#but In terms of protectiveness it has to be Alex.

[bloodbathfortwo]

Like minds coded: Gudnyt.

[squarebracketsmileyface]

Thinking about Jam again and how angsty I can make the next fic after My Girl

Found this on a discord server I'm on lol and immediately went "me and the urge to make angst as angsty as possible"

[5sospenguinqueen]

Talk About A Celebration | Franco Colapinto x Reader

Summary: Fans are endeared by your relationship with Franco. Although, it doesn’t take long to discover that his announcement to F1 had more exciting results for the long-term couple

Warnings: Fluff. Pregnancy. Suggesitve comments. Had to adjust the timeline slightly to make this work 

Requested: Yes by anon

F1 Masterlist

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AUG 2024

williamsracing just posted

liked by francolapinto, f1 and others

williamsracing franco colapinto to race for the reminder of the 2024 season, alongside alex albon

20,234 comments

its_yn if anyone can hear screaming, yes, that is me

user1 i cannot wait for everyone to finally understand how great y/n is 

→ user2 i can. i fear we need to gatekeep franco and y/n

francolapinto thank you so much for this opportunity 

→ its_yn don’t pretend to be calm. you’re going to meet THE lewis hamilton. i know you’re freaking out inside

→ user3 who is this and why is she all over the post 

→ user4 oh dear. we have to deal with the f1 girlies not knowing who y/n is 

alex_albon welcome to the team! 

user5 where have williams been hiding him?! 

user6 oh, well hello there

officialmpmotorsport they’re your problem now

→ user7 what does this mean?

→ its_yn rude 

user8 i was upset when i heard logan was being replaced but i think i might be able to forgive this

lilymhe @/its_yn i cannot wait to have another williams girl to gossip with 

→ its_yn i can’t wait to have a conversation with someone that isn’t about tyres

→ francolapinto you said you loved my tyre talk :(

user9 quick update for those who don’t follow f2. y/n is franco’s girlfriend. has been since they were 15. no, she’s not a gold digger. no, she’s not with him because he’s an f1 driver. and the biggest no, he will not date you because he is down bad for his girl

its_yn just posted

liked by alex_albon, olliebearman and others

its_yn my baby is finally an f1 driver! i’m so proud of you, franco. this is everything you’ve dreamed of 🩵

9,789 comments

francolapinto i love you so much cariño

francolapinto i can’t wait to celebrate with you later ;) 

→ williamsracing we’re going to have to media train you, aren’t we?

→ user10 no! don’t take him away from us 

user11 not her posting the most boyfriend coded pics of him

dennis_hauger i’m just so glad it means i escape having pics of me taken whilst i nap

→ its_yn oh, hun. i will literally see you in monza

→ dennis_hauger crap

user12 i acc can’t wait to watch y/n terrorise the f1 grid like she did the f2 grid 

→ its_yn i didn’t terrorise anyone. i was making friends

olliebearman i thought i was getting rid of you! why are you following me

→ francolapinto don’t be like that. i know you missed me

→ user13 i’ve seen enough. get this man a seat for 2025

alex_albon i’m not sure i want you in the garage anymore. it sounds like you terrorise teammates

→ lilymhe i’m so excited! 

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SEP 2024

williamsracing just posted

liked by francolapinto, charles_leclerc and others

williamsracing scored his first ever points in formula 1, in only his second race. ladies and gentleman, franco colapinto

13,432 comments

user1 okay but the way he kissed y/n and spun her around after he come out of parc ferme

user2 franco has been serving this weekend. both with boyfriend material and points

→ user3 yes! the way he’s had a hand on y/n all weekend? we love a protective boyfriend 

its_yn what an amazing day for our williams boys! 

→ lilymhe my ears are still ringing from your screams

→ its_yn don’t act like you weren’t jumping up and down with me

→ francolapinto you were jumping?! you promised to rest

user4 i had my doubts but this little flirt has blown me away

user5 i’ve seen enough. franco colapinto for wdc 2025 liked by its_yn

alex_albon i’m still deeply hurt that you won’t come out and celebrate with us

→ francolapinto yes, but y/n won’t be drinking tonight so we wouldn’t be much fun

→ its_yn oh yeah, blame me. i’m the fun sucker 

→ user6 i bet she’ll be sucking something tonight liked by francolapinto

user7 franco is so unhinged and i love him for it

user8 i can’t believe franco isn’t able to celebrate his points because his gf said so 

→ user9 actually, i don’t think she’s very well and franco is taking care of her, like a caring boyfriend does

→ user10 yeah apparently she was throwing up before the race 

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JAN 2025

its_yn just posted

liked by charles_leclerc, carmenmmundt and others

its_yn baby colapinto coming to a paddock near you in may 2025 

10,234 comments

user1 she is so iconic haha 

user2 omg she’s pregnant?! i just died 

user3 literal mother

williamsracing congratulations, you two! putting in a request for baby headphones right now

user4 every time these two post, i’m reminded of how chronically single i am

→ user5 because imagine falling in love at 15 and then being with that one person for life 

→ user6 poor girl has never had another dick

→ francolapinto and she never will! 

lilymhe this post has been up for two minutes and i’ve already bought 5 baby things

→ alex_albon she’s not joking

→ user7 alex and lily taking uncle/aunt role seriously 

user8 wait, if she’s due in may, that means she’s currently 5 months pregnant

→ user8 which means she got pregnant in august. what happened in august? colapinto’s f1 seat was announced! 

→ user9 aha it’s a celebration baby 

→ its_yn @/francolapinto i told you they’d figure it out. they put it together when kevin got pole 

user10 omg! franco is gonna be a dilf 

→ francolapinto @/its_yn pay up

→ its_yn you’re not hot enough to be a dilf

→ francolapinto that’s not what you said when i was getting you pregnant 

→ williamsracing you know, now that you’re with us for the 2025 season, we’re going to have to media train you

francolapinto just posted

liked by logansargeant, kimi.antonelli and others

francolapinto not long now 

17,436 comments

alex_albon can’t believe it’s a boy. poor y/n has to deal with two of you 

→ francolapinto if it isn’t broken, no need to fix it 

officialmpmotorsport what do you mean williams get to enjoy baby colapinto and we don’t? give him back! 

user1 the kiss with the blue background? cinematic masterpiece

→ its_yn thank you. i’ve been training him since he was 15. he’s still a work in progress though

→ francolapinto oi! 

user2 y/n gives off such boy mom vibes

→ its_yn that’s because i’ve been trying to talk franco out of danger for years 

williamsracing cake? you’re supposed to be staying in shape! 

→ francolapinto i’ve been doing a lot of cardio 

→ user3 yeah, we all know what that means, sir

its_yn i’m still mad at you for scooping your cake out faster than i did

→ francolapinto i’m sorry! i got too excited and i moved as soon as you said go

→ user4 oh bless him. his super fast reaction time got him into trouble

→ its_yn his lack of super fast reaction time is what got me pregnant 

→ williamsracing we saw that! media training for you too

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its_yn just posted

liked by alexandrasaintmleux, dennis_hauger and others

its_yn matias william colapinto

10,034 comments

alex_albon oh wow. are you sure that baby is half franco? he’s too cute 

→ its_yn well, i did all the work

user5 did franco pick his middle name?

→ its_yn yes -_-

→ williamsracing we approve

→ francolapinto come on, they are the reason we have the baby

user6 milf y/n! 

→ its_yn finally! 

lewishamilton congratulations mum and dad. he’s adorable

→ its_yn @/francolapinto i heard you scream from the other side of the house

→ user7 i love how he’s been on the grid for months now and become a father but still hasn’t gotten over his awe for lewis 

user8 i sense a franco colapinto maiden win coming this year with his new lucky charm

→ user9 and with it another baby haha

→ its_yn no, thank you

→ francolapinto yes, please

user10 franco about to make his own f1 grid liked by francolapinto

→ its_yn franco! stop liking all these posts about more babies! 

→ francolapinto can we practice at least? 

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requests open! (but slow)

tag list

@peachiicherries @rosecentury @c-losur3 @heavy-vettel @evie-119 @raizelchrysanderoctavius @lilorose25 @sillyfreakfanparty

[httpsserene]

Me agian lmak

Can I pretty please get the one from the kink list (breeding kink)

With max, pierre,lance, alex and mick

Love you 🫶🫶🫶

🧽🪣 would you like a complimentary car wash? — send me any five (5) drivers and one (1) kink from this list, and i will rank the drivers in order of who i think is most to least likely to participate/avoid, or love/hate that kink !!! each driver will have a small blurb written xxx

༊࿐ ⊹ ˚. i tried my best with this one, i feel like it kind of does not eat :( happy 3k bianca xxx

⌕ 3k v-day celly nav | all 3k requests | main nav | table of contents ↻

𝐦𝐭𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐤 fem!bipoc!reader x mv. 1 | pg. 10 | ls. 18 | aa. 23 | ms.47 cw under the cut.

refrences to marriage, pregnancy, starting a family, baby trapping, gold digging, and more. mick has a bit of a menty b about the seriousness of pregnancy. less smutty and more focused on internal monolgue.

𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭

Pierre’s breeding kink is severe. It wasn’t as prominent with his past girlfriends—but with you, it’s like he can’t erase the thought of getting you pregnant out of his head whenever you have sex. Sometimes, he catches himself agonizing over the fact that he didn’t finish inside you, because he thinks he’s wasted an opportunity to knock you up. He hasn’t discussed this with you, though—mostly because he’s afraid that you’ll think he’s more of a weirdo than you already know he is. You’re the one who goads him into fucking you harder by begging him to fill you up, so is it his fault? It’s a miracle that you haven’t ended up pregnant from the amount of unprotected sex you two are participating in and he knows it’s disgusting to even briefly think about wanting your contraception to fail. He thinks it’s that extreme because he’s always wanted a gaggle of children, a bunch of mini-you’s and mini-him’s running around. He’s not insane enough to have you carry five of his children if you don’t want to—surrogacy and adoption are always options, too.

