#it wouldn't work with Peter but I really did like his performance

[stackthedeck]

idk why but I wanted to share my mostly uninformed fan cast for fantastic four:

Reed Richards - Dev Patel (my beloved)

Sue Storm - Ariana DeBose (West Side Story, Westworld, etc)

Johnny Storm - Marcel Ruiz (best know for One Day at a Time)

Ben Grimm - Daniel Radcliffe (of HP fame of course)

I think it would be interesting to have Reed, Storm, and Ben all in the same early 30s age range & played by a diverse cast. I'm a Latina so obviously I'm biased but I'd love for the Storm's to be Latine. Plus with Marcel, we could have a young Johnny (he's 19) who's at a similar stage of life as Peter. I was thinking that (seeing as Ariana is Afrolatine and Marcel isn't) perhaps Johnny and Sue are from different marriages & after their dad and Johnny's mom die, Sue is all he has left of family (even though they maybe grew up estranged) which could introduce an interesting dynamic and opportunity for angst. Dan is my Jewish wildcard because I want Ben to stay true to his roots and be played by a Jewish actor, although I'd be more intrigued to see Dan as Wolverine tbh. If I'm my miracle world Dan was cast as Wolverine, then I'd want someone lowkey to be Ben, someone unknown. With Doctor Doom, I just hope they cast a Romani actor— two that I found (although I'm not familiar with their work) are Charlie Clapham and Jesús Castro.

anyway, what's your fan cast and why? -

oooh I really like this casting anon!! I'm not super familiar with Radcliffe's work so I'm unsure if he could do that gruff but caring vibe Ben has but like most of the fan casts I see for Ben tend to be comedy actors or not even Jewish so I like this! I definitely want the Storm siblings to be poc, I'm personally found of them being Black (I have a whole spiel about it) but Latine works really well too! Personally, I love Dev Patel too much to let him suffer being in a marvel movie, but if he's willing. You're spot on with Reed, Sue, and Ben being the same age, they're college buddies and that's why they were working on the rocket together. I will say that it is so important to me that Sue and Johnny always be close like the fant4astic was so dumb for making Johnny adopted and I'd rather the audience just come t their own conclusions. Like Sue and Johnny gotta have the same vibes as Nani and Lilo

for my cast...I don't have one? Like I just don't know a lot of celebrities. But also I think Marvel has been really successful in their castings because they actively sought out relatively unknown actors for larger roles. Like did you know who Tom Hiddleston or Chris Hemsworth was before Thor? I'm not a casting director so really when I make a fancast, it's going off looks alone. I'd much rather they look for an actor's ability, but most importantly their chemistry with the other actors. Like this is the most important part of the f4 that they're a family. I need them to do intensive casting for the actors' chemistry with each other. So I guess my fancast is four unknown actors with spectacular chemistry, Ben has to be Jewish and Johnny has to be Peter's age and I'm dead serious about the Storms being poc and while we're at it, Reed should be too

[singmyaubade]

in love with my bullies

warning: mentions of smut : throatfucking, p in v bullying, and cursing

sypnosis : the marauders bullied you, tortured you. what will happen when you finally stick up for yourself?

dark!poly!marauders x female!reader

pacing is horrible in this story, ik but i was writing it while listening to music LMAO. did not proofread btw..

once again, here you were.

washing green slime gunk out of your hair in the abandoned bathrooms due to another marauders prank that was only towards you.

somehow their pranks always involved washing something out.

you tried your best to not be bothered or even show any sign of disdain in your face but this had really pissed you off.

it was relentless.

everyday, every hour, every minute, every second. the marauders would continue to bully you for no reason other than you being a slytherin.

but you would think that since there are so many slytherins, you wouldn't be top pick. you were quiet, kept to yourself, and never tried to go noticed in a huge crowd.

yet all the marauders did was pick you out and torture you.

the only one that showed you mercy was peter, he usually hung out with his girlfriend and never paid you much attention.

you thought it would be remus since he had a reputation for being mature and kind-hearted but even he showed you no mercy.

it's not like you could ask for any help, you didn't have a lot of friends that could help and even though you were a pureblood, the pureblood slytherins didn't accept you because of you family not helping the dark lord.

it wasn't easy.

and even though you tried to reason with them, they refused due to the fact you believed in 'blood supremacy' and you thought muggles 'deserved hell' which was complete rumors and you didn't believe that at all.

and now it was time to go back to class and the slimy substance had yet to disappear on your head. you then tried several spells in order to get it out of your hair and one had worked, getting whatever you couldn't.

you performed a drying spell before exiting out of the bathroom. you stepped out to see three out of the four marauders laying on the left of the wall with a smirk embroided on their face.

you scoffed, trying to move elsewhere.

"was that a scoff i heard?" james asked, stepping towards you with intimidation.

you never tried to look scared but you could tell it was painted all over your face.

"just let me go." you said, whimpering a little.

"aww," sirius stood in front of you, "are you gonna cry?" he asked, mocking you.

"i think she is." james replied in the same tone.

you looked over to remus who was looking at the entire situation with a look of entertainment and interest.

"fuck you." you spat, stepping face to face with james.

"don't say something you'll regret." he responded in a dark tone as you moved to step backwards but sirius was suddenly behind you.

you tried to carry a strong look on your face but they could tell you were easily intimidated.

"if you wanna go so bad," remus stood off of the wall and toward you, "all you have to say is please." his pointer finger holding up your chin.

you knew you wouldn't be able to move without doing as he asked.

"please," you whispered, locking in his eye contact, eyes watering.

"please what?" remus asked.

"please let me go." you said.

"good girl," he complimented, "that's all you had to say."

"you just have to be good, bunny." sirius whispered in your ear, feeling his hot breath down your neck, hand holding your waist.

in this moment, you were glad this was an abandoned hallway.

the worst part was, you wanted sirius to touch you more, aching for relief in your core.

you couldn't stop the butterflies in your belly nor the vibration in your entire body, it was as if you could feel all of your sense ten times more especially in your cunt.

your eyes were even getting blurry as if you were stuck in a trance.

you suddenly snapped back to reality to realize there was nobody around you, remus's eye contact, sirius's hand on your shoulder and james's stern tone, all gone.

it was all as if you had imagined it and the only thing that argued with that was the vibration throughout your body.

you had decided to take the rest of the day off, going to your dorm.

you entered your dorm to see your best friend, riley.

"i looked for you everywhere!" riley yelled, hugging you, "i gave them each a piece of my mind before i went to look for you." she looked into your eyes.

"it's fine riles, you know they are assholes." you said, half smiling.

"i'll kill them if you want me to, seriously," she said, knowing she wasn't joking.

you laughed it off, going to fix your bed.

"soooo," riley said, "there's a party tonight."

"where?" you asked.

a moment passed, "gryffindor."

you rolled your eyes, "no."

"cmon y/n!" she sat on your bed, "you can not let your fear of the marauders stop you from going to a party?"

"that's not it!" you said, still fluffing your pillow, "slytherin's aren't allowed at gryffindor parties."

"im pretty sure that rule only applies to the malfoys, dolohovs, blacks, and every dark lord supporter," riley said.

"they still hate me." you replied.

"only the marauders," she convinced.

"and they run that house," you argued.

"no they don't, most people think they are irritating." riley said factually.

"please don't make me go." you groaned.

"for me, please." riley pouted.

"don't do the puppy dog eyes," you groaned as she continued doing it, "fine, i'll go." you said, riley yelling excitingly and smothering you.

"can i still wear this?" you asked through her screaming.

she stopped and looked at you in disappointment, "y/n, i know i am not best friends with a vulture."

you giggled as riley went to her closet and picked out a red dress that was a little too short for your liking.

"this will hug your shape perfectly!" riley squeaked and went inside the bathroom before you could even give a response.

after a couple hours, you and riley were both finally done getting ready. she looked at you in total shock, "y/n, you look so fucking hot right now. and i mean that in the gayest way possible." her mouth open.

your entire face turned blush pink, "not too bad yourself riley." you laughed.

"let's go." riley suddenly rushed, grabbing your hand, practically dragging you to the gryffindor common room.

you couldn't hear anything from outside but you guessed it was a silencing charm.

you heard riley mutter the password before the dark opened and you saw students from each house having the time of their lives and the music was outrageously blasting.

riley grabbed your hand, dragging you through as the door closed.

you looked around to see if you could spot any of the marauders, only finding peter dancing with his girlfriend.

it was like you were a bunny in a room with foxes that you couldn't distinguish.

"let's dance!" riley shouted, making you look at her.

you shook your head but riley rolled her eyes and dragged you on the dance floor.

she started dancing but it's like she could feel your awkwardness as she grabbed your hips, moving your body with hers to the rythym.

eventually, you decided to just let go and try to enjoy yourself.

after about two or three songs, you had told riley that you were going to get a drink and asked if she wanted any but she was already making out with a hufflepuff girl and only swatted her hand.

you laughed, moving over to the drinks table.

you poured yourself some firewhisky when you felt someone roughly grab your wrist.

you turned around to see three of the marauders with james having a hold of your wrist to which you scoffed, yanking your wrist back.

"can you guys seriously fuck off for one night?" you sighed.

"have you forgotten yourself?" remus genuinely asked.

this was the night to stick up for yourself.

"have you?" you argued, "you all are fucking pathetic," you laughed humorlessly to which you could feel their anger radiating onto you, "i pray for the poor bastards who end up being your children if you all can even have any when your too busy sucking eachothers cocks," you insulted, "but if you don't me, i am going to go bed because you have unfortunately ruined this party for me." you shoved past them harshly, leaving the common room.

adrenaline was bouncing off of you, a new high you had never felt before. you were even partly turned on by the whole encounter.

you were even surprised they had let you pass

you speedwalked through the hallway in victory, you felt like you had finally won, that you had finally got a one up off of them.

you had yet to realize that the hallways were dark with a little bit of moonlight pouring through and you couldn't navigate your way due to you leaving your wand in your dorm.

you went to turn back to the common room but bumped into a hard surface to which you looked up to see remus lupin.

your heart skipped a beat as he roughly put his hand around your neck, shoving you into a wall. he was squeezing not enough for you to go unconcious but enough for you to not be able to take full breaths.

"what happened to your voice sweetheart?" he said as you croaked, "what happened to that dirty mouth?" you tried slapping off his hand but he only pushed you further into the wall.

you looked to both of your sides to see james and sirius.

"what do you think boys?" remus asked, "think she deserves to be punished?"

your eyes opened wider as you tried to make a sound but it came out in little squeaks.

"i think she does moony, i think we have given her too much freedom." sirius responded.

"yeah, i think we might have to fuck her into obedience." james said, inching closer.

even you couldn't stop the wet patch in your panties.

"i think that's what she wants, i mean let me check." remus said as confusion painted your face.

you felt him raise your dress up, hand now in your panties as you moaned.

"she's soaking wet," remus scoffed, "turns out to be a little slut after all."

you felt remus start rubbing your clit as you moaned more, his grip on your neck never softening.

you and remus staring at each other as james whispered something in his ear and he nodded.

he suddenly took his hand out of your panties, your entirety angry at his lack of letting you release.

he put your hands behind your back, leading you somewhere you couldn't figure out. there was a haze in your eyes that made it impossible for you to see a thing.

you heard a door close as you looked around, it was james's prefect dorm.

before you could grasp onto your reality, james put his mouth onto yours, bruising your lips as you moaned into his mouth.

you tried catching your breath but james was relentless, not letting you go.

you could feel sirius behind you, sucking hickeys onto your neck, knowing it would leave spots.

you couldn't even spot remus in the room due to all of the pleasure you felt.

sirius was unzipping your dress, letting it fall onto the ground. james was working your bra, letting it fall to the ground as he nibbled on your nipple.

sirius pulled your panties down, lifting your legs out of them.

suddenly, they both stopped touching you which made you whimper.

