#lets talk about....your wife and child...i guess...and nothing else....

[ruthellry]

who: @romanxdrake

where: irving medical center, outside of township borders

when: idk whenever

ruth wasn't particularly skilled at runs, or anything that involved the basics of survival. but, some of the supplies that were left over at the columbia medical college and beyond were only to be found by those who knew where to look. someone like a medical student who'd logged hundreds of hours in the operating rooms and trekking across floors.

so, she'd volunteered to take down a list of supplies that the hospital needed, and pack a backpack for a longer run. it made the most sense. june particularly required more medication than some of the other residents, so roman would be coming with too with his own list and knowledge. she was relieved, really, that it was someone she could trust— and for the most part she still believed that he trusted her too.

their set up was small, meant to keep the chances of attracting strangers low. it was a campsite that could only survive one night, and then all traces of it would be wiped off the face of the earth. for the next few hours, it was home. "it was good of charlie to pack all this," she looked down at the food they had to choose from, trying to pick a topic out of what little it felt they had to discuss these days. "did you ask for anything special?"

[wonderjanga]

https://www.tumblr.com/wonderjanga/768236926637588480/theres-only-a-few-people-he-hates-ebenezer-is?source=share

in regards to your post about billy hating ebenezer and the magic spell putting the name of the person you hate most over your head. combine that with the post where ebenezer believes the captain is CC.

he can see it on the news where marvel says, "the name of the person you hate most" and this guy who is positive thats the father of the child he abused and abandoned sees HIS NAME above the head. other people would too, so he becomes ostricized maybe?

i just want him constantly on edge waiting for Charles to come knocking and people coming up with their own headcanons for it

He was coming for him. Ebenezer knew he was. The old man peered out of the window blinds before quickly shutting them. He knew Clarence would be furious if he ever found out about the way he treated his son, but he couldn’t help it. Billy was the perfect culmination of his little brother. They had the same smiles, same oblivious personalities. The only difference was that Billy was a child. A child that wouldn’t know how to defend itself against an adult he was suppose to trust bullying him.

If Ebenezer was being honest, he was almost glad his little brother was dead. He was big on family and no doubt as soon as he found out about the way he treated his son, C.C. likely would’ve been in jail by the next day. So yes, was Ebenezer going to spend to rest of his days as a hermit? Yes. It’s not like he doesn’t already like one anyways.

Meanwhile, with the average Fawcitizen…

Lady 1: “I just can’t believe Cap hates old man Ebenezer.”

Lady 2: “I can’t believe he hates anyone period!”

Lady 1: “I know right, I mean, I understand I guess. The old man would go around scaring people off with how he would do everything but swear at them, but still. It’s a little surprising.”

People eventually started digging into why Marvel hated Ebenezer Batson. They came to the conclusion that they were brothers. C.C. or Clarence Charles Batson was the little brother, and Ebenezer was the older. Now, looking at the younger photos of the two, they indeed look similar. People might’ve thought he was C.C. until it was discovered that the man, his wife, and his daughter were deceased, leaving his son William Batson to go and stay with Ebenezer.

Guy 1: “He had a nephew?”

Guy 2: “I honestly had no idea.” *shrugs* “I don’t remember ever seeing the boy around the neighborhood.”

Ebenezer didn’t leave his house for nearly two months straight. Finally, when he thought all the press about him calmed down. He decided to finally go out. He was walking down the sidewalk, no one having thankfully recognized him. The only thing they had seen were photos of him and Clarence when they were younger. They weren’t exactly looking for an older man. Unfortunately for Ebenezer, fortunately for everyone else though, the man got held up at gun point. Thankfully, Billy saved him.

Also, by the way, Billy one hundred percent thinks Ebenezer knows he’s Billy.

Marvel: *smiling as if nothings wrong but is talking in the most lifeless voice anyone’s ever heard from him* “You know… You know for a second, I considered just letting you die just now.” *hands Ebenezer his wallet back, of course not before stealing every single dollar when the old man wasn’t looking*

Ebenezer: *is about to comment on that statement before he feels the weight of his wallet* “Hey… this feels lighter-”

Marvel: *starts to float off and gives him a little wave*

Ebenezer: “Clarence, you brat! Come back here!” *waves his cane at him*

Marvel: *already long gone now*

See, during his time of being a recluse, the people actually thought Cap was Ebenezer but with some major self hatred, but this single moment, that single line of “I considered just letting you die” confirmed that they were absolutely not the same person and that Cap genuinely hated the man. Plus, you know, they were spotted at the same time standing in front of each other. There’s also the fact that Ebenezer called the Big Red Cheese “Clarence” which was the younger Batson brother’s name. So, now the people think he was revived and hates his brother now. For good reason too, because people eventually did more digging and found out about Ebenezer getting Billy to sign away his inheritance to him, stealing it all. You couldn’t ask any of the currently living Batsons, they just somehow found out.

Also, Billy used that money to treat himself, Mary, and Freddy to a nice meal because he felt like they all deserved it.

Billy, Mary, and Freddy: *all in a booth, drinking milkshakes*

Newscaster: *on a radio* “Just now, we’ve received video of Ebenezer Batson and Captain Marvel interacting!”

Marvel: *on the radio, says the line from earlier*

Freddy: *not really that surprised* “Damn.”

Elsewhere…

Literally any of the JL: “Damn.” *extremely concerned*

[shadesoflsk]

BLANCA NAVIDAD

pairing: leon kennedy x fem reader.

summary: Leon never liked Christmas. Memories of him being taken away from his parents and countless missions made him a bitter man. However, he wouldn't have guessed that one day, he would be placing Christmas stockings with a wife and a little bundle of joy next to him.

warnings: Mostly fluff, dad leon, mentions of injuries, alcohol problems, Leon being an orphan, mild hurt (nothing bad I swear) so cheesy and sappy.

"to give up one's very self – to think only of others – how to bring the greatest happiness to others – that is the true meaning of Christmas."

The sounds of boxes being moved filled your living room. It’s the first week of December, and both of you have postponed the task of adorning your house with Christmas stuff until now. Between Leon’s job and your newfound activity (taking care of your 1 year old daughter) it’s been nearly impossible to find enough time to dedicate yourself to this special holiday. 

Leon had told you it was more than okay if you wanted to do it by yourself. He knew how much you love this holiday. And ever since halloween ended, you found yourself eager to buy even more stuff to fill your home with. Nonetheless, you waited for your husband. There was no way you would let this opportunity slip away.

And, as you walked into the living room carrying a box albeit Leon’s constant bickering about how you shouldn’t lift heavy things, your heart melted at the sight of Leon placing a christmas hat on you guys’ daughter, which was too big on her and partially covered her sight.

“Da-da” With the baby on his hip, Leon was once again trying to teach his daughter how to say his “name.” It all started with a simple joke about him being the favorite parent, but now it has turned into a serious situation, at least for him. He wanted his daughter to master the art of speaking before Christmas. Although he has noticed that his little one barely said anything else than babbling nonsense. She was almost there, those bwaaah would turn into dada, he was sure.

She had none of that, though. As soon as Leon started talking, she laughed. As if he was telling her the funniest joke ever. Your daughter had heart eyes for both of you, but you had to admit it – she was definitely a daddy's girl. The way her eyes get so big whenever she sees Leon, and how her tiny fingers wrap around his thumb each time he's feeding her – yeah, she loves her dad.

He was an expert in fatherhood. He had no recollection of ever taking care of kids before. But, as soon as his little girl was born, the father's instincts kicked in. The way her cries filled the hospital room made him want to turn off the world for a second and give his daughter and wife a well-deserved moment of peace.

However, he never thought his life would get so lucky that he would get to experience being a dad. Ever since he was born, he was surrounded by disaster and misfortune. Having to grow up at an orphanage wasn't the most ideal place to mold a child into a perfect human being, but it seems that the little time he had spent with his parents shaped him correctly.

“Ma-ma.” You walked behind Leon and placed a hand on his other hip. Your baby instantly kicked her little feet in excitement for seeing her mom. Maybe she's a mama's girl, too.

“Hey! She was almost saying dada.” Leon feigned disappointment as you tried luring your daughter into saying mama first. This was a competition between you and Leon. Which prize will be having the satisfaction of being the “favorite parent.”

“Yeah of course. My bad.” You chuckled, voice filled with sarcasm knowing that your daughter has been the laziest of babies. Most 1 year old babies already say mama or dad. Or both. Yet this little rascal just likes existing, eating, sleeping, and exploring.

Leon saw you carrying a box and sighed in mild disappointment. You could already hear him saying “I told you not to carry heavy things.” Ever since you recovered from surgery, he has gotten even more doting. Every need of you was met by the second, and you wouldn't complain, but you're still a functional adult who can actually lift boxes.

You remember when things didn't used to be like this. In the past, you weren't instantly devoted and whipped for the man that is now teaching your daughter how to say dada. You remember how your past self leaned over the counter, you were met by an usual reek of alcohol this man had. And, with a witty and drunk smile, he said his usual line.

“Another bottle here.” It was his third one that night. Not his third glass, his third bottle. He was slowly killing his liver and himself by the way kept drowning in this deadly and burning liquid. You had never met him before, but the way his dark blue eyes sometimes shone under the dim light, you knew he once was someone important. Or at least, someone needed.

“That would be your third one tonight.” You stated matter-of-factly. However, Leon didn't miss the way you refused to move and get him his booze. 

“Look at that… Smarty knows her numbers. Aren't you so, so clever?” The disdain in his voice had reached your ears. He was never the talkative client, he just spent all of his nights at your bar and drank to his heart's content. You know you shouldn't stick your nose in someone else's business yet you couldn't bear nor allow him to basically kill himself in front of you.

“Now can you please shut up and serve me another bottle.” He groaned as the empty bottle almost fell from the counter. His heavy eyelids almost closing if it wasn't from the fact that after the words he spat, you threw a glass of water to his face.

“You don't fucking talk to me like that.” Your usual warm and easy going self was long forgotten. No matter how many hardships and problems he may have, there was no way you would let him walk all over you like that. “I don't know what fucked up things you have experienced or how many people have betrayed you. But if you have time to drown yourself in this addiction and be mad about it, you also have time to make a change.”

Those words stuck with him. He knew he was being pathetic, Chris, Rebecca, hell even Claire had told him the same thing too. But he felt even more miserable when a random bartender called him out like that. Especially when you just needed to complete your job. Why would someone care? He pays, he gets his booze, repeat. But, you at least cared, even though it was something every rational human would do.

Eventually, his daily dose of booze decreased. You witnessed the small changes in him. Going from three bottles to just one, and to finally a few glasses. You witnessed how his usual dark clothes were replaced with a somewhat more colorful attire which brought out his once dull and empty blue eyes.

His slender frame slowly took form, recovering his muscles which were more visible now. His stubble remained, though. It was like a reminder of his own age – and his now different approach in life. Wiser and more careful with his own decisions. Your words didn't completely change him, but they surely helped him to see his life in another light.

Ultimately, a new Leon set foot in your bar. He was beaten up, his navy blue shirt had some blood spots while his dark brown hair was disheveled. He smelled like sweat and gunpowder. “If you ever need a tour guide in San Francisco let me know.” He said with a charming smile as you moved around your area of work. 

“I'll keep that in mind. What can I get you?” You chuckled as you went to retrieve his order. You could already hear him say it.

“Grape juice...” 

“And your number.”

Soft whines pulled you back from your trance as your babygirl grips on Leon's shirt. She wipes her face against the fabric. The little one was starting to get fuzzy since nap time had come. 

“Oh, someone is sleepy.” He coos, bringing her closer to his chest. Leon takes off the little Christmas hat that was on her head. Immediately, the little one brings her hand to her hair. She has picked up the habit to caress her own hair when falling asleep. Before she even gets to cry, Leon rocks her to sleep. His deep voice soothes her, the gentle tunes of a Christmas song was his choice of the day.

“May your days be merry and bright and may all your christmases be white.” Leon wasn’t the best of the singers but he would sing his heart out to his daughter. It was a tradition now since Leon never had someone to sing to him. The baby calmed down at a comical rate, as if she just needed her dad’s embrace to feel safe. She was safe. As long as Leon lives, you and his miracle would have the best life ever.

“I’m almost jealous, she falls asleep so fast with you.” You set down the box, stretching your arms. This is the first box out of so many, you weren’t the biggest spender nor a shopaholic but when you married Leon, some perks came with him. Those perks included having unlimited access to his black card which you use wisely. 

Wisely was an understatement, though. Having several copies of the same gingerbread man who dances every time you press a button wasn’t the wisest decision. But you and your daughter love it so Leon has to shut up. Everything for his family.

In the past, Christmas was a simple but dreadful date. He didn’t understand the point of it. When he was a rookie cop, he at least tried to force some polite smiles and give words of affirmations to his colleagues back at the police academy. He stupidly thought that once he got to work, his life would change. But the universe had other plans for him that night in September. He spent that year’s Christmas wishing to die. The government had taken away his right to end his life. Dying wasn't an option. The girl he saved back in Raccoon City, Sherry, needed him. 

