-

no, but I'm with Jace on this one.

“So, I heard an interesting story from Magnus when I came in,” his wife said, coming out of her bathroom, wiping her face with a towel. “You adopted a kid, I hear? Your parabatai is really rubbing off on you, huh?”

It's the alec affect bestie.

“He only said there is a child at the institute who needs my help. At first, I thought he was talking about you.”

I-

Jace trying to find David a new last name was so goddamn sweet I'm crying in a corner. And David choosing to keep his name as a reminder that he survived??? TEARS

Selena had learned Spanish so she can talk to Rafael. Then she had learned French just because she could.

Oh to be good at languages...

“It means darling,” Jace corrected and then beamed. “But wait! It also means cabbage! David, you are going to be my little cabbage.”

Lexi, Selena, and Clary groaned in unison.

“You’ll have to deal with this, David,” Clary said apologetically, not letting go of the boy. “Lexi is Lettuce. Selena is Celery and I’m Carrot.”

AJHHUHYUCDJILSDYVGILCQBCDHCUOUCEDCCSCUHKK SCREAMING

DAVID YOU ARE GONNA BE EATING PIZZA TONIGHT SCREW VEGETABLES.

THE LIBRARY SLEEPOVER!!! SQUEALS. I LOVE READING TOO I WANNA JOIN THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That was so long wtf-

and I guess I don't truly understand what it's like to be a child abuse victim but to all those who can hurt a child and not feel anything...I hope they fucking pay for what they do. All those kids who survive are so goddamn strong but why the fuck does one have to go through so much shit and people be like "oh you came out stronger" sure bitch but they didn't deserve this shit in the first place. i might be saying it wrong but we seriously need more strict laws against this kind of shit.

damn, I curse a lot. SEE YA ON FRIDAY BYE

Me scrolling through this entire liveblog like:

Thank you so much. It made my day! I love reading reactions!!! (lol you know that)

I am so glad you like the first chapter. And I curse a lot too so issokay ;)

And thank you for that last point. It's what we need more of in this world - empathy and understanding x.

And we definitely need better laws - but these laws also need to be implemented correctly - without judgment and with efficiency.

We have a long way to go just like the shadowhunters oof.

[rodeoxqueen]

Ever since I got this idea I haven't been able to stop thinking about Dante being a stripper cowboy 😳😳 Maybe smol shy S/O was dragged by her friends into a strip club when she caught the attention the attention of a certain red devil? 👀🌹 I have a mighty need for some Dante erotica, I'm sorry 😅

Howdy Howdy,

Partner, there’s no need to apologize. If anything, I’m sorry this request was sitting in my inbox for more than a week. I was watching as many male stripper movies as I could find to make this accurate. Here’s a fully written work to make up for the wait. 

Part II is in the making, I couldn’t fit all that raunchiness into one chapter. For my male and gender-neutral readers, I’ll do my best to write inclusive installments that make you feel sexy and well-loved by this stripper cowboy. All readers deserve a lap dance.

Yours,

Rodeo 

Can You Touch This?-Cowboy!Stripper! Dante/Reader-(PART I)(AFAB! READER)

Tags/Warnings: 18+, AFAB! Reader, Stripper!AU, Magic Mike!Au, Erotica, Minors Do Not Try It.

Read It On AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28256070/chapters/69242487

You were never one for large crowds, alcohol, loud music, and nudity. So what a mess you were in, your friends dragging you into a strip club. 

It wasn’t your fault, they promised you were all going for a quiet dinner at your favorite restaurant. No loud noises, no crowds, and especially, you didn’t even know why you had to specify, no naked guys!  That’s what happened at first. You went and blew out your candles on your cake at a nice place, but then things got weird. Your friends had got you thoughtful gifts, except one of them who promised to give it to you after another “surprise.”

They practically herded you to their car, blindfolding and ear-muffing you while giggling. After driving in some unfamiliar directions, you were pulled into a strange building. 

