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#and every one's just like.... is that Legal ?
qqueenofhades · 18 hours
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There is no law that prevents a convicted felon from running for and becoming president, nor a law that bans someone from being president in prison. Also, if Trump gets incapacitated in someway, many ultra right republicans who equally despise trans people and immigrants and Muslims would happily take his place
And I ask, with all due respect, what is your point?
Do you think I don't know that?
Do you think I am somehow convinced that everything is hunky dory now and we don't have any work left to do?
Are you just determined to be the first of the gloom-and-doomers who show up like clockwork in my inbox, every time some consequence happens to Trump, to morosely insist that no consequences will happen to him? First it was "he'll win re-election." Then it was "the coup will succeed." Then it was "he will never be indicted." Then it was "2022 will be a red wave!" Then it was "he will never be tried." Then it was "he will never be convicted." Now we've moved on, within less than 2 hours of the first US President ever to be convicted of ONE felony, let alone THIRTY-FOUR, "he'll never be sentenced or face a real consequence or lose the election." The goalposts keep moving RIGHT along without even a single pause to acknowledge the difficulty and the value of the progress we have made thus far, and it makes me CRAZY.
Do you people realize how fucking rare it is, both in the world today and historically, for a former (and would-be future) head of state to be held to criminal account by a jury of 12 anonymous ordinary citizens? When that one person, Trump, is the center of the malignant fascist cancer that has spread through this country ever since 2016, and plenty of his cultists are still insisting that it's Trump or nobody for them? When we've actually reached the stage of holding him legally accountable for (some of) his crimes for the first time in his miserable misbegotten life? I suspect that most of you are so deep in the "America is totally broken and the system is useless and we can only Revolute!!!1" rabbit hole that you're bound and determined to argue away every step we take, however slow, as Meaning Nothing TM. Voting? Fake. Fighting to make real progress? Also fake. Everything is fake except our belief that everything is broken and we need the Keyboard Warrior Glorious Revolution!!! As long as you can keep inventing ever more contorted twists of logic to ignore everything else that's happened so far, this makes sense... or something. I guess?
Now we're onto "removing Trump won't matter :(" when a whole lot of people have been fighting day and fucking night to get all the privileged-princess Online Leftists to get off their Che Guevara cosplaying asses and cast a single fucking vote to keep us from full-on-sliding into fascism. A slide into fascism that, again, has been spearheaded and centered around Trump's toxic cult of personality and which is still tied to him in almost every way. Apparently holding him to account (again, which has never happened to him in his life) already doesn't matter because wah wah he won't suffer any consequences. If he loses this election he's probably going to jail for the rest of his life! We would have electorally defeated the greatest threat to the American democratic experiment in 250 years, and frankly a huge part of the fascist far-right hydra that is currently attempting a comeback around the world! This is, yet again:
THE FIRST TIME ANY AMERICAN PRESIDENT, EVER, HAS BEEN CONVICTED OF MULTIPLE FELONY CHARGES IN A COURT OF LAW BY A JURY OF HIS PEERS
and yet we're still hearing that nothing matters and no work has been done and removing him will have no effect???
Come on. Come on. I know it's tiring and it's slow and it doesn't go as fast as we want. But every single damn time the process goes another step, here you people are in my inbox insisting that we're still at zero progress and it means nothing, and lemme tell you, I am Tired of it. Come on. You don't have to jump up and down (my own feeling is glee and vindication but still not relaxation, I will not relax until he loses the fucking election and goes to jail), but you also don't need to keep myopically pretending that all the effort thus far by so many people means nothing. Come on.
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coco-loco-nut · 1 day
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loml part 2
pairing: charles leclerc x reader
summary: it’s time for you to finally have some happiness, even if you’ve sworn off drivers
part one masterlist ttpd masterlist
——————
A year after the break up, you are still living in George’s Monaco apartment. You keep to yourself, sticking to a simple routine and avoiding Formula One when you can. You could’ve gotten your own apartment with the divorce settlement and your job salary, but George insisted that you take care of the apartment for him.
George and Carmen were with you every step of the way, helping you pick up the pieces and bringing you back to as close to normal as you can.
“I’m done with drivers, I will never date one ever again,” you tell George one afternoon. George was almost offended but you added on the second half.
You go out for a run like you do every morning before work, and on your way home you stop in a bakery you’ve been eyeing. After placing your coffee and pasty order, you accidentally bump into someone.
“I am so sorry, I- Charles. Hi,” you look at the equally stunned man.
“Hi, how are you doing,” Charles says gently, sounding concerned. That isn’t what you expected out of your ex’s friend.
“Better, how’s, um, how is he?” you ask a little bitterly, internally cringing at the clear discomfort on Charles’s face. His name is called alongside yours, so he picks it up and sets it on a table, silently inviting you to join him, and you do.
“I don’t know. After the whole Kelly thing, I argued with him and we haven’t really talked since,” Charles admits, you look stunned.
“I’m sorry that happened,” you can’t really hide your bitter expression as the thought of Kelly runs through your mind. Not even a month after you separated, Max was off playing happy family with his new girlfriend. Your divorce wasn’t even legalized yet.
“I’m not. He lost someone incredible just because he wasn’t willing to put in the work for a good and healthy relationship,” Charles looks you in the eyes. You finish your pastry and process his words and his underlying meaning.
“Charles, everything is still so fresh, I don’t know,” you look out at the streets. You couldn’t deny he was attractive, but you didn’t want to reinvolve yourself with Formula One.
“One date, we can take it as slow as you want to. I know it must be hard, but you deserve to be happy,” Charles reaches out and touches your hand gently.
“I have to get to work. You should have my number, Charles,” you softly smile, leaving the cafe. Charles lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. Naturally, he asked George for permission first. He knew George was acting as your overprotective brother, and George knew you better than anyone at the moment. Despite you swearing off drivers, George felt that Charles might be what you need.
The first date goes well, and so does the second, and the third. Charles prioritized privacy, and you were grateful. He shows up to your door for the fourth with a bouquet of your favorite flowers, ones that Max always forgot to get. He always gave you chrysanthemums, fitting that he would choose a funeral flower seeing as how he killed the relationship.
“Cheri, are you okay?” Charles asks, seeing you tear up a little.
“Max never did this, and when he did they were always the wrong flowers,” you shake you head slightly, fending off the anger and sadness.
“Well, if he wanted to treat your right, he would. I want to treat you right,” Charles presses a kiss to your head. You invite him in while you find a vase to put the flowers in.
“I want that,” you tell him, his hands find yours.
“Be my girlfriend?” Charles asks, you nod happily.
“There is this restaurant that I’ve been wanting to try, down the street. Maybe I can take my boyfriend there,” you smile, heart racing.
“Lead the way, mon cœur,” Charles tells you. You lock the apartment behind you and take his hand as you lead him down the street to a restaurant that opened a couple months ago. The two of you are so caught up in each other, you don’t notice the table across the restaurant.
Max watches you walk into the restaurant, hand in hand with Charles - the guy who used to be one of his closest friends. You look stunning, and happier than you were the last few months before the separation. Of course Max saw you for divorce meetings, but this is different.
“Max is here,” you quietly tell Charles.
“Don’t worry about him, he won’t cause a scene,” Charles reassures you, knowing his old friend. You are grateful for the man sitting across from you.
“What did I do to deserve you?” you ask, causing Charles’s hear to soar. can’t believe he is finally happy.
Charles is by your side during the rough days, especially the day that should’ve been your wedding anniversary with Max. You couldn’t help but to be upset, and healing takes time. Charles didn’t push you to do anything, he just kept you company and followed your lead.
When you were together for six months, you felt comfortable enough to reintroduce yourself to Charles’s friends and family. It helps that the two of you adopted a dog.
“These are my sons, Ollie and Oscar,” Charles tells you as you stand in the kitchen, watching over the dinner you had been working on. He would’ve invited Liam, but that would be awkward for everyone.
“It’s lovely to meet you, I’m Y/n. I suspect you know Leo from social media. Would either of you like wine, or anything from the fridge? Please, help yourself,” you stop yourself from fussing. Charles recognizes it as your hormones kicking in, making you fuss over them.
“Thank you, need any help?” Ollie asks as Oscar plays with Leo.
“Thank you, but you are a guest. I couldn’t let you. Now, I think Charles has a really expensive bottle that will pair well with this meal, let me grab it and pour a couple glasses,” you wink.
“Only the best for you and the kids, Cheri,” Charles yells from the dining room where he is setting the table. Ollie takes the glass you poured for him, he wouldn’t mind you being his grid mom.
“Charles, come help me bring food in while the boys sit down,” you tell him, giving Oscar and Ollie a little glare when the move to help you.
“Of course, mon cœur,” Charles smiles, carrying the heavier plates in while you grab the wine bottle and the two empty glasses for you and Charles.
The two boys try to make sure they don’t come off as interrogating you, but you don’t mind. They are avoiding the elephant in the room, and both you and Charles know it.
“You can ask, I don’t mind,” you say gently, knowing it’s eating Oscar alive. He’s like you and George if you two had an idgaf attitude.
“Is it true that you and Max, um,” Oscar pauses looking for the words.
“Yeah, he’s my ex-husband. He did me a favor though, without him I wouldn’t be with Charlie,” you look adoringly at your boyfriend.
“Ask George and Carmen, they will give you the best version of the story,” Charles laughs and so do you.
“This is really good, I might need you to cook after races for me,” Ollie changes to topic, groaning a little at how full he is.
“She’s our mom, of course it’s good,” Oscar replies, you can’t fight the grin on your face.
“Of course I will. I can send some frozen meals for you to heat up along to the with Charles,” you tell them.
“Or you could come to the races and keep me company,” Ollie says, looking at you hopefully. You are one hundred percent adopting him. Charles looks at you a little panicked, you never really talked about being in the paddock as his girlfriend. Of course, he has publicly talked about how he has a girlfriend who he adores, but no one knows it’s you, except for a few people.
Max never told anyone about your relationship, despite him seeing your date and reporters asking him about you. It would be an asshole thing to do after he moved on so quick, and you deserved better than what he had done to you already.
“I’d love to, but don’t regret it when you are being mothered,” you point your fork at them.
“Wait, why only Ferrari,” Oscar pouts.
“I can visit you too, I’ll even bring cookies,” you tell Oscar. He pumps his fist in celebration.
Charles is happy to hear you are okay going to races again. You have to be a little stealthy about it at the start. You go the first couple times as George’s guest, and slowly increase how long you are with Charles each time.
Things change when you miss your period. You and Charles have always been very careful, but there have been a couple time that you forgot a condom.
“What does it say, mon cœur?” Charles sits beside you in bed, rubbing soft circles on your shoulder. You take a shakey breath and turn the stick over, ready to be shown another negative.
“Positive, I’m pregnant. I thought I couldn’t have kids,” you feel Charles brush tears from your cheeks.
“We will be the best parents, I’m so happy,”he reassures you, and you can see how happy he is. From then on you go as Charles’s partner, Ollie is happy to have you with him in the garage, and even accompanies you to visit Oscar. Ollie claimed it was to protect you and the baby against Max, but that doesn’t work when Max is talking to Lando at the same time you visit Oscar.
“Hey, how are you doing?” Max asks a little hesitatily.
“I’m really well, how are you?” you ask, pushing down the bitter parts of you. You truly are very happy now.
“I’m okay. Do you think we could talk at some point this weekend? I think it’s been long enough and you deserve closure for yourself,” Max scratches the back of his head.
“Message me on Instagram. We can find a time,” you agree, needing to get a couple things off your chest. That time is the next morning in an open room in Red Bull hospitality.
“You wanted to talk,” you say as you sit down across from Max. Charles was apprehensive when you told him of your plan, but he trusted you and was supportive of your choice.
“I wanted to apologize for how I treated you at the end, it was unfair to you,” Max tells you, clearly pushing through his pride. “So, I’m sorry. I can’t say it’s easy seeing you happy with someone who isn’t me. Are you happy?” Max asks, needing to know.
“Of course I am. It was really hard to move on. Charlie makes me extremely happy, and he’s given me the greatest gift I could ask for,” you smile, subconsciously putting a hand on your stomach. Max feels his stomach swirl with jealousy. Charles is living the life he should be living, Charles is doing everything he should be doing for you, but he fucked it all up.
“I, uh, wow. Congratulations, I know how much you wanted a kid. I’m happy for you, schatje,” Max says, pushing down his jealousy. It’s his fault he lost you, now he has to live with the consequences and be mature about it. Maybe if he hadn’t gotten with Kelly so soon he would be with you, but it’s too late now.
Max did try. He constantly asked George where you were, or to convince you to talk to him. George was protective though, he saw how hurt you were and knew you needed to heal on your own time. So he did what any overprotective best friend would do, talk reasonably and show Max why he needed to stay away.
“Thanks, Maxie, that means a lot,” Maxie, a dagger through Max’s heart. “I can’t be friends with you right now, but maybe someday. I like this version of you, maybe Kelly was the right one for you after all,” you can see the pain in Max’s somber eyes, the same one you see from the end of your relationship, and the same one that haunts you.
“I really am sorry,” Max’s voice cracks. “You’re the love and loss of my life,” tears well in his eyes as he looks at you.
“You’re the loss of mine as well,” you stand up and move towards him, pulling him into a hug. “You are going to be okay, Max. We weren’t right for each other, but now you can move on,” you say softly. In your heart you can feel the closure you’ve needed. Max felt it too, and when the day came, he would be ready to be a good friend.
Until that day, he is publicly supportive of your family with Charles. Max repairs his relationship with Charles first, then he slowly repairs it with you. When Julianna Herveline Leclerc graced the world, he was one of the first people to send a gift and well wishes. And when you and Charles finally make it to the alter, Max is standing beside Charles, happy to support the two of you.