Year after year, he grew resentful, angry and bitter. He expected to spend this holiday alone until his last days of life. Having to grow old and wither away, no one to care, no one who would remember him as a human and not a machine. Not the government’s lap dog.

But somehow, he met you. He was a dick at first, he knew it. Until this day, he never understood how you could choose him.  There was no guarantee he wouldn’t go back to his addiction one day. He vowed to never do it again, and he was sure to keep his promise. However, you could never know the extent of his words. You lived –at least to Leon– uncertain of how long he would be sober. But much to his dismay (or pleasure) you gave a chance to that renewed man, to that agent who had come from a mission in San Francisco that almost got him killed.

He was content with just you. He never asked for more, scared of being too greedy, too wishful. Your presence was enough for him, your smile made all of his problems go away. Your tender words were the medicine for his broken and beaten up heart, every last bit of self hatred went away with you. There was nothing else he wanted.

Until he realized that maybe, he could have the life he had always wanted.

When you announced you were expecting, Leon couldn’t show his happiness at first. He was scared. Hell, he even had to take a deep breath before telling you something. He never had a father, well he had one but his memories are too foggy. He grew up thinking kids were a mistake and that somehow, he was a mistake, too. 

He found himself slipping into the unborn baby's room when you were asleep. Watching how both of you have decorated the space where your little one will be welcomed. His fingers grazed over the white crib, already imagining what his daughter would look like. He likes to think he looks like his own mother, a blurry memory of her blonde hair swaying with the wind. His daughter will have a better life than his. He's going to fight for it.

His eyes would travel over your body. He knew how anatomy worked but watching it before his eyes was so extraordinary. Your little miracle was safely tucked inside of your belly. He has always known you were beautiful but damn – it seems that motherhood suits you a little too well. He was grateful, really grateful. You gave him the opportunity to indulge in the normal and domestic kind of life. 

“She's already asleep.” Your sweet voice called him, bringing him back to the present. While he was reminiscing about the past, the baby had already fallen asleep. Her cheek pressed against his shoulder as she breathed softly. Her tiny fingers still gripping his shirt.

“She's so lazy.” Leon whispered, his voice filled with softness and lighthearted teasing. He gently laid her on the couch, making sure to place some pillows around her in case she moved. A welcomed and soothing silence surrounded your still not decorated room. This was the perfect opportunity to start your Christmas task.

“You know… Now you can help me put up the countless decorations we have in these boxes.” You chuckled as you placed your hand on Leon’s cheek, your thumb grazing against the growing stubble. You loved moments like this where the only thing that lingered in the air was normalcy and harmony, no missions, no worries, just a happy family. 

“I’ll help you if you promise you won’t judge my artistic side.” His lips turned into a sly smirk before he pressed soft kisses against your lips. A sweet yet sincere demonstration of love. He always worries he’s not enough. You play your role as wife and mother, so he ought to be the best husband and father he can be while also balancing his job life. No bioweapon could compare with the fear of losing his own little family because of himself.

Time seems to fly when you’re surrounded with love, Leon lives by that saying. You both decided to put up the tree first since that’s the most arduous task to complete. It takes you almost an hour between placing the ornaments in the correct place and Leon being scolded because he can’t match colors even if his life depended on it. 

“Now big boy, you gotta put the star at the top.” You crossed your arms as Leon placed the last ornament on the tree. It wasn’t the best tree, especially since Leon didn’t give any artistic advice on his side. Some colors looked rather odd combined with others, but Leon thought it was abstract.

Almost inaudible babblings made you turn around and found your baby already awake. She was playing by herself, her hands reaching for the ceiling. You had to admit it – she was sometimes an angel. She easily entertained herself and barely cried. 

You reached for her and walked toward the tree. Now her fingers tried to grab the Christmas ornaments. The colors reflecting on her blue eyes – that she got from Leon. By the way she kept babbling nonsense it almost looked like she was talking.

“Huh? Right I told your mom that too but she didn’t like the idea.” Leon acted like he understood what the little one was saying. And she also engaged in the conversation, two people against your own ideas.

For a few minutes, you focused on your daughter and how amazed she seems to be with everything. In her own world, that tree was the most wonderful thing she had ever seen.

But out of nowhere, both of you looked back at Leon who was sniffing and gently sobbing in front of the tree.

“Sorry, sorry…” He chuckled before wiping away some of the tears that continued falling without stopping. He then waved his hand dismissively, expecting you to drop the subject. Now he had two pairs of eyes intensely looking at him, yours and your baby’s.

After a short while of him trying to keep his tears of joy at bay, he eventually spoke once again.

“Thank you. For… For this.” A gentle smile formed in his face as he opened his arms. You wasted no time to welcome the hug. Now, the three of you were in front of the Christmas tree. The babbling, the sobs, and the soothing music in the background formed a domestic and warm scene. Full of love, emotions, and devotion. His thank you conveyed so much more than just merely words of gratitude. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for believing in me, and thank you for marrying me and thank you for giving me the family I never had. He wanted to say those things, but he remained silent. He knew you would understand the meaning behind his simple thank you.

He would have never expected something like this. He had always thought he was doomed from the start. That his life would be about saving others and never being saved. But he was saved, and he will always be saved.

His daughter’s hands reached for his face, her fingers grabbing his cheeks and nose. Leon obliged, moving his face closer. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until her lips moved on her own.

“Dada!”

He will never shut up now.

[sissylittlefeather]

If You Talk In Your Sleep

Chapter 5

A/N: WHEW BUDDY. This shit is heating up. I'm really wanting to push out the rest of this one this week, so here's hoping I can get that done. ICYMI, this is 1969 Vegas Elvis x reader who is a casino boss's wife.

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI, no smut this time but we're still talking about some pretty heavy themes with references to domestic violence, pregnancy, and abortion.

Word count: ~3.9k

“Did you know you're pregnant?”

******

It feels like the room suddenly gets smaller, the walls closing in as your head seems to fill with water. You hear the sounds of the nurse and Jerry both trying to talk to you and you don't even realize you're falling until you feel Jerry's arms around you.

They both continue to try to get your attention as he settles you on the gurney, but they might as well be on a different planet.

Pregnant.

And the baby has to be Elvis's. You knew you were playing with fire letting him finish inside you so often, but somehow this possibility just never felt real. And now here it is, a new life nestled deep in your body. Elvis's child.

What the hell are you going to do?

Finally, you look up at Jerry and the nurse and their voices come back into focus. He smiles a little and she visibly relaxes.

“There she is. You okay, honey?” Jerry’s voice is smooth and quiet. You nod and sigh deeply.

“Yeah. Fuck. Sorry.” You apologize to the nurse for your language, but there's not much else you can say.

“So I'm guessing you did not know?” She whispers softly.

“No. I didn't.” You swallow hard and look up at the ceiling, trying to keep the tears in your eyes. For a while there's nothing but the distant sound of beeps and talking outside in the hallway as they give you space to process the news.

“Is it–?”

“Yeah.” You answer the question you knew Jerry would ask.

“You sure it's not your husband's?” The nurse tries to hide her reaction, but she's unsuccessful. You sigh and look at Jerry, trying to make him see that you're positive.

“I know it's not. It's his. It has to be.” His face goes white as he realizes what this really means for Elvis and his reputation. You open your mouth to speak, but at that exact moment the doctor comes in and clears you to leave. Your bruises are superficial and will heal easily with time and you don't have a concussion. When he and the nurse leave, you hop off the gurney and look at Jerry to take you home.

“It's not bad. I'm fine. Let's go.” Jerry’s curls move as he shakes his head vehemently.

“Not a chance. You have to tell him.” You walk up to him and look him square in the eye.

“I. Can't. If I go to Elvis looking like this and tell him I'm carrying his baby, he will absolutely try something and end up dead. I know you don't want that and I sure as hell don't either. Take me home. Now.” His eyes burn a hole in you as he fights the urge to shake some sense into you. But you're right and he knows it.

“Fine.” He walks out of the hospital room, not even waiting for you to follow him.

Eventually, you make it back to the Flamingo and go to get out of the car. Jerry decides he has to try one last time or he won't forgive himself.

“He deserves to know. About you and the baby. He loves you more than he's ever loved anyone else. You can't just leave him like this.” His voice is soft, pleading. You wonder how he knows that Elvis loves you so much and then decide it doesn't matter.

“I love him with every single fiber of my being, Jerry. I won't let him die for me. I won't. I'm not worth it.” You open the door and get out of the car, shutting it behind you before he can say anything else. The tears sting your swollen eye as you hurry up to your suite, covering your bruises with your hand.

Carl will be home from work soon, so you pull on an old t-shirt and crawl into bed, holding yourself as you sob in the dark.

Pregnant. With Elvis's baby.

******

You stay home for two whole weeks, nursing your bruises and tip toeing around Carl. He's a nightmare of chaotic mood swings, in one second remorseful and almost sweet, brushing your hair back from where you have it covering the bruises on your face and clicking his tongue, speaking softly. “You know I didn't want to hurt you, baby. Why did you make me do it?”

The next second, he's cold and harsh, either ignoring you or sneering cruelly as you look at yourself in the mirror and wince. “Maybe next time you'll think twice before you let another man use you as a cock sleeve.”

The unpredictable nature of his outbursts keeps you on edge, your body slowly adjusting to the constant stress. You know it can't possibly be good for the baby, but you keep telling yourself that it doesn't matter. It's not like you can keep it anyway.

Eventually, the bruises fade enough to be mostly covered with thick makeup and a scarf around your neck. As soon as this happens, Carl demands that you dress up every night and accompany him to the casino. Obviously, he doesn't know about the baby or how exhausted you are, so you do your best to act like you normally would, despite the fatigue. Thankfully, you haven't had any morning sickness. It's like God knows you can't have it, so you don't.

The whole time you're in hiding, Elvis prowls around his suite like a caged animal. He's moody and temperamental and yells at anyone who he perceives as challenging him. He berates Jerry multiple times, convinced he's hiding something about you. But Jerry loves his boss more than he fears him, so he continues to deny any knowledge of what's going on with you. Priscilla calls incessantly, demanding that he come home and be the man he told her he would be when she moved from Germany. The Colonel actually comes to meet with him, sparking one of the most heated conversations Elvis has ever had with his manager. By the end of it, he fires the Colonel and threatens to shoot him if he comes back. He worries himself sick about you, stops eating, and spends hours in bed. At night, he swallows handfuls of pills and cries himself to sleep. The hollow weight of loneliness settles in his chest again and he almost can't even function with the crushing devastation of losing you. The terrifying reality that you might really be gone is overwhelming and his pain and fear move into anger. By the end of two weeks, he decides he doesn't have anything else to lose. He tells his men to get dressed.

He's going to the Flamingo.

******

You're sitting on a chair in the corner of Carl’s office, bored, when someone knocks on the door. He looks up from the papers on his desk and gruffly tells the person to enter. A pit boss opens the door nervously.

“Hey, uh, boss. There's some high roller here throwing money around like he owns the place.”

“And? Let him lose his money. That's not my problem.” Carl looks back down but the pit boss clears his throat.

“It's, uh, it's Elvis Presley.” You get that familiar feeling like someone has dumped ice water down your back. “And uh, he's winning. A lot.”

That catches Carl’s attention. He looks up again, thankfully not noticing the fact that you're not breathing.

“There's something else.” Carl snorts impatiently.

“Well? What is it?”

“He's asking for you.” You gasp a little, but it goes unnoticed by your husband.

“By name?”

“He asked for the boss.” Carl purses his lips and nods, standing up from his chair. You stand up too and he looks at you with one eyebrow raised.

“What? I like Elvis. Might be neat to see him.” You try to shrug it off and he seems to buy your story.

When Elvis walks into the casino in all black with silver sunglasses and his entourage, it seems like the whole place holds its breath. He’s used to moving around Vegas and the stares he gets when he does so, but it's like everyone around can sense his fury, simmering just under the surface of his perfectly curated facade. He moves to one of the private high-stakes poker rooms and takes a seat at a table, converting $25,000 into chips. Playing Elvis Presley is a role he's familiar with, so he does it well. He makes loud, reckless bets and flirts with the women the casino sends to keep him company. A few hands go by before he casually asks to see the boss. This is a fine establishment and he'd like to pay his respects. Internally, he's desperately hoping that you'll be there with him.

You follow behind Carl as he makes his way down the stairs to the private room Elvis is in. As you get closer, you notice he has his arm around a cocktail waitress and suddenly feel like you want to throw up. You stop just outside the room and make some excuse about not wanting to bother him. He's perfectly visible from your spot by the door. Carl ignores you and walks into the room.

Elvis is deadly calm as he shakes Carl’s hand. They chit chat for a bit before you see Elvis gesture to the chair next to him, inviting Carl to have a seat and play. There's a moment of hesitation before Carl feels the fact that this is more of a challenge than an invitation and he's not the kind of man to back down from that lightly. He nods curtly and sits down, getting some chips and allowing himself to be dealt in to the next hand.