Max does not have a breeding kink. If he looks at you interacting with his nephews and thinks that you’re going to be the best mother to his children, that’s not proof of his so-called “breeding kink.” If he thinks he’d be thrilled to have you hand him a positive pregnancy test right now, that’s not proof of his so-called “breeding kink.” If he cradles your stomach delicately as he slowly grinds into you from behind, mumbling into your shoulder about how he can’t wait to put a baby in you, that might be a breeding kink. And, if he pretends that he’s cumming inside of you even though he’s using protection, that might be a breeding kink. Max isn’t ready to be a dad but, he knows you’d look like even more of a goddess if you were pregnant. He has dreams of you waddling around the apartment with a rounded belly, always startling awake from them drenched in sweat and rock hard. 

Alex wants to start a family with you, but he just doesn’t have a fetish about impregnating you. He thinks the term “breeding kink” is a little bizarre, sounding too animalistic for his taste. If you’re the one with the kink for being bred, Alex would try his best to satisfy that urge for you, but he’s going to sound a little awkward while doing it—there’s no way he’s going to make the phrase “I’m going to knock you up” sound attractive. His tone always comes across as unsure, the two of you pausing mid-fuck to stare at each other in silence before collapsing into hysterical laughter at just how corny that was. He thinks it’s better to continue his usual dialogue of compliments and praise, instead of trying and failing to see the allure of an impregnation kink.

If there were a kink for being sexually unattracted to impregnating you, Lance would have it. It probably stems from pregnancy scares with his exes, where the elation of possibly becoming a parent was tainted by what was an attempt to baby-trap him. It doesn’t matter what precautions the two of you take during sex, Lance wouldn’t even insinuate that he’s going to breed you—he’s traumatized, and that would ruin the pleasure of sex with you. It’s not that he thinks you’re like the women in his past who were gold diggers–he knows that you’re dating him because you love him and you aren’t chasing after his wealth. But please, save the breeding kink until after the two of you have been married for a few years.

Mick is too respectful to have a breeding kink. He thinks it’s demeaning of him to be sexually aroused by impregnating you. Matter of fact, he thinks any variation of “I want to get you pregnant” said by anyone should be considered a threat if they're not serious about it. He doesn’t understand the psychology of it—are those who have the kink aware of the commitment that is having a child, let alone the risks and difficulties of pregnancy? If people did, he thinks a lot less of them would have a breeding kink—not that he’s mansplaining, he’s just trying to be a gentleman. Do you know what Mick finds attractive? He finds being able to have an uninterrupted night of sleep with his beautiful girlfriend attractive—being well-rested and childfree, turns him on. He’s young, you’re young—these years should be spent cherishing each other before he’s mentally prepared to start taking the breeding roleplay seriously.

𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭

© httpsserene — do not reupload. photos in header from pinterest. mdni divider by @cafekitsune.

[bookoftheironfist]

Foggy: "What are you guys doing here?" Danny: "We're friends. You're in trouble." Foggy: "I-I didn't even know you were still together." Danny: "Special occasions." Daredevil vol. 2 #78-79 by Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, Dave Stewart, and Cory Petit

Danny and Luke rescue Foggy Nelson from Reporter Hell.

This takes place during the "Murdock Papers" storyline, in which Matt Murdock's secret identity has become front page news for the second time in a very short period of time. Matt himself has vanished (he's gone off to try and solve the problem as Daredevil), leaving Foggy, his law partner and best friend, to face the hordes of reporters who failed to break the story the first time around and are eager for a second crack at it. A unique and, to me, compelling element of the Bendis/Maleev DD run is the heavy presence of the news media—through the spotlighting of characters like Ben Urich and J. Jonah Jameson, and also through the press's inclusion in the run's broader exploration of superheroes as public figures.

Luke and Danny first met Foggy back in the early 80s via Heroes for Hire, when Foggy employed them to serve as bodyguards for Matt, who (gasp! shock!) had found himself in the mob's crosshairs. They previously knew him, however, by reputation; Nelson & Murdock was a high-profile law firm, and Foggy had also recently served a term as the New York District Attorney. Following the bodyguarding job (which did not go well) and then a team-up with both Daredevil and Foggy (which went a bit better), the group ended up becoming close acquaintances, and eventually, close friends. While it is unsurprising for Danny and Luke to hang out with Matt, as fellow NYC superheroes with frequent team-up opportunities and a lot in common, it is even more meaningful to me to see their fondness for Foggy, who they continued to protect through the rest of Daredevil volume 2 and, notably, during the "Shadowland" event, where Foggy's life was actively in danger. I also love the way Luke and Danny's time-honed and trademark teamwork is on full display here, even in this relatively low-stakes situation, with Danny stealthily checking in on Foggy and hurrying him away while Luke stands out front, drawing the attention and metaphorical bullets while telling the crowd to %@$# themselves.

There is a parallel that I greatly enjoy between Danny and Luke and Foggy and Matt as two of Marvel's most prominent and enduring pairs of business partners/best friends. As Danny says here, they weren't officially operating as the Heroes for Hire at this time. But Luke and Danny are only ever "not together" in the same way that Foggy and Matt are ever "not together": they are a matched set, a bonded pair, brothers (their words) for life, and so in one way or another, they are always together.

(As a side-note: I'm almost positive that Alex Maleev was trying to draw Danny's costume from memory in those initial panels, because what the heck is he wearing?)

[angelscometrue]

dead boy detectives AU idea as Red White and Royal Blue:

Edwin as Henry: beautiful, introverted, in the closet because of his family. In love with Charles since they first meeting.

Charles as Alex: cool, charming, everyone loves him but also not really in touch with his feelings (coming to terms with his bisexuality later in Life)

Nora as Crystal: beautiful, strong, indipedent and very protective of Charles (also his ex girlfriend now super close friend).

Niko as Beatrice: best friend (almost a sister) to Edwin. She is the sweetest, but has a also a troubled past after her father as died.

[thisisnotthenerd]

and now we know (most of) the classes for the divergence party!

erro: ranger. it tracks, especially now that we've seen more of him as a wanderer. not leaning a particular way in terms of subclass; i don't think liam would pick something that wasn't reflected by the original build, so i'd go for something like hunter, monster slayer, or gloomstalker.

fiedra: rogue. holding on to mastermind for her; when she got out of the prison and survived the trip to torm's hill, she immediately rallied people and looked out for them. less magic, more the skill of a life lived through survival. you could argue for assassin or thief, but fiedra is a gang boss. she has charisma in spades, and she focuses on protecting her crew as their leader/mastermind.

crokas: monk. not what i was expecting, but it works really well for him. i think having the storm girdle kind of replaces the need for a barbarian rage, so monk is a good fit as an unarmored combatant. also, it speaks to being raised by a rogue; it’s really good to have someone who can stun so you get advantage. there is technically a subclass called the way of the ascendant dragon, from fizban's treasury of dragons, but it revolves around the breath weapon, which he doesn't have, so i don't know that that's where alex would take it.

rei'nia: cleric. changing my guess to moon cleric because of her allegiance to the moonweaver. some of her manifestations already remind me of some of the channel divinities that the subclass has. she could also go twilight cleric, but i think nia is the type to get involved and keep moving forward, so i’m sticking with moon.

garen: no levels as of now, but with the choice to focus on the wisdom of a new age, i'm still holding out for forge cleric. maybe nature if he leans more into the natural miracles, but i think the building is part of his faith. that or oath of the ancients paladin because i think the tenets fit him well. i suspect that matt was split on the class he wanted to pursue, and picked one with his dream, but i guess we'll find out in the next episode.

[iwoulddieforher]

Liebmichallee | Alex Cabot × Casey Novak

heavy warnings for discussions of suicide and drug use !! HEAVY WARNING !! also, as a side note, I as an author do not personally believe that suicide is selfish. But Casey has existing dialogue in the show where she implies she thinks so, so. that's what she says

Summary: Casey shows up at Alex's house a week after being brought before the Bar and God ... she is a mess

A/N: Short, unedited, unbeta-read. Not counting this as an official work because it wasn't intended to be published (I don't like it very much) but people responding said I should, so ...

Ficlet is written essentially entirely from Alex's perspective, intentionally, you're not supposed to know what's going on with Casey except for the degree Alex is aware of.

Written in continuation to That's A Damn Shame, so it makes sense to read that fic first ... but you don't need too. Context: Homicide Bureau Chief Alex & SVU ADA Casey (Alex engaged to Robert Stilton, like she is in Conviction)

Casey Novak knew more about her than potentially anyone else had or ever would have, with the possible exception of Olivia Benson. But Olivia wasn't the one Alex kept seeking out, kept spending long hours staring at from the couch in Casey's office that Alex had claimed as her designated spot for whenever she wasn't actively working.

Casey Novak had saved her life, saved her glory, saved her dignity. Witness protection had made Alex meek and humbled, Casey Novak and her ferocity and the odd thrum of her heart in her chest as she had watched the redhead tie the verbal noose around her would-have-been assassin had made her regain that innate sense of being above it all in a way she knew no one else would've been able to do.

Casey Novak had mottled brown-and-blonde hair, and she had recently begun wearing it in large, loose curls that swayed as she sauntered from room to room in her heels and tailored slacks. Her features were angular yet simultaneously so delicate and gentle that Alex couldn't help but allow her to burn herself into the dark behind Alex's eyelids-

Alexandra Cabot thought of Casey Novak perhaps a bit more than she should. She was her favorite confidant, though, the term they had finally settled on that did not at all manage to capture the extent to which she valued Casey.

Casey Novak was currently standing dazed on her doorstep, head bowed, her green eyes, as they stared aimlessly somewhere near Alex's face, so dull and haunted it was terrifying.

Alex wasted no time crossing the boundary of the door and wrapping the younger woman in her arms, a vague idea what was wrong- Casey had been called before the bar, she had heard that through the gossip thrum, and although she had stopped by her office to see how she was doing the only thing she had found were workers beginning to prep the space for someone else. It made her sick, and she had called, but Casey at that time hadn't answered.

And- that was now nearly a week ago.