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wonton4rang · 2 days
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hihi i love your post and i see your request are open so of you dont mind can you do a bonedo reaction of them getting jealous or smth along those lines, and its completely up to you whether its nsfw or sfw
thank you !!:)
hiiii~ tysm for giving me the chance, i'm glad you like it. and ofc I'd be more than happy to do thisssss. I'll do it nsfw because OH MY GOSH HEAR ME OUT ‼️‼️ this came out quicker than i thought 😭
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Stop it ¡!
pairing: bnd legal line x reader.
warnings: +18, jealousy (duh), toxic behaviour, some smut, usage of the boy's real names.
summary: bnd legal line getting jealous over things and how i think they'll act in those situations.
note: if you find any typos, feel free to let me know so i can correct them~
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sungho;
he would get jealous over things that you couldn't even imagine, he wouldn't get jealous a lot tho, i see him as a very mature and confident person so if you guys are as in love as it appears to be he wouldn't mind.
but when he sees you're laughing way too much with jaehyun, touching his arm and him touching your hands while you both share a space in the small sofa, it makes him feel kinda pressured, his chest feeling heavy and an uncomfortable expression landing on his face.
"sungho, baby, everything okay?"
"yeah, it's just... what were you talking about with jaehyun earlier?"
"we were just joking, why? did i say something that upset you?"
"no, i... i just didn't like to see you being so close with him" you just looked at him in silence and he shaked his head before adding "i guess i was jealous that he was making you laugh so much"
"baby, you make me laugh too"
"i didn't like the way he held your hands and you let him"
"i'm sorry, it won't happen again if it makes you uncomfortable. but... you do know that i only like you, right? that you are the only one for me, right?"
and he would just shyly smile and nod before giving you a candid kiss, laying you down in bed to make love to you and remind you who was the only one for you.
riwoo;
sanghyeok is such a shy boy but he is also very playful when he feels comfortable so i definitely see him playing around with you and the boys, probably at the field or in a pool, laughing and having the best time of his life until he sees sungho playing a little bit too close to you, holding your waist and dodging balls or stopping the boys from splashing water at your face.
he would stop laughing right away, remaining silent for the rest of the afternoon, you didn't even notice because you were soooo busy with the other boys.
you would approach him but he wouldn't even look at you when you called his name, mumbling a soft "go talk to the boys about it" you honestly laughed at how cute he looked being this jealous, you cupped his face and kissed his lips without asking for permission, his cheeks flushing at that very instant.
"what are you doing?"
"can't i kiss my boyfriend?"
"you were ignoring me all day"
"i was not... at least not intentionally, look, hyeok-ah, i'm sorry, okay? can you forgive me this time?" and he would simply nod, holding your hand to go back into the group, they already knew what happened and apologized too for the misunderstanding.
the afternoon went by as normal but you could catch him glancing at you and holding your hand every time he had the chance.
jaehyun;
i am soooo sorry but he wouldn't stfu and watch, he is definitely coming up to you and the boy flirting the shit out of you to get you away from him.
"who's this? you know him?" when you denied with your head and your hands gripped his shirt he understood what was going on, giving the dude a glance before saying "isn't it obvious this is your sign out? get the fuck away from my girlfriend, man"
and you just KNOW that he is NOT leaving your side for the rest of the night, not even for ONE second, for nothing. he even took you to the bathroom with him, excusing himself with a "it's nothing you haven't seen before" and that painfully hot grin of his.
"i don't even know how he thought he got a shot with you" he would say once y'all are back at home, laying between your legs while he softly traced lines in your skin. "he should see how down bad you are for me" and you just laughed because he was right, you didn't have eyes for anyone else.
taesan;
RUN. literally just run. taesan is not a jealous person i'm afraid, he could be picky, yes, he could want something you have (like a game or something), yes. he could play around and pout over little things but he would never really get mad or jealous.
but god forbids the day he does, his hair is covering most of his forehead and yet you can see his eyebrows frowned and his eyes staring at the hand that was resting in your thigh. he himself didn't understand why he was feeling that way, intimidated, threatened and full of rage, it was leehan after all, it was his friend who was laughing with you, touching your thighs with soft palms when he laughed and looking down the opening of your dress by instinct.
yeah, that was not going to work.
that's why taesan stood up and walked to you, his voice sounding lower than usual when he said "stand up, we are leaving" you did not know what was happening but you were not going to go against him either. "were you having fun? having his hands all over you like you don't have me, huh?"
"i don't-"
"don't talk back, i don't wanna hear it"
"but i-"
"i bet he is thinking about you tonight, about how pretty you look in this dress" his hand drawed the curve of your waist. "how soft your hair is" this time he got his other hand to softly touch your hair. "and how good you smell" his face got lost in your neck and he just fucked the shit out of you afterwards, constantly letting you know that you were his.
only to be soooo ashamed the morning after about everything he said and did, but oh well, at least he got off.
leehan;
he would be jealous of everything, everyone and anything, because he could, he wanted and yeah. but it was mostly joking, he would be "jokingly jealous" all the time.
so the day he actually got jealous you didn't even realize it until it was too late. he kept telling you that he didn't like the way riwoo talked to you, that you guys were dancing too close to each other and that he didn't feel comfortable with it.
but again, you thought he was joking, why would he be for real if you always danced with riwoo? well, today was the day he didn't like it, he hated the way riwoo touched you and he knew that riwoo had nothing for you, it was just the dance and he did it professionally, then why?
"are you seriously mad?" you finally asked after he ignored you since you got home, just sitting by his fishtank and chewing some gum. "leehan, i'm talking to you"
"then don't"
"can you talk to me, please?"
"are you going to listen this time?" you just nodded and left out a sign when he got close to you. "i really dislike that dance, i hope that you can change it because i don't want you to dance with someone else like that"
"it's been the same dance since two weeks ago, hannie, what are you saying?"
"you said you'll listen"
"and i am but that's just-"
"you would look so good with your mouth around my cock instead of talking back like a bitch" well damn.
the deal was sealed, the dance was changed, riwoo and you made a different choreography and your lips were sucking him off for the rest of the night, he fucking you in missionary later just so he could stare at your eyes and kiss your lips when he came inside, mumbling how good you were for him. just for him.
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trippinsorrows · 2 days
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with me + part seven
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authors note: i take some creative liberties with medical (mostly hipaa) stuff in this one, so please disregard. also, thank you everyone for (still!!!) being so interested in this story. you guys are making me wanna flesh it out even more like seriously 😭 i wanted to not make it past 10 (3 to 4 initially) parts but the support has been so humbling, and ya'll seem to like/want more sooooo 😭
song inspo: with me by destiny's child
status: in progress // masterlist
warnings: angst, language, suggestive themes
words: 7k
taglist: @pixiedust4000 @southerngirl41 @yolobloggers @msbigredmachine @wanderingreigns
Absolutely every rule of the road is broken in getting Callie to the hospital.
You couldn’t give two shits. 
You just continue to try to reassure your crying child that she's going to be okay while fighting your own pending panic attack.
Speeding through the lanes, uncaring if the light is yellow and you should slow down, you’ll take whatever ticket. The only rule you abide by is not going through a red light, understanding how stupid and dangerous that is. However, while the hospital is about a 15 to 20 minute drive from you, you make it there in a solid eight minutes.
And even that is too much.
The emergency room is, expectedly, pretty empty save a couple of people. Emergencies are rare and infrequent in your town. It’s truly a stroke of bad, cruel luck that your sweet little girl is victim to one of the few. 
Rushing to the front desk, Callie cradled against you, you blurt to the receptionist, “something’s wrong with her stomach.”
The woman appears uninterested until her eyes land on Calista who’s still crying into your chest, hand on her stomach. She calls out to the back, and you see the double doors open. A few minutes later, if that, a set of doctor and nurses emerge. 
“What happened?” The doctor immediately asks, starting to assess Callie, first checking for a fever and then shining a light in both her eyes. 
Speaking is suddenly difficult, but you manage, “I–I don’t know. She said her stomach was hurting right before she went to bed, so I gave her some Children’s Tylenol, then she woke up in the middle of the night screaming in pain, and I–I rushed her over here.”
He nods, gently going to press on her stomach as she shouts in pain again. Your own stomach clenches, hating to see her hurt like this. 
Something appears to flash in his vision, but whatever it is, he keeps it to himself. “We need to admit her.” He reaches for Callie who suddenly clings tighter to you.
“No!” There’s pure fear and panic in her voice, as she starts to cry harder. “I wanna stay with my mommy!” 
Her words kill you, because you also don’t want to let her go, but you know it’s what needs to happen. “Baby, it’s okay, they’re gonna help you, and I’m right here, alright?” You try to reassure her, gently stroking her hair. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
She’s clearly still uncomfortable but allows the doctor to carry her, as he instructs one of the nurses, “page peds.” Her eyes never leave you as he moves quickly to carry her into one of the rooms, carefully placing her down on the bed. You’re immediately by her side, needing her to know you’re right here with her and not going anywhere. 
While the doctor gives a variety of commands to some of the nurses, you somehow have the wherewithal to catch the attention of one of the nurses, informing, “her dad is on his way. Can you make sure they let him back? His name is Joe.”
She nods. “Of course.” 
“And—” this is both relevant and irrelevant, but as it’s at the forefront of your mind, so you tell her, “I also need a release form. For him. He’s….he’s not on the birth certificate.”
If she’s judging you for this piece of information, you’ll never know because her expression remains unchanged. “I’ll have one brought to you.”
“Thank you.” It hasn’t really crossed your mind until this terrifying moment that Joe has no legal right or say into any medical or legal situations regarding Calista. This scares you in a different way, her own father having no say in decisions that could be life or death. It’s shoved into the back of your mind, but when this is all said and done, you know this it’s something you need to discuss with him. 
You need to look into whatever the state requires to have a father’s name added to a birth certificate. But, of course, all of this is secondary to what’s happening before you, your focus returning to Callie who’s still holding onto your arm. 
“Alright, what do we have here?” 
A new voice enters the room, and you look up, momentarily surprised to see another doctor, but it’s not the fact that it’s a doctor that surprises you. It’s who the doctor is. 
You give him a double take, almost not trusting your judgment in this moment. But when he approaches Callie’s side and offers a gentle smile, you see it, the cleft in his chin. 
“Kai?” 
He lifts his eyes to you, offering a small nod, returning his focus to assessing Callie. And then he looks up again. Like he gave you the standard acknowledgement only to also realize who you are.
“Y/N?”
Yup. Hearing his voice again, you’re certain this is most definitely Kai Sawyer. 
Kai Sawyer, former classmate, once friend, brief lover when you were in high school. He was always sweet, almost too sweet for the toxic teenager you were who was too stuck on Amir to realize Kai was a much better option. 
Granted, it was never serious. You never had any sort of feelings for him that left you stumped.
Nothing like with Joe. 
“It’s good to see you.” He seems just as surprised to see you as you are to see him. The last you heard was that he left for school, pursuing a medical career and planned to move out of state. Kai motions to Callie. “This is your daughter?” Nodding with a small, forced smile, you watch him carefully lean down to be closer to Callie’s eye level. “Hi there, sweetie. I’m Dr. Sawyer. Can you tell me your name?”
She sniffles, seemingly holding you tighter. “Callie.”
“Callie,” he says, precisely, pronouncing each syllable. “What a very pretty name. Well, Callie, is it okay if I feel your belly so we can see what’s going on and help you feel better?”
She doesn’t look at you for approval, instead nodding as Kai starts to evaluate her. Once again, she cries out in pain as he feels the same area you’d unintentionally put too much pressure on. 
“It hurts,” she whimpers, and you kiss her forehead. Seeing her in pain is a form of torture you absolutely cannot tolerate. 
“I’m sorry, honey,” he apologies, standing upright again. “We’re gonna make you all better though, okay?” 
She says nothing, instead tugging you closer to her as she lays her head against your shoulder.
Kai speaks to the nurses in a low voice, where you can only make out intermittent parts. Something about an IV drip and pain meds. Once he’s done, he looks over at you and continues with that low voice, “can I talk to you outside?”
His question doesn’t help with the anxiety you’re already having an extremely difficult time controlling, but Callie’s heightened cries and tightened grasp on you captures your attention the most.
“No, mommy, don’t leave me!" 
It’s an impossible decision, even if logically, you know what you have to do. Whatever Kai wants to discuss with you clearly doesn’t need to be in front of Callie, but you also know she’s hurting and just wants her mom. 
“You said your name is Callie? That’s such a cute name.” One of the nurses comes over and offers a warm smile. “I have a little girl who’s just about your age too. She likes barbies and playing dress up. What do you like?”
Sniffling, still holding onto you, Callie meets the nurse’s eye contact and answers after a second. “Disney.”
The nurse gasps, “so does my little girl.” She sits on the side of the bed as the other nurse finishes inserting Callie’s IV. “Is it okay if I sit with you and we talk about Disney while mama talks to Dr. Sawyer?”
You’re so thankful for this act of kindness and assure Callie, “I’ll be right back. I’m just outside the door, okay?”
She’s still unsure and highly uncomfortable, but a small nod precedes her releasing her grip on you. You start to climb out of the hospital bed when she grabs you again. 
You expect another form of protest, of unease about you leaving her. Instead, in a small, innocent voice, she states, “I want Joe.”
The ball in the back of your throat grows exponentially. You’re already emotional, for obvious reasons, but there’s something about her request, so simple yet so powerfully telling, that brings a new set of tears to your eyes. 
“He’s on his way, baby, okay?” As the hospital is in the same direction as his hotel, you expect his arrival in a matter of minutes, hopefully. 
She seems comforted by this piece of information, and you’re able to break away to follow Kai outside the room. Once out of a proximity where she could overhear, you ask, urgently, “what’s wrong with her?”
Kai sighs, crossing his arms over his body with a sympathetic expression. “Well, I—”
The sound of heavy, urgent footsteps capture your attention, and you look to your side to see a nurse escorting Joe. His eyes land on you with a curious expression before he asks, “where is she?”
His voice is calm, but you know him well. Too well. Enough to know that he’s worried out of his mind, too. 