So when you couldn’t hear your own thoughts due to the overbearing bass in the room you were in, you realized you should’ve known better. The blindfold and earmuffs were taken off and you opened your eyes to a neon-lit room with the most hard-cut abs right in your face. 

“A strip club?! W-why would you think I’d want to go to a strip club?” 

“Okay, first of all (Y/N). It’s a male strip club. Second, come on! I know you want to touch some diamond abs!” One of your friends exclaimed as they threw bills at one very tan and very oiled up man named Diego. The box from before landed on your lap, and you unwrapped it to find a giant stack of dollar bills. 

“Now stuff them bills down some hottie’s pants!” 

The orange thong-wearing male with the most defined quads you had ever glanced at winked at your friend and opted to dance on someone else. Clutching your drink, you swallowed thickly as other males who clearly went to the gym every other hour thrust their hips proactively at you. 

Your friends had called ahead and bought the lot of you a table to the stage, much to your chagrin. 

Luckily, your ability to disappear in a room, with your meek personality and small stature, came in handy in these situations. The tall and buff guys your friends screamed over seemed to prefer the company of the more extroverted and thirsty. While other tables farther from the stage had easy contact with the not-themed strippers, you were all confronted with the stage floor dancers. 

“My god, how many themes do these guys dress in?” You squeaked as an entertainer dressed like James Bond (minus the clothes except for the bowtie and gun holster) ground on the stage floor. 

“Not enough! Now make it rain, (Y/N).” Another friend demanded as she took another shot. 

You made a noise as your hand was forcibly placed onto an eight-pack. You quickly threw a wad of bills at the man and ran off to the bar. 

“I gotta go!” You panicked, speed-walking to the bar in your heels. Stomach quivering, you put a few bills down and asked for a stronger drink. Maybe you could pass out on the table and your friends would feel bad and take you home. 

You sighed as you watched your friends have the time of their lives, although they noted your absence. 

“First time?” The bartender asked, sliding your fruity drink to you. You fiddled with the napkin. A woman posed in the corner with the logo “Devil May Cry” to the side of her, all lined in neon pink. 

“Oh!... Yeah, it is.” You mumbled shyly. You blushed at his blue-eyed stare. Luckily, he wore a collared white shirt so you could look at him without bleeding out of your nose. He was very handsome, with rugged features and slight facial hair. His stark white hair shined even in the dim lighting. 

“Ah, could tell. Watched you get dragged in here.” He chuckled. 

“I-I was tricked, first of all!” You exclaimed, tucking some hair behind your ear. 

“It’s alright. Your next rounds on me if you stay a lil longer.” He winked, wiping a glass. A few other people came and went, requesting all sorts of raunchy-titled drinks. Despite that, he leaned on the table where you sat, making idle conversation. 

“I’m Dante.” 

“Nice to meet you, Dante. I’m (Y/N).” You impulsively stuck your hand out to shake and stilled at his strong and warm grip.

He whistled. 

“Nice name for a nice lady. It’s your birthday right?” You nodded. 

“What did you wish for?” 

“Peace and quiet.” He laughed at that, gesturing to your friends who screamed and clapped at a dark-skinned stripper who ripped off his pants. 

“With those friends?” He chuckled. 

“They’re a lot more restrained. This is an exception.” You whined. 

The conversation grew longer. You learned that Dante worked here with his twin brother Vergil. He loved pizza and strawberry ice cream, along with nice motorcycles. A total manly man, if you asked yourself. 

You found a safe space talking to him since you didn’t have to look at nude guys with your back turned. 

You were hoping to talk the night away until a similarly white-haired male with a serious glare rounded the corner. 

Swiping back a few stray hairs, the esteemed brother Vergil knocked the smile off his twin’s face. 

“You fool! Your shift has been over for some time now.” He snapped. Dante rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, this is old douchebag.” You giggled at his comment, quickly stopping when meeting eyes with the frigid twin. 