She had kept telling herself Casey was not obligated to reach out to her, to tell her her plans, how she would move forward. She did not have to tell her where she was, nor how she was doing. She knew the woman was a hothead and reckless at times- not that she thought at all what had happened was acceptable, she felt outrage trickling in her throat like hot sand, it was her first real violation and the threats that had been made were so severe - this was hard to grapple with. If it was hard for her to grapple with, it must be impossible for Casey.

Perhaps that was why Casey was in her embrace now, limp arms hanging by her sides, covered only by a thin blouse- where was her coat, her scarf? Where had she come from dressed like this? Casey didn't live near her, but Alex knew she didn't like to ride share and a quick glance didn't notify the presence of her bike. Regardless, Alex wanted to get her inside, and from the way Casey was unmoving, she thought it would be an easy task to do.

Evidently, it was not. The second Alex pulled her body into her's, expecting a stiff hug and then the ability to usher her over the doorframe, Casey's legs gave out with just enough time for the younger woman to snag her hands up and around Alex's shoulder so she didn't fall to her knees on the elder woman's doorstep.

"Casey-?" Alex hushed into her ear, trying to check Casey's wellbeing, but it was difficult with a woman the same size and around the same build as her hanging loosely off of her body. The grip Casey had on her shoulders was an indication of consciousness to some degree, an unwillingness to find herself on the floor, but other than that the younger woman did not respond.

"Who was it?" Came the voice of her fiance behind her and Alex jolted, forgetting for a moment that he was here. They had been eating an excessively late dinner moments prior, before the doorbell rang, and she had assumed with a sigh she was being served or perhaps that Olivia was having a rough case.

She didn't answer him, trying to hold Casey up, trying to shake some form of responsiveness back into the woman's shoulders, which Casey still did not respond too, although with shuddering legs she found her feet again. It made it worse, Casey burying her face awkwardly into Alex's collar in a way in which Alex felt like she was going to be toppled over. Fluid met Alex's skin and she wasn't sure if Casey's nose was running or if she was crying and she couldn't check without letting her go, which she wasn't sure she could do.

"Alexandra?" Stilton called again, and with a small curse muffled in Casey's hair she managed to turn around, slightly, to call back, "Hold on a moment."

She wanted Casey inside, now. Whatever was making her so distraught could be dealt with once Casey was safely inside and when her shoulderblades felt a little less like Casey was about to tear them off. It hurt, but she wouldn't dare try to pull the woman off of her.

"Casey," Alex inhaled and swiveled her head back to face her, pressing a chast kiss on the top of faux blonde locks, "Can you come inside?"

A slow, shaky exhale was all that was elicited into Alex's simple shirt and she sighed, eyes darting around, before pursing her lips and shaking her head. With a furrowed brow, she pressed her nose softly against the woman's bowed head, inhaling the scent of sandalwood and something tarrish. Cigarettes, she recognized, and perhaps something hard like rum lingered on her shallow breath. So, intoxicated, then. It simultaneously made her relax that she could identify some sort of cause and more concerned, because Casey wasn't a smoker, and she never drank herself into a tizzy like this either.

"I'm so sorry, Case, I'm not strong enough to carry you. Help me take you inside, please?"

She felt Casey swallow and struggle, the force of her lean beginning to decrease as she focused on righting herself. Thank god, Alex thought vaguely, but she did not loosen her hold.

"What's happening?" Robert neared the door self-importantly, straightening his tie, and Alex hissed inwardly. She had Casey as a priority, she didn't want to deal with that one right now. She coaxed Casey to stay against her when she felt the younger woman try to pull away, startled by the presence of another, one of Alex's hands raising to cup the back of Casey's skull and keep her face buried against her throat. She knew Casey liked being there, on one of their more haphazardly heady nights Casey had ever dared to murmur it felt like her head was made to fit just there, and in this moment Alex agreed. Casey's struggle to flee to confines of Alex's embrace weakened just as Alex had expected it too- but that only meant the way she was shivering was not advertent.

"I'm not sure." She muttered curtly, her voice a thin line that carried a note of warning, feeling the shake of Casey's form against her. With increasing urgency she resolved out loud to her soon-to-be husband, "But something's wrong and I'm going to take care of her."

Robert raised an eyebrow, which Alex only saw when she twisted her neck back around to face him, and he seemed slightly off guard with the intensity in her clear blue eyes.

"She doesn't look well," he commented with a wrinkle of his nose that made Alex see red for a quarter second, 'll call for an ambulance."

He said this as though it was an offer, like he was doing her a favor, although it was not really an offer so much as a poorly concealed statement. He didn't want his lover to be occupied with whatever wreck of a woman had showed up on his doorstep.

Casey's sudden movement to tug away was as sharp as the harsh, "No," that snapped from Alex's lips. Robert looked taken aback and she could not find it in herself to care, rather, only the growing desire to lash out again. Alex knew Casey couldn't stand hospitals, got nauseous at the smell of disinfectant, and she would not let her be forced to the confines of those walls she hated when Alex could take care of her perfectly well right here.

"Alexandra," Robert tried to implore, and Alex felt her lip curl at the name. He never accepted to calling her the name that felt natural, the shortening to 'Alex', he always addressed her in the same way that her uncle and her superiors did.

"You take enough work home as it is. I know you're trying to volunteer with that domestic abuse shelter but you can't just let some-"

"Get out." Alex snapped, again, feeling Casey push against her ribs and only tightening her hold, offering a stroke of her thumb against the back of Casey's hair to console her, to reassure her, while she dealt with the issue.

"Alexandra." He said firmly, and she raised her eyebrows as if bewildered by his audacity, "You want me to leave our home because some vagabond showed up-"

Oh, she realized internally, he doesn't know who she is. She didn't know why she had expected Robert to know intrinsically, because she had never introduced them, and perhaps she had done that intentionally because she wasn't particularly fond of the idea of the man she spent the majority of her time with standing next to the woman she wanted to spend the majority of her time with. Having them meet like this was not ideal and although he did not recognize her by appearance she knew from the way she mentioned a specific name a bit too often he would recognize her by name if Alex called her that, so she just gritted her teeth awkwardly.

"You act like you don't own other properties," she murmured, softening Casey's squirm with another reassuring squeeze, running the pads of her fingertips through curls in the process of falling out, "You have other places to be."

"I can go," Casey rasped, suddenly, breaking the harsh stare being exchanged by the couple, looking up at Alex with haunted eyes. Alex's heart clenched at the tone of her voice- it seemed gravelly, like she hadn't used it in months, thick with apparent anguish.

Alex craned her neck backwards slightly so Casey could see more of her face when she shook her head, eyes softening immediately the second they fell on her instead of her fiance. She couldn't remove the hand on Casey's back that seemed to be more able to keep Casey upright than the younger woman's own legs, so she hand that was nestled in her hair moved away to cup her face instead, her thumb drawing small lines on her cheekbone.

"No, sweetheart, I don't want you too. I want you to stay here with me, he can go. Can you help me get you inside? You're freezing out here."

"Alexandra," Stilton tried again, his voice like a confused growl, but Alex only kept her eyes on Casey's face, the green glassy eyes rimmed with purple, and snarled under her breath back at him defiantly.

"Alexandra?"

"Just go to the brownstone, okay?" Alex sighed dismissively, "I'll call you in an hour or two."

With a bewildered glare he left to go pull on his coat and lace up his shoes, and Alex returned to coaxing Casey, who returned to being nonverbal. Stilton returned despite her obvious impatience, pressing a forced goodbye kiss to her cheek and then finally leaving, brushing past the bundle of contracted limbs that was Alex and Casey before climbing into his luxury car and vanishing into the night.

"He won't bother you, Case, it's okay, talk to me." Alex hushed, pressing a kiss to the top of Casey's hairline the second Richard was out of view, but Casey was fading back out.

"Let me get you inside," Alex tried instead, starting to grow cold herself on the front steps, having not put on a jacket when she went to go open the door because- well, why would she? She hadn't expected this at all.

She had not expected the person on her doorstep to be Casey, and she had never thought to see Casey in such a state either- a state that was getting worse, because Casey seemed to be dissolving back into her inability to stand once more.

"Casey- god, please, you're scaring me," She whispered, finally, as Casey's knees seemed to buckle beneath her and her hands, this time, didn't manage to grip at Alex's shoulders properly. Alex cursed, momentarily, that she never accepted Olivia's offer to go to the gym with her. That she never toyed with Casey's offer to attempt softball. If she had, maybe she'd be strong enough that Casey wouldn't need to fight to remain vertical right now.

It felt like her words were registered, though, because a second later Casey's eyebrows contorted with effort and she struggled to up and let go- Alex hadn't meant that she needed to let go, she hadn't wanted her too, but whatever- and she allowed Alex to coax her inside. Alex closed the door behind her firmly, and then ushered her over to the couch, which Casey barely made it too before she faltered, hands gripping the armrest with too much vigor until she managed to hit the leather face-first.

"Casey," Alex murmured, trying to help her flip over so she wouldn't suffocate, "fireball, what happened?"

"Not much of a fireball," Casey hushed, her tone low and as though she was mocking herself, but with a squirm and managed to pull herself in a sitting position, hunched back on the couch as Alex stood over her.

Alex swallowed, tasting wary concern budding in her mouth. She thought maybe Casey was just overcome by sorrow and perhaps a glass too much vodka, and that once she got her inside and someplace more lax she'd be different, but Casey was really, really fucked.

"You took something," Alex realized out loud, watching Casey's inhale-exhale pattern plateau at a rate much too high, as if she were panting despite exerting no force, and Casey looked completely disgusted with herself, shrinking away from the concern in the blue eyes.

As the blonde's eyes scrutinized her features, she realized it was worse, her face was flushed and her eyes rimmed with purple from exhaustion and red from crying, her skin paled and blue-tinted as if sickly. She was panting and her body was shivering, and Alex hoped bitterly it was residual from being out cold on the street and not from something worse.

How long had she been on the street? How long had she been like this? And when Casey looked up at her with pupils drawn into small dots Alex cursed under her breath, a shaky hand moving to touch Casey's clammy skin. How long had she-

Oh, oh god. Oh god. Alex recognized that look in her eyes, the pinpoint pupils, the air surrounding her. She didn't like at all where she knew it from.

