#xavier estime

[claremont-psychiatric-hospital]

[atoltia]

A Feline Distraction

You head over to one of Sylus' villas in the suburbs only to find him... being yelled at by a cat?

In which Sylus got chosen by the cat distribution system.

Sylus x !femMC

Fluff, domestic fluff, a cat

-0-

You really didn't know why you came by so early.

When Sylus sent you the invitation to come to one of his villas - the same one where you sought out shelter from the rain that one time you had a mission in the suburbs - he didn't set any time, just the open message that he will be there and he does not have any work that day.

Which was his way of telling you that yes, he was aware that it is your day off and he wanted to spend the day with you. The invitation sounded innocent enough, if the man that you were thinking about wasn't Sylus. You knew very well that if you didn't go, he'd have gone to your apartment instead whether you liked it or not, and considering that Xavier just came back from one of his long missions - it might just be best if you indulged the man.

And besides, it wasn't like it was going to be unpleasant. It's a nice day out and you remember that house having a pool and a lovely garden. Maybe you could convince him to take a dip with you, clothes being optional.

And Sylus - well, it's been a few weeks since the two of you spent some time together and you do admit that you've missed the man. Besides his seemingly gruff persona, he's pleasant company to be around with (and you definitely didn't miss the way he would hold you, just keep you in his arms whenever the two of you were together. Definitely not).

So there you were, pushing through the gates of the villa while the early morning sun shone bright overhead, admiring the way the blossoms of the nearby flower bushes were blooming as the sunlight dappled through the trees.

You looked up, your lips curling into a smile when you saw him by the rose bushes, standing tall and proud with his arms folded over his chest, his face contorted into a frown -

Hm, what?

You stopped, blinked as you watched Sylus stand there beneath the shade of the nearby trees, long fingers pinching the bridge of his nose as a kitten was trying - and failing - to climb his pants leg while an open can of tuna lay undisturbed by his feet on the cobblestone walkway.

It was a pretty little thing. White, wispy fur with a cute dark spot at the top of its head covered a tiny little baby about the size of your hand. It couldn't have been more than a few weeks old, maybe a month, by your estimate.

It was stubborn though, judging from the way it kept climbing Sylus' pant no matter how much it fell, and the loud shrills of its mews was very present in that lovely morning as it desperately demanded the man's attention.

"Sy." You smiled when he looked up, those ruby, ruby eyes that were swirling with frustration mere moments ago shifted, warmth blooming into them when his gaze landed on you. He didn't move to meet you as he decided to stand his ground as his leg kept getting barraged by one tiny cat, although his arm outstretched to grasp you the moment you were within his reach.

"Hi," he murmured into your hair, twirling a lock of it between his long fingers as he pressed you to his body, careful to not agitate the still climbing kitten.

"Who's this?" you asked as you looked down at the little rascal, now chirping at the both of you. It's gotten up to his waist now, claws fully dug into the leather of his belt.

Sylus sighed, and you could see his attempt to dig for patience. "She's been trying to climb me for the past half hour now," he grumbled, his fingers tapping into the length of your back. "Like a certain kitten that's insistent on her bedtime schedule."

You laughed, brightening his day almost immediately, as you leant slightly to cup the kitten within your hand. It didn't make a fuss, but it now directed it's insistent mewing at you.

"Aren't you a pretty baby?" It wasn't lost on you the way Sylus' eyes softened as you cooed, his head tilting to the side as he shifted his bodyweight to his other foot. You bent down to the ground to where the tuna was, nudging the baby so it could eat.

Before it immediately jumped back to climb Sylus' leg.

He turned towards you.

"Do you see the problem now?"

You inhaled from your nose sharply, his eyes narrowing when he saw you struggling to keep your composure. "Wow," you exhaled as you hid your smile with the back of your hand. "Such a problem, indeed."

He clicked his tongue before drilling a finger into your side, which resulted in you being unable to hide your glee of the situation anymore as you doubled over in delight.

So hilarious was your partner's plight that you just had to lean up, used his wide shoulders as support as you stood on the tips of your toes, to give him a noisy kiss on his jaw.

The kitten mewed between you.

"Yes, yes," you chided, picking the baby back up and holding her up to his eye level. "She wants you."

"Doesn't everyone?"

"The cops certainly do."

He snorted, once again folding his arms over his massive chest as stared at the cat in your hands. It took him a few moments, but you've spent enough time with him to know that there were hundreds of thoughts circulating in that man's head as he tried to figure out the best course of action.

Yet, he sighed in defeat.

"Come here." The kitten was dwarfed within his hands, her big eyes impossibly bright as he turned her over to be cradled in his arms. The incessant mewing stopped and was already replaced by purring that could rival his motorcycle engine.

You were ecstatic.

Now within the confines of the house, the kitten went absolutely feral over the tuna that it ignored for over half an hour, making a mess of its tiny face and his marble countertops.

"What are you naming her?" you asked, your fingers gently petting the top of the cat's head.

It wasn't often that you saw Sylus to look so affronted, but to see him like that over a cat was a hilarious experience.

"I'm not keeping it."

"Why not?"

He looked at you, one wonderfully sculpted brow arched at your direction. "Do you really expect me to keep a cat?"

You raised a brow in turn. "You have Mephisto."

"Sweetie," he said, digging for patience from his already lowered supply. "He's a mechanical bird."

"His battery died once in the middle of watching me and you freaked out and came to get him yourself."

"He's my eyes on you," he insisted. "I needed him fixed immediately."

Your brow stayed lifted. "I still have video of you cradling him like a baby," you said evenly. "Or did you forget that ever happened?"

He lifted a shoulder, shrugged. "I'm merely protective of what's mine."

"Great," you said as you clasped his hand, pumped it once. "You'd do great with Sofia."

"Excuse me."

"Nice dealing with you, love." Mirth flashed in your eyes as your lips quirked with laughter.

He tugged your hand, pulled you towards his chest. Frustration mixed with amusement danced in his eyes as he leaned down and nipped your lower lip. "If that's how you proceed with negotiations, I'm going to have to sit you down for lessons."

"If it works, it works." You kissed his throat, hummed, rocked him as you stood. "I'm gonna go for a swim. Make sure you get the tuna off her face." And with a slight push, you were off him, making your merry way to the pool.

"What am I going to do with the both of you?"

You laughed, and the last thing you saw was him standing, both hands on his hips as he watched the cat.

-0-

It didn't take long for the photos to come.

Sylus wasn't averse to taking photos, certainly when it came to you considering the last time you checked his phone there were hundreds of pictures of just you.

He sent you several pictures of little Sofia with the excuse of giving you "updates" but you know full well he was as smitten with the cat as you were.

It's hilarious, really. He was a terrifying man. The mere mention of his name could make even the hardened of space criminals second thoughts. You've seen this man in combat, and even utilized his skills to aid you with your work. To the common folk, Sylus was the boogeyman that wasn't meant to be messed with lest you wanted to die.

Cats adored him.

Or at least curious about him, even with the smarmy look he always has on his damned beautiful face. Since the very first time you've met him, he'd be sending you a photo or two of random cat interactions, most of which he never invited to happen.

You remembered that one time he sent you a photo of one of his sitting rooms and asked you to find a black kitten that managed to get into his manor without anyone knowing. You had to come over and help him scour for hours because, as you found out, finding a black kitten in a room with dark furniture was nearly impossible.

And there was that other time, in the same villa where you found him being scaled by little Sofia, you two had quite a close encounter with another kitten that was stuck in his basement.

