#there's a whole other discussion to be had about how

[fictionalsweethearts]

A CHILD FOR ZAUN | SEVIKA X READER | ARCANE

Synopsis: Under pressure from the Council and with a heavy responsibility on her shoulders, Sevika decides to have a child with her wife to show her commitment with the cause. However, indirect methods are too risky and she ends up choosing the traditional way, being an equal part spectator and participant.

Contains: mention of pregnancy, threesome, male participation, voyeurism, breeding kink, wife!Sevika, dirty talking, jealousy (I could keep going).

MINORS DNI

Note: Alright, so this is some kinky ass shit, I admit, so if you're not into male participation you can enjoy my other works on my masterlist. If you're staying... enjoy.

“A child?” Sevika asked, her eyebrows knitting together at Shoola’s sudden proposition. The councilor had waited until the session had adjourned and the rest of the councilors had left to discuss this with Sevika.

The work at the council seemed endless; since the war with Noxus and all the havoc it caused—from half of Piltover in ruins, to hundreds of casualties, widowed wives an husbands, orphaned children, and protests and riots on the bridge due to Zaun’s refusal to actively collaborate with the other side of the bridge—Sevika had barely had time to make amends and command a plan of action to favor Zaun in this whole mess. She was chosen by her people to represent a city whose fate hung in the balance. There were internal disputes, the districts seemed to want to take sides in the war and attack Piltover now that it has weakened, but Sevika knew that this would cost her authority and the promise to finally include Zaun in the Council's plans and stop being marginalized from public discussion. There were sessions and sessions of disputes and long speeches, where Sevika was ignored or the problems she brought up were disregarded by the rest of the members; by everyone of course, except for Shoola and Caitlyn. Both knew the importance of including Zaun, of making its needs known, even if in the past Sevika had been the enemy, or vice versa.

"A child," Shoola insisted, professional as ever. "You're in a difficult position, you don't yet have the trust nor approval of the rest of the Council. They don't know who they're dealing with."

"How a child would make them see me differently?" Inquired Sevika, both hands on the table before her.

"You must understand that you are rare case by being on the Council and being a Zaunite," Shoola explained. "In the eyes of the others, you are still a threat. The others do not trust you to have a say in matters on this side of the bridge, because they do not know what you are putting at stake."

Sevika clenched her jaw. She was a Zaunite at Piltover's council table, a fish out of water in a world of politics and alliances.

"My loyalty lies with my city, not this side of the bridge."

"Your loyalty will bear no fruit if you are not listened to. You must prove that you are not a mere visitor, Sevika. Committing to the cause means having something to risk."

"And what do you suggest, Shoola? A Zaunite child to hold as a bargaining chip? A token that ensures our cooperation?"

"Not a token, but a proof. A proof that you're not just advocating for your own interests..." she said, her tone growing more serious. "But for those of someone you care about, and the Council can see that you do so."

"Isn't the whole city of Zaun proof enough?" She inquired.

"It's about making yourself seen, Sevika," Shoola insisted. "The rest of the Councillors have entire nations behind them; children, parents, countrymen, enemies and allies. Yet you show up here without the full backing of your people, only a small portion who are not related to you in any way other than mere conviction and ideology."

Sevika looked away, Shoola's speech seemwd to acquire more sense with every word. "Besides... a child of your own will keep you grounded, it's a reminder of why you're here and what you're fighting for." She added.

Sevika knew Shoola had a point, no matter how much she hated to admit it. She was a lone wolf in a pack of powerful families and nations, at a disadvantage before an entire lineage of renowned nobles and politicians.

"I understand the need for solidarity," she said through gritted teeth. "But a child isn't a toy to be used for political gain. I won't endanger a child just to prove a point."

Shoola's expression softened, she interlaced her fingers. "It's a necessary decision, Sevika; causes require sacrifices," she said. "There are children waiting for a change there, using one could help dozens, hundreds. You can't keep arguing with a wall."

Sevika stood there in tense silence for a long moment after Shoola left. The room felt more empty than ever. Her mind raced with the idea of being responsible for a child, of being held accountable for their well-being. With a frustrated growl, she slammed her fist down hard onto the table, the sound of her prosthetic arm hitting the wooden top echoed in the room.

"How long am I gonna fight against this?"

┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈

"Margot won't allow it." Mumbled Sevika under her breath, letting out a heavy sigh.

Sevika took another drink, stamping the glass on the desk before looking back at the map hanging on the wall. She had been in a resounding silence for twenty minutes, interrupted by her own murmurs and growls. The plan to reduce the coverage of the red light district to favor the construction of hospitals seemed more like a fantasy than a plan, taking into account the powerful influence that brothels and sexual services had in Zaun. Sevika knew that truncating that specific area would be liquidating much of the city's income; she herself, when she used to be a regular customer, could realize how essential the business was.

Suddenly, a couple of arms wrapped around her chest, the softness of your cheek against her back and your smell interrupting Sevika's thoughts.

"You're going to pierce the map if you stare at it for so long, wifey." You purred.

Unconsciously, Sevika's shoulders relaxed as she heard your voice behind her. "It's called strategizing." she said with a half smile.

"What's the deal this time?" You inquired, peeking from your wife's wide back to take a look of the map too.

Sevika's grip on the edge of the desk tightened as her gaze traveled over the map pinned to the wall. She seemed to be studying the layout, her mind working through the challenges and options.

"The Rapturewalk," she replied. "It's becoming problematic. Profits are up, but the city needs hospitals, not more entertainment venues."

"Margot won't allow it." You said, just like Sevika thought before.

She sighed loudly. "I know. But the needs of Zaun are not being met. We're prioritizing profit over basic necessities. People are suffering while Margot makes money."

You ran your hands over her shoulders, your eyes sharpening at the markings on the map before you. "Keeping Rapturewalk is your best card, actually."

"How so?"

"It's a constant and safe source of income, after Shimmer's factories." You argued, crossing your arms as you looked at the map. "Let's say that whores are the economic basis of Zaun, whether you like it or not. And the best way to generate reserves to allocate them to other projects is to take advantage of the profits of the red light district."

It was not the first time you had helped Sevika to unravel a problem of this nature. She used to pay attention to your judgment as much as the councilmen's and she trusted your vision as much as her own.

Between pouts, jokes and a kiss on her cheek, you proposed possible solutions. Sevika responded with a grunt, dragging on her cigarette before looking at the map again. "I've only been on the Council for three months… and I'm going crazy already."

"Take the mining and taxes thing as advice only," you said. "I'm just the wife, the final decision is up to you."

"Don't say that." she said firmly, walking up to you and gently grasping your arm. "You're my partner, in every sense of the word." she stated, placing a kiss on your forehead.

And the truth is that your role in Sevika's life was not limited to just being a wife. From the beginning you were a pillar for her when she didn't believe in pillars or in the need to seek support from other people, you showed her that asking for help was not a sign of weakness but of strength, although to this day it was still a bad habit of hers to swallow her problems until she vomited them out between complaints and a few days of drunkenness. That night was no exception, and as soon as you moved away from her, you noticed her staring at your abdomen longer than usual.

"Is something wrong?" you asked.

"No, nothing's wrong." she grunted, knowing she was lying.

"You sure?"

Sevika remained silent for a moment, her tone sobering. "How does children sound to you?"

You seemed speechless for a moment.

You raised your eyebrows and a flash of excitement crossed your face before you turned serious. “Sounds like something we never considered possible…”

"I know we've never discussed it. But the thought has crossed my mind a few times... I never thought it would be an option, given our circumstances. But then again, I never thought we could have a life together in a room above a poker den either."

"I, uh..." you stuttered. "It's a sort of fantasy of mine, actually." you admitted. "You always said you weren't interested in children, and I respect it."

"Well, things has changed, haven't they?" Sevika took a step closer. "We've changed."

But something wasn't fitting, and you sensed it. "Sev. Why are you suggesting this all of sudden?"

She took a deep breath, her hand dropping back to her side.

"The Council has been... making suggestions," she said. "They think it would be a... symbolic gesture. A way to bridge the gap between Zaun and Piltover."

And all clicked.

"So you want a heir, not a son." you stated.

"No, I want what's best for Zaun. And if having a child serves a greater purpose, then that's what I must do."

"A child for a purpose? A symbol." you spat, crossing your arms as the anger began blooming. "Are you trying to please those snobs? Who made you think a heir would change their vision towards you, or towards Zaun?"

"It's about making them respect us. Showing them that Zaun can play the game they set and still come out on top. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."

"Haven't you done enough sacrifices?" you insisted. "Following Vander, then Silco's cause, then Jinx. You've sacrificed what you are every damn time and they still believe it's not enough?"

"What choice do I have?" she snapped back. "If I don't show them, if I don't do something significant, they'll continue to disregard Zaun."

"And using a child is the proper way to earn approval?"

"Babe, it's about respect!" she snapped at you, followed by a sigh when she noticed you flinched.

Silence, thick as fog, settled in the room. Sevika looked not only exhausted, but hopeless. She was making drastic decisions and she knew it. "Love… I don't expect your approval in this, just your support."

You reached out, cupping her cheek as she looked into your eyes, speaking with them. You couldn't stand against that look, you never could. "I'll think about it." you whispered. "But I want you to understand that if we have a child, I will treat him as a son first and as a political tool second."

"I understand." she nodded. "I swear I do."

As the days went by, while the Council gave no respite and neither did Zaun, Sevika planted the seed of a child in your mind frequently. She would talk to you about adoption processes when you were cooking, accompanied by a well-placed caress on your back and a kiss on your neck, and then, after making love, she would talk to you about the possibilities of testing fertilization in a laboratory. Usually you limited yourself to nodding or emitting an "mhm", still questioning the changes that a child would mean, not only as a political symbol, but as an addition to the family.

Sevika would be a good mother, no doubt. She took care of Isha for a whole month without even mentioning she cared for her, but she still came to Jinx's lair with treats and toys or gadgets that she bought at the market. She asked you to cook an extra portion for dinner and whenever you asked her why, it was because "she got hungrier lately", knowing well that it was for Isha. And when she finally admitted her affection towards the blue-haired girl, she passed away.

Sevika remained strong for Jinx and for herself, but you found her asleep in the bathtub the day she found out, her eyes swollen and stinking to whiskey.

"I loved that kid," she admitted later, once you were able to get her out of the tub. "Why is everything dying around me, babe?"

That day you promised yourself to be Sevika's anchor, and bring more joy than worries to her life.

“Baby?” you whispered after Sevika turned around. “Do you think we could visit that doctor you mentioned the other day?”

"Dr. Allard? Yeah, we can. Why?"

"We could ask for advice... about the fertilization process."

Sevika rolled over, her eyes pierced into yours. "Do you wanna... try?"

"Yes, I-" you said before Sevika swallowed your words with a kiss.

And she kissed you later that day, as you two waited for the test results. Fertilization using hextech was still in the experimental phase and was certainly based more on theories than successful cases, but you still hoped you were a suitable candidate for the procedure. Sevika held your hand as the doctor entered, her solemn face not indicating good news.

"The preliminary tests show that your body's response to the hextech fertilization process is not as strong as we would have expected. The success rates will be much lower than we had originally suggested..."

It was the formal way of announcing that achieving a baby by that means was not feasible. And Sevika read your disappointed expression while the woman continued explaining technical details that you stopped listening to. Your wife squeezed your hand and wiped the hint of a tear from your eye. "We'll find a way."

And frustration was beginning to overwhelm you and Sevika. You drank at breakfast and dinner, ruminating on the possibilities and pressuring the Zaun orphanage just to find out there wasn't a goddamn orphanage in the first place. A month of arguments, tears and breakdowns went by. The Council gave no respite, Sevika was on the verge of collapse balanced by two cities that refused to cooperate, drowning her anguish in whiskey and smoking her worries, sleeping barely a few hours and giving up her intimacy and quality time with you. You watched Sevika fall into a cycle of slavering work from which you could not get her out until you found her unconscious in the living room, passed out from exhaustion and alcohol.

And that was the last straw.

"I'll look for candidates," you said in bed, after having fed Sevika a substantial dinner and a spoonful of Shimmer. "You can choose the one you like the most."

"And if I say no?" she dared to argue.

"Then you'll quit the Council."

She was silent for a moment, too weak to argue and too tired to find another solution. She couldn't believe she would consent this.

"Fine," she said grudgingly. "You can look."

It took you no more than a week, spreading out a series of files on the living room table and asking Sevika to study each one carefully. The process took barely an hour.

"This one," she said finally, laying the sheet on the table. "It's the most suitable.

You kind of expected it, Misk. A thirty-three-year-old Zaunite in impeccable health; a rarity in a city like ours. He was an athletic man who was both handsome and noble. He was known to run a humanitarian business, providing beds, food, education, and health. A true symbol of the spark of humanity struggling to survive in the city and an indirect ally of Sevika, if she could put it that way. The file was accompanied by a photo of the man in question. He had tanned skin, pale, slanted eyes, a straight nose, and generous lips. His black hair, usually tied back in a half ponytail, was dazzling with silvery glints and vitiligo had paled half of his face, spreading across his left arm and left pectoral. You knew Sevika had chosen him for his unusual features, she had a thing for Zaun's genetic diversity.

"Did you find him handsome?" you dared to tease her.

"Qualified." grunted Sevika. "I could never call a man handsome."

┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈

"I won't repeat myself," Sevika said firmly. "We bought your silence, you keep your mouth shut. Whatever happens in this room, stays in this room."

You were sitting on the edge of the bed, an olive-colored robe as your only garment, your hair loose and your skin soft and smooth from the scented bath you took earlier. The room smelled of floral, penetrating honey, while the lights were dim and invited to retreat and intimacy.

You had prepared the room in advance for the special night; cigars lay on the coffee table in front of the wide bed with silky damask sheets. Three glasses of whiskey with ice, a jug of water, poppy oil beside the bed, aromatic herbs hung from the ceiling and a series of candles spread across the furniture and the windowsill, through which the silver bath of moonlight filtered in. You looked at Sevika, clad in a wine-colored kimono, revealing a glimpse of her bare chest and long, shapely legs. Her hair loose and her mechanical arm gleaming with Shimmer. Certainly her feminine energy was taking more prominence tonight, and you couldn't help but finding her even more beautiful.

Sitting on the couch, Misk watched Sevika intently, sipping whiskey and taking orders with the abnegation of a soldier. He had a robe on and his hair tied in a ponytail. He was more handsome in person and when Sevika first watched him walk in, she let out a chuckle. "He looks like a puppy."

"Sevika."

"He'll act like a puppy, alright."

Misk greeted you and your wife cordially, acknowledging the reasons why he was there and taking a seat on the sofa.

"This is not about your pleasure, but about the purpose. You will do as I say." continued Sevika. "You will touch my wife only when I allow it, and you will not speak unless spoken to. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"C'mere." she commanded, watching Misk stand up and come closer.

Sevika wrinkled her nose, blowing smoke into Misk's face as she studied his bearing, his face, and his scent. She parted his lips with her fingers, taking a look of his teeth and then his eyeballs, looking for any indication that would cast doubt on his medical certificate. He smelled healthy. "You're in good shape," she said, cupping the young man's jaw to look at his angles as if he was a rare animal.

Certainly for Sevika he was, she only adresses men for gambling, business or brawls. The sole thought of sharing a bed with him was uncanny still. "My wife chose well."

She ran her hand down his throat, feeling his pulse, which felt strong and steady. "Have you been in a threesome before, young man?" inquired Sevika with a dark grin.

"I have." nodded Misk.

"Good, I'm not into teaching men what they have to do." said Sevika, letting his throat go. "No funny business or I'll rip your cock off."

"Sevi." you protested from the bed.

Sevika grinned, her eyes flickering to you. "My wife seems to have a soft spot for you," she said. "Don't push your luck, then."

Misk nodded, his expression serious. "I understand."

"You're scaring him, babe." you insisted.

"He has no reason to be scared," she said shortly. "If he behaves, he'll be rewarded. If he doesn't, he'll remember it for a long time. He also signed a contract, remember? He knows what's he getting into."

Just then, Sevika seemed convinced enought to start.

“Take a seat and watch,” Sevika ordered, leaning over to stub out her cigarette in the ashtray. “You’ll join when I say so.”

You stood up, ready and eager as Sevika approached you with confident steps. She caressed your cheek. "Are you sure you're okay with him watching?" you whispered softly. "He can enter later."

"Let him stay. He can learn a thing ot two."

┈ ⋞ 〈 ⏣ 〉 ⋟ ┈

You squeezed your tits between your fingers, Sevika gave you a slow and methodical oral, she ate you out with all her heart and her whole face, diving between your legs and moaning against your pussy. She took all the time in the world on it, making you shudder and whimper for relief, only for your wife to straddle you on her thigh and order you to ride her as soon as you reached your first orgasm. You refused her nothing, even when Misk was on the couch watching everything and made you shy for a moment. But Sevika gave two shits about his presence, urgently kissing your mouth, whispering obscenities that only she was capable of saying and pinching your nipples between her fingers.

Misk realized that he was in front of an experienced couple, totally in tune.

"Don't look at him," she murmured. "Eyes on me, baby. I'm the one you're riding right now."

Sevika kissed you hard, filling all your senses so that you wouldn't even consider looking at a man while you were with her. She didn't take pleasure in letting a man possess you, not now or ever, but she couldn't deny that she was attracted to your pitiful moans and the way your lips would part when Misk fucked you. Sevika knew that this encounter wasn't just for a particular purpose, it was pleasurable in equal parts and she was certainly spoiling you by consenting to it.

"Admit it." whispered Sevika. "Admit that you're dying for him to fuck you. That you're dying to be the center of attention."

"No, Sev..." you whimpered.

Sevika grabbed your throat and looked into your eyes. "You're an attention seeker, even in three years of marriage that hasn't changed. And I love how desperate you are."

"Ah." that's all you could do, pant. "Ah, ah..." and your eyes softened before Sevika let your throat go and you cried your orgasm out.

You fell on top of her. Sevika cupped your neck with a tenderness she only stored for you and placed a kiss on the top of your head. "You're not allowed to be tired," she whispered to you. "Misk is still watching."

You asked for water, Misk was the one who handed you the glass and while you drank, Sevika drew circles on your back. She looked at Misk with analytical, wary eyes, knowing that the unpostponable could not be postponed.

With a kiss on the top of your head, she made you descend from her lap and wait on the bed, still a little shaken by the two previous orgasms. Misk remained in place, Sevika reached for a cigarette on the coffee table and lit it solemnly.

"Misk." she said. "Take good care of her."

You swallowed, still not believing that Sevika was giving you over to a man. A rush of adrenaline and anticipation ran through your body when Misk nodded, looking at you lying on the bed. You stood up, bare and glowing still, allowing him to come closer.

"Can I…?" he asked, clearly afraid of angering Sevika with the slightest contact on your body.

"Yes." you whispered, allowing him to wrap his hands around your waist and kiss you.

Sevika drowned her jealousy in her cigarette, watching as Misk laid you down on the bed and ventured into your skin, your breasts and your abdomen. His touch was gentle, you appreciated it since your wife had left you quite sensitive after her intervention, but you couldn't stop looking at her while he rubbed you between your legs.

You needed her close, not to be removed from the equation.

Sevika read your thoughts clearly, sitting on the couch, the tip of her cigarette glowing with each drag before she placed it on the ashtray. “Stand up,” she ordered, to which Misk seemed to back away. “I didn’t say you were leaving.”

Misk seemed to understand, allowing Sevika to position herself behind you, cupping your breasts in both hands as she began to kiss your neck. You greeted Misk with another long kiss, feeling more secure with your wife’s close supervision. Only then you moaned opnely with pleasure, parting your legs so Misk could once again rub a sensitive but so wet pussy that it left his fingers with a wet sheen.

