#otherwise i want her off my screen as soon as she appears

[world-of-aus]

Hot Shot

Pairing: NHL!Photographer!Reader x Hockey Player!Bucky

Warnings: Bucky being a heartthrob.

A/N: I've been reading one to many hockey romances and well here we are scratching an itch. I know I would like to eventually come out with a bigger story for these two but for now this is just the start a taste if you will. I'd like to leave this open to suggestion of what y'all would like to see or know about these two if anything.. Hope you enjoy the first taste.

You barely had a chance to unlock your screen to reply to her message before her caller ID

was taking up your screen, a recent photo of her and Steve that she had made as her contact picture pulling a smile onto your lips.

“Tasha.” you answer.

“Y/n, listen I know you were just planning on watching the game from the comfort of your living room but I mean talk about an upgrade! From a television screen to being at the actual game on the floor behind the safety of the glass getting some wicked shots, and no one captures action shots like you do - I promise I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.” she tacks on her voice pleading.

You chuckle, you know had the circumstances been different she’d be one of the first ones at the arena, she hadn’t missed one of Steve’s games yet, not since you had been signed on. “Natasha relax, you know you don’t have to pull out the stops on me, I'll go - do you want me to send you the photos?”

The redhead turned blonde breathes a heavy sigh of relief, “oh god thank you! and if you don’t mind, but take your time, I’m sure a certain bruin's player is going to be demanding your attention after the game especially if they bag a win.” she teases seemingly mentioning the man in your DM’s.

Your cheeks warm, the unread notification from the player she speaks of appearing in your mind, “please Tasha,” you deflect, “it’s the game of the season he’ll have plenty of attention with all the puck bunnies sporting his name on their jersey throwing themselves at him for an inkling of his attention.” you murmur picking at an invisible speck of lint on your sweater as you stand from the couch, intent on getting your things packed to head out.

“And yet he only seems to want yours,” she sings, “you should totally wear the jersey I got you for your birthday.”

You roll your eyes smile pulling at your lips, “is your flight really delayed, do I have to text Steve?”

Your friend laughs, “unfortunately it is and hey thank you again for this, I owe you, love you, oh and send me a picture of Steve, one of you and Bucky too!”

You shake your head as your friend rushes out her farewell your screen now gone black as you look down at it “looks like pjs are out of the question for tonight” you murmur continuing on through your apartment to grab your things Bucky’s text still sitting in your messages unanswered.

He’d have his answer soon enough.

🏒🖤

The cool of the arena’s backstage floor seeps through your jeans, your tripod sitting off to the side, your camera nestled in your hands as you wait for the first few players of the bruins to make their arrival.

Your camera goes up; the first of the team to come through the backdoors is the Bruins coach Fury, he spots you smile on his face his hand coming up in a greeting as you get your first arrival shot of the day. Slowly players begin to trickle in, most of them spot you posing for you as they stride by, others walk by with a simple wave their heads already in the game.

Speaking of head in the game center Steve Rogers makes his way in, his suit pressed, duffle thrown over his shoulder as he owns the floor. “Looking good Rogers, say you wouldn’t have Natasha tucked away in that duffle by chance?” you tease grinning behind your camera. You laugh at the grin that breaks his lips, a shake of his head as he directs his gaze at you, “can assure you Natasha wouldn’t be packed in my bag, she’d be hanging on my arm.” You coo at the bearded blonde, “you think you can say that again I didn’t have my phone out.”

The two of you laugh as you capture a few more shots, “Come on Rogers leave some love for the rest of us, you already have your face glued on billboards!”

Left defenseman Sam Wilson is striding in next million dollar smile painted on his lips like the suit he wears on his skin. “But no one has their face printed on as many shirts like you do Wilson, now give me something new to look out for will ya, want to make sure these etsy sellers get only the best!” Wilson eats your words up, feeding the fans through your film. He comes closer kneeling to your level to pull you in for a hug, “it’s good to see you hot shot, thought you weren’t coming out tonight with how Barnes was moping.”

Your heart beats like a wild drum in your chest, “Tasha’s flight got delayed, cashed in her IOU, so here I am and surely your version of Barnes moping is different from mine.”

“Oh man you should of seen him, had to smack the phone out of his hands with how often he was checking it, you’re gonna join us tonight after the win right?”

“You Bruins are so sure about that win,” you laugh.

“That’s because it’s in the bag, hot shot.” It takes everything in you not to snap your eyes to the broad shoulder right defenseman sauntering into the building. “Here comes your boy.” Sam chuckles patting your shoulder as you find said man with your camera lens. You wanted to eat him up like he was eating at your film.

Like Sam Bucky strolls till he’s standing above you, grin pulling at his pink lips as he offers you his hand. You set your camera down gently against your chest before taking his offer, warmth seeping though you at your hand wrapped in his. “Thought you weren’t gonna show.” He murmurs watching you.

“Well as enticing as staying in my pjs on my couch with a glass of wine watching the game tonight sounded IOUs are a serious thing to cash in.” you say struggling to keep his gaze, you were certain you’d turn into a puddle of goo soon.

“More enticing then upgrading your lock screen?”

You let out a groan reaching out to smack his chest, but his hand captures yours instead keeping it there a teasing smile playing at his lips. “You’re never going to let that go are you?” you question recalling the night at the bar that he discovered himself as your lock screen. To be fair it was one of your favorite shots you had captured at the beginning of the seasons. It didn’t hurt that he was your favorite Bruin player to follow on and off the ice.

“Never, though I’m hoping by the end of the night ill see a photo of me after the win.” He chuckles thumb running over your hand.

“You’d have to secure a win first Barnes.”

Your breath catches in your chest as he closes the distance between the two of you, “I’ve already won though.”

Your reply is caught on your tongue, Fury voice breaking through the haze, “Barnes you’ll have time to catch up with y/n later get your ass in the lockers now!”

Bucky let’s your hand falling, chuckle brewing in his chest as he steps back, “hope you’re not watching Wilson or Rogers to closely tonight hotshot because this wins for you, and I’m going to be the one bringing it home.”

You watch him walk away, his gaze lingering on you till he disappears through the locker room.

And God how you hoped he would.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Hey its okay to rant, the whole rant is a basic mood when it comes to the Maria Jackson slander on twitter rn, especially with the BS of acting like Maria is only good because the posters get Chrissie like??? You guys wanna villainise and hate a literal child and bring her down in favor of Rani (which is why as the two were shown to be chill with each other in Maria's cameo in Mark of the Beserker), but then stan a woman who literally cheated on her husband and left him and their child in favor of the man she cheated on said husband with??? And like I noted on my prior reblog in tags: we never hear ANYTHING about shared custody. If anything, it looks like Alan has full custody as Maria never mentions having to go to her moms cause custody reasons and Chrissie is only shown visting as you put it, when she wants something and while she's at it, trashes Alan and even Sarah Jane and Luke, her daughter's friends and acts surprised Pikachu her daughter finally blows up at her in Eye of the Gorgon about everything really. This means despite acting like she cares about her child, Chrissie clearly didn't fight for any form of custody rights, which is just...wow, just wow.

Also beyond true to what Maria did for the show and the characters around her- she not only entered the show after her parents divorce but she serves as our SJA Rose Tyler in a way: finding out about our main character and aliens and ultimately choosing to join in instead of move on and ignore it. Like, she literally ran back into the factory for Kelsie despite the risks with doing that, and rescued Luke despite the fact that she didn't have too, let alone as we see in Lost Boy, without Maria or Luke or Clyde, Sarah goes back to being cold to everyone, even admittng to seeing her as famly/a daughter in Maria's exit scene, hence why she acted like the way she did in the episode. And like, to drag all this down because sexism when treating certain female characters or because favoring the shitty mother over her child or just having too many expectations for child characters, is just pure shitty...let alone making a January 6th joke about Maria because she lives in America (seriously can't get over seeing that).

Okay I really don't get the evil Maria Jackson memes on twitter rn, because how anyone watching Maria in S1-2 of SJA and saying she's evil, even jokingly???

[hyuuukais]

-`♡´ - APARTMENT 143

pairing -> lee minho x fem reader

synopsis -> after a bad breakup, y/n needs to find a new place to live. although she's grateful for her best friend, up-and-coming model hwang hyunjin, for letting her stay at his, she can't keep living with him and his model roommates. so when an opening for somewhere nearby with cheap rent opens up, she jumps on it, despite knowing next to nothing about the 3 other tenants, only that one owns 3 cats. the three quickly learn of her breakup, determined to help get her back on her feet. but what happens when one of them begins to develop feelings?

warnings -> gen, y/n talks abt being compared to her sister, family tension, food/eating mention, lowkey survivors guilt going on

MASTERLIST | PREVIOUS | NEXT

CHAPTER FIFTEEN -> LIKE IT USED TO BE (partially written, wc: 898)

"Oh good, you're not dead yet," Han speaks a bit loudly into the phone and you move it away from your face slightly.

The bright screen has your eyes straining in the otherwise dark room, tucked under a plush comforter from your childhood. It's amazing it's still in good condition considering how old it is, but your bed squeaks under you to remind you of the age of this room full of old memories. On the night stand next to you is a framed photo of you with your family, your mom and dad standing behind you and another little girl, slightly taller than you; your sister. You lean over and put the frame face down.

"Still alive, barely," you reply with a sigh. "Why'd you assume I'm having a bad time?"

"Let me think," he puts a finger to his bottom lip in fake concentration. "'How am I supposed to last four more days'... doesn't exactly sound like someone having a good time."

"You caught me, but I swear it's nothing." A lie. "Nothing interesting." A truth; is your family drama really worth talking about? "How's the apartment?"

"Fine. We've started to try and befriend the guy down the hall, Seungmin? Maybe you've run into him?" You shake your head. "Minho seems to get along with him the best. I think it's because they both act unwelcoming to strangers."

This makes you snort. The two of you continue to talk and laugh, the cats making an appearance at one point with Minho, who gives you a short wave, and you don't realize how late it's getting until your eyes catch the time briefly; 3:08AM. Shit. How loud have you been? You freeze when you hear a door open, muting Jisung on the other end and flipping your phone over. Your door opens.

"What are you doing up so late? Don't you know what time it is?" Your sister groans. "And you're being kind of loud, mind keeping it down a bit? Who're you even talking to?"

"No one," you say too quickly, internally cringing at yourself. "Sorry. I'm going to bed soon."

"You're lucky it was me and not mom who walked in here," she says with a sort of laugh. "She would have screamed her head off and taken your phone, despite being an adult now."

You sit up. "Yeah."

"She really fucked us up a bit, huh?" She sits next to you hesitantly when you don't reply. "Maybe we'd be closer now."

"Hyo-"

"I'm sorry," she stands suddenly. "I shouldn't be saying all this. Forget this, please." Your older sister stands in the doorway, eyes pleading. "Don't mention this to anyone, okay?"

"Okay," you whisper, knowing damn well Jisung heard every word.

As you listen to her footsteps fade, you learn to breath again, flipping your phone back over and unmuting Han. When he notices you're back, he says nothing, fiddling with the string on the hoodie he wears.

"You-"

"It's okay-" You speak at the same time and laugh, breaking the newfound tension. He continues. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, but I guess this is what you meant by complicated?"

You pout, eyes beginning to sting. When you speak, your voice breaks a little. "Yeah, I mean, it's hard, you know? All my life I've been compared to Hyo by my mother and teachers and even my friends. Like, I have to be her instead of myself, and she never once stepped in to protect me from all that like a big sister is supposed to. Never heard her stand up for me when it was happening right in front of her, no moment of 'hey, let my little sister be who she wants, you already have one of me'. I feel like I can't talk to her anymore. I'm rambling, sorry."

"No, it's okay," Han reassures you.

"We used to be close when we were young," you speak into the space he's left you. "Then as we got older, we drifted. We're only a few years apart, but she always acted so much better than me once we hit a certain age. She said hurtful things to me a lot, and I'm sure I said equally awful things back." A tear falls onto your blanket and you sniff, looking up to your ceiling where a poster of a boy band is pinned to prevent more from falling. "I want my sister back, but... I think there's too much pain."

"Oh Y/nnie," Han gives you a sad look. "I wish I could hug you right now."

"I'm just saying stupid stuff now, I should sleep." You've overshared and want out of this conversation ASAP. "Goodnight Han, sleep well."

He's about to protest when you hang up, moving your phone next to the frame to charge. For a while you lay there, staring at your ceiling with a heavy weight on your chest. You've never fully talked to someone about the way your upbringing made you feel or the way it still affects you. There's still a scared little girl inside of you, shying away from hands that want to hold you, comfort you. Because what if it's all a lie? What if they all leave you, like Hwa? Or like... like him?

You glance over to the frame again, not having it in you to flip it back up.

notes -> me vs y/ns mother rn- who do we think this "him" is referring to? and what happened? will hyunjin and y/n make up?

taglist -> @chaeryred @toplinelix @channie-143 @puppyminnnie @tfshouldidohere @kangaracha @chlodavids @whitney190 @thisisnotjacinta @borahae-reads @brooklynie @gini143 @kayleigh-28 @skz-streamer @babyphotos0325 @scallywag1299 @venusmoonxnight @naomisosoup @fertiliezedtoesw @s00buwu @realrintaro @anothershorthuman @skzstaykatsy @ilovejeongin007 @btswestan @multifandomedsimp @ihrtlix @raehawthorne @euphoric-univers @hyperpixie @evermourning @satsuri3su @jazziwritesthings @minhwa @wyzminho @fic-for-readers @dreamerwasfound @imsiriuslyreal @lailac13 @palindrome969 @lixie-phoria @aalexyuuuhm @sunflowerbebe07 @st4rhwa @lukeys-giggle @jabmastersupriseee @judeduartewannabe @gaysontheprince @stepout-09-15 @splat00z

^^^ orange means i can't tag you

[limerenceheart]

self aware yan! blade and jing yuan

concept - The duo become aware that their universe is a video game.

a/n - i know that this has already been done before but i really wanted to make my own version. also i do take requests! but only for hsr.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!

Blade simply did not care considering the mara have always been a nightmare so adding a personal stalker to the mix may not be desirable but he sure wasn't going to waste his time and energy over it.

Blade even started to slightly appreciate the user considering the moments when they would give him food for recovery after his rampant.

As for Jing Yuan, the realistion would momentarily catch him off guard before he would spring into action.

The thing is the general always like to be practical so when he saw how the user actually getting rid of the mara struck monsters, he changed his mind and decided to goes along with the charade.

The only one oblivious to everything was the user where the plan was to keep it that way.

It's just the thing is you're bound to catch feelings after spending loads of time with someone, right?

The seeds of love started to sprout in their hearts but soon turned into despair upon realising that a physical barrier would keep them away from their darling.

The general just dived into his work whereas the stellaron hunter would just obliterate shit.

The user thought she was seeing things as she caught a closer look of dark eyebags belonging to Jing Yuan along with never being able to understand why Blade's health was never full when she would log in.

It must be a glitch but it happened way too often where the user stopped logging into the game.

The duo did not react well to this considering no matter what they did, her smile just wouldn't disappear from their minds.

Blade cracked first by using his blade to create a crack across the screen of the phone.

"Blade, are you stupid? Do you want her to never come back?" The general hissed at him but he just dismissed him with a solemn glare.

"At least, I am doing something rather than just moping around."

