#Liv and Helen are everything though

[riversofmars]

Wake up babe, new meme format just dropped.

[riversofmars]

Literally, all of these are better than Stranded.

The right vote, however, is The Love Vampires because it gave us canon gay Helen Sinclair!! And hands down the hottest scene Big Finish ever came up with.

What is your favourite Doctor Who story?

Stranded and The Sonomancer tied. These are the 10 stories that were closest to making it through and so have been given a second chance

ROUND 2 MASTERPOST

synopses and propaganda under the cut

Stranded

Synopsis

The TARDIS is gone. Stranded in one time and place, the Doctor, Liv and Helen seek refuge in Baker Street. But the house has changed: they now have neighbours – not all of them welcoming. And someone has a dire warning for the future.

The Doctor and friends face their greatest challenge yet: living one day after another, in 2020 London.

Propaganda

The Doctor stranded on earth done right! First time I cried about a Big Finish story. Stellar Cast! Liv and Tania, Lovestory for the ages!   (anonymous)

The Sonomancer

Synopsis

On the other side of the galaxy a mining company is exploiting the already unstable planet of Syra for every precious mineral it contains. River Song is attempting to save the native people. She needs the Doctor's help, but she also knows he mustn't yet discover her true identity. The final confrontation sees the Doctor once again face his enemy the Eleven in an attempt to prevent the destruction of Syra and the genocide of its inhabitants.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Inside Every Warrior

Synopsis

The Great Detective, Madame Vastra, aided by her resourceful spouse, Jenny Flint, and loyal valet, Strax, is looking into a series of mysterious break-ins.

An eccentric scientist and his put-upon assistant are the latest victims. Evidence mounts, with animal footprints and a trail of destruction.

Propaganda

The first audio adventure for the Paternoster Gang that involves SO, SO much lesbian flirting??? And werewolves! First of all Jenny makes Vastra fluster at least twice in this thing, they fight werewolves together after Strax got kidnapped and try to get him back. A maid struggles with her rich employer's abusive behaviour and seeks revenge, and she wrongly assumes Jenny must be in a similar situation. In the final showdown, Vastra uses what she fears to be her last breaths on telling Jenny that she loves her. Also, Vastra actually gets to kill in this audio! Always fun! Overall jumps between the inherent humour that comes with Jenny, Vastra, and Strax, so much fluffy gay flirting, and intense, emotional action-packed scenes. 10000% recommend, I swear to god. (@jennyandvastraflint )

Blood of the Daleks

Synopsis

"People of Red Rocket Rising, my fellow citizens. Our long night is over. I've been contacted by a benevolent people. They too have known great trials, but they have overcome them and made it their mission to help others do the same. They have offered us refuge, and passage to the nearest human worlds. They have the resources, and the patience and compassion, to evacuate every one of us. My fellow citizens, my friends, rescue is at hand!"

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Side of the Angels

Synopsis

Cardinal Ollistra has plans for New York, plans which involve the Deputy Mayor and her sponsor, one 'Reverend Mortimer' – better known to the Doctor as the Meddling Monk. The Eleven arrives to stamp out the resistance, but that isn't the only danger the Doctor finds lurking in the shadows – for New York is a city of Weeping Angels.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Phobos

Synopsis

The TARDIS lands on Phobos, moon of Mars — where extreme sports nuts of the future indulge their passion for gravity-boarding and wormhole-jumping. But there's something lurking in the shadows, something infinitely old and infinitely dangerous. It's not for nothing that "Phobos" is the ancient word for "fear"...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Love Vampires

Synopsis

Regret can follow people everywhere - even out into deep space, in the shadow of a dying star.

When the Doctor, Liv and Helen meet the terrified crew of a space station, all are haunted by faces from the past. But these lost loves are more than mere memories - and they want to feed...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Widow’s Assassin

Synopsis

Once, long ago, in a land of monsters and corridors, a fair maiden was captured, and placed in a deep sleep.

She was used to being captured, and she had a hero who rescued her on just such occasions. But this time the hero never came.

And the fair maiden slept on.

Eventually, a King rescued the maiden, and made her his bride, which many wise old women might tell you is just another way of capturing fair maidens.

And still the fair maiden slept on.

Then, the hero had another stab at rescuing the maiden from her prison, but he was too late. And, more importantly, he had forgotten the rules of fairy tales.

He didn't slay the dragon.

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

Companion Piece

Synopsis

When the evil Time Lord known as the Nine comes across a rare and valuable item floating in the space-time vortex, his acquisitive nature means he can't resist the urge to complete the set.

Soon a wicked scheme is underway. Only the Doctor's friends – past, present and future – will be able to stop him.

But without the Doctor around will even the combined skills of Liv, Helen, River Song, Bliss and Charley be enough to save the day?

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

The Doomsday Chronometer

Synopsis

While River Song takes Helen on an archaeological expedition like no other, the Doctor finds himself enlisted by an alien Queen to save her people.

Trapped and alone, Liv stares death in the face as she meets the enemy who's been dogging the TARDIS travellers' footsteps throughout Earth's history.

The Doomsday Chronometer has been protected for five centuries: secret cults and societies jealously guarding its mystery. But what is their real purpose? The Doctor is about to discover the truth...

Propaganda no propaganda submitted

[elizabethshaw]

thoughts on "echoes"!! under the cut bc of spoilers:

this boxset absolutely came out at one of the worst possible times for me (my busiest day of the week, at a time when i have 6 different exams, a presentation and also assessments for my home uni to prepare for), and i fear it may have regnited my 8das fixation somewhat which is. not something i have time for rn lmao. we'll see how it goes i guess! anyway personal stuff over now-

i definitely enjoyed it overall! i'm still not entirely sure where i'd rank it in comparison with the other post-stranded boxsets but it was a lot of fun, and it was (as expected) a joy to hear this tardis team together again :)

i will say however that i did have one major qualm with it, which is that i felt a bit let down with how little it followed through with the emotional plotlines set up in the preceding two sets. i got the feeling when listening to "what lies inside?" and "connections" that they were very much going somewhere with this team's (particularly helen's) emotional arc, and while i won't deny there were some nice scenes with them in this set, the fact that these threads were otherwise left to one side most of the time was a disappointment. there was potential to do some really interesting character work in continuation from the events of those previous episodes and it just. didn't happen. i don't want to sound too down about it because i did still really enjoy these stories, but i think this side of things was missing a little bit for me. hm.

anyway, episode-by-episode thoughts:

birdsong

i think this was my favourite of the set. i really love audio drama that leans into more horror-adjacent aspects (even though i'm not a massive horror fan otherwise tbh), and also love it when audio drama just gets kinda fucked up with it. this story hit on both counts for me :)

love that this continued the running trend from the previous boxsets of the episode starting with eight, liv and helen just getting to be silly for a bit before the Horrors inevitably happen :D

lowkey actually love the concept of barcodes as a written language! part of me wants to try and work out how that could work now

scots pine trees... it never rains... bracken... sand... they're literally in breckland lmao

saying that it does also have the Suffocating Quietness going on so i think i'm onto something here...

when the vortex previews for this set mentioned a family member of helen's first mentioned in doom coalition being relevant to this story, i wasn't expecting it to be the grandmother she mentioned in "ship in a bottle". however it was actually really nice to have helen's relationship with her developed further, and it was woven into the story well i thought

being Normal about the scene between liv and helen at the fireside. i am being so normal about it

"i'm not sure i could do this with anyone else, you know? everything from exploring strange new worlds... to talking about my family." i'm fine. i'm fine!!!

[putting on my clown shoes] this is how liv/helen can still be canon in some form before helen inevitably dies! :))

i love how vivid this story felt to me. i always end up getting visuals in my head as i listen with any audio drama but some stories end up, for storytelling or sound design reasons, or both, creating really clear and vivid pictures in my mind and this was definitely one of those

i hope to god that when i visit home over the summer and listen to these with my mum (who loves these audios but refuses to listen to them without me, which is kind of sweet of her), my dad is not in the same room. i love him but he absolutely would be asking me to pause it every few minutes so he could identify the bird calls and then also getting really frustrated when i inevitably end up being unable to guess any of them correctly myself lol. the pains of being related to an ornithologist

big fan of the way things got increasingly more disturbing towards the end. i do think the eight-liv-helen era has been lacking in terms of properly creepy stories (this is just my personal taste tbf), so it was cool having them properly lean into that for once. i have to say though the mental image of the scout's body with all the roots forcing their way into her eyes is not going to be leaving me for a long time

also thought the sound design was really well done on this one!! you could really feel the discomfort of the silence i think

got slightly choked up at helen and liv singing to bex as she died. i might have just been in a weird mood while i was listening to it but. yeah. it did something to me

anyway had a lot of fun with this episode! it had a lot of elements that appealed to me personally, and the character work it did was nice. i look forward to listening to it again one day :)

lost hearts

m.r. james episode!! i've only ever read two of his stories (both of which are products of me knowing this episode was coming haha), but was quite excited for this one regardless because a) ghost stories! and b) he's actually got connections to a village in the area i grew up in, and as i've never actually seen/heard any stories set where i come from in my life, it was neat to have a story in my favourite show, featuring some of my favourite characters, star someone more or less from where i'm from :')

have to say though i am disappointed to have lost the unofficial "will they namedrop great livermere" bet i had going on with my mum and brother. it's such a middle-of-nowhere village (it's not on the way to anywhere, has 3 streets (one of which is named "the street" and another of which is actually a dirt track), and you invariably see more chickens there than actual people), it would have been deeply amusing to me for it to have canonically existed in the dwu

loved all the direct (and indirect) callbacks to "the red lady" in this story! it felt fitting seeing as on some levels they do share certain elements in terms of plot/setting, and was also just fun for me as that is one of my favourite stories :)

was also a big fan of how active the story felt (not sure if that's quite the right word?) - each of the characters had a clear role to play and all the main cast got something to do, it never felt hugely like any of them were being sidelined, which does happen on occasion with 3+ person tardis teams

if helen had punched someone at some point in this story i honestly wouldn't have blamed her

"he's like the museum of cairo, stuffed inside a... well, a-" "a rude, ungracious little twerp?" oh my god askdfjdsfjkds

(let her swear!!!)

i like how the story was riffing off some of the plot/vibes of m.r. james' actual short story "lost hearts" (helpfully one of the two i've read)! it gave it that nice kind of connection, without feeling overly derivative and like it was straight-out copying it

my only main issue with this episode was that robert felt kinda underdeveloped. they started off well in his opening scene with liv, but i don't think we got enough of a chance to get to know him as a person after that point and i think the story suffered for it a little. i don't think it helped either that he's not a family member helen had ever mentioned prior to this episode, so they were essentially having to start from scratch and with everything else going on in the narrative, didn't quite find the time to give him sufficient detail

loved the emotional moments that were brought out when helen got erased... "helen, she's my- she's everything i have left" ough

and the salzburg parallels?? liv attempting to fly the tardis in a desperate attempt to rescue her friends, much like helen did? this is so... it's a lot

i won't lie, it did feel a bit odd to me that they would go to such lengths to avoid actually naming the uni in this episode as cambridge. i suppose it may have been to avoid spoiling the "it's m.r. james!!!" reveal at the end, but given that i think anyone who would have guessed it was him from the setting being cambridge probably would have guessed it anyway beforehand either from the episode blurb or the fact that the episode literally starts with him reciting one of his most famous short stories, it feels a little pointless. i mean i clocked it as an m.r. james episode when the set was announced and i had never read any of his work at that point lmao. not a glaring issue or anything, but felt like a weird choice

anyway loved helen getting to geek out a bit at the end... i love her :')

i think i'm going to have to relisten to this at some point so i can fully get my head around it but i did enjoy it!

slow beasts

this was a solid ep. not my favourite story this tardis team has ever had, but i did absolutely enjoy listening to it, and thought there were a lot of really good ideas in it!

the colonialism plotline especially worked really well for me, it felt pertinent in just the right sort of way. it's not necessarily something new for dr who, but i think it was definitely a good example of how to do it well.

i think "simple, but effective" is the way i'd sum this one up tbh. not exceptional, but it knew what it was setting out to do, did it, and did it well, and i think that worked. it did admittedly feel a bit strange after two more complex/experimental sort of stories, but i don't think that's any reflection on its actual quality

"here is the psychic paper. be confident. it only works if you're confident." "but... i- i'm not confident?" me if i got asked to use the psychic paper tbh

enjoyed the use of the translation circuit in this one :) i have a lot of thoughts on it as a general thing so i always like seeing the ways it gets utilized in different stories

so! had fun with these! a couple of things that maybe could have gone better, but overall a set of three stories i had good fun with and i suspect will enjoy listening to again. fingers crossed the december boxset is with these guys again and they do a bit more with helen's emotional plotlines next time :)

[jackjackattacks]

jack parr is based on jack-jack from the incredibles. they are a 26-year-old superhuman and temp. they use they/them pronouns. they have the power of polymorphing, telekinesis, teleportation, laser-vision and self-duplication. they are portrayed by liv hewson.