With your wife's intervention, the evening flowed (very) well. You were already sitting on the bed, leaning against your wife's chest who was already easing a couple of fingers in you, while Misk was busy pleasing your nipples with his tongue. You moaned, looking at your wife and giving her a short kiss before looking at Misk again. The man seemed engrossed in his task, his robe sliding enought to reveal his chest and the paleness of the vitiligo. You thought he was handsome, an ideal candidate for a beautiful baby.

However, you didn't allow yourself to look at him for too long, knowing that provoking Sevika's jealousy would probably end with a dead man in the room.

"I wanna eat you out." you whined then, cupping your wife's cheek.

"Aren't you busy enough?" she teased.

"Please..."

Sevika wasn't going to deny you anything either, she loved to indulge you in everything. Not in vain she was allowing a man on her bed. Still, she hadn't pay attention to him, much less touched him; he was there as a mere tool, she insisted. Sevika tangled her fingers in your hair, her palm firm on the back of your neck as she watched you trail kisses from her chest to her pubis. She hissed, Misk kneeling behind you and kissing your spine slowly. She felt the urge to break his nose with a punch, but you kept her busy with your mouth between her legs.

“Fuck.” She growled, looking at you. “If it wasn’t for you…” she added in a whisper.

"Mhm." you moaned, venturing to ease a finger into her. And Sevika's anger was soon replaced by a stronger feeling.

You gasped, noticing the presence of his phallus, hard and wet against your entrance. Your body bristled in anticipation, believing yourself ready to receive Misk. Sevika frowned, her hand between your locks clenching tightly. Her blood boiled.

"You hurt her and I swear I'll rip your cock off," she threatened, not caring if she was ruining the mood or not. She only cared to know that her wife was willing to continue.

"It's fine." you purred, pulling back to look at Sevika. "I'm... I'm ready."

Your hands on either side of her hips, you watched Sevika the entire time. You didn’t look away from her grey eyes, not when Misk rubbed against you, not when you arched your back to allow him in. Sevika sucked in a breath between her teeth, holding your chin when your lips parted in a shaky moan.

“Fuck.” you breathed out, kissing your wife as Misk buried himself in you.

And you were embarrassed by how fucking horny you were.

You didn't know how to put your pleasure into anything but moans, words fell short. The feeling of kissing your wife, her hand around your throat while you were being fucked was delicious. Being the center of attention turned you on like nothing else, the moans, the grunts, the obscenities that reached your ears and made you smile. You soon agreed with what Sevika had said before; you love attention. The clash of skin on skin filled the room, Misk held your waist and squeezed your skin while Sevika caressed your lower lip, watching you, almost admiring you.

"Seems you're having fun." she said against your mouth. "Breaking into moans for a man, aren't you ashamed?"

"So ashamed." you whined before Misk leaned to place a kiss on your shoulder and you read Sevika's jealousy in her eyes. "But you love watching."

"I love you." she whispered, only your ears catching such strong phrase.

You lost count of how many times you gasped, or how many times Misk made you shiver with a precise thrust. Your wife watched everything, absolutely everything, scolded and admired you in equal parts, finished smoking her cigarette and gave you a tobacco-flavored kiss before forcing you upright.

"You're already all wasted, I thought I taught you better than that." she said, gripping your chin as your eyes fluttered with exhaustation. Misk had a firm hand on your shoulder, making slower but deeper thrusts. You felt him fill you again and again, causing a slight numbing sensation in your pussy.

You were reaching your limit.

Misk let out a groan, his breathing becoming irregular and noisy. "I take this is how men let you know they're about to cum?" asked Sevika with a raised eyebrow.

"Sev." you whimpered. "I'm..."

You didn't know if you were about to cum or faint, whichever came first, but it worried Sevika. You weren't used to this amount of stimulation and Misk seemed insatiably focused on his task. It was then that Sevika kissed you and left the bed. Your chest hit the mattress, Misk growled against your ear and his hips moved incessantly, to the point that you felt imprisoned by his body. You wanted to cry, it was an unknown pleasure and your body gave signs of wanting to give up.

Until you felt it, like a warm, wet torrent that made its way inside you and filled your insides. It was then that you stifled a cry into the pillow, Misk didn't seem to stop.

"I told you to take care of her, son of a bitch," Sevika said.

Misk stopped dead at the cold touch of a cannon against his temple. "You get away from her right now or I'll shoot you in the balls, you hear?"

You didn't see Misk leave the room, but you heard him. You were lying on that bed, your legs shaking, a thread of his seed seeping between your legs. Until Sevika made you close them.

"Relax, it's all over now…" your wife whispered, sitting next to you and placing a kiss on your shoulder. "I shouldn't have agreed to this in the first place."

"I'm fine…" you murmured. Exhausted and sore, you couldn't deny that you'd never felt this pleased in bed. It wasn't Misk the important addition, it was the dynamic of being watched by your wife and realizing the desire that prevailed in her gaze.

Well, desire until she seemed to kill Misk at the last minute very appealing.

"Keep them closed, sweetheart. I won't let this happen again, either you get pregnant or I set the Council on fire. You won't go through this again."

You looked up, glancing at Sevika beside you on the bed. She covered you with her kimono, tracing circles on your lower back before frowning. “Tell me the truth.”

“Mhm?”

“You fancy Misk, don’t you?”

“You already said it, Sev. It’s suitable, but I don’t like him.” you smiled despite your exhaustion, leaning over to place a hand on your wife’s knee. “I just want to give you a child, Sevika. I want to be and make you a mother.”

“You’ll look beautiful pregnant.” Sevika whispered. "So damn beautiful, round and glowing. I wonder how I got myself such gorgeous wife."

"I wonder the same..." you smiled and Sevika leaned down to give you a kiss before patting your bottom lovingly.

“I’ll run you a bath and dinner, okay? Get some rest.”

You nodded, rolling over to lean back on the soft pillows of your bed as you watched Sevika get dressed.

"Are you gonna kill him?" you asked after a moment.

"I wanted to." she admitted. "But I have too many things to attend to add murder to the list. As long as he doesn't cross my path on the street, I won't try anything."

"Okay..." you mumbled, watching Sevika leave the room. "Love you."

"Love you more."

You sighed, tired and sore, barely processing the situation that took place in that same bed you were laying on. You had never been in a threesome, and it was a good but unrepeatable experience. You stared at the ceiling for a moment, wishing with all your might that this method would work and that you could have a child for Zaun.

But above all, a child for your wife Sevika.

[moonstruckme]

Hey Mae <3 if you’re open to it, would you write Spencer reassuring shy reader or reader who is still in grad school and is feeling insecure about her intelligence compared to him/the rest of the team. anyway I love how you write Spencer tytyty <3

Thanks for requesting gorgeous <3

cw: vague discussion of homicide crime scene, reader is a bit intellectually insecure, written with a fem reader in mind

Spencer Reid x intern!reader ♡ 754 words

You’re talking to yourself. You do this, sometimes, Spencer doesn’t think you even really mean to. It’ll just be a word here or there, a murmured maybe as you ponder a case or shit when you fill out a form wrong and have to get another. You’d done it in front of Derek once, and even he’d had the good sense not to tease you about it; you’re too green, still, too nervous for good-natured joking. 

The police station is mostly empty, the rest of the team having called it a night except for you and Spencer. In the past twenty minutes, as you’ve swivel in your chair and peered at the board with hawk-like intensity, it’s been no, but if…, and unless? Spencer tries not to let it distract him, but it is cute, the way you seem to be talking yourself in and out of theories, using yourself as your own sounding board. He’s never met an intern—a student, nonetheless—less eager to get to their FBI-bankrolled hotel room. 

It’s when you shake your head at yourself, seemingly dismissing an idea, and mutter stupid, that’s when Spencer steps in. 

“What is it?” he asks. 

You jolt and turn your head like you’d forgotten he was there. “Huh?” 

“You seem like you have an idea.” 

“Oh, I was…it wasn’t anything.” You have one foot on the ground, the other pulled up onto your chair with you, and you’re using it to swivel your seat back and forth restlessly. It’s almost funny; Spencer doesn’t understand how anyone could ever be nervous around him, but you are. You are around the whole team. You’re quiet most of the time, looking at them all with wide eyes and palpable awe while they analyze and ideate. It’s sweet, but also baffling, considering you’re fiercely intelligent yourself. 

Spencer smiles at you. Your lips curve in kind, like they’re not entirely sure why but are relieved to do it. 

“I’d still like to hear it,” he says. 

You visibly shrink, leg pulling closer to you in your seat. “I was just, um, starting to think that maybe the way he laid out the second victim could be a sign of remorse, but then I realized it couldn’t be, because of—”

“The dump site,” Spencer finishes with you. 

You nod, looking abashed. “Right. So, obviously not.” 

“That’s not obvious,” Spencer says. He looks at the board, tapping his thumb on his jaw. “We haven’t been looking at the way the second victim was positioned, there could be something to that.” 

You blink. “Really?”

“Yeah. Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“I—well, sorry. I just didn’t think there was anything to say. I didn’t want to sound dumb.” 

You cringe like you hadn’t meant to say it. Spencer feels his brows twitch together, though it’s not like the explicit admission surprises him when you’ve effectively been saying it in a thousand implicit ways since he met you. He has the strange urge to reach over and put a hand on your shoulder. It's not like him, so he doesn’t. 

“We all have theories that don’t pan out,” he says, “all the time. We just bounce them off the team anyway in case it leads to another idea.” 

Your smile is almost rueful. “You don’t.” 

Spencer actually laughs. “I do. It’s possible you just haven’t been around long enough to notice.” 

Your head tilts sideways as though contemplating this. It makes your body list slightly in the chair, your leg resting against the cushioned arm. You look more at ease than you did a minute before, softer, the furrow of concentration easing from between your brows. Spencer’s chest feels light and airy without reason.

“It’s not dumb, to have an idea that doesn’t turn into anything,” he tells you gently. “No one in our team would think that.” 

“I know,” you say, sheepish now. “You guys just know so much, I don’t know how to contribute.”

“It comes with experience,” Spencer assures you. “You’ll pick it up quickly, I can tell. You already are.” 

You smile again. It’s more relaxed than before, a bashful pride shining in your eyes. Spencer props his cheek on his fist, mirroring it thoughtlessly. You look tired, though no less pretty for it, the beckoning of sleep gentle in your features. If Spencer was less selfish he’d probably tell you to go back to the hotel, but normally he’s the only one who never manages to use his room during these trips. He finds he really enjoys the company.

[shego1142]

I think it’s important to add to this a discussion I was having with my friends about how those in power are currently operating.

Regarding the sort of hypocrisy you see among the elitist politicians who propose bills like this.

When bills like this are proposed we need to stop using the term “hypocritical” as some sort of gotcha.

Everyone is hypocritical from time to time, it’s a part of human nature, we all contain multitudes and facets of ourselves, of wanting and being.

That’s not the winning argument against these sorts of situations, and will just prove to alienate those out there who do feel bad about having minor hypocritical views from time to time

But these rich fascists do not feel bad for being hypocritical.

They know that their views are hypocritical.

That’s the whole point.

They are openly, blatantly hypocritical.

Because they think they’re better than others.

These rich assholes are the sorts of people who do millions of dollars worth of drugs one day and then lobby for even the most banal and non harmful drugs to be criminalised and looked at as a moral failing the next day.

Not because they feel some sort of obligation or “remorse” or whatever

Not because they’re worried or they had a change of heart or

Any other aspect of “accidental hypocrisy” that a typical person might feel

But because they’re actively promoting “greedy hypocrisy”

They want to ban it for us, and promote it for them.

These people are frequently known to be sexual offenders in one way or another, and they have been proven to be hyper sexual (not usually a bad thing but in their case often is) and to have consumed porn at a rate most people can’t match

Yet they want to ban porn

It has nothing to do with porn being morally wrong, it has nothing to do with them being progressive in any way.

Porn is pleasurable for 90% of those who engage with it, and yes I’m including most of the actors and crew. Most people who make/star in/watch porn are having a fun good time, getting paid a fair wage, working with their friends, enjoying their body, etc

The rich want to distance themselves from poor people

The rich m want to take the fun and joy and pleasure away from poor people.

This is hypocrisy based on wealth.

It’s feudalism.

And I think we need to be very loud about that.

They don’t want it to be illegal for everyone, they just want it to be illegal for us.

They want to defund the arts, while still enjoying art, they want to criminalise learning while still wanting their children to be educated, they want to raise grocery prices and restrict access to ebt and tell us all to eat cereal for dinner, while they sit at home and dine on fresh vegetables and meats and lobster and caviar.

Not because they truly think these things shouldn’t be done.

But because they truly think these things shouldn’t be done by us.

Their attempts to control the narrative and make moral arguments are just their way of saying:

“Only the wealthy deserve to be happy and entertained and fed. The rest of you should be working in factories and mills to make us richer.”

No war but class war

"porn brain" is a far right conspiracy theory, misogyny in porn is a result of structural societal misogyny and not the cause of it, the way to help sex workers is decriminalization and worker's rights, banning sexual expression is fascist. i will not be taking questions at the time.

[11cupids-tarot11]

What will Life in general be like with your Future Spouse?

Gender Neutral for Everyone!

1 -> 3 ♡

Tips are very much appreciated!! Love you guys!!♡

My Kofi (I plan to set up the rest of my services in shop soon!)

Cupid's Services

Cupid's Master-List

Hi loves! Happy 2025 🥳 I know I’m two months late and I’ve been gone for way longer than I had expected, but I’m so happy to be back!! I hope everyone’s new year is going amazing!

Pile 1- The World, King of Wands, Eight of Cups and, Strength.

Hi pile 1!

So right off the bat I feel like your person is such a character! They don't like to be bored, very adventurous and free spirited. If you're a home body I'm not sure if you'd like this about them, but if you're someone that also loves a good adventure I see you two being partners in crime! Everyday is something new really, I think even days when you're both just chilling in the house they like to make it fun, there's always laughter in y'all's home.

So I see this being during a time in life together you're both financially stable, living together and the both of you just really love to live out your days to the fullest, enjoying life together, I hear you guys will always hear complaints from your friends and family how you're never around anymore because you're always on trips lol, living with this person is almost like a whole new world almost, you'll feel like nothing's impossible.

I feel like your person is very fiery, they like to charge through life with their head held high, very outspoken and would rather be a leader than a follower, they fight back, they're so loud too, they won't be ignored. You'll always see these things about them throughout life, you'll see how they love to take charge and stand ground, how they don't like to put up with anyone's bullshit.

I feel like for fun you two will do things kinda sketchy, like my cards show a person graffitiing on the wall, you two will do things for the adrenaline rush of not getting caught but even if you get caught that adds to the fun cause you'll just run away. This person could make you feel younger than you actually are, I just see lots of giggling and mischief, things you'd probably never even thought you'd do because you're like "nah I'm too reserved of a person" but this person will make you want to branch out of your comfort zone, they'll help you through every high and every low, they'll be your strength when you have none.

I feel like if you're someone that's like me and ALWAYS bored, you'll love this person because they're like how could you ever be bored of me? Even conversations with this person are crazy and wild because I don't really think they care for a filter, they seem to not really fear anything in life lol I love their energy, they'll totally rub off on you some of their fiery ways too, they like to see you strong and in your power.

I hope you enjoyed this reading, please leave a heart and reblog!! ♡

-Cupid 𖥔 ࣪ ᥫ᭡ꗃ⋆࣪.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Pile 2- Seven of Cups, Temperance, Nine of Cups and, Three of Swords.

Hi pile 2!!

So your future spouse and you will like to plan, I see you guys discussing everything first before you actually do it. You guys just might like feeling secure and safe, planning for the long run, but also being like "okay, so, what's for dinner tomorrow? Do I need to go to the store tomorrow morning?" That kinda energy in almost everything. You guys also like planning your alone time, you might be busy people so I see you two sitting down discussing your little get away from everyone and life temporarily.

Funny enough with the Temperance card here I think this person also likes to go with the flow, maybe this person loves days when you're both free from work or your schedule for long periods of time and can finally focus on each other.

I think during days like those your person will just love making their days about you, they feel kind of clingy and quality time is their love language tbh, they don't really care what you guys do as long as they're with you, they could just sit in silence with you. This person loves focusing on healing the both of you daily, they're really into health and fitness I think but also mental health as well, they're the type to make you a random snack when they've noticed you've skipped breakfast or haven't eaten in awhile, I think they really love taking care of themselves but you as well!

I hope you enjoyed this reading, please leave a heart and reblog!! ♡

-Cupid 𖥔 ࣪ ᥫ᭡ꗃ⋆࣪.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Pile 3- The World, Eight of Swords, The High Priestess, and Six of Coins.

Hi pile 3!

So starting off with The World card I have a very big feeling this is a very free flowing and creative pile! Maybe you do something creative for work, an influence online or something along the lines of that, or your future spouse could be! There’s a vibe here that you and your spouse might like to travel a lot, I feel like your life is a little less planned out, for example you guys might do lots of things out of the blue, random dates, going out shopping together but getting distracted and deciding to go out on a little dinner date at a new restaurant you two stumbled upon while shopping, that kind of unplanned/spontaneous energy.

I feel like your spouse is someone very supportive with the Eight of Swords here, I think in the future together you and your spouse will like to keep things light hearted, I’m hearing in the world we live in these days you and your spouse will try to not like this world break the two of you apart, change your character or value. You guys feel like a very positive couple, the kind to go donate to Charity, volunteer ect etc. Your spouse also likes to take of you! They’ll also be the shoulder you can cry on, they’ll want to make life easier for you too in this world we live in!

Your spouse will honor you, they’ll think and respect your home like a Kingdom, they’ll honor you and the ground you walk on, everyday! From the moment you open your eyes in bed, they’re the type to wake you up with breakfast in bed, except they’ll let you sleep in while they’ve been up for awhile cooking for you. So sweet! A real partnership💕

With the Six of Coins here I think your spouse might be wealthy or is destined for wealth, your spouse wants you to live a life with them where they can pamper you! If you want to be a stay at home parent they’ll support that (if not that’s okay too, they’ll support you working as well!) they’re just like that! They’ll support anything you do! I think this person wants to be so wealthy that they can make money in their sleep and can relax on vacation with you!

I hope you enjoyed this reading, please leave a heart and reblog!! ♡

- Cupid 𖥔 ࣪ ᥫ᭡ꗃ⋆࣪.

[thejakeformerlyknownasprince]

Reading Visser One’s book she always strikes me as one of those white women settlers that wanted to “save” Native Children from their culture.

This led to the Stolen Generation in Australia and residential schools in North America.

Heck when we see her in the series she is literally piloting a women of color’s body and cosplaying motherhood.

She thinks she is so much better then the colonist that want to just burn up villages.

She’s a white women liberal putting on a gentler face to what is at its end brutal colonialism.

It’s worth noting that alien invasions have been metaphors for colonization since War of the Worlds

I completely agree. There's a blog post I can't now find about older white women reacting to The Help by talking about how their housekeepers, nannies, cooks, etc. were "part of the family." Which — first of all, no. Your employee is your employee. The rights and respect you owe to your employee will always be different from those you owe to your family. Do not devalue their work, and thus the traditional work of women, by pretending that it isn't labor. But secondly...

"We're friends" or "we're family" sure is easy to say from a position of power. Anyone short on power but long on common sense understands the importance of ingratiating yourself to those in charge. Anyone in charge can choose to delude themself that this time when the kid goes "I love you, Miss Hannigan" they mean it. Such is the nature of power.

Like, one I think about all the time: my professor whom we called Professor Trelawney behind her back because she would constantly spout pseudoscience in class. She's not the least favorite teacher I've ever had, but she's on the short list — and on the day I graduated, she introduced herself to a family member as "Sol's one of my favorite students, and I'm probably Sol's favorite teacher." Why? Because I got her to think that. Why'd I do so? Because the semester before, Dr. W had knocked down my grade for "irrelevant discussion" after I argued with his statement that Ireland should still be ruled by England. I keep Dr. W, and the subsequent effect on Prof Trelawney, as my touchstone when I'm handling student conflict. Because. Such. Is the nature. Of power.