Blade's comment struck a nerve so hard that when the user picked up her phone while it being charged, she let out a yelp and dropped the device because of the searing heat.

The general was lucky that her phone was old enough where a new battery would been the problem otherwise their beloved would uninstall the app.

Time passed at a slow pace along with the duo retorted to their original coping mechanisms.

The day before Blade decided to create another crack, their darling returned and greeted checked the stellaron hunter first much to the general's dismay.

By cleaning up their act, she returned and no longer suspected things.

The thing is Blade have far less control than Jing Yuan did along with the fear of her disappearing again lingering back in his mind, his next action was influenced by these emotions.

As the user opened his profile for him to appear in the centre of the screen for her, catching a close up glitch of her beauty should been enough but the insanity won.

"If you disappear again, expect to wake up the next day with scratches on the screen spelling out your name."

The user's eyes widen in shock but Blade just found the hint of fear gleaming in her eyes enamored enough that he just shot a smirk at her.

[moderator-monnie]

Before The Ritual (A COTH Story)

Dr. Ivo Robotnik, otherwise known as Dr. Eggman, was currently sitting in his lab, infuriated as always. He threw some papers off his desk and sighed heavily.

One hand was on his chin, and the other was tapping against his table, mumbling some things to himself quietly.

"Drat that damn hedgehog... Always getting in the way of my plans, he is truly a worthy adversary, but if I want to get rid of him for good, I need the ultimate plan! What haven't I tried? What could I use? Now that is the question at the end of the day."

"Perhaps a doomsday device? Hmm, not too predictable. Maybe I could touch upon the metal virus in a new light? ... No. Not too dangerous. I made some mistakes with that attempt. I didn't even think about my own safety."

"Maybe upgrade Metal Sonic or bring Tails Doll and Mecha Knuckles out of retirement? Could I even make some robot copies of the rats' other friends? That lemur would make an interesting machine. NO NO, none of these plans work!"

He soon laid back in his chair, rubbing his temples. He didn't want to work himself, but Sonic was a powerful foe and quite intelligent too, even if Eggman wouldn't admit it out loud.

"Just what can I do? What would really wow him? WHAT CAN BEAT HIM FOR GOOD? THERE MUST BE SOMETHING I'VE MISSED, IN MY RESEARCH OF MOBIUS!!! AN ULTIMATE WEAKNESS!"

Suddenly, a red light flashed in the room, and Sage appeared, sitting on his work bench, kicking her legs before clearing her throat with a gentle smile and a wave and speaking. "Hello Father, I see you are stressed over finding a way to, and I quote, 'crush that blasted hedgehog' may I offer my assistance?"

Eggman sat up in his chair, letting out a hearty chuckle before looking at his AI daughter. He took her words carefully and rubbed his chin before responding. "Ah, hello, Sage. Hello, it's nice to see you. You know what? You might just be what I need; a fresh eye on things would definitely help me figure out exactly what I need to defeat Sonic once and for all."

Eggman put his hands together, striking a pose. "You have access to my data banks along with the internet, correct?"

Sage nodded softly. She then teleported away, inserting herself into the main computer and combing through it rather quickly.

A sudden dinging noise was heard, and Eggman could see some files being downloaded, but he allowed time for Sage to explain what they were for.

"Father, I have discovered something you may have overlooked. You are aware of Grandfather Gerald Robotnik's research into the gods of Mobius and of humanity, correct?"

Eggman's eyebrows rose, wondering where his daughter was going with this, but he was quite curious as well. "Why, yes, Sage, I'm aware of all this; why did you bring it up? I've tried using god-like creatures against Sonic before, like with Dark Gaia and Chaos."

Sage soon pulled up some semi-corrupted files she had dug up. She is in the deepest parts of the internet, and Eggman's own files are on the main computer screen.

"Well, Father, you may have overlooked something. Its origins are not exactly clear. It's commonly unknown if humanity or Mobians discovered this entity, but unlike many other gods of Mobius and Earth, this one has not only been proven to exist to some extent."

"This God, or rather god-like entity, can control dreams themselves and is not physical, at least not without a host body to call its own; it has the ability to interact with solid objects, but with a host body, epically one with a high enough chaos energy.

And given enough time. This entity could possibly even put all of Mobius into a slumber of its own control, one they can't wake up from without its consent."

Eggman began to smirk very widely as he got up out of his chair and looked at the screen widely, seeing all the files Sage showed him.

"What a very interesting find, Sage! I'm very proud of you, but what makes you think we can control it and have it help us get rid of Sonic?"

Sage blushed. She had stars in her eyes for a moment; she was always happy to have her father be proud of her, but she soon cleared her throat and continued.

"Ahem, ah, right, you are father. The reason why I believe this entity would help us is due to its documented nature. It has been shown in the past to love pure chaos, and what would be more chaotic than helping you take over the world?

"Sonic would have no way to stop it either, due to it being far more powerful than him. And Sonic can't simply attack something while he's asleep now, can he, Father?"

He nodded along, listening closely before using a virtual glove he made to be able to pat Sage on the head softly, and then sat back down, carefully reading all the information Sage had brought up.

"Correct, you are Sage; that hedgehog would stand no chance of something he can't even interact with. I shall begin preparations. I see this 'god' has some ties to the chaos emeralds. 

So perhaps I can build a new robot, one that can harness chaos energy without directly needing the emerald, in order to create the perfect host for our friend to take possession of, and with us working together, friends can finally win! I'll need to be careful though and build in some safety features so I can control the robot once our friend takes it's new body."

"Though I shouldn't make the controls too obvious, otherwise strike this 'god's ire."

With a few clicks on the screen, a few images and historical documents showed up, revealing something quite interesting to the doctor himself.

A strange golden arch was under the site where Angel Island once stood, back when it was just a normal land mass.

"How in sweet mother Gaia did I ever miss such a thing during my many trips to Angel Island?"

He zoomed in on the photos, inspecting them closely, and wrote a few things down on his notepad. Not much information seems to be known about this historical sight, but a few tablets were recovered from the sight itself, written in a language similar to the ancients themselves but different.

All Eggman could gather from the rough translations he could figure out was one word: 'Zepperaith'. He would need to travel to the historical site, inspect this golden arch up close, and figure out its secrets.

"Zepperaith... I will unleash you upon this land, and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG WILL BE GONE FOREVER!"

Dr. Eggman began to laugh loudly, with Sage joining him quietly, with a new plan in mind. Perhaps this will be Sonic's downfall once and for all.

[pers-books]

INTERVIEW

Jemma Redgrave: ‘Doctor Who will keep me young’

The actress would be happy to be remembered for the sci-fi series, she tells Dominic Maxwell

Jemma Redgrave: “My character wanted to make her way on merit. That wasn’t difficult to play”

Dominic Maxwell

Saturday November 25 2023, 12.01am, The Times

Jemma Redgrave has a problem. “Every time I get a new office,” she says, “it blows up.” Granted, she admits, the first time we saw her office — in the 50th anniversary Doctor Who special of 2013 that featured Matt Smith and David Tennant — it was in the Tower of London, and that one has stayed standing. Otherwise, though, in her role as Kate Stewart, the head of the Doctor’s paramilitary allies UNIT, her workplaces seem to routinely explode. That they seem to get swankier and swankier each time only seems to make them more vulnerable to the zap gun.

She won’t give anything away, and the BBC is keeping under wraps each of the three 60th anniversary specials, which start tonight. Yet you have to fear for the giant floating Marvel-style Unit HQ that features in the trailer. Redgrave doesn’t appear until the final part, which pits David Tennant’s returning Doctor against Neil Patrick Harris’s Toymaker, a villain not seen since 1966. She will, however, be the one other holdover from the 50th anniversary specials. “Yes,” she says with a disbelieving smile over morning coffee in a north London café, “I think it’s just me and David.”

She and her sons, now aged 29 and 23, had watched the series ever since it returned, after 16 years off our screens (a one-off comeback starring Paul McGann aside), in 2005. She wondered for a while why seemingly every other actor she knew got a role in it. Hers, though, has proved to be the longest-running.

She first played Kate Stewart opposite Smith in an episode in 2012. She didn’t realise the significance of the surname at the time: Stewart is the daughter of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, the head of Unit from 1968 to 1975, during the eras of Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker. All of which is catnip to the fans, some of whom, as emissaries from Doctor Who magazine, were on set doing a story on her first day. They helped her to join the dots.

As Kate Stewart in the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary Specials (BBC)

Stewart, after all, didn’t use her full name. “She didn’t want to take advantage of her connections and wanted to make her way on merit,” Redgrave says. As the daughter of an actor (Corin Redgrave), the niece of two actresses (Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave), the granddaughter of actors (Michael Redgrave, Rachel Kempson) and the cousin of actresses (Joely Richardson and Natasha Richardson), she knew where Stewart was coming from. It can be tedious spending your time fending questions about how you’ve got where you are today, after all.

“That you’re some sort of nepo baby? It can be, can’t it? Sometimes those questions go on and on and on, many, many, many, many years down the line.” Redgrave, a gifted under-player of a scene, gives a surprisingly full-hearted chuckle. “So that wasn’t a difficult scene to play.”

Redgrave appears only sporadically, but has rubbed shoulders with six doctors: Smith, Tennant, Peter Capaldi, John Hurt (in the 50th special), Jodie Whittaker and, coming soon, Ncuti Gatwa, who will take the lead once Tennant’s celebratory trilogy is done.

There have been rumours that Stewart and UNIT are getting their own show, but Redgrave insists that this is news to her. Then again, it’s rare for her to be permitted to admit even that she is in the first Gatwa series. She has to sign an NDA each time she shoots the show so that nobody, with the exception of her partner, who may be staying with her in Wales during shooting anyway, knows what she is working on.

She understands the rationale for this, although it can become absurd. During lockdown, because travel was restricted, the BBC sent a car to her north London home to pick her up for filming. On the way to the car she bumped into Smith, who lives in the area, walking his dog. He asked where she was heading. Cardiff, she told him. He asked what she was working on. “I said, ‘I can’t possibly tell you. I’ve signed an NDA.’ And he said, ‘Oh well, send them all my love.’”

Redgrave is a young-looking 58. Her extensive stage work includes appearing in a London production of Chekhov’s The Three Sisters with her aunts. Her TV work includes starring in the series Bramwell as well as recurring roles in Holby City, Grantchester, Silent Witness and Cold Blood. How would she feel if the world remembered her most for her sporadic role as the head of UNIT?

“I think that’s OK,” she says. “I grew up watching Jon Pertwee. And Jon Pertwee doesn’t change in my imagination. The people I grew up watching don’t get older in my imagination and I will remain in the imagination of the children who watch this 60th-year episode. And that is a kind of lovely thing. So I’m very happy to be remembered as Kate Stewart. Also, she’s a formidable woman. She has humour and heart and courage. And she’s vulnerable and aware of her limitations. So she’s kind of human in every possible way, even though she exists in a world of aliens and tech.”

On the subject of “the sci-fi stuff”, she admits that jargon and technobabble can be hard to play: the plot may need it, but it’s hard to bring much of yourself to. So she tries to find some emotional resonance of her own. “Either that or you just play it fast. It’s one or the other.”

She has found, too, that the fans will support her in other roles. Recently she appeared in a play, Octopolis, at the Hampstead Theatre in London. “And a lot of Who fans came to see that, which is a lovely thing. She’s a great character, but partly the reason that UNIT has continued through this series is because fans have been very vocal in their love of those storylines.”

When she was growing up, it took her a while to admit that she wanted to be an actress. “My parents split when I was young. My mum [Deirdre Hamilton-Hill] supported me and my brother. There wasn’t a lot of money around, but we did get taken to the theatre. And I think growing up in the theatre, and particularly not having a fear of Shakespeare because I encountered him on the stage and not in the classroom for the first time, was a great privilege.”

It was a trip to see the Wars of the Roses Shakespeare history plays at the RSC in Stratford when she was 13 that convinced her she wanted to act. “Before that I’d played my cards close to my chest. I didn’t have much confidence. I was quiet about it because there were a lot of people in my family who acted.” When she told her father, he gave her a complete Arden set of Shakespeare plays, and wrote “to commemorate your decision to become an actress” on the front page.

She went to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, after which she began to work regularly. She appeared in a TV film, The Relief of Belsen, with her father, and in Howards End with Vanessa, but beyond that has ploughed her own furrow. So is the family connection one she can celebrate at this point?

What’s lovely, she says, is going to a set and having crew members come up to her and tell her they worked with her father, or her aunt, or her cousin or her brother Luke, a successful cameraman. “And usually anybody who says ‘I’ve worked with somebody in your family’ says it because they loved working with them. So it’s suddenly not quite such an intimidating environment.”

Family fame is dwarfed by sci-fi fame anyway. “I’m ‘her from Doctor Who’. And if you’ve got a body of work behind you, people don’t talk about the name. I just feel lucky that I come from the family that I come from because I grew up with books and theatre, which is a proper privilege. There wasn’t a lot of money, but there was that, and that’s worth everything.”

Doctor Who is on BBC1 and iPlayer from November 25. Jemma Redgrave’s episode is on December 9

(Source)

[imightgetbetter]

bets are off

hiiiiiiii. i'm trying to write more and this was a fun one to write. it's a mix of dad!matty, the anon request about matty and the missus having a bet, and the absolute whore that he was at lollapalooza. i hope you enjoy it! send me feedback and like and reblog and do all the things. love you lots!

Matty, from the moment you gave him the news, couldn’t take his eyes off of you. Matty would be following Attie around the venue, calling her over to hold his hand in fear of her running off and getting lost amongst all the touring personnel and crew, his eyes staying on you somehow, someway. Having Attie backstage didn’t worry you all that much, not that anyone could mistake who she is, Attie is a spitting image of Matty himself, a trait that you’ve found yourself loving more in the times when you’re apart – a piece of him is always with you, now even more so. His hand reaches out for yours as soon as Attie is in his grasp, his arms scooping her onto his waist before she could try to persuade him otherwise. His eyes travel from your own to the way your shirt hangs loosely over your torso. He knows you won’t show for a while, most likely how you were with Attie, but that doesn’t mean he can’t imagine what you’ll look like this time around, how you’ll look with Attie on your hip and a round belly. The thought alone is enough to drive him to insanity.

“Matty, let me have a minute with my goddaughter, hm?” Adam smiles, reaching for Attie and pressing a kiss to your cheek with a quiet ‘hello’. Matty reluctantly hands Attie to him, smiling as she reaches for his hands immediately and hugs him tight. “Uncle George is over there waiting to let you bash on the drums, Attie.”

“Can we go?” Attie squeaks excitedly, waving at you and Matty and nearly wiggling out of Adam’s arms to make it to George and Ross on the other end of the stage. “Uncle George!”

“Attie has missed you all very much,” you say, turning to Matty and circling your arms around his neck, your head perched back slightly to take in his appearance. He looks the happiest you’ve seen him in weeks (mainly because he’s never very happy when you’re seeing him through a screen) and you know there’s layers of excitement waiting to burst through. “I missed you very much.”

“You have no idea,” Matty says softly, leaning down and brushing your nose against his, his lips hovering over yours, the heat of his breath on your lips wrapping your nerves in desire. “I have waited too long to kiss my darling wife, love of my life, mother of my babies.” Matty smirks when you lean onto your toes and kiss him, silencing his sputtered words and encasing your lips in his. He holds you tightly, reminding you of where you are, his hands inching ever so slightly to the waistband of your jeans. “Our bet still stands you know.”