BASICS.

full name: jack j. parr.

nicknames: jack-jack, jj.

age: twenty-six.

gender: non-binary.

pronouns: they/them.

sexuality: (vague hand-wavey gesture).

occupation: temp @ the chronicle.

date of birth: tba.

face claim: liv hewson.

parents: bob parr (father), helen parr (mother).

siblings: violet parr (older sister), dash parr (older brother).

powers: polymorphing, telekinesis, teleportation, laser-vision, self-duplication.

SUMMARY.

jack was last to the party that is the parr family and is therefore the perpetual baby of the family, for better or worse.

on the one hand, it gets annoying feeling like you have to catch up on everything that happened when you didn't exist - or were learning to walk and talk - and feeling like you're always going to be seen as a child who needs to be taken care of or managed.

on the other hand, they love the attention and being able to get away with things if they play it right. they had the waterworks down when they wanted to get someone in trouble (usually dash), at least until they got old enough for that to stop working.

their powers came a little late, but they made up for lost time with variety and quantity - though, luckily for their parents' sanity, the list was not as endless as it first seemed. more than anything, they were full of potential - bursting with it.

as they grew up, they grew into their powers and themself. the chaotic mess settled into something they could control, even though all that energy is still waiting under their skin.

they figured out the gender thing around the end of middle school. dash was the first to have any indication, mostly because he was jack's authority on "boy things". then violet (the authority on "girl things"). their parents were the last to know, mostly because they wanted to be able to explain it properly.

despite feeling there were some things they'd missed out on, they still know they belong in their family. and the older they got, the more they got right in the middle of things and ensured they wouldn't miss out on any more. they only got more confident as they got more comfortable with their powers and themself. they grew into someone who could light up the room, who could help people, and who would follow their big brother into trouble (it's not their fault if he's a bad influence).

then came evermore.

they might as well have always been here. it's the only home they remember. they kept their memories of their family - thank god - but the control over their powers took a hit and that was... well.

they've done their best to avoid their family finding out their power struggles. they aren't hiding it exactly... well, okay, they are but they try not to actively lie about it. they just keep thinking about the stories they've been told about the chaos they caused when they were little. they don't want their family to worry, and they don't want to be a problem. they're not a kid anymore, they don't need to be managed. they'll be fine. it's not like they're thrown into emotional turmoil too often, anyway, right? they'll figure it out.

TIDBITS.

they stopped going by jack-jack a while ago. or tried to. that's never really stopped their family, no matter how much they insist it sounds childish. (they don't actually mind, but they've gotta put up some protest.)

they listen to music when they're working if they can get away with it. it's a habit picked up from their auntie edna, and helps them focus. when they're practising their powers, they tend to listen to mozart.

they like watching old movies from the fifties and sixties.

they're a mediocre cook but make a killer mac and cheese.

they collect fashion magazines and fabric samples. if they have a free weekend and don't know what to do, they'll make a fashion mood board.

the smoke alarms at their place are all switched off. don't worry about it, though. it's fine. (if anything catches fire it'll be them and they'll be very aware of it without any loud beeping noises, thank you very much).

skater kid. can still do all the cool tricks. no, it is not cheating to use telekinesis to make yourself look cooler, shut up.

they shamelessly steal clothes from both their siblings' wardrobes. they are not subtle and they are not sorry. if anything, they are judgmental.

they like reading comics. partly just because they think they're cool, but partly out of an almost morbid fascination with what other people think the deal is with superheroes.

they have an eclectic collection of stuff left over from hobbies they started and then forgot about. yoga, origami, jewelry making, who knows what else. they'll circle back around to it all eventually.

they are more of an ambivert than most people would assume based on first impression - they are energetic and friendly, yeah, but sometimes they need to slow down and breathe before they explode. on their quiet days they curl up with a book or a project, sometimes wordlessly crashing on a friend's (or sibling's) couch if they don't want to be entirely alone.

they keep their hair short, but still long enough that they can ask violet to braid it. maybe they're too old for that now, but it helps them calm down and feel close to violet without making her talk to them.

they were homeschooled for a little bit during elementary school. it seemed like the safer option - both for jack and the other kids. and better safe than sorry seems best when your kid can burst into flames.

they tend to feel things with their whole body, especially now their control of their powers is messed up. if they let it, their feelings can become a self-perpetuating cycle; getting upset, their powers getting volatile, getting upset about their powers, and so on. bottling things up never works well for them, so they try not to.

it's not that jack wishes they were normal, exactly. they just wish, sometimes, that things were easier. that their powers were only ever exciting, rather than a responsibility. that the world could take care of itself for a little bit. it's almost a guilty pleasure, not having the weight of the world on their shoulders at evermore.

their powers - especially their polymorphing - work intuitively, which is both a blessing and a curse. relying on instincts and feelings is good when it turns your body to steel when someone tries to punch you. the real problems are in everyday life, when you don't want to burst into flames because you got excited or shoot laser beams when you glare at something. the trick they're trying to relearn is balancing instinct with caution and, you know, thinking. and making sure they don't let their powers build up so much that they explode.

[sagesolsticewrites]

Trouble | Austin Butler x fem!reader

A cast outing after filming Austin's "Trouble" performance prompts you to finally confess your feelings.

Warnings: a couple swear words, possible spoilers for Elvis (2022), but I think that's it!

“CUT!”

Baz’s voice carried throughout the stage as the scene came to a close and Austin slid out of the police car, grinning and breathing as though he had just sprinted for miles, sweat dripping down his hair onto his face, snaking its way under the collar of his shirt. He was almost immediately surrounded by extras cheering and clapping, a near replica of the raging crowd that had surrounded him in the actual scene.

You, however, were frozen near the edge of the stage, brain frantically trying to process everything that had just happened. Images of Austin on his knees in front of the audience, cupping a girl’s face, laying onstage screaming into the mic flashed across your mind, doing absolutely nothing to calm the flush on your face. You had harbored a crush on Austin since he was brought on as Elvis and his latest performance had assured you that those feelings weren’t going away anytime soon. 

You saw Austin exchanging congratulations with Tom, Richard, Helen, and Baz, praising the rest of the cast surrounding him. His eyes continued sweeping the crowd, seemingly searching for someone, when his gaze met yours across the sea of actors and crew alike. Your breath caught in your throat, unable to tear away from his icy blue gaze, and you were sure he could read every thought racing through your mind about what exactly his rendition of “Trouble” had done to you. Embarrassed, the flush in your cheeks intensified, but Austin only gave you something that looked remarkably similar to a knowing smirk, his gaze burning into you for a split second before returning his attention to the crowd around him.

You let out a shaky breath. At least this was the last scene of the day and you could go home.

Some time later you were finally out of hair and makeup, and no sooner had the thought of curling up on your couch with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s crossed your mind when Olivia waved you over to her car.

“Come on! We’re all going out for drinks!”

Unable to find the energy to refuse, you slipped into the car with her. She playfully nudged your shoulder as you made your way to the cast’s usual bar.

“So, that ‘Trouble’ performance, huh?”

You stiffened imperceptibly. “Yeah, it was… quite a show.” you said in the most casual tone you could manage.

Olivia rolled her eyes, “Come on, please just admit you have feelings for Austin already. You’ve been giving him serious heart eyes every time you see him, it’ll be so much easier if you just tell him.”

You blinked “Wha- Have I really been that obvious?”

“Well, to me and Natasha and everyone… yeah. Kinda. If you’re asking if Austin has noticed? I’ll have to get back to you on that one. But trust me, he definitely likes you too.”

“He definitely doesn’t, but I appreciate the vote of confidence” you replied, the tone of your voice signaling that you definitely didn’t want to talk about this anymore.

“Alright, I’m just saying,” she said “you never know what might happen.”

Your only reply was a shrug, and before you knew it the two of you had pulled up to the bar where Natasha and a few of the others had already grabbed a table. In what seemed like no time at all, the table was filled with a cacophony of laughter and eventually, thanks to Olivia, the conversation turned to the scene that was still on everyone’s minds.

“Austin, I’m sorry, but can we please talk about how incredible that ‘Trouble’ performance was?” Olivia smiled at her co-star.

He let out a shy laugh, “Well, thanks, Liv. I mean,” he gestured to the rest of the cast around the table “I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you guys.”

More people jumped into the conversation to heap their praise on Austin when Olivia spoke up again, “I’m serious, you were absolutely amazing. I know (Y/N) enjoyed it.” She nodded over to you.

You froze as the attention of everyone around the table turned to you. You knew Olivia was only trying to help, but you still wanted to sink into the floor as you mumbled “Yeah, it was, um. Seriously amazing. You did an awesome job.”

You cleared your throat, excusing yourself and pushing your chair back from the table as you made your escape out the back door into a small alley dimly lit by the few lights outside the bar.

You leaned against the brick wall of the building trying to gather yourself, but before you could do much of that, the door next to you opened and Austin stepped out into the alleyway. 

“Hey, you okay? It seemed like some of the stuff Olivia said back there kinda… got under your skin a bit.” he said, moving to lean on the section of brick wall next to you.

You shook your head. “It’s nothing, I’m fine.”

He frowned, concerned. “Hey, now. If something’s upsetting you, I’d really like to at least try to fix it.”

“Why do you care?” you huffed, not caring that you sounded like a petulant child at this point.

“Wha-“ he stammered, confused, “Why do I care? Because you’re my friend, and-“

“Exactly.” You cut him off, praying he wouldn’t hear how your voice was breaking, “I’m your friend and that’s all I’ll ever be because I can’t just suck it up and tell you that I’ve been completely and totally in love with you since the day I met you and all the stupidly nice things you do like getting me coffee, making me laugh even when I’m having a bad day, hell, even coming out here after me tonight,” you gestured to the dim alleyway, “make me fall a little bit more in love with you and I don’t…”

As your voice trailed off, you felt a warm hand cup your face and you lifted your gaze to meet his. Before you knew it, his lips were on yours, your back pressed into the rough brick behind you, your hands working their way into silky black hair. His hands moved to settle on your hips and you could swear you felt sparks when he brushed the exposed strip of skin above your jeans.When the need for air became too much, you hesitantly pulled away, breathing hard.

“I’ve wanted to do that,” Austin panted, his nose and forehead still pressed against your own as if he was unwilling to let you get too far away, “for so long.”

“Um.” you said cleverly as you tried to process what had just happened because holy shit his lips were soft and your arms were still flung around his neck and had his hair really always been that soft?

“I’m sorry, was that too much?” He took a half step back, noting the state you were in. You released him, your hands instead coming down to rest in his own.

“No! No, I just…” you shook your head, unable to find the words for how you were feeling, eventually settling on, “That was perfect.”

He chuckled, squeezing your hands once before he cleared his throat, the slight drawl in his voice becoming more prominent. “Would you maybe want to get outta here? Grab a drink or something just the two of us?”

“I’d love that,” you grinned.

Austin led you back into the bar, quickly letting the others know that, “Hey (Y/N) and I are gonna head out,” before leading you right back out to his car, wolf whistles and cheers following you out from your castmates, with one especially boisterous “Get it, girl!” from Olivia. You felt your face burning as Austin wrapped his arm around you outside the bar, burying your face in his neck and hoping that the warmth in your cheeks would subside soon.