As people pointed out after watching Crash: any rich lady can hug her housekeeper any time she's feeling sad, and the worst the housekeeper can do is quit. Most housekeepers with any grasp of social norms wouldn't hug even their favorite boss even on her worst day, at least not without first getting explicit permission. Such is the nature of power.

And these are all softer examples, of positions that you have the legal right to walk away from. (Whether or not you can afford to quit your job is obviously a whole other ballgame.) When it's not just school or work, but it's your guardian or the person who literally owns you... Fuck. Kiss ass or die, I guess.

And if you want concessions, you'd better put in all the emotional work to get them. You have to be sad about being less powerful than the help-giver, but not too sad. You have to be completely helpless in the face of random misfortune, or else you don't deserve help. You have to be grateful when the help arrives, in such a way that makes it clear the helper mad your problem all better but that your problem was completely intractable without their intervention. Most of all, you better do it with a smile: I love you, Miss Hannigan.

[beneathsilverstars]

what does the party think of loop being a different siffrin. like why theyre here. likee do they think loop is a siffrin who.. succeeded? a siffrin who died?

[context: Dagger Ending AU]

Ooh yes. Here's everyone's theories from the first week or two, and what Loop had to say about them!

They've all discussed their theories together (though with some details omitted when Bonnie's there), and they have varying opinions on each other's, but they mostly stick to arguing their own if just because they have a clandestine bet going on. Maybe a little gauche, but sometimes you need to lighten the mood by acting the same way you do for sillier topics.

Bonnie's theory: Siffrin asked the stars for a friend.

Bonnie's story is inspired by some fairytales they were told when they were younger. Those fairytales were inspired by stories from the forgotten island, so Bonnie's version here actually brings it closer to the originals again! Though of course, with a Vaugardian twist.

Bonnie says: Siffrin was worried about being left alone, so since he really likes the stars for some reason, he asked the stars to be his friend forever. So one of the stars came down to be with him! But obviously a dot of light wouldn't make a very good friend, so they had to Change to be a person — and a dot of light that isn't a person yet wouldn't know how to Change right yet, so they just cheated and copied Siffrin. But it's impossible to Change to be exactly like another person, you can only ever be a new version of yourself, so that's why Loop isn't the exact same as Siffrin.

Bonnie: I know you don't want to explain to us why there's two of you, and why you're not a— you're... more different than people can normally be, but if I tell you my thee-ry, will you at least just say if I'm right? Loop: Hm... Probably not. Loop: But you should tell me anyway! [Bonnie explains their theory.] Loop: Aw! That's a very cute story~ [Loop's smile becomes more forced.] Loop: That is all I am, aren't I? A star friend for pooor little Siffrin, so he doesn't have to be all alone? Bonnie: I knew it!!! Bonnie: Do you miss being a normal star, up in the sky? [Loop takes a deep breath.] Loop: I miss a lot of things. But I asked to be here. Bonnie: Oh! Did you ask for a friend, too? It would make sense for the stars to pick you to send, if you were lonely too. Loop: ... I did! You're very good at this. Bonnie: Of course I am!!! Loop: You know, you should tell your story to stardust. I think they'll like it better than I do. [Bonnie runs off to tell Siffrin about it, and then to tell the other adults that Loop said they were totally right.]

Isabeau's theory: Loop is a sadness made out of Siffrin's self-hatred and loneliness.

There's stories about people finding "their" sadness that mirrors them exactly, including both fiction that uses it as a metaphor for inner battles, and folktales that claim to be true. Isabeau used to not believe the folktales at all, because they vary so wildly, and surely one single person's emotions couldn't be strong enough to make a sadness as sapient as some of the stories claim — no sadnesses are that clever, not even the big powerful ones that are made out of so many people's emotions that they aren't even vaguely human-shaped.

But, now, well... If it is possible, it's hard to find any negative emotions stronger than the reasons someone tried to kill themself. And it's undeniable that Loop seems to be closer to a sadness in physiology than they are to any living creature.

Plus, there could very well be some other factor that pushed Loop into full personhood! Some of the stories include the sadness feeding on its originator until the person wastes away and the sadness takes their place, which is far-fetched, but so is this whole situation. Or, animating a statue kind of involves putting a bit of yourself into it — your craft energy, your intentions — so perhaps Siffrin had put a lot of themself into Loop, in a way that isn't possible with something nonliving. It would explain the craft exhaustion, too, if Siffrin had fueled Loop's becoming in some way or another.

Isabeau: Bonnie said you said they were right. That you're a star sent to be Sif's friend. Loop: I'm sure they did. Isabeau: ... But it's not true, right? [Loop looks away.] Loop: ... I didn't actually tell them it was. I didn't lie to them. Just... parts of it. Isabeau: Parts of it were true? Isabeau: Which parts? Loop: ... What do you think? Isabeau: Well, it would depend on exactly how they worded it, wouldn't it? They keep changing their mind on the details. Loop: What do you think, then? Isabeau: About… Loop: Me. Isabeau: Right. [Isabeau makes a face.] Isabeau: I... don't know that it would do any good to tell you. Loop: Wow, that bad, huh? Now I have to hear it. Isabeau: Just, promise you won't take it the wrong way? [Loop squints at him.] Loop: I'll take it whatever way I want. Isabeau: Alright, fair enough. Alright. But, whether or not my theory is true, that doesn't change how I think about you, okay? You're a person, and you're our friend, and I'm glad you're here with us. Loop: Just get on with it, Fighter. Isabeau: Yeah, yeah, alright. Isabeau: It’s... I think you might be a sadness? [Loop gasps dramatically.] Loop: Ooooh, how could you~? Isabeau: There would definitely have to be more to it. You are a person, and you're stable, Sif's moods don't affect you any more than they do the rest of us. But... you're not human. You don't need to sleep, you can't eat, you're just... not made out of living stuff? But you're not artificial either, you're not an inanimate thing that's been crafted to move. You're alive! And there's only one sort of... being... that I know of, that's alive but not living. And, well... Sif...... Loop: ... They were so very, very sad. Isabeau: Yeah. Loop: Well! It does make sense! Loop: Of course you'd go for the depressing, realistic answer! Loop: You're entirely wrong, of course, but... Loop: I... [Loop looks down at their hands.] [They move their hands up, to grip their arms.] Isabeau: Sorry. I knew you wouldn't like it. I swear it really, really doesn't matter, okay? However you... got here... you're here now, and you're you, and we're glad of it. Loop: ... Isabeau: I'll go see if Bonbon needs any help with dinner.

Mirabelle's theory: Siffrin killed himself, and he both got brought back to life and lived on as a ghost.

To be exact, he successfully(-ish?) committed suicide when he said he was going to go take a nap in the meadow. She thinks it's an earlier attempt rather than the one Odile saw because: Siffrin had originally told Isabeau he wanted to talk again with someone he'd spoken to the day before — which could only have happened earlier in the day, because Siffrin was never left alone later — and while that could be a lie it also explains how Siffrin knew that Loop was at the favor tree at all; Odile mentioned how confident and unflinching he was about it, which could be explained by having done it before; and everyone agrees that the recent changes in Siffrin started, though more subtly, after the nap in particular.

Siffrin not dying from his late afternoon attempt isn't necessarily as much of a factor — Vaugardian ghost lore includes stories of people being haunted by earlier versions of themselves that they’d Changed away from, so there’s precedence for living people having ghosts. Of course this means there are other major Changes besides death (or deciding to die) that can create a ghost, but the other ways Siffrin has changed don't seem quite dramatic enough in the right way to have been the catalyst. In fact, it’s strange than Loop seems to be the more Changed of the two! But perhaps pre-Dormont Siffrin actually was more like Loop and just hid it better, or perhaps Siffrin used to be more like Loop at an earlier point in their life, and had somewhat Changed but not enough to be happy with themself. Either way, any of Loop's traits that post-Dormont Siffrin doesn't seem to share much at all would be parts of themself that pre-Dormont Siffrin "killed".

Mirabelle: Loop... You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but... Are you a ghost? Loop: You know, stardust guessed the same thing! And I told them... Well, I don't remember anymore. Something about the Favor Tree being my grave? Loop: Anyway, you could sort of say that! Except, how could I be his ghost when he didn't actually die? You made sure of that. Mirabelle: Well... I thought maybe... Mirabelle: Maybe Siffrin did kill themself? Before that? And you're the parts of Siffrin that they killed, but you stayed because... because you still had things to get done, or Siffrin still needed you, or… or something like that...? Loop: HA! Loop: Yeah, something like that!!! [Loop laughs hysterically for a bit, then suddenly stops.] Loop: ... Go away, Housemaiden. [Mirabelle leaves to fetch Siffrin.] [While she's gone, Loop leaves the camp.] [Siffrin finds them and brings them back several hours later.]

Odile's theory: Siffrin wished for a companion.

The final loop through the house didn't include either of the forgotten language books on wish craft, but it did include discussion of the impossibility of time craft, and the diary where a lonely person wished for a copy of themself. Odile initially dismissed the diary as creative fiction, but it was still fresh on her mind when she met Loop later that day!

During the next couple days in Dormont, she asked Euphrasie about how she crafted Mirabelle's blessing, because she loves cutting-edge craft. The conversation turned to the King's impossible time craft, and Euphrasie said she thinks he probably used wish craft. She explained that she doesn't know much because it's hard to find anything more than brief mentions of it, but she's confident it's real. She's pretty sure you need to do very particular things in order to use it, though — not any old wish will do — and she doesn't know what those things are. But it's probably the only way the King could have gotten the power to stop time, and there's a chance that the people of Vaugarde’s wishes for salvation contributed to his defeat (but she's not sure because who knows if anyone actually wished the right away).

Now, knowing that wish craft could be real… it’s strange to think that Siffrin might know about something basically unheard of. But they did know about the orrery in the house, and caring about stars is basically unheard of, too! And… Loop says they’re a star… and the King has stars on his armor….. And it’s risky to use one guess as evidence for another, but that could be three instances where the shape or knowledge of stars appeared alongside the use or knowledge of wish craft. And Siffrin spoke to Loop at the Favor Tree, and supposedly that’s where they spoke the day before too, and a Favor Tree is a place where you ask for something you want.

Siffrin’s craft exhaustion could be a point for or against; on one hand, making a copy of yourself must be powerful craft, but on the other hand, wish craft was what allowed the King to perform craft so strenuous that it should’ve instantly killed him. Plus, Siffrin’s exhaustion didn’t hit till at least a full day after they went to the Favor Tree alone the first time. So Odile doesn’t know enough to call that factor either way.

And why would Siffrin try to kill themself shortly after their wish came true? Was it just not everything they hoped it would be? Siffrin and Loop fight a lot, but they obviously care for each other a lot, too… But maybe even getting something they really wanted could make a depressed person feel worse, if it doesn't help as much as they hoped it would, and they decide that means they’re hopeless.

Odile decided on this theory by day three. There are other mysteries that aren’t as neatly explained by it, like the ease with which Siffrin navigated the house, but perhaps they’d made a second wish? Or perhaps that was the influence of the Vaugardian wishes that Euphrasie talked about? And over the following weeks, Siffrin’s behavior has only gotten stranger, in worrying, unexplainable ways. Odile is finding many different pieces to an unknown number of puzzles… but she’s fairly certain she’s got a good start on the Loop corner.

Loop: Well, Researcher? Everyone else has told me their theories on what and how and why I am. What's yours? Odile: I was wondering when you’d ask. My best theory is that Siffrin made a wish — for a friend who wouldn’t leave him, or someone who understood what he felt, or something along those lines — and your existence was the answer. Loop: … Loop: Same story as the Kid, huh? Odile: You did say that they got parts of it right. Loop: It just seems a bit unrealistic for you, Researcher~ Stardust wished for a friend and one just fell out of the sky? Odile: Your entire existence is unrealistic, Loop. But if a craft has the power to freeze an entire country in time, surely it also has the power to create life. Or split it, perhaps. Loop: … But the king used time craft. What does that have to do with wish craft? Odile: The Head Housemaiden of Dormont believes wish craft is what gave him the power to stop time. Loop. W- How does she know about wish craft?? Odile: How do you, Loop? Loop: The— It’s— [Odile waits patiently.] Loop: The book! The, the diary, in that room, with the— the thing for the stars. It talked about wish craft. Odile: Ah, of course. The diary of a person who felt lonely and misunderstood, so they used wish craft to make a copy of themself. The diary you’ve never seen, because you… branched off, let’s say, the day before we fought through the House. Loop: Stardust told me about it! Odile: Of course. You know, they remember a surprising amount about the House? It's been several weeks, and you'd think between the traumatic injury the day before and the fevers afterwards, even the average person would consider it all a bit of a blur. But they still remember details that the others have forgotten, about conversations it seemed they were barely paying attention to. Even one or two things that I don't remember at all. [Loop breathes shallowly.] Loop: W— What are you implying? Odile: Nothing in particular. However shaky the wish craft theory seems, I'm even less sure about everything else. Loop: Well, you should be! Because there is nothing else! [Odile sighs.] Odile: I'm sorry, I know you don't want us knowing about these things. You and Siffrin both. But he's... not doing well. [Loop looks away.] Odile: And frankly, I don't think you are, either. But we can't help if we don't know what the problem is! It's your choice not to tell us, but I'm not going to stop trying to figure it out. Loop: It doesn't matter! The other things. He has you now, all four of you. You're helping. They'll be okay. Odile: What about you, Loop? Loop: ... I'm helping too. I'm trying. I'm here to help them. Odile: Loop... [Odile is about to say something, but stops. She takes a deep breath before continuing.] Odile: It would help a great deal if you and he could be more open with us. Loop: ... Odile: Can I take this as confirmation of my theory, at least? Loop: ... Not quite. Odile: But I'm close. [Loop doesn't claim otherwise.]

[rationalnerd62]

Seeing some of the tags I got on the CR timeline post, I think I loved C3 for the exact same reasons some folks disliked it or struggled with it.

I liked the overarching arc. Don't get me wrong, mini-arcs like with VM and M9 are perfectly fine, but there's something narratively satisfying to me about BH following this consistent thread all along the campaign. This group started with a few questions (Who attacked Keyleth? Why? What is the meaning of those dreams? Where are Fearne's parents?) and uncovered a whole conspiracy that then revealed itself to the entire world. It reminds me of reading those Fantasy series where the characters hear about the upcoming battle in book 1 and finally get to it in book 14. I can't wait to rewatch and see the foreshadowing and hints that brought this group to this point.

I liked the constant discussions about the Gods. Listen, as a gay person raised in a Catholic family, boy I've had my dealings and issues with religion. But I find it nice to be able to put our own world aside and watch this fantasy world ask questions that would be very controversial in ours. What we know of the Gods of Exandria has fundamentally changed from the first episode of C3 to the last. We went through both ExU Calamity and Downfall during that time. Those Gods have changed from being so removed and above mortals, mystical entities incomprehensible to anyone who dared trying, to beings with a past before Exandria, a family they're willing to protect at all costs no matter how hurtful their siblings are to the mortals, aliens with flaws and faults and failings, full of nuances and grayness in a world that put half of them in a box of "Good" and the other half in a box of "Evil". And as those Gods have been humanised in front of our eyes, it brought the question of whether their power over mortals is still justified and relevant. And now Exandria is about to change, and I find it exciting. IMO, it gives even more of a reason to keep exploring Exandria in the future of Critical Role than if the status quo was maintained. It's hard to do something new in a world that doesn't evolve with the story.

And while I understand people would have loved more time with Bell's Hells (I would have loved that too!), I also kinda loved how rushed and short in time they've been feeling since they've heard of the solstice. They've had a ticking clock ringing in their ears for a while now. People make different decisions when they don't think they have the time to get some sleep on it. Would have Ashton tried to absorb the shard if the group didn't have to leave for Ruidus the exact next day? Would have Orym taken a sword that maybe shouldn't be his if they didn't have to leave for Aeor the next day? Would have Imogen absorbed Predathos if watching Downfall hadn't made them realise that the Gods will break the Divine Gate to keep the secret of Predathos hidden?

IMO, we still got plenty of very interesting character moments despite the limited amount of time those characters spent together. They've been through some shit together, and the friendships they made through the shared trauma will stick with them for years. Because yes, they are friends (except for Braius, that one is on a tightrope lol). But they've proven over and over again what they're willing to do for their tight crew of broken people.

Boy I am so very fond of them. Saying goodbye will be hard 🥹.

[saywhat-politics]

Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are demanding answers after they say President Donald Trump gave Elon Musk's staff access to sensitive and classified government information

WASHINGTON -- Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee are demanding answers after they say President Donald Trump gave billionaire Elon Musk and his staff access to sensitive data and classified secrets as part of their work to overhaul the federal government.

The lawmakers on Wednesday wrote to Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, and asked what security precautions had been taken to prevent unauthorized leaks of information by staff at the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. Trump tapped Musk to run the taskforce, which has quickly gotten to work dismantling whole agencies of the federal government.

As part of that effort, Musk and his staff have gained access to computer systems that the senators say contain potentially sensitive medical and financial information about millions of Americans as well as federal payroll information, classified documents, information from foreign intelligence partners and the identities of undercover agents and intelligence sources.

In the letter, the senators warned that national security and the personal privacy of Americans could be at risk if the information is mishandled — intentionally or through negligence. They ask whether Musk's team has met with U.S. intelligence officials to discuss how to reduce the chances of the data being misused and what steps to take to protect classified information, such as the identities of CIA informants or the actions of overseas intelligence operatives.

Such information would be highly valuable to the spy agencies of Russia, China, Iran and other nations, and its loss could put lives at risk while undermining efforts to prevent terrorism and other threats to the U.S., the senators wrote.

[twopoppies]

hi!!! new larry anon again ☺️ idk how big your platform is as i’m still learning who’s who in the fandom but i wanted to drop this here https://youtu.be/OV8Rdn94PjU?si=YpYmCIb0OARX6M7F as i feel this is a very IN YOUR FACE proof for larry that it seems arden missed out in their series at about 4:20 in they’re discussing the fandom made traits given to them where harry is hot & dangerous and louis is funny & adorable, louis agrees harry is hot and then have a cute moment but then when harry comments on louis’ he says he’s funny, handsome, ragged, manly which prompts louis to say thank u DANGEROUS SLAVE and harry was so taken aback but also turned on he said “i’ll get you for that tonight” …. no wonder this got scrubbed off the internet and then in the comment section lesliecaraway5 said that the french harry spoke in the beginning was “i went to the cinema with my boyfriend and family” and now not many people picked up on that so just passing this along. i must say i love larries dedication so much for me to be able to experience their truth so many years later and i’m so glad you didn’t comply to management no matter how much they encouraged other fans to bully/scapegoat you. sorry if this was a bit long ♥️♥️♥️

Hi, darling. I'm pretty sure Louis called him Dangerous Dave (not Slave), but that whole interaction is ridiculously intimate, regardless. As for Harry's famous French sentence that he repeats constantly (LOL!), he's saying "mes copains" and not "mon copain" (the first being "my friends," the second being "my boyfriend").

Given that the sentence very much sounds like something he learned in school, and that he's said it NUMEROUS times, I would lean toward "mes copains." Here's a native French speaker discussing it.

Now, from what I understand, it's mostly children whouse the word copain for "friend", but again, Harry is barely 17 here, and he's using a phrase learned in school. He may be aware that it can be used for "friend" or "boyfriend" depending on the context, intonation, etc., and that's why he likes it, but I don't think he's purposely using the word for boyfriend to indicate Louis is his boyfriend.

Native French speakers, feel free to correct me there, but we've had this discussion through the years, and that's how I remember it. @leah3477sblog @fredficaccount.

Last, I know new fans love Cosmic Leeds, and we're so lucky there is still someone making great videos for this fandom. But if you'd also like to see the OG creator of the average fan to rabid larrie pipeline, check out freddieismyqueen's videos

These are just a few. If you go through my tag you'll find links to all of her videos.