"on your knees bunny." sirius instructed as you obeyed almost immediately.

remus came into view, stepping in front of you.

"are you gonna suck my cock nice bunny?" remus asked, tipping your head up to look at him using his pointer finger.

you nodded immediately.

"good girl." he complimented which sent you into orbit.

he stroked his cock in his pants, bringing it out. his cock sprung up out of his boxers, pre-cum leaking off of his tip.

you licked stripes onto his tip causing him to groan.

"don't tease bunny." he moaned which caused you took his entirety into your mouth, gagging. he ponytailed your hair from going into your face using his hand.

you were still looking up at him as he threw his head back in pleasure, "so fucking good bunny," he praised you which sent tingles in your cunt, "sucks cock like a fucking champ,"

you looked over to see james and sirius jerking off to the sight in front of them.

before he could come, remus pulled you off of his cock, standing you up.

he took off his boxers fully, laying on the bed, reaching for you to climb on top of him.

you put your knees on the side of his hips as he stroked himself a bit and aligned himself up to your cunt.

you sank down on his cock with a moan, trying to fully adjust yourself. both of his hands were on your hips, speeding you up slowly.

you felt a mouth on your neck, sucking. the pleasure hitting you rapidly.

suddenly, remus pulled your head down to kiss you, his hand gripped on your neck while roughly fucking you.

you felt someone prodding into your ass before slipping inside. you moaned loudly into remus's mouth.

"bunny, don't tense." james said and you knew he was the one prodding. he went slowly but every time he went in, you sank down on remus's cock which made immediate pleasure shoot inside of you.

"you feel so fucking good," remus complimented, sucking harsh bruises onto your skin.

"so fucking good." james murmured.

both of their words praising you made you almost come on sight.

you were so cock drunk, babbling about how close you were. your eyes were watering due to the amount of pleasure you were receiving.

what made you crazier was sirius putting your mouth on his cock, throat fucking you while your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

your spit dribbling off of your chin as tears rained on your cheeks.

remus sucked on your nipple as your eyes rolled to the back of your head.

their words muffled in your eyes.

remus and james had both cum inside of you which caused your first orgasm, moaning loudly, barely able to see due to the pleasure you were recieving.

sirius pulled out of your mouth as you gasped for air, throat being a bit hoarse.

james pulled out of you, delivering a kiss to your neck as a thank you.

your chest dropped to remus's chest as he pet your hair and praised you, "come one more time for me bunny?"

you babbled something while nodding your head which gave sirius permission to slide into your ass.

remus continued holding your head, eyes on his, admiring you.

"i love you bunny." he said before kissing you but this time more softly and delicately.

remus didn't give you the choice whether to say it back or not but you didn't know if he was being genuine or not.

sirius continued pounding into you but you were only able to whimper based on how cock drunk you were.

he praised you, telling you how good you were while remus massaged your puffy clit.

sirius came soon with you as your entire body felt exhausted. remus pulled you off of him as james grabbed a wet towel and wiped your legs and mouth. you winced as he brushed your clit, being hyper sensitive.

remus laid you down into james's bed, putting the blanket over you, kissing your head as you closed your eyes.

you didn't know what you were sure,

that you were in love with your bullies.

[hurtspideyparker]

Emotional Support Intern Peter Parker

Tony and Peter finally arrive in the large room, polished leather Oxfords and stained-lace Converse making their way through the crowd of professionals. Tony has a hand on Peter's back guiding him, because no matter how many meetings, conferences, and office buildings they traverse together, Peter always manages to get lost the second Tony lets go. 

Thankfully Pepper is easy to spot, shaking hands with some blah blah from wee woo Industries. Her hair is the only splash of colour in the constant white black grey of everyone's pencil skirts and collared shirts. 

"Hi Ms. Potts!" Peter greets as soon as the woman turns and spots them. 

"Hi Peter—Tony. I told you to stop bringing the kid to these things. No offense Peter."

"None taken! You look lovely, did you get your hair done?"

Pepper's hair cascades over her shoulder in perfect curls, splayed out over her white button-up. 

"Yes actually, a trim and some highlights. I think she went shorter than I asked though, because I always get half an inch, and this does not look like half an inch."

Peter steps a bit closer and squints at the piece of copper hair she's holding out. 

"I think it's just because she curled it. You usually get it blow dried after."

"Hm. I think you're right actually."

Tony rolls his eyes, "I'm so glad you guys are having such a great slumber party. C'mon kid I have to avoid that senator and he's starting to glance this way." He tries to head over to some tall plants that happen to be great blind spots. 

"Ah ah ah Tony! We are talking about this. I told you to stop dragging Peter to all of your work responsibilities. I'm sure he's bored to death with these meetings and work events."

"Pep, he's an intern, he's supposed to be bored and taken advantage of. Besides, if you take away my emotional support intern then I simply wouldn't show up! So."

"You aren't even paying him for his time!" Pepper says at the same time Peter mumbles "emotional support intern?"

"Um excuse me, that 3 million dollar suit he stuffs between his math homework and Go-Gurt begs to differ. And anyways, I pay him with experience. I brought him to that seminar in LA on Saturday, and he's following me to Tokyo for that week long conference in July. I highly doubt he's complaining," he squeezes the boy's shoulders, Peter looking up and beaming at him and Pepper. 

"I'm really fine with it Ms. Potts. Besides, the more of these things I go to the more lab time I get!" Peter pipes in.

Pepper glares at Tony. "Really, bribery?" 

"Okay well, if us grown adults don't want to be here how else am I supposed to get a 15 year old to talk about environmental reform to people who don't even believe in climate change." 

Pepper and Tony hold each other's stares.

"You mean he spoke to Mr. Ellis about the generator you designed for his carbon plant, and it didn't end with him calling us a pansy corporation and you calling him a decrepit geezer who's business is the only thing that's going to die quicker than he is?"

There's barely stiffled hope supressed under Pepper's professionalism. 

Tony smirks. "Yep, I think Mr. Ellis even smiled. The kid's got charm! Who knew."

Pepper glances at Peter in consideration. 

"Peter have you ever considered pursuing anything further in business? Engineering is great, but if you really want to be successful it's incredibly important to build interpersonal skills, leadership, and even current market and finance knowledge. I mean you might want to sell your designs one day, or start a company." 

"Oh, I haven't really-"

"You could shadow me! I mean interning with a CEO is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it would give you a glowing resume, and I know a lot more about this stuff than Tony. He didn't even perform his executive duties when he actually was the CEO."

Pepper has that gleam in her eyes, the one she gets when men call her sweetheart, or when Tony isn't even dressed for their reservation that started ten minutes ago. 

It means she's already had the argument in her head. 

Peter is still stuttering, flustered with this side of Pepper. Her business face isn't usually directed at him, and it's a far cry from the woman who sends him home with leftovers from dinner. 

"Wait wait wait, are you trying to steal my intern?" Tony asks incredulously. 

"If anyone even needs an intern Tony it would be me. I have to babysit you and the company, meanwhile you just need him to hand you wrenches. Competent help is hard to find these days and you're wasting his talents." 

"Um, excuse me, he's the only thing keeping me together. You already have your fancy day planner and Excel spreadsheets, I need him to get me out of the house. He's the only thing keeping me a responsible adult, if you take away my emotional support intern then I will not attend a single meeting for the rest of the quarter." 

"You are such a man child!"

"La la la la can't hear youuu," Tony says with his fingers in his ears.

"Um, guys, I think people are staring."

Peter tugs on the corner of Tony's sleeve to get him to unplug his ears, glancing nervously at the groups of people sending them judgemental stares. The three of them give a wave and pleasant smile, most of the crowd continuing to move along on the grey carpet at the sight of their unsettling synchronicity and false turn of the lips. 

Pepper speaks through her teeth, a grin still presented at passers-by. "Fine, you can keep him, but only because he's doing half my job for me. The only person you can emotionally regulate around and it's a teenager. I'm glad you finally found someone who can keep you entertained." 

"Love you too honey," Tony says while putting a hand on the small of her back and kissing her cheek. He sighs, looking around the room at all the government officials who think these tech companies are spying on them. 

Apparently a surveillance state is only cool when they do it to manipulate their incarceration numbers, rig elections and lobby votes, and not for data mining and targeted ads. 

"I say we hit the cheese and crackers, take an awkward amount of sips from those tiny water bottles, and then speak to some old ladies till we have to do our presentation."

"Sounds great Mr. Stark. Will you make sure they don't grab my face again? I smelled like old lady perfume at school and Flash started making fun of me for stealing people's grandmas."

Tony looks into Peter's eyes questioningly and finds nothing but sincerity and resignation in them. 

"Well. Not my fault your cheeks are so gosh darn cute. But I'll do my best," he wraps an arm around the shorter and starts heading through the room again. 

The weight is comforting. Peter used to get anxious at these events, but Tony never leaves his side and is always looking at him like he's the Michaelangelo in the center of every room. He became accustomed to being Mr. Stark's favourite part of the event. While that may not seem difficult, especially considering the droning lectures and snooty company, it always feels special making jokes about people's ridiculous work jargon, and comparing the staleness of crackers at conferences. 

"Emotional support intern huh?" he says smugly. 

Tony glances at him, but instead of scoffing or denying anything, he just speaks with honesty. "You and Pepper are the best, most important things to this company. And to me. I'm really glad you're here kid."

Peter doesn't know what to say. The words stick in his throat while Tony hands him a water bottle with the lid already cracked. 

Peter has super strength; It's completely unnecessary to open his bottle for him. He doesn't point this out. Tony will do it at the next meeting, just like he did at the last one, and Peter will never mention it.

[kissitbttr]

omg can i ask for reader and miguel’s baby turning 1, and they celebrate the birthday, like how kylie jenner did for her precious babygirl stormi🥹 like miguel getting his precious daughter large toys, lots of performers, large bouncy houses, blasting spanish music, and cutting the cake, i really hope u see this ask🥹🥹

side note: ur like my fav tumblr fanfic writer rn, you’re so gorgeous and i hope you have a good day🩷🩷

AAA THIS IS A VERY CUTE IDEA ANONNNN

my note: i am?? *gasps* you're so sweet!! i am so honored my lovieeee!! thank you so much🥺

-

one thing. she has only asked miguel for one thing and he just dismissed her like that!

the two of them had previously discussed in matters of their baby girl's upcoming birthday, and she had told--no-- threatened him to keep things simple and baby-proof,

guess, she should've known that he was prone to never really listen

"you are so. dead, o'hara" she grumbles, scanning over the party decorations in their backyard. the twenty-ish big pink presents put neatly in the corner, a princess castle bouncy house, a DJ deck, and food catering?

there are already people stopping by and busying themselves at the party, she finds a couple familiar faces like peter, jess, even the kids gwen and miles.

he puts his hands up in defense, staring at her with a playful smile. "I know I know I went a little bit overboard--"

"a little?!"

"but querida, come on" he snakes his hands around her waist, tugging her closer but her eyes aren't even on him. "it's our baby girl's first birthday-- I had to give her all"

"what would a baby need a DJ deck for anyway?" she asks with a frown,

''we can set it aside and use it for a band.. i already have two ready for the party"

her jaw drops open. "a band?!"