He laughed, unable to resist the opportunity to tease you, and leaned down so his lips brushed the shell of your ear. “I did see you after that scene today, you know. I know exactly how much you liked my Trouble performance,” he whispered teasingly in an exaggerated Southern drawl before pressing a quick kiss to your temple and ushering you into the car.

Well, that’s it! My first fic! Hopefully y’all enjoyed ☺️ Huuuuuge thank you to @solopadawan for letting me ramble about Austin with them 💛 Please like and reblog, let me know what you thought! Have an awesome day!

[riversofmars]

Excuse me? It's them, actually!

[wsdk-artwork]

The ending was almost perfect… it wasn’t a heartbreaking break up or a character death, it was liv choosing to live her own life, the one she’d lived on the tardis ever since times horizon, the one she even chose over the option of properly staying at home in Kaldor. Choosing to stay with The Doctor and Helen, even though she loved Tania. The couple were never perfect but I’m glad it wasn’t an overly dramatic end it was just a bittersweet goodbye as two people who loved each other had to part ways because they couldn’t keep it going. It felt real.

And it meant that we would get more 8, Liv and Helen. I was so happy. And then Liv came back. Staying with Tania for good. And I know this means there’s a big gap where we can get mor Liv 8 and Helen but now we know where it ends… in any stories with the 3 of them we know Liv will go back to Baker Street. It damages some tension and investment in future stories. And it means that for now… in what is livs farewell, she doesn’t say goodbye to the Doctor, the man she’s probably spent like 10 years with ever since dark eyes, or Helen, her best friend👀👀👀

I know we will get that goodbye down the line, but it will mean less as I know it’s coming and I know what choice liv makes. It feels like the inverse of the end of escape for Kaldor. Where Liv leaves for more adventures and then comes back, it’s like a poor man’s version of that. This might be biased because I’ll be honest I thought the bittersweet farewell was perfect and for a brief moment I had hope that it opened up the possibility of farther down the line, Liv and Helen’s relationship being Explored. I do enjoy Liv and Tania but I cannot get over Liv and Helen’s dynamic especially when Even in stranded, even in stranded 4 it’s apparent that Helen at least is in love with Liv, her reaction to Liv saying she loved Tania in keys of Baker Street really really stood out, there’s no way the writers haven’t done this intentionally which makes this even more frustrating. As with everything else I know they could still explore it in a future story. But I now also know that even if we have a story where Helen Confesses her love, it’s not the endgame and can never be… no matter what Liv’s story will always end with Her going back to Tania…. Which is in all honesty a little disappointing

[might-be-a-zygon]

Classic

Femslash Feburary 2022 Day Nine Vintage Liv Chenka/Helen Sinclair

The Doctor drops them off on a planet which looks like home to Helen, but very clearly isn't.

It was hard not to notice that the Doctor seemed to be deliberately avoiding the 1960s since picking her up. Helen was, of course, rather grateful about that— not only did it spare her the risk of bumping into somebody she knew, it also meant that there was no real risk of her arrest for one of the biggest art thefts in the history of the British Museum— both things that she was keen to avoid. That didn’t mean that at times she didn’t miss it, though. The TARDIS seemed to suspect as much, given that despite not having had much in the way of possessions to bring along when she’d come on board (she’d stopped at her flat for a few sentimental items, but had hardly had time to pack her bags in case the police turned up on her doorstep) her room had been filled with things which might have been from home. She said could have been, because she got the distinct impression that they were more than likely reproductions from a fair way ahead of her (judging by some of the smaller details, at least), but she still more that appreciated the ship’s efforts. It had done wonders for her homesickness to be able to retreat into a corner and put on old records as though her whole world hadn’t shifted. She had to admit, she was a little caught off guard when they landed in a place that looked an awful lot like the London she was used to. Of course, it never changed that much, at least not when they visited it in the same century she was used to, but this wasn’t just similar— the buildings were identical to when they’d been built. “Is it safe for me to be here?” She asked the Doctor, rather more quietly than she might normally have done, clearly worried about drawing attention to herself. She was so worried, in fact, she hardly noticed the car moving along the road beside her which seemed to be hovering a foot or so off of the tarmac. “I’m not sure I remember those from Earth.” Liv mentioned, nodding vaguely at the vehicles to draw Helen’s eye to them. It was odd; they looked just like cars she might have seen on the road back home; right down to the open-top-busses and black cabs, but even if some days it seemed as though the British Museum had been another lifetime, she was still fairly sure that cars had never hovered ominously above the road surface back home. “Yes, those aren’t quite right…” She said, sounding thoroughly baffled. She looked to the Doctor, who seemed unphased by how put off they were. He had the air of a child on their first holiday, staring at everything with a kind of energy few could have matched. Still, he did eventually notice that Helen had addressed him— after he got a sharp elbow in the ribs from Liv. “Hm?” Was about all he said, before seeming to catch up with his own train of thought. “Oh, right. This isn’t Earth.” Helen blinked a few times, and while Liv seemed to take as much in her stride, it was somewhat more of a leap of logic for someone who had lived in this city her whole life. “…This does look a lot like London, Doctor.” She pointed out, though honestly, nothing would fully surprise her any more. “Styles come back around.” The Doctor announced vaguely, looking around with the uncertain air of a tourist without a map, and then taking off in a seemingly random direction. At this point, neither of his friends were under any illusion that he knew where he was going, but they followed along anyway. “So this is— what?” Helen asked, looking around at the familiar buildings, and spotting several high-tech additions which wouldn’t have made sense in their original context, “A future version of Earth?” “It’s a colony. Like Kaldor—” He turned to look at Liv, “But a few centuries before your time. The rest of the population has had less time to put their stamp on things. The whole city still bares the eccentricities of the founding families.” Turning back to Helen, he finished his little lesson, “These ones were from London— and from the looks of it, had a bit of an affinity with your time, Helen.” “So why are we here?” She asked, trying to batten down the odd sense of the uncanny she got

walking past a British Museum that had a few too many columns with just a bit too much space in between them— as though the place had been subtly expanded, while trying to maintain the look of the original. “Well, I need to go to a parts market.” He clapped his hands together. “Terribly boring stuff, I’m afraid, but they sometimes have the right couplings here, and the ones on the TARDIS are wearing a bit thin.” Helen might not have understood exactly what he was talking about, but she really didn’t like the concept that there were important TARDIS repairs were hanging on a maybe. “So where’s this market then?” Liv asked, looking far more relaxed in this place than Helen was, despite it ostensibly seeming more like her time. “Well, I thought you two might want to just…” He shrugged, “Have a wonder around.” Two sets of eyebrows shot up. They both remembered what had happened the last time the Doctor had taken them to a colony world and then let them loose on their own. Neither was prepared for another robot rampage. “What?” He asked, before either had even said a word. “Why are you looking at me like that?” “Are you sure that’s a good idea, after Kaldor?” Helen asked, being rather more blunt about it than she might otherwise have been. He waved them off, “Oh, you’re fine. I’m sure you’ll have much more fun exploring than standing in an auction room all evening.” Neither of them were prepared to deny that that was true. “Excellent, then it’s settled.” The Doctor clapped his hands together, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. “Just meet back at the TARDIS when you’re done. Do you remember where we parked?” “Better than you do, probably.” Liv remarked. Helen bit back a laugh. If the Doctor heard the sarcasm in her tone he didn’t acknowledge it. “Good, good.” He said, more to himself than them, and then, just like that, he’d disappeared off into a seemingly random side street. A day to just explore, with no danger breathing down their necks or threatening to destroy the Universe, was a real rarity— enough so that it took them a few minutes to even decide on what to do with their newfound freedom. In the end, Helen decided to see how far instinct would take her. Spotting a familiar red and blue underground sign, she took Liv’s hand and began to pull her over to it, not wanting to lose her in the platform crowd. “Where are we going?” Liv called over the buzz of the commuters around them. “I’ve absolutely no idea.” Helen admitted. “I’m just sort of going with it.” Liv laughed, though the sound was lost in the bustle of the platform. Still, the sight alone was enough to bring a smile to Helen’s face. Whatever nerves she’d had about this whole thing were, slowly, beginning to ebb away. After a while, Helen had begun to realise what the Doctor had meant about style. While a lot of things looked right, the whole place seemed more a pantomime of the 1960s than the real thing— everything was just a little too bright and shiny, coated in a thin veneer of unreality. The underground stations looked the same, but they were squeaky clean, there was nobody smoking, and she didn’t have that same nervous urge to look out for pickpockets. The trains were almost the same, though, she noted with some vague sense of relief, they seemed a little bigger, and the ventilation inside seemed to have been improved, making the short trip significantly more comfortable than she was used to. The people too, proved to be oddities in their own right. Their clothing was about what she’d expect from back home, albeit often in more garish colours, but things kept catching her eye which just didn’t… fit. Sometimes it was obvious, like the young woman sitting at the end of the carriage with a large purple lizard curled up in her lap like a dog, complete with leash, or they green-skinned humanoid in the business suit who’d slipped on at the station after there’s, but some were so mundane she might not have noticed them. Two old women sat together in the priority seats, chatting away as though they were the only ones around.

She’d initially assumed they might have been sisters, until she caught a glimpse of interlocked fingers and matching rings. Her eyes flicked around, looking out for anyone about to give them trouble but… nobody even seemed to be paying them any mind. Two young men got on at the next stop. There were a couple of seats left empty, but they didn’t seem bothered with them. The taller of the pair grabbed onto one of the plastic rings hanging from the ceiling, while the other kept his back pressed to the wall, one hand curled lazily around a handrail. A cheeky smile was exchanged, and then the taller took advantage of his position, leaning forwards with one hand still wrapped around the overhead support and kissed the younger. It was quick and sweet— nothing particularly scandalous at all, and when they pulled away both looked perfectly happy. Helen’s breath caught in her throat. For the briefest moment, her heartrate quickened, and she had visions of the backlash they’d encounter— of harsh words, and police, or worse, of violent people taking things into their own hands. She wanted them to just run at the next stop. She wanted them to get out of sight before they could get hurt. Liv’s hand settled on her wrist, snapping her out of it, and drawing her eye away from the couple. “You alright?” She asked, voice warm, and full of concern. “You were staring a bit.” Helen faltered, and all of a sudden the strangeness of her surroundings hit again; The weird grunting noises the pet lizard creature was making, the green man rustling his newspaper, the old women chattering away about the price of flyers these days. This looked like home, but it most certainly wasn’t. There was no danger here— at least not for two people just trying to be happy in each other’s company. “I—” She took a breath, her eyes settling on a loose thread in the garishly patterned seat cover behind Liv. It was easier than looking her in the eye. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just a little uncanny, that’s all. It looks like home but—” Her eyes flicked back to the couple. Liv was quick to follow her gaze. “Is this about—” She began, but Helen shook her head quickly. “…We can go back to the TARDIS if it’s a bit much?” Liv suggested. She was right of course. They’d hardly gone off with much of a destination in mind, and it wasn’t as though they’d travelled many stops, but… Well, Helen found herself wanting to see more. “No, no it’s fine. I’m fine, just… It’s strange, that’s all. It’s a good kind of strange, though, I suppose. Freeing.” Liv raised an eyebrow at her. “Freeing?” “Well.” Helen hesitated, “I have to think a little less about acting properly. If people can—” her eyes turned back to the couple for a half second, and then back to Liv. “And nobody comments, I could…” she shook her head quickly, dismissing that train of thought. “You could…?” Liv asked, curious, and clearly unwilling to give up on finding out what she’d been thinking. It was so very like her, prying, but being gentle enough about it to try and make sure that Helen had the space to process what she was thinking. It might have been annoying but… Well, Helen was well aware of her usual temptation to bottle such things up inside. A part of her couldn’t help but wonder if doing things this way might be healthier. “Well. I could do anything, couldn’t I?” She asked. “I could—” Another head shake, as though she didn’t quite feel right voicing it. “The two of us could… And nobody would even look twice.” She didn’t feel right saying the words, and Liv didn’t push her too. The implication had been clear. “You… You think about that a lot then? You and me?” Helen’s heart picked up again, and she twisted her hands together in her lap, letting out a slow breath. All of a sudden, the space between their seats felt a lot smaller. “Sometimes.” She admitted, slowly. “I do too.” Liv said, as though it was the most mundane thing in the world. Somehow, that helped. “Not here though.” Helen clarified, perhaps a little too quickly. “I’m not sure I’m ready for—” Liv’s hand was on hers again now, and

though it was subtle enough that it could easily have been an accident, she didn’t doubt it was intentional. “We can take as much time as you need.” It wasn’t a big declaration, or… Well, or anything concrete, really. It meant the world to her.