And here's the rest of my FIMQ tag

[centrally-unplanned]

I am happy to “concede” that if you face a choice between saving a stranger and saving your brother, save your brother! Or your cousin, or your great-uncle, or your seven-times-great-nephew-twice-removed. I’ll “concede” all of this, immediately, because it’s all fake; none of your relatives were ever in any danger. The only point of this whole style of philosophical discussion is so that you can sound wise as you say “Ah, but is not saving your brother more important than saving a complete stranger?” then doom five million complete strangers to death for basically no benefit while your brother continues to be a successful real estate agent in Des Moines.

Scott writing a real "me" post here, I can even see it in the prose lol (which ofc is a causal pathway going the other way or to common sources). I find this funny because I am pretty sure 20-something Scott wouldn't say this. He would totally be interested in writing a 15-part blog post about calculating the optimal ethical theory for community vs the world, or at least a 5-pager on how interesting it is that such a thing is impossible while plumbing the depths of the rational-emotional boundary. Now he can't give a fuck, because it is completely useless to do that - nothing ever behaves in a way where that is relevant to explore. Which ofc is also me! I too cannot pretend to treat conversations like that, which I myself had as a teen, with any level of respect.

There are universals in the lessons of time, huh.

[roseofithaca]

One rare W I will give CBS Ghosts over BBC Ghosts is how they do the whole "ghosts watching other ghosts while they were alive" thing. We see a lot of instances of older ghosts watching big events in the flashbacks, rather than just through the characters pov who are focused on. The only time we ever see this in the BBC show is the Thomas Thorne Affair - and as much as I LOVE that episode and wouldn't change a thing, it would have been nice to see more of the ghosts of the time discussing with each other about what's happening to see more of their dynamic, other than just Mary and Annie (also you can't tell me Brigid and Katy wouldn't have come back for cameos in Pineapple Day if asked!). Any other time we see the ghosts in flashbacks is usually just them watching another ghost (Pat or Julian) die.

And the change from "babies can see ghosts" to "some young children can see ghosts but think they're imaginary friends" is so brilliant and adds so much more you can get from a child interacting and forming a friendship than you get from a baby just smiling and gurgling as they do with anything interesting. Thor having watched over Hetty and wanted to protect her like a daughter even after she stopped being able to see him is just the softest thing! Obviously, Hetty's equivalent Fanny was never a child in BH - but Kitty was. And I so wish Robin, Mary and Annie having been her imaginary friends growing up had been more than just my headcanon, as it so fits with their characters.

[canirove]

Canary boy | Chapter 12

Previous chapter | Next chapter (coming out on Friday)

Masterlist

“Here she comes, our player of the match!” Carla says.

“Oh, stop it” I laugh, sitting down next to her in the bus.

“You played amazing today, Inés” Aitana says from the seat opposite to ours. “And this whole week you've had such energy during training! You need to tell us what you ate in Tenerife.”

“Do you seriously have to ask?” Carla laughs. “She tasted some really good plátano de Canarias” she smirks.

“Eating good bananas has made you play better?” Aitana asks with a confused look.

“Just one.”

“Just… Oh. Oh!” 

“Ouch! That hurt!” I say when Aitana hits my arm.

“Inés, are you and canary boy together?” she says.

“Carla!” I say, looking at her.

“What?” she shrugs.

“You told Aitana about Pedri?”

“She heard us talking over facetime during the international break and I had to tell her” she shrugs. 

“And I kind of knew he existed. Remember that I heard you talking about a guy you fancied? Now I just happen to have more info about him, like his name, where he is from, that he is single… Or maybe not anymore. Are you guys dating?” Aitana asks me.

“What? No, no, no” I say, my cheeks starting to burn.

“Then… what are you?”

“I don't know.”

“You don't know? He introduced you to his whole family and all his childhood friends, and if I've understood it well” she says, lowering down her voice so our teammates can't hear her. “You slept together. Haven't you talked about what all that means?”

“No.”

“Inés…”

“We haven't had time to talk about it, ok?”

“Again” Carla sighs, rolling her eyes and reminding me about how I was going to talk with Pedri after what had happened at the Halloween party, and then…

“Yes, again. But we seriously haven't had time to talk about it.”

“And on the plane on your way back to Barcelona?”

“Carla, I wasn't going to tell Pedri about my feelings for him surrounded by a bunch of strangers.”

That day after landing I had basically gone straight into training, and after that we both have been catching up on uni and other stuff and we've only talked through texts and some late night video calls. And that's not how I want to discuss my feelings for him and what we are after what happened in Tenerife. If we are still just friends who made a mistake, friends with benefits, or something else. 

“You better talk about it, Inés. And soon” Carla says. “Because I know you and I know that the crush has turned into being in love with him, and we don't know about his feelings for you. We don't know if what the people who know you both have said is true, if he also likes you. And let's not forget about the fact that he just broke up with his girlfriend of three years, and you may be just a rebound. Like… I just don't want him to break your heart, Inés. I don't” she says, taking my hand on hers.

“I know. Thank you, Carla” I smile, squeezing her hand. “And we will talk, don't worry.”

“But in the meantime, if it isn't too much to ask... can you please keep this energy?” Aitana says with a cheeky smile. “The team needs you.”

“I'll try” I chuckle. “And speaking about energies… What is going on with you, Carla?”

“Nothing” she says.

“You've been acting super weird for the last few days. For example, you've barely teased me about Tenerife.”

“Maybe I'm growing up” she shrugs.

“Or maybe it has to do with what happened after the last game with the national team” Aitana says.

“What? What happened?” I say, looking from one to the other.

“Nothing happened” Carla insists.

“You were crying.”

“What?” I say, raising my voice and making some of our teammates look our way. 

“After the game and once we made it to the hotel she went straight into her room, and when she came back to grab something to eat, her eyes were red from crying” Aitana explains. “But we didn't say anything because we didn't want to bother her or make it worse.”

“Carla…”

“It was Mario, ok?” she says, crossing her arms over her chest and looking out the windows. “I broke up with him. Though I don't think you can call it like that since we never were together in any way.”

“But I thought things were ok between you! Like, the Halloween party…”

“Yes, we made out that day, but only because I kissed him first. It was like I was doing everything, you know? I was the one who asked him for his number when we met, the one who always texted first… And yes, he was the one who invited me to the party, but I kept feeling like I was the only one putting some effort on getting to know each other and moving things forward.”

“Maybe he is shy” Aitana says.

“Mario isn't shy” Carla laughs. “He just isn't as into me as I am into him, so I ended things before I got hurt. Which is why you need to talk with Pedri, Inés. I know he has shown a lot more interest in you than his roommate in me, but… Yeah” she sighs.

“Oh, Carla” I say, hugging her. “I'm so sorry things didn't work out. I know you really like him.”

“Yeah, well” she shrugs. “There are more men out there, it isn't the end of the world. But you must still talk with Pedri, ok?”

“Ok” I nod.

“Now let's do something fun. Like maybe a round of Uno?”

“I'm in” Aitana says. “I'm gonna ask some of the other girls if they want to join us” she says, getting up from her seat.

“Are you sure you are ok?” I ask Carla once we are alone. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I'm fine, don't worry.”

“Promise?”

“I promise” she smiles. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I could watch you do your makeup for hours, Inés.”

“What?” I laugh.

“You just make it look so easy when it definitely isn't…” 

“You are so weird, Pedri” I chuckle. 

“Oh well” he shrugs.

It's been two weeks (almost three) since we went to Tenerife, and guess what? We still haven't had that conversation. 

We've kept texting and video calling like we are right now, but meeting in person? That's been almost impossible. And I say almost, because this week I actually managed to attend some of our classes. But between our friends wanting to spend some time together, and us being busy trying to act as if nothing had happened between us (and failing because Vic and Lucía instantly noticed), we weren't able to find a moment to be alone just the two of us.

“What are you wearing?” Pedri asks me. “The suit or the dress?”

“The dress. I thought it was too much for the club's Christmas party, but everyone said it was perfect, so” I shrug.

“And it is. You look amazing on it, Inés. You better take some photos before you leave so I can see the whole look.”

“Oh, don't worry. Carla will make sure to have a proper photoshoot when she comes pick me up in… Fuck.”

“What happened?”

“She should be arriving in ten minutes and I still haven't finished getting ready.”

“And here I am distracting you. I'm so sorry, Inés.”

“There is no need to apologise, Pedri” I smile. “Actually, if we are running late, there won't be a photoshoot and that always is good news.”

“To you. I want to see you looking hot, Inés. I need some motivation to go back to studying.”

“Me looking hot motivates you to study?” I laugh.

“It actually motivates me to do other things” he smirks. Other… things? What? “But even if there is no photoshoot, at least post one of the official photos the club will take. Do it for me” he pouts.

“Ok, I will. But only because I can't say no to that face.”

“Thank you” Pedri smiles. “I'll keep an eye on my Instagram notifications.”

“Wait, your notifications?”

“Yeah, I… This may sound a bit stalkery, but I have notifications turned on for when you post.”

“Wait, really?” 

“Yep” he says, nervously running a hand through his hair.

“May I confess something too?” 

“Sure.”

“I also have my notifications turned on for you.” 

“Oh, wow” he laughs.

“If you are a stalker, so am I” I shrug. Though I've probably been one for longer than he has. Waaaay longer.

“And here I thought you liking my posts so fast was because you were bored” he says with a teasing smile.

“Same” I reply, sticking out my tongue before we both start laughing. 

“I better let you finish getting ready and go back to my room, I've entertained you enough.”

“I wish I was there instead of going to this dinner” I sigh.

“In my room?” Pedri asks, arching an eyebrow and trying not to smile.

“What? No, no, no. I meant studying with you. As in you with your notes and me with mine and sharing a table at the library or something like that. Not together in your room. Like together but not together, you know? Like…” Oh my God, shut up and stop rambling! 

“You and I could never study together, Inés.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because we would distract each other and end up doing nothing of what we are supposed to. Just look at us right now. We keep talking and talking, and if we were in the same room… Who knows what we would end up doing instead of studying” he smirks.

“Yeah… ummm…” 

“So I'm gonna hang up and go to my room and let you make yourself look even more beautiful than you already are. I'll have my fire and heart eyes emojis ready for when you post” he winks.

Yeah… Fire is what I am feeling right now. How can his wink affect me so much even through a screen? And the fact that he has called me beautiful? Again? Asdfghjklñ.

“Have fun, Inés” he smiles.

“You too. I mean, studying isn't fun, but since you actually like it for whatever the reason…” I tease him.

“Rude” he chuckles. “And I like studying things I enjoy. For example, numbers… or you.”

“Me?” I say with a nervous laugh.

“Yes, you. You are my favourite subject, Inés.”

“I… Ummm… Shit!” I jump when my phone starts vibrating, not allowing me to properly freak out about what Pedri just told me. That I… that I am… Bloody hell. 

“What happened?”

“Carla is calling me, she must be almost here. And she is going to kill me when she sees I'm not ready.”

“Then I'll stop entertaining you. This time for real” he laughs. “Good night, Inés” he smiles, adding some butterflies on my stomach to everything I was already feeling.

“Good night, Pedri” I smile back before he hangs up and Carla starts calling me. Again. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I can't, Inés. I swear I can't.”

“Carla, wait” I say as she opens the car's door before it has even stopped.

“I feel like my bladder is going to explode!”

“But Carla… Carla!” I call after her when she starts running towards the restaurant. “Shit. I… Umm… Thank you” I say to the driver.

“You're welcome, miss” he replies, completely ignoring what just happened. He's probably seen worse.

“Inés?” a male voice says from the other side of the street as I start walking towards the restaurant.

“Fuck, shit” I whisper, turning around.

“Inés, hey.”

“Víctor, hi. I hadn't seen you there.” Lie.

“Really? People say I'm hard to miss” he smirks. “Anyway, where were you going? The restaurant is this way.”

“Oh, I know. I just thought I had left my phone in the car and I was going to check, but then I realised I had it in my bag.” Because saying “I was trying to run away from you” is too mean, isn't it?

“Silly you” he chuckles.

“Yeah…”

“You look stunning, by the way. You probably already know if you saw my reaction to your Instagram story but… Seriously, Inés. Wow” he says, looking at me from head to toe. 

“Thank you.”

“Shall we?”

“Uh?”

“The dinner, Inés. Should we get going? Because I don't think Carla is coming back, is she?”

“She is not, no.”

“Is she ok? I saw her running as if her life depended on it” Víctor laughs.

“She needed to use the bathroom.”

“Oh… I see. Then…” he says, offering me his arm.

“Let's go” I reply, acting as if I haven't seen it and walking towards the restaurant, Víctor by my side a second later. 

And what does he do when we make it to where the photographers and some fans are waiting? He puts his hand on my lower back as if kind of protecting me and helping me walk, waving and smiling to everyone and then opening the door for me and letting me go first as a proper gentleman would do, his hand still touching me. 

And what do I do? Smile like an idiot while cursing on the inside. 

━━━━━━❃━━━━━━

“I can't fucking believe this is happening to me. Didn't I have enough with having to sit next to Víctor the whole night?” 

“If you don't stop moving it will be even worse” Carla says behind me.

“Urgh” I groan.

But let's give this conversation some context, shall we? 

After walking into the restaurant with Víctor and greeting everyone, I discovered that I was not only sitting next to him since they had mixed the men and women's teams on each table. I was also going on stage with him, other players and the president to be part of some kind of speech. 

Once it was time for that, and keeping up with his gentlemanly behaviour, he had moved my chair so I could easily get up and then walked with me to the stage, his hand obviously resting on my lower back like it had happened earlier. Then, of course, he had offered me his hand to go up the couple of steps that led to the stage. It was as if he had just come out of a period drama or something, and at one point I was even waiting for a curtsey. 

But the worst thing was about to happen: the back of my dress broke as we were leaving the stage.

I still don't know how since I had worn it once before and everything had been fine and I hadn't done anything weird while wearing it. But it was putting my foot on one of the steps to go down, and hearing the fabric tear. And if it hadn't been because Víctor was standing behind me, noticing what had just happened and hugging me from behind, acting as if he was joking about me tripping because of my heels, I would have probably shown my boobs to the whole restaurant. 

After that he had walked me to the bathroom, still hugging me. And when he was about to go call Carla to come help me, she had showed up looking at me with a face that said “what the fuck is going on” and her eyes about to pop from their sockets.

Once we explained everything to her, Víctor went back to the dinner, a lovely waitress giving us some safety pins to kind of close my dress, and here we are now. Me complaining about my luck while Carla tries to fix this disaster.

“Inés…”

“I don't like the way that has sounded, Carla. What happened?”

“Well, the good news is that you won't be showing your boobs to anyone who doesn't have a Canarian accent.”

“Carla!”

“But the bad news is you may be showing your underwear to everyone else.”

“What?” I say, turning around to try to look at my back in the mirror. “You've got to be kidding me.” 

You can see my knickers. My ugly skin tone knickers that are perfect to wear with dresses since you can't notice anything, but that aren't the sexiest thing out there.

“Carla, I can't go outside looking like this. Like, if it was just the girls, ok. They would understand. But we have the men's team and the whole board. The president is out there! I can't… I…”

“Inés… Inés, hey” she says, hugging me as I start crying.

“This is the worst night ever!”

“Don't say that, Inés.”

“It is! It fucking is and…”

“Ines?” someone says, knocking on the bathroom’s door. “Inés, are you ok?”

“For fucks sake” I groan. Víctor. Why is he back?

“Inés, can I come in?”

“No!” I say, wiping away my tears and ruining my makeup. Now I also look like a raccoon. Great. Just great.

“Sorry, I just… Ummm… I'm leaving already because I have a photoshoot early tomorrow.”

“Good for you” I spat.

“I was just wondering if you would like to go home with me.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I meant you to your place and me to mine. I thought we could share a car and I could help you with your dress again. I feel like you haven't been able to fix it and can't go back to the dinner, can you?”

“I cannot, no” I sigh. 

“Then let me help you, Inés. You can borrow my jacket, it is long enough to cover your whole back, no one will see anything.”

“He's actually right” Carla whispers. 

“And we can say that you aren't feeling well because of something you ate, that you feel you may have caught a cold… I don't know, whatever you prefer. But let me help you, Inés. Please” Víctor says from the other side of the door.

“What do I do?” I ask Carla.

“I mean… He seems honest, and the jacket idea actually is really good” she shrugs.

“Yeah, but it is Víctor.”

“It's your choice, Inés” she shrugs again.

“Ok… Víctor?” I call.

“Yeah?”

“You can come in” I say, hoping I won't end up regretting it and making this night go from one of the worst of my life, to the worst. 

[maukree]

Masterpost with all parts Yay, here we are. Part 2 of my *not quite Civil War (616)—The Messiest Divorce in Superhero History specifically (or Civil War, which is mostly actual Civil War just for this part, with very little winteriron)—where everything gets dark, painful, and incredibly shippable for so many ships. Not gonna lie, the whole point of these posts is for me to catch up before I start working on my MTH fill for the 616-canon-heavy winteriron fic, and also to have a convenient resource to link to if MCU-only fans actually choose to read it and want to know what happened in canon versus what is complete bullshit for my writing pleasure. That said—this event is a goldmine for all kinds of ships. So I’ve snagged the juiciest bits for your reading (and thirsting) pleasure because every ship is valid, and I don’t discriminate. (Though, I have my favorites, so they’re gonna stand out.) Now—Tumblr has a 30-image limit per post, and I am not about to split Civil War into multiple parts here, so there is a lot of ground to cover in this. There will be more parts after this, so you get one post for Civil War specially, with as much crammed into it as I can, laid out as simply as possible—for me, and hopefully for you too. P.S. While my cover image lists the overall timeline and which series I discuss in terms of winteriron, Civil War and this part here hits the fan right smack in the middle of Captain America and The Invincible Iron Man (they each get a few issues inside), but there’s a lot of other crap happening too elsewhere. I’m not about to unpack every superhero’s massive tie-in series here in equal detail, but I will mention others before the first BIG fight and how they pertain to Tony, Bucky, Steve and Peter—because, obviously, that’s who we’re here for, and Peter is in the middle... 'cause he is kind of important here. If you want the full, issue-by-issue breakdown of every tie-in, crossover, and emotional kick in the nuts that happened, and you didn’t like the five-hour video I sent you to in Part 1, Marvel’s got you covered with their Complete Guide to the Civil War Event (or which order to read it at, which I am following here, sort of.) *visuals are after each arc/issue covered. Fair warning: this has a lot of food for irondad or starker, but this is canon, so just deal with it. K, click that Read More button, and let’s goooo into “holy shit, why are they like this?”

If you read this part you will know where Tony, Bucky and Steve are just after 616 Civil War is won by one side.

What triggered Civil War for real / Was used as an excuse for registration? Basically, the U.S. government has been side-eyeing caped vigilantes for years—tolerating their sometimes helpful, sometimes catastrophic crime-fighting because, well, they weren’t technically employees. Things had been escalating for a while, but the final straw was when a group of young, reality-TV-era superheroes (The New Warriors) tried to do their thing, and—shocker—it went terribly. Some guy called Nitro (not part of the New Warriors, just a villain doing villain things) exploded next to an elementary school during a fight with that chirpy young group, killing over 600 people, including a lot of kids. There was a national outrage, and nothing gets the government’s attention quite like untrained superhumans causing massive collateral damage in broad daylight that people complain about. Suddenly, Congress, the media, and your grandma had an opinion on whether superheroes should be running around unchecked, which has resulted in the Superhuman Registration Act (SRA or, sometimes SHRA)—which most people are probably more familiar with from the X-Men movies and whatnot (where it was basically “Mutants, go register”), or as the comic book equivalent of the Sokovia Accords in the MCU. The SRA demanded that all superheroes:

Register with the government.

Reveal their identities.

Undergo training.

Operate under official oversight.