''ay okay stop with the dramatic expressions, princesa" he chuckles, kissing her forehead.

shaking her head, she replies "you already got her two barbie houses, a pink range rover for kids, brand new stuffed animals that look like they escaped from the damn zoo, Disneyland tickets and a cinderella's carriage baby crib... you spoil her too much"

he shrugs, "like i told you... she's my baby"

"and how much have you spent for all of that, hm?"

he envelopes her hands between his, kissing the knuckles to ease her. "don't worry about that. got too much money in my bank account and I will use it to spoil the fuck out of both of you."

a light smile spreads across her face. "she wouldn't even remember half of this miggy, you know that?"

"we'll record it and everything" he shrugs, looking around the party feeling proud of his work. "I want her to have the best birthday ever. not just this but the next one and the next one and the next"

she can't help but feel her heart soften. he is so full of love every time he talks about their baby, an ultimate girl dad.

"i can't imagine what you will do for her quinceanera"

he winces at that, head shaking at the thought. "don't remind me. i want our baby girl to stay little forever"

she chuckles at that, standing on her tippy toes to kiss his chin. "what an amazing father you are, my love"

his cheeks warm at the compliment, glancing down at her to give her a grateful smile. one that speaks how glad he is to have her by his side, to call her his, to hear those words coming from her lips.

the sound of a precious giggle distracts them both, craning their heads toward the source of the sound and seeing jess holding their baby girl in her arms. dressed in a pretty pink dress with tiara on top

y/n reaches out to make grabby hands at jess. "hello pretty girl! gimme gimme" picking sofia from jess's grip, earning a cute giggle from her,

"she couldn't stop pulling at peter's hair-- your baby's got quite a grip" she mentions before walking away with a smile,

miguel snorts at that, silently patting himself on the back for what his baby had done,

cradling her closer to her chest, y/n fakes a gasp. "eso hizo, no es asi? uncle peter probably deserved it"

sofia babbles more, clapping her chubby hands at the two of them. miguel chuckles at the baby's cute antics and the way his wife talks in a baby voice,

a lucky bastard he is,

"daddy did this all for you, mamas-- aren't you happy? yeah?" she coos once more, bringing sofia closer to Miguel,

''come here pretty girl" miguel's hands move to grab her tiny body, picking her from his wife's grip. a sigh of contentment escapes from his lips. "my little princess... aren't you the prettiest baby I have ever seen, hm? you got that from your mami"

y/n eyes the interaction between the two of them, her finger moves to sofia's hand which she grips it.

"she is so fluffy.. we have a chunky baby"

miguel frowns, feigning a fake offensive look. "you calling our baby fat, mi amor?"

rolling your eyes, you scoff at him. "she's cute like this... i like it..." she gives a loud smooch on her baby's cheek making her giggle more,

miguel bobs sofia lightly in his embrace, inhaling the scent of her shampoo while keeping his eyes on y/n.

none of this was ever planned. miguel had no clue that being married and having a baby would be on his bucket list. if someone would've told him four years ago that he would eventually settle down and have a family, he would tell that person to fuck off and how crazy that idea sounds. because marriage wasn't his thing,

but now? he would kill the entire universe for his girls

"what are you thinking, papi?" she asks, head tilting in curiosity when his eyes won't move away from her,

he stays silent for a moment, pressing his cheek against sofia's head as she toys with the collar of his shirt,

"vamos a tener a otro bebe" [let's have another baby]

-

i hope this is okay!! xx

[sevlinop]

Nature vs Nuture in Hunter X Hunter, The Spider's "Founding" vs "Hisoka's Past"

In celebration of Hunter X Hunter returning, I wanted to go through and analyze the differences between the Spider's origin story in the recent chapters of the manga, as opposed to "Hisoka's Past, which is Sui Ishida's one shot depicting Hisoka's origins that was published back in 2016. Fair warning, there are spoilers ahead, so I wouldn't read this unless you're caught up with the manga! (It will also be quite long!)

To get the obvious out of the way, this one shot is not really canon. That being said, considering Togashi did a joint interview with Ishida and was open to letting him write his characters, I think at the very least Togashi likely isn't strongly opposed to how Hisoka is characterized in it. Ultimately though, I love Ishida's work so I'm just going to treat it as canon for the purposes of this.

In chapters 395-397, the focus shifts to a flashback of the origin story of the Phantom Troupe. It's cute and heartwarming, but also unsurprisingly, quite depressing. We see the hard life that orphans have in Meteor City, and ultimately the motivations for forming the Spider. I think the key thing you can take away from these chapters is that the Troupe did not became mass murdering criminals by happenstance. In these chapters we see Chrollo's leadership qualities almost immediately, and his ability to bring opposing personalities together. He's clearly the main protagonist for this interlude, and it focuses on his perspective, with the videotape motif making another appearance. Young Chrollo comes across as good natured, and deeply sensitive. He struggles to protect and stand up for himself, something alluded to by another orphan Sheila, when she describes him as everyone's "little brother". Most of the others tease or bully him, with Uvogin being the primary one.

On the other hand, we also see his ability to put on a performance, dubbing multiple characters and captivating all of the other kids. He doesn't win the other kid's admiration through force or intimidation, but charisma. Initially his only friends seem to be Shalnark and Franklin, neither of whom seem to see Chrollo as the leader of their little trio. On a side note it's adorable, and fitting that these three would get along. He's also close with Pakunoda, who seems to be the first of the children to have an unshakeable confidence in Chrollo. While their caretaker sees Chrollo's obvious potential, most of the other kids don't. All of the other founding spiders make appearances, but Uvogin is probably the closest to a Deuteragonist in these chapters. From the start he's clearly presented as almost already an authority figure, in part due to being older, even if ultimately the other kids respect for him is driven more by fear. It's his approval of Chrollo that solidifies him as the leader of first the performing Troupe, and then after Sarasa's death, the leader of The Spider.

Considering The Phantom Troupe, and Chrollo in particular, seem heavily tied in with references to The Gospels in The New Testament, I don't think it's a stretch to see a biblical reference here. In Matthew 16:16, Simon Peter states that Jesus is the Messiah.

"Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

I won't quote the entire Confession of Peter, suffice it to say I saw parallels with that section in this particular panel. Peter is famously hot tempered and argumentative, similar to Uvogin. However unlike Jesus who initially praises Peter, but then ultimately admonishes the disciples not to tell anyone he's the Christ, Chrollo is unsure of taking the role as leader. His becoming a leader isn't a sure thing.

This to me ties back into the main themes of these chapters, nurture, and the initial events that pushed Chrollo to become who he is by the time we're first introduced to him in Yorknew. He's deeply traumatized, and his deterministic, pessimistic worldview is a reflection of that. It also ties into his last name, Lucilfer, a blatant reference to Lucifer. Chrollo has imagery that ties to him to Christ and also The Devil. The most important moment to me though, is Chrollo stating he knows this warpath to get back at the human traffickers, and broader society in general, isn't what Sarasa would have wanted. This is a really impressive level of self awareness for anyone, let alone a young child. It shows Chrollo is fully aware of and comprehends how harmful his actions will be, and that his very high empathy gives him the option to lead people in a constructive direction, or a destructive one.

In Sui Ishida's one shot on the other hand, we see a very different kind of origin story. One that lacks much emotional resonance, and is more centered on Hisoka's discovery of Nen. He joins up with a traveling circus after being found alone, and seemingly injured on the side of the road. We see him be taken in and mentored by a nen user, Moritonio who's the leader of the "Moritonio Troupe". Hisoka also gets to know a girl his age who's an aspiring hunter training under Moritonio, named Abaki. It's a stretch to say they become friends, but she's clearly the third most relevant character in this story. Unlike Chrollo's arc where he wins over Uvogin, and by extension the rest of the future Phantom Troupe. Hisoka has little interest in befriending Abaki or integrating into the Moritonio Troupe.

We then see Hisoka master both circus performance, and the basics of Nen incredibly quickly. It's very much presented as just due to his inborn talent. Then we get an allusion to Ging, when Moritonio mentions how he took the Hunter exam and was wiped out by an incredible young competitor. Finally, we also get a throwback with water divination, where Hisoka changes the water to have a sour taste as opposed to Moritonio, who changes the water to taste bitter. A hint at both of their true natures. Later on Moritonio is revealed to be the infamous serial killer, John Doe, who's been terrorizing the town the troupe is staying in. Hisoka ultimately figures out his identity, and challenges him to a fight, narrowly winning by deploying his Bungee Gum for the first time. He happens to also do an act of kindness, by using his Texture Surprise for the first time, and covering up Moritonio's face so as to hide the truth of John Doe's identity from Abaki, before leaving the group behind and slipping away. To me at least this is presented as more of Hisoka acting on a whim, rather than coming from a place of caring about Abaki's feelings. The entire one shot centers around this main theme of natural talent, or someone's nature, being the biggest factor in shaping how they are.

Upon rereading the one shot for writing this, I have a very different interpretation. I don't think this one shot is about Hisoka learning nen, because I think he already knew it to begin with. Between mysteriously being found laying on the side of the road, or his incredibly rapid advancement, I think the real talent displayed here isn't Hisoka's aptitude for Nen (though that's true as well.), but deception. My reading is that he deceives Moritonio and the others from the beginning, and that the entire theme of this origin story is that Hisoka is who he is by nature. Even as a relatively young child he's skilled at sleight of hand and lying. I don't think this is because of some key event that shaped who he is. Chrollo is defined by his focus on morality, though that doesn't mean he is moral, and the philosophical beliefs he holds about the Spider. Whereas Hisoka is depicted as ultimately uninterested in other people beyond the potential entertainment or pleasure they could provide him, and amoral and deceitful by nature. His character also doesn't seem to have any religious or literary references in this one shot. (And considering Tokyo Ghoul's extensive literary references, that seems to go against how Ishida usually writes characters. So I think it's definitely an intentional choice.)

The other biggest contrast to me is how Chrollo's entire backstory is defined by his relationships to others. From Sarasa and her cruel and vile death at the hands of human traffickers, and ultimately his connection with the other spiders and in particular Pakunoda and Uvogin. Whereas Hisoka's backstory seems to be defined by his shallow and transactional interactions with others. Every action he takes is out of self interest or a whim, in fact he seems to be beyond just selfish, but incredibly egocentric in a way that's almost more like a disorder. Still, he's paradoxical very smooth and good at reading others. Whereas Chrollo's empathetic and thoughtful, Hisoka's perceptive and cunning.

I want to add, the whole point of this post isn't to argue that Chrollo is just a kind soul who was forced into being a monster, or that Hisoka is just evil to the core. Or put more simply, that I'm not just saying Chrollo is good and Hisoka is bad. Interestingly enough, many of Hisoka's actions are actually quite heroic in this chapter, even if his intent is a different story.

As far as we know at this point in the story, Chrollo masterminded a genocide against the Kurta, and is a heinous criminal. Though undeniably with a very magnetic personality. My point more is that I think Chrollo and the rest of the spiders are who they are because of nurture, whereas Hisoka is defined by being who he is simply by nature. They're both horrible people by almost any moral standard, but they're horrible in different ways and for different reasons. Ultimately they're both fascinating characters.

Thank you for reading this, and I know we're all excited to see what happens with The Phantom Troupe and Hisoka in the upcoming chapters!

[koskela-knights]

An Ode to Peter Franzén's performance

Once again thinking about Peter’s acting skills on full display in Alan Wake 2 which made the majority of the audience think the Koskelas were portrayed by two separate actors (I thought it too for quite some time!)

He basically played 4 different characters and he doesn't get enough credit or praise for this so here we go!

1 & 2 The Koskela Brothers

Thinking how he managed to make them distinctly different in not just the obvious outfits and hair but posture and gesture-wise too, even their voices. Jaakko is calmer, doesn't accentuate as much as Ilmo who is very vivid and energetic, using big gestures and talking with a lot of vigor.