[doccywhomst]

For 5 characters ask. 14 with the Stranded team (Doctor, Liv, Helen, the sisters (as one, I think), and Tony and Ron (also as a team)

14. Leave in charge of my home while I'm away

OH LORD-

okay. let's examine these options.

tony and ron: adorable. phenomenal. beautiful. however, it seems like one of them is developing dementia, and they're both old as hell. even though one of them is a soldier, idk if they could defend my house.

the sisters. they're so wonderful, so touching. they love each other very much. i think i'd be okay leaving them in charge, but they play music pretty loudly and cause a ruckus, which might upset the neighbors.

helen. my sweet summer child. an angel in human form. has never done anything wrong in her life. however, she's from the 1960s and doesn't know what an app is, so i don't think i could leave her with my modern devices. i'm sure she could defend my house though.

liv. she'd kick a billion asses while defending my house, which is perfect, but i think she'd leave everything in a state of relative disrepair. she'd probably start a fight with one of the neighbors, or open all my mail out of paranoia.

the doctor. 10/10 would defend my home. however, he'd also destroy my junk drawer and probably take apart every single electronic in my house to make a toaster. aliens would attack my house and burn it to the ground. not great.

ultimately, i think i would leave it in liv or helen's safe hands, just because i think i could trust them. the sisters and tony/ron have their own lives and secrets to deal with, but i think helen would do a great job, and liv would hopefully not beat my microwave to death in a sudden panic

[joanofarkansass]

SVU Guys as Dads HC

Sonny: 4 kids (Lucy Bianca, Thomas Michael, and Amanda Ruth + Helen Olivia). This was by fair the easiest, we know Sonny loves family and wants one of his own- the only question is when he’d stop. He has a girl first and just melts when he holds her for the first time (her name is Luciana Bianca, nickname Lucy, and Sonny occasionally calls her Loosy goosy when she’s young). After he’s done crying (we all know that Sonny would DEFINITELY cry when he holds his kids for the first time who are we kidding) his eyes meets yours and you know he wants to have to have another. This was part of your plan so a year later you have a baby boy! He’s named Thomas, after the apostle, and it’s shortened to Tommy. Sonny wants to have the middle name after Mike Dodds (WHO IS STILL ALIVE) and you happily agree. Sonny is elated- he always wanted a mix of boys and girls. Key word “mix”. Sonny grew up in house full of kids, brimming with love and laughter and chaos everywhere and he wants to bring that energy to his own family. After waiting a year you agree to try again and, surprise surprise, you’re expecting twins. Sonny wanted a big family, but y’all already have two young kids already. Buckle in folks. You’re both ecstatic of course (Sonny loves his girls), but you both realize that this is probably the end. It’s a harder pregnancy (it’s your third with twins, you’re a fucking boss) and Sonny helps you with everything and happily sleeps on the couch when you have hot flashes. Their names are Amanda Ruth (named after Rollins and Ruth from the bible) and Helen Olivia (those names sound fantastic together, plus he wanted to honor Liv). There’s this one moment when the twins turn one and he’s got Amanda (nicknamed Mandy around family to stop the confusion with Rollins) on his chest, you’re wiping frosting off Tommy’s cheek, and Lucy is stoically keeping an eye on Helen, and he’s just hit with the thought that his family is full.

Mike: 2 kids (Billy Dominick and August Arthur). After Sonny I think Mike fits most naturally into the dad role. He’ll want to wait a few years until after you’re married, but he definitely wants kids (secretly he’s hoping for a boy and when he finds out, he literally high fives you). Once his son is born, he very shakily cuts the umbilical cord, but once you’re alone with each other and a bit rested he climbs on top of the hospital bed and holds you both. Mini Mini Dodds is named after his dad William -which shortened to Billy- and his middle name is after his godfather. Mike is good for a bit, but when Billy hits the babbling stage (”he’s trying to talk to me, hon! C’mon say “dada”) he totally asks you if you’re ready for another. A year and a half later, August Arthur makes his appearance (you jokingly suggested it, but Mike ended up really liking the alliteration). You love your boys, but you both agree that you’re done.

Rafael: 1 girl (Mia Olivia). As much as I love Raf, I don’t think this was on purpose. You’re married and a couple years in the condom broke, so your little surprise was born. Rafael was nervous at first, but as Mia Olivia grows older he gets more and more confident. She’s his whole world and he wouldn’t have it any other way. PS: he totally becomes a multitasking pro, whispering his closing argument to her as he walks around and lulls her to sleep

Peter: 1 girl (Pamela Rose). When you married Peter you had an agreement: he wasn’t sure if he wanted kids but was willing to discuss it, you wanted kids but were willing to discuss it. A couple years in after a major child trafficking ring was busted and a bunch of parents were reunited with their kids it got his wheels turning and he put it back up for discussion. You guys weren’t trying, but not NOT trying either. Feeling the waters if you will. Well, the waters were felt and a surprising 10 months later Pamela Rose was born (named after his sister and her nickname is Pam). After they got home from the hospital and you were getting some much needed rest, Pam fell asleep on Peter for the first time and he realized three things at the exact same time. 1. He loved her more than he loved anything in his life 2. She felt right in his arms and a missing piece of himself he didn’t know he had dropped into place 3. She was enough. His family was complete. PS: He totally still has an uncle role in Noah’s life and even coaches Noah’s little league team when he’s a bit older. 

Nick: 1 girl (Esther Amy). I LOVE Nick as a dad. Nick’s “dadness” is a core part of his identity when he marries you he knows he wants to have a kid with you. But with two kids from two different women, he knows he has responsibilities and he would never do anything to jeopardize that. So from the start you guys agree on one kid. Introducing, Esther (Nick told Zara that she could choose and she was studying Esther in Sunday school that week. Esther Amaro is a mouthful though, so it’s shortened to Essie). Nick missed the infant and toddler stages from Gil’s life and the throws himself in wholeheartedly. 

[fruit-teeth]

Matters of Time and Fate (Chapter 26)

When Olivia looked into the metallic surface of the coffee pot, she remembered something she had buried years before: at three years old, her father brought a malfunctioning robot into his office.

Little Olivia, still sucking her thumb at the time, looked the slender robot up and down. She couldn't recall her thought process, but the prospect of sitting on the robot's shoulders piqued her interest. She rose up and slid across its lap without thinking, grasping for the shoulder to help herself up.

Right at that moment, the robot sparked, glitched, and grabbed her by the arm with no warning. Olivia shrieked in terror as it loomed over her, weapon in hand, preparing to strike.

Her father appeared out of nowhere, and all she could do was watch as he sank a screwdriver into the robot's cranium, thus stopping it in its tracks. It made a popping noise and sparked again, before crumpling to the floor.

“Why would you do that!?” Gray snapped at his three-year-old, yanking her to her feet. “I’ve told you never to touch my robots when I’m not around!”

Olivia only bawled, unable to form words as she rubbed her teary eyes, her body still shaking with fright. Gray pursed his lips together. “Oh, stop crying,” he sighed. “You’re all right, Olivia…”

When she continued to cry, he laid the screwdriver down and scooped her into his arms, hugging her close. She still remembered the smell of his cologne as he held her, mixed with the faint scent of metal. Even as the years would go by, she would never, ever forget that smell, or the comfort her father’s presence gave her.

That had been three years ago. Olivia moved her gaze away from the rusted coffee pot in Sniper's van kitchenette and back to the window.

“They’ve been taking too long,” she spoke up. “We need to go look for them!”

Zhanna looked up from her spot at the table, brow furrowing. “What? Olivia, they will come spoon. I say what I say before, do not worry.”

Olivia frowned, climbing up onto the seat beside Zhanna. “But what if something happened? We need to go help if…”

Zhanna shushed her, smoothing the girl’s hair back. “Misha is with them. So is Jane. My brother and husband are strong. No reason to be scared.”

“I guess…” Olivia hugged her knees. “I feel small again…”

“I am sorry,” Zhanna sighed, giving Olivia a little half-hug.

Lar-Nah then approached the table with a bag of chips in her hand. “What are these?” she asked Zhanna, showing her the bag.

Zhanna glanced at the bag. “Spicy cheese chips. From there,” she said, motioning to the gas station they were parked next to.

Lar-Nah opened the bag and stared into it for a few seconds, before reaching inside and pulling out a chip. She took a bite, chewed, before she coughed and spat the chip into the waste basket. “Oh, my god, that’s disgusting!” she wheezed and tried to compose herself, a look of horror on her face. “People eat these on purpose!? I hate this country!”

“You are wimp!” Zhanna scoffed at her, taking the bag and pulling a chip out to eat.

Olivia looked back out the window, just in time to see the headlights of Engie’s truck pull up. “They’re here!” she exclaimed, leaping from her seat and running right to the door.

Olivia stood in the parking lot while Engineer's truck and Miss Pauling’s car came to a halt. Everyone stepped out of either car, and within moments, Helen emerged. Her hair was down and soaking wet, and her makeup was smeared in the dim light of the gas station. Upon seeing her, Olivia was reminded of the night Helen had the water spilled on her.

“Look who we got back, Liv!” Scout greeted Olivia as he bounced out of the truck, stopping to ruffle her hair.

Olivia couldn’t help but giggle when Scout ruffled her hair, and she swung her hands at him. “Yeah!” she glanced back up, her eyes meeting Helen’s.

Engineer stepped out of the truck, pausing to talk to Helen. “Need anything else, ma’am?”

Helen just shook her head. “No, I’m quite all right.” She looked back to Olivia. “May I be alone with Olivia for a moment?”

“Sure, you don’t gotta ask,” Engineer assured. He took a moment to smile gently at Olivia. “I’m gonna stop at the station for some stuff, okay? Be right back.”

He followed Demoman and Heavy to the gas station, leaving Helen and Olivia in the parking lot alone. It was dark out by this point, and crickets could be heard chirping in the surrounding bushes.

For a moment, it seemed as though Helen wasn’t going to speak. Yet then, she knelt down carefully to Olivia’s level, maintaining eye contact with her.

“I just want to let you know…” Helen took a breath. “I’m – I’m deeply sorry for leaving you like that. I can understand how upsetting that must have been for you.”

Olivia stared down at her shoes on the pavement. The pavement looked damp, as if it had rained at some point, though she didn’t remember hearing any rain. “Yeah,” Olivia admitted. “I got sad. I cried.”

Helen nodded. “I see. I apologize…” she reached out to stroke Olivia’s hair, but stopped herself, pulling her hand back. “I want to make it very clear to you that you do not have to accept me as your mother. You do not have to forgive me, either. But…I will protect you always, for as long as I’ll live.”

“You promise?” Olivia asked, looking up into Helen’s eyes.

“Yes – I promise.” Helen affirmed. “I won’t put you into a stranger’s arms like I did before.”

Olivia did not quite know what she was referring to, but it didn’t matter. She was comforted by the fact that she'd been apologized to, yet she was still a bit sad. She gave Helen a nod before taking a step forward and resting her cheek against her shoulder.

Helen sat still for a moment, a little surprised, but she wrapped her arm around Olivia. They held each other in the darkness for a little more than a minute before Helen cleared her throat and stood. “W-well…we should get you back home, it’s getting awfully late for you.”

Olivia nodded in agreement. “Yeah…okay.”

Miss Pauling, Helen, Olivia, Spy, and Scout were the first to board Pauling's car, followed by Zhanna, Soldier, Demo, Sniper, and Lar-Nah in the camper van, and Heavy, Medic, Pyro, and Engineer in the truck. The plan was to return to the townhouse to relax and figure out what to do next, and everyone felt relieved for now.