"An opioid? Jesus, Casey, you've- no one has gotten a hold on you for a week, is this what you've been-?"

"Please don't call anyone," Casey muttered suddenly, "please don't report this, I- he said if, he- if no hospital, then I needed to go to... someone that, because he said he ..."

Fuck, Alex thought, and then tried to find the silver lining in at least Casey hadn't tried to speak much in front of Robert, because they'd be having a much bigger problem then. She felt guilty that was her immediate thought.

"As long as you stay conscious," Alex muttered, her voice dark, running a hand along Casey's jaw, instinctively dropping to her knees, "as long as you stay conscious, I won't call anyone."

"Then ... I'll do my best, to stay awake," Casey slurred, and it sounded like she was making a half-hearted joke, so it didn't call the bundle of fear growing and aching in Alex's heart.

She was speaking slowly, a lot slower than she had been when she stammered, as if she realized her broken sentences were concerning Alex and she was taking special care in each long, drawn out word, so Alex would have the benefit of a coherent statement.

Casey made no move to stop Alex as she rolled her sleeves tentatively up, and when her inner elbow was exposed Alex didn't even stop herself from letting startled tears fall from her face and marr her glasses. She was bruised, pinpricks of red surrounded by larger stains of purple, as though the person who had shot her up was already high- or as though she had tried to shoot up more despite already being high. Perhaps both.

"Fuck, Casey." Alex grimaced, "Why the hell would you- did you not think that I'd..."

Novak blinked, once, as if trying to clear her head, before offering in a low, hopeless hum. "I didn't think ... I'd see you again."

"What are you saying?" Alex bit, incredulousness seeping into her tone, "You thought I'd- what, that you being suspended would- do you think I'm that shallow?"

"No, Alex."

Alex was then scared, and she didn't want Casey to continue, because she realized what she was about to say, and she didn't think she could stand to hear it.

"I didn't think I'd ..." She paused, briefly, and then shook her head. "I wasn't going to see anyone again."

There was a heartbeat, or maybe a lot of them, where the only thing that broke the loud silence was the sound of Casey's soft exhale and Alex swallowing, staring at her blankly. There was no way she meant that. Alex was certainly jumping to conclusions- wasn't she? There was no way that Casey meant that, that she had been planning, that she was going to ...

And then Alex was crying, and Casey wasn't, so it felt like a pretty stupid thing to do, but she couldn't help the loose sobs wracking her body as she thought about what Casey had just implied. Numbly, she realized she had set her face down on Casey's knee, and shaky hands were trying to cradle her face. She pushed Casey's arms away- she couldn't handle being held like that, not right now.

"I shouldn't have told you that; I'm sorry." Casey murmured, holding her hands up in the air by her sides as if she didn't know what to do with them if she wasn't allowed to comfort the woman crying on her knee.

"Who did this to you?" Alex snapped instead, righting herself back up and standing, flinging her glasses to the side so haphazardly they probably broke, but she couldn't care less as she rubbed her eyes and clawed the evidence of her own anguish off her face. "Who gave you- what the hell did you even take?"

Casey stayed silent, looking up at her from the couch with clouded jade eyes, and Alex was unsure if she was processing the question or having an internal dialogue about it.

Alex knew she probably seemed ticked off right now as she began pacing, and that was a shitty thing to do when someone comes to you for comfort, but the idea Casey had chosen to submerge herself in chemicals and- and God forbid, that- instead of coming to her first hurt.

Had she not done enough so that Casey would know she'd- but no, perhaps not, perhaps this was partially her own fault for- no, but- God, this was horrible, and she wasn't equipped to handle this at all. But she both couldn't and didn't want Casey to be anywhere else than right there on her couch so she could have some tattered image of control.

"Did you seek it out?" Alex asked instead, trying to calm herself, sinking back down to her knees just to the side of where Casey was, and at the very least she was relieved when Casey shook her head 'no'.

"How, Casey?"

"I was ..." And Casey averted her eyes, but if Alex was directly asking like this, it seemed like she couldn't deny her the information. "A man- his name, it was something like, his last name sounded like a plant ... I think it- it doesn't matter. He said if- if I really was going to jump, then I might as well ... he might as well show me how good life can feel, first."

"And you've spent a week with this man?" Alex's voice was so low, so quiet, she could barely hear it. A week in which Casey did not return her messages, a week in which she was shooting up and letting herself be miserable while Alex would've broken the bounds of the earth to ensure her safety. Why hadn't Casey just come to her the night of? Tear-streaked face but no wounds, nothing in her system other than perhaps a misery-ridden beer, shaking but entirely from emotion and nothing else. Alex would've thrown her fiance out the same way and held her until she felt-

but perhaps Alex wouldn't have been able to fix it, actually. Maybe Alex couldn't have done anything to help her.

She didn't like that realization at all.

Casey only shrugged, closing her eyes as if pained, while Alex began to panic internally.

"I'm sorry, Casey." She murmured, running a shaky hand through her blonde hair, "I shouldn't- I don't want you to think that I'm angry."

But she was angry, and she was trying not to be at Casey, but this conversation was making her skin feel as though it was crawling off of her like fleshy spiders and the energy that feeling generated had to be directed somewhere. She focused on clenching her jaw, on the feeling of her teeth pressed against each other.

Her mind was concocting images of the woman before her standing numbly on a ledge on some building looking down and not hesitating, ready to leave her behind. The blonde hair Alex had ran her fingers through whipping around her face, the green eyes that had always studied Alex so intently seemingly vacant. It made her feel as though she were about to vomit. Casey could not leave her in that way.

A shudder ran up her spine and she settled back on the couch, this time sitting parallel to Casey, who was not meeting her eyes.

She swallowed. There were too many questions, too many thoughts, too much to verbalize, too much emotion to process. She gently grasped for Casey and tugged her until the faux blonde woman's head was resting on her shoulder, which Casey made no move to change, and then sat there quietly.

"I'm sorry," Casey offered quietly, her voice thick and still slurred.

"I just want you to be okay," Alex hushed, "I just want you to never, ever think about doing this again."

Casey was wordless, silent and still. If it wasn't for the exhale that Alex could feel with the younger woman leaning against her side, Casey could've been dead right then.

"I don't think I could handle it," Alex spoke to fill the silence, spoke to try to clear the growing gnaw of her anxious brain, "If I found out you were gone, if- God, Casey, I work for homicide, I'd need too ..."

"I wasn't in your district," Casey rasped, and Alex began to cry again, but this time it was silent. Tears rolled like large pearls down her face and she did nothing to stop it, blinking down at the coffee table and trying not to imagine a world without a fireball redhead pulling stupid stunts like trying to sue the military. She always seemed to brazen, so harsh, so reflective of life and the burning energy of the sun. What the hell was Alex supposed to do with the information the sun that was currently resting on her shoulder was trying to set, and never rise again?

"That's worse," was all Alex could manage as a response. "I would've found out from someone else, then."

"You don't have to tell me suicide is selfish, Alex, I know it is."

Her voice was stronger now, in the sense her formation of words was stable and more firm, more cohesive, despite still being thick and heavy and husked. Sentences she planned were now steady. Alex wanted to grimace at the word being used in its full regard- they weren't going to continue avoiding the elephant, evidently- but she couldn't find the strength to do so. She just stared blankly ahead of her and tried to breathe evenly.

Alex had mused to herself before, as did most others, that suicide was the easy way out. It damaged the people around an individual who was in pain, and there was always an end to pain, even if one didn't believe there would be, one just needed to wait it out. A person could recover from mental illness but a family can't recover from the death of a loved one. Suicide, in her mind, was a tragedy and a waste. But she'd never think to call Casey selfish, or think about her in that way at all- it felt wrong, and Alex could never consider Casey a selfish person.

"Why?" She murmured hoarsely, folding her hands in her lap and staring at the fingers interlocking her own, feeling Casey's gaze shift to them as well.

"Everything is so hard, ... so pointless." Casey muttered bitterly, an edge to her tone that wasn't present before. Alex wanted to believe it was the drug talking, but Casey seemed more sober than she had before.

"I use to, I- I could delude myself into thinking I was strong, or ... capable enough to defend others from how from how existence feels, from living feels, from- from this."

She gestured at herself as if her own existence was evidence to the doomed nature of life, the needle marks in her arms and the bags under her eyes, the scrapes sitting or laying on floors must have caused that Alex hadn't noticed until that point. The usual prim posture and fiery aura was diminished entirely- if her eyes, simmered as they were, were not that shade of green, Alex would've written her off as someone else based on the sense of presence alone.

"But I'm not." She scoffed, disgust blossoming on her tongue that was entirely self directed, "A cop killer and a rapist walked and there's no one to blame but me. My licence is under scrutiny, and I-"

"You're going to get it back, Casey, three years isn't..."

"I wish it had just been revoked." Casey spat, shifting her head off of Alex's shoulder, and Alex missed the feeling the second she left. Casey seemed anguished rather than angry, a sense of strange urgency in her tone as she spoke, and Alex knew she wouldn't be able to cut her off again.

"I'm- ... a failure in every regard." She bit, jabs only at herself, and Alex felt the tears bubble behind her eyes again. She didn't realize she had stopped crying until the burn and sting of liquid falling from her face was once again registered.

"I know that ... all I am is disgrace to the practice of law- if not, if not- ... I'll never be able to step foot in a courtroom again, thinking- deluding- that I could, that I can- I can't protect anyone. And I wasted my life being naive and reckless, thinking I could- I don't know. Thinking I could ever make a difference."

Alex swallowed and shook her head, feeling her eyebrows furrow as she turned to face Casey despairingly, imploringly, as though begging her to see reason.

"So you're going to waste your life by- by rooftops and heroin?" She swallowed again, feeling her mouth dry, because she couldn't bolster the energy to form a rebuttal for every self-deprecation Casey had just uttered, and it seemed like the faux blonde wouldn't be at all perceptive to that, anyway. Not with this dead, void-like tone she was using, as though the energy of life had since already been poured out.

