#meanwhile McCoy has to watch all this happen

[lichqueenlibrarian]

I am sobbing

[drowninginblox]

Ships in the Night

Wolverine and The X-Men is wonderful but also SO 2000's coded wtf- I mean I'm not surprised, it came out in 2008 but mY GOD. Please watch it. If not for Liam O Brian flexing the accent than at least for Logan's riz. BTW, I am on board with Wanda and Kurt as a ship BC of this show. No, I am not going to elaborate... here. Later tho.

Anyway, I am learning that no Kurt is safe from my love but at the same token I am falling for Hank McCoy and I can't slow the acceleration. Someone, please help-

Tags for this little adventure: Panic/Anxiety attack. Very girl talk. So sorry but I am leaning into the 2000's cliches with this interaction of Kurt. Hopefully, this is multiple parts? Not gonna promise but I got Ideas with this bad boy.

"You know you're obvious right?" Pixie mumbles under her breath. It's been three days since the ship was saved from not just the sleazy men who promised to transport you all to Genosha, but also those pirates. Between books, card games, and entertaining Sammy, the only kid on the ship; the voyage has been very dull. By all means that should be a blessing, but there is only so much to do when there are two more days of open ocean to venture. That's probably why people have been looking for something new to talk about.

"Don't play dumb. And don't be surprised. I've seen that look before..." Your new best friend counters while whipping a guardrail. Pixie is unlike any girl you've ever confided in. Although she's a bit shy thanks to the best of homeschooling and the worst of public, she's one hell of a spitfire once you got to know her. Looking back on it, her pink hair was enough of a sign that she was unabashed in who she was- for better and for worse.

You sigh under your breath as you wring out your mop. You and your newest friend volunteered to clean around the ship to fill the time. But now the book you've reread twice is more tempting than ever. "You and your romance novels..." You mumble. "CMon Y/n, it's obvious! You've been avoiding him like the plague!" Her beautiful butterfly wings extend in exasperation. Meanwhile, her hands settle on her hips. You can only groan as any words can and would be used against you to support this baseless claim. "Y/n!" They whine, making you sigh and pinch the bridge of your nose.

Has the X-Man entered and exited your mind in shadowy poofs? No. More like he wanders in, stays a bit... but leaves! Begrudgingly leaves, but leaves all the same! And so what he's charming and kind, and his accent is hypnotic... just like those eyes...

But it doesn't mean anything! It won't mean anything! Because he's a superhero and you were just lucky to be saved by him. Thats it! It doesn't make you special or anything. You're just another passenger on a ship he just so happened to rescue and now escort to its destination. It's no biggie. 'Probably another Tuesday for him if you got the nerve to ask.

"Look, I get you're a fan of The Duke and I but-" She turns back quickly to point her finger in your face "Leave Daphne and Simon out of this! I am talking about you and tall, dark, and-" The door to the room creeks open, making the commotion stop as the subject of conversation pokes his head into the room. "I'm sorry but did I hear The Duke and I?" Nightcrawler questions with the start of a smile. Your skin shifts to a golden shade of yellow from the nerves, making Pixie glance at you with a knowing smirk. To the astute, it would look like your skin matched his eyes.

Nightcrawler looks between the two of you. "Oh ah, I'm sorry, was I interrupting something?" He asked, genuinely curious. Just as you were about to your mouth, Pixie beat you to answering the million-dollar question. "We were talking about The Duke and I!" She said with way too much enthusiasm. You shoot her a pleading look that she promptly ignores. "Ah! I love that book." He marvels. The way his eyes light up forces you to fight another color change. "I must confess, Julia Quinn's repertoire is somewhat of a guilty pleasure of mine." He mutters as his tail curls. Pixie gasps, making you smile a little at how endearing your friend can be. Even when she is being nosy.

"Oh really? What do you think of Simon?" He smiles wide. "He has a special place in my heart! His and Daphne's banter is wonderful! And his motivation- unique and timely!" Pixie smiles wider, if that's even possible, "You know I have been trying to get Y/n into the series, but she's more of a movie lover-" You roll your eyes playfully. "Not true! I enjoyed the Harry Potter books and Twilight!" Pixie groans as you smirk. "Those are so overrated!" You glance to Nightcrawler, who's chuckling at your antics. The feeling of fighting the change makes your fingers tingle with numbness. "You have a very mainstream taste." He notes. You only chuckle while you shrug. "Nothing wrong with that. There's a reason why things are mainstream. If things are good then they're good. Although..." You shiver at the memory. "What happened to Jacob in the Twilight book was not it." Nightcrawler raises a brow "What happened to him? Did he not get with Bella?" Pixie gags before coughing out "Worse."

You smile knowingly. "Trust me when I say, you don't wanna know. If you do, wait for the movies to catch up. Hopefully, they fix what happened to my guy." He gives you a look before shrugging it off. "I'll take your advice then." Pixie jumps up and down "Ooo! Wait! We should see it together!" Nightcrawler gives a surprised look while you raise a brow. "Do you think Genosha has movie theaters?" The smaller girl asks hopefully. "I thought you didn't like Twilight?" she sighs "Well, no... but it's something you like. And you're my friend!"

Something about that hits you somewhere you didn't expect as your shoulders relax. As the declaration sets in, your throat gets tighter. Although you don't know why or how, something about this feels wrong. It shouldn't but it did. Even though you felt lighter and the world brighter, this just felt different. No. No that's not right.

It felt like a long time coming. Something about this.

"Y/n?"

You blink away from wherever you were to see Pixie and Nightcrawler giving you concerned looks. "Are you okay mein freund?" He asks as he sets a gentle hand on your shoulder. The amplified heat coursing through your body seems to rush to your face all at once. "Y/n, you look like a firetruck..." Pixie mumbles as she gets closer to check you out. "Talk to us," she quietly pries as she takes your hand. Your gaze flicks between them and their touches while your throat dries up. All you could do was just look at them with emotion-filled looks as you struggle to communicate. They only look to you expectantly, their concern running deeper with every passing moment.

Shaking your head seems to get the message across as the dryness in your throat moves down your esophagus. Nightcrawler looks between you and Pixie before looking back at you. "Y/n, you can still see and hear us, right? Your vision isn't blurring or anything?" You nod while sending a squeeze Pixie's way. "Kurt, I don't know what's going on..." panic drips into her voice. Kurt keeps his eyes on you. "Y/n, you're not allergic to anything, are you? I just want to make sure of something before we get you some help." You shake your head quickly, making your vision blur even after you stop. "Okay, Pixie, stay here with Y/n. I'll be right back." He mutters before disappearing into the shadows.

With him gone, you let yourself hold onto Pixie tighter as a surge of fear floods you. "Hey, hey- Y/n! What going on?" You force yourself to speak, only for it to come out as a croak. "I don't know," She glances between you and the door only to move you to the wall. "Just sit down okay?" She mumbles nervously. Obliging is the only thing to do as your fingers and feet give way to numbness. "Talk to me." Pixie joins you on the floor shortly afterward. "Try to talk to me okay?" Your voice comes out weakly. "It's getting hard to breathe, my hands and feet are numb, s-same with my face,... Pixie, I don't know what's going on."

Pixie gently nudges you. "Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay Y/n. I'm not leaving you." She hesitates before touching your arm lightly. "Is this okay?" Your shaking your head makes her immediately retract her hand. "Okay. Is there anything I can do? Maybe distract you until kurt gets back?"

With no other ideas, you only nod. "Okay, um... So, that Kurt guy huh?" You sigh as your skin shifts to a light pink. "We are not talking about that." You groan, making Pixie smile a little. Even though it's at your expense, you manage to smile as well. "Okay, okay, fine... how about... what are we gonna do when we get to Genosha?" You close your eyes and sigh "What do you even think Genosha is like?" You mutter. She sighs along. "Hopefully warm. It's an island, right? So nice beaches are a must." The buzzing sensation in your feet seems to mute the longer you linger on this thought. "Long days in the sun, rainy days indoors..." Pixie nudges you with a soft addition "A spot of tea by the fire." Salty sea air drags into your lungs, reminding you where you are. "No more police sirens." You whisper while your hands intertwine over your chest. "No more fear on the TV." She assures. "No more running."

"No more judgment." Your gaze breaks away from your hands to see Kurt lingering in the doorway with a glass of water and a blanket. "No more running." He chides while taking slow steps toward you. The glass of water is offered to you after he takes a knee. Pixie gently takes the blanket from him to wrap it around you. Meanwhile, you give Kurt an appreciative look while sipping the cold water. "Take it slow, you're okay," Pixie assures. All you can do is close your eyes as you set down your glass. Tears you didn't know you had start to flow from a place you haven't felt in a long time. "This is a safe space," Kurt mutters. A hand sets itself on your shoulder as you curl into yourself. "Oh, Y/n..." You hear from Pixie before an all-encompassing acceptance grounds you.

Hugs never felt this good.

[tigereyes45]

Kirk, Loneliness & Isolation

This is basically something that came to mind while watching Star Trek. I sent it to a friend, and now I'm sharing it here because I can not stop thinking about this. 😆

Captain Kirk is so lonely. Admiral Kirk even more so.

I really truly believe that why Kirk is so sad in Star Trek 2 is the same reason he's often sad in TOS and to some extent AOS.

Basically, it's a lack of community.

Two times Kirk is at his saddest is in TOS season 1 when he only allows McCoy and Spock to get close to him because the enterprise takes everything else from him. She's a lady who he keeps giving his all too, and she just takes more. Because he's in command he can't really be friends with people. It might lead to an abuse of power. He can't have relationships because of his job. Whenever he flirts with someone he has them transferred right after. When season 2 comes along and he knows that the other people on the bridge are willing to stand up to him. Then he slowly starts to consider them his friends and becomes closer.

Then we see him in Star Trek II and everything he had to keep him grounded, to combat his loneliness, is gone.

He doesn't have people who trust him or any willing to stand up to him and challenge him. He's no longer on a ship where he can step out of his room and see other humans right there in the halls. He doesn't have the easy access to the rec room to engage with others in downtime (in season 1 I believe it was either McCoy or a woman who asks Kirk why he always leaves the rec room quickly). Everything he had slowly allowed himself to have because it didn't interfere with his duties and didn't lead to abuses of power over his subordinates has been taken away.

The people around him who he could call friends, gone. Once again.

TOS Kirk only called people who knew him before he was captain + Spock friends until halfway through season 2. Then Scotty also gets the privilege. Well, when he becomes admiral he falls back into that self-isolating quality. Only people who knew him before Admiralty can be friends because he's less scared about accidentally abusing his power over them. He trusts them to fight back if he goes too far. Not only is he once again in a position of power where he has to be careful not to abuse it, but now he doesn't even get to explore space or solve problems. He doesn't even feel useful anymore.

He's completely unchallenged, isolated, and locked away by power because he has enough self-restraint to not abuse his privileges.

And maybe even too much.

TOS Kirk hates nepotism. AOS Kirk is the result of it (thank you Captain Pike), and I think that's why AOS Kirk doesn't feel as lonely as TOS Kirk.

Or at least that's my theory behind it all.

TOS Kirk saw again and again what happens when a leader isn't humble. (The genocide he faced as a teenager, his first mission disaster, the loss of his first ship's captain, etc.) He doesn't want to be that kind of leader.

Meanwhile AOS doesn't have any of those experiences and we can kind of assume he faced abuse as a child. He grew up lonely and blurs the lines between professionalism and friendship so easily because like TOS Kirk, AOS craves community but he doesn't have the self-restraint to not seek it out.

[unamzi]

Rot in paradise interpretation:

(spoilers ahead)

Symbolic:

All of June's friends seem to have a toxic trait.

Carmen seems careless/impulsive

Vonnie seems cold

Ryan seems detached/refusing to show vulnerability

I'm not totally sure for McCoy though.

The point is, they all show a toxic trait.

They all hurt others with that toxic trait.

First with Vonnie constantly criticizing everything, the drinks, chewing out the employee.

Then there's Carmen, forcing Vonnie to finish the drinks, and annoying Ryan by burying him in the sand and leaving him there

There's McCoy, hurting June by slapping her

And there's Ryan, first being annoyed at having to watch the bags, then making people haul his cooler around, then abandoning June at the end.

All of June's friends are toxic to some degree.

June and Ryan seems to be the only ones noticing the weird behavior as time goes on.

Ryan chickens out and goes outside, abandoning June.

June is left the only one trying to fix things between the friends. She either "drowns" from the work it is until she falls too, or has to give up.

We see her doubt herself about what if she's the one in the wrong.

There's also at the beginning where she mentioned her cousin finally leaving a toxic friend group.

All in all, I think it'd represent toxic relationships

Literal:

All of it starts when they are touched by the resorts water.

McCoy gets splashed with the drink, then showers. Vonnie and Carmen drink.

Then, the more time passes, the more obsessed they find themselves with water, and the less caring they are of others.

McCoy staying in the ocean then drinking a whole jug of water.

Carmen staying in a filled bathtub.

Vonnie eating water-filled food (seafood)

They are all acting rude/aggressive by that point.

Meanwhile, June hasn't had any opportunity to drink water (or really anything) since the start except for a few sips of the cocktails and a few drinks at the bar the first night.

Ryan, we don't really know. We can assume the water from the rain affected him, though, which caused him to get affected by whatever was happening.

But then why didn't June get affected? She went into the ocean, she drank, she stayed in the rain.

I'm honestly not sure about that part.

In whichever case, my guess is that some sort of eldritch deity had taken control over the minds of the people of the island through the fluids mainly, to being them to the water and drown them.

The water was also weird, with it suddenly being extremely deep for no reason.

June either falls while trying to save her friends, or survives.

[sofiamantegafan110]

NEW X-MEN EPISODE 11 (SEASON FINALE!)

EPISODE 11- THE TIES THAT BIND

WE OPEN UP IN A DARK ROOM AS A SHADOW ANNOUNCES THAT AFTER SO LONG, IT IS FINALLY TIME. WITH THE BLOOD OF THE DESCENDANT, THE MASTER WILL AWAKEN AGAIN. ALL IT TAKES IS A LITTLE PRECISION. THE SHADOW LOOMS OVER A PICTURE THAT WE LATER SEE IS TAKEN FROM SOFIA’S INSTAGRAM. IT FEATURES CLARICE AND SOFIA AT THE MALL WITH A CIRCLE DRAWN AROUND CLARICE’S FACE. WE THEN ZOOM IN ON THE PICTURE OF CLARICE BEFORE ZOOMING OUT TO SEE CLARICE PLAYING CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY WITH THE OTHERS.

SHADOW: SOON, CHILD… SOON…

CUE INTRO AND CREDITS

IN THE LOUNGE, THE NEW MUTANTS ARE TREATING THEMSELVES TO A NICE DAY OFF. JULIAN, CESSILY, SOFIA, AND CLARICE ARE PLAYING CARDS AGAINST HUMANITY WHILE SANTO IS GETTING HIS ASS WHUPPED BY ROXY IN SUPER SMASH BROS, LAURA AND SOORAYA ARE MEDITATING ON THE COUCH, AND JAY IS STRUMMING HIS GUITAR. JULIAN, SOFIA, AND CESSILY HAND THEIR CARDS TO CLARICE WHO LOOKS AT THEM.

CLARICE: OKAY. AS A REMINDER, THE PROMPT IS “___, THAT’S HOW I WANT TO DIE.” LET’S SEE, FIRST UP IS “SUCKING PERIOD CLUMPS THROUGH A BOBA STRAW.” THAT’S INTERESTING. “BECOMING A BLUEBERRY.” DIDN’T THAT HAPPEN TO THAT GIRL IN THAT MOVIE? “THE INCREDIBLE GARY, HE’LL SUCK YOUR NIPPLES.” FUNNY, BUT I DON’T THINK THAT’LL WIN EVERY TIME. AND…

CLARICE LOOKS AT THE LAST CARD AND BURSTS OUT LAUGHING. SHE THEN PLACES THE CLEAR WINNER CARD ON THE TABLE FOR THEM ALL TO SEE THAT IT READS “DANIEL RADCLIFFE’S DELICIOUS ASSHOLE.” SOFIA PUMPS HER FIST IN VICTORY WHILE CESSILY ACCUSES CLARICE OF FAVORITISM. JULIAN SIGHS AND SAYS THAT HOPEFULLY, THEY’LL HAVE SOME TIME TO PERFECT THEIR SKILLS DURING PARENT’S WEEK. AFTER ALL, THEY’RE NOT REALLY EXPECTING ANYONE.

ROXY: WAIT. NONE OF YOU ARE EXCITED FOR PARENT’S WEEK? DON’T YOU HAVE FOLKS COMING TO SEE YOU?

CESSILY: MY PARENTS AREN’T… THEY’RE NOT COMING.

SOFIA: NEITHER IS MY FATHER. HE’S CLEARLY SHOWN NO INTEREST IN ME.

JAY: MY MA SAID SHE HAD TO TAKE A RAINCHECK. PLUS, IT WOULD BE WEIRD TO HAVE TO GREET ALL MY SIBLINGS.

JULIAN: MY ‘RENTS ARE SKIING IN THE ALPS. NO BIG.

SANTO: SAME AS JAY.

LAURA: AND LOGAN IS TOO BUSY TRAVELING.

SOFIA: WHAT ABOUT YOU, CLARICE?

CLARICE: I… I DUNNO. I BARELY REMEMBER MY BIRTH PARENTS. THEY DIED WHEN I WAS YOUNG, AND I WAS IN FOSTER CARE BEFORE I TURNED TWELVE. SO AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED, YOU GUYS ARE THE FAMILY THAT I GET TO SPEND TIME WITH NOW.

CESSILY FEELS BAD FOR CLARICE AND TELLS HER THAT MAYBE SOMEDAY, SHE’LL LEARN WHO HER PARENTS WERE. CLARICE THANKS HER AND GIVES AN UNEASY SMILE AS JULIAN DEALS OUT THE CARDS FOR THE NEXT ROUND.