Which… totally sounded reasonable to some people. But only some people. Sure, about half of the superhero community saw it as necessary law and order, but the other half saw it as the death of personal freedom. And that is how this Marvel Civil War came about in the comics. (They did have a second one waaaay later, but I am not getting into that.) The easy comparison with MCU here is:

Team Pro-Registration (led by Tony).

Team Anti-Registration (led by Steve).

Where it gets VERY different:

It has very little (nothing, but he's around) to do with Bucky.

It's long.

A lot of people are involved.

Fighters on each side die.

It gets twisted and very much downhill from here as far as Tony's bromance with Steve goes (or on the up, depends on how much you like your angst). And, yes, there is a possibility some of the characters would've remained alive (but, like, a lot of Marvel characters die and come back even more often in the comic books) if Tony and Steve had just fucked it out, honestly. The Amazing Spider-Man (1999): Mr. Parker Goes to Washington (#529-531) (Not actually released in 1999—the series itself started in 1999. Marvel’s way of naming shit and constantly renaming it will break your head, I swear.) This specific three-parter covers Tony dragging Peter into the most emotional relationship drama to ever drama. For clarity (and because I think I’m too funny and can’t resist commenting along), while Civil War is gearing up, Tony starts making deeply emotional decisions under the guise of strategy, and his first move is to recruit Peter and make sure he is on his side. Because obviously, if you’re about to start a massively controversial government-backed superhero initiative, the first person you want in your corner is the kid with no money, another tragic backstory, the worst luck in the history of caped crusading, but a very good sense of right and wrong. At this point in the timeline, Peter is living with Tony in the Avenger's tower, Tony is already acting like his chaotic billionaire stepdad while Peter is hitting it off with the Avengers on the daily. For real, Peter even calls him “Dad” once or twice, although mostly, he calls him “boss” and, what, do you know, he is actually his intern. MJ is staying with Peter, but you can ignore that. So what actually happens here relevant to Civil War beginnings: Tony takes Peter to Washington, D.C., where he’s testifying before Congress about superhero accountability. While in D.C., Tony gives Peter a new version of the Iron Spider suit (like two days after another new version ’cause he can’t stop spoiling him or, like, gearing him up for war or something, idk...) and starts laying the groundwork for making him his right-hand. There are a lot of father/son vibes, mentor/protégé vibes, and if you’re reading this through a Starker lens, well—Tony spends a lot of time complimenting Peter, and putting a hell of a lot of emotional weight on his presence.

Fact: Tony genuinely cares about Peter in here (not looking at it through starker lens right now, trying to think winteriron long game here), but he’s also desperate for allies as the political pressure builds. Because Peter is not just a good boy for Tony but good in general, he is clearly conflicted from the beginning about the government stepping in to control superheroes, but Tony reassures him that it’s the right thing to do and that he is actually working on stalling it and making sure it stays under control (he is being hella shady). Peter also trusts Tony implicitly (big mistake, buddy), and because this is the road to Civil War and not just Fun Congressional Trips With Tony and Pete, we also get some early signs of how badly this is going to go for everyone involved. So, Peter backs Tony up (as Peter, hiding his identity and later as Spider-Man, refusing to reveal his identity at the meeting), showing loyalty to Tony despite his own lingering doubts. This whole arc is really about Tony starting to make moves to secure the Pro-Registration side, and Peter—bless him—doesn’t fully grasp what he’s getting into yet. This is an awesome arc to read for anyone who likes Tony and Peter in any capacity, but it’s so clear that Tony doesn’t just care about Peter here—he needs him. He is also the guy who will, very soon, break Peter’s heart, and it’s very gutting. Like, they kick the whole event off with this, and you can feel your heart bleed in advance. Why this Matters for Civil War: Tony starts Civil War with Peter at his side, which will make it all the more painful when it inevitably falls apart. Peter’s trust in Tony is absolute at this point, and that will change—violently. Tony also secretly hires a bad guy to attack them in D.C. to make a point, and this should really be one of the many signs on how seriously Tony's starting here from the very beginning.

In Fantastic Four #536-537, Thor’s hammer crash-lands on Earth. This is a big deal because, at this point, Thor is 'not around', but everyone is trying to get their hands on his nutcracker. Naturally, Doctor Doom shows up, because if something cool falls from the sky, he’s contractually obligated to try and steal it. The reason the hammer is important is because Reed Richards is around for this, so while he’s not fully immersed in Civil War beginnings yet, he’s about to be. Also, Thor and his hammer specifically play a massive part in Civil War (stick a pin in that mental note). Doom doesn’t get the hammer, obviously, it just chills there because nobody can lift it. Following the Fantastic Four issues (but also technically happening before them—just go with it), we have New Avengers: Illuminati (2006) #1, which is basically a bunch of rich, powerful men sitting in a room and making decisions that will screw over everyone else. This issue gives us the Illuminati’s response to the SRA, aka a lot of self-important posturing. The Illuminati (Tony, Reed Richards, Namor, Doctor Strange, Black Bolt, and Charles Xavier) gather to discuss how this whole registration thing is about to go down. And—shocker—they do not agree. Everyone except Reed and Tony, who tend to agree on more things than people give them credit for, thinks that the SRA is a massive disaster waiting to happen. T'Challa is there too, and while he loves being complemented on how pretty his country is, he still tells them to fuck off. Politely. Namor flips off Tony too and nearly drowns him. It's a cool action sequence. So, nothing too exciting, but good to know. That said, this is side content I don’t personally care about, but will splash in here and there for basic understanding as needed, and not spend image limit on it (unless it extra cool).

Civil War (2006) #1 This is where things aren’t just leading to the breakup of Tony and Steve—this is where everything fully hits the fan. I’ve already covered the tragedy and the public outrage/last trigger for SRA, but let’s talk about a lovely parallel happening in the aftermath. During the funeral for the folks who died, Tony gets spit on. A grieving mother blames him personally for the deaths of all those children, since he's kinda bankrolling Avengers and stuff, and while Tony was not even remotely involved in this paticular Nitro-exploding and killing kids mess—just the cleanup—he takes it HARD. (Yeah, remember how badly he took everything in the movies? It's worse in the comics, and the woman is aggressive about it.) And regardless of whether it’s comic books or movies, if there’s one thing Tony cannot handle, it’s being told that his inaction led to innocent people dying. This is where his shady, kind-of-sorta “leaning” into supporting registration cements itself into a full send. Unfortunately for both sides of this war, Fury is nowhere to be found to smack some sense into people, because he pissed off the U.S. government (again) and is currently persona non grata. So instead, Maria Hill is running S.H.I.E.L.D, calls in Steve for a little chat, while a bunch of other heroes are off in various places having their “Should we let the government own our asses?” powwows. Hill, naturally, expects Steve to be the poster boy for the Superhuman Registration Act, because, you know, Captain America = America, right? Big mistake. Huge. I don’t know if it’s the way she talks to him in her “I’m in charge now, shut up and do what I say” tone, or the fact that she basically says, “Hey, so here’s the deal—there’s a new law coming down. You’re going to help us enforce it, and we’re going to use S.H.I.E.L.D. to make sure every superhero signs up. Cool? Cool.” Either way, Steve's response is HELL NO. Hill, in her usual charming manner, reacts to being blown off by trying to arrest him. Which is hilarious. Steve then proceeds to beat the crap out of some S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, escape the Helicarrier, and go underground. But not to hang out with Fury who pops up at a later stage. Just underground, officially becoming the face of the Anti-Registration movement. Now, I’m probably not being fair to Hill (I actually do like her), but I am also Switzerland when it comes to comic book Civil War (and MCU Civil War), because both Tony and Steve are being absolute fucking idiots about literally everything in either canon. Frankly, Bucky is the only smart one when this takes place, and mostly 'cause he’s nowhere to be seen yet after ghosting Steve in London. He’s out there somewhere, probably drinking whiskey in a safe house, brooding about his past crimes, cleaning his guns, and for now busy NOT giving a single fuck about what's going on. While the love of his life that he hasn’t met yet (reminder: this is a winteriron timeline) is going out of his way to become the most hated man in the superhero community. Sad.

She-Hulk (2005) #8 is mostly a pointless tie-in to Civil War in the context of what I am trying to do here, but we do get a peek at Tony’s methods and how he’s running his “Collect ’Em All” campaign for Pro-Registration allies. Jennifer Walters (She-Hulk), has a bunch of things going on somewhat related to the main event, but the only one you need to know here is that Tony makes an appearance to give her information she needs for a case she is working on—“for free, not asking for anything, no strings attached” of course (which, lol, sure, Tony). This is a good look at how Tony operates. He’s not exactly strong-arming people right away, but you’d have to be blind not to pick up on the “Pick a side or get picked for one” vibes. In general, his methods vary through the Civil War, but you have to give it to him, he is very creative and approaches each person in a wickedly unique way. Crafty. He's crafty. In Wolverine (2003) #42, Logan is seen catching some heat and getting the “You’re not welcome here anymore” treatment from randoms, demonstrating how the baseline folks are reacting to what’s going on (although, when does he not get this heat, honestly?). He gets into a few debates with fellow supers about how the SRA is giving Nazi vibes, all while side-eyeing the Sentinel parked outside the X-Mansion pretending to be a lawn ornament and suspecting it’s not actually there for their “safety”. Wolverine isn’t my favorite in general, but he slaps in this, because instead of sitting around and yapping about whose side he’s on, he’s one of the few people actually making sense and decides that Nitro—the asshole who kickstarted this and exploded all over the place, killing all the people—hasn’t been rolled over by an avenging tank yet and it should probably be done. Right? The man has a point. Avengers. Tony tells him to drop it because “we have bigger problems”, but Logan is like “Yeah, nah” and sets off on a mission to gut Nitro with a fork (or, well, six of them), since someone here has priorities and actually takes being an Avenger (which he has been for a few months only tbh) seriously. I am not gonna talk about Wolverine much after this, so feel free to hunt down his issues on your own.

Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #532 This is one of my favorite issues, honestly, because this is the moment Tony asks Peter for everything, and Peter realizes what his loyalty to Tony actually means. In short, they visit the White House together (Tony brings him along to all the cool places, as you can see), and Peter’s life as he knows it gets irreversibly fed. This issue is a massive turning point because Tony wants a lot. And I mean, a lot. Up until this point, every time Spider-Man’s identity has been revealed, it’s been because a villain unmasked him—never voluntarily. But now, with the SRA officially getting signed by the president, the rules are clear: If you don’t register, you and your entire family become fugitives. Your assets will be confiscated, your safety will be gone, your life will be over, etc. AND if you do sign up, you might also have to snitch on others and hunt them down. Like… tough. Very tough. Tony, being the dramatic bastard that he is, casually admits to the President that he is Iron Man right there in the Oval Office, while Peter is completely missing this historic moment because he’s looking for a bathroom, checking out Secret Service agents, and admiring priceless art. (I respect his priorities.) Then comes the Big Ask. Tony wants Peter to do the same—to stand beside him and publicly reveal that he is Spider-Man to the world. Peter, reasonably, is not down for this plan at all initially, but Tony, ever the master manipulator with a heart, leaves Peter with a choice. (Sort of. Which is really no choice at all, if you think about it, since, if Peter refuses, his entire life crumbles.) MJ and Aunt May (especially May) help him process the decision, and while they ultimately support him, Peter himself is still torn right up until the last second. Even when he’s about to go to Tony with a YES, he still considers running. He even makes the arrangements to run, but doesn’t. The issue ends with Tony and Peter standing side by side at a podium, about to make this announcement. This issue slaps for both irondad and starker, honestly.

Civil War: Front Line (2006) #1 While superheroes are busy picking sides, Front Line follows the journalists stuck in the middle, trying to cover this mess—specifically Ben Urich (Daily Bugle, professional shit-stirrer) and Sally Floyd (indie journalist, professional snarker). The two of them are trying to make sense of the SRA fallout, tracking how the government is spinning the Stamford disaster (all those dead kids). In the same issue, Speedball—one of the good guys who accidentally got a school full of kids blown up when he was fighting Nitro—gets arrested, which is awkward as hell and also the first time on the page where someone flashes their S.H.I.E.L.D. badge to start arrests, signaling that things are starting to get really serious. Speedball has a VERY bad time after his arrest and is often used to remind us all that the places where supers who didn't fall in line go are not a spa. At all. Since this is essentially a press room issue, it ends with the reveal of Tony’s identity—that same press conference where we last left him with Peter. And LOL, DUDE, you do not begin this shit with “Hello. I am Tony Stark, and I am an alcoholic.” This. Is. What. He. Says. YES. While Peter is next to him, shaking in his boots and waiting for his very private life get gutted into pieces to support Tony's agenda.

Civil War (2006) #2 Following the first arrest, things are properly rolling downhill now. More arrests, the first betrayals, and the first real punches are about to happen. Tony, still fully committed to the government’s golden boy arc, is working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to form his superhero task force to hunt down the noncompliant capes. Steve has been AWOL since flipping off Hill but there is a resistance going on. I mean… it sounds good, right? For now, Tony looks like a total dick, and Steve is the hero. As a note, however, Tony is not being a complete blind asshole here, and does struggle with hoping they are doing the right thing just before SRA officially becomes law. Because comics don’t release in a neat timeline, the end of this issue is also where we get some lovely art of Peter unmasking during that press conference (the art shifts between comics, enjoy it and deal with it).

At this point, Civil War is fully spiraling, and the “oh shit, this is getting worse” moments are stacking up. In Thunderbolts (2006) #103, Tony and his team sign up the Thunderbolts—a group of villains-turned-government-enforcers (not to be confused with the MCU version, and no, Bucky is not here yet). And what is their job is to hunt down villain holdouts and then recruiting them to hunt down more holdouts. Yes, the plan is literally “let’s get criminals to enforce the law.” Things are just getting plain weird and scary and in Civil War: Front Line (2006) #2, the press and civilians are starting to get real nervous about how Tony is taking down people who used to be on the side of good with very little prejudice for not complying. Essentially, the whole “this is about protecting people” argument is starting to look flimsy AF when actual normal people are watching buildings collapse and their heroes get thrown into Superhero Guantanamo. Nobody is having a good time at this stage, but, to lighten the mood, Peter gets fired from the Daily Bugle via headline: “YOU’RE FIRED!”

New Avengers (2004) #21 is where we properly get into Steve’s headspace, and IT IS HILARIOUS. This issue is basically Steve being alone and sad after flipping off Maria Hill and instantly regretting everything, including his own existence. He angsts for most of it, because of course he does, and at some point, Bucky makes a 0.5-second flashback appearance, because it wouldn’t be a Steve issue if he wasn’t feeling sorry for himself and reminiscing about people he’s lost. The vibe here is “I should draw my feelings or write a book” (multiple panels on him trying to do that), but instead of actually dealing with his trauma of being a fugitive, which he is very upset about, he just… keeps brooding. Then S.H.I.E.L.D. sends Dum Dum Dugan to bring Steve in, and that’s when the paranoia kicks in. Suddenly, Steve is feeling betrayal from all angles (fair), and even Falcon catches some suspicion, even though they are best buds in this, since Bucky is out there gallivanting somewhere, not getting involved yet. After Steve and Falcon reunite, they set off on a noble quest titled: “Let’s Make Civil War About Peter Parker, Because He’s the First Pick for Everyone.” They gently stalk Peter to see if he’d be down to join Team Cap, but they are very late. Steve is devastated, because Peter once called him cute, and now Peter is already firmly on Tony’s side, kinda-sorta-but-actually-yes. And if that wasn’t enough betrayal for one issue, Hank Pym tries to help S.H.I.E.L.D. to arrest Cap, which really just solidifies the whole “Steve is having the worst week of his life” situation. Maybe if Steve had actually talked to Peter instead of stalking him, Peter would have called him cute again, and Civil War would have ended right there, since our sunshine babydoll can make everyone see light. But alas.

As you probably picked up on already, Peter is right smack in the middle of this, as mentioned about 10,000 times. In Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #533, they fully cover how much his life went to absolute shit after that press conference. It wasn’t just getting fired. Everyone wants a piece of him now. Some people want to kill him, a lot of people want to fuck him, and the internet is absolutely losing its collective mind. (For real—his unmasking breaks the internet, including the porn sites. FACTS.) At the same time, Peter is deeply uneasy about everything, and Tony is “comforting” him while simultaneously sharpening his betrayal knife. The same knife where Tony does not ASK Peter if he wants to be part of his superhero-hunting strike force and instead, he just signs him up publicly without permission. Peter, already on his WTF is going on subplot, doesn’t even get time to process any of this properly before Tony cranks the drama to 11, piling on on top of his little 'favor' to reveal his identity and says: “Hold my beer, meet your new teammates, and get ready—because the dying is about to fucking start tomorrow.” Whelp.

Things don’t actually escalate to full-on hero-on-hero-we-give-a-crap-about murder aka THE BIG WTF MOMENT just yet (patience), but people are getting hurt just for trying to not pick a side, and crime is skyrocketing because, shockingly, when heroes are too busy planning on punching each other, villains thrive. In Fantastic Four (1998) #538 Johnny is in a coma because a mob beat him within an inch of his life just for existing as a super, the Fantastic Four are already crumbling and even Reed’s own family thinks he’s being a dick. (And they are correct.) He is so firmly on Tony’s side that it’s almost embarrassing, and I suspect some consensual touching is involved to be this stupidly on board with Tony, but I digress here too, since I don’t even know if this is a ship. There’s some setup happening for later events, but we’re not going Mariana Trench deep here, so let’s move on. Oh, someone does pick up Thor’s hammer. I wonder who that is. Over in Civil War: Front Line (2006) #3, the press is still deep in the trenches, and there is a lot of talking happening. Everyone is talking. Some folks are being interviewed. Nobody is doing shit. It's getting... boring. It's also getting very confusing.

BUT.

We are FINALLY, at least in this ‘brief’ (ah, who the fuck am I kidding here) recap, at the stage where I am mentally prepared to talk about The Great Civil War Standoff (aka, Please, Just Start Punching Already) and promptly skip to HOLY FUCK NOT THIS MUCH PUNCHING, boooooys, what are you doing??? (I rock myself in the corner.) As mentioned, the whole thing sorta stalls while each side is staring at each other with deep, unspoken yearning, waiting for the BIG fight, while smaller fights start breaking out all over the place. And because event comics are an actual nightmare, I am going to stop talking about the tie-ins here. I’ve set the scene, now just assume there’s a TON of random skirmishes happening, Cap and Spider-Man have already thrown hands (yo, this pretends to be a winteriron timeline, go look for your shippy business elsewhere, I am hungry), a bunch of unimportant extras are getting hurt or worse, and at this point, it’s just Tony vs. Steve and their twisted moral compasses playing an extremely violent game of chicken. I know, I know—I am taking a big skip after I just dropped an obscene amount of lore on you. But listen. Event tie-ins, and I cannot state it enough, are so messy and out of order while… being in order, sorta. You get to one good bit, and then Marvel chucks another 2,000 issues between you and the next good bit, and suddenly, you’re sitting there, waiting for the cliffhanger to be explained while trying to remember why the hell you should care what Quicksilver was doing five minutes before it happened and why you can’t just skip ahead to the yummy shit. Headache material, honestly. So, anyway. The scene has been set. Yay. Civil War is in progress. What we know now and what I am desperately trying to remember here:

Bucky is still in the wind.

Steve’s resistance is being annoying and resisting, but occasionally making sense, gaining traction, and also getting innocent people hurt left and right.

Tony is entering his “I am a very scary man” era and is also getting people hurt left and right, both physically and emotionally.

Peter is still with Tony but is having a minor existential crisis every five minutes on the account of emotional hurt, and barely any other Marvel issue in this timeline doesn't have an opinion on why he is still with Tony, is he sucking his dick or what, 'thought he was the good guy'/'ah yeah, this is why Tony needed him', etc.

The X-Men are staying out of it, mostly, because they’ve seen this movie before.

Deadpool and Cable, as well as about a gazillion other supers, have their own shit going on, but I refuse to get into that.