“You’re the one that has your hands nearly in my jeans,” you counter, your hands cupping his jaw and rubbing your thumb along the stubble lining his jaw. “Do you really want to stay to this bet now that you know, you know?”

“As much as I would love to take you into the dressing room, right this very second, and rip this shirt off of you,” Matty smirks against your lips, his hand splaying across your lower back and pulling you closer, “I’m never one to give in so easily. You know this quite well about me, now don’t you, my love?”

“I can’t believe it worked,” you say under your breath, unsure of who’s listening and who’s around to spill the secret. One thing you’ve learned over the years with knowing the guys, none of them can keep a secret from each other very long, and Matty is the biggest culprit of that. “Must’ve been pretty quick after I stopped my birth control.”

“Once I knew you were coming off it, I couldn’t really help myself, baby.”

“That’s not an excuse,” you say, quirking your eyebrows suggestively. “You can barely control yourself, anyways. You just get a million times worse when there’s the idea of putting a baby in me in your head,” you say, pausing for just a moment to add in, “and now you’ve done it twice.”

“You make a very hot mum, darling. What can I say?” Matty’s hands slip lower, covering your backside and giving you a squeeze, his lips reaching your ear and whispering, “You’re making this bet painful on purpose.”

“Give in then,” you say enticingly, your lips pressing to the corner where his jaw meets his neck, the spot on his skin that you know brings goosebumps along his spine and tickle his senses. “Just say that I was right, that I’m always right, that you can’t resist me the minute you see me, and you can take me to your dressing room, right this second, and have me whatever way you’d like.”

“You’re going to be the death of me,” Matty groans against your mouth, turning his head to capture your lips in a kiss. “You win.”

“Ah ah, that’s not enough, and you know it. I want to hear you say it.”

“You’re right, darling. You’re always right. I can’t resist you the minute I see you.”

“That wasn’t so hard,” you smirk, your words mumbled against his mouth.

“Shut up, YN,” Matty grunts with a half smile, grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the curtain backstage, his eyes making a point to find Attie with George and Ross, and ice cream cone in hand, a sigh of relief leaving his lips as he tugs you towards the dressing room you’d only left a bit ago. “I’m going to embarrass myself with how badly I need you, right now.”

“You can’t embarrass yourself in front of your wife, Matty.”

“Believe me, darling, I can.”

Matty opens the dressing room door and shuts it quickly, locking it behind you and immediately pulling you into him, his mouth attaching to yours without a second thought. His hands are heavy on your skin, pulling and pressing into you, his hands working around your waist and quickly making work to bring your shirt off your torso and your jeans down your thighs. Matty doesn’t waste time, not in the slightest, waiting only a moment for you to kick off your jeans before reaching his hands around your thighs and lifting you onto the vanity, his hands making quick work of his own trousers and shoving the material down his thighs as you grab his cheeks and bring him in for a kiss.

“I’ve been counting down the days until I could do this,” you say softly, your eyes squeezing shut as Matty’s mouth works quickly against your neck, kissing every inch of skin he can possibly touch. “I knew you’d react this way. I knew you’d be insatiable as soon as I told you I was pregnant.”

“Do you know why?”

“Why what, baby?”

“Why I act this way.”

“Why do you act this way, Matty?”

“‘Cause time and time again,” Matty says taking a moment away from kissing your skin to look you in the eyes, “I can’t believe you picked me to live this life together, and I can never take it for granted. Ever.”

Matty’s eyes soften as you grab his cheeks, “I would and will pick you every single time, you know that. I am very fond of you, you know.”

He smirks, “I know. You’re my Sally.”

Matty leans forward, capturing your lips in his, his hands moving from your thighs to your backside and pulling you towards the edge of the vanity, his hands spreading your thighs just enough to slot between. His hand leaves your thigh momentarily to grab his cock, a strangled moan leaving his lips as he drags his tip along your core, the arousal wetting him as he slowly sinks into you. Matty grabs your hips, pulling you as close to his body as physically possible, his hands warm and heavy on your skin. His lips are connected to yours, breathing you in, kissing you and saying every missed word and ‘I love you’ that you’ve missed in person. His thrusts are heavy against you, your arms clutching around his shoulders, your teeth biting into the pad of your thumb to mask the whimpers and whines that are escaping you.

Grunts echoing inside the dressing room as you near closer and closer to your high, the feeling of his cock inside of you making your entire nervous system light on fire. He knows how to work you, how to get you going, and the feeling of him inside of you never compares to anything else. Matty presses into you, holding you to him, kissing your neck and you swear your eyes couldn’t have rolled further into your head, lights shining behind closed eyelids. His whispering is muttered into your ear and you swear you can feel yourself clenching around him, coming undone with every word he says.

“Come on, darling. Cum for me.” Matty holds you tightly as you come undone around him, his high hitting him with two hard thrusts and a tense groan into your neck. He kisses your neck, reaching for the tissues next to you and carefully cleaning you up, kissing your shaking thighs and gently massaging your skin. “I love you so much. Holy fuck. I’ve missed you so badly.”

“I missed you, too,” you hum contently, leaning your head back against the mirror. “Attie is going to come looking for us if we don’t go find her soon. All she’s been talking about since we got on the plane was seeing you and getting her new headphones.”

Matty presses a kiss to your cheek and pats your thighs, reaching for his trousers and beginning to pull them up his thighs, buttoning them securely and walking around the room until he finds what he’s looking for. “Have them, right here. Engraved and everything.”

“What do they say?” you ask curiously, sliding off the vanity counter and reaching for your underwear and jeans, pulling each material up slowly as you take him in. Matty hands you your shirt, puckering his lips for a kiss before handing it to you. “She’s going to be so excited, baby.”

“Her initials on one side,” Matty smiles proudly, pulling the headphones out of the case and opening the dressing room door, looking side to side to see if he can spot her before turning the side over and showing you what it says inside the headband.

“Future Rockstar,” you smile, your hand falling to your nonexistent bump as you say, “Daddy is trying to get you two into the industry already. Not on my watch.”

“Our kids are born for stardom, darling. Get over it.” Matty hooks his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side and sticking the headphones under his arm, his mouth pressing against your head as he says, “Just so you know, I’m not nearly finished with you. I don’t care if I lost the stupid bet.”

[the1975attheirverybest]

A/N: a little something based on this.

Warnings: none

—

“Daddy! Daddy!!” Matty smiled to himself as he heard the animated voice of his toddler, an indication that his day was off to a real start now. He listened to her thundering footsteps rushing down the stairs, relishing in how much joy that simple sound brought him. He knew that whatever she was going to do or say next was going to be full of passion, as always.

He was right. She slammed her entire body into him, hugging his leg as far up and as tightly as her little body would let her.

Matty let go of the pan handle, dropping down to give her a kiss. “Mornin’ baby.”

She took advantage of the opportunity that Matty’s squat provided her to kiss her baby sister’s head. “Good morning.” She said in a soft voice. She was always so gentle with the baby.

Matty practically felt his heart melt at the gesture. “You’re such a good big sister, you know that?” He gushed as he stood up and returned his attention to the stove.

“Where’s your shirt?” She frowned at him, pointing at his nearly bare chest.

“Don’t need one. Wearin’ your sister.” He grinned, referring to the baby wrap he’d placed his youngest in so he could move around the kitchen and keep her on him. She didn’t seem to find that logic convincing.

“Breakfast’s almost ready. Why don’t you go sit at the table, hmm? I’ll bring you your plate.”

Completely ignoring him, she kept her attention on his body instead. “Daddy, can I ask you something?” She sounded so serious, making Matty wonder what this was about.

“Of course, honey.”

“What’s that horse on your arm?” Matty shook his head. He knew exactly where this conversation was going. They’d had it a thousand times before. “It’s…a logo. Do you know what a football club is?”

She shook her head.

“Okay, so you know how daddy likes Newcastle United?”

She was clearly already losing interest in this line of questioning, so she decided to stop beating around the bush and go straight for it. “Can I get a horse tattoo like that?”

Matty turned around and looked her straight in the eye, failing to hide the smile on his face. “We’ve talked about this! Go sit at the table. C’mon.”

“I thought maybe you forgot…” she grumbled, defeated, as she walked towards the kitchen table and hopped on her designated chair.

“When you are a hundred years old, you can do whatever you want with your body.” He spoke with a completely straight face, scooping some eggs onto her plate.

She groaned loudly. “But that’s gonna take so long!!!”

“I know…sorry, honey.” He shrugged. “Juice?”

“How old are you now?”

Matty was caught off guard for a moment, but he admired her resilience. Or, as his wife would he inclined to put it, ‘stubbornness’ which, they bother agreed, the kids get from him. “A hundred and fifty years old .” He lied.

The adorable, blank stare on her face almost killed him. She attempted to wrap her mind around the number he’d given her, looking down at her fingers and starting to count. “Well…how- how old were you when you got the horse tattoo?” She fired back at him with a new question.

Matty was grateful that she had a limited concept of age, otherwise she might actually have an argument here. “I was…a hundred and ten, I think.” He bluffed again.

That seemed to finally quiet her. She took a sip of her juice as soon as Matty offered it to her.

“Morning, my love.” Matty noticed his eldest slowly appear in the kitchen doorway, he greeted her, even though she was clearly not listening, her attention focused on the screen in her hands as her thumbs moved bafflingly quick, typing something to send to someone.

“Did you know that daddy is a hundred and fifty years old?” His toddler announced to her sister, surprised at the words even as she said them out loud.

“He’s lying to you.” The teen simply quipped.

“Bro!” Matty shot her a look.

“What? You’re the one who always says not to condescend or talk down to kids.” She sat down at the kitchen table, finally looking up from her phone.

“I know…but she wants to get a tattoo.” Matty scratched the back of his head. Shrugging helplessly.

“Hmm…wonder where she got that idea.” She deadpanned

He rolled his eyes.

“What’s that smell?” He watched his eldest frown and look over at the contents of the pan on the stove.

“Oh, I made eggs!” He brimmed with pride at the announcement. “Here try them.” He brought a forkful over to the table and handed it to her.

“I want pancakes.”

“How about a ‘thank you dad. You didn’t have to. we appreciate you?’”

“No, I just think…with pancakes there’s less of a chance for food poisoning.”

Matty’s eyes shot open, his jaw dropping in pretend-hurt.

“What? It’s pancake mix and water, pretty difficult to ruin. I’m just saving up a trip to the hospital.”

“I will have you know, I’ve tried the eggs! They’re pretty fuckin amazing…if I do say so myself!” He offered her the fork again.

She frowned at him, finally taking a bite. “What did mum say about swearing in front of the young ones.”

“Oh right. Welll…this one can’t talk yet, bless her.” He kissed the head of the infant strapped to his chest. “And this one…well…if you promise not to tell mommy that daddy said an adult word, I’ll give you chocolate later.”

His toddler set down her fork dramatically, crossing her hands over her chest and pretending to think.

“Oh god, here we go…” Matty braced himself.

“For this one…” she took a deep breath. “It’s gonna take more than chocolate, I’m afraid.” She raised an eyebrow, eying him carefully. She also got that knack for negotiation from him.

Matty giggled, secretly swelling with pride. “Well, alright then, let’s hear it. What’s it gonna take to buy your silence?”

“Toys. Lots of them.” She smiled, pleased with herself.

“You get one toy. And you promise not to tell mommy.”

“I get three toys!”

“You get two. Final offer, take it or leave it. Two toys, and mommy never finds out…” he extended his hand out for her to shake.

“Okay!” She took his hand, shaking it firmly and giggling when he made a shocked face and told her she had a strong grip.

He looked at his eldest, “she’s gonna be a lawyer one day, you know…”

“Your mistake was assuming she’d be the one to tell on you.” She gave him a mischievous look.

Matty hid his face in his hands. “Fuckin hell. I’m surrounded by fierce, intelligent women in this house…I’ll never win.”

When he peeled his palms away from his face, he saw that they were both looking at him knowingly and realized that he’d already said another adult word.

Her panicked, throwing his hands up in the air, “Okay, fine, you get three toys, alright? Not a word of this to your mother! Now eat your eggs before they get cold.” Looking at his eldest, “pancakes coming right up!” He pushed himself off the chair, waking over to the other side of the kitchen and lending the fussing infant on his chest, his pinky finger to play with.

“No, no, your eggs were genuinely good. I’ll just eat those.”

“Nah…What can I say? What my girl wants, my girl gets.”

“You’re being nice to me…it’s lame,stop it.”

Matty burst into laughter, “I’m always nice to you!”

He heard the sound of distant footsteps approaching as he pulled the pancake mix out of the pantry, turning around, a smile instantly formed on his face when he spotted the love of his life lovingly watching her two daughters whispered to each other at the table.

“Hello, my love.” He dropped everything instantly, rushing over to her to kiss her.

The kids made gagging noises and wasted no time in mocking their parents. “That’s so gross. Old people love.”

Matty was on the verge of taking issue with the term “old” when his eldest interrupted.

“Hey, mom? Dad said ‘fuck twice’ at the breakfast table.” She announced as soon as her mother took a seat at the table.

Matty gasped in shock, “mate! I thought we had a deal!”

“Your deal was with her.” She pointed to her younger sister. “I never promised you anything.”

He smiled, once again, outsmarted by his own kid.

“Well played, darlin’…well played.” then, turning to his wife, “it was a genuine accident! You know how I get…”

She shook her head. “You get a pass this time. Only cuz you look, so…umm, handsome without your shirt on.” She was clearly flustered, her eyes scanning his torso.

Instantly and I’m unison, the kid’s gagging noises resumed.

She laughed and chastised them. “One day, when you’re way older and married to a beautiful person like your dad, you’ll understand.”

Matty blushed, looking away and returning to his pancakes. He flipped a piece. “With chocolate chips or without?” Interrupting the semantic debate about whether or not dad was, in fact, beautiful.

“With please!” His teenager requested, sweetly.

“Pancakes or eggs, my love?” He asked his wife this time.

“I’ll just have a bite of what you’re having. Not too hungry right now…what’s with the baby wrap, by the way? Even I don’t know how to tie this style.”

“Oh….she woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t sleep after I got her down. I was bored. I got on YouTube…” he confessed sheepishly. “it’s really easy, actually! I can show you later.”

[reikunrei]

Two Hearts - Brenward, knock 4 times if you can hear me

Recently I've begun going through some of my favorite seasons of Doctor Who to find parallels to Stranger Things, but I got caught up on the detail of Time Lords having two hearts and decided to take a detour.

To start, Stav @heroesbyler has spoken extensively about Brenner's Time Lord/Doctor coding/all of his connections to Doctor Who in general (very good posts btw it's required reading tbh, here's some links), and with some of the other stuff going on with Brenner... it made me want to look a little more closely at the two-hearts phenomenon.

Time Lords have a binary vascular system, meaning they have two hearts pumping blood at the same time. There are several reasons why Time Lords have this physiology, but one of the more basic ones is that it's simply to differentiate them from humans in a substantial way.