MEANWHILE, ANGEL SITS IN DR. MCCOY’S OFFICE, ASKING MARTHA HOW HER DAY WENT. ALTHOUGH MARTHA DOESN’T REALLY RESPOND, ANGEL SEEMS TO CONVERSE WITH HER ANYWAYS. BEAST SAYS THAT HE’S GLAD THEY’RE MAKING FRIENDS, BUT NOW, HE NEEDS TO RUN SOME TESTS ON MARTHA. HOPEFULLY, HE CAN MAKE A NEW BODY FOR MARTHA BY THE END OF THE SEMESTER, AND ANGEL NEEDS TO BE ASSIGNED TO A SQUAD. BEFORE ANGEL CAN SAY ANYTHING, A NATIVE AMERICAN MAN ENTERS. HE INTRODUCES HIMSELF AS JAMES PROUDSTAR, ANGEL’S NEW ADVISOR.

LATER, DANI AND SCOTT WATCH AS PARENTS ARRIVE, AND DANI COMMENTS ON THE LOW TURNOUT. SCOTT AGREES, SAYING THAT IT’S HARD WHEN YOU’RE A MUTANT, AND YOU CAN’T EXPECT A LOT FROM YOUR BIRTH PARENTS. LAURIE HUGS HER MOM WITH A SMILE, INTRODUCING CLARICE AND SOFIA. GAIL COLLINS SMILES AT THE GIRLS AS THEY HOLD HANDS, AND SMILES MORE WHEN LAURIE INTRODUCES JOSH AS HER BOYFRIEND. GAIL LAUGHS THEN, SAYING THAT LAURIE’S BEEN TELLING HER A LOT ABOUT HIM, CAUSING JOSH TO CHUCKLE.

CLARICE TELLS LAURIE THAT IT’S NICE TO HAVE FAMILY WHO LIVE NEARBY, BUT LAURIE SAYS THAT IT HAS ITS DOWNSIDES TOO. AFTER ALL, SHE ENDS UP SEEING HER MOM NEARLY EVERY WEEK. BEFORE CLARICE CAN MAKE A SNARKY COMMENT, XUAN WALKS UP TO HER, SAYING THAT THERE’S SOMEONE WHO REQUESTED TO SEE HER SPECIFICALLY. CLARICE LOOKS OVER AT SOFIA, NERVOUS, BEFORE FOLLOWING XUAN. SHE THEN SEES A WRINKLED OLD MAN IN A WHEELCHAIR, WHEELING OVER TO HER. SHE LOOKS CONFUSED AND ASKS WHO HE IS, BUT PAUSES WHEN HE OPENS HIS EYES, REVEALING A SIMILAR SHADE OF GREEN WITHOUT ANY PUPILS OR IRISES.

MAN: SWEET CLARICE. MY NAME IS FREDRICK SLADE. AND I AM YOUR GRANDFATHER.

MEANWHILE, SOFIA IS BEING ASKED A QUESTION BY GAIL, BUT PAUSES WHEN SHE LOOKS AT SOMEONE BEHIND HER, A BLACK MAN IN HIS LATE 50’S DRESSED NEATLY IN A DAPPER SUIT. SHE APOLOGIZES FOR BEING RUDE, BUT SHE SEES SOMEONE OF GREAT IMPORTANCE. AN OLD FRIEND.

SHE RUNS UP AND HUGS HER FATHER’S FORMER ASSISTANT DEREK, WHO SMILES WHEN HE SEES HER, SPINNING HER AROUND HAPPILY. SOFIA STATES HOW GLAD SHE IS TO SEE HIM, AND DEREK TELLS HER THAT HE WOULDN’T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD. HE THEN SAYS THAT HE HAS A SURPRISE FOR HER. HE CALLED SOFIA’S FATHER AND HE SHOULD BE ARRIVING THE NEXT DAY, WHICH BRINGS SOFIA TO HAPPY TEARS.

MEANWHILE, CLARICE ASKS FREDRICK IF HE REALLY IS HER GRANDFATHER, WHY DIDN’T HE LOOK FOR HER? FREDRICK TELLS HER THAT HE TRIED, BUT IT WAS HARD TO GO THROUGH SO MUCH OF THE RED TAPE. HE EXPLAINS THAT HE LOVED AND RAISED CLARICE’S FATHER FOR SOME TIME, CARING FOR HIM FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE. BUT ONCE HER FATHER MARRIED HIS HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEART, HE DECIDED TO PUT HIS PAST BEHIND HIM AND START A NEW LIFE WITH HIS FAMILY. HE MOVED TO HER MOTHER’S HOMETOWN OF THE BAHAMAS, WHICH IS WHERE CLARICE WAS BORN. WHAT WAS INTERESTING WAS THAT THEIR BLOODLINE MOSTLY CONTAINED PEOPLE OF THE MUTANT GENE. FREDRICK WAS A MUTANT, SO HE WAS SURPRISED WHEN THE MUTANT GENE SKIPPED A GENERATION, ONLY TO BE GIVEN TO CLARICE.

FREDRICK SAYS THAT HE TRIED TO PROVIDE FOR HIS SON AND CLARICE AS BEST HE COULD FROM FAR AWAY, BUT HIS EFFORTS WERE ALL FOR NOTHING. CLARICE’S PARENTS WERE KILLED IN A CAR CRASH DURING A GETAWAY IN NORTH CAROLINA, AND BEFORE FREDRICK COULD DO ANYTHING TO HELP CLARICE, SHE WAS PUT UP FOR ADOPTION. AND NOW, HE’S FINALLY FOUND HER.

CLARICE: WOW. I MEAN, THIS IS A LOT TO UNPACK HERE. BUT SINCE YOU’RE HERE, ANY CHANCE YOU COULD TELL ME ABOUT MY PARENTS? I DON’T REMEMBER A LOT ABOUT THEM.

FREDRICK: I’VE TOLD YOU ALL I CAN AT THIS TIME. BUT IF YOU MEET ME AT MY HOUSE TOMORROW AND YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I WILL BE PLEASED TO ANSWER THEM.

CLARICE NODS AND TELLS HIM THAT SHE IS GLAD TO SEE HIM. FREDRICK SMILES AND THEN WRITES DOWN HIS ADDRESS FOR CLARICE BEFORE WHEELING AWAY, CLARICE WATCHING IN INTRIGUE.

MEANWHILE, ANGEL FOLLOWS WARPATH ACROSS THE HALLWAY, ASKING ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF TRAINING SQUADS. JAMES TELLS HER THAT IT’S USEFUL TO LEARN HOW TO USE HER POWERS WHILE WORKING TOGETHER WITH FELLOW STUDENTS. AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE PALADINS HAVE BEEN EXPECTING A FINAL MEMBER. WITH THAT, HE OPENS THE DOOR IN FRONT OF HIM, REVEALING SEVEN TEENS. THE FIRST ONE IS A BLUE-SKINNED GUY WITH WHITE HAIR IN A FLOPPY MOHAWK WHO IS SUPPOSEDLY CHATTING WITH TWO SLUG-LIKE CREATURES. BESIDE HIM IS A DARK-SKINNED BOY WITH GLASSES WHO IS DEEPLY ENGROSSED IN HIS BOOK, AND HE SITS NEXT TO A JAPANESE GIRL WITH SHORT BLUE HAIR AND METAL GAUNTLETS ON HER ARMS. AT LEAST ONE MEMBER OF THE TEAM HAS APPEARED BEFORE; THE PIGTAILED BLONDE FROM THE CHEER SQUAD, WHO IS SITTING NEXT TO A SCRAWNY BOY WITH A VERY AVIAN FACE AND A SULLEN-LOOKING GIRL WITH MAGENTA HAIR WHO IS PULLING OUT ONE OF THE MANY BONES STICKING OUT OF HER BODY.

THE BOY WITH THE BLUE SKIN STEPS UP FIRST. HE SAYS THAT HIS NAME IS JAPHETH, AND HE’S THE GROUP’S LEADER. IN THE FIELD, HE GOES BY THE CODE-NAME MAGGOT, WHICH IS EMPHASIZED BY THE TWO SLUGS PERCHED ON HIS ARM, WHO HE INTRODUCES AS EANY AND MEANY, HIS DIGESTIVE SYSTEM. THEY GIVE HIM ENERGY FROM WHATEVER THEY FEED ON, BUT IF YOU GET TO KNOW THEM, THEY’RE AS HARMLESS AS A KITTEN. ANGEL NODS, UNSURE HOW TO PROCESS THIS.

THE JAPANESE GIRL SPEEDS UP TO HER NEXT. SHE INTRODUCES HERSELF AS NORIKO ASHIDA, OR HER ALIAS, SURGE. ANGEL WATCHES WITH INTEREST AS NORI’S GAUNTLETS BUZZ WITH ELECTRICITY, AND SHE TELLS HER THAT SHE’S ALSO ABLE TO MOVE AT FAST SPEEDS. ANGEL NODS AND NORI COMMENTS THAT SHE LIKES HER.

NORI: THIS HERE IS DAVID ALLEYENE, AKA MY BOYFRIEND. DON’T TOUCH.

DAVID: MY ACTUAL CODENAME IS PRODIGY, SINCE I’M ABLE TO ABSORB SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE FROM OTHER PEOPLE. FOR EXAMPLE, NORI SPEAKS JAPANESE, SO IF I’M IN A ROOM WITH HER, I CAN SPEAK JAPANESE FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF TIME.

ANGEL NODS AS THE BLONDE GIRL STRETCHES UP TO HER. SHE INTRODUCES HERSELF AS ANDREA MARGULIES, AKA RUBBERMAID, AND STATES HER EXCITEMENT ABOUT A NEW TEAMMATE JOINING THEM. ANGEL IMMEDIATELY GUESSES THAT SHE’S ABLE TO STRETCH HER BODY, AND ANDREA NODS HAPPILY. JAMES TELLS HER THAT ANDREA IS DEFINITELY THE PEPPY GIRL OF THE TEAM, WHICH ANGEL COMMENTS IS OBVIOUS.

THE PINK HAIRED GIRL LOOKS UP BRIEFLY AND INTRODUCES HERSELF AS SARAH, BUT HER CODENAME IS MARROW. JAMES COMMENTS THAT SARAH IS AN INTERESTING CASE. SHE’S ABLE TO PULL BONES FROM HER BODY AND USE THEM AS WEAPONS. TO DEMONSTRATE, SARAH PULLS A SHARP BONE FROM HER ARM LIKE A SWORD, HOLDING IT IN FRONT OF ANGEL.

ANGEL: DOESN’T IT HURT?

SARAH: WELL, THEY GROW BACK. AND I GUESS I KINDA LIKE THE PAIN.

ANGEL: HEH. EMO ALERT.

THE FINAL MEMBER OF THE GROUP INTRODUCES HIMSELF AS BARNELL BOHUSK. ANGEL SNORTS A LITTLE AT HIS NAME, AND THEN ASKS WHAT HIS CODENAME IS. HE ANSWERS WITH BEAK. JAMES TELLS HER THAT BARNELL HAS YET TO DISCOVER HIS POWERS. SO FAR, HE KNOWS THAT HE’S ABLE TO FLY, BUT ONLY MOMENTARILY, AND HE CERTAINLY HAS BIRD-LIKE FEATURES. THE REST, HE’S TRYING TO FIGURE OUT AS HE GOES. ANGEL LOOKS AROUND AND SAYS THAT SHE COULD GET USED TO THIS.

LATER, SENSUAL MUSIC PLAYS AS SOFIA AND CLARICE MAKE OUT IN SOFIA’S ROOM. THEY’RE BOTH IN T-SHIRTS AND UNDERWEAR AND ARE CURRENTLY ON SOFIA’S BED. CLARICE TELLS HER THAT SHE’S BEEN THINKING OF SOMETHING, BUT SOFIA TELLS HER LESS THINKING AND MORE KISSING. CLARICE SAYS THAT SHE’S JUST GLAD THAT SHE HAS SOMEONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY GIVE HER INFORMATION ON HER PARENTS. ALL HER LIFE, SHE’S LIVED WITH THE BURDEN OF NOT KNOWING WHO THEY ARE.

SOFIA: THAT’S GREAT, CLARICE. BUT I WAS THINKING… COULD YOU STAY WITH ME AND DEREK WHILE WE WAIT FOR MY FATHER?

CLARICE: SOFIA. I’M SORRY. FRED TOLD ME TO MEET HIM AT HIS PLACE IN THE MORNING SO HE COULD TELL ME MORE THINGS ABOUT MY PARENTS.

SOFIA: OH.

SOFIA MOVES OFF CLARICE AND SITS ON THE EDGE OF THE BED WITH A SAD EXPRESSION WHILE CLARICE KNOWS THAT SHE MADE A WRONG MOVE.

CLARICE: POLLIWOG…

SOFIA: NO PET NAMES WHILE I’M POUTING.

CLARICE: I JUST DON’T GET WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. YOU’RE DAD HAS ALWAYS DISAPPOINTED YOU. WHY IS THIS ANY DIFFERENT?

SOFIA: BECAUSE DEREK IS VOUCHING FOR HIM. AND DEREK IS A GOOD MAN. HE’S BEEN MORE OF A FATHER TO ME THAN MY OWN FATHER EVER HAS. IF HE CAN VOUCH FOR HIM, I WILL TOO.

CLARICE SIGHS, TELLING SOFIA THAT SHE’S SORRY. TO HER, FAMILY HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN F-WORD. AND NOW, SHE HAS A CHANCE TO KNOW WHO HER FAMILY REALLY WAS. SOFIA TELLS HER THAT SHE THOUGHT CLARICE ALREADY HAD A FAMILY HERE. CLARICE HUGS HER AND STANDS UP.

CLARICE: LOOK, BABE. I GOTTA USE THE BATHROOM. WHEN I GET BACK, YOU’D BETTER STOP TALKING ABOUT THIS. AND BE WEARING LESS CLOTHES.

SOFIA GIVES CLARICE A FLIRTY SMILE AS SHE HEADS TOWARD THE BATHROOM, BUT ONCE SHE’S GONE, SOFIA’S SMILE TURNS INTO A WORRIED FROWN.

THE NEXT MORNING, CLARICE GETS DRESSED AND LOOKS OUTSIDE THE WINDOW TO SEE DEREK AND SOFIA WAIT OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL. SHE SIGHS AND READS THE PAPER WITH FREDRICK’S ADDRESS ON IT BEFORE BLINKING AWAY. SHE APPEARS IN FRONT OF A HUGE MANSION AND LOOKS IMPRESSED. FREDRICK QUICKLY WHEELS OUT, SAYING THAT HE KNEW SHE’D COME. CLARICE LAUGHS AND SAYS THAT THERE’S NO PLACE SHE’D RATHER BE. FREDRICK THEN LEADS HER INTO THE MANOR AND INTO A DARK ROOM AS HE BEGINS TO TALK.

FREDRICK: YESTERDAY, I TOLD YOU WHAT YOU WANTED TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PARENTS. NOW, I WILL TELL YOU WHAT YOU NEED TO HEAR. LONG AGO, OUR ANCESTOR EMERGED ON EARTH. HE WAS THE FIRST MUTANT; EN SABAH NUR, ALSO KNOWN AS APOCALYPSE. HE BELIEVED THAT MUTANTS WOULD RULE THE WORLD WITH OUR SUPERIOR ABILITIES, AS WE WERE THOSE WHO WERE FIT TO SURVIVE. AS TIME PASSED, EN SABAH NUR BRED CHILDREN WHO WOULD STAND BY HIS SIDE, AND SOON, WE BECAME KNOWN AS CLAN AKKABA. WHEN THE TIME WOULD COME, WE WOULD BE HIS HIGH SCIONS OF POWER. THOSE WHO WOULD ENFORCE HIS AUTHORITY. BUT ONE DAY, OUR ANCESTOR WAS FELLED BY A GROUP OF RADICALS WHO CALLED THEMSELVES… THE X-MEN.

AS FREDRICK TALKS, TORCHES LIGHT UP IN THE ROOM, REVEALING TAPESTRIES OF APOCALYPSE’S CONQUEST AND CLARICE BACKS AWAY IN UNCERTAINTY. TWO ROBED FIGURES WALK INTO THE ROOM BEHIND HER AND LOCK THE DOOR.

FREDRICK: WITH THE FALL OF APOCALYPSE, OUR CLAN BEGAN TO DIE OFF OR DENY THEIR HERITAGE. SOON, I WAS THE ONLY ONE LEFT. BUT THEN, I RECEIVED A PROPHECY. ONE THAT FORETOLD THE RISE OF OUR MASTER WITH THE SACRIFICE OF THE LATEST GENERATION OF APOCALYPSE, ON THE EXACT YEAR OF 2023.

CLARICE: WHAT?

ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE HOODED FIGURES GRAB CLARICE AND HOLD HER DOWN ON A SLAB, TYING HER HANDS AND FEET. FREDRICK THEN STANDS OUT OF HIS WHEELCHAIR WITH A SMILE.

FREDRICK: THAT IS WHY I SOUGHT YOU OUT, CLARICE. YOUR NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR FAMILY LED YOU HERE. YOUR FATHER WAS FOOLISH. HE DENIED HIS BIRTHRIGHT AND THOUGHT HE COULD HAVE A NORMAL LIFE. HE SHOULD’VE KNOWN BETTER. WHICH IS WHY I ARRANGED THE CAR ACCIDENT THAT KILLED HIM AND YOUR MOTHER.

CLARICE: YOU TWISTED FUCK!

FREDRICK: AND NOW, YOUR SACRIFICE WILL ALLOW OUR MASTER TO RISE ONCE MORE. AND THEN, ONLY THE FIT WILL TRULY SURVIVE.