The Thunderbolts are being shady, surprise surprise, and they only get an honorable mention here ‘cause I’ve mentioned them earlier to demonstrate Tony’s spiral into being not just a bit of an asshole but very much an asshole.

Reed is so into Tony that he’s about to do something crazy. (I don’t even know if the touching is consensual at this point, since he is absolutely whipped by Tony, and it stinks of Stockholm syndrome.) So, now that we have decided on where we are and had a cup of tea/smoke, let’s have a look at the actual Civil War issues as they proceed, Captain America Civil War issues and Iron Man issues, skip a bunch of other important shit after, but ultimately, get to where we need to be before Part 3 of me posting (some other day) because I want to talk about Tony and Bucky and not about Civil War.

Civil War (2006) #3 Alright, we are finally here, because Civil War #3 is where shit gets real. Tony, being the tactical genius and emotionally constipated mess that he is, decides that it’s time to spring a trap on Team Cap. He and his Pro-Reg team set up a fake distress call because Steve is Steve, and if there’s even the slightest chance someone needs saving, he’s gonna show up. Boom. Steve does, of course, and Steve and his Underground Resistance walk straight into it. This finally gives us the most tense superhero standoff so far, with S.H.I.E.L.D. hovering overhead, a ton of supers on both sides locked, loaded, and ready to throw hands, and Peter right in the middle, not knowing how the fuck he got stuck with this lot. Tony, to his credit, tries to be the adult here. He actually reaches out, extends an olive branch, and tries to talk some sense into Steve before this escalates into full-out war (okay, okay, he tells him to chill the fuck out and comply, in slightly different words, but there is an actual amnesty Tony has worked out if Steve goes willingly, so he did try). Steve, being the absolute icon of stubbornness that he is, nods. Agrees to talk, at least. And immediately tries to take Tony down using some sneaky tech. Which gives us Tony vs. Steve, and it is GLORIOUS. These two beat the absolute crap out of each other, while everyone else on their respective teams also starts brawling (dozens/hundreds), with caped bodies flying, punches being thrown, and Peter still mostly blinking, but also fighting, while being upset that he failed to mediate between his two extremely stupid super dads and is not enjoying the whole “exhausted child of divorce” role they’ve been trying to pin on him. The fight between Tony and Steve is brutal, but Tony actually has an edge, since he’s Extremis-enhanced, a tech genius, years ahead in strategy, bla-bla-bla—so Steve is struggling. It goes on for a while, this fight, and then, the cliffhanger to end all cliffhangers. Because Thor (codename “Lightning”—this is important) shows up to backup Team Tony. Which shouldn’t be a big deal, right? We suspected it, since hammer and all, but... christ.

Civil War #4 is where we go from “Oh shit” to “OH FUCK NO.” The Thor that shows up at the end of Civil War #3 is not… actually Thor? Only in comic books, folks, since he’s a clone that Tony, Reed, and Hank Pym cooked up in a lab. While Team Cap is a bit shook, (they take Thor being a god of thunder seriously, he’s also been presumed dead for ages), Tony is trying to get Steve to give up, but Steve is having none of it. It seems largely (ha!) in favor of Team Tony right now, until Goliath (a massive giant person, can shrink down, used to be buddies with Thor, actually) shows up for Team Cap and Thor… kills the fuck out of his nice buddy, making everyone, Tony included, freeze in a “what the actual fuck just happened?” terror, since innocents getting hurt and extras getting hurt are sorta… whatever, but this is one of their own, technically, biting it. Team Cap calls for a retreat, very shook, and Reed’s Sue Storm is the first important superhero to straight-up bail on the Pro-Registration side right this moment because she is DONE with this bullshit and with Reed, who has been such an asshole to Fantastic Four, honestly—not giving a crap about Johnny being in a coma and possibly (at the very least emotionally) cheating on her with Tony. Sue is so done that she shields Team Cap long enough for them to get away, and after the fight writes Reed a dramatic “I’m leaving you, please feed yourself, there’s oily fish” note, and takes Johnny (who is no longer in a coma, yay!) with her to fight the good fight, or a fight, as long as it's not on Reed's side. And on both sides, folks on the sideline are starting to really question leadership and what kind of fight it really is. Peter is actually asking, “Wait… are we the baddies?” having massive doubts about Tony, and Steve doesn’t seem to give a shit how many of his friends get hurt, and it’s all very fucking gutting and not even a little funny. In general, this looks bad for both Steve and Tony, because Steve is throwing his side against Tony’s like cannon fodder and doesn’t seem to listen to anyone’s opinions on the fact that amnesty is at least worth discussing at this point, and Tony is after causing massive (ha!) death with a faulty clone, so a lot of superheroes are—if not outright bailing and changing sides now—at least considering it. Tony actually pays for Goliath’s funeral, since he was a cool guy and didn’t shrink down after dying. Had to buy him a massive amount of plots because, well… giant. Has a gutting interaction with his widow that tries to remind him what Tony is doing this for to begin with. For me this is a very important issue for Tony's character in this. He pays for Goliath’s funeral, because that’s who Tony is—he genuinely does care. But instead of acknowledging that this is the moment to stop, to rethink, to pull back, he keeps going, because, sadly, caring doesn’t stop him from marching forward and getting deeper and deeper into this.

Captain America (2004) #22 – The One Where Steve Gets Laid (and Sharon Gets Therapy for related reasons)

While Tony and Steve are busy emotionally wrecking each other on a public stage, we take a brief (very) detour into the mess that is Steve Rogers’ love life. Hill, who has been on a power trip ever since Fury went underground, decides that since Steve is still out there resisting like a stubborn bastard, someone needs to bring him in. And who better than his kinda-ex, kinda-current, definitely-in-love-with-him S.H.I.E.L.D. agent girlfriend?

Sharon is not thrilled because she’s really not here for the double standards. Like, Tony liaises (👀) with half of the superhero community, according to her, and the better half of S.H.I.E.L.D and nobody gives him shit, but the moment she has a little love crisis and starts questioning where her loyalty actually lies, suddenly, it’s a whole thing.

But fine. Mission accepted.

Sharon sets out to “bring Steve in”—by which I mean she tracks him down, immediately bangs him, and then quotes dead presidents at him in the post-coital glow. And because it's also Steve's love language, he also starts quoting dead presidents back. (If you’ve ever wondered what Steve’s pillow talk is like, now you know.)

Now, in case you were still wondering whether Sharon is truly down bad for Steve, let’s talk about how she sabotaged her own mission by giving the strike team (cape-killers) the wrong address. On purpose. So she could a) bang Steve and b) display her undying passion for those dead president quotes.

And this is why Sharon is in therapy. Because, as it turns out, this is how S.H.I.E.L.D. traditionally deals with traitors.

For those who remember what I talked about in Part 1 of this pre-civil war, here is something: Red Skull and Lukin are still out there, watching all of this unfold like it’s their personal Netflix binge, and they are THRIVING. They love that the heroes who should be stopping them are too busy punching each other instead. And because they are absolute dickheads, they are also actively manipulating Sharon’s emotions to make her feelings for Steve even stronger.

(Which explains the banging. Though, let’s be honest—she was into it.)

Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #535 (and half of the next Spider-Man-specific issue, sorta) – The One Where Tony Officially Breaks Peter’s Heart (And Ours) Alright, kids, this is it, and you should be thankful I made you crack a smile over dead presidents (hopefully), because this is crying-level shit.

This is where Peter starts realizing that maybe, just maybe, signing up with Tony was a colossal fucking mistake— and not just sorta feeling it.

Tony, still deeply entrenched in his “I Am the Government Now” phase, still has a soft spot for Peter (awww, tragic) and when Peter demands to see where the prisoners he is bringing in and not loving it are kept, Tony decides that it’s time to give Peter the full tour of the Negative Zone prison (a very dodgy place, tbh).

And our science nerd, all-around good guy, man with a conscience—takes one look at the absolute nightmare Tony has built and goes, “Wait. What the actual fuck is this? You can't be serious.” Tony: “Oh, yeah, this? This is where we’re locking up heroes who don’t register. Indefinitely. Without trial. In a literal alternate dimension, so no lawyer can ever get them out.” Peter, blinking hard, possibly resisting the urge to throw up: “…Excuse me?” Peter tries to confront Tony about it, he does, but very quickly catches on that Tony is not above implying he can do the same to him. Which is… whelp.

The whole conversation goes something like this, if you want a slightly longer version (see visuals for the full one): Peter: “Hey, Tony, quick question—what the fuck?” Tony: “Ah, Peter, my boy, don’t worry about it, this is for the greater good.” Peter: “The greater good? Again, what the fuck?” Tony: “You’re being dramatic.” Peter: “Am I? Am I though?” Tony: “Peter…” Peter: “Dad?” (happens) Tony promptly tries to ship Peter off on some other business to get him to cool off, but Peter is finally on board with the fact that this man has cracked, and he no longer feels safe around him. He doesn't even trusts MJ and Aunt May with Tony anymore (threats have been made) and tries to take them and go on the run. And then… He and Tony end up exchanging punches. God, it’s so bad and upsetting, you have no idea. I have no jokes for this, and ship it, don’t ship it, but this is the ultimate betrayal on Tony’s part. Peter is falling apart after, barely escaping, not knowing where to go, and Tony… is also feeling heartbroken, equally as gutted. I’m gonna leave this here for now, since we need to go into some other issues before we continue with this plotline. But you get me, yes? I need tissues when I think about this.

Captain America (2004) #23 - BUCKY!

Alright, everyone, take a deep breath. We are finally getting to the Bucky part of this winteriron timeline.

Bucky is officially entering the chat, and he is looking DAMN FINE while doing it, got a new hair-dew + arm and everything. He also has a lot of feelings while breaking into a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility to pull some spy shit for Fury, because of course he is, and I am devastated I am running out of image limit here soon.

He’s absolutely judging Steve for leading a resistance movement and somehow not inviting him... and sorta doing it the way he's doing it.

He’s also side-eyeing Tony for being a government stooge, even though that’s neither here nor there, since they don’t actually know each other at all (yet), but awareness is awareness, and it still doesn’t stop him from forming an opinion.

Bucky is, in fact, just generally pissed. And sexy. Always sexy. But the best part—and why Bucky really should be shaking hands with Peter here (another shoutout to winterspider)—is that Bucky is watching Steve and Tony’s breakup in real-time and judging both of them.

His basic thoughts on the matter boil down to “Wow, I left you two alone for five minutes, and this is what happens?” since while Steve and Tony are out here making Civil War everyone’s problem, Bucky is off-screen, forced into being hot and competent, actually doing something productive by hunting real villains.

He has zero actual desire to get involved in the war itself, though he does seem to be more pro-Steve, obviously, and is way more concerned about Red Skull and Lukin than he is about whatever the hell Steve and Tony are doing.

Speaking of villains, Red Skull, who we find out is using Doom’s tech but not actually working with him, is under the impression that the whole Civil War was his big, evil, successful plan. (It wasn’t, everyone contributed, but let’s humor him.)

On the slightly more angsty side—because Bucky never misses an opportunity for angst, picked it up from Steve—he does blame himself a little bit for Civil War, since some of the shit he did when he first got defrosted was cited as part of the long-ass list of “Why the SRA Needs to Exist.” Not that he’s spiraling over it, but he’s self-aware enough to recognize he helped fuel the fire. But mostly, he’s doing what Bucky kicks ass at—being hot in shadows, judging everyone, avoiding Steve’s nonsense, avoiding Tony’s nonsense, and handling actual problems. God, I want his babies.

Civil War (2006) #5

Where we swing back to Tony being a massive dick about almost everything—except for the fact that he loves Peter, one way or another.

At this point, they are sorta in the process of arguing/fighting (there is some timeline overlap), Peter is trying to run away from him, and when S.H.I.E.L.D. is about to take it too far, Tony absolutely panics because he cannot see Peter hurt.

But Peter is now technically a fugitive, and Tony’s side has recruited some deeply unhinged people, so it’s open season on Spidey, with very specific instructions that Peter is to be brought in alive and unharmed—no matter what.

That would have been great… except Peter is now running on pure panic and heartbreak, immediately realizes he is completely fucked, ends up in a stinky sewer, and gets his ass kicked into next week.

He almost dies but gets saved by Punisher of all people, who promptly brings him to Steve and the Resistance (where Sue and Johnny are pretending to be a married couple for a mission, which is weird—let’s not talk about it).

Meanwhile, Tony is spiraling. Again.

His entire strategy is falling apart, Sue Storm has already dumped Reed over this bullshit war, Steve is still out there leading his resistance, and now his own protégé—his son in all but name—has turned against him.

Tony is visibly wrecked over Peter’s defection, but since he has the emotional processing skills of a brick, he just channels all that heartbreak into “fine, let’s get Daredevil arrested next” energy, which he does—for which he is given a piece of silver and called Judas. (Brutal.)

That’s not to say Tony doesn’t care. He very clearly does, and this issue makes it obvious that he still sees Peter as a kid who needs protection, even when Peter himself doesn’t want it. But his way of showing it is, unfortunately, locking up Peter’s friends in a pocket dimension and putting a hit out on him (technically), so, uh… yeah.

Meanwhile, Steve is also getting more extreme, starting to questionably recruit people he normally wouldn’t, and letting Punisher into his little rebellion. (Which is definitely going to end well. Totally.) He is also over the moon Peter is on his side now and announces it to the others while... Peter is still unconscious. Now tell me both Steve and Tony are not simply fighting here over who gets to read him a bedtime story? Come on.

The Invincible Iron Man (2004) #13 & Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #536: (Tony’s Possible Career Change & Peter’s “Fuck You” Tour)

Alright, so The Invincible Iron Man (2004) #13 is technically Tony’s first solo Civil War issue, but fuck all actually happens.

It’s mostly a lot of “Tony, what the fuck are we doing?” meetings, brooding with some old friends, chatting to Happy while being deeply unhappy, and simultaneously spiraling, yet still, and committing war crimes in the name of national security. (Multitasking, sure.)

But one major thing does happen here, and while it’s just an offer at this point, it’s HUGE:

They start floating the idea of Tony taking over as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

At this point, S.H.I.E.L.D. is still running itself into the ground under Maria Hill’s special brand of leadership, but someone suggests that maybe, just maybe, the guy who is single-handedly running the actual show anyway should just be in charge of the whole thing.

And while that doesn’t happen just yet, it changes EVERYTHING for what happens post-Civil War. When it finally comes, is going to be a game-changer for his relationship with Bucky later on. (Yes, we are keeping our winteriron priorities straight, thank you.)

So, while this is happening and I am yawning 'cause Tony's first issue is so fucking underwhelming, in the Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #536, we pick up from Peter’s dramatic escape and near-death sewer experience, and things are finally coming to a head.

Peter, now officially 100% done with Tony’s bullshit, does something that could not be a bigger middle finger if he tried.

He digs out his old, classic Spider-Man suit (because fuck the Iron Spider, fuck you, Tony, I called you Dad unironically, you were my family, WTF), goes on national TV, and gives a full speech dragging the entire SRA, the Civil War, and Tony himself.

And as a helpful reminder here… Peter is not a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” in these comic books—he is a fucking legend, a bright, shining beacon of good for so many people (while still a menace to others, of course), and what he says actually matters.

For all of my shippy jokes and the subtext, there is a real reason why both sides want him. And it’s not just because he’s hella adorable and can kick things really hard.

When he talks, people listen. And when he does start talking, he absolutely obliterates the SRA, calls it unconstitutional, publicly calls out the people supporting it, and tells the world that he refuses to be part of it anymore. Tony loses his shit.

Okay, okay, some food for thought here, for once not related to ships I see everywhere (I have a sick mind and you are somehow still reading this, so don't ask me what's wrong with me and I will not ask you what's wrong with you).

Now, before anyone grabs their pitchforks, this is not me defending Tony’s actions (man makes a LOT of mistakes, obviously), but it is also worth remembering that he’s not a total monster here. He genuinely believes that what he’s doing is necessary, and unlike in the MCU where it’s all “let’s get a leash because one building blew up and we might have destroyed a country” the 616 version of Tony actually has a more thought-out (if deeply flawed) reason for being on the Pro-Reg side.

So, what is Tony trying to sell people on here?

Superheroes need to be trained. The trigger event for the SRA was a bunch of untrained, reality-TV-era heroes going up against a villain way out of their league, and as a result, a school full of children exploded. From Tony’s perspective, this was preventable. If these heroes had been properly trained, those kids (and some other people, but I mostly say kids, this is me not being nitty-gritty accurate about everything) wouldn’t be dead. This is not entirely wrong, but his method of fixing it is basically turning superheroes into government employees and locking up anyone who doesn’t comply, which is… less great.

The public has lost trust in superheroes. And Tony, unlike Steve, actually cares about public perception, comes with his brand and all. He sees this as a way to restore faith in the superhero community by offering transparency and accountability. The problem is obviously the way it’s being enforced is, again, deeply flawed and increasingly authoritarian.

The alternative, in his mind, is worse. He is absolutely cracked as far as Peter is concerned (fair), but here’s where Tony’s futurist brain actually screws him over—because he is not wrong when he says that if the superheroes don’t regulate themselves, the government will do it for them, and it’ll be worse. He thinks he’s getting ahead of the inevitable, but instead of negotiating and making sure the law is fair, he enforces it like an actual jackbooted stormtrooper.

So yeah, Tony is still a mess, and he’s still doing a lot of fucked-up things, but his core reasoning isn’t as evil as some people paint it in here and maybe even not as bad as I paint it overall in this recap.

He truly thinks he’s saving lives and making the world safer. He’s just doing it in the most morally questionable, emotionally compromised way possible, and at some point, even he knows it’s spiraling. That doesn’t excuse the Negative Zone prison or bounty hunting his own allies, engaging in shady business and, Jesus Fuck, cloning Thor, but it does explain why he started down this path in the first place. Tony is also on the side of the law and, for the most part, public opinion here (mostly, since actual normal public is scared AF right now). The problem is, the law isn’t always right, and Tony, in all his genius, somehow keeps forgetting that.

Now let’s hop over to Steve (“Oh No, Babe, What Are You Doing?” should be the title of his entire movement) and talk about how his ideals are great but his execution is a trainwreck. Look, Steve is not wrong—but he’s also not right in the way he thinks he is. And the biggest issue with Steve in Civil War is that his entire approach boils down to “Fuck No.” That’s it. No. No compromise. No alternative plan. Just hardcore, unwavering, freedom-loving NO. Steve’s Core Beliefs in Civil War:

"This is about freedom." Steve believes heroes should have the right to make their own choices about when and how they act, and he fundamentally rejects the idea that they should be forced to register. (Fair point, buddy, but maybe think of a Plan B? No? Cool, cool.)

"If the government can force us to do this, what’s next?” Steve has read a history book before and is fully aware that government overreach never stops at just one bad idea. And considering how mutants have already been treated (X-men and mutants are a very persecuted group here), he is not about to wait around and find out what comes next.

“I will not be controlled.” Instead of seeing if there’s a way to meet halfway or at least slow things down, Steve immediately goes, “Fuck this,” ditches his government job, and starts an underground resistance movement.

Which brings us to Steve’s biggest flaw in Civil War. Where Steve Screws Up:

Steve doesn’t even TRY to negotiate. Tony, for all his shady billionaire manipulation tactics, at least pretended to be open to discussion. Steve refused outright. Instead of using his influence to propose a better system when he still absolutely can, he straight-up vanishes into the night like Batman with extra patriotism.

His resistance is a mess. Unlike Tony, who is (somewhat) organizing a structured system, Steve’s team is basically “whoever wants to punch the government in the face” with no real plan beyond “resist.” He takes Punisher in, for crying out loud. There are no rules, no real discussions about alternatives, and no clear path forward with Steve's movement at all. This means his resistance is a bunch of scared, desperate heroes who are putting civilians in danger while trying to evade capture and kinda... all want to go home.

He is willing to let people get hurt for his cause. People are getting hurt left and right, not just his own team but also civilians caught in the crossfire. Instead of adapting or trying to find a smarter way forward, Steve just keeps doubling down, because this man went all-in on a bad bet and refuses to walk away from the table.