Your stomach is in your throat as you watch the game progress from your spot in the doorway. Elvis hasn't noticed that you're there yet and you're perfectly happy to let that be the case. He continues to flirt with the women around him and part of you wants to walk straight up to him and ask him what the fuck he thinks he's doing, but then you remember that you can't. He doesn't belong to you. And you left him, so you have no room to be angry.

Elvis watches Carl with a kind of calculated coldness. So this is the man that you married. He fidgets with his chips, tapping his fingers on the green felt. His bets get bolder and more reckless as he baits Carl, but he’s an experienced poker player and he wins more often than he loses. Carl grits his teeth as they play in silence and there's a sense that Elvis is in charge of the room, despite Carl's position. But Carl has a trump card. He knows that you're the most beautiful woman in most rooms and you can be particularly disarming, especially to a notorious womanizer like Elvis. So he turns to the door and calls for you.

“Come here, baby.” You walk into the room and make eye contact with Elvis. There's a half second where time stands still, his blue eyes piercing you as everything around you freezes. In your imagination, you run to him and throw yourself into his lap. But this is reality and the only thing you can do is smile genially. He gives you a winning smile in return, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Instead, they burn with a kind of barely-contained rage that sets your insides on fire. You're pulled from the moment by Carl’s hand around your waist, dragging you roughly into his lap.

Elvis is assaulted by the image of you in your dress that looks like it's made of liquid silver, your hair in big waves like it was the night you met. You have a black scarf tied around your neck that feels out of place, but the rest of you is so intoxicating that he ignores it. When Carl yanks you onto him, Elvis’s jaw visibly tightens and his hands form fists. It takes everything inside of him not to grab you and take you away from your gilded prison. But maybe it's not a prison. It seems like you've chosen this.

“Pretty, isn't she?” Carl plays with a piece of your hair and presses his lips to your shoulder. He's taunting Elvis, but he thinks he's just showing off his wife. He has no idea what's bubbling just below the surface. Your heart races as you perch stiffly on Carl’s knee and Elvis grits his teeth, trying desperately to calm down. Carl clicks his tongue and you shiver in the worst way possible. “You seem nervous, baby. He's nothing special. Just relax and watch daddy win this game.”

Elvis bristles noticeably this time, slamming his cards on the table.

“I fold.” Carl cocks his head to the side, a little surprised.

“Already? And I heard you had a pair.” Elvis's eyes flash with white hot rage as the dealer sets out the next round of cards. Carl’s hands on your skin send bolts of seething fury through his veins. You belong to him. How dare he touch you. Then he remembers that you left him and he wants to flip the whole damn table over. How dare you. When he sees the ace of hearts in his hand, though, he cools down again, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Carl continues to play with you on his lap, raising bets and chuckling haughtily. You can see that he's bluffing, but he's betting like he's not. Elvis doesn't back down. He doubles, triples, quadruples bets until there's a good $50k in the pot. The dealer throws out the last card and you feel Carl subtly relax under you. He has a pair of queens. Elvis is showing a pair of 2s with his ace of hearts and you're pretty sure he's about to lose, but he calls Carl’s bet and waits for him to lay his cards on the table. When he does, Elvis smirks and drops his hand coolly.

“Aces over deuces.” And there it is. Elvis’s full house wins and you feel the unmitigated rage roll off of Carl. Elvis slowly pulls the pile of chips towards himself. Once he's got them gathered, one of his entourage picks them up as he stands from the table. You realize it's Jerry and your heart flips. Has he told Elvis? There's no time to think about it now, though. Elvis makes his way to the door of the private room, but before he leaves, he turns back and hands you a $100 chip. Your fingers touch briefly and the electricity there runs straight through you. This is a gesture to frustrate Carl, but more than that it's him telling you that he's still yours.

“Here, sweetheart. Buy yourself somethin’ pretty.” He winks and then turns, his men following close behind him. Carl damn near comes unglued, standing up so quickly that he almost throws you to the floor. He reaches for his gun, but one of his guys grabs his arm and shakes his head. You turn and lay your hand on him gently.

“I'll just go give it back. I don't need it.” He huffs and lets you walk from the room to catch up with Elvis outside the casino.

When you get to him, he pulls you over to a corner close to the wall, getting a cigar out of his pocket to light it. For a second, you just look at each other. Then you hold up the poker chip.

“What the hell was that?!” His lips curl into a sneer.

“What the hell was that? Where the fuck have you been?” His voice is quiet, but it's loaded with so much intense rage that you can practically feel the heat of it on your skin. Your eyes widen and your heart races like a rabbit’s. Something about his anger causes fear to bubble up inside you and you subconsciously recoil from him, your hand going to your throat protectively. He notices your reaction and softens, his eyes puzzled. “Sweetheart, what–?”

He raises his hand to touch your hair and you flinch, squeezing your eyes shut, your whole body trembling. That's when he catches the way you hold your throat. His fingers move to the scarf covering your neck and he hesitates for a second. You inhale shakily and he sighs.

“I'm not gonna hurt ya, doll.” You nod and he gently tugs the scarf down, revealing the bruises around your neck that are now a sickly shade of green. His eyes move up to the thick makeup on your face and he puts it together. You've been beaten, and recently. His whole body tenses with outrage and he barely keeps himself from losing it entirely. Every ounce of him wants to storm back into the casino and shoot Carl right in the face, make him pay for every bruise he's put on you. “He did this to you. Because of me.”

His voice shakes with fury and the white hot indignation rolls off of him in waves. You can tell where this is going and the terror explodes inside you. “Elvis, please!”

“I'll fucking kill him.” You shake your head vehemently and beg him to be reasonable, placing a trembling hand on his chest.

“No! Elvis, you can't. Not here. You'd be dead before you made it to the door.” The feeling of your hand over his heart makes it skip first with the overwhelming need for you to touch him more and then with the anguish of knowing you won't. He takes a deep breath and nods reluctantly. You're right. A showdown here like this would mean multiple people would die. Still, his eyes land on the bruises on your neck again and he grits his teeth.

“This ain't over.” He turns on his heel and walks directly to his car, disappearing into the back of it. Once he's sure Elvis is otherwise occupied, Jerry hurries over to you.

“Did you tell him?” You look at him and scoff.

“Of course I didn't. It doesn't matter anyway; I'm getting rid of it.” Jerry’s eyes widen in horror and he shakes his head again.

“No. You can't do that without telling him.”

“I don't have a choice. Besides, it's already scheduled with a clinic in Los Angeles. I'm leaving tomorrow.” You turn from him and head back into the casino before he has the opportunity to argue with you, hollering over your shoulder. “Goodbye, Jerry.”

******

Elvis's car leaves while Jerry is talking to you, so he's left to his own devices on how to get back to the International. He ends up taking a cab and arriving about twenty minutes after Elvis and his entourage get there. When he gets off the elevator, he finds a group of Elvis's closest friends huddled around the door, their faces contorted in concern. Jerry walks up cautiously and just as he opens his mouth to ask what's going on, he hears a loud crash inside the suite.

“He losin’ it?” He quietly asks the group. They all nod and make a path, expecting him to go in and try to sort Elvis out. “Why are you lookin’ at me?”

“He asked for you. Said you're the only one allowed in. He threw a vase at Sonny when he tried.” Red shrugs and looks at the floor, embarrassed that he can't handle his own boss, his own friend.

“Fine.” Jerry moves through them to the door and takes a steadying breath before opening it. Elvis is pacing around in the dark, having broken all but one lamp. His hair is wild from where he's been pulling on it and his eyes are red with the tears he's been trying to ignore. Jerry has seen his boss in bad shape before, but never like this. Just as he's thinking that it's heartbreaking to watch, Elvis rounds on him and grabs the front of his shirt.

“What the fuck, man?!” Jerry hollers. Elvis is beyond reason. The image of you first on Carl’s lap, then the bruises, and then sharing something with Jerry is too much. Something inside him is broken and it's released this wild thing that threatens to take over and burn his whole life to the ground. His hands shake and his breath comes out hot through his nose like a bull ready to charge.

“I saw you talking to her–”

“Aw, Jesus, man–” Jerry’s blood boils at the implication. He's done nothing but try to help this situation and now Elvis is going to come after him? Absolutely not. He grabs Elvis's hands and throws them off of him. “It's not what you think!”

Elvis has lost all control of himself. You're gone and he's convinced he has nothing left. Let Jerry hit him. Let Carl shoot him. Anything would be better than this feeling. He drops to his knees and a guttural sob escapes him as he buries his face in his hands. “I have nothing.”

Jerry breaks.

“Come on, E, don't do this.”

“Why not?! She chose him! She chose that motherfucker who put his hands on her! I should've killed him.” Elvis gets back to his feet and kicks the small table next to him.

“She didn't choose him! She's trying to protect you, dumbass!” Jerry’s patience is gone, his last ounce of ability to hold back lost with the heavy emotion in the room. “That's why she's still with him. That's why she's–” He gasps. It almost came flying out of his mouth, but he stopped it. Still, he's not quick enough. Elvis's eyes narrow, razor sharp.

“That's why she's what, Jerry?” His voice is quiet, too quiet. Jerry swallows hard. There's no getting out of this. And hell, maybe he needs to know.

“She's pregnant, Elvis. And she's getting rid of it. To protect you.”

Silence.

And then it's like the words finally sink into him. Elvis shakes his head, his eyes wide. For a moment, he just stands there trying to figure out if Jerry is telling the truth.

“No…” He whispers it the first time. And then the doubt turns to abject rage and he turns, grabbing the first thing he can get his hands on, a crystal ashtray, and hurling it at the wall. It hits the surface with a loud thud and then shatters into a thousand jagged little edges that clink onto the floor as Elvis screams. “NO!!!”

Jerry catches him as he collapses, the weight of reality causing him to literally crumble. Pregnant. With his baby. And getting rid of it to protect him.

“It's my fault. It's all my fault.” Elvis sobs into Jerry's shoulder. His body is numb, his mind an echo chamber of desperate rage. After all this, the only one he can blame is himself. He did this to you, hurt you so deeply, pushed you to the most extreme solution. He can't let you do this.

“Where?” His voice is quiet, muffled against Jerry’s jacket. He stands up and looks the other man in the eye. Jerry stands there with his mouth open, not sure what to say. “I asked where, Jerry.”

“Some clinic in LA.” Elvis sniffs and runs his hand through his hair, trying to smooth it. He's deadly calm now, his decision made.

“Get me a plane.”

******

Will he make it in time?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @atleastpleasetelephone @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @tacozebra051 @your-nanas-house @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @louisejoy86 @rjmartin11 @from-memphis-with-love @deltafalax @cinnamoroll-things @burnthheparaphilia @jhoneybees @cattcb @everythingelvispresley @returntopresley @searchingforgravity @msamarican @angschrof @lustnhim @polksaladava @librababe99 @hooked-on-elvis @theelvisprincess @makethemorning @peaceloveelvis @mrspresley69 @pxpresley @kxnnxy @angelriley222 @iloveelvis2

[povofjustme]

The Queen of Death

Part (1/?)

Fandom- House of the Dragons

Being Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys first born, your farther heir

Your were the most sweet and kindest child and that stayed with your until you were a maiden

But you never forget that you are Princess Rhaenys (the queen who was never) is your mother, your leaned many things over the years from her

You were a year younger that Rhaenyra and your grow up together

You both even claimed your dragon (Vermithor) at the same time as each other

Your were best friends and told each other everything

Even your little crush on one of the king’s guards Harwin Strong

You thought nothing would never changed your friendship

Even when she married your younger brother Leanor Velaryon’s and your marrying your first love Harwin

but your were mistaken when your was hold little baby Jacaerys

Your were heart broken when you was holding the babe in your arms

-Over the years your knew that Rhaenyra and Leanor marriage wasn’t perfect but she told you they have arrangement

But she never told you it was with your fucking husband

“I guess the little babe has more Arryn then targaryen”

That was the last thing you said before going mute

Your never felt so betrayed

Your husband, your best friend and your brother

Your cried in your mothers are for days and still hasn’t said a word, Rhaenys was heartbroken

She couldn’t done nothing but hold you

If Rhaenys was the ask the king for annulment the king would say no, just to keep Rhaenyra safe from the rumors

“Cousin you can not be that stupid” r

“Rhaenys watch yourself, we are family but am still king” v

“REALLY want to talk about family, Rhaenyra should learn the meaning of family!”

So her daughter had to stay in the marriage, but she would do everything to keep her first safe

Corlys was furious, there are no word to explain

He wants to pack up his daughter things and move her back to Driftmarks

But Harwin wouldn’t let it happen, after the birth of Jacaerys your wouldn’t speak a word to him

“She is my wife and she will not be going anywhere!”

He would try to grab your had and you would pull away

Ask you to had dinner with him and only meet with no response

Try to get physical and say ..

