#dana's back on her bullshit

[emilylprentiss]

Dana Scully the x files. 4x11.

#the x files #x files #txfedit #dailytxf #thexfilesedit #dana scully #gillian anderson #tvfilmsource #dailytvfilm #tvarchive #dailywomen #txf 4x11 #txf gifs #never thought i'd be back on my x files bullshit again but here i am #anyway WHO gave her the right #*mine

[fellhellion]

90s run PAD has this rlly annoying trend where he very often write a female character being in love w miguel and suddenly her entire character shrinks down to the scope of what drama this provokes and it's near continually in service to the narratives of men (Gabriel and Miguel interpersonal drama for example). even when there are actually interesting things to be mined from this angle like w lyla its like. this is a pattern w you dude.

#my GOD we lost kasey nash in the wars skdfhjkdshfkjs #like. it sucked. the fact she goes from a revolutionary to primarily a wedge between gabri and miguel SUCKS. #for some reason its like folks pretend PAD also literally wasnt writing the kronom arc where character assasination is happening #left and right to prop up dana as a martry. when like he was literally just writing that. #like im sorry i love the 90s run too and i have a lot of sympathy for the strain the team wouldve been under while corp bullshit was #exploding above their heads but like. the fact PAD appears to like. just not be fucking bothered to explain what #danas thought processes are flipping from one belief to a wildly opposing one is just bad and tbh LAZY writing #and this is happening dozens of issues before the worst irl circumstances for the team even cropped up #tunes talks critical #can u tell im on my period lmao #tunes talks 2099 #like even regarding xina. i think she escapes the worst of this writing treatment from PAD but like. the fact that the dimension PRIMARILY #explored in the text w her is around her relationship w miguel is honestly really disappointing. i LIKE that dimension yes but there is so #much more to explore with her! does she have friends outside of miguel (and if not does this tie into her apparent isolation from alchemax) #how does xina operate as a relatively independant and implied self employed individual in this world of corp monopolies #she CARES about the truth and fighting back against false narratives spun to consolidate power and profit so how does this extend into her #normal life? does she know about downtown when education wise this seems to be something utterly ommitted? what does she think about it? #what kind of hope did she hold regarding angela's work? #if she believes miguel to still work at alchemax why is this not a point of conflict between them? does she fear losing him? did she give #up trying? etc etc etc there are SO many compelling dimensions to explore w her and the text keeps them #largely sublimated to background details in the art. or what we can interpret as sublimated conflicts the characters dont want to address #but in terms of what is in the TEXT i want more. i want more as someone who really loves this fucking thing lmao

[gretahayes]

Favourite tim drake recs? :0

Assuming you mean fanfic recs, I've got probably the most for him and this is long, so it's going under the cut;

This is genuinely one of my favorites, it's set post-Red Robin, and deals with Tim's vigilante stalking habits, his family finding out, Cass realizing there's no photos of Tim, them setting out to take/find some of him (a much harder feat than you'd think) and finally, Tim seeing the photos. It's amazing and sweet, and I can't recommend it enough. (I especially like the Bruce & Tim and Tim & Damian in this)

This is by the same author, also set post-Red Robin. This is Damian and Tim focused, Damian POV, in which Damian sees Bruce's contingency plans for him and the rest of the family, and with nobody else to turn to, runs for Tim. Canon divergent in the way Bruce doesn't have a contingency for his children, neither does Tim for his team, or them for him, but it kinda makes sense in this setting. Their interactions are amazing here, and seems so real.

In this, Tim gets a tonsillectomy. An elaboration in the form of a long fic. A must-read, I feel. It's funny and has so many feels and such good characterization.

!!! Can't believe I almost forgot about this one! Tim is Bruce's assistant, not son, and never became a vigilante. He's incredibly overworked, but no less dedicated to the Waynes. It's heartwrenching and sweet and funny and—words can't do it justice. It's a must read. The Al Ghuls make a cameo but Tim knows how to deal with them. Tim's deeply sad but next to nobody knows and those that do just accept it (including him). Kon is the MVP. Cass. Damian and Tim have an odd bond built of mutual respect and disdain for everyone around them. Luthor tries to recruit Tim every year and fails.

This is funny and amazing—Tim lands in a universe where he's technically considered a drug addict, since coffee is a drug and in the regular universe everyone drinks it.

The YJ fic Ever. I've recced this at least three times, and I will continue to. It's amazing characterization all around—both YJ and batfam—and genuinely is so fun. I love everyone in this. When an unknown enemy threatens Robin, Gotham's vigilantes come together to keep him safe. Unfortunately, they're protecting the wrong Robin. Or: Tim Drake plans his own rescue. Things get complicated.

This is Tim & Damian—Tim gets his overprotective big brother moment :) love love LOVE the way everyone is written here.

This is short and hilarious—Tim has amnesia after a head wound (can only remember back to his YJ days) and tries to bullshit his way out of anyone noticing. He might have succeeded if not for Cass.

This is a time loop fic, switching POVs. Tim's stuck in a time loop in which Jason always dies. The loop before the one this was set in, he accidentally kills Damian out of stress and too-fast reflexes. He breaks down when he sees Damian again, the whole thing unravels, and they resolve to help him out of it.

THIS SERIES MAKES ME FERAL. Jack, Tim and sometimes Dana, set when Jack made Tim quit from Robin. Horror-type elements and beautifully poetic, but centered around Jack's POV of the son he realizes he doesn't know, and him realizing he may be a shit dad. Dana's the best stepmom ever, and Tim's far nicer to her than he is Jack. This is the first work, in which Jack tries and fails to understand this Tim, and realizes that this Tim is Robin, not Tim. This is the second (and last) work in the series, in which Tim hasn't fully quit the lifestyle even though he's not going out as Robin, but Jack has no proof he hasn't. Just a hunch and a few odd occurrences that us, the readers, who are familiar with Tim's hero life will find obvious, but Jack does not. Dana makes Tim happier, more Tim than Tim-Robin, than Jack does, and Jack hates it. Near the end, he starts calling Tim Robin, not Tim. I LOVE it. Even if you hate Jack (like I do) you need to read this, for the Tim characterization if nothing else. Outsider POV, except he shouldn't be an outsider. But he is.

This is so fucking funny. Tim gets a matching tattoo with Kon, and hides it from Bruce. When Bruce—and the rest of his family—find out, all goes to hell.

Remember when I said the Jack and Tim series was only slightly horror? This is horror. Bruce's got a habit of picking up monsters, and this one is about Tim. If you're sensitive to horror, please read the tags and maybe avoid it, because this is delightful but not for everyone.

In this, Tim becomes an unintentional sugar daddy to the caped community. It's a bit iffy in some places, but hilarious.

This is Dick and Tim (surprised it took me this long to rec one with them as the main focus tbh) and it's Dick checking up on his little brother. Pure fluff, and genuinely amazing.

This is Tim & Bruce but also Tim & Tam in some places. Bruce forgets Tim is the majority shareholder for WE and is thus invited to shareholder meetings, Tim finds this very amusing and is generally a menace. You can FEEL the teenager in this Tim. Amazing.

Tim's de-aged to a kid in this, and re-meets his family. Fluff and feels ensue.

This is Bruce and Tim. Bruce isn't prepared for his newest Robin's neuroses.

This has Tim & Cassie meeting at an archaeologist event as kids and having to fight a monster thing :) it's cute

GODDD this fic? This fic ruined me. Beautiful Tim characterization, a gorgeous look at Bruce and how much he fucks up despite caring, and Dick being a stressed but amazing big brother with gorgeous writing. I love their brotherly affections here, and Tim's weird neuroses being shown here. Tim & Bruce is how it starts, and it's very much centered around their relationship, but it tapers off into Dick & Tim, which I'm not complaining about. Kon (and Bart!) makes a cameo and is an amazing friend. Can't rec this enough. If you read none of the other fics, please read this one.

This is Dick and Tim again. Dick forces Tim to go undercover with him to an Elvis convention in a thinly veiled attempt to spend time with the brother who he doesn't think knows how much he loves him. It's set in Tim's POV, though, so until Dick says this, Tim doesn't know. Hilarious and short.

This is Dick and Tim (who's surprised? Nobody) where Dick goes to Robin!Tim's science fair because Tim mentioned it and well, nobody else was going. Short and sweet.

This deals with the batfam finding out about the shitshow that was Tim's BruceQuest. If you're a stickler for canon I'd recommend you skip this one, but if not, it's a great read.

This is Dick and Tim again, and it's amazing. Tim's alone on Christmas Eve. Dick finds out, and does something about it. It's Robin!Tim, so this is Dick, Babs and Tim. This author is amazing at writing their interactions, plus inside Dick's head is a tricky place to write and they nail it perfectly. Mostly Dick & Tim, but since he invites Tim to Babs' holiday party, Babs makes a good number of cameos.

This is Tim talking a jumper off the ledge while Damian watches. Then they talk about it. Tim from Damian's POV is always interesting, but this especially is amazing.

This is a core four fic, Tim's POV! Pure humor. Tim finds a dildo in the dishwasher and he drags them for a team meeting so he can sus out whose it is.

I've recced this before, I think, but I'll do it again. Red Robin canon divergence fic in which Bruce is actually dead, and Tim calls Dick to tell him he thinks he may have been wrong. Dick's POV, short, but the emotion in this is outstanding.

In this fic, Damian has trouble with the transition from Dick's Batman to Bruce's Batman. Tim, who's also had both, is surprisingly helpful. This has so many Tim and Damian feels that I'm literally bursting at the seams. Melancholy, camaraderie, and all the good stuff. Damian's POV, and since he sucks at so much as guessing at what's going on in Tim's head, it's all the more great.

This is Dick and Tim, a soft Christmastime fic.

This is Bruce and Tim. Bruce and Tim have a sort-of game that started when Tim was thirteen. Initially, it was Tim stealing sips (or occasionally whole mugs) of Bruce’s coffee, back when he was too young for Alfred to allow him to drink it. Now, though, Bruce is getting his own back, and steals Tim’s coffee when he can. Sweet and fluffy.

Here, Tim gets a headwound and only remembers back to his Robin days, and forgets to be awkward around Dick and Damian. Tugs at the heartstrings. Dick's reminded of how much he misses this Tim.

This is really funny. Remember that time during the YJ days where the adult heroes were de-aged and the kid ones grew to be adults? Tim didn't reach six foot. In this, he's mocked ruthlessly for it.

Here, Tim goes to high school again after dropping out :) it's core four and hilarious

In this, Tim accidentally kills his dad in self defense—or rather, thinks he does, Jack's still alive but he doesn't know that until Dick shows up—and scrambles to call Dick. He calls Jason instead. Dick eventually gets called and shows up, and the brotherly feels in this are amazing. Tim's in shock for a good portion of it, and it's his POV, so you've got to piece some stuff together. Bad dad Jack, as in worse than canon bad dad Jack. Tugs on the heartstrings, and have I said I love Dick in this? Because I do. Bruce shows up near the end, and to everyone's surprise, doesn't absolutely fuck things up and/or fail as a parent.

Here, Tim is sick and alone. Dick, after not hearing from Tim at all for three days, goes to his apartment, finds him sick, and takes care of him. Eventually he gets dragged to the Manor for some actual r&r. It's sweet, and this writer has an amazing way with words and an intriguing flow.

In this, Bruce knows Tim. They have a routine, have habits, they know each other. This is so so touching, and I love it so much.

Here, Tim and Steph give Bruce a headache. It's amazing.

I..can't even begin to describe this. Bruce is fresh from the timeline, and this is a sort of introspection/character study type thing about him and Tim and how Tim's changed. Mostly, though? Mostly, Bruce just gives his son a hug.

Here, Kon is Tim's work husband. Bruce suffers. Pure fluff and humor, with a touch of feels.

Here, Bruce takes Tim to get his wisdom teeth out. They're both worried, but together, they're alright. Tim cries while doped up on the drugs. He cries a lot.

Here, 90's!Tim Drake wakes up in his Red Robin body. Exhausted from a YJ mission, he chooses to focus on getting through a normal day so as not to disrupt things for his future self. But, y'know, his way. Hilarious and so in-character, if exaggerated for comedy.

This is Tim and Damian—Damian gets hit with truth serum on patrol, and a pissed off Tim has to come and get him. Damian resolves to not tell Tim he's been hit with truth serum. They get closer as a result. Love their dynamic in this.

This is core four again, but just general teenager superhero chaos. Can't rec it enough

Here, Tim tries to build a LEGO Gotham, but his family just can't leave it—or him—alone. He calls a family meeting to tell them to knock it off, and they do not. Fluff and humor.

Here, Tim has appendicitis and gets his appendix removed. The best mix of fluff, feels, and good old complicated family dynamics ever

In this, Bruce tries to navigate giving affection to his odd son, Tim. Touching and funny.

This is Tim and Damian—Damian crashes on Tim's bed in the Watchtower when injured, Tim finds him. They talk, and maybe bond a bit, even though they'd never admit it.

Here, Bruce hugs Tim. Really nothing else to it.