He does not listen. To anyone. A lot of people would have been on his side if he had actually tried to talk about a solution instead of running headfirst into a guerrilla war. Even when his own people start to question him, he digs his heels in and refuses to budge. Fuck them and the horse they rode in on is basic response to any "Emm... dude?"

Steve vs. Tony: The Real Tragedy

Steve sees Tony as a sellout, Tony sees Steve as reckless and the reality here is that they’re both kind of right.

Steve is fighting for freedom, but his method is chaotic and ultimately very dangerous. Tony is trying to prevent chaos, but his method is authoritarian, ruthless, and deeply problematic. And this is why Civil War is what it is. And why it is a lot more fun than the MCU one, if you properly get into it. At the end of the day, comic book Civil War isn’t just about laws and the SRA—it’s about two men who genuinely believe they’re doing the right thing, both completely incapable of seeing the middle ground. And, well… it all ends in disaster, obviously.

Captain America (2004) #24: In which Steve takes a page out of Bucky's book and punches the right people (for, like, 5 whole seconds) for a change. Finally! A break from all the Civil War emotional trauma to remind us that, yeah, Steve is a hero first, war criminal second. I am gonna guess it’s because we’re getting close to the finish line here (you are nearly free, yay!), so they just had to show Steve fighting someone other than his own friends for once. Progress. For… reasons.

He’s still knee-deep in Civil War Resistance mode, but he remembers for one night that there are actual bad guys in the world and focuses on a real threat: Hydra. (Or Hydra-adjacent assholes. And explosions. Lots of explosions.)

So, in this quick issue, Steve teams up with Sharon, who is now secretly working with Fury (who is still underground being an off-brand James Bond with a cigar budget, doing his own resistance thing much better), and together, they take on some good ol’ Hydra goons. Well, Steve takes on Hydra goons by blowing them up (probably killing them, but let’s just say “off-screen unconsciousness” for the sake of the PG-13 rating), and Sharon rolls in with her flying car to rescue him from S.H.I.E.L.D.

And, oh yeah, Red Skull is still lurking in the background, thriving on the fact that the Civil War is keeping everyone too distracted to stop him. He’s over here cackling like a Scooby-Doo villain, making sure Steve and Tony stay too busy ruining each other’s lives to notice he’s playing puppet master behind the scenes. (Smart move, honestly. Props to him for being the one guy who actually planned his shit out properly.)

Look, the details might be fuzzy (it’s getting late for me here), but the core takeaway is this: Cap is actually being Captain America again for an entire issue—stopping real threats, foiling evil plans, and protecting people instead of just yeeting his side at Tony’s.

The Invincible Iron Man (2004) #14

A good Tony issue following a good Steve issue… I wonder why that is. Not a good issue in the sense that Tony’s thriving—oh no, this man is drowning in consequences—but good in the sense that we finally get a proper deep dive into the emotional wreckage that is Tony Stark, destroyer of friendships, king of bad decisions, and certified government tool (actual fucking tool, honestly, but I love him and he can have Bucky’s babies, though I am not into mpreg).

This issue is actually packed.

Happy is dying in a hospital bed, Steve is still actively resisting arrest, Peter is on a fugitive road trip, and Sue Storm is ready to rip Tony’s head off for ruining her marriage. The government is still offering him more power, because sure, let’s give the stressed-out man on the verge of a breakdown full control over the most powerful intelligence agency on Earth.

Anyhow… not to go into too much detail here, but Tony cannot resist one last chance to talk things out with Steve and arranges a stadium meeting with Cap. You might think, “Oh, good, they’re going to try reasoning with each other like adults!” HAHAHA, NOPE.

The meeting lasts about five seconds before it devolves into a fight, which Steve… starts again. The emotional tension is through the roof, Peter is there too (aww, hurts), and they’re not just fighting over the SRA, they’re fighting over their entire broken relationship. If someone played “It’s Time to Go” by Taylor Swift over this sequence, it would fit perfectly.

Though Tony actually mostly fights with Peter here and still manages to pay him a compliment in the process, giving us hope that not all is lost, which we desperately need. But overall, the whole thing is still a disaster. Life is fully kicking Tony's ass from all directions, the temptation to drown it in whiskey is creeping back in, he is considering hitting the bottle, and… Tony is at a crossroads. He’s losing everyone who ever mattered to him, his side is looking increasingly shady, and the weight of everything is crashing down on him. We actually get some raw, human, vulnerable Tony, instead of just “mustache-twirling villain” Tony. So yeah, finally, a good Tony issue.

In case you were wondering, Peter is in fact fully on team Cap now, not just for the stadium fight, and in the Amazing Spider-Man (1999) #537 still has his morals intact (bless him), and this issue is about reinforcing that.

So, Steve—who is now basically Peter’s new/old father figure, 'sits' him down and hits him with the big speech.

And, my GOD, does he deliver it.

He drops one of the most iconic Captain America monologues in all of comic book history:

“Doesn’t matter what the press says. Doesn’t matter what the politicians or the mob say. Doesn’t matter if the whole country decides that something wrong is something right. This nation was founded on one principle above all else: the requirement that we stand up for what we believe, no matter the odds or the consequences.”

And you just know this wrecks Peter emotionally, because this is exactly the kind of moral backbone that made him idolize heroes in the first place. This is the moment where Peter fully solidifies his stance. He’s not just on Team Cap because he got burned by Tony—he believes in what Steve is saying. Tony is having an emotional crisis over Peter leaving, which I completely understand, and... Peter also throws some flirty one-liners at the Cap, since our babe can't help it.

Civil War (2006) #6 and we are at maximum endgame (ugh, still hurts) mode now.

At this point in the war, neither side is even pretending to be civil despite moments of personal growth, slash remembering who they are, and both Steve and Tony have fully committed to their respective roles as Head of the Underground Resistance (Steve) and CEO of Government Overreach Inc. (Tony).

We start off with Tony and Reed in full villain arc, sipping coffee and talking about how crime rates are dropping (I have no idea how, since all the superheroes are busy beating the shit out of each other instead of fighting crime, but never mind me), and immediately move on to the Punisher deciding today is the day for homicide.

He sneaks into the Baxter Building (as one does) to steal information on “Number 42” which is not Tony’s latest suit model but instead the name for his prison in the Negative Zone where they’re throwing unregistered heroes indefinitely and that caused Peter and Tony to block each other on Facebook.

Totally normal, non-dystopian behavior, nothing to see here.

Sue Storm is out here making power moves too, pulling up to Atlantis and trying to convince Namor to get off his fishy ass and help Team Cap. Namor, in true “I am too sexy to care” fashion, basically shrugs and says, “Surface problems? Sounds like a you problem,” before dramatically flipping his cape and walking away. (Sue, girl, I admire the effort and only mention it, cause you are one of the very few truly likable characters in this Event.)

Back at Team Cap’s HQ, Steve unveils his master plan: an all-out raid on the Negative Zone prison to free their captured allies. The team is hyped, ready for action—until Punisher casually murders two villains in cold blood right in front of everyone because they dared to ask if they could help. Steve, who may be a war criminal but still has standards, absolutely loses it and beats the hell out of Frank before throwing him out of the rebellion.

Tony on his end is having an emotional meeting with Miriam Sharpe (aka, “Tony’s #1 Fan Who Also Made Him Feel Like Shit at That Funeral”). He throws some cash at a pretty garden with angels for the dead kids, she thanks him for all his hard work but also makes it clear that, yeah, this war is costing him everything. (Gee, thanks for the reminder, Miriam, I’m sure Tony didn’t notice he’s lost literally all of his friends by now.)

The issue ends with Steve pulling a classic Uno Reverse Card on Tony. The Pro-Reg forces think they’re about to stomp the rebellion once and for all, but—surprise, bitches!—Team Cap knew there was a mole in their ranks (Ragnarök, I’m looking at you, you Dollar Store Thor knockoff), and they had Hulkling impersonate Hank Pym to sneak in and free all the captured heroes before the fight even starts. So, yeah. Big-ass battle incoming, and I can nearly go to sleep.

Civil War (2006) #7 You’ve made it! (I low-key question if anyone actually did make it this far, but I am very into this now, so…)

This is the big one. The final battle. The moment where all this superhero divorce drama comes to a head, and oh my God, it is so much.

So, after about a million issues of emotional devastation, betrayal, and Peter collecting father figures like infinity stones, we finally get the massive all-out brawl between Team Cap and Team Tony. And when I say massive, I mean half the Marvel Universe is throwing hands in the middle of New York City. Superpowered beings are crashing through buildings, explosions are going off everywhere, and don't ask me why they thought “protecting civilians” and “obliterating the city” were compatible ideas.

Steve and Tony really do go at it like two exes who just found out they were sleeping with the same person (Peter, doll, what are you doing? Kidding, kidding).

Steve is beating the absolute shit out of Tony, and Tony—who is running on the fumes of guilt and exhaustion—lets him.

Because Tony is ready to die. That’s right. Tony, who has been holding onto control like his life depends on it (because it literally does), just gives up, drops the metaphorical gloves, and basically tells Steve: “Go ahead, finish it.”

And Steve almost does.

(Not to draw parallels here, but Bucky tried to pull the same move with him and proceed with murder-kill when he was brainwashed. What's Steve's excuse here?)

Like, Steve almost wins. The Resistance might not have, but Steve does. He is seconds away from beating Tony to actual death in the middle of the nightmare they’ve caused—but then. Civilians. Regular-ass, non-superpowered, completely terrified people tackle Steve to the ground.

They’re not protecting Tony (maybe a little, it's up for debate, see the panels)—they’re stopping Steve. Because holy shit, Steve. Look at what you’ve done. Steve does. Look. And finally sees it.

The destruction, the sheer chaos, the city that’s half in ruins because of this war. He sees the fear in their eyes and realizes that this isn’t about freedom anymore. He’s lost the plot. They’ve all kind of lost the plot, and someone has to give up, and he will not let Tony beat him to it.

So, Steve. Fucking. Stops.

He takes off his mask, drops his shield, and says, “It’s over.” He turns himself in. He turns Steve Rogers in specifically, essentially following the law, and Team Cap officially loses the war.

At the end of this, Tony—bruised, in desperate need of a good fuck (hey, Bucky, where you at?), and still internally monologuing about how the fuck his life turned into this—is appointed Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. And this is how, after so many words, christ, the Civil War officially, techically ends, and the winteriron timeline can properly begin. Happy tears, I am crying happy tears right now.

So, Part 3 of this ‘brief’ (lol) timeline is coming ASAP, and it does deliver on some juicy Bucky and Tony interactions—actual on-page moments, not just me connecting the angst dots with wishful thinking, promise.

And if you’re thinking things might slow down now—oh, my sweet summer child. We are only just getting to the fun part, since Captain America essentially becomes Bucky’s comic book. The stakes are different, the players have shifted, but Tony and Bucky finally start existing in the same space.

If Civil War was crazy, what happens next is the part where we go off the rails entirely in the best possible way.

To confirm, where we are:

Bucky is in the wind but possibly smoking cigars with Fury.

Bad guys who were ignored for this Event do have some plotty evil planned.

Tony is in charge of S.H.I.E.L.D. and he still has to keep hunting down anti-registration supers.

Steve is alive and in jail. For now.

And Peter—oh God, I have to mention this, because I must, and this just further confirms that some of the editors were shipping Peter with someone other than MJ.

So, Peter is an absolute disaster, thanks for asking. And if you know comic books and reading this just to laugh at me getting shit wrong and are wondering, “Wow, does she about to mention One More Day?”—yes. Yes, I am. And I don’t want to talk about it. But I will, just for a second.

One More Day (2007) is Marvel committing a crime against humanity.

It’s a four-issue arc where Marvel editorial decided Peter was too happy and needed to suffer more, so they erased his marriage to MJ from existence. (Ah, yeah, he was married to her this whole time, in case I didn’t mention it, but I was too busy pushing Starker on people if the winteriron angle didn’t work out.)

Basically, after Civil War, Peter’s life goes to absolute hell. He unmasked, so every villain with a grudge is coming for him, Kingpin puts out a hit, and Aunt May gets shot.

Peter, being the absolute hero of a man that he is, tries everything to save her. He begs Tony for help (doesn’t work). He tries to make a deal with Doctor Strange (doesn’t work). And just when it looks like May is going to die, the literal devil (Mephisto) shows up and is like, “Hey, Pete, what if I saved your aunt, but in exchange, I erased your marriage to MJ from existence so you two never got married and will never be happy together?”

And Peter and MJ actually say yes. BOOM. Years of character development and one of Marvel’s most iconic relationships is GONE, conveniently removing all that pesky guilt when Peter flirts with older men.

So, Aunt May lives, but now Peter and MJ were never married, and no one remembers he unmasked during Civil War. The comic book fandom hates it. The writers regret it. Everyone pretends it didn’t happen. Marvel did make a movie about this though, kinda. Also kidding. But for real, it’s one of the most infamous and universally despised retcons in Marvel history.

And on that cheerful and very nerdy note, thank you for reading.

Masterpost with all parts

[nestaians]

i don’t get why sjm bothered with having papa archeron alive when throughout the series it’s nesta who is blamed for papa archeron’s failure to be their parent

in acosf he’s barely discussed by sisters, among each other

let me remind u: feyre painted him and not nesta

nesta got her painting after she “fixed herself” in feyre’s eyes. this was so nasty fuck u fuck u!!!!!!

the only good things papa archeron did the entire series was coming to their aid with the ships and making a bargain to borrow queen vassa, and die

graysen, the human, elain’s ex fiancé, could have easily taken over that plot like why not?

the bargain with koschei for queen vassa and vassa is lucien’s friend are both obviously part of elain’s story and graysen being her ex fiancé, not bad

graysen son of fae hating man, breaking up with now fae elain only to go and get help and make a bargain with a death god for queen vassa to help faes with defeating hybern king, and dying ig? i mean elain did stab the king before nesta finished him off

or maybe not die, either way that would have been a good arc for graysen and now with the wall down, humans and fae post war alliance as well. he would have a better role idk man it was right there

back to the main topic

why did sjm have papa archeron around if she was never going to focus on him being a shitty parent

and how it affected his daughters -nesta being let down by him for the hundredth time, elain idk, feyre hunting and eventually being taken by fae

inner circle and their fans do not blame papa archeron for letting feyre hunt, they blame nesta who was a child herself!

just bc nesta is the oldest doesn’t mean she should be blamed for their father’s failures

like why did he get a painting before nesta?

“he helped in the war” so did nesta

“he died” so did nesta, she lost her human life, remember?

“he redeemed himself” so did nesta, again and again and again, way more than him

“feyre forgave him” did she ever hold him accountable?

if we remove the whole ic hates nesta for letting feyre hunt bullshit, ic really had no reason to treat nesta like that and see her as this evil witch right off the bat and hold feyre hunting over her head to make nesta help them when she didn’t want to

feyre, the mc, doesn’t look good at all by acting like her hunting was the start and the end of doing things in that cabin. “i managed alone” did u?? she doesn’t know how to cook or do any other household work which her sisters did but is never acknowledged by feyre “they only care about money” fuck u

blaming nesta for feyre hunting is such a forced thing, it makes the “heroes” look so bad bc they can’t use their brains. i swear children are smarter than this group of 500yrs olds

ic didn’t see kid nesta dancing with older men as an issue and used that info to make her do it again -that’s another convo

genuinely feel like i’m gone mad, like i am the only one who can see ghosts and no one else can, when people bring up feyre hunting and blame nesta for it

[aperrywilliams]

Satellite Call. Part III: Now I'll Keep My Secret (Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader)

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Author Masterlist | Series Masterlist

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Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader.

Words count for this part: 4.5k

Series summary: Your world crushes when Spencer is arrested. Between finding a way to get him out and keeping you afloat, there is something else you need to focus on, too. And even when you thought things couldn’t go worse, a tragedy makes you question if you can make it through.

Part III summary: You try to navigate between helping your husband to get out of jail and grasping the idea of having a baby. You don´t want to tell him yet, but every day gets harder and harder.

Series warnings: ANGST (with CAPS). 18+ (MDNI). Some heavy topics will be discussed and shown here. Prison arc, but mostly from Reader's perspective and Emily’s. More detailed under the cut.

Spencer lies to his wife. Drug consumption (against their will). Pregnancy symptoms. Spencer is in jail for more than three months. Hospital visits, doctor’s info dumping (not accurate). Alcohol consumption. Arguing. Strong language. A lot of crying. Emotional breakdowns. A car crash happens (as in the CM storyline). Character dies. More hospital things. Miscarriage. More angst. Depressing symptoms. Mourning. Self-doubt. Suicidal ideation, and almost consummated. Emily is everyone’s emotional support.

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It's been a whole month, and still, there has been little progress in getting Spencer out of jail. It doesn't help that the team needs to keep working on other cases. Serial killers don’t stop because one of the BAU members is falsely accused of murder.

Emily has been doing her best to balance the workload without putting Spencer’s case aside, and you are grateful she is managing to keep things rolling and preventing the team from crushing. Honestly, this past month has been hard for everyone, especially you. And after discovering you were pregnant, it only got harder. There were days of thinking about how to process the news and then what you wanted to do. Finally, you decide you want to have the baby, although you won’t tell Spencer yet. You don’t want him to worry about another thing that isn’t to get out of jail.

“What does Fiona say about a new hearing?” You ask your husband in your regular weekly visit. 

“She doesn't think it can be arranged if there is no new evidence to justify a change in my status,” Spencer explains, a tired look on his face.

“But we can prove there was someone else in that room. There is a reasonable doubt about you committing the murder, right?” You try to reason.

“They will say it's my accomplice. I don't know; Fiona doesn't seem convinced,” Spencer adds and immediately tries to change the focus, seeing your disappointment. “It’s okay. We’ll figure out what else can be done. But now I want to know about you. Last week, you said you got a stomach bug. Are you feeling better?”

Indeed, on the day of your last visit, you had pretty bad morning sickness, and Spencer noticed your pale face. So you lied, saying it was a stomach bug.

“Yeah. Much better, actually.”

“You sure? It seemed serious. Maybe a doctor’s check would be a good idea.”

“Spence, I’m fine. Really. Nothing to worry about.”

You hate to lie this way to him, but seeing how worried he is because of a stomach bug, you don’t fathom how it would be for him knowing a baby is growing inside of you.

You leave him with the promise to get checked so your health doesn’t get worse. And it’s not a complete lie because you indeed have a doctor's appointment, but it’s for your first sonogram.

Although you have been feeling okay, you don’t think you can do this alone, so you ask Emily to go with you.

When Emily arrives at your apartment to pick you up and drive you to the hospital, she asks, “How are you feeling?”

“Weird.”

It is not as eloquent as you want it to be, but it is a good summary. Emily raises an eyebrow, seizing your response.

“A good weird or a bad weird?”

You purse your lips in thinking for a moment.

“A weird-weird,” you shrug, sitting at the barstool where you are drinking a mug of tea. “I mean, I know I’m growing a human being inside my body, but I can’t fully understand it yet. It doesn't feel real.”

Emily understands better than you think she does, but she won’t tell you that.

“So I should infer you’re not ready for today,” she assumes. And you nod in acknowledgment.

It’s not the ideal scenario. You haven’t told Spencer yet, and you don’t want to tell anyone else, so you ask Emily to keep the secret for a while.

The drive to the hospital is mostly silent. Emily doesn’t want to overwhelm you talking about Spencer’s case or anything stressful, so she lets the music fill the space.

In the waiting room, you can’t stop bouncing your leg. A treat you got from Spencer in all these years knowing each other.

Emily notices. “It’s going to be okay,” she assures you, with a comforting hand on your knee. You look at her and sigh.

“I hope so.”

A doctor peeks at the waiting room and spots you.

“Mrs. Reid? We are ready for you,” he announces with a warm smile.

Both you and Emily nod and follow him to the procedure room.

