#But it probably works with any ending the Eugene lives

[shadowedfaith048]

[funny caption here]

[cripplecharacters]

Futuristic Settings and the Erasure of Disabilities

The common theme in a lot of futuristic, sci-fi or not, settings, is the abundance of cure tropes that are thrown in there. Disabled people either don't exist, or aren't actually disabled - they get a magical device that undoes their injury, or get a mech suit that basically does the same thing.

Often the setting is treated like an excuse that can't be rebutted in any way: “but my story is set in the future where medicine is better!”

So: is that true? Does better medicine actually mean less disabled people?

Historical Accuracy

[large text: Historical Accuracy]

In 1900, the life expectancy of a person born with Down syndrome was 9 years. Try putting yourself there and imagining that 2024 is the Future - better medicine, basically sci-fi in comparison to what they had back there. In that future, what is true?

a) There's no people with Down syndrome.

b) People with Down syndrome live to be 60 years old on average.

Answer: B. The only countries with fewer people with Down syndromes are the ones engaging in widespread eugenics, which is a topic I will not be getting into in this post, but I'm mentioning because the only places without disabled people are eugenicist.

The “better medicine” of the future didn't make Down syndrome curable, it made people with it survive longer. 50% of people born with it today will live to be over 60 years old. In the future, there will be retirees with Down syndrome. In the past, 50% of them wouldn't have made it into their teens.

Why does that matter?

[large text: Why does that matter?]

Future medicine won't make disabilities disappear. It will make them more manageable. Less deadly. Easier to survive.

If you base your knowledge and perception of disability throughout the times on sci-fi novels by able-bodied writers, you're going to hate how it actually works in real life.

Have we magically- technologically gotten rid of diabetes? No, 11% of Americans have it. 103 years ago, diabetes were lethal. There aren't fewer diabetics compared to the past. They live longer. You probably know or heard of someone who has diabetes.

You need to expand your understanding on how disability and medicine work, because “future = no disability” is genuine nonsense. It doesn't work like that, and it really frustrates me how writers dead-set on “logic” in their setting fail to see this.

Are paralyzed people walking around in various mechs, or are they using better wheelchairs than those from 100 years ago? Wheelchairs that make it easier to be independent? That help with symptoms of their disabilities by preventing pressure sores, or providing alternative methods of maneuvering?

In the future, why would there suddenly be those futuristic transplant* spines instead of wheelchairs that can be used with one's brain or eyes, for those who can't move their hands, mouth, or head? Why wouldn't there be wheelbeds for those who are currently bed-bound because they can't manage being upright in any way?

*Also, how are all of these magic disability-fixing transplants never actual transplants? Receiving a transplant basically always ends up in being immunocompromised because of the very way the body works. If you're writing about humans, this isn't going to change.

Things like sign language or wheelchairs have been used for thousands of years, they're not going away anytime soon or not-so-soon.

Future = More Disabled People?

[large text: Future = More Disabled People?]

We already discussed that there are presently common disabilities that used to be lethal a century ago or even less. If we use this fact for a futuristic setting, you suddenly have a myriad of new possibilities.

There's vastly better medicine? A lot of people deal with post-rabies syndrome because it's finally survivable, but it leaves people with the effects of the meningitis that rabies cause. There's way more quadriplegic people because the survival rates are much higher. Cancer survivors are more common because people live longer. Physical therapy for people who had prion diseases because they aren't fatal anymore but cause severe disability. Head trauma is more treatable, so there's more people with TBIs and fewer people dying in vehicular accidents.

The technology is super advanced? People with locked-in syndrome can operate an AAC device with their eyes, fully customize its voice to their liking, and not have to worry about battery life of their powerchair because it has sonar panels. Canes that can fold themselves with the click of a button so that they can fit in one's pocket.

There could be so many more adapted sports. Tools and technology that can adapt a house exactly to one's needs. Wheelchairs that are actually affordable. A portable pocket sized device that makes ableds behave normally around disabled people.

The point of this post isn't to completely shit on sci-fi settings, but instead to urge abled writers to think a bit more and try to be creative in the way they go about speculative fiction. Write. Something. New. There's one billion stories about how impossible it is for disabled people to exist in the future, and it's upsetting at best to read that constantly when you're disabled. As long as there are people, there will be disabled people.

mod Sasza

[mrdixon]

55th Birthday

pairing: established daryl x f!reader

wc: 6k

warnings: 18+ content, lots of plot!!!!, reader shoots a deer, alcohol, little bit of tipsy sex, oral (male AND fem receiving), hair pulling, little talk about pregnancy, slight breeding kink…?, creampie

summary: daryls birthday celebration!!

A/N: birthday fic for daryl since its normans birthday 😋 also ive been doing a lot of established daryl x reader, lmk if yall want something different i just like the way husband/boyfriend daryl feels… probably wrote this on ovulation.

masterlist

“It's the uh sixth of January t’day,” Eugene read from his notebook.

“What!? Shit!” You ran out of the council hall, ignoring Eugene’s confused babbles.

Today was Daryl’s birthday and you completely forgot. To be fair, who was keeping track of time nowadays? Eugene was apparently. You bit your lip as you scurried back home, Daryl was out right now so you had time to collect something to give to him.

Maybe you could bake a cake? Not much to work with though… and he isn't a big fan of sweets. You walked up the porch stairs and walked into the house, kicking your shoes off haphazardly as you furrowed your brows in thought. You thought about making him some arrows, but you didn't have time to make them, nor did you have the material for them.

You walked into the kitchen, throwing open cabinets and pulling open drawers, scrambling for any sort of material you could use to make something. How old was this man turning? You wondered, pausing for a moment.

“Fifty… fifty…” you thought for a long moment, “not in his sixties for sure.” You shrugged and continued your search for materials. Judging by the years that passed he was probably in his mid fifties, the thought making you realize just how long you’ve lived in this apocalypse. You picked up some twine, closing the drawer and running up the stairs. It wouldn't be much but you decided to thread some of your ribbon and twine together as a little charm for his crossbow.

Daryl knew how much you loved your little miscellaneous rubbish, despite his complaints of finding buttons scattered around the house. He brought you back a little wooden box just for your stuff, it would convenience both of you. The box stood atop your nightstand, you flipped it open and plucked out a light pink ribbon, it was one you threaded into your hair occasionally. Daryl always commented on it so you figured maybe he’d appreciate it if he had something of you with him all the time.

You plopped down onto the bed and made a little pattern with the twine and ribbon, intertwining them together into a little bow at the end. He could honestly wear it as a bracelet if he really wanted to, but the thought of having a slightly feminine object amongst his manly crossbow was kinda cute.

You tucked the charm into the pocket of your jeans, grabbing your holster that was also on your nightstand and securing it around your waist. Your gun was placed in there along with your hunting knife that was gifted to you by Daryl himself. You made sure you were fit to go hunting before leaving the house, the only thing you had to do was find your husband now.

You hastily walked down the street towards the front gates where Rosita was keeping watch.

“Rosi!” You called out and ran the rest of the way, she turned and smiled at you, furrowing her brows in curiosity.

“Hey you, whatcha’ need?” She brushed off your shoulder, you just sighed and placed your hands on your hips.

“I need to find Daryl, it's his birthday. He come in yet?” You sighed, fumbling with your fingers.

“No shit?” She asked surprised to which you nodded, “nah he hasn't come in yet. Probably still around the usual hunting grounds.”

“I'm gonna go track him down then,” you muttered and clutched onto the handle of your hunter's knife. Rosita chuckled and moved to open the gate for you.

“Yeah you go do that, be safe.” You nodded halfheartedly and quickly walked out of the gates and towards the forest.

It was surprisingly clear today, you haven't seen any walkers yet. The sun was bright and the atmosphere was just generally, calm. It was a perfect day for Daryl's birthday. You found the markers that stated the hunting grounds and decided on tracking Daryl. He's taught you many of his hunting tactics so why not put them to good use?

This quickly turned out to be useless as Daryl was really cautious out in the woods, and he tended to take careful steps. Meaning, no tracks to track. You groaned as you stalked further into the forest with no hope of finding your husband… until.

Rabbit tracks. Knowing him, Daryl would be following after the rascal. So if you couldn't track his tracks, you’d track the rabbit’s. You kept your hunter’s knife in your hand to be wary of your surroundings, it was way too peaceful to be true. The rabbit had travelled far as you kept walking, and walking… and walking. Eventually you reached a clearing, and the rabbit’s tracks had stopped.

You groaned. You were hopeless. Of course you could always wait for Daryl to just come home, but you wanted to do something for once. Plus if you really did track him down, he'd for sure be proud. And you loved when he was proud of you. You thought about different ways to find him, but there was really nothing to do. He could’ve gone any which way out here, and with no other tracks to look at, it was a lost cause. That was what you thought until you heard the sound of what you believed were your husband's arrows being shot.

You quickly made your way towards the sound, making sure to stay hidden from his sight. After all this was supposed to be a surprise. The more you walked through the bushes, the more you could hear the faint sound of his footsteps. You peeked through the leaves of a bush and saw your husband looking around, he heard something, probably you. You ducked when his body turned in your direction, slowly standing up to see him facing the other before carrying on his journey.

You smirked, you felt like a spy dodging his glances and switching from tree to tree. You kept your distance to not get caught, staring at him from afar as he walked around looking for whatever animal he could get his hands on. The sun shone on his hair, highlighting the little specks of blond scattered amongst his brown locks. Those angel wings that hung from his broad shoulders surely displayed his character. Your eyes travelled down his arms, annoyingly covered by his shirt sleeves. His right hand held his crossbow idly by his side, the other holding that rabbit and his backpack. Daryl was beautiful, he didn't think so but you always reminded him.

You started to get closer to him, close enough to hear him grunt to himself as he sat on a log. You started to get closer from behind, holding your hands out to prepare covering his eyes. He placed his stuff down next to him and looked down at the rabbit in his hand, though not doing anything. Like he was expecting something.

You quickly covered his eyes, not feeling him flinch a bit.

“Guess who?” You taunted playfully, standing right behind him. You heard him snort, his shoulders shaking.

“If I didn’ know it was you, ya would've been shot dead a while ago.” He shook his head chuckling as you removed your hands from his eyes and moved around the log to stand in front of him, your hands on your hips.

“Jeez, you couldn't humour me just a little bit?” You frowned at his smug expression, he was playing around with the rabbit in his hands.

“Nah, ya gotta work on yer tracking. Could hear ya from a mile away,” he snorted seeing your annoyed expression while simultaneously looking you up and down. “Is tha’ my shirt yer wearin’?” You looked down at the shirt you were wearing, noticing how much looser it was on you.

“Yeah, I guess it is, why?” You asked while plucking a pine needle off of the fabric.

“Ya didn’ have any other shirt ta wear?” He furrowed his brows before stuffing the rabbit in his bag, his head tilting back to look up at you.

“I just grabbed a random shirt from my dresser, why? Would you rather I not wear anything?” You crossed your arms and watched as he looked you up and down again, saying nothing but raising his brows. You rolled your eyes, “don't answer that.”

“I ain’ sayin’ anythin’.” He raised both hands up defensively before patting down the spot next to him. You grumbled but sat next to him, sighing as you relaxed and lay your head on his shoulder. He hummed in acceptance, placing his hand on your knee. “So why’re ya ‘ere?”

You sat back up, you almost forgot the reason why you were out here.

“Right, shit.” You fished out the handmade charm from your pocket, holding it out in front of him. He chuckled, taking it from your fingers and taking a closer look at it.

“’s cute, this fer me?” You nodded in response and his lip curled into a smirk, “this tha’ ribbon ya put in yer hair?” You nodded again as he pointed to the pink ribbon amongst the twine.

“Thought it'd be cute if you had a little something of me near you when you're out, you can tie it to your crossbow.” You murmured shyly, feeling like a schoolgirl giving her crush valentines chocolate.

“I love it,” he smiled genuinely before grabbing his crossbow and putting it between his legs so he could tie it to the handle. “Perfect, but why the sudden gift? Ya dyin’ or somethin’?”

You chuckled, “well…” He sat up straight and shot you a concerned glance. “No, I’m not. I’m giving it to you cause it's your birthday.”

His concern flushed away with a look of confusion, his hand coming up to rub his chin.

“My birthday? How do ya even know?” He narrowed his eyes questioningly.

“Eugene.”

“Ah…”

He nodded, looking back down at the charm before looking back at you. He wrapped an arm around your shoulders and brought you close, kissing your forehead.

“Well thank you, I ‘preciate it.” He rested his chin on the top of your head, stroking your hair. “My birthday, haven' had one in a while.. damn, ‘m fuckin’ old aren’ I?”

You snorted, moving out of his grasp to look up at him. “You're not that old,” he gave you a ‘yeah right’ kind of look. “No really! You look quite young for your age.”

“Sure thing, ya just like butterin’ up yer husband.” He sneered playfully, you punched his chest in turn while chuckling.

“We’re both getting old hun,” you sighed contently and leaned against his body, feeling him let out a tiny sigh of his own.

“Mhm, yer still hot as hell though.” You laughed, covering your face while you felt his body shake in silent laughter. “’m not lyin’.”

“I know you aren't,” you chuckled and sat up straight. “Okay but… you have to admit, I did somewhat a good job on tracking you.”

Daryl snorted and raised his brows at you, but immediately stifled his chuckle when you frowned.

“Okay, okay sure. Ya did do a good job, ‘sides scarin’ my deer away with yer big ass footsteps.” You groaned at his feedback, kicking his ankle gently. You looked away from him and felt a gentle kiss on the back of your head, his warm breath on your neck. “Nah seriously, ya did a good job locatin’ me.”

“Really?” You turned around to face him quickly, “mean it?” He chuckled as you beamed at him, nodding.

“Yes really, now ya wanna help me find that deer so we can all eat t’night?” He nudged you on your lower back, his fingertips grazing your ass. You glanced at him, noticing a cheeky grin before standing up.

“Sure, why not? Maybe you could help me track better,” you dusted off your backside and took out your hunter's knife. He stood up with a grunt, slinging his bag over his shoulder and grabbing his crossbow before leading the way.

“It went off in this direction, couldn’ ‘ave gone far.” He murmured lowly as he pointed towards the direction where the river was. You nodded and followed close behind him, wincing as you stepped on a few twigs. Daryl turned and smirked slightly, “alrigh’. Watch where ya step, find soft ground an’ take ligh’ footsteps.”

“I think that’s obvious,” you muttered and heard him snort, taking your hand in his.

“Look,” he pointed to a leaf on the ground with his crossbow. “Tha’s gonna crunch when ya step on it,” he looked at you to see if you were listening before continuing his tangent, “ya can tell if a leaf is crunchy if ‘s browned on the tips and edges. When the colour of the leaf is dull or muddy, it’ll be soft. So ya can step on it but ya have ta be careful ‘cause sometimes tha’s just the colour of the leaf.”

“Then what about twigs?” You squeezed his hand and swung his arm with yours back and forth while you two walked.

“Well those are gonna snap if ya step on ‘em obviously,” he rolled his eyes matter-of-factly. “Jus’ watch yer step, eventually you’ll be good enough at watching yer step tha’ it’ll just be second nature ta ya. Which is why I dun’ have to look down every time I take a step.” He nudged you playfully, watching as you bowed your head and took various lengths of steps.

Daryl chuckled softly, releasing his grip on your hand to grab your chin, tilting your head up to look at him. “Dun’ keep lookin’ at the ground though, ya keep doin’ tha’ an’ you’ll lose yer prey. Or worse, you’ll run into a walker wit’ yer head down.” You scoffed and shook your head, grabbing his hand again while he continued to walk ahead.

You occasionally glanced down at your feet, but kept looking ahead to watch your surroundings. Eventually, you found some deer tracks and elbowed Daryl.

“Deer tracks,” you pointed with your knife. He hummed in approval and let go of your hand to fully grasp his crossbow, turning his head over his shoulder and nodded as a signal for you to keep following him. You pressed your lips into a thin line and proceeded to follow the archer, making sure to take lighter steps.

The deer quickly came into view, unknowingly chewing on some not so crunchy leaves. Daryl raised a finger to keep you still and quiet, before beckoning you with that same finger. You quietly moved next to him, the two of you crouching behind a tree. His blue eyes met yours, holding his hand out for yours. You gave him your hand and he flipped it over so your palm was to the sky, and then he placed the handle of his crossbow in your hand. Your eyes quickly widened and you shook your head.

“No, Dar! I can’t shoot this thing!” You hissed quietly, seeing his expression shift into an amused one.

“Yeah ya can, dun’ worry. I’ll help ya,” he took your other hand and guided it to the foregrip before grabbing your waist and maneuvering you in front of him. He kept his body pressed against your back, his hands on yours and mimicked your placement. Your breath hitched as he moved his head to rest over your shoulder, his lips just barely grazing the shell of your ear. “Now aim fer the deer.”

His whisper sent a wave of heat through you, closing your eyes to calm yourself before opening them again and following his instruction. Gripping onto the foregrip, your raised the cross bow slightly and aim towards the deer, hearing a low whistle of approval.

“Good, now can ya take a shot at it?” His warm breath hit your ear again and you nodded, his pointer finger over yours as you started to slowly pull the trigger.