Another fic where Tim wakes up with amnesia and pretends to know his family so he's not rude. He's found out when he correctly deduces Bruce is his dad, but makes the mistake of calling Bruce dad.

This is Dick and Tim again. Tim gets de-aged into a six-month-old, and Dick takes care of him. Soft and so so sweet.

In this, Tim's trying to work in his apartment when his siblings keep showing up to distract him and get him to take a break. It's sweet of them, if very annoying.

This is Bruce and Tim. Tim's injured and lying in bed, Bruce gets him takeout. Feels fuzzy and just...good. You've got to read it to know what I'm talking about, no summary does it justice.

Here, Damian tries to make amends with Tim. He does it very oddly though, so Tim thinks he has a crush on him, and avoids him all the more for it because ew-gross-ew-ew.

In this, Tim gets his teeth knocked out and grabs Dick as a mediator so he tells Bruce. Short and funny-sweet. You can tell this is in Tim's Robin run, due to all the little hints dropped.

This is Tim and Kon, funny and nonsensical. Tim calls Kon in the early hours of the morning, drunk. Kon thinks he deserves sainthood for this.

In this, Tim has road rage and most of his family find that out in the most hilarious way possible.

Bruce and Tim—a test sort of fic? Interesting, definitely.

This is timkon, Tim has memory loss and is amazed by Kon all over again.

Core four go to a gala :)

This is Dick and Tim, Tim breaks into Dick's house, accidentally interrupts his nap, tries to leave out of guilt, and gets wrangled into hugs. So so soft and so so sweet.

Another de-aged Tim fic, but this time with six year old Tim and Bruce taking care of him. This is so melancholy and...ugh. I love them.

Here, Tim and Dick are thrown into an alternate universe and have to try and get back with no other support system and no way out. They meet this world's version of Bruce and Alfred, though.

CEO Tim, and hates it. He makes that Luthor's problem.

Timkon, in which Tim plans all his dates VIA corkboard and Kon is so attracted to that.

CEO Tim (again), except he's still a teenager and people end up thinking he's a communist. This is short and hilarious all the way through. Also, Bruce is there.

This is The kid!Tim fic ever. Tim, having found a weird hole after a storm, decides to go exploring ignoring the fact that This Is Gotham and They Probably Have Cursed Stuff Down There.Luckily, it was just a cave system that spans the entire Gotham underground. Unluckily, Tim is a very curious child. Tim's a sorta eldritch being at the end?? Amazing, 100 would recommend.

In this, Tim finds out he isn't his parents' biological son. This changes everything. This changes nothing. Can't say anything else without spoiling, but I can't rec it enough.

In this fic, Bruce is back in time in Drake Manor, and meets baby Tim. It's like you're frozen in time, and all that matters is Bruce and his infant not-yet-son.

Here, Kon and Tim date. Tim's a cryptid stalker that refuses to be photographed, Dick is a big brother that loves his little brother, and it's cute.

Sorry it took me so long to compile this list anon, happy reading!

#asks #anon #tim drake #fic rec #god this is. a lot #took me a while to compile

[spookyserenades]

Valentines day special or drabble 👉👈 IM SORRY DANA IM A WHORE FOR UR WRITING OK!

DON'T BE SORRY LOVE!!! 💕 💗 💖 (this is for u!)

“Once again, I think I’ve gone overboard,” Y/N muttered to herself, hauling two ludicrously large, heavy shopping backs out of her car, trying her best to avoid the black ice slicking up the driveway. 

The morning of Valentine’s Day, Y/N claimed she was simply shuffling outside to check the mailbox, hoping no one said anything about the fact that she had stuffed her car keys in her pocket. 

She wasn’t really one to celebrate the holiday in the past. However, ever since her hybrids swept into her life, she made a vow to celebrate every holiday with perhaps a corny amount of enthusiasm. Hence, why she was lugging enough Valentine chocolate into the house to feed a village. 

Huffing, she followed the voices that were echoing in the kitchen, kicking off her snow-coated boots as she went. The crinkling of the paper bags had the voices not too far off quieting down, Y/N grinning as she entered the room, the scent of sugared berries and pancakes filling her nose. 

She had waited until each of the hybrids had slunk into the kitchen for breakfast, the only one aware that it was a holiday being Hoseok, who had dressed in every red-and-pink item he owned. Jeongguk, rolling his eyes at the breakfast nook, was bent over his notebook, appearing to be sketching something that he was copying from one of Namjoon’s occult books. The wolf hybrid was beside him, helping himself to more sugared berries. 

Ears perked up in her direction as she bustled into the room, placing the heavy bags onto the coffee bar where Jimin was filling up his mug, a soft noise of confusion leaving his full lips as he examined the bags stuffed with white tissue paper. 

“What’s that?” He asked, one of his sandy ears twitching as she squeezed his shoulder, the fuzzy fabric of his sweater making her fingertips tingle. 

“Oh, nothing…” Y/N replied mischievously, curiosity growing even stronger in his bright eyes. 

“Bullshit. I can smell your scheming from a mile away,” Jeongguk called out, looking bored when Namjoon shot him a dirty look. 

“You have quite the bullshit detector, sweets,” Y/N moved away from the coffee bar, finding the mug Yoongi had prepared for her on the island, beside where Taehyung was sitting. 

The Kodiak hybrid avoided her eyes, but still leaned into her touch when she used his upper arm to balance over the island to grasp for her mug. Things were still a little… tense between her and him, but Y/N was trying her best to give him space while he got used to her and Yoongi. 

Speaking of, the leopard hybrid emerged from the pantry with the bag of powdered sugar Namjoon had requested, his hair tied back with a scrunchie. He winked at Y/N, pointing to the stack of pancakes on the stove that were waiting for her, Y/N shaking her head as she watched Seokjin fry up some breakfast sausages. When Seokjin turned with the plate, he smiled at Y/N softly, though his ears were pressed flat to his head. 

“So, what’s in the bag, darling? Valentines?” Hoseok landed heavily on one of the barstools, sly knowledge spread all over his face. Grumbling, Y/N sipped her coffee with narrowed eyes. 

“Nothing gets by you, Foxy, huh?” Y/N put her hands up like she was caught red-handed, poking his cheek as she waltzed by him. 

“Valentines?” Namjoon’s voice was thick with confusion, Y/N more than used to the wolf hybrid being not exactly aware of the human calendar. 

Sighing, her surprise spoiled by her clever fox hybrid, she trudged over to the bags once again, and if she had a tail like the hybrids, it would be between her legs. Like a shadow, Seokjin followed her, though not as closely as he used to– not close enough for Y/N to catch a whiff of his comforting eucalyptus scent. Later that night, she and Seokjin would be driving into the city for the cooking lesson, and she was hoping that things wouldn’t be so odd between them. 

Humming, Y/N dove her fingers into the tissue, grasping onto the 7 envelopes she had placed in there only moments ago, the paper different shades of pink and red. It had been difficult to find cards for all of them that didn’t shout “I LOVE YOU” all over them, but in a stationary store within the same strip mall Judy’s shop was in, she found a bunch that simply wished them a happy holiday. 

Moving quickly, she delivered one to each of the boys, Jeongguk rolling his eyes as he accepted his envelope, flicking Y/N on the forehead. Once everyone had their card, Yoongi receiving his with a smirk and a stolen kiss to her temple, Y/N began passing out the boxes of chocolate she had picked up at The Prudential center– the fancy Swiss place Seokjin had pointed out several times, with the slabs of chocolate in the window. 

She tried to keep in mind everyone’s tastes; truffles for Jimin and Taehyung, a variety of filled chocolates for Namjoon, toffee for Seokjin. Namjoon accepted his box with glee, his dimples indenting his cheeks, abandoning his breakfast in favor of cracking into some peanut butter cups. 

“Thank you,” Taehyung took his truffles with a blush blossoming over his cheeks and nose, Y/N’s heart squeezing as he afforded her the briefest moment of precious eye contact. 

“These cards are so cheesy,” Hoseok snorted, pointing at the fat little angel on the front of his card. “You know, you should tell us that you’re planning to get us things for holidays. I feel like a bum whenever I don’t get you something in return.”

Hoseok’s russet ears drooped, pouting at Y/N as she ruffled his hair, giving him a squeeze around his shoulders. Resting her chin on his shoulder, she felt Hoseok’s back melt into her chest instantly, grinning as she watched him peel open his box of assorted pralines. 

“You don’t have to get me anything,” Y/N insisted, giving Hoseok one last squeeze before pulling herself away, Jimin shaking his head in disagreement as he mumbled something about flowers. “Besides. I got myself the boozy truffles, and I’m going to make you all watch a cheesy rom com tonight when I get back with Seokjin from the cooking class.”

At the sound of his name, as well as the mention of the class, Seokjin perked up from his spot– leaning on the fridge with his little tub of toffee– an excited purr ripping from his chest. While everyone was busy with their chocolates and cards, each hybrid in various states of fluster and flattery, Y/N found her way to Yoongi, who disappeared into the pantry before she could give him his Valentine. 

“Hoseok’s right. Cheesy,” Yoongi said, with his back turned to her, holding up his card. With a jolt, she realized he must have disappeared so he could open it privately, her cheeks burning as she clocked the sappy note she had written into his card. Desperately, she wanted to write similar sentiments on the other’s, but was still too chicken to confess to anyone else. “Here.”

Turning, Yoongi had a smirk on his face, reaching for Y/N’s wrist, and she was no longer paying attention to the commotion outside of the pantry. Holding her gently, Yoongi dug around in the pocket of his jeans, Y/N catching something sparkly between his fingertips. Swiftly, the leopard hybrid clasped a delicate silver bracelet around her wrist, the slim chain feeling like water as it was secured against her flesh. Gasping softly, she noticed the heart charm dangling from the chain, the design simple and elegant, and with the gift, Y/N felt her eyes water. 

“Yoongi… when, and how–”

“Something to spend my money on from Daisy’s lessons,” Yoongi shrugged, still holding her wrist as he examined the jewelry. “Wasn’t going to let you get me something without anything in return.”

With that, Yoongi raised her hand to his lips, pressing a light kiss to her knuckles, his cheeky smirk becoming even more pronounced once he read the emotion on her face; lower lip wobbling, shiny eyes.

“Be mine?” Yoongi raised an eyebrow, flashing his sharp canines at her, enjoying how overwhelmed she was. The corny remark, the very same one printed on his card, had her snapping out of it, clicking her tongue at the leopard hybrid. 

“Already am.”

#trouvaille #drabbles #asks #dana's thoughts #happy love day besties!!!!

[all-eyes-lead-to-the-truth]

All Eyes Lead to the Truth | Tempus Fugit (4x17)

The Headless Woman’s Pub was crowded wall-to-wall with red-faced employees of the Federal Government who had traveled the measly few blocks after work— despite the fact that it was a Sunday. As far as Val could tell, these people never took a day off.

Before getting this gig, he always imagined the feds drank like they were in one of those film noirs, pulling a handle of whiskey out of their desk and mulling over it after a hard case. He thought being an FBI Agent must’ve been so cool and mysterious.

“Oh shit!” a voice slurred from the other side of the room.

Val glanced over and saw that kid from the Violent Crimes Unit wiping spilled beer off of his date’s lap.

After getting this gig, he realized everything he used to think about the feds was bullshit. 

These were some of the most depressed fuckers he’d ever met. The ones that got the job for the glory would inevitably crash and burn, and the good ones would be haunted by the evils they saw. He couldn’t blame any of them for needing to indulge at the end of the day, but, Christ— J. Edgar himself would blush at the things these people said when they were drunk. He was starting to wonder if there was a single desk in that building that hadn’t been defiled. Though that was nothing compared to the guy who drank himself under the table because the ‘alien-guy’ stole his job. Val still didn’t know what the hell that meant, but he could still hear the way that guy kept muttering “fucking grey.”

“Excuse me.”

Glancing up, he saw a tall guy easing himself in between two people sitting at the bar. “Do you have a tab started?” Val asked.

“No, uh, I actually had a favor to ask,” the man clarified while his hands fidgeted against the bar’s wooden ledge.

Glancing around and seeing everyone’s drinks were full, Val stopped what he was doing and replied, “Shoot.”

Lanky started fumbling around with the pocket of his suit coat, and he began to worry the guy was gonna pull out his badge. They were too damn short-staffed to spare anyone for a twenty-minute interrogation about some drunk guy making a fool of himself after having one too many.

But agitation quickly made way for confusion when he was presented with one of those pink Hostess monstrosities. Ho Ho? Zapper? Chocodile Kazbars? Whatever the hell it was called, it should be illegal to put coconut in anything that was supposed to be called a dessert.

“I’m on a diet,” he deadpanned.

Ignoring his comment, the man tried to fluff the pink ball back into shape after presumably squashing in his pocket. “The woman I came in with— it’s her birthday, and she loves these things. I was wondering if there was any way you could ask someone in the back to put it on a plate and bring it out to her?”

Now that was a new one, especially for a shithole like this place. “Ya mean like Chili’s?”