“Have you been speaking ill of me? I will-”  Dante threw a towel at his brother’s face before leaving the bartending station. By leaving, he jumped over the counter. 

“Hey, (Y/N), nice talking to you. I’ll see you later.” The white-haired man left to the employee’s room. 

“Alright-” You muttered. You’d sit, but Vergil’s cold glare prompted you to leave and rejoin your friends. 

“Where were you? Chatting up the bartender?” 

“Look at you. Being social in a strip club.” They teased. 

After a few more dancers, you couldn’t help but miss the blue-eyed bartender with his quips and casual flirtiness. 

Suddenly, the music and lights went off. The crowd stirred. Your friend grabbed your arm. 

“Oh girl they’re gonna need a mop after this.” 

“Ew!” You cried out. Your friends sang that one horribly sexual song from the radio. Something about parking a truck in a garage and about wet-

A shirtless DJ grabbed the mic. 

“And now, for our next entertainer, we have the Legendary Lady Killer. Hold onto your panties and your wedding rings, you’re all in for the ride of your life.” 

 The lights were turned back on from back to front. On stage, stood a muscular man with a cowboy hat and shawl. His legs were perfectly framed by black leather chaps and boots. You turned as red as his shawl as you could see his formidable bulge from yards across. 

His spurs clinked on the floor as people began to cheer at his physique. Your jaw dropped in shock. 

White hair. 

“Ladies, I got some questions for y’all.” He drawled, lowering his hat. 

“Yes! I’m single!” Someone yelled from the back. He chuckled as others screamed with agreement. 

“That’s nice ma’am. But really, I got three questions.” He made his way down the stage, his shadow covering your table. 

He palmed his chest and abs, showing white chest hairs and slicked down muscles. 

“Can you touch this?” Everyone screamed for yes. He tutted. 

“No, no, no.” He waggled his finger. He spun and exposed his lush tush. He was packing it front and back and you blushed while putting your face in your hands. 

His hands groped his own butt. Even with his giant hands, he still had more ass to spare. 

“Can you touch this?” The screams grew louder. He waggled his finger again, wiggling his butt. 

“No, no, no.” The crowd awed. He turned back around, a cocky grin on his face. 

“Now, ladies.” He pointed to the crowd. 

His palms groped the leather that concealed his huge package. 

“Can you touch this?” Your friend threw a wad of cash at him, hitting him in the nipple. He stood unflinching. 

“No, no, no.” He drew out each word. 

“These are my laws.” Putting his hands on his hips, he rocked left to right, clicking his spurs. 

“But I see a hell of a lot of lawbreakers here tonight.” 

He shifted to walk around the chair placed behind him. He sat on it backward, legs spread to place his groin in the spotlight. 

“And I don’t see a cop in sight.”  He pointed at the DJ. 

“Hit it!” Music blaring, he did his number. And boy, was the DJ right to warn you. Dante practically made sweet love to the chair, flipping his head back. 

Hips circling and then pistoning the air, sweat trailed down his pecs. 

You ended up throwing a few bills, hoping to avoid eye contact. It failed as he slid to his knees to the edge of the stage and crawled off the ledge onto your table. Like a preying tiger, he made his way over to you. 

Thank god you had health insurance, your blood pressure was going off the charts. 

Your friends lost their heads, throwing bills and screaming like banshees. But he wasn’t interested in them. His eyes preyed after your own, baby blues on an absolute beast. 

“Wanna save a horse and ride a cowboy, pretty girl?” He purred as he traced your jaw. Your skin jumped as you internally imploded. This was was too sensual and people were watching, for goodness sake! 

“(Y/N), if you don’t agree I will cancel your Barnes and Noble membership.” Your friend threatened. 

“Come on, spare this outlaw some sugar?” You didn’t have a moment to think. Dante threw his hat on your head and carried you onto the table and to the stage. 