THWACK

You flinched and widened your eyes to see the deer on its side, an arrow sticking out of it. Daryl chuckled and let go of you, patting your waist.

“Good girl.” The nickname made you shiver a little, hoping he didn’t notice. “See, I told ya you could do it.” He took the crossbow from you and slung it over his shoulder before walking over to the deer. You walked proudly after him, watching crouch next to the deer and finishing it off with his knife.

“I may have lost your deer earlier but I shot it,” you grinned as you placed your hands on your hips. He chuckled and stood up, kissing your forehead.

“Tha’, you did. Now carry my bag so I can lug this home,” you smiled to yourself and took his bag, slinging it over both your shoulders as he threw the deer over his shoulders. Your eyes sparkled as you looked up at him, wishing you were the deer right now.

“Well now we’ll have something to eat for your birthday dinner, isn’t that right?” You chuckled as you both started walking back to Alexandria.

“Yer gonna cook me somethin’?” He raised his eyebrows in curiosity. “Ya already made me tha’ charm.”

“Of course I’m gonna cook you dinner, hell it’s your birthday. You deserve more than that flimsy ol’ thing,” you snorted while adjusting the straps of his backpack.

“Ya dun’ ‘ave ta,” he grunted. “Ya could just gimme a kiss an’ I’ll be okay wit’ tha’.” You laughed at his comment, shaking your head.

“But I want to,” he couldn’t argue with that logic. Instead he just sighed and nodded his head, the two of you continuing to walk in silence.

Daryl was in the shower while you pranced around the kitchen searing the share of deer you were given, making some venison steak for dinner. The smell of rosemary and lemon filled your nostrils as you stirred some mashed potatoes in another pot, the hiss of the meat cooking on the pan was delectable. You hummed while throwing some peas into the pot of mashed potatoes, along with some butter and salt before stirring it once more and turning off the stove. You checked on the venison which looked perfectly cooked, tasting a bit of the sauce left over and decided it was perfect.

“Really outdid myself tonight,” you hummed and turned off the stove completely before setting up some plates on the dinner table. You precisely plated the steaks on the plate, scooping the mashed potatoes intricately before drizzling some canned cranberry sauce over it. You smiled proudly and poured some red wine into some glasses before lighting up a few candles. After accessing your work you quickly ran upstairs to change into a little cocktail dress, still wanted to impress your husband after all. Speaking of, you could hear Daryl fix up in the bathroom so you hurried on. You fixed up your hair in the mirror and took one last glance over your body before running back downstairs, taking your seat at the table.

You waited patiently, letting him take his time to fix up. He wasn’t going to expect all of this, the dimmed lights and candlelit dinner, but you were ready to see his expression.

Daryl came down the stairs, his hair slightly damp and over his eyes. Your eyes trailed down his neck towards his button-up, which had a few buttons undone already, and he was wearing his usual pants. His head perked up at the smell of the delicious food, brushing his hair out of his eyes and taking in the sight before him.

You grinned cheekily as he stood there, mouth agape in shock. Catching himself, he smirked slight at you and brought his hand over his mouth, his eyes glazing over your legs.

“Thought you were jus’ makin’ me dinner,” he drawled lowly. “Didn’ expect a whole feast,” he gestured towards you. You laughed as he took his seat, his eyes still on you.

“Shut up, try your food.” You giggled as you pulled your chair in and cut at your steak, letting your eyes dart up to see what he thought. He looked down at his plate and picked up his knife and fork and cut into his, dipping a slice into the mashed potatoes to get a taste of everything before shoving it into his mouth. He groaned and leaned back in his chair as he continued chewing.

“Jesus christ, (Y/N)…” You giggled and took a bite yourself, groaning as well while leaning back.

“Damn, I’m good.” You rolled your eyes and took a sip of your wine, Daryl sitting up to do the same. He swirled his wine a couple times in the glass before taking a good chug and swallowing the liquid.

“Mmh, yeah ya are.” He grunted and continued to eat his food. You smiled lovingly at him, his gaze drifted back up to yours. He chewed his food and smiled back at you, just as loving. “Ya look beautiful.”

“You do too,” you grinned and earned a snort of disbelief from him. “You are!” You giggled, causing his stomach to swarm with butterflies, the sound of your laughter bringing joy to him.

The dinner consisted of you two talking and giggling about old memories, sipping wine and sharing longing glances across the table. Eventually you both finished your dinner but remained sitting at the table and drinking your wine.

“Do you remember when I fell off the back of your motorcycle and you refused to take me anywhere for two weeks?” You giggled against the rim of your wine glass, your eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Sure do, an’ I didn’ take ya anywhere fer two weeks because ya broke yer damn arm an’ had to heal.” He crossed his arms and had a stern look on his face, but laughed nonetheless.

You just giggled and finished your glass, reaching for the bottle for some more but it was quickly snatched away.

“Not too fast,” Daryl chuckled, reaching for your glass and pouring it himself. “Thank you fer all this, ‘s by far the best birthday I’ve had in a while.” He handed you your glass back, brushing his fingers over yours as he did.

“It’s nothing… I just wanted to spoil you a little, even if it’s just a little.” You smiled and took a sip of the wine, your head starting to spin a little. He noticed and took your glass away, finishing the rest himself. You chuckled, “I wasn’t done with that.”

“I know, but I dun’ want ya completely drunk.” He took the plates and glasses and put them in the sink before sitting back down in his seat.

“Why’s that?” You leaned forward, grinning expectantly.

“’Cause I wanna be able to reward ya fer yer hard work,” he smirked and leaned back in his seat, manspreading like his life depended on it. “C’mere.”

As if you were in a trance you immediately stood up and wobbled over to him, your mind still hazy but you both knew what you wanted. He tilted his head back to look up at you, that same cocky smirk painted across his lips. He kept his hands on his thighs, and it was like a silent communication of what he wanted. You bit your lip and held eye contact as you kneeled down between his legs, his head cocking to the side as he looked down at you, bring one hand into your hair.

“Good girl… now I may be askin’ too much, but do ya mind?” He nodded towards his erection that was eagerly straining against his pants. You shook your head, bringing your hands up to unbuckle his belt. He grumbled graciously, his fingers curling in your hair.

You bit your lip as you solely focused on getting his pants off, feeling him lift his hips up a bit to make the removal process easier for you. You glanced up at him while sliding his pants and boxers off in one go, he grunted softly as his cock sprang out. His pants and boxers hung around his ankles as you moved closer, inspecting his length. The head was flushed red, and looked almost painfully hard as it twitched from the feeling of your warm breath brushing against it.

As you continued gawking at his cock, Daryl got impatient and took his length in his hand. Your drunken body felt even more turned on as you watched your husband stroke himself slowly, brushing his thumb over the sensitive tip and hissing. You whimpered, biting your lip as you moved closer. The cold tile against your thighs was a good relief from your aching heat, feeling yourself get wetter the more you watched him.

Daryl brought his other hand to the back of your neck, bringing you even closer as he held his cock and guided it to your lips. You closed your eyes and let him run his length against your cheeks, giggling a little as he slapped the tip against your lips. He pushed the head of his cock against your lips which you quickly parted, letting him slide half his length into your mouth.

You both groaned at the contact, both his hands moving into your hair while one of your hands moved to hold onto the base. Daryl threw his head back and whimpered softly as you literally sucked on him once, pulling off to leave little kitty licks on his sensitive tip. He pulled your hair into a ponytail and tugged on it when you took him into your mouth again, rolling his eyes back as your tongue swirled around the tip. He let out multiple moans and whimpers of pleasure as you bobbed your head, stroking what you couldn’t take with your hand.

You could feel him start to get close, by the sounds of his breathless whimpers and the way his grasp on your hair got tighter. You let go of his cock and braced yourself before fully letting him in, the head of his cock hitting the back of your throat and causing you to gag. He moaned loudly, making a sound of protest and trying to pull you off of him. You didn’t budge and kept bobbing your head, gagging every time he hit the back of your throat. He whined breathily, his cock twitching in your mouth as he got closer and closer. Your eyes were teary but you kept going, wanting to taste his sweet release.

Daryl tugged your hair hard, groaning deeply as he came. Splurging ropes of warm semen into your mouth, you eagerly licked it all up, savouring the saltiness of his release. The sound and sight of him coming almost had you releasing yourself, reaching down to squeeze between your legs.

His hand released your hair and caressed the back of your head soothingly, as an apology for his rough tugging. You looked up at him as you swallowed the rest of his seed, his tongue darting out to lick his lips as he wiped the corner of your mouth with his thumb.

“Get up fer me,” he whispered hoarsely, grabbing onto your thighs as you obeyed. He stood up after you and pulled you against his chest, his cock stirring back to life as you felt it press between your thighs. One hand was on your waist while the other held your chin, tilting your head back to look at him, his thumb brushing against your bottom lip before dipping his head to kiss you deeply. He groaned into your mouth as he tasted himself on your tongue, your tongues wrapping together as you fought for dominance. Ultimately, he won and you let yourself be kissed aggressively by this man.

He placed both hands on your hips, pushing you back and pulling his lips off yours. Before you could think he turned you around and bent you over the dinner table, his hand immediately moving under your dress. You cried out as his fingers rubbed your wet heat over your panties which were well soaked by now, he kept his other hand on your lower back before pulling your panties off. He pushed the skirt of your dress up and over your ass, keeping you bent over on display for him. You didn’t hear anything for a few moments, the alcohol in your system making you hear your heart beat in your ears. Your knees buckled as you felt his tongue run along your slit, you whined slightly while his hands held you steady.

His tongue wiggled around between your folds, a soft cry escaping your lips every time he brushed over your clit. His lips wrapped around your bundle of nerves, sucking on it and you could feel him smirk when you cried out. He continued this motion, your eyes rolling back while the top half of your body lay flat against the table. His tongue was replaced by his finger, rubbing your clit harshly and making your leg tremble in sensitivity. You moaned loudly, the sound of your moans echoed through the kitchen while his tongue entered you. You gasped harshly at the intrusion, your nails scratching against the table as his tongue thrusted in and out of your wet heat. The warm feeling of coming undone was brewing up in your stomach, your moans ragged.

“Fuck… Dar I’m gonna cum,” you whined breathlessly. He didn’t stop, rubbing your clit even harder and causing you to arch you back and squirm against his face. His tongue remained inside of you as you came, your breath heavy while he licked up your sweet nectar. You sighed and lay your head against the table, your mind swirling with lust and haziness from the orgasm.

“Stay there,” he grunted as he stood up, rubbing the flesh of your ass with his palm. “Ya look so beautiful bent over fer me like this. Makes me wan’ ta fill ya up, put a baby in ya.” Your breath hitched, looking over your shoulder to see if he was serious.

“Really?” You whispered hoarsely, your eyes sparkling in want. “You want a baby?”

“Fuck yeah,” he grumbled, standing behind you while caressing your ass. “I mean hell, we’re both gettin’ old. I wanna be able to give ya a child before we can’t… will ya let me?”

“Yes, oh god yes Dar please.” You pleaded, earning a light tap to your bum as he bit his lip.

“Then be a good girl fer me and lay still, yer perfect.” He whispered, running his length between your ass cheeks teasingly. You bit your lip and lay your head against the wood of the table, panting in anticipation as he continued to rub his cock against you. He held his cock in his hand and rubbed the head against your clit, spreading your folds so he could thrust along them. You both moaned simultaneously, the two of you relishing the slick feeling.

He pulled his cock back, circling it around your entrance before pushing forward, filling you completely. You moaned out in delight, closing your eyes and clenching around the length inside you, feeling your walls mold to his cock. He groaned, grabbing your hips and moving back and forth slowly. Your eyes rolled back, biting your lip hard as you felt every inch of his velvety skin stroke your inner walls.

His fingers surely were leaving marks on your hips from how hard he was gripping onto you, clearly holding himself back from taking you roughly. He kept the pace slow, his cock occasionally brushing against your sweet spot but not fully meeting it. You moved back to meet his thrusts, earning a moan of approval from your movements. It still wasn’t enough.

“Need you deeper,” you pleaded softly, the high pitched tone of yours making his hips stutter. One of his hands ran up your back, grasping your hair and gently tugging you, prompting you to come up. You obeyed instantly, pushing yourself up as he carefully pulled you back to his chest. Your back arched as his hand trailed down over your throat, holding you against his shoulder.

He pressed his hips harder into you, eliciting a light breathy whine from you as your back arched further. He continued his hard thrusts, turning his head to press kisses along your neck, his cock reaching deeper and deeper with every thrust of his hips. You were closer to getting what you wanted, just one swivel of your hips against his was what got it. He slammed against your sweet spot, your jaw dropped and you closed your eyes as he kept hitting the spot. Your moans came out freely, his palm against your throat as you leaned back on his shoulder, mewling and whining loudly.

His grunts came in your ear, his breath heavy and hot as the both of you started to sweat from exertion. The sound of your skin slapping together echoed through the kitchen along with your whimpering moans and his grunts and groans. He let go of your throat and let you fall over the table, placing both his hands on your hips and thrusting with renewed intensity. His hips slapped against yours hard, his eyes watching your ass jiggle with every contact. He brought a hand up to grip your ass, pushing himself deeper into your pussy. The wet sounds of him thrusting in and out just filled you with more arousal, closing your eyes to fully immerse yourself in the moment.

You tightened around his cock as you felt yourself coming close to completion, the feeling of your walls tight around him made Daryl groan deeply. His hips stuttered but kept the pace, fucking you deeply and hard. It was clear he was also close as his grip on you became tighter and his movements got sloppier.

“Fuck, yer so tigh’… gonna fill ya up,” he groaned, thrusting harder into you. “Gonna make ya carry my babies.”

His words sent a chill up your spine, mewling out in pleasure and desire. “I want that… please…” You begged pathetically, your voice barely a whisper from all your crying and moaning.

“Imma give it to ya, dun’ worry baby. Gonna cum inside ya so deep,” he grunted, pulling your hips back in time with his movements. “Gonna give ya a baby, make ya a mama.” You whined in desire, clawing at the wood as your body trembled. Your orgasm quickly coming up.

You screamed out his name as you came for the second time tonight, rolling your eyes back as you did. You lay against the table while your legs struggled to keep you standing, his hips rapidly pushing in and out of you as he chased his orgasm.

“Shit, fuckin’ tigh’ as shit.” He cursed haphazardly, his balls tightening as they threatened to burst. “C’mon take it, take it pretty girl,” he shouted as he came, deep inside of you like he promised. He fucked you through his orgasm, groaning softly before pulling out.

Your entire body shook in sensitivity, your legs threatening to give out. Daryl continued to hold you up, watching your pussy drip with his cum. He reached down to scoop it back into you, a whimper leaving your lips at the feeling.

“Dun’ wan’ this ta go ta waste now do we?” He taunted hotly into your ear, pulling your panties up and letting your dress fall over your ass. He slapped your ass playfully before pulling up his own underwear and pants, buckling his belt. “Now let’s go cuddle upstairs hm?” He chuckled lowly and scooped you up into his arms, his expression softening at your fucked out expression.

You looked up at him sleepily and nodded, pulling his head down to kiss him softly. He hummed against your lips, taking you upstairs.

“Happy birthday, Dar.”

[yael-art-den]

Galahad (Right) and Rey (Left). More info about their whole deal after the cut

These guys are some of my oldest OC couples at around 8 years old (that I still use), and Galahad has changed quite a bit but Rey was already perfect. Backstory:

They both come from a setting in which I never bothered really giving names as I was more focused on the characters. so we'll call the place Galahad is from "The Empire" and Rey's "The Kingdom". Names are not relevant rn.

We have Galahad, an orphan Ifrit that REALLY gets into magic because he sucks at anything physical and it was the only way for him to pursue higher education. Ends up in a magical-military career as a way to keep climbing the social ladder and because they are the only people who will fund his research into stable, 24/7 open portal magic.

He REALLY gets into politics because those two things are joined at the hip and he was always a nosy bitch that never stays still when there is an opportunity to improve his current position. He doesn't do it out of malice but because he fears that at ANY time the rug will be pulled under him and he'll be back at square one poor as a rat and he needs to feel in control of his life. He starts having secret hookups with people WAY above his station.

Context notes: The Empire™ it's very very conservative. They can still charge you with indecency if you're a sodomite, ESPECIALLY if you're a public figure. That of course doesn't stop gay sex from happening anyway but someone has to be the escapegoat when a scandal happens

Exactly the thing above happens. One of the dudes in the council gets called out for exactly that and he throws Galahad under the bus. One accusation gets piled one after the other and his lovers jump ship before the finger can be pointed at them too. His public image is in shambles but he actually gets charged with Treason (because airing publicly who he hooked up with would be BAD and he probably got those corrupting ideas from the barbaric Kingdom anyway)

Galahad bites the bullet and goes into exile before anyone can try to murder him before the trial, thus "confirming" the fact that he is, in fact, a traitor. He was always ready for this though, so he takes all of the portal research with him.

Now he's bitter, heartbroken, and completely alone in enemy territory. He's not the kind of person that just lets life happens to him, so he goes right back at work again. Unfortunately he discovers that working on Seals and Sigils at -20°C in the middle of the artic tundra is Not Easy and needs to get a real job there.