(Photo by @amiracleilluminated)

Yet, Jaakko can be intimidating and aggressive. Most obvious is the jail scene but in the prologue, Cultist Jaakko comes off as a sturdy man and if you listen to the audio files on his (albeit distorted) voice, he is really pissed off.

(like I wouldn't wanna mess with Cultist Jaakko 😳 photo by @zephyrone01)

On a final note on the Koskelas, the goofy acting of Ilmo and mainly Jaakko's obvious bad acting are a whole thing on their own to pull off. To make it believable enough without it looking too forced or awkward in a bad way. But damn did Peter deliver and nail it.

3 The Cultist

Then u have the Cultist. Who sounds cockier than Ilmo and more seductive in a femme fatale kinda way. His gestures aren’t as grand as Ilmo’s but are still present and readable as just a silhouette. Even though we can't see his facial expressions, Peter's voice and his body language really gave this character a personality.

4 Ilmari Huotari

Last but definitely not least u got YY Ilmari, the murderer. He speaks Finnish but even that language difference aside, he speaks so differently. More calculated and his posture is straighter than Ilmo's. In this movie, you really see the subtle facial expressions. Sometimes blink and u miss it (like the snarl) Ilmari has a predatory stance and look when he confronts Kesä.

(These 3 different faces are maybe only a few seconds apart from each other!)

And that cool, calculated posture is fully gone when he goes into that killing frenzy a few minutes later. I screenshotted the hell out of YY and u can see Ilmari’s forehead vein poppin, he had crazy wild eyes that the Koskelas didn't have (there's a reason the Dark Presence wanted to turn them into the Huotari brothers).

5 Bonus distinctions

Also I notice that the Koskelas and Ilmari all do the head tilt but they're all different in vibes.

(ilmo & jaakko pics by @amiracleilluminated, Cultist Jaakko by @zephyrone01)

Cute head tilts vs determined, stalkerish looks

All characters also have noticeable changes in their attitudes

a) Ilmo: usually happy, very talkative and expressive becomes all depressed and muted and audibly grieving after Jaakko's brutal death. And during Deerfest he becomes manic and self-destructive (listen to his lines like: "stab me again, please")

(photos by @zephyrone01 & Cinematic Gameplays on YouTube)

b) Jaakko: usually less expressive, more subtle in his reactions becomes all aggressive and angry in the jail (and in the prologue)

(Photos by @zephyrone01)

c) Ilmari: as talked in his section, he can go from collected and cool to aggressive and a terrific murderer real quickly.

Honestly, if you make a closeup of just their eyes, even their eyes seem distinct from one another.

How are they all Peter Franzén??!??

All in all, Peter Franzén did a stellar job with these characters 🙌 He really showed a wide range of emotions and personalities, even within the same character at times.

Of all works I've seen him play in, his performance in Alan Wake 2 continues to be my favourite work of his.

[asmogorna]

Sorry to send another ask so soon (and idk if someones asked this already) but if you have any headcanons for Jon I'd love to hear them!

OK SO im really sorry it took me THIS long to get to this i quite literally.. forgot i had smth in my inbox woopsies. the reason i remembered is cause mootie posted some Spine hcs and i was like "woah"

alsooo im not good at putting my thoughts onto "paper" especially in english so you will have to excuse me

anywho my jon headcanons some sad some random /ref

First of all i think that his relationship with Peter Walter I would be far from close. he would be seen as the type of child who's both "too much mess to take care of" and "strong enough to take care of himself" if that makes sense. Peter did love him as his creation but would openly admit that he's not his proudest one, meanwhile Jon wouldn't feel much connection at all. he sympathized with his creator but only in a way he would with any other human being, there was more gratitude than love

Jon struggles with constant malfunctions and his mechanisms are a mess (partially because he gets himself in trouble all the time), so at one point Peter would get tired of fixing him so frequently, and tell him that he can just "walk some things off". That thought stuck to the bot and he would think of all of his malfunctions as slight inconveniences, i mean, he can still perform so why pay attention to the constant neck pain or powering up struggles ? it just became a habit and he kind of forgot that things like that shouldn't be ignored

After a long while when Peter Walter VI grew up enough to start learning more about how automatons work, Jon would be used as a "lab rat" (not really but its just what he himself called it) for young VI to practice fixing mechanisms. thats pretty much when he heard "Wait this cant be right" about his messed up physical state for the first time in a long while. little Peter didnt get to fix all of the things that were wrong with Jon's body, but he did manage to take care of some of them, which almost surprised Jon with how nice it felt to not hear pieces of broken gears rattle in his head every time he moved (who wouldve thunk)

ok now to more lighthearted stuff !!

Jon actually has a very strong bond with Sam ! He loves watching the mustached man work and sometimes follows him around, just enjoying his company. At first Sam thought that the tone-gold automaton was creepy and uncanny, but grew attached to him and his stupidity (/lh). i also think that Sam would be one of the few Walter workers who dont baby the Jon and actually treat him like they would treat any other robot :3

Also Jon just loves his robot family endlessly. shocker !! im not sure how explain it but i think hes the only one to look at other Walter automatons and go "bro i love them so much" at all times. in his head at least. obviously he teases them and argues with them but he wont think twice before accepting a hug from his siblings (except for Upgrade theyre rivals /j)

Speaking of Upgrade !! They feel the most sibling-ish to me (aside from Rabbit & The Spine) because they constantly poke fun at each other yet they still are willing to give each other help and comfort when needed. She once had to carry him all the way back to the Walter manor because they forgot to take some extra cans of crystal pepsi

Also Upgrade got in an accident once which caused her to have a fractured face for a couple of days, and Jon was there the entire time to comfort her and constantly tell her that shes still very pretty

Unlike with other robots, the food that Jon eats doesnt just fall through his uncovered jaw/run into his boiler or anything like this, instead it just. disappears. once he closes his mouth the food just vanishes into the unknown, yet Jon claims that he enjoys the process of "eating" (nobody knows how it works)

LITTLE GIRLS THAT GO TO SPG SHOWS LOVE HIM !! once the band finishes performing, he constantly gets pulled away by a small giggling pink-ish blob to join their tea party or hula hooping contest. thats why he has quite a knowledge on "girly" themes and educates other automatons on the matter

THATS IT FOR NOW TY FOR READING :3

[smallbearlady]

Okay I need to get something off as a both Daniel and Yuki Fan

Before you come for me: Personally i root a little bit more for Daniel than for Yuki, non the less i wish BOTH! the best: points, podiums, wins, championships.

Before even the 2024 season started regarding silly season I came to the conclusion:

- I want to see Yuki Tsunoda in the second seat for Red Bull Racing besides Max Verstappen -

- I want Daniel Ricciardo to keep the seat at VCARB and Liam Lawson to become his teammate"

And here is why:

1. Daniel is a better asset for the Faenza Team than for Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes

2. Red Bull Racing need to face the problem in case they loose Max Verstappen and their future in the sport

3. For years Yuki has been overlooked as canditate for the second seat at Red Bull Racing although he is outperforming his car since atleast the beginning of 2023

4. They loose the purpose of the Faenza Team if they choose drivers outside the Red Bull Family yet again

+

5. If that doesn't work out with Yuki and they need an expierenced driver because the competition found a way to beat Red Bull - they still can swap out Yuki for Daniel when needed

Welcome to my Ted Talk

1. Daniel is a better asset for the Faenza Team than for Red Bull Racing in Milton Keynes

When you listen to the interviews from Peter Bayer, Laurent Mekies and Franz Tost (last year), everyone always said & still say that Daniel is a great asset in term of developing and setting up the car

To quote Franz "He has an incredible feel for the car" and Peter "With his feel and developement advises he is also helping Yuki"

They were so happy last year that Daniel was there in Singapore to help setting up the car tho he himself couldn't drive, even claiming the he was an additional factor to why Liam got points in that race (i could talk hours about singapore23 trust me)

Red Bull Racing dont need someone for developing because of the current state of them dominating and being miles ahead their competiors and be able to create a car for Max smashing the whole grid

And wouldn't it be awesome to see VCARB podiums and wins like Pierre Gasly did with this Team in 2019 - 2021 ...

thinking about Daniels Renault time in 2020 and feeling that he was the asset that helped their performance jump between 2019 and 2020

2. Red Bull Racing need to face the problem in case they loose Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing needs to look into how they will proceed to be on to top in the case when Max leaves the sport (or to another team which i doubt) (which could be quite soon on how often Max already talked about retirement)

For that you need young talented drivers to make the step up because they can still develope themselves into a better driver and they also prob stay longer than driver who already drove over 10 years

Alonso and Hamilton are exceptions in their field and as we know WDCs usually stay longer in the sport as just race winners or podium getter or point bringers. Formula 1 also has the problem that they are almost either affraid of bringing in rookies because they are more likely to make mistakes or love to hold onto their old (washed) drivers

Too many young drivers were really good coming through the ranks of F4 F3 and F2 but never got a chance in F1. The case of Oscar Piastri who smashed everthing in F2 in 2021 still had to wait and fight to get that McLaren seat or it was moreover Mark Webber, who had to fight. Most drivers dont have a well known Manager to get those deals.

So i totally understand why Marko said that Liam Lawson WILL HAVE A SEAT IN 2025.

But I feel like Liam still has to proof his worth for some years in the VCARB before stepping up to Red Bull Racing.

3. For years Yuki has been overlooked as canditate for the second seat at Red Bull Racing although he is outperforming his car since atleast the beginning of 2023

Red Bull Racing themselfs prob still have PTSD from 2019 and 2020 with Gasly and Albon. That years showed that the big team doesn't have the patience to develope a rookie like Lawson. They also had luck with Max in that term but also had to go through a lot of crashes and imperfections back then.

Yuki Fan expierence this bias against Yuki far to long. To me in my mind come how the media shitted on Yuki in Mexico for his mistake when he was trying to overtake Oscar. The media shitted in Yuki more than on Checo Perez who took himself out.

As recap: Yuki on that day started from the back bc he got a new gearbox which was 1 aditional change to max allowed gearbox changes of the season. He started from the back and made up places, he got into the points and with his mistake he fell out of the points. You also have to understand that he was stuck behind Piastri for multiple laps to try to find an opening to overtake and prob got frustrated

Besides of that happening Yuki showed a very good race craft and teamwork in qualifying that weekend.

But regarding the Red Bull Racing seat - they barely name him, though he had very very good 2023 season regarding the car he was given

In the beginning of 2023 it was often said in the Media that Nyck De Vries was a possible candidate for the RBR seat and that Nyck will be the teamleader of AT because of his expierence and age according to Helmut Marko

And Yuki smashed that Media say with beating Nyck last year ... kinda similar how he is beating Daniel right now and the fuss about Daniel taking the

Or how Yuki Fans say: All voices that rise against Yuki shall fall

In that and also considering the precious point I am really annoyed about the fact that Checo Perez only has to do the bare minimum to keep his seat and drivers in less good cars work their ass off to get nothing out of it. Ofcourse rn he looks like he is handeling the car this years RB20 better than the RB19 .. as we saw last year that can change midseason with the increase of competion and car developements

Again - the idea of Yuki (and Daniel) may be closer to Max in quali and race pace than Checo overall but we dont know because they dont sit in the same car

4. They loose the purpose of the Faenza Team if they choose drivers outside the Red Bull Family yet again

This point is regarding the rumor about that maybe Sainz or Alonso are targeted for the second seat at Red Bull Racing if Perez doesnt perform.

If they take someone outside the family 2 current drivers have to go. There are already 3 drivers for 2 seats since Helmut Marko already sees Liam Lawson in the VCARB (they could have signed the contract already).