Many dates, many vacations, and you could always recall him being stopped by at least one cat and the occasional bird along the way. It was adorable, and the fact that he didn't quite agree with your assessment made it even more so. So you weren't that surprised to find him being hounded by a one month old kitten.

It became part of your morning routine. Beginning the day with cat photos was certainly a strong starting point, elevating your mood considerably. Practiced and posed, elegant photos of a quickly growing kitten graced your eyes, preparing you for a day filled with Wanderers, no doubt.

But Sylus' texts weren't the only ones you look forward to.

The moment Sylus stepped foot inside the manor in the N109 Zone, Luke and Kieran immediately added you to a group chat where they sent you all the other... media that your partner vehemently refused to send you.

The first stream of texts were several photos and videos of Sylus using his evol to help him bathe the kitten, with the front of his shirt and his hair already soaked.

And another one, a few days later which you assumed was taken from outside his bedroom window, of Sylus with his eyes closed, fingers digging deep into his biceps as Sofia and Mephisto were seemingly having an intense argument (the last photo in that set was Sylus directly looking at the window while streaks of red and black were lashing alarmingly close to the camera).

Many more photos of Sylus asleep either on his office or living room couch, fast asleep in the way you know he liked, with a cat sprawled directly on his stomach happily dozing the day away.

Kieran sent a photo of Sofia wearing a frilled collar decked out with sparkling rubies. The caption read: this cost more than six months of my salary (¬_¬")

You stifled a laugh, sending a quick reply before Captain Jenna caught you using your phone in the middle of your work hours.

You mean your allowance?

We don't get an allowance!, came the indignant reply seconds later. You get an allowance.

You grinned before sending him a crow emoji.

Your favorite one, however, was of Sylus frowning over what Luke said to be a legal document, the insult of having to read such a mediocre piece of legality plastered openly on his face all the while having a fluffy cat laying belly down on top of his snowy hair. It quickly became your phone wallpaper.

Mm. It has been a week since you last visited, and Jenna has been not so subtly pestering you to take some leave (it wasn't your fault you were a workaholic, but Jenna didn't want to hear it).

So that was that.

-0-

The sun was setting when you reached the manor, a large bag of groceries in one hand and a parcel on the other. The twins made quick work with the groceries the moment you stepped in, most likely because they knew you bought that new candy bar from Linkon City that they've been raving about for weeks.

You tried to not be too loud, as you knew Sylus would be asleep during this time of day. Soft footsteps padded on the polished hardwood floor

You remembered the first time you were given free reign to explore the manor, the amount of times you got lost amongst its many rooms, its many corridors. It used to feel so cold to you, so vast and cavernous even with the plush furniture and expensive art. No matter how many hours you've spent in front of one of the fireplaces in the many sitting rooms, no matter how many plushies you added to the bedroom he designated for you, no matter how many times you tried to make it feel like home.

It wasn't until that one night, more than a year ago now, that you felt the frost slowly dissipating. It wasn't anything special, just the two of you in the kitchen, trying to figure out what to make for dinner as the chef called in sick.

You didn't figure him being the type to know how to cook, seeing as he commanded his own business empire, but he was more than adequate. Still, you weren't about to let him do all the work. You were eating, too.

It was a mess, mostly because you two kept bickering about the recipe - with you being too stubborn to yield and him thoroughly enjoying the look of competitive frustration on your face. It wasn't fair that his reach was longer than yours, and even with your training, you couldn't take the recipe book that he held up in the air.

Cursing your hunter's training for a lack of a decent vertical jump, you landed a little bit wrong, a little to farther back than you anticipated. You remembered the surprised look on both of your faces and the sudden swishes of the black and red of his evol. A lot of cursing, a lot of pulling, and suddenly both you and him were on the floor covered in flour.

You barely registered the snickers of two voices by the doorway, didn't register the clicks and shutters of multiple photos being taken, and definitely didn't register immediately that you were on him, straddling him as the bag of flour rested on the top of your head (and yes, you still do remember the way his large hands rested protectively on your hips, which explained why you were on his lap rather than having a broken tailbone with an impact with the floor).

You two dusted yourself quickly, still bickering but with less heat, you decided to just order pizza all the while the two of you trailed flour on the floor.

It's a nice memory, one that you've come back to whenever you arrive here. And you were sure Sylus thought of it often too, considering the fact that he gives you a teasing look whenever you were in proximity of a bag of flour.

You basked in that warmth as you threaded the corridors, taking your time to get to the west wing to get to his bedroom. Opening the door as quietly as you can, you peeked it, smiled when you were met with a small mew.

Sofia laid at the foot of the bed, her tiny head raised in greeting. You shuffled in, careful to not make any noise. The parcel you carried was placed on the sofa as you secured the curtains, knowing full well that Sylus would be annoyed to wake up to open curtains.

You turned, smiled as you watched your partner just doze on the massive bed, hair mussed and squished to one side. Gone was the look of tension that he often had, the stress he carried momentarily held at bay. Taking off your coat, you moved to the bed, careful to not nudge too hard.

With one hand you patted the tiny cat's head just before you crawled beneath the covers, sighing when a strong arm reached out to wrap around your waist.

You let yourself get pulled into his warmth, get pulled into the safe and comfortable. With the utmost tenderness, you placed soft kisses on his bare chest, on his neck before nuzzling in.

It was still pretty early, you thought as the sleep was slowly overtaking you. A few hours wouldn't hurt. So long as it was with him.

Sylus woke an hour later, ruby eyes still bleary, and yet he was pleased to find himself being sandwiched by the two kittens in his life. He smiled that rare smile that was only reserved for you and sighed.

Maybe keeping the cat was a boon after all.

---

Listen. Sylus' Tender Curve has me in shackles.

Check out my masterlist for more Sylus fluff!

[love-and-deepspace-wiki]

Random Facts: Xavier

Apartment Building/Apartment Tour?

In some of the paperwork the protaganist received from Akso Hospital, we can see her address listed as follows:

And since she later discovers that Xavier lives in the same building as her, just on the floor above hers, we can easily deduce his home address.

Xavier's Home Address:

Building 9, Unit 602, 309 Garden South Street

Xavier's Apartment Building Tour:

Entrance to the building:

Interior halls:

Xavier's Apartment Tour:

Here are some shots I grabbed of what the interior of his apartment looks like:

If you enter through the front door and turn left, you enter his living room area:

Directly behind the desk/table is a very comfortable looking couch, behind which we can see a door that leads to a balcony:

When Xavier is sitting on the couch, we can see the door to an adjacent room (bedroom? bathroom?) and an unknown area directly to the left of the couch that could be the kitchen?:

Theorized Apartment Floorplan:

From all of those pieces, I drew up a theorozed estimation of his apartment floorplan:

Notes:

Imma need to see that kitchen, Xavier. Besides, we all know you probably shouldn't even be using it without adult supervision lol. And I'm impatiently patiently waiting for a bedroom reveal!!

[sunbloomdew]

Listen. Listen. All of Step 4 versions could canonically take place during the same summer, right next to each other. Derek's Step 4 takes place first. Father's day in America is on the third Sunday in June, so in 2021 that would be June 20th.

Moms wedding anniversary is referenced multiple times in Derek's Step 4, as an event happening a few weeks later.

Then Cove's Step 4 takes place during the anniversary, a few days before and after the event. Taking the estimated time period, their party would be happening in June, i'd say around the middle of the month, maybe closer to the beginning.

Derek makes an appearance here too!