MEANWHILE, DEREK AND SOFIA LOOK UP AND SEE A BLACK LIMO PULL UP TO THE DRIVEWAY. A WELL-DRESSED MAN STEPS OUT AND GREETS THEM BOTH AND SOFIA SMILES AT THE SIGHT OF HER FATHER. SHE TELLS HIM THAT SHE’S GLAD TO SEE HIM, AND HE TELLS HER THAT SHE LOOKS WELL. THIS PLACE OBVIOUSLY AGREES WITH HER.

DEREK THEN SPEAKS UP AND MR. BARRETT TELLS HIM THAT IT’S NEVER TRULY BEEN THE SAME WITHOUT HIM. GOOD HELP TRULY IS HARD TO FIND. HE THEN BEGINS TO SAY SOMETHING ELSE, BUT SOFIA ASKS HIM WHY THIS IS SO CONCERNING. UNLESS… HE ONLY CAME TO GET DEREK BACK!

THE WIND SPEED PICKS UP AS SOFIA RISES UP IN THE AIR. MR. BARRETT COMMANDS HER TO STOP AND DEREK TELLS HER THAT SHE’S GOT IT ALL WRONG. SOFIA CALLS DEREK A LIAR AND SAYS THAT SHE WAS SO FOOLISH FOR ASSUMING HER FATHER WOULD ACTUALLY COME TO SEE HER WITHOUT A CATCH. SHE CAN’T BELIEVE HE ONLY ACCEPTED TO SEE HIS ONLY CHILD BECAUSE DEREK WOULD AGREE TO WORK WITH HIM. AS SHE GETS MORE ANGRY, THE FEROCITY OF THE WIND INCREASES, AND SOFIA SUDDENLY HEARS SOMETHING ON THE WIND. SHE ANNOUNCES THAT SHE NEEDS TO FIND CLARICE AND SAYS THAT SHE DOESN’T CARE WHAT HER FATHER AND DEREK DO. SHE HAS NO NEED FOR THEM ANYMORE. SOFIA FLIES OFF IN ANGER AS DEREK IS THEN FORCED TO EXPLAIN TO MR. BARRETT THAT SOFIA HAS A GIRLFRIEND.

MEANWHILE, CLARICE IS BOUND AND GAGGED AS FREDRICK TELLS HER THAT HER BONDS PREVENT HER FROM TELEPORTING. SHE SHOULD BE GLAD. AFTER ALL, SHE’S FINALLY FULFILLING HER PURPOSE. SUDDENLY, THE DOORS ARE BLOWN DOWN AS SOFIA FLIES IN. SHE SLAMS THE HOODED FIGURES AGAINST THE GROUND AND FREES CLARICE FROM HER BONDS, UNLEASHING A POWERFUL WIND TO DESTROY THE TAPESTRIES ON THE WALLS. CLARICE THEN WALKS UP TO FREDRICK IN ANGER, AND HE TELLS HER THAT SHE CAN’T ATTACK HIM. HE’S THE ONLY FAMILY SHE HAS LEFT.

CLARICE: YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY! FAMILY DOESN’T SACRIFICE EACH OTHER BECAUSE OF SOME FUCKED-UP EVIL CULT THING! I ALREADY HAVE A FAMILY, AND SHE CAME TO ME WHEN I NEEDED HER THE MOST! YOU AREN’T MY FAMILY! IN FACT… YOU’RE NOT EVEN WORTH IT. GET OUT OF MY SIGHT.

FREDRICK IMMEDIATELY SPRINTS OUT THE ROOM AND CLARICE SMIRKS. SHE THEN LOOKS OVER AND SEES SOFIA FALL TO HER KNEES ON THE GROUND AND START TO SOB. CLARICE IMMEDIATELY RUNS OVER TO HER AND PUTS AN ARM AROUND HER, ASKING WHAT HAPPENED.

SOFIA: I WAS SO STUPID, CLARICE. MY FATHER DIDN’T COME FOR ME. HE ONLY CAME TO GET DEREK BACK.

CLARICE: OH POLLIWOG. I’M SO SORRY.

SOFIA: I… I HAVE NO FAMILY LEFT. I PUSHED DEREK AWAY. I WAS UNFAIR TO HIM AND HE’LL NEVER FORGIVE ME. I’M ALONE.

CLARICE WATCHES HER SADLY BEFORE HOLDING HER TIGHTLY. ‘A THOUSAND YEARS’ BY CHRISTINA PERRI PLAYS IN THE BACKGROUND.

CLARICE: HEY… OF COURSE YOU HAVE FAMILY. I’M YOUR FAMILY. AND SO IS LAURA, AND SANTO, AND CESS, AND YEAH, EVEN JULIAN. YOU HAVE A FAMILY AT XAVIER’S. AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT YOU. LIKE YOUR FOLLOWERS.

SOFIA: I WANTED TO CALL THEM THE SOFIA SQUADRON.

CLARICE: SEE? YOU’RE A LOVABLE AND BEAUTIFUL PERSON. YOUR DAD… HE DOESN’T CARE. HE NEVER HAS. BECAUSE HE’S NOT A PART OF YOUR FAMILY. HIS OPINION SHOULDN’T MATTER. YOU HAVE ME, AND THE NEW MUTANTS, AND EVERYONE AT XAVIER’S. AND I KNOW THAT IF DEREK CARES ABOUT YOU TOO, THEN HE’LL BE RIGHT THERE WAITING FOR YOU. AND… SHIT, I’M BAD AT THIS.

SOFIA KISSES HER AND CLARICE WIPES AWAY HER TEARS.

SOFIA: I THOUGHT YOU TOLD IT FINE. LET’S GO.

LATER, SOFIA AND CLARICE WALK BACK TO THE SCHOOL, ASSURING SOME WORRIED STUDENTS THAT THEY’RE OKAY. SOFIA THEN LOOKS OVER AND NOTICES DEREK TALKING TO CESSILY. HE LOOKS OVER AT HER AND SHE SMILES.

CLARICE: GO.

SOFIA GIVES CLARICE A QUICK KISS BEFORE RUNNING OVER TO GIVE DEREK A HUG. THEY BOTH SMILE AND LAUGH WHILE CLARICE WIPES AWAY SOME TEARS IN HER EYES. SOFIA THEN PULLS AWAY AND GESTURES FOR CLARICE TO COME OVER. SHE JOINS THEM AND SOFIA INTRODUCES HER GIRLFRIEND TO DEREK, WHO SMILES.

LATER, CLARICE SITS IN DANI’S OFFICE, TELLING HER EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED. DANI NODS, A BIT WORRIED, AS SHE TELLS CLARICE THAT THE X-MEN HAVE DEALT WITH APOCALYPSE BEFORE. HE’S A VERY POWERFUL FOE, ONE THAT NEARLY TOOK THEM ALL OUT. IF CLARICE IS TRULY RELATED TO HIM, THEN SHE SHOULD KEEP THIS A SECRET. IF ANYONE FINDS OUT, SHE’LL HAVE A HUGE TARGET ON HER BACK. LORD ONLY KNOWS HOW JULIAN WOULD REACT. CLARICE NODS.

MEANWHILE, DEREK AND SOFIA SIT IN SOFIA’S ROOM, TALKING. DEREK LAUGHS AS SOFIA TALKS ABOUT HER GROUP AND THEIR ANTICS, AND HE SAYS THAT IT SEEMS LIKE SHE’S IN A GOOD PLACE. SHE HAS FRIENDS HER OWN AGE, AND PEOPLE WHO CARE ABOUT HER. SOFIA SMILES AND TELLS HIM THAT SHE’S GLAD HE STAYED. SHE TRULY REGRETS WHAT SHE SAID TO HIM.

DEREK: SOFIA, I KNOW YOU WERE ANGRY. I KNOW I SHOULD’VE TOLD YOU WHAT YOUR DAD’S TRUE MOTIVE WAS. BUT FUCK HIM. YOU HAVE YOUR FRIENDS TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN. YOU HAVE A BIG HEART, AND I TRULY BELIEVE THAT I COULD BE A GOOD FATHER TO YOU. SORRY IF THAT SOUNDS WEIRD, BUT…

SOFIA: IT’S FINE. I’VE ALWAYS SEEN YOU AS A GOOD FATHER FIGURE. EVEN BEFORE XAVIER’S, YOU TOOK CARE OF ME. PROVIDED FOR ME. I’M GLAD YOU’RE HERE. AND I HOPE YOU CAN VISIT SOME OTHER TIME.

DEREK: NO PROBLEM. IF YOU EVER NEED ME, I WILL COME RUNNING.

DEREK AND SOFIA HUG AND DEREK TELLS HER THAT HE HAS TO GO. BUT HE HAS A PRESENT FOR HER. SHE GIVES HIM ONE LAST HUG AND HE WALKS AWAY. SOFIA THEN LOOKS OVER AT A BOX COVERED IN WRAPPING PAPER. ON IT IS A NOTE THAT HAS HER NAME ON IT. SHE OPENS IT AND SMILES WHEN SHE FINDS AN IPOD INSIDE. SHE TURNS IT ON AND SEES THAT THERE’S ALREADY A PLAYLIST, ONE THAT IS SIMPLY CALLED ‘SOFIA.’ SHE THEN TAPS ON IT AND PLAYS THE FIRST SONG, ‘FATHER AND SON’ BY CAT STEVENS.

AS THE SONG PLAYS, WE CUT TO MULTIPLE SCENES. SOFIA SMILES AND LOOKS OUTSIDE HER WINDOW WHILE DEREK WAVES GOODBYE TO HER FROM OUTSIDE. JULIAN, SANTO, LAURA, AND THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM LAUGH AND HAVE A FUN NIGHT OUT AS LAURA RESTS HER HEAD ON HER BOYFRIEND’S SHOULDER. CESSILY AND ROXY LIE DOWN IN ROXY’S BED TOGETHER AND CESSILY KISSES HER GIRLFRIEND COMPLETELY OUT OF THE BLUE. ROXY JUST GRINS AND KISSES HER BACK. JAY STRUMS HIS GUITAR IN HIS ROOM AND LOOKS OVER AT HIS PICTURE OF JULIA. HE SMILES AND PLACES A NEW ONE BESIDE IT; A GROUP PICTURE OF HIM AND THE OTHER NEW MUTANTS.

XUAN AND DANI CUDDLE BESIDE A WARM FIRE AS DANI WRITES AN EMAIL ON HER LAPTOP. THE SUBJECT READS ‘NEW MUTANTS REUNION’. JOSH AND LAURIE JOKE AND TALK WHILE HAVING DINNER WITH LAURIE’S MOM WHILE MARTHA’S BRAIN REMAINS IN ITS TANK IN BEAST’S LAB. ANGEL HAS FOUND SOME NEW FRIENDS IN SURGE AND MARROW AND MEGAN IS IN THE LOUNGE, HANGING OUT WITH CALLIE, ANDREA, ALANI, AND THE CUCKOOS. MONET SITS IN HER ROOM, LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF HER WITH HER FAMILY, A LOOK OF WORRY ON HER FACE.

AS THE SONG, AND SEASON ONE CONCLUDE, WE SEE CLARICE OUTSIDE IN THE COURTYARD. SHE SMILES WHEN SHE SEES DEREK WALK AWAY AND THEN LOOKS OUT AT THE NIGHT SKY. A MIX OF WORRY AND CONCERN IS SHOWN ON HER FACE AS SHE PLACES A HAND TO HER HEART, UNSURE OF WHERE HER FUTURE LIES, AND HOW HER NEW PREDICAMENT COULD AFFECT THAT.

[x-mencomics]

X-Factor #2 - Bless the Beasts and Children

Jean reflects on everything that's happened - the Phoenix copying her body, memories, and emotions, and then dying, seemingly killing Jean as well. But the whole time, the real Jean was safe in the cocoon in Jamaica Bay. Jean thinks about how painful all of this must have been for Scott. She thinks about how so many things have changed - Scott is different, Xavier is gone, Magneto is leading the X-Men, and anti-mutant sentiment has gotten worse. Jean wonders where her place is in this changed world.

Warren and Scott discuss Scott's difficult situation - he has always loved Jean, but when he believed her to be dead, he couldn't help but fall for Madelyne. Now Jean's back, and Scott left Madelyne and the baby in Alaska. Warren says Scott has a commitment to his wife - Scott needs to tell Madelyne everything and to tell Jean that he's married.

Meanwhile, Hank and Bobby head into the city to find an apartment. They're excited to be members of X-Factor, but they don't want to live at the HQ. They meet up with Vera, Hank's former girlfriend. A mysterious man watches from afar as the guys enter Vera's apartment building...

Later, Scott and Jean try to teach Rusty to control his powers. It goes ok at first, but then Rusty accidentally sets a computer console on fire and runs off, saying he can't control his powers. Scott puts out the fire. Jean asks if she and Scott can talk, but he says he can't now. He leaves and tries to call Madelyne, but her phone line has been disconnected. Scott is mad at himself for losing his wife and son.

At Vera's apartment, Vera, Hank and Bobby are hanging out and chatting and suddenly they feel the room begin to shake. A HUGE man (the one that was watching Hank and Bobby outside) wearing a purple costume breaks down the wall of the apartment and barges in. He says his name is Tower and he's here for Hank. Hank tries to fight him, but Tower is too strong. Tower knocks them all out pretty quickly and carries Hank away. Bobby and Vera wake up and contact Warren. The rest of X-Factor shows up shortly thereafter, and Bobby tells them more about Hank being kidnapped. Scott says they'll start monitoring police reports to find some kind of lead.

Near Atlanta, at Ryan Bio-Chemical Laboratories, Hank McCoy is being held prisoner by a man named Dr. Carl Maddicks, who hired Tower to kidnap Hank. Fearing a loose end with Tower, Maddicks contacts X-Factor and asks them to capture Tower. With no leads on Hank's location, X-Factor wonders whether this is great luck or a trap. But they head out to find Tower.

Meanwhile, Maddicks talks with Hank, saying he needs Hank to help isolate the chemical source of mutations, something Hank has done before in the experiment that turned him blue and fuzzy (in Amazing Adventures #11). Through the bars of Hank's cell, Maddicks slips Hank some information on the experiment he is attempting, but failing to complete. Hank can't help but check all Maddicks' data and correct some of it. In another room, Maddicks' mutant son psychically collects Hank's data, allowing Maddicks to get what he needs to perform the experiment successfully.

Elsewhere, X-Factor (minus Beast, of course) finds Tower. It's a tough battle, but ultimately X-Factor prevails, and Cyclops demands to know where Hank is. Tower says they'll have to make a deal with him to find out.

Back at Maddicks' lab, Maddicks tranquilizes Hank and straps him down to a gurney. Maddicks then injects Hank with something, saying Hank will soon make history as the first homo superior (mutant) to regress to a homo sapien (human). Bad news is, Hank goes into cardiac arrest!

[moonlit-imagines]

Mutant One Seat Over

Peter Maximoff x reader

warnings:

a/n: ahhhh anon you are so super sweet!!! thank you so much! to do this awesome request, reader is gn and has natural spider powers! (as opposed to engineering tech to accommodate powers, but i know you said “like peter parker” so i hope this is okay!) mwah!

prompt: anonymous: “Hi Could you do a Xmen- Peter X Spider!Reader one shot where the reader is a new student in the school for gifted youngsters and they have spider powers (like peter Parker). They don’t really attend classes or have any friends and Charles are trying to get them more comfortable in the school So he literally drags her to class. she has to sit next to Peter maximoff and he is totally mesmerized by her and and they become really close and starts dating.

Ps: hope your having a great day and staying safe. Your such a talented writer and also don’t feel pressed to do this I totally understand if you decide not to, just do what you feel like🥰❤️❤️”

Ever since puberty, you just haven’t been the same. I might have to mention that you’re a mutant, let’s just say that you had a different idea in mind when warned that “your body will go through all sorts of changes.” The surfacing of your mutation was startling, uncomfortable, and confusing.

Some lovely abilities you had acquired were: sticking to almost anything that came into contact with your skin (you’re working on it), being able to spin your own webs (which you were getting pretty good at, fantastic vision, super strength, and much more to be explored.

After a little mishap at school when you got stuck in a bathroom stall for three and a half hours, your parents thought it best to send you to a boarding school that was “much more your speed.”

“No. No, I don’t want to leave!” You pleaded with your parents once they broke the news to you. They were heartbroken that it had to go this far, but this is what needed to be done.

“It’s only until you get control of your powers, y/n. You need to be around other people who share your experiences.” You mom explained, grabbing your gloved hands. At this point, you couldn’t do anything without being covered from near head-to-toe in clothing, it stuck to you and only you.

“Yeah, I heard you the first time.” You snapped, jerking away and stomping up the stairs, but there was a certain sound that stopped you. A car horn. “You didn’t...” You glared at your parents and watched them avert eye contact from you, your heart broke into a million pieces. “A cab? Really? You won’t even take me there yourself?”

“Your suitcase is already packed, y/n.” Your dad’s ashamed tone gave you chills, you never thought you’d have to be sent off like this. You hesitantly stepped back down the steps while your dad walked into the mud room to grab the bag he’d stashed. “We’re sorry, but this is for your own good.” You snatched the bag from him and swung the front door open.

“We love you!” Your mom called as you slammed the front door hard enough to knock down a few dozen pictures and wall decorations throughout the house. “They’re never going to forgive us for this.”

—————

Truth be told, you didn’t enjoy this school at all. Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. The place was teeming with outcasts just like yourself, it made you sick.

At least you were in charge of yourself here. You came and went from your room when you pleased, but you pleased to stay in your room as much as you possibly could. Yes, you had classes, but you just so happen to miss...all of them.

“Well, we don’t know what they’re going through.” A voice mumbled outside of your dorm door. “It took me a while to acclimate to all this change, I imagine they feel the same.” You wouldn’t have let it bother you, but whoever was out there had just disturbed you from a fascinating dream that had taken you far from here. You threw off the covers and swung your legs over the edge of the bed, taking a moment to recover from the headrush.