Time Lords, on the outside, look exactly like a human, so having a second heart makes them distinctly inhuman when you otherwise might not be able to tell. @aemiron-main has touched on lots of interesting stuff about shapeshifters and doppelgangers making their way (or having already made their way) into Stranger Things, and it's possible that Brenner may be one of them. Point is, while they may appear "normal" on the outside, there's something more beneath the surface/hidden.

Two other major factors that justify the binary vascular system in Time Lords are 1) it allows them to "navigate deep time," and 2) allows them to regenerate into a new body whenever they die.

Let's start with point 1)

(screenshots are taken from the tardis fandom wiki pages) (also, Gallifrey is the home planet of the Time Lords/Gallifreyans)

Now, I did just accidentally stumble down a rabbit hole with the "Web of Time" link, leading me to a "machine-heart" which was built to anchor and lock in the "structure of history," a ceremony in which the obelisk (staring at irl DnD Vecna) the "Eye of Harmony" was its center, of which also gave the Gallifreyans the ability to time travel and regenerate, and this ceremony resulted in ultimate disaster involving the Great Vampires (looking at all the blood transfusions and Brenner's vampire coding that Stav has talked about) which killed a bunch of Gallifreyans, creating a crater on Gallifrey that came to hold an "Untempered Schism," a sacred space-time rift, and...

Like, maybe I'm reaching here, but a lot of this just feels Brenner to me. Something about looking into the Vortex/center of history vs Brenner seemingly poking through timelines to get what he's looking for (specifically thinking of him watching the "same" One disintegration moment on way more screens than he needs, not being able to "let [Henry] go," as well as him trying to "make contact" with the Shadow in TFS in an attempt to fulfill his lifelong devotion to Project Rainbow... like, I'd plant Brenner somewhere between "mad" and "inspired" as soon as he was made aware of how far this could go).

And building off of "without adverse affects to their wellbeing" vs Brenner's blood transfusion project with "Henry" in TFS to make more children with the same blood type, and how it's possible that the blood type may be attributed to their powers, but also to make them immune to Dimension X/the Shadow like "Henry." And, so, would Brenner have tried to do the same thing to himself? James @henrysglock has spoken about the blood transfusions and some of the science in it in posts like this one.

And something about the Gallifreyan children being taken at 8 years of age, the age El was when the 1979 HNL massacre occurred, to stare into the Schism as a rite of passage. Not only was El's face-off with One a "rite of passage" of sorts (thinking: she made a decision to fight One instead of join him, it awoke the true strength of her powers, etc.), but I also instantly think of Brenner pitting all of the lab kids against each other, making them "fight" one another in order to rise in the "ranks."

And THEN there's the Untempered Schism reminding me so much of Walter Bishop's window into the alternate universe in Fringe which is another huge influence for Stranger Things and blah blah blah, see? Rabbit hole. I'm barely scratching the surface of what I read up on here, but I need to bite my tongue for now. In short, all this, I feel, serves as further evidence of Brenner's Time Lord parallels.

Point is, the 2 hearts are intrinsically linked to a Time Lord's ability to travel through space and, specifically, time. And given how NINA feels a lot less like a memory machine and a lot more like a time machine (as spoken about by Stav, James, Em, and several lovely posts by @givehimthemedicine)... well, something rattles about Brenner being in control of what's happening, or able to influence it in his favor, or at the very least is somehow able to see the span of time/multiple timelines, and through that, he's able to create a specific series of events to get the outcome he wants.

(Not to mention all the weird ways in which Brenner seems to be messing with the Creels from the get-go, the way One says Papa uses everyone like pieces in a chess game, and his ability to cover up the truth/create a false narrative starting all the way back in season 1. But anyway.)

As a brief aside, there are parallel universes within Doctor Who, but the Doctor doesn't travel between them regularly (at least in the 2005 reboot's early seasons. I have no idea about later seasons or the original series). Like, there's no consistent interactions with multiple universes at any given moment, it's only for Big Plot Lines (ie. some episodes in season 2 and the overarching plot of season 4). And, from what I remember, the Doctor doesn't necessarily see all the possible timelines in their universe, rather they sort of just know what is and is not meant to happen. I just wanted to specify that because I feel it's a key difference between the series.

As for point 2), I have much less of a tangent to go on with that. Essentially, I think we can all agree that a Time Lord's ability to regenerate when they die and Vecna's regenerative healing are pretty similar.

Another fun tidbit is that, technically, Time Lords are only able to regenerate a total of 12 times. Obligatory midnight reference. I should also note that the Doctor can now regenerate more than 12 times, but I can't remember the exact reasoning/don't feel like going to find it. Basically, it's just a special case.

So, if Time Lords regenerate, and Vecna regenerates, and Vecna seemingly got up and walked away after being flambée'd, and Brenner has seemingly died multiple times and then miraculously been okay, and Brenner is paralleled to Time Lords and specifically to the Doctor... it's all the same guy! Brenner isn't dead! Somehow, he's regenerating! And it's specifically tied to the two hearts!!!

Now, another detail in Doctor Who I want to touch on is in the two part special "The End of Time," which is set shortly after season 4 ends. I'm not going to get into the plot of the episodes or anything (that's for another post because... boy, are the parallels paralleling. Bad dreams, visions, the Master being brought back from the dead and being unable to sate his hunger for energy, etc.).

However, the one thing I want to focus on is the sound of drums that plagues the Master (who's another Time Lord and recurring nemesis of the Doctor). It's 4 beats in rapid succession which repeat ad nauseam in his head. But what are they?

He first began to hear it when he looked into the Untempered Schism as a child, and though it was originally labeled as merely a symptom of being driven mad by the Schism (and is later thought to be the sound of one of the other characters knocking on a door), the President of the Time Lords draws the link to the Time Lord heart beat. So, a driving component of these episodes can be specifically connected to the beating of two hearts.

I was talking to Stav about it the other day, and I can't remember who she said she got this information from and if it's anything that's been confirmed, but she mentioned to me the link between these 4 drumbeats and the 4 chimes of Vecna's grandfather clock, alongside the fact that they both exist in the head of the Master/Vecna's victims rather than being something inherently tangible.

While I was reading up on all of this, and as you can obviously tell, I found that a lot of it specifically paralleled Vecna and the Mind Flayer, but I want to point again to the initial posts from Stav that I linked at the very top which detail all of Brenner's Time Lord/Doctor coding. With that, it becomes pretty damning that Vecna/the MF also have all of these Time Lord parallels.

In a similar vein, Em has spoken here about the weirdness with Henry "being" Brenner and vice versa in TFS, and James has spoken here about the weird connections between Henry -> the Shadow -> Brenner (I know there's other posts too but I cannot for the life of me find them!!). And then you bring in how "Henry" in TFS, One, and Vecna are all shown to absorb or "consume" their victims... basically, I want to emphasize how muddled up all these characters are with each other.

Now, obviously (as far as we're aware) Brenner is a human, or was at least born a human. And while Brenner himself may not directly be the Shadow/MF or Vecna, I think with all of these overlapping parallels it becomes clear that there is a distinct possibility that he somehow became those characters, and I think the Time Lords having two hearts is a fantastic hint at that. While the Time Lords naturally have two hearts/it's a quirk of the species, for our purposes, it's pretty great symbolism for two beings occupying the same body/mind/space, which is also something ST is not unfamiliar with in the slightest, it's just a little more "possession"/virus coded rather than physically linking two bodies (from what we've seen so far).

Which leads me to my next interesting tidbit I came across when looking into the Time Lords' binary vascular system: the Doctor may have been born with one heart, and only after they regenerated the first time did they develop a second one.

This is because they were from an "Oldblood House" on Gallifrey. A House is basically just a bloodline or family of Time Lords. I can't find a solid reason for Oldbloods starting with one heart vs Newbloods starting with two, but it certainly makes me raise my eyebrows at the Doctor starting off closer to human before becoming distinctly Time Lord vs Brenner starting off human and... becoming something else?

As I linked above, Stav spoke about the possibility of Brenner consuming Henward's blood in order to give himself powers/strength/immortality/whatever it is he wants atp. Here's also various links to posts by James about how one of the Ones looks an awful lot like Brenner in that Dimension X sequence, and this post about how Brenner is a lot like Vecna.

So, Brenner and One get merged with each other (whether on purpose, by accident, or a strange mix of both), and bada-boom! Two people in the same body with crazy new abilities, thus becoming a Vecna.

When I was talking about this initially with James, Em, and Stav, James mentioned Brenner's whole spiel about "becoming whole" and what it would mean if that sentiment was applied to himself, and what it would mean if the hearts didn't merge. And Em mentioned it being a way to symbolize Brenner and Henward being part of the same being, but Henward being partially removed from what's been done because he's simply merged with someone else who is to blame. And what with Will's whole talk about Mike being "the heart" of the Party, and the solution to basically all of their problems throughout ST being love... I don't think I have to spell it out too neatly that it would be quite the thrill if Vecna as some combination of Brenner and One was partially beaten from the inside by one of his own "hearts."

Which, this is only tangentially related but I don't really know where else to put it and I think it's interesting enough to include, one way to kill a Time Lord for good is to pierce both of their hearts at the same time.

Gallifreyans can technically survive with one working heart, but they're greatly weakened, and from what I remember, it could result in them dying and trigger a regeneration.

When I was first reading about this, I instantly thought of how frequently the "two man rule" appears in ST. Most obviously, in st3 when the Key has to be shut on/off using two different people. James has spoken about this before, specifically with how there's always a "secret third guy" thrown into the mix (ie. Murray in the st3 Key sequence). However, I won't go into it in-depth here right now because James takes the cake on that conversation. I just wanted to point it out because I thought it was something worth putting a pin in!

To summarize:

Brenner has a boatload of Doctor/Time Lord coding, but so does Vecna and the Mind Flayer/the Shadow. That, matched with Brenner's incessant searching for "Henry" and being unable to let him go, the blood transfusions in TFS, all of the blood consumption language around Brenner, Brenner's lifelong devotion to Project Rainbow, and the constant conflating of Henry and Brenner throughout the series... it feels apt to take Time Lords having two hearts and overlay that on Brenner as further proof that he may have tried merging himself with Henward in some way in order to give himself greater power.

Again, while the binary vascular system is something simply inherent to Gallifreyans/is just part of their biology, having it so tightly linked to their time travel and regeneration, matched with the alternate timelines and time travel in ST, the blood transfusions, and the rapid regeneration we see in Vecna and the fact that Brenner is somehow still standing when he should have been dead a few times over now... it certainly makes me wonder just what's going on under Brenner's skin.

And if we learn that whatever weird Brenward combo we have that possibly created one of the Vecnas has two hearts, I'll shit my pants.

[nrdmssgs]

Many questions about Zhar incoming!

I love her being always in control of situation and seeming to have a plan. But are there any situations, that unsettle her, make her "I`m so confused, I dont know what to do about that"?

🍇anon

Ohhhhh, LOVE))) Believe me, she is so much NOT in control in Matters. She will eventually come up with a plan, but for now the girl is doomed.

But I don't want to talk about the sad stuff today. So there is another thing, she will never understand and never know what to do with it. And that is Kruegers chest tattoo. So she is not the biggest fan of official soviet or Russian symbols because of all the bad memories, she got from the motherland. She can bear with Nikolais telnyashka (as long as she is allowed to take it off him), but a Russian coat of arms on her favorite Chimera??? Oh, she will be devastated. I even cooked a little scene.

TW: swearing

AN: I don't approve of her behavior here and personally find it very unprofessional to make any commentaries on others ways of self-expression. Kruegers body is HIS BUSINESS! If anything, Zhar must apologize for being an absolute asshole. Also, there is a very short appearance of Phayvanh "Nak" Sotsvahn (she belongs to @vasyandii). I couldn't help myself, because in my hear KruegerxNak is a canon. Of course, I'll remove any mentions of Nak if Vasya doesn't find it amusing, what is happening here.

"Verdammter Scheiß!*" Krueger frantically shook his shirt over the sofa, not paying any attention to the cold wind touching his bare skin. His jacket laid on the armrest nearby. The only thing, that mattered to him, was to find that goddamn...

"If that's a part of your tactics to convince me for a rise - then my answer is 'no'." Familiar voice, but not the one, Krueger awaited to hear - Zhars voice. She turned on a lamp and proceeded to the desk, not paying that much attention to him.

His initial reaction was automatic. 'It's not, what you think.' thrown over his shoulder abruptly, as he continued searching his own clothes. But then Krueger froze. "Wait, commander, it is Nikolai's office, right?"

By that time Zhar already settled in front of the computer and waited for the tables she needed to appear on the screen. She looked too concentrated on her work to pay any attention to Krueger, but answered him nevertheless.

"It is my office. Niks is next door. Feel free to go charm him with your bare back, I'm sure, he'd find it quite amusing..."

"I'm not... Oh, fuck! Did you two absolutely had to get the same couches in your offices? I thought, only Nikolai had it!" Krueger cursed under his breath and added, "I promise, I'm out of here as soon as I find it!"

Olga finally shifted her concentration from the work and stood up.

"Ok, Krueger, do I need to know why the hell you've lost something on my couch, while I was attending meetings?"

"I didn't lose it on your couch, I lost it somewhere in my pockets! So I was trying to shake the goddamn thing out, but I didn't want it to fall on the floor and roll somewhere. That's when I remembered about Niks... well, yours sofa." By the time, he was done explaining, Zhar already stood beside him and searched the couch to help the poor man.

"At least enlighten me, what are we looking for," she muttered.

"A rock. Tiny lil shit! She always gives me the best ones, and for once in my life I finally found a rock to match her gifts, and it gets lost!" Krueger sounded genuinely annoyed.

Zhar paused for a moment. "So you say, we are looking for your gift for a girl... and it's a rock? Sebastian, please, at least tell me, it is attached to a piece of metal in a form of a ring... Otherwise, I'll start to worry about your relationship with whoev-"

"So keep your nose away from my relationship!" He was ready to verbally attack Olga, not carrying for her higher rank, when she pulled a little rock out of a fold between couch cushions. Kruegers face instantly softened. "Thanks, commander!"

He extended his hand to the stone, turning completely to Zhar and her gaze fell somewhere down. Olgas expression changed in a second, going from tired, but friendly to lost and angry.

"What the hell is that?!"

At first, he didn't understand her, thinking, there was some kind of smear on his bare belly or pants. Krueger checked himself, but he was completely clean. But when she poked her finger under his chest and growled, 'as far as I know, you are even not from there. Why the hell would you need this thing on you?'.

"Ah-h-h, you're about my ink? What's with it?" He looked confused down, then raised his gaze back on her.

"Krueger, how on earth did you think, it would be a good idea to leave this on your skin?!" Krueger seen Zhar angry, even pissed on the battlefield. But now she looked a hundred times more dangerous. So he quickly pulled on his shirt, not quite understanding, what did he do wrong. Somehow, his commander was absolutely ok about his criminal record, but his choice of tattoos drove her mad.

***

Nikolai was smoking with Yegor leaning against the wall, when Krueger practically flew out of a main building, dodging a heavy folder of papers thrown after him.

Olga's scream followed. "Hide this mark of shame and don't even think about showing it to anyone! Especially her!!"

"There is my treasure." Nik huffed with a wide grin, watching as Zhar left a building, following Krueger.

It seemed, only Nikolais open arms and soft smile saved Sebastian from being followed by the same folder, thrown yet again at him. Olga sighed, turned back and hid her face on his broad chest.