(i actually had to speed replay cove's step 4 cause i had no, and i mean no screeshots from it lmao. that was before i learned that you can make screeshots through steam and don't have to do it MANUALLY sigh)

Then we have the last Step 4 version, the events of Baxter DLC.

I'm assuming the Adams' wedding takes place sometime in August, probably also in the middle, but leaning towards the end of the month.

So hypothetically speaking, MC could canonically participate in all of these events.

All THAT to say: imagine meeting Xavier in Baxter's Step 4 after first meeting them in Derek's Step 4, and them being like "Oh, hi MC! Good to see you again :D" with Baxter looking so confused sdhfjkshfsjk

That's right, it was a Xavier post all along! You got tricked! Xavier DLC when 👀

Just kidding, but i'm living for this version of events. And just in general, it's nice to imagine everything happening, even if it's not possible in the game itself. I headcanon it all happening, it's so fun to think about <3

[applejacks1552]

Here I present Uncanny X-Men #182 from 1984 where Rogue's identifies herself as 18:

The Savage Land arc takes place in Uncanny X-Men #274 in 1991, so 7 years later in real time.

However in comics time: "The general rule of thumb is for about every five years of comics, one year of time has passed in the Marvel Universe (with a few notable exceptions). So, while almost 60 years have passed in the real world since the first appearance of Spider-Man, only about 10-15 years have passed in the story."

So by that estimate about 1.4 years have passed since Rogue told us she is 18 to where she meets Magneto in the Savage Land, meaning Rogue is approximately 19.5 when Magneto (who is the same age as Charles Xavier) is getting all hot and bothered over the mostly naked girl who is just waking up from nearly dying.

[rei-ismyname]

X-Men #3 (From The Ashes)

At last, this book is starting to cook and show us where these people are at. Scott Summers enjoyers are eating well today, always good to see. Full coverage under the cut, and spoilers of course. TW discussion of violence, anxiety/PTSD mention.

Jed McKay hits the ground running with a bunch of goons called Shrikes having inserted into the Factory, the Alaskan X-Men's base. Shrike is Latin for 'butcher' and the eponymous bird is known for impaling stuff, so we can assume that they're not nice dudes. They caught a ride from the Vanisher (a 60s X-Men foe who has popped up here and there as a mercenary teleporter/unwilling X-Force asset. His aesthetic is much better these days) who's like 'damn y'all live like this' but objects to them using the term 'mutie.' Bro, you're dropping black ops goons into their house for an unnamed quid pro quo, you think their allies?

Implications...

- The Shrikes want to be inflicting casualties but they're deferring to Lundqvist, who doesn't. Not yet at least. We don't know if they're contractors or part of O*N*E (Office for National Emergency), a government agency I'm surprised still exists, given its abject failures in containing, protecting, or killing mutant schoolchildren.

- These jerks are Team One, clearly part of a larger group or organisation.

- They're professionals with quite advanced technology, and while one slur doesn't necessarily make them frothing racists, they're seemingly ideologically aligned with this mission.

Meanwhile, Scott ain't home right now. We don't get enough of his conversation with Rogue to see where their relationship is at, but we learn the Uncanny X-Men team are moving on Graymalkin and will not wait to synchronize plans or discuss it further.

- They're moving on Graymalkin? That name has been used quite a bit, so we can't be 100% sure if it's Cable's spaceship (unlikely), Xavier's 200 year old ancestor who was buried beneath the mansion for centuries (also unlikely), Graymalkin Industries, or a little house on Graymalkin Lane.

- Considering Scott's estimation that it'll escalate everything, I have to assume it's the X-Mansion. Rescuing Chuck? I don't see Logan wanting to do that. Killing him? That'd be a no from Rogue. Shutting down the torture prison that Chuck's in? Maybe. There's a lot of threads in the X-books and if the 'strays' came from there it'd tie a bunch together while inciting conflict. I guess we'll see.

- Of course Scott has plans. No clues here as to what they are.

- I've said it before, but I don't buy why these teams are separate or even in conflict with each other. It's going to feel inorganic for as long as we don't get an explanation. In UXM 1, Logan was acting like Schism Logan, which didn't even make sense back then. He's been living with Scott and Jean in a polycule for the last X years, and Scott/Rogue were on a Krakoan team together. These people trust and love each other, they've been family for decades. Everyone considers it a dark time for mutants and they have every reason to both want and need to work together. Show us why they're not! I beg you.

- The aforementioned Lundqvist has showed up with heavies to the diner, which the cop doesn't love. He says it's payback for embarrassing him, but considering what team one are doing that's almost certainly not the full reason.

- Looks like their relationship is adversarial. What's holding him back, though?

- Interesting. It was a government-owned Sentinel factory, and it was part of a settlement. I really want more information on Scott Summers v The United States. She-Hulk was his counsel too, I wonder if she was his trial lawyer on this. I'm assuming settlement has at least 3 meanings there, which is clever.

- I wonder if Scott got to choose. He likes Alaska, I could see him demanding it strategically. If the US chose it, ooof. A sentinel factory about as far as you can get from the Marvel hotspots while still being in the US. The whole 'implication' is ugly as hell too.

Is Scott Summers taking this shit?

As Collossus would say, nyet Tovarich, he is not taking it. Good to see he's not fucking around, though in that list of damages I'm very aware 'being forcibly deported from our nation' is not on it. Krakoa comes up, but it's being deprioritised and erased. It's a fist pump moment, but it still makes me sad.

- Shit yeah, get angry dude. You should be.

- Lundqvist is hard to read but he seems to be put in his place.

- Love the BLT power move.

Hahaha! Look at him chowing down with his mouth full. I just ordered a BLT, sometimes you forget how much you enjoy something until you read or hear about it, you know? Anyway, what does this dickhead want Scott to do about it? You know, aside from what he already is - trying to handle it. If he wasn't stalling for his goon squad I'd dismiss it completely.

- The ongoing mystery of the manifesting mutants gets a nod as national news. I can imagine Tucker Carlson or JK Rowling being the worst with this. The Truthseekers name feels very true to life. Right wing kooks are all about weaponising what is true and what is not.

- Scott not knowing what a thermobaric bomb is has some significance, but I think it tells us more about Lundqvist that he does. They're a fuel only type of explosive mostly associated with atrocities. Research indicates they're a very painful and comparatively slow way to die, bc the brain is still active while the body is torn apart or worse. Fuck this guy.

- I did wonder what those drone looking things were last issue. Seems the Truthseekers have some good technology, and may be looking to deny the X-Men theirs (if they're working with the government, which, come on. They always are.

HAHAHA. EAT A DICK LUNDQVIST. Okay he's getting to the point. The X-Men make him look bad because they're doing his job and not covering it up.

- Either he doesn't know Scott very well or he's running out of shit to say. I really dig what's happening with body language here.

- X-factor are a joke in and out of universe. Sorry not sorry but Alex is too. I do wonder who has better intel on x-factor. Scott has always valued intelligence, though I wonder if he's more likely to get it from Warren or Alex. Warren is reliable AF, always has been. I can totally see him enduring that embarrassment to be the man on the inside. Alex could go either way tbh. He is not reliable at all. Most recently he moved to Limbo to be with Maddie and it was not a healthy relationship. It was codependent and Alex, at least was delusional. He also spent a while as a demon zombie.

- That's been brushed aside and for some reason he and Lorna seem to have regressed 15 years. They argued and the impression I got was Lorna was team mutant, Alex was team government/human? That kid's a mess so it's hard to tell. They could be running a long con - we'll see.