“I’m so sick of this shit, some peoppe are trying to sleep!” You yanked the door hard enough for it to make a dent in the wall, but that wasn’t nearly as bad as opening the door to Professor Xavier, the headmaster of this boarding school, and another resident from the building, Hank. “Oh. Hi.”

“Mx. l/n, your teachers informed me that you have not been attending your classes, is this true?” The Professor interrogated, but you knew that lying couldn’t save you from a telepath.

“Yep, it’s true. The change of scenery’s just a little overwhelming, you know how it is.” You carelessly shrugged and even tried to close to door on them, but Dr. McCoy caught it and looked to the Professor in shock.

“Yes, well, maybe we could work on that. Why don’t you follow me to your next class? It really would be best for you to keep up with your studies. Maybe you’ll even make some new friends?” Professor Xavier wouldn’t give up on you, which was both comforting and exhausting. With a roll of your eyes, you peeled off one of your gloves and slapped yout hand against the wooden wall.

“Oh, no.” You deadpanned. “I’m stuck.” The two adults exchanged exhausted glances and stared at you in silence, you doing the same. You obviously were a stubborn kid, the Professor had seen this a hundred times before. But it gave him an idea, he knew the perfect candidate for a long lasting friendship, now he just needed you to quit all these games.

“Hank? Would you..?” Xavier politely suggested his friend’s assistance without outright saying it, so you were just a little puzzled when Hank stepped inside your room.

“Brace yourself, y/n.” He pushed his glasses up before planting his feet and grabbing you by each shoulder. Your eyebrows conjoined out of pure confusion, but just like that you were unstuck from the wall. He...okay, he was strong? That would have been good to know. Maybe they should have started with that before yanking you off of a hard surface. There were a few chunks of wood still connected to your hand, you’d have to pick them off later. “I suggest you put the glove back on, y/n. Wouldn’t want to get stuck again now, would you?” Hank gave you a forced smile and waited for you to do the right thing.

“Fine.” You pulled the glove over your hazardous skin and picked up your backpack. “If you insist, I’ll try out a class.” You huffed and dragged your feet across the hardwood floor, bringing joy to the Professor’s face. Maybe he enjoyed the suffering of mutant children.

“Splendid, this way.” He wheeled himself beside you, giving you a pep talk the whole way through the halls. “I do think you’ll like it here, you just have to give it a chance. Everyone here has something in common, that’s what makes it so great. I know it’s not easy having to leave the comfort of a familiar lifestyle, but life has a funny way of coming together, you’ll see.” You observed the decor that you’d ignored time and time again as you kept your head down and shuttled yourself from one place to another.

“Yeah, right.” You scoffed and stood in front of your classroom. It was already embarrassing showing up for class late in normal school, all eyes on you and everything. Was it any different in mutant school? Well, you were on your way to find out. The room went silent as the door crept open, you and the Professor entered with, you figured, all eyes on you.

“Class, some of you may know y/n, some of you may not. Please make them feel welcome here, I trust that you will.” Xavier took a quick look around the room and, just as he suspected, there was a vacant seat next to a mutant he had in mind. “Peter, raise your hand, please. Y/N, take the seat next to Peter. Enjoy the rest of your class, students!” The Professor exited as the rest of the class said their goodbyes in unison, it nearly gave you a headache, but you made it to your seat next to Peter and dropped all of your stuff with a thud.

“Peter Maximoff, nice to meet you. What’s with the gloves?” The silver-haired boy asked with a hand out to shake, with you reluctantly accepted. He didn’t seem so bad.

“I stick to things.” You answered in simplest form. “Aren’t you a little young to have gone gray?” You cocked an eyebrow while admiring Peter’s dime-silver locks that were almost distracting.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you rush growing up.” Peter chuckled, running his fingers through the knots. “I’m a super-speeder. It just sort of happened. I don’t mind it, though, I think it’s sexy.” He shamelessly admitted, getting a genuine laugh out of you. Maybe he was one of the better people here, who knows?

“Whatever you say, Maximoff.” You leaned back in your seat, facing front to at least appear to be focusing, but you snuck a few glaces at the mutant one seat over. He, on the other hand, made his looks overt. The entire class period, his eyes were on you.

After that class period, you actually ended up enjoying your classes. The Professor checked up on your personal attendance often, chuckling to himself abour how simple his plan was.

“Do you really think it was a good idea to introduce y/n to Peter? Of all the people here?” Hank’s concern showed that he cared. Everyone here wanted the best for you, it was easier to see now more than ever.

“I had to start somewhere.” Xavier justified, which was actually pretty reasonable. There was no right way to deal with all these unique kids who had been through so much already. All he knew for sure was that they needed to feel supported, something he had absolutely no issue with.

Meanwhile, as your final bell rang...

You gasped when a gust of wind blew right past you. It wasn’t the wind that stared you, it was the obnoxious teen mutant that followed.

“Hi,” Peter awkwardly waved, then backed up to stand beside you, placing his hand on your middle back to lead you around the mansion going...well, who knows where you’re going? Not you, that’s for sure, “so hear me out. I think that we are like, the perfect pair. Wouldn’t you agree? Don’t answer that, I already know you’ll say ‘yes.’”

“Is there a point to this, ‘Quickie?’” An evil smile formed from your lips as Peter pushed a bit harder on your back, getting you to speedwalk with him.

“Hey!” I told you that story in confidence!” You stifled laughter and waited for him to continue. “Anyways, I’m gonna get straight to the point before you pull another fast one on me, my point? Well, yeah, my point...” He used his free hand you tap at his chin, then completely halted.

“Did you forget why you came here to talk to me?” You gave a disappointed shake of your head, but still seemed quite amused. The buzzing of kids around you didn’t even faze you, you’d just realized you were too focused on peter to even care.

“Can you maybe go over what I’ve said so far? It’ll jog my memory.” His request made you groan, but you did as he asked nevertheless.

“You said, ‘Hi. Hear me out. We’re the perfect pair. You agree. I told you that in confidence.’” At least your paraphrasing skills were on point.

“Right! Okay, okay. Back on track.” He continued on course, easing up on speed by just a pinch. “So me and you, right? Does that sound crazy? ‘Cause to me, that sounds pretty awesome. I mean, we are the hottest people at this school, we’d be unstoppable.” You’d finally started to piece together his ramblings.

“Are you asking me out or...something?” You tilted your head to analyze his lipless grin and raised eyebrows, was he clamming up?

“...Yyyyyes?” Peter finally admitted, finally showing his teeth through a smile.

“Alright, well...yeah, okay. We’re dating now.” You didn’t accept in the most conventional way, but you did accept, which counted for something.

“Really?!” Peter gasped. “Can I...can I kiss you?” Asking was everything, especially when you risk getting stuck to the other person. I mean, he wouldn’t mind being stuck to you, but he was a little hungry.

“I’m not gonna lie, Pete, we’re gonna need a lot of baby oil. It’s not gonna be pretty.” You made him burst into laughter upon the thought. “It’s not funny!” You playfully slapped his arm. “Where were you leading me, anyways?”

“Oh, nowhere in particular.” He explained through his wheezing. “I just really do not like standing still.”

taglist: @locke-writes // @randomawesomeperson102 // @captainshazamerica // @ravenmoore14 // @thisetaernallove //

[jq37]

The Case File – Mice and Murder Ep 2

The Case of the Dismal Dinner

Summary

Welcome back to our flashback/Tisch fight already in progress where we learn what Daisy and Sly’s shared look was about while Rekha and Grant go for the proverbial jugular emotionally. It’s 12 years ago and Sylvester is tracking down a stolen diadem, the very same diadem that he sees Daisy swipe off the thief who has it (a jackal named Roscoe McCoy in case that matters). Sly swipes it back from her and, when she notices, she sniffs it down to his train car where he is sitting in the dark, waiting for her. He doesn’t turn the lights on, opting instead to dramatically strike a match to light his pipe, illuminating himself sitting in a big chair, holding the stolen item.

Daisy tries to bluff like she’s Virginia Chase, the owner of the diadem, but Sly knows that’s not true because he was hired by the real Virginia to track it down. Daisy is usually a better liar than this but she is insta-smitten by this figurative and literal fox and it’s throwing her off her game. But before they can continue their little tete-a-tete, they hear a gunshot ring out from Daisy’s room and know Roscoe and his guys are coming after her. Sly stuffs Daisy in a trunk before the boys show up and they actually seem a little impressed to meet him, him being a famous detective and all, but a Nat 1 deception means they hear Daisy being huffy in the chest and a fight/escape scene that Brennan takes over narration for ensues. 

After that, Sly and Daisy become close really quickly and partners in both senses of the word. Daisy tells him she’s an American PI and they work together on cases, travel the world, and become engaged within the year. But, the day before the wedding, when Sly is alone, he discovers all the documentation proving that Daisy lied about who she is, is actually a criminal, and has been using their partnership to sell information to other criminals.

She shows up and tries to pretend like she’s being set up but he replies, “You being duped is the only lie you’ve told I can’t believe.” He says that being with her changed him. He didn’t think he had it in him to actually love another person. He forgives her. He still wants to get married. Daisy is thrown by this reaction. She tells him she’s not gonna change for him and he might as well leave her. She’s being all unapologetic femme fatale about it but he gets the sense that under her bravado she’s low key pleading with him to give up on her. He doesn’t want to. He can’t. He still shows up the next day in his wedding tux. Daisy is nowhere to be seen. When he goes home, there’s a deerstalker cap on his porch and a note that just reads “-D”.

And we snap back to the present where Daisy is trying to figure out if she can take advantage of Lucretia’s fascination with the occult and all the rich vulnerable people present to make some money. Meanwhile, Sly has been totally rocked by seeing Daisy and is drowning his sorrows at the bar with Ollie, the otter bartender. Squire Badger (which is what I’ll be calling William) shows up and, in not so many words, threatens Sly for having not solved the case and making a fool of him. He says, “You’re not gonna rub my nose in this.” Move your nose then bitch, says Sly on a dirty 20 intimidation check. He’s sad about girl problems, not you! Squire Badger is scared off, but he looks like he knows something that Sly doesn’t. That someone is coming for him. 

Buckster (and Ian too btw) clocked the above conversation and sidles up to Sly at the bar. See, not only does Buckster know about Sly and Daisy’s history, he knew it was happening *while* it was happening. Sly used up all his cool swagger on the Squire so by the time Buckster shows up he’s a whole mess over Daisy. Buckster starts implying that maybe they can help each other out since they both dislike the Squire and with Sly’s Nat 20 Insight, they can totally clock each other’s double meanings perfectly. It’s a very cool game thing where Sly and Buckster are having an innocuous conversation about the weather or whatever but Grant and Sam are just saying what they mean. It’s like they’re having a telepathic conversation. Sly agrees that the enemy of his enemy is his friend and he’ll go along with Buck’s plans as long as he can keep his hands clean, even if he doesn’t really care for Buck himself. 

At the same time Gangie is in the kitchens getting fed (see the notes for a full list of kitchen staffers and other NPCs) and after the staff leaves, Gangie is told by Ambrose Harding (the Squire’s turtle valet) that there’s is business for him to attend to after dinner. 

Buckster talks to Lawrence Longfoot--the rabbit photographer from last ep who we learn runs a trash newspaper. He and Buck bond over being trash and he gets a pic of Sly and Buck together. 

Vicar Ian goes to talk to the Squire and basically tries to (openly) suss out whether the money was a bribe or a setup or what? Like, people are fully there (including the Lady Fawnbrook and her gossipy cat wife Tabitha). They snipe at each other a bit and then the Squire reveals that he’s talked him up to the Cardinal and the Cardinal agreed that he’s such a good vicar, he should be moved to Siberia. The decision has already been made and Ian doesn’t have the pull in the church to do anything about it. Yikes. 

Before dinner, the rat butler catches Buck and asks if he has time to talk to Squire Badger. Buck agrees to go with him and he’s taken to the billiards room where the Squire is along with Harding and James Hawkins, Squire’s Hawk war buddy (a literal war hawk). Buck immediately puts his foot in his mouth by messing up the Squire’s title with his American ignorance of British peerage rules which annoys him, the elitism of it all. The Squire’s friends leave and then Buck starts talking about PR and how this whole situation has been bad PR for the Squire and it would be a shame if his PR got even worse. The suggestion of blackmail sends the Squire into a full honey badger don’t care style rage and he knocks TF out of Buck, flips the pool table, and then catches himself and scurries off. Daisy, Sly, and Gangie all hear this conversation from their positions in the house via the pipes running through the manor. Buck picks himself up and, on a 25, realizes that two of the mouse maids were hiding behind a curtain, hearing the whole thing (specifically, Edwina Thimble and Carolyn Dickory--oh like hickory dickory doc, BRENNAN) . They were playing hooky so he flips them a coin each and they all agree that no one saw or heard anything. “Two blind mice, see how they run,” he quips as they leave (sidenote, what a morbid nursery rhyme to exist in that world--to be fair, it’s pretty morbid as is).

Lucretia decides to turn the séance into a post dinner séance but still brings Daisy and Lars to see her occult room which is full of crap from, as Rekha said, “1800s Party City”. Lucretia does a hilariously vague read on Daisy and says that there’s something happening with her involving a man she knew or maybe still knows but she’s in her feelings about Sly so it kinda shakes her up. She tries to get Lucretia to charge for her “””incredible gift””” (so she can skim off the top of course) but Lucretia thinks it would be a misuse of her ~talents~. She does give Daisy an incredibly broad as to be useless even if magic exists blessing before she leaves. 

Once she does, Daisy scopes out the room (which she realizes must have been retrofitted for Lucretia and wasn’t previously a séance room) and sees that the one thing in the room that doesn’t really match the aesthetic is a giant portrait of one of the previous squire badgers. On a 24 she notices two things: (1) the painting has recently been restored with new paint and (2) the frame is bolted to the wall. She wants to check it out but Lars is right there so she makes a note to check it out later and leaves. 

Lars, being a very ride or die friend for Sly, bounds after her and basically calls her trash and tries to tempt her with garbage so she’ll lose composure and start chowing down. She drools at the sight but keeps it together and leaves. Lars runs off to tell Sly that they were a good good dog and gives him a full play by play. 

Gangie meanwhile is watching a small argument between the butler and Harding in the servant’s quarters hallway and he realizes that he’s being talked about in veiled language. The butler is questioning Gangie’s employment and Harding says that, as servants, they shouldn’t question their master and that Gangie is employed for reasons that Squire Badger is aware of and reasons he is not. Hmm. Gangie realizes that Harding knows about his past which is weird because Gangie’s criminal record doesn’t follow him. There’s no internet. So what reason would this guy have to know about him?

Gangie doesn’t like this and decides to dip and steal some silverware on the way out. Mrs. Molesley (who I’ll be calling Mrs. M from now on) helps him (lol I’m not entirely sure if she didn’t know what he was doing or if she’s just down with stealing) and says that she’s been working there since Squire Badger was in diapers (she was his nanny) and if anyone bullies Gangie, she’ll take care of them. She also offers to make him a sweater so he doesn’t get cold and she’s just so nice that Gangie has to say yes. He looks to make sure no one is around and gives her a dandelion he picked. Cute!!!

And now it’s time for dinner and our very first box of doom roll for the most terrifying encounter of all: how close you have to sit next to your bitter ex! This is of course for Sly and Daisy with higher than a 15 meaning they don’t have to sit next to each other and anything lower meaning they have to sit pretty close. It is the first BOD roll I’ve ever wanted them to fail (mmm, except maybe Adaine’s werewolf roll but that’s a different conversation). 

It’s in the 6-10 bracket which means they’re sitting across from each other (below that would have been them next to each other). Everyone is seated based on how on Squire Badger’s shitlist they are. So you have Ian at the absolute back. Sly to his right and Daisy on his left. The Buckster and Lars to the right and left after that. Then Armond (armadillo lawyer guy) and a snail guy because Brennan is a madman who cannot be stopped. Constance (Squire’s daughter) makes a toast to her dad wishing him well even though they haven’t always seen eye to eye (hmmm).

Buckster fills in Daisy on his confrontation with the Squire quietly enough that no one else hears. Daisy then turns to Sly and says she hopes they can be civil. Sly is like, “Sure Ms. DUMPSTER.” They’re the kind of exes who know exactly how to hurt each other but are also super open to being hurt. Emotional glass cannons is how Brennan describes it. 

Buckster is given a note by Harding from Squire Badger and, once dinner is over, he takes Daisy off to the side to read it. Gangie follows, unseen. Ian, who recently prayed to God and got not super clear results goes to talk to Luecretia to see if maybe ghosts can help him instead. She is, as usual, not super helpful but does rush out to get her very necessary ritual dagger and declares to everyone that if anyone sees a ghost they have to tell her. As she says this, there is a flash of lightning and, through the window, Sylvester sees just for a moment the form of his nemesis, Fletcher Cottonbotton (who is by the docks).

Anyway, Buckster reads the note. It’s a document from the Squire selling his interest in BB Industries (Buck’s oil company) to Hazel Hogswallop who is another small shareholder in BB Industries. But, in doing so, it names Josiah Jackrabbit (one of his competitors) her proxy which means he’ll be able to vote on things (and with a lot of power with all that stock).  The contract was written in fresh ink which means (1) it was probably written after their fight and (2) hasn’t been mailed yet (I smell a heist attempt). Buck rolls insight on the writing (mastermind rogue ability) and with a 27 senses that the Squire has gone off his rocker. This isn’t going to make him any money. Josiah doesn’t have enough liquid cash to pay him what this is worth. And the thing with Hazel would have taken time to set up. This has been in the works for a while and he’s been sitting on it until the time was right. And he senses, like Sly and Gangie did earlier, that someone besides the Squire is pulling the strings. 