You gesture to the door a few inches away from you. “With the nurse.” Gesturing to Kai, you inform, “this is the doctor.”
There’s something about Joe’s presence that instantly calms you, allows your emotions to regulate just a little better. 
“Holy shit,” Kai breathes, and you look over to see he’s staring at Joe with bewilderment. “You’re–uh—is this her dad?” The question is posed to you, and you run your hand over your face, nodding. Kai clearly recognizes Joe, err, Roman, and is in a brief state of celebrity panic. Any other time, you’d understand it, but right now, you’re on the doorsteps of a nervous breakdown, and the medical professional in charge of Callie’s care being starstruck isn’t the least bit helpful.
“Yes,” Joe answers, his voice not unkind but not friendly either. “What’s wrong with my daughter?”
Kai clears his throat, snapping back into his professional shoes. “It seems like early stages of appendicitis. We call it acute appendicitis, meaning her appendix hasn’t ruptured yet, which is good.” He gazes at you, grateful. “You got her here just in time.”
His words do little to comfort you, because you’re still stuck on the first part. 
“Appendicitis?” You repeat, confused . “But–but she’s only four. How—”
“It’s not as uncommon in children as people think. Did you by any chance have one when you were younger?”
You have to think for a second, recognition then dawning. You’d completely forgotten about that borderline traumatic experience that was eerily similar to this. Waking your mom up because you were in a tremendous amount of pain and her calling 911 to rush you to the hospital. God, how could you not remember that until now? “Yes, yes, but I was—I was like 10.”
“So still a kid,” he confirms. Kai turns to Joe. “What about dad?”
“Yeah, I was twelve.” 
“Wait a minute.” You don’t know about Joe, but you certainly remember the outcome of your experience. “You—you don’t have to operate on her, right?” Scoffing, your words become difficult to express. “Kai, she’s—she’s too little for that. There’s—there’s another way, right?”
“Surgery is the best treatment—”
“No!” You cut him off, not wanting to hear this shit. “You’re not cutting her open, Kai. I–I won’t—-I won’t allow it.”
Joe finally addresses you, hand on the small of your back as he tries to get you to look at him. “Y/N….”
You jerk away, “I said no!” Turning back to Kai, you plead, eyes starting to burn again, “isn’t there—isn’t there something else you can do? Like medicine or—”
“Her appendix needs to be removed, Y/N. There’s no way around that.” Kai’s tone is full-on professional, borderline pleading, needing you to actually heed to his medical opinion. “The procedure is standard, should take about an hour, and it presents minimal risk. It’s really the best and safest option. If we don’t operate, inflammation could increase and eventually cause her appendix to rupture. Once that happens, because of her age, she becomes at an increasingly high risk for infection. And that could become fatal.” 
The word fatal sounds out everything else as you fall back against the wall, covering your mouth, unable to hold back the tears. “Oh my god.”
Joe looks at Kai, directring firmly. “Do it. Do it now.”
“I’ll book an OR.” Kai nods and you hear him say something else, but it’s all so distant and blurry. Fatal and Callie should never be in the same sentence, but right now it’s a reality that you can’t fathom. Your chest hurts, your stomach hollow, and head all over the place.
“I—it’s my fault,” you murmur to yourself or maybe Joe. You’re not entirely sure. “She—she told me her stomach was upset, but I—I didn’t listen. I just—I just gave her medicine and made her go to sleep.” You inhale sharply, eyes burning with salty tears. “She was in pain, and I didn’t listen to her. I didn’t—”
“Baby, look at me.” Before you realize it, Joe is in front of you, cupping your face and forcing your blurry gaze on him. “You did nothing wrong. There was no way for you to know what was happening.”
“I’m her mother, Joe—" you protest, sniffling, hands on his chest. “I’m supposed to know when something’s wrong. I’m–I’m supposed to protect her.”
“And you did,” he assures, pushing back some of your hair. “You heard the doctor. You got her here just in time. It could have been a lot worse.” He wipes away your tears, hating to see you so upset, so hard on yourself over a situation outside of your control. “You’re an amazing mother. Do you know why she’s such a great and happy kid? Because of you. Because you take such good care of her. You’ve raised her on your own, and look at how amazing she is. That’s all you. Why else do you think she’s so attached to you? Because you’re just as much her world as she is yours.” He pulls you into his chest, continuing to gently comfort you, “she’s gonna be fine, okay?” 
Being held in that moment, being held by Joe is exactly what you need. It centers you as much as one can be centered in this kind of situation. You find yourself holding onto him, embracing the comfort and support. 
Eyes shut, you murmur into his chest, “thank you for being here.”
You feel his hand move gently down your back, his mouth pressed to the top of your head. “Always.”
After a few minutes, maybe more, maybe less, you separate and wipe at your eyes. “Okay.” It’s trying to gather yourself before going back in the room, not wanting to scare her or make anything worse for her than it already is. “We–we need to tell her.”
“You want me to tell her?” He offers, and you’re thankful. He clearly sees how upsetting all of this is and is eager to support you anyway he can.  
“No,” you finally answer. “We’ll do it together.” 
Joe takes your hand and rubs his thumb across your knuckles, a kind, comforting gesture. Appreciated. You appreciate him so fucking much in this moment that it’s almost impossible to explain. Your calm in this storm, a voice of sound reason. Much needed advocate for your daughter as you fall victim to your emotions. 
He looks at you once more, assessing your readiness. A simple nod gives him the answer he needs, as he heads for the door, holding it open so you can enter first. 
The same nurse who so kindly recognized a need lifts her head with that same warm smile. Your eyes immediately land on Calista, who looks less pale than she was when you brought her in. She’s also no longer crying. That relieves you the most. A mother seeing her child cry is a kind of pain no one should ever have to experience. 
The pain meds must be kicking in. You’re immensely grateful.
But as quick as her eyes were on you, they bounce almost instantly to Joe, a larger smile growing. 
“Joe!” Even her voice is stronger, not as weak or weighed down with pain. 
“There’s my girl,” Joe greets, instantly at her side, kissing the top of her head. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“A little better, but my tummy still hurts.”
Allowing them their moment, you turn to the nurse who’s subtly backed away, also recognizing this is a moment that shouldn’t be intruded upon. She also subtly reaches you the clipboard with the ROI that you quickly fill out and hand back to her. “Thank you,” you whisper, hoping your eyes reveal just how much you appreciate her thoughtfulness.
“Of course,” she replies, giving a final look to Callie. “I’ll leave you all alone.” 
Once the door is shut and it’s just the three of you, you move to the other side of the hospital bed, seeing there’s a possible space to jump in and gently break the news to her. A shared glance with Joe followed by a nod is the answer you need as you take a deep breath.
“Calista….” As soon as she gazes at you, you recognize she knows something is up. You hardly ever use her full first name. “Baby, Joe and I talked to the doctor about what he needs to do to make you all better, and—and he said you’ve gotta have surgery to take the bad stuff out your stomach.”
Her brows cave together, confused. “What’s surgery?”
Joe jumps in, recognizing your initial difficulty with how to explain such a concept to a young child. “It’s when doctors give you medicine to make you go to sleep while they take the bad stuff out of you.”
She looks at him, a little more understanding, still obviously and understandably unsure. “Does it hurt?”
You answer, trying your best to keep your tone as calm as possible. “When you wake up, it may hurt a little but that’s cause it’s gotta heal.” 
Joe shares, and you’re so grateful for his partnership at this moment. For his ability to assist and tag team. “You wanna know something? Your mom and I had the same surgery when we were kids.”
She seems intrigued by this. “Really?” Nodding, you study her facial expressions, knowing her well enough to know that she’s struggling with her emotions. She’s not alone. 
Finally, after a minute of contemplation, she whispers, “I’m scared.” 
“It’s okay to be scared, Callie,” Joe assures. He's so damn good with her, gentle and patient. “Everyone gets scared.”
She looks over at him, asking innocently, “even you?”
“Of course,” he answers, vulnerably sharing, “I was scared when your mom called me and said she was taking you to the hospital.” The both of you were. That’s no call any parent wants to ever receive. 
She looks between the two of you. “Can you guys come with me?”
“We can’t go back with you, but we’ll be waiting right here for you as soon as you wake up.” Joe answers for you, thumb brushing over her forehead.
“You promise?”
 Lips pressed against her forehead, you vow, “we promise.”
—-------
As soon as Callie is taken back to the OR and the two of you are left alone in the waiting area, Joe begins to lift his hoodie over his head, suddenly reaching it to you. “Put this on.” 
You look at him, confused. “What?”
His eyes briefly trail your body, head to toe. “Do you realize what you're wearing?”
Brows furrowed, you look down and gasp. In the midst of adrenaline and flight or flight, your appearance never dawned on you. Your pajama set is short, skimpy, and shows off a slice of your stomach, not that you care too much about that. It’s more the fact that you’re not wearing a bra, and this waiting room is cold as fuck. 
You also realize your bonnet is still on your head. 
In short, you look a hot ass mess, more like someone waiting for admission to the psych ward instead of an anxious parent awaiting her daughter to get out of surgery. 
“Fuck.” The first thing you do is rip your bonnet off, deciding to keep your pineapple. Next is accepting Joe’s hoodie, sliding it over your frame. It’s understandably baggy, grazing just above your knees. “Thank you.” 
The two of you move over to the seating area as you sigh loudly, suddenly asking. “What time is it?”
He checks the watch on his wrist. “3:15.” 
You scoff, rubbing your eyes but not saying anything, leaning back into the seat, trying to not get too much into your head. It’s a difficult feat when your four-year-old child is under the knife for emergency surgery.
“The doctor…..” Joe starts, and you turn to look at him. “You called him by his first name.”
He doesn’t need to elaborate for you to understand his question. “We went to high school together.” If your intention was to keep your answer as casual and general as possible, you fail miserably because Joe 100% picks up on the unspoken words. 
“And?”
Shrugging, you explain, “we didn’t date per se, but we hooked up.” Looking back, you recognize how Kai was absolutely a rebound in between Amir and all his bullshit. And you do regret that, because Kai was always a genuinely nice guy. He didn't deserve to be caught up in your Joker-Harley Quinn ‘love’ story. 
“Fucking hell.” Joe looks away, genuinely annoyed, and for some reason, it makes you smile. The first of the night, err, morning. And you’re weirdly thankful for this conversation, for this distraction you wonder if he's intentionally providing you. “Do all your ex’s still live here? Why does nobody ever leave this town?”
You laugh, actually laugh, and it feels nice. A contrast from all of the heaviness you’ve experienced over the past few hours. 
Sucking your teeth, you respond, sassily. “I’m tired of you roasting my tiny little no name town.”
He eyes you curiously, clearly surprised by your reference. “You watch?”
“Occasionally,” you answer with a shrug. You don’t want to tell him you’ve found yourself increasingly watching Bloodline clips during the kids' lunchtime at school. Or at night when you don’t know what else to watch. Not when before his return, it was rare and in between you’d find yourself consuming anything WWE related, let alone with Roman Reigns. “Not a lot. Just enough to see how you’re doing exactly what I always knew you could do.” 
Joe stares, appreciatively, gently adding, “you always believed in me.” 
“Of course, I did.” It’s always been so visible and obvious. From the very beginning, you recognized his potential and knew he would excel once they finally released him from his shackles. You find yourself leaning against his body and grab onto his arm. “I could never have a bum for a baby daddy.”
You don’t have to be looking at him to know he’s rolling his eyes, that expression of his that’s a mixture of a scowl and smile. 
He doesn’t say anything after that, not immediately, and that’s okay, because just sitting here, with him, not alone and in your head is a great comfort.
“She has my last name.”
You look up at him, surprised and confused as to why he’s saying this like he didn’t already know it. But it’s in that looking at him, you see it’s because he clearly didn’t already know this.
He was unaware. 
Sitting up, you ask, “you didn't know?”
He shakes his head, explaining, “when I got here, I said I was here for Calista, and she said Calista Anoa’i.” That’s it. How he found out. How his daughter, who he hadn’t even known about up until not even two months ago, shared the same last name as him. All of these major life reveals being dropped on him like it’s nothing.
You feel terrible again, just for different reasons. 
“I never wanted to erase you from her life. I just—” It’s hard to explain something you’re starting to not even fully understand. In such a short timespan, Joe has done a tremendous job stepping into the role of dad. So much so that it has you deeply regretting depriving him of the almost first five years of her life.
Depriving yourself of having a partner to raise Callie with.
“I just went about it all wrong,” is the best you can land on to describe what you’re thinking and feeling. “And I'm sorry you found out like this. I guess, I just thought it would have come up by now.”
“It’s fine.” It’s not. He’s just trying to be mindful of where you are emotionally right now. Always considerate, despite his own feelings. 
Grabbing a hold of his arm, you lean into him again, eventually murmuring, “no, it’s not.” You’re starting to feel more and more like there was never a good enough reason to rob him of this, to have a child walking around this earth with his last name, his blood, and him be in the dark. Him being married was a factor, but it wasn’t a firm reason. “I’m sorry.” 
“You don’t ha—”
“Yes, I do,” you interrupt him, already knowing he’s going to try to pacify you, to try to convince you that it wasn’t that bad. Bullshit. “You missed out on so much, because of me, and I’m truly sorry, Joe. My own shit got i—”
“Excuse me?”
You sit upright, attention automatically redirected to the Caucasian woman in front of you with a bad bleach job, crows feet that probably contrast her actual age, and a clipboard. It’s the damn clipboard that kills your thought that maybe Callie is out her surgery and you guys can see her. 
Wishful thinking.
“Bill it,” is your short, curt reply as you lay back down against Joe’s arm. His eyes are on you, curious. 
The woman gives a small, fake laugh. “Excuse me?”
“You’re here to discuss insurance shit, right?” Her silence is the answer you need. “Well, I’m telling you to bill my insurance and then send me a bill.” 