- But yeah, Scott's not having it. At all. Carrot or stick - choose! I do like the Brotherhood mention but I swear to god this better not be used to villainise Scott and fuel infighting with the Uncanny team.

Meanwhile... Shrike Team One are well prepared for the mission. They can't be sensed psychically or with any technology. Beast gets knocked out like a chump, but Ilyana can see souls.

See what I mean about technology denial? The last Cerebro unit too.

- Obviously it would be a loss but Beast could build another, right?

- Tumblr image limits being what they are I'm not including the action panels. I'll just say they're okay. Nothing amazing.

- Temper/Idie takes them out and laughs at their thermite (really not messing around, that stuff is wild) while getting off a few badass one liners.

- Magneto doesn't join the fray for some reason (He'd solve it instantly) and chats with Temper. Krakoa is mentioned, as is her imprisonment, but I'm not touching that further right now. When they actually show us where Magneto is I'll have lots to say, for now he's just sitting and saying lightweight stuff. Temper doesn't like or respect Mags though.

Wrapping up, the goons failed and the X-Men minus Mags and Beast drop them off.

- The official position is 'yes, we will fight America if you insist. Stop making threats and breaking into my house. Also, my wife is a God. You know that right? Now gtfoh.'

- It's really cool, though we've kinda been here before.

Something is wrong with Scott? It looks like an anxiety attack to me, tbh. Can't blame him, though I have a feeling it's more than that. Full on anxiety disorder/PTSD Cyclops would be new, I wonder if they'd do it. I guess we'll find out.

And to end on some... news... Trevor Fitzroy is back. yay 😮‍💨. Alive somehow, and resurrecting a ludicrous group from the 2000s. I wonder if Shinobi Shaw and Cortez will be there too. He's also killing mutants for ratings, something that's been done as recently as Krakoa. Not looking forward to it. MAKE UP NEW STUFF FFS.

At the end of the day I enjoyed the issue, mostly by virtue of something happening. Cyclops and Agent Lundqvist chatting in a diner carried it with moments that I'm sure we'll be seeing for years to come as 'fuck yeah' posts on Reddit. The art is competent, nothing really stands out for me besides the body language I mentioned. The art style and choices are probably a whole separate post, like why Cyclops looks 25.

Thanks for reading.

[ourlittleuluru]

So... @starfallforest started planting ideas in my head and enabling me :v

Kinda needed some destressing before heading back to work so... have an outfit swap of Xavier and Cloud Strife rough sketch, along with some older doodlies of Xavier from like some week or two ago 😂

(apologies if the proportions and stuff are all WHACK. Am tired C': but still wanted to doodle! And yes, that is a rough sketch that did turn into a proper artwork for the photocard I decided to print out last week. Why does sketches always look so much better than the final render 😭 I need to brush up on my rendering skills...)

Am totally roughly assuming the height difference here too X'D Cloud's canonically 173cm (or there about) but there's no real hard numbers on Xavier and the other guys in LnDS. And there was a height chart that went around some long time back, so am just using that as a rough estimate to go off on. And now I need to go off to bed 😅💤

[writingonleaves]

bundles of flowers (we'll wade through the hours of cold) - brock boeser

pairing: brock boeser x original female character

warnings: literally nothing, lots of fluff, flower research i did two years ago, not proofread

title: “promise" by ben howard

word count: 2.7k

author’s note: dug up a creative writing piece i wrote two years ago for a class and tweaked it a bit to create this. happy holidays to all. hope you all enjoy <3

*****

It’s a routine.

When Amber Chen was a young girl, she spent most days after school at Petals Lab & Design, zooming through the front door into her father’s waiting arms, chattering about the meal she had whipped up in the play kitchen at Kindergarten that day. Customers would fawn at her pigtails as she hid shyly behind her father or skipped behind the counter and hoisted herself up on a stool, munching on apple slices her mother had cut.

During her high school days, she would be sure to lock her car twice, twirling her keys around her pointer finger as she walked in. She’d drop her backpack, placing her iced green tea in the center of the counter. If the shop was filled with customers, she’d go into the back room and check the whiteboard filled with her father’s scrawl. If the shop was empty, she’d lean her head on her chin while listening as her parents rattled on about shipments or what was going to for dinner that night. On Mondays and Fridays, it was just her and Xavier or Willow in the shop. On those afternoons, she blasted the music a little louder, swayed her hips a little bolder and dragged whichever poor soul was working that day into a dramatic dance that always left both of them laughing. 

Once Amber went to college, she still found herself coming in every other Sunday to help out, with a sample of whatever baked good she had made that week, an iced green tea, a hot black coffee and a cappuccino. Her mother would always roll her eyes, before reaching for a cookie or cupcake or brownie, chewing it thoughtfully for a couple of seconds and scrunching up her nose. 

“This is too sweet,” she’d say, or, “Too much chocolate.” 

Her father would then wander out, taking a small sip of his coffee first before placing a gentle kiss in her hair. 

“Missed you. How are classes?” Before she could answer, he would always get distracted by something else, whether it be a customer, a phone call or the sudden epiphany of remembering something he had to do hours ago. 

Amber knows that a bouquet of lilies was always acceptable for a funeral or that corsages cost $30 on average, and that yes, they can find a flower color to match the dress. She could rattle off cost estimation for bouquets by the time she was 13. She even finds herself from time to time sitting across from couples at a table tucked in the back corner of their shop, pulling out wrinkled papers to consult them about the floral arrangements for their wedding. 

One hot morning in July, she’s left completely alone to open the shop. Her parents are helping with preparations at a large wedding. She had decided to play one of her favorite playlists over the speakers, soft guitar plucking and the honey-like voice of John Mayer accompanying the routine of putting out the flowers that had arrived that morning. The music’s louder than usual, as people usually flock in about an hour after opening.

But this time, the bell rings after two songs, and she looks up to see a guy around her age, gray hoodie over his blonde hair, black vans covering his feet. The neutral color scheme of his outfit heavily contrasts the bright colors of the flowers around him. He has a calm aura about him, hunched shoulders as if he’s trying to make himself smaller to fit into the shop. She shoots him a tired smile before going back to stocking the bouquets of roses. She waits until the end of the song to speak up, finding him glancing at the orchids.

“Anything I can help you with today?”

He looks up, “Uh, not at the moment.” His hand reaches up to scratch the back of his neck. “My mom’s birthday is today, and I’m a jackass who is getting her something right before she wakes up.”

“Well, orchids are always a solid choice.” Amber backs away with a small nod. “Let me know if you need anything.” He hums in thanks, and she walks back to the register. 

She pulls out her laptop and looks over the materials her eventual boss sent her to read before her first day of work in a month,  singing along to “Daughters” under her breath, ears alert for the tinkling of the bell at the front door. 

She looks up to see the guy shuffling to the counter, and closes her laptop. He clears his throat, eyes bright and smile contagious. “Do you happen to do custom bouquets?”

“We do.” Amber walks from behind the counter and leads him to their lab, eyes going to the multitudes of flowers and brain already spinning with ideas. “Tell me about your mom. What’s your relationship with her like?”

He blinks. “Good. She’s literally always smiling. Has never yelled at me once. She’s the strongest woman I know.” He trails off as she gathers a couple of various stems. “That all you need?”