Then Gangie suddenly hears Constance’s distressed voice through the pipes from upstairs: “Father you’re possessed! You’re a mad man! This will never work. Speak of this to me never again.” And she slams the door (Buck, Daisy, and Gangie all hear). Constance comes downstairs and Squire Badger follows, looking upset. Mrs. M checks in on him too see if he’s eaten and he kind of gruffly has her follow him (along with Mr. Harding) into the drawing room.

There is a scream. Something drops. Silence. Footsteps. A door opens. Then a voice, “My God!”

Everyone rolls initiative. Ian moves first and, upon hearing all the commotion, gathers everyone together to go towards the sound (interesting choice but sure). Daisy recognizes that the scream heard was Mrs. M but barely knows who she is. She goes towards the commotion anyway. Gangie also goes towards the scream. Buckster grabs his gun (well he says “weapon”, but it’s gotta be a gun, right?) and makes like he’s following her but actually hides. Lars and Sylvester go towards the scream. 

With everyone gathered, Ambrose opens the door. Inside they see Mrs. M, her hands covered in blood (my guess? From trying to stop the bleeding), kneeling on the ground over the dead body of the Squire. The room is a mess and stuff is scattered everywhere. There is a bloody knife in the Squire’s hand and a stab wound over his heart. Ms. M, who is distressed as hell, says there was something wrong with him. There was a flash, and she looked down and he was stabbing himself. Everyone thinks this is suspicious as hell. She was the only one in the room. Everyone looks to Sly, the famous detective who is not in the presence of a murder case in progress. What does Sly say? “Lady Lucretia. I’ve seen a ghost.”

Case Notes

I have to acknowledge how ON FIRE Grant was this episode. Like everyone was. Buck was great with the Squire. Daisy and Lars sniping at each other was fun. But man Grant had so many good lines. The “move your nose”. The heartbreak with Daisy (ugh, so sad!) And that blackout line!!! I am biased towards foxes as you can see from my avatar so I am very here for this great fox rep.

Based on the way their staredown went last ep I kinda thought Daisy was the wronged party but ugh. Slyyyyyyy. He forgave herrrrrrr. And he still went to the alter. Daisy how you could youuuuuuu?

Also, sigh, Fox and the Hound. I keep getting hit with these after the fact. 

I loved Rekha’s “Of the Chase Sapphire’s?” improv.

That racoon/mink line was so sleazy. Weird compliment but Brennan is good at being animal-racist. Sidenote, Daisy makes a comment about being careful being a fox in England which I presume is a ref to fox hunting and like the implication of that are como se dice troubling. 

Here are all the new NPCs for this ep and here’s a full NPC guide that also includes the list of names Gangie gave Buck which Buck shares with Daisy this ep.

And on that topic I can’t get over the concept of a married couple named Millie Molton and Mollie Milton. Like, did they get married solely for the bit???

The best Ian-ism of the ep was him talking about getting rejected from Siberia. Poor guy.

Fave OOC moment was everyone at the table getting aggressively patriotic in response to the Squire being dismissive to Buck. There is nothing funnier than someone singing a purposefully overwrought version of I’m Proud to Be An American. 

“It’s 2020 for us bitch!”

The moment Mrs. M said she was gonna make Gangie a sweater I was scared for her. Sweaters take a long time to get made. I was like oh no. The plot is gonna stop you from making that sweater isn’t it. I’m willing to be proven wrong (Brennan loves his maids with secrets, see: Cathilda) but she seems super sweet and if anything happens to her I’m going to be upset. 

What’s behind the painting Brennan. I know there’s a door. I know this house is full of secret tunnels and revolving bookshelves and all that. Let me see it!

One great little moment was when there was a flash of lightning and the minis for Sly and Lars like stop motion moved to look at it. Just great attention to detail. The work that gets put into this show is incredible.

Edit: A note I forgot to mention. There’s gotta be a secret door in the room where it happened, right? Like, creep in, flash of light to mess up her vision, do some shenanigans, peace out.

[hailbop1701]

25 Days of FicMas

December 17th prompt: Christmas shopping with a stranger (Modern AU)

Word Count: 2,154

Toy Shop Terror

Okay so this one is much lighter and fluffier than yesterday's prompt! They're not really together when shopping but this is what I came up with! I hope y'all like it!

-H❤🖖

Leonard McCoy ran a hand through his hair frantically; he was in the corner of a crowded toy store on Christmas eve looking for the “Harry Potter” section. Leonard marveled at how people were going completely insane over something their child will most likely play with for a week or two. Shaking his head he bobbed and weaved through the mass of angry, hurried customers keeping an eye for the isle he needed. Spotting the large sign Leonard ducked into the aisle to find it torn apart, “oh these poor workers,” he muttered eyes wide. Toys and merchandise lay scattered over the almost barren shelves and littered the floor. Stepping over large cardboard boxes that once held said merchandise Leonard groaned in frustration, “damnit!” he cursed, voice a deep growl. A loud shriek made him quickly lookup; he saw a pretty young woman stumble into the aisle clutching onto a stuffed panda bear like it was a lifeline, “same to you pal!” you shouted flipping off the man that shoved you out of the way. The gesture was reciprocated. Scowling you examined the bear carefully, searching for rips or tears. When you felt it was in okay condition you finally looked up to see him there with an amused expression on his face. “Some people,” you chuckled nervously, waving the bear around. You took note of the shelves Leonard was standing in front of and winced sympathetically. “Oh, Harry Potter that's tough, I’m sorry,” you grimaced at the state of things; Leonard huffed in agreement, “my daughter has been begging for the books for a while and I’ve been looking everywhere for the box set,” he muttered hand going through his already messed up hair again. 

“Well I wish you the best of luck, god knows you’re gonna need it,” you said with a dry laugh. You looked around, clearing your throat you bit your lip, “have uh you seen the electronic section?” Leonard raised an eyebrow and pointed a thumb toward the back of the store, his own look of sympathy crossing his face. “Fuck, okay. Stupid drone is gonna be the death of me. Good luck and may the odds ever be in your favor, wait wrong series…” you trailed off scrunching up your face in thought. Leonard couldn’t help but chuckle at your antics; giving him a cheeky smile you gave him a two-fingered salute and dove back into the crowd.  ‘What a strange woman,’ he thought with a crooked smile.

Sighing Leonard looked back at the barren shelves with slumped shoulders, “Maybe I should look for something else,” he murmured almost missing the sound of his phone ringing. Pulling the object Leonard looked at the caller ID, “I can’t talk now Jim,” he answered pressing a finger to his opposite ear. A faint voice whined from the other end of the call, “no I haven’t found it yet and I honestly don’t think I will. I knew I should have just ordered it off of-no, and no you can’t, that’s-I don’t care. Jim as your best friend I advise you that hitting on my sister is bad for your health," Leonard hung up the call and swiftly inserted himself into the crowd of shoppers. 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

You bit your lip as you precariously balanced on some empty shelves hoping to peek over the throng of people. Your hunt for the drone your nephew had been begging for all year was nowhere to be found. Scanning over the crowd with a deep scowl on your face something caught your eye, a much older looking woman clutched three distinct green boxes to her chest. “Oh not today Brenda,” you growled the image of the cute forlorn father popping into your mind. You smirked at the thought of the guy, ‘I’m allowed. He had no ring…' your mind wandered as you pushed and shoved your way through shoppers. Scooping up an opened ‘Nerf Gun’ you cocked it and fired. The foam bullets bounced off of the woman’s head causing her to turn every which way. She screamed startled when one stuck itself to her coke bottle glasses. While she was distracted you slipped past sneakily grabbing one of the boxes from her stack. “Manager!” you heard her howl, glancing over your shoulder you grinned as no one bothered to give her a second glance. Whistling you tossed the plastic gun into a bin and held the box of books to your chest with the panda bear for your baby niece hanging from your fingers. “Now where is Mr. cute butt at…” you hummed thoughtfully. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the store, McCoy stared at a mass of stuffed animals and to his complete amazement, a pristine box holding a remote control drone sat amongst the bears, unicorns, and oddly enough poop pillows. Blinking he picked up the box, his mind drifting back to you. “Hold on to that tight man, last one!” an employee called to him as he passed. Holding the box closer Leonard eyed the people watching with envy as he walked by, “Alright darlin’ maybe I didn’t get what I came here for but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer,” he drawled searching for you in every aisle. Not looking where he was going he slammed into something small, it squeaked indignantly and he quickly grabbed the person steadying them. “Hey!” you both exclaimed with wide smiles. 

You held up the Harry Potter box set proudly and Leonard practically sagged in relief, “did you-how-” he laughed in shock. You chuckled looking mildly guilty, “don’t ask and you won’t be implicated,” you whispered which made Leonard raise a single eyebrow. Instead of commenting, he held up the drone you were searching for, making you squeal in delight. You bounced on your feet as you exchanged items, “Thank you!” you gasped looking at the drone eyes sparkling, “My nephew is gonna die!” thinking for a second you held out your hand, “I’m (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” 

Leonard couldn’t keep the smile from his face as he grasped your tiny hand in his much bigger one, “Leonard McCoy, at your service ma’am.” he replied smoothly. Happening to glance over Leonard’s shoulder you spotted the ‘Harry Potter’ hoarder from earlier nerf bullet still stuck to her glasses. Blanching you clutched onto Leonards’s hand tighter before turning around and running off pulling the confused man behind you, “move it McCoy unless you want to give up the books!” you yelped shoving people out of the way. Leonard was suddenly ahead of you now pulling you easily through the hoard of people toward the check out area. You stumbled a few times with him being a bit taller and faster than you, “whoa cowboy!” 

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

“I can’t believe you did that to get this,” Leonard barked out laughing, his shoulders shook as he sat across from you. You snickered munching on a french fry, “she had like three. I did her a favor those books were like a hundred and fifty a pop,” you muttered picking up your soda glass. Leonard smirked, “believe me darlin’ I know,” he huffed with a shake of his head. “Your daughter is lucky to have a dad like you,” you beamed at him picking up another fry from the basket you both were sharing. “I mean not many parents would be in a toy store on Christmas eve,” you said with a smirk. Leonard looked out the window of the little diner you had ducked into. Red tinted his cheeks and the tops of his ears, he shrugged after a minute, “She’s my world, there isn’t a lot I wouldn’t do for her,” he said looking back at you. He grabbed a french fry, “You visiting Georgia for the Holidays?” he inquired popping the potato into his mouth. Taking a sip of soda you nodded, “Yeah though not for long. I’ll be moving here pretty soon,” you grinned. “Oh really, where are you comin’ from?” Leonard asked eyes lighting up thrilled at the prospect of you living in Georgia, “Seattle, I’m a paramedic,” you said with a smile. 

The conversation flowed easily; jumping from topic to topic. Leonard talked about how he was a doctor at Atlanta General and then you told him about the adventures from your profession. It would have flowed endlessly but the waitress walked over to your table saying that they were closing up soon; she smiled prettily at Leonard hoping he would take notice but he simply gave her a polite smile and paid for the meal. 

Once the bill was paid and a generous tip was left Leonard helped you into your jacket. He grabbed both your bags and he shot down your protests. Walking to the door you were about to open it when he beat you to it. “And they said chivalry is dead,” you murmured with a crooked smile. “Sweetheart my momma would kill me if I didn’t treat you like a lady,” McCoy flirted as he walked you to your car. "Your mom is a smart woman," you chuckled. You took the shopping bags from Leonard and stowed them away into the trunk of your rental, turning you held out your hand “Lemme see your phone,” you giggled when he gave a confused look. He wordlessly handed it to you and watched as you added your number to his contact information. Taking a picture of yourself you saved it as one of his favorites before giving it back. “There now you can get ahold of me, you know in case you need help getting the Hunger Games or something. Though I don’t think the Brenda's of the world would appreciate it,” you grinned. Leonard snorted a laugh as he pocketed his phone again, “Okay Katniss,” he sassed opening your car door. Your grin grew bigger, “Doctor I am impressed,” you gasped placing a hand over your heart dramatically. McCoy’s laugh echoed across the almost empty parking lot; getting in the car you shut the door and started the engine quickly so you could roll down the window. “Well my girl likes books so I’ve been kept up to date on her latest favorites,” he said leaning down resting his forearm just above the window. “She sounds like an amazing girl,” you whispered with a soft smile, Leonard’s dark hazel eyes twinkled in the street light you were parked under. “She truly is,” he murmured back. The air became thick and full of something you couldn’t place, Leonard cleared his throat leaning back. “You should get going, your family is going to worry,” he sighed not wanting to see you go. Your smile turned sad, “Yeah my brother will have a fit,” you agreed, glaring at the car's dash clock. You said your "Goodbyes" and you were soon on your way back to your brother’s home with a lot of things on your mind; a handsome doctor being one of them. 

The very next day you sat on your bedroom floor with a slew of presents waiting to be wrapped. Grumbling to yourself you struggled and fought with the wrapping paper, “Fold damnit!” you growled, voice muffled by the disposable tape dispenser in between your teeth. Your phone began to vibrate on the floor causing it to skitter in place, cursing you held the paper in place with one hand while the other grabbed the device. “H’lo,” your voice was muffled again. Rolling your eyes at your own stupidity you spat out the tape and tried again, “hello?” there was a deep chuckle from the other end. “(Y/N) it’s Leonard,” you sat up straighter a smile spreading across your face. “Len hey!” you greeted voice light, “I was wondering what your plans are for New Year’s Eve?” Leonard asked sounding nervous. ‘My god he’s adorable,’ you thought dreamily, “I’m not doing much just packing to head back to Seattle so I can then pack again to head back here,” you chuckled and facepalmed due to your ‘lameness,’ 

“I was uh- wonderin’ if you’d like to spend the day with me?” he asked making you scream internally, “Yeah I would love to,” you said hoping to not sound desperate. You heard a whispered voice in the background, “awesome Bones!” it said encouragingly. You bit your lip to keep from snickering. “I- uh that’s great! I’ll message you the details in a little bit!” Leonard said clearly smiling. “Daddy, can you help me with my braid?” the voice of a little girl hit your ear.  ‘That must be Joanna,’ your heart warmed, “I have to go but I’ll talk to you soon,” Leonard promised lowly making you chuckle. “Okay Len, talk to you then,” you set your phone down and took a deep breath. “I think I’m going to really like it here,” you murmured to the butterflies fluttering around in your chest and stomach. 

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@writerdee1701

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[resplendentgoldenwings]

The Hope That is You II

So I’ve been meaning to do a longer post about the series finale of Disco but honestly I’ve just really been sort of absorbing it and the two previous episodes these last few weeks. Anyway here are my thoughts.

I haven’t seen much talk about the actions sequences (and yes I know Star Trek isn’t about fight scenes and shit but sometimes it is). Man I loved that shit, ok. Sonequa is a great physical actor and Michael is obviously a very physical person. That whole turbo lift scene was just blew my mind. Like grrrl what is you doin’? I love that Michael is just that fucking brave and bold and physical and terrifying and just out here kickin’ ass and takin’ names. There have certainly been better action scenes and fight scenes in shows but the intensity of that one- I loved it!

Watching her and Book handle Zareh and Ossrya was like yessss! Queen. From “Up here you sonofabitch!” to “No win scenarios, I don’t believe in those.” I was one super happy fangir!

After There is a Tide, I kinda wanted Ossyra to live and hang around for a while. I felt like the episode added some interesting depth to the character, especially since she was being somewhat honest and perhaps genuinely willing to be not horrible. Then Wednesday happened and we still have leaders quibbling about whether or not a certain megalomaniac should be impeached or put on trial because “maybe it’s divisive, maybe it’s not expedient and we need to heal” blah, blah, blah!

 Meanwhile that ass-hole is still making threats and we’re gonna live with what he stirred up for a long time (truthfully I don’t think I’ll rest easily as long as he’s alive, the piece of shit) so it was nice to see a leader who knew and understood what needed to happen, and even nicer to see that tyrant get what the fuck she deserved in the end. It may not be the Star Trek we want but damn if it ain’t the Star Trek we fucking need. 

It was also really great to see the crew working together, to  learn more about Joann and have that moment of Michael and Sylvia’s friendship be so helpful.  Also Joann and Kayla, a couple? Y/N

Book can fly the ship, woohooo!I know some people were a bit confused about the fact that Book could just fly it immediately but the way I understand it Stamets added the tardigrade DNA to his own and that allowed him to navigate the mycelial network itself. Book as an empath wouldn’t be able to navigate the network but the network is an intelligence of a sort that he could communicate with and ask for help. Like how he and his brother asked the locust to go somewhere else.

One moment that really stood out to me was when the crew reunited with Michael on the bridge and Tilly asks Michael to lead them, saying that they all wanted her to take charge. Tilly is radiating so much defeat here and while I was happy to see Michael taking charge I felt so bad for her.

First she never should have been put in that position and second while I think there were things she could have done differently in that moment it seems like even a more experienced officer would have lost the ship under those circumstance. I also caught Michael reacting to it and I hope Tilly’s now damaged confidence is revisited going into s4.

Speaking of Tilly not being ready for command who is Michael’s first officer going to be? I’ve seen two suggestions that I really like. Hugh Culber or Jett Reno.

 Jett Reno is my fave suggestion because I think she would serve as a great counter balance. Michael is level headed but extremely passionate and her emotions run deep. Reno is super steady and I think Michael would benefit from a really, steady down to earth first officer. Unfortunately this won’t be happening Tig Notaro, the actress who plays Reno, doesn’t want to take on a full-time gig, damn it.

Hugh Culber has a similar steadiness but such warmth, compassion and patience that he would be a great support and sounding board for Captain Burnham. And we already have another doctor who takes charges in the sickbay and Dr. McCoy was 3rd in command on the Enterprise if Bones can do it than so can Culber. 