Now, for Rey and The Kingdom©. Whereas Galahad is a normal dude with a congenital condition (albinism), Rey is the result of literal dragon eugenics. He doesn't have a name (Rey is short for Rey de la Ventisca, his title) and, in their culture, there is no word or space for princes. For the royal lineage, you either are the King or you aren't; and if you Aren't, you better challenge the current one to a fight to the death. Cold spares no one, you have to be THE strongest, flawless, perfect execution of the divine vessel you were born to incarnate.

Rey is just his title, as meaning "rulling above all else" but it's actually a theocracy. His religion believes the holy power of dragons and Frost Dragons are the only kind that will live most of their life in "humanoid", lesser shapes, as their true form is reserved to very particular events (I.E: coronations) or religious military conquests.

Rey, despite his power and attitude, is not really a person, and never tried to be. He is THE King, that's all he needs to be. Until Galahad comes around, there was no difference in his mind between himself, the last or the next King.

The Kingdom is not more "open" politically, it's just different in how it handles them altogether. It's a GIVEN that the King Will eventually have an heir who will murder him and take the throne, so who cares if he's sucking dick in the meantime. Rey makes or breaks every single societal rule he wants by virtue of Being, and that becomes what now Is. It's almost open knowledge that the King favors men, so now it's just What Kings Do.

He has the biggest hoard in the whole setting, and despite that, he doesn't really... owns anything. It's the King's. He protects the Kingdom, its treasure, and his title, and does so HAPPILY but it's not until he starts viewing himself as an individual that he starts WANTING things. When Galahad eventually tells him that he wants to belong to him, he puts emphasis on that last part. He wouldn't want to be with the last king, or the next one, he wants Him. Galahad doesn't think he's an empty vessel because everything that he loves lives there.

Unfortunately, having wants and needs comes with the fact that you WILL have to confront the fact that you really don't want to have heirs and want to marry your consort and your whole world vision will come crumbling down on you because if you're not able to truly be King then you must be Something Else and that just Does Not Compute

Whoops someone murdered the twink. Holy war

[sivyera]

Yandere TDATT characters being in love with you would include...

ft. arvin, preston, lee, willard, lenora

a/n: pls don't kill me for the preston part, i mean some of you simp for joker who is much worse, btw y/n and Lenora are 18

༻♛༺

⤷ Arvin Eugene Russell

-Arvin would probably first met you at school when he was waiting for Lenora. He saw you standing up for Lenora to her bullies which immediately made him curious about you.

-So he would ask Lenora about you, he'd also told her to befriend you so you can help her in school, definitely not to know more about you.

-POSSESSIVE

-He would stalk you, sometimes he'd be in his car, driving behind your walking figure on the street, or he would sneak to your house at night watching you sleep or shower or do literally anything.

-He will protect you more than he does Lenora. If anyone even look at you the wrong way, they will end up with several broken bones. And if someone tries to touch you without your permission or make you slightly uncomfortable, the person will end up dead.

-After some time he will approach you. Starting a conversation about how glad he is that Lenora has you, that he cannot be around her to protect her all the time.

-He would never hurt you. Maybe if you find out that he killed someone for you, he would try to manipulate you, but he would never punch your or something similar.

-He would kidnap you soon, just to make sure that you are safe with him. He would also take a good care of you, will give you some freedom when he trusts you enough that you won't run away.

-He would want to spend every minute with you and he won't ever let you go, he loves you so much.

⤷ Preston Teagardin

-Preston would meet you in church after your grandma took you there. You didn't believe in god (you were atheist) and just lived normal life but that was to your grandma a sin. Your grandpa didn't really care because he was atheist as well so you often made jokes about your granny's faith.

-When Preston saw you he knew that he wants you. Your beaty was unbelievable. Which made him curious about you. He saw in your eyes that you don't believe in god and that's what attracted him.

-Your grandma told him how sinful you are and asked him if he could talk to you, which he gladly accepted.

-He would manipulate your grandma to think that he needs more time with you, alone. So she will make you go to the church more often, than he could be alone with you.

-Possessive and obsessive, will also stalk you a lot. Probably in his car at night looking into your window at you.

-He wouldn't even try to convince you to believe in god because he himself doesn't believe in him. He is also atheist he's just doing it for the money and power.

-You two will be alone in the church or after some time in his house. He would be over the moon because he can have you all to himself. BUT he wouldn't do anything without your verbal consent, because he would never hurt you in any way.

-Your relationship will be a secret from the start, just few glances and his death stares at anyone who's talking to you.

-But after some time he wouldn't be able to control himself anymore. He just has to have you, all the time. He can't get enough of you.

-He will kidnap you unless you go voluntarily. If yes than you two will run away and live somewhere in countryside where no one will bother you. You will have freedom around the house and on the yard, but he's the one who will go for grocery OR he will go with you, just to make sure no one will talk nor touch his precious angel.

⤷ Lee Bodecker

-Lee will stop you while he was working because you drove too fast. When he pull you over he was too stunned to speak. You were beautiful and he saw fire in your eyes.

-He shook his head and flirt with you, but enough not to make it weird nor make you uncomfortable. At the end of the day he didn't give you the speed ticket and let you go under one condition, which was to give him your name and phone number.

-After that he will make excuses to talk to you, so he would either stop you at the driveway or call you or knock on your door for a talk (because he will found out where you live by stalking you or looking into your file at the police station)

-He is also a stalker but not that much like Arvin, Preston or Willard. He will call it 'looking out for you just in case some men will make you uncomfortable' because he's a policeman, after all it's his job ;)

-He will offer you his help to stay close to you, doesn't matter if you need help with grocery or drop you somewhere in his police car.

-If anyone touches you, make you uncomfortable OR dare to flirt with you, he will arrest them for a long time and make sure they will leave you alone.

-He won't be rude to you or harsh but he will be dominant (like every other characters except Lenora) because he is policeman, you will have to have some respect for him.

-He will kidnap you sooner rather than later, just in case no man will hurt you, this city is cruel...and he can have you for himself.

⤷ Willard Russell

-Willard couldn't take his eyes off of you, when he saw you at that bar. He will talk to you as long as possible and he will flirt with you. After your shift he will take you home to make sure you are fine, definitely not to find out where you live ;)

-He will come to that bar more often to see you and talk to you, will also protect you like that, because no man would even try to talk to you when they saw that Willard is near you.

-At night he will sneak into your house and sat next to your bed, watching you sleep for few hours, you now again just in case.

-He is the most possessive of them all, also the biggest stalker. If anyone will try to talk to you, he will wait on them somewhere in private so no one could see what he will do to that man, because i'm telling you the man that talked to you won't survive or he will have a REALLY hard time.

-He will kidnap you after just two months, this world is too dangerous for someone so beautiful and precious like you.

-He also wouldn't hurt you but he will manipulate you if you won't listen to him. He is also the most dominant, he is veteran so he has some discipline and will 'teach' you how to listen to him.

-Won't let you out of the house but otherwise you have freedom and if you need anything from the shop, he will either go with you or buy anything you need. Most of the time you will stay home tho.

⤷ Lenora Laftery 

-Lenora will meet you at school, you were her new classmate. She is the purest of them all but don't let her innocence fool you. She might be pure and innocent but she's not dumb, she can use it.

-From the start she will pray to god every night so he make her emotions for you vanish. But she will get use to them after some time.

-She will make herself a victim more than she already is to make you protect her from her bullies.

-She is more like your worshiper. Let's say you will became her new 'god' more like goddess, she will worship the ground you walk on, will pray every night for you and your love.

-She will also be a bit confused how much emotions she feels towards you, unhealthy emotions like lust, obsession, desire,... which she finds sinful and horrible but she cannot help herself.

-She won't stalk you... lot, but will kind of spend as much time with you as possible, which means sleepover or study dates (like she likes to call it, even tho they aren't)

-She also won't kidnap you made she will make herself look like a victim even more so you will stay by her side, if you talk to other guys she will act hurt and will say that the guys has been bullying her so you will eventually stop talking to him. She loves you and won't let you leave her side.

______________________________________________________________

tags: @clarks-letterman hope you like it!

[lupamoe]

Came to stop by to confess my love for Revenge or Die!

I actually fell off of Oshi no Ko for a while and this story got me back into finishing the series! Not sure how I feel about that ending but I did enjoy all the characters!

I’ve really enjoyed reading Revenge or Die so far and am super happy that both Aqua and Ruby get center stage as deuteragonists! I’ve loved seeing Aqua’s interactions and subsequent misunderstandings with the Debut or Die cast and also Ruby’s streaming and school sections!

Not sure if this will get touched on but will there be any plot points regarding the difference in treatment between foreign members of Testar by management early on? TNet does not have a good track record of managing talents so I wouldn’t put it past them to mess up there. I am less familiar with Debut or Die so I don’t know if they tackle this topic with Cha Eugene.

This idea is mainly just formed from the mismanagement I remember seeing for foreign members by some K-Idol companies but it also adds an extra reason as to why Aqua has to manage his personality more than some of the other members. Given the history between Japan and Korea, there’s definitely going to be some negative public opinions on Aqua that he can only really manage through good PR if he wants to live. (And even then it’s not an issue that will go away easily.)

Anyway if that topic doesn’t get discussed that’s fine! I just thought about it since Aqua’s going to be the only non-Korean member in the group (not the only foreign member though) and wondered how differently a Korean Idol company would treat him compared to a Japanese Talent Management company run by Miyako. It’s a tricky topic to discuss in general so no worries if it doesn’t come up!

Thank you for writing Revenge or Die!

About the Japanese-Korean xenophobic discourse....

Firstly, thank you for enjoying my fanfiction! I'm really happy that you were having a fun time, and honestly that's all what matters to me.

(Cw: political analysis of idol politics incoming)

Secondly, I am SO glad you mentioned this issue. I was wondering if any of my readers would ever wonder about this underlying xenophobia around the K-pop industry, so I'm pleasantly surprised! This work is a form of social commentary (if you read the tags at all), and I'm happy to also inform you that I was actually gonna write some implications of hat subject matter the next chapter!

I was actually planning on writing it ever since I wrote the first chapter, but I'm still really giddy someone mentioned if I was going to touch on this topic.

Multiple agencies in real life have evidence of anti-Japanese or Chinese actions, not only in East Asian trainees other than SK but also in ASEAN countries like Thailand, Vietnam, etc. I do want to answer your question in the matter that Cha Eugene was probably not discriminated against because while he is American by paper, he is technically 100% of Korean blood.

However, you do raise a point that Aqua has a very high chance of being discriminated for his race. Like what you pointed out, the Japanese-Korean history of still hating each other still quite remain rampant today. Not only that, the fact that as of right now he is an incredibly popular is going to backfire incredibly from toxic K-nets.

This isn't only one sided as well. Japan has multiple discriminatory comments/slurs used against the Koreans ever since the 2009. These slurs are coined mostly in 2ch (the Japanese equivalent of 4chan) and is still used in public media such as Twittee/Youtube normally. In fact, the use of the word "kimchi" is used by the Japanese to describe Koreans (as a slur) because "they're too prideful of their country."

That being said...

I am not going to "not discuss it" because it is just a tricky topic. These are very important matters and should actually be discussed, no matter if it is made in a silly fanfiction. It is unbelievably unrealistic to not include xenophobia when I have tagged multiple different more difficult topics as well.

To santize my work of glaring issues of the idol industry/Kpop industry is what fascists want, and completely destroys the entire point of my fanficiton and social commentary I dedicate everyday — my whole blood and soul — to make.

The fact that Aqua would probably experience this in another country (S.K) just makes the fanficiton 100% the worth of believability. You are absolutely right on the dot that it would be a complete culture shock for Aqua, who came from a Japanese company that favors (or most of the time) him. It would be interesting how he'll handle this societal issue that is not only problematic, but also so historical and rooted into systemical issues rather than personal issues that there's really not much he can do about it.

That being said, I am SUPER DUPER happy for anon for asking this wonderful, thoughtful question, and it shows that there are also people like me love and crave the political interests behind the idol industry.

Much love, dear! 🎀💞💞💞

https://www.reddit.com/r/BoysPlanet/comments/18v03uj/an_incomplete_record_of_systematic_discrimination/

[luminouslywriting]

Chapter 20: Finding Easy—The Prophecy (BoB Fanfiction)

A/N: Hello hello my darlings! I hope you all enjoy this chapter so much! I'm excited to say that I'm finished with my observations and that means more time to work on my fics and answer requests! Enjoy and let me know what you think! Mind the fact that there is some medical gore here though, just so you are aware!

Winnie wasn’t surprised when Roe came bounding forward—and she had half an idea to do the same thing, except for the fact that common sense, logic, and her sense of propriety was gripping at her chest.  She was still his superior officer in the field.  So when Roe reached her, both of them let out a sigh of relief and he gave a salute. 

“Doc—” 

“Oh just call me Winnie.  We just jumped out of a plane, for God’s sake,” Winnie replied, looking him over immediately for any sort of injuries.  “You’re good?” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“Good.” 

“Your arm, ma’am?” 

“Just a scratch.  I’ll live,” Winnie replied dryly.  It really was just a scratch—though she supposed with the blood splatters on the rest of her uniform, she might look a lot more ghastly than she actually was.  Not a single person needed to know how she had brutally ended the life of a German soldier in an effort to help Lieutenant Speirs out.  That was a one-time thing, though she had no qualms about doing it again if and when needed. 

Survival was, after all, imperative. 

Roe raised a brow, but he understood the need for medical supplies at a time like this.  You made do with what you had and triage was ever important. Before he could reply to her words, Speirs had gathered up the group and given them directions to the checkpoint that they were all supposed to be at. 

Once the men had started moving, Winnie and Roe found themselves squarely in the middle of the quiet march.  Occasionally, Winnie would glance over and take a look at the younger medic.  He had strength of spirit that was hard to find in mankind, Winnie was sure of that much. And truth be told, if Winnie had to be stuck with someone from Easy Company on today of all days, she didn’t mind one bit being stuck with Eugene Roe. 

And it wasn’t just because she trusted him.  It wasn’t just because she considered him a friend.  It was because he was a damn good medic and he knew how to utilize that.  And she was going to need every medic that she could once they got to the checkpoint. 

It was another hour before they even made it to the checkpoint.  Each step was rough in terrain and tense.  Winnie wasn’t afraid of getting shot though.  It was probably a rather grim thought, but getting shot was much preferable to anything else the Germans could do to her.  And she had been thoroughly debriefed by Sink on the many things that could possibly happen to her. 

Those possibilities just floated around in the back of her head now, haunting the darkest corners of her mind that she had already lived through. 

So no, it wasn’t Winnie being reckless or foolhardy—and it certainly wasn’t her idea of courage.  But she couldn’t live in fear while she was out here or she’d never take another step forward.  And she knew that as well as she knew her own name or as well as she could diagnose a medical condition. 

When they did finally arrive in town at the checkpoint, Winnie was relieved to find that Buck Compton was already there.  He let out a slight whoop at the sight of her, arm immediately slinging around her shoulder.  “I knew you were tough as nails, doc!” He exclaimed.  Winnie was half-certain he would have ruffled her hair had she not been wearing a helmet and giving him a look that rivaled Russian winters. 

“It’s good to see you,” Winnie stated evenly.  “You’re—” 

“Uninjured, but we’ve got a couple barns commandeered for the guys that are.  You and Doc Jr gonna be okay handling—” 

“Don’t call him Doc Junior, that’s demeaning.  And yes, we’ll be fine,” Winnie stated, straightening her helmet.  “Just point me in the right direction.” 

Buck gave her instructions on how to get to the barn and Winnie immediately instructed Roe to get there and get there fast. She was going to scrounge up any medical kits that she could find from men that were on the ground and didn’t need their kits at the moment.  Every bit of equipment helped after all. 

She had been diligently gathering various medical kits up when a whole stack of them was set down in front of her.  Winnie glanced up from her inventory, surprise evident on her face.  Ronald Speirs stood there, an unreadable expression on his face as he set down the kits.  “Commandeered these off of the guys,” he stated.  “Heard you needed as many as you could get.” 

“Yeah,” Winnie said, gaze dropping down to the stack of eight medical kits.  “Thanks.” 

“Just do me a favor?” 

“Sure.” 

“If I ever get shot, I want you stitching me up.” 

Winnie gave a half-grin.  “Because I killed a man earlier today?” 

“Near as I figure,” Speirs said, shifting his weight as he looked down at her.  “If you can practice medicine as efficiently as you kill, we’re all in good hands.” 

At that, Winnie couldn’t help the grin on her face.  “You got yourself a deal.  Do me a favor and try not to get shot.” 

“Yes ma’am.” 

And with that, he was gone.  Winnie gathered up the kits and brought them into the barn, which had become a makeshift hospital.  There were a few other medics in there—but now they had access to supplies and that meant that they could actually get to work on the men that were injured.  

The stench of blood, urine, sweat, and animal feces would have surely sent any sensible nurse spiraling in a fainting spell or puking her guts up.  But for Winnie, she seemed immune to the smell, moving amidst the men and pinching down on wounds that were bleeding, calming and soothing crying men, administering morphine, and doing what she could.  It seemed, at least to Eugene Roe, that Winnie Allen was a totally different person when she was with her patients.  She smiled and spoke softly, soothing and motherly in every sense of the word.  And then the moment that a man had slipped into unconsciousness, she’d harden and spit out orders faster than General Sink. 