“Oh my god! Oh my god!” You shrieked. 

He ran hot. So hot. Your skin burned at contact with him, pressed up against his chest as he stood you in front of the chair he practically humped. 

“Take a seat, lil lady.” You blushed at his sensual persona, not sure where the kind bartender and the suave cowboy started and ended. 

Obediently, you turned the chair around and sat with your ankles crossed. Dante tutted in disapproval. 

His hands lingered by your legs.

“May I?” He asked. You shook your head slowly, feeling his callused hands on your thighs. He firmly spread your legs and stood over you on the chair. 

As if that wasn’t enough, his arm muscles bulged and twitched as he ripped off his leather chaps. He ripped the chaps. There were no zippers or velcro straps. That was all him! 

Your face a hair’s width from his abs, he gently took your hands and traced his pecs with them. He growled and winked at you. 

Despite the one in a million situation you were in, you shrank at the many peering eyes of the other women and bar patrons. Your anxiety was seen by Dante, who tilted your head up. 

“Hey, it’s alright. Just focus on me. If you’re nervous, just give me a purple nurple or something, alright?” You laughed at his idea of a safe word and nodded. 

“Okay, Dante.” 

And like that, it was like you pulled a trigger. Dante grinded on your form and explored his own peak-conditioned skin with your own hands. 

You gasped as he led your hands down his front to his leather shorts. You couldn’t stop looking with widened eyes at his crotch. You had read erotica before, describing the male member in the throes of passion, yet this was the first time you had really been this close to anything like those erotic novels. 

It was obscene! Why did it seem to get larger? How was he allowed to carry that thing around without a license?! 

“Hey, eyes up here.” He teased as you snapped your head up. 

“O-oh! Sorry.” You whispered. Your blood had rushed to your head and you had grown deaf to your friends’ yells of validation. 

“Grab him by the buns!” One of your friends yelled. Dante turned around to make eye contact with her. 

With a grin, he slid your hands to the back. What he didn’t expect was you to squeeze. 

“Whoa now, kitty.” He purred. You gave a watery smile. 

Suddenly, a water bottle was thrown at his head. With lightning reflexes, he caught it after it bounced off of him. 

“Hey! Stage times’ over, you fucking show pony.” A short-haired woman with mismatching eyes called out. Dante scoffed. 

“Just givin’ a nice lady some lovin’.” He argued. 

“No, get off the stage, Dante.” 

“Five more minutes?” 

“NOW.” He sighed. Getting off of your lap, he kissed your hand that was resting on his thigh. Lord, if you died right now, that’d be fine. 

“Glad to have this dance.” He flirted. 

“Y-you too.” Taking your hand, he took you for another surprise and swept you off your feet. You squeaked as he handed you to another dancer on the ground. The club-goers cheered as dancers arrived, dressed like businessmen with briefcases. 

You were promptly seated, head dizzy from everything that just happened. You watched as he took his leave as if he didn’t just cause you to get feverish from how hot he was. Your friend hugged you. 

“Nice work! You were so lucky!” Another friend plucked the hat off your head. 

“Ah! He left his hat!”  You exclaimed as you took it from her hands. 

“A souvenir.” 

For the rest of the night, you held onto the hat and traced the red stitching. You never saw Dante for the rest of the night, his brother in charge of the bar service. 

Finally, before the last round of dancers, you were tapped on the shoulder. You found yourself staring into much harsher blue eyes. 

One of your friends threw money at him, which he growled at. 

“I am not an entertainer. Well, not right now.” He explained. He handed you a drink with a napkin on the bottom. 

“My buffoon of a brother said to keep the hat. Although, I’m not sure why you would.”

“I-”

“The drink is on the house. Good evening with you all.” 

 He walked off, and you took your drink. You realized it was the same one you ordered when you got to the bar. 

“Hey girlie, take a look.” A well-manicured nail pointed to the napkin. You saw in red pen an arrow pointed to the folded corner. 