"Synishka sovsem otbilsya ot ruk?*" Yegor smirked, taking another drag.

"Ne nachinai...*" Zhar grumbled, still pressed firmly to Nikolai.

They stood like that for some time: men smoking in a comfortable silence, Nikolai playing with Olgas hair, looking somewhere deep in shadows between the hangars, Yegor smiling to his own thoughts. After a few minutes, they've heard Phayvanhs voice.

"For me? You really spent so much time, to find a rock, that looks like a head of a guy, I flatlined on the last mission? And saved it for me??? Man, you are the best, you know that?!"

She sounded so happy, that both Yegor and Nikolai couldn't help, but smiled with the utmost tenderness. Only Zhar froze for a moment only to hug Nik firmer and mutter "Ok, maybe I do need to raise Kruegers payroll after all..."

Verdammter Scheiß! - bloody hell

Synishka sovsem otbilsya ot ruk? - Has your son completely gotten out of hand?

Ne nachinai... - Don't even start...

[majorbaby]

you're right about the overwhelming whiteness in mash fandom; somebody made a post about soon-lee (an on-screen woc) not receiving as much content and attention compared to peg and there were people who seemed to a) brush it off, b) actually be bothered by it, or c) equate their experiences??? like ???? and don't even mention how much of the racism toward klinger is brushed off

exactly. i think you explained it well but lemme unpack further:

peg appears on screen twice but never in corporal form next to any of the other characters. and her appearances are marred by the fact that she exists in the narrative only in relation to BJ. as his life-line and a source of his pain. that is not my interpretation of what she should be, it's how she was written. i'm not saying she's not important or that BJ does not love her and I'm not commenting even on the state of their marriage right now, i'm just saying peg as a human person with thoughts, feelings, ambitions is not something that the narrative focuses on. where there is Peg, there is always BJ somewhere - either having a meltdown because he misses his life back home or reminding us that he loves his wife and child.

i never did publish my fridging essay because it was long and it became about dc comics rather than MASH but... the suggestion that the peg character is 'fridged' or otherwise 'ignored' by the fandom is funny to me because, well, the show did it first. if you want something to rally against, why not start with the dudes who actually wrote her as being a phantom limb of BJ's and then i can maybe listen to you make the connection between that and how and why fandom is the way that it is about women characters. provided you expand that argument to at least include margaret because i don't i could be convinced using just peg as an example.

i could go on and on about peg's portrayal as being the real being affront to stereotypes of 50s women on MASH as compared to like, the various nurse ables or even Margaret but that would be touching the s1-3 vs 4-11 mess for the second time today so let's move on.

soon-lee is a strong, though not perfect, departure from that. like. really strong, imo. she's got 2 hours to make an impression on us and she does. she does not exist in association to klinger. she's had a life before klinger and though she expresses her sadness around it, she's willing to give up a life with him if she has to in order to find her family. and that one line in no way does justice to soon-lee's footprint on the show, but that's another post that i will write eventually.

basically, soon-lee is the heavylift for the show wrt women AND race, which isn't exactly fair to her to have to do but i'm still grateful for soon-lee. she seems to be an intentional contribution to the western tv canon of varied representations of racialized women and they did that in 1982. we haven't done much better since then on shows that primarily center white experiences, so that's why i think she's of note.

it does both women a disservice to equate their experiences in the narrative and also their treatment in the fandom - both are uneven. peg has way less agency in the narrative than soon-lee, yet soon-lee is nowhere near as present in fanwork as peg.

why is that? lots of reasons i think: peg being closely associated to BJ and BJ being the most popular character in fandom (next to hawkeye but i'm starting to wonder if he actually eclipses hawkeye) gets peg some points. people feeling out of their depth with what exactly to do with klinger and soon-lee's relationship bc it's pretty well resolved by the end - there are absolutely opportunities for future conflict with them being like, a mixed korean-lebanese couple in post-police-action korea but i admit even for me, someone who might be interested in writing something about that, i'd feel a certain responsibility to do my homework.

then again i've seen (and done) all manner and depth of academic research conducted by fanartists to write slowburn white m/m slash or even m/f fic so i'm not taking the race out of the picture completely. and that's the last, important, uncomfortable difference between peg and soon-lee - peg is white and soon-lee is not. i respect and appreciate the goal of any call to diversify the space (provided it doesn't come with any sort of weird guilt trip, which is a line i try to toe all the time) but we have to be careful that in doing that we're not denying racialized people their experiences. or at least acknowledging that there are different ways to move through the world.

[pinksparklelps]

@healerelowen remember that idea of us being the ones to power the pillars instead of our uberbots when luke fights us? Yeah me too

Not The Intended Result

Apparently there was a new challenger here in Botopia, and Photographer let us know they were currently making their way through his domain. It’s exciting really! Me and Elowen were the only challengers for a long time, and we don’t battle that often anymore. Sadly though, I couldn’t go introduce myself just yet, as the bridge has been under repair for a couple days. Though, estimated completion is sometime today!

I let G0lly know where I was going before I head out, and spent a while just wandering around. Taking out my communicator, I could see several of the waypoints back online, including a few down in Archivist’s domain. Hm, maybe they’re battling both of them before coming this way? I could go wait by the bridge… I thought, walking in the direction of said bridge.

Once arriving, I was happy to see that the bridge had been fully fixed, and there was once again access between both sides of Botopia! I sat down on the railing, waiting patiently for the challenger to arrive. I kept my eye on the open waypoints, and noticed that they had stopped before getting into the Archives.

Huh. That’s… strange.

They were fighting the Uberbots, right? Why would they stop right before getting to Archivist? Her mechanics are quite fun, in my opinion. Well, the bridge is fixed, so maybe they want to explore over here and gather some more cards first. Yeah, maybe that’s it.

It seems my theory was correct, because looking up, I could see the challenger approaching. Though, the way they walked was kind of robotic (more robotic than the actual robots, haha). I hopped off my perch, and waved with a small smile. “Hello, challenger!” I tried to sound enthusiastic, but something about them made me uneasy.

They just stood there, a vacant look in their eyes. “Um… Hello?” I tried again, dropping my hand to my side. Was coming here a bad idea? Maybe I’m just bothering them and I should leave… Suddenly, they pulled out their deck of cards, the classic holo-table appearing between us. They were… challenging me? Why me?

Reluctantly, I take out my own deck. “Uh, alright. I can play a quick round.” I smiled awkwardly. “I won’t be much of a challenge though, it’s been a bit since I played.”

No response. Maybe they were mute? Or socially anxious, like me? They just took their first turn, and I played mine after. We went back and forth for a while, and I had no clue what to say anymore. They were so… emotionless, I guess? I don’t want to sound rude, but it’s kind of unsettling.

Why do I feel like something is gonna go wrong..?

And go wrong it did. The challenger won our match, and shoved their deck back into their pocket. I handed them some robobucks for the few points of overkill they landed on me, smiling a little worriedly. “Good game cha-”

Everything went white. I can only hear static. What’s going on? What did they do to me?! I…

I’m scared…

G0lly…

—----------

“Oh golly, that can’t be right…” G0lly’s pillar in Central Botopia was active, but not from her doing. Only she and the other Uberbots could activate their respective pillars. Yet right here on the screen, it said it was online. “That’s a strange glitch.”

G0lly sent a message to her fellow Uberbots, stating that her pillar was active despite her not activating it. Almost immediately, Archivist responded, saying that the same thing was happening with hers. Canvas commented on it being weird. Photographer was currently offline. Archivist offered meeting up to check it out and find a solution, and G0lly agreed.

She set out soon after, heading to Central Botopia. On the way, she remembered Sparky saying they were going to meet the new challenger, but she hasn’t come back yet. G0lly assumed before that the challenger already fought the Uberbots on the East side of Botopia, but Archivist’s similar problem said otherwise. However, the challenger could have traveled West after Photographer, planning to go back afterwards. It was a similar plan to Sparky’s route when they had first arrived, so it was a possibility.

So where was Sparky?

The bot’s question was soon answered, when she noticed them on the bridge… They didn’t look okay. “Oh gosh- Sparky!” G0lly sped up, leaning down to her partner lying on the ground. “Sparky? Sparky, are you okay?” No response. G0lly got more and more frantic, trying desperately to wake up her partner. But they didn’t. Gradually, anger took over her processors.

What did that challenger do?

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"YOU PROMESS?"

Someone of my Wattpad followers requested a Homelander shot, so I thought Why not posting it in here too? So I hope you like it!

Homelander entered the meeting room, where the… well, the fucking meetings with the rest of the members of the seven were taking place. Starlight, Queen Maeve, A-Train, Black Noir and even Deep had deigned to show up.

Homelander figured he would be too busy fucking the octopus who claimed to be his girlfriend, so he was quite surprised to see him there.

He sat down in the chair he occupied at the head of the table, the octopus fucker glanced at him from the other side, waiting for him to speak. Starlight was waiting expectantly for him to speak and the others were neither there nor expecting him.

He cleared his throat and hit a key on the screen in front of him, causing several information squares to appear on the screen behind his head. He stood up again, his cape representing the American flag moving with each of his steps.

-As you know, Stormfront is dead - he shrugged - what a shame, she was a good addition to the team - he shook his head - anyway, now there is a vacancy - he looked at the screen, before addressing them - these are the profiles of the supers powerful enough to cover that vacancy - he pointed at them with his index finger - you are going to help me choose the best one from among all of them

-Isn't that what Ashely is supposed to do? - Deep intervened - Homelander stared at him, suppressing the impulse to pierce him with one of his rays. The image of his brains scattered on the glass table gave him a reassuring peace. He forced himself to sketch a smile, as friendly as possible, before answering him.

-Ashley is on vacation -he said- she wasn't feeling well and I decided to send her home -he announced- if she's not going to do her job properly it's better that she doesn't get in the way and give me fucking headaches, which by the way are fucking unnecessary -his smile grew wider- well, let's continue, as I was saying…

-I still think this is Ashley's thing -the fish-man said again- I mean, if she's sick she hires a new secretary, right?

-Deep -Homelander growled rubbing his eyes with his hand before staring at him- shut the fuck up, please, or I'll cut your balls off and feed them to your squid girlfriend

-It's an octopus… -Deep muttered-

-I don't give a fuck what the fuck it is -he growled looking at the others- well, what do you think? -he asked, referring to the candidates-

-She's the best- said Queen Maeve, pointing to a blonde woman with red-rimmed glasses- the glasses are a fucking piece of shit- she said- but we could use someone like her

-On this occasion I agree with Maeve- pointed out A-Train- the emerald thinker seems like a good choice

-The name is fucking awesome- contributed Deep- for me okay, Noir? –he asked, glancing at the man in the black suit, who didn't make a move- that seems fine to him too

-I'll go find her in person –Homelander said- we need to cover Stormfront's position as soon as possible, otherwise the press is going to be on us like a pack of hungry wolves –he snorted- and fuck, I don't want that to happen –he looked at the speedster- A-Train –he called out, holding his gaze through his glasses- keep an eye on them –he pointed at the others- make sure they don't do anything stupid in my absence

Homelander left the room and went straight to his room. He read the personal file of “The Emerald Thinker” on the tablet: telepathic and telekinetic powers and descendant of aliens (he would have to explain that part to her).

At the bottom was the address of her house. He flew there, not as quickly as he would have liked, since along the way some children asked him if they could take a picture with them.

“Fucking kids,” thought Homelander, but if he refused to take the fucking photo, the press would call him insensitive, and he didn’t want to tarnish his image for anything in the world.

He finally arrived at the house that was in the report. It was in an area far from the city, which was a little depressing and fucking relaxing.

There was no noise from the cars there, nor the pollution from the cars. Not that it affected his advanced metabolism, but it was nice not to breathe fucking carcinogenic smoke for at least a couple of hours.

He knocked on the door with his knuckles, and waited. Thanks to his heightened sense of hearing, he heard a couple of footsteps approaching the door without opening it.

-Hey Larry, I know it's you -said a woman's voice- I promise I'll pay your rent by midweek man, as soon as my boss gives me the money he owes me I promise I'll pay you and you won't have to see my face again until next month

-I don't know who the fuck Larry is -she said- but it would be nice if you opened the door, I want -she shook her head- no, I NEED to talk to you

-You're one of his thugs, right? -she questioned- he sent you to beat me up, I warn you, moron, I know how to defend myself perfectly

She slowly opened the door and looked up to his face. Homelander swallowed hard when his blue gaze fell on her green eyes. At least he had already found meaning to a part of her name. “Esmeralda” was the color of her eyes.

He cleared his throat for a moment, coming out of his daze, the young woman's cheeks were dyed red due to the embarrassment she felt.

-Fuck, shit - he began - shit, shit, shit, fuck, I'm so sorry, I… I thought you were one of the guys who works for Larry - he opened his eyes wide - can I ask you, what are you doing in my house? - he questioned - I mean, to what do I owe the honor of the Homelander himself standing on my porch?

-I need to talk to you - he repeated trying to recompose his serious expression, God she was so fucking beautiful that his eyes hurt just looking at her - Can I come in?

-Sure, go ahead –she stepped aside and closed the door behind her as she walked into the living room with him following her- sorry for the mess, I don't usually have many visitors

-It's okay –she assured him, when in reality he was getting OCD seeing so many things thrown on the floor at the same time without any established order-

They sat down. She watched him closely.

-You said you wanted to talk to me –she reminded him- What's it about?

-We want you to be the new member of the seven –she said- I suppose you've heard the news about what happened to Stormfront

-Yeah, a fucking tragedy –she said- she was a good super

“She was a fucking bitch” Patriot thought, of course he didn't say that

-Yeah well, anyway –he muttered without giving it much importance- then do you accept?

-You didn't ask me anything - she questioned as she opened her hand and a beer can flew towards her-

Homelander followed the movement with her eyes

-Those little fair tricks don't impress me - he indicated - show me what you're capable of doing

-You already know what I can do, you've read my report - he pointed out - in fact, you thought I was going to be another blonde asshole like those you're used to fucking - he said - and Queen Maeve said my glasses were a cheap whore - she ended up staring at him - Have I impressed you?

-How the fuck did you know? - he questioned -

-I've read your mind - he muttered - I'm not called the Emerald Thinker for nothing - he took a swig from the can - in response to your question, yes, I do

In the coming weeks, the relationship between the Homelander and the Thinker became stronger. Every week that passed, they spent more time alone, talking about the situation at Vought or how their day had gone, until during one of their talks alone, she kissed him. At first, Homelander froze, not knowing how to react. She pulled away and held his face in her hands.

-I know how you feel – she whispered, staring him straight in the eyes – you're scared – she laughed – I understand, but we're going to make it work – she assured him – really, we will

-Why? – he questioned – Why would you want to be with someone like me? – she said – I'm a violent man, prone to fits of rage – tears began to run down her face – last week I killed a horde of protesters without blinking – Fuck! – he growled, she held him tightly

-If you hadn't, they would have entered the Tower and killed us all – he murmured – we're alive thanks to you, do you hear me? -He nodded- I'm alive thanks to you- He sketched a reassuring smile- I love you- He whispered wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs- I love you- He repeated- I'm not going to abandon you- He assured- Your days of loneliness are over. Now you have a man to cry on and someone to tell all your problems to- He pulled her towards her in a hug, while kneading her hair with his hand, she noticed how he relaxed with each pass of his fingers- It's okay- He whispered- Everything is okay, I'm here- He left a kiss on the top of her head- I'm here

-Thank you for staying- He whispered- You're the first person who hasn't abandoned me

-And I never will- He affirmed with a smile- You better get some sleep, it's late

-Do you promise me you won't leave? -he questioned, she kissed his cheek-

-I promise you- she murmured-

He closed his eyes and soon he was asleep.