"Diladuid." Casey corrected, a mirthless chuckle, her eyes flickering back to the sleeve Alex had rolled up, the red and purple devastations left by her bender, and she grimaced before reaching to tug the fabric back down.

"and- it looks that way, doesn't it?"

Casey opened her mouth to continue Alex couldn't stop herself from yanking Casey's head into her collar, gripping the sides of her face so tightly she was sure it must hurt, and Casey fell awkwardly forward into her.

"Stop," She choked, "Stop."

She couldn't stop her brain from generating unhelpful images of Casey falling, faux CCTV footage of her woman plummetting the way Alex had seen in videos of other jumpers she'd had to review to rule out homicide. Her brain kept freezing right before the impact, then starting from the top again, Casey'd body stuck in a loop of falling as Alex's anxiety mounted.

But Casey didn't stop, though. "I knew from the start- that job could only, could only ever break me," she muttered, rambling as though she could halt the words tumbling hazardous from her mouth, even as Alex's hand grappled to force her jaw shut, "I told Branch- I told him, the second after that little girl in the ice chest, I knew- I knew I wasn't, I would- I'd fuck it all up and I did, and I don't deserve to live after my stupidity-"

"No," Alex said forcefully, a heaved sob, and Casey finally shut her mouth. Alex had never had to raise her tone at her before, Casey had always been eager to please by hushing on request.

"I, I don't-" Alex tried desperately to spit words she couldn't find, nothing formulating inside of her head other that same frantic energy consuming her body, struggling to crush Casey's frame against her own as if merging their skin would ensure Casey would stay. "I can't-"

She couldn't have a panic attack, not right now, but she couldn't breathe properly, mind consumed with images of Casey's face photoshopped on the body of jumpers she'd dealt with before. She had known victims that had commit suicide, occasionally a perpetrator had commit in or out of lock up too. It was real and it had made her go crazy with grief then- her mind flashed back to a boy comatose in a hospital and a mother's spittle aimed at her as she screamed- what the hell was she supposed to do now?

Casey with her skull cracked open, jade eyes unseeing, staring at her with only vacancy behind them. Casey's lips parted slightly, the side of her face ripped open from the impact on rough concrete, or maybe a car. Alex couldn't breathe, couldn't gasp no matter how hard she tried, and she wasn't sure if she was still crying, she wasn't sure about anything about herself anymore because the only thing she was focusing on was the feeling of Casey's body pressing into the side of her's.

After Casey's first attempt to hold her had been snubbed, she hadn't tried again to hold Alex, and now she was simply resting herself loosely as Alex tried her best to wrangle the younger woman into her, begging for the contact of fabric on fabric wherever possibly, resting her chin on Casey's hairline so she couldn't see her face.

"I'm sorry," Alex's body was wracked with tremors, "I'm so sorry, but please don't leave me. Don't do this to me, Casey, I need you."

Casey said nothing, and did nothing. The indication she was alive was the quickened rise and fall of her chest Alex could feel with her torso pressed against her own- in Alex's panicked wrestling, She had ended up barely sitting, Casey sprawled out across her body, Casey's hips between Alex's thighs.

"Don't ever try that again," Alex tried instead, "Never, ever. I'll- I'll," but she didn't know how to argue Casey into the will to live, couldn't threaten her into staying, but God she really wanted to try too.

But she must be hurting her, or at the very least suffocating her, so she released the clawed grip she had, and was mildly content when Casey only shifting her head to the side so she could breathe and otherwise kept herself flush against Alex's form.

Alex couldn't stop her chest from heaving, could only stop the shivers when she cupped Casey's jaw in her hands, thumb on her neck, and focused on the feeling of her pulse faintly thrumming underneath her skin.

"But you're still here," She murmured, wiping at her own face with more vigor than she initially intended too, bartering, "You're still here."

"When, when he got- he got called back in to work, and I- he told me, I could decide between the hospital or- or someone I trusted when he realized how- ... fucked I was. He knew better than to leave me alone."

"And you trust me," Alex advantaged herself with that, desperately clinging onto that like a lifeline, something to hold herself stable with, "You trust me. Trusted to come here. Trust me to foster you back, Casey, this isn't you, this isn't how you are. This isn't who you are."

Casey did not respond.

Alex calmed down enough to realize the front of her shirt was soaked through- the younger woman was crying, had been crying.

"I'm sorry," Casey's voice said faintly into her body, "I ... I hate that I'm hurting you."

"Hurt me," Alex whispered, her voice raw and hoarse, and it sounded like a demand. She found Casey's hand and intertwined their fingers, "Anything, you can do anything with me, but please just stay."

[truncheonsdressedinhats]

So here’s a thought… I’ve seen a few theories that the song Balaclava is about Alex wearing a johnny, but upon more listens, I don’t think it’s as superficial as people make it out to be. Personally, I see the imagery of the balaclava representing the performative way Alex has to act in front of his fanbase. Here’s what I mean:

Running off over next door's garden

Before the hour is done

It's more a question of feeling

Than it is a question of fun

Opening the song mid-flee, it already sets a tone of ‘guilt’ and a need to hide or run from whatever accusation is catching up with him. The ‘question of feeling’ could point to him doing what feels right, (i.e. how he explores his sexuality, maybe hinting to his early inner turmoil when it came to figuring himself out?), and that he’s not in it for the fun of it.

The confidence is the balaclava

I'm sure you'll baffle 'em good

Will the ending reek of salty cheeks

And runny makeup alone?

I think this could denote the mask or facade Alex puts on to the public, the ‘balaclava’ being the performative masculinity that keeps his slate clean, fooling his flock of teenage indie fans to keep the lads interested and the girls swooning. While he’s keeping his secrets from the public, this could mean that behind closed doors things aren’t as simple as they seem. While exploring his personal side, he’s breaking some hearts while doing so.

Or will blood run down the face

Of a boy bewildered and scorned?

Or you'll find yourself in a skirmish

Where you wish you'd never been born

Here’s where it starts to get interesting. As an afterthought to his previous lines, he knows that not only has he broken the girl’s heart, but the regret that comes after knowing the damage he’s caused to the other lad (I think we all know who), is really showing where his priorities lie here.

You tie yourself to the tracks

And there isn't no going back

And it's wrong, wrong, wrong

But we'll do it anyway 'cause we love a bit of trouble

The undertone of guilt is set throughout the song. This could be reminiscent of the old internalised homophobia, or maybe the inner regret of being unfaithful in favour of figuring himself out? Either way, in a juvenile fashion, he admits that he doesn’t regret it, even though he knows it may be objectively wrong.

Are you pulling her from a burning building

Or throwing her to the sharks?

Can only hope that the ending is as pleasurable as the start

The poor girl in this scenario is in a funk. Is he saving her or using her as a cover? He’s trying to see both sides of it from per point of view. On the one hand, he’s effectively saved her by admitting that she’s not the right one for him, but on the other, the man she once thought had loved her has revealed his true self. Is it a blessing or a curse? The end of their relationship is inevitable, so he has to hope that it’s not so messy that it taints the pleasure of finally finding himself.

The confidence is the balaclava

I'm sure you baffle 'em straight

And it's wrong, wrong, wrong

She can hardly wait

Though there have been some uncomfortable happenstances, he knows that the ‘balaclava’ is still there to protect him.

That's right, he won't let her out his sight

Now the shaggers perform

And the daggers are drawn

Who's the crooks in this crime?

‘Shaggers perform’ could point to the performative sexuality he puts on to the public, drawing ‘daggers’ that ultimately leas to emotional damage. He’s having trouble coming to terms with if he’s really at fault here, is he really in the wrong for falling for someone he shouldn’t have?

Well, you'll be able to boast

Of the day of the most

Flawless heist of all time

At the end of the day, he wants to be able to show off the one he really admires. He knows that breaking hearts is part of the process, but the final goal is being happy with who he really is and who he ultimately wants to be with, and being able to ‘boast’ about it like he’s pulled off a flawless upgrade.

You knew that it'd be trouble

Right before the very first kiss

Quiet, unassuming

But you heard that they were the naughtiest

This isn’t a metaphor - this is the moment. The point that feels so good, even though you know some may look down on you, you do it anyways. The ‘quiet and unassuming’ kind, could be the ones he’s least expected to go for, in others’ eyes, or even could point to the shy personality of his muse; Alex knows that they have a darker side to them.

She pleaded with you to take it off

But you resisted and fought

But sorry, sweetheart, I'd much rather

Keep on the balaclava

Here’s the row he was expecting. Of course he knew it’d be messy - the girl obviously wants him to embrace every part of himself, though he knows this is not a feasible outcome. Ending the song with the conclusion of him keeping on this performance, or mask, he knows this is what’s best for his career in the public eye.

[kalinara]

I think my biggest problem with Xavier's vision of Krakoa (Watsonian critique, not Doylistic), is that he seems to think that just because permanent death isn't a thing anymore, then everything's safe and fine.

I'm not saying Xavier shouldn't have invited ex-villains onto the island, but it's obvious very quickly that there are no safeguards or protections for any of these villains' former victims. Or any future victims.

So we get some awful scenes like Jamie Braddock taunting Meggan or Mr. Sinister telling Scott that he's prettier when he smiles (that one in the middle of the fucking COUNCIL meeting) and there's apparently nothing that can be done about that?

The Shadow King gets to hang around children, leading to the death of Gabby Kinney (and in her case there was some question about whether or not they'd resurrect her because she was a clone.) Sinister, we're told in Hellions, still has an ORPHANAGE. There weren't kids there, at least, but still. The fuck?

And then there's Madelyne Pryor. And yes, I agree that, back in the 80s, she was screwed by the narrative. But she's done a lot of things since then. Maybe. I admit, I can't really keep track of whether or not the one who tortured Scott and company in the 00s was actually THIS Madelyne or another dimension's. But THIS version is introduced torturing people.

Alex pushes for her resurrection. And any counter argument is immediately neutralized by pointing out that Sinister is on the Council. And...well, yeah. But it's POSSIBLE that some of Madelyne's victims might not have been on board with her running free, but that's not a thing we get to hear. (We are told that Jean supported her resurrection much later. Which I do believe, but I also think the narrative doesn't really allow any other possibility.)