“Well, let’s see.” She points at each flower as she describes them. “Gerbera Daisies represent happiness, pink carnations represent gratitude and peonies represent prosperity and good health. Pair all that with some baby’s breath and you got a beautiful bouquet right there.” She raises an eyebrow. “Ultimately though, it’s your gift. I can do whatever you’d like.”

“No,” he shakes his head with a nervous chuckle. “It’s perfect. Go ahead.”

She flashes him a grin before methodically cutting the stems of the flowers, arranging them into a lively arrangement of colors and wrapping it all together with tissue paper and a ribbon to match.

He pays for the bouquet at the register, and when she comes around the counter to hand it to him, he thanks her before ducking his head down and walking back out into the muggy Saturday morning air. She blinks as she watches him get into his car, but shakes her head to herself as the phone starts ringing. 

A few weeks later, Amber finds herself waking up to a frantic call from her mother, asking if she can meet up at Camrose Hill for a wedding. Her father has to deal with a shipping miscommunication back at the store, and she needs one more helping hand. When Amber arrives, she steps out, travel mug filled with tea in her right hand and her left hand smoothing down her red floral dress. After asking around, she finds her mother next to carts filled with roses in various colors. With a quick hug, Amber gets to work on building the arch, the light breeze making her regret not putting her hair up. 

“Funny seeing you here.”

She looks up and blinks twice, standing up from her crouched position. 

“Good morning.” She eyes him up and down, admiring his white button up and black dress pants. 

“You here for the wedding?”

“I’m the Best Man, actually.” He chuckles, shoving his hand in his pockets. “My best friend’s getting married.”

“Congratulations,” she says softly, climbing onto a nearby chair to reach the top of the arch. “Beautiful place to do it too.”

He nods, eyebrows furrowing as she stumbles slightly in her heeled sandals. “Do you need help?”

“Absolutely not. You’re a guest. You shouldn’t even be out here right now.” He eyes her warily when she attempts to reach down to grab some roses off the cart, hands automatically going up as she almost falls over. She sighs, “Fine. Grab me five ivory ones and three pink ones, please. And the scissors.”

“So, what do they mean?”

“Hm?”

“The roses. What do they mean?”

She glances at him as she intertwines the stems together, wiggling her fingers at him for more flowers. “They’re roses. Roses are pretty typical for a wedding, generally symbolizing love. I’m sure you know that.”

“How about the colors?” 

“Your friend’s soon to be wife chose ivory instead of white, and ivory usually means gracefulness. Peach roses are usually given as a thank you gift, so gratitude and sincerity is tied to that one. I’ll admit that green roses are more rarer in weddings, but it means growth, so perhaps the start of growing together as a married couple?” She shrugs. “Or maybe she just likes the color combination.”

“Knowing Stacy? It was probably very methodical.”

Amber laughs airily, before sticking her hand out. “Help me down? I need to move the chair to the other side.”

Before he can respond, someone from inside the tent calls his name. He helps her down quickly, before running his hand through his hair. 

She hums. Brock. It fits. “So that’s your name.”

“Can I get yours?” He asks hopefully. 

His name is called again and Amber shrugs with a sly grin. “Another time. Think you’re needed, Best Man.”

With a slight huff, he backs away with a wave. Her attention goes back to her fingers as she threads the flowers into the white arch, listening to the chatter of the other employees preparing. She’s out of the venue before the guests have even started arriving.

The summer always brings in tourists from all over, many itching to take a peek at a shop that has a rainbow of flowers outside of its doors. Balancing her new job at a PR firm, she pops in to help her parents, fingers slowly getting scars and cheekbones beginning to hurt daily. 

On a day where the sun is shining bright and the shop is in a lull during lunch hour, Brock walks in. His smile is wide as he makes small talk with her mother across the shop. Amber freezes when she sees both sets of eyes on her, and swallows her tea as he walks over. 

“Hi again.”

“I came in yesterday looking for you,” he said. “Your parents told me to come back today.”

“Looking for me?”

“Yeah.”

“Did they tell you my name?” 

“Amber.” Fuck, her name rolls off his tongue so sweetly. 

“That’s what they call me.”

“Beautiful name for a stunning girl.”

She snorts, “What can I do for you?”

He grins slightly at her professional tone. “My mom was complaining about how her place isn’t homey enough, so I figured I’d come to my favorite flower shop and talk to the experts about how to fix that.”

“My parents could’ve helped you with that.”

“I know, but I wanted your opinion.”

She moves from behind the counter, lips lifting into a smile as he immediately follows her. “If you want just a bouquet, you can never go wrong with sunflowers. And judging from your sporadically timed visits, you’re probably not around town much, so it wouldn’t be wise to get a plant that you would actually have to take care of. Unless that’s what your mother wants.”

“How do you-”

She stops in front of the sunflowers, ignoring his question. “We got a fresh delivery this morning. If you don’t like these, there are plenty of orchids I’d suggest as well.”

“I’ll take the sunflowers. What’s the special meaning of these?”

“Exactly what they look like. They bring happiness into people’s day.”

“That they do.” She feels her cheeks flush from his stare.

She quickly rings him up and bids him farewell as he walks out the door, smiling to her parents along the way. They both turn their heads to look at her as soon as the door shuts, and she rolls her eyes before venturing into the back room, ignoring the shout of questions and comments.

Winter rolls around quickly. Every time someone has purchased sunflowers these past couple of months, she can’t help but think of Brock; the last image of him imprinted in her brain was him walking out the door with sunflowers in his hand. That was four months ago.

Since then, Amber’s figured out who he is. Brock Boeser. Vancouver Canucks. Minnesota’s very own. She’s spent many nights with a few glasses of wine deep thinking too much about it. 

She’s outside the shop one day after a long day of work, on top of a ladder, gloved fingers fumbling around with the string of lights. Her cheeks are rosy, snowflakes are sticking to her hair and she’s been yawning every five minutes for the last hour, but she’s determined to get these lights up before she locks up in 15 minutes. The poinsettias, mistletoe and holly are scheduled to arrive the next morning.

“Are you guys still open?”

She straightens up at the familiar voice and tightens the gray scarf around her neck. “Yep. I’ll be down in a minute.” She hangs the last of the lights and plugs them in. Wiping her eyes with the heels of her palms, she stores the ladder away and walks in. 

“Brock. Hey. What can I help you with today?” She asks, ducking into the back room to hang up her coat. The shop is quiet, crooning notes of Spotify’s “Christmas Coffeehouse” playing in the background. The dark blue button up peeking out of his black winter coat makes her smile. It’s the most color she has ever seen on him.

“Can you help me with a bouquet?”

“Of course.” She observes the half-empty buckets. “What things do you want to symbolize this time?”

“I actually know what I want.”

“Oh yeah? Great. What would you like?”

“Purple lilacs, irises, pink roses and baby’s breath, please.”

“Just give me a second. The roses are in the back.” She begins arranging the flowers and looks up as she’s grabbing the wrapping paper, noticing his confused stare. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, you just, didn’t tell me what they mean. Like, the flowers.”

Amber chuckles. “You’ve obviously done your research. You still want me to?” Brock nods. “Okay, purple lilacs symbolize first love, irises symbolize wisdom and eloquence. Roses are romantic, but pink ones specifically? That symbolizes admiration. So I would guess you’re giving this to someone you like, maybe a romantic partner? Someone you haven’t been with for long?”

He whistles, “Damn. You’re good.”

Her heart sinks the slightest bit as she shrugs, before a particular set of flower stems caught her eye. “I know it’s your bouquet, but how would you feel about adding daffodils? It would add a beautiful contrast to all the purple you have in here. I won’t even charge you for it.”