Olivia sat in the back of Pauling’s car, tucked between Spy and Scout as they headed on their way home. She felt rather sleepy, now, and she yawned, her head coming to rest on Scout’s arm.

“Are you gettin’ tired, Liv?” Scout asked, ruffling her hair.

“I guess…” Olivia rubbed her eye. “But its not my bedtime…”

“You’ve had a lot of excitement today,” Spy replied, looking out the window and watching the scenery pass by. “We’ll get you straight to bed.”

In the passenger seat, Helen suddenly exclaimed, “The Australium!”

Miss Pauling looked up from the road ahead. “Huh?”

“I lost the briefcase in the water,” Helen groaned, burying her face in her hands. “Dear lord, how could I have—”

“I got it for you, ma’am,” Spy assured her from the backseat. “It washed up on shore while we were waiting for Dell to bring the truck. I put it in the trunk.”

Helen sighed with relief. “Thank you…you have no idea how much better that makes me feel…” she looked over her shoulder, seeing Olivia curled up next to Scout. She couldn’t help but smile a little. “You are very good with her, you know,”

“Oh,” Scout glanced up. “Thanks, I’m trying to be…she hasn’t tried to stab me again, so we’re good,” he laughed a little.

Olivia cracked her eyes open at that. “Oh…yeah. I forgot I did that.”

“Hey, its okay,” Scout patted her shoulder gently. “You wouldn’t do that again, though, right?”

Olivia pursed her lips in thought. “Um…hm…no, I wouldn’t try it again,”

Spy let out a snorting laugh, quite amused. “She had to think about it!”

Scout made a face and swatted at Spy. “Hey, c’mon, man! You know she wouldn’t do that, I’m her cool uncle! Or…whatever…” he clearly wasn’t angry, though, as he smiled a bit after he said it.

Olivia covered her mouth and snickered, curling her legs up in the seat. It seemed to her in that moment that everything would be okay.

And then it wasn’t.

The car suddenly screeched to a halt, and Miss Pauling grunted out, “Oh, god,”

When Olivia looked up, she saw a huge, unmarked white van right in the middle of the road, blocking both lanes. As she sat up taller to get a better look, she couldn’t see anyone inside.

Scout frowned. “Who the hell parks there? What are they, nuts?”

“There doesn’t appear to be anyone in it…” Spy observed. “Drive around on the grass, Miss Pauling,”

The walkie-talkie Pauling had on her dashboard came to life, with static and the voice of Engineer pouring through. “Everything okay up there?” he asked, sounding concerned.

Pauling answered, "Yeah, Engie, it's fine... There's an empty van blocking the road, but no one appears to be inside—"

Before she could finish her sentence, she could hear other cars revving in the distance, as well as motorcycles roaring and screeching. Within seconds, all three cars were surrounded by cars and motorcycles, their headlights almost blinding.

Olivia froze, and she could feel her heart drop immediately. Beside her, Spy tried to remain his composure, reaching for one of these guns. “Who are these people?”

Helen’s eyes scanned the surrounding people through the windows, and it was then she noticed letters painted on the front of one of the cars: SR. Security Republic.

Sage had found them.

Sure enough, there he was: stepping out of one of the cars and slowly approaching Pauling’s car. His eyes locked with Helen’s, and he grinned a wicked grin at her.

Helen’s eyes narrowed, and she knew what she had to do. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the car door. “Stay here. I’ll handle him.”

“But—” Pauling started to plead, but Helen had already closed the door.

Olivia moved towards the window to try and see what was going on, but Scout held onto her, keeping a protective, vice-like grip on her.

As Helen stepped out onto the grass, Sage met her in the middle. “Hello, my darling stepmother,” he greeted her with a voice like molasses. “It pays to have security cameras installed around town, doesn’t it?”

Helen clenched her jaw. “So, that’s how you’ve been tracking us down? You sell security cameras to people in this town just to use them for your own espionage?”

Sage shrugged. “It’s all business, Helen. Don’t act as though you have the high ground, we’ve all done the same thing…”

“Just…” Helen took a long breath. “I know who you’re after, Phoenix. I know Olivia was the target of those bounty hunters you sent after us.” She leaned in to look him dead in the eyes. “What is it you want with her?”

“I just want to talk,” Sage replied, almost sounding innocent. “I have some business ideas in mind, and I know how her father raised her. I think—”

Helen held up her hand to stop him. “Are you looking to get Mann Co.’s rights from her? Because you should know, she does not have them,”

“Who said that was what I was after?” Sage snorted. “Just tell your friends and her to come to my office, and we can forget this whole thing even happened.”

“Olivia will not be going anywhere with you.” Helen asserted, crossing her arms. “Call off this futile mission, Sage. Go back to your mansion, or I will not hesitate to rain hell upon you.”

Sage’s demeanor switched to one of pure rage, and he furrowed his eyebrows. “Why can’t you just hand over Olivia, Helen? She’s the last daughter of the Manns, what do you care what happens to her?”

Helen said nothing, staring directly into Sage’s eyes. It was then, though, that it seemed to click for Sage, and his face fell.

“Is Olivia…” he began, trying to form words. “Is she…your daughter? Did you and Gray—”

“That will be all,” Helen raised her voice at him. “Call off your team and go home this instant.”

A look of pure rage formed on Sage’s face, and without warning, he pulled out a long knife and thrust it towards Helen’s stomach. Helen acted fast, covering her midsection with one arm and using the other one to grab his wrist. The knife nicked her, however, drawing blood across her forearm and causing her to yell.

From the car, Pauling saw this and cried out, “Helen! Oh, my god!” within seconds, she leapt out of the vehicle with a pistol and aimed at Sage’s head. Sage ducked out of the way, but it wasn’t enough, and the bullet shattered his shoulder within seconds.

The scream he made sounded like a wounded animal, and Pauling grabbed Helen, yanking her to the car. Once in the car, Pauling snatched up the walkie talkie and alerted those in the other cars, “Guys, we gotta get out of here! Follow my car and just drive as fast as possible!”

“What happened?” Olivia wanted to know, looking out of the window in a mix of fear, excitement, and confusion.

Helen pulled out a tissue from the glove compartment, pressing it to her wound as Pauling sped through the row of motorcycles and onto the grass. “We’re going to be all right, Olivia! Lay low and don’t let them see you!”

The van and truck followed suit, speeding off into the green countryside. A few of Sage’s guards swarmed him to tend to his gunshot wound, and Sage yelled out, “Well!? Go after them, idiots!”

Men on motorcycles and in cars soon sped after the group, engaging on a chase through the grass and thicket.

Olivia didn't realize what was going on at first: she could feel them speeding down the road, and when she looked out the window, the scenery passed by so quickly that it made her dizzy.

Out of nowhere, a masked person on a motorcycle caught up to them, a baton in their hand. They began to try and smash the window, but before they could get very far, Scout rolled the window down and punched the attacker directly in the face. They yelled, then tried to steady themselves to attack Scout, but Scout let out a string of expletives as he punched him again, this time hard enough to knock them off the motorcycle.

Within seconds, another rider zoomed up and began shooting directly at Scout. Spy acted quickly, yanking Scout back into the car and exchanging gunfire with the attacker. He managed to hit them, sending them flying backwards.

“God – thanks, man!” Scout panted, watching as Spy zipped back into the car and rolled the window up.

“There’s more coming up,” Spy informed the others, the gun still in his hand. “What should we do!?”

Miss Pauling gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white. “I…I don’t know! There’s a lot of them, is it worth it to stop and fight them!?”

“Keep going!” Helen urged. “We have to try and lose them, all of you seem woefully underprepared for another fight!”

“Well, that’s ‘cause we were going to help you!” Scout barked, feeling a little offended. “

“I know!” Helen rasped, still wincing as she tended to her wound. The car rounded a sharp curve, jostling everyone inside, and Helen glanced back at Olivia. “Lay down! Olivia, lay low! I mean it!”

Olivia obeyed, laying flat on her stomach in the backseat, though she kept her head lifted to watch and get a sense of what was going on. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest – none of this felt real. They'd been ambushed by strange attackers twice in one day, but her mind kept returning to the same scene: being held helpless, the robot arm holding her down while the weapon glinted above her.

Her father wouldn’t be here now, though. What if the other adults were not as strong as him?

The car shook, and Olivia heard Miss Pauling scream. She looked up, alarmed, just in time to see a man leap onto the hood of the car and lower himself down to smash the window with a baton. He was successful, the glass showering the backseat of the car.

Spy whipped out his gun again and began shooting, but the man acted faster and grabbed Olivia by the arm. Olivia shrieked, only able to watch as Scout wrapped his arm around the man's throat and began to choke him. They only struggled for a few seconds in the backseat before Spy yanked them apart and jammed the gun into the man's throat. The man wrestled with him, though, gripping his wrist and tussling with him while trying to keep a grip on Olivia. He pried the gun away from Spy’s hand, letting out a triumphant laugh. Helen whipped off her high heel and began furiously attempting to stab the man with the sharp angle of the heel, causing him to turn the gun on her. She ducked out of the way as the bullet shattered a portion of the windshield and littered more glass throughout the vehicle.

For a brief moment, Olivia felt as though she wasn’t in her body, as if she’d stepped away just to observe what was happening from a different angle. In those few seconds, she thought back on what her father had said in that dream – how she had forgotten herself, how she had become passive and afraid…

Olivia returned to herself just as the attacker got Spy’s gun away from him and aimed it at his head.

In a split second, Olivia spotted the knife that had fallen out of Spy’s pocket, and she snatched it up. Before anyone noticed her, she struggled to reveal the blade before springing up and jamming it into the man’s eye.

He may have screamed – she thought she heard him scream. His blood ended up on her hands, there was so much more than she thought there would be. As she fell back into the seat, Scout flung the car door open, kicking the attacker out onto the pavement of the road as they sped into the oncoming town.

As the door slammed shut, Helen leapt out of her seat, rushing into the back to Olivia’s side and wiping the blood off her with a napkin.

“Did I kill him?” Olivia panted, eyes wide as she shook. She’d fought grown men before, but she had never drawn blood. She’d never done…whatever that just was.

“I have no idea,” Helen confessed, wiping Olivia’s hands down. “How do you feel?”

The adrenaline still flowed through Olivia’s body. “I don’t…I don’t know…” she confessed.

“You were very brave,” Helen released Olivia once she was clean. “Now, stay down. I mean it,” she gave her daughter’s hand a light squeeze, her other hand taking a moment to brush her cheek.

Olivia nodded, curling in on herself again, but this time there was a different feeling in her. Not a helplessness, but a hope.

Behind them, the truck and the van stayed close by, blocking off the Security cars and motorcycles the best they could. All of the sudden, something in Engie’s truck popped, and smoke began billowing out from under the hood.

“No, no, no, no!” Engineer cried out, exasperated. “Shit, it’s the motor! God, no, I had a feeling this would happen!”

“Can you fix it!?” Medic asked, looking out the window with anxious eyes as another Security car approached.

Engineer kept his foot on the accelerator, eyes locked on the road ahead. “I have a generator in the back, but I can’t hook it up while I’m driving – someone else needs to!”

Pyro waved their hand around, mumbling out an offer. Engineer glanced over at them, before nodding frantically. “Okay! You know how to do it? It’s in the bed of the truck, you just hook the blue wire to the red one! The whole thing’s already hooked up, just be careful!”

Nodding, Pyro climbed out of the back and out into the truck’s bed, steadying themself as they began to work on the generator. They were instantly noticed by another agent on a motorcycle, who zipped up to the truck and pulled out a gun. Pyro did not see this, however, as they were too busy with the instructions Engie had given them.

Heavy noticed the potential attacker through the rear-view mirror and smashed his hand through the window, grabbing the agent by the throat. The agent gagged in shock as Heavy lifted him right off his motorcycle, and within seconds, he tossed the man into the path of one of the oncoming cars.

As the affected car swerved off the road to deal with the unexpected hit, Heavy fell back into the truck, grunting and picking glass out of his fist. Medic sprang to help him right away, cleaning out his wounds.

“Gott, I love you,” Medic whispered, still in awe of what he witnessed Heavy do. Heavy just smiled, briefly, before glancing back out the window to watch for any more attacks.