“Well, hey, I certainly won’t say no if you have any sombreros hidden away in the kitchen,” he chuckled, looking over his shoulder as if to make sure his date wasn’t getting suspicious. Then, as if nervous Val would say no, he added, “They don’t have to sing Happy Birthday or anything. I know you guys are busy and—”

Interrupting the man’s rambling, he grabbed the pink cream ball. “What’s her name?”

“Scully.”

Val’s eyebrows rose at that. “She related to Vin? I was more of a Jerry Doggett fan myself.”

The guy exhaled a laugh, but then he shook his head. “No, and sorry, actually.” He spared another glance over his shoulder, and this time Val looked with him. It must’ve been the redhead who was glancing around, presumably searching for her boyfriend. He watched the shy smile that spread across her lips as her eyes met the man’s, and damn if she wasn’t one of the most beautiful women he’d ever seen. Her man must’ve known that too based on the nervous smirk that was on his face when he turned back around. “Dana. Her name is Dana,” he clarified, straightening out his tie.

It was common for Val to see men bring women from the office out for a drink in the hopes they’d get some. This might’ve been the first time he’d seen a fella do something thoughtful for his lady. Even if it was a 99¢ piece of garbage. “I’ll pass this to your waiter. I’m sure he can fix it up for Dana.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it,” Dana’s boyfriend replied. Val watched as he slid a five into the tip jar and started to make his way back to the table.

“Hey buddy,” Val called out, causing the man to turn around. “Ya told her you were going to come up and get drinks, didn’t ya?”

“Oh!” he exclaimed with an embarrassed wince, rushing back to the bar. Across the room, behind the man’s back, the woman’s brows furrowed and her lips quirked into an amused smirk as she watched him fumble to retrieve his wallet. “Thanks. Uh, one water and one vodka tonic, please. It’ll go under the name Mulder.”

After he sent Mulder on his way, he watched him take long strides back to the woman who was digging into their shared appetizer. He must’ve said something funny because the redhead started laughing and shaking her head. Val was impressed with how suave the guy was being after how nervous he had just been.

“D-did that man say his name was Mulder?”

Val turned and saw a meek, blonde woman sitting at the bar, not far from where the man in question had just been.

Val shrugged while trying to flag down a waiter, “Yeah. Know him?”

She glanced at the couple over her shoulder before turning back to face him, nervously playing with the cuff of her sleeve. “He’s a friend of the family.”

Read the rest of All Eyes Lead to the Truth on Archive of Our Own!

@gaycrouton

Happy Birthday Dana Scully!

#all eyes lead to the truth #x files #the x files #dana scully #fox mulder #mulder #scully #msr #season four #s4 #tempus fugit #4x17 #snoball #x files fanfic #scully birthday

[yassentheassassin]

hi, back on my dana bashing bullshit

it pisses me off to no end how dismissive dana is about anything that contradicts her "everything's lovely and perfect" world view and for miguel that's most of his damn life - he's sufferered, he's still suffering, he's traumatised, he's undergone changes to his damn dna, the man is understandably a major mess and dana isn't shown to give a genuine fuck, she just demands to know when things will go back to normal. she'll mention it only when it affects her.

to me, it's all summed up in this panel:

to dana, nothing is as bad as miguel says it is. he speaks his mind to his abusive father and she decides he doesn't mean it and apologies on his behalf, he tells her how awful tyler is and that he drugged him and she chooses to continue working with him, seeing him outside of work, and then hooks up with him almost immediately after her and miguel split up, he tells her repeatedly that he's not okay and he can't talk about things right now and her thought is not 'how can i help?', no instead it's to imply he's cheating on her and tell him that whatever is distressing him this much isn't as bad as he thinks it is

dana is able to maintain her perspective of everything being sweet and happy and nice by dismissing the issues of those around her, because acknowledging them means not everything is perfect, and dana doesn't want to see that

#dana bashing hours yay #dana d'angelo #miguel o'hara #sm 2099 #sm2099 #spiderman 2099

[uninformedartist]

Quick thoughts (its not quick I lied). Was reading the Google doc on the animators reviews specifically spindlehorse and saw a LOT of terrible things done and said to LGBTQA+ people in spindlehorse. Its not even funny or anything the things artists mentioned is borderline harassment, homophobic and toxic in every sense. Vivienne can go on about how inclusive her studio is, how accepting her studio and fandom is, from actual word of mouth reviews its anything but that. And it does reflect back through the show and fandom. The show has TERRIBLE representation, handling of sensitive matters, full of stereotypes and won't hesitate to cash in on fetishising the characters in extention their sexuality through merch ect. And the fandom... homophobic in most aspects, if you hate the show even if you're queer yourself they'll go on to call you slurs, harass you, doxx you in some cases and its all tolerated because you went against Vivie/you just a hater/ ect bullshit reasons. So I don't expect anything better going on behind the scenes with staff if the show and fandom is this toxic.

Now I don't like to compare but damn if you look at the owl house. Yeah its a kids show but how it handled representation, sensitive topics, lore ect is 1000 times better than helluva and thats an adult show. Anyway how Dana and her team made the owl house was with pure love and care, many artists working on the owl house loved working there and what they made (dispite Disney's bull). And the fandom for the most part is really lovely, yeah there is toxic apples but its a lovely fandom overall. I can say none of those things on Vivziepop's show and fandom, and this bullshit reasoning of "you too sensitive" "its edgy humour" "if you don't like it Don't watch" fuck off. Homophobia, harassment, making light of serious topics like abuse, rape and neglect and feeding into toxic stereotypes/fetishising of LGBTQA+ people is disgusting fuck you for seeing all of that as acceptable to do.

Chai, anyway sorry for the rant just reading that doc, it hurts it really does my heart goes out to these artists and it pains I can't do more or bring Viv to actually justice because her clean up crew (bootlickers and staff members thats her besties) cover everything up.

Back to my bigtop burger high ‎(ﾉಥ••ಥﾉ) ya'll I'm serious if you haven't seen bigtop burger by worthikids do check it out its an absolute gem on YT.

Bye :)

#vivziepop critical #helluva boss critical #spindlehorse critical #my post #helluva boss fandom critical #hazbin hotel critique #go watch bigtop burger 🤌 #tw rap3 #tw sa

[baronessblixen]

48 msr and/or family specifically a real platonic kiss!! None of that Chris Carter platonic bull crap!!!

Real platonic kiss! Not between Mulder and Scully - although...

Post-ep (sort of) for "Chimera", fluff: It's the Sunday morning after Mulder stayed over at Scully's and he has a somewhat awkward run-in with her mother. (wc: 1,417)

Tagging @today-in-fic @xffictober2023

Fictober Day 16: Mothers Always Know

Toothbrush hanging from his mouth, Mulder shuffles to the door, opening it without thinking twice about it. Only to come face to face with a smiling Mrs. Scully. While she seems happy to see him opening her daughter’s door on Sunday morning, he’s so baffled that the toothbrush almost falls from his mouth.

“Mrs. Scully,” he says, toothpaste foaming at his mouth.

“Good morning, Fox,” she says, not waiting to be asked inside. She just walks past him, taking off her coat. “I’m a bit early. Traffic was light. Is Dana still asleep?” She turns to him, her eyes expectant. No “what are you doing here”, or even surprise on her face. As if his being here at her daughter’s place was an everyday occurrence. Well, it almost is. But she doesn’t know that. Doesn’t need to know it either.

“No, she’s- um… in the shower.”

“Did you have a late night?” Mulder stares at her. She has her back turned to him, rummaging in the kitchen. This isn’t the first time he’s here on a Sunday, but so far Scully’s mother has never shown up unexpectedly. He doesn’t know why she’s here, or what she and her daughter have planned, but he’s never felt so out of place. So speechless, too. And with a toothbrush still in his mouth. At least he can answer any questions with minty-fresh breath. That has to count for something.

“We- no. I- well, Dana was at a- no, no late night. I-I-I only just got here too,” he says. A blatant lie and he doesn’t know why he said it. He’s never been nervous around Mrs. Scully before but there’s a first time for everything.

“Really, Fox?” Mrs. Scully chuckles, glee apparent in her voice and her expression.

“I forgot to brush my teeth at home,” he explains. “That’s why I came here. To… brush my teeth.” It’s a miracle that Mrs. Scully has neither thrown him out of her daughter’s apartment yet or called him out on his bullshit.

“It’s nice of Dana to let you brush your teeth here.”

“Yes, yes it is. I’m just gonna, um-” He doesn’t get to finish his sentence, because Scully emerges from the bathroom, clad in a robe and a towel on her head.

“Am I that late?” she asks her mother, engulfing her in a quick hug. She doesn’t even glance at Mulder. It’s as if he wasn’t here. Part of him wishes he wasn’t. He’s still holding onto his toothbrush. Being stuck here in the kitchen with Mrs. Scully, hell-bent on lying his way out of this situation, he didn’t even get to rinse.

“Don’t worry, honey,” Mrs. Scully says. “I’m early. Fox kept me company.” When Scully finally acknowledges him, he gives a little wave with his toothbrush, causing her to knit her brows together.

“That’s sweet,” she says, still staring at Mulder. Maybe she’s trying to make him disappear. But he can’t just walk out of her apartment barefoot and wearing sweats. Still holding that damn toothbrush.

“That’s Fox for you.” Mrs. Scully throws him a smile and he tries to smile back, but it turns into a grimace. He probably has dried toothpaste around his mouth too. This is not how he imagined their morning to go.

“Excuse me, I’m just gonna…” He motions at his toothbrush, hoping both Scully women understand what he means. He rushes into the bathroom, puts his toothbrush next to Scully’s, and gulps down a glass of water before he rinses his mouth properly.

“You look positively spooked,” Scully says quietly, appearing next to him. She’s drying her hair with her towel, meeting his eyes in the mirror.

“Your mother is here,” he says, trying to calm his voice. “She saw me.”

“She’s seen you plenty of times, Mulder. What is the problem?”

“It’s Sunday morning, Scully. I opened the door with a toothbrush in my mouth. That’s not very platonic partner, is it? Why didn’t you tell me she was coming this morning?”

“Didn’t I?” she asks, unbothered by it all. “I think I did.

“Maybe I didn’t hear it with your thighs around my head,” he counters, making her grin devilishly. Not that he regrets a second of it. He called her on his way home from Vermont last night, and she asked him to come over. An offer he couldn’t – and didn’t want to – refuse. By the time he got to her apartment, it was late, and Scully had a stipulation: he had to make up for leaving her cold and alone on that stakeout. Mulder happily did both. He pleased her with his mouth, with his fingers, and finally with his all-too-eager penis. Afterwards, he put his arm around her, holding her tight, and sharing his warmth, whispering nonsense into her hair until she fell asleep.

“You don’t have to tell her that,” Scully says with a smile.

“I’m not planning to. Hell, I told her I’m only here this morning to brush my teeth.”

“That makes no sense, Mulder.”

“Thank you, I know that. I panicked.”

“I see it.” Her voice turns soft and she touches his cheek. “You have your panic face on.”

“Aren’t you worried at all?”

“About what?”

“Your mother seeing me here, finding out.”

“Mulder, I’m a grown woman and she knows about us.”

“She does?” His eyes grow wide again.

“I didn’t tell her. I didn’t need to. She, um, she guessed and I didn’t deny it.”

“She knows,” he repeats. “And I just lied to her, rambling on about how I only just got here to brush my teeth. She’s gonna hate me.”

“She loves you, Mulder. Now go out there so I can get ready. Because if you make us miss Mass, she will like you much less.” She gently pushes him and he returns to the kitchen, where Mrs. Scully has made herself comfortable at the table, a cup of coffee in front of her.

“Done brushing your teeth?” she asks without looking up.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Scully. I didn’t know you knew about… well.”

“You and my daughter seem to think I’m blind and deaf. I’m neither.”

“I don’t think that at all. It’s just- all of this is very new. For us.”

“Yes, because you and Dana are the ones who have been blind all these years. I’m happy for you, Fox. For both of you. I see the way you look at Dana. I’ve always known how much you love her. I may sometimes wish that she,” Mr. Scully pauses, sighs, “this is what she’s chosen. I know you protect her as well as you can.”

“She protects me, too,” he says. “Your daughter is the strongest person I know. The smartest, too.”

“You’re a good man, Fox.”

“That’s-”

“The truth,” she interrupts him. He lowers his eyes and nods, refraining from disagreeing with her. He’s caused enough trouble for today.

“I’m ready to go.” Saved by his favorite Scully. She’s dressed and her hair mostly dry. He smiles shyly, watching her.

“Fox, do you want to come with us?”

“No, thank you. You two have a wonderful day together.” He takes Mrs. Scully’s hand to shake it and it’s possibly the most awkward moment he’s ever experienced. She gives him a look that reminds him of her daughter and she curls her finger, gesturing for him to come closer. She wraps her arms around him, tugging him down to her level. Mulder bends his knees, hugging her back.