Xavier's very self-congratulatory about the no prisons on Krakoa thing. Of course, there's the Pit. You go in there if you're recalcitrant and break the rules. Even if you're a child. And then you get tortured by Sabretooth because no one bothers to check in on the prisoners, apparently.

To break immersion, in a Doylistic sense, I really enjoy that Krakoa has its darker sides. This isn't a paradise for every character, and it's no surprise, when you think about it that the Summer House is on the Moon instead of Krakoa proper.

But in a Watsonian sense... Any fan of the Wolverines can verify that you don't need permanent physical harm to have a massive amount of trauma and pain.

It makes sense. Charles has that King Arthur fantasy, and part of that involves seating some of his strongest enemies at the Round Table. And it makes sense that the man whose first X-Man was an abused child that he rescued and made into his field commander doesn't necessarily have an awareness or appreciation of long term trauma.

But somehow Cassandra Nova gets to be resurrected in a safely isolated place, away from any and all possible victims. Funny how that wasn't an option for anyone else.

[aethelwyneleigh27]

Cod Characters General Dating Headcanons (part two)

+ Random and Some bits of Chubby Fem S/O Headcanons with mentions of different nationality S/O

+ What type of BF/GF they would be

Including Valeria Garza, Farah Karim, Kate Laswell, Alex Keller, Gary "Roach" Sanderson, Nikolai Belinski

+ Some Poly! Farah x Reader x Alex Headcanons

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Fem terms and pronouns like she/her are used for the reader

ꕥ HOPE YOU ENJOY! ꕥ

My rules for requests and characters I can write for

Please comment if you want to be added to the taglist, the next part or cod content alone. I also have content for TLOU and Resident Evil, so please specify.

Taglist: @marshmallowinamess

A/n: Hi lovelies! It's me again Lia, currently working on this one while I haven't even posted the other yet because I wanna post early and I love Valeria. Y'all don't got shit on me, I'm writing this shit while I'm in class AHAHAHA. Btw more Resident Evil content soon...

Disclaimers/warnings: Typical Cod things, OOC characters???, Unrealistic, Some suggestive themes and language, I'm so sorry but English is not my first language so please don't come after me. Most of the content I've seen are on TikTok and Tumblr I don't actually play the game but I love the characters so much, same with any other content I have for other video games.

Tiny sidenote: the reader in this has been describe to be shorter than the characters and has been mentioned to have a soft body rather than the muscular type.

Valeria Garza

ꕥ (Just saying, I'd let her step all over me)

ꕥ The El Sinombre falling in love? No shit she's... semi-normal??

ꕥ Black cat/Doberman girlfriend for sure. She's extremely protective and extremely terrifying when she wants to be. Scary dog privilege if you get it. (Occasionally it's funny to imagine her as a Chihuahua)

ꕥ Dates all kinds of women, body type and other things don't matter to her because she doesn't have a type. If you catch her attention then that's that.

ꕥ Loves spoiling you in everyway possible, just sit pretty for her and she'll take care of everything. Doesn't give a shit on the amount of money she spends on you, you want it? You got it.

ꕥ Loves it when you need her, it's one of the ways she feels loved and appreciated. Would never say it out loud but loves it whenever you show her your appreciation by doing manual labor.

ꕥ The idea of you being her pretty little housewife is sending her to heaven.

ꕥ Spanish pet names galore, culture is something of importance to her so will definitely teach you Spanish if she had the time.

ꕥ Would be interested learning about your culture as well because if you're gonna know about hers then she ought to know what to call you in your language. (Definitely not self-indulgent because I'm Filipina and I know she'd pronounce it somewhat correctly)

ꕥ Doesn't ever let you know about her cartel business. You can never know and she will never allow you to get ever get involved. You're too precious to her and god forbid anything will happen to you, she will destroy the world if she had to.

ꕥ She's more of a masc lesbian, she's the type who likes to be in charge in a "I'm the one who wears the pants in the relationship" way. She's very dominant.

ꕥ Doesn't ever even consider to be submissive, with the amount of shit she's been through. She can be vulnerable with you but in no way, shape or form could you ever top.

ꕥ You're an escape from the life she knew, it was peaceful with you. At first she wasn't used to it, definitely has reoccurring thoughts of something going wrong. You dying, getting kidnapped, falling into the hands of her enemies so constant reassurance.

ꕥ Would absolutely kill for you, no hesitation. The literally definitely of "I would burn this world for you", would absolutely deny it but you know otherwise.

Farah Karim

ꕥ Tabby cat coded girlfriend, she's down to earth and chill. She's that one neutral person everyone adores, she puts her best efforts into a relationship for sure.

ꕥ Has and will help you do your make-up all the time, doesn't matter whether you asked. She'll observe the specific way you do it and do it perfectly.

ꕥ Sweetest girlfriend ever, she has dominance tendencies but it's mainly because she's quite assertive and often makes the decisions. Can't help it, after all her field of work requires her to one up egotistic men.

ꕥ That being said, I think she's had some mild PTSD about how they treated her. Sure it made her tough and she didn't like to be bossed around (unlike angry Mexican man) but I like to think she keeps you out of it as much as possible.

ꕥ Chubby!Reader headcanon is that she literally would adore you, compliment anything and everything. Insecure? Not on her watch, she just makes you feel so loved.

ꕥ Most definitely has introduced you to Price (I feel like he's everyone's father figure except los vaqueros and characters he hasn't interacted with) and don't worry he's already looking after you as well.

ꕥ Poly! Farah x reader x Alex headcanons:

ꕥ You guys following whatever Farah says, towards relationship decisions anyway because you and Alex tend to be indecisive.

ꕥ Lot's of communication between the three of you even if it's just a small thing, consent is always key.

ꕥ Alex following his two wives around a lot, he's mostly behind you guys all the time.

ꕥ Farah is patient when it comes to a lot of things but especially you and Alex.

ꕥ You get head pats from both of them, Farah is in a more praising manner while Alex tends to be in a comforting manner.

ꕥ You cannot tell me these two won't be down to cuddle in any position because I know damn well they would be. More often it's just Alex wanting to be a little spoon.

Alex Keller

ꕥ Golden Retriever boyfriend FOR REAL. This man is the type of man to kneel down and clasp the strap of your shoe or heel when he notices it.

ꕥ You know when you pick up something near a corner of a table or underneath it? He's the type of boyfriend to subconsciously cover the edge or corner of that table so that if your head bumps into it then it wouldn't be as painful or even at all.

ꕥ Having said the first one, he also guides your head whenever getting into a vehicle because god forbid you actually hurt yourself. Not on his watch.

ꕥ Understands why you're insecure and definitely offers a lot of verbal reassurance.

ꕥ Is the type of boyfriend to say "Yes Ma'am" when you ask him to do something, doesn't matter whether it's a small thing or labor intensive. It's kinda become your guys' thing now since people take notice on it.

ꕥ Pouty kind of jealous? Not necessarily whiny but makes this sad upset face at you when jealous instead of something like Ghost or Valeria would do where they'd be glaring the person down jealous.

ꕥ Very thoughtful, he pays attention to what you want and what you need and knows the right timing.

ꕥ Forehead kiss giver, you cannot convince me this man doesn't love doing it. Especially when you're shorter than him, loves resting his chin on top of your head or burying his head in your neck.

ꕥ HATES seeing you uncomfortable, absolutely despises it. That's the last thing he wants you to feel when you're around him. Would understand if there's imminent danger around but it would literally being him back to life if you felt safe enough around him even if there was danger because you're confident in his capabilities to keep you safe.

Kate Laswell

ꕥ (LOVE THIS WOMAN, SHE'S FOR THE GIRLS BECAUSE IT'S CANON. ARGUE WITH THE WALL)

ꕥ She only ever let the TF141 and Nikolai meet you because of course she trusts them enough.

ꕥ They were like "So you're the infamous wife of Laswell huh?"

ꕥ Even before you were married, Kate called you her wife because she was ✨manifesting✨.

ꕥ She loves using it though, sometimes she'd be with coworkers and they'd invited her to go out to pub and drink but she'll refuse saying "Can't, my wife is waiting for me". She'd really rather just spend time with you anyway.

ꕥ Congrats, you made her quit smoking or at least she's trying to. She still does every once and a while when shit gets really bad but never around you because she knows that secondhand smoke is just as bad for you.

ꕥ She doesn't have a type when it comes to people so body is out of the question, if she feels a connection then she feels it.

ꕥ Anything and everything to keep you safe, if something were to happen to you, trust that she'll either get it down herself or if she can't then she'll turn to Price and Belinski for help.

ꕥ As much as possible, she keeps you away from everything. The job she has is just too dangerous and she can't risk you, not when you're one of the only good things in her life that keeps her happy.

ꕥ Definitely a workaholic, something as simple as asking her to eat or rest, maybe take a break. She'll do it, for you and because she knows you care for her.

ꕥ Doesn't half-ass anything, full effort when it comes to you especially when there's a special occasion between you two like holidays, birthdays and anniversaries.

ꕥ Also she loves making you laugh, more often with stories of her experiences with Price and also about how they met.

Gary "Roach" Sanderson

ꕥ (I CANNOT FIND A DECENT GIF OF THIS MAN FOR THE LIFE OF ME... Here's the credits to where I found the photo)

ꕥ Get this man a makeshift antenna, he would adore it. You made it for him because of his call sign.

ꕥ He sometimes wears it on missions but mostly keeps it so that it doesn't get damage because this man is definitely a horder, not in a bad way just anything you give to him is something worth keeping in his eyes.

ꕥ Gary definitely gives you handmade gifts back, when he knows you'll like something or even if it's at a random, he loves making them for you and he cried when he found out you kept those all in it's own box labeling it your treasures.

ꕥ Very shy and reluctant at first but once he's comfortable, he is tackling you for a hug when he gets the chance.

ꕥ Doesn't talk a lot, (it took me to Google when I saw that many people hc him communicating through BSL) but I like to think he does talk. It's just really selective, like a few words.

ꕥ The first time you heard his voice, you looked at him like "???". He looked at you confused at your reaction and he only realized it when you told him.