Pyro then switched on the generator, slipping back into the truck and signaling to Engineer that they’d done it.

“Good work, Py!” Dell praised breathlessly. “Now let’s get the rest of these creeps off of us!”

Everyone tried their hardest to get away from their pursuers, but the chase was becoming increasingly difficult. The rural areas disappeared and very soon, the pursuit continued into the town.

Sniper’s voice crackled over the walkie-talkie. “What now!?”

Miss Pauling grunted, laying down on the gas pedal. “Keep going, I guess! Try and throw them off our path!”

From inside the van, bottles rattled in the cabinets above as Sniper sped up faster to try and lose the attackers. Out of nowhere, a skinny form leapt from one of the cars, shattering the front window of the van and tackling Sniper.

Sniper let out a yell, the van swerving as he fought his assailant off. When he threw her to the floor of the van, he recognized her right away: it was Shell, one of the bounty hunters who ambushed the house before.

Shell struggled to her feet, pure rage in her eyes. “I knew I’d catch up to you bastards! For what you did to my team, I’m gonna fuck you up!” she lunged at Sniper, but he blocked the attack, grabbing her by the hair and smashing her face against the dashboard.

Demo dashed to the driver's seat door, and when he flung it open, he was met by Shell leaping back onto Sniper and attempting to claw his face.

Right away, Demo pulled the woman off, securing her arms behind her back. Shell twisted and snarled in rage, shouting at Sniper, “I know it was you! I know it was you who killed Grudge with the microwave!”

“What!?” Sniper exclaimed, startled to learn that she apparently knew what happened. Before he had time to ask questions, though, someone else had appeared at the doorway.

“You’re wrong!” Lar-voice Nah's drew Shell's attention, and when the two women locked eyes, Lar-Nah simply stated, "I did it, not him!"

Instantly, pure rage filled Shell’s face, and she twisted her foot around to kick Demo in the gut as hard as she could. He lost his grip on her with an audible 'oof' and couldn't regain it as she tackled Lar-Nah to the ground and began attacking her like a wild animal. Lar-Nah, on the other hand, managed to deflect her attack by slipping out from under her and sprinting back into the van's living area.

Shell gave chase, pulling a knife out of her pocket and catching up to Lar-Nah. Before anyone could react, Shell shoved her up against the wall and sunk the knife into her chest.

“Bitch!” Shell spat at her, pulling the knife out but holding it with the intention to stab again. “Any last requests!?”

Lar-Nah coughed, startled by the blood beginning to pool out from her chest. Still, she looked into Shell’s eyes and only glared. “Go to hell,” she spat through clenched teeth, her hand struggling to grip Shell’s wrist to keep the knife away.

Before Shell could make another stabbing attempt, Zhanna yanked her away from Lar-Nah. Shell tried to attack her as well, but Zhanna just knocked her in the head with her hand. The force was enough to cause a sickening crack, and Shell crumpled to the ground with a broken neck in seconds.

After checking to make sure Shell had indeed died, Zhanna rushed to Lar-Nah, helping her up but then noticing the blood. “Oh!” Zhanna exclaimed, panicked. “Stabbed!”

Demo took over driving, and Sniper came sprinting to the scene. “Mom! Oh, my god, oh, my god!” he examined her wound, wincing at how deep it looked. “Bloody hell—shit!”

Lar-Nah tried to catch her breath, wiping blood from her mouth though clearly getting weaker. “I’m fine…I’m fine…” she gurgled out another cough, pressing her eyes shut in pain.

“Is she dying!?” Soldier asked, rather blunt as he stared in alarm.

Zhanna looked her over. “No, did not stab her heart. But maybe she hit throat…I cannot tell,”

Sniper leapt up to his cabinets, pulling down a medkit he’d had stashed there. “Mom—hey, you’re gonna be okay! Okay?” he tried his best to reassure her, but it looked as though she’d fallen unconscious.

The car jolted and swerved, and more gunshots could be heard outside, but Sniper drowned it all out as he used the supplies Medic had packed in the kit to treat her wound. He silently prayed she would survive – even after everything, he couldn’t watch another parent die.

Once he’d bandaged her up, he tried to figure out what to do next. “We need Medic here! Can one of you flag him down or—”

All of the sudden, Lar-Nah coughed and gasped loudly, eyes flying open wide. Zhanna quickly assisted her in sitting up, patting her back and allowing her to resume normal breathing.

Sniper let out a breathless laugh of relief. “You’re alive! Oh, my god, I thought you were gone for good!”

Lar-Nah composed herself, swallowing and taking another long breath. “I’m alive,” she observed, sounding shocked by that fact. “I thought for sure I’d died for a minute! I saw…angels or something…”

Before kneeling to continue speaking with her, Sniper looked out the window to make sure no one else was trying to break in. “Yeah? You saw something?”

“Yes—I saw…” she thought hard for a few seconds, trying to make sense of it. “I saw a man and a woman—I didn't know them at all—but...they were very kind to me and told me to go back to keep you out of trouble,”

Sniper let this process, and when he realized who she’d met, he had to fight away the tears he felt welling up. “Yeah,” he sniffed, putting his hand on her shoulder and pulling her in for a hug. “Yeah, that sounds like something they’d say…”

The hug took Lar-Nah by surprise at first, but it soon clicked for her, and she slowly brought her arms up to hug him back. “I’ll listen to them,” she promised.

Sniper pulled away, wiping his eyes with his wrist. “Okay…thank you.” He smiled at her a little, but it was then that something shattered outside.

Soldier ran right to the window. “We’re in town, now! We’re going right for those stores!”

“What!?” Sniper leapt up, watching in horror as Demo drove the van right through the parking lot of the shopping plaza.

“Sorry!” Demo apologized from the driver’s seat. “I’m following the others, and that’s where they’re headed!”

Sure enough, the chase had continued into the shopping plaza. Several people were around at this point, watching the chase in terror as they scrambled to get away from the cars and motorcycles. The attention of pedestrians made Helen exceedingly uncomfortable.

“Get us out of this parking lot!” she shouted at Miss Pauling. “People are staring!”

“I’m trying!” Miss Pauling desperately jerked the wheel, looking for a way out. She spotted an area that led into a backroad, and she headed straight for it, searching for an escape.

However, she’d failed to realize that with the attention of pedestrians also came the attention of police.

Within seconds, police cars swarmed them. Someone yelled over a megaphone for everyone to step out of their vehicles as sirens blared overhead.

From the backseat, everything else felt like a blur to Olivia. There was yelling, and she watched as an officer tried to pull Scout from the car, while Spy desperately tried to pry him away, only to be apprehended as well.

She saw, for a brief moment, one of the security guards pull the sheriff aside and whisper something to him. Whatever he had said made the sheriff order his men to load the mercenaries into security vans rather than their own police cars. This included Olivia – someone carried her to one of the vans, handcuffed her, tossed her in the back and slammed the door.

Helen was beside her, though. Just as everything sank in and Olivia began to panic, Helen hushed her gently and pressed close to her.

“We're going to be fine,” she said quietly, resting her chin on the top of Olivia's head, unable to hold her due to her handcuffs. Helen was visibly unnerved, though – her body was trembling, yet whether it was fear or rage Olivia could not tell.

Olivia still felt afraid, but she pressed close to her mother, trying her best to calm down. She could vaguely see the shapes of the others being loaded into the vans through the dim windows, but she did not know for what reason.

All she could hope was that they would have the strength to escape when they could.

[riversofmars]

So I've finally finished listening to Echoes (yes I had this boxset preordered since it was announced, and yes I was incredibly slow to listen to it) and how do Liv/Helen shippers keep winning even when we've already lost (coz Liv returning to Tania at the end of Stranded)??

From episode 2: "Helen - she's my...she's everything I have left"???? I screamed??

Episode 3 where Helen went and got Liv's stuff from the TARDIS but also got her a book in case she can't sleep and a bottle of water and an apple???

Every boxset since Stranded has had Liv be ferally gay over Helen (and has obviously confirmed our favourite lesbian is in fact a lesbian ofc)

And I'm so confused by what Big Finish is doing playing with our hearts like this - but I will also gleefully, and gayfully accept whatever Liv/Helen we can get. Thoughts?

Honestly, I have no idea what Big Finish are thinking other than

Who knows, maybe they have realised that Liv/Helen sells??? And that they made a mistake with the Stranded ending??

But seriously... I hope there is a point to it all. It really does feel like they're doing it on purpose, it's SO SHIPPY! Albie's Angels was just... HELEN CHENKA?! Come on. And you're so right. How easy would it have been to have Liv say "Helen is my best friend!". Having her break off mid-sentence is a conscious choice and you can't tell me otherwise. And that scene where Helen brings Liv all that stuff and then offers to go back? ADORABLE. They're everything.

Now the way I see it... For the ending of Stranded to make sense, it can only be one of two things really. Either Liv and Helen get together and Helen dies... and Liv returns to Tania cause she can't face being with the Doctor without Helen and she tries to bury her grief that way. It would be horrible and unfair, but it would make at least a little bit of sense, because why else would Liv Chenka, brilliant med-tech from the 30th century, want to be in 21st century London where she will be bored out of her mind and never see her sister again?? It just doesn't make sense for her character unless something fundamentally changed her like the death of the woman she loved. BUT LET'S NOT THINK LIKE THAT OR I'LL CRY.

The other option, and I'll hold on to this, is that maybe they all get a happy ending and there are two Livs somehow. We already know from the end of The Robots that there is a Liv duplicate out there. While that duplicate would only have the memories of up to Escape From Kaldor, that doesn't mean that something like that couldn't happen again. This is Doctor Who after all! Think of Rose getting her personal Doctor. Maybe they send a duplicate back to Tania so she gets to be happy too (and the Stranded ending that BF may have realised was silly will still work) and Liv and Helen stay together.

Honestly, who knows! But I will also hang on every scrap BF throw us. The Liv/Helen ship is sailing strong as ever and I think BF may have noticed and decided to cater to it.

I imagine it will be a while for another set for them (though I am curious as to Hattie's role in the Time War one, that will be interesting!) and I don't know if we will ever get a resolution for them, but in the meantime, I say let's be vocal about the ship on socials, hoping BF continue to take notice and give us everything we want. It seems to be working at the moment :D

[hgfanonezillion]

For @neighborhoodkitchenwitch, here is your request. (unbeta’d and not thoroughly edited, so please forgive any mistakes. I’ll fix them if I ever get around to posting this on AO3.)

Jules groaned at his phone and typed a furious reply.

Emma grinned and leaned on her hand. “What is it now?”

“Helen is asking if they need to prepare for a plus one.”

“My offer still stands, you know?” Emma went back to her essay. “I pretend to be your girlfriend and let everyone fall madly in love with me and then I break up with you after we leave. And then you can pretend I broke your heart, so you’re swearing off dating forever.”

Julian laughed. “I guess. If you don’t mind giving up your holiday.”

Emma shrugged. “The alternative is staying on campus and going to my humanities professor’s house.”

“I hear he goes all out.” Jules offered.

“I hear he does too. But I couldn’t care less. My motives aren’t entirely altruistic. I need to see this mansion you grew up in.”

Jules laughed. “It’s a pretty big house, but not a mansion. And I have no idea how many people will be showing up. It could be close quarters.”

Emma’s eyes lit up. “Like, there’s only one bed? Whatever will we do?”

Jules shook his head. “Like, I have a couch in my room that I can sleep on if need be.”

Her jaw dropped. “You have a couch in your bedroom? I barely had a couch in my living room growing up.” She continued to shake her head in disbelief and attempted to finish her essay.

****

“Okay, so you’re going to have to remind me of every single person in your family.” Emma said as they pulled into the driveway. “I’m never going to remember them all.”

“It’ll be fine. Just make nice with Helen’s wife Aline and you will be golden.” Jules couldn’t help but feel anxious anyway. Would everyone believe he and Emma were actually dating?

Livvy answered the door and threw herself at Julian. “I missed you!”

Jules laughed and spun her around. “I missed you, Liv.” He kissed her cheek and saw Ty standing nearby. He walked over and gave his brother a quick hug, which Ty returned with a lot less reluctance than Jules expected.