“Remember what I said,” she says into his ear. “You’re a good man, Fox Mulder.” She breaks the hug but doesn’t let go of him yet. She regards him with knowing eyes and so much kindness that he almost buckles under all that love. “You hear me?” He just nods, cracking a smile. Mrs. Scully gets on her tiptoes, and Mulder, automatically bends down further, so she can press a kiss to his forehead. He closes his eyes, and feels like he’s just been baptized. When she finally lets go of him, he finds Scully’s eyes and she’s just smiling at him as if saying ‘I told you so’. He grins back at her.

“See you later?” she asks while her mother puts on her coat.

“I’ll go feed the fish and then I can come back here.”

“Hm, no. I’ll come to your place.” Scully gives him a quick kiss on the mouth and he can’t help blushing, much to the delight of both Scully women.

#fictober23 #going back to my fluffy roots #had to include mrs scully today on what would have been my mom's birthday <3 #i find the birthdays almost harder than the death days but it is what it is #msr #xf fanfic #my writing #my fic

[lily-orchard]

I'm not even a Belos enjoyer but finale was pretty dissapointing. It felt like Dana just saw that fans hate Belos and decided to not even show a proper flashback for him and kill him in a lame way. Sure fandom loved that he got stomped by Eda King and Raine (for some reason), but I feel like it should've been more like Luz tells Belos that he lost everything because of his inability to change and now he turned into a monster that nobody will remember after he dies or sth and Belos dies while seeing visions of Caleb Evelyn and everyone he's ever killed that don't even look at him so he dies scared with realization that Luz was right. Cuz that "huehue look we are not like the other cartoons our villain is lame and underdeveloped and died by being stomped by Luz's friends huehue AREN'T WE QUIRKY AND NOT LIKE THE OTHER GIRLS CARTOONS" felt lame and cringe like make defeat of a fashist actually worth it bruh

I mean I don't like the Not Like Other Girls'ing of the writing, but I'll be honest I think you're just mad that the Caleb and Evelyn red herrings didn't amount to anything. Those are things that were always afterthoughts and should have been scrapped. Phillip didn't need a secret Cain and Abel backstory to explain his genocide against witches. He was already from a deeply racist and fundamentalist time period.

There's a lot of people who wanted to Caleb to matter and for Evelyn to be a Clawthorne, and the truth is... they don't matter... at all.

I think it would have been worse if they harped on that shit. The time spent particle effect-ing and anime-framerating should have been spent on the main characters, not on the fan theories.

I mean, not to put too fine a point on it, but if you really wanted to just drive the spike through Phillip as a last word, what they would have done would have been for Camilla to take Luz by the shoulder and guide her away from him as he rots in the boiling rain, Phillip starts ranting about how the witches aren't people and will doom humanity with their filth, and then Camilla turns her head back and says "Yeah, I've heard that one before."

Because the thing about Belos is that he is fundamentally an invader. He's an invader of the Demon Realm, but he's also a white Christian British man living in America in the 1600's. He's an invader back in the Human Realm too. He came to the Demon Realm at the HEIGHT of his own previous invasion.

His profession is Witch Hunter. His job was never to hunt witches. It was to hunt women and native people and escaped slaves.

Belos' genocide of the witches on the Boiling Isles directly mirror the Salem witch trials, which were little more than a thin veil to persecute women who didn't conform to Christian morals. And they knew this. They knew magic wasn't real. They all of this.

Let's be honest here. Let's be brutally honest here. Why does Belos want to genocide everyone on the Boiling Isles?

He's mad about his brother's hot new gf

They do magic and therefore it is sinful

It is an integrated society that knows neither colorism, sexism, homophobia or transphobia?

It's the third one. Because to a white christian man 1600's US Colonies, that very notion is profane to him.

Hell when he tries to play the whole "I only care about humanity!" spiel to Luz, Luz looks at him like

Luz knows that were they in the Human realm, she would have been the target of Belos' ire in the place of the witches.

Honestly with that kind of background behind Belos that you can easily extrapolate just by knowing what he is and where he comes from, it was always fucking sad that they backpedaled like fucking crazy and pulled this stupid Cain and Abel bullshit in the first place. Like, you had the best foundation for a villain, you didn't have to add all this fandom bullshit.

But that's the Adventure Fantasy death spiral, isn't it? They start with something actually very biting and edgy, the genius of The Owl House in it's early seasons was that it didn't pull it's punches, and then walks most of it back to replace it with safe, santizied fandom mysteries about secret families and hidden identities and conspiracy mongering. Because you can't really pack hidden mysteries in like a pretentious weeby jackass if your bad guy is just a racist white guy.

Because racist white guys are just pretty straightforward.

Honestly, I think Luz just fucking standing there watching him burn away in the boiling rain, lacking any sympathy for him or his bullshit, silently gloating at the fact that she has completely and utterly destroyed his 400 years of work to undo the Boiling Isles and is content to watch him die like the cowardly, snivelling rat he is to be a and extremely powerful and poignant image

A far more meaningful moment than... whatever the fuck you were talking about.

You want the defeat of a fascist to be worth it, making him practically beg for the mercy of a woman who (were they not currently in a place with magic in it) would have been on his hit list and who he only tried to appeal to because she was the closest thing to a kindred spirit for parsecs, and having her look down at him like he is literally muck on her shoe IS WORTH IT.

What you're suggesting just puts the stupid red herring fandom shit at the forefront. Nobody cares about reading Belos a "reason you suck speech." Nobody cares about Caleb. Nobody cares about Evelyn. Nobody cares about any of that shit.

This is the closest thing we get to payoff for all that dragged out angst in the last 7 episodes, Luz getting to watch this man who fucked with her head and manipulated her good nature die begging at her feet, and you want to center the stupid Roundtable fan theories?

That's ultimately my problem with this entire genre. Because even when we get a really good moment like this, there's people like you saying that it should have been different and presenting ideas that all follow the same templates, and are written by TVTropes, and suck, and position white background characters as more important, and suck, and primarily exist for theory youtubers, and suck, and mimic your favourite anime, and suck, and suck, and SUCK SO FUCKING HARD!

What you said should have been done instead... would be shit. It would just be shit. It would be garbage.

I have complaints about Season 3, but this?

This is beautiful.

#the owl house #the owl house discourse #fandom rot #fandom racism #tw - racism #tw - religious violence

[oohnotvery]

Throwing Good After Bad (Chapter 1)

Mulder

Mulder glances warily at the two agents sitting beside him and Scully. He’s never met nor seen them before, or if he has, they didn’t leave much of an impression.

Kersh’s office is large, but the chairs are squished together so closely that Scully’s thigh is practically touching his. He doesn’t mind it at all. Any contact he gets with her these days is welcome. Ever since Diana Fowley and Jeffrey Spender stole the basement office from them, it’s been a rare thing to get up close in her personal space.

The other agents seem as restless as he does. It’s hard to study them from the angle he’s at, but he caught a glimpse when they walked in the room. The man is tall, probably taller than he is, with thick, black hair and dark brown eyes. He’s wearing a polo shirt tucked into khakis and Mulder glances warily at the man’s muscular, olive-toned forearms, which press annoyingly into Scully’s slight frame.

The woman is pretty and waifish, with light brown hair and light eyes. He notes a smattering of freckles across her cheeks that makes her look young, but it doesn’t color his impression of her. Scully used to look that young, and she’s easily the toughest thing in the room.

Assistant Director Alvin Kersh enters the office abruptly and Mulder finds himself the last person to stand and greet their chief.

“Agents,” Kersh says with a wave of his hand, dismissing them back into their seats. Mulder lounges back in his chair, wondering what kind of tongue-lashing they’re about to receive today, and how these two pretty people have gotten roped into the same.

Beside him, he can feel Scully’s tense, perfect posture and it irks him slightly how much respect she has even for authority figures like Kersh. He wishes she’d shown him just an ounce of disrespect, just every now and again.

“I’ve called the four of you here today for a special assignment,” the boss explains quickly. Good, getting straight to the point. “The four of you—Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, Agents Joseph Hartman and Lydia Scarboro—will be going undercover together starting next week.”

Mulder sits up in his chair. He’s not sure about the other two agents on the case, but going undercover with Scully sounds interesting. At least it’s a break from the bullshit manure investigations they’ve been stuck with for the past few months.

Kersh pulls up a binder on his desk and rifles through it for a moment.

“The four of you were picked as appropriate candidates to pose as two sets of married couples taking a shared vacation,” he explains tersely. Scully glances quickly at Mulder and he waggles his eyebrows suggestively. He feels a thrill even as she rolls her eyes and turns her attention back to Kersh.

“Details, boss man?” Mulder asks. Scully shoots him a warning look and Kersh narrows his eyebrows.

“As I was just about to explain, Agent Mulder,” the boss continues, “there is a community in northwestern Washington State that we suspect is playing host to ritual sacrifices.” He pauses for effect. “Human sacrifices.”

Mulder perks up a bit and can feel the tension radiating off of Scully, telling him to cool his jets. But this sounds like an X-File, and he can’t help but be excited.

“Your duties will include surveillance only. You will not live inside the community as it is a closed community that we cannot infiltrate in the amount of time we have.”

“The amount of time we have, Sir?” Scully asks.

Kersh doesn’t seem to mind her interruption. Perfect little teacher’s pet. “The Justice Department is clocking the sacrifices as happening during every full moon,” he explains.

“That’s in just thirteen days,” Mulder offers, and even though it’s true, Kersh looks annoyed.

“As Agent Mulder has explained, that’s less than two weeks from now, so we have to move fast.” Kersh studies them closely. “You’ll be staying in two separate cabins on a piece of property adjoining the community. The community operates the campsite as part of their revenue flow and monitors it closely. You’ll have immediate and frequent contact with certain members of the group. Your job,” he emphasizes, “is surveillance only. We want to understand when, how, why, and where the sacrifices are taking place. We want a list of previous victims and perpetrators. Remember, agents. Right now, we’re just operating on a suspicion without any evidence. That is not enough for probable cause. Bring back the evidence, and we’ll perform a raid.”

Mulder bites his tongue just as Scully speaks. “And if we witness preparations for the sacrifice, Sir? Then we can intervene?”

“No, agents.” Kersh shakes his head vehemently. “You do so at risk to not just your job but your personal safety. We have a professional ops team that we’ll call in once we have the proper information available to us. We have reason to suspect this community is armed and dangerous. I forbid you from intervening.”

Mulder swallows. Like hell.

Kersh must read his expression because he stands. “If that isn’t enough to convince you of non-intervention, then hear this: the community we are surveilling lives on an island between Seattle and Vancouver, Canada. The territory has been long-disputed by the United States and Canadian governments. If we misstep by even an inch, agents, you and the Bureau will face severe consequences not just from our Justice Department, but from Canada’s as well.” His lips curl into a grin as he stares at Mulder. “And I’m not sure I’m feeling benevolent enough to free you from Canadian prison, Agent Mulder.”

He rolls his eyes angrily and hears the other agents stifling laughs. Scully remains stock still, the portrait of perfection. When will this damn meeting be over?

“You leave in twenty-four hours. My assistant will fill you in on the details and will get you equipped with the information and briefing you need.” He looks like he’s about to dismiss them and everyone starts to rise.

“Oh, and agents?” he says, glancing up from the binder he’s holding. Everyone sits back down. “Another detail.”

Mulder twitches in his seat, feeling restless. He can’t wait to get his hands on the briefing and dive into it with Scully. It’s been way too long since something interesting fed his brain.

Kersh’s face takes on a look of utter glee, and that’s when Mulder starts to feel nervous for the first time. Scully must sense it too because her fists curl into tight little balls.

“I mentioned you would be working undercover as married couples,” he starts. Mulder’s knee starts bouncing. He senses something is off. “The coupling assignment is as follows: Joseph Hartman, you are assigned to Dana Scully. Lydia Scarboro, you are assigned to Fox Mulder.”

Mulder freezes, all the blood leaving his face.

Kersh smiles at their horrified expressions. “That will be all.”

#msr #msr fanfic #txf #x files #dana scully #mulder x scully #the x files #fox mulder #x files fanfic #xfiles fanfic

[winn-more-like-winning]

Spider-Man 2099

okay, so I barely post here anymore since tumblr is broken as fuck BUT

I read the Spider-Man 2099 omnibus vol 1 (didn't watch the Spiderverse movie since I fucking despise the concept of the Spiderverse. Simple as) and I have to talk about Dana.

Dana might truly be the most crap (female) character in the book. I couldn't get over how little she had going for her. Nearer the end I was making a mental list of women who'd work better as Miguel's love interest lmao (Xina, ofc; Jennifer - the sister is better; Kasey could've been a complicated and therefore interesting matter). I get the idea that she's sort of the suitable corporate wife for Miguel at the start of the series, when he's still Tyler's boy and should walk in his footsteps. But that message gets muddled imho when she doesn't grow any way - either as a true vapid stooge or someone who has more going for her than that.