Winnie came to a stop near a man who was crying out.  She wasn’t sure that she’d call him a man.  He couldn’t be any older than Charlie was—and that made him a boy in her mind, regardless of whether or not he had just jumped out of a plane. 

His leg was a mangled and torn up thing, with bone sticking out and blood staining the hay where he was laying.  Winnie’s reaction was immediate—he’d need surgery and that meant getting some morphine in his system so she could actually begin that surgery.  Winnie lay a soothing hand on his forehead, wiping away some of the sweat and strain that had built up there. 

“What’s your name?” Winnie questioned, voice in a motherly and warm tone. 

“Private H—Henry Adams, ma’am,” the boy choked out. 

“Alright Henry, I’m going to need you to breathe with me.  In-two, three, four, and out-two, three,  four,” Winnie guided him in his breathing, one hand on his chest.  Hyperventilating was a sign of shock and this poor boy did not need that before being given morphine. 

Slowly, the boy sucked in a breath and followed her lead.  And that’s when Winnie grabbed the morphine, gently administering it.  She watched as Henry slipped into unconsciousness, lying back and eyes closing as he let out a soft breath.  As soon as he was out of it, Winnie got to work stealing Spina from a patient and beginning the surgery. 

It was grueling work—getting the bone placed back where it needed to be.  Winnie made do with what she was given—but it wasn’t much for this poor soldier.  He would need an actual hospital wherein a doctor that had access to metal screws and plates could perform an Open Reduction and Internal Fixation.  Winnie had no such access to metal screws and so the best that she could do for poor Henry Adams was to set the bone back in place with a splint and carefully clean up the site of the cut—then stitch it back together the best that she could. 

She marked him down for transport—whenever a hospital became readily available, he would be sent there for the actual surgery and recovery. 

Winnie handled dozens of cases exactly like this—wherein she had to make do with the materials that she had been given and pray that they would survive long enough to make it to an actual hospital that contained real supplies and help. 

By the time that Winnie stepped out for some water and a breather, the sun was beating down high overhead and the place was bustling with more and more soldiers flooding in.  She sucked in a breath, the sound of gunfire loud in the distance.  Winnie was used to hospitals where things were busy and chaotic.  The battlefield was a different sort of story though and she wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to it. 

Her hands were coated in dried blood and Winnie just stared at them for a long minute.  Just then, she caught sight of a group of Easy Company soldiers sitting on a hill, taking a moment to relax.  Her gaze caught onto Dick Winters and Winnie couldn’t help that she immediately started forward. 

“Well you certainly took your time,” Winnie called as she approached. 

That caused Dick to nearly fall from his leaning position, gaze immediately sharpening as he took her in.  Dick was on his feet in seconds, eyes wide at the sight of the blood covering her hands.  He immediately extended a warm hand.  “Winnie! Buck said you made it, but—” 

“I don’t think you want this blood on your hands,” Winnie stated in light amusement.  He set his hand back at his side, giving a nod.  “I’ve been in surgery,” Winnie added with a shrug.  Her gaze swept over him, concern lessening as she realized that he didn’t have any injuries.  “No sign of Meehan?” 

“Nope.” 

Winnie gave a nod, rocking on her heels slightly.  “Guess that puts you in charge if he doesn’t show up.” 

“That’s what Buck was saying.  Let’s hope Meehan shows up.” 

“Well if he doesn’t,” Winnie said pointedly.  “You’ll do just fine.  You care about the men.  You’re not gonna lead them astray.” 

He gave a wry smile at her words.  “Anyone from Easy Company end up in surgery?” 

“No, thank God.” 

“Good.” 

“I’ve got Roe and Spina with the injured now.” 

“They’re good?” 

“Doing just fine.  Roe got found by Dog Company early into the jump and I found Speirs pretty early on, too.” Winnie explained.  Just then, a messenger arrived on the scene for Dick and Winnie just waited patiently as he relayed that the leader of Easy was needed.  “Guess that means you, Dick.  Take good care of them.  And yourself.” 

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

Another hour ticked by, with more and more wounded getting brought in.  Winnie kept a steady eye on the entrance of the makeshift hospital, giving directions on where to set people and barking out orders as needed. 

She had been finishing up a stitch in someone’s leg when someone was carried in.  “Hey Doc, Popeye got hit,” Toye’s voice filled her ears. 

Winnie cut the thread quickly, immediately moving over to the cot where Popeye was face-down—a bullet in his ass.  “Oh shit,” Winnie mumbled.  “How ya’ feeling, Popeye?” 

“I’m alright,” Popeye grumbled.  “Feelin’ a bit foolish, though.” 

“We got some gunpowder on it to help with the bleeding,” Toye explained as Winnie looked over the wound.  

“How bad is it, Doc?” Popeye asked, voice a bit higher pitched than normal. 

“Oh you’re gonna be just fine,” Winnie reassured him in a gentle tone, fingers lightly pressing onto it.  “The bullet didn’t go very deep, but you’re gonna have a hell of a time sitting on your ass for a while.  Best to get some bed-rest and get to a hospital so you can actually heal up.” 

“But Doc—I just got here!” 

“Well that’s an order, and I know you’re not about to start arguing with me,” Winnie stated pointedly.  “Now I’m gonna have Roe extract the bullet and take good care of you, alright?” 

Popeye just grumbled under his breath for a moment or two before giving a nod.  “Yeah alright.” 

He was whisked away by Roe, leaving Winnie standing there for a moment.  She glanced over at Toye, who hadn’t moved from his position near the entrance to the barn.  “Everything go okay?” She questioned. 

“Nearly got taken out by two grenades,” Toye shrugged. “Took a couple of losses with some guys.  But we took the guns.  Everyone’s just getting back now.” 

“Well I’m glad you’re alright.” 

“Say, Doc, you look dead on your feet.  You should take a breather.” 

“Maybe just for a minute,” Winnie agreed, pinching the bridge of her nose and fighting off the pressure in her head.  She was feeling tired, but she could keep working if she needed to.  She blinked open her eyes, finding Toye just standing there with a deadpan expression.  “What?” 

“I’m serious, you need a break.  You’re not gonna help anyone if you’re fallin’ asleep on everyone or too tired to do anything.” 

Winnie scowled.  “I can handle myself, thank you.” 

“That’s fine. I’ll just go tell Nixon you’re overworkin’ yourself.” 

“Ass,” she grumbled.  “You wouldn’t dare.” 

Toye crossed his arms very firmly, giving her a taste of her own medicine.  “I think you’ll find that I very much would.” 

Winnie just stared at him for a minute, then shook her head.  A person called for her and she just turned back to her work. “I don’t have time for mind games,” she grumbled, rushing back into the fray of the hospital.  

She immediately got to work on a patient who was screaming as they tried to extract a bullet.  Her hands strayed to the man’s shoulders, holding him down and saying soothing words to try and distract him.  She didn’t know how long this sort of thing continued for—her moving between patients, murmuring soothing words, sometimes singing to calm them down, extracting bullets herself, barking out orders—

But it wasn’t until Lewis Nixon did, in fact, show up in the makeshift hospital that Winnie knew that Joe Toye had not been lying.  

[itshirohi]

HEWOOOO :3333 may I ask for some Hcs about what Eugene likes/dislikes?

𝔼𝕦𝕘𝕖𝕟𝕖’𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕕𝕚𝕤𝕝𝕚𝕜𝕖𝕤.

I hope you enjoy :> Warnings: might have light mentions of violence.

Let’s start with dislikes, just to be a little unpredictable.

✦ The list will probably be long, as this absolute hater of a man tends to dislike a lot of things. On the very top of said list, will probably be waking up early. There is no hope to make this man wake up before at least 10 AM. The occasion has to be very special (like a scheduled match), but even then he is going to be very grumpy and snappy all day long. ✦ Being asked too many questions. Especially if he is having a bad day (many such cases). If you keep pestering him, it’s a good way to earn yourself a kick straight to the shin (or a more sensitive spot if he’s in a particularly shitty mood). ✦ Any sort of disrespect directed towards his family, especially his parents. He will *not* get over it and live it down. You say a bad thing about the people who worked so hard to raise him? You can feel lucky if you end up without any broken bones. Yu-Jin takes things like that *very* seriously. ✦ Yu-Jin is a very hot-headed guy, which means he also doesn’t take lightly to any insults or disrespect thrown his way. He is quite the cocky little thing, so even if it’s a fighter visibly more powerful than him, he will still attempt to defend his honor. ✦ Showing his scars. Whether it be the ones on his body, or his eye, Yu-Jin likes to keep it hidden at all times. It’s not that he doesn’t like how it looks, he doesn’t mind honestly, but it’s a reminder of his previous failures and the trauma that came with it. When Yoshioka made him the eyepatch (you can see it in his newer/Omega design) Yu-Jin was beyond grateful. The bandages were getting too bothersome to wrap around his head on a daily basis. ✦ Eye contact. He just feels like people stare at him weirdly because of his rough appearance (and the missing eye). It’s mostly all in his head, but he still avoids looking straight at others nonetheless. Sometimes it makes him come off particularly rude. ✦ Physical touch. Not a fan of showing physical affection at all. In fact if anyone were to try and hug him, he’ll probably freeze in surprise and then quickly try to shove them off. ✦ Taking photos / having pictures taken of him. Maybe it’s just his lack of skill, maybe he just isn’t the type of person to look good in photos… but dear lord, he looks absolutely awful in them. A scowling, disheveled mess, no matter how hard he tries. Do not ask for his ID photo, there is not a single thing in this world that will make him willing to show that monstrosity. ✦ Crowds. Eugene isn’t the most sociable man, though that honestly would be an understatement. Whenever he does go out, it’s usually a one on one kind of meeting. He rarely meets up with more friends at the same time. ✦ Changes in plans. He is the kind of individual who is constantly busy. His schedule always seems to be full (mainly with things like matches, work and helping his family), which means he has to plan far ahead most of the time. If you cancel out on him, he *will* get upset and probably not speak to you for a good while. ✦ Being told what to do. Unless it’s coming directly from his parents or someone he has a lot of respect for, his ass is NOT going to listen. ✦ Natto. A bit of a random and minor dislike. He’s just not a fan of the taste and texture.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

Now finally for the things Yu-Jin *does* like…

✦ Jajangmyeon. Nothing hits the spot quite as well as his favorite dish does, to him. It reminds him of his childhood, the times when his mother used to serve it to him, whenever he came back from his Taekwondo lessons. ✦ Another food related one - he loves fruit tarts. Especially if they include strawberries. He is an absolute sucker for those. ✦ His favorite instrument to play is an electric guitar, but he also is quite fond of a classical piano. He is horrible at both, but a man can dream… ✦ As far as music genres go, he mainly listens to death or thrash metal, but he doesn’t mind anything heavy and loud in general. This preference probably started during his highschool days and being a part of a local punk rock band. Even though he got kicked out of it pretty quickly, he still keeps in touch (briefly) with his former friends and attends every one of their concerts that he can. He likes underground bands the most, saying that it makes him feel more connected to their music. He also likes pop music, but it is a secret he doesn’t share with anyone as the thought of admitting to it makes him beyond embarrassed (spare his poor, easily-flustered heart). ✦ Related to the point above, but he also loves to collect band merch and music albums. He has quite a big collection in his room, including posters (signed), limited edition releases of albums and shirts. ✦ Singing in the shower! It’s another one of his little secrets. He can’t imagine showering in complete silence. ✦ Staying up all night, either drinking by himself or blasting some music on his headphones. He just likes to take his mind off things and not have to worry about what happens next (or if nightmares are going to torment him tonight as well). ✦ He can’t have pets due to his extremely busy life, but if he could have one, he’d really want a turtle or a snake. It’s been his dream since he was a kid. ✦ And of course, Eugene also likes…His friends! Does he show it? No. Do his friends feel that he cares? Probably not. But deep down, he really does care, he’s just incredibly emotionally constipated. Yet when it comes to it, he would probably be the first one to throw himself head first into danger without thinking, to save any of his friends.

Okay I think that should cover it for now. At least for the basics… today I’m really distracted so this might have turned out pretty bad and messy LOL Also ngl… an urge to maybe write a short fanfic with Eugene has appeared in my brain while writing this… The thing is, idk what it would be about. Ideas very much appreciated, my brain needs a little nudge, it seems. *Maybe* I’ll try to tackle some requests for non-OC headcanons soon too… if no one is going to feed me more Joji/ Kureishi/ Samato/ Wulong content I might actually go insane and just do it myself.

[sea-nymphs-harmiony]

a kotlc rant that I made a while ago

btw I haven't reread this and I just copy pasted it from them original file. any ways apologies in advance if it doesn't make any sense

The thing that really ticks me off about Kotlc is that the series had a missed opportunity to show how governments are seriously corrupted or society is weirdly distopian.Like, at first the Lost cities/Elvin society is depicted as the "dream world", with ageless, beautiful people with endless money living in crystal castle where everyone is "equally treated" and how Elves are innocent throughout history. And it's all the human's fault. But deeper and deeper into the series, you can see the flaws of Elvin society cracking beneath their crystal clean surface of purity and innocence.

How unmatchable, twins, talentless and even people WITH abilities, like shades and pryokinetics are constantly discriminated by the Council and the rest of the lost Cities society, especially how the whole matchmaking thing is messed up? It's basically an eugenics programme where your love life is decided by a piece of paper, constricted to a list of people to choose, because if not, then you will be ostracized from the rest, being isolated just because you married or want to he with a person you love. Also, theoretically, there is only one School in the whole entire civilization, which is Foxfire (which probably the education is extremely biased, especially when it comes to history) and if you're not able to prove yourself to be worthy enough, you get sent to EXILIUM where conditions were so awful that children probably preferred to work as a sanctuary cleaner. (Not that it makes a difference) Even if Sophie came along and changed everything in exilium, it was like that for centuries, and the council or any of the nobles didn't even bother to acknowledge that. Another thing is how Elves, in their words depict themselves as protectors of the planet and doing everything for a right cause or something like that, but then they cover Vespers's experimentations on humans, which they revolt however they end up being seen as the bad ones because Elves put the blame on them and said it was a betrayal . However, even a millennia later, when it was discovered again. The council decided to not tell the rest of the intelligent species about it, not even their own people. Why? So they can make themselves look good! So they don't lose faith or influence from the lost cities!!! It's infuriating honestly, and then they go and act better than the rest. Another thing to take note, is that it is, very, clear that elves can commit any act of violence and not have their mind break from guilt. The whole Nevrseen organisation is proof of it.  Speaking of the neverseen, sure some of their intentions are good, but they do it by terrorizing a whole entire species! Also how they treat humans as animals, not people and how they want to export Billions of people, who have lives, goals, work ect to a  sanctuary where they will he trapped in there forever. Probably their minds swiped and not having a voice to speak up for themselves, because they are literally brainwashed. ​​​​​Also how the council is practically totalitarian because even if People are allowed to vote, it's still corrupt? The council can basically do whatever they want, which is terrifying because they have all the money to do so. So what's stopping them?  Sure, the council isn't the main villain in the series, since they actually help and did stuff, but they aren't an ally either. They are untrustworthy, apart from Brontë and Oralie, but the fact that the council can just  turn against Sophie and the black swan and do their own thing is catastrophic.

maybe not totalitarian? But something similar idk

[lokiondisneyplus]

Potential spoilers below the cut, but a super interesting article.

Some non-spoiler pull quotes:

Tom is my producing partner in a true sense. Before we had any writers or directors, it was Tom and I for months building this story out. We had a 30-page document that was like, This is what the show is: TVA, He Who Remains — even Victor Timely was in that first document years ago. And it’s just carried through. -- This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography. The story that is on screen is the story we set out to make. -- We were casting, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was playing in L.A. and in New York, but it hadn’t gone nationwide yet. I think it was going the very next week. We had gotten a call from our casting director who said, “Hey, I’m about to put together a list for OB — just initial thoughts. But before I do that, I really think you guys should meet Ke, and I think it should be Ke. I think you guys should meet with him quick, because probably by Monday, he’s going to have a lot of offers for different things.”

Of the eight live-action TV shows that Marvel Studios has produced for Disney+ to date, only one has concluded with the explicit promise of a second season: That would be “Loki,” the outrageously entertaining series about Tom Hiddleston’s god of mischief and his metaphysical exploits in the Time Variance Authority.

It turns out, those plans were already in the works before a second of “Loki” had ever streamed. As executive producer Kevin Wright explains to Variety, he and Hiddleston began talking about Season 2 of the show while in production on the third episode of Season 1.

“As we were shooting the ‘Lamentis’ episode, Tom and I started having lots of conversations about how this world could build out, how we dive deeper into it,” he says. “A large part of what we wanted to do was not trying to repeat ourselves, and not try to play the hits.” At the same time, he adds, they also wanted to make sure didn’t start Season 2 by “fast-forwarding through the drama” of the Season 1 finale. 