You shakily opened it to reveal a series of numbers and words, along with a card that flitted onto the table. 

Tonight was fun, wanna do it again? The card’s for a private dance, just call and ask for Dante Sparda. No crowds, only you and me. No Lady barking up my tree for appreciating beauty either-DS 

A little heart with an arrow through its center was scrawled in a corner. You picked up the laminated card and saw it was for a free private dance. Your heart beat out of your chest. 

Your friends laughed as you immediately stuck it in your purse, along with the note. The club closed and you were all ushered out. The night was pitch black when you emerged from the debauchery that was the Devil May Cry strip club. 

As your other wasted companions were stuffed into the car, you sat shotgun to the sober and designated driver. 

You were silent the car ride home, laying your head against the window. You thought about that white-haired flirt’s remarks and how gentle he was to you.

Waving and embracing your wonderful friends, you left for your apartment with all your gifts. However, the little slips of paper in your purse weighed the heaviest on your mind. 

High heels in your hand, you climbed up the stairs home. 

After closing the door, you slid down the wall and let out a pleased sigh. 

“Best birthday ever!” You said to no one in particular. 

[twh-news]

How the Man Behind Loki Is Shaping Marvel’s Phase 4 and Beyond

By Joanna Robinson | June 3, 2021

[Please read the whole article on Vanity Fair. It is so long that I can't paste it all on one post]

Humanity, look how far you’ve fallen,” a voice drawled out of the darkness of San Diego’s Comic-Con. In the summer of 2013 actor Tom Hiddleston took the stage in full Loki costume to promote what was supposed to be his last turn as everybody’s favorite Marvel villain in Thor: The Dark World. The already boisterous crowd went absolutely bananas chanting “Loki! Loki! Loki!” as Hiddleston, channeling iconic pro-wrestling heels like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, fed off the mixture of screams and boos, pointed menacingly at the crowd, and hurled elaborate insults. Go ahead and google “mewling quim” if you’re feeling brave.

It was a star-making moment for an already popular character—one that racked up millions of views online and ensured Hiddleston’s future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. It’s the reason, according to longtime Marvel producer Nate Moore, that Hiddleston’s character escaped death once again in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame to land his very own show, Loki, debuting June 9 on Disney+. “If you’ve ever been to a Comic-Con where Tom Hiddleston makes an appearance,” Moore says, “you see what magic that is.”

The same year Hiddleston turned in the WWE-worthy performance in San Diego, lifelong pro-wrestling enthusiast and Loki head writer Michael Waldron began an MFA program in screenwriting just a couple hundred miles up the California coast, at Pepperdine University. Waldron rode his love for Hulk Hogan and the drama of the wrestling world all the way out from Atlanta to the shores of Malibu. His ride, from there, took him straight to the top. This is how one man’s lifelong love affair with wrestling became critical to the development of Marvel Phase Four.

Less than a decade later, with an Emmy-winning stint on Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon’s fiercely beloved animated series Rick and Morty in his rearview, Waldron has become the chosen favorite of Marvel president Kevin Feige, who was so impressed with the now 34-year-old’s work as head writer on Loki that he tapped him to take over writing duties on the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. Impressed with Strange, Feige then handpicked Waldron to work on his top secret Star Wars project. With Loki set to make a big splash next week, Waldron shared his unusual inspirations for both Loki and Strange, his rapid climb to the top of the Hollywood heap, and how, really, he just wants to be the next Nora Ephron.

While still a student at Pepperdine, Waldron landed an assistant gig with one of his comedy heroes: Dan Harmon. Stationed outside the Rick and Morty writers room, Waldron was desperate to catch Harmon’s eye and decided launching a softball league would be the key. “What I knew about him before was that he was a guy that would love a bunch of attention, like everybody,” Harmon says. “When he started coaching the softball team, it became obvious that he deserved attention.”