“I think is time for a baby” h

“….” Y/n walk out the room

And when your move out of your shard quarters together, he know he had lost you

Rhaenyra would do anything to get you back

She would try to have you break her fast with her in the morning - your mother would shut it down in a heartbeat

Tried having you go on walks in the garden with her and Jace but would find you with Queen Alicent children instead

Tried flying with you but be Vermithor would have Rhaenyra lost in the clouds and lost site of you

Even tried summoning you to dinner and sit right next to her, she would talk and talk to try to get something out of you

Even tried telling that Harwin didn’t mean a thing but then get caught up in her words, everything comes out bad

But you never utter a word

And you used it against everyone, even the king hisself

“So y/n how have you been feeling” v said in front of the dinner table “I heard you been unwell” v

“….” You

“Y/n-“ v

“Cousin leave her be” r

The king would try to talk to you but Your mother had your back no matter what

Some people found it rude or disrespectful but you had no feeling left to give

Everyone saw the change in you, you were the girl who was smile at everything and one

And now they never seen a smile on your face, unless it was with the Queens children

It’s been months since the birth of Jacaerys, the king was having a tournament for the babe, all the lords and lady’s where coming to celebrate

The looks and the whispers alone was getting louder and you couldn’t take it

You stood next your husband at the feast, when you saw that everyone was distracted you took your chances

In your room, your grabbing your ridding gear, a few pouches of gold coins. Not needing any else but the clothes on your back

Found your way to the dragon pit, got on Vermithor and fly

You didn’t know where you was going but you knew it was away from kings landing

Flying for hours, you found yourself in a storm

-Vermithor having a hard time trying to navigate again it….

Thing everything went black……

When you wake up, you were on a island… The death Island

(Had this in my head for awhile, don’t know how many parts but let me know if you want this in story!!)

[badgalsasuke]

Hi! None of my friends are into Naruto so I came to your ask. Please bear with me :,(

It’s nothing serious: just wanted to ramble about Naruto and Sasuke in Naruto Gaiden. They give such huge exes energy it’s both painful and funny to witness.

It’s painful because they both clearly didn’t let go of their feelings. Naruto sends his shadow clone to deal with his own son (or go to his own daughter’s birthday!) but he meets Sasuke in person. And it’s not like it was even necessary! He was pretty comfortable talking about this exact problem on a phone with Kakashi. He could’ve sent Sasuke a letter, he could’ve sent someone else to help him, he could’ve sent him a goddamn clone.

And Sasuke being all bitter with Naruto in that flashback. Kishimoto was literally showing us the real exes behavior and too many people didn’t bat an eye. (I’m really curious how sns deniers explain that scene)

There was a whole ass Hinata humiliation moment with bento. Boruto wanted to return the bento to her because even he knew Naruto would not appreciate it and when Naruto finally got it the only thing he thought about was how Sasuke fed him. Not even a single thought about his wife or at least his children?

Naruto always being there for Sarada while neglecting his own child… wow. I never thought he and Sasuke were that similar. (Also him, and not Sasuke’s wife, telling Sasuke’s daughter about his past. Nah, definitely doesn’t ring a bell lmao)

Naruto thinking of Iruka and Sasuke when talking about love and family. I guess if he really loved his wife he would’ve thought of her too. She’s supposed to be his immediate family now…

I know there are people who are homophobic and just refuse to see the obvious, but there’s literally a bunch of people who are dumb or blind. And of course there’s this special category of dumb who think that Kishimoto “accidentally” created his own story.

I just know he spent many nights sleepless, trying to make ss and nh as realistic as it should be. I wish more people recognized work.

Anyways, sorry for my messy ask. I’m just full of thoughts rn. I almost didn’t include ss moments cuz they’re not even worth mentioning, plus you’ve talked about the forehead poke several times and I agree with everything you said. Thanks for reading or no offense if you decided to skip my ask 🫶

Hi anon!

I think people saw what was going on with Gaiden and that's why it remains Kishimoto's most controversial work. SS shippers really don't like to touch upon it and barely bring it up in their discussions and arguments except for *sometimes* the "because we have you" panel and it's just sometimes because you can't deny how miserable both Sasuke and Sakura look there. Outside of SNS circles, I've noticed the rest of the fandom don't bring it up as often, they'd rather ignore it.

There was a whole ass Hinata humiliation moment with bento. Boruto wanted to return the bento to her because even he knew Naruto would not appreciate it and when Naruto finally got it the only thing he thought about was how Sasuke fed him.

This moment is why it baffles me a bit why people think NH is the better marriage out the two het!ships because Naruto clearly does not give a fuck about that woman just like Sasuke doesn't care about Sakura.

Naruto knew, and Boruto knew that he knew it was made by Hinata especially for him because she loves him. But when Naruto has the opportunity to go meet with Sasuke in person why would he want anything from Hinata? Once again reminding us why for The Last they had to make sure Sasuke wasn't in the village lol.

But you gotta love how Kishimoto expresses what a bento means. It's not about just feeding someone, it's more about that special person sharing it with you.

Boruto thinks of his mom, because well, ofc he would think that's his dad's special person, all kids want to believe their parents are each other's soulmate and love of their lives.

Kishimoto telling us how a bento is not just food for sharing for the sake of feeding someone, it's about being present in the mind and heart of a loved one. That's why for Naruto this moment is so significant, how special he had to be for Sasuke he’d want to share a meal with him (and forcing Sakura to do the same as well) when he was a loser nobody, ahhh my heart. Kishimoto is truly a great tragic romance writer.

I think people sometimes focus too much on deciphering Sarada's true backstory (I get it, it's very juicy), that people kinda overlook Naruto telling us that even after all those years married and having two kids, Sasuke is still his #1 love. A heartbroken Sarada complained that after all those years away Sasuke forgot even her face and she's not blood-related to Sakura, and I find fascinating how Naruto responds "there's something stronger than time and blood... love".

He's been married for 13 years and has two kids and yet all that time and that blood relation won't change that his bond with Sasuke formed out of pure love (because people always say "Sasuke and Naruto didn't even spend that much time together, it doesn't make sense they're obsessed with each other) is the most important one alongside his bond with Iruka. Doesn't matter how many years they go without seeing each other, Naruto will always love Sasuke.

[tyrantisterror]

Wife Goals: Harley Quinn

Welcome back, fuckers. It's February, I'm in a bad way, let's talk about the unstable fictional women that I pine for, because fuck you that's why. Last time on this prolonged emotional breakdown, I talked about Ryoko Hakubi, the ancient demon space pirate from the Tenchi Muyo franchise. Today, I'll talk about someone I think we all knew would come up sooner or later - I have a whole shrine to her for fuck's sake.

Funny story - I didn't actually watch Batman: The Animated Series as a kid, despite being a child of the 90's. It, Power Rangers, and Gargoyles were the big 90's shows I just sorta bailed on (and I guess TMNT? I think of that more as an 80's show, personally, but I've seen some people lump it into 90's nostalgia too, so...). I just wasn't much of a superhero fan when I was a kid - superheroes were buff athletic masculine guys, like the bullies that picked on me, and they beat up weird-looking dudes who were obsessed with, like, monsters and spiders and shit, which I related to a lot more, so it just wasn't my scene as a kid. I had Godzilla for my hero-worship anyway, and it's hard to compete with Godzilla for my heart.

I did watch Batman Beyond, though, because it came on after Digimon and what else would I do with my Saturday morning?

Anyway, I don't think I actually saw much if any at all of BTAS until my teens. Pop culture being what it was, I was still loosely aware of Batman and his gallery of rogues, so I knew of Harley Quinn by that point, but I didn't have any particular fondness for the character yet, and even after watching some episodes she wouldn't become important to me until, like, after college.

And to understand why you kind of have to understand what was going on with Harley Quinn at the time. So, ok, Harley debuted in Batman the Animated Series, an exceptionally well-done adaptation of Batman that is specifically noted for taking the superhero comic world's devotion to maintaining a status quo super seriously. And by that I mean that essays have been written on the sort of Calivinist nature of morality in Batman the Animated Series, where if a character is a supervillain, then nothing they do, no matter how well-intentioned, will EVER allow them to break free of being evil. Poison Ivy wants to leave villainy behind and be a mother? Well, because she is Inherently Villainous, she can't help doing it in a way that involves mind control and gene splicing and crimes against humanity. Mr. Freeze wants to save his wife? Well, there's no way he can ever progress that goal without harming people with a freeze ray, and also every evil scheme he concocts to reach that end - a noble goal, mind you - will be foiled, leaving his wife still frozen on the brink of death. If you are a villain in BTAS, you will always, always, ALWAYS be a villain, no matter how hard you try to redeem yourself. The status quo MUST be maintained, no matter how tragic your situation is.

Which adds a meta-textual layer of bleakness to the already incredibly bleak life of Harley Quinn. Harley is a psychologist who fell in love with her patient, and said patient happened to be the Joker, i.e. one of the most notorious supervillains of all time. She turns herself into a supervillain to impress him, throws her career in the toilet in the process, and ends up being used as a disposable tool and punching bag by said villain over and over again. Harley suffers horrendous abuse from the Joker, commits horrible crimes to gain his favor, suffers terribly when she's caught by Batman, and basically repeats this cycle over and over and over and over again.

Because the status quo must be maintained, no matter how bleak your situation is.

It should be noted that, in the (intentional or not) Calvinist nature of the show, Harley's misery is clearly intended to be a direct result of her flaws. In Batman the Animated Series, pre-villain Harley is explicitly stated not to be a good psychologist to begin with - she was not smart enough to earn her degree honestly and slept with her teachers to raise her grades. Never ethical or talented, it's kind of treated as though her situation is her own fault for not growing as a person like she should have in the first place, which, uh... I don't think that element aged well at all, honestly.

But, luckily, Harley proved popular enough that the Batman the Animated Series take on her didn't remain the ONLY take for very long.

In fact, Harley's popularity grew so big over time that by the 2000's she got her own solo series, which came with a big problem to solve: how does Harley Quinn, a character who revolves around the Joker, who in turn revolves around Batman, work as a character without the two characters she was designed to orbit around? She's a moon, not a star, how can that work?

Well, Harley had to change, and that meant the status quo had to change.

Harley breaks up with the Joker and tries to, well, not go legit necessarily, but be a more low-profile kind of supervillain so Batman stops punching her in the face so much. More mischief and misdemeanors and less murder and manslaughter, and when she does kill someone it's, like, a serial killer or assassin, so basically fine. Because her relationship with the Joker is, like, the PICTURE of an abusive relationship, Harley becomes this picaresque figure, escaping from her chains to run free and rampant, and inviting us along for the ride.

And with that independence as a guiding theme, Harley got retooled a bit. She's always been a cheerful goofball, so it's not really out of character for her to help people now and then, albeit in a chaotic, mayhem-filled way. And hey, she has a degree in psychology - what if we just ignored the original intent and presented her as legitimately good at it? That brings a new sort of pathos to Harley Quinn, if she was a genuinely talented and dedicated person who stumbled once and paid severely for it - and it makes us invested in her quest to find some way to pull herself together after falling so hard.

And... that's kind of sympathetic, isn't it? It's hard to screw up worse than Harley Quinn did, it's hard to ruin your life more than she did, and yet here she is, still trying to pull it together in spite of that. She lives in a town so dark and depressing it has "Goth" in its name. Her ex-boyfriend is a killer clown who is infamous in-universe and out as one of the most cruel and monstrous villains of all time. Her resume consists of "psychiatrist who slept with her patient" and "moll for the most notorious serial killer alive." In many continuities she has permanently dyed her skin chalk white. You simply cannot fuck up worse than Harley Quinn has.

And yet she keeps trying. There's something heroic about that.

Harley has been beaten and abused by the man she gave up everything to be with, and yet she keeps trying. She is hated by most of the world because of her villainous past, and yet she keeps trying. She can never, EVER go back to the life she had, to the career she went to college for, to the stable, normal life she at one point wanted, and yet she KEEPS TRYING. She lives in the world of superhero comic books, where any significant change to the status quo is (almost) ALWAYS undone, where character development is considered a mistake that has to be unwritten, where redemption is impossible because once the narrative decides you're a villain that's what you will (almost) ALWAYS be...

And yet. She keeps. TRYING.

In a world that is determined to treat her as a punching bag, Harley finds a reason to smile, to hope that life will get better, to laugh and try and find love and happiness and joy. And her hope was so strong and so infectious that it changed the status quo. Harley being the Joker's punching bag hench-girlfriend used to be all she could aspire to be, but now? That's just her origin story, and she's become so much more than that.

She's a mess of Red Flags, an absolute fuckup of a human being, a terrible person, but goddammit, she is TRYING to be better, she is trying to make herself a good person, she is trying to make the world smile, and through all the shit thrown her way, she still believes in love and happiness. I don't just like Harley Quinn or crush on her the way I do with other fictional characters - I'm inspired by her. I strive to have some fraction of her resolve, her determination, her steadfast will to survive and thrive. Because if she can make it, if she can laugh so loud that the immutable law that is Comic Book Status Quo will bend for her, then dammit, any of us can do it.