It also doesn't work when you learn that Tyler had an affair with Conchata. There's a lot of ways to look at that relationship (why did it happen? Was there brief love there from her end? Was it just business), but considering Tyler probably had Kron when they were together, but seemed to already not be content with that, it seems absurd he would look at Dana, someone who was a perfect Alchemax poster girl, and think she could work for Miguel OR himself, when his relationship with Conchata must've had an element of "you are a more worthy woman for me, suitable to carry me a strong child I can rear as my heir". No shot he ever looked at Dana and thought the same thing. Crying over her and telling Conchata "I really loved the girl" my ass. The latter I can take as his usual bullshit, but the former is on the same tier as Doom crying over 9/11.

Also, how the fuck did Dana look at the conflict between Miguel and George O'Hara and go "oh, Miggy actually deep down cares for his dad and him crying at the funeral is proof of that". Girl, GIRL!!! Have some sense, I am begging you. You SAW how terrible it was between them, you saw how George baited him and how Miguel drew back, still afraid to do anything that would confirm he's his (step)father's son. And all you got out of it was THIS??? All the brains in the family went to Jennifer, it's insane.

Miguel was in the wrong to cheat on Xina, this is a fact. In a story sense it adds drama, it puts these old childhood friends who'd grown into lovers in a terrible place where they had to learn how to both apologize and forgive. But Miguel, baby. With Dana?

There were other things, but I had to get this out. Dana was infuriating.

#spider-man 2099 #miguel o'hara #dana d'angelo #tyler stone #conchata o'hara #jennifer d'angelo #xina kwan #george o'hara #i mean i still liked the story #tho the first half was stronger #as many a people said #though the latter half had some good moments

[blaisenova]

the consequences of enjoying someone's company

Xina Kwan had always been able to make Miguel smile even when no one else could. Maybe a little bit TOO well...

or:

Miguel O'Hara visits with his ex-girlfriend turned friend, Xina Kwan, until, like always, things don't go quite as planned, and Miguel has to explain some rather strange truths about himself, such as why Xina could see fangs when he smiled.

------------------------------------

the world needs more xina and miguel content, and i am all too happy to supply it.

xinamiguel lovers, this one is for you!! they're not explicitly stated to be together, so it can be read as either platonic or romantic, but it is entirely possible to read some of what happens as romantic tension. THIS IS CANON COMPLIANT, OKAY?? WE CAN'T KEEP PRETENDING THAT THEY DIDN'T STILL KINDA LOVE EACH OTHER EVEN AFTER THEY BROKE UP IN THE COMICS. dana lovers, beware of dana slander. i'd say i'm sorry but it would be a lie. we stan xina here.

also, an extra bonus for those of you who just want to see miguel be a guy for once. oh yeah, that's right, in this ao3 fanfiction i offer you a miguel o'hara that ISN'T just angry all the time. you wanna see this man have a good time? you wanna see him interact with someone without being an asshole the entire time??? you wanna see how this man acts when he's not under the pressure of holding together the entire multiverse??????? WELL HERE HE IS. comic accurate miguel. come get y'all juice.

gentle reminder that i also take requests if any of you have an idea itching at the back of your brain but don't wanna write it XD

content is below the cut because it is LONG. ao3 link is in the reblogs as always. please enjoy!! <3

------------------------------------

It would be impossible to overstate just how much Xina Kwan meant to Miguel O’Hara.

The two had known each other from the time they were young children, back when it had felt like it was them two against the world – and, really, the sentiment wasn’t too far off considering how desperately Kron Stone had wanted to make their lives living hell, up until he decided they didn’t deserve their lives at all – and to say that they were close would be an understatement. So close, in fact, that once they’d matured from intelligent youth to genius adults (and Miguel, from an arrogant child to an even more arrogant adult), the two had gotten together.

Then, of course, Miguel had ruined it by being his selfish, self-absorbed self; though, in the moment, he hadn’t thought it was a mistake to leave Xina for Dana. There’d been a part of him that regretted hurting Xina the way he had, but Dana was a gorgeous, loving woman who never thought him any less than perfect, and Xina… Xina hadn’t let him be content in being the bastard that he was. At the time, he hadn’t liked that about her.

Now, after it was already too late and Miguel had ruined things with Dana, too, he could see how stupid he was for choosing what was easy over what was best. Just another failure to chalk up to the heroic Spider-Man.

It was true that Dana loved him, and it was even true that he loved her back, but it had taken a lot of suffering and bullshit to realise that loving someone wasn’t necessarily enough for them to be good for you. He probably should have known that already, considering the state of his own family, but that would have required any level of self-reflection, and that was still a rather new skill for him, all things considered.

What he knew now, though, was that Xina had never apologised to Miguel’s dad on his behalf, claiming that he didn’t mean his vitriol when he did. Xina had never tried to love George O’Hara when they both knew he didn’t deserve it, and she certainly hadn’t tried to convince Miguel to love him, too. Dana believed that he’d cried at his father’s funeral because he genuinely felt sorrow, and Miguel hadn’t had the heart to tell her otherwise. Somehow, even after everything, she still didn’t seem to understand that some people didn’t deserve love or pity, and that, even if George somehow did, Miguel would never have deigned to give it to him. Though, there was also a part of him that found himself wondering how she hadn’t seemed to get that he didn’t deserve it either.

Complicated and distressing feelings aside, there were simply things that Dana let Miguel get away with that she shouldn’t – like being arrogant, and “pompous” (or so Xina had said, at least, and, frankly, Miguel was starting to believe her), and uncaring towards the world that so desperately needed to be cared for – and there were things she wouldn’t let go that she should – like his relationship with his father, and his mother, and Gabriel, as if she hadn’t hurt him, too; as if she didn’t use the fact that Gabriel used to love her to keep him from being angry with her.

If honesty was what you were looking for – something Miguel had never been very good at, especially when it came to the difficult truths about himself – he would say that, despite his initial regret over his hasty break up with Dana on the day that he found out about his biological father and the truth of his… condition, it was a bit of a relief. They had been in love, but that wasn’t enough. Miguel had adored her, but she’d made him a worse person and he’d hurt her in kind, and, while he might not have cared about that fact before, he did now.

Running from the difficult confrontations and hiding in easy love that allowed him to fester in his grief was a choice he’d made back when he’d cheated on Xina, but he could see now that it was a poor one.

And, really, if honesty was what you were looking for – which, really, was asking a lot of Miguel – he would say that he missed Xina. Maybe not necessarily in a romantic sense (though, he couldn’t quite be sure), but it didn’t really matter, when it came down to it.

There was a reason that Miguel had insisted so fervently that LYLA be fixed. Sure, maybe it was, in part, due to her comforting familiarity in a time that was, undeniably, full of the terrifying unfamiliar, but it was also because LYLA was a product of Xina; she was a constant reminder of the person that Miguel had cared for so much and, frankly, still did. He hadn’t wanted to let that go, and maybe that should have told him something even before things ended with Dana, but Miguel had never been very good at facing difficult feelings. That’s why Dana had been so addicting, and why he’d wronged Xina when he shouldn’t have.

Xina had always been a bigger person than he had, though, and, somehow, she’d found it in herself to forgive him for what he’d done. If Miguel still wasn’t so afraid of what voicing his relief and appreciation might cause, he’d thank her. Maybe one day.

For now, though, the two could be friends as they once were; or, at least, something close to it. It was a nice change of pace, to be able to talk to someone that didn’t want something from him, one way or another. Though, admittedly, that was likely, in part, due to the fact that Xina’s expectations of him were still depressingly low.

It hurt a bit, but Miguel was aware that he’d more than earned it.

For now, mercifully, the difficult conversations could wait, and Miguel could pretend to be nothing more than Miguel O’Hara: bastard of a man that was doing his damndest to become less of one; not Spider-Man and whatever being him meant.

Or, at least, that was what he’d thought. He’d never really been that fortunate.

“Miguel O’Hara,” Xina exclaimed with faux fury, a hand placed firmly on her hip and a brow quirked upward as she attempted to bite back her smile behind a snarl. Her other hand laid casually on the door handle, and Miguel could already see all sorts of twencen junk just a few feet inside her home. “And just what, pray tell, are you doing here?”

“Xina Kwan,” Miguel returned, matching her energy as he, too, placed his hands on his hips and scowled. “I should ask you the same thing.”

Losing the fight against her amusement, Xina desperately tried to obscure her laugh with a scoff. “I remember you being smarter,” she mused. “I live here, as a matter of fact.”

As if the notion was news to him, Miguel’s eyes widened, and he straightened up, making a show of looking around the doorstep and peeking past her shoulder into the house before he raised his brows. “Well, sure enough,” he hummed. “Fancy that. May I come in?”

Sighing, Xina allowed a smile to slip onto her face, and she pushed the door aside, gesturing half-heartedly. “Yes, I suppose, but don’t touch anything. I don’t know what you’re contaminated with.”

“Charming, as always, Xina,” Miguel hummed as he entered. He fixed her with his own smile, and, like usual, took care to ensure that his fangs remained concealed. “I was going to say you were a better doorman than that robot of yours, but now I’m not so sure.”

“What’s wrong with Jack?” The words were accompanied by the sharp slam of a door, and Miguel couldn’t help but to smirk as he turned to see the annoyance on her face.

“He still calls me ‘Miguel the creep,’” he hummed, idly picking up some sort of blocky looking plastic brick with buttons on the side and some sort of antennae coming out of the top. 

Immediately, Xina smacked his hand, and Miguel hissed at the feeling but placed the object back on the table nonetheless. “Does he?” she asked, eyes wide as if she genuinely didn’t know. Which was shocking bullshit. “That’s so strange. I wonder who taught him that.”

“I have a few ideas,” Miguel murmured, rubbing his hand with a pointed look.

“Well, now, let’s not get accusatory.” Xina straightened the item he’d moved, brushing it off gently. She paused, examined the object once more, then moved it slightly to the left before nodding affirmatively.

All the while, Miguel could only watch in muted fascination. “What is that thing?”

“Some twencen tech!” she immediately chirped, eager as always to talk about her number one favourite hobby. “It’s called a ‘walkie-talkie.’”

Miguel’s head cocked to the side, a brow raising. “A whatie-what?”

“A ‘walkie-talkie,’” Xina repeated slowly, grabbing his ear and pulling it to her lips as she spoke, much to Miguel’s chagrin. He batted her away, though couldn’t quite squash down a smile. “It’s basically what they used before holo-messages. I just wish I had another one so I could use it for something besides collecting dust. They only work with a pair,” she huffed.

Again, Miguel picked up the object, taking care in his movement, and, this time, Xina let him. He turned the walkie-talkie curiously in his hands, impressed by its weight when it supposedly had such a simple function. He’d never really understood her obsession with the twentieth century. From what he’d read, things really weren’t all that much better than they were now. He’d been working on a goober – though LYLA liked to call it a gizmo, mostly to spite him, he’s sure – to potentially see for himself in another universe, if he didn’t, y’know… die in the process.

That was later Miguel’s issue, though, and a worthy risk if he might be able to bring Xina a matching machine to complete her set. He didn’t get her obsession, but he didn’t have to. It was important to her, and that’s what was important to him.

Almost inaudible in his concentrated confusion, he mumbled, “Qué extraño…”

“What was that?”

“I said ‘super cool.’”

With another huff, Xina took the artefact from his hands once more, placing it back down onto the table. “Yeah, alright, you liar.”

Despite the practised angry tone, Miguel could see the way her lips quirked up in a smile, and he couldn’t help but snicker a bit. She’d always known him too well to believe nice lies. It was part of the reason why Miguel used to be so afraid of her, though the admission was something he still hadn’t quite come to terms with. Afraid was a strong word, but it was also an accurate one. Miguel was afraid to be seen for what he was, because he was even more afraid that he was something not worth seeing. Xina had never seemed to agree with that sentiment, though.

“Okay, maybe I don’t get it,” he admitted, hands on his hips once more.

“Of course you don’t,” Xina returned, cruel teasing words accompanied by a sweet smile. “I was always much smarter than you.”

“Har, har,” he said sarcastically. “Very funny.”

“Who said I was joking?” Then, before Miguel could respond, “how are you and… Diana, was it?”

“Dana.”

“Yeah, that one,” she said, snappily enough that it was clear that she’d actually known the answer all along, which Miguel was well aware of, considering how LYLA had returned to him with intricately coded insults specifically in Dana’s name. “You haven’t talked about her in a while. Did you two finally break up?”

Without missing a beat, Miguel fixed her with a sarcastic smile. “Yes, actually! Thanks so much for asking.”

Despite the nature of the question, his answer seemed to genuinely catch Xina off guard, her eyes going wide and mouth falling open. Her eyes searched his face as her brows furrowed, a mixture of guilt and some kind of indecipherable relief shining in her gaze as the gears turned in her mind and grasped for a response. It was almost amusing to see Xina so stumped when, normally, she was so quick on the draw. There were very few times that Miguel had seen her well and truly left without words, though, unfortunately, the twinge of bitterness and healthy dose of grief made it difficult to enjoy to its fullest.

“Congratulations,” she blurted, then immediately cringed at herself, a hand coming up to her forehead with an audible smack, and, admittedly, Miguel’s eyes widened a considerable degree, too. “Wait, fuck-” she backtracked. “That’s not what I meant at all. I’m sorry, Mig-”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Miguel hastily interrupted, pushing down hurt and hiding it behind a quirked brow. “What did you just say?”