I see that they maybe eye Sainz (als a Carlos Sainz Fan too) as a possibility since him also being an ex-Red Bull Junior ... but i think i remember Marko saying that the mood the Torro Rosso 2015 wasn't ideal bc the drivers, mechanic and especially the DADS competing directly (Franz Tost enjoyed it according to his interview end of last year and i too would watch Papa Sainz and Jos battle it out)

Marko too said last year he'd loved to have Norris, but Lando dedicated his life to McLaren. Charles dedicated his to Ferrari and I also see how Alex Albon future is within Williams since Red Bull never really apprechiated him when he was there in 2019 & 2020

There is no reason to look outside the family if you have enough good drivers to sign and resign within the family

+

5. If that doesn't work out with Yuki and they need an expierenced driver because the competition found a way to beat Red Bull - they still can swap out Yuki for Daniel when needed

This is a lead back to the first point.

It only makes sense to sign Daniel Ricciardo for the Red Bull Racing seat if Red Bull Racing needs him in that seat.

If Perez can't give Max and the Team the teamplay or the performance they need from him, Red Bull has to make changes. Currently Yuki - a young and good driver - looks like the better and more long term replacement option out of both VCARB drivers. If Yuki fails too, then i would give the seat to Daniel and hope for the best.

Because if there is 1 thing we all know is that Daniel can be a beast in the Red Bull Racing car. That car (according to himself at the red bull interview with is race engineer) has still the characteristic that he (and Max) loves about that car and the Red Bull Racing Team know what kind of car Daniel wants and needs to perform and the kind of car in that Daniel can show his beast (honey badger) in him.

------

The season only just started and we barely had 3 race ... McLaren achieve a total overturn midseason last year ... lets watch and see what happens

Love y'all

Have a nice day

[evispunk]

CHAPTER ONE

summary: Draco breaks Harry's nose and Miss Norris snitches on Esathena. warnings: Implied thoughts of suicide, stress. wc: 2,450 a/n: im really still figuring out tumblr, I barely know how to work it please lord hang on with me as new chapters come out and the old ones get edited.

"CISSY! YOU CAN'T do this! He can't be trusted!" Bellatrix lowly screeched at her sister as they walked between houses down an alleyway.

"The Dark Lord trusts him."

"The Dark Lord's mistaken." she hissed back. Narcissa didn't reply to this. The only sounds that could be heard were the click of high heels against cobblestone and Muggle children riding their bikes in the pouring rain. The younger sister knocked at the door, and the two were careful to keep their faces hidden by their black cloaks.

A grim and hideous face appeared at the door, blurry through the icy film that coated the glass pane. Peter Pettigrew opened the door for the sisters, a confused and suspicious look splayed across his features. However, he let the Blacks in, knowing they wouldn't be here if it weren't important. Narcissa and Bellatrix walked through the halls of the cottage, and ended in the room where Severus Snape was sat on an armchair reading The Daily Prophet.

"Run along, Wormtail." he ordered, but the ugly man didn't move at his words. Severus slammed the door harshly with a flick of his wand and he cowered away in shameful fear.

"I- I know I ought not to be here." Narcissa nervously began, pausing for a beat of composure. "The Dark Lord himself forbade me to speak of this." she continued.

"If the Dark Lord has forbidden it, you are not to speak." he cut her off promptly, and without missing a beat, spoke, "Put it down, Bella, we mustn't touch what isn't ours." the curly haired witch set the item down on the mantle, raising her eyebrows at him to show that she did what he asked.

"As it so happens, I'm aware of your situation, Narcissa."

"You? The Dark Lord told you?" Bellatrix questioned, suspiciously eyeing the long-haired Death Eater.

"Your sister doubts me." he looked towards Narcissa. "Understandable. Over the years, I've played my part well- so well, I've deceived one of the greatest wizards of all time." Snape defended and she responded bored with a snore as she paced the room. "Dumbledore is a great wizard. Only a fool would question it."

"I don't doubt you, Severus." the black and blonde haired sister assured from her seat on an armchair, hands tightly clutching the glass between them.

"You should be honored, Cissy. As should Draco and Esathena." Bellatrix continued pacing around like she was nervous.

"He's just a boy." she pleaded, "And she's only a girl."

"I can't change The Dark Lord's mind. But it might be possible for me to help Draco and Esathena." Severus explained, and she stood from the chair she was sat in.

"Severus," she whispered, stepping closer.

"Swear to it." Bellatrix said, an intimidating and ominous look on her face. Her sister turned around and Snape eyed her from where he was standing. "Make the Unbreakable Vow." she pressed on, walking towards them. "It's just empty words. He'll give it his best effort. When it matters most, he'll just slither back into his home. Coward."

"Take out your wand." Snape instructed, and he did lock arms with Narcissa.

He was making the Vow.

Bellatrix began to dramatically cast the spell as thin, white, glowing ribbons twisted around their very still hands.

"Will you, Severus Snape, watch over Draco and Esathena Malfoy as they attempt to fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes?"

"I will."

"And will you, to the best of your abilities, protect them from harm?"

"I will."

"And if they should fail, will you yourself carry out the deed The Dark Lord has ordered the siblings to perform?" she whispered into his ear and he could feel her hot breath on his face. A beat of intense silence as Narcissa and Snape emotionally held their eye contact.

"I will." the silky ribbons began to fade away, and they slowly released their grip on each other.

"Harry? Is it me or do the Malfoy's and Mummy look like three people who don't want to be followed?" Ron peered out from the abandoned and destroyed Ollivander's, Harry and Hermione close behind. The three Malfoy's glanced around, carefully and nervously before going down the path to Knockturn Alley.

Both clad in all black, Draco in a suit and Esathena in her turtleneck and slacks, they reluctantly followed their mother. Unbeknownst to them, the Golden Trio followed close behind through the winding walls and openings. This was not a place any of them wanted to be.

The Malfoy's descended the stone steps, entering Borgin and Burke. Draco and his sister paused a moment, but when Draco entered with a radiating energy of courage, she found it difficult to not do the same. The shop door closed behind them with a shrill ring of the bell attached to the door, and the Golden Trio continued to investigate.

"It's all right, come in." their mother tried to assure the siblings, but she knew they hated being here just as much as she did. Thanks to Lucius, their unfortunate father, they were to inherit a life of darkness, death, and torture.

Only they would be the ones creating it.

Esathena stood closely behind her brother as he gently let his hand slide across the cabinet in front of them.

"I'm sure you've been told somewhat of your task." a Death Eater spoke from beside them and Esathena would have jumped if she didn't know how important it was for her to keep her composure and show her strength.

"It's simple really. Brilliantly simple. You lot fix this Vanishing Cabinet's sister in the Room of Requirement, and we gain entry into Hogwarts. Not much else I'm allowed to say, but I think you can figure it out. You're smart enough to realise the power we can have once you complete this." Draco said nothing, continuing to get a feel of the cabinet.

Only when the Death Eater harshly gripped at his sister's arm did he turn around. He tugged her closer to him, and lowly spoke into her ear. "And don't forget that if you speak to anyone about this, you'll never see your mother again. I'll make sure of that myself."

"Get your filthy hands off my sister." Draco sneered, and the Death Eater turned towards the blonde but his grip did not falter. Esathena continued to keep her composure, not letting her guard down to show she was not weak. The man laughed dryly, amused by Draco.

"Oh, you've got some newfound courage or something? What are you gonna do, you gonna kill me?" he toyed, but Draco only blinked, sucking in a deep breath. He knew they couldn't afford to risk anything.

"Come on, Fenrir. It's just brotherly protection. He didn't mean anything by it." their mother defended, her voice just slightly wavering. He only held up a hand, not sparing a glance in her direction.

"I didn't think so," he growled, pushing Esathena into Draco and strutting away. She only glared in his direction, aggressively shrugging her shoulders as if to rid his touch from her.

He was filthy.

Bellatrix still stood there silently, but once Greyback was out of their vision, she walked up to her nephew.

"You two should be honoured," Bellatrix began, running her brittle fingers across his cheek then backing away. "to be considered by The Dark Lord for this task." she finished, then followed towards the direction the other Death Eater had left.

Narcissa hurriedly pulled her daughter into a hug, and kissed Draco's cheek. He only let his head bow, as if he knew what was going to happen. As if he knew that this would become the beginning of the end.

"Did you do something to your hair?" Pansy spoke up from across the table, and Esathena turned her head towards the brunette girl.

"Um, no. It's the same as it's always been." And she hadn't lied. It was still a dark black color with platinum streaks, and one section that was entirely platinum. That section was under her hair by the front of her face, and if she tucked her hair behind her ear, you could see it quite well.

"Oh. It looks more white. Guess it's just been a while and I forgot." Pansy shrugged and she smiled, turning her head back to the window and scratching under Peanut's chin. She drowned out all of the annoying conversation and commotion until she felt the chatter fade away, and realised that nobody was talking at all.

Then her vision went black.

Or more, the train did. Nobody could see anything now and there was a coalesce gasp across the compartment before people started to cough because of the thick, blue and black smoke.

"What was that?" Draco snarled, looking around from the standing position he was in. Pansy stood up, and said something about how it must have been a first-year and how Draco should sit down since they were almost at Hogwarts. Esathena rolled her eyes. She did love Pansy, and they were best friends- but the constant pining after her brother would be the death of her. It was pathetic. Nonetheless, he sat down next to his sister and across from Blaise.

"It's alright, darling, just some smoke." she calmed her mewing black cat, moving her back into the center of her lap.

"Hogwarts," Draco scoffed. "What a pathetic excuse for a school." he continued, and she stayed silent beside him. She never really spoke much with this many people around, mostly letting Draco do the talking. They were together most of the time as he swore to himself he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

When they were forced to become Death Eaters, he had cried for days and he didn't leave his room for weeks. He swore to himself that he'd protect her and he'd failed. So this year, he made a new promise. One that he could keep. He swore that he'd make sure she never left his side and he could successfully keep her out of harm's way to the best of his abilities.

"I think I'd pitch myself off the astronomy tower if I thought I'd have to continue for another two years." She looked at her brother, questioning his actions. He knew what was on the line if they spoke about the task.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pansy asked, a sickeningly concerned expression across her face.

"Let's just say I don't think you'll see me wasting my time in charms class next year." he smirked, but it was almost unnoticeable. Blaise failed to hold in a laugh from across the seat, smiling to himself.

"Amused, Blaise?" Esathena cut off whatever it was that her brother was beginning to say, glaring at the Slytherin boy. "We'll see just who's laughing in the end." Draco let a threatening smirk take shape on his lips as his sister retreated back to her former position on the seat. Blaise stayed silent.

The sky was dark and had long since fallen, and the section of the train they were on was now nearly empty. Pansy, Blaise, and Esathena were beginning to gather their luggage to exit the Hogwarts Express. Draco sat still, clutching his jaw between his fingers.

"You guys go on. I want to check something." he told them, and his sister eyed him suspiciously but left for the train exit with her friends. Once they made it off the platform and she had set her luggage next to the rest of the students', she waved them off and went back to the train. Draco still hadn't come out yet and it had been nearly ten minutes.

To her surprise, just as she passed the gate, she saw her brother walking briskly towards her.

"I thought you'd left with Pansy and Blaise."

"It's been ten minutes, I wasn't going to just leave you on the train." Esathena walked side by side with him, watching as he placed his expensive, initialed luggage next to hers. "What did you need to check on?"

"It doesn't matter. There wasn't anything, anyway. Just some old cobwebs and spare blankets."

"What's this cane here, then?" Filch grumbled as he went through the cases, checking for anything "suspicious".

"It's not a cane, you cretin. It's a walking stick." Draco spat out and Esathena crossed her arms next to him with a glare and the old Squib.