These are my two favorite suggestions. Someone also suggested Owosekun which makes sense and it would give us the chance to get to know the character more. We could go with an outside hire which also makes sense. Discovery should have a liaison officer from the 32nd century. Sure they can look up information in the computer but having someone on hand who knows the places, the politics, the history would theoretically make things go more smoothly. Book can fill that role to an extent but they need someone who knows Starfleet’s current relationship with the rest of the universe first hand IMHO, so I’m all for an outside hire.

I’m just gonna say it Paul is a contentious ass-hole but honestly it’s also what we like about him. Difficult is what he brings to Discovery. And while we can empathize with Paul not wanting to lose Hugh a second time, especially since he’s been through it the first fucking time I hope with all my heart and soul that Michael doesn’t apologize to him or try to make things right. The decision she made to not go back for the away team was the right fucking decision. She’s captain now and this won’t be the last time she has to make a decision like that either. 

What I’d prefer to see for s4 regarding Michael and Paul is that maybe he has an attitude with her for a bit but then Michael has to do something similar with Book (he survives ofc) but Paul actually thaws then. He’s thinking she’s gonna be a hypocrite and inflict things on her crew that she isn’t willing to inflict on herself. Basically he thinks she’s selfish rather than having grown but when that isn’t what happens he ends up being the first to want to reach out to her. Both to maybe comfort her if there is a time where Book’s status is unknown and offer an apology.

It’s not on the captain to make amends for being the captain, it’s the crew to live with it or leave. 

I know this post is like super long already. I wanted to add some stuff about Su’kal and Saru but that’s honestly a whole other post on its own so maybe later. Right now just really looking forward to s4 and finally see Captain Michael Burnham, let’s fly.

[thebisexualdogdad]

Something new (Fangs x Kevin x Moose x male reader)

Co written with @inhumanshadows

You and Fangs have been dating for a while now when you were transferred to Riverdale High where you met Kevin and Moose and started going out on double dates. 

You had discussions in the past with Fangs about being open to a poly relationship so when you both started having feelings for Moose and Kevin it was easy to talk to each other about it

Fangs head was in your lap as you hung out in his trailer when you brought it up to him. 

“Whatcha think Fangs? They’re both very cute...”

"You know I'm game," he responds. 

Meanwhile Kevin and Moose are having a much more awkward conversation back at Kevin's. 

"Kevin do you think Fangs and Y/N are like... Into us?" Moose questions. 

"I sure hope so why else would be friends?" Kevin says confused. 

“No I mean like into us," Moose reaffirms. 

“Moose what are we five? But maybe?” Kevin shrugs. 

"Are you okay with that?" 

"I know they're polyamorus and relationships come in all forms so why not," Kevin replies. 

The next time you guys go on a double date is when you decide to confront them. 

"So there's something Fangs and I wanted to talk to you about... We like you guys a lot and well... If you're open to it we'd like to try being more than friends," you tell them. 

Kevin and moose share a look and you're afraid you overstepped. 

“No pressure guys,” you add, "and look if this made you uncomfortable we can pretend like it never happened." 

Kevin squeezes Moose's hand and he nods. 

"I think this is something we'd like to explore," Kevin says. 

"Great," Fangs smiles. 

"And we're not just gonna jump in head first, we'll take baby steps so everyone can figure out how they feel," you assure them. 

Moose is still learning to be confident in his sexuality so adjusting to this is more of a struggle for him then it is for Kevin. 

For your first official date you invite them all over to your place for movies and pizza so they can be in a more private and relaxed environment. 

You’re laying on Fangs while Moose is leaning against Kevin with the movie playing. 

You really want it to feel natural so you don’t push, just a nice relaxing night.

The second date you get more physical gestures from them, Kevin kisses Fangs on the cheek and Moose holds your hand. 

Moose eventually falls asleep against you which Kevin teases him about later making him blush.

You decide to go on separate dates to help build your own dynamics as well, the first night Fangs goes out with Kevin and you go out with Moose, the second night you go out with Kevin and Fangs goes out with Moose

The first solo date with moose was at pops figuring a familiar setting would help his nerves.

He was quiet at first but you got him to open up and he was feeling much more comfortable by the end of the date.

You took Kevin to play mini golf so you could do something active but still be able to get to know each other better.

“So Kev... tell me about you," you say hitting the green ball with your putter down the course. 

"Well my mom has been deployed in Afghanistan for the last year and it sucks, my dad just got remarried and now i live across the hall from Josie McCoy and my ex boyfriend is in juvie... You know the usual," he says casually. 

“Wow... that’s a lot...”

“What about you?” he asks. 

“Oh I’m wanted for murder," you joke. 

“What?" He says shocked. 

“Kidding,” you tell him. 

Kevin texts Moose and makes sure it's okay for him to kiss you and that night when you take him home you kiss him goodnight for the first time. 

Later on you and Fangs are in bed talking about how each date went. 

"I think Moose is finally starting to open up," Fangs says happily. 

"That's good, Kevin and I kissed," you smiled.  

"Is he as good of a kisser as he looks," he grins. 

"Better."

“Damn,” Fangs says as you put your head on his chest. 

“I wonder what kissing moose is like?”

“He’s like a puppy," Fangs chuckles. 

"Did you kiss him?" You ask in surprise. 

"Maybe" he grins "yeah i did." 

"Fangs you sly dog," you laugh playfully hitting your hand on his shoulder. 

A few weeks later is when your relationship goes to the next level and you end up giving Kevin a handjob in your car

Kevin came hard and was worried about making a mess.

“Trust me this car has seen its share,” you laugh. 

Soon after Moose gave you a blowjob while you were watching a movie at his place

“I’m telling you Fangs those boys are huge and Moose has a very very good mouth,” you smirk.

“I heard you gave Kev a handy in your car,” Fangs 

"And when did you hear that?" 

"While Kevin was giving me one," he states. 

"That's my boy," you smile. 

"So do you think it's time to bring up trying penetration?" He asks. 

“Maybe... or at least one or two more dates,” you respond. 

“Okay.” Fangs kisses you while palming you through your pants.

"Good thing I've got you to take care of me in the mean time… what about sexting?” You ask as you straddle him.

"Take a picture and we'll find out," he grins. 

Fangs grabs his phone and snaps a picture of you on top of him still fully clothed and sends it the group chat

Kevin: “fuck!!”

Moose: “damn wish I was there”

With them being into it you go a step further, taking your shirts off and sending another pic with Fangs hands on your ass.

You unbutton fangs jeans and take a pic with your head at his crotch.

You guys then get a photo of Kevin shirtless followed by a photo Moose grabbing himself through his shorts

It’s an ongoing sexting battle until you and Fangs are naked with pillows on your crotches, Moose is in his boxers and Kevin is commando in his wrestling singlet.

You:  “reveal all at once?”

Kevin: 👍

Moose: sounds good

As soon as you send the explicit photo you get the photos of them as well which you and Fangs get off to.

You send one last photo of the aftermath and then one of you and Fangs in the shower.

“See ya tomorrow boys. ;)”

The next day at school is when Kevin and Moose both agree they are ready to go further than just a handjob so you and Fangs plan the very special night at your place that weekend.

You make sure your house is well stocked with supplies and food. 

You and Fangs are both more than happy to let Kevin and Moose take the lead and discuss safe words so they feel comfortable. 

Kevin and Moose make out first, you and Fangs watching as they work each other up.

You get behind Kevin and remove his jacket while Fangs is practically drooling.

Kevin pulls away from Moose and kisses you, Fangs beginning to palm himself through his jeans. 

Kevin runs his hand through your hair, Moose watching tentatively as you take Kevin's shirt off, yours quickly following. 

Moose undoes his jeans and starts touching himself, groaning low and deep. 

You push Kevin onto his back and kiss down his chest making him moan in time with Moose. 

“Why don’t you give Moose a hand Fangs,” you wink at him. 

Fangs kisses Moose and strokes his cock while you make your way down Kevin's body until you're tugging his remaining clothes off of him.

Kevin then tugs your pants off and gets smacked in the face by your dick.

“Sorry not sorry Keller,” you chuckle. 

Kevin takes your cock in his mouth and the sight makes Moose cum in minutes. 

"We haven't even gotten to the best part yet Mason," you mutter, moaning at the sight of his release in Fangs' hand. 

Fangs finishes getting undressed and flings his underwear at your face.

“Always a great look for you babe,” he grins. 

You laugh and toss them to the floor telling Kevin to get back on the bed while you grab the condoms and lube.

Fangs takes Moose in his mouth and bobs his head to get him hard again.

You come back and toss the condoms on the bed, shaking the lube. “Who wants to fuck me first?”

Kevin voices interest as long as Fangs is okay with it.

“Sure Kevin. But I get to prep his pretty ass.”

Fangs comes over to you and bends you over, wasting no time letting his tongue find your hole.

You’re moaning as his tongue swipes over your hole and Kevin puts your cock in his mouth. 

Once you're thoroughly worked up Kevin puts a condom on and gets behind you, easing his cock inside.

“Fuck Kevin!” His thick cock stretches you wide open. 

Kevin bottoms out and stays there, “Damn Y/N... your ass feels amazing.”

He makes a steady rhythm and Fangs starts prepping Moose.

You’re moaning with each thrust, “Oh fuck Kev.” 

Looking over you see Fangs lay on the bed and Moose sit on his face.

“Enjoy him Moose," you tell him. 

Moose quickly learns how expertly Fangs can use his tongue and reaches down to stroke Fangs' cock as he's bouncing on his face.

“Fuck Kevin... look at our boys. They’re working well together... now pound me.”

Kevin eventually makes you cum, Moose cumming for the second time. 

When Kevin pulls out of you Fangs grabs a condom and has Kevin laying on his back as he fucks him. 

You and Moose cuddle and come down from your highs while watching Fangs fucks Kevin.

“You should ride him Kev,” Moose says.

Kevin rides Fangs until he cums and after he does you jerk Fangs off until he cums too.

You put your mouth on him at the last minute and swallow just like he likes. 

You throw the condoms away, doing a quick clean up before all of you fall onto the bed.

“That was fun right?” You ask already knowing the answer. 

[aetherschreiber]

The Cycle of Fandom

I am an early Millennial.  As a 1982 baby, I literally came of age in the year 2000.  A lot of hay has been made about how my generation does things differently from our parents.  And by now, plenty of it has been made about why, as well.  I won’t rehash the talking points, but it comes down to how much things changed in our formative years.  Our parents went from vinyl to 8-tracks.  We went from cassette tapes to CDs to MP3 players to streaming over our phones.  That’s a lot to have to adapt to and as a result adapting is just what we do.

But when it comes to fandom, the human condition really hasn’t changed that much.  People like things and when they like things they obsess, collect, analyze, and sadly they eventually eventually gate-keep.

Now, let me preface all of this by saying that I don’t really have any citations for any of this.  But, as someone who was thoroughly raised in fandom, I also have a tendency to get hooked on things a lot of my generation would scoff at for being old.  I love the original Lost in Space and Man from UNCLE, the very first Mobile Suit Gundam is my favorite, I’m fascinated by the puppetry in Thunderbirds, and I’m a complete sucker for just about anything with Cary Grant.  I will binge-watch classic Doctor Who as much as I will the new stuff and love every moment of each for what it is.

For most Millennials, this isn’t the case, for whatever reason.  It’s neither a good thing nor a bad thing.  It just is.  Most folks in my generation have heavy nostalgia for the 80s at the oldest and just don’t really concern themselves with very much from before that.  It’s not that they don’t have an appreciation, but they don’t have the resulting fangirl crush I have on David McCallum that I will commiserate with my mother about (Illya Kuryakin is an adorable badass and I will die on that hill).

I like to think that this has given me a bit of a unique view on fandom, in general.  I participate in some older fandoms, where things move a bit more slowly and where the average age is usually at least one generation removed from me and therefore a bit wiser in a lot of ways.  They’ve just sort of... already covered this ground, so to speak.

The difference is the pace at which they did it.  But the cycle is the same.

It’s never anything that starts maliciously.  No fan I know of has ever set out to point-blank keep someone else from liking the thing.  Rather it starts with a sense of seniority.  “You like this thing, now, too?  Great!  I was there for the beginning and let me tell you, back then...”  It’s always like a fandom big sibling who wants to show their younger counterpart the ropes; get them proper caught-up and versed in the lore so that they can better participate.

I love fandom when it’s at this stage and it’s the type of fan I strive to be at all times.  I don’t like setting conditions for fandom.  I think it’s partly because I am such a late-comer to so many.  The idea of being a fan of something that was made 30 years or more before you were born is a hell of a thing, but I’ve never let that stop me.  And for the most part, these fandoms that are much older than I am have reached the point where they are welcoming and just sort of stuck in the big sibling stage.  Sure, you have the occasional troll, the guy that scoffs that I can’t understand because I wasn’t there at the very beginning.  But they’re usually slapped to the ground pretty quickly by everyone else.

There is the occasional exception, of course.  But one of the things those such fandoms have in common is that there is still new content being made for it.  Doctor Who is a prime example, as is Star Trek, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings (yes, I do count the upcoming Amazon series and other non-book content as new content, deal with it).  There’s something about new content being made for a fandom that causes an odd anxiety that thing that the fandom loves is going to be somehow ruined.

I’m going to use Doctor Who as an example for a lot of this.  The show turned 56 years old this last November.  56 years!  And the fact that it had a couple of decade-long breaks in there, which were themselves only separated by a single two-hour movie, only serve to highlight the changes it went through.

My second-oldest memory is of Doctor Who.  I remember the regeneration from Tom Baker to Peter Davison.  Now, Whovian historians, before you freak out because that change-over happened in 1981, before I was even born, remember that back then the US got episodes around two and three years later than the BBC, in syndication on public television channels.  So for me, that change happened when I was two.  I remember there being some Big Thing (tm) that my dad was anticipating.  I remember the burgundy and red outfit that Tom Baker was wearing while laying stricken on the ground, surrounded by his companions.  And I remember him suddenly turning into a blond and sitting up, wide-eyed and mystified.  I didn’t understand any of it at the time, of course.  And so I also remember turning to my dad, who was watching with excitement, while the credits were rolling and asking why the man turned into another man.  Oddly, that’s where the memory ends.  I don’t remember the response.  In fact, it’s only having since seen that episode as an adult that I have been able to identify it for what it was.

After that, I don’t have much in the way of Doctor Who related memories until the Paul McGann movie in 1996.  I was 14 and not well-steeped in Whovian lore at the time and I thought it was great.  My dad was more luke-warm to it because it just wasn’t the same as what he grew up with.  It was a sentiment shared by many, unfortunately, which meant that Paul McGann’s wonderful take on the Doctor was relegated purely to audio adventures until the 50th anniversary in 2013.  Sadly, in the early days of the internet, those of us who liked it weren’t quite able to find each other yet.  In the days of Usenet and mailing lists, it was still only the most hardcore fans of a thing who got together to geek out.  Meaning that most of the conversation was “oh, that’s all wrong.”  Lurking in those conversations, I saw pretty much every tremulous young person who dared to say that they liked it get slapped to the ground and told they weren’t a fan of “the real thing.”

Gate-keeping.  It’s nothing new.  And in 1996 Doctor Who fandom ran smack into its pad-locked closed barrier.  Around that same time other old but still active fandoms were starting to manifest the same thing on the internet.  It was when Trekkies suddenly separated into Trekkies (who had seen the original as it aired) and Trekkers (who came long later), for reasons I have never understood.

No, that’s not true.  I understand it.  Us humans tend to get possessive about our stories.  We have a sort of emotional ownership to them, even if not a legal one.  And when you feel an ownership of something, there is an instinct to protect it, keep it pure.  And to do that, it’s natural to try to set oneself up as an authority on the subject.

It took another decade for Doctor Who to come off the shelf again, in 2005.  I was 24 by then, the age that marketers tend to target.  A friend got his hands on a digi-copy of Christopher Eccleston’s first episode, “Rose,” that had been leaked to the internet in its entirety about a week before it actually aired.  We watched it before our D&D group met and I was instantly hooked.  And the friend that was responsible for the new addiction was only too happy to have new fandom friends.

The pendulum had swung.  Gate-keeping was out and welcoming people to the fandom was the MO.  Of course, there were and still are to this day old school Whovians who deny that anything past Sylvester McCoy exists, calling the 1996 movie and the current series a different show entirely.  There will always be those people.  But for the most part, Whovians welcomed new fans with open arms throughout all of Eccleston’s and David Tennant’s runs.

Now, that one cycle, from welcoming to gate-keeping, and back to welcoming, took 42 years.  Most things don’t last anywhere close to that long.  A show might be on for five years or a movie and its sequels be around for ten and after that, for the most part, it’s done.  And in the pre-internet age of fandom, the pendulum swung slowly enough never to hit a repeat in the cycle.

The internet has sped up everything about fandom.  The airing of just about any show in any country might as well be a world-wide premiere these days because it all just travels that quickly.  It has to if it wants to maintain any sort of surprise in its story lines, otherwise internet chatter will spoil it.  These days, things move so fast that even the few hours between an episode of Doctor Who airing in the UK and in the US is enough that one can be subjected to spoilers.  And the swing of the fandom pendulum has sped up accordingly.

For Doctor Who, it started swinging back again when David Tennant left the show and Matt Smith took over.  Tennant’s Doctor had a lot of fans who desperately didn’t want “their Doctor” to leave, many of whom took to the internet, swearing off the show.  They said it would never be as good because David Tennant was just the best Doctor ever.  By then, there were a number of us Millennial Whovians who had dug into the lore and were comfortable with the concept of regeneration as a part of it.  After all, it had already happened nine times.  And there was a bit of a tendency to call those people who swore off Matt Smith’s episodes as being fans not of Doctor Who but of David Tennant.  Meanwhile, of course, old school Whovians were patting us all on the head going “aren’t you cute.  Now you understand why Tom Baker leaving was such a thing.”