And so much happened in that finale. To recap: Loki and his variant-turned-potential-soulmate Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) arrive at the end of time, where they meet the creator of the TVA, He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) — the variant of the supervillain Kang who won a massive multiversal war. To prevent future Kangs from emerging, He Who Remains has used the TVA to maintain a single, sacred timeline — pruning away trillions of potential lives in the process. He gives Sylvie and Loki an impossible choice: Replace him as the head of the TVA, or kill him and bring forth an infinite number of Kangs.

Loki wants the first option; Sylvie wants the second. She wins, kills He Who Remains, and boots Loki back to an alternate version of the TVA, where previous compatriots Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) don’t remember ever meeting him.

Variety has screened the first four (of six) episodes of “Loki,” and without spoiling anything, Season 2 picks up pretty much exactly where the first season left off — before then charting its own storytelling path. The full cast has returned, including Gugu Mbatha-Raw as former TVA judge Ravonna Renslayer and Eugene Cordero as TVA functionary Casey. And Majors returns as well as He Who Remains, in addition to another Kang variant, a 19th century inventor named Victor Timely. They’re joined by new actors including Kate Dickie (“Game of Thrones”), Rafael Casal (“Blindspotting”) and recent Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan as TVA technician Ouroboros, aka “OB.”

Behind the scenes, there have been some changes from Season 1. The series’ original director Kate Herron and head writer Michael Waldron both stepped back to focus on other projects. In their places, “Moon Knight’s” Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have stepped in as lead directors, and Season 1 writer Eric Martin stepped up as head writer for Season 2.

To delve into the second season of “Loki,” Wright talked with Variety about casting Quan just before his performance in the multiverse spectacular “Everything Everywhere All at Once” changed the actor’s life forever; what the future of “Loki” the show and Loki the character might be following Season 2; and how Majors’ arrest in March for assault did (or did not) affect their plans for Season 2.

What were the discussions like about how to approach Season 2?

I think we had to just keep reminding ourselves that the TVA is a great world, let’s live in the drama of what we’re creating there. Which means not fast-forwarding through the drama that they just decided to stop pruning timelines, but also staying in the emotional turmoil that Loki and Sylvie are coming into this season with.

Also, there were certain things in Season 1 that felt like they were maybe a risk, and we didn’t know how the audience would respond. Once we realized that they embraced it, it felt like a lot of freedom to go further.

What did you feel was a risk?

In a very early draft of the script that Michael Waldron had written, that first Time Theater conversation between Mobius and Loki was maybe a couple of pages. And then a lot of other big Marvel-y action things happened afterwards, and we all went, “That’s not the interesting stuff. This Time Theater conversation is interesting. That’s what the show could be.” If we are really diving into the character-driven philosophy and introspection of self, that’s quite different than the last 10 years of Marvel movies. Would the audience follow us along on that? 

Tom Hiddleston famously held seminars on the character of Loki for Season 1. Did he do anything like that for Season 2?

No, because we tried to bring back as much crew as we could from Season 1. It was largely the same team. Obviously, we went from Atlanta to London [for production], but a lot of our department heads carried over, so there was an institutional knowledge that was built in. And Tom is my producing partner in a true sense. Before we had any writers or directors, it was Tom and I for months building this story out. We had a 30-page document that was like, This is what the show is: TVA, He Who Remains — even Victor Timely was in that first document years ago. And it’s just carried through.

So even as Kate Herron kind of handed the reins over at the end of Season 1, there is an institutional knowledge that comes with us being the glue between the seasons.

You mentioned He Who Remains and Victor Timely. You finished shooting Season 2 in 2022, but did Jonathan Majors’ arrest for assault in March resulted in any changes to the show? 

No. This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography. The story that is on screen is the story we set out to make. We went out there with a very specific idea of what we wanted this to be, and we found a way to tell it in that production period. It’s very much what’s on screen on Disney+.

It’s clear that Majors plays an integral role this season, and you just alluded that Marvel usually does additional photography on all its titles. So was there any discussion about making changes to the show, given the uncertainty about what was happening with Majors?

No. And that mainly came from — I know as much as you do at the moment. It felt hasty to do anything without knowing how all of this plays out.

How early into the writing of Season 2 did you decide to cast Ke Huy Quan as OB?

We were in London, so I had at least some version of our scripts. The way the process works, they’re always being rewritten, but OB was in there, and his introduction scene was almost exactly as originally written. I would like to say it was in early spring, which was maybe just two months before we started shooting. We were casting, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was playing in L.A. and in New York, but it hadn’t gone nationwide yet. I think it was going the very next week. We had gotten a call from our casting director who said, “Hey, I’m about to put together a list for OB — just initial thoughts. But before I do that, I really think you guys should meet Ke, and I think it should be Ke. I think you guys should meet with him quick, because probably by Monday, he’s going to have a lot of offers for different things.”

So that that Friday, myself, Justin and Aaron, two of our directors, had gotten on a Zoom with Ke. We pitched him the show and this character. We shared that introduction scene with him and maybe the full script. And then we called in the big guns that Monday; Kevin Feige got on the phone with him and said, “Ke, I know you read the script. I know you talked to the guys. We really think you should do this. I really want you to join the Marvel family.” And he had already made up his mind over the weekend. It was like, “I’m there. I’ve been a huge fan of this for a long time.”

In Season 1, the show explored several time periods and locations outside the TVA, but in the first four episodes of this season, you stick to just 1880s Chicago, 1970s London and 1980s in the Midwest. How did you come to that decision to focus more on the TVA and building out its history?

Because that felt like where so much of our core character conflict was going to come from. There was so much intersectionality of our characters and what they think of the TVA. Sylvie wants to burn it down because the apple is rotten, as she says. Loki sees it as potentially the only form of defense against whatever else is coming in a war with Kang. Mobius and B-15, they’ve dedicated their whole life to it. They’re not quite ready to give it up. Renslayer feels like she’s been keeping it together, and you get a real understanding of why she thinks she should be the one to get this thing back on track.

We want everybody to be in the gray area — they’re neither good nor bad. They might make bad choices or heroic choices, but they are trying to figure out who they are. The TVA felt like the place where we could maximize that storytelling and learn more about those characters through that. But also stay tuned, because we are going to more places [in Episodes 5 and 6].

Do you think the TVA could start to appear in other titles in the MCU?

I would love that. Look, I’ve been siloed in on “Loki” for almost five years now, by the time this show finishes, and with every filmmaker who has put their hands on the show, we’ve all had the same conversations: It feels like the TVA could really be this exciting connective tool for all of this storytelling. And we’ve only seen a fraction of it. We’re dealing very specifically with this one smaller department with Mobius and B-15 and Renslayer, but you look out at those vistas — this place is infinite. The exciting thing to us is there certainly are more stories to be told there. We’ve carved out our own little corner of the sandbox and built something cool. We’re hoping that other people want to come and play with it.

One of the things I’ve most enjoyed about “Loki” is how it’s telling its own story, but have you considered bringing more of the MCU into it?

Yes, in both seasons of writers’ rooms. It always felt wrong to go too far outside of the box of things that would directly contribute to Loki’s character arc in these two seasons. So that’s why we get [Jaimie Alexander as] Sif in there [in Season 1], we play with the variants in the void and various levels of Asgard-specific storytelling. But while we’ve had nearly 12 hours of storytelling, it never feels like we have enough time. Eventually, just handling the stories of our ensemble and not shortchanging them has always been priority number one.

Now, Season 1 and 2 were always built to be two chapters of the same book. The hope would be going forward, there are more books that we can tell these stories with. I certainly think that we could start doing that.

Would there be a Season 3 of “Loki”? Is the future of the show finite or more open-ended?

I think it’s open-ended. We certainly did not develop this season going, “We have to tee up Season 3” — in the way that we did with Season 1, where there was a very specific, “Hey, we’re coming back.” But I also think that where this show goes, there certainly can be many, many, many more stories told with Loki in the “Loki” world, and in other worlds connected to Loki, the character.

Do you think Loki would ever rejoin the larger world of the MCU? 

That’s the hope. I don’t want to — yeah. I think the the sun shining on Loki and Thor once again has always been the priority of the story we’re telling. But for that meeting to really be fulfilling, we have to get Loki to a certain place emotionally. I think that’s been the goal of these two seasons.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

[kathleenkatmary]

Screwball September: Ratings, Reviews, and Rankings

I wanted to watch so much more this year than I did. I was really hoping to fit in at least a few more that I've never seen or hadn't seen in awhile. But that just didn't happen.

View the list on letterboxd

01. My Man Godfrey (Gregory LaCava, 1936) - 5/5

In my opinion, the greatest screwball comedy of all time, and with Carole Lombard's greatest performance. She remains perhaps the greatest comedic actress of all time, and all of the reasons why are perfectly apparent in My Man Godfrey. Her timing was impeccable, she wasn't afraid to look silly or ridiculous, and she had an innate understanding of when to go big and when to keep things a bit more subtle.

She and William Powell were also such a great pairing. They actually made a few films together, and we briefly married in the early 1930s. It's a bummer the movies they made together during the pre-code era aren't better known, but it's an even bigger bummer that this was the only screwball comedy they made together. Both are absolute legends when it comes to screwball comedy, so it really is just such a shame that they didn't make more together. Powell's more lowkey demeanor was such a perfect fit for the archetypical screwball leading lady that was Carole Lombard. That contrast lends itself to fantastic comedy.

The rest of the cast is amazing, too. I love Alice Brady as the flighty mother type, and she's probably at her best here. It's also one of the best Gail Patrick performances. She's such an awful person, and she really captures that sort of high class, unrepentant shittiness. Eugene Pallette played a lot of befuddled, frustrated father types, and this is one of the best roles of that type. He gets to be a sort of straight man played against his family, but since Powell is the movie's real straight man, he still has plenty of screwball moments to shine. Jean Dixon is pitch perfect as the seen-it-all maid, hitting a note that fits perfectly between the batty insanity of the Bullock family and Godfrey's more reserved world weariness. And of course there's Mischa Auer as Mrs. Bullock's 'protege', a ridiculous man who's made all the more hilarious by the way that Auer plays it kind of straight.

The script is perfect. It's just so packed full of jokes that you really need to watch it more than once to catch them all. And the characters really are so well written. I know some people struggle a bit with a lot of screwball comedies (and I admit, I do to), because for all the commentary on the wealth gap and how completely out of touch the rich are, the almost always end with the rich people finding better meaning for their lives, or understanding the plight of the poor, or the important of their family, whatever, without any suggestion ever being made that they maybe shouldn't have all that wealth when so many people were starving, and the poor main character usually ends up achieving wealth. That issue is still present in My Man Godfrey, but the writing for all of the characters does a really good job at making the ones that are meant to be likeable likeable, and giving the ones that really deserve it a very real comeuppance that humbles them. So I think it at least makes the ending feel consistent with the character writing at the very least. And it's an issue I never want to specifically hold against any individual movie, as it's a genre-wide problem, unless the writing really falls down at justifying it in any way.

02. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941) - 5/5

Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda are one of the most underrated screwball pairings, and really just screen pairings, ever. It's a shame they only made three films together (and that one of them is the pretty lackluster You Belong to Me). Both The Lady Eve and The Mad Miss Manton are screwball classics, and so much of what makes both movies work is the insane chemistry between Stanwyck and Fonda, as well as how good they both are at screwball comedy.

The Lady Eve has one of the sexiest film scenes to be made during this era, when the Production Code was probably being the most strictly enforced. The scene with Stanwyck and Fonda in her room, when she's on the bed and he's on the floor next to her and she's just kind of got her arms wrapped around his neck. Compared to what we get today this set up probably seems wildly tame, but Preston Sturges, along with Fonda and particularly Stanwyck, create such an amazing atmosphere for the scene. So much of that does come from the chemistry between the actors, but Stanwyck's performance in this scene is essential to just how sexy it manages to be. Add to that the way Sturges lit and framed the scenes, and it all comes across as being so intimate and sensual. But thanks to Fonda's performance, it's still perfectly screwball.

While The Lady Eve does dig into topics with some depth to them, particularly ideas of perception and how our pre-conceived notions of what's 'good' or 'respectable' can lead us to treat people in ways they don't deserve, the way it does that is so much fun. Stanwyck just feels like she was having such a good time. She and Fonda make such a good pair in this movie because they each bring something to the comedy. Stanwyck brings her incredible line delivery, her ability to make the character very much the cunning criminal she is while also having an unmistakable classiness to her, even when she's not posing as a member of the British aristocracy. Really, it's the fact that you can feel that class coming from her even in the beginning that makes her imitation of a British lady being so convincing so, well, convincing. The whip smart, clever wit of the screwball comedy comes from her, while Fonda brings a really impressive skill for physical comedy. And it's not just the bigger bits of physical comedy, like the pratfalls. It's his entire physicality. So much of Fonda's performance here IS physical. You can feel every bit of his nervousness, his anxiety, in the way he holds his body. It adds so much to the comedy of the movie.

It really is interesting to look at the things they each bring to this movie as a pairing, because when you look at their other stellar screwball comedy The Mad Miss Manton, their dynamic is extremely different and they bring very different things to those roles than they do here. It just makes it even more of a bummer that they made so few films together because clearly their chemistry was ridiculously versatile and adaptable.

This is simply one of the best romantic comedies and screwball comedies of all time. If you haven't see in it, you must.

03. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (Alfred Hitchcock, 1941) - 5/5

Hitchcock's only straight-up comedy is vastly, painfully underrated. The whole thing feels like an exploration on subverting the Production Code. The Code prohibited all kinds of things from the America screen. Anything that might have been too sexual was an automatic no go. Subjects like adultery and premarital or extramarital sex were off the table for years. A lot of writers and filmmakers started to get creative in trying to find ways to slip prohibited topics past the censors, and I think Mr. and Mrs. Smith is one of the funniest and most elegant attempts of subverting the code.

Basically, Carole Lombard and Robert Montgomery are married. But kind of not really because they find out that thanks to some bureaucratic, clerical messiness involving the place where they were married, their marriage isn't valid. Though only sort of because it's really just a clerical thing. But when Lombard finds out and learns that her husband has already been informed, she's expecting the excitement of their younger years and something like a romantic re-proposal. Montgomery, on the other hand, who doesn't know that his wife has been informed, is hoping to recapture some of the excitement of his unmarried years by taking Lombard to bed without remarrying her. She takes exception, leaves him, starts up a thing with his best friend, while he wallows in misery, has bad dating experiences, and tries to win his wife back.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is quite audacious in the way it approaches its subversions of the Code. It definitely seems to take an Air Bud approach to the whole thing, getting around certain rules and restrictions based on the idea that if there isn't a rule specifically saying they can't do it, it's fair game. The script is very blatant in the way it not only has Montgomery and Lombard locked together in their bedroom in the morning, but also shows them in bed together. And Hitchcock's shooting of the scene takes great care to show the physical connection between them as they lay in bed together in each other's arms. That physical aspect of their relationship is shown again in the next scene, as Lombard slides her feet up the bottom of Montgomery's pant legs, until he says something to upset her.

That physicality is extremely important. That physical/sexual aspect of the relationship has to be clear, because that physical closeness has to be in your mind when you find out that they're kind of not really married. Following up the scenes that demonstrate that aspect of their relationship with the scenes where they find out they're not married highlights the first subversion of the code: This is essentially a story about a couple that had been engaging in premarital sex for years. This is only underlined by the fact that Montgomery is so excited by the idea of having sex with her before fixing the error and that Lombard is so horrified.

But they have to still mostly technically be married in order for this to get a pass from the Code office. So then they use that fact, too, to further subvert the code. After Montgomery's attempt, Lombard leave him, and quickly takes up with his best friend and partner. Which means, since their marriage issue is really just a technicality, we've got one of the main characters of the movie committing adultery.

And those really are just the most prevalent ways in which the movie lays with the Code in order to subvert it.

The movie, both in the ways it subverts the code and more specific aspects of it, really is about exploring gender roles, the way those roles might lead to certain behaviors being assigned within a marriage, the way certain attitudes that might be common with on gender or the other can impact a marriage, and how those kinds of things can impact the way a man and a woman might see each other. But rather than adhere to those more traditional ideas about what a husband is and what a wife is, both the husband and the wife turn out to be pretty awful people, and perfect for each other in that awfulness. This isn't an uncommon ending in remarriage comedies, but I think Mr. and Mrs. Smith is easily one of the best at really highlighting and even reveling in that awfulness, and really developing it in an interesting way.

This movie gets dismissed as a Hitchcock piece because the general idea seems to be that there's not much Hitchcock in it, that it's 100% about the script and that there's none of Hitch's touch, that his voice was not an important part of making the movie what it is. I don't think that's true. Sure, Hitchcock is mostly associated with suspense, but his films were more than that. There were some major themes that Hitch explores in most of his movies. Relationships between men and woman, the ways in which they're compatible and the many, many ways in which they're incompatible, as well as all the reasons they're drawn together. That is Mr. and Mrs. Smith all over.

When it's needed, their relationship, particularly their physical connection, is filmed with a similar softness and sensuality as some of his other films from this era. He might not be building suspense, but this movie is a series of situations where things like tension and awkwardness are made to build, and build, and build. And just as Hitch is a master at building suspense, he's able to build the tension and the awkwardness, sometimes to almost unbearable levels.