Shrinking in on herself, Xina cringed again. “Congratulations?”

“No, no, not that,” he said, and a hand waved her off almost dismissively. “The other thing.”

“I’m… sorry?” she tried again, brows furrowed in confusion. Her arms, which she’d wrapped tightly around her shoulders, loosened their grip, though the tension didn’t leave her.

Miguel shook his head with another wave of his hand. “Not that either. The f-word.”

Eyes narrowing, Xina tilted her head forward. “Fuck?”

A short, breathless laugh fell from his mouth. “Oh, my god,” he nearly whispered, his eyes wide behind his sunglasses. “What are you, a millennial?”

“Wha-” Again, Xina’s eyes went wide, and her hands fell from her shoulders completely. “Miguel, are you kidding? That’s what you’re upset about? Me saying fuck?”

Face deadly serious, Miguel nodded once more as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Nobody says ‘fuck’ anymore. I know you’re into the whole twencen thing, but cursing is a sacred thing. You need to act like a civilised human being and say ‘shock.’”

As if she was entirely unsure how to react, Xina’s mouth still hung open uselessly, her eyes searching Miguel’s almost urgently. When all she was met with was his carefully practised mask of apathy, she managed a surprised scoff and picked her jaw up from off of the floor. Miguel, to his credit, managed to hold himself together, too, and raised a brow.

“You’re unbelievable,” she sputtered.

“Thank you,” came the response.

Then, “No, you are genuinely…” but she didn’t finish, the words trailing off, and Xina’s eyes narrowed once more. She leaned back on her feet, managing to actually look somewhat intimidating despite how much shorter she was than Miguel. Her arms crossed, and she fixed him with an unimpressed look that made his skin crawl just a bit. “I see what you’re doing.”

“I’m not doing anything,” he lied through his teeth, trying desperately to keep the tension out of his shoulders.

“No, no, you are,” Xina insisted, no longer falling for his antics. “I’ve known you since we were kids, Miguel. I know all of your stupid little tricks, probably better than you know them yourself.” She approached him, and, really, despite Miguel quite literally towering over her, he still felt small under her glare. “I’m gonna apologise to you, whether you like it or not.”

“Xina,” Miguel began uneasily, giving her his best attempt at a placating smile. “Come on… Let’s not be rash. I cheated on you, and you told me ‘congratulations’ when I broke up with my fiancée. We can just call it even.”

“Alright, first of all,” Xina began, a finger waving in Miguel’s face.

“Oh, boy.”

“Those two things are not comparable,” she hissed, though Miguel’s attention was mostly on the way that her finger moved in front of him. “And second of all-”

“Right.”

“I am better than you.”

“Uh huh.”

“I apologise to people when I hurt them, even if they don’t deserve it.”

“Oh, great.”

“So, I- Are you even listening?” 

At that, her hand stilled, and Miguel frowned, his eyes refocusing on her face. “What?”

“Unbelievable.”

“I’m kidding! Come on, let’s just forget about it,” Miguel practically pleaded. “We can watch one of those twencen movies you like. One with that actress you really like, uh…” He trailed off, face screwed up in focus, mumbling, “ay, ¿cómo se llama?” then, with a snap of his fingers, “Marilyn Monroe!”

Xina placed her hands on her hips, brows furrowed as she eyed him. “You’re really sad about it, huh?”

A scowl found its way onto Miguel’s face once more, and he ran a hand over his face and through his hair in exasperation. “Ámi, I don’t know how I can be any clearer that I do not want to talk about it, or even think about it, for that matter.”

“Alright, alright,” Xina relented, raising her hands in surrender. There was a beat before she snickered a bit, shoving Miguel’s arm with a smile that was a bit too soft. “Look at Miguelito! He grew a heart, eh? What’d you do with the real Miguel?”

Despite the teasing, Miguel couldn’t help but to return her smile. “I guess someone got fed up with his ‘pompous’ attitude and killed him,” he answered, and the two laughed.

In a way, Miguel knew that it was irresponsible and selfish to hold all of his hurt as close to his chest as possible only to inevitably lash out when someone happened to push the wrong buttons. More than anything, he was terrified of being like his father; or, step-father, rather. George O’Hara had chosen the worst possible way to express his feelings, and it had, admittedly, left Miguel terrified to express his at all. It felt safer to just keep them to himself, up until the point that he couldn’t take it anymore and ended up taking it out on someone else, and, in the moment immediately after, Miguel realised just how much like George O’Hara he really was.

The thought was enough to make him feel sick, and it just made him work even harder to be everything his father wasn’t, for better or for worse.

George O’Hara never would have taken up the mantle of Spider-Man, and, even if he had, he certainly wouldn’t have used the position for any damn good. Knowing the bastard, he probably would have used his abilities to come up with new and improved ways to torment his family. If Miguel couldn’t say he was better than his father in any other way, at least he could say that he was better than him in that.

Still, there were more days than Miguel liked to admit that he wondered whether he was doing the right thing by trying to use his powers for good, or if he really was just using it to boost his own ego like Gabriel had accused him of.

“Hey,” came Xina’s gentle call, her hand pressed against his bicep gently, grounding him. “Have you ever heard of Pac-Man?”

Miguel was quiet for a moment, then, “not even once.”

“Oh, man,” she said, her face cracking into a smile, “prepare to have your mind blown.”

To say Miguel’s mind was not blown would be an understatement. Of course, he knew by now that the things Xina found to be completely mind blowing were entirely different from the things Miguel would be impressed by, but, even with reasonably low expectations, this was a disappointment. She’d led him through her house, skillfully weaving around the organised clutter of twencen artefacts, then stopped – with the biggest, proudest smile Miguel had ever seen from her – in front of a rectangle with two buttons, a stick, and a screen. He raised a brow at the thing, then peeked over to Xina again.

“Well?” she prompted, gesturing to the box and confirming that Miguel wasn’t mistaken and that the real thing wasn’t hidden behind the rectangle. “What do you think?”

Again, his eyes slid over the thing, and, yeah, it really was just a couple of buttons and a stick, but, nevertheless, he smiled. “Consider my mind blown.”

“Yeah, alright,” she huffed. “Thanks for humouring me. I swear it gets better.” Xina beamed as she pulled the cabinet away from the wall with some degree of effort and pulled what looked to be some sort of tail from the object. Miguel watched in muted fascination as she stuck the thing into some sort of specially made device that connected the thing to the building’s power source… with a wire? Who would want that?

All at once, the thing’s screen flared to life with so few neon coloured pixels that they barely even made shapes but, somehow, managed to be bright enough to hurt anyway, making Miguel flinch even behind his sunglasses. Coupled with the almost ear-piercing music and sound effects that accompanied it, he could safely say that he was less impressed than he was bothered. As Xina once again turned her smile to him, gesturing to the screen with all of the enthusiasm of a child, Miguel wouldn’t have dared to say it aloud.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said, and that much, at least, was true.

“I know, I know. It’s pretty awesome,” Xina bubbled, and her smile turned mischievous. “The best part? It’s two player.”

That made Miguel raise a brow in genuine interest. “It’s a game?”

“Finally have your interest, huh?” she teased. “It is a game. One of the first, actually.”

Miguel peered at the screen again, watching yellow pixels dart across, occasionally followed by red, blue, pink, or orange. His head cocked to the side, and he took a bit of a hesitant step closer. “How do you play?”

With a snicker, Xina rubbed her hands together before lacing them together and pushing them forward with an accompanying crack. “Watch and learn, rookie.”

As it turned out, Pac-Man was actually a relatively simple game; you (the yellow munching thing, though Miguel did not get an answer as to what it was other than “he’s Pac-Man!”) needed to travel through the maze and eat all of the dots (why, Xina couldn’t tell him) and avoid getting touched by the multicoloured “ghosts” that would chase you throughout the map (which, again, Xina couldn’t explain, but maybe it didn’t matter). There was also fruit that occasionally popped up for some reason – though all it really seemed to do was increase score – and bigger dots that turned the ghosts blue (“Xina, there’s already a blue ghost.” “Well, these are bluer.”) and made them edible, apparently. Though, the ghosts never stayed dead; whereas Pac-Man only got three lives. Miguel commented on the unfairness of it, but Xina didn’t seem particularly interested.

So, all that said, it should have been a pretty easy game. Xina certainly made it look easy, weaving between ghosts with ease and timing her dot collection just right to ensure that she could take out each enemy in one fell swoop. She only played a few levels, noting that the ghosts would get faster and faster, before she intentionally lost so the two of them could play together; which was the same as single player except the game forced you to take turns. Whoopie.

As easy as the game looked, though, Miguel ate his words more than he ate dots as he struggled through his first life.

“What the- What the shock?!” he hissed as he got stuck in a corner for the fifth time, struggling to time the joystick movement with the direction he wanted to go. He whirled to face his companion again, eyes blown wide with frustration. “Xina, it’s shocking broken. It’s these controls, I swear. They’re ancient. Are you sure it’s working?”

Barely containing her laughter, Xina gestured to the screen. “The game’s still going, Mig.”

“¡Chale!” Miguel all but screeched as he turned back to the game, furiously pulling at the joystick once more. “Este jodido juego es tan… ¡Qué mierda! Ay, no, no, no… Aléjense de mí, ¡cabrones! No quiero que me toquen, por favor, moriré- Ah! No! Shit, shit- ¡Coño! Shock!”

As the yellow pixels curled in on themselves in death, Miguel wailed at the screen in frustration, though he perked up as he heard the distinct sound of wheezing from behind him. Concerned for a moment, he quickly turned to check on Xina before his concerned expression fell away into annoyance once more. Xina was laughing so hard her face had turned red, cheeks wet with tears as she barely held herself up against a nearby dresser.

“Oh, yeah, laugh it the shock up, asshole,” Miguel grumbled, though the words came out sounding half-hearted at best.

“You are- so bad!” Xina managed to get out through wheezes. “I don’t think I’ve heard you curse that much ever!” With a short yelp, her hand slipped off of her crutch, and she slipped to the floor – thankfully harmlessly – and her fist pounded against the carpeting like a lifeline as she started to laugh once more.

Unimpressed, Miguel squatted down beside her. “Hey, Xina.”

Taking a few more moments to learn how to breathe again, Xina only hummed, glancing up to him with tears still streaking down her cheeks and eyes crinkled in a smile.

Miguel jerked a hand towards the screen, giving her his own grin. “The game’s still going.”

All at once, her laughter died away, and she rocketed to her feet, nearly taking Miguel out in the process. “Fuck!”

Then, it was his turn to laugh as she scrambled to get away from the oncoming enemies, though Xina was certainly much more successful in the endeavour than he was, managing to make it through a couple more levels despite her setback before she finally took her first death. 

With a grandiose laugh, she turned back to Miguel and grinned. “Beat that, bitch!”

Scoffing, Miguel took the joystick into his hand and leaned in close to the screen. “Easily.”

Unfortunately, he did not, in fact, “beat that,” bitch. 

In reality, Miguel only managed to make it through the first level, then near immediately lost his last two lives at the very beginning of the second one while, in the intermission between his second and third life, Xina made it all the way to level twenty-six. Needless to say, she had not only beaten him but, also, thoroughly humiliated him in the process. Not that Miguel could possibly be frustrated with the loss when Xina was smiling at him the way she was. In that moment, it really was like nothing had changed, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t make him feel lighter than he had in years.

Leaning over her shoulder as Xina prepared herself for last life, she bounced on the balls of her feet and took a deep breath.

“What’s with the face?” Miguel questioned, startling her out of her focus and making her yelp, and he snickered a bit before whispering an apology. “You’ve already beat me, ámi. By no small number, might I, regretfully, add.”

Without so much as a glance towards him, Xina scoffed, the sound accompanied by the skillful flick of the joystick every which way. “Not everything’s about you, Miguel. I’ve almost beaten my highscore.”

A beat, as he remembered just how much effort she’d put into ensuring she beat him. “...You’re sure it’s not even about me a little bit?”

“Shut up,” she hissed. “I’m trying to focus.”

“Alright, alright,” he snickered, putting his attention onto the game right alongside her.

Pac-Man is, admittedly, not as much of a disappointment as Miguel had initially chalked it up to be. In fact, he might even go so far as to say that he was wrong entirely and that the game was actually rather fun, though he wasn’t sure that it would be entirely fair to attribute his amusement to the game so much as the person he was playing it with. At the end of the day, it was just a few pixels on a screen – something that was over a century obsolete and had long since been replaced with far more complex and involved experiences – but there wasn’t anything that could ever possibly equal the time he spent with Xina or make him feel the way her laugh did.

…He’d forgotten the way that she stuck the tip of her tongue out when she was focusing.

As three of the four ghosts closed in on Xina, Miguel couldn’t help but wince. “Uh… please tell me you’ve beaten it.”