And so, the pendulum started to swing back.  You started having people call other people “not really fans of Doctor Who.”  That only got worse when Peter Capaldi took over and there was a significant portion of the fandom upset that the Doctor was now an older guy instead of the 30-something Doctors we had grown accustomed to.

Gate-keeping reared its ugly head for most of Capaldi’s run and, sadly, I think that kept a lot of people from the fandom and from really appreciating the 12th Doctor.  That cycle has started to swing back with Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor, but the gate-keeping is in a stage where it is desperate to hold on to what Doctor Who was when they became fans and therefore is very toxic right now.  It’s not pretty.  But those asshats are starting to be slapped to the ground on social media thanks to a new influx of fans who are now once again more comfortable with the idea of regeneration and its possibilities.

Similar swings are happening with many other fandoms.  The Star Wars fandom is a really ugly place right now, quite frankly.  Star Trek seems to be on the welcoming end.  There are always the exceptions to every generalization, of course.  There will always be “that guy” in fandom.

This swing has always existed.  Millennials are just the first generation for whom it has swung multiple times in the life of the show.  The internet is probably the biggest contributing factor to that.  What that means is that we’re the first generation to really have the chance to see the pattern for what it is.  A few of us have even been able to extrapolate back and understand that, no, this is how it always has been, just slower.

The hopeful part of that is this; by virtue of being the first to recognize the pattern, we are the first ones with the opportunity to learn from that history.  And now we’re starting to see fandoms that actively abhor gate-keeping and just want more people to come in and play.  But those tend to be very young fandoms.

The one that comes to mind for me is Critical Role.  This is a fandom that was wholly born on the internet, as the series is streamed live on Twitch.  It’s really unlike anything that has ever had a fandom this size before.  It’s only been around for four years or so.  But the cast is on its second D&D campaign which means it’s already had the opportunity to have the elitism gate that could be closed.  But something different seems to have happened.  The very moment that people started saying “I’m a real fan because I watched the Vox Machina campaign, not just the Mighty Nein,” they were told to shut the hell up and let people like things.  A foot was stuck into the gate and wrenched it back open before it could close.  And you know what?  The fandom has absolutely exploded in the last two years.  And I have yet to run into a single instance of someone gate-keeping for it that didn’t get an overwhelming and harsh rebuttal from the folks who welcome people to the fandom.

Sadly, the Critical Role fandom is distinct from the Dungeons & Dragons fandom on this point.  But therein lies the difference.  D&D is over 45 years old, ten times and more the age of Critical Role.  And the “satanic panic” over it in the 80s made a lot of D&D players very protective of the hobby, only amplifying that.  The age of your average Critter is only mid-to-late 20s or so.  At 37, I’m a little bit of an outlier, I have found.  The Critter fandom is big on TikTok which I... don’t grock, frankly, because I’m turning into an old fart.  But I’ve never, ever, been made to feel unwelcome because of that difference.  It’s been a refreshing experience, frankly.

In contrast, I really feel like I’m only now starting to be considered a “true Whovian” by the old school Whovians.  It took me 15 years and required me getting hooked on the classic stuff (which I was all too happy to do).  People who have never seen any of the classic stuff and don’t care to are often still looked down upon.  That needs to change.

The Critical Role fandom is still young and all of this may prove to be overly-optimistic in the end.  But I think it has the opportunity to be the first big fandom not to go through the gate-keeping cycle.  I sincerely hope we can hold on to that.  The cast and crew are a big part of that, with how they always hammer on the idea of inclusivity and engage so directly with the fandom.  “Don’t forget to love each other” is Matt Mercer’s sign-off at the end of every episode and serves as a constant reminder.  And if more casts and crews of more fandoms do that sort of engaging in the future, it will help break the cycle of fandom gate-keeping all the more thoroughly.  This is a fact that production companies are starting to awaken to as Millennials, comfortable with social media, age into positions of authority.

So, welcome people in, gate-keep, almost cause the whole thing to collapse, repeat.  That’s the cycle that fandom has engaged in for three generations and more.  But I think we’re on the cusp of breaking that cycle, for the most part.  The idea that you can be a fan of something without knowing absolutely everything about it has been gaining very visible traction in the last five years or so and it is wonderful to see.

Now, please, people.  Don’t prove me wrong.

[per-ineptia-ad-astra]

@trek-tracks

I'd read your rant! Also, you should see Beyond. I haven't seen ID, but I'm confident Beyond is WAY better than ST:2009 and, from what I've heard about ID (that it is a garbage fire), Beyond is not the one of the three to not see.

Yeah, I have heard that about Beyond, and I keep meaning to watch it. I’m not like actively avoiding it, it just sort of...hasn’t happened. I have a To Watch list about five miles long at this point that I just keep foregoing in favor of watching gaming videos on YouTube. It’s a sad life.

But here’s the rant (feel free to skip if you didn’t follow this blog to hear me complain about AOS):

My strong impression from the first two movies was that the writers misunderstood--or just, for whatever reason, chose to discard-- the dynamic that Kirk, Spock and Bones actually had in TOS.

In TOS there’s a very deliberate balance wherein Spock and Bones are on opposite ends of a spectrum of logic vs emotion/ lawful vs chaotic, and Kirk sits in the middle of that spectrum, getting the input from both ends and then turning that into balanced decision-making. (I know it’s deliberate because of that whole “I took one man and wrote him as three people” quote from Roddenberry.) It’s a great setup when it’s being used correctly because it gives you a built-in method of examining any situation that comes up in the show from multiple angles without sacrificing the drive of any of the characters.

Trying to write one single character covering the same total perspective as Spock, McCoy and Kirk can create combined would necessarily result in either a character who appears to be wildly indecisive at best and lacking in any consistent characterization at worst, or in paring down the range of that perspective to avoid the first thing happening. This is all especially important in a show with the set-up of Star Trek, where not only do you not have much time to deliberate because everything has to be solved in under 60 minutes and no we will NOT be revisiting any of it later, but your lead character is in a position of formal command, meaning you have very little room to allow him to be hesitant or indecisive in his decisions before he starts to look like he shouldn’t be in that job. Indeed, it’s made explicitly clear multiple times that any sign of hesitation on Kirk’s part will be taken by not just him but most of the crew and Starfleet as a sign that he’s losing ability to command. Because Spock and McCoy have different roles not just as characters but as crewmembers, they can give full attention to their respective angles in a way that Kirk alone could not without it looking like he was dithering, with the bonus that you can write it all as a natural (and entertaining) conversation rather than it coming off as forced exposition. You don’t need to have those kinds of discussions all the time--there are plenty of times when one or more of the trio is absent and things tick along just fine--but there are also times, IMO, when someone being missing or just poorly written makes things falter quite obviously, Where No Man Has Gone Before being the biggest example that comes to mind.

But instead of having Kirk be in the middle of this spectrum I may have just sort of made up, the AOS movies seem to take the tack of having Spock be at one end and Kirk at the other end. They’re portrayed as being complete opposites to such an extent that they’re at odds practically the minute they meet, and spend the entire first movie at each other’s throats because AOS!Kirk’s brash, reckless, emotion-driven, rules-ignoring personality clashes incompatibly with Spock being deliberate, logical, and law-abiding to the letter. There’s absolutely no indication in TOS that Kirk and Spock ever had that kind of relationship or that they had to get over any sense of rivalry before they became friends. Granted, TOS had such a lackadaisical approach to backstory that we don’t really know anything about how they did become friends, but we are told on more than one occasion (which, for TOS, is practically hammering the point in) that Kirk was himself was so serious and focused as a student (”positively grim”) that he attracted bullying for it. In other words, for as little solid backstory as we get, one thing TOS is clear on is that Kirk did not have an arc of being reckless and wild and having to learn some patience and sense--if anything he seems to have had an arc in the complete opposite direction, although not so much that he isn’t still a total workaholic.

So that of course very much impacts Kirk and Spock’s characterizations and dynamic, but it also impacts McCoy, because by sticking Kirk in McCoy’s usual role, McCoy himself is now left with very little to do but make snarky comments and stick hyposprays in people from time to time (which he does very well, but, still). Which is sort of both cause and effect, because the fact that the writers put Kirk in that position to begin with indicates to me that they didn’t understand and/or didn’t value the importance of McCoy, specifically, being in that spot in the first place. But it is important that McCoy is in that spot because I love him and he deserves it because McCoy as a character is in a much more natural position to serve that role than Kirk is.

This may seem like a tangent, but stick with me here: McCoy inherently has a different perspective towards Starfleet than Kirk. Than everyone in the main cast, really, but especially Kirk. Kirk’s character, his perspective, his role in life, his arc, his backstory, all are closely tied to his being in Starfleet. Kirk’s position in relation to Starfleet is so important that it’s part of if not the entirety of practically every bit of story or backstory he has. When we hear about Kirk’s history, we mostly hear about it in terms of where he was in Starfleet at the time: at the Academy, serving his first assignment as an ensign, being a lieutenant on the Farragut, etc. Kirk’s career is very much on his mind all the time and threats to it are the subject of conflict multiple times, not because he cares about climbing in rank for rank’s sake but because he needs that career, and that good relationship with Starfleet, to do the thing he is most meant to do in life: be a starship captain. It’s not a position he could have outside of Starfleet--maybe he could go command an independent ship of some kind, but it wouldn’t be the same thing, not really. Kirk’s not meant to be doing supply runs or carrying passengers or what have you; he wants to explore, he wants to be out there checking out the weirdest shit the universe has to offer, he wants to be doing something important. This is why it’s such a big deal that Kirk is willing to sacrifice his career to save Spock in the movies, because that career is his life.

Yes, Kirk doesn’t always agree with Starfleet, and he’s willing to break their rules if he really has to. But Kirk could never exist in the position he is in TOS, and he certainly couldn’t maintain that position, if he couldn’t agree with Starfleet on most things, and conduct himself in a way that they in turn found agreeable. You don’t get to be the captain of one of the most important ships in the fleet by fucking around. And he didn’t. He worked his ass off to get there! TOS Kirk might be a bit young to be a captain but not so much so that he didn’t have to climb up the ranks the old-fashioned way to get there. Meanwhile AOS had to have Kirk sneak onto a ship he wasn’t supposed to be on and then get rid of practically everyone else on said ship, right up to provoking the acting captain into a fistfight, to get Kirk into a position where it would be remotely plausible for him to be in command of the Enterprise. In AOS Kirk is characterized as being so at odds with Starfleet and the Starfleet way of doing things that it takes some very extreme circumstances to get him in a position to command the ship because there’s no way Starfleet would have actually chosen for him to do that.

The reason I’m putting all this emphasis on Starfleet is that in TOS, when it comes to questions of Following The Rules vs Doing What’s Right, Starfleet is the rules. If it’s a matter of Lawful vs Chaotic, Starfleet is going to be the law. Any time the characters are in a situation where they have to ask “Is it the right thing to do what the rules say we should be doing here? Could the rules be wrong?” the rules they’re debating are almost always going to be Starfleet rules. (When it comes to following non-Starfleet rules it’s usually not so much a moral matter as “okay following the rules might be the only way we’ll get this done but we’re not going to act like we like or agree with those rules.”)

So when it comes to putting a character in the position of being the one who’s emotional rather than logical, who’s the voice of Hang The Rules, I’m Doing The Right Thing, who’s there to say things that need to be said but aren’t really appropriate to just say in the societal rules we’re working under here--Kirk can do that to some degree, but it really doesn’t make sense for him to be the one on the far end of that spectrum. To have been in the Starfleet environment as long as he has, and to have been as successful in that environment as he has, he has to be someone who can thrive in that environment, who finds it more acceptable to work with than not, or at least can do a good job faking it.

But McCoy? McCoy’s coming at it from a completely different angle. McCoy didn’t join Starfleet out of any kind of lifelong pursuit, he basically did it on impulse because fuck it, he had nothing better to do with his life at the time. Being in Starfleet informs McCoy’s characterization far less than everyone else’s in the show; mostly it just informs his current physical location. His identity isn’t really wrapped up in being Starfleet personnel. His identity is wrapped up in being a doctor. He was a doctor long before he was Starfleet, and when being in Starfleet stops being a viable option he goes to be a doctor somewhere else (and to make regrettable fashion choices but that’s another topic entirely).

There’s a lot of little ways that McCoy shows that he doesn’t care a whole lot about the Starfleet way of doing things. He’s casually insubordinate to people who seriously outrank him. He inserts himself into situations and discussions that aren’t what his actual job calls for--there’s no real reason why the CMO would need to hang out on the bridge all the time but there he is. He complains about the dress uniforms. He usually forgoes referring to other crewmembers by their ranks if he can get away with using their first name instead. He doesn’t even sit right.

[ID: 1. McCoy sitting on the edge of Spock’s console on the bridge, 2. McCoy sitting on the edge of the briefing table with a cup of coffee, 3. McCoy sitting sideways in a shuttle chair while talking to Spock.]

And he has very little interest in his own rank, or in commanding anyone, or in generally behaving as if he’s a member of a military organization, something reflected in the fact that he in turn hardly ever gets referred to by his actual rank. McCoy is okay with ordering people around as a doctor--he’ll pull rank to get someone in for a physical, or make them sit down and rest when they’re injured, Jim, and since he has to he’ll run the rest of the medical department, whatever there is of it. But I think he sees that first and foremost as being a doctor, who just happens to have a few extra tools at his disposal to make his patients behave so hey, might as well use ‘em. But on the one occasion* when he’s called upon to actually act as a ranking officer in a completely non-doctoring-related matter, he gets so flustered about the whole thing that he has to ask the person he’s supposed to be ordering if he did it right. He’s not really interested in being in charge of anyone in any formal sense.

*The one occasion in the main show, at least, which doesn’t take into account Diane Duane’s extremely excellent novel Doctor’s Orders, in which McCoy winds up in charge of the Enterprise because Shenanigans, and spends the rest of the book having a massive extended anxiety attack about it. It’s so great.

So McCoy doesn’t look at things tactically in the same way that Kirk does. He doesn’t have to. It’s not his job. Not to say that McCoy never has to make any hard decisions, but as a character he functions much better than Kirk as the one who’s looking at the emotional aspect of things because most of the time, McCoy’s not the one who has to turn The Right Thing To Do into standing orders for 430 people that can actually be practically acted upon. He tends to have a more immediate, short-range focus, contrasting the way Spock tends to look at the biggest picture and Kirk, again, lands somewhere in the middle. McCoy thinks about individual people first and foremost. If the Enterprise is about to get into a skirmish with a Klingon ship, Kirk has to be thinking about what the outcome of that battle will mean for Federation-Klingon relations, about what he can do now that might save more lives down the road even if it puts some in danger right now, but McCoy will be thinking about the people who are about to be hurt, maybe killed, right now. Which is a great perspective for a doctor to have, and an important perspective for a captain to keep in mind, but it could never be the only perspective for a captain.

McCoy’s viewpoint is a very important one in the Watsonian sense that it’s useful for Kirk and in the Doylist sense that it contributes to the specific tone that TOS wanted to achieve. But it’s a viewpoint that has to be balanced for it to be effective both practically speaking and in story-telling terms. AOS missed that balance; by putting all their emphasis on Kirk and Spock being opposites they made McCoy more or less redundant. Which is a crying shame, because it’s an unforgivable waste of Karl Urban’s goddamn amazing performance. The thought of what he could have done if he’d had something more to work with is heartbreaking to me.

But McCoy goes unappreciated far too often in general. You know I once went looking for a TOS McCoy Funko Pop and they didn’t have one? They had a generic Andorian but they didn’t have McCoy. It’s an outrage! I had to make my own out of a Munny.

[denerims-archive]

you already know im asking for mcfarrow 🧐

For the absolute angel @queennymeria too! 🧡🧡🧡

How did they they meet?They met the day before the Enterprise launched on its five year voyage! Joy was assigned to the Enterprise for her residency and McCoy is her attending. It’s a bit chaotic when they meet because everyone’s running around getting everything ready but Joy manages to tell him she read his whole thesis on deep space disorders. Who developed romantic feelings first?McCoy!! Who is their biggest “shipper?” Kirk absolutely. He just wants his best friend to be happy and McCoy is the happiest when Joy is around. He officiates their wedding!When did they have their first kiss and under what circumstances?When they’re on shore leave around Kirk’s birthday after Beyond! The crew goes out to a bar and the flirting is absolute too much and they’re both alive and Joy finally kisses him.Who confessed their feelings first?Joy! McCoy knows how weird she gets about commitment so he takes it at her pace. It takes McCoy almost dying to get her to say it but ya know.What was their first official date?They have lots of little mini dates like having dinner together around the Enterprise but their first official movie and dinner date is the next time they have shore leave after Joy confesses her feelings! It’s very sweet and they act a little goofy until they remember they’ve been sleeping together the past several months.How do they feel about double dates/group dates?Joy loves them and drags McCoy on SO many. She claims they need more friends that are couples. When Jim and Spock start dating (don’t look at me) they go on a lot together which is unfortunate because it’s just Joy and Kirk chatting while McCoy and Spock stare at each other.What do they do in their down time?Read! Play cards (Joy is quite the card shark)! They get very invested in watching old movies for awhile. They love cooking together too.What was the first meeting of parents as an official couple like?Joy meeting McCoy’s mom was very pleasant and sweet! The ship happened to be back on Earth around Easter so Joy and Leonard visited his mom in Georgia to have a little dinner. Meanwhile, Christmas with Joy’s family was VERY chaotic.What was their first fight over and how did they get past it?Joy not being open about her feelings lmao. Bones is patient but at one point he gets a little fed up with her sometimes acting like he’s just a booty call.Which one is more easily made jealous?BONES. It’s so easy. Joy does it on purpose honestly just to rile him up.What is their favourite thing to get to eat?They have a fav italian restaurant in San Fran just a few blocks from Bones’ apartment and they always have take out!Who’s the cuddly one? What their favourite cuddling position?They’re BOTH so cuddly. Usually spooning or with Joy’s head on his chest.Are they hand holders?ABSOLUTELY.How long do they wait before sleeping together for the first time? What’s the circumstances?….they knew each other for ~3 years? But the first kiss leads to their first time so they didn’t wait that long!Who tops?Bones….most of the time. (Let the man get pegged!)What’s the worst fight they’ve ever gotten into?OOF. When Joy is pregnant with their second child Bones mentions that they should settle down/retire sort of and Joy gets pissed off about it and they end up in like a weeks long argument.Who does the shopping and the cooking?Joy does the shopping and Bones does the cooking!Which one is more organized and prone to tidiness?Joy! Bones is a little more haphazard with his organization.Who proposes?Bones! It’s very sweet and romantic.Do they have joined Bachelor/Bachelorette parties or separate?Separate! Bones makes Jim take him to a nice steakhouse and Joy has a bachelorette party back at their apartment where they all get drunk on white wine and play board games.Who is the best man/maid of honour? Any other groomsmen or bridesmaids?Kirk is obviously best man. Joy’s maid of honor is her sister Holly. I imagine McCoy extends an invitation to Joy’s brothers to be groomsmen along with Spock! Depending on whether or not she’s around in the Kelvin timeline, Joy also invites Joanna to be one of her bridesmaids.Big Ceremony or Small?McCoy says he wants it small. Joy reminds him of her gigantic ass family. Needless to say it becomes huge. A ton of their crewmates are invited too.Do they have a honeymoon? If so, where?  Yes! Probably on some nice tropical planet where they can forget about everything for a week or so!Do they have children? How many?I always peg them as having at least three or four. They both want a big family. So far they have Millie!