“We were terrible. We were the worst team in Burbank rec league history,” Waldron recalls. “But it was a great opportunity for me to trick everybody into reading my writing.” Waldron leaned on his “Southern roots” to channel Friday Night Lights coach Taylor every week.

“We lost every single game, and he’d take us out to the parking lot and give us this pep talk,” Harmon says. “What was the point of pep talking this terrible team? He kept on, which was a job that you couldn’t accomplish by being ironic or cynical.” One day, fortune smiled on both Waldron and the team when, in the frenzied excitement after their first-ever softball win, Harmon offered Waldron a writer’s assistant job on the fifth season of his NBC sitcom Community. “I look at all the amazing moments I’ve had in my career, and I’ve been so lucky, I don’t think I’ll ever have anything more exciting than that one,” Waldron says.

More from Michael Waldron and a Loki preview on this week's Still Watching podcast.

“He wanted to be a writer and I was like, ‘Too bad. You’re very handsome and charming. Get on the phone and talk to these producers for me,’” Harmon recalls of his early treatment of Waldron. “So there he is on Community as a writer’s P.A. and as a ‘facilities manager’ simultaneously—which is code for fixing things that go wrong in the bathroom.”

Waldron, not content to work in Harmon’s bathroom forever, began pitching a show he wrote while still in school about his first love: wrestling. Starz gave Waldron a crack at it, and in the summer of 2017, despite never having written a script that made it to air, Waldron ran his first writers room. “What I loved about wrestling, even as a kid, was there were stakes,” Waldron says. “If Hulk Hogan turned bad one week, that had big ramifications for the rest of my life, as far as I was concerned.”

The wrestling show Heels was born and just as quickly fell apart. “We couldn’t cast it,” Waldron says. “So much for my meteoric rise. My career’s over. I’m like 29 and really, really languishing. I licked my wounds after Heels went on the shelf and said, ‘All right, let me prove to myself that I can still write.’”

With his eye on impressing the likes of Marvel and Lucasfilm, Waldron took two weeks to whip together the first draft of a time-traveling/sci-fi/romance feature worthy of both Nora Ephron and the Rick and Morty writers room, titled Worst Guy of All Time. Waldron’s team was disinclined to share a copy of the script (possibly because it’s in development or its DNA will be found in some other project he’s working on) but you can read write-ups of it here and here. The story about the worst guy in the world, the girl who was sent through time to kill him, and how they fell, disastrously, in love landed Waldron on the 2018 Black List alongside Emerald Fennell’s Oscar-winning Promising Young Woman. It also caught the eye of Kevin Feige.

Meanwhile, Dan Harmon had finally seen the light. In 2018, Harmon and his Ricky and Morty team decided to staff “blind,” with writers submitting anonymous cold opens for the fourth season of his irreverent, animated journey through time and space featuring a young boy (Morty) and his drunk, Doc Brown–esque grandfather (Rick). “It was such a Sword in the Stone thing,” Harmon says. Someone informed Harmon that the two submissions he identified as “clearly the best” were “both by the same writer and that writer was the guy cleaning your toilets and all other manner of dirty work and trying to develop a Starz show on his off hours.”

Harmon was so impressed that he not only hired Waldron to write for season four, he offered him a showrunner position for season five. “We’re like, ‘Okay. He’s a little green, but he’s moving so quickly and he learns so fast and he’s such a hard worker. We’re crazy for doing it. Let’s take a chance on this kid,’” Harmon says. “He’s like, ‘Guys, I’m so flattered by this. I have a meeting at Marvel this afternoon. I think I might be running a show for them.’ That’s the story of how we loved, semi-supported, semi-discouraged, and definitely lost Michael Waldron.”

Dan Harmon is no stranger to losing talent to Kevin Feige. Longtime MCU directors Joe and Anthony Russo were plucked from Community. And in 2020 Marvel hired another Rick and Morty writer, Jeff Loveness, to write Ant-Man 3. It’s no mystery why. When sitting down for a lengthy interview with Vanity Fair in 2017, Feige was as eager to talk about the Rick and Morty season-three finale as anything else.