After all the protocol questions, he asks you to lie down on the gurney.

“We’ll do a check on the baby now,” the doctor explains as he applies the cold gel to your lower belly.

Emily can feel your nervousness even if you are good at masking it. Gently, she squeezes your hand in reassurance. You take a deep breath and brace for what’s coming next.

The monitor turns to life with the image of your womb. There is a tiny bubble beating there.

“There you go. Your baby is there. Let’s see. Shape and size as they have to be. Now let’s hear the heartbeats.” After switching some buttons, the room fills with fast tumps—your baby’s heartbeat. If there is any doubt about the reality of all of this, now it’s undeniable. Your eyes fill with tears, and you can’t stop them from falling.

“Emily-” you manage to say between sobs, and she clutches your hand harder to ground you.

“I know. It's beautiful.”

Spencer should be here, you think. Surely, he would have said a lot of facts about your baby's size and development at this point of pregnancy. And there is no doubt he would have cried as you are doing now.

“Everything looks fine. You need to keep taking your vitamins, try to avoid stressful situations, and eat properly. The baby needs all the nutrients you can provide. Book your next appointment for the next month,” the doctor instructs as he hands you copies of your sonogram and report.

The indications are very clear, but how do you explain to him that your world is anything but not stressful right now?

“Thank you. We’ll do that.” Emily answers for you, presumably knowing you want to argue about your current situation.

On the trip back to your apartment, as Emily drives, you can’t stop looking at the sonogram images. That tiny bubble is your little one. The heartbeat you heard at the doctor’s office is yours and Spencer's baby's.

“Will you tell him now?” Emily asks, already knowing what you are thinking about.

“I - I don’t think so. Not yet, at least.” You see how Emily’s brows furrow. “I will. Of course, I will. I just don’t think it's the time. Not when we don't have any progress to get him out.”

Emily doesn't agree with your decision, but she respects it. She also respects your wishes not to tell the team.

“You understand you can’t hide it forever, don’t you?” Emily points to your belly.

“Yes. I know.”

Besides keeping the news between you both, you agree with Emily on some adjustments to your routine. You are traveling with the team in some cases. Still, you don’t go to the field so often, staying in the precincts working on the geographical profile, something it doesn't pick too much attention knowing Spencer is who usually does that, and he can’t at the moment.

You visit Spencer whenever you have the chance, sometimes two times a week. There are days rougher than others. The lack of evidence to tie Scratch to Spencer’s case is frustrating, but you try to keep your spirit up for your husband’s sake and yours.

There is a very shitty one when you see Spencer’s face bruised. He tells you everything is fine, but how can you believe that when your husband has been beaten in jail and you couldn’t do anything to help him? Those days are the worst when, plus the impotence you feel, you wonder about whether it's a good idea to tell him about your pregnancy. But you don’t. Each time, you relent and leave with a heavy secret literally growing inside of you.

When Spencer is denied bail for the second time, you want to punch someone, anyone. Two months in jail, and it seems like an eternity.

That night, alone in your apartment, you let yourself cry to loosen some of the frustration. But when you feel a buzz in your belly, it is like a switch is pulled up, and you can’t help but stop sobbing. The foreign feeling has you with your hands on your lower stomach, wondering what the hell was that.

Maybe it’s your imagination. Your doctor said quickening happens around 16 to 20 weeks in pregnancy, but with first babies, it can be later. The math says it can be a possibility - you're in your 18th week - and the thought of that happening is enough to ground you in the present to focus. Your baby needs you the same as they need their father.

“Okay, let’s see. You tracked the bullet found for Matamoros’ police in the truck Spencer was driving, and it's tied to murders on the border?” Emily asks Penelope after she gathers the whole team in the conference room to debrief the latest findings in Spencer’s case.

“Wait. The police never mentioned fired guns being involved. Why are we knowing this now?” You ask Garcia for clarification.

“Because that was the only thing they didn’t include on their first report,” Garcia explains. “They updated it after we got Spencer transferred to American soil, and they didn't notify us. I found it because of a report from San Juan police linking Matamoros’ discovery with a new case of theirs,” she points to the screen when the comparison between bullets is shown.

“Then the gun is active. So is Scratch’s partner,” Rossi infers.

“When Garcia?” you rush to ask.

“This morning. I did the digging and called you immediately.” You look to Emily to make the decision you know is the obvious. Emily shakes her head.

“No, we’re not going to the border. We need more.”

“Emily, it’s our chance to get Scratch’s partner!” you argue. Luke backs you up.

“We don’t have anything else by now. We should go.”

Rossi speaks up. “It could be nothing. Emily is right. We need more to go after him.”

“What if we can’t get more than this?!” you stand from your seat. “It’s been two months, and it’s the first time we have something more than conjectures.”

“And if we don’t have anything else, we can screw this up and lose any chance to get him. You know that,” Emily tries to reason with you, but you only scoff in response.

“All of us want to get Spencer out of jail, but we need to be cautious.” This time, it is JJ who tries to de-escalate, but you’re already exasperated.

“Sure, since it's not your husband who is locked up in a dirty cell for a crime he didn't commit! You don’t know anything! You don't know how frustrating it is not to be able to help him and to fear every day that his life is in danger!” You’re yelling at this point. 

JJ doesn’t know what to say, and the team only looks at your outburst in silence. But Emily's firm voice calls out your name, and before she can lecture you, you huff and walk out of the room.

The bathroom is the only place you can come up to hide. Closing the door behind you, you start to pace, trying to think of a way to get out of your frustration. 

You want to cry. You want to scream.

You know the team has good intentions, and they’re right about being cautious. You’d say the same in other circumstances. But now? Without much thought and motivated by rage, you punch the wall with your fist.

The sharp feeling running from your fist to your hand and then your arm is enough to stop the rush in your head. A pained grunt escapes your lips. And then nothing, just the throb in your knuckles that brings you to reality.

“Fuck!”

Panting, you grab your injured hand with the other, and it's when you notice the bleeding. Your knuckles are bleeding. You don't know if it's the pain of the broken skin or the sadness of your heart, but with your back against the wall, you slide to the floor. Sitting with your arms around your knees, crying your eyes out.

At that moment, Emily gets in the bathroom and sees you on the floor. All the alarms start blaring in her head.

“Hey, hey. What happened?” she crouches and notices your hand. “Honey, you are injured. What did you do?”

“What can I do? Emily, what can I do?” you sob, and Emily engulfs you in a tight embrace.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out.”

“I can’t - I don't -” you babble as Emily sways you gently in her arms. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“I can’t imagine how hard it is for you, but from all the people I have known in my life, there is no one that can do this but you. It’s okay. I promise it will be okay,” she whispers, trying to soothe your sobs. It works at some point. Your breathing is still shaken, but the tears subside. “Come on, we need to check your hand,” Emily says, helping you to get up.

She helps you clean off the blood and takes you to her office, not before calling an EMT to check your hand. There is no broken bone, just some torn skin and a nasty bruise. Emily asks for a check on your blood pressure and other vitals. You are pregnant, and she is worried. The EMT concludes that everything looks fine.

“I’m sorry,” you mumble after you are both left alone in Emily’s office.

“Don’t apologize. We understand.” 

And although you know they do, you are still sorry about losing your temper in the conference room.

“Even though it’s true stress and hormones are feasting at my expense, that doesn't justify my behavior.”

Emily scoffs. “You go too hard on yourself sometimes.”

Possibly, she’s right. But have you the luxury of not to?

Emily instructs Garcia to keep track of the San Juan case and compare any other piece of evidence besides the bullets' match. A new case arrives, and this time, Rossi will be in charge, flying to Tulsa with Tara, JJ, Luke, Matt, and Stephen.

“Why are you not going?” you ask Emily when everyone but her gets their go-bags and disappears on the elevator. You know why you won’t go, but Emily?

“I have more pressuring matters here,” she solemnly states. The frown on your face says you don’t understand what she refers to.

“About Spencer?” you guess, but Emily shakes her head.

“About another friend, who happens to be Spencer’s wife.” Before you ask what she means, Emily continues. “A very good friend of mine is having a hard time, and I’m sure we need to talk about it. Really talk about it.”

True to her word, Emily takes you to your apartment and stays with you all afternoon. You cook, eat, and talk. 

It's comforting to have a friend like Emily Prentiss. Sometimes you forget it because she is your boss too, but you can’t have asked for a better friend than her.

“Why didn't you tell me all these things before?” she asks after you recount some details of your emotional rollercoaster in the past weeks.

“What’s the point? I mean, you already have a lot on your plate trying to be my boss,” you joke to lighten the mood.

“Really? Is that your excuse?” Emily scoffs, knowing you’re deflecting. You shrug in resignation.

“The part of you having a lot on your plate is true, though.”

“Never is a lot when we are talking about our friends,” she reminds you. “Maybe I don’t always have the answers for everything, but at least I’m a good listener. You know that.”

Emily is right. She has been there for you since the beginning. When you joined the team a year later than her, Emily quickly became your best friend. She was the one who encouraged you to make a move on Spencer after you admitted having feelings for him. You’ll be grateful for it for the rest of your life.

Spending the afternoon talking to your friend and verbalizing what's bothering you makes you feel lighter at the end of the day and gives you a sense of normality amidst the chaos.

When you go to bed that night, you grab the picture of your last sonogram and contemplate it for a while. You’ll get another one next week. Rubbing your belly, you smile to yourself.

“Are you ready for another photo session? We are collecting all your pictures for when Daddy comes home. Will you pose for him in the next one?” You feel a buzz in your lower stomach, like the one you felt some days before. You are sure it's your baby this time. 

“Okay, then. I’ll take that as a yes,” you say, chuckling as your mind wanders to a particular moment.

-

You were at Rossi’s celebrating JJ’s second pregnancy announcement. You and Spencer were freshly married at the moment. At some point, Spencer approached you, seeing you were alone in a corner, nursing a beer. “Hey,” he said, kissing your cheek. “What’s a pretty lady like you doing here all by herself?” You chuckled at his attempt to flirt. “Spencer Reid, you already married me. You don't need to try to impress me, you know?” Spencer’s grin almost left you breathless. God, you were so madly in love. “I’ll never stop telling you how pretty and amazing you are. If you don’t like it, sue me." With his arm wrapped around your waist, he pulled you in for a kiss.  A burst of laughter drew you out of your moment. You turned to see the team joking around with the expecting parents. Spencer kept his arms around you, allowing your head to rest on his chest. "Do you think we’ll be like that someday?" you asked Spencer, watching Will and JJ with Henry, feeling their joy about another baby on the way. Spencer rested his chin on your shoulder. "I do. We’ll get there someday.”

-

Penelope’s intel pays off in some way. The bullet they are tracking could be tied to an older BAU case. The name Lindsey Vaughn rings louder as they can identify the gun she’s been using to kill men in the past months.

It's still too early to know where she is and how she’s connected to Scratch, though. But having a name is better than nothing.

With the current caseload and the leads for Spencer’s case, you don't have the heart to ask Emily to join you for your new sonogram appointment, so you decide to go alone.

When Dr. Alberts sees you coming in, he greets you with a smile.

“Mrs. Reid. It's good to see you. Please, take a seat on the gurney, please.”

New questions follow the routine ones: ‘Have you felt it kicking?’ ‘Have you had new cravings?’ ‘Have you considered having a C-section?’’

Of all the things he could have said, the one that leaves you reeling is, "Did you notice you're starting to show by now?" 

Damn. It’s still subtle, but it's clearly there. With everything happening around you, it wasn't a pressing concern. But now, it means you'll have to either find a way to hide it or tell everyone—including Spencer—that you're expecting a baby.

The second big news is the baby’s gender. Dr. Alberts asks you if you want to know, and despite your nervousness, you say yes.

“Okay, let’s take a look,” he murmurs as he moves the wand over your belly, concentrating on the monitor. “Yes, I can see it now—or rather, I can’t see it.” He turns to face you with a smile. “Congratulations, Mrs. Reid! You’re having a girl.”

A girl. You’re having a girl.

The first thought in your mind is how a daddy’s girl your baby will be. Knowing Spencer, she’ll have him wrapped around her little finger in no time.

You leave the doctor’s office with a warm feeling in your chest. Maybe it's time to let the world know. But first, Spencer. So you’ll wait for your visit at the end of the week.

That day, Milburn greets you the same way it has since your first visit, with grey walls and fluorescents tilting in the hall's ceilings. As always, you wait in the same booth while the inmates enter the room and take a seat in front of their respective visitors.

You wait for your husband, fiddling with your wedding ring, a thing you do when you are nervous. Just a couple of minutes later, Spencer walks in. When he spots you, a subtle smile appears on his face.

“Hi,” you murmur, returning him a curve up of your lips. 

“Hi, love,” he says, his voice low so only you can hear him.

“How are you?” You don’t expect things to be great in a place like this, but given the circumstances, you ask in the hope that nothing worse has happened.

“As good as it can be,” Spencer shrugs, and you can feel he’s holding back. “This week, there are no bruises, so it's good, right?” He gives you a tight-lip smile.

“Jesus Christ, Spencer,” you scold him because of his dark humor. You can’t blame him, though. You do the same all the time.

“I’m sorry. It wasn't my intention to upset you,” he apologizes. You shake your head.

”It’s okay. I know. It's just - God. If I could - I don’t know - kidnap you from here and keep you locked in a room until everything gets fixed, I would.”

Spencer’s eyes soften. He knows you are talking out of frustration and in an attempt to regain some control in a situation over which you have no control whatsoever.

“Too much time working with the BAU, honey,” Spencer scoffs jokingly. A chuckle escapes your lips at his remark.

“You should really be worried. The moment you get out of here, I’m going to confine you to the apartment permanently,” you warn. Spencer’s eyebrows furrow in fake confusion. “What? You are not the only one allowed to use witty remarks in this relationship, okay?”

Spencer can’t help but notice you look kind of different today. Actually, you have looked different in the past weeks. There is something in your skin, the way you talk, the glint in your eyes. Despite everything, you look beautiful and glowing. Spencer has always thought you’re the most beautiful woman in the world, but not being able to be with you in the past months has enhanced every detail he misses about you.

You raise an eyebrow when there is no response from Spencer. You notice him looking at you, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong?” you ask, calling his attention back to you.

“I miss you,” he blurts out. And your heart aches at the confession. A mutual feeling that only gets worse at night in the loneliness of your shared apartment, only bearable in the past months because you know there is a part of him growing inside of you.

“I miss you, too. More than you can even imagine.” 

You feel your heart pounding in your chest. It's time to tell him everything. But how can you even start?

“I promise. Things will be different. Once this ends, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

Sure. You already know things will be different, but not in the way Spencer is probably thinking. 

“Spence,” you start, “there is something we need to talk about.” Spencer looks at you, trying to read your expression. It is serious, almost solemn. It must be something important.

“Okay,” he says, more like a question than a statement. He knows you need time to collect your thoughts and choose your words, but the silence is killing him. And the anxiety betrays him. “If it's about the delay of my trial, Fiona already told me. It's not necessarily a bad thing.”

Every word rehearsed in your mind is long forgotten when you register what Spencer has said.

“What?”

Spencer’s eyebrows furrow at your question. “It isn’t what you are talking about?”

“Why are they delaying it? For how long?” That’s when Spencer realizes you were referring to another thing and that you didn’t even know what he was talking about at all. 

“I—uh. They decided to add a new charge.” He notices how your expression changes from confusion to horror. “Fiona says it's not uncommon in cases like this,” Spencer tries to explain, but you shake your head. 

“Why didn't you tell me? When did this happen?” 

“I’m sorry. I thought Emily had already told you. I got a notification two days ago.”

You definitely need to have a word with Emily about this. Why didn’t she tell you?

“But, baby. It's okay. We can see it as a way to buy time, you know? To get more evidence to exonerate me. Now that I can remember Lindsey in the room, we can go faster to link Scratch to all of this.”

To buy time? You can’t see it like it is. If anything, it means the baby will be here before even your husband's trial. It's stressful enough to think about the uncertainty of the circumstantial case Fiona is building, but now? With a new charge?

“Are you listening to me?” Spencer’s worried voice brings you back from your thoughts.

“Yeah. Yeah. It's just- I wasn't expecting something like that,” you tell him honestly.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn't have assumed you did know. But you wanted to talk about something. What is it?”

It's pointless to tell him now. It will put more pressure on him, and you are not ready either after this news.

Just then, the vibration of your smartwatch on your wrist distracts you from what you should or should not say to Spencer. You glance at the device. A text from Garcia reads: ‘We have a location.’

It's not time to discuss the subject right now. If Garcia has a location, maybe you can speed up everything to end this ordeal once and for all.

“I’m sorry. I need to go,” you tell Spencer, giving him an apologetic look.

Spencer’s eyes widen at your words.

“But - but you were - what happened?”

“I need to be at the BAU. There is an urgent case,” you lie, standing up from your seat. Spencer is confused, but he doesn’t pry. “I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay?”

“Okay. Okay. Take care, okay?”

“I will,” you smile at him to ease his worry. You know Spencer is utterly confused right now, but you can’t tell him what’s going on. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

You barely hear his words before quickly leaving the room. It's incredible how, in one minute, you went into alert mode. You are not happy about leaving Spencer still in the dark, but maybe, if you are lucky, you will put an end to this limbo today.

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Series Taglist: @strawb3heart @lunaryoongie @bwlol7

[aihoshiino]

Miss Genius Idol Unmatched: An Ai Hoshino Character Analysis Series

“Ai Hoshino was the sort of girl you could find anywhere. She didn't know how to love or trust other people. She was timid, sensitive, and hurt by misunderstandings with her friends. She really was just an ordinary everyday girl. So she told a lie. A lie so big that it completely concealed her fragile heart. She always smiled and never showed any sign of weakness. She was beautiful, wholesome and pure. She loved everyone, no matter who they were, and would never think of betraying them. She was a pet, cherished by all. And it was those very people, brimming with their filthy human desires who turned her into an idol.”

Oshi no Ko chapter 137 - "Idol"

Unlike many of my opinions about Oshi no Ko, I don't think it's particularly controversial to say that Ai Hoshino is one of - if not the singular most - important character in the whole series. As its titular character and beating emotional heart, Ai's tragedy is the foundation on which the rest of the series is built, and her love is the light that illuminates the future for Aqua and Ruby across both of the lifetimes that they knew and loved her in turn.

It can be shocking, then, to revisit the series and remember that despite her cataclysmic impact on the narrative, Ai herself only appears in a fraction of the story’s chapters. Her death occurs just nine chapters into the series, leaving the reader - and her children - to grapple with the enormity of her absence. Ai leaves a void, a wound that refuses to heal, and across the series, her children’s lives are shaped by their attempts to fill this void: Aqua, through revenge; Ruby, through emulation. So to are the readers invited to follow them along in this process and to try and make sense of what Ai's sudden, violent removal from the narrative means not just for the story but their engagement with the series as a whole.

Readers like me, for example!

As anyone who has so much as glanced at me in the past two years can tell you, Ai is easily not just my favourite character in Oshi no Ko, but probably just in fiction, flat out. I Like Her A Normal Amount.

I Like Her A Normal Amount.

I've already spilled oceans of digital ink analyzing and discussing Ai as a character over the past few years I've been following the series, but with Oshi no Ko having wrapped and us as readers now having as complete a picture of Ai as a character as the narrative is going to provide us, I want to finally commit to an idea I've had floating around in my head for a good while now and begin the following analysis - Miss Genius Idol Unmatched, a series of deep-dive analysis posts in which I break down just about everything in the series relating to Ai in excruciating detail!!!

I will be analyzing Ai as a character, attempting to assemble as coherent and consistent a timeline of her life as I can based on canon information, breaking down all her most important relationships and how she is characterized in relation to them and basically just talking a whole lot about Ai Hoshino in even more exhaustive detail than I usually do.

I will continue to do my other analysis posts and respond to asks about the series as usual, but my main focus on this blog going forward will be this analysis series so please do look forward to it!