That was the first night of his entire life in which Homelander did not have nightmares.

[brkwingss]

"Oh, I'm torn. On one hand, I'm glad you didn't get offered a position right there and then because I would miss you dearly if you left. On the other hand, I'm offended they didn't offer you something right on the spot." He chuckles, shrugging a bit. To be honest he was more relieved than anything, but why shoot a potential dream down? Perhaps it had always been a dream of hers to be a Disney princess and if that chance ever did present itself, it was not something Ricardo would ever want her to feel guilty leaving over for. He only ever wanted to support her and whatever dreams she had. "If you ever do decide to revisit, let me know...I've been told I strike a bit of a resemblance to Flynn Ryder. I don't know." He puckers his lips to the side, giving Elizabeth the best smolder he could come up with, "What do you think? Are you charmed by the smolder?" He holds it for a moment before he ends up laughing, playfully grinning.

His gaze drops down to the screen of Liz's phone as she shows him the different pictures of an unsuspecting, grumpy looking Alex enjoying his time in Disney. "Oh, I can tell he was ecstatic to be there. I'm sure he's already planning the return trip, perhaps even picking out a couple of Mickey Mouse shirts to wear as well." He teases. But when the rare pictures of Alex smiling appeared, Ric pointed to them, "See what I mean?" Jokes aside, it was nice to see what a good time they had had on their trip. He hoped they made a habit of it and took a family trip every summer somewhere. He snorts at her reaction to his cowboy accent, shrugging, "I don't know. I think it's from Die Hard or something. Look it felt like the right to reply with, okay?"

He reaches for a sip of is beverage, listening intently to what Elizabeth is saying. He smiles, setting his drink down for a moment, "I'm happy to hear about your father. I would've had to go visit him and have a couple of words with him if he didn't step up to the plate." He meant that in a more caring than threatening type of way, but he could understand how it could come off as the latter of the two. Having both Alex and Claude around her seemed to be doing her a world of good and there was comfort in that for Ricardo. If he died, at least he knew her and the twins would be well taken care of for the rest of their days.

He chuckles, "I visited some bars. I didn't visit too many, mostly because I was with my grandparents on my mom's side of the family. I most spent my time taking care of them, fixing up stuff around their home, making sure they had everything they needed to make life easier for them." Ricardo smiles at the mention of Macron and Bonbon, just not realizing how much he had missed the two cats. "We'll have to plan a pet date one day soon." At the mention of his living situation, he can't help but clear his throat a bit, "I'm still living with my roommate." He takes a sip of his drink, before he admits, "I have to confess.... I have slacked off a lot in my search for a new place. I know I should probably get back to it, but...I really like living with him." He never said the name out loud, but Elizabeth knew who his roommate was. "But otherwise, I've been pushing forward and making moves for a more positive future. I'm trying, anyway. I'm a bartender now, so you know, if you ever want to come on by, you know I've got you."

⸻ Elizabeth blushed at the compliment. ❛ I mean, if they were hiring I would accept the job in a heartbeat. ❜ She says chuckling at his comment. She always loved Disney, and perhaps this visit was more fun for her than the twins, she let out the little girl who lives inside her to have the fun she could not have when she was way younger. Much to Claude's dismay, he hated that his daughter liked it. 'You are not even American!' he would say countless times. 'We don't need to be American to love Disney', she used to reply a lot of times. ⎯ Life is being kinder allowing her to have some fun, brighter days after the storm. It was so good to catch up with Ric, she was genuinely happy to see him in person, instead of having text calls, or phone calls as they normally do, every day. Even dating Alex, she didn't stop to worry about him, or talking to him. Ric also was like a family member to her too, a family life gave her.

Liz opened her phone and showed Ric a picture she had taken of Alex when he was distracted wearing the Mickey Mouse she made him wear, during the trip, and his grumpy face. ❛ Alex joined me in the spirit of the happiest place in the world. But trust me, he was happy too. ❜ She caught a few ghost smiles that adorned his lips from time to time. Then she put the phone on the table. ❛ What the fuck did you just say? ❜ The Aussie said cackling in his cowboy accent, wiping her tears in laughs, and the twins were chatting with themselves.

Liz thanked the waitress for taking her drink, and helping the twins with their drinks, and took a sip on it. Both hold firmly and carefully with their tiny hands their drinks. ⎯ The trip was good timing. Kinda… At the least, she was able to distract herself. ❛ But if Papa and Alex weren't on this trip with me, I don't think I could make it… Speaking of my old man, he was more caring with me.❜ Ever since the kidnap, Claude changed a bit more than he has changed over the years. He was being a father to her, not someone she needed to look out for. Alex was helping with all the financial support she could ever need. What Alex doesn't know is that he also was helping her mentally too without realizing it, even with his struggles.

She chuckled when he shared the same feelings in regarding to the trip. ❛ It is so good when we realize it. ❜ She admitted. ❛ Ohh! I'm so happy for you too. What did you do then? Any nice bars to hang out in your 'holiday'? ❜ She inquired curiously. ❛ Oh! I miss Teddy! And so does Macaron and Bonbon. ❜ She refers to her kittens that aren't kitten anymore. Oh, the dog… She misses taking care of Teddy and she knows the twins also miss him too. ❛ What are up to? Still with your roomie? Or find a place for you? ❜

[url-is-under-construction]

𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭 ~ 𝐇.𝐋 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

Based off the prompt:   “𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭. 𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬.”

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3.7K

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Swearing

𝐒𝐲𝐩𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐬: Family always came first to you. That’s why you moved to Tokyo with your baby brother despite being miserable every single day, until you met him.

If NYC was the city that never slept then Tokyo was it’s younger sibling who was constantly trying to outdo the elder child. You ignored your younger brother who sat beside you in the taxi, leaning your head against the window and admiring the bright neon lights that stood out against the black of the sky.

No stars were visible, and the noise of the city was audible from inside the taxi, grinding against your ears. You hated it.

“Y/n.” You yanked my head from the cool glass of the window, leaving it foggy in your absence as Sean gently called your name. “We’re here.”

It was then you noticed the taxi had come to a stop, in front of a small looking building.

“This is it?” You asked, only getting a nod and sigh in response as the two of you exited the small vehicle, him sighing loudly as he picked up the bags.

You approached the door and knocked, waiting impatiently as the city air bit and nipped at your rosy red cheeks and nose.

It opened, revealing the man you recognized to be your father. You took a step back, turning the volume of the music in your ears up and letting Sean do the talking. You observed as their mouths moved, and the door closed on the two of you, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion before relaxing as it opened again.

This time he was fully clothed and a woman quickly scurried out from behind him, not giving any of you a second glance.

You pulled the earbud out, looking between your brother and father.

“Who was that?” You asked, following the two of them into the cramped building.

“A friend.” Your father responded sharply, before going over the ground rules and showing you to your rather small rooms.

The sleep was terrible that night. Unable to get comfortable on the thin mattress, and longing to be back at home in America. After all, you weren’t the child who had screwed up.

                                                  【~~~】

It took about three days for the reality of the situation you were in to settle in.

You were living in Tokyo. And you wouldn’t be returning home any time soon.

It was quite a rude shock when it finally hit you, and that’s when the tears every night started to pay visits.

You sure as hell weren’t the one who had fucked up, destroying not one but two cars, illegally racing and crashing through the frame of a house waiting to be built. No, that was Sean. But as usual you also had to pay for his mistakes and so off to Tokyo you went with him, leaving behind your friends, your family and your car.

It wasn’t like your mother was expecting you to live here forever with Sean. After all you were almost nineteen and very much so capable of making your own decisions.

She had wanted you to go with him for the first month though, not wanting him to be completely alone with no one but your father there for him, and by painting it out to be some exotic holiday she had convinced you to tag along.

It was a mistake.

Sean had started coming home later and later every night, adjusting well to life in the city. You on the other hand, had absolutely no friends, and despised your days with every fiber of your being. You had begun marking days off your calendar, counting down eagerly for the month to be over and for you to return home.

“I hate it here.” You shoveled food into your mouth, standing with your back against the counter of the kitchen as Sean absentmindedly filled a glass of water. “Why did I choose to come with you?”

“How would I know?.” He mumbled under his breath, pulling his phone out of his pocket as it buzzed.

“You know if you hadn’t been so-”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” He cut you off, rolling his eyes. “I get enough if that from Mom and Dad. Don’t need it from you too.”

His accent was far stronger than yours, and you mocked him, feeling defeated when he just rolled his eyes and turned back to his phone.

He read whatever was on the screen with a small smile on his face and nosily you leaned over, wanting to get a look.

“Fuck off.” He shoved your shoulder, still smiling.

“What’s got you looking all happy?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

He looked at you, a mischievous smile on his lips as you waited.

“How do you feel about going out tonight?”

                                                 【~~~】

Bodies crammed together in the parking garage, all surrounding the hundreds of cars parked in the lot. The immaculate paint jobs shined in the harsh neon lights, and most of them had their hoods up and their incredible engines on display, leaving your jaw on the ground every time.

You stuck close to Sean and Twinkie, feeling safer with your younger brother and his best friend. You felt intimidated by the gorgeous women who surrounded you, not that you were there to impress anyone. You were there for the cars.

The shitty 1990 Accord you had back in the states was nothing compared to the beasts that were parked in here.

You could feel vibrations in the ground, from the music and cars and it brought a small smile to your face as you walked through the swarm of people.

Sean’s eyes were scanning the crowd intently, clearly searching for someone.

He finally located who he was after and pulled you and Twinkie in the direction, his smile growing.

“There are some people I want you to meet.”

You were introduced to some faces you knew you wouldn’t remember, a gorgeous girl named Neela being one of the few you did.

You didn’t miss the way they looked at each other, or the way her boyfriend would possessively interrupt when you were talking to her, much to her dismay.

“And finally,” Sean said as you approached a man leaning back against his car, a small smirk on his face. “The one and only, Han.”

You flicked your eyes up to meet his, ignoring the way your breath slightly hitched in your throat.

He stuck his hand out to grasp yours, and you gripped it back with the same smirk he was wearing.

“Y/n.” You introduced yourself, not missing the way his eyes slowly traveled up and down your body. “I’m sorry about what my brother did to your car.”

His eyes returned to you, a smile on his face.

“It’s fine. Plenty of others sitting in that garage.”

You raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, his smile turning into a shy grin.

“Better keep Sean away from them then.” You teased, turning to your brother only to realize he had left.

You noticed him standing by Neela again, walking around her car while her boyfriend, Takashi, watched intently from afar.

“He’s in love. Has been since he saw her.” Han rolled his eyes, popping a chip into his mouth.

“Hard to see why he wouldn’t be.” You said. “She’s beautiful. Kind. Into cars.”

“And what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you kind? Into cars?” He asked, following your eyes to Sean and Neela.

“You forgot beautiful.” You said with a small laugh as you moved to stand next to him, leaning against the Mazda RX-7 behind you. You were praying to god it was his car, otherwise the lucky owner would probably get very, very pissed.

“Nah.” He turned his head and looked down at you. “Don’t need to ask you that to figure it out.”

A blush crept into your cheeks and you couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on your face.

“Well, usually when someone is kind they don’t run around telling others about it.” Your eyes met his again. “And I love cars.”

He grinned at you, and you turned your head to look back at Sean.

A part of you wanted to play hard to get, but the other part knew that even after only five seconds of talking to this man you were fucking done for and he knew that as well.

“And what about you?” You copied his earlier words, elaborating when you saw his confused face. “Are you kind? Into cars? Beautiful?”

“Beautiful?” He scoffed. “Sweetheart I’m a damn model.”

You let out a laugh, feeling yourself relax.

“I was kind enough to not beat your brother to death after he totaled my car.” Han joked. “And as for cars-” He gestured to the garage, full of stunning, high performance cars capable of stealing your heart in a matter of seconds. “-I probably wouldn’t be here if I didn’t like them.”

“Yeah I suppose that was obvious.” You let out a content sigh. This was the first time you had forgotten about your little countdown, and also the longest conversation you had had with someone who you weren’t related to.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, admiring the cars that surrounded you for a few minutes before he turned back to you again.

“What are you doing here Y/n?”

Your head turned to his, your eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Oh come on, you think Sean doesn’t gush about his amazing older sister every chance he gets?” Han rolled his eyes at you like you were stupid.

“No. I find that very hard to believe.” You let out a small laugh. “And you still haven’t answered my question.”

“Sean told me that you were eighteen, turning nineteen in a few months time. No one is forcing you to be here, in Japan.” Han explained, his dark eyes staring into yours. “And yet here you are. Living in Tokyo, miserable, because your delinquent brother couldn’t stay out of trouble in the states. Why?”

Your mouth opened, then closed, then fell open again. You turned your head away from the piercing dark eyes and glanced at your brother.

“Because that guy who destroyed your car is my baby brother. He’s the closest family I’ve got.” You watched Sean as he spoke to Neela, hearts in his eyes. “Family stick together Han. I couldn’t let him just up and leave to a brand new country, with no one but our father there for him.”

Han watched the way you spoke, feeling a warmth across his chest.

“It’s my job to protect him and be there for him, and I don’t care if I’m miserable the whole time I’m doing it. I’m going to be there.”

His jaw almost dropped as your words hit him like bricks.

“You know,” He started. “You remind me of someone I used to go way back with.”

You scoffed light-heartedly.

“How old are you?”

He just grinned. “Too old for you.”

“Well luckily for you, my age is too young for me.” You said. Despite your tone being confident your body was completely betraying you, bracing itself for rejection.

Instead he just laughed and ran a hand through his hair.

Both of your heads snapped to the right as someone called his name, and you felt your heart fall when you realized that he was probably going to leave.

He sent a quick wave to the person who called out and pushed himself off the Mazda, gazing down at you.

“You know,” He started, a shy smile creeping onto his face. “If you ever get bored during the day you should come by the garage. I think I could make it worth your time.”

You let out a small laugh.

“We’ll see.”

                                                【~~~】

“You made friends pretty fast.” Sean said teasingly as you entered the kitchen, your hair sticking up in all kinds of directions.

“Yeah and so did you apparently.” You sent a sarcastic smile back in his direction. “Pity she’s taken.”

The smile on his face dropped instantly and he went back to his breakfast, ignoring you.

After a few minutes of silence between the two of you he spoke up again.

“So are you gonna?”

You looked up from your phone and coffee, furrowing your brows.

“Am I gonna what?”

“Swing by Han’s garage?” He had a knowing smirk on his face. “He told me all about your little conversation.”

You just shrugged casually, not wanting to let him know how you really felt inside.

“Maybe, if I have the time.”

“All you have here is time.” He scoffed. “All you’ve done for the past few days is buy food, eat it, then sleep. You may as well.”

You let out a sigh and finished what was left of your drink.

“Yeah, and for your information Sean, it’s been great.”

“You know you wanna Y/n.” He teased, a grin on his face.