ꕥ Think that he'll try to learn sign language within your mother tongue you know, it's too cute not to think about.

ꕥ He gives off soft lover vibes, definitely far more on the gentle side compared to his comrades.

ꕥ Something in me tells me this man rambles but only and I mean only when he's already extremely comfortable around you, not used to using his voice much so expect a bit of stutter. Which by the way, he does this without knowing he's rambling and will profusely apologize with his tone of voice slowly getting more quiet. (This is your sign, comfort this man)

ꕥ Likes to crawl around and climb things for fun, another one of the reasons his call sign was formed. The first time Ghost genuinely screamed was when Roach was stuck on the side of the wall and Ghost saw him there. Kinda like when you see a roach climbing up a wall and it flies straight for you in your direction. (Happened to me by experience when I was taking a shower)

ꕥ He also likes crawling around, like this I mean. Hacker!Reader seeing this on the enemy's security camera while she tries to shut them off is just funny to me idk why.

ꕥ Chubby!Reader? Sign him the fuck up. You once sat down near him and he saw how you thought spread a bit and it was so close to his that he was just resisting the urge to touch. The voice in his head shamelessly thinking of what it would be like if you suffocated him with them.

ꕥ He loves peppering kisses, doesn't matter whether it's receiving or giving this man would straight up take your hands and use them to cup his face, his hands still being over yours and would with wait for you to kiss him or kiss you himself.

Nikolai Belinski

ꕥ (I have no clue how to write for nik but I'll try my best)

ꕥ We all know him and his jokes about his "wives" which by the way is not true and you know it.

ꕥ He's husband material however he is quite busy, not that he'd barely spend time with you but he is away a lot. There's an upside to this, he constantly calls you (Let's be real, he prefers calls over texts) just to check on how you're doing and he tells you when he's going to come home.

ꕥ Despite all his jokes, he'd never actually make fun of you. Sure he's sarcastic and talks to himself a lot but he'd never go as low as actually making an offensive joke to his lover.

ꕥ Speaking of joking, your laugh is music to this man's ears. Don't matter if you sound like a dying cat, he's still gonna make you laugh.

ꕥ Surprisingly really sweet, people are often surprised to see that man with a lover. He's very thoughtful in a sense that he's observant, sure he's quite absentminded when around you because that's the only space he's comfortable enough to do so but also because he likes listening to you.

ꕥ Does every safety measure in a helicopter possible if he knew you or Gaz would be in that helicopter, he also makes improvements to it and calls it Gaz-proofing because we all know how Garrick fell off a damn helicopter TWICE. (Idk how he does it, Gaz has some serious plot armor)

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Adrian Carrasquillo at The Bulwark:

DONALD TRUMP’S PUSH FOR MASS DEPORTATIONS was always reliant on a degree of shock and awe. Fear and intimidation were both means and ends. But recently, the administration has had to slow down or even abandon individual deportations in the face of strong popular resistance. And now the president is signaling another huge exception to his deportation policy. “We’re also going to work with farmers,” Trump said Thursday. “If they have strong recommendations for their farms for certain people, we’re going to let them stay in for a while. . . . We have to take care of our farmers and our hotels and various places where they need the people.” Trump’s off-the-cuff comments aren’t necessarily government policy, but they often signal future policy directions. In this case, it sounds like Trump is getting ready to carve out exemptions from his deportation regime for agricultural workers. After all, Trump is right—bear with me—that farms have a special need for immigrant labor. In February, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) met with California Citrus Mutual, a trade association that represents the growers who provide 90 percent of the country’s lemons, grapefruits, and oranges. Already, just days into Trump’s second term, the association was concerned about the impact Trump’s then-hypothetical tariffs could have on the Central Valley, and the group’s president and CEO, Casey Creamer, had warned that immigration raids threatened the food supply. The problem antedated the Trump administration: After major raids in early January by Customs and Border Protection in Kern County, “one citrus operation reported that 25% of its workers did not show up,” according to Creamer. “By the following day, that number had climbed to 75%.” Locals and labor groups interpret those pre-inauguration raids as the agency trying to impress the incoming president. Trump’s combination of tariffs and deportations has rattled farmers and growers in California, who provide more than a third of the nation’s vegetables and more than three quarters of the country’s fruits and nuts. “Farmers in California and across the country are being hit with a trifecta of damaging Republican policies: chaotic tariffs, haphazard mass deportations, and massive cuts to federal programs they rely on,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) told The Bulwark. “These reckless actions are leaving farmers in a dangerous limbo, unable to plan for the future and without the workforce that fuels their industry.” (For his part, Schiff has pointed out that while Trump made an effort to compensate farmers who were hurt during the first round of tariffs four years ago, “the compensation was not evenly distributed, and specialty crop farmers in California got very little compared to farmers elsewhere. So I don’t think anyone should expect to be made whole if we go through another round of that.”)

Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.), whose father in the 1950s was part of the Bracero program that brought temporary farm laborers from Mexico to the United States, recently held a town hall in the agriculture hub of Bakersfield to hear voters’ concerns. He said Republicans like Rep. David Valadao, who represents the district, are AWOL.

[...]

Be Our Guest (Worker)

DESPERATE FOR A STABLE WORKFORCE, California farm groups have come out in support of more H-2A guest worker visas. Labor groups—who represent the people currently doing the work, not those who could theoretically do the work—are less keen on the idea of replacing hundreds of thousands of undocumented farm hands with seasonal workers.

Despite Trump’s crass and cruel anti-immigration and economic-damaging tariffs, farmers across America are finding ways to keep food on the table.

[storiesofsvu]

WIP Roundup!

Alright, I've completely cleaned out the inbox and deleted "all" messages that I didn't respond to/that were "ghost" messages driving me insane saying they were there when they weren't.

Which ALSO means I've gone through my entire WIP folder and narrowed things down. Some got deleted, some I'm going to sit on for a little bit and see if something sparks, others I went through and added nearly 3000 words of blurbs/notes/ideas on how the fic is gonna go. The creativity is *flowing* so here's what we're working with now!

Addison Montgomery: A twist on the Seattle Grace prom ep. This time it's Addi off in an on call room cheating. She knows she shouldn't, that it's wrong and tells reader this, who agrees with a laugh. Problem is Addi knows it's not gonna be the last time. Amanda Rollins: her girl is supposed to be her gambling good luck charm. Amanda's not very happy when she ends up being someone else's and takes her home to be punished. Barhoun: 1 angst piece delving into one version of how/why they break up for good. Why things would never workout between them. 1 poly!fic where they frequent a high end sex club in the city and see a little timid thing that needs *guidance* (will end up w multiple parts) 1 poly! pure smut fic where they've both had long weeks and need someone to take it out on. Alex Blake: a minor hurt major comfort piece. Reader is hosting the team for post case drinks, but the case hit hard and she gets incredibly overwhelmed with the environment in her apartment. Blake is the one she trusts and wants around. Sonny Carisi: 1 hurt/comfort of him having to deal w his cop wife being undercover. He's now the ada and can't be on scene to help her/protect her and man does he ever hate that. 1 hurt/comfort potentially related to s26. Sonny needs someone, he needs to be comforted and taken care of by someone he trusts completely, someone he can relinquish all control to. CM Ladies: 1 comfort of reader coming out as bi/coming to terms with it and feeling a little bit insecure about it because she's only dated/been with men. Reassurance from the rest of the girls 1 mega smut club sandwich: Reader is friends with JJ, she's casually dated a couple other members of the team over the years and everything is on good terms. When she gets invited out for a night of drinks she meets the newest team member and is conflicted about how her night will end. Naturally, one of the girls comes up with a much spicier idea. One that reader doesn't need to make a choice. Elizabeth Donnelly: 1 mini series where Liz's relatively new gf starts to see the way other prosecutors act around her gf, how often Liz drops things to attend to their needs and how much she mentors them. She starts to get jealous/insecure about it and their relationship, wondering if she's enough or if Liz deserves/wants more. Emily Prentiss: 1 hurt/comfort in s17. Instead of getting high, emily devolves even more as she starts to spin out. It's only when reader shows up to yank her out of it that she finally gets a reality check from someone who cares and is worried about her. 1 smut. a continuation of "Seventeen" if you will, where em has tried to be good and play by the rules but she can't help it. Work's been busy and she's *needy* Olivia Benson: 1 mommy!olivia smut 1 that's a 5 times + 1 style of Olivia secretly dating Elliot's younger sister. Sara Kingsley: 1 either multi part-er or a 5 times where Sara has a crush but doesn't want to admit it. Joe Velasco: a 5 times one i've been working on for ages. Where he and reader have been sleeping together for a while but are in denial of all feelings and pretending their fling is a secret when.. yeah... everybody knows.

There's 20 all together in my WIP folder, but some I am sitting on to see if they develop something that might be deleted so I didn't include them.

That gives you a nice idea of what style/who is in the wip folder and what y'all have to look forward to!

Requests remain OPEN, so feel free to check out my pinned post and prompt lists to get some ideas. I generally DO like to get more than just the prompt as a request, send me even just a pretty vague setting/thought/what kind of situation they're in/how they got there. It helps me come up with someone more and there's a higher chance of it not getting deleted further down the road lol.

Happy Wednesday! <3

[democracyunderground]

A group of Democratic senators introduced a bill Thursday that would radically change the makeup of the Supreme Court, amid ongoing concerns over court ethics and its increasingly conservative makeup.

The legislation would appoint a new Supreme Court justice every two years, with that justice hearing every case for 18 years before stepping back from the bench and only hearing a “small number of constitutionally required cases.”

“The Supreme Court is facing a crisis of legitimacy that is exacerbated by radical decisions at odds with established legal precedent, ethical lapses of sitting justices, and politicization of the confirmation process,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) said in a statement.

“This crisis has eroded faith and confidence in our nation’s highest court. Fundamental reform is necessary to address this crisis and restore trust in the institution.”

Only the nine most recently appointed justices would hear appellate cases, which make up a bulk of the court’s work. All living justices would participate in a smaller subset of cases under the court’s “original jurisdiction,” such as disputes between states or with foreign officials.