She extends a more authentic smile to Joe, and you almost could swear you see the faintest hint of blush on her pale face. “Well, aren’t you three steps ahead?” When you don’t say anything, she awkwardly clears her throat and continues. “I actually wanted to know if you’d like to take advantage of this really great option we have where we give you an estimated cost and accept payment now so that—”
“Lady, my daughter is in surgery right now. I don’t give a scathing fuck about your great option. Bill it, and get the hell away from us.” Your words are blunt, coarse, and very much to the point. You couldn’t give two shits about anything she has to say if it’s not regarding Callie being out, up, and all better.
Joe chuckles above you, still saying nothing, just watching her walk away with her tail between her legs. “You had some restraint. I’m proud of you.”
“Shut up,” you mutter, eyes closing as you try to allow yourself to bask in the comfort he provides. It’s such a different experience. The last time you had to rush Callie to the ER, she was two, your mom was out of town on a women’s retreat, and Mariah was off on her honeymoon. It was just you, by yourself, waiting to find out what the hell was wrong with your toddler. 
Having someone with you in this moment, having him with you, means more to you than he could ever imagine.
“How’d you come up with her name?” He asks after a few moments of silence.
This brings a smile to your face, a genuine one that you actually feel in your body. “A book.” 
“Like a baby name book?” You should have known better. Joe is many things, a man of specificity being pretty high up there. 
You hesitate to respond. “Not exactly.”
He glances down, assessing your expression before tilting his head back. “You didn’t.”
“Hear me out.” 
“Did you seriously name our daughter after some character from one of your freaky ass sex books?” You’re grateful for the little laughter this conversation provides you, and it makes you realize how much this man must have missed you to remember that. To remember your guilty pleasure for smutty kindle books. Not so much as you’ve gotten older and just genuinely don’t have the time to read them.
Resting your chin against his massive arm, you defend, “first of all, rude. Secondly, it wasn’t even that freaky. Unfortunately.” He rolls his eyes and you continue, “the character was actually really interesting and not awful. And I’d never heard the name Calista before, so when I looked it up and saw it meant most beautiful….it just fit.” Toward the end of your pregnancy was when you fully allowed yourself to embrace being a mother, regardless of the circumstances. It was a blessing and beautiful experience, and you found yourself counting down the days until your due date. “Her middle name is Manaia.” 
He chuckles, softly. “That’s Samoan.”
Chewing on your bottom lip, you rest your cheek against him again. “I know…I told you, she’s just as much you as she is me.” 
—-------
Joe approaches the front desk, seeing a brunette woman scrolling on her phone with a bored expression. Understandable, given the room is empty sans a janitor making the rounds. It’s probably the first and last empty emergency room he’ll ever come across.
“Excuse me.”
She looks up, and her mouth parts, an instant smile growing. One he’s used to but wholeheartedly couldn’t care less about. 
“Hi.” Her tone is much more breathy than what’s necessary, some attempt at coming off flirtatious would be his guess. Zero shits are still given.
Joe doesn’t waste any time, already wanting to get back to you, even if he knows you went to go call your mom and let her know what happened. Still, he needs to, at the very least, get back before he has to feed you some bullshit excuse about where he was. “I need to add a new card on file for Calista Anoa’i.”
She leans forward, chin in her hand, uneven, needle thin eyebrows wiggling. “Are you dad?”
Obviously. “Yes.”
“Lucky kid.” He’d take a good guess that she doesn’t recognize him, which for that, he’s grateful. She just finds him attractive, which is still irritating and unprofessional as hell. Have an attraction, but don’t be so vocal and desperate. “Mom too.”
Ignoring her comment, he grabs his wallet, pulling out his card and sliding it over.
“Do—”
“Change it to the default payment,” he instructs, not in the mood for whatever else she wants to try. It’s all in vain. He has eyes for one woman only, and it certainly isn’t her. “Is there any way you can set it up for autopay?”
She gives Joe a strange expression, like she questions his ability to consent. Because no one in their right mind would authorize a hospital to have such power with their money. “Umm, we can, but it’s really not recommended because you can never guarantee just how much insurance will and won’t cover. So, if they deny the claim in its entirety, then they’ll charge the entire balance—”
“That’s fine,” he cuts her off. “Just do it, and make sure any future charges go to that card only.” He thinks about it, asking, “matter of fact, can you take mom’s card off file altogether?” Joe knows you’re gonna bite his head off for this, and he doesn’t care. He knows medical bills can get costly, and you’re not making bank on a teacher’s salary. The least he can do is take care of his daughter’s medical costs.
“Uhh, sure, as long as you understand—”
“Money isn’t an issue. At all. Do it.”
She shakes her head but types away eventually reaching Joe his card. “All done. You can call and change it at any—”
“I won’t.” And that’s a fact. “Thank you.” 
Joe doesn’t give her a chance to respond or try anything else, turning to head back to the waiting area and is relieved when you return only minutes after he’s sat down. 
“Well, as expected, she’s upset I didn’t call her but calmed down a little bit when I told her you’ve been here with me,” you catch him up, sitting down next to him again. “And she’s on her way. She wants us to go back to my place to get some sleep.” 
Immediately, he protests. “We can’t leave Callie.”
You open your mouth to mostly agree with him when you hear footsteps and feel your stomach flutter seeing Kai heading in your direction.
He gets straight to the point. “Surgery was successful. She’s gonna be fine.” There are no words to properly describe your relief. The past hour felt like the longest period of your life and to know that it wasn’t in vain is so utterly comforting. 
“Thank God,” you breathe, also standing up with Joe. “Thank you, Kai.” You briefly close your eyes, shaking your head and correcting yourself. “I’m sorry, uhh. Dr. Sawyer.” 
“Come on, Y/N. I’ll always just be Kai to you.” It’s said so innocently, and it’s also then you notice the wedding band on his left hand. But, Joe must be giving him a look, because he’s suddenly awkwardly clearing his throat. “Because she’s so young, I'd like to keep her a couple more days to monitor her.”
“Of course,” you agree. There’s no protest at your daughter having medical personnel surrounding her at all times following a surgical procedure. 
He nods and starts to walk away when you remember something, catching him and moving away from Joe to speak privately. 
“Ummm…..” you haven't a clue how to approach nor explain this but try your best. “Joe…..he’s just now in her life. She—she doesn’t even know he’s her dad. It’s….a long, complicated story, but we’re trying to keep everything private—”
He says your name, interrupting you, “ever heard of HIPAA? None of what happened tonight leaves this emergency room.” You nod, slightly assured. “And if it makes you feel any better, I’ll remind the nurses of that too.’
That gives you all of the relief. The last thing you want or need is this becoming fodder for the media. One of the many reasons you love your town is how off the grid it is with a lot of things. Most of them probably wouldn’t even recognize Joe, and the few who do would never dare speak of it outside of this same town, respecting that he’s still a human being. 
“Thank you, Kai. Seriously.” 
He offers you such a genuine smile and adds, “I’m glad I got to see you, Y/N. The circumstances weren’t the best, but I’m pleased to see you ended up happy.” He starts to walk backwards, adding with a slight smirk. “About time you moved on from the likes of Amir and Mariah.”
That throws you for a loop. You understand the part about Amir, but Mariah?
What did he mean by that?
You don’t really have time to think about it, because Joe is at your side, holding your hand and reminding you that you two need to get back in the room for Callie. That’s enough to put the confusion about what just occurred to the back burner. 
Thankfully, when they roll Callie back into her room, she’s still slightly out of it from the anesthesia. But when she comes to, she’s thrilled to see the both of you and announces in a small, proud voice, “I did it.”
It gives you another genuine laugh, and the two of you enjoy her, your brave, sweet little girl. 
As you expected, your mom enters the room, immediately going and comforting Callie. She gives you a little slap on your arm for not calling her, still upset about that. 
That’s also expected.
What isn’t entirely expected is your mom talking to Callie about why you and Joe need to go home for a little bit to rest because you’re tired too. She’s not entirely wrong, Now that you’re out of the flight of it all, you’re crashing and crashing hard. Even Joe looks tired. 
Surprisingly, your mom is able to get Callie to agree with this. It takes more convincing for Joe, but he also eventually relents. And instead of driving all the way to your place, you suggest you two just go to his hotel room which is closer to the hospital.
That’s an easy sell for him. 
Reaching the hotel, you convince Joe to shower first, as you have something you need to take care of. It takes some convincing, but he eventually agrees. Once you hear the shower running, you pull out your phone, surprised to see it hasn’t died and has enough, hopefully, for you to shoot out one more message. 
One you’ve been putting off, but desperately need, especially as of the last 24 to 48 hours. 
Alexis,
Hi. I know it’s been a couple of weeks since my last email, and I’m sorry. I would text you, but I have no idea where in the world you are right now or if you have reception. So, email it is. A lot….a lot has happened. Joe is back in the picture, and he knows about Callie. But, interestingly enough, that’s not an issue at all. He’s so good with her, and she already clearly loves him so much. We haven’t told her he’s her dad, but he plans to do it for Christmas. Callie also had to have emergency surgery last night. Her appendix. That was….a lot. She’s good now, made it out of surgery fine. Thank God. Also, Joe’s divorced. And he more or less told me he wants us to be together, and I don’t know how to feel about that. Sorry, this is all over the place. Joe and I have been up all night with Callie at the hospital, so my brain isn’t working. I just needed to send this now, because I keep forgetting, and I miss you and could really use some advice right now. I need my long distance best friend. 
Love,
Your favorite college roomie
You should probably reread your email before sending it, but that requires energy, and you’re literally operating on fumes. When Joe steps out of the bathroom, shirtless, you don’t even bat an eye, which is unlike you. You’ve always been insanely attracted to him, for obvious reasons. 
You just accept the shirt he offers, close the bathroom door, strip naked and step into the shower. So exhausted, you don’t even realize until halfway through you forgot to use the shower cap but thankfully only a little bit of your hair gets wet.
Not that it matters. Even washing yourself is such a task. 
You’re out of the shower as soon as you feel adequately clean, rid of hospital germs. You don’t even care that the shirt is the only thing covering your otherwise nude body, breast stretching against the cotton. 
It is what it is. 
Stepping out of the bathroom with your clothes tucked under your side, you settle on placing them on a nearby chair. Or maybe it’s a table. You’re not too sure nor do you care all that much. You just need to sleep. 
But, it’s also when you see he’s moving toward the sofa, you know you need something else. 
Someone.
“Joe.”
He turns around, and you move over to him, reaching for his hand. The tug is slight but enough to have him follow your guidance toward the bed where you switch positions so he falls on his back. Moving to the side of the mattress, you climb into the bed and turn on your side, back toward him. You don’t need to ask, because his strong arm is suddenly around you, pulling you into his hard chest.
Sighing in content, you allow his mouth to graze your temple as he pulls the blankets over the both of you.
Hand on his thick forearm that’s keeping you close against him, you murmur, “Callie comes first. We get her straight, make sure she’s okay.” You roll on your back, meeting his telling gaze. “Then we figure out us.”
Joe is staring down at you with an affection you hadn’t realized you missed so deeply until this moment. He doesn’t say anything, just nods in acknowledgment and caresses your cheek. Grateful and tired of so much thinking, you push your body against his, shifting with him as moves onto his back and keeps you close against him.
He doesn’t say anything, and neither do you, because none of that matters in that moment. You don’t need to think about anything, don’t want to think about anything, just want to be close to him, just be with the man you’re almost certain now that you never stopped loving. 
And also now wonder if he once felt the same, still feels the same. 
If he’s always felt the same way. 
103 notes · View notes
mrsmothermaximoff · 2 days
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Missed me?
part 1 | part 2 | part 3
Pairing: Stepmommy Wanda x f!reader
Tags: Stepmom x stepdaughter, fluff, daddy issues, kissing, smutty smut, more smut, fingering, legal age gap, virginity loss
Summary: Y/N's back from college and finds out her stepmother may have missed her just as much as she did
"My virginity"... She didn't know if it was the way you whispered it so innocently in her ear as if you didn't just suggest having sex with your stepmom, or the fact that even after three years away at college you never undressed for someone. She couldn't blame you, she did the same. As much as college is seen as the time to fuck around she spent all her time at lectures and in her books, wanting to focus only on her studies and plan her future career in law. She's had a few relationships sure, but they never went further than a few kisses.
Of course she would be far too ashamed to plainly admit to you that she was just as innocent to this as you were, a grown woman who's never slept with someone. So she pondered around a few cocky remarks, before confidently saying, "You only get what you give darling, if mommy takes your virginity, I'll let you take mine as a reward."
You practically came right then and there. Never before has one single sentence managed to leave you with panties so soaked you could hear the squishes with every move you made. "You're-, you're a virgin Wands?" The nickname made Wanda snap into a mode she's only ever entered in her late-night fantasies about you while you sleep soundly, unaware she's in her room touching herself to the image of you on your pretty knees for her.
This sudden change in her mindset took over every thought in her head. She grabbed your chin with a soft force, gentle as a cloud. You lost your air when she brushed her thumb across your lips. "You talk too much sweet girl, I can think of much better things that pretty mouth can do." She kissed you roughly, pinning you to the bed and moving her lips all over your neck, marking and biting the sensitive spots on your skin. She stripped your clothing off effortlessly, wasting no time. "Fuck, Wanda." You felt a harsh spank on your sensitive ass, "It's not respectful to call me by my name, is it baby? I am your mother after all" She smirked and you replied shyly, "N-No mommy, I'm sorry."
She kissed your nose softly, making you blush, "It's alright darling, mommy doesn't mind teaching you how to be a good girl." You held back a moan from her dirty words. You stared directly at her hands, watching every sexy little move she made. "You like my fingers baby?" she giggled and twitched them in front of you, slowly and sensually, giving you a perfect view of what she was about to give you. Your throat clenched hard. "Don't worry love, mommy will fuck them inside you soon enough, for now just wrap that pretty tongue around them to get them nice and wet for me."