“Add them in, and charge me for it too.” She plucks the daffodils out of the bin, separating them throughout the bouquet. “What do those mean?” Brock asks. 

“The daffodils?”

“Yeah.”

She clears her throat. “New beginnings.”

After adding the finishing touch of a purple ribbon, she punches the sale in the register and walks from behind the counter to hand the bouquet to him. 

Brock shakes his head. “Nope.”

Her eyebrows furrow. “Sorry?”

“They’re for you, actually.” She raises an eyebrow, and he continues, flexing his fingers continuously. “It’s my stupid way of asking if you would like to go on a date with me.”

She looks down at the bouquet and back up at him, raising an eyebrow. “Right now?”

“If you’re free. Or in a couple weeks. I, uh, I don’t work around here, unfortunately. So I won’t be back in Minnesota until about a month or two.”

“I know who you are, Brock Boeser.” She hands the flowers to him again. “Hold these while I close up?”

“Is that a yes?”

Amber grins, scanning the shop. “Yeah. It’s not stupid, by the way.” She shuts off the lights, grabs her coat and locks the front door, her date for the night following her obediently. “It’s actually really sweet.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.” She tentatively reaches for his fingers with her other hand as she admires the bouquet. “Do you wanna know something?”

“Anything,” He says, leaning down so he can hear her better.

“Daffodils are actually my favorite flower.”

“Like, ever? Out of all flowers?”

“Out of all flowers.”

He leads her to Osteria La Buca with a wink that has her stomach flipping. “What a coincidence.”

She looks down at the bouquet with a smile.

[iammadeofmemoriesforlife]

Back again for heights! Okay so Jean keeps saying how short everyone on the Trojan team is….so since we don’t have any confirmed heights expect Jean’s (over 6’2) and Jeremy (5’10). I need your opinion on the others so here’s one of the polls….

Xavier Height Poll

Pat Height Poll

Ananya Height Poll

(Question for everyone: should I eventually do the whole team or just focus on characters we’ve interact with?)

I did a week for Cat, Laila, and Cody (you can still vote for their heights) but with these I did only for the day. I think a week is too long.

ANYWAY... Eventually after I do these estimated heights. Imma break down the polls more so it’s more specific the heights! I’m literally recording all the results on a screenshot I have of the team’s players from the kindle version of the book 😂

[entityupdates]

wfhlahdlu Arc Guide (Live Post)

This is a reading guide for my Magneto stepdad adoption X-Men 97 fic. The fic makes sense if you read the chapters in order and you should do so but I still wanted to make a table of contents type post.

Arc 1: Adoption (7 Chapters)

This is the introduction to the fic, originally intended to be the entire fic. This arc shows the first month after Xavier's death with emphasis on Magneto's arrival and how the kids' reacted to it.

Arc 2: Trial (7 Chapters)

This arc explores some legal and political aspects of the situation Magneto and the X-Kids find themselves in, specifically the fact Gyrich murdered Xavier and Erik Lensherr being outed as Magneto. This arc takes place over another month. It also includes an interlude showing some backstory before resuming the regular story.

Interlude: Magnus's Story (4 Chapters)

This is a story within a story. This arc jumps between Karen Page's interview with Magneto about his past and an actual story depicting Magneto's life with Xavier. It begins with meeting Xavier and covers Magneto and Xavier's time as soldiers, going to college, their encounter with Sinister, their divorce, and the establishment of Genosha. The Trial Arc resumes after these chapters.

Arc 3: X-Men (8 Chapters)

These chapters were what I originally intended to be bonus chapters if the fic ended after Trial. Each chapter is treated like its own stand-alone self-contained story, though it fits into the chronology of the story and covers about three months. Here, the X-Kids settle into a new normal and develop connections with the superhero world.

Arc 4: Apocalypse (7 Chapters)

Apocalypse returns and collects his Horsemen. New York’s heroes come together to defeat him and witness the latest threat to mutantkind.

Arc 5: Sentinels (Estimated 7)

Outlined but not yet written.

[daisies-daydreams]

THEORY ABOUT ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (⚠️SPOILERS FOR ATSV, SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME, AND DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE BELOW THE CUT⚠️)

Disclaimer: This theory is very speculative and loosely based on events between different movies. However, please please PLEASE be respectful of my and other people's thoughts if you disagree. Thank you!

So I just got out of seeing Deadpool and Wolverine, and man, was it an absolute thrill to watch. But there was one thing that got me thinking: the Time Ripper and the potential effects of it being nearly hijacked by the movie's primary antagonist, Cassandra Nova.

⚠️ SPOILERS START NOW ⚠️

Context & Possible Connection with Deadpool and Wolverine

The Time Ripper is a device that is planned on being used by one of the movie's antagonist, a Time Variance Authority (or TVA) associate Mr. Paradox. Due to the "anchor being" in Wade's universe (Logan, aka Wolverine) being dead, his realm is slowly decaying (as in, it would fully cease to exist within an estimated 1,000 years).

According to Mr. Paradox, an anchor being is "A being whose existence is so vital to their universe that their death sparks the slow decimation of their universe" (Deadpool and Wolverine). However, Mr. Paradox wants to makes the decay of Wade's universe more..."efficient".

Thus, the Time Ripper is utilized to "prune" these decaying universes "early" (seriously, the way Mr. Paradox and other TVA people talk about "pruning" timelines like they're just rose bushes in their garden is terrifying).

This obviously causes Wade to go on his (anti)-Hero's Journey and recruit a replacement anchor being to save his universe. A bunch of action and a setting from the show Loki later, they come face-to-face with the film's main villain: Charles' Xavier's twin sister, Cassandra Nova.

She is a powerful psychic/mutant who was banished to the Void due to her immense and dangerous abilities, and is the deemed "ruler" of the Void.

The Void is, according to the Judge/Ravonna Renslayer: "A void at the End of Time. Where every instance of existence collides at the same point and simply stops" (Loki, S1:E5). It's basically used as the TVA's dump for leftover matter from universe's that get "pruned", as apparently not all of it always gets destroyed.

Of course, in a perfect world/movie, Deadpool and Wolverine would defeat Cassandra at her weakest and save the day.

However, the movie doesn't end there.

Cassandra is informed of the Time Ripper through one of her henchman, and with an insatiable god-complex, decides to utilize it herself to erase each and every timeline until all that's left is the Void, the one true place where she can rule as "god".

Thankfully, our heroes are able to eliminate Cassandra through the power of becoming living batteries with matter and anti-matter (and Madonna), and voila, all of the timelines are saved...

Or were they?

The film's main villain, Cassandra Nova, attempting to hijack the Time Ripper - Deadpool and Wolverine (Disney)

Theory for Across the Spider-Verse

What I thought was interesting was that we didn't see the direct effects of Cassandra trying to hijack the Time Ripper. Surely there could've been detrimental effects to the many timelines as the stability of them was being tampered with due to Cassandra's interference.

Which got me thinking...what if her manipulating with the Time Ripper caused Earth TRN1042 (Gabriella O'Hara's universe) to decay more rapidly than it should have? And what if 1042-Miguel O'Hara was the anchor being for that universe?

It was already decaying, just in the "normal" way: slowly and over a period of several centuries.

928B-Miguel O'Hara (the one who runs the Spider Society in ATSV) was actually saving Earth TRN1042 by becoming the new anchor. However, perhaps there was the matter of him having to split time between being in his own universe and being the surrogate father to Gabriella on Earth TRN1042, not giving that universe enough time to recognize his status as an "anchor being" and unable to stabilize before the hijacking happened.