Livvy held out her hand. “Hi, you must be Emma. I’m Livia. That’s Ty.” She pointed over her shoulder.

Ty gave a nod of greeting and then put his headphones back in place.

Emma slipped her hand into Julian’s hand as he led her further into the house. He introduced her to all the people they passed. There were far more than he even realized would be in attendance.

Aline and Cristina were working in the kitchen. Kieran enthusiastically chopped vegetables. It wasn’t very pretty, but Kieran still worked.

“How can I help?” Emma asked once Jules had introduced her around.

Aline looked around the room. She pointed to a pot. “Those potatoes can be mashed. The masher thing is in the drawer to the left of the sink.”

Emma gave Julian a quick kiss on the cheek and then wandered away to find the potato masher.

Jules sat at the table with Kieran.

“She’s cute.” Kieran said, watching her across the room.

“She is.” Jules had tried to keep Emma from this pretend dating thing mostly because he had a gigantic crush on her.

Mark came into the house and dropped a grocery bag on the island. “My wife requests and I provide.”

“Thank you, Mark.” Cristina said with a smile.

Kieran stood. “I’ll brew the ginger tea.”

Cristina shook her head. “Don’t do that.” She pointed between Mark and Kieran. “We talked about this.”

Kieran sighed and sat back down. “Sorry.”

Cristina set a kettle on the stove.

Julian noted a look that passed between Mark and Kieran. Something was happening that he didn’t understand. He’d definitely have to ask Mark about it later. Kieran was like a steel trap when it came to any information.

Emma was making herself at home rummaging in the fridge and in Aline’s spice collection.

Aline gave her an appreciative grin and caught Julian’s eye across the room. She gave him a thumbs up and then went back to the gravy.

****

Julian had never tasted mashed potatoes so tasty in his life. Like, they were mashed potatoes, how hard could they be? But these were like heaven in his mouth. What was that?

“I put a fuck-ton of sour cream and butter in them.” Emma was explaining to Dru. “And garlic powder. Though, actual garlic would have been a better choice. I sometimes put bacon grease in it when I have it.”

Aline gave an appreciative nod. “Next time I’ll make sure to have those on hand for you. I usually just do butter, salt, and pepper.”

“No offense, babe,” Helen said, “but Emma’s win. The turkey is fantastic, though.”

“And the green bean casserole.” Mark said. “All delicious.”

Jules noticed that Cristina pushed everything around her plate. She looked a little green.

Kieran was across from her. “Dearest, try to eat something.”

Mark looked over, mouth full as he spoke. “Do you need more ginger tea?”

“I need you two to stop acting like me being pregnant is a big deal.” Cristina snapped.

The room froze.

“Definitely not how I wanted to say that.” Cristina mumbled.

Julian saw Mark beaming. Kieran reached a hand across the table and squeezed hers.

The room erupted once more in conversation. Julian watched Emma across the table. She was very animated with Dru and Livvy. She even talked to Tavvy. Maybe he had a little more than a crush.

****

The couch that Jules said was in his bedroom was more of a love seat. His lanky form squeezed into it and he seemed to be sleeping fine. But Emma didn’t feel like it was fair. She’d tried to get him to sleep on the bed and let her have the couch, but he insisted.

She watched him a few more minutes before she made a final decision. She walked across the room and shook his shoulder.

Julian’s eyes squinted open. “Hm?”

“Come sleep in the bed with me.” Emma said. “Your back is going to be hurting tomorrow if you sleep here.”

“I’m fine.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Come to bed.” She pulled on his arm and brought him toward the bed.

The first several minutes the two lay there very stiff. Finally, Emma wrapped her arm around Julian’s waist.

“I like your family.” She said softly.

“I think they like you too.” He relaxed into her. “They’re going to hate when we break up.”

“We don’t have to.” Emma pressed her foot between Julian’s. “We can make this official. I’ve kind of had a crush on you since I met you.”

“Me too.” Julian chuckled. “I mean, I guess if you want.”

“Yes. I do want it. Very much.” She pressed a soft kiss to his lips and then rolled over and pulled his arms around her waist. “Good night.”

[elizabethshaw]

Okay. Thoughts on Stranded 3! (under the cut for spoilers):

Starting off, I really enjoyed this boxset!! I'll be honest and say I did kinda miss the more domestic aspects of the previous two, but the creativity of the stories this time definitely made up for it! There were some really cool concepts in each of them, and the atmosphere of each story was also done very well.

The first episode was probably my favourite - it was very unhinged and kinda trippy but in a good way, and was very satisfying to see come together. I also loved how the characters were paired off in different ways, it made for some interesting dynamics and a fresh perspective on the team as a whole I think. (Andy and Liv's dynamic was also just. Really fucking hilarious ngl, right from the off. Loved it.)

The second episode was also really cool! There was something disorientating about being dropped in in the middle of an adventure, but it actually worked, and the tension of everyone working undercover was really well done too.

"Snow" was one I was predicting would make me cry based off what had been said about it before release, and, in a surprising turn of events, I Was Right. For some reason I've got incredibly attached to Ron and Tony while listening to Stranded, so the whole plotline around Ron's grief over Tony's death... it got to me, to say the least. Add in the scenes between Liv and Tania, and the stuff with Zakia... it was a Lot (in the best way!!)

And the last episode. I knew before it was gonna be ordered weirdly, but hearing the credits at the start proper disorientated me akskfjgjksjf Anyway, this was a very interesting one (that I think I'm definitely going to have to relisten to to really get the most out of) - it was definitely an experiment, but I think it worked, and did a great job at showing the impact the smallest events or words can have on the bigger picture. Absolutely devastated at what happened to Andy though 😭 Hope he gets out of it somehow...

However, (as there are with these things), there were a few creative choices I didn't like quite as much unfortunately. I mentioned in the tags of an earlier post that I was a bit disappointed in how sidelined Helen felt at times (mainly in the last two episodes) - I'm a massive fan of her as a character (like, I absolutely cannot understate how much I love her, idk exactly why but I have vibed with her on an unreal level), and tbh I would have liked her to feel a little more involved at times this boxset.

I also would've liked a bit more between the central trio of Eight, Liv and Helen, because I really love their weird little found family dynamic, and their friendship is the main reason I've loved their audios so much, and if I'm being honest it didn't really feel like they interacted as a trio at all in these episodes which was a bit of a shame. The same also goes for the individual dynamics between them - Eight and Helen got some good material as a duo, but Liv didn't actually have that many proper scenes with the others :/ (However, I did really love the scenes she had with Tania this series!!! I am admittedly still a Liv/Helen fan and clowning myself hoping something still might happen with those two, but I've really liked how Liv and Tania's relationship has grown so far, and I thought they had the best emotional content by far in this boxset.)

(I am now very worried Liv's gonna leave at the end of Stranded though. I reckoned that would be what would happen for a while, but now it seems a bit more real and. I'm not ready for her to leave yet aaaaaaaaaaaaa-)

Overall though, very good boxset!! I think I'm going to have to relisten, and at a bit of a slower pace, to really appreciate everything, but I definitely enjoyed this rather crazy first listenthrough :)

Other misc thoughts, in no particular order, and not coherent in any way:

"There's an alien chair! Two alien chairs! By an alien table!" "Stop saying alien." "No, it's just... oh, what's that feeling?" "Sunstroke." 💀💀

I said earlier that Liv and Andy's dynamic was one of my favourite parts of ep1, the comedy of it all was just... so funny

Helen and Tania's dynamic was also very cool; I've always liked the little we've got of their friendship and it was nice to see it explored a bit more :)

The way I unironically thought when the psychic stuff and visions started being brought up that the writers might actually have decided to do something more with Helen's eldritch psychic powers... i am such an idiot

(I may or may not have a whole mini essay of a post about said powers currently sitting in my drafts... not sure whether to post it though)

Tania just. Lying on the floor feeling slightly dead inside... mood

"I used to think I couldn't... wouldn't find what you've found. But seeing you two... it gives me hope." Shut up shut up i am actually going to cry

They didn't really touch on it much this time around, unlike with stranded 2, but I'm glad they did still have some continuation of the subtextual arc about Helen coming to terms with her sexuality and that she can be happy as who she is; it makes me Feel Things and I hope it's still given time to breathe in stranded 4

Liked the intermittent scenes with Eight narrating a story with this ep, kinda reminded me a bit of Better Watch Out/Fairytale of Salzburg and his storytelling then

Liv being described as a "rainbow dolphin" is singlehandedly one of the funniest things to come out of this series istg

Ah yes, solitary, my favourite card game

Episode two my beloved thank you for giving me the Helen Content i owe you my life <3

Helen deciding that if Liv was gonna die she was too definitely Got Me emotionally (their devotion to each other... god), but also uh. She was very quick to decide dying was the best option there. Is she okay

Also Liv is very much Going Through It this time round - hope she gets a break at some point

The snow keeping Ron company because he missed Tony so much 😭 this is fine (it's not fine.)

The stuff between Liv and Tania in ep3 was so heartbreaking too!!! The bond between them both felt so much deeper this boxset, and in a way that was such a natural progression from the previous stories, and really helped make the emotional crux of this episode even stronger

This story was also very much Fairytale of Salzburg if Fairytale of Salzburg was just. Really really depressing

Anyway this is irrelevant but what happened to their eighty-year-old stasis field cat from 2.3?? Is she okay???

"What Just Happened?" was the most appropriate title possible for that last episode. It was easier to grasp than I thought it'd be, but still Very Mad haha

Idk I feel like the way it was structured actually made the emotional impact stronger? Like there was something really compelling about seeing where the events were unfolding from, and realising the little things that were adding up to what happens at the beginning, and it made it retrospectively hit a lot harder

If Eight, Liv and Helen don't get at least one group hug in the next boxset I'm rioting

[mothermaidenclone-blog]

Ad Astra or This Movie Was the Brad Pitts

Ad Astra was the worst movie I have paid to see since 2015’s Kill Your Friends, which is my least favourite cinema experience of all time. It was a dry and dreary story about emotionally stunted white men in a bleak and boring capitalist version of space, with jarring and superfluous Christian undertones. The plot and everyone’s motives were so non-existent that Brad Pitt had to narrate the whole thing in a monotone so flat and dead I literally screamed all the way from the cinema to the bus stop when it was over, partly out of a frustration so deep it was non-verbal, but also just to finally hear some pitch variation.

*Ad Astra spoilers follow*

There technically were women in this movie. Lots of women, particularly women of colour, occupied high ranking positions and were addressed by their titles, a touch I think is important and that usually tips the scales in favour of a good review for me. We were graced with Adjutant General Vogel (LisaGay Hamilton), Captain Lu (Freda Foh Shen), Sergeant Romano (Kimmy Shields), Tanya Pincus (Natasha Lyonne) and Lorraine Deavers (Kimberly Elise), as well as several unnamed female personnel (Kayla Adams, Elisa Perry, Sasha Compère and Mallory Low). I would like to particularly highlight Natasha Lyonne’s performance as apparently she was the only actor employed to play a human being and not a replicant. She was on screen for maybe twenty seconds, as is sadly the case with most of these women, but was a glorious breath of fresh air as the only character to simultaneously emote expressively and speak with inflection and enthusiasm. The only one! In a two hour movie!

All of these women appear to be respected and capable members of various illustrious teams, but are always outnumbered by men. There are two male generals alongside Vogel and Deavers is initially outnumbered 4:1 on her space craft by men. Tragically, whenever a team is being picked off, it is always the people of colour who die first. Not only is this obviously racist, it is just a disgusting cliché that we just don’t need to see anymore in movies. Deavers dies first when Roy (Brad Pitt) forcibly invades their vehicle, followed by Franklin Yoshida (Bobby Nish), an Asian man, and Donald Stanford (Loren Dean), a white guy, is the last to go. Roy cradles him in his arms and attempts to save his life. I hope it’s not just me that sees something wrong with the order of events there.