...

Plus she's a hot lady in clown makeup who wears leather jackets and skin-tight acrobatic tights, I mean c'mon now almost everyone's down for that on some level

[askbensolo]

I really liked the novel. You did a great job at creating a lot of tension in the gentleman’s dinner scenes; my wife was sitting next to me and I had a grip on her arm the entire time.

I’m also a writer, for what it’s worth. Only I’ve been working on the same manuscript for almost a decade 😅 I’m sitting at 121k right now. Draft 12 or 5 or 8 or 4 depending on the section. I think. I’ve lost count. But it’s the last FULL new draft. Only revisions and polishing now.

Should be querying by the winter. Hopefully. I’ve said that before.

Perfectionism kills me. I hate it.

(Also bro that entire week Ryloth 😬😬😵‍💫😵‍💫—seemed very traumatic for everyone involved. Please tell me Fannie moved out)

…You…read it? Like…actually? You are very likely the first person to finish it. Wait, now I’m kinda floored by that—you read it in one day???

Yeah—that chapter is undoubtedly the best one. It’s also the worst because of…y’know…everything that went down in it…but it’s got the best storytelling. Honestly, thank you so much for tellin’ me that; I went back and read the final five chapters where the story kinda accelerates toward the conclusion, and, well…I guess it ain’t so bad. Literally though, the first six chapters are the worst part of the book, which is stupid, because that’s like, the reader’s first impression, right—and if I hadn’t given up on writing, that’d be the first thing I’d rework. Maybe I’d even delete ‘em entirely so that the book starts on Ryloth. But I have given up, unfortunately—so this is what we’re stuck with.

Dude, what?? Ten years? That’s crazy! I mean—I spent six months on my project and I’m sick of it and never touching it again. Yours is about the same length as mine…but if I did chop off all the intro, mine’d be a lot shorter. And twelve drafts! Bro. That is straight-up your firstborn child, dude.

Best of luck when you finally do put it out there. Couldn’t be me, man—I cried when Amalia read my draft and said I started too many sentences with conjunctions. And…I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who suffers delusions about the quality of my work. (Oh wait see I just started that sentence with a conjunction ARGH. If nothing else, this project sure showed me what my bad habits are.)

Yeah…everything in the novel (besides the first six chapters) all took place within a week. I can’t believe Fannie grew up there for the first seven years of her life. (Though, her siblings would’ve been pretty young then, and less capable of…atrocities). More than that—I can’t believe she moved back there after leaving Luke’s school. Like, I knew her home situation was bad, but she never talked about it in detail. Having witnessed it firsthand, it makes me feel worse about losing contact with her in college.

And…y’know. It makes me worry about how she’s been in the last five months since I’ve seen her. I wonder if the wedding happened yet. I know Fan was wrestling over whether to attend to show her love for Pennie, or to refuse to go in protest.

Me, I think she needs to let go of her sister. If Pennie wants help, she can come get it—but she clearly doesn’t, and there’s no helping someone like that. That and I’ll break both of Pen’awen’s arms if she tries to pull another…never mind.

As far as I know, yeah—Fannie’s still at home…despite my attempts to persuade her otherwise. I want her outta there, too.

[writingwhimsey]

Becoming Comtesse Ch. 37

Chapter 37

After returning home and finding the surprise of my brothers…and James in the game room, we all sat down to dinner together. It was a rather fun evening and the food was delicious. My brothers were entertaining and so were the rest of the residents.

Benjamin and Isaac struck up a friendship, discussing science and their studies. Jack was fascinated by Leonardo. Whitley and Arthur seemed to hit it off well. James seemed to enjoy conversation with Mozart and Napoleon…and Abel.

“So, James, how do you know everyone?” Abel asked.

“Oh, we all grew up together. My father worked for the late Baron Wells.” James answered. “When he’d be working with the late Baron, I would play with Colette and Thomas and Benjamin.”

“And then the rest of us as we came along.” Edith added. “He was practically part of the family.”

“It was always the best times of my childhood.” James said. “And your wife was quite the entertaining one as a child.”

Abel lifted an eyebrow in question. “Oh? You have some stories to share?”

“I could tell you many.” James said.

I instantly felt my cheeks heating up as a million possible events that were all equally embarrassing flitted through my mind. “There’s nothing you need to share.” I protested.

Abel looked at me. “Well, now I must know these stories, mon amour.” He stroked my hand as he spoke. “Especially since it seems no one else will share any of your stories.”

“That’s because Colie wouldn’t let herself be herself around all of us.” Whitley said.

“And for the longest time she and James were inseparable.” Edith said. “Best friends for years. Thick as thieves.”

I shot a look at my siblings. I had already caught that look in Abel’s eyes when James had hugged me. Felt the extra feeling of possessiveness when Abel wrapped his arm around me. I hadn’t had the chance to explain about my friendship with James.

“Is that so?” Abel asked.

“They always just got on so well.” Mother said. “Everyone always gravitated towards our dear Colette.”

“She’s the most trustworthy of this lot.” James said, giving me a knowing look.

“She does know how to keep secrets.” Edie said.

Dinner went on for a while, everyone talking and laughing. Eating and drinking. James did share a few of my embarrassing stories. Though he didn’t share the most embarrassing ones.

After dinner, we went to the parlor to enjoy some after dinner treats and an even more relaxed atmosphere. We all stood or sat in groups in the parlor, talking and laughing. A table was sat up and card games were beginning.

I stood back and watched the first match as I sipped my wine. Abel, Leonardo, Whitley, Henry, Arthur, and Theo were all playing the first round. James came over to stand beside me, a drink in his hand. He smiled warmly at me, though when he spoke he kept his voice low.

“It seems you find yourself the mistress of a rather grand house now.” He said.

I smiled. “Yes. Not something I had imagined.” 

“How are you, Colette?” He asked, concern in those familiar blue eyes.

“Good.” I answered, a happy smile on my face.

“Is he good to you?” James asked.

“Very.” I answered. “I love him.”

“Do you? Does he love you?”

I nodded. “Yes and yes…I’ll admit I was nervous when I first came here for the wedding, but Abel is really wonderful and I truly love him.”

“Abel?”

“Comte.”

“I guess it would make sense for you to be on a first name basis with your husband.” James replied. “So, no reason for me to apologize for not keeping my promise then?”

“As long as you aren’t upset with me for not waiting.”

“How could I be, Colette? Especially when you are happy. That’s all I ever wanted for you.” James replied.

I gave him a knowing look. “And that’s all I want for you.”

“You know why I can’t find that same happiness.”

“Hopefully one day, you can.” I replied. “I’ll never stop hoping for that change for you.”

Comte…

Comte sat playing poker with the others, but he couldn’t stop getting distracted. Not once he saw James walk over to Colette to talk with her. He couldn’t quite hear their conversation. He had to admit, he wasn’t quite a fan of the way James was looking at her. There was something between the two.

“Comte, your bet.” Leonardo said, pulling him back to the game.

“Oh right…I’ll call.” He said throwing in a chip to match the bet.

More bets were placed and then they were showing their hands. Willingham came out the winner of the hand. A few others backed out before Edith was wandering over to join the game. 

As they played, Edith looked over at Comte. “You seem a bit distracted.” She observed.

“I…”

Edith smiled at him. “Worried about James?” She asked.

“I never said that.” Comte replied.

“It’s written all over your face.” Edith replied.

“They seem close.” Comte finally admitted.

“They were.” Edith said, looking at her cards and then placing her bet. “Best friends and I will have to admit there was a time when we all thought they would end up married. Running off together possibly, but nothing ever came of it.”

Comte felt his heart thud in his chest at those words. He had suspected such a thing… but he couldn’t help to feel the way he was when confronted with that admission.

“But you’ve nothing to worry about, Comte.” Edith told him. “Colette is absolutely head over heels for you. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Also the way she talks about you. She’s never looked at anyone like that before. Never spoken about anyone the way she speaks about you.”

Another hand was dealt and the game continued before Edith was pulling a victory over them all. Colette and James ended up coming over to join the group, Colette taking the chair beside Comte.

“Would you like to join the game, ma cherie?” He asked her.

“I don’t know if I should.” She answered. “I could just sit here and be your good luck charm.”

“Don’t let her fool you, Comte.” James said. “She’s one of the best poker players I know. Has the best poker face, too.”

New information about his wife…something he was always happy to learn. Yet he wasn’t happy with the source. Another man who was not a relative…who seemed to have a connection with her knew so much about her.

“Don’t let him fool you. I’m not that good. He’s just that bad.” Colette said with a grin.

“I’ll deal ya in, luv.” Arthur spoke up as he shuffled the cards. “I’m always curious about our Comtesse’s talents.”

Colette rolled her eyes. “Alright, fine. I’ll play.”

“That’s the spirit.” Arthur said as he dealt the cards.

“Don’t let her be modest.” James said. He then looked at Colette with a grin. “There was one night a group of us all snuck out to meet by the lake. We played strip poker. And your wife was the only one who didn’t lose a stitch of clothing.”

Colette’s cheek lit up and she shot a glare at James. “No one needs to hear about that.”

“What? It’s not like you were naked in it, like the rest of us that night.” James replied. “Though we did still manage to pull you into the lake.”

“What? How come I wasn’t around for this?” Edith asked.

“Because you were only a year old.” Colette answered. “I was only thirteen when it happened.”

The evening went on, James dropping more stories and secrets about Colette. And Colette doing quite well at poker. Comte had to admit, he was getting more and more uncomfortable with James and more perturbed the longer the evening went on. Colette and James clearly had some kind of bond…and though he would never deny Colette anything she wanted…he couldn’t help but to feel upset with this news.

After Colette won a few hands, James and Willingham were both folding their cards. “Well, I’m tired of losing.” James declared.

“It’s also getting quite late.” Willingham said. “You should probably come back with me to my estate.”

“Right-o. I wouldn’t want to put le Comte out. Seems he and Colette already have their hands full with this bunch.” James agreed.

“You are both welcome to stay for as long as you wish.” Comte said, despite how he really felt, which was that James couldn’t leave fast enough. “We’ve plenty of room.”

“I’ve already imposed on you enough with all of your help.” Willingham said.

“And I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome. I’m sure if I share anymore stories Colette might box my ears.”

“You’re not wrong there.” Colette replied, giving him a stern look.

“Alright then, safe travels.” Comte said.

Once those two left, the little party began to slowly die down. After bidding her family goodnight, Colette headed up to the bedroom she and Comte shared, her hand in his. As soon as their door was shut, Colette was turning to him. “You seem a bit troubled, my love.”

Comte knew that was her invitation to talk…and yet he couldn’t bring himself to admit what he was thinking and feeling. Especially when those thoughts and feelings were so ugly. “Nothing troubles me, mon amour.”

Colette frowned up at him before stretching up to press her lips to his. When she broke the kiss, she looked up at him once more. “I know it’s bothering you.” She said.

Comte sighed as he wrapped his arms around Colette and pulled her close, burying his face in her hair. “When did I become so easy to read?”

Colette laughed as she wrapped her arms around him. “I think I’m just picking up on it because I know my husband so well.” She replied. “Especially when you put a possessive arm around my waist.”

“Was I that obvious?”

“Only to me and as I’ve told you before, I don’t mind.” She replied. “Now why won’t we sit down and talk?”

Comte nodded and went over to a chair, pulling Colette with him. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. “I’ll admit…I don’t like how close you and James seemed to have been. Though I asked for the stories…it irritated me to learn information about you from another man. Then when your sister confirmed you two were practically childhood sweethearts…”

Colette blinked. “She said what?”

“She said that you two were rather close and that they’d all always thought you would end up married. Running off together perhaps.” Comte clarified. “And then there’s something he mentioned about a promise to a friend and…I tried not to overhear but it sounded like that promise was to you.”

“I’m going to have to pay her back for that one.” Colette said with a sigh.

Comte lifted a hand to her cheek. “Colette, I know we’re married and I don’t ever want to let you go…but did I keep you from your true happiness?”

Colette blinked in surprise at his words. She shook her head. “No. Abel, I love you and I am happiest when I am with you.”

“But…I can see there is something between you two…”

“A deep friendship.” Colette answered. “He was my first kiss and his promise was to find his fortune and then return to England and marry me, but it wasn’t what you’re thinking at all.”

Comte blinked up at Colette. He didn’t understand what she was saying…nor did he like what she was saying. She was practically engaged to this man and he had given her her first kiss. “Colette…your first kiss?”

“We were about fourteen and we’d been friends all our lives.” Colette began to explain. “And we had snuck out to the garden to play cards and chat in the middle of the night. He asked if he could kiss me because he needed to know something. So, I agreed. Neither of us felt anything and when it was over his exact words were Dammit…why? Why couldn’t it have been you? That’s not something you forget the first time a boy kisses you.”

“But you said you didn’t feel anything either.”

“No, but it still kinda stung to be told that.” Colette replied with an amused smile. 