“Well, you can’t fight Kevin Feige in the street,” Harmon says. “He’ll just say, ‘Oh, I love that you’re fighting me, this is so wonderful,’ and everyone will start booing you for being a bully. I am honored and validated by the idea that if people leave me, they leave me for Marvel. That’s an amazing legacy.”

When Waldron left for Marvel in 2019, he went with his Rick and Morty experience, his love of wrestling, a time-travel romance screenplay, and very little actual comic book knowledge. This last part might have appealed to Feige the most. The head of Marvel Studios himself didn’t grow up reading comics and has said that someone with an outsider’s approach to a comic book story can be more valuable than a writer stuck in the weeds of back issues. “I grew up a pro-wrestling guy, probably more of a Star Wars guy,” Waldron says, “but my love of Marvel came from the movies.”

When Waldron met with Marvel for Loki, the executive team had already decided to set the show in the world of the TVA (or Time Variance Authority), a sci-fi bureaucratic agency that cleans up any anomalies in Marvel’s increasingly complex and branching timelines and realities.

Waldron cites this Thor: The Dark World moment as a particular favorite.

“That was the sandbox that we had to play in,” Waldron says. “I came up with the emotional engine of the whole thing. The fans of Loki watched him experience a character arc through Infinity War, and in a lot of ways, maybe even arc out. How do we break new ground with this character? What better movies and TV shows did I intend to rip off in each episode?”

Marvel itself solved the “arc out” problem by plucking Loki from earlier in his timeline at the end of 2012’s Avengers. Hiddleston’s character enters the show a time criminal captured by the TVA, and he might, in the end, prove its most valuable asset. Loki, the series, presents a less evolved, more mischievous god of mischief, and Waldron considers Hiddleston’s versatility the show’s ultimate weapon. The ceiling for Loki felt “so high” that Waldron was free to draw on a broad range of films and TV shows to construct Loki’s latest journey through the MCU.

The time-and-space-hopping adventure spirit of Rick and Morty is an obvious inspiration. “At first I was carrying in the Rick and Morty sensibility and I had to recalibrate,” he says. “I’m not writing a 22-minute cartoon. I was watching Quentin Tarantino movies—Inglourious Basterds. Movies that luxuriate in long scenes of dialogue and tension building.” Waldron also rattles off some other surprising inspirations: Blade Runner, Before Sunrise, and Catch Me If You Can.

Michael Fassbender and Diane Kruger in Inglourious Basterds; Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston in Loki. Top, from the Everett Collection; bottom, courtesy of Disney+.

But just because he’s pulling from cinema doesn’t mean Waldron thinks of Loki as a six-hour movie. “I’d say it’s something totally new! It’s MCU. It was important that every episode stood alone. The Leftovers or Watchmen, which I admired so much—every one of those episodes felt like a distinct short story. That’s the sign of a great episode of TV. ‘Oh, it’s that episode of Loki.’” (If you’re wondering how delightfully weird Loki might get, Waldron mentions the lion sex cult boat episode of The Leftovers, “It’s A Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World,” as a personal favorite.)

Close watchers of Loki trailers have already singled out what they think is a Mad Men reference in an homage to unsolved mystery man D.B. Cooper. Waldron says the connections to Mad Men, his favorite show of all time, run deeper. “Mad Men is about characters becoming aware of who they are,” he says. “Don Draper gained an awareness of how he was broken and why.”

Here, Waldron says, is where time-travel stories really come in handy: “You can literally hold up a mirror to your characters. Perhaps they can encounter other versions of themselves at different points in their lives. In the case of Back to the Future’s Marty McFly, he can encounter versions of his parents and then he understands himself better.”

[Read the full story on Vanity Fair]