You obeyed instantly, sucking and licking her fingers with a desperation you've never experienced. You moaned at the feeling of her slick, cold fingers, sliding so deliciously down your warm throat. You moaned out the dirtiest sounds, "Quiet dear, you don't want your father hearing how good I fuck his only daughter do you? Or are you really that slutty baby? Do you want him to hear the pleasure I give you?" You tried desperately to hide your moans, but the throbbing between your legs couldn't be ignored. You whined loudly, "If you can't be quiet mommy can't fuck you." you nodded apologetically.
She pulled her fingers out of your mouth and laid you down, lining her index finger with your tight little entrance. "It might hurt a little bit my love, but I promise it's worth it, mommy's gonna leave you feeling so fucking good." Suddenly the realization hit you, you're about to fuck your stepmother in your childhood bed while your father is sleeping in the next room. Sure, they never had a relationship outside of their financial agreement, they were no more than business partners to each other, but the fact that they're still considered spouses almost made you sick to your stomach.
Wanda could tell you were thinking hard about something, and she paused to wait for instructions from you. "Sweetheart," she cupped your face, "do you want mommy to stop?" You thought about it, "No, I want you to fuck me." Her eyebrow raised slightly, admiring your adorable assertiveness. "What a good little slut." She kissed your mouth and eyes softly. "Are you ready baby?" You nodded, "I need to hear it from you, I need to hear you say that you want this, that you want me." You touched her eyes, then her nose, then her lips, and her jaw, before wrapping your hands around her face. "I want you mommy."
She smiled and kissed you lovingly, before inserting her long slender finger into your pretty little virgin hole. You moaned so loudly you were sure your father heard. She was quick to cover your mouth, "If your father wasn't dead-asleep, drunk, he definitely would have heard that, you need to be more quiet, honey." You nodded and closed your eyes, falling into a deep obsession over the way her finger feels inside your pussy.
Once you had enough time to adjust, she began to slowly pump in and out of you. Your moans smooth like silk to her ears. She moaned with you, making noises of pleasure as if she could feel your insides. "You're such a good girl baby. You have no idea how long mommy's been waiting to fuck you. I spent so many long nights inside myself hoping for some relief, but I could never get the high I was after, because I didn't have you to share it with." Her words were driving you closer and closer to your inevitable edge.
She moaned deeply in your ear, "Ohhh Is baby so close? Yeah? You like that baby? Does that feel so good?" She added another long finger deep inside of you. Your vision went completely white, only seeing bubbles of shapes and round edges. You could feel tears building in your eyes. She kissed you all over, every single inch she could reach. "You've been so good for me baby, are you ready to cum? Are you gonna cum for mommy? Like a good little slut?" You practically screamed "FUCK, YES MOMMY" she thrusted inside you so immeasurably rough you saw every star in the sky. She leaned in, lips touching your ear, "Cum for me my beautiful little girl, make mommy so proud."
With one more thrust, you came undone, screaming silently and losing all ability to think. She whispered dirty praises in your ear, and shockwaves were sent ripping through your body. She kissed you gently all over your face, as you slowly came down from your high. She laid next to you, and cuddled your naked body close. "I love you so much mommy." She held back tears, and kissed your head softly. Her pretty little girl finally belonged to her, body mind and soul. "I love you so much my Y/N." There it was again, that sweet nickname that so kindly gifted you these feelings for Wanda all that time ago. "Mommy?" You looked up at her. "Yes my darling?" You smiled smugly once again. She swallowed hard. "Your turn."
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Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 伪装者/The Disguiser.
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The Disguiser is a 2015 spy drama set in Shanghai, 1940. It follows the adventures of four wealthy siblings, all of whom are to some degree engaging in coordinated espionage, subterfuge, and other general acts of sabotage against the brutal occupying Japanese force.
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I need to mention the Nirvana in Fire connection up front, because yeah, if you've seen that, you've probably noticed some familiar faces already. And the comparison isn't unwarranted! The stories are completely different, but they're both character-driven, complex, subtly cheeky adventures that manage to keep that tense intrigue going throughout the narrative. Like Nirvana in Fire, the Disguiser's on the heftier side -- 48 episodes -- but they go by at an incredible clip, so that it never feels long.
I have done a rec post for this before, and I stand by everything I said there. However, I figured it deserved its own for-real rec post, so here we go with five specific reasons I think you should give it a try.
1. We're all comrades in horny jail
This is an intensely horny show, starting from -- but absolutely not stopping with -- the main quartet.
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These are the four Ming siblings. Only the elder pair of them, Ming Jing and Ming Lou (both on the passenger side of the car), are blood-related to one another. Ming Tai (also in the back seat) got adopted into the family when he was young enough that Ming Jing's relationship to him is very maternal.
Meanwhile, Ah Cheng (driving) was somewhat less thoroughly adopted when he was around ten, meaning that he's always weirdly marginal when it comes to who actually counts as part of the Ming family. He's a brother, but also he's a servant. Sometimes he's in the family photos, and sometimes he's left out of them. His name is legally "Ming Cheng," but basically no one ever calls him that.
What this means is that you've got four incredibly attractive people who are all legally but mostly not genetically related to one another, keeping secrets both with and from one another, yelling at one another, running headlong into danger for one another, sleeping in one another's beds, and occasionally demanding some members of the family spank the others. Is it hot in here, or is it just them?
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And it's not just that these are pretty people up in each other's business. Nearly every interpersonal interaction among all the main characters is at least background levels of horny, because of how high the stakes are. The tension running throughout the show is intense -- and of course it is, because these are spies in life-or-death situations, trying to keep their cool so they don't get killed. So many of the relationships are built on lies meant to charm and seduce their targets, which is of course going to be sexy. But when they're built on honesty, they're all the more intimate for that disclosure, because being open with someone about your real identity and allegiances is putting your entire life into their hands.
To be clear: When I say the show is horny, I don't mean that it's erotic or salacious, or that you're going to get a peep of anyone's naughty little comrade, or anything like that. This is the horniness of lingering glances and shouting matches and power imbalances and guns pointed at chests. It's a combo platter of smouldering Victorian yearning mixed with action-movie adrenaline. It's the delicious, redirected horniness you get when sex isn't on the (canonical) table, so all that fraught energy has to go somewhere.
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Get to the part in Episode 6 where Ming Jing gets out the short whip. You'll be glad you did.
2. Bad, bad bitches
Some of the baddest bad guys in the show are ladies. In fact, I can't even tell you about all of them here because of spoiler reasons. There are two, however, who deserve special mention.
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The first and most prominent is Wang Manchun, member of the Japanese-controlled government's intelligence service, who is one of the best antagonists I've seen in anything. Perfectly coiffed and devastatingly intelligent, she's a member of a powerful Chinese family who has chosen to work for the Japanese-controlled intelligence bureau. She can be genuinely warm and sweet, almost girlish even, when she's around someone she likes. She can also torture a dude to death without smudging her eyeliner.
Her fatal flaw is that she's so in love with Ming Lou -- and so mistakenly convinced that Ming Lou is in love with her -- that it makes her make some extremely bad decisions. When was the last time you saw the handsome gentleman be a honeypot?
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I feel okay spoiling you about the fact that these two do not end up together. Ming Lou does not see the error of his ways and start returning her feelings -- which is what I was damn near certain was going to happen for almost two-thirds of the show. I was braced for the show to come in singing the praises of the redeeming power of heteronormativity! NOPE. She's crazy and she needs to go down.
(I do have some issues with how she goes down, but ... well, you'll understand when you get there.)
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The other baddie, Nantian/Minamida, is a stark contrast to Wang Manchun. There is nothing delicate or femme about her. She gets given the worst hairstyle and the most unflattering outfits. The actor's features are already strong, and the way the show makes her up doesn't allow a single inch of softness to slip out. There is one point where she gets to dance with Ah Cheng, and she's painfully wooden. It'd be funny if she weren't so dangerous.
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As the section chief of the Japanese forces in Shanghai, Minamida is a formidable foe. She's smart. She's mean. She's incredibly suspicious of all these smiling Chinese people who surround her, because she doesn't know which ones are legitimately sucking up to her and which are just waiting to drive a knife into her back. Just plain killing her would be easy. Killing her and getting away with it? That's what's going to need a plan.
The actor is also Japanese! In fact, they've gotten a fair number of Japanese actors to play the Japanese characters, but she's the only one who also speaks Mandarin competently and doesn't need to be overdubbed by a native speaker. She's scary and intense and kinda makes your skin crawl. It's great. She's great.
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And while we're talking about bad girls, I'm also going to shout out Yu Manli in here, because while she's not a villain, she's absolutely a morally grey character -- and I love her to itty bitty bits. She's about three inches high and weighs about five pounds soaking wet, and she will murder the heck out of you. Baby girl.
3. It's queer in here
The original novel is not danmei. No boy-kissing has been censored, because there wasn't any in the first place. The author/screenwriter is a lady, but not one who dabbles in BL. This does not merit the "Censored Adaptation of a Same-Sex Work" tag on MyDramaList. Censorship didn't do anything to this one. It was never gay.
That said, the show is massively queer, in that it lauds textually the normative experience of getting married relatively young and having lots of children -- and then gives you so many characters, both heroes and villains, who don't do that.
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I mean, we've got:
Adult unmarried siblings living together
A grown woman who has intentionally remained unmarried in order to manage her business and family interests
Two adult brothers, both bachelors, who basically live in one another's back pockets
In fact, plenty of people who seem to have forsaken marriage and children in favor of their various active patriotisms
"Life and death partners" who have to fake-date their way through a couple spy missions
A teenage girl sold into sex work who offers to marry the man who saves her and is politely turned down for her own good
The same teenage girl pulling a black-widow routine and using multiple other marriages as a pretense to murder dudes
A couple whose marriage is forbidden by their families, except they do not end up together
A guy who has to break up with his real girlfriend so he can pretend to be with the spy colleague he lives with
A single woman who adopts a child
Two orphaned young adult siblings who adopt two children not that much younger than they are
A heterosexual relationship between people who are functionally equals in their various underground organizations (which don't want their members having romantic relationships with anyone)
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A note on that last one: There is a cishet normie love story that runs the length of the show. A lot of people dislike it; I think it's cute and fine! But no matter what you think of it, you have to note the sharp contrast between this prescriptive tale of young love and everything else that's going on around them. There's a lot of lip service paid to how their marriage and the children they will presumably have someday are the ideal, but it's certainly not the only way people live, or even live well. In fact, everybody else treats their romance a little bit like oh, thank goodness he's doing this so we don't have to.
Other aspects of heterosexuality are similarly praised in concept, but not really shown in the best light. There is a lot of filial devotion involved here, but overwhelmingly toward parents who are dead. Living parents, by and large, either are absentee or just plain fucking suck. The show even has very few married characters anywhere in its principal cast, and most marriages that even get so much as mentioned either are portrayed as scummy (because the husband sucks ass) or ended because one of the partners died. Even the very idea of marriage, while praised in theory, doesn't thrill most of the characters. At one point, when Ming Jing brings up the idea of Ah Cheng's getting married, Ah Cheng cannot extract himself from that conversation fast enough.
What this really does mean is, when it comes to heteronormative ideals, the show frequently says one thing and does another.
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Do I think the show is queering things on purpose? Absolutely not. This is instead one of those situations where there's such an underlying assumption that heterosexual desire and family unit construction are universal constants ... that the show barely actually gets around to portraying those things as good.
What you get instead, then, are a lot of powerful interpersonal ties that cannot be satisfied by marriage. The most intense loyalties in the show are between people for whom heterosexual pair bonding is not a social or narrative option. Therefore, those intimacies form along different pathways, many of which fall way outside the socially acceptable parameters of marital respectability and reproductive obligation. People love one another fiercely in sometimes unconventional ways. It doesn't get much queerer than that.
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I'm also going to put the phrase "the inherent eroticism of letting someone who loves you shoot you with a sniper rifle" right here and walk away. Perhaps it will intrigue you. Perhaps it will intrigue you extra to know this happens more than once.
4. Jin Dong in menswear
That's it, that's the selling point.
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Okay, wait, I do have something to add: In a sea of strong performances, his is arguably the best. He absolutely nails this tone of quiet, competent exhaustion the whole way through, making his Ming Lou this perfect gentleman on the verge of collapse.
You learn (somewhat confusingly) in the very first episode that Ming Lou is an important minister for the economy under the new (Japanese-controlled) government in Shanghai -- except, no! He's actually secretly the captain (codename Viper) of the local KMT division, working to undermine the occupying Japanese forces -- except, no again! He's actually -- and this is the real one this time -- head of intel (codename Cobra) for the Shanghai CCP underground.
(I bring up the codenames because my first time through, I didn't fully realize that they were attached to his different identities, and I just thought the occasionally spotty translation couldn't agree on which English word to use for the same snake.)
Living this three-identities-deep life is taking its toll on Ming Lou, but you know what? He's also a damn professional. He comports himself in exactly the manner he's supposed to behave at all times. And Jin Dong sells it beautifully, this carefully restrained exterior that houses a passionate heart.
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This to me is the reason his relationship with Ah Cheng is so precious: Ah Cheng is the only one who understands, because Ah Cheng is living the same life of nesting-doll secrets. It's easier on Ah Cheng, though, because he doesn't have to be the face of it all; he just gets to smile and do whatever his da ge tells him to. They are each tasked with taking care of the other in ways great and small. I'm not going to spoil its context, but one of the most powerful moments in the show is when Ah Cheng says matter-of-factly that he knows his life is worth less to Ming Lou than other people's are, and Ming Lou, to put it mildly, pointedly disagrees.
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So yeah, this is The Ship.
If you consider their relationship entirely fraternal, theirs is an incredible dynamic of trust, dependence, vulnerability, and sacrifice. If you consider it fraternal and spicy, well, it's still all that, but also enjoy picturing them tenderly removing each other's really nice suits piece by expensive piece.
5. You gotta spy hard!
Imagine the spy media spectrum where at one end you've got James Bond and Mission: Impossible movies (sexy, glamorous, high-tech), and at the other end you've got the Rebel and John LeCarre novels (grueling, well-reserched, realistic). The Disguiser is well toward the latter end of that continuum. It's got a bit of a Hollywood gloss on the whole mechanics of spywork, but man, not much of one.