“Fuck!” was all he got in response, then, “this fucking game is so… What the hell?! Oh, no, no, no… Get away from me, bastards! I don’t want you to touch me, please, I’ll die- Ah! No! Shit, shit- Fuck! Fuck!”

Yellow pixels curled in on themselves in death as Xina wailed at the screen, and Miguel could barely hold himself up from the force of his laughter, mouth wide open as he cackled unabashedly. His chest heaved desperately for air, only for it to come out in more snorts and snickers, and Xina, clearly just as amused with the situation as he was, turned to him with a poor imitation of a scowl, her lips pulled up wide into a smile.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it the fuck up, asshole,” she chided light-heartedly.

Then, all at once, her smile dropped, and her eyes went wide. The suddenness of it all was enough to near instantly cut off Miguel’s laughter, too, though his smile didn’t quite fall away yet. It warped into something nervous, and a few more uncomfortable laughs fell from him, his brows furrowing into something concerned.

“...What?” he asked cautiously. “What’s wrong?”

Xina didn’t say a word, though she approached him with her own skittishness, taking his cheek in her hand and leaning in close, and Miguel’s face flushed bright red.

There was a moment, however brief, that he was sure that she was going to kiss him.

Then, her finger hooked his upper lip and pulled it upwards, her eyes widening even further as her breath hitched, and, even then, Miguel still didn’t quite get it. It wasn’t until she spoke, voice shaky and small, that he understood.

“Fangs.”

A terrified bolt of dread lanced straight into Miguel’s chest, getting lodged there and weighing him down; stealing his air. His body immediately went tense, his eyes wide, and a trembling hand reached up and ghosted Xina’s, gently pulling it away from his face.

“Xina.” His voice came out strained, equally as small as hers.

“Miguel, you- you have fangs,” she nearly whispered, as if it was some sort of horrifying secret that might get her into trouble if she said it just a bit too loud.

“Xina, I… I can explain.”

With a squeak, she pulled out of his grasp, and he let her. She held her hand close to her chest, as if he’d somehow burned it, and her mouth hung agape in abject horror. “What happened to you? Miguel, I- I know where you work. I know what you do. What did you… What did you do to yourself?”

“It’s not like that,” he breathed, though the truth wasn’t far enough off.

“Then what is it like?” Xina demanded, though the way her voice wavered made the command fall flat. “What happened to you?”

“It was an accident,” and that, at least, was the truth.

“An accident?” she echoed. The way that it was said made it clear she wasn’t quite buying it. “So, what, you meant to alter your own genetics in another way?”

“No,” Miguel shot back in horror, then, “well- well, yes, but-”

“Oh, my god.” Xina blanched. “Miguel-”

“No, no, it’s not-”

“Yes, ‘it’s not like that,’ I know.”

“No, Xina,” he cried. “Just-”

“I really thought you’d changed,” she muttered, trembling. “I really thought-

“Please,” he pleaded, taking a step forward, “just-”

“Miguel,” Xina interrupted again shakily, stepping back in kind. “How can you possibly justify this?”

Dismayed, Miguel backed away, too, hands raised. “I can explain, Xina. Please-”

“Then do it, Miguel!”

“I’m trying. Please, just-”

“Just what?”

“Just listen!” Miguel finally shouted, brows furrowed and hands gesturing in frustrated desperation.

A scream tore from Xina’s throat and she stumbled away, her hands shooting up in front of her as if to push him away, and Miguel choked away a scream of his own, his eyes going wide. Her gaze fixated on his hands, chest heaving desperately.

“Claws!” she screeched. “You’re- You’re a monster!”

“No, I-” Peering down to his raised hands where his talons had inadvertently popped out, he gasped and immediately retracted them, glancing back up to Xina with his own look of horror. He looked distraught, face screwed up in distress, and he stepped backwards once more. Claws, fangs, yelling just as his father had, and Xina looked just as terrified as he’d felt. He loathed himself at the thought. “I- I am. I am a monster.”

Xina’s expression shifted, though only minutely, as she remained poised for fight or flight, breaths still coming in short gasps.

“I’m sorry, Xina,” Miguel sobbed, and his hands moved to clasp over his chest to steady himself. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled. I didn’t mean to- I didn’t mean to scare you. Please, I… I wouldn’t hurt you, Xina. Never. Never. Not like that.”

There was quiet again for a moment, and Xina’s eyes narrowed, sliding over him in suspicion; over his hands, to his mouth, then, to his eyes. Her eyes met his through his shades, and he carefully, hesitantly, raised a trembling hand to remove them, giving her full view of his eyes and all of the ways they had changed. Again she gasped, met with bright red as opposed to the brown Miguel knew she was accustomed to, and his breath hitched once more. He hoped that his eyes didn’t hold the same agony he felt, though he wasn’t sure he was so lucky; pain never was something that allowed itself to be quietly hidden away. Maybe that was another reason for the sunglasses.

Seconds ticked by, and they simply stared at one another, words drowned by terror and uncertainty that stole the air from both of their lungs, then Xina’s brows furrowed, and her eyes softened ever so slightly. She took a hesitant breath and stepped forward, reaching a hand out.

Breathless, Miguel eyed her hand and shuffled a bit back.

With a frown, Xina once more approached him, fear replaced by determination. “It’s alright,” she said, kindness in her voice, so sweet it almost felt placating, and it probably was. “It’s okay, Miguel. I’m listening now. I’m sorry I didn’t before.”

This time, he didn’t move away, but he still hesitated to take her hand.

“Come on, Miggy,” she urged. “I was just… startled. I know you’d never hurt me.” She wiggled her hand a bit, frowning at him. “I shouldn’t have called you a monster,” Xina mumbled, her voice breaking. “You’re not a monster. Fuck, I’m so sorry, Miguel.”

With an exceptional amount of gentleness, Miguel inched forward and took her hand into his. He fearfully met her eyes, all of his hurt on full display, then, “What… What did you say?”

Her eyes shone with sorrow, and she gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m sorry, Miguel. I should’ve never said what I did.”

“No, not that,” he gently corrected. “The other thing.”

Xina’s head cocked to the side, then, all at once, her eyes went wide. “Miguel.”

“The f-word…” he whispered with almost reverent horror.

Laughing wetly, Xina stepped forward and used her free hand to beat against his chest. “You’re unbelievable!” Her fist came to rest against him gently, and she frowned. “Fangs, claws, red eyes, and you really haven’t changed a bit. I should’ve known.”

“I’m Spider-Man,” Miguel blurted, and Xina made a choked sound, looking back up at him.

“Alright, maybe you’ve changed a little.”

A hand came up to ghost Xina’s cheek, and he gently wiped away her silent tears. “Is that a bad thing?”

She leaned into his touch, though her eyes remained fixed on his. “I… I don’t know. Is it?”

Miguel frowned, looking away. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I’m… I’m trying to be good; better than I was before.”

“Well,” she hummed, removing her hand from his chest and placing it over the one placed on her cheek, “that’s all you can really do, I guess. For the record, I think you’re better already. The old you never would have risked his neck for someone else.” A beat. “Or apologised. Or pretended to like some twencen stuff just because I do.”

“The game was fun,” Miguel confessed.

Again, Xina hummed, a small smile on her face. “You really think so?”

“I do.”

“Well, gee, how bad of a change could you have possibly gone through, then?” she teased half-heartedly. “Seems like it gave you better taste.”

“Har, har,” he huffed sarcastically. “Very funny.”

“Who said I was joking?” Then, before Miguel could respond, “I really am sorry, you know. For calling you a monster.”

Immediately, he fixed her with a frown, averting his eyes once more as all of the hurt from before returned. “Aw, shock. And here I’d thought my sly tactic had worked this time.”

With a sad laugh, Xina patted his hand, gently pulling it away from her face and holding it down by where their other pair were still interlocked. “On me? Never.”

Miguel glanced down at their linked hands, thinking of his claws and how terrified Xina had been of them mere minutes earlier. Aaron had been terrified of them too, back when the guy had tried to kill Miguel and gotten himself killed instead, and he’d had a right to be when Miguel had shredded his skin without even realising he was doing it. How many times could one person accidentally hurt someone else before it meant that he was simply something evil and wrong; a monster. 

Exhaling shakily, Miguel’s face fell, his shoulders sagging as he tried hard to keep back tears. “Well, you were right. I am.”

“Miguel O’Hara,” Xina hissed, squeezing his hands hard; enough to make him wince.

His eyes met hers again, unwavering. “Xina Kwan.”

She didn’t speak, her expression screwing up into that same withering glare she’d fixed him with earlier, but Miguel still didn’t back down.

“You said it yourself,” he retorted to her silent disagreement. “I messed with something I shouldn’t have, and now I’m here.” The next words were spat, like venom. “A monster.”

“You are not a monster,” Xina seethed once more, as unwilling to give in as he was.

It was times like these that made Miguel less grateful how stubborn she was. It was also times like these that reminded Miguel why he’d left her for Dana; though, even more strongly, why he shouldn’t have. And, really, it was times like these that actually made Miguel all the more grateful that she was, in fact, as stubborn as she was. He knew well that he’d back down before she did. He always had. As arrogant and self-absorbed as Miguel may have been, he was also a coward. Xina had never been a coward.

“Monsters are scary, Miguel,” she continued, insistent as always. “You’re hardly scary.”

Scoffing, Miguel rolled his eyes, brows furrowed. “You seemed pretty afraid of me.”

“Startled,” Xina quickly corrected. “There’s a difference. I could hardly be afraid of someone who can’t even beat me in Pac-Man.”

He laughed shortly, glancing at her with narrowed eyes. “That’s your standard?”

“For you it is,” she smirked up at him, “because it’s never going to happen.”

“You’re unbelievable,” he said.

“Thank you,” came the response.

Looking about as pleased as he felt, Miguel gave in, his head falling forward with a sigh. “You don’t even know what happened,” he mumbled. “What if that changes your mind?”

“You said it was an accident,” she said, leaning her own head forward so she could still see his eyes.

“It was,” he immediately confirmed, a little too desperately. “It was, but…” He paused, teeth gritting as he struggled to get the words out. It was difficult for him to tell if he just didn’t know what to say, or if he was too afraid to actually say it. Both options were equally as likely, and, also, equally as frustrating. “I… If I’d been smarter- If I’d just been more careful in the first place, then I never would have needed to- I wouldn’t have had to- Because I had to, Xina, I swear. Or- Or I thought I did. You have to understand that I- I didn’t want to… But if I’d just- I don’t know. If I’d done better- If I’d been better I… I wouldn’t be…”

When he trailed off for the second time, lips pursed with frustration both at his past self for everything that had gone wrong and for his current self for messing this up, too, Xina hummed and graced his hand with another comforting squeeze, forcing him to look up at her and meet her gaze with misty eyes.

“It’s okay, Miguel,” she gently assured. “You don’t have to tell me. You may have been pompous-”

“I was not pompous.”

“-but you were never stupid, do you hear me? Arrogance or not, I don’t pin you as the kind of man to mess with his genetics just for fun,” Xina conceded, and a bit of the tension left Miguel’s shoulders. Then, she huffed, smiling teasingly and clearly trying to lighten the mood. “Especially since you so clearly thought you were perfect already.”

Miguel glowered at her, though it wasn’t very intimidating with his hands still gently held by hers and eyes still red with unshed tears. “Pushing your luck with the guy with claws. Not very smart.”

“Yeah, yeah. Beat me at Pac-Man, and then try threatening me again.” She laughed, meeting his eyes with her own sparkling with empathetic grief; there was a distinct lack of fear where there had been before, and Miguel couldn’t help but to let out a small breath of relief. She must have heard it because she gripped his hand tightly once more. 

“You don’t have to tell me what happened,” Xina repeated, firm. “It wasn’t intentional. That’s what I was really worried about. That would have been scary.” She brought their hands up between them, glancing to them and smiling. “Claws or not, you’re still the same old Miguel.”

Miguel’s eyes locked onto their hands, too, and he managed to return a small smile. The relief was both light and heavy at the same time, making his shoulders sag in exhaustion as all of the tension and adrenaline resided and left him with the familiar fatigue of the moment the fight ended and he felt safe once more. Although he’d never say it out loud – knowing well that he’d be teased for it – Miguel could firmly admit that none of the foes he’d faced as Spider-Man had ever scared him half as much as this, and, in turn, they’d never left him with half of the respite after the fact.

“Maybe I’ll tell you one day,” he murmured. “Not yet.”

“Whenever you want, Miguel,” Xina replied, genuine, then, after a beat, “I do have one question, though.”

Frowning, Miguel hesitated again.

“It’s really simple, I promise!” she reassured, shaking his hands with a bit of a laugh. “You don’t have to answer. Just hear me out.”

Only minimally soothed, he let out a long sound of dismay that ended with an exasperated, “fine. Shoot.”

Then, face beaming, Xina asked the most stupid question Miguel could have possibly thought of, “Are you a vampire?”

For a moment, he could only stare, too surprised to even remember how to show it. Then, his eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head to the side with a pointed look. “I remember you being smarter,” he deadpanned.

Finally, Xina pulled her hands out of his, raising them in surrender with a vivacious laugh. “I just had to be sure!”