"And what exactly would you be doing with a walking stick?" he pushed on, talking about it could be considered a weapon.

"It's alright, Mr. Filch. I can vouch for Mr. Malfoy." Snape intervened. It was only when Esathena had resorted to looking at her surroundings to make time move faster that she noticed that Harry and Luna were standing in front of the gate. She'd thought there was nobody else on that train - or at least that's what Draco had told her. She looked back at the three people next to her, then back again when she noticed something on Harry's face. It looked like... blood?

Esathena squinted, trying to get a better look at his nose and she realised that it was in fact blood. It looked like somebody had broken his nose.

"You said there was nothing on the train, yeah?"

"Nothing important." he returned and she nodded when he looked past her towards who she could only assume was Harry and Luna. "Nice face, Potter."

A few more minutes, and the siblings were both on one of the carriages while Harry and Luna were still getting their luggage checked. It was silent, save for a few noises from the Thestrals and crunches of the leaves for a few moments before she drew in a breath to speak.

"Draco-"

"I know." he looked at her, and saw how her eyes were now glossed over and her bottom lip was slightly quivering like it does when she was trying not to cry. He saw how her eyebrows fought not to furrow so she didn't show any weakness, and he saw how she spun her ring around her middle finger to distract herself.

Esathena was only fifteen, and now she was a Death Eater because of their bloody father. She was only fifteen, and now she had been tasked with opening the school to an army of Dark witches and wizards that would inevitably kill half of the students at Hogwarts and destroy the school with them.

Draco pulled his sister close to him.

"I'm scared. I don't want to end up like father." she whispered, slightly muffled by the thick material of his black turtleneck.

"I know, Essie. I won't let it happen. I'll protect you no matter what it does to me."

[eight-pointed-star]

so there isn't a consistent plot (yet?) but my ideas about a tma silm au include

a successfully performed desolation apocalypse (morgoth is desolation)

fëanor who is an avatar (jon don't get my ass i know this is a wrong term) of desolation but obviously he's not on the same "side" as morgoth. kind of like elias with jon

i'm still thinking about this one but maybe maedhros is a desolation avatar as well but then, when he gets his hand cut off, he's sort of freed of it? like what melanie did

however. i desperately want maglor to have all-seeing powers and, i suppose, if the apocalypse wasn't carried out by the beholding but rather by the desolation, he wouldn't see everything, would he? probably only inside his realm. i need to think of a way to arrange that

also, i've already said the m&m are jonmartin and what i meant is maedhros as an avatar of the power that "won" in this universe, the unwilling protagonist & maglor as his +1. but also maglor is the one with the eye powers (the noldolante is literally a collection of statements). i really want this dynamic to work but 1) as mentioned before, i'm not sure he would have the eye powers 2) i want maedhros to not be an avatar anymore? i don't know

sauron is of the eye of course. mordor is literally his realm and there's an eye. a huge eye on a tower if we believe the movies

cirdan is the silm equivalent of peter lucas. like, white hair + beard + sends people out on ships to never be seen again

i've mentioned this before but thingol and melian do have a mikaele salesa and annabelle cane situation going on (unless there is something in the last ten episodes i haven't listened to yet that shows a very different dynamic), except melian is the one who builds their little oasis, thingol is completely useless

i really really want the valar to be the fears but i can't think of a good way to arrange that

on why thingol and melian are mikaele and annabelle:

[sciderman]

hi sci! i think at least once a day i am taken aback by how much of an incredible artist you are. your ability to create and your passion for it is just astounding to me, over the course of a few years your work has become such a pillar of inspiration for me 💘

i've asked you before for drawing tips and i value those so much but i've found myself actually wanting more and more to get into writing fanfiction but i have about a million worries and i'm not entirely sure to start. i definitely smashed out a few so-bad-its-bad obscure anime fanfictions as a kid but i really haven't touched creative writing in eons. I know you've been writing for a good while, but do you have any writing tips you tend to refer to or any advice for begginners? ... and any advice on getting over my internalised cringe culture when i can't open a word document and type out "peter parker" without shrivelling into myself...

anyway! have a great day! i love you very much and i am so excited for the spidercablepool fic to ruin my train of thoughts for the forseeable future :] ❤️

immediate cringe upon the mention of "peter parker" is par for the course, i'm afraid

bless you so much @saeram!! bless you for all your kind words, i... houugh... thank you so, so much. thank you so much for reading the goofy things i put out into the world - i'm so, so glad you're enjoying it!

i don't know if i have a lot in the way of writing advice - i think the only way to overcome the shame of it is just to whisper "i am cringe and i am free" and do it. i think anything you enjoy doing is worth doing - and, you know, if it's not enjoyable you just wouldn't do it. you post your first fanfiction - you get feedback, you find out people hate it when you write in first person. you learn, you come back stronger than ever. (not from personal experience. okay. yes. it's from personal experience.)

(i still like my first person pov fics. shut up.)

maybe my first advice is don't write in first person (people hate that.) (but actually i love it, when it's done well. but i'm freaky kinky.)

i'd say reading definitely helps when it comes to writing, but again, that's me giving good advice that i don't follow (i'm jared, 19.) - i mostly read comics. and i mostly read comics that i don't enjoy. don't be like me. read things that you enjoy - even if you've read it a hundred times before, odds are, it'll inspire.

i did say when people asked me advice on writing dialogue (which is my absolute FAVOURITE thing to write) - watching movies and television with dialogue / characters that you really like honestly really helps - more so than reading, I think, for me. performance is so, so important when i'm writing dialogue. it's not just words, i have to have such a clear picture of how it's being said, ya feel. how the characters are performing it. and so, in that way, it plays out a little bit like a movie in my head, even though there's still a lot of internal monologue in there (the internal monologue i write is often very reliant on visual metaphor too - i'm just - i'm a really visual person, i think.)

all in all i don't think there's any better advice than just DO it. just DO it! and once you've done it once, the second time is easier. and then the next, and then the next. it might help to discuss it with others - do some back-and-forth, or even have proof-readers - (i rarely do, but i also love to overshare all my wips, because i'm a giddy little schoolgirl when i'm knee-deep in my writing.)

if you'd like to spitball ideas or share your writing (particularly in regards to peter parker, my beloved) i'd be happy to help! god speed and good luck, and i hope you'll be putting your beautiful fanfic babies out into the universe for us starving folk to enjoy

[beas-whump-blog]

@chrumblr-whumblr day five! Better late than never ig? The prompt was "forced to obey".

Fandom: Chrumblr RP

AU where Arrio is with the whump AU gang. AU-ception.

-

Arrio dodged as Peter rushed at him, barely making it out of the way before he could land a punch.

“Peter, snap out of it!” Arrio yelled, backing up to put space between them.

They were in fairly small room, windowless and completely made of cement, with one locked (he had checked) electric door and a camera in the top of each corner. Normally he would have taken out the cameras out with his fire, but he currently had more pressing matters. One in particular, that he needed to deal with.

“Peter, stop! It's me!” he exclaimed. “Not that I expect that to change anything," he added under his breath.

Peter glared at Arrio as he bore down on him, ducking under his extended elbow and throwing a leg out, knocking Arrio's feet out from under him.

Arrio rolled to the side before he could be pinned down, jumping back up to his feet and breathing heavily.

If Peter had been any normal person with fighting skills, they might have been evenly matched. But even without his webshooters, as he was now, he still had enhanced speed and strength. That, plus the fact that Arrio wanted to avoid injuring him if he could, and that Peter, in his current state, had no such qualms, Arrio wasn't quite sure how he was managing to hold his own. Or how much longer he could keep it up, for that matter.

“Peter, knock it off! Come on, I know you find my face punchable even under normal circumstances, but you need to stop! You can't let them control you! You're stronger than that!"

Peter didn't respond, just like he hadn't since he'd entered the room. His lack of snarky comments had been what tipped Arrio off to something being wrong even before Peter resorted to violence. The lack of verbal assault was almost more concerning than the physical attack.

Peter darted forward, pinning Arrio against the back wall, and Arrio kicked him in the stomach as old instincts kicked in, knowing he couldn't take much more of this.

He really wished they wouldn't.

Peter made a grab for Arrio's throat, but before he could make contact, Arrio took Peter's wrist in his hand and bit. His teeth sank into Peter's hand and his opponent yelped, making his first sound since he'd entered the room, as the disgusting taste of blood filled Arrio's mouth, almost making him gag.

Peter smashed his other fist against the side of Arrio's head, but he only bit down harder, scratching at Peter's face and neck and any other exposed skin he could get his hands on as he was hit again and again.

Peter quickly seemed to realize that his current tactic wasn't working, and instead grabbed a handful of Arrio's hair, slamming his head back against the wall. Arrio locked his jaw against the exploding pain as his brain rattled and the room started spinning. But as his head connected with the cement again and again, he let go, falling limp. But Peter wasn't done yet. He continued the motion, over and over, as Arrio choked out a strangled cry of pain.

"Peter," he begged, voice raspy and broken.

Peter still didn't give any sign that he'd heard him, but without warning, he let go, allowing Arrio to fall to the floor, dazed and in pain, unmoving. Then Peter stood up and walked to the opposite corner, where he promptly crumpled to the floor like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

The door opened, and the two men who'd brought him to the room walked in, grinning from ear to ear.

“Oh, excellent performance, you two!” one exclaimed with a little clap. “That last bit where you panicked and went feral? Absolutely wonderful! I don't know why we didn't do this sooner!”

“What did you do to him?” Arrio growled, watching Peter's limp form out of the corner of his eye, and the second man shook his head sadly. “I think next time we might have to use him instead of his friend. Looks like he still hasn't learned his lesson.”

The first man nodded in agreement.

“I'm afraid so. He needs to see how lucky he was to be on the receiving end. So ungrateful.” He rolled his sleeves up, stepping forward. “Oh well. Time to get him back to the others. I'm sure they're worried.”

The two walked up and picked Arrio up by his arms, dragging him out the door and through the halls, and aside from a pitiful attempt to shove them off at first, he didn't fight. He allowed himself to be brought back to the room that held the others as the world spun, not even attempting to get his legs under him. Even if he could, he doubted they'd hold his weight once the men let go.

They brought him back to the room and dragged him to the back corner before releasing him, and he collapsed with a grunt. Then they left, leaving him alone with the others.

"Arrio!" Nia gasped, as she and Dick appeared at his side, Raoul just behind them.

He tried to speak, but the words came out all jumbled together.

"Easy, kid, it's okay. Take your time."

"They got Peter," he slurred, careful to make his words more intelligible. "They got Peter."

Raoul's eyes widened as Dick gently helped Arrio sit up. He pulled his knees up to his chest as the room spun, and he leaned heavily against Dick to keep from falling over again. Dick wrapped an arm around his shoulders, careful not to hurt him any more than he already was.

"Where is he? And what did they do to you?" he asked, his gentle tone not hiding the horror in his voice.

"It wasn't them." Then he shook his head, but immediately stopped when the murderous pain made him regret it. "I mean, it was. But they made Peter. They made us fight. They were controlling him. And they didn't need wires." He hugged himself, and Dick squeezed his shoulders tighter as he shuddered. "He wasn't Peter. It was like he wasn't even in there." He buried his face in his arms, knowing he was acting like a little kid and not caring.

Dick winced.

"We'll get him back, Arrio. We'll find a way."

Arrio didn't respond, just leaned against him even more. Dick turned toward him a little and put a careful hand to his face, lifting it to get a better view.

"You bite your tongue?" he asked, seeing the blood crusted around the edges of Arrio's mouth.