Lombard and Montgomery deserve so much praise. Montgomery is so funny. He just slides into the role so well, becoming more and more funny the more his character unravels. Lombard is, of course, masterful. She's one of the funniest women that's ever lived, and she's able to make her character likeable even as she's behaving in endlessly frustrating ways. They have great chemistry, and are and excellent comic pair, bouncing off of each other so well. Sadly, they'd never get a chance to make another movie together as Lombard died the next year.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith is one of Hitchcock's masterworks, and it deserves to be far better loved than it is.

04. The Mad Miss Manton (Leigh Jason, 1938) - 5/5

I love this movie so much. It might be my favorite screwball mystery. These screwball mysteries almost always have a love story happening along side the mystery, but how well that love story is developed and integrated into the story can vary wildly. I think The Mad Miss Manton manages the perfect formula for that.

A big part of that does come from the fact that Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda re the leads. They're one of the best screen pairings of all time who, sadly, did not make as many movies as they should have together. They had crazy chemistry, and it was pretty adaptable. Their best remembered pairing is probably The Lady Eve, and they are AMAZING there. But I think the fact that their characters - and their relationship - in The Mad Miss Manton are so different from those in The Lady Eve really does show how incredibly and malleable their chemistry was.

But it's not just Stanwyck and Fonda that make it work. The script is really good. The trajectory of the relationship makes sense, and the way their feelings are developed and revealed thanks to specific points of the plot is what makes it all work together so well.

The mystery itself is also pretty good, which is something that can sometimes be an issue with screwball mysteries. It's intriguing enough to keep the viewer's attention on it, but it's not so overwhelming that scene that veer away from the mystery break up the momentum. And the resolution makes sense and it's easy to put the pieces together to understand how and why things went down.

There's so much else I could say about The Mad Miss Manton. In addition to its leads, it has a ridiculously good ensemble, all of whom get a chance to shine. There are some romantic scenes between Fonda and Stanwyck that have such an warm and intimate atmosphere. There are so many funny jokes. This is just such a gem of a movie, and it deserves to be as loved and revered as something like The Thin Man.

05. Carefree (Mark Sandrich, 1938) - 5/5

I LOVE Carefree. It's one of my very favorite Astaire/Rogers movies, and I think one of their most underrated. It has a sort of unique feel to it - not so much that it feels wildly different to the rest of their movies, just enough that it feels a bit refreshing - because, I think, Fred doesn't play a dancer in this one. He plays a psychiatrist, and that alone really does kind of shift the dynamic between his and Ginger's characters. It makes the plot have a little more going on than a lot their movies.

In my opinion, most of Fred and Ginger's movies do have distinct /feel/ to them thanks to their simplicity, which I think is a good thing most of the time. (and this is referring to the movies where they're the leads. Stuff like Follow the Fleet and Roberta, while similar, are kind of a different matter.) Even as there are often cases of mistaken identity leading to confusion, or Fred and Ginger being sort of forced together reluctantly (at least on her part), the stories usually end up being pretty simple and streamlined, and their relationship dynamics tend to be pretty similar in these situations.

Carefree, on the other hand, actually feels more like a romantic comedy of the era. Yes, there are some great songs and dances (I think Change Partners is one of the best songs from any of their movies, and The Yam is one of their most fun dances), but the movie is a lot less dependent on the musical numbers than their other movies. There's just more to this story, where Fred is a psychiatrist who agrees to treat his friend's fiancee, who seems to be struggling with the relationship and committing, and they fall in love. It allows for more to happen with the relationships in the movie outside of Fred and Ginger (Tony and Amanda, in the film), as they both have strong emotional ties to Stephen (Ralph Bellamy) and their relationship has an impact on that, and all of this in a way that you don't really see in other Fred and Ginger movie. It also ends up making Fred and Ginger's relationship so much more complex and interesting. It all makes for something that feels quite unique among all of Fred and Ginger's movies together.

I also think it deserve praise specifically for Ginger Rogers. This is easily her best performance out of any of their movies. I think at least some of that has to do with how much she's actually given to do, and I think that's also at least somewhat another thing that sets the movie apart. Not to say that Ginger has nothing to do in the other movies, but there's a lot more to her character and story here. I do think this is true of Fred as well, but I feel like, generally speaking, the way the characters, stories, and relationships are usually written in their films Fred just has more to do and is often centered a bit more. Carefree really takes Ginger's skills as both a comedic AND dramatic actress and leans into them. I think it's probably one of her top 5 best performances.

Of course, none of this is to say that all of the other movies that do have more simple storylines aren't good movies. Carefree isn't even my #1 Fred and Ginger movie. I still rank Swing Time and Roberta ahead of it, and I'd say it's tied with Top Hat for my #3. But it is refreshing to have something so different in their collection of movies.

06. Ruggles of Red Gap (Leo McCarey, 1935) - 5/5

One of Charles Laughton's best performances, if not his very best. He plays everything so understated, which ends up working brilliantly both comedically and emotionally. The cast around him helps to bolster his performance with their wonderfully over the top and boisterous performances. Taken all together they provide such a perfect balance to Laughton's more subdued presence, and that makes for great comedy on both sides.

Ultimately, Ruggles of Red Gap is about a changing world and how a person can find their place among those changes. This movie came out smack dab in the middle of the Great Depression, and even though it takes place around the turn of the 20th century, the influence of the Depression can be felt all over it. Ruggles moving from the world of the upper class in Europe to the American West mirrors, in a way, the way the economic crash had upended so many people's place in the social structure. Ruggles is the product of a world of tradition. His family had been in service to the family of his original master (played by Roland Young, who himself gives a really lovely performance that's kind of muted and even naturalistic in a way that's quite effective) and his devotion is born of that tradition and expectation. It's not until he travels to the new world with a new master whose behavior and manners are completely foreign to him that he starts to learn who he might actually be when allowed and even encouraged to follow his own path rather than serving someone else's. And like so many screwball comedies of the era, it's also a pretty scathing takedown of the pretentious arrogance that can come with wealth. Ruggles of Red Gap really is a movie made for Depression times, examining the freedom that could exist in breaking free from the traditional social structure and the idea that wealth is not by any means the thing that determines a person's value.

It's also funny as hell, so it's pretty much just firing on all cylinders.

07. Four's a Crowd (Michael Curtiz, 1938) - 5/5

I am so deeply fond of Four's a Crowd. So often with classic romantic comedies, even screwballs, the story would present a love triangle, or sometimes love square, but there would never be any question of who was going to end up with whom. Even if it's not blatantly clear from the writing, the fact that there are two megastars as the leads, with the other sides of the triangle or square played by much lesser known stars usually serves as a good enough hint of how things are going to play out.

That is not the case with Four's a Crowd. Right down to the very ending where we get a double wedding, it really does feel like a toss up when it comes to who's going to marry who. And while a good chunk of that is because Rosalind Russell, Olivia DeHavilland, and Errol Flynn were at roughly similar levels of fame, the biggest reasons it really works is (1) the script does such a good job of making the connections between the characters and the reasons they might be attracted to each other or see each other as viable options solid and easy to grasp, (2) there amazing chemistry going on between literally every possible pairing of these four people, and (3) the whole story and so much of what happens is just chaotic and frantic in the best way. It really does make it so that any combination of the characters feels viable in the end.

I really do think this is one of the most flat out fun screwball romances. It never once takes itself too seriously, the stakes established are relatively low, so the chaotic nature of the story and pacing feels fun and silly rather than stressful and nail-biting.

08. Wise Girl (Leigh Jason, 1937) - 5/5

Wise Girl is a seriously underrated screwball romance. Miriam Hopkins actually made a number of screwball comedies, but unfortunately she isn't really remembered much for them. And that's a shame, because she was ridiculously good in comedies. She could pull off a sort of natural sophisticated high society type, and then make that type perfect for screwball comedy by making her just a /bit/ ridiculous. I think that's best on display in Wise Girl.

I remember being surprised the first time I watched this by how good she and Ray Milland are together. I knew that Milland could handle comedy from movies like The Major and the Minor, but I wasn't expecting him to have so much chemistry with Hopkins. It's a typical opposites clash and then attract screwball romance, with Hopkins as the judgmental rich girl, looking down on the community of bohemians Milland lives in, and Milland as the judgmental artist, looking down on the conspicuous wealth and out of touchness of the the wealthy class of which Hopkins is a part. They both fill those roles really well, and it makes their chemistry work beautifully.

One of the things that I think is really special about Wise Girl is how much it creates this really great world with the bohemian community Milland lives in, and that Hopkins comes to live in, undercover as a poor artist. Most of the movie takes place in the Greenwich Village community, and it's imbued with such a sense of place that it really does feel like becoming a part of that community when you watch it. The set design is really great and goes a long way toward how successful this is, but it's also the supporting characters, the inhabitants of this world, that really make sit feel real. They're all so specifically and clearly drawn, and it doesn't take long to really understand who most of them are, and what their relationships to each other are. Which goes such a long way in making this community feel like a living, breathing thing.

This is such a good, underseen movie. If you get the chance to see it, you must.

09. By Candlelight (James Whale, 1933) - 4/5

James Whale is really not remembered for comedy at all, but he actually made a few really great comedies in the 1930s, By Candlelight being one of them. It's an extremely light and frothy romantic screwball comedy starring Paul Lukas and Elissa Landi. Lukas himself isn't particularly remembered for comedy, either, and while I do think his dramatic performances are the ones from his filmography that really stand out, he's quite good here. He seemed to understand just how light and fun the material was and matched his performance to it. Landi is also a lot of fun. I think her performance probably ends up being the most comedic in the movie, and she was really willing to do things that were pretty unflattering, but very funny.

Nils Asther is, IMO, the real treat here. He'd been a pretty big leading man in the late 1920s and early 1930s, particularly in roles where the character was "exotic" or otherwise foreign, by the time the pre-code era was starting to wind down in 1933-1934 his star was already dimming. So he's in a supporting role here, but it's a great role. He's Lukas's boss, who is a prince and a womanizer, but probably also the most likeable character in the movie. There's a clear affection between Asther and Lukas's characters, and it's kind of sweet to see the lengths Asther's character will go to in order to help Lukas's out. The character is really charming, but there's obviously a big heart there, and Asther really captures that.

But what makes the movie really work so well is the chemistry between Lukas and Landi. Because of the premise, both characters could easily end up feeling unlikeable, and the relationship between them would then be a pretty hard sell. But thanks to their performances and how much chemistry there is between them, it just works.

By Candlelight is a real treat of the late-pre code era, and one of the most underappreciated screwball comedies.

10. Make a Million (Lewis D. Collins, 1935) - 2.5/5

Okay, I just have to start by saying that if the headline 'Radical Professor Named in Charges by Girl Student" was in a paper today it would almost certainly be a very different type of story.

Make a Million is actually really interesting, especially for something from the 1930s. It as pretty common for screwball comedies to take the wealthy class down a notch or two by poking fun at the ridiculousness of wealth and how out of touch it makes people, but they're usually still quite light on their politics. Make a Million is pretty different in the way that it blatantly discusses political ideas surrounding wealth that were common at the time (and that are still sadly quite relevant). Most people think about the 'Red Scare' and the behavior and ideas of McCarthyism as being pretty firmly set in the 1940s and 1950s, but paranoia surrounding communism, particularly from those in charge and in particularly privileged positions, started way further back than that. And it was pretty prevalent in the 1930s, as the Depression had led to a lot of people wondering if socialism wouldn't be a better way.

Make a Million, for all its faults (and there are plenty), does a really good job of capturing that conflict and the downright ridiculous response those in power had to socialist ideas, and how quickly people in power would jump to and push absurd conclusions to bolster their position, even if it meant spreading around shit that wasn't true. Early on in the movie we see a group of those with power talking about the main character's, a professor, ideas and the 'radical' politics he espoused during a speech that was put on by a group called the World Improvement League. One character insists that the group is quite dangerous, as if he's already heard of them, only for us to find out just a minute or two later that The World Improvement League isn't really a group, and certainly not one with any influence or that could pose any 'danger', as it's something the professor made up to boost the profile of his speech. Which makes the other character look even more ridiculous when he later arrives at the professor's house and sees the address, declares it to be the headquarters for the 'dangerous' group. It's such a succinct but completely accurate piece of satire about the way those in power will rely on half truths, or even flat out lies, and reactionary behavior to shut down dissent. It's a sign that, again, for all its flaws, Make a Million had someone quite clever at least somewhere behind the wheel.

At the very same time it's blatantly pointing out that because the professor is poor he has no recourse if those in power want to go after him for his politics. By putting himself in their crosshairs simply by talking about politics that threaten his power he put himself at risk of not being able to afford to feed himself. The movie does a really great job of setting up the wild power imbalance between the haves and the have nots. It also highlights the way those in need are often demonized by those in power, who wield the press like a weapon, as a way to distract from how much the status quo hurts the common man.

Of course, even with how well so much of its politics is handled at points, there are some issues on that end. There's a bit where a panhandler decides to fake disabilities in order to get money in a way that feels like it was probably offensive even for. Considering what a good job this movie does at demonstrating the issue of the haves vs. the have nots and how capitalism is built to keep those without wealth down, it's disappointed that the poorest characters in the movie are presented in that way. Especially because it remains a thing through the whole movie.

The humor is hit or miss, with a lot more misses than hits. While I think most of the satire is really sharp and work incredibly well, the more general "screwball" bits tends to fall pretty flat. There's the aforementioned scene where the panhandler is faking disabilities that's pretty horrible. But there's also a pair of scene that I think are pretty solidly funny where those panhandlers are learning to behave like a wealthy board of the directors, and then their attempts in action. The panhandlers trying to mimic rich people is a lot funnier than them trying to mimic disabled people. There's one moment that I laughed out loud at where they're all talking with the bank about ways to invest the money, and at one point one of the bankers asks how they feel about copper, and one of the panhandlers responds by saying "I don't want anything to do with coppers! I'd rather not take a change with them!" In general, the movie seems pretty anti-cop. It's a very funny series of set ups and punchlines that works really well. Which just makes it all the more disappointing that there's so much humor here that just does not work.

There's also absolutely nothing about the romance that works. Initially it seems like there might be a fun rivals to lovers thing, and their mutual hatred for each other did allow for a fun chemistry early on. But the female lead character is just so unlikeable. She's a wealthy little capitalist whose ideas and behavior are downright hateful. And then all of a sudden she just magically disagrees with her father and is on the professor's side now with pretty much no reason. The thing she ends up objecting to isn't anything different than things she'd said herself. It also just feels entirely shoehorned in, as romances were kind of mandatory when it came to movies from this era for the most part.

The ending is... pretty disappointing, but unsurprising. For all their criticism of the wealthy, screwball comedies usually still end with a pretty soft touch. The wealthy people might have learned to appreciate things other than money or something like that, but in the end you never really see any wealthy character deciding to redistribute their wealth, and usually the poor characters end up earning wealth. So the ultimate message still ends up being that being a part of the wealthy class is the ideal, and sadly Make a Million follows the same path. In the end, the professor finds that he can create wealth for himself by turning his charitable fund into a business, which just feels like an ending that smacks every single bit of political satire in this movie in the face. It feels like an ending that had to have been mandated by the studio because it's so out of pace with everything preceding it.

This is a tough one to rate. I think I'm going to settle on 2.5/5. When it's really digging into the satire it's one of the most sharp and clever movies from the 1930s I've seen, and one of the most unflinching in its liberal politics. But almost everything outside of that satire falls pretty flat, and the ending almost feels like a betrayal of everything that came before it. I am going to go ahead and give it a 'like' though, because its satire is so damn good.

[300yearschallenge]

Part 1 I Part 2

Théo sat in the dark and cried.

She was so happy for Eugene! Wasn't it wonderful for him to find love like this? Her beautiful, kind son now had a life partner. Perhaps she would soon even be welcoming a grandchild or two to the family.

She kept trying to choke down her tears, sniffling pathetically, but now that the crying had began she found no way to end it. She hated it. The crying. Herself.

"I figured I would find you here," a soft voice rang out from the darkness and Théo flinched, desperately trying to hide her face.

She tried to wave her hand at 'Tine, to get him to leave, but he ignored her half-hearted gesture so he could sit down next to her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She opened her mouth to try to speak, but the moment she tried to make any sort of noise all that came out was another wretched sob.

"There, there," he hushed, taking on the same tone their mother had used on them as children, "Hush, hush."

"D-don't--"

"-- It's fine, Théo. You can cry, it's just me."

"I-it's noth…," she tried to speak again, voice shaking with effort, "N-nothing."

"Doesn't seem like nothing to me," he said and Théo scoffed at him. Stupid, patient Tine and his stupid endless kindness.

"S-stop--"

"Oh, don't be silly," Tine said, "If it bothers you so much to have me comfort you, then just consider it a debt of comfort to be repaid once one of mine get married. I'm sure I'll be a blubbering mess then too."

Théo tried to shake her head again.

How would he know?! At least his children were all his. Truly his. 'Tine never had to worry about them being driven away by the other parent, because there was none.

No other parent to be the favourite or the enemy, to one by one take all of your children away from you.

All except Eugene. And now she had to let him go too.

"He'll still be living with you," 'Tine said and Théo frowned.