Cassandra sped up the decay of Earth TRN1042...and Miguel was left believing it was all his fault.

Miguel looking on in horror after his variant daughter, Gabriella, disintegrated in his arms - Across the Spider-Verse (Sony Pictures)

Potential Holes in the Theory

Now I will confess, this theory isn't without it's flaws.

There's the fact that Kingpin was already tampering with multi-versal technology before the events of Deadpool and Wolverine, trying to find a replacement for his family who were tragically killed in an accident. Miguel specifically says that Kingpin's interference is related to these events during the exposition of ATSV, thus displacing the multitude of villains throughout different universes. However, there's also the fact that the event in Spider-Man: No Way Home, that also displaced several villains from multiple Spider-Verses. And yet, the fact that Doctor Strange reverses the spell at the end of the movie and the fact that all the villains were coming to Earth 616 makes me think that this isn't the event that caused the villains to be stuck in different universes as seen in ATSV. I could say that Cassandra's hijacking of the Time Ripper caused it, but that discounts Miguel's thought of Kingpin's tampering with the multiverse.

The fact that the variant Logan/Wolverine doesn't "glitch" like other variants do throughout the Spider-Verse franchise when he's in Deadpool's universe (Earth 1005), a realm that he doesn't originate from. Perhaps it could be due to him becoming a new "anchor being", thus adding stability back to the timeline...but this is merely speculation. It just seems odd to me that molecular decay wouldn't happen to him or any of the Deadpool variants who visited Earth 1005.

Conclusion

All-in-all, this theory is very speculative and I was just curious to see if there were any potential connections between Deadpool and Wolverine and the Spider-Verse franchise, with there being villains trying to "bend the rules" of the multi-verse and mentions of universal decay. But what do you all think? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments/reblogs!

Thank you for reading!

[womblegrinch]

René-Xavier Prinet (1861-1946) - Elegant lady on a sofa

Oil on canvas. 29 x 36 inches, 73.7 x 91.4 cm.

Estimate: US$30,000-50,000.

Failed to sell Sotheby's, New York, 2 Feb 2024.

[aurevoirmonty]

Le faux récit sur l’Ukraine victorieuse

Le récit officiel sur l’Ukraine victorieuse se heurte au réel. Les experts et généraux des plateaux de télévision, qui annoncent l’effondrement de la Russie depuis deux ans, se sont trompés. Vladimir Poutine est probablement en passe de gagner la guerre. L’économie de son pays connait une croissance qu’envierait Bruno Le Maire. Mais ces constatations n’empêchent pas les commentateurs de s’accrocher à leurs convictions. Il est difficile pour un téléspectateur de se faire une idée équilibrée des forces en présence, tant le parti pris pro-ukrainien est la règle. Un semblable unanimisme s’était imposé lors de la « guerre » d’Emmanuel Macron contre le Covid : l’hystérie sanitaire avait pareillement déployé son armada de médecins pour annoncer l’apocalypse et récuser tout discours alternatif, présumé complotiste. Cette semaine, dans Marianne, une série de rapports « confidentiel défense » sont révélés. Ils alertent sur l’état de faiblesse de l’armée ukrainienne, qui rendrait sa victoire impensable. On peut y lire que « l’armée russe est aujourd’hui la référence tactique et technique pour penser et mettre en œuvre le modèle défensif ». Xavier Moreau, ancien Saint-Cyrien vivant désormais en Russie et ne cachant pas son soutien à Poutine, ne dit pas autre chose (1). Ses jugements, certes partiaux, se sont révélés néanmoins plus exacts que ceux des spécialistes dépêchés sur LCI. Rencontré hier à Paris, Moreau assure : « La défaite de l’Ukraine est acquise ». Il estime que les Russes pourraient même, à terme, s’emparer d’Odessa au sud et de Kharkiv à l’est. Mais lui n’est pas invité à s’expliquer.

Macron connaît mieux que personne cette situation favorable à la Russie. Son premier ministre a forcément ces éléments quand il déclare, hier devant les députés, avant de s’écrier « Slava Ukraini ! » (« Gloire à l’Ukraine ! ») : « Nous sommes à un moment de bascule (…)  Si l’Ukraine perd, nous perdrons aussi ». Or, en confirmant le choix de la guerre plutôt que la diplomatie, Gabriel Attal sait qu’il force la France à s’impliquer dans la folle escalade d’un conflit généralisé et nucléarisé. « Nous ne nous fixons pas de limite face à la Russie, qui elle n’en fixe aucune », a-t-il déclaré en écho au chef de l’Etat. La raison n’est donc plus ce qui guide le président de la République. Il est obnubilé par son combat manichéen contre Poutine, assimilé au RN qui pourtant ne le soutient pas. L’attitude belliqueuse du gouvernement, attisée par l’échéance des Européennes, relève d’une même l’irresponsabilité. « Face aux Russes, on est une armée de majorettes », confie un haut gradé, dans le dossier de Marianne. C’est pourquoi Macron devient inquiétant, diabolique (diabolus : celui qui divise), dans son désir d’apparaître en résistant churchillien tandis que son pays se disloque. Non content de diviser l’Europe, il fracture davantage son pays. Hier, si 372 députés (Renaissance, LR, PS, Verts) ont accepté son plan de soutien à l’Ukraine, 101 députés (RN) se sont abstenus et 99 (LFI, PC) ont voté contre. Macron mène sa guerre comme un enfant capricieux. Qui l’arrêtera ?

(1) Ukraine, pourquoi la Russie a gagné, Stratpol

[lilitblaukatz]

You can't choose your parents (but you can find a family).

Rowan's and Tyler's moms are dead (tho it seems like they had good relationships with their children).

Enid's mom wants to send her to a camp where she will be pressured and even more anxious about what she is. I can't even call it a conversion therapy because Enid wants to wolf out, but it is still deeply disturbing.

Bianca's mom is everything she doesn't want to be and the reason Bianca changed her name and is far away from home as possible. They are working on it though.

Xavier doesn't even consider his mom worth mentioning.

Eugene's moms are really sweet and caring.

Lucas has a mom, who is at least supports him when the tragedy strikes.

Wednesday had her angsty interactions with her mom but it looked quite ordinary and they sorted all of the problems out.

Rowan's dad may or may not be interested in his son disappearance. If he is alive, that is.

Tyler's dad emotionally abandoned him in the most vulnerable state and is neglecting him since.

Enid's dad is understanding but doesn't stand up for her before her mother.

Does Bianca even have a dad? Looks like she doesn't. It means she especially needs her mom's support.

Xavier's dad is both authoritative and neglecting.

Eugene doesn't need one.

Lucas' dad probably was worried about his career a tad more than about his son. And now he's dead.

Wednesday estimated her dad as an adequate.

Bonus: Laurel and Garrett Gates' parents are bigots. Gates senior attempted to make his son into a mass murderer and brainwashed his daughter.

[cryptovalid]

Tolerance is Extinction does not live up to expectations

If you know me, you're aware of how I feel about X-men '97: it's a brilliant upgrade of the original run that deconstructs the politics of Charles Xavier in a nuanced and interesting way. The fifth episode remains the high point of this season though, as the three-part finale does little to surprise and in some ways even reverts the status quo.

Spoilers for Season 1 under the cut

Although the episode was competently executed with some great action scenes and dialogue, I can't help but feel like the most incendiary messages of the show are walked back slowly.