“Then…why the promise of marriage?”

“As you know, I was on the marriage market for some time.” Colette replied. “Well past the age most women marry and had been for some years by the time you finally made your move. James left England for the Americas about four years ago. He tried to get me to come with him, but I knew that I couldn’t leave Edie. She would be debuting soon and if I had run off that would have caused a scandal. So he promised he would find his fortune and come back and if I wasn’t happily married, he would marry me.”

“I’m still very confused.”

“The marriage he proposed would have been a marriage of convenience and friendship.” Colette clarified. “It would have been a marriage in name only. A place for us both to hide.”

Tag list:

@zulablaise @kisara-16 @tele86

@otomewonderland @lovely-bubb1es @lucyw260 @queengiuliettafirstlady

@obeymetalesandikemen @leiaglamela @fang-and-feather @eventinelysplayground @chirp-a-chirp

[lonely-parrot]

Routine and motorbike

@jegulus-microfic june prompts

Day 19: Mechanical

Word count : 1113

Summary: Regulus doesn't feel good, how will he escape that? Bit angsty I guess, reference to depression

Every day of Regulus’ life is the same way.

He wakes up, in a too big bed, Mr. Kreach comes and open his curtains for him. He goes downstairs to eat with his parents that he greets the way they taught him to.

And life goes. And life goes.

School has ended for a year, but Regulus isn’t in a wedding hurry. He’s only nineteen, and his parents have agreed to wait for a bit before choosing his wife for him. He learns how to handle the fortune of the families.

He learns how to be the Heir his brother should have been. He’s not as good as him.

Every day of Regulus’ life is the same way.

He lives through them as a robot would. Mechanical.

Always.

The.

Same.

Way.

*

James doesn’t understand a single thing to what Sirius does, but that doesn’t prevent him from loving to spend time watching him lovingly fix an old motorbike. Sirius is good with that, mechanic and all. He tried to teach it all to James, who has only ever had a smile and a vague nod, so he ended up stopping. Now, he talks about that to his dad.

And to Moony, but it isn’t really fair or objective because he doesn’t understand either; Moony is just the type that would pay to listen Sirius talks, and Sirius doesn’t care that Remus doesn’t understand, because he just loves when he stares at him lovingly like he does while he gets to talk about what he likes.

Anyway, James never had to understand it to love it, just because it makes Sirius happy. It had been one of the first thing Sirius was able to get up for after he moved to the Potters. You could have thought that, after having left his abusive household, he’d be happy, but it hasn’t worked that way. For months, he couldn’t leave his bed, he spent his time fixing up the wall, only moving to go to the toilette, and when one of the Potter came and forced him to eat.

James remembers the day he arrived to take care of Sirius – since he couldn’t do it himself, and James will always do what Sirius can’t, and Sirius does what James can’t – their dad just bought a motorbike, wanting to fix it. That information had made Sirius look at James, something rare enough to be noticeable. The days after, all the Potters talked about it, until Sirius asked if he could see it.

James sometimes wonders how things would have happened without that. Hopefully, he can ask all he wants, he doesn’t have to see it. Instead, he can watch Sirius, covered in motor oil, grinning at him like a child, while they talk about everything.

“I love you, Siri…”

Sirius looks at him, a bit surprised. His smile returns quickly.

“Love you too, Jamie!”

*

Always the same.

Always the same.

Not the good same.

Not the comforting same. The one that chokes you. One that makes Regulus go crazy.

Waking up. Greetings, eating. Reading. Snob partying. Eating. Sleeping.

Nothing great.

Nothing. It’s always the same. Even the tears that streams on his cheeks until the odd hours of the night are the same. The muffled sobs against his pillows until he can’t breathe, until he wishes he really wasn’t.

He needs to escape.

He thinks of Sirius. The night he escaped, he told Regulus, “come with me, we don’t need them. With me, you’ll always be safe. Please…”. Regulus stayed here.

Regulus wants to call Sirius’ name at night, because he needs to be saved, and who better than Sirius?

*

“Do you think of your brother sometimes?”

Sirius seems furious.

“Why do you ask that?”

“I don’t know, I just remember him younger, and I wonder how he is now…”

“He’s living the nobility life I quit. There’s nothing else to say. He was always more fit to that than I am. He’s probably really happy.”

“What if he isn’t, though? What if he isn’t and he has no one to save him?”

*

He needs to stop that.

He can’t let it stay that way forever.

He looks at the hill from his window. He needs to do something.

A motor roars outside, an unusual sound, up in the manor.

*

“What if he isn’t, though?”

“James. James!”

Sirius is at James’ side, near his bed.

“Wa’sgoin’ on?”

“I need to see him.”

“You should sleep, and we’ll go tomorrow.”

“James. I need it now. Please.”

Now, they’re on the first motorbike Sirius bought alone, in the middle of the night, travelling the countryside.

*

The motor comes closer.

A motorbike on the perfectly neat lane. Black hair flying against the sky.

Regulus knows that silhouette from instinct alone; Sirius is here. Sirius has come back for him. He runs down the stairs, he opens the big door and arrives there, just in front of Sirius and James, both waiting on him.

“You’ve come.”

*

First thing James notices: Regulus is pretty.

Second thing: he looks like Sirius when he moved to their house; he looks bad.

*

Regulus is packing. Sirius hasn’t let their parents talk, and Regulus is packing, with Sirius and James at his side, and he’s going away.

Since in all the years they’ve spent aside, Sirius hasn’t lost his ability to be an idiot, they’ll be forced to wait a few hours for Fleamont Potter to come with a truck to fetch the motorbike, since all three of them can’t fit.

And then.

Freedom.

*

Regulus seems to live his departure as bad as Sirius. Sirius who spends hours every day with him.

One day, Sirius is occupied, so James comes and take his place. He starts talking to him about Sirius. About mechanic. How’s that work, even though he doesn’t really understand. Basically, it’s the same everywhere, to a few minor variations.

“My life was like that.”

Regulus spoke.

Regulus spoke!

“Mechanical. Everything was the same. Everything was… it was too much.”

“Has it changed?”

“No.”

*

Regulus wants to talk more.

He does, days after days. He’s eager for when James is going to be there. He’s more willing to eat. He goes and cleans himself.

James spends time with him after.

James is handsome.

Regulus is getting better, and he likes to hear James talks. One day, he grabs his hand, of his own will, like that.

Apparently, he likes to watch James, to hear him, and he really really likes to hold his hand.

[multifandomimagines999]

Hi can you do Brian Quinn x wife reader where your reaction to Q:the musical where your in the audience with his firemen buddies but also your children then transition to where Q puts the boys to the fire men academy and he show's his kids what it means to be a fireman

A/N: Enjoy!

Future of the Department

Pairing: Brian Quinn x wife!reader

You and Brian met working at the same fire department and after chaotic years of friendship, you finally admitted your feelings for each other. Now you're happily married with a 10 week old son, Logan.

Now your little man was almost 2.5 months and y'all were getting the hang of things. Logan was on a better schedule and you were able to get at least a little bit of sleep.

But today Logan and you were helping Q get punished. He knew he was performing a stupid play in front of professional actors. What he didn't know was that instead of actors it was you, Logan, and all our firehouse buddies. Lucky for me Logan was asleep when we arrived.

We took our seats in the front. As soon as the play started, Logan was up and alert. I held him in my lap as Brian came out on stage. When he saw all of us out there he couldn't even speak he was so embarrassed. He continued through the play and towards the end Logan let out a squeal of excitement which grabbed his father's attention. I guess he hadn't noticed Logan was here because he was too caught up in everything else. His eyes went wide and he dropped his head again.

"You brought my son into this!" Brian exclaimed into his ear piece/mic.

"It's okay. You're already an embarrassment. This is nothing" teased Joe.

Brian finished up the play and our coworkers began throwing shoes at him which caused me to laugh. Filming stopped and the guys were done shooting for the day. Brian went out and was talking to our buddies while I walked around rocking Logan.

"Did you enjoy daddy looking like a doofus?" I cooed in a baby voice to which he squealed back, "I'll take that as a yes".

"Look at you. Already teaching him the word doofus" smiled the chief.

"Chief!" I cheered and carefully hugged him, "It's good to see you! You weren't at the station when we stopped by last week".

"My wife was sick, so I had to take care of her. But the guys were telling me all about this little man" he stated, looking at Logan, "You are just adorable!"

"Thanks" I chuckled.

"You know, I'm proud of you kid. You've come so far since your first days at the firehouse. You're one strong woman" he praised, "And now here you are married to Quinn and a mom to a little guy. You've done well for yourself so far".

"Thanks. I bet nobody would have guessed Brian and I would wind up together".

"Oh no. We took bets on if and when you'd get together. Eventually we just kinda dropped out until we heard the news from Quinn, and then we made bets on your engagement".

"Well who won?"

"You're looking at the winner".

"Nice chief".

***

"So this is where Mommy and Daddy trained," Brian smiled as he had Greyson on one hip and our daughter Carly on the other.

Logan stood beside him. I stood behind Logan, hand on my bump as we were expecting our fourth child. Brian showed them our graduation pictures and showed them some of the training areas. All three kids were excited hearing all of our stories.

"I wanna be like mommy when I grow up!" Carly cheered, making me grin.

"You can baby girl."

I looked over at Brian, even more head over heels in love with him. The way he interacts with our kids, how passionate he is, he is perfect.

[hana-bobo-finch]

FINAL PDBC POST OF 2024 WOOOOOO!! Yea so I loved a random background wasp I drew for a bug fables wip so much that I changed some stuff around and plopped her in pdbc as a bug person. meet my darling wasp child Gin

the culmination of my sudden wasp obsession and my undying PDBC obsession. This is just a rough sketch, ya gotta understand that she has only been in existence for literally one day lmao thusly there is hardly anything to her but HERE YA GO

HER NAME IS GINEVA!! I actually came up with it on the spot (more specifically her nickname, Gin) but it ended up fitting pretty well so let me ramble about that real quick:

It’s pronounced like Geneva. Like the Geneva Convention. Which she DEFINITELY violates on a daily basis but we’ll get to that. Her name is one R away from being the name Ginevra. Side tangent!! there is no R in the standard alphabet used on Fincg island, there’s a unique symbol that makes the R sound but don’t ask me about any of that special alphabet lore because that little tidbit is less developed than Gin herself. Point is, her name could very well be Ginevra, which is the name of King Arthur’s wife in some versions of the legends (according to Wikipedia at least!!! Yeah I know very reliable source but there’s no direct link to the source so I’m kinda just trusting Wikipedia on this lmao). That matters because if you don’t remember, pumpkin daddy is TERRIFIED of King Arthur. To an unhealthy degree. So I dunno I just thought it was a neat coincidence, not the most interesting thing in the world but I love adding small details in names like that so the fact that the name I chose on a whim is related to an already established piece of lore makes my brain happy. But MOVING ON her nickname, Gin, is also a reference to the fact that wasps are extremely sensitive to alcohol and can get drunk off fermented fruit which is the cutest thing in the world to me (I know drunk wasps realistically are just angry but I’m just imagining a lil wasp calling an uber for her and her lil wasp friends and awwwwww). So yeah she likes alcohol. a lot. she might have a bit of a problem but it’s FIIIIINE anyway I’ve yapped WAY too much about her name moving on—

She’s a queen Yellowjacket!! ALAS there are no other fully evolved wasp-people, so she is the queen of nothing. heartbreaking. She will still be a queen in all of our hearts. Though she miiiight be trying to speed up the evolution process a lil by messing around with the naturally occurring elements that are believed to have sped up the bugs’ evolutions but cough cough painfully underdeveloped lore cough coughI SERIOUSLY NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT I CAN’T JUST HAVE THE EXPLANATION BE (IT JUST BE LIKE THAT SOMETIMES NOOOOO.

Being a queen she’s a bit taller and bulkier than the other bug people—most average around 3 and a half feet but she’s around four feet—though that was hard to portray in her design because…I don’t know how to draw buff wasps. but she is. she’s a buff wasp. She’s bulky compared to the other bug people I guess, they could probably be blown away by a stiff wind

She wears armor on her upper body as you can see, as bug people are quite fragile and are prone to injuries due to their rather rushed evolutions. And also it’s because she started off as a wasp soldier who had armor and I wanted to keep that but shhhhh be quiet I’m talking about my flawed bug biology lore. Despite a lot of people being scared of them, the bug people aren’t often outright attacked, but they do get injured a lot due to the standard societal standards of Fincg island. Aka people get punched. A lot. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it but fighting is a pretty big cultural tradition there, and it’s the norm to slap people over minor inconveniences. No hard feelings, it’s just the way it is (though it’s agreed upon that hurting relatives, especially your children is unacceptable, but for everyone else? fair game, go punch that old woman). But it results in the bug people getting hurt a lot, and healthcare for the bug people is understandably underdeveloped, so Gin wears armor as to not. Yknow. die. Probably a smart move. I tried to give part of her armor a sort of plated look, to give her the look of having abs without her actually having them because shredded wasps would look strange, but eh. Whether or not I succeeded is up in the air

the obvious question is why is she juggling bombs. The answer is because she wants to. Despite being over-dramatically fragile she has no qualms with attacking people just for goofs. Which I know I just said was the cultural norm but she does it with bio weapons so maybe take her little bombs away. Yes she’ll throw biological weapons at you but she’ll put on a little show before she does it! It’s like those Turkish ice cream vendors that play around with your ice cream before they give it to you if anyone has any idea what the hell I’m talking about. She could use her knowledge for good (helping speed up evolution for the other bugs) or she could use it for bio warfare. She chooses both, what a queen 🥰🥰 literally 🥰please someone get her a hive to rule over so she doesn’t spend her time throwing bombs at people. Also worth mentioning—although she’s a juggler, she is NOT a clown. Do not even imply she is. I won’t get into the whole lore here but clowns were exiled from the island, a corny joke about juggling being allegedly one of the leading causes, so any clownish behavior has to be done carefully as to not get exiled with the rest of the clowns.