“Oh, you just had to be sure. Of course,” Miguel echoed, unamused. “Well, I hope you’re satisfied with yourself, idiota.” He huffed, arms crossed over his chest.

“Quite satisfied, as a matter of fact,” she shot back, and how could he be mad when she was smiling at him like that.

Biting back a laugh, he tried harder to maintain his frown. “You’re the worst, do you know that? Just the worst.”

“Aw, come on,” she tutted. “If I’m so bad, then why were we a couple?” Xina smirked, quoting his own words from their reunion all those weeks ago.

Then, Miguel couldn’t hold back his smile anymore, returning her exact response. “Because I felt sorry for you,” he quoted. “And it bugged my dad.”

“As good of a reason as any,” she hummed, a hand resting on her hip. Then, her eyes narrowed as she seemed to realise something. “You know, I know I made fun of you for that wall crawling joke back then, but, knowing what I know now, it actually is funny.”

A short huff of surprise fell from Miguel’s mouth at the statement, and he was reminded again just how different Xina Kwan was from Dana D’Angelo; someone who certainly wouldn’t understand what had happened to him, and someone who had pushed him for the truth even when he’d begged her not to; not Xina Kwan; not the person who’d believed he could be better even when he didn’t want to be and encouraged him once he finally did. The realisation was a pleasant one – a rare moment of pure glee that he revelled in amidst all of the sorrow he’d been surrounded by as of late – and his face was overtaken by a wide smile, red eyes crinkling in joy and fangs on full display as he laughed once more.

This time, Xina didn’t even flinch, just laughing along with him.

#blaise writes #miguel o'hara #xina kwan #xinamiguel #spiderman 2099 #spiderman 2099 comics #spider man 2099 #atsv #astv fanfiction #fanfiction #hurt/comfort #angst #i think about them so much #we never got to see xina find out that miguel was spider-man in the comics #and i think that's a travesty #but also miguel literally would have never told her #so i have to meet in the middle a little bit

[thepeculiarbird]

Find Five Lines tag

@kaylinalexanderbooks and @jezifster tagged me in this so let's do it.

Rules: find any lines in your WIP that fit each parameter given by the person who tagged you. Then change one of the parameters and tag five or more people. Can be lines from multiple WIPs. If you can't find a line that fits, feel free to change the prompt.

A line about a weapon

We wait a few minutes sitting there, my biggest fear is this woman coming back and seeing us, her targets. Should I run? Or will she be faster? Does she have a gun? Should I sacrifice myself? Do I let my friend and girlfriend go first? Do I run away and hope that Noe and Danae survive? This is the game of who will run the fastest.

A passionate line

"-Then you can stick your fingers up your ass! There's no way I'm hanging around a cult just because two women were murdered!

- We're the ones who'll be killed if we don't neutralise it!

- So I'm supposed to risk MY life because of your bullshit?

- Our bullshit? You've got to be kidding me!"

(Not sure if it's passionate at all but it's the only thing I could find at the moment) (It's Dan and Madhi talking btw)

A line with taste

"I've tasted better"

(They were eating ice cream or something and you're getting one sentence because the sentence is from the 2nd chapter which I don't like anymore)

A line that is screamed

"What the hell are you doing?! my girlfriend yells.

I didn't take the time to reply and kept on walking. Noe shouted my name and that's when I noticed the headlights of a car coming towards me.

A funny line

"It's not part of our trip and my paycheck at Mcdo isn't going to pay for it!"

(not funny but again, don't wanna spend 2 hours looking for one funny sentence)

Change passionate to heart-breaking

Tagging: @raiden-makoto @sarandipitywrites @jaelink @aalinaaaaaa @lyutenw @buffythevampirelover @nettleandthorne @finxi-writes @arwenschepers @corruptedbread @whimsical-blood-fairy @unrepentantcheeseaddict @kidukami @ryns-ramblings @rowenas-my-fave-child

#project lmotr #writing #writers #writing community #writeblr #writers on tumblr #project dgkotr #don't get killed on the road #find five lines tag

[thowawayuntilfurthernotice]

I can confirm from people in the industry that she has been blacklisted from Disney in particular and several others. It is because she is absolutely impossible to work with! (And because she threw a tantrum after being unable to work on the Owl House.) SVA has cut off association with her and the SVA professors hate her enough to mention all this to their students. Hazbin Hotel has been finished since February but A24's legal issues with her are holding it back.

First off, Erin Frost has said that Viv doesn’t like Dana Terrace, so I find it hard to believe that she’d want to work on a show that was created by her.

Second, the Hazbin Hotel wrap party didn’t happen until March. So this whole “Hazbin has been finished since January/February” is total bullshit.

Also, SVA has no real sway over who the studios hire.

If you’re gonna make up shit for attention, the least you could do is put in some actual effort into making it sound plausible.

Morons on 4chan might believe this nonsense, but I don’t.

#Ask #Vivziepop Critical #Hazbin Hotel Critical #Helluva Boss Critical

[autisticbisexualemaskye]

OH also as u can tell i finished mythic quest. season three was... dissapointing. brad and his gaggle of autistic women were great as always and Sarian was an AMAZING episode, 10/10, no notes, but the season overall? ian was MIA and poppy just... didnt really work without him. dont get me wrong i love her and she has great dynamics with the rest of the cast but overall grimpop was a HUGE missed opportunity and making dana ian 2.0 was a poor choice. dont get me wrong, i was rooting for them to team up in season two, but thats because i thought ian could give her what she wanted, not because shes identical to ian. shes certainly not so up her own ass that she thinks "confidence" and "total disconnect from reality" are the same thing. ian? definitely. rachel? unconsciously. but dana? no fucking way. she never felt like she had a unique place in the grimpop team. minimizing the scenes with her and rachel i would have actually loved to see if it helped give both of them more depth and solo development since their romantic relationship was built up as their main character arcs from the start, but dana just took away from ian and poppy's dynamic and didnt get any development of her own until basically the very end.

now, dont get me wrong, AGAIN, it makes a lot of sense that ian doesnt want to work on poppy's game. hes egotistical and unmotivated and childish and self centred. but they seriously waited until the season fucking finale to work that out? a conflict between the two main characters that has one of them just... absent from the narrative? conflict is the core of poppy and ians relationship but if they don't have any scenes together the conflict becomes BORING. and they had the perfect opportunity to work it out! when hera failed. when the playtesters told her it was technically perfect, but not fun to play. ian makes fun games. ian is really good at making fun games. theyre supposed to be partners. why couldnt he have helped her with this? why couldnt this have been the moment where she realizes that, just like ian, she needs help creating her vision? that even though she can build things and have big ideas, she cant do everything all on her own all the time? instead she and dana throw her vision away to focus on a project she hates and thinks is bad. its total fucking bullshit and a complete waste of an arc.

which, as a side note, i still dont totally understand the difference between hera and playpen. theyre both sandbox games, yes? where the point is to build something yourself, entirely from scratch? so what makes playpen fun and hera not? is playpen more customisable, is it easier to control? is hera too difficult, is it not difficult enough, is it too bare or too micromanaged? this feels like something we couldve gone into instead of just tossing hera out. there are tons of games like that out there already. minecraft, the sims (all FOUR installments, plus simcity), cites:skylines, roblox, all of them extremely popular and extremely fun. why not hera? again, a question the narrative gets out of answering by throwing the game out.

and FINALLY when the grimpop dispute does get solved, their solution is "you be who you are, and ill be who i am, and neither of us changes or improves or alters our dynamic in any way"? what a FUCKING cop out. the previous seasons, so far, have ended with poppy and ian trying to mend their dynamic into something more stable and mutually beneficial, where both people (poppy, mainly, but having it be her game this time SHOULD have been an interesting subversion) feel seen and heard, where neither of them feels subservient. you want to watch the next season to see how they develop and how their dynamic shifts. but in the season 3 finale they just straight up tell you, in the show, that they're done trying to change, and then they abandon their partnership and go back to work at mythic quest. season 3 was such a wasted season in terms of the grimpop dynamic, and neither of them develop any kind of compelling relationship with the other characters either. the closest we get is dana, who, again, is turned into ian 2.0 because apparently they couldnt develop her existing character any further or use the actual ian grimm in any of her scenes with poppy. again, dana and ian have similarities, but shes not ian! and she shouldnt have had to be!

ok. rant done. if u disagree u may write me a strongly worded essay in the comments or we could just have a conversation okie dokie i love u ^_^

#mythic quest #poppy li #ian grimm

[abubblingcandle]

So so so so intrigued by your Dad!Higgins fic. I hadn't really thought about Higgins in that way but despite bad advice to Jamie about his dad, Higgins is one of the best examples of dad figure that we see on the show

If you want to share any more then please do!

Ahhh thank you! So I am on a mission to just give Jamie all the dad figures and the same thing hit me. Like he does give bad advice but we see so much more of Higgins being a supportive figure to the lads and even in S1 genuinely caring about them!

Despite you asking for Dad!Higgins, I've just finished a scene that's been haunting me this morning with something from that fic that might be even more important ... Mum!Julie 😂 Julie who's husband announces he is bring home an injured and troubled 23 year old who is known for chatting shit and trying to antagonise people. Julie who looks at this boy and sees a lost teenager under all the posturing and immediately goes into "I'm going to parent this boy so hard he won't know what's hit him" mode. Julie Higgins has raised 5 boys and has a football team invade her house every Christmas Day, what's one more son?

“Oh fucking hell,” Jamie groaned and Higgins watched him slowly straighten and fumble for the remote as soon as his own face appeared next to the Sky Sports pundit.

“Language Jamie,” Julie softedly scolded. Jamie turned the TV off and froze in place. He turned to look at the table and frowned.

“Um, what?” he replied, straightening up and throwing the remote onto the cushions next to him.

“Don’t swear in front of the children,” Julie prompted, returning her focus to her laptop. Stevie and Dana both looked at Higgins in shock and then at each other with slightly fearful glee. It had been a long time in this house since someone had talked back to Julie. If Jamie had an ounce of sense in his body he would apologise and never say another swear word in Julie’s presence. Instead, he scoffed and leant back on the settee.

“Ain’t nothing they haven’t heard before I can assure you and I’m an adult, in case hadn’t noticed, I can say what I want,” he smirked, waving it off dismissively.

“Not in my house you can’t. For as long as you are staying here you need to follow my rules. Therefore no swearing when the children are in the house,” Julie closed her laptop, turning in her chair to hit Jamie with the patented mum glare. Jamie’s smirk shifted through a fair few different emotions before his mouth pressed into a thin line.

“That’s bullshit. Free speech and all that,” he huffed.

“Last warning Jamie. You don’t have to stay here if you are not willing to make some concessions to sharing your space,” Julie glared back.

“Fuck it, then I won’t!” he levered himself up from the settee with his good arm and stormed past the table to the door. “Didn’t even want to be here anyway. Might as well be at home,” he grumbled, kicking on his shoes. “Fuck all of this,” he exclaimed and then the door swung in his wake. Higgins jumped as it slammed shut. The house was left in silence.

“I’ll go after him,” Higgins sighed, placing his hands down on his knees and sighing as he prepared to get up. Julie pressed her hand down on top of his.

“Give him time to calm down,” she sighed, smiling sadly. “Boys you mind going to your rooms to play for a bit,” she suggested but all three of the present Higgins men knew it wasn’t a selection. They left their homework scattered around the table and sprinted off up the stairs pushing each other.

“I’m sorry. We can tell him to go,” Higgins muttered. He had hoped more than anything that being in a positive atmosphere might somehow fix Jamie like Ted always thought it might but it seemed not. He was still the smug and sarky fool that Richmond knew.

“I don’t want him to go. I don’t even particularly care about the swearing love,” Julie chuckled. Higgin’s head shot round to frown at her. “Oh Leslie he’s a hundred percent right. The boys have definitely heard worse language than that and Jamie is an adult and adults swear sometimes,” she added with a shrug.

“So why did you make a scene about it?”

“From what you’ve told me and from what I’ve seen, Jamie’s probably never been parented. It’s one of those stupid things about the football system. You control these kids then move them from their parents often as teenagers and give them so much money, so so much money, and fame and then expect them to make good choices. Mentally Jamie is around 15 but with the resources and freedom of a 23 year old celebrity. Someone needs to set him boundaries and show him that no matter what he can do with his right foot, he needs to show respect if he wants to be treated with respect. And that is something that a parent should teach their child,” Julie finished her monologue and thesis on childhood development. Higgins just stared at her. How on earth had he got so lucky? “Now I am going to open that bottle of incredibly expensive wine that Jamie got us. We are both going to drink a glass and pretend that this is a blissfully child free day and then you are going to go find Jamie,” she kissed him on the cheek.

“Will he be fine out there? He doesn’t know the neighbourhood that well,” Higgins frowned but Julie’s kiss moved to his lips.

“Well as he explicitly told us, he is an adult. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” she smiled.

#candle writes #ted lasso fanfic #jamie tartt #ask box is always open #leslie higgins #julie higgins #gfylm tag