At first, I was excited to find out what Bastion's reason was for keeping Magneto around. Bastion responds to his escape with barely any annoyance, but it is not really explained what his ultimate plan was.

It was also strange to me that both the Wild Sentinel and Trask Prime proved capable of incapicitating and nearly killing multiple X-men by themselves, and neither Bastion nor other primes proved equally dangerous. By rights, E-day should have been the conclusive end of the X-men.

Apart from that, Magneto's long term plans did not make much sense to me, if only because the stakes were so vague. The show seems to suggest that Magneto's actions would permanently end electricity on earth, and nothing else. I wasn't the only one who thought the effects would be worse: the earth's magnetic field protects our atmosphere and deflects radiation: over time, the earth would become uninhabitable without it, even for most mutants.

Is Asteroid M just supposed to take in a couple of mutants at a time? Is it capable of sustaining itself? Is magneto using the situation to leverage political concessions? None of this is clear.

In the end, both Magneto and Bastion are reasoned with. Something that Magneto had previously insisted was impossible. So I feel like the show doesn't really grapple with the fact that Bastion is politically well supported: he's powerful, but both humans and world leaders are more than willing to work with him.

Both Bastion and Magneto ruin their reputation and betray their ideals in the finale, which prevents the writers from having to present their ideals to be taken seriously.

Had Bastion not immediately turned on the world leaders, he would have served his overall goal to turn humans and mutants against each other much better.

Had Magneto talked about his long term plans and how they ultimately served to protect mutants, the X-men would be forced to grapple with the fact that humans have never stopped hating and oppressing mutants because of their heroics, and presumably never will.

I believe these choices make the finale less interesting than they could have been. In my opinion it would be better if it went something like this:

Bastion was always planning to let Magneto escape, knowing he would react in the way he did.

Although he planned to anger Magneto more and release him at the perfect time, he had Sinister implant him with one of his control gems just in case (this will only be revealed in the second act).

The sentinels were intentionally weaker than Trask to avoid martyring the X-men, and in my estimation would only fight the X-men away from the public eye.

After Magneto shuts them down, the sleepers are indistinguishable from normal, dead humans.

This is used as a propaganda tool to blame the X-men for overreacting to a protest. You could have a subplot here about footage not being available in the 90's and how this is why he does this now.

The X-men all depart for Asteroid M to reason with Magneto. They can talk about the stakes more and Magneto explains his plan will save mutants and mocks Xavier's blind optimism.

Then the Avengers arrive and things escalate. We call that the Magneto protocols. Captain America or Iron Man could provoke Erik, and Sinister could activate his failsafe control.

This can result in a hectic melee in which Xavier is fighting to break Magneto's brainwashing, while several people are trying to kill Magneto, including Wolverine. Others, like Rogue, are trying to stop the killing.

Magneto is stabbed and rips the Adamantium from Logan, and Xavier discovers that the only way to break Sinister's hold over Magneto is to erase Erik's trauma. It works in tandem with the brainwashing. Hatred weakens his mind and so forth. And although he loathes to do so, he does do it: Magneto loses his memories and is convinced to restore power. Thus the seed of Onslaught is planted.

Then Prime sentinels attack, with the Avengers showing hesitation at first because they look like mind controlled civilians.

This time they are not holding back. They kill Magneto and Charles. The Primes cause Asteroid M to crash, and they have to work together to evacuate, keep the Asteroid from crashing, and take down Bastion and Sinister, who are in an American facility surrounded by primes. Maybe the Avengers clearly complain about the optics of taking a side politically: they ultimately come around, but it makes the Avengers controversial as well. Bastion will spread the rumor that they are psychically brainwashed.

Sinister activates Cable as well, and Bastion can take his arm after Phoenix manages to free him. Maybe he even kills Cable, or someone else. Given how Gambit died at the hands of his minion, it's fitting that he would prove actually dangerous.

Angered by the death toll, the remaining X-men and the Avengers team up to fight Bastion. He then surrenders. The Avengers want to take him in, but Cyclops kills him. With his dying breath, he taunts Cyclops with the fact that the dream is dead: whether he dies or is spared, anti-mutant opinion will thrive. The Avengers leave, and it's not clear where public opinion will fall.

Sure, this ending doesn't put everyone in the same place as they were, but I think it would be more effective follow-through on the themes of this season. We can set up a more radical approach for the X-men.

If you really want to do the time travel thing, we can have Bastion activate a self-destruct and have them all be missing afterward.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A national physician group this week called for the complete termination of a Medicare privatization scheme that the Biden White House inherited from the Trump administration and later rebranded—while keeping intact its most dangerous components.

Now known as the Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH) Model, the experiment inserts a for-profit entity between traditional Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare providers. The federal government pays the ACO REACH middlemen to cover patients' care while allowing them to pocket a significant chunk of the fee as profit.

The rebranded pilot program, which was launched without congressional approval and is set to run through at least 2026, officially began this month, and progressive healthcare advocates fear the experiment could be allowed to engulf traditional Medicare.

In a Tuesday letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) argued that ACO REACH "presents a threat to the integrity of traditional Medicare, and an opportunity for corporations to take money from taxpayers while denying care to beneficiaries."

The group, which advocates for a single-payer healthcare system, voiced alarm over the Biden administration's decision to let companies with records of fraud and other abuses take part in the ACO REACH pilot, which automatically assigns traditional Medicare patients to private entities without their consent.

CMS said in a press release Tuesday that "the ACO REACH Model has 132 ACOs with 131,772 healthcare providers and organizations providing care to an estimated 2.1 million beneficiaries" for 2023.

"As we have stated, PNHP believes that the REACH program threatens the integrity of traditional Medicare and should be permanently ended," Dr. Philip Verhoef, the physician group's president, wrote in the new letter. "Whether or not one agrees with this statement, we should all be able to agree that companies found to have violated the rules have no place managing the care of our Medicare beneficiaries."

Among the concerning examples PNHP cited was Clover Health, which has operated so-called Direct Contracting Entities (DCEs)—the name of private middlemen under the Trump-era version of the Medicare pilot—in more than a dozen states, including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and New York.

PNHP noted that in 2016, CMS fined Clover—a large Medicare Advantage provider—for "using 'marketing and advertising materials that contained inaccurate statements' about coverage for out-of-network providers, after a high volume of complaints from patients who were denied coverage by its MA plan. Clover had failed to correct the materials after repeated requests by CMS."

Humana, another large insurer with its teeth in the Medicare privatization pilot, "improperly collected almost $200 million from Medicare by overstating the sickness of patients," PNHP observed, citing a recent federal audit.

"It appears that in its selection process [for ACO REACH], CMS did not prevent the inclusion of companies with histories of such behavior," Verhoef wrote. "Given these findings, we are concerned that CMS is inappropriately allowing these DCEs to continue unimpeded into ACO REACH in 2023."

While the Medicare pilot garnered little attention from lawmakers when the Trump administration first launched it during its final months in power, progressive members of Congress have recently ramped up scrutiny of the program.

Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) led a group of lawmakers in warning that ACO REACH "provides an opportunity for healthcare insurers with a history of defrauding and abusing Medicare and ripping off taxpayers to further encroach on the Medicare system."

"We have long been concerned about ensuring this model does not give corporate profiteers yet another opportunity to take a chunk out of traditional Medicare," the lawmakers wrote, echoing PNHP's concerns. "The continued participation of corporate actors with a history of fraud and abuse threatens the integrity of the program."