"No, I- I bit him. He had me pinned and I didn't know what to do, he's faster and stronger and my instincts just kind of- took over." His voice wavered, and his eyes burned as he held back tears.

"Hey, it's okay."

"I- I was scared. I've fought Peter more than once and I've never been scared of him. But realizing that he wasn't holding back, it- I don't know, I didn't know what to do. He could have killed me. I couldn't stop him."

Dick didn't know what to do except wrap his other arm around Arrio as well, drawing him into a firm hug. He wasn't sure what he expected, but he was almost surprised when Arrio not only didn't protest, but leaned into him completely.

"I'm sorry," Dick said quietly. "I'm so sorry."

Nia moved to sit on Arrio's other side and wormed her way under his arm, and she thought she heard a watery laugh from him, but it just as easily could have been a sob. Raoul sat next to Dick, putting a hand on his shoulder, and the group stayed like that for a while, until they heard a noise outside the room. They all stiffened as the heavy door swung open, and there stood the three men, and... Peter.

"Aww, isn't this an adorable scene! Enjoy your little reunion, everyone!" one of them exclaimed cheerfully, before pushing Peter inside and closing the door.

Arrio immediately shrugged Dick's arms off of him and shoved himself to his feet, using Dick's shoulder as support as his head screamed murder and the ground swayed beneath him. He tried to raise his fists, but had to put one back on Dick to steady himself.

"Arrio," Dick warned quietly, but Arrio wasn't sure even he knew what he was warning against.

But Peter just raised his hands slightly, and Arrio could see that they were shaking.

"It- it's just me this time. They- They're not- y'know. I swear. It's just me."

Arrio wasn't sure what to do, but Nia slowly got up and walked over to Peter, wrapping him in a hug. He froze for a moment before returning the gesture, sagging a bit before Nia pulled away and took his hand, leading him to the back wall. The middle, not the corner Dick and Arrio were in. Arrio was grateful.

Dick softly took Arrio's wrist and pulled him back down to the floor, and he didn't resist. He sank back down to the floor beside him, but didn't relax, even when Dick put his arm back around him.

"Hey. It's okay," Dick breathed to him, so lightly the others wouldn't be able to hear, and Arrio realized he was shaking.

"Sorry," he muttered.

"... Arrio?" Peter said softly, and Arrio tensed even more. "I- I'm sorry. I couldn't stop. I should have been able to, but I couldn't, and that's my fault, and I- I'm so sorry." He was crying now, and a lump grew in Arrio's throat as he listened. "I'm so sorry."

Arrio steeled himself. He wasn't Peter's biggest fan, but he also had to tell the truth. It wouldn't be fair to him to stay angry.

"... It's not your fault, Peter. You couldn't stop it. And it's not because you're weak, or a failure, it's because they're psychopathic control freaks hell-bent on making us suffer, and they've perfected the ways to do it. And that's not on you. It's on them, and only them. Okay?"

Peter just sniffed for a moment, apparently in shock, but eventually he nodded.

"Okay," he whispered. "Okay. I just- I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Arrio swallowed the lump in his throat and almost nodded as well, before realizing that probably wouldn't go over well with his head injury.

"I know. Me too." He hugged himself again, hating how the taste of iron lingered in his mouth. "... How's your hand?"

"... It's fine. Nothing I don't deserve."

"Peter."

"Right. Sorry. It hurts, but I'll live.”

“... Sorry about that,” Arrio said. “I mean, not that I did it. But that I had to. That… I don't know, it must have sucked.”

He was surprised to hear Peter laugh.

“Yeah. Yeah, it did suck. Probably equally for both of us though, all things considered.”

“Yeah, fair enough,” Arrio agreed with a wry smile. “So… no hard feelings?”

He couldn't see Peter, but he could hear the smile on his face when he spoke.

“Yeah. We're good.”

[zilabee]

Alf Bicknell, Beatles Chauffeur (and friend), 1964 to 1966:

“It's weird to explain. Even after I left them in 1966 and went back to working with captains of industry and on a cruise, I could never get those songs - all their tracks - out of my system. They'd become a part of me. To be there was the job of a lifetime.”

“It was exhausting. I remember waking some mornings and being filled with trepidation. Filled with the feeling that I couldn't do it, that I couldn't go on at this pace.”

“I ended up with George and this guy, who turned out to be an Italian prince. He offered to show us around Rome. So, together with this prince, his beautiful girlfriend, and George, I had one of the most wonderful of my times with the Beatles. He took us at dawn on this whirlwind tour of Rome. We ended up on some of the Seven Hills of Rome. We were in St Peters Square and all these wonderful places I'd only seen on picture postcards.”

All four had been fond of doodling in an effort to while away the boredom of touring. On this leg of the tour [in Japan] Alf noticed the sketches began to take on a darker tone. Perhaps a legacy of the touring treadmill, although the Beatles discovery of hallucinogenic substances may have coloured their doodles.

“I'm often asked what my favourite tracks are. I don't really know. I guess the two which I think are most poignant are Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever. They make me really sad - I don't know why.”

After the Beatles visit with Elvis, he sent his own roadies round in a giant Cadillac limousine to take the Beatles' road crew out on the town:

“We were wined and dined and went round all these wonderful Hollywood clubs. One place was closing for the night but Elvis's people Sonny and Marty had them open up just for us. Vintage champagne and platters of delicious food duly arrived. Then the singer who had been performing that night came back on and did another set, singing just for the likes of yours truly. I've always thought what a wonderful gesture of Elvis to have remembered us, the humble roadies, this way.”

Re the airport in the Philippines:

“George Martin, in particular, has been documented as saying 'Stupidly Alf Bicknell raised his fists.' I always thought that was pretty rich coming from a guy hundreds of miles away, safely tucked away in a recording studio. Whereas here I was, surrounded by this baying mob, desperate to tear the Beatles to pieces. It was my job to protect them. And it was obvious that reasoned arguing wasn't the answer. You don't stand there and wait till one of the band is hit. It was a case of 'it's the first blow that counts'. ”

Alf decided to leave in 1966, at Candlestick Park when they announced they wouldn't be touring any more. He doesn't go into a lot of detail about why, he just says:

“It had been two years. A magical time, with me privy to one of the most exciting times in the last century. I'd been privileged to be along for the ride. But like the band, the repetition had sort of got to me.”

Ticket to Ride, by Alasdair Ferguson and Alf Bicknell

I'm going to stop now before I type out the entire book. But there are other nice bits in it still. At one point or another he drove each of them back to Liverpool and stayed with their families. He really likes Jim McCartney: "There was a great spiritual feeling about him." He seems to genuinely like everyone. There's a bit where he drives George and Pattie to the airport after their wedding, speeding to escape the press, but when he gets pulled over the officer just pretends to give him a ticket and then holds up the reporters for him. There are the standard bits where John is a bit of a dick, and other bits where he's soft and kind. There's a bit where Alf goes to a bullfight with Brian because no one else will. A bit where he talks about Paul putting on a terrible disguise and going out to look for grandfather clocks, and everyone in the shops pretending not to know who he is. There's a bit where he runs into George in the mid-seventies and they have a hug on the pavement.

(If you're wondering why the Beatles' chauffeur called his book Ticket To Ride, yes, I was also wondering. But he does have another book called 'Baby You Can Drive My Car', so that is why. From what I can work out it's a better version of this one - because honestly outside the quotes from Alf, which I'm assuming are true, this book is badly written to the extreme. It kind of tries to dramatise everything, like 'he sighed dramatically' etc, and is full of small careless mistakes like using passed where they mean past, not once but twice. Unfortunately the other book costs a little fortune, so this one is good enough for now.)

[tinkertoysdamn]

Despite All Your Losing Addendum

Since there were questions about how the timeline might be altered

aka How Thor's "Happy Ending" led to a Happy Ending

slightly NSFW

The prayer stretched across the universe and performed a minor miracle. After Thanos used the Space Stone to send his fleet across the universe, the aftermath of Thano's battle with Thor and the Hulk caught up with him.

Thanos: There are more Stones to collect, I must be at my peak if others try to resist me. I shall rest.

So, he took a villain nap. That gave the Guardians time to get to Knowhere first.

Peter: Give us the Reality Stone now.

Collector: And why should I give it to you?

Gamora: Thanos is coming. He will kill you slowly while breaking your collection one by one in front of you until he gets what he wants.

Peter: We'll give it back once he's dead.

Collector: Paper or plastic?

Thor, Rocket and Groot forged the Stormbreaker and Thor got to be impressive and restart the forge and all that good stuff.

Thanos arrived at Knowhere, ignorant that he was too late.

Thanos: Where is the--

Collector: The Stone is gone, your daughter has it.

Thanos: That's....inconvenient. I don't know where she is so I can't use the Space Stone; I'll have to adjust my plans. If I obtain the Mind Stone then I can exert my will and force the other holders of the Infinity Stones to give them to me. Yes, this will do.

Collector: Plot outside of my museum or buy a ticket.

Meanwhile, Nebula tricked a guard and escaped to Titan.

Double meanwhile, on Titan Dr. Strange used the Time Stone to see into the future while Tony Stark and Peter Parker wait.

Tony: What did you see, Strange?

Dr. Strange: Hmmm, oh everything's fine. We just need to sit tight and wait for a ride.

PP: Really? Can it be that easy?

Dr. Strange: In this universe.

PP: Yes, the Parker luck has been defeated.

Triple Meanwhile, on Earth, Wakanda and Team Cap prepared for their last stand. Events played out like the movie, the Children of Thanos fell, and there were lots of "wow, my favorite hero has done a cool thing" moments. Then, Thanos himself arrived to claim his long awaited victory.

However, in this universe he possessed only two of the Infinity Stones. He still wiped the floor with the Avengers but Wanda, in an act of profound sacrifice and love, destroyed the Mind Stone and with it, Vision. Thanos, thwarted, reached out to crush the skull of the Witch who has destroyed his dream when the Mighty Thor, Stormbreaker in hand, attacked.

In this universe, he did not miss, and thus rendered the Mad Titan's head from his body. It was over.

Steve called Tony with the news: Thanos is dead, we've won.

Tony, having hooked up his communicator to the ship Nebula stole received the message.

Tony: Thank god.

Steve: We lost Vision.

Tony: Look, I can help fix him when I get back, we're currently in space but we're hitching a ride with Blue Meanie.

Nebula: Call me Blue Meanie again and I'm leaving you here.

Tony: Fair enough.

On Earth.

Thor: Captain, call me when we have a victory party, I've got some post battle energy to work off.

Steve: Okay....

Thor: Where's the Rabbit and Tree?

Thor grabbed Rocket and Groot and Bifrosted them all straight onto the Benatar.

Peter: AH! What the hell was that? You could have wrecked the ship, what is wrong with you?

Thor wasn't listening and he casually threw Peter over his shoulder.

Thor: Off to claim my prize, we'll be back in a few hours.

Gamora: Not without me you're not.

Thor: Wouldn't dream of it.

They all ran off to Peter's room, Peter cursing them out the entire time.

Rocket: What the flark was that?

Drax: A god like Thor must be full of hormones after a battle. He is off to have his way with Quill.

Rocket: I did not need to hear that!

Drax: Mantis, I know it must distress you that your brother and the Pirate Angel--

Rocket: Wait, brother?

Groot: I am Groot?

Mantis placed her hands on Rocket's and Groot's foreheads.

Mantis: Forget.

They forgot what they heard instantly. Then, for good measure, Mantis touched Drax's arm.

Mantis: Give me your Zarg nuts.

Drax handed her his package without a second thought.

Mantis sat by a window, looking out into the vast inky black of space while enjoying her Zarg nuts. The crunch helped block out the noise of her brother loudly enjoying himself.