The bill was introduced by Sens. Booker, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), and it was co-sponsored by Sens. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

Calls for Supreme Court reform grew louder this year after ProPublica revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas received hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of perks from conservative political donors. Further investigations have uncovered multiple significant and undisclosed gifts from politically connected friends over his time as a federal judge.

Justice Samuel Alito also took a luxury vacation paid for by an influential conservative donor while in the judiciary, another investigation found earlier this year.

The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill earlier this year along party lines that would require the Supreme Court to create and abide by a code of ethics. Unlike lower courts, Supreme Court judges are not beholden to an official ethics code.

“An organized scheme by right-wing special interests to capture and control the Supreme Court, aided by gobs of billionaire dark money flowing through the confirmation process and judicial lobbying, has resulted in an unaccountable Court out of step with the American people,” Whitehouse said in a statement.

“Term limits and biennial appointments would make the Court more representative of the public and lower the stakes of each justice’s appointment, while preserving constitutional protections for judicial independence.

“As Congress considers multiple options to restore the integrity of this scandal-plagued Court, our term limits bill should be front and center as a potential solution,” he added.

Attempts to reform the Supreme Court have been denounced by both Republicans in Congress and by some members of the court, namely Thomas and Alito.

Alito argued earlier this year that Congress does not have the authority to force any reform on the court without a constitutional amendment.

“I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it,” Alito told The Wall Street Journal. “No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period.”

But Whitehouse’s office argued in Wednesday’s statement that the Constitution allows Congress to regulate how the court handles appellate cases from lower courts. That’s why all justices would still weigh in on “original jurisdiction” cases, avoiding the constitutional hang-up.

Trust in the Supreme Court remains near all-time lows, according to national opinion polling. A Gallup poll last month found that just 41 percent of Americans approve of how the Supreme Court is doing its job, with 58 percent disapproving.

[ravenclod]

WORLD 1

- character profiles [incomplete.]

> character details

> character images

> relationships with one another

Leticia ; main

15-17 | Oct 15th | she/her | INFP | unlabelled

shy , very sweet , direct , stubborn

leticia is a scenekid , she is part of a small alternative band [ they have no idea what genre their music is ] with her 3 close friends. she plays the electric guitar and the violin. her favourite subjects are music, chem and computing. she has 1 younger sibling and 2 elder ones. her fav bands incl elysion and millionaires

Deniz ; main

15-17 | Aug 6th | she/her | ENTP | lesbian

outspoken , confident , friendly , supportive

deniz is super sporty, and liked by most people in their year. she plays basketball as part of a school team, along with her 2 best friends. she is not very good STEM wise, but shes trying her best. her favourite subjects are P.E, english and biology. she has one elder brother. her fav artists incl olivia rodrigo and NOAHFINNCE (shes a bit funky)

Izzy ; main

18 | Aug 27th | she/they/it | ENFP | pan

bubbly , loud , overbearing , unapologetic

izzy is a clown ! i mean literally, she works in her parents circus as a clown. she left school at 16, taking up the work and travelling around the country as the clown "bubbles". she has 2 little siblings and 1 older sibling. shes Italian and her parents are catholic, so its taken some time for them to be accepting of their and its siblings identities. she has a best friend, alex, and enjoys rollerskating and "cringe" music. she now lives with her gf xuxa.

Xuxa ; main

18 | May 15th | she/her | INTJ | lesbian asexual

polite, artistic, thoughtful , judgemental

xuxa is an artist ! she is currently studying art at uni, and aspires to be a painter. she moved from "america" at age 14 with her mum, away from her ex-bsf and gf. shes half chinese half portugese, her parents having split on OK terms as her dad moved back to china, where she visits once a year. she doesn't have many friends, izzy being her bsf before they started dating. she adores music especially metal and rock, and has a thing for certain animals.

Lawrence ; side

15-17 | Feb 1st | he/him | bi

stupid , genuine , sneaky , funny

he is izzys little brother and floritas twin ! he is quite well known and respected in school, as a flashy but sporty teen boy. bec of this and his parents past he struggles with his identity, even though hes an absolute boyfailure at home who plays otome games. he has a big fat crush on leticias best friend (unnamed)

Florita ; side

15-17 | Feb 1st | she/her | straight

gossipy , smart , likeable , forward

she is izzys little sister and lawrences twin ! she is by far the most liked person in school, despite being the biggest gossip and hatinf 95% of her year. shes reallt smart , BIG physics lover and is friendly with deniz as they do sports together in school. shes straight but doesnt give a fuck about romance for the time being.

(UNNAMED) ; side

16-17 | Dec 12 | they/he???? | ?????

defensive , chill , open

leticias best friend, and the drummer for their band. their style is all over the place alternative, and they have their walls up to protect the fg from being teased or bullied. he is super supportive of leticia and all her endeavours but loses patience sometimes. they have a big fat crush on lawrence.

Alex ; side

18 | Oct 6th | they/them | queer (they dgaf)

intelligent , nosy , quiet

they are izzys long term best friend from age 5 and used to help at the circus doing magic tricks! theyre also izzys ex, but its more of an inside joke to them both now. they are planning on doing maths and english lit in uni, why the fuck and teased izzy about her crush on xuxa 24/7.

Feuille ; side

19 | Sep 12th | he/him | gay

flirty, skeptical , joyful

feuille (leaf, again , i dont wanna talk abt it) is alexs' soon to be bf, who works at the local café and has flashy tatoos and piercings. his type apart from alex is atrocious, but hes funny so it makes up for that. he has mild attachment issues due to the death of his bsf and bf when he was 17, so his development with alex is slow and cautious.

Leticia / Deniz

[to be updated]

[strangers -> friends -> gfs ]

[rei-ismyname]

X-Factor #8 X-Manhunt highlights

I'm not reviewing any issues of X-Factor ever (unless someone paid me.) It's a weak comic, and not bad good either. However, it follows on directly from X-Men issue #13 (review here) and has moments of interest relating to those characters. X-Manhunt is not meant to be a solveable mystery - it's got late Game of Thrones vibes - putting so much effort into subverting expectations that it forgets to make sense or reward close attention.

So long folks!

The two teams fight, of course, real Looney Tunes shit. The Forget-me-not joke is told again and it's still not funny. They lose Xavier after a minute or two, lol. Poor X-Men spent all this effort being competent, but they stumbled into X-Factor's orbit and become bozos.

Update on Warren! He was in hospital for so long because he was receiving 'upgrades.' Elective procedures. Issue #1 established that he lost his Archangel transformation, though he didn't elaborate on how that happened. This book is cancelled and has other threads to tie up, like 'why is Havok such a loser?' and 'what was the point of this?' so I don't expect much on Warren.

That means Archangel mysteriously disappeared then Warren willingly recreated his worst trauma and the bane of his existence. The upgrade is basically Archangel again plus metal feet and a sword. I'd guess that the next writer to use Warren will ignore this, plus his willing stint in the US military.

After Havok was fired from X-Factor he was moping in his bare apartment, angsting over Lorna. Frenzy came over and recruited him for a Mutant Underground mission. He questioned why they'd trust him after he snitched to the military but went with it anyway. Turns out it was Chuck, who needed allies and went with Frenzy and Havok. Not sure when he had time to do that, but it doesn't matter. 'Twas these two who snatched Chuck.

Havok is being unbearably naive. He's just had his heartbreak and depression manipulated into sheltering the most wanted man in the world. He's really nostalgic because that photo is from the sixties. Not sure if Frenzy is telepathically influenced but she seems really happy to help a dude that joined ORCHIS. Scott knocks her out so I guess we'll never know.

Yeah, Alex. It's Scott.

Scott wants to kill Chuck, maybe? Alex wants to protect Chuck, I guess. I probably wouldn't want to talk to Alex right now either tbh. He asks why Scott is doing this, so I assume they really haven't been talking. The brothers haven't been on page together since Dark Web or thereabouts I think. They were on okay terms then, they'd even just had a good chat.

Err, Scott doesn't answer the question verbally. Surely they're both affected by the woke mind virus here. I could believe everything up to 'why can't you just stay gone?' Alex says mouths some lonely platitudes, which is in character, it's just a drastic escalation in general.

I found it annoying in Raid on Graymalkin that all interpersonal communication has a question mark over it due to psychic influence. It's just as irksome here because I'd like to know their actual feelings. The woke mind virus means it can't be trusted and is kinda pointless. No, it's worse than that - it's ambiguous without hope of clarity.

Even the story doesn't care, as Scott abruptly stops fighting to talk to Chuck. He asks him why, but don't get excited for an answer to that.

Chuck has a fucking Krakoan egg. The last one, apparently. Why here and now? IDK. Chuck says Hope a lot which feels like a red herring.

Sadly, there's no time for any kind of resolution or answers. Chuck has an appointment derailing the next issue of X-Force and the most narratively satisfying way to get there is *checks notes* to have a rando appear out of thin air and teleport Chuck away. Oh, okay. See ya buddy!

They don't take the egg, though it's pretty useless without Cerebro. The X-Men's role in X-Manhunt is over, but at least they have an unknown mindless body to deal with. If we're using Krakoan lore for how they work then that person should be dead. Drowned long ago. Let's double check. Goldballs creates the egg, Proteus makes it viable, someone (usually Hope) injects the DNA, Elixir brings them to life, Tempus ages them to adulthood/desired age. All this is done at the same time - when it's finished they're alive but blank. Requiring Oxygen etc. Last step is using Cerebro to put their memories/personality in, but that can be done before or after they hatch.

Maybe Chuck did his bit before he got snatched and they'll hatch shortly. If not, they'll die very soon. Some mutants don't need Oxygen etc, but they're rare. Like I said, this is not meant to be solvable through clues. One would assume it's related to the Xandra mission, but who knows? My guess is a much younger Xavier who dies immediately lol. Then they have a corpse and some fresh trauma, though no answers. I wonder what Frenzy is doing. Are the two teams still fighting?

For a relaunch that's determined to distance itself from Krakoa something as iconic as an egg is a weird choice. Cool, I guess? What do you think?