[wheremytwinwatches]

[Where My Twin Watches]: Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 24

Last time: Lan Fan gave Bradley a hand, May finally showed up again but at the worst time possible, and Gluttony did some home redecorating. Onwards!

Looks like Envy’s having a snack. Or dropping food off? Oh! Doctor Marcoh, you’re alive! Ergh, but he’s a sacrifice candidate, being kept prisoner by the Goths in case their Protagonist prospects don’t work out. Aha! Called it! Way back when Hughes was investigating, he was hunched over a map with circles, I said that the Goths were going to make a giant TC like Mr. Freeze did in the first episode. Only this won’t be limited to just one city, but the entire country. Wait, what? “So close, not quite. But you’re on the right track.” If that’s not their plan, then what is? Envy you jerk, threatening Marcoh’s village if he doesn’t cooperate with them. Although it’s kinda a lose-lose scenario for the Doc: Refuse to aid the Goths and his village is destroyed, help the Goths and the entire country including the village gets the ax. Envy taunts Marcoh for not doing the “logical” thing, saying humans put emotions before common sense, like- [Envy]: “I killed a man who was like that once. All I had to do was make myself look like his wife, and he was helpless. He couldn’t even fight me.” Yeah you can just shut up right now. Episode 24 - “Inside the Belly” In Central Bradley’s taking a nighttime stroll when wait what’s this? [Pride]: “The humans seem to be giving you quite a bit of trouble lately, don’t they… Wrath. Hm?” Hello, we’ve got a new Goth? The last of the Seven Deadly Sins, in fact! Sounds like a kid. Pride seems curious that Wrath is in a good mood, the Fuhrer is actually sounding kinda wistful, saying that as powerful as he is and how things have gone according to Father’s plan the Protagonists still have them “scrambling in circles.” I’m getting some Worthy Opponent vibes from Bradley here, he actually talks about moving over for the younger generation. Huh! But Pride chides him for his foolishness, that Father could see such comments as treason. Setting aside this new Goth for now, we’re back at the country house where Riza’s looking in shock at Gluttony’s new doorway. Yikes ok, Gluttony’s gotten a bit of a power transformation, you may wanna step back and let the Alchemists deal with this one Lieutenant. Ling grabs Lan Fan while Mustang musters the others to attack; despite the effort it took to catch Gluttony he’s free now and knows their identities, they can’t let him escape. Mustang casts Fire!... and Gluttony just swallows it and burps. Uh oh.

[Ed]: “Hey, that worked well!” [Roy]: “Think you can do better? Be my guest!” Into the forest, split up! Gluttony’s still after Mustang, but Riza’s caught up and is distracting it with headshots. Oof, but Roy’s injuries from Lust are acting up, good guys don’t get healing like the Goths do. Goths r OP, plz nerf. Doc (the military one, not Marcoh) is going to drive the Xinglings out of there, but there’s a red-eyed dog watching? A Goth chimera? Uh, Roy? Roy, Gluttony is right behind you, you may wanna move Roy you need to move now Oh! Phew, Roy sacrificed his coat for a decoy, the gang’s all at the car now. The Elrics toss “the invalid” in, saying that he’d just get in the way with his current injuries. Besides, there’s that whole “Our Supreme Leader is a Goth” thing, Roy might want to get on that. The Elrics and Ling are staying behind to get what they can out of Gluttony. Riza holds out one of her pistols for Ed, Al says oh for- seriously?! Not getting into the Gun Debate here, but regardless of killing people/protecting your lives we’ve seen what guns can do to Goths (jack all), better to just use Alchemy… ah. Ok, I get it now. [Flashback!Ed to Winry]: “It’s your hands… They weren’t meant to kill.” This is more than just taking a weapon, it’s taking the responsibility. Second Rule of Firearms, after all; “Never point a gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.” As powerful an Alchemist as Edward is, he’s never done anything more than injure enemies and scare them off, I don’t think he’s even ended another life. But that may not be an option with Gluttony. Edward Elric takes the gun. Ling tells Riza to look after Lan Fan, and the three run into the forest. Back to Gluttony and his Eraser Gun, no way our heroes are going to be able to face him head-on. So what’s the plan? Apparently step one is to cower behind some trees sweating nervously and having second thoughts. [Ling, master of the understatement]: “He seems to be a bit angry.” Rustling in the bushes? Ominous music?

Wait, what?!

Aw crap, it’s Envy. Ed is immediately on the offensive after yet another “pipsqueak” comment, Envy… doesn’t want to fight? Just here to get Gluttony back? Ah right, they’re still holding out on Roy or the Elrics being their Sacrifice, Envy’s gotta get Gluttony back under control before he harms potential resources. And with two Goths now, I’m thinking they might just have to let them go. At least Ling’s been able to identify Envy as another Goth with his Homunculus-Sense, he can- run away as fast as he can, since he doesn’t have the same Potential Sacrifice protection that the Elrics have. But hey, the Goths aren’t allowed to hurt the Elrics, which they take full advantage of to separate the two. Ling v Envy and Elrics v Gluttony, go! Aw, cute family time at the Fuhrer’s, he’s having dinner with his wife and (adopted) son. We keep cutting between them and the Goth fights, and dammit I keep waffling on Bradley. Despite what this kid thinks, he is not a good man, he has killed Leto-knows how many people for whatever this plan of Father’s is, including poor Martel. But out of all the Goths, he seems to be the most human. Back to the fight, crud Ling’s been caught by Envy’s transformation abilities no wait nevermind he just kicked Envy’s ass. Respect to the Xing Prince! Meanwhile on the Elric’s side all Gluttony can do is dodge and whine about how he can’t eat them. Until they get tossed into the wall uh oh Ling you may wanna run. Ok no you’ve still got time Envy’s on the ground finish them- Wow. Envy, you’re a jerk. Taking Lan Fan’s form to make him hesitate? Rude. And aw crap Gluttony’s here Ling’s not looking- WHAT NO WHAT THE FUCK Ok so Gluttony prepared his Eraser Gun for Ling but Ed jumped in to grab him which freaked Envy out so he reached out to grab Ed but then Gluttony attacked and the beam erased Al’s left hand but Ling and Ed are gone and all that’s left of Envy is a dissipating lower torso. Gluttony’s gone quiet, saying that he swallowed them and can’t let them out. What. Um. Are we looking at a Kamina situation here? Is this what’s happening? We’re back in town now, Lan Fan’s set up at the Doc’s house (and is having to deal with the whole arm-loss thing now), Roy and Riza are heading back to Command despite Doc going full McCoy on them. But Roy’s not about to sit back and do nothing after leaving children behind to fight. Seems the first step is for Roy to meet up with the local General (Raven), who has a reputation as a General who takes care of his troops. They get to chatting and take a walk, Roy tests the waters by saying there’s a street rumor that the Fuhrer is a Homunculus. Raven just laughs at Roy’s poor sense of humor, drags him along to tea with- uh oh. Aw, crap. Crap crap crap! Roy just got put in front of what I gather to be the top dogs of the military, and General Raven prodded him to tell them his “little joke” while looking pointedly at the poor Colonel. What the Leto dude, I actually liked you! Ok, so- [THIS FUCKER]: “What, Colonel Mustang? Cat got your tongue?” SHIT. “Let’s suppose for a moment that I was actually a Homunculus as you say. Well now… would that be so bad?” Yyyyyeah… this ain't good. [Roy, in a bad spot]: “Well, Fullmetal, it looks like we’ve landed ourselves in the pit of hell.” [Ed, in another bad spot]: “Where in the hell am I?!”

[lokilenchen]

Transporter malfunction, what else?

Summery: After a week long medical conference Jim just wants his Bones back. When it is finally time for the beam back, Jim does not get his Leonard back but six counterparts of his Leonard, all of which are pregnant.

Pairing: Mckirk

Words: 1799

Warnings: mpreg, pregnancy

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Jim is waiting in the transporter room for his husband to return form a medical conference on earth. “Ready for beam up, Scotty,” he hears his Bones say through the communicator.

Jim watches as Scotty locks on Bones’ position and activates the transporter. He is happy to get his husband back after the week long conference. When the light beam appears on the transporter pad he can’t hold back the simile spreading over his whole face.

But suddenly, for no apparent reason the one light beam disappears and six others appear instead. Jim’s simile dimms immediately. On the transporter pads are standing three men and three women, all brown hair, hazel-green eyes and a frown present on their face. Everyone of them is clearly a alternate version of Leonard McCoy.

“Scotty what the hell has happened?” Jim asks.

“Captain it looks like a transporter malfunction,” Scotty answers.

A groan leaves Jim, this is just typical. One of the Leonards clears their throat and brings the attention back to them. Only then Jim notices that every single one of them is in a different stage of pregnancy.

It is all too much for Jim, not only is his Bones somewhere in a alternate universe, but also there are now six other pregnant Leonards on his ship, it’s so overwhelming that he faints right on the spot.

“Dammit Jim,” exclaims every single version of Leonard, as they rush down the transporter pad to the unconscious Jim, while Scotty just stans there stunned, not knowing what he supposed do, so he just watches.

Jim wakes up moments later to six pairs of hazel eyes staring down at him and six tricorder scanning him, so it was not just a wild dream of his. He sits up receiving a frown for the Leonards.

After a long moment of silence, he realizes that he should do something. “ Welcome to the Enterprise,” he says not knowing what else to say. The Leonards around him get up and so does he.

The Captain turns to Scotty. “Get this problem solved,” he demands, before turning his attention back to the Leonards. “If you would follow me.”

“Where the hell are we going,” one male version of Leonard asks.

“To the medbay.”

The way to the medbay never felt longer for Jim, every crew member was staring at them. And so he lets out a sigh of relief as the medbay doors close behind him. “Christine,” he calls after his husband’s head nurse.

Christine comes around a corner of the medbay looking at a pad. “How can I help…” she starts to say but stops mid sentence when she looks up and sees the different shapes of her boss standing behind the Captain.

“Christine would you do me the favour and scan them, they have been in a transporter malfunction and are obviously pregnant,” he says in a pleading tone.

The nurse just nods and brings every version of Leonard to a biobed. A few minutes later Christine comes back. “Everyone of them is in great shape and their babies are healthy,” she tells him.

That out of the way he brings them to one of the conference rooms. Each of them takes a seat.

“Now that I know that you are all healthy we can begin with the real talking,” Jim starts, “ firstly how should I call you?”

“Len.”

“Leo.”

“Lenny.”

“Leath.”

“Lea.”

“Leonora.”

“Secondly, how the hell did that happen?” Jim asks, gesturing to their bellies. As an answer he receives an eye roll from each Bones.

“Do you really want us to explain sex to you, Jim?” Leath asks in response.

“No, I understand how women get pregnant, but men.”

“Are you tryin’ to tell us your Leonard is not pregnant?” Len asks eyebrow raised.

“As far as I know he is not,” Jim answers, even though he isn’t sure anymore. He thinks back and remembers finding the bed empty in the mornings with Bones in the bathroom vomiting, but he had told Jim that it was a stomach flu going around and he belives his husband when it comes to medical stuff, but Bones hadn’t been drinking for a couple of weeks.

When he looks up again, bracking out of his thoughts, all of them are grinning back at him. And realization hits him. “Shit, I’m going to be a father.”

“So now that we’ve sorted that out could go back to the problem at hand,” Leo states.

“Yeah sure, you were here because of a transporter malfunction, Scotty is sorting things out in this moment and as soon as possible we are sending you back on your Enterprise,” Jim informs them.

~Meanwhile on another Enterprise~ When Leonard finally materializes in the transporter room he feels dizzy. Looking around he comes to the realization that this is definitely not his Enterprise and not his Jim.

The man looking back at him has dark blue eyes, not the baby blues he knows. And there is a woman standing behind the control station, who he has never seen before, instead of Scotty. “Not again,” he groans.

The Jim in question turns to the woman. “Scotty, where the hell is my Bones?”

“Sorry Captain there appears to be a transporter malfunction,” the female Scotty answers.

“Great,” Leonard thinks, “Scotty is a woman now.”

Leonard watches the expression of this Jim shift to the one Leonard knows as his command look. “Leonard I presume?” the Jim asks.

He takes a step down the transporter pad and suddenly the dizziness hits him full force, he falls, but before he fully loses consciousness strong arms catch him and thus prevents him from hitting the floor.

He wakes up to the familiarity of his sickbay, well not really his he reminds himself. The other Jim is hovering above him, the former serious expression on his face is now replaced by a grin.

Leonard sits up and is surprised by a wave of nausea. “I may throw up on you,” he mutters.

Jim holds out a bowl for him and he empties the little that is in his stomach into it.  After he is finished Jim takes away the bowl and places a cup of water in his hand. He drinks a few slips and sets the cup down on the bedside table.

This Jim’s eyes follow him in interest. “How far along are you?” Jim asks.

“How do you know that…” Leonard starts but when he looks up he sees the pride in Jim’s eyes. “Six weeks.”

“My Bones is 30 weeks along, we are expecting a boy. The pregnancy has been hard on him, he had morning sickness, dizziness and the craziest cravings, but he handles it all so well. God I can’t wait to have him back,” Jim tells him with that kind of affection his Jim always gets when he talks about something he loves, it makes his knees weak every time it is directed at him.

“I haven’t even told my Jim yet, I wanted to wait for the perfect time and now I’m stuck here,” Leonard says tears starting to well in his eyes.

“Hey I’m sure Scotty finds a way to get you back home soon.”

Right in this moment the comm unit in the sickbay rings. “Sickbay here,” Jim answers the comm.

“Oh good Captain I found the source of the anomaly, the academy tested a new method of beaming and it went wrong, the energy wave the released caused the malfunction and brought the other Dr. McCoy here, if we repeat the action we should be able to bring our McCoy back and our guest home. I already called the academy we are able to rebeat the event in one hour,” the female version of Scotty tells through the comm.

“Thank god,” Leonard snobs.

One hour later he stands on the transporter ready to get home to his Jim, his family.

“Thank you for everything and Jim good luck,” Leonard offers as a goodbye.

“Leonard tell my counterpart the good news as soon as possible, it was the the happiest news of my life and good luck to you too,” is the last Leonard hears before the beam of the transporter incircles him.

~Back on the other Enterprise~ They are still sitting in the conference room when the comm chimes. “Captain I found the source of the anomaly, the academy tested a new method of beaming and it went wrong, the energy wave the released caused the malfunction and brought the other Dr. McCoy here, if we repeat the action we should be able to bring our McCoy back and our guest home. I already called the academy we are able to rebeat the event in one hour,” Scotty reports.

“Thank god,” all the McCoys say simultaneously and Jim as well feels a weight lift from his heart, soon he will have his Bones back.

An hour later all the different Leonards are standing on the transporter.

“Good luck you all,” Jim tells them.

“Don’t fuck it up,” Leonora suggests.

“When did I ever did a thing like that,” Jim says trying to sound serious.

All McCoys are rolling their eyes at him and Jim is happy to tell Scotty to energize. And with that all the Leonards are gone and only one beam of light appears and his Bones is finally standing in front of him. Never in his life has Jim taken the step to the transporter pad this fast. He practically throws himself at Bones before he realizes his husband has precious cargo on board.

“Jim, I’ve to tell you somethin’,” Leonard whispers into Jim’s ear.

“I already know,” Jim says.

“How do you…oh my counterparts.”

“They gave me a little hint.”

“And you are not angry?”

“Hell, Bones why should I be angry, I’m the happiest man alive.”

“I just thought, you know we never talked about it and it wasn’t planned and…” Leonard isn’t able to finish, with Jim breaking off his rambling with a passionate kiss.

When they break the kiss Jim goes down on his knees and also kisses Leonard’s still flat belly. “Bones, you can’t imagine just how happy I am at this moment, I’m going to be a father. My god I just love you so much and this little guy as well,” Jim practically cheers giving Leonard one of his blinding smiles, the one that illuminates his whole face and lets his eyes shine bright.

Leonard pulls Jim on his feet and gives him a passionat kiss.

“Aye, I’m happy for you laddies, but no making out in my transporter room,” Scotty interrupts them.

They leave the transporter room, but could anyone blame them for not making it to their quarters, nobody said something about not making out in the storage room.