"Stop that," she managed to say, very weakly, and he smiled.

"I won't." He said, reaching out to wipe a tear-stained cheek. The skin around her eyes was puffy and sore from all her crying.

"I feel--" she said, tenatively, "Pathetic."

"It's the first time one of yours get married. It's bound to be an emotional moment. There's plently of mothers who cry at weddings."

Théo pouted, "Because they're happy."

"And you're not happy?"

Théo shrugged.

After a moment of silence, the wind rustling through the trees, Tine spoke up, "Can I guess? Is it because of Joseph?"

Théo sighed, and looked around.

Not too far away from here was the tree where they had shared their very first kiss, all those years ago. It felt like a different lifetime altogether.

If she had known how everything would go, would she have done things differently?

Kiss Theodore first instead?

Become the poor, hard-working wife of a farmhand, surrounded by a litter of kind, hard-working children.

She wrinkled her nose slightly. Would that have been better? Or would it just have given her some other grief she couldn't predict?

"Do…," Tine hesistated, "Would you like to come stay with us for a while? You know you're always welcome with me and the kids."

Théo shook her head.

"No," she said, "No, I… I need to be there for Eugene and Iliana. They need someone in their corner."

"Doesn't Eugene have that now, though?" Tine said.

"I-Iliana then," she said, her voice wavering.

"And what of when she marries?"

"T-then--" She stared out into the darkness, trying to think of something.

Émile and Charles Elias were so far away now, too far away. Eugene married. Iliana probably not too far behind in marrying as well.

What if there were no grandchildren for a long time?

What would she even do then?

"You know what I think?" Tine said, laying an arm around her, "I think you've done such a great job being a mother that you forgot about everything else.

Remember all the projects you used to do as a kid? Cross-stitching, knitting, mastering every craft you got to try?"

"Maybe," Tine said, "It could be time for you to make some sort of project that won't depend on your children. If you put all of yourself into others, who will take care of you?"

Théo snorted, "You, apparently."

"Alright, alright," 'Tine said, "All I'm saying is this - if you pick up a project just for yourself after all these years of raising your children, who could blame you? I know my own twin well enough to know you've never been the idle type."

"Maybe."

"Maybe," Tine pulled her closer to him, "Now. Shall we return to the party?"

Théo shook her head.

"Just a little longer here," she said, breathing in the fragrant summer air, "Please. Just a bit more time."

Part 1 I Part 2

[glassslippers-n-cowboyboots]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thanks for the tag @firawren!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 20

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 171,042

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Frozen. I used to write for Tangled and would love to get back into that.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Queen's Blessing

(Rated G): Before Kristoff gets down on one knee he has a very important question for Elsa.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21608512

Love Will Save You

(Rated E) : As a firefighter saving lives is a common occurrence for Kristoff Bjorgman. When his path crosses with Anna Andersen he realizes that he may need some saving too.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21861826/chapters/52177057

The Best Gift of All

(Rated G): Anna is very excited about the special Christmas gift that she has to give Kristoff. Set the first Christmas after Anna and Kristoff's marriage, post Frozen 2.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21661678

In The Pocket

(Rated E) :NFL tight End Kristoff Bjorgman meets A-list actress Anna Arendelle and a spark is lit between them. Can Kristoff handle the pressures of dating such a star?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50414491/chapters/127376749

Faking It

(Rated E): Anna broke up with her fiance Hans, but her family doesn't know it yet and Anna is too embarrassed to confess just yet. Anna hires Kristoff to pose as Hans for her family holiday dinner.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/52233940/chapters/132127150

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to respond to them all

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? I don't write angst endings. I need all my fics to end happy lol.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? All my fics have a happy ending, but if I had to choose I think I'd pick "Marry Me", just because it's the angstiest fic that I've finished so the ending feels really happy to me. But when I finally end "In The Pocket" I think that one will take the cake.

8. Do you get hate on fics? surprisingly not yet

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do. I feel like my smut is mostly very love making-ish and fluffy with feels.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? I'm trying to venture out mre and try crossovers. Right now I'm writing "Check to the Heart" which is a Frozen/BATB crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? No

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have not

14. What’s your all time favourite ship? I guess Rapunzel/Eugene...even though I haven't wrote them in years

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I want to finally finish "Love will Save You" especially after looking at the stats to do these questions. There's only like two chapters left to wrap it up too.

16. What are your writing strengths? I feel like I'm very dialogue heavy and good at that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Descriptions. I don't describe things enough

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I don't know any other languages well enough to do this and would not want to try and butcher it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Tangled

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

OOOH this is hard. Probably "In The Pocket". I love me my sports AU's and I got some angst in there and some good smut too, but mostly it's self indulgent fluff for me.

Tagging with no pressure: Anyone who wants to do this!!!!

[aspd-culture]

When you say pro social instincts, what do you mean? /genuine. Because I’m autistic (and I know you have it as well so maybe this would help me) and I’m not quite sure how to.. I suppose.. distinguish between pro social but autistic, just socially inept, and antisocial and autistic.

Prosocial instincts are all those things that come naturally to prosocial allistics that keep society both together and functioning. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but some examples are -

The desire to be around other people/be in packs, picking up on and internalizing the emotions of the people around you to survive (if they’re afraid, there is probably something that is a danger to all of you around somewhere), contagious yawns and vomiting, the desire to heal other’s wounds, the desire to feed/clothe/house/protect the youngest, oldest, and sickest of your pack, the desire to “pack bond”, sharing for no reason other than to share, passing down knowledge/stories/etc, mating long term/for life without interest in cheating, feeling responsible for not just your own children but all children, the natural pull to aid someone in emotional distress, “mating rituals” like dancing, social games like being polite, the desire to fit in, the fear of wronging and/or upsetting another member of your pack (which once upon a time could have ended in death as humans are pack animals who are not made to be self reliant in the wild), internalizing the morals/politics and culture of your pack, strong attachment to your pack over anyone else (the innate pull to protect people from your community - even if you have never personally spoken to them - over people who live elsewhere) - this is why if a prosocial finds out they went to the same college as someone else or that someone else is from near their hometown, they immediately feel camaraderie with that person even if they have literally never spoken before, the desire to sing and laugh and dance and make stories with people you know, the desire to breed specifically for the purpose of procreating vs just for the fun of it, the need for touch from other humans all throughout life (being “touch starved” in a non-sexual way), the need to feel and be understood/heard/validated, etc. etc. etc.

These are the things that make life… life to prosocials. It’s in every fiber of their being to find a community to belong to and then live and die by that community and it’s rules/customs/etc. It’s what makes living worth doing for many of them. pwASPD work to find our purpose elsewhere, and many of us honestly end up feeling like we are just surviving until life takes us out rather than “living” in that sense, but prosocials find their purpose in each other. Prosocial instincts built communities - by creating this weird setup of behaviors and rituals and such, they can see who is like them and they can surround themselves with people like them so that they can feel content at having a pack which would have been vital to live in the wild. This is why ableist prosocials think pwASPD don’t have a soul or aren’t really human - they think that we must be defective if we don’t want to be around people. To some degree this is difficult for prosocials to control because their biological instincts are telling them that if they were to foster relationships with us, any kids we have would be more likely to end up dead because they wouldn’t have a pack to protect them in the wild. It’s hard for some of them to think past their instincts to realize those packs are no longer required the way they were before we took over the entire damn planet and became the dominant species. It’s not justification, but it’s the reason it happens. Some prosocials - the ones who are ableist and spout eugenics towards pwASPD - are just weak and cannot think beyond the literally thousands of years outdated instincts.

For prosocial autistic people, many of these things may not come naturally, but they *want* to learn them. They *want* to fit in and be liked and have these close bonds where everybody “gets” them and they “get” everyone through the set of subconscious behaviors, chemical releases, social games, etc that are built into allistic prosocial society. The largest difference between a prosocial allistic person and a pwASPD as far as I’ve seen/heard is that a prosocial autistic person may not understand the language the rest of the world is speaking, but they are *trying their damndest* to figure it out - which is where masking comes from. pwASPD who are allistic often completely understand these rituals and customs but actively choose not to participate either because of disinterest or outright disdain for this very illogical set of expected behaviors, and autistic pwASPD often both don’t understand them and don’t care to try to learn. I am an autistic pwASPD and my view on it as a child was that if they enjoyed their weird rituals and games and such, then that was great for them - and all the more reason for me to stay to myself because I didn’t get it and I didn’t have any interest. It’s like seeing people get excited about football when you aren’t interested in it - it’s not hurting anyone and you mind it, but you also don’t get it and aren’t going to try to learn because it’s just not your thing. They can just do that and you can just not and everyone can be happy with that. Basically, autism causes you to not understand these instincts, while ASPD makes you not care about them or actively dislike them.

[dragonsdomain]

Out of Office, chapter 1

I’ve decided to start an Underworld Office longfic despite knowing the fandom is small and that I have never written a longfic before. Been working at it for some time now and have only now gotten it together enough to post it. Hope you enjoy! (Also if you do read it, say hi! There aren’t many of us Underworld Office fans.)

This chapter is mostly buildup, with Eugene struggling with his whole morality crisis while Charlie is generally angsty and Luke, Joy, and Oliver worry about Eugene. Set a couple days after the Charlie in Underworld “Charlie and Eugene” ending. Also on Ao3.

Station 00 is approaching. Please stand clear of the doorways.

The subway pulled to a stop at the station, doors sliding open. Eugene was the only one who got off there.

The place that used to be the station of the underworld office was silent, deserted. Bright yellow caution tape was strung across the entrance to the stairway and back and forth in front of piles of rubble. Eugene ducked under the tape and quietly stepped into the underworld office (or the information center, as it'd be known to the living).

Cracks splayed across the windows, but otherwise, the place was exactly like Eugene remembered it being for years. Except empty. Completely, horribly empty. Devoid of any form of life or death. It was still hard to comprehend what had happened just a few days ago.

Eugene walked over to the lost and found cabinet, his footsteps echoing loudly in the silence. He put a hand on the door, but didn't find the strength to open it. He already knew what was inside. Hayden's hat, unneeded by him once he decided to leave the office for good and stay with his family. Joan's cane, with her and the ghost she'd killed trapped inside for an indefinite amount of time. Boss's charm, which held many evil spirits inside, which he'd left behind after realizing he didn't need to guard the spirit door anymore and leaving. And then the braided lock of River's hair, left behind when she passed into the world beyond. Gone forever.

Eugene slid down the cabinet's door, sitting down at its foot and leaning against it. He felt so tired. He had no idea how he was going to take care of things all on his own now. Why did they all leave? Why did River feel so content passing on? Why did Boss put such an effort into keeping them all there only to leave as soon as he decided he could ditch his responsibility?

Eugene's eyes started to sting. What made Joan think that man she'd killed years ago needed her more than everyone who was still here, still alive? Why did she leave Eugene all alone? And what about Hayden? Was working with Eugene in the underworld office really so hard that he never wanted to see him again?

Eugene coughed to try to clear his throat and wiped at his eyes. The tears just kept coming though, and he couldn't stop the thoughts either. Was being with him really just a part of River's prison? Was she happier in the world beyond now that she didn't have to worry about protecting him all the time?

"Ugh." Eugene held his head in his hands and tried to will himself to calm down. Mostly by repeating a mantra of calm down, calm down in his head, which possibly helped a little bit, but probably didn't, since he was still choked up and feeling thick in the head. "Come on..." he whimpered, begging his brain to get ahold of itself. It had always been nice to have River or Joan to talk him through things when he got like this before. Maybe that was harder for River than he'd ever realized. Maybe that was what she was glad to get away from. He'd thought he was finally doing something meaningful, but turned out he was still just as much of a burden as he'd ever been.

There was a crash of glass shattering on the floor. Eugene's head flew up. A man with a large scar across his face was standing outside the door, looking in surprise at a piece of glass which had broken off of the cracked door and shattered on the floor.

"Oops," he said. "Haha, not a very solid door, huh?" The man winced. "I'm sorry. Will that cost me?"

Eugene stared at him for a minute, trying to get his thoughts together.

"...You alright?" The man tentatively opened the door, wincing as another piece of glass fell loose. "I'll pay for it."

"Augh, no. Sorry. It was already broken," Eugene wiped at his eyes, hoping he didn't look too horrible.

"Oh, thanks." The man slid the shards of glass against the wall with his shoe. He cleared his throat. "Should I come back later? I understand if this is a bad time."

"No, it's alright. I'm here anyway. What do you need?" Eugene jumped at the chance to be pulled out of his thoughts.

"Okay, so... is it true that this place has a history of the um..." He looked around, then whispered "...paranormal?"

Eugene leaned back. "Yes." He'd tried to keep things on the down-low, but he never wanted to lie to people.

The man looked down, uncomfortable. "There's actually someone I've been wanting to talk to, um, someone dead. If that's possible. Her name is Charlie."

Eugene sucked in a breath, his eyebrows flying up. "Died at about 17? About yea tall?" He put up a hand.

"Yeah!" The man perked up. "You know her?"

Eugene ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Well, yes, but... I'm afraid your timing isn't great. I don't know where she is right now."

The man wilted. "Ugh. Guess I should've known it wouldn't be so easy."

"I can't promise anything, but if I see her again, I could ask her about you. What's your name? And how do you know Charlie?" Somehow it hadn't occurred to Eugene that people from Charlie's life could still be alive.

"I'm Mike. I knew her during high school... something happened and..." Mike looked away. "I don't know. I want to talk to her about it if I can."

Eugene raised an eyebrow. Charlie still hadn't told him much about what she'd remembered from her past, so he mused about what Mike could be talking about. "Okay, Mike. If I see her again, I'll mention you."

Mike chuckled nervously. "Thanks." He turned to go, cringing again at the sight of the door.

"Wait, Mike, one more thing," Eugene stopped him. "How did you hear that you could get help with the paranormal at this station? I thought that was pretty private knowledge." Among the living, that is.

Mike glanced back, then looked away. "It... might sound weird. But I had a dream about it."

"A dream..." Eugene gazed into space thoughtfully.

"Well, anyway, thanks for your help." Mike paused as it looked like he realized something. He dug a business card out of his pocket. "Here's my number. Call me if you find out anything."

"Oh, right." Eugene took the card. "I'll tell you what I find out."

Mike flashed a smile and a thumbs-up, then he gingerly opened the door and stepped outside.

Eugene took a deep breath. "...A dream, huh?" Who would give him a dream about the underworld office?

...

Charlie sat in the graveyard, leaning against someone's headstone. It wasn't hers. She'd searched around to see if hers happened to be there, but really she didn't think she'd died in this town anyway, so she wasn't surprised to not find it.

Charlie groaned at the sky. It wasn't raining, but the layer of gray clouds made everything look gloomy, like she felt. Why was it that she just appeared and then managed to drive away every ghost who showed any interest in helping her within a few days? Of course it could be argued that none of that was technically her fault, but c'mon, who is she kidding? Her showing up was the only thing that changed before suddenly the whole underworld office fell apart.

She opened and closed her scissors with the satisfying sounds of metal against metal. Eugene was probably all depressed now because of her. He was probably mad at her too. Ugh, who wouldn't be? Classic Charlie, messing everything up just by existing.

She snipped off the head of a nearby dandelion. She'd thought about it, and it didn't seem like there was much she could do at this point but leave Eugene alone. I mean, maybe she could go and... what, apologize? She'd never been very good at that, as evidenced by the way she'd soundly ruined her life. Whether or not her father had been right in the way he treated her, the title of a bad daughter was definitely one Charlie deserved.

Charlie gave an overdramatic sigh, then felt annoyed that no one was there to hear it. Being ignored was the worst. Maybe she should just go confront Eugene even though he was probably mad at her. Anything was better than just being alone, wasn't it?

After jumping around for a minute in a failed attempt to learn how to fly, Charlie grumbled and then stalked off towards the subway station.

Charlie wasn't sure exactly what her plan was as she slipped between the living people at the train station and boarded. She only really put in the effort to realize that it was stupid to expect Eugene to be at station 00 right now after she had already stowed away on the train. Maybe he was at home. Or maybe he was actually injured from the explosion and was at the hospital. Or maybe he was off knitting with his gramma, she didn't know!

Charlie stashed her scissors between two seat cushions then took advantage of the fact that none of the mortals could see her to splay herself melodramatically across the subway floor and moan. It did help her feel a little better. Maybe overdramatic expressions of weirdome were healthy or something. Therapists would be interested to know.

Charlie pulled herself up and jumped around trying to fly again until the train pulled to a stop and she fell over. Station 00, please stand clear of the doors.

Charlie grabbed her scissors and walked right up to the door. It opened, and she casually-- jumped to the side in a frantic motion because Mike himself walked straight through the door.

"Nope," Charlie said to herself, then dashed out the door and away from Mike.

She wandered over to the wrecked-looking underworld office room and was surprised to find Eugene there, sitting against the wall before a poorly-cleaned-up spray of glass shards. He looked like he'd just had a whole crying angst-fest. Weirdo weak baby. Or, um. Ahem. She should probably try to be more empathetic.

Anyway, he was also sitting there all humanly, so that was a little frustrating.

Charlie walked through the door to stand in front of Eugene and started swinging her scissors around in his face. He startled and scrambled up away from them. "Ack! Charlie? Be more careful with those!"