A similar scenario takes place in the lunar chase, which absurdly seems to occur in the same crapy looking buggies as the original moon landing, a confusing visual choice considering we’ve just seen a vast and impressive modern concrete moon base. The film takes the time to introduce us to Willie Levant (Sean Blakemore), a black officer who will be escorting Ray across the moon. As soon as we see he has a photo of his wife and child taped to his tablet screen I knew he was going to die - in the year 2019 I should not be able to predict that a black character is going to die because we saw a family photo. Can we just not anymore? Again, aside from the racism, that’s just shitty writing. I like to think that as a species, if we can conceptualise something as vast and seemingly impossible as solar travel, we can also move beyond basic and derogatory cinematic tropes.

I was most excited by the appearance of Helen Lantos (Ruth Negga), a woman of colour who occupies a position of power on Mars and introduces herself assertively using her full name. Also, her whole look was excellent. However, this brief release of serotonin was very short lived as she literally walks Roy down a corridor then is immediately cut off and superseded by a white guy with a man bun. Lantos does return later, but alas, as an exposition machine to give Roy some plot news about his dad. Even as she explains that her parents were murdered by his, Lantos falls victim to the dire, emotionless monotone that I can only assume was forced on the entire cast of this film. Then, she is an actual chauffeur and drives Ray to a manhole so he can continue his dad quest. A character brimming with original potential is presented as nothing more than a device.

The final woman to mention is the first one we see, Roy’s ex-wife Eve (Liv Tyler). We see the blurry, out of focus back of her head in the background of a shot before we see her face, and this is incredibly telling, because that’s all Eve is, the simulacrum of a woman. She could be anybody - so why she is Liv Tyler defies belief, I can only assume they held her loved ones hostage - her story is untold and entirely irrelevant. Again, she is only a device, although this time not for Roy’s forward momentum, but this time seemingly to emphasise that Roy is a total sociopath with no emotions whatsoever. We don’t learn Eve’s name for another twenty minutes, and it is an hour and twenty minutes before we hear her speak. Even then, it’s not a live conversation, because god forbid this film have too many of those, but a voice recording explaining that their relationship is over. I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty sure that’s what it was, but everything she said was so generic I have no memory of it whatsoever. She is presented as a ghost, a blurry image on a screen, a memory fixed in time, not a real person with agency and personality. At the end of the movie we finally see her in real time, and that is when she has made the unfathomable decision to meet Roy for coffee. Even her face in that moment gives no emotion away, perhaps because Tyler had no idea how to act this entirely nonsensical decision. To our knowledge, she would not have seen any change in Roy, only received news that he survived a dangerous space mission, which is apparently enough of a reason to get back with this emotionless egg of a man?

I almost didn’t want to devote words to them, but I think it’s important to address just how dire Roy and his dad H. Clifford McBride (Tommy Lee Jones) are. This is their film, they are the reason that all of these women’s stories are passed over. It is made clear over and over again that both Roy and Clifford believe they are the only people capable of completing their various missions. Roy hijacks a ship and inadvertently kills everyone on board because he thinks that it’s his destiny or whatever to get his dad back, never mind that they were all highly trained space personnel who were arguably better suited to the mission precisely because it wasn’t their dad. Clifford straight up murders his whole crew because they are too “small minded” to fly off further and further into space forever on a mission that has yet yielded absolutely no evidence of their goals. A variety of talented human beings are destroyed because of the entitlement of white men, their delusional and unshakable conviction that they are at the centre of the universe and that no one else could possibly accomplish the lofty goals that kismet apparently calls them to.

The way they speak about themselves and to each other is absolutely psychotic. Roy’s solo musings include, “The flight recorder will tell the story, but history will have to decide,” and “In the end, the son suffers the sins of the father.” Clifford imparts his son with the delightful greeting of, “There was never anything there for me, I never cared for you or your mother or your small ideas.” In addition, they both physically flinch from human contact at various points in the move. Now, I totally understand that we live in a neurodiverse world and that many people experience emotions and social interactions in any number of ways, and that is a beautiful thing that makes our world so interesting to live in. However, that these men both abjectly state that they have no empathy is presented within the context of their megalomaniacal ideals that they must accomplish their god-given quests irregardless of how many people they have to kill along the way. It is a facet of their strangely two-dimensional, arrogant and narcissistic personalities, not one part of many complex features that make a complete and relatable human being.

Roy has to literally say out loud that he is a human being at the end of the movie; “I will rely on those closest to me…I will live and love,” which makes him sound more like a learning AI trying to pass a Turing test than anything else. The music swells as Clifford throws himself towards the surface of Neptune in an orchestral deluge that is unsubtly significant in this very quiet film, as though I’m supposed to start crying and think anything other than, “well thank fuck, it’s about time this murderer dies in the cold vacuum of space, I hope Roy stays spinning and screaming here forever too.” We are supposed to feel sympathy for them as the heroes of this movie, despite the fact that they show no care for anyone else throughout the whole thing and act entirely in their own self interests.

Overall, the women in this film are given about five seconds of potential as they introduce themselves variously as decorated soldiers and otherwise capable personnel, before being shoved to the side, or murdered, for Roy. This is obviously objectionable, but is made so much worse by the fact that Roy is an emotionless, entitled, empathy-less white man who doesn’t care if other people have to die for him to get what he wants. That is what these women are being passed up in favour of. I felt like I was watching a two hour long Voight-Kampff test. Space movies like this should be about what we can achieve if we work together as a species, not about how white men will still be the kings of dreary capitalism, even on the moon. We can do better than this.

And now for some asides:

What the actual fuck was the font at the beginning? I guess a red serif all caps should have alerted me to the fact that I was about to watch a horror movie.

As a lover of space horror, I was absolutely gutted that it was a bad CG angry baboon and not a cool gross alien. Also, what was that scene? “Hmm, we need to get rid of this loser because Brad Pitt is the best at space ships and he needs to be the captain. Uhh…what about…space monkeys? Yeah! Space monkeys on a deserted Norwegian ship. That makes sense.”

Can I just have a film bout those moon pirates fighting space capitalism please? I was more invested in them that anyone else in this garbage movie.

Credit for the Bradd Pitts joke goes to the talented and lovely Ed Cheverton

[yutasbirthchin]

It’s Complicated 

Text AU ft BAP and BTOB - Part 59

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Helen was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes and could've sworn his heart skipped a beat. ‘Wow’ he thought to himself. He could get used to this. Helen was already awake and smiled when he woke up. Changsub ran a hand through her hair, bringing his hand around to rest on her cheek. “Good morning, hon.”

Helen reached out towards him, tracing ‘good morning’ into his chest. She'd never done this before. Sometimes she would trace words into his thigh if they were sitting together, or even in the palm of his hand, but they’d never been in a situation before where she could do so on his chest. He liked it, the feeling made him swoon. “Which ex boyfriend of yours told you to do that?” He teased. “It's hot as hell.” Helen blushed, shaking her head.

She'd told him a while ago that she'd never had a boyfriend before him, and while he trusted her, he couldn't understand how that would be true. She was gorgeous. She was amazing. And he didn't accept that no one had attempted to get to know her before. “You're still saying you've, never had a boyfriend before, huh?” He asked, and she nodded in response. “I don't believe you.” He teased, leaning forward to kiss her. Changsub absolutely loved the feeling of her lips against his. He would never admit it, but he knew how whipped he was.

“Hey, Changsub are you awake? I’m he-” Hyunsik stopped himself as he had tried to walk into his brothers room, only to bounce back after realising that the door was locked. “Why is your door locked?”

“Because you do this thing where you think that instead of knocking you can just start speaking a few seconds before you open the door and I don’t want you to walk on my girlfriend naked.” Changsub said. He said it because he knew it would get a reaction from Helen and he chuckled as she punched him the chest.

“Oh. Uhh. My bad.” Hyunsik said, awkwardly.

“She hit me for saying that, just so you know.”

“I’m not surprised. Anyway, I’m heading out, I’ll see you later?”

“Actually no, we’re staying out tonight.”

“Oh okay, well, when ever I see you.”

“Seeya, man.”

Helen hit him again with a pout on her face. “Okay, I get it. Bad Changsub.” He said, slapping his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

He watched his girlfriend as her face softened. She started staring off into a corner of the room and he could tell she was thinking. “What’s on your mind, hon?” She looked back at him, biting her lip as she thought. Eventually she reached forward, writing out a question on his chest. Changsub frowned. “Do I ever wish you could talk?” He thought for a moment. “No. Not really” He shook his head. “I mean… It doesn’t bother me, so I’ve never really wished you could. I guess the only times it really crosses my mind is when you get frustrated with yourself because you wish you could talk and I can see you’re frustrated but there’s nothing I can do to help.” He watched the smile from on her face and smiled too. “That was a good answer, right? I’m pretty great, aren’t I?” He joked and she laughed. It reminded him. “I sometimes wish I could hear you laugh. You’re really cute when you laugh, so I know you would have an adorable laugh. It still doesn’t bother me though.”

Helen blushed and covered her face, she loved when he called her cute. “Hey don’t do that.” He whined as he reached to pull her hands away. “If you do that I can’t see your beautiful face.” She fought to keep her face covered and they were both laughing. Changsub was stronger than Helen and so it was inevitable that he would win. He leant forward to kiss her again. “I love you.”

He froze, realising what he’d just said. They both lay there looking at each other with widened eyes. “I- I...Umm.” Changsub stammered. “I really wish my mouth would consult my brain before it said things like that.” He groaned, turning to lie on his back as he squeezed his eyes closed and pinched the bridge of his nose in embarrassment. Helen’s heart was beating so fast she was sure she could hear it. “I didn’t meant to say that. Wait, no! I mean.. I meant it, I just didn’t- I… Umm.”

Helen smiled, moving forward to snuggle into him, resting her head on his chest. He looked down at her, an eyebrow raised. She could see a slight blush on his cheeks and she laughed to herself. ‘I love you too.’ She traced into her boyfriend’s chest. He blinked. “Helen? Really?” She nodded, a shy smile on her face. “Oh my go- come here, you.” He said as he sat up, cupping her face and pulling her in for a kiss.

“No.” Olivia answered stubbornly. Jongup chuckled as he shook his head. He should have expected it really.

“Urgh, Liv. I'm being serious.”

“Yeah, well so was I.”

“Why not?”

“How come you get to ask but I don't?”

“I never said you couldn't.”

“Then why should my answer be any different than yours?”

Jongup sighed, reaching for her hand and intertwining their fingers. “I didn't want you to just be asking for my sake because you feel guilty or bad for me. I didn't want to just try and rush into things like nothing happened. And, to be honest, I didn't feel ready.”

Olivia leant her head on his shoulder, cuddling into him a little. “I never thought of it like that.” She replied as she looked down at their hands with a smile. “I guess I just thought that it wouldn't really matter because we were working through everything together. But...you're ready now, right?”

“Yeah.”

She sat up, looking at him. “Then can I change my answer?”

Jongup laughed. “You really think I'll say no?”

“Well you've been saying no…” Olivia mumbled, teasing him. He cupped her cheek with his free hand, and pecked her lips. It made her giggle as her cheeks flushed.“Is this your way of shutting me up?”

“Yes. Yes it is.”

She giggled. “Well, my answer is yes.” She said, blushing at what that meant. Jongup was now her boyfriend. She let go of his hand to cover her face.

Jongup looked at her with a smile. He put his arm around her and pulled her into him. “You know, you had the same reaction the first time around. It's still cute.”

“I'm still sorry, though. I really am.”

“It's not your fault, Liv. It never was. And it doesn't matter anymore. We're hitting the restart button, I have my girlfriend back and that's all I care about.”

“Your girlfriend. Wow” Olivia squealed, still covering her face. Jongup let out a loud laugh and pressed a kiss to her temple. She finally uncovered her face, looking up at him to realise that he also had a pink tint on his cheeks.

“I think I'm going to miss you asking me out every day though.”

“Me too, although I won’t miss you saying no everyday.” She mock huffed.

“It was cute.”

Olivia thought for a moment. “Maybe I'll ask you to marry me every day instead.” She suggested.

“Oh my god, no!”

“Jongup, will you marry me?”

Jongup could barely stop laughing. “No, Liv. No.”

“Awh, maybe tomorrow then.”

“You're really going to ask me to marry you everyday now, aren't you?”

“Of course!” She beamed.