“How about this,” You started. “Let me know next time you head over there. Maybe I’ll tag along.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sean said. “Especially given that I’ll be there tonight.”

Your cool demeanor dropped and your eyes widened.

“Tonight?”

“That’s what I said.” He grinned. “I’ll be sure to let him know he can look forward to seeing you there with me.”

“I’m gonna fucking kill you.” You whispered under your breath.

He just shrugged his shoulders.

“You’d be doing me a favor if it meant I’d never have to see your gross face again.”

“What are you? Five?” You asked.

“I’d say that’s about right.”

You just scoffed at him, heading back to your room.

Not that you’d ever admit it to Sean, but you were glad that he’d be heading over to the garage tonight.

You would definitely rather die than tell him that though.

                                               【~~~】

You shut the car door behind you and stepped out into the cool evening air.

Sean had come by to pick you up after he had finished school, and you had been anxiously waiting all day.

Now you were finally here, and still very, very anxious.

“This doesn’t look like a garage to me.” You furrowed your brows, looking out at the water.

“That’s because it’s in there.” Sean pointed to the large brick building. “We’re gonna stay out the front, this is where Han’s been teaching me how to drift.”

“Oh.” You managed to get out, following your baby brother to a group of people who were all sitting down by stacks of tires.

All four faces were familiar, but you only remembered the names of two of them.

“Y/n.” Han greeted you, nodding his head with a smile as he casually held the bottle in his hand.

“Hi.” You smiled back at him, your nerves starting to melt away.

Sean gestured to the empty seat beside Han, and you took it.

The others tossed you friendly smiles which you returned, and Han looked up at Sean.

“Go get your sister a drink.” He said.

Sean did as he was asked, reaching into the cooler that had been brought along and handing you a bottle of something.

“Are you gonna have one?” You asked your brother as you opened it and took a small sip.

“Can’t drink and drive now, can I?” He smirked, digging his keys out of his pocket and heading back towards the Evo.

“Well that’s a first.” You scoffed, and you heard Han let out a small laugh beside you.

“I’m guessing the cowboy doesn’t wanna fuck up another one of Han’s cars.” Twinkie said, watching Sean as his climbed into the car and started it.

You looked over at Han.

“That’s your car?”

“Yep.” He nodded proudly, watching Sean as he started his usual route around the dock.

“How many more have you got hiding in that garage of yours?” You asked with a small laugh.

“You’ll have to come see for yourself.” He shrugged.

“Maybe.” You shrugged as well, missing the way Twinkie and the others looked back and forth at each other.

“You know,” Han started. “If you haven’t got any other plans tonight, I could take you out for a drive, grab some food. Maybe come back to the garage when everyone’s gone.” He said the last part quietly enough for only you to hear.

You looked over to Sean in the car, able to make out his face of concentration despite how far away you were from him. He wouldn’t miss you for one night.

“When do we leave?” You asked with a smile.

He grinned with a surprised laugh, and you could tell he had been expecting you to say no.

“Now, if that works for you.”

You looked back at Sean, wincing at the sound of the tires screaming against the road.

“Sounds good.”

                                              【~~~】

The two of you had ended up getting cheap food from a side-of-the-road vendor, eating in silence in the car before making small talk about everything, from your life back in America to what kind of animals you thought you could take on in a fight.

You were laughing when you stumbled out of the RX-7 and into the cool night air, following Han into the garage which wasn’t that much warmer.

You didn’t know what you had expected when you walked into the garage, but it definitely wasn’t what you saw.

Han gestured for you to follow him up some stairs to an open second story, furnished with a small kitchen, table and chair, and living area.

“Wow.” You mumbled under your breath, realizing he must have some serious money to be able to afford all of this. Not to mention the cars in there, some of which cost more than your house, car and life savings combined.

“It’s my pride and joy.” He pointed towards the sofa, and you took a seat, sinking in to the plush material as he opened the fridge and called out to you. “You want a drink?”

“Yeah thanks.” You smiled, and he pulled out two of the same bottles you had been drinking from earlier.

He took a seat beside you, on the opposite edge of the relatively small sofa, and the two of you sat in silence for a moment, reflecting on your night, before you spoke up.

“Thank you.” You said quietly, and he looked at you in confusion. “For what you’re doing for Sean, I mean.”

“It’s not a problem.” He brushed it off. “He’s a good kid, the kinda person I want to be around.”

You let out a scoff.

“Well I wouldn’t go that far.”

He chuckled at you.

“Thank you.” He said, and this time it was your turn to be confused. “You might not realize it. but coming out here with Sean has made it so much easier for him. He probably won’t ever tell you, but he’s grateful as hell and crazy lucky to have you in his life.”

A small blush crept up onto your cheeks, and you almost didn’t notice as he crept closer towards you. Almost.

“Yeah well he’s also crazy lucky to have met you.” You said quietly, your eyes meeting his as the two of you drew closer and closer. “I am too.” You whispered.

“And why’s that?” He asked, his tone matching yours, and you swore the room got hotter by about twenty degrees.

“You’re kind,” You started, remembering back to last night when you met him. “Into cars.” You continued, and he nodded along, agreeing with you.

“You forgot beautiful.” He whispered, just inches from your face now, and you smiled cheekily.

“You’re a damn model sweetheart.”

He grinned, his eyes flicking down to your lips briefly and before you could realize what was happening his lips were on yours.

Your hands instinctively went to his hair, pulling him closer to you as you laid down flat on your back, feeling his hands roam up and down your body.

You felt butterflies erupt in your chest as your hands wandered from the back of his head, and so did your mind.

Sean’s face flashed in your mind and you inhaled sharply, pushing Han off of you and sitting up, breathing heavily.

“Shit.” You hissed, moving to the edge of the sofa and holding your head in your hands. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“What? What’s wrong?” Han asked, also breathing heavily. His tone sounded confused, and guilt racked through your body. “I’m sorry.” His voice changed to apologetic. “I thought you wanted to.”

“I do.” You whined. “I want to, but I can’t. We can’t do this.”

“Why not?” He asked, placing a hand on your thigh.

“Sean.” You turned to look him in the eyes, and his face dropped.

“Shit.” He said.

“Shit.” You agreed.

The two of you sat in silence, still trying to catch your breaths, and trying to think of a way to fix the now incredibly awkward situation.

“I think I should leave.” You said, pushing yourself up off the sofa.

“Y/n don’t go.” Han protested. “It’s the middle of the night and you’ve been drinking. Neither of us can drive and I’m not going to let you walk home or get into a taxi with some creep.”

You let out a sigh, not letting him see how the fact that he cared that much made you all warm and fuzzy inside, or how the fact that it made you all warm and fuzzy inside made you want to gag.

“What do I do then?” You asked.

“Take my bed.” He nodded towards a door that you were assuming led to his bedroom. “I’ll take the sofa.”

“No way.” You protested. “This is your home Han, you aren’t sleeping on that tiny ass sofa. I can, it’s no problem.”

His eyes looked like he wanted to argue, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Ok. I’ll go grab you some blankets.”

“Thanks.” You smiled, laying down on the sofa.

It was undeniably comfortable, and you let your eyes close before Han returned, vaguely feeling him place a thick blanket over the top of you before pressing a quick kiss to your forehead, leaving you with butterflies.

Your mind started to slip out of consciousness, and you let it, forgetting about how you were sleeping in Han’s garage, and planning on being out of there before he woke up the next morning.

𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

Just a fun little something that took me about a week to finish writing! Hope you like it and requests are most certainly open <3

If anyone would like to be on the tag list for part 2, please let me know!

[aaalllice]

Heyy x3 could you do a Marco ilsø x fan reader? Like at a comic con she gets an autograph and hes just amazed? Maybe some jealousy (im a sucker for that xD) when she goes to Alex? Thank you <3

Let’s hope you gonna like it !

I’ve never been to a comic con, there’s probably mistakes

Warning : none, so enjoy !

You and Marco

Friday, April 22, 10 pm

I just arrived in my hotel room, first reflex I drop my stuff and lie on the bed, comfortable…A few seconds later I stand up and turn my head towards the only window of the room, outside the sky was grey and big clouds were approaching not announcing anything good, hoping that tomorrow morning the rain won’t be there, I don’t want to look like a mop, I get up rubbing my hands on my shoulders to warm me up, it’s freezing if I don’t want to be sick tomorrow I have to put on a vest. I approach my suitcase, lift it and put it on my bed without delicacy, after I put the piece of cloth on my shoulders, I start to put my belongings on the room shelf. I mustn’t forget to take the gifts, knowing myself between stress and excitement, I will forget them The sound of my phone ringing startles me, it's my best friend, I pick up

hi ; where are you !? ; she has an unusual voice

I’m fine thank you ; I start making random steps in my room

I’m at your house, but apparently, you’re not! ;

I went to Germany for the weekend ;

What, you went on vacation without me! ;

I’m at a comic con ; … ;

hello? ;

you’re at the German comic con ; bravo you remember ! ; I’m obviously ironic, I had already told her about it, she could have come with me, but she doesn’t like Vikings…

Yeah, it’s good, I drank a little, sooo ;

you can stay at my house if you want ;

serious ? ;

I’m sure you’re already lying on my couch with something to eat ;

Maybe; I hear her yawning uhh, otherwise, what’s new since this morning ?;

hello ? ;

the sound of his snoring was heard ;

ok good night ;

I hang up and go back to my business

an hour later ~

I just finished tidying up, I put the presents on the bed, I finally found the radiator, the room temperature will warm up soon and I ordered food, waiting I sat on the floor to review my schedule for tomorrow, unfortunately, I could only afford one day but we will enjoy it, my day will boil down to waiting, waiting for autographs and still waiting to take pictures, but it’s worth it, imagine meeting Ivar the Boneless !!!

I get up suddenly, hold up my ticket and jump around my bed like a child, after that moment of euphoria, I lie on my back, I start to imagine scenarios, imagine Alex dropping me at the back of the line and making me double-cross everyone, imagine that we get along well, imagine that we become friends or best friend! imagine that he introduces me to all the cast and that he appreciates me all! imagine going to party with them!!!

The sound of my phone notification brings me back to reality, I look at the screen, my belly gargoyle, my food is there! It’s sleep time, I just got out of the shower and headed for my bed which looks more comfortable than when I arrived, I grab my phone and sit comfortably under the cover, the temperature was nice, the sheets are soft, everything is perfect, I launch my playlist puts on my headphones and turns off the light, and it’s back to imagine fake scenarios Weird I don’t think too much about tomorrow, I go more into a fantastic world, some music later, music "until I fond you" begins to ring in my ears, as soon as a man’s face appears, we lie in the hotel bed, the sunlight passes through the window what allows me to better distinguish the face of the man who sleeps on my belly is… Marco!

He smiles at me, with his angelic smile, and approaches me, to place a kiss on my forehead, then he gets up and goes to the bathroom, he was shirtless, which allowed me to look better at detailing his back well drawing, I wait for the shower water to run, an irresistible need to join him takes me, I hardly get up, the sound of his voice comes out of the bathroom, "need help ?", I did not answer but I could not hold my smile, I moved with a little difficulty, arrived, I lean back to the frame of the door, Marco was finishing shaving his beard, he turned his head with a surprised look on his face, but began to smile very quickly, "I was going to come to get you", he rinses his face and approaches, he puts his hand around my waist, I kiss his chest "come with me in the shower", he had a little laugh, he put his hands under my thighs and lifted me, I felt the steam of hot water and Marco’s lips coming closer, but unfortunately the music ended which brought me back to reality, shit! It was so realistic… Let’s hope I'm gonna dream about that! I turn the light back on, grab my book and start my reading, still a little out of it because of this "amazing" fake scenario.

9 am

My alarm clock rings, but my eyes refuse to open and my body to move, after a few seconds I finally decide to extend my arm to stop this unbearable ringing, I stretch myself painfully, then get up, before anything I will take a shower, What better way to wake up than a warm shower. Once I get up, dress up, make up and do my hair, I go to my bag, check my things, and pick up my phone, 10 am, it’s time to go, I grab the key to the room, and out, it’s grey but no rain in sight, I’m waiting for the cab that’s supposed to drive me to the comic con… Damn it! As soon as I got out of the hotel, I realized that I had obviously forgotten the gifts, I hurried up, before my taxi arrived Only 30 minutes to go before arriving, I’m overexcited, my right leg gives small strokes on the ground, and I stress.

Here I am inside, Just in time as the rain begins to fall outside, there is no way that there are people, the comic was suitable to open some minute ago, and already queues started to form I walk between the stands, I have to control the desire to buy everything, I remember that I have no more money, I put everything in this weekend (well almost everything, I still have to pay my rent),    I walk between the stands, and admire the various exhibitions.

A voice announcement that different actors have arrived at their signing booths, and that they will soon be ready, people have started to run like crazy, all in the same direction, I guess it must be around here

I’ve been waiting in line for 1 hour, and to be honest, I don’t know who I’m going to see Jordan maybe? I got in through the crowd, and I couldn’t see where I was going but well it doesn’t matter, but in any case, Alex didn’t notice me as by miracle in the crowd, as I had imagined. After a few minutes and some fangirl fainting, I finally get to see the actor, and it was Alex, the more time passes the more I can’t wait Waiting for my turn, I look at the booth next door, it was Marco he was on break for a few minutes, I am super-happy to see Alex and to be able to talk to him, I had hoped to see and talk to Marco. I had planned to see all the actors of the Vikings present but seeing the world I think it would be impossible for this morning, but it is not a great loss, this afternoon it is the photos, 

37 minutes and 32 seconds later only two people left and it’s my turn hi ; Alex makes me a gesture to move forward Are you okay ? ; He looks at me waiting for an answer I blink quickly and mouse embarrassed Yeah, sorry, I’m fine ; Don’t worry, you’re not the first one that happens ; I imagine ; so what do I sign ? ; I give him a miniature posture of a Vikings season 6 poster You can sign this, please ; of course ; he takes the poster and sits at his table

A hand is placed on his shoulder of Alex who jumps into contact with this gesture, we lift our head at the same time toward the owner of the hand,          My brain freezes, my blood freezes and my cheeks get even redder you made me miss my signature ; idiot, it's always missed your signature ; Marco, did you finish your pose ? ; Yeah ; he looked up at me and smiled Sorry ; w wh why ? ; my voice trembles, I want to slap myself, pick up, he’ll find you strange for the signature ; oh it doesn’t matter, it’s not a big deal ; I feel like my head is going to explode Come to my booth, I’ll give you a better signature than this idiot ;

Alex raised his head and slightly pushed Marco making him laugh, he saluted him and went back to sit down, and gave me a last look before welcoming the fans I think I can die in peace, Marco invited me to his booth… it doesn’t mean anything but in my head, I’m going to get married and have two kids with him, take it back, damn it

for you ; Alex hands me my poster Thanks, uh, I’ve, uh; I’m frantically rummaging through my tote bag a gift? ;

yes ; I give him a stuffed bear dressed up as Ivar the boneless he thanks me in his arms, and it’s already time to leave, I have to leave the place, I turn my head to Marco who looks at me and beckons me to come 

don’t worry Marco she’s coming, she’s not going to fly away ; shout Alex in an ironic tone a heat runs through my body, I smile, and I feel my cheeks warm come ; Marco’s voice echoes in my head as I head towards him, his eyes are on me, and even if his smile is meant to reassure me, I can’t help trembling slightly hi ; I was in front of him… he was standing, I had to raise my head to see his face

I don’t want to disturb, I can keep waiting in line ; I look at the people behind me who are watching us attentively don’t worry, you won’t have time to get back in line, there are too many people ; he holds out his hand FIRST reflex, I put my hand in his….