Charlie rolled her eyes, though ended up paling as she remembered the horrible accident with Mike. She definitely did need to be more careful with her scissors, actually.

"I thought you'd left..." Eugene said absently, looking at Charlie's scissors. "You have your scissors. You don't need to stay."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Leave your body, idiot, then we can talk."

"Sorry," Eugene said, almost like he'd heard her. "I'll head home now, then I can leave my body and talk to you."

Charlie cocked an eyebrow. "Great timing. The subway literally just left."

Eugene stepped carefully over the glass and found a seat on a bench in front of where the subway would stop. He checked that Charlie's scissors were still following him as she sat down on the bench beside him.

She rested her chin on her hand. "You're gonna have to teach me to fly at some point. Man, would've been cool to learn from River though. She was fast."

Eugene didn't answer, obviously. If he was mad at her, why wasn't he saying anything? Was this something Eugene did that she didn't know about yet? Give people the silent treatment when he was upset? He'd talked to Boss...

At length, the subway came. Charlie sighed, then stuck her scissors in Eugene's shirt pocket. He jumped, looking down at them in surprise. He looked around himself in confusion, then got on the train with Charlie following unseeable behind.

Eugene sat like a normal person as the subway chugged along. After a minute a middle school girl walked up to him and they chatted for a while while Charlie hung off of the bars making bored sounds.

At long last the group reached Eugene's stop and Charlie bounced anxious circles around Eugene while he walked to his apartment. At the glorious moment of truth, he lay down on his bed and put the guardian flower in his mouth.

Eugene woke up to Charlie bemoaning the pain of waiting. "uuUUUUUUUHH-- oh finally!" She stood up straight from the position she'd held splayed across Eugene's desk chair. "That took forever."

"Heh, sorry..." Eugene handed Charlie back her scissors. "Why did you let me hold your scissors?"

"Wha? Oh, I just didn't want to freak out the train people by floating scissors around." She rolled her eyes.

"You really trust me with...? Oh, nevermind." Eugene looked Charlie up and down, taking in her dark body again. "Why did you come back? I thought you were anxious to leave as soon as you got your scissors."

Charlie shrugged. "Being alone is boring." She raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you mad at me?"

Eugene stared. "For what?"

"Uh, duh? For ruining your life??" Charlie waved her hands helplessly.

Eugene frowned. "I missed the part where you 'ruined my life'."

"Ugh, well, fine, whatever," Charlie batted the topic away. "Glad you're not mad at me, I guess."

Eugene took a seat on the side of his bed beside his body (beside himself, hehe-). "Yeah. None of what happened was really something you can be blamed for. Anyway, since you're here, there's something I want to talk to you about. Someone came by the office today--"

"Uh oh," Charlie mumbled. Don't be Mike, don't be Mike...

"He said his name was Mike."

Charlie threw her scissors onto the carpet.

"Woah, are you okay?" Eugene put his hands up defensively, or maybe to try to calm her down.

"Yes! No! Ugh-- I dunno!" Charlie gripped her hair. "AUGH! I know I should talk to him, but I don't want to!"

"Why not? What happened between you two?" Eugene stood up, stepping towards her cautiously.

"You wouldn't get it!" Charlie said. She started pacing. "Ugh, can we just not talk about it?

"Well... okay," Eugene said. "Why did you come to me then?"

"Can we just do something normal? Like do a patrol or something? I'm so bored." Charlie collapsed into Eugene's chair.

Eugene cringed. "No, sorry. I'm actually going to meet my friends pretty soon, so I can't."

"Ugh," Charlie flopped backwards dramatically. "Being a ghost is boring."

Eugene shrugged. "You could go on a patrol yourself. Or make some friends."

Charlie raised an eyebrow. "And how'd making ghost friends work for you?"

Eugene flinched, and she regretted what she'd said pretty quickly. He stared at her for a second, then said quietly, "Maybe it'll be good for me to spend some time away from you." 

"Okay, whatever," Charlie said, looking away. "Have fun with your human friends."

Eugene ignored her rather pointedly as he lay down in his body and woke up. He stood and left the room, leaving Charlie alone.

...

Luke glanced over at Eugene in concern. Joy and Oliver were chatting happily, but Eugene had been pretty quiet this whole time. Where everyone else's sodas had almost been all consumed, Eugene's was nearly full. Luke tried to catch his eye, but Eugene seemed lost in his head.

Luke elbowed him. "You alright, Eugene?"

Eugene jumped, then sighed. "I don't know. A lot has happened recently."

Joy leaned over. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Eugene looked torn. "I don't know. I... no. It's fine." He didn't look like he believed that.

Luke felt frustrated. Why wouldn't Eugene talk about it? He knew better than to push though.

"It has to do with the station getting destroyed, doesn't it?" Oliver asked. "Did something big happen with your work?"

Luke pushed Oliver. "Hey, he doesn't have to talk if he doesn't want to."

Eugene hesitated, then muttered, "Something about that." His eyes dropped down to his soda cup.

"Really?" Oliver snorted. "You have some crazy business happening with your Eugene-ish stuff. I wish I knew more."

Luke glared at him. Did he understand the concept of subtlety? Oliver caught his evil eye and only looked confused.

Eugene shook his head. "No, you don't." He drooped. "It's probably better that way. Maybe it would've been better for me too."

Luke glanced at Oliver and Joy, seeing they shared his concern. "Haven't you been working there for years? I thought you liked it."

Eugene curled in on himself, and Joy took the tipping cup from his hand before it could spill. "I liked the people there," he said wetly.

"The people?" Luke sat up straight in alarm. "Like Hayden? Did something happen to him?"

"Guys, I don't..." Eugene curled down, back, and Luke suddenly noticed that Eugene was surrounded. Luke slipped away off of the bench, and it was like a gate had been flung open. Eugene sprung to his feet. "I should go. I think I need some time to think."

"You sure? I mean, we don't have to talk about things that make you uncomfortable. We could just hang out, couldn't we?" Joy said worriedly.

"No, I'm..." Eugene backed away again. "N-not now. Sorry." He turned stiffly and hurried off.

The three watched him walk off. "Should one of us go after him?" Oliver asked tentatively.

"No," Luke said, with more harshness than he'd intended. He winced, then looked back at Joy and Oliver sadly. "Come on, guys. I thought you knew not to pressure him like that."

Oliver's eyes widened, and Joy hung her head abashedly. "Luke, we're..." Joy took a level breath, then met Luke's gaze again. "We're just worried. There's something going on in Eugene's life, and we want to help."

"He'll tell us when he's ready!" Luke reprimanded. "You can't push him!"

Joy's gaze softened for a second. Then it hardened again. "Like he's told us about what goes on at his job?"

Luke opened his mouth to counter, then shut it again. He had nothing to say to that.

"Just yesterday, he was caught in an explosion," Joy stated. "And we don't know why. Except that it had something to do with his job."

"It's not our place..." Luke trailed off as he remembered what Eugene had told him years ago. That his job was dangerous, that it might even kill him.

"As his friends, isn't it our responsibility to do what we can to make sure he's safe?"

Luke looked down.

Oliver tilted his head. "What do you mean? What are you suggesting?"

Joy looked the way Eugene had left and folded her arms. "I'm not sure yet. But we have to do something. If Eugene won't tell us what's going on, we'll have to find out ourselves."

"Spying?!" Oliver exclaimed, looking a little too excited.

"What? No!" Luke burst in. "What's wrong with you? We can't spy on our friend!"

Joy slapped a hand over Oliver's mouth. "That's not what I said, okay? We don't have to spy. We probably have enough information already that we could figure out a lot of things just by sharing info."

Luke frowned. "I don't like it."

"We don't have much of a choice," Joy said. She looked down. "It does feel weird. I know. And it's not ideal. But imagine if Eugene had been hurt in that explosion. We've waited too long already."

"I get it," Oliver said. "He won't like it, but it might be what's best for him anyway."

Joy and Oliver looked to Luke.

Luke avoided their gazes, trying to think. This didn't feel right. He treasured the trust Eugene had for him, and he didn't want to lose it. But what if being too much of a pushover made him lose him? Joy was right. Something about Eugene's work was dangerous, and for all they knew, it might get worse.

"Okay," Luke said, not looking at Joy as she perked up. "Fine."

"Thanks, Luke." Joy gave a relieved sigh. "I don't think we could do it without you. You know Eugene better than anyone."

Luke felt a stab of guilt. Was he really doing this?

Oliver checked his watch and cringed. "Actually, I've got to go right now. Can we do this another time?"

Joy sighed. "Alright, fine. Tomorrow at the latest."

...

Eugene lay down on his bed, guardian flower in his mouth. He wasn't so naive that he could really believe it, but he could almost imagine himself waking up as a ghost to be greeted by River or Joan, Hayden or Boss. That wasn't realistic though. They'd all moved on, one way or another.

Hopefully Charlie was gone by now. He didn't want to try to talk to her at the moment.

Eugene closed his eyes, and when he opened them, he was still alone.

Eugene habitually started flying towards station 00. After a minute or so, he stopped, realizing that he didn't have reason to go there anymore. There would be no one waiting for him.

"It's weird having no one to talk to," Eugene muttered to himself. Would talking to himself be weird? Hadn't he done it all the time when he was young? There was no one around to hear it anyways.

Eugene squeezed his arms. No, talking to himself didn't feel right. He didn't want to remember those days. This was too quiet.

Eugene flew off towards Sean's flower shop. Hopefully he'd be able to find the friendly ghost there (at least Sean hadn't left him). Alone, the ghost world seemed much gloomier than it usually felt. So quiet, so grey. Though maybe the quiet was a good thing? It meant no monsters were wreaking havoc, probably.

Distractedly, Eugene tried to slip through the wall of the flower shop, ending up konking into it. He bounced back, surprised, til he remembered that the lock of River's hair was still around the door, preventing ghosts from phasing into this building. He chuckled, then felt a stab of loneliness at how there was no one to laugh with him.

Eugene went around to the front door and tugged on the handle. Locked. Made sense. It was nighttime, after all.

So did this mean he should just give up? No talking to Sean for tonight? Maybe. It wasn't a big deal, it shouldn't be. Eugene used to be able to deal with being alone just fine. Mostly.

Eugene found himself staring at the coil of River's hair around the hinges of the doors. It had remained when she'd passed on. He absently wondered if ghosts always left behind their artifacts when they passed, if there were a bunch of them lying around the world, but he didn't really care about the answer.

"Eugene?"

Eugene jumped. Sean was on the other side of the door.

Eugene sagged. "Sean, hey. It's good to see you."

Sean clicked open the lock and pushed the door open softly so Eugene could come in. He turned back to Eugene, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Ye-" Eugene hesitated. He sighed. "Not really. But I dunno if... I dunno. I just don't want to be alone, I guess. Could you come with me on patrol tonight?"

"Oh, wow. I'm not sure how much help I'd be, but yeah, I could. But what about Charlie?"

"Not Charlie." Eugene shook his head. "She's not the person I want to be around right now."

"Oh, uh, okay," Sean worried his lips.

Eugene shook his head, then straightened. "We've got to get going. We'll have a lot of ground to cover tonight if it's just us."

"We're going to be careful, right?"

Eugene stared at the floor.

"Eugene?" Sean tapped his shoulder.

Eugene curled up. "Sean, how do you know what's right or wrong? How do you know what to do? If we decide what's good or bad ourselves, what does anything matter? How can we really be good? What's the point?" Eugene started pacing. "It's so unfair. Why do we feel the pain of our sins only if we're aware we did wrong? Why?"

"Uhh, hey." Sean laid a hand on Eugene's shoulder, stopping him. "Let's sit down and talk. Patrol can wait."

Soon enough the two of them were seated on a pair of stools behind the counter. Eugene tried to tap anxiously on the wood and was disappointed that it made no sound.

"So I don't actually know if this is true, I'm just thinking, but here's how I reason it," Sean said nervously. "Um, it might sound a little dumb. And maybe over-optimistic. But I don't think what kind of spirit you have here is the final judgement. I mean, we know this is an in-between space."

"What do you mean?" Eugene asked tiredly.

"Um, I don't think how dark a spirit is actually represents how bad they are. Or- we know that, I mean..." Sean froze for a minute, and Eugene waited for him to collect his thoughts. "I think it's how much the spirit wants to change."

Eugene sat up straighter. "What makes you think that?"

Sean looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs. "Like I said, I don't know really. I don't have evidence for this. But I feel like it'd be nice if we only passed on when we felt ready. 'Cause maybe the real judgement is beyond, and we'll get whatever reward we're ready for. If that makes sense."

Eugene looked out the window, at the moonlight streaming in. "...I guess that's a nicer way to think about it." He couldn't bring himself to really believe it though. Seemed too easy, like an excuse. The world had never been as nice as he'd come to believe.

Sean hunched his shoulders uncomfortably. "I'm really sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier. About how dark a spirit is not matching how bad they actually are. I guess I just thought, um, from my perspective it kind of seemed like my way was a more complicated version of Boss' explanation. I didn't think it mattered, so I didn't want to stress you guys about it." He hung his head. "I guess this is all... kind of my fault."

Eugene sighed. "It's Boss' fault, Sean." Eugene rested his chin on his hand. "Or maybe it's my fault. You figured it out all on your own. I should've figured it out too. Maybe a lot of this could've been avoided if I'd just..."

"What? That's not any more fair than saying it's my fault." Sean frowned. "Anyone could have figured that out....I don't think it makes sense to blame you."

Eugene looked up at him for a minute, then looked down. "What does all this mean about the..." he made air quotes. "'evil' spirits we've been fighting this whole time? If they're innocent..."

Sean waved his hands. "Wait, that's not what I said. I mean, uh, I don't know. They could be innocent? Ish? But I don't know. We're not sure. Maybe."

Eugene dropped his head into his hands. "Hayden was about to turn into a monster just because he thought it was wrong to feel lonely and jealous. And he only thought that because..." Eugene felt sick to his stomach (even though it was ghostly and empty), "...I've told him that. I repeated to him what Boss said about how he needed to stay away from his family."

Sean's hands hovered over Eugene's back doubtfully, then drew back. "It turned out okay though, didn't it? He's okay now."

"...A-and why-- why is Joan... have the 'good' spirits I've helped really been good either? Joan knew the whole time that she'd killed that man!" Eugene gritted his teeth. "And she still got to be light because she somehow convinced herself that it was okay!"

"...Eugene..." Sean hesitated, glancing up and down Eugene's body, checking to make sure he wasn't getting darker.

"I don't know! I don't know anything! I don't know what it all means! AUGH!" Eugene gripped his hair. "What have I done?"

Sean twiddled his thumbs. "Maybe let's not go on patrol tonight. Sounds like you have some stuff to sort out."

Eugene laughed wryly. "You think? Sean... how many spirits who were just hurting have I helped seal in Boss'... fan..." Eugene looked up, eyes wide.

"What?" Sean looked at him worriedly.

Boss' fan. Eugene had Boss' fan. Boss had given it to him before he left. It was in the lost and found cupboard at the office.

"Eugene, are you okay?" Sean tapped him on the shoulder.

Eugene jumped to his feet. "Sorry, I just remembered something I have to do. Bye, Sean. Thanks for the talk. You're the best."

"But I didn't do anything," Sean said, watching Eugene hurry to the door.

Eugene waved goodbye, tugged the door open, and flew quickly off towards the underworld office.

...

Chapter 2

[eponastory]

Do you think bending is genetic influenced or spiritually influenced or both? Bc if it's genetic or genetic influenced the implications of four segregated nation are...strange and eugenic kinda of impossible too but i have a very basic grasp on genetics so i don't know

Honestly, I've been playing around with the idea of it being spiritual and genetic.

We know that the Air Nomads were wiped out... but at the same time, there were some that survived. This is covered in the comics with how traps were set for survivors after the genocide. Now, the live action covers this differently, with an even bringing all the Air Nomads to one place. But after Harmonic Convergence in LoK, airbenders appear.

I'm not a fan of LoK... so I'm kinda working on my own alternate timeline with post-war stuff.

But I also have this thought that even if Aang was the last and he somehow ended up dying trying to defeat Ozai, the cycle would continue, and the spiritual aspect comes into play. That because there are no more airbenders that anyone with an airbending ancestor could potentially be an airbender. The system (cycle) corrects itself in order to stay in balance.

Harmonic convergence brought airbending back in LoK probably because there was an imbalance between the elements. So essentially it corrected itself.

But as far as bending being strictly genetic, I don't think it's really that simple because Aang and Katara in Canon had three children. Two were benders. And I know a great deal about genetics thanks to breeding horses and color genes with them. It's the same thing with some genetic diseases as well.

I bred paint horses. My stallion carries a gene that allows all of his babies to be the same pattern he is, even with non paint moms (mares). We call this homozygous where there is two copies of the gene. Heterozygous is when there is one copy and there is a 50%-25% chance of the gene being passed on. To get two copies, both parents have to have the same gene (or something similar) and pass it on. Two copies will always pass on at least one.

I see bending working like that. There is a small possibility of an underexpressed or recessive. Which is where you get your non benders in a family of benders, if that makes any sense.

Hope this helps!