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Despite what the title suggests, most of the spies in this show are exactly who they say they are. Ming Tai is the only one of the siblings who assumes temporary false identities as part of his spycraft, and even he really can't do that anymore once he's back in his native Shanghai, where he's the recognizable youngest son of a prominent family. They all have to be spies in plain sight, which is equal parts a hindrance and an asset. You've got to see Ming Jing do-you-know-who-I-am her way out of some shit. It's great.
There are some legitimately tense scenes and escapes, and I like that most of the threats are overcome by quick thinking and very good acting. The schemes that our heroes pull off work because our heroes understand what makes certain people tick, and other people can't pull that shit on our heroes because our heroes have one another. It's smart spywork that stops short of being grandiose. Even the big plans that involve several steps rely less on supernatural feats of timing, and more on just trusting human nature.
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The show is definitely spinning a propaganda yarn about how the noble Communists saved the day during the '40s, and in doing so it takes some pretty entertaining liberties with history. Even so, the particulars of the political philosophies are absolutely secondary to the conflict. You're never going to get a scene where two guys excitedly detail just how much Mao rules. At best there's some blah-blah about freedom and love of country that could be transposed onto any nationalist ideology without a lot of work. If you asked me, based only on information provided by this show, to explain the difference between the KMT and the CCP, my main answer would be, one group uses a code name that's one kind of snake, while the other uses a code name that's a different kind of snake.
And honestly, it's kind of nice. All you really need to know is that the Communists are cool, the KMT are okay but definitely less cool, and the Japanese and anyone who works with them fucking suck. I can do that! I grew up in a sports-watching family. I'm used to being sat down in front of the television and told, we want the guys in the blue uniforms to beat the guys in the white uniforms. No sweat.
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The plot does fall down more than a little bit in the final act, due to a combination of intentional obfuscation on the drama's part, a couple things that probably should have happened onscreen instead of off, and a sudden rash of stupid-ass decisions made by one character in particular. But by that point, you're invested enough that you might as well see it through to the end, right? The dismount's a bit shaky but ultimately satisfying, as the genre goes.
I'm going to say the same thing here I said in the Nirvana in Fire rec post: This show is not for everybody, but if this is the kind of thing you like, it is a fantastic example of that thing.
bonus: And speaking of Nirvana in Fire...
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Here's the full set.
Basically, if you watched Nirvana in Fire, you owe it to yourself to see the Disguiser. It’s another smart, character-driven drama, and you get to see a lot of your favorite actors in radically different roles, costumes, and relationships. (And speaking of costumes, both shows apparently have the same costume designer? That's range.)
Going to give this one a shot?
It's unfortunately a little hard to find. In my region (i.e., the US), KissAsian and YouTube are as good as it gets, both of which have their drawbacks. Some others among you may be lucky enough to be in a region where Viki will show it to you (which is where the KissAsian subs come from in the first place). There's a horrible set of machine translations running around out there, so beware of those; you'll know immediately you've tripped over those when they don't translate any of the onscreen text crawl at the start.
And speaking of the subtitles: Both extant sets, to put it politely, leave something to be desired. You can generally tell what's going on, but there are times you'll have to work for it. This is definitely more annoying when you're trying to follow a smart spy drama than it is when you're breezing through a low-intensity fuzzy xianxia mess. You actually have to pay attention to this one.
As a bonus, pretty much the whole thing was filmed in Shanghai Film Park, so if you're missing Dragon City, well, here it is! This was in fact the first Republican-era show I saw after watching Guardian, and I spent a lot of time going, hey, I know that street! ...like a nerd.
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You can feel the brotherly love.
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padmestrilogy · 24 hours
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So you know how the handmaidens don’t have last names technically cause of the whole anonymity/security thing? Would they use the queen’s name as a “last name” if they needed one for something (like travel documents or whatever)? I still need to read the Padmé books but it’s also not mentioned on wookieepedia so maybe that’s just not a thing but it definitely adds an interesting layer to the whole depersonalization/separation of self thing that they have going on. Just some thoughts I’ve been having.
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these ARE interesting thoughts. i’ll admit im not super up to date on padme’s beyond-movie lore either: i’ve looked around at the books and comics and i think there’s some cool stuff in there, but also part of the appeal of padme for me is that when people try and reinterpret her, they typically end up transforming her. they make her infallible; they make her the Worst. she’s a character who it’s very easy to get wrong, as evidenced by 90% of fandom making her the Girlboss and moving on. so when it comes to filling in the gaps for padme’s lore i usually return to the movies, no matter how disinterested in padme’s heart they are, bc watching comic writer #56 waffle between her and anakin’s relationship as Toxic or Domestic is pretty tiring. (i know they’re doing their best too ! it’s just not fun)
if i’m just sticking to the movies when thinking about this, i’ll say it’s pretty obvious the handmaidens enter into this arrangement expecting to live their whole lives around padme. they are the shadows in every room she’s in, they die for her, they speak for her, they surround her. any and all handmaiden characterization we get in the movies is through their interactions with padme. even when they’re dying, they only speak of her and their duty. you talk about “travel documents” but it’s hard for me to imagine a reason a handmaiden might need to travel independently from padme, or why they’d need legal identification other than “handmaiden of naboo”. even with the handmaidens supposedly going on to have lives after padme, that’s not how they’re represented in the films. even if they do have political careers, i’d imagine they’d get into the naboo system by being known as a handmaiden, not a new identity.
i think the devotion of naboo’s handmaidens, who chose to forsake their lives and names at 14 until they die, is a solid parallel to the jedi, especially in a trilogy so obsessed with duality. that’s really where i’d start with questions of names and depersonalization. think of the jedi’s monk levels of isolation for the sake of the Cause, but the Cause in this case is a fourteen year old girl, and you are also fourteen. and even when you are an adult with grey hair and supposedly moved on, you will still bear the mark of being fourteen and having served and loved this girl.
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akwolfgrl · 2 days
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How sweet it is to be loved by them
“Come on, you two back the nest” Zoro broke up the cuddling pair, and Sanji and Luffy had gotten closer after dinner.
Sanji had warped himself around the smaller alpha and then coaconed them in the blanket. He could only see the tufts of blonde hair and the fluffy blue flowers that grow from Sanji. Delphinium was supposed to look like dolphin noses…Zoro couldn't see it. He pushed the table to the side and scooped the pair up in his arms and carried them to the nest, Luffy was surprisingly heavy. He was not too heavy for Zoro, of course. Sanji's purrs ramped up as he tried to snuggle in his arms while still holding on to Luffy, who had responded with a rumble of his own. He placed their pair in the nest before joining them.
“Zoroo,” Luffy mutters. “Feel gooood."
“Yeah I betcha ya are, you're a bit scent drunk on Sanji,” Zoro reached over and patted the other alpha atop his head. “It gets easier over time."
“Huh?” Luffy looked confused.
“Yeah, some people like to pretend omegas are weak, that there's nothing special about them except to be bred." Zoro and Sanji had an advantage of having Koushirou in their lives. “Some omegas in the four seas are taught to hide themselves, that they are lesser than others. That it's their fault, they should hide and suppress their scents." It was bullshit, in his travels he had heard of alpha keeping a fuck ton of omegas, they weren't free but it was legal even if it was disgusting. Their freedom and rights are stripped from them. Not everyone thought this way, but it was still more then enough.
Koushirou always made sure to scent all the boys who roamed the dojo, the place always smelled just like him. His scent and his father's scent still lingered on Kunias and Sanji's swords, Kuina had not presented yet, so the scent of her family was the closest thing he had. He had made sure every one of them knew that omegas were to be treated with respect just as an alpha was. Treated as a human and not an object.
According to an old guy who had fixed the white sword up, it was a good sword that wouldn't break as easily as the other swords did. He didn't like breaking swords, but he would have been devised if he had destroyed Kuinas sword.
The swords were safely tucked up on the sword shelf in the kitchen. He'll bring them in here later when the others are asleep. For now, he would just sway with the waves as Sanji scented him.
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gaywarcriminals · 4 hours
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Prompt: AU where SY transmigrated into a murder mystery version of PIDW and is bounded by the SQQ role (murderer) who gets caught by detective LBH, and eventually when LBH finds out SQQ is like, "no wait this is just one big misunderstanding I didn't-" and like, LBH doesn't care they start making out anyway. (LBH actively helps him clear out the evidence because he's unhinged and in love❤️)
When the system had dropped him on the scene of an active— or rather, just concluded— crime scene, it had claimed its design philosophy was “you can you up, no can no BB”, but Shen Qingqiu had serious doubts! How was he supposed to change the story of a murder mystery if the murder had already taken place? After this point wasn’t everything already set in stone? The young, bright Luo Binghe would discover his cruel new mentor, Magistrate Shen, was responsible of this and countless other heinous crimes, and then Shen Qingqiu would be sentenced to death! Shen Qingqiu didn’t wanted to be quartered! 
In response to Shen Qingqiu’s frantic proding as he hurriedly worked to dispose of the body (thank god the system provided instructions for that part, at least, but Shen Qingqiu’s stomach still twisted every time he looked at the beautiful young man, lukewarm from blood loss but not yet corpse cold), the system claimed it was possible for Shen Qingqiu to survive, but then it turned around and forced him to carry the bloody knife at all times, claiming it was an essential plot point, even though it wasn’t supposed to be revealed for months! Bullshit! Obviously none of Shen Qingqiu’s choices mattered in the face of reader satisfaction! Shen Qingqiu knew what kind of sadist lurked in the PIDW comments section, calling for evert kind of torture once Shen Qingqiu’s many crimes were revealed. (Shen Qingqiu’s own comments were different, of course: he only demanded righteous justice, not senseless torture porn! Castration had been a real legal sentence in time period this anachronistic mess was supposedly set in!)
Thanks to this stupid faulty piece of software, the only thing Shen Qingqiu could think to change was to treat Luo Binghe better once the protagonist showed up, assigned as Shen Qingqiu’s new assistant. Not that Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t have done that, even without the threat of death! Luo Binghe was an incredible character trapped in a stupid, trope-y story that didn’t let his obvious intellect shine through! Shen Qingqiu took great delight in taking Luo Binghe through the cases that had been mere footnotes in PIDW proper, little more than excused for Luo Binghe to meet this or that new freshly orphaned, widowed, or wronged woman. 
Luo Binghe was so quick to make the right connections, and he glowed under Shen Qingqiu’s every head pat and word of praise. He even ignored all the simpering women, only ever seeking Shen Qingqiu’s approval! Clearly, a man as talented as Binghe was meant to be married to his job, at least until someone good enough to be his match came along. The only draw back was that for some reason, in absence of women to roll around with, Luo Binghe has started to seek out hugs from his mentor.
But it was a lot harder for Shen Qingqiu to hide his hard, pointy Plot Relevant Object when Luo Binghe was sticking to him all the time! Shen Qingqiu was forced to avoid his touch at every turn, only drawing more suspicion to himself. Obviously that was why Luo Binghe had pressed Shen Qingqiu between a wall and his own firm body, his arms on either side, trapping Shen Qingqiu in. Now Shen Qingqiu couldn’t escape a pat down without physically fighting Luo Binghe off!
“Magistrate Shen,” Luo Binghe purred, pulling open Shen Qingqiu’s robes, groping for the firm object that must have been pressing into Luo Binghe’s thigh, “is that a knife, or—“ Luo Binghe pulled out the knife, even its sheath caked in blood stains just to be extra sure it could be recognized as a murder weapon from a kilometer away. “Oh.” Luo Binghe’s face fell. 
Shen Qingqiu’s heart squeezed. Even after all his suspicious behavior, Luo Binghe has still hoped his mentor wasn’t guilty! But now, the noble young man would be forced to turn Shen Qingqiu in, knowing justice was more important than—
“Magistrate Shen really shouldn’t carry that around.” Luo Binghe sighed “This Binghe will dispose of it for you tomorrow.” There was something very wrong with Shen Qingqiu’s hearing! See, Binghe was grabbing his wrists now, that was more like it, surely Luo Binghe would be dragging him away any minute now!
Luo Binghe’s face crashed into Shen Qingqiu’s, enough lip grazing Shen Qingqiu between the scrape of teeth that it could generously be called a kiss. Shen Qingqiu’s mind stuttered to a halt. In the corner of his vision, a system window popped up, displaying a 300p resolution gif of confetti. 
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donkeys-waffles · 20 hours
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Also, also...
This has been a recent brainworm of mine and I'm tired of it so I'm passing the baton onto you, you're so welcome.
Every time AFO dies, it's the same reaction. If you hate DFO you use it as an excuse to negate the theory, if you love DFO you have mixed opinions (mostly disappointment,) but what's consistent is that everyone always thinks it's the end, there's a majority of people that I've seen not question it.
I'm so envious of these people because it's like AFO never gave them trust issues.
This man is a cockroach, not a wolf, or even a dragon like you'd think. That bitch is cockroach. And here's a list of his deaths to prove it.
First fight with All Might, he legally died but was resurrected. This man's entire skull was crushed and still came back.
Fight with Bakugou where he blinked out of existence with rewind.
And now his vestige dies with Tomura in his fight with Izuku.
THREE DEATHS... Three times has he died, and two of those times he was revived in some way. This is also a man who fears death, who has PTSD from his fight with All Might, who made himself immortal to escape death. This man doesn't normally appear places himself, he doesn't do his own dirty work, when it comes to fights, often. He always does it at a distance. He's terrified of death, despite his strength. That alone makes him having clones, (not even just one,) very logical. It's almost out of character of him to NOT have clones. When he makes multiple plans, as seen in Kamino, he always has multiple avenues to his goals. He's known for his backup plans, like with Tomura, he also had Dabi and other kids from the orphanage. He's determined and calculating, he'd not likely to use such a risky avenue to achieve what he wants, not without a solid backup plan. And his vestige in Tomura isn't a solid enough backup plan to fall back on. A lot can go wrong there, as we've seen. He died before he even got close to him, and Tomura's hatred was too strong to take control over.