It took a few seconds for me to realize what I’m doing, so… we’re holding hands, but why did I do that!? , he reached out to me to give him my poster, not that I give him my hand! He had a cute little laugh, which brought me back to reality I’m so sorry ; I take my hand off right away, I don’t even dare look at it, but why did I do that!?

this is the first time that some do this to me; he laughs and I do the same I give him the poster, he takes it and with his other hand he grabs mine, and goes towards his table makes me stop next to the chair, and he sits down gently letting go of my hand, of course, I'm still red

well well well ; he takes his black mark and starts signing I prefer Alex’s ; I was leaning over her shoulder

what ? ; he lifts his head to look at me Alex’s signature is better; I smile sarcastically, and he smiles back

You have no right; he belittles the head to look at his signature

why ?; slightly destabilize because you have no right to choose Alex over me ; he raises his head, hands me my poster and makes me smile mischievously

is that clear ? ; I laugh a little nervous Yes, sir; I take my poster he gets up and looks at me smiling thank you for signing; I said goodbye with my hand and moved towards the exit

where are you going? I turn to see Marco’s face a little confused

where am I going? I’m as confused as he is Yeah, where are you going? I don’t even know what your name is? ; 

oh, uh y/n, enchanting ; why did I say that’s, stupid                                              Marco, nice to meet you ; he shakes my hand

Now that we know each other, I go or…;

you’re leaving? ; a disappointed look appears on his face

I think so, you have to sign more posters ; I smile at his puppy face Alex has the right to a surprise, a hugh and I don’t ? ; He made a dramatic gesture with his hand

oh, yes, no well yes I have something for you too, I have something, of course ; he began to laugh softly

I can’t find the gift I made for Marco I whisper to myself where you put it, where you put the little present for my Marco his laughter grew louder, which made me realize that I spoke a little too loudly

I’m sorry I forget it in my hotel room ; I look at him with a sorry look

really ? ; he seemed to be disappointed Yeah, sorry… ;

Go say it, that you did it on purpose, that you prefer Alex ; no no, I uh I think you heard what I just said anyway ; I’m making a little smile to hide my gene heard

what ? ; he’s getting closer to me, with a stupid fake look on his face nothing, Marco, nothing ; I get a little closer to his face and give him a sarcastic smile

goood Marco, you work or you flirt ? ; Alex, she hates me so much that she didn’t even bring me a present ; my cheeks that were refreshed, go red again let them down,

I’m irresistible, she’s already under the spell, you can’t go after me ; please gentlemen; a security guard was getting closer to us                          yes sorry ;

oh uh yeah I’m going ; I’m heading out this time for good

see you later y/n ; he winked at me and went back to his autographs

What the hell just happened?! I barely realize, that the voice in the speaker, indicates that the photos with the actors will start in 45 min Already? But it’s a few hours? I’m taking my phone out, 2 pm, already!? I think I’ve heard so much! I have to find something to eat and especially a place to sit and recover from my emotions

I searched everywhere, I couldn’t find a free place, so I sat outside, next to a small rescue door The sky was always gray but the rain had stopped, I’m enjoying my meal looking into the void, I can not believe what happened... the scene goes back and forth in my head,                                                            I held his hand there... I began to laugh alone on the moment I was very embarrassed but start it was nice, as if all his hours dreamed was become reality

But let’s be realistic, in a few minutes I’m going to take a picture with him, then come back and never see him again (in real life), each of us is going to go back to our life, and he’s going to forget my name and forget my existence

Besides, I think he’s already forgotten me, and anyway, it’s okay, it’s life, who do I think I am, the main character? no, otherwise I would have kissed him and right now we’d be hand in hand planning our first couple trip The sound of rain comes out of me but thinking, SHIT, I’m going to be soaked, I throw the paper from my snack in the trash next to me and head for the little door

Fortunately, I am only a little wet and with the heat of the big room I will quickly dry I think it’s time to head to the photo booth, I’m slowly moving forward trying to dodge the world but obviously a crowd movement is leading me to oppose it from where I want to go

After a few nudges, I can get myself out of the herd of people who are heading somewhere I arrive, finally "I arrive" and place myself in the queue, it will be long, I feel the headache coming, between the noise and the heat I have the impression that I will faint, fortunately I bought a bottle of water (which cost me dearly, damn it)

After 2 hours of waiting it’s my turn soon, I’m impatient, I’m going to see Marco again !

I give my ticket to a lady who lets me pass in front of a blue background where Alex and Marco were talking, Marco noticed me coming over Alex’s shoulder and gave me a big smile, which made Alex turn around.

Hey, but I know you ?! ; he opens his arms to hold me in his arms, Marco puts his hand on Alex’s shoulder to stop the hug

my turn ; he steps forward and I do the same, red as a tomato

please ; the photographer seemed to want the day to end, a chance for him, the comic con ends soon

what you want to do ; ask Alex Um, I had an idea ;

tell us ; said Marco with a rather perverse smile, which made me laugh

You know the same, where there’s a guy and a girl walking down the street and, you know what, I’ll show you ; I pull out my phone, and they get closer  *shows the same*

oh yes, I know ; Marco raised his head to look at me

so, who does who? ; asks Alex

y/n and I hold hands ; he takes my hand abruptly, and sets himself up to do like the girl in blue, Alex laughs shaking his head and places himself in the same position as the woman in red

Okay, 3 2 1 ; the photographer looks at the photo and gives us a sign that he will take another one

The detention between me and Marco had gone up, although it’s a nice feeling, I think I’ll relax the atmosphere

Alex has a nice butt...; too bad can’t see his reaction, I hear him, choke slightly

the sound of the puddle makes me slightly jump or it is the pressure of Marco’s hand on mine that disturbed me

perfect, thanks ; the photographer goes to a big print and takes out the photos

thank you for coming ; said Alex hug me again

your finish uh ?!, you will suffocate her ; Marco made a false look full of reproach, we laugh slightly I take the pictures

thank you very much for your time, guys  ; 

Marco gently puts his hand behind my back If you don’t know where to go during the summer holidays, come to Denmark, you’ll see it’s super beautiful...; I don’t know why but I do the same thing I put my hand on his back, is this moment real? yeah, why not ; I smiled at her slightly but it’s time to go, so I walk away while saying goodbye

after some second walk in an empty corridor, I arrive in the main room, it is time to leave, where is the exit?

Y/N! ; I turn around to see who pronounces my name (although I certainly don’t get called because I don’t know anyone here)

It was Marco, he stood between the hallway, which I had just crossed, he smiled and waved to me to join him

Are you okay? ; What’s he doing here, he doesn’t have any more photos to take? yes very good is just, that euh ; he gets interrupted by the speakers

*Photo booth closes* *Dear visitors the comic con will soon close, take your time, but please start heading out, thank you*

oh you finished your day ; exactly, and I was wondering ; he stops talking and looks me right in the eye Yeah, Marco, what were you wondering? ; he laughs slightly, he must think himself stupid, but I find him cute to blush slightly, for once it’s not me

I wonder if, uh, how to say, would you be willing to lend me your phone number? ; he smiled embarrassed but a bit charming

oh my God! oh my God! oh my God! it’s not possible! , ok breathe and calm down but oh my God!!!

Lend? ; I try to stay calm .                                                                                      Um, yeah, so I’m giving you a coffee and uh ; I see he’s trying to be confident, but he’s stressed out I can’t believe it! It’s happening to me! a coffee? super! ; his face relaxes, he gives me a wide smile 

great! yeah ; he makes a small gesture of victory, which makes me laugh, how it’s possible to be so cute and so handsome (I think it’s criminal)

Um, will there be Alex? ; He raised an eyebrow no, no, not Alex ; he seemed a little upset by my remark, even though he was pretending not to

I have to catch up, obviously I wanted to be alone with him, but I prefer to ask so much the better ; I wink at him he began to laugh

sorry I ; don’t apologize for being jealous ; I’ll give him a slight pat on the arm jealous ? no, i’m not jealous ; he says laughing

are you sure? ; I tease him just because Alex got a gift and I didn’t ; we laugh there was a moment of silence, we looked at each other without saying anything

*Dear visitors the comic con will soon close, take your time, but please start heading out, thank you*

I think I have to go ; your number, first ; oh yes ; he hands me his phone, I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it! After registering my number in his phone, he offered to take me to the exit and to wait for my taxi together

Marco and I have been sitting on a wall talking for five minutes. I can’t believe, the conversation is going so well, it’s relaunching, after this tiring day that we both spent

He’s very nice in person, and he seems very attentive to what I’m saying, we get along, and we laugh, I find him very charming OK yes I find him handsome , and I have already imagined several times my life with him, but here this conversation, sweet and fun between two real humans is incredible and simple at the same time.

Unfortunately, a taxi is careful to quote us

I think it’s for you ; Marco gets up and holds out his hand, I grab it and lift me up

thank you ; he had a laugh

send me a message when you arrive, ok ? ; he opens the door 

thank you ; I sit in the back seat and greet the driver, the inside of the car was old brown leather, which made it look dark, there was a slight smell of cigarette and the radio passed an old German music air                                                      Marco closes the door, and I open the window

text me when you arrive ; he gets closer and bends over to see me better ok ; we looked at each other with a stupid smile on our faces, without saying anything, without doing anything, this moment is not awkward, it’s just pleasant the engine noise gets louder, I feel the car moving, Marco steps back a bit so as not to get his feet crushed he signs me goodbye and I do the same the car turns to the right and rushes into a street and Marco’s silhouette would disappear from my sight

On the way, I think back to our discussion, which was the most mundane but the most sweet and fun I’ve ever had, I think back to his smiles and his laughter and his eyes looking at me, to his body so close to mine, I dreamed of moments like thisthis, but this was real, and a thousand times better than my dreams

I walk into my room, the cold that reigns and worse than yesterday, I put my bag down, I rush on the heat and turn it on, I don’t remember turning it off on my side this morning, I sit on the bed, and take off my shoes and my jacket, I wish Marco was there to keep me warm, I had a little pevers smile looking at my pillows

7pm I’d been home an hour, and the only thing I could do was take a shower so here I am in hot water, humming songs and foaming soap on my body I let my mind wander, relax after this day filled with emotions

*knock knock*

Marco ? ; His name had escaped my lips, I don’t feel a bit stupid, it was obviously not him... what if?

I turn off the water, go out and wrap a servite around me, I look in the half-foggy mirror, I look pathetic, my hair wet, my skin reddened (by warm water) and my mascara which is not very well gone But whatever, I open the bathroom door and run to the front door.

Nobody, there was nobody, the hallway was empty, disappointed I lowered my head a little on the ground, a bag, a bag of food

but yes, that I am stupid, I was ordered to eat and I did not see the time passing, I laugh a little, find me stupid to have thought that Marco would be there

I go home with the bag of food still warm, and starve on the bed, and start eating

Marco... I’m stupid ; I start laughing all by myself Marco?! I forgot! I forgot to tell him I got here, damn it!

Where’s my phone, or I put it, it’s when you need it most that’s not there FIND, at the foot of the bed, what is it doing there?!

2 missed calls 3 messages

shit

in my life, I prefer to communicate by message, I find it simpler and less annoying, but I wasn’t thinking about it, and I call them It rings, why was I calling them?! a message would have sufficed, I hesitate to hang up but he picks up

Did you see the time? ; He looked ironic I have arrived ; I answer in the same tone as him I thought I’d have to come see if you had arrived well ; still ironic, but he could have been serious ah yeah ? ;                                                                                                        yeah ;

un silence s'instale, je ne sais pas quoi dire, j'aimerais le revoir mais quand ?, et est ce que lui veut me revoir?, oui il veut sinon il ne n'aurait pas demander mon numero de telephone, mais demain je pars, et lui il a la comic con,...

y/n ; yes? ; tomorrow, you ? ; No, I, uh, I wouldn’t be here ; oh too bad ; Yeah, I wish I could have seen you on stage ; I would have liked to see you in the crowd ; it would have been cool ; yeah ; yeah ; What time are you leaving? ; Wait ; I rush to my bag, and take out my ticket I have to be at the airport around 11 am ;

there was a silence and you start at what time tomorrow Marco? ; I have to be there at 2:00; we could meet! wait maybe he doesn’t want ok ok, good luck; thank you;

Go y/n ask for a coffee “date”, or just a short walk to change his mind I risk what? that he says no, that I become embarrassed and that the situation is embarrassing and that I ruin the little chance that I have Be brave, damn it!

tomorrow 10 am, in the bar you want, is that okay? ; There was a silence, shit he’s going to say no... Marco? ; perfect, 10 in front of your hotel, I go to take ; a stewardship joy does not invade (and a huge stress too) great ; I can’t help smiling foolishly I’ll take you to the airport ; oh uh thank you, that’s nice ;

the conversation ended with good-byes tomorrow,

a minute of silence for my soul who has just left my body I can’t believe I have a "date" with Marco Ilso!!!!

What am I gonna wear, I got nothing!!

Apr 23 9 : 30 am

in front of my mirror, I look at myself one last time to be sure that everything is fine, I do a simple hairstyle, a simple make-up, my outfit...I did with what I had, but at least with my 4 layers of clothes I wouldn’t get cold, even though I look like my woodcutter who drank way too many beers

*notification noise* I look at my phone

From Marco <3: I’m waiting for you downstairs

I grab my stuff, look one last time at the room to see if I forgot anything, everything is good I can leave

He stood in front of the reception, dressing well, styling well and beautifully beautiful, for a moment I considered running away, I’m ashamed, imagine a person like me with him, a fan, I’m just a fan... too late he saw me, he beckons me and gets closer

hi, y/n ; hi Marco ; Let me help you ; he put his hand on the handle of my little suitcase oh it’s okay I can do it ; I was a little embarrassed I know ; he took it and motioned me to follow him, outside a taxi waiting for us Once inside a banal conversation began, also side by side, shoulder to shoulder

oh, I was going to forget ; I’m going through my bag, under Marco’s watchful eyes

and there it is ; I give him a small cardboard box what is it ; he prices it carefully a gift ; I smile at him                                                                                                really, I’m entitled to a gift? ; he looks at me smiling Yeah, well, it’s not exactly for you ; what? ; he looked confused open ; I push his shoulder he opened, and began to laugh oh ; What ?! you don’t like it, he’s not gonna like it? ; no, it is perfect, Pablo will love it ; he turns to me with a big smile great ; our face was close, smiling and alaise but very close

he’ll smile, I do the same he gets a little closer to me, I do the same he puts his hand on my cheek, I put my hands on the back of his neck envy, electricity and butterflies paradise, quick and shy, but adorable we look at each other, smiling like children

~~

I won’t tell you what happened next, because it’s a secret A well-kept secret between me and Marco Is our date go well, probably Did we keep talking by message, maybe Did we meet again after, who knows

but what I can tell you is that the fake scenario imagined in this hotel room may have become reality and it’s much better in real life (with some real good sensation)

end

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

hey

i known, the end is bad but i have no more inspiration, so, hey sorry

anyway, if you have some request or anythings else

Kiss Kiss