Anyway that’s all I have for her at the moment. Will she ever get more development, probably not, chances are she’ll be a barely relevant character if ever relevant at all. Do I love her anyway? Absolutely

[quillthrillswriting]

this one's for all the kataang shippers that got a little sad every time they saw absolute husband aang slander in a zutara fanfic.

OR: the common zutara trope of "zuko helps katara escape an unhealthy relationship with aang" is flipped entirely and completely on its head.

...

The liveliness of this mountaintop temple was nothing like the cold quiet that she had felt in Zuko’s castle these last few years. After she and her friends had saved the world, ending the Fire Lord’s reign, Katara had found herself at a crossroads. Although it made the most sense, she couldn’t bring herself to return back home, to the Southern Water Tribe. The memories were… too much.

Sokka had extended an offer for her to join him at the Northern Water Tribe, where he planned to find a teacher to aid him in mastering the traditional non-bending fighting styles of their people, but Katara just couldn’t bring herself to go back there, either. Toph and Aang were both headed to reconstruct important cultural monuments destroyed during the war, including the Air temples. She had considered coming with them, she really had, but ultimately… she made a different choice. 

...

So she had stayed with Zuko. 

Through his breakup with Mai, she had been the one he came to.

Through his first year as the Fire Lord, she was at his side. Attended every meeting, talked through his ideas, dragged him out to social events when he felt so in over his head that he would sit paralyzed in his room. That closeness had turned into something else the first night that he had kissed her.

...

And after what felt like years of quiet complacency and mild agreement, Katara felt her temper awaken, flicker. She calmed herself, reasoned that she didn’t know what he was doing with them. He could be checking for threats on her life, for poison sealed into an envelope. She held fast onto that tiny scrap of belief that he was still the man she had married, trusted, loved and been loved by.

Until that last thread of hope and trust was pulled taunt and then snapped entirely when Katara slipped into his office and found them. 

There were entire drawers of letters with her name on them.

...

Her attention drifted to the bottom of the bag. To Aang's scrolls. The ones she still hadn’t let herself read.

...

Katara,

How’s the fire palace? Started any underground dance clubs yet? I guess they’d be pretty tricky to start right under the nose of the new Fire Lord. Is Zuko adjusting well? I’m a bit worried about the burden of dismantling an entire empire falling squarely on his shoulders. Do you think I should head back, stick around for some peacekeeping? Give me any reason to come to be with you help, and I will.

Yours, Aang.

...

(Fire Lady) Katara,

I heard by word of mouth from a few Fire Nation travellers that passed through the Western Air Temple that you and Zuko had gotten married. Congratulations are in order, of course, but… Sokka, Toph, your dad and I never got our invitations. Was it a Fire-Nation-only event, or something? Your dad is pretty broken up about it. Sokka and I tried to console him, but he’s fairly upset, and honestly? I’m worried about you, Katara. This doesn't seem like you. You don’t sound like yourself.

Yours, always, Aang

...

She selected a third scroll, dated only a month before.

Katara,

I can’t deny that I’m concerned about how you’re doing. Especially considering that the Katara I know would never shut down every single opportunity to see her friends. We don’t mean to be overbearing, but we love you. So much. If all the new duties that come with being wife to the Fire Lord are too much, please, please, talk to any of us. Talk to me. I care about you, Katara, I always have, and I miss my best friend.

Forever yours, Aang.

Katara slid the scroll closed before her tears could drop onto it, and she quietly packed the papers away. She reached up, rubbing those tears away furiously the way she did as a child whenever Sokka called her a crybaby. The attempt to hold the tsunami of emotion back was fruitless. She doubled over, shoulders shaking with sobs.

She knew where she would go once the cargo ship reached the land. 

♥ the rest of the (completed) fic can be found here!! ->

[saveahorserideaneddie]

I got bored and have now decided how Episode 2 of Season 8 should go. (This is on the hopeful assumption that Gerrard will only last about 3 episodes).

So we obviously need at least one episode of dickhead Gerrard (who I guess no one can report since he’s working with the evil councilwomen). So maybe Eddies on a leave to deal with his son, so he hasn’t met Gerrard as captain yet until episode two. 

So, Eddie is obviously going to be quite reckless and self-loathing this season. 

Hen, having almost lost Mara, will be sympathetic towards him (especially since Chim has the sarcastic side in the bag, what can’t you say about a man’s dead wife’s doppelgänger, he’s def gonna make a Vertigo movie reference). 

But Eddie and Hen worked together and know each other well, they’re basically siblings. She knows when he needs space. So, after a reckless “Buck style” save from Eddie, he’ll come up the stairs where most people are, and when Hen comes over to talk to him he’ll give her a “I can’t right now” look and carry on past.

But to everyone else he looks like he dismissed her (except they know Eddie doesn’t mean to be rude).

However… Gerrard doesn’t. Gerrard who only really knows Eddie as “that guy who did the crazy save earlier” and hasn’t really talked to anyone so far (cause he’s mad at himself and distancing himself).

So he’ll go over to Eddie and say “Well it’s nice to have a traditional guy around. Not listening to the useless comments.“ with a pointed look at Hen. And then he’ll clap Eddie on the back.

Eddie who’s heard all the stories of what Hen went through. Eddie who saw women get discriminated against in the army. Eddie who’s pissed off and lost everything.

And he’ll deck Gerrard in the face. 

The chief comes in starts interviewing everyone about it. 

(They could even do this episode from the end. With everyone talking to the Chief, trying to cover for Eddie at the start of the episode- we as the viewers not necessarily knowing it was Eddie who punched him- and then have his identity revealed to the viewers but not the Chief through the episode, with interview style scenes).

And just when the Chief goes downstairs and Gerrard comes out says he’s found the security footage of the punch… Ravi comes up the stairs.

So turns out a few years ago Gerrard was sued (or maybe he was married and got a divorce idk). And so he moved out of his house into a nice, big apartment since he could afford that better. 

And guess what? Ravi OWNS the apartment building.

So “unless you want horrific credit and nowhere to live Captain I strongly suggest you drop this right now.”

(A nice comparison to Ravi who wanted nothing to do with the 118 gang when he first met them). 

So together they all (totally not suspiciously) tell the Chief everything’s okay and Gerrard got hurt on a call. 

Yay, Ravi saves the day. And then we get a cute look between Ravi and Eddie because I really want them as friends. 

(Also side note, Athena and Harry are similar to Eddie and Chris, I really hope Athena and Eddie get a conversation about how to deal when your child doesn’t trust you as much and blames you for things, especially since I hope Athena regrets hitting Harry). 

STOP I LOVE THIS ravi saving the day not only as a poc character but as a character who, like you said, originally started out not wanting to be a part of the 118 would be such a great way to usher him in as a main cast member to solidify his place (keep manifesting for ravi main yall 🙏🙏) AND we get more landlord ravi shenanigans (ik it’s one of the more crack elements of the show but ravi being a landlord kills me)

and i agree athena and hen both know what eddie’s going through having to watch a child leave and (athena w harry and hen w both nia and mara) so him having that support would create such interesting dynamics… (even karen too bc i need more eddie & karen friendship moments pls and thank you) i also think athena being able to have a conversation with him about letting go of a romantic partner after losing them suddenly would be so beneficial to eddie too, AND the complexity of her relationship with michael as well could provide some context to eddie’s feelings that he may not have realized before (*cough cough* queer eddie *cough cough*👀👀👀)

[nighthunter241]

He is Mine-Chapter 2 (Henry Cavill x male reader)

Masterlist

NOT MY GIF, GIF USED FROM TUMBLR OPTION

18+ DNI if you are lower the age of 18

Warning: mentions of DEATH

Rival #2 Gal Gadot

POV of M/N mom and dad during Week 1 before they left town.

Chris is in the basement home picking up a box and is about to go up the stairs to leave the basement. As he is leaving the basement with the box on hand he opens the door and is walking out until he is startled by his wife Alba. He gets scared and drops the box he was holding, making a loud thud when landing on the floor.

Alba: Oh darling, I’m sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.

Chris: It is no issue honey.

Alba: Surprised you still haven’t been able to distinguish my footsteps darling.

Chris: You are the one who has been known for being light on their feet.

Alba: What were you doing in the basement, wait is that the box with all our old letters and voice messages.

Chris: Yeah it is, I've been thinking about throwing them out.

Alba: And why is that darling?

Chris: You really want our kids to find them or worse read and listen to them.

Alba: Come on it won’t be that bad.

Chris: Sweety, I might be ok with the truth of the past but our kids we don’t know about that.

Alba: I highly doubt they will change perspectives, even though adopted they still seem more like me.

Chris: Yeah well anyway why did you want me to wake up early and drop you off at this gas station?

Alba: Well darling the best thing happened today, someone I saw many years ago is back in town and clearly still have interest in me so I had to make sure he knew that I knew he was back into town, I was hoping to catch him at the gas station to welcome him back but he instead ran down an ally.

Chris: Who are you talking about?

Alba: Don’t tell me you are jealous sweetheart.

Chris: Trust me I don’t get jealous especially about another man I know you wouldn’t do anything with another person.

Alba: So romantic honey.

Chris: Any way, who was this guy?

Alba: It was him, the investigator

Chris: What?

Alba: Yeah.

Chris: It can’t be I thought he retired or left town due to him being the laughing stock of the town.

Alba: I guess he is back now, may want to start picking up his investigation again and try to put me into jail again.

Chris: He failed the first time, you even embarrassed him and got him to lose everything while in court what else could he want.

Alba: He is stubborn and might think he can catch me slipping and hopefully reopen the case.

Chris: What do you want to do?

Alba: I’ll tell you about it while we pack our bags and head to the airport

Chris: Yeah that sounds……WAIT AIRPORT as in the place with the planes for people who leave the country?

Alba: Yes darling we are packing our bags and heading to Canada.

Chris: Are you kidding, and our jobs?

Alba: Relax, I took care of it, we get all the time off we need.

Chris: That is great but we got I don’t know THREE KIDS that are in their senior year about to graduate.

Alba: Darling relax, if they are just like their mother they will be fine.

Chris: How long will we be gone for?

Alba: I don’t know, it will depend how fast I can track him down and take care of it.

Chris: Alba sweety.

Alba: Darling don’t worry, I’ll pack and write them a note.

Chris: What about the box? Let me throw it out first.

Alba: Just throw it back down the basement and I’ll write in the note to stay out of the basement, you know they always listen to me.

Chris: Alright honey.

Alba: Do you think when we get back M/N will have a boyfriend I really hope so.

Chris: I hope not, can’t have another child go through a honeymoon phase.

Alba: What you say darling?

Chris: Nothing sweetheart.

Present

You wake up on Monday deeply annoyed when you remember that you have another issue to deal with. Now you have another girl that Henry can possibly fall for, just thinking about it pisses you off. You are ready for school and head downstairs and see your brothers eating and you update them about what you know.

M/N: There is another one.

Sebastian: Another what?

M/N: Another girl that likes Henry

Anthony: What, how do you know?

M/N: Robert told me

Sebastian: Him, and you take his word for it.

M/N: I mean I saw photos. It looked like Henry was getting close with that girl.

Sebastian: Who is the girl?

Anthony: I swear it better not be a student council member.

M/N: It is Gal Gadot

Sebastian: Wait, Gal you serious

Anthony: They are working on a school project together makes sense.

M/N: UGH, what do I do?

Sebastian: I have no idea, just let it play out until something comes to mind.

Anthony: You are so helpful sometimes you know that.

Sebastian shrugs at the comment and before you know it you are walking to school and at the corner where you meet up with Henry. After some time Henry calls out to you and you two start walking to school. “So how was your weekend Henry?” you asked him and he responds “Nothing much just feeling a bit better after what happened with Amy”. You end up asking him how everything is with that and he just responds letting you know the friendship between the two is over and that he is somewhat feeling better. One thing you noticed was that he never mentioned him being at the park or the walk and chat he had with Gal which gets you thinking if anything romantic is really going on. You decide not to push the topic and you two end up getting to school and Henry leaves saying he has to meet with Gal about their project. You end up following him until he reaches the school library and from a corner you listen to their conversation.