Who in their right mind, who's supposed to be extremely intelligent put all your eggs in one basket considering his fears, considering his 200-year-old goals.
I think it's very plausible for him to have a clone, and this bitch has died and came back WAY too many times for me to host a funeral.
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memphisflash · 9 hours
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𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 ... 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥
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It's about time to take a closer look at the most prevalent stories, rumors, claims, and opinions about this enigmatic and flamboyant personality. If you are someone who is willing to take on a different perspective and face some sturdy facts, continue reading. However, those who prefer to keep holding on to clichés they've come to love over the years should better stop reading now.
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Colonel Thomas Andrew Parker, the man who is inseparably connected to Elvis Presley's career more than anybody else, was born on June 26, 1909 in Breda (Noord Brabant, Netherlands) under the name of Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk. On August 15, 1955 he became Elvis Presley's personal manager and continued to hold this position until Elvis' untimely death on August 16, 1977. Almost 20 years later, on January 21, 1997, Parker passed away at the age of 87 in Las Vegas from a stroke.
Just as his client is possibly the most famous entertainer of all time, Parker is the publicly best-known artist manager, besides perhaps the Beatles' Brian Epstein who was, by the way, a huge admirer of Parker. In contrast to Epstein, however, Parker always 'enjoyed' an extremely bad reputation among his client's fans; loads of the worst imaginable stories and rumors are being told about the man who directed Elvis' career.
The question is: What of all this is truth, what is legend, what is misunderstood or misjudged, what is totally false?
The Colonel was an illegal citizen
Immediately before Parker ultimately migrated to America, a murder that has never been solved occurred in his native city of Breda on May 17, 1929, when Anna van den Enden, the newlywed wife of a greengrocer, was bludgeoned to death in the kitchen of her home behind the shop. There is, however, neither a recognizable connection between the victim and the murder to Parker, nor a motive for Parker to kill the young lady. Never has Parker been investigated in connection to this murder, let alone has anybody ever searched for him. There wasn't even a criminal suspicion against him. Every resident of Breda as well as every transient could have been the perpetrator. To consider his departure to the States a getaway is more than dubious, as his migration had been planned for a long time, and on top of that he had been to the USA before. In the end, the murder story is nothing more than a publicity ploy to help promote Alanna Nash's book on Colonel Parker which had nothing else of sensation to offer than this far-fetched bullshit story. Just like ALL her books are.
Whether or not Parker immigrated illegally to the USA is unknown; however, it's quite likely that he entered the land of his dreams illegally. But this was – by the way – nothing unusual 90 years ago. If all ancestors of initially illegal immigrants were expelled today, North America would virtually be deserted.
Parker served the U.S. Army for four years (1929-1933). This alone led him to no longer being an illegal alien. Later he got married to a U.S. citizen, Marie Ross. This also provided him a legal right of residence in the United States.
Just imagine how people who reside in a country illegally are usually acting: They hide and maintain a low profile, scared of being discovered. Above all, they could not hold a legal job. So what about Parker? He had a social security number; he worked for a politician and for the City of Tampa (Florida); he founded several companies; he paid millions in taxes; he lived a public life and could be recognized on thousands of photos with one of the most famous men on the planet. Would someone who resides in the USA illegally be this reckless and careless? Surely not.
It's generally known that in the first years of his new life Parker made up a complete 'legend' about his origin, for example that he was born in West Virginia. This is nothing condemnable or even unusual, though – among carnies, a false name and a false résumé were custom. Those particular about their appearance even had several of them to offer. Parker was one of them, so that's where it all came from. Later, he openly admitted to being from the Netherlands.
Apart from that, those who have ever heard Parker talk will surely have noticed his clearly audible Dutch accent. Did Elvis and all the guys around him have peanut butter in their ears to believe Parker was a real Southerner? Would anybody believe Arnold Schwarzenegger if he had said he was a born-and-bred Californian? This is the reason why the common assumption that Elvis knew nothing about Parker's European roots is totally absurd. In the early 60s, Parker introduced Elvis to his brother who was visiting him in the States and who only spoke Dutch. Elvis knew about his manager's roots and he didn't care. Let's also not forget that Elvis has been to The Netherlands during his army years because he had to drop something off for The Colonel (most likely money/a present for his mother in Breda) and people have seen Elvis. There's even a picture of him in The Netherlands. So, Elvis knew.
It's a fact that Parker never officially acquired U.S. citizenship. That is nothing unusual or even unlawful; a person can reside legally in a foreign country without being its citizen.
Many biographers claim that Parker lost his Dutch citizenship due to serving in the U.S. Army which would have made him a stateless person. This would only have been the case if the Dutch authorities had ever found out about Parker's U.S. Army stint, but they never did so during his lifetime. The Dutch Department of the Interior confirming that the person registered under the name of Andreas Cornelius van Kuijk was a Dutch citizen from his birth until the day he passed away. So Parker lived in America as a Dutchman. Legally.
Parker got himself a new name because his awkward name 'van Kuijk' wouldn't have been too helpful in an English-speaking country. Millions of other immigrants did the same. If this were something condemnable, the USA would be a nation of forgers. Furthermore, Parker kept his middle name 'Andrew' as a reference to his former name 'Andreas'.
The Colonel was cruel to animals
No, he wasn't. Far from it. The stories about him making chickens dance on a hot plate are such bullshit. He loved animals, especially big animals such as elephants fascinated him (whenever Elvis bought him a gift that was on the "smaller" size, it would be something with an elephant). Already as a student he spent all his spare time at the carnival and dabbled in training animals. In Tampa he directed a municipal animal home where he took care of abandoned and abused animals; he even installed a pet cemetery. It is beyond debate that he made good money with it but that doesn't make him an animal abuser.
The Colonel took all of Elvis's money
False. Parker got 50% of the shares only from joint businesses with Elvis, which is a common division for partners. Of Elvis' other earnings (e.g. fees from record sales, movies, and concerts) he collected 25% – which is a common rate for an exclusive personal manager serving only one client.
There are artist managers that collect only 10% or 15% but they are in charge of several artists at the same time so they still have a save income even if one of their clients is not doing too well. In this case the disadvantage is that every artist will only receive a smaller amount of the work capacity and commitment of his manager. In other words: Elvis paid the Colonel the highest rate but in return he got all-inclusive service and Parker's undivided attention, particularly as this is the only possible way to successfully manage such a huge career.
It's always crazy to me how people want to throw this out there without knowing anything about it, or know how the music industry works. Look at the contracts, they're out there. Don't believe everything the Baz Luhrmann movie fed you.
It is true that Parker or respectively the music publishing house Hill & Range requested most songwriters to hand over 50% of their shares in royalties to Elvis. Unfortunately, people keep forgetting (or simply do not know) that this wasn't an invention of Parker's, but rather was common practice in the music business (and still is today): The bigger the star, the more the songwriter has to give up to have the star cut his song.
As the FTD book 'Writing For The King' clearly tells, this was alright with most of the authors because 50% of an Elvis song was usually still a whole lot more money than 100% of the recording of another artist.
The frequently cited claim that this practice made big hits slip through Elvis' fingers is only a myth. There is not one concrete example of a song that wasn't recorded by Elvis for these reasons and then resulted in a notable success for another artist to prove this assertion.
Besides, in Elvis' case this practice was gradually dropped from the late 1960s on.
Those who actually did business with the Colonel described him as a hard negotiator (which in no way speaks against him) but especially as a correct and reliable man of honor who always stood by his word. This cannot be said about all managers (not only in the music business), by the way.
Considering the amount of Elvis' business activities (movies, concerts, record releases, television appearances, merch sales etc.) it becomes obvious that while working for Elvis, Parker must have closed hundreds, if not thousands, of contracts. Astonishingly, there never were complications or complaints while many other artists quite often have to face trials due to dubious practices. That also speaks clearly for Parker's seriousness.
Even though they preferred keeping a distance from the Colonel, Elvis' musicians concurringly report that he was always fair and correct with them. He even paid them the full fees for cancelled concerts unsolicited, which is not common in the music business.
The Colonel also never signed Elvis away to the International Hotel to pay off a gambling debt. There is a literal video of Elvis signing the contract for his Las Vegas residency. C'mon, people. Sure, the man liked to gamble but that's his business, and he only began to have a "gambling problem" long after Elvis had passed.
The Colonel was mean, not a nice person at all
False, false, and false. Parker didn't trust strangers and appeared cold, stand-offish and distanced to them at first sight. But let me tell you this: he was Dutch, and quite frankly, this is how most Dutch people come across. They're extremely straight-forward, no-bullshit kind of people and it often gets seen as being rude or cold. It took people a while to get through to him but to his friends and his family he was extremely loving and warm-hearted. There never were any affairs and scandals in his marriage with Marie; he touchingly took care of her during the long years of her illness until her death, and he spent every spare minute with her. He never forgot his old friends from the carnival and always had time and a sympathetic ear for them when they were in need. Just like Elvis, he generously donated to charity and also loved to surprise complete strangers with gifts. Other than with Elvis, in his case this is less known as he never did it in public. Even after Elvis passed, The Colonel continued to give to charity and fans.
Parker's slightly bizarre humor is legendary and not unlike to Elvis' humor. Both loved to play tricks on people; concerning this the Colonel had an almost childish nature. Countless photos exist of Elvis and the Colonel showing that they shared a certain kind of humor. Parker loved weird costumes with a slightly odd background; that is how he danced at a party at the set of 'G.I. Blues' with his wife Marie, wearing a Southerner uniform. With his funny stories from his time at the carnival he entertained Elvis and his boys for hours.
Many fans might have heard about the club the Colonel founded called 'Snowman's League of America', which is a parody of the 'Showman's League of America', a syndicate for carnies. Only handpicked friends and business partners were made members by the Colonel who called himself 'chief potentate'. Joining the club was for free but the exit cost 500 dollars. A newly nominated member received a 'book of rules' that consisted of only blank pages. The club didn't have any sense at all, it was purely a joke – still, everybody wanted to become a member, as it was regarded a special privilege to be part of it.
Furthermore, the Colonel was able to joke about himself which can be seen in his closing dictum at the 1972 Madison Square Garden press conference: 'To live up to my reputation of being a nice guy – this is it, folks!' Humorless? I don't think so.
Just ask yourself if Elvis would have tied himself that close to a heartless and humorless person for such a long time.
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The Colonel was not good for Elvis in the 70s anymore
This has been constantly repeated by fans and journalists over and over again, which doesn't make it right, particularly as there is rarely ever any explanatory statement following this claim.
Facts are speaking differently: With the Aloha-Show of 1973, which was Parker's idea, the Colonel set new standards. The logistic and technical dimensions of this event, including the risk of a satellite breakdown, beat everything that's ever been there at the time – it was a world sensation. Today, in the internet age, people tend to forget this. Putting on this spectacle, Parker was even far ahead of his time. Since then there has never been another concert by a single artist broadcasted via satellite; for similar events like 'Live Aid' (1985), an army of world stars was brought up. Thus, Parker was actually a pioneer.
The fact that in the four years following that spectacle nothing world-shaking happened anymore in the career of Elvis Presley is not a consequence of decreasing inventiveness on Parker's part but rather – we have to face the truth, even if it hurts – due to the circumstance that the Colonel couldn't implement pioneering visions with a disinterested and partially sick Elvis who just reeled off his shows in boring routine and couldn't be motivated to enter a recording studio. At the end of the day, a manager can only commercialize the product that actually exists. Measured on what Elvis was willing and able to do towards the end, Parker even got the maximum out of it. Considering the fact that since 1974, Elvis was permanently in breach of contract as his record deal with RCA obliged him to record two albums and four singles per year which he hardly ever did, Parker rather pursued damage limitation. Every other artist would have risked his neck not meeting the deal but Parker was able to make Elvis get away with it again and again. In this context he could only be accused of having been too mild and understanding with Elvis instead of making him do his work and fulfill his contractual obligations.
The Colonel pumped him full of drugs
A big HELL NO on this one. As hard as this may sound: Elvis was a grown-up man and thus fully responsible for himself. Nobody is to be blamed: neither the Colonel, nor any of his gfs, nor Dr. Nichopoulos, nor the army, nor anyone else. Elvis was a sick man who needed medication which he developed an addiction of. He abused them. I know it's extremely hard to hear but we have to open our eyes, people. Elvis denied he had a problem with medication plenty of times and you can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped. It breaks my heart, but it's the truth. Conversations between Elvis and The Colonel were always so private that no one knows if or how he tried to get Elvis to stop, but what could he have done? Elvis was his own person and if he wanted something, he was going to get it.
And I would also like to point out that The Colonel NEVER forced him to go on stage when he was sick. Shows and tours were cancelled. His head was never dumped into a bucket of ice water (brought into the world by Larry Gellar, someone who isn't much of a reliable source to be quite honest).
The Colonel told Elvis what to do
Nope. Gave him advice? Sure. Let me also quickly point out that, yes, The Colonel didn't want Elvis to have any serious girlfriends in the 1950s because the fans did not want to see Elvis with a girl. We have seen this with so many artists, back then and even with modern artists (look at the dating lives of k-pop artists). It's a business technique to keep an idol available, feeding into the dream of teenagers that they might have a chance with their beloved idol. Might sound crazy, but that's the way things work(ed).
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(Excerpt from Peter Guralnick's "Last Train to Memphis")
Compared to other artists that made month-long, extensive tours, Elvis was a vacationist. His tours only lasted a few days with week-long breaks in between. He used to be on stage for only one hour per night, or two hours (with a three-hour break) in Las Vegas, with two shows a day (with long breaks in between). Other stars had to work as hard as they could on stage for nearly three hours and still had to fulfill other duties like TV-show appearances, radio interviews, promotion campaigns, charity events and gala gigs. Counting Elvis' effective working days per year, it becomes obvious that he had anything but a life filled with work. Especially not in relation to the money he earned. Just as other stars spend weeks or even months in the studio to produce one album, Elvis usually cut two albums and four singles in two or three nights. Notably, Elvis did not die after an exhausting tour but at the end of a six-week vacation which he spent doing nothing. This can by no means be called overwork.