[mariana-oconnor]

Black Peter pt 3

After my last letter, you may have assumed that the case was entirely concluded with the arrest of John Hopley Neligan by Inspector Hopkins, however it was not so!

You don't say!

"Stanley Hopkins's methods do not commend themselves to me. I am disappointed in Stanley Hopkins. I had hoped for better things from him."

Oh, Stanley Hopkins. And you were doing so well. Alas, alack!

“What, then, is the alternative?” “The line of investigation which I have myself been pursuing."

Is this the thing where he was stabbing a pig corpse with a spear? I'm not sure that will stand up in court. But also he was saying that he couldn't do it in a single thrust, so I'm guessing that means that someone must have shot Captain Carey with a harpoon gun, rather than stabbing him with the harpoon, especially to stick him to the wall like that. They could have shot him from a distance away. Or he shot himself and this is all an accident.

We literally only have one named suspect at this point, though, and he can't have done it because he's already been arrested for it.

"‘Sumner, Shipping Agent, Ratcliff Highway. Send three men on, to arrive ten to-morrow morning.—Basil.’"

OK, so yes, this has to do with the stuff he was doing before.

The young detective was in high spirits at his success.

“It seems to me to have only one drawback, Hopkins, and that is that it is intrinsically impossible. Have you tried to drive a harpoon through a body? No? Tut, tut, my dear sir..."

Yeah, Stan. How could you have gone through this entire case and not attempted to stab a pig with a spear? Shoddy police work. Buffoonery. Utter clown show.

The precursors here of the modern forensics you see being performed on crime shows to this day. Literally down to using pigs because they're the closest equivalent to human flesh available.

But yeah, Stanley. Go stab a pig. It will also help you take out the anger you undoubtedly feel right now.

"My friend Watson could tell you that I spent a whole morning in that exercise."

This makes it sound like Watson was watching him do it. Which... different kind of date, I've got to say. Watson would probably do it, though.

His hopes and his ambitions were all crumbling about him. But he would not abandon his position without a struggle.

Come on, Stanley. You're better than this. Don't risk putting an innocent man in jail.

The first who entered was a little ribston-pippin of a man, with ruddy cheeks and fluffy white side-whiskers.

OMG it's Father Christmas! Was this his response to Carey's daughter's Christmas wish. Full service Santa Claus to the rescue.

I'm not sure if this is a first, but it feels like it: a character being compared to fruit rather than an animal. (A pippin is an apple). This is honestly kind of an adorable description, so I automatically don't think it's the guilty party. But he's great. Love him. Perfect character, no notes.

The second man was a long, dried-up creature, with lank hair and sallow cheeks.

Are these guys going to get progressively more unpleasant descriptions? Or is it going to be more the good, the bad, and the just right. Goldilocks and the Three Sailors.

The third applicant was a man of remarkable appearance. A fierce bull-dog face was framed in a tangle of hair and beard, and two bold dark eyes gleamed behind the cover of thick, tufted, overhung eyebrows.

Clearly a criminal. Although usually 'bull-dog' is reserved as a descriptor for police officers. Is this guy related to Lestrade?

Seems kind of mean that Holmes lured them all in with promise of a job, though. Rude. While they're busy running after an opportunity that doesn't even exist, other positions are being filled. They need to make a living, Sherlock.

Holmes leaned over his shoulder and passed both hands over his neck.

Did Holmes just come up behind the guy and put his arms over his shoulders? Really? That's such a weird way to do this. How do you even get handcuffs on a guy that way? Wouldn't it have been easier to do that from further down?

“I must really apologize, Hopkins,” said Sherlock Holmes; “I fear that the scrambled eggs are cold."

Cardinal offence. Cold scrambled eggs are practically a declaration of war.

“I make no complaint of being man-handled in this fashion..."

"You say I murdered Peter Carey; I say I killed Peter Carey, and there's all the difference."

There is a distinction, that's why there are different words for it and everything.

"I knew Black Peter, and when he pulled out his knife I whipped a harpoon through him sharp, for I knew that it was him or me."

Self defence. Well, I'm fine with that. Seems pretty cut and dried. He had a knife. Really, he did only have himself to blame.

"Peter Carey was master of the Sea Unicorn..."

"So far as I know, the man's name was never mentioned, and on the second night he disappeared as if he had never been."

Seems a likely story.

"Only one man knew what had happened to him, and that was me, for with my own eyes I saw the skipper tip up his heels and put him over the rail in the middle watch of a dark night, two days before we sighted the Shetland lights."

I mean, technically that's two men: you and the murderer. Unless the Skipper was a woman... which I'm pretty sure they weren't because it was Captain Carey, so... two people knew what had happened to him. Three including the dead guy, who probably doesn't count as he was dead, but he knew while it was going on. So... not to be pedantic or something, but really 'Only one living man knows' or 'Only three men knew'... Not that I'm pedantic at all.

"I guessed that he had done the deed for the sake of what was in that tin box, and that he could afford now to pay me well for keeping my mouth shut."

Oh no. Like, rule number one of being in a murder mystery, my dude. Don't do blackmail. It's the most direct path to death in these things. The second rule is never say out loud something that indicates you might have seen something but 'just need to check' before you tell anyone. Either way, you're dead.

This guy actually survived, but he did become the culprit, so... blackmail. Never worth it.

Though I think we're all agreed that he did the world a favour.

“Now I'll tell you the queerest part of the whole story."

You mean that wasn't the part where you admitted you didn't mind being tied up and manhandled by three other men? Seriously?

"For my part I walked ten miles, got a train at Tunbridge Wells, and so reached London, and no one the wiser."

I have questions. For instance, earlier Cairns says 'I stood there, with his blood splashing round me...' And he doesn't mention cleaning himself up at any point. Did he miraculously not get any of the 'splashing' blood on him, or was he just exaggerating the gore (although it was stated earlier to be a very gruesome crime scene) or did everyone just ignore him on the train covered in blood because this is the British public transport system and it's none of their business?

"I say again that if I killed Black Peter the law should give me thanks, for I saved them the price of a hempen rope.”

I mean... this is once again the old 'if you kill a killer the number of killers in the world stays the same' thing. You'd have to kill more than one murderer to actually save them any rope, if they hang you. At the moment they're just even. And given that they wouldn't have caught Carey anyway, they're technically down if they do hang you.

"This room is not well adapted for a cell, and Mr. Patrick Cairns occupies too large a proportion of our carpet.”

The reduction of carpet space is, of course, the main reason why keeping a prisoner in your sitting room is a bad idea.

"I was convinced that the initials ‘P.C.’ upon the pouch were a coincidence, and not those of Peter Carey, since he seldom smoked, and no pipe was found in his cabin."

I did forget about the initials on the pouch. Even though I remembered the pouch because I thought Carey didn't seem like the kind of man to share his tobacco.

"If it were a seaman, it could only be a seaman who had been with him on the Sea Unicorn."

"I spent three days in wiring to Dundee, and at the end of that time I had ascertained the names of the crew of the Sea Unicorn in 1883."

Every. Time.

I therefore spent some days in the East-end, devised an Arctic expedition.

Hey! You know what creatures you might see on an Arctic expedition?

?

Do you know?

??

Do you?

???

What? What did you think I was going to say?

“You must obtain the release of young Neligan as soon as possible,” said Holmes. “I confess that I think you owe him some apology."

Do they make cards that say 'Sorry I imprisoned you for a crime you did not commit?' Also... when did gift baskets become a thing?

"If you want me for the trial, my address and that of Watson will be somewhere in Norway—I'll send particulars later.”

Are they... actually going on the Arctic expedition? Are they taking Mr Lancaster of the apple cheeks? Are they going to explore the fjords?

Did you really organise an actual Arctic expedition? Are you going to pretend to be Captain Basil the whole time?

(Also, does Watson still have his practice, or did he just give that to the guy who lived next door?)

I believe I have read The Norwood Builder, which is coming next, because I recognise the title. We shall see how much I actually remember. Probably not a lot, going by what I've remembered of the ones I know I've read so far.

[elcorhamletlive]

no one asked but here are some of my thoughts on the one piece live action show

the things I didn't like:

Nojiko not knowing about Nami's scheme and plan. I get that it was probably a way to raise the odds and emphasize Nami's loneliness, but to me it cheapened their relationship and took away one of the most touching moments in the manga, when the reason for Nojiko's tattoos is revealed.

humorless, stoic, sexy man Zoro. of all the characters it was the one adaptation that didn't work for me, and Zoro is one of my favorites so it was a bit frustrating. the actor gives a good performance, but whereas the rest of the crew is a perfect translation of their manga selves to the screen, Zoro feels like a fundamentally different character. which is unfortunately because the mix of goofiness and badassery is what makes Zoro so engaging. here's hoping that he's allowed to emote more in season two.

in a similar vein as the previous point, I wasn't a fan of all the "Zoro and Nami exhasperated over Luffy" scenes. imo making Zoro so mature changed the dynamic of the crew and made his relationship with Luffy ring a bit hollow, even when the show wanted me to be emotionally invested in their bond.

Mihawk's introduction makes him come across as way less of threat than in the manga. I get cutting Krieg because they had less time and ultimately I don't think it was a massive loss, but having Gin show up destroyed and hyping Mihawk up is sooo much more effective than just showing him in the middle of a battle.

Nami was also a bit too serious for my taste, but I'll chalk that up to East Blue being when she's still not fully comfortable with the crew yet.

this is the most nitpicky annoying thing but. Arlong was too small. like obviously realistically speaking the actor is jacked but he does not give off the same threatening air that he does in the manga when he's towering over everyone.

the things I liked (most of it!):

from a plot perspective I think they were very smart and strategic about what to cut, they managed to trim everything to make it fit in eight hours and it worked. having Koby and Helmeppo throughout the season was a great way to keep the story from feeling too episodic, and they're both really well cast and I loved watching them. They are in love

removing the jokes on Alvida's appearance: yes. Overall I think they did a good job translating the humor, keeping the absurdness and silliness while also removing what wouldn't fly very well in live action.

Luffy should have been Brazilian but Iñaki Godoy is truly a finding, his performance is top notch and I can't imagine anyone else playing the role. Also in the "might have been created in a lab specifically to play their role" category are: Jacob Romero (there was not a second Usopp was on screen that didn't fill my heart with joy), Craig Fairbrass, Peter Gadiot, Aidan Scott.

special bullet point for Buggy because yeah. you have already heard that but my god he is THAT GOOD. SO much fun to watch.

another special bullet point for Taz Skylar. I didn't mention him in the list above because I guess you can say that technically Sanji is significantly different in the LA than in the mange, but tbh the change was for the better. amping up his charm and giving him a wannabe womanizer vibe was the perfect choice. his chemistry with Zeff was amazing (that one second in which they're fighting and you can see Sanji mouthing along to what he's saying because they've had this fight so many times before? CINEMA). their goodbye broke my heart.

Baratie might have been my favorite arc. and it's a really good arc in the manga so I'm amazed by how much they got it right.

Usopp/Kaya kiss!!!

obsessed with the absolutely random flirting between Zeff and Garp. old men yaoi stays winning

Koby and Luffy's hug was everything I didn't know I needed. also Koby getting drunk. just... Koby.

usually I'd find "omg they did it exactly like the manga panels" kind of a meaningless compliment but the scene where Nami asks for Luffy's help hit me like a brick. it was perfect.

their vows at the ending of the season gave me chills. Watching this show was so much fun and made me relive the excitement this story gave me as a child; a lot is said about an adaption having to capture "the essence" of the original which is of course super vague, but however you interpret it, I think it happened here. This show has so much heart and passion and is just a joyful, fun thing to experience. I can't wait for next season