Gal: Hey Henry so glad you could meet up before class.

Henry: Yeah it is no problem

Gal: How are you feeling?

Henry: Better actually, the chat and walk with you made me feel better.

Gal: Have you told M/N about what you've been feeling?

Henry: Not really, he doesn’t really need to know.

Gal: Well I feel special. I know something that your best friend doesn’t.

Henry: I guess so.

Gal: Let's continue discussing how we should plan this project.

Henry sits down and starts talking with Gal about the project, hearing say how she thinks she is so special just because she knows a piece of info makes your blood boil. HOW DARE SHE think that. You were going to leave until you saw Gal put her hand on Henry's arm in a playful manner. You felt like something snapped, you were angry, no you were enraged by what you were seeing. After seeing that you left and decided you needed to relax, you go to the roof to relax but unable to come up with a plan you start freaking out on what to do. You go to class and while attending you are unable to focus without thinking of Gal and Henry until class ends. When lunch comes around you start walking by the club rooms and when you pass the Chemistry club you notice the cabinets and see all the chemicals, the dangerous chemicals. Hours pass and you get home and instantly go to your room to come with a plan. You start looking up the names of the chemicals you could see from the cabinet in the chemistry club out of curiosity. You end up finding out that certain chemicals in the club are poisonous, deadly enough to get it done. The temptation becomes strong but you shut off the laptop and quickly try to calm yourself, nearly going crazy at the thought of hurting Gal. 

After having a rough night you get to school trying to hopefully have a normal day to see if it was possible to come up with a different strategy, that was until you saw Gal talking to someone and you decide to listen in.

Gal: I mean it, he is so hot.

Friend: I’m not saying you're wrong just making sure you know what you are doing, he did just lose his friend.

Gal: He clearly is throwing signals back, I can’t wait till Friday.

Friend: You really got it bad don’t you, what about M/N?

Gal:  What about him?

Friend: They are close friends, what if he doesn’t like you and Henry chooses him over you.

Gal: Highly doubt that, before he knows it, I will be the one having Henry all the time and all that Henry will think about is me

They giggle and walk away, “Alright if that is how you feel, what about a rude awakening you ugly bit….”. Before you finish that thought Anthony comes up to you and smirks.

Anthony: Someone is being productive.

M/N: Shut it, just leaning against this wall.

Anthony:Yeah, sure. Have you come up with anything?

M/N: I…….well….

Anthony: Oh……is it those thoughts?

M/N: What thoughts?

Anthony: You know

M/N: Anthony………..I don’t know what you are talking about.

Anthony: Alright, just know you can do whatever it takes ok and we will have your back just know that.

Your brother leaves you to think about the last thing he said, and without a second thought it can possibly work. Maybe you can to the chemistry club room and seeing how empty it is you go in. The first thing visible is the cabinet and thankfully club members were dumb enough to leave it unlocked.  You grab one of the tiny bottles and leave the room and you start wondering what you can do with the poison. But then you remember one thing, pour it into her food and we will have your back just know that.

M/N: Hey I need something.

Robert: What do you need?

M/N: Do you know Gal's usual schedule, like what she does during her free time before class.

Robert: I can send it to you but overall she is always with someone or doing something so she is distracted.

M/N: What about lunch time?

Robert: She packs her lunch in the cooking club, she apparently is good friends with one of the members so they let her put her lunch there and when lunch begins she heads to the club to pick it up and heat it.

M/N: When does she usually leave her lunch in the cooking club?

Robert: It looks like that is one of the first things she does when she gets to school.

M/N: Alright, thx.

You put your phone down and head to the cooking club, none of the club members are inside due to them handing out samples around the school. You open the fridge and see a whole bunch of cooking ingredients but only one lunch box is located inside. You take it out and open it, without hesitation you pour the chemical you grabbed onto the meal. After that you let it air out to get rid of the smell and after that you packed it up again and placed it back in the fridge. Everything is put back in its place and you leave the club room and quickly make your way to class before the bell rings. After hours of classes it finally hits lunchtime and you get to the cooking club and see Gal take out her lunch box. She walks outside and heads to one of the benches near the gymnasium and she sits down and starts eating her lunch. After a couple of minutes of her eating she starts making a face of discomfort then she starts coughing. She gets up and only manages to get like a couple of steps before she falls onto the floor coughing and gagging. After a minute of that she lays still and stops moving, a student comes out of the gymnasium and lets out a scream. Before you could get caught you run away and get yourself into a random room. The student that had screamed heads to the teacher lounge and leads the teacher to Gal. Before you know it an ambulance is called and comes to Gal aid but clearly showing no signs of recovery, the paramedics later call the time of death. Everyone is to their classes and are forced to stay put until class is dismissed early.

 The Principal and Guidance Counselor decide to send the students home early and you are making your way home and when you get there you are greeted by your brothers who instantly start bombarding you with questions.

Anthony: Was it you?

Sebastian: You could have done a better job?

Anthony: What did you do exactly?

Sam: How did you do it?

M/N: RELAX!!! One at a time please.

Anthony: So?

M/N: It…..was…..me..

Anthony: How though?

M/N: I poured some poisonous chemical onto her food.

Sebastian: Wait, that was it?

M/N: Yeah

Anthony: We thought it was something more impressive but whatever.

M/N: Why are you guys so relaxed about what I did?

Sebastian: I don’t know, we aren’t really freaked out about this

M/N: Just don’t tell mom.

Anthony: Relax we won’t.

Your brothers walk alway to go make dinner and after eating dinner you head to your room to relax due to you not having homework and plan to enjoy the rest of the week until you receive a text from Henry.

Henry: M/N I feel so freaked after today.

M/N: I know, we just wanted a normal week.

Henry: I was getting along with Gal. I felt devastated after finding out what happened.

M/N: I know, I heard it could be food poisoning, a terrible way to go.

Henry: Yeah I heard about that also, I guess she must have used expired ingredients by accident.

M/N: I guess so, still a terrible thing

Henry: I think I may skip school tomorrow.

M/N: Wait, why?

Henry: I need a day to just process this.

M/N: I get that.

Henry: Wait, skip school tomorrow with me, we can go to the mall or go somewhere to eat just us two.

M/N: Henry you know I would, but I don’t need the school contacting my parents about me missing school while they are out of town.

Henry: Alright makes sense, don’t want you to get your mum angry I guess goodnight.

M/N: Night Henry

Week 2 Saturday

Henry POV

After the end of that school week Henry is walking by the football field, the one day he skipped wasn’t enough for him to get over the death of Gal. While walking by he runs into someone from school and he recognizes him. It is someone from their school football team, Ben Affleck. 

Ben: Sorry about that

Henry: No, I’m sorry.

Ben: Hey weren’t you that dude who was working on that project with Gal

Henry: Um, yeah I was.

Ben: Oh ... .must have been hard for you.

Henry: It was but pulling through.

Ben: That is all we can do, how are you feeling overall?

Henry: Just sad, but also numb to it and freaked out since it is so out of knowhere.

Ben: I hear that, just trying to distract myself with practice.

Henry: Yeah I’m currently trying to find a distraction also.

Ben: Hey, I got an idea.

Henry: What is it?

Ben: You seem strong and athletic, can you throw the football at me and help me with my catches you can help practice more and it should distract you for a bit to have you forget about what happened

Henry: You know what sure, sounds like a good idea

Ben: Thank you and trust me playing will help you relax and forget for a bit.

Sunday

M/N POV

You are washing the dishes from eating lunch when you notice your phone starts notifying you about a message. After finishing up you check your phone and to no surprise it is from Robert.

Robert: Congrats on getting rid of Gal, you had successfully killed someone without getting caught. That is impressive.

M/N: I have no idea what you are talking about

Robert: No need to lie or act dumb with me like I said I’m an ally.

M/N: What game are you playing?

Robert: No game just making sure you know who to trust, but most importantly I have some information you may like.

M/N: Which is?

Robert: *Sends of photos of Henry and Ben at the football field* Good looking man right, all those muscles.

M/N: That is Ben Affleck, the football captain of our school.

Robert: Exactly and he seems to be getting close with Henry.

M/N: They seem to be friends.

Robert: Naive aren’t you

M/N: Wait, don't tell me.

Robert: Ben well after some digging he seems to be the classic in the closet Jock an interesting detail just saying.

M/N: Perfect another issue to take care of.

Robert: Shouldn’t you be happy, this can help confirm if Henry is into men right?

M/N: Yeah you are right, but worse if he decides to follow those feelings with Ben.

Robert: Like before, just get to know the details about their building “friendship” and from there you can confirm what you need to do.

M/N: Doing this all again.

Robert: Relax, I’m sure you can take care of it, you seem to know a lot more than you let on, have fun and don’t stress out, remember, Henry is already yours.

[ryttu3k]

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Boom! Some negativity ahead, maybe a 6/10 overall.

Well that was about as subtle as a sledgehammer XD Yes yes the algorithm is bad, yes yes capitalism is bad, yes yes war industry is bad, yes yes religious extremism is bad. I agree with all that! And tbh there are people who do need that message to be about as subtle as a sledgehammer because they Do Not Get It!

But holy shit, this one made Orphan-55 look subtle XD

(That said, kind of adore the chutzpah of doing the Capitalism Is Bad story in the first season of the show as owned by fucking Disney.)

A… weird aesop at the end. "Blind faith is bad. Also, just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I don't need it, because apparently I need religious people to tell me what to do."

Splice was… odd. Grew up in a warzone, also launches herself into said warzone because Dad sent a weird message. Seems singularly unable to recognise what had happened despite, y'know, growing up in a warzone, but that's okay because Holodaddy mentioned seeing antelopes. I feel she was written to be much younger (like, five-ish), which is an issue with the casting, actually, because as it is she just kind of came across as dense as a sack of bricks. No, stupid child, you do not run into the minefield! I did see commentary about how chilling it was for her to be so easily placated by the AI, though, so that could be a deliberate choice, I guess?

Mundy is okay. Didn't make me go, "Yes, she absolutely needs to be the new companion!", which is a pity, and the whole romantic tension between her and the other dude felt whoppingly out of place. Yes, half the planet is going to blow up but that's okay, her crush likes her back! Hoping that either she's playing someone totally different as companion (like Freema Agyeman and Karen Gillan having smaller roles before being cast as companions, to say nothing of some of the actual Doctors!), or that Mundy actually develops some personality beyond 'romantic yearning', 'Christianity', and 'portents of doom'. That said, if she is playing Mundy again, I do enjoy the idea of Mundy Sunday XD

Last annoyance, promise - lmao god if Moffat's head was any further up his arse he'd be a mobius strip. Villengard (although setting the episode in the 51st century is at least consistent with its destruction), the Anglican Marines, preservation of dead people in incomplete digital formats, the president's wife poem/song thing, even fish fingers and custard. Dude. I know. You're still salty about being replaced as showrunner. Doesn't mean you have to yell about how great your era was by throwing in every single self-congratulatory reference you could think of XD

(That said: I much prefer him writing standalone/double episodes. Do Not let him write arcs or be showrunners, but he certainly can work a single narrative.)

Positive notes: Even if it was as subtle as a sledgehammer, I did enjoy the reveal - that there wasn't actually any war, and it was entirely a self-perpetuated conflict based on algorithm and profit. Like the writing could have handled it better, but the premise was really cool.

Ncuti Gatwa's acting was fantastic. Beautiful tension and stress. Loved him monologuing to Ruby's dead body because if he doesn't talk, he can't think right.

"I'm more explosive than I look - and honey, I know how I look."

"Ruby, I forbid this." "Yeah, good luck with that :)"

"- and frankly, your lifespan sucks." (Just wanted Ruby to go, "Dude. I've been dead for the last ten minutes.")

Continuity

Enjoying the continuation of Ruby's snow.

Susan Twist has appeared again, although I still have no idea what this could be building up to. Much bigger role than some of the earlier ones.

This is Ruby's first alien planet, but The Devil's Chord implies she's been travelling with the Doctor for six months? So this would have to be set before Devil's Chord, or else they've just spent six months in space stations and time travelling on Earth alone.

A lot of emphasis on the Doctor as a father, tying in with his mention of Susan last episode, which also dealt with the familial connection between the Toymaker and Maestro and the whole Pantheon thing, and brought up the stuff with Ruby and her lineage again (the AI glitching out when trying to work out her next of kin, although I feel Moffat forgot that… next of kin doesn't mean 'blood relative'… she has a Mum!). I feel there's definitely going to be something about the Doctor's family in this season as well as Ruby's. The TARDIS identified her as human, but could there be a connection?

Season ranking

As of s40e03:

The Devil's Chord

The Church on Ruby Road

Space Babies

Boom

And on a deeply silly note: I initially heard 'Kastarion' as 'Karstarion' and went :D because BG3 ship mentioned <3