In this context it shouldn't be forgotten that it was Elvis who in his final years urged Parker into booking more and more concerts because he needed the money to maintain his excessive life style and he also provided for a lot of people. So, nobody forced him.
The Colonel forced him into the movies
Another bullshit claim. The Colonel never forced Elvis to do anything. If we look at the contracts, they all bore Elvis' personal signature. Screenplays can be read in advance and rejected in case they are crap. If Elvis didn't do so, it's not Parker's fault.
All of Elvis's movies starting from the early 60s were based on the Blue Hawaii formula, and it was a formula that worked. It was what the fans wanted to see: Elvis singing on the big screen. Ofcourse, it is said that Elvis wanted more serious roles and I think that he really did, but I think he got bored with movies and the whole scene in general at some point. Elvis didn't like the Hollywood scene. He never went out to parties, events, and such, while he was the highest paid actor in Hollywood. He always stayed in his private circle and had a good time without the fakeness of Hollywood. And to put it bluntly: the movies were easy money.
Growing up with practically nothing, Elvis liked to spend money now that he had it. Simple as that. And there's nothing wrong with that.
The Colonel after Elvis
The Colonel has never spoken a bad word about Elvis. He could've had the opportunity to spill the beans and make a fortune off of his time with Elvis, but he didn't, because he respected Elvis until the day he died. He took everything to the grave. Even in the very few interviews he has done after Elvis's passing, he never said anything that was too private. The Colonel knew about his reputation and felt misunderstood and unfairly judged towards the end of his life. But he accepted his fate and never tried to justify anything because it was more important to him not to inflict any damage to Elvis' memory, while most people would have instantly betrayed all his secrets for a few bucks.
The Colonel was a charitable man and donated to different kind of charities until the day he died - which makes me wonder: how could a man who was supposedly so far in debt keep donating to all these charities? Hmm.
Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, Thomas A. Parker, passed away on January 21sr, 1997 from compilations of a stroke. He passed with his wife Loanne at his bedside in a Las Vegas hospital.
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(The Colonel paying respects at Elvis's grave.)
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So... was he a monster?
In my opinion, he was not. He has been so villainized by the media and the fans that it's honestly turning into a joke. It annoys me, but sometimes all I can do is laugh because people are so ignorant and simply do not want to learn. They like to live in a fantasy, one that's simply not true. I am not saying the man was an angel, who is really?, but he wasn't the monster people make him out to be. He is not the portrayal of Tom Hanks I'm sure most of you only know him as.
And by believing The Colonel controlled every aspect of Elvis's life, you are shoving Elvis into a corner, saying he was a little weak bird that didn't know how to stand up for himself. And if you think that, you might want to do more research on Elvis himself. Elvis was not a weak person. He was a provider and if you ask me, the strongest person I've ever had the privilege to learn about. But whether you like it or not, Elvis cared about his manager and vice versa. Sure, they might have their fights and perhaps things could get heated sometimes, but that's freaking human nature. And no one, NO ONEEEE, can tell you about private conversations that might've taken place between the two because it was, you guessed it, private. Only Elvis knows, only The Colonel knows.
The Colonel did not groom Elvis, did not steal from Elvis, and did not ruin Elvis.
Regarding the Graceland stuff after Elvis's passing: "When Elvis died a few months later, Vernon signed an agreement with the Colonel to continue managing the estate’s income based on Parker’s previous contracts with Elvis. Vernon’s decision to keep Parker on board started a domino effect that led to the former manager’s public disgrace." And that "disgrace" was mostly put into motion by Alanna Nash, a very unreliable source in the Elvis world.
I'm not sure what my thoughts are on that if The Colonel would've managed part of Graceland. But him knowing how much of a private person Elvis was, I sometimes think it would've been for the best as I've read in Ginger's book that Elvis only wanted the trophy room to be open for the public and I think The Colonel would have done just that, if he would have had any say in it. But these are just speculations, just thoughts about what could have been. I love Graceland and I'm so so so happy it exists, but I hate how it has turned into somewhat of a circus sometimes. And Elvis would too.
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(The Colonel in his office, somewhere in the late 1950s.)
“We’re the perfect combination. Colonel’s an old carny, and me, I’m off the wall.” - Elvis Presley
“Colonel Tom Parker managed Elvis Presley’s career from 1955 to 1977. Their’s was probably the most unique artist-manager relationship ever in show business, clearly one of the most successful. The world’s music and pop culture changed forever when the greatest performer of them all joined forces with the man who wrote the book on promotion. Elvis and Colonel Parker made history together. They also shared an abiding friendship that is often overlooked by the press and the general public.” - Jack Soden
“Colonel Parker is an honest man, and I think that’s where the big organization and big togetherness comes (from) … Once you find out you don’t have to worry about a guy being your manager, what he will do for you, he handles it. You do the show and everything works out right.” - Vernon Presley
"The most maligned person in the Elvis Presley World. He cared about Elvis, he used a brusque manner at times when a situation seem to warrant it. He wasn’t right all the time, no one is, but he was most of the time. He deserves a much better hand than he has been dealt. In my book, I correct a lot of misconceptions about Colonel, most of which were made by people that simply did not know the truth of the matter, even some members of the inner circle of Elvis’, or others that seem to have an axe to grind." - Sonny West
Tagging some people who I think might find this interestinggg: @notstefaniepresley @jhoneybees @eapep @delusionalmelancholia @powerofelvis @the-ugly-swan @peaceloveelvis @ladelinee
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garagepaperback · 3 days
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fetching
Harry throws the stick and the stick comes back to him. Actually. He’s found a passable scrap of oak and Pertinax is making due with his distracted tosses. It should work with anything, though - a ball, a javelin, the wet clay of gentleness, an attempt. The handful doesn’t matter. What matters is, it’s supposed to come back. 
The name is fucked, obviously. They’d fought about it, and Draco (is he supposed to go back to Malfoy now? If Draco starts calling him Potter again he’s not sure if he’ll need to break his wrist over it or fuck him.) used the bartering chip he’d already been overusing back then, insisting that he didn’t want to do this at all so he should get an extra say. The logic hadn’t been sound but Pertinax still ended up with the stupid sodding name. Since Draco hadn’t wanted to leave London either, they'd gotten an enormous place, five bedrooms. Now that it’s just Harry, it’s about four and a half too many. 
It made sense, at the time. A lot of things had. Draco said, “It just makes sense. The dog should stay with you, you’ve got the garden,” as polite and flattened as the luggage he’d been fastidiously packing. His entire wardrobe, it turned out. Watching the closets grow starving, the steady way Draco's hands folded thing after thing and his complete refusal to look up had been the first time Harry understood that they might have meant something different when they'd talked about taking a breather.
Space, Harry said and believed it. Time, Draco said and Harry started not to. 
The good behavior should have been a dead giveaway. Before that, Draco fought filthy. He could be ruthless, so fucking cruel, catty, sarcastic. Nasty. It wasn’t as though he’d ever been particularly good at concealing a feeling either, the red of his face gave him away instantly. And he didn’t blush prettily, either - there was no doll dollop of pink across his cheekbones. Draco would be riddled with it in patches, bright fury crawling up his neck with a blotchy, mangled flush over one cheek and not the other. It usually made Harry laugh, which didn’t generally help matters.
He throws the stick.
Really, Draco had been reasonable for every step of the process. When it came to the money with his share of the house, friends, holidays, everything was divided up fairly. Draco handled all the legal paperwork because he always had, but also because Harry wasn't particularly interested in seeing a word like dissolution unignorably settled between their names.
The more logical and removed Draco was about it, the deeper the scathing sap churned in Harry’s gut. He knew, maybe, that something had changed, there might not be a coming back. Anger was a toss, too, just the shit-constructed sort. It used to work. The throw meant the returning. But Draco hadn’t unpacked. He hadn’t changed his mind about the country or the dog or about Harry. 
Running his thumb along a gnarled slant of wood, Harry whistles. His dog follows him inside, into his house, where the lack is impossibly loud.
for day 28 of @microficmay
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i think it would be funny if people occasionally arose from the dead. like if that was a real-life one-in-a-million but well-documented Thing That Sometimes Happens, and the entire legal system around death (laws on inheritance & marriage & murder etc) had to include caveats for the unlikely-but-scientifically-possible event that the dead person in question might spontaneously self-resurrect, even years or decades after death. it would raise so many inconvenient and absurd possibilities
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wonton4rang · 12 hours
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pairing: bnd legal line x reader.
warnings: +18, smut, rough sex, spitting, and idk lmk if i missed something.
summary: bnd legal line mtl (most to least) to rough sex.
note: this had to be discussed and i can't go to sleep without doing so !!!
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sungho; even though it wouldn't be his go to type of sex, he would do it more often than you'd think, taking you from behind while he held your neck with one hand and held your arms in your back with the other, he would moan in your ear, pressing his body more onto yours and making you feel so full while your cheek pressed against the cold wall. he would tell you how good you feel and his hips would be accelerating their pace before he came inside of you, showing some possessiveness he usually didn't have. i also strongly believe he would have a small/ recurrent strength kink.
riwoo; he's a wild card tbh, i can't seem to read him that well when it comes to sex or maybe i am not paying attention, but i do think he could have his days, switching from cowgirl to doggy style, his hand having a grip in your hair and you almost crying out on how hard he was fucking you. it felt good, specially because it was a weird thing to happen during sex w u two, it made you excited and it made him feel bigger when he handled you like that. pulling out to come in your ass is the ultimate thing he would do to show his "dominant" side. and btw, you know about dancer stamina right? cause if you always did two rounds, you'll do at least four of five before he lets you go today.
jaehyun; myungjae has such a whiny voice and a hyper and sweet personality that we all the time see him as a mere sub but oh, let me tell you that he can also be very rough when it comes to fucking you. i feel like he would be drinking with you or just very happy and horny when he tells you about this thing he wants to try, it was basically him overpowering you and yes please!! he would hold your legs open with his hands on your thighs, pressing them down and watching how his dick gets lost each time he pounds into your soaked pussy, i can definitely see him lowering one of his hands so he could play with your clit and maybe even insert his thumb with his cock in your pussy. telling you how dirty you looked taking his dick and finger into your pussy like a slut, dirty talk would be his thing 100%
taesan; i just know he is messy and i don't make the rules!!! he would grab your hair, spit in your mouth with a grin on his lips and fuck you so fast and rough you can barely think straight. he would fuck you in missionary because he needs to see your face, he needs to feel you close and he certainly needs to be able to spit in your mouth after slapping your face once or twice. he ain't much of a talker but he would let smalls "so pretty, so hot" that would give you a hint on how good he is feeling, as if his moans and the way his dick twitched inside of you were not enough. i don't think it'll be a reccurent thing tho, he is probably more into regular sex rather than rough but he has a HUGE size kink that takes over every once in a while.
leehan; and the prize to the messiest mf goes toooooo, hear me ouuuuut. every time he went up to you and told you he was horny and needed to fuck you, you just knew what was coming (asides from u two yk) you regularly got on top of him and ride his dick but when his hands gripped your hips and he dropped you on the bed just so he could straddle in the back of your thighs and fuck you in prone bone??? you were quite literally fucked, he wouldn't show mercy on you, fucking you fast and hard, so deep that it even made you shake each time the tip of his cock hit your cervix. that until he layed you on your back, slapping your pussy after spitting on it, he is so dirty and you can tell he is enjoying it way too much when he smiled at you before slamming his hips against yours once again.
overall, taking into consideration the frequency with the one i think it'd happen, for this one i think I'll go:
MOST.
leehan. not a surprise.
sungho. he is actually really close to leehan's place tbh. not because he would like rough sex itself but he just likes the dominant part of it, how strong he feels during it.
jaehyun. iykyk, he can be cute but he is a man after all, and he is also a very energetic person so he would fold you a thousand times and come back for more.
taesan. i personally think he would enjoy it A LOT but it's just that his personality doesn't show this eager desire of rough sex :') i've said it before but i don't think he is really into sex in general and he does gives off vibes of being more in a "calm" side so yeah.
riwoo. almost same as taesan's, but i also think it's because he is a submissive person so it wouldn't be something very reccurent.
LEAST.
what do y'all think?
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hajihiko · 1 year
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it's watermelon 🍉
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HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY!!! To this elderly bapy boye!!! he...!!!
#cats#ghhbbb this is the first time I've genuinely considered tumblr blazing a post lol but no.. i shant.. I feel too weird putting financial#information into tumblr or whatever unless I made like a seperate bank account or something not associated with anyhting else lol#but I gave it serious contemplation which is really sayng something (the evil magical spell that all cats cast over u by their perfection)#ANYWAY.................... old man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#it's technically like march 8th but I did his party a little early. I have other pictures to post later maybe too..hrmm#The '1' candle is actually a '4' candle with the side part cut off because they didn't have any 1s#I went all out (like under $15 still lol) and got new birthday decorations for him instead of using the same old#ones from the past like 5 birthdays that I've done for the cats lol..#His theme was rainbows mostly in as light of colors as I could find#The legal age to drive a car in the US is 16 so.... honk honk beep beep.. I shall go out and buy him the most expensive car on the market#as soon as March 8th comes. then he can run little errands (probably mostly getting kibbles or chicken somewhere)#stealing the rotisserie chickens from walmart or something lol#AND they would let him have them. He would drive up and walk inside and they'd call the manager to come over#and they would be so moved by his presence and his big goofy stare that they would just be like..... okey.. have all the chicken in the#entire store. Actually. have the store. it's yours now. And This would continue all the way up the chain until he was handed#the entire walmart company. And every other company. a boy who owns everything. probably wouldnt use it for evil. he'd just abolish#everything and then focus on eating chickens.. ........ chibken son...
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